#immediately upon their reunion he uses her first name

[loderlied]

truly so funny how cherry would have a rage aneurysm at me calling her cherry on here. it’s just what she gets referred to as the most in the story so it’s easier this way sorry girl

[armoredisopod]

Arknights Spring Festival 2025 PVs

New Operators

Surfer, 5* Agent Vanguard

It's sunny out, wanna go for a walk?

Xingzhu, 5* Welfare Abjurer Supporter

The pen is never sharp, but paper falls like it's flying.

Blaze the Igniting Spark, 6* Primal Caster

I'm back! Right then, it's signed with my real name, Gù Zhúhuáng. Oh Doctor, you don't have to call me anything different, you can still call me Blaze.

Yu, 6* Limited Primal Protector Defender

I'm not gonna give it away for free, hehe, but the price is negotiable.

Of all the flavors in the world, the fullness of life is the best them of all.

Operator Outfits Update

4 new additions for the Made by 0011 brand

Almond Platter - Almond

Prairie Pals - Bena

Youthful Journey - Zuo Le (21 OP)

Spring Feast - Shu (21 OP)

Operator Modules Update

Xingzhu being part of the Abjurer Supporter branch immediately gets her module

BLS-X module base effect increases her healing to 100% of her ATK

Earthshaker Guard branch gets 1 module type

Lin, Zuo Le and Chongyue get their second module

PLX-Y module base effect increases Lin's damage the more enemies are in her range (up to +15%)

SBL-Y module base effect allows Zuo Le to survive with 30% HP upon reaching 0 HP for the first time each deployment

FGT-Y module base effect increases Chongyue's ASPD by +10 when he is above 50% HP

Dusk and Eunectes get specialized modules

Dusk gets an Integrated Strategies module

Eunectes gets a Reclamation Algorithm module

Events and Stories

Such is the Joy of Our Reunion, the next installment of the Sui storyline taking place in the culinary city of Bai Zao

Regardless whether you are worried about family matters or matters of national security, when you're at the dinner table all that matters is a pair of chopsticks.

If you're alive, how come you're not eating properly? It's time for dinner. Go wash up and get ready to eat——

Operator Archives update for Yu, Lin, Wanqing and Grain Buds

Misc Stuff

New QoL features

New activity rooms that players can decorate, operators assigned to these rooms can be controlled and moved around the base, also players can use emojis here for fun

The reception room has been expanded and can be decorated with Reception Room exclusive decor items

Dualchips will only take 1 second to make in the Factory

Added dorm rotation locks, operators in the locked slot will not be affected by the dorm rotation button

Added remaining working time display for certain base facilities and a notification option for shift rotations and operators being fully rested in the settings

Performance upgrades for Workshop, Offices, Training Room, Elevators and other facilities

In-game mail players receive can be stamped and stored in the mail folder where players can review them

Added a Module Showroom where players can conveniently view and manage module information

Archetto, Iris and Beanstalk added to Recruitment

Blue Poison's [Shoal Beat] Outfit will be available in the certs shop to players that don't have it

Livestream Stuff

Showcased Yu, a 6* Primal Protector Defender that specializes in inflicting Burn buildup

First talent makes him deal Arts damage and Burn buildup to enemies he blocks and gives him Sanctuary while blocking

Second talent makes Yu recover HP and elemental HP every second when there is at least a certain amount of ally units on the field

Skill 1 passively makes him more likely to be attacked, when active it increases his Max HP & DEF and makes enemies that attack him take Burn buildup

Skill 2 increases his Block Count, ATK & DEF, makes his attacks deal Arts damage, and upon skill activation it immediately deals Arts damage to all enemies in his skill range and teleports all the hit ground enemies to his tile

Skill 3 increases his Max HP, ATK & DEF and makes his second talent apply to all operators, upon skill activation it generates a firewall that spans across the entire battlefield, operator attacks that deal Arts damage against enemies on the opposite side of the firewall will additionally deal Burn buildup based on Yu's ATK, enemy projectiles that hit the firewall have a chance to be nullified

Showcased Blaze the Igniting Spark, a 6* Primal Caster that takes advantage of Burn Burst

First talent activates when Burn Burst triggers on any enemy on the field, deal more Elemental damage to them based on Blaze's ATK and she recovers some HP

Second talent activates when Blaze is defeated, instead of retreating she will instead be knocked down and she gains a large amount of Barrier, she cannot attack or be healed while downed but she recovers HP every second, once fully healed she will revive and Stun all nearby enemies for a few seconds

S1 drops a fire field on the operator with highest Max HP in her range, it deals Arts damage every second and Burn buildup based on the damage dealt by the fire field, lasting for several seconds

S2 changes her range, increases her attack interval, increases her ATK and allows her to attack multiple targets at once, she loses HP with each attack but the enemies she attacks leaves a fire trail, enemies in the fire trail have reduced Movement Speed, receive Arts damage and Burn buildup based on the damage dealt by the fire trail

S3 changes her range, greatly shortens her attack interval, increases her ATK and makes her attacks AoE, if the enemies she hits are under Burn Burst status she deals additional Elemental damage to them, it is an ammo skill that makes her lose HP every second but when Burn Burst triggers on any enemy on the field she gains more ammo, skill can be deactivated manually

Showcased the event mechanic, Fire Stoves powered by chopstick enemies that have hit-based HP, chopsticks will go into one of the 2 stoves on the field depending on their state, enemy chopsticks can be attacked and converted into allied chopsticks and vice versa, when fully charged the allied stove will summon a spirit dragon that deals massive true damage to all enemies in its path

The cost required to spark Nian will be reduced to 200 starting from this event, the cost required to spark Skadi the Corrupting Heart will be reduced to 200 in the CN 6th anniversary event

Announced CC#3 Battleplan Extinguished Sins which is confirmed to have Ep14 enemies and mechanics

IS#3 will gain 3 more difficulty levels up to Surging Waves 18

Starting from SW16 there is a new feature where players can suppress Rejection effects and gain "Genomes" at the end of each battle

At SW17 Rejections will be replaced by Combined Rejections

At SW18, Elite and Leader enemies take -50% Physical and Arts damage for 20s after entering the field, and their ATK is increased by +30%

Rhodes Island Icebreaker Games will return with new features as an annual gamemode

Players can select their preferred play style before matches to obtain their preferred buffs and better communicate their gameplay to other players

Players can swap lineups

More levels and difficulties will be added to Regular Events

New balls and enemy units added to Positional Football

New mechanics and boss added to Bastion Defense

Players can take commemorative photos of their units with their teammates after the match

A new outfit for Vermeil and Originium Slug emojis are some of the rewards players can get from IG#1

Showcased the new base update features such as a music player that can change the background music in the base (limited to main menu background themes) and an info board that displays your friends that recently visited

Announced the next story collection event in involving Eblana, Talulah and Amiya

Teased the next event featuring Eblana

Announced Episode 15, the start of Act III of the main story where Rhodes Island returns to Rim Billiton and cliffhangers from Ep14 will be resolved

Announced an in-game event timeline that puts all the main story chapters, intermezzo, side stories and story collection in chronological order

[teddypickrwritings]

Hiiiii yaaa, im not sure if your request were open but if not, I apologies for my clumsiness, Im obsessed w your writing style... Could I ask for a one shot of Ithaqua x reader pls- or maybe.... Childhood friend!reader 😭😭 fluff fluff fluffff if you're in the mood ✨

Snowy Reunion - Night Watch x Childhood Friend Reader

A/N: Don’t apologize for being awkward, it’s okay!! And my requests are always open! I’m always in the mood for fluff stuff. 🩵

You were lonely for most of your childhood, making acquaintances but never an actual friend. Those weak friendships didn’t last for very long either—especially when Nathaniel Norwell, the magistrate’s son, started ostracizing you.

“They say that witches don’t have friends. You know what that means, (Y/N)? You’re a witch!” the boy jeered at you constantly. And because children don’t know any better, the others started shunning you as well. Your parents’ comforting words slowly lost their effectiveness as you began to believe the taunts over time.

You had sought refuge in the forest when the bullying was especially bad one day. Your parents were on a trip so you could not run into their arms. This turned out to be a mistake on your part—you ended up getting lost and nearly caught in a blizzard.

But, by some miracle, you were found. A kind woman with red hair had appeared out of nowhere and led you back to her cabin to stay for the night—and it was there you met your best friend.

He had scared you with his bright and curious face so similar to Nathaniel’s. But unlike your tormentor, Ithaqua was very kind to you. He was so happy to see another person besides his mother, and one that was his age. You answered his endless amount of questions about society but did not bring up Nathaniel. And you never brought up the mysterious woman and her son in the village. Even though you were young, you knew that some things should be kept secret.

The memory of that night, along with countless others, kept you warm as you trudged through the fast-falling snow. You couldn’t shake the bittersweet feeling that came with those memories, though. Upon your return to Leng, you had learned that Nathaniel was now dead because of a certain red-haired woman. The villagers all said she turned out to be a horrifying witch that had cursed Nathaniel and led him to his death.

She was nothing but kind, you wanted to say, but couldn’t. You only felt a small pang of sympathy for Nathaniel but not much else. He was never your friend and had treated you harshly; there was no need to shed tears. Instead, you immediately went into the forest to find the “witch’s” son.

The feeling of deja vu was overwhelming as you trekked the path to the cabin. Tears became frozen on your eyelashes as you had an awful thought: what if he’s dead too?

A sudden and distant laugh made you stop in your tracks. You were instantly as alert as a fox. “Hello?” you called out, then felt stupid. Why did you draw more attention to yourself?! The lack of response did not make you feel better. You could only hear the sound of your fearful heartbeat.

It happened in an instant—something knocked you face-first into the snowy ground, muffling your screams. You thrashed around in an attempt to get whatever was on you off, but to no avail. The creature flipped you over onto your back and both of you gasped at the same time.

“You…! (Y/N)?!”

Your fear dissipated in an instant as you recognized the voice behind an unfamiliar mask. It was muffled and a bit deeper now, but you vividly remembered that playful lilt.

You uttered his name as he took off his mask.

The black eyes and faint pupils shocked you, but other than that…yes, this man was your friend! His nose and cheeks were tinged with red from the cold just like how it always used to be. His pale blonde hair was a bit longer and fell into his face now. And the smile that was growing on his chapped lips was the same one that always greeted you when you showed up at the cabin.

“It’s you! It’s really you!” he laughed, tears in his eyes. His long and boney arms enveloped you in a tight hug that you could barely reciprocate. “You disappeared…I nearly forgot you…but you’re here!”

Now you were crying as well, but with a smile. “I’m sorry…I didn’t want to leave,” you sniffled. You didn’t mind that the snow was getting into your jacket. “My parents believed living in the city would be better for me, but I missed you every single day!”

He held you tightly as he somehow managed to stand up in his stilts. “I missed you too,” he breathed, his voice shaking. “Let’s go.”

The cabin was very rundown now compared to the cozy image in your mind. But as Ithaqua—that is what he told you to call him now—lit the fire, it looked the same in that moment. He was still unnaturally tall without his stilts. What happened to him? you wondered.

Those thoughts were pushed away as Ithaqua sat down next to you with a chipped mug of tea. Your numb fingers accepted it gratefully. “I missed almost getting frostbite and having to warm up in front of a fire,” you half-joked.

“And we would have this blanket on us,” Ithaqua added, gesturing to the ratty and faded blanket across your laps. He was much too tall for it to be draped around both your bodies, so he opted to have an arm around your shoulders as an alternative.

You took a sip of the tea and sighed contentedly as its warmth coursed through your veins. “I purposely made us stay out longer just so that could happen,” you admitted with a coy smile.

Ithaqua giggled and held you closer. “I am glad you did that. I liked cuddling too.”

The snow fell faster and faster outside as you two continued to talk about each other’s lives—well, honestly, you were the one sharing the most. Ithaqua seemed like he didn’t want to talk about what he was up to, but you didn’t mind. You just liked seeing the look of adoration on his face as you talked.

“(Y/N), look,” Ithaqua said, pointing out the window. The snow was falling in a flurry now and had already started to build up on the windowsills. “You’ll have to stay here for the night…”

“That wouldn’t be so terrible,” you said as you finished the last drop of your tea. Another wish would be coming true—you had always wanted to spend a night in the cabin, but your parents would have certainly died of fright if you did not return. Play time was always short for that reason too. With the unpredictable snow, Ithaqua’s mother always fretted that you would be unable to return home on time.

Ithaqua’s smile widened. He instructed you to wait while he put out the fire and made the bed to the best of his ability. He killed the little bugs that were crawling around with quick stabs of his claws. And after cleaning those up, he picked you up like a cat and put you in the blankets.

“Hey, just because you’re taller than me now doesn’t mean you can carry me like that!” you said with a huff. He ignored your protest as he started gathering up his strange gear. “What are you doing?”

“I have to stand guard,” he stated. His voice had a bit of edge now. “No one will hurt you while you sleep.”

You shook your head, slightly confused and exasperated. “Ithaqua, you need to sleep too. Don’t think I didn’t notice the bags under your eyes,” you said. He blankly stared at you as if the thought had never occurred to him before. But he reluctantly put down his axe and joined you under the blankets. He got comfortable very quickly; within a minute, he was hugging you again.

“You’re warm now,” he said softly. “I forgot what it was like to have another person sleeping next to me.”

The bittersweet words didn’t affect the smile on your face. You could barely see his, except for the faint glint of his pupils. “Itha,” you said, testing out a new nickname, “what if we lived together?”

“Not in the village or the city, right?”

“Of course not. I meant here,” you said with a giggle. “I’ve always wanted to come back to you the first chance I got. I hated living by myself. And now that I’m here…I don’t want to leave you again.”

You could practically feel the joy radiating off of Ithaqua. “I would love nothing more,” he chuckled. His fingers ran through your hair. “We can do everything together again. Even if it’s too childish for us now. We can handle anything that comes our way…”

“You’ve become overprotective,” you teased. Whatever else you were going to say was interrupted by Ithaqua’s lips pressing against your forehead. You were struck with a childhood memory yet again—the last time you and Ithaqua had seen each other until today.

The boy and his big blue eyes were looking at you longingly as you turned to leave for the night. Neither of you had known that you would be leaving for a new home tomorrow. But maybe he sensed something was off. He ran to you and clumsily kissed your forehead. “Come back soon, (Y/N)!” he said desperately.

“(Y/N), you’re so precious to me. You don’t even know,” Ithaqua whispered, continuing to pepper your forehead in kisses. It didn’t matter that they were a bit sharp because of his chapped lips. Each one filled you with warmth until you were practically melting. “My best friend…”

It was a little embarrassing being doted on like this. Not even your parents were this overbearing with their affection.

Oh, well. It was Ithaqua, so you didn’t mind. His kisses eased your worries and eventually made you drift off to sleep. And before you were fully unconscious, you heard him whisper the words that affirmed your decision to stay with him:

“I love you.”

[the-nysh]

Oh sweet! Looks like Trimax vol4's when Vash actually starts calling Meryl by name on a regular basis

As before--for context, he'd typically used the more distant, but still respectful 'insurance-san' to refer to the girls, but Trigun vol2 (right before Fifth Moon) was the first time he ever said her name so seriously, which was a very Big Deal to her, and their last exchange for 2 years.

That upon their hospital reunion scene in Trimax vol3, genuinely happy and relieved but still awkwardly not quite knowing what to say to each other after all this time, she bonks him for trying his 'old' way of address--denied! No more of that please; say her name!

So aha, here in Trimax vol4, after Zazie captures Meryl as a 'weakness' to bait him and things get personal...there it is. Now he's quite direct and no-nonsense about it! Surprising Milly and shocking even his opponents (in a 'whoa wtf, he behaves nothing like Knives!' kind of way by jumping out of a window for her) with his immediate 'cut the bullshit; I don't care about your games, I'm only here for Meryl; give her back' >:[ attitude!

(For reference, Milly generally calls Meryl 'sempai' while Wolfwood calls everybody nicknames, referring to the girls by their big/small heights. So Vash asserting a First Name basis for her is pretty significant.)

And just to check if Vash continues using her name, on his Important Mission to find her, even all alone, no matter what (Trimax vol5 spoilers)...

Oh yes he does. (Face to face now.) She's that important to him.

[elycwinters]

But You Can Never Leave

Words: 801 Warnings: None Tagging: @flashfictionfridayofficial

It should not be raining.

The already dark road was made darker still with the storm clouds above it, the rain fell hard; windshields useless against it. No one would ever believe that it was summer, much less that the highway was in a desert stretch Mojave.

Marlene squinted, the car's lights doing nothing beyond letting her see how dark outside it was. It was like the night was swallowing the light. She suppressed a shiver.

Only her mother would all but command she attend the annual family reunion. She should grow a spine one of these days, but she did not, in the end, she always caved to her mother's wobbly voice.

Suddenly, there was a light, it was dim, but it was there.

As she drew nearer, she could see that it was a one story hotel. The she snorted when she noticed the only lights that worked were the H, E and the L. But the windows emitted a soft, welcoming glow.

She debated with herself if she should stop or carry on. She bit her lip deep in thought, she looked above and the sky was even darker. The rain would not be stopping anytime soon. Fuck it, she would wait the storm inside.

She drove into the parking lot, once the car was safely stopped, she reached for her purse and her carry on. She opened the door and rushed towards the hotel's door, the rain felt like ice.

She pushed herself inside, and the relief was immediate. The hotel was warm, perhaps a touch too much. But then again, maybe it was the cold rain messing with her perception. She walked towards the reception desk and rang the old school bell. While she waited, she looked around, the hotel seemed not from this era, intemporeal, came to mind immediately.

