#impressed i haven’t made more Harding simp posts before now
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
tinkerbitch69 · 2 days ago
Text
Having got Harding all the way to hero of the veilguard level I cannot for the life of me figure out why you would ever want to romance anyone else in this game (other than like roleplaying reasons obvs)
She is just so cute and precious and adorable and smol and kind and caring and trying so hard to be her best and it’s fucking criminal the game has so far not allowed me to swoop her up into my arms for a giant hug at all possible opportunities. Lesbophobic, dwarfphobic, all kinds of phobic. I expect better BioWare >:(
I would fatally lyrium poison myself for her <333
11 notes · View notes
strangeinternetwasteland · 4 years ago
Text
Finding Home- Dabi x Fem! Reader
This is my submission for Day 6 Places of @konoblog-simps server collab
Warning: Angst, Lots of Fluff, Soft Dabi
WC:2k
Leaving everything behind was the best decision he’d ever made. He was finally free, especially after emptying the bank account his father had for him. Nothing was holding him back. The few days after the big fight the anger was still there. It didn’t come to any physical blow but felt as if there had been. There was no looking back now, he will no longer be the unwanted son. He could change his name, his personality, and his whole story. He could be the person he truly wanted to be.
His first destination was the small city of Takayama in the Gifu Prefecture. The city always held a special appeal to him since it was known for the olden style of Japanese Culture. Something he’d always been interested in since a young boy. He stayed at the Hida Takayama Hostel for a few days. On the last night, he decided to stay at the Takayama Ouan with its breathtaking view of the city. It was here where the two of you met. Both of you spent your time talking about your future dreams and plans, and just enjoyed one another’s company.
The next morning he was planning on moving to a small picturesque town in the southern islands of Japan. ‘It was the perfect beginning to his new life.’ he told you. You decided to join him before continuing your next adventure. Here, the two of you spent two days watching the perfect sunsets the beach was named after. Most people didn’t pay any attention to you both assuming you were lovers lost in the moment.
You two exchanged numbers, in case your paths were fated to cross again. He left for Singapore, and you to South Korea. The few days spent with you left a wonderful impression on Dabi. The following days since Japan Dabi couldn’t stop thinking of you. The way your face lit up when talking about something you were passionate about, or the way you giggled when you were excited. It was those honest and earnest emotions from you he truly enjoyed. The memories helped him on the long and tedious train ride from Singapore through Malaysia. He got off a few times to get food or walk around.
Every stop he thought of calling or texting but restrained himself from doing so. He didn’t want to seem needy or clingy. A week later, when he was staying at a little hostel in Kluang in Malaysia, sipping on the most delectable cup of coffee when his phone chimed from you. You had sent greetings and wished him well. You had traveled through Russian and sent pictures of yourself at the Kremlin. How happy you looked in your picture. He wished he would’ve just joined you at that moment. He sent back well wishes and shared that he was currently enjoying a cup of coffee, with the promise to be the first one to text next time.
As the world trek continued for him, he found himself wandering through China trying all the delicacies he had heard about as he traveled. He spent a few days looking at the pandas, walked along the Silk Road, and saw the Terracotta Army before making his way through Mongolia, and taking in the breathtaking scenery of the grasslands. From Mongolia, he headed to Russia.
When he arrived at the Kremlin in Moscow, he stood exactly where you did, and snapped an identical picture to yours. He texted it to you as soon as he took it. He wore a small smile. You had texted him you were enjoying the beautiful colors of the Grecian seas, and how delectable the food was. He promised to visit Greece as soon as he could but had wanted to visit Mumbai, India first. You smiled knowing that you weren’t truly on this trek alone.
A few weeks had passed after the last text. You decided to text him to check on him. You found out he had been to see Mumbai, and sat on the famous Konkan coast. He also went to Jaipur to try Rajasthani cuisine and the street food in New Delhi. From there he went to Greece to learn and see the architecture of Athens, see the beautiful city of Santorini and see the first university in Greece.
He currently was in Lyon, France, while you were staying in Paris. He had plans to come to Paris in a couple of days. You made plans with him to meet in three days in Paris at a little restaurant called La Maison Rose in Montmartre. You were excited to see him, to say the least. You spent that morning going through all of the clothes you packed only to choose basic black slacks and a black shirt.
When you arrived you saw Dabi sitting at a table he definitely stood out against the Pink building. Your breath caught in your throat looking at him. When he looked up he saw you smiling. You knew that most people stared at him most of the time, and he did a good job ignoring them most of the time. However, with you, he seemed to fidget under your gaze. You weren’t sure if it was because you made him uncomfortable or if he was just like that.
“Hello, Y/N.” He greeted you with a kiss on each cheek. You felt electricity run through your body.
“Hello, how have you been? How is your trip going?” You asked with excitement. The two of you shared the highs and lows of your adventures, the pictures, and every ridiculous story you could. When the day got later you and Dabi grabbed dinner and wine. The feel of the city may have gotten to you, or perhaps it was the alcohol. You took Dabi back to your room and participated in evening affairs, as two lovers would do. This continued for another week. Waking up in his arms, enjoying the Parisian life with tourist flair, and getting to know another human through scandalous endeavors, and philosophical discussions post-coitus were the highlight of your time together.
You two had not discussed what would happen afterward, but deciding to part ways was a mutual agreement. You traveled south to Portugal and Spain, and he went north to the UK, Scotland, and Ireland. Another month had passed before you two had contact. For you, it wasn’t the most wonderful of occasions, but the positive pregnancy test you held in your hand deemed the matter important enough. You hoped he would be some sort of knight in shining armor, but you didn’t put a lot of faith in it. When you reached his voicemail all hope deflated, and you abruptly ended your trip and headed home.
Two more weeks had passed, and while you were still debating on the fate of your unborn child, you wondered what Dabi was up to. After his time in Morocco, he had traveled to Johannesburg, Durban, and then Cape Town in South Africa. When he was finally able to charge his phone properly for more than an hour, he heard your voicemail. His first thought was to call back since it had been two weeks since you had left the voicemail. You didn’t leave any clues or hints to the importance of your message, but you knew he’d call when he could.
It was early when you received his phone call you were in the middle of getting ready to work. You picked it up assuming it was your mother asking you to run an errand after work for her, or your boss asking you to work another double shift today. When your eyes looked at the name on the screen, your heart stopped for a brief second. You grew more and more nervous as you brought the phone to your ear. Without thinking, you pressed the green button.
“Hello.” Dabi’s voice said on the other line. “Hello? Y/N? Can you hear me?” His voice melts your insides. You thought back to the week you spent in Paris together tangled up in one another not caring about anything else.
“Hello?” You finally said into the phone.
“Hey, I am sorry about not calling you back sooner. I haven’t been able to charge my phone properly for some time. How are you doing? How’s your trek going?” His voice seemed light and carefree with a hint of exhaustion.
“Yeah. I am good. I have been back home for about 6 weeks.” You told him as nonchalantly as you could.
“Is something wrong? Are you okay? I thought you had another two weeks left?” His voice was gentle and full of surprise.
“Actually, I have something to tell you. The reason I ended my trip so abruptly was that I found out I was pregnant.” You felt nauseated from telling him. On the other line, you heard some shouting.
“Sorry, Y/N. I have got to go, but I will call you again as soon as I can.” Dabi rushed to say before hanging up the phone. The news hit him like a ton of bricks. He couldn’t remember exactly where you said you were from. He hoped he could find you on any social media site and figure it out from there. After an hour of searching, he figured out you lived in a small town in California. He immediately booked a flight to the closest Airport and hoped that would be enough.
Three days later without any phone calls or news from Dabi, you gave up. You figured that if he really cared, he would’ve called, or at least text you. You were in the middle of your day off when you heard the doorbell ring. Your mother was home for the day and you let her answer the door. From your room, you heard a deep voice speaking with your mother, but you couldn’t make out the words.
“I am very sorry ma’am, I was hoping to find Y/N here, but it seems I have the wrong house. Have a pleasant day.” Dabi spoke and turned around to leave. You rushed down the stairs and saw him.
“Dabi!” You cried out. He lifted his head at the sound of your voice. You tore down the stairs and straight into his arms. You hugged him as hard as you possibly could. You were astonished to see him standing before you, you started to cry. He wrapped his arms around you and buried his face in your hair. He stood and let you cry. Your mom walked away to let you two have a moment. After some time, you seemed to have calmed down. Dabi got down on one knee and proposed to you. You happily agreed.
In the months following, Dabi found a full-time job and rented an apartment for the two of you and the baby. You had a small wedding with your family present. A couple of years after the baby was born and you felt more stable, you planned a vacation for the three of you. You wanted to surprise Dabi and try to reconnect him with his family. After many phone calls to his parents when he wasn’t home. The three of you made your trip back to Japan. You thought back to where it all began on that serendipitous meeting. When you arrived at the airport you were met with open arms from Dabi’s family. You learned about his life growing up and his real name, which you promised to call him only when he was in real trouble.
In a quiet moment alone, Dabi took you aside, kissed you passionately, and thanked you for bringing him home to his family. A few days later, his mother and father thanked you as well. They loved seeing him as a loving husband, and doting parent, but most importantly you brought him back to them. Now their family was whole again.
45 notes · View notes
theboredwritertm · 4 years ago
Note
hi if you write smut.... maybe mando being the reader’s first time?? if not, ignore this :))
Innuendo 
Tumblr media
A/N: I’m going to admit this was the first request I received (ever) for The Mandalorian and it’s been gathering dust for the past couple of weeks (because I’m a simp for Cobb Vanth apparently??) Anyway, so sorry it’s taken this long, anon. I haven’t written this kind of thing before, but always love the chance to try new subject matter. Thanks for sending it through! I’ll admit this piece felt kind of clunky as I was writing it, but since I’m (sorta) sticking to a posting schedule now, I just wanted to get it done. And apparently, I can’t write something without backstory, so it got a little long!
Rating: 18+ for adult situations
Pairing: Din Djarin x Reader
Warnings: Awful jokes and innuendos, awkwardness, a clueless Din, probably swearing, consensual sex, loss of virginity
Word Count: 5930 (Once again, consider the first 3000 words terrible foreplay)
Summary: After putting up with months of your supposedly-unintentional innuendos, Din finally takes charge…only to find out things aren’t quite what he expected.  
He’d picked you up like a Bantha tick and hadn’t been able to shake you since.
You’d managed to argue your way into a semi-permanent position onboard the Crest after what he would call a rescue, but what you still stubbornly referred to as an ‘assisted retreat’, and it didn’t look like you planned on leaving any time soon. 
So, he was stuck with you. At least that’s how he liked to think of the situation.
Never mind that it was nice to have someone to come back to after a long mission that could actually talk back to him. Or that you kept the ship neat and tidy. Or that you were practically a live-in babysitter for the little one at this point. Not to mention the way you always managed to throw together decent meals for the three of you that didn’t always come out of a pack – and that you seemed to enjoy doing so. 
And never mind that he liked listening to your soft, happy hums as you stirred together whatever ingredients you had managed to pull together, and that he’d stand in the doorway, silent as a shadow as he took this in, thinking to himself that if a Bantha was half as lucky to pick up a tick like you, it could do much worse for itself.
But what really got to him were the jokes.
You weren’t what he would consider shy, not since you seemed to have no problem at all talking back to him when he had grown so used to others shrinking back at the mere sight of him – still, he hadn’t been expecting the first comment that had just sort of slipped out of you after a few weeks of being in each other’s company. By that point you were comfortable enough to throw the odd sarcastic quip around at each other without having to worry about someone getting offended, so that’s what he had decided to take it as: a joke. At least, the first time. 
Since the Crest was prone to the odd malfunction, given its age and what he guessed to be a few too many battles before it was decommissioned, it hadn’t surprised him to walk into a cockpit full of smoke one day. What had surprised him was the way you had stepped into the room, taken one look around as you waved the smoke from your face, and said, “Is it hot in here, or is it just you?”
He’d taken it as he thought he should. A bad joke. You were prone to them as he had come to find, and there’d been plenty of times that he’d heard you use the same kind of lines on people you needed something from. In his case, he guessed that something was shelter and a place to lay low for a while. And he had obliged.  
The second time wasn’t as bad. It was worse. Terrible, even. He had no idea what you’d been going for, but as he’d approached the ship after a particularly grueling job and found you standing on the ramp, one foot balanced on a crate and look of mock-seduction, you’d cocked an eyebrow and greeted him with, “Hey, handsome. Looking for a ride?” 
His response? A semi-confused, completely weary, “It’s my ship,” as he’d passed you by.
The third time he thought maybe he’d just taken it the wrong way.
You’d been discussing his work, how long it had been between jobs, and how you were both getting a little light on credits. You’d shaken your head, lounging sideways in the co-pilot seat in a way that always looked uncomfortable to him, but seemed just fine to you, when you’d said, “I don’t get it. There’s got to be work out there somewhere.” Then you’d paused for a moment before adding, “If I looked hard enough, I’m sure I could find a few openings for you to fill.” He had frowned and glanced over, certain he’d caught the passing ghost of a smirk on your lips before you resumed looking completely innocent, as if you were simply pondering the tricky predicament you found yourselves in. 
Then there was the touching.
At first, he’d found excuses to move out of your reach, an attempt to make his knee-jerk reaction to shrug you off look less obvious. Then one day he’d exercised some restraint as you’d popped a warm, friendly hand on his thigh before getting up from the co-pilot’s seat, announcing you were ready for bed, and he’d realized…he kind of liked it. What, to you, (he was sure) was just fleeting, friendly touches – something ordinary and human he had been deprived of growing up – started to become something he would linger on for hours, sometimes days afterwards. There was something frustrating in the way you could make something that felt so intimate to him look so casual to you. 
Another time, more recently, was probably the worst of the lot – but only because of the effect it’d had on him.
During the last stop-off, you’d both been standing in the holding bay surveying the handful of acquisitions he had stored in carbonite. Work had finally picked up, and you’d proven surprisingly helpful in acquiring them, but in that particular instance, there had been a slight problem – two of them were destined for the same planet, but the cities were in complete opposite directions. The timeframes to meet the employers would never have allowed him to make both trips. So, you’d stepped up, placing a hand on his arm as you’d surveyed the captives and said, “Look, I’ve never been much of a delivery person, but I’m more than happy to handle your package for you, just this once.” He’d stared at you, glancing down briefly at the hand on his armor, then up at your smile. “What do you say?” you’d asked, eyes never leaving his visor.
It had taken a troubling amount of self-control not to close up the ramp and show you just how okay with that proposition he was. Because it had been a long time since he’d last gotten the chance. He’d blame the dry spell on the kid, on new responsibilities that hadn’t been there before, but it had been like this for well-over a year, way before the Child had even come into his life. Gone were the days of his youth where he could pick someone out of a bustling cantina crowd and lead them off silently to some grimy bathroom or backroom for a quick fuck – them, for the thrill of being with one of his kind, and him, out of sheer physical need. He’d made peace with the fact that those days were behind him (and considering the state of some of those bathrooms – and some of the partners – it was probably for the best). But that didn’t mean that the need went away. And then there was you.
You, with your perfect skin and the glow of youth still about you. Your long, shiny hair that always made his fingers twitch with need to reach out and run them through it. Your (cute) annoying laugh, and the way you would crinkle up your nose as you found something he’d said particularly funny for some reason he could never figure out (him, fumbling with switches from the pilot’s seat as he attempted to focus, ignoring the smile prickling at his own mouth as the sweet sound of your giggling flipped the doofus switch in his brain). You with the form-fitting pants you sometimes wore when a mission called for something you could move easily in, ones that made his own pants feel a little more form fitting when he stared for long enough to let his mind wander. 
You and your damn jokes.
In the end, much to his surprise, it wasn’t a joke that had finally sent him over the edge. It was a simple word, and this time you actually had context to back you up, to assure him that it wasn’t you just fucking with him. Given the situation, it absolutely shouldn’t have had the effect on him that it did. But it had triggered something in him that even he didn’t know he was into.
The kid had been seated in his usual spot, in the seat behind Din’s, when you’d walked in and spotted his big eyes beginning to droop. You had developed a routine with him now – dinner, a bit of bonding time with Din in the cockpit, then bed – and so far, it had seemed to work well for the little guy. You were new to the whole childcare thing, but it made it easier for you to know where punishment and reward was warranted – especially since you were terrible at telling him off. One look at his little face and all wrongdoings were forgotten, something Din never seemed particularly impressed with (even if he was just as guilty of it as you were).
You approached the seat, reaching down to scoop up the sleepy bundle, and pulled him close.
“Come on, little one. Let’s leave daddy to his thing. Time for bed.”
As you turned and headed for the steps leading down to his cot, you failed to notice the way Din had stiffened in his seat. He turned his head to watch you go, eyes dropping down to linger on your ass as the word replayed in his mind. Then he turned back to the flight console, hand lingering over it in a split-moment of indecision, before he flicked on auto-pilot and got to his feet.
Enough was enough. 
*
You had absolutely been fucking with him.  
