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chrystal-ink · 1 month ago

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Shadow x Fem Reader regency au part 1: Reunion

Content warning: brief mentions of blood and extreme sickness. Also this is very long. This is my first time writing for sonic and friends so hopefully they are in character.

-Enjoy

The first ball of the season was a buzz with lords and lady's alike mingling after a long winter in the countryside. Old friends were sharing gossip that had been brewing since the end of the last season, newly Weds making their first appearance after their honeymoon's, and Yong lady's such as yourself beginning to mingle with eligible young bachelors in hopes of gaining their affection.

You fiddled mindlessly with your dance card as you listened to your dear friend miss Amy Rose gossip about the newest bachelors whom have made their intentions clear for this season. Many of which had not been very promising for finding a good match this season.

" And then there is Sonic Duke of Green Hill, a very noble gentleman indeed, I had the honor of meeting his grace many years ago when he saved me from a wild horse while I was at my family's manor in the country." Amy said, a hint of admiration in her voice. " He is known for his kindness and generosity why a few years ago he took in the newly Orphaned Earl Prower as his ward after his parents passed on"

"oh yes I remember hearing about that a horrible tragedy truly." You responded.

Amy continued singing her praises of the Duke of Green Hill but you were too distracted recalling the events of the past to listen properly to your pink hedgehog friend

The Robotnicks had been family friends of yours for the past two generations. they were one of the first families to welcome Mobians into high society. The Patriarch Gerald being a major advocate for all Mobians after his son adopted a young hedgehog not long after the birth of his daughter Maria raising the two as siblings, bridging the gap between Humans and Mobian alike.

Your early childhood was often spent playing with Maria and Shadow, their family manor being like a second home to you.

Shadow being one of the only other Mobian children around your age, had been one of your best friends. Having a kind heart and caring attitude, he quickly made his way, along with Maria, into a special place inside your heart. Many afternoons were spent in innocent bliss, not knowing the tragic fate that would befall you all in a few short years.

Not long after she turned twelve Maria would contract a terrible illness that left her bedridden for months. Your parents, fearing for your health, forbid you from seeing either Shadow or Maria. The only communication allowed between the three of you was letters. you would write to Shadow and Maria every day. Often giving up your playtime inorder to make the letters as perfect as possible for your best friends, alas letters could not cure your dear friend.

Maria passed away at the age of twelve only three months after her birthday. The entire Ton mourned her passing, Her funeral was the last time you would see Shadow. Both of you much too young to fully understand the concept of grief let alone death. You remember saying your goodbyes after the service ended, being gently pulled away by your mother seeing shadow disappear behind strangers and out of your life forever.

Viscount Gerald Robotic died not long after Maria. his heart not being able to handle the grief, leaving his Title to his eldest son, Maria's father. Shadow was sent away to boarding school where he would receive the best possible education inorder to become the next viscount. And you were left behind your childhood friends becoming distant bittersweet memories.

Many years later Maria and Shadow's eldest cousin Ivo, became jealous of the nobility his grandfather denied him and in a fit of Rage killed many members of the ton including Lord and Lady Prower, Lord rabbit, and finally Shadow and Maria's father, making Shadow the youngest viscount at the ripe age of sixteen.

It had been eight long years since Maria's passing you had wondered what Shadow had been up to in that time. you had written him many times over the years but none of your letters had ever received a response. you had given up hope on ever reuniting with your old friend your new focus was obtaining a true Love match and living out the rest of your days in a life full of love with your husband, your friends, and eventually your children.

"I hear his grace even raises wild Chao in a private garden isn't he just the kindest" Amy continued. "Oh I can only dream of catching his affections, say you'll help me please as one of my dearest friends say you will."

Giggling at your friend's request you agreed. " I'm sure that when the Duke gets to know your kind heart and loving demeanor he will fall head over heals for you."

"Oh thank you! " Amy exclaimed " I will do everything in my power to make it up to you I promise anything you want I'll do it fo-"

Your friend paused something behind you had caught her attention assuming it was the Duke himself you did not bother turning around. That was until you heard the words "Introducing Viscount Shadow Robotnick."

Turning around you saw your old friend descending the grand staircase appearing much more refined and elegant than in his youth. Your heart began to flutter at the sight of him old emotions stirring with new ones. Time had been kind to him he had grown into a very handsome man he looked powerful, and plastered on his face was a look of a serious nature if you hadn't known any better you would say he looked angry but his facial expression often hid his true feelings.

" I had No idea that the Viscount was back in town did you?"

"No, not a clue" you responded distantly

💎

Shadow descend the stairs well aware that all eyes were on him.

These nobles, always looking for some kind of drama, so bored with their own lives that they must make entertainment with the personal lives of others.

This is the first time he's made an appearance in society since his father's passing two and a half years ago, and for good reason his cousin's actions had brought scandal to the Robotnick name and in order to pick up the pieces he had to handle all of his affairs privately.

He preferred it that way honestly he found much of high society tedious with it's rules and restrictions. He found many of the members of the ton odious seeing others not as privileged as beneath them. He was here for one reason and one reason only.

He scanned the room looking for his target not sure what she would look like after so long. His old friend lost in a sea of silk and lace.

Then he saw her shining like a beautiful diamond in the corner.

"Y/n" he whispered to himself

She looked as if she's seen a ghost. Which she wasn't entirely wrong he had been missing from her life for eight years.

Feeling as if he had died with Maria, he shut the world out, Including her. Chosing instead to focus on his studies and become the greatest Viscount he could be. But she never gave up on him sending him letters every six months updating him on her life and sending him words of kindness. He kept every letter she sent him and had most of them memorized.

Still, responding to her had felt like an impossible task. Every time he began a letter he would have flashbacks of his childhood playing with y/n and Maria. It was hard to think about your memories together without the images of Maria flashing into his head.

Maria so frail and weak in her bed coughing up blood and bile and him not being able do anything at all for her until she died. She was as pale as her linen sheets the only color on her face was the beaming red blood she had coughed up. This image would haunt him for the rest of his life and send him into a panic attack.

It was unfair to y/n that she had lost both of her friends at once and yet she had remained kind to him. It had been over a year since she had sent her last letter, and he had felt her absence in spades since. The silence between them had grown deafeningly still and he could bear it no longer. He had read in the paper that your family had planned for you to come out this season, this is where he would make things right.

He figured it would be easier to speak with y/n directly rather than writing a letter. He was concerned about seeing her for the first time in years would cause more memories to flood back over him but this fear had been proven wrong, the moment he laid eyes on her he felt as if he was finally home, he saw the comfort and warmth that he had been missing since Maria had passed.

Hopefully he wasn't too late, hopefully she hadn't hated him. He needed to speak with her to tell her how much he missed her.

He began to make his way over to her when he heard.

"hey Shadow! It has been ages how are you!" ugh, Sonic Duke of Green Hill an old acquaintance from boarding school. Always so eager to greet and befriend everyone he saw, no matter how resident they were to him. He had excellent leadership skills though and he made a powerful ally to any family, still didn't mean he couldn't find him annoying at times.

"you never come to these things, are you here to find a bride?" Sonic inquired.

"No, I'm here to see an old friend." Shadow responded.

"You have a friend? I would like to meet them."

"why would you want to do that?"

"For proof that you have a friend of course."

Shadow didn't have time to argue so he allowed the Duke to come along. Weaving through the crowd, he searched for y/n hoping to find her before her first dance.

💎

You hadn't been paying much attention to the conversation between you and Amy much too distracted by the presence of your old friend to focus on anything else. You felt bad for your pink friend being forced to continue the flow of conversation by herself.

What was he doing here? Why did he only show up now, after all these years? Had he known you would be here? All your questions would soon be answered.

"don't look now but the Duke is coming our way!" Amy quietly exclaimed. "Greetings your grace" she bowed to him.

Instinctively you turned and bowed to the Duke when you arose you were face to face with the Viscount Shadow. Your heart began to race as memories both good and bad flashed through your head, you were not prepared for this.

steeling yourself you bowed to him a quiet " your grace" was all you could muster for the moment.

"Indeed it has" you responded

"Miss L/N it has been awhile" Shadow said his voice much deeper than in his childhood it reminded you of freshly melted butter on toast, comforting and warm but there was a sadness too it as well.

"You know the Viscount?" Asked Amy

"Yes, we were friends as children before we met, our families have been friends for years but we haven't spoken for a great while. Eight almost nine years am I right?" You tried to come off as if you were beyond it however it came out more dejected than you had hoped.

"Yes." Shadow replied "and I regret it every day"

A quiet and somber stare shared between the two of you saying so much but not enough. you two needed to have a conversation a real one but there was no good way for you to have it. If you two were caught alone together it would cause a major scandal one that could only be repaired with a marriage neither of you wanted. The only other option was to dance together however it was improper for a lady to ask a gentleman to dance, and despite your estrangement you knew Shadow did not dance publicly but perhaps he would with good reason.

"Well it would be improper for us to make your acquaintance and not offer you a dance, Lady Rose do you have any dance slots left on your card?" The Duke was much more observant than you had expected, although he did seem rather smitten with your dear friend and perhaps was using the formality as an excuse for a dance. Either way you were thankful for the offer.

Finally the dancing began you had taken your place on the dancefloor with your suitors for the night, many of the conversations fleeting and without much substance, often asking you about your hobbies, what flowers you liked, and how many children you wanted. All pointless to you at the moment, not when you had to think about what you were going to say to the Viscount.

You and Amy had only one slot left on your card a waltz near the end of the ball. You spent the most of the night in the same group discussing the new season and everybody's hopes for it. You couldn't help but smile seeing your pink friend and the blue hedgehog slowly forming a friendship. Friendship was the foundation of a happy marriage your mother would always say, unfortunately the only male friend you currently had was standing next to you and a broken friendship it was at that.

Shadow over the years seemed to have grown quite cold. Often shutting down the duke whenever he would address him as a friend. According to Shadow they were strictly acquaintances. You began to wonder weather or not Shadow had any close friends to begin with.

He had never been the most optimistic child in the world, often needing words of encouragement from Maria or yourself. Perhaps without Maria around his pessimistic attitude had taken over, not seeing the point in things such as friendship. Maybe that was the reason he hadn't responded for all these years. No. It couldn't be, there was no possible way he could ever be so heartless, right?

You would get your answers soon enough, you just had to be patient. You have waited eight long years what's a few hours more?

You stole glances at him through the entire night, he talked to others when he had to but he spent a good amount of time watching you, waiting for his turn, an unreadable stare adorning his face. He wouldn't dance with any other young ladies which surprised you, at this point it had become abundantly clear.

Shadow was here for you and you alone the rest of society be damned.

Finally it was Shadow's turn to dance with you.

You two took your positions you were much more nervous than him, you knew shadow could sense it so when you looked at him he gave you one of his rare smiles for reassurance, all these years later it still made you feel better.

The music began and as you two settled into your movements you prepared for a hard conversation.

"how come you never wrote me" you began, no sense in wasting time on useless pleasantries.

"I wanted to but-"

"No buts you abandoned me when I needed you, when we needed each other. I wrote you all the time and you never responded."

"I didn't know what to say."

"Anything would have done, an acknowledgement that you were there, a sign that you cared even a little."

"is that why you stopped writing, because you thought I didn't care?"

"what else was I supposed to think? I wrote you for seven years and I didn't receive any response. The only information I could get about you was through gossip circles and they are hardly reliable sources. I had to move on, life is moving forward and I couldn't wait around in the past forever. I miss Maria and I think about her every day but she wouldn't want us to put our lives on hold for her. And I couldn't put my life on hold for you either, I'm sorry my lord but I had to let go. The life we had was over as soon as Maria passed you left with her and it hurt too much to hold on to you when you didn't even have the decency to write me to let me know you were alive."

Shadow was silent for a moment, you couldn't tell what he was thinking, Weather or not he felt sorry or if was angry with you for speaking out of turn.

"What I did to you was wrong." He finally spoke "I made you feel as if you weren't important to me when that couldn't be farther from the truth. I pushed you away because I couldn't bear to lose another friend I cared about but in turn I lost you too. I regret treating you the way I did but I cannot change my actions in the past, I can only hope to do better in the future."

"I missed you Shadow"

It wasn't exactly an apology but it was a start. The hedgehog in front of you may not be as you once knew him. but you could still see the kindness he carried in his eyes, you heard the sincerity in his voice when he spoke to you, felt his caring nature in the gentle way he held you as you danced.

The silence once again returned but it was more comfortable than before. Music played as you continued your waltz looking into those crimson eyes for the first time in years the candlelight reflecting off of his black fur wrapping you in it's warmth. An undeniable electricity flowing through the both of you making making your heart flutter. Suddenly it felt as if you were the only two in the ballroom all the nobility and the rest of society gone as the two of you floated throughout the dancefloor even the orchestra players disappeared leaving behind their music for you two. You could stay like this forever.

"I missed you as well Y/N"

There was still much to discuss and you had yet to forgive him, but you were content for now. Seeing that he wasn't heartless and that he had, in fact, been thinking about you all these years brought an odd flutter to your chest.

Unfortunately the song had drawn to it's conclusion and you two bowed to each other signaling the end of your dance. Shadow offered his arm to lead you off the dance floor, and hesitantly you took it.

This was shaping up to be a very interesting season indeed.

#shadow the hedgehog x reader #shadow x reader #sonic the hedgehog #shadow the hedgehog #shadow #regency era au #self indulgent fic #seriously let me know if im cooking at all #not beta read #sonic #sonic fanfiction #x reader #tw blood #tw sickness

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ms-scarletwings · 1 year ago

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Doctor M(andril), A Villainous Demonstration of Crafting the Perfect Sequel

I’ll cut right to the chase, there is no baddie in the Sly franchise (to me) that has before and will ever again top the writing of this monke right here. That’s not to put down Clockwerk in any capacity. In fact, the majority of what makes M so amazing is not what he is in a vacuum, but what he serves to build upon the events that preceded him. Clockwerk is the giant who’s shoulders he stands on, the two games before him the backdrop that makes him shine so brightly. I’ve always been a strong believer that stories are in large part only as good as their antagonists, and this is what Dr.M has contributed to make Honor Among Thieves the narrative peak of the Sly Cooper franchise.

For minor starters, everything about this freak is downright unsettling.

A mandrill monkey was a great pick for a scary looking, vicious little mastermind. Even with a fresh coat of purple and his short stature, he looks about as repulsive and menacing as he is on the inside. He’s completely obsessed to the point of being consumed metaphorically by his envy and resentment of Connor. He gave us a lot of interesting insight into the life and relationships of Sly’s father while leaving us with even more mystery and questions to ponder. He’s meticulous and intellectually gifted in his ways, but it doesn’t do anything to overshadow the fact that he’s also an utterly deranged madman.

Clockwerk’s hatred for the cooper line, as genuine and strong as it was, had this almost detached element to it, being more like a means to an end and fueled by superiority and rivalry competition. It was kinda hard to get your head around it, and the second game keeps him in your thoughts more like a slumbering eldritch horror waiting to rise again or a pure, immortal force of evil itself, rather than a person. He isn’t even really “anthro” in his design. Clockwerk is a monster, a robotic husk of a former individual.

Dr.M’s hatred for the Coopers on the other hand is… uncomfortably humanized. He’s narcissistic, yet he’s also paranoid and motivated by a rage that’s responding to his sense of inferiority and victimhood. He’ll use his warped justifications to stoop to the most heinous acts- not just because he wants to prove himself better- but because he wants to destroy/take everything Conner loves and accomplished. Clockwerk’s hate was cold and mechanic. M’s hatred is personal and boiling over with venom. Both of them were defined by little more than their loathing of Coopers, but while Clockwerk kept himself alive with his vendetta, M’s was the very thing that led to his demise.

Clockwork was “the enemy of all Coopers”, but he left the final member of the bloodline to wither and then bloom more vibrantly than ever to return and defeat him. He underestimated Sly, and was content to live on and continue his own work with the overconfidence that he had already won. I wonder in my head sometimes if maybe his power was actually starting to fade in the light of seeing that vendetta finally resolved. Or if that time-worn weariness and frustration was part of why Sly, barely an adult, was able to accomplish what generations of his most skilled family had failed to. He never knew Clockwerk during his prime, the great monstrous owl that his clan used to live in constant terror of.

Doctor M feels like he was really Sly’s own Clockwerk. A fresh and unfamiliar threat to truly test every skill he had spent a whole career of thieving to master, and someone who’s own history was far more entangled with Sly’s blood than he could have imagined. Clockwerk condemned him to death (or destitution) for no other reason than being a Cooper, but Dr.M actually wanted to watch the life leave his eyes because he was Sly Cooper, son of Connor.

And he’s not just fitting to compare to the old bird, but he’s more overtly a direct foil to Bentley’s character too. He’s a dark prophecy of the worst possible result of what would happen if the Cooper gang fell out with each other in a similar manner, or if some of Bentley’s foreshadowed insecurities (that started presenting after he became wheelchair bound) were allowed to fester instead of him finding support from others. That turtle is also the only character that Dr.M is able to speak to like an equal, because he sees himself in Bentley despite being on opposite sides.

He’s a really, really well-written main antagonist that does not try to take a whole new direction like Neyla; instead, he’s like a revamped version of Clockwerk’s “idea” done without milking out any more references or revivals of the bird and his role, which by this point was well-concluded and moved on from… The past of Sly’s family coming back to haunt him, the weight of honoring the legacy of his ancestors, and the struggle of exploring who he is both as a Cooper and the leader of his own found family, and Honor Among Thieves checked those boxes without ruining the closure he got back in Paris. Band of Theives will always be my personal favorite to return to, but all of what M represents, along with many other reasons, is why I consider the third to narratively be the best game out of the series.

#sly cooper #sly cooper villains #sly 3 #sly 3 honor among thieves #dr.m #sly cooper dr.m #repost from my old blog #but polished up #doctor M #sly cooper analysis #scarlet talks about things

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valyalyon · 6 months ago

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October 2030 - January 5, 2031

Previous Post | Next Post DIE MASTER LIST OR #LYONDIE DIVIDERS

CW: mentions of addiction, mentions of pregnant woman, non-descriptive labor scene, post partum depression, positive mentions of medications in helping MC's mental health journey. 3.4K Words.

October 3, 2030

Unprotected sex with Julius in February lead to me being 35 weeks pregnant by October 3.

In the time since I found out I was having a baby with Julius, much of my life had stayed the same. With the only major difference being Julius spent some nights over at my place.

Julius and I were not in a relationship, but he said that he was exclusive to me and was ready to commit to me 100% if I divorced Raphael.

While he wasn’t forcing me to do anything, I knew that might be what he would prefer.

My heart didn’t know what to do, though. I couldn’t give up on my husband, but at the same time he wasn’t the man I married anymore and hadn’t been for a while.

Julius was promising stability but I couldn’t bring myself to jump from one marriage to another.

Me being pregnant allowed me to spend more time with Julius and I got to see what life would be like with him. He was a great father and an excellent man, but I worried honestly if any man was really cut out to be mine forever.

Was I really supposed to have some Forever Man?

Since I left my home with Raphael, the kids have visited with their father twice a week. Each time the visit was supervised by a friend or a family member, but I made this decision so I could keep my promise of staying away from him until he was clean.

That day I had asked Julius to supervise the visit. I wanted to put Raphael’s feet to the fire in a way they hadn’t been until that point, or I expected him to demand a divorce from me once he found out.

When Julius returned home with the kids, they were all pretty exhausted from running around the park.

I put them all to bed a little later, and asked Julius when I returned, “did everything go okay with Raphael?”

“As okay as it could have gone,” Julius nodded his head and kissed me, before adding, “Eden told her dad about the new baby her mama is making.”

My eyes grew wide as I felt a momentary fear, “oh my God… did he know the baby is yours?”

“I don’t know if he knew immediately, but he definitely knew when Theo said it’ll be nice to be siblings with Anthony,” Julius let out a light hearted chuckle and rubbed his neck.

I just wondered how he could find it so funny, but before I could ask him anything else, my phone started ringing.

I stared at the screen to see Raphael’s name, and I answered it, “hey.”

“Don’t hey me. Why aren’t you answering my texts?” My husband’s voice was annoyed.

I felt myself getting irritated, “I have things to do every day, Raphael. I don’t sit around waiting for your call.”

“Things to do, huh? Riding J’s dick is probably one of those things, isn’t it?” Raphael spat back furiously.

“Don’t fucking start with me! You’re the issue, Raphael! You’re abusive and on drugs. We are separated, I don’t even know if we’ll stay married. Of course I moved on. When I give you chances to fix us, you double down on your usage and your abuse,” I walked away from the couch and Julius, not wanting him to see me worked up.

