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dracarialove · 8 months ago

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📄 F it, I'm posting my finished fics here, too 📄

Heartfelt Holidays

*Check the 'heartfelt holidays' tag if you haven't read chapter 1

[Chapter 6: Christmas at Sonic's]

Sonic invites his friends over to swap gifts on a cold winter day, participating in a tradition of sharing kindness with the people he likes most.

December was a cold month, pelting strong, crisp gusts of wind against the rounded clay walls of Vanilla's home. The chilled air kept her guests inside, Sonic and his friends sitting about the living room with cups of tea and plates of baked snacks.

"Thanks for letting us stay a while, Vanilla," said the Blue Blur, lounging in a recliner and idly twirling a ring-shaped cookie around his finger. "It sure beats being out there."

"Of course, dear," the kind woman replied. "Hopefully the breeze doesn't become too harsh."

She looked out the window and took a sip of her tea, gazing at the few flittering leaves that still clung to the trees' outstretched branches – the wind came in bursts, but the clear sky wasn't yet dropping snow on them.

Tails spoke up while inching closer to the burning fireplace, "At least we have shelter and warmth; but, you know, some people love this kind of weather! I've heard there are humans who've made special traditions for the cold season."

"Oh yeah!" Amy chirped, as if she'd just been reminded of something forgotten. "They give each other presents, right?"

"Yeah, usually," answered Tails. "There are different traditions, I think... but I've heard one of them is called Christmas."

Sonic took a bite of his cookie and leaned forward in his chair when the fox added, "I might have a book about it somewhere."

"Sounds awesome!" he blurted, dropping crumbs onto the plate in his lap. "We should do something like that!"

Amy looked over at him and agreed excitedly, "I think so, too!"

Knuckles, who had situated himself on the floor between Sonic's and Amy's seats, spoke up, "Sonic should throw this party." He turned to his speedy friend and smiled. "You've been going to all these events hosted by other people – so it's your turn, now, right?"

The hedgehog grinned back. "Sure! As long as I don't have to invite a bunch of people. You know my house isn't really that big. Let's say we only invite our friends."

Knuckles' posture relaxed a bit as he let out a light, relieved sigh. "Ah, so we won't have any thieves or troublemakers showing up. I like the sound of that!"

"Hm, well..." Sonic started, cupping his chin in contemplation. "If you're talking about Rouge and Shadow... I'd consider them friends! Omega, too!"

Both Knuckles and Amy exclaimed, "What?!" and stared at their companion with perplexion.

He rubbed the back of his head and changed his expression to one of awkward defensiveness. "I mean... they've helped keep the world safe, right? They deserve some kindness."

Amy's gaze was uneasy, and Knuckles crossed his arms at the sentiment; but it was Cream who expressed what they were thinking. "Are you sure they would be nice guests, Sonic? I'm afraid they won't like being there."

"Yeah..." Amy cut in. "This isn't like Valentine's Day; it's bigger than that. And even I was kind of glad that Shadow didn't show to my party. Plus, I think Rouge stole some of the snacks I put out that day!"

"W-well, those were for anyone to have, right?" replied Sonic, once again awkward and scratching his head. He took a quick second to think, then grinned again and snapped his fingers as a solution came to him. "They might not be the warmest people, but I'll bet I can at least get Rouge to understand what the season's all about. And she might even be able to convince Shadow to chill out, for once! If she can't..." He shrugged. "... he doesn't have to go."

After a quiet moment, Tails smiled hopefully and said, "I trust you, Sonic. I think it'll be a great time with you as our host."

Picking up another cookie, the speedster glanced between all of them. "Don't you guys worry about a thing – I've got this."

The rest of the group also exchanged looks, silently agreeing that they would leave the planning to Sonic and have faith in his efforts to throw a fun party for everyone.

***

After the hefty winds died down, Sonic and his friends left Vanilla's home, parting ways to spend the rest of their day on their own activities. Since he now had an event to prepare for, the blue hedgehog decided his best first step would be to talk to Rouge.

He traveled into the city as the late afternoon sky darkened a bit, transitioning into early evening and bringing more guests to the bat's business. Walking through the casino lobby, he weaved around patrons and looked for Rouge, eventually spotting her at the bar.

She was resting on a stool with one leg crossed over the other, her back to the big wooden surface, her elbows planted on the bar top, and a glass of something in her hand.

Her attention was on the bartender – who seemed to be holding a conversation with the charming woman – while Sonic made his way over.

"Heya, Rouge!" the young hero said, loudly enough to be heard over the music, and threw himself energetically onto the seat next to her.

She startled slightly, her teal gaze snapping towards him as her mouth hung open to pull in a soft gasp. Her expression relaxed when she saw his charismatic smile. "Oh, Sonic, what a surprise! Did the cold push you in here?"

"Nah," he said, swatting the air with one hand. "I came to visit you! Got some news for ya."

"Ah, let me get you a drink, first," the pretty bat insisted, turning to the tender. "Something light for our hero, here."

Sonic raised one brow, his witty smile sticking. "On the house? How much is that gonna cost you?"

She shrugged, letting her eyes close in a confident expression. "Nothing, really. The light stuff is cheap, but I'll spare a friend a few rings' worth for a nip."

A small opaque bottle thunked against the wood as it was placed in front of Sonic, soon being wrapped in the hedgehog's gloved grip. "Heh, still – that's thoughtful of you. And speaking of us being friends, I wanted to invite you to a little holiday party I'm throwing at my place."

"Really?" Rouge asked, eyelids raising in fascination at the hearty first swig he took from the bottle. "What's the occasion?"

"Something called Christmas. Tails was talking about it... you give each other gifts, and really just hang around the people you like. So, it won't be anything huge, but I thought it was only fair to invite you since you invited me to your party."

"Hmm... well, I do love receiving gifts," she conceded. "Alright, I'll go. What about-"

"Omega and Shadow are invited too," he interrupted, "but... it's supposed to be, like, a peaceful holiday. So-"

"Shadow will have to behave?" she interrupted back, smirking playfully.

Sonic nodded. "If he decides to go at all, that is. Maybe you could...?"

He gestured towards her, grinning again and making her chuckle. Then, she gave him a wink and said, "Can't make any promises, but I'll see what I can do. If I can't convince Shadow, I'll still bring Omega."

"Nice!" He sat up straight and took another drink, then looked around the lobby. "You know, I'm glad this place gets such good business. You run it really well."

"Aw, thanks, Big Blue," Rouge responded, then took a sip from her own glass.

They chatted a bit longer, until Sonic's drink was empty, then he said his goodbye and left her to talk over the invitation with Shadow. He stepped out onto the downtown sidewalk and breathed in the cold air, thinking about the list of things he'd need to put together in preparation for the party.

In the hidden top floor of Club Rouge, the darker hedgehog stood staring at his golden wristwatch, making a mental note of the time and the rising number of patrons that came with it. With the evening crowd entering the building at a faster pace than they were leaving, he made his decision to vacate the club soon.

When his eyes left the watch, they landed on Rouge's empty bed, resting against the wall on the opposite side of the small room. Her blanket was tossed aside, bunched up near the foot of the bed, and the pillow laid slightly askew – and, strangely, Shadow felt the urge to tidy it.

For a moment, he held back, arguing with himself that she could straighten her own quarters; but it was oddly bothersome, and compounded with the fact that she had let him stay there regularly since the night they...

He shook the thought away and approached the disorganized bed. His partner wasn't around to see his thoughtful gesture, anyway, so what would it hurt if he fixed something that was out of place?

Steady hands straightened the blanket along the mattress, then smoothed out the creases. He grabbed the pillow to align it, then noticed that it was fairly lumpy in places.

How could Rouge – as particular as she was about the immaculateness of her possessions – stand to lay her head on such an uneven surface?

Shadow lifted the pillow, intent on fluffing it for her, but paused when he saw the glittering stone that'd been lying underneath. Shining shades of purple gleamed along angular edges; the Chaos Emerald he'd gifted her sitting pretty on its side.

It rested in a little divot, likely pressed into the mattress by the weight of Rouge sleeping on top of it. Involuntarily, the hedgehog's mouth curled into a warm smile, and he fluffed the pillow diligently before replacing it over the Emerald.

A moment later, he heard the creak of the wooden hatch door being pushed open, and his attention was drawn to the winged club owner entering her room.

"Oh, good, you're awake," she started, her glossed lips carrying a dazzling smile as she walked up to the stolid being. Turquoise eyes glanced down his form briefly before she asked, "On your way out?"

Shadow nodded; his smile having calmed into a more subtle curve. "You know I'd rather not be here when your customers start to get rowdy."

"I know," replied the woman, playfully rolling her eyes as one hand drifted to grip her hip. "It's a routine at this point. But, hey, before you go, I did want to bring something up..."

She expected a reaction – a change in his demeanor, the disappearance of his calm smile, maybe even a scoff – but Shadow only stood and listened, waiting for her to finish her thought. "It's... well, it's another holiday... thing."

"Uh huh?" Shadow nodded again, his smile slowly fading this time into a more neutral expression.

Rouge chuckled awkwardly. "Not my most graceful start... hell, I'll just say it: Sonic is hosting a party at his house in about a week, and he invited us to stop by. Shocking, I know, but he says it's a tradition to give gifts and show kindness, so he's including us if we want to attend."

She slowed her cadence a bit, speaking more gently after getting past the most important part. "It'll be small, he said, so I'm interested in getting a gift and seeing what this celebration's all about."

At first, Shadow didn't respond, then shifted his body language as if he were about to decline. Though, he paused and took a moment to think; one that lasted too long for Rouge's patience, so she spoke again. "I'll be bringing Omega, but... it's fine if you don't want to go."

His crimson eyes drew back up to her face, a bit surprised that she was offering him a choice to avoid the festivity. Her mature, pleasant tone continued as she added, "It's supposed to be a peaceful holiday. And if you think you can't get along with Sonic or... the rest of them... for a few hours, then it would be against the caring spirit of this season to force you."

She gave the hedgehog a kind, knowing smile, and he felt the sincerity behind her words. It made his own smile reappear, and Shadow's smooth, deep voice matched the calmness of her timbre. "I will consider it, while I'm gone and have some time to think. But don't get your hopes up."

A faint smirk played at the corner of Rouge's lips while she dragged one index finger in a cross formation over her heart, silently promising not to expect the answer she wanted.

In return, her teammate exhaled through his nose in a soft laugh, then stepped towards the treasure hunter and smoothly wrapped his arms around her waist until he was gingerly gripping her back.

Her smirk quickly dropped and bright eyes widened in surprise. His cheek brushed against hers, and he closed his eyes to savor the rare instance when he felt strongly enough to act on the fondness he possessed for his truest friend.

The unexpected hug was Shadow's first unprompted show of affection since their kiss on the moonlit rooftop – and it left the bat charmed and blushing. She returned the hug and gave his back a firmer squeeze than the tender embrace he held.

Then, the space between them grew, and Shadow's arms slipped backwards until he was no longer holding her. There were no words between the two before he left her establishment; none were needed when they knew exactly how the other felt.

There was only a long, endearing glance and serene smiles spreading across their muzzles, until the hedgehog disappeared from Rouge's sight through the hatch's opening.

***

The day of Sonic's party closed in over the course of a week, giving his invitees time to find gifts for each other while the blue hero decorated his house with strings of white lights, lining them along the top edge of his home's sky-colored walls.

He'd also picked out a present for each of his friends – even the ones who might not show – which he laid neatly on a square-shaped table in the corner of the living room.

And on Christmas Day, he set up a smaller table for snacking, where he put together plates of cheese and crackers; tea sandwiches; a few different types of sodas; and, of course, a stack of chilidogs. He was putting a CD of angelic instrumental music into the stereo when he heard the first knock on his door.

"Welcome, winter wanderers!" he greeted, his smile wide as he looked upon his dearest companions.

Tails, Amy, Cream, and Vanilla were the first ones to arrive – with their larger friend, Big the Cat, following behind – all wearing something warm to combat the lowering temperature, and three of them carrying colorful boxes.

Cream had Cheese wrapped in a small blanket and was cradling them closely to her fluffy sweater. The weather wasn't too frightful, but the afternoon sky was darker than usual, and Sonic could feel a chill lingering through the entrance.

He opened the door more and beckoned them inside. "Get in here before the cold bites ya!"

"Pretty lights, Sonic!" Cream piped as they walked in, her head tilted upwards and brown eyes shimmering.

"Thanks!" He closed the door once Big managed to squeeze through. "Sorry I don't have a fancy fireplace, or anything. Hope it's warm enough in here for all of you."

Amy turned around, her white scarf flowing to one side, and said, "It feels just fine! Here – my present."

She held out the purple box, which bore a big pink bow, and Sonic smiled as he took it in both hands. His grateful expression made her blush, and she said sweetly, "I didn't know if you'd wanna open it now."

