#i'm not sure if i should tag journey to the west?? | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

ghostofvalorie · 7 months ago

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That Essay

@forsaire tagged me and now I MUST provide! You opened Pandora's box on this one.

To adhere to the rules I will first provide FOUR and ONLY FOUR of my fictional crushes! And to make it easier on us all I've narrowed it down to games only, so here we go!

I'm starting off from the very beginning of my journey into crushing on non-existent people, and people who have read my tags before might know this one already!

Malik Al Sayf from Assassins Creed 1 - 2007

A man whom you've wrong by being arrogant and then spends the next few hours of the game being yelled at by him, and rightfully so. Not only do you cost him his arm and place as an assassin in the brotherhood, but his younger brother as well.

Eventually Altaïr stops begin a prick and apologizes and Malik, bless his heart forgives him.

Still... not me rolling into Jerusalem hoping, wishing, to get yelled at because Malik's Voice Actor goes HARD <3 I love him and his 7 whole polygons! NEXT!!

Keeping it somewhat chronological:

The Arishok from Dragon Age 2 - 2011

He beeg. He got horns. He is technically an antagonist in the game but he has a moral code that makes sense to him that he is willing to kill and die for. Qunari famously live their lives incredibly black and white so to him he is in the right, even if we disagree.

But he just got a wholeass vibe, and he'll say nice things such as

"I have a growing lack of disgust for you" and I mean, with that voice... say no more sir. *takes shirt off*

NR 3: Adam Jensen from Deus Ex - 2011-2016

My cyborg husband <3

Ex-swat turned security guy, then interpool agent (depends on which game you are playing)

He's just an incredibly good guy, the sweetest person on the block. Ofc it depends on how you play and what choices you make, but MY Adam is a sweeheart that will go out of his way to help people.

And my boi got sass, he'll be snarky to literally anyone, his boss, the cops, criminals you name it.

He's also secretly a little funny. <3

Nr 4: Arthur Morgan from Red Dead Redemption 2 - 2018

I mean first off, he do a little *mlem* when he drinks coffee... Do i even need to say more?

Arthur is just such a perfect sad boy. Raised to believe his only worth lies in killing people when in reality he is incredibly competent, sharp and caring. Again depends on how you play the game, but my Arthur is the goodest boi in the west.

Now that was four, oh but look, somehow completely unrelated to all this, some other honorable mentions seems to have ended up after the cut, how silly of me!

And @xintothewoodswegox, show us what you got!

Beast from Beauty and the Beast - 2017

No further comment, your honor, if you've seen the movie you should know.

Kaidan Alenko from Mass Effect - 2012

How can we not love the powerful nerdass space magician! He's caring, he is cute, he is Canadian and schrodinger's person of color!

He also glow blue, what else can you possible want? I for sure do NOT kick my feet and twirl my hair anytime he wants to talk to me.

Eris Goddess of Chaos from Sinbad - 2003

I MEAN LOOK AT HER?!?!?!? Again an antagonist, but she is sexy about it.

Helga Sinclair from Atlantis - 2001

I'm-I i mean, I don't even have words. Every time I SEE Helga my brain flat-lines I can't help it.

THAT GIF THO???

Majima Goro from the Like a Dragon series of games

No comment, because if i start i will NEVER stop, he's story is too good.

Simon 'Ghost' Riley from Call of Duty MWII - 2022

I could literally put ALL the characters from that game in this list. ALL OF THEM, but to keep this somewhat short I've chosen ONE and i've chosen Ghost, the most tragic man alive.

Kar'niss from Baldur's Gate 3 - 2023

Another TRAGIC boi, missunderstood and abused </3 I could take care of him. LET ME TAKE CARE OF HIM LARIAN

Jonathan Reid from Vampyr - 2018

You didn't think I'd squeeze in a vampire this late, did you?

I wasn't overly impressed by Jonathan from the start, BUT, he is FASCINATING if you play him as a bloodthirsty villain willing to murder everyone for power! I'm here for bad-boy Reid!

Lastly, for now:

Corvo Attano from Dishonored - 2012

Also an incredibly tragic man, who's fate you hold in your hands with your actions!

He's just hot, he's a dilf, he can succumb to grief and violence or rise above it to save not only his daughter but an entire empire from destruction.

I'm not sure i've y'all have noticed the pattern yet but let me spell it out for you:

PEOPLE THAT CAN ABSOLUTELY DESTROY ME! Look at them all! So STRONG! So POWERFUL! Fuck, mess me up fam!

And the beauty lies in that they never would. Or I mean Eris might... but I'm in a firm belief that the others would never harm someone they care about and ain't that just the purest thing you've ever heard.

Now this was only the highlights of my fictional crushes, I've kept most of the absolute freaks out for now. Maybe I'll do an updated list later where werewolves and Cthulhu makes the cut, we'll see. Now I know HP Lovecraft wasn't a very cool dude to say the least, but you expect me to be normal about the big tentacle monster? REALLY?

Lower your expectations.

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tildeathiwillwrite · 22 days ago

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Writemas Day 5: A Rational Discussion

<- Previous | Masterpost | Next ->

Prompts: Sobbing

Fandom: Original Work

Words: 500

Tag List: (message me to be added or removed) @fourwingedsnake @whumperofworlds @pigeonwhumps @mr-orion @scaewolf

@the-ellia-west @agirlandherquill

CW: death mention, crying

Kore ambushed Thea the next morning, over a breakfast of muffins and tea. "Good morning. How are you feeling?" Were the first words out of her mouth, a bit too confrontational to be simply asking after Thea's well-being.

Thea considered lying. The entire night she lay awake, contemplating rising from her bed, packing for the journey to Lerwick, and leaving before dawn. But the look on Kore's face that night, the fear that her little sister was about to run away to a man in a faraway city on a guy feeling kept her from following through.

"I didn't sleep much last night," she finally said. It was true enough.

Kore nodded, hands wrapped firmly around her mug of tea. "Do you think we can talk about last night in a rational manner?"

"I do."

"I remember you saying Altair and Caelum were close. You wrote to him about Caelum's passing, I hope?"

"I did…" Thea said slowly, unsure what her sister intended with this line of questioning.

"And have you received a response?"

Thea frowned, thinking. "Not yet. It might arrive today."

Kore took a slow sip of tea before continuing. "It takes about a full day of travelling to reach Lerwick on horseback, more by coach. How long ago did you write him?"

"I… I think… I think the day after."

"Okay… and the funeral was three days after his passing… it would have arrived the day before the funeral, and if Altair is as cautious as you said he is, he would have given himself a full day of preparation. Is it possible he may be traveling to see you as we speak?"

This gave Thea pause. "I…" The realization hit her all at once, and the tears began to flow yet again. "Oh Kore, I've been a fool!"

Kore quietly took her hand as Thea sobbed. "I don't even… I don't even know why I wanted to leave so badly… I just did… and I almost left in the night too… oh…."

"Amalthea Constance Hargreaves," Kore said, cutting her off mid-haphazard apology. "You were not in your right mind. You may have wanted to distance yourself from everything reminding you of Caelum and didn't even know it. But look, as the good Lord will have it, you may get your wish after all. Altair's letter, should he have written one, should arrive today, and if he is traveling to visit, he will not be long after. Now take a deep breath."

Thea obeyed, inhaling and exhaling slowly until the pounding of her heart lessened and the tears dried up.

"Better?"

Thea nodded.

"How about you help us in the bakery today? Leo has been managing on his own for the past few days, but I'm sure we could use an extra hand. I find making bread dough is the best way to calm my nerves."

"…okay."

#writemas #my writing #death mention #crying #comfort #the elusive altair will appear in the next installment probably #as soon as i properly work out what his relationship to caelum and thea #also hargreaves is thea's married name she took caelum's last name

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badasstransswag · 2 years ago

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A couple times now (and also furthered by the last anon we got) I've felt the passing need to maybe make a "don't make me tap the sign" kind of post and with the influx of the comment of "Trans women have lost multiple times to people with just 'vibes'" I feel the need to put my foot down --

I don't know how many people are going to see this and it's generally for my own peace of mind: Every single character on this poll is on here because they are an "actually" trans person. The two people who made this poll weren't happy with the amount of "trans swag" polls that round one would pit Tumblr's most popular blorbo (not textually transgender) against a guy from a one-shot manga that ran in shonen jump for two months (canonically transgender), so every character selected from personal requests made to the moderators, the moderators' own choices, were chosen to be on theme ("badass" in varying ways, canonically trans) from the submission form. Whether this be through metatextual technicalities (characters like Kainé), stated specifically (characters like Elektra), or having storylines that reflect being transgender - including a change of gender identity (characters like Oryx, Cagliostro, and Sylv).

So, the sign in question:

(Ergo, we have excluded characters like Bridget and Lily Hoshikawa because of simply how many polls we'd seen them on)

We'd also had a problems with how many of these other brackets were set up, and this poll was seeded specifically so that in characters' first rounds, they would go up against someone who we perceived had around the same amount of fans (For example, we thought Sam had a chance against Testament because the podcast she's from is constantly on Tumblr Trending). Unfortunately there's nothing we can do about any discrepancy of popularity in rounds such as the current one, the semifinals, because of the circumstantial nature of them.

To address some things we've seen in tags specifically for this round:

Oryx is "actually trans" -- no matter how fantasy-space-opera the terminology is, he still effectively took space worm HRT, and while neither of the moderators are Destiny fans a few people more familiar with the games were asked to make sure it was a choice made of his own volition and desire.

Qitian Dasheng Sun Wukong is a bit more complicated - you can read this ask for a longer winded explanation using the text, but a more concise and down-to-earth explanation is that the nature of Journey to the West as both entirely an allegory and as a classic with a trillion adaptations, SWK has been an honorary member of the Chinese trans community since the realization that he can be read that way. He may be (hyperbolically, but still) the only character in the bracket not to have turned to the camera and said "I'm trans" in the original text, but hey, there's definitely an adaptation of the character out there who has. The original source was used here because of its connection with the character itself and the fact that is where the resonance comes from originally.

