#i understand people's reaction to the old tricks line
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ninyard · 25 days ago
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thea for character ask?👀
How do I feel about this character?
i dont have much of an opinion of her except for the fact that i think she's huge wasted potential for the series and how it relates to Kevin.
It could've survived without her, to be totally honest, and the fan hate making Nora decide to essentially remove her from any possible future appearances has kind of turned her into a bit of an unnecessary accessory to the plot instead of a meaningful character?? if that makes sense?? but i don't hate her. she barely crosses my radar bc im so not interested in drama lol
All the people I ship with this character?
Kevin ofc. Kathea because it's funny (is that the right name for it???). Allison because i love hot women
My non-romantic otp for this character?
i. do not have one <3
my unpopular opinion about this character
I really just don't think about her that much. it's suuuuch a waste of my energy to feel any sort of way about her
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beautifulterriblequeen · 9 months ago
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TDP rewatch: autistic Soren?
I spent a lot of time going along with everyone else saying that Soren was a big dumbass. And for that, I would now like to apologize. I don’t think Soren’s dumb. I think he’s autistic. 
As an autistic person, I feel bad for not spotting this earlier. But, like Soren, I do have a tendency to believe what I’m told, especially when everyone is saying the same thing. And this may not be canon, ever, but that’s okay. I see Soren in a new light now, and I know that light. (Gods, S3 is really gonna wreck me now)
He doesn’t get sarcasm. He takes Rayla’s “obviously” sarcastic comment at face value. He’s also not good with metaphor, taking a long time to grasp “butter them up.” Once he’s figured out what he should do--lie about the king--he does a very bad job of it because the emotions he needs to embrace to sell the lie aren’t familiar to him.
He’s very good with rules. A father who needed a son who was rooted in the narrative of strength could easily have trained an autistic child to bind himself within those rules form a young age. It’ll be very hard for Soren to question rules that he consciously chose to follow himself.
He doesn’t understand the shifting of loyalties. First he’s a loyal Crownguard, and then he’s supposed to detain Callum because his dad asked him to? Soren’s genuinely confused.
He still chooses to protect Callum when the assassins attack, even shoving him to safety from Runaan’s arrow, because those old rules of loyalty to the royal family haven’t been shifted.
He’s also slow to react to the arrow striking him. He takes precious reaction time to study it closely. He’s probably never seen a Moonshadow assassin’s arrow before. It telescopes in three places. It’s green. It probably smells faintly of poison. Soren’s possibly also never been shot before. All these physical details are hitting him at once, all with equal force, and it takes him a moment to sort through them, process them, and remember that the arrow means the assassins have arrived.
He spends time and effort trying to speak others’ languages, but he doesn’t always get it right. He knows Claudia’s nose trick but he can’t perfectly replicate it. He misinterprets Rayla’s angry intent as personal interest. He really tries to connect with his dad by offering his “see-saw” comment (which is actually right on the money as far as the show’s themes are concerned). 
He’s oddly focused on the difference between a prince and a “step-prince.” Not in a mean way, though. He thinks it means he’s paying attention to small details, which people often like. Not particularly in this case, though.
He really does just want to fit in. He does whatever Viren says because he wants to be accepted, not just as Viren’s son but as a not-weird, not-useless person.
Claudia’s the one who makes the jokes. He happily lets her lead on the mission to Mount Kaelik and has no ego attached to being in charge of her.
He’s really awkward with his brotherly feels when he calls her “weep-ridden” and offers to help by punching Callum. Autistics can struggle with language, especially in unfamiliar emotional territory and under stress.
He hyperfocuses on being a Crownguard, though, which is why he’s so good at it, and why he’s in charge. He does nothing but train. He loves being a Crownguard. He knows that role inside and out. He knows when to order men into position, and he knows when to shut up and hand the king his sword.
He insists that sweeping the leg is not a thing, though, because it’s outside his training. None of the Crownguard instructors taught him that, and so it is outside the rules. 
When he votes that Corvus is a traitor and gets Claudia to vote with him, he’s reinforcing the rules that he learned. The black-and-white shield on his armor isn’t just an indicator that he’s straddling the line between good and evil and will one day have to make a choice. It’s showing the way Soren sees the world: everything is either inside the rules, or outside them. Soren doesn’t see gray areas. But he might learn to very soon.
He’s cheerily cold-blooded about lopping Runaan’s head off and trying to kill Rayla because empathy is a strange animal for autistic folks. Sometimes it’s really high, and sometimes it’s nonexistent, even within the same person. Between a low empathy for elves and his Crownguard training, Soren legitimately doesn’t see any problem with killing them, even at the age of 18.
He knows the rules on how to deal with dragons: you fight them. And he gets a whole town torched. He was entirely unprepared. But his ego wasn’t in this fight. He freed Corvus because he understands that a Crownguard’s job is to protect Katolis, and that includes the townsfolk. And he admitted his mistake to Claudia because filters are hard under stress, and the truth just pops out like that.
When he’s paralyzed, Soren has no ego attached to remaining a Crownguard, either. His hyperfocus has broken. He was growing increasingly stressed by his dad’s secret mission. And he immediately seeks a new hyperfocus: poetry. He gives it a shot, and he’s terrible at it. He hasn’t actually internalized any poetry rules yet. He’d become a good poet pretty quickly, if he had the chance. But Claudia came to heal him instead.
As S2 ends and the siblings head home together, Soren has no plan anymore. He has no rules for what’s gonna happen, and he can’t anticipate Viren’s reaction but he expects it’ll be bad. He asks Claudia for help in understanding what his parameters should be, because that’s a long trip home, and that’s a lot of time spent worrying over scenarios that he has to consider because he can’t narrow it down--every possibility is a legitimate possibility to him.
[unfinished tdp meta]
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dirtyoldmanhole · 1 year ago
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revelation ch24.
here we go man. whoof.
all right, so corrin & co are in anankos' castle now.
lights turn off, corrin realizes she's walked in a trap and then we get this sick cutscene of hoshidan queen mikoto, corrin's (biological) mother.
possessed, of course.
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mikoto's cool as hell.
she also gets a raw as hell deal in fates considering the first time she meets her child way back in uhhh ch8?, corrin's still shellshocked from krakenburg/"losing" gunter/being re-kidnapped by hoshido. corrin's not in any state to believe a word she says. mikoto's actually much less pushy than the other hoshidans who are all 'sisterrrrr!!' and lets corrin have some space.
... and then mikoto dies right after.
little bit awkward when this is the first reaction from corrin when they meet again.
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you see corrin's desperation of clinging so tightly to the idea that an anankos possession = loved ones aren't themselves at all. nice, easy, clean, still heartbreaking, but you can convince yourself to kill the person more easily by reducing them to a thing.
its a trick old as time.
(this also hurts a lot more when you think about the fridge horror of corrin not having any real consistent parental figures around her whole life.)
(except uhhh..... ahem.)
corrin tries to attack mikoto but then pulls back at the last minute.
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..... oh hell.
ohhhh helllllllllll.
i just realized queen mikoto's a perfect halfway between garon/scarlet/arete and gunter in terms of possession mechanics.
garon/scarlet/arete - their will is not their own, once possessed. once possessed, they're essentially "dead" and genuinely only exist as a lifeless puppet. ironically, corrin's "i will not believe you" reaction is the healthiest for this type. they're gone. they ain't coming back.
mikoto - "even as a puppet of anankos, my spirit is my own". clear understanding she's possessed, and dies immediately after anankos' spirit leaves her, but she still has enough will to herself that she attempts to help out corrin verbally. this is when corrin's 'she's dead la la la' backfires on her terribly and the rug gets pulled under her in terms of 'oh shit i'm not prepared for this amount of emotional horror'
gunter - has his own mind/willpower to the point corrin could not tell he was possessed. straight up explicitly says there's no separation between him and anankos, and makes no attempt to un-blur that line or as to "when" anankos takes hold. corrin's reaction is.... well. we're getting there.
* now of course, if you've read the super secret JP-only line from the pelucid crystal artbook, you know that nintendo probably intended gunter's possession to "start" when garon force-fed him the dragon's blood before the northern fortress days. i actually am on the fence about incorporating that line in my interpretation of the character as imo i actually prefer his characterization without it - there's something about the idea of him being slo-owly tempted by anankos and not resisting that hits in a different way.
so ironically, mikoto's "different tier" of possession happening now is rather brilliant in that it's fates' subtly telling you 'hey hey anankos can influence people in different ways. heads up.'
this is important since in the FE series as a whole, possession is usually a very un-subtle 'somebody else jumps in the driver's seat and the old mind is booted out/killed permanently.'
there's a lot of fridge brilliance in a more subtle handling.
as we'll uh.
learn.
rather intimately ~~~
ch24's gameplay mechanics is an optional stealth mission where you can opt to take mikoto's advice that she says right after the above conversation (take the blue doors until you have to fight her), versus fighting your whole way through the level.
the fun stuff happens post-chapter.....
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dragonflavoredcake · 3 years ago
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In Defense of Beauty and the Beast
It makes me mad to still see people talking about how Beauty and the Beast is about Stockholm Syndrome.
No. Just no. The story doesn't line up with Stockholm Syndrome. Belle does not fall for Adam (aka the Beast) while he's still being horrible to her. Early example:
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She does not give him an INCH. He's bellowing and demanding she come to dinner or starve, and she stands her ground. Most people would give in. Belle is not most people. She will not be forced to do anything she doesn't want to, and if you try, you're gonna end up facedown in the mud.
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She only starts being nice to Adam after he risks and nearly sacrifices his life to save hers. They had the option to completely split and forget about each other after the West Wing scene (and may I say Belle is hella manipulative in tricking Cogsworth and Lumiere to head off without her, she would be a terrifying villain). Adam could've let Belle vanish into the night, but he didn't. Belle could've left Adam to die in the snow and gone back to her father, but she didn't.
This is a major turning point in their relationship, but even then, she isn't nice when he's mean. When he yells at her while she's patching him up, she yells right back, and he can't even argue that the whole issue started because of his refusal to control his temper.
Since it's Disney, they fall in love over the course of a song.
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Early movie Adam would never try to feed the birds. It's not a completely 180, he still gets frustrated when the birds won't fly into his hands, but Belle helps him out and helps him get that one bird to eat from his hands before he's covered in them. Belle watches from behind a tree for a part of this. Adam doesn't realize she's watching him, but he still entertains the birds. He doesn't become uninterested or shoo them away when he thinks she's not watching.
Belle throws a snowball and starts a snowball fight. Again, early movie Adam would never. Midmovie Adam joins in enthusiastically.
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(Perhaps a little too enthusiastically, if that giant snowball is anything to go by.)
And can we talk about this little scene?
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They're having porridge, Belle is eating it with a spoon like a proper French lady, and Adam is basically eating like a dog. Belle averts her eyes because awkward, and Adam sees her reaction and picks up his own spoon. A spoon that's much too small for his giant paws. A spoon he's visibly uncomfortable picking up. He can't effectively eat with it, and he looks absolutely ridiculous, but he tries.
And Belle sees him trying, so she finds a middle ground: drinking the porridge. No need for silverware, but still more suitable for polite society than eating like a dog.
Again, Adam is making a genuine effort for unselfish reasons, and that is when Belle really warms up to him. They spend the whole of Something There becoming friends and then falling in love. 
Tale as Old as Time is the big romantic number, and you know what? Belle leads most of it. The dance was her idea; Adam agreed and arranged for it to happen. She comes down the staircase first, and Adam has to meet her where she stands.
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They eat dinner beforehand (where Adam successfully uses a spoon!), and Belle's the one who pulls Adam to the dance floor. Yes, she's in following position, but she's guiding him, placing his hands as they get into position. When Adam gets over his nerves and is ready to take the lead, she lets him.
There's the thing about ballroom dance: you can't dance with an unwilling partner. You also can't dance with a control freak. If I'm in lead position, I have to trust that my partner will understand what I want them to do and execute it well. If I'm in following position, I have to trust that my partner will correctly signal what moves they want and won't try to make me do anything that makes me uncomfortable. There's no micromanaging in dance—if you try to control someone else's movement, you're going to completely ruin both their part of the dance and yours.
All this makes the big emotional moment hurt: when Adam lets Belle go. This is also where the Stockholm Syndrome theory entirely shatters: everything leading up to this point has involved Adam completely relinquishing what little control he had over Belle and losing the drive to demand that control. He respects her and doesn't want to control her. When she passes through the castle gates, she leaves Adam's influence entirely.
Adam really doesn't leave the castle. He never really expects Belle to come back. He lets her go because Maurice is important to Belle, and he can't find it in him anymore to force her to stay. It's hardly even a question of whether to let her go, even though it's such a searing loss that he won't even defend himself or give order to defend the castle from Gaston's army.
He won't even defend himself against Gaston until he sees Belle down in the courtyard. As he's lying there, dying, he expresses shock that Belle came back. And it's THEN that we get the magic "I love you."
That's also why the end isn't completely cheap. No, I don't really like Adam's human design, I think it's a little too symmetrical and "perfect" (especially in the "big reveal" turnaround shot), but the whole "stare into his eyes" shot is meant to establish that Belle can tell that he's the same person she saw grow from a selfish brat into a respectful and selfless man. If he'd just been some handsome rando or a reset to pre-curse Adam, she wouldn't have kissed him.
When the transformation first happens, she's scared. She backs away because she doesn't recognize him. She reaches out to him, but draws her hand back because she doesn't know if that's her Adam. But then . . .
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"It is you!"
That's the line that seals it. Belle wants the Adam she fell in love with, the Adam who struggled with spoons, the Adam who gave her a library, the Adam who worked to improve himself and let her take the lead.
She completely left his sphere of influence and came back on her own. If Belle didn't love Adam, she could've let Gaston's army kill him. If Adam didn't love Belle, he wouldn't have agreed so quickly to let her go care for Maurice when it clearly hurt him so much.
Belle doesn't love Adam because she was manipulated or because he turned handsome. She loves him because he grew into a better person who was her perfect partner and complement.
I will now get off my soapbox
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tomhiddelstonandzaynmalik · 3 years ago
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Can we talk about Blackbeard's beard not being... Black
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The FISRT time I saw Taika come on screen as the Legendary Blackbeard my first reaction was 'Oh! Would you look at that! His beard is grey!' And to me, at first glances, just made sense bc prior to this moment we get a bit of exposition about who Blackbeard is.
A ghost/demon guy with smoke instead of a head and glowing red eyes. And I was like 'Well, this makes so much sense! His beard is ashy grey, so long and thick it covers half his face and just like smoke, it flows all over the place because of the wind.' So it's just logical that people would create stories like that one. And obviously it would have been the reason why the costume department would choose to go in that direction.
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But upon further investigation, thought and as the show progressed I started to think, 'Well this can't be just because of that' Specially after how throughout the show they kept repeating how Blackbeard hates this stupid image people have of him and how he doesn't even understand it because as he says 'My beard hasn't been black since I was young' (or something along those lines, can't remember the actual dialogue) When conforting Stede who's concerned with how they had him cut his precious beard and how they practically eradicated Blackbeard.
And to me, it just clicked. The decision of going against the true black wig and beard, instead choosing to mix different shades of gray and even white (which not only suited Taika's real hair perfectly making it look incredibly natural bc of it). Had a greater reason. This wasn't just for the aesthetics, or to keep up the myth of his smoky head. This was to age Blackbeard, enough for the audience to see him and be like 'yup that ain't no 30 y/o.. This man right here has seen shit, he knows stuff, he has been around!!!' This man right here, this clearly not-so-young pirate has not only learned emotional intelligence but also to open up, live and most importantly... love!
Love new things, new people and obviously this weird little fancy man!
Showing us that the saying 'You can't teach an old dog new tricks' is stupid AF.
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subwaysurf45 · 4 years ago
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Tech problems (bucky x reader)
Summary: bucky doesn’t know how to work the TV, his new phone, anything. After getting made fun if he wants to quit but the reader helps him out.
Pairing: bucky barns x reader
Warning: mentions of death near the end, but it’s mostly fluff
Masterlist!
Bucky stood at the counter in the kitchen, full weight leaning on the concrete slab that most people ate off of. His eyebrows were basically touching as he fiddled with his phone that Tony just gave him, he just couldn’t figure it out for the life of him.
“Hey, old guy!” Tony walked in, “whatcha doing?” He walked over and peered over Bucky’s shoulder.
“Trying to…” his brain wasn’t focused on completing the sentence, more on creating an e-mail.
“I see,” Tony snatched the phone from Bucky’s hands and turned his back to him, Bucky tried to see what he was doing but Tony kept walking around. A little bit of anger grew inside him because Tony seemed just fine at working with tech- everyone did.
Steve had walked in, “Tony, what are you doing?” His voice was tired and annoyed, he already knew what was happening simply from the way Bucky looked longingly at Steve. “Tony-“
“Ah-ta-ta, let me help him.” Tony smirked, his voice dripping in sarcasm. “I’m doing it all for him, aaaand- done!” He turned and slapped the phone in the table, it looked like everyone else’s.
“What did you do to it?” Bucky asked, his anger coming through in his tone.
“Nothing, tin man- old man- silver hair, just nothing.” He seemed like he was telling the truth, “i just did it so you wouldn’t keep annoying me and asking so many god damn questions, jeez.” Tony scoffed and walked away, Bucky didn’t pick up the phone, rather stare at it.
“How stupid am I?” Bucky asked, “really, like you got this figured out in less than a week, Tony told me when I asked for the Bluetooth password.”
“Wifi.” Steve corrected.
“What?” Bucky looked over, “same thing, who cares…” Bucky waved him off, his head snapped up at Steve suppressing a laugh, his stomach sank, “what?” His voice light and almost a whisper.
“It’s not the same thing, very much not the same thing.” He laughed, Bucky sighed, he’d had enough of this. Bucky picked up the phone and walked down the hall, “oh, come on! I’m having fun with you!” Steve laughed.
~~~
You wiped the sweat from your forehead, training with Nat had just ended and you were heading back to your shared room with Bucky. As you walked past the kitchen you saw Steve looking at nothing, he hand kept his head up.
“Why the long face?” You panted, still needing to catch your breath.
“I made fun of Bucky, he’s mad now.” His mouth barley moved, the sentence was muffled.
“About what?” You asked softly but you were still mad, he made fun of your boyfriend.
“Him not knowing how to use tech,” Steve looked up and saw your jaw drop, “what?”
“Literally last night he was so upset because he called me when I was training and he used the emergency signal, so I came running to our room and he had no idea.” You looked towards the bedrooms, “he was so upset with himself that he made me scared, he was all in his head. I need to go check up on him,” you sighed and turned to go to your room; that hot shower had to wait.
Once you made it to your room you softly knocked on the door, “Bucky?” You called, when you heard a hum you opened the door a jar, seeing him slumped over with his phone in his hands. “Hey, babe.” He seemed to break out of his thoughts when you placed a hand on his back.
“Hi, doll face.” He tried to smile, “how’s training?” He looked over to you as you sat beside him.
“Very long and very tiring,” you chuckled, you knew if you asked how he was doing he might get mad or breakdown, “Steve told me what happened, he seemed sad when I was in the kitchen.” Your hand started to rub his upper back, making sure you didn’t hit any scars through the shirt. “You wanna talk about it?” His phone was still on the home page, all the apps were downloaded but you knew he didn’t do that himself.
“I don’t know anything,” he sighed, “i don’t know how to work my phone, the microwave, the TV…I don’t know how to use the system thing in here properly, I can barley understand cars these days, that’s why I use the motorcycle because they didn’t change much but-… y/n, everyone thinks it so funny, the old guy who doesn’t know jack shit about tech.” He slumped forward.
“I don’t think it’s funny,” you moved up to the back of his neck, knowing he likes when you get under into his scalp.
“You’re different.” He stated.
“How so?”
“Because you’ve never been mean to anyone, you’re this shining star, you’re a light and you’re never mean.” His eyes left his phone and he looked at your leg, not wanting to make eye contact after saying that.
Your heart melted, his lips turned up at the quickly kiss to his cheek. He looked over and kissed you back, your hands wrapped around his neck and his pulled your waist in. After pulling away your foreheads rested on one another’s.
“Let me teach you, yeah?” You whispered, “no jokes. No funny business. As long as you need, I’ll go through it all.” You leaned back and waiting for his response.
“I don’t wanna make you go through-“
“Nope. Final rule, no self-doubt.” You smiled, his lip pouted out and he tried to cover his face and blush.
“Okay,” he nodded, “teach me.”
“Not right now,” you laughed, Bucky quirked a brow, “I’m tired and sweaty and I feel gross, also, I would like some cuddles.” You stood and grabbed your towel and a change of comfy clothes, “tomorrow.”
~~~
It was the next day, Bucky sat on the bed as you walked around the TV in your shared room, deep down he wanted to take some notes but he knew if anyone found them, he’d never hear the end of it.
“So let’s start basic,” you stood in front of the blank TV, “let’s say you’ve lost he remote, this is how you control it. Right here,” you pointed to the circle with a line through the top symbol, “that is the universal signal for on and off, look for that. Then, once you’ve pressed it here is the little notches for the volume and then the channel notches.” You pointed as you went along the bottom of the screen.
“Sounds easy,” Bucky muttered more to himself.
“But we have a remote, here, same little symbol, on and off. There, that’s the volume, and the big circle can help navigate up and down, side to side.” You showed him up close, “lots of these buttons will never be used, so I won’t really go through them.” You waved it off. “Okay, test number one, turn of the tv.” You passed the remote.
“Okay…” bucky clicked the button with the symbol he now knew and the screen lit up, some random cartoon played, “yes!” He shit up and jumped, quickly catching himself he sat back down.
“Can you change the channel for me?” You asked, a smirk on your face from his reaction before, he clicked the channel button and it went to the news. “And turn it up, please.”
“Easy,” he smiled and clicked, no sound came out. “What?” He clicked again and the sound came back, but not louder.
