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papermint-airplane · 2 years ago

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Well well well, who are these fine looking werewolves?

They're my first werewolf pack, from my first werewolf save, that are now unfortunately all in the void thanks to my old computer hard drive dying a horrible death before I was able to back up my saves. 😭😭 These are the only pictures that survived thanks to me sending them to a friend on Discord. I had so many more but they're all gone now. If you take away nothing else from this post, take this: always remember to back up your saves!!!!

This is my old werewolf pack from last year. I have been grieving their loss this whole time and I'm just now able to talk about them without getting a pit in my stomach. It's wild how much losing your favorite save can affect you. Starting a new werewolf save has helped heal the pain though, so let's do a retrospective/post-mortem of my original pack.

Gia (center, seated): The pack leader, the alpha bitch, the legend. Gia was one of those Sims who thought she was a badass, feared by all, when really most people saw her as a nuisance. She liked to terrorize everyone she thought were "normies" in Moonlight Falls, including the established werewolves there. When she wasn't starting fights for no reason, she was tapping away at her typewriter. She wrote a series of werewolf-themed romances that sold...well, they sold. And she was lucky, too, because they were all horrible trash but she was so convinced of her literary genius, she kept churning them out even when the publisher begged her to stop. She definitely didn't need the money since she and her dog kept finding tiberium pretty much daily, but it was never about the money, man. It was about the art. Maybe you've heard of her highest earner -- Anytime, Anywerewolf -- though if you admit to it, it's a self-report on your taste level. You might wanna keep that quiet.

Duchess (center, seated, dog): Duchess was the goodest of the good girls, end of story. Gia found her as a puppy and raised her to be the scourge of furniture everywhere. I was so sad to learn that dogs and werewolves don't have any special interactions and can't even hunt together, but regardless, the bond between these two was less like the relationship between owner and dog and more like siblings. Therefore, despite being a different species, Duchess was an undeniable member of the pack.

Marilyn (back, far left): Oh Marilyn, a precious little cinnamon roll who never hurt anyone except bees. Well, no, that's not right. The bees hurt her, not the other way around. Marilyn was a Sim Finder app acquisition. At the time, I was just looking to fill out the pack and hadn't yet come up with my "rule" (in the loosest possible sense) about using only premades so I used the app to generate zero-faces with the traits I wanted, then I'd make them over in CAS. In retrospect, I could have saved a lot of time just making them in CAS to begin with but, hey shut up, get off my back. Anyway, Marilyn was our pack gardener, or she would have been if she had been the slightest bit interested doing anything other than following River around like a lovesick puppy. Part of her gardening duties also entailed beekeeping but she was...just...the freaking worst at it. Every time she even thought of approaching the hive, the bees attacked her. Ever seen a Sim get stung five times in a row? I have. It was Marilyn. The girl subsisted on Benadryl and false hope. Maybe that's why she almost never gardened. Another of her quirks was that she had the coward trait, yet it almost never manifested itself with anything other than Bonehilda. She didn't freak out when pack members transformed in front of her, she didn't freak out when she got bitten, she didn't freak out when it was the full moon, she literally only screamed and fainted when Bonehilda was out of her coffin. I think she was skele-phobic.

Noel (back, second from left): Some of you are squinting at the screen right now going, "hey wait, that Sim looks really familiar". That's because I didn't make him, our wonderful @happy-lemon did. Noel, in her game, was the husband of Kana, her second gen heir. She was kind enough to send him to me to let me play with him, which is honestly such a sacrifice, seeing as how we've been friends for a while and she knows what I'm like. Absolute saint, that woman. Anyway, Noel was just as much of a sweetheart as he was in her game, and he was one of my favorites. He was one of everyone's favorites, really. He was a generally nice guy who got along with everyone, even Gia. Most Sims, when they get the cursed bite get an instant ➖➖ with the werewolf that bit them, and Noel was no different, but he never let his dislike of Gia show. He still tried to be kind to her despite her being...her. Nobody disliked Noel. Nobody. His highest relationship in the pack, though, was with Duchess. He adored that dog. He was always playing with her, giving her belly rubs, talking to her. God it was so cute. Noel's official role was pack chef. This was not a popular decision. See, Noel is a vegetarian, even as a werewolf, and his pack mates were...very much not. Normally, it's not wise to serve tofu hot dogs to a pack of ravenous slavering semi-feral werewolves, but Noel got away with it because he's just that nice. He didn't even take it personally when the pack refused to eat his cooking and chowed down on raw steaks instead. Angel.

River (back, middle): River was another Sim created by a dear friend of mine, Caralline. River didn't really have an official pack designation. I think I tried to give him one but he rejected everything but "pack hot guy all the girls fawn over". So, yeah, that was his official role. He was there to charm all the ladies and inadvertently become a hub of drama. He didn't do anything maliciously, though, he was just too darn charming for his own good. As previously mentioned, Marilyn was obsessed with him. She was always following him around, talking to him and rolling wishes to interact with him. She was the first Sim to get the attraction pop-up for him but oh lord, she was not the last. For his part, he was friendly with her but he didn't seem to be as interested in her as she was in him. He had eyes for Gia, which, again is very strange considering the ➖➖ cursed bite thing. He and Noel seemed to rise above their programming in that regard. He thought she was attractive (he thought everyone was attractive, though) and kept rolling wishes to get to know her better. I think there may have been some autonomous flirts, there, too, which, if my computer hadn't died, could have lead to some interesting dynamics between him, Gia, and Marilyn. I truly wish I could have seen that triangle through. The fireworks would have been spectacular.

Bailey (back, second from right): We all know her, we all tolerate her, ladies and germs, it's Moonlight Falls' very own Bailey Swain! This save made me do a complete 180 on my previous stance on premades, I'll tell you what. Before, I never really paid them much attention, preferring to do my own thing, but now I'm looking at all of them with a new light. Why? Because Bailey is awful. She's just the fucking worst. Absolute moron. Smooth-brained idiot. Big dumb baby whose IQ matches her shoe size. I LOVE HER! God, what a fool. Ok, ok, I'll explain myself. Go look her up on the Wiki. Look at her traits. Does she have the coward trait? No. I'll save you the click, she does not. She starts as a teenager in the game because she's based on Bella Swan from Twilight and she has loner, clumsy, supernatural fan, and light sleeper. I aged her up, of course, and I forget what I gave her as a fifth trait, but it might have been something like bookworm or born saleswoman. Definitely. not. coward. Why am I stressing this so much? Because she screamed and fainted every time anyone transformed into a werewolf in front of her, even after she herself was transformed into a werewolf. Every. time. EVERY TIME!!! She was so stupid and I loved her with everything I had in me. She never knew what was going on ever. Her loner trait made her a great pick for pack alchemist and she turned out to be very talented at it. She maxed out her alchemy skill faster than any Sim I've ever seen. She was making the pack thousands with every batch she consigned. She was also the only one able to harvest honey from the bees without them attempting to murder her. You'd think that clumsy trait would mean she'd open up the hive and accidentally insult the queen or something, but no, they loved her. It really was just Marilyn they had some unexplained beef with.

Ephraim (back, far right): Poor Ephraim. He was the newest member, another Sim Finder Sim, and the one I never really got to know. Shortly after he joined (that's such a nice way of saying "cursed and kidnapped"), my hard drive died so he didn't have time to settle into a role. It's really a shame, because he had one of the most interesting dynamics with the other pack members. It wasn't that he didn't get along with everyone else, it was just that he seemed very wary of everyone. He hated Gia though. Like full-on "I want to see your flaming ghost" hate. He seemed to struggle with being turned into a werewolf, constantly rolling wishes to be cured as fast as I could delete them. It would have been so cool to see how he adapted to his curse, if he ever did.

And that's it. That's all that remains of my first werewolf pack. They'll always be legends in my eyes. I miss them.

Here's hoping that my new wolfpack can hold a candle to them. Connor certainly has big Gia energy, even though his traits are radically different from hers and make him even more unlikeable. Gia was just so convinced of her badassery that she didn't really care what other Sims thought of her. Connor just outright hates most people and things. I feel like it's important to have a Sim who is unaffected by the relationship hit they get when they curse other Sims to add to the pack. I didn't want to go full evil with him to the point where he would enjoy their misery, though. I think it's more interesting to start at rock bottom in a relationship and see if they can salvage it or if they just never get along. Plus, I just don't want my new pack to be an imitation of the first one. That would be boring and it would never measure up. I really do enjoy playing this way, though, and sometimes I wonder if coming up with a challenge based on my werewolf play would be fun for other people. It'd certainly be fun for me to see how others interpret the concept, but Idk. Official challenge rules are difficult for me to follow personally so the idea of coming up with a bunch of rules for others feels kinda...hypocritical? Idk if that's the right word but hopefully you know what I mean.

If you have read this far, let me know what you think! Not just about my old pack or my new pack, but about the challenge idea in general. If you had to come up with rules for something like this, what would you consider a good challenge that's still fun and not too restrictive? Would this be a good idea to develop? Would you be interested in playing a werewolf save with or without rules? And if you do start a werewolf pack of your own, please tag me. I freaking love werewolves and I would love to see more interpretations.

#sims 3 #ts3 #sims 3 gameplay #mine #werewolf save #the og werewolf save #gone but never forgotten #long post warning #ironically i have tried to post this before #but the post got deleted by the tumblr app #it seems like it's their destiny to stop existing abruptly 😭

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castiel-left-his-mark-on-me · 3 years ago

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Hi, Ary, very inactive ex-mutual(i think???) here. Good to see you thriving! ♥ It's been a while since I've dipped my head into cockles stuff. Could I perchance maybe ask uuuuum tf is going on??? lol I see Mish apparently confirmed he used to stay over at Jensen's in Van, and heard newbs were apparently freaking out about it and getting a bit messy, which I get that, business as usual. But I'm also seeing shit about spin-offs? And Jared getting in a twitter fight with Jensen, causing/resulting in stans to going feral and sending hate?? I know you're not as big a fan of Jar, but that's part of why I figured I'd ask you, you usually have a really level head about this kinda stuff. If you don't wanna answer publically, or at all, that's totally chill!

Hey, Rhi! We're still mutuals! Of course we're still mutuals! When I saw the notification of your ask, I was like "Hey! I haven't seen you in a while!" and my husband was like "???" and I said "Tumblr" and he said "Oh."

It was a wild time haha.

In any case, welcome back to the dumpster fire! We are obviously still a mess. So to catch you up, I guess I will start by summarizing both before and after the finale (not sure where you left off so this might be redundant for you) ... basically, it became obvious as the end of the show neared that Jensen was not on board with the plan for the finale; although Jared never stopped singing its praises.

We got confirmation of this during a zoom interview where Jensen said that he actually went into the writers room as well as called Kripke to basically voice how he didn't agree with the direction the final season was going, but he was shot down on all fronts. In another interview, he was asked "What would you tell your younger self going into this career?" And Jensen responded with: "I would tell myself to just keep your head down and do the work" meaning, "Don't try to change things because you can't." I also think that this whole situation is what he wrote "Let Me Be" about for his first Radio Company album, but that is just my own speculation. All of his reluctance, even though he always followed it up with "But I eventually saw the value in the script" or "I came around in the end" (which never sounded sincere, and I don't think he was really trying to sound sincere) made us all very nervous about what was to come for 15x20; and of course, when the last two episodes aired, we saw just how badly they fucked it up.

After the awful finale, the entire fandom became aware of the CW's heavy handed role in the thing, basically squeezing all the life out of SPN to shape it into a ramp from which Walker could launch itself. They not only erased all the love and joy and representation that Cas's love confession gave us, they also tore apart the things that made sense about the bond between Sam and Dean, making it really just about Sam-- and therefore Jared, which of course, Jared seemed to be fine with ... even though no one else was. Misha barely said anything during the finale, and a few of the other actors talked about the show ending in various posts, but Jared tweeted up a storm ... and Jensen? Jensen just sat in sexy-silent resentment of the whole thing. He didn't tweet, he didn't post, he didn't say a word once he no longer had to, and I think that's because he was already going full-steam-ahead on his plans for redemption.

Which brings us to Chaos Machine-- Jensen and Danneel's new production company that is being run by a queer creative director and has a mantra of inclusivity and representation woven throughout it's fabric; and apparently, the first story that Jensen wanted to tell through this new platform is the origin story of Sam and Dean's parents; so last week (?) he announced the upcoming production of "The Winchesters" -- the untold love story of John and Mary. Obviously, John is not the most likable character from the show, so the idea was met with a lot of resentment when it was first announced, but Jensen has gone on to say that he is excited to take on the task of telling the "true" story behind these characters-- the one that makes sense with the pre-established canon and doesn't reject it. So, given that, the idea is being mulled over with a bit more optimism from the fandom.

Who isn't being optimistic though?

Jared Padalecki.

When Jensen made this announcement on Twitter, many of his friends and coworkers congratulated him, but not Jared. Jared responded with a passive aggressive: "I'm happy for you, man, but I wish I didn't hear about it through Twitter." This of course, sent all the die-hard Jared fans into a tizzy and they immediately began asking him if he was serious (hoping it was just a joke-- we all hoped it was because there would be fallout no matter what one's opinion on Jared is). Instead of leaving it there though or just deleting that tweet, Jared went on to tweet some more, saying that he was being serious that he didn't know about the plans for the prequel, and that he was "gutted" that Sam apparenlty wouldn't be included (mind you, this a prequel to SPN... meaning BEFORE Sam and Dean were even born, so how could Sam be included? But Dean is apparently narrating this story so maybe Jared thought Sam should be helping to narrate it? I don't know). But Jared being Jared couldn't just leave that there, he then went on to tweet at Robbie Thompson who was announced as a writer for "The Winchesters" so then Jared went off on him too, calling him "Brutus" and a "coward" acting like Robbie betrayed him (speculation is-- Robbie refused to write for Walker, so Jared is pissed that he essentially chose Jensen over him). He did fairly quickly, remove that tweet attacking Robbie, but of course the damage was done at that point. And it truly only took his first tweet calling out Jensen for some people to be like "Jared-- that sucks if you didn't know but why are you saying any of this publicly?"

As you might know, Jared has had issues in the past with posting hurtful things on social media, and has even used it as a tool for attack before-- calling out customer service agents and public workers that he felt have wronged him, which is bad enough ... but for him to then do the same thing to his best friend of well over a decade? Many people who had once liked him or at least gave him the benefit of the doubt (I used to ...) stopped after this latest twitter tantrum.

However, some people have suspected for some time that J2 had a falling out either shortly before the finale or just after. Their public/social media interactions have seemed awkward, stilted or even non-existent in moments that they normally wouldn't be. In the past year, when Walker premiered, Jensen didn't say much about his friend's new venture other than a "Congrats. buddy" here and there. Later, we learned that Jensen refused to work on the show ... Jared said he make him do it, drag Jensen to the set "kicking and screaming" which made many fans quirk up an eyebrow because, why would Jensen put up a fight unless the two weren't as close as they used to be? And then Jensen moved his family to Colorado (either permanently or for an extended period at least) which is notable considering how he moved to Texas seemingly to be closer to Jared, even buying a house that was near his. All this was just speculation though; but it wasn't until Jared's tweet complaining about not knowing about the prequel that the theories behind them falling out, became less theory and more fact.

The day after his twitter tantrum, Jared tweeted again-- not retracting his statements or apologizing, but instead saying that he and Jensen "talked" and were "all good". Jensen then tweeted too, parroting this statement to some degree, which only made the whole thing even more sour in the mouths of the fans. The fact that Jared didn't apologize for his outburst and throwing his friend under the bus, and also the fact that Jensen-- Mr. Sexy Silence, Mr. Never Tweets, Mr. Tech-Ignorant-and-Proud, actually had to POST SOMETHING saying that he and Jared made up, it just screamed OPTICS. It was obviously the work of agents and PR firms and lots of people going "Look, if you two keep beefing, that will mean the death of both of your projects. Even more people will stop watching Walker, and this SPN prequel will never get picked up due to the scandal." So, the two "made nice" publicly to quell the chaos, but in my opinion, it's all too little too late. Jared started a storm that he can't contain now with a little tweet, and it seems like he knows that too because before he talked about him and Jensen making up, he asked that people "not send threats". He could have just as easily said that he shouldn't have made this a public issue and that he's sorry, but instead, he continued to play the victim and stoke the flames by alerting us all to the damage he's done.

Now, like I said before-- I used to give him the benefit of the doubt. I don't think he's an awful human or that he deserves to be attacked or anything, but he is an adult man with very poor judgment and an obvious selfish-streak a mile wide. He should know better, and he should have more respect for his so-called "friends" and "brothers" than to make them targets to public ridicule. I have a hard time believing that Jensen still sees Jared the way he used to, and I wouldn't blame him a bit for wanting to pull away-- especially when he's moving on to so many new and exciting things. Jared certainly deserves happiness just as much as anyone else, but he went on twitter and basically asked for a scandal, and he got one.

The question is now-- was there a motive behind it? Was just looking for a reason to bring his and Jensen's falling out to light-- while making himself looking like the victim in the process? Or did he genuinely not know about the prequel and just decided to go about "not knowing" in the most toxic and hurtful way he could manage?

In any case, that is the drama ... that is the J2 insanity in a rather lengthy nutshell ... that is the tea ... and I hope it all makes sense.

But the good news out of all of this is, Cockles is thriving-- they are happy and in love and Jensen calls Misha "Babe" and Misha misses waking up to see Jensen in the morning, and they are just as cute and wonderful as can be.

So, I will end that there. I am so glad to see you back, and I hope I answered all your questions in a way that made sense ... I tried anyway!

💖💖💖

#omg #I don't even know if this makes sense #this took way too long to write #j2 #cockles #long post #spn family #so glad you see you back again my dear #welcome to hell #it's hotter now

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mint-yooxgi · 4 years ago

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{6} - Obsession

Yandere AU - Part of the EXO Obsession Series

Genre: Mature, Horror, Angst

Pairing: EXO OT9 X Reader (with a particular focus on X-EXO)

Words: 3,742

Warnings: This is a Yandere story, it will contain themes such as stalking, violence, obsession, possessive natures, and just general overall creepiness and swearing. You have been warned.

A/n: It's finally here! Yay! After months of waiting, I really hope you all enjoy the update as well as what I have planned for the rest of the series. So, since this is posted on a Friday, Friday's will be Obsession posting days, but every two weeks! As always, feedback is greatly appreciated! Enjoy~

Previous ~ Next

“How did you-“

“Find you? Get in?” He cuts you off before you can even finish your question. “Tracking you was the easy part. All I had to do was follow your scent. Once I picked up on that, I found this quant abode here and waited to see if you would actually show up. Once you did, I knew I had you. You’re cautious, I’ll give you that, but I’m quicker.”

Your eyes narrow as he stands up from the chair. Who knows how long he’s known about this place, and if he can find it, then his original most certainly can, too. You need answers, and you’ll make sure he give them to you.

“How long?”

“About three days,” he hums, nonchalantly.

“Why wait until now to make your move?” You watch him carefully, analyzing every move he makes as he starts to pace the opposite side of your room slowly, each step deliberately dragged out.

The grip you have on the blade in your hand tightens.

“It’s the perfect time, is it not?” Suho quirks a brow in amusement. You’ve never seen him act like this before, an air of arrogance surrounding him as he takes another step. “We’ve successfully infiltrated the compound. The morale of the team is failing, and you’re upset about the ring. What better time to make my appearance than now when I can make the first move? Tell me, has my other self offered you solace yet?”

“You should know,” you retort, shoulders tense.

“I bet he was livid when he found out you didn’t trust him with something as important, as precious to you as that ring. I know I was,” he chuckles, halting his movements for the time being in favour of turning to face you head on. “Let me guess, he told you not to hesitate to call him for anything at all.”

Your breath hitches slightly at the way he says those words, exactly as Junmyeon had said them earlier that same day. A smirk dances on his features: he’s got you.

“If only my original wasn’t such a coward,” he tuts. “We could have been together by now, but no. He’s too concerned about appearances and whatnot.”

“He’s doing better than you,” you counter, and he quirks a brow, clearly amused by your pointed tone.

“Don’t lie to yourself, love,” in an instant, he has you pinned to the wall, hand gripping your one wrist firmly enough to have you dropping your grip on the blade you’re holding. The blade falls to the floor with a small clatter. A gasp escapes your lips as you feel his breath ghost your ear, his voice low as he says, “I could hear your heart racing in excitement all the way across the room.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” your voice is low in response, playing him at his own game as your own breath hits his ear, sending a shiver down his spine. “Now, get off of me before I make you.”

You’re surprised by his bold actions, but also, from the way he’s been acting, you’ve been expecting him to get in closer any minute. You’d prefer not to be in this position with him for much longer, but perhaps you can use it to your advantage. It’s not like you’re enjoying all of this back and forth.

However, to a pair of prying eyes looking in from the darkness of the foliage outside your window, this position you find yourself in appears in quite the contrast to how you really feel on the inside.

“I’d like to see you try,” you can practically hear the smirk in his voice as he drags his nose along the column of your neck, pushing his body even further into yours as he keeps you pinned against the wall. His free hand that had previously been holding onto your waist drifts lower, grabbing the underside of your one thigh and tugging it up so your leg comes to wrap around his waist. He’s only ever dreamed of being in this sort of position with you, and now that he is, he wants to savour the feeling for as long as he can.

“Suho,” your voice is nothing but a warning, and you can feel him tense against you, a sigh falling from his lips.

“Again, with that name,” he leans back slightly, just enough to be able to stare into your eyes properly. “I’d prefer it if you called me by my name, love.”

“I’ll call you whatever the hell I want to until you get off of me,” you retort, and though you can see the amusement shining in his eyes, he reluctantly lets you go, taking a few steps back to give you some space. Rubbing at your wrist which had been previously held in his grip, you eye him warily, but you play along. For now. “Thank you, Junmyeon.”

A smug smile tugs at his lips, “there, now, was that so hard?”

You stare at him for a moment, adjusting your stance until you feel the coolness of the metal from the blade against your foot. In the blink of an eye, you manage to drop your body in a roll, grabbing the blade, once more holding it in your hand. Your stare is cold as you remain crouched low to the ground, holding the blade in front of you firmly.

“What is it that you want?” You ask, hearing him let out another sigh at your behaviour.

“I thought I- we made that obvious,” he replies, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “You.”

“Then why go to all this trouble to get me? Why not just take me now?”

“It’s like we’ve already said, we want you to come to us rather than us just taking you, but we will resort to those means if necessary.” He says.