Her musings were interrupted when a very handsome man walked in, a welcoming smile in his face. "Well, hello miss. May I presume you are in need of a room?"

She smiled in return, "I do. The rain is terrible."

The man went behind the desk, pulled a key and nodded. "It came out of nowhere, but do not trouble yourself. We have good rooms, food and drink. Now, may I have your name miss?"

"Marlene Jones," she watched as the man wrote her name in the book, then he looked up and motioned for her to follow him.

"I am Balthazar, nocturnal manager. We are about to serve dinner, there are a couple of guests here and they wanted to eat together, I am sure they would welcome you."

"That would be very kind of them," she said as she felt the first pang of hunger. Funny, she had had a sandwich not so long ago. "I am starting to feel hunger."

"I would imagine so! My mother used to say that storms brought hunger upon us all."

She did not reply as they had reached their destination. Balthazar opened the door and motioned for her while offering the key, "Your room miss Jones."

The room looked comfortable, if not very modern. "Thank you," she placed the bag near the bed, her purse on the nightstand. "I am ready, please lead to dinner."

For a moment, Balthazar's eyes sparkled. "Very well miss."

She followed until they reached the dining area. The room was full of people and she blinked surprised. She had not seen any cars outside.

Balthazar made a noise and as one, the guests turned to look at him. "This is miss Marlene Jones, our newest guest. She will be join for dinner."

A chorus of welcomes reached her ears, but not very well. The sound almost seemed to come from far away. She approached a table and took an offered chair, a moment later, Balthazar came in with a glass of some sort of bubbly. She thanked him and took a long sip.

The talk was loud around the table, names were exchanged and soon enough, the aromas of food came closer. She shook her head, for some reason she was getting sleepy.

It would not be nice to fall head first into dinner.

A plate of meat and sides was placed in front of her, she took a bite, then another and another and soon enough, she was near asleep. The sound was getting louder, the voices rowdier, and her lids felt so heavy…

~~

The next morning, a woman watching the news as she readied herself for work heard the newest disappearance. One Marlene Jones from San Diego; her car had been found off the highway, empty with no sign of her at all.

The anchor announced it happened in the anniversary of Kenneth McKenzie's disappearance three years earlier in the exact same spot.

There was no sign of a struggle.

[thecottoncandylamb]

Reunions (Or Lamb is terrible at titles)

Here it is. The first of the many, many one shots that I wrote because I'm mentally ill and just want Jones and the Foundation to be in love.

It had been almost 3 years since they had seen each other, and Jones’ world couldn’t be more different. After altering time, the former IO agent had found himself on a new version of the Island, filled to the brim with unfamiliar faces and voices. This time, it carried the name “Helios”, and like every other Island before it, it was in a war for its life. Filled with Loopers and factions, citizens and militaristic groups, it felt the same as every place he had been before. He couldn’t recognize anyone here, nor did anyone recognize him. His only companion here was Peely who got sucked through time with him. Almost immediately upon arrival, the banana was snatched away by the Society, one of the large factions that ruled Helios, when their leader, Valeria, realized Jones could have helpful information related to some box she was looking for.

Since then, Jones has been absolutely *done*. Hope, the leader of the local renegade group known as the “Underground” had been nice enough to let him stay in the abandoned subway she used as a Headquarters, but her kindness and good nature did little to soothe his frazzled nerves, and, like most things, came at a price. Help her defeat the Society while she lent him resources to find Peely. Tit for tat, or so they say, and he was more than willing to return the favor, but Jones was *tired*. He was sick of saving everyone, time and time again just for it to go straight back to shit. He wanted a break, wanted just to have the chance to *actually* enjoy the small moments of peace his actions brought to the island and its inhabitants. A bitter part of him guessed that an eternity of fighting was his punishment for the sins of his past, and he didn’t even bother to stuff that nasty thought away, he just let himself wallow and fester in it. 

Standing in front of his corkboard, which Hope so lovingly dubbed his “conspiracy board”, he glares up at the pictures of the Society Leader’s faces, each pinned up near the rough blueprints of their appropriate bases. The group had caught on to his investigation and started moving the banana between their bases. Letting out a frustrated groan, Jones shoves his fingers under his sunglasses to rub his tired eyes. Deciding to turn in for the night, he shrugs out of his coat and starts making his way toward the pale blue couch he had claimed as his own. Tugging his sweater over his head, he crawls onto the cushion, uses his scarf to cover his eyes, and tries to force himself to relax. Under the mocking glares from the Society members, he turns his back to the board and tries to force himself into a fitful sleep. 

Meanwhile, the Foundation was surprised by how different the Island had become in his absence. New settlements had formed, the land itself had changed, and the home of the Zero Point had a new name; Helios. The leader of the 7 walked slowly down a beaten-up road, the night sky stretching above him. A small building to his right held the smallest trace of a heat signature, an indication that someone had been here recently. Pressing a button on the side of his helmet, he scanned the building, and it seemed to have a passage to the sewers below the streets. Making a mental note to check the schematics of the Island later, he almost leaves the run-down little building behind before *something* stops him. Like a little voice in his ear, something pushed him to investigate further. 

Slowly pushing the door open, he barely acknowledges the loud creak it makes. Let it serve as a warning, he thinks before stepping to look down into the steep drop. A heavy cable hangs from a support beam above him, nearly reaching the floor below. Curling a gloved hand around the cable, the large man lets gravity pull him towards the ground, that annoying little voice in the back of his head urging him to “go go go”. Something was down here, and he wouldn’t stop until he found it. 

A faint signal, like a fluttering pulse, was slowly growing visible to the sensitive scanners in his visor. Taking steady steps, the usually collected man could feel his heart rate accelerate in anticipation. This energy was familiar to him, he’d recognize it anywhere. He’d followed it countless times before, and in this new place filled with unfamiliar faces and voices, he’d be the first to admit that he was excited to see a friendly face. After all of these years, Jones’ bright face was exactly what he needed to feel *normal* again. 

Finally, the signature narrows in, becoming stronger and brighter the further down he descends down a large flight of stairs. Soon, the Foundation entered a large, dilapidated subway station where rubble blocked off most of the entrances and covered large portions of the floor. The ceiling is covered in a plethora of colors, the stained glass painting a rainbow beneath it as dim lights twinkle above it. The room was a cluttered mess: weapons, targets, and old pizza boxes are scattered on tables and the floor, and a heavy rug beneath one of the tables. A large board, covered in pictures and maps stands to his left, reminding him of the early days of manning the 7, when their organization was little more than a small renegade group in his basement. He can’t help but smile at the memory. In the back of the room, almost directly across from the stairs he used to enter the room, there was a pale blue couch with a dark blanket tossed over the back of it. Its back faced him, and he quietly wondered how long the person on the other side had been there. 

The energy signal was all over the room, mixing and mingling with several others, each pacing around the room, back and forth between each object, and he followed it almost eagerly. Rolling his eyes at the frequent circles that were made in front of the board, the energy belonging to Jones didn’t surprise him in the slightest, he watched as eventually, the energy stopped by the couch. Taking strides, he hates the eager warmth in his chest at the thought of seeing Jones again. Worried that the man might be sleeping, the large man carefully leaned over the back of the couch and finally released the breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. 

Laying curled on the cushions was Jones, the exact person he had been looking for, he realized. The man looked awful: his eyes were heavy with dark bags, his sunshine hair was oily and messy, pressed up at awkward angles from the way his head was shoved under the scarf that was slowly tangling with his neck and arms. His face was covered in dark stubble, another clear sign that he wasn’t taking care of himself. Taking a moment to simply enjoy looking at the man, he felt an angry ball form in the pit of his stomach. 

In their time together, he had seen more than his fair share of the former agent in various stages of undress, so seeing Jones topless was nothing *new* to him. He had almost every inch of this man’s torso memorized (he would never admit to this) and today, Jones looked like a whole new man. Numerous scars, some fairly new, littered the man’s pale skin, making a map  of pain and torment the hero should never have gone through. Tightly gripping the back of the couch, his focus on the visible burns on his skin, nasty and dark, in the shape of someone’s hands, some of the prints are curled around Jones’ neck, others pressed against his chest and side. They looked like brands, and he had to stop himself from jerking the sleeping man up and demanding to know who or what had dared to lay their hands on him. 

The Foundation was immediately ripped back into reality by the click of a pistol and the barrel of a gun being pressed to the back of his helmet. 

“You have 3 fucking seconds to convince me not to blow your brains out.” A woman’s voice, harsh and angry, comes from behind him. 

Ignoring her, he lifts the blanket off of the back of the couch, draping it over Jones’ sleeping form.

“Don’t fucking touch him.” She hisses pushing the pistol forward again to make her threat known. 

“Trust me, that little thing won’t even make a dent in my armor.” He growls, standing up to turn towards the woman. She was short, but compared to him, who wasn’t? Her blue hair was pinned up to the back of her head, her eyes a dark blue, glaring up at him from over her dark sunglasses. 

“Try me. I think you’ll find that in my hands, this gun is more than enough.” She warns, not even flinching at the much larger, armored man looming over her, “Now get the fuck away from him. He has too much on his plate to deal with some freaky peeping tom bothering him.”

If his visor had been down, she would have seen both of his brows raise high at the way she addressed him, “Lower your gun, girl. I’m no threat to Agent Jones. I’m an old friend.” he huffs out, almost embarrassed at being called out for watching the sleeping man. 

“Agent Jones?” The blue-haired woman only raises her gun higher, an angry scowl on her painted lips, “The only friend of his that addresses him like that around here is Peely. Did the Society send you? If so, you’re not making it out of here alive.” with little hesitation she pulls the trigger. 

Right as she shoots, his arm shoots out, pushing the gun upward and yanking the petite woman into a chokehold. Rainbow glass rained down around them as the sound of the gun firing echoed around the subway station. The sound is obviously loud enough to startle Jones wake. Ever the dutiful agent, he has a gun in his hands aimed at the two of them before he even emerges from the other side of the couch. The Foundation keeps his grip on the woman as she claws his armor, making the blonde panic. 

“Woah woah! Hey put her down!” Leaping over the back of the couch, Jones drops his gun, raising his hands palm up and stepping into the armored man’s line of sight. “Hey, hey it’s okay. Hope is a friend.” 

“Your *friend* tried to shoot me.” The Foundation grumbles but complies, dropping the woman, Hope, onto the floor. 

Jones tries to ignore the butterflies that erupt in his stomach at the other man’s deep, rumbling voice. How long had it been since he’d heard someone this familiar and comforting, even if said person was angry and trying to choke one of his closest friends? 

“Well, to the average person you’re pretty intimidating, Big Guy.” The nickname rolls off of his tongue easily, and for a moment it feels like the years rolled away as he tries to soothe the other man. 

Kneeling to help Hope up, he rubs the back of his head. “Sorry about that. Hope, this is the Foundation, he’s a friend from back home. Foundation, this is Hope, she’s leading the good fight here on Helios.” 

Glaring up at him, Hope rubs her neck, not liking this mysterious “friend” one bit, but Jones hasn’t let her down yet, so she bites her tongue and offers her hand in greeting. “I guess it’s good to meet you. Jones has been a big help, so any friend of his is a friend of the Underground.”

Grunting softly under his breath, the Foundation begrudgingly takes her hand giving it a firm shake, “Likewise. You have a good ally here. I hope you’re taking good care of him.” the warning is subtle, but he can tell by the look in her eyes that she understood it loud and clear; if anything happened to Jones she would be the first to face the consequences. 

Taking a small breath, Jones was glad to see the two get along, his eyes unable to look away from the Foundation. God, he looked good. Well, as good as a guy in armor could look. Suddenly aware of his own rugged appearance, he moves over to the couch, tugging his sweater up and pulling it on over his head. He didn’t know how long the other man was staying and he wanted to make sure he could get a few moments just to enjoy his old friend’s company. A gloved hand catches his shoulder, causing him to flinch at the sudden contact, but the hand remains steady, holding him in place. In a way, he expected to freak him out, but the comfort was undeniable. 

“Jones. What happened while I was away?” The Foundation *knew* Jones, and knew when the man wasn’t acting right, “What happened to you?”

Hope, in that moment, felt like she was intruding on a truly intimate moment. Jones let his head hang down while the larger man slowly circles his fingers around his wrist. Slowly, the blonde reaches up and before he can do anything, he’s pulled into a tight hug. He didn’t even care that his face was smushed against the hard plating of the bigger man’s armor, his hands immediately finding purchase on the back of his old friend’s shoulders. 

“I’m so fucking tired…” the former agent hated how much his voice shook, how each word wanted to tumble out with a thousand more. How long had it been since he was the weak one? 

“I know Jones. I’m so sorry for leaving like that. I should have come back sooner.” Letting his visor lift off of his face, he gives into temptation, burying his face into the blonde’s dirty hair. 

The shorter man tried to fight the quivering of his shoulders, but what could he really hide from the man holding him? A large hand rubbed small circles into his back, pulling a tired sigh from his lips as he slowly relaxed in the comforting embrace. The Foundation holds him like he’s scared he’ll disappear, and Jones thinks that maybe he has been for a long time, but in this moment he felt more real than he had in years. 

“You need rest, Jones. Lay back down. I’ll be right here when you wake up.” 

Jones is too tired to argue, the comfort of the familiar scent and voice of someone who *remembered* lulled him into a cozy warmth he thought he lost ages ago.

 “You promise?” Too tired to be embarrassed by how pathetic he sounds, the blonde lets The Foundation guide him back to the couch. 

“Of course, Jones. Even Geno himself couldn’t make me leave this time.” Tugging his cape off of his shoulder, he slowly bunches and rolls it up into a makeshift pillow, letting Jones rest his head on it while the large man drapes the blanket up over him. 

He stays leaning over the back of the couch for a long while, watching and petting the blonde man’s hair until his blue eyes slowly drift shut. Hope watches in silence for a long while, not wanting to interrupt this soft moment that her friend never gets to have. Once she’s sure Jones is asleep, the Underground leader clears her throat to get the big man’s attention. 

“I’m…look I’m sorry. I just know a lot of people want to hurt him. I didn’t want to take any chances on the Society getting their hands on him again.” Rubbing the back of her neck she sighs, “Hell, when I first met him I had to rescue him from one of their torture rooms..” she jumps as the Foundation nearly crushes the back of the couch. 

“I’m here now. And you were just trying to protect him. So, thank you, Hope. He’s more important than you know.” and the people who dared to hurt him would know his wrath. 

[stelladoesstuff]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Okokokok. I watched Watching and Dreaming several hours ago at this point, and the hype still hasn’t gone away. So here were are: Welcome to Stella’s ranting about different parts of the Owl House finale to cope with the absolute insanity in my brain.

This is all incoherent rambling.

OWL HOUSE WATCHING AND DREAMING SPOILERS BELOW

1. Raine. Raine Whispers is a fucking badass. They were fighting against being possessed not only by the Collector but by Belos at the same time, and still managed to break through TWICE. The Collector lost control over them the first time, and they managed to push Belos out second. And then. After ALL OF THAT. They get up and chase Belos into the throne room to try and stop him from possessing the Titan. Absolute powerhouse.

2. King’s DAD???!!! Bi-gender icon, over here wearing a bad girl coven t-shirt and pajama pants. And a tiny Hooty sticking out of his eye?? Gosh, I really wish he’d been able to talk to King, but the bread pun message hit hard regardless. He’s been watchinggggg ;-;

3. Eda and King’s reactions to Luz’s ‘death’ were HEARTBREAKING. And the Collector processing the concept of death- that entire sequence hurt. Seriously, I cried twice during that scene alone- once when Luz died, and once when she came back. Eda and King immediately calming down from their rampage upon seeing she was okay I’m not ok-

4. DARIUS AND HUNTER. All of the parent-child reunions were adorable, both Gus and Willow seeing their dad’s again dhdhdh, but Darius and Hunter’s little moment aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. And Eberwolf too! I really wish we could have gotten more, but the show gave us so much with what little time Disney gave

5. The flapjack tattoos. And Hunter being a palismen carver. AND HIS NEW PALISMEN- I heard Dana confimed the new bird’s name was Waffle and I love him so much. ALSO HUNTLOW SIDE-HUG???? I’m going to need fanfics for all of these ships and moments to cope with this finale istg. I’ll probably write a pile of them

6. RAEDA EARRING SWAP. I was already crying watching the end credits, and then I spotted Raine’s earring on Eda and immediately had to rewind. I didn’t even notice Raine wearing Eda’s earrings until I went back- canon or not, I’m interpreting the earring-swap as a boiling isles alternative to wedding rings. Sue me.

7. DALADOR CONFIRMED??? I now need content about Amity and Hunter being step-siblings because that shit is hilarious. And when Amity and Luz eventually get married that would make Hunter her brother-in-law ddhdhdh I’m fine. Also, Alador removing the coven sigils- we love to see it. And the fact that Odalia is nowhere to be seen is perfection

8. LUZ GOT HER QUINCENERA!! Lilith tried XD

9. Lilith and Hooty’s reunion was everything I hoped it to be. Their friendship means so much dhdhd. Lilith aroace icon u.u

Ok, that’s some things out of my system for now. I might be back with rambling round two later because I’m sure there’s a dozen tiny details I’ll notice upon rewatching and looking at other people point things out. Till then, I shall be writing fanfic and drawing fanart :D

[internetgiraffekid1673]

I'm now racking my brain for book scenes that would pass a reverse bechdel test, just for fun. It is genuinely so funny to me that I'm having to make the same exceptions I usually make in reverse, lol. Dexter in particular gets more focus in the books, but his best friends are Raven and his sister, so that doesn't help much lmao.