“You hit the mute button, use the long button here,” you pointed, he clicked up and it went up one level, after catching on and holding it the volume kept going up, “Bucky-“ you tried to warn but the volume cut out completely.
“Shit.” He stood up, Bucky fiddled with the notches on the actual TV but nothing happened. “What did I do?” His face i genuine terror, “did I break it, oh god, Tony’s gonna get some mad.”
“You blew out the speakers,” after observing the smoke coming out from the side of the TV that was the only possible answer.
“I knew i’d mess it up, I get so cocky, I really thought I had it.” He paced around, tugging his hair.
“Don’t worry, it’ll all be fine,” you calmed him and sat him in the bed, “it’s hard at first but it will only get easier.” You smiled before pulling him into a hug, you could feel his sigh of defeat as he hugged back.
You both headed out to the kitchen, Bucky still in a mood from breaking the TV a couple minutes ago. You both had some coffee, yours with a little milk.
“Hello, lovebirds.” Tony walked in, Bucky looked right at his feet and tried not to look awkward. “What’s up with cyborg over here?” Tony giggled.
“Nothing,” you dipped your coffee, Bucky just nodded along.
“I got a notification that the speakers in your room were blown out,” Tony teased, Bucky stiffened and inches closer to you, “what happened?”
Bucky looked up, his mouth open and about to talk. You gently placed a hand on his chest and looked him in the eye, a way of saying ‘I got this’.
“I sat in the remote, turns out my ass poked it right at the volume and I couldn’t figure it out in time.” You laughed, Bucky looked at you crazy before forcing one out.
Tony hunched over, “I can picture that, oh wow- I wish I was there!” He cackled before turning away and walking down the hall, “it’ll be fixed by tomorrow!” He called over his shoulder.
~~~
It was lonely without you, it was very rare you’d go in missions without Bucky but also rare you’d go alone. It was a simple infiltrate, you were more on the espionage rather than Captain America side of powers. 
Bucky had tired to talk to Steve about letting someone go with you, this mission would involve zero contact with the base. But no one listened, it was always going to be you.
It had been a month, three quarters done with the they needed. The tech lesions had to be halted, you weren’t there to teach and Bucky refused to let anyone tell him anything about the tech in his room.
“If only you could see me, babe…” he whispered as he worked the TV, that was the only thing he knew, and he was great at it. Last week he recorded a show, he was never going to watch it, but it as recorded. He almost had a heart attack when the remote stopped working, but it just ran out of batteries.
After doing all the cool tricks he knew he looked over to your side of the bed, it was neatly made and seemed untouched. Whenever you’d be fine for even a night he’d sleep on the ground, but he promised he’d sleep on the bed, but he never rolled over or even sat on your side.
The one thing he missed was the way your shampoo stunk up the whole bed in a good way, when he’d wake up the morning after you’d showered he’d could smell your lavender shampoo right away, it almost puts him back to sleep. But as the days went on, it faded.
Bucky looked around before gently placing his face your pillow, almost like an afterthought of your sent came through; just barley there. His face hovered before he gave in and relaxed on it, he knew if he’d roll around the sent would fade quicker, he didn’t really care.
There was a hard spot on your pillow, he reached under and found a green spiral notebook. It didn’t have anything in the cover, once he opened it a gasp fell from his lips.
It was a notebook, for every piece of tech in the house. From his phone to how F.R.I.D.A.Y. works, it was all there. Intricate diagrams that where labeled, one page had everything he needed to know.
Bucky’s phone sat face down in his bedside table, he flipped the that page and looked it over. He picked up his phone and read through it all, slightly muttering then words that were written to himself like he was being taught.
“Okay, you got this,” he said as he pressed the on button, as he navigated around he learned how to add a contact, send and text, google, the a picture, send an email. Everything.
~~~
You walked into the compound completely exhausted, one black eye layer, the base had been infiltrated. You went to your mission report computer and Tony was there, he gave you your phone.
“Connect back to the wifi,” he nodded before leaving you to connect.
Once you were fully back online your phone began to buzz, over and over. Tons of notifications rolled in. You went to emails first.
From: bucky
To: y/n
Subject: test?
Hellooooooo this is a test, don’t worry about it!
You laughed and scrolled through the other emails, finding out they were all kind of the same, then you went to text messages.
There was a selfie of him holding the green book, his smile couldn’t have been wider. He sent three, probably by accident. But they were still cute.
So I figured hit text!
Kinda cool
I found the book, it was like Christmas
Anyway, I know you won’t read this but I think I’ll try the oven next, I’ll ask wanda about it.
As the texts went on, your heart started to drop and your stomach swirled. They had been getting progressively sadder.
Hey doll face, I hope you’re well, miss you
I miss you
I love you
I wanna marry you one day, maybe live on farm and have a few kids
If you want
Sent: two months ago
I finished your book, I think I know it all now, I’ve been going over those tests you put in the back sleeve, they’re really good
You’re very thoughtful
I know you can’t see this
I don’t know what to do with myself, this is very hard.
Sent: one month ago
Are you dead?
I had a dream you died in my arms, and I can’t tell if it was a flashback or a dream
I hope you’re not
I love you too much
Please come home
Please
I really need you
I wish I never learn how to use this shit, honestly, I can’t seem to put my phone down because this is all I have if you right now. I keep checking it to see if you’ve responded but I know you haven’t, but part of me wants you to respond so I know you’re alive.
I’m not ready to say goodbye to you yet.
Sent: 24 hours ago
You slammed the phone down and raced down the hall, you passed the kitchen and everyone who smiled at you because they hadn’t seen you in three months, they probably also thought you were dead.
You stopped right before the door, you could hear soft whimpers coming from inside.
“I miss you,” the voice was muffled.
You opened the door silently, you saw Bucky lying right next to your side of the bed, it was still perfectly made. You also saw what looked like glass shattered by the wall, a closer look and it was his phone.
“Bucky?” You asked.
His head shot up and he sat up straight, after wiping his face he ran right over to you. His hug pushed you back on the floor, he just stayed there.
“Don’t ever do that again, please.” His voice was still shaken, “I can’t go through that again.”
“Never again, i was so worried when I saw your text a minuet ago.” You whispered and ran your fingers through his hair.
“Your name in my phone, your the only one.” He sniffled, “it was like it was taunting me, I got really mad and I threw it.” He hugged you tighter, “you were supposed to come home two days ago.” He cried.
“I know,” you housed him and sat up, as he pulled away he saw your bruised face, his thumb gently traced the purple mark.
“I don’t want a phone, I like knowing about it, but I’ll only ever borrow yours.” He seemed like he was pledging something, like an oath.
“Done deal,” you pulled him in for a long kiss, hoping it would never end.
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divinamour · 2 years ago
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this shit? THIS SHIT!? SO BACK IN THE DAY, ANGELA WAS INTERVIEWING PEOPLE FOR HER BLOG, AND LOKI DECIDED TO BE ON IT!
LUKER SAT DOWN WITH ME FOR A GOOD LONG BACK AND FORTH AND WE GAVE THE VIEWERS THE LOOK AT LOKI THAT THEY DESERVED.
We covered: Her presence in the Asgardian Hierarchy, how she doesn't photograph and film well due to her nature, her LORE, almost becoming Sorcerer Supreme, beating Ragnarok back, we merged Marvel Lore and Luker Lore seamlessly and flawlessly and it was RAW!
And there were so many banger lines along the way. You know which ones sing out for me?
ask all of us, ask every single one of us who was ever called a villain what we did to deserve it. we were all told what we were before we had a choice, and when we reacted, that was what we became. that is what we are. what i am. a reaction. a consequence. a self-fulfilling prophecy from someone else’s lips. i therefore cannot apologize for when i am what is expected. whatever someone thinks is loki, they will always be right, and they will always be wrong. i am their perception and my reality. an optical illusion… a trick of the light. a trick played against myself.”
GET THE FUCK ON 'YOU KNOW I CAN'T WRITE'. THIS IS A CLINIC!! THIS IS A MASTERCLASS! THIS IDEA HAS CARRIED ON THROUGH YOUR WRITING AND MINE. THESE ARE WORDS I LOOK AT WHEN I'M WRITING RAMSES WITH YOU BECAUSE THESE WORDS ARE IN HER HEAD FROM WEARING LOKI'S DIADEM.
I NEVER TELL YOU THIS, BECAUSE I DON'T WANNA BLOW UP YOUR SPOT, BUT EVER SINCE WE PLOTTED RAMSES GETTING A HINT OF LOKI, I GO BACK TO OUR OLD THREADS AND TRY TO INJECT AN UNDERSTANDING OF THESE THINGS, IDEATIONS OF T HESE TRUTHS AND IDEALS. BECAUSE THEY'RE POWERFUL AND IMMMUTABLE AND I LOVE READING YOUR *GOOD* WRITING. WHICH IS TO SAY ALL OF IT!
Except wanting to mount Shaw. I just don't get that, he's a little too Bear for me, I can't suspend enough disbelief there, but that's a personal thing, that's not on you.
*HRAUNWYF
loki has to consciously rein in the snarling curl of her mouth that answers angela’s list of titles—maybe she should count herself lucky, calm herself by virtue of the fact that not a single one of them alluded to the serpent, an identification she finds repulsive. they all think they’re so clever. asgard has lost itself so deeply it’s forgotten what the venom even means.
the way they’ve forgotten what she means. or maybe they just never knew. any of it, any of it ever.
“yes, i was offered the mantle once. the rest of the world left me to the void, of course, but victor made certain i was safe, and eternity even found me worthy of that reward. obviously i refused—imagine if i was in that position. i show up in the cape and all the heroes turn on me instead? no, thank you. once a villain, always a villain.”
her voice imperceptibly shakes, something she can feel more than can be heard. there’s no way for her to know who will actually see this interview—who will listen to what she says, who will care enough to bear even the slightest witness beyond angela herself and her razor-sweet questioning. the question of who loki is, fundamentally, the question of evil, and what it is that festers inside her and where it came from.
“you know—i am a villain. i must have always been, since i’ve always been punished like one. i was kidnapped as an infant, colonized as a child to try and stamp the evil out. beaten to shit for every failure, no success good enough, pitted against my brothers and demanded to sacrifice myself, my own children cut from my belly or stolen from their mothers. why would i be treated as such unless i were evil from birth? born a villain unto a race of villains. my own blood carrying that horror, and odin so noble and selfless as to try and rid me, and the world, of it. and i, i am so angry, and i am so fucking incensed by all of it that i can’t help but be exactly what he’s tried to contain. it couldn’t have been helped, you see. i was never humble. couldn’t keep my fucking head down.”
what is on her lips looks very nearly like mirth, though her california girl lilt has transformed, now concise and oracular, lydian to phrygian, discordant. here, again, is a truth she will tell to be laughed away. and it isn’t only her. 
“neither could any of the others. ask all of us, ask every single one of us who was ever called a villain what we did to deserve it. we were all told what we were before we had a choice, and when we reacted, that was what we became. that is what we are. what i am. a reaction. a consequence. a self-fulfilling prophecy from someone else’s lips. i therefore cannot apologize for when i am what is expected. whatever someone thinks is loki, they will always be right, and they will always be wrong. i am their perception and my reality. an optical illusion… a trick of the light. a trick played against myself.”
A kiss blown to the sky, in between breaths, for Eternity. He was still ‘in recovery’, bless his eternal essence… and he’d be right back on the bench when Angela got through with him. Offer Loki a highly vaunted cosmic position and DON’T tell your gossip-mongering niece?
She’s a smart comment to make about appearances being everything. If she’d shown up in the cape, rocking the eye and the boots, doing the weird stuff with her hands, any 'hero’ types would HAVE to treat her with the respect they deserved, right? The smartness of the comment is quickly revealed to be non-existent, however.
This was why they’d gone into the close-up. This was MONEY! Blood money, to be painfully accurate, but it would pay the bills either way. A horribly personal recant of Loki’s upbringing, her trauma, her asshole 'parents’… The veil’s been slipped and its her fault. Good job, Angela.
    “…I’m sorry.” Is it fucked up that she means it? She learned to lie before she’d learned to talk, it wasn’t advisable to trust a single breath she let go of… but here she’s being honest. “I’m sorry the 'most wise’ and the 'most divine’ couldn’t think to treat you like a soul and not a plague. You didn’t deserve- don’t. You don’t deserve that.”
She can see, out of the corner of her eye, her totally-not-bewitched producer signaling to push the interview forward. Dead air was one thing, emotional dead air was another, but…
    “There’s a difference between evil and forced antagonism. Cletus Kassidy, Tony Twist, Jack Napier… those people are evil. The woman in front of me is not.” She’s taking the 'will always be right’ angle and leaving the other half behind. “If you’ve made it this far into the interview, I’m sure you’d agree with me. If not, you might as well click away… 'cause the opposite won’t be entertained here.”
A moment to sip at her ganne ka, and accept a well-timed tissue to dab at her eyes. Gosh. “I’m gonna skip the childhood questions, hope you don’t mind, and get into your life on Earth. Ever since kicking Ragnarok’s ass and recovering from it, what have you been up to? Besides flexing on Doctor Doom, of course.”
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potteresque-ire · 4 years ago
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Commentary ~ Little Red Little Green Episode 18, “Fruits & Found Family”
Link to original post in Chinese, posted 2021/05/23. Link to official English translation.
(Disclaimer / Notes + Commentary under the cut!) (TW: possible eating disorder)
Disclaimer / Notes:
While the posts by Little Red Little Green (LRLG) are among my most favourite candies, I’d like to remind everyone that they are fake rumours, and should be read and enjoyed as such. ie, all CPN below!
The English translation linked above is the only one authorised by the Fake Rumour House; therefore, please treat all content below as a very casual, very *unofficial* convo between fellow turtle friends! ❤️💛💚
With Chinese being a highly region-specific language, my reactions to it is necessarily filtered through my background, which is, admittedly, somewhat removed from Gg’s, Dd’s and LRLG’s. However, it is not uncommon for even c-turtles (and several times, LRLG themselves) to be lost with what they read / heard due to regional differences ~ which reflects the reality of communicating in the Sinosphere. In fact, the regionality of the dialects used by different “characters” in LRLG’s dialogues is among the most critical elements that make these posts so authentic-sounding, and so difficult to replicate. A fun activity of following LRLG is to watch c-turtles patch their regional knowledge together, from local slangs to food choices, to make sense of what’s going on. 
Okay, with that all said *phew* ... onto the commentary! “p. X” refers to the panel number in the official English translation (there are 7 total in the Twitter post). 
p1. “Fairy”
Likely referring to the similarity between Gg’s current role for 玉骨遥 (The Longest Promise) and LWJ. Dd was praising Gg for being “fairy-like”; Chinese “fairies” (仙) have a certain style especially in visual media, similar to ... LWJ’s ~ otherworldly, white robes that billow in the wind, peaceful to the point of distant, scholarly, delicate. In between the lines, Gg likely said he was simply playing LWJ (hence, the ”act another me” in the translation), which Dd protested... and said Gg was simply playing himself. Whether that means DD IS NOT LWJ!!!!! 😡😡😡 or something else, we’ll know what we get to watch the show!
p1-p2. “Heat”
Yes about the Chang’e 嫦娥 reference!! Despite Houyi 后羿 shooting down 9/10 suns and saving the day, his wife is, indeed, more famous (and therefore the star, the more powerful one), because she’s frequently featured in Mid-Autumn festival art, along with her pet rabbit 玉兔 (”Jade Rabbit”),:
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(Chang’e with her bunny, traditional Chinese painting. Source.)
Below is Gg’s rendition of Chang’e / Jade Bunny pair ~ Chang’e being the superman in the drawing while Jade Bunny is crouching on the planet!! 
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Guess of the missing convo from Gg’s side: Gg had wanted to bring something to Hengdian (where the filming of The Longest Promise was taking place) to cool himself down, and Dd had said it wasn’t necessarily. Hence Dd’s “My bad my bad” and the promise to send that something to Gg.
The loveliest line in this segment for me—and for many c-turtles— is the one about white hair. Turning grey a common, but very old-fashioned way of expressing worry and poor Dd, who hasn’t even turned 24, is claiming he was turning white because he got so worried every time Gg complained about the heat (Aww). 
Turning grey with worry isn’t limited to romantic situations — it may happen to doting parents with wayward children, for example, or to ancient patriots over their crumbling kingdom. However, it’s also one of the more (very!) dramatic ways to communicate tragic love in Chinese fiction before Western influence allows “love”, as a term / word / character, to be used explicitly in writing romance. 
Here’s a little example, a little diversion that may be of interest. Those who are familiar with the Wuxia classic Return of the Condor Heroes 神雕俠侶 by Jin Yong 金庸, whether it’s the book or its numerous visual adaptations, may remember how the hero, Yang Guo 楊過, went white at his temples overnight after his Shifu and lover, Xiao Long Nv (小龍女), didn’t show up at the cliff at the end of his 16-year wait for her.  
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Set photo from a TV adaption of Return of the Condor Heroes, 1995. Turtles may find the actress playing the perenially white-wearing, calm-to-the point-of-aloof Xiao Long Nv, Carmen Li 李若彤, familiar ~ she also played Lan Yi in The Untamed. 
The 16-year wait, the invitation to Carmen to play Lan Zhan’s ancestor (when the two shared similarities in aesthetics and personality), were two of the three references from Return of the Condor Heroes I picked up from The Untamed (the last one was more specific—WWX mentioned Yang Guo’s master 獨孤求敗). This tribute is unconfirmed, but MXTX did say before that Jin Yong’s works were her inspiration. I also read a (small) discussion on whether LWJ’s hair carried a few pieces of white in the final episode, or if the lighter strands in it were a trick of the sunlight. (Here’s a screenshot of the approximate place to look!!) 
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While I lean towards the latter (the sunlight), turning white with worry, with love, is a tradition in Chinese storytelling. Here’s a little something I’ve noticed too, on this note ~ both in the actual interviews and in these fake rumours, Dd’s word choices, the way he conveys emotions are sometimes surprisingly traditional. It can be because of his background (which would require a study of how Luo Yang people and Koreans talk); it can be because the traditional way of talking allows for fewer words to be said, fewer things to have to be explicitly explained (example: LWJ), but the effect is that Dd has supplied the most romantic lines in LRLG’s posts because of that ~ romantic because it harks back to the rhythm, the themes of old poetry, of ancient stories that, as were true everywhere in the world, were about love. 
Okay, back to the rumour (and hoping Dd won’t look like Bad Wig Yang Guo in a few more summers!) ....
The line after the one about white hair ... the way I understand the original Chinese sentence is “Heat is The Reason”: ie, anything Dd wants Gg to do and Gg disagrees, Gg would use heat as The Reason (R) to not do it. This anything may be eating, for example, which also has a strong possibility as conventional Chinese wisdom says that heat causes people to lose appetite. Dd’s worry would therefore be: Gg refusing to eat because he claims it’s too hot to do so.
“Corny joke” ~ the Chinese for this is, literally, “cold 冷 joke 笑話”, which becomes a pun as the gzry (team members)’s joke was about the (cold) winter and black hair. So... Dd threw a corny joke to combat a corny joke :D .
p3. “Apple”
The first half I also had to rely on c-turtles to help me interpret what it meant! Regional dialects aside, LRLG has captured dls’s very quick wit, the way his ideas freely hop from one concept to the next and this hopping carries traditional + popular cultural references that I know only a fraction of, not being a local after all. 
I’ve read an additional interpretation of this segment: “big fruit” 大果兒 (as in dls: “Those are all big fruits, all big fruits”) is a Northern Chinese, traditional slang for women—dls might have connected that with the previous line in the convo about being Guowang, as explained in the translation, and “big and juicy” + “touch to feel” being suggestive phrases. Then, given the rare usage of the big fruit = women slang, dls expressed surprise that Dd understood what he meant, went on to say he expected Gg to know it (implying Gg could’ve taught Dd the meaning) ... 
Which led to the entertaining part of this segment. Dd was like “You guys (= Gg + dls) talked?” Dls appeared to have thought of the scenario customarily inviting this question (scenario: someone on the verge of catching their spouse cheating) and began playacting that scenario, started to stammer ... as if he had just been got caught trying to chat up someone’s spouse  ~  ”I-I-I....how to say it ...”. Dd caught on dls’s playacting and went along, continued with the “accusation”: “You’re stammering”. Dls then noted that Dd’s accusation was scary and Dd smiled, ending the playact ~ so, ah, readers, never mess with Dd’s spouse!! Dd gets scary!! 
(BTW: ”nijia na kouzi” 你家那口子 was explained in the translation for a reason ~ It’s a warm, friendly term for a dear friend’s spouse. 😊)
p4. Lychees
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Lychees. Has everyone tried them? It’s important not to over-eat them though...
In which the “Feeding Gg” saga continues! This segment is one of those that are wonderful for fic writers who wish to capture Gg and Dd in words. Gg, like many brought up in traditional families, has trouble saying “no” outright, which is often considered rude. As such, he resorted to delay tactics, something he had also done with the fried noodles in The Makeup Room BTS. 
In the BTS, his delay tactics had been to argue that Dd hadn’t eaten his box of noodles and therefore, he couldn’t start (~2:35 mark)—as proper manners indeed dictated. In this dialogue, his delay tactics was to say he’d eat the lychees later, that the lychees would make him too full for the proper meal (rice). 
A cute thing about this convo is that rather than pouting and grumbling his only being LWJ’s replacement (as he had hilariously done in the BTS), Dd had, apparently over the last three years, become an expert on countering such delay tactics. He peeled the lychees, which not only removed a major obstacle for eating, but also set a timer as peeled lychees get dry quickly (and Gg, despite being a picky eater, didn’t seem to like to waste food). He said the fruit could make appetiser. He got the help of their team members, who assured Gg that two lychees would be all right.
Gg’s response to the assurance... takes a little time to explain. 
The original Chinese line for “Great, great, you’re so awesome” was 絕了絕了你們絕了。 “絕了”, a popular phrase used by Chinese netizens, was repeated three times.
