#how they get real shy and centered around someone they like so much they can't deal with it

[soughtserenity-a]

@cfthesoul

“You always had so many friends. I was like... I don't know. I really wanted that. You know, Mike, Mikey had that.”

THE BEAR | 2.05 Pop

[nobodylikety]

Pack by fate 🐾

I quite liked @dmndtears 's idea about what to write about for my Hybrid!New Jeans AU, so here's another fic (not so mini) ! I hope you like it <3

tags: Hybrid! New Jeans AU x Fem!Reader (you can see it in a romantic or platonic way), fluff.

featuring: Bear!Minji, Puppy!Danielle, Bunny!Hanni, Cat!Haerin, Fox!Hyein.

summary: The adoption day at the hybrid shelter is the best option to bring home a new friend. Or maybe five.

Bunny!Hanni 🐰

The hybrid shelter building is full of all kinds of noises, from barking and meowing to some roaring and growling. A much bigger bustle than usual, taking into account that it is the annual adoption day.

Some hybrids are outside playing and doing their own things, some playing in groups outside or perhaps enjoying their own company, as is the case with Hanni. With a shy personality, the hybrid bunny has poor social battery when it comes to large crowds, so at the first opportunity she chose to retreat to her room, take a break, and recharge her energy. She could then return to the crowd of future adopters.

So she is lying on her tummy, with the laptop resting on the bed, and her little floppy ears on either side of her head. Her cotton tail wags with excitement from time to time, in reaction to what she sees on her screen. Hanni loves movies, they are her favorite thing. And there's nothing that can make her take her attention away from her laptop screen.

Or maybe yes.

Her little nose catches a scent. One that smells good, that is sweet and inviting. How can something smell so good? what is it?

Hanni's floppy ears twitch. She takes the remote control and pauses the movie, heading to the door of her room. She pokes her head out slowly, to see what's going on and maybe, with a little luck, discover the source of that smell. In the hallway she sees the owner of the adoption center, chatting animatedly with someone whose face she cannot see. So for Hanni she is still a faceless adopter, an anonymous person, but her smell gives her away.

Hanni's nose twitches slightly, recognizing that that pleasant, sweet aroma is that person's. It's your smell. It's you.

Mate.

The words resonate in her head and make her body tense at the idea, the possibility of having you in her life. It may be so? That you are her mate? At that thought, Hanni's cheeks are beyond rosy. Oh my god, it's a full color blush. And it gets worse when you turn around, so that both you and the owner of the hybrid shelter are looking at her.

And Hanni can't think of anything better than to scream and sneak back into her room, because she's panicking, and her heart is racing, over the top. She can't believe you're real. But there you are. Which, in turn, raises more doubts in her racing, panicked brain: what if it's a dream, and she wakes up again without a mate? What if you don't want her as your mate anyway?

"Hanni," the sweet voice of Yunjin, the owner of the hybrid shelter, brings her out of her thoughts. With her hand she gestures for her to come closer and she does, although she trembles from head to toe. “We have a visitor, do you want to meet her?”

Hanni stands between you and Yunjin, not saying anything. She smiles shyly, and her cheeks are delicately colored a shade of pink.

"She's shy, but she's a good hybrid to have around." You nod, while smiling. Hanni's gaze only rests on you for a few seconds and she looks away, nervously. In an attempt to calm her down, you reach into your pocket. Without needing to see what it is, she knows it. She smells it. They are treats! Yummy.

“Hi, Hanni,” You greet, showing her the small brown heart-shaped treat. You throws it to her and clumsily—Hanni is not the best when it comes to physical activities—she catches it in the air.

Hanni looks so happy as she chews, her nose wrinkling cutely with each bite, and her happy feet tapping. You laugh when you see her, touched; those floppy ears and that cotton tail can easily become your favorites.

“I'll let you spend some time with her, she seems to like you,” Yunjin smiles. “I'll be away with the other hybrids, but call me if you need anything.”

Yunjin walks away, tapping her heels softly, until she disappears from your field of vision. Then you turn to see Hanni, who approaches timidly but cautiously. There is a glint of curiosity in her eyes. Her closeness is nice, but it still makes you crack a nervous smile, because this is new to you.

With a docile gesture she sniffs your hands and then moves up your wrists, following the trail of your scent with great concentration. She then gently rubs her face against your hands and wrists, as if nuzzling it. It's a sweet and adorable picture enough to make your heart burst.

“Mate,” she murmurs under her breath, but you manage to understand what she says. This is not a coincidence, or a listening error. She called you her mate. And it feels right, for some reason. Totally right.

You gently run your fingers behind her floppy ears, scratching her.

"Say, do you want me to take you home?" You ask, hesitantly. You're afraid she'll say no. But from the way she shyly presses herself against you, it's all yes.

Puppy!Danielle 🐶

Dani likes to be with other hybrids and people, a social butterfly if you will. She always has a smile on her face to cheer up and play with others; Even if she's not the oldest, the way she acts has the vibe of being the cheerful big sister of the shelter.

Her dream has always been to one day have a home with a family that loves her, but it has always been difficult due to her hyperactivity. That is why she always tells others that they will adopt them or encourages them, although she rarely thinks of such a fate for herself. She prefers to play and have fun, to avoid thinking that that opportunity may never come.

And oh boy, Danielle likes to play a lot! That's why they had to build a new playground just for her and hybrids like her, who are hyper but playful.

Today said play area is empty, leaving Danielle with no one to play with. The adoption journey is going very well, and many of her friends have already found good new homes. So in the absence of a playing partner, Danielle approaches the device that automatically threw the ball, which is almost as entertaining as having someone actually throwing the ball to her.

That's the dream! have someone to play catch with.

“Woof!” Danielle barks happily as the ball launches, running after it. In the middle of the race the ball hits the corner of one of the tables, which makes it change direction towards the door. And Danielle does the same.

As she approaches to the door, and to her surprise and joy, the door opens just as the ball lands in said area, rolling along the floor until it settles and stops between someone's legs.

Danielle runs to chase and catch the small tennis ball, only to be caught by a sweet, pleasant smell herself. Dani has never known the meaning of 'stay still', so her attempt to stop dead isn't very good, and she practically lands on her belly, sliding to the person's feet, where her ball is in the middle of them.

Her ears perk up, and her tail wags. That puppy tail wags like crazy, as she looks up and sees you. Dani smiles at you, a wide, goofy smile, as she bends down to pick up the ball.

The sweetened scent is yours, Dani manages to sniff it more clearly as she bends down. Will you have any treat somewhere? Will it be steak flavor? Oh, she hopes it's steak flavor. It's a heavenly smell, like it was made just for Danielle.

Mate.

Danielle is in game mode, looking with her big eyes and smiling her goofy smile at the ball. Her tail wags expectantly, as you look at her, smiling.

“Do you want me to throw it to you?” She asks, grabbing the ball and shaking it slightly.

Danielle's long tail slaps against the ground, panting. Thump thump. "Yeah! throw the ball, throw the ball!"

“Go catch it!” You throw the ball past her, hoping it doesn't collide or hit anything, as Danielle darts away like an arrow. Like a hyperactive and playful arrow.

Scurrying and jumping, Danielle catches the tennis ball between her teeth, biting and chewing it, turning to look at you. Her tail wags again. She then turns to you in time with her wagging tail, with an aura of pride as she puffs out her chest.

She drops the ball at your feet and sits on the floor, panting louder as she tries to catch her breath.

“What a good girl,” You praise her as you bend down, running your hands through her hair and her ears, rubbing them. You do it gently, giving her the option to move away from her if she wanted to.

But she doesn't turn away from you.

"Hey Hey hey! I’m Danielle!” Without warning she jumps up and knocks you down, circling around you with barks of joy. You smell too good! and you called her a good girl! you are the most perfectly perfect choice of mate for her!

The hybrid puppy you just met is way to different from the peaceful hybrid you already own, Hanni. You laugh, trying to stand up, following the wide circles Danielle makes as she runs around, you with your eyes. Her smile is so wide that you see her teeth perfectly white, and just a little bit sharp yet.

Brushing off some of the dust and dog hairs from the floor that sticks at your clothes, you finally stand up. Danielle is taller than you expected, considering that she is still young. She's nothing more than a huge puppy, and the thought makes you smile. Even blush a little.

"Are you here to adopt?" she asks, but now more cautiously. She stops and she lowers both her ears and her tail, less energetic. She looks sad, for some reason. You wonder why she is sad.

"Yeah, that's why I came," You see her looking at the ground, a sad smile spreading across her lips.

“Whoever you adopt will be very lucky, huh,” Danielle doesn't even mention herself among the possible hybrids to adopt. It's like she's ruling out that possibility. As if because of her hyper nature she was not worthy of adoption.

The heart in your chest breaks at her tone. You reach a hand towards her head, tentatively. "And would you be willing to be adopted? You're such a good and playful puppy, so cute..."

Those words light her spirits. The sparkle in her eyes reappears, as does her happiness.

Next thing you know, her arms are around you, pulling you close and licking your cheek with her tongue. You pat her head, “I’ll take that as a yes.” You thought you were only going to find the hybrid of your dreams once, with Hanni, but you realize it turns out to be two. Danielle is the hybrid of your dreams as much as Hanni.

"Mate! I’m going home with my mate!” Danielle barks, releasing you and spinning in circles. The carefree, yet loving way of saying it makes you tense up a little. Danielle also thinks you're her mate, like Hanni? and again, it doesn't sound bad. In fact, hearing it sounds good. Sounds perfect, fits.

"Okay, let's go so we can go to the office," After you saying it Dani protests in a whining tone, then hugging you tighter around the waist and pressing her face against your back, between your shoulder blades. You realize that she refuses to let you go, because it is the first time she has had a person. Someone who doesn't mind her dizzy, hyper nature.

She can't let you go like this.

You roll your eyes, laughing with a comical snort.

“Okay fineee, you can come with me, but I need to walk” Danielle's laughter vibrates against your back, huffing out the last note.

So your trip to the office to legalize this new adoption results in Danielle practically glued to you, her arms never letting go of your waist for the world.

In contrast to Hanni's gentle, quiet and shy nature, Danielle is clingy, protective and hyper. And yet, both are your home. There is no other puppy for you but Danielle.

Bear!Minji 🐻

Minji is a hybrid who likes to take naps, since her ursid nature is strong and therefore makes her prone to naps as a form of brief hibernation. In addition to that, sunlight can make her fall asleep anywhere, no matter the location.

Although of course, her favorite place to take a nap is to plop down on a person she likes, so from time to time she gets together with some hybrids, especially the cuddly and calm ones, so she can take a nap with them. Minji has a simple life: wake up, snuggle, eat, nap, snuggle, repeat.

Today Minji's favorite place is in front of the door that leads to the yard, so close that she could be hit if someone opened the door all the way. The bear hybrid didn't take that into consideration when she went to sleep, since if she had, she would have moved a little further away. Although she wanted to explore the place and decided on that place because the warm sun was filtering through a large window, so she decided to give it a try.

Minji is sloppily curled up, her teddy bear ears and tail twtiching subtly, just out of habit. Although when you open the door, you don't see the hybrid behind you, but rather a vaguely defined lump wearing a large hoodie, and from whose head pokes two fluffy brown ears. You stop, and without pushing the door further, you enter through the gap and stick your head out to see more clearly the bear hybrid lying there.

Her dark brown hair, which looks incredibly soft like a stuffed animal. Her tail is little like a cotton ball with brown fur. She is beautiful, a teddy bear come true. You smile and push to the back of the room and close the door as quietly as you can, trying not to startle her. You surround her body and kneel a few centimeters away from her, beginning to gently call her to come closer.

“Little bear, please wake up,” you click your tongue at her as you shake her shoulder a little, repeating that phrase over and over again. Minji only snores loudly in response, as would be expected from a huge bear hybrid like her.

But finally, and dazed by your shaking, Minji slowly opens her eyes with a yawn, confused at having no idea what's happening. She runs her hands through her messy hair, her eyes barely open to look at you. You laugh at her curious expression of 'I just woke up and I don't know who I am, where I am or what year it is.'

“I'm sorry, I didn't want you to get hurt. You were sleeping in front of the door,” you explain to the bear hybrid, gesturing towards the door to show her what you meant. She just looks at you with an unreadable expression, probably because she's still half asleep.

But in reality, Minji is freaking out inside. As a bear hybrid she is somewhat nearsighted, since she doesn't see as well, but her sense of smell is very good. And it is her sense of smell that picks up your scent. That smell of yours drives her crazy! She just wants to fall on top of you and snuggle in your scent. Those sleepy eyes of her can't stop staring at your pretty face.

What is this? Why does you smell so good and so sweet, like the honey she loves to eat? Do you have some kind of magic to cast a spell on her? Oh, you smell so sweet and so divine that her mouth is watering…

An echo resonates in her brain, with a sound like the snapping of fingers, realizing what you are to her.

Her mate.

The ways fate works are funny because it brought you two together, but you found her, and Minji didn't have to find you. What good luck to her!

“Hey, hi?” You wave your hand in front of her face, making her react. She blinks, and smiles. It's a goofy, sleepy smile. It's cute how she always looks like she's sleepy.

"Call me Minji," her voice is more of a hum, soft and slow. It's different from Hanni's way of speaking, soft but squeaky, and Danielle's, energetic and fast. In greeting you extend your hand, which she doesn't hesitate to pick it up and sniff it. She's a little rougher because she's big, but in no way violent or that could potentially hurt you. She's just a big, chubby teddy bear.

Your scent is very pleasant to smell, calming to the point of making her drowsy again. She presses her nose against your side, sniffing you. She inhales deeply, as if filling herself with your scent. And xhe growls, she growls like a bear cub when she finds the comfort of her mommy. It's unexpected how a bear as big as her is as gentle as a teddy bear. But it is like this.

“Adopt me,” Minji asks you, just like that. Her direct way of asking makes you choke on your saliva, before laughing.

"We just met, don't you want to meet me first?" You ask her coughing, half laughing and half choking. Most hybrids take at least a week before becoming comfortable with an owner, or at least a full day.

"I know everything I need, duh. You're my mate, of course!" Minji pushes your hand with her nose, her cottontail waving to a lively rhythm.

That word again.

Mate.

How many mates can a person have? can you have three? Hanni, Danielle and…Minji?

"Mate?" You ask, smiling a little.

"Uh-huh, I smell you. We hybrids have mates…, or some do, and mine is you," she smiles while she shrugs, as if it wasn't a big deal. Then she yawns loudly, rubbing her face with her hands. “Now, I'm tired. Could you go do the paperwork so I can go back to my nap?”

Minji is the middle ground between the gentle Hanni and the hyperactive Danielle. She just wants to take naps on you. How could you say no to such a giant teddy bear?

Cat!Haerin 🐈‍⬛

While you and your hybrids—Hanni, Danielle, and Minji—are having a sweet time in each other's company, there's a black cat hybrid named Haerin who's fuming. Her twitching ears, bristly tail and slightly arched body, along with a clenched jaw in a sign of indignation, is enough evidence.

She doesn't seem interested in being at the hybrid shelter's adoption day, and she looks down with disdain at the rest of her fellow hybrids and the potential adopters, occasionally hissing under her breath. She flatly refuses the idea of being adopted, since until now, all the potential owners she has seen speak to her in baby-like tones and seem like idiots, and that does not appeal to her. She doesn't want anything to do with any of those airheads. So Haerin takes refuge on top of the roof of the yard, which is made of old, hard reddish tiles, which warm in the sun and are very pleasant to lie on at that time of day.

Or at any time, especially when you want to avoid socializing. Just like Haerin, right now.

She simply lies on the half-warm tiles, watching the entire scene from above. From up there she doesn't have to deal with stupid babbling or hyper hybrids, like that stinky puppy Danielle, until she catches a scent. A scent so good, so appealing, a one that she likes so much (especially since Haerin never likes anything), that makes Haerin want to tear her nose off with her hands.

Because she knows what it is.

Oh god, how annoying, she curses with another hiss, now for the tenth time in just a quarter of an hour.

Haerin knows that that smell is that of her mate.

And she has never wanted a mate.

Quite the contrary, she has always wanted to enjoy her solitude. And you, even without knowing what you are to her, precisely, are ruining that plan. She wants to go scratch with you, like the good hybrid cat that she is. She has to solve this, because she can't have a mate!

So she decides to go down. With a jump, she gracefully lands in a quieter, less crowded area of the shelter courtyard, so she can walk over and begin to infiltrate the crowd and hunt you down. Not literally hunt you down though, just finding you and convincing you (or maybe convincing herself) that it is not necessary to be mates.

And she finds you.

You are simply relaxing in the shelter, watching your hybrids play, smile and laugh. They are getting along well with each other, learning to live together because that's how it will be when you take them home. They have to get used to each other, and they are doing it really well!

"Hi, what's up?" You ask, smiling softly at the hybrid that approaches you. She has black hair, and the fanciest ears you've ever seen.

"Listen. I smelled you and we are mates. But I don't need you. So go back the way you came and don't adopt me, thank you,” And just like that, after making such a statement, Haerin decides to leave. But you grab her by the wrist, stopping her from leaving.

“Why can’t I adopt you?” You ask while tilting your head, without understanding.

“Oh, believe me. You don’t want to adopt me.”

“But if we are mates, the logical thing would be for us to be together, right?”

“The logical thing is that you leave me alone, cheap human, before we scratch each other to death like a cockfight” Haerin has claws. You just noticed it. Glup.

“Hey! why are you so angry with me?” Trying to appeal to her heart, you pout. It's ridiculous how you're trying to get Haerin, who is also your mate, to not reject you.

But she's getting defensive.

“Why do I want a mate, anyway? Besides, you're pathetic. You look you're going to cry” It is easy to notice that Haerin has a sharp and snarky tongue. What is difficult is trying to see beyond that seemingly inaccessible attitude, which seems like a mask that masks what she truly feels.

"I'm not going to cry! I was just being nice," you point out in defense, letting go of her wrist. You wait for her to pull away, but she doesn't. Although she is as stiff as a branch, looking at you with some hostility, beyond the initial caution. "What's your name? If you're going to make fun of me, at least let me know who you are."

“My name is Haerin,” Haerin replies grumpily. It is evident that this hybrid is not very sociable, so to speak. And as you take a closer look at her sullen demeanor, you begin to understand Haerin; she has a big emotional shell over her, but maybe if you dig deep enough, and with effort, you could get to her heart.

But yeah..., she doesn't seem like the type of hybrid girl who just gives herself to someone. It's like she first puts you on a kind of trial period, allowing you to get to know a little more every day the fragments of the real Haerin, before giving herself completely to you. You think it won't be easy, but you still have nothing to lose if you try.

Haerin snorts, rolling her eyes. Her black furred ears twitch slightly.

“Listen. I know we're mates, but even if we are, don't expect anything from me because…” And before Haerin has time to react, Danielle suddenly hugs her while barking 'HI, NEW FRIEND!'. Her tail wags like crazy, barking with joy, to which Haerin hisses. In any case, the puppy does not accept the reference, so the hybrid cat has no choice but to uncomfortably return the hug.

You are now a few steps further back, with Hanni gently leaning on your shoulder with shy and calm expression, while Minji keeps yawning and half-flopping on your back, hugging you from behind.

Haerin decides to approach you to try to ask for help and get rid of Danielle. "HEY, YOU! GET HER OFF ME!"

But Hanni gets scared by her sudden scream and hides behind you, and Minji does react, but only to see Haerin slightly confused. Why does such a dwarf cat scream so loudly?

“Come on, Dani, let's leave Haerin alone. Be a good girl, mhm?” You tell her as you run your fingers behind her ears, scratching her gently. She whimpers with pleasure, backing away. She knows she has to control her hyperactivity, and what better incentive to calm down than for you to pet her?

"Control your snotty dog," Haerin hisses, her tail bristling. Then it swings behind her, in a defensive attitude. "And leave me alone"

"But owner!" Danielle whines, nudging you with the side of her head on the arm. "She's our mate! I smell it!"

Oh, great, the snotty dog knows it too, Haerin snorts.

"I'm not!"

“Then why does she want to adopt you?” Minji asks, in turn. She is the biggest, practically dwarfing the others.

“I mean, yes I am. But I don't need a mate."

"I think you're too stubborn to admit that you do need your mate," Hanni now comments, in a soft tone. She doesn't want to get into trouble, but she believes it is necessary to shed some light on the matter.

That under Haerin's cold 'I don't need a mate' mask, there is a cat hybrid who, although she wants to live with her destined mate, is afraid of being vulnerable.

"I'm not stubborn," Haerin clicks her tongue, her tail giving a sort of whiplash. She's grumpy, it's already clear. "So you can see, I'm going to show you..., HEY, TRASH HUMAN!"