I can think of a few that come close off the top of my head. The first is in Dexter's end-of-summer short story that takes place just before the school year.

The Charmings are at a big family reunion and they all segregate by gender for a family scavenger hunt. The girls get a list of places to lock themselves up in where they have to wait for rescue, while the boys all get a list of family heirlooms to hunt down. Each heirloom is guarded by something dangerous, but saving the princess will give you something helpful to defeat it.

No girls are mentioned explicitly by name except for an off-handed comment about Grandma Alluring and most of them are only vaguely referenced i.e. "save a princess if you find her, but BACK TO THE QUEST!"

(Neither Darling nor Dexter plays by the rules of course. Darling saves herself (with a little accidental help from Kitty), and ends out retrieveing a magic sword out of a swimming pool while fighting the razor eel guarding it. She then rehides the sword in a much safer and easier spot and helps her 7 year old cousin find it, so that he can get some of the attention he's been lacking (poor kid is named Good Enough because his parents ran out of adjectives.

Dexter trips and falls into a broom closet where he gets attacked and imprisoned by a changeling that was NOT part of the game. No, apparently his cousin Charity really wanted some alone time away from the Charming Insanity TM to read some books, so she summoned a malevolent and dangerous magical being to impersonate her. She was immediately imprisoned, but since she hasn't run out of books yet, she's not too fussed, and she figures she'll only start screaming when she gets bored. Dexter breaks himself out and defeats the changeling using his Aunt Arachne's magical crochet hook, and then sends Darling to rescue Charity).

Dexter also has a short conversation about being a wallflower with a half-ogre manservant Gordon (where Gordon offhandedly mentions his mother and father) in this, and a good-natured wrestling match with Daring at the beginning (where Dexter yells "oh no, she's going to fall" to trick Daring off his game, which works). I think between these moments, we've got a full scene.

The next would be in A Semi-Charming Kind of Life, which is in the Next Top Villain series by Suzanne Selfors.

There are many scenes in this book where Darling impersonates Dexter via wearing his full body jousting armor and pretending to have a flu so s/he can't talk (Dexter actually does have the flu and is safely sleeping in his dorm during these scenes. He has no idea she's doing this).

As such, while Darling is technically present for all the jousting classes, she doesn't actively participate in the conversation and everybody thinks there are no girls around. Since all of these scenes are almost exclusively about jousting techniques and tournament talk, I think they count, even if Darling isn't paying particularly close attention to the guys' small talk since she's busy trying not to expose herself.

The final one I can think of off the top of my head is a very miniscule moment---more of a microscene---in Once Upon a Pet.

During the story about how Hopper got his pet dragonfly, he spends a lot of time with his roommate Sparrow Hood. While most of this is spent in typical Hopper fashiom---obsessing over Briar---the presence of a fire-breathing dragonfly distracts him from girls for a fair bit. They spend decent time brainstorming a name for him (Briar ends out naming him Drake), and Hopper also monologues at Drake---in frog form---about how he's not uncivilized enough to eat him, even if he is hungry.

Well! That was a fun little experiment! The fact that I have to have such extensive book knowledge and I'm STILL nitpicking does prove your point, and your point about how funny/kinda cool Mattel is for this is a good one (especially because it is 10 times worse over in Monster High. Love you Mattel). But I will say if you'd like to see more stuff about the dudes where they get to actually do things and be more developed, go read the books!

Who am I kidding, I only ever EAH post for one reason. Even if you don't care about the guys, go read the books! They're great! Maybe if I get enough of you on this train someone'll finally write fanfic with book canon!

in love with how eah would fail a reverse bechdel test if it existed. there's like six guy characters and i cannot for the life of me recall an episode with them that didn't involve any of the girls. the thronecoming day bookball game? they were losing badly and got their asses saved by cerise. dragon games? not a single guy got drafted onto a team. not even daring, the only one who has a confirmed dragon riding license. true hearts day? ashlynn was given comfort by her friends but the writers didn't even have a single scene of hunter being consoled by his friends. this is mattel keeping fifth wave feminism alive

[greythroat]

Underrated Arknights fact: Mephisto/Faust and Talulah's first meeting was portrayed very differently in the two times we saw this event.

In ch6 Talulah's in her black dress outfit and she's outright cold to them, mysterious and haughty. The immediate next thing we see her do is coerce Mephisto into moral bankruptcy and use his life to threaten Faust. But ch8 gives us a totally different version of how they met. In Roaring Flare, she's caring and kind towards them, we don't see a single line from the version ch6 gave us, and her black dress hasn't appeared in this chapter at all until after that point. Talulah says in the ch6 version of events that upon taking his codename, Mephisto is now Mephisto and no longer who he was before. In ch8, she calls them Sasha and Eno long past their first meeting. Another interesting thing: in ch6, Faust says that Talulah didn't say much to him. But in ch8, Talulah seems to communicate with him much more than she does Mephisto, who doesn't get what she's saying as much.

I thought this was just a retcon for the longest time, but I have a theory now: 6-6's depiction of them meeting doesn't match up with ch8 because all of 6-6 is from Faust's perspective, while Talulah's story in ch8 is framed by her letters to Ch'en. This colors the entire narrative. Talulah is aloof, then openly malicious to them, with little of the kindness she showed them in ch8, because this is how Faust consciously views her— as a monster. What she says when they first meet is likely things Koschei told them, and she wears the black dress because that's how Koschei-Talulah appears. Her separating them from their past identities is proof of her influence over them— it's meeting her and Reunion that gave them these names. She addresses only Mephisto in this first meeting, and take a look at what she tells him. It carries similar messages to what Faust tells GreyThroat (which is a projection of his feelings towards Mephisto) and Mephisto himself. There's the same themes of ideals and making your own choices. We already know from earlier in 6-6 what Faust thinks about himself. He doesn't focus on what Talulah said to him when they first met because that is not how he sees her anymore, instead expressing through Talulah what he wants to say to Mephisto. Thus, Faust and Talulah's only dialogue together in this scene is one of betrayal, manipulation, and threats.

And yet even through his recollections we see a bit of his vulnerability towards her: Talulah still echoes some of the beliefs she holds in ch8, such as that she's just Talulah, and nobody special, and that if they don't have an identity, be it names or ideals, they should find one. She holds Faust tightly; she trusts him, and he briefly believes that things will get better. Faust insists that Koschei-Talulah is not the real Talulah because she'd never do what she's doing now, which is taking advantage of Mephisto's trust. He's the only one other than Ines (who has Arts hax) to identify that Talulah isn't Talulah anymore. Even through his current point of view, we can tell that he knows her well, and at least for some time had some trust in her.

Faust telling his own version of events actually carries a subtle power. Ch6 is where he finally breaks and starts expressing the emotions and thoughts he's been repressing for years. He calls Talulah a monster, challenges Mephisto's loyalty to her, tries to stop Mephisto from zombifying his soldiers, disappears on him, projects his criticism of Mephisto onto GreyThroat, admits a desire to work with her, then tells her what keeps him from doing so, and finally expresses his true feelings and desires to Mephisto before finally killing himself. 6-6 is a concentration of this: Faust, who is always quiet and unexpressive, always hiding himself figuratively and literally, dropping the act and revealing his vulnerabilities, emotions, and past in his own voice, with all the partiality that comes with it.

[curekibouka-writing]

Choices (Twst one-shot fanfic)

Summary: I will fight for you when you cannot. And in doing so, I fight for us both. 

Word count: 1472

*This fic is also on FF.net, Quotev and Ao3

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It’s not that Lilia never had an inkling that this day would come, he just chose not to acknowledge it. 

Such a wonderful, magical occasion, a reunion between a long lost prince and his royal family. And, in the spirit of goodwill, Lilia could’ve helped sounded the trumpets, adorned the throne room with bursts of colours, and woken up the stars just to shine upon them — 

If only the boy were not his son. 

“After all these years, you’ve come back to us!” The queen of the neighbouring country casts away all her manners for one moment and throws herself at Silver. It just now occurs to Lilia that she has beautiful eyes, the same ones as Silver. 

“You were stolen from us all those years ago, we thought we would never see you again!” A wide grin can be seen through the king’s beard, every bit of his rich voice filled with relief. 

“Stolen?” Silver repeats, backing out of the embrace, “What are you saying? ……your majesties,” he adds. He came as a guard escorting Prince Malleus of Briar Valley to this country for some diplomatic affairs, nothing more.

“My father had done nothing of the sort,” he asserts, standing in front of Lilia. And as every eye in the chamber presses down on the fae, Silver turns to him ever so confidently, “Right, father?” 

Of course he would never and had never stolen a child. But does denying it make any difference? 

Be it out of kindness or malice, for whatever reason and with whatever justification, if you were to take his Silver away from him, he’d say you were stealing too. 

But he has the decency to hold his tongue. 

The room begins to be flooded with whispered chatter, not that it mattered to him. Not Malleus stepping up, placing a hand on his shoulder and speaking for him. Not Sebek imploring him to deny those outrageous claims. Not any of those humans gazing at Silver as if pitying a defenceless animal leashed by a callous owner. 

It doesn’t compel Lilia to speak in his own defence. For if he spreads his arms right now, surely Silver would choose him, come to him, always his child, never asked for much. And as much as he hates to flaunt his victories, pride would well up in his heart. Not to prove them all wrong, but to prove himself right, prove Silver right, prove their little world in a forest cottage right. 

“Silver,” so he calls out, spreading his arms and beckoning for his son to return to him. His voice is serene and loving, not different from 5 years ago, or 10 years ago, or the first time he pushed the name through his throat and claimed this little one to be his little one. 

Now suddenly spears are being pointed at him as if he had stormed in here with weapons in hand. 

“Father!” Silver’s countenance immediately flares with alert, a hand on his baton, ready to protect Lilia. 

The sceptre of the human king strikes twice against the marble floor, demanding silence. He strides to Lilia, peering down at him, and while his tone bears no hostility, his soldiers’ spears speak volumes, “In the past, your kind and mine had crossed swords to claim ownership of lands, treasures, resources. Today, we’ve learned from our history of foolishness. I stand here asking for what is ours — what I cherish and missed dearly — to be returned. Surely you understand the price to pay, should you insist on keeping what is not yours?” 

Learned? Lilia intends to have learned quite a great deal, more than anyone here could possibly have. But perhaps he hasn’t really. For in a split second of greed, one that he hasn’t experienced in who knows how long, he cannot think of what he wouldn’t give to hold his son in his arms just one more time. Then maybe just one more day. And maybe just one more lifetime…

But then he is posed a question — what could he give? What price could he pay? 

“Kufufu,” he chuckles, his crimson eyes could’ve boiled, could’ve seemed hollow, could’ve been a predator’s — a monster’s eyes. But they weren’t. 

He thinks about all the things Silver never had due to not being a fae, and all the things Silver could’ve had if he had human parents, and all the past foolishness and peace and loss and things that revolt him now… thoughts that had plagued him numerous times before, thoughts that he always selfishly chose to brush off because he was so sure he could make up for it. 

And now he chooses to raise his head slowly, meeting the king’s downward stare, eyes bright as ever, smiling,

“My, my, would you not spare even a minute for an old man to bid his son farewell?” 

Without waiting for anyone’s permission, Silver runs to him, grabbing his shoulders instead of complying with a hug, “Father, I have no intention of going anywhere! This is ridiculous, I—“

“I want to become a knight!” the same child had declared long ago — not all that long ago for Lilia, but long enough, “I’ll fight for father and Malleus-sama!” The child chose him, chose a dull, harsh, hefty life before even trying to learn of the hundreds of thousands of choices that he could’ve chosen. 

And Lilia had always wanted to show Silver more, more of what he could be, because Lilia always believed this bright child could be anything anywhere anytime if he so chooses. 

He takes Silver into a hug nevertheless, as tightly as his small frame could against his son’s sturdy build. 

Unfortunately, now they only have one choice. Someone else’s choice. Here. Now. And Lilia chooses not to fight it. 

“You’ve found a happily ever after. Take it.”

It’s a hushed breath against Silver’s ear, tender as the birdsongs they would sometimes hear back home, and yet Silver could not speak a single word against him. His hands drop to the small of Lilia’s back, locking him with such strength that surely anyone else with Lilia’s size would be crushed. 

Not yet, not now, not enough, Silver thought. And until he has had enough, there is only breath against breath. Tensed against forlorn. Wavering against decided. Greed against greed. 

And then he realises he would never have enough. 

“Can’t you stay?” the child croaks, an ugly sound that tries to hide too much and fails. 

They both stop at the question, because, admit it or not, they both know Lilia’s answer. 

So Lilia dodges it, inhaling slowly. Instead of a word, a nostalgic tune flows from his thin, pale lips. Deep. Quiet. A river bringing them home.  

“Come stop your crying, it will be alright” 

Home in their cottage before all this transpired, when there was a human baby in a cradle, squeezing a fae’s finger so tightly even in his slumber, and the fae, with the same voice, same tone, hummed,

~

Just take my hand, hold it tight

I will protect you from all around you

I will be here, don’t you cry

~

They look on and listen, spectators to their own story as the water continues to flow and slosh and flood and splatter. There was the human child, soaked and sick but smiling as the fae caressed the child’s round ears, 

~

Don’t listen to them, ‘cause what do they know?

We need each other, to have, to hold 

They’ll see in time

I know

~

The river slows. The child’s grown. 

“When destiny calls you, you must be strong”

Lilia resumes singing, smiling lips, flickering voice, his gaze remains on the image. 

“I may not be with you, but you’ve got to hold on” 

He gazes with the eyes he always has when watching sunsets, beholding beauty that doesn’t last, and only sometimes he would reach out, trying to hold it, keep it…

Silver takes Lilia’s unmoving hand, “They’ll see in time,” and squeezes it tightly, “…don’t go.”

Lilia smiles. Slipping out of his son’s grip. 

The river stops.

He reaches up and brushes lightly on Silver’s eyelids, closing them, and starts the song anew,

“Come stop your crying, it will be alright

Now look ahead toward the light

It will embrace you from all around you

And I’ll be here, out of sight…” 

When Silver opens his eyes again, he is not home, kneeling on the marble floor of a palace, and there is no father here. 

“But you’ll be in my heart” 

The melody slips out from Silver’s lips, in unison with the now fading voice. 

“No matter what they sa—“

His voice breaks. 

He stands up, and treads toward the throne. 

“…always.”

He remembers his father would always compliment him for being a child who never asked for too much. 

He grabs a spear. 

Alas, he chose to be raised by a greedy, selfish fae. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The End

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For an alternative ending to this fic, you can read my poem “Human Tongue” UwU

A/N: The lyrics I quoted is from a song called “You’ll be in my Heart” from Disney’s Tarzan. If you’re going to listen to this song, I strongly recommend the Celtic Woman version instead of the Phil Collins version or the Seki Tomokazu version. They all have good singing but Celtic Woman’s version fits the loving parent vibe most in my opinion. 

I really love this song and it’s so fitting for Lilia and Silver that I’ve been wanting to write it in a fanfic for over a year. I’ve finally managed to do it 😭

Now go listen to the song and cry over the lyrics with me!!!

[candlewaxandp0lar0ids]

if I can never give you peace — two || Jungkook

Pairing: Jungkook x reader // Word count (chapter): 5.8k // Genre: Mafia AU, Hybrid AU, enemies to lovers // Ao3

↳ It starts like quite a few stories do, in your world. Girl meets boy, who happens to be a hybrid, girl buys him at an auction where hybrids are sold, boy falls in love with her, girl gets bored of him. Then it’s not so typical anymore, when the boy ends up forced into illegal fighting rings, until he makes a wrong move and the girl’s father decides he needs to be killed.

Where does that leave you? Well, you’re the one who handled Jungkook’s fight and generally organized his life, and, when the girl’s father, your boss and mafia leader, tells you he wants him ‘put down’, you’re the one who has to get it done. Except, instead, you let him escape, and everything turns out fine.

Until he comes back.

Warnings and tags (chapter): Descriptions of violence, Threats, kind of dark in general

First · Previous · Next

The car is late, you think as you smooth over the fabric of your skirt, your mouth twisted in a disapproving scowl. Annoyance is one of the few emotions that ever appear on your face, and you don’t even bother to hide it. You have only been standing there, waiting, for a few minutes, but it already disrupts your perfectly well-oiled routine. This is just one of the many changes that have come with Jungkook taking over, but it could be the one you are the least fond of.

You used to have the routine down to a T. You knew exactly when to leave your apartment so that the car would stop in front of you right as you reached the pavement. There were small hiccups every now and then — traffic, last-minute phone calls —, but most of the time, it went perfectly. You liked that. Having that kind of control, when your life had always been completely out of your hands, was comforting.

That went out the window the day you started working for Jungkook.

When the car stops in front of you, five minutes, that’s three-hundred seconds, after the agreed-upon time, you take a short breath before opening the door and stepping in.

There, of course, is your new boss, sitting with his legs widely spread on the leather seat. He changed your discreet sedan for a limousine, which you find obnoxious, but you didn’t protest. You liked to think that you were better than that at picking your battles

“Mr. Jeon,” you say with a nod, voice even.

Jungkook grins when you call him that. You know he enjoys the title, the power it indicates, particularly since hybrids are supposed to only ever have the same last name as their owners.

“Lot of work to be done today,” he comments, and you know he’s just saying that to rile you up. You used to report to Mr. X, but you worked on your own more often than not. Now, you’re basically Jungkook’s glorified secretary. You wouldn’t particularly mind the change if it didn’t mean that you had to sit and watch him superbly ignore your carefully crafted schedule, as he had every single day for the past week.

