#i don’t personally believe anyone deserves to be killed but you can see why price did it | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

tender-rosiey · 3 years ago

Note

Can I request headcanons of chuuya, dazai, fyodor and whoever else you want where they stand up for y/n against a toxic family member (or toxic friend whatever your comfortable with) I just had this idea but you don’t have to write it if you don’t want to :)

❥ Standing up against a toxic family member of yours

Includes Dazai, Fyodor and Chuuya

ᴀ/ɴ: *sharpens knife* do I have to kill someone? Also may anyone who gets the reference have a lovely day, it’s been a good while since I posted 😀 I hope you like this dear and this is what you wanted 💕

f/m= family member and I made the pronouns gender neutral to suit everyone’s taste and their dialogue is in bold :D

DAZAI OSAMU:

It has been the day that the great Dazai meets your family

Don’t ask me how tf did you convince them to meet him and likewise but he always wanted to “meet the people who birthed the most beautiful and stunning human on earth”

His vocabulary is sometimes concerning, oh dear

HE SHOWS UP

With a bouquet of flowers, a very pretty one too

What a gentleman

Your parents welcome him (though your dad begrudgingly)

Your mom obviously fell in love because woah a (seemingly) proper gentleman

He bows and introduces himself dramatically and throws in some ✨fancy✨ words

Your dad is wary of him because he seems a little too proper and people like that rarely appear anymore

Somehow you forgot to mention to Dazai that it was a family gathering

Though he adapted quickly so it was fine

But it came to this one person that you really didn’t like

It was your f/m who just seems to get mad and is sensitive about every single thing you do, even if your drink water

He did sense some bitchassness in the atmosphere but he couldn’t pinpoint who did it belong to, but now that he in front of them he can 🤡

He tried his best to be polite in case you wanted that and for the sake of the people there

It didn’t last long because they spoke

“Hello there, I am Dazai—“ “Why are you with that whore?”

Blink once, blink twice; did he hear that right?

“Pardon?” “I said-“ “No I heard what you said, I am making sure that you want to repeat that.”

Someone is not gonna make it out safe of nightmares

Cue his very famous glare that sends chills down their spine

“I would appreciate if you keep your mouth shut, and stop insulting my lover, now and in the future. If you do, I will know.” He then got near their ear and whispered “The price won’t be pleasant.”

“Well! I will go check the rest of the people :D”

Acts like nothing happened and goes to you and starts pampering you with kisses

Also will start shit talking them whenever you bring them up

Because I believe Dazai is the boyfriend who hates who you hate

And because they insulted you and are clearly shit and toxic so they deserve his hatred anyways

When you guys get home he will compliment you 10x more and cuddle you because he wants to remind you that you are beautiful and perfect the way you are <3

CHUUYA NAKAHARA:

You guys were shopping per the rule of “y/n should be spoiled weekly” that Chuuya put without the interference of any body

Which you everyday argued with because he shouldn’t be spending money carelessly >:(

And he defends with that is that his love for you isn’t careless

Anywho

You guys are in a shop and you were trying out outfits

He was hyping you up because as usual you are stunning af and I take no criticism

However you had an outfit that you quite liked and were showing it to chuuya to see what he thought of it, and you didn’t expect that one particular family member of yours to show up here

You have never liked them and they never did anything to lessen the dislike, on the contrary they kept treating you in a horrible way that you didn’t deserve

“Oh y/n.”

“F/M, what are you doing here?”

Chuuya could already sense the tension because of his job as a mafia required these skills though it was even crystal clear for the naked eye

“Oh nothing, I was just shopping with my fiancé; didn’t think I would run into a pig though.”

Chuuya’s anger risen as he heard those words, but they didn’t stop

“Like honestly, this doesn’t suit you at all, you are too full for it.”

“I didn’t know they allowed bitches in.”

F/M looked at Chuuya thinking he was joining them in their horrible act

“Right?—“

“I was talking about you.”

Only to be cut off by his venomous tone and horrifyingly piercing gaze

“You are gonna take your toxic and sorry self out of this shop, before I send you to a five year coma. Right this instant.”

They could only shudder and run with their tail between their leg at Chuuya’s threat

Even if you don’t know Chuuya, those words weren’t an empty threat, they were a promise

He took a deep breath before turning to you gaze softening tenfold

“Love, I know what they said is harsh, but don’t let it get to you; you are more beautiful than you think. They are just jealous of you.”

He bought the outfit you were wearing and everything you chose before gently pulling you out of the store

“Let’s go to another store, it makes me sick knowing I was in the same place as that thing.”

You smiled knowing that you had someone to rely on, and someone who truly loved you for you and in his eyes you were the beauty of the world combined

Also whenever they are brought up somehow he gags and his face is just full of disgust

FYODOR DOSTOYEVSKY:

Look at how his hair and ushanka are going swoosh and whoosh

Anyways

He is another one that happened with pure coincidence

Just another day of planning mass murder with your dear boyfriend while walking the streets of Yokohama incognito 🥸

Not really incognito but people couldn’t care less about anyone else in the roads

And y’all are a couple

No one needs a reminder that they are single

And what are the odds that you bumped into this very shitty and annoying familiar member of yours

Life is unfair, isn’t it

You thought you would just exchange quick hateful glances and then continue on your day forgetting even seeing their shit face

However they just had to just show how toxic they are and let out a very disturbing sound

Their voice <3

“Oh, a stray y/n is going around slutting around I see.”

You tried to pull Fyodor away from them and to continue your walk ignoring them but he wouldn’t bulge

Instead just kept staring at them, but a cold stare that they couldn’t get the hint from, because apparently they lack braincells

Hence somehow they took it as cue to continue which will eventually end in a very horrible way I assure you

“And like you are not even worth it, why are you even trying? I am surprised you have a boyfriend even—“ Please do shut up, your appearance disgusts me enough.”

They really went 👁👄👁

“What are you waiting for? Scram.”

Their trial to put on the tough act once again failed as they saw the dagger in Fyodor’s big ass coat

Hence they ran away like the embarrassment they are

But they were limping and clutching their sides?

Meh, could’ve drank a lot of water before going for a walk and polluting the air with their presence

Y’all indeed continued your walk like nothing happened after that

“Hey dear, so I was wondering about going to this rather lively restaurant in…is something the matter?”

“Did you stab them?”

“No—“

“Fyodor did you stab them?”

“:)”

“FYODOR DOSTOYEVSKY!”

Anyways

he bribed you with poetic lines and kisses to forget about it

Though after that incident he is more sure about the fact that he will commence his plan to get rid of shitty people like them because screw these disgusting people

And yes they are in the ER

Ha ha

Ha 🤡

*calls steveioe*

taglist: @magenta-cat-drawingss @pompompurin1028 @scul-pted @dazaisdeathwish @requiem626k @nameless-shrimp @shinys-bsd-world-1 @bsdparadise @ravenina14 @jessbeinme15

do not copy or plagiarize or you will be reported

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komoreangel · 3 years ago

Text

𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐚

pairing: scaramouche x fem!reader

scenario: you met when you were both very young, and since the day he left you behind he still feels an undying fear for what sight would await him if he dared to return home.

or…

thantophobia - the fear of losing a loved one. but he had made it perfectly clear that you did not fall under that category when he left you and all of your promises behind.

request: okok my first idea was: scaramouche childhood friends to enemies to lovers. take with that what you will <3

a/n: hi anon ty so very much for the request we all know i love scara <33 but i did tweak it a bit basically its childhood friends to enemies to scara loves reader but reader isnt convinced (with a hint of 'ive always loved you' thrown in)

side note: this is a rewrite of an excerpt i wrote for a scara x oc, in which the oc was female (the same is said here but i will avoid using pronouns) and adopted into the kamisato clan as a princess (minor inazuma spoilers). the same situation is stated here. also i am 1000% willing to write more of this (includes my personal headcanons for scaramouche’s backstory, not canon!!)

growing up, you had always had poor health

your mother worried for you a lot when you were younger

she didn’t like to let you go outside much either

you spent most of your time in the palace walls while she worked, frequently being taken to see the royal physician

you would sit outside the door while your parents talked with the doctors about your “condition”

you weren’t even that sick

just weak for your age

that was when you first met him

he was training to be a soldier along his father

you were like a ghost in his eyes

sitting in the hall in the middle of the night

knees pushed to your chest, snoozing in the soft light of the moon

he was naturally a curious boy, so he kneeled in front of you and poked your shoulder

“hello?”

you startled awake

“wah-!” he fell back at your sudden movement

“who are you?” you asked

your voice was soft, and gentle, like a midnight breeze

“i’m [redacted].”

you remember what he told you, but some part of that memory had been erased from your mind…you wonder to this day what he could have said.

“my name is y/n.”

he thought it was a pretty name, although he wasn’t going to say anything

the two of you sat in the moonlight, talking quietly amongst yourselves

“why are you sitting outside the physician’s office?” he asked you

“my mama says i’m sick, and that going outside will make it worse.”

“oh. are you going to get better soon?”

you smile at him, a gesture that makes his chest tighten, although he can’t fathom why.

“yeah! she says that if we can afford to get some medicine from liyue, i’ll be all better! then i can start making friends!”

he slightly smiles

“can i be your friend, [redacted]?”

you had even said the name yourself once. why couldn’t you remember it?

his expression shifts to a slightly surprised look

“you…want to be my friend?”

he was quiet even then, and his silent expression would grow to an angry one over time

“yeah! you’re interesting, and you’re one of the few people who bothers to talk to me.”

he doesn’t speak for a while.

“you can say no if you want to.” you say to him.

“okay. i’ll be your friend.”

it’s a short response, but the bright grin that lights up your face makes it worth the wait

“yay! i can’t wait till i’m better so we can hang out more!”

you two talked in that hallway a lot

meeting after dark, talking about anything in the world

when you were about six, the worst of your illness hit you

the doctors didn’t even know what was wrong, and there were nights when he would sit outside the physician’s office alone at night, hoping, praying that the sun would shine on a world that still had you in it

you would collapse from exhaustion at the slightest overexertion

his father always told him he had to be careful with you, not only were you shorter than him, but you were also very fragile

those hours spent sitting in the hallway alone, he got to do a lot of thinking

he wanted to help you, but he didn’t know how

then, there was a sudden burst of hope

you were going to liyue with your parents

you would get the help you needed

he was happy for you, even if it meant you would have to spend time away from him

and then there was the terrible news

the ship had gone missing

you had too

he couldn’t sleep for days on end

his father was worried too

when he saw you again, you found yourself shuddering on the shores of inazuma

he wrapped his arms around you as tight as he could, as if his strength alone could undo everything that had happened

it was one of the few times he showed affection in public

he rushed you to the healer again

and this time there was no hoping

there was no praying

there was just the pit in his stomach, the fear that coursed through his veins and fueled his blood

every second felt like a decade, it was a moment in which you weren’t perfectly healthy and safe

the townspeople began to spread rumors, as people do

the guard’s son who was lovesick with worry for the sickly orphan girl

what a pity, no?

he wanted to shut them up. he wished he had the power to shut them up.

when even his father had to drag him away from the pharmacy, he didn’t talk to anyone for a very long time.

this was around the time he grew sour and snappy

his simply quiet demeanor developed into a scowl that constantly graced his face

he only smiled the day you were released from the physicians.

you weren’t fully healed. but you felt better than you ever had in your life.

his father took you in without a second thought, and he was just happy to have you with him.

“i’m better, scara.” you said to him, a happy smile on your face

“i was wondering when you’d hurry up and get well.”

you were a bit troubled by his attitude, but no less, you were happy to see your friend again.

it went like that for a long time.

he was rude, but you didn’t care because you knew what he was like underneath.

some nights he would sneak into your room and talk to you.

he told you he was just bored and felt like annoying you.

but his real reason was to make sure you were still breathing.

he always worried about you

so the day you received your vision, he felt a lot of relief

surely this meant that you could protect yourself. you were safe.

then the worst of all things happened.

his fathers death.

the day he felt like his world was ripped from underneath his feet.

almost immediately, the electro archon, baal, herself, intervened, and declared that you were to be adopted into the kamisato clan.

why you? why couldn’t he keep you with him? he was old enough to be able to take care of both of you

baal didn’t like his questioning. she said she knew what was best for you.

it was strange. because in the days he spent with you after, although not many, you didn’t seem sick at all.

for the first time, you seemed perfectly healthy.

he was glad for that…but he wasn’t happy. you could see that easily.

you knew this wasn’t the right thing for him

he stuck around for a year. you suppose you’re lucky he even stayed that long. you were pretty much his only reason.

sure he found friends in ayaka and kazuha…but he was unhappy.

he knew there was no point in staying, so he thought it was time he took his leave.

he approached you one day, as the sun began to set

you were worried for him, as he had been very angry towards baal and the emperor lately.

“scara, is there something you want to talk about?”

you watch as he stands before you

he blurts out, “run away with me.”

you’re taken aback almost immediately.

“what?”

he repeats his statement

“i’m going to flee from inazuma. come with me.”

“scara..”

his expression, as it does often these days, turns stern and serious.

“i’m not going to ask you again. come with me, y/n.”

you’re tired of him ordering you around.

“you know i can’t. i have duties here. i can’t just betray my country for you.”

“you know baal wants me gone. she’s going to kill me if i stay. she might do the same to you.”

you scoff at his words. “she won’t harm me or you. you’re being dramatic.”

he spits out his next words, laced with venom. “baal killed my father. i hate her and so should you.”

“scara.”

“it’s like you’ve completely forgotten about him just because you’re royalty now.”

“scara.”

“don’t call me scara. come with me if you ever cared at all.”

“scaramouche!”

he goes quiet

“don’t go. please.”

he frowns

“you know i can’t do that.”

you want to try and make him stay

but he won’t. you know nothing you say will convince him. he won’t let himself be convinced by you, even if that’s what he truly wants.

you inhale

“get out of here.”

“what?”

“go. leave. and take this with you.”

you throw the necklace you were wearing at him, and he catches it. baal had exiled him, it was true, but he couldn’t expect you to throw everything away for him.

“wait, what are you-“

as the two of you stare each other down, you hear ayaka’s voice coming from the courtyard, calling for you.

she has a guard with her, as the emperor assigns every royal family member. you managed to ditch yours early on.

“the guard is gonna get you if you stay, scara. get out of here, now.”

he scoffs

“whatever. i can’t believe i thought you were worth risking my life.”

he pockets the necklace and steps over the wall, and he’s gone.

nine years of friendship and he threw you away like you were nothing

in truth, the minute he was out of sight, he threw down his bag in anger

he turned around and you weren’t there anymore

you gave up on him

so if he hated you, you deserved it

it might be worth a hefty price anyway.

at least that’s what he told himself

(he never stopped missing you. almost as soon as he joined the fatui, he requested an audience with the tsaritsa to ask her how you were doing.)

“a simple agent, asking that much of me? and for a girl? that’s very bold of you.”

upon hearing it was about you, the cryo archon grew very interested. of course she remembered you.

the sickly orphan she gifted a vision to at a very young age.

she told him you were well

what she didn’t tell him was about baal going berserk and massacring thousands of her people.

upon receiving the news, he felt that chill upon him once again

the fear that fell onto his shoulders, weighing him down, too scared to ask for more information. he didn’t want to be told you were gone.

“the royal family was not harmed.”

he felt his muscles relax as he calmed down.

he quickly reassumed an upright stance.

he was the sixth harbinger. he has no weaknesses. he cares for nothing and no one.

but beneath his mask, the fire of his love for you burned brighter than the flame of any pyro vision.

a/n: ok so i really enjoyed this….scara banner when. i did tweak it a bit but i have other things written for this scenario in which scara returns to inazuma and reader is (deservingly) PISSED with him :) lmk if you want me to post those !

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stardustprompts · 4 years ago

Text

the poppy war - r.f kuang sentence starters change tenses/pronouns as needed !! some lines have been edited for clarity / length / ease of roleplaying tw : drugs , death , murder , nsfw , prostitution mention , language

‘take off your clothes.’

‘why would anyone drug themselves before a test?’

‘you’re about to be a very lucky girl, sweet.’

‘wow that’s great. really great. Terrific.’

‘your folks are assholes.’

‘well fuck the heavenly order of things.’

‘don’t you have actual responsibilities?’

‘I don’t want to get on _____ ‘s bad side.’

‘you would make a terrible prostitute. no charm.’

‘what is so wrong with getting married?’

‘do you want to die?’

‘everything is spilling out of my head as quickly as I put it in.’

‘please do not commit spousal homicide.’

‘give me a way out of this shithole.’

‘hello, I’m praying.’

‘I seduced him with my nubile young body. you caught me.’

‘you can’t scare me into a confession, because I’m telling the truth.’

‘and that means you’re shit at your job.’

‘if you cross them—- if they even think you’ve looked at them funny—- they can and will hurt you.’

‘it’s easy to lose a language when you never speak it.’

‘you’re offending them with your very presence.’

‘they’ll make you an outsider, because you’re not like them.’

‘no matter what they say, you deserve to be here.’

‘I’ll kill you. I will fucking kill you.’

‘I went out in the sun once. you should try it sometime.’

‘oh, you’re the one ____ hates.’

‘you’d be a prick too if your family was both rich and attractive.’

‘honestly? I think he just comes in here to get high.’

‘I think you’re flattering yourself.’

‘unless you’ve got a weapon, don’t aim for the face. the neck’s a better target.’

‘we aren’t here to be sophisticated. we’re here to fuck people up.’

‘this is the only kick you’ll ever need, really. a kick to bring down the most powerful warriors.’

‘power dictates acceptability.’

‘he hasn’t done anything to earn my respect. all he’s done is act high and mighty.’

‘you’re nothing. you shouldn’t even be here.’

‘consider me bullied and intimidated, just let me sleep.’

‘he’s playing with her. he’ll end it soon.’

‘they’re good at fighting, but not much else.’

‘spend a lot of time looking at ____’s eyes do you?’

‘a betrayal of that sort would not have been out of character.’

‘come on, you belong here too.’

‘they’re not going to get rid of me like this. not this easily.’

‘I’m calm! I’m extremely calm!’

‘you’d rather kill your own people than let the opponent’s army walk away?’

‘you don’t let an enemy walk away if they’ll certainly be a threat to you later.’

‘he can’t stop raving about you.’

‘oh, don’t pretend to be bashful. you love it.’

‘you’re a walking disaster.’

‘anyone this obstinate deserves some attention, if only to make sure you don’t become a walking hazard to everyone around you.’

‘I heard he got drunk on rice wine last week and pissed into ____’s window. he sounds awesome.’

‘it’s me, your favorite person in the whole wide world.’

‘I do not have a problem. you are making up this problem for reasons unbeknownst to me.’

‘you’re killing the mood.’

‘they were weak as shit. scrawnier than you, even.’

‘you’re a real asshole. you know that right?’

‘your state of mind is just as important as the state of your body.’

‘sometimes you must loose the string to let the arrow fly.’

‘because I want to break his stupid face.’

‘he’s the most dangerous when he’s desperate.’

‘from this point on you’re just going to be a danger to yourself and everyone around you.’

‘you’re too reckless. you hold grudges, you cultivate your rage and let it explode, and you’re careless about what you’re taught.’

‘I knew I was the only one that could help him.’

‘they honed his rage like a weapon, instead of teaching him to control it.’

‘one urinating statue for my easily entertained friend.’

‘I don’t believe in gods. but I believe in power.’

‘one might say you’ve been obsessed with ____.’

‘don’t look to your left. pretend you’re taking to me.’ / ‘I am talking to you.’

‘we’re studying very weird things.’

‘I don’t actually know what I’m getting into.’

‘here is what happened: you called a god, and the god answered.’

‘you know that if you don’t get answers now, the hunger will consume you and your mind will crack.’

‘you’ve glimpsed the other side and you can’t rest until you fill in the blanks.’