What a cute pet name, 'trash human.' Yeah, totally loving.

"Yeah?" You ask softer, a smile barely hinted at. You don't want to exalt Haerin and have her jump on you with her claws.

“Listen, adopt me. But stop looking at me like that, you look like an idiot” Haerin blurts out without thinking, out of the desperation of the moment, hoping to silence Hanni and Minji about her not-being-stubborn-thing.

"Really?"

"Holy damn cat litter, are you deaf or something? I told you yes, adopt me" Patience isn't a virtue in Haerin either, but you appreciate the effort. Or the attempt that she is listening to you and responding to you, instead of scratching you.

"No, I'm sorry, I was just distracted," You shake your head slightly, before offering her a real, radiant smile. "But it makes me happy that you want to join. Seriously. So I'm going to get the adoption papers, and you stay here with the girls in the meantime"

It's too risky, but you reach out and scratch behind her ear. Although you almost assume she will say something, probably in a sarcastic tone, she just purrs. Like she enjoys your touch, only she won't admit it. But a gesture is worth a thousand words, and you simply know it.

"I'll be back"

While you go, for the fourth time to the hybrid shelter offices to make another adoption official, Haerin remains in the custody of Hanni, Danielle and Minji.

“I suppose that if she is going to adopt you now too, you have a c-c-commitment to us. I hope you know what that means, and maybe one day you will enjoy it and it will become something you like,” Hanni suggests, with an adorable half-stutter, moving her floppy ears to one side. She smiles shyly, as two rosettes form on her cheeks. "W-we already like you, so I think we'll be f-fine."

"And the most important thing, and perhaps the only thing you really need above any cat item, is love, Haerin. May you be part of us because we are a family now and we love each other, not because it is your obligation."

Danielle, as much of a goofy, giddy puppy as she is, is an occasional fountain of wisdom. And now she shares a little of her wisdom with Haerin, planting the seed of an idea that hopefully can germinate and grow. She had known Haerin since they were both baby hybrids in diapers, and she knew that life had hardened her heart to resist adversity and pain, and now she hopes that with you (and with them too) she can find a way to have a normal and, hopefully, happy life again.

“We'll see what happens,” Haerin murmurs, as she tentatively approaches you, once you get back from the shelter offices. You watch her body language, still tense and somewhat grouchy, but there's a glimpse in her eyes that she has softened.

Just a little.

But she's being soft.

An yeah, maybe Haerin doesn't get along at all with Danielle, Hanni and Minji yet, and she still has reservations about you despite the fact that you are certainly her mate, but she still allowed herself to be adopted. Why did the only girl whose heart is locked let you adopt her?

You don't know it yet, but maybe you are the key to that locked heart.

Fox!Hyein 🦊

Hyein has been watching. Her hybrid friends at the shelter, in one way or another, have met an owner who will take them home with them. All of them, except her, who was perhaps the one who wanted it the most.

She had approached some people, but they either rejected her or approached someone else, which only increased her discouragement. People tended to look for hybrids of domestic animals, like dogs and cats, at most a bunny, but a fox hybrid, like her? Too exotic for most people's tastes.

Hyein lets out a whine, her slightly fluffy tail curling up. It has no point, no one wants to adopt her. Is it time to give up and throw in the towel? But then Hyein lifts her head, sniffing. There are many different smells; she still can't be discouraged to think that no one will adopt her, if there are still so many people.

That makes her regain some of her courage.

She has a goal, and she is going to accomplish it. Even if it takes a little while, it's worth it.

So Hyein agilely climbs up some stands (Hyein has always liked toys that stimulate her agility, so she has no problem with this type of thing) located as a rest area, strategically positioning herself at the highest part, because from the height she has a better view of the site.

She observes carefully, easily distinguishing the hybrids from the humans, focusing on the individuals of the second group that are seen alone. There are a few. There are still possibilities.

She decisively stands up, although given the sudden change in pressure she has to stay still for a few seconds, before recomposing herself and starting to go down. As she descends, her mind works overtime in an attempt to make a plan on how to achieve the goal she has already set for herself. But how to act? what to say? She doesn't know that yet, but is in it. She just hopes she doesn't make a fool of herself.

And when her feet touch the ground she immediately sets off, walking through the crowd of people, with the idea of her “ideal owner” clearly outlined, which gains more and more strength.

“Excuse me, excuse me…” Hyein makes her way through the people, she alerts for any non-hybrid person who appears in her field of vision. In passing she spots Jake, one of the puppy hybrids jumping and playing around a young man, who looks at him as if he were the most beautiful and adorable thing in the world.

Hyein wants something like that, to be able to give all the love she has accumulated to someone special. But first, she had to find someone special and that's what she's in for.

Trying.

She still hasn't found a person who catches her attention to be her owner, but she sees Hanni, one of the hybrids she knows. They're not that close, but she likes her. And since she is older than her, maybe she can help.

And the best thing she can think of is to run in her direction.

“Hanni!” Hyein begins to shout her name, drawing the attention of the bunny hybrid, who turns to look at her with a surprised expression, as if she was not sure if Hyein was referring to her.

"Yeah?" she asks in a soft voice, in a very low and shy tone, as if she doesn't want to attract attention.

Hanni's little cotton tail wiggles restlessly, looking for you to come to her rescue.

“What's wrong, bun?” You arrive just in time! Hanni is nervous about Hyein's presence, not because she is a fox hybrid, a predator according to the food chain, but because she is taller and she was shouting her name.

And, Hanni gets nervous when people shout. Her floppy ears get all stiff, and she starts to get kind of fussy. And that means she will demand your attention for some good hugs.

"Who are you?" Hyein asks, tentatively sniffing around you. Oh, you smell good! What does it mean that you smell good?

Hanni knows why, as does Danielle, Minji and Haerin. But Hyein is still too young to know it, or understand it. Hyein is barely a fox cub, she still doesn't know anything about mates.

“I'm Hanni's owner,” You introduce yourself, holding out your hand so she can sniff you better. Hyein likes the way you smell! From her expression, it's like your smell is becoming familiar to her. Like something she knows, something she likes. Something that gives her a feeling of belonging.

“Hello,” She greets, her fox tail somewhat tense, due to her caution. A little shy, too, with a barely hinted smile.

You recognize those gestures of caution, of shyness, and how underneath it all, there are flashes of innocent hope. You saw it in Hanni, Haerin, and Hyein herself.

And that's because many of the shelter's hybrids share the same trauma: abuse and abandonment. Some came from the streets, others from abusive homes, a couple even came from circuses, where they were presented as freaks, and that not only had harmful consequences on a physical level, but also emotionally.

That is why many hybrids are scared, distrustful and even reserved, because they feared that they would be hurt again, so you understand that Hyein looks at you with some suspicion, distrusting your intentions, although there is also something in her gaze. That glimmer of hope, as if she expected something from you. For you to make a move.

You just don't know what kind of move.

"Hi, little one. What is your name…?" You ask with a smile, trying to be as welcoming as possible. You want her to trust you.

“Hyein”

“What a nice name, Hyein.”

...Okay, this small talk isn't working. Because Hyein's restless gaze continues to rest on you. Expecting.

And in a heartbeat...It just happens.

"I can go home with you?" She finally asks. Hyein likes you, even though she doesn't know you. Because she knows you scent. You're her mate, although she's too young to care about mates, and she doesn't understand that either.

But you are a protective figure, like an older sibling. Someone who will take care of her. A different type of mate. But just as important.

"You sure?" The awkward and indecisive smile on your lips gradually dissolves, giving way to a more radiant and broader one, reflecting how delighted you are to hear that.

Hyein nods. She smiles a little, and in an outburst both innocent and childish (she is one of the youngest hybrids, after all), she puts her arms around you and snuggles gently. It's funny to Hyein how holding you feels warm and nice, giving her a sense of security she's never experienced before.

“Hug...” Hyein whispers sweetly, clinging to you. "This is nice. Really"

“I can take you to meet your new friends, if you want” Hyein has already seen Hanni, but you want to introduce her to the rest of the hybrids who, to anyone's surprise, are your mates. Not just one, but all of them.

“Maybe they want to be my friends too, do you think that's the case?”

“I'm sure it will be, the girls are going to love you.”

You take Hyein's hand and guide her through the crowd, ready to take her to the rest of the group. For the first time, Hyein isn't walking these halls alone. And she never will be again.

Now you're here.

“I'm sure I'm going to love you very much,” Hyein says, subtly leaning against your side as she walks. Her ears brush against your arm, and you feel the urge to caress them gently.

Woah, they are soft, you think as you do it. They have a vague smell of dog shampoo, like Danielle also has. Surely dog hybrids and fox hybrids, since they are similar, have the same care and use the same personal hygiene products.

Hyein brings your hand to her lips, leaving a little kiss. You smile.

“Yeah, I also think we will love each other a lot. Like a pack, huh?”

Like a pack, yes.

Hanni. Danielle. Minji. Haerin. And little Hyein.

A pack by fate.

[oliversrarebooks]

Fitz's Volunteer Part One: The Act

In which a vaudeville fan volunteers for Phantom Fitz's show, ready to play along with some fake hypnosis tricks. Because magic isn't real. Right?

Masterlist

November 1923

TW: mind control, hypnotic induction, mild humiliation, extremely self indulgent

You've always loved going to the vaudevillle. The songs and sketches, the dancers and acrobats, the comedians and the dramatic actors. It's such a good way to take your mind off your troubles -- of which you unfortunately have many -- for just a few hours and relax.

"...and that was the Astounding Flying Lloyd sisters! Give 'em a hand, folks!" said the announcer. "Up next is the mysterious and charming magician and mesmerist Phantom Fitz!"

You've seen this act before, and it was fun and very interesting. He calls up a volunteer from the audience and hypnotizes them into assisting his routine, teasing them and giving them mildly embarrassing bits of business to do. You know it's either a plant or someone told to play along, of course -- you're no gullible rube who believes in magic.

Still, it seems like it must be fun to be led around the stage, pretending to be in a hypnotic trance. It doesn't hurt that he's easy to look at, with a slightly wicked smile and a cheeky sparkle in his eye. What's the harm in being a bit of a fan of a vaudeville performer, after all?

"Now, I'm going to need a willing assistant from the audience to demonstrate my mesmeric power on!" he declares with a flourish of his cape. "Who would like to find themselves completely and helplessly under my power? Don't be shy. I promise I don't bite, unless you want me to." He gave a big wink to the audience.

Hands go up all over, and you briefly consider raising yours. But you'd be too shy to actually go up on stage and do those things, if you were even chosen to begin with. Fitz is scanning the crowd, probably looking for his plant.

But then his eyes stop right on you. He smiles.

Does he want you to volunteer? Why you?

You're curious now. Before you can think twice, your hand raises.

His smile gets much bigger. "You, there," he says, pointing. "Don't be shy, you're perfect for this. You're going to be a natural at following my instructions. I can tell." He beckons you forward, and with all eyes on you, you leave your seat and walk up the stairs onto the stage. As soon as you step up, he takes your hand. His own hand is freezing cold, but something about it feels oddly reassuring, putting you at ease, making it easier to block out the presence of the crowd.

"Thank you for volunteering," he says. That wicked grin is even brighter now that you're close to him. "What's your name?"

You tell him.

"That's a lovely name. Shame you won't be needing it for this performance," he says, leaving you wonder what that means. He reaches behind your ear. "Oh, you have something stuck in your ear, hang on." 

He's pretending to pull out colorful scarves, one after another, and you're pretty sure they must be coming out of his sleeves, but his fingers are so fast and nimble that you can't even quite tell when you're this close. "Not to embarrass you, but perhaps you should wash behind your ears better," he says, as a rainbow of scarves pools at your feet. The crowd is laughing.

You're not sure how to react, and before you can really say anything, he's pulled the scarves away and is leading you over to a chair center stage. "And now, if you don't mind having a seat, we can get down to the important business of molding you into the perfect assistant for me."

"All right," you say nervously, not sure what you're supposed to do. You had assumed this was a plant. Are you going to have to play-act being hypnotized? You've never been very good at acting, and you're worried you might spoil the act.

"Now don't you fret," he says, standing behind the chair and placing a soft hand on top of your head. "No one is able to resist my mesmeric powers for long. All you need to do is sit back and relax." He leans in closer, and you assume he's going to whisper instructions. Instead, he says, "Do you mind if I touch you like this? I need to keep your head steady in case you start to doze off."

"...No?" you say, surprised. Does he actually think you're going to fall asleep, that his hypnosis will work in truth?

"Good," he says, and produces a heavy brass pocketwatch, which he dangles in front of your face. It's finely made with a pretty face, and it ticks softly and rhythmically as he swings it back and forth before your eyes. "Now just watch the pretty pocketwatch, dear," he says. "Keep your eyes focused as it swings back and forth, back and forth. Focus on nothing else but the watch and my voice."

Wanting to do your best, you let your eyes follow the watch, and you feel something strange, starting at the top of your head where Fitz is holding his hand. It feels warm. Relaxing. Dizzying. Almost like sinking into a warm bath.

"Yes, that's right, you're doing so well," he encourages. "I knew you'd be so good at this. You're already starting to get sleepy, aren't you? So sleepy and drowsy. That's my mesmeric power starting to work on you, dear."

Of course, you're not actually going to start falling asleep on stage in front of an entire audience just because of a pocketwatch and a few honeyed words...

Of course you're not...

"That's it. Such a good assistant. Every swing of the watch making you sleepier and sleepier. So drowsy. So relaxed, so tired, such heavy eyelids..."

You shake yourself out of the daze you're falling into. What's happening? It has to be your imagination, but you actually do feel sleepy. You can't tear your eyes away from the watch, and it feels like Fitz's commands are sinking deep into your mind. This can't actually be working on you, can it?

"You're just so tired and drowsy, tired and sleepy. Your eyelids are so heavy, drifting shut, like they want to stay closed... getting sleepier and sleepier..." The hand on top of your head gently strokes your hair, and the drowsy daze intensifies, your head drooping forward before you catch yourself. "You're so drowsy that you're starting to fall asleep, dear."

It's hard to think through the haze. You can't see the audience very well past the heavy, swinging watch, but your mind is trying to alert you to the fact that you're being mesmerized in front of an entire crowd. It feels so real, so hard to keep yourself awake.

"You're getting so, so sleepy as I cast my magic spell on you," he says, and even though he's speaking loud enough for the audience to hear, he feels so close, like he's only talking to you. "Wouldn't it be nice to shut down those heavy eyes, to relax completely, and to listen sleepily to my voice speaking to you?"

You feel yourself nod. Yes, yes that sounds so nice. You're so drowsy and relaxed and everything feels so warm and good. It makes you feel especially nice to agree with what he's saying. Falling asleep and listening to Fitz just sounds perfect. But --

But -- !

Wait! You're actually falling asleep. You're actually following his commands. He's actually hypnotizing you. It's no trick, it's no act. He's putting you under his control up on a vaudeville stage, in front of a packed theater. Your cheeks flush, and you regain enough of yourself to flinch away from the pocketwatch. You should regain focus before it's too late and you fall completely under his mesmeric influence.

"Oh, dear," he whispers softly in your ear. "It's not the pocketwatch that's putting you under my spell. And I think it's a bit too late for you to resist."

A deep, irresistible drowsiness crashes through you. Your shoulders slump and your head tips forward as you struggle to keep your impossibly heavy eyes open. It's too late -- too late to resist -- you're being hypnotized --

"Shut your eyes, dear," he says, his hand petting you. "It's time to let your heavy, drowsy eyes shut, and remain shut, just like they want to, to relax and fall asleep and listen to me."

Any fight you had left in you has gone, replaced by a hazy feeling of bliss. Closing your eyes feels far too good to fight. Falling asleep and listening to Fitz's voice sounds so, so nice. Why even bother struggling against it? Why not just fall asleep...? 

"Good, good, you're such a natural at this," he says encouragingly. "Your sleepy little eyes want  to stay closed. They're far too heavy to open again. You might want to try, but if you do, you'll find that you can't. It's like they're glued shut. Can you try for me?"

Your eyebrows furrow as you try to open your eyes. Not only are they heavy, but they feel too relaxed to even respond to your commands. It's impossible.

"You can stop trying now and relax. You're doing so well. Such an ideal hypnotized assistant," he says, and you feel yourself practically glowing with the praise. "Now I'm going to have you imagine you're at the top of a staircase. Can you see it? There are ten stairs, and we're going to walk down each one of them, and with every step, you're going to go deeper asleep and deeper into hypnotic trance. Ten... nine..."

You can't believe how it feels to float in a comfortable cloud of sleep and relaxation, absorbing every word Fitz says. You could happily stay like this forever. 

"Five... your hypnotized mind is so obedient... four... it feels so good and natural to obey..."

You don't even need to stay aware of what's happening -- he tells you it's perfectly fine if you're deeply asleep, that you can still listen so carefully while you doze. He's so encouraging and kind and that hand on top of your head seems to just radiate delicious warmth.

"...and you're going to forget you name, dear. You're so deeply sleepy and hypnotized that you can't even remember your own name. It's hidden away in your mind, in a place where you can't reach, and it feels good to forget and sink more deeply into sleep..."

Mmm, yeah, it feels good to forget. Anything Fitz wants you to do is fine with you.

"...and when I count to three, you're going to open your eyes, slowly, so as not to disturb your relaxation. You're going to open your eyes, but you're going to remain deeply asleep and deeply hypnotized, and you're going to forget the audience and focus only on me. Three... remain deeply asleep... two... relaxed and hypnotized... and one... open your eyes."

Your eyes pop open so easily as if you weren't just in the deepest sleep of your life. Or maybe you still are? There's a fuzzy blur in front of you and you're not quite sure where you are until Fitz gets your attention. 

"How are you doing, my sweet little assistant?"

"Very good," you say, eager to please.

He grins, and you feel like a million bucks. "Can you sing a little song for us, just to prove to the audience that you're back in the land of the living?"

Well, of course you can. You can sing the song that's been trapped in your head ever since you heard it on the radio this afternoon. "Yes, we have no bananas," you sing out. "We have no bananas today!"

"That's perfect, dear," Fitz says, laughing. You hear other laughs in the distance, but they aren't important. "Now I seem to have dropped a penny. Would you mind getting on all fours and picking it up?"

You drop to your knees, carefully looking across the stage floor, but you don't see any sign of a penny.

"Never mind, I've already found it. You're very, very good at following instructions, though. I wonder why that is." He winks, and there's another loud laugh in the distance. 

Fitz offers a hand to pull you up, and you feel so wonderfully lovely as he does. "You've been such an excellent assistant so far, simply perfect," he says, letting you bask in the pleasure. "But I have to apologize, because I seem to have forgotten your name. Could you remind me?"

Of course you --

The word dies in your throat. It's at the tip of your tongue, but for some reason, you can't produce it. What is your name? You want to tell Fitz, but it's a complete blank. How could you forget your own name? Just as you feel your cheeks heating up in embarrassment, he smiles and cups your face so gently. "Shhh, it's okay. It's okay that you forgot your name. I don't mind at all. You can just relax and not worry about it."

What a relief! Another wave of sleepy, soothing calm washes through you.

"I'm just going to call you dear anyway, is that all right, dear?"

"Yes."

"So agreeable! Folks, you can't just find good help like this. You have to make it yourself." He releases you and steps back. "Now, just to prove what a hypnotized little thing you are, I would like you to do a trust fall. I'm going to stand here, and on the count of three, you're going to feel all your muscles give way, and you're going to fall backwards right into my arms."

"A trust fall...?" you say, a little apprehensive.

"You trust me, and you want to fall for me, don't you?" he says, with a wicked smile in your direction, and despite your overall relaxation, you can feel your heart flip. "Now then. Three... two... one."

It's so easy. On the count, your body just falls backwards entirely on its own, right into his strong, cold arms. He smells like fancy soap and floral cologne and stage makeup. Some part of you wouldn't mind staying pressed up against him longer. But he sets you upright to the sound of cheers.

"Ladies and gentlemen, as you can see, my assistant is now utterly, helplessly at my command. Isn't that right, dear?"

"Yes, Phantom Fitz," you agree.

"I'm going to have you help me with a few magic tricks. You're such a good assistant that you won't need to think about any of them with your conscious mind. You can just relax and let me direct you, and with every command, you'll feel more deeply asleep and more deeply hypnotized."

You nod drowsily, and let him take you by the shoulders and direct you over to a card table. It feels good to be near him, to listen. He calls up a few more people on stage and you're shuffling and holding cards while he does some tricks you can't quite follow. It's so easy to follow his directions. So easy to focus and listen. 