The first time it had just sort of slipped out, you’ll admit. After years of dealing with the Guild, which what was honestly a bit of a boys’ club, you’d developed the shitty flirting as a reflex to seem more at ease with whoever you were working with (and, okay, sometimes it got you better jobs, too. So what?) But after catching Din’s initial reaction (back when you knew him solely as the strong, silent Mando) you knew it was a thread you had to tug at. And tug at it, you had, just to see the man unravel. 
You knew the risks, knew the Mandalorian’s reputation, but part of you had wondered how far you could take it…how far you wanted it to go. 
You were about to find out.
As you pressed the button to close up the baby’s metal capsule, smiling as you caught one last glimpse of his sleeping form, you turned to find yourself face-to-helmet with the man himself. Even without seeing his face, there was still an intensity to the way he was looking at you, how he leaned in until you have no choice but to back yourself up against the cold steel of the wall. 
“This needs to stop,” he says, tone full of warning. Though you could have sworn there was a touch of something else to his voice. You want to say it sounds like desperation, but that feels a little self-indulgent, even for you.
“I’m sorry. Did you want to put the kid to bed? I just thought—”
“You know exactly what I mean.”
His hand comes up to rest beside you on the wall, as he leans in closer, effectively boxing you in. 
Oh, boy. 
You wonder if this is the same technique he uses on people he’s trying to get information from and if it should be having this effect on you. You’re almost certain it’s fear that you should be feeling, not, uh, this. You clear your throat and look up at him, wracking your brain for what you’ve done or said in the last ten minutes to warrant this kind of reaction from him, especially given the more obvious attempts to rile him up over the past couple of months. You’d picked up the kid, same as you did every other night. Maybe it was the way you’d bent over to do it. You glance down briefly at your clothes, but it’s not a particularly revealing outfit. You’d worn much less in front of him before with far less reaction. Maybe it was something you’d said?
Come on, little one. Let’s leave daddy to-
Oh. 
Oh.
The word leaves your mouth as a soft question intended mainly for yourself, a thought given voice. Din stiffens immediately, across from you. You look up at him, realizing at the same time he does that you’ve caught on.
“Wait, really? Is that what this abou—?”
His other hand comes up towards your throat, and for a moment you think he’s going to choke you (and you’re a little concerned that the feeling you get from that thought still isn’t fear) but his touch is gentle. His hand comes to rest on the side of your neck, thumb against your cheek as he looks at you for a moment before his voice comes through once more. 
“Say it again.”
You keep your gaze trained on his visor, where you’re sure his eyes are currently burning into you, and feel heat flooding in opposite directions in your body; up to your face, and down between your legs. And you feel ridiculous. You had never been into that kind of thing before, and you feel silly saying it; but if there’s one thing you are into, it’s the big guy in front of you – the one telling you to say this one little word, just for him – and having him this close talking to you like this, well it might just be worth the humiliation. Hell, maybe that’s something you’re into, as well.
“Daddy?”
The hand on the wall next to you pulls back as he growls, and slams forward fast enough to make you jump, smacking against the light switch, bathing you both in sudden darkness. You feel him lean in closer, certain that if you were to move your head even slightly forward it would come into contact with the cold beskar of his helmet.
“Do you want this?” his voice, gravelly with lust, sounds through the modulator, as the hand on your neck begins to slide downwards.
Shit.
Even if you had wanted to say no before – you hadn’t – you’re sure the low rumble in his tone would have changed your mind. You’d never heard him keyed up like this before. He always had a way of keeping it together, of staying in control, but you’d been messing with him for so long, teasing, casually throwing your innuendos around, knowing exactly what you were doing to him. You don’t know why you feel so surprised that it’s finally come down to this. It was kind of like a daydream, a fantasy finally coming true, and you feel completely unprepared.
“I do, Din, seriously, but, uh, there’s just—”
“What is it?”
You wonder how you’re going to break it to him. Honestly, you feel like a fucking fraud after everything you’ve put him through. You feel like you’ve been leading him on. You sigh and duck your head as you make your confession.
“I’ve never done this before.”
You don’t know how to explain it, but you feel him suddenly deflate, as if the tension in the room has been replaced with something akin to disappointment. 
“You’re joking?” And for once, you’re not.
He doesn’t mean for the words to come out the way they do, and even though he can’t say he’s any less turned on by this revelation he knows there are implications there that can’t be ignored if he wants to keep going. Only, right now, he’s not feeling very patient. 
You wince at the level of exasperation in his tone. “No.”
There’s silence for a moment and you have to reach out to feel that he’s still there, your hand landing on his chest plate. His hand comes up to rest on top of yours, and you think that maybe its to pull it away, that the lights will come back on at any moment and this opportunity will disappear forever, but he holds it there, thinking things over. 
“How much experience do you have? Any?”
There’s a change to his tone, now. He sounds curious.
“Yeah, I mean I’ve…”
Why does this feel so fucking awkward suddenly? You’ve spent the last six months in this man’s daily company, and while that might not seem like a lot of time in terms of getting to know a person, a majority of that was spent in the confined space of the Crest. You know each other’s routines now; all the little habits and pet peeves you can only pick up on when living in close quarters with someone else. You know he likes silence at meal times, but that he’s more open to conversation after time away on a job, and you’ve come to be able to tell just from his posture if that job had gone well. You know some of each other’s history – him mostly learning yours, since you’re by far the chattier person – yet, still, your face is hot with embarrassment as you recall the handful of experiences you’ve had. You’d never talked about this kind of stuff. You’d only ever joked about it.
“You know, like, mouth stuff.”
“Mouth stuff?” he repeats, and you swear there’s laughter in his voice when he says it.
Your face is beginning to feel unbearably hot, and you’re sure that if he decided to read your heat signature right now your skin would look like you’d just spent a week straight wandering the Tatooine desert. 
“Shut up, you know what I mean.”
“Hm,” he replies thoughtfully, like he does and that maybe he’s picturing it, “What else?”
“Hand—”
“Hand stuff?” he cuts you off, undeniably making fun of you now. 
You smack him in the chest plate, only managing to send a sting through your hand in the process, then push forward as if to move past him, like you think you could make your way anywhere in this darkness. “You know what? Maybe I don’t want this, after all.”
It’s a blatant lie, but you’re starting to think maybe humiliation’s not your thing after all.
He stops you and you don’t resist. You’d been wanting this pretty much from day one, back when he’d assisted with your retreat after a hunt had gone sideways – from the moment you’d watched him swagger into the cantina and stand calmly between you and the half-dozen armed men who were protecting their wanted leader. Back when you’d been just a young, fellow hunter in need of aid.
“Tell me what you want,” he asks you now.
You think about it for all of two seconds. “I want y—This. I want this.” You stumble over what is almost too much of a confession. It feels too soon to tell heavy truths like that, so you settle for what you already know he’s offering. “Just…go easy.”
There’s a silence that seems to drag out in the darkness, then a hiss as he removes his helmet. You feel his body move closer to yours, and you swear that’s his hair brushing your cheek as he leans in and says, “I can do that.”
He scoops you up without warning, reminding of how quick and strong he can be even when he’s weighed down by all that armor, and you find you can’t help yourself as you say: 
“You really know how to sweep a girl off her feet.”
Without the helmet, his sigh meets your skin as a warm huff across your face.
“Do me a favor?”
“Sure,” you reply without hesitation, feeling him still beneath you.
“No more jokes. Please.”
You laugh at the exasperation in his voice and find yourself caught completely off guard when you hear a huff of breath escape him that might have passed for laughter, too, but before you can say anything you find yourself being whisked away towards what you assume is the small space of his sleeping quarters. He seems to know his way well enough to not bump into anything along the way, but even so you hug yourself in tight to avoid any knocks to the head. You look up as a door rasps open in front of you and you can only barely make out the outline of the bed. Din is quick to place you down on it before he drops his helmet to the floor and starts tugging off his armor, placing it somewhere nearby. You sit on the edge of the mattress staring awkwardly into the darkness, knowing you should probably start undressing, too, but suddenly feeling self-conscious despite the pitch darkness that surrounds you. 
“Do you want me to undress you?” Din asks, and his tone is gentle enough for it to be a serious question. 
You shake your head in response after thinking it over for a minute before remembering he can’t see you. 
“You’ll have to use your words,” he says, “The lights need to stay off.” He pauses for a moment, then adds, “Is that okay?”
You know it’s not him asking if you’re expecting him to betray his creed in order for this to happen; it’s him asking if you’re okay with not being able to see anything for your first time. 
Your first time.
Urgh. It sounds so juvenile when you think about it that way, but so far, it’s living up to the adolescent kind of awkwardness you had expected, back when you had actually been an adolescent. You were past that now, and if you’re being honest with yourself that’s part of what’s making you feel self-conscious about this whole thing. You feel like this should have happened a long time ago. You wonder if Din thinks it odd that you’ve left it for this long.
“That’s fine,” you tell him quickly. Though you wish you could see him, not only to know what you’ll be working with, but also because doing it this way adds a layer of anonymity you didn’t necessarily want to associate with your first time. You’d always pictured it being with someone you felt close to – as cliché as it sounded, someone who was special to you. And even though that was true in this case, not being able to see that certain someone was detracting from the whole experience. 
You feel movement in front of you and a large, warm hand finds your knee, running it over the fabric that still covers your body.
“We don’t have to do this if you’ve changed your mind,” Din tells you. His voice is different without the helmet; softer, gentler. Or maybe it’s just the circumstances that has him talking to you this way. You’d heard him use this kind of tone on the Child, and you had always admired the level of patience he always managed to show the kid, but you’d never found yourself on the receiving end of it like this before. It’s comforting.
Comforting enough to confirm your decision.
His hand moves away as he feels you start to shimmy out of your clothes. Your top goes first, up and over your head, joining his pile on the floor, then you reach down for the button on the front of your pants. You pause, realizing how exposed you’ll be, even with the cool air meeting your already-exposed nipples. This is a different kind of exposed, you think; more intimate. You give yourself a moment. 
“May I?” he asks, and you’re surprised enough by his politeness that you nod, forgetting again he can’t see you, and breath out, “Yeah.”
You move your hand and let him take over, feeling his deft fingers make quick work of your button and zipper before he starts to tug the fabric down your legs, taking your pants and underwear all in one go. His hands find your knees and you sigh at the skin-on-skin contact, never expecting the man to feel this warm. You hear him drop down to his knees and suddenly feel warm breath between your legs. You make to close your legs at the unexpected sensation, unsure about having him this close to that area, but his hands come up to pull them back apart.
“What are you doing?” you ask, only to distract you both, because your heart feels like it’s going to beat out of your chest at how fast this is moving.
“Mouth stuff,” he replies simply.
It’s simple, dry humor, but you swear he never makes you laugh more than when he catches you off guard with stuff like that. You don’t think anyone else would believe you if you tried to tell them how funny he can be without even trying. The joke manages to diffuse some of your anxiety and you relax back onto the bed, trusting him with whatever he’s about to do. Still, you gasp when his mouth meets your core, and he hums happily against you. You’ve done this with someone once before, but the memory feels clumsy compared to what Din is doing now; his grip tight around your waist and tongue immediately finding the right places. You try not to think about where he’s had the practice, focusing instead on the sensation he’s creating with a simple flick of his tongue.
You start to make noises you don’t think have ever come from you before, unable to help yourself with the sudden assault on your sensitive nerve endings. He pauses from what he’s doing as if struck by a sudden thought, smiling at the way you whimper at the sudden loss of contact.
“Have you ever cum before?” he asks.
“I think so,” you reply, but if you were being completely honest, you’re not sure. And least, not with another person. You’re pretty sure you’ve gotten there on your own. You think. You feel like that’s something you should know for sure.
“You think so?” he repeats, sounding unconvinced. 
“Yeah. I mean, I’ve had, you know, urges, I took care of them, then they were gone.”
He makes a thoughtful sound and ones of his thumbs finds your clit, rubbing a couple of circles before he dips it down to your center to scoop up some of the wetness there to bring back up again. 
“You don’t sound very sure,” he says casually, like he’s not driving you crazy right now with a simple touch. Feeling slightly pathetic, you can only whine, your brain feeling scrambled as his assault on your clit empties it of all coherent thought. “Next time I ask you, I want you to be a little more certain,” he tells you, and without warning dives back in, his tongue taking over from his thumb at a much faster pace. Your back arches off the bed and he slips his free arm across your hips, holding you in place. 
You soon feel pressure at your entrance as he presses a finger carefully against it and in your frenzied state you push forward onto it, forgetting in a moment of desperate need your body’s inexperience with something like that. You’re wet enough that it doesn’t hurt, but it’s still a foreign feeling having something inside of you, and you realize that’s only one finger. Before you can start to imagine how something larger is going to feel, he presses the finger upwards inside of you and hits a spot you’ve never felt before. You cry out, caught completely off guard as the tight feeling in your lower belly breaks and you cum hard against him, hips bucking uncontrollably against his face. He growls against you, but doesn’t stop moving until your hips do. 
“Fuck,” you whine, still panting as he slides his finger out of you and gives you one last lick. Still sensitive, you yelp and jerk back from the sensation, making him chuckle.
“Now you can say you’ve cum,” he tells you, and hell if he doesn’t sound proud of himself for giving you that. 
“Yeah,” you agree, still barely able to form a proper thought. Then one comes to you. You sit up. He’s getting to his feet in front of you and it’s put him at the perfect height for what you have in mind. 
He’s not expecting it when your hand finds his length, giving away his surprise with a sharp intake of breath. You take a moment to guess at his size, thinking once again how it’s going to feel once he’s inside of you, but any thought of pain is completely overridden by the very idea of having him inside you at all.  But one thing at a time – you want to explore a few things first.
“Do you mind if I return the favor?” you ask him. You’re feeling different after your orgasm – feeling a sudden, renewed confidence – and the way his breath hitches as you start to pump him up and down sends a thrill through your body. He doesn’t reply, answering instead with a simple touch as his hands find your head, brushing your hair back from your face. You’ve done this before, too, but unlike your partner’s attempt on you at the time, yours had proven more successful.
You bob your head forward to find him, lips meeting the head of his cock and parting to let it enter. As your tongue laps at its underside, Din drops his head back with a moan that only encourages you further. You take as much of him inside your mouth as you can, letting the salty taste of him hit as close to the back of your throat as you’re comfortable with, and his grip tightens on your head as he fights the urge to buck forward. You’d said to go easy, and he’s mindful of that, but picturing what you must look like right now, face pink and glowing from your orgasm, mouth stuffed with his cock, he wishes he could flick the light on for a second just to see it. You guide your head back and forth, taking in all the sounds he’s making for you, testing particular places just to see what else you can make him do. All the while he continues to stroke your hair, murmuring praise that sounds strained as tries to force the words out, things like, ‘Good girl’ and ‘Yeah, just like that’.
All the praise starts to go to your head though, it seems, as you forget your earlier feelings of humiliation and whisper back, “You like that, daddy?” Then you pick up your pace and have him moaning to the point where he has to stop you. He gently grabs your head, pulling his hips back and plucking himself from your mouth with a slick ‘pop’.
“We’re going to have to stop there, sweet girl, or your going to make me cum.”
You simply look up to where his voice is coming from and make a sad little hum, any self-conscious thoughts or anxiety long gone at the sound of his half-ruined tone, and you find yourself eagerly awaiting the next step, your body begging for further touch. He chuckles at your reaction and leans down to find your lips, capturing them in a searing kiss, both of you groaning as you taste each other. It’s the first kiss you’ve shared with him, and as he moves forward and forces you back onto the bed, you find your legs come up automatically to wrap around him. That’s when you feel him, hard and pressing into your thigh. 
“How do you want to do this?” he asks, as he grabs his length and rubs his tip between your folds to coat himself with your wetness. You moan when he passes over your clit and give yourself a moment to bask in the sensation as he continues to rub over that area. 
“Just go slow,” you tell him, then you feel his cock move down from your clit to your entrance, now that you’ve finally given him permission. He only applies the slightest pressure, letting you get used to each new sensation as he introduces it, but you’re so slick down there that he begins to slip in. You tense, waiting for the sharp sensation you’re sure is coming.
“Relax.” Din’s hips have stilled, and he reaches up in the darkness to run his thumb across your cheek, soothing you. “Deep breaths, okay? I’ll make it feel good for you.”
You nod, and this time he feels the movement against his hand and doesn’t ask you to voice it, instead taking it as his cue to continue on. There’s a momentary sharp, burning sensation deep inside as you feel everything stretch, but as he slowly begins to move his hips, you find it fades more and more with each thrust, your wetness coating him and amplifying your pleasure. You’ve never felt this full before, not in this way, but he’s big enough to be hitting all your best spots at the same time. You’ve never felt this close to cumming this quickly.
“Shit.”
Hearing that single word, he starts to pick up speed and you clutch at whatever part of him you can reach, giving yourself up to the sensation as you feel that electric, tightening sensation starting again in your lower belly.
“Do you think you’re close?” he pants, because he knows he is – dangerously so – but he wants to keep true to his word. He wants to make this experience just as good for you. 
You fail to answer, unable to stop the harsh cries leaving your mouth instead, and you don’t have time to tell him before the feeling breaks inside of you again and you’re pulsing around him. You cry out, louder than before, and this is enough to send him over the edge, too. He slips out at the last moment, and you feel warm bursts of liquid squirt across your stomach.