“Indeed,” you reply without batting an eyelid. “This morning, you have a meeting with Suga,” this one he should go to, he never misses them, “then you are supposed to eat with Fred Lucas,” chances were he wouldn’t show up to that and make you take him to a fancy restaurant instead, and you would be the one to have to handle the situation with him, “and later today I think it would be important for you to pay a visit to the Mystery Room.” That place was one of the few legal aspects of the business at the moment, if you ignore the drugs that get sold there, and it was not a location you should lose right now. “They have been quite… difficult, since the change in direction.”

That last one is new, and you’re not sure how Jungkook will react to it. Of course, there is plenty more work to do, but you’re trying out new methods to get him to do at least what really matters. You don’t understand why he would hire you if he doesn’t let you do your job, but hey, at least you’re alive. And so is your family.

You don’t know how long that will last, though. Unless Jungkook seriously gets his act together, it won’t take long for someone to think that they can do the same thing he did, and have him murdered. You’re even mildly surprised it hasn’t happened yet. That’s the thing, when a leader gets killed. It weakens the whole structure, and it gives people ideas.

The grin disappears from Jungkook’s face and he nods gravely at that last piece of information. That catches your eye, because it’s new. You tell yourself that maybe, just maybe, he spent the last week riding the high of his victory against Mr. X, and that he will be efficient if there’s trouble, at least.

“Cancel that second thing,” he says. “I want to eat at that restaurant I went to last week. You should get me a reservation there.”

Or not.

“But you can go meet him,” he adds, and you blink.

“Mr. Lucas is expecting to see you,” you say, in case you weren’t clear.

“And he doesn’t get to demand my presence like that,” Jungkook snaps. You bite the inside of your cheek to stop yourself from wincing. His voice sounds harsh, cutting. Dangerous. “Did he think that I’d go ask for treats because a human joined us? That’s not how that shit works.”

Okay. He’s not wrong here, but you don’t know about this— approachto the situation. Fred is, indeed, one of the two human leaders who decided to immediately join Jungkook when the news of the death of Mr. X and the uprising of hybrids in various parts of your branches in the city spread. You wouldn’t be surprised if he expected a treatment of favor for that, too, but you’re not sure letting him know how little his gesture was appreciated was the way to go.

“I don’t think—”

“He’s replaceable,” Jungkook says with a dismissive movement of the wrist. “I’ll swap him for one of my men the second he makes a mistake. It would be a lot better if no one forgot that.”

The look he gives you makes his message crystal clear. You feel your mouth getting dry, but you know nothing is showing in your expression, and that at least is a relief.

“I’ll go to the meeting and get you your reservation, then,” you say, pulling out your phone. “Does the rest of the schedule work for you?”

Jungkook frowns, and the tiniest feeling of satisfaction spreads in your chest. You know he’s just applying pressure and waiting for you to crack, but you won’t.You’re used to contorting yourself to please everyone. You’ve made it work for years, and it will take much more than those childish games for you to snap.

Or, at least, that’s what you’ve been telling yourself for the past week.

“Fine.” Then he closes his eyes and leans back in the seat. You raise an eyebrow at the sight. You know it’s not because he trusts you, but because he doesn’t think you have the guts to do anything to him — and because, even if you did, he’s pretty confident he wouldn’t have any trouble stopping you. You hate that you find something endearing in that vision. Jungkook was genetically designed to be handsome, and he is.More than that, though, when you look at him right now, even though his long bunny ears are skillfully hidden under a headband, he looks cute.

And he could — and would — take less than a second to snap your neck.

“This afternoon should be fun at least,” he mumbles under his breath, and you hide your grimace.

Shit. That can’t be good.

It’s been clear to you from the very first day that Suga knows exactly what he is doing. It’s also been clear that this isn’t his scene. Being at the forefront of operations, taking the lead — it’s obvious that he would much rather stay in the shadows. You’re not sure how important he was to Jungkook’s organization before, since no one has bothered trying to inform you of that, but you suspect that he’s usually more the type to be in the field.

Right now, though, he’s standing in front of a small group, exposing what the recent developments have been. Sitting behind Jungkook, you listen to him attentively. Those reunions should become less frequent, but right now things could still change completely, and you cannot afford to be taken by surprise.

You are, however, starting to feel less and less comfortable with the fact that nothing seems to be coming out of them. Sure, Yoongi informs you of the people who have sided with Jungkook and of those who are openly opposed to him — a minority, so far — but there is a large group in between that seems to be in no hurry to take position. And you don’t like it.

It hasn’t been long since Jungkook has taken over, but you should at least have gotten someintel by now. You’re not sure what isn’t working here. For now, you don’t want to risk provoking anyone by offering your services. Worry is starting to gnaw at you, though. You could all be driving into a dead-end street at full speed, and that stupid struggle you’re having with Jungkook just isn't worth dying over.

“So not much has changed,” Jungkook comments, tapping his fingers onto the table. He looks nonchalant, but you notice a muscle in his jaw twitching. You wonder if he understands more than he lets on.

“Things have been stagnant,” Yoongi admits without batting an eye. “There hasn’t been any open rebellion, but communication is lacking.”

“That needs to get better.”

“We’re working on it.”

They probably are, but it doesn’t look like that’s going well. Word has reached your ears that some of the branches have been keeping hybrids at bay as discreetly as possible.

“What about that Mystery Room thing?” Jungkook asks, frowning. “What’s going on over there?”

“The what?” Yoongi frowns.

Jungkook looks puzzled — pissed, actually — for a second, then glances at you over his shoulder, and the attention of the whole room suddenly shifts to you. You straighten your back, swallow.

“The owner of the bar has missed a payment to us,” you state calmly, “and it seems that he has no intention of making it and is trying to get out of his contract with us. It would be better if we didn’t lose it right now.”

“What do you mean, ‘it seems’?” Yoongi asks, narrowing his golden eyes at you. His voice sounds more like a hiss, and this time, you struggle to hide your reaction. You haven’t forgotten what it felt like, when you thought he was going to kill you. It’s affected you more than you’d like to admit.

“I have a contact who—”

Yoongi clicks his tongue, and you close your mouth.

“I’m going there today,” Jungkook informs him, and Yoongi nods.

“I’ll be around.”

The two men have a silent exchange of looks. Their relationship is somewhat atypical, not something Mr. X had with anyone. It looks like they genuinely rely on and trust each other. You suppose someone else would find it touching, but you don’t have it in yourself. Especially not when that means they both have it out for you.

“Haven’t you been following what we’ve been talking about here for the past week?” Jungkook snarks at you, and you blink. “Any information you get from now on needs to get to Suga so he can factor it in.” At that, you give him a disbelieving look. That just won’t work. It can’t. Not for the first time, you wonder how much he underestimates you, exactly. If he knew anything about the way you work, about how many contacts you have and how much information you’re usually juggling with, he would never ask that of you.

Yet you nod. You don’t know yet if you’ll send a believable amount of intel to Suga, or just absolutely drown him under it until they tell you to stop, but once more, this just isn’t worth fighting over.

Especially when fighting over something can so easily mean dying over it, in your current situation.

“Will do, Mr. Jeon.”

He looks displeased, and you know it’s because all he’s waiting for is for you to slip.

“I shouldn’t even bring you to these meetings. You’re not even taking any notes. That’s fucking useless.”

It takes everything in you to bite back a scoff at that. You could tell him you don’t need to take notes when Yoongi is talking about minimal changes in a landscape you know on the tip of your fingers, that maybe you would if he said anything of value, and that this wouldn’t be an issue if people actually feared him.

You marvel at how annoyed that quip makes you. You suppose you don’t like it when your competence is questioned. You don’t like the threat either, though. You don’t want to risk falling out of the loop.

“I’ve gotten you a reservation at that restaurant,” you say. “If things are done here, I’ll be on my way to meet Mr. Lucas.”

Changing the subject. Deflecting. Trying your best to live to see another day. It seems like it’s all you’ve been doing for the past week. You know you can keep it up for a long time, you’re patient enough. You also know that this game is set up to make you lose.

Right now, as Jungkook looks at you, clearly not amused by your attitude, there is a terrifying moment during which you fear that he might just drop the charade. The only point of this whole thing is to get rid of you. He could decide he only wants to do that any second.

“Yeah, right. Be on your way.”

He dismisses you like you’re some low lackey, but that, at least, isn’t anything new, and you know how to handle it. You bow politely, then exit the room.

“You really wanna keep her around?” Yoongi asks once you’re gone, and Jungkook groans.

He doesn’t know why he had expected you to break easily. He’d seen you work for Mr. X, do that same shit he makes you do and survive as long as you had, so he should have known you’d be good at it. He supposes he’d been used to you making decisions for him, back then, and had thought that was a normal thing for you, that you wouldn’t enjoy being in the position of taking orders. But you were, after all, just someone who worked for others that whole time.

Not that he gives a fuck about it. He couldn’t care less why you did the things you did. All he wants is to give you a taste of your own medicine. Dangling a false chance of survival in front of your eyes and let you handle the rest yourself. So as long as you push through… well. He’ll let it slide.

It’s not like you can keep doing it forever anyway.

Fred Lucas worries you. He’s always smiled too widely, been too loud, made too many jokes. You know Mr. X considered him to be some sort of buffoon, but also kept his distance from him. Mr. X didn’t like people who pretended to wear their hearts on their sleeves.

“Always a pleasure to see you, (Y/N),” he greets you warmly when you walk up to him and you give him a nod. If he’s upset that Jungkook isn’t there, he doesn’t show it, just like you don’t show your distaste for his use of your first name. “I’d like to discuss with just you, though,” he adds, eyeing Hector, who’s standing beside you. The fact that you still have him by your side is the only good thing that has come from working for Jungkook so far.

You don’t like that. You’re all too aware of the fact that this is his land, and that the only reason why he’s saying that is that Hector is a hybrid. If that gets back to Jungkook, it wouldn’t be good for Fred — but you don’t think he’ll go down without a fight. You glance at Hector, who looks as placid as always and offers no help. The gears in your head are turning fast. Before, you were protected by how indispensable you were considered by Mr. X. That is clearly not the case anymore, but Fred likely isn’t aware of that. Yet.

On the other hand, sending Hector away would show weakness, and you can’t afford that.

“Hector goes where I go,” you say.

Fred’s smile widens even more.

“Of course, of course, can’t trust anyone those days, can you?”

You wonder if it’s a jab at you and how quickly you changed sides, but he is more or less in the same position, so you could just be paranoid.

“Come on, come on in, let’s get ourselves a drink.”

You don’t want a drink, but you do follow him in. The sooner you do that, the sooner you will be out of here.

Fred has a lot of things to say. Most of it isn’t relevant to anything that is happening right now, but you’ve never been able to tune things out. You always worry you’ll miss an essential piece of information. So you listen as he babbles about his business — getting weapons in and out of the city, something he is decently good at — but also about his family, his friendships, and his favorite kind of alcohol. You let him pour you a glass, even if you have no intention of touching it.

“I hear you,” you manage to interrupt him, “but I am curious to know why you wanted a meeting with Mr. Jeon. It seems to me that you have the situation here under control.”

Flattery has always worked on Fred, and you have no issue in using that against him.

“Of course we do,” he gloats. “It’s just— There are a lot of rumorsfloating around those days, you know?”

You do know. You suspect Fred has heard the same things as you. You also suspect most people have been very careful not to let those things reach Yoongi’s ears.

“People are talking about a ‘human opposition’ forming,” Fred gasps dramatically. “Can you believe it? Some people are really not happy about being led by a hybrid.”

That seems to be more concrete than what you’ve heard, which means that Fred could be exaggerating things… or that he was contacted to join that opposition. And you don’t like that second possibility, not at all. You trust Fred about as far as you can throw him, and that means you certainly don’t trust him to not try and play both sides.

“That was to be expected,” you reply calmly. “I do not doubt that Mr. Jeon knew such a reaction was coming.”

Fred narrows his eyes at you, trying to gauge what you knew then and what you know now. Which isn’t much, but that’s not something you plan to let slip out.

“Do you know of anything specific?”

You see from the glint in Fred’s eyes that he knows the game is on. If you know something and he doesn’t tell you, he will look suspicious, but he could also reveal too much, and you doubt he wants to play his cards so soon.

“I— don’t, unfortunately,” he finally says, and you nod. Either he hasn’t heard of the Mystery Room, or he is voluntarily hiding it from you. Regardless, that limits how useful he is to you. “But the word on the street is that Jungkook may not know what he’s doing all that well.”

You send him a sharp glance. He’s taking a risk in telling you that, you both know it. That doesn’t make the information any less precious.

“I see. And, again, I don’t suppose you know where this— ‘word on the street’ is coming from?”

He shrugs, a true picture of innocence, and maybe you’d have believed it if Fred hadn’t been in the business for longer than you. He knew, he just wasn’t telling because he wanted to preserve his opportunities if something happened.

“I have to go, then. Thank you for the drink, Mr. Lucas.”

“Please,” he says, holding out his hand. “Call me Fred.”

That won’t be happening.

“Goodbye, Mr. Lucas.”

Once you’re out, you take a second to collect yourself, Hector following like a shadow and waiting for you silently.

“Is everything okay?” he asks after you’ve mulled over the conversation that just happened for several minutes.

“It’s fine,” you say as a reflex. You couldn’t stop thinking about how Fred had taken a gamble when he’d proclaimed his allegiance to Jungkook. He’d bet on him coming out on top, and yet you didn’t trust it. You couldn’t think of a reason why he would do that instead of carefully waiting to see how things would go, like everyone else. You didn’t like this. Not one bit. “We need to get to Mystery Room,” you add.

“Of course,” Hector nods, gesturing towards the limo, and you don’t bother repressing a groan this time.

“God. That’s so tacky.”

That brings a smile to Hector’s lips, but you don’t smile back. You never do. Instead, you climb in, roll your eyes at the whole thing, and let yourself be driven away. You can’t come to a conclusion about Fred Lucas just yet, but you have no intention of forgetting about him either.

It takes you a few seconds, once you’re out of the car, to understand that something isn’t right. You’ve never been good with feelings — instincts, as hybrids call them — and the air doesn’t feel particularly tense or charged to you. Hector stands a little close to you for comfort, and you piece things together from there. There are a few cars around, but not too many, which isn’t surprising considering it’s the middle of the afternoon. Still, you can hear voices from inside, and you know there’s an argument going on there.

“Let’s go,” you say with a decided nod, and Hector leads the way, shoulders tense, ready to pounce if needed. You trust him to do his job, and that’s a lot, coming from you.

You frown when you walk into the bar, taking a few seconds to let your eyes get adjusted to the lack of luminosity, and that frown only deepens when you hear the argument going on and recognize Jungkook’s voice. God. The concepts of subtlety and discretion are completely lost on him, aren’t they?

Making your way through the room, you try to evaluate the situation. Yoongi is leaning against a table, looking bored out of his mind, though you’re sure he doesn’t miss anything from what is going on in the room. As if to prove your point, his golden eyes flick towards you for a second when you approach, before looking away, clearly uninterested. Other than him, it seems that the only other people present are the owner and various employees. You think it’s stupid and dangerous that they showed up here basically alone but, for the millionth time today, you grit your teeth and don’t say anything.

There are five men around, including the bouncer and a security guard. They’re probably armed, and that’s to say nothing of anyone you cannot see. Outside of Yoongi, though, no one pays attention to you, not until the bartender asks loudly “Mojito, as usual, Miss (L/N)?”

It’s a bit early for that, actually, but you give him a nod. The Mystery Room isn’t quite your scene — you’ve always been one to prefer classy restaurants — but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re well-known here, and everywhere, actually, which is something that everyoneknows, except your own boss. That is obvious by the way people’s attitude shifts when they see you. The owner bows to you politely. You acknowledge it with a curt movement of your chin. Jungkook raises an eyebrow at that. He doesn’t look happy about it.

You wait until you have your glass in your hand to say something. The silence that fills the room is heavy, and you can feel Jungkook’s anger emanating from him, having lost the men’s attention. He’s the man who murdered Mr. X, took over half of his operations without anyone noticing, and their fucking boss, and they’re still treating him like a low-life hybrid.

“You haven’t been paying what you owe us,” you say, almost lightly, when you get your drink. “Has business been slow?”

You know it has. You know people aren’t too sure what to think of Jungkook yet. You also know they’ve still made money. Better yet, you’re sure the men in the room know youknow that. You’re giving them an obvious way out. All they have to do is say “yes”, and you’ll come up with something. You won’t let them go off scot-free, but there’s no need for this to end in a bloodbath, either.

“That’s not the issue,” the man says, voice raspy, and you don’t let it show, of course you don’t, but you’re still taking the hit. They’re underestimating Jungkook.

This might be the last mistake they make.

“I think it would be better for everyone if we could work through whatever issue there is,” you say slowly.

Better for them, really, especially because this is you giving him a second chance. There won’t be a third one.

“I’m afraid we don’t, uh, approve of the recent change in direction,” he replies, a stupid grin on his face. He’s mocking you and your infamous overly procedural speech. You know people say you can’t accept who you’re working for, that you can’t take the idea of having blood on your hands.

You may not care, but you’re well-aware of it, and you really don’t appreciate him saying that to your face. You’ll have to make an example out of him.

You sigh and shake your head at his answer. You’re not going to enjoy this. You’ve seen people’s attempts at rebellion against Mr. X, even if those were few and far between, and no matter how much of a fight they put up, it never ends well. For them.

You’re prepared to just leave the place and arrange for it to be set on fire during the night, when Jungkook’s voice snaps you out of it.