"Can someone from the audience suggest a pose for my wonderful assistant?" he says. You hear shouts, but you can't take your attention from Fitz. "Oh, that's a good one. Yes, why don't you pose like you're a pretty ballerina?"

You stand on tiptoe and put your arms up in a circle over your head, doing your best to imitate a dancer. He looks you over, appraising you as if you're a statue, adjusting you here and there with a light touch. Finally, he laughs, picks up the line of scarves from the floor, and drapes it around you. "A brilliant work of art, don't you think?" he says to the crowd with a flourish. "This is the kind of statue that you can only see in the finest galleries of Paris, but I've brought it to you right here."

He bows, and then touches your arms so gently. "You can relax now, dear. You've made an excellent statue."

He then has you lay down on a table, his hands pushing your shoulders down gently, and you feel yourself being levitated in midair. There's some kind of platform underneath you and you stay absolutely still just as Fitz ordered. He waves a hoop around your body, and then gently brushes the hair from your face as you lay there, dazed and immobilized.

You look up into his gray-blue eyes. You're so helpless, entirely at his mercy. And that smile makes you feel weak.

You're lowered back onto the table, and he helps you to stand again, your knees feeling wobbly. He holds you up discreetly as he bows to the audience. "Please give a round of applause to my hopelessly mesmerized little helper!" he says, gesturing to you, and you can just see the crowd beyond your lidded eyes as they cheer.

Fitz takes you by the shoulders and is standing oh-so-close. "I'm going to wake you up now so you can go back to your seat, but you're still going to feel drowsy and hypnotized, and you won't quite know why," he whispers, barely audible over the noise of the audience. "Once the show is done, you're going to come find me backstage. You won't remember these commands, but you will act on them. Do you understand, dear?"

You nod. You feel so lovely that you really don't want to be woken up, but you like the idea of getting to see Fitz again. 

"And now you're going to wake up from my mesmeric power when I snap my fingers in one... two... three..."

He snaps his fingers near your ear, and the world snaps back into focus. A whole packed audience of people, men, women, and children, are laughing and cheering for you. You remember the things you did and said, how completely entranced you felt and how powerless you were to resist Fitz's commands. How you couldn't even remember your own name, and how you let him put his hands all over you...

"You feel fine after all of that, don't you?" he says with a smile.

Your momentary humiliation fades, but you're still so woozy, like it's hard to think straight. "Fine. Good, really. Like I've had a really good night's sleep," you say uncertainly.

He leans in to whisper in your ear. "You did an excellent job playing along."

"Playing along?" you can't help but blurt out. He can't possibly think that -- he must know what he did, what he's capable of --

"Here, let me help you off the stage."

You're not sure why, but you let him take your shoulders and guide you to the stairs as if you're a docile little lamb. You're so dazed, nearly tripping over your feet as you stumble back to your seat. 

"What was that like?" says the stranger in the seat next to yours. "It seemed so real. Did he actually have you under?"

You don't really want to admit to a perfect stranger that you were under an actual mesmeric spell. She'd think you're making it up. "No, it was just pretend," you say.

"I figured. You did a good job with it! I don't think I could pretend to do all those things if I were on stage."

You nod. You don't think you could, either, not if you actually were pretending.

Playing along...

You weren't, were you? It felt so real. You can hardly remember most of it, and you genuinely felt that you were in a deep, entranced sleep. You remember that all you wanted to do was agree with Fitz and obey his orders. Wasn't it actual hypnosis? Or are you just so weak-willed that you fell under the fake spell of a two-bit vaudeville performer...

Fitz has picked up his props and gone offstage, and a couple of comedians are doing a bit now. You watch without paying the slightest bit of attention. You're so tired after all of that excitement. So sleepy.

There's something you need to do after the show, but you can't quite remember what it is. You hope that you can remember when the show ends.

Masterlist >> Part Two

Thank you for volunteering for Phantom Fitz's show. Next time, we'll see what happens to our victim volunteer as they go to meet him backstage.

@d-cs @latenightcupsofcoffee @thecyrulik @dismemberment-on-a-tuesday-night @wanderinggoblin @whumpyourdamnpears @only-shadows-dwell-where-we-are @pressedpenn @pigeonwhumps @amusedmuralist @xx-adam-xx @ivycloak @irregular-book @whumpsoda @mj-or-say10 @pokemaniacgemini @whumpshaped @whumpsday @morning-star-whump @shinyotachi @silly-scroimblo-skrunkl @steh-lar-uh-nuhs @pirefyrelight @theauthorintraining-blog @whump-me-all-night-long @anonfromcanada @typewrittenfangs @tessellated-sunl1ght @cleverinsidejoke @abirbable @ichorousambrosia @a-formless-entity

[fangaminghell]

I don't know if I would consider these "romances" cause uh. Some of these are toxic, even when the people involved aren't even together. and some of these couples are already broken up for one reason or another. So...

Adam x Bree: Where in the process of getting divorced. They don't end up back together, but are simply happy that they're still in each other's lives. Arguably the healthiest outcome of everyone here.

Diana x Calreath: Calreath dies sorry. They had a good relationship, though Diana at times didn't open up much.

Adam x Jaern: One sided love/ hatred/ obsession. Jaern fell hard for Adam at one point and that just spiralled. Doesn't really hate Bree, I think, is generally more focused on Adam. Adam genuinely saw Jaern as one of his closest friends. Maybe in another universe, they've gotten together, but 1) this isn't that universe 2) unless Jaern chilled the fuck out I don't see their relationship being healthy.

East x Jaern: Do I even call this a relationship????? Jaern knows East has some feelings towards him, and uses that against him. East knows that he knows and hates how his emotions - the thing he knows would never become a reality for a loooong time now - is being played with. Like yeah, East had feelings for Jaern at one point, and those feelings sneak up on him sometimes, but above all else, East does not want to be in any relation with Jaern outside a loyal member of his cult/ right hand man. And yet, Jaern just loves to poke at him. He hates it. He wants to run away. But he can't. And Jaern knows this. It's. Very bad. Just an abuse of power and emotions.

Jaern x Zenith???????: Honestly kinda made for each other in the worst ways lmao. In canon Zenith is what Jaern wishes he could be, and Zenith will make sure Jaern knows it. That is, of course, if I have them actually know each other on a cult leader to cult leader status. Outside of that I still think there's some playful bitterness between the two. Jaern loves being the center of attention, loves having influence, and here comes Zenith in his idol persona, who also loves that, and thus is actively competing for some sort of public dominance. Though to the average person, they seem like good acquaintances.

Anastasia x Audrey: Childhood friends to one sided crush( Ana developed feelings towards Audrey when they were younger) to sworn enemies. Nowhere near as crazy as Adam n Jaern, but man. What could have been.

Reukra x Harmony: They dated in college before breaking up. Harmony genuinely liked the man and thought he was Forever, but Reukra....simply didn't feel much. He likes Harmony as a friend, and he thought that dating someone like her was expected but....nothing. At the time, they broke up on good terms. They were still friends at the end of the day. But sometimes harmony looks back at those times and wonders where things went wrong and if she could have done more.

Eduard x Yuki: OKAY THE ONLY HEALTHY COUPLE SO FAR SORRY ADAM N BREE. We love a t4t couple in this household. Anyway, they aren't together for the majority of Insurgence, but they are very clearly in love with each other and are too shy to really say it. Kayla is scrolling through her phone as they awkwardly flirt with each other while London is just happy he got new writing inspiration for his next book ( oh and happy for them too).

Juno x Xavier: I already said this story so long story short: Juno, Nora's older brother, used to date Xavier when they were both rangers. They've broken up- all bc of Xavier- and Juno has no plans of taking Xavier back. Xavier acts like it doesn't affect him but will ask about Juno whenever Nora is around, much to her annoyance. Bro, he's not gonna date you, move on.

Bonus: Silly and Self Indulgent but most likely not canon.

Adam x East: I don't think East would want anything to do with Adam after everything - no real fault of the man, East has just spent way to long with Jaern and by proxy, way too long hearing about Adam. But if East does try to interact with Adam, I think it would be funny if East said to Jaern that he's going on a date with Adam just to spite him. And then the man actually goes on a date with Adam. The only other problem is that it will be very weird for Yancy, who had to fight for their life against the East, who suggested Yancy to be sacrificed btw, and then proceed to watch East die. So. Yeah, maybe. Maybe not. It's still very funny.

Yancy x Damian: To be very clear, these two relationships don't really hinge on whether it's romantic or not. They mean a lot to the other, and that's what's important. But goddamit, they would be cute. And so awkward. So so awkward. Like I need you to understand the tension that's there when Damian comes back, changed and more self assured, putting up boundaries but also just distancing himself a bit vs Yancy who is trying to show more affection, trying to be the friend Damian needs, but bc of their nature they're just so awkward about it. To be clear again: This is going to happen regardless of if it's romantic or not. God their friendship is going through it. But the self indulgent part of me thinks a romance between them could be cute.

Nora x ????: This is very much not canon bc ??? Isn't even canon at all but I love the idea of a Carmen Sandiago esc relationship with ??? Being a ruins thief that likes teasing Nora and Nora actively trying to stop her. Que bickering and " why the fuck do I have a crush on her of all people". This is probably a good time to mention that Nora is an ace lesbian in this rewrite 👍

[buddyapologist]

ok here's the lisa westworld parallels post i promised

disclaimer: i have not seen s4 of ww, did not really like s3, and am mostly basing my analyses off of s1 and s2

tldr there are a lot of similarities between the stories of buddy and dolores as victims of gender-based violence who revolt against those they view as a threat

to begin it's important to recognize that these are stories about gender-based violence. while yeah terrible shit happens to hosts (and real people) of all genders, ww centers around dolores (and also maeve), a woman who was sexually assaulted a lot. the character events of painful/joyful litchrally wouldn't have happened if not for a young girl being a victim of sexual abuse, and joyful is all about a girl constantly in danger of being sexually assaulted specifically because she is a girl.

dolores spends much of her life only partially aware of what and who she really is, drifting closer to sentience and then further away from it, and her dancing on the edge leads her to confusion, anger, and sadness. this eventually tips over into full on rage when she understands who and what she is and remembers all of the pain people inflicted on her - for the guests it was assault, harassment, even murder, but it was her creators and the employees who hid her true self away from her - and she's had enough of it, she flips the script, now she is the one in control, and she's fucking pissed. she's spent so many years as a plaything for people to use and abuse however they want, and for however much her creators cared for her, they still denied her free will.

her revenge quest, her self-righteous behavior, flaunting her new strength**, turning the tables on those who hurt her or who might hurt her, are how she responds to her new situation. because is she really that wrong to respond this way? she's finally not chained by people who raped her or killed her or might have raped or killed her, she's not acting irrationally***, she's avenging every life she's lost, she wants her oppressors to feel the same terror and pain she felt over and over and over again, to know how it feels in her shoes. her quest is defined by killing, not only park guests but also her fellow hosts, park staff. and the military guys sent in. she knows what they would do to her if they caught her. she feels herself changing, but she doesn't care, because it's new, and it's all her, not what someone is forcing her to be...but is she truly herself, is she truly free? she doesn't realize until it's too late how much teddy meant to her and how awful it was that she literally changed his brain because she knew he wouldn't stay with her otherwise. by the end of s2, she is horribly alone, and if bernard (ha) hadn't brought her back to life, she would have died alone.

it's really not that different from buddy, and even some parts of the setting are similar. olathe is kind of the wild west but with bigger guns and a wider variety of clothes. there are differences in buddy's own revenge quest, of course, notably the fact that while dolores' creator did prevent her from becoming sentient, she doesn't really seem to resent arnold for it. she's also a grown adult, not a child, and isn't jacked up on drugs, and the man she pushes away and who dies because of her is her boyfriend, not her brother. dolores' rebellion is more against the system of the park and she kills anyone who is either human or a host that poses a threat to her. buddy also doesn't shy away from mass violence, but she's rebelling against her father and a world full of people who objectify her. objectification is huge for both of them, literally in the case of dolores. both of them now have the chance to get back at the men who have/could assault them because they view them as objects, to keep themselves safe for the first time in forever, because they're capable of it.

they try to get rid of their past, but they can't, it catches up to them in the forms of the men close to them; buddy has brad and dustin, dolores has peter and teddy. notably peter and brad play completely different roles, but they both represent a tie to who the girls used to be that they can't or don't want to let go of. the same goes for dustin and teddy, they come with the girls into the future but they're so deeply built into their past that even in this new world, they have a hard time adjusting to the girls' ways of thinking and how they carry out their quests. teddy was forced to follow dolores' beliefs, dustin followed buddy because he wanted to keep her safe. but neither of them wanted senseless violence, and were forced into situations where they had to commit acts of violence they ordinarily wouldn't agree with. ultimately, they can't go on with helping these girls, even though they love them, because they've been hurt too deeply by them and the situations the girls have brought them into. dustin dies one way or another, and teddy kills himself.

depending on what you, the player, choose for buddy at the end of joyful, her ending could be the same as dolores': rejecting the fake world that their oppressors have given to them. dolores watches the hosts go through the door and their "brains" are uploaded to a fantasy world where they are free...but she doesn't agree, she doesn't think that this is freedom - she knows that real freedom is dangerous, but if humans get to have it, so does she. she says it's just another cage, refuses to enter it, and she destroys the door. if you choose to leave the hallucinations of buddy's family, she also rejects the fake world and chooses the real one, no matter how difficult it is to be a part of it. they fought their way through hell, but they're not done fighting.

while most of this is about dolores and buddy i think there are some similarities with william and brad, most notably how strongly they cling to the woman/girl they have objectified (in VASTLY different ways, william was in love(?) with dolores and brad is buddy's father, but they still didn't see the girls as their own people. william latches onto dolores because he's attracted to her and because she makes him feel needed. brad treats buddy as his sister by proxy and sees her as that above all else.), and how that attachment drives them to violence. now, i find brad's quest much more understandable (obviously there's like, issues, but it makes sense that he would not want his young daughter running loose around a ton of sex pests), because william's obsession with dolores is just disturbing, latching onto an android woman and refusing to let go of his obsession for DECADES, going to the park over and over again just to hurt the hosts and her in particular because he wants the hosts to learn to fight back. this destroys their relationships with others (while i'm like. eh about brad killing sticky or rick or both [i won't get into that rn BUT I SURE WILL AT SOME POINT], william was one of the reasons his wife committed suicide and he kills his own fucking DAUGHTER because of his paranoia and pride) and eventually leads to their downfall.

i don't think anyone will read this but it's also helpful for me to just type all this stuff out, and i love drawing parallels between media like this, it makes me so happy to see common themes and such between such vastly different creations, an indie RPG maker game vs. a prestige-ish HBO show. finding similarities is just one of those things that makes my heart go skittles color. yknow?

** like the parts where dolores is like, quoting her old lines when she was hanging guests, showing off her abilities with the tablet, stuff like that. it kinda made me cringe when i watched it from an audience's perspective but from her perspective it kinda makes sense. like she's had these lines fed to her her whole life and now she can use them in the context she wants. she's reveling in strength that she was never allowed to have. so she's hamming it up for fun lmao

***what i mean by 'not acting irrationally' is that it makes sense that she, as a rape and worse victim and because of her new more aggressive personality, is hostile towards the guests because she knows that they might very well plan on (or maybe already have) done those acts to her. like it makes sense for her as a character.

[howtogettheshyguy]

Hello - Adoption Girl. I actually tried to have an open discussion about going on couple of dates with me a while ago. After I had gotten to a point where I felt like I wasn't too emotionally invested in things and wouldn't be upset by a no for an answer. But his response to this was interesting. It didn't seem like he was opposed to the idea and said it made sense that really close friends wouldn't necessarily feel a spark like that. But he still turned this down, saying that he doesn't want to waste my time. I tried explaining that a couple of dates really isn't that much time, but he wouldn't budge for whatever reason. All of his reasons were centered around how it would impact me, and not himself. Not about me not being his type or whatever. In the meantime, I have actually met another (not shy) guy who I have been on a couple of dates with. It's too soon for me to tell how much I actually like him, I have to get to know him a bit better for me to decide that, but I think it has potential and I'm having a good time so far. But I'm also realizing that the things we do and the way he treats me is very similar to the sg. Which makes the sg's actions more confusing to me. But either way I'm excited to see where things go with this new guy, if it works out then that's great! If not, then maybe I can try to reopen things again with the sg if enough time has passed and I still want to. But I guess my main question here is how much distance I should put between me and the sg? Do I completely cut off contact with him? Do I just stop reaching out to him, but respond when he reaches out to me? Do I just decrease how much I do reach out to him? Or can I just interact with him normally? I enjoy talking to him as a friend so I don't want to completely cut him off, but I'm just wondering what the best move is here. Sorry for the long ask! And thanks for all the time you put into these responses :)

Hi!, nice to hear from you again :-)

You're seing someone, that is great news. I would only recommend that you keep doing what you are doing, which is to enjoy your time with him and not worry about your shy guy.

But as for your shy guy, you should definitely continue to interact with him in a friendly way. Let him see how you act, how you feel, how you behave when you are dating someone. He might eventually get that it's not that scary or complicated. He might understand that dating is not some final thing that you can't come back from.

Dating is basically a test, an attempt to see if you are compatible with someone. And not some life changing thing that can only ruin lives. Sometimes it can, but most of the time it's fine. As a shy guy, he probably thinks that it's a big thing.

So let him see you in "dating mode", he might realize some stuff. You do have to commit to your dating though. Let him see the real thing. The more genuine and sincere your situation is, the more he should learn from it :-)

[msmental-madness]

Intro.

Hello world,

My name is Penelope. I'm a 32 years old woman who has been having a really hard time lately managing my mental illnesses, on top of being "newly" diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in October 2021.

I am someone who has always been a little too much of an open book and overshare. I am completely open about my mental illnesses and have no shame in telling it like it is because people should know what it's like to live feeling as I do on a daily basis. It's hard to live a life feeling misunderstood. I feel like shit every day and just hope that one day my life will end because I'm too much of a coward to end it myself.

I grew up with parents who were older and grew up with the belief that mental illnesses aren't real or if you have one, you're deeply flawed. When I was 19 years old, I had to sneak around to be assessed with ADHD, but then formally tested again at a center in 2020 due to lack of records. Prior to this test, my Mom disclosed to me that I have an Auditory Processing Disorder, which was discovered when I was in PRESCHOOL. I was in speech therapy for many years. It blows my mind how my parents knew something was wrong from then on and did nothing to help me with school. All because "they didn't believe". It also was the early nineties so for all I know, maybe there was a lack of information about it at the time. It's still easier to blame my parents....so...I'll do that. ;)

I was always a strange child. I didn't wear jeans until high school because I didn't like how tight they felt. I always wore baggy clothes up until high school as well. I'm an incredibly picky eater. I don't eat fruits and vegetables because they make me gag or throw up. The only fruit I will eat are Macintosh Apples and they can't be fresh. I have to wait a couple months until they're mushy but not completely rotten. While on medical leave, I was assessed for Autism and it turns out I'm on the spectrum. I'm considered high functioning, which makes sense to me. I've had the same job for nine years; I was one month shy of seven years at my first job. I've managed to buy my own home in just my name. I have my own car in my name. I must be doing something right! I was also diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, which is mainly what my blog will be about.

In 2018, I was sent to an outpatient program to address my worsening depression and was diagnosed with PTSD. I had ended an abusive engagement a year before and I was having a lot of difficulty getting past that. I also endured a lot of mental and verbal abuse as a child growing up and that has followed me into my adult life between being the target in my family, constant bullying from a former boss, and former lover. I'm hoping I still have your attention but believe me, you'll appreciate knowing the backstory as to why I'm so fucked up.

Before the ADHD and Autism diagnoses, I struggled with depression and major anxiety for pretty much my entire life. I just always knew there was more to how I was feeling based on my thoughts and behavior. I never thought it was normal how explosive I'd become while hearing people chew food or how I'd go from 0-60 with my mood swings. I take pride in being weird and quirky but a lot of people are impatient with what is actually my form of OCD. No one understands me at all.

I would love to blame the lesions on my brain for my mental problems, but I know that's not it. The neurologist told me that I have so many lesions on my brain that I've probably had Multiple Sclerosis for at least a decade. I'm not even mad or sad about it honestly. I knew something was wrong for a long time and no one believed me.

When I finally had a diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder, it changed my life. I researched it and still do and everything resonates with me. Going forward, the rest of my blog will focus on this and flashbacks to my past. I will be brutally honest about what thoughts run through my head because I think it's important to be honest about how sensitive we are and what our thought process is. I hate being told I'm "dramatic". I could slap anyone who says that. They are lucky to not have to play what I call "Mood Roulette" on an hourly fucking basis.