The speedy hedgehog looked up at her and responded, "We'll do gifts a little later, once everyone's here. I don't want anyone to miss out!"

Amy watched as he walked towards the table in the corner, his confident voice announcing, "You guys can put all the presents here, for now."

Their boxes joined the ones Sonic had prepared while another few knocks rapped on the door, heavier this time. His spirits rose as he strolled over to open it, being met with Knuckles; who had thrown a thick green beanie over his head.

"Hey, Knux, come on in! That's half of the guests already – can't wait to see everyone in the same room."

His excitement was palpable, his grin growing and his posture so proud that he looked an inch taller. When Knuckles walked in and trailed his eyes over to the gift table, his own posture slumped a little, and guilt entered his expression. "Oh, Sonic, I... I forgot I was supposed to bring something."

Sonic looked at the table, then back to his friend, his smile never changing. "That's okay, man." He threw an arm around the echidna and walked with him towards the rest of the group, who were getting comfortable on the couch and in collapsible chairs. "We're just happy to have you here. Take a load off!"

Knuckles' face brightened and he took a seat on the sofa next to Cream and her mother. They all settled in to play a card game and have some snacks, erecting a table in the center of the circle before Sonic dealt out the deck. The friendly competition among the group heated up as the game went on, and a little while later, two more guests arrived.

"Hello, Sonic," greeted Blaze, standing next to Silver and holding two small gold-and-blue striped boxes.

"Blaze, Silver!" he said back, exuberant and letting them in quickly. He didn't manage to fully close the door before the presents were taken from the cat's hands by Silver and handed to Sonic.

"When do we exchange gifts?" he asked, his yellow eyes glimmering happily.

Sonic chuckled and accepted the boxes. "A little later. I'll just put these with the rest."

"Oh," Silver started, noticing the corner table while Blaze joined the others. "No, please, allow me."

A bright blue aura formed around the little boxes and lifted them from Sonic's hands, then floated over to the table with the rest of the presents. The young host offered for the pair to join their card game; and when Silver turned to do just that, Sonic attempted to properly close the front door.

But the wooden slab thumped against something solid and refused to move further, which made him open it again. Towering over the hedgehog was E-123 Omega. His robotic hand pulled back from where it had halted the door, and his monotone voice soon followed the action.

"GREETINGS, SONIC. I UNDERSTAND WE HAVE RECEIVED INVITATION TO ATTEND A FESTIVITY AT YOUR LOCATION."

"Heh, you got it, Omega," he answered, amused. "That must mean Rouge is right behind you."

"Hey, Blue," said the bat, peering around Omega's form as he turned to let her pass. She was wearing a plum-colored overcoat and clutching a red box in her arms. "Let us in already, would ya?"

"Of course!" he piped, faintly sheepish at his hesitance to invite them inside.

Just before he moved to allow them room, he spotted Shadow standing behind Rouge and Omega, looking off to the side with a neutral expression.

Although he was partly grateful for the sight, he also felt a shallow drop in his stomach; but a bit of nerves wouldn't be enough to stop the friendly man from letting them join the party.

Rouge handed off the gift as they walked in, letting Sonic take care of it while she began removing her coat. Omega's metal frame thankfully fit through the doorway, but the blue hedgehog was glad he hadn't invited anyone else as he glanced over the guests filling most of his small living room.

He gave Shadow a smile in a show of good will, but it wasn't returned, and he was ignored instead. The dark speedster didn't even look at him, although Sonic preferred that over a sneer or an insult. He supposed it was Shadow's way of being civil.

Closing the door once more, the host placed Team Dark's present with the rest while addressing the invitees. "Now that everyone's here, we can start the gift exchange soon!" He turned to his newest guests and added, "Find yourselves a comfy spot and then I'll get to passing around the boxes."

Rouge nodded in acknowledgement and the three of them joined the large group of friends all gathered in the center of the room, settling themselves so that the treasure hunter rested on Omega's flattened palm while he and Shadow sat on the floor.

The chattering attendees talked amongst themselves and Sonic looked over the presents, preparing to gather them up; then, he heard an unexpected knock on the door.

Puzzled, he tried to think of who it could be. He hadn't invited anyone else, and his home was nearly at capacity. But he answered the door, confused and surprised to see Team Chaotix on the other side.

"Hey, Sonic!" Vector belted. "We heard through the grapevine that you were havin' a party! Hope all the snacks aren't gone yet!"

The crocodile started to walk in, coaxing Sonic to shift aside while he struggled to figure out what he wanted to say – and while the host was attempting the start of his sentence, Vector held up a yellow box with red ribbon.

"Don't worry, we all brought gifts!" he said with a toothy smile. "That's the theme here, right?"

"Uhh-" Sonic tried to protest, but felt bad about doing so.

He let the detectives in, worrying over the lack of space, and closed the door for the final time. His living room was packed with their arrival, but he didn't want to ruin the night by kicking them out; and they had brought gifts with them, each member of the team carrying their own colored box.

Espio turned to Sonic and asked, "Where should we put these?"

Before the hedgehog could point to the table behind them, Charmy shook his gift and interrupted, "We couldn't get presents for everybody, so these are for whoever wants 'em!"

"Oh, um..." The green-eyed hero switched his gaze to the table they'd set up for their card game, noticing that the others had cleared it off, and decided that was a better spot for the ownerless parcels. "Over there is fine, in the middle of the group. I'll be handing out all the gifts here in a sec, but... sorry, I don't have any for you guys."

"That's alright!" replied Vector, clapping Sonic on the back. "We're mostly here for the camaraderie and the food, right, boys?"

Charmy exclaimed, "Right!" while Espio gave a single nod, then the three of them added to the cluster of people and left their boxes on the empty table. Sonic took a breath and quickly gathered himself to scoop up some of the gifts his guests had brought, passing them out based on who they were addressed to.

"We'll do the special ones first," he explained, humbly glazing over his boxes which remained on the table.

And once the initial presents were doled out, he handed the Chaotix' gifts over to Knuckles, Amy, and Rouge – letting them be the ones to open and announce the mystery items after the personalized surprises were revealed.

Wrapping paper started to crinkle as most of the group began tearing it off. The host himself first opened the blue and yellow present he'd gotten from Blaze and Silver, his eyes glancing over at the identical one they'd given Tails.

From the small boxes, the pair pulled flat silver medallions that hung on a thin chain, each bearing the shape of half a Chaos Emerald. The fox's blue gaze brightened when Sonic held up his half, and the two shared a smile before the hedgehog looked over at his futuristic friends.

Recognizing them as the gift-givers from Sonic's cue, Tails spoke to Silver and Blaze, "Is this a set of one of those friend necklaces?"

The princess nodded and smiled as she continued peeling paper from her present, while Silver answered, "They're best friend necklaces! We thought it fit you guys perfectly."

"Thanks!" beamed Tails, happily knocking his shoes together and lifting the jewelry for a better look.

Rouge leaned towards the cat – who'd gotten the red wrapping off and was removing tape from the box's flaps – and said in a leading tone, "Those are some shiny pieces of metal you got for the boys. I might be a bit jealous! But I hope you like the one I got for you."

She straightened her posture as Blaze made eye contact, the bat's expression turning cheeky while she primped one of her curls. Curious, the fire-user opened the box and asked, "So you got this for me? Strange, I wouldn't expect a gift from you."

Inside the abundance of tissue paper was a large, heavy hairclip in the shape of a crown, colored gold and stamped with a ruby decal. Blaze's eyes widened a bit as she took in the nature of the present, feeling the heft in her hand while still taken slightly aback that Rouge had gotten her something.

The jewel thief took it upon herself to fill the silence between them, claiming, "It's just something I saw, and I thought it looked pretty. Then I thought, 'Who could even use such a thing?' And you were the lucky winner on that one, Blaze."

"Ah, well, thank you," she replied, smiling softly to show appreciation for the gesture.

Once Tails had hooked the silver emerald's chain around his neck, he looked towards Cream sitting on the couch; she and Cheese were working together on opening their gift, one which was hugged by pastel green paper and topped with a shiny red stick-on bow.

His smile grew knowing what was inside, and how likely they both were to utilize it, even after Christmas. As they took off the last bit of wrapping, he leaned forward and told Cream, "That one's from me!"

"Thank you, Tails!" she said back through a cute grin, then opened the box and picked up a deep-red stocking with designs of snowflakes and stars in white and gold colors. "Wow, it's so pretty!"

"Chao!" Cheese blurted, then dove into the opening and claimed the stocking as a sleeping bag.

Amy and Sonic giggled at the Chao's excitement before the pink hedgehog turned to her crush. "Sonic, I can't wait any longer for you to open my present!"

"Oh, right!" he said, grabbing up the purple box that'd been sitting on his lap. He ripped off the bow and the wrapping in three easy swipes, then popped open the cardboard flaps. "Woah!"

The hero was quick to pull the radar gun from its containment, noting its high-tech design and bold blue coloring. Amy said, "Tails helped to make it so it could detect super high speeds – even yours."

She gave the fox a wink of shared success while Sonic turned on the device and marveled at the interface; which was interactable and also seemed to be capable of playing music. "This is cool! Thanks, guys!"

On the other side of the circle, Silver was unveiling his gift from Cream and her mother: a framed photo of their group, containing most of the friends he'd gotten to know since meeting Sonic.

Vanilla noticed the slight sparkle in his eyes that suggested he was close to tearing up, and so she explained in her calm, polite tone, "It's been a while since you've had something to take back to your time. My Cream thought you would like something nice and new to remember us all by once you return to the future."

Cream gave the white hedgehog a wide smile and received one from him, as well, while he clutched the frame close to his chest. "I love it!"

With the first batch of personalized gifts opened, Sonic began gathering up the paper that'd found its place on the carpeted floor. He threw the scraps into a trash bag while announcing, "Alright, guys, now let's see what the Chaotix brought for us."

"We didn't pick them out for anyone specific," Vector added, "so don't everybody clammer to take 'em home all at once!"

He said as much, but the crocodile was secretly hoping that his matronly crush would want to take home the present he'd donated. Though, he already had to make peace with her overwhelming politeness to let someone else have it.

Amy, Rouge, and Knuckles pulled the different colored papers off the different sized boxes and opened them around the same time, calling out what each gift was and holding them up for the group to see.

Knuckles declared first, "This one looks like a music player," as he showed Vector's item. A number of people around the circle exclaimed softly with interest before Rouge reported her find with a touch of detachment.

"Action figures?" she said, tilting the box to display a collection of humanoid figurines. "Or... dolls? Whatever these are."

With a few chuckles and murmurs, everyone could guess it was Charmy's submission, so that left Amy to announce Espio's offering. She read the writing on the clear square-shaped case, "A CD mix of music for meditation."

A couple of nods showed a possible desire for his gift, and the small crowd soon filtered more closely together to decide who would get the extra presents.

Some who weren't interested took the opportunity to get a snack while Sonic cleaned up the last of the wrapping paper and collected his own boxed items from the corner table.

In the end, the attendees decided to let Big have the meditation mix, feeling it might get the most use during his fishing sessions; Tails and Cream split the action figures, choosing the ones they each liked; and, after a round of light debate, they ultimately conceded that Amy had the strongest library of tunes and deserved the music player the most.

"Alright, my friends," Sonic started, ramping up his host energy as he held the gifts he'd gotten, "I've got a present for – almost – everyone here, and hopefully they're just as good as all of yours!"

Most of his guests squirmed with anticipation as he started handing out boxes, though his darkest attendee blatantly rolled crimson eyes at the Blue Blur's modesty.

Shadow had been entirely silent during his time there, simply sitting with his arms crossed and watching everyone else, receiving brief glances from Rouge to make sure he wasn't brooding too much. But he thought he'd carried himself well enough so far, even after cementing the holiday as yet another pointless one in his mind.

When Sonic passed by their group and held out their presents, he outstretched one hand and let the host's humble donation fall into his palm. It was a tiny box compared to some of the others, wrapped in simple black paper and nothing else.

So, while not impressive in the slightest, it did make the Ultimate Lifeform wonder what his cheery rival thought a good gift was for someone who hadn't a need for nearly anything.

He unwrapped it before Sonic could finish handing out the presents, flicking aside the flimsy paper and staring down at a square-shaped slab of silver.

It was engraved with the image of a daffodil, the grooves of which shined when light passed over them; and when Shadow turned it over in his hand, he saw a split down one side of the metal. Still skeptical, he pried apart the magnetized halves, then was shocked by the picture inside of what he now recognized as a locket.

His eyes widened as he looked down at an old photo of Maria Robotnik, smiling at an angle that suggested it might've been taken by Professor Gerald. It was small in the locket and tiny in his hand, but Shadow felt the emotional weight of the gift growing – and it gave him questions.