“What’s your problem with the change in direction, fucker?”

The mood changes immediately. Hector’s hand on your shoulder gently pulls you back, and Yoongi hops off the table to come stand next to Jungkook, hands in his pockets. He looks nonchalant and relaxed. He could probably easily kill everyone in this room and not get a drop of blood on his jacket.

The owner squares his shoulders and walks up to him. He’s slightly taller and much larger than Jungkook.

“Listen, bunny…”

You barely have the time to widen your eyes at the word, to think about all the ways Jungkook has made it clear that he’s not your typical rabbit-hybrid before his right hook connects with the man’s jaw, so fast you would have missed it if you’d blinked.

A moment of stunned silence follows, during which the man stumbles backwards, hand coming to cup his face in disbelief. And then, he seems to decide that it’s a good idea to retaliate. The dozens, hundreds maybe, of fights you’ve seen Jungkook win flash before your eyes. He doesn’t stand a chance.

People start moving around you, but it seems like it’s only a fistfight. No guns are drawn, for now, and you’re reminded of how much you fucking hate watching people fight. You take a step back, bored already at this stupid display of strength and violence. Still, you can’t help it when your eyes are drawn to Jungkook. There’s a— curiosity within you. How much has he truly changed, in the past two years?

For one, he certainly isn’t pretending this time, isn’t trying to make this fight last for a few more rounds. There iscertain showmanship there, though, you note. He’s giving time for the owner to recover while he takes out some of the other men with hits of surgical precision. He wants them to seewhatever he’s going to do to their boss. Hector and Yoongi keep the fight contained, don’t let anyone escape or call for help, but Jungkook doesn’t need their help. No one here is a threat to him, and it doesn’t take long for the men to be on the floor, groaning in pain.

The owner pushes himself up, spits some blood on the floor. Jungkook turns to face him and beckons him closer with a flick of his hand. He looks amused.

“You fucking piece of—”

This time, Jungkook doesn’t go for the head. His fist gets the man in the ribs, and that first punch is followed by dozens of others, not giving the man any respite, not letting him breathe. When the man falls back, Jungkook doesn’t stop, though the hits slow down, based on what you can see and hear. You have to clench your jaw to stop yourself from grimacing at the sound of flesh hitting flesh, of the bones underneath clashing. It was drowned out, back when he fought in a ring, but knowing it was there disgusted you back. You don’t know why, you just hate it. It makes you sick.

When Jungkook finally gets back up, he hasn’t even broken a sweat. There are five men on the ground, clenching different parts of their bodies and crying out in pain, and he isn’t even out of breath.

“You should fucking reconsider,” he spits out.

They won’t have to. This place will be gone soon enough.

His eyes meet yours as he walks out, and his expression turns to a disgusted scowl. It almost draws a scoff out of you, but you hold it in, and instead, you follow him dutifully.

Jungkook doesn’t speak to you in the car, eyes instead on his bloody knuckles. It will heal fast, you know, and that’s probably why he doesn’t bother taking care of it. When the car stops, you look outside and find yourself faced with your own apartment building. It’s not even five in the afternoon yet. You turn around to give your boss a quizzical look.

“You’re not needed anymore,” he shrugs. He doesn’t sound like he’s playing this time, though you’re still sure that he wants to get on your nerves.

You hate that it’s working this time.

“The day isn’t—”

“I think you’ve proved exactly how efficient you are today,” he says, obviously dismissing you. “I have no fucking idea how you got this job.”

You bite your tongue not to reply. You don’t care about the job, you don’t care about his opinion of you, you barely even care about the Family. You should just nod, give him the usual “yes, Mr. Jeon,” and walk out. But something keeps you in place a little longer than it should, and that’s how much you hate jobs that aren’t well done.

Your voice sounds distant to your own ears when you say what you’re supposed to, your body doesn’t feel like your own when you walk out and close the door. Your breathing quickens while you hear the car leave behind you like it’s all happening in a dream, your head spins, and you stand frozen in place, staring right in front of you.

Is this your life now? you wonder, feeling your heart thumping like it’s trying to get out of your chest. Are you going to let yourself be so disposable, so mediocre, let everything you’ve spent years building fall apart? This isn’t the time for pride, you’re well aware of that, but it’s still eating at you inside.

You walk back to your apartment like you’re in a trance. There’s a heavy weight on your chest, and you realize you have to make a choice. If things stay like that, you suppose Jungkook will have your head at some point. This is a fight of patience. One you cannot win. But if you make yourself indispensable, then maybe, maybe you can survive it. You’ve done it once already.

You brush aside the little voice mocking your reasoning, telling you that you’re doing this because you don’t want to lose your status. Not because it’s wrong, but because you know that’s not enough of an incentive for you to take a risk. You need something stronger than that. Even if you know it’s a lie.

That doesn’t stop your hand from trembling as you dial Yoongi’s number. You’re happy there’s no one to see you, because God, you couldn’t take your carefully crafted facade crumbling right now.

“Yes?” he answers quickly. If he’s surprised to hear from you, it doesn’t show.

“What are the plans for the Mystery Room?” you ask, satisfied that your voice doesn’t quiver, even if you’re a mess right now.

There’s a silence at the other end of the line, and you suspect he’s considering not answering you, so you take the initiative.

“You need to at least replace the owner,” you say, kicking off your shoes. “You can convince him to sell to us,” — convince, one of your favorite euphemisms — “or get rid of him and get the place from his family. Burning the place down is also an option. We can’t let what happened slide like that.”

“Hmm,” Yoongi says.

“Also, it would better if Mr. Jeon could avoid fighting with people. The last thing we want is people who think they can challenge him.”

“He can take them.”

“That’s not the issue. If people think they have a chance, they’ll keep trying. We don’t want them to do that.”

Another, longer silence.

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because he’ll listen to you.”

“And you think I will listen to you?”

You roll your eyes. It’s strange, you know you’re gambling your life right now, but the tension you were experiencing earlier has been replaced by an eerie calm. You feel detached from everything.

Maybe you’ve been doing this for too long.

“You don’t have to,” you say, “but this is my job. I’m good at it. If you just let me do it, it would be far more efficient than whatever has been going on for the last week. I know you don’t trust me, but you can probably come to the same conclusions as me in this situation at least.”

Your heart is hammering in your chest. This is an explicit critique, something you would never have risked with Mr. X, and it’s the most open act of defiance that you’ve ever done — and it’s to convince them to let you workfor them.

“We’ll see about that,” he replies dismissively, and your shoulders fall at first, but then he adds, almost reluctantly, “I’ll take what you said into consideration.”

“Good. We also need to talk about tomorrow’s meeting. I’ve gotten some important information about the opposition to Mr. Jeon, and I think—”

As you explain the situation to Yoongi, you feel yourself calming down. Maybe it’s because you’re doing something that’s familiar to you, you’re not sure, but you can breathe again, and that solidifies your conviction that you’re making the right decision.

Finally, you’re ready to take back your life.

Tag list: @chaiwivluv @mintyrae @btswdwsmhrdt @xxquenwxtchxx @fekitza @kimmieloveswho @deeepvibes @lonleycoffee @gookiebts @kpop-baka @taecallsmenoona @mimiinluv @dabbingangels @jooahchu

[vischys]

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒄𝒚 whereby the irascible youth took his injunction to fly on board was inconsequential in light of the peril currently looming upon all four of them. Yet it was worth his notice that instead of responding with any ounce of aversion, – which would have been natural given their brief albeit mutually uncongenial interaction in the past – Navarro instead endorsed, vouched for it even, without any attempt to question Vergil's wisdom.Least his temper sears not his sense.

'Twas the thought that accompanied the elder devil as he acknowledged Navarro's brisk compliance with a barest nod and turned upon his heel to abscond the darkness with the younger in tow.

"Me and Rust will come and find you guys!"

He flicked a glance over his shoulder toward the ceiling whereupon Ink and her comrade stood earlier, just as he felt their presence retreated as per his behest.

Be safe, Ink. The words that did not escape his tongue earlier now echoed in his mind, an orison that granted him a semblance of succor as his feet carried him swiftly away from the rumbling of the earth behind.

As he made his flight along with the teen bomber, the Darkslayer couldn't dismiss the unremitting paranoia that had bedeviled him ever since his unexpected reunion with Ink and her comrades in this wen turned battleground: the persistent sensation that someone had been observing them, spefically him. And 'twas only their fall that obscured him from his scout's beady eyes.

Shrika, the name that he managed to browbeat from one of the vagrant underling remained in the back of his concern along with everything to do with the notorious fraction allegedly responsible for this; the Lovely Horrors.

⸻ 𝑆𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟

As Navarro had sensibly advised, they were currently traversing through the dark channel in accordance with the direction of the pipes that resembled snakes under the absence of light, slithering against the walls as their guide. Vergil barely made a noise as he flitted hastily upon the ground, save for the occasional splash when his boots stepped upon a puddle. His flight had been unobstructed and swift, with only a glance either to his side or back to ascertain that Ink's second-in-command kept his pace up with his own. By no means he meant to slow himself down and take a risk solely for the youth's sake, yet evidently Ink held her comrade to a significance akin to that of a family member and consequently to lose the irascible youth would undoubtedly devastate her. Something that would be counterproductive to his personal mission in nurturing not just his demoiselle's physical well-being, but also spirit.

And 'twas the cause that motivated him to invest his time and might in Navarro's well-being. For he harbored no ill-will nor particular interest over the spiky-haired youth beyond his relationship apropos of Ink. Least for now.

It wasn't till the impromptu duo came into what seemingly to be the main channel, judging from the larger interior and more than one piping lines can be spotted converging as they stepped into the area. It was better lit, at the very least. And for the first time he was able to observe his surroundings without having to squint his eyes.The cambion's pace relented then as the tremor that followed them earlier had dwindled significantly, signaling that they were no longer in the immediate danger zone. For now, that was.

As such he deigned to make use of the light to finally acquire a proper look upon Navarro without his respiratory mask. To him, the teen appeared to be overall none the worse for wear. No injury sustained​, least none that he could perceive. Undoubtedly a testament to the inhuman endurance ​t​hat the youth's diabolic covenant had bestowed upon him just as Vergil's had enabled himself to retain an overall immaculate appearance throughout ​t​heir shared series of plights.

Exactly what machination is transpiring here? Sparda's son allowed himself to ponder over the most consequential question apropos of their predicament.

The broker, Morrison, did not mention the involvement of another party, let alone Ink's fraction of that. Nor did he inform him and his brother whether or not the so-called terrorist group, –which turned out to be the one of the fraction associated with Ink's– carried out their threat. Although judging from the devastating circumstances surrounding their vicinity and the eponine monstrosity the group had encountered, they likely had.

Which then begged for another question which had equally beset his mind ever since he first caught sight of Ink and her fraction therein.

“ What purpose led your fraction hither? ” Vergil inquired candidly, essentially addressing Navarro for the first time in the duration they have been thrusted in tandem into this predicament.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒃𝒊𝒐𝒏'𝒔 𝒈𝒂𝒛𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 across the darkness as the youth took off his respirator mask, or thus he reckoned as Navarro’s figure was not much discerned beyond the red of his jacket and the faint glint of his mask. Least the boy did not disappoint him, for uncouth remarks forthwith flew from his tongue fluently abd thereby suggesting his well-being.

Keep reading

[winchesterxxi]

Urges of the Subconscious (Din Djarin x Reader) | PART 1

Gif by @keanurevees​

Rating: E (Explicit)

Type: Smut

Pairing: Din Djarin x AFAB!Reader

Summary: Stationed in Tatooine for the night, courtesy of Peli Motto, you and Din are forced to share a room. Thinking that it was more than obvious that the two of you weren’t together, you both expected to find two separate beds - that didn’t quite happen. Sleeping next to the person you’ve been having dreams about for a while now leads to some unconscious shuffling closer to each other - culminating in quite the interesting morning.

Word Count: 3.6k

Warnings: One bed trope, SMUT (wet dream, rubbing, blindfold, nipple play/breast play, fingering)

A/N: I haven’t written for Din in so long, god, I missed my favorite bucket-head. This is also a long one because my gears are oiled and working, so bear with me. Also, part 2? 👀

Buy me a Kofi!

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When Din had told you that there was a fault in the differential and exhaust manifold of the Razor, you knew that meant a trip down to Tattooine. You weren’t particularly excited about it – the scorching hot weather mixed with the sandy landscape always made you feel gross and heavy, sensations that you weren’t particularly fond of.

The child on the other hand, at the mention of a need for repairs, cooed in excitement, eager to encounter his adored Peli Motto, who he seems to have absolutely smitten. Nothing wrong with that, in fact, it was nice to see the kid being in someone else’s arms without fearing for his life.

Down on the rocky ground in front of her secluded shop, Peli looks up at the shadow that suddenly allocated itself in front of the sun, only to adjust her vision and catch the Razor Crest slowly descending closer, until its landing skids contacted the red ground and the large cargo ramp started to lower itself.

Into her vision came what she secretly nicknamed as “The Space Family”: You, with the baby in your left arm, and the imponent Mandalorian just a couple of feet behind, a gothic painting, some would say one that was slowly making their way towards her.

“We brought the Child!” You amusingly exclaimed, grinning as her smile immediately grew and the child was already trying to wiggle out of your embrace.

“Easy there!” she exclaimed as the child cooed and babbled in her arms, content with the reunion

“How much do you want for it?” she asks you “Just kidding. But not really.”

“The kid’s still not for sale. But I have a few repairs that need to be done.” Din intervenes. You know he isn’t being purposefully stern, but the man could sure use some lessons on loosening up and being able to understand a joke.

“Always a pleasure to talk with you, Mandalorian.” Peli greets with an expressionlessly sarcastic face that falls upon her as soon as she looks up from the child  “Point me in the direction.”

After a close inspection alongside the Mandalorian, they both returned to where you and the child stood before he reached for Peli once again and you laughed at his tiny attachment problem.

“ I can get you out of here tomorrow at around noon.”

“Noon? Peli, we can’t stay overnight. People need us.”

“People can wait. Can’t they?” She asks the question in a higher-pitched voice directed towards the kid who she bops in the nose before turning back to you and Din. “And sure you can! There’s a small holsterly just a few miles down the sand, an hour walk and you’ll be fine.”

“We only have credits for the maintenance.” Says Din from your right side.

Peli is about to throw a quick answer, as she always does, but something stops her. She closes her mouth and looks down at Grogu, who happily jiggles the tiny ball between his fingers. She smirks and looks up at you two again, adjusting the kid in her embrace.

“Tell you what. You let me take care of the kid for the night, you two go and have some rest, Maker knows you need it… and the maintenance is on me.”

“We’re not leaving –“ the Mandalorian starts but you quickly cut him off, placing a firm hand on his whistling bird, settling him.

“Deal.”

“Wh- What?” He shakes his helmet in your direction.

“Come on.” You tug him along your side, heavy beskar boots reluctant to move, as you wave back at Grogu and Peli who is smiling like two children who will, more than definitely, be up to no good in the following hours.

But he knows better than to make a scene with you when you are playing nice. So he waits until the pair that was left behind to be out of sight to pull you by your elbow to face him.

“Are you out of your mind?”

“No, but we are almost out of credits.” You reason with him, picking up on his sentence. “Din, she did a nice thing… not all people are out to get you.” Your voice is calm, and it takes all of your strength not to reach out and touch him, maybe caress the helmet of his cheek, or his hand. But he’s who he is, and you don’t want to cross any lines.

His towering figure lets go of your elbow and he walks ahead through the sand, talking over his shoulder.

“This is the first and last time we’re doing this.”

You grin and bit your bottom lip behind him, feeling victorious from having him wrapped around your finger in situations like this, before speeding your own stride to catch up to him, feeling the heat reflected on his beskar hit your skin.

It was a small inn, there was no doubt, more like a one night resting home for the looks of it, the offer ranging little above a few sleeping quarters along a hall and a shared bathroom at the end of it.

Once unlocking the wooden door, you and Din stepped into the now moonlit room, which ended up being more spacious than anticipated.

With Din closing the door and locking it once again, your eyes scan around the carved walls and the big window, the tapestry on the floor and then – the bed. The only bed. Not even a couch on the other end of the room. Only a bed.

Din seems to have noticed it too as you feel him come to a halt right behind you, helmet turning to scan the room.

“Why would they give us only one bed? I specifically said it was a two people bedroom.” You can feel his aggrieved tone sip through the helmet, frustrated with the situation.

“Two people. Not two beds.” You scoff and he looks at you, causing you to look away and avert your smile from his field of vision – how unskilled Din was with such mundane tasks always amused you. “I’m afraid this one’s on you Din Djarin.”

You walk over to the bed and start to peel the layers of your leather uniform, down to your undershirt and panties.

“Woah, what are you doing?” Din asks you, turning his helmet away once his helmet falls upon your bare legs.

“Getting to bed. You should too.” You state in a deadpan voice, before sliding your legs underneath the cotton sheet and laying your head in the fluffy pillow – something you haven’t had in months.

“No, yeah, I can see that! But I-… do you… Are you…?” he stumbles over his words, awkwardly still standing in the middle of the room at the bottom of the bed.

“Din, rest. Come on, it’s not every day you have a real bed to lay on.” The man huffs and walks over to your opposite side of the bed, before pulling the covers back, getting ready to seat down, before you shoot up on your elbow.

“Aren’t you going to take the armour off?”

“Why would I? Hostile planet, unknown people sleeping next door. Peli might contact us at any minute.” He has a big list of reasons, and he could more than definitely go on, but something in the way you are looking at him through the visor stops him.

