#but they did also gasp when he walked on stage during that last scene

[the-implications]

how the HELL did people LAUGH when paul started singing inevitable...... first time i watched that i SOBBED as soon as i heard the instrumentals

[heauxplesslydevoted]

Everybody Talks (Ethan x MC)

Summary: At a conference hosted by the American Medical Association, Ethan stumbles upon an unpleasant conversation about his girlfriend.

Warnings: None

~v~

Ethan watches as his girlfriend owns the room. At the American Medical Association conference in their own city of Boston, in the large ballroom of The Ritz Carlton, he quietly observes from the corner as she excitedly chats with a Dr. Catherine Stanley, a renowned surgeon from Columbia, while everyone within an arm's reach of her is drawn in by the sheer magnetism of her presence. He’ll never get tired of watching her like this. Naomi is completely in her element. Whenever she’s in a deep conversation about medicine, her posture loosens, her nose crinkles, and her voice takes on a pitchy breathiness the more and more excited she gets.

So caught up in thinking about her, Ethan doesn’t even notice that she’s walking up to him until she’s within a few feet. She smiles brightly as she leans against the bar. “You’re not mingling.”

“You’ve known me for over three years now. I’m not one to mingle.”

“Come on, there has to be someone here you want to talk to.”

“You.”

Naomi rolls her eyes. “Mhm-hmm, you’re so charming, Dr. Ramsey.”

“I’m being very serious. Why wouldn’t I want to talk to the keynote speaker?”

When Naomi found out they wanted her to speak at the conference, she was almost certain they meant to speak to Ethan and that she accidentally answered a phone call meant for him. But they in fact wanted her, the newest and youngest head of the diagnostics team. Her meteoric rise up the ranks of Edenbrook had made quite the splash in the medical community, where everyone knew everyone. Whether she realized it or not, Naomi had become a wunderkind and everyone wanted a piece of her.

And while she was nervous, Ethan couldn’t be more proud of her. Naomi is brilliant, and it’s about time more people were rewarded with being in her presence long enough to see it.

Naomi groans and runs a hand along her midsection. “Don’t remind me that I’m giving a speech soon, my stomach is already in knots.”

Ethan holds up his tumbler of whiskey, angling the glass towards her. “Want some liquid courage?”

“No, eating or drinking might make it worse. I won’t feel better until I’m on the other side of it.”

“In the three years I’ve known you, I’ve never seen a shy bone in your body. Where are the nerves coming from?”

“I’ve never done something like this,” Naomi responds. “I’ve never given a speech in front of hundreds of people–maybe even more, this place is packed. Public Speaking is the only class I ever got a B in in college.”

Ethan gasps teasingly. “The horror.” He chuckles softly as Naomi pokes him in the rib. Moving closer, Ethan clasps a warm hand around Naomi’s shoulder, massaging gently. “You’re going to do just fine. Better than fine, even, you’re going to be amazing. You’re smart, charming, funny, and eloquent, and the directors knew what they were doing when they chose you to speak. And besides, nearly all of Edenbrook is here to support you. Lahela might’ve even snuck in a camcorder.”

It's a slight exaggeration, but a lot of physicians practicing at Edenbrook belong to the prestigious association, and did not want to miss the chance to see one of their own speak.

“Ugh don’t remind me. It’s easier speaking to a crowd of nameless, faceless people. What if I forget my speech? What if my accent becomes super obnoxious and no one can understand me? What if I trip on stage?”

“You could always picture everyone naked, I’ve been told that it helps.”

Naomi blanches at the suggestion. “No, I don’t want to picture all of these people naked.”

“Good, because that was a trick suggestion,” Ethan murmurs. He rests his forehead against Naomi’s, his lips hovering mere centimeters from hers. “The only person you should ever be visualizing sans clothing is me.”

“Lucky for me, I get to do a lot more than just visualize.”

The happy couple share a kiss before Ethan nuzzles his face into the crook of his girlfriend’s neck, whispering quiet words of encouragement and affirmation.

On the other side of the bar, a group of women watch the jarring public display of affection play out. Ethan Ramsey was notorious for hating medical conferences, never engaging or interacting with people. He was also known for being perpetually single, so to see him so open with another person felt like foreign.

“I still can’t believe the two of them are together,” Dr. Nicole Harrington whispers to her group of friends as they gawk at the pair. While she works in New York, it’s hard to not be aware of the story behind Dr. Ethan Ramsey and his young protege Dr. Valentine, especially since she’s in touch with so many Boston-based doctors. “I can’t believe Ramsey is so open with her.”

“I think they’re cute,” Nicole’s friend, Monica coos. “I’m a hopeless romantic.”

The third member of the party, Greta stays silent. She’s one of the two people within their group with actual ties to Edenbrook, her husband having been attending there for almost 8 years now. Her husband Ashland keeps her up to date on all the ins-and-outs of hospital gossip, and she knows all about Ethan’s messy entanglement with his former resident.

“He wasn’t even like this when he dated Harper Emery,” their last friend Angelica whispers. As a neurologist herself, she’s worked alongside both Ethan and Harper for a long time, and while the hospital knew of their relationship, if you weren’t looking for the extremely subtle signs, you’d never know they used to be together. For years, at that. But for some reason, Ethan can’t seem to go 5 seconds without being near Dr. Valentine. Within the walls of Edenbrook, it's becoming harder and harder to see one without the other. “And she’s Harper freaking Emery for Christ’s sake.”

The conversation pauses as someone on stage taps the mic, gathering everyone’s attention. Out of the corner of her eye, Greta watches as Ethan plants another kiss on his lover’s forehead and she disappears in the crowd before she’s introduced as the evening’s guest speaker.

Ethan doesn’t know why his girlfriend was ever so nervous because as soon as she accepts the microphone and starts to speak, he’s transfixed.

His tunnel vision is split when he hears an aggressive whisper from a few feet away. Frowning, he turns around, fully prepared to demand that whoever has the gall to interrupt Naomi’s speech should shut the hell up, but he stops when he realizes that they’re talking about her.

“She’s been a member of the AMA for what, 3 seconds and she’s already giving speeches? Are we in the freaking Twilight Zone?”

“I guess it pays to keep Ethan Ramsey’s bed warm.”

Greta scoffs, finally acknowledging the conversation. “Ashland tells me everything about the two of them, and it’s all so messy. She’s been leading him around like she’s dangling an apple in front of a horse since she got to Edenbrook. He gave her preferential treatment her intern year, and miraculously she gets the coveted fellowship on the Dr. Banerji’s team. He gets promoted, and surprise, surprise, he gives her the team, wrapped up in a neat little bow. Never mind the fact that she should be nowhere near leading a team, she killed a patient her intern year. So for him to be...parading that young girl around is tawdry and disrespectful to the hospital.”

If this was a cartoon, Ethan is almost positive his face would be very red and steam would be wafting out of his ears because that’s how angry he is. The audacity of these women to stand a mere 8 feet away from him and trash talk the woman he loves is disrespectful on so many levels.

Obnoxiously, he clears his throat, garnering their attention. The only one with the decency to look slightly embarrassed is Monica, as Ethan catches her cheeks flushing under his harsh attention.

Angelica stands up straighter, “Chief Ramsey, we were just–”

“Participating in a misogynistic diatribe against a fellow doctor,” Ethan finishes. “Question, did any of you graduate at the top of your classes from a top 10 ranked medical school?” No one dares respond. “Out of the 4 of you, did you guys save Naveen Banerji’s life while he was dying of sepsis? Have you spent your after hours holed up in the NICU with your patient’s newborn baby? Any of you face a near death experience and come back to the scene of the crime in order to help more people?”

Ethan’s eyes narrow at Angelica and Greta in particular. “When Edenbrook nearly shut down, I don’t remember seeing your face as we worked tirelessly in the free clinic Dr. Banks, nor do I recall seeing your husband Mrs. Park. I don’t remember him lobbying to politicians or attempting to secure funds during fundraisers, but I do recall seeing him show up at parties without you to flirt with nurses.”

Greta balks at Ethan’s words, clearly not expecting him to unleash such anger. “Dr. Ramsey, I’ll have you know that my husband–”

“Is spreading vicious gossip and lies about a doctor with higher ranking than him. Dr. Valentine got her spot on the diagnostics team fair and square. She was the number 1 intern so Naveen picked her. When I left the team, she was the last tenured member at the time, with the most experience in how a team of such magnitude ran. She was the best pick for the job.”

“Over the course of her time at Edenbrook, she has more than proved that she earned her seat at the table, and to suggest anything else is an insult to her strengths and talents as a doctor, as well as my judgement. To suggest that I do not know to remain professional while I’m at work and the only reason she’s in the position that she’s in is because of our private relationship isn’t just a lie, but a dangerous and slanderous one as well. And if someone so much as ever implies it again, I will slap them with a lawsuit so fast their head will spin, and the closest they’ll ever get to practicing medicine again is slapping Band-Aids on kindergarteners.”

The group of women receive a threat loud and clear And they remain silent not wanting to be at the receiving end of anymore of his wrath.

Ethan sighs heavily. “Well, now that this pesky conversation has come to an end, I’m going to continue to listen to Naomi’s speech. The one that she was hand selected to deliver, while the rest of you are in a position to do nothing more than watch from the crowds.”

With the catty group of women stunned into silence, Ethan smiles, his work complete. “Enjoy the rest of your evening, ladies.”

They watch as he downs the rest of his drink before sauntering off. Once he’s gone, Monica huffs out a shaky breath. “Well...I’ve always said there’s nothing more attractive than a man defending the woman he loves.”

~v~

Tags: @mvalentine @choicesaddict5 @professorkingslay @maurine07 @aka-calliope @bluebellot @whimsicallywayward15 @blossomanarchy @takemyopenheart @jamespotterthefirst @fanmantrashcan @whatchique @ao719 @x-kyne-x @colourmeshy @paulfwesley @the-pale-goddess @writinghereandthere @ramseyandrys @perriewinklenerdie @aworldoffandoms @thatcatlady0716 @drakewalker04 @canknot @hatescapsicum @lapisreviewsstuff @senseofduties @badchoicesposts @ethandaddyramseyx @chasingrobbie @zodiacsign1 @choices-lurker @my-heart-beats-for-ya @adrian-motherfucking-raines @riverrune @edith-eggs1 @thatysn @bellcat2010 @blainehellyes @cecilecontrera @junehiratas @choices-love-affair @openheart12 @caseyvalentineramsey @desmaranj @nazario-sayeed @aestheticartsx @ruinedbypixels @nooruleman @rookie-ramsey @uneravine @choicest

[falcor-thee-luck-dragon]

Interviews - Henry Cavill x wife/actress reader

Summary: You and Henry have been married for a couple years now, and when you’re both part of the Witcher cast, fun interviews are to be had.

Warning: nothing but a good time, btw I’ve never written anything like this so I hope it’s good enough that I might feel motivated to write more

-Readers Witcher character is loosely based off my Geralt fic from here (just a little self promotion), but in this case you play a full vampire in this Witcher universe

The days have been long and grueling, filming hours upon hours of stunts and regular acting had taken its toll. Not to mention the countless times in hair and make up paired with costume changes and traveling to film on certain locations.

To say being apart of Netflix’s The Witcher was full of tiring days and some accidental bruises would be a huge understatement. But none of that mattered, nor did you bother to complain when through the thick and thin of it all did you have Henry with you along the way. And your favorite big slobbery bear, Kal whenever he was allowed on set.

Fortunately for you in the beginning of all the craziness, the casting and writers had wanted you specifically for the part of Y/C/N in the new series before Henry even auditioned for the role of Geralt, that was soon given to him after you accepted your fresh role of vampiric heroine.

It was ironically strange in a good way, you had watched your dork of a husband play the Witcher: Wild Hunt a few times before, eventually learning of what Geralt of Rivia was, who Y/C/N was in the story, who Yennefer and Ciri were, Tris and even Jaskier.

Who would have thought that you’d finally get to snag a role side by side with Henry in quite literally one of the most fantastic shows you’ve ever heard of. You didn’t even need to see the show yet to know how well it was most likely to be reviewed. Being a key character in the grand storyline was enough to convince you of how amazing it would most certainly turn out in the finished product.

And after all was said and done, you couldn’t believe how well loved and popular the show truly became in the following months after shooting and its eventual release onto Netflix. The after parties and cast celebrations truly made you blessedly grateful for pulling through to the vary end.

Then again you had your mans Henry by your side every step of the way. He was your rock and you were most definitely his. You know life on set would have been far less entertaining and dreadfully long if not for the lovely company of your dear Witcher, Henry. And so far after the fact, you and a good portion of the cast have been placed in random interviews for the majority of the day.

Reason being, The Witcher has at long last finally premiered and as per usual the people and media live for those cast interviews that always reveal some interesting events. So far this morning you’ve done some interviews with Anya that have gone perfectly fine since the two of you seem to click so well.

Also it helps ease the anxiety of your fellow newer cast mates to the world of continuous interviews with an experienced veteran actor like yourself, who’s gone round the ring more times then you can count. Though you can’t help but wonder how Henry’s doing, considering you’ve been separated since the sessions began at 10am, you’ve had lunch and now it’s about 1 in the afternoon with more hours to go.

Luckily for you, you’ve just been informed of another interview with the man of the hour himself. Saying your goodbyes and well wishes to your fellow cast mates, you stand and follow the guide into the advised place. Aka some really nice hotel room that’s been done up real nice for efficient interviewing, complete with the Witcher insignia on a large background poster and three chairs that happen to look rather comfy.

The camera and sound people nod in acknowledgment as you walk in, you nod back no doubt making their day with your friendliness and adorable smile that quite literally lights up a room. Soon you spot the bubbly yet nervous interviewee who instantly welcomes you into her space like you’re an old friend.

You sit, a bit confused as to where your partner happens to be at the moment, the interviewer, Lauren makes small talk before a door opens and her big bright doe eyes go wide in nervous excitement. A telling smile upon her face as she shifts in her chair before looking back to you again with a happy grin.

Henry says a quick hello to the behind the scenes crew before waving to Lauren, you smirk while watching him get comfortable next to you, “Well, well, well. Get lost on your way up, you know they have guides for a reason.” You tease as he chuckles at your humorous jab, relieved to see you again after a couple hours apart.

“Traffic.” He quips with a shrug.

“Uh huh.” You mutter with a shake of your head before drawing your attention back to Laura, “Can’t take him anywhere I swear, he does this all the time.”

She laughs as Henry pretends to gasp at your teasing, you chuckle along with them before she finally collects herself, “Well, welcome back to London. It’s fantastic to have you both in town once again, and your big beautiful faces all over Leicester Square.”

You both laugh, “Right.” Says Henry, “I guess we do look pretty cool.”

“Hell yeah, I mean where else can I see myself with a giant sword on a building? And anyways look at this beautiful mug,” You say gently squeezing Henry’s cheeks in your hand, “he’s literally killing it out there.” They laugh as you give Hen another playful squeeze before letting go and setting your arm against the chairs cushioned armrest. 

“Alight let’s start.” She says enthusiastically before glancing down at her cards then back up to you and Henry. Then into one of the two the cameras, “Hi I’m Lauren from Entertainment Weekly and today we’re here with the two stars of Netflix’s The Witcher.” She says enthusiastically while giving a nod to you two, indicating that the camera is now focused on you both, “Henry Cavill and Y/N Cavill.”

You both smile in acknowledgment as Henry gives a slight nod, “How you doing?”

“I’m great,” She beams, “So, I’ll get right into it, what do you like most about the story? What really drew you into the script that made you say, yes this is going to be awesome?”

Slapping a hand against Henry’s muscular leg, you hum, “I’ll let Hen take this one he’s a real expert on the linguistics of the whole show.”

“Thanks Y/N/N.” Replies Henry, bemused that you’re making him take the first question.

You nod to him knowingly with a smirk, “Of course.” Knowing how much he loves to talk about the show and also because you’d rather have him use his energy to talk about it then do that yourself. Priorities, right, though in your defense it’s been a long day.

“Well I absolutely love the games and the books themselves are phenomenal works of literature.” He explains, his face glowing with that usual glimmer of excitement in his eyes, “The story and the world of the Witcher is just so rich and full of potential that when I signed on for the show, I immediately knew it would be amazing, no doubt.”

You lean into the arm of you chair, “And of course I was there so that’s always a bonus.”

“That too.” He smiles adorably, “That too of course.”

Lauren smiles, “Great. So, what was it like working together, how was it having your characters interact with one another?”

You smile, setting a hand against Henry’s forearm, “This guy right here.” You deadpan before waving him off dramatically, “So annoying, my god he whined all the time and he was such a drama queen dear lord so ugh....” You start cackling before you can even finish the sentence causing Henry to loose it as well and with that the interviewer.

Shaking your head you rest your hand against his shoulder, “I joke, he was a gem to work with as usual...I mean I feel incredibly blessed to be able to act alongside my husband for months and months every single day. It’s a rarity in this line of work and I’m grateful to have shared this experience...and I guess more so this whole adventure with him as well.”

The interviewer aww’s as Henry tilts his head to lean into your hand that’s still resting atop his shoulder before pulling away just as quickly, the intimate sentiment not going unnoticed by you or Lauren who looks to be enjoying your loving yet calm energy with one another. “That’s so sweet, what about you Henry?”

“Oh yes absolutely,” Agrees Henry to your recent statement, “not only did I have her by my side through it all but the dynamic of our characters interacting together was so fun to shoot. I think the audience will really be able to see their relationship grow on screen into something strong and beautiful like in the books.”

Slow clapping you give him a curt nod of approval, “Well said.”

Lauren smirks, “Seems like it. Well, I was able to catch the premier yesterday and I gotta say...it was fantastic! I couldn’t believe how diffident the two of you looked from how you are now.” She gushes enthusiastically.

The corners of Henry’s lips curl into a proud smile for the fellow crew of the Witcher’s, “Oh that’s great then, honestly we gotta give all the props to the costume and makeup team, they’re so talented and know how to make us look like real badasses.” He adds.

You nod in agreement before grinning at a positive memory of your first interaction with Henry as Geralt, “Oh for sure, I remember during the early stages of production when our characters met each other for the first time, before this we came to set together but went separate ways to shoot our own stuff in the meantime so I never got a real look at him.” You recall with a bright smile as Henry watches your every move, beaming just the same.

“It was so funny, I was in the tent with Freya Allen, the wonderful girl who plays Ciri, and then suddenly her eyes got all big and nervous and I was like, that’s not me right? Something weird didn’t just happen with my costume? And then I turned around to find this man, wig on, face a mess, and his eyes looked so fearsome and different...it was a bit startling.” You say with a chuckle, “I clearly wasn’t expecting to see Geralt right then and there. He just looked so unlike Henry.”

“Yeah, I was almost hurt.” Laughs Henry, “She had to like squint and make sure it was me.”

Rolling your eyes, you shrug, “He had some real creepy looking colored contacts, yunno?”

Henry fake scoffs, “You’re one to talk, I mean when I first say her, Y/N’s eyes were red and she had fake blood spattered all over her face and shirt. Oh, and not to mention those fangs they put on your teeth...we probably traumatized poor Freya that day.”

“Oh shit you’re right!” You exclaim with a snort of concealed laughter, “God I completely forgot about how I looked...now since I think about it, I did that a lot too. I would just walk up to people and be completely oblivious as to what kind of nightmare I looked like, honestly I might have scared one of our producers a couple of times.” You add with a half nervous laugh, it’s true, you did scare some of the crew unintentionally. Most of the time.

Lauren lightly chuckles, “That sounds like you were quite the sight to see then.” She says before glancing back down at her notes, “Alright I have’ta ask, is there anything that you two took home with you from set?”

“Besides Henry every night,” He holds back a laugh while covering his mouth as you nonchalantly continue, “Uh, yes actually I got to take home Y/C/N’s wolf ring that I loved so much and just thought was the coolist thing ever and....uh, I might have stolen some socks too.”

“So that’s why after filming the amount of socks of yours I had to fold increased?” Wonders Henry with a surprised snort of realization.