TL;DR: Every character on this poll is trans, this was a deliberate choice by the trans people who made it, and I'm only a little sick of one side of match-ups being referred to as 'actually' trans. This is not an apology, this is a "you should have read the pinned post before complaining".

#mod posts

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buffintruder · 2 years ago

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for the wip ask game: truer than truth and/or DNG au

Thanks for the ask and for tagging me in the first place. (Referencing this ask game.)

DNG au is the Devil's Nest Gang au which I'm pretty sure I've talked about to you? I don't think I've worked on it any since then hah

It's the au where basically FMA goes differently and the Xing squad never go to Amestris and the Devil's Nest never gets destroyed, but Father and everyone still get defeated. Ling becomes crown prince some other way, but speaks out at the wrong moment against the Emperor or something and flees for his life to Amestris and ends up working at Greed's bar

...I thought I had posted excerpts on tumblr before but the search bar is not giving me results, so no idea if I've shared this part or not

When Ling was sent on yet another run to the butchery, he pondered over a good way to ask if Sig knew about what exactly the Devil's Nest gang got up to without sounding like some kid who had signed up for more than he could handle. By this point, he had developed a bit of a rapport with Sig. Mason was friendly, but their conversations had never gone further than generic niceties, and Ling had only met Izumi once, but she intimidated him. That left Sig as the only person in this entire country who wasn’t a criminal that Ling regularly talked to. He didn’t want to lose that. The butchery already had customers when Ling arrived, a pair of golden-haired men around his age talking to Sig. “—a trip, but she should be back tomorrow,” Sig was saying. The shorter one grumbled, but the taller one said, “Well, we’ll come by again, then.” With that, they turned to leave without buying anything, and Ling realized belatedly that they were probably Sig’s friends, not customers. As they passed, Ling noticed their eyes—both sets a shade of light brown that he had not seen on anyone else before. Perhaps that shade was more common in other parts of Amestris, but Ling had searched for immortality for too long not to be reminded of the tales of the golden-eyed, golden-haired Sage of the West. They were gone before he could think any more on that, and then Sig was looking at him, expectantly waiting for Ling to give his order.

Truer than Truth is a Donbrothers (Super Sentai) fic that was only going to be one part, but then I realized I couldn't fit the romance that I was writing this fic for into the story, so now it has a part 2.

Basically part 1 is centered around Sonoi, a guy from a different dimension of reality, and his journey through the later 2/3rds of the show (plus a bit canon-divergent post canon) as he tries to understand humans and the purpose of art, especially art that isn't realistic. Basically it plays on the idea that stylized art might not be realistic but it touches on emotions in a way that feels realer than reality (the idea came from something a professor I had said when he was talking about Japanese puppet theater)

Part 2 is post-canon (divergently) focused on Momoi Tarou. Canonically, Sonoi is into 'beautiful lies' and metaphors, so I'm trying to write his pov with a lot of figurative language, but Tarou literally dies if he tries to lie, so I'm trying to write his pov with zero metaphors or anything. Which is kind of challenging but fun. Anyway this is just the two of them doing vaguely couple-y things until someone asks them "are you dating or what??" and they're like "oh yeah i guess so."

The most fun part of part 1 is that in between each scene, there's a short section with one truth and one lie that connects thematically to the following scene. Idk how satisfied I am with it yet, but here are the first two:

Here is a lie: Momoi Tarou is like the moon, something that Sonoi can watch with ease. His existence is not harsh, neither life-giving nor deadly, not so direct and blinding as the sun. He merely tugs gently on the sea, constantly changing from night to night. Here is a truth: Sun or moon or something else, there is no celestial body close enough for Sonoi to touch.

Here is a truth: Momoi Tarou is like the sky, impossibly vast and unreachable; and Sonoi is like the sea, forever gazing up, reflecting that same blue. They could both stretch out into eternity and still never touch except for those most tumultuous of storms when cloud and rain reach down and the waves reach up and for one moment they can connect. Here is a lie: Sonoi is content with this.

#my writing

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justicebled · 2 years ago

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remembered that yuri has an extremely badass title that he gets after the end of part one, involving magistrate ragou's death and vanishing into the river of the bridge at dahngrest. ragou basically is full of triggers and i'm half asleep, but yuri actually gains in the west, the title most familiar ' vigilante ' but actually, in japan, according to @zelotae after yuri puts a stop to that monster of a thing, (ragou), he actually gains another title instead of that, called "conqueror of sin".

i find that one far more fitting, as i feel most people think vigilantes look 'cool' and 'edgy' and are just there to stop things the law can't touch it for 'personal reasons' when it couldn't be further from the truth with yuri.

yuri is not doing this for personal justice, but true justice the world won't give, or more clear: the right thing. yuri is impartial / emotionless and has shown this repeatedly when facing in battle or stopping one of the villains of the story all plastered with triggering topics yes, they're that evil, i'd compare symphon.ia's world and terca lumireis to be equal tbqh. just different horrors but no less equally horrifying, that he is not doing it to break the law.

in actuality, while the empire does have a 'law' in place, it actively time and time again in almost every thirty minutes of the game establishes for you that it is just like putting a poster up, it's empty and it says words but it doesn't actually fulfill anything. it doesn't stop poverty, it doesn't stop the abuse, murdering, and neglect of the lower class, it does not stop using the councils and bureaucracy from using their power from the royal family and fellow nobility to abuse for their own ends and even the first law of the knights in zaphias is not what you'd think.

it isn't, 'i will protect the people' first. the first law basically says 'serve the empire'. rather sickeningly, the second law is 'with this sword i shall protect the people'. yuri, who was a knight for three months and couldn't bear the corruption / evil within it, as the knights like everything else in the empire, is just pretty, gilded toys, they don't actually do anything is the one ironically in halure when people are being threatened, telling his former comrades in the knights:

" with this sword i shall protect the people. " and this should be the first law of the knight's code.

so really, terca lumireis has no real law. and if it does, it is not truly one. so i find the term 'vigilante' really cheap and kinda tacked on when it's MUCH more complicated for yuri's case, as all he does is impersonal and the only person who suffers is him. conqueror of sin fits him far more, and i'll probably go with that, though his tag fits fine as truth is also what yuri embodies as much as true justice / rightdoing.

if anything, yuri is more of an unwitting but unflinching rebel and borderline accidental revolutionary, small town hero to big hero (he'd look either sick or furious if you call him that btw) who just wanted to return the aque blastia (water supply) to the slowly but surely withering people of the lower class / caste system, the lower quarter, and instead is thrust upon with the hero's journey, which he has to by the end of part one, make the choice to follow, with good and bad consequences.

you know that any authoritative system is a fluke when someone you're trying to arrest is reciting to you, the people who should be saving and protecting instead of him, that your role is to protect and serve the people.

instead? the poor are not even given graves, and are burned, cremated, and placed at random locations on the continent where their very ashes are scattered with not a grave to remember them.

this is the kind of evil, horrifying, sickening world that yuri lives in. a lawless one, and one that has lost its heart, light and its hope, and instead the burden of being the heart, light and hope falls upon a single man who only wanted to return something and go home.

#rep.ede's title after yuri kills ragou is actually 'sinful sidekick' but i'm curious since that doesn't fit either.#i wonder what it means in japanese if yuri's is actually 'conqueror of sin'.#𝐀𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐘𝐒𝐈𝐒 ✴ —— a star that lights up the path. a burdened heart glistens golden in the moonlight; set in its conviction.#i'm not justifying killing someone. but in a last resort situation #i think ve.speria hammers in pretty well this was the last resort.#instead the fan.dom has yuri as this edgelord 'murderer' instead of the only shot and hope his world has and an avatar of justice #or 'the right thing' same thing.#it also really fits that yuri like any hero while more realistic than most; is shown in very well written story the consequences #of said hero's journey.#good AND bad.#it's funny because so many more protags in this series have killed way more people and yuri didn't even kill five.#it's just funny.#'the job no one wants huh' - judith.

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choco-bean405 · 3 years ago

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Heyoo!! I've been hard at work and I have a couple drawings of my Monkie Kid Au's characters'll look like! I won't give spoilers yet cause I need to figure out the overall story for the comic(cause some bits are still a work in progress), so yeh! I'll give a short explination for each drawing tho if it helps.(also, Sorry if this is super long 😅)

Anyways, to start off with, we have MK!

To start off with, since I'm making him the son of Macaque and Sun Wukong, he's gotta have a monkey form! Soo I gave him the tail but for the ears, since Sun has 2 and Macaque has 6, I thought I'd just meet in the middle with 4. Soo you bet he'll have sensitive hearing now with this, next is the outfit, I kinda kept it simple,changing a few bits but I tried combining the S1 and S3 jackets together, buut I thought 'why not add some purple to him?'. Oh and the bandana! I wanted it to be Sorta reminiscent of Macaque's scarf, and yeh, that's basically it for now.

Now Onto Mei.

I wanted to give her a type of bomber jacket just the middle part being shorter than the previous jacket she wore. Annddd the dress shirt she has underneath, I wanted to keep it her style soo I watched the last 4 episodes of season 3 again and came up with making a green flame design on it. Though i thought adding some pastel purple and pastel pink details would work with her as well, plus some red as a reference to the samadhi fire. Also, Can't go wrong with a choker that has a flame charm on it can you?

Next up, our resident fire demon, Red Son!

I wanted to add some Demon Bull king elements to him as a start, sooo, the tail came in and I added a set of horns that'll be growing in. I kept most of his old outfit just adding extra details to the shoes andd adding a dog tag that has the Chinese symbol for "Family" on it. Ohhh but the jacket was the most fun to draw, I wanted to keep it both fancy but pretty exaggerated. Sooo I used the Yu-Gi-Oh Character Seto Kaiba as a reference. Now this is only one version of the jacket since he'll have a separate one with his original logo on the back. Buuut this sleeveless version has the symbol of the Ox from the Chinese zodiac on the back of it, though I wonder, where did he get it from? 🤔

And lastly, We have Sun Wukong and Macaque themselves!

Now, I thought about keeping a sort of Sun and Moon motif to them whilst looking at their previous outfits for ideas.