"Where did you get this?" he asked, suddenly enough that it caught the attention of everyone around him. He looked up at Sonic, his brows furrowed again, and the accusatory tone of his voice hung in the air while the blue speedster paused.

"Oh, uh... let's just say you'd be surprised at the stuff Eggman held onto," he answered, grinning before turning to give out the last of the boxes.

The sound of ripped wrapping paper started up again and Shadow's eyes fell back onto the locket. Rouge leaned over to him while opening her gift and commented, "What a sentimental present. I guess Sonic knows you better than you expected."

He gave her a quick frown, then sat quietly thinking while the rest of the group gushed over their presents from Sonic. Knuckles received a squishy replica of the Master Emerald; one that fit in his hand, being dubbed a stress-emerald by his green-eyed friend.

"When you're feeling quick-tempered, give it a few squeezes," he explained. "It might help dissolve some of that stress you're always carrying around."

The echidna wanted to refute his assumption, but gripped the emerald instead and let it be. He could afford to give it a try, at least. Amy's voice pierced the living room in excitement as she pulled a porcelain rose from the pink-and-red box. Its smooth petals were also colored red and pink, and the base was wide enough for it to stand on its own.

"Oh, it's so beautiful!" she beamed, running her fingers over the flower. "Thank you, Sonic, it's the best present ever!"

"Heh, you're welcome," he replied, happy to see her so excited.

For Tails, he'd gotten a new gadget to enhance the speed of his plane – something Sonic didn't know much about, but he was confident the smart kid would find a way to install it.

Cream, Vanilla, and Cheese shared their gift, which was a box full of chocolate oranges; special treats that were only available during the winter season.

Big was more than happy to have been given a handful of brand-new fishing lures, instantly bringing out his tackle box to organize them with the others.

And the next person to fill the room with their voice was Rouge, dramatically gasping while she held up a bracelet. It was colored gold and encrusted with diamonds, seemingly real from the way they shimmered at every angle.

"Sonic! My goodness, wherever did you get a diamond bracelet?!" She hooked it around one wrist and flaunted her hand in the air, looking over at the Blue Blur.

He hesitated, then gave her a sly smirk. "You know, I'd rather keep that a secret. I think it's more special that way."

One of her brows lowered as she smirked back. "Fine! I'll just have to assume you went to great lengths for it."

Sonic chuckled and sat back in his chair, watching with a warm smile while the rest of his guests finished opening their gifts. He'd gotten Silver a specially crafted medallion with his signature colors, declaring the hedgehog an "expert time-traveler" and "savior of the future."

Blaze received a small statue of a phoenix, resembling her flame powers and her ability to come out on top in even the toughest battles. And finally, he gave Omega a stack of blow-up balloons plastered with a cartoonish decal of Eggman's face.

When the robot stared his way – in what could be considered confusion – Sonic sheepishly claimed, "Sorry, I had a bit of a tough time finding something for ya. But I thought you might at least enjoy destroying something with Eggman's ugly mug on it. You could blow up the balloons and then blow 'em up, you know?"

Rouge jumped in with, "It's a nice gesture," and patted Omega's headcap, which coaxed him to express appreciation for the present.

The group mingled for a while and finished off the snacks, dealing out another round of the card game they'd previously been playing. And as the evening drew on, it eventually got cold enough outside to start snowing.

Sonic noticed the small white flakes falling in front of his window and thought of how cozy it felt to have so many of his friends in one place. After a while, they started to tire of the party, and began filtering out with their presents in-hand.

The heroic host stood by his front door and saw out every one of them, saying his goodbyes as each of his guests left – but he stopped Team Dark for a more sincere farewell.

"Hey, before you guys go, I wanted to especially thank you for showing up." He spoke mostly to Rouge, but the other two heard his sentiment just as well. "It wouldn't have been the same without you three."

Behind his teammates, Shadow rolled his eyes again, while Omega said, "THANKS UNNECESSARY."

Rouge threw on her coat and countered, "Don't mind them. They won't admit it, but we all had a good time."

Sonic gave their group a nod and let them out the door, followed by the Chaotix and Vector speaking up, "Nice party, Sonic! We should make this a yearly thing!"

"Heh, I don't know about that, Vex! But I appreciate you stopping by."

Charmy chimed, "It was fun!" and floated out behind Vector.

Being the last one out the door, Espio stopped briefly and offered his hand for the hedgehog to shake. "This evening was one to remember – you were a gracious host."

"Hey, thanks," replied Sonic, his smile widening.

Espio's compliment made him feel the warmest as he watched his friends leave. And once he closed the door, he couldn't help but swell with contentment and grin to himself as he fully understood why the humans celebrated such a tradition.

#sonic fanfiction #ship fanfic #heartfelt holidays #heartfelt holidays chapter 6 #dracaria fics #shadouge #shadrouge #rouge the bat #shadow the hedgehog #sonic the hedgehog #christmas #writing

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theflagscene · 2 years ago

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↳ Watch & rewatch drama list

I was tagged by @khaotunq and @sunshinechay 💖

- Currently (actively) watching

Midnight Museum / I tend to watch most of Gun’s series as he is one of my favourite actors, this is my one Foei series this year, so I’m have high hopes for it because I don’t wanna waste my one watch featuring him 🫤 So far I’m liking it, but I’ve only seen two episodes, so there is time for it to either sink or swim.

Bed Friend / I’ve technically not started watching this yet, but I’m going to get around to it one evening when I’m not busy lol. I’m liking what I see about it so far and NetJames seems to have a great amount of chemistry.

The Glory / This is a rough one, a lot of trigger warnings for anyone who wants to go into this series. I’m halfway through the first season, going slowly because the second season isn’t coming out for a while. But so far it’s absolutely stunning, the acting, the storyline, it’s just shocking and amazing and horrifying.

- Rewatching

My Name / Seriously one of my favourite dramas, plus it has two of my favourite Kdrama actors in it. Han So Hee (be my wife plz) and Park Hee Soon (big daddy energy)

Weak Class Hero 1 / Rewatching it while waiting for the second season, Shi Eun/Soo Ho are so damn tragic and I love it.

The Untamed / Technically I never finished watching the series originally, stopped somewhere in early 30-ish episodes. So is it really a rewatch if I never finished the last 20 or so episodes? Kinda? Maybe? Who knows. Either way, watching it again because I’ve been reading the books and it’s gotten me interested in the live actor series again, even though they cut all ‘teh gay’ out of it.

The Witch 1 & 2 / Movies, not a series. But they’re some of my faves movies and I wanna watch them all over again because they’re bad ass, plus the first movie has Park Hee Soon in it and like I said, big daddy energy 🤤

- Looking forward to

Only Friends / Who of us isn’t? Like come on!

Our Skyy 2 / Must see how the faves are doing post series!

25.3 / The MilkLove GL we’ve been screaming for ever since Bad Buddy aired, who isn’t excited for this!? Also more GeminiFourth content, it’s a win win.

Weak Class Hero 2 / I need more of this very violent drama in my life, please and thank you. Also I need to know what happens to Soo Ho!

The Glory Season 2 / I’m not even done the first season but seriously, if everyone who deserves their punishment doesn’t get their punishment, I might riot.

Cooking Crush / It’s OffGun and it’s a dumb romantic comedy, why wouldn’t I wanna watch that!?

Zomvivor / A zombie series full of BL stars? Plus Boun guest staring and the return of Jimmy to our screens, what’s not to love!?

Cherry Magic (Thailand) / Listen, don’t come for me okay!? It’s the return of TayNew, which is epic and they won’t have to deal with the massive amount of censorship that Japan did. I just want Adachi and Kurosawa to be able to kiss on screen! Like, is that so much to ask!? They didn’t even get to kiss during their wedding episode, like come on Japan!

All Of Us Are Dead 2 / I don’t wanna have to wait until 2024 for the second season 😫

I have no idea who to tag, so I’m just gonna toss out some names, no pressure if you don’t wanna do this, it’s all good 😊 - @queersouthasian @ragingbyesexual @trilliastra @himbodelamain @jeonghanurl @kurtstiel @non-binarypal7

#watch list #tag game

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kyr-kun-chan · 2 years ago

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8 Shows to Get to Know Me

The rules seem pretty simple, just to list 8 shows to get to know me. Some people have explanations and some don't so we'll see.

Thanks for the tag @bengiyo!

There are many shows I wanted to add on this list because I love them so much but this isn't a list of my favorite shows. This is supposed to tell something about me. So I tried to pick the shows that I relate to, was obsessed with, used to watch as a kid or just for the ✨ vibes ✨

1. Koisenu Futari

This is one show I relate to the most because I'm aroace. Both Sakuko and Takahashi are aroace and want to live together because they feel lonely by themselves. It's a really great show that just has 2 people figure out how to make their own version of a family in a world where everyone expects you to marry and have children. People like us can feel lost as to what the future might look like because there isn't a path we can follow. Nobody tells us what a happy life might look like if you don't have and don't want a partner so Sakuko and Takahashi are new to this form of family they're trying to create. They want to create something that works for them but nobody around the has similar lives so they have to figure it out all on their own.

2. Bad Buddy

I'm not gay or bi or pan, I'm aroace which means that while I love BL, I don't really relate to it so I didn't want to put many on this list. But Bad Buddy was such a great experience that it deserves a place on this list. This show aired episodes weekly and I love love love everything we did during the week we had to wait for a new episode. People were analyzing Everything from the colors to the dialogue to the music. And I read every single post. Every Friday I would mute the Clown Server on Discord until I could watch the episode. I love how we all talked about the new episode for hours. I would come home and watch the episode and we would still be talking about new points even when I went to bed. Even in the morning I would wake up to new messages. It was amazing.

3. Kieta Hatsukoi / My Love Mix-Up!

A BL that is not often on anyone's favorites list but it is on mine. The leads don't kiss but that doesn't really matter to me because it's a really cute show. It's the way Aoki and Hashimoto have the best friendship and support each other even when they thought they liked the same guy. It's how Ida doesn't understand love and is figuring that out very respectfully. He's really giving Aoki a real chance. He's trying to figure out if he likes Aoki without any moment of internalized homophobia. And also he's demiro in my book and I love him for that.

4. Heartstopper

I love love love the Heartstopper comic. I read it and reread it and rereread it even before the show was even announced. The show itself was everything I hoped for and it was amazing and perfect. I love Isaac of course who is our aroace icon. I'm so glad Alice decided to put him in the group since she had to erase Aled (love you). The second season has apparently big aroace plans for him so excited about that! I love the friendship in this show, they're all so sweet and lovely. I love Nick and Charlie who have such a good, healthy relationship. I love Nick's mom and how she supports her son.

5. Yuri On Ice

Yes we were born to make history! Another show I was obsessed with and I loved the experience of watching it just as much as the anime itself. Just like with Bad Buddy I would be on tumblr reading posts about those freaking rings and the kiss and everyone went crazy over all of that and it was amazing. I still remember watching the preview for episode 10 (I think?) and watching Everyone go crazy over the possibility that the something round and gold could be rings. Or! Would it be a gold medal? We didn't know but we sure as hell had a fun time freaking out about the possibilities.

6. Your Name / Kimi no Na Wa

This one has to be on the list even though it's a movie. I've watched this movie so many times, it's basically my personality. The art and animation is gorgeous, like wow it's so pretty and smooth, I love it. The way Taki and Mitsuha never met but they came to care for each other and care for the lives they lived in each other's bodies. Taki loves Mitsuha's family and wants to do everything in his power to save them. Also can I talk about the music? Radwimps is such a great choice for this movie, they make beautiful music for this kind of music.

7. Natsume Yuujinchou / Natsume's Book of Friends

Another anime I really love. This one has 6 seasons and it's still not enough. I love this show for it's slice of life feel with a supernatural twist. It's a very slow show where not much happens on the surface but every episode has a nice story. It's lovely to see that Natsume warms up to his new family. The first time he has a family that really, truly cares about him and doesn't tell him he's crazy. Only a few anime make me want to read the manga and this is one of them.

8. Avatar The Last Airbender

I used to watch this show as a kid with my dad. We both love it, it's a very beautiful show. It has a clear story overall but also great individual episodes. It has funny moments but also serious ones. It's a bunch of teenagers going on an adventure to save the world, what's not to love? And then there is Zuko with uncle Iroh who have the best redemption arc and some of the best lines in the show. Iconic duo. Anyways, when do I get my magic water powers?

Tagging @onstoryladders and @gilly-bean and @inazumaelle if you haven't done it yet. And anyone who wants to!