‘supernatural is a word for anything that doesn’t fit your present understanding of the world.’

‘I’m supposed to take it as true that you’re a god?’

‘I’m not a god. I am a mortal who has woken up, and there is power in awareness.’

‘are we getting high? oh, wow. we’re getting high.’

‘ah. the law. so inconvenient. so irrelevant.’

‘we are not madmen. but how can we convince anyone of this, when the rest of the world believes it so?’

‘the price of power is pain.’

‘I understand the truth of things. I know what it means to exist.’

‘prey do not question the motives of the predator. the dead do not question the living. mortals do not challenge the gods.’

‘I killed for you. I would have done anything for you.’

‘I have seen the end of things. the shape of the world has changed.’

‘war doesn’t determine who’s right. war determines who remains.’

‘it’s alright. I know what you are.’

‘I thought I was the only one left.’

‘we have developed the power to rewrite the fabric of this world. if we don’t use it, then what’s the point?’

‘I don’t mess with that shit. it screws you up.’

‘I understand the appeal, I really do, but I like having my mind to myself.’

‘he’s a charmer. like a new puppy. you think he’s adorable until he pisses on the furniture.’

‘there’s no routine. no discipline. nothing you’re used to. am I right?’

‘so you’re the last of your kind. that’s sad.’

‘If you hold the fate of the country in your hands, if you have accepted your obligation to your people, then your life ceases to be your own.’

‘____ feared, and so he held you back.’

‘great danger is always associated with great power. the difference between the great and the mediocre is that the great are willing to take that risk.’

‘don’t ever let go on that anger. rage gives you power. caution does not.’

‘don’t give in... you’ve been so brave... but it takes more bravery to resist the power.’

‘the nature of this god is to destroy. the nature of this god is to be greedy, to never be satisfied with what he has consumed.’

‘so. screaming at rocks. is that, like, normal behavior here?’

‘fix this. prove your worth. do your fucking job or get out.’

‘I saved your life. doesn’t that make us at least a little square?!’

‘I was scared of you. and I lashed out.’

‘I thought I was better than you, and I’m not. I’m sorry.’

‘when I killed it, it felt like murder.’

‘look, I’m happy to discuss this, really, but I’m currently leaking life out three different wounds and I think I may pass out. would you give me a moment?’

‘well maybe ____ should get his head out of his ass.’

‘ ____ is more fragile than you think.’

‘look, asshole, I don’t need you to tell me what to do.’

‘they say he can read the future. shatter minds.’

‘you misunderstand the nature of our relationship. I am not your friend.’

‘he’s not human. he—- I don’t know what he is.’

‘but ___ was never allowed to be human.’

‘do you trust me?’ / ‘no. but that’s irrelevant.’

‘you don’t know what true suffering is.’

‘I have seen more than my fair share of suffering.’

‘that boy is beyond redemption. that boy is broken like the rest.’

‘I don’t want to be saved! I want power!’

‘that power will destroy everything you’ve ever loved. you will defeat your enemy, and the victory will turn to ashes in your mouth.’

‘we’ve missed something. something’s been laid out for us, but we can’t see it.’

‘fretting won’t make the dead come back to life.’

‘there was nothing human in those eyes.’

‘It was a nightmare, and I couldn’t wake up.’

‘I don’t need your pity. I need you to kill them for me.’

‘whatever it takes. swear it on your life. swear it for me.’

‘I won’t judge him. I don’t dare, because I don’t have the right. and neither do you.’

‘you asked me why I wouldn’t stop him. now you understand. you can’t stop an avenger. you can’t reason with a madman.’

‘I am afraid of what he might do in his quest for vengeance. and I am afraid that he is right.’

‘I am about to do something terrible. and you will have a choice.’

‘they give nothing to the universe, and the universe owes them nothing in return.’

‘you cannot survive my death.’

‘you’re trying to deceive me. you don’t get to deceive me.’

‘this is not the way. this path leads only to darkness.’

‘when are you going to stop being such a damn coward? what are you running from?’

‘you will turn the world to ash, and only demons will live in the rubble.’

‘you dress up your crusade with moral arguments, when in truth you would let millions die if it means you get your so-called justice.’

‘you have not cared about anything for a very long time. you are broken.’

‘I am terrified. but only because I’m starting to remember who I once was. don’t go down that path.’

‘your country is ash. you can’t bring it back with blood.’

‘I’m so sorry. I tried to warn you.’

‘you know the worst part? we’re so close to home.’

‘did you miss me? did you miss this?’

‘I just gave him some of his favorite medicine.’

‘resistance here means suffering. there is no escape. no future.’

‘you have nothing to fight for anymore’

‘what are you defending? you owe ____ nothing.’

‘we were disposable. we were tools. tell me that doesn’t make you furious.’

‘I am sick with fury.’

‘I will die on my feet. I will not die a coward. and neither will you.’

‘we could stay here. we could stay here forever. we wouldn’t have to go back.’

‘you’ll have to live with the consequences. but you’re brave ... you’re the bravest person I’ve ever met.’

‘I have lost everything I care about. I don’t want peace, I want revenge.’

‘I don’t need to sleep. I need to feel nothing.’

‘do you want forgiveness? I can’t give you that.’

‘we avenged him. he’s gone, but avenged.’

‘you have to believe that it was necessary. that it stopped something worse. and even if it wasn’t, it’s the lie we’ll tell ourselves, starting today and every day afterward.’

‘aren’t you supposed to be a seer? do you ever see anything useful?’

‘we have an enemy whom we love.’

‘I’m going to find and kill everyone responsible. you cannot stop me.’

‘oh I’m not going to stop you.’

#rp prompts #literature prompts #literature sentence starters #sentence starters #rp meme #rp sentence starters #the poppy war sentence starters #the poppy war prompt #the poppy war meme

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lyallblacklupin · 3 years ago

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Just like fire.

After years of regrets and sorrows, Remus tries to apologize to Sirius for his own mistakes, despite the fact that he has been hurt by the very same person who he wants to say sorry to. The years of damages has passed, should they give each other a chance, or start fresh with new people in life to forget their old wounds?

Tags: Heavy Angst, Fluff, Post-Azkaban, Angst with Happy Ending.

Sirius walks in the kitchen, completely heedless of Remus’ presence—or he pretends to be heedless after he catches the sight of Remus. He walks promptly, not limping but flinching at his aching bones. This is how Sirius Black has become: broken. And he has not just broken out of thin air, it has taken fourteen years which includes the twelve years of unjust imprisonment and two years of being a prison escapee, and Merlin knows how many more to go.

Half of Sirius’ time is spent in thinking about death and longing for it. Remus can tell because he has witnessed the hunger of dying in his eyes when he’d sit alone with himself, and the other half is always occupied in worrying about Harry Potter who is last person keeping him from dying out of misery; his dear godson only. Otherwise, he’d have been free.

He stops at the stove and boils the water on the kettle. He doesn’t have his wand so muggle way it is. Muggles have been growing on him, a lot. He keeps talking about them with Arthur. Remus is glad that if there is anything Sirius is looking forward to the order meetings is for the conversation with his new friend Arthur Weasley, who also attains the equal amount energy for the same subject. It makes Remus happy to witness that they have any reason to—even temporarily—lit up in the times of war. However, Sirius never smiles. He nods, or makes a funny face. He only smiles when Harry visits.

“If you want for yourself, it’s still in the kettle.” Sirius says without looking, and begins to walk out of the kitchen but Remus rises from his chair.

“Sirius.” He stops but doesn’t turn to face Remus.

“What?” His voice cut through Remus’ heart.

“I was hoping we could have tea together?” He tried, his heart hammering in his chest.

Sirius finally turns and hold his gaze. After a lingering eye contact, he nods and brings Remus’ tea with pink mug that has a David Bowie on it. He is slightly hopeful that Sirius has kept it because Remus gave him on their sixth year Christmas holidays. But he highly doubts that Sirius remembers it. Sirius sits across Remus’ seat. The silence is irksome.

“I want you to know that I’m sorry for…all that—“

“Define ‘that’, Remus?” Sirius’ facial expressions are blank but very grave.

“For believing the murder of Lily and James was because of you.”

Sirius scoffs, and Remus wants to scream because deep down inside he doesn’t feel he deserves it. He suffered too for twelve years. Even so, he tries to sustain the ceasefire he is trying to build between them.

“I should have believed that you would never have done anything like that to the Potters. You loved them more than anything in this world and—“

Remus pauses because Sirius is shaking his head with a manic smile playing on his lips.

“Wrong. I didn’t love them as I was supposed to. It wasn’t that I didn’t, but it was more like I couldn’t. My fucking stupid heart belonged to just one person that time as if my life would end if I stop centering my life on him.”

Remus swallowed. He knows that no kind of eloquent words are going to be good reply to what Sirius has said, so he says, “You did. Love them, that is. I know that.”

“Oh what did you know!?” He shoots up so violently that the chair collapses down on the floor that Remus inhales sharply, “You were out there kissing Dumbledore’s shoes!”

He knew that this will happen, that he will be humiliated again just like the times in the first war when Sirius would scream at him for going on the secret missions and not giving a clue about when and where he would go and come back, and for not being there for his friends and family. But in reality, all Remus did was to protect the order, and the people he loved. However, the questions still pops in his head, ‘for what? How did he not see it that they were breaking apart?’ It feels like he was watering a dead plant over and over again during the severity of lacking water, but the plant didn’t revive, and the precious water spilled into filthiest vain. Despite of that, Remus shuts his mind and chooses that pettiest way to get back at the person who endured twelve years of imprisonment for the crime he never committed.

“Don’t you dare!” Remus rises from his chair too, leveling up at Sirius, “Don’t you dare go down there again after all these years!”

“WHY NOT!?” Sirius yelled anyway, “YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO THIS NOW! YOU NEVER BELIEVED ME! EVEN BEFORE YOU THOUGHT I BETRAYED JAMES AND LILY!”

“WHEN DID YOU BELIEVE ME!?” Remus is now few inches away from Sirius. He wants to slam him against the wall and put some sense into him because he still cares about him, no matter what.

“WHAT!? You made me this way! You build this mistrust with your hands! Don’t you dare forget that!”

“I did!? Or was that you!? Who didn’t believe me when I said I was not allowed to tell to anyone!”

“I WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE ANYONE!” Sirius’ voice breaks poorly that hits like a dagger in Remus’ heart. Sirius holds himself by the chest and leans down to rest his torso on the kitchen table, breathing heavily. Remus instantly feels the stinging in his eyes, and followed by the hot tears spilling from them. He comes behind Sirius, and places a hand on his back.

“Don’t touch me.”

“Shut up. Just shut up.” Remus whispers, and pulls Sirius up in his arms. He sobs and sobs, and Remus sinks down to the floor with him, squeezing him tightly in his embrace. “You are right. You were never just anyone. You were never…” He tries to put his feelings into words but Sirius interrupts him.

“You stopped loving me.”

Remus feels his stomach twist but what comes out of his mouth is a laugh. An empty laugh.

“Hell, I didn’t even stop loving you even when I thought you killed James and Lily.”

Silence.

“I was disgusted by myself. I used to feel so filthy. To want you even after believing you ruined my life by walking away so brutally, killing my friends. Killing my reasons to stay on this planet. I wanted to hate you. I couldn’t. I didn’t think that I even deserved to go to their funeral, you know…because I thought I’d be downright hypocrite to grieve for their loss when I was actually grieving the loss of you. I’d dream about you. The only thought keeping me sane and alive. Sirius, I’m not sure if this makes sense to you…I don’t even know if I’m asking you to love me back or what, but I have always loved you, mostly when I shouldn’t…”

Sirius is staring at him with his tears streaming so rapidly down his cheeks. He is trembling as sobs are racking through his body, his breath hitching every now and then. Remus’ heart breaks to see him like that. It is like Sirius is cleansing himself with all of the unwanted darkness off his soul by spilling all the expanse of pain in form of tears. Remus can see that he is not stopping himself from weeping. He seems lost somewhere, with his eyes shut and his hand on his mouth.

“I am not defending myself,” Remus whispers once he notices Sirius is just sniffling and wiping the dampness from his face, “I never meant to bring that up. I just want to let you know that whatever you went through had not even a single place or moment you deserved to be at.”

Sirius looks up with wide teary eyes, staring at Remus’ hopefully. He looks innocent and raw.

“Tell me,” His voice rough with tears but still a whisper. He clears his throat, “that I deserved all of that.”

“That is not true.” Remus says instantly, his hands grasping Sirius’ wrist instinctively, fearing he might fade away with the wind swooping in from the kitchen window.

“It is,” He says in the weakest voice, “My mistakes brought me here. For not trusting you enough…”

No words comes out from Remus’ mouth but they are caught in his throat like a lump. He can feel their prickling. The silence stretches on, smoothly breaking by the sounds of fire battling the wind filling the kitchen. There is also some faint sounds of dripping water from the tap into the basin. Someone must have forgotten to turn it fully. Huh, wizards.

“You are one celestial presence on the world, Remus Lupin, aren’t you…” Sirius chuckles softly, leaning back on the paddles of the chair to rest his back on them. Remus doesn’t understand but Sirius continues, “You are…this sacred or a saint-like wizard—half-blood werewolf whose father committed suicide because he thought he was the reason for his son’s affliction, and whose mother faded away with grief…”

Remus’ heart feels fragile in his chest, fearing it might break again after the poor mending.

“Merlin puts a very heavy price on people to pay who hurt Remus Lupin, who mistrust Remus Lupin...who thinks little of Remus Lupin.”

There is something strange in Sirius’ eyes. There is surrender and envy but Remus stares back into those glistening, and almost-silver orbs with courage to find what he wants. And he does. There it is. Love, swirling into the diffusion of grey and blue.

“I paid twelve years of losing myself and my family for mistrusting you, Remus.”

“I’m sorry…” He doesn’t expect his voice to whimper but it does because his chin is trembling and he is trying hard to gain composure. He is trying so hard with his clenched jaw, and balled fists in either sides of his lap. But Sirius put a thumb under his chin, and he shudders.

“You’re so stupid, Moony.” Sirius whispers when he is just an inch away from his lips.

“I know,” And just as those lips touched his, he feels a tear trickle down his cheek before Sirius has completely captured his mouth. They move languidly but cautiously, scared they might break each other again with haste and roughness. They don’t trust themselves to be firm either. Remus doesn’t. But when Sirius pulls back a little, he comes back and kisses him again decisively on the lips.

“I don’t know if it is still worth it,” Sirius says when both of them are resting their foreheads against each other, breathing in and out one and other, “But I want you to know that I don’t blame you for anything. Maybe I did. Just to keep myself sane by pretending to believe the lies I made within my already suffocated brain.”

Remus lets out a small laugh, which follows by Sirius’ arms wrapping his waist.

“I hope you can still accept me despite of everything, Remus.”

Remus hold his jaw, and tries to smile at him because he still feels like it is not enough. Nothing is enough with Sirius Black. It is always so much, even in this flickering flame which is almost dead. He knows that it will ignite again to fiery life once they become one. They are dangerously perfect for each other. He leans in to kiss the back of his ear, and inhales a whiff just like the wolf would do when Padfoot would return on first full moon after the summers, to recognize his mate. Sirius smells of rain and cigarette, mixing the aroma of the tea that has been sitting out in two mugs before their argument.

“I do. And I hope the same from you for myself?” Remus cringes after he realizes how lame they sound next to Sirius’ words. After few minutes which feels like hours to Remus, Sirius gropes his hands to hold both of his wrists, with his eyes still locked with Remus. He then bends down to press a lingering kiss on the right, and then on the left. Remus just looks at him, feeling utterly weightless in Sirius’ hands.

“I will not fail you again, Remus.”

“I trust you. I love you,” Remus says with all of the broken words spilling out his mouth, “I love you so much. I will not let you go. I will not let you be alone.”

They embraces each other again, just enjoying the warmth and the closeness. It reminds Remus of their time at Hogwarts when their limbs used to be wrapped around each other at every possible free period, smoking cigarettes at the Astronomy Tower.

“Don’t make such promises, my dear Moony.”

“You’re just saying that because you’ll be annoyed of me for sticking around you all the time.” Remus wipes his tears, and Sirius helps him too with his sleeve, shaking with silent laughter.

“Yeah, maybe. Just don’t follow me in the bathroom.”

“Can’t make such promises, my dear Padfoot.”

Thankyou for reading!

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x-childish-x · 3 years ago

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(part 1) hello, can i request an Anakin x jedi reader where the reader is more like a mother figure to Anakin? after order 66 happened, both obi wan and reader sneak onto padme’s ship to find Anakin. after Anakin force chokes padme, reader runs into Anakin’s arms and tries to convince him to turn back. it starts to get angsty since reader is on the verge of tears and Anakin is a softie around her. after reader tries to convince him,

I Believe In You

Pairing: Anakin x fem!reader

Fandom: Star Wars

Warnings: ANGST, jedi!reader, violence, major character death, stabbing, fighting, crying, force choking

Word Count: 1,138

A/N: Hello lovely! Sorry it took me so long to get this out! I really hope you enjoy this! Thank you so much for the request and for your support! Feedback is always welcome and appreciated!

Summary: In Anakin's mission to join the dark side, you join Obi-Wan in one final attempt to save the boy you viewed as your son.

(gif not mine!)

"You're with them! You brought them here to kill me!" Anakin's deranged scream filled the air as his hand outstretched to Padme.

You watched in horror as Padme gasped for air, Obi-Wan yelling at Anakin to let the pregnant woman go. Your heart ached, debating whether you should run and help Padme or Anakin. You knew Palpatine had been feeding lies to Anakin, that he believed you had turned against him. You knew Padme was innocent. Simply caught in the middle of all the confusion and chaos. Nobody deserved this. You wished you could go back in time and force yourself to notice all the signs before.

Yet, you weren't dumb. You knew that Anakin had turned to the dark side. That there wasn't much hope in saving him, and the council had been correct to fear this. But you couldn't help but hope that maybe you'd be able to do something. That's why, the moment Padme dropped, you didn't hesitate in bolting forward, dashing into Anakin's arms and slamming against his chest.

"Ani!" You cried, forcing the boy to look down at you. You yanked back from his chest, your hands moving up to cup Anakin's cheeks, "Oh Ani, please, Ani... it's not too late."

"No, it is... I've done unforgivable things," Anakin mumbled, one hand coming to rest around your waist.

You shook your head, trying to keep tears out of your eyes, "No... It's never too late to choose the light. Please. We can help you. I will help you. I can help you, just like I always have," You gently stroked his cheek, absentmindedly, how you always did, "I've never given up on you Anakin, I never will. I believe in you. I know you've made mistakes, but I know you can make the right choices, and I know that we can fix this. Please, come back with me."

Obi-Wan watched in pure astonishment. He always knew about the close bond you and Anakin shared, yet he was always surprised to see it in person. The way that Anakin absolutely melted into your touch, all malice went from his body. No sign that he had just tried to kill the woman he loved romantically. No sign Anakin was involved in the massacre of the Jedi. He was no longer the boy who killed younglings. Obi-Wan was instead seeing the young boy back on Tatooine, afraid to leave his mother behind.

And, of course, Anakin was afraid. He did not want to lose you like he'd lost his mom. You'd stepped in and had been his mother, for all intents and purposes, during his time at the Temple. Yes, the council frowned upon your connection, but you couldn't help taking Anakin under your wing and stepping in as his mother figure. You often stepped in as a mother that many younglings looked for, for a few years. Yet Anakin had stuck to you. Always coming to you for advice and help, enjoying the mother-figure you provided for him. You had just never expected things to end up this way.

"Anakin, please," You whimpered, tears finally spilling over and down your cheeks, "Don't do this, let me help you."

A soft and small whine left Anakin's mouth at the sight of you crying. He hated this, but he knew what he had to do, "You were always like a mother to me. I’m sorry I’ve failed you," Anakin removed his hand from your waist, gently wiping off a few of your tears, "I’ve disappointed you. It’s too late to turn back.”