絕, literally, means the extreme, the absolute, the end. 絕了 means pretty much the same ~ a thing that is 絕了 is standing en pointe at the edge of the cliff that is The Absolute End of a spectrum. It is the Ultimate. It can't be surpassed. It’s unbeatable. 
絕了 is usually used in a positive sense, as in the English translation, with the positive being implied. If I say the LWJ photo above is 絕了, for example, I don’t need to specify that the extreme in 絕 stands on the good end. It’s understood given the audience of this post are mostly turtles (HELLO *waves*). We’re all heart-eyes here. We agree, without saying, that this photo is The Top, The Pinnacle; it can’t be better. 絕了 is higher praise than Excellent; it’s so good that there are no adjectives for it. Its own presence defines How Good It Is. 
But 絕了 doesn’t have to be positive. If my audience is Su She ... he’s likely to take the same “This LWJ photo is 絕了” to mean the Mariana Trench kind of Absolute—the bottom of the bottom, the Unbeatable, Adjective-Defying Worst. 
絕了 allows for that understanding too.
In this scenario, I interpret Gg’s 絕了 as taking the meaning of both extremes (which make it a fantastic phrase choice!): that Gg thought Dd and the team members were being both the Absolute Best (for thinking of Gg, caring for him) AND the Absolute Worst (for going against his wish to not eat!) Gg’s 絕了 also signals defeat; if Dd and his team members were The Absolute ... Whatever, then poor Gg had no choice but to yield to their wishes. I can already imagine his “I can’t believe I lose this way” Look (see: every rock-paper-scissors he lost, which was ... pretty much all of them), mixed with, perhaps, a healthy amount of bunny tooth warning (how dare Dd et al banded up against him)...
Those bunny teeth had to be taken care of, right? And so Dd went on to say lychees being good omen that ensure things would go smoothly for the eater... targeting Gg’s being a, as c-turtles call it, 小迷信 (literally, “Little Superstitious”, a young + adorable + superstitious person). Dd said that to help Gg justify the choice to eat, to make Gg feel better about his defeat. 
(Of note: I had actually never heard of lychees being associated with good luck before, and a quick search online also didn’t yield any result. This could be a relatively rare association Google failed to catch ... or something Dd made up on the fly to make Gg happy.) 
(Lychees have, however, been associated with romance. If Emperor’s Smile 天子笑 was The Love Drink in The Untamed, then what is Concubine’s Smile 妃子笑? Answer: it’s the RL name of a type of lychees, lychees being the fruit very much adored by Yang Yuhuan 楊玉環, the consort of the Emperor Xuanzong (685-762 BCE) of the Tang Dynasty and one of the four most beautiful woman in Chinese history. Since lychees had only been grown in southern China, the emperor had had the fruit couriered, in express mode involving many horses, to the palace up north to please his favourite wife. Lychees had become a symbol of love from that historical tale.)
Did Gg get Dd’s message then, the love and care packaged in those peeled, sweet fruit awaiting his bite? Yes, but not without a little more fight! “Eat eat eat, (I’ll eat) until you go bankrupt” is a literal translation of his final line. Tonally, I can see the following as being an alternative translation: 
“Fine fine fine. I’ll eat, it’s not like I can bankrupt you by eating anyway!”
If it sounded a little sulky, that’s because it did ... a little sulky AND fiery. As expected from our favourite Chongqing Big Pepper 😂😂😂 (Poor Gg).
Dd smiled at that, needless to say. He won!!! He got Gg to eat!! The world shall rejoice!! 
p5. “Showtime”
There’s a show coming up for Dd (the YH concert maybe?), and Gg offered suggestions. 
The sweet point of this segment is about half-way down the conversation, in the piece of paper 📄 Gg gave to Dd (after “This is for you.”). Dd took the paper, noted the many words on it, and started saying 我把我整個靈魂, translated as “I bring my entire soul”.
c-Turtles have, based on these words, hypothesised that Dd was about to read out a quote that Gg had written on the paper, with the list of items Gg thought Dd should take, before Gg stopped him with a call of his name (“WYB”). The quote was included on the translation (”I give you my entire soul...only, a little good, love you.”) I have also talked about the same quote, in more detail, here.
I’m equally stumped on the final line of this segment. (Sorry!!)
p6. “Found Family”
It’s a heartwarming segment. While LRLG had previously noted that the TTXS bros had communicated with Gg, this segment made clear that they care for him like they do for Dd ~ as family.
* dls mailed Gg a lot of fruit for sharing with the film crew. “Family member needs to be impressive” is a rough translation, but this line does defy simple translation because 排面 a highly cultural concept that has much to do with the equally complex, Chinese concept of face (which this article explains... somewhat adequately). The message to take home is that dls cared enough about Gg that he wanted to make sure Gg wouldn’t lose face in front of the film crew; that, by having enough gifts (fruits) for everyone, Gg wouldn’t be viewed as cheap or inadequate or stingy, or whatever adjective that wouldn’t befit his top idol status. Because dls saw Gg as a member of his family. 
* The prescription from hg had been mentioned in a previous LRLG rumour. 方子 is a Chinese medicine prescription, which, unlike Western formulations, is individualised both to the discomfort / ailment and to the “body constitution” of the person who'll take it, the latter deciding the kind of ailments the person is susceptible to, and which ingredients are expected to be more effective. Chinese medicine also places a strong emphasises on long-term conditioning, whether it’s for recovery from a certain condition or for general good health. A good 方子 is therefore a far more complex and personal thing than, say, a scribble of “paracetamol” / “acetaminophen” on a piece of paper. :D
* fg’s gift for Gg (xx) is something for the waist. A brace support, maybe? For example?
My favourite line in this segment is when hg asked what will Gg and Dd do when they reach hg’s age. Given that the last two items (the prescription and xx) were health-related, I interpreted it as hg worrying about Gg and Dd’s health when they grow old... with all the health problems they already have. It’s the kind of thing a worried parent say to their children ~ my mom has said the same thing to me as well. 😢
p6. “The Cat Paw”
Not quite sure what’s happening here ... not sure what the cat paw is. (Sorry!!) But that é in the translation is Dd’s signature laugh (collection here), which is written as 鵝 (”Goose”) in Chinese 😂.
p7. “The Cat Toy”
Dd appeared to be shopping for a cat’s toy (something that can “hook the cat” in the translation, such that the cat can entertain itself and not rely on human companionship as much). Gg had already bought the toy though and sounded quite proud of it, told Dd to return the toy. The implied cat was, of course, Nut (堅果 Jianguo)... which had been repeatedly referred to in LRLG’s posts as Gg’s daughter.
p7. “Cool vs Cute”
Gg is often viewed as cute, and Dd as cool. Did Dd dislike Gg taking cute pictures for public consumption? Were they scheming an exchange of image? :D
And that’s it for this issue! Ooh, this took unexpectedly long ... I apologise for the ridiculous delay between the original post and this commentary! 
(I wrote half of it, then RL struck and I forgot about it.) (I’m hopeless.) (I need a 方子 for poor memory!!)
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soul-dwelling · 3 years ago
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I wonder if it gets underplayed how much the "decline" of a series quality is dictated by market demands. Like all the horrible fetish tropes that are just accepted in anime, for example in One piece Ulti and Paypay have this weird incest thing going on and I doubt Oda wanted to put it in but the staff probably said "yeah we need to fill this demograhic!". Maybe explains Okhubos decline "Im just doing what sells!"
My initial reaction when reading this question was, "This can't be a thing. If people wanted that stuff, they would just find smut to read–why would people want to sit through something more ‘mainstream’ to get to that?”
And with Ohkubo, I don't even know if it's a decline when three of his major series--Soul Eater, NOT, and Fire Force--all pretty much started with "girls and women in the shower or bath," "pull up someone's skirt to show their panties," and "girls being groped without their consent." At least B Ichi mostly avoided that in the beginning chapters, aside from "Shotaro puts on Mana's underwear because Yohei tricked him." It's less a decline and more of "more of this, because it was there at the beginning, and I still keep selling volumes as I do more of it."
But then I look at the patterns. I mean, just look at how much content out there forces in stupid “brother and sister and incest” stuff, even stuff I like: Bungo Stray Dogs, Ookami-san, Mashle, Spy x Family. 
So, yeah, it’s probably a mix of “the author finds this entertaining” and “it gets the attention of the audience,” whether that’s people who actively seek out this stuff, or people like us are gobsmacked and giving it undue attention, the old “there’s no such thing as bad press” idea. 
(I could understand Bungo Stray Dogs doing it when a lot of its interpretation of characters are based on the real lives of the authors or the characters they created, but just because it is “understandable” doesn’t mean it’s good or should be here.)
And since I brought up Spy x Family, I want to talk about market demands and what sells when it comes to, not quite fetish, but just a potential objectification problem I’m expecting to pop up in this Saturday’s episode. 
Up to now in the manga, Spy x Family appealed to me because it never felt like it had to be gross in doing sex appeal. This is not quite an all-ages manga (the amount of blood and violence discourages that kind of a rating), but the tone and comedic sensibility does feel like the kind of thing where even the violence and bloodshed are so goofy to be not the worst I could imagine a younger reader encountering. 
And the series has been smarter about any sex appeal. It’s not falling into James Bond nonsense, the “camera” of the comics panels may linger on angles for Twilight and Yor, but–and this is a low bar for a lot of current manga–at least they’re fully dressed, so that the sex appeal is in the outfit, or the pose, or the interactions–before it is all undone by wacky comedic shenanigans and the fact that Twilight and Yor are so freaking aromantic / demisexual that they are so awkward around each other. In other words, for a series indebted to the spy genre, it never feels like it goes over the line to be, “And now, pointless objectifying angles of the characters, especially the women, and pointless ‘spy beds a lot of women’ scene.” That’s not to say I don’t imagine a point where Spy x Family will get a little more sexually charged–this is a spy story, this is in part a “will they or won’t they” with Twilight and Yor–but it is also a story about young Anya starting school: this is a series that should grow with its audience, not throwing sex around so early on before a target audience is ready to see things that are way too mature. 
And that leads to the problem I encountered this previous Saturday: I cringed when I saw the post-credits preview for the next episode. We already sat through Yuri’s gross attraction to his sister, now we’re getting the dodgeball episode–and in the middle of it is someone taking a shower. What? Every image in that preview was just about Anya’s dodgeball game and her classmates. Suddenly we have an adult in the shower (Twilight? Yor? Someone else?), and I just cringe expecting the following: 
One person thought it was adapting the chapter where Anya tries to earn a star, as that chapter takes place in part in a pool, so that could just be the shower for people after swimming or before they jump into the water. That’s a reasonable, if befuddling, choice for the preview, and it’s definitely there to check off a box on the market demands: “Ugh, why would we want to sit through this hilarious episode where Anya is in a dodgeball contest? Throw in a random shower scene!”
But other people, myself included, think this next episode is not adapting the chapter where Anya tries to earn a star. Rather, I think this next episode is adapting the special chapter where Yor is injured during a mission and can’t look happy on her date with Twilight. The chapter is about Yor getting injured in the butt. I repeat: it's an entire chapter about the aftermath of Yor getting injured in the butt during an assassin mission. What makes the chapter hilarious is every single one of Yor’s awful reactions to the pain–just that face, that grimace–and the lengths she goes to avoid having to sit during the date, and how upset and mortified Twilight looks that his suave dating approach is failing here because he thinks Yor hates him, when really she’s just in pain. But what makes it even better is that it puts Yor, a woman, into this scenario of, “My butt hurts,” and plays all the comedy out of it without it being gross or a sexual double standard: of course she’s in pain, she got hurt in the butt, she gets to be comedic relief without this being sexualized. 
And as I see that next episode preview, with someone in the shower, I’m wondering what is going to happen. They aren’t going to show Yor’s butt injury, are they, and make this, “LOL you people who were so hot for Yor leaning down to the camera when trying to kiss Loid get to see her in the shower but, whoops, butt injury!”? Or is this going to be her before the mission, to show her before the injury, so that we see her previously unscathed body in the shower? Or is she unscathed? Like, there is no way with her career that she doesn’t have scars–will it be a shower to show how dangerous this work is? Or an imagine spot where she worries Twilight will see her in the shower and realize she is scarred up? 
My point is, the preview knew what it was doing: it wanted to drop in a potential message that we’re getting a shower scene, and you’re all (meaning me) are leaping to something pervy instead of just treating it as a shower scene. But that scene is in the preview to check of a box for marketing. And if it’s Yor, for the one chapter that avoided making her a sexual object, in a manga that has been smart about how it handles sex appeal without something so stupid as a shower scene, I’m going to be pissed. 
And if it’s Twilight in that shower, I’ll still be pissed, because it’s still doing sex appeal for market demands–but I’ll also be pissed because, honestly, what would that scene even do there? At least I kind of explained above why, if you’re adapting the “Yor’s butt got cut” chapter, why it’s her in the shower–but why would we have a shower scene of Twilight? (Aside from needing to fix a lot of double standards still prevalent in gender…)
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thefairyletters · 4 years ago
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I saw you rb a SaiSaku post and was curious if you had any fanfic recs for this rarepair?!
Do I have?!!!!! I am currently binging this ship so you couldn't have asked this at better time.
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This pair is not a crack ship! Crack would mean they have not shared more than two words with each other. But SaiSaku interactions always bordered on romance and best friends who don't act like it. Not only Sakura was the first person to acknowledge Sai had human side to him and bonded with him over his painting, Sai was also the only person outside Sasuke (in part 1) to be able tell her fake smiles and he always understood her feelings better than other characters. Had Sakura ever only cared for good looks (something she don't) then with Sai she'd get that and so much more.
I have always considered SaiSaku as the next best thing after NaruSaku. They had too much potential as a couple. I am not bitter that InoSai became a thing but looking at them I only feel that "Ino didn't get Sasuke so she get his look-alike." Besides, Sai gave people nicknames that are opposites to what actually feels about them – Naruto as Dickless, Sakura as Hag/Ugly and Ino as Beautiful – which makes it worse. Both Ino and Sai deserve better than this. If Kishi has shown them together more often or had interactions between them similar to SaiSaku then I can understand why Ino is his light. I guess it is also SP's fault for showing them in different light. For all SP hates Sakura, they enjoy messing up with her fans by feeding them false hope.
Whenever I want to read something hilarious but deep, SaiSaku is my to-go couple. Usually angsty, or full bout of insults and punches. There's no in between with them.
. SaiSaku .
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This list contains my favorite SaiSaku collection. I am not sure if you like SaiSaku only as romance ship but this list also contain stories that expands on SaiSaku friendship, something I absolutely adore.
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Could Roses Bloom? : RiseoftheBlossom || M || AO3 || Shippuden AU || GaaSaku, SaiSaku || Angst, Romance || Ongoing
Sai glanced downwards at his body, the sudden override of his thoughts causing his mind to blank. What did that mean? Had he been straying too close to a piece of information Danzo didn't want him to have or share? Or was it his mind's natural response to shutting down any form of emotion, even if it was just the slightest of inclination towards feeling something?
Go for it if you like: enemies-to-friends-to-lovers troupe, SaiSaku friendship, confused-over-his-feelings!Sai, slow burn, GaaSaku, boys who are bad at feelings, Sakura who is unlucky with romance, angst with fluff
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hello, bright eyes (been waiting on you) : mouseymightymarvellous || T || AO3 || Shippuden AU || SaiSaku || Angst, Romance || One Shot
“look underneath the underneath,” except no one has ever really bothered to look at sakura and see her. and then there is a boy (isn’t there always). maybe they’re both just ghosts, making each other real.
Go for it if you like: enemies-to-friends-to-lovers troupe, confused-over-her-feelings!Sakura, boys who are bad at feelings, Sakura who is unlucky with romance, Sai and Sakura who don't feel like they belong, angst with fluff, sad!Sai
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Oh God That’s Heaven : blueberrysconesandfolkmusic || T || AO3 || Shippuden AU || SaiSaku || Angst, Romance || One Shot
Sakura finds Sai sick, alone, and in desperate need of a hand that doesn't hurt.
Go for it if you like: boys who are bad at feelings, bleeding-heart!Sakura, sad-and-lonely!Sai, Sai and Sakura who are secretly best friends, Sai with PTSD, protective!team7
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for everything blue and bright : sinemoras09 || M || AO3 || Shippuden AU || SaiSaku, SasuSaku || Angst || One Shot
The five stages of human arousal.
Go for it if you like: lonely!Sai, obsessed!Sakura, One-sided love, Unrequited-love-no-matter-how-you-look-at-it!SaiSaku, no-good-very-bad!Ending, pining!Sai, bittersweet lemon
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A mess of me : Dovey || M || AO3 || Pre-Shippuden AU || SaiSaku || Yandere Romance || Complete
In which Sai is a good ANBU agent with an unusual hobby, and Sakura grows up with a #1 fan rooting for her....even if she doesn't know it. Or: Sai starts stalking Sakura when they're both young to satisfy his curiousity about 'normalcy', gets attached, and eventually gets very frustrated that nobody else seems to notice her potential as a shinobi and takes matters into his own hands- and delights in being Sakura's prime source of validation because of it.
Go for it if you like: obsessed!Sai, manipulation, stalker!Sai, mentor!Sai, SaiSaku friendship, distraught!Kakashi, fluff, baby-Sai-stalking-baby-Sakura, abusive haruno household
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There is sunshine on his forehead : amako || T || AO3 || Soulmate AU || SaiSaku but it's complicated || Angst, Hurt/Comfort || One Shot
Sakura is only three when she promises herself that Sasuke will die by her hand, whoever he is.
Go for it if you like: dysfunctional Team 7, Soulmate AU, Unrequited love feels, angst heavy, Sai and Sakura only want to belong, NaruSasu, NaruSaku but not really, betrayal heavy, no fluff only pain, SaiSaku, Team 7 taking Sakura for granted, Sakura is so done
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In theory : nimblnymph || T || FFN || Shippuden || SaiSaku || Romance, Humor || One Shot
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Sai was about to learn that this theory applied to more than just physics. And that putting theory into practice sometimes gave unexpected results.
Go for it if you like: oblivious!Sai, teacher!Sakura, student!Sai, Sai getting educated, Sakura educating Sai, Kisses, Sai being Sai, Sakura with patience of god
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Loathing : i AM the Random Idiot || T || FFN || Shippuden || SaiSaku || Romance, Angst || One Shot
Define "hatred."
Go for it if you like: oblivious!Sai, hurt!Sai, Angst, Onions, SakuSai bonding over mutual hate, love is overrated anyway
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Bunk Mates : ice bitten || T || FFN || Shippuden || Team 7 || Humor, Friendship || One Shot
In which Sasuke and Naruto find out Sakura has been sleeping over at Sai's. Short stories surrounding Sakura, Sai, and the invasive people of Konoha.
Go for it if you like: sassy!Sai, protective!Team7, SaiSaku friendship, roommates, Sai being Sai, Perfect characterisation, Canon feels
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Paint me with Colour : PeregrineFlight || T || FFN || post-Shippuden || SaiSaku|| Humor, Friendship || Incomplete
Sai and Sakura must travel to the Land of Lightning to retrieve something for the Daimyo, they have to travel as a married couple. Much to Naruto's amusement.
Go for it if you like: lonely!Sai, SaiSaku friendship, roommates, Sai being Sai, pretend marriage, SaiSaku bonding over mission, fluffy angst, adorable!Sai
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Forget Me Not : Joy-girl || T || FFN || post-Shippuden || Team 7 || Angst, Friendship || Complete
Sometimes it's easy to forget how important someone is when the person is always in the background – but Sakura's boys still remember. Glimpses of her importance from each member of her team.
Go for it if you like: fluffy angst, Sakura's place in team 7, underappreciated Sakura, Team7 family, Family feels, sad!Sakura, protective!Team7 males, Sakura appreciation, SaiSaku bond, Team7Saku feels, avenger!Teammates
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Add Me Colour : Cella N || T || FFN || post-Shippuden || SaiSaku || Drama, Romance || Complete
"All my life is white. Paint me. Add me colour."
Go for it if you like: lonely!Sakura, Sai being Sai, confused!Sakura, angst, poetic translation, colors
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Euphemisms : Nymbis || T || FFN || Shippuden || SaiSaku || Humor, Romance || Complete(?)
Drabbles about Sai, Sakura, and their strange attempts at bonding.
Go for it if you like: Sai being Sai, Sakura being Sakura, Hilarious friendships, SaiSaku friendship, loveggression, love-hate relationship, Insults, Sai's brand of humor, fluff with punches, Raunchy stuff
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Ricochet : Strix 4 || T || FFN || Shippuden AU || Team 7 || Family, Drama || Complete(?)
Sometimes it's easy to see the familiar in the faces around you. Sometimes it sucks to figure out why.
Go for it if you like: fluffy angst, Sakura's place in team 7, Team7 as family, Family feels, wise!Sakura, SaiSaku bond, Sai's place in team 7
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Pick up lines : Demoneyes 14 || T || FFN || Shippuden || SaiSaku || Humor || One Shot
Ero sennin's pick up lines! Guaranteed to get the girl or your money back! Well... it would be more guaranteed if it hadn't fallen on his face in the library, but heck, Sai will try anything once! Maybe it will save him a beating from Sakura...
Go for it if you like: Sai being Sai, Sakura being Sakura, SaiSaku friendship, loveggression, love-hate relationship, Insults, Sai's brand of humor, fluff with punches
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Special mentions...
Study of the Heart : teresa
In an effort to become a better friend, Sai undertakes a study of love, not really understanding how difficult it could be, and how surprising.
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The Blood of a Cherry Blossom : Slytherin Kunoichi
Originally, for Halloween, Sai hadn't decided what to go as, but once he glimpsed at the bleeding flesh on Sakura's neck, he suddenly had the urge to be a vampire…
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Old Dogs, New Tricks : yuugiri
After an unprecedented turn of events, the Fifth Hokage has officially assigned Sakura Haruno the responsibility to make Sai recover what he had lost; his emotions. With a time limit of a month, will Sakura succeed in this mission?