Still, Julius followed me around the house like a lost puppy while I continued on the phone with Raphael.

“I want you back, Dolores. I’ve wanted you back this whole time. What’s the point in being clean if you’re not mine?” He asked selfishly.

“Being around your children without supervision, actually being able to see me in person again. If you wanted me back, you’d stop wasting your time, get rehab, therapy and return to me. Yet, you don’t do that,” I countered.

“I didn’t do that because I thought you’d come back to me,” Raphael responded, and I just kept wondering if he was currently high on the call, “we belong together, Lola. We’ll just put his baby up for adoption, we’ll move on.”

I was pregnant, hormonal, and not in the mood. I spoke in a harsh tone, “you had your chance with me from 2024 to 2029, I have given you chances to win me back. Clearly you haven’t been able to, so I think a divorce would be for the best.”

“What? No, Lola, no,” he started backtracking, “what did I say? Listen, I can’t lose you. Don’t divorce me.”

“I already told you what you had to do to be better,” I shook my head and added, “I’m not repeating myself or treating you like you can change anymore. I won’t file it right away because I’m pregnant and don’t want the extra stress right now, but I’ll get to it.”

“Don’t,” his voice was hot through the phone, but I hung up on him before anything escalated between us.

I turned to look at Julius and he hugged me tightly, kissing my head as he spoke, “it’s us now, then?”

I furrowed my brows, and looked up into his dark eyes, “why do you and Raphael only seem to care about the competition? I’m the prize you two are always chasing after but I’ve told you both that I just don’t want you two arguing.”

“We didn’t at the park,” Julius countered defensively.

“Oh, really?” I looked up at him curiously as I crossed my arms, “you didn’t look at him like you’d won when Eden told him about the baby?”

“Well, I might have but I don’t even know what that would look like to you,” he dropped his eyes once he realized he was caught.

I shook my head, “It’s not us, Julius. It’s not him and I either. I’ve gotten myself wrapped up with both of you by having your children… That’s my fault for letting this happen. I just want a situation where the two of you are able to get along for the sake of my children.”

“I love you, Doll,” he rubbed my face with his thumb and looked into my eyes.

I melted into his touch, and swooned as I looked into his eyes, “I love you, too, Julius.”

“Did I mess your life up by coming back into it?” he asked, and the expression in his eyes revealed that he truly was concerned, “do you want to have this baby with me?”

“You didn’t mess up my life,” I shook my head, and grabbed his hand, pressing it to my pregnant belly, “I do want this baby. I always wanted to have a baby with you. I’m really happy to be pregnant.”

“But, Raphael,” Julius said, kissing me on the lips, “he won’t ever accept the baby.”

“That’s for me to figure out, Julius. I don’t want either of you talking about the other. It’s literally the biggest turn off when I hear either of you mention the other’s name, because every time it ends in the guy talking just bashing on someone else.”

“I don’t go around talking shit about my girlfriends to anyone that will listen, I also don’t go to the person that has children with them to complain about them. I know our situation is bizarre, but you two attacking one another does nothing positive for the relationship I have with either of you.”

Julius cleared his throat, but looked slightly annoyed, “so you’re again picking him over me. I thought maybe as time went on, you’d just agree to be mine. We’re having a kid, are they worth nothing?”

I got annoyed, “I’m not picking anyone over anyone. Our kid means a lot to me, however, I have three other kids. Two are Raphael’s and the third wasn’t his who he raised as his own, and so he is very important in my life.”

“Us having a kid together is just as important to me. He isn’t going to break me away from you, but something is going to have to budge between the two of you, because life is about to be different and I need all the emotional support I can get.”

October 30, 2030

I was 39 weeks pregnant when Julius took the kids and I out to a maternity photoshoot. I had one for all my kids, and it made me feel a lot of bliss to go into nature for the photos.

I felt very heavy lately, my feet were quite swollen, but I was wearing a beautiful, open and flowy dress.

My boys were bounding along through the field, playing with each other and Anthony. Every couple of steps, Leon would turn his head and shout back, “be careful mama, there’s mud! Don’t get muddy, mama!”

I would respond back in the affirmative, “yes, sir, Leon! Thank you for warning me.”

When we got to the spot for the photos, Eden held her hands up to me. Her eyes were the cutest orbs, and I gave in immediately, lifting her. She was 3.5 years old and just a light.

“She’s going to be just as beautiful as you,” I smiled as I gave my daughter a nose kiss.

“Well, yeah, mama!” was Eden’s sweet reply as she wrapped her arms around my neck in a hug.

I remembered as the camera started flashing. I had that moment with Eden before, in a dream on April 3, 2027. The dream that I awoke from into labor with Eden, was about Eden and I at this very photoshoot 3.5 years later.

I turned my face towards Julius, just as he kissed me on the lips and more photos were taken.

It was just like the dream, except that one had devolved into a nightmare.

This one ended sweetly and naturally.

November 4, 2030

I woke up that morning at around 5am, and walked around my house. I hopped on the yoga ball for a bit and got some chores done while Julius slept.

I knew our daughter was coming that day when I was sitting downstairs. I was holding my belly, wondering how I was so lucky to have been home to four babies.

While thinking this, I heard a voice I didn’t recognize, “mama, did you need a big hug?”

My heart raced, feeling love and joy. I almost cried, but I stood up instead, shouting up to Julius.

He woke up and came out, his hair a mess.

“We need to go to the hospital, she’s coming soon,” I explained.

He rushed back into the room to get our things.

At 7:40am, my daughter Esme was born.

Julius was the most supportive partner, talking me through any nervousness I was showing. The labor was going easy, but I still worried something would go terribly wrong so his encouragement was priceless.

It was filling out her birth certificate that I reflected on something so painful it almost broke me. These are the names of my children: Theo Bellamy, Leon Santos, Eden Santos, and Esme Griffin.

What’s so painful about it? I realized in their names, I had lost my own.

Dolores Ortiz, a name just existing on the family tree to be forgotten after a hundred years have gone by but will we even make it another hundred years as a society?

So, I lose my name throughout my entire adult life, wrapping myself in love with men so different from me that it hurts and every time I give myself a chance to be remembered… I’m not.

I’m forgotten. I’m tossed to the shadows and locked away from all sense of peace. What is my reality if not the suffering I feel?

After the birth of Esme, I became a shell of myself. The postpartum depression was terrifying to the point I thought I might hurt myself.

For weeks, I did not speak to any adult. I wouldn’t speak to Julius, I couldn’t. I was suffering so greatly, struggling to stare at my reflection and only getting out of bed to care for Esme.

The kids would hang around, I’d make them laugh, but Julius stepped up to care for the older kids while I would be crying with Esme.

See, I love all my kids.

Esme had the hardest first few weeks of any of them. Her older siblings were all easy babies immediately, but she had it extra tough.

For weeks, she seemed to be in so much pain, and would cry for so long. I’d get her to calm down if I held her. Her ear piercing screams would be replaced instead by a sad expression, and quiet whimpers.

She didn’t seem to be afraid of me, she seemed a lot calmer with me than with Julius. He was around a lot in the first few days, but by the end of week one of Esme’s life, she seemed to cry even more with him around.

He would pick her up to console her, and he was kind, gentle, sweet with her. He was never mean and he always wanted to make her feel better, but she would turn what was a little whimper into wails and screams.

After a couple days of this, I found Julius crying and just crawled into his arms. I didn’t judge him, but I touched his face and told him I’d take care of her more often until she started feeling better with him.

He felt like crap at the time, but he promised he’d take care of our kids so he took over that.

I can’t tell you if the postpartum depression started because Esme was so upset, but I think Esme was upset because I had that depression. I mean, I think she felt my pain, and didn’t know what else to do but cry.

Her eyes were the most beautiful deep sea. The color was so odd for a while, but the deepness of them was evident.

I kept telling myself she could feel it, and I knew she could, so trust me I tried to push my pain away. I put on my brave face, I kissed her all over, I’d love her and do anything and everything to get her laughing.

Sometimes nothing would stop that whimpering, though. She would sit in my arms, staring up with those deep-sea eyes, crying sweetly because no matter how much I pretended I was okay, I wasn’t… and everyone knew that.

Eventually, her cries became more manageable. She didn’t cry out loud for as long, and her whimpers would slowly stop. Her eyes were still as profound and understanding.

When she was a little calmer, I was able to realize that I needed help psychologically. I started working out frequently after six weeks, I got on birth control, as soon as eight weeks had passed.

I continued breastfeeding to connect with Esme, who was starting to warm up to life. She’d grab my fingers and watch me as she ate, as if she was worried I’d be sad again.

I got better, though. Slowly, but I was feeling a lot better than the low I hit during those late nights I spent up crying with my youngest daughter.

She was still a little skeptical of her dad, but Julius was making an effort to play with her and make her laugh. It was definitely working to charm her, and she’d let out little giggles.

I loved watching it, although she still didn’t want to be held by him or any strangers.

Her siblings don’t count as strangers to her, though. She loves them. They’re so sweet with her. The boys are so gentle, as if they worry they could hurt her. Eden is very excited about her sister and treats her like a best friend.

When I could think with a clear mind, I began to reflect on what I should do about my romantic life.

January 5, 2031

On that Sunday night, I was alone in bed. Julius had gone to his house for the night as he had work in the morning. It made sense, so I lied awake staring at the ceiling.

A part of me must have known that he was calling again that night because when my phone rang, I turned on my side and answered immediately.

“Hello?” I spoke into the darkness of my room, listening closely to my phone.

“Hey,” Raphael’s voice responded back to me.

For a second, neither of us spoke.

He broke the silence, “I got out of a 90 day rehab, I saw a therapist as soon as I left. Don’t leave me.”

“I don’t think I’m meant to stay with anyone, Raphael,” I told him in response, and added, “I had a daughter with Julius.”

He sighed, but after a momentary silence, he spoke, “how can I stay in your life? Let me be a part of it.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, but in all honesty, I hadn’t verbalized what I needed for so long that I just didn’t know how to start.

“Lola…” His voice was sweet for a second, and years of violence at his hand was forgotten by me entirely, “Lola, Lola… I did it. I did what you asked. Tell me what’s next, just let me see you. Let me touch you, let me be around you, please.”

Dolores came up with something she felt insane for even suggesting, “how about you, Julius and I go on an overnight trip? We can all stay in separate rooms if you want, but…”

“We are all coparenting now. I need you two to stop hating each other. At least overnight. I need to see that you two can handle being around each other for a while,” she told him earnestly.

“I understand,” he sounded like he was taken aback, “If that’s what you need from me. That’s what I’ll do.”

I didn’t know what else to say, but I let out a shaky breath and whispered loud enough for him to hear, “Raphael, I am so proud of you for finishing rehab.”

I felt tears fall down my face, as he let out a laugh on the other side, “Are you crying, Lola?”

“I’m so proud of you,” but I was sobbing into the phone.

“Lo…” he responded.

Esme stirred in her sleep, ever knowing of my suffering. She moved and cried, so I rose to my feet and walked to her side. I carried my daughter in my arms, apologizing to Raphael as I hung up on him.

I had to ask Julius so when he came over to my house after work on Monday, I decided to talk to him about the idea.

“I want you and Raphael to actually try getting along with each other while I’m around. An overnight trip is the best for that. My kids deserve present dads, and a happy mother,” I explained.

He nodded his head, coming up with a plan, “that’s not a terrible idea. How about January 10? We leave Phoenix after work and head up to the Grand Canyon with him for an overnight trip. Arriving Friday night, leaving Saturday afternoon.”

I smiled, happy that he was supportive too. I kissed him and he held my face as he returned my kiss.

I knew why I loved each of them, and I saw our children together as extensions of that love brought into the world to be better than us.

I wanted to give my children the best life I could, even if it meant compromising my desires but for once I felt like I wouldn’t be. I’d be able to accurately judge my place between these two men.

Was I just something they toyed with? Could they both put themselves aside for me and the children we share? If not for anything other than they respect me enough not to create toxicity for our children.

If they weren’t capable of doing that, I knew I didn’t want anything to do with them aside from helping them see their kids.

Think its super QT that D's children are born on: Theo Bellamy: August 1, 2023 Leon Santos: August 2, 2025 Eden Santos: April 3, 2027 Esme Griffin: November 4, 2030 1,2,3,4 as birthdays for 4 siblings might seem lazy, I will do better in some other story SORRY, but for this one its QT.

#pregnancy #labor #smut #dark romance #booklr #original story #creative writing #writeblr #bluestlyon #lyondie #literature

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skvaderarts · 6 months ago

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Well.

Phew, It's been a minute, hasn't it? Amidst everything that happened, May 3rd came and went and I never made an update.

The surgery itself went... Well, it went. Several things that were supposed to have been done by hospital staff weren't to the point where I could probably get legal compensation for it at this point overall, but that's a conversation for another time. I got out of the hospital two days after my procedure and was immediately re-admitted due to severe complications that developed as a result of said things that were not done at the hospital, namely a few major things on the priority list that should have been cleared before I was allowed to leave by my doctors. I got the impression they wanted me to leave as soon as possible so that they could use the bed for someone else. I had to be rushed back to the hospital, tons of tests had to be run, and it turned out I had developed a blockage in my intestinal tract and I had to be re-admitted for for a week, The first 3 days of which I spent on a no food diet which was torturous. And my kidney function was very low. I was in severe pain due to a lack of proper pain medication being given by the hospital (I was given Tylenol after a abdominal surgery which, yeah, wasn't sufficient in the slightest and that only changed after I and several family members complained), and it took me an additional two weeks after leaving the hospital after that point to feel okay at all. I still can't sleep very comfortably even now, but it's been getting better. Gradually. I have a follow up on the 22nd of June. Fingers crossed.

On a less personally harrowing note, I wanted to thank everybody who sent me well wishes. I know I haven't responded to most of you, but that was mostly just because I have been zoned out for a minute now and haven't been keeping on top of things. I want you guys to know that I see you wonderful messages and they bring a smile to my face when I need it most. Hopefully I can respond to you soon.

And that's if my power cooperates! For whatever reason the part of Texas I unfortunately live in has been plagued with power outages! We've had six in the last 5 days! It's been... Trying. Can't get any writing done when I have no electricity. And it's HOT.

As for now, I think I will try to upload again on June 14th. That way I have plenty of time to think and take it slow and see how I feel. I'm up and moving around again, but it's still slow going. It's less now that I physically can't write anymore and more that I'm trying to get in the right headspace. But I am excited to come back and experience the story with everyone. Genuinely, I've missed it. It's been a hellish time, but hopefully once my recovery is over it will have been worth it. I'm looking forward to trying to get my life back to at least the quality it was when I first started writing this series and being able to indulge in the things I like doing again, my writing being one of them.

Thank you for your infinite patience. I hope to see you all again soon. Bye bye!

EDIT: I'm a dumbass. I meant to write that the date for the chapter would be the 21st not the 14th. I read the wrong Friday date on my calendar. Sorry. My bad.

#SkvaderArts #Personal Update #Thank You #thank you for your understanding #thank you so much!#Hopefully I will be fully okay again soon!#thank you for the well wishes #you are all so kind and amazing!#I'm lucky to have you!

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smolwritingchick · 11 months ago

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The Bangtan Gal Chapter 52- One Person Won't Ruin This

Chapter Summary: Jen figures out a way to meet with the NY VIP fans despite the Hi-touch being canceled due to threats to Rapmon. When hanging with Kevin, Jen forgets about her outing with Jungkook

Words: 6.000+

Genre: Angst in this one :(

----

"Are you kidding...?" Jennie frowned.

BTS stood backstage for their Red Bullet concert in New York. The members were just informed that their concert would be cut short and that the fan meeting was canceled after the alleged threats towards Rap Monster.

Jen felt like everything was going downhill. Not only did someone have the audacity to threaten her beloved leader, but now the fans had to pay the price. This was not fair. People did not spend their hard earned money only for it to be canceled. All because someone wanted to be stupid enough to do this.

The threats were taken seriously and caused the hi-touch to be canceled. This wasn't what Jennie wanted. She was so excited to finally perform with BTS in her country but now it's not going to happen because of this.

Jennie decided to stay at the Best Buy Theatre while the other members left. Diana also stayed with her while Sejin tended to the others.

"If they checked everyone's bags and items for any weapons, they're unarmed, right? There's tight security." Jennie tried to explain to the staff members. "If my president has threats coming to the White House 24/7, every single day and still goes out to do what he does, then I don't understand why I can't."

"Jennie, I understand your concerns and how eager you are to meet the fans but someone's life was threatened. You're acting foolish, right now. What if you get hurt? Who will be responsible?" One of the BTS reps firmly responded.

"The person that did this made this into a dumb prank. It wasn't funny and I hope this person gets caught. Every fan in that audience went through security. There were no weapons found at all. Let me see them. Please. Bring a row at a time, to my dressing room. I have five security guards with me. That's enough to protect me, right? Do I need more? Aren't there also police here? Want them to be around me too, so these fans can at least see me, one member of BTS? Then let's do that. I am not letting one person ruin this." She firmly asserted.

"I don't want our bond with International ARMY to be broken because of some punk ass bitch on the internet that decided to threaten my amazing leader for a prank." She added. "Those people have been waiting so long for Bangtan to come to America. And I don't want to come back to America with Bangtan fearing for their safety or other K-Pop acts feeling hesitant to come here for a concert. We always have concerts in Seoul, and the one time, we finally come to my country, to perform, shit wants to hit the fan, and I gotta suffer not being able to see my fans in my own country. I'm not giving up on seeing my American fans."

Diana knew that when Jen felt strongly about something, she wasn't going down without a fight. Jen would become outspoken and passionate about the things that she wanted to do when someone told her otherwise.

The BTS rep sighed and left the room, while Jennie angrily sat on the couch.

"You want to just do something with the fans, tomorrow?" Diana suggested.

"Diana, there are people that traveled to New York to see us! There are probably fans out there that don't even live in this area, that came here to see us! That spent their hard earned money to see and meet us!" She snapped. "Money does not grow on trees. People have different financial issues and statuses. There were probably families that sacrificed and saved up just enough cash for their child to see their favorite K-Pop group. And those people that traveled to New York tonight, they're probably going home, tomorrow. How unfair will that be if I'll get to see only a majority of people that brought a Hi-Touch ticket, while the rest are already on the road or on a flight to go back to where they live? No. I want to see all of them tonight."

"Of course, you'd say that." She sighed. "You remind me of that time Angelina did something like this when there was a threat at one of Amity's concerts. Hang tight, I'll see what I can do." She left to go find the BTS rep.

Meanwhile, for the audience, the fans that had a hi-touch ticket, the staff members on site walked out to let them know what was happening. The fans protested instantly when they feared for the worse and once they were told that the Hi-Touch was canceled, all hell broke loose. Some even cried.

When fans saw Jennie's manager walk out with the BTS rep, they watched them discussing something that looked important.

"Okay. The first row, follow me, please." The staff member gestured, as everyone in the audience, looked confused.

Where were they going?

With Jennie, she stayed in the room with five security guards, making small talk, instead of just sitting in silence on her phone.

Diana walked back into the room with a couple of police officers and the BTS rep. "One of these days, you're going to make me lose my job." she joked. "I'm just kidding. I managed to talk him into letting you do what you want to do with the fans."

"A-are you serious?" Jennie's eyes lit up as she stood up.

"We're allowing you just once, to let a row at a time, come in here and see you. This won't happen again, and there will be police here to make sure there's no funny business. One time only, under strict supervision. Before the fans see you, they'll only bring in their phones and take off any jackets. And they will be checked by security for any threats just in case."

Jennie happily grinned and hugged her. "Thank you! Thank you, so much!"

Eagerly waiting for the fans to walk in, Jennie sat by the dressing room vanity, with her phone in her hands. She started recording the mirror in front of her, to show the reflection of herself, and behind her was the door where the fans would be walking in.

As soon as the first batch of fans walked in, they turned and immediately pointed her out. Screams of excitement as some covered their mouths and teared up, made Jennie start to smile and laugh. She always got a kick out at how fans reacted to BTS, and it always made her laugh joyfully because it made her happy.

"I think they're shooked," Jennie said on camera and stopped the video, posting it on her Instagram. Getting out of her seat, she placed her phone down and waved, giggling at their reactions. "Hi!"

Some started crying harder and it touched her heart that she had that impact on them.

"Are you real!?" One asked with tears in her eyes.

"I hope so." She grinned sheepishly. "All right, about the hi-touch that's been canceled...y'all pissed aren't you?"

She was met with a loud yes.

"Yes! We are! Do something! This is unfair!" And so on were statements the fans yelled.