“Even if that means hurting me?” This time, it’s your turn to quirk a brow.

“We wouldn’t ever dream of hurting you,” he replies with no hesitation. “The others, on the other hand, are fair game.”

“You of all people should know that hurting them would be like hurting me, no matter how you try and frame it,” you say. “Besides, what’s to stop me from plunging this dagger into my own heart right here, right now?”

“Ah, yes, your seemingly noble act of self-sacrifice,” he hums. “Go ahead, I won’t stop you this time. The others aren’t around to do anything about it either.”

“You seem confident I won’t do it,” flipping the dagger, you point the tip at your chest and you notice him falter slightly before righting himself once more. Seems he’s had a change of heart.

“You may talk big, but you and I both know that you don’t want to die,” Suho’s voice is level, confident in what he’s saying. “No matter how brave of a face you put on, I know the truth. The thought of death terrifies you.”

You grit your teeth, grip becoming so tight on the blade your hand starts to cramp. How he knows this fact is beyond you, and you’re shocked he’d even bring it up at all. Sure you may put on a tough facade for your team most of the time, but he’s right. Death has always terrified you, but your sense of duty has always overpowered that fear.

“Your silence speaks volumes, love,” he smirks, moving over to the patio doors attached to your room. His eyes catch a slight movement as he slides the door open, a gentle breeze drifting through the room as he turns his head to look at you from over his shoulder. “You have three days, and then we’re coming for you. You best be ready for when that time comes.”

Without another word, he’s disappeared, nothing but your open patio door serving as a reminder to what has just transpired in your room moments before.

Letting out a sigh of relief, you release the breath you had unwillingly been holding. The dagger in your hand falls to the floor once more as you relax your tense muscles. Everything has just gotten that much more complicated.

Clearing your mind in the next moment, you stand quickly, locking your patio doors and moving to set your alarm. The last thing you need is another unexpected visit from one of the other clones today.

Picking the blade back up, you keep it at your side as you walk through your house. Doing the only thing you can think of at this time to do, you call Kyungsoo.

Explaining the situation to him takes no more than two minutes, and you can hear him exhale loudly on the other end of the phone.

“You know what this means, right?” He asks, and you can hear some shuffling coming from his end.

“I am aware, yes,” you reply, running a hand over your face as you stare at your tired reflection in the hallway mirror. “I could use all the help I can get at this point.”

“We’ll be there in less than an hour,” is the last thing you hear before the line goes dead. Trust Kyungsoo to always be on top of things when stuff like this happens. Now, all that’s left to do is wait until they arrive.

Meanwhile, as soon as he ends the call with you, Kyungsoo lets out another sigh. You just can’t seem to catch a break.

“What’s wrong?” Yixing peeks his head over the monitors at Kyungsoo.

“Get Minseok, we’re leaving,” is the only reply he gets. “I’ll explain on the way.”

The two share a look, and it’s enough for Yixing to understand that this is about you. Something’s happened, and he knows it’s serious if Kyungsoo refuses to even divulge the topic while at the compound. Too many prying eyes, and ears for that matter.

Not even ten minutes later, the three of them are all packed into Kyungsoo’s car, heading straight to the highway in order to get to your place. Granted, they did have to dodge some questions from your strike team about where they’re going. Luckily, they managed to escape without too many suspicions raised. At least, that’s what they think.

“Is it just me, or are the techs all suspiciously acting real close to (Y/n) all of a sudden?” Baekhyun voices as the six of them go over their stations once more to make sure they didn’t miss filing anything that got stolen by the clones.

“Jun, Dae and I did sort of walk in on them talking about something in her office yesterday,” Sehun recalls, tapping the pen he’s holding on the bottom of his chin as he recalls the hushed whispers he had heard through the door. “It sounded important.”

“You guys don’t think something else has happened regarding our clones, has it?” Jongin furrows his brow in concern, sharing a look with each of his teammates.

“I don’t think they’re being completely honest with us,” Junmyeon adds, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“Shouldn’t we give them the benefit of the doubt, though?” Chanyeol reasons, resting the clipboard he’s holding on his hip. “They are our teammates, I’m sure they’d tell us if it were important.”

“Baekhyun’s right,” Jongdae says, and all eyes turn to look at him. “Clearly there’s an air of distrust between us, especially now that the clones have infiltrated the compound and taken her ring.”

“What ring?” Jongin’s brow furrows even further in confusion. So far, he’s the only one who hasn’t received an explanation for it. “You mean the one she came in seething about today while we were in interrogation?”

“Yeah,” Jongdae confirms. “If Kyungsoo was the only other one beside me who knew about it, and Yixing and Minseok are practically uninvolved in this, I’d say they’re probably the people she trusts most right now.”

“This is ridiculous,” Baekhyun huffs.

“Like it or not, Jongdae’s right,” Junmyeon sighs.

“Wait, hold up,” Jongin interjects. “Will one of you please explain this ring to me?”

“It was her grandmother’s ring, given to her to give to the person she wants to spend the rest of her life with,” Sehun explains, a slight daze falling over his features as he recounts everything you told them. Once he’s done explaining, Jongin falls silent.

“Oh,” he breathes, the same thoughts coursing through his head as with the others when they first learnt of this ring. “Well, clearly we need to find the clones and get this ring back as soon as we can.”

“That’s the plan,” Chanyeol nods, only causing Baekhyun to frown with the growing tension now engulfing the room. Each of them want to be the one to get that ring back and destroy their clones first to prove to you that they are the one that is worthy to be yours.

“We need to work together, lest we want to fall apart,” Jongdae says, somewhat hesitantly.

A brief silence settles over the six of them, a few of them nodding their agreement. However, each pair of eyes holds wariness in them, not knowing if they can trust each other to the extent that they have in the past.

“Who’s going to give her the ring back when we find it?” Baekhyun asks, and it’s like someone has stolen all the air from the room as soon as the words leave his lips.

“I am,” both Jongdae and Junmyeon answer at the same time, immediately turning to glare at the other in response.

“I’m her second in command, it would make sense for me to return it to her in the end,” Junmyeon explains.

“And I was the one who got her into this mess with the ring in the first place, so it would make most sense if I’m the one to return it to her,” Jongdae counters.

“You just want to make yourself look like the hero in her eyes,” Junmyeon narrows his eyes at Jongdae, a silent warning to not challenge him right now.

“Like you’re any different,” Jongdae scoffs, standing up from his seated position on the bench. “You’re just hoping she’ll tell you to keep the ring once you present it back to her.”

“Now wait just a fucking minute-” this time, its Baekhyun who stands, a fire lit behind his eyes as the six of them begin to argue over who will get to present you your ring once they get it back.

With each passing minute, their voices grow louder. So much so, that their shouting can be heard all the way from outside the room, though half of it is incoherent. By the time another person enters the room, Chanyeol has Sehun pinned against the wall, sparks are dancing along Jongdae’s fingertips as Junmyeon takes a fighting stance, and Baekhyun is reaching for his switchblade to point at Jongin’s throat.

“Enough!” Dahyun’s voice booms across the room, successfully startling the six men out of their blind rage. “Now, I don’t know what the hell is going on here, but you’re all acting like wild animals. No, even wild animals have more decency than you guys right now. There is a crisis going on here, the last thing we need is to be infighting with one another. Pull yourselves together! Go home and get some rest; take a breather and start fresh tomorrow. There are bigger things at play here than what meets the eye.”

At her words, they all straighten themselves out. Sehun, Chanyeol and Jongin hang their heads slightly in shame, while Baekhyun, Junmyeon, and Jongdae all scowl.

“Good,” she nods once she sees that they’ve all calmed down somewhat. “Oh, and by the way, you two,” she motions to Jongdae and Jongin, “are cleared. Now, I repeat, go home and get some rest. We all need it.”

Without another word, she exits the room, leaving the six of them in a tense silence.

As each of them pack up for the evening, all of their minds are on one thing. Proving themselves to you by making sure that they are the only one to get your ring back for you.

Meanwhile, back at your place, you’ve just finished letting Kyungsoo, Minseok, and Yixing in. Quickly locking your door once more, you turn to face the men now standing in your hallway, two with looks of awe on their faces as they take in your house.

“Damn, (Y/n), didn’t know you had a home away from home,” Minseok muses, quirking a brow at you playfully.

“Maybe we should ‘stay with Kyungsoo’ more often, too,” Yixing jokes, causing you to crack a tense smile.

“Surprise,” you chuckle humourlessly, motioning with your head for them to head to the living room so you can all talk.

“Have you-“

“Already triple checked for bugs and any possible changes to my security system,” you cut Kyungsoo off. “I found none, but you’re free to check while I fill these two in.”

A nod is all you receive from Kyungsoo as you make it to your living room and sit on the couch, motioning for both Yixing and Minseok to join you. It takes about ten minutes to fill the two of them in since they kept asking questions. That, and you kept having to explain how you have this house, and why Kyungsoo was the only one to know about it. By the time you’re done, Kyungsoo rejoins the three of you.

“The good news is I found nothing,” he confirms what you’ve already deduced, you nodding to him in thanks.

“That’s good,” Yixing says, turning back to look at you.

“Hang on, I’m still not done processing what you’ve just told me about Suho,” Minseok shakes his head in disbelief. “That bastard did what?”

“Pinned me against the wall and grabbed my thigh to wrap my leg around his waist,” you reply calmly.

Kyungsoo’s eyes flash, “you failed to mention the leg part in your explanation earlier.”

“Did I?” You huff. “My bad.”

“Well, it’s very clear that you’re no longer safe here,” Yixing says. “At least by yourself.”

“That much is for certain,” you huff, leaning back on the couch.

“You’re still safer here than with one of us at our place,” Minseok notes, hand coming up to hold his chin as he thinks.

“That’s true, but who’s to say Junmyeon won’t do the exact same thing his clone did?” Yixing observes.

“I think Junmyeon has a little more dignity than his clone,” Kyungsoo adds. “Or at least, a little more respect for his captain.”

“I’d say so,” you sigh, bringing your one hand up to rub at your eyes. “He said I have three days. That means we only have two and a half to find them before they come for me. If that at all.”

“Already working on it,” Kyungsoo replies, pulling out his laptop from his bag. “Though I haven’t found much since this morning.”

“What program are you using?” Minseok leans over, watching as Kyungsoo types away on his laptop.

The two of them start conversing back and forth, working out the best means to find the clones before something else happens. Yixing takes this time to move beside you on the couch, placing a comforting hand on your shoulder.

“Are you okay?” His voice is soft, expression showing nothing but concern for you.

“I will be,” you exhale a long breath.

“If those bastards so much as lay another finger on you…” he lets his threat linger in the air, eyes cold and unforgiving as they narrow at the wall.

“I appreciate the sentiment, Yixing,” you grin halfheartedly. “I’m sure it’ll all be okay.”

At least, that’s what you keep telling yourself.

“Either way, you shouldn’t be left by yourself anymore,” Minseok pipes up from beside Kyungsoo. You weren’t even aware he had been listening in.

“I agree,” Kyungsoo nods, not taking his eyes off of his screen for a moment.

“We should come up with a schedule then,” Yixing nods.

“Well, the others still think I’m staying at Kyungsoo’s place, so we have to time it so in case they go over to his place, he’s there when he’s supposed to be,” you comment, and you see them nod in understanding.

“So, night shifts?” Minseok turns to look at Kyungsoo, who glances up briefly and then proceeds to nod once before going back to focussing on his laptop. “Cool, then Yixing and I can rotate mornings and afternoons.”

“Sounds good to me,” Yixing says with a faint smile.

“You guys really don’t need to be doing this for me, you know,” you tell them, and you’re taken aback at the intensity of their stares as they all whip their heads to look at you.

“Of course we do,” Minseok replies, standing up from his position to come sit on your opposite side. “Your safety is our number one priority.”

“Okay, but I need at least one afternoon off per week,” you joke and they smirk along with you.

“Whatever you need, we’ll provide for you,” Yixing assures you, squeezing your shoulder lightly.

“Thanks guys,” you smile weakly, the stress of the whole situation weighing down on your shoulders even more so than before. Now, you can’t even be in your own home without worrying a clone will appear unannounced. “I really appreciate it.”

“Like we said,” Minseok pats your back reassuringly, “it’s no problem.”

The rest of the evening is spent finalizing the rotation schedule for the next three days. You’ve all agreed to take the next few days off just to be safe. Unless there’s an emergency, or something that one of them needs to grab, like equipment, none of you will be going into the compound for work.They’ll make sure nothing, no one can break into your house again. At least, not while they’re around.

The longer they spend with you, the better you feel. It’s nice to have the three of them there with you, not only for protection, but also for the company as well. If you were by yourself, you’d probably be extra paranoid right now. With good reason, too, for you have yet to notice that extra pair of eyes watching you, lurking just outside your house. Someone that your security system just can’t seem to pick up on.

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wonderwomanfantasy · 4 years ago

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Love brewed

so tumblr had a meltdown and deleted this after I had already queued it so I’m sorry the ask got lost but this is a cute sero confession!

warnings: swearing

word count: 1,300 (bout)

summary:

Sero had fallen in love with you the first time he saw you. He had just moved out of the UA dorms and to his own apartment. He was excited to be out on his own finally and to be a pro making the world a better place. According to Google, there was a coffee shop just a few blocks away and he definitely deserved a nice cup of coffee after unpacking all morning. There was a light drizzle but it wasn’t anything too bad so he pulled his hood up and headed off to Love Brewed Cafe.

It seemed like he wasn’t the only one who wanted something to drink, the little hole in the wall shop was practically full when he walked in. Sero was just pulling down his hood when you turned to look at him a big welcoming smile on your face. And his heart stopped dead in his chest.

“Welcome! Order whenever you’re ready!” you chirped from behind the counter, leaving him stunned. You were easily the most beautiful person he’d ever seen and he could feel the heat rush to his face. He nodded, not sure he could trust his mouth to do the talking.

Sero realized he was staring and quickly diverted his eyes up to the menu. He calmed down and instantly he felt stupid for getting so worked up over just some barista, He walked to the counter and he looked back at you. Fuck.

“Uhm just a large black coffee please,” he stammered.

“Sure no problem! Can I get a name for that?”

“Sero,”

“Perfect, I’ll call for you when it’s ready go ahead and take a seat, er if you can find one that is,” you laughed. Sero just nodded again, hoping his red blush wasn’t too obvious.

The cafe was crowded but he managed to find an open table near the window and he immediately pulled out his phone to text Kaminari.

Sero: cute barista a block away from my new place, I’m already planning our future children’s names and I’ve only talked to them once.

Kaminari: Damn do they have a nice ass?

Sero: they’re behind a counter I can’t tell

Kaminari: damn :/ ask if they’re single and or if they have a cute friend

Sero: I m not going to harass them at work

Kaminari: pussy

“Black coffee for Sero!” you called making him jump, he quickly ran up and got his drink before going back to the small table he staked out.

He looked down at the cup, at his name written in your cute handwriting, and remembered he didn’t even like black coffee.

Sero went to Love Brewed every day, it just became part of his routine, He didn’t always see you, but he made the most out of it when he did. It was a lot easier to talk to you after the first day and as it turned out the two of you had a lot in common.

You were a college student about his age and worked part-time here to help pay for classes. You told him about your quirk about your family about the school, everything, and Sero loved to listen.

If it wasn’t busy and you didn’t have anything else to do you would come to sit with him while he drank his coffee, otherwise Sero just leaned against the counter while you talked.

Every time he got the chance to talk to you Kaminari was the first to know about it, Sero was sure that he was getting sick of hearing about you, and Sero’s refusal to ask you out but Hanta really didn’t mind playing the waiting game.

“Wait so you’re really a hero? That’s so cool! Why did you never tell me, we have a Hero discount you know?” you asked amazed. Sero Shyly rubbed the back of his neck.

“It never came up, besides I don’t mind paying full price,” he said with a shrug. You pushed him playfully making him laugh

“I can not believe you let me rant about my dumb professors when you probably have all sort of crazy hero stories!” you shouted. Sero could practically hear Kaminari screaming in his ear to brag, brag like his life depended on it. So he did, He liked watching your eyes go wide as he talked about some of his more dangerous fights.

“Wow that’s incredible,” you said breathily,

“Well, if you ever need a hero to do some saving I guess you know who to call,” he teased

“How am I supposed to do that when I don’t have your number,” you said and again he could hear the Kaminari in his head screaming.

“We can change that,” he said. You shoved your phone in his face almost before he had a chance to finish.

“Is it alright if I text you for nonemergencies?” you asked

“Of course,” Sero said a little too quickly.

“Then I will,” you promised. And you did, later that night he got a text from an unknown number with an image attached.

Unknown: staying safe hero boy? Also here’s a picture for my profile.

Then you sent a cute selfie of you sitting on your couch in a big sweater.

Sero: cute

(y/n): thank you thank you I try

(y/n): do I not get a selfie back?

Sero: give me a minute it just got out of the shower

(y/n): 👀👀👀

Sero paused for a moment, He could send you a shirtless picture, that’s what Kaminari would do, but that might be too forward, wouldn’t it? There would be no denying it was flirting, it might ruin your friendship. But that’s what he was doing right? Flirting. Every time he complimented your work uniform or made you laugh it was because he liked you right? Sero went the coward’s way.

Sero: perv.

He threw on a shirt and snapped a pic to send back. He still looked good, his hair was wet and hanging in kind of a sexy way and his skin was flushed was kind of hot, so he sent it.

Sero: for you

(y/n): cute

Sero ended up texting you a lot more than he thought he would, every morning the first thing he did was check his phone to see if you had texted him in the night and if he had a spare moment during patrol he’d send you a picture of him hanging upsidedown from a lamp post and you texted him when you were bored in class. It made his heart pound every time.

“Just ask her out already,” Kaminari groaned leaning over Sero’s shoulder reading the texts.

“Fuck off, I’m working on it,” Sero grumbled.

“What’s holding you back? They’re single, right? Just do it!” Kaminari barked. Before Sero could snap back an alarm went off and both of them were too busy to think much about Sero’s love life.

What was holding him back anyway? He liked you. A lot. So much in fact that he hadn’t even thought about someone else romantically since the two of you met, and it seemed like you liked him too. At least you were always up to message him and unless he was reading too much into things it seemed that your smile was just a little brighter for him than anyone else.

Of course, he knew the answer. He was scared. Sero had never been anyone’s first pick why would he be yours? He was used to rejection at this point but that didn’t make it sting any less. He didn’t want to ask you out only to see a sour expression cross your face when he told you that he loved you. But he should still tell you.

Sero argued back and forth with himself until he decided. He was going to tell you the next time he saw you, no backing out.

“Hey Hanta!” you greeted cheerfully when you saw him come through the door. You already had his regular ready for him. He smiled and greeted you at the counter paying for his drink and taking the cup.

“Your shift ends at three today right?” he asked

“Yeah, why?”

“If you’re not doing anything I thought we could go out together and do something fun,” He said trying to sound casual even though his heart was beating out of his chest.

“I’d love that Hanta,”

#Sero Hanta #sero hanta x reader #sero x reader #sero x you #my hero academia #my hero acadamy #my hero academia imagine #my hero academia head cannon

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chronicalchaos · 4 years ago

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Wick modern AU: Explained +Some fun facts

Uhm, i was gonna wait until i finish this AU's synopsis and new book cover, but both will be taking a while until they get ready...

And i wanted to post this "overview" for a while now, anyways, here's some fun facts and a summary of the story:

Old book cover:

I'm really proud of Sam's shading, but the twins look weird and Tom looks old...I won't use this cover, 'cus Travis and Duncan are main characters as well and i want to include them on the cover. +My art style changed!

Story summary:

Just a quick thing! I changed quite a few things to fit the narrative and the modern days setting, i hope you understand!

The story of this AU happens in September 2014, a little less than a month until Sam’s birthday, where the Weavers aren't dead– Well, most of them aren't...

The narrative is centered on a curse, that was based on the audio that plays when you pick up Benny's bible, where 7 people are affected by it: Tim, Tom, John, Sam, John's brother/Sam's dad(I won't name him), Mary and James.

Sam's, Travis' and Duncan's side of the story will be more on the investigative side maybe with a bit of comedy(I'm not good with writing that, so it will most likely be just investigation), while Tim and Tom's side will be the more angst and unusual/horror side. Sam will have a bit of horror as well, since he's linked with them by the curse, but the twins will definitely have the spotlight when it comes to horror/unusual stuff.

Fun Facts:

General:

The story happens a week, maybe a bit more, after summer break

Even tho one of the first chapters is set on school, them going to school will probably just be mentioned or implied, Example: Them leaving a school bus

For some reason, i saw a few stories where everyone knew what polio is and how it works, which i felt it wouldn't be realistic, so that won't happen here

It has a lot of paranormal stuff

The summer camp by the Weaver's property is closed and has been like that for a few years now

Just Mary and James call the twins Changelings, the rest of the city knows there are "changelings" walking around, just, not that the twins are them

There's no changelings, they think there is, but in reality it's just a curse(like that's something lighter than a demon switched with a child at birth)

The song that helps me get in the mood of this story when I'm writing is "Far too young to die" by Panic! At the disco

Timas Weaver:

Tim is 12, he'll be 13 in...approximately 3 months

He was born December 30th 2001 and is the oldest between him and Tom

He's almost an inch shorter than Tom

He has a huge burn scar! It goes from a bit more than half of his chest, both his arms, his palms and his whole neck, he got that scar when he was 3 years old

He's does not have asthma, but he does have extreme pyrophobia on it's place

He has flat affect, his face doesn't match his emotions/he looks serious most of the time(I'm so sorry if I don't portrait it right! Please give me constructive criticism if I do something wrong here!)

He's a theater kid and would be quoting a lot of musicals if Mary didn't isolate him and Tom from the world(The theater part only exists because of his and Tom's masks)

The whittling thing exists here, but like, it won't be of much importance to the story, the knife will! But not the whittle part

He despises spiders and it's Tom's fault!

He climbs trees (there's not much I can say here to be honest)

He has this...i don't know if you can call it a quirk, but, he tends to tilt his head to the left, it's kinda random

He's ambidextrous, was left handed, but Mary forced him to learn to use his right hand

He teached himself how to throw knifes...don't mess with him

Paranoia!