“Din. Nothing bad is going to happen for one night.” Your eyes were honest and they pierced his soul melting his insides and kicking his usual hunter instinct out the window.

Not being able to resist, he drops his shoulders and sighs, before reaching for his chest pauldron and unclasping it while you grin victoriously.

“The helmet stays on.” He warns you, while pieces upon pieces of beskar and leather fall to the ground, placed against the foot of the bed until he is in nothing besides his fitted undersuit and beskar helmet.

Reaching for the covers once again, Din finally sleeps into the bed and as soon as his back hits the mattress he releases a quiet grown and you chuckle.

“Better?” you ask him, face turned his way and cocking your eyebrow up.

“Better.” This time, to your surprise, he’s the one that chuckles, the vibration of the modulated sound going straight to your stomach.

“Goodnight Din.” You whisper, turning your back to him and placing your body in your preferred position to sleep. With one look at you, the only nothing he can now see is the moonlit outline of your curves as your ribcage rises and falls at the rhythm of your quiet breath.

He’d be damned if anything happened to you. For as paranoid as he was the possibility of someone breaking in at the dead of the night and harming you, stopped him from turning his back to you and instead, settling with his chest up to the ceiling, helmet turned in your direction.

“Goodnight.”

For the first time in Maker knows how long, both you and Din managed to sleep during a full night with no sudden wake up calls or alarms beeping around. It was nice, he had to admit. So nice, that his body got a little too comfortable, his hands in his slumber reaching for your body and your own figure, unconsciously draw to his embrace let itself be held by him during the long hours of the dark – none of you being aware of such.

But somewhere along that time, in the wee small hours of the morning, your body rotated in his arms, back to his slowly moving chest and his hands, unbothered, had to keep touching you, they had to make sure you were there, hence gently palming your right boob.

It wasn’t until you felt an involuntary squeeze of his bare hands against your tunic, a definite sleep spasm that you were pulled awake and made aware of the situation.

Heat flooded your whole body once you realized the compromising position you both found yourselves in. Gently humming Din’s name, you don’t dare to move his arm, being very aware of his hunter instincts.

“Din.” You repeat again, this time louder and the man behind you hums. At the same time as the sound leaves his lungs, his fingers squeeze yet again. You suck in a breath and bite your bottom lip, preventing any sort of moan from escaping.

Din groans once, the sleep still gripping his system but he must’ve soon realized where his hand was, forearm trapped beneath your weight as he quickly pulls it away, sitting up straight in the bed.

“Kriff. I’m so sorry, I didn’t intend to-“ His chest is rising and lowering heavy, and you can see a hint of the red skin that heats on his neck and upper chest.

“It’s alright, I know.”

A heavy silence hangs in the air, you having since sat up in bed, back against the headboard, only your breathings and and heavy tension floating in the air. You were pretty sure your cheeks were still pink, as they still felt hot.

“I don’t want you to think that I wanted to do anything to you. I would never.” He says, coming off harsher than intended. It’s not that he didn’t want to be with you, Maker, he did, he had fallen head over heels a long time ago… But, maybe you didn’t feel that way. You were too good for him, anyway. A puddle of light in his life that he didn’t want to corrupt with his own being.

“Would it be so bad?” You whisper, afraid that he really didn’t want anything to do with you, slightly hurt by the words he’d just said.

Silence remains and you look to your side only to find the beskar helmet turning in your direction, your hopeful eyes and hung mouth pleading for a genuine answer.

Feeling bold, you reach for his bare hand that rested against the mattress and hold it up to where it was before and he is silently following your actions, but you can feel his muscles tensing at your actions.

“What are you doing, Y/N?” His voice is strained as he looks away but dares not to move his hand.

“Din. Please.” You whisper in a broken voice and that’s all it takes for his helmet to return to face you.

“If I start, I’m afraid I won’t be able to stop.”

“I don’t want you to.”

There is a moment there. One of silence, but that was heavy with unsaid words. A look into your eyes was all it took him to pull your hips gently down and lay you back on the soft mattress while his body shifted to be above you.

His rough fingers gently tugged at one of the straps of your tunic before pulling it down and off your arm, same as with the other one that followed, leaving the thin fabric still splayed over your chest, from where he could now see the hard buds straining through.

Your breathing deepened and you could feel heat pool at your core, shifting your thighs closer together, an action that didn’t go unnoticed to the masked man above you as your knees brushed his crotch.

“Mesh’la.” He whispers, looking down your body, his erection pressing against the fabric of his confined pants.

Putting all of his weight on his elbows, the Mandalorian slides the fabric of your tunic down, revealing your swollen breasts, courtesy of the arousal he was fabricating in you. His fists curled at the sudden need that he had, one that he couldn’t fulfil if there was the possibility of you seeing his face.

Sitting back on his knees, he reaches out to the floor on his side of the bed, where he remembers to have discarded his armour and other layers the night before. When he sits back up, you can see that he is holding one of his undershirts, the one that went directly under the leather layer, made of a soft black fabric.

He motions it towards your head as if asking for permission to put it around your head and all you can do is nod while bitting your bottom lip, eager to give in to the pleasure he intended to deliver.

You lift your head from where it was resting against the pillow and his gentle hands tie the fabric around your eyes, making sure that it was tight enough for it not to slip, but not too much so that it would hurt you.

In the darkness that you found yourself surrounded by, all your other senses tingled in anticipation, especially your touch and hearing as from somewhere lower above you, a hissing sound filled the air, followed by that of metal being placed on wood.

Still sitting on his knees, his eyes could now see you in all of your glory, without the darkening of the helmet. And you were a sight to behold. Hair splayed around your head on the pillow, lips parted in anticipation, breasts aching for him. To the latter he gave in first, lowering himself to attach his lips to your left nipple, his breath fanning over it for a moment before diving in.

You suck in a sharp breath and moan at his action, while one of his hands finds your free nipple, not wanting it to go unattended.

“Din, that feels so good.” Your head lifts up and then drops with a small thud against the pillow taking in shallow and quick breaths as his fingers and tongue continued to tease your sensitive buds.

His mouth and hands were equally skilled, the latter, rolling your bud between his thumb and forefinger, as quick jolts of pain and pleasure rushed through every nerve in your body.

He stayed there for a long time, switching sides every now and then, mouth sucking and tongue lapping and brushing against your nipples.

He sucked and moaned around it every time his tongue stroked the tip of your nipple and your hands fumbled between grabbing the sheets below you or his soft hair, body arching up wanting more. More of him, more of that sensation, just more.

With your tunic still draped over your torso the one hand of Din’s that wasn’t supporting his weight travels down to your core, thick fingers brushing against your clit and soon after trailing a path up your dripping slit, moaning when his digits became wet.

“Did that make you wet, cyar’ika? You like it when I play with your nipples?” his husky voice sent waves of arousal up your body.

“Yes, Din, you’re so good at it, please.” You reach your hand down to palm at his erection “I need you, please.”

Gently he grabs your hand from his crotch and places it down next to your head. “Next time. We need to get going in a few if we don’t want to burn under the midday sun. But I can still make you feel good.”

You moaned at his willingness to prioritize your pleasure over his, going as far as denying himself of an orgasm at this crucial moment, which would have him frustrated until the next time you could be alone together again.

His lips return to your nipples and, at the same time, he slides two digits inside your aching cunt, the warmth and clenching around his skin making him whimper around your nipple, making the pleasure skyrocket on your part.

The outer rim of his free hand now rested against the mound that was free from his mouth’s hold, as his middle finger flicked up and down against the tip of your nipple, making you cry out in pleasure as it synched perfectly with his ministrations against and inside your core.

It was all too much, and tears pooled at the outer corners of your eyes, leaving an eventual wet trail behind as they ran down your cheeks, until being soaked by his shirt that rested around your eyes.

Your body convulsed under his frame, arching against him as a wave of white pleasure washing over you like never before, the joined ecstasy of his two places of stimulation pushing you with full force over the edge you were chasing.

Din rode your high until he felt you could no more, never for once slowing his movement in between your legs as your cum dripped down his fingers and into his palm, and making the most of your sensitive nipples by bringing both your breasts together with his large hand, positioning them in a way that both nipples were almost touching, allowing him to lick and suck at the two simultaneously.

Once your body is spent and limp, chest rising and falling trying to catch your breath and trying to drive some oxygen up to your brain as you felt like being high, Mando finally lifts his face up to your own and, for the first time lets his lips latch onto something other than your chest. The kiss is deep and wet, his tongue roaming your lips before exploring your mouth.

Din then sits back up on his knees, chuckling as your head followed his once your lips parted, not wanting to separate just yet.

His bare hand reaches to the side table where he’d laid the helmet and puts it back on, coming away from straddling you and rather returning to his side of the bed, pulling you in by your waist to his side and sliding the shirt up from around your eyes

He watches you smile, still in the aftereffects of your orgasm.

“Hey.” You muse up at him.

“Hey.” He answers, the helmet preventing you from seeing the lopsided smile that adorned his beautiful face.

“That was…”

“I know.” He completes your thought.

“Was it so bad, after all?” You close your eyes as the question leaves your lips, the exhaustion of this morning activity starting to wash over you.

“Not even close.”

As if on cue, the first ray of sunshine makes its way through the window glass and you know that it means you need to get dressed and out of this place. Din notices it as well, patting your side before slinging his legs over the edge of the bed and standing up.

“Come one, mesh’la. We need to go.”

“I know.” You groan up to the air. “But this is so comfortable.”

“The faster we get there, the faster we can go into the Razor and the closer we are to putting Grogu asleep.” He tells you, hands on his hips, a teasing tone on his voice and damn it, he got you good.

“I hate that you know me so well.” You huff with a smile, crawling up to his side of the bed so that you’re on your knees on top of the mattress, still, he towers over you.

“Can’t wait to know all of you.” He whispers as his helmet comes closer down your face and his hands travel to your waist. He then gives it a little squeeze before patting your ass. “Come on now, let’s go. I have a feeling someone is waiting to make grabby hands at us.”

“I was about to say you have a stationed ship waiting to take off, but I’m glad to see you have your priorities straight.” You muse over your shoulder, walking to the small bathroom adjacent to the bedroom.

As you go, Din stays behind adoring the view of your hips swaying and ass jiggling as you walk.

“Oh, you have no idea.”

He really couldn’t wait to know all of you.

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[aizawaslovebot]

Hello idk if you’ll see this or if you’re still accepting request but I wanted to know if you can do an angst male reader where he’s really close to yachi as friends and plays volleyball with the karasuno boys but like he’s ignored and pushed to the side and no one really notices until he leaves the team and moves to Tokyo only to later join the nekoma team and they actually pay attention to him and he kinda has a run in with his old team latter. Sorry if it’s confusing this is my first ask😅

—shadow on the moon

[nekoma x m! reader | karasuno x m! reader]

synopsis: perhaps they relied too much and gave back too less, and this was karma's sign of ending the cycle.

warnings: angst, self-depreciation, + hmm i feel like it's lackluster because i couldn't imagine karasuno doing something like this

words: 1350

—note: i couldn't write the reunion part? idk why i've rewritten it a few times now but i'm not satisfied ㅠㅠ if you want something changed, please tell me!!

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It was ambitious of you to dream of becoming heard when they couldn’t even spare you one glance. 

You didn’t want to place the blame on the team. It wasn’t their fault that you’ve always been hardly in the limelight. It wasn’t their fault that you’ve always been a wallflower. It wasn’t their fault that you could easily be outshined by anyone in the team. 

It was, however, their fault for their inability to notice your presence no matter how hard you tried.

As a middle blocker in Karasuno, it was appalling how they failed to acknowledge you and your prowess— to the point that you even doubted you had the ability to block for the team at all. Communication has never been easy for an introvert like you, who always depended on the possibility of some extrovert adopting you into their social circle. So despite the overflowing hurt built up on the prospect of being casted to the sidelines, always shoved to the benches as a warmer, you were unable to voice anything out. 

This arrangement continued even through your second year with the team. Heck, it even got worse— with the way Hinata, who, no matter how small, easily got the attention of everyone, and Kageyama, a naturally-born genius with a career ahead of him, you were easily overshadowed by first years of all people. 

Truthfully, you should’ve been in Nekoma High right now. At the end of your first year at Karasuno, your dad was promoted and was given the privilege of an apartment in Tokyo for easier access to his new work. You were very naive to push the move to months later, desperately hoping for at least acknowledgement from the team, that they recognize you as one of their middle blockers. 

It wasn’t the case at all. Were you that replaceable? Were you that insignificant to the team? Were you that unnoticeable? Were you so useless that they won’t even miss you at all? 

Perhaps he could take back that last thought. 

A very kindhearted first year managed to notice you, introvertedness and all. Yachi Hitoka had come to be someone very dear to you, someone who had always been ignored. You were not used to the attention she gave you but you managed to get used to her warmth. The way she’d greet you first out of anyone in the gym or the way she fretted whenever you needed to be bandaged on the rare days you get to play— everything about her was warm. 

And you’d be forever grateful for the kindness, the attention, and the love she had extended for someone as unnoticeable as you. 

Sadly, all the tears can’t be prevented. Even as Yachi rushed to see you one last time before your departure, nothing can’t stop the inevitable partition between a wall-flower like you and the continuously developing crows. You couldn’t help noticing the way only she had come to see you one last time, but you swallowed it all once you remembered you chose not to tell anyone else. 

It’s not like they cared anyway. 

But, there’s no use dwelling on the past. You’re far happier where you are today— with a family who always made it upon themselves to vocalize their recognition for the immense talent you had. 

You had met the members of Nekoma twice: on that one game on the last day of golden week and during the training camp in Tokyo. Sure, you weren’t actually given the chance to play that much but you were beyond amazed at their prowess. No one seemed to outshine anyone in the team and everyone worked harmoniously regardless of their skill level. What you silently wished for, the chance of having a team like that, actually came true. 

The day you joined them was memorable, far more memorable than you’ve ever imagined. 

“Y-You’re K-Karasuno’s middle blocker!” Number 7, Inuoka, you think, gasped when you entered the gym with Coach Nekomata and Coach Naoi.

Taken aback at how you, of all people, were easily recognized, you staggered in embarrassment. You hid behind Coach Naoi which caused the two coaches to snort or laugh because of your actions.

Lev perked up in curiosity, vaguely remembering a middle blocker from the last training camp who, despite the way he stood out from the rest, wasn’t actually a starter. Stumbling like a deer who was recently born into the world, Lev ran up to you with sparkling eyes. However, it was really a scary sight if anyone were in your shoes. 

“Why are you at Nekoma? Why weren’t you a starter? How come I’m taller than you but you’re better? Is there a se—” Yaku, the one who was like Suga-senpai, grinned wryly and dragged the excitable first year away from you after he apologized. 

After hearing the coach’s announcement regarding your transfer, Kuroo smirked. 

“It looks like Karasuno carelessly let someone as talented as you go.”

Judging from the way you flinched, Kenma immediately concluded there was more to it so he kicked the captain’s shin without regard. 

“A-ah… They don’t really notice me at all,” was your quiet reply, which took everyone by surprise. 

“EHH?! Well, we’ll take care of you! Welcome to Nekoma, (L-(L/N)-san!!” Yamamoto cheered, though he faltered when he shyly uttered your name. 

The team was far more accepting, you mused, as you were unable to stop the comparison from your former team. It wasn’t that Karasuno was all high and mighty— they just couldn’t make it feel like you were a part of them and for so long, you figured it was because of how you were behind everyone else. 

Nekoma reminded you that despite that, if that were really the case, you weren’t alone. They like to exaggerate by saying you were really talented, and you were, and it made you feel like you were having progress— like you were part of the family. 

While you slowly began to progress from your past, the flock of crows weren’t doing so well. In fact, they weren’t doing good at all. When Yachi arrived to practice, right after the day you left, no one could deny the drop in her mood. Something was wrong but no one could place it. 

Their ignorance only made Yachi even sadder. 

Their realization came later than anyone ever wanted. No one could deny the decline in their defense. After all, they had always been too complacent— relying on the shadow of which they were sure was there to block in place of others. Perhaps they relied too much and gave back too less, and this was karma’s sign of ending the cycle. The shadow of which they relied on has found its light, leaving everyone else in the dark. 

The quality of Karasuno’s plays slowly declined and it shone through during their practice match with Dateko before they leave for Tokyo. There’s nothing they could do though. After hearing from Kenma that their middle blocker transferred to them— to their fated rival, of all people— the mood amongst the members dropped. They can’t be like the protagonists in coming of age movies where limits are non-existent or main characters who, despite all odds and flaws, get to reunite with their love interest. They know that they’re living in reality and reality has made it a point to tell them how big of a mistake it was to underestimate you, your skills, and your being.

No one would expect, not even Coach Ukai or Coach Takeda, that you had been so hurt all this time. All they could do is wait for the day that the fated rivals battle it off in court, and this time, you stand on the opposite side. 

It was ambitious of you to dream that you would be heard, but not a single soul can stop a dreamer from reaching their goals. It was ambitious to dream that they would finally realize your worth but you succeeded. So as they weep in regret and sorrow over their late revelation, you finally stand proud with the family you always wanted.

—reblogging helps, thank youu!!

[fific7]

Unexpected - Part 1

King Caspian x Reader

Summary: What happens if you push the respectful and well-behaved King Caspian a little too far? You’re about to find out.

A/N: This does not follow canon, it’s mainly a mix of fluff and angst with some lemon zest 🍋 Friends to Lovers AU.

Warnings: 18+ NSFW due to sexual content including debatable consent at first, loss of virginity and oral and unprotected* sex between consenting adults. Some drinking & swearing.