"I know. I know. So am I. I'm pissed too." She replied with a frown. "I don't want my country to seem like a violent place where we can't have any more K-Pop events, here. I know you guys wanted to meet all eight of us, tonight. Unfortunately, there will be no hi-touch but would you like to get a Miss Bangtan hug and selfie from me instead?"

She received screams of excitement as she started to laugh softly at their reaction. "I'll take that as a yes. All right, let's form a line."

As they got in line, it would be one person per photo. Jennie knew how frustrating it is to be with a group of fans to take a photo with their favorite K-Pop group. The tight security made sure nothing was suspicious that could harm her before they let a fan approach her.

Call it foolish.

Call it not a wise idea and she may get hurt, but she put her trust in the extra security around her and wanted the fans to go home happy, not disappointed. Not feel like they wasted their money.

These fans spent their hard earned money on a VIP ticket, they should be regarded as a VIP ticket holder, not having to cancel the entire concert.

Meanwhile, with the fans still waiting in the audience, they checked their Twitter and began sharing the news that the first row was actually with Jennie, in BTS' dressing room.

"OMG! They're with Jennie!" A girl screamed, showing her friend.

The statement caught the attention of the rest of the fans, as they started asking questions and checking their Twitter.

"Check her Instagram! She just posted a video!" Another fan shouted.

Someone who was in line tweeted various tweets about what was happening, and it caused everyone waiting to feel excited and their night got better.

"This is why she is my bias." One fan exclaimed.

On social media, some fans were complaining about her stupidity in pulling this stunt. Thinking it's a dumb idea and they wouldn't risk their lives for their fans if there was a gun threat around. Some questioned what if she got hurt and who would be to blame. But others praised her on social media for her bravery despite the gun threat and for her passionate love for her fans. Fans were so grateful that they got to meet at least one member.

This is just another reason why she is one of the most popular members of BTS in her country and why she is one of the idols who provided the best fan service.

"Hey! How you doing?" Jennie embraced the next fan in line for the fourth batch of fans.

"I'm doing better now that I'm meeting you. It's my birthday, today. So thank you for making my night."

"Aw, happy birthday. How old are you, today?"

"13."

"Really? Wow, enjoy your teen years. It'll be a wild ride. You're definitely going to learn a lot about yourself in your teen years. It may even be a little scary but continue to love yourself and have fun."

"I will. I'll remember that." The girl lifted up her phone for a selfie. "Can we take a silly one?"

"Yeah! I'll make a meme face."

------

Back in Philly, Vienna, who had yet to contact Jennie since the incident at her play, had gone to the financial aid office, to pay the next payment for her tuition on her payment plan.

"Miss Walker, your tuition has already been paid for, for the next semester."

"What?" Vienna raised a brow in confusion. "My parents didn't say anything about paying. There must be some sort of mistake."

"Someone else already made the payment."

"Who did?"

"Uh..." The man checked his papers. "She personally said, and I quote, 'Your awesome little sister who you are still mad at. I love you and I'm sorry.' Her name is Jennifer Walker."

Vienna exhaled. Jen was something else and the fact that she helped pay for college with whatever money she got with BTS, made her feel even more sad about all the things she said that day.

"You have got to be kidding."

"Well, indeed she strolled right in here. Such a kind young lady and sweet sister to help you with your tuition. Beautiful smile, too. Enjoy the Fall semester and have a great summer."

"Yeah, you too." Vienna left the office. Taking her phone out, she dialed a number. "Hey, what's BTS' schedule like?"

-----

The next day in Chicago, Jennie wore camo jeans, a black beanie with glasses and a jean hoodie, at a local skate park to meet up with Kevin. She found him skateboarding around, effortlessly sliding his board off one of the rails.

"Hey!" Her happy greeting gained his attention as he jumped off his board.

"Jen! You're here!" He smiled and embraced her, lifting her off the ground as she laughed. "Why'd you want to meet here of all places?"

"Well, a skatepark is where we met and besides, I want to skate. I've been practicing. Let me show you."

"Oh really?" He chuckled, not convinced. "Let me see."

"Watch and learn." She stepped on his skateboard and rolled around, maintaining her balance. She managed to do a small kickflip on the board. "How was that?"

He couldn't hide his smile, impressed by her efforts. "Okay, that was all right."

"Oh, shut up!" She playfully pushed him. "You know that was good."

"But I can do it better."

"Such a bragger. So! What's been going on?"

"Lot of things." He took a seat on the bench and she sat next to him. "I'm starting college in September."

"Oh snap! Any idea what your major is?"

"Business. I'm also going to be playing Basketball."

"I need to go to one of your games, one day. Hopefully, I won't be too busy with Bangtan so I can visit."

"Or I can visit you in Seoul if I have a break or something. We'll figure it out."

"Yeah, we still got time. Man, starting college and on the basketball team? Your family must be so proud."

"Yeah, my parents ask about you from time to time, asking if we still keep in touch and if the group is still going strong. They started to get into your music. They're hooked on BTS." He shared a laugh with her.

"Yes, join us. Once you're in K-Pop you'll never get out. It's just too addicting."

"Yeah, I'll admit. I got some of my friends into it, too. They're hooked."

"Good, the more the merrier."

"So any guys dating you, yet?"

"Nah. Not yet."

"Really? I'm surprised. That needs to change before this year is over."

"We'll see. One day. I'm just trying to be mindful of people's true intentions, y'know? Not just smash and leave. I'm not about that life."

"Good. Keep that good head on your shoulders. If any guys give you problems, let me know. I'll set them straight."

Jennie smiled at his statement. "I'll get that in mind, Kev. So, what about you?"

"Nah, no lady tied me down, yet. But what I can't wait for is all these college parties and hooking up."

"Really? But you're ugly, why would any girl want to sleep with you?" She teased, causing him to playfully narrow his eyes. "Ahahaha!"

"You're not funny." He chuckled. "You planning on going to college?"

"Yeah, I want to. I just have no idea what I want to do in my life yet. I won't be singing and dancing forever, I would like to get a college education. I'll think about it when that time comes."

"Yeah, don't rush yourself. I still don't know what I want to do with the business major, yet. How long you here for?"

"Around a few hours and then I'm going to hang with Jungkook."

"Ah, Jungkook. I remember him. He kept glaring at me during the music video shooting." He laughed at the memory of American Hustle Life.

"What? No way. He doesn't do that, does he?"

"It's nice to see that the members are protective of you. I remember seeing them ask you questions about me. The reason I asked how long you'll be here is that I was wondering if you wanted to learn more about skateboarding."

"Heck yeah! Let's do this." She eagerly stood up.

Time flew by quickly as he taught her. As she learned more basic tricks on making sure how to stay safe from falling and stopping the skateboard, Kevin helped her with turning around on the board.

She stumbled when she tried it for the 5th time and he caught her by placing his hands on her waist. "Careful. Lean side to side this time, you'll get it. Just maintain your balance."

Once she tried it on her 9th attempt, she successfully turned and continued doing it again and again.

"Sweet! This is pretty easy, now."

"Told you."

As they continued to skate, a few ARMY had found Jennie while they were walking around the neighborhood and eagerly approached her. "Jennie!" They shouted, happily.

Turning around, Miss Bangtan saw three fans rushing up to her. She gleefully talked to them and took some selfies and they even asked Kevin to get into it too. The fans told her how stoked they were about the Chicago Red Bullet concert and how nice it was for her to see the fans after the New York show, despite the threats. One fan even told her that she inspired her to go back to playing the guitar and work on her old songs that she's kept on her laptop for years.

Although fans always tell their favorite idol that they love them and their work, it's more rewarding to Jennie, to hear fans tell her that she inspired them. She liked being a positive influence on her fans and it's a humbling feeling.

"Are you two dating?" One of the fans boldly asked.

Jennie and Kevin glanced at each other and shared a chuckle.

"She is someone very special to me," Kevin answered briefly, causing the girls to giggle at his response.

"I think you almost killed them with that statement," Jennie added.

After saying goodbye to the fans, Kevin and Jennie decided to take another break, to chill on the bench. Jennie took a funny selfie with him as he sat behind her, with his chin on her head.

'He needs to admit that my skating skills have improved since AHL. Don't front, you know I got better :P #JEN'

ARMY immediately began to freak out, as they positively enjoyed seeing the two together.

'DEAD'

'SCREAMING'

'Relationship confirmed!?'

'GOALS'

'Ya'll so damn adorable!'

"Oh crap!" Jennie shouted, hastily getting to her feet.

"What's wrong?"

"I was supposed to meet with Jungkook 2 hours ago!" She grabbed her bag. "We'll text! It was so nice seeing you, today!"

"Ooooohhhhhhh, you're in trouble~!" He laughed.

"Shush!" She made a phone call so Diana could pick her up.

Once at the hotel, Jennie made her way to Jungkook's room to see him gaming. "Kook! I am so sorry!" She exclaimed.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it." He shrugged.

She watched him. Nothing was fine. She knew he was upset. "Are you mad?"

"It's fine, Jennie." He paused his game.

"You're mad. Look, I'm so sorry. We can hang out tomorrow, okay?"

"Where were you, anyway?"

"I was with Kevin. It's been so long since we've seen each other, that I wanted to catch up. I lost track of time."

Jungkook exhaled and frowned. "So, you blew me off for him?"

"No way, that was not my intention. I just wasn't periodically checking the time when I was with him. Look, let's hang out tomorrow. Okay? Wherever you want, we'll go."

And Jungkook agreed to that.

The next day, in the afternoon, Yoongi walked into his hotel room to see Jungkook gaming on the bed. The confusion appeared on the Daegu rapper's features as he closed the door and strolled up to him.

"Weren't you supposed to meet with Smartie?"

"Uh huh."

"Well, why aren't you with her?"

"I changed my mind, hyung." The Maknae bluntly replied.

The Daegu rapper stood there, genuinely dumbfounded. As many times as the Maknae chewed his ear off about spending time with her in America, now he changed his mind?

Something wasn't right.

"This isn't like you at all. Why would you not go?"

Before Jungkook could reply, they heard pounding on the door

Yoongi heard Jennie's angry muttering on the other side of the door, "...'bout to kill him. I swear if he is in this got damn room, I'm going to kill him."

Once she was let inside by Yoongi, she greeted him, "Hey, Yoongi. Is Kook here?"

"By the bed," he said.

"Bed..." She walked in, setting her bag on the floor.

Jungkook paid her no mind as he proceeded to game. Yoongi observed how thick the tension in the room was between the 97 Liners. It was never like this. Something bad must've happened because Jennie and Jungkook had never acted like this.

Ever.

"Yoongi." She called out, interrupting his thoughts. "Can you give us a minute? Alone?"

"You sure I should leave you two, alone?"

"Yoongi, for once, please just listen to my request."

The rapper exhaled. Jennie wasn't messing around. He knew that the tone of her voice meant business.

"You kids are going to be the death of me. Don't kill each other...I really don't want to explain to Jin or Namjoon about how Bangtan went from eight members to six." He grumbled as he grabbed his notebook and exited the room.

Jungkook continued to mash the buttons on his controller, ignoring her presence as she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. Jen didn't know if she wanted to smack him or cuss him out because of what happened today.

"Kook." She called out.

No answer.

"Kookie."

No answer.

"Jungkook." She called out louder.

Still no answer.

She laughed dryly. "So just because I unintentionally forget about our outing, you don't want to show?"

"I forgot." He shrugged as his attention was still on the TV.

Exasperated, she marched up to him and snatched the controller out of his hands, tossing it on the bed. "Bullshit, Kook."

Poking the side of his cheek with his tongue in annoyance, he stood up, fed up. "How is that bullshit? I said I forgot."

"Yeah? Well, I said I was sorry. I tried to make it up to you, and you don't show. The heck is wrong with you?"

"Nothing." He shrugged.

Exhaling sharply, she closed her eyes for a moment. "Jungkook...you get on my nerves."

"Oh really? Well, the feeling is mutual."

"You know what? You blowin' my shit, today. You really be doing the most."

"And you don't?" He retorted.

"No, I do not. And you are starting to piss me the hell off and I am not in the mood for this. This is childish."

"Drop it. I'm done talking about this. I don't feel like arguing."

"Well, I'm not done talking because I'm still waiting for a not so half-assed excuse as to why you didn't show up today."

"I just didn't want to. End of discussion."

"Seriously? And you couldn't have called? Text?"

"Oh, okay. So, you just want to ignore the fact that you did the same to me? How do you think I feel? I really wanted to spend time with you."

Miss Bangtan rolled her eyes. "I don't have time for this. Jungkook, we always spend time together!"

Jungkook frowned and shook his head in disapproval. "You just don't get it." He muttered softly.

"Then explain!" She shouted.

"I wanted to spend time with you, alone!" He shouted back.

"We always spend time together, Kook. It's no big deal, stop being so uptight."

The Golden Maknae stared at her with hurt. "No big deal, huh? Then maybe I'm wasting my time."

"Are you kidding me?" She frowned. "Jungkook, I haven't seen him in what? A year? I lost track of time, we were catching up. I missed him. He's my friend."

"Well, I'm your best friend. I found a beach nearby. I thought it would be cool to hang out there that day. Walk on the beach in America, just like we planned, right? We planned this for so long. I waited and you didn't show. It sucked without you there. That hurt. So how do you think that made me feel? We were talking about this on the plane for hours. And somehow he just took up all your time and made you forget, right? Cause that's how it usually goes."

She exhaled and started feeling the tears coming as she quickly blinked them away.

Why did that make her heart ache?

"Don't do this to me. You are not listening-"

"I don't need to." He cut her off and walked past her.

She turned around to follow him. "Excuse me! Don't you walk away from me! Jungkook!" She heard the bathroom door slam, right in her face. "OH-my God!" She banged her fist on the door out of frustration.

"You are so childish! Open the door so we can discuss this!" She yelled.

When she didn't get a reply, she sighed in exasperation. "Okay, ignore me. Because that's what we do, right? God, you are acting like a jerk, right now."

Swinging the door open, Jungkook walked past her. "Well, what does that make you?" He questioned as she followed him back to where the beds were.

She scoffed. "Me? Are you kidding? I swear to Gosh, I can't stand you sometimes!"

"Good because I can't stand you, either! Do you know how annoying you are!?"

Jen stared at him in disbelief while she let out a sharp breath.

Damn.

She didn't know how much those words could sting until she heard him say it to her. But instead of being sad, she became angrier.

"WOW~! Tell me how you really feel!" She threw her arms up in the air.

Closing his eyes, he ran a hand through his hair. "You know I didn't mean that..."

"No, no, go ahead! Tell me exactly how you feel!"

"Enough." He muttered.

"No, tell me everything, I am all ears, Jungkook! I'm ready, I can take it! Let me know! Let me know, right now! Tell me how you feel about me!"

"Jennie..." He reiterated, trying to relax.

"Tell me how you feel about Jennie. The eighth member of the group. The one that still gets dragged for being a girl in BTS but doesn't give two shits anymore because I'm letting people ruin what I love doing. I'm not letting that hate get to me anymore because I am above all that and why should I waste my life worrying what haters think about me? That Miss Bangtan. That Jennie. What is your honest opinion on Miss Bangtan?"

"Jennie. Enough."

"No, it's not enough! So, don't tell me this is enough!" She raised her voice to him. "So lemme know, Jeon Jungkook. Spill your guts out to me. I want to know your feelings for me. I want to know exactly how you feel since we're being honest here. You go first and then I'll go. So, what do you have to say?"

"It's not the time for this!" He growled in frustration at the fact that they were arguing with each other.

"Yes, it is, since you're obviously being honest with me! So, what's next?!"

No answer.

"What's next!?" She made a fist and banged it against his chest as she started feeling tears develop in her eyes. Composed, Jungkook took it, standing his ground as he felt her strike faintly.

"Let me know. Be honest!" She hit his chest.

Silence.

"Say something!" She hit his chest, again.

More silence.

"Why aren't you saying anything?!"

"Enough!" He gently, but with a firm grip, grabbed her wrist before she could hit him again. Her back hit the wall softly while his free hand rested its palm next to her head. "Enough..." He repeated softly as she held his intense stare.

She saw hints of frustration, sadness and something else that she couldn't put her finger on.

Releasing her wrist, he glanced to the side, trying to calm down his anger. Meanwhile, Jen's heart was beating faster than usual as she noticed the closeness she had with Jungkook. All they could hear were the faint sound effects and voice acting of the game Jungkook was playing on the TV.

Jungkook turned his attention back to her, placing his forearm on the wall and his face got closer to hers. Crossing her arms, she angrily turned her head to the side.

'Just stop fighting me...there are a lot of things I want to say to you...more than you think...but now is not the time. And at this rate, I'm not even sure when anymore.' Jungkook thought to himself.

It was what he wanted to say out loud, but couldn't bring himself to.

They heard a click on the door while Hobi walked in. Jungkook backed up from her while Jennie glanced to the side, uncrossing her arms. The 97 Liners felt a sensation of annoyance by the fact that they were interrupted during their heated discussion.

Hobi spoke to them in a chill voice, "Uh...Yoongi forgot his headphones. Wanted me to go get them. Now I kinda understand why he didn't want to come in."

He felt the tension in the room as he awkwardly headed over to Yoongi's bed to grab the headphones.

Turning around, he observed them. Jungkook had his hands in his pockets, impatiently waiting for Hobi to leave as a vexed facial expression was visible on his handsome features. Jennie glanced around random areas of the room, trying to keep her emotions in check.

"All right, I need to ask. Is...everything all right with you two, kids?" The rapper demanded.

The 97 Liners glanced at each other and then turned their attention to Hobi.

"Yeah..." Jennie murmured.

"We're fine, hyung," Jungkook answered in a grumble.

"All right then..." Hobi nodded, unconvinced and left the room.

Jungkook turned to Jennie who was still angry. "Babygirl-"

"Don't call me that." She spoke sharply, remembering why she was upset with him in the first place. "You lost the right to call me that."

"Don't be like that." He frowned.

"No. How about you don't be the way you were by not showing up."

Feeling his anger come back, Jungkook shrugged. "Well, now you know how I feel."

"Oh, so you just did this to get back at me? You are such a big baby, grow up, Kookie."

"You grow up. And you lost the right to call me Kookie, so don't call me that."

"You know what? Fine, I don't care." She shrugged. "You are so condescending!"

"You are so dramatic." He muttered.

"No, the hell I am not! I'm so sick of this and I'm sick of you!"

"You really want to go there?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I'm sick of you too!"

"I don't need this bullshit!" She turned, aiming to leave.

"You're the one acting like a brat." He bluntly called out.

Feeling something in her snap, she turned around. "And you're the one acting like an asshole!"

As soon as she said that, Jungkook froze. His eyes stung sharply as the tears threatened to fall. As soon as she saw the hurt on his face, she immediately regretted her words.

Out of retaliation, he retorted sharply, "Sometimes I ask myself why you can't be like our friends in GFriend. Why you can't be like Eunha or Hayoon."

That was the fatal blow.

She stared at him in disbelief, feeling a large lump form in her throat. She shut her eyes to stop her tears before they fell.

Those words cut her like a knife.

Her shoulders relaxed as she slowly exhaled, opening her eyes. He won this argument and she had nothing else to say.

What could she say after that?

She replayed the statement in her head and briefly pondered how he felt when she yelled hurtful things at him, moments ago.

Jungkook saw the pain on her face and he began to regret his words, too. He didn't mean it. He just wanted to win the argument. They both did, not caring how much their words would hurt each other. Their emotions got to them. They were still young, stubborn teenagers. This was bound to happen. When you're angry, you say things you don't mean. You say things to hurt the other to get back at them.

Jennie wanted to scream at him. Scream that she hated him or something more hurtful but she couldn't do it. She couldn't hurt him more than she already had with the previous hurtful words she yelled. She strongly felt like her heart couldn't take it. Her heart was already freaking out ever since the argument started.

Jennie nodded slowly, accepting what he had told her. "Okay...I get it." Her voice trembled.

Watching her place a hand on her other one, Jungkook's stomach dropped when he watched her take off the friendship ring he had given her. When she was right in front of him, she placed the ring in his hand.

"I don't want this, anymore. Take it back. Give it to someone else."

Her sudden statement caught him off guard as he stared at the ring he had given her a long time ago. When he told her that they'll cherish each other until the end.

While Jungkook thought about the day he had given her the ring, his tears threatened to fall as he met her sad gaze.

"Maybe Hayoon or Euhna will like it instead. I'm sure they'll fit your Golden Best Friend qualifications. I'm gonna go before I say something I'm going to regret." She grabbed her bag and left in a hurry.

Frustrated, he grabbed a pillow and aggressively threw it across the room.

