#but if i need something he's gunna respond to mom first

[saint-0wen]

Jesus to me is like a really cool older brother. We have the same Mom, he would do anything (including die) for me, and he wants to see me grow in a way that matters. He's proud of me and he loves me, but he's not afraid to lecture me if I need it. He's gentle and angry at the same time, all the time. But like every sibling dynamic, we're not the best at keeping in contact 💀

[issaxcharlie]

Spectacular!

Pairing: Alive! Luke Patterson x Fem Reader

Summary: Inspired by Nickelodeon’s Spectacular! Luke Patterson needs the money for his bands demo, and miraculously, that same night he gets an offer to fix his problem. The catch? Rockstar boy has to join his school’s show choir and put up with their fearless Female Lead Singer. (don’t come here searching for accuracy remember it’s inspired by a movie)

Note: I had a lot of fun with this one, hope you like it! Oh and it’s a little long so keep it in mind +8k👀💜

Say this is not her scene would be to fall short, but she has to make sacrifices to find greatness. The first thing she notices when she walks into the little club, is that it's packed. The people look excited and somewhat desperate and she doesn't blame them. The pamphlet marked they were supposed to start at 8:00 p.m. and it's already 8:40. She makes her way carefully until she finds a perfect place in the middle of the room.

The musicians take the stage visibly anxious, especially Alex who cannot stop moving his hands trying to probably calm himself down. Reggie and the rhythm guitarist take their positions. They look at each other one last time before beginning to play the enveloping sound of the pop-rock song. The bass line sounds insane and she hasn't heard Alex play drums in years, he’s exceptional. They could both play without their singer all night and she wouldn't mind.

The space in the center of the stage that belongs to who she came to see today, completely empty. The bassist seems about to take the first verse when Sunset Curve lead guitarist and vocalist Luke Patterson appears on stage.

She has seen him multiple times in the hallways laughing with her childhood best friend, Alex Mercer and her lab partner, Reggie Peters, but she has never spoken directly to him. Still, it's hard not to notice how handsome he is and how much of a charismatic personality he has.

“I'm living my life just the way I like, they say I get a little too loud. Try to push me in a box, over analyze. But I'm never gunna turn it down”

His voice is enchanting and mesmerizing, a sound that immediately reminds her of the best rockers in history and his movements and energy are electrifying. In seconds the entire audience is jumping and dancing to the beat.

“They say never and I say right now!” Y/N analyzes him excitedly. The passion with which he sings and plays his guitar reminds her of when she is on stage, although the two of them dedicate themselves to totally different things, their love for music is the same. She definitely has a lot of work to do to polish him and make him the perfect performer she needs, but if there's anyone who can accomplish the impossible, it's her.

“No one's gonna stop me tonight! Thank you, we are Sunset Curve, tell your friends!” The presentation ends and Sunset Curve leaves the stage. The girl moves quickly to catch up with them at the back of the club, but when she finally arrives, screams can be heard from two of the members of the band.

“I know you don’t like me, Bobby. But trying to sabotage the show by giving me the wrong time is just the most stupidest thing you've ever done!” The guitarist looks furious, his muscles are really tense and Y/N can't help staring at his biceps way more than she probably should.

"This fight of egos between the two of you has to stop, we can no longer continue to be in the middle." The bassist cries out, tired of all the bickering.

“You no longer have to, Reggie. It’s time to decide. The lousy rocker or me. Remember that the money for the demo is mine before choosing... I'm not sure Patterson's lyrics can compete without the money to record them.”

The guitarist looks down at the ground, a mixture of anger and sadness on his face. Alex and Reggie turn to see each other for a second and then position themselves on either side of Luke, no sign of doubt on their faces.

“We’ll find a way without you. Let’s see If you find one without us.” Reggie declared with a little smirk. Bobby grabs his stuff and gets into his truck without looking back, completely furious.

"Some things Bobby was angry about are true and you have to improve them. You are not a solo artist, you are part of a band." Alex points to Luke as soon as the truck is out of sight, but before he can respond the blonde intercepts the girl at the door.

“Y/N?” The three of them turn to see her, Reggie smiles at her while Luke looks pissed off.

“Hey guys, I came to talk to Luke.” Luke frowns in surprise while the other two gape for a few seconds.

"Really?” Y/N turns with a murderous face towards her friend, who puts his hands in his pockets and begins to walk. “...Okay. Meanwhile Reg and I are going to figure out how to get the drums in Luke's car."

"If you come for an autograph please be quick, I don't feel like socializing." The guitarist declares to the wind, not wanting to pay attention to the stranger who approaches him in the middle of the alley, no matter how cute she looks.

“I’m not a fan.” She confesses in a firm voice, trying to measure the situation.

"Oh, then I'll go. See you later beautiful." He's about to leave when her voice stops him.

“Patterson, come back here!” There's something about her tone that makes Luke suddenly interested. He turns to see her carefully, her chin is up, her shoulders back. Her lips are press together and her eyes look determined and he can't help but admit that the confidence she projects is really doing something to him.

“2 minutes, firecracker.”

“I’m Y/N Y/L.” Faced with no comment from the guitarist, she decides to continue. “I need a male lead singer for my group and I think you might be the perfect fit, after I'm done with you, of course."

He’s unable to believe what he hears. “A band? I think you know pretty well I'm already in one.”

“It’s not a band, it’s a group. THE group If I can say so myself. Spectacular!” She affirms with the first smile he sees her that night, and he can't believe it is possible that she can look even more beautiful.

"Don't you think you're exaggerating a bit with the spectacular thing? At least tell me the name or what kind of band is." She rolls her eyes and he chuckles in response, thinking it was adorable and hot at the same time.

“I already told you, Spectacular! It’s a show choir.”

“Is this a joke? Did Bobby sent you?”

“No and no. I know it’s not really your style, but I’m telling you I can make it work. I heard a bit of the conversation you had with the band, the prize of Nationals is 10,000 dollars. I'm willing to give you half for the demo, if we win, obviously. And I can assure you we will if you accept and do absolutely everything I say.”

“Firecracker, are you trying to tell me that all I have to do to raise the money is put on some stupid cowboy or tiger-print outfit and humiliate myself in front of an entire audience with my best jazz hands? Wow, sounds like a dream!” Maybe he got a bit too sarcastic, but meh, as pretty as she is, she's still a stranger.

“My name is Y/N, and I'm not appreciating your tone of voice.” By this moment the girl seems tired of the musician, who feels the frustration in her and tries to be more gentle.

“I- I’m sorry. Thanks for the offer, but I don't feel as desperate yet as to end my reputation in that way. I hope you find what you are looking for, but that’s just not me. I'm just a guitarist.” She nods, entwining her arms against her chest. He admires her for a few more seconds and turns to his car, where his friends are already waiting for him to help with the drums.

Before getting behind the wheel he turns to her one last time, but she is nowhere to be seen.

Fights between Luke and Bobby weren't new to the band. The big-headed attitude of both collided practically all the time and things had been getting worse in recent months with the more overconfident attitude of the guitarist, but they never imagined that they would end up in this situation.

The days go by and the boys are running out of time. They have to deliver the demo to the Orpheum offices in two months so that they can be taken into account for the great concert they will hold at the end of the year presenting the best new talents in the city. All they've heard from Bobby is that he's trying to build his own band but without much success. Still, he doesn’t fold his hands and continues to try on his own.

The three remaining members of Sunset Curve are in Alex's room lying on the floor with their instruments around trying to think of solutions, when Y/N's voice coming from outside refreshes the blonde's memory. “What did Y/N want to talk to you the other day?”

“Who?” Luke narrows his eyes in confusion.

“Y/N? The captain of the school’s show choir? She went to talk to you after Bobby left the band. Small, fire in her eyes, a lot of attitude.”

“OH, Firecracker! So that group is our school's choir? that's even worse. She tried to recruit me, even offered me the money for the demo if we win the competition in which they will participate.”

“What? She wants you in Spectacular? What did you said?” Alex heard that his friend's ex-boyfriend broke up with her and joined last year's national champions, but he never imagined that she would try to replace him with someone like Luke. Luke is distracted by a melody and doesn’t answer his friend's question.

"Why does your mom always leave her music on when she leaves to work?" The music is definitely not his style, they are always usually pop songs or even songs from musicals, but the singer's voice is one of the most beautiful he has ever heard so it never bothers him.

“It’s not her music, is Y/N.” Alex responds, wondering what the young woman is up to since she is never usually home at this hour.

“Who?” Alex's eyes widen, not able to believe his friend.

“Really? I already told you!” The guitarist tilts his head and shrugs. “Firecracker?”

“What does firecracker have to do with this?” Alex opens his balcony curtains and the silhouette of a young woman singing and dancing through her transparent pink ones comes to their visions.

“She’s so good bro, I thought it was a record too.” Reggie looks at her with a big smile as Alex rolls his eyes at Luke.

As soon as he sees her, the musician is in a trance, admiring the grace and energy with which she moves, wanting with all his might to remove the pink curtain that does not allow him to see her properly.

The song ends and a well-known melody begins to play with prominent bass and drums. “Guys, shut up! I’m trying to hear her sing.”

“It’s not us, man.” Reggie answers almost screaming with how loud the girl’s music is.

“What do you-” Luke turns around and sees his friends with their hands raised, the cables finally connecting in his brain. "She is listening our song?"

"Not just listening, she's also destroying your career, her vocals are amazing." The black-haired boy adds, smirking and running to connect his bass.

Luke excitedly opens the balcony window and sings the pre-chorus as loud as he can to get the singer's attention. “Call me in the morning to apologize, every little lie gives me butterflies.” She immediately turns around and smiles at the guitarist's cocky smile. She opens the curtain and the window and her sunset curve t-shirt is the first thing the band notices.

“Something in the way you're looking through my eyes, don't know if I'm gonna make it out alive.” Luke sings seductively towards her, each word fully dedicated to the woman in front of him.

Reggie accompanies them with his bass while Alex looks at his friends incredulously, an "Are you fucking kidding me." Comes out of the blonde almost like a whisper when he identifies the shirt that the girl wears as his.

Both sing the chorus together and the chemistry is unquestionable. Alex had never thought of this two together because at first glance they seem completely different, but thinking about it a little more deeply they couldn't be more similar. They are both passionate, headstrong, live for the stage, and are ridiculously talented and confident.

“Fight so dirty, but you love so sweet. Talk so pretty, but your heart got teeth. Late night devil, put your hands on me. And never, never, never ever let go.”

The performance between the duo is playful, driving, sexy and intense and Alex and Reggie can't help but feel like they're interrupting a private moment. As soon as the song ends, the girl moves closer to the window, blows them a kiss and closes it.

"Where did that woman come from?" Luke whispers as he tries to catch his breath. Nobody had enchanted him so much just by singing, well, nobody had enchanted him, period. But she’s definitely something.

“She has been my neighbor since we were 6 years old, we used to be best friends but we both drifted apart when we entered high school. She’s amazing, the best performer in the city.” Alex informs him and then Reggie adds his own piece of valuable information. “She’s my lab partner. Fun, smart, beautiful, the whole deal. A true gem.”

“Answering your question, I said no to her offer. But I guess the group of someone this rad can't be that bad. And we really need the money." The drummer purses his lips and nods. His friend definitely took the hook.

"Honestly, I always wanted to audition, I guess the three of us could try in, to support you obviously."

“Of course man, she sounded desperate when she asked, and if the shirt and song is any indication she is definitely a huge Sunset Curve fan. She tried to fool me by saying she wasn't a groupie, as if that was possible after seeing us perform.”

His friends leave the house and Alex plays on the drums the secret signal he had with the girl when they were younger, a minute later the girl appears in her window with an amusing smile, dressed in her classic blue pajamas.

“Really?” The drummer chuckled and his friend’s smile grows even bigger, a little laugh leaving her lips. “The shirt was a nice touch. A little much, but that idiot must have fallen for it completely. I want it back by the way.”

“You can see right through me. You know the invitation is open, right? I would love nothing more than to have you there.” He has known her his whole life, and realized early on that she was just trying to get his friend's attention to reconsider her offer by raising his ego, and he honestly doesn't mind. It's about time Luke met someone of his caliber. Perhaps her influence could do him good.

“I- thank you. I guess we’ll see. See you tomorrow.” She blows him a kiss and closes the window. Tomorrow sure is going to be an interesting day, Sunset Curve joins Spectacular.

Having to face Spectacular! And telling them they still don't have a male lead singer who can compete against Damian was not easy. Her options are running out and she honestly doesn't know what to do to save them.

Damian on stage is the best, it pains her to admit that she has never seen anyone like him. At first she thought she could continue without him, but it’s becoming increasingly obvious that he is just impossible to replace.

Everyone continues to practice the routine, clearly discouraged after her bad news and it honestly breaks her heart. She knows how much the group means to everyone for different and personal reasons and she can't let them lose this. So whatever she has to do, she’ll do it so they can have the leader they deserve.

“I thought the children in the choir would have more energy, this is just sad, firecracker.” She hides her wide smile before turning to the owner of the voice, who is entering the auditorium with his best friends. Money really talks, otherwise she can't explain what would make him appear here.

“Dude, can you please play nice? This is important!” Reggie looks flustered and scolds Luke probably louder than he planned. The guitarist just ignores him and winks shamelessly at her. Seems her little plan from yesterday was successful, now she just has to play the situation in her favor.

“Mercer, Peters... Patterson. Can we help you with something?” The performer shows a perfect poker face, Spectacular continues to practice but they can't help but turn their attention to the rock band.

“I came to accept your proposal, but only If we can include Reggie and Alex in the deal. I guess as long as I’m in whatever I ask shouldn't be a problem." He crosses his arms and gives her a confident smile.

“I could actually do with a few more members, specially as talented as Reg and Alex. As for you, you've already turned down my offer Lucas, but if for some reason you don't graduate this year, make sure you audition the next one. Now, let’s start boys." Y/N moves within inches of Luke to gently close his open mouth with her index finger, and gives him a small wink before turning and taking the other two musicians each on each arm and pulling them closer to where the group is still practicing.

“Y/N, you can’t be serious.” The skilled singer continues to ignore him as she explains to her new members something Luke can't quite hear.

The musician frustrates and walks until he is directly in front of her. “Y/N” He groans.

“I'm not firecracker anymore? That is just sad.” Luke looks upset, but she's determined to not let him have what he wants after what he said at the club, so if he wants the money that bad he's going to have to prove it.

“I’m going to explain you something quickly so you can go and stop wasting my time. I’ve seen your band play, I know how good these two are at singing, which means I don't need you anymore, nor do I have to put up with your rockstar wannabee attitude. I need someone that I can connect with and have the chemistry that leaves everyone forgetting how to breathe, and after yesterday, I just don't think that's you.” Right now she is grateful to be such a good actress because yesterday's act melted her legs, even though they were separated by the balconies. This man is unreal, totally unfair.

"I do, I wouldn't be surprised if they kissed at any moment." The bassist whispers as Alex looks at him with an incredulous face, he just slowly shakes his head from side to side and continues to see the leader of their band and their new leader in a starting contest, is kind of an amusing sight since Luke is definitely not used to having to face someone like him.

“It’s like you said, you are just a guitarist. Thinking you could handle something like this was ridiculous of me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a group to direct."

Y/N hopes she hasn't pushed the rockstar too much, but remains firm in her tactics and turns to the others to continue with the rehearsal. She signals them to put the most similar song to the Sunset Curve sound that she can remember at the moment to make Alex and Reggie feel more calm and to see if she finishes catching Luke’s interest, who still doesn’t move from where he is with his eyes fixed on her, which she takes as as a good sign.

The moment the song start, both sunset curve members smile, and Luke's voice is heard from behind. “So you're the girl, I heard the rumor.” He sounds powerful and captivating and immediately sets everyone's eyes on him. She doesn’t give him the luxury of turning to see him, but he is not going to give up and in a quick and agile movement he turns her by the hand.

“Why don't you break my heart, make it hurt so bad. Come on give it your best, nothing less, I insist, I want it just like that.” The girl should have thought more about her choice before asking for a song like this. Every word that comes out of the musician's mouth is addressed directly to her with an intensity in his eyes and movements that should be illegal.

She tries to get out of his way but he makes it pretty clear that he's not singing to prove himself to the group, he's doing it to prove something to her. Specifically, to prove her wrong.

“Stare me down, intimidate me. Oh baby please you'll never break me.” He comes dangerously close to her, basically inches apart, his eyes fixed on her lips and smiling flirtatiously as he sings, his eyes glinting mischievously.

She enters the song so as not to make him feel like she’s defeated and starts dancing with him to the rhythm, their movements matching effortlessly as they move across the stage.

She pulls herself back as far as she can, but Luke surprises everyone by doing a body roll on the floor, his arms looking more gorgeous than ever in that sleeveless shirt as they take the full weight of his body without any problem, his eyes never losing contact with hers. All the girls start to do small screams while Y/N's cheeks turn red at her thoughts. He slides on his knees towards her and gets up as he puts his foot on her to make her lose balance and catch her right at the end of the song.

“Why don’t you break my heart.” They've been in a trance since the song started and it's like it's just the two of them in the auditorium. Their lips are almost touching, neither willing to give up eye contact or move from their current position, until the applause and shouts of excitement bring them back to reality.

“I have chemistry with everybody that I sing with, firecracker.” He whispers to her lips before shifting the girl's full weight to his right arm to raise his left one to her face and carefully close her mouth with his finger, winking with a cocky smile before lifting her up.

Immediately everyone begins to advocate for him with all kinds of arguments that ranged from how sensual he was to how much of a presence he had on stage. Her best friend’s comment is the one that catches his attention the most. "You have even more chemistry with him than Damian, I didn't think it was possible." That definitely sounds interesting.

Y/N pretends to listen to her teammates before saying Luke can enter the group. The truth is that she knew from the first moment she saw him perform with Sunset Curve that he was a star, but this facet without the guitar and irradiating passion from his pores was something that left her speechless.

Still, she knew all the work that would go into preparing the band and it really was exhausting. For them to understand that they couldn't just sing like they do at the club, that there are rules to follow, dance steps they have to learn, facial expressions they have to master, notes they have to hit perfectly, wasn’t easy but they succeeded.

Along the way, she regained her bond with Alexander, her friendship with Reggie grew stronger, and each day she felt closer to Luke. She has been practicing a duet with him for weeks now, and the chemistry that they have set to burn the stage more than once. It was hard for her to ignore how the guitarist's hands feel on her thighs as he lifts her or the way he wraps himself around her, breathing softly down her neck or brushing his lips teasingly over her cheekbone. Both are very physical to show affection so small contacts such as hugs or caresses, as well as small kisses on the cheek or hand were very recurrent. They had also gone out multiple times alone and with their friends, from the cinema, the park, to see them play, to small parties at home, to midnight talks.

Reggie was the one who had her alone the most because they were lab partners, but no matter how hard the bassist tried to get information from the girl, he never succeeded. The truth is that not even she knows what is happening with the guitarist, she is for the first time in her life letting herself be carried away and enjoying the moment, and she’s loving it.

Luke and Alex are in detention after the brown haired boy made a mess in the classroom by putting together a little concert with the help of the blonde, and as they die of boredom, his mind can’t help to go to her for the 14th time of the day. "How did she end up in the show choir?"

Alex is blank for a few seconds but analyzes the question and realizes who they are talking about. “Spectacular used to be the most important show choir in the country, led by her mother, may she rest in peace. Y/N always wanted to be a part of it and when she lost her, it became a goal. She suffered a lot to get to the perfect star we see today, especially because her father is rarely there since he works outside the country. She has practically had to face alone auditions, injuries, she had to learn to sew, comb her hair and put on makeup for the show, sing for hours her solos with no one to encourage her, without mention that the current director could not care less about the group and practically leaves all the work to her. That’s why she’s so be fearless, she kind of has to."

“I didn’t know.” The sight of Y/N as happy as ever with his mother when he took her home for lunch the week before appears in his memory. She looked radiant as she ate his mother's famous stew and listened to stories of little Luke as he gently stroked her thigh while songwriting with his other hand. When was the last time she got to experience something as homelike as that? Luke probably doesn’t want to know.

Alex's sad voice brings him back to the conversation.“I was supposed to be there, you know? At first I was. We were going to audition for Spectacular together, but that summer I met you and Sunset Curve was born, and I didn’t have the time anymore so I abandoned her. I knew how important it was for her to have me there, and I didn't even go to her audition. And do you know how many times she has reproached me? Not even one.”

Luke knows that Alex would never hurt her on purpose and that the situation was probably much more complicated than he expresses it, so he reassures him and lets him know that she loves him and is proud that he took his own path. As soon as the blonde calms down, he begins to tell him multiple stories about when he and the girl were kids, the songwriter takes out his journal and begins to add lyrics to the song he has been working on, more inspired than ever.

“You are falling so deeply for her, man. I’m happy for you both.” His friend comments to him while reading the verses written on the paper. He totally is.

“Bowling, nice. I'm going to finish you off, Patterson.”

“As sexy as your confidence sounds, I'm not going to let you win.”

“I'm pretty sure you've never gone bowling.” Alex adds with furrowed eyebrows.

“Your point is, Mercer?” She wrinkles her nose and sticks out her tongue. Reggie chuckles amused.

"How can you be so sure that you are going to win?"

“Oh, my dear cute blonde. I’m good at everything.” She makes a slight remark on everything with her eyes fixed on the guitarist, who chokes while blushing.

She smiles cheekily at him and confidently steps into the room, Sunset Curve behind as Alex and Reggie tease Luke for being completely whipped.

Happiness doesn't last long when the first thing they see inside is Damian Miller along with a couple of his new teammates. The moment their eyes meet, Y/N seems to melt, but not in the good way.

Her firm and perfect posture now all bent as she embraces herself with her arms and tries with the strength that has left to hold her gaze at the person who took everything from her without much more than an empty sorry.

When she feels the guitarist at her side again, she unconsciously stretches her hand to intertwine her fingers with him, who tilts his head to see their hands together and then to see her face.

She is not doing it to make Damian jealous, but to feel supported. And when Luke realizes it, he can't help not feeling angry at the boy in from of them. In the month that he has been with her, he has never seen her doubt, fear, or believe anything less than that she is unstoppable. And today for the first time ever he sees her intimidaded, and the fact that it's because of a jerk like this makes it even worse.

He rubbs her hand to make her feel less anxious and when she turns to meet his eyes, he brings his index finger to her chin and winks at her, hoping she gets the message. She seems to do it because she immediately smiles playfully and begins to look more relaxed.

The guitarist is aware that Damian was his firecracker's first boyfriend, and he also knows how much he betrayed her love and trust. No matter how strong the woman is, her reaction is completely normal and valid, and that she has the confidence to be vulnerable and let him be there for her means a lot to him.

“Princess.” Damian whispers as he moves closer to her, his eyes fixed on Y/N and Luke's clasped hands.

“I’m not your princess, Y/L is just fine. Listen, Damian. I could pretend this is not uncomfortable and boring but, I don't want to. So yeah, excuse us.”

She pulls the hand that joins her to Luke to make him walk and Alex and Reggie follow behind them, looking at her ex boyfriend with little smiles of pride. Alex knows how much Damian turned off Y/N’s spark and seeing her put him in his place makes him feel so proud.

"So someone is going to teach me bowling or what?"

“I’ll do it baby, but another day. Today we came here with a different purpose.” Luke points to the large Rock the World machine located in a comfortable corner space.

“Of course, is always about music with you, eh Patterson?” She smirks, getting a little closer to him.

“Pretty much, but I can tell that attracts you, Y/L.” He wrinkles his nose, his lips parting slightly.

“Hell yeah it does.” he smirks, not at all expecting her to admit it so openly but he definitely should have seen it coming.

“Good thing I’m into dominant firecrackers then.”

“Could you stop flirting for a second and start playing? I have plans to destroy Alex and your daily session of sexual tension is not going to ruin it.”

Both smile at Reggie while Y/N takes the games microphone and Luke the guitar. The song that Y/N chooses is She’s so gone by Naomi Scott, and it goes without saying that the boys have never played it in their lives but they love a challenge.

The mastery with which the girl interprets the song makes a good number of people come to see the round, including her ex-boyfriend and his new friends.

“Here I am, this is me, and I'm stronger than you ever thought I'd be. Are you shocked? Are you mad? That you're missing out on who I really am.”

The singer sings the verse directly towards Damian, as his friends start pointing out and teasing him. Reggie goes over to tell Luke he thought he would join her, but the guitarist only replies, "I want to see her shine."

She gets carried away with the music and draws Luke to her, jumping and twirling to the beat of the music. The guitarist hyping her up every single second og the song. At the end the night was incredible, the four of them spent it singing, dancing and even bowling, which Y/N ended up dominating from the second round.

Luke thought that there would be no better time than that night to show her what he had been working on, so after saying goodbye to her he went to Alex’s where he had left his journal.

Before he can say goodbye to the blond, screams are heard from the house next door. “I wasn't trying to embarrass you, Damian!”

“No? So what were you doing shaking your hips against the rock boy?”

“I don't have to explain anything to you, but I think it's pretty obvious why I wanted to be against that body, have you seen it?” She says it playfully with her eyes fixed on the guitarist, who is walking with the blonde to her door, her eyes glinting wickedly in the dark. He chuckles, knowing it's the girl's way of reassure him and she smiles as she sees his expressions relax.

“Everything alright, firecracker?” Luke does not stand in front of her like a brave prince, he stops a meter from both of them and asks before intervening, and that makes her heart melt. Because he wants to hear her first, he trusts that she can take care of it and has the confidence to tell him if she needs help, which is also completely valid. And it's something she has to work on, know that there are also times when it's okay to trust someone. That you don't always have to carry the weight alone.

“Go away, punk. My girl and I are in the middle of something.” The three of them start laughing at the ex-boyfriend's intimidation attempt, who seems to get angrier with every laugh that comes out of their mouths.

“I’m fine baby, but you guys could show him the way out? I’m tired of his bullshit.” She asks the boy with a cute smile, and he would disintegrate over the nickname if her horrible ex-boyfriend and her best friend weren't there.

"Don't touch me, I’ll go. Right now the numbers are not working in my favor so we will fix this where it really matters, on stage. Let's see if this attempt at a singer can save you from total humiliation, because let's be honest Y/N, you are nothing without me."

The faces of both members of Sunset Curve begin to tense, Luke's fists completely white from how much he's clenching them. For her part, the singer, who is already used to that type of comments from her ex-boyfriend, only tells him "yes, yes, you're right. It was a pleasure Dami, never come back." while pushing him to the other side to make him go away.

The nickname comes off her tongue in the most natural way in the world, she doesn't even seem to notice it and Luke feels some annoyance hearing it. As if someone had hit him in the stomach. But immediately the discomfort goes away when the girl turns to them again with a big smile and runs to hug them excitedly.

“Thanks for coming to check me out, guys. Things can sometimes get out of control with him.”

"We will always be there for you when you need us, okay? I actually went into Alex's house to get something I wanted to show you but it's late, I’ll come back tomorrow." The blonde turns from his friend to the other, a tired smile appears on his lips as he passes Luke his journal to place his arm on his childhood friend and lean on her.

"No, don't go please. Damian was pretty mad and... I don't want to be alone." She can be very dramatic at times but the fear in her voice sounds sincere, and remembering the scream that brought them outside in the first place Alex imagines how scared she really was before seeing them show up and his heart clenches at the thought.

“O- Okay, sure.” He sounds nervous but the excitement is evident in the way his left leg keeps moving, just like when he's on stage.

“I do have to go in, you already know mom. Will you be alright with just Luke?” He already knows the answer from the girl's radiant gaze but it doesn't hurt to confirm. She hugs him tightly with her arms around his neck and whispers a "Yes, I love you but go away already." which makes the drummer laugh out loud while high-fiving his other friend goodbye.

The third wheel enters his house and finally they are alone. She smiles and takes him by the hand to enter the house. Luke takes a moment to admire it, everything is in place but there are several instruments throughout the living room. A keyboard on the couch, a guitar next to the TV, even a tambourine on the table.

"May l?" He walks over to the guitar and turns to see the girl nodding and pointing up the stairs for him to follow. Her room is quite similar to her style, white is the predominant color but there are many details in pink and gold, as well as multiple yellow lights giving a romantic tone to the room at midnight.

“Do you want to show me now?” she asks eagearly, with joined hands, closed eyes and pursed lips.

“Y- yeah... of course.” He sits on the rug and puts the guitar aside, then puts his notebook between his legs and when he finds the sheet he is looking for, he carefully tears it off. The girl looks at him adoringly, the happiness of having him with her making her heart beat louder in her chest. She sits across from him making sure to brush his legs and waits for him to speak.

“Here.” He looks nervous, his cheeks totally flushed as he avoids eye contact for the first time since they met.

Y/N takes the sheet in his hands and a huge warm smile appears on her face when he sees the guitarist's terrible lyrics. BRIGHT written and highlighted several times in the title.

“It’s for you.” Luke whispers while bringing his face closer to hers, making her shiver.

“You wrote me a song?” She doesn't know what to say. Since her mom, no one had done anything so beautiful, considerate, and selfless for her. Something so vulnerable and full of love.