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Once More, With Feeling : Cynchick
Sakura didn't know what she was thinking when she showed up on his doorstep. 
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Ink Me : Krickitat
Exploring the art of bod-modification Sakura takes a step into the unknown world of the exquisite pain of art.
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The Uchiha Secret : Slytherin Kunoichi
Sasuke froze as he stared at Sai's eyes, which were identical to his Uchiha Sharingan eyes now: red with anger and black with hatred...One family secret could threaten and shake three lives forever. Bonds will be broken.
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My babies don't get enough love in the world.
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aeempress · 4 years ago
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Apritello Express Evidences, part 3
Apritello, my dear friends, is really all hints, devil in details, little pieces that, in the end, become a huge picture.
I can't say that there are a lot of episodes with April and Donnie spending quality time together, no. But all episodes are important to understand how their relationship are involving, growing. If you have sharp eyes and think about all of this even a little bit, you will be surprised how gracefully their relationship changes and grows, how characters evolve.
Dear passengers, we're about to start. Mind the gap!
Episodes “The Gumbus” and “Mrs. Cuddles”. 
I think it would be appropriate to analyze these episodes in bunch, because they have common situations of spooky supernatural stuff and reactions of characters to this.
When you watch these two eps in raw, it's easy to see how alike are reactions of Donnie and April in some scary, really odd situations. 
Adrenaline ‘n’ reclessness
April is really into all spooky things in “The Gumbus”, she's not afraid of some creepy stuff and she's really brave girl who easily copes with stressful and life-threatening situations.
Donnie is incredibly calm and collected when alive doll talked to him.
But still, April was frightened about plush rabbit because it was really unexpected for girl, she wasn’t ready to realize that plush doll that she’d worked with is alive fear-eating monster who will hurt and intimidate to get their precious screams. But point remains: Donnie and April share crazy fearlessness, which turns into an adrenaline addiction.
And here I am, a science guy, who tell you: adrenaline is a big deal for our body. This hormone can even provoke an onset of romantic feelings. Chemistry and anatomy come to fill the gaps: when a person is afraid, their pulse quickens, a cocktail of hormones is releasing into the blood, which sharpen the senses and reflexes. It will create a strong emotional bound, that's important for maintaining romantic kind of feelings. The more impressions there are (even negative ones), the higher the chance that person will remember his|her partner, and want to see them again – the body gets hooked on adrenaline, like a drug.
That’s why D&A have so strong, unshakeable boundaries. They are so alike: their attitude to scary things, the way Donnie and April cope with them, the adrenaline addiction their share. They even express feelings the same way.
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And one tiny detail: April and Donnie start the teasing Raph for his fear of mrs. Cuddles. So they become the first victims of plushie.
Friendly reminder: they were the 1st victims, and what’s happened with them we don’t know, because it wasn’t shown due to not ruin the atmosphere of suspense.
But we have a beautiful quote of mrs. Cuddles and this precious shot which explain everything
Raph: Where’s Donnie?
Cuddles: In a happy place where he’ll scream and I can grow forever and now you’re gonna join him!
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In a happy place, huh? Tied up with April in Splinter’s bedroom, a really happy place. Hold a sec, are they -
And after that Donnie’s responding is killing me.
Donnie:[OS] I'm afraid of togetherness.
Yep. All normal here. We should continue.
"Operation Normal" even though doesn't show a lot of interactions between April and Donnie, however continues the general outline highlighting the topics that were mentioned earlier in the show.
Firstly, April's relationship with her classmates. We're able to see how poor her scholar life is in "Hypno Part Deux" and "The Purple Jacket". She has no "normal", human friends except some strange remora guy, more like acquaintance than friend, though. But still, having "be normal" kick she's fine with Donnie's weirdness ( Mikey is always beyond all normal comprehension, Raph goes weird while he's alone, without brothers, and his fear of miss Cuddles is no big deal to fam, Leo didn't show any weird stuff during the series, like, reeeeal weird, m'kay?).
Conversation between April and Donnie at pizza spot
Really interesting and smooth scene. We’ve got Donatello who stares at April while he’s waiting his favourite pizza, no big deal.
And his legs.
If a person is interested in you, during a conversation, they will put their right foot forward (a left-handed person is more likely to put their left foot forward) in order to close the distance between you. - Check.
being in company, peson will point the sock at the most pleasant interlocutor for them. - check.
April’s legs are ponted at Donnie. Checkmate.
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Yeah, April is hanging out with Donatello and Leonardo, but the main focus of hers is on Donnie. 
All these scene makes me think that Donnie, knowing about how badly sometimes April  wants to be normal, is up to help her overcome this. Fight fire with fire:  fill up her life with all of this weird, mystic stuff so it will be normal with time. Regular people go to pizza spot to spend some quality time together, so we have pizza restaraunt here, in Hidden City. Make all odd normal, and problem will solved.
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Donnie really tries his best, look at his face. Dee’s fine with all this bizzare things what happens to April, he’s fine with her. But still he fails, because April’s concept of normalcy differs drom Donnie’s.
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And again, for Donnie it’s not a problem at all. He’s always was at the opposite side of normalcy and it doesn’t matter for him if April is in the same boat with him. Cause, as I said, Don’s fine with that.
Second, how much Donnie knows about April.
- Scoff! Are you really still on this whole "I want things to be normal" kick?
- Yes, what big city girl doesn't have a kayak and has hazmat suit?
Interesting detail here: this line launches Donnie’s flashback (because the first scene is from “Purple Jacket”, it’s Dee’s episode, obviously). And Don, as far as I can tell, has in his flashback moments with April when she did something reaaally impressive. His face is way more louder than any words.
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- Short answer: no. Long answer: nnooooooooo.
- Oh, no! You know how April freaks out around the cosplay wizards!
These tiny lines are containing a lot of background, stories, intimate conversations that April and Donnie share. This show always does the same trick: we never see a direct action, we are only able to see a result or statement of the result. But series do a great work telling us with such small and imperceptible gestures that their bonding at this point is mutual. Not only D tells April about his inventions, family and fam's issues he has and even his falls, mistakes and failures. April does the same thing, sharing with Donatello one of the most important things to her. Problem that really bothers her.
C'mon, he'd even memorized Sunita's name, though April messed up with this situation a bit. It seems Donnie memorizes facts about April - he remembered the wi-fi password from old April's work as we can see in "The Longest fight" (he could hack it easily, he's a genius, why he's been keeping in mind some piece information that useless for a year? It doesn't make any sense)
Oh, and that. Just a coincidence, I guess?
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Just alike suits, no big deal. Plus, the whole family has it (and something tells me that guys have suits at the behest of Don, so probably April does). But Donnie and April has a lot in common like emotional expressions, reaction about some kind situations, fight style and even tastes in fashion.
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Also, it seems like Donnie's been watching April for sometimes.
While Leo was hiding in trash can, to not catch anyone's eye rather than April. He definitely couldn't know who was passing by, but there was Donnie to observe from above. That's why he was hanging down the stairs when Leo spoke to April.
It’s not the first time Donnie dress up as old lady to monitor April’s day.
Leo: Why do you always make us dress up as old ladies? Donnie: №1: confort, №2: to blend in as we monitor April’s day for max normalcy.
 3. Even when D took away this cosplay wizard, he's still keeping eye on her.
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Oh no, you don’t. Grandmas here!
Donatello changes his foe to save April exactly. He fought all evening with Brutus, but when April slightly gets in danger, Donnie just attacked anyone who has intention to hurt her and ruin her evening.
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Is that a flying turtle in an old purple dress?
April, who all evening was trying to look “normal”, hiding her real friends because they are mutant turtles and pretending that nothing unusual happens here, finally gives up when Sunita mentioned Donnie. Even though new April’s friend has asked her before about Leo.
His eyes. 
Donnie is really impressed but what he saw, and the reason - April O'Neil.
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The episode "Warren & Hypno, sitting in a Tree" is another incredible piece of whole picture.
Turtle tank is decorated for April birthday in purplish scheme, definetely Donatello's work.
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Dee's nonverbal speech.
• He seems more interested and softer than usual looking at April. It's easy to say comparing him with brothers. Mikey is in anticipation of fun mode, Leo relaxed and show his "whatever it will be fun" attitude, Raph is listening carefully, but still, Donnie could just turn his head in April's vouce direction, not a whole body.
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• Warren felt Don's gaze while talked with April, so worm made the remark. Pay attention to the construction of the frame of neighboring scenes. The second frame is April's perspective. And Don is looking namely at her.
Indignation. Disappointment. Spark, storm, madness (i love this russian meme, sorry not sorry)
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• Donnie seems sincerely sorry for this situation with April's b-day. And again, this soft gaze and "Raph, shut the shell up, your nonsense is upsetting her"-eyes.
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• Donatello is kind of person, who’s avoiding a proper confrontation, so he rarely stands up for someone.  He were remaining silent, when Raphael tried to cheer April in the most radiculous way, but when Hypno tried to play with April’s feelings, Donnie blew it. 
He’s obviously in wrath as D emote that expressively. Yeah, he had much on his plate at April’s birthday, but it’s her b-day on the line, not his pride.
Warren used April, playing with her fan feelings. Her idol betrayed her, she was locked up in a cage, and now we have Hypno who wants to use her again by pitting and pushing for her compassion, because, it’s obvious - boys would do everything she said. 
And Donnie tries to keep Hypno away from her, protect her feelings from another betrayal. 
As he’s already stated - “For you, anything”.
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The show always tells us: if you wanna trigger Don, bring April in. 
Hypno tried to turn this thing around, Leo did the same in “Al be back”. 
If Hypno-tamus did that accidentally as he found out that April O’ Neil is a birthday girl, so her wishes that day were laws, Leo did it on purpuse.
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Leo is good at manupulating and pulling some strings, plus he knows his twin as back of his hand. That’s why Leo mentioned April in the end as she was always the most powerful argument, the reason and motive for Donnie. At second he’s even panicked, but remained calm. He almost blew up his coolheaded image because of one certain girl in yellow.
• Donnie is really happy to present Warren's arm to April. He even holds it like a rare, priceless treasure. D is really proud of himself right now: he saved the day, after all. The emotional reaction of hers is exactly what Donnie wants to get. And then, his final pose, while April is on 9th cloud from happiness - that's really territorial gesture, D claims his supremacy and confidence, telling "See? That's my happy birthday girl".
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Leapfrog with a composition
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Donnie and April are more and more eager to be together in the frame. Composition’s boners, m’kay.
Special ride for April
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Yeah, Donnie used to offer his battleshell to give April a special ride. It even has  a seat and handlebars for her comfort. She can control the flight as well as Donatello, they are like co-pilots. But he never carried her on his back before.
Usually, April is carried by Raphael, on his neck/shoulder, and she’s fine with it. Raph is strong enough to carry her without any difficulties or slowing down.
It’s not Donnie’s weak to carry her - no, he strong enough to carry his battleshell with a lot stuff in it everyday, Don can carry Splints on his shoulder without any apparent difficulty. He strong enough to hold the weight of his battleshell+April. Oh, c’mon, D assembled the Turtle tank only by himself and this for sure requires a lot of physical strength in order to engage in auto mechanics. Try lifting the wheel with tyre, and you'll see what I mean. Of course, there is a jack, but it will not solve all the problems. Don could use hydraulics and Archimedes ' laws, but I'm sure he did most of it with his own hands. Lifting and carrying, all by himself.
Not the strengh what’s matter but another point.
The sequence where Donnie carries April on his back doesn’t last long, it’s pretty easy to miss, while Raph openly do that with April on him. 
Plus April’s gaze: she’s staring right at us with her “ninja-eyes” as if they were caught in the middle of something. The duration and length of the sequence, the way it is made all of this arouse certain thoughts. 
It’s like nobody should see this. Too personal. To be more specific - too close and intimate? 
Donnie stated a few times that he’s not into togetherness, tactile interaction and phisical side of contacts. Although he's fine with his brothers, don't forget that April is a girl. Even if she feels like part of family, she’s not his relative. She’s not his sister. 
Some people tend to avoid physical contact with the objects of their interest. And this behaviour fits in Don’s character. He’s anxious type with a lot of psychological and emotional issues. Yeah, he tries to cover it up, built a shell to protect himself, behave as confident extravert but he’s nothing like that. Sometimes D tends to distance himself from his family, to hide in his shell, and we've seen that throughout the show. 
Don hangs by his phone quite often, he addicted to this as his comfort zone, his peaceful cave, where everything is much easier,
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Don pretends he’s so busy with his science stuff to ward off his brothers (ep. Mind Meld), 
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Don went to the lab to work on his projects, while he could hang out with April and the brothers (ep. Mrs. Cuddles). And he left for what? To work on self-cleaning tooth pick, or the titan bust of himself? It’s seems like lame excuse to be alone. He’s definetely an intovert, who sometimes needs some space and time with himself. 
All his cocky behaviour is showing off to hide insecure, diffident and vulnerable creature, softshell purple turtle. Yeah, Donnie has confidence in what he’s great in: tech, science stuff, where he’s only one is capable of. But if someone steps on his domain or doubts his authority, his true colours exposed.
And, once again, “Mind meld” is a great evidence of that. Would callous, unsumpathetic guy without heart have a wall with pictures of his fellows? I’m afraid not. Donnie has a soft, caring heart.
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There’s an alley of his the dearest moments, because photos - are always memory, precious moments we want to keep. 
1 - from “Minotaur Maze”. Don loves good pizza, loves his brothers, and they have a little adventure together. Yeah, this photo isn’t on champ wall, but still.
2 - from “Mascot melee”. Important day for bros as they show themselves to people at daylight to rescue Raph and their operation to buy a new robe for his father. It’s their joint brothers dance, and D is loving to dance, remember? Definetely special occasion.
3 - from “Mascot melee”. Splints was really glad to receive a gift from boys. And Donatello, as we know, is always eager to achive for pop’s approval. This for sure must be in his precious moments collection.
5, 7 - from “Donnie’s gifts”. He even keeps a dorky photo, which Raph uses as profile pic at Donnie’s number.
8, 9 - “Down with the sickness”. It was funny to survive all the 7 stages to achive what boys wanted. They failed, but still.
10 - from “Al be back”. Who knows that Splints is so good at singing?
4, 6 - from “The Fast and the Furriest”. Strange choice, cuz, you know, photos ten seconds before his collision with April bat?
And yeah, he HAS April’s photo here. And at this pic it’s April, and April alone,without his brothers. 
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Don’s a real softie, see?
And avoiding physical contact is a way to protect Donnie’s already shattered self-esteem. To not cause any doubts in front of girl which he’s interested in. That’s possible reason why we did not receive any heartwarming hugs in “The Purple Jacket”.
But Donnie carries April, because it’s her birthday. On the one hand, the girl claims that  her b-day is cursed, and Donnie could, by any chance, do something nice for her, and on the other hand - any request of the bithday girl - is the law, as we could see earlier.
Gift for birthday girl
There is no Donnie in the scene after Draxum throw off Warren's arm. While Raph comfort April about her birthday, Donnie was looking for it to present it to April.
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He knows the best what is the most precious gift for her. Warren Stone, her idol, goat of making news; she have been in Stoneheads fanclub for 9 years. Also, it seems that Donnie is the one of turtles, who collected info about this worm.
Also, he stopped immediately when April stepped between them and show no disappointing (remind you about Donnie's sadistic science guy nature). The reason is April.
And another cute detail: their glasses are the same form.
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Another episode "Mystic library" has slightly touched D&A interaction. But were talking about Apritello, it's all hints but quality.
When Mayham trapped in the mirror and Raph, Leo and Mikey obviously are not coping, April decides to call Donnie to clear situation up.
Donnie, mister "I ruin everything", she's going to call for help. I repeat this. April calls for help Mr. Science to solve mystic problems with her pet. MYSTIC PET.
 And he AGREES.
Turtles dissuade their friend from calling Donatello but after a while, April returns with Donnie, and sees the bathroom in ruins.
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I'm gonna clear this moment.
1. April haven’t called Donnie.
2. Some time later she returns with Dee.
3. Our girl is pretty shocked to see her bathroom in ruins, argo she didn't see/hear Raph chose to solve problem with smashing.
It must mean only ine thing: April went for Donnie by herself. We don't know where was he, we don't know what the reason April brought Donnie with her by herself, 'cause we know that if she call Dee, he will definitely get to her immediately.
Something is definetely off.
By the way, April changed Don’s profile pic.Yeah, the first one is very informative since Donnie is a turtle and he’s purple and he has bandana. Seems like April have done it by herself, editing the photo of real turtle. She didn't put a lot of effort into this, this image doesn't show her real attitude towards Don. But second is more personality-tinged. Sleeping Donatello in all his gear - this detail can tell us about only one thing - he was photographed when he fell asleep after his sleepless night(s) working hard at something - is something she can catch or receive by boys (namely speaking, it’s Leo, according to Ben Schwartz stated in an interview, that if Leo had an Instagram account, that 60 to 70% of his photos would be his brothers caught sleeping or slipping on things). And still. April has a dorky and little embarrassing pic of Donatello and this is... Interesting and cute?
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This profile pic remind me about ROTTMNT: Sound off! (2nd issue)
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The next station is “The Purple Game”.
Another episode in which the interaction of the characters is small in timing, but great in content.
And once again: they have a lot in common. I’d never tired of repeating this thing ‘cause the series do the same trick, showing one thing from different points of view. April and April shares the same taste in games, the same attitude, the same mojo. 
But the most important thing here is how D&A interacrions are shown in this episode. Unlike other episodes, the interaction here is indirect, is provided by gaming.
Their customized avatars reflects their personality. I mean, the colour schemes (though Donatello has never shown any interest in yellow, he used it for customization of his persona), the way their avatars looking. Game even refering to Sherlock_Corn as “she”, albeit it’s impossible to refer to her avatar in female pronoun. Because, you know, design and nickname?
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And the in-game interaction of the avatars resembles D&A irl relationships. Bootyyyshaker 9000 don’t like togetherness, he’s looking like Donnie’s expectation of himself (cool and tough guy, as D sees himself in his own dreams)
Their dialogue
Actually. Actually, Donnie and April are not able to hear each other as game has no voice chat, but their lines make an perfect dialogue nevertheless.
April:Bootyshaker9000? Donnie? 
Donnie:April? You’re the last person I need to destroy to achive rank №1!
April:Ditto!
Both:There can only be one!
Donnie said the cheat combination, so April would know for sure what he is supposed to do, but she has no idea.
So, once again: their sync is incredible.
And can we talk about that?
April’s attack
As it seems, attacks may be customized by players. Bootyyshaker has attack that refers at Donatello main feature - superior intellect.
And this attack isn’t effective, because REAL April O’Neil has a resist towards it. She has known D for years, she knows what he’s capable of, she’s aware of his nerd side. April’s immune to it, so Sherlock_Corn is.
 Sherlock_corn has a default attack - kernel cannon. It’s nod to her nickname: kernel, corn, the same book. But her second atteck is something reflecting her personalitiy. Plus, April is aware of Donnie’s “fear” of togetherness. All’s fair in love and war, right?
April took a lot of BS9000 hp by her “friendly hugs”. And, by the way, his sweet reaction for hugs.
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So:
The selection of the final opponent. It might be literally anyone, but we wouldn’t be able to see Dee’s obsession in that case. Yeah, he’s already had a  demon possesion ™, but it was too easy to him to win. No challenge. No “kill or be killed”, “It’s me or you” mojo.  He needed some tough gamer for challenging, to develop his character, push him too far. And  April, actually, is an excellent choice to reveal the character of certain purple turtle.To expose his true colours. And April do a great job: they know each other, so battle will be spicy, they are both compepitors, they are so alike, so it would be intersting to watch Donatello vs April. And it will, ‘cause In-game April and In-game Don is somewhat different than them usual.
April is Don’s slayer for sure. She’s good at gaming, her last attack was almost fatal for him. So he had to to cheated on her. 
Captain Cuddlecakes. Yes, she know about his afraid of togetherness. And there’s lovey-dovey attack animation with this cuddling and Donatello’s persona behaves like him. And it was SPECIAL RUN, so... I haven’t the foggiest why. Cute detail, I mean.
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Just look at it.  Isn’t it cute?(at least we got their hugs somewhere... kinda. kinda.)
“Snow Day“, albeit  being family episode, shows a lot about D&A relationship through “family war”.
First of all, the same taste in films.   
Donnie’s already shown the same attitude to fashion, scary things as Cap O'Neil, April shares the same gamer’s mojo as Donatello, but now? We have Donnie and April that are loving the same movie.
For love of purple supernovas, of all the Jupiter Jim’s movies (and there are more than 60 of them), that's a convinient coincidence, they like the same movie.
It stated in series several times that Dee is fond of Atomic Lass. He had crush on her when he was child, he admires her by all his heart, so it will make sense if films with this character he would be his favourite. It’s logical, isn’t it?
Atomic Lass, even if she is part of JJ-universe, however, isn't in every movie. Leo described "JJ: Pluto vacation IV" and there is no sights of Atomic Lass. Like, at all. 
Nevertheless, April’s claimed that “PV-4” is the best movie of the time, and Don agrees. 
April:What the whaaaat? Hold up, Skip. “Jupiter Jim Pluto Vacation 4″ is the best JJ movie  of all time.
Donnie:Ranked, by us, just now. So it’s basically official, no arguing.
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And they do this thing again. Reflecting each other. Facial expressions, intonations, poses and etc. Haven’t I mentiones that? Mirroring is natural way to build communication. People, who communicate enthusiastically, who have sympathy to each other, feelings of certain nature, unconsciously copy each other's poses.
Direct reflection and close contact have a strong effect. This is used between lovers, people with close relationships or interested in each other.
And you can see that during not only episode, but through the whole series. 
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Poses, gestures, facial expressions they share constantly. Even if they are apart, they are mirroring each other, showing their bound. Because Apritello is not always about sitting close, holding hands and blushing. Apritello is about staying together even if they are not.  It’s about solid foundation, about synergy, about chemistry Donnie and April share. And all of these are not always so obvious and clear, evident. But so realistic nevertheless.