"Damn it..." He growled, running his hands through his hair in frustration. 'I'm such an idiot...why did I say that? I just ruined everything...'

Meanwhile with Jennie, outside the room, in the hallway, she leaned against the wall, next to his door. She exhaled sharply and threw her bag on the ground.

"Damn it..." She huffed. 'I didn't mean to say all that...why did I call him an asshole? Why did I hurt him even more by giving him back the ring?'

She felt her chest tighten and her tears began to flow as she silently started crying. Sliding down on the wall, she sat on the floor, with her knees against her chest.

Jungkook, who had been crying too, wiped his tears with his arm. He tried to pull himself together while sitting on the floor, against the wall, next to his door, which happened to be where Jennie was on the other side of the wall.

'I never want to see that again.' He thought. 'I never meant to make her upset, I just...'

Jennie wiped her tears with her hand. 'He was about to cry...I never want to see him like that. I didn't mean what I said, I just...'

She hoped that he would open the door and apologize.

He had also hoped that she would knock on his door and apologize.

Because they both were too stubborn to be the bigger person and apologize. Hoping that the other would, so they can let things go back to normal.

'It's normal for friends to fight, right? But why does this hurt so much more than the fights with the other members?' She thought to herself. 'Why does this hurt so much? Why does my heart feel so damn heavy? What is this feeling? I hate it, it's too much. Just make it stop already.'

Jungkook turned his head to the door, contemplating if she was still there. 'She probably left...'

Sniffing, Jennie cleared her throat. Standing on her feet, she turned to the door. She contemplated knocking but decided not to, despite her heart aching to knock on the door.

'He probably doesn't want to see me...he's angry, why would he want to see me?' She thought with a frown

"Sweetie, are you all right?"

Turning around she saw a hotel maid. She looked like she was in her mid-40s with dark skin and black hair styled in a bun.

"Huh?"

"I heard some arguing when I got my cleaning products, couldn't help but look to see you out here. Is everything all right?"

"Oh God, I am so embarrassed..." She groaned.

Looks like the lady also knew Korean.

"Bad fight with your boyfriend?" The woman assumed in an understanding voice.

The word boyfriend caused Jen's stomach to feel weird as she felt her face heat up.

"Oh, uh...he's...he's not my..." She trailed off.

"I get it. Not yet I presume."

"I-it's not like that." She shook her head.

"You sure?"

Jennie hesitated. After a moment, she nodded. "Yes."

"Hm...I dunno, you don't fool me, for a second, honey. I was like this when I had my first fight with my husband. We started dating when we were in college. Stubborn, the both of us were that day." The woman chuckled softly at the memory. "All the bickering and pettiness. Took us a few days to make up. Both of us didn't want to be the bigger person and apologize first. But arguments are normal, don't worry about it. It seems like things are falling apart and you both are hurting. But just give it time. It's not as bad as it seems. Before you know it, you two will rekindle."

Jen gave the woman a weak smile and nodded. "Thank you for that. I'm Jennie, by the way."

"Just call me Miss Joyce. You have a blessed day, now." She smiled sweetly and walked away to begin her shift.

Heading to her hotel room, Jennie made sure to wipe her tears and clear her throat before she walked in. Hopefully, Taehyung wouldn't notice anything.

Walking in, she was greeted by his boxy smile. There she also saw Jimin with him who happily waved as he sat with Tae on his bed, with random American snacks.

"Ennie!" Jimin beamed. "Look what we got! Smarties! I saw some when Tae and I went to the store. You got us hooked on them. You want some?"

Jennie gave them a fake smile, still feeling the effects of the argument. "No thanks." She responded and went straight into the bathroom.

Jimin raised an eyebrow, looking dumbfounded. "No thanks...?"

"What?" Taehyung glanced at Jimin with worry.

Jennie never rejects Smarties.

Not even when she's sad. The candy always cheered her up. This was a red flag and the 95 Liners were anxious to find out what was wrong so they could resolve it.

"Something isn't right." Jimin assumed as he heard the shower turn on.

"Ennie..." Taehyung murmured sadly.

#bts 8th member #jungkook x oc #bangtan boys #bts additional member #bts fanfic #bts fluff #bts imagine #bts scenarios #bts female member #bts fanfiction #jungkook imagine #jungkook scenarios #jungkook fanfic #kpop female oc #kpop black oc #kpop fanfic

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illuminatingprowess · 10 months ago

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Sebastian felt himself grow antsy as Hale continued to talk. He appreciate them and their loyalty to staying her until they knew he was well. Rather commendable when he had a whole realm at home surely awaiting their prince's return. The Isley would have understood if he left, there were obligations the Roosa was tied to that Sebastian was not privy nor aware of and to put that aside for him was a kindness he knew he would not be able to repay. It's why he was slightly taken aback as Hale's demeanor shifted. "I don't understand what's happening here..." he looked at them confused. Clearly, Hale missed the joke and was twisting Sebastian's words around, right?

Rising as Hale began spewing words at him, Sebastian couldn't help but roll his eyes. They couldn't be serious right now? "You really think after all this time I would have been friends with you if I thought of you in that way?" You were the company you kept after all and he wanted strong-minded, confident, and intelligent people in his circle. Now more than ever. If Hale was truly just this simple prince dancing around in la-la-land, Sebastian would have never batted another eye at them. Why would he traverse through their lands and let Hale take him under their wings if there wasn't a viable friendship there? Perhaps Hale hit his head and not Sebastian.

"None of this is fucking easy as you said, but I'm doing my best taking it on the chin and doing what I think is best for my people." How dare they insinuate that the Isley had no care. He may as well just be like the few council members who think his legitimacy is nonexistent at best. Sure, Sebastian would have never perceived this as a life to claim as his own when the majority of his life was spent in Haven with the simple dreams of becoming a blacksmith, well integrated into the community with a family of his own. The minute that reality become nothing but a childhood dream, Sebastian was taking every measure possible to simply walk back into Kings Hill, let alone be crowned king. "I didn't think being honest and having a moment to complain behind closed doors made me an unfit king. So, fuck you Hale." Not inclined to even give the nymph a chance to respond, Sebastian exited the room and headed towards the gardens.

-🥀-

"Sounds creepy as fuck." Hale replied. As the thought of only hearing disembodied voices wasn't one they wanted to entertain. A part of them thought to ask Sebastian if he thought he was losing his mind from hearing the voices. But wisely, did not. Hale's face scrunched at the smart alec, pseudo invitation from their best friend. "...Nah, I'm good." Which the air nymph had wanted more than their fair share to finally live amongst their fellow nymphs in their ancestral homeland. The Divine Forest was far too precious to leave for a reserved guest room in the Kings Hill palace. "You come out of that coma reading thoughts now? Is that what you're saying?" The disbelieving retort was quick on Hale's tongue and left their lips even faster. "'Cause if you're telepathic now, that's a helluva ability to get from a coma." They asked, shooting Sebastian a curious look. Still, they thought it ridiculous for anyone to press a freshly awaken person to resume the life they lived after being unconscious for a fucking week.

A shift in emotion caught Hale's attention before Sebastian's words did. Hell, the combination of how the newly crown King felt and what he said caused their eyes to narrow in unspoken reaction. Suspicion, almost. On the surface, the statement in a joking tone seemed possibly unimportant. Careless even. But the undercurrent of feelings that the nymph felt from him, those emotions felt like provocation. Hale fell quiet and their nostrils flared as they contemplated their next action. The air nymph's lower jaw moved wordlessly, rocking from side to side, as if to unhinge itself from its top half before Hale spoke. "I dance around?" Hale repeated, in a still, calculated tone. "And I live a jovial time?" A cold gaze set upon Sebastian and, faintly, the air nymph wondered how many other times had they simply overlooked the sting disrespect caused by Sebastian's words mingled with the malicious intent of his feelings because they were friends. Who the fuck woke from a coma and told their best friend, inadvertently, how much easier they thought the other's life were simply because it was not theirs to live?

Hale ignored the delicious temptation to rid Sebastian of the very lungs in his still sensitive and healing lungs, as well as what oxygen remained in his hospital suite, before they continued. "It's not your job to know my life story. Or that of my mother's. Hell, you should know the history of my fucking realm. But as a friend, you should've known how I've never pranced around for anything. How my life has been anything but fuckin' jovial, Sebastian." The King's full first name was spat from Hale's lips. ...Rarely did they call him by his entire first name. "You're not the only one who was hidden the fuck away from your home-realm. Everything about my position, about my noble rank, I took. Unlike you, I want my throne. To lead my realm. I didn't have to be guilted and bullied into giving a fuck about my people. Into being a leader. I may be one of the Forest's Princes now. But you are talking to their next King. And you will not disrespect me like that again. Or you will find out just who the fuck you thought you befriended."

Blood boiling and jaw set, Hale's face wore a serious expression. They felt their own emotions and the look on their face hardened. Disbelief. Vaguely, they wondered if this was what something close to betrayal felt like. They shook their head in rejection to Sebastian's offer. "No. Take yourself for a fuckin' walk."

#gvldntrbl #ft. hale roosa #hale x 03 #end here

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mercy-burning · 3 years ago

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Honeybee

Pairing: Spencer Reid x fem!Reader Summary: While attending Seraphina's wedding, Y/N discovers that her crush on her best friend’s older brother hasn’t gone away after all these years. Category: SMUT (18+) Content: Strong language, alcohol consumption, fingering, penetrative/protected sex Word Count: 5.7k

MASTERLIST

NOTE: I know I promised a oneshot over the weekend, but I’m a messy, inconsistent bitch, so you get it a day late 😅🥰

———

Looking back, I was starting to wonder if Seraphina only got engaged and asked me to be her maid of honor just to witness my slow descent into a heaping puddle of lovesick mush.

Truly, it was pathetic.

Yeah, yeah, she was getting married because she loved her fiancé and whatever, obviously, but she was also using it as an excuse to try and get me to admit my feelings for her older brother. Feelings, I might add, that only surfaced when I was a middle schooler and went away once he went off to college.

Sure, I'd thought about him on occasion when he was inevitably brought up around Sera's house throughout the years, but that was it. I'd hardly say I was hard-core in love with him. And I was totally prepared to see him for the first time since our high school graduation.

At least, I thought I was.

And Seraphina—the little shit—knew it, too. The smirk on her face the moment we were all in the same room for the first time in ten years made me want to run and hide more than her brother's figure, right in front of me and hotter than ever.

I was mad. Not at Sera as much, because really there was nothing she could do about the fact that he was her brother, but I was mad at myself. Because how in the hell had it stood to reason that a man I actively didn't think about for a whole decade had this much of an effect on me after all this time?

Honestly? I blame the FBI.

If he'd done literally anything else with his life I probably could have made it. Well, not by much if we're being honest, but come on...

Where he'd been a bit nerdy and reserved as I knew him, the man in front of me had clearly changed. Not just physically, though that was also a pleasant surprise. He looked like he'd been through some shit... And he carried himself taller. There was a new air of confidence that perched on his shoulder and helped him along as he talked with old friends and family members at his sister's rehearsal dinner.

Spencer Reid was older and more experienced this time around, and somehow even more goddamn delicious...

I was a total wreck. And it was about to get a whole lot worse.

He was coming this way. Right for me. He'd noticed me staring at him all night, because I couldn't keep my shit together, and now I was absolutely doomed.

Guess it was a good thing I'd practically grown up with him and knew how to act outwardly.

Still, the moment he was up close and flashing me that little smile of his, I felt the pit of my stomach scream out loud, sending shockwaves through my bloodstream.

"Hey, Honeybee. It's been a while."

Fuck. That fucking nickname...

"Spencer... It has."

When we hugged briefly, I tried as hard as I could not to inhale his scent, knowing that not only was that pathetic and embarrassing, but also I'd never stop smelling it otherwise. I did take note, though, of how strong he was now. He wasn't a bodybuilder of any kind, but he was certainly less bony and more defined.

I had to hold back a whine as I felt him let go of me, because I didn't want to leave his warm embrace but also because I didn't think I could stand to look at his face anymore without losing any and all semblance of my cool.

Still, I let him release me, and even then he didn't go far. We only stood inches apart, and my whole body was practically numb at the proximity. It also didn't help that I had to tilt my head up to see his face— It made me feel extremely submissive, and I could already feel myself starting to shrink.

Whether he was amused at that or just at me in general, the feeling I got was the same.

"Sera tells me you've been busy..." He paused, seemingly searching for the right word, though I could tell he already had it on the tip of his tongue. "Modeling?"

I closed my eyes with a sigh. "It was one job for some obscure European magazine, no one in the country's probably ever heard of it... It's not that big of a deal."

Spencer huffed a laugh. "You sound embarrassed..."

How was I supposed to respond to that? If I lied and told him I wasn't embarrassed, he'd figure it out, and if I told him the truth? I'd still be screwed. Honestly, my best bet was changing the subject.

Though, maybe it wasn't— When I asked him about his travels for work, he ignored it and responded with, "Ah, so you are embarrassed."

"N— I am not!"

"You changed the subject so fast I barely had time to blink... There's nothing to be ashamed of, Honeybee, I don't know why you'd—"

"Look, dude, I'm not ashamed, and I'm certainly not changing the subject. We were on the subject of jobs. So there."

I was aware of how childish I sounded, but I stood my ground nonetheless. And thankfully Spencer seemed to let it go, though not without amplifying that amused sparkle in his eye.

"Okay... Well, I've got some more people to see, but, uh... I'll see you around. Maybe you can show me some of your work."

He didn't even give me time to protest. Though if he had, I was sure I wouldn't have been able to get any words out what with that goddamned face he had, twisted and sculpted into all these beautiful ways that were designed specifically to make me a blubbering hot mess.

I could only gather the courage to nod in response, though he'd turned his back and walked away by the time I got it out.

———

All things considered, I'd managed to avoid him for the majority of the wedding festivities. I focused all my energy on being happy to see my best friend get married, and likewise it seemed that Spencer was inclined to do the same.

He walked his sister down the aisle, and seeing them both so happy truly made my heart sing. To think I'd known them since we were all kids more or less, and now they were both successful, beautiful human beings... It warmed me to my core, and despite the other flames that stung my insides at seeing Spencer in his tux, thing were going swimmingly.

That being said, we were just about two hours into the reception, and there was absolutely nothing stopping me from begging Seraphina to put me out of my misery.

Except maybe pints upon pints of alcohol.

In hindsight, that may not have been a good idea, though. Because as much as the open bar had it benefits, it also hated me. It was mostly my fault, because I was stupid enough to forget that I get frisky when I'm drunk, but that didn't stop me from blaming the bartender for continuing to serve me.

I wasn't quite at the point of all-out inebriation, but I was definitely toeing the line between tipsy flirting and total disaster.

And when Spencer came over to ask me to dance, I knew I was doomed.

I didn't find myself caring about what he was saying, only the fact that he was there, in front of me, putting his hands on me and breathing in the same air that I was putting out. My entire body buzzed, and while I would have panicked otherwise, my tipsy brain welcomed the tingle and made me a bit bolder.

"You enjoying yourself tonight?" he asked, like he couldn't already tell that I was having the time of my life.

"No way. You suck at dancing." The joke rolled off my tongue with ease, a product of years spent teasing him for countless things.

And just like all those times before, he rolled his eyes and then immediately flashed an affectionate smile all the same.

I should have stopped there, maybe tried to do something a bit more romantic like teach him how to dance... Placing his hands and fixing his posture, taking the time to gracefully have an excuse for exploring his body with my hands...

But romance took a backseat when I pressed myself in even closer to him and hummed just under his jawline. "Mmm, but I bet you're good at other things..."

I felt his hands grip my waist just a little tighter, and his throat visibly twitched. "How much have you had to drink, Honeybee?"

"Spencer," I whined, pressing my face into his neck. "Don't tell me you're turning me down, please..."

I could tell by the way he was touching me, his hands wavering and undecided, and the way his heartbeat thrummed loudly and quickly against my own that he wanted nothing more than to entertain my desires.

The thought made me quiver and press further into him. I kissed his jawline tenderly, silently begging him to whisk me away and finally make me his, but it broke my heart a little to feel him peel away from me.

When he looked into my eyes though, I swore the gleam in his own is what put me back together. It could have been the liquor swimming around in my body that made me feel lightheaded, but when Spencer lifted my chin with his fingers and looked me over, I knew that wasn't it. It was wholeheartedly, without a doubt, him.

"Tell you what... You get sobered up by the end of the night, and maybe I'll come find you."

I wanted to nod, but his gentle grip on my chin held me steady—At least until he glided his fingertips down my throat and over my shoulder. Then I downright slumped forward with a whine and a weak nod that seemed to make him smile.

"Thank you for the dance," he said earnestly, leaning forward to press the lightest of kisses to my temple.

Just like that he was gone, and I wanted him back almost immediately.

———

And so the night dragged on, and the longer I sobered up the more it dawned on me what the fuck just happened— What the fuck was going to happen, too, if I played my cards right.

It didn't help that I could practically feel Spencer's eyes on me the whole time. Probably to make sure I really wasn't drinking anymore, a fact that only made this feel more real.

On top of it all, I was starting to lose count of the amount of men here who were trying to buy me drinks. Even if the one man I really wanted tonight hadn't given me a deal, I still wouldn't have accepted them, if only for the pathetic fact that I would have been trying to catch his attention instead.

So much for trying to convince myself I wasn't in love with him...

Was that really what it was? It had to be, right?

Either way, I was determined to find out, and that meant declining every flirtatious offer to drink and dance.

Unfortunately, Seraphina seemed to notice, even on the one day in her entire life she shouldn't have been thinking about anyone but herself. "You're not having fun," she pouted, plopping down next to me and handing me a shot. "Have fun."

I laughed and set the tiny glass down on the table. "I am having fun, I'm just... tired. And being hungover tomorrow does not sound fun."

"Mmm," she responded, visibly suspicious.

I didn't really know what to say to her to convince her not to be though, so I grabbed her hand and smiled. "You're having fun though, right? 'Cause I will not hesitate to kick someone's ass if you're not."

With a bellowing laugh mildly tainted with the smell of champagne, Seraphina squeezed my hand and leaned in close. "I'm having the best time. I couldn't be happier."

"Well, good. You deserve it."

After a small moment of silent shared smiles, my best friend glanced over elsewhere and then back to me with that look in her eye that kind of scared me.

And her words were even scarier... "So, you talk to Spencer at all tonight?"

"Uh— Yeah... Briefly."

"Mhmm... Y'know, I saw you two dancing together earlier. You seemed reeeally close..."

There I was, getting defensive in front of a Reid sibling for the second time that night. And just like before, I was awful at being subtle. "Sera, stop it! It was just a dance..."

"Bullshit! He had his hands all over you, and he had that gross-ass, dreamy-ass look in his eye! He so wants to sleep with you!"

"Sera!" I gently shoved her and tried not to smile at the goofy smile she had plastered on her face.

"Am I wrong?"

"I... I don't..."

"Ha! I'm not wrong!"

The defeated look in my eye did nothing to disconfirm her story.

"So, what's stopping you from letting him?"

I went wide-eyed. "Se—You... You seriously would... You're okay with this? It doesn't... gross you out?"

There were a lot of things I could have seen Seraphina do in that moment, but pinching and yelling at me were not any of them. "Y/N! You idiot! I've been trying to get you two together for years! If I knew all it took was me getting married, I would have accepted Theo Decker's proposal..."

"Wa— In fifth grade? Sera, that wasn't—"

"I know, but you get what I mean! You two are so painfully attracted to each other, it physically hurts me. It's actually disgusting, but if it means there's a chance that you might get to be my sister? I say go for it."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "You... You really mean that?"

"What, you think I'd joke about that?"

Everything that she conveyed to me within the look in her eyes, her words, and the squeezing of her hand over mine told me she was sincere.

"I love you, you know," I told her just as sincerely.

Her smile was as radiant as ever, but the teasing tone in her voice was enough to make me scowl again. "Right back at'cha, Honeybee. Just do me a favor and don't tell me any details. I don't wanna know."

I stuck my tongue out at her, followed by a short shove. "Oh, and as soon as you get back from your honeymoon? I'm kicking your ass for telling him about that nude shoot I did for that magazine..."

She only grinned. "Why? I think I did you a favor..."

I rolled my eyes at her, but in the end, I guess she was right.

———

I shouldn't have been pacing. Really, it was pretty fucking embarrassing the way I walked in circles around my hotel room, waiting for a knock at the door or a text message on my phone, or something to let me know that Spencer had really meant what he said and was on his way to come find me.

I didn't have a single drink after we danced, and I swear to God, if he made me go through this entire night all nervous without the liquor to calm me down, for nothing? I was going to kill him tomorrow.