Needs therapy

Tomathy Weaver:

Tom is 12 and will be 13 in approximately 3 months

He was born December 30th 2001 and is the youngest between him and Tim

He's almost an inch taller than Tim

He doesn't have Polio now, he did when he was...around 5 years old

His left leg is bigger than his right one, his right feet reaches his left ankle

His left ankle is paralyzed, that's why he uses a leg brace

He's claustrophobic, he developed that on the same day Tim got his scar and pyrophobia

He won first place on a spelling bee before he got Polio and he used to spell when he got anxious, but after John's disappearence he started shuddering, shaking and cracking his joints instead, very similar to how he shudders on the game

He loves spiders!

He is really flexible, but, because of his polio, he can't play around with it anymore

He likes to draw

He has pretty bad scoliosis

Paranoia #2!

Socially awkward baby

Went to therapy when little, needs to go back

Caleb Weaver:

Caleb is 9 years old

He was born August 19th 2005

He's almost the same height as Timas

He was a year old when Tom had polio

He's actually James' kid, not John's

He won first place in 2014's(the year the story happens) county track meet

He dislikes Tim

Lillian Weaver:

Lillian is 5 years old

She was born February 28th 2009

She's a bit tall for her age

She's notorious for making little deals between her and her siblings, like helping them get away with something in exchange of something(getting her out of class during their recess, buying a new plushy, etc.)

She's a really curious and affectionate kid, loves hugs, kisses and especially being picked on someone's lap

She loves bunnies(even tho this isn't a surprise)

Benjamin Weaver:

Benjamin is 14 years old and will be 15 in less then a month

He was born October 24th 1999

He's just really tall compared to the twins (it's kinda funny, Tim and Tom are 4 years older than Caleb, but they are just an inch taller than him)

He's really religious and prays a lot for his siblings' health and safety

He's been trying to take care of Tom after John's disappearence, since Mary doesn't do it, much the opposite, she hides Tom's medicines on purpose

Mary Weaver:

I didn't give her neither an age nor a birthday...i probably need to do that

She had an affair with James, when the twins were 4 and Benny was 6, Caleb was born from this affair

She doesn't hit any of her kids, but she does neglect most of them

On the nights between Saturday and Sunday, she doesn't sleep, she spends this time praying with a candle, then, before they go to church, she writes everything that happened that night on her diary

She has a lot of diaries, she keeps them in the attic

She's a little bitch(i don't know what else to say about her)

Pastor James McAlroy:

James also doesn't have an age nor birthday (i only have the Weaver kids and Sam's birthdays)

He won't appear much, but he does have a big role on the story

He's Caleb's biological dad(i mentioned that like 3 times already)

He tried doing a "honest-to-god exorcism" on the twins, it was just a cover for an attempt of murder

He's a toxic little shit(there's not much I can say about him)

Samuel Burton:

Sam is 12 years old and will be 13 in less than a month

He was born in October 2nd 2001

Him and Travis are Brothers on their mom's part

He's cousin with the Weavers, minus Caleb, they just don't know each other

He can be just as smug as Travis sometimes

He absolutely hates going on ghost hunting, he thinks it's dumb

He has long hair and freckles all over his body

He's just too lazy to tie his own shoes

He's the only one that remembers to bring a backpack when ghost hunting

While Travis is the camera man, he's the flashlight guy

Travis Burton:

Travis is 15 years old and i don't have a birthday for him, well, he would be born in 1999 just like Benny

He doesn't like wearing glasses, but doesn't have other choice, he either doesn't take proper care of his lenses and gets his eyes irritated or he just lost them

He's the face of his and Duncan's channel

He tries to drag Sam to be part of the channel, but he doesn't really want to be part of it

He cusses way too much

He's brave, only because he goes face first into danger without thinking

Duncan:

Duncan is 15 and would also be born in 1999

Big ass coward, sends Travis and Sam to go investigate on his place every fucking time

Entitled as fuck

The "brain" behind his and Travis' channel

He's suspiciously good on researching, he'll find the most unexpected things about you

He's a little shit as well

...i think that's it! Now i can go continue the first chapter and maybe finish it soon

#wick (2015)#travis burton #wick hellbent games #tom weaver #tim weaver #caleb Weaver #lillian weaver #benny weaver #mary weaver #sam #duncan #wick #modern au #wick au

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skinner17 · 4 years ago

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Dissecting Red Spider Arc-The arc that non shipper find it disturbingly (For those who mind) Shippy

I’ve been watching gintama for the past couple of weeks. And since lately I encounter sleeping problem, lets turn this energy to talk about one of my favorite arc. The controversial arc that invite polarized opinion among Gintama fans.

For Tsukuyo fans, Red spider is a certain favorite together with Yoshiwara in flame and Courtesan of the nation. This arc fleshed her background and deepen her bond with yorozuya, especially Gintoki

For casual fans, this arc is the first time they see a glimpse of gintoki past, The first time gintoki in a berserk mode, the first time he act by his own volition. And somehow he appeared like a true shonen hero saving the heroine.

By then tsukuyo was far from heroine status. She just recently introduced a couple episodes back. Yoshiwara in flame focused more on Hinowa and seita story. But Tsukuyo already rose in ranking because her unique character design (in sacchan word, she has a lot of ‘hooks’) aside being badass in general.

For naysayers, Red spider arc is that arc that destroy Tsukuyo character. Reduced her into damsel in distress, mere love interest and what not. Of course its people’s right to interpret a work however they see fit. People enjoying entertainment in a different way afterall. Maybe they are a strict feminist type who wanted a true xena like character? disappointed when a strong female charachter ended up saved by the male hero? (Tho I wonder why they don’t care with preceeding events where Tsukuyo saved gintoki a couple of time)

The other would say this arc is such a big jump from previous arcs. A sudden transition they would say. And heck they’re right. Red spider arc Is different compared to other serious arc before it. Its lustrously dark, whispery, not much emphasis on family nor comedy, not much explosion nor machismo.

And more importantly, its uncharacteristically Intimate.

What do you expect? It took placein Yoshiwara-The Red light District- afterall.

The curtain raised with Jiraiya, the ex teacher of Tsukuyo, the main villain of this arc, On his post coital glow pondering about his object of creation. After enjoying the service of yoshiwara, He looked at the moon and probably feeling another rush of excitement reminiscing his dear beautiful student and the plan he’d set for her.

Not long after, Tsukuyo feel someone dangerous infiltrating her city. She and her Hyakka squad has been working hard to push down the crime that on the rise after the city lost its night king. Nearing their limit, she turned to Yorozuya, wondering if they can help with the drug problem.

Somehow, Tsukuyo and Gintoki teamed up just the two of them investigating the shady group with spider tattoo trademark. The result was assortment of classic romantic comedy skit : To-Love-Ru type of ‘accident’ and pretend couple.

Ok at this point its just natural that people start to see the two as potential couple. When they bicker they’d scream their heart silly, forgetting whatever adult persona they had in mind. Yet when the time come, they play along really well with the others bullshit act. They are on the same frequency already.

Back to the story, Later, they found out the drug lord is Jiraiya who apparently the long dead master (teacher who take care of protegee under their wing) of Tsukuyo. With his unique ability he nearly killed Gintoki and captured Tsukuyo.

Some Naysayers disappointed at this point because Tsukuyo who supposedly a good fighter became useless in front of jiraiya. Ok let me use this opportunity to explain the technicality of how that’s possible.

She was shocked.

It was a surprise attack

Jiraiya, knew his student fighting ability the best and knew how to immobilize her.

Even Gintoki Almost killed because of his weird technique

She used the last of her strength to saved gintoki from jiraiya’s final blow.

“Huh? But gintoki didn’t turned into a useless mess when he met his long dead master alive?”

Lol what are you smoking? The old master would split gintoki’s head from his body if not because Kagura’s help. Also Utsuro/Shouyo goal was to crushed the rebels and nothing to do with Gintoki. While Jiraiya’s goal was to capture Tsukuyo. Understand the difference?

Ok now that its out of my system lets continue.

Later Gintoki learned about the nature of Jiraiya and what this student-master relationship actually are from Zenzou. She-who believed every word of him and followed his foot step- was his creation and his prey at the same time. This method is sickening for Gintoki who loved his master to death.

For Gintoki a master should be more or less like shoyo. Strong, kind, wise and selfless. The kind of sage who gave his life for his student. Its infuriating to learn that a good women like tsukuyo has a psychotic monster as a master.

“see..Its not because of Tsukuyo that gintoki willingly revert to his shiroyasa self. Its because the master-student thingie that made him mad af”

Was the stuff I read from naysayers. And for this one, I kinda agree. The main thing that infuriate gintoki about Jiraiya was that he used master student relationship for some psychotic goal. As we know later, whenever topic about his own master brought on, Gintoki turned into a different beast.

Even I can see this arc’s intent beside telling tsukuyo’s past and cementing her as one of the recurrent character was also to foreshadow Shoyo related arcs in the future.

However among all of that baggage brought by this arc, theres this one dialogue that caught my attention.

G : "give up already, theres nothing in your web. This entire time there was only a pathetic little spider spinning thread into sky while gazing at distant moon"

J : "What are you babbling about?I already knew that long ago"

The ones who ascociate Tsukuyo with the moon are the one who cherish her like hinowa and the hyakka squad or the bastard who obsessed at her like Jiraiya. It’s a secret nickname people gave to her beside Shinigami Tayuu / courtesan of death. Wt

At that moment, Gintoki speak about what Tsukuyo is to Jiraiya existence : A moon to a little insignificant spider. This confirm that Gintoki understand Tsukuyo’s epithet-wich means at that point of story he is familiar toward Tsukuyo more than the viewers aware of.

To add, This is probably just me but the way he said that stuff about Jiraiya, whispering while gazing at the sky, as if its applied to him aswell.

Well, I just think that because throughout the fight he keep rambling about being on the same level as Jiraiya.

G: Do you know how to survive the spider nest? By eating the spider.

G : She is stronger than you ever be. A coward like me is enough for a coward like you

To Fight Jiraiya, Gintoki drew parrarel between himself and Jiraiya. And its not impossible that parrarel extended until that moment.

I came to the conclusion At that moment Gintoki already admire Tsukuyo. Wether her virtue, her face, her quirk or her phisycal attractiveness, it could be anything. The fact is Tsukuyo basically embodies everything gintoki like in a women.

However because of his mindset and his self sabotaging lifestyle, he understood Jiraiya’s point of view of admiring an existence that is too good for them.

The episode ended with Tsukuyo learning his master’s past and accepting his flaw after killing him. The moment when Gintoki implied that he would never be a good student to their master as tsukuyo is pretty touching too.

The last episode of this arc is a short one with majorly comedic skits. Another To Love Ru accident. And a classic wingman setup to force a couple to be alone together.

Lol too much couply stuff happening in this arc.

Later after the crazy terminator drunken stupor, Tsukuyo asked gintoki if she didn’t has this scar, would her life be any different?

At this point I realize the pain endured by her, even though she said she was fine, physically and mentally, she actually struggling with the realization that all her past was something different than she perceived to be, that rather than genuine student master relationship, its an elaborate plan by her master to kill himself.

Its like realizing that we are adopted after all this time living in a loving family. From the surface it might not changed anything because its all in the past, But it changed everything within. It changed the foundation of what we stood upon all these time.

Gintoki then assured her that her life is one that she choose, No one make her choose that. wether it’s driven by a psychotic manipulation or a trust in a teacher who wanted make her strong. The life is still hers to behold and cherish

Gintoki further assured that her face Is not ugly, Its pretty face carrying clean soul. Or something to that effect (since translation vary)

As you see “Soul” is the overarching concept on Gintama. Its like “Adventure” on One piece and “Hard Work” On Naruto. It’s the Idea that the shounen protagonist holds dear.

Shoyo first teaching to Gintoki was how to protect his soul. In the war Gintoki choose to kill Shoyo to save his master’s soul. Means he choose Shoyo over his friends and himself. In effect, one of the friend’s soul was corrupted. While Gintoki turned himself into a vessel whose purpose was merely to protect people he deemed fit and procasinating on his own growth.

Gintoki speak about Tsukuyo’s soul in her face is another testament of how deep their trust and bond has formed.

Even though Gintoki has innate ability to peek into the human character, its not his fashion to directly address it. He usually find a roundabout way to make the others understand that they are being understood. But with Tsukuyo, everything he do about her is direct.

“Don’t be a stranger, Lean on me, laugh with me and cry with me. I’d be there, cry and laugh with you ” Said Gintoki to tsukuyo.

The Gintoki who often avoid emotional baggage from a stranger.

In conclusion, Red Spider Arc is such an awesome arc. The vibe is cool, the soundtrack is awesome and its has an intense emotionally charged action.

It is also the breeding ground for gintsu shipper, wich probably gonna make some part of fandom upset. But it is what it is and we can just enjoy or choose not to.

#gintama #Tsukuyo #gintoki #Gintoki x Tsukuyo #Red Spider arc #gintsu #gintsuki #dissecting #love this arc so much i need it to get out of my system

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horanghaechan · 4 years ago

Text

Freedom (Johnny) - final

pairing: Demon!Johnny x Dancer!You (female character)

word count: around 6k

synopsis: After dancing at NCT’s party and having a private session with Johnny, you find yourself in a different situation.

Inspired by Freedom - Kris Wu ft Jhené Aiko.

(Part 1 here)

[a/n]: i actually had a side-blog once and posted it there but i got author’s block and deleted everything. anyway, i’m rather proud of this scenario so i decided to post it again lol

You say you want some freedom You ain't got a leash on, you ain't coming home But where you wanna go You already know We can blow a creeper on the low I’ll be on my throne Tryna take it slow Guess you can control, let's play

On rainy days, Y/N would rant about having to go to college in such a weather, then she would eat a schwarma and watch a good “Vines Compilation” until her mood was slightly better. Chances were that, if the “Bewitched boy vine” or the Mexican kid screaming "Alguien se comió mi torta” were in them, she’d smile.

However, since Johnny Seo happened, Y/N didn’t do any of that.

And that was three months ago.

“You’re really refusing a ride for college in this shitty weather?!” Yuta rolled his eyes.

“I’m refusing dying for a second time, Yuta.” Y/N chuckled.

“I won’t pick you up if the storm gets stronger, you know that, right?”

“Yeah, I know.” She opened the door of her apartment. “Before you leave, turn the lights off.”

“Why don’t you move back to our house?”

“Because I can’t stand Youngho.” Y/N quipped. “Don’t forget the lights, dear!”

“I’ll pick you up at 9PM, college’s main door. One minute late and you’ll go back home all alone and in the rain.” Yuta yelled while she was leaving.

“Thank you.” She grinned, knowing he would always play hard to get.

Later that night…

When Johnny heard a loud – excited – scream coming from Lucas, he knew she was there. It took her almost two months to come back... But who was counting, huh?

He pushed the girl out of his lap and barely looked at her while he dressed back.

“You gotta leave.”

“What?” The blonde beauty glared at him, shocked.

“You gotta leave. I need to address to an important matter right now.”

“B-but you said you didn’t have any business today!”

“Turns out I do.” He sighed. “Hurry up, I’ll escort you to the door.”

The girl pouted, but it didn’t make him change his mind. His attention drifted to the new female demon that had entered his property, the one that made his blood boil. He checked himself in the big mirror, feeling extremely hypnotising and sensual. Obviously, Y/N would pretend not to feel a thing, but he wanted her to be a bit shaken by his appearance. They didn’t part in good terms, so Johnny decided to give her a sample of the life she lost by gently telling him “to fuck off” and storming out of the room like a crazy ex-girlfriend. While closing his door, he made sure the sound was loud. When he walked to the stairs, he could hear Taeyong and Yuta saying something about ‘kitchen’ and there was a small silence. Perfect for his dramatic entrance.

Y/N looked up to the foyer at the sound of steps, her insides tightening at the sight of Seo Youngho. Then, right behind him, there was a tall, golden-haired lady that looked like a model.

“Cassiopeia is leaving.” Johnny announced in that hypnotic voice of his.

“I thought she had just arrived?!” Lucas frowned.

“Turns out she has some stuff to do.”

The girl looked so offended by his remark but didn’t object to any of it.

“Oh, ok then.” Lucas shrugged. “Y/N, Doyoung and I are going up to play some games, she’ll sleep over. Yuta and Tae are cooking dinner. Wanna join us?”

“Yes.” He shook his head. “Bye, Cassiopeia.”

And without a word, he left her alone in the staircase. She made an ‘I’m offended’ sound and came to the main floor, looking at Y/N and Lucas in pure annoyance.

“Johnny said he didn’t have anything to do, but then he kicks me out… What is happening, Lucas?” She inquired, trying to pout cutely.

“How would I know that, dear?” Lucas ventured, dismissing her with a soft grin. “C’mon Y/N, I’ve bought the French deck so you can teach me that truco game.”

Truco is a card game for two, four or six players, who shout a lot and make signs to tell their partner what cards they had. It’s a popular game in Latin American countries, with some regional differences, but funny either way. She was used to play that with her friends, Inez being the one that taught them how to. Since she couldn’t see the girls ever so often, Y/N decided that she would teach the boys, so whenever she felt like playing, she’d have company.

When Lucas opened his bedroom door, Johnny was there – his silky black hair parted in the middle and the white button-up shirt with the three first ones unbuttoned. Y/N felt as if she was punched in the stomach, his beauty too much for her own good.

“What are we playing?” Johnny asked.

“Nothing.” She replied. “Actually, I’ll go to the kitchen to help Yuta and Taeyong.”

“Are you really going to run away every time we meet?” Johnny pouted. “I didn’t take you as a coward, mei fortuna.”

“And I didn’t take you as a joke, Youngho, but look at where we are now?!” She spat.

“Ok, I’m gonna get Doyoung and when I come back, I want everyone behaving politely and pretending to be friends, huh?!” Lucas spoke slowly, as if he was talking to small, naughty children.

He left the room, closing the door with a dry sound. Y/N sighed, throwing herself on his bed and facing the ceiling in a stupid attempt to ignore the male demon.

“So, how’s life?” Johnny tried going for a small talk.

“Pretty good.” Y/N muttered. She intended to sound rude.

“Did Yuta tell you about the party this weekend?”

“He did, yes.”

“You coming?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe.” She looked at her nails, pretending to be uninterested.

“You can’t possible think about living only with your friends’ sins, Y/N. What if they notice you’re always the reason they start gossiping?”

“I don’t live off of only gossips. People commit sins every hour, duh.”

“You manipulate them to commit small sins, then?” Johnny laughed. “That isn’t enough.”

“Well, you should’ve thought better before ruining my life and turning me into a demon. I prefer doing things this way, it’s easier and doesn’t make my conscience ashamed.”

“Are you kidding me? You make your friends sin! What type of conscience is that?”

“And what about you? Do you even have one? You, I quote again, ruined my fucking life!”

“Aw, don’t be petty. At least I did it for myself and never pretended to have done with for something or someone else.” The corner of his mouth quirked up and she rolled her eyes.

What was she expecting, to begin with? That he killed her to save his friends?! To save the world?! Ha, ha.

“See? And I’m doing this for myself too.”

“You won’t be powerful enough if you keep doing it.”

“I don’t intend to be powerful enough.”

“Are you sure?” Youngho tilted his head to the side, only the tiniest bit, but it drove her crazy. That horrible man was so sarcastic and so arrogant… Ugh! She wanted to choke him!

Doyoung walked in with Lucas, automatically putting an end to their discussion.

“Let the games begin!” He shouted happily.

Y/N really tried not to get affected by Johnny’s presence, but it was impossible. She couldn’t stop remembering everything. Every fucking thing.

The tension when they met, how she was so hypnotised by him at first glance. Her dance and his eyes on her all the time. When they flirted. When she rejected him. The lap dance. When they kissed. When they fucked and how amazing, ethereal, unique that was… Then she died because of him. Fuck, it was so hard to accept the truth! Only being able to live because she took advantage of others and made them sin… She even brought her loved ones into the mess! What kind of disgusting creature would even do that?

But demons were like that and the faster she learned to deal with it, the better.

Also, there was one more thing bothering her: if she hadn’t arrived, Johnny would’ve slept with that Cassiopeia girl… Right? She said he kicked her out when they arrived.

Y/N felt the need to vomit.

“You seem a bit off, dear.” She was surprised by Doyoung’s soothing voice and the petname. Normally, Lucas was the one to be affectionate (and caring).

“I’m tired from college, so I can’t get into my competitive mode and make the game funnier.”

“How many months until it ends?”

“Two, thank God.” She chuckled, earning three smirks in response.

“You’re really a believer now.” Johnny teased her, knowing she would get annoyed.

“I actually had no other option.” Y/N’s tone was dry and she refused to look at him.

“Well, I’m sure the supper is almost ready, so what about we stop the game for now and go to the kitchen? If you eat you’ll get a boost of energy.” Doyoung held her hand, shocking her even more.

Did the boys actually feel sorry for her having to put up with Johnny?!

“Agreed.” Lucas shook his head. “Let’s go, princess.”

Youngho was frowning due to Doyoung’s odd behaviour, but it got unbearable thanks to Lucas’ boldness. What the fuck was wrong with his friends? Did Y/N need to be pampered and treated as the most delicate flower now?

If he was going to be honest with himself – which he was not –, he'd admit that he was a bit jealous. Y/N didn’t need sugar-coated treatment; she liked things rough, she was tough and cold when she needed to be, and knew how to put people in their place. A woman like her should be treated as a goddess, not as a fragile lady. And, well, Johnny knew how to treat her right. He knew exactly what to do to make her squirm, to capture all of her attention, to crawl under her skin. Unfortunately, since they were connected by her transformation, he was sure Y/N knew what to do to him as well…

Even though she never seemed interested in using it to her favour.

That was the saddest thing about turning people into demons: you created a bond with them; so you could feel when they are struggling, when they’re excited, when they’re mad or happy... That’s why less and less demons offered or agreed to do so; it was too much trouble. When Y/N woke after “dying” and they talked, Johnny went out to find more experienced demons who could help him figure out what really had happened, but there wasn’t much information about what happened when someone becomes demon without selling their soul and requesting to come back as one of them. Then, he wasn’t able to answer all of her questions and Y/N freaked out, deciding she had enough and was wasting her time... So she left him.

Him.

She didn’t leave Yuta, Taeyong, Lucas or Doyoung.

She left just him.

Moreover, it was a hard punch on his ego. No one ever left him, he left them.

When they sat down for dinner, Y/N was between Yuta and Lucas, looking more relaxed than before. She loved Taeyong’s food because it was always homemade and he usually cooked dishes she could use as “comfort food”; besides, that’s what eating meant to her: comfort. He had prepared dough soup (sujibae), mushrooms, courgettes and garlic bread as sides, and for dessert chocolate lava cake.