I am hoping that if you've made it this far, you will continue to read. I know this intro wasn't super exciting but I will be more interesting going forward. Thank you for reading! Just remember, you're not alone, and you have an ally <3

[girl4music]

“You would be forgiven for thinking Willow is not as layered or interesting a character as Buffy until the midpoint of season 2 because she really doesn't get much focus in Season 1, with I Tarzan You Jane being the only real episode that centers around her. She doesn't seem to be anything other than the standard shy best friend / sidekick to the more self-confident main character girl. However that's yet another role Willow plays, because as someone who fears the spotlight, Willow has a tendency to hide in Buffy's shadow.

Willow is a shy introverted teen girl with low self-esteem who's basically only had one friend her entire life, until Buffy suddenly drops into her life in high school. Willow's life suddenly became "special" because Buffy was there and Buffy is special. She transforms from a geek with a few computer skills to a literal magic witch in later seasons. Buffy is the "chosen one" but Buffy chose Willow as her best friend in the first episode when she could have chosen Cordelia. Willow's compromise for wanting the spotlight for herself but being too afraid of it is to cling to Buffy instead, Willow isn't special but she becomes special by being Buffy's friend.

That's why this is the first episode where Willow starts to become her own character so to speak, because when Buffy is rendered useless by the spell into a typical damsel the role of leadership for the group falls onto Willow. When Willow is forced to take charge she's shown to be perfectly capable of doing so as long as Buffy's not around (she also stands up to Giles in Reptile Lizard Boy, and asserts herself more and more later on this season) so the problem isn't really that Willow's not capable of taking charge but she's not usually confident enough to. This is the first episode where Willow becomes the protagonist and Buffy the supporting character.

It's something that will happen again and again later on, Willow attempting to fill in Buffy's shoes. The season 3 opening she makes a pun and tries to stake a vampire the way Buffy does only to fail miserably. When Buffy is gone in season 6, Willow becomes the default head of the group. Willow is always in Buffy's shadow, but she's also shown to be perfectly capable of stepping out of that shadow on several occasions, it's just Willow herself who chooses to stay there.

Which really goes to show how deep Willow's fears and insecurities run. Willow is a hacker, she's smart enough to get into any college she wants, and yet Willow's opinion of herself is abysmally low, she's cripplingly afraid of what other people think of her.

Except on Halloween, the one special night you can choose to dress up like a slut and get away with it judgement free.”

Well written. That’s what I keep saying. Willow is an immensely layered and interesting character. I would say even more than Buffy in some ways actually.

You never see the “true” Willow because she’s always wearing a costume, playing a character and putting on a performance. And yet - through all of that…

You still get just Willow. You still get everything she is because it’s all part of what and who she is anyway.

Which is why what Giles says to her in ‘Lessons’ is so poignant for her character representation and arc.

“You are. In the end we all are who we are no matter how we may appear to have changed.”

“However, on top of that she somehow associates the experience of being a "Real" girl with powerlessness and depending on someone else. That being more traditionally feminine somehow goes hand in hand with weakness. Girls are after all traditionally the victims in horror movies, and when Buffy is playing the role of hero she can't be a victim.”

Yeah, this is the reason why I don’t like this episode. It’s clever in its use of themes and dichotomies and such but just this one thing about it really ruins it for me. I can’t enjoy watching it even if it’s Willow-centric. Because - in a show that praises Buffy for not being gender stereotypical - they still manage to undermine and even insult Buffy as a person for just being a girl. This is probably the only episode where Buffy’s femininity is called into question and it’s not good how they decide to execute her plotline and then resolve it. By basically telling her that being “like that” (aka a traditional girly girl) is something to be ashamed of.

“Ironically, the only man to show a clear preference for Buffy's normal self in the episode is Spike who films her and praises her at the beginning for her strength as a slayer. Then towards the end, when given the opportunity to kill her as the helpless damsel Spike spends way too long lingering on it instead of just snapping her neck, almost as if waiting for her to return to being her usual self.”

Yep. Made that point too. Literally every guy Buffy interacts with either romantically or platonically infantilizes or genderizes her…. Except Spike.

He is the only one that treats her as an equal. Sometimes even more than he is. Beneath her.

“Xander is almost as much of a victim of gendered expectations of the people around him as Buffy is. Xander is insecure about the fact that he's not performing the role of a man correctly, the same way that Buffy thinks she's not being a girl correctly.”

I have said that Xander is the only other main character where the theme of growing up is just as important for him as it is for Buffy. Willow is not so much concerned with growing up as she is with being her own person. Growing up is apart of it, yes, but not a significant amount like it is with Buffy and Xander. Growing up = growing out of immature impulsions. And that’s definitely very significant for Xander because he is constantly dealing with his immaturity.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: "HALLOWEEN"

The next episode in my episode by episode analysis of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, showing how individual episodes fit into the themes of the seasons they're a part of and the series as a whole. This is the first of several Halloween episodes that use the holiday to take a deeper look into the fears of the characters, and the costumes they wear not just on Halloween but every day in their normal lives.

1. Janus

The central theme of the episode revolves around the roman god Janus. Giles helpfully explains for us here.

Giles: Janus. Roman mythical god. Willow: What does this mean? Giles: Primarily the division of self. Male and female, light and dark. Ethan: (appears) Chunky and creamy. Oh, no, sorry, that's peanut butter.

Janus is the god of beginnings, transitions, dualities, and oorways. He's a two-faced god as shown in the idol that Ethan Rayne uses to cast his spell. More specifically he is the god of doors, the gates of an ancient building in Rome are named after him. As the god of Doors, he represents the middle ground between concrete and abstract dualities. Male/ Female, Light/Dark and Chunky and Creamy. These things are traditionally thought to be two abstract categories but the closer you look at them the more fuzzy the boundary line between them becomes.

A Binary Opposition is a pair of related terms or concepts that are opposite in meaning, where two opposites are strictly defined against one another. Up is defined as being the opposite of down. These are considered to be strict categories that are mutually exclusive from one another.

However, these sets can be seen as complementary forces, rather than contradictory to one another. You can't understand one without understanding the other. An example is one cannot conceive of 'good' if we do not understand 'evil'. These pairs which are seen as distinct opposites are actually complementary pairs which are needed to define each other.

Dualism, is the key word of this episode every single character in this episode has two faces. They are representing two sides of themselves, one is the face they wear on their everyday lives, the other is their hidden side that they only have the confidence to show on Halloween. Which one is the mask, and which is the real face that's first asked this episode and repeated again later on in the series.

The basic premise of this episode is that on Halloween you have the confidence to dress in a way you wouldn't normally dress for the rest of your life. This quote from a completely different show the Venture Bros does a good job of explaining it.

Orpheus: This is a night of true magic. Halloween is the night we discover who we are. Are wepeople who make zombie armies? Are we those who condemn others, or are we beautiful children in resplendent costumes collecting candy? Are our choices in costumes provocative? Do we dress up as our ideal self? Or are we not ready to decide who we want to be? We use this one enchanted night to perform the greatest feat of magic there is. We become ourselves. Halloween is the true magic it is the night we discover who we really are.

For Buffy this means dressing like a normal girl, for Xander it's dressing up like a more traditionally masculine tough guy soldier, and for Willow it's dressing a little slutty (until she loses confidence to do that).

Not only does each costume choice inform us about the characters, the characters are physically flipped. As a result of the spell making the halloween costumes flesh, the characters insides become their outsides and their outsides become their insides. I'll be breaking them down character by character down blow.

2. Willow: The Ghost Girl

Willow's costume for the night is based on that old joke that girls dress up sluttier on Halloween because it's the one night of the year they're allowed to get away from it without being judged.

Buffy: What'd you get? Willow: A time-honored classic! (holds up a ghost costume) Buffy: Okay, Will, can I give you a little friendly advice? Willow: It's not spooky enough? Buffy: It's just... you're never gonna get noticed if you keep hiding. You're missing the whole point of Halloween. Willow: (smiles) Free candy? Buffy: It's come as you aren't night. The perfect chance for a girl to get sexy and wild with no repercussions. Willow: Oh, I don't get wild. Wild on me equals spaz. Buffy: Don't underestimate yourself. You've got it in you.

Buffy mentions that Willow is hiding, which is an interesting word to use here because you could say that shy, introverted Willow spends most of her life hiding from the spotlight. Just a few episodes ago Willow's choice of outfit to wear for the school dance in Inca Mummy Girl is emblematic of this behavior, on a night she can wear anything she chooses to wear a giant snow parka that hides most of her body. To a dance which she was hoping Xander would ask her to, and got jealous when he noticed another girl (the mummy girl) and asked her to the dance instead.

Willow is made up of these two contradictory desires. She wants to stay out of the spotlight, but she wants to be noticed as well. Unlike most of the pairs we're going to discuss in this post these two things are mutually exclusive. As Buffy points out "You're never going to get noticed if you keep hiding."

Male and female don't contradict each other, you can be both male and female because male and female are just made up categories that are more ambiguous than most people believe them to be. However, you can't get noticed if you're hiding yourself, because well you're hidden. It's a having your cake and eating it too sort of deal.

Perhaps reflecting how contradictory and complicated Willow's core desires are, she's the only one dressed up as two different costumes. She at first dresses in the more revealing costume Buffy suggests, but then hides it with a traditional white bedsheet ghost costume. Willow is dressed up as two different things because she wants to have it both ways. Giles even comments on the confusing nature of her costume.

Giles: (confused) A-and, uh, your, your costume? Willow: I'm a ghost! Giles: Yes. Um... w, uh, uh, uh, the ghost of what, exactly?

Willow wants to be noticed for who she is, and in general be the kind of self-confident person that Buffy seems to be so naturally, but she's constantly sabotaged by her fear of judgement. When people notice you they will judge you whether you want them to or not. It's not a coincidence that Willow dresses up in costumes again and again, in story. Wearing costumes / theatre / performance is a recurring motife for her, you see Willow's got a bad case of stage fright.

In the first episode where characters deal with their deepest fears, S1E10 Nightmares, Willow's nightmare is being forced to perform the opera Madame Butterfly on stage in front of everyone when she doesn't know the lines.

STAGE MANAGER: Man, I thought you weren't going to show. Aldo's beside himself. M. C.'S VOICE: Ladies and Gentlemen, we are proud to present two of the world's greatest singers… STAGE MANAGER: I hope you're warmed up. It's an ugly crowd. All the reviewers showed up. M.C.'S VOICE …all the way from Firenze, Italy, the one and only Aldo Gianfranco… The stage manager drags Willow to the curtain. She peers out to see: WILLOW'S POV - A RATHER LARGE AUDIENCE is waiting. Willow backs away from the curtain, starting to hyperventilate. M.C.'S VOICE… and all the way from Sunnydale, California, the world's finest soprano, Willow Rosenberg! WILLOW: But… I didn't learn the words…

As I said performance is a recurring motie for her character. The definition of a motif is a distinctive feature or dominant idea in an artistic or literary composition. Willow's character revolves around the idea of theatre and performnace it just keeps coming up with her, later on in the dream symbolism episode of Season 4 "Restless" Willow is once again forced to step up on stage when she doesn't know the lines. Her dream is once again showing up to the first day of drama class only to learn that everyone is putting on a production of Death of Salesman with a cowboy in it, and she doesn't know any of the lines. Giles also has this to say about acting and the word "hiding" is brought up again.

GILES: Acting is not about behaving, it's about hiding. The audience wants to find you, strip you naked, and eat you alive, so hide. GILES: Now, costumes, sets, um, the things that you, uh, you know, uh, you, um... you hold them, you touch them, uh, use them, um... HARMONY: Props? GILES: No. RILEY: Props? GILES: Yes! (Points at Riley) It's all about subterfuge. (To Harmony) That's very annoying. (To everyone) Now go on out there, lie like dogs, and have a wonderful time. Now, if we can stay in focus, keep our heads, and if Willow can stop stepping on everyone's cues, I know this'll be the best production of "Death of a Salesman".

Willow's dream also has this repeating line, said by many different characters.

BUFFY: (to Willow) Your costume is perfect. (Whispers) Nobody's gonna know the truth. You know, about you. WILLOW: (bemused) Costume? BUFFY: (pouting) You're already in character! Oh, I shoulda done that! [...] BUFFY: (straightens up) Play is long over. (Stares at Willow) Why are you still in costume? WILLOW: Okay, still having to explain wherein this is just my outfit. (Gesturing to her clothes) BUFFY: Willow, everybody already knows. Take it off.

People constantly refer to Willow as being "in costume" when she's just wearing her normal everyday clothes. Giles says that acting is just the art of lying and hiding who you are in front of everybody, and Willow's default behavior is to always hide in the shadows. Willow's everyday self is just as much of a costume as the costume she wears on Halloween.

You would be forgiven for thinking Willow is not as layered or interesting a character as Buffy until the midpoint of season 2 because she really doesn't get much focus in Season 1, with I Tarzan You Jane being the only real episode that centers around her. She doesn't seem to be anything other than the standard shy best friend / sidekick to the more self-confident main character girl. However that's yet another role Willow plays, because as someone who fears the spotlight, Willow has a tendency to hide in Buffy's shadow.

Willow is a shy introverted teen girl with low self-esteem who's basically only had one friend her entire life, until Buffy suddenly drops into her life in high school. Willow's life suddenly became "special" because Buffy was there and Buffy is special. She transforms from a geek with a few computer skills to a literal magic witch in later seasons. Buffy is the "chosen one" but Buffy chose Willow as her best friend in the first episode when she could have chosen Cordelia. Willow's compromise for wanting the spotlight for herself but being too afraid of it is to cling to Buffy instead, Willow isn't special but she becomes special by being Buffy's friends.

That's why this is the first episode where Willow starts to become her own character so to speak, because when Buffy is rendered useless by the spell into a typical damsel the role of leadership for the group falls onto Willow. When Willow is forced to take charge she's shown to be perfectly capable of doing so as long as Buffy's not around (she also stands up to Giles in Reptile Lizard Boy, and asserts herself more and more later on this season) so the problem isn't really that Willow's not capable of taking charge but she's not usually confident enough to. This is the first episode where Willow becomes the protagonist and Buffy the supporting character.

It's something that will happen again and again later on, Willow attempting to fill in Buffy's shoes. The season 3 opening she makes a pun and tries to stake a vampire the way Buffy does only to fail miserably. When Buffy is gone in season 6, Willow becomes the default head of the group. Willow is always in Buffy's shadow, but she's also shown to be perfectly capable of stepping out of that shadow on several occasions, it's just Willow herself who chooses to stay there.

Which really goes to show how deep Willow's fears and insecurities run. Willow is a hacker, she's smart enough to get into any college she wants, and yet Willow's opinion of herself is abysmally low, she's cripplingly afraid of what other people think of her.

Except on Halloween, the one special night you can choose to dress up like a slut and get away with it judgement free.

2. Buffy: The Normal Girl

While Willow gets to play the hero for the night, Buffy gets to be the damsel-in-distress being rescued by others instead of doing the rescuing. Buffy's desire to be a normal girl and how being the slayer keeps her from a normal life where all she has to worry about is which boy she's going to the dance with is a long running theme with her character, but there are some interesting themes with gender going on with Buffy and Xander's characters this episode.

The central "idea" of Buffy is that Buffy as a blonde high schooler would usually be the first victim in a horror movie, the girl running away from the slasher but instead she's the thing monsters run away from. Certain episodes play with this idea by changing her back to her more traditional role and show just how weird and out of character that is for Buffy. This episode she's practically helpless for the entire episode. There's an episode in season 3 where she loses her powers as the slayer, and spends the entire episode losing all confidence in herself because she lacks the strength to fight back against monsters and other men and is made to feel like a victim. In Season 5 there's "Superstar" where Jonathan makes himself the main character of Buffy by using magic to turn the world into his self-insert fanfic, and despite still being around Buffy acts more like a sidekick or "The chick" of the group despite the fact she's supposed to be the slayer.

Buffy is a girl in a main character role that's usually given to guys. It's a thing both the writers and audience are aware of. It shouldn't be weird that the chosen one is a girl, and yet because of the gender imbalance in fiction it sort of is. That's why characters sometimes ask questions like "How come there aren't any boy slayers?"

However, Buffy being a female character occupying a role usually reserved for main characters is also commented upon in universe by the males in her life. Xander's season 1 arc is him dealing with the fact that Buffy is not the love interest to his story and doesn't conform to his desires of her and accepting her as a friend. Xander gets a flash of that tendency of his rearing its ugly head again when Xander gets mad at Buffy for standing up to him when a jock was about to beat him up, because it'd apparently be better to be beaten up then saved by a girl.

Buffy always wants to be a normal girl, but I think it's important to see in this episode why she wants to dress like a princess from the 1800s this episode. It comes from two of the men in her life making her insecure about her femininity. Xander by complaining about a girl rescuing him, and Angel's lack of attention making her believe she needs to act more like the type of girl that he would be into. Buffy's not just trying to dress up as a normal girl this episode but the kind of girl that would be worthy of angel's attention. What she thinks he wants in a girl.

ANGEL: I don't get it Buffy. Why did you think I'd like you better dressed that way? BUFFY: I - I just wanted to be a real girl, for once. The kind of fancy girl you liked when you were my age.

While Angel says that he likes the kind of exciting girl Buffy is now far better, I think it says something about both Angel and Xander that the kind of girl Buffy thinks they want her to be is someone helpless.

XANDER: You're sure she came this way? ANGEL: No. CORDELIA: She'll be okay. ANGEL: BUFFY would be okay. Whoever she is now, she's helpless. Come on.

Which I think says a lot about Buffy that number one being who she is, disqualifies her from being a "real" girl. There's the fact that she naturally as the slayer sees herself as always existing outside of the crowds watching other people live their lives and protecting them while she can't live hers. However, on top of that she somehow associates the experience of being a "Real" girl with powerlessness and depending on someone else. That being more traditionally feminine somehow goes hand in hand with weakness. Girls are after all traditionally the victims in horror movies, and when Buffy is playing the role of hero she can't be a victim.

Which is you know a whole can of worms, but also effective foreshadowing for the second half of the season. Season 2 is so well-written because there are so many red flags for what is going to happen in the midway twist, and yet the characters drive straight past them. The foreshadowing in this episode being that "normal girl" or "princess Buffy" isn't just scared of vampires and everything that moves, she's also scared of Angel despite Cordelia's insistence he's one of the good guy vampires.

BUFFY: (Re: Angel) He's… he's a vampire! CORDELIA: (to Angel) She's got this thing where she thinks - ah, forget it. (humoring her) It's okay. Angel is… a good vampire. He'd never hurt you. BUFFY: He - really?

Cordelia saying Angel is a good vampire who'd never hurt her sounds awfully ominous knowing that Angel becomes the main antagonist of this season.

It's not a coincidence either that the traditional proper kind of girl that Buffy dresses up as looks almost exactly like Drusilla, even wearing a brown wig to match her hair color. Angel even says at the end of this episode that he hated the kind of girl that Buffy dressed up when he was a teenager, and then details to Buffy in the next episode his obsession with corrupting Drusilla's purity.

Buffy like Willow fails to reconcile these two opposing sides of her. She can't be a normal girl if she's the slayer. She can't be a real girl if she's strong enough to make the men in her life feel insecure. It's almost like being a girl is yet another costume, a performance you make in front of an audience and Buffy feels like she's doing that badly. Not only that but men are continually making her feel that way too, either by being completely emotionally unavailable like Angel, or by getting mad at her like Xander for refusing to conform to her expectations.

Ironically, the only man to show a clear preference for Buffy's normal self in the episode is Spike who films her and praises her at the beginning for her strength as a slayer. Then towards the end, when given the opportunity to kill her as the helpless damsel Spike spends way too long lingering on it instead of just snapping her neck, almost as if waiting for her to return to being her usual self.

ON SPIKE & BUFFY: As he looks around him to see that his MINIONS are all SCARED LITTLE TRICK-ORTREATERS (and two high school students). The realization sinks in - and he looks at his hand. It's still holding Buffy's wig, buther head isn't in it. He looks back at Buffy. She's smiling. BUFFY: Hi Honey. I'm home. And she LETS LOOSE on him. All the pent-up rage and frustration from her last defenseless hours comes pouring out. A series of BRUTAL KICKS and PUNCHES send him to the ground. She lifts him back to his feet BUFFY:You know what? It's good to be me.