*Irl, please don’t go wild in the country without protection.

(My video edit)

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

You and every unwed woman in Narnia knew that the handsome King Caspian was being pressured by his advisors to find a Queen for himself.

Most knew that to become Queen of Narnia would be unattainable for them - no doubt that would be some Princess from another country - and you had no illusions about your own chances. Your father was one of the lords at court and owned a large amount of land near Cair Paravel, but you were not a Royal so you were sure you’d never be considered.

You and Caspian had been friendly when you were younger but you doubted he’d remember you, so much had happened between then and now.

You’d been restless at home recently, mainly because your parents had started speaking of finding you a husband. Appalled, you’d pestered, pleaded with and finally persuaded your father to arrange for you to see Professor Cornelius as you wanted something with which to fill your days instead of playing the piano, embroidery and reading.

Cornelius had suggested you come to work with him as his research assistant, and you’d leapt at the chance. It also meant that you would live at Cair Paravel, away from the slightly smothering atmosphere at home. Your mother had not spoken to you for a week before you left (or your father, whom she blamed for setting up the interview in the first place). But she’d reluctantly accepted that you were flying the nest, however you’d had to endure an extremely long lecture about how you should behave while living away from home.

It seemed that you would be able to eat, drink, speak and bathe and not much else.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

King Caspian made his way to Cornelius’ study, knocking once before entering. The older man looked up at him, smiling and greeting him. Caspian threw himself into the chair in front of the desk, having lifted three books from it first.

“You are in need of some time away from your advisors, Caspian?”

The King nodded, running his hands over his face. “They just go on and on and on about how I need a wife and an heir. I am sure I will find a wife one day but I have other things I wish to concentrate on at the moment.” “Your next voyage?” Caspian nodded, “Yes. There is still much to do. The construction of the Dawn Treader is well under way, but I have an itinerary to decide upon and courses to plot.”

“I have a new research assistant starting tomorrow, I am sure she will be able to help you with that. She is well read and knowledgeable of the many other lands you may wish to visit.” Caspian looked up quickly at him, “She?” “Yes, she is my Lord Tirian’s daughter.” Caspian smiled, “I remember her. We played silly games together when we were young, whenever her father brought her to the castle. It will be so nice to see her again.”

Cornelius, hiding a smile, replied, “Oh, I think you will be very pleased to see her again, my King.”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Feeling nervous for some reason, you tapped on Cornelius’ door and heard “Come in” in response. Stepping into the room, you were amazed at the numbers of books, manuscripts and charts which occupied the small room. You could hardly see the diminutive Cornelius in amongst it all, and he saw you taking in the piles stacked everywhere.

He chuckled, “Yes, there are too many, my dear. I’m hoping you can help me catalogue and store them as I confess the situation is getting out of control.” You bowed your head to him, “I’ll be happy to assist, Professor Cornelius.” “I’m so glad to hear that. On another note, the King is looking forward to meeting you again. I’d quite forgotten until I spoke to him about you that you were childhood friends.” You smiled, “Well, I’m not sure the King would have actually called me his friend as such, but we did spend happy hours playing hide and seek and pretending to fight dragons.”

Cornelius nodded, “He remembers those times fondly, my lady. He was not allowed to play with many other children, and I’m certain he considered you a friend of his. Come, let us go and reintroduce you to each other.”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Caspian looked up from the document he was reading at his desk. There had been a sharp knock at the door of his chambers and then it had opened, Cornelius striding into the room with another person following him. He was transfixed as he looked upon the grown-up face of his childhood playmate. He stood and walked around the desk towards the two of them, whispering her name as she curtsied in front of him.

He was still staring at her. Cornelius cleared his throat seeing that the young King was lost for words, but Caspian ignored him as he heard her soft voice, “It is so nice to see you again, your Majesty.” “Caspian,” he said immediately, “we never called each other anything except our first names, did we?” She was smiling up at him, and he was still a little overwhelmed. This was the skinny little girl he’d run about with all those years ago? Now, she was a woman - a beautiful woman. “No, Caspian, we didn’t.”

Cornelius interjected, “I’ll leave you two to get reacquainted, so I’m going back to my study. Your Majesty, my lady.” He gave a small bow and left the room.

Caspian indicated the large couch by the window and she made her way to it, gathering her dress underneath her as she sat down. He sat at the other end, and without thinking he reached out and took her hand. She smiled, wrapping her fingers around his hand as they’d done so many years ago, while running headlong through the orchards next to the castle.

“I’m so very sorry about your father, Caspian. He was always so kind to me. You must miss him dreadfully.” Caspian looked down quickly and she heard him say quietly, “Thank you. Yes, I miss him every minute of every day.” He met her eyes once more, “But we were able to right the wrongs done to him and Narnia, for which I am very grateful.” She smiled at him again, “And here you are, a King! My childhood friend. I really didn’t think you’d remember me.”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Caspian’s dark brown eyes gazed into yours and he held your hand even tighter. “Of course I remember you! Do you think I’d forget my only friend?! Your visits and the little time we spent together made my life bearable.”

You were shocked, and felt so sad for him. “Oh, Caspian! I can’t have been your only friend, surely?” His eyes filled with tears and he looked down again, “Believe me, you were. I was so lucky that we’d met before my father died, so it would have looked strange if my uncle had banned us from meeting. He kept me totally isolated most of the time. I think he did that so people maybe wouldn’t notice when it was time to kill me.”

Cornelius hadn’t told you it had been this bad for him! Your own eyes were watering now as you thought about the hardships he’d had to face at such a young age. Without giving it much thought, you flung your arms round him and hugged him tightly. His head came to rest on your shoulder and your hand went to the back of his head, stroking his silky hair. His shoulders shook slightly and you knew he was crying, so you just held him until he was ready to sit back from you. He stood up abruptly and turned to look out of the window, a hand swiftly wiping his cheeks dry.

He gave a choked laugh, “I’m so sorry, this was supposed to be a happy reunion and we are both crying,” looking down at you as you also wiped tears away. “I’m sorry, Caspian. I mentioned your father and perhaps I shouldn’t have?” He shook his head, “No, I’m glad that you did. And at least we have now spoken of his passing and can remember and talk about happier times.” You smiled at him, “Yes, I shall enjoy that. Although maybe I should speak firstly about how worried I was on the occasion we came to visit, and you were not there. I asked as many guards and lords as I could where you were, but I was told to stop being a nosy child. My father would say nothing to me either, despite my tantrums!”

Caspian burst out laughing, “Oh I remember your tantrums so well! I’m impressed he didn’t give in to you in the face of one of those!” You slapped him lightly on the arm, also laughing, “Caspian! You’re supposed to be my friend!” He became serious again, “I most certainly am. I’m overjoyed to have you back in my life. So much has happened in the past few years, and there has been so much to do, but rest assured I would have tracked you down eventually.” His hand went to your face, stroking your cheek gently and you felt your breath catch. He looked so handsome. Very much a man now, rather than the adolescent boy you’d once known.

His head moved much closer to yours, and you thought for a moment that he was going to kiss you.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Caspian suddenly realised what he was about to do, and pulled back sharply. He should not kiss her.

They’d only just met again, but he knew that all his feelings for her were still there. He’d just pushed them down, deep deep down, so that he could carry out what he’d needed to do for Narnia and for his father’s memory.

He’d been in love with her when he was a boy, and now that he was a man - he knew that he still loved her. He’d nearly passed out when he’d seen her again today after being apart from her for so long. All those suppressed feelings had come raging back through his veins in an instant, overwhelming, all-consuming, setting his mind and body alight with a burning passion.

But she’d said he was her friend. So he doubted that she felt the same kind of love for him that he felt for her. He must bear that in mind and act accordingly, no matter how much he wished it wasn’t the case.

Stepping back from her, he let his hand fall from her face and smiled sadly at her.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

[rinharu-purple]

Gavin x MC's Lore in S1 Pt.1

CH 1-10: Meet Cute Conspiracy

After two and a half years, 37 chapters and a fair amount of blood sweat and tears, MLQC has reached its season finale in ENG server.

I must say, post CH24 the storyline has lost a lot of momentum, however I enjoyed the ending of it as well as the new beginning.

What I really love about it thought, that the story of Gavin and MC came in full circle and now I can finally tell their story from beginning to the end. It’s a fairly long post, which I've actually lost due to a software crush during writing first draw and had a mild nervous breakdown (yay!)

Therefore this post in it's final form is a team work and I would like to thank some extremely valuable people to me. @playheej Thank you for painstakingly scripting CH2 after I’ve lost my first draft. Without your help I couldn’t ever finish this!💗 @cheri-cheri You know I can’t appreciate your contributions to this fandom and companionship enough. Thank you for your hard work in proofreading and fruitful discussion sessions! @sin-with-quiche @purple-cat-demon Thank you so much for the emotional support all the way preparing this and lifting my spirits up when I was busy whining over the lost draft, you girls rock! ^_^

Warning: This post has nothing but spoilers from MLQC S1!

Warning 2: If you decide to refer to this work, please make sure to mention it ^_^

Gavin and MC’s story began 6 years before the events of CH1, when our lovebirds attended Loveland High together when they were 16 and 17 years old respectively. They had a fairly distant relationship in which MC's initial awareness of Gavin's existence grew into interest and to MC “lurking” around senior years' quarters or catching glimpses of Gavin's athletic body, whereas Gavin felt awestruck upon seeing MC in the rain for the first time and then observed her gradually from afar before finally developing a crush on her. Unfortunately, their interactions didn’t go beyond keeping tabs on each other, and Gavin had to leave before graduation. They did not see each other for 6 years. A very detailed storyline of this period can be found here by @ginkgomoon which did an amazing job in compiling everything, so make sure to take a look at that to understand the humble beginnings of Gavin and MC’s relationship.

Fast forward to today, Gavin requested to be dispatched to Loveland City on his own accord so that he could be close to MC again. This is exactly what happens in CH1 as Gavin sees MC for the first time after six years of longing... Though only from afar.

In CH1, MC is introduced to all the love interests...except Gavin. Gavin's introduction is left till CH2, and PG generously spends a whole chapter doing that. Despite the lack of a proper introduction and an interaction with MC, CH1 still gives us a glimpse of him detecting  energy waves when MC is saved by Victor. He doesn't see the “car accident" since he rushes to the scene after the EVOL fluctuation takes place.

...What I didn't notice is that with that gust of wind, a man appeared noiselessly in the sky above the city. Even in that windless afternoon, his windbreaker somehow flutters. The gun in his holster shines coldly. He presses the call button on his headset”

Agent B-7, energy wave detected in Loveland. Sending coordinates. Target locked. Taking action immediately

His sharp vision follows the girl's figure until she leaves the street

Before we even grasp who he is, he's already left the scene and us poor Gavin stans hungry for more (typical Gavin). And mind this outfit for it will make a reappearance.

The next day, in CH2, we have a whole chapter dedicated to MC and Gavin meeting each other after six years of separation and what a reunion it is! Their paths cross as MC receives a special assignment by City News for investigating a series of warping incidents and her contact person at Loveland Police station under the phone number18xxxx is<...drumroll...> Our “Big shot's boy” GAVIN!

MC is frozen at first by hearing the name alone and instinctively wants to flee due to Gavin in her memories. She flutters and shudders just as our birdcop is having his own turmoil of emotions behind his beautiful amber eyes. Upon seeing the mixture of fear and unfamiliarity on MC’s face Gavin's very first line to MC is “Do you remember me?” since she is acting strange in front of him and of course our MC remembers, just not in the way our Gav-babe would wish her to. Realizing this, he asks her whether something's wrong. While MC denies this, he knows...he has a long way to go, many misunderstandings to clear, and a heart to steal. Gavin is pretty surprised by MC’s reactions and he finds it interesting when she describes their encounter as “a coincidence”. It isn't, because Gavin was the one who arranged this case for MC so that he could meet her again.Thus, this was their “Meet Cute Conspiracy” went according to Gavin’s plan (minus MC freaking out at the sight of him lol). ^_^

Despite finding Gavin cold and uptight at first, MC takes note of how he  slows down his pace and also offers her his long term cooperation in case she needs his help in future shows. MC is a person who is well aware of her surroundings and thus realizes the discrepancy between the Gavin from her memories and the Gavin standing right next to her.

Her train of thoughts and feelings have a 180° turn during the events in CH2:

A tall guy wearing all denim who gives off a strong, uptight feeling even without the uniform, making her feel a little afraid, a face that is older but more tamed than the one from her memories, a bloody letter, wanting to flee, thinking the uneasy feeling over the past few days were pointing to that moment, cold steely eyes that make her shutter, not a straight arrow cop, coldness enveloping her, he would be great on camera (wtf MC, confused much? :D).

Afterwards, they set off to meet Hollow for the investigation and we have the very first body contact between them after MC meets Sparky. She goes from this....

...to this. This change is sponsored by Gavin and Sparky, a dynamic duo ;)

As they reach Verdant Plaza in 10 minutes from the Police Station, MC gets numb feet, which will become a running gag afterwards for MC’s default feeling whenever Gavin gives her a rush of feelings. My theory here is that besides making MC hug him tightly, Gavin is also trying to see how far one can get at top speed in 10 minutes. From what I can see in City Stroll, the Police Station is slightly closer to Verdant Plaza than Flower Fair, and he deduces that one cannot cover the distance between Verdant Plaza and Flower Fair (23 km) in 10 minutes (btw you can at around 140 km/h with godly driving skills and a briefcase full of speeding tickets, but yeah I see what you mean Gav, the police would know someone driving that fast constantly in the city).

Anyways, they interrogate Hollow, who swoons over Gavin and ignores MC completely. Gavin stands for his girl and gives Hollow his imnotintoyoujustanswerthequestion505 gaze which, as always, meets his purpose and shuts Hollow down. But Hollow is not the only third wheel for our meet-cutes here as MC's phone rings and one of my favorite moments takes place. Lucien teases MC and tortures our birdcop, thus starting a series of “Gavin's jealousy on Lucien” moments which can be read in detail here. So both of our lovebirds have a threat present in the scene. On another note, MC thinks Lucien knows about the source of her unease (the feeling she has towards Gavin at first sight) for some unknown reason. Why do you think that is?

Leaving Hollow in her puddle of tears and drool, they go to Verdant Plaza to investigate the case further and spend the whole afternoon together. During this time, MC also has a chance to awe over Gavin's deduction and analytical skills as the holy trinity paving the way to MC's crush on Gavin forms a cross in her heart...

His looks (the father), his character (the son) and his intelligence (the holy ghost).

Right after this, Gavin drops her off at her apartment and tosses her the bracelet. Please make a pause here and listen to this call about bracelet and enjoy pre-relationship Gavin. How clueless and flustery he is. I will post a couple of other calls so that we can witness his character development together.

And thus, the most recognizable love token between Gavin and MC makes its appearance and MC instantly loses herself in memories from high school - the music room, late autumn and the ginkgo leaves… moments that always managed to take her breath away. Our skillful in bijou design but as much weird in love Gav-babe rips her from these romantic thoughts as he reveals that he put a tracker on the bracelet (he didn't- team no-tracker here). After MC asks why he gave this to her, he replies...please everybody listen to Joe's voice as he says “So in an emergency, I can respond instantly”. This is the voice of a guy coming up with a lame excuse on the spot. Our Gav-babe thought as much to conceal his true intention by saying he put a tracker on it but didn’t take into account that she might wanna know why. This fact doesn't stop her from cherishing it though. She likes the bracelet from the very first moment despite it being given under the weirdest circumstances. MC thinks to herself that Gavin has indeed changed. What she doesn't realize though, is how her train of thought evolved within a span of 8 hours after Gavin saves her from a BS agent who tries to stab her after the space folding evolver beams her up to the alley from her dream and she lands in Gavin's strong and warm arms, using his EVOL.

“The light of the setting sun made his face appear so handsome that I dared not look at him. This is high above the city, it's a bit cool, but his embrace is warm…”. 

This time you've made it Gavin. But also welcome to the club MC ^_^ I believe the reason behind MC falling into Gavin so fast upon reuniting with him is that she already had a slight crush on him during high school but was taken aback by his reputation and her opinion on him due to the numerous rumours. Remember how she still thinks he would look goods in the camera while internally freaking out of fright? MC is like many Gavin stans. Before everything, she finds him really good looking and then gets hit by the countless other good qualities he brings with the package. As scientifically proven, it's always about the looks at first ;)

Now that his EVOL is out in the open, Gavin tells MC about the Black Swan Organisation, evolvers, how MC got the assignment, and that she has the precognition EVOL. But he also tells her that the car accident two weeks earlier was a plot to kill her. Here, we find out that Gavin knows Victor from his childhood years and that Gavin couldn't have more distaste of him or of knowing him (same here).

MC asks him more about his EVOL, and he demonstrates his superpowers by making rose petals dance in the air around them...MC's heart skips a beat and our birdcop delivers his household line:

“As long as you're in the wind, I can sense you”

Can it get any meet-cuter than this? You tell me!

When MC's back home, surely Gavin accompanies her there, she confides in the ginkgo bracelet and finds solace in it and Gavin caresses her with a breeze to give her a feeling of peace and kids...that's how MC met Gavin.(insert Ted Mosby here)

---------

After that, we don't see Gavin often but get this. I think CH3 is taking place parallel to Trio Date because here, MC visits Kiro at the set of Project X and a security breach causes fans to swarm in and cause mayhem. Yes I know on the date it's about an album launch, it's my headcanon here because I don't think that there is a more fitting time for this to happen and since it involves pre-relationship Gavin, it fits. Other than that, Gavin sends MC an SMS to give her his number and I will let Joe take on the task of expressing my feelings towards this not straight arrow cop action of Gavin here. (Fun Fact, Lucien invites her to watch the movie Manhattan with him but MC can't because of Kiro's project so Lucien organizes another screening for the day after).