Yuta poured her some soup while she devoured in one bite the bread.

“Do you live in hunger?” He joked.

“Only when the weather is shitty.” Y/N stated. “Oh God, Tae, I love your food!”

“I’m glad I can help.” The leader smiled lovingly. “Did you have fun playing cards?”

“No, dear, not at all.” She shook her head. “Would you ever be so kind to pass me the mushrooms, Dodo?” The adorable smile she gave Doyoung (and that hideous petname) made Johnny scow.

What the fuck was happening there?

“Should we start with the British accent as well?! Maybe some Regency outfits and a full decoration?” Doyoung joked, handling her the mushroom bowl.

“Capital! That would be precious.” Y/N leaned forward, a hand on her heart and eyes twinkling. “I’d like to be called ‘Your Grace’ or ‘milady’.”

“Holy fuck!” Lucas tried to muffled a laugh. “Suits you perfectly, tho. However, since I’ve always been calling you ‘princess’ I might have to stick with ‘Your Highness’, huh?”

“The higher the better.” She winked.

“Damn, you’re still here but I’m already missing you so much!” Yuta bawled. “Please, come back home! You’ll be safer and happier here, I swear.”

“Agreed.” Lucas and Doyoung said at the same time.

She felt her heart warm up with that. It was awesome living together with them – unfortunately, she didn’t want to put up with all the trouble Johnny brought her, and he sure would. Also, what would she do if he showed up with girls night after night? She couldn’t spend the whole day in the bedroom and the boys would think she was sick or going officially crazy… Yes, of course she could talk about Johnny with any of them, but she didn’t want to. Talking about him would make things more real… And she preferred to ignore it.

“You know I can’t, Yuta.” She was about to change subjects when she earned the puppiest ‘puppy eyes’ look of all them: Taeyong. “Stop, Tae! Don’t look at me like that! It’s not good for the baby.”

“Which baby?” He paled.

“Me.” Her mouth twitched.

Lucas chuckle soon turned into a laugh and soon everyone started laughing too… Everyone but Johnny. His eyes were bored into her, trying to tore her skin and uncover all truth she had hidden – sincerely, with the intensity of that gaze, she wouldn’t be surprised if she was naked.

Johnny left her mouth, his strong body hovering over her and his hand kept its work. Y/N felt her heart beating loudly thanks to the pleasure.

It had to be the pleasure.

‘We’re not doing things your way.’ She moaned.

‘Are you sure?’ There he was again, being the stupidly arrogant man he was.

‘We’re not.’ Y/N tried to assure her own head.

‘Aw, I think we will.’ His long digit eased its way inside her, making Y/N’s eyes shut automatically. The hideous man! ‘What do you say?’

‘Stop, Youngho, that’s what I say. Stop.’

He paused as instructed but his finger was still in her.

Y/N abruptly shifted on the bed, the wet dream still painfully alive on her memory. She looked to the side – Lucas, as the heavy sleeper he was, didn’t even flinch at her agony. Leaving the mattress, she grabbed her night-robe and decided that the kitchen was the best place to deal with frustrations… Or whatever “wet dreams” should be classified.

She was in the middle of preparing hot chocolate when she heard steps.

“Oh, you’re here.” Johnny’s voice sent shivers down her spine.

“Youngho.” Y/N breathed in.

“Y/N.”

“Why are you here?”

“Am I not allowed to enter my own kitchen?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I’m here because I was hungry and smelled chocolate, so I thought Tae was having a midnight-crisis and wanted to bake something to chill out.” He shrugged. “Anyway, mei fortuna, what about you? What made you wake up so early? A wet dream?” He smiled innocently at her, doing his best to look uninterested.

“How the fuck did you know?”

“I’m connected to you, I told you already.”

“Yeah, in a really dumb and weak way.” She sneered. “Stop reading my mind, then.”

“I’m not reading it; what the fuck do you take us for?! We’re not in Twilight!” Johnny crinkled his nose. “You died in lust and greed, that’s why these are more intense in your life now. And, not to be nosy, you need to fuck often.”

“Oh my fucking God.” She rolled her eyes, turning off the stove.

“You’ve been calling Him a lot.”

“Yeah, I found out He’s the only one listening to my complaints, currently.”

“Aren’t your soldiers working hard to grant each one of your wishes?”

“My soldiers?”

“Lucas, Yuta, Taeyong and Doyoung. I’ve never seen them this devoted.”

“They aren’t my soldiers, but I won’t apologize for the way they treat me.” She smiled coyly. “If it bothers you, I suggest you mind your own business, then.”

“It is quite hard to mind my own business when they’ve been all petnames and sugar-coated actions on you.” Johnny stated matter-of-factly. “You don’t need this.”

“What are you trying to suggest? That I don’t deserve to be pampered?!”

“Precisely.” He agreed. “You don’t like that.”

“Do you even listen to yourself sometimes?” She scoffed, offended.

“Mei fortuna, you like roughness and choking, you like playing the femme fatale and you like the idea of being in control even when you know that it ain’t true.” Johnny raised a brow. “Or am I wrong? Do you really enjoy those ‘princesses’ and ‘dears’ and ‘sweethearts’?”

“Judging by this I suppose you call me a whore when you go on with your ‘Mei fortuna’ thing, right?!”

Johnny’s eyes lighted up in surprise. He thought she would know by now, but that wasn’t the case.

“Actually it’s a Latin expression that means ‘My luck’… Since you’re my lucky charm.”

She didn’t mean to be touched by it. She didn’t even like what it represented… But she, somehow, felt her heart getting warm and small.

Oh, for fuck sakes, the man was hideous!

“Hmpf. Well.” She stuck her nose in the air, dismissing him. “I’m going to sleep.”

“Without your hot chocolate?”

“You can have it.”

“Are you coming to the party this Saturday?”

“Perhaps I will.” Y/N disappeared into the hall, leaving Johnny with a smug smile.

It was flattering that she had a wet dream with him and felt bothered by it. He couldn’t wait to put his hands on her again… And he would make sure to do it on Saturday.

●●●

Yuta had showed Y/N all the possible souls she could buy or feed off. He knew how to handle her and how to make it all seem less horrible – which she preferred.

“You have to feed yourself, love. Properly.” He had told her, compassion shining on his dark eyes.

Yuta was right, as expected. After corrupting two souls, her body felt stronger, alive. And the feeling was addictive; she wanted to keep doing that for ages.

Congrats Y/N, you’re a hideous being. – her conscience screamed.

A tall man walked past the group she was talking to, the dark blue suit so beautiful and shiny that it caught her attention. Her eyes went straight up to the man’s face… Just to find out he wasn’t a stranger at all. Of course Seo Youngho would be walking around as if he was God himself. They exchanged glances and Y/N felt another type of hunger.

Damn, she would give everything to get dicked down by him (again).

With a handshake, she dismissed her targets and approached Devil.

“Youngho.”

“Y/N. You came.”

“Not really.” She couldn’t help but rejoice in his grin.

“That can be arranged.”

“Oh, I’m afraid it can.” She shook her head positively. “These guys are really easy to convince. In fact, Yuta showed me some of them, and the rest happened almost automatically.”

“So no more gossips? Are you eating properly?”

“Wanna check out?”

“No, no. I might get jealous.” He gave her a half smile. “But I’m glad you’re finally doing it right.” His eyes turned slowly into the devilish cognac colour, shining with wickedness and proudness, and Y/N felt her throat burn with desire.

That man was impossible.

“Isn’t Cassandra around?” Right after asking, Y/N felt stupid and childish.

“Cassiopeia?” Johnny looked at her with humour. “I don’t think she will come. She’s mad at me and I’m not in the mood to deal with humans.”

“But are you in the mood for demons?”

“It depends. Are they female?”

“Maybe…”

“Interesting. What else?”

“It’s just a possibility, though.” Y/N started cautiously. “I mean, you’re really arrogant and I’m still fed up with all that happened months ago – but maybe, and I stress it, maybe, I want us to fuck.” She blushed. “The wet dream and all…”

Johnny smirked.

“Wanna discuss it somewhere private?”

“Please.” She agreed.

They got inside Johnny’s chamber and Y/N remembered the day she went there for the first time. Apparently, even though she didn’t sleep with him that night, it was bound to happen. And now, luckily, she would lay on that wicked bed and do wicked things with Mr. Wicked.

“Why are you still mad?”

“I’m having a hard time concealing my demon shit with my previous life. Now that I’m eating properly, it downed on me it’s real, you know?!”

“Yeah, it is tricky in the beginning.” He chuckled. “But I don’t see why you should stay mad at that, nor at me.”

“Oh, of course you only turned me into this, but where’s the problem, huh?!”

“Are we having this conversation again?”

“Well, I apologize for not fully adapting into a life I didn’t ask for!” Her tone was sarcastic, but the way her brows knotted together made her just cute.

He could feel her anger and her lust… Oh, she was so adorable! He couldn’t help himself.

“Y/N, look, I know you didn’t ask for it and I know you’re annoyed by what happened but there’s no way to reverse it. So, instead of being bitter and petty forever, why don’t you enjoy what was given to you? You have powers, you can manipulate lives and destinies… And you have me.”

“What?” Her jaw dropped.

“Well, I’m here to fuck you senseless, aren’t I?”

“I-I kinda hope so… I guess.”

“Then let’s close the topic. After I'll fuck your brains out, I think you’ll be able to see things clearer, alright?” Johnny locked the door. “Now be a good girl and strip for me. This skirt is driving me nuts.” He gestured to her leather skirt.

Her hands went to the clothing piece, but she stopped mid-way.

“What?” Johnny inquired.

“I was thinking… I’ve stripped for you once and did a lap dance.” She tilted her head to the side. “Would it be too greedy of me if I ask you to take them off yourself?”

He hesitated for a brief second, then smirked.

“It would be a pleasure.”

Y/N felt her heart beating fast while he approached her – those long fingers going straight to her cropped top. Her boobs fell down, free from the fabric, and Johnny’s mouth watered at the sight. He played with one nipple, feather touches, just to tease. Y/N was too focused on his alcoholic yellow eyes to try to make him stop with the teasing.

“You make me so thirsty, Youngho.”

Something in the way she said his name – as if it was a prayer – ignited him inside.

“For what?” One of his hands travelled up to her chin, cupping it.

“For cognac.” She closed her eyes and breathed in. “For kisses.” And then when she looked at him again, her irises were also yellow. “For you.”

He kissed her urgently, passionately, violently. It had been months since he felt something like that… Something so right. It couldn’t be just because he transformed her; he had that feeling long before. However, Johnny didn’t want to analyse anything but her body… Well, not yet. He tugged on her skirt, pulling it down slowly. Stopping the kiss to look at her in her burgundy lace set, he sighed contently. Oh, he would devour her.

“What?” Y/N questioned.

“Nothing. It’s just that you are too pretty for your own good.”

“And you’re too dressed for my own good.” She giggled.

“Well, do you want me to strip?” His voice was pure mockery, but his eyes were predatory.

“If you’d ever be so kind, sir.”

“Oh.” He smiled, his body beginning to withdraw from hers. “Then if you allow me to be greedy too, I have a request.”

“I thought you were the boss here.”

“Normally, yes. But once in a lifetime I can let someone else play the role… That being said, can you call me ‘Youngho’ or ‘Johnny’ as for tonight? Nothing about ‘sir’ or ‘Devil’.”

“That’s an odd request coming from you, sir, but I can comply.”

“Alright. Now that we’re settled, maybe you should sit down… I won’t be able to catch you if you faint while I strip.” He blinked in fake innocence, which made Y/N grin.

She didn’t want to argue with him right now. They were teasing each other and it felt good, not resentful like it has been for the past months. Even though calling him by his name would make things way more intimate, she couldn’t bring herself to care. Also, she needed a proper fuck. She needed someone like Johnny; and she didn’t want to ruin everything before she had an orgasm.

When Y/N sat down on his bed and it was as if she was embraced by pure lust. She touched the black satin sheets and smiled to herself… She had a set that looked like that, and it was her favourite one. Then she looked up and forgot how to breathe. Handsome boys undressing from their suits should be elected as the first of the Seven Wonders of the World. After taking out his jacket, Johnny started unbuttoning his shirt, loving the way Y/N followed his fingers as if she was under hypnosis. He threw it aside, hands now on his belt, and Y/N licked her lips.

“Holy fuck, let me do it.” She reached out for him, but he slapped her hand.

“No, no. This is my time to shine, mei fortuna. You asked for a strip and you’ll get one.”

“You’re taking too long!”

“You took two months and a whole ass song! I’m not even gonna take four minutes.”

“My tongue is impatient.” She nagged. “Please, Youngho.”

“What does your tongue have to do with it?”

“I want to lick every inch of you, that’s the problem!”

He chuckled, finding her eagerness so adorable that he gave up. “Oh, ok then. Guess you can control now.”

Y/N wanted to take her time with his body, so she started from his neck. Getting up, she let her hands touch his shoulders while her mouth went to his chin and collarbones. Oh, he was delicious and addictive! What a horrible, hideous man! Johnny’s chest rose, breathing in, closing his eyes to enjoy the caress properly. Her tongue left small licks all over his torso, getting lazier with every step further down, next to his belt. One warm hand got rid of his trousers in a quick move, leaving him with his underwear. Y/N smiled to herself, undressing him from his last piece of clothes. Without warning, she swirled her tongue over his shaft, receiving a raspy grunt in response. She looked up, repeating the movement, slower. Youngho sighed, feeling shivers run through his body. He watched, mesmerised, Y/N start to suck him off, swallowing him as far as she could handle. He tightened the grip on her head, but not moving at all, because it was her time to dictate the rhythm. Her large nails clawed at his thighs and the shivers intensified. He let out a loud groan as Y/N squeezed her testicles lightly, testing them. Johnny leaned against the wall, succumbing to the pleasure, but his attention remained on her, unable to take his eyes off the wonderful scene that Y/N was sucking his dick.

She guided his wrist to her hair, not really needing to “be in control” to make him cum. Johnny accepted it as if he needed to be tugging on her hair tightly for his life. He kept her head still and started to fuck her mouth. Y/N looked up again, and her eyes were so lustful that it was more than he could bear; Youngho was never prepared to see her as beautiful and disposed as she was in sex. He really wanted her to be in Louvre, the most precious paint to ever be shown.

“Can I cum in your mouth, mei fortuna?” He asked, wiping a small tear from her eye, his thumb caressing her cheekbone while he kept thrusting inside.

She shook her head positively the best she could, due to their position. It didn’t take much to make Johnny cum – he got out slightly, so he could see his seed filling her mouth. It was all too erotic, too lustful, so right. He watched Y/N eagerly lick her mouth, giggling. Without giving him more time to take enjoy of the scene, Y/N stood up.

“I think you should lay down, Youngho.”

“Anything you want, love.” Johnny mocked her, doing as she suggested. “What are you going to ride tonight?”

Y/N tried to pretend she wasn’t surprised he guessed what was going to happen. “Your face, and then your cock... If you behave.”

Johnny chuckled. “The only noise you’re going to listen from me is my mouth devouring you, I promise.”

It took her a deep breath to start moving. Her heart was beating so fast and she was so anxious to have his mouth on hers that she, for a moment, thought she wouldn’t handle it. Y/N passed one leg on either side of his face, slowly going down before sitting on that pretty mouth. His tongue began to move, the friction and speed so wonderful that it made her moan loudly. That was so much better than what she had imagined. Holding on the headboard, Y/N tried to focus entirely on the sensations. Youngho licked her like a lazy cat, sucking ever so often on her clit and letting one hand rest on her thigh. When she felt fully enchanted, her hips started moving slightly, riding his face as she had warned before. Johnny growled, his tongue speeding up.

“If you suffocate, please just throw me aside.”

He pushed his face further on her pussy, as a response. Y/N’s eyes flew shut, the orgasm building quickly. Oh, the hideous man he was! Her body just couldn’t get enough of him! She gasped, tipping her head back, enjoying the tight grip on her stomach. Somehow, he smacked her butt and it was everything she needed to fall into the pool of pleasure.

Johnny didn’t wait for Y/N to calm down. He gently pushed her to the side and sat down, bringing her to his lap, kissing her hungrily. In a matter of second, she was already aligning herself in his member. His eyes brightened in anticipation. It was incredible how anything made by her became an intense erotic act. Her breasts arched forward while she sunk on his dick, and he took them in his hands, squeezed them, sucking her nipples and leaving little bites that made Y/N moan loudly. He stared at the spot where they met, feeling pure bliss. The first thrust was so precise that she ran out of air. Only Johnny could touch her in the right way, make her feel right. At that moment, while the two were together, Y/N did not think about her problems or their complicated relationship; she concentrated only on Youngho and all the wonderful things that made her feel. How desperate she had been for him, and it seemed to get worse over time. Staring into his alcoholic eyes, Y/N began rock against him, increasing their pleasure. She was still sensitive from the past orgasm and that was enough to make her hungry for another. Johnny grabbed her hip, the noise of thrusts being louder than the grunts and gasps they let loose. She ran her hands down his tanned backs then wrapped them around his neck, still grinding, but she lost some speed as he lowered his face and sucked one of her nipples. It was hard to focus on only one place in her burning body. She began to quiver, her nails digging into his shoulder and indicating her orgasm.

“Here.” Youngho took her hands on his, intertwining their fingers. “To keep you steady, love.”

The petname was too much.

He should come back with ‘Mei fortuna’ or anything that remembered her of who they truly was… But ‘Love’ was too much. ‘Love’ made her heart feel warm and melt. ‘Love’ made her think she could never stay a day without looking at those yellow eyes.

Y/N gave in to the spasms and searched for air as she reached her high – she was far away, plunged into absolute delight. No more than a minute later, she felt Johnny's arms hold her down, laying her on her back while he climbed up and shoved into her again. Y/N let out a little shriek from the surprise thrust. The strength in which he held her would leave marks, but Youngho was too eager for release to care. When he came, he moaned loud his hips slowing down only a bit. He grinned, sticking his forehead to hers and opened his eyes.

“One time I heard Lucifer is the prettiest being alive.” She murmured, hypnotised. “Are you sure your name is Youngho?”

“I am, Y/N.”

“Damn, if he is prettier than you than I hope to never meet him.”

Johnny couldn’t help but chuckle. “It’s good when you don’t die after we fuck.”

“It only happened once.” She groaned. “Are you really going to ruin the mood?”

“It keeps me from doing something crazy.”

“Such as?”

“Asking you to move back home… Asking you to stay.” He shrugged, getting out of her.

Y/N sat down, shocked. “What to do you mean?”

“I thought fucking you would make you come to your senses, but turns out it backfired.”

“Youngho, I don’t have time for metaphors.”

“Maybe demons do fall in love, Y/N, and maybe I’ve fallen for you.”

She choked, too surprised to answer or pretend to be fine with what he said.

“And maybe that’s why you didn’t officially die when I corrupted you.” Youngho ruffled his hair, wiping a bit of the sweat off. “I don’t know, honestly. Nothing like this happened to my friends that corrupted beings of light, but none of them felt this drawn into their victims.” He approached her, holding her chin up and looking into her now yellow eyes. “When we met… When you left two months ago… It was you from the beginning, Just Y/N, not your light.”

Oh, the hideous, horrible man!

And just like that, he had her heart wrapped around his finger.

#johnny smut #johnny scenarios #nct smut #nct scenarios #johnny seo 😔#youngho smut #youngho scenarios

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captainsolare · 4 years ago

Text

Summary: Hitoshi Shinso, manager of Open Mic coffee shop, is part of a Lonely Hearts Club, a club where you place ads in the newspaper to meet potential partners. You and Shinso have been corresponding via letters for months, falling for each other even though you have never met, nor have any idea as to what you look like. When you walk into the very coffee shop he works at, looking for a job, will you find a rival, or a soulmate?

Word Count: 8,921

Tags: SheLovesMe AU , Coffeeshop AU, Quirkless AU , f!reader, enemies to lovers

Characters: Y/N, Shinso, Midoriya, Denki, Mina, Hizashi Yamada (Present Mic), Shouta Aizawa (Eraserhead)

A/N: This was a huge labor of love for me, I adapted my favorite musical into a BNHA Coffee shop AU and I enjoyed every second of it. I decided to post this today (Oct. 6th) to celebrate my 5 month anniversary of becoming a writing blog. I hope you enjoy it! This is not a direct copy of the musical, I took a lot of the plot points out of my adapted story line and added things of my own of course. There are a few direct quotes from the musical embedded in here!

TW: If you watch the original musical, there are mentions of attempted suicide. In my written adaptation, that is not included because it is a subplot and irrelevant.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did creating it. Special thanks to @library-of-grimoires for helping me brainstorm ideas for which BNHA character I chose.

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The air was warm with the last dregs of summer, a slight breeze stirring the air. Mina and Kaminari were outside the Open Mic coffee shop, getting ready to open up for the day. A delivery boy sped past on his bike, ringing the bell with a wave. Mina waved at him, taking a break from cleaning the outer windows. Denki was sweeping the sidewalk, but stopped to wipe his brow. “You know, we should totally skip work today and go on a picnic or something.” Mina smiled and stretched, “I know right! The weather feels amazing today.”

Shinso and Midoriya came strolling up, overhearing their friends’ conversation. Shinso chuckled, “Too bad Aizawa would kill us if we did.” Midoriya nodded in agreement and Denki hung his head, “Yeah, you’re right.” Shinso went inside, surveying the progress Mina and Denki had already made. The chairs were placed at the tables, the counter was clean, the fridge was stocked, Midoriya flipped the sign on the door to, “Open,” and they braced themselves for the morning rush.

When things finally slowed down, Shinso leaned on the counter, being the manager of this shop wasn’t easy, but luckily he had something to get him through the tough days. He absentmindedly brought his hand to his apron pocket, the letter from his “Dear friend” was there, its presence almost comforting. “Thinking about your, “friend” again?” Denki asked, the air quotes conveying exactly what he thought of the situation. Shinso smiled lazily at him, “And if I am?” Denki frowned, “Did she at least include a photo this time? Have you set a date to meet yet?” Shinso stood up, “No. And no.”