And that’s why they splitted off the fam - they are too close and alike. 
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I stated it before but DonniexApril team is way more effective than Donniexbrothers team. Donatello and April are equal, worth each other. They are comfortable with each other, their teamwork is amazing. 
They are always near, close to each other for the entire episode. Stand up for each other, side by side. They have no need to do team-building, because their sincronization is incredible. April works well together with Donnie, their skills compliment each other. 
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I love that April in a first place look at Donnie to check is everything alright.
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And a cherry on top?
This inviting gesture. Donnie just watched all along how his brothers and April try to throw some cold water on this situation (khem, it slipped). But when April call him with this inviting gesture, he’d like to help. 
In other words, he was waitng when April requests for his help.    
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Composition’s boners
Sometimes it happens during the show, but this episode beat hte score at this point. I say only one word: physics. Or, more precisely, the force of attraction. Or, maybe Mayham.
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... Anyway.
Fitting in the type
April can play not so nice against her enemies, she got steady hand and meanness, merciless and reclessness. She’s passionate and kinda badass, sassy - in a positive way, she’s baddest girl who can kick your butt if you mess with her, and she really good at this. 
She has a fire, and Donnie likes that. Dee never stated that directly but miss O’Neil impressed him so many times and in different way so it’s kinda pretty obvious. 
Just look how Donatello reacted the way April took Raph down a peg. Her actions are elegant, relaxed but really sly. She almost dare Raph to put his flag on top only to bring him down to Earth in really painful way. She destroyed Bros’ team so easily just by waiting a bit and by calling Mayham. 
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She’s definetely got some pepper.
Pretty cute but baddest, don’t you think?
And Donnie was impressed for sure, he admitted it - “That is fun for me”. He don’t even stand a chance, c’mon: she’s smarass and elegant, she can be mean and cute at the same time. 
Even though that’s it for season 1 analysis (the last series is more appropriate  to review as part of 2nd season, plus it was a reaally big post, I need some time)
You can refresh this whole situation in the car 1 and the car 2 or follow the hashtag #apritello express as you please. It’s a pleasure of mine, keep in touch :)
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havethetimeofyourstyles · 4 years ago
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in which harry doesn’t like halloween until a certain pair of trick or treaters knock on his door.
a/n: HAPPY HARRYWEEN EVERYONE! personally don’t like halloween myself, but I hope everyone has a spooky and fun day (indoors, ofc)! here’s my first halloween piece that was meant to be a blurb, but turned out a little longer than expected, enjoy!
thank you to ira @stylesloveclub​ & cait @sweetcreatureinthedark​ for reading this over! <3
enjoy 5k words of teacher/dad!harry being cute
warnings: brief mention of death, mostly fluff
LETS TALK ABOUT PEBBLES & THE SCARECROW IN MY INBOX! pls let me know your thoughts!
pls rb to share! <3
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Harry wasn’t fond of Halloween, if he’s being honest. 
The thought of people putting on scary masks, scaring little kids out of their driveway is something that was so unsettling to him. The scary movies that always release around the month of October that promoted their commercials, causing him to startle on the couch because of the jump scare was not something he looked forward to every year. Especially when those said movies would have their ad on the radio, which makes it even scarier because he could only listen. He would usually have his Bluetooth on with his own music playing, but when it’s only a five minute drive, he doesn’t bother with the Bluetooth. Either way, he doesn’t like it. 
Halloween is not fun, he would say every year. 
However, the upside to the month of October was something he looked forward to because that’s when the weather really changed. September would be sunny and hot still, but then comes around October and the sun would peek behind the clouds as the weather got colder. The leaves would fall from their branches and onto the ground, loving the sound of the crunchy leaves beneath his feet, especially building a pile and jumping into them. Not alone, of course, but with his baby girl who loved to just squeal and laugh at her dad whenever he would jump into the pile of orange leaves that he collected on their front lawn. 
Wynn, his daughter, also loved the change of fall weather just as much as he did. Harry would hype it up so much because October was the start of holiday season, and he loved being in a festive mood. So, naturally, Wynn picked up on his behavior and was just like her dad; jumping up and down when he would get excited. 
Another thing that he liked about Halloween was that he got to pass out candy to the fellow trick or treaters to all the students in the school during their Halloween bash, and to the kids in his friendly neighborhood. Every year, he would buy plenty of candy for the students—sometimes buying too much because he didn’t want anyone to be left out when they would walk up to him. But if he did have extra, he would save them for later that night for the kids in the neighborhood. 
He loved seeing the students’ reactions when he would tell them that they had a cool costume. He especially loved it when the kids would compliment his own costume. Some teachers didn’t really like to dress up on Halloween as they only wore a headband of some sorts or a festive t-shirt, but Harry liked to go all out. He’s been teaching for six years, and every year, he made sure to join in on the fun. One of his favorite costumes was when he dressed up as Peter Pan and Wynn was Tinker Bell. They always coordinated costumes, and Harry hoped that once she gets older, she would never stop wanting to match with him, but he knows that’s inevitable; he’ll just hold onto these moments for now. That was one of his favorites because Wynn just loved her costume so much that she didn’t want to take it off, so seeing her so happy in her princess dress just made his heart burst. 
But this year, he thinks he’s topped the previous years. 
As he said goodbye to Wynn, dropping her off at her class, he greeted her first grade teacher. 
“Oh! Don’t you both look absolutely adorable!” Mrs. Robin, an old lady who had been teaching for years and retiring this school year, said. 
“Thank you, Mrs. Robin. Think this year is my favorite,” Harry said, looking down at Wynn as she nodded her small head at him. Harry was dressed as Fred Flinstone and Wynn was Pebbles. He thought she was the absolute cutest, and he even did her hair the same way in the morning, but instead of a bone, he replaced it with a white bow. 
“You two always have the loveliest costumes!” Harry looked down at Wynn, raising his eyebrows at her to say thank you, and she looked at her teaching, thanking her. 
“Anyways, I gotta go get my class from their line. I’ll see you later at the bash,” he told Mrs. Robin. He bent down, meeting Wynn’s eye level. “Be good, okay?” His daughter nodded. “I’ll see you later. Make sure you say hi to me,” he reminded her. “Love you, bunches.” 
“Love you, tons,” the little girl replied, and he gave her forehead a kiss before she wrapped his arms around his shoulders, giving him a hug. They’ve always been inseparable, and Harry had separation anxiety whenever they part even if it’s just a little bit. And as much as he loves how much his daughter loves him, he hoped that she doesn’t suffer from it as well—although, he thinks it’s starting to begin. He couldn’t help it—he was an affectionate person and always loved to give her hugs and kisses, to which she would give them back. 
Harry quickly walked to his classroom, putting his belongings and the bags of candy down before walking out to pick up his class. Harry taught the third grade, and they were a smart bunch. He loved how it was in between sweet and cuteness, but also watching them grow. He thinks fourth and fifth grade was when they started to become too sassy and dramatic, so he liked being in between. 
“Hi, everyone! Happy Halloween!” He greeted, and his class cheered, some of his students telling him that he looked so cool, and Harry said thank you to them as he complimented them back. “Everyone follows me in a straight line. Don’t stop walking, don’t stray, don’t turn around, and please be sure to keep all hands and feet inside of the vehicle, got it?” They all nodded. “Alright, enjoy the ride, here we go!” He started walking as he smiled. He came up with that line when he was in his second year of teaching as he wanted his class to have fun while going into the classroom, so he acted like it was a rollercoaster, and the kids seemed to love it. 
When they got inside the classroom, the kids took their seats at their desk. Harry told them that they had to do a quick lesson before the Halloween bash, earning a groan throughout the classroom. 
“I know, I know. But it’ll be quick! And then we’ll all have fun after. Unless you all would prefer I teach the lesson after the bash and after lunch?” He asked, knowing what the answer would be. Usually on Halloween, they would have a lesson, the bash, lunch, and Harry would put on a movie as he passed out treats to fill in the rest of the day before the school day ended. Their heads shook as Harry chuckled. “I figured,” he said before he started the quick lesson on reading. 
The lesson only lasted thirty minutes, just in time to head out to the bash. All the classrooms were filing out to the courts, which was the larger area of the school that could fit all eighteen classrooms. The classrooms form a single line all around the three basketball courts, and each class would walk around in a single file line with their bags in hand as the teachers would pass out candy. Music would play and some of the staff would dress into one of those big floaty costumes to jump around in and entertain the other classes who were patiently waiting. The parents were allowed to join as well if they had the time to see their kids in cute costumes; the more the merrier. 
Harry’s class stood in their designated spot, having them line up, and he walked around to check if anyone got left behind, which no one did. The music started and classroom number one was instructed to do their lap, which were the kindergarten classes. Harry was classroom number eleven, so he got his big bowl of candy ready as the first class started to walk around. He saw some really fun costumes; one student was the sun and their friend was the moon, which he thought was so adorable. Once the class before the next was halfways, the next class was instructed to go. 
It went by fairly smoothly, although he could tell that some students were bored, which was understandable. Harry waited for Wynn’s class, in which she was in classroom number six, the last one of the first grade class. He spotted her in her bright green polka dot shirt and tortoise pants—she looked so adorable. He got his phone out when her class was close enough, taking a video of her at the same time as passing out candy. 
“Hi, Daddy!” She greeted, reaching up to hug him. 
“Oh, you’re the cutest. Hi, bubba,” he said as he hugged her back. The embrace was so sweet that he didn’t want to let go, and he didn’t until Wynn said something. 
“Uh, daddy, I gotta go now.” He snapped out of it, and saw that her class was onto the next two classes. He let go of her before kissing her cheek, saying see you later. 
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The rest of the Halloween day went by smoothly. It was quite cold out, so the teachers were allowed to have the students eat inside if they wanted to. 
By the end of the day, he picked Wynn up from the front before he made sure his entire class was picked up safely. 
“Did you have fun?” Harry asked Wynn once he saw her. 
“Yeah! Look at all the candy!” She showed him her bag full of sweets. 
“Wow! Alright, let’s get home and sort through the ones you want and don’t want. Gonna have to pick fifteen,” he told her and she pouted. He hated that pout, even though it was adorable, it was a dangerous pout that had Harry almost give in, but he had to be the strong parent. “Sorry, pretty. Thems the rules. Last year I gave you ten, so I bumped it up by five.” 
“Alright…” she trailed off, and Harry chuckled. 
Before they left, he quickly caught Mrs. Robin before she walked away. “Oh, by the way, Mrs. Robin. Do you mind taking a picture of us? Realized I forgot to take one this morning.” 
“Of course, dear! Harry unlocked his phone and opened the camera up before handing it to her. She pointed the camera towards them as she snapped a few pictures of them. They were smiling brightly at the camera before Harry picked Lynn up, so they were the same height. “Here you are. Have a lovely Halloween, you two.” Mrs. Robin bid them goodbye as they both waved. Harry looked at the pictures, seeing that they were blurry and some of them had her finger in the lens. Harry brushed it off, chuckling to himself as he’ll figure out how you two will get a picture later. 
They headed to the car and on their way home to continue the fun with by getting and passing out more candy. 
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The cold 5 p.m evening was relaxing and quiet as there weren’t many trick or treaters out just yet, only the little ones that needed to get their candy early in order to be back before bedtime. 
And that’s what you were doing with your three year old. You asked Penelope if she wanted to go and get candy, and just the sound of candy coming out from mommy’s mouth was music to her tiny ears, so she nodded her head. 
“Go now?” She asked, and you looked at the time as it was almost five in the evening. 
“Yeah! We can’t stay long because it’s gonna be cold and I don’t want you to get sick,” you told her. 
“No, I don’t want sick,” Penelope shook her head no. 
“Yeah, me either. I’ll bring a jacket just in case, don’t worry,” you reassured her, and she smiled. 
The jacket didn’t take long to put on. Once you felt the breeze rush through you, blowing away some of the leaves from the ground as Penelope was stomping on them, you immediately put her burnt orange teddy bear coat on over her scarecrow brown dress. You left the hood off since she was wearing a pointy black hat with a sunflower attached to it, which kept falling off everytime she jumped a little too much, might you add. So, you kept having to pick it up and put it back on her. 
You two had visited five houses so far, all houses being so lovely to Penelope as they complimented how adorable she was. Now, you were walking towards the next house when you suggested you go across the street since some of the other houses had signs already prepared saying ‘no candy!’
Penelope usually went with the flow, so she agreed as you two walked across the street and decided to just complete the entire block before walking back home before it got too cold and too late. 
“Go on, baby,” you encouraged her to knock on the black door. She ended up slapping the door with her open palm because she said knocking was hurting her hand. You waited at the bottom of the stairs for the owner of the house to open the door, and Penelope waited thirty seconds before she turned around with a pout on her face. “Don’t think they’re home yet. Lets go to the next one!” You said enthusiastically, hoping to lift her frown. She walked down the brick stairs as you reached out for her hand to hold. 
As you made it down the walkway and onto the sidewalk, you heard the door open frantically, making you turn around from the sudden noise and from a man calling out for you. 
“Wait, wait! I have candy!” The man ran down the walkway in a Fred Flinstone costume with a bucket of candy. You chuckled a bit because never did you imagine Fred himself was chasing after you. He was a very attractive man and he pulled the Flinstone costume quite well. “Sorry, I, uh, was just getting changed into my costume. I’m sorry it took so long. I didn’t realize people would be out trick or treating so early,” he said breathlessly from his rushed actions. 
You giggled. “Well, this one has to before she makes it for bedtime,” you referred to the little one who was jumping on the leaves. Harry looked down as his eyes beamed. 
“Well, look at you! Aren't you the cutest scarecrow!” Penelope looked up once she heard her costume. She smiled at the unknown man, but all she knew was that he had a bowl of candy that she would like to get her hands on. “I got lots of options here. You could choose one or two if you’d like.” Harry bent down to Penelope’s height, holding out the candy bowl to her. He had full fixed candy bars and candy packs, and you thought that must’ve been expensive. 
Penelope picked the candies she knew, which were a Hershey’s Cookies n’ Creme bar and a Twix bar. You raised them up to you, beaming proudly as you lowered her candy basket for her to put it in. 
“What do you say, baby?” 
She turned to Harry again. “Tank you!” 
“You’re welcome!” Harry responded. “Oh, uh, I’m Harry, by the way.” He shook your hand, introducing himself. He smiled, dimples popping out and you felt yourself blush. 
“I’m Y/N,” you smiled. 
“And who might this be?” He bent down again at Penelope. 
“I’m Pennie!” Your daughter introduced herself, and you smiled proudly. 
“It’s lovely to meet you both. You look amazing, Pennie! Although, your mummy doesn’t have a costume on,” he teased, looking at you as he smirked, making your heart flutter. 
“Well, mommy stayed up all night putting together and sewing her costume together, so I didn’t have time to make one for myself,” you explained. You were quite proud of Pennie’s costume. It was a brown dress with long sleeves that had different fall colored squares, but it was all one piece, so Pennie didn’t have to wear something underneath besides her leggings. 
“Wow, you made this? This looks amazing!” Harry complimented, and you humbly said thank your 
“So, uh, since your Fred Flinstone, is the rest of your family dressed up too?” You asked curiously. 
“Oh, no. Just my daughter,” he chuckled, “which by the way, you need to see her costume, one second.” Harry quickly walked into the house, calling out for his daughter. You and Pennie waited on the sidewalk. After a few seconds, Harry came out with his daughter holding his hand as you thought they were the cutest pair. 
“You two are just adorable!” You squealed as you looked at them fondly. 
“Hi, I’m Wynette, but I go by Wynn,” the six year old girl smiled as she introduced herself. 
“Hi, Wynn. I’m Y/N, and this is…Pennie, please stand up.” You found your daughter laying in the pile of leaves. Harry and Wynn laughed fondly. “Sorry about that.” You got Pennie to stand up, brushing her dress off from the dirt and mud. 
“It’s okay! Wynn and I love to jump and lay in the leaves all the time,” Harry said. “Oh! Actually, do you mind doing me a favor? I know we just met, but…” 
“Yeah, of course!” You accepted. 
“Do you mind getting a picture of us? We tried getting on earlier, but it was all blurry,” Harry chuckled, taking out his phone and opening up the camera. 
“Yeah, I got you.” You grabbed his phone as Harry and Wynn both smiled and posed. You lowered down the brightness a tad bit, and took multiple pics of them from different angles, even kicking some of the leaves to their feet to add to the fall effect. After you took plenty, you handed his phone back. “Let me know if you’d like me to take more.” 
“Wow, these are perfect!” Harry exclaimed as he looked at them. “Are you a photographer?” 
“Oh, no. I just really liked taking pictures when I was younger, so I always knew how to take good pictures on an iPhone,” you chuckled, making Harry laugh. Harry proceeded to joke that you should definitely be a photographer but only using a phone, and you teased back saying that you’ll think about it. 
Meanwhile as you two were talking, you two didn’t realize Pennie and Wynn playing in the leaves. Wynn was throwing a handful in the air as the leaves rained down onto the two of them. You smiled fondly at the two, and looked at Harry who was snapping some pictures. 
After a few moments, you called Pennie. “Alright, c’mon, baby. Let’s finish all these houses,” you reached out for her hand, but she pouted, shaking her head no. “Pennie…” 
“No, no! I don’t wanna leave!” Her eyes started tearing up as she frowned. 
“Don’t you want to get more candy?” You asked softly. She didn’t respond, rather turn towards Wynn and look at her with a pout. 
“Oh, uh, I think she wants Wynn to go with her,” Harry chimed in. “Think she got attached too easily within those ten minutes.” You let out a chuckle, knowing that he was right. 
“I’m sorry. Uh, she probably won’t leave your front lawn, but you totally don’t have to come with us, but-” 
“Nonsense! We’d love to go! Right, Wynn?” Wynn nodded her head happily as she continued playing with Pennie. “We usually trick or treat later in the evening, but we’d love to go with you now. I’ll just leave the candy out at the front.” 
“But wouldn’t the kids just take them all?” 
“Hey, that’s fine by me. As long as it’s going somewhere,” Harry shrugged. “Just give me one second to get the rest of the candy, and then we could go.” Harry walked back inside of the house. Wynn stayed with Pennie as you two watched them. You noticed Pennie wasn’t crying anymore, but she was giggling with tear stained cheeks as the older girl twirled her around. 
Two minutes later, Harry walked out of his house and locked the door before putting the candy bowl down onto the steps with a sign that said ‘take one, please!’ but he knew that no one was going to follow the sign’s instruction. After that, he turned towards you, smiling. “Shall we go?” You nodded your head as Harry gave Wynn her candy basket. 
The four of you walked on the leaf covered sidewalk; Wynn and Pennie were walking together in the front as you and Harry walked together behind them. 
“So, what do you do for a living?” You started the conversation. 
“I’m a third grade teacher. Have been for six years. What about you?” 
“I run a small business, selling jewelry and clothing. That’s all I do right now, and it’s gotten pretty big, so it’s taken care of a lot,” you smiled humbly. 
“Wow, that’s amazing. I could definitely see the talent through Pennie’s costume. I’d have to check it out sometime to support.” You smiled at that, giving him the name of your shop. 
The two of you continue walking, waiting for your children as they got candy, and getting to know one another. 
“Do you live around here?” He asked. “I mean, not in a creepy way,” he chuckled nervously. 
You giggled. “Yeah, I live about a block away. We usually walk on the opposite side, but decided to come on this side.” 
“Well, I’m glad you decided to come over here,” he said innocently, but it could be taken as flirtatious. 
“Me too,” you smiled softly. He smiled back as he thought you were the most beautiful person he’s ever seen that’s not related to him. You had soft eyes that looked at him with care, and a smile that he thought was the most gorgeous; you even had dimples on corners of mouth when you would smile, and he just thought that was the cutest thing. 
Obviously, he didn’t know that you were thinking the same thing as him. You felt somewhat intimidated by the tall, attractive, and kind man beside you. And you think his daughter is the cutest. They don’t really look alike, but she probably got her mom’s looks. Speaking of her mother… 
“So, the rest of your family didn’t want to come out with you two?” You asked curiously, still waiting for the answer if he was married or taken or not. 
“No, it’s actually just Wynn and I…” you hummed, smiling to yourself. “You’re probably wondering where Wynn’s mum is, huh?” He teased, noticing your flusteredness. 
“Oh, uh-” you stumbled. 
“It’s okay. I’m wondering if you’re taken too,” he said honestly. 
You chuckled nervously. “I’m not. Haven’t been since Penelope was born, actually.” 
“Do you mind me asking what happened?” 
“Only if you tell me what happened with Wynn’s mom,” you teased. “I mean, only if you want to.” Harry nodded, softly smiling. 
“Pennie’s dad and I got married three years before she was born. Spare the details, but we got a divorce after she was born because I found out that he had another family…and he chose them over us,” you explained. 
“Oh, wow, I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It’s alright. I’m over it, and it was for the better because I didn’t want Pennie hearing us fight all the time and me yelling and asking where he’s been,” you breathed out a laugh. It seemed like the memory was just yesterday, but it’s been three years. 
“That must’ve been hard. Are you happier?” 
“Oh, yeah. Definitely. That’s when I launched my business because I couldn’t stay at home and do nothing, so I started to design.” 
“That’s amazing!” Harry smiled. 
“So, that’s my spooky story for today,” you chuckled, “what’s yours?”  
“Wel, uh…” 
“Don’t feel obligated to tell me because I told you my story,” you reassured, and he nodded. 
“Yeah, I know. But I want to tell you. Have a feeling we’re gonna be around each other a lot more often.” He pointed his eyes at the two girls walking in front of you. You smiled at the two holding hands. “But anyways, Wynn’s mother passed away when she was about two months old.” 
You softly gasped. “Oh, I’m so sorry, Harry.” 