Turning your head to give him a “no shit” kinda look, you look back at Lauren, pointing your thumb at Henry, “Master sleuth right here, but hey, he folds my laundry.”

“Aw that’s great.” Adds Lauren with a smile before turning her attention to Henry, “What about you Henry? Take anything from set?”

“More then Y/N did actually...”

“He just about took the whole makeup trailer most nights, I swear.”

Henry chuckles, “That. Is true.” He agrees with a nod, “Interesting enough, at home I’ve got Geralt’s armor hung up in our living room and a multitude of other nicknacks that I’ve collected during filming.” He adds, glancing over to you, “So uh, yeah, we were fairly lucky to be able to snag what we could.”

Lauren smiles, absentmindedly shuffling her cards, “That’s awesome to have such special memorabilia, you guys really are fortunate.” She adds before reading off from another card, “Alright you two, care to play a game called guess the image? Witcher style.”

Your face perks up at this, you’re a sucker for interview games and Henry knows it, “Are you reading my mind or something, I have been waiting all day for someone to ask about playing a game.” You gush rather enthusiastically. 

He smiles at your adorableness and how excited you’ve just become, Lauren grins, happy that her suggestion has been so well received, “Okay so how it works is, I’ll show you an image on my iPad and then you have to guess who or what I’m showing you.”

“Oh, cool I’ve heard of this,” You reply, turning to Henry with a smirk, “Loser has to clean Kal’s yard poop for a week.”

Rolling his gorgeous blue eyes he chuckles, “You’re on.”

“Alright, the stakes are high, you two ready?” Beams Lauren, holding her iPad to her chest as she awaits an answer.

“Yes, I’m ready to kick his ass.” You quip, leaning an arm against your chair while Henry does about the same, though he does his best to contain his laughter.

“Okay, first image.” She holds up the device to show some sort of weird golden thing, it’s shiny and hard, worst part is that you’re not entirely sure what the hell it could be.

Sensing your confusion Henry nudges your shoulder, though you ignore it before he smartly answers, “Oh, is that...Renfri’s brooch?” Little shit knows exactly what that is, of course he does.

Lauren claps, “Correct.” Zooming out of the image to show the full picture of the golden brooch, “Right on, that’s one point for Mr. Cavill.”

You scoff playfully, “Beginners luck.” While Henry side eyes you with a humorous grin upon his plush lips, he nudges your arm, “I’m going to really enjoy not cleaning up Kal’s grass turds for awhile.” He mutters lightheartedly, though you know deep down he’s being serious, no way is he going to win this, you think. You won’t have it, hopefully the next few pictures aren’t as difficult, Kal duty is not fun by any means.

“Shut up.” You grumble with a dismissive wave of your hand, though just teasing of course.

“Okay next image.” This time the blurred photo looks much more familiar, soon it clicks as to what the obscured blurriness actually is, yes!

“Got it! Anya’s er I guess Yennefer’s dress from the fight at Sodden.” Lauren giggles, zooming the image out to reveal Yennefer in her tasseled blue and purple dress from the battle at Sodden Hill. “I’m amazing I know.” You boast at Henry with a casual little bow in your seat.

“It’s the second question.” He deadpans, eyes crinkling in amusement as you shake your head at him.

“Pffff get outta here.” You mutter back, gently pushing his arm off of your chairs armrest and setting yours in its place while he gives you a fake shocked expression.

In turn you can’t help the smile that tugs at the corner of your lips, so instead of saying some sassy remark that would no doubt get a reaction out of him, you turn your attention back over to Lauren who’s looking over her notes again.

“Fantastic,” She says, glancing back up at you and Henry, “you’re both tied with one point each. Alright, anyone know what this is?” She asks showing something red and fuzzy, a bit of dirty skin showing from one corner but with The Witcher this bloody image could literally be anything.

The both of you squint, puzzled as to what this could be, “Y/N you got any ideas.” Wonders Henry, brows furrowed as his face contorts into deep concentrated thought.

Raising a brow, you hum, “If I knew I wouldn’t tell you.”

“Fair point.” He chuckles.

Lauren smiles, “Any guesses?”

 After a few concentrated moments, Henry shrugs in defeat,  “I’m stumped.” He admits as you study the image harder, mind racing to put the pieces together as to what the hell you’re looking at.

“No, I think I might know this....erm is it...me?” You wonder, voice raising in question, hoping to be correct about this or face the teasing of Henry.

Lauren quickly zooms out of the obscured image, “It is!” She says excitedly, revealing the picture of you from your characters debut in episode 2 where you save a girl from a werewolf, your mouth is covered in blood and so is most of your costumes chest area and left arm from the struggle. Not to mention the make-up teams fun 20 minutes of throwing fake sticky blood all over you to get the right look for the taxing scene.

You grimace a bit, “Oh god that was quite the day on set,” You recall with a half smile, “I was doing stunts all day covered in that red syrupy dye, I think it took a week to get out of my skin.”

Henry suddenly snorts with laughter, “Right! That reminds me, I thought Kal had gotten cut or something, it was just Y/N who had hugged him not realizing she still had some fake blood on her arm.”

“Jeez that’s right, I felt so bad, but I couldn’t stop laughing once we realized it was just me.”

Lauren grins, excited to hear some hidden information about little things that happens behind the scenes, “Oh wow that must have been a sight, alright Henry, Y/N’s taken the lead with a two to one score.” She says as you playfully nudge his strong shoulder. “Second to last image, what is this?”

Without missing a single beat Henry replies, “Jaskier.”

Squinting at the image you lean closer to the iPad, “How the hell do you see Jaskier?”

Smiling the interviewer zooms out to reveal the bards full outfit from the banquet scene, though he’s in the background of a fight between Geralt and some Cintran knights. “Right on!” She exclaims as you lean back into your seat dumbfounded, shoulder flush against Henry’s as he clutches your arm and squeezes it affectionately.

Ignoring his silent show of victory you shrug, “And they say he’s just another pretty face,” Earning a laugh from Lauren and some of the crew as you smirk at the camera, face them shifting to apologetic, “also I’m so sorry Joey you beautiful bastard apparently I’m blind. Uh, we don’t have to dwell on it, Lauren whatcha got?”

“You guys are both tied with two points each, last chance to win.” She replies before glancing down at her iPad, “Alright, what is this?” She asks, her iPad showing that of fuzzy bright colors, with a small corner smear of dull white that clearly wouldn’t make much sense to the untrained eye.

Smirking you glance at a puzzled Henry before sitting up in your seat, feeling rather good about yourself, “Would that happen to be, Hen in Stregobor’s illusion?” You answer with, though sounding a bit as a question considering you aren’t entirely confident as to what image this is.

Lauren’s brows raise in surprise, “Henry, looks like we have a winner. Y/N you are correct.” She beams, enlarging the image to reveal Geralt’s side profile as he talks to the old wizard while the background stays colorful and shrouded in various arrays of sunlight..

Shaking your fist victoriously in the air you give a couple enthusiastic whoop whoops while Henry simply takes it like a champ, “Have fun cleaning up Karl’s monster turds, cause this lucky lady doesn’t have to.” You boast as Henry and the crew laugh.

“Well that was something,” Beams Lauren, “I’m so glad to have chatted for a bit about your guys’ amazing new series, and maybe ended a relationship in the process.” She says jokingly as both you and Henry chuckle.

Patting his thigh affectionately, you smirk, “He’s a tough old bear, but yeah, it was awesome having you talk to us.”

“Yes, take care now.” Adds Henry while the interviewer Lauren stands, saying her goodbyes as she goes to exit the room.

The camera crew take a small break to adjust things and whatnot as you and Henry wait patiently for the next interviewer. He turns, an adorable smile pulling at his lips while you pretend to ignore his fiery gaze. “Well that went pretty well, minus the fact that I’m on Kal poop duty for a week...but uh...” He leans in close to you now, “I missed you all morning.”

Breaking out into a smile you raise a brow, “Boring without me huh?”

“Always.”

You casually shrug, “I figured as much. Don’t worry, we have a hotel all to ourselves tonight.” Your brows wiggle suggestively causing your blue eyed lover to shake his head with amusement.

“Say it louder next time.” He jokes.

Side eyeing the oblivious crew you begin to speak a couple octaves louder, “Henry I can’t wait to fu..” Suddenly his hand presses against your mouth before you’re able to call any attention to yourself. He gives you a warning look before slowly pulling his hand from your mouth.

You grin mischievously, “I wasn’t gonna say that...”

“Sure Y/N,” He mutters in your ear as a new interviewer walks into the room and finds their chair, “and I’m wasn’t going to make you scream tonight.”

Your brows raise in surprise and admittedly slight arousal at his choice of wording in this room of all places. Eyeing him up, face still showing surprise, you finally break out into a satisfied smirk. “You know what? I think you should consider changing your offer.”

He thinks deeply for a moment, though you know he’s only pretending to get you riled up, “Hrmm...maybe, possibly, should I? Should we? You are my co-star after all, that wouldn’t be very professional now would it Y/N?” He states with a shit eating grin, all done while the crew and interviewer get ready, minding their business and completely unaware to yourself and Henry’s teasing.

Scoffing playfully you lightly swat his arm, “We are way past being professional.”

He chuckles, looking from you to the rest of the room, “Oh, they have no idea.”

[storiesforallfandoms]

faint ~ beck oliver;victorious

word count: 1217

request?: yes!

@xoxogamergirlxoxo “Hi! Do you still do request for Beck? Because I can’t stop thinking about y/n passing out during class and boyfriend Beck freaking out. When y/n finally wakes up he takes her home and they cuddle :) If you still do requests for Beck could you make this into a imagine? Would love it”

description: when she faints in the middle of class, her boyfriend comes to learn the truth about how much she has on her plate

pairing: beck oliver x female!reader

warnings: swearing

masterlist

Cat raced into the classroom, doubling over to catch her breath after running from one end of school to the other. Beck looked at his friend in confusion, trying not to break character but it was hard when your bubbly red-headed friend bursts into the classroom out of nowhere.

“Beck!” she suddenly exclaimed, racing to the stage and taking hold of Beck’s arm. “You gotta come with me, it’s important!”

“Cat, I’m kinda in the middle of something here,” Beck said, motioning to the scene he was performing for Sikowitz. “This is my final, I need to finish it - ”

“It’s (Y/N). She passed out during class, she’s in the nurses office right now.”

Beck didn’t even look to Sikowitz for permission, he immediately dashed out the door, following closely on Cat’s tail.

When he entered the nurses office, he could see (Y/N) laid down with an ice pack over her head. Her eyes were still closed and her skin was so pale she was nearly translucent. Beck tried to go back to her, but was stopped by the school nurse.

“Can I please see (Y/N)?” he asked her. “Or at least know she’s okay?”

“She’s okay, she just needs to rest,” the nurse told him. “I think her fainting spell has to do with over stress and malnutrition.”

Beck looked at the nurse in confusion. “Stress? Malnutrition? That makes no sense.”

Cat suddenly gasped beside Beck and covered her mouth. Beck turned to look at her. “What do you know, Cat?”

“She made me promise I wouldn’t tell anyone!” Cat responded. Both Beck and the nurse gave her a look. “But this is a serious topic so I’ll tell you: she took 10 classes this year.”

Beck’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What?! How is that possible? How does she have the time with lunch in the middle?” Cat looked down at her feet. “Cat, is she eating lunch?”

“She told me she eats between classes!” Cat said. “I’m sorry, Beck, I promised.”

Beck sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He turned back to the nurse. “Can I stay with her?”

“Of course,” the nurse responded. “But she needs to rest, let her sleep for a while.”

Beck nodded. He pulled up a chair next to (Y/N)’s bed and took her hand in his. (Y/N) stirred a moment, but didn’t wake.

Beck sat with her for about an hour. In that time, Tori stopped by the nurse’s office to give Beck food for himself and for (Y/N) for when she woke up. She didn’t stay for long, but Beck could see the brief flash of sympathy in her eyes before she left.

He was starting to nod off himself when he heard the sound of the paper on the cot rustling, indicating that (Y/N) was moving. Beck sat up as (Y/N)’s hands moved to her face to sleepily rub her eyes.

“God, my head hurts,” was the first thing she said when she became fully conscious again.

Beck couldn’t help but chuckle at this. “Well, you did faint and hit your head.”

(Y/N) looked at him in shock. “I fainted?”

“You don’t remember?”

“The last thing I remember is being in class with Cat...how long have I been out?”

“About an hour.”

(Y/N) cringed at this. Beck took her hand in his again, bringing her attention back to him. “(Y/N), why didn’t you tell me about all the classes you were taking?”

Her eyes widened in shock then. “Cat told you? I told her - ”

“Why would you keep that a secret?” Beck cut her off. “Babe, the nurse said you’re malnutritional, that’s why you passed out. Don’t you know that’s dangerous?”

Tears started filling (Y/N)’s eyes. She quickly buried her head in her hands, trying desperately to wipe the tears before they fell down her face. Beck got up from his chair and moved to sit next to her on the bed. “Don’t cry, baby.”

“I’m so sorry, Beck,” she said through sobs. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I just...I didn’t want to worry you.”

“And you thought passing out during class was the best way to do that?”

(Y/N) managed to give Beck a playful glare through her tears. “Obviously not. I thought I had everything taken care of. I was on top of my school work, I was eating fine between classes. Some classes even let out early during your lunch period and I was able to actually eat with you and the gang.”

The times (Y/N) had shown up near the end of lunch and said she got stuck with a project or in detention or any number of excuses flashed through Beck’s mind. He had always believed her, now he felt silly for doing so.

“Why are you taking so many classes?” he asked her. “That has to give you such little time to do anything else in the day.”

“It does,” she admitted. “But...I have to. The school I transferred from apparently ‘lost’ my transcript, so I’m missing a whole bunch of credits in order to pass.”

“What? How is that possible?”

(Y/N) shrugged. “I don’t know! Principal Helen called me in before school let out for the summer and told me that there was no record of all my former credits because my old school failed to send them over. She called them in front of me and told me they lost the records, so there’s nothing official saying I did all those classes. Helen told me that, because it’s so many credits, there’s no way I’d be graduating with you guys, unless I tried to make up for them all and also took the classes I needed this year. Guess which option I took.”

Beck cupped (Y/N)’s face in his. “Baby, you don’t have to work yourself to death. You could do summer school, and then you’d still be walking with us at graduation in September.”

(Y/N) shook her head. “I have to work over the summer, I can’t afford college if I don’t.”

“You can’t afford to stop eating and stress yourself to death either.”

(Y/N) felt the tears pricking her eyes yet again and quickly wiped them away. “I don’t want to be held back, Beck. I wanna graduate with you guys.”

“And you will! Just let us help you, let me help you. You don’t have to do this alone, baby.”

(Y/N) smiled and slowly sat up. Beck helped her, making sure she was stable enough and wouldn’t fall over or pass out again. When she was sure she was alright, (Y/N) cupped Beck’s face and pulled him for a sweet kiss. He smiled and kissed her back, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close.

“I love you so much,” he told her, pulling her in to rest her head on his chest. “Please, tell me about these things in the future. I was so scared today.”

“I’m sorry, Beck,” she mumbled into his chest. “I promise I’ll talk to you in the future. I’ll take better care of myself, baby.”

“That’s all I ask. I want to have you for the rest of my life.”

[kyotakumrau]

2021.06.05 DIR EN GREY SOGAI at Tokyo Garden Theater

01 DOZING GREEN - acoustic version

-Intro-

02 絶縁体・Zetsuentai

03 空谷の跫音・Kuukoku no kyouon

.

04 人間の被る・Ningen wo kaburu

05 Devote My Life

06 CLEVER SLEAZOID

07 DIFFERENT SENSE

.

08 赫・Aka

09 Ranunculus

-inward scream-

10 谿壑の欲・Keigaku no yoku

11 The World of Mercy

12 朧・Oboro

13 かすみ・kasumi

ENCORE

en14 Followers

en15 OBSCURE

en16 落ちた事のある空・Ochita koto

en17 Sustain The Untruth

en18 激しさと・Hageshisa

my report under the cut ↓

Today felt so weird at first. Getting ready it felt like I was going to another screening event, it took some time for it to sink in that today it's going to be different, that it's going to be an actual live concert. That they will be playing on the stage.

Even already waiting in my seat it still didn't feel real.

The venue, Garden Theater, is amazing. I was on the 2nd floor balcony B, so quite on the left (shimote), but the view was amazing. I mean it was not close to the stage, but the round shaped audience and steep steps between rows were designed really well. And I was lucky to be at the end of the row so I had a higher barrier to grab when headbanging. I made a proper use of it!!!! 😆

Around 4:45ish many of the venue staff came to hold the black curtain hiding the stage firmly, not leaving any chances we could have a peek?😅 Anyway, the walls, ceiling and curtain were all black with white 疎外 projected on it.

People were still coming in a bit past 5,

The PA table was ready but still relaxed. I had a quick look at the leaflets left for us at our seats. We were all sat separated with an empty seat even if you got 2 tickets together.

Finally at 5:13 the lights went off and the curtained opened. We were greeted by the sound of acoustic guitar first... three band members sat on chairs, Kaoru, Toshiya on the left and Die on the right, Kyo was standing, Shinya in the back on drums. The lights were quite dim with gentle spotlights on the members.

Acoustic DOZING GREEN. It was sush a magical start! It set the mood for 'no singing or shouting' policy. I loved this take so much🖤

And it finally felt real. A real live performance😭❤️

Btw there were so many cameras they definitely have plans to release the footage from tonight's show somehow, we should all just pray they will include all songs🙏

...and speaking of cameras, Shinya had a small camera riding around his drum set, from afar it looked like a model train set😂

After the acoustic song the staff quickly picked up the chairs to take them off the stage and the band members changed the instruments for the rest of the set.

In the background the intro for SOGAI was playing. I can remember a figure with their arms raised towards the sun or sky like in a prayer (the figure appeared later in one more video but I can't remember which song) and that DIR EN GREY 疎外 appeared as letters made of ice.

Kaoru had his hair slicked back, wearing dark/black clothes. Toshiya had the jacket with gold elements. Shinya white shirt and pink hair. Die had a long red jacket with a black spiraly pattern.

Kyo had very light blond hair and wore make up including two larger dots on his forehead, and a gold chain. He wore a jacket in the beginning, with a white shirt underneath. At first I thought he had a scarf but later on the front of his shirt and his chest was all red with (fake) blood so I think it was blood from the start.

We clapped when 疎外・SOGAI appeared on the screen and as they were to start. There was movement in the audience from Zetsuentai, we could wave our hands, headbang and so on, but it was so different not being able to sing and shout... but Toshiya definitely was doing great with all the back vocals and shouts that were usually done by us...I don't remember hearing him so clearly until today😆

Kuukoku followed and we listened.

After a short break when the four standing band members waited turned came Ningen wo Kaburu and a change of mood. We did great staying quiet but still staying active during the song.

The clapping between songs was fierce and often!

And OMFG the start of Devote! I gasped when the screen showed a gold Tokyo Olympics logo! But then the footage started to show the logo melting, multitude of gold coins, running in a race giant gold babies (like a disturbing image of a baby that seems like an adult made of gold) who then started to march like an army and held firearms, fighting, terrorizing, and then coins again and the gold Olympics logo again and it kept changing. And "価値が欲しい/ 生きる価値が欲しい / 残酷なお前が・I want to have a worth / for my life to have a worth / cruel you" had us all raising our fists. It was a very powerful performance. And then they followed that with CLEVER SLEAZOID. The setlist tonight was 💯👌

One of the videos had various scenes of war and fighting, even the dates 1941, 42, 43 and 44 with some descriptions under them, but they showed so many conflicts it was more as if to show that humans just keep fighting same wars over and over again...