For Macaque, the first thing I did, was to make sure I kept Macaque's blind eye(which he may hide from time), I switched up his scarf colour since he got rid of his old one and gave it to someone else. The rest sort of fell into place after that.

For Sun Wukong on the other hand, I used refs of his outfits and armour from the show, but also looked at the Monkey king:Reborn 2021 movie's version of Sun anndd the 2015 Monkey king:The Hero is Back movie's version of him for help with keeping his outfit traditional but adding my own ideas to it. For the pauldrons on his shoulders, I came up with the idea that he may have been given a couple scales from his friend the White Horse Dragon before he passed away, used those to make his armour. Oh and I tried making it so each colour represents a past friend of his, So Tang Sanzeng, Zhu Bājiè, White Horse Dragon, Nezha and a bit of Macaque too.

But, the MAIN part I wanted to keep, was the Golden Fillet he wore during his journey to the west with his master and allies. Granted he got rid of it but a headcanon of mine is that he kept it, after he was able to take it off, as a memory of his master, Tang Sanzeng. So I stretched it out a bit wider and made it a sort of crown(Idk what that type of crown is called).

So yeah! That's it for now and I'm so sorry if anything sounds like I blabbered on or didn't explain some parts enough, I'm not the best with explaining things, I just draw to have fun tbh. Anyways! I hope you like them! And please, go ahead and suggest below who you think I should redesign next and whatever ideas you have for them.

Also thank you so much @djmurphy and my friends on twitter for helping me with my Au, I may not have a name for it yet but again, thanks so much for helping me with it! I couldn't have done it without you guys 🥰

#lego monkie kid #monkie kid #monkie kid fanart #qi xiaotian #lmk red son #lmk mei #macaque lmk #six eared macaque #monkie king #sun wukong lmk #red son monkie kid #my artwork #traditional drawing

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cocastyle · 4 years ago

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Robin — THREE

Pairing - Joel Dawson x reader

Word Count - 4,800

A/N - another update for you all! I just wanted to thank everyone for the feedback I have received on this series already! I love seeing people get excited for my writing snd it literally makes my day!

if you would like to be added to the tag list, let me know!

R O B I N

Robin Series Masterlist

⭒❃.✮:▹ THREE ◃:✮.❃⭒

There was something different about letting her feet hit the soil under the circumstances she was currently in. Y/N was used to coming out every once and a while with the hunting team, but this. . .this was different. She wasn't about to stay near by and hurry back to the bunker before the hour was up. No, she was free. She could go wherever she wanted. She could go beyond the 'walls' that the hunting team had established.

And there was no better feeling than knowing all of that.

Y/N looked around with a soft smile playing at her features, closing her eyes for a moment to soak in the sunlight before opening them again and letting out a sigh of content. She turned to Joel after that, her smile only growing at the sight of the boy taking in his surroundings.

The girl had almost forgotten that her best friend hadn't stepped foot on the surface in seven years. Joel looked around as if he couldn't believe he was actually outside and Y/N chuckled softly as she watched him inhale deeply through his nose, his face all scrunched up in a way that she could only find adorable.

Joel's eyes shot open at her laughter, playfully glaring at the girl who just smiled before gesturing towards the map in his hands. "Where to, boss?" Y/N asked.

Joel stared at her for a moment, smiling softly at the way her eyes were squinted in his direction, her hand attempting to shadow her eyes from the sun. The boy cleared his throat and looked away, his hands fumbling with the map which he quickly opened.

Y/N walked over to his side, her arm resting against his shoulder while the two both looked at the paper with looks of concentration. "Where are we?" Joel muttered, his eyes flickering over the map confused. "Well, it's not super useful."

"Don't say that. Look right there. It says avoid that area because our lives depend on it. That's useful," Y/N tried to argue. "Besides, it's the best we could do with such little time since someone decided within a span of five minutes he was leaving the bunker for the first time in seven years."

Joel shot her a look and the girl just winked at him. Letting out a small sigh, Joel began to fold up the map before saying, "You've gone on hunting trips before. Which way should we go?"

Y/N was silent for a moment as she looked around, her finger gently tapping against her lips while she surveyed the area. Finally, she looked to Joel, the boy responding with a smile for they were finally going to start on their journey. However, it quickly disappeared as she said, "I have no clue."

"What? Robin," Joel complained.

"Joel," Y/N mimicked while the boy sighed and scratched his head.

"How do you not know? You've been out here plenty of times," Joel pointed out.

"Yeah, but Connor was always the one with the compass," Y/N explained, her voice softening a bit at the mention of her friend before she hardened and looked up at the boy. "And seeing as that compass is in a decapitated monster's stomach, I don't think I'm going to be very useful."

Joel sighed before looking around again, nervously biting his lip as he tried to decide which way was the best to go. "Okay, well, you know what? We know we gotta head west, right? Well, let's just. . .do that," Joel muttered.

"Wow. I never would've thought of that one," Y/N snorted earning a small glare from the boy.

"I could really go for some non-sarcastic advice right about now," Joel told her while the girl chuckled. "Come on, Robin. Which way should we go?"

"I'm telling you, Joel, I have no idea. Just chose a direction and we'll go with that, okay? I'll follow you whenever you go," she assured him, her words making him still for a moment before he let out a shaky breath and looked around.

"Start with something easy," Joel muttered before finally gesturing one way. "West," he declared before beginning to walk that way, Y/N trotting along behind him.

However, they didn't go every far before Joel was turning on his feet, his hands grabbing ahold of Y/N’s shoulders to turn her around and push her back in the other direction. "Nope, it's this way," he said. "West is this way."

Once again, they didn't get far before Joel let out a sigh and came to a stop. Y/N stopped as well and looked to her best friend as he glanced around. "Shit," he muttered making the girl laugh. Joel glanced her way and the sight of her smile mixed with the sound of her laughter was enough to make him chuckle too.

"Shut up," Joel laughed, gently punching the girl's arm while she just smiled his way. His heart skipped a beat at the action and Joel had to look away, his smile not as bright but still gracing his face. "Split the difference," he finally decided as he gestured forward. "We'll go this way. Done. First decision made."

Y/N cracked her neck before hopping into place beside Joel. The boy looked to her in amusement and she just flashed him that smile of hers.

"Let's do this."

- - -

Dear Aimee,

I am doing it. I'm really doing it!

Honestly, I thought it'd be way worse too. So far, it's not too bad.

Robin makes it easy. She fills the silence with some stories of past hunting trips she's been on. Not really what I want to hear while walking through the very place that holds all the monsters she's talking about. But it's kind of impossible not to get lost in the way she tells a story. She just gets so excited and there's this sparkle in her eyes that makes you want to listen to her talk forever.

We've seen a lot of signs of death, but no actual death, so cross your fingers.

Trying to stay positive. Weather's nice. Getting some fresh air. Spending time with my best friend.

What else can I tell ya?

- - -

"You should've seen the look on Tim's face," Y/N told the boy, her body shaking with laughter as she flashed a smile Joel's way. "But how was I supposed to know that cutting off the monster's head would make bile shoot out of the hole and onto him?"

"Gross," Joel laughed, shaking his head at the girl who just chuckled at the memory. "That's why Tim came back one day and showered for like an hour."

"Yeah. And then everyone got mad at him because he was using so much water," Y/N said earning another round of laughter from the two as they walked through a bus graveyard they had stumbled upon a few minutes prior.

A comfortable silence fell among the two at that point, small smiles still on their faces as they walked through the tall grass and looked around. "Oh," Joel muttered, his arm shooting out and in front of the girl as he slowly backed away from one of the buses. "Watch out. Monster eggs."

Y/N looked at what he was talking about and grimaced before looking around them. "Where do you think the monsters that came out of those eggs went?" she questioned, continuing to glance around while Joel went behind her and began to push her forward.

"I don't really plan on sticking around to find out," Joel admitted, pushing the girl the rest of the way out of the bus graveyard before joining her by her side once again as they approached what seemed to be the remnants of an old neighborhood.

"I wonder what our houses look like now," Y/N muttered, her gaze on the house in front of them that was overrun with vines and other greenery. "You think our things are still there?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe," Joel said, but his gaze was on the ground where he could see something red sticking up off the grass. He bent down to pick the object up, a small smile appearing on his face as he wiped off the grass and realized that the object was a frisbee. "Cool," he muttered causing the girl to look his way. His eyes flickered over the faded lettering as he whispered, "Wham-O."

The words had no sooner left his mouth before the familiar screeching of a monster filled the air. Y/N reacted without hesitation, her hands flying up to grab her katanas which she had by her side within a second.

"No," Joel whispered, the disappointment of already running into a monster after not even a full day on the road almost as strong as his nerves. He subconsciously took a step closer to Y/N who was still holding her katanas up in the air, her eyes narrowed as she surveyed the area.

"We should find somewhere to take cover," Y/N finally said after realizing the monster wasn't as close as she had initially thought.

"Run and hide," Joel remembered, nodding his head slightly. He looked around for a moment before gesturing towards the house. "Hide in the house. Hide in the house."

Y/N stuffed her katanas back into their sheaths before grabbing ahold of Joel's hand. "Come on," she whispered, dragging the boy forward while he quickly stuffed the frisbee into his backpack.

They hurried to the house as quickly and as quietly as possible, only letting go of each other's hand once they reached the door that was wide open. Knowing there wasn't much room to work with the katanas inside, Y/N reached for her crossbow instead. Joel did the same and the two shared a look before slowly creeping inside.

Y/N moved towards the kitchen, her crossbow up as she looked around. Joel was behind her and she didn't pay attention to him until she heard him begin to open something up. Furrowing her eyebrows, she turned around in time to see him opening up a fridge.

A loud screech filled the air and Joel slammed the door shut before backing up as quick as possible, Y/N moving to his side with her crossbow aimed at the fridge. She momentarily glanced towards Joe who gave her a nervous smile before whispering, "I think the food's expired."

Y/N rolled her eyes at that, but her lips tugged up slightly in amusement before she slowly nudged the boy out of the kitchen. Once they were out, the two took off towards the back door and into the backyard.

They both hesitated in the middle of the yard while looking to the house to see if the monster had ended up following them. Luckily, it didn't seem to have left the fridge, so Y/N let out a small sigh of relief and returned her crossbow to the hook on her backpack.