#damn it was hard to choose #but i think im happy with this list #moonlight chicken and itsay and ipytm and msp and all those amazing shows are all dear to me #but they didnt fit in this list i think #tag game #tagged

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myladyofmercy · 2 years ago

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I got tagged by @tessabennet to do a

8 shows to get to know me

list and she did it as a kind of watch history and I loved that method so I am copying it

1. h2o: just add water

this show defined my childhood. i was obsessed. i remember only being allowed to watch the rewatches on saturday mornings but not the premieres that came mondays through thursdays. when s3 came around my parents allowed me to record the episodes on vhs and then watch the episode the next day. when the finale aired i had a friend come over after school the next day and we watched the last two episodes even tho she already watched them the night before. in the scene where lewis walks down the stairs in slow mo she pulled out her flip phone and recorded the scene because she thought he looked so cute.

also rikki made me gay and i was always her when we played mermaids in the pool.

2. glee

my first big teenage obsession. i think i started watching when season 2 was airing. the last two seasons took so fucking long to come out dubbed that it was the first time i streamed an episode right after it aired in the us even tho my english wasn't that good yet. i also got my mom and my aunt to watch it. my aunts favorite was finn and when i read that cory had died i called her right before bed to tell her and she told me later she couldn't sleep that night.

my favorite characters were quinn and kurt. quinn made me gay(er)

also i wasn't in fandom spaces back then so i managed to escape all the crazy shit that went on in the fandom back then but i have met some new friends recently who were in it and told me some horror stories and i really feel like I dodged a bullet.

3. gossip girl

i only watched this show after it aired but it's so messy and a definite guily pleasure.

also unpopular opinion but my favorite character was jenny (i am also obsessed with her band and their music and covered two of their songs in my school rockband)

4. the originals

i always preferred the originals over the vampire diaries because i just liked klaus and the other mikaelsons more than elena and co. i also became obsessed with the soundtrack of the show and used to listen to the tracks on youtube and would then convert my faves. that's how i discovered my love for ruelle.

5. shameless

another big obsession I discovered between s4 and s5 airing. i remember crying real tears when ian and mickey broke up in s5. i think gallavich was the first pairing i watched fanedits on youtube for and also how i discovered twenty one pilots and my ultimate beloved florence and the machine. i also had a fan account on instagram at one point that got some likes from emma kenney.

6. supernatural

oh supernatural.

i discovered the show at a very low point in my life and bingewatched 10 seasons back to back while staying home from school. destiel was the first ship i ever read fic for (twist and shout anyone?) and even tho this show went on for wayyyy to long and made some very questionable choices it still has a place in my heart.

7. 911

at this point in time this show is probably my biggest obsession right now (probably because a new season is airing right now) i saw gifs of buck and abby on tumblr when the first season was airing in 2018 but only started watching when the spin off started and i rediscovered it via tumblr during s3. i have done multiple rewatches at this point and this show can truly make you laugh, cry, look away in disgust and believe in humanity at the same time.

also either buddie is the best slow burn of all time or the biggest queerbait since destiel and i am down for the ride.

8. young royals

where do i even begin with this show. it showed up on tumblr in july of 2021 and then i watched it the second weekend of the month and my life changed. since then i have started being truly active on tumblr, creating content myself, reading fanfic earnestly and by some great writers who i can call friends now, learning swedish (even tho the bird scares me), found a bunch of friends from all over the world and flew to fucking canada all on my own to visit people i met through this show. like what the fuck. even tho my obsession is a bit dormant right now they have just started filming the third and last season and as the amount of content will grow my obsession will too. i know it.

okay so this was a fucking essay but i really enjoyed this little deep dive into my watch history and even tho i don't expect anyone to do this I'm gonna tag some of my lovely friends (who i may or may not have found through that small swedish show at 8.)

@tooindecisivetopickaurl @i-love-semicolons @prince-simon @angelbabysimon @cloudywilmon @royalwilmon @oatmilkovich @ungaroyals @aro-of-artemis @little---versailles @cantputitintowords

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skeptiquewrites · 2 years ago

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Self Rec Saturday: 3 Fics

Recommend us 3 of YOUR fics: 1 that is “most popular” and 2 that are “hidden gems.” Then tag some folks.

I was tagged by @wolfpants (post), @lqtraintracks (post) and @tackytigerfic (post). With the caveat that I am delighted that anyone reads any of my fics.

1 Popular Fic: Home Truths

Hands down the most popular fic of mine is Home Truths. It's my longest fic, the one I spent the most time on, and has a big part of my heart. A sentient Grimmauld Place, a grumpy Quidditch pro Harry and a hot af, House Magic Specialist Draco.

Excerpt:

Harry—

You must be joking? No, I can’t help. I love you, but I think delving into cross-disciplinary independent study to fix your thieving house is a bridge too far. I’m not saying this lightly, but Draco Malfoy is really the only person qualified to deal with this.

Hermione

2 Hidden Gems: Lights Down Low & Four Seasons

Hidden Gem #1: Lights Down Low

The first would be Lights Down Low. It was my Wireless this year and I think the tags (rightfully) scare people away because it is partially about recovery. Musician Harry! Musician Draco! They are both in the Muggle world.

Excerpt:

“The war is a metaphor, obviously,” Draco said to the Muggle student newspaper. “We like to keep you guessing” to a Welsh radio station when their first single off the first album dropped. “Harry and I are the best of mates.” He says that one a lot, but he’s known to kiss Harry on the temple, come around to his side of the stage, try to make Harry laugh while he’s trying to catch his breath.

Hidden Gem #2: Four Seasons

The second would be Four Seasons. It's coming up around a year that I wrote this one. Time skips from trainees to Aurors, a beautiful interwoven structure and best of all a gift.

Excerpt:

In a flat voice Malfoy said: “I owed you an apology, I owe you my thanks, I owe you my life. I don’t owe you small talk.” He walked into the night without waiting for a reply, coat forgotten. A loud crack of apparition rent the air as soon as he ducked into the next alley.

"Where'd you go?" Ron said when Harry sidled back to him inside.

"Nowhere."

Tagging @boxboxlewis @goblinmatriarch. To my lovely artists, you can do this one too, I want to know @bluebutter-art @getawayfox

#drarry #about writing

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m3lzalz-honeybee-noble · 2 years ago

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This article was a very interesting read. Anyone else spiraling and wondering in which episodes or moments in season 1 and 2 the writers’ minds went straight to… and Tim And Lucy kiss?

To kill time, if anyone wants to participate and offer their thoughts or ideas, please feel free to comment here, reblog, or create your own posts. You can tag me it you wish.

These may require some more thought and analysis, but here are some that come to mind for me:

Season 1: This is so hard, because there are so many tension filled scenes, but Tim and Lucy were just getting to know each other, Lucy was getting over her situationship with Nolan, and Season 1 Tim would NEVER. I couldn’t really think of a moment or scene that could’ve led straight to a kiss, but maybe the episode as a whole:

1x07 (Lucy confronts Tim outside of Isabel’s). I know, definitely too soon, but that tension and angst between them in that moment… GAH 🤤. You can’t convince me there wasnt a shift.

1x11 (Lucy gets stuck with a used needle; Thank you! For What? Doing my job?). If Lucy was as bold and confident then as she was in episodes 4x22 and 5x01, she would have sought comfort from Tim by kissing him.

1x14 (Plain Clothes Day)- The banter, Tim in plain clothes 😍, Tim’s discreet protection, loyalty and trust. I wouldn’t have blamed Lucy. I probably would have skipped her in line.

1x18 (Chenford paintball date)- their first unofficial date. A trophy kiss for their Team winning.

1x20 (Tim gets infected with deadly virus)- nothing like a NDE (Near Death Experience; any OA fans out there?), and fear of death, to put things in perspective. Their mutual comfort was chef’s kiss. The closed door being a literal barrier between them. Their last looks at each other, like no one else was in the room (a callback for episodes 5x03-5x04). I could see them running to each other embracing and kissing, a la Sydney and Vaughn (Alias).

Season 2: Oh this one was definitely much more easy. There are so many. This post is getting too long, so I’ll just name 6. I can do a part 2, for second half of the season

2x01 (Lucy confronts Tim about his mistreatment of her so far along; suicide ideation) - Lucy is at her best when she is assertive and stands her ground (🔥) -I could see a Tim apology that leads to a confession and 😘

2x02-(Lucy records audiobook for Tim): the time and thought Lucy put in, on top of the 8-12hr work shifts. That alone warranted a kiss of gratitude. Bonus: Tim was breathing, sleeping, eating, showering, exercising, and working with Lucy’s voice in his head, 24hrs a day. Some say he still listens to the audiobook, you know as a refresher course to being Sergeant 👀

2x03: (betting Lucy couldn’t find a partner for Tim; Lucy’s short sleeves victory): The flirting and invasion of each other’s personal space (boundaries non existent). 📢GET A ROOM📢

2x06 (missile crisis, end of the world): they chose to spend their last moments on earth with each other. Let’s end it with a kiss.

2x08 (Tim wouldn’t have gotten that stupid plaque if Lucy didn’t have his back; Thank you! For What? Doing my job? Part 2): She saved his picture on her Lock Screen! The first thing she sees when she goes to unlock her phone. They breathe each other’s air on that bench. Tim leaned in to her, while drinking his beer. Just kiss her!

2x10 (Introduction of Rosalind Dyer; Lucy meets acolyte Caleb): if Tim had offered to take Lucy out for that drink with another human, the sequence of events that followed never would have occurred, and the night would have ended with a kiss.

2x11 (Lucy’s Rebirth/ Reawakening )- including this because technically there was a kiss. A kiss of life. I could also see their hospital scene ending with a kiss if they weren’t interrupted and talked a little more.

2x12 (Tim keeps tabs on Lucy and gives Lucy her ring back): Both scenes had so many unspoken feelings/ unresolved, good tension. I can imagine if they hugged, it would have ended with 2 kisses.

Bonus: I won’t elaborate, that is unless you are not over this post and care to know more

Season 3:

3x06 (Lucy goes undercover as Nova, the first time)

3x09 (Lucy “fake” feelings confession, and Tim, heart eyes 😍, will miss riding with Lucy)

3x14 (Lucy undercover as Nova Part 2; Tim asks Lucy to Save him a Dance)

Season 4: Before 4x22

4x01: (Their first on screen HUG)

4x07: (first undercover together (please correct me if I’m wrong); Lucy 🎤 Tim up with wandering eyes, all the way down and up)

4x09 (Tim’s day of validation/ reflection/ retribution/ and Lucy’s Hug of Life)

4x12 (Lucy and Tim’s Date with 3rd and 4th wheel, Chrispy and Ashy; Personal Space, into the VOID you go)

4x18 (The collection of a debt that was owed… THE DANCE)

Season 5: Manifesting First REAL Kiss:

5x08 (Lucy and Tim riding together again for the first time, after a long hiatus, pun intended)

#chenford #the rookie #lucy x tim #the wait is over #season 1 #season 2 #season 3 #season 4 #season 5 #AMA

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ponderinqs · 4 years ago

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Pushed Away || JJ Maybank

pairing: jj x reader

warnings: swearing, mentions of abuse, underage drinking, angst, gun usage, SLOW BURN!!!

word count: 3.3k

summary: you’re best friends with jj, but something happens one day, leaving you and the rest of the group confused and worried about him. what happened to him? did you do something to hurt him? or maybe, there’s something rather... emotional going on inside him. something he’s never felt for anyone before in his life.

a/n: here’s me apologizing for not posting this WAYYY sooner. listen,, i got huge writers block for a very long time, and i wasn’t feeling up to anything obx. but now that season 2 has come out, and the fact that i’m at the beach right now (approximately 2 hours away from where they film outer banks), i finally have some motivation to write. soooo yeahhhh. hope you enjoy LMFAOOO. also, read the other parts if u haven’t already!

unedited. please excuse any typos :)

comment if you want tagged !! :)

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

—————————

It’s been about four days since your friends found out about your past. A week since you spoke to any of them.

When you came home that night after seeing Rafe, you and your mother got into a screaming fit over how she needs to stop trying to change you back to who you used to be.

“You don’t get to tell me who I am! I get to choose that!” You yelled, finger pointed at your mother.

“Excuse me?! I am your mother! I can do whatever I need to do to get you to stop turning into someone you’re not!” Now your mother was screaming at you, probably waking the neighbors.

“Life was better when dad was here! Now you’re just a pathetic excuse as a mother!!” You felt regretful for the words that left your mouth, but in the heat of the moment, it felt like the right thing to do.

You felt a hand come across your cheek. “You don’t get to talk to me like that, young lady!”

She left the house shortly after you two fought. Your mother has been gone for a few days, which left you holed up in your room, alone, letting the nasty thoughts fog your brain.

You groaned as you got out of your bed, trudging to the bathroom to see how awful you looked. Your hair was disheveled and you looked like absolute shit. “God…” You whispered, letting your fingers graze your cheek. You winced as you felt a slight sting from the movement. It was still sore, and even if there wasn’t much of a mark anymore, you could still see a slight red tint to it.