“Sorry,” he pants, grunting as he braces himself on one hand and then shivers through a couple of aftershocks, “I didn’t— I couldn’t—”
“It’s fine,” you tell him, voice just as breathless. And it is fine. You couldn’t care less about it. Your entire body feels more relaxed than it has in months. You feel spent in the best possible way and right now you’d be fine to just fall into a pile on the sheets and sleep.
He collapses onto the mattress next to you, his body close to yours in the small space, warm and sweaty, and you’re surprised when he slips an arm underneath you to bring you closer. “So, was that okay? Do you feel okay? Sore?”
“Yeah. I mean, no, I’m okay.” The words come out as a few huffs of breath and, still high on endorphins, the noise makes you laugh. 
Din gives you a squeeze at the familiar sound, smiling to himself in the darkness. Then he makes a thoughtful noise.
“What?” you ask.
“It’s nothing. It’s just…You’ve never been in here before.”
“So?” You gaze around in the darkness, thinking it is a little cramped compared to the space you’d made for yourself in the much larger cargo hold, and realize maybe that’s what he’s hinting at.
“I think you should cum here more often.”
“Did you just…?” You sit up to look at him the darkness, never in a million years expecting such a horrible, so very like-you joke to be uttered by the man and he yanks you back down and pulls you close, ignoring the sticky mess he’s made of you.
Then you hear a sound you’re not familiar with, and feel his warm breath against you as he laughs. 
“Din Djarin, that joke was terrible.”
He presses a kiss to the side of your head and heaves a sigh that suggests fast approaching sleep. “I learned from the best.” 
216 notes · View notes
jui-imouto-chan · 4 years ago
Text
Ouran High School Host Club AU (Inspired by this post)
Yes, I used everybody they offered as the characters (and more!), it’s just a really big club. 
(It will 200% get bigger if I keep writing this, don’t test me)
Ship Tags: MiyaHina, AtsuHina, OsaHina, OiHina, KurooHina, BokuHina, AkaaHina, TsukiHina, UshiHina, AoHina, HyakuHina, NishiHina/NoyaHina, Hinata Harem aka Hinata/Everyone. 
Loosely follows plot, but a few things have been changed to match Haikyuu more, such as:
•Hinata isn’t an honor-student, he’s on an athletics scholarship (and while there are plenty of decent athletes there, they’re all rich enough to not need a scholarship)
•Hinata wears blue-light glasses often. He has good vision but having the glasses framing his vision helps him focus in class instead of getting (as) distracted.
•Yachi and Hinata switch off on some Haruhi stuff but Yachi isn’t the one the guys are all simping for.
•Yachi is an actual honor student but she’s not on the kinda full-ride scholarship Hinata is on. She’s like, partially rich, but not enough for Ouran (so she gets bullied or at least teased.)
•Hinata and Yachi got to be really good friends at orientation since she can sympathize with him better than all the actual rich people, and she helps him with his studies so he doesn’t completely flunk his classes. 
•The Twins, like Hikaru and Kaoru, have the same color hair (brunette) atm
•Hinata’s mom is a drag king to parallel Haruhi’s dad’s sitch
•Oikawa doesn’t let Iwaizumi into the club because he kills his eccentricity and egotism. None of the others can vibe check him the way Iwa-Chan does so that’s why he seems even more unbearable and thus more Tamaki-like.
••
Hinata tried to figure out where Yachi disappeared to, peering down halls and into classrooms through small openings of the doors. “Yachi-saaaan...”
He barely registered the vague scent of roses and sweets saturating the air as he pushed the door softly. 
The wood swung open as though pulled, Hinata stumbling through with a shout. A breeze and rose petals drifted by his face as he opened his eyes, head whipping up to view the silhouettes of the boys not too far from the door.
“Welcome to the Harukou Host Club!”
“Th-The... --What’s a host club?”
Hinata watched as all of the boys’ faces fell into befuddlement. 
“W-What a funny joke,” a brunet, sat upon a throne-like chair, commented, his fingers interlocked beneath his chin. “Isn’t that cute? Trying to win our hearts with humor.”
“But--”
“So, what kind of guys do you like? We’ve got plenty of types to spare, and I don’t think any of them have any problem attending to a male--ah, sorry, what’re your pronouns? That was rude of me to assume.”
Hinata’s instinctive, “He/him,” came out before he could attach his protests at the services offered, his stress elevating as the brunet hopped out of his chair and sauntered over to him, hands extended in shows of eccentricity.
“We haven’t gotten a boy, yet, huh, ‘Tsumu?” one of the guys still in the group commented, his arm draped over the shoulder of his exact copy (sans the parting of the brown locks). 
“No, but that’s because the only boys we’re involved with are each other,” the copy, ‘Tsumu(?), said, grabbing the other’s chin to hold his gaze. They stared into each other’s eyes for a second before their faces got a little green, the two of them separating to mime vomiting whilst laughing.
Hinata had to tune back into the brunet approaching him, who seemed to be going off on a tirade about beauty and elegance. He tuned back out almost immediately, finding even schoolwork to be more interesting.
“’Tsumu and ‘Samu are awful at the twincest-schtick, don’tcha think?”
“Right? I thought so, too. We’d be ten bajillion times better at it if we were identical twins!”
The ravenette rolled his eyes, although he drew in the other smugly. “Identical or not, the reason we work is because I’m a good actor.” Then, placatingly, he amended, “And you’re not hard to tease and smother with affection.”
His silver companion’s eyes lit up. “Man, you’re so cool, Kuroo.”
“Make sure to call me Tetsu when there are girls here.”
“Oooh do I get a nickname? Like, Kouta instead of Koutaro?”
Kuroo grinned, “Don’t give me an offer like that. I’ll call you Honey or Beloved, and while we’re raking in the cash, Akaashi’ll sell a bunch of merchandise with it.”
Another ravenette, probably Akaashi, nodded calmly as he penciled into his notebook. Beside him, a tall blonde smirked, his glasses flashing menacingly as he tapped away into a calculator. Kuroo and the silveret both paled and protested at him, which he seemed to ignore.
Speaking of ignoring things...
“You’ve been talking a long time, haven’t you?”
The brunet, knelt on the floor near a table, glanced over at him like he forgot who he was talking at. “Is that praise of my oratory skills? I’ve always been told that people get lost in my speeches, and it’s no surprise that you’ve gotten so enthralled with one!”
Seems like I wasn’t the only one who got lost, Hinata thought, noting the despondent, glazed eyes of some of the occupants. A short guy with a patch of blonde hair jumped up into a handstand on the shoulders of one of the taller guys in the back with white hair, and it was made evident that, no, some of them just always appeared completely detached from reality.
“So, anyway, what kind of guy is your type, Mr. Athlete? Maybe you like the cool type? The boy lolita?”
“—I AM NOT THAT SHORT—”
“You are quite that short,” the brunette continued, “Or maybe you like the strong silent type? —We have three of those. We also have twins—identical and fraternal— if you’re into the taboo kinda stuff. We don’t kinkshame here.”
“Maybe we should,” muttered the blonde guy with the calculator. His mouth was covered by a silver-haired guy with black ends, whose face betrayed no emotion even as the blonde fought against his palm irately.
“I’m not into this kind of thing,” Hinata said quickly, “Besides, doesn’t it cost money? I don’t think I’d be able to afford something like this, anyway.”
“Speaking of not being able to afford things... Shouldn’t we check up on her?” Probably-Akaashi motioned to a corner of the room with a piano and a familiar blonde girl hiding beneath its bench, sobbing meekly into her knees.
“Yachi-san!”
Hinata raced over to her, her head whipping up at his call. Her teary eyes let loose some sparkling droplets as she leapt at him, although the rope binding her ankles to the bench prevented her from fully reaching him. He thankfully was close enough that he saved her from a tumble to the floor.
“Hinataaaa,” she whined into his shoulder, “I’m going to have to sell my organs!!!”
“What!?”
“She came into our clubroom earlier and broke the vase we were supposed to sell at an auction,” explained one of the twins.
“It was worth eight million yen, and she told us she doesn’t have enough money but that she’ll sell her organs in order to pay us back, which is impressive in the dedication but very concerning.”
“We had Wakatoshi-kun put her on the bench to calm down, but she tied herself to it because she thought she would be our prisoner as a punishment.”
Yachi clearly tuned them out, too busy crying and hiding in Hinata’s arms. The redhead patted her on the head, wondering how things could get this weird in less than twenty minutes of her being out of his sight.
“Yachi-san.”
No response. Her blubbers were even less coherent now.
“Yachi-san!” He shook her by the shoulders until she blinked up at him. “I’ll help you, okay? Just promise me you’ll be more careful. And help me with my homework again!”
“Hinata...”
He grinned at her and patted her head. When he turned back to the group of boys, he could see they parted somewhat to allow the brunet to be visible whilst lounging on his throne that was turned to face them.
“I’ll be taking on Yachi-san’s debt,” he declared. The brunet rested his cheek on his fist and peered down his nose at him, smirk drawing his lips.
‘Kuroo’ spoke up, “Hoh? All eight million? Are you sure you can make it up, Chibi-chan?”
“You couldn’t even afford a school uniform; how do you plan to pay us back?” said the blonde guy, eyeing his white-and-pink tracksuit with no lack of judgment.
“I’ll...” Hinata glanced back at Yachi, her eyes glistening, and steeled his resolve, “I’ll do whatever it takes.”
“Then, Chibi-chan, from here on,” the brunet guy’s voice, initially dropped, lilted upward as his amusement mounted, "You’ll be our bitch.”
“What.”
Hinata frowned at the smudges all over his lenses, ignoring the twins (both sets) measured him for his uniform. 
He almost didn’t notice when Kuroo bent down to meet his eye-level and gently grasped the frames of his blue-light glasses. “Alright, Chibi-chan, we’ll be taking these. Though it doesn’t even seem like you need them, huh, since these lenses don’t really have any magnification?”
“Well, no, but since we have a lot of work on laptops here I thought they’d be better to have.”
Kuroo hummed and slipped them off his ears and nose, and all of the twins gawked at him as he blinked up at them.
“What?”
Osamu kicked Atsumu’s calf, and the Miyas dragged Bokuto away with them.
“Nothing,” said Kuroo, “Maybe they just forgot you’d have a face behind these.”
“Oh, I’ve done that before! Like when people are sick for a long time and they wear a mask, I kinda forget they have mouths!”
“Yeah, just like that.” 
“What kind of coffee is this?” The brunet, now known to be Oikawa Tooru, asked, beckoning Hinata over with the most obnoxious “come-hither” motion to ever exist.
“Instant. I don’t really understand coffee, but this is what my mom buys. It’s just cheap enough that I still have money for lunch.”
Oikawa sputtered at Hinata’s lackluster funding for his nutrition, although his mind finished processing what was said about the coffee itself before he could really express any amount of disbelief at the former.
“What do you mean ‘instant’? Are the beans already ground or something?”
Hinata blinked. “Coffee’s made of beans?”
Oikawa sighed heavily and drew up to his full height, holding the coffee container skyward as a few girls approached for their hosting appointment.
“Alright, you know what? I’m up for a challenge! I’m going to try some commoner’s coffee!”
The girls in the clubroom gave shrieks of surprise, Oikawa’s announcement drawing the attention of the entire room. Hinata longingly and despondently stared outside at the people running around the track and beginning practices for their various sports, allowing himself to be dragged away by the club president.
“Darn rich people,” he mumbled.
Oikawa was very clingy, Hinata found. Every spare second he had at the club was spent with the other nearby, coddling him and encouraging him to learn up close. It was so draining that the Miya Twins and the Fraternals dragging him into their games was infinitely more appealing, but that could also be his bias for Bokuto coming into play. 
Kuroo was cool, too, yes, and the Miya Twins gave him food, but Bokuto’s energy was so perfectly aligned with his that Kuroo whined about his brother being snatched away on multiple occasions.
This time, with Oikawa monologuing as dramatically as ever, Hinata had no sets of twins to free him from the absolutely boring speech. He spaced out so hard, he didn’t notice Oikawa coming closer and hugging him to his chest excitedly. 
He shouted, the fright sending tears into his eyes, and he reached desperately at the tall trio nearby. “Help!”
All three of them instinctively drew closer, but it was the white-haired eyebrowless one who pulled him out of Oikawa’s grasp by the armpits, Hinata’s legs dangling in the air while the brunette sat stupefied. 
“A-Aone-kun, you didn’t have to go so far...” Oikawa tried.
Hinata smiled at Aone in thanks and patted his head gently to express further gratitude. Whence he was placed down, Aone bowed to him, and he bowed back.
Nishinoya was a very fun person to be around, although their interactions were sparse. He shone under the attention from the girls, and if Hinata didn’t know the girls were paying for his time, he’d have assumed the reverse was true. But it made sense, you know, since Noya-san was just such a cool dude.
The girls cooed at him and giggled at his jokes, and his dorky personality coupled with his small-but-wild looks made him a charmer. He also offered Hinata cake on a frequent basis, and often accosted the others to make sure they ate up--especially Tsukishima, who seemed prickly enough that Hinata didn’t want to get near him with a ten foot pole. 
Unfortunately, Tsukishima was also the one mostly in charge of handling his debt, so he could not actually be avoided. Hinata was assured by Akaashi that he’d remove any undue charges Tsukishima would add to the debt, although Hinata would’ve preferred he hadn’t said anything about those undue charges and just did the removals with Hinata none-the-wiser, as then he wouldn’t be paranoid about the things Tsukishima would charge him for.
Hinata hadn’t meant to attract the attention of one of Oikawa’s most attached clients. She gave off a weird vibe and when he mentioned her to Yachi, the blonde girl went a little paler than usual (which, while a frequent occurrence, didn’t fail to raise alarm bells in the redhead’s mind). 
“She’s territorial,” Yachi managed, eventually, and Hinata had to go through all of the lessons the girl kindly drilled into his head in order to remember what that word meant. 
“Oh. So why would she be interested in a guy at a host club? Isn’t he, like, one step from prostitution?” Yachi choked at that, shaking her head to fight down any amusement.
“I don’t think she thinks those other girls are a threat.” 
Hinata hummed, “Well, she keeps glaring at me, so maybe she’s just a little dumb and confused.”
Yachi pursed her lips, barely able to keep her laughter contained.
Hinata wondered why Yachi’s schoolbag was tossed into the pond. Alongside it sat his, and as he began running through the halls to go attend to the issue, he spotted that client. 
Hinata quite pointedly ignored her, continuing down the halls and stairs. He felt a small flame of rage light up in his chest at seeing Yachi’s notebooks scattered across the surface of the water, covers just buoyant enough that the papers were only starting to soak in water, and he prioritized getting her items out and organized before he could even ponder grabbing his own. 
He’d been in the pond for twenty minutes, thankfully having managed to salvage most of her things, before a voice broke through the quiet of the grounds. “What are you doing?”
Hinata didn’t need to glance over his shoulder to know it was Oikawa, his voice light and airy, with a hint of playful exasperation. 
“I can’t find my wallet.”
“You’ll get sick with your clothes all wet. Can’t you just let it be?”
Oikawa didn’t seem to understand the necessity of what he’d likely consider pocket change. “I need the money for food. I’m not going to get paid for a couple days and I don’t want to starve in the meantime.”
There was a lengthy period of silence. He wondered if Oikawa left, trying desperately to make out the shape of his coin pouch amidst the colorful pebbles lining the bottom of the pond. He nearly growled in frustration as a series of ripples tore through surface, though as he heard the telltale sound of someone wading through water, he spotted the brunette with his pants rolled up and bare feet gingerly resting on the stone. 
“What are you doing?” Hinata quarried, eyebrows drawn up in confusion. 
Oikawa’s face was concentrated yet somewhat peaceful as he copied Hinata’s searching motions, fingers gliding across the smooth pebbles. A few strands of hair caught the water and were left with shimmering drips that occasionally fell back into the pond. 
“I’m helping.”
He never turned to look away from the bottom, focused mostly on the task at hand. Even his distant, deeper, and yet airier voice conveyed how little attention he was giving his words, and Hinata could only wonder if this was the most genuine he’d ever heard the other in their past week of interactions.
“Why?”
“Well, why not? I mean, everyone tells me I’m dripping with good looks,” he chuckled, the breathy quality sending something through Hinata that made him duck his head down and resume seeking his funds.
The two sought it out for over ten minutes before getting any results. The small coin purse, shaped like a small black crow, sat cradled in Oikawa’s palm. He proffered the item to Hinata with a wink, the redhead unclasping it and sighing in relief at the dryness of its interior.
“Thanks, Grand King.”
As Hinata beamed up at the other, the reflected light from the water seemed to hit Oikawa’s eyes harder, as though a flare traveled across the distance between the earth and the sun solely for this moment. He held up a peace sign and smiled back at the other, wondering if such luminance could ever be reproduced. 
(If it could, then he’d love to bottle some up and save it for a rainy day, but maybe there was a hint of greed in that thought.)
“Oh, dear, I can’t believe someone would do such a thing!” the client across from him cooed. Her face tilted down a bit, and shadows draped across her eyes and cheeks. “Still, I can’t believe you got Tooru to scrape through that filthy pond for you. He always has been excessively charitable.”