Starting from Aka the mood changed again, they continued on the route to grab, tear and stab our hearts... was it all this time without hearing Kyo live or was it all this time for Kyo not singing live with dir... the raw emotions delivered cut really deep. The inward scream was just crying at first, gasping for breath, then Kyo stood up holding the mics wire, the mic bumped loudly against the stage and the crate, then Kyo returned to the crate and crouched on the top while he continued to cry. Keigaku tonight was one of the darkest performances of the song I've heard. And Kyo changed the lyrics at least partially in the beginning, at first was something about a birth? (I want the footage from tonight so bad)

The World of Mercy was just... so miserable. So unhappy. And by this time I had no doubts about the red on Kyo's shirt.

For Oboro they used the footage from the pv in the back and red lasers on the stage as well. In the beginning there was only one set on Kyo, who stood with his arms raised as in wanting to grab the red lines. Two more red laser sets were added to the sides, one on Die and other on Kaoru and Toshiya. They looked like lava or fire at times, especially when catching on things. Oboro was amazing live, it's such a strong song to pull us from where the World of Mercy has left us a moment before.

Also, Kyo's stand was updated with Oboro theme: the stand itself is quite plain but there's a big bloody pregnant belly with legs bend at its sides under the crate... it looks quite grotesque, like being tucked under a staircase or ...under the tatami.

They closed the main set with Kasumi. It was so wonderful to have Oboro and Kasumi back to back.

And then we clapped and clapped and clapped until they came back.

We got very powerful encore as well. To me Followers was to help us pick up the heart pieces and put it back together. And then the other 4 songs were to pump us with the energy. The headbanging, the ...hand-scream-pumps! And they all kept asking for more! All four of them started to walk to the other sides of the stage, coming to the edge of the stage. Ochita is a mighty song, we can respond so much now, I can only imagine what it will become in the future!!

The energy got so overwhelming, the energy we couldn't shout out, I couldn't help but start crying as we were still headbanging and raising and waving our hands.

Before Hageshisa Kyo kept shouting 'last song! Last song!! LAST one' and hitting the mic on his chest. We went mad.

They couldn't throw anything like they used to, but I think they stayed a bit longer on the stage because of that. They all had a good look at the audience before they left, Kyo first, waving us goodbye as he jumped down from his stand. I kept clapping and the rest of band members left one by one, Shinya, Toshiya, Die and then Kaoru last. Kaoru took a pick from his stand and saluted us as he was leaving. But I was crying too much at this point to notice more.

It was incredible.

It was like noticing what was missing when your life gradually started to grow dull but it happened so slowly you haven't realized it was happening. That energy, just, woah.

And then they announced the autumn tour! The video showed a dirty, polluted river and a boat with people in safety suits on it. And then the title came up and dates.

Desperate. So accurate.

[purpleyellow]

It’s a mess

NCT 24th member / Dream 8th member

Bee’s Masterlist

“The C in NCT stands for Chaos: A copilation of random moments during NCT 2020″

requested by: anon

a/n: Feel free to share your thoughts with me. Requests are open!💛

“Do you know how to wink?” Sungchan asked Bee when they were sitting behind the scenes of the photoshoot. “Some members were struggling earlier”

“Yeah, I do” She giggled, politely denying as he tried to pass her a bag of chips “Thanks but I haven’t done my solo shots yet”

“Oh, okay” He nodded taking a mouthful “How many members have finished already?”

“I think half of them must be done” She answered, giggling after a few seconds “Small talk makes things awkward. Do you want to go see what the rest are doing?”

“Yeah, let’s go”. Getting up, they walked along the staff until finding Jungwoo and Kun talking on the side. Sprinting towards them, Bee crashed Kun in a hug while the two boys greeted each other.

“Do I want to know what you’re up to?” The oldest giggled as she bounced on her feet.

“We’re just passing time” She said casually and Jungwoo shook his head, placing both his hands on the side of her face and turning it towards Kun.

“Don’t trust this little face. She’s ready to backstab us at any point” Squeezing her cheeks together at the last word, the boys laughed at her confused face and let it go. “Oh, Taeil Hyung. Let us get a word from you”.

Approaching them carefully, Taeil laughed as Jungwoo threw his arm over his shoulder and began asking random questions about the weather.

“What’s going on right now?” Bee giggled to Sungchan who only shrugged, also entertained by the random switches to English on their conversation. 

“Oh, the sky is showing signs of gloominess so maybe later we’re going to get a rainstorm”  Johnny showed up talking in some very quick English making Taeil smile while repeating “Yes” and the little group watching laugh a little lost.

“Don’t you think that rain is good for the environment? That way the plants get watered, and it’s part of nature’s natural cycle” Turning to her, Johnny kept babbling the first thing that came to his mind.

Staring with wide eyes, Bee’s face broke into a beaming smile as she spoke in English the first sentence she had remembered “Nctzens are so pretty. Thank you for your love"

“We actually grew close as a group, I don’t think there’s anyone who needs a little push”. Taeyong answered a comment that asked if there was anyone who was still awkward with each other. 

The vlive before the music video was going quite smooth so far, allowing Bee to just watch and rest her head on Xiaojun’s shoulder.

“Actually,” Jaemin’s voice interrupted them for looking at another question, and he smiled at the girl “I haven’t seen Jaehyun Hyung and Bee interacting even now”

“Oh, true” Lucas clapped nodding and Doyoung agreed “It’s only when we’re as a group, maybe we need to make an episode for them”

“But we’re not awkward with each other” The girl tried to defend herself by going back to the original question “We just don’t interact that much”

“If we left the two of you alone it would probably get awkward”. Taeyong laughed at her pouting, Jaehyun also joining on her side saying “It wouldn’t, we actually went out for drinks a few weeks ago”.

Falling silent, the room turned towards him frowning making the boy shrug with Doyoung and Jaemin gasping “You what?” “When?”.

Bee nodded swinging her feet around and added towards Jaemin “I told you when I was leaving, you nodded and everything”

“I have no memory of such thing” The boy frowned further “Are you lying to us?”.

“Do you have a picture or something to prove?” Doyoung asked laughing incredulous and Jaehyun pulled out his phone, scrolling through the gallery as Bee laughed at their shocked faces.

“I can’t show it to the camera”. He chuckled stealing a glance at the managers and turning his phone sideways. The screen showing to those sitting next to him the selfie he had taken along with the girl, Jungkook and Sunny from BTS. 

“Why is this getting weirder?” Taeyong giggled as Bee and Jaehyun laughed at their questions and turned his attention back to the iPad. “Well, let’s move on”

“If I hear ‘Ayo listen up’ one more time in the next five minutes I might punch someone” Bee groaned sitting on the ground. Her threat doing nothing but entertain Shotaro who sat next to her and make Haechan and Ten laugh.

“We only got a two-minute break, so I think I’m changing places”. Hyuck chuckled walking lazily as the line formation was broken and stood behind Bee, making his legs work as a backrest for her.

Almost at the same time, Chenle’s voice could be heard shouting the same lines she had just complained about. Extending her arm, Bee softly tapped Shotaro’s heels and relaxed back into her position as he played along and pretended to be hurt.

“Yun-hee don’t hurt your friends” Haechan whined holding her arms and shaking her, the movement made her head roll loosely and a few giggles erupt. Poking the top of her scalp, Hyuck bent down to stare at her  “Why are you so tired, all we did so far was stand”.

“I’m doing a growing plan. Lots of food and sleep to see if I add a few centimeters to my height” She answered closing her eyes and missing the look between the boys.

“I think we need to wake her up” Shotaro laughed getting up and holding her legs. Following his train of thought, Haechan held under her arms, and they began slowly swinging her body.

Laughing, Bee tried to loosen her body up as much as possible as they increased the speed. Some members around laughing as well and Lucas suddenly standing a little away from them, holding out his arms and joking “Throw her, throw her. I’ll catch it”.

Scared of the possibility of being thrown around and falling because of the clumsy boy, the girl tensed up allowing Shotaro to drop her legs making her stand-up, shaking her head giggling.

“Did anyone see Doyoung?” One of the managers put his head through the door shouting and somebody shouted back “He went to the other dressing room”. The door closing instantly as he left in a hurry.

Towards the back of the room, Bee sat on the ground with Winwin, Hendery, Jeno and Sungchan. Since they were all ready to go back on stage, they decided to play some racing game on their phones while waiting for the rest.   

“Who’s red? I’m after red. Red, please slow down” The girl commented not paying attention to what they were saying and Jeno hummed.

“I’m red, you’re after me?” He asked but didn’t wait for an answer before continuing “Well, not anymore”.

Just as he said that, his car released a black substance making Bee’s car slowdown and get left behind by the others. A cheer of laughter erupting from the boy and Sungchan, while Hendery chuckled a “Noo”.

Putting her phone down, Bee slapped his arm just on time for another manager to walk inside and prompt them to go back on the stage. Throwing their phones on the couch, the group, as well as the members who were just done getting retouched, made their way to the staircase.

After performing other songs, the members started doing some speeches, arranging themselves in a line. Just as Bee was going to her place, Jeno came from her side and bumped shoulders with her standing on the marked spot. Hendery who has watched the exchange laughed remembering the game they had played.

Smiling smug, Jeno pretended to look over her head before staring back at Mark who had been talking. Patting the girl on the head, Hendery bent a little forward, indicating her to jump on his back, that way gaining some height. 

Poking Jeno’s head, Bee and Hendery each did a fighting stance with their arms, making the boy laugh this time a little louder. Taeil, Yuta and YangYang join them despite not knowing what was going on.

“Oh, are we teaming up against Jeno?” Haechan said excited, throwing a few punches on the air and soon almost everyone was doing karate poses.

After ten seconds, almost in agreement, everyone stopped and stared at each other, laughing at how random the moment was. Clearing his throat, Mark said awkwardly not sure of what to do next “May I continue?”

[saltymiraculer]

Ceremonial Kisses (Part 1 of 3)

Part 2

So I decided to try my hand at the “Marinette, the princess of China” trope and see how I did! Tell me what you think?

Also, the first chapter is going to be fluffy, the second chapter’ll have a sprinkling of salt, and the third chapter will be a mix of piles and piles of salt and some fluff. Be warned!

.

“I’ve got a big, big, big announcement for you today, class!“ Bustier chirped, clapping her hands to get their attention. “China’s princess will be coronated in a week and a half, the day she turns 18, as many of you know, and one class from the school will be selected to travel to China and watch the ceremony. Guess which class it was?“

“Uhhh…Mme. Mendeleiev’s!“

“Ooh, M. D’Argencourt’s? They’ve wanted that trip for weeks!“

“No, class, it’s ours! In three days, we’ll board the plane to Asia and have a few days to sightsee and explore, then attend the coronation on the second-to-last day!“

“Wow! Why our class?“ Kim asked.

Marinette knew exactly why. Marc had told her that the entire school was sick of Lila’s lies and wanted to enjoy the coronation without her butting in in the middle of the assembly to tell a ‘story’ about herself.

But she couldn’t just say that.

“You know, I actually know the princess,“ Lila said, immediately drawing the attention of everyone in the room. “But her identity is being kept a secret for now. That’s how we landed the trip!“

“Wow, Lila!“

“That’s amazing!“

“So cool of you.“

“They know that’s stupid, right?“ Alya stage-whispered, earning a glare from Lila’s new puppy–more commonly known as Kim. She shrugged. “I’m just tellin’ the truth!“

Alya, who was now her only other supporter next to Nino (and technically Adrien, but she’d discuss that later–it was very complicated), had decided to Google Lila’s name during a sleepover and found…some rather incriminating Facebook posts.

After that, she was 100% team Marinette and an amazing friend, along with Nino, who had decided that he needed a theme song. No one knew why.

But they loved him anyways!

So while Bustier was rattling off facts about Chinese emperors and kings and queens, Nino was showing them his latest idea to expose Lila.

“Okay,“ he started. “First, we go to China. Then we do our sightseeing and shit, and then. I did some research, and we can ask the princess questions if we’re with a national news channel. Alya’s blog counts. For real, we can talk to the princess of China. And we ask her if she knows Lila.“

“Brilliant plan, Nino. I wonder how the princess will react to a few teenagers in the middle of a crowd of famous people.“

Nino frowned. “The princess is only, like, 17. She’ll probably notice us, Als.”

“Oh, that reminds me, your birthday’s on the same day as the coronation, Marinette! Weird, isn’t it? That you and the princess have the same birthday?“ Alya asked, pulling out her phone and swiping through something.

“Huh, yeah. You’re right. Maybe we can invite her to my birthday party?“

“Ooh, the wiki page says she likes custard buns, and I’m not sure how they know that,“ Nino chuckled. “but make sure to stock up on those.“

“Noted,“ Marinette said drily as Bustier turned to them with a condemning look on her face. “Alya! I hope what you’re doing on that phone relates to the lesson!“

“China’s princess’s identity is being kept a secret because the last two were sent death threats, dangerous items, highly innapropriate items, and several other things that prompted them to not reveal the princess until it was necessary.“

“C-correct, Alya. Good job.“

“Nice!“ Marinette mouthed, high-fiving Alya, who flipped her phone around to reveal a website about the princess.

                                                           -🌸-

The final bell rang as several of the students cheered. One school day until the trip over, three more to go. Alya swung her bag over her shoulder and bumped Marinette’s elbow. “We goin’ to your place to hang out?”

“Yeah, my dad’s out anyways and mom closed the bakery for the afternoon. let’s go!“ Alya took Nino’s hand and walked the short distance to Marinette’s house. They entered and immediately felt something off.

Ah, there it was.

Sabine was leaning over the counter with a cup of very strong-smelling peppermint tea beside her. She was rubbing her temples and muttering to herself in rapid Mandarin.

“Maman? Are you alright?“ Marinette asked worriedly. Alya and Nino stood by the door–they had only seen her like this once before, when her cousin had been run over and killed.

“Yes, dear, everything’s okay, it’s just–there’s something I need to tell you.“

“Oh, no, did something happen to someone?“

“No, no, everyone’s just fine. I can’t not tell you without there being serious problems.“

“So what is it? What’s so important you had to close the bakery?“

“You’re the princess. China’s princess. The one nobody knows about.“

“I’m what?!“ Marinette screeched, grabbing at her hair. “I’m the heir to the throne of the most populated country in the world, and you waited until a week before the coronation to tell me?!“

“Holy shit.“ Alya and Nino said simultaneously. Sabine stared at them, likely just realizing they were there.

“Oh. They know now, too. Perfect, that’s just what we need, a reporter knowing who–“

“Maman! Alya wouldn’t tell a soul, I know she wouldn’t.“

Sabine turned to Alya. “I’m sorry, dear, I’m just stressed. With that trip to China in a few days and all that, we’ll have to close down the bakery for about a week.”

“And we never close down the bakery.“ Marinette finished, putting a steady hand on her mom’s shoulder. “But I know just the person to run it while we’re gone.“

As she was about to say who exactly would run the bakery, Nino backed into the door, wide-eyed.

“Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit. My best friend…holy shit.“

“Nino, I know this is a lot, but we’ll have to stay calm,“ Alya said, grabbing his hand. “So we don’t spill her secret. That’s top priority, all right? Don’t–tell–anyone.“

Nino sighed. “Sorry, babe. This…“ he turned to Marinette. “Do you have any cookies?“

Marinette grinned and led them into the kitchen. “Of course! Chocolate chunk or raspberry frosted?“

“Raspberry, all the way!“

“There’s the Nino I know!“

After a quick cookie interval, Marinette pushed her plate away and sighed. “Anyone up for an impromptu sleepover? You all left a bunch of your clothes here the last few times.”

“Marinette. If you know us, you will know our answers.“ Alya said solemnly.

“Hell yeah. Wanna go choose which terrible rom-com to watch this time?“

They ended up settling on The Kissing Booth, one of Marinette’s personal favorites (”To lighten the tension, you know?” Alya had said. “Although the tension in here probably weighs the same as an obese hippopotamus at this point.”) and made a bowl of caramel popcorn, with a tiny bag of sea-salt Skinny Pop for Nino.

“Sugar on popcorn is a crime, man. I ain’t touching that.“

“You’ve tried it once, Nino.“

“Yes, and I hated it. Is there anything else to be said?“

So they spent the next two hours in a blanket fort that was made almost entirely of throw pillows laughing over Elle and Noah and Lee being idiots, with a few highlights such as the iconic “Ninth grade skirt, eleventh grade body” scene, where Alya snorted and said “You know, Lila’s skipped so much school, might as well be ninth grade brain, eleventh grade work.”

“Too true,“ Nino agreed. “The other day, she called Chloe’s mom Aurora Bourgeois. That was a pretty major mess-up.”

“Shhh! Let’s just watch the movie!“ Marinette said, effectively quieting them down.

They watched the rest in silence with the usual laughs., ending up falling asleep halfway through the second movie, snuggled up on their respective couches. Marinette mother shook them awake the next morning, telling them to take showers and eat breakfast and get dressed and for god’s sake, Marinette, finish your homework.

“Crap, crap, crapcrapcrap! Nino, we’re going to be late if we don’t get ready fast!“ Alya shouted as Marinette ran up the stairs to change. “Can I use your shower, M?“

“Sure!“ was the muffled reply.

After about 10 minutes of running around and shoving waffles in their mouths, they grabbed their bags and ran off to school.

They burst through the door in the nick of time, the bell ringing just as they plunked down their things.

Bustier wasn’t there five minutes into the class, so they started talking.

“Marinette, you have to listen to Nino’s latest track, it’s–“ Just as she was about to describe Nino’s latest track, a bouncy-ball the size of a walrus snashed through the wall, nearly taking off Kim’s head.

There was a cackle from outside. “I am Gradack! You will all feel the same sorrow that I did!“

                                                          -🌸-

The fight was over relatively fast, and everything was calmed down and restored before their next class. Turns out Chat Noir didn’t show, so Marinette had to ask Alya for assistance.

In hindsight, she probably should have picked a better place to transform.

“Tikki, spots on!“ After she transformed, she was about to go to Fu to get one of the Miraculous, when she heard a strangled gasp.

“…shit.“

“My best friend is the princess of goddamn China and Ladybug? What the fuck?! Who are you? How did I not know? When did–“

“Alya, I know the feeling, but you can’t tell anyone. Got it?“

“Nino?“

“Well,“ Marinette paused to think. “Yeah, I guess. I trust him enough. Now, take this and transform!“ she tossed Alya the hexagonal box, and after a quick transformation, they ran off to defeat the saddened graduate of an akuma.

As she said, it was an easy fight.

They comforted the victim with four minutes (each) to spare, then ran back to the locker rooms to transform back.

                                                   Time Skip!

It was the morning of the flight to China, and she was ecstatic. Of course, she had to get up at 3:45 in the morning, but it was worth it–the flight took off at six in the morning, of course.

She could see the logic of wanting to arrive at 12:00, but she would’ve much preferred a red-eye.

Then she wouldn’t have had to stay up all night reading, because no way in hell would she just wake up at 3:45 in the morning.

The alarm would’ve had to go off for hours.

But back to the morning, she poured herself a sasquatch-sized mug of coffee, with about a gallon of cream and enough sugar to put an entire city of diabetics into shock, she started getting dressed.

Trudging around and haphazardly pulling out shirts, she finally decided on a simple red-and-orange flannel, a white t-shirt, and a pair of cropped jeans.

The she downed the rest of her coffee with an apathetic “Bottoms up!” and slapped her cheeks.

She grapped her suitcase and walked outside to where her mother was typing away on a laptop in the pitch-black night.

“Mom, why are you up?“

“Because I have to drive you to the airport, that’s why. And no alarm would be able to wake me up at 3 in the morning.“

“Preach. I’m ready to go, so can we get in the car now?“

After driving to the airport and saying goodbye to her mom, she walked into the airport and immediately saw the group of sleepy teens (and a certain disheveled teacher) leaning on their suitcases, trying not to fall asleep.

Nino and Marinette were already there, their eyelids drooping. The only person who looked properly awake was Sabrina, who was–inevitably–holding a saucer out to Chloé, who was sipping from a teacup.

Alya rolled her eyes and walked over to Marinette and Nino. “Who’re we missing?”

“Kim and Rose. They’re carpooling, so they should be here any minute.“

Just as Marinette had said, a few seconds later, Rose and Kim walked into the airport. Kim was still wearing pajama pants.