You finally decided it was time to leave the house. The sun was beginning to set, but you didn’t want to be holed up in your house for another day. After cleaning up and looking somewhat normal, you walked downstairs and went to open the door, but someone was at the door, just about to knock. It was Pope, looking frantic and scared.

“Y/N! Hi!” He pulled you into a quick hug. “You gotta come quick, there’s something wrong with JJ.” He looked at you, scanning your face for any response, when he saw the slightly reddened cheek mark.

“Who did that?” He spoke softly, his finger touching the mark lightly. “My mother.” You sighed. You didn’t feel like worrying everyone, but it was already happening.

“We can talk about this later, okay? But c'mon, we gotta go.” He nudged his head to his car as the both of you made your way over to the car.

“Is he okay? What’s wrong with him?” You spoke after a few minutes of pure silence while Pope drove. “I really don’t know. He went back home last night and something must’ve happened there. You’re like the only one that can get him to calm down.” He smiled at you as he pulled into the Chateau.

You both got out and walked towards the front, where JJ was seen pacing back and forth, Kiara and John B just watching him. They both saw you and stared, not saying a word.

JJ turned around and saw you, the two of you making eye contact. He stopped pacing, and you saw the sun shine through his beautiful hair, but you also noticed more cuts and bruises scattered around his pretty face.

You approached him with caution, looking into his ocean blue eyes the entire time. The two of you didn’t speak any words, but somehow you still calmed JJ down. You grabbed both of his arms as you looked at his face, examining each and every cut and bruise.

Instead of speaking, you hugged him. You wrapped your arms around his torso tightly, resting your head on his chest. He was hesitant at first, but he also wrapped his arms around your waist, burying his head in your neck.

You felt wetness on your skin, making you hug him even tighter. JJ let out a choked sob, still holding onto you as if you were the only thing keeping him from completely losing it. You stroked his back, your eyes watering as you listened to him cry into you.

“I can’t do it.” He mumbled into your neck in between sobs. Your heart broke for what felt like the hundredth time this week. And again, you couldn’t do anything to help him, which made you feel helpless. All you could do was stand here and hug your best friend, hoping something would make everything stop hurting.

JJ went limp in your arms as the two of you fell to the ground, JJ covering his face with his hands and he continued to cry. “JJ..” You whispered softly, grabbing him and holding him to your chest. You ran your hand through his hair a few times, trying to get him to calm down.

You looked around at the other Pogue members, signaling that they need to give you two a minute. They understood and nodded, walking into the Chateau and closing the door behind them.

After they were gone, you moved JJ away from you as you pulled his hands away from his face. Your foreheads rested against each other’s, the two of you not daring to break eye contact.

His eyes were red and puffy, tears still streaming down his face. He looked at you with his sad eyes as you felt raindrops beginning to fall on the top of your head.

Soon it was beginning to rain even harder, but the two of you just sat outside, staring at each other and not speaking a word. “I can’t deal with him anymore..” JJ’s voice cracked at the end, letting out another choked sob.

You cupped his face with your hands, kissing his forehead lightly. As you pulled his face away, he noticed the faint cheek mark on your face. “Who.. who did that?” He said quietly, his hand coming up to touch it.

Shivers went down your spine as you felt his touch, along with a slight sting. “Shit.” You hissed, looking down at the ground.

“It was your mother, wasn’t it?” He moved his dripping wet hair out of his face, looking into your eyes.

You nodded slowly right as a bolt of lightning cracked in the air. Thunder boomed through the atmosphere within seconds, and the two of you shared the same look. “Let’s go inside, okay?” You grabbed his hand and helped him stand as the two of you went inside.

The three friends looked up at the sound of the door closing, seeing the both of you drenched with your hands still intertwined.

You squeezed his hand, leading him to the extra bedroom. You watched the fragile boy lie down on the bed, turning his back to you.

You turned around and went back out to the rest of your friends. “Um, we’re gonna stay here tonight.” You shuffled your feet.

“Everyone is staying here. The hurricane is coming through right now.” John B sat on one of the couches, finally looking up at you.

You nodded. “He’s gonna be okay, Y/N. Just give him time.” Kiara looked up at you, giving you a slight smile.

You sighed and made your way to the bathroom and grabbed a few towels before you returned to the extra room, seeing JJ in the same position that he was in when you left him.

“Hey, I got some towels so we can dry off.” You got onto the bed and set the towels in front of you. JJ turned around and sat up, grabbing a towel and drying off his hair.

“Do you have extra clothes here?” You asked, and JJ just simply nodded, pointing to the worn down dresser across from the bed. You stood up and walked over, opening it and finding some random clothes for you and JJ.

You tossed JJ a random marina shirt, and a pair of shorts. You found a blue shirt and some sweats, and put them onto the bed. “Well, close your eyes.” You grinned at him, and JJ smirked before covering his eyes with his hand.

You stripped from your wet shirt and tossed it to the corner of the room, making a note to wash it tomorrow. When you looked at JJ, he was peeking out of his hand. “Maybank!!” You giggled as you hurriedly put the shirt on.

“Well, I like the view.” He commented, making the heat rise up to your cheeks. You shook your head and pulled off the drenched pants you had on, rushing to put on the sweatpants.

“Keep em off.” He smirked, his hands now completely away from his eyes. “Oh, shut up.” You finished changing and got into bed, JJ now getting up and changing. “Do I need to close my eyes?” You spoke as if you were a little child.

“That’s up to you.” He smirked again. You decided not to as you watched him slowly peel his wet shirt off of his body.

Without realizing it, you were biting your lip and staring at his defined torso. “Take a picture, it’ll last longer.” JJ laughed, pulling the dry shirt onto him and then taking off his drenched shorts.

Seeing JJ in his boxers was something you never thought you would witness, but I guess it had to happen sometime, right? He slid on his shorts and got back into bed.

Rain pattered against the window, along with the occasional lightning strikes and thunder. The two of you sat in the darkness for what felt like hours.

“Why did your mother slap you?” JJ spoke, the air thick with something you couldn’t quite explain.

“I called her a pathetic excuse for a mother. So she slapped me. Then she left.” You turned to face JJ, your faces inches away from each other.

“Why didn’t you come to see us? You were gone for a long time, or at least a long to the three of us. We were all scared and confused.” JJ’s hand moved to rest on your cheek, staring at you. Even in total darkness, he could make out your features.

“I didn’t want to. I thought you guys hated me.” You relaxed into his touch, sighing.

“We don’t hate you, Y/N. We are all just a little disappointed that you never told us.” He moved a piece of your hair out of your face, tucking it behind your ear.

The tension was thick, and it scared you. You’ve never been this vulnerable to each other. JJ never let his guard down, and neither did you. The time you shared outside was something that has never happened before.

“Do you feel better?” You spoke softly, wondering if that was the right thing to say. You didn’t know if you were overstepping any boundaries the two of you had. A lightning bolt lit up the sky, followed by a large boom of thunder as JJ began to talk.

“Yeah.. I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.” He shrugged it off and pulled the thin blanket up to his chest. You gave him a confused look. “JJ, I will always worry about you. That’s what friends do. We always look after each other and make sure the other one is okay.” You scooted yourself closer to him. You felt him shiver as your arm grazed his.

“Just don’t bother worrying about me, okay? I’ll survive.” His finger reached up to his face to touch the multiple cuts and bruises on his face. You heard him wince as the wind picked up outside.

Rain began rapidly pattering against the window, wind shaking the trees and scraping up against the side of the shack.

“JJ look.. I’m sorry for going full ghost on you guys for that long. I should’ve let you all know that I was okay.” You whispered, your hand resting on his shoulder as you laid your side to look at him.

“Nah I get it. I do it too.” JJ shrugged. You stared into his blue eyes, trying to figure out what was going on inside of that beautiful brain of his. He was too focused on the storm outside to realize that you were staring at him. When he finally made eye contact with you, your heart seemed to have skipped a beat.

“What?” He asked, his voice soft and caring. “Nothing.” You mumbled and laid down, getting comfortable with your pillow and the blanket you were currently sharing with JJ.

“Goodnight, Y/N.” JJ said before he turned on his side and tried to fall asleep. You were facing his back, your eyes glued to him. Slowly but surely your eyes closed and you both fell asleep to the sound of the wind and rain outside.

When you opened your eyes the next morning, you felt a heavy weight on your chest. Looking down, you saw JJ sleeping on you, his hand draped across your stomach with soft snores emitting from his mouth. You smiled and brushed some hair out of his face. You inspected his small cuts and bruises on his face, your index finger grazing each and every one of them.

Soon JJ’s eyes peeled open and he looked up at you. “What are you doing?” He mumbled, his eyes darting to your lips and then back up to your eyes.

“Oh, nothing. Good morning.” You replied, moving your finger away from his face. JJ rolled himself off of you and got out of bed, mumbling a ‘good morning’ before he exited the room and went to find the others. You followed him shortly after, finding no one in the living room.

“Uh.. guys?” JJ questioned, walking around the small boat house as he tried to find his friends. You then spotted John B outside, along with Kiara and Pope. “JJ, they’re outside.” You spoke before walking outside.

You looked around at the damage the hurricane had caused. Branches and twigs were scattered around the yard, along with a lot of random debris covering most of the grass. “Holy shit. She really did a number.” JJ admitted, walking around the yard, stepping on some twigs and picking random stuff up.

“Yeah, no kidding.” John B replied, his hands on his hips as he looked around at all the damage.

Surprisingly, the Chateau didn’t take much damage. You had noticed a bucket sitting on the floor earlier, so there must be a leak. Other than that, there wasn’t much else that needed repairing.

Suddenly, your phone in your pocket started to ring. Grabbing it, you saw the caller ID and it showed that it was your mom. “You have to be kidding me.” You muttered under your breath.

Catching your friends’ attention, they all turned to look at you. “Your mom?” Pope asked, wincing to himself once you nodded.

You answered the call and put your phone up to your ear. “Y/F/N Y/L/N, what in the hell do you think you’re doing?!” She screamed through the phone.

“What do you mean?” You kept your voice calm and controlled, because you knew if you raised your voice this phone call would be a lot worse than it already is.

“Leaving the house when I’m not there?! Doing god knows what with those low life’s?!” Your mom responded through the phone, her voice getting increasingly louder by the second.

“First of all, you left me!! What the hell was I supposed to do holed up in that house?! And I have told you this time and time again, they are not low lifes!” You retaliated back, making sure that your mom knew that she was in the wrong.

“That’s what you think.” She responded flatly. You just scoffed. “You make me sick, mom. You really do.” You responded, beginning to walk around in circles.

“You need to come back home. I mean it.” Your mom responded sternly. She could do anything, but nothing would tear you away from your real family.

“No. I am not coming back home for a while.” You shook your head, making eye contact with Kie.

“Excuse me? Yes you are. I will send the cops after you if I have to.” She responded, now raising her voice yet again.

“I cannot believe how disrespectful you are right now, mom. No, I am not coming home. You have given me so many reasons to not come home. I am going to stay here where I am more loved. Fuck off.” You yelled and ended the call, not caring about what she had to respond with.

“God, Y/N, I am so sorry you have to deal with her. That’s horrible.” Kiara walked up to you and gave you a hug. You hugged her back, resting your head on her shoulder.

The rest of the Pogues soon surrounded you and hugged you. You smiled as everyone hugged you.

About 30 minutes later, everyone was standing around a large fire that had started to burn all the twigs and branches scattered across the yard, when a Range Rover pulled up next to John B’s van.

You were not surprised when you saw Rafe get out of the car. “Oh hell no..” John B scoffed, walking over to Rafe.

“John B.. John B. Relax. I’m just here for Y/N.” Rafe smirked as he looked over at you, holding his hand out to stop John B.

“Rafe. Get out of here.” You told him, staying near JJ just in case he tries to do something.

“I got you, I got you.” JJ whispered in your ear, placing his hands on your hips as he held you close.

“It was your mom again.” Rafe’s voice got louder as he started to walk closer to you.

“I don’t care about her. Now leave.” Your heartbeat began to rise as he got closer and closer.

“Nah, I don’t think I will do that.” Rafe was now four feet in front of you.

“Hey, buddy, back it up!!” JJ yelled, staring at Rafe to make sure he doesn’t make any sudden movements.

“Aw look, you have a bodyguard. How adorable. You know, Y/N, me and you had history. I used to be your bodyguard. Isn’t that right?” Rafe smirked at you.

Before anyone could react, Rafe grabbed you by the arm and pulled you towards him. He held you close to his back, his arm locked across your chest.

“You dickhead!” JJ screamed and ran over to grab you.

Suddenly, Rafe pulled out a gun, causing everyone to stop in their tracks.

He clocked the gun at you, the barrel sitting right on your head. You gasped, tears trickling down your face.

“Tell them, Y/N. Tell them what we were.” Rafe said, smirking as he looked around at the group.

“Put down the gun and I will!!” You yelled, only causing Rafe to push the gun onto your head more. You let out a yell.