“Yeah,” Hinata mumbled, stuffing a bite of cake into his mouth. The sweetness was significantly dampened by the presence of the girl. What was her name, again? His focus shifted to trying to recall it.
“I couldn’t imagine having so little shame that I’d be a charity case, though. I mean, doesn’t it embarrass you to have Tooru waiting on you hand and foot?”
Yachi, who’d been standing just within earshot, turned to their conversation just then, a disgruntled look on her face. Despite the anxiety that spread quivers across her body from her sternum, she frowned heavily and managed to inquire, "Aren’t you just jealous?”
Something flashed across the clients face then: anger, most likely. Hinata was drawn out of his attempt at recollection by her hand shooting across the table to yank him over to her, a scream escaping her as they toppled to the ground. Teapots and cups burst apart upon contact with the pink tiles, some of the tea soaking into the knees of his gifted uniform pants as it puddled.
Hinata’s palms and wrists ached from the way they slammed against the floor, on either side of the client’s head. People were quick to crowd them, murmuring and gazing in horror. 
“Help!” she cried, “He attacked me! He just jumped across the table, I--” she scooted out from under him, and he slowly sat back on his haunches before accidentally falling onto his bottom. The discomfort of his soaked clothing did little to distract him from the confusion welling within. 
She crawled over to Oikawa whence the brunette stepped closer to the scene. He was the first one over, ever keen regarding the club’s new pet, but only after surveying the situation did he close the distance. 
Her fingers clutched at Oikawa’s pant leg, creasing the fabric as she shivered with tears in her eyes. Hinata’s jaw was slack. Did he do something? Did he try to do anything to her while he was spaced out? He was sure she pulled him, but should he have been expecting such a thing and made to avoid it?
He slowly turned his eyes over to Yachi, whose face was creased in an anger he’d never quite seen before. Her meekness took a sideline to the frustration and disbelief drawing together her brows and tugging her lips downwards. 
“Tooru, please, you have to do something. He was like an animal, I--”
Her desperate face fell into shock as warm water rushed across her face and scalp, soaking the top of her uniform dress. Her panting became a squeaking staccato, and she blinked as her brows drew up steadily. 
“Tooru?” she whispered, before whipping her head around to the Miya Twins, who glared down at her, unimpressed. “What are you doing? Didn’t you hear me?! I--”
“God, you pigs sure like to squeal, don’tcha.”
Osamu glanced down at the jug in his grasp. “I oughtta grab another one at this rate.”
“Why did you--” Hinata startled as Yachi stepped in front of him. 
“You pulled him to you! I saw it! You were envious that he got Oikawa-san’s attention and tried to frame him!” she blurted. 
More whispers and gasps spread across their audience easily. Oikawa’s face was steely and impassive as the client stared up at him with a cocktail of hurt and anger. “You can’t believe her, Tooru, I--”
“You really are beautiful,” Oikawa interrupted, his fingers gliding under her chin.  “But nothing more than that. It seems you’re not classy enough for our club, my dear, and so I’ll have to ask you to leave.”
Tears streamed down her cheeks, Hinata’s heart clenching with a mild bit of sympathy, before she got to her feet and took off, her broken shout of, “Tooru, you idiot--!” echoing through the clubroom.
“I’m sorry, ladies; regrettably, we’ll have to cut our time short for today.” Tsukishima said with his paper-thin smile. It dropped as Akaashi continued for him,
“All of you will receive a full refund of the costs for today’s appointments. You can also use those same funds to reschedule, if you’d like to. We deeply apologize for the inconvenience.”
The girls cooed and cheered, and Tsukishima barely kept his frown from forming.
Eventually the clients filed out of the clubroom, exclaiming their farewells to the hosts. Hinata and Yachi silently stared after them, not wanting to look back to the hosts surrounding them.
“So, what should I do about you?” Oikawa said, drawing Hinata’s reluctant attention. The appraising look and grasp of his own chin were not reassuring at all; Hinata and Yachi glanced at each other and gulped. “Hmm, Tsukki-chan?”
“Don’t call me that,” the bespectacled blonde groused, before pushing up his glasses and smirking. “Since our guests had to leave and receive refunds, our profits for today are at a zero. And because of the drama earlier, we have a few broken teapots and cups from one of our specialty sets, as well as a table that needs to be repaired. To make up for all the damages and overall loss... Akaashi?”
The ravenette typed into a calculator quickly. Bokuto hid behind a sinisterly-grinning Kuroo with his fingers half-heartedly covering his eyes from fear of Akaashi. Akaashi presented the calculator screen within a second.
“Approximately one hundred thousand yen.”
“H-Hundred...”
“Thou...-sand...” Yachi’s eyes swam. Hinata caught her as she half-fainted, both of them shaking with tears welling in their eyes.
“That’ll be added onto your debt, you two. You’d better hope one of your descendents pays it off.” Tsukishima’s smirk shaved additional years off their lives, and Hinata had to pull Yachi’s soul back from the air to shove it back into her body. 
“Darn rich people,” he whined. Kuroo cackled.
••
That was fun ngl. Like, some things go slightly different than in OHSHC, but overall it has some of the same vibes I think
I feel like Bokuto and Akaashi as Honey and Mori respectively would be funnily fitting despite the roles I have them in here, but I think I’m gonna be fluid and loosey-goosey about who is which OHSHC character most of the time (since Noya isn’t entirely Honey-like and there are lots of people who can fit different roles). Kenma and/or Kuroo can fit Kyoya and Tamaki roles too, now that I think about it. Damn this show for having so many characters.
Also this is a nightmare to tag since a lot of characters have multiple spellings for their names and there are so many characters. Heck, that’s why I wrote all the ships at the top!
Anyway, I hope y’all liked it! Might write more if asked 
Also, should I cross-post some of this to Ao3? 
76 notes · View notes
danhoemei · 4 years ago
Note
hi! hope you’re doing well! thank you for sharing amazing art and for supporting creators the way you do! if you don’t mind me asking, I was wondering who’s your favorite character in shl 🧐 I’m very curious!
hello! I am doing well and I hope you do as well 💚 and akjvbelfknbejkbv thank you for your kind words, I really appreciate 💚💚💚🥺 I’m happy you enjoy 😊
I’ve been very busy these past few days, which is also why I’m much less active, and this ask has been sitting in my inbox, so sorry about that! But if I knew who’s my favourite I could answer simply and quickly, right? Welllll, such a simple question and it made the gears in my mind spin so much, somehow I had never thought of who was my favourite before. And you know what? I just had no clue.
Then it hit me how it resonated with my recent thoughts on art in general... which I put on another post because I started writing here and it just got so big and off topic xddd But in short, my problem was that you can like characters for so many diverse reasons that it’s sometimes truly hard to compare and make a ranking.
Firstly, a disclaimer, that I *cough* still haven’t watched the drama *cough* (I’m really gonna watch it I swear I’m just not good at watching stuff alone and I’m still dwelling on my novel impression which I use in my writing skjdnvkjbfvker I can’t let go help). I’m very curious about some characters which were given a whole new life in the drama or were non existent in the novel, especially all the incredible ladies or scorpion king. But for now I have to answer for the novel xd
So I had a problem because I love so many characters. Wen Kexing is literally one of my fav tropes for love interests. Smart and witty, sneaky and with much power hidden underneath, literally unhinged, but at the same time can goof around and loves to tease their love interest, starving for affection and ready to give a lot of it themselves, and after they obtain it they get possessive and ready to do hella lot to keep it. I have a lot of fun with such characters and I'm a simp for them, so wen kexing just hit so many sweet spots.
Ye baiyi started off as just a comic relief for me, but he kept growing in my eyes until he climbed up so high. I love his bluntness and how done he is with everything, so free and uncaring. Which kind of stems from his painful backstory, but also shows how strong mentally he is that he managed to bear so much and keep on living like he did. I respect him tremendously, as well as lowkey relate to being done and not caring for some things (which I previously was very anxious about but now could not care less).
Gu xiang and cao weining didn't leave the best impressions at first, but they bloomed in my eyes and I care for them so deeply now 🥺 
I don't know much about jing beiyuan and wu xi because qi ye is also still on my ‘to read’ list, but even just these few bits in tyk made me already very interested and warmed up for these two.
But after all the scattered thinking in these past days, I somehow finally circled back to zhou zishu. And I understood that as much as I love all these characters for so many different reasons, I think zzs wins in one pretty personal to me aspect - how I relate to a certain trait of his, and that every time a character like that appears I go feral for them. It was like that for liu qingge, for jiang cheng, even for shen jiu. It's the characters that have troubles putting their emotions and desires into words and actions, but at the same time they have much affection and care inside.
I like zzs for many things. His reluctant care for chengling and even more reluctant opening up to wkx make me all soft, I enjoy (and feel personally) his carefree attitude and bluntness, I respect his quick thinking, skills, and witty remarks. But what makes me care very deeply for characters like him is how they just can’t seem to easily and openly show their feelings or care. They often snap, brush off, or hide whenever it spills, as if they can’t handle it, don’t know how to react, or because it destroys the image they try to uphold. But you can still see signs of it in their actions, when they help someone, make something for them, heal them, give them tips, rescue them if they’re in trouble. Or show their vulnerability in a moment of weakness, in the presence of someone they trust. Goddamn I go feral for that. Also I have much satisfaction when that image or defenses get brought down ajkfnklsdgnvl
And it all stems from the fact that, as much as it may sound ridiculous with all my openness and excitement that you see here, I have terrible troubles in this area as well xdd I am a good actor and observer who knows what to avoid, so if I don’t want someone to know something, they won’t. And I am painfully awkward and absolutely an idiot when it comes to anything romantic or intimate. So combining these two aspects ends up with me suffering in silence and living delusions in my head, while the other person I have feelings for is absolutely oblivious or even thinks that I don’t like them because of all my freezing and changing the subject whenever it gets in any way intimate or emotional xd I am an epitome of awkwardness and avoidance in this, constantly running away when I can’t handle feelings or don’t know how to react xd
So yeah, such characters resonate with me a lot and I self-project on zzs a lot in my writing. Now u know my secret lmao
5 notes · View notes
come-on-shitty-boys · 5 years ago
Text
Haikyuu But They Don’t Play Volleyball (Captains Edition)
Notes:  I would like to preface this by saying that I haven’t played sportball since middle school and that was uhhhh??? 6 years ago.  I don’t know sports but here we are.
Sawamura Daichi: American Football
He’s the wide receiver.  So, he’s running off down the field to catch passes from the quarterback  At least that’s what Google said idk i hate football
Daichi’s a pretty decent hunk of dude, but he’s not super big either, so offensive where speed and coordination are more important is the better fit for him
But, he’s not the stereotypical dumb jock that everyone associates with football players
He’s super sweet and gets really good grades, likely taking a few honors classes, but not over-working himself.  The boy knows what he can handle academically.
I promise, if you ask him if you can wear his other jersey on Friday to school and to the game?  Oh, he’s a flustered mess.  He doesn’t understand why’d you want to wear it.
I mean, they’re not comfortable and no matter how much you wash them, they always kind of smell like sweat?  But, he likes how you look in it and you always look really happy when you get to wear his jersey.
It looks kind of goofy on you because they weren’t designed for people with, you know, tiddies, and the shoulders don’t fit right either.
But, you don’t care.
You always go get him his favorite snacks and make him a little treat bag every Friday.  He’s a WEENIE for it.  Daichi low-key feels bad because he never gets you anything?  But, sometimes he’ll offer to take you for burgers after the game. football makes him hongry okay
Idk man.  Daichi in football pants definitely hits different in my head.
Oikawa Tooru: Tennis
He’s got some incredible power and would probably be really good at sending the ball where he knows his opponent can’t get to it
Just like in volleyball, Oikawa’s tennis serve is feared.  It’s stupidly fast and he has impeccable aim
Oikawa is definitely behaving just how you would imagine a tennis player to behave.  He’s a little full of himself and probably in the ‘prep’ clique.
He’s not always like that, though, I swear.  It’s more of an act than anything else.  
In the classroom, he’s really studious and always provides insightful answers that most of the others never thought of.
As a boyfriend?  He loves having you at his matches, but Oikawa knows that you find them boring, so he never expects you to show up.
But when you do?  This boy is on his best game just to show you that you’re not here for nothing.
Oikawa will try to teach you how to play and he, honestly, is a pretty good teacher.  He’ll loan you one of his old rackets and just start by lightly hitting the ball back and forth.
Once you get the hang of it?  Tennis dates.
Expect to go with him to the courts at least once a week to play together.  If he can convince some of his teammates, you guys will play doubles.
You two usually lose, but it’s really only because he’s trying to make sure that you’re having fun, so he’ll get to goofing off and completely miss a ball that was coming right to him.
I really just want this boy in white shorts and a teal polo sorry
Kuroo Tetsurou: Basketball
Am I saying this because he’s stupidly long?  Yes, but also, he has really good reflexes as he is, like, the defense king
He plays power forward, so he’s the most versatile tall person on the court.  He’s responsible for rebounding, playing defense, and also racking up easy points.
Kuroo’s really good at zone defenses though.  He’s got long limbs so he covers a lot of space and makes it really hard to get past him has absolutely practically cornered someone against the out-of-bounds line all by himself
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.  Kuroo Tetsurou is a nerd, a dork, a geek, whatever you want to call it.  He’s tutoring the others on the team so they can have a full bench come game time.
During games, he’s so focused that it’s really rare if he actually notices that you’re even there.  
brb gotta simp over the thought of sweaty Kuroo, wiping his face on his jersey as he waits for someone to shoot their free throws 
But, after the game, you’re usually the first person he’s looking for.  Kuroo probably asked that you didn’t hug him, because he was all sweaty and definitely smelled, but when you told him it didn’t matter to you and latched onto him anyway?
*SIMPS*
The two of you will shoot hoops at his house once you’re both done with homework.  He thinks it’s really funny, watching you squeal and struggle to shoot over him as he tries to block you i promise you tried to shoot a basket and he just CAUGHT it
Bokuto Koutarou: Baseball
No, it is not just because I want to see him in baseball pants.  okay maybe just a little
He’s the pitcher and usually mixes between a curve and a fast ball.  
Bokuto is also a really good batter?  Like, he’s got a lot of power and it’s really common for him to hit doubles and triples.
He’s one of the more cool athletes in school.  I wouldn’t necessarily say that he’s popular, but people definitely know who is.  He’s more approachable than a lot of the guys on his team, so people tend to like him more
Sit behind home plate at all of his games, if you can.  It makes baby so happy, seeing your face light up when he strikes out a batter.
He also tries really hard to have good batting form if he knows that you’re watching him idk he thinks he looks good and that his top-notch form will impress you
it all looks the same to you whoops
You have no choice but to hug him after games.  He could be covered in dirt and sweat, but please, please jump into his arms and pepper his face with kisses.
The two of you will be taking a picture and he will be posting it to Instagram and Twitter so the entire world gets to see that his beautiful girl came to support him at his game.
He probably got you a bunch of shirts with his name and number on the back for you to wear.
Always tries really hard to show off for you during games and it makes his coach kind of mad, because he’s gotten out more than once because of it
but he also hits a lot of runners in to score, so it’s a struggle on whether or not bokuto should be made to run poles after the game 
Ushijima Wakatoshi: American Football
He’s a linebacker and a really good one too.
The other schools fear him.  He’s so intense and will take his opponent down without much of a struggle.
But, he’s really quiet off and on the field, which, arguably, makes him scarier.  Like, most of the other guys are talking shit, but then there’s Ushijima and he’s just silent
He doesn’t understand the whole thing about wearing your boyfriend’s football jersey.  “Y/N, it’s not going to fit you.” “’Toshi, please?”
He told you that he didn’t care either way.  You had a couple of sweatshirts with his name on it, so he didn’t understand why you’d want to wear something that was itchy and big, when you could be comfy
But, then he saw it on you and oh. He gets it now. You looked so good walking into school on Friday with his jersey tucked into your jeans.
He’s not one to love PDA, but he’d probably go to meet you when he sees you, just to give you a kiss on the cheek and hold your hand.  
wait oh my god i just got the mental picture of ushi in a football jersey and some dark blue jeans hang on i need water to quench this thirst
Ushijima also doesn’t get why you’re so excited to see him after games, but he’s not going to complain.  He’s absolutely smitten when you pretty much lunge into his arms, telling him how well he played
He’ll thank you and probably start rambling about football things and you have no idea what the hell he’s talking about, but you just stare up at him, nodding occasionally as if you know comprehend what he’s saying.
The two of you will probably sit in the parking lot together for hours, just hanging out in the bed of his truck ushi drives a pick-up truck and I will not believe otherwise
or a prius idk why.  but it’s either a pick-up truck or a prius
Anyway.  I don’t usually simp for Ushi, but uhhhhhh I’m a simp for Ushijima in jeans and a football jersey
87 notes · View notes
princessozera · 4 years ago
Text
Not OM, I just wanted to post here the first ever fic I actually wrote and published
I WOULD LIKE TO SAY AS A DISCLAIMER EVEN THOUGH I PUBLISHED IT LAST YEAR (2 years ago?) I WAS ACTUALLY YOUNGER WHEN I WROTE THIS. I DO NOT SIMP FOR DAMIAN LIKE THAT ANYMORE, HE IS MY SON.