                                           Another Time Skip!

“Marinette.“ Alya groaned, shaking Marinette’s shoulders. “Marinette, wake up, we’re here.“

Marinette’s eyes fluttered open. “No. Five more minutes.”

“Everyone else is already off the plane!“

“Shit. Let’s go!“ Marinette said, jumping up, grabbing her purse (which she had recently learned concealed a kwami) and scrambling out the door.

Alya picked up the mini-backpack she now carried (which held Trixx, cookies, and some grape jelly) and followed her out the door.

Almost as soon as they stepped off the plane, they heard a loud wail.

“Great. She’s back on her bullshit.“

“I just can’t believe she would steal that, Lila! It’s so unlike her!“

“M-maybe, but there’s p-proof! Look!“

“Oh, great, what did we do this time?“ Alya asked exasperatedly. They watched as Lila held out the remains of–from what they could see from a meter away–a sketch of an orange mermaid gown with a black lace collar, ripped into quarters and laid out on the ground.

Marinette gasped beside her.

“That’s your dress, isn’t it?“

A small tear made its way down Marinette’s face. “It was going to be for you,” she said softly.

Alya threw her arms around Marinette and rubbed her shoulders. “It’s okay, sweetie. Once you’re princess, we’ll sue her for all she’s worth.”

Marinette detached herself from Alya and wiped her eyes. “Yeah. Yeah, thanks, Alya.”

                                                         -🌸-

Nino stormed up to where Alya and Marinette were standing with a furious expression on his face.

“That fox,“ he seethed. “that bitchy little fox of a liar stole your drawing.“

Marinette chuckled wetly. “Yeah, we know.“

“Are you okay? I know how important they are to you.“

“I’m fine, Nino, and o–who the hell are you?“ A man in an oddly formal suit was standing next to her, holding out a small red envelope.

Marinette plucked the envelope from his fingers, opened it, and read the contents. She looked up and nodded at the suit-wearing guy.

“Good. In that case, Miss Dupain-Cheng, I’m going to need you to come with me.“ Alya and Nino immediately stepped in front of her in a protective shield.

“She’s not in trouble, is she?“

The strange man looked surprisingly amused. “Not at all–but you might want to come with us, too. You as well, headphone-boy.”

Nino put a hand on his chest and gasped in offense.

“Nino. He’s going to drive us to the palace. You’re coming, too, ya doof!“ Nino made a noise of realization and followed them out to where a black limousine was waiting.

They climbed in and drove off.

About five minutes into the drive, he moved his foot to the side, accidentally kicking a black box.

Just as he was preparing his final goodbyes, it sprung open, and inside was a junk food lover’s heaven.

“Dude.“

[yukiwhitetm]

Thoughts on Life is Strange: True Colors and Wavelengths

This part of the review contains no spoilers.

Chapter One

This chapter was an excellent introduction to Alex Chen, her brother, Gabe, and the rest of the Haven Springs community. Steph and Ryan, our two romance options, were introduced with equal value - Steph was super cool and Ryan was super cute. Every character was well rounded and likeable, but the game was glitchy, hard to run and no one’s mouth moved with their speech - this improved in later chapters after the October update. The worst glitch was on Alex when she suddenly turned entirely black during an animation, but that went away quickly and may have been resolved in the October update. I had to adjust my settings several times to get the game to run smoothly! Windowed mode is your saviour here.

Chapter Two

This chapter could have been done better. It was OK. But it could have been impactful and emotional, and it just... wasn’t. I will talk about it more in the spoilers part of this review. There was a hilarious glitch where the bartender, Jed, T-posed when he wasn’t even supposed to be in the room. I laughed so hard.

Chapter Three

My favourite chapter by far! This chapter was fun and enjoyable - and then it was intense and emotional. I am so glad that they fleshed out Gabe’s girlfriend, Charlotte, more here as she had seemed bland before. I am concerned about how they did it, but I will talk about that in the spoiler part of this review.

Chapter Four

Fun and optional romance was abound in this chapter! The event was enjoyable and the romance so sweet that it made me smile. But it had a shocking conclusion. I literally clasped my hands over my mouth and gasped!

Chapter Five

Remember how in the first game Max had visions of alternate futures and alternate versions of herself and it got really crazy for awhile there? Well, it happened again here! But it made tons more sense and I actually enjoyed unravelling it all. True Colors came to a decisive end as the mysteries were brought to a satisfying, if tragic, conclusion. 

Wavelengths

This expansion pack was long! It was as long as a chapter of the game - so grab a warm drink and get comfy. In this, we followed Steph as she started her new job as a DJ and shop assistant in Haven Springs and slowly, bit by bit, moved on from the grief and trauma of what happened at Arcadia Bay. It impacted her more than we ever thought it did and she really struggled for awhile. You see the DJ booth and the music shop change over time as she settled in and got her life in order. Steph grew to become the Steph we knew in the game, and we got to see it happen. (Side note, I had a serious glitch occur when she entered the back room at one point, and had to restart from a previous check point three times. Hopefully, this will be ironed out with time.)

To read a more in depth review carry on, but beware the blatant spoilers below!

This part of the review contains spoilers and, honestly, this is where the critique comes in.

Chapter One

I like that this chapter started with Alex talking to her therapist because it introduces us to the main character, and it is then tied into the start of the last chapter. I appreciate that there was foreshadowing put in place by Ethan telling Alex that he wanted to go up and into the mountains that day, and by the signs of the upcoming explosions that were literally everywhere, but it ruined the experience for me. I predicted the entire thing before it happened and was frustrated that I couldn’t stop something so obvious from happening. It happened and I could have stopped it because I saw it miles out, but the game wouldn’t let me. So much for player’s choice. Also, I think that Riley’s hair could have done with being animated better as it looked not-quite-right throughout the game. And, I hate to say this, but Gabe’s death was more funny than it should have been. I mean, it was upsetting, yes, but I knew it was going to happen because of the trailers, so I did not miss the hilarity of the animation of this one random boulder just hitting Gabe in the stomach and throwing him off the mountain. I think that could have been animated better.

Chapter Two

This chapter started with a memorial for Gabe. I cried really hard during this part and had to restart the scene to watch it clearly. Then we helped Steph deal with her grief in a scene that was beautiful and well done. Steph’s eyebrows kept on disappearing, though, which made me giggle. Alex helped Charlotte support Ethan, and she helped Ryan with his grief and guilt. The scene with Ryan was brilliant too - and his following joy random but sweet. My critique here is this - where was Alex’s grief? It was her brother that died right in front of her and yet we did not see her grieve him, not really. And I get that it was mentioned in Chapter Five that she never cries, but still. Her voice was too level and her expression too clear and it really did not seem as though it had only been two weeks since her brother had died, I repeat, right in front of her. The entire chapter was about grief and mourning, but not about hers. She did start to see her empathy as something she can use to help other people and that’s great, but what about her emotions, where were they?

Alex’s watered down emotions were why this chapter was only an OK. Alex is the main character - so her emotions matter the most.

Chapter Three

I cannot put into words how much I loved this chapter. The LARP was so inspired and fun - I enjoyed every moment of it. And the way that Ethan’s Joy transformed the LARP into a real fantasy world was wonderful, followed on by how it was torn apart by his grief. After this came a scene with Charlotte where we finally got to see her grief - and it had manifested as anger, which is one of the five stages of grief. The option to take away her anger was an interesting choice to make, if an intrusive one. She had the right to her emotions. But! My concern is this - Charlotte is a black woman and the writers made her angry, so are they perpetuating the ‘angry black woman’ stereotype? Or are they allowing her the right to be angry in her grief despite the stereotype? I just think that this is such a sensitive topic that it would have been better if they had swapped her anger with another character’s sadness - like Steph’s or Ryan’s - so that this topic could have been entirely avoided. But maybe I am wrong here.

Chapter Four

I loved the Spring Festival! It was so much fun exploring it all and talking to all of the characters! My favourite part was the giving of a rose to your romantic interest - I loved how this made it clear to the game who you were interested in, as I was a bit concerned I would end up with Ryan when I had been gunning for Steph. (I just think dating your brother’s best friend is kind of weird.) The rooftop scene between Steph and Alex was adorable and I was so happy to finally see them kiss! Pike arresting Alex was not unexpected, because he had always seemed wishy-washy, but upsetting. The fact that she and her friends had been spied on was unnerving, but I should have seen that coming after what happened with Mac. Taking Pike’s fear away seemed contradictory to her thoughts on how taking Charlotte’s anger away was intrusive, but it was the only option other than signing the paper, which I was not going to do, so I did it. Jed’s betrayal was shocking. I did not expect that at all! And that Alex was shot and fell down a mine shaft from the impact was terrifying. What if she had died?

Chapter Five

This chapter started with Alex talking to her therapist again, and I love that it tied into the beginning of the game. The following mystery was fun to solve, and the magical memory explorations with Gabe were interesting to explore as we got to see more of their shared past. I actually really liked it! I was cheering Alex on as she made her way out of the mine, but I nearly cried when she found her mother’s locket down there. The final showdown between her and Jed was impactful and emotional like I had hoped chapter two to be, and I am glad that I managed to garner every character’s support. Jed admitted to his crimes and I... I forgave him. Not for him, but for Alex, because she deserved to move on from what happened. I chose to stay in Haven Springs with Steph, because it seemed like the game wanted me to do that (as I had learned from the first game that Life is Strange tends to have a ‘favourite’ ending that is more fleshed out) but I actually wanted them to leave. It didn’t seem healthy to me for her stay in the place that her father, brother and almost her had been murdered. Despite this, I found the ending to be... lacklustre. Gabe’s description of her future in Haven Springs was beautiful, but I would have liked to see that after I made the choice not before - because after I made the choice all I got to see was Alex walking to Haven Springs, which I had seen several times before, and then roll credits. If I had known that I wouldn’t have seen anything different I would have let Alex and Steph move on with their lives.

Overall, Life is Strange: True Colors is a great game! I would not say it is as good as Life is Strange was, but it is far better than Life is Strange 2, because it had a cohesive story with an overarching plot, likeable characters and a mystery to solve.

[suckjasmins]

The love story Part 1

A/n soo im rewriting this story lol i just felt like i could do better so yeah and sorry for being gone for so long (if anyone noticed) i didnt and still dont have wifi, I only have it when my sister is home and she works lol so it will take time for me to post

edit: guess who has wifi bitches!!?? this bitch right here!!

Pairings: Bakugou x Reader

Word count: 2069 (nice) words

Warnings: none lol

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Only the sound of the rain and the thunder was the only thing anyone heard. It was one of the few days where it rained and usually would be celebrated. Living in the desert like place, only heat and blinding sun was regular. A rainy day was like a blue moon, and everyone, celebrated it. The kids would play in it, the young adults would party in it, the elders would simply stand in it and converse with one another. Music and laughter would be the only thing anyone heard. This day was the opposite however, and the reason for it? More than half of the village was gone, they were on a hunting trip that should only lasted for a few weeks. It had been a few months now, and everyone was beginning to lose their hope of the hunting group returning. The only ones left were, children and elders and a few adults that had stayed for different reasons.

You were one of the adults that stayed, your reason was that you fell sick right before leaving. It was then decided that it was too dangerous for you to leave the village. It took all of your friends to convince you to stay. And let's say you were furious that you had stayed, especially now that the group were now gone. But you were not the only one who's heart were filled with rage and sorrow.

The warriors and the dragons had left to hunt the orcs who had dangerously been inching in close to the village. The whole village thought that if they could get rid of the orcs now. All would be safer, and the orcs didn't have the recourses to go to war now, so why wait until the orcs can?

You sat on the floor at the opening of the tent. Watching the puddle, you thought about how hot it still was when it was raining. You thought about your friends, and what you would be doing if they were here. You probably would be dancing and partying in the rain. And nobody would be able to hear the siren over the music, unlike right now when it was going off. The siren that only was used to important things, to signal when a new season started or when someone returned home-

When someone was returning home after war or after a long time...

You looked up, towards the mountains and right there, in the middle of the mountains. A group of people were walking towards the village. They were too far away to be able to see who they were, but everyone knew. It was them.. Getting up, you started to run towards to the group of people, standing and watching them. You pushed your way to the front and your vision started to blur from tears. Even though it was still raining, even though it was still dark from all the clouds. It felt like the sun was shining, like the rain now was a sweet reminder of the parties that usually held place here.

The group were closer now, and you could clearly see how hurt they all were. The few dragons by the humans was transformed to their human shapes. Almost everyone were limping, and helping each. other to walk. Finally you could not hold yourself back and you broke out of the crowd. A few kids following you, you made you way to the group. The first person you saw were Mina, your long time best friend. And by her side were Eijiro, one of his wings were bandaged.

"Mina! Eijiro!" you screamed out as you neared them. You stopped a step from them and you went to hug them when you realized that that wouldn't be the best.

"Are you guys ok..? Is it ok if I hug you or..?" you fidgeted around, only you three stood there, everyone walking around you.

Mina chuckled and leaned forward, hugging you. You hugged back, squeezing her hard until she slightly winced. It felt like you hugged each other for hours, rambling about different things. Like how much you missed each other.

"Hey.. when is it my turn for a hug?" Eijiro whined behind Mina, crossing his arms and playfully pouted.

"Now's your turn" you let go of Mina and turned to him. "Come here big guy" you squeezed him just like Mina. You two also stood forever and rambled about things. Just like when you were younger, he always felt like home. You also would stand there forever if Mina hadn't interrupted the two of you.

"The Bakugous is about to start their speech, let's get over there, then can you two continue your hugging party." she nodded towards the scene where Mitsuki Bakugou, the village leader, or queen, was about to start her speech. Walking towards her, you blended into the crowd already there. Mitsuki Bakugou stood in the middle of the scene, her husband, Masaru Bakugou stood slightly behind her, a supporting hand on her shoulder. On her other side stood Katsuki Bakugou with his usual scowl on his face. Mitsuki exchanged a few words with Masaru before turning her attention forward.

"Everyone... We'er finally back from the hunting trip that were only supposed to last a few weeks. It was hard but I'm glad to tell you the exiting news. When we arrived to the last sighting of orcs, we saw that there were a few who had made camp there. We fought them off our land and got information on where the main camp was. When we arrived, we were shocked to say the at least. There were a lot more than we thought there were going to be. We had to make camp and discuss our new battle plans. But then we were ready, and we fought. And... even though it was a big possibility that we would lose a few soldiers... WE LOST NONE!" a big cheer broke out and people started to almost party right there and then. Mitsuki with only her hand silenced and calmed down the crowd. "We fought bravely, many of us were hurt and are going to be treated shortly after this speech. We have now gotten rid of the orcs that harmed and threatened our land. And luckily... the mating season has not started yet. It will begin in a 2 short weeks along with spring. I feel like this year is extra special, and we will treat it like it. Now just a few words from my husband and from my soon then you can continue to reunite with your close and loved ones" she finished her speech and stepped to the side. Her husband and her switching their places. He cleared his throat and started with his speech.

"Even though my wife has said almost everything there is to say, I have a few words. I want to say thank you, for every brave soul that followed us to fight the evil. It is only with their help that we could defeat the enemy without losing one of our own. And for anyone wondering... the harvest has been good this year. And along with the animals we hunted on our way back. We have more than enough food to relax without the need to hunt. We will celebrate the beginning of spring with a feast so big it will last for days!" he laughed and the crowd cheered again. The thought of being able to properly relax and the thought of food, making everyone happy. Mitsuki then pushed her son, Katsuki, to the front. It was then you noticed his arm were wrapped and hung around his neck. It was clearly broken, you looked around and noticed a lot of people had broken something. But thankfully Mina or Eijiro hadn't broken anything. Eijiro was only bleeding from his wing but otherwise was okay.

"I would like to say... It was brave of everyone to follow on this trip, to risk their life for each other. And now we can celebrate it" his words were short and you could hear how he didn't mean any of that. Or maybe he did but was too tired to say it. Everyone clapped and Mitsuki clapped Katsukis shoulder. She whispered something to him and he scowled. The Bakugou family left the stage and almost the whole crowd turned to the direction of the medical tent. You walked with Mina, Eijiro had left to find Katsuki Bakugou, his dear friend.

"So Mina, are you excited about the mating season?" you asked her, as you walked together.

"Ah... I don't know actually... I mean Eijiro competed for me last year and well, I don't know if he's going to do it again" she answered, she stared ahead at nothing. You got a brilliant idea, almost like a lightbulb went off in your head.

"Why don't you compete for him? I mean it's tradition that couples compete every year and imagine how happy he would be!" your eyes shined as you awaited for her answer.

"Omg... Y/n I love you!" she grabbed your shoulders and shook you back and fort before hugging you. "And it can be a surprise too!" you laughed along with her.

"I'm really happy for you, you know? I don't think your or Eijiro could fins a better match" you smiled warmly while Mina gave you a cute pout.

"That's so sweet... I have to do something for you now!" she gasped and pulled you with her. "What if... I help you find someone to compete for you or someone for you to compete for?!"

"Ah... Mina, there isn't really anyone I'm interested in.." you sighed, you never really thought about dating or anything like that. But it wasn't the first time someone told you to get a date.

"I know I know... but if there's someone who would be a great match for you? It would be Bakugou!" she almost yelled out, which resulted in you covering her mouth with your hand.

"Shush! You can't just yell that!" you shushed her, she only giggled in response. "And.. Bakugou..?" you slightly blushed.

"Yes yes! I was with him a lot during this trip and you'er perfect for each other!"

"But I don't really know him? Like at all?" that was a lie, you did know Bakugou. Or at least you knew him when you were younger. You and Bakugou were thick as thieves when you were children.

It was only after he started to really bully Midoryia that you had told him to stop. Before that you would also tease Midoryia, call him Deku and laugh along with Bakugou. When you became 5 you got close with Midoryia, and started to be his friend too. And at the same time Bakugou only bothered Midroyia more. You would try to protect Midoryia but would always run after Bakugou, laughing and playing with him. Until you stayed, and told Bakugou to stop. It was the first time you were deadly serious and Bakugou only let out a tch before leaving. After that day Bakugou started to ignore you, and would bully Midoryia as much as you could.

But now, you had grown up and you pretended that you didn't know Bakugou. Like you never talked to him at all. A lot of the elders knew of your friendship, but never discussed it. The people your age didn't know, mostly because they weren't there when you were younger. It was like your friendship with Bakugou was in an another life time.

When you and Mina arrived at the tent, you saw a long line of people waiting. You let out a sigh and turned to her. You scanned her up and down and tilted your head. She wasn't really hurt, only scrapes and dirt on her skin. She didn't limp or act like anything hurt.

"Mina, are you hurt? Or why are we here?" you asked, not knowing what her answer would be.

"Oh not really... But I have a nasty cut on my back that need to be cleaned" she shrugged, and turned to stand in line. You lit up.

"That's great!" you exclaimed, before wincing. "I don't mean it's great you have a cut but I have stuff at my place. I could patch you up there!" you smiled.

"Oh really? Great! Let's go" she turned swiftly around, already heading to your tent.

[parker-bucky]

Falling

(Spencer Reid x female!reader)

Summary: Reader is sexually assaulted by her dance partner

Word count: 3.1 K

Warnings: sexual assault, lots of swearing, fighting, protective!spence, faint descriptions of blood and bruising

A/N: The song in this fic is Falling by Trevor Daniel, I suggest listening to the song during the performance part of the fic, I skip a lot of lyrics and the song moves kind of fast but I think you can better see the choreography if you know what the song sounds like !! I hope you guys like this one, the gif is not mine

Every day spencer sends you a text at lunch. It’s usually just a check in, maybe to give an update on the status of a case or to simply say I love you. Today’s message was no different.

Hey sweetheart, I was wondering if me and Morgan could pick you after work and go out to eat? Love you

You responded with a yes, adding a few too many exclamation points. You told him you might be running a bit late today because some of the dancers wanted you to show them the choreography of your upcoming performance. You opted to showing them how to do one of the moves, but wanted them to see the full dance on show day.