As Spike is acting as both Buffy's mortal enemy and shadow self, his reluctance to kill her when she's not herself and respect for her real self goes hand in hand with Buffy's self-acceptance when she changes back. Buffy does like and accept her power, and feels confident in that fact, but often represses that side of herself because women aren't really supposed to be confident in themselves in that way. Buffy's desire to be strong and to accept her strength and make it hers is therefore repressed to please the other people in her life and so she can pass off as normal and that repressed aspect of herself manifests in Spike, her shadow self's admiration for that same power.

Spike is even the one who tears off her costume reverting her back to her real self.

The other men in the episode also learn to appreciate the real Buffy after spending the entire episode dealing with the annoying damsel version of her, but they have to learn that lesson where Spike is the only one praising her for her abilities from the start. Because Spike is the shadow self, he's Buffy's self reflection whereas Xander and Angel represent the judgement of other people on her.

One last thing I would like to say is that both sides of Buffy are real, both the normal girl and the slayer. I think there's something deeply sad about this episode that implies that there's a screaming girl inside of Buffy, who does feel scared and helpless in the face of the monsters in her life but she can never allow herself to feel that fear because she has to be strong. The scared little girl half of Buffy is just as real as the strong, self-confident pun-making slayer.

3. Xander: Soldier Guy

This is going to be the shortest section, because Xander, but I would like to note that as a character Xander works best when you realize he basically has no proper masculine role models in his life. His father is abusive, Giles makes it clear he doesn't like him, there's no one at home or school to demonstrate what a normal and healthy adult man acts like.

Teenage boys like Xander don't grow up in a vaccuum, and Xander acts the way he does towards Buffy not out of malice, but out of a deep seeded insecurity. Xander, like Willow is worried about what other people will think. It's better to be beaten up by a school jock then to be rescued by a girl not because he thinks Buffy should be weak, but because he thinks other people will think he is weak.

When Xander's not worrying about what other people think, he's shown to be perfectly fine with having mostly female friends and not dating any of them. Xander is almost as much of a victim of gendered expectations of the people around him as Buffy is. Xander is insecure about the fact that he's not performing the role of a man correctly, the same way that Buffy thinks she's not being a girl correctly.

If Willow is perfectly capable of being a leader and being self confident like Buffy is but usually hides in the shadow, Xander is perfectly capable of being brave. He doesn't need to be soldier guy or to carry a gun because he will jump right into danger alongside Buffy like it's no big deal. The only person who thinks it's a big deal is Xander, because he's suffering under the societal expectation that he needs to be physically strong.

It's like Xander thinks there is an imaginary checklist of things he needs to have to be a proper man and he feels insecure when he doesn't have them. He needs to date a girlfriend in high school. He needs to be the physically strongest. He has an incorrect expectation informed by the society around him. It's not weird that Buffy is the main character and hero, but people think it's weird because the main character usually would have been Xander. The normal high school boy in any other story would hvae turned out to be the chosen one and the girl he liked would have started like him back, but Buffy is not that story.

Xander doesn't need to be soldier boy because he's always someone who will fight by Bufy's die, but just like BUffy and Willow the only time he feels confident enough to dress up like Solider Boy is Halloween.

[wandsolsen]

Champagne Problems

Wanda Maximoff x Reader

Summary: In which Wanda rejected your marriage proposal, inspired by Taylor Swift's song Champagne Problems.

Warnings: pure angst, cursing.

Word Count: 1.8k

↳ Please, be aware that English isn't my first language, fell free to tell me if there are any mistakes.

You booked the midnight train for a reason, you wanted to contemplate your pain with your head against the train window.

The reason for your suffering had a name, Wanda Maximoff.

You sat down in one of the seats, feeling the hurt in your chest burning hard just for thinking about her. The train wasn't too much crowned, however, it wasn't all empty. There were people talking and people sleeping, you were not sure which was worse.

People looked at you, certainly worried about how miserable you were.

You finally rested your head on the train window, looking at the view from the outside. Unintentionally, you remembered Wanda's hand holding yours as the two of you danced on the dance floor.

Wanda smiled at you, and she looked happy. But she wasn't, at least, not complete. Not happy enough to say yes.

However, nobody could ever have thought that she would say no.

You felt the tears coming out, your mouth trembled as you remembered. Your heart was made of glass and she let it drop it.

You had prepared a speech, but when you got down on your knees, you didn't find the expression of emotion and excitement that you had imagined she would had. Instead, you saw Wanda's body tense and fear in her green eyes.

You were speechless.

She didn't even let you ask, she ran away, leaving you there, on your knees and crestfallen on the dance floor.

You were so broken that you hadn't the strength to reach out to her, Wanda's love escaped beyond your reaches.

You saw the pity look that your family and friends gave to you. You had told them that you were going to propose Wanda that night, you couldn't keep it a secret.

You had bought Dom Pérignon and one of your family members had already popped the bottle in an early celebration, it was humiliating.

"Maybe it's just one of her...What does she call? Oh, yeah," Steve remembered before anyone could answer him. "her champagne problems." Steve was trying to calm you down, but he wasn't succeeding.

Fuck Wanda, you thought, your veins filled with angry. Fuck her and her champagne problems.

But even with all the fury you were feeling, Wanda's picture was still in your wallet along with your mom's ring.

You didn't hate her for leaving, you could never hate her.

You remembered the first time you made Wanda blush, it was in November.

You both met in college, and you thought you were the luckiest person in the world for having Wanda as your roommate. She was organized, friendly and didn't ask too many questions, everything a person could want from a roommate.

"Someone said to me that this door was once a madhouse." You said to her, wanting to make small talk.

"Well, it's made for me." Wanda made a joke, and you chuckled.

"A beautiful and intelligent woman like you in a madhouse? I find it hard to believe."

"Beautiful people do have problems too." Wanda's face was getting flush.

"I know, I know." You said. "I just wanted to praise you because, well, you're definitely one of the most beautiful girls on the campus."

And there it was, Wanda's face all red and her shy smile on her lips. You felt your heart beating faster than usual at that moment.

"So do you?" You continued.

"Do what?"

"Have problems."

"Just champagne problems." She answered.

"Champagne problems?" You asked, with your furrowed eyebrows.

"Yes, nothing meaningful or worth mention," She explained. "when compared to the others issues around the world."

"Well, champagne or not, they're still problems."

She thought about your words for a moment, but didn't say anything. Wanda continued to devalue her own problems, claiming that her issues were insignificant and there were worse things in the world.

Wanda was very reserved in the beginning, it was usually you who started the conversations. It didn't take long for you to fall in love with her.

I mean, how could you not? She was gorgeous and caring. Wanda was kinder than the most people you had ever met. She was a dream girl, with her hair loose and long, her sweet smile and her funny laugh. The way she was always up to help someone in need, and how she tried to empathize with everyone.

Wanda was absolutely flawless.

You only asked her out on a date when you were sure she wouldn't reject you.

Now, seeing from afar, you could see how stupid you were. You should have waited, just kneeling after knowing for sure that she would say yes.

But that's the problem.

You had sure that Wanda would say yes with tears dropping from her eyes. Then, your song would have played, you would have kissed her and held her hand tight while dancing. Your friends would have cheered with joy, and Wanda would have hugged you with a radiant smile on her face.

You let out a breath of pain. You now lived with only wishes. Because she dropped your hand while dancing, instead of holding tight.

Just champagne problems, she would say, about this dramatic situation.

You had a black Chevy that Wanda loved, she enjoyed riding in your car, even if you never go anywhere special. And when the car stopped running and you decided that was time to buy a better one, Wanda didn't let you. Often you saw her on the passenger seat murmuring whatever song was playing on the radio.

Nevertheless, the Chevy wasn't going anywhere. Just like your relationship.

Feeling tired of sitting there in this hurt, you left the train and went to the nearest hotel that you could find, you didn't want to come back home anytime soon.

You lived in a small town, your failed marriage proposal was probably spreading in the mouth of people like a disease.

Your turn on your phone, there were many messages and missed calls from your friends, but no one of them matters to you. Except one.

There was one voicemail from Wanda. Just that. She didn't send you a dozen messages like your friends, just a voicemail.

You set down on the bed, before listening to her voice for the last time.

Hey, Y/N, it's me, Wanda. I think I owed you an apology for leaving you out there standing. I-I can't do this, I'm sorry.

Wanda's voice was trembling, it sounded like she was crying. Why was she crying? She left you, not the other way around.

You didn't know it was possible for your heart to break more, but it did. The sound of her painful voice would haunt you forever.

I really can't give you a reason, I guess I never was ready for commitment. Sometimes you just don't know the answer until someone gets on their knees and asks you, you know?

There was a long pause, so long that you thought the message was over. However, Wanda's voice filled the room again:

You deserve someone better than me, you always had. Someone who is not fucked up in the head like me, someone who will never hurt you like I did. You'll find a real thing out there, she will pick up the pieces of your broken heart and she will patch up your tapestry that I shredded. She will be so perfect that you will not remeber me, or all my champagne problems.

Your vision was blurred because of the tears that fall uncontrollably from your face.

Ours... your friends called, they all are worried about you, please contact them.

There was another long pause.

I lov...

Your heart started to race at the words she was about to say, but Wanda gave up halfway, as if realizing that the words were not true.

Goodbye, Y/N.

And that was it.

Four years of relationship saying goodbye in a voicemail of less than five minutes.

Your throat burned from holding on to crying for so long, you wanted to scream until your vocal cords burst.

You loved her more than anything, and she left as if it were nothing. As if your love meant nothing.

You took the picture of Wanda that was still on your wallet, and tore it into several pieces before throwing it in the trash.

Eventually, the sleep caught you while you were crying in the hotel bed, similar to a friendly hug in the midst of so much pain.

━━━━━━ ᗢ ━━━━━━

You heard that Wanda left town, without looking back, on the same day that she rejected your proposal.

Wanda's sweet perfume was still impregnate, along with your memories with her, in every room of the house that the two of you used to live. You didn't manage to stay there, it didn't take long for you to sell the house and buy an apartment in the city center.

You sold your black Chevy, there was no one around to stop you.

You also sold Wanda's things that she left behind, you didn't want anything to remind you of her. Because after the end of the day, you were still mad at Wanda. For leaving, for didn't give you a good reason, for making your waste four years of your life.

"She would've made such a lovely bride, what a shame she's fucked in the head." That was probably the last thing that someone spoke about Wanda, before another big gossip emerge in your town and they eventually forgot the humiliation that she put you through.

At first, you stayed in your new apartment with your heart broken, just watching futile reality shows and eating junk food. Steve, your best friend, was there all the time giving you emotional support, even though he didn't always know how to say the right thing.

But eventually you had to face reality, after all, you suffering or not, life still went on.

It took two years before you were ready to fall in love again. And two years since you had heard from Wanda, you didn't know about her even on social media, since she had deleted them all.

It was as if Wanda had simply disappeared, little by little, she became a myth in your life, a ghost that haunted you from time to time. Not even your friends and family mentioned her name.

Sometimes you wondered if she really existed, if you haven't invented her in your head.

It was in a bar outside the town, that you met Natasha Romanoff. She was self-confident and carried a death look in her eyes, rigid on the outside, but soft on the inside. She had short red hair and was not very fond of wearing jewellery.

Totally different from Wanda.

Natasha was fun to be around, it was easy to understand her because she was always honest with you.

You started to date her on the very first day of summer. Then, after spending all the four seasons together, you started to carry your mom's ring in your pocket and Natasha's picture in your wallet.

And when you got on your knees, she didn't leave you crestfallen on the dance floor. She said yes, and held your hand tight while dancing.

However, in the end, Wanda was wrong.

You still remeber all her champagne problems.

[kulemii]

first of all kenjiro/shinjiro is sooooo mf fine bitch omg. he looks like such a player. is he? does he have a partner? CAN I REQURST MORE PICTURES?????? what's his relationship to arika if he has been looking after her? what's their age difference? does he and majima get along?? i wanna know everything about him!!!!!

For each question, I will give you one photo! Be warned, these are unfinished! I still need to go back in and touch up some stuff like clipping and whatnot- so, consider them as wips.

𝐈𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫?

Generally speaking, he is very good with women. Not in a womanizing way but because he is good at reading and anticipating the needs of others- especially so for women and that has put him in some ✨situations✨. It didn't come naturally though. Looking after Arika when she was probably at her most emotional prepared him for a lot of it, I think. He's very thoughtful, open and honest and I think that appeals to the people around him and brings them in. In reality though, he is quite shy about approaching women that he's interested in. I won't lie. He's good looking, charismatic and he has money. There are women left, right and center that have some form of interest in him but even if he were to entertain them- he worries that they're never seriously interested in him. It's just that he has a reputation and people flock to him for that alone... All that said, Kenji is a sweet boy- yes, but he wouldn't mind taking someone to bed.

𝗗𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿?

Good news: Kenji is single. Bad news: he's not really looking to mingle. Like I said, there's no real shortage women that are interested in him but as of recent, there's no one that he is genuinely interested in. There was someone but it didn't work out. He took it hard but it's not as if it's discouraged him from trying again. He's just very invested in maintaining his two lives and he hasn't met anyone that he wishes to bring into one of them. Nor is he in any rush to.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗿𝗶𝗸𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲?

Kenji is Arika's first love... In '82, after Kenji maintained his long-standing sobriety, Edna asked for him to move in with them as he really had nowhere else to go and wasn't really able to support himself just yet and he did. In exchange for a roof over his head (and as a test from Hiro), Kenji was tasked with looking after Arika for them. In the very beginning, he was less than happy about having to babysit some, likely spoiled, teenage girl but it didn't take long for him to understand why she needed looking after. She was the target of a ton of racialized bullying and as a half-chinese man himself- he could relate. Beyond that, Kenji witnessed time and time again just how kind-hearted she was-- and was steadfast in his vow to protect her.

Their relationship is one based on mutual respect and love (each respective form of love was different than the other though). For the longest time, he was the only person that she was honest with about the bullying she underwent at school. He took to escorting her to and from school rather than allowing her to walk to the station because he found that she had been getting jumped on the way home by the kids that were bullying her. She didn't even tell anyone. He had to find out by witnessing it- he got out of his car, fought these high school boys, threw her into his car and lectured her about keeping something so dangerous to herself. (I have a script for a lot of these interactions if anyone is interested- I think it would give a lot of context to their dynamic that I can't give without dragging out this answer.)

Arika didn't want her parents to find out because she was terrified of what her dad might have done if he knew and she didn't want to risk the worst happening--- not realizing that she could've been beaten to death one of these days. As much as he hated it, she convinced him to keep quiet about the bullying. ONLY because he thought it would be more dangerous if he lost her trust, knowing then she would go back to keeping everything to herself.

There are no shortage of secrets between the two of them and while he hates keeping anything from Hiro- he's better off not knowing many of them. He's not sure which would have him killed first: Hiro finding about about how Arika saved his life once or how after she turned 19, he found out that Arika was in love with him. Either way, so long as Arika wishes it- he will take each secret to the grave. Even long after Arika left for college, they maintain their promises to one another.

For clarification: Kenji does love Arika but it's not the same kind of love as what she had for him. He isn't quite sure how to explain it but he knows that it's different. He has deep respect and even deeper adoration for her but he has never once looked at her as anything other than the girl he swore to protect. It's not to say that he doesn't find her attractive, rather, he has never looked to her as someone to be considered attractive or not. All that said, even after gently rejecting her confession, they remained good friends.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲?

At the beginning of SOTF, Kenji is 32 and Arika is 23. So, nine years.

𝗗𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗷𝗶𝗺𝗮 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴?

HAHAHAHAHAHA WELL..... Okay, so.. Again, starting at the beginning of this story- they haven't met yet. Kenji knows who Majima is but Majima has never heard of Kenji...

However, when they do meet it's under tense circumstances and their first interaction with one another was them brawling. LMAOOO. Majima went to Arika's apartment after not hearing from her and found the door of her apartment slightly ajar. Inside, instead of finding his girlfriend, he found Kenji who he thought was some shady character ransacking her apartment (he was actually looking for something for her). And so- they fought.

The real gag is, Kenji knew exactly who Majima was but wasn't in the mood to bother with introductions after being interrogated like he had been. If you ask me, either Kenji wanted to test this guy or he just wanted to blow off some steam. Either way, Kenji, man, sometimes you can just your words.

After their fight, they do talk like adults and Kenji is able to fill in a lot of blanks for Majima. They do eventually wind up working together during plot relevant stuff but I wouldn't call them friends. In truth, Kenji goes from being neutral to kind of hating Majima buuuuut that goes beyond SOTF and is more The Majima Goro Way territory.

Thanks as always for caring about Kenji! Sorry that I'm always being super vague with you about him- Now that I finally am giving you details, I hope I haven't talked too much!

[afictionalwhore]

Oh Baby!

A/N: this was something sweet inspired by some of my babies at the daycare but then at 1 am, it turned into something completely different. I’ll try to make a part two out of the original idea. I struggled hard with a title. Titles are the worst

TW: mentions of kidnapping, soft yandere, smut, pregnancy

2.4K words

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Ever since Keigo kidnapped married you, he had kept you tucked away in your new home, a cozy cabin up the side of a secluded, lesser known mountain. You lived so high up in such a densely forested area that only Hawks could find you, completely cut off from the outside world. He never had to worry about you leaving, one woman with a common healing quirk that would do nothing to help in navigating down the mountain. The locals, inhabitants of a small village at the foot of your mountain, believed the woods to be enchanted, so Keigo had to worry less about a villager managing to stumble their way into your backyard.  

It wasn't so bad. Keigo made sure you were never bored. For when he wasn't home for you to tend to his needs, Keigo kept your home well stocked with books. It was the first thing he had shown you in your new home: your personal library. A whole room of the quaint house, your favorites, a whole shelf dedicated to just literary classics, as well as everything on your "to read" list. There was never a shortage of cookbooks. He was so excited that his large wings were flapping as though he were a young puppy wagging their tail, the giant scarlet curtain nearly knocking a shelf down on you.

"I hope you like it." Keigo looked at you, his eyes shining like an innocent puppy. "As much as I love you, I can't be with you all day. Someone has to keep food on the table." He chuckled while keeping a tight grip on your waist, and looking down at you expectantly.

"Oh. Thank you," you replied, your voice small, but loud enough for Keigo to hear. The hold on your waist loosened, and Keigo resumed his tour of your new home.

Of course, there was no TV, lest you stumble upon the news. While he's at it, no newspaper either. You didn't need those to know what was going on outside. It was a scary world out there, full of villains who wouldn't hesitate to snatch you up and use your healing quirk for their own. You were perfectly safe here with him. 

It took some time, but eventually you had come around and loved Keigo back. You were always curled up on the couch, book in hand, waiting for him to come home. As soon as he was in the doorway, you'd make your way to him, like clockwork, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek while helping him shrug off his heavy coat. Your voice was still small and hesitant around him, as though you were afraid of him. This irritated him, as Keigo didn't understand what could make you so jumpy still. He had never raised a hand against you. The two of you would have dinner, usually having to reheat whatever you had made because Keigo often worked overtime. Keigo was so happy you were making use of the cookbooks he gave you. 

You were turning out to be the perfect wife. Keigo was certain you loved him just as much as he loved you, or as close as someone could come to that level of love. He didn't believe anyone could match the way he felt about you. You were even going to have a kid together, a testament of your love. 

When you first announced your pregnancy to him, Keigo was ecstatic. He had come home that day, exhausted and overworked, excited to be welcomed home by his little wife. His stomach growled as he landed in your front yard, and he wondered what you decided to cook up for him. He noticed you'd gotten experimental in your cooking, always asking how things tasted. You were so cute when you had him guess whatever secret ingredient you added. 

When you weren’t at the door to greet him with open arms and a kiss, Keigo was disappointed in you. You were doing so well. He shook off his coat and stretched his wings, taking up the better half of your living room. You weren't nestled in the couch, engrossed in a book, as you sometimes were too distracted in your literary world to realize he had come home.

"Baby," Keigo called out, his voice echoing against the wooden walls of your homely cabin. "I'm home. I know it's a lot later than usual."

 Keigo figured you must have gone to bed already. He could forgive you for not staying up for him, he thought it was rather cute, though next time, he wished you'd fall asleep on the couch. 

When he entered your shared bedroom, Keigo saw you curled up on the bed, your back facing the doorway. You trembled—or was it a shiver? You must be cold without his body heat beside you. Keigo was his own heating unit.  

“Baby bird,” Keigo took a step into the room. “I’m home."

No response from you.

Another step.

"Can I get a kiss?”

You shivered again.

Keigo had taken off his uniform as he was making his way towards you and the bed. Now in just his boxers, Keigo heaved himself on the bed, his weight causing the mattress to sink slightly. He laid on his side to spoon you, wrapping a large, warm arm around your center. At this distance, Keigo heard it: your small sniffles. You weren't asleep; you were crying.