"Pro tip about surviving monsters," Y/N began, glancing towards Joel who looked her way. "Never look in a place they could be hiding."

"But that was a refrigerator," Joel argued, his eyes wide.

"Especially refrigerators," Y/N retorted before turning and beginning to walk away. Joel stood there dumbfounded as she left, trying to process why refrigerators would be such a big hiding spot for monsters.

A bubbling sound seemed to snap the boy out of his thoughts and he furrowed his eyebrows before glancing to his left and at a small pond. He could see small bubbles rising from one area and he let out a shaky breath before whispering, "R-Robin?"

"Yes, Joel?" Y/N asked, turning to look back, but she froze at the sight of Joel staring at the pond where not one, not two, but three eyes had popped out of the water to stare at him.

The two were frozen in place as a monster began to emerge from the water. It looked as if it were the mutation of a frog, it's body similar to the amphibian, just larger, grosser and with more eyes.

"Joel," Y/N whispered, reaching up to grab her crossbow. "Back up."

The boy didn't respond, a look of stunned terror on his face as he slowly reached for his crossbow as well. His eyes were filled with tears as he looked at the monster, his throat constricting at the thought of this already being the end.

"Joel," Y/N insisted, but it was too late. The monster's tongue was already shooting towards the boy, but something flew across the air and knocked him out of the way just in time.

Y/N didn't have time to look at what jumped at Joel and reacted quickly, pulling her crossbow out as fast as she possibly could and firing at the monster without hesitation. The arrow managed to land in one of the monster's eyes and it let out a roar that made both Joel and Y/N’s eyes widen in response.

"I think you made it mad!" Joel yelled causing the girl to look his way for the first time. She faltered slightly at the sight of a dog standing atop his chest.

"Is that. . .a dog?" she questioned, her eyes wide with shock.

"Robin!" Joel exclaimed, his voice bringing her back to reality in time for her to dodge the tongue attack that was now being thrown in her direction. The dog ran towards the monster without hesitation, putting itself between Y/N and the creature as it barked.

Joel was on his feet in an instant and attempted to run towards the girl who was trying to pull herself up onto her feet after having the air knocked from her lungs. However, he didn't get far before he was thrown against the wall by a hit from the monster's tongue. He landed with a loud groan, but quickly sat up as he felt something grab ahold of his leg.

"No! No, no, no. No!" Joel cried out as he recognized the tongue of the monster which had wrapped around his ankle. He felt a small tug and began sliding across the ground, a yell escaping his lips as he began picking up speed. He was just about to reach the fallen tree in the yard when he felt a hand grab ahold of his own. Joel's eyes flew upward and he yelled out, "Y/N!"

Y/N had her jaw clenched in concentration, her hand holding on tightly to Joel's as she propped her feet against the tree trunk in order to keep them in place. They could hear the dog barking in the background, but it sounded muffled over the sound of their beating hearts and their own voices.

"Robin," Joel cried, his eyes filling with tears as he brought his other hand up to desperately latch onto hers.

"I gotcha," Y/N assured him. "You're okay." However, it seemed she spoke too soon because the edge of the trunk broke and Y/N suddenly fell forward, the two now sliding across the ground together but with some resistance since the girl was clawing at the ground.

She managed to hook her hand into a small hole in the ground and glanced back at Joel who was yelling in fear before she attempted to look around. Y/N’s eyes landed on the dog that was still barking at the creature and then she looked at the monster before letting out a sigh.

"Joel, you gotta trust me on this, okay?" Y/N asked, her words making the boy look up at her confused.

"Trust you on what?" he replied, but then she was letting go of his hand and Joel began screaming as he reached for the fallen tree.

Y/N rolled up onto her feet before pulling her katanas out of their sheaths. She ran past Joel who was still sliding across the ground towards the monster and ran at the monster at full speed.

The dog must've realized she was attacking because it ran to Joel and bit into the monster's tongue right as Y/N launched herself into the air and sliced the katanas across the monster's face. The monster roared in pain and anger, it's head thrashing to the side and hitting Y/N with so much force that she went flying towards the fence.

However, during the monster's pain and anger, it had managed to let go of Joel who scrambled to his feet. He ran over to Y/N and was quick to help her up, the girl wincing slightly and shoving her katanas back into their sheaths before shaking off the pain once she noticed the monster attempting to pull its way out of the water.

"We need to go!" Joel exclaimed, his arm wrapping around Y/N before the two ran through the hole in the fence and after the dog. They managed to make it through the hole moments before the monster went crashing through the fence and Joel held onto Y/N tighter as they ran, both of their breathing ragged as they followed the dog to who knows where.

"Wait. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!" Joel yelled after the dog who continued to pick up his speed. "Where are you going?"

"He's not going to answer you!" Y/N yelled before watching as the dog ran into an old bus. "There!"

Joel followed her gaze and was quick to pull her that direction, his arm still wrapped around her waist all the way there before he shoved her through the door first and hurried in after her.

The dog closed the door right behind them and Joel looked at the dog impressed as he whispered, "Whoa. Whoa, that was so cool."

They could hear the faint sound of the monster growing further away and it was only when it was gone that they finally moved. Letting out a small sigh of relief, Y/N leaned back against Joel who wrapped an arm around her shoulders and let his head rest against her own.

"We're alive," he whispered.

"Barely," Y/N muttered, the two letting out shaky breaths as they attempted to slow their breathing down.

Once they had managed to calm down some, the two let go of each other and looked down at the dog. Furrowing her eyebrows, Y/N took a step forward and looked around. Inside the bus was a makeshift home of sorts, complete with a bed for both a person and the dog, clothes, some belongings, and numerous crafts lining the inside as if someone had spent the last seven years making nothing but decorations.

"Nice place," Joel commented, looking to the dog who was now laying on his bed. "Can we sit?" The dog glanced at him and Joel looked to Y/N who shrugged. The boy watched the dog hesitantly and made a move to sit down. When the animal didn't show any sign of disagreement, Joel fully sat down. "Thanks."

Y/N walked over as well, but she kneeled down in front of the dog who looked to her with big round eyes. "Hey there, buddy," she whispered, carefully holding her hand out. The dog looked to her hand and leaned forward, sniffing her fingers for a second before licking them. Smiling, Y/N reached forward and let her fingers brush through the dog's hair. "Thank you for saving us back there. Where did you come from, huh? You got a master coming back soon?"

"Robin," Joel whispered. The girl hummed in response and looked his way only to find the boy pointing towards some dishes that looked as if they hadn't been cleaned in a really long time. Y/N instantly put two and two together before looking back at the dog who was leaning into her touch as she scratched behind his ears.

"You all alone?" Joel asked, his eyes flickering over the dog before finally looking at Y/N who he couldn't help but smile at as he watched her interact with the animal.

The dog leaned back at Joel's words and Y/N sighed before standing up and sitting down beside Joel on the bed. "Yeah, us too. I mean, we have each other, but. . .you get what I mean," Joel explained while Y/N smiled softly and placed a hand on top of the boy's.

Joel smiled back and flipped his hand over in order to hold her hand and give it a small squeeze. Feeling content with the comfort his best friend provided him, Joel began to look around until his eyes landed on some graffiti on the bus that read 'Boy.'

"Boy?" he questioned, the name instantly making the dog sit up. Joel and Y/N both shared a look before Joel looked back to the dog. "Is that your name? Boy? Your name is Boy." The dog continued to look at him and Y/N smiled softly as she leaned against Joel.

"I'm Y/N," she said. "But this one right here calls me Robin."

"And I'm Joel," the boy spoke up. "But people call me Batman."

"They do not," Y/N snorted making the boy pout.

"No one calls you Robin," Joel tried to argue.

"You call me Robin," Y/N pointed out.

Knowing he was defeated, Joel looked back to Boy before nodding at the dog. "Nice to meet ya," he said. "Like Robin said earlier. . .thanks, uh. . .thanks for saving my life, Boy."

Boy lowered his head and Y/N just watched the dog with a small smile while Joel used his free hand to pick up a red dress that was lying on the makeshift bed. "Is this a dress?" he asked. However, the words had barely left his mouth before Boy was up and pulling the dress from his grasp.

"Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Sorry," Joel said as Boy ripped the dress away and laid back down on his bed with the dress next to him. "Okay, I won't touch it again."

Y/N let her eyes flicker over Boy, frowning slightly as she realized the dress must've belonged to his owner. Thinking the same thing, Joel asked, "Was that your owner's?"

Boy didn't move and Joel glanced towards Y/N. "It's okay," Joel assured the dog. "You don't have to talk about it. Sorry."

"Did you. . .did you think one of us was her?" Y/N asked, thinking back to the way the dog had grown so protective of them. Boy didn't look at them, but he didn't have to. Y/N was pretty sure he had thought one of them was his owner coming back to him.

"I'm gonna lie down too," Joel said, letting go of Y/N’s hand to pull his backpack off. "Is that o—" The dog looked his way and Joel slowed his actions down. "No, it's okay. Just my backpack." Boy laid back down and Joel let out a small sigh as he set the backpack down. However, he paused as he glanced towards Y/N and it registered in his head that there was only one bed.

"I forgot there's only one bed. Here, you take the bed," Joel told her, already beginning to get up. "I'll just lay on the ground."

Y/N rolled her eyes and reached up to grab the boy's wrist. Joel hesitated and looked back at her while she just gave him a small smile. "We've been best friends for years, Joel. Just shut up and lay down with me," she told him. "Don't worry. I won't bite."

Y/N then gave him a small wink and stood up to take off her backpack and katanas, not noticing the way Joel's cheeks reddened slightly. Although, he wasn't completely sure why that was happening either.

With the bed obviously only being made for one person, the two both had to lay on their side. Joel got on first and leaned all the way back against the far side before opening up his arms. Y/N got in next and laid beside him, the boy freezing as she laid down before he put his arm down at his side not daring to hold the girl like he found himself wanting to.