Furiously you shook your head, "It’s not too late! Come with me and Obi-Wan, we can try and fix things, make the right choices! I believe in you, Anakin!"

Anakin shook his head, tears quickly rising and spilling down onto his cheeks, "If only I believed in me as much as you believe in me."

You had no time to react. Your eyes widened horrifically as searing heat enveloped your torso. Your grip on Anakin's cheeks fell to his shoulders. Obi-Wan's horrified scream filled the air as you looked down between Anakin and you, the glow of his blue lightsaber protruding into your stomach. Your gasp felt like a scream to Anakin's ears, your confused cries like daggers to his heart. Your grip suddenly changed from one of comfort to one of fighting to stand up.

The sight of Anakin's blue lightsaber coming out of your back was enough to make Obi-Wan feel feral. He wanted to lunge at his former Padawan, make him pay for destroying the ones trying hardest to help him. Yet, Obi-Wan refrained, with tears now streaming down his cheeks too. He watched in pain as you tried to cling to Anakin as if he could give you life as if he could reverse the damage he'd done.

"Ani.." You choked out, your face contorted in pain, "It's o-kay... I f-forgive you."

Tears streamed down Anakin's cheeks as one of your hands shakily cupped his cheek, stroking it once more like you always did, prompting him to deactivate his lightsaber. You collapsed to the ground pitifully, a snarl leaving Anakin's mouth as his gaze fell upon Obi-Wan.

The ground was cold and inviting despite the lava raging around you. Your breath was shallow. Your vision begins to blur as you fight to keep a grip on reality. You never expected Anakin to be the one to kill you, yet you couldn't find yourself to be mad. You'd gone up to Anakin unarmed, getting too close for comfort, and now you paid the price.

Memories flashed through your mind as the reality of everything seemed to slam into you. All the times you comforted Anakin after he had a rough training session. Or the first time you'd taught him how to flip and proceeded to teach him more. They played out like a movie before you, flashing in vibrant, beautiful colors that only contributed to your fading air. All the times you helped teach Anakin how to do his wraps and master new spins. He was your boy, and from the beginning, you had believed in him more than anyone.

"You turned them against me!" Anakin cried out, "Look at what you made me do!"

"You have done that yourself!" Obi-Wan shouts back.

You fought desperately to move, to beg Obi-Wan to not kill Anakin. You fought to tell Obi-Wan that Anakin could be saved, but you couldn't. You couldn't move. You couldn't do anything besides stare at Anakin's blurry figure. So, mustering all your strength, you muttered one final phrase to the boy you once looked upon as your own son before you allowed the force to consume you.

"Ani.." Your voice snapped both men's attention to you, the younger softening at the sight of you, "I be-b-believe in y-you, Ani."

#Anakin Skywalker #anakin skywalker x reader #anakin skywalker x you #anakin skywalker x y/n #anakinskywalker #anakinskywalkerxreader #anakinskywalkerxy/n #anakinskywalkerxyou #anakin skywalker x jedi!reader #anakin skywalker x fem!reader #mother figure #star wars #starwars #star wars revenge of the sith #star wars the prequel trilogy #x-childish-x

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palettes-and-prompts · 4 years ago

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Fake Dating Prompts

Dialogue Prompts

1) "Just so you know, I don't like you." "Yeah, well, I'm not paying you to like me. I'm paying you to laugh at my jokes and cling to me like a magnet so my ex doesn't think I miss them." 2) "Can you at least pretend you think I'm funny?" "That costs extra." 3) "Oh shit, they're coming this way. Kiss me, kiss me right now!" "Yeah, okay." 4) "If you ever kiss me like that again-" "Shut up, you liked it, you opened your mouth for tongue." "I did not!" "Then why'd you lick mine when I stuck it in your mouth?" "Just don't kiss me, alright?" 5) "Careful, it's sounding like you're dangerously close to caring about them." 6) "You know, if I didn't know better I'd say you're in love." "I don't love anyone." "But they're not just anyone, are they?" 7) "This was all fake, this was just supposed to be fake you weren't supposed to tell me you love me!" "And you weren't supposed to say it back!" 8) "Did you mean what you said in there?" "No. Obviously. Did you mean what you said in there?" "No. Obviously. I was just talking you up in front of your ex, you know? Just showing them what they're missing." "Right." 9) "They're coming, kiss me." "Ew, no, you just had funyuns." "Do it!" "Fine!" 10) "We're going to have to kiss in front of them so maybe we should practice." "Yeah, just so we can find out what we need to do when they see us." "Exactly, just want to make it more passionate." 11) "That was a good practice kiss. Should we...practice sleeping together too?" "No!" "Right! Yeah, no, I was kidding." "..." "Totally kidding." 12) "God, one bed?" "The company does want us to pose as a couple." "Whatever, get us more pillows put a line of them down the center, I'm not sleeping in the floor and neither are you." "I'll call room service." 13) "They'll be in here in a second. Get naked." "What? You didn't say anything about getting naked!" "Just take off some of your clothes, I want them to think we're doing it!" 14) "I can't believe I have to pretend to like you. I hate you so much and when this is over I am going to ki-" "My ex is coming." "Kiss you because you're just so irresistible when you smile at me like that." "Aww, baby, you're so sweet." "Haha, careful, too much sweet'll kill you." 15) "You're not thinking about getting back together with them are you?" "No! No...of course not." "You are." 16) "I guess it's time for us to part ways." "We don't have to...do we? I mean we're already on this trip, might as well make the most of it." 17) "If they think you and I are together they'll both be furious." "You want us to pretend we're dating?" "Why not?" "Because you hate me." "I don't hate you." "You don't like me." "Okay, I don't like you. Doesn't mean I can't pretend to like you." 18) "Your ex is a piece of shit and I know I said I wasn't down to make them jealous but I change my mind." "What?" "I'm gonna kiss you and push you up against that wall in front of them. If you're not into that tell me now." "Well, what are you waiting for?" 19) "Come on, you're not really in love with Person A, are you? You're just using them to make me jealous." "I'd appreciate it if you took your hands of my girlfriend/boyfriend." "Cute, you've really got Person B playing the part, don't you?" "I'm not playing a part. And if you don't let them go my fist will let you know how much I'm not playing any part." "You're seriously with them?!" 20) "They can't give you what I can. I've got money and cars. I could take care of you. But them? They've got nothing, they're just a nobody, baby. You're a somebody. You deserve to be with another somebody like you. If you stick with them you'll just be a nobody." "I'd rather be nobody with them than a somebody with you."

Regular Prompts

1) A had a bad break up with B but when they remember that B's got a jealous streak they find C to help them out. C used to be friends with A, and B hated C when they were around A. When A suggests a price or something C insists they wanna do it for free to piss B off since B got them expelled from high school or something for something they did. When B sees C around A they're distracted and can't focus around their new partner. But when C's picking up A and kissing them against a wall B gets more than just distracted and A remembers a previous kiss they had as kids and think they might've been together if B hadn't got C expelled. 2) A's a thief who gets bailed out by a person B, the ex boyfriend/girlfriend of the person they tried to rob before they got arrested, Person B tells them they'll pay bail and more if they help them make their ex jealous so they'll take them back. A agrees and they go out a few times but their ex, Person C, doesn't seem to be interested in getting them back at all. Person B pays A anyway and tells them they're just going to go home. Person A tells them no and comes up with a plan. A then successfully robs them and plants the items on Person C's new arm candy. They continue to do that with each new person until C decides the only person they can trust is Person B. When B and C get back together B's happy but A realizes C doesn't treat B right. After watching them tear B down after a bad day A decides to steal one last thing from C, Person B. Person B is hesitant to leave because they've been wanting C back for so long, but when A promises a lot of things B doesn't want to leave. B doesn't leave until A admits their feelings in front of B and C. 3) A makes the mistake of falling for Person B, someone who only wants what they can't have. Even though B likes a lot they just wont as them out. A asks C to help make them more desirable to Person B. C thinks that's a stupid idea and requests money or a big favor for it. A agrees and they start going out, earning B's attention. A tells B that C's just perfect and that they're happy together. This does nothing but drive B crazy and make them want A more. Person B finally asks them out telling them to leave C. A agrees and C tells them they can't believe they wanted to be with a person like that since they deserve better. A thinks about C more and eventually B finds it hard to be tied down to anyone. A dumps them and tells them they will never have them again, which has B back to being into A. A finds C and C's drinking by themselves asking if they can date them a little longer. C tells them they're done faking it and A tells them they're tired of faking it, earning a smile from C. 4) A and B are sworn enemies but when the loves of their lives are dating each other they decide to date to make them jealous. C and D are having a nice dinner when A and B sit down a few tables away they immediately come over and tell them they know what they're trying to do and that they're not even into each other so they should stop trying. But A kisses B passionately and B kisses back until B's in A's lap and C and D are like 'We get it.' They still don't believe them but A and B try to have a nice dinner, complaining about the kiss quietly while they have smiles on their faces. When B finds out they're going back to D's place they tell A their apartment is right above theirs. When they leave A and B go back to B's place and hear them talking about them through the floor. B suggests they fake having sex and A tells them that's a good idea. They fake sex over the spot they're talking and make up dialogue. C and D still don't believe they're together and talk about going up the fire escape to see them just sitting around on the bed. A tells B they need to take their clothes off, which they do super fast as they mess up each other's hair. C and D catch them in a compromising position and they both fake embarrassment when they see C and D just standing at the window. This does make C and D jealous and A and B acknowledge they're a good team and they have a moment that they can't stop thinking about when they're back with their ex's. 5) When A's family can't stop talking about how B's doing way better than A and that B already has potential boyfriends/girlfriends, A impulsively tells their family that they've got a boyfriend/girlfriend already. They don't believe A at all and A promises that they'll bring them to [insert big event here]. A panics and calls C, the most respectable person they know and tells them the whole situation and asks them to pretend to be married to them and then after the event they can 'break up.' C agrees and since they already know everything about each other they don't even lie about how they know each other. A's family is impressed and B can't believe A could get someone so handsome/pretty who's also so classy. When A's family put A down in front of C, C informs them of A's accomplishments and how great they are. C excuses themselves and after a while the family is wondering where C went and suggest maybe they left because they realized A wasn't as good as they seemed and that they were just being polite. C comes back in, sweaty and out of breath and proposes to A on the spot, leaving B and the rest of the family speechless. A immediately says yes. 6) When A and B break up before they're supposed to go on a couples cruise A offers to give the tickets to C and whoever C's sleeping with at the time. C feels bad and tells them they wanna go with them and the two end up pretending to be together to mess with the other passengers, thinking it's hilarious. But somewhere along the road of fake dating they realize they like being this close to each other and they like spending time together. They end up sharing a kiss while in front of the other passengers to prove they're close but end up thinking the other person isn't feeling the way they do. They realize they're in love by the time they get home and when C's about to admit their feelings B shows up at the dock to apologize to A and beg for them back. 7) A and B are crime partners but when they decide to complete a bigger job with the help of their friends they're sent to play a married couple. Since they work well together it's easy and soon they even begin acting more like a couple when it's just them and their team. Eventually they're forced to share a guest room at one of their target's houses and it only has one bed. They find themselves moving closer until they're holding each other. This inevitably ends with them asking each other the question 'What are we?' 8) When A and B break up A is quick to get with someone else but B takes it pretty rough. When B sees A with C they manage to find D and ask them to pretend to be with them just for one date. D agrees, not really that interested until A and C show up and A laugh telling B that Person D is the worst person to be with because they're always sleeping around and don't know how to keep it in their pants. Person D is pissed off by this and decides that they're going to fake with with B even longer and convince A that they can make a relationship work. Anytime A is around when B and D are together D is extra affectionate and nice and even thought B knows it's all for show they can't help but fall for them. When B confesses their feelings D doesn't know how to react. 9) A is a professor with a student who's obsessed with them, Person B. When B gets increasingly more desperate for their attention A confesses they're seeing someone and convince their friend, and boss, person C to pretend to be with them. This upsets B but they tell A they'll just have to wait until C slips up so they can have their chance at them. C is annoyed they have to keep up this charade and that B is watching them to make sure they don't 'cheat' on A since they're known to sleep around. A apologizes and they soon end up spending more and more time together until they start feeling things for each other. When B meets someone else, Person D their obsession with A disappears and they become head over heels for D. A and C realize they don't have to date anymore but find themselves unwilling to stop what they have so they decide to just go on a real date to see if they like it. (The obsession part is meant to be more head over heels, struck by cupid kind of 'in love.' Not like the scary/creepy/stalkery kind of 'love.' But it's up to you on how you wanna write it.) 10) A and B agree to pretend to be a couple to earn a lot of money by playing a 'How well do you know your partner' kind of game. The winner gets money or a big prize and so A and B spend the whole week asking each other newlywed partner games and everything and basic questions someone would be asked. Over the week they grow close and when they win they celebrate with a trip, now bonding over their earnings they go to a place the other would love and A realizes they like B a lot more than they thought. While they're talking B realizes they feel the same way but before they can kiss A's ex, Person C, pops up out of nowhere and brings up some old feelings. Bonus if Person C is B's best friend and so their feelings make things more complicated, especially if Person C is talking to A about getting back together.

#fake dating au #fake dating prompts #prompts #dialogue prompts #write #writer #writing prompts #stalker prompts #can y'all tell I love thief aus #i love movies where people can pick pocket someone so easily #it's so good #especially if it's a love story #idiots in love #idiots to lovers #enemies to lovers #fake dating

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kill-your-authors · 3 years ago

Text

Booker again (again...)

People really think Booker knew what was gonna happen to them. They really think he purposely brought the entire guard to Merrick’s lab to be tortured and held hostage indefinitely. How?

The person Booker made the deal with is Copley, right? Not Merrick, but Copley. We see Copley say, “I think I can get you one,” when Merrick demands all of them. This proves that initially, Booker agreed to bring only himself in. Obviously, at some point after this, Copley would have contacted Booker and said actually we need all of you. Possibly Copley told Booker by the time they were on the train that he needed them all, if you interpret Booker’s reason for not wanting to get Nile yet to be this. But even still, initially, he thought it was just him.

As the movie goes on, we see Copley 1) find out that Merrick is willing to torture them, 2) that he intends to keep them against their will indefinitely, and 3) that he doesn’t care if Andy dies. With each new revelation, Copley is clearly shocked and disturbed. He obviously didn’t have any of this in mind. He obviously thought that only Booker would have to come in, and after conceding to that, obviously believed that everyone would have to come in and give samples, but after giving samples, that they’d be let go. He says, “You’ve got your tests. Your samples. What more do you need them for?”

I know that “giving samples” and “torture” are synonymous here, because we see Kozak “taking samples” and the agony it causes Nicky. But in the original script, they were originally meant to “give samples” while aestheticized and when those samples and tests all suggested that there was nothing different about the immortals’ DNA, Kozak said that possibly the anesthesia had compromised the results and Merrick orders her to take samples and tests without anesthesia this time, giving Copley another revelation that shocks and disturbs him. We were literally meant to see, initially, that the tests and samples would be painless and over with quickly. I know people are judging the movie, not the script, but I think this detail is important to include because it once again reveals to the viewer how little Copley knew. I’m actually very disappointed they cut this, as I think it’s so important.

But anyways, whether we take the script into consideration or we don’t, we all agree, right, that Copley didn’t know what would happen to them? So…if Copley didn’t know, how could Booker have known? And by “known” I mean known as in how could he have consciously known ahead of time, agreed to it, and meant for it to happen, if Copley, the person he made the agreement with, clearly didn’t know and didn’t want to agree to it? Booker didn’t. He couldn’t have.

I think it’s arguable, really beyond arguable, that Booker should have known what would happen. He’s old, he’s seen the worst of humanity, he knows what happened to Quynh, he’s been part of the Guard for 200+ years and the whole time has had to keep his immortality a secret alongside of them because of the dangers of their exposure. It’s beyond ignorant that he didn’t see it coming from the beginning, and as for why he didn’t see it coming from the beginning, I think it’s probably either because of denial, blind desperation to end his immortal life, privilege or some combination of all three. I also think as the movie went on, he started to see it more and more, or maybe fear it, or acknowledge what he was in denial of to some degree, because he didn’t want to get Nile. And because he should have known what would happen, and because of what did happen, he’s still guilty of betraying them and still deserves to be exiled.

So this isn’t me trying to make some argument that he didn’t betray the Guard, or that he didn’t do something selfish and wrong, or that the exile is too harsh or whatever. But even still, I don’t understand why people perceive him as this like…thoroughly vindictive person who has no regard for anyone but himself and doesn’t care if his family is held hostage or tortured or killed.

I’ve talked before how I don’t think the movie did a good job of showing Booker’s side and portraying exactly why and how he came to make this incredibly misguided decision but there is enough in the movie to know that Booker believed this was a win-win. He, at least at first, thought he and/or the others would go in, take some tests, give some samples, and as a result millions of people would either live when they would have died, or if they wouldn’t have died, would now suffer less. And in exchange, he gets to end his life like he’s so desperate to do.

Plus he’s aware, pretty much immediately after shooting Andy, that he’s fucked up. He protests just one time with the line “What would you know of the pain of all these years alone?” but other than that, tells them to leave him behind, admits he hurt Andy, says that he “Expected more, hoped for less” when he finds out about his exile, and says, “She’ll learn,” when Andy says Nile wanted to let him off with an apology, and the only reason he would say that is if he agreed there has to be a greater price for what he did than an apology.

If he was really this vindictive heartless selfish man who doesn’t care about his family, don’t you think he might have protested a little more? Defended himself a little more? Don’t you think he would have refused to admit any wrongdoing?

Like at this point, I really just think this is a matter of the morality police again. If a character does one bad thing, they are all bad and bad forever. One wrong thing, regardless of intentions, regardless of harm done, regardless of a willingness to take accountability - that character is now Problematic and Irredeemable.

It’s just so annoying that nothing is allowed to be complex or nuanced anymore.

#the old guard #sebastien le livre #booker #The old guard meta #I don't know if anyone cares #but I have to say it because it's driving me up a wall

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writer-room · 4 years ago

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Siblings: Chapter One

AO3

Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4

Summary: The Bats reflect on how their thoughts about siblings have changed over the years. Some opinions stayed, others didn't.

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

Dick always wondered what it’d be like to have a little brother or sister.

He recalled asking his parents why he didn’t have one. Not accusatory, just curious.

His mother had smiled and said that they had their hands full plenty with Dick, and he was all they needed. His father, while still kind, said that they didn’t really have the time or resources in the circus at the moment to add another child to the family.

Dick was disappointed, but he understood the reasons.

Even still, he’d find himself staring at the kids that watched the acts with awe. Older kids lighty taunted their younger siblings, ruffling their hair and pretending they were too good for it all, and that they were doing their siblings a favor by being there. Kids who nudged their brother or sister to distract and steal the snacks from concession stands, later whispering words that’d make the other gape or giggle. Young children holding their sibling who was of toddler age or younger, pointing towards parts of the acts, their glee growing upon seeing the excitement of their sibling.

Dick hadn’t been lonely growing up in Haly’s Circus, he had his parents and the other people who worked there, from the handlers to the clowns to the tricksters.

And yet, he still found himself watching the kids who’d come in with one, or even two or three, brothers and sisters, taunting and laughing and sharing their wonder.

A sibling would’ve been nice, he thinks mournfully. It might’ve even been fun.

Ah, well. At least he had the circus.

“Hey, hey Dick. Dick. Dick, lookit.”

“If I turn around and I see you about to push Damian off the roof, I’m breaking your helmet.”

“You wouldn’t.”

Dick sighed, turning back from where he was keeping an eye on the streets below. Jason, who’d only been a few feet away, immediately took this moment to seize Tim, who had been too busy looking through his binoculars to care about whatever the two had been doing, and proceed to chuck him off the roof.