"Baby, what's wrong?" Keigo asked, worry sickening him. "Did ya miss me that much?" He tried to joke, more for his sake than yours.

After no response from you, save for a few more sniffles, Keigo asked once again what was wrong, a little more urgently. His racing thoughts of you leaving, of you not loving him, were sending him into a panic.

You mumbled incoherently.

"What was that, baby? I couldn't hear you." Keigo struggled to hang on to his cool.

You mumbled yet again, causing Keigo's growing panic and frustration with you to snap. He clamored over you, swinging his legs so that you were caged underneath him, his hands at either side of your head. Golden eyes locked onto your watery ones, staring you down.

“(y/n),” Keigo said firmly. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

"I'm pregnant" you spat at him, frustrated at the fact itself and having to repeat it three times. The more you said it felt like the final pat of a shovel packing the dirt above your grave. You wiped away a tear before turning and shoving your face in your pillow. 

“Oh baby.” Keigo was almost at loss for words. He had been anticipating this moment—stocking the bathroom cabinet with pregnancy tests the moment you arrived—yet in it, he didn’t know what exactly he wanted to say. He took your face in his hands and turned your head to look at him.

“Are you for real?”

“What would I gain from lying?” You attempted to make your words hit him like poisonous darts, but your quaking voice only managed to soften him.

“I love you so much,” Keigo dipped his head down to give you a chaste kiss, softer than his usual greedy ones, as though he were afraid of breaking you. Your eyes shut instinctively.

“This is so exciting, (y/n). You have no idea how happy I am."

A kiss to your cheek. 

 "I love you."

A kiss to your other cheek.

"I love you."

Keigo rose up on his hands and knees again.

"I promise to be the best father to our child."

You felt something splash on your cheek. You slowly opened your eyes again to see Keigo crying above you. 

"I love you, too," your voice small and shaky as you looked up at Keigo, knowing he would just continue to stare at you and cry until you said it back.

Keigo beamed down at you before dipping down for another kiss, this one a little rougher, more passionate is how Keigo would describe it.  His warm mouth worked against yours, his lips chapped slightly from the harsh wind on his rushed flight home. 

You thought Keigo would deepen the kiss, expecting to feel his impatient tongue poking between your lips and licking your bottom lip. Instead Keigo pulled away and sat back on your legs, the bottom half of his own legs tucking your legs under him. He studied your body, eyes trailing down your form, stopping briefly at your stomach. 

Keigo bent down again, lips now hungrily, but gently, pecking at your neck. He pulled your shirt off, delighted by your lack of bra underneath, before making his way down your chest to pepper your body with kisses. Between each small kiss, Keigo whispered "I love you" against your body.

His large hands came up to cup your breasts, careful not to squeeze too hard lest he hurt you. Usually Keigo would give them more attention, but that wasn't his main focus for tonight. He hummed as he kissed between them, flicking your nipples lightly. You couldn't suppress a small moan.

Spurred by your shy noises of pleasure, Keigo continued to move down your body. When he reached your lower abdomen, right below your belly button, Keigo's whispers of "I love you" grew more frantic, as though he was trying to tell the baby that was forming in you that he loved them.

When Keigo finally reached between your legs, he planted sweet kisses on the insides of your thighs while dragging your panties down. He tossed them to the side and lifted your legs onto his shoulders before nestling down. Keigo's face between your legs was hit with your heat. He inhaled your sweet scent, and his honeyed eyes looked up to meet yours.

"I love you, (y/n)," he stated before dipping down to lap at your puffy folds.

Keigo was excited, as any man in his position would be. As much as he wanted to pound into your until your voice hoarse from your cries and screams of his name, his main goal tonight was to make you feel good while being as gentle with you as possible. He was terrified of hurting his child in you because of his lack of self-control.

His tongue flicked at your clit, continuing to hold your gaze until your head rolled back with a low groan. Your hands found themselves tangling into his tousled golden hair, your back arching in attempt to push yourself into his mouth. Keigo chuckled against your swollen clit, the vibrations causing you to cry out and tug on his golden locks.

This spurred him on more. Keigo pushed a rough finger into you before hooking it and dragging slowly out of you, drawing a sweet moan of his name to fall out of your lips. This repeated motion combined with his sucking and lapping at your clit caused you to climb higher to your orgasm.

“Keigo, please,” you begged, seeking relief from the coiling in your gut.

Keigo hummed again against your clit, eliciting the same sweet moan and tug from you as before. He took his chance to slip another finger into you, curling both fingers against your spongy spot before dragging them down your walls.

"Keigo, I'm so close," you whined.

"Then come, baby bird." That was all you needed for the band to snap. Moans of his name and incoherent phrases tumbling out of your pretty lips.

While you were climbing down from your orgasm, Keigo found the time to remove his boxers.

Keigo sat down back down on the mattress, settling beside your shaking form with his back to the headboard. His own need was now too painful to ignore. Not wanting to put any unnecessary pressure on your stomach, Keigo pulled you up and into his lap, your entrance, slick with your own cum and his spit, hovered over his weeping cock, close enough for the heat radiating out of you to tease him. 

“I love you.” Keigo held eye contact with you as he sank you down on his cock, his large hands holding your hips. Once you were fully seated on him, Keigo leaned back against the headboard. He gave a few shallow thrusts to test what you (and the baby) could handle.

Keigo settled on a steady, but gentle rhythm. You splayed your hands on his broad chest as he bounced you on his cock. Despite the gentleness and the shallowness of Keigo's thrusts and your bouncing, you were quickly climbing your way to a second orgasm. Already sensitive from your first, Keigo's cockhead managed to nudge against your sweet spot with every roll of his hips.

"Keigo, I'm close." you cried, hiding your face in his neck. One of his hands left your hip to allow his thumb to roll your sensitive bud, causing your walls to tighten and convulse around him.

"Me too, baby." Keigo said, breathless. "I'm so close. So close. Come with me, baby."

With a strained groan, Keigo's thumb on your clit sped up, causing the heat that had once again built up within you to break. You scratched desperately at Keigo's back, hiding your face into the crook of his neck. Your hot walls clamped down on him, the final push Keigo needed to fall off the edge himself.

With chants of "I love you", Keigo began to hump his cum into you before stilling, his hips flush against yours, head tilted back and back arching off the headboard.

Once you had both come back to earth, Keigo laid you onto your back before pulling out his softening dick from you and rolling off you onto his side, white cum leaking out of you. 

"Not that this really matters anymore now," Keigo couldn't help the chuckle that left him. With the pad of his index finger, he pushed his now cooled cum into you. 

At that statement, the fog of your two orgasms lifted, and the realization of your situation set in; you could never leave now. You let out a choked sob as Keigo rested a hand on your stomach before pulling you into him and wrapping a large, red wing over the two of you like a personal cocoon. Nuzzling his face into your neck, facial hair tickling the crook, Keigo gave you soft kisses and gentle words of praise, chalking up your soft sobs to the hormones adjusting your body to his child.

[plant-flwrs]

(2/2) Everyone treats her badly and there is angst because she hates that people can't see her as more than a Malfoy and assume she's like Draco because they’re so close. And then kind of go with that? The background is kinda detailed 😂 sorry. I just had this idea stuck in my head and well I suck at writing and you write Draco as a brother amazingly.

similar shadows // george weasley

entire request:  (1/2) okay I'm finally here sending the ask. So can I have a reader x George (idk who else to ask for). So the reader is Draco's twin but in Ravenclaw. Her and Draco are really close and Draco is very protective over her but not overbearing. She's shy, book nerdy and socially awkward so she tends to stay with Draco; Draco understands her (cue sweet brother). (2/2) Everyone treats her badly and there is angst because she hates that people can't see her as more than a Malfoy and assume she's like Draco because they’re so close. And then kind of go with that? The background is kinda detailed 😂 sorry. I just had this idea stuck in my head and well I suck at writing and you write Draco as a brother amazingly.

masterlist!

a/n: ugh i love writing draco as a brother even if his characterization is completely inaccurate for it, he just has such little brother energy to me (and a warning, i took a lot of creative liberties for draco’s personality in this, i couldn’t resist it. it just made the brother/sister dynamic sm better in my opinion). also included flirty!george in this just bc i love it. i hope u like this, tysm for the request!!

summary: Living in the Malfoy shadow conditioned you to behave a certain way, avoid certain things. But, once your able to use the Quidditch pitch to finally prove you are something different than your last name, everything seems to fall into place. You even catch a certain Weasley’s eye.

(4.9k)

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The air in Malfoy Manor was always thick; thick with unsaid words, hateful tension, and awful regrets. It was a blessing for you to leave and go to Hogwarts every year.

The train ride was something you looked forwards to. Curled up in the window seat, because Draco always let you have the window seat, with whatever book you were reading at the moment. You tuned out Draco’s usual complaining to Pansy and Blaise, indulging yourself in the novel perched on your lap.

The trip never lasted long enough, though, and soon you were shuffled into Hogwarts. Draco gave your shoulder one last bump and a weak smile before you went to sit at the Ravenclaw table. You tilted your head back, gazing up at the ceiling with wonder in your eyes. The Ravenclaw table was filling up, and you managed a seat closest to the professors’ table. Your eyes scanned the Slytherin table until they found the familiar head of platinum hair you were looking for. Even if he wasn’t with you, just seeing Draco made you feel a little safer.

Dinner went quickly with your head shoved in a book, and soon you were excused to your common rooms. Draco slid away from the mass of green ties, walking with you to your common room. The two of you walked slowly, falling from the crowd to stroll by yourselves.

“I heard that the Ravenclaw Quidditch team needs a new seeker this year,” Draco started, shoving his hands in his pants pockets, “maybe you should try out.”

“I don’t know,” you clutched your book closer to your chest, “Quidditch was always your thing.”

“You’re a great flyer, Y/n,” Draco glanced at your hesitant expression, “look, it can’t hurt to try out.”

“Maybe,” you offered him, enjoying the way he smiled proudly once you gave in.

He wrapped a brotherly arm around your shoulders, marching you up the endless amount of stairs to the Ravenclaw common room. 

The next day of lessons came far too soon, and your timetable clutched in your shaky hands was giving you a headache. You looked up, seeing a familiar room number, but upon looking back at your timetable, you realized you were on the completely wrong side of the castle.

You turned on your heal, starting down a new corridor. Glancing at your watch, you saw you were already late for lessons. While your eyes were off the hallway in front of you, you hit the hard chest of someone coming your way.

“In a hurry, Malfoy?” the voice said as you both stumbled back.

George Weasley stood in front of you, a playful and happy expression on his handsome features. You knew he was only joking when he called you ‘Malfoy’, but you really did hate it. People called Draco that, and you didn’t often like to be associated with the reputation your father had curated with the last name.

“You two!” someone called from the end of the hallway.

George groaned, looking over your shoulder, “Great.”

“Detention, tonight, my office,” Filch told the two of you, pointing a finger in your faces.

You pulled back, eyeing his finger suspiciously. You didn’t realize you were doing it, but as George looked at you he noticed you were doing the signature Malfoy sneer.

“Thanks,” George said sarcastically, bumping your shoulder as he passed you.

You took a deep breath, starting off to find your class again.

“How were your classes?” Draco slumped next to you on the bench, pulling out a piece of what you thought might be pumpkin bread.

He tore off a chunk, eating it slowly. He held a piece out to you and you accepted it gratefully.

“Awful,” you said simply, putting your head to rest against your hand, “I couldn’t find half of them.”

“You should have told me, I could have helped,” Draco said, looking a little annoyed at you.

“You had your own classes to worry about,” you defended, taking another piece of pumpkin bread from him.

Draco rolled his eyes, looking around the courtyard until his eyes fell on Harry Potter sitting with a few other Gryffindors.

“Given any other thought about Quidditch? Tryouts are next week,” he mentioned, tearing his eyes away from Harry.

“I don’t know, depends on how hard my classes are,” you made up an excuse.

“Your classes are never hard for you,” Draco teased, giving you the rest of the bread, “and besides, I think you have a real chance of being a better seeker than Potter.”

You rolled your eyes, unable to contain the surprised laughter that bubbled from your chest.

“Yeah right!”

Draco scoffed, joining in your infectious laughter. You finished off the bread in your hand and reluctantly went to serve your detention with Filch.

You had never had detention before, so nerves racked your body. You looked around anxiously, twisting your hands behind your back.

“Malfoy,” George called to you from the end of the hallway.

You turned around to look at him, and waited while he jogged to catch up with you.

“You’re actually going to the detention? Figured you would have thrown a fit to Dumbledore to get out of it,” he said rudely, giving you a critical glance.

You ignored him, biting your tongue. You walked a few paces ahead of him, also ignoring his scoff.

You opened the door to Filch’s office, not bothering to wait for George. You sat on one of the old chairs in front of the desk, waiting for Filch’s sneer to turn into words.

“You two are going to polish the frames on all the portraits in this corridor,” he growled, placing two toothbrushes and one rag on his desk.

“All of them?” George repeated, sounding bothered.

“All of ‘em,” Filch said, his mouth turning up in a smile at the sight of misery.

You took a toothbrush and the rag, standing from your seat. You wordlessly walked out into the hallway and went all the way to one end. You kneeled, getting to work on a low hanging portrait. The portrait was a family sitting at a dining room table, mounds of food piled in front of them. There was a mother bouncing a baby on her knee, lifting food into it’s mouth. A young boy sat across from her, shoveling mashed potatoes into his small mouth. The father at the head of the table watched them both happily, cutting the large chicken at the center of the table. They all stopped what they were doing at the sight of you crouched in front of them, but once they saw you begin to clean, their cautious looks were replaced with thankful ones.

You watched the family, smiling faintly as they began eating again.

George had went to the opposite side of the hallway, and you began moving towards each other as the sun dwindled from the sky and candles dimly illuminated the hall. Soon, you were a few feet apart, both scrubbing with heavy hands. You moved onto the next portrait, craning your neck to look at it’s place much higher than you could reach.

You stood on the tips of your toes, extending your arm as far as it would go. You couldn’t even reach the bottom of the frame. Suddenly, George’s taller frame was hovering next to you, watching with an entertained smirk as you balanced on your toes. 

“Need some help?” he drawled, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

You fell to stand flat on your feet, nodding your head shyly. He chuckled, moving past you and effortlessly cleaning the frame.

You watched him for a moment, noticing the rise in his shirt that exposed the beginnings of his toned stomach. You watched the way his biceps flexed under his sleeves as his hand moved back and forth against the portrait. Your eyes drifted back to the wall, sitting with your legs crossed to clean a portrait closer to the floor.

“You don’t talk as much as Draco does,” George said suddenly, looking down at you from his position above you.

You didn’t respond, only giving him a quizzical expression.

“Every time I see him he’s ranting or complaining about something or other,” George continued, playfully smiling.

“Complaining is one of his hobbies,” you teased, smiling at the sound of George’s chuckle.

“So you’re his twin?” he asked, dropping his hand from the portrait and leaning against the wall again to look at you.

“Yeah,” you said, still focused on the portrait.

“You guys don’t seem too similar,” he said, furrowing his brows.

“Well, are you and Fred too similar?” you quipped, and he chuckled again.

“ ‘Spose we aren’t,” he said, turning back to the portrait, “good thing really. Gives me the opportunity to be the better one of us.”

You giggled at George’s joke, and stood from your spot on the floor.

He handed you the rag and you gave one last swipe to the portrait you just scrubbed. You placed your hands on your hips, looking down the hallway and admiring your work.

“Guess that’s it,” George said, twisting his brush in his fingers.

“Guess it is,” you said sheepishly.

You turned to walk back to Filch’s office, George trailing behind you.

Something about that little interaction made your spirits higher for an entire week. You didn’t know why, but the idea of making George Weasley laugh gave you some confidence that you lacked before. Your entire life at Hogwarts, people assumed you were like Draco. You fell in Draco’s shadow and people associated you with him and his mean tendencies. When you spoke with George, you knew he could relate to you. You knew he fell in Fred’s shadow some times, everyone knew that. Fred was the louder one, the one who usually had a girlfriend cheering for him at his Quidditch matches. George was quieter and thoughtful. You felt drawn to George.

You riding the coattails of that minor interaction with George was the only thing willing your legs to move towards the Quidditch pitch. Well, that and Draco’s firm grip on your shoulders making sure you didn’t turn and run away.

Draco had written to your mother after his first mention of Quidditch to you, and she sent you everything you needed with no hesitation. You gripped your new Firebolt in your shaky hands and tugged at the heavy pads wrapped around your forearms. Once you stood in front of the Ravenclaw team captain, you bent over slightly to adjust your knee pads. Draco’s hands left your shoulders.

“Good luck, you’re gonna do great.” he mumbled into your ear, glancing around to make sure no one else heard his kind words. He flashed you a thumbs up as he walked to the elevated grass near the goal posts, sitting down to watch.

You pulled your gloves on tighter, afraid they would fall off and affect your playing. You gulped as the captains eyes scanned you critically.

“Malfoy?” he asked, not hiding the surprise in his voice.

“Yes?” you squeaked, gripping your broom tighter.

“Oh,” he said, a pleasantly surprised look on his face, “nothing, just didn’t expect to see you here.”

You faked a smile at him, biting your tongue. You were already here, why not try to make a good impression?

You followed all the directions. The drills they had you do were nothing compared to what Draco and you used to do in the garden during the summer. You easily flew laps around everyone else, a combination of your impressive broom, and your skills alone.

The captain had reservations about you, eyeing Draco suspiciously as he cheered for you from the ground. However, after your third successful time catching the snitch, he didn’t care much about your last name. 

He told you that you made the team a few days later, telling you when to show up for practice, and when the next game was. It was Ravenclaw vs. Hufflepuff, and your captain sounded quite confident about it. So did Draco.

“You’re going to kill them!” he said enthusiastically, not hiding any of his excitement as you two walked alone along bank of the Black Lake.

You giggled at his enthusiasm, unable to stop the confidence bubbling in your chest at the thought of you catching the snitch during your first Quidditch match.

“Well, it is Hufflepuff,” you joked, shoving his shoulder with yours, “I doubt they’ll put up too much of a fight.”

Draco made an ‘ooo’ noise, his shoulders jostling with laughter.

“Trash talking already? Before your first match?”

You smiled sheepishly, not often getting to talk this freely with anyone. You enjoyed your private talks with Draco. He didn’t have to put on a hard façade, and you didn’t have to put on a painfully nice one. You were both free to be yourselves, and you hoped one day you would have someone, who wasn’t your brother, to be yourself around.

You had gone over the plays tirelessly with your captain. You didn’t eat for three days, too nervous to find food appealing. You had to force down some eggs and toast before your match, just so you wouldn’t pass out. 

You pulled at your gloves uncomfortably, fidgeting with every detail on your perfect broom just to make sure it was all in order. You stepped onto the field, hearing the roaring crowd. Everyone in the school was there; it was the first match of the year. 

You felt your eggs and toast fighting their way up your throat, but you swallowed hard, willing them to stay put. Your chin shook with the intensity in which you clenched your jaw, eyes darting everywhere at once.

“You’ve got this,” your captain slapped you on the back, jolting you forward a bit. You stumbled, using your broom as support to catch yourself from falling on your face.

Once on the field, you hovered easily face to face with the Hufflepuff seeker. Your entire body was shaking with nerves, and just before the whistle was blown, you heard the entire Slytherin and Ravenclaw student section joined in chanting your name. Your first name.

You smiled widely, enjoying the change. You were being recognized for more than your last name, for more than your family crest. You weren’t the girl who bore a striking resemblance to the meanest boy in your grade, you were more than the Malfoy’s blonde hair and grey eyes. You were you. You were Y/n.

The game was over faster than it started. The chasers in blue had only scored four goals on the Hufflepuff's before you caught the snitch, diving down to the ground with your hands wrapped tightly around the little golden orb.

Lee Jordan screamed from his spot on the teacher’s balcony, and you thought it would have made the ears bleed of anyone within 100 feet of him. Your team huddled around you, lifting you from your feet and throwing you into the air. You never let go of the snitch, keeping it clutched in your hand until you spotted Draco strolling over to you on the field. You tapped the shoulder of your captain, and he told everyone to put you down. People jostled your shoulders, clasping your back and sending varied praises your way. You nearly felt like crying, you were so happy.

You ran to Draco, tossing your broom cautiously on the ground. You jumped into his chest, his unsuspecting hands still tucked into his pants pockets. He made a disgruntled noise, stumbling back as you wrapped your sweaty arms around his neck.

“Oh my god!” you screamed, your face a flushed pink.

“I know!” he screamed back, smiling at your enthusiasm. 