Y/N was glad Joel couldn't see her face for she was sure she had a slight frown on her face at the fact that he hadn't even wanted to hold her. However, her thoughts were pushed aside as she felt the boy gently nudge her before pointing towards the ceiling where they could see a stuffed dog and girl pinned up next to each other.

"You know," Joel said, glancing over at Boy, "I had a girl, too, once. I mean, I have Y/N, but I'm talking about a different girl. Think you would've really liked her. Yeah, you guys would totally get along. She—She loves dogs. I mean, all animals. She's a big animal lover."

Y/N closed her eyes as the boy began to ramble, especially thankful for not having to face the boy as she listened to him talk about Aimee. Usually she was able to ignore what he was saying, but something about being this close to him, close enough that she could feel his warmth and the way his breath fanned against her neck, and having to hear him talk about another girl was more painful than ever before.

"I haven't seen her in seven years," Joel muttered after a moment of silence. "Long time. That's why I'm trying to go find her. I haven't told anyone this, but I'm kinda nervous about it."

Y/N opened her eyes at that, her face softening at the boy's words. It seemed Boy was touched by his words as well because he got up and plopped down right beside their bed, the dress still in his mouth. He closed his eyes and Y/N smiled softly before reaching down and petting the dog one more time.

"Goodnight, Boy," she whispered, Joel repeating her words while the dog let out a small whine before going to sleep.

A silence filled the room after that, but Y/N knew neither of them were able to sleep. She waited for a moment before whispering, "Are you actually nervous to see Aimee?"

Joel let out a soft sigh, his breath fanning the back of her neck before he whispered, "Yeah." He paused for a moment. "It's been seven years. What if she doesn't want to see me?"

Sighing, the girl turned around in the bed until she was facing Joel. Their faces were an inch or two apart and she noticed Joel's eyes widen slightly in surprise, but it quickly disappeared as he looked into her eyes and relaxed a bit.

Y/N’s eyes searched his own as she said, "Aimee would have to be crazy to not want to see you. You're one of the best people out there, Joel, and that was even before ninety five percent of the population was killed."

Joel smiled softly at that and looked down. "I don't know," he whispered, but the girl quickly shook her head before gently reaching out and forcing his chin up so he could look at her.

"You need to stop doubting yourself, Joel. You have such a big heart and are one of the kindest and funniest people I know. You're making one of the most romantic gestures just daring to take this journey to see her. If she doesn't want to see you, then there's something wrong with her. Trust me. All you need to do is stay calm. Everything will work out in the end," she assured him, smiling softly as she caressed his cheek once with her thumb.

Joel couldn't speak as he looked at her, his eyes flickering over her face for a moment as he tried to process all that she had just said. He couldn't help but notice the rapid beating of his heart. Seeing as it was feeling he had never experienced around the girl before, Joel pushed it aside as nothing but fear of a monster attacking while they slept. But still. . .there was something about the feeling that was familiar. He just couldn't put his finger on it.

Y/N was turning around before Joel could think anymore about it, nestling into the pillow as she closed her eyes. "Besides," she muttered, "your ass dragged me out of that bunker and I'm not about to let you have second thoughts or I'll kill you before any of these monsters can."

Joel chuckled softly at that, his whole body relaxing just because of the girl's presence. He stared at the back of her head for a moment, his eyes trailing down her form before he reached out and slowly let his arm wrap around her waist. Y/N responded by leaning backwards and into his chest while the boy pulled her closer to him and let his face nestle into the crook of her neck.

Y/N smiled softly as her eyes fluttered close once again, a sigh escaping her lips as she whispered out, "Goodnight, Joel."

"Goodnight, Robin."

- - -

Tag List

@simplybarnes @spideysimpossiblegirl @bookdorkfangirl @katemusic @eternallyvenus @juliebean247 @trustfundparker @blahhhhhhhaaa @used-avocado @havingagooddream @blogforhoes @weirdowithnobeardo @there-goes-my-sanity @cas-loves-pizza @ezgithechaotic

#love and monsters #aimee #clyde #dylan o'brien #dylan o’brien x reader #joel dawson #joel dawson imagine #joel dawson x reader #love #and #monsters #minnow #apocalypse

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another-blog-bites-the-dust · 6 years ago

Text

The Week.

Summary: You and John spend the week together in Tokyo, Japan. A week that would change your lives for good.

Warnings: Bit of drinking and swearing but that's about it, lots of fluff!

A/N: I know it's been far too long!! Sorry about that! Just been so busy between life and writing that I haven't had the chance to take the time to upload and edit my work! Plus the eye infection didn't help 😭😅Nevertheless, here is the next part- lookout for a little song reference 😉 Enjoy! 💖

Gif source [X]

Day 2.

—————

A restless night was washed off in a quick shower. The sleep was still softly clutching onto your body however, but you had a busy day ahead and you couldn't let that get to you. You tossed your old towels into the empty bath for the housekeeper to take away and changed into something comfortable before making your way downstairs for breakfast. It was seven thirty in the morning.

You stepped into the lift and pressed the floor where the restaurant was. When the lift stopped in the floor below yours, a flurry of excited and eager butterflies emerged in your stomach. You were disappointed when the doors opened and John wasn't there- but he still might be sleeping. Instead a young family entered and pressed the button to the lobby. When you got out of the lift, you slowly walked to the restaurant and were led to a table. There was a spread of food along a wall and a menu on the table. You ordered a few things from it and the biggest cup of coffee they had. You got up and grabbed a bowl of funky sounding fruit to start with and grabbed one of the newspapers they had and put it on the table beside you, reading it while you ate your fruit.

Your coffee arrived...and so did someone else. "Morning!" They chirped and you looked up, a smile suddenly appearing on your face.

"Good morning, John," you folded up the paper "How'd you sleep?" You asked.

"I didn't." He still managed to lowly chuckle despite being exhausted.

You smirked "Neither did I." He was still standing- there was a spare chair across from you. "Do you want to join me for breakfast?"

"You sure?" He asked, already pulling out the chair.

"Course," you smiled and he sat down, and placed his order with the server. "I like having company." You smiled into your coffee cup "I always travel alone- it's a nice change having breakfast with someone."

"I hope I'm not keeping you from your work." The worry was adamant in John's voice but you waved away his concerns and told him that he wasn't. "I'm assuming you're a fellow Londoner from your accent?" He put that out there and then silently thanked the waiter for his tea that he had ordered.

"You assume correct. I live just west of Kensington." John choked on his tea and you raised a brow. "What?"

"I live just west of Kensington!" He grinned. "Melrose Gardens!"

You went wide-eyed "No way! I stay on Dewhurst Road! You are like five minutes away from me!" You giggled and John rested his chin on his hand with a toothy grin. Your laughter died down and you looked at him with a soft, amazed smile. "Isn't it funny that you can travel halfway around the world and then find someone who lives down the road from you?"

"Very funny," he mused.

"It's fascinating how small our little big world is." You said just as your breakfasts arrived.

"So what are your plans for today?" He asked. "Do you focus on a particular point of interest or sights to write about?" John was genuinely interested in what you did and when he arrived back in the U.K., he was sure to get his hands on a paper to read your work.

"I try and focus on a bit on every aspect. I tend to spend a week wherever I go to try and do a bit of everything a place has to offer." You began to explain, the pair of you still eating away at your breakfasts. "So today for example, today I'm going to the shops and I'm going to explore a little- jot down anything I find interesting or if I spot any quirky hotspots . I'll take a lot of photos too. But during the week I'll go on a excursion, see what modes of public transport are available, check out the nightlife, try the traditional restaurants...that sort of thing."

"You've certainly got a jam-packed week. Sounds fun too!" He took a bite of toast. "I'll probably be stuck in here all week- especially since my bandmates will be far too busy lazing about." He added with an eye roll.

You chortled before you were hit with an idea. "If you're not busy...you could always tag along with me if you want? I don't mind." You nonchalantly shrugged and sipped away on your coffee.

"R-really?! Sure! I'd love to!" John knew he sounded a little too enthusiastic.

"Great! Well I'll get myself organised and I can meet you in the lobby in twenty minutes?" You suggested and both stood up at the same time.

"Perfect!" You both made your way to the lift, John got off at his floor. "See you soon!" You sent him a small wave and continued going up another floor. You grabbed your bag that had all your necessities in it and your camera along with a guidebook. Before you went anywhere you always read up about where you were going and took a guidebook on the journey with you. The maps inside were especially handy.

Twenty minutes later you met with John who was eagerly waiting for you and an adventure around Tokyo. "Ready to go?" You asked and he nodded and the pair of you stepped outside. The sun was out and there was a scattering of fluffy white clouds in the sky. You ended up down a busy little side street. You spotted a shop who's window display consisted of bright yellow, plastic streamers and questionable looking mannequins in even more questionable positions. "We should head in," you pointed to the door.

"In there?" John pointed too "It looks mad!"

You took his hand and you both felt a jolt of electricity bolt up your arms. "That's exactly why we're going in." John was happy to be dragged by you into the weird wonderland of whimsical mishmash paraphernalia. It held everything from telephones to a literal kitchen sink, as well as odd pairs of shoes, cut out bras and glittery rubber ducks.

"This looks like the inside of Freddie's head," John murmured with a smirk while he took in the emporium of sheer madness.

You smiled and made a mental note to ask about his bandmates later. Walking up ahead, you laughed and picked up a cowboy hat "John," you called him and he looked over, stifling a laugh. "What do you think?" You dramatically accentuated your poses.

"You actually really suit that! You should get it!" You took it off and admired it before taking his advice. John found himself in a little gap filled with rails of clothes and picked up a very jazzy, sequinned, feathery bra. "Think this is too much?" He joked and you giggled.

"Matches your sparkling eyes..." you said without even thinking. Your mouth just blabbed the truth. John had a shy smile on his face while yours went bright red. "Um..." you nervously picked up something and held it in front of him "I think you'd look good in this shirt. Brings out your eyes." You mentally slapped yourself bringing up his beautiful eyes yet again within a matter of seconds.

"You got a thing for my eyes?" He teased but John was a giddy, nervous wreck now he knew that you liked his eyes. He'd use that to his advantage.

"I think we should pay and explore more of the city," you managed to speak out and after grabbing a few more things which included a pair of sunglasses and funky light up earrings, you paid and headed to more shops.