“Don’t be mad, but Alex told me a little about how you ended up in show choir, your friendship with him, your mom.” He turns to see her looking for her reaction, she just nods to tell him it’s okay to continue. “A sweet story about a little girl with the voice of an angel who loved to sing love songs. And you know what was in my head all that night? That even though I've never written one, I would write millions of love songs for you.”

Some tears fall from the girl's face, she carefully places the lyrics on the guitar and throws herself on the guitarist, who falls in surprise against the carpet, making sure to grab her by the waist so that she falls safely on his chest. She rests her arms on either side of his head and brings her lips against Luke's, brushing them gently.

Luke doesn't move a muscle, not wanting to do something to make her uncomfortable, when he suddenly hears her talk. “And what about teeth? I mean is not the sweetest love story ever told but-”

The boy chuckles, Y/N's curious eyes a few inches away. “Alex wrote that one after his first breakup, Reggie and I did the melody.”

“Good. Guess we’ll have to start making some experiences to help you write all that songs.” At that moment she finally pushes her lips against his, both in a moment of euphoria at the taste of each other. She presses her body against him and he bites lightly with his teeth on her lower lip to shove his tongue against her mouth in response. Her little hands pulling his hair hard as his hands go down her butt. Both of them enjoying what they had been dreaming of for so long.

When the two finally separate they fall in a comfortable silence, she starts to admire his facial features, delicately running her fingers through his nose, his mouth, his cheekbones, until he interrumpts her. “I knew you want me from the beginning, I could see the lust in your eyes. Everything about the choir was a complex plan to get me under you.” Luke affirms with his best poker face, and sees clearly how her eyes fill with light while a pure laugh escapes from her now swollen lips.

“And as always, I achieved the goal. The hot local rockstar is sleeping on my bed tonight.” No matter how hard he tries, he can never catch her off guard and he always ends up being the one blushing. She kisses him softly before getting up and taking the song lyrics back. “Luke, do you mind if I sing a bit of the song?”

“Of course not, it's yours. I will accompany you with the guitar, from the pre-choir?”

She nods and begins to sing the words he wrote for her. “Life is a risk but I will take it, close my eyes and jump. Together I think that we can make it, come on, let's run.”

She is reading the choir as she sings and the urge to cry reappears. He's basically telling her that she no longer has to go on living life alone, that she can lean on him, she can trust him to fight by her side. That it can be us instead of I.

“And rise through the night, you and I, we will fight to shine together. Bright forever.”

As soon as they finish singing Luke puts the guitar aside and goes over to wipe the tears from the girl's face. “I know that at first glance it doesn't seem like a love song, but..."

“But it is. It’s perfect, thank you Luke.” She didn't know that someone other than her could make her feel so special, but he proved her wrong, again.

The night before was like a dream. Y/N sleeping with his shirt while he wrapped her completely in his arms, singing softly in her ear and leaving little kisses on her neck every few verses until she fell asleep. At this point there is no way to deny how completely in love he is with her.

“Man, we need to talk.” His blonde friend wakes him up from his daydream and starts pulling him down the hall to an empty table in the cafeteria, where Reggie is already waiting for them.

They both sit down and Alex takes a deep breath as he plays with his fingers, trying to form coherent sentences with the words in his head. “Bobby called last night.” Luke's gaze instantly shifted to disgust, while Reggie looks quite shocked.

“So? What did he want?” Luke whispers, trying to sound disinterested.

“He sent some of our videos to an important person at Destiny Management and they are interested in the band. He said that if we comply with certain requests he will give the money for us to record the demo this Friday so that it’s ready for the appointment."

“And I guess you told him we don't need him or his money. What did he answer you? He cried?" the guitarist asks with an amused face, but his friends just look at each other.

“Don't you think we should think more about it? What happens if we don't win nationals? We’ll have lost something as sure as Bobby's deal for nothing."

“She’s my friend and I love her but I have to agree, Luke. As difficult as it is, our priority has to be Sunset Curve, not Spectacular"

“But-”

“They are right, Luke.” All three look at the girl, as pale as If they had seen a ghost. “Spectacular is my dream, And I know I'd do anything for it. It would be unfair of me to get angry because you’re fighting for yours. Don't hesitate, if anyone can find a way out of this it's me.”

“But, the duet...”

“I’ll just have to be the melody and the words. I’ll be fine, and honestly I'm so proud of you guys, I know you will be rock legends one day.” All three feel guilty but don't know what to say or do to make it right. She goes over to hug the drummer and the bassist who take her in their arms with all their strength, a “I’m so sorry” from the blonde accompanied by an “I know” from the girl can be heard. Then she stands in front of the guitarist and kisses his lips intensely, but breaking away painfully fast. The guys leave lovers alone for a moment of privacy.

“I believe in you, baby. You are destined to be a star, forget everything else, even me. Take the moment and knock them off their feet.” She kisses him lightly on the lips and walks a few steps back. “This month was the happiest of my life in a long time, thank you. Guess I’ll see you guys around.”

“Why do you sound like you are saying goodbye? And a horrible one? I thought you were good at everything.” Luke walks over to her again and places his hands on her cheeks, rubbing them gently. His voice is shaky and his eyes are glassy, she snorts at his sudden taunt, a little smile covered with the tears.

“Once everyone gets back to their own business, do you think you'll still have time for me? Alex is my damn neighbor, and we couldn't keep in touch.” And Luke gets it. She is used to being alone, to people not being permanent in her life. Neither her parents, nor her best friend, nor her boyfriend, nor anyone else has stayed. So this time to protect herself she decided that he too was going to leave, that it would be foolish to think that he of all possible people would stay.

“I‘m not letting you go baby, you're the only one I would let to boss me around.” The girl laughs when she remembers the millions of times she had to correct him and how he always ended up making her blush in some way, especially when they danced. She can't remember telling him but dancing with him has been the most special thing she has ever experienced. She danced with Damian for years and it never felt like the first time Luke put her long, strong hands on her waist and pulled her close to him. She can only hope to feel that way again one day.

“You are my one and only, firecracker. We’ll find a way, neither of us is a quitter.”

They say that actions are worth a thousand words, and Luke had definitely missed his first chance to show Y/N that he was serious about them by not getting in time to wish her good luck before she left with the group to the city of the competition, a few hours from there. He couldn't help but feel more miserable when he returned to the studio and found a small yellow sheet in his journal.

“You got this, rockstar. I have so much faith in you, so go make me proud. And I don’t want you feeling guilty, okay? I always want to see you shine, baby, no matter what. Your firecracker, Y/N.” Luke laughs softly, dazzled by her attempt to be sweet. If she trusts him so much, why doesn't he return the favor? She assured him they could win and when she says something, she follows through.

Why ruin his life with all of Bobby's ridiculous demands while ditching his girl in the process when he can go sing with her and do band things their way, without selling their soul to the devil. He sits on the couch thinking about what to say to the boys when they both rush in and pick him up, one from his feet and the other from his arms.

“What the hell are you two planning this time?” Luke sounds annoyed but does nothing to stop them from moving him, they throw him into the back of the car and he hits his head, getting him to kick them before they close the door.

"I'm not going to let her down again, I can’t."

"Yeah, and surely we can win, the number is spectacular... do you understand what I did there?”

Alex rolls his eyes and Luke smiles. They drive at full speed to Luke’s for him to take all his things and when he returns to the car, stands thoughtfully by the window.

“What are you doing?!” Alex is not having it, looks like a vein is going to burst from stress any second now.

“Do you think we’ll make it?” Questioned the guitarist, clearly nervous.

“If you stop asking stupid as fuck questions and get in the car, maybe.” Luke pouts but listens and finishes loading everything in the trunk.

The road is full of music to try to calm all the nerves, there was also plenty of time to rehearse the number over and over again, Luke analyzing in his mind every move he had to make, from time to time his bossy girl correcting him in his head. The only difficult thing was probably changing into the costumes, especially for Alex.

They arrive directly to register and the band turns pale when they hear the powerful and breathtaking voice of the singer who is playing her solo right now, a heavenly version of 'Never enough’. By the time they are ready to go, the main number has already started, the imposing woman in the very center of the stage with one of the boys of the group, who although does not have the voice of the guitarist, is making a good effort. Damian is on the other side, staring at her with a superiority smirk and Luke can't help but want to punch him.

“I never realized how anyone could make everything so right, I was so sad, you brought me back.” Alex quickly indicates to him how to enter the stage from the back, and Luke prepares to jump in time for the chorus, taking care of not being seen as he climbs the platform. The song is an old pop-rock song from the 80s, specifically chosen to make the guitarist's voice shine. He and his firecracker sat listening to music for hours until they finally found it, the girl's eyes shining with excitement as she imagined all she could do with the potential of the melody.

“You give me something to believe in, after all that we've been through.” He appears on the platform just in time, the lights and smoke coming out right in his grand entrance. Y/N turns immediately upon hearing her voice and he dances his way towards her.

“The love you give, it all comes back to you. You give me something to believe in, you can see the real me. And here with you is where I'm meant to be.” both singing together the remainder of the chorus and dancing to the beat. The biggest smile he has seen in his girl since he met her on her beautiful face. With that he feels satisfied with his decision, whatever happens, win or lose, it was worth it.

“And here we are together side by side, and nothing seems impossible tonight.” the duet between them is electrifying as always, he puts his hands on her thighs and lifts her with ease, both of them moving and enjoying themselves as if they were the only ones in the place. The dance ends as the first time they danced in the auditorium when he showed her that he was the right option, he holds her with one arm, their lips inches from touching but holding the magnetism back for a few more seconds until finally leave the stage.

As soon as they are backstage Y/N throws herself at Luke, wrapping her legs around his hips and devouring his lips with hers. “Someone missed me.” Luke whispers catching his breath.

"I can't believe you guys did this for me." Expressed the girl as she turns to see her other two friends, still wrapped around Luke who has her tightly held with his huge arms around her butt.

“We trust you as much as you trust us. We know that you will win, you worked like nobody for this moment.” Affirmed the blonde, giving her a small kiss on the forehead.

“I feel like I won already.” And she did. She won the trophy, the money for the demo, friends, and a ridiculously gorgeous rockstar who drove her crazy in more ways than one. All this years working hard were finally worth it... and Damian throwing a tantrum in the middle of the stage felt good too, not gonna lie.

“When are you going to ask me to be your boyfriend? As much as I love you more than anything, a man has to have some pride, you know? We've been together for like 5 months and I'm getting desperate.” They are both lying together on the girl's bed, their legs intertwined as he makes little circles with his fingers on his girl's stomach.

She raises her head resting her hand on his bare chest, her thoughts impossible to read. What are you talking about? I'm waiting for you to ask me!” He chuckles, prepared to tease her. “Bu-”she interrumpts him, pushing the hand that is resting on him to sit down. “Ba-”

“Wait a second, Lucas!” He bites his lip, he never liked being called by his name but for some reason it sounds incredibly sensual when she says it. “Yeah, baby?”

“D- did you say you love me?”

“I did, and I do. Everybody knows you've got me trapped in your claws.” He jokes to make her laugh, and he succeeds.

“I love you too, so much.”

“I know baby.” He winks teasingly at her. “Returning to the topic, you are the most bossy and confident person I have ever met, and you want to tell me that you were waiting for me to take the first step? Doesn’t sound like my firecracker. You literally pretended to be a sunset curve super fan to get my attention.”

"I totally did, I was awesome, first thing next day you were at the auditorium.” She says proud while Luke rolls his eyes with a smile. “But if it makes you feel better, I'm 100% a fan now, and...You are completely right, for once.”

She takes a deep breath, intertwining her fingers with his. “Lucas Patterson, I want you, if we're being honest, probably from the first time I saw you at that Sunset Curve gig we met at. You are annoying, cocky, passionate, and I love you with all my heart. Be my boyfriend... please.”

“There it is, that’s my girlfriend.” His eyes full of lust after hearing that she wanted him from the first night, he draws her closer to him to push his lips against hers, his girlfriend's tongue quickly dancing with his.

"Oh my god, we already talked about this, close the damn window, I don't want to hear it!” The blonde cries from his balcony, the couple can't help but laugh before joining their lips again.

Thank you for reading ✨

Taglist: @writerinlearning, @ghostofmgg @strangerthanfanfiction713 @thebloodthirstyvampress, @kinda-really-lost, @kcd15, @magnet-girl, @aliandthephantoms, @stxrkspidey, @pinkrockstar19, @s0uz4s, @shycupcakealissa @cookiebuba, @fangirlangioma, @sageellsworth05, @twist3dtinkerbell, @sunsetcurvenotsunsetswerve, @caitsymichelle13, @ifilwtmfc @luckylouiebug, @bibliophilewednesday, @totomoshi, @siennanoelle01, @lunashadow6955, @bookfrog247, @morganayennefertyrell, @kiss-themoongoodbye, @rachelle3musicals, @imsydneywalker, @really-dont-forget-it @agentstarkid @talksoprettyjjx @kaitieskidmore1 @lukeys-giggle @katie-navarro @crybabyddl @cocopuffs0211 @marvel-ousnesss @txrii @tuttigunner @dpaccione @justalittleweirdoo @mrstodorooki @averyharrypotterlife

[weloveharrypotter]

She Chose You, Moony Pt. 3

Paring: Young!Remus Lupin x Baby!Reader

Summary: The marauders plus Lily were strolling the Hogsmede village when they heard a cry. That’s when they find an abandoned baby. That baby takes quite the liking on Remus.

Warnings: might be cussing, it’s kinda long

It was now the next day, around 1pm. Remus laid in bed with Y/n and had noticed she smelled quite a bit. He sighed as he realized he would need to go shopping.

He placed the napping Y/n on the bed, and started to change. Once he was ready he looked over at Y/n, and noticed she started to wake up.

“Hello sweetheart.” Remus said picking her up. Thats when James and Sirius came into the room.

“Hey guys.” Remus said.

“Hey, where are you going?” Sirius asked.

“Well I need to buy her stuff. Like clothes, food, soap, diapers.” Remus explained.

“Ooh, I’ll come.” James said.

“You want to come shopping?” Remus said.

“Yeah, I have to shop for her too.” James said.

“You don’t have to get her-.” “Yes I do. What kind of uncle would I be if I didn’t spoil her.” James said.

“Right, gotta make sure my niece gets all the toys in the world.” Sirius said chiming in. Remus chuckled at his two best mates behavior.

“Alright than. Might as well invite Lily.” Remus said as he picked up Y/n.

“You go ask we’ll be there in a minute.” James said. Remus nodded and left with Y/n.

Remus managed to sneak to the girls dorm and knocked on the door. The door opened and instead of it being Lily, it was Marlene.

“Remus why the fuck do you have a baby?” She asked.

Remus than proceed to explain the events that took place the past day and 1/2.

“Well, that’s adorable. Why’d you stop by?” She asked.

“Oh, I was going talk to Lily.” Remus said.

“Right. Lily!” Marlene called.

“Yeah?” Lily called back.

“Remus is here.” She said stepping away.

Lily walked out of the bathroom and came into view, than walked over.

“Hey.” She said.

“Hey, do you want to come shopping with Sirius, James, and I.” Remus asked.

“I’d love to, let me put my shoes on though.” Lily answered before turning away.

————————

The marauders plus Lily were now in a muggle shop. Lily insisted it would be far easier for them. They put Y/n in a cart, and looked around the shop.

Despite it being easier in a muggle shop, none of the teens knew where to start. Soon enough they found the baby section.

“What the fuck.” Remus whispered to himself.

“Alright, what’s first on the list?” Lily asked.

“Diapers.” Remus informed. They walked over to the diapers. And looked at the various options.

“Need any help?” They heard a woman asked.

“Uh, yes thank you.” Remus said.

“No problem.” The lady said walking over. She looked over and pulled off a brand he never heard of.

“These are what I used for mine.” He said handing.

“Thank you.” Remus said. “Do you think you could help with some other things too.” Remus asked.

“Of course.” The lady said.

From there on the lady had pulled somethings off the shelf that the baby would need.

—————

“And that’s it for the necessities. The toys are right here, and down that isle is the clothes. I would do the clothes last because even though you think I’d be the toys that would be the most fun to get, it’s really the clothes.” The lady informed.

“Thank you so much.” Remus said.

“No problem, have a nice day.” She said and walked off.

“So toys.” James said. They walked over and started to look around. Remus heard a whine and looked down at Y/n. She was making the grabby arm motioning for him to pick her up.

“No, not right now.” Remus said. That’s when Y/n dropped her hands and started to cry.

“No, no, no, no. I’m sorry. Here I’ll pick you up.” Remus said as he rushed to unbuckle the buckle that was attached to the cart.

He lifted her up and avoided the crying.

“See your fine.” He said. Lily had walked back over with a wolf, black dog, and deer stuffed animals.

“Oh that’s amazing.” Remus said as lily put them in the cart.

“I know.” She said with a chuckle.

“What?” James asked as he turned around. Once he spotted them he smiled. Remus noticed a cute stuffed bear that Y/n would enoy. But only he could reach it.

Which ment someone else needed to hold Y/n. His first thought was lily because she didn’t cry when in her arms, but he saw lily had wandered off. He sighed.

“Hey Prongs.” Remus said.

“Yup, moony?” James said grabbing some things, and putting them in the cart.

“I need you to hold Y/n.” He said. James stopped and turned around. And so did Sirius.

“We saw how that worked last time.” James said.

“I know but, There’s a bear I like and I’m the only one that could reach it.” He said. James sighed before nodding.

“Ok.” James sighed. Remus slowly moved Y/n away from him, and into James’ arms. She didn’t cry, and they waited a moment to be sure.

“Ok... ok.” Remus said gaining confidence and backing up. Remus than went to go grab the bear.

James looked down at the baby in his arms and smiled. She smiled back.

“Your adorable.” He said going to kiss her nose. As he leaned in, Y/n grabbed his hair.

“Oh, ow.” He said. He went to pull her hands off but, damn, did she have a tight grip.

“Come on, let go. Hey, pads help.” James said. Sirius chuckled and tried to help, but neither could get her to budge.

Remus got the teddy bear and put it in the cart before noticing what happened. He chuckled and walked over. James gave her back and Remus took over trying to pull her away.

“Ok it’s time to let go.” Remus said pulling her hand. After a minute or two they got her to let go.

“Your gunna be a stubborn one.” Remus said. He put her back in the cart, and buckled her in. After another minute in the toy section they headed to clothes.

Lily already had two outfits picked out. This is when the group lost themselves. They picked out things she’d look cute in, pajamas, mini outfits of ones they had, and even tried their hardest to make a outfit that looked like the quidditch uniform.

Once they were done they went to the check out. The cashier scanned everything and put it into bags.

“That’ll be £173.32.” The cashier said. Remus sighed. Before Remus could even pull out his card James’ money was out, and in the cashiers hand.

“I can’t let you pay, where did you even get the money?” Remus asked.

“Too bad I’m paying. And what do you think I was doing at the bank.?” James said. Remus gave him a face, and James returned it.

Once the transaction was over, they all left.

—————

They all had gotten back from shopping and the guys went back to the dorm, and lily went to here’s.

“Alright, first order of business, bath.” Remus said.

“I’ll go start it.” Said James.

“I’ll go get a towel.” Sirius said.

After that was done it was now time to undress her. Remus started to take her clothes off and carried her to the bathroom.

Once he was sure the temperature was good he placed Y/n in. Remus spread around some toys as Sirius and James took a picture of them.

“Gotta remember the first bath.” Sirius said. Remus chuckled.

——————

It was now after the shower and it was time to put on a diaper. Remus laid Y/n on top of the towel, and got the materials ready.

“Ok, so I know you wipe.” Remus said as he wiped her with a baby wipe.

“Than you do baby powder, and that you put the diaper on.” Remus continued.

“But how?” Sirius asked.

“We’ll figure it out.” James said.

Remus sighed and put the baby powder on and than put the diaper under you. After a couple failed attempts by each, Remus finally got it right.

“There we go.” Remus said.

“Now for pajamas.” He said pulling out some options.

“We all have pants similar to thoose.” James said pointing to the red and gold plaid pants.

“We do. I guess we’ll match tonight then.” Remus said. “No for the top.” He said.

“How about that white t shirt.” Sirius suggested.

“White t shirt it is.” Remus said as he started to dress her. He smiled down at Y/n. They all just looked at her in awe.

“We’re obviously matching her right?” James asked.

“Yeah.” Remus and Sirius said. The three boys quickly changed into the same plaid pants and white t shirt.

Once they were changed Remus gave Y/n a toy, and climbed in bed next to her. There was a knock on the door.

“Come in.” The boys said. The door opened and revealed Lily.

“Hey.” James said.

“Hey.” She replied. “I came to say good night to the little one.” She said coming in. She walked over and gave her a hug.

“And nothing for me?” James asked. Lily chuckled and walked over. She kissed him and turned back around.

“I love you.” James said.

“I love you too.” Lily responded walking out.

Remus than pulled out paper and ink and quill.

“Are you writing an owl?” Sirius asked. Remus nodded.

“I’m going to ask my mom and dad to come in next week on Saturday.” Remus admitted.

“Your dads not going to be happy.” Sirius said. Remus sighed.

“I know.” He replied. Than he looked over at Y/n happily playing with a toy.

“But your very worth it.” Remus said.

——————

(A/N): thanks for reading the next update will be up tomorrow, thank you for reading. As of right now my requests are open, just message me. 😊

[vengfulfate]

The Malachite's Shady Past

Canon to 'Both of Them, and Only Them'

Melanie and Miltiades are on edge as the team arrives in Mistral. A past they would rather forget becomes unavoidable, and Ruby learns more about her girls than any of them expect.

AN - When I ended 'Both of Them, and Only Them' I stated that I may make one-shots in this continuity if I can think of scenes worth exploring. This is one of those one-shots.

---

Jaune, Ren, Nora, Ruby, and the Malachite twins followed Ruby’s uncle Qrow out of a tunneled walkway and into a crowded marketplace filled with as many cheery, colorful people as it was filled with dark corners for slightly shadier transactions. “The City of Mistral.” Qrow introduced the city the group with an exaggerated flourish with him arms.

“About time!” The ever boisterous Nora proclaimed. “Seriously, whose idea was it to walk again?” she continued, staring pointedly at Ruby.

Ruby nervously rubbed the back of her head. “Well, it’s not like there were any airships out of Vale at the time… and I seriously though it would only take a few weeks.”

“At the same time,” Melanie picked up, “you really thought it would only take a few weeks?”

“Hey! Aren’t you supposed to be on my side?” Ruby frowned.

“Maybe once my feet stop hurting,” Melanie teased.

“Oh, well…” Ruby stuttered. “I could, um… give you a foot massage? Isn’t that a thing couples do? Or would that be weird?”

Qrow interrupted, “what’s weird is you discussin’ that right next to the rest us. Save it for the hotel.”

“Right,” Ruby nodded, turning bright red.

“Sooo…” Jaune cut in, desperate to change the subject, “how much further to Haven Academy?”

“Almost there,” Qrow informed them, “but I figured I’d take you kids on the scenic route.”

“But I’ve already got my tour guides!” Ruby boasted proudly.

“You do!?” Nora replied loudly.

“Mel and Miltia were born here,” Ruby confirmed.

“Really?” Jaune asked, his brow cocking. This was the first any of them heard of it their entire hike here.

“Well, yes,” Miltiades answered tentatively.

“But it’s been a few years since we left,” Melanie continued for her sister.

“Years? Musta left pretty young,” Qrow deduced. “Are you orphans or something?”

The twins’ gazes deterred, clearly uncomfortable with the line of questioning.

“That was a little blunt, Qrow,” Ren lightly scolded in his calm tones, less to reprimand Qrow and more to support the twins’ silence.

“Sorry,” Qrow played along.

The group continued forward, talking about the city. Seeing the chance of a quiet moment, Ruby fell behind a bit for a small semblance of privacy with her girlfriends. “Hey, are you two okay?”

“We’re fine, Ruby,” Melanie smiled.

But Ruby could tell it was a little forced. “You know you can talk to me, right? Even if you don’t… it’s okay to not be okay.”

“I promise, Ruby, we-” Melanie was suddenly stopped by Miltiades. The twins had one of their infamous silent conversations that ended with Melanie sighing. “It’s… a lot to take in. Being back here. Maybe we’ll elaborate later, but not in the street.”

“Whatever makes you feel comfortable,” Ruby assured. The young redhead then decided on a joke to break the tension, “Maybe we can talk while I practice my foot massage?”

It succeeded in bringing a small smile to Melanie’s and Miltiades’s faces. “We’ll see, Gem.”

A few streets later another shadow fell over Miltiades face. “What is it now?” Ruby asked, following her girlfriend’s line of sight to some nearby graffiti in the shape of a spider. “What’s that?”

The twins shared another concerned look. “It’s a gang sign,” Miltiades finally answered.

“And not a good one,” Melanie added. “We should probably catch up with the rest of the group.”

The twins cast a sly look backwards, looking for anyone following them. To their relief, they spotted no one. Unfortunately, that was only because their tail had already broken off, eager to deliver the information they had gained.

---

Things at Haven Academy did not go nearly as well as Qrow had hoped. A fact that sent the aged Huntsmen to the bars while everyone else went back to their hotel. It was a spacious booking, with rooms aplenty and a common area for the group. The twins and Ruby picked a room to settle in, and after months camping as a group on the road, they cherished the opportunity to cuddle alone behind closed doors.

Ruby was the first to break the silence. “So… you two don’t have to say anything… but we are alone now?”

Melanie sighed.

Ruby winced. “I’m sorry…”

“It’s not you,” Melanie assured. “It’s just not happy memories.”

Ruby shifted until she was sitting up with her back against the headboard. “Do you not like being back…?”

Melanie was unsure how to respond. Miltiades ended up being the one to answer, “we like being with you, wherever you are.”

“I’m sorry if I seem pushy,” Ruby continued. “It’s just that when Qrow said… what he said… it made me realize I don’t know anything about before you moved to Vale.”

“You’re right,” Melanie snapped, “you are being pushy.” The brasher twin suddenly stood up and marched out onto the room’s private balcony.

“Mel!” Miltiades called after her sister. Ruby shrank and emotionally folded in on herself, making the milder twin frown. “She’s not mad at you, okay?”

“She seems mad at me,” Ruby countered.

“Let me go talk to her,” Miltiades offered, standing up herself. “We’ll be right back.” Miltiades didn’t like leaving Ruby alone in her poor mood, but this conversation was one the twins had to have, sooner rather than later. She stepped out onto the windy balcony, noting how much ambient noise the door managed to block. She saw her sister leaning on the railing by the far edge. “Are you okay?”

“I just… wasn’t expecting this to come up,” Melanie explained.

“You thought we could get into and out of Mistral without it ever coming up?” Miltiades pointed out.

“Well, I didn’t know how long we’d be here!” Melanie defended. “I was hoping for an afternoon, maybe. In and out and on to the next place…”

“Even if it was years down the road, she would have asked us about our history eventually,” Miltiades argued. “And… I think she deserves to know.”

“I know that,” Melanie sighed. “But what do we say? ‘Our mom is a dead crime boss and the Spider gang are the ones who killed her’?”

“Maybe not be so blunt…” Miltiades added nervously. “But we have to say something. With everything else going on… the last thing she needs to worry about is us.”

Melanie sighed again, her face dropping into her hands. “Alright… just… give me a minute to mentally prepare.”

Miltiades nodded and reentered. Ruby hadn’t moved, and her mood hadn’t improved either. She looked up, quickly noting that Miltiades was alone. “So she is mad at me…”

“No, it’s just a difficult subject,” Miltiades assured. “She just wants a minute to compose herself.”

Ruby nodded. Miltiades sat back on the edge of the bed, the anticipation for the coming conversation raised her nerves as well.

All the pair could do was stay silent while they waited. And waited. And waited… Eventually, Ruby broke the silence, “did she say how long she would take?”

“No,” Miltiades shook her head, “but it shouldn’t have been this long…” The timid twin slowly stepped back out onto the balcony. The empty balcony. Instead of Melanie, there was only a piece of paper pinned to railing where she had been a moment before.

“Oh no…” Miltiades bolted over to the paper. Reading it made her heart drop. She gazed hard into the darkening surroundings as dusk turned to night. “MELANIE!”

The shout had Ruby dashing out onto balcony. “What’s wrong?” Ruby’s trained eyes were distracted a glint on the balcony floor. She knelt down to pick up a tranquilizer dart. She stood back up and turned to Miltiades. “Where’s Melanie?”

Miltiades didn’t speak, she only held out the paper. A note signed with the image of a spider.

Miltiades Malachite,

The Spider’s Web

One hour

Bring the redhead

---

Ruby and Miltiades gathered the others in the common room to update the lot. Nora and Ren looked concerned. Jaune looked angry. Qrow was conspicuously absent.

“Why on earth would they do this?” Nora asked after the explanation.

“I don’t know,” Miltiades answered.

“Are you certain?” Ren followed up. “The two of you have been nervous since we got to the city.”

“Does this have anything to do with what you two wanted to talk to me about?” Ruby tacked on.