Dick pinched the bridge of his nose with a groan as Tim’s undignified shriek was cut off by him catching himself on a fire escape below, scrambling to get a good hold on so he didn’t fall the rest of the way.

“What?” Jason huffed. “You said not to push Damian, and I didn’t push Damian.”

“Of course,” Dick replied sarcastically. “My mistake, I’ll be sure to rephrase it as don’t push anyone off the roof.”

“Now that’s just unreasonable,” Jason huffed, hand on his hip as Steph and Cass snickered from the nearby chimney they were perched on. “I can think of plenty of people who deserve to be pushed off roofs. Like Scarow, for example. Bastard made me break my good hand last month and I still need to shoot a bullet in his back for that one.”

“Then don’t push your family off roofs, is that enough for you?” Dick sighed, standing up and peering over the edge of the roof. “You alright down there, Tim?”

“Names,” Damian finally chastised, not once having glanced over to the others from where he was on the corner of the roof, farthest as he could get from them.

“Oh, sure, now you worry.” Tim grumbled from the fire escape, finally pulling himself to his feet and brushing himself off. “Dick, please tell me I have permission to stab out Jason’s eye.”

“You do not.”

“He’d be fine!” Tim complained, snagging a hand on the stairs and instead pulling himself up along the outside of the fire escape instead of walking up the steps like a normal human being. “Harper could probably make him a new functional one in two days if she's in a good mood.”

“I’m not making him a new eye in two days. Maybe two weeks.” Harper informed from the other side of the roof, also ignoring the others as she tinkered with some gadget.

“Get anywhere near me and I’ll cough on you,” Jason threatened, also peering down off the roof. “You have basically no immune system, you’d die in a week. A long, painful death. Poetic cinema, really.”

“If you say it's poetic because you were beaten with a crowbar for two hours, I’m dropkicking you.” Steph warned, eyes narrowed.

“You’re so mean to me,” Jason gasped, placing a hand on his chest as he turned. “What did I ever do to deserve this? I’m nice to you!”

“No, you’re not.” Chorused Dick, Tim, Damian, Steph, and an extra voice through their earpieces.

“Wow, thanks, Babs.” Jason grumbled. “Showing up just to bully me, typical.”

“Names,” Damian warned a second time.

“If it makes you feel any better,” Babs crackled through their earpieces. “You’re not the only one I bully.”

“Everyone please stop harassing Jay,” Dick pleaded, though it came out more as an exhausted sigh.

“Names,” Damian growled a third time, losing his patience.

“I know it's fun,” Dick continued, ignoring him. “But this is supposed to be a scouting mission, and I’d rather he didn’t start taking out petty revenge during patrol.”

“I have no idea why he’s so surprised we get bored when scouting,” Steph mumbled quietly, to which Cass simply shrugged.

“You have no faith in me,” Jason snorted, and Dick could tell he was rolling his eyes under his helmet.

“I have plenty of faith in you,” Dick soothed. “I also, however, know how you are.”

“Don’t worry,” Steph raised a hand. “I already lost faith in you when you tried to kill Tim.”

“Which time?”

“Steph, don’t taunt him. Do it back at the Manor.” Dick lightly scolded.

“How many times do I have to repeat this?” Damian snapped, whirling from his post to glare at the others. “We do not use names on patrol!”

“Doesn’t Jon call you D on patrol?” Harper raised a brow, glancing towards him.

“That is different! He does not use my actual name!”

“Hypocrite,” Jason coughed under his breath.

Tim finally swung back onto the roof, skillfully rolling and dodging when Jason attempted to immediately kick him off again. Tim rolled close to the chimney, quickly pulling out his bo staff and crouching, glaring at Jason. It was reminiscent of two cats in a standoff, arched backs but neither of them making the first strike yet.

“Do not fight,” Cass said calmly.

“Thank you, C--” Dick hesitated, glancing at Damian for a brief moment. “--Orphan.”

“Fight in Cave,” Cass continued cheerfully. “We have sparring mats for reasons.”

“And I take that back.”

“You wanna hang with the cool kids?” Steph asked, leaning off the chimney to offer her hand.

“Yes. Have I mentioned you’re my favorite person?” Tim grinned, putting his staff away as he took the offered hand and was pulled onto the chimney beside Steph and Cass.

“You could stand to say it more often,” Steph teased.

“Cheaters,” Jason grumbled, relenting that fighting both Steph and Cass to get Tim was a losing battle.

The three were rather squished on the chimney, but none of them seemed to mind. Harper only rolled her eyes and went back to tinkering.

“We really need to bring D--Signal on one of these things.” Dick muttered, shaking his head.

“Because he’s sensible, or because you want him to suffer like the rest of us?” Tim raised a brow.

“Because he deserves the same family bonding time.” Dick said simply.

“Duke and Cullen are next to me listening in on this,” Barbara said through the communicators. “I am here to inform you that Duke is both touched and terrified.”

“The bumblebee was awake and didn’t even bother to join us?” Harper snorted. “Rude.”

“Cullen agrees with you.”

“He better,”

“I’m taking a ten hour nap after this,” Dick complained, sitting back on the edge of the roof, legs dangling in the open air as he leaned back dramatically on his hands. “I deserve it. Self-care and all that.”

“That is the length of a normal amount of sleep.” Damian raised a brow.

“Not in this family, it’s not.”

“Preach!” Tim pumped a fist.

“You don’t count, Tim.” Dick chastised, leaning his head back to look at Tim upside down. “Everyone here remembers to sleep at the latest once every two days. You don’t sleep for five.”

“I’m being harassed,”

“You’re being bullied into a proper sleep schedule.”

Damian suddenly whacked Dick over the head, startling him with a yelp as Jason hid a snicker. Harper and Cass looked over for a moment before continuing with whatever they had previously been doing.

“Names!” Damian hissed. “Do you all want your identities revealed?”

“Literally nobody is here,” Harper pointed out.

“If Gotham hasn’t found out our identities by now, they never will.” Steph snorted.

“Especially finger-stripes over here.” Tim added, a smug expression on his face.

“A nine-year-old finds out your identity one time and you never hear the end of it.” Dick muttered under his breath before sitting up and proceeding to snatch Damian, who had been previously stalking towards the others, by wrapping an arm around his chest and tugging him closer as the boy squawked.

“You were using a Flying Grayson move, dude.” Tim deadpanned. “You gotta pay the price for being flashy for no other reason than because you can.”

“That’s his entire personality.”

“Why do you all hate me?” Dick whined, holding a squirming Damian close as he gave the boy a noogie. “What did I do to gain such torment?”

“You want the list?” Harper looked up, finally putting away whatever she was tinkering with.

“We alphabetized,” Cass added.

“Wrote on the front and back,” Steph nodded sagely.

“I’m adding three more to the list when we get back,” Damian growled, looking ready to bite Dick if he didn’t stop soon.

“You better be joking about that list,” Dick warned, releasing Damian for his own safety. “Because if I ever find a list of reasons to be mean to me, I will not show mercy.”

“Do you mean you’re gonna attack us physically or emotionally?” Jason inquired.

“Emotionally,”

“You sick bastard.” Steph whispered in horror. “I can’t believe you would use your powers for evil.”

“Does it make it any better if I tell you the list, if it does exist, would probably only exist so that when we notice someone looks like they’re gonna do something stupid, we use the list to remind them of something you did so they take it out on you and not, say, turn all of Gotham into a gang war zone.” Harper said slowly.

“I hate you,” Steph glared. “You mess up one time--”

“You died, Steph!” Tim exclaimed, before getting a batarang chucked at his head that Damian somehow snuck into his utility belt.

“She didn’t even die,” Jason snorted, crossing his arms. “Both of you two had lame fake-out deaths.”

“Why am I the one who’s become the punching bag?” Dick complained, holding Damian back again when he tried to grab the batarang Tim had dodged and threw it again.

“Because you’re actually good at feelings and everyone else is emotionally constipated.” Harper deadpanned.

“And the Ric incident.” Damian added right after, giving up in his thrashing. A shutter passed over the Bats at the mention of the name.

“Aw,” Dick’s face softened, ignoring the Ric comment. “You guys care about my advice?”

“Congrats,” Barbara chuckled slightly. “You’re the therapist brother.”

“Don’t tell him that,” Jason groaned, flopping backwards on the roof. “Now he’s going to be mushy and clingy all week.”

“Lord knows you idiots need it,” Harper huffed as Dick practically glowed.

“I’m sicing him on you later.”

“Jokes on you, he hasn’t found my apartment yet.”

“Yes I have,” Dick raised a hand, turning towards her. “Well, Robin found it, but I still know it.”

Harper stared at him for a few moments, momentarily turning her head to Damian for a moment before going back to Dick, and then turning to Jason.

“You’re a monster,” She whispered, a look of true horror on her face.

“I know,” Jason cackled gleefully.

“None of you are leaving the Manor when we get back.” Dick said matter-of-factly, pointing a finger to his siblings. “We’re gonna bond, and you’re going to like it.”

“We’re already bonding right now!” Damian protested.

“You’ll have to kill me first.” Steph hissed, shying behind Cass.

“Bold of you to assume you can keep me confined to the Manor.” Tim huffed in offence. “Orphan, I’ll stash you in one of my safe houses if you promise to be my bodyguard.”

“Deal,”

“You guys are so dramatic--”

“Hey, guys? Crazed pyromaniac with flamethrowers to the north.”

The group immediately dropped whatever they had been doing, heads snapping up towards the direction Barbara had tiredly informed them of the attack.

It was only a few moments before the sight of flames peaked over one of the buildings, dying out almost immediately. Shouts and rumbles were steadily growing in volume, especially the cackling of Firefly, likely revving up whatever weapon he’d acquired this time.

“Fantastic, can’t even keep watch with you morons.” Damian growled.

“Oh you are not the only one trying to work here!” Tim snapped. “Orphan, for example, is doing a wonderful--where’d she go?”

He and Steph looked around rapidly, their sister suddenly missing from the chimney. How they hadn’t noticed she’d left their crowded space was a mystery that’d likely never be solved.

“Over there,” Jason said boredly, upholstering a gun and pointing across the rooftops.

The outline of Cass’s body could be seen sprinting across the roofs towards where the fire had been spotted, leaping with reckless abandon.

“Life lesson for the rest of you,” Harper hummed, getting to her feet. “Be like Cass.”

“Stop using real names!” Damian barked.

“Last one there is on cleanup duty!” Steph hollered, shoving Tim and taking off in the same movement.

“Asshole!” Tim yelled as Jason, Harper and Damian all bolted after her without a moment's hesitation.

Dick laughed, just getting to his feet as Tim stumbled up and after the others, swearing obscenities.

He quickly ran after his siblings, though he strayed a little further back, nobody paid attention to who showed up last anyway, his eyes darting from each of his siblings. Someone had to make sure they didn’t face-plant off a roof.

They shouted over each other as they descended down to take out Firefly. The guy had really picked a bad night to start causing trouble. It’d be over in no-time.

Even still, Dick paused on the roofs, scanning the streets below as the others ran to and fro, yelling over each other as Barbara switched between the coms to talk to them. It was a chaotic mess and Dick found himself grinning at it all.

His siblings were a hot mess, and it was amazing.

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himbeaux-on-ice · 3 years ago

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KK deserves more than 6mil for 1 year and there is no way Habs CAN'T match that. It was so low I thought it was a joke of an offer as petty revenge for the Aho one. Literally had a $20 signing bonus tf. With both teams picking up racists this is good PR frankly to excite fans.

Sorry, I actually disagree pretty solidly with almost all of this, but the reasons are complex and lengthy to explain, so I’m going to put it all under a cut.

Listen, I personally believe based on what we’ve seen from him in the playoffs that KK can eventually develop into a $6.1 million dollar player — it seemed like he did well once the team had been put through Ducharme’s mini-training camp before the playoffs that actually allowed the chance to cement his systems, and put up good numbers generally during the run for someone his age. If they can find a way to get that kind of stuff out of him in the regular season, he could very well be worth $6.1 or more down the road. I really truly think he has it in him with the right coaching and the right work put in.

The problem is, owing possibly to how the Habs have chosen to develop him (remember, he came to the NHL pretty much straight out of the draft) and how very young he actually is, he has not yet actually PROVEN that he can be a player of that value consistently for most of a season at any point. I’m willing to put an asterisk on his struggles this year, because it was a weird fucking season and the Habs had a rough go of it in several points, especially down the stretch, and because we’ve seen the ability is there in the playoffs. But given what we’ve seen while he’s been on his ELC, there has been no guarantee so far that a team that signs him to $6.1 million is going to get $6.1 million in value out of him this coming season.

Like, set aside league-wide valuations for a second, and think about what the Habs, based on their budgeting and philosophy and management choices, are paying some of their top foundational players right now in terms of cap hit. Toffoli makes $4.5 million, so will Hoffman. Anderson makes $5.5 million, as does Drouin. Petry makes $6.2 million. Edmundson makes $3.5 million. Jake Allen, a player so valuable to this team that we risked “Price to Seattle” to keep him, is $2.87 million against the cap. Gally, the lifeblood heart and soul of this team who has given his literal blood sweat and tears to it for almost a decade, only makes $6.5 million against the cap. They apparently weren’t even willing to offer Phillip Danault, defensive cornerstone of the playoff run, the $5.5 million he got from LA. With Weber on the LTIR, if KK signed with the Habs at $6.1 million, he would be the third-highest paid player on the active team when you exclude dudes named Carey Price (who is an outlier and should not be counted). I love the kid. I think he’ll be a bonafide star someday. He has NOT earned that kind of payday yet, based on the established scale of how the Habs reward their players.

Based on my amateur understanding of NHL contracts and the market, a reasonable deal with KK from the Habs would have been somewhere in the area of $2-3 million (so, what they pay for players like Lehkonen (2.3 mil) or Byron (3.3 mil) or just signed Armia to (3.4 mil)), for maybe about 2 years. By the time that runs out, he’d be 23 years old and heading into the prime of his career, and you would probably have a better idea of whether he’s made that big next step or not — if he has, you probably just got two years of great hockey out of him at a STEAL, and can at that point sign him for a nice juicy contract that will pay him to that level and lock him up through his prime years (which is what you would dangle to entice him to take the short deal for now). And if when that short deal is up he hasn’t made that next leap, then you either sign him back at what he is worth, or if that’s an impasse, part ways. He has said he wants to help bring a Cup to Montreal, and do it with the core of young guys they’re assembling (and close friends like the other Finns on the team) — with that, maybe some performance bonuses if he really kills it, and the promise of something bigger down the road once he proves himself (plus the knowledge that he might not get higher offers elsewhere because of how he’s struggled) you could probably get him to sign a deal like that with the Habs.

HOWEVER.

Now that he has signed this offer sheet, he WILL get $6.1 million. Not only for this year, but once the one-year deal expires, any extension offered to him by anyone is required to start at that number. Regardless of how he performs. Unless he has the breakout year of all breakout years, this will really screw him over — because if he DOESN’T perform to the $6.1 million level, a team (be it the Habs or the Canes) is not going to want to sign him to a second deal at that pricetag. He’ll have to go hunting as a free agent, or get traded before he expires and become another team’s problem. (Note: I’m not exactly sure if the offer sheet process allows Montreal to match with a contract at the same value but longer term, but that doesn’t really solve the problem of being locked-in at $6.1 million after next season even if they can). I understand why he signed the offer sheet — his career earnings so far total just over $2 million, and of course both he and his agent would jump at the chance to guarantee adding triple that in just one year, with the promise of more of the same on his next extension. I’m sure he probably thinks he’s worth it, or can prove he is worth it. He probably thinks the Habs believe in him enough to match it, too — I don’t think he wants to leave Montreal, but he probably sees this as simply an earlier achievement of what they would hopefully be paying him anyway someday, in his eyes.

But even if he DOES perform up to that level, if he remains on the Habs that creates another massive problem crunching up against the salary cap: Nick Suzuki and Jake Evans are both RFA’s at the end of the 2021-22 season, and THEY will be looking for their “grown-up” contracts at that time, the SAME time KK will need to be signed again. Nick is probably going to develop into the better player between him and KK (look at where he already is right now), so even if KK performs excellently next year as say 2C, Nick looks like he will be even better at 1C — and if I’m Nick’s agent, I’m definitely starting my contract negotiations with what the Habs would be paying KK as my absolute lowest starting figure, if not higher. Jake probably has more of a 3C/4C upside, but if KK struggles and plays at a 3C/4C performance level and Jake does that well or better, then if I’m Jake Evans’ agent I am definitely putting my starting figure for negations right around $6.1 million, because I can argue “well, you’re paying Kotkaniemi that much, why not my client?”. Romanov is due up for his post-ELC RFA deal after next year too — because he’s more of a defensive defenceman who isn’t expected to score much, he likely can’t command the kind of figures that an offensively productive centre does, but you still need to have enough cap space to actually sign the guy for what he’s worth; Romanov is eligible for arbitration in that negotiation, so lowballing him too hard could get complicated and contentious fast. And all of this isn’t even including factors like depth players on one-year deals who will need to be replaced or brought back after this year, etc.

Accepting/matching this contract creates a dozen new problems the Habs didn’t have before at all. It carries massive risk and could cause problems for the cap and for roster construction even if KK takes off like a rocket and lives up to the figure on the sheet. I didn’t even touch on the absolute hell the fanbase and media will put him through if he is in Montreal on that kind of payday compared to the rest of the team and fails to live up to it. Alex Galchenyuk only made $4.5 million while he was here and struggling. Look how that turned out for him. You’ve seen how people get when Carey has a rough patch, how the $10.5 million gets brought up and thrown around, and that’s with Carey goddamn Price. I have been around this fanbase long enough to see what happens when people don’t feel you’ve lived up to your pricetag. It gets nasty. Think whatever you’ve seen hurled at Mitch Marner this year, then multiplied by a factor of “fanbase whose expectations have been disproportionately raised probably beyond what’s realistic by the miracle playoff run” and “the Montreal hockey media eats people alive even in good years”. He has been lucky so far in his struggles because he’s still young enough to be cheap. And I’ve still seen plenty of people already writing him off anyway.

Make no mistake: I love KK, I love what he brings to the team, I love how he fits in with the rest of the young core and their dynamics, and I really believe he has the potential to break out into a formidable 2C lowkey-superstar. And I was really, really looking forward to hopefully watching that growth and achievement happen with the Habs, as part of the super exciting future that has been building here. I will be heartbroken if this leads to him leaving, genuinely. My biggest worry with having this bright and shiny new core was always that I would have to watch it get torn apart and turn sad just like the last one.

But now that this contract, right now, at this point in his career is going to be the price of keeping him? I don’t know if matching it will be what’s best for the team as a whole, or even what is best for KK. I don’t know if Carolina actually gives a shit about him as a player enough to use and develop him right if they keep him, or what their end goal here even is other than definitely very literally getting petty revenge for the Aho thing, just look at their Twitter (I think the idea of this as DeAngelo counter-PR has become a bit overblown as an explanation, because surely they MUST know they could end up holding the tab for this and all the risk of it in the end, and that this will die down eventually, so either they’re incredibly stupid or there’s some other benefit here).

And regardless of which way everything goes, I can’t think of anyone I trust less to make the best choice for everyone involved than Marc fucking Bergevin.

#long post #sorry not trying to be mean just literally don’t agree with this at all #habs #Jesperi kotkaniemi #wnylanderthals #asks #montreal canadiens

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ohmygeese · 4 years ago

Text

Doomsday: Rambling about c!Tommy and his relationship with c!Techno

Again, all roleplay. Swearing and opinions ahead!

I think the problem with Tommy's character is that everywhere he goes, there's tragedy.