The Only Exception
 (Aged up/Older Damian Wayne x OC)
The seats are filled, the air is comforting, music and perfume floating in the air. Today Rosella Anderson is to be wed to Damian Wayne. But, weddings never quite go according to plan. Talia and Ra's Al Ghul have made it clear they don't like her, on multiple occasions. But with no less than 50 trained fighters and investigators on both sides of the aisle, nothing can interrupt or ruin her special day...... Right?
Chapter 1: Getting Married Today
"Come on, suck it in!"
       "I HAVEN'T EVEN EATEN TODAY!" I whined as Alice yanked the ribbons on my corset tighter.
       "WATCH IT!" Crystal swats away Alice's hands and undoes the ribbons a bit. "Suffocate her and she doesn't make it down the aisle, pack her like a sausage and my hours of makeup will have gone to waste!" She huffed and finish tying the ribbons, satisfied that they weren't too tight.
       "I don't think I ever really appreciated the amount of work it takes to make curly hair not be frizzy," Barbra Gordon says between sips of champagne, lounging on the hotel bed.
       "That's why I don't do my hair that often," I laugh, sitting on an ottoman so Alice can put my veil on and Crystal can help me put on my garter. My maid of honor, Cassandra Cain, came over and tried to feed me some fruit slices. I tried to argue, but I couldn't hold my own as she stared me down. I let her feed me some cantaloupe slices until she was satisfied and went off to finish getting ready.
       "You really are a queen today!" Stephanie laughed as she walked around the room again, holding a video recorder. I tried to hide my face, but she grabbed my hand and swung it around. "A beautiful princess for Gotham's own prince! Tell us, your majesty, how are you feeling, about to be married off to Gotham's richest stone statue?" The girls laughed but I just shook my head at her. "Me, Tim, and Dick are making a documentary for you two. Any words for the lucky man? Anything you want to say to your future self, your family, your future kids? " Whistles and laughs went around the room and I couldn't help but blush.
       "Well, let's take this one step at a time," I laughed to hide my own embarrassment. "Damian," I started, looking directly into the camera, "I don't believe in love at first sight, but damn did we square up on first sight. Not many people can say they had a full on MMA fight with their future spouse within minutes of meeting them. Yet, after that whole fiasco was solved, you've never been anything but gentle with me. People always said we wouldn't last; lava and ice. Water and a drought. Incompatible. But you were the first to look past who I had to be, to see who I was trying to be. You brought me a family, and I like to think I've brought you some serenity. I don't believe in destiny, and I'm not too sure about fate, but I believe in us. I believe that I'll fight for you until the end of time because you'd do the same for me. Because you are my home, and there's no place I'd rather be." I get choked up, wanting nothing more than to have him in my arms right now. I missed him like hell, even though it's only been 2 days since I've seen him.
       "This isn't the time to start reciting your wedding vows silly," Cass said and I couldn't help but giggle. She wipes away the tears that I hadn't felt form, making sure to not mess with my mascara. Stephanie sighs happily and puts the camcorder down, reaching over to hug me.
       "I'm so glad I get to be your sister," she whispered to me, and I hugged back tighter. We both jerked in surprise at the knock at the door. I immediately reached for my bag, looking for my well-worn notebook, but Cass's hand steadied me. Barbra got up, fixed her dress and went over to the door.
       "Who is-" She stiffens up immediately, hand pulling back from the handle. "It's Talia." Stephanie immediately got in front of me, and I grabbed Cass's hand as she reached for her own bag, searching for her gun. I'd never told my friends about Talia, but they took the hint found their way to their respective bags, throwing knives and whips at the ready. Truthfully, I was finding it a little hard to breathe and I doubt it was the dress. The knock came again, more insistent, but no one moved.
       "It's your call Rose," Barbra said, her eyes never leaving the door.
       "Let her in," I tug on Cass's arm and she helps me stand up. "If she wanted me offed, she would have gotten someone else to do it. Or at least she wouldn't have knocked." Crystal and Alice look between all of us in alarm and decide to take the window as Stephanie goes to back up Babs by the door. The door opens, and there stands Talia, as beautiful and regal as ever. She glances over everyone before finally meeting my eyes.
       "Lady Al Ghul, please come in. To what do I owe the pleasure?" I said, fidgeting with my dress. She steps in, nodding to Babs and Stephanie.
         "I'd like to have a word with you before the ceremony," She says, running her hand along the wet counter cluttered with makeup. "Alone," She said with a pointed look when no one moved. That harsh edge was enough to get everyone to cover or flank me again. She didn't respond to this, simply staring at me. I put my hand on each girl's back, one by one.
       "Go, I'll be fine. We'll be right here," Babs stares me down, but I nod back. She caves and starts to leave; Alice, Crystal and eventually Stephanie following behind, after she grabs something off the bed. Cass refused to move.
       "Do I need to remind you that you can barely move your waist in that monstrous dress? She'd get to you before any of us were the wiser," She whispered in my ear, holding my arm pretty tightly. I wormed my way out of her grasp and grabbed the worn notebook from my bag.
       "I promise, it'll be fine. Anyways, I forgot there were 2 more things I needed to do," I flipped through the pages quickly, finding what I needed and handing it to her. "If you could please take care of it? You should be done by the time we're done talking and we can head to the venue." Cass read through it quickly, then looked at me again. She gave a curt nod and walked out as well.
       "We'll be right outside," Babs says pointedly before closing the door. Talia and I stood in silence for a moment, before she slowly stalked towards me until she was less than 6 feet away.
       "Lady Al-"
       "Your still not worthy of my son." oop. Right to the point, as always. Can't say it didn't hurt.
       "You're a commoner, a nobody. No title, no land, not even superior health to your name. You failed classes in high school, went to college on scholarships, and couldn't land a proper role in your field until a year in. Failure, after pitfall, after failure." JESUS CHRIST THIS LADY DID HER RESEARCH. My face burned in humiliation, but nothing I could say now would justify everything she just listed out. "And yet... Damian loves you."
             "I may not like you, but I know how I raised him, and Bruce has done a good job of bringing up a boy worth more than the names he was born into. Wayne. Al Ghul. Damian. I will have faith in his choice, he is not a stupid boy. Foolish and stubborn yes, but not stupid. If he thinks you are worthy, there may be hope for you yet." holy shit, no way, is this actually happening? I'm too stunned to say anything, just grateful that my mouth isn't hanging open.
       "When you return from your honeymoon I expect you to face me in a formal duel and undergo training as necessary," she puts her hands on her hips, challenging me to argue with her, but I was so happy I had to restrain myself from hugging her.
       "It would be an honor to battle you Lady Al Ghul," I say, finding my tongue, stifling my giddiness with a bow, and a hand over my chest.
       "Talia is also acceptable." She says with a nod, taking another step forward and adjusting the skirt of my dress and finally my veil before turning starting to walk back to the door. "My father and I will also be in attendance to this event, but if you ever wish to gain even an ounce of his approval, you'll need to do another more traditional ceremony at a later date." My heart swelled, and for a second, I legitimately thought I was going to break down crying. This was better than anything I could have prepared for. I couldn't just let her walk out like that.
       "Damian'll be elated!" I yelled out to keep my voice from cracking. Talia stops, and I gush on. "I know you haven't had the easiest of relationships, with conflicting ideology and all, but he really does love you, and Ra's, even if he doesn't say it. He looks up to you guys and wants to make you proud. You being here will mean the world to him." I force myself to stop talking before I say something weird or bad. Talia turns back to me, walks up swiftly, and hugs me. I'm stiff in surprise, but manage to hug her back before she gives me one last nod and walks out. Everyone runs back in the second Talia is out.
       "Are you ok? Are you hurt anywhere?" Babs immediately grabs my arms and starts inspecting me up and down for any sign of injury.
       "Don't cry don't cry!" Alice pleads with me, fanning my face to prevent the tears from falling.
       "Talia hugged her, check her back and skirt for anything weird," I look over to Stephanie, who was staring down at her camcorder. Had she left that hidden on the bed? I didn't even notice. But it was so sweet. I could show Damian later all the sweet words his mother said about him.
       "Jesus, you're so teary today," Cass mumbles as she does her own inspection of my dress. When she's done, she sees my tears are of joy, so she hugs me. "Your journal's impressive," she says handing back my heart covered notebook. I'm still choked up and trying not to bawl in relief so once everyone was satisfied that I wasn't going to drop dead in the middle of the aisle, they sat me down so I could calm down while they finished up. I collected myself, the extremity of these emotions leaving me exhausted. I drifted off with the warm glow of my friend's laughter and love filling the air.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
       "No way, you did not fall asleep!"
       "Get up get up get up!"
       "Cass, I'm fully warning you right now. If she falls asleep at the ceremony like this, I'm throwing my bouquet at her head"
       "You might have to beat Stephanie to it," Cass giggles, as she gently shakes me awake. I take a second to reorient myself, blinking the drowsiness out of my eyes, and stretching.
       "Ooh, we could coordinate it though!" Stephanie perks up, "if she falls asleep; Alice and Crystal, take your flowers and make it rain, and then Babs, Cass and I hit her in the head. Guaranteed it'll wake her up!" We all laugh and I get up, taking a minute to appreciate my beautiful friends. It was a debated choice, but the deep purple fit everyone perfectly. We did have to make a few adjustments to Stephanie's overall look though, to keep her from looking too similar to her alter ego, Spoiler. Bouquet in every pair of hands, key cards in garter wallets and phones on silent, we made our way down to the venue.
         "We're only running 10 minutes behind, it couldn't be helped," Babs tries to calm my nerves as I all but start jumping in the elevator. Cass also had to put a hand on my waist to pull me back when I almost ran to my place. She escorted me around to the side doors; the girls and I were coming in from the right, Damian and his groomsmen were coming in from the left. He had wanted to avoid any issue of who should walk him down the aisle; I thought it was cute how he couldn't choose between Dick and Bruce. Cass and I were slow dancing to calm my nerves when the rest of the girls came back.
       "Pianist and minister are ready" -Babs
       "Decorations are gorgeous and on point, everyone is in their seat and there are no fussy children" -Alice
       "Lights, audio and AC are perfect and photographers are also ready" - Crystal.
       I nodded, yes, everything was going smoothly. Of course, I had used everything I had when planning this. I was floating on cloud nine, simply nodding along when Babs spoke up.
       "Has anyone seen Stephanie?" she asks, grip tightening on her bouquet. No one knew so we all just waited around for 5 minutes, everyone starting to get fidgety. Stephanie came back, 10 minutes later, looking a little out of breath and a bit pale, even under her makeup.
       "Ok so there's a situation,- the guys are running late but it's okay they're o their way, they'll be here in 20 minutes!" Stephanie sped through the second half of her sentence when she saw that I was going to panic. I breathed out in relief and nodded, satisfied.
       "I'll make the announcement, Dick probably went overboard trying to do his hair again," Babs snickered and headed into the ceremony hall. We played a light game of ninja as we waited to hear from the guys, but I soon became hyper-aware of time passing. I don't have the best perception of time, I don't even have a good memory, but I caught the looks my bridesmaids were giving each other. 
The questioning looks. 
The worry. 
         I let myself get kicked out of the next round and walked a little ways off, pulling my phone out and calling the number I knew by heart, ignoring the time that read that I was now almost 40 minutes late to my own wedding. The phone rang 3 times, and I turned away from my girls who were really getting into this game, rooting for Cass or Alice to win.
       "Damian!" I sighed in relief when the line clicked. "hey, how much longer do you think you guys will be in traffic? If it's going to be another while, I can have it arranged so snacks and drinks are handed out so no one gets restless. I could also give the pianist a break, he's been playing the same chorus on repeat for the last half hour-" I let my voice trail off as I was met by a stone wall of silence. Not even a joke from Dick or Tim or Duke. I waited him out, after a minute of silence, Damian spoke up.
       "I'm sorry beloved, I can't do this."
         "What?" I asked, but my voice was so thin and breathy I doubt he heard me.
       "I can't go through with this. This marriage, this wedding. It's all a joke. Who even cares about this mess? It's all so... stupid. Pointless."   not a hint of hesitation, voice more ruthless than I had ever heard it.   No. No way. was he serious!? I struggled to find my words, I shook with the pure effort of breathing normally even though I felt like I was having an actual heart attack; tight chest, palpitations, the whole 9 yards. Tremors ran through my body and I finally managed to choke out "Damian-"
       "Goodbye Rosella" the line clicked off and I take a shuddering breath.
       "Rose?" Cass says, gently putting a hand on my shoulder.
       "He's not coming."
          "What?"
          "He's not coming!" I shriek, clutching my waist to stop my stomach from churning but to no avail; at least I didn't have much of lunch to throw up.
           "What do you mean he's not coming!" Babs demands, yelling from where she was
           "shit" 
          We all turn and there stands Jason, looking uncomfortable as hell and very much like he didn't want to be here. That confirmed it for everyone. Alice, Crystal, and Babs started yelling questions at Jason. Stephanie pulled out her own phone and started dialing a bunch of numbers but it seemed like no one was answering. Cass tried to speak with me, but my ears were ringing, it all sounded like white noise. And I felt cold. but hot. but freezing. I raise my hand and draw everyone's attention, all becoming deadly silent.
             "Alice, Crystal. please go tell the pianist, the minister, and the photographer. Give them my email so I can settle up the charges later. Stephanie and Cass, please go see if we can keep the party reservations for tonight. Everyone else should enjoy them, even if there is no.... Barbra, could you please break the news that I... we..." everything got really blurry for a second and the floor rushed up to meet me, but I caught myself on the table before I could pass out completely.
Not here, not in front of them. Don't put them through a breakdown.
               Everyone was fussing, but I couldn't stand here for another second. "Go. I just want to be alone. Please. go. GO!" I yelled and they all dispersed, shooting me worried looks. Cass gave me a long hug before she decided I needed a moment alone.
           "Don't move from here." She instructed me. "Go get the guys," she demanded to Jason before going off. Jason looked at me sadly, trying to find the right words to say.
           "Rose-"
          "Please leave." he walked away without another word. Once I was sure he was out of earshot, I ran with everything I had out of the hallway.
Pardon me is everybody there
 because if everybody's there id like to thank you all for coming to the wedding
 I appreciate you going even more
 I mean you must have had better things to do.
 Thank you all for the gifts and the flowers, 
Thank you all, now it's back to the showers 
but I guess I'm not getting married today
       The perfume is suffocating, overly sweet, fake as plastic, thick as sugar. I can't breathe, but I don't need air to run. Don't stop, move. Move. Move. The ribbons are strangling me. The garter is cutting off my circulation. Gloves are hurting me.  High heels, weak ankles. My rolls of fat spilling out of the dress. rolls and rolls and rolls and rolls and rolls.  can't stand. can't wait, I throw open the door to the stairs and take them in 3s.
Listen, everybody, 
look, I don't know what you're waiting for.
 A wedding. What's a wedding? 
It's a prehistoric ritual 
Where everybody promises fidelity forever,
 Which is maybe the most horrifying word I ever heard of, 
Which is followed by a honeymoon, where suddenly he'll realize
 He's saddled with a nut, and want to kill me, which he should. 
Thanks a bunch, but I'm not getting married
               I scream as my veil gets caught in the handrail, yanking my head back, falling down a couple of stairs. No question, I rip it off. It stings, it hurts, bobby pins forcefully ripped out. The shoes go too, heels are stupid, why are they so tall. Tall and tall and make my knees wobbly. The taller they are the harder they fall. Up the stairs, 3 at a time, legs on fire. Don't stop, don't stop, hike the dress up and keep running all the way to the 50th floor.
Go have lunch, 'cause I'm not getting married
You've been grand, but I'm not getting married
Don't just stand there, I'm not getting married
But I'm not getting married today.
       I slam open the hotel room door, to hell with neighbors. Suffocating, burning, melting heat. I rip off the gloves, scream as I can't get the ribbons out of my dress. I scream, jump, squirm and throw myself around until it finally comes off.
He didn't come. shut up.
He didn't want to. SHUT THE HELL UP
       I felt everything to an extreme degree. Too much. Why am I breathing so heavily? Why am I sweating bullets!? I throw my hair up in a ponytail, yank the garter off, tripping over my own two feet. My phone falls next to my head and the only thing I can think to do is to throw it into the toilet. I grab my honeymoon bag- no, my emergency bag that happened to have cute clothes instead of food, and switch into my leggings and a t-shirt. It's all I had. It's all I could ask for.
Go! Can't you go?
Why is nobody listening?
Goodbye! Go and cry
At another person's wake.
If you're quick, for a kick
You could pick up a christening
But please, on my knees,
There's a human life at stake!
        I'm parkouring down the stairs, jumping entire sections, falling on knees, but ignoring the pain to jump again. Emergency phone in one hand, I order the uber, start the bank transaction, even though I have to read everything 10 times for it to make sense. What do? where go? don't know. not here. One bad jump and I collapsed entirely, but as I scrambled to throw everything back in my bag, I see the plane tickets. yes. away. out. not here. leave.
Go! Can't you go?