Miltiades bit her lip. “We do have a… past, with the Spiders. But that’s all it is! The past!” she quickly assured. “I really don’t know why they would attack us now! They have no reason too,” Militades turned to her girlfriend before adding, “I promise.”

“And what about the part where they want Ruby to come?” Jaune pointed out. “That Tyrian guy wanted to kidnap Ruby. What if this is about our enemies?”

“We need Qrow,” Nora added.

“But where is Qrow?” Miltiades questioned.

It was Ruby’s turn to sigh heavily. “If he’s not back already, he’ll be no help by now.”

“We have to do something!” Miltiades urged. “What will they do to her if we don’t show up!?”

“So what, the five of us just go our own? To face Mistral’s most powerful street gang?” Jaune shook his head.

“And why not!?” Nora jumped up. “Just a week ago we killed a massive, terrifying Grimm no one else had ever even seen before! We can handle a few thugs!”

“I… wasn’t serious, Nora,” Jaune clarified.

“Well I was!” Nora stood her ground.

“We needn’t fight,” Ren pointed out. “We merely need to secure Melanie and escape.”

“But not fighting is boring,” Nora whined.

“Nora,” Ren lightly scolded.

Ruby crossed her arms. “Miltia is right, though. We have to do something. And Qrow’s not gunna be able to help, so it has to be us.”

Jaune groaned. “This is a bad idea. But I don’t think we’re gunna find a better one, so… let’s go.”

---

It didn’t take long to find The Spider’s Web. It was a bar in one of the city’s lower tiers, mainly populated by people who had no where else to go and staffed by the Spider Gang itself. It was more a base of operations hidden in plain sight rather than an actual drinking establishment. A fact made all the more clear by the small army of people guarding the entrance as the group approached.

A girl near the front took a step forward to greet them. “You can stow the grimaces, we just wanna talk.”

“Talk!?” Miltiades shouted, “and what, kidnapping my sister was a polite invitation!?”

“Would a cordial letter have convinced you to come?” The girl pointed out. “Look, we don’t want a fight. You’ll all be free to go after my boss has said her piece. Scout’s honor.”

“Like you’ve ever been a scout,” Jaune shot off.

The girl gave him an amused look. “I bet that sounded a lot more macho in your head, huh? But I get it.” She turned to Ruby, “as a show of good faith, we’ll even let you keep your weapons. But only you two are coming in, and after my boss says her piece this will all be over. No bloodshed.”

“You’ll think we’ll let you just separate us!?” Nora shouted.

The girl rolled her eyes. “I think you don’t have much room to negotiate. We’ve been generous enough letting you keep your weapons. You want the girl back, these are rules.”

Ruby thought for a moment before speaking up. “Two questions.”

“Can’t promise I’ll answer, but go ahead,” the girl conceded.

“Do the names Cinder or Tyrian mean anything to you?” Ruby asked first.

The girl flashed a confused look. “No?”

“And Salem?” Ruby questioned next.

“Isn’t that a movie character?” The girl responded, scratching her head.

Ruby searched the girl’s eyes for any hint of a lie, and found none. “Alright, we’ll follow your rules.”

“Are you sure, Ruby?” Ren asked.

“Just be ready,” the young leader told them. “If you so much as hear a plate drop, all bets are off.”

“We’ll be sure to give the clumsy waitress the night off,” the girl joked. “Come on, you two.”

---

Miltiades and Ruby were led into bar. It was full of Spider gang members, barring one familiar figure seated at a table near the back wall. “Melanie!”

The captured twin spun around at the sound of her name. “Miltia? Ruby? What are you two doing here?”

“Getting you, of course!” Miltiades hugged her sister as though she would vanish again if she let go.

The formally trained Ruby was the one to ask, “are you okay?”

“A little lightheaded from whatever they shot me up with,” Melanie answered. “Other than that, they’ve been treating me surprisingly well. But how did you two find me?”

“We were invited,” Melanie told her. “Apparently, the boss wants a word.”

“With us and Ruby?” Melanie found it hard to believe. “Why?”

“‘Why’ is a good question,” Ruby crossed her arms. “For example, ‘why’ do you two have a ‘history’ with a gang?”

Melanie’s fists clenched. The softer hearted Miltiades once again had to pick up the slack. “Our mother was a big player in Mistral’s underworld. The Spider’s were her lifelong enemies.”

“You told Yang you didn’t get involved in stuff like that,” Ruby reminded them.

“And we don’t!” Miltiades assured.

“When we were children, we didn’t know any better,” Melanie explained. “As we grew older, we realized we didn’t like watching over our shoulders all the time. People around us were constantly being hurt.”

“Or doing the hurting,” Miltiades added.

Ruby’s stance softened as she took in the story. “So… you two moved to Vale alone… and a moment ago you said ‘was’ when talking about your mom…”

“She disappeared,” Melanie elaborated. “Around the same time, the Spider’s started combing the streets. They were even spotted in the upper tiers, all the way up to the academy. We didn’t so much move to Vale as we escaped there.”

“We didn’t want to believe the rumors at first,” Miltiades picked up. “But the longer without so much a letter… it’s pretty obvious what happened.”

“I’m disappointed, girls. I thought I taught you better…”

The voice made the twins freeze. Ruby turned a curious eye to the source. A broadly built woman stepped out of the back room wearing a simple yet clearly expensive ball gown with open shoulders showing a spider tattoo on one of them. She approached the table with a wide smirk on her face. “Always confirm the body.”

The spell broke, and Melanie leapt up from her seat with an angry “You!?”

The woman let out a single chuckle. “Me.”

Ruby was utterly lost. “Who?”

Miltiades finally unfroze herself, though still couldn’t tear her eyes away from the Spider’s boss. “That’s…” she couldn’t finish the sentence.

The woman turned to Ruby to introduce herself. “My friends call me Lil’ Miss. These two, however, call me ‘mother’.”

---

The awkward silence after that little reveal persisted long enough for everyone to be seated and served surprisingly well made food. Only the mother touched their dish. The girls were either feeling to awkward (Miltiades), too angry (Melanie), or just too confused (Ruby) to think about eating. “Well, it’s not going to bite you,” the mother Malachite chuckled. “Eat up!”

“Why?” Melanie asked.

“What else do you do with food?” Lil’ Miss joked.

“I mean, why are you here?” Melanie’s hand slammed the table. “Why gather us? Why… just why!?”

“I heard you were in town,” Lil’ Miss told her, “and I missed my girls! I am sorry about the methodology, but I knew you two wouldn’t trust a Spider’s courier.”

“Did you really think that we would just treat this like a happy family reunion?” Melanie scoffed.

The mother slowly lowered her fork. “Perhaps that is a little optimistic of me. Very well, I’m sure you have questions.”

“Why did you never tell us you were alive?” Miltiades jumped in right away.

“Did you think it was a secret you two wanted out?” Lil’ Miss asked in turn. “My disappearance was part of an elaborate plan to take control of the Spiders. I launched an attack, then vanished. The spread themselves thin trying to follow every rumor I planted.” She smirked, “too thin. Next thing they knew their leadership was gone and it was either join me or join them.”

Ruby shuddered at the implication.

“Anyways,” Lil’ Miss continued, “one of those false rumors reached your own ears. By the time the plan was finished, you two had already left. Like I said, I knew you wanted out, so I let you be. I figured contactin’ you would only complicate your lives in ways you were tryin’ to escape.”

Melanie scoffed again. “Are you seriously trying to say you let us think you were dead because you cared?”

“I resent that accusation,” Lil’ Miss frowned. “I may not have been the best mother to you girls, but you are my flesh and blood. How do you think you got that job with Junior, hm? After everyone else turned you down, somehow the less-reputable man was the one eager to hire you?”

“I thought it was because of his nature he took a chance on us,” Miltiades admitted.

“Well, I couldn’t order him to take you in,” Lil’ Miss clarified, “but he did hear one hell of a recommendation.”

“And you’ve been keeping an eye on us ever since?” Melanie questioned.

“Of course,” Lil’ Miss nodded. “It broke my heart when Beacon fell. With the communications down, I couldn’t check up on you. I was worried sick. When a Spider spotted the three of you in the markets, I knew I had to see you.”

“The three of us?” Ruby caught.

Lil’ Miss’s smile returned. “What mother isn’t interested the person that captures their children’s hearts? Circumstances aside, it is nice to finally meet you, Ruby Rose.”

“Um, it’s nice to meet you too?” Ruby returned unsurely.

“I’m sure it isn’t, but I appreciate your kindness,” Lil’ Miss responded honestly. “I just hope you’re treating my girls alright.”

“Better than you ever did,” Melanie jabbed.

Lil’ Miss frowned once more. “I suppose I do deserve that one. I told myself I was doing it so you two wouldn’t struggle in life. I didn’t see how it was affecting you in the then and there.”

The topic ran dry, and the awkward silence returned. “Are you going to eat?” Lil’ Miss eventually asked.

“Do we have a choice?” Melanie asked.

Lil’ Miss sighed. “You can leave anytime you want.”

“Good,” Melanie stood.

“But please,” Lil’ Miss insisted. “Just humor me. One meal with my daughters…”

Melanie only stopped to spare her mother a dirty look before continuing to the door.

“Wait!” Ruby called out.

Melanie stopped. “You’re going to defend her? She’s a crook, Ruby, you basically just heard her admit to killing people!”

“Well, I know if my mom came back to life I wouldn’t care what she’s been doing the last ten years,” Ruby pointed out. “Well… I mean I would, but… you know what I’m saying.”

Miltiades shook her head. “Your mother was a saving people by day, baking cookies by night super-mom. Ours isn’t exactly in the same league.”

“But…”

“Ms. Rose,” Lil’ Miss interrupted. “I appreciate what you’re saying, but the girls are right. I only have myself to blame for their opinion of me.” She stood to face Melanie eye-to-eye, “but if you ever change your minds, I’ll be right here.”

Ruby frowned. She couldn’t say she understood, but she knew it wasn’t her choice.

“C’mon,” Miltiades took their girlfriend’s arm to guide her out. “We have people waiting for us anyways. I’m surprised Nora hasn’t already started breaking legs.”

The scene in front of the bar hadn’t changed much, an eerily still standoff with all people in the same places as a half an hour ago. “See?” The girl guard from before spoke to Jaune, “your friends are safe.”

“What happened?” Jaune asked the three of them.

The twins stayed silent. Ruby only responded with a, “just… don’t ask.”

Jaune was perplexed, but more than that he was happy that his friends were safe, so he took the advice and didn’t question it.

---

When the group got back to the hotel, they were greeted by the sight of a drunk Qrow and a farmhand with familiar eyes. “Where the hell have you all been!?” Qrow slurred.

“Where were we? Where were you!” Jaune countered. “We coulda used your help two hours ago!”

“I…” Qrow started firmly before a grin spread across his drunk face, “…found him.”

“Found who, the kid?” Nora asked.

“I found him…” Qrow chuckled and then practically cheered, “I found him!”

“He’s talking about me,” the kid confirmed.

“And you are?” Jaune questioned.

“Well, you might this hard to believe, but in a way… I am-”

“Nope,” Ruby interrupted, b-lining toward the farmhand. “No, no, no, no, no, no.” She repeated the word until she reached the boy and planted her hand over his mouth. “We have had a very long night. Some,” she gestured to the twins, “longer than others. I don’t think we’re ready for yet another head-spinning revelation, so please, is there any way this can wait for tomorrow?”

The boy looked from side to side, as though listening for something, before slowly nodding.

“Thank you!” Ruby sighed in relief. “Girls, let’s go cuddle.” Melanie opened her mouth, only to be cut of as well, “and before you say you’re not in the mood, I remind you that I am an expert in cuddles, and after that, you two definitely need some.”

Melanie chucked and smiled. “I was going to say cuddles sound nice,” she assured. The twins followed Ruby upstairs, finally, to some proper peace and quiet.

---

A few days later, Lil’ Miss was starting her day with the newspaper. She read about how a group of faunus straight from Menagerie stopped the White Fang from carrying out a terrorist attack on Haven Academy. She also knew Ruby, and by extension her daughters, had business in Haven that night. She wondered if the two events were connected.

As she mused over the printed word, a customer entered her bar. A giant monster of a man, tanned, and with rather magnificent mutton chops. “Looking for information?”

“People,” the man corrected in deep tones. He tossed forward a few pictures. Lil’ Miss was an expert in hiding her emotions, which came in handy as she recognized the people in an instant. Ruby Rose and the people she was travelling with.

“Come back in a day or two,” Lil’ Miss told him.

“A day or two?” The man questioned.

Lil’ Miss shook her head. “There are a lot of people in Mistral. I only keep eyes on the important ones. These people are not important. It will take me time to gather the info, but trust me, I will find them.”

“Very well. Two days.” The man left without another word.

The same girl that traded barbs with Jaune a few days before turned to Lil’ Miss. “I assume we won’t be telling him they’re headed for Atlas?”

“Of course not,” Lil’ Miss answered. “But we have two days to make a believable lie. I hear Vacuo is nice this time of year.”

“People don’t like being sold false info,” the girl pointed out.

“Then we won’t sell it,” Lil’ Miss nodded. “We don’t need his money anyways. We just need to steer him clear of my girls. Make sure there’s room for error in the info packet, just in case.”

“Clever, ma’am. I’ll get right to it.” The girl left to perform her duties.

Lil’ Miss looked back down to the pictures, eyes passing over her daughters in turn before settling on Ruby. “What kind of enemies do you have, Ms. Rose? It’s up to you to keep my daughters safe. I hope you’re up to the task.”

---

I understand I just implied something that has to potential to cause much larger changes to RWBY's narrative. That realization, that Lil' Miss might not want to endanger her children, is precisely what I wanted to acknowledge here. However, I have neither the creativity nor the investment to follow a full fic exploring those changes. So I apologize, but this will remain a one-shot.

[br4inr0tx]

Oh wait I’m so sorry, I didn’t realise you did up to 2 fandoms matchups so can I resubmit, please?

I was wondering if I could request a BNHA/ Haikyuu matchup, please?

I am a 5”4 female, I have a preference for guys but wouldn’t object to a girl. I’m an INTJ-A, 3w5, Capricorn sun, Leo arising, Cancer moon. My top love language is acts of service and the bottom one (I think it was like only 9%) was words of affirmation. I’m an introverted extrovert- I CAN thrive around people but it takes a lot to actually make me leave the house in the first place.

I’m a relatively sporty person, I go on runs/ hikes/ bike rides daily and work out most days. I’m a cheerleader (stunt, not sideline), I roller skate, I like volleyball, gym, martial arts etc. I’m an acting student and have done a bit of professional movie work. I like to play video games on PC, Switch and PS4- I also twitch stream. I like writing & reading, love the beach. I was a bit of an overachiever and would get straight A’s and stuff in school.

I’m ambitious, kind of argumentative (but can admit when I’m wrong for the most part), will fight anyone. Not really good at responding to emotions but I try my best, my responses are: “1. Do you need me to fight someone? 2. Do you want advice? 3. Do you want like? A hug or something? 4. Ok? So get over it.”

Anyway, thank you in advance if you do respond <3

No problem! I was in school when you sent this so I apologize if it took me a minute to get to it.

Your Boku No Hero Academia matchup is..Izuku Midoriya !!

So, Midoriya here isn’t always the best at saying how he feels aloud. He’s gotten better at it recently, but that doesn’t mean he stutters from time to time when it comes to talking to people. Especially girls I find.

I’d say instead of saying it forwardly, he’s more of the type to just give you flowers with a note made by him to tell you how much he loves you.

I’d say Midoriya is a introvert-extrovert as well. He warms up to people first before really becoming good friends with them. He’s worried they might not be the right crew for him, or if they’ll just hurt him in the end.

Sporty person? So is Deku! He’s always there to cheer you on and tell you you’re doing great with everything you do.

You can be his cheerleader, doing flips and cheering him on that he’s a great hero. He’s built up confidence over the hero corse but he still needs that little reassurance. It makes him feel thousands of times better!

Midoriya likes to practice on the beach a lot, especially the one he cleaned up about a year ago. When he does, he likes to bring you with him. You can train with him too if you’re in the hero corse!

Izuku doesn’t play many video games, but when he is taking a moment to breath he’ll play some with you. I think he’d really like PvP games personally.

Imagine you, Midoriya, Todoroki, Tsu, Tenya and Ochaco playing Mario Party together? I’m jealous-

Your argumentative side catches him at first.

He doesn’t see you as the type to respond that way, but saylavee.

He’ll probably speak up for you if you get a little to aggressive.

He can be a little awkward when giving advice too, so don’t worry.

Runners up: Katsuki Bakugou, Shoto Todoroki, Tsuyu Asui

Your Haikyuu!! matchup is..Koshi Sugawara !!

Out of the two of you, I think Suga is the more extroverted one.

Don’t get me wrong, he still has his moments where he doesn’t really know much of what to say. But if your nervous he’ll speak for you.

I don’t think Suga would tell you he likes you forwardly, rather it’d be his team. Specifically Tanaka and Noya.

After you here that he has a crush on you from them, he apologizes and asks if he can walk you home. Such a gentleman-

You like sports? Awesome! As we all know he plays volleyball and if you’d like to play some while chilling on the beach that’d be cool! Probably a date idea for the two of you.

He’s not sure about the cheerleading thing. He’s always stereotyped those girls as a general Cheryl Blossom, or prim and proper person..but your so cool!

When you first show him you doing crazy flips and tricks, he’s gunna lose it. Maybe a bit nervous you might bust your head open.

He’s played games before, and will legit play any with you! Don’t make fun of him if he sucks at a few games though-

Suga is great at giving advice, and is like the mom of his group. If you get into an argumentative mood he’ll step up for you. If you tell him not to, I’m sure he’ll stop but tell you you should take a more calmer approach.

Runners up!!: Kuroo Tetsuro, Asahi Azumane

— coii

[puttingfingerstokeys]

why are you like this?

a wee bit of humor sprinkled with some poignant father-daughter moments. Sequel to reception (which I maintain is the WORST title).

Caged Heat, (again still “aged” heat, even though technically Johnny and Liu are the SAME age--Liu didn’t age so he looks like he’s in his 20s or whatever the fuck)

broken timeline

“Dad where WERE you?” Cassie’s voice held only a note of worry, to which Johnny responded dutifully by putting both hands up in mock surrender.

“Just checkin’ out the Fire Gardens, sweetheart; how many chances do ya get to do that in your life?” He was the picture of collected contentment, having rearranged his garb after Liu Kang rumpled it with his powerful, searching hands and aggressive lips. It was fortunate they’d stopped when they had. 

“Dad… why are you wearing sunglasses?” Her eyes were narrowed, sharp, just like her mother’s and Johnny felt a pang of guilt. This “dad” was distinctly different from the first. 

“Were you toking, Mr. Cage?” Takeda’s voice danced with amusement as he and Jacqui approached, she holding his arm and leaning heavily on him; he carried her shoes while she supported her swelling belly with her other arm. Little Hanzo was nowhere to be seen, but neither parent seemed worried.

“Is that what the kids are calling it… again?” Johnny’s eyes darted about as if searching for a solution to this sudden problem about which he had considered little when Liu Kang’s lips were on his, but in the gentle light and the dark tint of his sunglasses, no one could see.

“I think he was just trying to speak your language; now c’mon, you look stupid,” Cassie interjected, reaching out and, quick as lightning, snapping the shades off her father’s face.

There was an audible gasp from more than one mouth and the silence which followed was palpable.

“I’ll be damned,” came a grunt from near the cocktail bar where Erron Black was handing something sweet-looking to Jin, who did an almost comical double take. “Check them peepers.”

“By the Great Spirit,” Nightwolf whispered in disbelief. Even Fujin seemed more than a little surprised, but did his best to disguise it—the effort was wasted. No one was looking at him. All eyes, every single cognizant pair in the place, were affixed to Johnny Cage and his new set of “peepers”.

“Definitely toking,” Takeda concluded, bumping Cassie’s shoulder with a fistful of shoes, indicating she should probably give her father’s shades back. She did not, holding them tightly, mouth puckered in that way she had just about abandoned when she hit puberty—it came back every once in a while, when she was absolutely overcome and would not be reasoned with on any account. Johnny feared this look.

“Cass’,” Johnny began to explain, but she merely squeezed her fist, crushed his sunglasses and stalked off. One groom slid something into the other’s hand as they, too, emerged from parts unknown, Hanzo bearing his namesake upon his broad shoulders. Neither of them seemed particularly shocked—pun intended—but perhaps nuptial bliss was having an effect.

“I am not calling you Lord Johnny Cage,” said Sub-Zero firmly.

“You will be lord of very little, anyway, if you do not catch your daughter,” advised Scorpion. Johnny nodded numbly and went stumbling after her, wishing he had had just a little more to drink, or maybe a little less, so he could have retained the testicular fortitude to resist… But resist what? It was Raiden’s will that he, Johnny Cage, inherit his divinity and power. He didn’t have much of a choice. You couldn’t refuse something like that, could you? Either way, Johnny hadn’t and would have felt like he was insulting the guy if he had and he was of the opinion that it was idiotic in the extreme to go around insulting gods, especially ones like Raiden. There aren’t any gods like him…

“Cass’! Cassie, wait—Cassie… please, come on… You gotta let me explain this—it’s sudden for me, too!”

She stopped then, a little ways down a path he did not recognize. They were far enough from the gathering, once again, that the sounds were fairly muted, with trees, shrubbery, and walls dividing them. Cassie did not turn, keeping her back to her father, her shoulders rounded, body tense. She was shaking but Johnny knew better than to approach.

“So you’re just gunna leave, like that—mom’s gone and now you just can’t wait to fly the coop, huh dad?” Her voice was acid, venomous, burning and corroding both of them as she spoke. Frozen in place once more, Johnny wondered what in the world he could say that would convince her that he wasn’t simply leaving, flying the coop as she put it. Because in a way, he was.

“Cassie… I’m not—”

“You ARE.” She whirled on him, but did not approach, rage spilling off her in waves. He could almost feel it from here. Any minute, he thought, my baby girl’s gunna start glowin’ green and then I’m really in for it. The urge to laugh hysterically rose up in his guts and he stifled it, though not without effort.

“I’m not,” he said, quietly but with firm authority. He was still her father and if he had to attempt to pull that card to have this discussion, he would do it. “Cassie, I would never just…”

“Then what is this? Huh?” She gestured sharply toward his face and his glowing eyes, the arcs of electricity, now visible in the dimness, beginning to arc and dance nervously over his body, across the lines of his suit, illuminating him in an eerie blue.

“Raiden’s… gone, Cass’… Liu says he’s not dead, but he’s—we’re not gunna see him again; he’s mortal now, like, really mortal and I guess his final request was to give this shit to me. Kid, I don’t want this… I don’t want any of this, but I’m…” He trailed off helplessly, looking down at his hands which he curled into gentle fists and released, watching the sparks fly. “It’s… I have to.”

Cassie watched him, studying her father carefully, eyes blurred with tears. She was certain her carefully-applied eyeliner was running, despite the waterproof label. Furious with Johnny for this affront and at Raiden for bringing it on them, she nevertheless bore that ire in silence for the moment, considering all the thunder god had done for them, and their closeness. He had become a friend and now they would never see him again. His future self had been her mother’s downfall and for that, she could not forgive him, but the Raiden who had passed his power to Johnny was not the same man. She was fond of this one.

“It’s bad timing, I know,” Johnny continued, fumbling with his words, but wanting desperately to make Cassie understand something even he could not quite grasp. “And I’m not sure why he wanted me to have this. Liu doesn’t know either. Maybe Ol’ Sparky was goin’ senile or somethin’.” 

The humor was misplaced, he knew, and neither he nor Cassie laughed. She was at least watching him now, rather than outright fuming, regarding him carefully, studying her father. She chewed her lower lip, brows knitted at the center of her forehead. In this light, she looked just like her mother and Johnny’s heart squeezed with remorse.

“This… you need this,” Cassie said, concluding her internal thoughts aloud for her father’s benefit. “Dad, I know you… I’ve known you my whole life. Back then, when I was a kid, I used to wonder why you didn’t date anyone else when mom…” She sighed, shaking her head. “I thought that you looked so lonely and it broke my heart that I couldn’t fill that space for you. Worse… I kinda figured, y’know, I was the reason there WAS a space.”

There was a lump rising in Johnny’s throat, but he suppressed it, listening to his daughter, so much like him and yet so different, so wise for her age. Better than I was, he thought. 

“I know I wasn’t, y’know? But kids…. Anyway, you aren’t the kind of person who can be alone for very long, are you?” She did not mean the question in a cruel way. She sought truth and she, to Johnny’s chagrin, was absolutely onto something. It was, of course, not a truth he had known when he was younger, had only had inklings. Now, a man well into his fifties, he had figured it out, though it still stung to hear his baby girl say so.

“No, Cassie… I’m not.” The admission felt like a weight being lifted, but this also left him exposed, as if that weight had been a shield more than a burden. “I had to do it… when you were younger ‘cause, well you know what all the books say about a never-ending parade of people in the house when you’ve got a kid…”

“Thank you, Dad. You... “ Her whole body seemed to sag as she approached her father, arms open. “You deserve a break, but it looks like you’re getting more work, huh?”

“An eternity of it,” he admitted and wrapped his arms around his daughter. Cassie held him tight, withdrawing only when she could not take the oncoming numbness. 

“I dunno if I can get used to that,” she admitted.

“I don’t think I can turn it off,” Johnny said apologetically. 

“Yeah, Raiden couldn’t either,” she responded. Her eyes caught something and she stopped. “Hey… have you got like, a glowstick necklace on under your tux? I didn’t know they were handing out goodies like that.”

Cassie gestured toward the chest of Johnny’s tuxedo which, while still on him, in the most technical sense of the word, was askew and the fabric between the buttons had come dislodged (notably, his tie clip was nowhere to be seen). Despite his best efforts, he had evidently missed a few details. Johnny looked down and began to fumble with his tie, loosening it and tugging it aside, suddenly suspicious. Images of Liu Kang and Fujin’s beautiful, glowing marks of divinity were flashing in Johnny’s head and his fingers fumbled eagerly with the top three or four buttons of his shirt. 

“Oh my god, dad…” Cassie’s hand had found her mouth and she was grinning ear to ear. “You’ve GOT to show Liu; he’s gunna flip.”

“Show me what?” Liu Kang seemed to materialize out of the darkness… Perhaps he had merely approached and they had missed him in their excitement. 

“This,” said Johnny proudly, grinning and turning and tugging the top of his shirt open a little wider for his old friend’s perusal. In place of his “Johnny” tattoo, there was, in a very similar script (albeit glowing a soft blue-white) another word:

THUNDER

Liu Kang seemed to sigh with his entire body. “Why are you like this?”

[samclownchester]

Supernatural Rewatch 04x14

Sex and Violence

(Next Episode | Masterlist | Previous Episode)

Ah yes, the Siren episode where Dean has a male Siren :0 surely this is proof that he is attracted to men!?!!?

*deep sigh*

Listen, I think Dean is bisexual, I really do, however I hate when people point to this episode as proof of that because it is clearly doing something very different, and subversive in its own way. If you see him as being sexually attracted to Nick then … I mean, I guess. Whatever. Everyone has their own interpretations. But Sirens are not necessarily sexual beings, that’s what they’ve been painted as by a lot of media, but they are just supposed to lure you in with your greatest desire. What this episode tells us is that, as much as Dean likes sex, it’s not his greatest desire. Or, on another level, romantic love is not as important to him as platonic love is.

The idea this episode plays with is that the most important person in the world to you doesn’t need to be a romantic/sexual partner, which I think is GROUNDBREAKING.

It establishes early on in the episode that the siren doesn’t differentiate between different kinds of devotion. The one guy’s mom wasn’t a romantic threat to the Siren, but she was the most important person in that guy’s life, and so she became the Siren’s target.

“But Ray,” you say “the siren didn’t try to give that guy a new mother figure. It was still establishing a romantic/sexual connection with him! So why would it try to imitate the brotherly bond with Sam instead of just drawing Dean in with sex/romance?”

And the answer is: because Dean wouldn’t have responded to that. The guy who killed his mom surely loved his mom, but he probably still had a desire for romantic connection, hoping to get married and have his own family someday or something like that. I don’t think Dean has that. Sure, he wanted Cassie to understand him, and he has dreams of settling down with Lisa and Ben (and I’m not saying he has no romantic attraction to those women but you can also attribute that to amatonormativity) but at the end of the day what matters to Dean is connections that parallel his relationships with his father and his brother.

SAM You poisoned him.

MUNROE No. I gave him what he needed. And it wasn't some bitch in a G-string. It was you. A little brother that looked up to him, that he could trust. And now he loves me. He'd do anything for me. And I gotta tell you, Sam, that kind of devotion? I mean, watching someone kill for you? It's the best feeling in the world.

The Siren makes it clear that what it wants from its victims is not romance or sex, it’s devotion. It wants people to kill for it. That’s what it considers “love.” It saw that Dean was more likely to kill out of a brotherly devotion rather than a romantic connection, so that was the angle it went for with him. Dean would never prioritize a romantic relationship over his brother, he just wouldn’t.