I can assure you that even if he gave up the discs a long time ago, Dream would still be at his tail because he even said, "[Tommy] You're fun to play with." Dream would just move on and target L'manberg or worse, Tubbo. Because Dream doesn't like anyone who questions his utter control of power and you know, with or without the discs, Tommy will still go against Dream cus honestly same. (He is such a bitchboy dickhead fucker. Anyone who has a crush on c!Dream please check on yourself.)

In short, Dream would remain the constant in Tommy's story with or without the discs. Dream will be there to destroy everything he's worked for. Dream would be there to twist his words and actions. Dream would be there to manipulate the people he loves against him.

The SMP will still believe that Tommy is the main cause of all the server's problems. Partly because of Dream's mindgames but at the same time, it's because he's easiest to blame. (S1 and S2: "This is all Tommy's fault" *looks at Dream, El Rapids, Captain Puffy, Vilbur, George etc etc*)

Everyone sees Tommy as reckless and selfish. They say he steals for his own benefit. They say he griefs and is the reason the server looks as blown up as it is. They say he never learns from his lessons.

But you see, as much as these sentences are partially true (I'll admit it okay. I'm a tommyinnit apologist after all), they can never be more wrong. He's being framed for blowing up at least 4 server buildings for god's sake. Also, how do you expect a kid to "learn his lesson" when you use violence, manipulation, and trauma to teach it? Like it seems like you're taking inspiration from Asian parents but let me tell you, it doesn't work.

I can guarantee you that blowing up a child's home will not teach him about the failures of government. I can assure you that bringing him back to his abuser will not give him character development. I can 100% say that blaming the kid for every time you're home got destroyed will not repair it. It will just break the kid more.

And despite that, Tommy still remains the most strong willed of the server. Why? Say thanks to Vilbur and his nightmares woohoo. He doesn't blame the SMP for leaving him, wanting to put it behind him to save his home. He always knows that Dream is just puppeteering everyone and that's why, even with Techno, he was so adamant in bringing him down. (I remember when Ghostbur asked him who blew up NLM, Tommy immediately answered Dream sith conviction and said Techno and Phil with a little bit more hesitance which is just hnggggg). This is not even touching the amount of sacrifices Tommy has given to protect the people and places he loved.

He doesn't want to be the bad guy like Vilbur said. And he will always strive against it in the ways he knows how. Protect Tubbo. Protect L'manberg. Get discs. Kill Dream.

And that's what Techno does not understand. He is completely valid in his quest for revenge but fails to take into account Tommy's trauma specifically the trauma he himself has inflicted on the kid. For someone who says healing takes time, he fails to see that Tommy is scared of what he has become and is trying to escape from that. He fails to see that the one thing Tommy needs is a sense of normalcy and his home: L'manberg. (And honestly, they both fail in that regard but the difference is Techno can carry himself in a 1v30 and can always count on Phil. Tommy can't say the same. And besides Techno isn't the target of a literal god who doesn't have any morals. At least, not yet......)

But Geese, you say. "Tommy's selfish for leaving Techno after everything Techno has done for him." Stfu, you sound like my mom. Yes, Tommy's relationship with Techno, by far, is the healthiest one Tommy has ever had on the server. But I don't think it's healthy to say Tommy owes Techno for being treated like a human? That should be given fact! Tommy should be treated with care and that shouldn't come with a price. Yes, Techno deserves the care to be reciprocated as well but Tommy has done that. Before he sided with Tubbo, he always acted on what he thinks would make Techno proud. You would know if you watched his streams.

So Tommy, after seeing the destruction of his home, tired of everyone seeming to act against him, calls Techno selfish and a tyrant. Cus honestly he is. Tommy is right in saying how Techno could have compromised. He could have targeted the Butcher army. Gotten leverage. Done minor terrorism like they planned to. Quackity was on his last life for fuck's sake (I have such a vendetta against c!Quackity and I am not afraid to say it). But to destroy L'manberg was overstepping it because other people lived there. He lived there. In Tommy's eyes, if Techno did consider him as friends, he would've spared L'manberg. (Also the tnt was just overkill like really dude. It was cool at first but it was also kind of not especially with c!Dream acting like a prick with it.) And it's heartbreaking seeing both sides. (Which not a lot of people consider in the fandom but who am I to complain.) They care about each other but not in what they believe in and their methods.

And yet the fandom, at least what I saw from people livetweeting on twitter, is just "Tommy is selfish." And last night, I was like that because I was so goddamn tired of the discs but then I realized, after everything that happened during Doomsday, that's the only thing he can count on to give him some sense of power against the one person he knows that started it all. Yes, I agree. Tommy shouldn't care about the discs anymore but I think he already has this unspoken rule within himself that it's okay for Dream to burn the discs due to the many times he has said to just burn the discs. This frees himself from upcoming manipulation. He just needs it to control Dream in return.

I can't wait for Wilbur to come back. Because I truly believe that he is the only one who fully understands Tommy (pre-exile of course). I just want Tommy to have a therapy arc or some shit man.

Sidenote: It's really infuriating how other people can have their "villain arcs" but once Tommy says discs everyone just points a gun at him. I am so tired.

Anywayz, c!Tommy is a traumatized kid. c!Techno is justified but honestly overkilled it (but hey that's Techno for ya). c!Phil is still a shit father. c!Tubbo should be checked on. I want to punch c!Quackity in the face (also c!HBomb but that's another long talk and I aksksjsjk, whatdoesthedoghavetodowithanything *silently screams*). I don't trust any adult on this server other than c!Sam, c!Ponk, and c!Connor (it feels weird to say c!Connor but we gotta get crumbs of his lore). We should talk about how c!Captain Puffy is one of the main culprits that started all of this mess. And, it's all c!George and c!Dream's fault. Amen.

#dsmp #dream smp #dteam smp #l'manberg #l'manburg #tommyinnit #dreamwastaken #techno #technoblade #I am still so done #georgenotfound strike again #only when he wakes up will we attain tru peace #the masses want therapy arc for the minors #add purpled into the therapy as well for extra precaution

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hs-devote · 4 years ago

Text

láthi: the unwritten truth

Moodboard * Content * Masterlist

Disclaimer:

All characters and situation in this story are fictitious. Resemblance to any person living or dead is only God knows.

the completed series here

the unwritten truth

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

“You don't have to ask twice.”

“Fine then.” it sighs, “ Who are you going to sacrifice?”

“She was the Goddess of the Moon. Selene.”

. . . .

One year later..

“It's so sad the Goddess died after a year of torture. Plus, her husband sentenced her to prison.”

“Do you know what caused the Goddess to die at such a young age?”

“I heard rumours that she was cursed?"

“How could she die from being cursed? No one in the realm could hurt the royal family.”

“Ladies, it would be respectful if you didn't talk nonsense about your God and Goddess.”

The maids wince, terrified when Harry's advisor caught them gossiping in the kitchen. Feeling embarrassed, they quickly return to their work and praying he doesn't report them to the God.

“You're lucky that I won't report you to His Majesty,” he announces, “Go get to work.”

The all women nod as the advisor leaving them alone. While they get back to their work, Arion, the advisor, immediately goes to Harry who's in his study. When he arrives, he sees the door slightly ajar and knocks on it, walking in when the God allows him.

“Is there any good news, Your Majesty?" Arion asks after he bends down, looking at the distressed God behind his oak table.

“Is that creature still exist?” Harry hums, his eyes never leaving the old book in his hand.

“What creature, Your Majesty?”

Harry sighs, closes the book tiredly and put it on the table. "I saw an odd mark on Selene's neck, and it disappeared just before the cremation ceremony began. It was an ancient mark that belongs to mythical creatures, according to this book." he points at the book, "As far as I know, the mythical creatures vanished when Centauri attacked Sicily far centuries ago."

“So, you think Her Majesty's death has something to do with them?”

“I don't want to think like that, but that mark makes me uneasy." Harry scratches his temple, "They should be extinct, right?"

“I heard one rumour, Your Majesty." Arion starts, "When the chaos broke out, some of the survivors chose to negate their physical and returned to where they were born. And some of them had extraordinary power."

“If what you think is true, you have to find them. If there are humans who know its existence, they will know the truth about our realm.” he adds, looking at Harry respectfully who's now listening to him carefully, “Whose mark is it?”

“Cerberus.”

“Belonged to the God of Dead,” Arion whispers, “Do you think it inherited its owner power?”

“I don't know, Arion.” Harry sighs, “But for sure, I have to find the truth.” . . . .

It never occurred to Ilitia that she would do such a thing like this the first time in her life, and she vowed to be last time too.

Right now, she was standing in the middle of a Parthenon, under the starry night of Corinth, eyes deadly looking at a figure that only she could see. A few meters in front of them, lay a woman on a stone table, looking beautiful and peaceful in her forever sleep. Looking at her dead granddaughter, she realised that she had travelled this far and didn't want her efforts to fail.

“It's my honour to able to see you again, Carmenta."

“It's been a long decade, is it?”

“I heard you were in Sicily,” its stepped closer, “What brought you here?”

“My granddaughter was killed by order of a Goddess–”

“How come?”

Ilitia bit her lips, not sure if she should tell the chronology. But if she refused, it wouldn't help her. Right then, she had to choose the right word.

“She was carrying the Goddess' husband child. Long story short, the Goddess found out and order her guards to killed my granddaughter.”

“She was impregnated by a God?” it raised its head, “You're not making it up, are you?”

“The Goddess couldn't conceive because of a curse, and her husband went down to Earth to find me. Instead, he met my darling Y/N and they fell in love. The God cheated behind his wife, yes, and.. they constantly having sexual intercourse until Y/N got pregnant." she starts, "We all do know that no God can impregnate a human. But, that was the fate."

“And when the Goddess find out about that, she was terrified that her husband would have an heir to the throne from someone else?” it continued Ilitia's story and was agreed by the woman.

“Is that the Centauri crown?”

“Yes.”

“How tragic.”

“Because of that, I came here to ask your help to bring my Y/N back because she doesn't deserve to die this way." Ilitia whispers, "I'll do anything for her, and help Centauri to have an heir to the throne. After all, the Goddess couldn't give an heir and my granddaughter has the right to find her happiness, even with a God."

“You know that the price isn't easy, do you? What do you prepare for this?”

“A life for a life.” Ilitia deadpanned, “It's a fair price to trade my granddaughter's life.”

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

“You don't have to ask twice.”

“Fine then.” it sighs, “ Who are you going to sacrifice?”

“The Goddess of the Moon. Selene."

. . . .

This is the second time Harry has visited this mountain peak, a place where used to be the hideout of previous Gods and Goddesses, the place believed to be the hideout of the mythical creaturesor even a born place. The mountain is very beautiful when the sun shines on Earth, but quite scary when the eerie silent echoed after the night sky appears.

The God doesn't know where to start, and this mission reminds him of his arrival to Syracuse nearly two years ago, making him remember his darling Y/N. He misses her so much, and it hurts his soul. If he knew where Y/N's grave was, at least he could visit her and loving on her even if he only could touch her tombstone.

“Mount Olympus feels quite different." Arion says next to him, his eyes stare at the endless mountain slope.

For this chance, Harry decided to bring Arion with him because he knows this mission isn't easy. And surely as his advisor, Arion can help him and give him advise since the man has studied mythical creatures.

“Cerberus is a dog. There's no way it stays on the top of a mountain, right? Too risky if humans see it." Harry mumbles, "If it only visible."

“Let's get down to the ground then, Your Majesty.”

Harry nods, and in a split second, he's setting foot in the valley. Then, they begin to explore, hoping to find any sign of Cerberus. The two of them always checked every cave or spot that could potentially be a possible residence for that giant creature.

It had taken them nearly four hours and the night had almost turned to dawn, but they had found nothing. Harry is quite desperate, and thinking they have come to the wrong place.

“Any luck?” Harry asks after Arion appeared in front of him, only for Harry get another disappointment when Arion shakes his head no.

“Did we come to the wrong place?”

“I'm– ”

In all of sudden, the air around them feels stifled and the wind feels hot even though the sun hasn't yet risen. Harry also realises that the grass they were trampling on was shrivelled at once. Something feels strange.

“It's strange..” Arion looking around, “Something happened.”

“Something comes,” Harry corrects him, “Something comes closer, still hiding from us.”

“Show yourself!” Harry shouts, “We came in peace! Just looking for something!”

The hot wind getting stronger and stronger, until a bolt of red lightning swooped down in front of him. Now, Harry can see clearly what appears before him. A giant three headed-dogs, its body glows slightly reddish. It has a serpent tail, along with snakes protruding from it back. Its glowing red eyes look annoyed at being disturbed. The Cerberus looks intimidating than he thought.

“Why are you looking for me, Your Majesty?” it smirks, showing it canines coating with saliva, “Why are you bothering me at my stay?”

“I apologies if I disturb your sleep,” Harry answers, “I didn't know that you were survived and hiding here.”

“We don't want humans to see me, do we?” it argues, “Even though I'm invisible.”

“Why didn't you go back to Centauri?”

“My master was dead, I couldn't go back without an owner. Besides, it's more peaceful here if I go back to your realm." it scoffs, "What do you want? The sun is almost rising, and I can't let anyone see me."

“My wife has died, and I saw your mark on her neck.” Harry points out his serpent tail, “Do you have anything to do with her death?”

“Your wife died? How unfortunate.” Cerberus mocks, “If someone is destined to die, then she must die.”

“I just want to know why you killed her, Cerberus.” Harry seethes, “You have no right to the life of a God or Goddess.”

“Despite her death lightened your burden, Your Majesty?” Cerberus arches its eyebrow, “And set you free? You should thank me, anyway.”

“I know you inherited your master's power but you can't kill her like that. She has nothing wrong against you.”

“Yet she has done sins and be cunning." Cerberus nods, "And now if I may ask you, how do you feel after your manipulative wife gone forever? As far as I know, a God and Goddess cannot be divorced if it's not death."

“Your Majesty, he knows too much.” Arion mutters under his breath, “Do you– ”

“Advisor, I didn't ask you to speak.” Cerberus growls then averts its gaze to Harry, “You once planned to do annulment but it couldn't be done because the court said a ruler must still have a wife.”

“How did you know?” Harry challenges, “Why did you know everything?”

“A bird told me," it stares boldly at him, "And I started to think, her death is something I can be proud of because she's the rightest person.”

Harry frowns. Something feels out of place with what it said and bothering him. And those question being thrown at him, he could easily answer them. Yet, he couldn't. After all, he still loves Selene even though he also hates her. Selene is his wife who was always there for him. Of course he was sad to know that the woman died in prison after she had been sick for a year.

“What did you mean with the rightest?”

“A year ago, someone came and beg me to help bring someone's life back. They're family, tho. This old woman said that her granddaughter died innocently and wanted her granddaughter to come back to her life. It was not an easy task and there must be a price to pay. When she mentioned the sacrifice, I was quite baffled that she prepared another life. Well, I didn't kill the sacrifice right away, I tortured them first by sucked their life slowly before the death calling their name."

“Selene was being sacrificed? Who dared to do that? Did you not aware that you overstepping our rules?!" Harry's voice boomed, angry at what he had just heard. How could someone risk Selene's life just to bring back a dead person?

“You let a human order you to kill a Goddess? Really?" he hisses, "How sick of that!"

“She was right, you're quite stupid too apparently." Cerberus rolls its eyes.

“Cerberus, I order– "

“You're just an advisor, and you're just a guest in my stay. I do not belong to the Centauri so I don't take orders from anyone." Cerberus cuts Arion off, "You think I'm stupid enough to do that for humans? Have you forgotten that only your people can see me?”

While Arion stares at Cerberus confused, Harry begins to think and digest every single word that came out from the creature from the beginning.

No way...

“Carmenta came to me to help her with Y/N, and she traded her granddaughter's life over your wife's.” . . . .

His heart is pounding like crazy, almost like about to burst through his ribcage. He cannot believe it, his darling Y/N is back to life. His Y/N is safe and sound. His Y/N is free from Selene's torture. It feels so long from the last time he saw her, he really missed her and couldn't wait to see her. There are millions of questions running through his head for him to ask Y/N and Ilitia.

How could?

How is she?

Did she miss him?

Will Ilitia allow him to meet her?

When Cerberus revealed the truth, he couldn't think straight. All he had in mind was Y/N, Y/N, and Y/N only. He had to find her as soon as possible. Despite he had to beg on his knees to Cerebus which made Arion widened his eyes; asking where the last time it met Ilitia was, it was worth it.

And now, here he is, in Corinth. His long wait ends in one of the cities on the seafront of Greece. Of course, Ilitia couldn't possibly stay in Syracuse anymore, she started fresh in Corinth with Y/N. With Arion went back to Centauri, Harry feels freer to get Y/N.

Well, his search for his true love isn't an easy thing. It's been two days and he hasn't found her yet and plans to rent a house longer if it takes a long time because it's impossible to go back and forth to Centauri. Whatever it takes, Harry has to find her.

“Why is it so hard to find you, Y/N?" he mutters while looking endless of Corinth's sea, "I miss you so much, do you miss me too?"

She's here, Your Majesty

Your happy ending

Your long wait

Harry was enjoying the sea breeze so much that he didn't realise he'd been daydreaming on the shore for too long. He already spent hours tiredly finding Y/N and it seems that his efforts should be even harder tomorrow.

When he decided to leave the beach and return to his rented house, he swears that his eyes are playing a trick on him. About twenty meters away from him, he sees the woman he was looking for is staring at the open sea in front of her, both hands on her dress pockets with her bare feet in the water.

She looks even more beautiful.

She looks healthy.

She looks perfect.

And finally, he finds her.

Without a second thought, Harry runs to her – afraid that she will vanish like when he saw her in his castle. He doesn't want to be late, and he doesn't want to lose her again.

When his body crashes on her and his strong arms wrapped around her body, Harry feels home.

He's too happy because it feels real, he shed tears of happiness when he feels her warm and alive body. Then, he breaks the hug and cupping her face with both his palms, adoring the beautiful face in front of him. Admiring the woman who's staring at his teary green eyes.

“It' you. You're here.” he sobs, “You're here with me. You're back. You're alive. You're safe.”

“I miss you so much and it hurts my soul.” he gently strokes her cheek, “How are you, my darling?”

Yet, what Y/N said to him make his smile fade away, “Who are you?” . . . .

“You know, when someone's life is being exchanged, the life does return. But, as pure life. So, your granddaughter's will start a fresh life. She won't remember anything, but the basic abilities like speaking, writing, reading, and so on won't be erased. So, you will have extra effort to help her adjust."

“I understand,” Ilitia nods “She was pregnant before. Will the baby come back too?”

Cerberus shakes its head, "No. If you want her baby to come back, you have to prepare one more God or Goddess life to trade because he has a God's blood running on him."

“How do you know her child is going to be a boy?”

“Mythical creatures always know, Carmenta.”

. . . . “Why did you do that, Ilitia?” Harry asks.

After the shock he got when Y/N admitted she didn't know him, Harry couldn't believe it at all. Yet, he let out a relief huff when Ilitia approached them and didn't look surprised at all, and invited Harry to talk at their house. And along the way, he stole a glance at Y/N who walked next to Ilitia, looking so confused yet curious about his presence.

“Honestly? I refused my innocent granddaughter to be killed your wife, Harry. She had done nothing wrong, but you and your wife.”

“Me?” Harry frowns, his eyes looking around for caution if Y/N hear them since Ilitia asked her to wait in her bedroom, “I have nothing to– ”

“Your ignorance, your selfishness. If you're smart enough, you could prevent this all.” Ilitia scowls, “You couldn't choose between her and Selene, and you didn't want to lose one of them. Sadly, your behaviour made you lose both of them. Also, your future child.”

“I know you resent me so much, Ilitia. But, I truly sorry for all this mess. What I feel towards her is real." he gives her apologetic look, "I just want to fix everything."

“Of course, that's why you came here all the way from Centauri.” Ilitia shrugs, “Besides, this is my way to make her happy and help my old home to have a better future.”