“Oh, I don’t know about that. I think you just better tell them now.” Rafe looked down at you, smirking.

“Me and Rafe,” you sniffled, looking down at the ground. “we had.. history. More than what I have told you. We… we dated.” You let out a choked sob.

Rafe slowly moved the gun away from your head. “See? Wasn’t so hard, was it?” He grinned, stilling holding you close to his body.

All of the Pogues looked at you in disbelief. You couldn’t even find it in you to look at JJ.

“Cmon, Y/N. Let’s go.” Rafe gave your friends a little wave before he walked over to his car with you and shoved you into the passenger seat.

You were unable to fight him. You gave up, just staring at the floor of the car.

As Rafe started the car up, your friends started to run after you. Rafe quickly backed up out of his spot and peeled away. The last thing you saw out of the passenger side window was JJ, looking scared and very upset.

#jj #jj maybank #jj maybank x reader #jjmaybank x reader #outer banks #outer banks fanfiction #outer banks imagine #jj maybank angst #jj maybank fluff #outer banks netflix #john b routledge #john b #pope heyward

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gunsatthaphan · 3 years ago

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Idk the name of this but I got tagged by my bestie @sunsetknowsaboutyou thank you love 🥺💜Haven’t done one of these in a while.

1. your all time favorite bl and why - why you gotta attack me with this right away kjdghfd. still hate this question to the core lmao. It’s so hard to answer. But I’m gonna go with Lovely Writer and TOL. Can’t pick one. LW because I’m obsessed with SibGene, their chemistry and the overall narrative. And TOL because I’m a sucker for best friends to lovers and this show is by far the best adaption of that. Also offgun. no further comment.

2. that one bl that scarred you for life - scarred for life is a strong term lmao but The Effect was very extreme. Like that shit was the worst. Don’t ever watch it.

3. is there any bl that made you feel very single? - gosh. most of them 😂 I can’t pick one so I’m gonna say Bad Buddy, We Best Love and Don’t Say No. The love that PatPran and ShuyiShide radiated is insane. Felt that shit in every fiber of my being lmao. Same with LeonPob and their neverending cuteness. gosh. The single-phobia is real and it ain’t pretty. An honorable mention is DanYok bc these mfs make me feel single without even being a couple jdgdfdf. Their power.

4. if you could change one thing from a bl, which one would it be? - I’m gonna have to agree with you, the ending of MODC was cruel af, but another one that immediately comes to mind is MorkAoey’s story in Lovely Writer. (still don’t know how to spell their names rip) I still hate Aoey but they were really done dirty. They could’ve been handled so much better.

5. that one bl you detest (don’t hold back) - I don’t think I feel anything as strong as detestation towards any bl haha but my least favorites are definitely Y-Destiny, Thank God it’s Friday, 2Moons, So Much in Love and Waterboyy.

6. your top five:

lovely writer

TOL

don’t say no

not me

bad buddy

7. that trashy bl that you lowkey like - definitely why r u lmao. Idk if I would call it trashy but it was for sure the most crack-induced show I’ve ever seen. And I absolutely adored every second of it. 11/10. I also really enjoyed the first season of Gen Y. Which also made no sense, was weird af and definitely trashy. But I loved it djkhgd.

8. your favorite korean bl (it’s important we know) - Forever and always To My Star. Nothing holds a candle. Light On Me is a close second.

9. but also your top 3 for kbls

to my star

light on me

mr. heart

10. season 2? which one? - If we’re talking about second seasons that should exist but don’t, then definitely light on me. I NEED it. Out of the ones that are coming up, I’m looking forward to TMS2 and Just Say Yes the most. And from the ones that already exist my favorite is FriendZone 2.

11. a bunch of dramas will air soon. which ones are you the most excited for? - for someone who has zero time to watch.... WAY TOO MANY 😭my personal highlights for this year are:

- gmmtv: the eclipse, star & sky, moonlight chicken, never let me go

- other networks: just say yes, cutie pie, check out, middleman’s love, between us, coffee melody, love mechanics, pastsenger, the tuxedo and don’t tell anyone but lowkey the warp effect lmao

12. tag them!

I’m gonna tag everyone I can think of right now, sorry if you’ve been tagged already and as always don’t feel obligated!

@leonpob @aokisida @emisfritish @dollopheadsandclotpoles @german-bl-kpop-lover @nanohm @ohmnanons @patandpran @lovepattranite @omarandjohnny @laowen @boun-prem @zeejade88 @earthpodd @bisexualwithtoomanyships @sleepypurplenote @boy-meets-boy-1004 @clairificusrex

💜

#tag game #thanks for tagging me!#<3 #bl dramas

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legolasghosty · 2 years ago

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I posted 2,186 times in 2022

That's 2,186 more posts than 2021!

138 posts created (6%)

2,048 posts reblogged (94%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@wr0temyway0ut

@juliepatterson2010

@michelangelinden

@saladbroth

@missjoolee

I tagged 740 of my posts in 2022

#legolas tag - 125 posts

#legolas ask - 82 posts

#julie and the phantoms - 76 posts

#legolas answers asks - 53 posts

#jatp fanfic - 50 posts

#willex - 49 posts

#jatp - 41 posts

#alex mercer - 28 posts

#willie jatp - 23 posts

#ask game - 16 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#and alex has now seen enough little bits of bobby through willie's stories and the house that he knows trevor won't turn his back on carrie

My Top Posts in 2022:

Hello, I think that if Julie and the Phantoms got a second season(let me live in dream world for a sec here), they should up the rating just a bit for like one episode, exclusively so 2 things can happen. 1. So Willie and Alex can properly make out. They deserve it. 2. So Willie can fully cuss Caleb out for all the manipulation and trauma and stuff, again, cause Willie deserves to be able to do that, and Caleb deserves to cower in fear at the wrath of this usually friendly, happy skater ghost boi. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

143 notes - Posted July 22, 2022

Let Alex Mercer be the pettiest haunter.

While Luke and Reggie are blasting music and turning on showers to scare people, I think Alex goes a bit subtler. He lives(dies) to cause millions of minor inconveniences. Like taking the ink cartridges out of all of the pens(and I mean all of them). Or unplugging power chords just enough that it looks fine but won't actually charge stuff. Or the water pressure in the shower being really weak for no apparent reason.

When Alex full on haunts someone, he doesn't want them scared, he just wants them annoyed and miserable. So he just makes them have lousy days by messing up all their stuff.

Thank you for coming to my ted talk.

(bonus, Willie finds out about this and goes, "Hey, do you know how to use a seam ripper?"... And then the chaos just grows and they have little haunting dates of ripping seams and moving around all the CDs on people's shelves.)

146 notes - Posted July 7, 2022

Okay so I did a thing... There's a point in Heartstopper (the show version) where Mr. Ajayi tells Charlie, "Don't let anyone make you disappear," and that just... stuck in my brain last night. So... here y'all go! They are all formatted to be a phone background or something, so feel free to save them if you want to use them for that.

See the full post

151 notes - Posted July 4, 2022

Annabeth: hey, Percy, I'm bi.

Percy: *seaweed brain confusion* Annabeth, don't you know like five languages or something? You're like quinlingual or something.

Annabeth: *face palms* Babe, no, I meant bisexual, as in I'm attracted to girls and guys and stuff.

Percy:..... Isn't everyone?

This is fact, fight me.

167 notes - Posted March 17, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Hey JatP gang. I know it's been a rough year, both with the show and in people's personal lives. I just wanted to hop on here and say that even if we all drift away to other fixations or hobbies or pieces of media, there will still be a huge piece of my heart here for all of you. In 2023 when Julie throws her cap in the air at her high school graduation, I love you. In 2024, when the band releases their first full album, I love you. In 2025 when Alex and Willie have a small wedding in the Molina garage, I love you. In 2026, when Edge of Great hits platinum, I love you. In 2027 when they start their first world tour, I love you. In 2028 when they win three Grammys, I love you.

And in 2032, when Alex chases Reggie all over their huge studio for saying that he'd be the one to leave in a blowup, I love you.

In 2035 when they release their sixth album, I love you.

In 2041, when Luke is able to stand and speak and hug his dad at Emily's funeral, I love you.

In 2049, when they raise over a billion dollars to help LGBTQ+ youth through a series of charity concerts, I love you.

In 2054 when they play at Ray's retirement party, I love you.

I could keep going, but I think you get the point. This show, this band, and this fandom will live in my heart forever, even if we aren't all still talking 20 years down the road. I love you guys, happy anniversary.

192 notes - Posted September 10, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #awww this is sweet

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wangxianficrecs · 4 years ago

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Follower Recs

Stories I haven’t read yet, but clearly need to put on my ever-expanding List.

~*~

Welcome back queen [Thank you, it’s so lovely to be back!] if ur still doing follower recs I gotta recommend I would wait for a thousand years by bleuett it’s soooooooo good

[This one was actually recced to me by two different people, the other of whom said, “ Maybe I'm crying a little so I feel like a should recommend ‘I would wait for a thousand years’ by bleuett on ao3.”]... it’s def. on my List!

I would wait for a thousand years

by bleuett (T, 10k, wangxian)

Summary: During the worst of winter, a traveler comes to stay at Lan Wangji's inn. He wears a red ribbon in his hair.

“Do you see the rabbit?” Wei Ying asks and points at the moon. “That’s the moon rabbit, he helps make Chang’e more immortality elixir. He keeps Chang’e company.”

“I do not wish the rabbit for company,” Lan Wangji says tightly. “You are the one I want by my side.”

“And I’m here, Lan Zhan. If you go to the moon, I’ll follow you, I’ll always be here now.”

~*~

I just read a great fic by aisthuu "every love story is a ghost story", didn't see it in your recs so wanted to recommend it! LWJ is a guqin composer and teacher, buys a cheap guqin off eBay which ends up being attached to WWX's spirit from canon era. It's bittersweet, LWJ deals with Lan's homophobia (implicit in a Lan way) and his feelings towards the ghost. This is author's only ao3 fic and honestly I don't remember how I stumbled upon it, but I'm happy I did and hope you will enjoy it too! [I’ve recently read this one, and loved it!]

every love story is a ghost story

by aisthuu (M, 59k, wangxian, my bookmark)

Summary: The man is in Lan Zhan’s bed. Did they—he begins to wonder, eyes trailing to where the man’s body lies under the blanket. Had Lan Zhan—?

Then the sleep-fog clears and Lan Zhan realizes that the young man isn’t quite opaque around the edges.

“You’re a spirit.”

The spirit narrows its eyes. “I’m so much more than that.”

(Lan Zhan buys a guqin off eBay for a suspiciously low price, only to find that it’s haunted. And now there’s a ghost in his bed.)

~*~

Ok so I absolutely have to rec "see you yesterday" by glyphic. It's a wip, but it's currently at 101k so there's a whole lot there, and it's terrible and wonderful and beautiful all at once. The way the backstory of canon events is adapted to the modern-with-cultivation setting is brilliant, and then there's the amnesia, and then there's the time loop. This fic lives permanently rent-free in my brain.

see you yesterday

by glyphic (M, 101k, wangxian, WIP)

Summary:

Wei Ying 21:09 hey lan zhan what’s the weirdest way youve died

Lan Zhan 21:11 Falling encyclopedias.

Wei Ying 21:12 omg no way that’s so rude turning books against you???

Lan Zhan 21:13 A betrayal I will never forget.

On Halloween night, an exiled demonic cultivator and a Lan disciple get stuck in a time-loop, find each other, and try to figure it all out.

~*~

If you are looking for recs for yourself I absolutely love (the complete!) story Just as the Snow Melts by draechali on AO3. It's a canon divergence where everyone lives, even WWX! ~ @airmidcelt

Just as the Snow Melts

by draechaeli (T, 67k, wangxian)

Summary: Like a snowy mountain top in spring the residents of the Burial Mounds trickled down the mountain and joined the flow of society.

“I went to the Burial Mounds,” Lan WangJi said.

“Ah, yeah… I’m sorry Lan Zhan,” replied Wei WuXian, “I hadn’t thought anyone would come to visit. I am still not sure how it happened; I brought A-Yuan to Yiling to play by the river and then ended up somehow teaching a bunch of children swimming and writing along with him.”

~*~

Hello! It's come to my attention that you have not as yet read Grandmaster of Meme-onic Cultivation! Please do! It's the only thing that gave me joy during 2020 😆 like proper belly laughs and disney villain style cackling. It is a wip, and it is long but so so worth it!! The author has reworked the entire canon through these message crystals and still conveys complex characters despite the tricky format. It's just so good!! Highly highly recommend it! ❤ ~ @theladypeartree [Oh! I’ve been subscribed to this one, and know that @swaglexander-the-great is a reliable provider of Hilarity, so I’m excited for it to be finished!]