And the thing about Nick is that … he’s not a carbon copy of Sam, instead he is everything Sam has never been, accentuating the things Dean wants that Sam lacks. He bonds with Dean over cars and music, two things that Sam has never really had an interest in, and, crucially, he doesn’t push for Dean to explain himself; he easily trusts his plan, and we know Sam has always pushed to understand the why behind everything they do.

DEAN It's kinda hard to explain, but I have my reasons and they're good ones, so you're just gunna have to trust me on 'em.

MUNROE Yeah. OK. I guess.

DEAN Thank you. That's actually nice to hear.

And, especially because Dean has already been feeling distrustful toward Sam, he falls for it.

This reminds me of in 3x01 when Dean is cornered by Lust, one of the seven deadly sins, and she isn’t able to have any affect on him. Like, we all know that Dean likes sex, but when it comes down to it, when he faces monsters who literally prey on people based on their sexual desires ... it doesn’t work on him. Lust got her head dunked in holy water and the Siren had to find a work around. 

The Sam/Cara subplot is obviously supposed to be a red herring, to make us think we know who the Siren is, but is also tells us a couple of interesting things about Sam and how his attitude toward relationships has changed.

First of all, we know he’s back in contact with Ruby, but we can also assume that after 4x04 they had some sort of break-up and we don’t know what their dynamic is currently like. There is also the possibility that they’re not/never were exclusive but given how monogamous Sam is I find that hard to believe. But who knows? That being said, he doesn’t seem to have any qualms about having a one-night stand with Cara.

DEAN You gonna say goodbye to Cara?

SAM Nah, not interested.

DEAN Really? Why not?

SAM What's the point?

DEAN Well, look at you. Love 'em and leave 'em.

Remember in season 3 when Sam said that he was going to become more like Dean? Remember last episode when Sam said he needed to “grow up”?

So, what I think is going on here is that Sam thinks he’s setting aside his kinda “childish” desire for relationships to last. Obviously, this isn’t actually a childish thing to want, but our society kinda paints one-night stands as like … I don’t know a masculine and mature thing to do? And Sam feels like he needs to become this … tough, masculine, unsentimental person. (You know, go against that gentle nature of his).  (also the demon blood is affecting him.) Additionally, this ties in to the idea that building connections isn’t worth it in their life. It’s something he pushed back against in Season 1, but Sam has started to learn that making any kind of relationship last is basically impossible in their lives, and he has stopped trying.

Now, the only reason the Siren had any luck turning the brothers on each other was that there were already issues arising between them.

Dean’s issues with Sam

Dean covertly finds out that Sam has been calling Ruby and lying to him about it. He pretends to have not heard Sam’s phone call and gives him an opportunity to just tell him who he was calling, but instead Sam lies, and Dean hates being lied to.

DEAN Well, I don't know when it happened. Maybe when I was in hell. Maybe when I was staring right at you. But the Sam I knew, he's gone. … And it's not the demon blood or the psychic crap. It's the little stuff. The lies. The secrets.

As a type 8, betrayal is a very difficult thing for him, and he responds pretty extremely. But it’s not just the betrayal, he also feels like his little brother has fundamentally changed. And he’s … not wrong? Sam is changing, he is a very different person than the faithful, sentimental, nerd that we met in season 1. Dean is scared of those changes.

Sam’s Issues with Dean

Sam has always hated being controlled. He didn’t like being ordered around by John and now he has Dean breathing down his neck and disapproving of everything he does.

SAM So I need your say-so to make a phone call?

I do understand why Dean is angry that Sam is hiding from him that he is talking to Ruby, but also Dean has a tendency to hate the idea of Sam having a life outside of the two of them and that’s not cool. I’ll probably talk more about this later. 

SAM OK, fine. You know why I didn't tell you about Ruby, and how we're hunting down Lilith? Because you're too weak to go after her, Dean. You're holding me back. I'm a better hunter than you are. Stronger, smarter. I can take out demons you're too scared to go near. … You're too busy sitting around feeling sorry for yourself. Whining about all the souls you tortured in hell. Boo hoo. … You're not standing in my way anymore.

Hey, remember in Season 3 when Dean said “you’re stronger than I am” to Sam? Remember how I said that was gonna come back later?

Obviously later in the episode Sam claims this was just the Siren talking but ... we all know this was coming from somewhere. But it’s something Sam, in his normal state, would never say. (Like, taking that dig at Dean for his guilt about Hell?? Man, that’s cold.) But on some level it’s things Sam really believes. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was something Ruby had told him though … But anyway, this episode shows us that, somewhere inside Sam considers Dean a burden, and feels like he’d be more successful without him. This obviously doesn’t outweigh the love that Sam has for Dean, but especially at this point in his journey, when he’s all messed up by Ruby and Demon Blood, they’re thoughts he’s been entertaining.

W*nc*st shippers DO NOT interact

[stayextrafrosty]

I Almost Lost You

Summary: After the garbage that took place in 2x06 I refused to accept it. So, this is the scene that should have taken place and what I will pretend happened from here on out.

Fandom: Roswell New Mexico

Pairing: Michael Guerin x Alex Manes

Warnings: tooth rotting fluff

Read on AO3 // Masterlist (this is my first RNM fic. Otherwise I mostly write Fall Out Boy fanfiction)

-

Michael wanted to throw up. Not from drinking or overexerting his powers. And he knows he should have killed him. That fucking weird ax-wielding psychopath. He wouldn’t have cared what consequences would have come of it.

Because Alex sat here in front of him. Bleeding from a stab wound that if he had just been a little earlier, maybe he could have prevented.

“DeLuca there’s a first aid kit under the sink. Bring it here!” Michael pressed his hand against Alex’s chest, his eyes screwed shut in pain. “You’re gunna be fine ok. Look at me,” he rushed out. Alex opened his eyes slightly. “I promise you’ll be fine.” Alex nodded and rested his head back against the wall of the trailer.

“Here. Alex, I’m so sorry, this is all my fault,” Maria said, tears slipping down her cheeks. He tried to shake his head.

“No, Maria. I should have noticed something was wrong earlier—AH,” Michael pressed a cloth with antiseptic against the open would. Alex’s hand shot up, covering his. He met Alex’s pleading gaze. The last thing Michael wanted to do was hurt him more, but it couldn’t be helped.

“Maria, help get his shirt off. I need better access to sew it up.” Maria hurried to the other side, lifting the ruined shirt carefully. The effort pushed more blood out of the wound. Michael cursed and pressed the cloth back against his chest.

Michael reached into the box for a needle. He had done this more times than he could count on himself. He was probably better at it than most doctors by this point. Alex tried to control his breathing around the pain.

“This is going to prick a bit,” Michael said softly.

“Can’t be worse than losing a leg,” Alex tried to joke. None of them laughed. Michael worked as quickly as he could, trying to limit the pain for him. Alex gripped Maria’s hand as she tried to whisper comforting things.

Michael took the small pair of scissors and clipped the excess thread. He dug around in the box, looking for the larger bandages. They all jumped as Maria’s phone buzzed loudly. She tried to ignore it but given the time, it was probably important. She grabbed it from the small table, looking at the ID. She sighed.

“It’s the home. Something about my mom. I’ll be right back, ok?” She squeezed Alex’s hand before rushing out of the trailer.

It was silent as Michael pressed the bandage over the wound. He tried not to jump when Alex laid his hand over his. He had hesitated and hadn’t removed his hand. He wanted to heal it. He cursed himself for not having Max’s abilities.

“Guerin,” Alex said quietly.

“I almost lost you.” Michael looked up at his face. He opened his mouth but closed it again. Michael reached up to brush hair off his forehead that stuck from sweat. As much as he tried to fight it, tears spilled out of Michael’s eyes. He dropped his head, trying to hide.

“Hey, look at me.” Michael refused. He tried to pull his hand away but Alex held tight. “Michael, look at me.” He couldn’t ignore it when Alex used his first name. It meant there wouldn’t be any walls. No lies. Just them.

“I’m still here. I made it back to you and it’s going to take a lot more than this to get rid of me.” Alex leaned forward, resting his other hand on Michael’s cheek. Michael glanced down at his slightly parted lips. He wanted to make sure he never left again. He would protect him. Not that Alex couldn’t protect himself.

Michael pressed his forehead against Alex’s. He heard his breath hitch for a moment. Even if it hurt, Michael loved him. He cared for Maria. He knew that. But he had never felt more consumed by a feeling than his love for Alex.

“I wouldn’t have been able to live. Not without you.”

“You’re the one who said we needed time apart,” Alex pointed out.

“And we do. That doesn’t mean I want to see you hurt or worse... I still love you.”

Before Alex could respond, the door to the trailer swung open. They jumped apart and Michael immediately felt cold. Maria rushed to Alex’s side.

“I’m sorry. Are you ok? Do you want me to drive you home?” Alex didn’t say anything so Michael jumped in.

“In what car? I’m too tired to change your tires tonight. You guys can just stay here.” After some halfhearted arguing, Alex and Maria laid in the small bed. Michael slouched in a chair across from them.

Maria was asleep shortly after her head hit the pillow. Michael’s eyes were closed but sleep wasn’t going to come. Not when he could feel a set of eyes on him.

“Got something to say, private,” Michael asked, opening his eyes slowly. He pretended to not be startled by the intense look on Alex’s face.

“Just that you are somehow the worst and best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

[lunanight2012]

A Whole New World Prelude Pt 3

Key:

E/C = eye color

H/C = hair color

H/L= hair length

S/C = skin color

Y/N = your name

L/N = last name

N/N = nickname

(Two hours later)

I screamed, {E/C} eyes shooting open and quickly sitting upright. Not prepared, I smacked my head into something equally as hard.

"Ow! What happened?" I asked, rubbing my head. 

"Ye bloody passed out on us two hours ago. I got ye stitched up." Harry explained, startling me. Opening my eyes, once more, I saw Harry pressing his palm to his own forehead, wincing as he did so. “Why is yer head so ‘ard!!” he hissed, glaring at me between his fingers.

"S-sorry!" I exclaimed, backing up.

I stopped when I accidentally knocked over a photo frame. I froze, catching the frame before it could fall. Lifting it up, I turned to look at it. A family photo it would seem.

Is that his dad? Wow he doesn't look like the Captain Hook I remember. His mom seems very pretty, and nice. But wait, how was this picture taken?

"Is this your family?"

"Ye. Now if ye don't mind." Harry took the photo out of my hands before I could even say anything else.

I blinked. "You have sisters?" I blurted out.