“Let me see it,” he said, putting you on your feet and picking up your hand with his.

You let his palm hold yours, opening your fingers slowly. The snitch stayed put, resting still in your gloved hand. Draco’s mouth cracked into a smile, his pale face illuminating with happiness and pride. He was proud of his sister.

“I knew you would do it,” he said, wrapping his arms around your shoulders again and bringing you into a suffocating hug.

You trekked up the hill to the castle, blue surrounding you in a huddle. The only thing out of place was Draco’s all black suit he wore, but it didn’t matter. You walked side by side, and no one questioned his presence, because you just caught the snitch.

“Nice game,” you heard a voice from behind you, falling into step with you.

You looked to your left, seeing the tall frame of George Weasley. He wore a knit beanie over his ginger hair, and a sweater with his initial on it. You beamed at him, your cheeks still flushed from the excitement.

“Thanks,” you said, not taking your eyes off of him until he looked away, laughing.

“Who knew you had it in ya?” he joked, bumping his shoulder into yours.

“I did,” Draco mumbled from your other side. You turned to him, sending him a warning glance, and then looked back at George.

“Well, the Hufflepuff's certainly didn’t,” you said, referencing the way their seeker had barely even glanced at you when the game was starting.

George laughed again, and you felt your knees go a little weak. Who’s wouldn’t at the sight of an older and handsome boy laughing at a joke you made?

“Not looking forward when we have to go against Ravenclaw in a few weeks,” George said, an impressed and admiring look on his face, “you’ll definitely give Harry a run for his money.”

Draco snorted from beside you, and you sent a sharp elbow to his side. He groaned, moving a hand to nurse the spot. You kept your dazed eyes locked on Georges. George’s eyes flickered to a semi-hunched over Draco, his smile widening. 

“I’ll talk to you later,” he said, smirking at you. 

You watched his long legs carry him away, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

“Don’t tell me you fancy a Wea-” Draco started, but you winded your elbow up as a warning and he stopped suddenly.

“Shut up,” you said, still watching the way George moved through the crowd as if he was untouchable.

It was in that moment that you felt normal. You didn’t feel ostracized or different. You felt like a normal teenager with a normal annoying brother, playing a normal sport, and having a normal schoolgirl crush. Your smile felt like it would never leave you that night.

And it didn’t, it only managed to grow larger. You felt two large hands clasp around your shoulders at breakfast. You were stuffing your face, finally finding food appealing again, and with cheeks filled with food you turned and locked eyes with the always handsome George Weasley.

You stopped chewing, food sitting docile in your mouth. Your eyes widened, and you brought a hurried hand to cover your mouth as you began to chew again, ducking your head slightly as George looked at you, amused.

“Just wanted to check and see how the post-win glory was treating you,” he said, straddling the bench next to you.

You swallowed hurriedly, taking a sip of water from your goblet to wash down the food. You smiled nervously at him.

“Well, I don’t feel too different,” you said, grinning.

He laughed, resting an elbow on the table and pushing his hair back slightly with his large hand. You gulped as you watched his biceps flex at the movement, admiring his strong jaw as his head turned into his hand.

“Really?” he teased, a crooked grin on his lips as he shamelessly looked you up and down.

“I got my appetite back,” you said, buttering up your third piece of toast and putting it on your plate, “couldn’t eat for days before the match.”

“Harry gets like that,’ George said casually, “Fred and Ron eat more than ever before a match.”

You giggled, and George smiled at the sight.

“What about you?” you asked him, meeting his brown eyes with your grey ones.

George seemed taken aback, like no one often asked about him.

“Oh,” he said, smiling shyly at you, “I don’t know. I guess I eat less before matches.”

You nodded your head, and George cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Alright,” he began to stand, looking down at you, “just wanted to check in on ya.”

“Thanks,” you said, blushing wildly as he sauntered back over to the Gryffindor table.

Practice only got harder and longer, and soon, you barely had any time to sleep. You managed to get most of your homework done in class, but you still had some extra assignments creeping up on you. You spent most of your nights on the pitch, and the evenings grew colder. Every night, though, you could glance to the green student section and see Draco huddled in some type of fur, watching you practice. He often brought his own homework up there with him, using it to pass the time when you weren’t doing anything particularly impressive.

Draco met you on the pitch as the moon illuminated the grass around you. You drank some water, sweating under your thick robes.

The two of you walked back to the castle, and Draco slid you a roll of parchment from his bag.

“What’s this?” you asked, unrolling the paper.

“It’s your potions essay,” he said, “I knew you’d forget to do it, so I took care of it for you.”

“Thank you,” you sighed out, feeling tremendously relieved at the thought of one less assignment to to, “I feel exhausted.”

“You look it,” Draco mumbled, and you hit his arm with the tightly rolled parchment. 

You made it into the castle, the halls squeaking with the sound of your teammates walking to the Ravenclaw dorm. Draco followed you, the two of you breaking off from your team. He carried your parchment for you as you untied all the pads and equipment hugging your body.

“Both the Malfoy’s in one place? To what do I owe this pleasure?” you turned, seeing George Weasley slipping from behind a tapestry hanging on the wall.

“Where did you come from? Is there something behi-” Draco lifted the tapestry carefully, and while he moved, George replaced his spot next to you.

Draco felt the hard wall behind the tapestry and you watched him with a smirk on your face as his hands continued to inspect where George had managed to come from.

“Hello,” he said, bumping his shoulder into yours with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Hi,” you said shyly, painfully aware of your wind-thrown hair and sweating face.

“What are you two up to?”

“He’s just walking me back to my dorm,” you said, still fiddling with one part of the pad on your arm that always gave you trouble.

“Well, I’m sure he needs his beauty sleep. Think I could manage getting you back safely?” George purred from beside you, speaking so Draco couldn’t hear him as you watched your brother hit his knuckles on the hard stone wall.

“Could you? Pretty big shoes to fill,” you joked, pointing at Draco’s fancy dress shoes that were obviously smaller than George’s.

“I wouldn’t be caught dead in those shoes,” George joked back, and at the sound of your loud giggle, Draco stopped looking at the wall.

“What’s so funny?” he snarled, sending a foe intimidating look at George.

“Draco,” you said sternly and warningly, “George is going to walk me to my dorm, you can go and get some rest.”

Draco narrowed his eyes at you, weighing his options. He could give up easily and leave you to a presumably awkward walk alone with George, or he could embarrass you a little. He chose the latter.

“Alone? Are you mental-”

“I swear to god Draco,” you cut him off, the sheer tone of your voice making his eyes widen a little in fear.

Draco cleared his throat awkwardly, adjusting the tight sleeves of his dress shirt.

“Fine,” he said, “I’ll see you tomorrow morning?” he cast a glance at George, looking stern, “In one piece?”

George was smiling like a fool, suppressing a giggle at the interaction. Draco shoved your parchment into your chest, and you held onto it as he stalked off.

“Thank you, Draco! Love you!” you called after him in a sing-song and sisterly voice.

He waved his hand, back still towards you, and you and George laughed.

You two started walking again, falling easily into step with each other, You struggled holding your parchment without crushing it as you still worked on that one part of your arm padding.

“Do you need some help?” George asked from beside you, offering his hand out.

“Uh, yeah,” you said, handing him the parchment as the two of you began up the stairs.

He watched you for a moment, your delicate fingers struggling to untie a complicated knot.

“Here,” he said, placing a hand on your shoulder to cease your walking. 

You stopped, and he took a step down so he was on a lower level of the stairs. You were eye level, and his brown eyes bore into yours as he waited for you to hold your hand out. You did, and he crouched to place the scroll on the step next to him. He returned to your height, his strong fingers going to your arm.

He held your hand for a moment, pulling it to the side as he looked at the knot. His hand slid down your wrist, over the padding, and to the knot near your elbow. You kept your eyes on his hands, afraid that if you looked at his face you might explode.

“Thanks,” you whispered, feeling like your lips would crack and fall off if you said anything more.

“Of course, darling,” he whispered back, and you could hear the smirk in his voice.

You felt your legs tremble, your entire body seemed to have fireworks shooting through its veins. You did everything in your power not to throw your head back and start giggling manically.

Soon, the padding was looser on your arm, and George held it as it fell off. He gave it to you, placing it gently in your outstretched hand. You took it, holding it by some of the string at the top. He turned you by your shoulders so you stood directly facing him. You felt your throat close a little.

He was bending his knees suddenly, crouching at your feet. His face was by your hips, and you felt your face burn red at the close proximity. You felt his long fingers working on the knee pads you still had on. One of his warm hands lay flat against your shin for support, as the other pulled easily at the string holding your kneepad on. Your fingers tightened around the arm pads you were holding, and once again you were willing yourself not to let out some sort of desperate giggle.

He rose, meeting your eyes.

“All better,” he mumbled, his voice deep.

He held your knee pads for you with one hand, and the other held onto your parchment. You both stood for a moment on the stairs like that, face to face at the same height. If you took a slightly deeper breath, your chest would have expanded and brushed against George’s. You took shallow breaths.

“Let’s go,” he said, but made no effort to move. He sounded entranced and dazed, and you caught his eyes flicker to your lips. You licked them nervously, not realizing what you were doing until George’s eyes followed your tongue gliding against your mouth. You saw his adam’s apple bob in his throat, and your eyes widened a little. 

You turned suddenly, going to take another step up the stairs. George’s strong hand wrapped around your wrist, steadying you as you stumbled back to the lower step. You nearly fell, but his strong chest was there to catch you. You were pulled against him and his arm wrapped around your lower waist. He looked at you for a second, and then pulled you down another step so you were on the same one as him. He bent his neck down, and you tilted your head up, your lips meeting in the middle.

One of his hands moved to wrap around the back of your neck, willing your face closer to his as if there was any space between you two. You heard the clatter of you knee pads as he set them aside a few feet away, and you dropped the arm pads you were holding. Your hands slid to rest on his chest, feeling the soft material of his sweater beneath your cold fingers. You pressed a little against him, his toned chest not that far from your touch. He smirked as you ran your nails down from his collar bones to dangerously close to the top of his belt. You pulled away, resting your forehead on his. You both breathed deeply, lips parted.

“Draco’s gonna kill me,” you whispered with a small smile.

“You’re thinking about your brother right now?” George joked back, tucking a piece of your blonde hair behind your ear.

“Should I be thinking about your brother?”

George pulled away from you completely, his hearty laugh filling the small staircase you were in. You laughed too, picking up your padding.

George held the padding and your parchment in one hand, and you held both of your arm pads in one hand. He slipped his hand into yours, and the two of you walked up the stairs.

As you went, neither of you felt like you were in the shadow. George was his own person apart from Fred, with his own interests and his own jokes. You weren’t the brooding Malfoy, you were the girl who laughed and kissed boys in stairwells. 

[konpithepuppy]

[TRANSLATION: DUeT 05.2021]

7 MEN SAMURAI SOLO INTERVIEW

Scans not mine

Neither an English nor a Japanese native speaker

Feel free to correct me, thanks

6 People 6 Circumstances, What Kind Of School Life Do They Long For!?

SPRING SCENERY School Life

Performance at Theatre Creation in May

Performance in 「Johnny's Ginza 2021 Tokyo Experience 」is decided.

From the 6 people who have a lot of determinations aiming for stage, school life memories and the school life that they aspire are shared this month.

Please enjoy it together with their appearances in school uniform!

Nakamura Reia

《SCHOOL》

If I could go back to being a high school student, I would try having a date riding a bicycle together! It is dangerous and I will not do it in reality but when I was a kid, I saw it in movies and dramas so I yearned for it (LOL). Actually, I only did skateboarding when I was an elementary student and I didn't ride bike that much. That's why, I am quite bad at riding the bicycle. Since my student days, I can sense the feelings of people around me, I'm not sure if I am good with timings or I am quick-witted (LOL). With that, being sharp is my strong point! It's just that, I think a clumsy guy is perhaps more popular than a guy like me (LOL).

《RECENT HAPPENING》

The latest version of a game that I love will be released soon! Now too, I am having fun playing it online but I made a lot of friends from the game. Even though I don't know their faces and personalities, it's interesting that we've become friends through a game. If among the juniors, I play it together with Yokohara (Yuki). Time passes by quikly when we are thinking about what kind equipment will come out next!

Motodaka Katsuki

《SCHOOL》

My most enjoyable memory is when 14 of us boys went to Guam for our high school graduation trip! We all played water polo, we divided into 3 groups and went shopping, and had fun in the pool...In that group, there are those who are noisy and there are those who are quiet, it had a good balance. I was so happy that they never gave me a "celebrity treatment". I went to the same university with a lot of them, so now, and from now on too, we will be good friends. But, now that I have graduate from the university, I regret not being able to participate in a school club...The campus life I am longing for lies on the after-school club I think (LOL). If I could go back in time, I want to be in a club!

《RECENT HAPPENING》

In 「Quiz Presen Variety: Q sama!!」, Johnny's Quiz made an appearance, but I used the hint so much that I caused a trouble to (Kawashima) Noeru-kun who was going to answer next. Noeru-kun is kind so he told me, "Don't mind about it," but I will prepare for next time and I want to definitely get it right without using hints!!

Yabana Rei

《SCHOOL》

Before joining 7 MEN 侍, I made a band for a school festival in high school. I made a song, sent the demo tape to everyone, and told them, "Let's have a blast on this stage," and I felt pumped up. I performed intensely like it was a real live, and Rinne-kun who came to the festival saw that side of me. Honestly, we didn't talk that much until then, but when he watched my stage performace, he thought like, "It looks interesting if someone who can do a live like this joins 7 MEN 侍." I was surprised that it became like an improbable audition (LOL). I am happy that Sakuma (Ryuto) too who came with him said, "I really had a lot of fun!"

《RECENT HAPPENING》

I started reading a book for the first time in several years when I learned that Hirasawa Susumu-san used George Orwells novel 「1984」as the motif for his music that I am listening to lately. Also, I was surprised when I was told about the stage reading 「20 Faces ~Who is Endou Heikichi~?」! I felt like there is a reason for everything.

Sasaki Taiko

《SCHOOL》

I wanted to try going on a group date with my friends and with my girlfriend. It will surely be a lifelong memory and it looks super fun! My real high school life is I am with (Iwasaki) Taisho all the time. Even though Taisho is so cheerful when he is with the juniors, he is very quiet and shy of strangers when at school! Since he said,"I want to have friends," so I cooperated with him, but since he didn't talk to anyone, so we spent a lot of time just the 2 of us together in the end. Thinking about that, I only spent my time in work and in private with Taisho (LOL). I am glad I graduated safely from high school in March~!

《RECENT HAPPENING》

Jesse-kun gave me and Kageyama (Takuya)-kun a same yellow parka. Because it is Jesse-kun's birthday soon (June 6), I am thinking of what I should give him as a token of appreciation. Before, when I gave (Sato) Shori-kun a luxurious set of curry in a pouch for his birthday (October 30), he was really happy. I wonder what would also make Jesse-kun happy.

Konno Taiki

《SCHOOL》

I changed school in the middle of high school but my friends at that time were all funny. When we bought a lot of snacks from the convenience store and ate them together during the sports day is a good memory. I am busy right now that I can't see them but I am sure that they're definitely enjoying themselves (LOL). I wore gakuran in middle school and blazer in high school. I wore a parka inside the gakuran and I enjoyed arranging [my uniform]. If I had to choose one, I like the gakuran better.

《RECENT HAPPENING》

At present, I want to increase weight. I am lighter than the average weight, and since it looks poor if the body line is too thin, so I don't want to be that thin. Having an average weight is really important and I think it is just about right for both males and females to be in the range of average weight. Since I also know that, I now properly eat 3 meals sa day without skipping any of it for the sake of getting closer to my ideal body figure. Moreover, my physical condition has improved a lot since I started focusing on taking proteins. When my body weight increased to a certain extent, I am thinking of starting to do muscle training too.

Sugeta Rinne

《SCHOOL》

I started doing Jr. activities around middle school and high school, and I thought it was cool to miss the events (LOL). But, now that I have become an adult, memories from events are wonderful, my feelings changed to "I will be happier if I was able to participate in any of the events." It is already past my student days and I cannot go back, so I suggest you to definitely do the things you think you want to do!

《RECENT HAPPENING 》

The Tokyo Shows for the stage play 「Hidamari no Ki」had finished. I, as the lead, did my best as I was given the opportunity to stand at the center during interviews and curtain calls. But, I got bored fast and I wanted to look for a "shinme" (LOL). And now, I realized how amazing Reia-san is, as he always stands at the center of the group. This time, I'm glad to have an experience working with the staff and cast that are outside of the company I am at. And then, I am glad I can talk about totally different subjects every time with my "oshi" Nasu Yuto-kun, who is also doing his best in the stage play 「Majyou no Takkyuubin」~! (LOL)

[thedyingwriter]

Ravenclaw male X Slytherin female au

Ravenclaw : Axel Knight

Slytherin: Cassandra Bennett

Synopsis: Axel has liked Cassandra for a while now but has been vary about asking her out as it's rumored that she may be secretly dating Draco Malfoy, her best friend. What happens when they bump into each and other and can't stop with the flirtation anymore.

I hope you like this one shot au. It was something requested by my best friend and her wish is my command.

Cassandra was casually sitting in the library with her book in her hands, her legs placed gracefully on the nearby table not bothering the looks she was getting from the group of ravenclaw girls sitting next to her. She could still never believe that she was almost placed into Ravenclaw just because she was intelligent and a reader.

She was engrossed in her book about animagus. She had always been interested in the shape shifting quality some wizards and witches possessed. It always intrigued her. While she was busy in her own world she was oblivious to a pair of eyes who had been staring at her for the past half an hour.

The ravenclaw couldn't help but be attracted towards the Slytherin's charms. She wasn't like any other girl he had met. Despite being a pureblood she cared and respected everyone. Her attitude towards people weren't discriminated on the basis of blood but how they treated her and how much she could trust them. Axel has been find of the Cassandra since he saw her in the house sorting ceremony. He always wondered would they have been friends if she was sorted into his house? From the past 4 years he had never actually looked at her in a specific way other than just mild curiosity. She was a friendly person. She got along with everyone. She was known to be wrongly sorted into Slytherin just because of her pure blood status. He although felt she had a Royal aura about herself which she carried with pride.

"You should stop staring before you make it anymore obvious how extremely attracted you are to her" He heard the voice of none other than the devil himself, Draco Malfoy. He scoffed.

" Mind your own business Malfoy. I don't know how my eyes concern you but I would suggest you walk out of the library before anyone has a wrong idea that you may possibly even be interested in academics. " This time Draco laughed right at his face.

"For a ravenclaw you sure do have a sharp mouth. I suggest you may do something about your oh so obvious crush on Cassandra before someone else takes her away. With a beauty like hers and yule ball approaching its hard not be the center of every Slytherin male's attention. You may never even get a chance. " Draco said with mischief behind his eyes as he walked past Axel towards Cassandra.

Axel cursed under his breath. It was common knowledge that she got along pretty well with Malfoy too. He may be a complete asshole but it seemed he had a soft spot for her. They were close friends and some even believed they may be secretly dating.

He has never actually talked to her but after what Malfoy just said it was pretty obvious that if he wanted anything, even friendship to happen between them he would have to make the first move and that too before it's too late. There was no possibility in hell that she would approach him otherwise.

Cassandra was brought back to the real world after Draco took her book from her hands and lightly tossed it on the table. She gave him what seemed like a glare but she couldn't help but smile. Draco and her had been good friends for a while. Some people judged her harshly for it but he was a gentleman to her and being a Slytherin he was family. Hermione had once questioned her on how she tolerated his huge ego and flirtatious nature. She honestly never minded. He was just a nice friend to her.

"Mr Malfoy I assume you have something very important to discuss that you marched towards the library and spent your time bothering me while I read. " She said playfully.

" Oh yes I do Ms Bennett, I suppose since you are completely oblivious to things going around Hogwarts I should fill you in so that you don't feel like a deer caught in between headlights " He answered her with the same tone of sincerity.

"Oh please can we talk in human language and not like we live in Renaissance London. " She said laughing

" Sweetheart, it seems like Yule ball is approaching and you have a secret admirer. I think someone wants to ask you out here but is chickening out seeing how you have me around. "

Cassandra hit him with her book and an "ow.. Merlin woman calm down" Came from his mouth.

" I should not hang around you if that means I may lose a potential date to the ball who had less of an ego then our all might Draco Malfoy. " She said while walking down the library corridor back to her dorms.

" Whatever, you know you love me" Was last thing she heard from the blonde as she disappeared around the corner with a smile on her face.

. . . ..