You and John found yourselves in a clothes shop that was deeply embracing the trends of the 70's along with a few traditional outfits. You snapped a few photos of the store and of the cheerful cashier who happily stuck his thumbs up when you snapped a picture. You thanked him and continued taking more photos, including one of John candidly looking through the rails. After picking up an armful of clothes each, you tried them on- some for a laugh and others because they were genuinely nice pieces. You emerged out of the changing booth, pulling back the orange velvet curtain and looked in the mirror in front of you. Then John emerged and you burst out laughing at what you were both wearing. "We look like Sonny and Cher!" You giggled and John stood next to you and scrutinised the immensely tacky outfits.

"I don't have a moustache!" He chuckled.

You reached across and pulled a strand of his long hair in front of his face, above his lip. "Now you do!" You laughed even louder.

John grabbed a piece and placed it over your lip. "So do you." He took it away and lightly gasped "It's still there!" Your jaw dropped but your mouth was curving upwards at his playful remark.

You lightly jabbed his side "Very funny." The cashier, who was laughing at the pair of you, pointed at your camera and then the two of you as if to ask 'Would you like your photo taken?' You nodded with a small smile and handed him the camera. He took two and handed it back. "Arigatō!" You bowed and he did the same. John looked at you with an amazed smile.

"You know Japanese?" He asked.

You shook your head and changed, still talking to him- the room was so small and the wall and curtains were thin enough for him to still hear you. "Only a little. 'Thanks' is pretty easy- I couldn't have a full blown conversation in the language." You changed into a traditional dress and stepped out, John was still admiring his choice of outfit that made him look like Sonny. "What do you think?" You asked and he looked at you via the mirror. His heart skipped a beat and his breath caught.

"You look beautiful in that..." he was dumbfounded by your beauty in such a traditional look.

You sheepishly smiled. "Arigatō..." you winked and then changed back into your own clothes, picking out a few bits that you liked and a jumper that your mum would love as well as the traditional dress. You both paid and headed to the next shop, snapping yet more photos, then another, and then another, then stopped off for some street food- a platter of sushi and gyoza's before heading to yet another shop and picking up a kimono each. "That was a very successful day shopping!" You entered the hotel with your arms full of bags.

"I think the term 'shop till you drop' is the definition of what we've done today!" John tiredly laughed. "God, I need a shower now! That was so fun!"

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself," you managed to press the lift button. "Thanks for coming along with me. I had a great time and got lots of great photos!"

"Thanks for the invite." John sent you a warm smile. "Now it's my turn to return an invite- meet you at the bar later? Around seven?" He asked with a glimmer of hope in his eyes and nervous, twiddling fingers.

"Yeah!" You quickly agreed- perhaps a little too fast but that didn't bother John.

He got off at the floor below yours and headed to his room with a smile. He had never had so much fun in such few hours- especially shopping! It was like you had opened his eyes to a new and exciting world. Then it dawned on him that perhaps the company made a difference and was the influence of why he had such fun. Sure, he had been to the shops with past girlfriends but it was a chore to him. But shopping with you and your 'eyes wide open to everything and anything' view changed his initial perspective on going shopping with someone.

You put all your bags down in the corner of your room for now, you'd pack everything away at some point. You took out the camera and photos from the bag it was in and smiled at one- of many photos- of John. He was standing facing a sign that was in Japanese, the light from it bounced perfectly off his face and he looked ethereal- he was glowing. The shadows created perfectly highlighted his exquisite features. You were in awe.

Seven o'clock rolled around fast. John was at the bar first waiting for you with a untouched glass of Suntory beside him. He looked up at the right moment and saw you walk in wearing a lovely black dress with little flowers on it. "Thought I'd make an effort for rock royalty..." you spun on the spot.

John decided to joke with you. "That's an effort?" He widely grinned and you feigned offence with a smirk. "I'm only kidding! You know I'm joking!"

"You're ballsy, John Deacon!" You pointed as you sat next to him, then you saw the drink. "And you got my usual." You leaned forward and clinked your glass with his. "Am I that predictable after being in my company for just over a day?" You both looked over hearing an eruption of laughter. The group of Japanese businessmen who were there in the same spot as last night. "People drinking for days gone by, huh?" You smirked and motioned over to them. "They were here last night too. But then again, time don't mean a thing- especially when you're jet lagged." John hummed and nodded in agreement. "I wish I could sleep."

"Me too," John sighed and took a drink. "Maybe one night I'm here I'll be able to." You casually rested a hand on your cheek, keeping your attention on John. "That night feels like years away...." he laughed "But then again, time don't mean a thing." He repeated your words and the corner of your lip tugged upwards for a split second.

The group of men laughed again and you and John smiled "Sounds like they are having fun."

"I had fun today," John said before taking a sip of his drink "Most fun since I've been here really- our management were really pushing us last week in Kyoto. Wasn't very enjoyable, a lot of pressure." He sighed and played with the napkin under his glass.

Your eyebrows softened and you reached across and instinctively placed your hand on his forearm and he stopped toying with the napkin. The contact sent John's heart fluttering. "You know, maybe you should take a break from listening to what they tell you to do and start listening to yourself. You might actually live a little and feel better if you did." You suggested before taking a drink. "You're your own person John. No one can ever take that away from you." You smiled at him. John placed his hand on the top of yours, his thumb brushed over the back of your hand.

"I might just do that, Y/N."

You were looking at each other in silence for a few minutes and then the bartender- the same one from last night- disturbed you both. You had both learned his name, Harry, he asked if you'd like another round of drinks. "Last round for me," you looked to John "I hope you don't mind, I want to attempt to get some sleep tonight!"

John nodded with a grin "I'm on the same boat as you! I'll make an attempt to get some shut eye but I doubt I'll get much."

"The jet lag is still kicking the shit out of me so I'll be up most of the night too no doubt." You tiredly smiled "It really sucks." You thanked Harry with a silent smile and raised your glass at John who did the same. You both took your time on your last drink before parting ways for the night. "Thanks for a great day, John. I had an amazing time."

"Hope we can do it again...I'd really like it if we did." He bit on his lip and you shyly smiled while nodding your head. You were hoping he'd say that. "Hope you get some sleep."

"I hope you get some sleep too, John." You got off first. "Night. Sweet dreams." You waved and caught one final glimpse of him. Or so you thought.

John pressed his hand against the door to hold it open and popped his head out "And Y/N!" He called.

You turned around "Yes?"

He smiled, admiring the sight he knew was fortunate enough to be looking at. "You really didn't need to make the effort. You already look absolutely beautiful."

You bashfully smiled "Thank you." John forced himself back into the lift. The doors shut and he endured another floor in the lift listening to yet more piano music. You quickly changed into your pyjamas, turned off the room lights and tossed yourself onto the bed- not bothering to find what remote closed the curtains. You fell asleep with the glowing Tokyo lights in the background while thinking of John.

——————————

•All parts•

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gust-jar-simulator · 1 year ago

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Oh my god this is fantastic. You're always welcome to add on, I love all of this!!! Cackling right now, I had to save these tags.

I agree that FSA Ganon is fascinating. I actually have played with that a little in one of my AUs- Shadow came from the powers of the Spear being applied to the Mirror of Twilight, and the spear itself is a really cool reference to LttP if I recall right. Further back, though, the concept of Ganon being connected to a spear or trident actually has meta roots in a character from Journey To The West, Zhu Bajie the pig demon and the rake he used as a weapon. I love the idea of Ganondorf being a sort of negative King Arthur, which also mirrors a lot of the tropes used for Link- the once and future king, the once and future hero. The Spear of Power even qualifies as a kind of sword-in-the-stone.

I also want to bring up an idea I've been using to loosely make sense of Hyrule and its inhabitants- taxons based on the three Golden Goddesses. Gerudo, Lynel, Gorons all falling under children of Din. Hylians and Zora being children of Nayru. And, crucially, almost every iteration of Link we've seen has been associated with the fae, or children of Farore- Minish, fairies, Kokiri, Koroks, etc. Shadow's in an interesting position where he technically is a Link, but in FSA he fulfills the qualifications of an avatar of Power, the same way Ghirahim and Vaati do in their respective games. AND he's technically Ganon's test tube baby. Much to consider.

I think Ghirahim technically qualified as Regent in Demise's absence, but Zant was definitely just a vassal of some sort. And if demonkind is aware of the cycle of the hero at this point (as they should be), then it would make a lot of sense for FSA Ganondorf, third of his line (three times is a pattern) to start making contingency plans to smooth the transfer of power for when he gets briefly taken out. I love patient villains. He wants to win this time, obviously, but if he doesn't then he might as well plan for next time.

Vaati the Archfey is absolutely genius. What're they going to do, argue with him? He took a nibble of godhood, he can be whatever he wants.

I think if we take into account both Shadow and Vaati though, this version of Ganon actively went looking for/made more allies than we've seen before, which is an interesting character note. FSA is about teamwork. Sure, he defied the laws of his tribe to get this far, but part of me wonders if Ganon's lonely or at least capable of acknowledging and learning from his weaknesses at this point. He's the iron fist, he's not exactly mobile the same way Vaati and Shadow are as villains. Heck, I mostly associate Ganondorf with necromancy, which definitely isn't a style of command that needs social skills.

It's hard to say if Vaati has social skills, but in FSA there are dark mages who actively thank you for freeing Vaati, so he's doing something right.

Also I'm losing it at the mental image of Vaati giving Vio etiquette lessons. Where's that animatic that's been haunting me....

This one!!!

Anyway yeah I love where your mind went with this, it's exactly the kind of fic I need more of.

I need an excuse to nerd about the chivalric romance genre because LOZ was made for it. I am very out of it and took a class on Spanish literature almost a decade ago. So. I might be missing some important points.

That said: Shadow is more of a real knight than FS Link/his colors, as well as technically a prince, and I will never be able to let that go.