“Centauri is always be your home, Ilitia." he reassures her, "After all, Y/N will needs if she comes home with me.”

“How confident of you.” Ilitia chuckles, “If so, you have to start over as if you just know each other since she doesn't remember you. And win her heart if you have chosen your destiny.”

Harry nods as Ilitia gets up from her couch, calling Y/N to meet them both in the living room. While waiting for her, Harry starts to get nervous and his hand begin to sweat, too overwhelmed by the happiness. When Y/N appears in front of him, Ilitia who's standing behind her granddaughter smiling to the old yet new couple, "Mia cara, this Harry. Maybe you didn't remember him but you were so close with him, he just come home from his overseas trip.” and strokes Y/N arms lovingly, “Just introduce yourself as the beginning, he would understand.”

“I haven't introduced myself yet.” Harry offers his hand for Y/N to take, smiling fondly. “My name's Harry”

The girl smiles and shakes his hand softly, “Hi, Harry. I'm Y/N.”

Just like the first time.

#harry styles #harry styles imagine #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles au #harry styles series #harry styles writing #mythology #god harry styles #greek gods #romance #fanfiction #harry styles x reader

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zemodaddy · 3 years ago

Text

Shades of Him

Chapter 8

Oeznik walks over to you a presses his hand forcefully on your shoulder. You shakily stood and followed him away from Zemo. You turn around one last time hoping and begging you can speak to him soon. Oeznik gives you one final push out of the door. “We have a room for you where you can stay if you’d like” he says. You hadn’t thought about what was to happen next but you saw no reason not to accept.

He sets you in a room at the other end of the corridor in which Zemo’s room was. You were glad you could be close to him still, even if he didn’t know you were there. Looking around, you begin to unpack some of your things into a closet. This bedroom had to be just a little smaller than Zemos. It had similar furniture and decor, but faced out towards the gardens.

Before you could look any further, someone knocks at your door. A maid enters and says she’ll unpack the rest for you while you go have a look around. Not wanting to make a fuss you do as she says and walk towards the corridor again. Oeznik stood there and led you downstairs.

He shows you the ground floor which consisted of two large living rooms, a kitchen, library and conservatory. He tells you that you have free rein of the library and gardens, since you probably needed something to do anyway. The gardens turns out to be quite overgrown. A long path led along the acres of land that were filled with all sorts of plants. From red roses to the most exotic plants you’ve ever seen.

It almost felt like a different world, as you walked further along the gravel path, the overhanging trees swayed you to go further. They completely blocked the view of the house and you felt isolated, but not in a way that scared you, in a way that was calming and friendly.

Zemo was the only thing missing to make your experience truly special. Sadness tugged at your heart as you decide to walk back to the estate. The next time you took a walk here it would be with him.

When you walked through those towering front doors you receive a call. “Hey y/n where are you?” Shit it was Bucky. “Erm just on a walk around town, what’s up?” “We are taking Karli out tonight, we know where the flagsmashers will strike next. Can you come?” “That’s great Bucky but I have a major family issue right now. My cousin is in hospital right now and I need to be there for him, I’m sorry” “Oh I hope he will be okay, wait, didn’t you say you were on a walk?” Fuck “uhh yeah just taking a breather, its quite stressful here.”

You wish him good luck and hang up. That was close. How could you ever explain to him where you really were. You begin to walk to the kitchen for a drink when Oeznik appears in front of you. “I got word from the doctors that Zemo should wake soon” “oh thank god” you say. It was strange because he didn’t look happy about this. In fact he seemed to grimace at you. Even weirder was that was all he said, and then he just left.

He was one peculiar man. Later that night when you were in your room you watch the news on your phone. This building had only one Tv, and that was in the smaller living room downstairs. You didn’t want to intrude on anyone so you now sat on your bed.

Sam had taken the shield and became the new Captain America. He was the perfect person to bear such a title. You were glad John Walker lost the shield. What a twat. Both Bucky and Sam had stopped the flagsmashers, however Karli had been shot and died. It was sad to see a young girl die like that for something she believed in.

If only the government would have listened for once. You fall asleep on the bed but only rest for a few hours. For some reason you wake in the middle of the night. It was still dark outside and everyone was fast asleep.

You decide to go check on Zemo. Now was your chance to be alone with him and not have oeznik breath down your back. Carefully, you open the doors to his room and shut them slowly behind you. Zemo was in the same position he was in before. His chest rising and falling softly in the dark. You didn’t bother having a light, it was peaceful in the darkness.

You move and kneel down next to him again. Taking his hand in yours you just sit there looking at him. He seemed to stir a bit at this, or was that just your imagination? “I’m sorry” you whisper. “I’m sorry” you repeat as tear begin to flow down your cheek. It was hard for you to be next to him when he couldn’t even talk to you. You felt hopeless and lost.

It was like a part of you he been ripped away and hidden somewhere. Somewhere you couldn’t find, or couldn’t even reach. Zemo moves again, this time it wasn’t your imagination. He was waking. “Oh my god” you say to yourself.

Suddenly, the doors fly open and none other than Oeznik sprints in, followed by two men who looked like doctors. “Get away from him” he almost shouts. “I didn’t-“ you start but he shoves you to the entrance of the room. “Go to your room and stay out, don’t come near” he looked slightly frantic and panicked.

You had no choice but to leave. As the doors shut behind you you hear a distinctive click of the locks. He did not trust you at all. You waited for what felt like hours. Pacing your room you begin to wonder why Oeznik treated you like that. Did he think you tried to kill Zemo? No surely not. Your mind was racing with thoughts.

In the distance you could hear voices coming from the other room. They sounded almost in distress. You thought enough was enough and you walk back down the corridor. You raise your fist up to the door but as you were about to knock it opens. Oeznik looks down at you. He pushes you back slightly and closes the door behind him, hindering you from looking inside the bedroom.

“He doesn’t want to see you” you stand there in shock. “W-what” you stutter. “He seemed to have gained a strong disliking for you.” You worst fears have become true. “Can I just talk to him-“ you try to move past the butler but he blocks your path “I’m afraid I can’t let you go in there” so he does hate you. “I think its best you leave, now, before the baron realises you’re on his property”

Before you knew it you were hurried off into a car. You felt completely empty, like all life had been sucked out of you. You nearly killed him and now you’re paying the price. It’s what you deserved now, and you had to accept that.

You didn’t realise how you ended up back in your apartment but you vaguely remember in between the breaks in your line of thought, being escorted onto a plane and then a car again. Now you stood in your home, alone. The emptiness embraced you, hung around you like a necklace. You just have to accept that he doesn’t want to see you, let alone be anywhere near you.

The days passed and you stayed mostly in your home. You lacked all motivation to do anything. After a few weeks you heard a knock on your door. “Bucky?” He stood there in front of you. He doesn’t say anything and goes in to hug you. He had always been sweet yet this embrace seemed almost sad.

“Why haven’t you called or texted?” He says as he sits himself on your couch. “I know I’m sorry its just been a rough time for me lately.” He looked genuinely worried for you. “Do you want to talk bout it?” The honest answer was no but you knew he would worry about you even more if you said that. So you nod and sit next to him. “Ive just been stressed about work and-“ you pause, there really was no work for you to do, but he didn’t know that.

“I have this old friend who I hurt quite badly and now I think that he hates me” you look down at you hands “I just don’t know what to do” Bucky looks at you sympathetically. “If you both love each other and care for one another then you will find each other again” he looks you in the eyes “Its not over until its over”

Tags: @killsandthrills @aisling1985 @booklover2929 @noavengers @arianalilyblack @your-pixels-are-showing @kenna-1904 @mochminnie @the-lil-spud @starssscary @safiakillspop

Sorry if i missed anyone ^

#baron zemo #daniel brühl #baron zemo x reader #helmut zemo #marvel #baron zemo x you #helmut zemo x reader #mcu #sugar daddy zemo

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oldguy56-world · 3 years ago

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Makes No Sense At All

This is the much anticipated follow up to my May 4th 2020 blog Sense and Sensibility. I like to stay on top of things. Ask my wife how good I am at following up, just don’t do it today. There is something I am supposed to be doing but for the life of me I don’t remember what it is. When I remember I will follow up. I always do even if not in a timely manner.

Just a reminder to all of you what the original, and now this blog, are about. There are things in the world that make absolutely no sense at all to me. (See. that is where I got the title, just removed a couple of the words and voila.)

There are a lot of observations I have made that are problematic to my rationalization process. Or maybe I am just feeble minded. Arguments could be made for both. I have performed 0 research on this, but yet I have examples galore to share with you.

- Why has Walmart gone to self checkout but still has 5 people working at the self checkout(?) area to help you? I know it gives them all someone to talk to except the person that approaches you a dozen times to see if you want to open a Walmart credit card. If they are serving no useful purpose but insist on being there why not remove their index, ring and baby fingers making it easier to convey the company message to you. They can keep their thumbs just so technically they are still members of a select species.

- Why do men and women have zippers on their clothes on opposite sides of the opening? Is it men need to zip from the left in case we have to go for our gun? (This was made popular in the old west)

- Why does the price of gas at the pumps go up the second oil prices rise? They already had the stuff in the underground tanks at the old price. I can’t believe the oil companies are that greedy. (I*&YH) Sorry about that. My wife was standing behind me while I was typing this (she does this from time to time as part of her editing job) and she knocked some sense into me. That is why there are some random letters typed. I guess the oil companies ARE that greedy.

- Mayo on fries. WTF! Leave it to those Montreal Canadiens fans to mess up good bad food.

- On TV or in movies, why are professional killers so bad at killing the star. There will be 10 of them with machine guns and the hero (or heroine) has a pistol, and they can’t hit them. I completely understand when it is Tom Cruise. He can stand behind a fire hydrant and they won’t see him, but everyone else? The evil masterminds need to hire better thugs.

- Sticking with the TV themes. Why does every relative of every major cast character end up in trouble with the law and yet they have never done anything wrong? If a show is on long enough they run out of family members. That is when you find out they have a long lost step brother, or an uncle Gus they thought was dead but has been in hiding for 20 years. Are all families like this? Mine isn’t. I don’t have more that a half dozen that have done time, and it was always well deserved. A show about my family therefore would only last 6 episodes unless there were some about long time friends who are in witness protection up north. Oops, I said too much.

- Why do men with hairy bodies go bald on their head? (Yes, this one is personal) If my physiology allows me to grow hair on 97% of my body, why can’t that 4X4 patch on top do the same thing? This is not the 70′s anymore where I can show my virility by having my shirt open down to my waist. (Not that my wife, or anyone else wants to see that) Sometimes things just ain’t right.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK: Here is something that does make sense. We have a Stairway to Heaven and a Highway to Hell because one is a lot easier route to travel than the other one is.

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iguessilovebakugou · 4 years ago

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Beautiful || {Dabi/F!Reader} --- Heathers: The Musical -- Cause I’m a stupid fuck who can’t control themselves

Me: *Doesn’t post anything for 2 years*

Also Me when Dabi is on screen at any point ever: 👁👄👁

I’m also throwing this out there because like...I highly doubt anyone still looks at my blog, so I can hide my fucking shame that I’ve been thinking of this idea on and off for almost 2 years now.

Now...spoilers under the cut because I have to explain some things...

I know they just recently announced that Dabi “died” when he was a kid. So I will have to specify that I’m aging him up to be 17, since that would just...make sense?

-- -- -- --

“Venti salted caramel coldbrew, extra foam.”

There was a raid against villains that day. It had been the only thing anyone could talk about.

You had overheard the editors talking about it as they made their coffee. It was a good thing, right, that they were taking the fight to the bad guys? That not all hope had been lost? Most people just wanted an ounce of good news. Some confirmation that the way of things would hold strong - a nice sugar coat to swallow the hard pill. Though, it seemed like all any report worth their salt - you included - could discuss was the fall of society, what people were going to do if...or...when, rather, the heroes were yanked from their spot light and cast down in the dirt with the rest of civilization.

You weren’t a giant fan of them, considering, but you understood the necessity for someone to hold the mantle - someone who guaranteed the safety the mass populous required to keep them from falling to complete anarchy.

Your phone buzzed as a message appeared at the top, blocking the article’s title from view. Your boss, Fumihiro...again...for the 8th time since you left the office.

[INCOMING MSG] :: Where are you right now?

“Venti salted caramel cold brew, extra foam for...”

Your brows furrowed, your stance shifting from one foot to the other.

[OUTGOING MSG] :: Getting the coffee.

[OUTGOING MSG] :: Why? Want me to get you something?

Heroes. The way of things. Society.

Most people didn’t seem to care too much about it once their phones locked and it was out of their line of sight. When the terrible wasn’t in your face, it was easy to forget that everything hung on a tiny thread that was always threatening to snap. It was hard, you figured, to care about the state of the world when you were more concerned about mundane matters that were pressing in the moment. The rest of the world seems small when you have everything else to pressure you. It was easy to forget.

[INCOMING MSG] :: www.wtxz319.rdio.com/live/93901_error

[INCOMING MSG] :: u need to watch this

You wished you could forget about it. Wished that it hadn’t been looming over your head since...well...

Your thumb hovered over the link, the screen went black and a stream started loading. Some radio podcast? You read the title: ENDEVOUR TAKING ON U-A’S BEST AND BRIGHTEST?! UNLIKELY SON AND FATHER DUO?

“Venti salted caramel cold brew, extra foam!!”

Your heart leapt up into your throat as your eyes met the kid behind the counter. He paused only a moment before using his fingers to nudge your drink closer to edge.

“Oh. Sor-”

“Have a good one.”

You locked your phone as you shoved it into your back pocket, grabbed your drink and made a beeline towards the door. The streets were busy, given the hour. You had just enough time to get back to the office and finish your article on before the evening - just enough time for an editor to look it over, to do some quick fixes and-

You phone buzzed again, and Fumihiro’s face once again flashed on the screen.

[INCOMING MSG] :: Did you see it?

[INCOMING MSG] :: We need to be the first people on this. I don’t care about what else you were working on. This is more important.

You stopped at the crosswalk, staring at your phone and ignoring the woman who had to move around you with a huff. But...you were so close to getting to the meat of what the Safety Commission was hiding. You were so close getting to the heart of it all and, maybe - just maybe - throwing away some of the uncertainty that was hanging over everyone’s head after All Might’s retirement.

After the weeks you spent staking out police stations, hounding hero agencies, digging through dumpsters for any shred of proof the Pros and Police were hiding something - the favors you had to call in for breadcrumbs and scraps alone?! And just like that, he wanted you to drop it all? For what? Some stupid radio show speculation?

You didn’t hesitate to hit the phone icon in the upper corner, stomping towards the intersection.

“Hey-” You cut Fumi before he could even finish your name.

“What do you mean ‘drop the article’? Do you know-”

“I don’t care! This is bigger!!”

“What’s bigger than-”

“Did you even watch the link I sent you? Every station across Japan is getting hacked and it’s been playing on loop for a few minutes now on a few stations. It’s slowly moving to others now.”

“Fumi what the hell are you talking about!?”

“I, TOUYA TODOROKI, WAS BORN THE ELDEST SON OF ENDEVOUR.”

It...was hard to think for a moment. Like a memory, reaching up from the dirt to grab you, to finally take you down to hell.

That voice.

It felt like he was right in your ear, in your head. It had been so long since he had done it to you, since he...no...not him. He was dead. His father confirmed it. You confirmed it. You knew he was gone and there was no bringing him back and -

“I’VE KILLED OVER 30 INNOCENT PEOPLE UNTIL NOW.”

No. No, no no no no it wasn’t in your head - because if it had been, the sound of blood pounding in your ears wouldn’t be able to mask it so well. You froze, your hands shaking as your breath caught in your throat. It couldn’t be him. I couldn’t, it couldn’t...

“You need to get back to the office - I want you on this. I already have a copy of it in case you can’t screen capture it -”

“I WOULD LIKE TO LET EVERYONE KNOW WHY I’D END UP COMMITING SUCH A HIDEOUS ACT.”

Because you’re a fucking monster.

Someone next to you stopped and looked up. Then another and then another. You knew what they were looking at. Who they were looking at. And still, you couldn’t bring yourself to look up. You couldn’t do it - not again. Not now. Not after so many years of him being dead and buried where he deserved to be.

But he always had a hold on you. Something that drew you to him. And so...you looked up.

And as your phone and drink clattered to your feet, you felt the world stop.

“...Touya?”

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

September 1st, 20xx

Dear Diary - I believe I’m a good person. You know? Like, I believe there’s good in everyone. But um...here we are! First day of our Senior Year and I look around at the kids I’ve known for so long and I can’t help but think to myself - what happened?

You hadn’t really wanted to be friends with the Nori’s. Not really. They were stuck up snobs who made everyone below them miserable. But there was a power to them that everyone respected. You had been taught that knowledge held power. And the Nori’s had power because everyone knew if you double crossed them, your life would be a living fucking hell.

“Ah, Nori and Nori.”

You grimaced into your knees as Nori Ueda vomited for a third time since you had been hiding out in the bathroom. The teacher paused before sighing. “And Nori. Perhaps you didn’t hear the bell? You’re late for class.”

“Nori’s sick! We’re helping her.”

You had given the low price of just sitting at their lunch table - once, no talking would be necessary - in the hopes people would leave you alone. It was a simple fact of life: Where there are teenagers, there are winners and there are losers. And you had spent the majority of your High School career on the low end of the totem pole. You were so low, in fact, it seemed talking to you was all but taboo. Anything other than bullying, shoving into lockers, or calling out unfortunate break outs was strictly forbidden by anyone not wanting to suffer the same fate.

But the Nori’s? Solid Teflon: never bothered. Never harassed like you had been. They had a mystique, a pull, a confidence that couldn’t be matched. And you would have killed to be like them.

Perhaps that why you reached into backpack and yanked out the pad of hall pass papers.

You opened the stall door and slipped out, making your wave over to the group. Nori Ueda wiped her mouth. Nori Makino was leaning against the bathroom counter, focusing on making sure her bright red lipstick was perfectly placed. And Nori Kaneko? She was staring down the teacher, hands on her hips, completely equal and completely ready to start a fight.

The teacher laughed, so sure and so pleased that she had been the one to stumble upon the trio in the bathroom. “Not without a hall pass, you’re not. A week’s detention.”

“Uh...ma’am.” Your voice trembled out and reverberated off the tiled wall. It had been louder than you originally intended. Everyone turned quickly to you, only for their attention to be immediately drawn to your outstretched hand you held. “All of us are out on a hall pass...yearbook committee.”

She snatched it from you. For a moment, she simply glanced back between you, the paper, then the Nori’s, then back. After a heavy moment, she nodded. “It looks like you’re all listed.”

Nori Kaneko took it from the teacher, looking it over herself. You tried not to make eye contact as she looked at you. You instead focused on the teacher as she made her way towards the bathroom door. “Hurry up and get where you’re going.”

You heaved a sigh of relief.

“This is an excellent forgery. Who are you?”

You stuttered your name, shrinking under her sharp gaze. “I uh...I crave a boon.”

“What boon?” You weren’t sure if she was simply aggravated you had dared do more than answer the questions she asked or if the annoyance was just a constant manner of speaking for her.

You could forge anything thanks to your quirk - Copy. All you had to do was see someone or something once or twice, focus on it as best as you could and like that, you could be that person. From their mannerisms, their voice, to their penmanship. Its why you stole the pad of hall passes, to skip class whenever you wanted, to have an excuse to be hiding out in the bathroom.

It had worked...sometimes...

You stuttered out your name. You could see the two Nori’s snicker in the background. They had no clue who you were. It was...somewhat insulting. Their “friends” had done their best to make your life a living hell and yet you had flown under their radar.

Your eyes darted between the three of them. Nori Kaneko stared down at you, foot tapping and arms crossed as she took you in. You couldn’t help but feel like a prey animal, stuck in the line of sight of the Apex Predator.