I don't know about you, but whenever MC takes note of wind in the main story, I must think about Gavin and I also believe he is the reason behind it, much like Shaw being responsible for the precipitation. In CH 3-15, wind kicks up and MC reminisces on  the sea breeze from the summer when she was 17 and ready to embrace the future.

That night, Gavin is in his special uniform and is ready to head out but wants to say a proper goodbye to her...opens the chat session:

Type, delete, type, delete and at the end hesitates and decides not to.

But MC, now at home, senses the summer breeze and feels a refreshing coolness and has a sweet dream. Coincidence? I think not ;)

Gavin is on his mission in CH4, so we don't see him. But he calls MC and they talk about Souvenir as MC tells him about the one-of-a-kind restaurant with negative reviews on everything except for the food to which Gavin replies that a restaurant with bad management might not be the best feature for the TV. MC says it's because Kiro recommended it (funnily Gavin doesn't react to this, making me think back on my Trio Date hypothesis). When MC tells him that she got kicked out, he suggests going there first and then letting her in. MC says that they would be kicked out altogether. It's then that Gavin asks about the name of the place and has indeed heard of the name Souvenir, but can't put his finger on it. Still offers to meet her in front of Souvenir and to take her somewhere else. But MC says she wants to deal with it herself and Gavin doesn't push the issue further ('cuz the best boi gotta best boi).

My guess is that the mission is the one from Airport Date and Gavin has “family issues.” Thinking back, Shaw was foreshadowed all the time!

By the end of CH4 MC reminisces about Gavin telling her about the assasination incident, and believes that the cruel world is still a long way away from her.

Afterwards, I often thought back on that time. At that time, we had just met, and the story had just begun. At that time, I had no idea what lay behind that glittering memory. The cruel fact that would make my world collapse.

In CH5 Gavin returns from his mission only to find MC tailing Lucien like a stalker for days and nights relentlessly. Our jealous birdcop is back and he gives MC one hell of a wakeup flight as he kidnaps her from her office on the 19th floor. MC sees a hint of danger on Gavin's face and gives him a good old cold shoulder therapy by telling him that she was too sleepy to answer his calls (ouch!). But Gavin isn't helping either by mysteriously asking for permission to take a picture of her photo with her father or that she needs to contact him when she meets any suspicious evolvers to which she rightfully responds that the only one fitting this description is his magnificent self :)

“Anyone might hurt you, but I'm the least likely to“ #truestory

Gavin leaves and goes to investigate Twin Leaves Orphanage, where he finds the spot on which MC posed with her father on the photo he brought with him. Gavin is again on a mission with unknown parties and again why he does the things he does, but MC doesn't. CH5 is finished with the score Lulu 2-Gavbabe 1

At the same time, Loveland City gives MC a long-term assignment and considering the fact that it was Gavin in the first place, it could mean that this also has something to do with him...It doesn't as we find out in this call in CH5-19 and this call also raises some confusion about the bracelet. Let me clear it with my take on this for you. Gavin asks her whether she's visited the orphanage on that day and when MC asks him how he knows he turns it around and asks her what she thinks, but at the beginning of the call he doesn't know where she is. So my take is that he knows about the orphanage because that is his current mission and therefore has surveillance in the area. He also warns her about the area but also lets it slip that he's worried about her. He also tells her that he will be leaving on a major case. Even now our birdcop doesn't leave without saying goodbye <3

CH6...Rude Awakening introduces Gavin in CH6-13 with this famous dream as MC shouts Gavin's name which results in everyone teasing her for thinking about him too much. MC blushes like hell but is also scared to such an extent that her heart beats out of her chest. Frantically, she tries to call Gavin but he doesn't answer...at 4 am in the morning. MC again, confides in her ginkgo bracelet and a night breeze caresses her face. She is standing on the balcony and thus in the wind, Gav-babe senses her- how I love this about them! And get this, she is wearing the ginkgo bracelet in CH6, in Lucien's chapter. Meaning, she does carry Gavin's bracelet all the time!

Once again, MC has romantic thoughts related to him. She remembers how he said that he can find her in the wind and talks to him in her mind. Telling him to show up, since she is standing in the wind, to tell her not to worry, that it was just a dream, nothing more. The scene in her mind is when she is in his strong and warm arms and she doesn’t dare to look at his handsome face.

She spends the rest of her day with the programme and takes a walk with Lucien afterwards. Just as Lucien asks MC if she's standing close to him and having a bad feeling because the wind is kicking up, there he was!:

-Gavin!

Gavin has a threatening and unfamiliar expression that gives MC a fright and she hides behind Lucien. Lucien holds her hand and smiles at Gavin all the while telling MC not to let go of his hand, and to stay back because Gavin is dangerous (my bby, how dare you Lucien!). Despite all of this, MC still holds on to the belief that Gavin wouldn't hurt her in spite of the gun pointed at her.

“He took aim without an ounce of hesitation.

He aimed at me coldly...

Shooting to kill...

The muzzle flashed.”

BLAM!

If we could turn back time, I bet we would still end up here. It's not fate, or a trap cleverly laid. It's because I am me, and you're you. We would make the same decisions and embark on the same path to the same end. The gale ripped the corner off the cruel truth.

The past me died in that moment

CH7 starts in a scene two weeks after the Rude Awakening moment with MC hiring Minor, the ultimate Gavin stan and the best wingman on earth. Talkative, outgoing, troublemaker, in good shape and sometimes helped old ladies cross the street, copied my homework hung around Gavin all the time, a social chameleon and a shameless kiss-up. MC gives him his first assignment on her project “Letters in Time ''. They decide to go through high schoolers to search for ideas and MC visits Loveland High and runs across to Gavin and another running gag in the lore is introduced:

(Both simultaneously) What are you doing here? - They will be doing this on a regular basis from now on, just watch ;) They then tell each other about their businesses while playing with a pebble (because they must act like teenagers now lol)

They go to Lynn's Kitchen and have their favorites brought to them without MC even having to order anything. Gavin eats spicy noodles with garlic, cilantro and thinly sliced beef as MC goes for noodles in a clear broth, chopped scallions and a half boiled egg. We also finally put the pieces of the puzzle together as to why MC was so scared of him and that is because she witnessed the boss of Lynn's Kitchen hand over money to him and she thought it was protection money. Not only does Gavin arrange for them to eat there outside of operating hours, he also convinces them to give MC an interview...on top of it leaves without paying the bill.

Gavin drives her home as usual. MC suggests to meet him at 9 am the following day in the hopes of ditching him (somebody hasn't learned her lesson, oh well the hard way it is then :P). The next morning MC revisits the kitchen to meet the lady boss and there her perspective is changed radically as the owners tell her that the extortion of money she thought she had witnessed was actually them paying their debt to Gavin who saved their son's life after rushing him to the hospital when he had an accident with his bike. (Gavin is a national treasure and needs to be protected at all costs). Not only that but she also finds out that he actually paid for the food way earlier. While she's buried in a heavy pool of guilt, Gavin catches her and puts the cherry on top because it's 9 o'clock already, the fake time she told Gavin and our birdcop is as punctual as a German. Being caught red-handed, MC flutters but Gavin is such a baby he tells her she needs to hurry if she doesn't want to be late for her interview. But MC drags him in the opposite direction (since she's done with the interview already. Doesn't feel good now does it MC? :))

Anyways, they see Minor at Loveland High and Gavin finds out that he's working for MC. While Minor is busy swooning over Gavin and about to bring up the letter, our trio learn that a student's gone missing and Gavin takes the matter in his hands. He tells MC to wait for him in the classroom after her interview and Minor to look after her.

You see, CH7 is about MC and Gavin clearing all the misunderstandings from six years ago. While alone, Minor asks MC about the letter from back then which startles her. Appalled by his knowledge of the alleged warning letter,he frankly replies that he was the one who put the letter in her drawer and that it wasn't a threat.

Before MC can inquire further, she spots the missing girl and decides to follow her but gets abducted and her dream from the beginning of the chapter starts unravelling. MC tries to buy some time until Gavin finds her and for the first and last time in the game we hear her calling an LI’s name and waits for the rescue. 

“Save me Gavin, please!”

MC tries to escape but to no avail. Jay (the abductor and brother of the missing girl) presses a knife against MCs throat and her knight arrives in the nick of time:

Gavin: No way

MC's world comes to a halt and we can literally hear her loud heartbeats. Gavin immobilizes Jay and stretches his long, steady hands to MC she would recognize anywhere (she was him only one or twice before but MC is romanticizing Gavin to the max already.). She even thinks that his tall frame is glowing in the sunlight and Gavin hugs her for the first time, so tightly that it hurts a little albeit warm and comforting that can melt anyone and bring tears to the eyes. When he finally tells her that it's ok now , “I'm here”, MC thinks it was worth the peril (wth girl you almost died!).

As we will see later on, any Gavin x MC romance will always be disturbed by an external factor. Here it is the sniper shot MC somehow forgot from her dream (I can see that the embrace melted her but damn). Gavin evades the bullet by using aerodynamics and in the coolest way possible in the anime. Afterwards he tells her to hold on tight and the next thing is our lovebirds soaring through the air. This time, ginkgo leaves are dancing in the air. MC enjoys the scenery and drifts back to her memories until she realizes the scar on his collarbone, which frightens her. MC's heart skips another beat. She looks into his amber eyes and gets lots in them (her words) and is assured that everything is alright and that his slight smile softens his dour countenance...she keeps staring at him just like that until Gavin rips her off yet another swooning session:

“How long are you gonna make me hold you?” smh

MC gets all blushy so she changes the topic to the matter at hand and asks him about the missing girl and explains why she left the classroom. Gavin lets this slide and suggests that she needs to be more careful next time.

Being the third time some mysterious people tried to kill MC and having Gavin save her, MC tells Gavin how Jay told her that throwing MC off the rooftop would bring his sister back and then showers Gavin with questions. This is when she remembers the gunshot and worries about him.

Gavin gives her quick answers but also assures her that he's fine and that he needs to finish his business. He adds in his charming voice

“...and don't go anywhere this time?”

As he leaves, MC reminisces about the scene in Rude Awakening and how Gavin was actually there to save her and how she didn't believe Lucien when he said that Gavin was dangerous. Gav-babe fired a shot to change the other bullet's trajectory to save MC. He can shoot a bullet in the air! This is one out of this world skill!

Gavin asked Lucien to take her home but contacted her later in the night and told her everything.

This is also when she realizes that her camcorder was recording all this time. Including her making him hold her for an infinite time and getting caught again by Gavin while contemplating erasing that part before handing it as evidence to the police. Gavin flicks a loose sand from her hair and then her wrist and puts the ginkgo bracelet on that she had lost during the commotion. MC is all blushy again. When he clutches her hand for the first time MC's ear turns flaming and red and her mind goes blank, she would let Gavin lead her wherever and she finds Gavin's face gentler under the sun...

“An indescribable emotion welled within me

I tried to recall the first time I saw him

This ill-tempered, occasionally enigmatic man that I once feared had inspired all sorts of thoughts”.

This is where she gathers her courage and asks Gavin when he first noticed her to which he at first replies that he doesn't remember (way to go Gav) which throws MC completely off since she threw her out there. Her initial sense of expectation and resulting disappointment kinda hints at her romantic interest towards him. Once our birdcop is done teasing he smiles as if signaling that he does remember (he even remembers what she was wearing, what day it was, how was the weather on that day etc.). Gavin was mesmerized by MC at first sight in the rain while she was putting a handkerchief on a stray cat. He kept watching her out of the place and she gave him a pure and comforting smile with her untainted, innocent eyes. She was wet and cold so covered her with his jacket and charged into the rain (#justgavinxmcthings)in the game it say they charged into the rain and cheri and I decided on the CN version. Since MC doesn't remember this, he simply says that he knew who she was before she ever noticed him.

After the sun goes down they report at the police station and the topic of the camcorder pops up again as Gavin assures MC that he can make a copy of everything irrelevant to the case...you know...in case she wants to listen to their banter at home while Gavin's not around lol. MC answers wryly and Gavin repeats that she doesn't have to worry about anything not relevant to the case, which leaves her all blushy again. I swear to god, this guy can see her thoughts through and through.

Their dialogue takes a darker turn as they talk about the main reason behind it all. Jay was searching for his runaway sister but MC was his target as his task was to position her on the roof for the sniper to have a clear shot (since when do snipers need someone to position their targets so that they can have a clear shot lol).

He then tells her that the bullet was identical to the one from the orphanage. Gavin ensures that they are taking steps to prevent this from happening again (and it doesn't) but MC's heart skips another beat and something weighs on her chest.

And another amazing Gavin X MC moment takes shape as Gavin sees MC intentions before she even finishes her sentence about not noticing her EVOL before and how she would've never thought that someone would target her because of that. MC is comparing herself with Josie and Gavin gets this instantly (I didn't tbh). MC thinks that if they had helped Jay earlier he wouldn't be in jail today, to which Gavin earnestly replies that he is happy that someone caught him before he hit rock bottom. He was looking at MC while saying this and MC realises that this is a soft side of him she's never seen before.

MC asks if he would still want to be an evolver given the choice. He replies with a resolute yes, because he has someone he wants to protect and adds:

“It's always the darkest before the dawn

Has Gavin gone through dark times?”

The mode changes instantly as they both try to change the topic simultaneously

(Gavin/MC): You...

a pause

(Gavin/MC): When you...

Gavin gentlemanly gives MC the first word and she finally asks him about the letter.

The million dollar question is there but Gavin doesn't give her an answer since it doesn’t matter anyone and asks her what she thinks about him now, now that she's cleared her misconception of him from years back and MC gives the most boring answer possible:

“Well, you're ill-tempered and impatient, but you're not the monster they described. Nothing stops you from our goals, and you've got a kind heart. Well, maybe not quite kind, but very clear and open”. 

I believe she tones down her thoughts because he kinda leaves her hanging when she puts her out earlier. I think had Gavin given her more courage, she would also say that he makes her feel safe and that she's thankful for the bracelet. That he has many more facets to discover and that he's looking drop dead gorgeous and she can't take her eyes off him haha.

Later when she's home, Minor comes to the rescue and sends her an URL where Gavin expresses his regret of not having given the letter himself, and that it was a farewell letter because of the post-it note MC hung in Lynn's Kitchen. MC is taken aback by the fact that Gavin knows about this. When asked about the text in the letter he says that it doesn't matter since they have a lot of time in the future, pretty much he tells her that it doesn't matter now that they've reconnected.

CH8 has Gavin MIA again. MC thinks about him as Kiro tells her about Black Swan and then in CH9-8 MC calls Gavin to inform him about the information she's found out with Kiro but Gavin doesn't pick up. So MC sends him a text. The wind howls outside the window. MC looks out and sees lightning in the distance. It suppresses a bad feeling in her and she draws the curtains. As it appears, Gavin is once again busy with family issues. The office again teases her on her love life, though Kiki and a nameless guy discuss on Lucien and Kiro while Willow says she hasn't heard MC mentioning Gavin in a while.

In CH9-10 MC throws a party with the team to celebrate the success of the interview with Key and drinks a little bit too much. Luckily Minor is there to keep an eye on her and even tells MC that he did it on behalf of Gavin. While MC asks herself what this has to do with him, she realizes that he is still MIA and worries since he's never done this before, and sends another text.

“Gavin, busy lately? I have something important to tell you. Call me ASAP”

I bet my dollar that when Gavin sees this message he will freak out and think about any possibility other than something related to Black Swan XD

and freak out he does as CH10 starts with his voice message

“Why were you calling me? How come you didn't pick up? Is everything alright?”

When they finally manage to have a proper phone call Gavin tells her to come downstairs and that he is going to take her to work...of course he is, Bestboi is back baby, fret no more! ^_^. MC runs downstairs (I will show here the difference over time in the last part of this series)

MC's first thought is how cool Gavin looks but then as Gavin sees her MC also observes how his face looks happier upon seeing her. As MC babbles about her new deal Gavin remarks on how she is no longer afraid of him which she confirms and says that the misconception is cleared up. Gavin says that because she wasn't responsive he came to check on her the day before and saw her sleeping (I think that is the only explanation as to how he can be so calm, considering the fact that she was MIA). He is kinda upset about her not telling him about being hospitalized though. Our bircop has brought a personal helmet for her and puts his jacket on her, causing a blushy face. MC's heart pumps as she leans on his back and Gavin tightens her hands around his waist. Gavin is riding slower and MC takes note of this (our Jupiter is careful as she was hospitalized <3 )

After this sweet reunion Gavin asks her about her call and SMSes and she tells him about the message she saw on Black Swan

“We come from the future, with the sole mission to accelerate human evolution. We have EVOL. We create all. We cannot be stopped, for we hold the world in our hands. The Queen will soon awake. We look forward to marching together into a new world.”

Gavin asks her how she acquired this information and she tells him about the hacker summit. Gavin says that this information helps him a lot since he has also gathered some leads but that she needs to stay safe and leave the rest to him. After telling each other a hundred times to be careful and stay safe Gavin leaves as MC keeps worrying about him.(#justgavinxmcthings)

If I add one last headcanon here- These two dates probably take place during this era. Considering the fact that Gavin appears on her shows and takes her to work in the morning and rides her home at night. 

As we know CH10 ends with Shaw injuring MC and thus we can look forward to more family feud, romance and drama in the next episode here.