Aizawa came down from the upstairs loft with a frown, “Less chatting, more coffee making!” He yelled, before strolling out the front door. “Yes sir!” Everyone called after him. Hizashi padded down the stairs after him, “Oh ignore him, he’s in a grumpy mood today. The man never gets enough sleep at night.” Hizashi soon directed his attention on Shinso and he cringed, knowing what was coming. “So, Hitoshi, when are you going to settle down? You’ve been a bachelor for way too long.” Shinso stammered out some excuse, but luckily a delivery boy arrived, interrupting the awkward conversation. “Ooh! They’re here!” Hizashi exclaimed, clapping his hands excitedly.

“What’s here?” Midoriya asked, observing the piles of boxes arriving that they’d need to unpack. “Why, only the best thing ever!” Hizashi exclaimed, opening one of the boxes and pulling out a black leather box. He opened it and a happy little tune played, Hizashi’s smile widening as it played. After the tune stopped, there was silence, “Okay, that’s great sir. But what is it for?” Denki asked. “To hold things!” He exclaimed, as if it were obvious. “But, will anyone buy them?” Shinso asked.

Hizashi laughed outright at that, “You’ll see! These will be selling like hotcakes.” He caught sight of Shinso’s quirked eyebrow and smirked. “I’ll make you a bet kid, I bet we’ll sell our first one within 1 hour.” Hizashi emphasized one by sticking a finger in his face, Shinso backed up, hands raised in defense, “I really don’t want to take your money, sir.”

“Oh I see, the coward doesn’t want to lose his money.” Mina teased, piping up from where she was restocking the cabinets. Shinso bristled at her comment, “Alright, you’re on!” One by one customers trailed in, and each time, Hizashi tried to get them to buy his musical “holding boxes.” Each time, he was unsuccessful, leaving Shinso with a big smile on his face.

Hizashi had to go to the upstairs loft for a moment, and Shinso checked his watch. Only 10 minutes left. The front door chimed and Shinso stood up straight, “Hello ma’am, can I get you anything today?”

You glanced at him, a nervous expression on your face. “No.” You said. Shinso was slightly taken aback, “Uh… Okay.” You stood there, a blank expression on your face for a moment, Shinso started to turn away, needing to attend to something when you seemingly snapped out of it. “Oh actually yes.” Shinso smoothed his apron and turned back to face you, plastering a smile on his face, “Okay, would you like a tea?” “No.” You replied.

One by one he went through all the items on the menu, and you said no to all of them. “Pardon me, but that’s,” Shinso paused awkwardly, “everything on the menu.” He shot a glance at Midoriya, hoping his coworker could offer some semblance of help, but he only shrugged his shoulders and began helping the next customer that came in. “Is Mr. Aizawa here by chance? Or Mr. Yamada?” You asked, gripping the handle of your bag with what looked like white knuckle strength.

Shinso cocked his head, “Maybe, I think they’re upstairs.” You looked hopeful at his words, standing up a little taller, but your hopes were dashed when he finished, “But, they’re both very busy today.” “Oh,” You said, crestfallen, “I don’t mind waiting!” You said, striding over to one of the nearby tables and sitting down, Shinso came out from behind the counter to follow you. “May I ask why you need to speak with them? As the manager, I can take a message.” You shook your head adamantly, “I’d rather speak with them directly if possible.” You clenched your hands together awkwardly, playing with your fingers. Shinso let out a small, almost inaudible sigh, “Okay, can I ask your name at least?” “L/N! Y/N L/N.” You replied. “Okay Ms. L/N, I’ll go tell them you’re here.”

Shinso started to leave, motioning to Midoriya that he’d be back soon, but you stopped him by tapping his shoulder. He stiffened at the sudden contact but turned to face you with a smile on his face, Oh the joys of customer service. “Yes ma’am?” He asked. You cocked your head to the side, demeanor as awkward as when you first walked in, “One more thing, you’re still, hiring right?” You asked. Shinso narrowed his eyes, “Are you… looking for a job?”

You put your hands up, “Guilty as charged!” You admitted, chuckling a little. Shinso pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, Seriously? I’m not even in charge of hiring. A job? In this economy? Shinso began to walk away once more, as more customers were entering the shop and he needed to actually do his job. “I’m a great barista!” You called after him, there was no way you were missing this chance. “I know coffee like nobody’s business! I even have a letter of recommendation.” Denki made eye contact with Shinso, gesturing that he had the new customers covered and so he turned back to you. “A letter of recommendation? For a coffee shop gig?” He asked. You nodded, muttering to yourself as you rummaged around in your bag for your letter. You kept putting item after item into his arms, only serving to get him even more annoyed than he already was. What the heck is this girl’s problem? Suddenly it was like a lightbulb went off as you remembered where you had actually put the letter, you reached into your back pocket and pulled it out, “Aha! Here it is!” You looked at Shinso and seeing his look of irritation, sheepishly held your bag open so he could put your things back inside. He unceremoniously did so and gritted his teeth, “Look, I’m sure you’re wonderful. And I’m sure that letter is really something, but the truth is, we aren’t hiring right now.”

Your face fell, “What? But I saw on the website that---” At that moment, Aizawa appeared, “What’s going on here Shinso?” He asked, eyes flicking between the two of you, “Perhaps I can be of assistance.” Shinso put his hand on his hip smugly, “She wants a job.” He said, gesturing towards you with his thumb. “What?!” Aizawa exclaimed, taken aback, “Out of the question.” He began to walk away from you, people seemed to be doing that a lot to you lately, but you followed him, trying to stand up for yourself and give him the letter.

You looked around desperately, looking for any chance to prove yourself. Your eyes zeroed in on the back wall display, a woman was looking at a leather box. You strode over, confidence renewed, “Aren’t these just wonderful?” You piped up, smiling at the woman. She glanced at you, “I suppose so, but what are they for?” You sent Shinso a panicked glance but he simply shook his head, not willing to help you in this situation. You shake off his rejection and turned back to the customer, stretching your hands out to her. She placed the box in your hands, watching to see what you’d do with it.

You opened the box and the tune began to play, “Why, it’s a musical jewelry box of course!” You said with a smile. Shinso blinked, A musical jewelry box? Seriously? The woman tipped her head, “A musical jewelry box? Why would I need one of those?” You studied her for a moment, eyes drawn to her engagement ring. “Pardon me for asking ma’am, but do you by chance have a partner at the moment?” The woman nodded with a smile, glancing down at her ring. “And you like jewelry?” The woman nodded once more. Your face brightened with a smile, “Well, this is perfect for you! If you buy this box, your partner will have no choice but to buy you jewelry to put in it.”

Shinso watched this exchange with a roll of his eyes, shoving down the fear that maybe he’d lose his bet. “And the tune?” You continued, “Whenever your partner hears it, they’ll know how much you appreciate the gifts they gave you. Just imagine the smile on their face, all because of this box.” Hizashi came downstairs near the end of this exchange, watching with a smirk on his face. “I’ll take it!” The woman says. Shinso chokes as Hizashi practically cheers at the sale. He rushes down the stairs grabbing your hands and saying, “You’re hired!” Shinso’s jaw drops, “What?!”

Shinso stood there, dumbstruck at the whole situation. Hizashi snapped him out of it with a tap to his shoulder, “Now Shinso, if you please.” He said, extending his hand. Shinso grumbled while he fumbled in his pockets for the money they had bet. He watched you conversing with your new coworkers and he grumbled once more, the irritation bubbling within him. “I’m taking my break.” He muttered, strolling out the front door and heading to a nearby bench. He wasn’t one to smoke, but if he was, there would definitely be a cigarette in his hand.

His sun was dulled by your shadow as you stood in front of him awkwardly; he lazily opened an eye and looked in your direction. “Can I help you?” He asked, coming off a little harsher than he intended. You rocked back and forth from your heels, to the balls of your feet, “I’m sorry for making you lose your bet.” He cocked an eyebrow, “That’s all? I don’t care.” He stood up and smoothed his apron, then returned to the coffee shop, leaving you standing there alone. You clenched your fist, Ugh! The nerve of this guy!

Fall came, and with it a sense of new opportunity, and more letters. You had yours tucked in your pocket, ready to be taken to the post office after work; you walked in the door with a smile, “Happy October!” Midoriya groaned, “October? That means our seasonal drinks will be here soon.” Mina seemed to be getting a flashback to some terrible event as she shuddered, “Pumpkin Spice season.”

You soon learned just how terrible ‘Pumpkin Spice season’ truly was, those days you could never quite catch your breath. Your relationship with Shinso was still rocky, but during the hectic days when he could see you were struggling he seemed to be a bit kinder to you. You went to a nearby restaurant on your lunch break and pulled out the letter you had received from Dear Friend, you felt your heart skip a beat as you held it, you had only picked it up this morning so you hadn’t gotten the chance to read it yet.

Dear Friend,

I hope this letter finds you well, you are my only source of peace these days. Everywhere I look I find something else that annoys me, and work is as hectic as ever, it’s always worse during this season, but things just feel harder. I find solace in your letters though, I can always count on you to bring a smile to my face. I’m glad to hear that your new job is going well, I hope that one coworker you’re having issues with sees how wonderful you truly are.

Talk soon,

Your friend.

You felt your heart swell as you read it, and you sighed dreamily as you held the letter to your chest. There was something familiar about the scent coming off of the pages, but you couldn’t quite place it. Denki joined you at your table, jolting you from your daydreaming and you jumped. “What’s that?” He asked, curious as to the papers you were holding. You quickly tucked them away in your bag, “Oh it’s nothing! A friend of mine sent me a letter. I love getting letters, don’t you?” Denki shrugged as he took a bite of his sandwich, “I guess so, but isn’t it easier to send a text message?”

November was soon upon you, and there was tension in the air. Shinso had been even more on edge than usual, and your fighting was worse than ever. You were on your lunch break with Mina when you decided to bring it up with her. “Hey Mina?” You asked, looking across to the pink girl. “Yeah, what’s up? Something on your mind?” You leaned on your elbow and sighed, playing absentmindedly with your straw wrapper. “I just, I just feel like Shinso just doesn’t like me very much. Ever since I came here, he hasn’t been nice to me at all.” You lamented. Mina chewed on her lip thoughtfully, “Well, if you want my opinion on things, from an outsider’s perspective, it seems like you haven’t been very nice to him either. Have you considered his feelings about it? Whenever you see each other it’s like two magnets repelling.”

Her words stung in a way you had no idea they would, she was right, you really hadn’t considered his feelings about your treatment of him. You tapped your finger on the table, considering her words and what you could do to be the bigger person in all this. “Thanks Mina, that’s very helpful.”

The next morning, you arrived to work early and helped Shinso without being asked. Shinso was surprised at your behavior, he supposed he should have just accepted it as kindness but there was something in him, the suspicious part of him that made him feel annoyed instead. First, you were helping him sweep, then you were sorting things that he normally sorted, then you were offering to stay late so he didn’t have to. Finally he’d had enough, “Do you think I can’t do my job or something? What’s your problem today?” He asked, words injected with venom, hands on his hips. Tears burned in the back of your eyes, “I-I didn’t think that at all. I just thought--”

“Thought what? That I needed your help? Even though I’ve been at this job way longer than you have?” He interrupted. You didn’t bother to reply, just grabbed your bag and stormed off into the night, not willing to let him see your tears. Midoriya and Mina stared. “That was, highly uncalled for man.” Midoriya said, before returning to sweeping. Mina walked out after you, but not before sending a scathing glare Shinso’s way. Midoriya finished sweeping and left; Shinso was still frozen in place, left alone in the empty coffee shop.

The next day, Shinso received your letter and it felt like he had failed you, well, Dear Friend. As he read it, he replayed the scene of you walking out into the night, and was filled with regret. I should, apologize.

Dear Friend,

I think this week I will try to be kinder. Too often I have not considered the consequences of my words and actions and as a result, people I care about have gotten hurt. So this week I am going to try on kindness. I challenge you to do the same.

Talk soon,

Your Friend

December came, and like the cold weather you met his apology with stony silence. As time passed, you retained a professional work relationship, though barbed words were still tossed between you, they were less sharp than before. Shinso was outside, reading a paper of some kind when you walked up to him. “Good Morning Shinso!” You said, warmly. Shinso glanced at you and made a big show of checking his watch, “Ah, Ms. L/N, I see you’re on time today. Congratulations!” He replied, a fake smile plastered on his face. You returned his fake smile, “So sorry to disappoint you Shinso.”

You headed for the door but he put an arm out to stop you, “Oh but I’m not disappointed, far from it. Let’s call it… surprised.” He chuckles and you chuckle too, but yours served to mock him. Instead of gracing him with a reply, you entered the shop and slammed the door before you could follow him through it.

Denki and Midoriya were sweeping the walk and cleaning the windows, watching the exchange with a mixture of confusion and amusement. “They always argue, why is that?” Denki asked, looking up at his coworker. Midoriya glanced down at him, “Oh it’s simple really. Sometimes when two people like each other very much---” “Wait wait wait! They like each other?” Midoriya nodded, “I think so.” Denki cocked his head to the side, “Well don’t you think we should tell them?” Midoriya stepped off the stepladder with a laugh, “Trust me, they’d never believe us.”

A week passed, and you were at home, reading and rereading your letter from Dear Friend.

Dear Friend,

Have you set your calendar for Tuesday? I can’t wait to meet you, I feel as though I already know your soul, and I can’t wait to match a face to what I already know.

See you soon,

Your friend

You squealed and held the letter to your chest, collapsing back on your bed. I can’t believe I get to meet him tonight! You rolled over and glanced at the clock, Perfect, still plenty of time to get to work. You got ready for the day, nervous as you had ever been, you changed outfits dozens of times, wanting to look perfect for this life-changing date, finally you settled on an outfit, dressy but not too dressy, but it still looked good as hell on you if you did say so yourself. You glanced at your clock, “Crap! I’m late.”

Shinso sat in the upstairs of the coffee shop, reading your letter over and over.

Dear Friend,

I’m waiting warmly for our date, even though it’s quite cold out these days. Until then, I count the hours until I’m with you.

See you soon,

Your friend

His heart was nearly beating out of his chest, and he had a goofy smile on his face. “Hot date tonight?” Aizawa asked, causing his cheeks to turn a deep shade of red. “Th-that’s none of your business sir!” Aizawa chuckled, “So that’s a yes then, it’s about time. I hope it goes well.”

You rushed into the shop, smoothing your clothes once you were inside. “Good morning Y/N!” Mina said warmly, smiling at you. You waved breathlessly, “Am I terribly late? Has Shinso noticed yet.” “No and no. He’s upstairs right now.” You felt yourself instantly relax, having him lecture you on a day as important as this one was something you didn’t think you could handle. “By the way, you look stunning today babe!” Mina said, wrapping her arms around you for a quick hug. You smiled and took a step back, doing a spin for good measure. “You really think so?” “We do! Right boys?” She said, gesturing for Denki and Midoriya to compliment you as well.

They chorused their agreement and your smile grew wider. “Thank you all, I was so nervous it took me forever to get dressed this morning. Which is why I’m so late.” You grimaced. Denki surfaced from behind the counter. “Oh? I know what that means. Our little Y/N is in love. And you’re meeting with them tonight!” Denki said, elbowing your side and waggling his eyebrows. Midoriya rolled his eyes, “And how would you know that?” Mina looked at him with wide eyes, “Oh didn’t you hear? Denki is our resident expert in love. Which is quite remarkable considering that he’s never been in it.” Mina teased, sticking her tongue out at the blonde.

Shinso came down the stairs and you stiffened, bracing yourself to be yelled at, but he simply said good morning and walked right past you to go behind the counter. Your eyes widened and you leaned in close to Mina. “He didn’t yell at me. What’s wrong with him today?” You whispered. Mina shrugged, “Dunno. He has seemed pretty preoccupied by something today though.”

“Dammit!” Shinso yells as he spills whipped cream all over his shirt. Denki quickly heads back to where he is and helps him clean up. “Dude, what’s up with you today? You’re so nervous I can feel you vibrating.” Shinso’s hands shake as he wipes off the whipped topping, “Well, you know, big day haha.” Denki quirks an eyebrow, “Big day? What’s up?” Shinso wrings his hands nervously, “Well, I’m meeting her tonight.” Denki gasps, “The letter girl!” Shinso claps his hand over Denki’s mouth and nods, looking around and praying that no one heard his outburst.

The two headed upstairs where they could speak more privately. “So… Face to face at last.” Denki says, a lazy smile on his face. Shinso nods as he paces back and forth. Denki sighs, “Well, I tell you what, I hope she’s everything you’ve dreamed her to be.” Shinso leans back against the railing, looking up at the ceiling, “Can I be honest with you Denki? I hope she isn’t.” Denki looked up sharply, a judging look on his face. “Because,” he continued, “If she’s as beautiful, or as smart, or as funny as I think she is, then what will she think of me?”

“Can I be honest with you? I think it’ll go just fine; because you’re smart, and you’re funny and handsome, not as handsome as me of course, but still handsome. And if she can’t see that, it’s her loss.” Shinso shot him a look at the handsome part but still let a small smile cross his face. “Sorry man, I’m just nervous and upset. We’ve never met and I get to meet her, tonight, at eight.” He kneaded his forehead, “Geez, I can already feel how much of a nightmare today is going to be,” He looked at his watch, “Oh lucky me, 3 more minutes, 2 more seconds, 10 more hours to go!”

Downstairs, you and Mina were stocking the shelves with holiday items. “So... “ Mina nudged you. You hummed in response,” Your hot date tonight, what’re they like? I want to know everything!” Your hand came to a stop near the shelf, “Well, the truth is, I’ve never met him.” Mina gasps, “Never? So this is a blind date?” You shook your head, “No. I know him, we’ve just never met.” You and Mina continued to stock the shelves as you talked. “How can that be?” She asked.

You turned to her with a smile, “Letters, so many letters.” Mina widened her eyes, “You belong to a Lonely Heart’s Club?!” You closed your eyes and nodded, embarrassed. “To be perfectly honest with you, I was just as surprised as you are. But, I saw his ad in the paper and we started talking.” Mina looked at you skeptically, “What if he’s like old?” You shook your head, “Don’t be silly, the advertisement says ‘young man.’”

“You haven’t even asked for a photo?” Mina asked, flabbergasted as you shook your head once more. You sat back on your knees and looked at her, “I don’t know his name or what he looks like, but really I don’t need those things. I know what he looks like on the inside and that’s what's important. I know that he’s kind, and soft-spoken, and nice, and terribly well-educated. And he was often the only thing that made me smile on the hard days. That’s what matters to me,” You stretched, “I wasn’t sure about this whole thing at first, but somehow, somehow he made me fall for him through words alone.”

Mina smiled as she stood, “Well I hope things work out tonight.” She helped you stand, and you stepped back to admire your work. You were in the middle of high-fiving when Shinso came down the stairs. “Hey everyone! Aizawa wants us to stay late to put up Holiday decorations.” Your heart dropped, “Um, Shinso? I can’t.” He gawked at you, “And why not?” You put your hands up, “I have a date, you know that!” Shinso made a face, “I know no such thing.” You placed your hands on your hips, “How can you say that? Why do you think I dressed up today? For my own personal health or something?”

Shinso shook his head, not in the mood to argue. “Honestly, I have no idea why you dressed up. But either way, I’m just following Mr. Aizawa’s directions.” You leaned against the counter, “Why did he have to pick this one night?” You gasped and looked at Shinso, “Unless it was you who picked it! Because you knew that I had plans.” Shinso stared at you in disbelief. “You know, it’s depressing to know that you hate me that much.”

He narrowed his eyes, “I do not hate you!” He objected, then he sighed. “Look, can we have a truce?” He extended his hand to you. You took it with a smile, “Of course Shinso, anytime. After all, it’s always you who starts these things.” You start to walk away but he pulls you back at your words. “Oh I’m the one?!” He raised his voice, offended that you would say such a thing. You nodded adamantly, “Yes! Admit it, you’ve resented me since the moment I got here.” He scoffed and let go of your hand like it burned him. “For the record, I don’t resent you.”

The two of you began to walk in opposite directions but suddenly Shinso whirled around, causing you to do the same. “But if I did!” He yelled, “I would have good reason to!” You looked at him indignantly, “Is this about that bet? The one I made you lose? Because that’s a petty reason to resent someone.” “I already told you I don’t!” You rolled your eyes and stormed away from him, straight outside to the bench, you needed a moment to cool down. “That must be the rudest, most difficult, worst-tempered girl in the world!” Shinso yelled.

The rest of the day passed without much incident; in the end, you did get to leave as you planned. It began to snow as you walked to the restaurant, each step growing more hesitant. You gripped your copy of Little Women tighter in your hand, praying that the night would go well. Will he like me? You wondered, Will I be what he’s imagined me to be? Can I live up to the expectations I set in the letters? The restaurant was on the corner coming up, you reached it, and paused at the door. There would be no hiding behind your paper and pen tonight, he was going to see the real you. You were jostled by a couple walking past you to enter the building and snapped out of it. He must be in the same boat I am. I’m sure he’s just as nervous as me.

You shook off your nervousness and gathered the courage to walk inside. You greeted the host, and were seated at a table, your date was nowhere to be seen yet. Tapping your foot anxiously, you set the book on the table sitting up where it would be visible, and you pulled the rose, the other calling card of your correspondence, from your bag.

Back at the coffee shop, Shinso was barreling in through the door. Denki looked at him in surprise, “Why are you back? Didn’t you have a date like now?” Shinso nodded breathlessly, “I do. I was almost there but I got nervous and ended up running all the way back here. Will you go with me?” Denki nodded, untying his apron quickly and hanging it back on its hook. Once they were outside they could talk more freely. “So… why did you want me to go?” He asked. Shinso sent him a nervous glance, “I’m too nervous to look first.” He admitted, “I need you to look. She’ll be sitting alone, with a red rose and a copy of ‘Little Women’. And I have my rose, I’m going to tuck it in my breast pocket.” Denki smiled, “Oh I see. You want me to do a little surveillance, ease your nerves a little bit.” Shinso nodded, they would be approaching the restaurant soon.

You sipped your water nervously as the hour grew later. Has something happened to him? Is he not coming? Did he already come and leave? The waiter came by once more, “Can I get you anything ma’am?” You shook your head politely, “Not yet. It should only be a little longer.” I hope.

The boys entered the restaurant, Shinso trailing behind. Once they were inside, Denki elbowed him. “Where’s the rose?” He asked. When Shinso didn’t answer, he was smacked on the arm. “Oh, um, here.” Shinso pulled a wilted rose from his pocket. Denki made a face that was a mixture of pity and confusion, but he didn’t vocalize his thoughts. “Give it to me.” He said, pulling it from his grasp. He neatly tucked it into his breast pocket, then ran his fingers on Shinso’s hair, smoothing it. “Okay deep breaths buddy, I’ll go take a look at your future wife.” He said, tapping the front of his friend’s shoulder lightly.