"Ye, now shut yer mouth and come on. School's out now and Uma wants us on the Lost Revenge." Harry stated, grabbing my wrist and pulling me off the bed.

~~~At The Lost Revenge~~~~~

I froze as soon as we got on the ship. Everyone was looking at me. I tried hiding behind Harry. Wincing in pain as I released my grip on Harry's jacket. 

'It's gunna be ok. It's gunna be alright.' I repeated in my head.

"{Y/N}? {Y/N}!" Uma yelled snapping me out of my thoughts.

I peeked out from behind Harry to see Uma glaring at me. 

"Were you listening?" She almost growled at me, I shook my head.

She rolled her eyes. "Well then you're going to pretend you know how to handle a damn sword. Come on crew! Let's prepare to face those worthless brats!" Uma exclaimed.

The crew cheered, holding up their swords. Harry took a spare sword from one of the crew and took my {dominant} hand and placed the sword handle there. Of course I still winced from the pain. 

Harry walked me over to a part of the deck and instructed me to stay put and to look mean. As soon as he walked away I looked up at the sky and noticed a small crack in the sky. 

'Huh? Wait, is that the barrier they were talking about?' I thought to myself, not even realizing that around the pupils in my eyes were thin rings of gold. Barely noticeable. 

"Oh Shrimpy~! What have you got there? That new girl shouldn't even be here!" An all too familiar voice boomed from the docks.

I shivered and gripped the sword handle tighter.

Mal and her gang. 

My hands started to shake. A memory of my past flashed through my mind.

My mother screaming at me when she found me in the backyard in the rain. But what she was screaming at me about was that the rain didn't touch me. It was pouring yet I was completely dry. I knew I had an affinity with water. But with this damn barrier I'm just getting nothing. Maybe it was just in my world. Maybe I'm just a freak..

Suddenly a knife came flying towards me. On some miracle of reflex I swung the sword and reflected it. I looked up and saw a boy… What did Harry say his name was.. Jack? No…. Josh? No….. Jay! That's his name.

Jay was Jafar's son. Hmmm cute but not my type. Suddenly I was sword fighting Jay. And I had never fought with a sword before…. Wait have I? Maybe as a small child.

"What's your name, new girl?" Jay asked me, snapping me out of my daydream.

"I don't have to tell you!" I replied, smirking.

Jay smirked as he continued to sword fight with me, slowly pushing me towards the edge of the ship. Shit. If he keeps at this I'm going to fall in. And yea, I never learned how to swim.

I'm unsure if he could see the slight fear in my eyes or he just thought he had the upper hand. But all of a sudden Jay got up close to me, wrapping an arm around my waist. He then whispered in my ear.

"We could use someone like you on our side. Consider this our offer~!" Jay smirked, a very quick peck to my cheek before he let me go.

I was too out of it. Didn't realize I was falling till i hit the ocean head first. Unprepared, I started drowning. Struggling under the water, my eyes were getting heavy. All I could think was, 'Why don't my powers work?????'

As my vision started fading the last thing I saw was a figure, then darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"{Y/N}? {Y/N}???" I could hear my name but it was so far away.

Air? I could feel air entering my lungs. 

My eyes shot open and I quickly sat up, coughing up water.

"Oh good ye're alright! I'm gunna kill tha' bastard!" Harry exclaimed.

I looked up after coughing up all the water that was in my lungs. Harry was sitting on the beach, drenched, smudged eyeliner. And oh my god, my face was definitely heating up, mostly because Harry looked absolutely hot. Shit.

I sneezed. Shivering from having just been in the ocean. Harry sighed and stood up. Holding out a hand to me.

“Come on. We gotta go get ye dried off so ye don’t catch a cold.” Harry stated.

I grabbed his hand and with his help got up on my feet.

My {H/L} {H/C} hair was soaking wet. My clothes were soaked. My nose is starting to burn from the salty ocean water. I looked at Harry, hugging myself.

“L-Let’s g-go. I’m f-f-freezing!” I exclaimed in a shivering stutter.

Harry smirked, grabbing my hand in his. “Come on, {Y/N}. Let’s go back to my place, well I guess since ye’ll be stayin with meh it’s “our” place. But anyways come on.” Harry rambled on, pulling me to follow him.

Once we got to the apartment Harry had me go into the run down bathroom while he looked for some clothes for me to wear. I stood in the small bathroom, examining my surroundings. There wasn’t much. An old sink, a toilet that somehow manages to work, and a shower that looks like it could use some scrubbing down. I was startled when Harry opened the bathroom door and threw some clothes at me.

“There ye go. They were meh older sister’s clothes. They should fit. Ye can dry off with that towel in tha’ corner.” Harry stated.

I looked over at him and noticed his eyes were closed. At least he’s a gentleman. He closed the door, leaving me in the bathroom alone. I blinked, feeling my face heat up again. Was it just the thought of him seeing me? I shook my head. No. He’s only helping me because Uma would get mad at him if her newest recruit was sick. Also, is there medicine on this island? I have a feeling there isn’t.

I quickly dried off and got changed. {If your H/L is medium/long, then: I put my hair in a high ponytail.} I took a deep breath and opening the door. Harry was in the small kitchen area, though all it had was a retro styled rundown fridge and a sink. 

“T-Thanks for lending me your sister’s clothes.” I smiled.

Harry waved the back of his hand at me as he was at the kitchen sink. Was he hand washing dishes? 

I looked around the house. Messy, small, kind of reminded me of those studio apartments back home. This was definitely bigger than the apartment I had. But this one is definitely messier. Can’t complain though. I guess this is what my life is gunna be now. Hmm. 

“{Y/N}? Ye there? We need ta go. Uma’s gunna want us at the shop.” Harry explained, now standing at the front door, hook in hand.

How long has it been now? I walked over to him and we walked outside, and towards the Chip Shop. I looked up at the cloudy sky. Hmm. Has it really been an hour and a half already? Wow. 

“Ye alright lass?” Harry asked, raising his eyebrow in confusion.

“I’m alright, the day is just going by very fast that’s all. And…. I’m just thinking about the fight on the ship.” I responded, rubbing my left wrist with my right hand.

Harry continued with his confused look. “What do ya mean by that?” 

“Well. So um. Back in my world I had a small affinity for water. But here I can’t even make the water do what I want even a little. So I’m just bothered by that.” I explained as we walked through the market. 

I watched Harry steal a slightly rotten piece of fruit from a stall. Understanding now that this is not a place where good things happen. It feels like they get the leftovers from the mainland. I looked around as we got closer to the Chip Shop. 

This was just the beginning of my life here in this new world. What happens next? Well just wait and see? ;-)

That’s it for the Prelude! Just to let you all know that each chapter is gunna be 3 parts each. And oh boy is Chapter 1 gunna be exciting! Hope you all enjoy!

Tag list:

@descendantofthesparrow

(If you wanna be tagged plz let me know and I’ll add you to my list)

[pandawritespoorly]

With Time: Chapter 29 - Lila’s Plan

Author’s Note: Ooh! Bonus chapter! With a bonus scene I quick wrote at end while editing because I couldn't help myself.

Stay tuned for the summary of the next chapter at the bottom!

Chapter Summary: Where was Lila in chapters 27 & 28?

First | Previous | Next

She’s honestly disappointed in herself that it took so long for her to think of this. Lila had been hoping to find Marinette’s new school ever since the girl had left Dupont, and now Lila had finally realized she’d had the answer since December.

Felix Voclain.

He’d been one of the ones to assist Marinette at the Louvre that day, so it made sense to guess that the two attended the same school.

Already knowing where the boy went, Lila didn’t hesitate to go to the school ‘for a tour’. The class is under the impression she’s in South America or something like that.

She doesn’t really care - the morons can believe whatever they want.

Today is about finding Marinette.

Once in the office, she’s told her student guide will be arriving momentarily.

“Ah, here he is! Claude De Rosier! Claude, this is Lila, you’ll be showing her around today.”

The boy and girl stare at each other blankly. Lila isn’t sure what to think, because she’s sure she’s met him before - twice - but he’d insisted it had only been once, with legitimate proof to back up his claims.

The boy grins, sticking his hand out for her to shake, “Welcome to my school, Lila! I’m so excited to show you around!”

She isn’t sure what to make of his strange emphasis. It’s so slight, she isn’t sure if she imagined it or not.

As they shake, she smiles easily, “Thank you so much! I’m sure you’ll be a great guide!”

“The best!” he winks at her.

As they exit, Lila swears it looks like Claude wipes his hand on his leg. He rubs fingers against his palm a few times - confused - before subtly sniffing it, and frowning slightly. When he notices her glancing his way, he smiles reassuringly and leads her onward.

“Well, if you’re interested in transferring here, I can assure you this is a very welcoming school! There really wasn’t any need to rush out the door!” he takes some hand sanitizer from a dispenser on the wall - a lot more than what would be considered normal. Lila wipes her hand on her leg nervously as she responds.

“What do you mean?” She’d spent extra time on her appearance today. Being attractive helps sell a story more.

“Oh, well I just-” he pauses, looking over her slightly, “It’s nothing! Nevermind! Uh, here’s the math wing…” he hurriedly moves on to describe the current area of the school, commenting on teachers and the different subjects taught.

He is going over the locker arrangements - grade-wise - when he interrupts himself to say, “You know, my locker is close by. I’ve got a hairbrush you can borrow if you want…”

“I- uh- What?” Lila touches her hair self-consciously. It seems fine to her, but she can’t see all of it, “Is there something wrong with my hair?”

“Oh no! I just- nevermind! It’s fine!” he rushes to reassure her, but she can tell he isn’t being entirely truthful. Before she can ask for that hairbrush, he hurriedly moves onto another aspect of the school.

Lila keeps touching her hair, glancing in any reflective surface she could find, but none of them seemed to show her what was off about her.

“Oh! This is the theatre department! I can introduce you to some of my friends.”

The taller boy pushes through a door, holding it open just long enough that she had to catch it as she entered. He runs ahead, seemingly unaware.

“Amy! Victor! I was just showing a student around, and was wondering if we could talk to you!”

Claude has attracted the attention of two students, clearly a few grades above them. They turn to the boy welcomingly, agreeing as they turn to face the touring student.

She could have sworn that she saw recognition - and disgust - flash across their faces, but it’s gone before she gets a good look.

“I told her about that trip the three of us - and some of the other theatre kids - took to England! In December.”

Amy and Victor glance at each other. They went on the trip, as did many others, but Claude? Claude did not. There had been a running joke that ‘Claude was always with them’ to the point that one of the group had jokingly photoshopped Claude into several pictures, but Claude hadn’t actually gone.

He’d stayed home in Paris, especially since one of his friends - Marinette, sweet girl, a shame about the bullying they’d heard about - was going through a rough time. That wasn’t the only reason Cladue had stayed of course, but still. The point stands.

“Oh it really was a blast! We’re a really close group here!”

“Mhm! One big family! London was so fun!”

The pair may not know what’s going on, but they can play along. Amy and Victor both vaguely recognized the girl as someone they disliked, so they don’t have a problem screwing with her.

Lila grows uncomfortable as the boy keeps glancing at her head before correcting himself to make proper eye-contact. The girl seemed startled by some aspect of Lila’s appearance and frowned slightly before covering it up with a too-big smile.

“Oh, I forgot to introduce her! This is Lila Rossi.”

Oh, they most certainly know her. Most people in the school are familiar enough with her. She’s the one that was rumored to have done something to Marinette.

No one is quite sure of any details, but there’s a silent agreement among the school that the only ones allowed to bring up that girl around Marinette are her close friends. All others pretend she doesn’t exist.

Marinette doesn’t seem to have realized she joined a popular friend group. The former-quartet (now quintet?) had been known for being kind people who were fun to hang out with. Marinette had been adopted so quickly, and her nature seemed to be just as good-hearted, which made her just as popular. Not that she seemed to realize it.

When rumors started about bullying people were horrified. Then a name came up. 

Lila Rossi.

The girl who is apparently currently standing in front of them.

Claude’s actions make so much sense now.

“I’m really not much of an actor! I haven’t been able to do much work since the accident…” she trails off, playing melancholy and waiting for the usual sympathy. It never hurts to pull her tricks in a new place.

It doesn’t come. Each person before her seems fixated on whatever they’d been looking at on her earlier.

“Oh! I’m sorry, did you say something?” Amy looks at her apologetically and the others break from their staring to make eye contact, though the older girl has to nudge Victor a little to get his attention.

Lila is really starting to wonder what’s wrong, but she’ll never admit to it. Repeating herself won’t do any good so she changes topics, “I just, uh, was saying that fashion is more my thing! My, uh, friend Marinette might have transferred here I was wondering if you knew her?”

“Nope! I don’t know any Marinettes!” Claude shakes his head regretfully.

Victor shakes his head as well, but Amy speaks up, “There is Marinette Pontbriand, but she’s in the musical arts department, and she’s not a recent transfer…”

“Uh, no. That’s not her. I must have gotten the school name mixed up…”

“Well, it was nice meeting you! We do have to get back to work now though.” Victor says, then he leans in, patting her hand comfortingly and speaking softly, “You’re so brave. It’ll get better I’m sure.”

He turns, and Amy waves. The taller girl pauses and turns back to Lila, similarly leaning in and speaking softly, “We all have those days.” the girl looks over Lila sympathetically, then digs in her bag to subtly hand her a pad and tampon. Amy hurries to join Victor.

What the-?

“Anyways, we should get back to our very important tour!” Claude breaks her out of her confused stupor.

“Y-Yes! Let’s!” She stuffs the period products into her bag and follows the boy. 

---

By the end of the one hour tour, Lila feels shaky and confused. Everyone they spoke to seems to know something she didn’t - and that something had to do with her.

She’s never felt so self-conscious before. It’s driving her crazy, because she has no idea what’s going on. What do they all see?!

She smiles at Claude weakly as she heads out the door.

Lila turns to go home, deciding to not bother with school for the day. 

Once home, she spends hours in front of the mirror, studying herself.

By the end of the day she’s taken 5 showers, washed her hair 3 times, tried ten new makeup routines, washed her clothes twice, and considered three different outfits for school tomorrow.

---

Bonus:

Kid Mime: so

Kid Mime: remember how i was suposed to be leeding a new studnt arownd 2day?

The Mom Friend: yeah? is somthin wrong? r they ok?

Kid Mime: i sure hope not

Kid Mime: it was liela

Melodie: Excuse me?! She has the nerve to come here?? Does she think we’re stupid?? That little brat had better count her lucky stars that I didn’t see her.

The Mom Friend: o goodness wat did u do

Kid Mime: i pretended that there was something wrong with her

Kid Mime: u no

Kid Mime: besides everything else about her

Kid Mime: i had to shake her hand and i made sure she saw me wiping my hand on my leg and using a ridiculus amont of sanitizer

Felix: As you should, after being in contact with her.

Kid Mime: of corse

Kid Mime: anyways i kept suggesting somethign about her lookd weird

Melodie: Besides the sausage hair?

Kid Mime: bsides the sasage hair

Kid Mime: i had her catch every door

Kid Mime: it was almst as satisfin as slaming 1 in her face

Kid Mime: uh

Kid Mime: o!

Kid Mime: teh best part is that as soon as i introducd her to peaple as liela evry1 messed w/ her 2

Kid Mime: i think amy gave her a tampon

The Mom Friend: well mari is a sweetheart 

The Mom Friend: the scool is gunna protect there own

Felix: She has certainly made an impression here. I cannot think of anyone that does not like her.

Melodie: I’m so proud of her. Like, remember when we first met her Claude? She tripped over one of us or something and seemed to think we were going to yell at her, poor baby.

The Mom Friend: 2020 hindsite tho that makes a lot of sense

Kid Mime: she was so quietttttttt

Kid Mime: an it took like a month b4 she actualy hung out w/ us outside of scool

Kid Mime: :((((((

Melodie: She’s doing a lot better.

Felix: Speaking of, how is she now?

The Mom Friend: asleep

Melodie: Rest well, honey!!

---

Author’s Note: Lila, Lila, Lila. You are no match for my baby boy. I really do enjoy this chapter. Showing off my baby boy in a 'fox' v fox chapter.

Anyways, I know why you all stuck around. You want the chapter summary. Well, just so you know, the reason I'm giving it early is because I just love worrying you guys. Here it is: Ladybug goes down during a battle and Adrien can't find a pulse. 💕💕💕

Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave any thoughts, theories, constructive criticism, or anything really in my ask box, in replies or through reblogs. I love seeing what you think!

First | Previous | Next

[fireheartpages]

@jamessdoll asked: Hey bby girl, congratulations on 200 I’m so proud lovverrr 💖💖 May I have a Bucky x reader it’s nice to have a friend 40s au (but like without him “dying”)

It’s Nice To Have A Friend - (childhood) friends to lovers

There wasn’t a girl in Brooklyn who wasn’t smitten with Bucky Barnes. 

Because, gosh, who wouldn’t be? Tall, dark, and handsome. He was sweet, a total charmer. It was hard to be within ten feet of him and not fall for the man. 

And that’s exactly what you did, fall. It happened when you were eight. Literally. You’d fallen from a tree after a group of boys had told you you couldn’t climb it because you were a girl. It had gone well, until you misjudged a branch and it snapped right under your foot. You must have fallen ten feet. It hurt, but you swore you wouldn’t cry in front of all the boys. 

It was Bucky and Steve who chased them all away, Bucky giving them all an earful on how “that’s not how you treat a lady!” while Steve brushes your hair back into the braid and helped you cover your scraped knee with your torn and muddied dress. Your mother was going to give you an earful for that one. 

After bucky had chased them all away, he rushed to your side, asking, “Are you okay?”

You nodded as you looked into his blue eyes, your own filling with tears. You didn’t know it then, but you would fall in love with looking into those same blue eyes in the years to come. 

And then the years came, and all you got from it was your mother bugging you about finding a husband. All these years, you thought, and all women were good for was housework and courting? Bullshit! (Excuse your language.)

Nearly twenty years after meeting Bucky and Steve and you were still hopelessly in love with the man. You knew it, Steve knew it, everyone seemed to know it except the man of the hour. 

Which was getting as increasingly annoying as your mother’s pestering. You knew—you hoped there was some part of him that felt the same way about you. It was hard to spend so many years together and not feel something for someone like that! You hoped...

Hoping didn’t curve your mother’s nagging though. Everything was husband this and marriage that and family this and “any men in your life?” that. It wasn’t long before she found someone to pine you off with.

“It could be your future husband,” she said, that chiding edge to her voice you loathed. “You have to at least give him a chance.”

So, here you were, on the Friday night you’d have usually spent kicking Steve’s ass at skeeball, standing in front of the Coney Island pier, dateless. You were pretty sure your “future husband” had stood you up.

It was getting late, half-passed-seven now, and you were still standing at the mouth of the pier. Just as soon as you were getting ready to find a cab and never come back to Coney Island again, you heard a familiar voice. 

“What are you doin’ out here in the cold, all alone?”

You turned, a smile instantly settling over your face. Bucky Barnes was making his way towards you, coat billowing in the wind and a stern smirk on his face--an odd combination that only he could pull off. “Could ask you the same question,” you laughed. 

“What happened, doll?”

“What do you mean?” you looked up at him as he approached you. He’s always been so much taller than you.

“Your mom said you were on a date. What happened?”

“What?”

“You…” He stuttered, shifting from foot to foot. “I went by your house; Steve and I were going out and we were gunna pick you up, but… Your mom said you had a date.”

“So, you came to crash my date?”

“Doesn’t look to be too much of a date, doll.”

You laughed, genuinely, and were about to reply before you heard a gravelly voice call your name, then a thick hand slide over your waist. You jumped at the sudden contact and whirled around to see your date hovering over you.

“This chump bothering you?”

“Who you callin’ chump--”

“Bucky!”

Bucky stopped, taking a step back. He looked down, then back up again. “Your date is with Brock Rumlow?” He addressed only you.

“Sure is,” Brock responded for you, his hand still possessively on the small of your back.

“She can speak for herself,” Bucky said. 

“Doesn’t need to--”

“Bucky,” you hissed.

“Seriously? You’re just going to let this fly?” he asked, leaning down and lowering his voice. “You’re better than Brock Rumlow--”

“I don’t have a choice, Buck. My ma won’t get off my back about this!” you shot back.

“You do have a choice, doll--”

“Where?! With who?!”

“Me!” he howled, then shut his mouth. Something flashed through his eyes, something you didn’t recognize. You did a double-take.

A deep, sarcastic laugh from behind you pulled you out of your shock. “You, Barnes? Really, ‘cause--”

“Shut up,” you snapped. 

Rumlow stuttered, covering it up with an uncomfortable laugh. “That’s not how a lady talks, now. You shouldn’t speak like that to your date.” He tightened the hand on your waist. 

You shoved his hand off your waist and stepped out of his grasp. You stood beside Bucky as you looked at Rumlow’s shocked face. “The date was over a half-hour ago, Brock.”

“So you’re just going to pimp yourself out to the first--”

“Get lost.” Your voice was as stern and unwavering as your stare. 

“Ho--”

“I said get lost.”

And he walked away, just like that. You sighed and rolled your eyes. “He was only here for a few minutes and he was completely insufferable,” Bucky stated.

You stepped back from his side to look up at him. “You?” you asked.

“Me?” Bucky mimicked. He swallowed, blatantly playing stupid. 

“You.”

He let out a huff and shifted nervously on his feet. “I just said that to get him off you.”

“Bullshit,” you snipped. “What did you mean?”

“I…” he sighed, and then looked back up and said your name like fresh air after having been trapped underground. “I didn’t mean anything. Let’s go grab--”

“No!” you pushed. “Bucky, you can’t just ignore me anymore--”

“I have never, and will never ignore you.” He leveled his stare, his piercing blue stare to you. “I’ve been in love with you since that day you fell out of the tree trying to convince the boy’s class you knew how to climb it.”

You stopped, taken aback. “You remember that?”

“I remember everything about you.”

You took a deep breath. “Bucky...”

“Look, I understand if you don’t feel the same way. I know how delicate things can be, and your mom is right, you probably deserve someone better than me. I’m planning on enlisting anyways, so--”

“How could I not feel the same?” you whispered. “Bucky Barnes, there isn’t a girl in Brooklyn who isn’t sweet on you.”

“God, I hope I’m the only boy who’s sweet on you, doll.”

And he took your face in his hands and kissed you, long and hard and sweet. 

[kayteewritessteve]

Secrets and Sins - 5/13

Description: You flee from an abusive situation and find yourself on the other side of the country, creating new friends and possibly finding new love. But will you be able to escape your past? To truly move on with your life? Or will everything come crashing down around you in the blink of an eye?

Catch up HERE.

Word Count: 3,520 ish.

Pairing: Mobster!Steve Rogers x Reader.

Rating: 18+

Warnings: Violence. Drinking. Curse words. Brief mentions of abusive behaviour, and moments of abuse—nothing to in depth but could be upsetting to some. Plus possible other triggering thoughts and feelings described.

A/N: I sadly don’t own any of these characters. And no beta reader, so I do proudly own all the errors, so there’s that lol.

The next few days dragged on, it was sheer agony. Every time the front door opened, your heart skipped a beat before promptly dropping, when your eyes would landed on the random faces entering the pub. You’d scold yourself for having this reaction, every time. Yet the second the door would open again you’d have the same damn reaction. Every. Time. It was becoming emotionally draining, to say the least.

Your head told you one thing, but your heart refused to listen. Days. Fucking days. Since he had learned where you worked. Since he had learned your name. And yet, nothing. No visits, no communication, no nothing. What was this fuckhead doing to you?!? You were never this woman.

You had called it, after the second run in with him, that your mind would be given more to think about. More scenarios to play through. And it had, which was—driving you batshit crazy. Every night you dreamed of him, and the day time wasn’t much different. Still pining over a guy you couldn’t have. And you knew you shouldn’t want him. He was dangerous. He was connected. He was a thug—No, worse than a thug, he commanded thugs. And that terrified you. But also …excited you. Fuck. No. You shook your head. Stop thinking like that you silly woman.

The front door opened and you instantly looked up from the bar, heart skipping yet again. Clearly you weren’t going to learn. Then your eyes landed on a tall, well built guy with shoulder length dark brown hair, sky blue eyes and a killer smile. He caught you checking him out and just grinned in return before heading to a back table and taking a seat. He wasn’t in your section so he wasn’t your problem and you focused back on your task at hand. Cleaning the dirty glasses and yelling at yourself, internally.

Nat came out of fucking nowhere, damn near running behind the bar and right up to you. “Hey, I need you to handle that fucker for me.” she hissed.

You turned to her and furrowed your brows, “Who?”

“The fuckhead that just came in. Brown hair, blue eyes, stupid fucking smile. Please, Y/N. I need you to tend to him for me.” she damn near begged and instantly you knew there was a back story there, because Nat never begged or gave up a table willingly.

“Okay, can I at least ask why?”

“Does it matter?” She countered and crossed her arms in front of her.

You signed, “I guess not. But you owe me woman.” You finished with a flirty wink at her.

“Sure. Fine. Yeah. Deal.” She responded quickly and waved it off with a dismissive hand, clearly she wasn’t in a joking mood. Which only intrigued you more.

You put down the glasses you were washing and wiped your hands off on a bar towel then made your way over to him. Pulling out your notepad and pen once you got there. You normally didn’t need to write orders down, but your mind wasn’t exactly functioning properly at the moment, and you found yourself needing to write small things down, or you’d forget them instantly. Stupid blue ey—Steve. Right. Big bad mob boss. King of New York. Someone you should steer clear of. Completely.

“Hey, my names Y/N, i’ll be your server today, what can I get cha?” You asked in a cheery voice.

“Just a whiskey. Thanks, doll.”

“Of course, coming right up.” You turned and headed towards the bar. Seeing Nat still standing there, arms crossed, glaring daggers at the back of the guys head.

You rounded the corner of the bar, “You’re staring.” you whispered slowly as you passed her, then you reached up to grab one of the nice bottles of whiskey.

She huffed and spun around “No, not that one,” she reached up to grabbed a different bottle, “he likes this brand.” She grabbed a glass, muttering curse words under her breath, and angrily poured 3 fingers into it then set it on the bar top, and turned to hand you the bottle of whiskey she’d grabbed. You furrowed your brows and put both bottles back in the proper spots. “You gunna tell me the story behind this?” You whispered as you gestured between her and the ‘fuckhead’, as she put it. Who luckily had chosen a chair facing away from the bar, so he couldn’t see either of you, currently.

“Nope.” she said, popping the P for effect.

“Nat,” you warned.

She huffed but then sighed, “Ugh. Fine. But not right now.” Then she turned and sauntered away. You shook your head and picked up the drink from the bar then headed back towards the brunettes table. You set it down in front of him, “Here you go, sorry for the wait.”

“No worries,” he took a sip and his eyes widened slightly as a smirk formed on his lips, slightly hidden behind the glass, “she still remembers my preferences, I see.” he chuckled.

“Okay, this is really none of my business, but are you like an ex of hers or something?”

He took another sip of his drink, “You’re pretty nosey, huh?” He smirked, which made you think he wasn’t actually upset by your question, but instead took the chance to mess with you.

“I prefer inquisitive,” you laughed. “I’d even go as far as saying i’m direct,” you shrugged.

He eyed you for a second then shook his head and mumbled something inaudible under his breath before he smirked again, “No, we never officially dated, but we do go way back.”

You nodded, “Ah. Got cha. Well, enjoy your drink.” You said as you spun around to walk away.

“Bucky,” he blurted out.

You turned back around, confused. “I’m sorry?”

“My names Bucky,” he clarified.

“Oh, okay. Well, nice to meet you Bucky,” you curtsied at him then turned back around once more. Did you just fucking curtsy? Who even curtsies anymore? Good lord woman.

“I’m sure we will meet many more times in the future,” he said as you continued to walk away.

His comment made you furrow your brows, and glance back at him, not like he could see it. What the hell did he mean by that? You wanted to ask him, but you also didn’t really want to know the answer. You shook your head then headed towards one of your actual tables to check in on them.

Once all your tables had been checked on, you looked around the pub, but didn’t see Nat anywhere, so you walked up to Manti behind the bar, “Hey, have you seen Nat?”

She shook her head and frowned. “Not lately, no.”

“Okay, do you mind just keeping an eye on my tables for a second?”

“Of course!” She cheerily responded, as if you had just given her the most exciting task ever. Girl was strange, but sweet. You liked her, just in small doses.

“Thanks,” you headed for the door at the side of the bar, entering into the bright hallway, you moved towards one of the three doors, the one that led to the ladies staff room/lockers. Opening it a crack you saw Nat sitting on a bench looking rather downcast. As you pushed the door open more it creaked and you saw her quickly wipe her cheeks then she turned to you.

“What do you want?” She snapped, which was unlike her, but then she saw the concerned look on your face and just turned away with a deep sigh. Mumbling a ‘sorry’.

You walked cautiously towards her then sat down beside her, leaving a foot of space between the two of you. You faced forward as to not make her feel uncomfortable, she didn’t strike you as the crying type and you were sure she was less than thrilled that you had caught her doing just that. “He said you guys went way back..” You softly said. Trying to gently push her to open up.

Her head snapped around and she glared at you, “You fucking asked him about me?!” She growled.

“First off, simmer your shit. I’m not the enemy here.” You said firmly, before raising a knowing brow at her, “Secondly, we both know if the roles were reversed you’d have asked also, so don’t give me that.”

She glared at you for a second, then her face softened and she laughed quietly, “Okay. You do have a point there.”

“Exactly, now, do you want to talk about it or not?”

She sighed, “He was my best friend growing up, well him and Steve—“

You cut her off, “Wait. Hold up. Steve, as in mob boss Steve?!” You gapped at her.

“Yes. Keep up.” She rolled her eyes, playfully, “Do you want to hear the story or not?”

You closed your mouth then nodded.

“Then hold your questions till the end please.”

You made a zipper motion over your lips then pretended to throw away the key.

“Shit, if I had known it was this easy to shut you up I would have told you this all sooner.” she joked and you rolled your eyes but laughed.

She proceeded to tell you how the four of them had been inseparable growing up, the fourth being some guy named Sam. And that she had realized early on that she had feelings for Bucky, but that it took awhile for her to realize just how strong those feelings were. And it turned out he felt it too. Steve had figured it out and basically forced them both to confess to their feelings, it was awkward but had worked. She had been seeing Bucky for a little while, unofficially. However, before things could go any further then that, Steve’s mom was tragically murdered.

Steve had basically changed over night, and then after her funeral, he put up walls and forced everyone out. Well, everyone except Bucky and Sam. They’d both would never have allowed Steve to drop them, especially not at a time like that. But when she tried to force the same with Steve it ended in a big fight, where he threatened her life if she ever spoke to him again. He was not the same guy she had grown up with. He was completely different and it scared her, so she listened to him and kept her distance, even with how much that hurt her to do.

But she never would have expected Bucky to do the same. She never expected him to drop her like she was nothing. Meant nothing. She thought he loved her, but clearly that was a lie. He ignored her calls and texts. And if she showed up at his house, which she did a few times, he wouldn’t open the door, he wouldn’t even respond through the door to her. No matter how much she banged on it or yelled his name. Even going so far as to yell at him to face her like a fucking man. But nothing. Radio silence. Then days turned to weeks. Weeks to months. And months to years.

And now here she was. Working a random Tuesday shift, when none other then Bucky Barnes strolls in the fucking door and sits his ass down in her section. Like he had no clue who she was, or that she worked here. Like she had never meant a damn thing to him. A stranger from a passed life.

“So, that’s the whole story.” she shrugged nonchalantly as if it didn’t matter anymore. But you could see it in her eyes. It still very much mattered.

“You still love him,” you stated, it wasn’t a question.

She sputtered for a second before sighing deeply, “That obvious, huh?”

“Oh, I figured that out before I had even agreed to take his table from you,” you smirked. “But I get it. He was your first love, you can’t just forget that, especially when it ends without any sort of closure or communication. It’s like a wound that won’t heal,” you paused then turned to look at her, “You should talk to him, I mean, he is here after all. Take this chance to get your closure. I’ll cover your tables for you.”

“You’d really do that for me?”

“Of course,” you patted her back then stood up, “All I ask is that you don’t start a bar fight,” you laughed then offered her a hand up.

“Please, I’d knock him out long before it could turn into a bar fight,” she smirked.

“I don’t doubt that, not for a second,” you shook your head as you both made your way out of the back room and back into the main part of the pub. You jerked your jaw towards the back of Bucky’s head and gave her a stern look and she rolled her eyes, “Yeah. Yeah. I’m going.”

She walked over to him, grabbed his arm and forcefully pulled him up, ignoring his questions as she dragged him out the side door. Half an hour later they both re-entered from the same door, looking like they were both seeing stars. You smirked. Clearly the ‘talk’ had gone well.

Over the next few days Bucky showed up every day, like clockwork. Sitting in the same spot in Nat’s section and ordering the same drink, every time. Though Nat never asked you to cover the table for her ever again. So clearly their talk went better then just ‘well’.

You looked up to see her at his table, a giant smile on her face as they talked and you felt yourself frown a little. You felt silly for being a little miffed by their interactions. You were so happy for Nat, for her getting a second chance on love, but at the same time it only made you realize more that you were alone. And would be for a long time. You hadn’t really ever experienced a love like that. One that lasted through all the hardships. Through all the years. A love that you just couldn’t forget, no matter how hard you tried. At first you thought you’d loved him, you thought you’d love him forever. But then he flipped, he changed right in front of your eyes and after a while you no longer liked the man staring back at you. Let alone loved him. Maybe you had never experienced true love before, maybe you never would. You were unlucky in love, obviously, and maybe that would never change. No point risking your life, or anyone else’s, for lust or a slight infatuation. That wouldn’t be worth it. Not one bit—

“I’ll take that second drink now.”

You froze, knowing that deep voice instantly. You slowly turned your head and came face to face with those same piercing blue eyes. The ones that had basically been etched into your mind for the last week. You quickly adjusted your shocked expression into a more neutral one and took a deep breath.

“Scotch. Neat?” You asked. Though you already knew the answer from your previous run-in.

He smirked, and you were starting to think that he just naturally always smiled in a seductive way, like he was just made to fluster woman and have them begging him to take them home. It had an air of cockiness to it, but also didn’t seem forced or faked. Like it was just him, just his natural charm.