Grandmaster of Meme-onic Cultivation

by Hades_the_Blingking (T, 49k, wangxian, WIP)

Summary: The Untamed universe is exactly the same, except everybody has magical crystals that have a suspiciously familiar messaging system. The story is pretty much the same as the show, except everyone lives!! (so minor changes).

or in which Wei WuXian tries his darndest to date Lan Zhan, Jiang Cheng possibly has a aneurysm, Jin ZiXuan is still the most awkward human alive, and Xue Yang makes me write some VERY cursed things. Written in chatfic format! :3

~*~

Chomrafy on AO3 deserves love and encouragement; she’s written a body of compact, poetic, and eloquent shortfics each of which can stand alone, but that comprise an intricately cross-referential and mostly internally-consistent universe. They’re grouped as chapters in works according to theme; for example, “in cupped hands” focuses upon Jin Ling and his second-generation baggage; “Departure in Autumn” portrays the last years of WWX’s first life. Follow the tag “Chomrafy’s MDZS shortfics.” [I don’t see this tag?]

in cupped hands

by chomrafy (G, 2k, wangxian)

Summary: Of secrets, of futures, of love. A Jin Ling-centric collection of 200-word fics.

Ch.1: Jin Ling repays a debt (JL, JC, & WWX). Ch.2: Jin Ling and a ghost in the mirror. (JL & JYL) Ch.3: A matter of friends (JL & the other kids) Ch.4: In this house we don't keep dogs (JC & WWX) Ch.5: In the end, he remains silent (JL & uncles) Ch.6: A first night hunt, of sorts (JL & the other kids) Ch.7: Jin Ling, forgiving, forgetting (JL & LXC & JGY) Ch.8: Jiang Cheng and Jin Ling argue (JL, JC, & WWX) Ch.9: Jin Ling and his father (JL & JC) Ch.10: Jin Ling speaks up (JL, JC, & WWX) Ch.11: Jin Ling and a piece of home (JL, JC, & WWX)

Departure in Autumn

by chomrafy (not rated, 6k)

Summary: Four perspectives. A steady march to the end.

Ch.1: Because if anything happens to them, Wen Qing would never be able to heal with these hands again. Ch.2: As long as this is still home, Jiang Yanli will wait as long as she needs to. Ch.3: Five times Jiang Cheng reaches for Wei Wuxian, one time he turns away. Ch.4: Whether the road is broad or narrow, bright or dark, they would have to keep walking. Wei Wuxian digs Wen Qing's grave.

~*~

Hello, hope all is going well. I don't have an ask, by I do have a recommendation. I read this fic a while ago and found it again. I just wanted to recommend this for everyone. Let me know what you think please. Thank you. [Oh! This one’s in my To Read list, but I’d forgotten about it. Mmmm, fox!wwx and dragon!lwj.]

Ten miles of Lotus Flowers

by Yukirin_Snow

M, 274k, wangxian

Summary: He was a mischievous fox spirit, wreaking havoc where he went, about to depart on a journey that would span centuries.

He was a heavenly prince, a proud dragon destined to ascend the throne to become emperor.

Neither expected their paths to collide over the span of three lives.

~*~

I forgot if it was your blog 😥 that recommended “Bestseller” (when Wei Wuxian writes the Xianxia cut-sleeve equivalent of Fifty Shades of Grey, based entirely on his experiences with Lan Wangji, he doesn’t expect it to become the next big hit) (https://archiveofourown.org/works/21528316/chapters/51318766)

But OMG IT WAS HILARIOUS!!! I LOVED IT!! And if it wasn’t your blog, I’m so sorry for how weird this sounds 😭😭😭😭 I just loved this fic so much that I have to tell it to someone 😢 [It’s on my List, but I haven’t read it yet!]

Bestseller

by pupeez4eva

M, 8k, wangxian

Summary: He had written the book to prove a point. It was never supposed to be a big thing, and he certainly never intended for everyone — Jiang Cheng, Zewu-Jun, the Juniors, literally everyone— to be reading about his sex life.

Oh God, he definitely needed to make sure Lan Zhan didn’t find out about this.

(Or, when Wei Wuxian writes the Xianxia cut-sleeve equivalent of Fifty Shades of Grey, based entirely on his experiences with Lan Wangji, he doesn’t expect it to become the next big hit).

~*~

I’d like to rec On Your Marks, Get Set, Bake! by @blackwiresgrowonherhead

It’s one of my absolute favorites and I laughed out loud so many times when reading it

on your marks, get set, bake!

by BlackWiresOnHerHead

G, 41k, wei wuxian & juniors

Summary: Jin Ling resumes thumping on the door to room 721, and the small collection of freshmen starts chanting “Senior Wei! Senior Wei! Senior Wei!” with increasing volume until finally Wei Wuxian opens the door.

“Yes?” he says with his widest, most innocent eyes.

“Senior Wei!” demands Lan Jingyi, shoving himself to the front of the group. “Why didn’t you tell us you’re a contestant on this year’s season of The Great Gusu Bake Off?!?”

Several months ago, college student Wei Wuxian secretly competed in the most popular reality show in the country. The show starts airing in the fall. The freshmen in his dorm collectively lose their minds.

~*~

If you're in the mood for v. short ridiculous fun fic, may I suggest My chain hits my chest/When I'm bangin' on the radio by x_los It's 2k modern cultivators AU, featuring WWX calling LWJ's sword Bitchin' [omg I’m laughing so hard] and I think it's more fun going in blind?

My chain hits my chest/When I'm bangin' on the radio

by x_los

T, 2k, wangxian

Summary: Lan Wangji finds he doesn't even need to call for help for Wei Wuxian to come running.

#follower rec #wangxian fic rec #I HAVEN'T READ THESE YET #wangxian #mdzs

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absolutebl · 4 years ago

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bl tag game

i was tagged by @foralleternityidiot weeeeeeee......

1. your all time favorite bl and why?

out of 224 BLs I have only 6 that I’ve ever given 10/10. Of those, I’m going to pick 4 to rep for different BL producing countries. They are:

Seven Days (Japan) - it is an absolutely perfect yaoi adaptation, Everything about it is flawless from casting to acting to filming to post production. It has no triggers or other issues, not even typical seme/uke concerns. It’s Japan so it could have gone very dark but it didn’t. If I had to pick the perfect rep for BL it would be Seven Days. (Here’s my pitch.)

Until We Meet Again (Thailand) - is a completely unique BL for Thailand in that is has an extremely strong story, fantastic cast, high production values, and three super solid pairs with excellent chemistry. The storytelling is so good it justifies every second of all 17 hours. It is as close to narrative gold as a BL series gets and I am still stunned.

Color Rush (Korea) - with this one it’s because it has such a clean magical realism concept combined with Korea’s signature pristine bright brevity and using very stylized yaoi filming techniques. But at root it’s a gorgeous piece of queer allegory that I’m not sure I will ever get over, so I wrote a full analysis of it.

We Best Love 1 & 2 (Taiwan) - it’s a fantastic example of the Taiwanese style of BL and while it has more flaws in pace, story, and character development than the others on this list, I forgive it every single one of them because there is no better chemistry than Sam & Yu, and it covers both school and workplace BL, and multiple tropes and archetypes, with very little screen time and manages to be ABSOLUTELY RIVETING. It is somehow this perfect tiny ode to the full scope of BL heritage in a way that only Taiwan could ever do.

2. that bl that scarred you for life?

HIStory 3: Make Our Days Count. Is it actually possible to give a different answer?

Well maybe if I saw like Boys Love first or didn’t know anything about Japanese or Chinese BL. But yeah. THE BETRAYAL. I’ve never trusted Taiwan since. It makes me doubly grateful for something like We Best Love.

3. is there any bl that made you feel very single?

Nope. Not something I EVER suffer from.

4. if you could change one thing from a bl, which one would it be?

Only one? Fine.

5. that one bl you detest (don’t hold back)

Oh sure. Here have 4 picks again, one from each country.

No Regret (Korea) - suicide

A Round Trip to Love (China) - every trigger there is

Grey Rainbow (Thailand) - death

Sei no Gekiyaku (Japan) - murder

Before you ask, yes these are 1 stars and I have 17 of the suckers. Remember I’ve watched over 200 BLs, including the early ones and they really loved rape, murder, and suicide in the before times, which I DO NOT.

6. your top five:

Oops, I already named a top 4. So how about my top 4 that come next?

Cherry Magic (Japan)

Lovely Writer (Thailand)

To My Star (Korea)

HIStory 2: Crossing the Line (Taiwan)

7. that trashy bl that you lowkey like?

Make it Right, nash.

8. your favorite korean bl (it’s important we know)

Color Rush and To My Star for entirely different reasons.

9. season 2? which one?

LOVESICK. I would not be into BL if it had only had that first season. CAN YOU IMAGINE? I quake just thinking about it.

Best execution of a season 2? We Best Love.

Season 2 I enjoyed more than season 1? Puppy Honey

Season 2 of my dreams? Addicted Heroin

Season 2 I am looking forward to? My Engineer I guess, I’m kind bored waiting at this point.

10. a bunch of dramas will air soon. which ones are you most excited for?

Between Us - WHY AM I STILL WAITING?

Bad Buddy - of course

Enchanté - old fashioned secret identity trope

KinnPorsche - mafia

Cutie Pie - arranged marriage

Golden Blood - bodyguard romance

11. tag them!

Please anyone play who wants to.

#bl tag game #asian bl #taiwanese bl #korean bl #thai bl #thaibl #japanese bl #seven days #we best love #Until We Meet Again #color rush #to my star #cherrymagic #cherry magic #lovely writer #History 2: Crossing the Line

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steve0discusses · 4 years ago

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Yugioh Season Zero: The Yo-Yo Crimes of Jounouchi Pt 1

It’s been a while since I visited the many times Yugi should have gone to jail, AKA season Zero, and I’m excited to visit it again.

If you just got here, this is Season Zero, which is very different vibe and a different direction plotwise than the other seasons and you can read the season zero recaps from the start in chrono order here: https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yuugi%20muto/chrono

So be warned, this is a 90′s anime, and it will do 90′s anime things, and I expect y’all reading this aren’t like 12.

Like I said in an earlier post, I wrote this out fully when I was going through the symptoms from my second dose--which PS, is worth it--but those symptoms knocked me out for 10 days. I was kind of a space cadet, and yo, I made some mistakes. Including writing this post out in full and then not clicking “save” on this post and then not realizing I had done that until several days later.

So long story short, I don’t remember what I originally wrote here, but lets all assume it was weird, and didn’t make sense and wasn’t funny. We’ll just assume this was for the best that it was deleted forever.

So this episode is about 2 things: Yo-yos and Jounouchi. Both get used as a tool for violence, and both need to get just a little bit cursed by Yugi to scale it the hell back. So, understandably, we start off this episode with Jounouchi, who has eagerly identified with this off brand yo-yo he apparently got out of a dumpster for being just a huge ass defect.

(more Yo-Yo crimes under the cut)

I see you dodging copyright infringement, Yugioh. Eireboy.

Also whenever I read “Eireboy” I do it in my mind in the same pacing and vocal tones that Pegasus uses to say “Kaiba boy.” Something about it’s conjunction to Yugioh, I see anything with “boy” at the end of it, and it’s voiced by a weird guy with one eye.

So I wrote these caps under the influence of my second dose, just assuming y’all understand the life I lived, but I realized writing this episode...traveling bands of yo-yo performers that go to your school and shill yo-yos with yo-yo shows in the hopes that it will get you so obsessed with yo-yos that you will not join a gang and do drugs and have sex may be just an American thing.

So when I saw a yo-yo episode I was like “Tight! Clearly, the yo-yo clowns have come to town!” and I assumed everyone in this class would be draped in yo-yos, because I just assumed that at some point at School you will get MAD OBSESSED with yo-yos for about 2 weeks.

But in this episode, everyone was like “Jounouchi, why are you playing with a random yo-yo?” and it didn’t occur to me until typing this out just now: only Jounouchi is doing this. He did this unprompted, without the encouragement of a bunch of middle aged performers doing tricks to techno music.

So instead, I have to think of Jounouchi as Ralphie in this scenario, and he just got a official Red Ryder, carbine action, 200-shot, range model air rifle, with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time for Christmas, but he’s gonna shoot his eye out.

Because yo-yos in this episode are basically guns.

...Kind of like a duel deck was also just a gun...

...or the wands in Harry Potter...

...which honestly...I’ve probably said this before but where I’m from, we just use straight up guns in these elaborate analogies because we freakin have to make the point crystal clear. The moment Ralphie finally got his hands on a bb-gun, he very nearly shot his eye out and broke his glasses. And that scene will haunt me until my dying day...

...but fine, we can use yo-yos, I guess it works, although to me, yo-yo’s are just teachers hoping you’ll become such a dork that no gang will accept you (and then in this universe, it does the opposite? So freakin weird).