Later today... Whatever.

The point? I was well and truly ready to feel him taking up my personal space, and I was going to feel like a real idiot if I waited around and prepped and everything, only for him not to show. The funny thing was, it was almost two in the morning, and I would have stayed up until the sun rose for him.

Thank God he had the decency to save me the trouble.

A short two-rap knock on the door made me jump, but I ran at it full-speed, flinging the large wooden panel open and letting its momentum blow cool wind over my body. And I needed it, too.

Because standing right in front of me was Spencer Reid in all his semi-exhausted glory. His outfit was loosened, buttons undone and bowtie untied, hanging limp around his neck. His hair sat wild atop his head and a thin layer of sweat coated his skin. Maybe that last part sounded gross, but looking at him? It was anything but.

Especially when he flashed me that damned smirk. "Someone's eager..."

I tried not to sound as dumbfounded by his presence as I felt. "Well, you made me a good offer I couldn't refuse. Excuse me for being excited."

"And here I thought all this time you hated me, Honeybee..."

"That would be easier, wouldn't it?"

His grin transformed into a full-on beaming smile then, and it only made my skin feel warmer and my heart beat faster. I returned his smile with my own, so genuinely happy to see him again after all this time, and with the brightest show of happiness I'd ever seen.

Turns out, smiling like a lovesick idiot was all I was capable of.

"Are you... gonna let me in?"

The low suggestive tone in his voice had me springing into action, stepping back and allowing him the space to come in. And though he had plenty of room, Spencer still decided to brush his body over mine as he passed. His eyes bore into my own as he gently kicked the door shut and enveloped us in a dimness that came from cheap hotel lighting.

Still, I was unable to speak, and hardly able to even breathe, with each passing second.

And then, his hands were on my waist, pulling me to him with a softness that matched the whisper in his throat as he said, "C'mere..." Looking up at him then, his fingers burning holes through the thin fabric of my dress while he looked back down me, eyes swimming in tender desire... It almost didn't even feel real.

And it certainly didn't feel real when he leaned in, one of his hands coming up to touch my face while the other pressed me firmly against him.

The moment his lips touched mine, I was gone. I positively melted into him, so much so that it felt like I was just becoming a part of him entirely, losing myself in the moment and unwilling to let it go.

Even when he sighed against my lips and parted his own to kiss me deeper, I just followed suit and let him take the lead. We moved together as one, fluidly and with as much eagerness was possible. I'd wanted to get a taste of him for so long, and he obviously felt the same way, what with the thorough and precise exploring his tongue did with my own. It shot warmth throughout my whole being, and my legs threatened to buckle underneath me from how weak they felt.

Spencer seemed to understand what was happening to me, because as soon as I'd thought it, he was just as quick to literally sweep me off my feet, scooping me up bridal style and carrying me over to the large bed in the middle of the room.

"I know we're at a wedding and all, but geez," I laughed, watching as he laid me down gently and crawled over my body. "A little much?"

He only rolled his eyes. "Well, excuse me for trying to be romantic..."

"Mmm, I think you're just being an overachiever. As per usual."

That remark earned me a pinning of my wrists above my head, and the fire that erupted in my very core at my current position only cemented that this was very real.

Spencer grinned, his hips coming down to roll over mine teasingly. He spoke nice and slowly, his voice slicing through my soul like smooth butter. "Oh, Honeybee, I'll show you an overachiever..."

Once again I was rendered speechless. Not like I expected to be talking his ear off or anything, but words genuinely escaped me.

Luckily, Spencer didn't seem to mind. In fact, he knew exactly what to do next, and it made me even hungrier for him than ever before.

He captured my lips in another dizzying kiss, his hands still flexing over my wrists to keep them steady. I moaned softly and writhed against him, and though I would have liked to say that it was a conscious choice to coax him to give me more, really it was just me being unable to handle the fact that this was actually happening.

Actually, if not for the overwhelming and familiar scent of him, I would have thought I was only imagining it.

But alas, here he was in all his floral peppermint glory, grinding his hips down into mine and kissing me like I'd never been kissed before, driving me mad with each adept movement.

Thankfully he seemed to get as lost in the moment as I was, because he loosened my wrists in his grip, and I broke free, flying my hands in between us and down to his belt.

His lips pulled away from mine with a soft smack, a smile forming smugly upon them. "Have you no patience?"

As my fingers fumbled with the metal and leather, I pressed my nose to his and quickly pecked his mouth. "I thought we already established that I have no patience the moment I opened the door..."

"Fair... But still..."

Spencer grabbed my hands again, moving them to my sides and then hiking my dress up slowly. His skin was hot against my own, and it took everything I had not to break down begging for him.

And then he spoke again, his lips barely grazing mine as he did. "Teasing you is so much fun..."

I couldn't really explain what sound escaped me then, but it reminded me of a disgruntled animal, erupting from my throat and getting muffled the moment I took my hands and brought his face to mine. I kissed him fervently as his hands matched the intense nature of my affections— With every soft groan I gave him, he returned it with an inch higher up my leg, until eventually he was toying with the hem of my underwear.

Unable to take it anymore, I gave in and mumbled the most desperate plea I could think of. (Like I had to think that hard...)

"Spencer, please..."

I half expected him to tease me again, but this time I felt him tremble over my body. His fingers slipped under the satin of my underwear and he sighed into my mouth. "God, how could I ever say no to you..."

No sooner had the words left his mouth did he spread me apart with his fingertips, getting a feel for me and a broken sigh falling from his tongue and onto my own. I captured it and kissed him with as much precision as I could while under the influence of his hands working wonders.

Truly, his hands hand a magic of their own that should have been considered as an eighth Wonder of the World. They flexed in all the right places, splitting me open and caressing the most sensitive parts of me, simultaneously breaking me apart and putting me back together...

God, and those was only his hands...

The thought of what else he had waiting for me made me cry out into his mouth, though I'm sure it also had to do with the fact that his fingers were curling expertly inside me and summoning an orgasm that I knew would satisfy us both.

I almost cried out again when his lips left mine, but then they travelled to my neck and paid it the most glorious attention. The alternation of his fingers and his tongue on different spots of my body had me in shambles, and it took no longer than a few seconds to snap.

"Fuck, that's my girl," Spencer grumbled into my neck, helping me through my orgasm. "That's it, honey..."

What I wouldn't have given to hear him talk to me like that until the end of time... His words, their tone and praise seeping into my skin and bringing my soul to life... Coupled with his soft hands and his even softer breath fanning over my neck, I was just about ready to ask him to keep talking to me, to say my name and never stop.

He pulled away though, removing his hand from my lower half and bringing it up to his mouth, and I had the feeling my request wouldn't be a problem.

Spencer's eyes rolled back and his tongue gathered my arousal off his long, well-endowed fingers. And though I could hear his groan well and clear, I felt it more than anything. It reverberated through my body and brought me more to life in a way I never thought imaginable.

No one had ever made me feel that way with one single sound, and that's how I knew.

I thought I knew it from the start—from when we were growing up—that I wanted to be near him forever. But It was always just a silly dream, something I was never quite able to reach, and as I got older and we rarely saw each other, it got harder to even imagine anymore.

Now I didn't have to imagine.

Spencer Reid was right in front of me, touching me, tasting me, verbally praising me with sounds I'd only ever dreamed of...

I wanted him to have his moment, because I was positive he'd wanted this just as much as I did, but this sappy sort of revelation I was having made it nearly impossible to not be utterly wrapped up in him, and I wanted more.

So I wiggled and adjusted myself underneath him before grabbing his hand and placing it over my heart. His eyes widened softly at the sight of me, and I knew then that he was taking the time to memorize my face, and the image of his hand resting at my chest, right where my heart was encased beneath bones, flesh, and fabric.

"I could look at you forever," he whispered then.

I would have been ashamed to admit that I whimpered when he said it, but the way he looked at me afterwards made me feel the exact opposite.

He smiled, using his other hand to come up and touch my face. "You want it bad, don't you, Honeybee?"

I didn't even argue with him this time. My head nodded and my hands reached out to pull him closer. "I want you... More than I've ever wanted anything."

Before he leaned down to kiss me, I could have swore he looked like he was going to shed a tear. The duality of him, his ability to be all teasing and cocky one second and then reduced to a lovesick mess at just a few words from me the next, made my heart sing.

And it kept singing, a sweet, steady melody as Spencer kissed me and touched me like he meant it.

Only this time, he didn't pause or tease me with theatrics. He went straight for the kill, fetching a condom from his pants pocket and then sliding the material down, all while keeping me trapped under his embrace. I welcomed it naturally, humming happily into his neck and jawline and anywhere I could reach as he got us both fully undressed and situated, until finally he had the condom on and his hands rested nicely on either side of my head.

"Promise not to sting me?"

I laughed, draping my arms over his shoulders and flashing him a wink. "Mmm, only if you promise to give it to me good..."

"Deal."

He slowly pushed into me then, and the stretch was far more satisfying than his fingers, though I was in no position to complain either way. If he was even half as skilled with his hips as he was with his hands (which I had no doubts about whatsoever), then neither of us had anything to worry about.

It didn't take long for us to find our rhythm, but I didn't have time to think about that. I was so consumed with just the feeling of him being everywhere that technicalities didn't matter.

That being said, the technicalities were really fucking good.

His hips snapped into mine with sharp precision, and I felt it deep within my bones. My cunt clung around him willingly and accordingly, as did my legs, which hooked over his waist as I dug my heels into his ass.

Meanwhile Spencer grabbed my hands and pinned them above my head again, this time interlocking our fingers and then leaning down to kiss me deeply. It was met with my undying welcome, of course, but with the way he was fucking me, deep and with a devotion that nearly exploded my heart, I couldn't help but whine out for more.

His name was all I could manage.

"What do you want, Honeybee?" he cooed, holding himself deep inside me and grinding his hips in small circles that made it harder to breathe.

"M—More... I..."

"Can you be more specific?"

How he could be such a cocky little shit in this moment I wasn't sure, and it frustrated me to no end. He knew damn well what I wanted, and I knew just the thing that would make him give it to me.

I have him the biggest pout I could, also whining out the most pathetic, "More," in my arsenal. And with a roll of my hips up into his, I gasped out at how deep he got, and whined out again.

"Spoiled brat," Spencer grunted in defeat, retreating only to slam into me at full force.

My small gasps and cries turned into full-blown howls of searing pleasure as he fucked me then. My head tipped back and my back arched slightly, exposing my neck and chest to him, and he took it as an invitation to lean down and put his mouth anywhere he could reach. I was sure there would be small nicks and bruises littered over my skin the next morning, and just thinking of everyone seeing them, seeing Spencer's mark on me, made it harder to prolong the inevitable.

I came with a shout, flexing my hands into his as my body tensed then relaxed, over and over while he whispered praises into my skin. He followed soon after, shoving his face into my neck and muffling the most beautiful sound I'd ever heard as he came.

By then his hands had loosened, so I snuck my own away from his and brought them over to hug him close. One hand knotted into his hair while the other grazed over his back. The thin sheen of sweat forming over his skin once again was more enticing than it probably sounded, but I loved it all the same. I felt him relax and bring his arms down to rest at my sides, his fingertips dancing lightly over my skin and giving me goosebumps.

Then out of nowhere, he said something that confused and mildly panicked me. "I thought you said you wouldn't sting me..."

I pulled away to try and look at his face, loosening my grip on his body. "A—Am I hurting you? I'm sorry..."

He laughed though, peppering tiny kisses up my neck until he got to my jaw. "You're not hurting me, Honeybee... You've just... stung my heart, that's all."

"I... Is that a bad thing?"

"It's a strange thing..."

He looked at me like I was the one thing on the planet he adored, but his words sounded different.

I raised an eyebrow. "You're not helping me understand..."

With another laugh, Spencer Kissed my cheek and rolled off of me, settling for laying on his side and turning me to face him. "Do you remember how I gave you your nickname?"

Despite my confusion about all of this, I entertained him with a huffed laugh. "Yeah, I spilled honey all over my shorts without realizing it, and I had ants all over me in a matter of minutes. I was terrified."

"I was highly amused."

I shoved him. "Yeah, dork, I know you were! You and Seraphina both thought it was the funniest thing on the planet, and then your mom had to come out and spray me down with a hose before I came back in the house."

Spencer barked a laugh, and I wanted to punch it right out of his mouth.

"Tell me again why this is relevant to our current situation?" I reminded him with and sigh, already over his antics.

Thankfully he seemed to take pity on me; He reached a hand out and played with a strand of my hair, smiling even brighter than when I opened the door for him. "That's when I started to feel it. You were just... so cute all angry at me and Sera for laughing, and it... It changed everything."

"You know, that would be more romantic if I hadn't been covered in bugs," I responded with a laugh.

"It's true! And it confused the hell out of me, because how was I supposed to cope with the fact that I actually had a crush on my little sister's best friend like some stupid cliché? You were always so feisty after that, too, and it certainly didn't help... And when I graduated and went off to college, I thought... I thought there was no chance you would ever be able to break the heart you'd managed to steal."

He swiped his thumb gently over my bottom lip and smiled, his eyes going all tear-y again. It sent butterflies through my whole body.

"I would never even dream of breaking your heart, Spencer..."

Our foreheads pressed together then, and the unwavering adoration in his voice when he spoke made me forget all prior confusion and minor embarrassment over re-living our origins.

All that mattered was that he was here, holding me in his arms and making me feel like the luckiest woman in the world.

"I know you won't, Honeybee."

———

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nevermindirah · 3 years ago

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Do you have any thoughts on the use of AAVE for Nile (or lack thereof) in TOG fanfiction? I've been reading some Book of Nile fic and some writers seem to write her as a Millennial™ (using words like "fave" and "woke") but never acknowledge her Blackness in her patterns of speech. I know we don't see her use as much AAVE in the films, but I would argue she's in situations where code-switching would be valued (first in a "professional" environment in the army, then around a group of non-Black strangers).

Hi anon! I have many thoughts on this and I'm honored you asked me! But I should start by saying I'm white and any thoughts Black fans and especially Black American fans have on this that they want to share would be beyond lovely. (I'm not gonna tag anybody bc that feels rude but please add onto this post if any of y'all see this and want to!)

The main reason I personally avoid AAVE for Nile in my own fics is because I'm not Black. But Nile-centric fics by Black writers tend to avoid using much of it too, at least from what I've noticed/understood, and my guess is it's largely for the reason you mention, that she's in situations that encourage code-switching.

In movie canon Nile is highly competent at tailoring her language to each situation she finds herself in. This fantastic linguistics analysis meta shows how skillfully Nile chooses her vocabulary and grammar to meet her goals with different conversation partners in different contexts. In comics canon Nile had a bunch of different civilian jobs before joining the Marines, so she would've had experience code-switching in the ways that made sense for all those different contexts as well as the Marines and her family and high school and wherever else she spent her time before we met her. And now she's spending her time with a handful of immortals none of whom are native English speakers and a fellow Black American but one with a Queen's English UK accent whose professional experience is in the CIA where high-status code-switching is often an absolute must for success or even survival.

Fics featuring Nile are charged with extrapolating from that to how it might show up in her use of language that she's coping with a traumatic separation from her family and her career and pretty much everything she's ever known and now she needs to be able to make herself understood to people who seem to care about her and each other but are super duper in crisis, three (soon to be four) of whom predate Modern English entirely and the only one who's anywhere near her contemporary she's not supposed to talk to for a century. All of these people are telling her that pretty much any contact with any mortals poses an existential threat to her and the rest of the group. How the FUCK is she supposed to cope with that, like, generally? And would it be a more effective way for her to cope if she talked to Andy Joe and Nicky using the speech patterns that she used to use with her mom and brother, to at least retain that part of her identity even if it means having to do a lot of explaining, or would it meet her needs better to prioritize Andy Joe and Nicky understanding what she means with her words over using the particular words and grammar forms she used with her family?

I've seen several fics, both Nile-centric / BoN and otherwise, explore this a little bit in how/whether Nile uses Millennial™ speak. It's often a theme in Nile texting Booker despite the exile because of the popular headcanon that he as The Tech Guy is the only other immortal who understands memes. But Nile's much-younger-than-Booker mom probably uses Boomer and/or Gen X memes and Andy has been adapting to new communication styles for forever as evidenced by her canon high level of fluency with standard-American-accented English.

Which brings us back to people avoiding AAVE because they're not Black and they don't want to make mistakes (or they're not Black and they don't want to get yelled at for making mistakes, though I think many people overestimate how much they'll get yelled at while underestimating how much these mistakes can hurt). I can imagine some Black fans hold back from using much AAVE in fic because they don't want to share in-group stuff with white people who are likely to then adopt and ruin it, as white people so often do with Black cultural stuff. Some links about this including a great Khadija Mbowe video. I'm saying this gently, anon, because you might not know: woke, an example you cited as Millennial™ speak, is AAVE, and that's gotten erased by so many white people appropriating it and using it incorrectly online.

And also there's the part where fandom is a hobby and you never know when you're reading a fic that's the very first thing someone's ever written outside of a school assignment. This cultural considerations of language shit takes a level of effort and skill that not everybody puts into every fic, or even could if they wanted to because they haven't had time to build their skills yet. It's definitely easier for non-Black fans to project our millennial feels onto Nile than to do the layers of research and self-reflection it requires to depict what Blackness might mean to Nile, and it's not surprising that often people sharing their hobby creations on the internet have gone the easier route. There's not even necessarily shame in doing what's easier. It's just frustrating and often hurtful when structural white supremacy means that 3-dimensional Black characters are rare in media and thoughtful explorations of them in fandom are seen by the majority of fans as not-easy to make and therefore Nile Freeman, the main character in The Old Guard (2020) dir. Gina Prince-Bythewood, has the least fic and meta and art made about her of our 5 main immortals.

I've been active in different fandoms off and on for twenty years and I barely managed to write 5,000 words about Sam Wilson across multiple different fics in the 7 years since I fell in love with him. There's an alchemy to which characters we connect with, and on top of that which characters we connect with in a way that causes us to create stuff about them. Something about Nile Freeman finally tipped me over the edge from a voracious reader to a voracious writer. It's not for me to judge which characters speak to other individuals to the level of creating content about them, but I do think it's important for us to notice, and then work to fight, the pattern where across this fandom as a whole Nile gets way less content, and way less depth in so much of the content that's in theory about her, than any of these other characters.

Anyway, back to language. My two long fics feature Nile with several Black friends — Copley and OCs and cameos from other media — but all of those characters except Alec Hardison from Leverage aren't American. It's very possible I'm guilty of stereotyping Black British speech patterns in I See Your Eyes Seek a Distant Shore. I watched hours and hours of Black haircare YouTube videos in the research for that fic and I modeled my OCs' speech patterns on what I heard from some of those YouTubers as well as what I've heard people like John Boyega and Idris Elba saying in interviews, but the thing about doing your best is you still might fuck up.

I'm slowly making progress on my WIP where Nile and Sam Wilson are cousins, and what ways of talking with a family member might be authentic for Nile is a major question I need to figure out. For that, I'm largely modeling my writing choices on how I hear my Black friends and colleagues talking to each other. I haven't overheard colleagues talking in an office in a long-ass time, but back when that was a thing, I remember seeing a ton of nuance in the different ways many of my Black colleagues would talk to each other. Different people have different personalities! And backgrounds! And priorities! A few jobs ago my department was about 1/3 Black and we worked closely with Obama administration staff many of whom were Black and there was SO MUCH VARIETY in how Black people talked to each other, about work and workplace-appropriate personal stuff, where I and other white coworkers could hear. There are a few work friends in particular who I have in my head when I'm trying to imagine how Sam and Nile might talk to each other. From the outside looking in, God DAMN is shit complicated, intellectually and interpersonally and spiritually, for Black people who are devoting their professional lives to public service in the United States.

One more aspect of this that I have big thoughts on but I need to take extra care in talking about is the idea of acknowledging Nile's Blackness in her patterns of speech. There's no one right way to be Black, and Nile's a fictional character created by a white dude but there are plenty of real-life Black Americans who don't use much or even any AAVE, for reasons that are complicated because of white supremacy. (Highly highly recommend this video by Shanspeare on the harms of the Oreo stereotype.)

Something that's not the same but has enough similarity that I think it's worth talking about is my personal experience with authenticity and American Jewish speech patterns. My Jewish family members don't talk like they're in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and I've known lots of people who do talk that way (or the millennial version of it), some of whom have questioned my Jewishness because I don't talk that way. That hurts me. Sometimes when another Jew tells me some shit like "I've never heard a Jew say y'all'd've," I can respond with "well now you have asshole, bless your Yankee-ass heart," because the myth of Dixie is a racist lie but I will totally call white Northerners Yankees when they're being shitty to me for being Southern, and this particular Jew fucking revels in using "bless your heart" with maximum polite aggression, especially with said Yankees. But sometimes I don't have it in me to say anything and it just quietly hurts having an important part of me disbelieved by someone who shares that important part of me. The sting isn't quite the same when non-Jews disbelieve or discount my Jewishness, but that hurts too.