Look, you know I adore you all
But why watch me die
Like Eliza on the ice?
Look, perhaps I'll collapse
In the apse right before you all
So take back the cake
Burn the shoes, and boil the rice
       Out of the stairway, but slammed into a wall. Around the corner, Alice and Babs and Crystal and Jason and Stephanie and Cass and Bruce and Selina and Duke and Tim and Dick and Alfred.
Remember when you first met them? He swore he'd protect you but that they'd love you. please stop! I begged myself, think of anything, anything but him. anything but this. Get out, then we can cry, but not here, not now.  I watched them split up, so I hid behind a corner farther back. Steph and Cass took up the stairs. Everyone else was gone so I ran out the back door. Out of the hotel, away from the perfume, away from the flowers, the candles, the dresses. From them.  And by some small miracle, the car was already here. I jump in, only taking a second to notice that it was, in fact, an uber.
       "Hello, ma'am! How are-"
       "Please! Just go!" my voice breaks and the tears start up again. I brush them aside furiously/ doing everything in my power not to start sobbing, but he listens to me and speeds off.
BECAUSE I'M NOT GETTING MARRIED TODAY
(A twist on this song that actually inspired this whole fic)
Chapter 2: On The Run
I'm going to kill him
Why didn't he show up?
How fucking dare he
Was it something I did?
I was nervous too bitch; I drank a shot of tequila and sucked it up!
Was it something HE did? Was Talia lying? Did Ra's kidnap Damian? Why did the boys wait to tell us? Did Stephanie know that something was up? Do any of them even-
       "Ughhhh," I groaned audibly as my thoughts and emotions started to run together. It had been a while since anything left me this.... discombobulated. Exhausted. A mess. I'd almost forgotten how awfully I reacted to being overwhelmed and out of control. The uber driver shot me a curious look but didn't say anything. Keep it together Rosella. Just, go home and.. I flinched, chagrined at my own stupidity. "Get somewhere safe" I amended under my breath, "and then you can have as big of a breakdown as you want. Just, be a stone again. Close it all out. Suppress the fire, drown the noise." I rubbed my eyes, the dry burn giving me the weirdest throbbing headache.
        The ride to the airport was stiff, to say the least. My driver kept trying to talk to me, but my responses were so dry he gave up. He didn't question the extra stop at the bank, even while he waited outside for half an hour while I verified with tellers inside that I was, in fact, the owner of the account and that I was draining it. 
Erase your tracks. You were never here. Are you even alive? 
         Still, we got to the airport as quickly as I could have hoped for and made sure to give him a large tip for his troubles.  I walked through the airport, undoubtedly looking like some pompous bitch with only a stone face and backpack, my actual suitcase left behind in my whirlwind out. I only had some snacks, a Nintendo ds, some stationary things, deodorant, and a toothbrush. I hadn't even remembered to grab my disposable water bottle, toothpaste, or hair brush before leaving. Whatever.
        It was almost flawless. I bypassed the checked bag lines, slid right through TSA (bless you TSA Pre-check), although I did get some looks when they checked my bag. I guess overall I looked like I should be getting on a school bus instead. I sat down at a cafe and pulled out the tickets, 2 first class tickets to Malaga, Spain.
        I'd set up our honeymoon as a complete surprise to Damian. Bruce and the boys had worked so hard to help me clear out a whole month from his schedule. I'd gone through hell and back to make sure all of my project managers could handle any situation that could happen either in making or transporting our different projects out... We were supposed to be jumping cities for a month in Europe. Cities with small populations, so we could avoid drawing attention, but full of gorgeous architecture and delicious food for me; significant art history and cultural relevance for Damian.
       It's going to be a technical nightmare to cancel all of those reservations and getting the tickets switched and sold. Do people even actually do that? But I have to, I don't know where I'm going but I don't want any of them to tra- SHIT. My head snaps up and one quick look around tells me I'm already too late. I spot 5 cameras easily.
       I grab my things and head over to a gift shop. I grab bunches of clothes and accessories off of the shelves, hurrying off to pay and doing my best to avoid cameras now as I sneak off into the restroom. I throw on some atrocious sundress, flats, and a baseball cap, flipping my hair twice in an attempt to make it look like a pixie cut. For a second I consider actually finding something sharp to hack my hair off. 
         I need you to not be a social breakdown cliche for a minute, it took you years to properly grow those curls out. Please don't waste my efforts. Yeah, it's for the better, I look like Dora the Explorer with short hair anyway. Tim wouldn't sell me out to Damian, right? LMAOO he bailed at the wedding you really think he wants to hunt you down?? Or what if Tim wants to find me? Or anyone else? Damian's pretty good at following people. Even then, Babs, Cass, Roy are competent hackers, any of them could find my data and track me down... Are any of them even on my side?... I couldn't help but let out a whimper. I pursed my lips, placing my hands on the cold sink to calm myself. What's my plan anyways? I can't go to any of the cities in Europe where I already have reservations. Too easy. I could go to the Netherlands...
        "But Damian knows where I lived there, because of the time we visited my friends," I sigh out loud, facepalming. "But not entirely a bad idea..."  I say as I start flipping through the different cities I've lived through. Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Croatia, Portugal, Malta,  Romania, Hungary, Austria, are all out. We'd either been there or they were part of the honeymoon plan. I didn't want any reminder of him.
         Actually, all of Europe is out. I've raved about it too much. We've been too many places, we both had too many ties scattered throughout Europe. I can't speak Russian, Talia and Ra's have connections all across the middle east, and the north half of Africa. Jason and Cass had some unexplainable ties across north and south america. With every city I named, I hated myself more for talking so much. For trusting him with these memories.
      Honeysuckle kisses on cotton candy memories.
       shut up. 
      Isn't there ANYWHERE I've lived and worked that my big mouth hadn't mentioned? As I was starting to get desperate and the headache started acting up again, I found actually ecstatic relief. That would be actually literally perfect. God bless my forgetful memory. The apartment I'd never sold. The country I actively avoided talking about because Damian would get jealous.
      I snuck out of the bathrooms and headed over to customer service. I had to work my way past a large group of people. Overhearing snippets of conversation, apparently, their flight is somewhere between delayed or canceled. Inspiration hit me. Give the ticket to someone here. Send them to Spain, let them stay at the hotel. He could follow a cold lead. This would give me enough time to go to one country and get a ticket to where I actually wanted to go. 
     I look around the group. Too many were in pair or more. Some looked very buisness-y type. There! A girl who looked like a backpacker was chilling, glancing through her phone. You're going to sound absolutely mental. I approach her nevertheless. I pitched her my idea, but she was rightfully skeptical. I swallowed my pride and told her a cold version of the truth. 
     "My fiancee left me at the altar. I'm going to Mongolia. I don't want his ticket, I don't want the hotel. Either take it or I'll give it to someone else. Or let it go to waste. I don't care. I don't want it. I'll even pay the name change charge." The anger in my voice came out clear, and by another miracle, she accepted it. We walked over to the help desk and I spoke with the dude behind the counter. He seemed hesitant at first, but he gave me a double take when he checked my reservations. With a brighter smile, he got me on the first flight he could to Mongolia.
       "Will that be for both tickets Mrs.Wayne?" He asked cheerfully before reeling back, caught off guard by my watering eyes.
       "Anderson. And no," I managed to spit out. I signaled for the girl from earlier to come closer. "I'm transferring the other ticket to her, we need to get the name changed." He looked uncertain but went ahead. If he was accommodating before, I could tell he was bending over backwards now to get everything situated. I could see his concentration as he tried to bypass things without having to question me again.
       "Umm, your profile says you've actually been to Belgium before, how was it?" he asked, trying to lighten the mood.
       "Beautiful and quaint. Great place to relax and enjoy nature if that's your thing. I'd recommend Lithuania too, or Leinchestein." I say, trying to keep a light tone. He nodded happily, seeming to take my recommendations seriously before handing the girl the new plane tickets. We thanked him and headed off on our respective paths, the girl taking a minute to hug me.
       " I hope you can heal soon, and wish you a bright future" she whispered to me. I hugged back, trying not to cry again. She bought me a bag of peach gummy rings and left me at my terminal. I dropped some calls out to friends, blessed that they all decided to take one or more of the reservations around Europe I'd had. I kept the details to a minimum but they figured out pretty quickly not to mention me to Damian if they happened to see him. Some small part of me, thankfully more aware than the rest had the foresight to call some utility companies and get everything at my apartment working again. 
       The help desk attendant worked miracles, my nonstop flight boarded less than an hour later and I had managed to keep a first class seat. I sat down and started doodling nonsense in my journal, blasting music in my headphones. But around 6 hours into this 19-hour flight, exhaustion overcame me and I drifted off to sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
       "Beloved," Damian sighed as he wrapped his arms around my waist. "It's almost 11, we need to get out of bed," he murmured into my hair.
       "Nooooooo" I whined, stretching further into the sunlight. The doors were ajar, a nice breeze keeping us cool. I snuggled into him. "We're on a vacation, orders from Bruce. And on vacation, you can stay in bed all day."
       "But there might be monsters nearby-" He said mysteriously, catching my attention.
       "I didn't get reports of any- AH!" I scream as Damian proceeds to tickle me. "No! Sto-" I try to gasp out between laughing. I manage to fight him, tumbling out of bed. He laughed at me as I tried to untangle myself from the blankets.
       "That's a dirty trick Wayne!" I gasp, trying to catch my breath. I grab a pillow and chuck it at him, but he just catches it and throws it back. We have a small impromptu pillow war before he taps out after a good hit knocks him onto the balcony. "BOW TO MY PROWESS!" I jokingly declare, jumping up and down on the ottoman. Damian runs over and sweeps me down.
       "Please. Don't. Fall. And. Break. Your. Head" He accentuates every word with a kiss, making me giggle. He lets me go and takes the bathroom to shower first. I head out into the kitchen, humming to myself. I grab some of the fruit we bought yesterday and start making a fruit bowl. I'm halfway through cutting the Jicama when Damian's arms are around my waist again.
       "What are you doing?" He asks, resting his chin on my shoulder. Before I could answer, his grip around me tightened. "Be careful!" He whispered harshly, putting his hands over mine. "Your knife skills could use some work, you could have cut your finger off like that!" He scolded me but I scoffed.
       "Haven't lost a finger yet"
       "No, but you did set your oven on fire. THREE TIMES" He elbowed my side and I pouted.
       "Excuse you, that 2nd time wasn't my fault, remember? Dick broke into my place and fell asleep making fish sticks," I retaliated, squirming out of his grip and started making some sandwiches for lunch.
       "I really should improve the security at your apartment," Damian says as he finished cutting up the Jicama and strawberries, plating them and dropping them off at the table.
       "As if that would stop every vigilante from the northern hemisphere from breaking in," I snorted, bringing over the sandwiches. We ate in peace, letting the soft instrumental music from the radio fill the silence.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
       I sigh happily, turning in my chair, reaching out for Damian's hand. The second I touched the cold seat next to me, my body freezes too. "Damian?"  I muttered drowsily, sitting up straight. His bag isn't under his chair. Why am I wearing a dress? Why are my leggings rolled up? I start to panic, breathing rapidly and trying to blink away the tears in my eyes. It's enough to pull me awake and I remember what happened.
       "Oh... oh" I hiccup and bite my lip, looking back out the window into the starry night. The tears start falling, but I'm being quiet so I let them. My skin itches. My neck, my wrists, under my eyes. I start scratching, trying to ignore my memories. The trip to Italy, our joint project to improve the villain resistance of the infrastructure of Gotham, the charity events we attended.
       "Ma'am?" I look up, a stewardess in the aisle leaning over. I wipe my eyes, catching the furious red color my wrists had become, before turning to her. "Uh, you missed your meal earlier and I was wondering if there was anything I could get you?" She looked uncomfortable now, glancing between my red eyes, red nose, and now red wrists and presumably red neck. I glanced over the menu she handed me, ordering a full meal. She dropped the food off and scurried away, not meeting my eyes.
        The meal was laid out beautifully; tomato soup, grilled cheese and grilled chicken with a slice of cheesecake. Yet, I couldn't seem to muster the strength to eat. It didn't really seem appetizing, and I wasn't hungry. 
        The last time you ate was over 10 HOURS ago, and that wasn't even a full meal. C'mon, one bite. I picked up the fork, but simply twirled it in my hand, watching the metal catch the light. You'll get a raging headache if you don't eat soon. Might get that deep vein thrombosis. I take a bite of the chicken, tasting nothing despite its obvious layer of seasoning. I swallowed it with half a glass of water. It felt thick, heavy, almost like swallowing a rock. But I had to eat. When I didn't immediately throw up, I set up my phone to play a cache of 65 action movies to distract myself and started eating bit by bit. I could tell I was drinking a ridiculous amount of water, but the stewardess replaced my glass without it ever going entirely empty so I didn't really notice how much I had downed. She cleared my tray when I was done, and I just kept watching movies. Whenever I thought I was going to fall asleep, I'd crank the volume up, scroll forward to fight scenes and take a drink of sprite. I was about 4 movies in when I threw off my headphones, whimpering with how severe my headache had gotten despite eating and drinking water.
       "Good morning passengers, it is 10 pm and we're about to start our final descent so if you could all please put up your trays and turn off the wifi in your electronics, we'll be landing shortly." Not gonna lie, the time zone jump threw me for a minute, I had taken a second to figure out how we made the flight in 8 hours instead of 19. I shoved everything into my bag, forcing the zipper closed. I wanted to put on some rock or pop punk songs, “Battle On!” seeming weirdly appealing, even though I hadn't heard it in a while. I felt a vein in my neck twitch, so I settled on music from the swan lake instead.
       The second we touched down I was up.  I only had my backpack so I was able to squeeze by people, ignoring protests and complaints to get off the plane. Off the plane, past the luggage claim, I was going down the escalator when I spotted them. Advika was talking to Zay, looking mad as hell, but she noticed me first. She ran over and almost tackled me to hug me, Zay taking my bag. "Princessa, baby girl, I'm so sorry." She cries into my hair, "I didn't think he was an asshole, oh god, how could he do that to you!"
       "We have the plane ready to go," Zay says, joining in on the hug. I let Advika cling to me as we make our way to the opposite side of the airport. Once we're in a more private area, Advika speaks up again.
       "I'm going to kill him. How fucking dare he!" She squeezed my hand, and now started pulling me towards the airplane.
       "Isn't that Rosella's line?" Zay prods before looking back at me. "But in all seriousness, we will absolutely end him, just say the word. Don't even say it, blink morse code, ASL, anything." I keep my mouth shut and let Advika continue to rave about the different ways she'll end Damian; financially, socially, whatever I wanted. We went out onto the runway and I couldn't help but chuckle.
       "The company jet? Isn't that a bit much?" I say as Zay escorts us in, before heading to the back.
       "The boss said it's okay. Nearly bit my head off when I called to ask but said it was ok. You did help establish our company in the foreign market," Advika takes a seat but gestures for me to lay down on the couch. "No offense mi princessa, but you look like a fucking mess. Please take a nap."
       "I don't know if I can do that," I say, letting out a long sigh. Zay comes back, handing Advika a small purse and laying a platter of cheese and crackers on the table across from us. He sets up instrumental music, from “Carmen” if I'm not mistaken, as Advika takes my hat off and starts combing my hair. I lay back into her, letting her brush out my hair, counting her impeccable pattern. 2 squirts from a spray bottle to moisten my hair, 10 brush strokes. 2 then 10 then 2 then 10. My eyes started feeling heavy so I forced myself to take a deep breath and sit up. The motion made her accidentally yank my hair and woke me a bit. As she apologized I alternated my breathing patterns to try to stay awake, noticing for the first time that we were already in the air. 
      "Please, just go to sleep," Advika begged, grabbing my hands and forcing me to look at her. I stared at her for a moment before answering.
       "I did... on the plane. I dreamed of him. The disorientation of waking up made me think I was on my way to my honeymoon," I let out a bitter laugh and she flinches, looking over to Zay, unsure what to say.
       "You look pale," Zay interjects. He comes over to me, placing a hand on my head and then my neck. He doesn't comment on the marks, but he and Advika share a look. "Change your clothes, drink some water, then these, we don't want you getting sick." He puts 2 pills in my hands before going off to find me some water.
       "Yeah, getting sick is the absolute worst thing that can happen to me right now. How silly of me," I roll my eyes and Advika snorts, trying to mask her laughter. I leave the Nyquil pills on the couch and get changed. I come back and take the pills, leaning into Advika again so she can continue to play with my hair. She spoke about anything and everything, filling the silence with her happy chatter. Undoubtedly, she was trying to distract my conscious so if I did dream again, it wouldn't be about him. It worked, her happy banter following me into my dreamless slumber.
-------------------
       I awoke to Zay gently shaking me, thankfully a lot less disoriented than last time. I gather up my things, helping myself to the bottles of water they had around. I ignore the bandages wrapped around my wrist, but the one on my throat was quickly starting to freak me out. Advika seemed to sense my discomfort, immediately coming over and cutting the bandages off.
       "Sorry, your skin seemed a bit raw so we wrapped it up," she explains calmly, alternating to rubbing her hand up and down my arm to soothe me.