You chose to teach the younger dancers how to do the Grand Jeté, a movement where you jump from one foot to the other, suspending your legs into the air. In the distance, the doors to the studio open. You run forward and demonstrate the Jeté, landing swiftly onto the other side of the stage. “The more you stretch, the easier it will be.”

“y/n!” Janet- the building manager and head coach- signals for you to come over. You quickly tell the dancers to start stretching before jumping off the stage. “I wanted you and Noah to practice your dance today, do you mind having the young ones move to a different part of the studio? That way you can practice on the stage.”

“Yeah of course! Where is Noah?” Suddenly hands wrap around your waist and you jump up, startled. Noah laughs behind you, wrapping his arm around your chest. You push him away, uncomfortable.

“Oh come on baby, loosen up.” You glare at him before turning around. There, resting against the wall by the door, is Spencer. You run over to him, wrapping your arms around his shoulders. He picks you up and spins you around, pecking kisses on your face. Morgan comes through the door, laughing.

“Alrighty lovebirds calm down, save it for the bedroom.” Noah trails behind you and watches from a distance, eyes scrunched together. Spencer sets you down and you lead them over to the stage, smiling.

“Hey guys, this is Noah.” Noah smiles and waves, reaching his hand out to give a handshake. Morgan obliques but Spencer does not, sending him a nod.

“It’s nice to meet you guys, I’m y/n’s dance partner.” Spencer smiles at you and you blush, his eyes sparkling. “Well, me and y/n have some work to do, so if you don’t mind we’ll be heading off.” You give him a look of annoyance.

“I’ll meet you after okay?” You lean up, giving Spencer a quick kiss. Noah grabs your wrist and drags you away from him, anger on his eyes. You give them a look of sympathy before following, yanking your wrist from his hand. Spencer and Morgan sit in the fourth row, excited to see you preform. You walk onto stage, signaling to Janet to start the music.

Spencer and Morgan wave to you from the audience and you smile, sending a small wave back. You position yourself on the front of the stage, Noah behind you. The music starts, the beat flowing through you.

My last made me feel like I would never try again

But when I saw you, I felt something I’ve never felt

You lie on your back, slowly rising to the beat of the music. You face away from the stage and towards Noah, his hands guiding your movements. You rise, jumping into your Jeté. He catches you on the way down, swinging you around his waist and holding you into the air.

Talk to me, I need to hear you need me like I need ya

As he holds you, his hand starts to push up your leg. He’s losing stability, he’s probably just fixing his grip. He goes higher, squeezing your thigh in his hand before letting you go, swinging you under his waist and into the air. You flip, landing steadily. What the hell-

Fall for me

You pretend to fall on the floor, landing on your back and pushing yourself back up with your feet. Noah stands on the other side of the stage, facing you. He smiles and winks at you, getting ready for the next jump.

Before you baby I was numb, drown out pain by pourin’ up

Speedin’ fast on the run

You run toward each other and jump, sending yourselves in to a twirl. Once you land, you run torwards him once more and he picks you up by the waist, spinning you around. He sets you down into a dip, attempting to look down your shirt. You send him a look of disgust, but he acts like nothing is wrong, continuing on with the routine.

Feel like I’m out of my mind, cause I can’t get enough

Only one that I give my time, cause I got eyes for ya

He lets you back up, holding his hand out for you to take. You step away for a moment before spinning back around, gliding around hid frame.

Noah moves his hands into a pushing motion, sending you to the front of the stage. You lay on your stomach and slowly rise onto your knees, waiting for the music’s signal.

My last made me feel like I would never try again

But when I saw you, I felt something I’ve never felt

Come closer, I’ll give you all my love

If you treat me right, baby, I’ll give you everything

Your shoulders move to the beat, pulsing backwards as Noah’s hands move like he’s pulling a rope, dragging you towards him. You rise once again, running towards him and jumping into the air. He catches you, spinning around and throwing your body back up. You flip and land on Noah’s hands, balancing yourself there. Your leg rises into the air, balancing on one foot.

Will never give my all again

Cause I’m sick of falling down

You fall forward, Noah catching you and tossing you back into the air. With one final toss you land in his arms, slowly putting your feet on the ground.

When I open up and give my trust

They find a way to break it down

You push one of your hands together and walk in a circle before moving into a waltz, wrapping your arms around his neck. As the song ends he moves you into a dip, the lights dimming. You faintly hear clapping from the other dancers and the audience. It’s completely dark now and Noah leans in, his breath on your neck. His hand trails up your waist and to your breasts, groping them.

You yelp, pushing him away and falling to the floor. The lights turn back on and you snap your head towards the audience. Gasping, you get up and run off the stage. Pushing past everyone you run into the locker room, slamming the door shut and locking it.

You rest your head the door and close your eyes, collecting yourself. “y/n?” Noah’s voice filters through the wall and you tense up, clenching your fists. You yank the door open and push him away but he grabs your wrist, pulling your towards him.

“Let go of me! What the fuck Noah, let me go-“ you fall to the ground, pushing him away from you. Scrambling, you run down the steps of the stage and out the door, not bothering to grab your things. Spencer and Morgan call out for you but you ignore them, trying to get away. You lean against the building and rest your head in your hands, trying to stop the tears from falling. He touched you. Why the fuck would he do that? Why-

“Y/n, what happened?” Spencer bolts out the door, putting his hands on your shoulders. Morgan leans against the building, concern written on his face.

I- he, well,” you take a deep breath, gathering your thoughts. “We were dancing a-and at first I thought nothing of it, but then he followed me after the performance and grabbed me-“ Morgan’s head snapped up at you in surprise.

“He what?!” He pulls away to look at you but your gaze is cast down, embarrassed. “Baby tell me what happened.”

“Well first he was being kind of touchy I guess? All up in my space, then he grabbed my thigh when he was holding me but maybe he was just losing his grip, but then he looked down my shirt. A-and when the lights dimmed he touched me,” you continue to look at your shoes, swaying back and forth. “So pushed him away and I fell over on the stage. I-I didn’t know what to do so I went backstage and he followed me and he grabbed my wrist-” Spencer’s hands shoot to your wrists, looking them over. Small welts surround your left wrist and arm where he grabbed you and dug in his nails, stopping you from getting away.

“I couldn’t get away so I started to scream,” you glanced up at him, your eyes glistening with tears. “I um, he let go and I tripped, and I thought he was going to go down on me but I got up and I ran off.” Spencer’s eyes are filled with pure rage, his jaw clenched.

Morgan’s hand rests on your shoulder, squeezing it. He’s also angry, but he knows he needs to stay calm, collected. “Stay here with her.” Spencer let’s you go and storms into the studio, searching. You and Morgan run after him, knowing what’s to come.

“Hey you son of a bitch!” He runs up to Noah and grabs his shirt collar. “Don’t fucking touch her.” Spencer glares at Noah, his eyes burning holes through his skin.

“What are you talking about man? I didn’t do anything,” He acts genuinely confused but his shoulders are tense, fists clenched. Noah towers over him but Spencer is still far more intimidating, his gaze set to kill.

“Stop lying, I know what you did.” His face is right next to Noah’s now, his breath fanning over him. Noah pushes him away, standing his ground.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Everyone is staring now, unable to look away from the scene unfolding in front of them. Most of the dancers back away, giving them space. Morgan grips your shoulder, keeping you grounded.

“Just stay the hell away from her.” Spencer huffs, turning around go walk away.

“I didn’t do anything wrong, she wanted it. She liked it.” His head snaps back towards Noah, his rage building. Morgan runs over to hold Spencer back, stopping him from lunging.

“What the fuck did you just say?” He tries to push Morgan away, but his grip tightens around him. Noah laughs in delight, looking over and winking at you. You back away, trying to escape his gaze by looking at the floor.

“Oh, is little Spencie upset that his precious y/n wants to be with me instead of him? Face it, she likes me way more than you. I bet she would feel great around my-“ Spencer launches himself at Noah, tumbling to the ground, Spencer on top of him.

“You fucking piece of shit!” He punches him in the face, his nose gushing blood. Noah pushes Spencer over and slams his head into the ground, making you gasp. Spencer pushes Noah off of him and throws another punch, holding him down. “Don’t you ever fucking touch her again.”

“Let him go Reid!” Morgan runs over, grabbing Spencer’s arm and pulling him off of Noah. He yanks his arms away from Morgan and walks over to you, wrapping his arms around you and resting his head atop of yours. He takes a deep breath before looking back at Morgan and Noah, glaring.

You push him away, angry. “Why the hell did you do that! I can handle it myself.” He looks down at you, his whole demeanor changing.

Spencer takes another long breath and puts his hand on your back, guiding you out the door. You glance back to see Morgan talking to Janet, a concerned look on her face.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t stop myself.” You and Spencer climb into the back of the SUV, his arms wrapping around you. His embrace is strong and steady, grounding you to the present.

“Are you okay?” He takes your face into his hands, moving it to look at him. His eyes are filled with worry and your anger dissolves, suddenly feeling bad about the whole ordeal.

“I-I don’t know, can we just go home? I’m sorry I yelled at you, I was just upset.” Spencer nods, giving you a forehead kiss. Morgan opens the driver’s side door, leaning over to look at you.

“Are you okay y/n?” You nod, Spencer’s arm draping around your shoulder. “I reported what happened to one of the coaches, he shouldn’t see you again. I grabbed your things too.” Your eyes soften as you reach over to grab the duffle, putting your arms around him.

“Thank you.” You whisper into his ear. He rubs your back before releasing the embrace, turning around to start the engine.

“Can you take us home?” Spencer buckles his seat belt before putting his arm back around your shoulder. You lean into him, the seatbelt digging into your neck.

“Sure thing pretty boy.” He pulls out of the parking lot, Spencer holding you close. Soon you fall asleep, the stress taking over.

☆ ⌒ ★ ⌒ ☆ ⌒ ★ ⌒ ☆ ⌒ ★ ⌒ ☆

Sun shines through the windows, casting a softy glow on Spencer’s apartment. You wake up on his sofa, curled up with your favorite blanket and his cardigan wrapped around you. Sitting up you rub your eyes, sleep begging to take you over once more.

“Hey baby,” Spencer sits down next next to you, wrapping his arms around your waist. His hands rub your back as you rest your head on his chest, your arms around his torso. “How are you doing?”

“m’ kay,” you mumble, closing your eyes. “Jus’ wanna sleep.” He lies down on his back, pulling you onto his chest. The sun shines right in your eyes so you turn away, facing the couch.

“We can cuddle for a bit but I made dinner, don’t want it to get cold, hmm?” You nod, closing your eyes and taking in his fresh vanilla scent. Eventually you get up, pushing off of the couch and sitting down at the table. He places a bowl of soup in front of you and you chow down, realizing you haven’t eaten since breakfast. “Do you want to talk about what happened?”

You sit in silence for a moment, contemplating. “Yeah.” Suddenly, you’re not so hungry anymore. You set down your spoon and push the bowl away, attempting to keep the food you just ate down. You close your eyes and take a deep breath, wringing your hands together. Spencer gets up and walks over, resting his hand on your shoulder.

“Want to sit on the couch? We can cuddle,” you open your eyes and glance up at him before rising, taking his hand and pulling him to the couch. He sits down first and you climb on top of him, wrapping your arms around his neck. His arms encircle you and you look at his face, admiring his features. There’s a little bit of stubble there, his golden brown eyes filled with worry.

“Well... I don’t know. I never thought Noah would do that, I trusted him.” His eyes soften. He grabs your left wrist, examining your scratch marks. He brings it up to his lips and kisses them, burning under his touch. “Ah,” Quickly he lets go, pulling away.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you,” you can tell he feels awful about it. You put your hand on his cheek and lean in, giving him a kiss.

“It’s okay baby, you didn’t know. They just burn,” you look down at the big welts around your wrist. “He just- grabbed me. I couldn’t get away, during the performance I couldn’t just leave, you know? What if something else had happened? I shouldn’t be complaining about what happened to me when so many other women have been through much worse.”

“Just because bad things have happened to people doesn’t mean that what happened to you doesn’t matter. It isn’t fair, and it should never happen to anyone. Your problems matter, and what happened to you matters. Yes, it could have been worse. But it doesn’t mean that it wasn’t bad, that you shouldn’t be talking about it. You need to speak up and be open about this, maybe he’s done it to other people too. You can stop him.”

A tear roles down your face and Spencer wipes it away. “I love you, you know that?” You look up at him and wipe your eyes, leaning up to give him a kiss.

“I love you too baby, and I’m sorry I wasn’t there to stop him. Maybe I could have-“

“Spencer Walter Reid you look at me right now.” You grab his face in your hands, turning it towards you. His eyes look up from the floor, listening. “This isn’t your fault. There is nothing you could have done to stop this, you didn’t even know it was going to happen so don’t blame yourself. The only person to blame here is Noah.” Spencer nods, licking his lips.

“I know baby, it just feels so unfair.” He trails kisses along your forehead and cheek, his hands wrapping around your waist. He pulls you into him, holding you close. “And I’m sorry I took control like that. I know you can handle yourself just fine but I was angry and I’m sorry for stepping in when you didn’t want me to.” Your arms wrap back around his shoulders, head on his chest. You feel safe, comforted. There’s nothing else like Spencer’s hugs.

“No, I wanted you to be there. S’ not fair,” your eyelids start to droop, Spencer’s breath lulling you to sleep. “I love you.”

“I love you too baby.” He lays back down on the couch but this time he starts to fall asleep too, holding you closely in his embrace. You watch the sun set through the window before letting sleep take over, Spencer’s presence warm and grounding. His voice fills your ears as you drift off, whispering comforting thoughts into your ears.

I love you baby. I’ll never let you go. I’m not going anywhere, I’ll always be here.

It’s going to be okay.

Tag list:

@cielo1984 @thatsonezesty13 @addie5264 @gublergirls @scarletraine

[fbfh]

“forever” paxton hall-yoshida x reader

genre: fluffy romance + mutual pining (not too slowburn tho lol)

word count: 3.4k

au: none?? jock x theatre nerd ig

pairing: Paxton x broadway baby!reader 

requested: yes !! i hope u like it uwu

warnings: one hell one motherfucking and i think that’s it for swearing?? um brief self deprecating/talking bad abt urself from paxton (bby boy needs a self love boost), reader and paxton are home alone together for a little while but nothing bad happens, uh,,, i think that’s it

summary: when Eleanor can’t run lines with you, she sends over a very attractive, mutually pining substitute.

reccomended songs: “Seventeen” - Tuck everlasting OBC, “The Kiss” -The Princess Diaries score

a/n: i’m p sure i kept the reader p gender neutral but there’s implied slightly long hair, and you play the lead (a girl named winnie) in ur schools production of tuck everlasting but like it’s theatre so anyone can play anyone lol,, this took so got dam long bc i’m fucking s o f t for jock x artist and it just sorta happened lol aLsO,, not super thoroughly edited so there might be a typo or two?? im tired lol

requests r open <3

You had only ever seen two athletes present during rehearsals. Once when Madeline (who at the time was playing Penny in your production of Hairspray) was dating a guy from the soccer team. The other was when the star of the basketball team had come in to give your choreographer pointers for the basketball scenes during High School Musical. 

Until now.

You had run onstage part of the way through “Live Like This”, which wasn’t out of the ordinary since so much progress had been made on the costumes. You were still tying the ribbon on your pinafore as you jumped into the song, but when your eyes met a face in the usually empty auditorium, you faltered. You almost sang the wrong verse, but recovered quickly, continuing with the blocking. What felt like a moment later, the number was almost done and you were nearing the end of your counterpoint with Mae Tuck - played by Eleanor, of course. Who could be better for the part? You held out the last note, trying to stay in character despite all the distractions in the back of your mind. You had to talk to Eleanor when the director called for 10; she’d started telling you how Devi was being weird recently. Also, what the Hadestown was Paxton Hall-Yoshida doing chilling in the auditorium? You shoved all that away, focusing on staying in character until the director called for a break. 

‘I want to go to the fair. I want to go so badly! I just need a change, need to get out of this house for a little while. I never do anything, so this can’t be asking for too much, right?’ 

You projected all that into your everything - face, voice, mannerisms, energy.

“Hold!” 

Everyone froze.

The director wrote a few things on his paper, sighed, and underlined something several times. 

“Okay, good job! I need to revise some of the blocking, then we’ll do notes, so take ten.” Your sudden nerves had definitely made you pitchy, you knew that would be one of your notes for sure. 

A chorus of “Thank you ten”s erupted, and you immediately ran to Eleanor, telling the others good job as you passed. 

You leaned in and started speaking to her, quietly.

“Okay you need to finish telling me about Devi, and that other news you’re being so cryptic about! Also, what’s up with Fierro over there?” you nodded towards Paxton hoping he wouldn’t see, and you noticed Fab is sitting near him. You realized they’re probably waiting for Eleanor and/or Devi. That must be it, he’s been hanging out with them lately, right? Eleanor gasped.

“You’re right! Paxton is such a Fierro!”

You cringed inwardly a little bit as her voice carried through the auditorium, mixing with the others. Your eyes darted over to him for a fraction of a second. Oh god. He was looking at you. Or in your general direction at least. Lena, the costumer, walked around the set gingerly, following you around and getting you out of your dress incredibly carefully as you and Eleanor walked off stage. 

“No! Well, yes- but no. What’s he doing here? Jocks never come here during rehearsals. I saw Fab too, are you guys and Devi getting dinner or something?” You said, entering the auditorium, and stepping out of the dress. You grabbed sweatpants and a silky, floral kimono jacket from your bag to throw over your leotard and tights. She waved back at Fab before sitting down in the front. You both grabbed your fans and dramatically flicked them open in sync. Your wrists fluttered, cooling both of you off.  A knowing, and slightly mischievous, look came on her face. 

“Devi and Fab and I are. Paxton must be here for something… else.” she shrugged, nodding towards Paxton. You looked over again. He was staring at you. You did a double take and tried to hold back your smile. 

“Wh- I do not know to what you are referring.” 

“To what I am referring is the blush on his cheeks.”

You barely held back a nervous, bubbling laugh.

“He is not blushing! Why would he be blushing!”

“I don’t know,” She shrugged, “Just like how I don’t know that he’s been loitering in the halls outside the music room during your last three solo music rehearsals.”

You struggled for an answer. Before you could form one, you were interrupted.

“Okay, okay what is the best Lin Manuel Miranda musical? Because Kathryn thinks it’s Hamilton-” 

“Duh!”

“-But I think it’s In the Heights! It’s an underrated jewel!” Jonah interjected, still wearing his Jesse Tuck hat. 

You considered for a moment.

“I mean, they’re too different to compare. In the Heights has the same energy as Rent - showcasing what goes on in ordinary people’s lives, and how love ties us all together,” he nodded in agreement, “But Hamilton is on a way larger scale, almost Les Mis meets Fun Home vibes. But in terms of personal preference…” Eleanor scoffed at your answer, and Jonah went back to debate further with Kathryn.

“Anyway,” you turned back to Eleanor to ask her what the hell she meant by Paxton Hall-Yoshida was blushing. But before you could-

“Eleanor, we need you to try on your blue dress again,” Lena was already pulling her away, “I had the empire waist in the right place but half the pins fell out, and it’s just...” And she was whisked away before you could finish the thought. You just had time to help Holly get out her wig pins and drink some lemon water before notes. Eleanor still wasn’t back, so you made sure to write down hers for her. It was pretty standard; be quiet backstage, go over your lines, don’t touch props that aren’t yours, don’t eat in costume, and a couple blocking changes you made note of. After your end of rehearsal warm downs and huddle, everyone left relatively quickly. You ducked into the bathroom to freshen up a little. Sometimes it was hard coming down from such intense energy after rehearsal. You mentally ran through your to do list. You needed to get some more tea, write that essay when you got home, go over your notes- You gasped, cutting off your own train of thought. You ran out of the bathroom to look for Eleanor, still clutching her notes in hand. 