Who counts as authentically Jewish is a messy in-group conversation and it doesn't really make sense to explain it all here. Who counts as authentically Jewish is a matter of legal status for immigration, citizenship, and civil rights in Israel, and it's my number 2 reason after horrific treatment of Palestinians that I'm antizionist. But outside that extremely high-stakes legal situation, it can just feel really shitty to not be recognized as One Of Us, especially by your own people.

It can also feel really shitty to be The Only One of Your Kind in a group, even if that group is an immortal chosen family who all loves each other dearly. Sometimes especially in a situation like that where you know those people love you but there are certain things they don't get about you and will never quite be able to. I'm definitely projecting at least a little bit of my "lonely Jew who will be alone again for yet another Jewish holiday" stuff onto Nile when at the end of I See Your Eyes Seek a Distant Shore she's thinking about being the only Black immortal and moving away from the community she'd built with a mostly-Black group of mortals in that fic. Maybe that tracks, or maybe that's fucked up of me.

Basically, this got very long but it's complicated, writing about experiences that aren't your own takes skill which in turn takes time and practice to build, writing about experiences not your own that our society maligns can cause a lot of harm if done badly, it can also cause a lot of harm when a large enough portion of a fandom just decides to nope out of something that's difficult and risky because then there's just not much content about a character who deserves just a shit ton of loving and nuanced content, people are individuals and two people who come from the exact same cultural context might show that influence in all kinds of different ways, identity is complicated, language is complicated, writing is hard, and empathy and humility and doing our best aren't a guarantee of avoiding harm but they do go a long way in helping people create thoughtful content about a character as awesome and powerful and kind and messy and scared and curious and WORTHY as Nile Freeman.

#nile freeman #linguistics #TOG POC Love Fest #nileweek2021 #tog meta #tog #long post #mine #antiblackness #jewish things #hi i'm an antizionist jew no i don't really want to talk about it

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lilover131 · 3 years ago

Text

Syaoran and Kaito Analysis

So I’ve mentioned recently in a recent fanart and in my analysis of chapter 55, but I have noticed quite a few similarities between Syaoran and Kaito, and upon some observations, I have some theories, particularly in regards to how Kaito views Syaoran. I decided to delve into that a bit, so see under the cut for more! Warning: It’s long. I wrote a lot. >.<

I have a lot to cover, so I thought it might be best to outline in the most simple way possible some things we already know about Kaito.

· He was born gifted with incredible magic. His parentage is unknown and he was “alone for as long as he could remember”.

· It’s unclear where Kaito originated from, but it seems he spent a majority of his life in England.

· He has moon based magic and has a wide variety of talents, but specializes in time magic. It’s unclear if he already had a skill with time magic or if this was obtained after he met Momo. It seems implied that he made a magical contract with her and maybe gained his time abilities from this. But we do know he has the ability to fly, to locate objects, teleport, to talk to animals, and to make something vanish in a mere moment.

· He is also talented in housekeeping skills, such as sewing, cooking, etc.

· He used to be very cold hearted and preferred spending time alone. Kaito changed considerably in personality at some point in his life. It is uncertain exactly what caused this change, but it seems likely that Akiho’s mother was the catalyst for this.

· He is part of a very powerful group of magicians called as we know it ‘The Association’ and is revered as one of its most powerful with the title ‘D’. He recently betrayed them and left, taking Akiho with him.

· He protects and seems to care for Akiho

· He is preparing for an event labeled as “that time” and needs Sakura to create a specific card.

· He is putting himself in extreme physical danger for his goals, seemingly for Akiho’s sake.

· He has been noted as always smiling to ‘hide his pain’.

So when I look at all of these facts about Kaito, I noticed something interesting. Syaoran too could be described by almost all of these things. You might think “Wait a minute Chrissy! Kaito and Syaoran are nothing alike!”, but please hear me out.

Syaoran too was born gifted with incredible magic. He also draws his power from the moon (a connection that has already been pointed out by CLAMP) and has a knack for household skills as well, being very independent from a young age. Like Kaito, he was cold hearted in his earlier years, preferred to be alone (according to Meiling in the original 90’s anime in episode 43), and had a drastic change in personality later on, particularly after meeting Sakura. Syaoran is part of a very powerful group of magicians as well, the Li clan, and is one of the strongest within it and destined to be the next leader. Similarly, Syaoran too is preparing for some kind of event, a future seen by his mother, and is doing everything to prevent this, even if it causes him physical harm (as we’ve seen with him struggling to conjure the Sakura cards). In order to keep Sakura in the dark as to not worry her, he has been using a smile to ‘hide his pain’.

Now you may be wondering “Okay, so they have a few things in common, but they are still completely different!”. And you would be right. They are two completely different people after all, but try to think of them as two sides of the same coin. This beckons another question: How did two people who are so similar turn out so differently?

This is really where their differences in personality shine through, but part of it I believe is due to their backgrounds as well. For example, Kaito was picked up by the Association at a young age due to his skills with magic and was taken in to “use that magical power to accomplish their own tasks”. Based on their record of not having a great reputation, according to Eriol, and their treatment of Akiho by assisting her Clan in turning her into a magical device, it seems likely that Kaito was not treated kindly by anyone in the Association. In fact, he was probably left alone nearly all of the time unless his strengths were needed, and took care of himself in the remainder of that time. He was surrounded by people but still completely alone, and he preferred to be this way. This cold background of his really prevented him from being able to open up his heart to anyone. But he does seem to be much different around Akiho.

Syaoran, on the other hand, was surrounded by loving and caring family members. Although he preferred to be alone in his earlier years, he wasn’t actually alone at all. His mother was protective of him (like cutting his hair until he was strong enough to protect himself from things like scissors near his neck), and his sisters adored him and undoubtedly showered him with love at every opportunity. But even with that love from them, he was still somewhat cold hearted (though not as much as Kaito) until he met Sakura.

Their backgrounds do differ from each other, but I think the biggest difference in them of all is how they handle their feelings. When Syaoran first started to realize his feelings for Sakura, he struggled quite a bit and was in a great amount of denial, even physically running away at times when confronted with them. It was when he finally came to terms with his heart and confessed his feelings to Sakura that he underwent a great change and became the Syaoran we know today.

So what about Kaito?

Well, Kaito I believe is in that same stage of denial where he is refusing to come to terms with his feelings, whatever those may be. It’s clear that he cares about Akiho, but when she or Momo try to have a serious discussion with him or get him to talk about those feelings, he goes out of his way to change the subject (or once with Momo, actually fled at the first opportunity, which is just like Syaoran used to do!). It is something he is clearly uncomfortable with, and I think that is because it is unfamiliar territory for him. He is used to not feeling anything at all, so having to actually think about his feelings and reasons for doing things is unbearably frightening. He can handle any magical opponent any day (except Sakura of course), but being open and honest about his feelings? That’s another battle entirely that he doesn’t know how to handle without his magic to use as a crutch.

Momo mentioned in chapter 39 how Kaito had made a great deal of changes, all so that Akiho could live comfortably and pleaded internally “peer deep inside your heart. And don’t avert your eyes”. This was said again in chapter 51 when she stated “I implore you Yuna D. Kaito. Listen…to your heart”.

In the very next chapter, it is none other than Syaoran who has a discussion with Sakura about how his mother had told him “If you possess great magic power…when you feel pounding and stirring in your chest��you shouldn’t ignore it. You need to listen to your intuition. I think that goes for everyone, magic or no magic. I don’t think anyone should turn a blind eye to their own heart”. We also know that in that same conversation with his mother, thanks to the mini chapter provided with the special edition of volume 9, that Yelan said to him then “If there’s something you want to accomplish, then training with your spells is surely important, but...more than anything else, you have to face your heart”. She went on to tell him how important it was to listen to his heart and that “If you lie to yourself, you will sadden the person who loves you so dearly”.

And that, my friends, is the major reason for Syaoran and Kaito being so different despite their many similarities. One listens to his heart while the other adamantly turns away from it. This leads me to my next topic (thank you for anyone who has read this long into it. I appreciate it!), and that is in regards to Kaito’s feelings about Syaoran.

I have noticed that Kaito in general tends to act quite differently in regards to Syaoran than he does anyone else. It starts at the very first time they met, when they made their introductions. Despite working so diligently to keep himself hidden from Akiho and Sakura, he did the complete opposite with Syaoran. He had to have known that being able to sense his magic and being given his name and title, that Syaoran would go and research who he was. He wanted Syaoran in particular to know who he was, which I believe is also why he allowed him to speak with Eriol initially. I say allowed, because we know he clearly had the potential to cut off communications at any point in time, and he only stepped in to shut this down when Eriol started talking to the others (Kero and Yue). He clearly wanted to control what information people knew about him, and Eriol crossed a line. He also put spells on Syaoran that would not allow him to communicate with others about him, so again showing he wanted him to know about him, but not to be able to tell anyone else about him, especially Sakura.

Another occasion I found intriguing was chapter 34 in the scene with the pool. Kaito stopped time, but for some reason, allowed Syaoran to move freely as well. Why is this? He could have easily frozen Syaoran too, but he made a conscious decision to allow Syaoran to move.

Then we come to perhaps the most telling scene so far, which is the battle he and Syaoran had in chapter 41 and 42. In a moment where he could have easily stopped time and rewound so that Syaoran never approached him, he instead decided to have a full discussion with him and even go as far as to engage in battle with him in stopped time. In this ‘discussion’, he stated several facts that he knew about Syaoran, who was pointedly not responding to them and seemed solely focused on Sakura. Some of the details about him were probably common knowledge to the magical world, but some of them seemed oddly personal, such as him being a ‘diligent student’, as if to show he had been watching him for quite some time.

Something about the interaction was different than others. It was as if he was observing Syaoran in that moment to see how he would react to hearing certain things. He then mentioned after seeing Syaoran use the Sakura cards how rewriting a contract once written takes a toll on even the strongest magician and he said “Is this all…for Sakura too?”. I think what he was trying to say here is that he recognizes the efforts he’s making for Sakura and may even feel a connection to him because of his own efforts for his own wish.

In chapter 42, continuing on with this conversation, Kaito seemed ready to turn back time the moment he realized they were no longer alone and that Sakura was able to move, but he still had more to say. Syaoran reacted to Sakura calling out for him, and it was at this moment that Kaito said “You certainly are honest, aren’t you? One look at your face, and I know exactly what you’re thinking” (even Eriol made several comments about Syaoran’s honesty in the original series). Once again, he’s showing here that he’s observing Syaoran, but why? For what reason does he bring this up? I think he says this because it is something so foreign to him and fascinates him. Kaito is so used to hiding his feelings and being unable to express them, but Syaoran is the complete opposite in the fact that he can so easily show his feelings and it is not his nature to conceal them. Kaito followed this by bringing up that Syaoran had suppressed that honesty when he came to Japan, which we know was through his fake smiles (something he is all too familiar with). Yue also said to Syaoran in chapter 27 that he had been hiding behind a smile and ordinarily was much more unrestrained in how he expressed his emotions, no matter what that emotion may be.

I wonder if Kaito said this because he wondered “how is it that he’s able to be so honest?” or maybe he was trying to show that he understood his reasons for hiding behind a smile, pointing out the similarities between them; that they were not so different despite having different goals. Kaito’s next comment in particular is probably what caught my attention the most. He divulged the detail about how Syaoran suppressed his honesty particularly to try and prevent the future that his mother saw. Even Syaoran seemed surprised by this, and he had good reason to be! This was likely a very personal moment, one he hasn’t even told Sakura about yet, and this implies that he might have been there when this particular moment happened. It makes sense too, considering Akiho had stated in her very first appearance that she was in Hong Kong just before coming to Japan, meaning she and Kaito were certainly there at the same time Syaoran was, at least for a brief time. This means he probably saw all the effort he was putting in for Sakura’s sake and maybe this resonated with him. I think maybe he also saw how his older sisters, even though they had no magic of their own, are treated with respect in the Li clan, unlike Akiho with her own. Kaito has only ever known a world where those who are strong are used and those who are weak are deemed worthless (like Akiho), but yet Syaoran lives in a world where both live harmoniously. Sakura’s world in Tomoeda is the same as well and filled with kindness, far different from any other experience Kaito has had, and this must have been quite the culture shock! But more importantly, Syaoran and Sakura have all the things that he and Akiho never had.

Another interesting thing to note here is that Kaito was supposedly expelled from the association about a year ago due to stealing a powerful magical instrument that was forbidden to be taken (which we now know to be Akiho herself). And guess what else happened about a year ago? About a year ago, Syaoran went back to Hong Kong to handle his ‘important things’. Coincidence? Well, famously CLAMP series often say there is no such thing as coincidence...only hitsuzen.

Just as he is about to send another attack at Syaoran, he talks about how he and Syaoran both do not have the power of divination, but that “it is for the strong to decide…what the future holds in store for us all”. I think what he meant here is “Neither of us know how this is going to turn out, but the both of us are working hard for our own goals, so may the best man win”. However, before he could go any further, Sakura used TRANSFER to switch places, and he is both surprised by this, but quite quickly decides to end things and rewind time at this moment, indicating that he had not really wanted to engage with Sakura at all at this point in time. He had even stated at the beginning of chapter 42 that he had intended to keep her frozen and only have Syaoran able to move, meaning this whole situation had only been kept going for this long so that he could talk to Syaoran.

After rewinding time and talking to Akiho later that evening, he mentioned how Parent’s day was “quite illuminating”. This could have been said about his newfound knowledge of Fujitaka, but I also believe he learned quite a bit from Syaoran as well.

Now we finally get to the more recent chapters, like 54 and 55. While sitting together at the botanical garden, Kaito puts yet another spell on Syaoran to force him to smile against his will to avoid any suspicion. I feel like this was not just to keep the peace but also somewhat of a way to toy with and tease Syaoran. What better way to get under the skin of someone so honest and open with their feelings than to force them to hide these under a smile unwillingly? I think this was the mischievous side of Kaito showing and almost like a big brother teasing a little brother, but unfortunately for him, he pushed things too far with this, and not only did Sakura notice something was wrong, but this allowed the spell to be broken, and Syaoran wasted absolutely zero time saying the things he had been suppressed in saying before.

Cue to chapter 55, our most recent chapter. Sakura has managed to keep herself from being frozen in time, and she starts off with a few basic questions. The first one was if he knew about her being able to use cards. Kaito answered simply “Yes”. But when asked about if he knew about Syaoran, he gave two very specific details about him, particularly that he knew he was a gifted sorcerer and that he was the next head of the Li clan”. He could have just answered yes, the same way he responded in regards to Sakura, but instead he seems to have wanted Sakura to know in that moment that he knows a lot of information about Syaoran and not just that he can use magic. The two then exchange meaningful looks, and it’s right after this that she looks over to Syaoran and Akiho, looking almost worried. Now, it’s not clear what they were both thinking in this moment, and it’s possible that I am overthinking this one, but I find it fascinating that his answer was so detailed here, and I don’t feel like that was for nothing. Ohkawa has always been very thoughtful about the words she writes in her scripts, and I think this is no exception.

Anyways, I feel like we’ll get more definitive answers in the future, but I’m incredibly intrigued to see if there are any further and more concrete connections between them. I feel like CLAMP has done quite a bit to point out similarities between the two, and it should be a wild ride from here on out!!

#cardcaptor sakura #clear card #alaysis #syaoran #kaito #clamp #spoiler #chrissy talks a lot #this was a long one

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kerie-prince · 4 years ago

Text

change of pace

Fred Weasley x Slytherin!reader

requested: (@pinkdevile) hey bae, can i request a one shot or headcanon about fred being whipped by one of ron classmates that is a non-pureblood slytherin and kind of prodigy in magic and how would he react to her being a typical dry slytherin and being a prodigy and good at everything?

summary: What happens when a red lion who lives in the moment falls for a green snake with plans for her future? Romance, of course.

a/n: stereotypical, yes but i had fun writing this :) also, i know my posting schedule keeps changing, so sorry about that 🥺 i got lots of requests (thank you guys SO much!) and i'm trying to not make them all sound the same. i'm looking up synonyms and all that stuff lol

(gif cred)

You were the least Slytherin person in your house. But maybe that's made you even more of a Slytherin. Your traits were that of a typical member of the house of snakes. No, you weren't a rude bitch; you had ambition that rivaled that of a Gryffindor and it wasn't even one of their traits. You aimed for the stars and your pride proved that you could do that and more. You are the best witch of your class, and maybe even your school.

And it was this reputation that caught the attention of someone who is quite the polar opposite. You were calm and collected. He was a wild card and unpredictable. Fred Weasley had his eyes on you and was going crazy for you. It all started when one day, he was with his friends and brothers in the Great Hall during lunch when you had walked up to Ron and Harry, “Hey Ron, were my notes able to help you?”

“Yeah, loads. Thank you, Y/N.” Lee was in the middle of a conversation with his best friends when he noticed Fred wasn't responding to anything he was saying. “Mate, you okay?” When you walked to your table, Fred scooted closer to his younger brother, “Dearest brother, how are you?”

“What do you want?” Ron saw right through him. He knew when Fred wanted something from him, just like now.

“Well I’m offended that you would assume something,” Fred held a hand over his chest with a fake offended look on his face, “can’t a person ask about the well being of his baby brother?” Ron had a deadpan expression and Harry was laughing at Fred’s exaggeration. “Fair enough. Who was that?”

“Who? Y/N? She’s in mine and Harry’s class, why?” Ron had taken a large bite from his turkey leg.

“What’s she like?” Fred inquired. Ron thought about it for a minute, “Dunno, she’s pretty quiet.”

“If I didn't know any better, I’d say that Freddie here fancies someone,” George teased. The surrounding friends laugh and point towards Fred. “I don’t fancy anyone. I’m just asking a simple question.”

Hermione and Ginny later joined the group. “What’s all this fuss about?” Hermione questioned.

“Fred’s asking about Y/L/N,” Harry caught Hermione up to speed. “Why? You’re not thinking of doing anything to her, are you?” Hermione started to scold the older boy.

“Why is it that you lot always think I’m up to no good,” Fred sighed.

“Because you’ve never been up to any good,” Ginny teased her older brother. Fred rolled his eyes and turned back to try and find you at your table. You had a couple of friends with you and a small book in your hand as you ate. Fred was determined to get your attention somehow.

✿✿✿✿✿✿

You sat in the library by yourself. You had spent the majority of the afternoon grading first years’ papers for Snape’s class and working with Hermione and Katie on a project for Ancient Runes. Giving up your weekends to study wasn't all that bad. The feeling of being on top was rewarding.

It was funny; your parents had stopped caring about your grades all together because they already knew what they were going to read. Not that they weren't supportive or proud of you. At family gatherings on your father’s side, he loved seeing the looks on his relatives’ faces when he boasted that you were the best student at Hogwarts.

But they have told you on many occasions that it wouldn't kill you to have at least one E. They wanted you to be able to have a normal teen life and have fun. Go to parties, get in trouble every now and then. You assured them that you were fine and all and even believed it yourself. You never had interest in breaking the pattern you had set.

The library was nearing its closing time and you packed your things. When you walked out the grand doors, a tall figure came in front of you and nearly knocked down all the books you carried. His hands caught whatever you couldn't hold before it hit the floor.

“Sorry about that,” you looked up at the towering boy. Your breath slightly hitched at the sight of his attractive face. His cheekbones were defined and his skin looked soft. You didn’t realize that you were staring, nor that he was also staring at you as well. Finally, he spoke up and handed you the book he was holding for you. “I believe this is for you.”

His mouth moved, but you were so distracted that it didn't occur to you he had actually said anything until you saw him looking at you expectedly. “Oh, thank you.” You started heading towards the dungeons when he jogged towards and stopped in front of you. “Aren’t you in the same class as Ron?”

“Yes, how did you know that?”

“I saw you talk to him the other day,” he told you. “I’m Fred.” He reached to shake your hands but then pulled it back when he remembered that your hands were full at the moment.

Ah, so this is Fred you thought. You've heard of him, who hasn't? Years of being at Hogwarts, tales of him and his equally devilish brother creating havoc around campus have traveled from one student to another. How you two had never seen one another until this point was surprising. It’s not like Hogwarts was a large school, but it wasn't small either.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Y/N.” You nodded your head towards him to replace a handshake. Ten seconds of silence caused you to walk past him and return to the path to the dungeons. “W-wait!” Fred called out.