       "S'ok," I mumble, taking my bag from Zay.
       "We called you a cab -it got here a couple of minutes ago-, but you're more than welcome to stay with either of us back in Mongolia. Neha and Juniper also moved here ya know, I'm sure she'd-" I cut Zay off with a shake of my head, and follow him out of the plane.
       "I just really want to be alone for a while, ya know?" As alone as I can be with my differing opinions yelling at me and my endless train of thought that does NOT SHUT UP. Zay nodded but Advika grabbed my arm before I could hail the cab closer to the plane.
       "I know you want to be alone- and you absolutely do need some time alone, this is going to be a lot to process- but...." She hesitated, biting her lip. "I know how you can get Ro. don't even try to argue with me on this. Please, take some time, but do not hesitate to call me or anyone else." Would this be a bad time to throw up? That's one way to diverge the conversation. Advika held me but I wouldn't meet her eyes. "You know what? If you don't check in with me in a week I will track you down and drag you to live with me. I'm not joking. Do you understand" I want to protest, but then I remember she didn't even have my phone number. Game on. I agree and they both give me a hug before I board the cab.
       "Good morning"
       "Good morning, where should I take you?" ah. another thing that I hadn't thought of. Without even bothering to check my bag, I knew I didn't have my keys. But I knew someone who might. I give the cab driver an address and I pull out my phone. But I can't even ask because I don't remember her number. I sigh, hoping things hadn't changed as much as I thought.
       We're in downtown Seoul before I can start properly stressing myself with the "what ifs". Had she moved? What if she didn't have the key? Would she yell at me for arriving at... Almost 3 am? I decided to do the math to distract myself, reworking the math on how a 4-hour flight turned into a 5-hour flight for a solid 10 minutes before I realized that I had not taken another time zone into play. Small miracles were on my side today. Yesterday? Tomorrow? Whatever the fuck day it is. Since it was so early, there wasn't much in the way of traffic, and the doorman was the same one that had been here when I lived her for however long it was. I explained to him that I was here to see Hong and after some reluctance, he let me in.
       Up the elevator to the fifth door, doors opening to crisp air, reminiscent of fall. Exactly 30 steps forward to a door with 4 pastel sierra sunset decorations on the door. I knock, timidly at first as to not wake the neighbors. In 5 minutes, again, a little louder. I did this for an hour before I gave up and simply stood there with my head on the door.
       "Hong. Hooooonnnngggggg" I whined quietly. Wow, thank goodness it's so early, everyone would think you're a creeper. lmaooo just imagine getting arrested your first day back. I whined into the door, contemplating just sleeping out here.
       "Rosella?" a soft voice came from behind me. I turn to see Hong with Geo's arm around her. There were 2 more people behind her but I barely had the awareness to nod as a greeting. "What are you doing here? Wasn't yesterday your-" She stops, noticing that my lip had begun to tremble. 
      "Rosella-" she comes over and wraps her arms around me, hiding my face from view of the others. Someone unlocks the door and she drags me inside. The sequins on her dress start to itch, but I continue to hug her. Once I'm ready to let go, she sits me down and goes to change her outfit while Geo sits with me. in awkward silence for a while.
       "Rose, what happened?" He eventually asks, sliding over a glass of ice water. "I thought your wedding was yesterday. Wasn't your honeymoon suppose to be in Europe?" I couldn't seem to muster the strength to answer, simply staring at him and sighing.
       "You have no tact," Hong comments, combing back in her usual floral pjs. She flops down next to me, placing her hand on mine. "You don't have to tell us now, but I would like for you to tell us eventually." I can't help but smile, she always has a soothing air to her. It's impossible to be mad or upset near her. " I have some clothes you can borrow; I have friends over today so you'll have to take the couch, but you can have the guest room tomorrow." I shake my head, forcing myself to pull away from her motherly touch.
       "I could never impose on you, I was just wondering if you have my spare key? I really want to go home." I let my voice crack at the end, hoping she wouldn't push for me to stay here. Geo looked at me like I was crazy, staring particularly long at my single backpack.
       "Okay. Geo, could you get her key? It's in the top dresser with a purple tip," Hong nods to him and he leaves. " I do feel the need to remind you that you pretty much purged the place when you left. I don't remember the last time I visited either, so its probably super dusty too."
       "I'll make do for tonight. I'll go to the store tomorrow for food and cleaning supplies, ok?"
       "You'd better, you forgetful dip stick," Geo grunts as he hands me the key. "Actually, we could probably find somewhere open rn. We could swing by and-"
       "I was actually going to walk home it's a nice night and-"
       "Absolutely not." Hong interrupted me, sounding her top tier forceful. "I know you've been through some shit in the last 48 hours but I'm not going to let you commit suicide by stupidity!" I took a minute to process this, for a second I thought I was back in Gotham.
       "It's not far... I only have my backpack and the crime rates here aren't even that high Hong. You know I took mi-"
       "Yes yes, I know about your MMA history, but I draw the line. I don't know how much the others have let you get away with but you are not walking alone at night!" I don't fight her, letting her drag me to her car, Geo driving. We're at my complex within minutes.
       "Take care of yourself Rosie." Hong says, giving me a half hug through the car window, Geo simply putting a hand on my head. "I'll come to check up on you- and if you don't answer the door I'll call the cops" she threatened before letting go.
       "Thank you, seriously, this is so great that you had my key, and for dropping me off." I hesitate before heading up. "If you don't mind me asking, how long have you two been dating?" Geo's blush was extremely visible against his skin, even in the shadows.
       "It's that obvious huh? We've been together for about 5 months," Hong replied, blushing as well.
          "I always thought you two would look cute together," I said, this time with a genuine smile. I wave them off and opt to take the stairs up. I opened the door to my apartment. 
        It's freezing, dust dancing in the waning moonlight. I set my bag down, pulling out another change of clothing from what I had bought at the airport. I threw it into the bathroom before heading over to my emergency closet. Never though the emergency stash would be used like this. Maybe we shouldn't use it? Earth shattering heartbreak is too an emergency, fuck off. I'll restock it anyways. I pull out some towels and bath supplies. I get in the shower, letting the steaming hot water run over me.
         Since when have I not been able to feel my fingers? I ask myself, flexing them one by one. It's like the stakeout in Boston that one winter, Dick brought us hot chocolate-
         No. Don't even. Dust! This place is messy and I want to properly disinfect it- unconsciously increasing the pressure with my loofah- I'll need Lysol, tide pods, scrubs, dish rags. Probably should buy more plates too. Damian always had a peculiar adoration for matching cutlery sets, when he bought me some ramen bowls-
OW OW OW OW OW OW OW! I jerk up, my hand immediately going to my upper spine. I breathe in too quickly, taking in some water. I pull open the curtain and lean over the tub, cough and sputtering, trying to catch my breath.
       "What- the- fuck-" I manage to gasp out. I was sitting down in the tub, I guess I had fallen asleep???? I shake the drowsiness off, turning off the water and getting out. Despite, or maybe because of, my broken sleep this last day I was still exhausted once I had gotten changed and my heartbeat had slowed down. I looked to my room door, but collapsed on the sofa, letting the musty leather suffocate me to sleep as my bones sunk into the couch.
Chapter 3: Safehouse
 I awoke the same way I fell asleep.
Suffocating.
        I wanted to get up, find a tissue to blow my nose, but every muscle in me ached a million ways. Did I fall off the empire state building while I was asleep? Did some cannibal beat me with a meat tenderizer for hours and just leave me on this couch? Holy FUCK.
        Even twisting my face away from the couch so I could get some fresh air strained my neck. Every joint felt dislocated, limbs lifeless like a broken marionette. The dust. Allergies. I can't breathe...
Can't breathe
Can't breathe
      Suffocating! DIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIE- I panic, throwing myself off the couch. Landing on the ground actually didn't cause any more pain. I laid there for a minute, mentally trying to put my joints back in their sockets. It isn't a large enough distraction, and I'm soon hyper-aware of everything. My skin was burning where the sunlight touched, the dust in the air was so heavy I could have sworn I lost my vision again. I could hear the meaningless hustle of cars and people outside on the sidewalk, but worst of all was my pounding heartbeat in my ears.
       THUMP-THUMP THUMP-THUMP THUMP-THUMP
I forced myself to get up, groaning as all my muscles pinched as they got back into place. I made a lot of unnecessary noise as I cleaned up my mess from last night. Throwing the shower caddy under the sink, flipping my backpack and letting everything fall out, slamming my dirty clothes into a pile in a corner. And I couldn't help but look around every couple of minutes, not entirely understanding where I was. Trying and failing to compensate for the noises that usually find me when I wake up. When I threw open the balcony windows, I realized I was still waiting to hear another window slide open and a soft "I'm home", even though it was well past noon.
        How wild would it be if he actually went on parole after all that? Would a fight have broken out? Would it have been like the whole Owls mishap again?
       Get your head out of your ass, they're his family; blood is thicker than water.
Blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.
He's been helping and fighting alongside them much longer than you have you dip. I storm into the kitchen, only grunting as I smash my hip against the counter. I set out 4 pages of stationary in front of me and made lists; food, clothes, furniture, extra. I took my papers and started walking around, jotting notes of what I needed. Talking to fill the void.
"More toilet paper, hand soap, towels," I hum under my breath, not really checking the cabinets. "As for clothes I should-" my voice caught when I walked into the bedroom. It was freezing. I reflexively bit my lip,  eyes watering. Instead of goosebumps, this cold sat in my stomach. The same cold in my hands, from the airplane seat, returned- lacing up my arms, down my stomach and legs. Stabbing my heart and restricting my lungs.
I'm alone.
"I should buy like 4 interchangeable outfits," the whimper barely sounded through the silent tears. I shut the door tight, almost running back to the living room. I sat just outside the ring of light, hunching over my paper. "Jeans, underwear, toothpasTE-" I sniffled but my vision only got blurrier.
"BoOKcASes, a bEd, mayBE a BeAr," my heart squeezed every time my voice broke, and in seconds I couldn't write on the soaked paper. The hiccups were my only air, snot streaking my trembling chin.
  "What did I do? What. diD. I DOOO?" I sobbed, wailing into my hands. I curled around a leg of the coffee table, letting its corners cut into my stomach. Wailing until I was dry heaving, scratching my eyes to get rid of these acidic tears, blowing my nose with my shirt- moist blotches sticking to my skin. "Day- Damian" I cried to myself until I passed out again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Afternoons spent silently reading with each other
Matching outfits for galas, some he designed himself, just for me
Our home downtown- bought to have some peace and quiet from his family. Although half the time they broke in, the other half we ended up back in the manor.
Traveling for work, for fun, for missions he didn't think were dangerous.
Sparring with Jason and Cass.
Jason showing me a hundred new bands when I got him into new music genres, trying to help each other find less aggressive ways to vent. Giving him the cream to completely erase the J from his cheek was different, the first time I saw him cry. He understood that blood family wasn't always loyal, and that I didn't mean it when I'd punch or insult someone to hide softer feelings.
Cass just vibing, understanding me and letting me get close. She was always the first to come help me when I was hurt, I became the person she could cry to. The way her face lit up when we were just able to chill a whole night, singing, watching movies and simply understanding each other on a fundamental level.
Barbra growing aggravated as she tried to teach me how to do more with technology than just googling things. Her forgiving my stupidity after I built her a new computer.
The long talks I had with Dick. Anything and everything. The first time hurt, when I called him out. He was giddy and chipper, dramatic as ever but when he caught me staring and stopped for long enough to look back, the pain in his eyes was clear as day. He had just broken up with Kory after all. He didn't need to lie, he didn't need to lighten the mood, he just needed to be honest. But once he could smile honestly again, I couldn't help but remember that he was the one who found out about me and Damian first. He'd been there to spy on our first date, hiding it from Bruce. He was the first to take me out for ice cream then subtly threaten my life if I harmed Damian, the first to swing by for spontaneous days out. To get to know me, to see if I was right for Damian.
Stephanie, Tim and I bonding over teasing and pranking Damian.
Tim and I being forced into caffeine and sleep interventions. Coffee and Coke. And then the beautiful irony of us falling asleep halfway through, especially after I taught him how to sleep with his eyes open.
Cooking with Alfred, learning his famous cookie recipes. Showing him more authentic Hispanic recipes, and him comforting me and being the first to compliment me after I was duped into cooking for the ENTIRE family.
Philosophical and political discussions with Bruce. Talks about war and power, cultural similarities and their origins. Talks about Damian as a child to mess with him. Opening up about paranoia, fear of losing loved ones, the controversies of being "too much" for some people. He understood, sometimes the ultimate sacrifices had to be made in a second. He understood because he was the same. We'd give up our lives before anyone else.
It's all gone.
So much of my past, and now, my whole future.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
it's cold. i stripped off my shirt and blew my nose.
blood. eww, it's hot. i hold my shirt to my nose, crawling under the table, balling up until i could feel all 4 legs pressing into me.
tuneless humming, watching the room light up until my eyes burn.
I have to pee.
I wash my hands, the water making me aware of my bone dry mouth. My tongue sticking to the roof of my mouth. I let the water pour through my fingers for another minute before walking away, laying back under the coffee table.
long grains. shades of brown. like dead grass. my fingers run over the million tiny bumps watching the wood fade from a blurry brown to a million tiny wooden grains.
My hair is on fire. The sun reaches it from under the table.
There are people in the hallway. They're as loud as the cars outside.
the ac is running. i start humming to drown it out.
i'm melting. i force my eyes to blink but they continue to burn. 
I can't breathe. I stagger to the bathroom and after a few minutes of moving my jaw up and down, my mouth manages to open. I swig some water before throwing some on my face. fever? headache at least. I grab a towel to wipe my face, fumbling back into the hall. fuck was i looking directly at the sun? there is only one place colder than the sun. i walk to my bedroom, the cold imperceptible to me now.
but the second i put my eyes directly onto the empty bed frame, i could almost hear them sizzle. it exhausted me. I hadn't realized how hot my face was until i laid it on the floor. like a refreshing bath, calming. i just focused on my heat being transferred to the floor, unaware that I was falling asleep again.
((The writing for the last chapter is intentionally like that, I was attempting to write Rose being in a type of  disassociated kind of state; where you aren't aware of time passing, noting seems real, even things in your immediate vicinity. Knowing that you should be doing something, drinking water, changing clothes, listening to music, ANYTHING-but still not doing it. The capitalization/simple sentences and repetition on the latter part was intentional. ))
4 notes · View notes
kipskat · 4 years ago
Text
Men, I'm sure there's a good part in you that desires to not end up 'not seeing her as your future'. (Jayzam-zoned)
And I mean, for the greater majority of men out there, I have always believed that the sane and average man would date a woman without the intention of playing with her feelings or hurting her.
But - even if the intentions are harmless, a lot of relationships still end up either spiraling to their destruction or continuing lifelessly on a plateau for years.
I'm offering you some new perspective that might just help your relationship move forward.
And I'm sharing this from my experience, observations, and failures I've had in the past. And sharing this as a married man to another man - because except for those who are obviously being whiteknights and simps, we don't really see a lot of men to men advices here on social media.
These are things your woman might not be able to fully express to you but would like to...
.
1. WHILE YOU ENJOY PLAYING
... videogames or hanging out with your friends all week, and it seems like you're taking it easy in life, your woman is gradually getting anxious about your future together.
They said a man matures later than a woman because their prefrontal cortex develops late. The prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain that helps people set and achieve goals. That's why at the age of 25, the average woman sees herself settling down within 5 years, while the average man finds it hard to see even see himself at all within 5 years.
If this is true for you, it's about time to realize that you don't have to wait for that function to kick in. If you are in a relationship with a woman, you are responsible for her. Her dreams and aspirations in life can not wait just because you still haven't figured out yours.
.
2. IF YOU ARE IN YOUR EARLY OR MID 20's
... you need to understand that a woman has a biological timetable that she needs to beat. If she wants to have a handful of children in the very near future, understand that she needs to start making a family now. If you are serious about your future together as a family, think hard about this one.
.
3. YOUR WOMAN WANTS TO SEE YOU
... become fully independent. A help from your family, especially if you come from a well-off household, is truly a blessing. But your woman will always prefer seeing you striving, struggling, and working hard independently rather than getting everything you need from your family.
Remember, you are making your own, new family. Your family's wealth might have impressed her before, but things are different now. What she wants to see is how you are able to establish family with her, and not how much money your family can shell out to you every month.
.
4. SHE DOESN'T WANT TO OPEN UP THE TOPIC
... about marriage. Do you know how hard and embarrassing it is for women to open up the idea of marriage? While they or you both desire it, she doesn't want to come off as needy or insecure by initiating the conversation about getting married. Do not take this for granted. Just because she isn't talking about it, doesn't mean she doesn't want it.
This is by far the number one reason why women get stuck in 6-8 year long dating relationships. They can't afford to ask but their man won't ask either. Remember that the purpose of dating is to get to know each other. No sane woman believes it takes 8 years to get to know the other person, so you best bet that she is waiting for you to start talking.
Discuss it. Set timelines and deadlines. Think of it as your new project, or a new mission. Think of it as a quest that you need to finish before you can level up. Don't be stuck as a noob, take the first step.
.