“As well as her father too.” Your eyes widened as you suddenly stopped walking for a moment. You looked at him skeptically, studying him for a moment. Harry furrowed his brows once you touched his stomach. 
“What are you doing?” 
“Are you a ghost?” You asked seriously. His words caught you off guard that you actually thought you were imagining Harry the whole time. 
“What? No, I’m not,” he laughed. He totally understood why you thought that. 
“Okay, good. Thought I was tripping. I mean it is Halloween. Anyways, you were saying?” You gave him your full attention as you two started walking again. 
“Wynn’s actual parents passed during an accident. They were on their way back from a little date night. Her father, Alex, was my best friend, and I’m her godfather. So, after they passed, I was her guardian. But when they asked me to be her godfather, they told me the responsibilities and that if anything happened to them, to change Wynn’s last name to my own because they didn’t want her to live on with her life wondering who her real family was. So, I did as they told me. I changed it. And I’ve raised her her whole life, and she’s mine, y’know?” Harry told you, and you listened and nodded. 
“Does Wynn know?” 
“Yeah, she does. I told her last year because she wondered why she didn’t look like me, and I knew that I couldn’t just lie and hide it from her. She’s a smart girl, so I knew she would understand. She cried for a little bit—had an identity crisis and felt like she couldn’t call me dad anymore, but I told her that if she wanted to or not then I would be okay with it. Thankfully, she still does.” Harry looked at his feet as he walked, kicking the leaves around. 
“You’re a great dad, Harry. I’ve known you for about thirty minutes, but I just know you are. Wynn is the sweetest, and you’re doing amazing. But thank you for telling me all that. Know I’m a bit of a stranger,” you slightly laughed. 
“Just a tad bit, but I trust you—I feel it.” You smiled at him, nudging him as you walked, to which you earned one back. 
You all walked back to Harry’s house, and by the time you got there, Pennie was reaching up towards you, telling you to pick her up. She must’ve been tired from all the walking and jumping with her new mate, so she was getting sleepy. 
“I could drive you back, if you’d like?” Harry offered. 
“No, it’s okay! Not that far of a walk. Thank you for joining us, though! Pennie and myself really appreciated it and we had fun,” you smiled. 
“We did as well. We’ll see you around?” Harry said, and you nodded, waving goodbye. 
Harry watched as you two walked away, and he really did have a great time. He felt refreshed and relieved after talking to you, and he doesn’t remember the last time he’s had a decent conversation with someone without turning it into more that same day. 
Hopefully he will see you around. 
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November 1st was your favorite. You started feeling the festive mood as it was getting closer and closer to the holidays. 
You and Pennie were out for a walk, and you offered to bring the stroller, but she shook her head, wanting to freely walk in the leaves. Taking the similar route as the night prior, you were hoping to see Harry. You were really infatuated with him, and you thought you two would be great friends, and maybe even more. 
Suddenly, Pennie let go of your hand and started running towards the familiar house from last night. She tan quite fast for a toddler, and you would have to ask her if she wanted to join track when she was older. 
“Penelope, get back here!” You chased after her, but it was too late when she slapped the door. You caught up to her and carried her. “Baby, please don’t run away from me like that again.” She said a soft ‘I’m sorry’ as you carried her off the walkway.
The door opened, revealing the familiar man. “Y/N? Pennie?” 
“I’m sorry! We were going for a walk and she ran away from me and ran here,” you said breathlessly, walking towards the front door again. 
Harry chuckled. “You wanna see Wynnie again, Pen?” Pennie’s eyes brightened at the sound of her friend’s name as she nodded. “Come on in!” 
“A-Are you sure?” You asked hesitantly. 
“Absolutely! We’re just cooking breakfast right now.” 
You two walked in slowly as Harry followed behind. You out Pennie down as she stayed close to you. When Harry shut the door, Pennie tugged on his pant leg. 
“Yes, sweetheart?” He bent down, giving his attention. 
“Can I have another candy?” She asked shyly, and Harry smiled. 
“Penelope…” you said. 
“What? H-He gives the full size candy bars!” You and Harry laughed loudly. 
“We have extra, but only if mummy lets you.” Pennie looked up at you with a pouty face, and of course, you gave in. 
“Alright, alright. But you’re only eating it after dinner, and you only get three pieces,” you chuckled. The little girl started jumping up and down happily. Harry looked at the two of you and smiled fondly, loving the dynamic between you two. 
Maybe he did like Halloween after all. 
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happy halloween! come into my inbox and let’s talk <3
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i-ship-therefore-i-am · 4 years ago
Text
my kingdom come undone
I wrote a thing. Inspired by this post by @lanzhanshands about an AU where Lan Zhan is forced to kill Wei Wuxian. (Ugh, how DARE) 2500 words, wangxian
Warnings: self-harm, suicide, violence, death, blood
my kingdom come undone
if I am doomed to death, then at least I could be killed by you
Wei Ying has lost control.
The buildings themselves are starting to crumble, the very earth beneath their feet screaming with rage, as if to shake them all off, to free itself completely of the living. Cultivator or servant, old or young.
Even the Jiang clan is no longer being protected, just swarms and swarms of puppets lashing and tearing them all to pieces.
“Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji barks, voice booming above the fray. There is no way he has not heard it, and yet there is no reaction, no pause in his playing, not the tiniest flicker.
There’s nothing in his eyes anymore, nothing left but the resentment, leaving them dull and flat and lifeless. His skin pale and deathly, the telltale black lines crawling up over his neck. It’s clear he doesn’t know what he’s doing anymore, that he’s not Wei Ying anymore. That his control is gone.
Lan Wangji’s greatest fear unfurling right in front of him.
Wei Ying is the eye of the storm, the relentless, rotting resentful energy is thicker and more violent the closer Lan Wangji comes, pressing through and grunting slightly at the impact against his chest, his thigh—the burning, mournful screech of it. He does not stop.
Does not dare stop.
Once close enough, he pulls Bichen free and attacks. “Wei Ying! Stop this now!”
They fight, Wei Ying with just his flute to counter and parry, slipping under and away from Lan Wangji’s strikes, and for a while it seems their same endless draw, but Lan Wangji knows himself to be the superior swordsman. Especially now.
He has been holding back.
“Wei Ying,” he tries one more time, ignoring the curl and burn of resentful energy whipping against his body. “Stop this.”
Please.
The spread of Wei Ying’s lips reveals blood-stained teeth, and when next his flute lifts to his lips, the shrill, shrieking note is for Lan Wangji.
Meant to kill.
He barely dodges and deflects the resentful energy made solid and lifts his sword with deadly intention. There is no more time to hold back.
Lan Wangji’s strike hits home, Bichen sliding relentlessly into Wei Ying’s chest, going all the way through, and Lan Wangji’s wrist is twisting on instinct, muscle memory of endless practice brutally finishing the move. Blood immediately gushes from Wei Ying’s mouth, his entire body jerking.
The dark energy pulses and screams with rage, the wind and dust picking up, stinging Lan Wangji’s eyes and cheeks.
They have seen Wei Ying pull an arrow straight from his chest and continue on as if nothing, but this time he will not. Wei Ying’s limbs are already twitching, muscles spasming erratically.
Yet his empty hand lifts, striking out, latching onto Lan Wangji’s wrist, the skin so cold and cracked against his own. It isn’t an attack though, but something much worse.
“Lan Zhan,” he breathes, soft and garbled, and for that tiny moment, his eyes are once again his own. So warm and full even as they are red-rimmed and pained.
Everything seems to freeze, everything else dropping away. For Lan Wangji there is nothing but Wei Ying.
He thinks there must be tears on his face, but he doesn’t care, hasn’t let it make him hesitate.
There is the slightest smile curving Wei Ying’s lips as he looks back at Lan Wangji, his face impossibly pale, blood gushing down to the ground. He nods once, as if to accept his fate, Lan Wangji’s judgment, and then his eyes drift shut, leaving him looking almost peaceful.
“Lan Zhan,” he mumbles one more time, a faint echo like a distant ghost.
He slumps, his fingers falling away from the back of Lan Wangji’s hand, but before Lan Wangji can even think to reach for him or pull back his sword, or save him, save him, save him—the world explodes, the Stygian Tiger Amulet shattering into countless pieces, a single name a piercing shriek in the wind.
Wei Wuxian! Wei WUXIAN!
Resentful energy bursts outwards, a solid, punishing wind, knocking people to the ground. Lan Wangji stumbles back, leaning hard into it, arm lifting.
Behind and around him, the puppets fall quickly, docile now without anyone to command them, cut down quickly by survivors or merely melting back into the ground with a mournful wail that shudders the earth.
Moorless. Uncontrolled. Their master dead.
Dead. Dead. Dead.
The blast knocked Lan Wangji back, far enough for Bichen to slide free of Wei Ying’s chest. When Lan Wangji recovers enough to look, Wei Ying is crumpled to the ground, boneless and ungainly.
His eyes are open again, now unfocused, inert.
Empty.
There is cheering, somewhere in the distance, which makes no sense, rattles irritatingly against Lan Wangji’s skin, but he can’t really focus on that, instead staring at the body at his feet, the slow drip of blood off the end of Bichen where he still holds it.
He’s waiting, maybe. To feel something?
Waiting for Wei Ying to rise and smile and do one more impossible thing?
But the stillness and the silence only grow and grow and grow and the waiting is now a writhing, furious thing, something cracking in half inside of him, withering and decaying.
No. No. No. No.
It slowly grows, the wail that wants to rip out of his throat. The furious rage at the world that led them to this. Every misstep, every wasted moment, every missed opportunity.
He wonders what his own eyes look like, if there is anything but emptiness to see. If he can possibly survive one more moment of the inescapable, sheering pain.
Lan Wangji does the only thing he can think to do to make it stop and lifts Bichen, the blood and metal catching the light.
“Wangji, no!”
But his brother’s voice is soft and distant where the blade is blessedly sharp and close to his neck. One quick motion is all it takes.
He falls to his knees, sword tumbling from numb fingers as he reaches for Wei Ying and death.  
Refusing to let Wei Ying again go where he cannot follow.
***
Xichen must flood his body with every fleck of spiritual power he has to keep his gaping neck together, to keep blood flowing in Lan Wangji’s body and not out. There are others too, maybe. Outnumbering him.
He does not want to be saved. Fights against it. Rages with what little strength he has.
“Wangji, stop it!”
He doesn’t want to.
But it is the one time Lan Wangji’s strength fails him. He has done, as always, what is necessary. Denying himself all else. He has always been strong. But not in this.
Even in this one final wish is he denied.
But there will be moments. Opportunities. No one can be watched at all times.
The first time he truly wakes, now in a bed in Cloud Recesses, there are small arms wrapped tight around his thigh, a child’s body curled trustingly against his.
A-Yuan.
Lan Wangji lifts his eyes to his brother, sitting calming nearby, but eyes sharp. He has played a dirty trick and knows it, watches to see what will come of it.
Lan Wangji squeezes his eyes shut, feeling tears streaming down his face, soaking into his hair and the bandage still wrapped around his neck.
He puts his hand down on the small child’s head and nods.
Perhaps living will be the true punishment deserved.
***
The scar is a rippled, monstrous thing. Bichen’s blade is sharp and efficient, but Lan Wangji’s fight against being saved has warped and stretched the wound, his refusal ripping it open time and again. It takes most of his voice with it.
He can speak, but his words are rough and incomplete, each syllable a painful struggle. He’s always had little use for words, now he will have even less. He saves whatever words he has all for A-Yuan, who never flinches at the bruising sound. Who never stares at the scar, who touches him freely without fear.
A constant reminder of the only other person ever to do so.
“Body?” is one of the first words Lan Wangji manages to force out to his brother.
He braces himself to hear of a callus punishment, Wei Ying’s body burned and cremains spread recklessly, giving his soul no place to find peace, no place to tether it.
“There was no body,” Xichen says.
Lan Wangji gives him a sharp look.
“The resentful energy…it seemed to rebound back. It devoured him.”
When he is able, Lan Wangji drags himself upright behind his guqin and sends his questions out into the ethos.
Are you there?
Are you at peace?
Do you hate me?
Inquiry has no answer for him, year after year, and he begins to understand that Wei Ying is not just gone from this world, but gone from existence.
Forgive me. Forgive me. Forgive me.
***
Lan Wangji walks the world, first to share it with A-Yuan, to let him see things for himself and not as described in books and lectures through others’ agendas. To let him learn his own judgment and beliefs. And later to bring whatever justice and order he can to the forgotten, the people the sects either do not see or do not wish to see.
He wears the scar unflinchingly. Refusing to hide it from sight. Not proud, not embarrassed. Just another part of him.  
People learn not to call him a hero if they don’t wish a sword drawn against them.
They fear him now too.
As they should. He is a ghost. Just one more corpse at Wei Ying’s disposal. And perhaps this transformation is the Yiling Patriarch’s one last great feat.
***
When Wei Ying is born back into the world, Lan Wangji is there to stand by his side, to keep this world from destroying him yet again.
Lan Wangji had never known what to say to him before, how to speak to him, and now even less, so his silence seems right. Wei Ying never asks about the injury that took his voice, just gives him long looks, his eyes lingering on the scar. It is hard to know what he remembers and what he doesn’t.
Lan Wangji keeps him safe, helps him unravel the mystery of a sword ghost that becomes a blade that becomes a murder and spilled secrets of using the Yiling Patriarch as a scapegoat for power grabs and petty revenge. Of each manipulated step that dragged Lan Wangji’s blade into Wei Ying’s heart.
He stays by his side and keeps him safe, always knowing it is not his space to occupy. That he does not have the right to it. He is a shield and nothing more.
Meaning he does not deserve to feel anything like pain when Jin Guanyao holds Wei Ying by the throat, Bichen gleaming a mere inch from the throb of Wei Ying’s pulse in a failed attempt to free him. When Jin Guanyao laughs and strikes out mercilessly.
“I always knew it would end here again, Lan Wangji, with your sword buried deep in Master Wei’s chest. How I look forward to seeing that again.”
“Never,” Lan Wangji whispers and seals his spiritual power without daring to look at Wei Ying.
When it is done, each bitter truth dragged out and unfurled and Wei Ying finally free, Lan Wangji follows him out onto the road.
He stops at the first curve.
“Lan Zhan?” Wei Ying asks, looking back to see why he hasn’t followed.
He unsheathes Bichen, closing the distance between them, watching for alarm in Wei Ying’s eyes, but there is only curiosity and trust.
It cuts worse than anything else.
Reaching out, Lan Zhan takes Wei Ying’s hands and carefully wraps them around Bichen’s hilt.
“Lan Zhan, what are you—”
Lifting the blade towards himself, Lan Wangji falls to his knees in front of him. Sizhui is grown and safe. Wei Ying is free. He has paid as much debt as he can without this.
Wei Ying looks between him and the blade, his face paling. “Lan Zhan, you can’t be serious.”
“Wei Ying,” he rasps, leaning towards the blade. Yearning for it. “Please.”
“No!” Wei Ying says, not dropping Bichen in the dirt, but swinging the blade away, tucked safely behind him. “Why would I—Do you really want to die this badly?”
He feels himself sway. “It is what I deserve.”
It’s what I did to you.
“No, it’s not,” he says hotly. “How could you ever deserve that!”
Lan Wangji lowers his face, staring down at the ground.  
“Lan Zhan. You think I—? I don’t blame you, Lan Zhan.” Wei Ying drops to the dirt in front of him, his hands taking his. “Deep down, I always knew I could count on you to stop me if I went too far. I don’t remember much, I really don’t. But I don’t doubt that I needed to be stopped. That you did the right thing.”
Lan Wangji squeezes his eyes shut, throat burning from too many words, stretching him to his very limit. “I failed you.”
“No, Lan Zhan, no.”
There’s a long, protracted silence and Lan Wangji forces himself to just wait. He feels like he’s been waiting forever. Like this is all he has ever done.
Wei Ying’s fingers on his throat make him flinch, but if he wishes to strangle him instead, he will take that as well. But the fingers are gentle instead of rough. Far too gentle.
“Tell me how this happened, Lan Zhan,” he says, voice so soft.
Lan Wangji presses his lips together, shaking his head.
“If you will give me something, give me that.”
Everything inside him revolts against it. But what right does he have to deny Wei Ying anything? “I tried to follow you,” he says, each word a struggle, like he might soon feel blood on his tongue, his vocal chords screaming in agony. “But you are always going where I cannot follow.”
On his wrist, Wei Ying’s hand trembles. “Lan Zhan,” he says, voice nearly broken as his own. “Lan Zhan.”
He forces his eyes up, and Wei Ying is crying.
“It wasn’t fair to ask it of you. I see that now. I never thought…”
That killing him would be as good as killing himself?
“I didn’t know what I was asking of you.”
And then Wei Ying’s arms are wrapping around him, pulling him in close, relentlessly drawing him into the eye of his storm.
Lan Wangji grabs him back immediately, burying his face in his shoulder, so weak, so unable to resist. “Wei Ying,” he says in his garbled, bruised voice.
He is alive, he is alive, he is alive.
“I’m sorry,” Wei Ying says, over and over again. “I’m so sorry.”
Something inside Lan Wangji is cracking wide open, when he thought there was nothing solid left to begin with. Just ruins and shards.
Wei Ying does not stop, words endlessly tumbling. “You must know, you must know, that I cannot live in a world without you in it, Lan Zhan.”
Lan Wangji’s body trembles, the soft roundness of longing he has denied himself for so long struggling to be free, to pour over the sharp edges.
“Stay. Stay. Stay,” he begs.
Slowly, Lan Wangji lifts his hand to the back of Wei Ying’s head, fingers burying in his hair.
He nods.
***
He dreams of it always. Waking sweating and crying, Wei Ying’s name ripping from his ruined throat. The phantom feel of dust in his eyes and blood slick on his hands.
Wei Ying is always there, gathering him close, lips pressing to his cheeks, his forehead, his throat. Arms and legs wrapped around him as he murmurs quietly to him in the dark, his bright heat burning everything else away.
“I love you, Lan Zhan. I love you. I’m here and I will never go where you cannot follow.”  
Each time Lan Zhan lets out a shuddering breath, and digs his fingers into Wei Ying’s back, pulling him impossibly close. Focuses on the steady thud of Wei Ying’s heart against his chest.
And chooses life all over again.
.fin.
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roonilwazlibimagines · 4 years ago
Note
I've read your fics of Ron and loved them so much. Do you know if you can make one with them eating at the Burrow? She gets jealous of Fleur talking to Ron and is feeling insecure about her looks and concerned her ' muggle' status? Ending with smut and comfort.
Sorry if this is long
Pairing: Ron Weasley x Reader Word Count: 3.3k Blurb: Her jealously of Fleur has been building up since their fourth year, even if she knows Fleur doesn’t mean it and Ron reminds her that she is the only one he loves.  Warnings: There is sex but it is just really soft :(. Like Ron just eats her out and keeps praising her. And it is at the end, the first part is mainly fluff and a little bit of angst.  A/N: honestly fuck canon, I just made this my own, oops. Also I literally don’t know how to write a scene where Ron does something to really make her jealous so this is what you get. Flashbacks are in italics. 
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“Are you okay, sweetheart?” she hummed in confusion before realising she had been staring at the ceiling, her fists clenched and jaw tense. 
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she gave him a half-assed reassuring look before turning back to stare at the ceiling. They were laying in their bed, both on their backs with their heads on the pillow, laying next to each other in the dark room which was only slightly illuminated by the weak flame on Ron’s bedside table. 
“Are you sure?” he asked, turning his head to look at her. 
“I don’t forget how brave you were at the second task,” her thick French accent was ringing in her ears as she watched the way she grabbed onto Ron’s arm making his whole face turn red. 
“Oh really,” she glared at him as she watched him tense at her touch, “it was nothing,” Fleur removed her hand from him and she so desperately wanted to ask her if she also remembered the time Ron had made a fool of himself asking her to The Yule Ball. 
“Yes Ron,” she didn’t mean to sound so annoyed and she hoped that it was too dark for him to notice the way she rolled her eyes. 
She didn’t mean to act so harsh, it wasn’t Ron’s fault. It wasn’t Fleur’s either. Ron couldn’t help that he was always so pathetically a victim to her veela charm. She probably shouldn’t feel jealous of this ‘veela charm’ and Ron probably didn’t even realise he was doing it, but she couldn’t help the green tinge which plagued her whenever it happened. 
“Ron,” her fourteen-year-old self was hitting his chest, “Ron!” she repeated after his lack of response, “you’re pathetic,” she slapped his chest one more time before folding her arms across her chest and rolling her eyes. 
“Did you say something?” his body turned towards her but his eyes were still on the veela who were dancing in front of them at The Quidditch World Cup. 
“I guess not,” she had grumbled underneath her breath realising that it wouldn’t have mattered if she said it louder because it would only fall on deaf ears. And busy eyes. 
Her first introduction to veela had left a sour taste in her mouth, even if she knew it was nothing personal and she was just overreacting. And besides, her and Ron weren’t even dating then so she really did have nothing to be jealous over. 
But now they were dating and Fleur still seemed to have an effect on him even after the war and all the times he had spoken to her. She couldn’t help but let her fourteen-year-old self’s words ring in her ears, “you’re pathetic.”
“Sorry,” he turned his head so it was again facing the ceiling, “I didn’t mean-”
“I’m sorry,” she cut him off with a sigh, “I shouldn’t have snapped,” and she turned her head to see him nodding slightly. He had moved his arm so that one was resting behind his head, the other resting at his side.
“Do you think she is upset with me?” Ron had asked Harry the night he had asked Fleur to the Yule Ball. 
“Uhm,” Harry wasn’t sure whether to lie to make him feel better or give him the truth, “I don’t know,” he settled for the safe answer. 
“I mean, we were walking and she was talking about the The Yule Ball,” they were in their respective beds and Harry couldn’t see the way Ron nervously bit his lip as he recalled the events of the evening, “she was really excited.”
“Does she have a date to The Yule Ball?” Harry had asked. They both still needed dates. 