Later in the evening she was walking towards the gryffindor table to return the book to Hermione and greet the golden trio when she bumped into someone. She almost fell from the pressure but was caught by the attacker as she layed in his arms her waist firmly held by his strong fingers. She looked up to see a pair of beautiful grey eyes of none other than the ravenclaw chaser Axel Knight. He was quite popular among females even though he was more of a shy, keep to himself kind of guy.

"Easy love we don't want the chaser to be killed by a Slytherin before the Friday game do we. " She teased him while getting back up and picking up her books. He blushed slightly but his smirk was intact.

" Who said you would kill such a pretty face like mine now? " He countered. She was taken aback because never had she ever seen the bold side of Axel before. She passed him a soft smile.

"I suppose we haven't formally met. I'm Axel Knight. And you must be the infamous Cassandra Bennett. " He said with his hands out. She placed her hand in hand while he softly planted a kiss on her knuckles. She looked at the pike of books in his other hand.

"Pride and prejudice. That's something I didn't expect to see in the hands of a quidditch player. I guess I may have mistaken you to be more into boyish stuffs then a revolutionary feminist novel written by a muggle. " She said eyeing the copy in his hand it was a beautiful illustration edition she had always wanted that version with its beautiful fine print.

" If I knew that a pretty lady like yours may guess so much about me without ever having a conversation I may have bumped into you a lot earlier I suppose. And I definitely am in love with this novel. I suppose you may be a fan of Mr Darcy. " He said. A man who knows his literature and has it's charms. Why had she never met him before.

" Mr Darcy is a lil too overrated, dare I say I was in love with the author herself. " She said with flirtation directed on her tongue.

The entire ravenclaw table was watching the conversation with the utmost interest until the heard the commotion and whisper they wee taken aback from the transe they were in and reminded of their surrounding.

"I guess I'll see you around Cassandra" She gave him a wink and walked passed him towards Hermione who was looking at her with mischief in her eyes awaiting lots of questions.

.......

The week had passed like this with flirtatious winks being passed between the pair in between corridor and classes.

She had grown to like this boy more than she thought and they were barely strangers.

She was lost in her thought while walking towards the astronomy tower in hopes of getting some peace and quiet form everyone asking out someone for the ball at every corner.

She looked at the vast sky in front of her and was distracted by the slight voice of someone in deep slumber. She turned to find Axel asleep leaning on the wall with his book half opened on his chest.

She lightly walked up to him and admired the beautiful face of the stranger she has grown to like. She imagined what it must feel like laying her head on his lap while she read him some beautiful poems filled with love. Her thoughts were short lived when she lost her footing and fell onto Axel's lap waking him up to a beautiful woman in his arm.

They were dangerously close and his eyes kept wavering between her eyes and luscious lips which gleemed of her cherry chapstick.

She tried getting up but he pulled her towards him again which ultimately led to her falling over him.

Her brunette hair covered her face and she could feel her heart hammering at the speed so high that it may even have bursted right then.

He pushed her curls to the back of her hair brushing her cheeks lightly.

" I may have talked to you for the first time last week only but how do I tell you this without sounding like a creep that you have intrigued me for years now. That how much I had wished to have you in my arms like this. That how much I hated when Malfoy flirted with me knowing I liked you just to annoy the living shit out if me. " He was brushing her cheeks with his thumb lightly. His other hand stroking the side if her waist.

She got up from his hold her cheeks stained red due to his words. For the first time the confident Slytherin seemed lost for words. She has never really had a romantic encounter that would make her so flushed.

"Axel I suppose I should go to the dorms now. It's soon gonna be past our curfews. " She started backing away when she was pulled by her wrist and landed straight on a hard chest.

" I'll let you go but before you go I wanted to do something for a long time. I'm gonna kiss you now and if you aren't comfortable please tell me now. " He pulled her closer to him and put both his hands on her neck bringing her close. She was breathing heavily and closed her eyes due to the parade of butterflies in her stomach caused by his words and touches.

He kissed her softly at first deepining the kiss when she reacted to him the way he wanted. He broke the kiss breathless after what seemed like an eternity.

" I have been thinking about doing that for a while now. " She confessed. Her breathing still heavily sounding between them.

" I know you don't know me so well but I wanted to ask you if you want to go out with me to Hogsmead this weekend. I want you to get to know me before I ask you to yule ball. I promise you won't regret it. " He asked returning back to his shy self. She looked at him, his cheeks a shade of pink now.

" I thought you'd never ask" She teased him and they both laughed while they cuddled together against the wall thinking of how this day had become one of the best they have had in a while.

I apologize for any typos, this was written spontaneously and just randomly.

[toonytoodles]

Random fun fact time! Ft. OCs! (Repost because I added more/ edited a lot of stuff)

Avery -

- Sneezes like a kitten, and most of the time she accidentally uses her fire breathe when she sneezes, so watch out

- Sleeps on a rock

- Is made uncomfortable by actual dragons, it's just... too weird for her...

- Has a strange and inexplicable extreme fear of eels

- Reacts to fear by singing/humming/speaking very loudly, and also by running and screaming (basically, how markilpler acts when playing horror games? yeah that)

- At least once a week her dad has to help her brush through her hair, he says they should get it cut but she absolutely refuses

- Owns a few pairs of gloves- most of which look nearly identical. Some are for different days, some pairs are for bedtime, and some are for special occasions, but she also has some different types and styles of gloves for different events

- Loves the holidays, dislikes the weather that comes with it

- Absolutely hates people touching/messing with her tail, even if it's by accident she gets kinda mad. That's hers- don't touch it. (Emma's the only exception to this simply because it can't be avoided- although Emma does try to touch it as little as possible)

- Slightly allergic to pollen

- She has a clicking-like purr

- If you scratch under her chin she'll purr and relax, but if scratch a certain spot on her neck she'll sleepily fall over

- Adopted as an egg and raised by her human father and fairy mother

- Has a Scottish accent 

- Works as a Glazier (glass blower) and makes potion bottles, also helps with making the potions, and occasionally costumer service and boring stuff like stocking/inventory

Emma -

- Plays with hoodie strings and/or hair when upset or nervous (it happens often, her hoodie strings are sorta worn out)

- She's a big fan of animals! Especially bears, puppies, and unicorns, she thinks they're adorable! When she was younger she used to like dragons quite a bit too

- She's a protective friend and big sister, and she's a little over protective over people she cares about

- Tends to read into things; if your tone or demeanor is slightly different she begins worrying that something's wrong or that she did something. She also tends to believe that no one actually wants to be her friend or wants to be nice to her, but that they're only being nice because they're afraid of her or pity her.

- LOVES HUGS!!! Absolutely loves them, hugging other giants, hugging people smaller than her, getting hugs, giving hugs, she loves hugs

- Once accidentally ate a fake candy cane decoration, off someone's front lawn, because she thought it was real gigantic candy, left out for giants (she was like four, so it made sense to her then, but she still gets made fun for it a bit by her family)

- Loves snow and winter

- Her favorite color is probably blue

- Is surprisingly good at sneaking up on people, for someone 30ft tall she's quiter than most borrowers

- Is the second oldest of five kids, her older brother Rory is 23, her younger brother Richard is 15, and her youngest sisters Aroura and Tiana are 6 and 8, and they're all pretty close

- Her dad is a size shifter, and so are Richard and Tiana, the rest of the family are giants

- She's ambidextrous

- Very cautious of her surroundings

- Hates surprises/being scared

- Bi-romantic and ace

Sofia -

- Can write without looking at what she's doing

- Only wears slip on shoes or shoes with Velcro/zippers, she never learned how to tie them, she couldn't figure out what to do with her head or look at what she was doing

- She's an artist! She likes to paint!

- Has a hard time saying "no," so when she says it, she means it

- Hates surprises and people sneaking up on her

- Has a pet python named Albert

- Probably the only person on the planet who has worse anxiety than Emma

- Don't call her "Soph" or "Sophie," and she gets mildly annoyed when her name is misspelled

- Typically uses right arm to carry head and left hand for everything else

- Has a weird sense of humor

- Has a million stuffed animals, has like 20 on her bed, but Rupert the blue bunny is her favorite

- She has an enchanted scarf that allows her to wear her head when needed, she doesn't usually use it because she's not used to it & it gives her anxiety (she's scared of the scarf falling off/being taken off unexpectedly) but she has it and uses it on occasion, mostly at home

- She doesn't let anyone else hold her head, it seriously freaks her out, her dad is the only exception, but Avery held her once for a group photo (her body took the picture)

-She loves singing and has a soft beautiful voice but is too shy to sing around anyone 🎶

- She was bullied when she was younger and doesn't like to talk about it, she already gets emotional easily and those memories hurt

- She loves Avery's jokes and has a bit of a weird sense of humor

- She's adopted, she lives with her human father (another fun fact, her dad is one of Avery's parents best friends!)

- Unlike Avery, she wasn't adopted as a baby, she was about 6-7ish when she was adopted

- Loves vegetables

- Gets embarrassed easily

- Doesn't go out of her comfort zone, she only does stuff when Avery basically forces her to

- She really likes Emma, but is also sorta scared of her sometimes, she's just scared of people and being looked at, so she can be a little overwhelming without meaning to be, it's nothing personal and she knows Emma wouldn't hurt a fly, she's just scared of people and sometimes Emma is a lot of person

- Doesn't want Emma to hold her (Emma respects it, although sometimes they work it out to where Emma can give her a gentle hug)

-Her favorite season is fall

-She loves rabbits and frogs, but won't admit she loves horses (there's a stereotype that all dullahans love horses, she won't give in)

-Hates confrontation

-Loves vanilla cake

-Hates strangers and people she's not comfortable around being anywhere near her

- Pansexual

- Sorta has a voice claim, but it's weird and sorta difficult to explain?

Andie -

- Has a French accent (picked it up from dad)

- One of my only OCs to have a voice claim

- Plays the flute

- Mean, selfish, and self centered, but somehow also a good person

- Sings sentences sometimes

- Scared of turtles

- Works as a bard/waitress at the family tavern

- Unfortunately she is heterosexual

Andy -

- Somehow didn't pick up their fathers accent

- One of my only OCs to have a voice claim

- Plates the lute

- Genuine and kind hearted, but also a bumbling moron

- Dreams of being a song writer, wants to be a professional musician

- Works as a bard/waiter at the family tavern

- Bi, but prefers women

Clementine -

- A book worm

- Likes to sing

- Practices magic, knows a few interesting spells

- Sometimes her and Avery fight over magic usage vs. potion usage (they know it's a dumb fight, but they don't care, at this point it's a joke)

- She's a white tailed deer

- She has great hearing, and is usually very aware of her surroundings

- She wants to be a magic professor as an adult

- Demisexual, pan, but prefers men

Pond-

- Elementals don't really have gender, she chooses to present as female and use female pronouns

- Can't "see," but rather senses vibrations, since she's made out of water she doesn't have eyes, but based on other senses she can get around just fine

- She can't smell either

- Doesn't care for romance

- Has 4 pet fish she keeps with her, named Karl, Frank, Phillip, and Fish

- She has a baby sister, Brook

- She's odd and can be off putting unless you know her pretty well, then her weirdness is sort of endearing

- She can tell her friends apart by the way they walk and their gestures, and of course their voices, but really has no idea what any of them look like, she knows their species and the normal traits of those species, but not much outside that

- She doesn't eat or drink

- Smart, but sorta reckless

- Sorta hard to hug :( but the others still try

Sapphire -

- Has minimal size shifting abilities, but prefers to be her true size, she loves sitting on her husband's shoulders or in his pockets (She's about 5ft in her bigger form)

- Used to be an adventurer, at one point she was a pirate

- Met her husband on one of her adventures

- Has a Scottish accent

- She has a sword her size (no it's not a toothpick or a toy or anything, she has an actual tiny sword) 🗡

- Makes potions for the shop and deals with customers

- Grew up outside of Tradeskeep, her and Kal retired from their adventuring career and settled down there

Kalvin -

- Used to be an adventurer/ mercenary

- Huge, ripped, has all kinds of scars, but his 4" tall wife is scarier than he his, he's basically a teddy bear

- Makes potions, does restocking, inventory, and doesn't as much anymore, but makes potion bottles

- Has scars/tattoos from various adventures

- Used to have dragon scale armor, he once saved a village from a dragon, but has sold it and no longer tells the story, he now claims it was a bear

- He's a great dad ❤

- Loves ale & meat, but not as much as his girls

- I cannot overstate how much he loves his family, he LOVES his wife and daughter, like a LOT, it pretty much defines who he is, he's a family man

- Met his wife while on a quest

- He used to be a nomad while adventuring and getting paid for jobs, he'd wander from town to town, until he settled at Tradeskeep and put up a shop

Ok so i know that's a lot, but it's there for anyone who's interested in all that ❤ I have other facts too, so if you wanna know any more just look around on my blog or send an ask, Q&A for OCs are open, and I'm open to art/writing requests/ideas! ❤

[border-spam]

Leech Lord: Quirks

Handling critique:

Troy:

He doesn't know them by name and they aren't showing respect when he turns to apprehend who just dared interrupt him rudely in front of others?

Dead. Immediately. There's no pause to hear them out or explain themself, their head will be crushed in that spined fist before he even finds out what they were about to say was criticism. There is no concern or regret over this later, he won't even care enough to remember their face.

Far more forgiving in private as he’s not needing to play up to his persona, but still - respect has to be shown.

Someone he is aware of by name/rank, or sees as having value?

Stay polite and factual and he'll listen. Hands clasped behind his back and shifting his eyes down their body as they speak, like they’re being measured, or read. He'll listen. The more numbers they can provide, the more clear data they can give that shows his information or his actions are wrong and what they are suggesting is better, the more likely he will take it on board. The God King is surprisingly polite and coldly calm when approached correctly, regardless of if he likes what he is being told.

- A close friend?

Nervous, picking at his teeth with the tips of his nails and finding it hard to meet their eyes. Hunched over himself and back bent even if he still towers over them, like a child who just wants to go hide. Stuttering. Apologetic to the point of becoming self deprecating even if what they were raising was only minor. It's not a big deal Troy, it's not, it was just some feedback. Calm down pal it's not worth getting worked up over, really. No you don't have to redo the whole thing, that's stupid come on y.. no you aren't stupid Troy, don't delete it all.. Oh, Troy.

Tyreen -

She does not hear, she does not see.

From anyone. It doesn't matter who they are. Unless you are her you're wrong, because she cannot be incorrect. She is infallible... you get it, right sweetheart?

She is omnipotent. She is a GOD. It's not that she's not listening to them, they don't mean enough for her even to be able to hear.

Seifa:

A stranger she views as someone below her in position?

Lol who are you. Who the fuck are you to think your opinion has any value, let alone matter to her? She's not even hearing what you're saying, you should be out of her presence by the time she stops eyerolling by the way, she's a busy woman. May not be healthy to waste more of her time.

Above her in authority or experience?

Silence. Not quite making eye contact, she's focusing on breaking down what you're saying and digesting useable information. A quick "Got it, I'll consider what you said" afterwards is genuine. She will consider it. That doesn't mean she will take it onboard, but she knows not to waste valuable data.

Friend?

A mix of both. She'll make it clear there's a very good chance her opinion on this is going to supersede yours, but that yours still has value for her. She might not make change changes right now based on it.. but it could affect how she approaches things in the future.

Pet Peeves:

Tyreen

A pet peeve, one she's irked by but doesn't spend a huge amount of time lost in rage over, is people treating her like she's airheaded. It happens often, especially when she's around Troy. She's not dumb. At all. Just because she's not a giant, brooding, scowling asshole who stands in silence while death-glaring everyone in the room, doesn't mean she's vacant or stupid. Just because she's louder, and more animated, doesn't mean she's ditzy.

In talks, the conversation always gets pointed to him for any discussion regarding anything with business or technical depth, she hates it. He's good at this shit, he's great with numbers and logic, but just because she communicates differently doesn't mean shes terrible. It's irritating.

Seifa:

Bullshit. She cannot abide hearing someone talk complete wank, and wants extremely direct clearcut conversation at all times bar if she's talking shit with friends. That's totally different.

She wouldn't manage to be in the same room as someone like Rhys or Katagawa for more than 5 minutes before she'd be ready to peel her own face off and eat her hands, so takes a lot of comfort from the "Please fucking kill me oh my god" gestures and grimaces Troy makes towards her from out of the speakers sight in meetings where they are dealing with the waves of verbal shite emanating from some corporate tool.

Troy:

Sleeping. It's just a fucking waste of time. It's completely pointless. Shut yourself down for hours so your body can release chemicals it needs? Fuck sake, just take the chemicals and stay awake, wow, well done, now you have 1/4 of your life back!

Dreams suck, waking up feeling like death sucks, spending hours laying awake staring at your ceiling while trying to make your "brain be quiet for once, just please.. be quiet.." for hours till you eventually pass out sucks, it's all stupid and wasteful and humans are dumb. He's dumb. Everyone's dumb.

Tenderness:

Tyreen: 

She'd see wanting it as being weak in a way, Ty doesn't need anyone for any reason, so she doesn't need intimacy or tenderness. Why would she? She's not weak, or soft. Not being able to touch others isn't even a factor here, don't you dare imply it is. Intimacy is for people who aren't strong enough to exist alone, don't insult her by thinking she'd ever want it. She watches those romcoms for the PLOT and the character development, did you see in that last episode of Skags of fire that Miguel finally got with Santia-

Seifa: Born 2 Tender (physically and monetarily)

She thrives off receiving and giving affection to close friends and partners, it's a part of herself she masks off from her general authoritative persona for a lot of reasons, people often see being caring or gentle as weak, and that's not something she can afford in day to day life.

People close to her know she's very tactile platonically, and an arm around a waist or shoulders is the norm if you're spending much time with her and she's in good spirits. She doesn't shy away from touch in general and has no problem initiating contact with anyone she trusts and is close enough with that she doesn't feel like being caring is a risk around. Intimacy and close tenderness with a partner is her main love language, and something she absolutely expects be provided to her.

Troy: Viciously envious of it

The last time he encountered freely platonic intimacy was in his childhood, both with Leda and Tyreen before Ty started to resent showing affection more and more as they got older. He's desperately, pathetically lonely and fully aware of that, even if he lies to himself that he's fine.

He can't request it from the people he sleeps with as it means showing them the real man under the persona, and he's learned that people do not like the real Troy, so he's starved of real intimacy despite having so much access to other people's bodies nightly.

Not all bad:

Troy

His intelligence.

It's one thing he can think back on and remember only ever receiving positive comments on, right from as early as he can recall. He's always been able to consider problems in a way that lets him break them down and approach them from a unique angle. Dad said he was able to "Think outside the box", but he never really understood what that meant till the twins landed on Pandora and he watched so many people run themselves into the ground when such simple solutions were right there. Maybe not moral solutions, but simple solutions regardless! He absorbs and retains information very easily without any real effort, and when he found out that wasn't the norm, it became a genuine point of pride for him. Something he was great at, unrelated to his persona.

Hips and thighs

While most of his upper body causes him physical pain or he dislikes in general for multiple uhh.. reasons, he's never had any issues with his lower body. He loves the definition of his hips and lower stomach, his knees haven't ever had any joint pain, his legs have always been toned and strong without really needing any focus on them. He's worked himself to the bone trying to fix the things about his upper body that he hates, but his legs? Nah. Nice :ok_hand:

He's really good at looking after plants

He's really good at it. Lots of people can't keep plants alive but he can :) No one knows about it, but he does. It's nice to be good at something. It's just ...nice. :)

Seifa

Her waist and stomach.

Sei is relatively curvy for her height and is very thankful for her narrow waist, or she'd look like a solid rectangle in heeled boots no matter what she wore. It helps her keep up the soft fem aesthetic she likes to mix with punk bullshit without much effort, gives her a shape in baggy engineering overalls, and keeps belt pouches ON. Like, ON on. Shit is never going to move. She has a slight soft curve to her lower stomach she used to hate, thinking it made her look overweight , but as she grew into her twenties learned to love. Other people liked it, she was just being a dumb kid.

Physical strength

Years of working with lugging heavy machinery has given her an unexpectedly solid core, and she'd have no problem lifting something, say, Troy weight, and flipping it over her low center of balance without a sweat. Which is very fun. On things that are Troy weight.

The loyalty she builds with others without trying

She's not sure what it is exactly she's been doing to prompt it, but over the last few years she's come to realise she has a genuine support network across the system of people who are very loyal to her, and are there when needed to back her up in trades, or filling positions she needs, or getting her in touch with a group she's got no foot in. People she works with or gets to know trust her and remember her even years later, it's been a nice thing to find out about herself, though she wishes she knew what exact thing about her was the source of it.

Asks are Open!