5. DEEP INSIDE SHE WOULD TRY TO BLAME HERSELF
... for every screw up that you made. It sounds illogical, yeah, but most women do this. If you ever cheat on her and have an affair with another woman, she'll get hurt, of course. But on the aftermaths of it all, she'll try to figure out what she did wrong, where she lacked, or what the other woman got it better than her. She'll start to compare herself to other women and get more insecure about herself. She will feel guilty about something she never did.
So just don't do it.
Even in minor, more tolerable issues, she would still try to see if she has already done her best or if she could have done better.
.
6. SHE DOESN'T LIKE TO BE FORCED TO COMPROMISE
... on everything. You might already know that your woman is very emotional. It might not appear on the surface, but a whole lot of them use their emotions as their deciding factor.
Sadly, that is also the reason why so many women are stuck in toxic relationships again and again and can't seem to move forward. They are vulnerable to emotional deception, and some really despicable men out there know this and use this to manipulate the relationship.
That being said, I'm sure that's not you. But be aware of this the next time you screw up: she's torn between getting angry at you and loving you. And most of the time, women choose to love. That's why they get hurt because they keep on choosing to love, over choosing to move on. They keep on hoping for that slightest possibility of feeling loved back.
I've always joked about this to my wife. "What if you found out that I cheated, and I asked for your forgiveness, will you forgive me?"
She doesn't want to answer it every time, but as followers of Christ, we both know for a fact that she WILL forgive me.
That said, this idea never made me happy or never pushed me to entertain the thought of having an affair. Why? Because of how much damage it will put through her heart, her mind, and her soul, to deal with unfaithfulness and shame, and ridicule, while she has to put up with me and accept me back.
It's not something a proper man would ever do to her woman.
So if ever you're even thinking about messing around with another girl while you're in a relationship with your woman, think about this.
.
7. SHE WANTS YOU TO LEAD
... in all aspects of the relationship. It doesn't matter if you're a shy one, if you keep to yourself, or if she has a more dominant personality. It might not seem like it, but she would want to see you be the best man you can become by leading her.
Knowing where to eat or where to go is different than being able to guide her through life's most difficult challenges. She wants to see that you can be relied on in almost every aspect of your lives together.
Lead her emotions. If she's angry, learn to model how to communicate despite negative emotions. If she's happy and ecstatic, be joyful yet stable.
Lead her through decision making. In my experience, what a woman wants is not a man who makes all the right decisions in life, but a man who can pull himself up through all the bad decisions he's made. If there is need to admit a wrong decision and give an apology, then do so. Wise decisions are great, but so is accountability.
Lead her through proper perspectives and worldviews. If you see her scrolling her Instagram feed, or sharing 'sana all' posts on Facebook, appreciate her and encourage her to find the beauty in what you already have.
Lead her spiritually. Most often than not, your woman sees her relationship with God as something personal. But if you're building a family together, someone needs to be the spiritual head of the household. Invite her to study scripture. If you're not there yet, talk to her about finding a church you can both try and attend. And in the simplest forms, pray for her and your future together.
There are many things and areas in life that she wants to see you lead. But maybe it's the idea of knowing you can take good care of her and your family in the future is what matters.
.
8. YOUR WEDDING DOESN'T HAVE TO BE EXTRAVAGANT
... but it has to be special. Understand that she's scrolled past countless of wedding photos on Facebook that almost looks like it costs over a million to set up. While it might entertain her mind for a while, she will always be happy with the thought of being married to you. It doesn't have to be as grand as your friend's wedding. Just start the damn wedding is what she cares about.
If this is what's keeping you from proposing or making plans, make sure you understand why weddings happen in the first place. It's a covenant between the both of you and God. Those TikTok dance numbers is not something God cares about. Not even that 4-6 tier cake or those fancy lights and decoration.
Start with the essentials and then add the non-essential elements of the wedding only if you can. Your woman will love you for it. What matters to her is that you finally and officially belong to each other.
-
I tried to keep this as close to the Jayzam-zone issue as possible, but it's 3 AM and my words are leaking out of my mind.
So if you want to "see her as your future", start seeing her differently today.
And don't be pressured if she tags you in this post for you to read. That's how mature relationship works. Lots of things need to be discussed.
--
I'll write more if I have to and edit this post to add more . Follow the page to stay tuned.
P.S. bawal mag LQ sa comments section. Discuss it in person or sa messenger.
--
CTTO: The Imperial Patriarch of FB
1 note · View note
theuntamedproject · 4 years ago
Text
"If the face says nothing, listen to the heartbeat" - Lan WangJi, Mo Dao Zu Shi (Weeks 3+4)
https://zhtheuntamedprojec.wixsite.com/theuntamedproject 
... those who have read the novel know the real context of this line in the scene BUT taken out of context and used in a completely different (*cough* our) scenario..."If the face says nothing," translates to "Even if we seem calm on the outside,""listen to the heartbeat." translates to "we're so stressed to the point of ventricular fibrillation." (dunno if that's even a likely story but the overly exaggerated point still stands: we just handed our uni applications in and we're dreading admission tests and awaiting interviews...)
Quick overview
So aside from school work and university prep, TUP has taken up whatever spare moment either one of us has. However since Zara's Physics coursework began (good luck Zara!!) and both of us prepping for our respective admissions tests, we've decided instead of marching onwards with research on architecture and other food science related stuff, to settle on more relaxed Google seshes on MDZS (and totally not using this as an excuse to read the source text again) and beginning to design the buildings on CAD and paper.
So I'm going to introduce to you the barebones framework of what we plan to include in the design: characters, buildings and effects~ apologies in advance for not including the accents/tones in names (I cba tbh ;-; )
Characters
Because all these little dudes are just going to be cut out gingerbread men, we could include as many characters as possible (we did say we're making a universe are we not?). Those in italics are "maybe" characters depending on the dough remaining (or whether we like them to be part of the universe or not...) or how much gingerbread we're willing to eat ourselves (though huge shout out to everyone thats offered to eat our spare and broken gingerbread during materials testing - which I will get to a bit later :3)
Gusu Lan (the pretty sect)
Lan XiChen / Lan Huan (Sect Leader - simped so hard for his sworn brothers that both of them ended up dead)
Lan WangJi / Lan Zhan (repressed gay but we love him still)
Lan Yuan / Lan Sizhui (he's part of the Lan sect now goddamnit)
Lan JingYi (the most unLan Lan yet has the highest chance of being the next sect leader lmaoo)
Lan QiRen
Lan Yi / Lan An
QingHeng-Jun (Twin Jades' father)
Madam Lan (Twin Jades' mother)
Yunmeng Jiang (arguably the only "normal" sect here...)
Jiang Cheng / Jiang Wanyin (Sect Leader also an "angry grape" as put by Zara)
Jiang YanLi (OUR QUEEN)
Jiang FengMian (loved Wei Ying more than Jiang Cheng lol jk xd)
Yu ZiYuan (BAMF)
Wei Ying not included here since technically he defected from the Sect (; - ;)
Qinghe Nie (fans and sabers my bros)
Nie HuaiSang (Sect Leader - yeah, I can't believe it either)
Nie MingJue (noooooooooo)
Honestly, I swear this clan is either "big muscles or big brain?". If you have neither, you can't be part of their clique. I mean sect.
Lanling Jin (rich rich rich rich rich)
Jin Ling / Jin RuLan (Sect Leader - totally not named after Wei Ying's crush/ husband's family)
Jin GuangYao / Meng Yao (*smiles*)
Jin ZiXuan (peacock but JYL's husband nonetheless)
Jin GuangShan (gross)
Jin ZiXun (double gross)
Mo XuanYu (literally did not sign up to any of this. He just wanted to end his suffering at Mo Manor)
We decided against including everyone from Mo Manor since they literally died within the first few chapters of the novel / first episode of the drama so were kinda irrelevant. Also, we don't care about them like we care for the Lan Sect members either.
Off topic side rant, Zara has been on my case whenever I bring up Jin GuangYao. I have to say, he's way more lovable in the drama than in the novel (didn't really leave much of an impression on me in the novel, NHS did a better job at that). I'm here to briefly explain why this boy is misunderstood and deserved more than what he got (and also why you should love him because he deserves love).JGY is a poor soul who's goal in life was to please others because no one was ever satisfied with him. His mother wasn't satisfied. His father wasn't satisfied. Hell, even his sworn brother NMJ wasn't satisfied with him eventually. BUT GUESS WHAT Xichen the angel is the only person that showed any love or thanks to JGY that's why he didn't kill him in the end - he wouldn't kill people that actually cared about him. IF ONLY EVERYONE ACTUALLY PAID ATTENTION TO HOW CLEVER AND CUNNING THIS MAN WAS, THERE MAY NOT EVEN BE WENS THREATENING THE WORLD. end of brief rant.
Qishan Wen (too hot, hot damn)
Wen RuoHan (Sect Leader - could have taken over the world if his children weren't incompetent)
Wen Qing (half the reason why included this sect)
Wen Ning / Wen QiongLin (the other half of the reason)
Wen Yuan (WE NEED THIS BABIE ALONGSIDE SIZHUI OK)
Wen Chao (questionable)
Wen ZhuLiu (also questionable but less annoying than Wen Chao)
Rogue cultivators (including people we didn't really know where to put)
Wei WuXian / Wei Ying (Can work out how to cultivate resentful energy, fight against the biggest cultivation clans in the world and gain a formidable reputation as the Yiling Patriarch yet can't figure out that Lan Zhan has a crush on him. Makes it look like cultivating resentful energy is easy as pie.)
CangSe SanRen (Wei Ying's mother)
Wei ChangZe (Wei Ying's father)
Xiao XingChen (honestly, the nicest guy ever. Could rival Xichen in terms of kindness. But then again... where did that kindness lead either of them? Moral of story: screw kindness)
Song Lan (Wen Ning's dead buddy~)
Xue Yang (he was cool in the novel, a bit questionable in the drama ngl)
A-Qing (didn't report her situation to the police...)
Baoshan Sanren (without knowledge of her existence, Jiang Cheng may have given up on life after he lost his golden core)
Ouyang ZiZhen (I didn't know who he was at all from the novel (ie he left no impression) but since he's technically part of the juniors, we have to include him)
Wang Ling Jiao / Jiao Jiao (just so Wen Chao has a friend perhaps... I don't know if we're that kind)
Su She (ew. just. He's not our favourite. The whole thing could have gone smoother if he didn't exist)
Luo Qingyang / Mian Mian (that one girl that made Wei Ying think Lan Zhan was straight)
Whew! That's all the character's we've considered! We have yet to come up with individual designs for the clothes and what not but at least we know there are going to be straight up cutting them out using the gingerbread man cutters.
Also! let's not forget:
Li'l Apple (didn't sign up for any of this either)
Fairy (gift from JGY to JL, also good doggo)
All the bunnies in Gusu (yes.)
All the fans and sabers in Qinghe (it's part of their aesthetic)
Locations and Buildings
This section's going to be MUCH shorter than the previous one haha since we've basically come up with 5 main buildings and in 7 locations. We're planning these buildings to be architectural masterpieces (okay, that's a slight exaggeration but that's the point). These buildings will take SIGNIFICANTLY more time than the gingerbread characters and is the reason we've put so much effort into researching what would make the most stable type of building. This is because we've planned to mirror the buildings as close as possible to the drama. We haven't yet drawn 2D sketches as I've left that job mostly to Zara (sorry!) so it's sort of hard to describe in words but by next post, we hope to have these down~ (though please see the mood boards from Zara's post previously)~
Gusu Lan - Cloud Recesses
The Wall of Discipline
The Courtyard
The Orchid Room (the main classroom/hall)
Yunmeng Jiang - Lotus Pier
The Main Pier
Lotus Pod Lake
Qinghe Nie - The Unclean Realm
The Main Courtyard and stairs
Lanling Jin - Koi Tower
Koi Tower
Qishan Wen - Nightless City
Main building and stairs
Yiling - Burial Grounds
The Mountains (and farms/Wen settlements)
Demon-Slaughtering Cave
And of course, Yi City.
We don't know if we want to include any more places but we'll let you know if there are any changes to this list. Plus the effects of LEDs and other arts and craft jazz besides gingerbread, we plan to make sure each Sect get's their own spotlight~
Please enjoy our baby Cloud Recesses, they're going to grow up and be a fine specimen of society worthy of the Lan name :D
The plan going forward
Although unfortunately, things haven't gone totally to plan due to fairly busy circumstances, we still have some major events along the way before starting to build the whole thing (which would probably be around mid-to-end of December) which have indeed started preparing for. Including:
Material testing gingerbread and icing (ie finally, bringing our research to the real world) - a lot of gingerbread will be made, so thank you to the willing volunteers who wanted to eat our failed experiments!
Finding / creating a suitable recipe for the gingerbread people
2D and 3D sketches of the buildings
Designing costumes for the gingerbread people
Another thing that we kinda want to do is to make this project benefit the wider community (we wanted to set up a GoFundMe at some point and raise some money for charity~). But we don't know how to do that as of yet T-T . Any ideas, feel free to contact us and let us know! We want to help others through this project (if at all possible haha)!
3 notes · View notes
forrealfr-blog · 5 years ago
Text
5 Cuffing Season Essential
You already know whats goin’ on!!! We done damn near made it through November and to be honest with y’all I thought this global warming shit cancelled the fuck outta Winter. But alas we are finally starting to get Winter temperatures and y’all know what that means... ITS CUFFING SEASON BAYBEEE! I already blessed y’all with my steps to go from Simpin to Pimpin to kick off the Hot Boy Summer https://forrealfr.tumblr.com/post/185091454181/5-steps-to-go-from-simpin-to-pimpin, but you know I had to come back with the crucial essential for cuffing season.
Essential 1. EXPENDABLE HOODIES
How many hoodies you got? A LOT! How many thotties you got? A LOT! How many sweaters went missing? Left your wardrobe to rot... Yeah fellas you know when that cold weather comes around your hoodies come up missing faster than Frank Ocean when he barely releases an album. But I’m here to tell you right now it is crucial to hide your favorite wintertime pieces whenever you got a lil mama sliding to the crib and fill your drawers with those dusty ass crew necks you haven’t worn since 2011 (Yeah i’m talking about that dusty ass Green one and the one that used to be Navy but is now like a weird grayish color). If you don’t have ashy hoodies/sweaters/coats/ or crewnecks hit up your local Goodwill or Walmart ASAP! You’ll thank me later.
Essential 2. DISNEY+
Now before explain more about the wonders of Disney plus, I have to give a special shoutout to the OG that paved the way for us NETFLIX. You have done the community justice, but unfortunately there’s a new sheriff in town that goes by the name of Disney Plus. True story: Disney Plus has only been out for a week but i’ve already sang along to Disney princesses my way into some guts TWICE! The options are limitless on this platform and it eliminates that awkward movie picking phase you had to go through with Netflix. When in doubt pick a classic from the 90s or early 2000s and get to work! The game has been changed... the game has beennn changed uh ha haaa.
Essential 3. A CAR WITH A WORKING HEATER
I know its 2019 and all these Hot Girls and Stallions got their own whips and are on that INDEPENDENT WAVE, you love to see it. But if you expect your shawty to always drive to you or always pick you up for dates, THEN YOU GOT ANOTHER COMING BUCKO BECAUSE THESE GAS PRICES AINT IT! Now to my fallen soldiers without a car I hate to be the bearer of bad new but this isn’t your year... regroup and try again next year :(. But to all my licensed kings who are skrtttin through the city it is essential that your vehicle has a working heater! If your car doesn’t have a heater you gone be sitting there with chapped lips, ashy knuckles, and cold ass hands SHEESH. If you don’t want her contemplating if she is seeing a whole a bum you better keep her warm in that passenger seat or trust me another dude will.
Essential 4. A SIMP PLAYLIST
Shoutout to Da Baby, Lil Tecca, and Ms. Megan Thee Stallion for holding it down and giving us some classic summer turn up music, but its that time of the year to switch up the vibe and curate that “In my feels” playlist to make sure the mood is right. Now if you think you’re too HaRd to listen to that simp shit i’m here to tell you right now that your toxic masculinity is about to get you negative hoes this season. You can never go wrong with kings of simpin Drake, Frank Ocean, and The Weeknd but if you really want to stand out you’re going to have to find some slept on artists/tracks to toss in the mix that will have her asking “Yo who is this?”. I recommend Pink Sweat$, Roy Woods, and Brent Faiyaz. There’s no better feeling than knowing you put someone on to some fire tracks, and if things don’t workout between you guys just know that whenever she plays the song you showed her she will be simpin and thinking about you. We playin chess not checkers fellas!
Essential 5. IRON PILLS
You know how the saying goes “Women who are Anemic have the best pussy”. This statement has been proven by years of scientific research and if you really want to impress the ladies, you should pull out a bottle of iron pills and all the cold, light headed mamis will swarm. If you don’t have a solid pick up line or don’t know how to enter the DMs just tweet “I’m Anemic” and watch them flock!! For maximum effectiveness of this tactic having essentials 1 and 3 are crucial, because if you don’t keep your iron deficient queen warm she might mess around pass out on you (literally). Iron pills bro i’m telling you.
0 notes