“No, I think that was what she was talking about,” it was what she was talking about, hoping that Ron would get the hint, “and then I think I might have cut her off,” there was an awkward pause. 
“Because you asked out Fleur?” Harry had asked, trying to break the awkward silence. 
“Yeah,” it was silent for a moment again as Ron started to question his actions, “and then I did it and Fleur said ‘no’, obviously,” Harry didn’t say anything as there was another pause, “and then when I turned to her she looked kind of angry,” Ron’s heart leapt as he remembered the way her mouth had turned into a thin straight line and how her gaze hardened, “thought I might of embarrassed her.” 
“Why?” 
“Because I made a fool of myself and she wouldn’t want to be associated with me,” Ron said as if it was the most obvious explanation. 
“Okay,” Harry spoke slowly. 
“And then she dragged me to The Common Room,” he shrugged his shoulders, “and she hasn’t spoken to me since,” he sighed, “and she hasn’t stopped glaring either,” he had mumbled that under his breath. 
Harry didn’t know how to comfort his friend. It was obvious to Harry what both of their actions meant, but apparently neither of them could understand it. 
Ron felt exactly like he had that night. He only had a small bed and with his large frame there was no position where they could lie without touching each other. But he felt very far away from her. 
He would do anything to realise what he had done wrong and to make this all better. He bit his lip as he tried to remember the events which could have caused her to stop clinging to his arm and start glaring at him instead. 
“He is so pathetic,” she had screamed in her dorm, slamming the door behind her before sitting on her bed and facing Hermione opposite her. 
“What do you expect?” she waited for a reaction, “Ron has always been a bit daft hasn’t he?” 
“But I was making it so obvious,” her shoulders deflated, “and then she had to come along and ruin everything,” she sneered at the memory. 
“You know just as well as I do that this isn’t Fleur’s fault,” she let out a mix of a sigh and groan in response knowing that Hermione was right, “besides, you could do a lot better than Ron.”
“But I don’t want to do better than Ron,” she had sulked the rest of the night letting the scene play through her mind over and over again until she felt physically sick and couldn’t sleep. 
“You would tell me if something was wrong, right?” Ron had finally built up the courage to address her again. 
“Yes,” she grumbled.
“So what’s wrong?” he really just wanted her to feel better so he swallowed his pride and moved so he was laying on his side and looking at her properly. 
“Nothing,” she refused to look at him, “it’s dumb.”
“Well it can’t be that dumb if it was making you this upset,” he reached out an arm to hold her hand and she squeezed it to let him know that she was upset, but it was still okay. 
“Could you please pass me the salad, Ron?” Fleur had asked Ron that night and it honestly hadn’t even bothered her. 
“Of course,” Ron had spoken and acted so quickly that he had knocked his glass of water down making his ears turn red as Molly shook her head and stood up to clean it. Fleur had laughed it off and told him that he was cute. 
That didn’t really bother her either. She liked Fleur and it was common for Fleur to talk to people that way. It really didn’t bother her. 
“Ron, could you please pass me the chicken?” he wasn’t as enthusiastic and maybe, as foolish as it was, that was what set her off. Or maybe it was because Fleur was sitting across from her and all she could focus on was how pretty she was. Maybe her eyes were tricking her but she couldn’t help but notice Ron stare at her for a little too long. And maybe these feelings had been building up since they were fourteen, but she didn’t really know why all of a sudden a wave of emotions had washed over her. The rest of the night she couldn’t help but steal glances at Fleur, noticing how effortlessly gorgeous she was compared to how average she was.  
“You’ll laugh,” she knew he wouldn’t laugh. 
“I won’t laugh,” he sounded offended. 
“I’m just,” she tried to find the right words, “not feeling well.”
“That’s a lie,” she couldn’t see the way he raised his eyebrows at her. 
“Fleur,” they had finished dinner and were sitting in the living room. Molly and Arthur, Bill and Fleur, Charlie and George and herself and Ron were the only ones in the house at the moment, “I’m so glad Bill met you,” Molly had gushed as Fleur finished her story about work.. 
She wanted to slap herself in the face when she felt her whole body tense at the words and if she didn’t want Molly’s approval so bad she probably would have done it.
“Me too,” Ron had chimed in making her head snap towards him, “still can’t believe Bill got someone so out of his league,” he smirked as Bill shouted a profanity at him. 
It was harmless, she knew that. It was just to annoy Bill, she knew that. But she couldn’t help the way her teeth began to grind and she instantly let go of Ron. 
“Sometimes I have a lot of emotions,” she began, eyes still on the ceiling. 
“Trust me,” she heard him breath out, “I’ve noticed,” she finally turned to look at him and glare, making his face fall as he mumbled out a few a, ‘sorry, love’.
“And I know I'm being silly,” she turned away again, “but sometimes I get really jealous of Fleur.” 
“Stop looking at her!” she had moved her head so it was in line with Ron’s eyes who were desperately trying to find the Beauxbaton girl who had just stolen their food. 
“I’m not looking at her,” he had tried to defend himself, “I’m trying to find her so I can look at her,” he mumbled it under his breath and into his food but she still heard him and sent a filthy look. 
“You’re pathetic,” she rolled her eyes at him making him sit up again. She didn’t miss the way his eyes flickered behind her. 
“Why do you care so much?” his ears were turning red and she blinked at him a few times realising that she didn’t have an answer.  
“You’re probably making her feel uncomfortable,” she sat up straighter and pushed her shoulders back.
She returned her focus to her food, feeling a little embarrassed and missing the way that Ron’s eyes were now flickering onto her. 
“Why?” she turned to see his reaction. His eyebrows were furrowed and he had a look of utter confusion etched on his face. 
“Because she is really pretty,” she mumbled, “and a veela,” she said that more clearly. 
“And?” 
“And you’ve never been shy of showing off in front of her,” she raised an eyebrow at him and the flame - which had suddenly become stronger - allowed her to see the red tinge which spread upon Ron’s face. 
“It’s her veela charm,” he said quietly, not entirely sounding convinced. She didn’t say anything prompting him to tease, “or maybe I’m just pathetic,” there was a slight grin forming on his face and she couldn’t stop the one forming on hers. 
“I think that’s a better explanation,” she giggled as he let his grin grow wide as well. She moved so that she was on her side as well and Ron reached out his arm so that he could rest it on her hip and bring her closer to him. 
“Get a hold of yourself, Ron,” she rolled her eyes at the red-faced boy standing in front of her, “it was just a peck on the cheek,” he had a blanket around him and he was slightly shivering. 
“That’s not fair,” he gave her an annoyed look, “I just came out of the bloody lake,” he pointed to the lake next to them and glared at her.
“Sure,” she gave him a sarcastic look before mumbling, “he is so pathetic,” under her breath. She crossed her arms over her chest missing the way that Ron’s ears perked up and went a deeper shade of red as he heard the words muttered from her mouth. 
“You have nothing to be jealous about,” he pressed a kiss to her forehead and she let herself relax under his touch. 
“I know,” she looked up at him innocently making him chuckle, “but, I don’t know,” she looked back down, “I think this has just built up since our fourth year and I think something set it off tonight.”
“You’re so stunning,” he pressed another kiss to her nose, “have nothing to be insecure about, yeah?” she looked up at him to be met with a soft gaze which pulled at her heart. 
He pressed another soft kiss to her lips and he pushed himself up so he could continue kissing all over her face. 
“I love you so much,” he had murmured in between kisses, “so beautiful,” he moved so that he was kissing her jawline, “can I show you how much I love you?” he pulled away so he could look at her face and she nodded eagerly making him smile before he continued kissing her. 
Her hands found his hair as he kissed around the sensitive area under her jaw and she tugged at it when he bit down. 
“So everyone knows you’re the only one I love,” she rolled her eyes at his comment but still pulled him closer by his hair so that she could press a gentle kiss to his lips. 
“Thank you,” she murmured as he continued kissing around the now red area, “I love you so much.”
“Let me see that beautiful body, yeah?” he pushed himself up again so that he could lift her shirt up, pressing another kiss to her lips as soon as it went over her head. He moved down to her pants and pulled them off as well as her underwear. Her body shivered at the cool breeze which hit her hot skin but she hummed in content as Ron started kissing her chest and continued murmuring about how beautiful she was. 
“You’re a goddess,” he commented as he started kissing around her nipple, while one of his hands reached to grab the other. She giggled and he smiled up at her, glad to hear the beautiful noise again. 
“You’re doing a good job at making me feel better,” she sighed in content as he started leaving a trail of kisses on her tummy, pressing soft kisses along her hips before placing a soft kiss on her clit which made her gasp. 
“Gonna make you feel even better,” he smirked up at her before he let his tongue touch her heat. 
“Yes,” she moaned out, “Ron,” her hands reached out to grab onto his hair. She arched her back and Ron moved his arm so that it was over her hips and holding her down. She moved one hand from his hair and put it over the one on her hips. He turned it around and she held onto it, giving it a small squeeze. 
With his other hand he pressed his thumb to her clit, placing pressure on it and making her cry out his name. 
“Better be quiet love, don’t want anyone to hear us,” he pulled himself away and gave her a cheeky grin before going back to devour her again. She felt a heat rise to her cheeks as she remembered where she was. 
“Sorry,” she moaned, “can’t help it when - ah,” she squeezed his hand as he started rubbing her clit and she let out a big breath, “when you make me feel so good,” her breathing was uneven and soon she was trying to whisper to let Ron know that she was going to cum. 
His fingers moved faster and his tongue was going deeper and soon her back was arching and she was trying to squirm under Ron’s grip, but his tongue followed her movements and she let go moaning out his name. 
“Feeling better, sweetheart?” he asked as he pushed himself up and started taking his pants off. 
“Yes,” her eyes were still shut in her post-orgasm bliss and Ron pressed a soft kiss to her nose, once again reminding her how beautiful she was. 
“So wet for me,” he commented as he let his fingers move between her folds. 
“Hurry up,” she bucked her hips towards him, making him tsk. 
“Be patient, sweetheart,” usually she would never get away with such a demand but she only smirked at him before replying, “I thought you were trying to make me feel better?” she pouted and he shook his head before aligning his cock at her entrance. 
“Going to be the death of me, love,” he thrusted his hips into her making her gasp, “be quiet,” he grabbed onto her thighs and pulled her legs up so that they were resting on his shoulders. 
“Ron,” she moaned out as he started thrusting at a much quicker pace, “ah-” she had cried out when he found the spongy spot which made her scrunch her eyes up and receive a shushing from Ron.
“I told you to be quiet,” but he thrusted harshly between each word making her mouth fall open as she reached her hand down to rub at her clit. Normally he would have smacked her hand away, but instead he took the opportunity to put his fingers in her mouth. 
“Since your fingers are doing my job,” he grunted, “and because you can’t keep quiet,” he smirked as she instantly began sucking on his fingers, “good girl.”
Her other hand went to grab onto the one in her mouth when she was about to cum and Ron told her to cum on his cock, coaxing her and praising her, telling her he wanted to see her pretty body come undone on his cock. Her legs were shaking and she was lazily sucking on Ron’s fingers now as her breath got caught in her throat and she thrashed her hips, trying to moan out Ron’s name as his thrusts became sloppier. 
He replaced his cock with his fingers so he could let her ride out her orgasm while he let his cum fall onto her tummy. 
She took a deep breath and smiled in satisfaction as Ron removed his fingers and left to go to the bathroom so he could clean her up. 
“Thank you,” she smiled in content as he started cleaning her up, “I feel much better about myself now,” she sat up as he began to dress her and she started pressing soft kisses on his face. 
He laid onto the mattress, resting on his back as he lifted an arm up so that she could rest her head on his bare chest as he traced patterns on her shoulder. 
“I love you so much, you know?” his voice was soft and she let her eyes begin to close, “so in love with you,” he pressed a kiss to the top of her head, “so beautiful,” another kiss, “so good to me,” she hummed. 
“I am,” she felt his chest vibrate as he chuckled. 
“So lucky to have you,” she was starting to get tired now, “don’t ever want you to question that,” he was still kissing her head, “don’t know what I did to deserve you,” he started playing with the ends of her hair, instantly making her body relax. 
“I love you, Ron,” she mumbled sleepily. 
“I love you, sweetheart,” he pressed a long and gentle kiss onto her forehead before blowing out the candle which was now illuminating the whole room. He continued to whisper how much he loved her and what she meant to him as she fell asleep in his arms, the green tinge gone from her face and Ron’s mind happy that he could go to sleep confident she knew how much he loved her. 
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cassava-49 · 4 years ago
Text
Hiding
A six years old Felix hid underneath the buffet table, trying to avoid anymore of the party. He huffed as he leaned on one of the table's leg and began munching on the cookie he snatched. He began dusting the crumbs off him as he crept to the front and raised the table cloth just a little so that he could see what's happening.
Outside he could see his cousin, Adrien, with their bratty friend, Chloe, trying to find him. He couldn't help but giggle seeing that Chloe was concerned for him. But they're not really the reason to why he's hiding, he looked to the far left and found the Italian brat that had been clinging to him the entire night. He watched as she had teary eyes trying to find him. He turned to where Adrien and Chloe were and muttered an apology for leaving. If he could allow them to hide with him he would, but knowing that the two can't sit still without saying a word, they'd be caught without even trying. He then laid back only to bump into another body.
He rubbed his head to find a little girl with short dark blue hair, copying his action. "What are you doing here?" the girl asked in a soft annoyed voice, so not to get caught. He glared at the girl and whisper shouted at her, "That's my line!" She huffed, placing her hands on her waist. "But this is my hiding place," she stated her claim.
Felix mimicked the girl's action to intimidate her. "Yeah, but I don't see anything here that says this is your spot," he snarkly replied. "This is my parents' buffet table, so this is my spot," she defended herself. He huffed and replied, "Well, my parents payed for the food, so this is my hiding spot, too." The little girl scoffed and said, "Your parents didn't pay for the food, the Bourgeoises did, I know because that brat Chloe came by."
This made the two huff as they folded their arms together, turning their heads to the opposite direction. After a few minutes of angry silence, Felix began to crawl to the other side of the table. "Hey, where are you going?" the little girl called out. "To the other side, duh. You take that side and I'll take this side," he replied as he stationed himself to the other leg of the table. She blinked her eyes at the offer and smiled, taking up as much space as she wants. She then took out her small handkerchief and laid it on the floor revealing the few snacks she smuggled, just like a mini picnic.
This caught the little boy's attention. The little girl noticed his stares at the treats and smiled, offering him a macaroon. His eyes widened at the her offer but stubbornly refused, only to have his stomach betray him by releasing a loud grumbling sound. This made the girl giggle and asked him to come over and eat with him. He placed an annoyed look on his face, but happily went over for a snack, taking the macaroon from her hands.
"What's your name?" she asked as he began eating. "Felix," he replied after he swallowed the food in his mouth. She smiled and said, "I'm Marinette." He nodded in recognition and took a cupcake. Marinette began munching on a cookie as she peeked under the table cloth. There she could see her parents serving to the people at the buffet table and mingling with one of the staff members.
"Why are you hiding anyway?" Felix asked as he noticed her peeking outside. "I'm not hiding, my parents know where I am," she replied as she ate the last part of the cookie. "Then why are you under the table?" he asked as he took another macaroon. She shrugged her shoulders and replied, "I don't like being around a lot of people. What about you, are you hiding?"
He nodded and took another cookie. "I don't like the other guest's daughter. She's annoying and clingy, not to mention a liar. I don't believe a thing she says it's all absurd," he replied. This caught her interest as she asked, "Who?" He gestured for her to peek under the tablecloth with him. He looked for the brown haired girl and pointed at her.
"Her, the one dancing with the butler," he said. She stared at the girl and commented, "She doesn't look bad." This made the blond scoff and said, "To you, but once you get to know her you'll see."
"Marinette," a voice from outside called as a large man looked at them from the other side of the table. "Papa!" she squealed excitedly as she approached him. Noticing the other child, Tom smiled and asked, "Who's your new friend?" Remembering that Felix was with her she gestured to the young boy. "This is Felix, he's hiding," she said. This made the man hum in understanding and said, "Well, why don't you keep him company in hiding?" She nodded enthusiastically as she turned to her friend, who had a confused look on his face. "Alright, young man take care of my daughter for me," he said as he left. Felix nodded and turned to find that they already ate all the snacks.
"Aren't there any more food?" he asked in a disappointed voice. "Nope, we ate them all," she replied as she began wiping the young boy's face. "Wait, wha-what are you doing?" he asked as he slowly backed away. She giggled at his reaction and said, "You had crumbs on your face, silly." For some reason the young boy could feel his face heat up at the sudden contact. Once she finished, she say opposite him and began dusting her pink dress.
"Where are you going?" Felix asked as he noticed her about to leave. "Out, it's getting hot in here. I want some air," she said. "But, but you said you weren't going to leave me," he called out, a bit surprised about this. He didn't know what he was feeling, but right now he doesn't want this girl to leave him. "Did I?" she asked a bit confused too. She then snapped her fingers, recalling what she said. "Well, are you coming with me?" she asked.
He nodded his head as they got out of the table. "I know where we could get some air," he said. "Where?" she asked. "Let's go to the rooftop, that way we can watch the fireworks, too. And I'm still hiding, you know," he offered. This excited the young girl as she nodded and asked him to lead the way.
"Let's go," he said as he took small her hand in his. This action made his small heart beat fast, but unsure about it. They navigated their way towards the elevator, avoiding his friends and parents, as well as Lila. They passed by a little Japanese girl, who was standing next to her mother, who had an iron hold on her small hand. Marinette gave the little girl a smile and wave as she slipped a cookie into her hand. This made the girl smile at her and began nibbling on the treat.
When they arrived at the front of the elevator, Felix had to let go of her hand as he jumped to reach the buttons. The elevator door opened to a young rockstar, who looked at them a bit curious. "What're you kids up to?" he asked a bit concerned by the fact that they were unattended. "My friend Marinette needs to go to the bathroom on the first floor. She doesn't like the toilets on this floor and our parents can't take us there, so we'll be going together," Felix lied. This made the rocker let out a laugh at their cuteness. "Alright, be careful little ones," he said as he gave each of them a pat on the head.
With that, both of them got in the elevator and went forth to the top floor. Once on the roof, the little girl's eyes were wide with wonder as she began exploring the grounds, since it was empty but was elaborately decorated. Felix watched as she stared at a giant lantern next to the ball pit. He placed his hands in his pockets and found a coin, this motivated him to impress her.
"It's so pretty out here!" she paused as she looked at the sky above which had a few stars shining. "Thanks for bringing me here, Felix," she said as she bounced her way to the railing, Felix close to her. "Do your want to see a magic trick?" he asked as she looked at the streets below. She turned to him with wide eyes and asked, "You can do magic?" He smiled and nodded at the little girl. "Show me, show me," she demanded as she pulled at his arm.
Without being told twice, he pulled out a coin behind her ear. She gasped and took the coin from him. "Hey, that's my coin," he said, wanting to take it back. "But you pulled it out of my ear," she said as she tried to keep it out of his reach. "It's my magic, so it's mine. I'll give you something else," he offered. He took out his handkerchief and placed it over his hand. When he took it off he held a rose (which he took from one of the displays). She gasped at the beauty, because she never really held a rose before. "You can have this one, but the coin's mine," he said as she took the rose.
"Nope, I'm keeping this coin and this flower," she greedily said as he pouted. "Fine, I'll give you something in exchange for the coin," he said. She blinked her eyes processing what he said. He began searching his pockets and could only find his heirloom, the Graham de Vanilly ring, one for him the other for Adrien. "If I get you to wear this ring, you'll have to give me the money back," he said. She giggled and said, "That's impossible, you'll never get me to wear that." He shrugged and asked, "But if I do you have to give it back, deal?"
Marinette looked at his hand suspiciously not wanting to touch it, in case he slips it on her. "Alright, I'll place it here," he says as he placed it on the floor. He looked at his watch and knew what to do. Satisfied knowing that he won't be slipping it on by hand shake, she said, "Deal."
On cue, the fireworks began, surprising the girl as she looked up to the sky, only to have the little boy kiss her cheek, confusing her more. She pushed him off her with red cheeks. He began to say something to her, but she couldn't hear. "What?" she asked, not understanding. She watched him laugh as he pointed at her hand mouthing, "Check your finger." Surprised, she looked and found the ring was on her right ring finger. She watched as he picked up the coin and the rose. He approached her and placed the flower into her hands with a sweet smile. "Here, you can have the rose, it's pretty just like you," he stated causing the little girl to blush at his words.
She looked back at the ring, which was very loose in her finger and asked, "Does this mean we're married?" This question made the other child go red in embarrassment. "N-not re-really, I-I just placed it on you, bu-but it doesn't really ne-need to mean we are—" he stopped his rambling when the ravenette placed a kiss on his cheek as well. "I like you," she said with a smile.
That was it, Felix Graham de Vanilly finally knew what the meaning of his affections towards this six years old girl. He has a crush.
...
14 years later
Felix continued to twirl the coin in between his fingers. It has been years since he'd seen that little girl. Until now, he still can't help but feel the undying crush he had on her. Ever since they got back from the rooftop, he got a nagging from Chloe for leaving them for Marinette. She even tore the rose he gave her. From then on he had that boiling anger and hatred towards the blonde. He still couldn't forget the tears of the little girl as she ran away from them, eyes full of her and helplessness.
Every time he went to Paris he would be very aware of his surroundings hoping to find her again. If she still remembers him he'd like to get to know her better. If she doesn't want to be his friend then he'd rather apologize to her and her his heirloom back. He just needs to see her one more time. He gave out another sigh, it's already been 14 years and he still hasn't gotten over it.
He looked at the Grand Palace Hotel, the Bourgeois family is again holding a New Year party. He, of course, is one of the guests, along with some high class figures as well as old classmates of the now mature Chloe Bourgeois, making this a semi formal event. He got out of the car and entered the building, there he was greeted by the staff and the other guests. He began to search the crowd for a familiar face and found Adrien at the bar talking with some friends.