~

Your voice still echoed in Paxton’s ears. He wished he had a whole album of you singing. Your voice made him want to ruin his spotify algorithm by listening to nothing else. You had looked at him a couple times, and his heart had almost stopped. He didn’t know eye contact could be so intense. It’s probably just cause you’re like, the only person in the audience. Where else is she supposed to look? He deflated a little. He heard his name and looked over to you and Eleanor talking together. Hopefully it was about him. Hopefully it was good. He checked his phone, trying to look busy. When he glanced up to see if you were looking, you were gone. He started to look around for you when he saw Eleanor waving at Fab, and sure enough, you were next to her. What he didn’t expect was you dropping your dress to the ground. Time slowed down (and his heart sped up) as you stretched a little, and pulled out sweatpants from your bag.

Wow.

 You had on what looked like a bathing suit on underneath, and a few other people had done the same, but he knew that image would be in his memory, probably forever. His heart was beating in his ears and he knew he must be blushing.

“You okay, Paxton?” Fab asked, a seat or two away. Oh god, he didn’t want people asking why he blushed every time he looked at you! He muttered something about needing to make a call and headed for the doors. Don’t look back at her, don’t look back at her… His eyes involuntarily darted in your direction right before he left. You had on a flowy translucent jacket, your hair thrown back supermodel style as you fanned yourself to cool down. He needed to cool down too. Maybe a cold shower, a really cold shower.

~

You managed to find Eleanor just before she left. Two girls were with her, you had seen Fab once, and you’d heard a lot about Devi, but had never been introduced. 

You gave Eleanor her notes, and she hugged you.

“You’re a lifesaver!” 

“Of course, I-”

“Uh, who’s this?” you looked over, and the shorter girl - Devi, based on what you’d heard about her -  was giving you a weird look. You introduced yourself. 

“Nice to meet you. How do you know Eleanor?” said the taller girl - definitely Fab.

“Oh,” you smiled, “she’s my almost mother in law. And my arch rival,” you counted on your fingers, “my sister, my niece, my lover, my husband, and…” you trailed off, trying to think of the other dynamics your characters had had in past shows.

“Your co-conspirator.” 

“Right,” you laughed. Devi and Fab looked at you two.

“We’re in the musical together.” you clarified. You were about to part ways when you called to Eleanor, “Hey, we’re still on for running lines tomorrow night?” 

“Uh… Sounds good!” she walked away quickly, speaking to Devi and Fab in hushed tones. Something was definitely up. That was typical Eleanor Scheming behavior. 

~

That night, you almost couldn’t sleep. This wasn’t the normal post rehearsal can’t sleep. In fact, Tuck Everlasting was the last thing on your mind as you readjusted your pillows and snuggled into your duvet. You stared at the neon blue stars projected and swirling on your ceiling. You sighed. Again. Your brain was a 24/7 livestream of Paxton Hall-Yoshida to relax/study to. You saw him again, his face in the dimly lit auditorium, Adonis in a sea of faded seats. If you hadn’t been sure before, you knew now that red was definitely his color. You rolled onto your side. Your heart picked up speed as a thought crossed your mind. You could almost see Paxton now, kneeling next to you, his fingertips brushing your cheek. The piano underscore to “Seventeen” ran through your mind. You could imagine him saying “Wait with me, we could share the world…” so vividly it almost hurt. He leaned in, and… 

You let out a loud sigh and rolled over again. Your heart was fully saturated. That’s more than enough pining for tonight. 

~

“Paxton!” 

He was a little surprised when Eleanor just walked up to him at lunch the next day. Most people were too intimidated to approach him out of the blue. 

“I have a plan.”

“Uh, I don’t know what you-”

“Cut the crap, I know you like her.” 

His face blanched. Well, yeah of course he did. Who wouldn’t? He was going to ask Eleanor if there was something he could do to win you over, just not here, not now. Not where everyone could watch and jeer and rib him for it. Just like they were doing now. 

“Woah, dude, who is it?” Trent asked. He fumbled for words. He couldn’t believe this was happening. He hadn’t kept his crush a secret because he was embarrased of you, he’d kept it a secret because his dumbass friends wouldn’t get you. Hell, he barely got you. You were so deep, and emotive, and artistic... 

“Bro, if you like her as much as it seems like you do,” Trent continued, “you gotta win her over.” He was a little shocked at the agreement murmuring through his group of friends. He didn’t know how to respond. Trent turned to Eleanor.

“What’s the plan, drama mama?”

“First of all,” she said, an almost humorously dangerous look on her face, “never call me that again. Second,” she shoved some papers into Paxton’s hands, “meet me in the music room immediately after school.” She started back for her table. Trent looked back over to Paxton. 

“You gotta do it, dude. We’ll cover for you at swim.” 

The rest of his friends agreed. He was pleasantly surprised at how supportive they were being. 

“Yeah, I guess... we’ve got a plan.”

~

The next day went by pretty smoothly. No rehearsal was scheduled since they were finishing construction for some of the sets, but everyone was instructed to do a couple read throughs of the script, focusing on scenes they’re still forgetting, to make sure everyone’s off book. You stopped by 7 Eleven to get a blue slurpee (for homework) and a couple coconut waters (for run throughs). You texted Eleanor on your way to the slurpee machine. 

okay so do you like the mango coconut water or the pineapple one?? It’s the mango one right?? i always forget lmao

sent at 4:16 pm

btw I don’t have that much homework so you can probs come by around 5:30 if you’re ready by then

sent at 4:16 pm

Bae Tuck

OMFG!! I totally forgot about running lines tonight, I can’t make it! :( but I’ll send someone over to help you out. :)

sent at 4:17 pm

You squinted at your screen. That was weird. Eleanor never used colon parentheses smilies. Like, ever. She always used emojis, and usually way more than two per text. 

yeah np, are u good? ♡

sent at 4:17 pm

Bae Tuck

Yes :)

sent at 4:18 pm

Bae Tuck

Also get the passionfruit one 🥥🍠 👀

sent at 4:18

that’s,,, el that’s a sweet potato,,

sent at 4:19 pm

Bae Tuck

Close enough 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

sent at 4:19pm

...Okay? That was definitely weird. You shook it off and headed for the counter to pay. You stopped half way there, and turned back to swap the mango for passionfruit. 

Not long after you had finished your homework and tidied up your room a little, the doorbell rang. You exited the kitchen, drinks in hand, and opened the door. Your heart caught in your throat. Paxton Hall-Yoshida was standing outside. And you were pretty sure he looked nervous. You both just stood there for a second. No one breathed, no one spoke. 

“Uh, hi, do you want to…” you backed up, motioning for him to come inside. 

“Yeah, thanks,” he said, entering the doorway. Paxton motherfucking Hall-Yoshida was in your living room. You held out a hand to him.

“Coconut water?” he took the box, looked at the label, and smiled. 

“Yeah, thanks,” he said again, this time a faint, yet unmistakable note of joy in his voice. He took a sip. He smiled.

“Passionfruit’s my favorite.” You silently thanked Eleanor, who you knew must have planned all this. Most of the evening was a blur, and you thanked god your family wasn’t home right now. You went upstairs, texted Eleanor asking what the actual fuck, made some surprisingly comfortable small talk, then filled him in on how to run lines. 

“Do you think playing the soundtrack would help you… get into character?” he asked. 

“I would probably just end up singing the whole thing,” You laughed and tried to ignore the butterflies in your chest. The main scene you struggled with was before “Seventeen”. It was harder to get into Winnie’s head because you had no romantic feelings for Jonah, and you always just made each other laugh. You had started with a few easier scenes of Winnie and Jesse, like the fair, and the dialogue before “Top of the World”. 

“That was really good,” he said, and you felt the sincerity of his words. 

“Thanks…” you smiled and took a sip of coconut water, hoping you weren’t blushing too hard. 

“So what next?” he asked. 

“Probably the scene before ‘Seventeen’,” you said, giving him the page and scene number, “it’s one of the hardest ones for me. I guess I just can’t connect to Jonah the way Winnie does.” 

“Huh,” he said, skimming the page. When you looked up at him, he had something between a smile and a smirk playing at his lips. You made yourself look away before you got too distracted. You refused to think about the fact that you were sitting across from Paxton Hall-Yoshida on your bed, in your room, like you were… close with each other. His eyes skimmed the script, finding the dialogue. He glanced up at you and nodded, indicating he found his place. You began.

“I was so afraid you wouldn’t get away,” you said, jumping into character.

“I may be 102, but I can still outrun anyone,” a smile played at his lips. You smiled, then let your face fall.

“I’m so sorry, I-I tried to warn you-”

“No, no,” he interjected almost seamlessly, “It’s okay, it’s… refreshing having someone look after me who isn’t my mom.” His eyes flickered between your face and the page. You smiled with him for a second, then let distress cloud your face.

“Jesse… that man came by my house today. He heard the music box, he knows about you-”

“I know he knows…” 

You continued on with the scene and he trailed off when he came to the sheet music for the song Seventeen. You took in a breath to start the dialogue in the middle of the song, but before you could…

“Six years from now you will turn seventeen,

Turn seventeen,

The same age as me,

Six years from now,

Go to the spring,

Go to the spring and drink…”

He was singing to you. He was looking at you and singing to you. His eyes only flickered down to the page to confirm the lyrics. He was nervous, you could tell. But through his hesitance, the emotion in his voice was sincere. Your heart was beating faster. You didn’t even notice your pulse was ringing in your ears, you were too focused on Paxton. 

“I'll wait for you till you turn seventeen,

Turn seventeen,

The same age as me,

Six years from now,

Go to the spring,

Go to the spring and drink…” Your hand rose to cover your mouth. He hesitated, and you remembered your dialogue.

“Uh, wh-what if I… forget where the spring is?” He reached out and took your free hand in his. Your pulse was off the charts. “I’ll go get you some water. Just… remember to keep it somewhere safe. Somewhere no one will find it.” You got the feeling he wasn’t just talking about the water. You knew he had never really been in a serious relationship before, and it clicked suddenly - if he learned an entire song to duet with you, just how much he must like you. You exhaled a breathy laugh, unsure how to process the sudden euphoria you felt. 

“You make the world sound so… exciting. I just want to drink the water right now!”

“Uh, no. You have to wait.” you both smiled, anticipating the upcoming joke.

“Why?” you ask, “What’s the difference?” You held your breath as he tried not to laugh through the delivery of the punchline. 

“Believe me,” he rubbed his thumb over your hand, “there’s a difference.” You both chuckled, and he continued singing. You were so focused on him, so… touched that he would do all this for you. 

“Winnie, wait with me,

And we could be married,

Winnie, wait with me,

And we'll share the world,

Winnie, you can stop time,

And live like this,

Forever…”

“I could live like this forever,” you echoed.

“Live like this...” you sang in tandem.

“What do you say, Winnie? Do you want to…” he broke character suddenly, and asked, his eyes boring into yours, “Do you want to go out some time?” 

He could see the adorable smile blooming on your face, even from behind your hand. You nodded.

“Yes, I-I would love that,” and you began to sing the last line in the song, “Forever-” 

But before you finished holding out the note, his lips were on yours. His mouth moved slowly, intentionally, against yours. You followed his lead, flustered. He leaned further forward, his palm caressing your cheek. It was everything you imagined it would be, and you had quite the imagination. Your head was angled up and your hands rested themselves on his back, one tracing little shapes. Your shoulders were pressed against each other and neither of you could think. He was so warm. He tasted like coconut and passion fruit, and a distant part of your mind silently thanked Eleanor again. 

You really could live like this forever.

[bi-naesala]

Fun at Seagull Cinema

Fandom: Yakuza

Rating: T

Warnings: / 

Relationships: Kasuga Ichiban/Zhao Tianyou 

Characters: Kasuga Ichiban, Zhao Tianyou 

Additional Tags: Making Out, Nonbinary Zhao Tianyou (he/they pronouns)

Summary:

Ichiban and Zhao suffer through one of the myriad boring movies Seagull Cinema has to offer, at least until Zhao has an idea.

Maybe they can have some fun after all...

(Also on AO3)

One would think a movie about a shark eating a bunch of dumb teenagers would at least be a so-bad-it’s-good kind of movie, but no, this shit is just plain boring, though Ichiban suspects it’s his fault for trusting anything that Seagull Cinema releases.

Damn, though, he really thought that he had hit the jackpot when he saw its poster, figuring that he had the perfect excuse to ask Zhao on a date.

Here they are, now, bored out of their minds as they try not to fall asleep. Not even the terrified screams of the kids is enough to help them in this endeavor.

The only good thing is that at least they’re alone, which means they can get a bit more comfortable that they could’ve otherwise, with Ichiban resting his arms on the seats on each side of him, while Zhao has rested their feet over the row of seats ahead of them.

After the umpteenth yawn, Ichiban turns to Zhao.

“I’m so sorry,” he says. “I really thought this would be more… entertaining.”

“Ah, don’t sweat it, Ichi,” Zhao calmly replies, using the nickname he’s begun calling Ichiban with when they’re alone. “It’s fine, really.”

“But I really wanted to do something fun…” Ichiban pouts.

“Well…” Zhao begins, getting his feet on the ground and removing their sunglasses - yes, he was wearing them until now. “We could have some fun anyway…”

Before Ichiban can ask them what he means, Zhao has already grabbed onto his jacket and has drawn him closer, pressing their lips together.

Ichiban can’t help but to make a surprised noise, but he has enough presence of mind not to stay frozen like a dumbass and he enthusiastically returns the kiss, grateful to have found something to do that won’t make him fall asleep.

 To tell the truth, every bit of drowsiness has completely vanished the moment Zhao kisses him, but that’s just because of the way Zhao is: even now he likes to keep Ichiban on his toes, teasing him for a moment with barely any contact, then going to directly lick his lips the next.

It’s the best thing that could’ve happened while watching a boring movie, and sure, they might be losing a few key scenes, but c’mon, who cares? It wouldn’t have been those scenes to make the movie worth the ticket price. Zhao kissing him, on the other hand, totally is.

 When Zhao pulls away, Ichiban can’t help but to be slightly disappointed by the fact that it’s already over - c’mon, he was just getting into it! - but Zhao isn’t done surprising him: he gets up from his seat and they settle on Ichiban’s lap.

“Wait, what?! Here?!”

Zhao chuckles. “So what? It’s not like there’s someone who could see us, right?”

“I guess…” Ichiban mutters, still conflicted about this - it seems disrespectful to the owner - but when Zhao leans down and kisses him again, he doesn’t find himself that against the idea after all, but maybe that’s because, secretly, this is something he’s always wanted to do, making out with his special someone in an empty movie theater, completely ignoring the movie that is being displayed.

The only downside is that, if he had known this was going to happen, he would’ve picked a better movie to keep as background, but he has to say that Zhao is very good at drawing all the attention to himself, helping Ichiban tune out the screams of the protagonists of the movie.

 It gets him going in a way that few other things do, especially when Zhao begins to touch him.

He’s still keeping it decent of course, because even though they’re alone, they’re still in public, but it still sparks a fire inside Ichiban when he gets their hands under Ichiban’s jacket, massaging his shoulders first, then his pecs.

A shiver runs across Ichiban’s spine at the contact, and he too begins to move, sliding his hands down to cup Zhao’s ass. As soon as he does, however, Zhao pulls away.

“Ichiban, you perv!” he exclaims, voice purposefully higher than usual.

Ichiban shrugs, sending a smirk Zhao’s way. “What? It’s not like there’s someone who could see us, right?”

Oh, this little…

Ichiban presses himself against Zhao with more vehemence, kissing him with everything he has to give, though by the way Zhao chuckles in the kiss, he suspects he played exactly the way they wanted him to play. Oh well, it’s not like he minds, especially if the result is as pleasant as this.

 Both Ichiban and Zhao lose track of time, too busy focusing only on the other, on the sensations they’re making each other feel.

Ichiban gasps when Zhao forces him to pull away by yanking his hair back, exposing his neck which then they begin to cover in languid kisses that make Ichiban’s mouth water.

“Z-Zhao…” he mutters, though he himself he doesn’t know exactly why he called out for him, if it’s to tell him to stop, or if it’s to tell him to please, please, please more.

 Unfortunately for him, he doesn’t have to decide anymore, because the movie’s over, even though they notice it only when everything becomes black at first, and then the main lights turn themselves on, making both him and Zhao jump on their seat.

“S-Shit!” Ichiban exclaims.

They move away immediately, Zhao hopping off Ichiban with incredible speed, landing on their previous seat, while Ichiban furiously adjusts his dress shirt and his hair. Anything to give himself a decent appearance, as if he hadn’t been making out with Zhao until a few seconds ago.

 Everything’s still. Nobody dares to move…

Then both Ichiban and Zhao burst into laughter, and it’s not just a chuckle, but the real thing. Zhao has to dry their eyes from the tears that are threatening to tickle down his face.

“Fucking hell!” they exclaim, still laughing.

“What a bunch of morons!” Ichiban manages to wheeze, fanning air to his face with his hand. Of course they’d do something like this.

Idiots, both of them…

 Once they manage to calm down, Ichiban turns to Zhao.

“We should go,” he says. “Or else the manager might think something bad has happened.”

“Yeah. Last thing we need is for him to come check on us,” Zhao replies, getting out of his seat.

They stretch one hand towards Ichiban, who of course takes it, allowing Zhao to help him up. He dusts off his pants, then, and after exchanging a glance with Zhao, they begin to head out of the room.

 To greet them at the usual desk, of course, there’s the manager.

“Ah, Kasuga-san!” he exclaims once he notices Ichiban. “How was the movie?”

“It was great,” Ichiban replies, trying however not to laugh as he speaks. “Has to be my favorite so far.”

Zhao, the cheeky thing, has to hide behind Kasuga in order not to be seen barely able to stifle his laughter. He’s got a few guesses as to why Ichiban has enjoyed this movie so much, but unfortunately none of them concern the movie. Eheheh… Oh shit, he’s not supposed to laugh, not when they’re with the manager.

“Well, I’m glad you enjoyed it,” the manager replies to Ichiban, blessedly oblivious to what is really going on. “Hope I’ll see you soon!”

“I’m sure you will…” Ichiban replies, waving him goodbye as he and Zhao move up the stairs, taking the exit towards Isezaki Road.

 Once they’re out, they share another chuckle.

“Holy shit! Can’t believe you’d do that!” Ichiban exclaims then, throwing his arm around Zhao’s shoulders.

“Really?” Zhao teases him with mischievous tone. “You really thought I wouldn’t be able to do something like that?”

“Mmhh, yeah, you’re right,” Ichiban grins, but he doesn’t give Zhao any time to feel smug about it because he kisses them, right in the middle of the street.

Zhao doesn’t mind; during the early stages of their relationship they might’ve, but that’s more because he’s not that big on pda. Now he’s gotten used to it.

“I liked it,” Ichiban says once they pull away, pressing his forehead against Zhao’s.

“I noticed,” the other chuckles, stretching a hand down to grab Ichiban’s butt, just like he did to them in the movie theater. He pinches it, just to see Ichiban squirm, then he brings his hands to the side again, not wanting to do anything too embarrassing out in the open.

 “So, I was thinking…” Ichiban begins saying then.

“Thinking? You?” Zhao can’t help but to tease him. Ichiban’s unimpressed.

“Ah ah. Funny…” he mutters in fact, though he goes back to what he was saying immediately. “Anyway, as I was saying, I was thinking that we could go grab a bite and then go for a walk before going back, how does that sound?”

“That sounds great. You have a place in mind already?” Zhao asks. Of course they’re not going to refuse an excuse to spend more time with Ichiban.

“As a matter of fact, I do,” the other replies, before taking Zhao’s hand and beginning to drag them to their next adventure. “C’mon, follow me!”

“Aye aye sir,” Zhao jokes, happily getting dragged by Ichiban.

 After a moment of pause, though, they speak again.

“Hey, Ichi.”

“What’s up?” Ichiban asks.

“We should do this again something, Kasuga-kun,” Zhao says, a mischievous grin on his face that Ichiban can’t help but to return.

“Yeah, we totally should.”