“You remembered.” He whispered, though you weren’t sure if he meant for you to hear him, but you had. And something in his voice seemed almost shy? ..Timid? ..Nervous? You couldn’t tell for sure. But something about a mob boss seeming so soft threw you through a fucking loop. Here was this man, the fucking King of New York, responding to you like he was terrified of you. It made your heart rate jump up, and the blood rush to your face.

You shook your head as if trying to clear your thoughts and calm your bodies reaction, “Kind of hard to forget.” You answered honestly. But whether you meant him or the drink you’d never say. Not to his face at least.

He looked please by that response, “Good,” he damn near growled out. His voice was so deep it sent a chill up your spin. There was nothing shy about his response this time. It was like a switch flicking, one minute shy and nervous, the next assertive and confident. It made your fucking head spin. But in all the right ways.

You nodded then turned around to grab the scotch off the shelf, hearing the familiar screech of one of the bar stools being pulled out from its spot tucked neatly under the bar counter. Guess he’ll be staying this time. You kept your back to him as you grabbed a glass and made his drink. Once you put the bottle back you turned and placed the glass in front of him. Noticing a bill on the bar top you furrowed your brows and looked at him.

He just chuckled and shrugged.

“But you said—I thought we agreed that I still owed you one?” You asked.

“You do.” He replied as he picked up his drink with one hand a took a sip, while his other hand slid the bill across the bar top towards you.

You picked the bill up, your fingers grazed his and you were acutely aware of it. You held the bill up. “Then why are you giving me this?”

He took one more sip then put his drink down and leaned in, with his elbows on the bar top, as if he was about to tell you a deep dark secret. You narrowed your eyes at him but then leaned in slightly as well, meeting him face to face in the middle of the bar counter. Your close proximity mixed with the delicious smell of his cologne made your heart flutter and brought back the feeling of a handful of pop rocks in your stomach. But then he began to speak and it damn near sent you over the edge. His voice all of a sudden had this deep husky tone to it and it was basically destroying you. “Because I’ve just decided, I’ll only accept payment for the second drink if you agree to a date, with me,” he pulled away and then leaned back fully in his chair, arms crossed, drink in hand, and a smug as fuck look on his face. “Them’s the terms, doll. Take it or leave it.”

You stood back up, eyes still narrowed, except now you crossed your arms as well. “Oh, is that so?”

He chuckled, “Yup.”

“And if I don’t agree to a date with you?”

“Then you still owe me,” he shrugged and took a sip of his drink. “Which, if I might add, is not a fun place to be. I take debts owing to me very seriously. So, what do you say, doll?”

“Can I,” You hesitated for a moment, “Can I have some time to think about it?”

“Of course, but word to the wise, I’m not going to just go away. You’ll agree eventually,” he shrugged, “So there really isn’t a point in fighting it for too long. Just a waste of both of our time.”

You raised a brow at him, “How do you know I’ll agree ‘eventually’?”

He motioned with his index finger for you to come closer once again, then he leaned in but this time much, much closer as he put his face directly beside yours as if he was going to say something again. But instead of speaking, you heard him take a deep breath, as if smelling you then releasing it slowly. The feeling of his warm breath danced along your skin, and goosebumps broke out everywhere it reached. You clenched your eyes shut and held your breath when he whispered in one of thee most seductive tones you had ever heard, “Because I know you want me just as bad as I want you. I can see it in your eyes.”

He pulled away, and your eyes snapped open, but his words had left you momentarily frozen in place. He then finished the last of his drink in one gulp, stood up to button up and adjusted his suit jacket, as if nothing had happened, “Enjoy the rest of your shift, Y/N,” he took a card out of his pocket, put it on the counter then slid it towards you. “This is for when you realize you want that date.” he smirked. Yes, that same fucking smirk. And then he walked out. Leaving you basically glued in place, still hunched slightly over the bar resting on your elbows.

Once you heard the pub door close, you let out a deep breath then looked around seeing Nat and Bucky both staring at you, both with amused expressions on their faces. Fuckers. They had clearly witnessed that whole interaction. You rolled your eyes then grabbed his stupid card off the bar top, and put it in your back pocket. Like hell i’m going to call him—at least not right away. You groaned and pinched the bridge of your nose. Fuck. He had called you out on your shit. And he had been right. You did want him, and fucking bad.

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

@hopefulmoonobject @itsstillnotwhatyouthink @tessvillegas @boxofteenageideas @wangdeasang @giggleberts @casuallydarktiger @theonelittleone

[instigare]

Event Report: Wake Up, Girls! FINAL TOUR -HOME- ~PART III KADODE~ Kumamoto

This is an event report from 5th Jan 2019 archived from my Wordpress blog. You’ve probably already read it. I’ll add photos later.

Writing this on the plane back to Tokyo from what I would consider a treasure-filled three days in Kumamoto. I will never forget this weekend and I genuinely dread having to go to school tomorrow.

My flight to Kumamoto was on the day of the live itself, a 0710 flight from Haneda Airport bound to arrive in Kumamoto Airport at 0910. My plan was to head straight to bed as soon as I got home since I’d have to wake up at 3 AM to get to the airport in time. Much to my dismay, the blend of excitement over finally being able to go see Yoppi at Kumamoto, and the anxiety over the fact that if I’m unable to wake up in time I won’t be able to go see that, had me awake all night and I ultimately gave up trying to go to sleep at around 2 AM. Made myself some fried eggs (Yoppi’s favourite food her mom would make her, from her song Watashi no Ki), got ready, and headed to the airport without a second of sleep. Unsurprisingly, I was already dying when I got to the airport but for some reason I just couldn’t close my eyes. Afraid I wouldn’t be able to get any sleep in-flight, I asked some friends over what to do in order to die in the flight immediately.

The answer was simple: down a can of Strong Zero.

Thus, I grabbed a 500ml can of Apple flavoured Strong Zero (青りんご for 青山) at the nearest convenience store, and downed it in one go right before boarding the plane. Little did I know, turns out that was the same amount of alcohol as three cans of beer. I was so dizzy I bumped into people while boarding the flight, and while I did die when I got to my seat, I felt so nauseated and needed to go to the bathroom so often I basically only got 45 minutes of sleep.

I only recovered after arriving at the venue. What a terrible experience. Never doing that again.

In order to fully enjoy Kumamoto, I decided my only option was to go the ultimate TO route and buy 48 tickets in order to maximise my chance of getting front row. I was completely expecting to not be able to sell the extras, but I did! Thank god. Had to go around turning those tickets into money as soon as I got to the venue. I was still a bit tipsy, and one of the buyers even asked me if I was ok and was genuinely worried. WUGners sure are nice.

Thanks to Surname and Dalmo, I didn’t have to worry about buppan either. They helped me get what I want earlier on. God bless.

Finally, it was time to enter the venue.

Since most of the songs were the same, I’m not gunna write both separately, but I will mention when something is Afternoon or Night exclusive.

My seats were:

Floor 1, Row 3, Seat 31 for Afternoon

Floor 1, Row 6, Seat 19 for Night

Since there was no Row 1, afternoon was basically second row. It was two seats away from the aisle which kinda sucked, but at least I was super close. As for Night, it was right next to the left aisle, which turns out to be the best thing to ever happen, which I will talk about later on.

The live started with a message from Katayama Minami and Nanase Yoshino, both talking to each other about Kumamoto. Nanase offers to give Katayama recommendations for places to eat at. Katayama, surprised at how much Nanase knows about Kumamoto, asks where she got all this info from. Turns out Nanase knows someone from Kumamoto, who goes by “Aoyama Yoshino”. The conversation cuts into a phone call between Nanase and Aoyama, but for some reason Aoyama sounded more like Guri than herself… talking with her mouth full, and being completely uncaring of the conversation. They then continue on talking about how they should visit historical places in Kumamoto and how it’s important for everyone to visit Kurokawa Onsen and Hitoyoshi Onsen (LOL). Nanase then talks about how since this is the first WUG live in Kumamoto, she wished more people could come and see Kumamoto earlier. Katayama then ensures Nanase that it’s not too late, and since it’s KADODE, they still have plenty of chances to show everyone how great of a place it is. “KADODE is not a harbinger of end times, but rather a gate that leads to a new path.” Suddenly, they get another voice message from Aoyama, telling them to shower themselves in Kumamoto cuisine, breathe Kumamoto’s freshest air, and to not forget a single second they spend there, and to definitely come visit again, in the sleepiest, most uncaring Guri voice possible. Katayama then asks Nanase if they could come visit Kumamoto one more time even after the live is over. Nanase agrees, to not visit just as friends, but as family.

“Ikuzo, Ganbappe, Wake Up, Girls!”

All of a sudden, Oota-san’s voice appears out of nowhere, screaming his otaku screams, to which everyone laughs their arse off. He shills how Yoppi is back in Kumamoto and how happy she is over it. He asks if we got ready for the live by eating Yoppi’s favourite Kumamoto foods. He does a spot check on us, and he shills some goods, mentioning how “that specific WUGner” wearing the tour T-shirt, parka, and the windbreaker is wearing the perfect armour. Finally, he asks us if we brought with us our love for WUG, to which the crowd screams as loud as possible.

We then hear random rambling from WUG backstage. I don’t particularly remember what they were saying, but it was pretty random. They do the “Ikuzo, Ganbappe, Wake Up, Girls!” ritual real quick, after which Oota-san comes back to scream at us about how WUG-chan is all fired up. We start chanting “Wake Up, Girls! Wake Up, Girls! Wake Up, Girls!”

They show up in sillhouettes behind the stage curtains. The curtains fall with a bang, and we’re greeted with WUG themselves, wearing the 暴君 outfit, ready to perform their first song.

M01. 少女交響曲

That was so unexpected. Now it makes sense why they ended all of the Part II Lives with this song. They were trying to connect it together with Part III. Pretty cool if you think about it. Also, Yoppi was holding back tears with the biggest smile on her face. People in the back probably didn’t notice but being so up close it was really obvious how teary eyed she was. It must be so overwhelming for her. Kumamoto Shimin Kaikan. The biggest hall in all of Kumamoto. A place she has so many memories at. She’s finally standing there as WUG, looking at a sold out venue. It’s so amazing and I’m so thankful and happy for her. I almost cried looking at her.

M02. 素顔でKISS ME

Source: 初！熊本！あいり (2019 01 08)

Is it just me or did I never notice how people mix during the first instrumental? It was so loud and it was amazing and I wish I knew about it before lmfao.

MC1. Introductions

They introduce themselves and talk about how they’re all glad that they’re performing in Kumamoto. Mayushii tells everyone how if you start your year by screaming UWAAAAH, good things will happen this year, to which everyone screams, and then tells us that she made it up on the spot. BAMBOOZLED. Kayatan talks about how tasty dagojiru is during both sessions, and Yoppi talks about how we were all turned into vegetables during the start of Afternoon because of how nevous she was. She then tells us about how recently she had a dream where she was at Kumamoto stop and they were doing their introductions and when she welcomed everyone to Kumamoto, she was greeted with booing. She knows that it would never happen, but it got her even more nervous, and it made her feel like she was in hell. The audience was filled with laughter it was so funny. We then scream that we love her, to which Yoppi responds with how there will never be another chance again so everyone should boo at her. Wihtout hesitation, the entire audience starts booing at her. I will never forget this moment. I boo’d Yoppi at a WUG live in her hometown.

M03. 7 Girls War

HOLY SHIT. I didn’t think it would actually happen but everyone screamed 「熊本おかえり！よっぴー」 for Yoppi’s part, and the way Yoppi’s face brightened up hearing it, it was beautiful. God bless. I furicopied my heart out for this song as I always do.

M04. 言の葉 青葉

Beautiful. Is there anything more to say about this song? All I can do is just stand there and watch how gorgeous they are and how wonderful their singing is, while furicopying, of course.

M03. 7 Senses

Not many people did 「熊本おかえり！よっぴー」 for Yoppi’s part for this song, but when everyone screamed 「まゆしぃ！」 after Mayushii’s 「よ！」, Mayushii’s face brightened up too because there was never a Mayushii call in either 7GW or 7 Senses, but WUGners actually made it happen. WUGners truly are awesome, and it’s wonderful how obvious the girls make it when showing how happy they are. Oh yeah, Yoppi and Aichan did the USA dance in between too.

M04. 雫の冠

Beautiful. Is there anything more to say about this song? All I can do is just stand there and watch how gorgeous they are and how wonderful their singing is, while furicopying, of course.

TIE-UP CORNER

Only at Night, after 雫の冠, does Mayushii quickly mention that it’s now time for the Tie-up corner. Did she probably forget to in the afternoon?

M05. 僕らのフロンティア

I have been waiting for this song for so long. It’s one of my favourite WUG songs and it gives me the motivation to do pretty much anything. I furicopied so hard to this. One thing I don’t like about the live version is how everyone screams HAI during the instrumental before the chorus. I really appreciate the serene feel of the song and that call is really irritating. A movement against it is building up on Twitter though, which gives me hope for the future.

M06. One In A Billion

The calls for this song are so much fun because of how short but impactful they are. Screaming ONE IN A BILLION with WUG is always fun. This song is so good.

M05. One In A Billion

I actually didn’t even notice they skipped 僕らのフロンティア when they opened with this song! I was way too immersed into how good this song is.

M06. 恋？で愛？で暴君です！

Finally! I get to see this song again. It’s the song that got me into WUG and I love it so much. Fun fact, during Yoppi solo event, a certain something happened and it became a normality for Yoppi oshis to scream よしのー instead of オレモー for this song, and it made me really happy that a lot of people finally got the memo and did it too, or maybe my renban and I were just really loud with the よしのー calls. I was also really confused as to why they wore this outfit during Afternoon but never properly performed it, but at least we still got it at Night. Still wish I could see it twice...

MC2. Outfit Talk

They talk about how long it’s been since they last wore the Renai Boukun outfit and take their time to appreciate how cute of an outfit it is. In the Afternoon, they actually forget they last wore it in Shanghai and say Los Angeles multiple times and then correct themselves later. After this little exchange, everyone but Yoppi gets ready to leave but she quickly stops Mayushii and Nanamin, asking them to stay. With that, we enter the Kumamoto special corner.

SPECIAL CORNER

They start by asking asking everyone if anything comes to mind seeing these three specific people. That’s simple. If you’ve watched that Yonayona stream you’d know that these three are WUG’s チーム西日本. Yoppi being from Kumamoto, Mayushii from Osaka, and Nanamin from Tokushima. According to Yoppi, they’re also known as 飛行機組. Ever since before they debuted, until even after all their training camps and the Wonfes introduction, for those two years, these three were be the ones that would have to take the plane to Tokyo for events and training. At Night, Mayushii mentions that she still has the purikura they took together, which Nanamin remembered, but Yoppi, unsurprisingly didn’t, but later screamed “YES YES YES I REMEMBER”, in fact it was supposedly Yoppi’s idea to take it as チーム西日本. But these three aren’t the only ones that had to finally leave their homes behind for their dreams. Their kouhais had to as well. And since there might never be a chance again for them to do so, they perform their next song.

M07. カケル×カケル（チーム西日本）

Source: 7日だけどあけおめ@まゆ

The HAIs and claps were INSANE. Everyone was SO HYPED. RGR’s best song… performed by WUG? Unheard of! Some people even yettaiga’d! It was awesome. Yoppi did Mocchi, Mayushii did Hayamari, and Nanamin did Acchan. It was pretty well thought out, leader did leader, centre did centre, and Nanami did Nanami lmao. At Night, some people did some gachikoi call during the opening instrumental which I couldn’t quite catch, but it was fucking awesome as well. Furicopied so hard, screamed so loud, and clapped excessively. I was dead by the end of it, and I’m sure everyone else was too.

"I'm no longer afraid."

After that energetic performance, Mayushii talks about how they always end up having to follow along with Yoppi’s antics, and sarcastically mentions how she’s everyone’s beloved leader. Yoppi butts in with an “of course I am”. They ask if we saw カケル×カケル coming and if we were surprised. No fucking shit we were god fuck that was amazing. Yoppi talks about how the lyrics of the song has elements that really speak to her and that she’s been wanting to perform it herself, so she took her chance and did so. They then cut into the reading live section, mentioning how this song talks about “home” a lot.

Yoppi: Everyone, welcome to Kumamoto! How did all of you get here? By plane? By train? By walking? Thank you all for coming, whether near or far. The story we are about to tell you is about three girls with hometowns, just like all of you.

Nanamin: Yoppi, who are you talking to?

Mayushii: Talking to yourself?

Nanamin: You’re always like that.

Yoppi: No I’m not. Anyway, the three of us, standing here like this, feels really nostalgic doesn’t it. Here in Haneda Airport.

Nanamin: I wonder if that restaurant is still there! The one we always went to!

Mayushii: That bibimbap place?

Nanamin: Yeah!

Mayushii: If I recall correctly, it was upstairs. I know the way without even looking at the map.

Nanamin: I know right?

Yoppi: We sure did go there often.

Nanamin: We’re here!

Mayushii: That was fast.

Yoppi: My favourite bibimbap is gone!

Mayushii: You’re right!

Nanamin: Eh? I wanted to eat that too…

Yoppi: That nostalgic taste… not being able to eat it again...

Mayushii: But that smaller sized regular bibimbap is still there.

Mayushii: I can’t believe it’s been this five years since then.

Nanamin: It feels like it was just the other day.

Yoppi: During our training camps, we would regularly do airport rushes!

Mayushii: We would often run down staircases carrying up our luggage.

Yoppi: Yeah! That really stressed my body out!

Nanamin: Running while screaming over how we won’t make it.

Yoppi: And didn’t we often study for our tests?

Mayushii: Yeah!

Nanamin: Yeah!

Mayushii: If you think about it, we were at that age when entrance exams were right around the corner. Our centre exams were at the exact same time too.

Yoppi: I’d read out questions to you too.

Mayushii: Yeah, you didn’t understand the questions but you’d read them out regardless.

Yoppi: Yeah. We’d even talk about our school teachers.

Mayushii: And often hearing complaints about teachers I don’t even know!

Yoppi: Yeah! Nanamin and Mayushii did this a lot.

Nanamin: Yoppi, you’d do it too! You’d often talk about your choir teacher!

Yoppi: No I didn’t! (Shut up, she’s here today)

Mayushii: She did.

Yoppi: And Mayushii, didn’t you often study in the plane too?

Mayushii: Yeah I did. I’d listen to music while doing so though.

Nanamin: Music?

Mayushii: Yeah, in-flight radio. The anisong section had a personality I really liked! Not to mention, i☆Ris songs would play sometimes too.

Yoppi: I used to listen to §Rainbow so much! I’m getting flashbacks from back then all of a sudden… YUU-CHAAAAN!

Mayushii: What about you Nanamin? Did you listen to anything while on the plane?

Nanamin: Hmm.. let me think…

Yoppi: It was quite a while ago.

Mayushii: She was probably asleep.

Yoppi: You’re right, this is Nanamin we’re talking about.

Nanamin: Oh yeah! Yuzu!

Mayushii: Oh, you were awake.

Nanamin: Is that so strange?!

Yoppi: Speaking of, who was it that-

Mayushii: Ah! The last flight to Kumamoto is leaving soon!

Yoppi: Eh?!

Nanamin: It’s already this late?

Mayushii: Yoshino, dash! Speaking of, I need to leave soon too.

Nanamin: Me too.

Mayushii: Let’s go.

Nanamin: Yeah.

Mayushii: Alright, see you next week!

Nanamin: See you Yoppi!

Yoppi: You guys too! Bye!

Yoppi: I separate with them at baggage checking. The sounds of the airplanes echoed quietly. I headed to the gate. Five years ago, the feelings I felt in this place, were happiness and confusion around finally being able to go home. What I feel in this place now, are happiness and loneliness. But strangely, despite that loneliness, I find myself smiling, and that’s probably because I realised I have a place to call home. Kumamoto, the place I was born and raised, the place my friends and family built for my heart to call home. While it feels like a far away place, under this vast blue sky that these airplanes fly, it’s in a very close place. I’m no longer afraid.

Nanamin and Mayushii leaves the stage, and Yoppi gets into position.

Yoshino's Letter

After that energetic performance, Yoppi talks about how in the Afternoon they did a reading live, but for Night, she wrote a letter to everyone, which she wrote at 3AM the night before. She’s super awkward before starting to read the letter and it’s so cute, you could tell she was really nervous.

With a slow, piano-only version of the Polaris instrumental playing in the background, Yoppi begins reciting her letter.

Everyone, how are you? I’m fine. The Kumamoto stop is finally here. My first gaisen (凱旋). Are you all enjoying it? Did you eat all the delicious food? Have you fallen in love with Kumamoto? This city that you all came to love, this city where I was born and raised...

I used to hate it.

I’m sure there are plenty of people that know about this. All the frustration that built up ever since I started these activities, all the way until I moved to Tokyo, I can still remember vividly. An everyday life of succumbing to unfairness, and most of it was because I lived in Kumamoto. I was always extremely busy back then, and I never noticed just how many people were working hard for me. The resentment just kept building up, and before I knew it, everytime I’d come back to Kumamoto Airport after work, “I’m back… again…” was all that would come to mind.

In front of WUGners, I always wanted to remain cheerful and fun. So, I would throw all my pointless frustrations at my mother, and made her shed plenty of tears. All that she would do for me, from driving me around, to the bento she would ready for me every morning. I would never thank her, and all that would come out of my mouth were curses. I caused her so much trouble.

I’m so sorry.

Present day, four years have passed since I moved to Tokyo. I can’t get used to it at all. I don’t know any good restaurants. The train system is extremely difficult. For that, I am so thankful for Kumamoto that not only do most train stations only have one platform, but that I know where to get the best monja, which I told everyone about, and I know where to get the best pasta too, but I’ll keep this one a secret. I think to myself that these things exist in Kumamoto, and it makes me glad.

The pointless feelings I held, the frustrations, disappeared as the pointless feelings they were. That was my move to Tokyo.

What should have been obvious was never obvious to me. I terribly regret having ever hated this place that was always by my side. I have a place to come back to, a HOME. I will never, ever forget that.

But that’s not all, I have another HOME that I hold dear to me, and that’s Wake Up, Girls! Nanase Yoshino, who helped fulfill the dream I’ve had since primary school. The members, who are not only my greatest rivals, but my greatest companions. The pleasant staff, who supported us to where we are today. And the greatest family one could ever wish for, WUGners. Thank you all for showing me sceneries I would have never been able to see on my own. Thank you for showing me so many different HOMEs. Thank you for raising me up to where I am now.

Thank you, so, so much.

I don't want to regret a single second until March. I want to show as much gratitude as my heart can handle. I hope that every moment we spend together can be like treasure to you.

If I write any further, I won’t have anything to say in the final MC.

Finally, thank you all for coming all the way to my beloved Kumamoto.

5th of January, 2019. Aoyama Yoshino.

Pin drop silence. Not a single light could be seen. Yoppi’s eyes were glistering with the tears she was holding back. Faint sobs could be heard from around the audience area, mine included.

After reading the letter, Yoppi tells us about how you should never hate your own home, and that we should hold dear everything that brought us to where we are now. She then introduces the next song, while expressing her gratitude.

I cried so much while she read the letter. While she writes about Kumamoto, it’s extremely similar to my hometown of Kagoshima, which is incidentally right next to Kumamoto, and it echoed in my heart so vibrantly. Every single word she said, I could relate to. Being able to stand in front of so many people, and even her own friends and family who were there as guests, and recite this letter, she really is a strong person. I respect her so much.

M08. わたしの樹

Source: お正月明けはよぴの日@かやたん (2019 01 06)

Yoppi sings alone in front of her mic. Visuals of Kumamoto play in the background. Rivers, birds, trees, temples, occassionally pictures of Yoppi herself. I couldn’t take it. People normally talk about how something “made them cry”, but they don’t actually cry, they teared up, or their heart felt heavy, feelings like that. But I actually cried. I don’t know how many years it’s been since I cried like this. I’m asthmatic, and I was actually having trouble breathing. Just thinking about how Yoppi is finally getting to sing Watashi no Ki, a song that she poured her love for Kumamoto and her childhood into, in Shimin Kaikan, a venue in Kumamoto where she holds so many memories, it must be overwhelming for her. She was tearing up as she sang it, and in the night session, she actually choked on her own words and started sobbing. It was actually so painful. I couldn’t hold back my tears at all. The screams from the crowd… 「頑張れ！」「よっぴー！」... everyone started waving their penlights blue as well. She quickly got a hold of herself, and continued singing, but stronger than any song I have ever heard her sing in my life. It was Yoppi at her maximum potential. I’m sobbing just typing this. The images are so vivid in my head. Blurry, but vivid. What I saw in that moment was an angel. An angel named Aoyama Yoshino, and it was at that moment that I realised, I am so glad to be born a Yoppi oshi. The clapping after that god tier performance only got louder and louder. That was the second longest applause at any WUG venue I’ve been to, only topped by Morioka’s special corner.

V01. INTERLUDE

A slower, lighter version of the TUNAGO instrumental played while they showed pictures of Yoppi. From her childhood, all the way to her time in WUG. Pictures of her as a baby, pictures of her school life, pictures of her performances from when she was younger, off shots of pictures she’s posted on her blog, off shots from WUG events, all pictures we have never ever seen before. After that, handwritten messages from each member to Yoppi were shown. I don’t remember the details, but they were from heart to heart and it was beautiful.

The screen goes blank, and they come back on stage wearing the new Memorial outfit.

M09. HIGAWARI PRINCESS (PRINCESS Yoshino ver.)

They changed up this song completely! They use umbrellas instead, with the princess umbrella being pink with a golden rod while everyone else’s were white. The dance was changed as well to match this. Parts where they would pass the stick around turned into them passing the umbrella around while the princess walked under it with the current holder. It felt so fresh, and I’m so glad I got to see Princess Yoshino one last time. Also, at Night, she shouts “みんな、笑って！” to get everyone to smile because everyone was soaked in tears after that special corner. I thought that was really nice of her. God bless her.

M10. 16歳のアガペー

THE SCREAMS WHEN THIS SONG CAME OUT. This is one of my favourite WUG songs. Holy shit, screaming YOPPPPIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII at Kumamoto felt SO BLOODY GOOD. What’s cool was that a lot of people read between the lines and screamed Yoppi too even if she weren’t their oshi, which was extremely thoughtful. I can’t say this enough but god bless WUGners. I furicopied like there was no tomorrow and even did all the spins. At Night, there was an Aichanfag that screamed AICHAAAAN during her solo, but we’re used to that at this point.

MC4. New Outfit, New Song

They talk about their outfit and how while we’ve seen it before but this is the first time they’re showing it to everyone. Everyone screams for them to spin. In the Afternoon, Myu takes one for the team and does her ballet spin for us. She then mentions how she is the princess for the day to which Yoppi gets angry and calls her names, to which Myu responds with “I don’t want my princess status stolen by anyone else” in the most ojousama voice she can put out. After that exchange, Mayushii starts shilling some other event goods, and then starts explaining the outfit and MEMORIAL. She talks about how there are four new songs each by a different composer from MONACA and that they will be performing one of those for us today. Yoppi then tells us to try and guess who the composer is.

And the name of the song is...

M11. 言葉の結晶

Source: お正月明けはよぴの日@かやたん

In the Afternoon, there was a group of Monaca oshis sitting by us, and as soon as the first beat dropped, one of them screamed “恵一！！！” which was fucking hilarious. How the hell did they know with that little information? Regardless, this song, the entire performance was amazing. It was so different from anything WUG has ever done before. The song had so many elements that just make you go holy shit, and the dance seemed so sophisticated it’s surprising how they managed to pull off dancing the entire thing while singing. It really felt like this was the product of six years of their hard work, and to think this is the first song they unveil. How mind blowing will the next three be?! I’m not going to explain anything else about the song in case people don’t want to be spoilt. The one complaint I have is that during the instrumental part everyone at the back starts clapping which was pretty annoying when I’m trying to enjoy the new song. A lot of other people feel the same way, including Minyami.

MC5. Last Spurt

They ask us how the new song is, to which everyone responds with loud screams of approval. They talk about how difficult the song is, and how it’s much much harder than any other song they’ve ever done. They then tell us that this song was composed by Hirokawa Keiichi, and the group of Monaca oshis sat near us screamed because they were right lmao.

Mayushii then tells us that it’s now time for the last spurt, and that it’s going to be a hell of a ride.

M12. Beyond the Bottom

I’m sure you all know this but this is my favourite WUG song. The lyrics strike my heart so hard and everytime I see this song live I just can’t wave my penlight. I can’t help but stand there and gaze at them, appreciating their powerful voices and goddess tier performance. Also, I never had the chance to talk about this so I’ll talk about it now. The dance for this song has a lot of elements of them “pulling each other up”. I don’t really know how to explain because I’m not very familiar with storytelling through dance, but the biggest example is when they sing “change your mind, my friend”, the six members singing behind the one singing that line stand diagonally two by two and pull each other to each others positions. I feel like the diagonality expresses vertical positioning, one being on top of the other, and them pulling each other to each others position symbolises how they sacrifice each other to pull the other up. I think it’s really cool, and I’ll think about talking about the song lyrics and dance in more detail some other time.

M13. タチアガレ！

It’s tachiagare. It’s been performed so much and everyone and their mom has seen it there’s nothing to talk about, other than the fact that Yoppi’s solo felt a lot more powerful than usual.

M14. TUNAGO

You wouldn’t think that a slow song like this would be performed after the likes of Beyond the Bottom and タチアガレ. But believe me when I tell you that this song is just as powerful, at least from the context of a WUGner. Although TUNAGO was the theme for 4th Live Tour and the Solo Event Tour, I think it was extremely fitting for today too. In this Final Tour, we’re connecting each member’s roots together, and carving the path to SSA. It was extremely apt for them to perform this song at Kumamoto, which serves as an important point for this tour, being the first stop of Part III, as well as Yoppi herself, as the path she’s walked for the past six years has finally connected and materialised itself to her first performance in her hometown as WUG, and that while it may be the final tour, it’s only the beginning of her story.

Also, I can’t believe I remembered the steps of the「手を繋ごう」part. I haven’t seen this song since… WUG 4th Omiya I think, which was the first proper WUG live I’ve been to. Memories from those times flashed in my head and it just felt really emotional.

After they performed TUNAGO, they said their thanks, and left the stage. Wait! I didn’t get my moneys worth yet! WAKE UP, GIRLS! WAKE UP, GIRLS! WAKE UP, GIRLS!

ENCORE

After what feels like hours of chanting “WAKE UP, GIRLS!”, they finally come back on stage. This time wearing the awesome KADODE shirts with the lovely SHIFT skirts.

E01. Polaris

I was wondering why they didn’t perform this. So glad they it happened in the encore. Sitting so close to the stage, I could clearly see Mayushii’s face light up like the stars of Polaris when everyone switches their penlight to red during her solo. Yoppi also gave my renban and I a LOT of responses during this song in both afternoon and night.

E02. 地下鉄ラビリンス

FINALLY. THIS SONG IS SOOOOO FUN. WE SCREAMED SOOOO HARD. THE UH HAIS WERE INSANE. Fun fact, during the 「ぜんぜんぜん　乗りこめないよ」 part, a lot of people screamed 「オレモー！」 because it was a running meme that day over how many people missed their flights and a couple of people actually spent upwards of 70k yen just to get flights on day to make it to the live. In the middle of the song, Aichan, Myu, and Mayushii legit RUN to the second floor, while the remaining four stay on stage and do call and response for the “rap” part. They said the line, and we repeat the line. It was super fun! After that, the remaining four also walk past the aisles. This is where I got what is probably one of my best responses ever. I was sixth row aisle seat for Night, and thanks to whatever stroke of luck, Yoppi passed by that aisle. She spotted me, waved towards me from the fourth row, kept waving at me, and at sixth row she waved at me from literally 5 cm away, and kept waving at me until the seventh row, after which she gave other people waves. I got the longest wave ever, holy shit. My renban was so frustrated he wanted to switch places with me for when they walk back. Yoppi didn’t even look at him! GET FUCKED IDIOT. Yappari Yoppi loves me.

MC5. Final Messages (Afternoon)

Source: 夢だね(虎>ω<)美海 (2019 01 09)

They talked about 地下鉄ラビリンス and then shilled some announcements, and continued on to their final messages one by one.

Myu talks about how it was her first time on the second floor during this tour, and how even people not her oshis changed their penlight colour to orange for her, and that made her really happy. While she talks about how the entire year of 2018 she spent thinking about WUG and WUGners, someone from the audience screams オレモー！ to which she responds wiith オレモ and continues to talk about how she’s so glad that she was able to come to Kumamoto.

Nanamin talks about how the little things that make her realise she’s in Kumamoto, like the changes in dialect, help her enjoy Kumamoto a lot. She talks about how performing songs like Kotonoha Aoba, TUNAGO, and HIGAWARI PRINCESS in Kumamoto made her happy considering the fact that those were songs that were mainly based in Tohoku but they were able to connect (繋ぐ) those songs together all the way to Kumamoto, and make tons of new memories.

Minyami talks about how she can’t believe it’s already 2019, and how during the new years vacation they didn’t do any practice and instead everyone (almost) went back to their hometowns, and Yoppi bothered her at her home, and how when they thought about how WUGners will be going all the way to Kumamoto while thinking about WUG in their respective homes made them feel really glad. She then casually mentions how the number of people in blue were a lot more than usual (you’re damn right they were), to which Yoppi responds with “you don’t know that, maybe they’re wearing the 継続して欲しいにゃん shirts” (which was actually true). She then finishes with how it’s their first time in Kumamoto and how warm Yoppi’s home is.

Mayushii talks about how Part III has finally begun, and that the theme of the live is to get people to feel what HOME is like, and especially Kumamoto, where the corners were thought up by Yoppi and you can feel Yoppi’s love towards her home a lot. She then talks about how WUG might be based in Sendai, each part of the FINAL TOUR is in various different places, and they want these places to all feel like they’re our homes as we go to each stop.

Aichan talks about how it’s her first time in Kumamoto, and that while she lived in Sendai, she always thought of Kumamoto as an extremely far away place. Now that she’s finally here, she feels like it’s a lot closer than she thought and that she was able to understand that there’s lots of things that she can do for the place, and even though she’s physically far away, everyone’s hearts are still connected. She finishes by expressing how glad she is that her first experience in Kumamoto was with WUGners.