Denki awkwardly weaved through the tables, scrutinizing every guest for the items he needed to look for. Each person he made eye contact with looked extremely uncomfortable by the situation but he brushed it off. I have a job to do. One table near the wall, the person had the menu in front of their face so he stood precariously on his tiptoes to peer over it. Instead of a pretty young girl, he was met with the face of an elderly man, “Oh, I’m sorry sir. Have a nice meal.”

He was nearing the last table, in the corner of the restaurant. He gasped when he saw the occupant, it was you, dressed up with a book on the table, a rose tucked in as the bookmark. He froze and did the only thing he could think to do, he ripped the scarf from his neck and held it in front of his face as he made a hasty retreat back to Shinso’s side.

Shinso saw his friend’s pale face and his heart dropped, eyes wide with concern. “She’s old. She’s old and ugly and has no teeth? That must be it.” Denki shook his head, “I… wouldn’t say that.” Shinso hit his fists together, “Well there must be something wrong! You’re terrible at hiding things Denki.” Denki grimaced, “Well, she’s actually very attractive.”

Shinso felt his cheeks warm, “Really?” He hesitated, “Will I think so?” Denki shrugged, “Beauty’s a subjective thing, but I think so. She looks like…” Shinso interjected, “Some famous person! Right?” He started listing off names but his friend shook his head at every one. “Someone from our shop.” Denki finished. Shinso gave him an incredulous look, “Our shop? The coffee shop?”

Denki put his finger up, as if to reply, but he hesitated. “Just spit it out already!” Shinso snapped. “Well, she looks a little like… Miss Y/N.”

“Wait wait wait, Miss L/N Y/N? Our L/N Y/N?” Shinso asked, his heart beating a million miles an hour. What could this mean? Denki nodded and his heart dropped again. “No no no, that’s not right. You’re joking.” Denki shook his head adamantly, “No I’m not. This girl is the spitting image of our coworker, and your nemesis.” Shinso shook his head, there was no way this was true. It just wasn’t possible, you were abrasive and sarcastic, there was no way you were the girl from the letters. “Take a look for yourself, last table in the back corner.” Denki said.

Shinso did an almost identical repeat of Denki’s path a few moments ago. He weaved through the tables, and there in the corner, just as Denki said, you were. Shinso froze, then bolted, almost running out into the night, but Denki grabbed him. “You are not going to just leave her there. Go over there like an adult, and figure things out. I expect a status report in the morning. Good luck comrade.” Denki gave Shinso a mock salute and left, leaving him alone at the front of the restaurant.

Shinso reluctantly made his way to the back of the restaurant, mind running at a million miles an hour. He was in love with you? No way, it was all a mistake. It had to be. Shinso shoved the rose and book back into his bag, unwilling to give himself away. He cleared his throat and you looked up, nearly falling out of your chair. “What the hell are you doing here?” You hissed, anger starting to bubble up inside you. Shinso clenched his fist, bouncing it in the air, “Just out for a drink. How about yourself?” You stared at him, “I’m waiting for someone.” You replied, as if it were obvious. “Anyone in particular?” He asked.

“Obviously,” You replied flatly, “Like I said before, I didn’t get dressed up for nothing.” “Well, I could keep you company while you wait.” He offered, moving to sit down. You put an arm out to stop him, “Absolutely not. I told you that seat is reserved for someone very important.” A look of disappointment crossed his face, “So you won’t let me stay?” You weren’t sure what made you cave, but you relented. “Fine. 30 seconds.”

There was silence for a moment, when a thought hit you. “Shinso, are you spying on me?” You asked suspiciously, frustration welling up. “Didn’t believe me when I said I had a date so you have to come see for yourself?” Your voice rose, you were practically yelling. Shinso snorted, “Miss L/N. Who would I be spying for? Mr. Aizawa? Don’t be ridiculous.” You met his excuse with a glare, “Shinso, your time is up. If you don’t leave immediately I will have you thrown out!”

The waiter appeared, “Excuse me miss, I hate to be a bother but could you and your husband either quiet down or fight elsewhere?” Your jaw dropped, “H-h-husband?!” You exclaimed, flabbergasted by the notion, “This man is not my husband. This is a business associate.” “Oh well pardon me. Either way, you will need to quiet down for the comfort of our other guests.” Shinso stifled a chuckle as the waiter left, leaving you with a seething look on your face.

Shinso leaned forward on his elbow, “So. Have you known this person long? The one you’re waiting for?” You turned your seething glare on him, “Frankly, that’s none of your business.” A thought struck you that sent pangs of panic through your body, What if he’s already come here? What if he saw us together and left? “Can you just leave, please?” A wave of panic washed over you. “Now why would I do that? It’s not proper for a man to keep a lady waiting. Even if they are an old friend, a dear friend.”

You sighed, “I really don’t want to discuss this with you Shinso.” The song coming through the speakers changed, a classical song came drifting to your ears. “Ahh I love this tune.” Shinso reminisced, “My mother used to sing it to me when I was a kid.” “Mine to you replied.” Shinso gasped, “Miss L/N! Do you realize what this means? We have something in common!” “Hmm.” You hummed, “Well, it’s too bad I was the only one who grew up.” You replied, a fake smile plastered on your face.

Shinso met your smile with a fake one of his own; he knew this was wrong, playing with your feelings like this, but he couldn’t resist. He had no intention of telling you tonight, he wanted to test the waters first instead of shocking you with the news. “Ahh I see what’s going on here. You’re nervous because you’ve never met this person before!” You tensed at his words, confirming his suspicions.

The minutes passed, Shinso kept telling you horror stories he’d seen in the news about Lonely Hearts Clubs. You’d had enough of his nonsense for the night. You clenched your fists, and hit them on the table. “If you don’t leave right now, I will scream.” Shinso tried to interject, but your rant had begun, and it was an unstoppable flood. “You know? Dante once described all the depths of Hell. Maybe after this you should go there, you’d fit right in!” “Miss L/N---”

You stood, “Shinso! You are easily the most insufferable, insensitive man I have ever met.” Shinso scoffed, “I’m surprised at you.” but he made no move to leave. You gritted your teeth, “Fine, be that way. I’m sorry to have to do this.” You screamed, and before you knew what was going on, you and Shinso were out on the street in front of the restaurant. “Oh no.” You whispered, tears pouring down your cheeks. Shinso stood in front of you, he hadn’t meant for things to happen this way. You hit your fists on his chest as you cried, but it didn’t hurt him. “I’ll never forgive you for this.”

Shinso led you to a nearby bench, and you sat in silence for a long while. You looked up at him with tearfilled eyes, your eyes met his purple ones, ones filled with an emotion you couldn’t quite name. “Haven’t you had enough? Are you happy now? You got your revenge on me?” You sniffled sadly, “I genuinely don’t understand you, Shinso.” Shinso snorted, “How could you Miss L/N? You’ve never taken the time to get to know me.” You chuckled darkly and wiped the tears from your eyes, anger washing over you once more. “I know you plenty well. I know you’re just a not very smart, not very handsome man with the personality of a python.” The words stung Shinso, even though he probably deserved them, and he stood.

“Have a good night Miss L/N.” He said, voice tinged with a sadness that made your heart sting. “Wait!” You yelled as he walked away, “Oh Shinso, I didn’t mean all those things.” You reached after his retreating form with a futile hand. Soon he disappeared from view, leaving you alone in the chilly night. You waited on the bench, tears hot against your cold skin as you waited. You weren’t exactly sure what you were waiting for, for Shinso to come back?, for your mystery friend to arrive? You weren’t hopeful for either of those things, and yet you waited. Of course, it’s snowing. You thought to yourself, chuckling at your circumstances. “Oh well, I’ve been waiting for this person my whole life, what’s a few more hours?”

Somehow you made it home, but you didn’t care how late it was; no way in hell you were going to work tomorrow. You wouldn’t give Shinso the satisfaction of seeing you this way, you felt defeated, and you blamed him. You got into your pajamas, and slipped into bed, cursing the whole day.

The next day Shinso arrived at work, and you were nowhere to be found. “Miss L/N is not coming in today. She texted me.” Mina told Mr. Aizawa. Shinso overheard this and his heart clenched, he had royally messed up last night. “Hey Mina, what is L/N’s favorite food?” He asked awkwardly. Mina gave him a strange look, but gave him the answer. He made some excuse for leaving and headed to the corner store, and then to your place. He hesitated before knocking, would you be upset I came here? He wondered.

There was a knock at your door, “Who is it?” You asked hoarsely. You dragged yourself out of bed and to the front door, “Miss L/N? It’s me.” The voice sounded familiar, but with your pounding head you couldn’t place it. You opened it to find Shinso, “Oh, it’s you.” You slammed the door in his face, wincing at the bang. You grabbed a blanket from the couch and wrapped it around your form, then opened the door.

“I was--- in the neighborhood.” He said, awkwardly. You gestured for him to come inside and sat on the couch. “What do you want? If it’s about last night, just spit it out. I’m not feeling well today.” “So I heard.” He replied, setting the corner store bag on the floor. “You knew I was sick?” You asked, surprised. “I overheard Mina telling Aizawa about it.” “Oh.”

Suspicion welled up within you and you narrowed your eyes at him. “So, you decided to come here, and make sure I was really sick. You thought I was faking it!” Shinso shook his head in protest, “No! Believe it or not, I was actually worried about you.” You stood up suddenly and retreated to your room, rummaging around in your closet. Shinso followed you and stood in the doorway, “Um, what are you doing?”

“What does it look like? I’m getting ready for work, obviously.” You said, tossing a shoe haphazardly over your shoulder. “That’s not a good idea.” Shinso said. You scoffed, turning over your shoulder to look at him. “And why not? Because you don’t want me to go to work?” Shinso grimaced at you, “No, it’s not that. It’s the fact that you’re obviously ill and we work in a coffee shop.” You stopped abruptly, “Oh. That’s a good point.”

You sat on the edge of your bed, feeling utterly defeated. You couldn’t even bring yourself to be mad at this man, the one you felt like you hated as he stood in the doorway of your bedroom. “Wanna tell me what’s on your mind?” Shinso asked quietly, he knew he couldn’t fix everything, he did leave last night without telling you the truth after all, but maybe listening was a start. You sighed and somehow slumped even further.

"It's just--" you hesitated to finish, but there was something in Shinso's face spurring you on, "I love him, y'know? And last night was so awful I just, I don't even know if I can face him." You heard a sharp intake of breath that was quickly disguised as a cough. You began to cry, and Shinso felt his heart sink, he had really done it this time. He made a move to sit next to you on the bed, to try and comfort you, but hesitated. When you didn’t object, he tentatively sat next to you and brought his arm around to pat you on the shoulder. “Miss L/N, I don’t know if I could ever forgive myself for last night at the restaurant. I’m so sorry I ruined the night for you.”

You shook your head, “No! Because honestly you were right, I hadn’t met him before. He was just someone who was writing letters to me--- such wonderful letters.” Your voice broke a little as you said the last words. “He never showed up?” He asked, though he already knew the answer. You shook your head, “No. I waited and waited but he never came.” Shinso grimaced and looked away, “I feel very responsible for that, I’m sorry.”

You laughed and it was the first smile he’d seen you crack all morning, “Well, it was kind of your fault that we got kicked out of the restaurant, but even so… If he had cared at all, he would have explained.”

Shinso stood up suddenly and you thought you had offended him somehow, but he came back with a paper sack in his arms. "Well," he said, handing you the convenience store bag, "I'm sure he'll reach out, maybe he feels the same way. I hope you feel better, I’d better head to the shop now since we’re understaffed. I’ll send the others your best!” “Hey Shinso?” You asked, not wanting to leave your thanks left unsaid, “I really appreciate you coming here today. Spending time with you has made me, like you.”

Shinso smiled and ran his fingers through his hair in that way he always did, “Thank you Miss L/N, goodbye now.” And with a click of your front door, you were alone, you took a moment, for some reason you were already missing his company, but you didn’t let yourself dwell on that notion for too long; You reached into the bag to examine its contents.

A smile was instantly brought to your face, the bag contained all of your favorite snacks. I wonder how he knew… Mina maybe? That would make sense. You opened one of the snacks and looked around your room, eyes landing on your paper and pen that lay on your desk. You decided that it would be a good option to reach out to your Friend first, and apologize for last night.

Dear Friend,

I am so sorry about last night, it was a nightmare in every way. But together you and I can laugh at last night someday

You tried to finish the letter, but kept getting distracted by thoughts of Shinso. The way he smelled, the way he was so nice to you this morning, the snacks he had brought, that he had cared to come here at all after the way you treated him last night. You grimaced at that last thought, I was so nasty to him. Well… he certainly deserved some of it but even so.

Things went on like this for a while, you would write, then a thought would intrude. You know what? We were together this morning, and for the first time, we didn’t fight! Well, miracles do happen I guess. Oh wait, where was I?

Dear friend, blah blah blah blablah,

The more you let the incident with Shinso this morning stew in your mind, the stranger you felt about it; It was like he had become a totally new person overnight. Not that you were complaining, he had brought you food, and he smelled nice. Oh no, you stiffened, am I starting to have feelings? For him?! You waved the notion away with your hand, Nah! This isn’t some enemies to lovers romcom!

Shinso was trying his best not to be giddy. You loved him?! Surprisingly, that was the best news he had heard all day. He shook his head in amazement as he walked back to the coffee shop, How could I not have seen it before? It’s so obvious she’s the person from the letters. And she loves me! And I, I think I love her too. He walked into the coffee shop and Denki immediately picked up on his emotional state. “Something good happen today?” He asked, giving him a sly smile. Shinso shrugged, “Maybe. I’ll tell you over lunch.” Denki nodded, and they got to work.

Lunchtime came quickly, and Shinso breathlessly told Denki the story. Denki hung on to every word, and had a smug smile on his face at the end of it. “See? What’d I tell ya? Everything turned out fine.” Shinso laughed, “I suppose you’re right. Forgive me for not always trusting your judgement.” Denki put his hands up, “No harm done man. So, when are you going to tell her?” he asked, leaning forward. Shinso took a sip of his drink thoughtfully, “Honestly, I don’t think I’m ready yet. She doesn’t love me persay, she loves the man from the letters. I’m not just going to tell her outright that it was me the whole time, then she might feel betrayed. I want to earn her love, as the real me.” Denki smiled, “Hitoshi, you are really cool sometimes.” He snorted in response, “I’m going to pretend that I didn’t hear that ‘sometimes.’”

The days passed rather quickly after that, the holiday rush was upon the coffee shop and things were as busy as ever. “Care to grab lunch with me today Miss L/N?” Shinso asked, of course you agreed. This became a new ritual for the two of you, and soon he was walking you home from work as well. One winter afternoon it was snowing as you walked to grab lunch together, and you kept catching the snowflakes on your tongue. “You know that’s childish right?” He teased. You turned and stuck your tongue out at him, “Don’t. Care.”

Things had changed between you, you weren’t sure of the exact moment, but it had perhaps gone by without you even noticing. One day Midoriya brought up to you just how much it had changed, but you waved him off. “It hasn’t changed that much.” You said. You received a skeptical look in return, “Have you not noticed you’re on a first name basis with him now?” You blinked, then thought back to this morning, when the name Hitoshi passed through your lips as easy as water. “Oh.”

Mina was the one who brought this up to Shinso, and he was also taken slightly aback. Oh. I guess things really have changed. “I don’t mind the change though,” Mina continued, “I think it’s great you two are finally getting along! Someone had to get through that stubborn personality of yours.” “Oh quit teasing him Mina! You know he can’t handle it.” You interjected as you walked by, presents in your arms. “Oh! Are those for the party tonight?” Mina asked.

“Yes! You’re going right?” You asked, smiling at your friend. “Obvs! I’m so excited, presents and food with friends is the best part of the holidays.” You chuckled at her reply, “What about you Hitoshi? Are you coming?” You were painfully aware of the way his name felt in your mouth, it was almost too comfortable. He nodded, “Yes, I have some things I need to take care of here first though.” “Oh really? I’ll stay and help!” he tried to object, but if there was anything he had learned about you, it was that you were far too persistent to argue with.

And so you were left alone in the shop with Hitoshi Shinso, everyone else had gone on ahead to Aizawa’s house. “Are you excited for tonight? Your mystery man is coming right?” He asked, leaning the broom against the wall. “Of course! Excited, nervous, all of the above. And oh goodness, I am very nervous about that. You have so much in common with him, I’ll surely need you to help keep the conversation flowing.” You were facing away from him, straightening the shelves. “Yeah, about that…” His tone seemed off so you turned to face him, a questioning look on your face.

Shinso cleared his throat, “I am so sorry about last night, it was a nightmare in every way, but together you and I can laugh at last night someday.” He said quietly. You gasped, tears coming to your eyes. I’d only written those words to Dear Friend, so that must mean… “It was you? You were Dear Friend all along?” You asked breathlessly. He barely managed a nod when you were throwing your arms around him. “Hitoshi Shinso, you are a devil of a man you know that?” You laughed, and kissed him on the cheek.

“You’re not mad?” He asked, cheek warm at the place your lips had touched. “Of course not. Actually, I couldn’t be happier.” You replied, smiling as you watched your not-so-secret secret lover’s face light up with a beaming smile. “Well, that’s great. I’m glad I have you as my Dear Friend.” He said, slinking his arm around your waist. You walked to the party hand in hand, laughing about how you didn’t know sooner and how you had hated each other at first.

You rang the doorbell and Aizawa opened the door, an uncharacteristic smile on his face. You and Shinso looked at each other in confusion but you saw Hizashi standing behind him, pointing up. Mistletoe. You internally groaned, of course Aizawa would pull something like this. To your surprise, Shinso whirled you around and pulled you close, giving you a breathless kiss in front of all your coworkers. “I KNEW IT!” Midoriya yelled. Through fits of laughter, Aizawa invited you in. “Took you long enough, crazy kids.”

#shinso x reader #shinso fluff #enemies to lovers #she loves me #bnha coffeeshop au #bnha x reader #quirkless au #shinso hitoshi #aurora borealis

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toothlessturtle21 · 4 years ago

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Beer Bottle Blues

I already lost count of how many oneshots I’ve posted, oops. Welp, here’s another one! CW: alcohol, Kai being tipsy, referenced character death. Enjoy!

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After his boyfriend blows himself up to save Ninjago, Kai finds himself at a bar every night to try and forget his loss, even if only temporarily. However, he'll have to confront his feelings sooner than he'd like to when a certain blonde ninja shows up to tug him away from the bar countertop.

Kai drank the last of his bottle, slamming the glass on the bar counter with a quiet grunt. The room was slightly hazy, the effects of downing two bottles of beer in a relatively short time period taking its toll on his mind. He traced the woodgrain with his eyes, ignoring the bustle of both snakes and humans alike as they moved around the dimly lit hole-in-the-wall. His mind seemed simultaneously both dead and alive at the same time, thinking of nothing and everything at once.

But as he looked at his empty bottle, the condensation slowly dripping down the cold brown glass, his thoughts sharpened to the reason why he was hanging out in a seedy bar anyway. Zane was dead.

He had watched his partner of over a year, best friend in the whole world, and love of his life blow up in front of his eyes. Well, not exactly, but he had felt the rumble pass through his body as he hid beneath the sewer lid, huddling with the rest of the team for cover.

Like a coward, he told himself. He should have been the one in his boyfriend's place, Zane didn't deserve to die the way he did, especially not when he had just met another android, one that understood how he felt and experienced the world. He had spoken at Zane's funeral out of duty, knowing his boyfriend would have wanted him to honor him out of everyone. He had held it together long enough to say some words about the lovely person his boyfriend had been, but Nya had cradled him that night as he broke down sobbing in her arms.

He hadn't spoken to the team in weeks, only keeping vague contact with his sister to let her know she wasn't dead. Nya thought he was out clearing his mind around Ninjago, not wasting his nights away getting drunk in a bar, only switching up the location to keep bartenders from getting suspicious. Eventually, he had landed at one that didn't seem to notice that he was the red ninja, or at least didn't care. It was nice, to not have expectations surround you as you tried to drown out your grief with cheap beer.

Speaking of beer, he flagged down the bartender, who passed him another opened bottle with barely a second glance. He took a quick swig, and glanced around once more. A Hypnobrai was on his right, sipping a whiskey while a Fangpyre laughed with him one more seat down. It almost reminded Kai of his and Jay's antics, but as far as he cared at the moment, Jay didn't even exist.

Even thinking about his former teammates was enough to cause bile to threaten to spill, his friends a painful reminder of his lost love. He hoped there was an afterlife for the Ninja of Ice after all, maybe even with his dad. Kai thought bitterly that his creator deserved to spend a peaceful life with Zane more than Kai did, as he knew how badly Zane had grieved after his father passed once more. His mind drifted back to long nights spent awake, holding his boyfriend in his arms as Zane cried, the heartache of losing his father for the final time too much to bear.

Oh, what Kai would give for even five more minutes of holding the android in his arms.

He blinked away the new mist in his eyes, and gulped down the rest of his drink. It stung his throat on the way down, a helpful distraction from the thoughts of his former boyfriend, and the haze helped keep them away as he drank into the night.

---

Much to his surprise, the bar was not as secretive as he had previously thought. The next night, when he returned, he only had the chance to down two bottles before a hand shook his shoulder. Kai turned his head in agitation, ready to tell some drunk Serpentine to screw off, but he was greeted by a familiar blonde face.

"Lloyd? What're you-"

"You're drunk."

The blunt statement surprised Kai's hazy brain, and he blinked before answering.

"So wha-? What d'you want?" He slurred, but only slightly (or so he thought). Lloyd just quirked his mouth in annoyance and pity, tugging gently on Kai's sleeve.

"C'mon, you shouldn't be in here."

"Why?" Kai bit, trying to drain the last from his bottle, which was snatched away by the Green Ninja in a hurry.

"Stop that."

"Go away," Kai grumbled, turning away sulkily, and Lloyd narrowed his eyes.

"Kai, you're being childish. Just come with me, please."

"Why should I?" He didn't spare Lloyd a glance, and the blonde didn't respond for a few moments, the roar of the crowd around them filling both of their ears.