A knight has several ingredients:

enough wealth to afford training and equipment, so usually that means land and a title

the oath of fealty (perhaps dubiously followed, but better than a mercenary!)

a horse (chevalier means horseman)

FSA Link, depending on how people write him, is either an apprentice smith or the son of the captain of the guard. Maybe he has bloodline clout, but it's rarely touched on. He probably has the oath of fealty, since Zelda trusts him to save the world. He definitely does NOT have a horse, or land of his own.

Shadow, meanwhile, is technically the son of the King of Demons. Boom, land and a title. Ganon might never intend to step down, but long lived kings are an established problem in monarchies anyway, and a prince is still a prince. Oath of fealty? Until Vio comes along with his sweet nothings, Shadow is arguably Ganon's most loyal little soldier. Sure there's his complete disregard for Vaati, but that's just demonic political intrigue enrichment. A little backstabbing is good for him. A horse?

Shadow has a DRAGON.

Vio obtains land and a title by dating allying with Shadow. Lord of the Tower of Flames. It's heavily implied that gave him the authority to order around minions and such. From a medieval standpoint it absolutely looks like Shadow and Vio eloped.

To round the whole thing off: Vaati has land and a title too, sort of. Mage isn't an official rank of anything, but he's got a magical tower full of minions he can order around, so I think it counts. He was a king once, and he tried to eat the power of a god. Vaati and Ganon's relationship is incredibly vague- coworkers? Actual allies? Marriage of convenience?- but honestly I'd love to explore the idea of Ganon making a power play by trying to woo Vaati. There's an alarming lack of courtship trope in this fandom and something should be done about it.

All of this to say that I'd love to read political intrigue drama or just a silly AU where Vio gets impulsively kidnap-married by the neighboring Prince of Darkness, and he has to deal with his absolutely terrifying new in-laws. Vaati is a bit like Vio but worse, which means they need to be trapped in a social situation together.

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forkanna · 5 years ago

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NOTE: So I'm really broke, and anything you could donate to ko-fi would be appreciated! Also I'm thinking about doing the Patreon thing, though I seriously think my inexperience is going to show through glaringly. I guess we'll see!

CHAPTER 10

~ x JUDGMENT x ~

"This is serious, isn't it?"

Makoto remained silent. For a long time. And Sae waited for her little sister to speak up. She was feeling a lot of things herself that were nearly as strong as those of her flesh and blood. The temptation to round the table and try to comfort her in some way was almost too strong to resist.

"Yes."

"Then how do you identify?"

"I'm… uncomfortable with a label just yet," she admitted in a fragile whisper.

"Very well." Her tone came out as a harsh rasp, and she cleared her throat to hopefully get rid of that. "We can come back to that another time. So you had spoken to your friends, asked for their input."

"Wouldn't you do the same? Didn't you, a long time ago?"

Frowning, she looked away. "I did. You remember how difficult my journey was."

"Of course I do," Makoto told her as she leaned forward, gripping the edge of the table as her eyes stared straight into Sae's when she looked back. And they held each other's gaze for a minute. "I remember every step you took. Well, the ones here. If you hadn't been gone, I would have helped more, but it didn't feel like it was my right to… insist."

"Really? So you wanted to come with me to Thailand? Help me with dilating, hormone therapy, plastic surgery after plastic surgery? Bloody, messy, disgusting help?"

True pain flickered across the younger girl's features. "You're my sister. I would have done anything you needed and it would have been my pleasure."

That left Sae breathless. Her own emotions were rising to the surface, despite how deep she tried to bury them on a regular basis. Of course she knew Makoto had been supportive, but she had never given a strong outward display of it. Perhaps that was because… she never asked. From the very beginning, she had been so firm and sure of her path that she never dared disturb her little sister's education with trivial matters like her own transition. The physical agony, and the many and varied troubles associated with that and with the social problems. They were her burden to bear alone.

And all along, this girl had been waiting to share that burden. Denied that familial obligation that she seemed to see as no obligation at all.

"Makoto…"

"Do you want the rest of the story or not?"

"Makoto."

"What?" She let out a harsh little laugh. "Oh, now you're feeling guilty about forcing me to come out? Only now that you understand that I would never have done that to you?"

The elder sibling's expression suddenly became drawn, as pained as the younger's had been moments ago. "Makoto, please, I have told you that isn't why… I thought she was taking advantage of you. All I wanted was to protect the only family I have left. Why is that so wrong?"

After thinking about it for a moment or two, her little sister did nod. "You're right. I'm just angry that we got caught, and you're the one that brought me in here. But I know…" A deep, bracing breath. "I know you're doing your job, and you're trying to look out for me. Sorry about my attitude."

"Well I suppose in your shoes, I would be doing the same. Not that I think you have made the wisest decisions, but…" She sighed shakily, sitting back and gesturing for her to continue. "Finish."

"Sis… are you crying?"

"No. I'm waiting for you to finish your testimony."

Staring hard at the watery sheen to her elder sister's eyes, Makoto finally breathed, "Alright. We're almost through, anyway, so I suppose I should."

~ x The Priestess x ~

When I told Ann about the plan I had, she was actually pretty excited. Said that it was 'fantastique', and she was completely on board with helping me. However, there was one little detail we needed to take care of before we finished cementing all other plans - and it meant I finally had no choice but to fill her in.

"Nine…?" she whispered as we peered around the corner of the hallway toward class 2-D. Toward where Miss Kawakami was berating one of her students just outside the door, gesturing up and down his entire body.

"I would say seven."

"Nah, her hips are just a little too wide."

"Hmm… maybe." I squinted for another second, then nodded. "You're probably right. We'll play it safe."

"Still can't believe it's her," Ann hissed with a huge, conspiratorial grin. "Like… okay, sorry if this is super weird, but go you! She's really hot!"

My cheeks burst into flames. "Shhhhh! Sh-she is not! I mean, she is, but that's not what I- we aren't here to check her out!"

"Hey, c'mon, let me brag on you a little! The other teachers aren't bad, but even though half the time she doesn't do her hair or makeup… Kawakami is a knockout. And you're practically going out with her!"

"Ugh," I grunted, even while privately thrilled that Ann was still taking the situation so well. There had been a lot of squealing, and some amount of "I had no idea!" and "You can't tell by looking at her!", but overall my friend stayed focused on helping figure out how to get the two of us together. How did I luck into such supportive, understanding, non-judgmental friends? But I would have to ponder that later. "What about the shoes?"

"You're asking me? You were the one playing with her feet!"

"I wasn't playing with- okay, fine. I'm not very good at knowing sizes by sight though. Mine are twenty-twos."

"Lucky. Mine are twenty-fives; can't ever find cute shoes. Well, I can, but not everywhere. Easier to find 'em out West, they stock bigger sizes there."

"Ah, I'm sure that's frustrating," I told her earnestly. "Um… so compared to us…"

"She's probably… a twenty-three? But we're gonna be able to slip up less with shoes. You know if they don't fit just right, they suck. Murder if you have to walk in them at all."

Sighing, I said, "Yeah. I'd better ask."

"You got this! I believe in you!"

As I made my way around the corner and toward my teacher, I could just catch her snapping, "...and next time, I won't be so nice. Get going, Takeba." Meanwhile, I was quickly scrolling through a webpage on my phone. As the student ran off, she turned to sigh when she saw me coming. "Niijima-san… I hope this is about schoolwork."

"Well, not exactly. It's not that bad!" I headed her off when she started to look even more tired.

"Okay, okay. Follow me." She led me to the corner of the hallway that was the least occupied. "What's up?"

"So I've, um… I've been thinking about getting into solestry. What shoe size are you?"

"Huh? Oh… um, twenty-three and a half. But what's that got to-"

"Cool! I just, um, I would need to factor it into your chart. So do you have wide feet or high arches? Flat arches? Anything like that?"

My poor, mystified teacher shrugged. "Not that I know of. Did you notice anything like that?"

"No, but I mean, a lot was happening," I admitted with a slight wilt, and she chuckled. "Sorry. But I'll do your chart after school and can show it to you soon - and if I need to fill more in, well, I'll take a look later."

"You're starting to worry me. On the other hand… you do have me curious." She lowered her voice even more to ask, "Were you going to request me?"

"Yeah. Of course. I'm looking forward to it."

"Seems that way," she sighed. "And this isn't about the money - though I still have to charge since it's through Victoria. There just isn't any other inconspicuous way for me to meet up with you. Um…"

When she continued to hesitate, I prompted, "What?"

"It's not going to be another rabuho, right?"

"Oh, no, no! My apartment." Her eyes widened. "Is that not good?"

"What about your family?"

"It's just my sister living with me. And she's gone almost… all the time. But I made sure she plans on working late tonight."

Kawakami nodded, eyebrows still furrowed as she regarded me, smooth lips just the tiniest bit pursed. I had this sense she was about to make a comment about my family situation - maybe one of regret. Not that she could have resurrected my parents either way. Then she merely said, "Alright. Put in the call when you're ready."

"I will. Thank you." I bowed slightly, turned, and got the hell out of there.

"Oh my God, you took so long," Ann whispered as we headed off to the courtyard. "What was all that about?"

"Fortune-telling."

"Huh?!"

~ o ~

Our little shopping trip went smoother than I had any right to expect. Armed with recently-acquired knowledge, I was able to pick up everything in one trip. Ann tagged along, and Ryuji even ran into us while we were out - which came in especially useful.

"Awww, c'mon!" he grunted as we staggered away from the subway with a huge armload of boxes and bags. "How much further, you guys?!"

"Almost there," I promised him easily as we turned a corner. "Just a few more kilometers."

"Ahhhhh, you gotta be kiddin' me! What the hell?!"

Ann giggled. "C'mon, be a trooper! Do it for me? Huh?"

"Told ya before, you ain't my type," he grumbled - though it was barely audible behind the wall of packages.

Our apartment is not large, but it is fairly nice. Very classy. That wasn't why I was nervous about having friends over. Mostly it was the unfamiliarity of it; I had never done this before, for anybody. Not a single friend from primary school ever stopped by. Just didn't bother asking because none of them wanted to hang out with me.

I guess now I know that's because you gave me that advice, Sis. Well-intentioned, but it didn't work out in my favour.

"Whooo, sweet place you got here!" Ryuji declared once he had dumped all the packages on the dining room table. "Yeah, real nice pad!"