He stood in front of you once again, one of his hands positioned in front of you to block you from walking past him again. “Would you like to get a butterbeer tomorrow?”

If there was anything you didn't like, it was being put on the spot. And another thing? Your routine being disturbed. Your Sunday was all planned out. Helping Sprout with her greenhouse to earn extra house points, tutoring some younger years, and getting a head start on your homework that wasn't even due for another week.

“I’m sorry, but no.” You gave him an apologetic smile as you walked away. Once again, he ran in front of you but this time merged with you and actually caused all of your books to fall.

“Merlin, I’m so sorry,” he bent down to help you pick them up. Fred usually isn't this clumsy or nervous. He usually charms his way through anything, but he was becoming like putty out of nowhere. “Okay, well what about Honeydukes next Saturday?”

“Sorry, but no again.” You started walking away for the nth time and turned around to look at him for the last time, “Please don’t follow me again.” And you were gone. But did this mean that Fred gave up on any chance he had? No. Far from it. If anything, it gave him reason to want to try harder.

He walked all the way to the Gryffindor house and luckily found Hermione studying in the common room with Pavarti and Lavender. There was a spot open next to her and when Ginny was about to take the spot, Fred grabbed her arm and pulled her away to steal the seat.

“Um, excuse you, I was going to sit–”

“Tell me everything you can about Y/N,” Fred interrupted his sister.

✿✿✿✿✿✿

He had tried to learn as much as he could about you. Fred learned that you had the top grades. Much like Harry did, you had learned the Patronus Charm before not only before your own class, but even Fred’s charms class. Your dad's a wizard, and your mum's a muggle. But most importantly, you were a picture perfect student, and although you didn't have any apparent hobbies, you picked up just about everything with ease.

A couple of weeks had passed and every other day, Fred had made any type of excuse to come see you.

‘Oh, my next class is in this direction’ It wasn't.

‘I like that book, too!’ You were, in fact, not holding a book but your personal journal.

‘Funny running into you here!’ It was in the Great Hall during breakfast.

Now, you didn't hate these interactions. They didn't do anything to your routine, and they were actually cute attempts to get your attention. But you didn't think you had any time for anything else. Or anyone else.

“You should give him a chance, Y/N/N. Live a little. I think the top student can take a bit of time for herself at least once,” your friend Millicent advised. Astoria agreed with her, “He’s cute~.” You slightly blushed in your book and pushed their arms away.

“I’ve never been on a date before,” you whispered. The two girls looked at each other confused before turning back to look at you. “Huh?”

“I’ve never been on a date before!” You flinched when you realized your voice was louder than intended. Your friends laughed when you looked towards the Gryffindor table to make sure Fred didn't hear you. He was talking to his friends, so that meant he didn't. Only he did, but felt your eyes on him so he pretended he didn't.

“So this is the perfect reason to go out with him! Go ask him out,” Millie pushed. She was persistently tapping on your arm until you eventually stood up. You took a deep breath to gather confidence and walked towards the table of red and gold.

When Fred's eyes met yours, you turned around and walked out of the Hall. He stood up from his seat and chased after you. He kept bumping into people, including Filch in the hallways. Filch yelled for him to stop, but of course Fred ignored him and kept going.

Momentarily, he lost you in the crowd of mixed color robes until he saw you sitting by yourself on a bench under a tree. He walked towards your direction and asked you with his eyes if he could take the seat next to you. You scooted down more to let the tall boy sit down.

Neither of you said anything for a few moments. You fiddled with your fingers on your lap and he stared up at the sky. “Nice day, innit?” Fred started the conversation. “Yes, it is.”

“Good weather to go walking around Hogsmeade” Fred tried one last attempt in asking you out.

“It would be,” you accepted.

He let out a sigh in defeat, “I know I ask a lot, but maybe just this once– wait, what did you say?” You looked up at him and smiled for the first time. His heart skipped a beat and the butterflies fluttered about inside.

“I’ll go with you.” He was so excited that he jumped up and did an air punch of victory. You laughed to yourself and when he looked at you, you had an eyebrow raised. He blushed in embarrassment and scratched the back of his neck. “I’ll see you tomorrow then?”

“Promptly at 2 in the afternoon in front of the Slytherin dorms. Don’t be late,” you stood up with confidence. You walked back to the Hall to tell your friends, cheeks warmed and ears blushing. “So?” Astoria asked.

“It’s just a date, that's it,” you sounded nonchalant about it, but the smile on your face said differently. You were excited for your day with Fred and for all, unpredictable adventures to come.

A much needed change of pace.

—

requests open!

#fred weasley #fred weasley imagine #requested #requests open #fred weasley fluff #fred weasley x reader #fred weasley x slytherin!reader #fred weasley x you #fred weasley x y/n #harry potter imagine #fred x you #fred x reader #fred x slytherin!reader #fred x y/n

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ddarker-dreams · 4 years ago

Note

That last ask got me thinking! How would the bucci gang react to meeting SR reader's family? Not all of them but like a visiting grandparent(who is likely very unaware their precious grandchild is working with the mob to pay off awful debts-which reader would like to keep that way), but like who's falling all over themselves to impress said relative, who would be subtly trying to get their blessing to date reader, what shenanigans would reader the gang go to keep this person in the dark??

ohhh what an interesting situation!!! some of them would definitely handle it better than others...

Here’s the general concept! Reader’s grandparents are coming to pay their granddaughter a visit in Naples, under the impression she’s been studying there the past few years. Reader has asked some of the members of her team to further validate her story. I imagine everyone as trying to actively court Reader to some extent during this. :’)))

Bruno Bucciarati;

Bruno is a revered member of the community. Any of the troublesome details of his Passione involvements would be lost in translation, so you figured he’s a safe bet. He’s also the member who is most familiar with your situation. While he speaks under the pretense of being professional, he would love to have that connection with your family for... any future possibilities. Marriage possibilities.

He spots you in a mild state of panic, and boasting the compassionate heart he has, is led to ask if you want to talk to him about it. When you explain that some of your foreign family is coming to visit, he can immediately read between the lines. You need to play this part perfectly. He’ll offer to accompany you on one of his less busier days, willing to do whatever it is that’d help.

The language barrier doesn’t matter too much! Bruno is still a gentlemen. Opening doors for them, pulling out their chairs, offering to pay for any of your meals... he’s very kind. Your grandparents are going to be quite fond of him by the end of your day together. All according to his plan.

Unfortunately for you, Bruno is going to be offering lots of praise that he fully expects you to translate. It’s a bit embarrassing how genuine he’s being. Speaking about how hard a worker you are, how nothing gets in your way, stuff like that. Your face is on fire as you translate the heartfelt compliments. You end up toning them down a bit for your sake.

“[First] is one of the most reliable people I know. You should take pride in having helped bring up someone like her. I promise I’ll continue to look after her, you have nothing to worry about.”

“Ahh... Bucciarati, do I really need to tell them that...?”

Giorno Giovanna;

He speaks some English! Giorno did well in his classes at school, so he can understand the basics. Having a knowledge of multiple languages in his position is also a benefit, so he never fully stopped studying it. Though he’d prefer not to mess up any of the pronunciation in front of you. He’ll be practicing in secret as not to embarrass himself, and definitely thinks this is a great opportunity to get closer to you. It’s a shame he can’t take full advantage of it, but he’s going to try to.

Giorno hasn’t really had any positive family interactions, but he’s still good with people. Unfortunately, in his new position, he’s extremely busy. He still tries to make time for you when he can, but won’t be able to hang out with the three of you as much as he’d like to. He does find the time to come to the airport with you, under the pretense that a lot of shady business goes on there. He wouldn’t want your family being scammed. Don’t ask how he knows about this...

The entire car ride to their hotel will be filled with pleasant conversation. Giorno is a natural at reading the room, and backs your story up to perfection. Any potential discrepancies are covered up with ease. He came in for a clean save at least once or twice when you made a mistake, and you couldn’t thank him enough after.

Giorno isn’t going to want to pry into your personal life, but would be highly amused over any stories they tell him. Even though it’s only a forty minute drive, he enjoyed his time a lot more than he expected to, learning some new things about you in the process. You’re a bit frazzled over the person who is technically your boss (even if he’s not big on formalities...) knowing about your embarrassing childhood stories. He finds it endearing. :’)

He’s gonna bring it up afterwards during a casual discussion, sporting a little devious smile.

“So, [First], do you want to tell me about that time you got stuck in a swing set again? It seems quite unlike you.”

“God... I can’t believe they told you that. I was hoping you wouldn’t understand it well.”

Guido Mista;

Oh no.

You’re going to have to explain to him that a few changes will need to occur if he is to meet your grandparents. For one, he needs to take a shower. Two, he needs something that at least covers his midriff. If there conditions are met, you’ll allow it. He is not missing out on this opportunity to win you over, so he’s surprisingly amiable to these conditions, ready to do his best to make a good impression. You’ve never see him so agreeable.

You do have to keep reminding him of the story that you’re sticking to. Mista makes a few mistakes here and there, but manages to laugh it off. Since you’re going to be translating a majority of his sentences it’s not a big deal. That doesn’t mean he won’t at least try to say a few words in English... results varying.

The most difficult part is trying to ignore the Pistols, who are swarming around in excitement. They keep speaking to your grandparents like they can hear them. Asking for embarrassing stories, to know about your past partners, or for any cute childhood photos of you. Mista struggles to keep a composed look when all this is happening.

“Say, [First]. Your grandparents... they aren’t Stand users, are they?”

“No, Mista. My grandparents aren’t Stand users.”

To be honest, you weren’t too sure if Mista tagging along for some sightseeing would be the best idea. It goes a lot better than you expected. Some of his comments that you translate actually get your grandparents laughing! What a miracle, he’s gonna be grinning ear to ear. Mista is just a lovable guy.

He is going to 100% try and sneak in a question about your relationship status when you’re not paying attention. Mista has to make sure you’re still on the market. B)

Pannacotta Fugo;

He’s actually your go to for this situation. It couldn’t be a better setup. Fugo is intelligent, can speak English the most fluently out of everyone in your team, and would be a big help for sightseeing. As soon as he heard about your grandparents visiting, he knew it was only a matter of time until you came to him for help. At first, he was intent on politely turning you down, but god... how can he? You’re too cute, looking at him like that, saying you need his help. Fuck, he’s so whipped for you lmao.

Fugo is the most anxious about it. What if your grandparents don’t like him? What if he accidentally says something offensive? Or even worse, what if he blows your cover, and you hate him forever? He’s gonna being shutting himself in his room, refreshing his English nonstop. You have to admire his dedication.

When the time finally comes, it goes a lot smoother than he anticipated. There’s no humiliating himself in front of you like he feared. Fugo is a bit stiff at first, but with your help, begins to ease up. He’s an amazing tour guide! Fugo knows the best places to go, what times they’ll be busy, the historical and cultural significance of every place, etc. When he starts talking about trivia you can tell he’s in his element.

It’s going so well. That is, until your grandma says you have such a nice boyfriend. Fugo’s entire face goes beet red. If only.

“A-ah, Mrs. [Last], we’re not dating, actually.”

“We aren’t, but... you’re right. Fugo is amazing, isn’t he? There’s nothing he can’t do. I appreciate him a lot.”

On that day, Pannacotta Fugo’s soul ascended. He legitimately cannot stop thinking about this. For you, his crush of many years, to compliment him so genuinely? Fugo.exe has stopped responding .

Narancia Ghirga;

He kinda invites himself along? Narancia is giving himself a bunch of pep talks, thinking of all the things he can say. His train of thought is that if he speaks English well, it’ll impress you! There’s nothing he wants more in this world than for you to think he’s cool and reliable. The problem is that most of his knowledge of English is only from music. So he’s more familiar with vulgarities than anything else.

You’re understandably hesitant to allow Narancia to tag along. Then he makes the solid point to you that Aerosmith’s radar would come in handy, detecting any potential threats. Narancia is going to be sporting the brightest smile when you concede and say he can come with you, practically vibrating with excitement. He promises that you won’t regret picking him.

The place he picks to go is a local pizzeria. In his opinion, the pizza you’ve spoken of back home is an insult to humanity. Naples style is the only way to go. He insists on letting your grandparents try “real” pizza, as opposed to whatever your country has.

Narancia reminiscences about a lot of your past stories together. Nothing that has incriminating undertones, just casual stuff from your years of knowing one another. You’re almost surprised by how he’s remembered all of this. He can’t help it, any time spent with you has been forever imprinted into his mind.

“So, there was this one time we spent hours looking for [First]’s lost wallet. Come to find out that she just left it in the glove department after we spent the entire evening searching for it. And then--”

“Narancia, do you have to bring that up? It’s so embarrassing...”

Leone Abbacchio;

You’re going to have to pull out some incredible arguments to get him to come along with you. He’s going to say no before you even get the chance to ask, already sensing what it is you’re going to say. So be ready to break out some Ace Attorney level stuff or it’s no dice. He’s already offering special treatment by even letting you try to convince him, anyone else would’ve been shooed away. He has a big soft spot for you :’)...

The most you’ll get him to agree to is one dinner. That’s it. Abbacchio has a lot of baggage with him, and doesn’t think highly of himself. To be honest he’s wondering why you’re even relying on him here. It’s strange, since he appreciates the trust you must have for him, but also doesn’t think it’s deserved.

He cleans up well. Abbacchio is going to take this occasion very seriously. For most of the dinner he listens to you speaking, rarely offering input unless he finds it necessary. When he does speak he’s more polite than you’ve ever heard him though. You almost wondered if it was Abbacchio who was speaking, and not some imposter. So he is capable of having manners when he wants to...

He’ll also pay for the dinner, much to your surprise. Will insist on it even. Abbacchio tells you to let them order whatever desserts/wine they want. He’s pulling all the stops to make a good impression.

“Abba, you really didn’t have to do all that. Please at least let me reimburse some of it.”

“Would you stop bringing it up already...? They’re your family, so it’s only natural I’d take care of them.”

Trish Una;

As the only non Passione member on this list, Trish is an excellent choice! Her singing career is really starting to take off. Your family will find her to be impressive. You’ll have to think of a story for how the two of you are familiar with one another. You can’t very well say you used to be her bodyguard protecting her from assassins lmao.

Since she needs to travel a lot to different venues for her career, Trish’s English is steadily improving. She’ll normally text you for help if anything is particularly challenging. The biggest challenge would be aligning your schedules together, at the same time they’re visiting. Trish has a way of making time for you.

One of the things Trish loves to do is give gifts from her travels. So she’ll show up with some little souvenirs for them. It’s a very heartfelt gesture that they appreciate, and she even gives you a gift or two. The queen of good impressions.

Throughout the years, Trish has managed to gather a sizeable collection of selfies from when you’ve spent time together. At some of her albums release parties, trips to the beach, the times you’ve travelled together. She’s going to have a lot of fun going through her hundreds of photos of you and showing them.

“Trish, you almost need a SD card for all of these. Just how many pictures of us do you have?”

“Oh, this is just the beginning, [First]. I have a whole other album of when we went to Milan last spring.”

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kisshwa · 4 years ago

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𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐙 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 - they forget your child’s birthday

「 seonghwa 」

“forgetting a dinner? okay, i can understand that. but forgetting your son’s birthday, seonghwa?” you whispered quietly in the kitchen. “that’s crossing the line. how do you forget something like that?”

he sighed deeply, turning on his heels to search for his son. he was laying on his stomach in his room, playing with the new dinosaurs his grandma had bought him when seonghwa walked in. y/s/n scrambled to his feet happily and threw his arms around his father’s neck. “daddy!”

“happy birthday, baby boy.” seonghwa kissed all over his face. “i’m sorry i’m late.”

“it’s okay.” he crawled down and turned to gather his new toys to show his dad. “you’re here now. that’s all that matters.”

「 hongjoong 」

hongjoong rarely forgot special days. it was unlike him. but when eight o’clock rolled around and he had still not shown up, you sent your teary-eyed daughter up to get ready for her bath. it was her sixth birthday and she had waited all day for her daddy to come back from the studio, only to be greatly disappointed.

“how about we watch a movie?” you suggested, holding back your own emotions for the sake of your child. “i bought alvin and the chipmunks.”

it was clear that she was upset, but nonetheless, she agreed and climbed up on the sofa with you. you covered yourselves in blankets and drifted off to sleep with animated voices in the background. hongjoong skeptically walked through the front door, holding a two-tiered cake already lit with candles. he loudly sang ‘happy birthday’ as he entered the room, waking up the both of you.

“daddy!” she launched herself off the couch, nearly knocking the cake out of his hands. “you remembered!”

“could never forget, love.”

「 yunho 」

you were livid. for the last month, you and yunho had been planning this surprise party for your son’s fifth birthday. however, the party had been over with for two hours and yunho had yet to show up. the guests, including his own members, had already left. y/s/n was in his bedroom, coloring in his new book when yunho finally arrived.

“baby, i am so sorry.” he was out of breath. “my car broke down, the towing company took ages to get to me, and.. ugh, i feel terrible.”

you continued scrubbing the dishes in the sink, “i’m not the one you should be apologizing to. y/s/n’s the birthday boy.”

setting his stuff down, he shuffled down the hall to his son who had already jumped up at the sound of his father’s voice. from the kitchen, all you could hear was your son’s squeals and husband’s bubbly laugh. as much as you wanted to be upset at yunho, you were just glad your little family was finally together, happy and healthy.

「 yeosang 」

yeosang hadn’t slept more than seven hours in the past three days. the comeback was taking a major toll on him and his ability to remember things. your son’s birthday this year was in extra need of celebration. when he was born, the doctor’s gave him a life expectancy of two years. the thought of him making it to four was unbelievable, but here he was.

“where’s daddy?” y/s/n asked curiously as the two of you sat at the kitchen table for lunch. “i want to show him my big boy muscles!”

you forced a smile behind your hurt heart, “i’m sure he’s on his way.”

it wasn’t until eight o’clock when yeosang came barreling through the door. you looked up from your paperwork and pursed your lips. he did the same and slipped out of his shoes, looking around for his son. you explained that he’d already fallen asleep, but would be more than happy to get woken up to see his dad.

“hey, bub.” yeosang crouched down to meet his son’s eyes. “mommy said you wanted to show me your big boy muscles. did you get those for your birthday?”

「 san 」

for the past three out of four years of y/d/n’s life, san had been away either on tour or booked with a crazy schedule. her birthday was usually spent cuddled up on the couch with you while her dad was on facetime across the world. it had become almost like a tradition for the two.

it was nearing ten o’clock and your baby girl was growing too tired to keep her eyes open much longer, but she didn’t want to miss out on seeing her favorite person. you had spent the entire day together, doing everything she could imagine. you just wanted her to feel extra special for the day.

“i guess daddy’s busy.” she frowned, looking up from where her head laid on your chest. “i miss him.”

as if on cue, your phone dinged. it was san sincerely apologizing for forgetting to call. before you could respond, his caller id was lighting up your screen.

“happy birthday, princess!” he exclaimed, sitting at the desk in his hotel room. “it’s probably late there, isn’t it? i totally forgot about the time zones.”

y/d/n perked up instantly, grabbing the phone from your hands and grinning brightly. the two talked for an hour or so, about anything and everything, until san insisted she go to bed. he promised to throw her a huge party once he landed back home.

「 mingi 」

mingi loved all things birthdays, so you were utterly confused when he hadn’t come home or contacted your daughter all day for hers. you knew he was busy as ever with promotions, but that had never stopped him from calling any other time. y/d/n waddled around the house, holding the stuffed bear uncle seonghwa had bought her the week prior.

it was way past your daughter’s bed time and getting her to sleep was a hassle in itself. she wrapped her little hand around your finger and allowed you to guide her to her room. just as you passed into the hallway, the front door swung open and in came eight wild boys, screaming the tune of ‘happy birthday’. they carried balloons, gifts, and several sweet treats for the birthday girl.

“you thought i forgot?” mingi scooped her up into his arms and blew raspberries on her stomach. “i could never forget my baby girl’s birthday!”

「 wooyoung 」

“things have just been so hectic.” wooyoung sighed and pushed his hair back. “i got caught up in recording. you know i didn’t do it on purpose.”

you licked your lips and shook your head, “i’m not the one you need to explain to. y/s/n is in the bathroom crying. go comfort him, not me.”

wooyoung mentally cursed himself for forgetting and headed towards his son. he found him sitting on the shower rug, legs crossed and face hidden in his hands. woo knelt down and ruffled his boy’s hair like he always did. y/s/n looked up with bloodshot eyes and sniffled.