"Felix!" an all too familiar voice called. He turned to find the hostess herself in her glamorous black and yellow cocktail dress. "Chloe," he greeted with civility. "It's so nice that you could join us. I told Adrien that if he kept pestering you, you're bound to arrive, and I was right, as always," she said. "You've known me your entire life, glad to see you haven't lost your touch," he replied as she began to guide him to where Adrien is.
"Adrikins," Chloe said as she approached him taking two seats next to him. "Chloe, you found Felix. I thought you weren't coming," Adrien said he hugged his cousin, much to his formal behaviour. "Lovely, now may I get myself a drink," he said as he sat next to Adrien and ordered a drink from the bartender. Adrien chuckled and said, "You never change, Fè. But since you're very into introductions, let me introduce you to my friends." Felix turned to finally notice the two people he had been talking to. He's vaguely familiar with them remembering the video they sent to Adrien six years ago. "This is Nino, he's studying Arts," Adrien introduced as he gestured to his dark skinned make friend. "Hey, ma dude. I know it's been a while, but you don't need to worry about that video you sent us, Adrien explained it to us and we're all kinda cool about it," Nino said as they shook hands. "Pleasure, and thank you, but I'm still sorry for it. It was the most immature and petty thing I ever did to anyone," Felix replied. "This is Alya, she's taking journalism," Adrien said. "I've seen your blog, it keeps improving ever since you started," Felix complimented. "Well, with that compliment how can I not forgive you," Alya joked.
"Ugh, where's Dupain-Cheng and Tsurugi? I told them to get change, but what's taking them so long?" Chloe ranted. Dupain-Cheng, Felix thought, finding the name and the way she said it all too familiar. "This is your fault for telling them that they'll be one of the waiters," Adrien teased. "I was joking alright, why do you guys take me so seriously?" Chloe complained. Making everyone laugh at her statement. "You really need to tone it down, you always sound so serious," someone said as they placed their hands on Chloe's shoulders. "Luka, when did you get here? I thought you said that you couldn't make it because of your gig in London?" Chloe exclaimed. "I couldn't miss my girlfriend's party now, couldn't I?" the rocker said as he placed a kiss on her cheek.
"Felix, I want you to meet my boyfriend, Luka," Chloe proudly proclaimed. "You have a boyfriend?" Felix joked making everyone laugh. "What can I say, she has a melodic song," Luka said as he placed his arm over her. "I guess you got yourself a keeper, cheers to you," Felix congratulated, but somehow felt a bit jealous. How can someone who broke his childhood love end up with someone as charming as him?
"Sorry guys, we're late," someone said as they approached the group. "About time my lady, it seems like you've been keeping my precious dragon from me," Adrien said as he wrapped his arms around Kagami placing a kiss on her forehead. "Down kitty, I just got her hair done, don't mess it up," the girl with bluebell eyes scolded. "Don't worry Marinette, you know that I love you more than him," the Japanese girl stated causing the blond to pout.
Marinette, Felix thought as he began to stare at her. He recognised he from his cousin's video, one of the girl's that's in love with him. It turns out she just gave it all up for the girl beside her. He noticed her dark hair was similar to that of the Marinette he knew, they never really gave last names. Her eyes were as blue as the sky, he couldn't remember the little girl's eyes since it was very dark and he wasn't sure. She wore an elegant pink dress with a ladybug hairpiece.
He continued to stare, unaware of Chloe's critical eyes. She hung her head in guilt for a few seconds and immediately replaced it with a smile as she sauntered her way to the two ladies. "Dupain-Cheng, Tsurugi, what took both of you so long? Why did you even take me seriously when I said you'll be serving tonight?" Chloe said as the two girls laughed. "Anyway, let me introduce or reintroduce you to someone," she added as she guided them towards Felix.
He unconsciously straightened himself as they neared him. Taking one more sip from his drink he straightened himself to meet her. "Marinette this is Felix, you remember him, don't you?" Chloe said. "Yes, I remember him," she said with a hint of anger and irritation from her voice. "It's a pleasure to meet you, but I must apologize for my behaviour six years ago, not a very good time of mine," he said as they shook hands. She smiled politely at him as she turned to the person next to him. "Luka, why didn't you tell us you were coming?" she exclaimed as she gave the artist a hug.
"Well, I wanted to surprise all of you, but mostly Chloe," Luka said. "Sorry Marinette, but paws off my boyfriend. We're going around and check on the guests," Chloe said as she came in between them. Marinette chuckled and said, "Wouldn't dream of it Chloe." She turned to her friends and joined in on their conversation. She ordered herself a drink as she stationed herself next to Alya and Kagami.
Felix didn't really mind this since it gives him better access to observe her from afar. He sat there with them, just listening on their conversation jumping in any time they ask him. They continued the conversation until an upbeat song began to play. "This is my jam, Marinette let's dance," Alya exclaimed as she dragged her friend to the dance floor. Marinette, as well, dragged Kagami with her as the three headed to the dancefloor. Felix turned to his companions as they continued to watch their girlfriends enjoy themselves. "Aren't you going to join them?" Felix asked hinting to them that they should. Nino waved him a hand, keeping his eyes on his girl. "Nah, I've got a better view here," he replied. "I agree with you on that," Adrien seconded. Felix turned his eyes to the three and couldn't help but feel drawn to the girl named Marinette. The more she stared the more he thought of the little girl he met.
That's impossible, I doubt that it would be her, he thought as he looked away. He gave out a sigh that no one would be able to hear. "You know what, let's dance," Adrien said, clearly tempted to join the girls. "Are you sure? The view is still the better," Nino said. "I know, but that doesn't mean we're the only ones who's watching," Adrien pointed out as he looked at a group of men slowly approaching the girls. This made Nino release a deep growl and got up from his seat following his friend. "Are you joining us, Felix?" Nino offered. Felix politely shook his head and said, "I'm not a big fan of dancing in a crowd." Nino nodded and immediately wrapped his arms around Alya from behind as he glared at the approaching competitors.
Marinette laughed at the two boys as she followed their line of sight. "You two couldn't resist?" she asked. "How could we when we're not the only ones who love dancing," Adrien replied as he danced with Kagami. "By the way Marinette, if you haven't noticed Felix had been looking at you the entire night," Kagami said as she subtly gestured to the lonely blond at the bar. Marinette giggled at this statement and replied, "I don't think so." Alya joined in and said, "Nah girl, Kagami's right. Right now he's been eyeing you for a while now. He's been watching since you came and mostly now that you're dancing."
"I'm with Marinette on this one guys," Adrien said. "What, you don't count bro. You've been clueless for a long time so I doubt you'll notice this one," Nino stated. Adrien still shook his head and reasoned, "Hate to tell you guys, but I've known him for a long time. He has this major crush on this girl he met when we were six or seven during a new year's party here at the hotel. But Chloe kind of scared her off and he hasn't seen her ever since. He still hasn't gotten over her until now, so I don't think so."
This somehow froze Marinette in her spot, since the story sounded all too familiar to her. She unconsciously brought her hand to the ring around her neck, which she had from that boy, whose name she can no longer remember . She glanced at the boy at the bar to find him mingling with... Lila. This twisted her heart for some reason, she doesn't know what this feeling she has, seeing him talk with the liar. She bit her lip wanting to leave. Thankfully a slow dance began, giving her an excuse to leave the floor.
She turned to the buffet table to have a bit of the desserts there to ease herself. She looked at the dancefloor and watched as her friends lovingly enjoyed each others embrace. She could see Alya and Nino, Juleka and Rose, Sabrina and her boyfriend, Nathaniel and Marc, Chloe and Luka, Kagami and Adrien.
She smiled, after they defeated Hawkmoth they revealed their identities to each other. She was really surprised by the fact that her partner has been Adrien the entire time. They did start dating, but they never really lasted after they entered college. Turns out she had been holding back even until she dated Adrien. She was actually confused too, she never knew that she was holding, back as if she was waiting for someone. This made her grasp the ring that had been around her neck like some necklace ornament.
She did receive this from a little boy who she called her husband when she was until eight. That was when she finally accepted the fact that they'll never meet again. When she turned nine, that was when Chloe's bullying got worse, making her passive and detached, not having a best friend to cling on to.
What was that boy's name again? Finn... Finley... Francis... Francisco... Fernando...Frederick... Ferdinand... Fergus... "Felix," she mumbled under her breath tightening her grip around the ring. Could it be? She thought as she tried to find him in the crowd again, but he was nowhere to be found. She sighed and shook her head finding it impossible. The Felix she knew is kind, considerate and sweet. This Felix is sly, devious, and perverted. She frowned at she recalled the memory of him trying to kiss her as Ladybug.
"Aw, what's with the frown sweetheart? You look better with a smile," a man in his mid twenties said as he approached her. Not liking the attention she turned away, wanting to avoid his advances. Despite the silent treatment he continued to talk to her. "Sorry, that was a bit forward of me," he apologized as he tailed her. "I just noticed that you were alone by the buffet table and thought that maybe I should introduce myself to a lovely lady like yourself," he continued.
"You're mistaken sir, but I'm not alone," she replied trying to lose him in the crowd. "You came with your friends, right? Or do you have a boyfriend?" he pursued. "I'm with my friends and I think they're looking for me," she replied as she navigated her way back to the bar. "Can't we at least talk, I'd like to have a chat with you for a bit. Something not business related, it gives a stale taste to the party," he said as he sat down next to her. "Why not I buy you a drink, miss?" he offered.
Marinette politely shook her head with disinterest. "Alright, alright, no drinks. I'm François by the way, what's the lovely angel's name?" he asked leaning forward, brushing his hand against his. This made her flinch at the contact trying to move away from him. "I'm sure I've clearly showed that I'm not interested," she hissed as her patience thinned. "Are you sure? It looks to me we're playing cat and mouse, you don't have to worry, I like the chase," he said as he leaned in again.
Before she could say anything, she felt someone place a hand behind her as he approached them. "If you may, sir, she has clearly stated that she's not interested. Just leave it at that, and respect her decision," Felix stated. The man scoffed as he stood up trying to match him, only to find that he's five inches smaller than the tall man. "Yeah, but who are you to interrupt us," he dared trying to assert dominance.
"My fiancee, obviously," she casually said glaring at the man. "But you're not—," François stopped when he saw the ring around her neck. "I wear my engagement ring this way to see how many of you are really observant enough to notice it," she stated. He turned to Felix, who was glaring at him with a fiercer intensity than before. This made the man stiffen under the blond's gaze and began to walk away. Once out of earshot he looked at her and smirked.
"Fiancée?" he teased as he sat next to her. She scoffed at him and said, "That's the easiest way to prove your relationship to me." He chuckled at her looked at the ring around her neck, only to smile at the confirmation. "Anyway, thank you," she replied as she ordered herself a drink. Noticing his eyes on the ring, she felt herself blush at the thought of the possibility of the little boy being him. "May I see it?" he asked when he got her attention. Seeing no harm in having him see it, she removed the ring around her neck and gave it to him.
She observed his reactions, she suddenly worried when she noticed a sly smile slowly creep on his face. "Where'd you get this ring?" he asked. She shrugged as she placed her drink on the counter. "A little boy gave it to me when I was six," she replied trying to keep it vague. He hummed as he asked again, "Do you know why he gave it to you?" This made her blush as she recalled her saying that their engaged now that he slipped the ring on her finger. "He-he gave it to me as a proposal," she replied as she looked away with red cheeks.
She heard a chuckle coming from him. "I think you're wrong. I believe he gave it to you in exchange for this," Felix said as he made the coin appear from behind her ear. She gasped as she recalled the trick he performed for her, which was followed by their refutes about the coin. She heard him chuckle again at her reaction. "Do you still remember the young boy's name?" he curiously asked with a knowing smile on his face.
Her eyes went wide as she exclaimed, "You can't, you can't be? Felix?" He smiled and showed the ring and coin as he pointed something out. "This ring, if you must know, is a family heirloom. This is one of the Graham de Vanilly twin rings. You see the ring Adrien wears, this is one of its pairs as the current generation of our family," he said as he placed the coin in her hand. "And that coin, is the very coin that I've shown you from before," he added with a gentle smile.
"Can, can we get some air?" she asked hoping he'd say the same thing. "I know a great place that we can go to. Let's go to the rooftop, we can watch the fireworks up there, too Marinette," he replied as he took her hand in his and dragged her towards the elevator.
They passed Chloe, who had a proud smile on her face as she whispered an apology. They passed Lila who was flirting to a storm with another man. They past Kagami and Adrien, who were resting after all the dancing on one of the chairs. Marinette smiled and waved her hand at the Japanese girl, who in turn smiled at her with a small wave. They stopped in front of the elevator door as Felix pressed the button, this time not letting go of her hand. The door opened to Jagged Stone, now in his golden age.
"Marinette, my girl where you headed?" he asked as he turned to the boy next to her. "Why am I getting a sense of déjà vu right now?" he asked as he gave out a chuckle. "Nothing uncle Jagged, I just want to take Felix to the best place to watch the fireworks," she said with a smile. "I remembered a long time ago when there was a small pair with the same hair colour as the both of you going into the elevator giving out the cutest excuse I've ever heard," he replied as he bid goodbye to the two.
Once inside the elevator, the two looked to each other and laughed as they headed to the top floor. "Locked," Felix said when they arrived at the door to the roof. Marinette pouted at this, saying, "Now how are we going to see the fireworks?" He smiled and approached her as he took one of her hairpins and began to unlock the door. He then turned back to her and placed the pin back as well as placing a kiss on her forehead.
She blushed at the contact as he took her hand and guided her to the rooftop. He brought her to the spot where they stood before as he lets go of her hand, much to her dismay. Without saying anything, he took out his handkerchief and performed the magic again. He removed the cloth to reveal a rose, this time, a pink rose. He placed it in her hands as he placed a kiss on her cheek.
"I believe that's how it happened," he said as he looked at her blushing face. She smiled at him and nodded and took the ring out of the chain. "What am I going to do with this now?" she asked. He hummed as he took the ring from her and took her hand, casually slipping it in. "Now, I'll be waiting for your answer," he replied with a smile. "And if I say no," she joked. "You need to give it back," he replied bluntly. This made her laugh at his seriousness, as she slowly remembered his serious face back then too.
She placed her hands on his shoulders as she stood on the tips of her toes, despite already wearing heels, she still can't reach him. "It's a good thing that I'm not planning on saying no," she replied as she placed a kiss on his cheek. This time it was his turn to blush at her actions, making her smile at him giddily.
Again, on cue, the fireworks began. This made her turn her attention to the sky to watch the display. Taking this as an opportunity, Felix grinned as he called her attention, "Marinette." This made her turn to him, only to have her lips captured in his. She smiled into it as she wrapped her arms around him. Feeling dating, he lifted her off her feet, overly ecstatic on finding her.
"Happy New year, Marinette," he said as they parted. She giggled as she rested her forehead on his. "Happy New year, Felix," she replied.
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fandom-strumpet · 4 years ago
Text
Game Night Confession- Part 2
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Summary: You’ve confessed your feelings for Kai to Elena in the closet during 7 Minutes in Heaven. Little to your knowledge, Kai popped in and listened to your deep secret. The next day, things get a little spicy.
Word Count: 1,342
Warnings: Swearing, Fluff, Angst
Pairing: Kai Parker x Reader
You spit lemonade out of your mouth and start coughing. "I- I'm sorry, what?" quickly dabbing your chin with a napkin you turn to face Kai who looked non-chalant as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened.
"Well isn't irrevocably a big word?"
"Yes, uhh, it is." You furrowed your eyebrows together, surprised at such a weird question. Then it dawned on you- last night in the closet. The embarrassment that had flooded you quickly grew into irritation in your chest as you realized what had just happened. Elena. She must have told Kai what I said- there's no way he could have known otherwise. You hurriedly waved down the waitress for your ticket and before long you were up and leaving the table. Pushing the Mystic Grill's door open, you see a strong hand take charge of the weight and slide up near your hand. It was impossible to not recognize Kai's familiar scent, you froze in the doorway to take a deep breath of it in. His voice gave you chills as he pretend cleared his throat, waiting for you to keep moving. With a shaky breath out, you continue walking, your hand dropping as you prayed that not everyone had just seen you freeze like a deer in headlights.
"Which way are we going?"
"What?" You were pulled out of the moment to his question.
"Aren't we going to find Elena and Damon doing whatever they said they were going to do?" Kai looked down at your stunned face with a playful smile.
"Yeah- yeah I think they went this way." You gave a weak smile back, stomach full of butterflies and knees that felt like Jello. Why did you feel disappointed when he mentioned them? Were you hoping for something else to happen? The both of you started to wander down the sidewalk, it was so hot out the sidewalk practically emanated heat waves.
"You know what I've always wanted to try?" Kai broke the silence.
You look up to Kai and hum in question. Kai always made you so glad in awkward moments because he wasn't afraid to just start a normal (or what he thought was normal) conversation.
"I've always wanted to jump on a trampoline." he pursed his lips and nodded semi-seriously.
"Wait- you've seriously never jumped on a trampoline before?" your eyes sparkle at the image of him jumping on one for the first time.
"Nope." Kai's hand slipped into yours, his eyes remaining forward as if he didn't even recognize the action of holding your hand. Full blown panicking in your mind, you do the only you could think of. You embrace his hand in return, drawing a little smirk from Kai. Your chest tightened, you could almost scream and Kai was no doubt listening to your heart bouncing off the confinements of your rib cage, doing a little drum solo not so unlike Animal's from the Muppets. A little light bulb came on, despite the utter chaotic panic in your mind. 
“We could go to my house.”
“Oh?” Kai stopped the both of you walking, still holding your hand as he turned your body to face his. 
Blushing you hurried, “Yeah, I have a trampoline at my house.”
A cheek to cheek smile bloomed on his face, “Let’s go!”
What just happened. Are we seriously going over to my house right now? If anyone were to tell you that morning that you would be jumping on a trampoline with Malachai Parker today, you would have laughed in their face. Today was the mafia lord of unexpected things. When you finally arrived at your backyard you let go of Kai’s hand to pull out the old wooden staircase to climb up.  Your dad had built the staircase for you as a little girl to climb up and you didn’t quite have the heart to get rid of the thing. Your heart twinged with regret, missing the feel of his hand already. Climbing onto the trampoline first you turn and help Kai up. You held his arms like a person would hold a child’s arms when they first get onto the trampoline. His face was even beaming like a child’s, pure joy radiating from him as he watched his feet bounce up and down. 
“Okay, now jump with me.” you smiled, staring into his eyes. 
Kai’s grip on your forearms tightened, a grin of pure enjoyment on his face which sent butterflies racing into your stomach. 
“I love this so much,” Kai drew in a breath, “I didn’t think that a trampoline would be this exciting.” 
And I love you. God- if only you could mind read this would be so much easier to say. 
“You wanna do a little trick?” Your eyes glinted with excitement.
Kai’s eyes sparked with anticipation and curiosity as he nodded his head quickly.
“Alright, I’m going to let go of you and you just keep bouncing.” You let go slowly and looked to him making sure he was still balanced. You bounced twice in sync with him before pausing slightly and digging your feet into the mesh. Kai’s eyes widened in surprise as he flew into the air high above you. 
“Waaagh!” He yelled, falling down onto his ass with a big laugh. “That was awesome!” 
You allowed yourself to collapse by him, laying down on your back to catch your breath. Kai plopped back and stared up at the clouds littering the sky on the perfect baby-blue summer day. With a content hum you turn and gaze at his perfect face, a remnant of a smile still visible. He shifted his thoughtful stare into the clouds to look at you. A grin made crinkles near his eyes as his hand slowly wandered up and started playing with your hair that was splayed across the trampoline surface. He twirled strands in his fingers, the silver rings glinting in the sunlight. You were so mesmerizing to him that he could lay there forever with you. 
“Y/N-”
“Hmm?” you replied, loving the sound of your name coming from his mouth. It was so enchanting how he said it, like a whole new beautiful noise. 
“You are so pretty.” he breathed out. 
A blush spread across your face furiously as if you had suddenly become as hot as the sun itself. Kai’s eyebrows furrowed closer together as he studied your face and continued.
“So I know confessions are a thing that people apparently like to do, and I have to tell you-”
“What?” you prodded him on.
“I think I’m in love with you. I don’t fully understand all these emotions quite yet but this one- the one I have when I’m with you- is just insane,” he added with a chuckle, “And I should know.” 
“Kai I- are you- are you being for real right now? You’re not picking on me or joking?”
“Yes I’m ‘being real’ Y/N, I wouldn’t pick on you about this.” 
“Why are you saying this just now?” you sat up to lean on your elbow, quite curious as to how this whole thing may have started. Maybe last night? Elena? 
Kai followed your action and sat up, tracing lazy circles with his finger on the mesh. 
“I know what you said last night,” 
Damn it. I knew it.
“-and it scared me but it made me feel- I don’t know- like I was having some form of a heart attack but it made me feel alive and, happy?” he tilted his head and fixed his eyes to yours. “Do you know the feeling?”
“Yeah- yeah I do, Kai.” your breath became shallow as Kai brought his hand up to fix your hair. Seizing the moment you lean forward and plant a sweet as a cherry kiss on his lips. Pulling back quickly you wait for his reaction, nervousness overtaking you. Kai paused, his eyes searching your face in wonder before he grasped the back of your head with one hand and pulled you close, his lips embracing yours into a sweet kiss. He rolled you onto your back and hovered over your body, never breaking the kiss. When you finally came up for air, Kai had moved his left arm by your head to brace himself. His smell overwhelmed you, sending you into a drunken haze. Your floral scent absolutely sent him over the edge, past the point of no return. There was no going back to being friends after this, your fingers traced his jaw line and you whispered,
“You are amazing and I am so hopelessly in love with you.”
“And irrevocably?” Kai grinned cheekily.
You leaned up and pecked his lips, ‘irrevocably.” 
@rome5683​ @1-800-khaleesii​ @sxturn-stars​ @tawaii
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