"I miss you," He admitted, the same hand that shook his shoulder earlier merely coming to rest on it. "It's been pretty lonely without any of you. I haven't been able to track down Cole, and Jay or his manager hasn't returned any of my calls."

"Jay... has a what now?" Kai eyeballed Lloyd's expression for any jokes, and came up short.

"I'll explain, you just gotta trust me. Please, man."

"Fine, fine," Kai slapped down a twenty, enough for both beer bottles (he had memorized the prices by now), and followed Lloyd out with a sunken expression. Outside, the night was cool, and the freezing wind was both sobering and terrifying.

"That was... quite the place you were in," Lloyd began, leading Kai down the streets, presumable to return to a less seedy part of town. "What made you end up with a bunch of Serpentine?"

"All the other bars just hounded me. That one doesn't give a shit that I was the Fire Ninja."

"You still are, y'know," The Green Ninja said quietly, almost as if holding himself back.

"Huh?"

"You're still a ninja. Just because we're down one doesn't mean we can't still be a team-"

"It's not a team without him," Kai interrupted, surprised at how quickly emotions leapt out, clogging his throat. "Never will be."

Lloyd was quiet after that, simply walking beside Kai, deep in thought. The brunette sighed heavily, turning towards Lloyd when his voice was no longer threatening him with a puberty-worthy crack.

"I know you don't know what it feels like, kid, but I can't go back after all that."

"I miss him too, Kai. He was one of my best friends. I can't imagine what it's like for you," Lloyd tried not to let his pity show too much on his face, but he obviously failed, as Kai rolled his eyes playfully and pulled the blonde in for a side hug.

"Alright Green Bean, I'll bite. Where're we going?"

"Home," Lloyd grinned, and Kai knew he couldn't turn back now. "Uh, I have some leftover takeout, if you want it."

"You pulled me out of a bar just to shovel greasy shit in my mouth? Real healthy there, Lloyd," Kai teased, and Lloyd laughed, and it almost made Kai happy for a split second before his heart sank once more.

"Wait."

Kai stopped in his tracks, and Lloyd turned around from a few paces ahead.

"I- I can't go back. That means seeing his old room. Nobody's touched it since, right?"

"I know I haven't," Lloyd gnawed on his lip, guilt chewing at the corners of his mind. "Same with Nya. We just can't stand even knowing it's there."

"I just can't," Kai shook his head, not moving from his spot on the pavement. "I'm not ready."

"It's been a month," Lloyd stated blankly, not intended as a jab. The words hung in the air, and Kai blinked slowly.

"Already?"

"Yeah."

More silence. Each ninja stared at the other, Lloyd waiting for a continuation, and Kai not sure how to move forward.

"I think alcohol is gross," Kai stated, and the Green Ninja looked surprised, but let his friend continue. "But it helped me not think during the night, which was when I was at my worst before. I didn't like thinking."

Lloyd hummed in sympathy, taking a step towards the Fire Ninja.

"Nya still thinks I'm off in the mountains somewhere," Kai chuckled humorlessly, his eyes meeting Lloyd's as a chilly wind tousled their hair. Kai both relished in and despised the cold that it brought with it. "Also, bars are warm. It's not exactly the beach out here. Being cold just doesn't sit right anymore."

Lloyd stepped forward again, wrapping his arms around Kai for a fragile hug. Kai returned it hesitantly, relieved when the heat of the Green Ninja's body was so different to the cold one he was so used to being close to.

"I miss him, Lloyd," Kai buried his head into tufts of blonde hair, reveling in the physical contact that he didn't realize he needed. "I just want him back."

Before Kai knew it, he was crying. Lloyd was holding him close under the street light they happened to be standing under, rubbing gentle circles into Kai's back as he poured his heart out into Lloyd's shoulder. It hurt the Green Ninja to see his friend in such a state, even with the knowledge of why he was such a mess.

As the crying waned and Kai's tears slowly turned to puffy eyes, he brought his head up and wiped at his face, red sleeve scratching at the sensitive skin.

"So," He choked out a small laugh, looking back towards the direction that Lloyd was leading him in earlier. "You said somethin' about Jay having a manager?"

When Kai had first read the note that Zane could be alive, he didn't know how to feel. On one hand, he was elated at the possibility that his lover could be out there somewhere, but on the other, the higher he let his hopes climb, the harder they would fall if it wasn't true.

Any doubts he had in his mind were thoroughly demolished once he saw his boyfriend standing next to Cole in the hot island sun. Zane scanned the surroundings, his now glowing blue eyes drinking in the people around him before they settled on Kai, the two holding eye contact for a moment before Kai broke into a sprint, flinging himself at his boyfriend, who caught him and held him fast.

Kai couldn't help it, he wrapped his arms around Zane's waist and buried his face into his chest, all of his pent up nerves and stress from the last while manifesting in happy sobs into Zane's prison clothes, his ever-gentle boyfriend pressing kisses to his forehead to guide him through it.

"Don't ever do that again, you fucking idiot," Kai mumbled into his shirt, and Zane laughed, the vibrations rumbling through Kai's body.

"I missed you too, Kai."

Although the two were broken apart shortly after to find their way off the island, they stayed close, Kai promising both himself and his partner that he would pamper the hell out of Zane for a week straight once they reached home, and the Ice Ninja smiled warmly at his boyfriend all the while.

#ninjago #ninjago kai #ninjago lloyd #lloyd garmadon #ninjago zane #alcohol #alcoholism #tipsy #character death #oppositeshipping #happy ending #AO3 fanfic #ao3 #ninjago fanfiction #fanfiction #toothlessturtle21 #toothlessturtle21 writes

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ice-cream-nekogirl · 5 years ago

Text

if I can't love her (Tokoyami Fumikage X Reader)

Dudes... Josh Groban has a HELLA lovely voice... so deep... so powerful... for some reason this is how I imagine Tokoyami would sound if he got some vocal training~.

This takes place shortly after ‘Lights Will Guide You Home Part 2′ I didn’t really plan on THIS little excerpt but I heard this song and I just couldn’t resist...

PART 1: https://ice-cream-kitsunegirl.tumblr.com/post/189811426209/lights-will-guide-you-home-tokoyami-fumikage-x

PART 2: https://ice-cream-kitsunegirl.tumblr.com/post/189819603459/lights-will-guide-you-home-tokoyami-fumikage-x

Summary: You were the only person Tokoyami ever loved and fell for, but he believes that he killed you.

Tokoyami Fumikage was not a man of romance or love. Of course that was despite being a romantic at heart, but who would love someone like him?

Nobody that’s who.

He knew it and he was content with that. At least, that’s what he always convinced himself and told himself that he needs to be content with. Yet, fates were cruel to him because they brought you into his life, and now they had taken you away from him.

A MONTH AGO:

“C’mon Tokoyami~! It’s gonna be awesome!!” You were lulling him by the arm, a tad bit forcefully as you gave him a ticket to this Beauty and The Beast musical that you had been wanting to see for weeks. It was literally going to start in 2 hours and you JUST gave him the ticket. Tokoyami wasn’t one for spontaneous things.

He sighed when he realized he had no choice, “Very well then.” He tried to not sound annoyed, even though it was a musical so maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. He appreciated music, actors and how they could set up such a work of art.

“Hooray!!” You cheered as he felt himself being partially dragged along the ride as he often was. For a shy little thing, you were pretty chatty when it came to your friends and him for some reason.

Tokoyami would have been lying though if he said he wasn’t happy about that though. He was glad that he was one of the friends you felt you could be yourself around.

The musical was miraculous and he could see the awe and marvel in your eyes the entire time, and Tokoyami couldn’t help but admire how lovely you looked so happy. Although he was so fascinated by you that he didn’t even hear the music come to a stop as there was a brief intermission. And he started to blush quite heavily under his feathers as soon as you turned to face him with that smile and blush on your cheeks.

You opened your mouth to say something since you felt that now this would be a good time, “Tokoyami...”

“Y-Yes?” He hated himself for stuttering, but he almost had hope for a minute there but you looked just as nervous as he did. “We’re friends right...?” Dammit, that’s all you could bring yourself to ask even though you really wanted to ask something else.

Unbeknownst to you, your question both relieved and mildly disappointed Tokoyami. However, he would be more relieved because he wasn’t certain how he would react to a confession. Then again, there’s no way anyone would confess to him so he told himself to not get ahead of himself...

“Yes, I would say we are. We work together well and get along better than most of our classmates. I can even consider you a friend I have a few things in common with.” He stated with mostly formal honesty which made you smile, that was just Tokoyami for you. Always serious, always polite, but that’s why you liked him. Sure you weren’t the most serious person in the world, but you both enjoyed the same kind of gloomy aesthetic, tastes in music and you were always a fan of the gothic fashion and subculture that you knew Tokoyami was a part of.

“Aww...” And you couldn’t help but feel touched by this even though you were... too nervous to really add on to your question. “Cool... I just wanted to make sure since... I really only take my friends to cool things like this.” That was your ultimate excuse and your ultimate lie that Tokoyami would believe.

He hummed at your response, “I’m glad that you invited me (L/N).” Tokoyami then expressed his gratitude. He truly was thankful that he at least got to spend time with you. Being with you was a time of bliss and a time where he could actually relax and enjoy because it was nice to have someone to talk to about his interests and someone who was just good company

Secretly though, in this deepest abyss of his dark heart, he wished he could be someone you could like maybe more than a friend, but he would never tell you that.

No, Tokoyami wasn’t as brave as you were when it came to that kind of thing. Those were simply words he would never say.

RIGHT NOW:

Tokoyami used to enjoy the night-time, such a mysterious time that brought the beauty of darkness, sweet revelry in the dark.

Yet now it just felt painful, and only the luminous glow provided by the moon was the only thing bringing him any sense of comfort as he tried to ignore this dull ache in his heart. He wanted to blame fates for bringing you into his life, only to take you away, but in the end he knew that he had no one to blame but himself.

After all, he’s the one who last saw you before you disappeared, he’s the one who murdered you with his quirk that he couldn’t control because he was pathetic and weak. It’s only been two days, even after he watched All-Might fight off All For One, the thought of you was haunting him and now he couldn’t even bring himself to sleep.

No... it’s been two sleepless nights because he couldn’t sleep knowing that your blood was on his hands and that you weren’t going to smile at him again. Because those two nights ago was the same night that he killed you.

Everything that happened to you, it was all his fault. Now he had nothing, nobody to console him about this because he put himself in this kind of emotionally suffocating torture. He didn’t dare tell his classmates or his family though, and he was honestly glad that they weren’t home tonight because of pro-hero work.

He wanted to suffer alone in silence like he had been for the past couple of years.

He deserved this pain though, he deserved to feel this misery swallowing his soul as he could only think about the lovely memories he shared with you. Every smile you smiled, every laugh you laughed, every movie you watched with him, every song you sang and listened with him.

It brought pain upon his hollow being and he deserved every bit of it.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6BiSTFRJlw)

“And in my twisted face There's not the slightest trace Of anything that even hints of kindness” Without even thinking, the lonely raven started to sing the song he remembered from that musical you and he went to. It was one of the saddest, most tortured and heartbreaking songs he had ever heard in his life, and now he understood it more than anything in the world.

Tokoyami didn’t feel anything. Nothing but misery and bitterness he lost you, someone he liked... and dare he say loved. “And from my tortured shape No comfort, no escape I see, but deep within is utter blindness” You were the one who could comfort him, even though you didn’t know it. You brought Tokoyami comfort without even knowing it. Just by smiling at him and being kind to him brought light to his world and he missed it.

There was no longer light in his world though, not without you... “Hopeless As my dream dies As the time flies Love a lost illusion Helpless Unforgiven Cold and driven To this sad conclusion” He’d always wanted to be a hero, even when he was isolated once upon a time for his ‘scary’ quirk and less than human looking features. Tokoyami wanted to be a hero and prove that there was no need to fear the dark.

Then like many a teenage boy, he found himself a new fantasy upon spending more time with you. He almost believed that perhaps you could be with him always and be at his side in his crusade of heroism.

Yet any dream he had, it all died, now he had nothing to love because you were the one he felt love for. He damned the notion that perhaps it was just his emotions doing the thinking for him.

He loved you... “No beauty could move me No goodness improve me No power on earth, if I can't love her No passion could reach me No lesson could teach me How I could have loved her and make her love me too If I can't love her, then who?” Clenching his fists as his eyes started to well with tears he could almost see you now smiling at him from the full moon brightening up the dimmed sky. He knew you were gone though as he shook his head slowly.

Tokoyami loved you, he wanted you here so he could love you. Maybe be less of a bloody coward and tell you that he loved you so maybe, just maybe you could love me too.

But you weren’t here, and now he couldn’t even do that. Still, he felt that he deserved it. “Long ago I should have seen All the things I could have been Careless and unthinking, I moved onward” It was his fault, he lost control of his quirk, he was terrible, he was a terrible person with a terrible power. Terrible people don’t love good people, they couldn’t love good people. Tokoyami should have known better.

He should have known that he couldn’t love someone because of his dark heart and dark powers. You were light and he was darkness, so that means he couldn’t love you.

Tokoyami couldn’t love you because it wasn’t meant to be, the fact that he destroyed the light in his life meant that he couldn’t love you and would never be able to. But he was the fool who believed that someone as bright as you could love a dark creature such as himself. “No pain could be deeper No life could be cheaper No point anymore, if I can't love her No spirit could win me No hope left within me Hope I could have loved her and that she'd set me free” He raised a closed fist and brought it to the wall as the tears finally escaped and ran down his feathered cheeks and dripped to the floor. God he could feel his soul dying the more he thought about his foolish attempts at being your friend, and believing that he had a chance at loving someone like you.

You believed in him, he knew that because you were kind to him, smiled at him, and you hugged him. You didn’t turn away from him, you actually hugged him and warmed his heart. Those moments that others would dismiss as minimal decency to Tokoyami made him believe that he could be loved, that he deserved to actually be loved.

There was no more of that though, no hope, Tokoyami lost any hope of feeling love and being loved because he couldn’t love the person he did love. No, he was doomed. Doomed to be lost to this darkness forever without any sort of love and happiness because losing you meant that fates just didn’t have it planned for him.

Tokoyami wasn’t meant to be loved, he wasn’t meant to love. He knew it, he’s always known it.

Yet he couldn’t stop missing you, he would never stop missing you. Even as he resigned himself back into the darkness, his withering heart still ached for you. Tokoyami still loved you even as he stared upwards at the moonlight being shrouded by the blackened clouds.

Just like his soul, the light was gone and now there was nothing but the darkness to engulf everything else. As Tokoyami brought himself to lie on his bed, he saw your visage flash through his misty eyes one last time before he allowed them to close and could only pray for an ending for him.

“But it's not to be If I can't love her Let the world be done with me...”

#fumikage tokoyami #bnha tokoyami #boku no hero academia tokoyami #tokoyami x reader #mha tokoyami #tokoyami fukimage #tokoyami x reader angst #tokoyami fumikage x reader #beauty and the beast #tokoyami imagines #bnha x reader #boku no hero academia #mha #mha x reader #my hero academia #my hero academia angst #mha angst #bnha angst

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blake-belladonna-defence-force · 5 years ago

Note

Weird fic idea for the Faunus!Yang AU: some twat grabs Yangs tail and she almost literally explodes into a fireball.

I was so torn between writing this fic and writing Yang as a different type of faunus. So I combined them! Hope you don’t mind 😅

Let me know if you want to see Lion Faunus Yang in this situation. Though I might set it in Atlas...

This version of Yang is inspired by @kusnilive ‘s golden retriever Yang which can be found here https://kusnilive.tumblr.com/post/189651934188/blake-belladonna-defence-forces-latest-fics

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“Yang?” Blake said as she walked into the room, biting back a fond smile when her friend’s golden tail wagged at the sound of her voice. It was endearing in a way.

“Blake!” Yang grinned up at her from their desk happily. “What’s up?”

“Oh nothing.” Blake said as she dropped her bag to her bed. “I was just wondering if you wanted to go out for a bite to eat, if you aren’t busy.”

“I’m not!”

Blake turned and quirked an eyebrow at a now sheepish partner as her tail waved side to side slowly.

“I mean… I’m good, ya know?” Yang said as she tucked her hands behind her head, appearing nonchalant. “I could go for a snack.” The way her tail picked up the pace gave away her excitement.

Yang glanced behind her and gave a sheepish shrug.

“What can I say? I enjoy hanging out with you.” Yang said with a shrug and lopsided smile.

Blake rolled her eye and pulled out her combat clothes.

“Let me change and then we can head out.”

“Sure thing!”

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

As the two girls made their way to their favourite ramen place, Blake found herself glancing behind her every now and then when she felt a light whack against her back.

Yang was, apparently, in such a delighted mood that her tail kept accidentally hitting Blake as it wagged. Not that Blake minded, involuntary trait movement was a hell of a thing. She could never be irritated at Yang for hers. Then again, she was rarely irritated at Yang for anything. Exasperated, yes. But never genuinely annoyed.

“So then- hey!” When she heard the familiar sound of Yang’s semblance activating, Blake turned just time to see Yang, hair and tail lit up, slam a man against a wall, eyes shifting red as she glowered at him. “You wanna try that again, pal?”

“Hey, lady! Control your bitch! Put her on a leash or something!”

Blake very calmly strode forward and glance between Yang and the offender.

“The only bitch that I see here is you.” She said, glaring daggers daggers at him.

The man sputtered for a moment before Yang turned, throwing him to the side and looking down at him.

“Just get out of here.” She sneered. “You’re not worth our time.”

Both girls watched as the man ran. When Blake turned to Yang, her eyes were still red, fiery tail held high and wagging slowly and purposefully, hair aflame.

“Yang.” Blake called, getting her friend’s attention. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Not really.” Yang sighed as she closed her eyes and breathed slowly, hair and tail slowing flickering out. When she opened her eyes, they were lilac. But no less angry. “I hate my tail being touched. Just as much as my hair. And for some asshat to pull on it…”

Blake frowned. She knew what that was like. Her ears had been a target before she had taken to covering them. She couldn’t help but feel guilty for covering them when her partner suffered through the torment that she could easily hide. She felt like a coward in comparison.

“Is there anything I can do?” She asked quietly, a little unsure. “It’s awful when this happens. How these racist bastards think they can just pull on our traits like it’s some sick joke!” Her voice had dropped several octaves in anger, fighting against every instinct to flatten her ears.

“No, I just want to hang out with my partner and forget about that asshole.” Yang sighed, her tail dropping. It was a rare sight. One that tugged at Blake’s heart strings.

“I… think we can manage that.” She offered Yang a small smile and put an hesitant arm around her waist, earning a small surprised hum from Yang before she draped an arm over Blake’s shoulders in return as they made their way to the ramen shop.

Soon, Blake felt a familiar gust of wind as Yang’s slowly started to wag again. Apparently, Blake had made the right call. She felt a starting burst of fondness for her friend and gently lowered her head and butted it against Yang’s jaw.

Instantly, Yang’s tail picked up speed, causing Blake to smile softly. She still felt uncomfortable with just anyone in her space. But Yang? She had come to enjoy being near the other girl. Her warmth and kindness creating a sense of safety that Blake had been missing for a long time. She was fun and kind. Intelligent, too.

She could definitely get used to spending time with Yang. Having her be a part of her life, for however long that was.

The thought was exciting. It was terrifying. But despite that… there was something about Yang that made her feel so undeniably safe.

Maybe it would be okay if she lowered her walls. Just a little. Just for Yang.

“By the way, Blake?”

“Hmm?”

“I love it when you’re feisty. Calling that guy a bitch? Perfection.”

Blake snorted indignantly, eyes rolling and cheeks warming up.

“I’m pretty sure most people hate my attitude.”

“Well, I like it. You know what you stand for. I respect that.”

Blake’s cheeks were definitely warm as she mumbled a quiet thank you.

Those walls were feeling harder to keep up with each moment she spent with Yang.

She couldn’t bring herself to try to stop them from coming down. Not right now.

#rwby #blake belladonna #bumbleby #yang xiao long #fanfic

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mcrmadness · 4 years ago

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I'm again making myself to ponder things when I should sleep. I have made a couple of posts where I say I might be aplatonic (as I'm already aroace) but the more I google it, the less I understand. The meaning seems to change based on who you're asking from. Tumblr is full of posts that say a) aplatonic is when you don't desire a queerplatonic relationship or so OR b) when you don't want to have friends.

Then I'm finding terms platonic love and platonic attraction. Some sources say there's no such thing as platonic ATTRACTION, then some sources say it's when you just see someone (random) and want to be their friend. Most sources say you define the whole difference between platonic and everything else yourself and that no one can give a simple answer to it because it's different and individual for everyone.

And then there's "squishes" aka platonic crushes. I don't understand this either. I think somewhere it was explained as wanting to be just the most important person in someone's life and that the feeling is mutual with said person. Somewhere it was the person you want to be in a QPR with. Somewhere it was called as a "friend crush" ans I've used this word only about when I see a new interesting looking person and think to myself "oh I wonder how would it be like their friend???" and apparently it's not what a squish is..? And I don't understand what is it, then.

So I'm here just like ???????????? because I just wanted to read how do people experience platonic love so that I could compare my feelings or lack of them to theirs to know if I'm even capable of it. For a moment I thought maybe I'm demiplatonic but if it's not an attraction but more like a very strong type of a friendship... I just don't know anything anymore.

I really dislike the word "love" anyway. The Finnish version is even stronger and I think I stopped using it when I was less than 10 years old, as I started to understand more about things. I don't understand the concept nor what it feels like. Which is why it's so hard for me to figure out if I'm capable of platonic love or not. Because I don't have anything to compare it to. I use "love" only when I talk about things or animals, or human made things like bands, but I never use it about humans and never say it to anyone, not even to animals (I don't even e.g. kiss animals ever despite really loving animals). Even when I say I love a band, I mean I love the band that just happens to be made by humans but I don't say I'd love the humans in that band. I love the concept and the concept only, and what the people behind it do.

I do enjoy deep friendships and emotional intimacy and some friendships are deeper than others and it's very rare to find such deeper ones. Which is why I started wondering if it's "demiplatonic" in action here since I don't get too sentimental with people too easily, and even then if I do, it's very rare and afterwards I might still start regretting and feeling like I let out too much and wish I had a way to push all those words back in. As when I'm not feeling sentimental, they make me embarrassed and weirded out, but if I do feel sentimental, it makes me feel really good if I for chance also say something instead of being my normal "cold-hearted" self. I'm actually sensitive and sensitive, I just hide it very well. Partially it's also my adhd, me getting excited and not being able to contain myself plus I tend to mirror people. Deeper friendships are usually a result of the friend doing or saying something that makes it deeper for maybe both because I am a coward and socially awkward and don't know how to do that or sometimes might do so accidentally without realizing it and then I worry if I was too much and if I went too far just because I don't always get social cues and hidden rules.