“i am so sorry, buddy. there’s no excuse for forgetting your birthday.” he hugged him tightly. “i promise i’ll make it up to you, okay? how about tomorrow night? me, you, and the arcade?”

「 jongho 」

jongho hated himself. he hated that he’d gotten so caught up in his work that he completely disregarded his own daughter’s birthday. you had been calling him all evening to see when he was coming for dinner, but there was no response. when he finally arrived home, you and y/d/n were fast asleep on the couch. her hair was still wet from the bath.

“she’s been waiting for you all night.” you mumbled as jongho approached the two of you. “i think you’ve got some apologizing to do.”

jongho peered down at the little girl who was slowly waking up from the talking. she looked up and smiled when her eyes met her father’s. he gently picked her up and sat her in his lap, kissing the top of her head.

“daddy’s so sorry for not being here.” he whispered. “how about on sunday we have a daddy-daughter day? does that sound good?”

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minart-was-taken · 4 years ago

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Linkverse writing?? I guess??! It’s a tad simple and rough around the edges, but hey, isn’t everything if you look close enough? I’m proud enough of it to share, so that’s a win in my books!

Title: Tree Trekking Characters: Twilight, Sky, Time, and Wild No warnings for this one (Although highly vague twilight princess spoilers?) “Tags” First meetings - the start of bonding - Sky being a good boy - Time is a little bastard - Twilight is tired

Enjoy!

“Those look like rain clouds…” Link signed, dreading the thought.

“Ah- I think you’re right.” Feathers replied the same way.

Link winced, but gathered himself quickly after, making sure his adventure pouch was properly attached to his belt. They didn’t need a member of the group complaining AND also him having a loose adventure pouch.

...He sounded like a dork- Goddesses, he was panicking a little wasn’t he? Rain wasn’t a big problem, but on top of everything else it felt like a slap to the face.

He had been snapped to another world, teamed up with two strangers who were also him, apparently, and now it was going to rain.

The little guy had nothing to say either, but that wasn’t anything new.

Taking leading action, Link gathered himself, found his posture and signed to the Link whose Hyrule this apparently was. “Do you know anywhere we could find shelter?”

The little guy turned to look at him, with an expression that made it seem like he had insulted his entire family. “It’s just rain.”

Link sighed. “We don’t have much on us, a town with an inn and a shop to purchase a bedroll or two seems like a good idea.”

The little guy was quiet, before turning around and walking off. By this point Link knew that was his way of saying “follow me.”

He quickly checked Feathers, who with a slight stumble and a check on his items was on his way to follow as well.

With the small one in the lead, followed by Link and Feathers, the day continued like the past few had.

It had been strange, suddenly ending up here with a bunch of strangers like this. With Feathers it had been easy, the guy seemed to have a good heart. However with the little guy it was a different story. He seemed to speak the minimum possible, and didn’t especially want to stay as a group- Making it a daily battle to convince him to keep helping them navigate this hyrule.

Still, they were managing.

“We should probably try to get you a sword too.”

Feathers seemed taken back by this, before smiling awkwardly: “We’ve not run into anything, though, have we? Besides, you two seem quite used to wielding yours.”

“I don’t trust this situation.” Link confessed. “Something is bound to go wrong.”

Feathers gave him a sympathetic look.

“I’m serious.” He insisted. “The air doesn’t just crack and cause people to teleport through time and space. Something bad is in the air.”

Feathers seemed to want to say something to deny it, but couldn’t. He turned his head forwards again, facing where they were going. “I have other weapons.”

Link still felt unsure, but accepted it for now.

A bit more traveling, now down what seemed to be a dirt path, Link felt the silence beginning to grind on him. He clenched his hands to fists, and released them, repeating this action a few times to calm his nerves. When it wasn’t enough, though, he shook his head and fastened his walking pace.

This way he caught up to the small guide, and signed: “Can you share the route with me? I’d like a better understanding of what to expect.”

The kid looked annoyed again, but after a moment replied: “Kakariko is down this road, to the west until we reach a big rock, and then down the road next to it.”

“Thank you.” He said, breathing with purpose to calm himself, as he fell back behind to walk next to Feathers again.

It had been a long time since he had panicked like this last. It had been at a cell, in a strange body and shackled to the floor. It had been when Midna’s hold on his fur had weakened further as he tried to be faster despite the pain. It had…

Link sighed. He’d survived all of those, he had been hurt, but he survived. He could handle yet another journey to an unknown world. This is fine.

The little guy disappeared in that second.

Link blinked.

The kid had genuinely disappeared- One moment he was there, the next he wasn’t.

This was not fine, actually.

“Where did he go?!” He signed frantically to Feathers.

“I don’t know!” Feathers responded, equally bewildered. “Did I see that right?! Did he-”

“Did he vanish…?” He signed as well, turning to look at the spot again.

“Maybe-” Feathers, panicking much more clearly than Link was: “Maybe he got sent to another world, like we were.”

“That beats him being dead.”

Feathers was shaken by that addition, but Link ignored it in favour of walking over to where the kid had been and looking around. It was of no use, of course, but he felt powerless and not doing anything felt wrong.

Not again- Not again-

There was a loud crack inside his ears, and the space between him and Feathers looked like it was cracked glass. This strange scene lasted as long as it took it to arrive, and in the next moment: instead of reality looking broken, there was another boy.

This new stranger took a hitched breath, taking a quick step backwards, Having immediately noticed Link. The step however lead him right into Feathers, which caused the stranger to yelp and manifest a blade twice his size from blue light.

Feathers threw his hands in the air, panic filled eyes looking between the armed boy and Link.

Link breathed in and out, as he moved to walk around the newcomer and next to Feathers, with his hands up in the air as well. He hoped that moving from behind the stranger would make him realize he didn’t care for that tactical advantage, and was looking for peace.

The stranger watched, the weapon still in hand, but took no action.

“Are you-” Link signed: “L-I-N-K?”

The stranger’s eyes grew suspicious with each letter, and Link figured he had made a mistake of some sorts.

Quickly trying to bridge the miscommunication, he added: “So are we.”

The stranger shook his head, which wasn’t ideal.

“No?” Link signed. “What do you mean no?”

To that the stranger didn’t seem to have an answer for. Simply shrugging like it was obvious.

“He’s being honest.” Feathers joined in. “We’re both Link, the hero of courage.”

After eyeing the two over like they had lost their minds, the stranger sighed. “I don’t believe you.” He signed. “But I’m also not sure where I am.”

“That’s fair.” Link supposed. “We’re willing to share our information.”

“Spill it, then.”

After explaining their understanding of how they got here, and what they were doing, the stranger sighed and agreed that going to a town would seem smart in his eyes as well.

However he chose to walk behind Feathers and Link, which Link couldn’t blame him for. He had his own fair share of paranoia of the situation, after all.

Besides, he’d know if the kid tried to approach with a blade in hand, he was awfully good at keeping an eye on his surroundings.

Not good enough, though. Despite following the route the first angry kid had given: they somehow got lost anyway. Sure they found a big rock, but there was no path near it that led to anywhere other than more wilderness.

“Did we misunderstand?” Feathers asked him.

Link furrowed his brow, unsure of the answer. He was quite sure they had gone the exact route the kid described.

The newcomer whistled suddenly, causing the two older to turn and look at him.

He seemed annoyed, and signed: “Is this a trap?”

“I mean, if it was we wouldn’t tell you.” Feathers signed back, at which Link elbowed him.

“It’s not a trap. This is neither of our Hyrule, so we don’t know where things are. The person who gave us instructions either forgot something or we failed to follow it right.”

The stranger crossed his arms, and pouted. Suspicious.

Link, wanting to hit his head against the trees until he could disappear from this situation, tried to breathe in and out and figure this situation out before anything worse happened. “We can probably try and find it on our own.”

“Oh, true.” Feathers replied, smiling again.

“Alright.” The newcomer accepted, still tense.

“Great.” Link responded, tired. “What does everyone here know about scouting?”

Feathers looked a bit flustered, and admitted: “I spent most of my life on a single island- In the sky.”

“Ok.” was all Link could muster.

“I’m okay at it.” The newcomer said, looking a bit less confident than before. “I know what signs to keep an eye out for.”

Link nodded at this. Back in the day he could’ve asked Midna to change his form so he could simply smell the strange scent that towns had, but that stopped being an option a long time ago.

He could still manage with human senses. He had done so for the majority of his life.

So after they pooled their knowledge of what to look out for, they began trekking forwards. Although it was more the two actually experienced people describing some basic things to the one from the sky.

After one man-made path diverged into two, the tired air of the group only grew worse.

“So- Which way?” Feathers asked, trying to not cause anymore tension with the question, by smiling gently.

The newcomer lifted the strange slate he had on his belt, and used it to get a better look forward. It wasn’t enough, though: “The foliage is too thick, I can’t see where either of them leads.”

Feathers pouted.

Link, quite frustrated at this point, signed simply: “Just one thing we can do, then.” And proceeded to scan the area for the tallest tree.

Feathers looked in mild curiosity as Link walked up to an alright specimen, and proceeded to climb it with almost no trouble. Branch to branch, and a good grip on the wood while still being mindful of it’s well being.

From high up he could take a far better look around the area, and found his nerves eased as he spotted smoke from further on and down the right path, as well as the gentle breeze that flowed freely up there. He smiled, despite himself, and climbed back down.

Once he landed with a gentle thud, he let Feathers know what he had seen, before turning to look at the newcomer.

He had stayed by the path, unlike Feathers who had gone to wait for him at the trunk of the tree, and was looking at him with what Link would describe as surprise.

“I was raised on a farm.” Link stated, feeling actually a little up for joking, before he started walking down the right path.

The journey went alright, and although the smoke turned out to be from but a small cottage, it meant they weren’t entirely on the wrong track. Someone was able to live here, so it would mean a town could exist nearby as well.

The newcomer, who hadn’t said much, spoke up another few minutes into the walk, as they tried to decide between three paths this time. “I could climb this time?”

Link was a little surprised, but nodded and gave him a supportive smile. “Go for it.” It was nice seeing the hostility gone, and in its place a want to help.

What he saw then, was… Unexpected. The newcomer proceeded to pick a tree at ease, and then climb at a speed Link had never seen before. It was extremely impressive, and somewhat terrifying.

“Woah.” Said feathers.

Link nodded, slow and stunned.

When the kid returned to ground level- With a thud and an expert landing to boot -he explained that with the zoom on his slate he was able to spot a town. He wasn’t sure which path would lead to it, but if the rest were fine with just going to that general direction until they got to it, he’d be able to lead them.

Feathers and Link approved of the plan, and now followed after the newcomer who was walking forth, at times checking the slate.

Feathers began to talk to him about beacons, apparently something on the slate reminded him of his adventure. Link tuned it out due to not really getting it, and breathed in the forest air.

This was all very strange, but it was nice that no-one was being a grump for once.

At sunset they reached the town, and having moved along with the rain cloud, it only caught up to them at the village gates.

Link gave the newcomer a pat on the shoulder, which surprised him. “Good work.” He signed before heading forward to look for an inn.

The rain only caught them when they had a roof above their heads, as they had moved in the same direction as it had been heading.

Sitting in a shared room, there was that strange snap-crack again, and the other kid was back. Strange face markings as clear on the face of annoyance as always.

The newcomer didn’t disappear, so their three person room had just become crowded.

“Oh.” The kid commented, looking at them all, including the newcomer. “You made it.”

“...Were we not supposed to?” Link asked.

“I gave you the wrong directions.”

Link blinked. He was stunned, having trouble processing the situation. Not because it was so unexpected, but because he hadn’t seen it coming despite how obvious it was this kid wouldn’t help them properly.

“Why?!”

“I didn’t want you to find the town.”

“Again, why?”

“I don’t trust you.” The response was instant.

Link sighed, it wasn’t a reason he could exactly fight.

Giving up, he sat down on one of the beds. This was going to be a stressful adventure, wasn’t it? He lent back a bit, looking at the ceiling. He couldn’t deny the truth of that question, but a part of him wasn’t entirely bothered. It had been a while since he’d slept in a room with another living being.

#The Legend of Zelda #Linkverse #Loz #Twilight Princess #Breath of the wild #Skyward Sword #not tagging the fourth one since he's there for like 2 scenes #Note to self: Describe the enviorment you little goober #They can't see the image in your head you foolish fool #Ah well #I'm still proud

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girlactionfigure · 3 years ago

Photo

‘We Are All Jews Here’

U.S. Army Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds, one of five American Righteous Among the Nations, never spoke about the 200 Jews he saved

PATRICK HENRY

As of Jan. 1, 2020, there were 27,712 persons named Righteous Among the Nations (Righteous Gentiles) by Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem. All of them are non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. Five of them are American.

In 1994, Varian Fry was the first American named to the list. A New York City native and Harvard graduate with a degree in classics, Fry had volunteered with the Emergency Rescue Committee to go to France to help rescue victims of Nazism. Planning on staying for a month, he arrived in Marseille in August 1940 with $3,000 and a list of 200 Jews he hoped to save. Soon, however, he understood the enormity of his task and judged it “criminally irresponsible” to return home. He stayed until he was forcibly expelled from France 13 months later “for having protected Jews and anti-Nazis.” Fighting the Vichy regime and the U.S. State Department, which tried repeatedly to have him sent home, Fry carried a gun, arranged smugglings into Spain, obtained foreign passports and visas, hired a forger, and with a small staff saved over 2,000 refugees. Mainly interested in writers, artists, and intellectuals, this passionate anti-fascist rescued Marcel Duchamp, Marc Chagall, Jacques Lipchitz, Max Ernst, Hannah Arendt, Max Ophüls, Arthur Koestler, André Breton, and several other surrealist artists.

Martha and Waitstill Sharp were named Righteous Among the Nations in 2005. Waitstill was a minister in the Unitarian Church in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and his wife, Martha, was a noted social worker. They agreed to go to Prague in February 1939 to help members of the Unitarian Church in Czechoslovakia. Once there, they helped smuggle Jews out of the country that had been taken over by the Nazis the month after their arrival. They experienced dangerous encounters with Nazi police but managed to return safely to the United States in August. Once again, however, in late spring 1940, they returned to Europe to help rescue Jewish people from France where they worked with Varian Fry, Hiram Bingham IV, and others smuggling Jews, many of them children, into Spain and Portugal.

Lois Gunden, named “Righteous” in 2013, also rescued Jews in France. Born and raised in Goshen, Indiana, Gunden went to France in October 1941, at the age of 26, to work with the Mennonite Central Committee. Fluent in French, she headed the Ville St. Christophe Children’s Refugee Convalescent Home in Canet Plage in the south of France. It was a 20-room mansion that housed 60 children, mostly those of Spanish refugees from Franco’s Spain and Jewish refugees from Eastern Europe being held in the nearby Rivesaltes internment camp. Gunden continued to run this safe haven for refugee children even after November 1942 when the Germans occupied the entire country. She managed to hide many Jewish children in the home and save them from deportation to Drancy and then Auschwitz. In January 1943, she was detained as an “enemy alien” and transported to Germany. In March 1944, she was released in a prisoner exchange.

On Memorial Day 2021, 76 years after the liberation of Auschwitz, let’s remember the heroics of Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds, the fifth American Righteous Gentile and the only one to have saved the lives of American Jews.

In early December 1944, the 106th Infantry Division, which comprised the 422nd, 423rd, and 424th Regiments, landed in France and traveled by truck across France and Belgium, reaching the Schnee Eifel area in Eastern Belgium near the German border. On Dec. 10, they took up their positions. On Dec. 16, the 422nd was attacked by the Germans in what would become known as the Battle of the Bulge, during which the Germans would capture 20,000 GIs. Although they were cut off and surrounded, the part of the regiment that Edmonds belonged to held out until Dec. 21 when they surrendered to the Germans. After having been forced to march 50 kilometers to Gerolstein, Germany, the men of the 422nd Regiment were loaded into box cars with no food or water and traveled for four days until they reached Bad Orb, Germany. They spent several weeks in Bad Orb, after which they were divided into three groups (officers, noncommissioned officers, and enlisted men). Roddie Edmonds’ group, the NCOs, were then shipped to Stalag IXA in Ziegenhain. There were 1,275 men in this group and Roddie Edmonds was the highest-ranking NCO among them.’

It was German policy to single out Jewish POWs and send them to extermination or slave labor camps. Accordingly, in January 1945, the Germans announced that all Jewish prisoners in Stalag IXA would report the following morning. Twenty-five-year-old Master Sgt. Edmonds, who was responsible for all the POWs in Stalag IXA, ordered all prisoners, Jews and non-Jews, to fall out. When the German officer in charge, Maj. Siegmann, saw all the prisoners lined up in front of the barracks that next morning, he said to Edmonds: “They cannot all be Jews.” Edmonds responded: “We are all Jews here.”

Siegmann then pointed a pistol to Edmonds’ head, but Edmonds, refusing to back down, replied: “According to the Geneva Convention, we only have to give our name, rank, and serial number. If you shoot me, you will have to shoot all of us, and after the war you will be tried for war crimes.” The German major turned and walked away. Edmonds had saved the lives of the roughly 200 Jewish prisoners among the 1,275 American POWs.

Edmonds, who was named “Righteous” in 2015, did not speak much about his experiences. His family only knew that he had been taken prisoner by the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge and that he had survived 100 days of captivity before returning home. His son, Baptist Rev. Chris Edmonds, mentioned that when he would ask his father about the war, he often told him only that “Some things were too difficult to talk about.” When Roddie died in 1985, his wife gave her son, Chris, two of the diaries he had kept as a POW.

Yet it was only in scouring the internet many years later that Chris discovered the exact story of his father’s heroism. In 2009, Chris’ daughter, Lauren, was given a college assignment to do a video history project about a family member. Lauren opted to work on her paternal grandfather. Chris decided to lend a hand. He googled the words “Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds,” expecting that it would lead to Army records or the Battle of the Bulge. Instead, it led to a 2008 New York Times article about a New York City lawyer, Lester Tanner, who had sold his Manhattan townhouse to former President Richard Nixon. What could have possibly been the link between Edmonds and the sale of a townhouse to Nixon? Tanner mentioned in the article that Roddie Edmonds had saved his life and that of many other Jews during WWII.

This led Chris Edmonds to Lester Tanner and other Jewish POWs saved by his father, one of whom was Sonny Fox, the American television host and executive. These POWs and in some cases their families filled in many details completely unknown to the Edmonds family. Tanner told them that he admired Roddie for the way he led: “He never threw his rank around ... and was a man of great courage.” Tanner told Yad Vashem that they were all aware at the time that the Germans were murdering Jews. They therefore understood that the order to separate the Jews from the other POWs meant that the Jews were in great danger. “Master Sergeant Edmonds,” he said, “at the risk of his immediate death, defied the Germans with the unexpected consequence that the Jewish prisoners were saved.”

Another of the Jewish POWs saved by Edmonds, Paul Stern, explained that when the 422nd Regiment got to Bad Orb, lower-ranking Jewish POWs from another stalag were in fact sent to slave labor camps where many of them died. Stern, who had learned German in college, could understand what the Germans had in store for the POWs. He also stated that the conversation between the German commandant, Maj. Siegmann, and Roddie Edmonds was in English. “Although seventy years have passed,” Stern claimed, “I can still hear the words he said to the German camp commander.” Finally, Hank Freedman, another POW rescued by Edmonds, told Chris that his father’s faith impacted and emboldened all his men, whether they were believers or not.

On Jan. 27, 2016, in a ceremony at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., attended by then President of the United States Barack Obama, Master Sgt. Edmonds’ son accepted the Righteous medal and the certificate of honor awarded to his father. Roddie Edmonds has twice been nominated for the Congressional Gold Medal “in recognition of his heroic actions during World War II.” So far, no action has been taken. But Chris’ hope has hardly been extinguished. He wants his father to be awarded the Medal of Honor, our country’s “highest award for valor in action against an enemy force.” The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous’ short but powerful documentary on Edmonds, “Following the Footsteps of My Father,” would offer a great deal of compelling evidence.

In the JFR’s documentary, we learn that Roddie Edmonds might very well have also saved the lives of hundreds of his men by refusing to evacuate the camp where they were being held. The Germans knew the end was near and they did not want to be around when the American soldiers arrived. They told Edmonds to get ready to evacuate. Edmonds told the German officers that his men were too weak to evacuate the camp and begin a long march. The French POWs moved out along with the British POWs. The German officers told Edmonds that the camp was his: They were leaving.

Shortly thereafter, on March 30, 1945, Stalag IXA was liberated by American forces. It was the second day of Passover. As Sonny Fox remarked: “It was the day of our freedom.”

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