[iamnotusnavi]

Let’s Dance

Chapter One 

Lin x Reader

Warnings: A little bit of ✨hurt✨, but I swear it’s not much.

A/N: WOWWW...it’s been so long. I’m so sorry, I’ve been busy this week (and the weeks before that). Yes, I have drawn myself to finish this chaptered story. I hope you guys enjoy it.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

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

*Knock Knock*

“Y/n?” Someone called in a red bolero shirt and a hat.

“Oh, hey Lin” You said sweetly. Mandy, your co-star, was looking at you like a Cheshire cat.

“Are you guys ready for-“, the show caller cut you off.

“5 minutes to curtain call, 5 minutes to curtain call.”

It was opening night for “In the Heights”. It took 10 years for Lin to finally get it on Broadway and you were proud of him. You auditioned for the role of Carla months before but instead got the role of Vanessa. When you stepped into the rehearsal space, everyone there was friendly. Everyone in the cast was your friend especially Lin. You and him really hit it off right away and became close friends really quick. After months of rehearsal and his years of hard work, the futhamucker finally made it to the opening night on Broadway.

“Are you guys ready?” Lin asked looking cute and standing on the door frame. You were really swoon.

Before you could even reply again, Mandy decided to answer the question.

“HELL YEAH”

With that, Lin smiled at you and Mandy before he left for the back of stage. As soon as you guys were both alone, Mandy decided to break the silence.

“Would you stop looking at each other like that?” Mandy said with annoyance present in her voice.

“Like what?”

“Ay Bendito!” She then continued, “With the googly moogly eyes at each other. Why not just tell him you love him.”

“Mandy, I swear to-“

“You both look at each other like that. All blushing and whatever. Also, it’s obvious to everyone already.” She cut you off from finishing your sentence. You took a gasp for air and tried to calm down.

“Mandy, if you say that one more time, I won’t tell you anything anymore.” With that you guys left your dressing room and went backstage.

While walking there, you thought about the scene that happened a while ago. Yes, you had a crush on the writer, actor, and basically your boss of “In the Heights”. Ya know, the one you were gonna perform and perform with. Everytime he came into the room; you were feeling giddy and smitten towards the man. I mean to be fair he was cute, handsome, not to mention smart, and an all-around great and nice young man about your age. Every time you had rehearsal for “Champagne” or anything that has a close distance performance with Lin, you always felt nervous and blushed, hard. Performing “No Me Diga” with the ladies was your savior in a form of a performance. You had time to calm your nerves from all the feelings you got carrying near Lin.

“Lights up on Washington Heights, Up at the break of day. I wake up and I got this little punk I gotta chase away. Pop the grate at the crack of dawn. Sing while I wipe down the awning, Hey y'all good morning.”

With that you went to work.

------------------time skip to after the show--------------------

During “It Won’t Be Long Now” Robin who was playing Sonny, was getting low at you and it honestly made you laugh. His dancing never failed you. Short after came Lin with his “drunk Chita Rivera dancing skills”. You tried to contain your laughing because you were aware that you were still on stage. As you faced Lin while he was dancing, he decided to wink at you and you were so sure that you were blushing. Thankfully you had to do a scene with just Robin and Lin didn’t see your face turning red like a tomato.

After the song, a different scene was on and you were backstage. You took the time to freshen up and think about what had just happened. You still can’t wrap your head around it considering you were having a huge crush on him. You suddenly remembered, “Champagne” was coming soon and you had mixed feelings about it.

--------------------Skip to Champagne------------------

You mentally prepared yourself for this backstage. You finally got your nerves together and sang the first lines of the song.

“So, I got you a present, I went downtown to get it. Doing anything tonight?”

“Cleaning”, Lin responded following the script.

“Done for the day”

“No way.”

“Cause we got a date.”

“oKay.”

“Before you board that plane”, You chuckled-sang the line because of the way Lin said “okay”. You then continued.

“I owe you a bottle of cold Champagne. Yeah, cold Champagne.”

“Yeah, bottle’s all sweaty and everything you went and got this”

“Pop the champagne.” As you sang the rest of your lines, the few minutes flew by quick. You were actually having fun performing this song. A few lines passed by and you got to the climax where Vanessa tries to persuade Usnavi with reasons to not leave the barrio. You suddenly remembered you had to kiss Lin. You were suddenly nervous. You then coped with it by redirecting the energy to the song.

“I'm going down to West 4th Street; You can take the A.” You sang with more emotion.

“What are you trying to say?” You saw his face looking like he was concerned. You wished it were genuine, but it was just acting.

“You're leaving the country and we're never gonna see you again”

“What are you trying to say?”

You noticed he sang his line with a bit more curiosity than normal, but you decided to ignore it.

“You get everyone addicted to your coffee and off you go”

“Vanessa, I don't know why you're mad at me”

“I wish I was mad.” You then took all your emotion and packed it up as you turned around. You pulled his collar and kissed him. You wished it were real, you wished you could tell him your feelings, but you knew you had to keep it professional. During the few seconds of both of you kissing during the scene, you felt Lin pulling you towards him more. You were about to melt in, but as soon as you were about to, you remembered, this was just acting. You pulled yourself away from him and sang your last line for Champagne.

“I'm just too late.” A part of you was happy inside about how the performance went. Gladly, it was successful, but a part of you was feeling a bit numb. You’ve done a hundred or more rehearsal kisses with him. Why did it feel different this time?

You then parted ways from the stage. As you left you had to act down, but it didn’t take much effort. You were sad about the thought that it was just acting. You wished Lin had felt the same meanwhile, you didn’t know, but he was feeling the same thing too.

As “When the Sun Goes Down” was being sung by Chris and Mandy, you were re-evaluating your thoughts. You tried convincing yourself that it was just acting and you should move past it, but it felt too real, too strong.

The song Chris and Mandy were singing was moving towards the end. You then prepared yourself for the “Finale” and got yourself together for the final performance.

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

A/N: I’M SORRY IT’S SHORT. Please forgive me for this unsatisfying monstrosity. I swear I’ll release the next one next week. SEeEE yA THEn!

[prettywordsyouleft]

To Be Continued - Part 1

Summary: As an author, you had created Brian Kang for your current trilogy series to represent the ultimate man that everyone would love, along with Charli Evers - your female protagonist. What you hadn’t expected was for him to find a way out of the story and begin shaping up your world instead

Pairing: Brian Kang x female writer (ft. Park Sungjin)

Genre: writer au / romance / fantasy

Warnings: fictional characters coming to life / a bit of angst here and there / Sungjin as a cop (or does that only affect me?) >_>

A/N: this story idea was created from receiving two prompts for Brian in the YouxIdol drabble game I was completing this year. In this part, you can find prompt #186, “You don’t have to answer right away. I’d wait an eternity for you.”

Word count: 2252

Preview | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Epilogue

Brian cupped her cheek tenderly with one hand, smoothing out any worried lines across her forehead with the other. He smiled encouragingly, tears threatening to spill from his eyes with his heightened emotions. “You don’t have to answer right away.”

“I don’t?” Charli breathed back, knowing that her response to his question was already formed. Yet it wasn’t the right time for any love confessions right now. Despite this, her answer rushed to the back of her throat, where she tried to swallow it back down repeatedly.

Brian already knew and nodded softly to let her know of this. “I’d wait an eternity for you.”

“Isn’t that a bit too cringe-worthy?” you wondered, pausing to read the words upon the screen with a frown. It wasn’t out of character for Brian Kang and Charli Evers. And it certainly wasn’t the first cheesy line you’d thrown into Captivated either. Still, you mulled over the scene a little longer, deciding whether or not it should be removed.

“What would Charli do in response?” you asked out loud to no one in particular, a flurry of action from your fingers taking place immediately. You followed the scene until completion before taking a break, switching out of the word document and over to your Discord server.

Smiling as you scrolled through the new comments about the upcoming sequel you were in the later stages of writing for Brian and Charli, you let out a rattle of a cough from your chest, groaning at your illness dampening your mood.

“I’m trying to finish this final chapter tonight,” you spoke out into the universe, casting your eyes to the heavens for effect. “I’ve battled through this cold for a week now. It won’t take me down just yet!”

Reaching forward for more cold and flu medicine, you swallowed the capsules down with a painful gulp of water and then felt your forehead. It was hotter than before, though you waved it off as you answered a couple of messages and returned to the final part of the story.

Captivated was the second story in your new trilogy series since your last series Destined had become an overnight sensation. When you sat down to pen the soulmate idea into something more than thoughts in your head, you hadn’t expected the tale to touch so many people over the world. Nor had you believed you would follow it up with To Love You, Forever, And Always either.

You originally felt that Destined was the reason why Brian and Charli’s first story Encounter was easily shared around. The protagonists had their own charms though and you could tell the fan base for this series was different from the last. They were just as eager, however, to find out when the pair would shake free from the star-crossed lovers’ trope and finally give in to the evident love they had for one another.

“Part three it’ll be,” you surmised proudly and somewhat exhaustedly after typing The End onto the electronic manuscript. Leaning back in your chair, you finally allowed yourself to succumb to the illness plaguing you. In a moment of disillusion, your mind conjured up Brian standing before you with concern etched in his eyes. You let the novel scene play out in your head, wishing he was actually here to help you out of your writing office, down to your bedroom and tuck you into bed.

Swinging gently from side to side in your desk chair, you hummed with delight. Brian Kang was your biggest self-indulgence character. You had created Park Jinyoung in Destined to infuriate your main protagonist, but Brian was the ultimate fictional guy. He was playful and kind, caring and thoughtful. He knew when Charli needed him to stand up in her weak moments, and he fought for what he felt was right even when all odds were against him. He also allowed Charli to see his vulnerability and his honesty, gaining him many fans around the world. And if all that wasn’t enough, Brian Kang was incredibly attractive.

You had really created the holy grail of a dream man.

Laughing to yourself in your sick-induced state, you smiled lazily. “Dream men are just that, Y/N. Brian Kang would never exist in this world.”

You nodded to yourself, agreeing with the proclamation, feeling more single in the moment as you did so. It was funny really, you were a successful author of Young Adult romance novels and yet you hadn’t experienced the touch of a man, let alone any ardent confessions since your university days.

“Right, it’s time for bed,” you decided before your mood plummeted further into despair. However, your limbs felt too heavy to move and so you simply closed your eyes once more, hoping a little nap would help you regain some energy to head off to bed later on.

When you opened your eyes next, you found yourself in your darkened bedroom, smiling gently at bringing yourself to bed sometime during the night that you couldn’t remember. Sitting up slowly, you allowed your gaze to adjust to the dim morning light filtering through the small gap in the curtain, before reaching onto your nightstand for your phone.

You blinked. Instead of finding the device, you saw a kitchen bowl and face cloth resting over the edge of it.

Did you bring that with you in the middle of the night? Surely if you had been attempting to bring down your own fever, the face cloth would have been strewn somewhere in among your bedding after falling asleep with it, not neatly placed back upon the side of the bowl. Looking beyond that, you found a bottle of water with a third of the liquid missing. You did vaguely remember sipping on some water overnight, and that eased your mind from your initial confusion.

Shaking your head, and swinging your legs over the side of your bed, you placed your feet in your slippers before padding back into the office in search of your phone. Maybe you had help overnight after all, and you wanted to check if your mother had come over at your request. She had done that one year when you caught a nasty virus and couldn’t cope on your own anymore. Motherly love was definitely needed, and now that you had completed your obligations with Captivated and sent it off to your editor Lily, you would have no restrictions on who entered your creative space.

“Huh,” you said when you saw your laptop screen still open. You had a habit of closing the screen every night after turning the device off and approached it now with some confusion, trying to recollect what you last did the night before. Nothing rose to the surface immediately and you reached for your phone, blindly hitting speed dial on your mother’s number. And when her greeting rang down the receiver, you were more than perplexed.

“Hey, did you come by last night?”

“No, why?” she answered and then gasped. “Y/N, you sound awful! Did you keep working even though you were sick?!”

“You didn’t come here?” you repeated, fingertips reaching for the sticky note upon the computer screen. “Maybe it was Lily.”

“Lily is out of the country isn’t she?” your Mum reminded and you blinked several times before focusing enough to read the note you held.

 You shouldn’t have worked so hard to complete it! Your health is important too. How will I cope if you get any worse? Make sure you rest up well and drink a lot of fluids. I need my best writer in tip top shape to see where my world continues.

I made you breakfast. It’s not much, but make sure you eat before you sit down at this desk, hm?

- B.

 Dropping the note, along with letting your mouth fall ajar momentarily, you stuttered out a hasty farewell to your mum before hanging up the phone and looking to the doorway. Cautiously, you walked through your house to the kitchen where you stopped in your tracks at seeing a tea towel covering something on the bench. Gingerly peeling it back when you finally approached it, you gasped when you found several dishes underneath, along with instructions on how to heat it up.

For a split second, your mind conjured Brian up again, imagining him in your kitchen preparing all this. It would totally be just like him to make sure Charli was well fed to regain her energy from any illness.

But, you weren’t Charli Evers.

In fact, you hadn’t even based her off your personality at all, rather, a close online friend of yours who you admired a lot. So, whilst Brian would definitely go to all this trouble for Charli, you sure were clutching at straws thinking of yourself in the same situation.

Who came into your home then?

Distractedly, you heated the porridge and brewed up the tea the mystery person had prepared as well. You carried the tray of food over to your dining table when it was done and sat down before taking your first mouthful.

And then you mulled over who could possibly step into your house that had the initial B.

Maybe it wasn’t a B, you concluded when you realised no one had access to your house with that letter, even as a surname. Climbing back to your feet, you rushed to your office where you had discarded the first note and held it up to inspect the handwriting.

“It could be an R,” you mentioned out loud, then shook your head immediately. Even if the handwriting was looser than most that you knew of, it couldn’t be anything other than a B.

After examining it for a few minutes, you sat down with a huff. You’d never seen the handwriting before.

You didn’t know whether or not to be alarmed.

Had there been an intruder overnight?

Jumping back up, you persevered through the dizziness that plagued you from moving so fast, heading down the hallway to the front door. The chain was still latched and there was no sign of forced entry. Again, making your way to the back door, everything was in order.

As was every possession you owned – minus the kitchen where the food had been prepared. But even then, the dishes that had been used were rinsed and stacked by the sink.

You jumped when you heard a sudden mewl at your feet and clutched at your heart, before stooping down to pick up your cat Binks. The black cat nuzzled into you affectionately before meowing again. “I guess you want to be fed, huh?”

Walking around the counter, you stopped when you found his bowl with some food remaining. You knew Binks wouldn’t leave food overnight. Glancing at the cat, you frowned. “Who did this, Binks?”

The feline merely yawned and settled down to nap in your arms. It certainly brought the saying, cat’s got your tongue, to mind and you rolled your eyes at the infuriating situation.

Sitting down on your couch, you stared at the wall ahead of you as you tried to find an answer to all the evidence. Stroking the purring animal in your arms, you nodded determinedly.

“The only answer is that I did it in a sleep-induced state,” you announced and Binks opened his eyes to look up at you before rolling around to start licking at his back leg. You sighed. “Right, Binks?”

You were certain your cat thought you were insane. However, it was all you could find to be the answer.

“I got up and I took myself to the kitchen and prepared the ice water to cool down the fever. And went to bed. Then maybe I got up again, which is when I placed the cloth on the bowl and prepared the food. I washed my dishes, including the ones I had piling up from being too busy with work and-”

Binks leapt from your lap then, sauntering down the hallway from your side. Getting up to follow him, you ended up back in your home office, where he pounced up onto your desk, standing on the keys to your laptop. “Hey! Get off!”

Swatting the cat away from the device, you noticed that it hadn’t been turned off overnight. That was not like you at all. Logging into your account, you sat down in your desk chair and shifted back suddenly when you found a new document open.

 I bet you’re in disbelief about now, right? I guess I would be too. It wasn’t you who looked after you all night long, and did your dishes. Wow, you get behind in things when you’re focused on writing.

Don’t worry. I didn’t look around - much.

Your fever went down over a couple of hours whilst I moved back and forth helping you out. It’s the least I can do after you’ve spent so much time with me. Well, we’ve yet to officially meet.

One day.

- B (your biggest fan)

PS. I fed Binks. He really does have quite the personality.

 “Okay!” you sounded in an octave higher, laughing a little to yourself at the same time. “Someone was definitely here. Who is B and how does this person know so much personal information?!”

You were too preoccupied to realise the document to Captivated was still open behind the other one.

And instead of saying The End as it once had, it had been deleted and replaced with To Be Continued.

_________________

Part 2

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[ot5ismyhome]

22. I’ll make this feel like home

To read from beginning click here.

*****

Wanda was astonished by the memory of Steve that she had seen. It was something he had never talked about. He had shared with her many memories of him during the war but not this one. Sometimes she noticed that he would look sad while remembering the past but she had brushed it off as missing his old life.

“I’m sorry, Steve,” Wanda said softly, gently gripping his shoulder.

“It’s okay. It’s nothing” he said trying to brush off. Wanda noticed the small tear drop at the corner of his eyes. Steve blinked back to avoid crying. Bucky had also noticed the change in Steve’s mood but he was lost on what had happened. When he moved closer to console him, Steve excused himself and left.

“I’m going after him,” Wanda said looking at Bucky.

Bucky nodded.

Wanda went out of the lab to check up on Steve. She found him in a small room. He had his head buried in his hands. Wanda sat close to him and enveloped her hands around his shoulders. He rested his head on her shoulder. After some time passed, he started talking.

“What you saw back there…”

“Hmm”

“That’s before the Council was formed. After the war, a group of mercenaries were the sole power across America. Every one of us regretted fighting the war but some were enraged that they were made to fight. Due to the war many new vampires were created. The older ones despised the newcomers. They decided to kill off the newcomers and establish their own set of rules. Foreigners were allowed to escape.”

“Well, Peggy asked me to save Sousa. She was free to return to Britain while Sousa was taken to be executed. That memory… uh… the one you saw was…”

“When you saved him.”

Steve nodded.

“You did the right thing”.

Steve sighed and looked away. “If it were only that simple” he said more to himself than to Wanda.

After moments of silence, he started talking again. “During the war, I lost Bucky in a mission. Or I thought I lost him. The loneliness was maddening. When the mercenaries came afterwards, I stood against them. I went for days without sleeping or feeding properly. I roamed the streets like a mad man.” New tears streamed down his face. His voice was barely a whisper, “I hoped that one of the fights would be my last.”

Wanda held on to him tightly and let him cry into her shoulders. It hurt her to see him in this state. She consoled him and tried her best to encourage him.

“Jiaying found me one day. Knowing about the state in America she had come here. She saved me. She gave me a purpose. I’m glad I met her.”

“I'm glad that you met her too. Or else I wouldn’t have gotten you as my family.” Wanda kissed his forehead wiping his tears away.

“I’m also glad to have you, kid. And I don’t want to lose you” The words ‘too’ hanged on the air without being uttered.

“You won’t.”

…..

Wanda roamed around the Zephyr in search of Bucky. She wanted to talk to him. She found him assembling the necessary equipment.

“Hey”

“Could I just stay with you?”

“Sure. I didn’t know you liked my company” he teased her.

“Well. Daisy is getting advised by Coulson and Steve and Natasha are busy.”

“I’m the last option? That hurts” he chuckled. Bucky closed the bag containing the field kit. He kept it aside and hopped on the table.

“Spit it out.”

“What?” Wanda looked surprised.

“You want to speak something.” It was more of a sentence than a question.

Wanda had wanted to talk with him. She decided to get it out. “It’s just whenever I look into someone’s mind, I end up bringing bad memories.”

“Don’t beat yourself up about it. It’s not something you are able to control”

“I can’t keep provoking everyone around me.”

“Then learn to control it. Whenever you had used your powers, the other person was emotionally vulnerable.”

“I think I’m done with this. The training was a bad idea”

“Two important things. First, I’m not going to allow you to give up on yourself. And second, the training was my idea. So, don’t blame it” Bucky said the second line with a mock insult making Wanda smile a bit.