But your mama didn’t raise no quitter. You swallowed and stood up just a bit straighter. “Let me sit with you at lunch, once. No talking necessary. If...I mean, if people think you guys tolerate me, they might leave me alone.”

The laughter was instantaneous. Kaneko looked back to the other two, her laugh light and condescending. The audacity, it said. The gall of you to ask to sit with them, of all people. “Before you answer, I also do permission slips, report cards, and absent notes.”

“What about prescriptions?”

“Shut up, Nori.”

“Sorry, Nori.” Ueda immediately slunk back to the shadows, gaze downcast.

Kaneka stepped forward and you thought for a moment she was going to shove you onto the floor. You braced your feet, mentally preparing yourself for the force of her push...but it never came. She was in front of you for a moment, and then the next, she was at your side. She hummed under her breath and you could feel her eyes trail over your body. Your school uniform a size too big, the bulky cardigan you had worn over it, the scuffed shoes and year old skirt. Your hair was a mess, your face was bare, and you could hear the sound of your knees knocking together in fear.

“For a greasy little nobody,” She started, reaching out a smooth hand and brushing some of your hair back and out of your eyes. “You do have good bone structure.”

Nori Makino perked up, coming over to take a look at you. She took your face in your hand, causing you to tense and try to pull away. For a girl bordering 90 pounds soaking wet, her grip was rather strong. “And a symmetrical face.”

“A...huh?”

“If I took a meat cleaver down the center of your skull, I would have matching halves.” She looked back at you, nodding. “That’s very important.”

“Of course,” Ueda added, glaring at you from over Kaneka’s shoulder. “You could stand to lose a few pounds.”

You opened your mouth to argue, to gain some sense of control over the conversation - but like everything, Kaneko had the power. She gripped your shoulders and turned you towards the mirror. You tensed, feeling her arm wrapped around your shoulders. You watched as she tilted her head this way and that before...smirking. “You know...this might be beautiful. Mascara, maybe some lip gloss and we might have something.”

You let out a breath you didn’t know you had been holding once she moved away. “I’ll need some blush, Nori, get your brush.”

You were frozen, watching as each item was brought out and laid on the bathroom counter. A new jacket, skirt, perfume, a pallet of...color? You gripped your bag, trying to figure out what on earth was going on.

“Take that thing off - it smells.”

The...thing? You saw the Nori’s staring at you, waiting for you to comply. You glanced down at your cardigan, pausing only a moment to sniff the sleeve. It...wait, did it smell? Would they lie to you? You fumbled with the buttons, sliding it off your shoulders. Makino snatched it out of your hands and before you knew it, it was tossed in the garbage.

“Now, let’s make her beautiful.”

In that moment, you understood what was happening. As Kaneko stepped forward, the smirk on her face, she watched you. This...was an invitation. Into their group. Into the inner sanctum of popularity and the safety it brought. No more bullies, no more humiliation, no more terror.

“Okay?”

“Okay!”

They don’t tell you that being popular is more hell than it’s worth.

You wouldn’t say you and the Nori’s were...friends. It felt more professional than anything else. You had a strict uniform you had to stick to - above what the school required. Any accessory had to be approved by the trio. All meals had to be approved by Ueda - needless to say, the packed lunches your mother made every morning every morning included with a handwritten note never seemed to make the cut. The make up you did every morning never was good enough.

They had high standards, more inline with a sort of...job than actual friendship. In fact, over the past few weeks, it had been hard to tell if the three Nori’s were even friends to begin with. There was definitely a power struggle between Kaneko - the obvious leader - and Ueda - who tried to exert her dominance every chance she could but was shot down by Kaneko. Moniko was harder to figure out, more happy to follow than to lead. She was...nicer than the other two, though you weren’t entirely sure if it was simply because she didn’t want the drama or if she just...simply didn’t understand that what she said held weight beyond being...noises in the air.

Dear Diary - It just seems like our job is being...popular and shit.

“There you are!”

When Kaneko wasn’t around Ueda was hardly as docile. It was hard to tell she had thorns at all when she was standing next to the Cactus that was the head Nori. But any chance she got, she made sure to inform you in less subtle ways that you weren’t welcome among the three of them.

Which was obvious. Your name wasn’t Nori.

You jumped as Ueda’s hand slammed your book shut on your fingers. “Nori wants you in the caf - now.”

Moniko hardly offered you a glance as you flexed the pain from your joints. “Is that so? What for?”

Ueda snorted, “I don’t know. She just said to get your ass there...now.”

You normally punched out for lunch. You sighed, pushing yourself away from your desk and standing up. “How very.”

If the two Nori’s heard your remark, they didn’t say anything. Nor did they relay it to Nori Kaneko when the three of you had reached the cafe.

The Nori table was the nicest table in the entire cafeteria. With the perfect white table cloths, centered exactly in the middle of the room, other kids from the “popular groups” would migrate around it like a port. They would stay for the entire period or would flit about from table to table. And at it’s head, sat Nori Kaneko. She sat with her legs crossed, talking to another student who’s name you couldn’t quite place. You always thought you had been good with names. Turns out, you just didn’t know many people.

“Ah, you’re finally here. Took you long enough.”

When Kaneko had offered the make over and...”admission” into the popular crowd, you had thought maybe you pegged her wrong. Maybe she was just a normal kid, wrapped up in the politics of High School. It didn’t take long for you to realize she was still the same mythic bitch you had thought she had been - you just did things for her now.

“I need you to forge a note - in Souta Ishii’s handwriting.” With a snap of her fingers, the boy she had been talking to reached into his pocket and yanked out a few folded up pieces of paper. You didn’t need to open them to know what they were. But when you did, you couldn’t find yourself surprised at the fact Souta was barely passing most of his classes.

“You’ll need something to write on. Bend over, Nori.”

One day, it would stop shocking you how quickly Ueda would act to Kaneko’s command. You paused, looking to your superior for a moment. “Uh...I could just-”

“You’re not sitting with us.” She answer simply.

“...right.” You took the paper and pen offered by Moniko. You flexed your digits, feeling the flutter under your skin. “What do you want it to say?”

“‘Hey baby girl, I’ve been watching you and thinking about us in the good old days. I hope you can come to my party this weekend. We can talk about us. Love, Souta.’“ She leaned over, watching your hand glide over the paper in barely legible chicken scratch. “Put an XO after the ‘Souta’ too.”

It was gone the second the O was done. She looked over the note again. “Perfect.”

There was a glint in her eye that didn’t...settle well with you. With your quirk, you noticed certain...things about people. Little ticks and tells that everyone has. Ueda scrunched her nose when she didn’t like something - like everyone. Moniko would fidget with her hands when she was nervous - like everyone. And Kaneko would get a little sparkle in her eyes when she was about to ruin someone’s life.

With each fold of the paper, you stomach dropped closer and closer to your feet. “What’s that for, anyway?”

You never really questioned why she did half of what she did. It wasn’t like you could do anything to stop it. “You know how Souta used to hang out with Arisu Nomaru?”

Of course you did. You considered Arisu a friend - a good one. She was the really only nice person at this school. Of course, hanging out with the Nori’s meant that quality time with Arisu was...well, all but non existent at that point. But she assured you, through texts, that everything was fine. It was exciting! That maybe, she could join you and the Nori’s for lunch one day. It wasn’t possible, of course. You never even bothered to broach the subject to the three. Arisu was never going to be in the popular crowd and would be stuck watching them from a distance.

The only other constant in Arisu’s life - aside from her kindness and her exile from popularity - was the undying love she had for Souta Ishii. Ever since...

“We all hung out with Arisu. In kindergarten.”

Kaneko scoffed, looking up at you from under perfect lashes. “Well, we didn’t all kiss her on the soccer field.”

You had to fight your body’s desire to snatch the paper out of Nori’s hand.

Monika gagged next to you. “Oh my god! I forgot Souta kissed Arisu Nomaru. It was disgusting!!”

It took everything you had not to hit her. She met your glare with cool indifference, adding a laugh for good measure.

“Souta! Just the man I wanted to see!”

Souta was a...handsome man to say the least. You didn’t blame Arisu for having the crush she had on him, not by any means. But what he had in looks, he lacked in anything worthy of personality - aside from just being a huge dick. And where there was a Souta there was Jun Goto. His best friend. He was the smartest one out of his group of friends.

Which amounted as much as being the tallest dwarf, but hey - credit where credit was due. They were both smart enough to know to come when a Nori called you - no questions asked. And in a flash, the two pulled themselves up and made a beeline for the table - not after giggling to themselves first.

“Be a sweetie and give this note to Arisu Nomaru for me.”

Dread immediately filled your stomach. “What? No!”

“What the hell are you talking to Arisu for?” Jun demanded, reaching for the note.

“Don’t read it! She was having a heavy flow, and wanted some advice from Gyno.”

“That’s fucking disgusting!” You would have thought the boy had been burned with the way he flicked the paper onto the table, back away and retreat to the table he had come from.

“Yeah, I’ll take that.” You snatched the note up, gripping it tightly in your hand.

It had been a while since anyone had stared at you with such venom. If looks could kill, Kaneko would have you dead to rights. Her eyes darkened as she glared at you, hands slowly moving to her hips.

But you weren’t going to allow yourself to back down. Not over this. This was too much. “Arisu has had a crush on Souta for 13 years. This...” You waved the note. “This would kill her.”

It was quiet for a moment - and in that moment, you realized you made the biggest mistake of your fucking life. Nori smiled, stepping forward with a soft chuckle. “I didn’t realize we had a problem.”

“We’re not but-”

“Are we going to have a problem?”

You faltered for a moment.

“No, I just-”

“So you have a bone to pick.”

“No, Nori I just think you’re bigger than-”

“You know, when I dragged you out of the dredges of inferiority, I was shocked how far you would go.”

Before you knew it, she had succeeded in pushing you down onto the bench. Your elbow slammed into the top, causing you to cry out. Immediately, all eyes were on you. “So you wanna tell me, why now, are you pulling on my dick?”

“Nori! I’m not trying to argue with you! Just doing this-”

“I know!” She snatched the note from your hands. “It will ruin her. That’s the fucking point.” She offered the note to Ueda, who happily took it. You watched helplessly as she skipped back over to Souta. While he didn’t seem too pleased to be the one to deliver the note, he begrudgingly got up from his spot and headed to the corner of the cafeteria.

"You still have a lot to learn about how things work around here." You swallowed, digging your nails into the palm of you hand. "This whole school is my own personal candy store. I do what I want, when I want."

You watched as he slammed a fist on the table, causing Arisu to jump. She froze, stuttered, and then almost dropped the note when he tossed it to her. Your heart hammered - maybe if you got there fast enough, you could stop her from reading it. You could distract her and -

You were forced back down in your spot and perfectly manicured nails dug into your skin. “You got a good thing going here,” Kaneko stated, very matter of factly. “You could join the team, or you could bitch and moan.” You winced when her nails dug deeper into your skin. “But if you test me one more time, you will end up just. Like. Her."

Ueda grinned, an ugly, spiteful thing. "Welcome to our Candy-"

"Shut up, Nori!" All three of you flinched as your leader stood. Fixing her skirt, she offered you a sweet smile that made your stomach roll. "We'll see you after school."

They left you in that spot for a long time, staring at your hands. It wasn’t until you felt a tap on your shoulder that you finally looked up. And there above you was Arisu. She grinned and offered you the note. “Look! Look what Souta wrote me! He invited me to his party this weekend.”

You stared at the paper, then back up at her. You tried to smile - though it didn’t look like she noticed. “This proves he’s been thinking about me!”

She...seemed happy. And you knew in this school that happiness was hard to come by. Especially with people like Nori’s. You opened your mouth, before closing it again. You stared at that letter, at the handwriting that perfectly matched the papers left on the table. You could tell her, warn her it was a prank. Just...break her heart and tell her Souta wanted nothing to do with her.

“...color me stoked!” You grinned.

You were happy when she left. With a heavy sigh, you buried your face in your hands and ignored the bell above your head. You listened to the shuffling of your peers as they made their way towards the doors.

What the hell were you doing? What the fuck did you just do? Arisu had always been a good friend to you and you threw her under the bus? For what? Popularity? Safety?

“You shouldn’t have bowed down to those dogs. They’ll eat that girl alive.”

You had grown used to most voices, labeling them by people who was more likely to hit you or simply ignore your presence entirely.

But his voice? You had never heard that voice before. It was pleasant in it’s own way - low, guttural, and deceptively indifferent to the advice he was giving you. You sat up, turning to look over your shoulder. Your eyes trailed up to stark white hair. Bright blue eyes stared down at you, hands in his pockets. Your breath caught in your chest and your mind scrambled for a response. “I’m...I’m sorry, what?”

He watched you for a moment. Sizing you up. “Look,” He continued, “You clearly have a soul. You just need to work a little harder to keep it clean.” With a final shrug, he turned on his heel and made his way for the door. "We're all marked for evil."

Did...did he just...quote at you? It took you a moment for your mind to catch up to what he said. “Okay, don’t just quote Baudelaire at me and walk away. Excuse me?”

You scrambled to your feet. He stopped and turned to look at you. He didn’t move to say anything else however, leaving you in charge of continuing the conversation. You looked him over, took in his long, lanky form, the mess of white hair, they...very pretty eyes. You cleared your throat and motioned to him. “I...uh...I didn’t catch your name.”

He waited a moment before shrugging. “That’s cause I didn’t throw it.”

You watched him turn back around and make his way towards the door, mouth hanging down to your chest. It didn’t take long for you to realize how hot your cheeks were burning, how fast your heart was racing. You couldn’t help as your lips broke out into a smile.

You swore he stole another gaze at you him slip out into the hall.

So yeah. I’ll edit this later. Promise.

How did everyone enjoy their holiday season?

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elsanna-shenanigans · 3 years ago

Text

August Contest Submission #18: The Concrete Rose

Words: ca. 5,500 Setting: mAU Lemon: No CW: Angst, brief Hansanna

October 12, 2019

From the second Elsa saw her roommate, she knew she would become her muse.

Douglas Academy of the Arts produced hundreds of graduates every year already with an astounding, artistic reputation. Anyone that had a future in the arts ran through Douglas Academy first. But that prestige came at a price, success at all costs meant that almost everyone was cold and cutthroat; no one was a classmate, everyone was competition.

It was a mantra that all the students bought into except for two people: Elsa and her roommate Anna. From a simple handshake and a peace offering in the form of a chocolate bar (“The vending machine accidentally gave me two, how lucky is that?!”), Anna stood out from everyone else in Elsa’s eyes.

They became quick friends despite how drastically different they were. Elsa was reserved and stayed in her head a lot, Anna loved people and spoke every thought that came to her. Elsa was constantly second-guessing her decisions and had a keen eye for details, Anna was more impulsive and loved seeing the bigger picture. Elsa was a sculptor who kept her works secret until they were finished, Anna was a dancer who would always post videos of her practicing for her latest performance.

The one thing they had in common was their need to support the other.

One day well into their first semester, Anna barged into Elsa’s room with a flyer that she’d gotten in almost all her classes: an advertisement for the 3-D Art Showcase in three weeks. “You’re doing this, right?” she asks, pushing the flyer in front of Elsa’s face. “You’re entering a thingie into the thing?”

Elsa plucked the flyer out of Anna’s hands and turned back around in her chair, “Not a chance. I heard first years get eaten alive at these showcases, I’ll wait until next year.”

“Oh come on! You’d kick so much ass if you entered something. Remember that clay canary you made me?” Anna pressed her palms against Elsa’s shoulders, which almost knocked the pencil out of the unexpecting sculptor’s hands.

Elsa shook her head, “That was different. I’d have to make like… something fancy and intricate if I want to even be considered for the showcase.”

“Well, can’t you at least try? Please?” Anna slid her hands down so she could wrap her arms around Elsa’s shoulders from behind. “I can help you just like you helped me while I was rehearsing my first interpretive dance.”

It took a while for Elsa to get used to Anna’s touchiness, but she learned to accept it. This was just another thing that added to Anna’s eclectic personality, and besides Elsa was a big fan of the rosemary body wash she was using. “Anna, all I did was press play on your speaker.”

“Which helped out a lot!” Anna assured her. “You know how much energy I could have wasted doing that myself?”

“… not a lot?”

“Just think about joining, okay? Knowing you, I bet you probably have like five ideas running through your head and when you pick one, I’ll do whatever I can to help turn that idea into something concrete.”

Well if thinking about it was all that Anna was asking her to do, then Elsa could do that. Less commitment that way. And she was right, of course, there were five ideas floating around in Elsa’s mind but none of them she could latch on to and say that that was the one to work on. “Alright fine,” she said after a dramatically heavy sigh, “I’ll think about it.”

“That’s my girl! Oh shit, I’m gonna be late for rehearsal!” Anna sprinted out of Elsa’s room to grab her dancing shoes. Before slamming their shared door shut, she said, “If you eat my spaghetti, I’ll kill you!”

November 5, 2019

There was something that Anna told her that day which stuck with Elsa much more than she thought it would.

Turning an idea into something concrete.

What if she sculpted something out of concrete? It was a near guarantee that a lot of the sculptors entering the showcase would be using clay, recycled metals, or wood; using concrete would probably help her stand out and better her chances of being picked. After a researching how to make this work, and some choice words of encouragement and dancing from Anna, Elsa set to work getting everything she needed for her crazy idea.

There was still, of course, one glaring problem: What was she going to sculpt?

Her answer came to her during Anna’s first performance of the semester. It was an interpretive dance that told the story of a young gladiator fighting for the freedom of his sister who was enslaved by a vindictive landowner. Her ability to tell this story without words (not even in the song she chose) wowed the audience and inspired Elsa as she waited for every beat of the story she’d seen Anna tell maybe a hundred times in their dorm.

Elsa decided to recreate one of the poses Anna did where she jumped in the air and punched her arm out like she was thrusting a spear into an unseen adversary. It was a painstaking process that tested her dexterity and her patience even more so, she shut herself in her room until it was finished. In the end, the sculpture was much smaller than she wanted it to be because she underestimated how much concrete mix she actually needed. And a piece of Anna’s skirt chipped off because it refused to stick to the wire mesh. Still, overall she was very impressed with herself.

And so it seemed was the showcase committee, because she was given one of the last remaining spots on the showcase floor.

Elsa somehow found a way to keep Anna from seeing it beforehand, so when she went with her roommate to the showcase, her reaction was genuine.

Anna gasped, “Holy shit, is this me?! She’s so pretty!”

Everyone in the building looked at them with judgmental glares, especially the judges. Elsa didn’t mind all that much, she wasn’t expecting to take a ribbon home, this was more about proving she could hang with Douglas’ best and to thank Anna for supporting her these past few months.

“I ran out of time to add details to the face, so I kept it blank,” Elsa explained. “I hope it doesn’t look too creepy.”

Anna shook her head, “No, I love it! It’s like… it fits so much with Henry’s character, the gladiator I mean. He presents himself as this nobody that could be anybody, like Henry is just a faceless idea, but he stands for justice and integrity, which can speak to anyone.”

Elsa smiled, her heart fluttering from the feeling of being understood. “I’m glad you were able to see that. I think I’ll steal that explanation when the judges come over.”

“Fine, but if you win a ribbon then you’re buying me dinner. For believing in you and for being your muse.”

“Pssh, you are not my muse.” How in the world did Anna already know that?

Anna squeezed Elsa’s shoulders and smiled, her eyes seeing right past Elsa’s thin resistance. “Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Michaelangelo.”

The judges came around a few minutes later to ask her some questions and write notes on their clipboards. Anna wanted to talk her roommate up so badly but settled on providing moral support right next to Elsa as she answered the questions concisely and with the professionalism that got her into Douglas Academy in the first place.

She didn’t win a ribbon, but decided to take Anna out to dinner anyway.