"It's super fancy and modern!" Ann gushed. They had such a similar energy, those two - just directed down different avenues. "Wow, I'm so jealous of this kitchen!"

"Sweet TV! Man, like super high-def and shit!"

"Can I get some water? You have your own water cooler! Oooh - is that an espresso machine?!"

Laughing a little, I said, "Can you two calm down for one minute? It's just an apartment. I can give you the tour if you want."

So I did. Only when I got to my bedroom did Ann waggle her eyebrows at me, but she didn't do anything more than that, at least. Ryuji crept curiously toward my closet but Ann pulled him back by the waistband of his cargo shorts before smacking him across the back of the head. At least it only took that one admonition to cut him off.

"And that's your sister's room?" she asked as we passed the door.

"Yeah. Um… it's the smaller room, and it's kind of… we should stay out. I don't think she would be happy if we went in there."

"Yeah, yeah," Ryuji sighed in Ann's direction. "And listen, I wasn't even gonna take anything, I just wanted to see how big it was!"

Her smirk was poisonous. "Sure, sure, you little perv."

With a groan, he flopped on our soft purple couch. "I'm beat from carryin' all that stuff. Chicks are all the same, just want you to carry stuff while they shop."

"You haven't even known any 'chicks' until this year!" Ann fired back.

"Maybe not! But like, I watch movies about 'em and whatever! Ren and I saw that one flick at the theater, where the-"

"Okay, okay, Ryuji, yes," I interrupted their budding spat. "And I'm sure I'll agree with you any other day. But Ann and I have girly things to do, so…"

Alright, so I actually did feel guilty when he looked like a wounded puppy. "Oh. I thought we were gonna hang out and junk."

"Maybe another time. But, um…" I moved to the fridge and got out a bottle of Pocari Sweat and handed it to him where he sat on the couch. "Consider this a down payment on me getting you ramen sometime? You can hang out for a little longer and catch your breath."

Noticing how put out he looked, Ann added, "Yeah! Seriously, thanks."

"Well… I guess the girly stuff wouldn't interest me that much… though I do wonder how you do the eyelash thing without poking yourself in the eye."

"Well… why don't I show you that while you rest? I don't mind."

"Yeah, sure, why not? Might be cool."

Demonstrating the finer points of mascara seemed to help our friend feel a little less unceremoniously ousted. By the time he was at the bottom of his beverage, he was willing to hop out the door and leave us to our "girls' night", as he kept calling it. Way too many times.

~ o ~

I'll skip ahead to when Ann had already left me to my own devices. Once the scene was set, and the hour was right, I dialed the number for Victoria and had them patch me through to the proper maid.

"Hiyeeee! I'm going to fill your tired heart full of lovely energy, Master! How may I help you tonight?"

"It's me."

"Oh." Her saccharin tone faded, though she didn't sound displeased to hear me. Just comfortable dropping the act. "Well, considering most of my clients have deeper voices, I don't really need to ask for confirmation."

"Probably not," I laughed softly, excited more than I wished I was. What a little dork I've turned out to be. "Um… can you come soon?"

"I'm totally free. It's… kinda sad how free I am, but at least it means I can see you right away."

"Another double-length slot. Is that alright?" No answer. "Becky?"

"Well… it's fine, but are you sure you have that kind of a budget to work with? Normally, I wouldn't ask that since it's so personal, but…"

I waved my hand to dismiss the question, despite her being unable to see it. "Don't worry about that. Seriously. I just wanna make sure we have all the time we need. That's more important than a few more yen."

"Sure, yeah. I understand." A little of Becky returned as she said, "I look forward to serving you, Master! See you in about fifteen minutes!"

"Okay. See you then."

By the time I heard a knock at the door, all was in place. I moved to quickly open it, not wanting to waste a second of her time.

"Housekeepi- oh! Master!"

"Good evening," I told her easily with a slight bow before I took a step backward. "Welcome to my home."

As my maid stepped inside, I could see her eyes raking up and down my form. Perhaps I went a little overboard, between the deep shade of crimson I had painted my fingers and toes, and the sleek black a-line dress that hugged my curves. But she didn't seem disappointed; just surprised and unsure of how to react.

"Thanks for getting here so quickly," I told her as I shut the door behind her.

"Sure… no problem. Um… what's going on? Something smells amazing."

"Don't worry about it right now. I have one job for Becky."

"One?" Then she turned to me and bowed deeply. "I mean, yes, Master! Becky just wants to see a smile on Master's face more than anything!"

"Sure," I chuckled. "Then what I want you to do… is change into the clothes in the bathroom. Then I'd like Miss Kawakami to come out. I figured I could do better than a robe this time."

Though her eyes were definitely suspicious, after a moment to think it over she bowed again. "Right away, Master."

About five or ten minutes later, Sadayo emerged. And she looked gorgeous. The silver evening gown with the modest neckline shimmered as it caught the light, the slit that ran halfway up her thigh giving just the tiniest glimpse of interest without revealing everything. Somehow, we even found a pair of heels to perfectly match. And, as I had been hoping, she ditched the wig along with the maid uniform.

"Ohhhh wow," I breathed into my hands, which had flown up to cover my mouth the instant I caught sight of the vision in my apartment.

"Oh wow!" she echoed when she saw my table. Having planned for a quick change, the amount of time she spent putting on the dress was enough for me to move the duck l'orange to the center of the table, two flickering candles on either side and the other dishes further along. Soft piano music was playing in the background as an open bottle of wine breathed, ready to be poured into the two glasses at each place setting.

"Dinner is served," I told her with a very Becky-like curtsy. "Care to join me?"

A smirk was just blossoming on her lips as she walked over to stand next to me. "What's going on here? If I didn't know any better I'd say you're trying to sweep me off my feet again."

"Maybe a little. But… I mean, you were coming over to talk, not just to clean my apartment or whatever. Why shouldn't we have a nice dinner while we talk?"

"That… is a little bit of a stretch, but I guess it does make some sense. And that duck smells amazing." When I pulled out the chair and gestured for her to sit, she laughed, "Such a gentleman."

Still, she did take her seat. Once I scooted her forward, I rounded the table and took my own, then held the bottle out for her to inspect.

"Yep, that sure is wine. But I don't think either one of us is supposed to be drinking it right now; you're a couple years too young, and I'm on the clock. Technically."

"Oh, that's right… sorry."

My expression must have made her feel guilty, because she held up her glass and said, "One glass probably won't hurt. You did book a double; we have time."

So I poured us both a moderately sized glass. Then I put the cork back in the bottle, just to show her that I was serious about not trying to get her drunk or whatever she might be thinking. She took a small sip while I served her some of the duck, plus a heaping spoonful of the potatoes au gratin.

"Mmmhhhhh, it is as good as it smells!" she announced after she had sampled a forkful. "I didn't know you were such a little chef."

"Oh, I googled a recipe. Even if I don't know something, I'm pretty good at research."

"And putting that research into practice, I see. Not bad, Makoto-chan." Her eyes closed for a moment. I wasn't sure what she was doing until she corrected, "Niijima-san."

I waved my fork at her as I finished swallowing my own bite. "I don't mind."

"That's not…" With a sigh, she set down the fork and took a long drink of her wine. Then she fixed me with a level gaze.

"Okay," I muttered as I also set my fork down. "Guess we're doing this part already."

"Guess so. Niijima-san… Makoto. If I have led you on-"

"No, no… wait." I cleared my throat, folding my hands just in front of my plate. "You haven't. I'm sorry. For the way I looked at you in the hall, or… whatever made you think that."

Sadayo let out a weak little chuckle. "Then what are we doing here? Candlelit dinner, these dresses… I'm actually flattered. More than I thought I could be flattered by one of my students. But you know this can't happen, don't you?"

My heart was already speeding up, stomach churning. But I tried to take a sip of wine and let both of those reactions calm down. "I know."

"Then… what…?"

"Maybe I just wanted to see what this would feel like. Pursuing a woman. A test." Heaving a big sigh, I added, "But I also wanted to give you a nice dinner, because… it just… felt right. You do so much, and are being so great about me not knowing what I'm doing, and… we had to talk anyway, so…"

"Makoto…" Frowning, she leaned a little further forward and reached past the duck and my plate to my hands. "Listen. You're a wonderful girl-"

"You don't have to-"

"No, no, let me say this. Alright?" Her thumb caressed up and down my fingers. "You're… really surprising me. Like I told you before, I've never had anybody chase after me this much. Even if you are my student, and young, and… not quite my 'type', it's really… I do get butterflies anytime you do something like this. You're gonna make somebody really happy someday! But I can't enjoy those butterflies because I know it's wrong. Okay? So you have to stop, but I just need you to understand it has nothing to do with you as a person."

My hand flipped over to catch hers, and we held on for a few more seconds. Looked into each other's eyes. And I could see fear mingling with excitement, doubt mixing with despair. And longing - the same kind that I felt in the pit of my stomach.

"Sadayo?"

Her eyes lowered. "I'm your teacher. And older, and… come on, why would you care about some old woman?"

"Because you aren't 'some old woman'. You're a beautiful, smart, capable… strong, brave, kind, funny woman. Which are good things."

"But that's-"

"And I know that doesn't have to mean anything between us," I hurried to follow up. "That's not what this is about, I promise. Honestly, I have no idea what I'm feeling because it's the first time I felt it. But maybe… part of why I did this was to prove I'm not just some little girl who doesn't know anything at all. What I don't already know, I can learn."

Magically, it worked. I left Sadayo speechless. The tiniest part of me started to hope she at least wasn't going to dismiss me. Not that we would be together; that was impossible, just like she said. But that she would consider it for more than a half-second.

What I didn't expect was for her to pull her hand back, shaking as she pressed it into her forehead. "Oh God… oh God, this is not happening…"

"Sadayo?"

"Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay." She cleared her throat as if she were going to say something else, but all that came out was another, "Okay."

"Seriously, what's wrong?" I asked in a sharper voice, sitting forward the tiniest bit. The way her eyes were bugging out of her head was highly disconcerting.

"What's wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong - I'm on a damn date with my damn student."

To Be Continued…

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