Kayatan talks about how Yoppi was originally the one to bring up the idea of going to everyone’s hometowns for a tour. In response, Yoppi tilts her head, making Kaya go “right?”. Yoppi then finally remembers and mentions how long of a time ago that was. Kayatan then talks about how when Yoppi came to Iwate for the Morioka live, she was really happy over how Yoppi experienced Iwate a lot, and because of that she was determined to experience Kumamoto to its fullest when she’s finally here. She then talks about the reason that she’s able to work so hard today was not only thanks to WUGners, but thanks to Yoppi as well.

Yoppi talks about how everyone says such nice things and how happy she is over that. She talks about how the moment she joined WUG she’s wanted to perform with everyone at Kumamoto, and how the earthquake that happened two years ago made her feel even stronger about this. She wants the context of WUG to not be exclusive to Tohoku, but rather it should be spread to all sorts of different places, and so being able to perform so many different WUG songs in Kumamoto makes her extremely happy, and how glad she is that one of her biggest dreams have finally been fulfilled. She then expresses her surprise that she is standing in 市民会館. She talks about how this was the place she performed a really mundane role in some random music concour during her primary school. She talks about how surprised she is over it and how when she was told that they were gunna perform at Kumamoto she imagined it would be a much smaller venue and had all these different halls in mind that she would love to go to but when she was told it would be 市民会館 her jaws literally dropped. She believed that there was no way that it would be full but WUGners proved her wrong. She expressed her thanks, and then mentions how there is still one more wish she wanted granted. What brought her to where she is today, is choir, and that she wants to perform a choir with everyone. She throws a tantrum over it and everyone responds with “really? Do we really have to?” and casually gets into formation. They then perform that one song they didn’t perform despite having worn the outfit, in acapella.

E03. 恋？で愛？で暴君です！（合唱）

It was BEAUTIFUL. It was only the chorus part that was performed, but it was so mindblowingly amazing I wish they performed it in full. I really wish I had the linguistic ability to describe it to you but it’s impossible to put into words. They really are talented.

Yoppi then talks about how happy she is that her dream was finally fulfilled and it gave her a huge smile on her face. Wait, smile? SMILE?! IT’S HERE.

MC5. Final Messages (Night)

They talked about 地下鉄ラビリンス and then shilled some announcements. They announce the title of their Final live, 「想い出のパレード」, and talk about how they thought of the title together during their uchiage and it really made them think about how difficult of a language Japanese is, and how they looked up all sorts of different kanjis and turned into chuunis. After this, they continued on to their final messages one by one.

Myu talks about how this Kumamoto live ended up a huge success thanks to Yoppi’s hard work. How Yoppi can honestly express herself from the bottom of her heart really made her believe that Yoppi truly is the leader of WUG. She then talks about how difficult the new song is to perform but be prepared for there are three more new songs and they fully convey how much WUG has grown as a unit.

Nanamin talks about how she cried listening to Yoppi recite her letter, and during わたしの樹 when all seven of them sing at the end, she cried so much that she lost her sight (I was too focused on Yoppi to even notice this orz). Listening to Yoppi talk about her mother, she remembered how much she wants to see her own mother and talk to her about today. While Yoppi might be the leader of 底辺ズ, if Yoppi were really 底辺 she wouldn’t be a part of 底辺ズ, and that they aren’t really 底辺ズ! (This made so little sense we were all laughing so hard). Myu then mentions how Nanamin called Yoppi haphazard (行き当たりばったり) in her message during the interlude, to which Nanamin added that if anything that’s Yoppi’s strong point. Finally, she says that thanks to today she was reminded of how much she loves Yoppi.

Minyami starts by talking about how she wants to talk about Yoppi but if she did she’d end up in tears. In fact, she was already about to bawl as she said that. Yoppi also makes a crying face at her, and they both start crying while looking at each other. Minyami says she really wants to talk about her, to which Yoppi responds with a go ahead. According to Minyami, people that can speak their weaknesses are really strong, which is why she thinks that Yoppi is really strong. Being able to recite that letter and even going as far as to telling everyone about her nightmare where she gets boo’d by everyone, Yoppi just blurts out all of that. But if it were Minyami, she would never do it. Yoppi being able to speak her heart like that really makes Minyami glad that she’s the leader. She then talks about how Minyami’s mother is in the audience right now and she’s probably crying as well. Her mother always said that she wanted to go to a live outside of Kanto after seeing everyone elses mothers come from all over Japan to see their daughters perform in Kanto, so she went out of her way to come to Kumamoto. She talks about how being able to feel family ties like that is all thanks to Yoppi, and the fact that so many people came all the way to Kumamoto to see them perform is thanks to Yoppi as well.

Mayushii talks about how after hearing everyone else talk about Yoppi, it made her want to talk about her too, but she won’t, because it would end up really long. Yoppi sarcastically mentions to her that there’s time, so she does anyway. She talks about how Yoppi has troubled her quite a lot, but it’s only because Yoppi trusts her a lot. She talks about how Yoppi always talks about how much she doesn’t understand herself, but she’s probably the one that understands herself the best. She’s able to turn all her weaknesses into weapons, but she does it all unconciously, and how unfair that is. She talks about how close to a miracle it is that she’s able to do these things and get people to follow along with her, and that their trusts and bonds were built thanks to Yoppi in a way as well. So while everyone makes fun of her by calling her a klutz, she;s still the leader. She then says she’ll talk about her more later. Finally, she says that the 門 (gate) of 門出 (kadode) is not a gateway to the end, but rather a doorway to new beginnings.

Aichan talks about how she’s glad that her first live, and first job of 2019 was at Kumamoto. She talks how she learnt a lot from Yoppi today, that you only realise the good things about your hometown after you leave. She also talks about how when Yoppi was talking about her negatives, Aichan thought about how she would never say it like she did. She talks about how it’s difficult for anyone to talk about their weaknesses, and that Yoppi is really strong for being able to do that and that everyone is following her as a leader because of this. (I’m going to be honest, it really felt like Aichan was pulling this shit out of her ass, I felt no love in it and I have no idea why. For one though, Aichan didn’t look at Yoppi once while she was talking about her. It’s just so weird…)

Kayatan starts puzzled as to what about Yoppi she should talk about, and that there’s so much she wants to talk about and she wants to talk about it with Yoppi herself. She then talks to Yoppi about how back then she would often share hotel rooms but recently because they’re all in single rooms now they haven’t really had deep conversations much. She talks about how she was able to feel Yoppi a lot today, and how because Yoppi was the leader, she never had to work as much (sarcastically). Minyami then reminds her that during the first couple of days as WUG, for a very short period of time Kaya was made the interim leader, after which Kaya adds that that position was taken away by Yoppi (sarcastically). She makes fun of Yoppi a lot like this, and then talked about all of the good qualities Yoppi has that makes her a great leader.

Finally, Yoppi. Thanks to Animate Times, the (partial) transcription of Yoppis final MC is documented, so I’ll just translate that while adding the extra undocumented stuff in. Before she started talking though, Mayushii forcefully brought Yoppi to the centre of the stage.

Did you all have fun at my hometown of Kumamoto? Your’re all so loud! Everyone’s so wonderful, they say so much nice stuff about me, but it’s not true. I just can’t hide anything! Whatever it may be about, I want everyone to hear it. But, despite that, there’s still a feeling behind my head of not wanting to say anything (laughs). There hasn’t been any recently, but during watashikais and stuff the more you oshi me the colder my behaviour will be towards you (which explains EVERYTHING, Yoppi never hated me feelsgoodman). Everyone was being tested!

But today, I wanted to properly convey my feelings, which is why I wrote that letter. During the first 2~3 years as WUG, I would always think to myself that I will never come back to Kumamoto. I always regretted being born here, and I would even attack my mother asking her why she would birth me here, and thinking about it now I regret it a lot. But, after leaving Kumamoto did I realise how warm everyone was, and how pointless of a thing I’ve done. I want all of you to feel the warmth of Kumamoto, and impart it to future generations.

I’m! So glad to have met all of you! (audience screams オレモー) You all say such nice stuff to me but I too have something I want to say (言いたいことがあるんだよ)! 好き好き大好きめっちゃ好き! (Yeah, she said めっちゃ instead of やっぱ lol)

Standing here, I am reminded of my childhood when I was chasing my dreams, and finally having my dreams fulfilled, standing here with the members that I love, and the staff that are sobbing at the back there, turn the audience lights on! I can’t see everyone’s faces! (apparently according to some people on twitter the staff were laughing their ass off when this happened) Being surrounded by so many people and having my dreams fulfilled, I am extremely extremely happy!

Part III has finally begun, and we’ll be going at it with all our hearts, so everyone! Please live!!! Thank you all so much for today!

She then remembers that she forgot to talk about something, and starts talking about how this hall is a 聖地 to her, and that if this place didn’t exist she would never have been able to become a seiyuu, which is why she wants to fulfill her final dream of doing a choir with everyone here. They repeat the Afternoon process of exchanging words of unmotivation but ultimately get into position and start singing.

E03. 言の葉 青葉（合唱）

This brought back memories of the special corner at Morioka. It was so beautiful. I’m glad they picked this song, as it means so much as a WUGner, and it means so much to them as WUG too. As they said during their MC, being able to take all these songs that were originally written with Tohoku in mind, and bring it to such far away places and still be able to increase its sentimental value is an extremely wonderful thing. Thank you, WUG.

After this Yoppi talks about how glad she is that she could finally sing this song, as a choir, at Kumamoto, and it put a huge smile on her face. Wait… smile? Masaka...

E04. 笑顔！極上！スマイル！

NANDAKA CHIGAU

SHAAAAASHIIIIN

TEEEE MITAAAAAAA

SHIMAUUUUUUU

NATTAYOOOOOO

TAIGA FAIYA SAIBA FAIBA DAIBA BAIBA JAAAA JAAA

HOUSAKU HOUSAKU

HIIIIIROI

SUUUUGOOOI

NIII KITEEEE

KITE NEEEE

TORA HI JINZOU SENI AMA SHINDOU KASEEEEEN

*fast claps*

They say their thanks, Nanamin waves at me in the Afternoon, and they leave the stage. At Night, before leaving, Mayushii says that Osaka’s next, and asks if everyone is ready. As someone not going to Osaka, I remained quiet as everyone around me screamed. FeelsBadMan.

V02. Post-Live Video Message

With a music box version of Kotoba no Kesshou playing in the background, a small video message from WUG played. In Afternoon, it was them saying how their gunna put in their all for Night, and at Night it was them thanking everyone for coming to Kumamoto, and since Osaka is next, everyone should get ready.

After the live was over and everyone was getting their stuff ready, I screamed with all my heart.

「公式さん！WUG熊本公演！開催してくれて！ありがとう！」

「よっぴー推しに生まれて良かった！」

Everyone screamed, and a lot of people screamed back 「オレモー！」which was awesome. A lot of people screamed 「WUG最高！」 afterwards too and every time someone screamed the crowd roared. We found our way out of the hall, back into reality.

And that was the end. Thank you WUG. Thank you Yoppi. Thank you for showing me what is most likely the most beautiful stage I will ever see in my life. I will never forget this day. 5th of January 2019 will forever be marked on my calendar as the turning point of my life. I’m so glad to be born a Yoppi oshi. I have been saying since the end of November that now is the best time to be a Yoppi oshi, and this live only further strengthened my opinion. I can’t wait to be back in Kumamoto, and I hope the next time I’m back it’s for Yoppi Solo Live. I will always, always support you Yoppi. You’re the only one that matters. Ganbappe!

POST-LIVE BLOGS

Nanami

Firstly, I want to say my thanks for Kumamoto ☆

Yoppi, Mayushii, and me, the three of us Team Nishi Nihon performed Kakeru x Kakeru!

Ranga-chaaaan...!

Our debut felt exactly like the lyrics of this song…

But honestly, this song reminds me less of our past time, but makes us think about the present and what’s to come

It makes me feel sympathy, that’s the kind of lyrics they are （´-`）.｡oO

I wonder if Ranga-chan feels the same way??

Everytime I listen to this song I feel like hugging Ranga-chan with all my heart!

That’s the kind of song Kakeru x Kakeru is to me (*^^*)

The reading live written by Mayushii is our story from 5, 6 years ago.

We would go to Tokyo every week by plane, and we would always head to Haneda Airport together on our way back.

Since we’ve all moved to Tokyo now, it felt really nostalgic and that made me happy! ◎

WUG based in Tohoku, and the three of us from West Japan ^^

Kumamoto, Tokushima, and Osaka tomorrow as well

With the three of us, I’m sure we can bring WUG to West Japan with all our hearts!!

And that makes me really proud （＾ν＾）

Source: 大阪行き新幹線Nanaminn

Kaya

And the first event of 2019 was, WUG Tour Kumamoto!

It’s been a while since we last wore the Boukun outfit!

Also, we wore the new outfit that is being used in the cover art of our Best album that comes out on the 23rd of January for the first time ♪

How was it?

It uses a lot of lace and it’s so cute 💕

Patches and chokers too 💕

With that said, Kumamoto is our leader Aoyama Yoshino’s hometown ☆

She would always talk about how much she wants to go to Kumamoto with everyone! ♪

Her feeling of wanting to make it a success really echoed within us, and made me want to be as supportive as possible.

Everytime I sing the「祈り捧げるよ」part of BTB, what I’m thinking at that moment is different, but today, I prayed for Yoppi, who moved to Tokyo all the way from Kumamoto and is working hard everyday, to have all her future dreams come true ☆

There are people that are already working despite it being right after New Year’s, but came today instead of resting a little bit more!

Everyone, thank you so much!

Yoppi, otsukaresama! ☆

Source: お正月明けはよぴの日@かやたん

Yoshino

Ohayoppi---! It’s me, Aoyama Yoshino. How are you all? Tokyo’s really cold today!

This time, there only one thing I want to talk about! Den! HOME Tour Part 3 KAKODE has finally started!! Den! And the first stop, Kumamoto is finally done~~!!! Including the preparation period, I was sooooo nervous. Thanks to that, I see such weird first dreams. Lmao. But thanks to all of you! It was a success!!! Yay!!! 🎉🎉🎉

It’s finally calmed down a bit so I can write down my thoughts, but just the thought of everyone walking the streets of Kumamoto has me all excited! It makes me want to boast about everything I saw, and I’m sure Kumamoto WUGners feel the same way! ☺️☺️

Things I never would have guessed leaving an impression on people, makes me so glad 🙆‍♀

Something as normal as the taste of dagojiru, which is as normal as that feeling of entering your bed when you’re sleepy. It made me so surprised.

And this! Everyone was wondering what this was at the conbini and it made me so surprised. Is this only sold in Kumamoto? They show that Rakunou Mothers commercial so often on TV!

(Sorry for the sudden selfie)

And with that came the Kumamoto live! 🐻 Since the setlist is a secret for now, I’ll talk about the special corner.

In Kumamoto, Yoppi, Nanamin, and Mayushii formed チーム西日本 (Team West Japan) and covered カケル×カケル by our kouhai unit, Run Girls, Run! Ever since I head this song for the first time, I’ve been wanting to sing it in West Japan. I did the Mocchi part, since we’re both the leader~~◎ There’s a uniqueness to her singing and I love it. Fufu.

We might not be able to meet for some time

I hold my empty hands tight saying

Wait for me, don’t forget me

These lyrics pierced straight into my heart.

After that, in the afternoon we did a チーム西日本 reading live written by Mayushii, and at night I read everyone a letter.

After which, I sang my solo song わたしの樹, which was written with my hometown in mind.

I am glad to have been able to sing this song at Kumamoto.

I am so glad to have been able to sing it as all seven of us.

WUG-chan all talked about how I’m so strong, but in reality I am so weak, but being able to turn these weaknesses into a weapon was all thanks to WUG. On the other hand, everyone being able to hide their weaknesses is stronger! It’s wonderful!!

I am always of no help to anyone, I really am haphazard, I leave my actions to my emotions, and whatever I can’t do I immediately pass to someone else.

But, I was able to grow stronger thanks to WUG! Thank you for making me stronger.

はーーー好き。好き大好きやっぱ好き。

まじでわたしが生まれた理由みんなに出会うためなんだよなあ…？

俺と一緒に人生歩…んでるんだよなあ…？はぁ運命。

(Yoppi doing gachikoi, talking about how she loves everyone and the reason she was born was to meet everyone, and that she wants to walk her life with every- wait, she already is, and it’s fate.)

All of our feelings will be conveyed during this tour! Get ready!

And then, our new song 「言葉の結晶」

P-Professor Hirokawa~~~ Explosion~~~~!!!! The deeper you read into Tadano-sensei’s lyrics, the more complex it gets, but it’s the truth. It was the first time in my life having to erase my feelings and record and perform like this. This song has a lot of messages, and I want to do my best and improve the performance for this song until I’m happy with it.

There is a short version uploaded right now, but please listen to the full version! Although, currently you can only hear the full version at a live!!!!! ◎

Also, this time, I called all my elementary, middle, and high school friends. What all these friends have in common, is that they supported me in fulfilling my dream, and I’m so glad I was able to finally show them that my dream was fulfilled! This was how I showed my gratitude.

The person that wrote the final message in the background video for わたしの樹 came too! 😭✨ I cried so much… I layed down and cried lol.

Kumamoto ended with the staff, and me, crying our hearts out. A lot of things that could only have been done in Kumamoto have been fulfilled, and it was all thanks to everyone!!! Thank you so much!!!

After that, we did an uchiage with all the staff and the members. Everyone kept saying: basashi is great, karashi renkon is great, taipien is great, amakusa daio is great, akagyu is great… they kept saying how tasty all of Kumamoto’s cuisine were and seeing that made me sooooo happy!! I had a huge smile on my face that screamed “Right? Right? Eat more!”, and I probably said that out loud too lol.

Seeing WUG-chan eat like this after so long made me so happy!

Did you all get to eat good food too? Did you all have fun?

I’m so proud, to have been born here, and be able to meet all of you. I’m glad.

Source: 今週の総括・*・:≡( ε:)よぴ237。

[st-fandom-imagines]

Destiny is Strange

I hope you like it, it was a bit longer than I thought it was going to be, I just couldn't stop typing! I would LOVE to do a part 2 for this if you guys would like one. You can find the prompt list here if you wanted to send me numbers and a character like this request :) ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡ Request- anonymous asked: Can you do numbers #20, #35, and #77 with Steve? Maybe where the reader has powers like El and Dustin met her at camp and brought her back to meet everyone? #20-“Don’t try to fix me. I’m not broken” #35-”I just wanted to let you know that I think you’re beautiful.” #77-”There is nothing wrong with you” ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡ “When were you born? When were you taken?” El asked me with her legs crossed over one another, eye staring into mine. “I was born in 1967 and I was taken in 1977.” I responded making her bite her lip and nod slightly. Dustin told me that El would be the only one able to verify if any of my story was true, see as she was kept in the same Laboratory and she was making sure she could find out everything about me. “El can I show you something?” I asked her making her raise an eyebrow, nervous at first but intrigued at the same time. So she nodded, watching my ever movement. “The whole reason Dustin brought me here was because of this. I saved Dustin’s life using my powers, I only worked at the camp because the owners found me after I escaped, just before the Lab was shut down. I don’t have anyone left, my mom loved me, just like your mother loved you. She gave this to me on my tenth birthday, just before I was taken, I use to look at this picture every day and ask my mom when I would meet the other woman in the picture. Anyone look familiar?��� I questioned as I took the folded up picture out of my wallet and handed it to the young girl. She looked at it for just under ten seconds before she looked back up at me with tears in her eyes. “That’s my mom.” She whispered and moved closer to me. “I know a lot about her, I told Dustin the whole story, now I can tell you.” After I told El everything that I knew about our mothers, how they were best friends all their lives, went through the same things including Project MKUltra, the fact that my mom tried to fight for El once she was born but was shut down at every turn and eventually caused me to get taken and her to get killed. She just looked at me, shocked and astonished. She took a deep breath before taking my hand and pulling me into the living room where everyone was sitting, a few more kids had come in while El and I were talking. “So?” Hopper asked looking straight at El, her adoptive father wanted to know if I was safe to be around or not. “She is number thirteen, the doctor would tell me about her, how we were meant to be friends and that some day we would meet, I do not think he meant like this.” She said, handing her dad the picture, and earning the same look that El gave me. “You don’t have anyone, do you, kid?” He asked me, handing El back the picture and earning a head shake from me. “I always wanted a girl, I do have a spare room. You are nineteen, we wouldn’t need to do much paperwork.” Joyce Byers offered, the second adult I had met when Dustin brought me here. El squeezed my hand that she was still holding before looking over at her dad and Joyce. “Well (Y/N) looks like you are part of the group now.” Dustin smiled making El hold my hand tighter and all the kids run over to me and start asking me all kinds of questions. I knew this was going to be a long day. I spent most of the day inside showing Joyce, Hopper and all the kids my powers and what I could do, they all could see I was a little more advanced than El seeing as I was older and I got to use my powers before I was taken to the Hell Lab. There was one other thing that I could do that El couldn’t which was create these energy balls, that my mom taught me how to make, that I promised El I would teach her. They all accepted me, right away, like I was the missing piece to their very complicated puzzle. Around ten the door bell rang and three kids my age walked in, two boys and a girl. El grabbed my arm, as they all eyed me up, nervous they wouldn’t accept me like her friends had. “I explained everything over the phone to them.” Joyce reassured as they all introduced themselves and then began gathering up the kids that they needed to bring back to their separate houses. One of the boys that walked in hadn’t said anything yet, he just stared at me from the corner, he didn’t speak until Dustin walked over to him. Nancy gathered Mike, Lucas and Max, while Jonathan grabbed Will and waited over by Joyce. “(Y/N), you coming sweetie?” She questioned and just before I was about to nod, Dustin cut me off. “Actually Ms. Byers I was hoping (Y/N) could come with me and Steve, I really want her to meet my mom and Steve would drop her off to your house after. Right Steve?” Dustin smiles as he elbowed Steve in the gut who just nodded. “Well okay, as long as (Y/N) is okay with it, I figured tomorrow you could come to work with me and we could talk more.” She smiled as she walked over to me and gave me a small hug. “Thank you, I’ll say hi if anyone is up when I get home and I’ll lock the door when I come in.” I answered to the Byers clan as they left, leaving just Dustin, Steve, Hopper, El and I in the house. “Will you come over tomorrow?” El asked as she hugged me tightly making me chuckle. “As long as pops over here is okay with it.” I joked making Hopper smile and put a hand on my shoulder. “You can come over every day if it makes her this happy.” She promised making El let go of me, knowing she would see me tomorrow. ** “Okay, see you guys tomorrow!” Dustin exclaimed as he went to get out of the back of Steve's car making me whip my head around. "Slow up Henderson, we all just went through the quietest car ride ever for me not even to meet your mom?" I asked making him just nod with a small smile on his face. "That was just an excuse to get Steve to talk to you. See you both tomorrow!" He yelled as he ran up his front lawn making me blush and look over at Steve, the boy who still hasn't said a word to me, I only know his name because of Dustin. "huh, kids. What are you gunna do?" He tried to chuckle off as he drove towards the Byers' house. "You are scared to talk to me but when you do, that is your first line?" I smirked back and he looked over at me with a shocked expression. ”I just wanted to let you know that I think you’re beautiful. I just didn't know how to say it without coming off as awkward or weird but now that I know you have a personality and an attitude, I wont hold back” He confessed with a laugh making me smile an settle into the passenger seat. "I was taken when I was ten, and hated every second of it, I was old enough to begin finding out who I am and what I can do. I have my own sense of self, style and a personality, I'm just a girl, a girl with powers." I laughed, starting off strong but laughing at the end, knowing that sounded anything but normal. "You are not just a girl, I've known you for just over an hour and I can see you are so much more than that." Steve swore as he looked me in my eyes at the red light we were stopped at. He was cute, funny and a little sarcastic but obviously had some kind of wall up if it took him this long to talk to me, like he was scared of something. I looked the other way, breaking our gaze, remembering what every other male in my life had tried to do to me. “Don’t try to fix me. I’m not broken. The doctor, my father, the first boy I ever liked before I got taken, all tried to change who or what I was.” I blurted out, my thoughts spilling out of my head, making Steve stop the car even though the light was green and cars were honking around us. I didn't know why I was opening up to Steve all of a sudden, but I was and it felt good and bad all at the same time. ”There is nothing wrong with you. I wouldn't change a thing, if El and Dustin like you, then there is obviously something about you that is good. I see it too, I just don't know what it is yet, but I see it too and if you let me, I'd like to find out what it is.” He complimented making me just nod and look out the window as he kept driving. This was an insane day, the first of many I'm assuming with this group but for the first time, in a long time, I felt like I belonged.

[chemicalmongrel]

The Union of Beauty and the Beast

Birthday Gift for Francis! | @yunalaqi

Author - Ghost Characters - Warwick, Qiyana, Sizani and Firefang. Word Count - 5,538

It began as many stories of happiness and fulfillment do--with a single spontaneous moment. One crucial meeting that might’ve never happened had the stars not aligned just right, something inconsequential at first blooming into something beatific and majestic. Much like a seed germinated in rich, fertile soil that will one day grow mighty with the right hands to nurture it along and the right level of determination to weather any hardship.  For this, the moment was the day Qiyana and Warwick’s agents agreed on putting together a collab between the two artists. The soil was the constant proximity they had, and their desire to ensure a finished product of superb quality. Meanwhile, the growing fondness they had for one another, the distance between their hearts shortening, were the hands responsible for nurturing the sapling. And their determination to endure strife came through in their refusal to cut off contact once the project came to a close.  They knew one another for several years following their collab, and nothing was ever the same after.  It was most apparent in the works produced by Warwick.  No longer were they harsh, cutting to the quick about seemingly disparate things without any genuine passion behind the words. Rather, more and more harmonious melodies came forward to accentuate loving lyrics directed towards an unseen individual. Each verse was delivered with such enthusiasm and heart that none thought him capable of before. More videos were released about issues around the world, paralleling an increasing effort on the part of the concrete jungle’s king to leave the world a better place than he found it.  Without warning, the beast seemed to have found his long-lost spark amid the embers of the dying fire in his breast.  More subtly was the change in the empress of True Death.  She’d always been a hard-working woman dedicated to seeing the dreams of her and the family she found in the band come to fruition. But after the collab project? It was as if she was trying to outdo herself at every opportunity: rhymes became more fluid, beats resonant all the quicker, the meaning behind every word hit home harder, and the choreography of each video more and more eye-catching.  All in all, it seemed the woman was hellbent on ensuring the stride she hit with her band was but the first stage of TD’s success.  But they never let their evolving relationship slip out to be disseminated to the public. It was all very hush-hush--kept to the coziness of private moments. Of course, this didn’t stop some tenacious people from capturing snippets of intimate moments. Nor did their efforts fully curtail any rumors from being born and spreading to anyone willing to listen. Yet no one realized the entirety of the situation, all thanks to the two’s desire to keep these moments private.  That is until the day Warwick, without concern for anyone watching, decided to take a knee before his queen, his empress, with an outstretched hand and open box.  Then the world of music was abuzz with commotion.

Warwick never expected the sheer scope of planning and setting up a wedding required. This was compounded by the fact that preparing parties had never been his forte, let alone something as paramount as a wedding. This was due in large part to his disdain for large get-togethers. He’d never seen the appeal of trying to rub shoulders with socialites or other well-to-do folks, whether they were part of the music world or not. His dislike for such affairs as those was so great, in fact, that his agents more or less had to bribe him to attend soirees that were very important to his career.  This time, though, was very different--he actually cared about the proceedings, for one. He cared so much that the consideration of performing all manners of awfulness on anyone who tried to spoil the proceedings had crossed his mind a number of times. Yet while he wouldn’t be happy if Qiyana wasn’t, Warwick did his best to console his betrothed when the idea of something going awry worked its way into her head. One way he did so was by taking an active role in helping set the whole thing up.  That way, at the very least, she didn’t have to shoulder the burden alone.  However, this was easier said than done as Qiyana insisted the two of them refrained from seeing one another until the day of, not until she was walking down the aisle. She explained to him--over text--how disaster awaited any bride or groom who met in person before the ceremony. And while he may not have believed such superstition, he was more than willing to humor her to abate her concerns.  Thus he kept his phone on his person at all times, and never let a single notification from his cell go unnoticed.  A notable instance of Warwick needing to shoulder something Qiyana couldn’t see to because of how hectic her schedule was growing the closer the date approached: when she asked him to meet with the wedding planner to help decide on the types of flowers to be used in the decor. It seemed rather trivial to him, but the planner ensured that the proper arrangement of beatific bouquets would cement the memory in every guest’s mind. The skeptic in him wanted to disagree on principle. But he held his tongue and went to go meet with the planner.  They met at the building where the ceremony would be held. I t was an extravagant ballroom lined with massive windows along the back wall as it curved around and provided an overlook of a sandy coastline, the tide lapping against the beach’s particulate without rhyme or reason. One could close their eyes and be serenaded by the oceanic hymn nature was so gracious to provide. There was a gray overcast preventing the usual soft streaks of radiance from cascading through onto the polished marble floor. Rows of seats draped with stark silk and tied off towards the center with an indigo bow provided an aisle for the bride and groom to walk down. Where the aforementioned couple would stand, in front of the priest, was an archway carved out of a single immense block of marble. Floral patterns were conjoined with idyllic scenes of a perennial forest that could trace its history back before the emergence of mankind, all etched into its surface. This ornate aesthetic was furthered by the strips of fine fabric hung from the trusses of the ceiling, each accented by strips of golden embroidery.  Truly, the only thing missing from such a scenic view was a final splash of life and color--the flowers.  “So, I have a few options based on you and your bride’s tastes to choose from--although considering Qiyana’s favorite seems to be the hibiscus, I thought it best to narrow the choices down to species of that specific type.” The way the planner spoke caused Warwick’s ears to chafe.  The woman snapped her fingers three times as she walked with the towering beast down the aisle, stopping and turning to face him once at the spot where the vows would be sworn. Several other people hurried up with an armful of fresh hibiscus bouquets in tow, the bright scarlet heads of the flora bouncing in sync with their carriers’ step. Tiny pearls of gold dotted the tip of the flowers’ stigma, yet the vivid appearance belied a rather modest fragrance.  “These look good, yeah,” Warwick murmured, nodding to himself.  These would no doubt compliment the overall decor if placed with the seats as per Qiyana’s outline. But something nagged at him.  “...these also gunna be used ta scatter on t’e aisle?”  Preoccupied with jotting something down on the papers attached to her clipboard, the planner dismissed the people with a wave of her hand. “Hmm?”  She didn’t even look up from her notes. “Oh. Yes, that would be the plan.”  Looming over her, the beast tapered his eyes and lifted his lips high as either ear stood to attention. He’d never enjoyed having someone not afford him the courtesy of meeting his gaze during a conversation. But this woman, in particular, irked him something fierce.  “Wou’d it be possible ta change t’e kinda flow’r used fer t’at?”  This was enough to catch her attention, evidently, as she looked up with bewildered eyes.  “Ye-es...?”  “Oka’, t’en I’d like ta use Forget Me Nots instead, thank ya.”  “...might I ask-”  “No.”  And with that, the man was sauntering off.  Later that day, he’d crash back into the sofa of his living room with an exasperated sigh before pulling out his phone. Even with the custom design meant to accommodate his unique biology, it was still a hassle to use. Regardless, he pulled up his wife-to-be’s contact information and send her a text--he only hoped she wasn’t busy with anything or too tired to respond.  >>Rohi--I need to ask you somethin.  Afterward, he placed the thing facedown onto the fabric straining against his chest and waited. Thankfully it wasn’t much of a wait. For within the span of a few minutes, the notification blip caught his attention.  >>Yes? What is it? And did you talk with the planner about the flowers?  >>Yeah, I did--that’s actually what I wanted to ask you about. Is it okay that I asked her to change what kind was used on the aisle?  >>Well, what did you change it to?  >>Forget-Me-Nots.  >>Your favorite? They’re really pretty, can I ask why you wanted them?  >>Forget-Me-Nots represent memory, ya ken? Like, if you use em, then it’s like saying you never wanna forget somethin. Mom said she had em next to her when I was born... they were there when she died, too. Our gettin together? Is somethin I never wanna forget, not for a second.  There was no response for several moments.  >>Rohi?  >>Sorry, sorry. That’s so sweet, I love it <3  >>Anythin for you, lov’ <3  Without realizing, Warwick had started smiling like some lovestruck fool--because he was one when it came to Qiyana.  >>I love you so much, Warwick <3  >>Not as much as I love you  >>Nuh uh, I love you more, I have a trophy that says so  >>Well I’ve got four times as big a heart as anyone out there, so I got much more to love with  And it went on like this until the chimera, along with his wifey, passed out.