“Give it another try, now” he continued.

“You mean?”

“Yeah”

“You are fine with it?”

Bucky nodded with a gentle smile. Wanda hesitantly took his hand in hers. She controlled her mind and tried to enter Bucky’s mind. This time it was easier for her. Wanda’s mind was filled with a similar sensation of cloudiness as she entered his mind. She found herself in an old apartment. She saw Bucky getting ready to go out somewhere. He was checking his appearance in the mirror.

“Come on, Buck. We are getting late” a voice called out to him. Wanda recognised that it was Steve. By Bucky’s clothes and hairstyle, she knew they were in the 40s.

Bucky and Steve shared a hasty kiss before they exited the apartment.

“Where are we going?”

“The future.”

They got into Bucky’s car and Wanda followed them. She had been to 40s memories before but only she was able to observe the things around her. She noticed that the street was filled with war propaganda pamphlets. The posters were stuck in every building. The street was filled with pedestrians rushing through their lives.

Wanda was intrigued by the board reading, ‘World Exhibition of Tomorrow.’ She was delighted when Bucky parked the car and the duo walked out to the expo. She excitedly followed to find that it was Stark Expo. She kept close to the couple not wanting to lose Bucky. They stopped in front of a large stage hosting a shining red car.

From the buzz, Wanda understood that they were waiting for Howard Stark. The crowd burst into cheers when the man of the hour walked onto the stage.

“Ladies and gentlemen, what if I told you that in just a few short years, your automobile won’t even have to touch the ground at all?” Howard continued, “With Stark Gravitic Reversion Technology, you’ll be able to do just that.” He smiled at the crowd as he pressed the button and pulled up a small level.

The car buzzed and lifted above ground. It hovered in the air making everyone gasp at the marvel in front of them. There was a fizzle followed by a small explosion and the car crashed down.

“I did say a few years, didn’t I?” Howard gave a charismatic smile.

The crowd erupted applauding the genius in front of them. Wanda hollered to show her friend.

“Imagine really living in the future where there are flying cars,” Bucky said looking at Steve.

“Wishful thinking, Buck”

“It’s time. I got to leave.”

“Yeah, I know”

“Don’t do anything stupid until I get back” Bucky said his face serious. He walked away slowly.

“How can I? You’re taking all the stupid with you.”

Bucky shook his head looking at his lover. He walked back and hugged Steve.

“You’re a punk”

“Jerk” Steve called out hugging him back.

The scene dissolved. Wanda felt herself being pulled out of the memory. She looked up at Bucky and gave a smile.

“That is a beautiful memory.”

“Yeah, it is” Bucky grinned like a fool reminiscing the past.

They noticed Steve leaning against the door, his arm folded in the front.

“Hey”

“Hey”

“Still standing here”

Both the men chuckled. Steve ruffled Wanda’s hair and slung his hand around her shoulders.

“Got stuck with her, uh?”

“Hey!” Wanda cried pushing him away. “It was him who convinced me.”

Steve laughed. He asked, “I was thinking of something. Instead of just looking into our memories, you can try showing one’s memory to the other.”

“Is that possible?” Wanda wondered.

“I get where he is going. Like Loki did.”

Steve nodded. “Yeah, he saw other’s memories with your aid. Then we could also do that”

“Okay” Wanda smiled with excitation. “So, who’s the scapegoat?” she asked, looking between the two men.

Steve and Wanda exchanged a knowing glance and turned their attention to Bucky.

“You have gotta be kidding me.”

“You agreed to help me.”

Wanda interlinked her hands with the two vampires. She first singled her thoughts and stopped her mind from wandering randomly. She slowly prodded it to enter Bucky’s memories. The Zephyr dissociated and the surrounding started getting clouded. She felt the familiar sensation. Wanda found herself in the back of a small van.

The place was crumpled and barely a place to stand. Various electronic gadgets were scattered around. Bucky and Sam were looking intently at a screen. Wanda noticed it was security footage of Scott going through a building. In the nearby screen, a static image was displayed. The realisation suddenly hit her. She looked back at the screen Scott was seeing. She recognised the place. She tugged on Steve’s sleeve and was surprised when she was able to make contact.

“Steve?”

“Yeah?”

“You can hear me?”

“I did reply. So yeah.”

Wanda playfully nudged him with her elbow. She motioned to the screen and both of them turned their attention to the video of Scott. Steve’s eyes widened as he looked at the all too familiar corridor.

“What is he doing in my company?” Steve cried.

The duo followed Scott’s movements. He expertly disabled the alarms and set out to his destination. He came to halt at the back of the building. He accessed the secret panel in the wall which revealed a hidden door. Scott disabled the lock of the door and went in. He started working on the vault having the Draught.

“Draught of Frost Blood, here I come” Scott commented as he opened the vault.

“Wait! Isn’t it Draught of First Blood” Bucky intervened.

“What? No man.”

“I read it somewhere” Bucky shrugged.

“It doesn’t make sense”

“How does frost make sense?”

“Loki. Winter. Frost.”

“I agree with Bucky in this one” Scott spoke over the comms.

“Enough of chit-chat folks. Scott, take the vial and get your ass back here.”

“Got it.”

Bucky playfully rolled his eyes and looked at the screen monitoring Scott’s moves.

“I knew Pym got lucky was just a bunch of bullshit” Steve swore.

Wanda chuckled. After we get out, it's going to be one hell of shit show she thought to herself. She watched Scott open the locker and take out two vials of Draught and pocket it. 

“You never noticed the missing vials?” Wanda smirked.

“Shut up.”

Wanda laughed.

Scott proceeded to close the lock and reset the alarm. He made his way out without any disturbances. Bucky and Sam high fived each other as Scott walked out of the building.

“Now everything is set,” Sam said, pressing some buttons. The original security video started playing and the loop was cut off.

Bucky climbed to the front of the van. Scott took the wheel.

“Where to?” Sam asked from the back.

“Let’s deliver it to Pym, then hit the bar,” Bucky said.

“I’m going to kill him once we get back,” Steve muttered, making Wanda laugh.

“What about our deal?” Scott asked eagerly.

“I will change you once Pym duplicates it” Bucky promised.

“Cool.”

Wanda exited Bucky’s memory taking Steve along with her. They were back in the Zephyr sitting with Bucky.

“Steve, I can explain”

“You jerk,” Steve shouted, chasing Bucky around the lab. Wanda laughed at the playful fight between the two.

*****

 Chapter 23

[makkoskafanfic]

KakuHidan WIP fic teaser

This is part of WIP release March! A KakuHidan one for a change.

This is a Maffia - Modern setting AU but with special powers. I planned to write something like this... oh since I first started to ship KakuHidan some 9 years ago, probably. 

The idea came up again as we were rewatching Naruto last year and I got pretty far with it, before we reached the HashiMada arc and of course all the fangirl neurons in my brain got hyperfixated on HashiMada again. 

I have almost 10K words written of it, so I hope to continue one day, and not to let it go to waste. This scene is Kakuzu’s and Hidan’s first meeting. As such I would rate it M (or a strong PG13? I don’t really get the ratings) No sexual themes at this point, but there are a bunch of people getting killed, blood, gore, violence and Hidan’s dirty mouth. 

Strange to say after this, but I had fun writing this, hope you will enjoy.

Kakuzu secured the Harley and looked at the unassuming building he found at the address he was given. While it wasn’t in the best of neighbourhoods, it certainly wasn’t in the worst Konoha City could offer either. A sign in the window announced it was for sale and the faded advertisement above the door let him know it used to be a barber’s shop. All in all, not where he would imagine some crazed prophet performing his homicidal ritual. Well, his source assured him this was the place - the man knew Kakuzu didn’t take disappointment well, so it was unlikely he’d give him anything but a hundred percent confirmed information.

He walked around the building to a small alley packed with overflowing rubbish bins to find the backdoor. He pushed on it and it gave easily - it wasn’t locked.  It opened to a small room that once must have been used by the staff. It was mostly empty now, save for the empty shelves along the walls, a small desk with some old newspapers stacked on it, the large cardboard box underneath it and for the man sitting in an old office chair with one arm broken off. He stood up as Kakuzu entered. He took in his appearance, his leather jacket, his dark jeans, his mid-calf boots, the mask covering the lower half of his face, the biker helmet under his arm and he still somehow came to the wrong conclusion. He was just as tall as Kakuzu and more obviously muscled, which probably gave him a false sense of security.

“Here for a haircut? I’m afraid we’re closed for business.”

“Wouldn’t let you touch my hair,” Kakuzu grumbled. “I’m here for Hidan.”

The man’s eyes cut briefly towards the desk, which told Kakuzu what he needed to know. 

“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.”

“No? I was told I need to come here to praise Lord Jashin and see the wonders he’s capable of.” He was also told some idiotic password that he didn’t bother to remember.

“The show has already started,” the man sneered at him, “no late joiners allowed.”

“That’s a pity,” Kakuzu took the helmet from under his arm, looked at it pensively for a moment, before smiting the man down with it in a lightning fast movement. There was a sickening, wet thump as it crashed the man’s skull. He wiped the blood off, noticing it got dented with annoyance. This mission was already proving to be a headache. At least there was never a complaint from Pein when he added his extra expenses for his damaged accessories.

He pushed the desk and the box out of the way, uncovering a trapdoor on the floor. A narrow staircase led down into darkness.

“A barber shop with a dungeon,” he muttered to himself as he descended. “What a circus.”

The light seeping down through the open trapdoor quickly dimmed completely as he took on the corridor. Always well prepared, he took a small torch from his inner pocket and switched it on. There were a few side doors, but he didn’t bother with them. As he walked down the corridor, the voices coming from behind the door at the end became louder and louder. He pocketed the torch and slid it open.

The people inside didn’t seem to notice his late entry. Kakuzu did a quick count. There were eighteen of them on the floor, plus two on the low stage - a woman tied to a chair, and the man he recognised as Hidan from what Pein had shown him.

First impressions were important and Kakuzu trusted his instincts. Hidan was loud, foul mouthed as he sprouted his religious nonsense and Kakuzu was taken by the deep intuition that he, for his own peace of mind, had to kill this man. He was trouble. 

He pushed himself through the small crowd, ignoring the men’s protest that he was blocking the view. Just a few feet away from Hidan he took his time to assess his opponent. He was young, just as Pein’s file said, face smooth, his half-naked body well toned. He seemed physically strong with his lean muscles, but not a match for Kakuzu’s own might of course. He was ranting about his Lord Jashin, something about his eternal gift and punishment of heathens… he was damn noisy. His voice was a deep baritone which could have been pleasant if it was quieter and if he wasn’t working himself towards shrill yelling as he got more and more agitated. The people around Kakuzu didn’t mind though - they were murmuring appreciatively, repeating some of the phrases, like “Hail Lord Jashin”, “Bring death and destruction, oh Lord,” “I swear to murder and destroy in your name”.

Kakuzu knew he was supposed to observe the whole ceremony to see the presumed powers of this preacher for himself, but he wasn’t sure he could stand much more of this. He could just shoot Hidan and see if he died or not. Not quite what Pein wanted, but it would do the job, wouldn’t it?

Hidan's eyes swept the crowd during his speech and Kakuzu made the mistake of meeting them. The dark mass was abruptly cut short. The crowd muttered as their leader fell silent, but Hidan ignored them. 

“Looks like we have a heathen, an unbeliever in our midst today!” he glared at Kakuzu, then suddenly laughed, pointing at him. “Kill him my children, let his blood flow freely as it pleases Lord Jashin!”

How the little shit knew instantly, Kakuzu had no time to ponder as the mob closed in on him immediately. Most of them were unarmed, but he spotted a few knives and what looked like a beer bottle broken in half. He kicked the first man who reached him in the stomach so hard he flew away to collide with the edge of the stage. He crumbled to the ground there like a puppet whose strings were cut. That gave him some space to work with.

His opponents were no skilled fighters, so even with their numbers against him, Kakuzu didn’t have a hard time. The magazine of his Sig Sauer held fifteen rounds, almost enough for the whole bunch. Kakuzu never missed a shot - he liked to be effective and he hated anything to go to waste. The rest he took down by bare hands. The men managed to land a few hits, even a couple of stabs, on his arms and chest, which enraged him further. They were ruining a perfectly fine leather jacket. 

He took it off and tossed it aside quickly when the last of his attackers fell to the ground with a smashed-in face. Blood was running down his left arm from a long and shallow cut. There were smaller wounds on his chest, though they were easily to ignore. 

He looked up at the two people on the stage who didn’t join the fight yet. The woman tied to the chair - unconscious, maybe drugged, so no kind of threat, and the annoying preacher. Hidan didn’t seem to be disturbed by the defeat of his followers. He had a long, sharp pike in his hand - he pointed at Kakuzu with it and he grinned.

“Lord Jashin blessed me with glorious destruction today! All this blood and the corpses! Thank you, Lord Jashin! I’m your forever faithful follower and will sacrifice this son of a bitch to you as well! His blood will seal the sacred…”

“Shut up,” Kakuzu cut into this annoying speech, feeling the beginning of a headache forming behind his brows. “One more word of this nonsense and you’ll end up in so many little pieces even your god wouldn’t be able to tell how you looked originally.”

“How dare you interrupt my prayer, you heathen fucker?!” Hidan shrieked at him. “You’ll die in the most glorious agony!” Like the obviously brainless idiot he was, he charged Kakuzu with a shrill battle-cry of “Lord Jashin”, holding his pike in front of him as if he was some misbegotten knight on a tournament.

Kakuzu waited till the last moment before he stepped to the side, grabbed Hidan’s wrist and yanked it above his head. Despite his cruising grip, the priest didn’t drop his weapon. He went fully berserk, getting caught like this. His shoulder gave a sickening, loud pop as it dislocated, but he didn’t seem to notice the pain. He brought both of his legs up and kicked out, aiming at Kakuzu’s crotch. He managed to turn away slightly, but the impact on his thigh and side was still bruising. He grunted in pain, cursed the little shit under his breath and raised him even higher up from the ground. 

Hidan shrieked in indignation and still didn’t let his weapon go. Kakuzu had to give it to him, there was something to be said for his tolerance of pain. He caught the preacher’s free hand as he swung it to claw at his face and took a firm hold on it too. Hidan swore, but was far from giving up.

He bit Kakuzu’s neck in an underhanded move and kicked him in the knees so hard his legs buckled. He allowed them to fall to the ground, pinning Hidan underneath his heavier bulk. He clasped his hands above his head, restraining them and kneeling on his legs to immobilise him fully. The Jashinist screamed vulgarities at him, thrashing wildly as he tried but failed to dislodge Kakuzu.

“Shut. Up” Kakuzu grid out, slightly breathless as he was fighting this utter madman. “You little shit, just stay still for a…”

Hidan spit him in the face, more blood than saliva, barely missing his eye. That did it. 

Stitches came loose on the underside of Kakuzu’s wrists, allowing the secret weapon of his body to burst forward.

“What the fuck…” Hidan gasped as the tentacles wrapped themselves around his neck and squeezed. After that only unarticulated, gurgling sounds left his throat. 

While Kakuzu found satisfaction in defeating his enemies, he always killed because that was his job or because that was the fastest way to achieve his goals and not because it caused him joy. This time however he found immense pleasure in the sudden silence. It was broken by pathetic, wet, choking sounds only, then not even those as Hidan’s lungs ran out of air. His trashing slowly quieted down, but Kakuzu didn’t let go until the last twitches stopped and Hidan’s eyes - a surprising shade of violet, now that he had the chance to see them from close up - rolled up in their sockets. 

He looked quite dead, with the foam in the corner of his open mouth, with his blood everywhere, but Kakuzu checked his pulse before he withdrew his tentacles to be sure. He rolled off from the still body and allowed himself to spread out on his back for a minute. His whole body ached, his clothes were ruined and he was in a foul mood.

“I’ll ask for a pay rise after this,” he muttered to the deadly quiet room. He closed his eyes - only to open them in alarm when he felt movement from next to him. He tried to roll away, but Hidan - magically back from the dead, the pike he never let go throughout his thrashing raised high - was too close. The preacher bore the weapon down, into his heart.

“Take that you rotten bastard,” he cackled and tried to yank the pike free, probably to thrust it through his chest again. Kakuzu grabbed it and didn’t let go. “You can hope they pay well in Hell, but I don’t think Lord Jashin will be kind to a heathen shithead like you! He will torture you for an eternity and reward me, his faithful servant with…”

Kakuzu breathed through the sharp pain, raised his free hand and grabbed his slicked back hair. He sat up and dragged him back, until Hidan didn’t have any other chance but to let his weapon go, if he didn’t want to lose a handful of hair.

“Ouch, ouch, ouch, it hurts you shitty fuck! Let my hair go!”

Kakuzu yanked the metal rod out from his heart, wincing at the pain. He could feel his threads moving under his skin, stitching the gaping would back up. Losing two hearts under a week. Maybe he was getting old. 

“You should be busy being dead,” he told the priest. “And as such not concerned about your hair.”

“Fuck you, my hair looks too good to be touched by the likes of you!”

“It’s a horrible dye. This must have been a shithole of a barber shop.”

“As if you are the one to talk! When did you get a cut last time? Never? And what’s with that fucking mask? Is it the flu season or what?”

“Shut up,” Kakuzu said with resignation as he knew now it was in vain. 

“You shut up. Why are you not dead, anyway?”

“Because we are both out of luck today.”

He stood up and experimentally let Hidan’s hair go. The priest got to his feet as well, examining him with his head tilted to the side. He then looked around the room, at all the scattered bodies lying around and sighed.

“This was the best mass I ever celebrated,” he said dreamily. “Was I mistaken? Are you sent by Lord Jashin?”

“No,” Kakuzu snorted at this absurdity. “I was sent by the Akatsuki. The Leader heard of your special… ability and wanted me to recruit you to our ranks.”

“What the fuck is the Akatuski?”

Kakuzu looked at him silently, pondering the probability of someone living in Konoha and never hearing about its most powerful criminal organisation. Hidan looked honestly clueless. An immortal idiot. Wonderful. 

“A place that would offer someone like you many possibilities. You get jobs done and it will treat you well.”

“I only want to spread the word of Lord Jashin and live to please him.”

“You want people to listen to you? Or you want to kill them? The Akatsuki will help you with both.”

 “Are there more people like you?” 

“There are some… not ordinary people in the organisation,” Kakuzu said carefully. “Though not quite like me.”

“So only me and you are immortal?” Hidan grinned at him. Kakuzu didn’t contradict him - he wasn’t immortal, just very hard to kill, but he didn’t need to give the advantage of knowing that. It seemed he was being successful in his recruitment. He wasn’t quite convinced it was a good thing. “So what now?”

“I am to present you to our Leader in two days. You’ll come with me, so I can keep an eye on you till then.”

Hidan looked around and shrugged.

“It’s not as if I have any followers alive at the moment. I guess I can go and see that Akatsuki bloke with you. Who are you, by the way?”

“I’m Kakuzu.”

“Kakuzu, ehh? Is that a last name or a first name?”

“It’s a name,” Kakuzu snapped irritably. “You can call me by it.”

“All right then, Ka-ku-zu,” Hidan grinned as he dragged his name out in an inane sing-song. “I’m Hidan.”

“I know,” he sighed with resignation. “Go and grab whatever you need and let’s head out.”

Hidan muttered something about his sacrifice and went to finish the woman off, probably. Kakuzu changed the magazine in his gun and made sure that they left nothing but dead bodies behind. They needed no potential eye witnesses. He didn’t bother with cleaning up though - good luck for anyone who tried to find his fingerprints in any recent databases. 

He put on his torn jacket, re-tied his hair in its ponytail and waited impatiently for Hidan. The Jashinist reappeared at last, wearing a hooded coat, but still no shirt and a small backpack.

“I’m ready to embark this new journey Lord Jashin guides me on,” he grinned at him and Kakuzu was quite sure he was just trying to piss him on. He glared at him, but it didn’t intimidate the younger man at all.

“Let’s go then.”