December 26, 2019

“I think concrete should be your thing,” Anna said before taking another long sip of her hot chocolate.

“My thing?” Elsa asked.

“Yeah, like the thing that makes you stand out from everyone else. The thing you’re known for. Da Vinci had his inventions and paintings, Degas painted ballet dancers, you could be the concrete rose.”

Elsa chuckled, “Concrete rose? That sounds more like you than it sounds like me.”

Anna gasped, “Why Ms. Elsa, you best be careful or I might just take that as a compliment.”

“Uhh you should because it was.” Elsa gently kicked her foot forward to keep the front porch swinging. They drank their hot chocolates in silence, relishing in that post-Christmas bliss. Elsa’s family was always a little more dysfunctional around the holidays, but when Anna told her she’d be spending her Christmas in the dorms she knew that couldn’t happen. Her best friend deserved a real Christmas for the first time in forever.

When their mugs were empty, Anna spoke again, “Thank you for letting me come with you. I… maybe I would have felt a little lonelier this Christmas. And I’m happy that I’m not.”

“Anna, you’re my best friend- heck, you’re like the sister I never had. I can’t leave my sister hanging, you know?” The confession is so raw and unusual for Elsa that it doesn’t feel right coming from her lips at first, but the more this moment sat the better it felt.

She looked to Anna, her red cheeks were a sign that the cold was finally getting to her. “I had a lot of foster siblings growing up… none of them liked me all that much.”

“Well that’s their loss.”

“Thank you, Elsa. Really. Everything you do means a lot to me, I hope you know that.”

Elsa smiled and tapped her shoe against Anna’s, “Everything you do means a lot to me too.”

Anna brought the empty mug back to her lips. “So, if we’re sisters, does that mean I get to steal your clothes and burst into your room to tell you stupid nonsense?”

“You mean you don’t already do that now?” The force that Anna pushed her with almost sent Elsa off the porch swing.

October 21, 2020

Elsa and Anna complemented each other’s strengths in a way neither of them ever expected. The 3-D showcases happened four times a year, and Elsa entered every one of them with the support of Anna. There were also four major dance performances throughout the year, and Anna entered every one of them with Elsa’s support.

Anna had taken second place for interpretive dancing at the last competition, but Elsa was still looking for her first major win. She felt confident, however, in her entry for the upcoming showcase.

“I mean I love it of course, but it’s ambitious,” Anna said while looking over Elsa’s sketch. “How are you gonna carve out the bird and the cage at the same time?”

“I was thinking of making the cage and bird separate, and then putting them together,” Elsa answered. “If I get the dimensions right, I can hammer some nails underneath the cage so it stays put.”

“Hmm, alright well you sound like you know what you’re doing.” Anna handed back the sketch. “And I’m gonna support you a hundred percent. No matter what.”

“I know you will,” Elsa said while putting her arm around Anna’s shoulder. “… I think this is the one.”

“I think so too,” Anna said proudly. “And when you come back with a ribbon-”

“You’re buying me dinner.”

Anna gasped and wriggled out of her best friend’s arm, “Rude!”

Elsa rolled her eyes, “Oh please, half my budget is spent feeding you. I’m sure you can afford to buy me dinner one time.”

She saw the gears turning in Anna’s mind, trying to come up with a rebuttal, but in the end she groaned and said, “Fine, I’ll take your bum ass out for dinner, sis.”

Elsa worked harder than she ever had before, inspired once again from seeing Anna’s latest performance. It was a soliloquy in dance form, about a bird who’d spent their entire life on the move and in the hands of many owners, but never once being allowed out of its cage. It paralleled Anna’s life story: the foster child from New York who was only getting her first taste of freedom now. She paid special attention to the bird’s eyes, wanting them to emulate the longing and ambition she saw in her best friend.

The process resulted in a lot of tiny cuts and a couple of sleepless nights, but it was all worth it in the end. She won second place at the showcase.

True to her word, Anna took her out for dinner that very night on the condition that Elsa wear the obnoxiously huge, red ribbon. They had to stick it on her shirt with a safety pin. “Alright, where does Madame Second Place want to go for dinner?” Anna asked, dressed in an adorable skirt and blouse combo.

“I was kinda joking, you know?” Elsa said. “You don’t actually have to buy me dinner.”

“Oh please, you can’t get cold feet now. I mean you’re already wearing the ribbon, that’s like… I don’t know, it’s like when your high school prom date puts the corsage on you. It’s official, no backing out.”

Elsa raised an eyebrow, “What so you’re my prom date now?”

Anna pursed her lips, “Well maybe not for prom, it’s too late for that. But I’ll be your date if you want me to.”

That answer leaves Elsa speechless.

“Ooh, I know where we can go!” Anna added before Elsa could finish catching up to the millions of thoughts running through her mind. “There’s this really good Mexican place downtown. I heard they sell this burrito that’s the size of your forearm, and I have long forearms so I wanna see that. Sound good?”

Elsa blinked and said absently, “Yeah, let’s go.” They walked side by side to Anna’s car, all the while Elsa pretended she wasn’t seeing her best friend in a brand new light.

May 15, 2020

It’s a scary feeling to know that you’re in love with your best friend. Even scarier when you’ve considered them your sister for almost two years now. It’s like being strapped in to the world’s best roller coaster against your will. Sometimes it’s exhilarating and you think maybe this isn’t so bad, but most of the time you’re screaming and want to get off.

Elsa’s been on the same damn ride for months now and it hasn’t gotten any easier. But she’s accepted it, which is something she never expected.

All of Anna’s errant touches, her smiles and glances, and even just the way she says “we”… Elsa has second-guessed each and every single one of her behaviors. And yes, she would probably stop overthinking if she’d just talk to Anna but she doesn’t know how. It’s hard enough trying to have a regular conversation with her now, it’s nearly impossible approaching her with a talk about their feelings.

And even so, she’s accepted the fact that she’s fallen in love with her best friend. For the past two years, they’ve been nearly inseparable, there’s no one in the world she knows better or cares about more than Anna. Falling in love with her felt almost inevitable.

But did Anna feel the same way? Well, she’d find out soon.

For the last 3-D showcase of their second year, Elsa had been working on a particularly special project. It didn’t have to do specifically with Anna’s last performance, but it was dedicated to her nonetheless.

Rising from a slab of concrete, she sculpted out a finely detailed rose, complete with a realistic crack where the stem breaks out and defined petals spiraling into the rosebud. It represented Anna’s ability to grow and flourish from a life of a constantly uncertain home life and rough nights on the streets.

At the base of the concrete slab, she wrote ‘For Anna, for everything’. When Anna notices the inscription, that’s when Elsa would tell her how she feels.

She shut herself out from the world for a particularly long time; Anna only saw her when they were walking to classes together, and even then Elsa remained tight-lipped so as to not spoil the surprise. Her patience had to be rewarded, she figured, or else this would have all been for nothing.

When the showcase finally arrived, Elsa waited anxiously for Anna to show up. She said she would be running late because she needed to meet someone, but that was fine because it gave Elsa more time to figure out what she’d say to the judges. Which in turn helped keep her from pacing around the showcase floor like a lonely, lovesick puppy.

When the judges came, she defended the lack of complex expression and vibrancy of her piece by quoting Henry David Thoreau’s opinion on simplicity. And she covered the etching with her hand because that was one question she’d rather not answer just yet. At least not to them. The judges looked impressed with her answers and one of them even mentioned that she had a knack for giving life to her sculptures. The high from that compliment should have lasted her throughout the entire day, but it was shot down almost immediately.

When the judges left, she saw Anna walking towards her. But she wasn’t alone, she was with a guy.

And they were holding hands.

“I’m so sorry I’m late, I was waiting for this guy to get his fucking shoes on.” Anna patted the guy’s chest with a coy smile. He was tall, proper, and with fashionably thick sideburns. The way he wore his t-shirt and jeans looked awkward, as if he was ripped straight from a 19th century portrait and was forced to wear modern clothes to blend in.

“Hey in my defense, I didn’t know I was going to the showcase until you texted me like half an hour ago,” he said while wrapping her arm around Anna’s shoulders.

“Lies. And propaganda.” Anna turned to Elsa with a softer smile on her lips, which was just another hit to Elsa’s already bruising heart. “Again, I’m sorry I was late but I figured it was time for you two to meet. Elsa, this is Hans. We’ve been dating for a month now.”

A month?

A… a month.

Elsa’s doing her best to remain polite and cordial, but it’s hard when her entire body feels like it’s crumbling onto the floor. She extends a hand out anyway, wincing when Hans takes it with more strength than she’s expecting. “It-It’s nice to meet you, Hans. Anna’s lucky to have you around.” The words come out of her mouth like a rejected poison.

Anna talked some more, so did Hans, and maybe Elsa nodded and smiled when she needed to, but for the life of her she couldn’t tell you what the hell they talked about. When it came time for the… couple to examine Elsa’s sculpture, Anna beamed at her with that same pride that was on her face since day one and Hans said she did a good job. Elsa kept her hand over the inscription the entire time.

She won another second place ribbon. When Anna noticed the inscription, Elsa said it was a thank you for being a wonderful friend. Each word felt like pulling teeth.

September 4, 2020

They met at the campus coffee shop while Elsa was isolating herself. Ironically, Anna was going there to get a hot chocolate to surprise Elsa.

She brought Anna and Hans together.

It was a very lonely summer for Elsa. Since Hans lived in New Jersey, it wasn’t that hard for him to visit Anna whenever he wanted, which is exactly what he did. They spent almost every moment of the summer together, and while Elsa pretended to be happy with getting texts, the occasional phone call, and a surprise weekend visit from her best friend, none of it could stop the constant ache in her heart.

Move-in day for their third year was especially brutal, she unpacked absentmindedly while listening to Anna and Hans joke around and kiss when they thought she wasn’t looking. She tried all summer to let go of the feelings for Anna and to just be happy for her, but it felt like the more she tried, the more she held on.

“Alright, that’s the last box.” Anna wiped her hands on her jeans and looked at Elsa and then at Hans. “Let me just change out of this gross, sweaty shirt and we can get something to eat?”

“Of course, babe.” Hans kissed her and walked out of the girls’ dorm, Elsa finally let go of the breath she’d held since they started moving their stuff in.

“You’re coming with us, right?” Anna asked.

Elsa wasn’t expecting her to to talk to her, and she had to take a second for her mouth to catch up with her mind. “Uh no that’s okay,” she finally replied. “You two enjoy yourself, I want to unpack all of my stuff before I eat.”

Anna raised an eyebrow, “Are you sure? If you’re worried about being a third wheel, trust me it’s not gonna be like that.”

Elsa tapped her fingers on the stacked boxes in front of her. “No, I’m just not hungry yet. That’s all.”

“Well… alright, but I’ll bring you back some food and I won’t take no for an answer.” Anna peeled off her shirt and disappeared in her room to find a new one. From somewhere inside the room, she added, “We’ll hang out sometime soon okay? Just the two of us.”

October 1, 2020

'Sometime soon’ turned out to be nearly a month later. It wasn’t for lack of trying, but with the third year at Douglas being notoriously difficult, they needed to spend a little more time adjusting to the bigger workload and busier schedules. And any free time Anna did have was taken up by Hans…

Elsa continued to pretend to be okay, and she actually relished how busy their third year was going to be because it gave her something else to think about. A six-page essay on contour ate up time she was going to spend thinking about the sexual innuendo Hans was 'accidentally’ adding to him and Anna’s conversations.

The busy times couldn’t last forever, though, and Anna and Elsa finally found some time to spend together- just the two of them- one night on top of one of Douglas’ parking garages. It was a place they’d gone to many times just to get away from the staunch air of pressure and competition in every corner of every building underneath them. This was a place for them to breathe, a home away from a home away from home.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been around as much lately,” Anna said, breaking the silence from their lack of conversation. “It’s just that this is the first relationship I’ve been in and… I don’t know, it’s exciting and new. Not that things aren’t like that with you, it’s just-”

“Anna, you don’t have to apologize. Whatever time I get to spend with you is just fine.” Elsa bites her tongue before she can say that she still wishes she had more time with Anna.

“I just don’t want you to feel like I’m neglecting you, that’s all.”

“Well, you’re not, so it’s okay. I’m okay.”

“Okay…” Anna scooted closer to her, their bare elbows touching made the nerves in Elsa’s arm tingle and send shockwaves through her entire body. “Sooooo, you want to know what I’m doing for my next performance? You know, so you can start figuring out what you’re gonna do for the showcase.”

Elsa looked away, “I don't… I think I’m gonna skip the showcase this time.” She wanted to say she was going to skip the showcase this year, but that would have set off too many alarms in Anna’s head. She could deal with the one alarm she saw going off behind her best friend’s eyes.

“How come?” she asked.

“It just looks like it’s gonna be a real busy year, and I think I need to focus on getting through it. Once I can do that, then I can start thinking about sculpting again.”

“I… see.” Anna looked out across the campus. “And that’s the only reason?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?” Elsa wondered if there was something she said, or some visible part of her full of pain that she’d forgotten to cover up.

Anna shrugged, “No reason. Just wondering.”

Elsa didn’t have it in her to pry, so she also went back to looking at the buzzing nightlife of Douglas Academy. With luck, they wouldn’t have to address this ever again.

November 30, 2020

Luck remained on Elsa’s side for nearly two months, and then they returned from Thanksgiving Break. Anna had declined her invitation to spend Thanksgiving with her, and instead she spent it with Hans’ family. Who, as it turned out, was exceptionally rich.

Anna spent a good hour gushing over their massive house with the hot tubs (plural) and rooms as big as their whole dorm, and then talked about all the people that were there for Thanksgiving dinner and how amazing the food was. Knowing Anna’s struggles, Elsa tried to remain supportive while she gushed over Hans and his family and his really nice house. And then she said something that should have remained a thought.

“Sounds like you dodged a bullet not joining me for Thanksgiving.”

Anna pounced on that out-of-character remark immediately. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Gosh, what could she say that wouldn’t sound passive-aggressive? Elsa decided on, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything by that. I’m really glad you had a good time on break.”

For a second, that looked like it would work. And then Anna closed her eyes and sighed, “Oh god… you don’t like Hans.”

Elsa didn’t say anything, which is the worst thing she could have said.

“Elsa, we’ve been going out for months now. Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“I…I guess I…”

Anna sighed and waved her hand, “Never mind, I guess it doesn’t matter. Look, I like you both so I don’t want things to feel awkward or whatever. What can I do to help? I want you to like Hans so that things don’t suck between us.”

There’s nothing Anna needed to do, this was a problem that Elsa had to deal with on her own. That’s what she wanted to say to her best friend. But instead, there was another disconnect between her brain and her mouth and she said something that was bound to make things worse, “You don’t even know why I don’t like him.”

Anna nodded, “You’re right. So why don't you like him?”

Elsa wrung her hands together, “Anna, we shouldn’t talk about this.”

“What? But you’re the one that brought it up.”

“I know, but it’s just not… this won’t end well.”

“Is this one of those things where the protective older sister hates every guy her sister dates and thinks that no one’s good enough for her?”

“No,” Elsa replied. And under her breath, she muttered, “I wish.”

“Elsa, we’re the only two people in your room. I heard that.” She scooted across the bed to get closer to Elsa, their fingers nearly touching were enough for Elsa to feel like her arm was on fire. “Just… tell me what’s wrong. Please?”

Though it felt like the wrong thing to do, Elsa pulled her hand away. “I don’t know if I can,” she replied. “Can we drop it please? For now?”

“… okay.”

December 13, 2020

This was the longest time Elsa and Anna had gone without talking to each other. Sure, they were polite and fake when Hans was hanging out in their dorm, and they still said good morning and whatnot to each other, but they hadn’t made an effort to really talk to each other in two weeks.

Knowing this was her fault, Elsa set out to craft an apology to Anna. After deciding on recreating the canary she made her during their first year, this time in concrete, she went to work quickly on creating the mesh outline for it. One night, during this process, she heard a knock on her door. A knock that could only belong to one person.

She took a deep breath and then opened her door. “Hey Anna,” she said far too generically.

“Do you love me?”

Elsa tensed up so much she almost tore her doorknob off. Any answer would have been a good one, but instead she remained frozen in silence.

“Hans and I had a fight and he said…well I mean he thought that… areyou in love with me?”

Still as a statue, much like the concrete rose Anna’s holding in her hand, Elsa somehow found her voice long enough to say, “Anna, I didn't…”

Anna nodded, and in the darkness of their shared loft Elsa could finally see that her best friend had been crying recently. “I should have known. I’m sorry.” She walked away, pressing the concrete rose closer to her chest, and disappeared into her room.

January 20, 2021

Though their relationship had hit an all-time low, Elsa felt it was wrong not going to Anna’s performance. She still very much wanted to support her best friend even if they still weren’t talking all that much. But Anna smiled at her the other day and that… gave Elsa hope somehow? Either way, it was enough to get her to stop being a coward and show up to the performance.

She arrived at the auditorium just in time to see Anna walk on to the stage, but not with enough time to find a seat. So she stood by the entrance awkwardly as the music began playing through the speakers. What conspired for the next five minutes was the most poignant expression of heartbreak and longing that Elsa had ever seen in dance form.

It started off as a simple ballroom dance, and though Anna had no partner you wouldn’t realize it in the way she moved. But her mystery partner continued to pull away no matter how many times Anna chased after them. When the partner disappeared, Anna continued to dance alone and while her moves were perfect and calculated, she let her posture slump with every break in the song. By the end, she’s nearly dragging herself along the floor hoping to make it to the end of the song, all the while reaching out for someone. Something. The song ends with her laying on the floor breathing heavily and the audience erupting in applause.

And for the first time in a very long time, Elsa felt a jolt of inspiration.

February 15, 2021

Elsa sat by the base of her sculpture. The judges had come to talk to her long ago and spectators were slowly trickling out of the building, but she couldn’t leave yet. In fact, she’d wait all night long for Anna if she had to. The note she left underneath Anna’s door even said so.

This had to be the fastest yet most detailed sculpture she’d ever created and there were no doubts as to what inspired her. Time continued to tick away, and Elsa continued to sit.

Finally, after an eternity, she saw the familiar silhouette of her best friend walking through the door. She was wearing the same skirt and blouse that made Elsa fall in love with her in the first place.

Quietly, Anna closed the gap until they were a couple of feet apart. “I got your note,” she said softly.

Elsa nodded, “I watched your performance.”

“Oh, I… I’m sorry. I didn’t see you.”

“I was in the back of the auditorium. But it was beautiful, I’ve never seen anyone move like you do. I’ve never seen anyone express heartbreak like you did.” Elsa wrung her hands together, “I’m sorry if this is inappropriate, but did you and Hans…”

Anna nodded, “A couple of months ago, actually. But my performance, it… wasn’t about him.”

“It wasn’t?”

“No, it…” Anna took her first glimpse at Elsa’s sculpture and it completely threw her off. “Oh my god.”

Immortalized in concrete was Anna in a stunning ball gown, her face content while she swayed in the arms of her dance partner. Except unlike the gladiator sculpture, Anna’s partner was completely visible.

And it was Elsa.

“I know it’s a little forward, but it didn’t feel right having you dance alone,” Elsa replied. And with much less confidence, she added, “Is that okay?”

Anna looked at her, confusion settled on her face. But then that confusion chipped away slowly but surely until a beautiful smile was seen in its place. “It’s perfect,” Anna replied, “Y-you did it again.”

Elsa blushed, “Well, I do have a pretty wonderful muse.”

“Well, I think that muse owes you dinner. What do you say?” Anna reached out her hand, eyes telling her that this was what she wanted.

“She doesn’t owe me anything.” Elsa took her hand and a lovely, warm feeling enveloped her. “But I’d be glad to go with her.”

Anna squeezed her hand and said, “Then it’s a date.”

Elsa’s sculpture won first place that day.

#elsanna #submission #august 2021 contest #prompt: flowers

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