But also - me not knowing what platonic love feels like might just be lack of experience. I don't really have friends to meet and I've never been too close with those friends who are not blood-relatives; and with online friends it's possible to form really deep friendships too but you still can't know how would it be to hang out for longe periods of time together. I have had online friends who were basically some of ny best friends until I met them in person and it didn't click as much as it did online. Online friends are important but the fantasy in your head is pure fantasy based on interaction over internet but it might be totally different from the reality because you don't know the other person's quirks and other habits that are present only when you are physically in the same space.

***

Talking of those attraction things and whatnot, I kinda divided these all into a few categories for myself, for my personal use, to help myself understand the concepts better. Here's what I think of them and if it's an attraction, do I experience it?

Sexual attraction: I'm asexual and can't fully even understand what it's supposed to feel like so nope, I don't feel this. I'm also sex-repulsed.

Romantic attraction: I'm aromantic too, look at previous answer.

Sensual attraction: I'm touch-repulsed, and also have never felt this kind of attraction ever either.

Aesthetic attraction: I do feel this one! I just wanna observe and watch from afar because they please my eye. I don't necessarily desire to even befriend them, they just look nice.

Platonic attraction: If it exists, I think this is my type of a "friend crush" where I just see interesting looking person and feel like I wanna get to know them and be their friend.

Platonic love: I don't know. If it's possible to use same terms of this, then I think it might be possible to be demiplatonic. Meaning that it needs a strong emotional bond before anything.

Then there's all these other relationships things mentioned and I don't desire any kind of relationship, not even a queerplatonic one. I do kinda like the idea of "the mutual best-of-the-best friend" but mainly because of my fear of abandonment and how I always feel I'm left alone when allo(romantic)s find spouses and I'm not looking for a partner. I don't want wvwna commune, I want to live alone in my own space without sharing anything with anyone else. I'm also touch repulsed like I said there so any kind of even friendly physical intimacy is (most likely) out of question. I let people hug me if they want to and if they make it short, but I'm never gonna be the one to place a finger on anyone at first, in fact I have never answered hugs, they confuse me too much and touching is either too overwhelming because of sensory issues or maybe I have social anxiety related traumas from school, I don't know.

I still don't know what a squish is. I do hyperfixate on people but it's hard to say if it's just ADHD or an actual "squish", since it's mostly that I just can't stop thinking about someone and talking with them makes my day always but that's all. Sometimes it makes me feel bad because I don't like hyperfixating on people. I mean, literally I DO like it because dopamine~ but I just have a bad conscience because I don't want my brain to think people are just free sources of dopamine. And it's kinda annoying because can't talk with a person 24/7 because THEY'RE A LIVING ORGANISM WITH A WILL OF THEIR OWN and hyperfixating on something like a video game makes much more sense and is less frustrating because people always leave and I'm left with hyperfixation/hyperfocus I can't fill but a video game will never say they have to go and I can play it for 12h in a row if I really desire to.

But yeah, let's see if this cleared up any thoughts for me...

#mcrmadness' deep thoughts #long post #human relationships are hard #Nice it's almost 9am again -> me to sleep

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cordytriestowrite · 5 years ago

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Keeping Up Appearances

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Chapter 13

Summary: When an old friend comes back into your life you struggle to maintain the lies you've told. Bucky Barnes has no idea what he's gotten into by agreeing to be your fake boyfriend, but you have no idea what to do about the very real feelings you have for him.

Just the epilogue to be posted from here! Thank you all who have waited so patiently for these final chapters.

Bucky had called it neutral ground and at the time you agreed, but seeing light strain to shine through the dirty windows of the pool hall only revealed how dated the furniture was and how dirty the ceiling was with cigarette smoke. Pepper wouldn't be caught dead in this place, but when you sent her the address she made no attempt to change the venue to something higher end. The fact that she even agreed to come to Brooklyn had shocked you. You could only reason that your texts puzzled her enough to brave the trip.

Pepper I really need to talk to you.

She tried calling within five minutes but you declined the call, too much of a coward to plan this out over the phone.

Not a phone call kind of talk. Can you meet me tomorrow?

The clock above the door was broken but a quick glance at your phone told you the hour was near. A text from Pepper timestamped five minutes ago made you swallow nervously.

Almost there

The place was nearly empty, only two tables occupied by a group of older men wearing matching club jackets. They smoked and sipped beers while making the occasional exclamation at a bad shot but they left you and Bucky alone.

"I set up a table for us in the corner."

"It's clean?"

Bucky nodded, looking just as worried as you for the arrival of your final guest.

"Dirty martini." Bucky gave you a confused look.

"She likes dirty martinis." You clarified, biting your lip as you fussed with your hands, pulling at your fingers until the tendons burned.

"What do you want?"

The thought of consuming anything made your throat burn.

"Just water."

"Okay, doll. Go sit down."

Bucky kissed your forehead, holding your face in his hands delicately.

"It's going to be okay."

The chair squeaked loudly under your weight and the table wobbled if you put any weight on it. You took a few coasters littering the tables around you and wedged them under the wobbly table leg.

"Oh thank god, I thought I gave the wrong address to Happy."

Pepper's voice came from directly behind you, loud and lively. Your head bashed against the bottom of the table as you lurched up to see her. Taking deep breaths you clutched at the tender spot and righted yourself, slowly this time.

"Nope, this is the right place."

Pepper shot you a smile and walked around the table, taking a seat silently in the chair next to you. You placed her clutch on the table and let her eyes roam the venue, lighting up as she looked toward the bar.

"Oh, Bucky's here! Are you two back together? Is this why you wanted to talk to me? Oh my god are you pregnant?"

The last question came out in a whispering hiss, something Pepper only did when she thought she was getting some good gossip. You almost wished that was the news you were sharing, Pepper would be more pleased you got knocked up than what she was about to learn.

"No! Not pregnant but Bucky and I...it's complicated."

In the spirit of truth you knew you should also admit to Pepper that you and Bucky were a ruse, but would it really matter, or would it be the final nail in the coffin of your friendship?

Bucky was walking back to the table, a martini glass in one hand and two mugs, held by the handles, in the other. He distributed the drinks and planted a kiss of greeting on Pepper's cheek before sitting down. He looked nervous now and you reached for his hand. He accepted your comfort and offered his own by swiping his thumb across the back of your hand.

"You're drinking water…"

"Peps I'm not pregnant!"

You quirked a brow in disbelief as she took a sip from her glass. If she saw the uneasiness on yours and Bucky's faces she didn't let it affect her. A content smile sat on her flawless face as she awaited more information. Bucky gave your hand a firm squeeze that was on the verge of being painful, but it was the push you needed to get started.

"Pepper, I haven't been completely honest with you."

Her smile faltered, but only for a second before it was back, less wide but still there pairing with her wide, open stare.

"About what?"

With a quick glance at Bucky you continued.

"A lot has happened since you left."

Each word was pushed from your mouth by your tongue, the weight of them seeming so much heavier against your lips than in your head. Pepper waited, the only indication of her impatience was the way she tapped her pinky finger against the table.

"I'm poor."

Pepper blinked twice quickly, then shook her head slightly as if her ears were fighting against hearing the words.

"Broke? How broke?"

You let out an airy, self deprecating chuckle, pushing your fingers against the side of your neck.

"All my credit cards are maxed out and I've taken on a second job recently, but I'm still having trouble."

Her mouth opened and closed, face scrunched up as she tried to find the words to say. Bucky gave your hand a quick squeeze.

"Okay." The word was drawn out as Pepper's brain worked through her next thought.

"Are you asking for money?"

"No!"

Your shout startled a few men across the hall, the one bent over the pool table cursing loudly as he missed his shot. You cleared your throat and spoke at a more reasonable level.

"No, I am telling you this because it goes bigger than just being...poor."

You glanced up, into Pepper's eyes, as you said the last word. Poor. It was a word you used to spit out of your mouths with disgust before cackling at those to whom the word applied. It fell from your lips now with no venom, just a sad reality. Pepper's gaze was intently on you, trying to find something in your eyes that you couldn't quite identify. Her mouth was set into a hard line of concentration but she didn't look disgusted by you like you had imagined.

"My father co-owned some supermarkets upstate."

This information was more for Bucky than Pepper, but it felt better to explain the whole story, or maybe you were just stalling.

"The markets were modest, we lived comfortably, but right before high school things changed. I remember my dad taking us out to dinner more and we moved to a bigger house and my older brother got a brand new Lexus for his birthday."

All this Pepper knew, whether she remembered was a different story. You couldn't look at her or Bucky so instead you watched the condensation gathering on the outside of your mug, choosing a heavy drop as a focal point.

"My dad said they had made some executive changes that made the chain more profitable and as a young kid I didn't question it. I had my car, my clothes, and two rooms; one that I used as a closet."

"I remember." Pepper practically whispered and when you gathered the courage to look up at her she was looking down at her own drink with a small smile half hidden by the hand supporting her chin.

"When it was time to pick a college I knew money wasn't a problem and I just wanted to stay with my friends so I followed you. Everything was great until a few months before we were supposed to travel the world. The money just...stopped showing up in my account."

Your mouth was dry and your hand was shaking when you picked up your mug and took a large gulp. Bucky's thumb was rubbing against your hand again. The story was getting easier to tell and soon it would be all out there. Whatever came after that you still weren't prepared for.

"For months my parents told me everything was fine, that there was just an issue with the bank. I figured, as long as my account was back up by the time we left then who cares?"

"But you couldn't come with me."

It was a fact. Pepper's voice was even and clear. She didn't sound like she was mad, about missing out on the trip or your current conversation.

"My father was arrested for embezzlement and money laundering three days before you left. I lost contact with my family all together a few days later."

"How did I miss this?"

Pepper had finally shifted from her casual lean against the table. She leaned back, arms crossed, her tongue poking out as her eyes darted back and forth across the table. Your laugh was hollow as you shrugged one shoulder.

"I like to think I hid it pretty well."

You didn't want to look at Bucky, just watching Pepper's reaction was enough to make you want to crawl into your bed and not come out for a few years. His hand was still entangled with yours and you took that as a sign he didn't hate you just yet, but that didn't mean he wouldn't.

"You were gone. I wasn't going out anymore. Police were starting to show up at my apartment and calling me during classes. I dropped out after I couldn't pay for fall semester. The bank took all the money in my account, they took my car, they took anything that could repay what my father took but it wasn't enough.

"I was called to the trial and had to take a bus to get there. I sat in the third row and watched my father be sentenced to ten years in prison."

Pepper's hand was grabbing at the one not already held by Bucky. Sympathy poured from her and it made you sick.

"Oh, honey, I am so sorry. But you couldn't help it."

"It's my fault."

Pepper looked like she wanted to counter that but maybe it was the hardness in your eyes that made her hold her tongue.

"Me and my big mouth. My dad co-owned the stores with a partner who was more hands off, but his son went to school was us. I thought that he was cute and we went out a few times but he questioned by designer clothes and nice car. He ghosted me a few weeks before the investigation."

"You don't know it was your fault."

Bucky spoke up for the first time and your heart started to beat so hard it almost burst from your chest. When you tried to speak again you could only let out a painful sob and had to down the rest of your water before you spoke again.

"He was a witness. During my father's trial. He had photos of my things, bank statements I had laying around, he had enough evidence to convince his father to call the police and press charges. Brock Rumlow swore in and winked at me and I knew I had done this to my family."

Your hands were empty, you had pulled them away to hide your tears. Every cell in your body shook with guilt. You hadn't spoken to your parents or brother since the trial and every say since then you had worked to keep yourself afloat. Every day since then you had lied and hid your reality from your best friend, but nothing was hidden from her anymore, besides your true relationship with Bucky.

Your fingers were stained by your running makeup, you knew you looked terrible and your voice would be strained, but you needed to tell her about you and Bucky. You needed to her to know.

Except when you pulled your hands away to tell her Pepper was gone, only a dirty martini left in her wake.

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wonderfulworldofmichaelford · 5 years ago

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Michael in the Mainstream: The Chris Columbus Harry Potter Films

Here’s a bold stance to take these days: I actually still really love the Harry Potter franchise.

Yes, this series hasn’t had a huge impact on my own writing; my stories I’m working on draw far more from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and the Percy Jackson series than they do Harry Potter. And yes, the author of the franchise has outed herself as a transphobic scumbag whose every post-script addition to her franchise has been an unprecedented bad move (save, perhaps, for allowing Johnny Depp the opportunity to work during a very trying time in his life). But while the author is a horrendous person and the story hasn’t exactly given me as much to work with as other stories have, there are so many great themes, ideas, and characters that even now I’d still say this is one of my favorite series of all time. The world of Harry Potter is just so fascinating, the usage of folklore is interesting, and it has one of the most menacing and disturbing villains in young adult literature and manages to play the whole “love prevails over evil” cliché in such a way that it actually works.

And, of course, then we get into what I’m really here to talk about: the adaptations. The movies are not entirely better than the books; while I do think most of the films are on par with their novel counterparts, and they certainly do a good job of scrubbing out some of the iffier elements in Rowling’s writing, I still think there’s a certain, ahem, magic that the books have that gives them a slight edge. But, look, I’m a movie reviewer, and these films are some of my favorites of all time, and as much as I love the books I’m not going to sit around and say the books surpass them in every single way. There’s a lot to love in these films, and hopefully I’ll be able to convey that as I review the series.

Of course, the only place to truly start is the Chris Columbus duology. Columbus is not the most impressive director out there – this is the man who gave us Rent, Pixels, and that abominable adaptation of Percy Jackson after all – but early on in his career he made a name for himself directing whimsical classics such as the first two Home Alone movies and Mrs. Doubtfire. Those films are wonderfully cast and have a lot of charm, and thankfully this is the Columbus we got to bring us the first two entries in Harry’s story.

One of the greatest strengths of the first two Harry Potter movies is just the sheer, unrelenting magic and wonder they invoke. They’re so whimsical, so enchanting, so fun; they fully suck you into the world Rowling created and utilize every tool they can to keep you believing. Everything in these films serves to heighten the magic; practical effects and CGI come together with fantastic costuming and set design to make the world of wizards and Hogwarts school feel oh so real. And of course, none of this would be even remotely as effective if not for the legendary score by John Williams, who crafted some of the most iconic and memorable compositions of the 21st century for these films. In short: the tone of these films is pretty perfect for what they are, and every element in them works to make sure you are buying into this tone at every moment.

The other massively important element is the casting, and by god, the casting in these films is simply perfect. Of course, the title characters and his peers have to be unknowns, and thankfully they managed to pluck out some brilliant talent. I don’t need to tell you how good Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson are, even back in these films, but I do feel the need to say that Rupert Grint is vastly underappreciated; I really don’t think the films would work quite as well without his presence, because he does bring that goofy charm Harry’s friend group needs to balance it out. Matthew Lewis is the adorable coward Neville Longbottom and Tom Felton is the snotty brat Draco Malfoy, and though both of their roles are fairly minor in the first two films they manage to make their mark. The second movie pulls in Bonnie Wright as Ginny, and again, I’m gonna say she’s rather underrated; I think she did quite a fine job in her role.

But of course, the real draw of these films is the sheer amount of star power they have in terms of U.K. actors. You’ve got Maggie Smith (McGonagall), Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid), Warwick Davis (Flitwick and, bafflingly, only the voice of Griphook, who was played by the American Verne Troyer in the first film for… some reason), John Hurt (Ollivander), Toby Jones (Dobby), John Cleese (Nearly Headless Nick)… and this is only the first two films. The movies would continue pulling in stars like it was Smash Ultimate, determined to tell you that “EVERYONE IS HERE” and be the ultimate culmination of U.K. culture.

Of course, even in the first few movies there are those who truly stand out as perfect. Smith and Coltrane are most certainly the perfect embodiment of their characters, but I think a great deal of praise should be given to Richard Griffiths as Uncle Vernon; the man is a volatile, raging bastard the likes of which you rarely see, and he is at once repulsive and comical. He’s pretty much the British answer to J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson. Then we have Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy in the second film, and he is just delightfully, deliciously devilish and dastardly. Isaacs actually came up with a lot of Mr. Malfoy’s quirks himself, such as the long blonde hair, the cane wand, and the part where he tries to murder a small child in cold blood for releasing his house elf (which came about because he forgot literally every other spell and had just read Goblet of Fire, so...). Then of course there is Kenneth Branagh as Gilderoy Lockhart, and… well, it’s Kenneth Branagh as Gilderoy Lockhart. I don’t think you could find a more perfect casting choice (except perhaps Hugh Grant, who was originally cast but had to drop out). He just really hams it up as the obnoxious blowhard and helps make him much more tolerable than his book counterpart, though he does unfortunately have the lack of plot relevance Lockhart did in the book, which is a problem unique to Lockhart. Fun fact, he is the ONLY Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher in the series to not ultimately matter in regards to the main story.

Of course, the greatest casting choice of them all is most certainly The late, great Alan Rickman as everyone’s favorite greasy potions professor, Severus Snape. I think Rickman goes a long way towards helping make Snape one of the greatest characters of all time, with everything about his performance just being perfect, and what makes it even better is how it would ultimately subvert his typical roles (though that’s a story for a different review). I don’t think either of the first films is really his best outing, butt he first one definitely sets him up splendidly. Snape barely has a role in the second film – something that greatly irritated Rickman during the movie’s production apparently – but he still does a good job with what limited screentime he has. Then we have Richard Harris as Dumbledore. Due to his untimely death, he only played Dumbledore in the first two films, but he really did give a wonderful performance that had all the charm, whimsy, and wonder the Dumbledore of the first few books was full of. The thing is, I don’t know if he would have been able to make the transition into the more serious and darker aspects of Dumbledore that popped up in the later books. I guess we’ll never know, which is truly a shame, but at the very least he gave us a good showing with what little time he had.

My only problems with the first two films are extremely minor, though there is at least one somewhat big issue I have. You see, while I do like everything about these films, I feel like they’re a bit too loyal to the books, not doing enough to distinguish themselves as their own thing like films such as Prisoner of Azkaban would do. But if I’m being honest, this is seriously nitpicky; it’s not like this really makes me think less of the films, because they have way more going for than against them. Stuff like this and the cornier early performances from the kid actors are to be expected when a franchise is still finding its legs. It really is more of a personal thing for me; I prefer when creators allow their own vision to affect an adaptation so that I can see how they perceive and interpret the work, but at the same time the first two Harry Potter books are all about setting up and the main plot doesn’t really kick off until the third and fourth books, so… I guess everything balances out?

It is a bit odd looking back at these first two films and noting how relatively self-contained they are compared to the denser films that were to come; you could much more easily jump into either one of these films and really get what’s going on compared to later movies, where you would almost definitely be lost if you tried to leap in without an inkling of the plot. But that is something I do like, since the first two films have really strong plots that focus more on the magical worldbuilding and developing the characters, setting up an incredibly strong foundation for the series to come. There are a few trims of the plot here and there, but it’s not nearly as major as some things that would end up cut later.

But, really, what’s there to cut? Like I said, these movies are more about the worldbuilding and setting up for later plotlines. They’re relatively simple stories here, and I think that’s kind of their big strengths, because it lets the characters and world shine through. The first film honestly is just Harry experiencing the wizarding world for the first time, with him going from scene to scene and just taking in all of the magical sights. Most of the big plot stuff really happens towards the end, when they make the journey down to the Philosopher’s Stone. The second movie is where things get a lot more plot-heavy, with the film focusing on the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets and all of the troubles that the basilisk within causes. Despite how grim the stories can get, especially the second one, these films never really lose that whimsical, adventurous tone, which is incredibly impressive all things considered.

It’s not really criticisms, but there are a few things that make me a bit sad didn’t happen in the first couple of films, or at the very least offer up some interesting “what could have been” scenarios. I think the most notable missed opportunity is the decision to axe Peeves, despite him being planned and having Rik Mayall film scenes with him only to have said scenes left on the cutting room floor, never to see the light of day; Mayall had some rather colorful words to say about the film after it came out. Sean Connery passing up on playing Dumbledore is another missed opportunity, but Connery has always been awful at picking roles and hates fantasy, so this isn’t shocking to me in the slightest. Terry Gilliam being straight-up told by Rowling she didn’t want him directing is another sad but necessary decision, as was Spielberg dropping out; neither guy would have been a very good fit for the franchise, honestly. Alan Cumming turning down the role of Lockhart because Grint and Watson were going to be paid more than him is a bit… lame, but also I don’t think he’d have been as good as Branagh in the role; as much as I love Cumming, Branagh has this grandiose stage actor hamminess that Lockhart desperately needs. There’s a lot of fascinating trivia facts I learned writing this review, and a lot of it paints some pretty weird pictures of how this franchise could have turned out in another world.

Chamber of Secrets and Sorcerer's Stone are both absolutely fantastic, whimsical fantasy movies, and I’d definitely recommend both of them to anyone who likes the fantasy genre. It’s a great jumping off point for younger people who may not be able to handle something as intense or heavy as, say, The Lord of the Rings making it a very useful gateway drug into fantasy, though it still manages to work perfectly as fun, engaging fantasy on its own. I’m personally more of a fan of the third and eighth movies but I can definitely hear arguments for either of these two being someone’s favorites or even the best in the franchise, because they invoke a lot of nostalgia and charm just thinking about them, good memories of seeing them with my family when I was a kid.

Some have come to view Chamber of Secrets less positively over the years, seeing it as an awkward transitional phase between the lighter, more whimsical adventures and the darker plot-driven ones, but honestly, Between the Columbus films, Chamber is definitely the superior one. It takes everything that was great about the first film and builds on it, and also gives us Lucius Malfoy, Dobby, Gilderoy Lockhart, and way better special effects and a more consistent narrative. The first film is still a classic, of course, but it’s almost episodic in nature and a lot more focused on showing Hogwarts to us than delivering a story. Still, it definitely has the plus of having way more Snape than the second film did, and there’s no arguments against that from me! Both films are very good at what they do, and both definitely deserve a watch.

#Michael in the Mainstream #Harry Potter #Christopher Columbus #fantasy #fantasy film #Daniel Radcliffe #Emma Watson #Rupert Grint #Alan Rickman

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