Frazzled nerves and a stomach full of butterflies were common experiences for women on the day of their joyful nuptials, but Qiyana was anything but a common woman. For her, the day leading up to the ceremony filled her with exponential euphoria and excitement at the thought of being united with her hubby. She’d been smiling the whole time while touching up her visage with a tidbit of makeup. But these feelings were nowhere near as intense as they were now that she was standing in front of a mirror in the dressing room of the building the marriage was taking place in. Something which did not escape the notice of her omele, Sizani, even while preoccupied with helping her grandchild slip into her wedding dress.  At her ripe age, Qiyana's omele was still a beatific woman wielding wisdom and overt authority in equal measures from the dark pools of chocolate amid an ocean of white in her eyes. She was the kind of individual people came to for sage advice yet never understood what was given until the exact moment they’d need it. Her snow-white hair was pulled taut into numerous dreadlocks that curled down past the nape of her neck and rested against her shoulders. Sizani was often seen wearing delicate fabrics colored in differing shades of purple, accentuated by the ornate jewelry commonly found on her person.  Suffice to say, Qiyana owed her beauty to what she inherited from her omele--or so the old woman claimed.  Despite all of her stern demeanor, though, Sizani was more than eager to crack a few jokes and tease her grandchild with her choice of man. It was enough to get Qiyana to crack a smile and giggle alongside her grandmother. She even returned the ribbing in kind as they continued to fit her for her dress--spending time with her omele always put a smile on her face.  Eventually, the dress was fitted snug over Qiyana’s curves.  The outfit boasted a soft palette of pinks and shades of white, as well as the finest silk money could buy. A window exposed her back, framing the veiled skin like a picture one would keep on their nightstand. Strips of transparent material along either fitted sleeve evinced her mocha flesh, each coming to a unified point at a single ring of precious metal around her middle finger. And up from the profuse transparent frills billowing out from the chapel trailing a foot behind her to the decotellage exposing her cleavage, stark embroidery fashioned in the likeness of blooming flowers interwoven with heart-like shapes decorated the fabric. Said decotellage brought attention to the various pieces of jewelry Warwick had bought for her over the years with the centerpiece being a necklace that had half of a heart-shaped locket dangling at the end.  It was as if the Empress of some exotic, far-off kingdom had come to bless the peasantry of a third-world nation with her presence.  Spinning in a circle once, twice and thrice, an ear-to-ear smile worked its way onto Qiyana’s countenance. The same delight was evident on Sizani’s face as she clapped several times. Save for the moment she was signed on by the TD producer, there was no moment in her life that filled Qiyana with as much euphoric joy as the day of her marriage.  “You look perfect~!” Sizani said.  “I know I do, but thank you for reminding me,” Qiyana responded.  As if to further reinforce this fact, there was a series of excited yaps from the third occupant of the room. He normally came up to his mother’s, Qiyana, knee but now was only about mid-shin height with her high heels on. Big ears he’d yet to grow into had only just begun stiffening a few weeks prior, so both were still partially floppy. There was a tiny pink ribbon secured around his neck in place of a collar for the special event. A coat of tawny brown fur with accents of fiery gold covered the body of a wolf puppy that’s barely a month shy of half a year old. This pint-sized bundle of energy and jubilation was Firefang, Qiyana’s most precious baby.  Firefang had been snoozing away atop a fancy downy pillow near where the two women had been fiddling with the dress, and now that they were done, he was up and ready to hoard all of his mommy’s attention.  “Seems like your baby wants to remind you, too.”  She shuffled over and bent over to pinch either of her baby’s cheeks, stretching them out with a grin and giving his head little shakes. Qiyana even scritched behind his ears and placed kisses atop his forehead. This was met by more yapping and a blep of his tongue. He was satisfied with the affection she showered him in.  “Careful, you’ll need to reapply your makeup if he starts giving you kisses.”  “Thank you for the concern, but it’ll be fine-”  There came a knocking at the dressing room’s door, then the voice of Sizani’s husband informing the trio that it was a few minutes until they had to go. So, unfortunately, the hijinx occurring between those within the room had to be concluded.  Sizani approached Qiyana with a soft grin, hands folded over one another against her waist, before reaching out to swaddle her grandchild in either arm. While usually reluctant, the melodica empress leaned into the embrace with a tightness her normal disposition belied. It was the kind of affection she’d never received from her supposed sisters, even her own parents. That was but one reason why she made sure none but her omele and her husband received an invitation to the wedding.  There was fierce yapping from the side, garnering the women’s attention, as Firefang demanded to be included. They smiled and scooped up the canine to be squished between them in the hug. After a moment, once Firefang was balanced atop Sizani’s shoulder, they pulled away and Qiyana finally glimpsed the sheer intensity of pride and exultation burned in the other’s eyes.  “I’m so proud of you,” Sizani whispered.  “I’m so happy you came,” Qiyana breathed.  “I wouldn’t miss my precious granddaughter’s big day even if someone offered me the whole world.”  To witness the sheer joy softening the bride’s face at that moment would’ve been to gaze upon the sun itself as it crested the mountainous horizon with its rose-tipped fingers. For a moment, warm liquid welled up at the corners of her eyes--but being who she was, Qiyana did her best to wipe them away.  Another knock came at the door to serve as a reminder.  “Yes, yes, we heard you the first time, []! Everyone can wait while I congratulate my baby!”  This earned profuse apology on the part of her husband, a confused mmm-ing from Firefang and a hearty chuckle from Qiyana.  The elderly woman huffed a moment, annoyance contorting her visage a moment, before laughing with a sigh and moving Firefang from her shoulder to a more stable grip in either arm and hand.  “No matter what anyone says about you, know that your omele loves you more than anyone--even that lumbering man who’s fallen for you. Okay? You’re the best singer out there, and that man is the luckiest man alive to get to be with you.”  “I know, I know-”  “And if he ever mistreats you!--”  “Omele, please! He’d never do that, but, still... thank you, thank you so much for everything. For always supporting me; for always being there for me. It meant... so, so very, very much.”  An ear-to-ear grin spread across Sizani’s face, “It was always a pleasure to support you...”  Without another word, the two shared yet another tight embrace before parting anew and moving towards the door.  “Shall we?”  “Lets~!”  “YAPYAP!!”  When the door opened, Qiyana was greeted with the jubilant warmth of her omele’s husband and one of her best friend’s smiling faces. They were present for several reasons with the chief among them being to take Firefang off their hands. Each gave the bride their congratulations, sharing a hug and cheek kiss with her while passing off a bouquet of Forget Me Nots and hibiscus, before going off to take their seats with the tiny spitfire in tow. There was a brief moment of struggle when doing so, though, as the puppy was loath to be apart from his mommy. But since it was two people he liked doing so, with the aid of Qiyana’s kisses and reassurances, Firefang was willing to acquiesce.  After they departed, Sizani extended an arm towards her granddaughter and Qiyana took her up on the gesture and interlocked it with her own arm while resting the opposing limb’s hand against her omele’s bicep. Then they began their trek.

Qiyana heard before she saw anything as a delicate piano began its solo serenade of the people invited to the affair. For a moment, there’d been the chatter of those now seated accompanying the piano. But they were very quick to die down to nothing. Then her nose picked up on the duet playing out between the modest fragrance of the hibiscus and the much stronger scent of the Forget Me Not flowers, the latter of which was far more restrained than what it could be had whole Forget Me Nots been used. And once she turned the corner into the open archway leading into the ballroom, she, at last, saw what she’d been anticipating from the moment Warwick got down on one knee.   A trail of Forget Me Not petals led up to where Warwick and the priest stood beneath the marble arch. The former boasted a charcoal black tuxedo, even its custom size left the fabric straining against his bulk, bereft of its sleeves with a maroon red tie secured around his neck. The fur atop his head was slicked back to match the rest of his kempt pelt’s tidied aesthetic. Either of his ears was upright until she appeared, then they angled back slightly as his forehead smoothed while his brow raised up. His eyes, brimming with emotion, widened and his muzzle relaxed, jaw dropped ever so slightly. Framed by the soft palette of reds, yellows and oranges with indigo undertones that would grow increasingly skewed towards violet as the evening marched on into dusk were the people that’d been invited. It was not a large gathering of people by any means as this was a very intimate, private ceremony between those important to the bride and groom, primarily: the members of Qiyana’s family; Yasuo, Akali, Senna and her husband, her best friend and omele’s husband who made sure to keep Firefang from acting too rambunctious atop his seat, the wedding planner, the photographer hired to capture every second of the event, and a seat reserved for someone paramount to the groom.  Who was this individual?  Why it wasn’t a person at all.  Rather, the cushioned seat propped up a single framed picture--the picture it contained was of Warwick’s mother, smiling with her arms wrapped around someone that’d been removed by someone who’d torn the photo.  Sizani tightened her arm around Qiyana’s, getting her to look her way to exchange one final smile before regarding the path ahead of them anew.  In sync with the piano, the two sauntered down the aisle as everyone present turned to watch the scene unfold. Everyone was smiling and quiet, save for Firefang who started yapping upon noticing his mommy. And with every step closer she got to her soon-to-be husband, Qiyana’s heart skipped a beat.  Finally, her and her omele parted with a kiss as she took her place in front of Warwick and Sizani took her seat next to her husband. The look in Warwick’s eyes, as they usually did, told Qiyana everything she needed to hear--just like that, in an instant, every second they couldn’t be together was forgotten, swept away by the deluge of overwhelming joy coursing throughout her psyche. Then the piano came to a waning conclusion as the priest cleared his throat and opened the book he’d been holding against his breast.  “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today, in the presence of God, to witness the joining together of Warwick and Qiyana in the holy covenant of marriage. Warwick and Qiyana recognize that marriage is an important part of God’s plan for mankind. Marriage is not just a social occasion with a religious touch thrown in. It is a service of worship from beginning to end, in which vows are made, prayers are offered, and blessings are given.  “Warwick, if it is your intent to marry Qiyana, please respond with “I do.” Warwick, do you take Qiyana to be your wedded wife, to live together in holy matrimony and forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto her, for as long as you both shall live?”  “I do.”  “Qiyana Yun Tal, if it is your intent to marry Michael, please respond with “I do.” Qiyana, do you take Michael to be your wedded husband, to live together in holy matrimony, and forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto her, for as long as you both shall live?”  “I do~”  By now, those in charge of him managed to quiet Firefang down.  “The ceremony of marriage is the first and oldest ceremony in the world. It was celebrated in the beginning of time in the presence of God himself. Marriage is a gift from God, given to comfort the sorrows and magnify life’s joy. Qiyana and Warwick, in all of life, rare is the moment that is filled with more hope, more joy, and more expectation that this sacred moment. By God’s design this moment will never be repeated, but rather be cherished as long as you both shall live.  “A good marriage is created.  “The little things in your life will become the big things. You will never be too old to hold hands, never be too old to say good night or for a gentle kiss. A good marriage is remembering to say “I love you” on a regular basis. It is never going to sleep angry. It is standing together, leaning on each other for strength and support. It is having the capacity to forgive and forget. It is providing an atmosphere in which each of you can grow. It is finding room for the fruits of the spirit; which are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  “It is not only marrying the right partner--it is being the right partner.  “So much preparation has gone into making this moment a special occasion for you two and your guests. These next few minutes are more important than anything else that will happen today. These are the moments that you will look back and remember when you have children, when you have arguments, when you buy your first house together.  “Don’t ever forget the words that you say this day; with God’s help, they will sustain your marriage through all of life’s ups and downs.”  The subtle angling and twitching of the man’s ears were no doubt caused by picking up on people tearing up from the occasion.  “To all those who have joined us to witness this special commitment by Warwick and Qiyana,” he made a broad sweeping gesture out towards the bridal party, “you play an important role in the lives of this couple. Your attendance here shows that you care for them and are supporting this marriage. I would ask that your support of this marriage not end on this day, but that you continue to support the union that they commit to.  “It is often easy for us to undermine the value of the marriage commitment by saying simple things like “you don’t deserve this, you really should think about divorce” or even taking sides in an argument. Guard the words that you say, in jest and in counsel to this couple. Commit today, as friends and family, to uphold this marriage to the best of your ability and never do anything to harm it.”  He turned and regarded Warwick, craning his neck up to do so.  “Warwick, God has given you a unique personality and talents that add to this marriage. When Qiyana was asked why she chose to marry you, she says that you make her laugh, you got along with those most important to her, and above all else, you cherished her like no other. She said that she appreciates that you value her opinions, yet she can trust you to make good decisions for your family. Paul reminds us in Ephesians, that husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church. At this moment your love for your bride is apparent, I challenge you to grow in that love as you grow old together in life. Put her needs above your own and lead selflessly.” And then he shifted his gaze down to Qiyana.  “Qiyana, as is apparent today, your groom finds you beautiful! When asked why he chose you to be his wife, Michael’s first response was “she saw something in a lumbering beast.” In our conversations together, it became apparent that without you around, Warwick might have stayed forever numb to his surroundings, forever maintaining a cold, stony heart! Warwick values your intelligence and that you are supportive of him as a person and the things that he enjoys doing.”  Then he returned his gaze to between the two of them.  “The two of you have a chance today to start your own family. You complement each other. Where one is weak, the other is strong. When one of you falls, the other can help pick them up. Choose today to keep God as the center of your marriage and there will be nothing that you could encounter that would tear you apart.”  “These vows that you are about to commit are just words, but they cement forever your commitment to one another. Please, join hands and face one another as you recite the vows that’ve kept you up for so many nights crafting, perfecting, for one another.”  They did so without delay, Warwick extending either of his massive mitts to take in Qiyana’s as they met each other’s gaze.  They both started at once, then stopped to chuckle before allowing Qiyana to go first.

 “Before I met you, Warwick, my life was dedicated to my baby, Firefang, and the family I found in Akali, Yasuo, Senna, her husband Lucian and Ekko. I didn’t believe I had the time to fit in something as intimate and precious as what we have now. Never before did I think I’d ever find a man or woman who’d become the entirety of my universe like you have. So no matter what, until the day I breathe my last, I will never listen to the people questioning our relationship, people expecting us to be normal--I will stand by your side, loving you with every fiber of my being.”  Further disproving everyone who decried Warwick as a heartless beast of a man, tears began rolling freely from his eyes as Qiyana recited her painstaking vows. The runnels bled and diffused into the fur of his face. His hands tightened around hers as he cleared his throat to speak.

 “’ve... nev’r been good w’th expressin’ myself through werds, and I of’en prefer showin’ someone ‘ow I feel rather’en tellin’, ya ken? So... what more ken I say t’at I’ve not already shown? So very much, I foun’ out as I thought ‘bout it... Qiyana, when I call ya Rohi, nev’r told ya what it meant--it means, “My soul.” Cause ya ar’ jus’ t’at, yer my soul, my everythin’... I wouldn’ be the man I am now without ya, wouldn’ be doin’ my momma proud without ya--bein’ more ‘n more like my old man... Yer the sun t’at brightens my day ‘n chases the ov’rcast away; yer the muse of my ev’ry song now; yer the woman t’at saw somethin’ a wurth in the body of a monst’r who couldn’ care less if som’un died in front’uv ‘is eyes...  “Yer... everythin’--I cannit even think of a life without ya...”  Now it was the Empress of True Damage’s turn to start shedding tears--something a scarce few people have ever seen. They carved a path down her face, smearing aspects of her makeup and dripping off her chin onto the marble floor.  After a moment of quiet, save for the whining of Firefang at seeing his mommy cry, the priest continued on as he gestured towards the individual standing at the back, near the archway. This person was none other than Ekko as he carried the rings atop their pillow towards the bride and groom.  “Warwick and Qiyana have chosen to present rings to each other as a token of their promise before God and these witnesses. They are a visible sign of an inward bond which unites two hearts in endless love. Warwick and Qiyana, from this day forward, the two of you shall be one.”  Once there, Warwick took the much smaller of the golden bands as he held her left hand.  “Do you Warwick, give this ring to Qiyana, as a token of your love for her?”  “I do.”  “Qiyana, will you wear this ring as evidence of your love for Warwick?”  “I will~” He then slipped the ring onto her index finger.  Then Qiyana took the much larger band.  Because of the groom’s unique situation with his sheer size, a traditional ring couldn’t work comfortably. So a solution was devised revolving around a snapping mechanism that could secure the earring in a hole of his left ear that’d never healed.  “And do you Qiyana, give this ring to Warwick, as a token of your love for him?”  “I do~”  “Warwick, will you wear this ring as evidence of your love for Qiyana?”  “I will.” And so she snapped the ring into place in his ear.  Once his role was finished, Ekko placed the pillow under one arm and stepped to the side.  “Warwick and Qiyana have pledged their love for each other, and have expressed their commitment before God and before this gathering of friends and loved ones. They have given themselves completely to each other and declared it publicly by the giving and receiving of rings. Acting in the authority invested in me by the state, I now pronounce you husband and wife in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit--what God has joined together let no man separate.  “Warwick, you may now kiss the bride, as it is with great joy that I present to you, Mr. and Mrs, Yun Tal.”

 And kiss they did.

[mspaintdisaster]

look at you, strawberry blond

hey............ I don't know how this works but anyways I wrote a kiribaku oneshot and i’m putting it up here too.

I posted this on ao3 too, under the username nerbegg: ao3 link

Rated: T (for cursing)

Word Count: 3.5k

Summary: Bakugou and Kirishima are in the summer of their third year, they go out to pick strawberries at a farm. Bakugou is anxious about their relationship. They talk, feelings happen.

Bakugou could feel the sun blare down on his neck, burning the skin that wasn’t hidden under his hair. He always forgot to put on sunscreen, in general—not used to putting any sort of cream on his skin because of his quirk. Kirishima had been insistent on slathering his face with it when they had met up at his house.

They had gone out to pick strawberries in some local farm. He had come here at the behest of Kirishima, who had asked only once. Bakugou was now avoiding him, crouching down behind a bush of strawberries to keep his body hidden.

He picked the strawberries off, one by one, and slowly dropped them into a small basket that had been given to him at the gate of the farm. He liked the method to the act, examining the strawberries for blemishes, making sure to pull it by its stem, and the careful motion of getting the damned things into the basket unharmed.

He was getting kind of bored with it though. The uniformity had its merits, but Bakugou was growing dead bored.

There was a particular fruit that caught his eye. A small thing—barely the size of the nail of his thumb. He pulled it off the bush and gave it a look over—it was bright red all around. The light of the sun reflected off of it, giving it almost a healthy sort of glow.

He ripped the stem off the strawberry and popped it into his mouth whole.

Someone had once told him, long ago, that the best way to eat a strawberry was backwards. Fat part first, then go down to the tip. It was the part of the strawberry that burst with the most flavor, after all. Sometimes, it was good to do things unconventionally.

“Bakugou! There you are! I’ve been looking for you for like ten minutes, dude.”

Kirishima came into view, a genuine smile gleaming on his face. He had his hair down, he tended to keep it down when they went out alone together. Bakugou would never say it aloud—but he liked it when his hair was down. For one thing, Kirishima didn’t smell like an array of haircare products. He smelled more like his house did—an odd melody of fruit scents that came from all the candles his moms had. But under that he just smelled like all the other boys (and girls, if he was being honest) in their class—sweat and dirt and some odd tinge that Bakugou had always assumed was just what teenagers smelled like.

Bakugou looked down at his basket of fruits and huffed.

“Uh, so,” Kirishima said awkwardly—a bit louder then his usual cadence, “wanna get to some shade? This sun is killing me—ha.”

The sun did seem to be notoriously spikey today. It was midsummer, not quite into summer vacation yet. They were using their day off from school to do this. It had been a slow week, no internship drama, no particularly bombastic classes, no infiltrations, no kidnappings. Just sitting in class and taking notes—and whatever Kirishima did.

Bakugou stood up, making sure to take the basket up with him. He faced Kirishima, who wasn’t meeting his eyes.

“Let’s go,” he said.

It would not be a stretch to say that Bakugou was in a bad mood today. In fact, it was true—he was in a bad mood today.

Well, he was in a bad mood near every day. It was a side effect of being Bakugou—overthinking and overanalyzing everything that happened around you tended to put you on the bad side of the emotional spectrum. But sometimes, Kirishima could help with that.

The problem was, right now, Kirishima was not helping with that. In fact, his presence was doing the exact opposite. Bakugou catalogued his every fidget—every twist of his lips, how he kept cracking his knuckles, the way his eyes looked around at everything but him. And he knew— he knew, he knew, he knew—it was because of him.

They sat together on top of a wooden picnic table, both resting their feet on the bench they were supposed to be sitting on. Their small baskets rested between them, bundled together by a light blue ribbon. Kirishima kept his hands together on his lap, moving his fingers methodically in a distracting sort of way. In contrast, Bakugou had his arms spread out over the table top, leaning against them so that his body was angled back. He was staring up at the near cloudless sky and lamenting the lack of accessible shade.

Kirishima was talking about something, but Bakugou wasn’t listening—and he was sure Kirishima knew. Whatever he was saying, it was more for himself then Bakugou. “I need a fucking hat,” said Bakugou, completely unprovoked.

Kirishima glanced at him and laughed. “I bet the sun is really killing you—that’s what you get for not bothering to put on sunscreen. Now you’re gunna smell like aloe cream for days.”

“Pfft, as if I can’t handle a bit of pain. That aloe shit doesn’t heal anything—no point slathering it on unless you want to lessen the burn,” Bakugou held a hand up and activated his quirk, sending small sparks out of palm, “I’m used to it.”

“You don’t have to be used to it, dude. Sometimes it’s nice to not feel like shit.”

Bakugou shook his head and put his hand back down.

“When is that fucking truck coming though?” Bakugou asked.

Kirishima shrugged. “The sign said the hours were scattered, but they gave approximations. Based on that, it should be here in fifteen minutes.” “My skin’s going to peel off by the time it gets here.”

“That’s your own fault.”

Bakugou hummed. He crossed his arms over his abdomen and leaned forward.

Kirishima tapped his shoulder. Bakugou looked back at him.

“I’m going to head to the, uh, entrance for a bit. I’ll be back soon.”

Bakugou didn’t respond. He watched Kirishima get up and walk back to the building they had gotten their basket at in silence. He thought: Man, I’m really fucking up, right?

Kirishima had officially—like for real—confessed to him a month or so ago. They had gone on a few weird pseudo-dates since then, and they had all grown increasingly more uncomfortable then the last. He didn’t reply—he hadn’t said shit. He had kept his mouth shut and nodded—fucking nodded—when Kirishima told him he liked him.

The thing was, he knew. They both had known. Kirishima kept dragging him on dumb little dates and Bakugou went along with them all, unquestioningly. By the time they had gotten into their second year he had not even bothered to be jokingly antagonistic about it. Things were good, things had been good. Why had Kirishima messed it all up by confessing?

But—Kirishima wasn’t in the wrong, was he?

Love wasn’t something Bakugou was comfortable with. His parents were an unconventional mess of tough love and borderline abusive dynamics. He hadn’t formed a single balanced relationship until high school—he had only cultivated friends who praised him and demonized the one kid who ever bothered to see him as some kind of equal. Deku, fucking Deku.

“Honey, look—the truck’s just about here!” said some lady. There had been two other people waiting with them, two women who seemed to be in their late twenties. Bakugou sat up. There was a truck with a few people coming up the dirt road that intersected between the fields. It was the kind that had an open back—no real chairs. Instead it seemed to have bundles of straw as cushions. Bakugou felt itchy just thinking about it. He scratched his neck, regretting it quickly. He flinched at the feeling of his nails dragging over his skin. He was for sure already sunburnt.

“I—I made it—” said Kirishima, out of breath.

Bakugou turned to him. His whole body was heavying. He bent down, hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. In one of his hands he had a plain sunhat—the same color of the straw on the back of the truck.

“I got this for you—so you wouldn’t end up messing your skin up anymore. I actually went back to see if they had any extra sunscreen—but they said they had just sold their last bottle. Guess I should have pushed harder to get you to put it on back home.”

“I wouldn’t have done it even if you have been more annoying about it.”

“Figured, that’s why I stopped when I did.”

Kirishima grabbed the bundle of strawberries and dropped the hat on top of Bakugou’s head.

“Mom, that was boring,” said a kid as he jumped off the truck—which Bakugou could have sworn had still been moving. A woman—his mother, presumedly—scrambled after him, tripping over her long maxi dress.

Bakugou sighed.

The women who were waiting with them—who had been sitting on another picnic table, pressed thigh to thigh and leaning their faces into each other, giggling all the while—got up and headed for the back of the truck. Bakugou was still thinking about the straw.

Kirishima grabbed his arm and started to pull him to the truck. Bakugou let himself be dragged. Internally he was going over all the ways to avoid touching the straw, but when he got his first good look at the back of the truck, he realized that was impossible.

He groaned.

The two women leaned against the only proper bale of straw, leaving the rest of the straw filled trunk ripe for the taking. Kirishima jumped up and took a corner. Bakugou followed reluctantly.

The driver got out of their seat and came to raise the door of the trunk. They said something in an incomprehensible language—Bakugou thought, some kind of English dialect? He looked at Kirishima to gauge if he had understood what the driver had said, only to see that he was completely zoned out, staring off at nothing in the distance. “She said to make sure to throw up outside of the car, and that the drive around won’t take more than twenty minutes at most,” said one of the women, “Patricia has a thick accent—she’s from the American south. It takes a while to get used to even if you know the language well.”

Bakugou nodded.

“Patricia and her wife have been running this farm for near thirty years by now,” said the other women. She had large spiral horns on either side of her forehead and was wearing dark circular sunglasses. She adjusted her glasses and continued. “They only just opened up to the public—they wanted to expand their business a bit. I think one of the restaurants they were providing for went out of business, and I suppose the little shop they run up front doesn’t bring in much traffic. They are going to start letting schools tour here—but they are trying to figure out an actual lesson plan to provide kids with to make it worthwhile.”

Internally, Bakugou wondered why she was dumping all this info on him. He didn’t say anything out loud, though. Kirishima seemed to be paying attention to what the horned women was saying.

“How did you two boys find your way here?” said her partner. She was far less remarkable in appearance, though she had odd freckle like spots all over her bare skin. They were just off enough that Bakugou could tell they weren’t actually freckles, but fuck if he could tell what they were supposed to be.

“My moms know the couple that runs the farm,” said Kirishima, “They suggested it when I asked them about where we,” he gestured between him and Bakugou, “should go for our next, um, date—" Kirishima looked at him apologetically.

Bakugou kept his face blank but met Kirishima’s gaze. The women seemed to not notice their exchange.

“That’s nice! It’s good to have verity in a relationship. But you two aren’t old enough to be getting bored of simple date spots. You are both from the city, right? I can tell from your accents. Long train ride? Lots of walking?”

“We took a train, for the most part,” Kirishima said, breaking eye contact with Bakugou, “We walked the rest of the way. It’s a nice area.”

“Where do you two go to school?” asked the horned women.

“We go to UA.”

“Oh! I thought I had recognized you from somewhere! I saw you two competing in the sports festival!” she said.

Her partner cut in with a loud sigh. She leaned her head back so that she was facing the sky and brought her knees to her chest. Dreamily, she said “Remember when you wanted to be a hero, Hana?”

The Hana snorted. “God, yeah, Sometimes I can’t believe how fucking long you’ve known me, Futaba. I was delusional in middle school. These things are useless.” She flicked one of her horns. “I would have to headbutt people for them to be effective in anyway. But man,” she said, leaning closer to Kirishima and Bakugou, “you guys are really doing it—training to be heroes. It’s a real admirable thing to do. When all is said and done, heroes have to give up a lot—people are always talking about how corrupted hero society must be—” Bakugou noted the annoyed look Hana’s partner sent her—“but even the bad eggs have to risk their lives and compromise their social lives. I don’t think I could handle something like that.”

Kirishima laughed weakly. “Yeah, sometimes I don’t think I can either—even with everything I’ve already done”

“Well, what ever may happen, just know we are rooting for you! Plus Ultra!” Hana said, giving an enthusiastic thumbs up.

“Both of you,” said Futaba, looking at Bakugou with a placid expression on her face.

By the time they were starting to leave, the sun was going down.

“Eijirou!” called one of the workers that had been managing the shop up front. She was an older woman, at least in her fifties. “Say hi to your moms for me! And tell them to visit!”

Kirishima waved back and yelled “Sure thing!”

“How do your moms know that lady—she seems much older than both of them,” said Bakugou in a passive tone. He had not been speaking much at all though the day, his thoughts lingering on Kirishima’s confession so many weeks ago. He thought—not for the first time that day—that he was starting to cut it close.

Kirishima shrugged. “I think they are part of some gay book club or something. Or like, some online chat? I don’t really know if they are that tech savvy, but I can’t imagine another way they would know people this far out in the country.”

Bakugou hummed in reply. His neck was still irritating him a bit, but it wasn’t as bad as it should have gotten because of the floppy hat Kirishima had given him. The sides of the hat bobbed as he walked, but he didn’t much mind. It was hard to be pissed at anything when he was so deep into his thoughts.

He had to say something about it.

The air was cool—not quite cold, it was nearly summer after all. The sun had been burning his skin so harshly he had not noticed. Now the sun was tamer, setting off in the horizon. It shrouded the flat fields they were walking past with hues of fire—mixes of red and orange that made even the dirt path they were on look like something fantastical.

Bakugou opened his mouth to speak—

“Is there a reason,” asked Kirishima, before any sound had passed through Bakugou’s lips, “that you don’t want to date me?”

Bakugou pursed his lips and looked away from Kirishima. His mind was blank.

“I always figured we had like, a thing going on. And I really like you as a friend—so that’s fine if that’s what you want. But you haven’t even properly rejected me. I get that you aren’t really used to this kind of thing—but you’ve kind of just left me hanging here, dude. I really don’t know what I should be doing.”

“Why should we even get together?”

“What?”

Bakugou slowed his pace and looked forward, staring down the near endless path they were going down. He clenched and unclenched his fists.

“Pro-heroes—they are like, idols. Their whole lives are dedicated to their work—All Might is old as fuck and he has never had a significant other—”

“Not that we know,” Kirishima cut in.

“Well, it doesn’t matter if we know about it or not. He’s not even married. A lot of pros aren’t—most of the best aren’t. And the others weren’t distracted with something as trivial as a boyfriend when they started their careers.”

“So, you’re saying I’d be a distraction?”

Bakugou shook his head. “I don’t want you to be one, is more like it.”

“You know, there’s plenty of others in our class that are dating—Midoriya and Uraraka? Hello? What’s the big deal with it?”

Bakugou scoffed. “Those two aren’t going to last.” He knew Deku since they were kids, whatever he had with Ochako was nothing special. He could see them drifting further away from their honeymoon phase—soon they would break up.

“You can’t just say that—that wasn’t even my point. What about Yaoyozoru and Jirou? You going to call bullshit on them too?”

“Why are you so obsessed with comparisons?”

“I’m just trying to understand what the problem is!”

An uncomfortable silence settled between them. Kirishima crossed his arms. Bakugou adjusted the straps on his backpack and picked up his pace. They were almost at the train station now.

“Me,” said Bakugou, talking down to his feet, “I’m the problem.”

Kirishima interjected, “You aren’t a problem.”

Bakugou shook his head, still looking down. In a strained voice he said, “I don’t—I can’t be a good boyfriend. I can’t be your boyfriend. You deserve better.”

“I don’t want better—I want you.”

“You’re so fucking stupid.”

“Bakugou—look, I don’t get what’s wrong, but you have to know—whatever you think you are, how ever you see yourself—I’m fine with who you are. Us dating isn’t going to change anything.”

“It’s supposed to change everything.”

“I don’t care about what it’s supposed to do. Just –just give me an honest answer.”

“Honestly?” Bakugou asked. “Honestly—I never thought anyone would like me. In fact, I was fucking counting on it. I just wanted to be the number one hero—I didn’t care about anything or anyone else. I don’t want you to be a distraction—you don’t deserve to be one. But I might come to see you as one. And—that scares me.” Kirishima looked at him, but Bakugou didn’t meet his gaze.

They reached the station. It was nearly empty save a few employees that looked like they wished they were anywhere but here. In silence, they both passed through to the waiting area for the train. The next train was supposed to arrive in twenty minutes. It was already dark. If it were not for the dim lights hanging above, they would surely have been enveloped in pure black.

Bakugou leaned against a poll and waited near the edge of the ledge the dropped into the tracks. There was no colored line warning him that he was too close. “You haven’t given me an answer,” said Kirishima. He was standing a few steps behind Bakugou.

“You still want one?” Bakugou sneered.

“Dude, I know you. I know what I’ve signed up for—your stupid hyper focused ambition and all. I don’t think you’re giving me enough credit—I can handle your bullshit. I’ve been handling it.”

He walked forward and stood right besides Bakugou. He looked up to the sky, littered with stars beyond that which they saw in the city.

“I realized, a while ago, that I didn’t want to lose you,” said Kirishima, “I mean—I don’t know what I mean. But—you’re important to me. Whatever happens, what ever you want to be, whatever I become—I want to be there with you. And, we can do that as just friends if you want. I just want you to give me an actual answer. Do you like me back?”

“I feel like I’m in fucking middle school again.”

“Bakugou—”

“Yes.”

“Oh.”

The both fell silent, but it was not an awkward sort. It was contemplative. Bakugou really did not feel like anything changed—and maybe nothing had.

“I hate moments like these. They remind me that I’m actually human. This sucks.”

Kirishima laughed. “I like that you're human—your manly hero persona is a plus too.”

Bakugou heard a whistle in the distance. He turned to the noise and saw faint lights coming up the tracks.

“Train's here,” Kirishima said.

“It’s about fucking time. Kirishima, the next date we go on better be under some fucking shade.”

“Sure, whatever you say, babe.”

Bakugou stiffened besides Kirishima.

“Don’t fucking call me that,” he said, “no fucking pet names.”

Kirishima just laughed.