The beginning of this episode is Jounouchi trying do his best to impress with his skills, but in actuality, getting very close to clubbing Anzu with a yo-yo. And, while Anzu is the strongest person in Yugioh in the later seasons, I feel like Season Zero Anzu is another level. It’s a serious tempt of fate that Jounouchi is doing, so Honda wisely cuts him off from doing any more of that so she won’t end up strangling yet another person in broad daylight in the middle of school.

Remember your yo-yo safety, children.

Straight up, Honda’s version of yo-yo safety is to just Never Use a Yo-Yo and that’s the most gun safety thing ever that they’ve slipped into this Yugioh Episode. I almost expected Yuugi to pull a “well, actually, I use a hunting yo-yo to get enough venison to feed my family.” But youknow, he lives in a city, so while Yugioh is pretty weird and Yuugi has to worry about a lot of things--he doesn’t have to worry about that.

This is actually foreshadowing, which I only realized in hind sight, mostly because I just can’t associate a Yo-yo with crime. Joey knowing how to use a yo-yo was foreshadowing that he was absolutely part of this gang in a past life.

Yeah that one went completely over my head the first time and the second time and it really wasn’t until just now that I finally caught it. Hoo boy, sometimes I wonder why y’all let me analyze this show.

Jounouchi decides to confront the yo-yo bandits and everyone else is like “Silly Jounouchi, he’s not gonna do that. That would be stupid.” And...in S0, they don’t know him well enough yet to know that he really is that much of a well meaning dumbass.

I think a S1-5 Yugi would have been sprinting out the door to keep Joey from killing himself (again), but Season Zero Yuugi had hope that Jounouchi would just naturally tucker out and fall asleep or something.

And he was so wrong.

Anzu’s “New Tricks” line was from the dub itself and man that’s a good line. I love Anzu’s sass in Zero.

So, Honda decides to help them find Jounouchi so all of them together could give Jounouchi an intervention for skipping school. This is the same Honda that once skipped school to babysit a tomagachi and said it was because of “Maternity leave,” but don’t worry about the hypocrisy, because from this episode we learned that Jounouchi needs a very short leash.

So this episode is a great Jounouchi episode to explain stuff that still hasn’t been explained in 5 seasons of Yugioh. In S1-5, we don’t get much about his home life other than his Mom left and his Sister lives far away and is like sickly as hell. We know nothing else. But this is the episode where we finally get to find out why Yuugi and his Grandfather decided to basically adopt him from S1 onward.

Yugioh is tackling some pretty heavy territory, but I respect the show for not trying to magically change Jounouchi’s parents like they did to Dartz. Instead, the crew decide to reach out and try to find their friend who clearly didn’t go home last night (and won’t be going back for a while), by checking every alleyway in Domino.

Fun fact Yuugi drops this episode, Domino is one of the biggest cities on Earth. This makes the Battle City Tournament even more crazy when you realize Kaiba shut down several blocks but, it also makes a tiny bit more sense how we have so many Millennium items in one place. (Yet...it still doesn’t explain Bakura and Joey’s accent.) And, I guess if your city is just extra large, you get an extra large warehouse district, too.

Speaking of, they eventually find Jounouchi at his new (but also old) crime antics mugging some random stranger next to this Game store that I just realized was cropped so it looks like it says “GANG.”

Say hello to our crime clown. He’s sort of like a discount joker, and that beanie is...man it is green.

I forget this green exists sometimes, but Season Zero has it as one of their prime colors. Good ol’ Retro Kaiba green.

I’m a little tempted to swatch Season Zero a bit and figure out their full color scheme--it’s really saturated, which is interesting when you compare it to the later seasons which are a lot more muted since...the 00′s were like that, they greyed a lot of colors out. But I’ll do it later if I do, maybe another post for another day.

Jounouchi and Honda, before they moved to the school with Yuugi in it, used to go to the same school and up until now I just assumed they were close friends. But apparently they were a lot more distant than that. I’m sure they met up several times as Jounouchi destroyed stuff and Honda came along in his volunteer janitor outfit to put the stuff the hell back, and maybe that’s how they got to know eachother better?

But basically, Jounouchi was the freakin worst, and Jounouchi’s best friend was Hirotani--this 45 year old 15 year old with the blue pony and turquoise fade--and Honda has SO MUCH hot goss to say about it.

I really get the gist that Honda may not have liked anyone else at his old school, like at all. Like maybe Honda likes cleaning up trash so much because his school was just trash top to bottom.

As is tradition, Yuugi got his tar beat in by Hirotani. Another concussion to add to his list of issues to tell his future therapist that lives in that puzzle he wears around his neck.

I still expect him to do a double cross, but it seems they wanted to keep it a relatable and more realistic fall-out, where Jounouchi has just bounced on them without even a goodbye. He and his Dad had a bad fight, and Jounouchi was like “well so long to all of this and everyone that has anything to do with it.”

In later seasons, Joey is the one trying to save other people. He’s saving his Sister, he’s saving Mai, he’s saving Yugi, but in this season Jounouchi’s friends had to save Jounouchi from himself a few times now.

I like this depth to his character, I’ll be honest. I can understand why S1-5 don’t touch on it, and I don’t think it’s because they didn’t want to have an abusive Dad storyline, because they did that several times over with Seto Kaiba (man the Dad situation in Yugioh is DIRE.) Instead they probably just felt like Season Zero already did it, so why do it again?

It’s just a shame that it wasn’t talked about in the other seasons. Joey makes a lot more sense to me now because we get to see why Jounouchi is so hard set on saving people. S4 Mai Valentine, who ditched everyone and joined a gang? That’s basically a Joey move, and that was why Joey Wheeler was all over that.

Really would have added a lot to that particular arc if the show...actually talked about Joey’s history at all rather than assume I would have watched something that was never released in the States. Instead...it just looked a lot like he had only romantic motivations, which may not have been what they were going for.

Speaking of romantic, check out this sunset. Like the sun is exploding for some reason--just a wild sunset you only see for a still frame before a commercial break.

As Joey, youknow, takes on an entire rival gang single-handedly.

Hey guys, I lived near a pretty big city most of my life and I have been on a roof...once. Just the one time when I was doing an internship in SF with a painter and we needed to take a reference photo of his painting for a gallery (and it was hella sketch, and we weren’t exactly allowed up there). Who are all these people giving teens Roof Access? It’s so hard to get! Even if you live in an apartment of a tall building, I can count on zero of my fingers the amount of times I was allowed on that roof. But TV shows and movies--they freakin love roof gardens and roof hangouts and roof fights.

Am I missing out?? How did y’all get on the ROOF? I know I’m on S5 of Yugioh now and I have seen a lot of roof stuff, but like...is this normal for everyone else? I know there’s schools that have roof sport--that’s common in the city everywhere--but that’s like...specialized roofs with 30 ft chainlink fencing and really good supports to your body doesn’t fall straight through it when you jump too much. The hell is using their normal ass roof?

This gang should have their legs swinging halfway into the floor below them, is all I’m saying, if my roof couldn’t handle our solar heating, then a normal ass roof cannot support a gang fight.

But it does look really, really cool.

Anyway, Anzu does some offscreen snooping and finds out where the crime hangs out, and suggests that we step right into crime zone and just yank Jounouchi out of there. Which is something you would only do and say if you were Anzu and cannot fear death.

If it were Jay’s it would be with an ‘s. That’s how you do a plural Jay. But it’s the 90′s, so we put a “z” on the end of everything that should have been an “s” and that’s how you get the...

I mean, thank you, dubbers, for not saying “Jizz” but for reals...that be Jizz.

Please don’t flag me, Tumblr. (which, PS, I think they turned off the flagbot, Tumblr hasn’t flagged me in forever and I’m so thankful. Mods are asleep, we can talk about anime again)

So even though Honda decided that he was fed up with Jounouchi and didn’t want to save his ass, he decided to give it another go but complete with some new sash. He also did this without telling any of the others, who just kinda spectated him for a little while.

Honestly, if they weren’t laughing at him, I wouldn’t have known that this sash was any weirder than any of his other sashes. I don’t know really know what a school uniform should look like. It’s a shame, I feel like this series has a lot of jokes and puns probably soaring right over my head.

A little bit embarrased he was caught being vulnerable, Honda decides to give us a little more context to why he ever decided to give Jounouchi the time of day in the first place.

They had PE class once, and Honda apparently loves the hell out of PE. Jounouchi ran really fast in a straight line that one time, and that is why he’s trustworthy friend material. He just needs to stop joining gangs, and he’ll be solid.

I have no idea if the fandub put that in there or if that was native to the show, but Miho legit stans Honda/Jounouchi and acts as if she’s off to write some fanfiction about it. Honestly if she did, it would make her so much more interesting of a character.

And so, until next time, we shall have to wait and see exactly what Yami Yuugi is going to do with a freakin Yo-yo and I’m sure it’s all sorts of real effed up. Excited to get there, honestly. A shame it had to happen on the part that isn’t dubbed yet, but I’ve done these subbed before, it’ll be fine!

#Season Zero #Yuugi Muto #Jounouchi #Honda #Anzu #yo-yo #Jounouchi joins a gang #Gotta go save Jounouchi's ass I guess #Miho #she was here too I guess #Just a great Jounouchi episode for the Jounouchi stans out there

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myriadimagines · 5 years ago

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Lost Time

The Umbrella Academy One Shot

Pairing: Reader x Number Five

Other Characters: —

Warnings: mentions of death

Summary: Five and his twin sister, y/n, catch up with one another for the first time in 16 years.

Word Count: 1,252

A/N: i don’t really feel like explaining why i wanted to write this but i need to get thoughts down and five fit best with the concept i had in mind so :) this is set in season 1 so no worries about potential spoilers. i’m sorry for not keeping the reader gender neutral (i was basically inserting myself into this akshdas) also idk why i chose to do this in third person instead of second like i normally do but here we are. i was going to make this longer but decided to quit while i was ahead.

please reblog/leave comments, they’re very much appreciated!

A coffee break seems trivial in the wake of the apocalypse, but Five sits in the small diner nonetheless, nursing an empty, coffee stained mug. He taps his shoe against the tile, impatient as always, knowing that every second wasted is precious.

He looks up as the door chimes, sees y/n wrapped in a dark coat. She doesn’t need to look around the room to know which booth to sit at, making her way to the corner where she and Five used to sit as kids, sneaking out the Hargreeves mansion late at night for donuts and other sugary midnight treats they could get their hands on.

“You’re late.” Five deadpans as she sits down. It’s meant to be a jab, but she brushes it off with the air of someone who’s had to deal with such remarks all her life. She knows better than anyone that having to grow up with seven other siblings practically makes you immune to petty teasing and sarcasm. She shrugs off her coat, hands smoothing over a blouse underneath. She’s well dressed, Five notes, although he wouldn’t expect anything else from his twin.

y/n Hargreeves, Five quickly realised soon after arriving into 2019, grew up to be a sophisticated woman, with a mind as sharp as his. With the styled dark hair and the piercing eyes, the resemblance between the two of them is striking. Even still, with y/n in adulthood and Five trapped as a teenager, one can’t deny the similarities.

“Good to see you too, Five,” y/n finally says, waving down a passing waitress as she rolls up the sleeves of her top. She smiles at the waitress, curtly nodding, “Some coffee, please.”

y/n slides her mug over to the waitress, who fills up the cup. Before she can depart, Five holds out his cup, and the waitress pauses before hesitantly filling it up. Tapping his finger against the table, Five remarks, “Leave the pot.”

She blinks at him in surprise. “I—”

Five raises an eyebrow at her, expression stoic, and she hurriedly sets the coffee down, scuttling off. He takes it, filling his cup up to the brim. The novelty of coffee has yet to wear off for him, but he hopes it never does. After 60 years of being alone in an apocalyptic wasteland, coffee is one of the many pleasures that Five has come to appreciate. He gulps it down, frowning at the watery taste — far too weak for his liking. Rolling back his shoulders, he meets his twin’s gaze as he asks, “So, care to enlighten me about why we’re here?”

y/n smiles, slowly taking a sip of her own coffee. She knows her leisurely pace gets on her brother’s nerves. He was always so antsy as a child, rushing off and leaving her in the dust. She smacks her lips together, letting out a hum of appreciation, “Good coffee, isn’t it?”

“Could be stronger.” Five impatiently remarks. Shaking his head, he leans forward as he continues, “We don’t have time for thi—”

“Do you ever think about how much lost time there is between us?” y/n interrupts, and Five’s eyebrows furrow. She leans back in the booth, the leather creaking underneath her as she wraps her fingers around her mug. She traces a finger alongside the handle of the mug, moving along the curve, before continuing, “Some days I try not to. But I find myself coming back to it day after day.”

Five doesn’t respond, because what can he say? He knows an apology means nothing, and what could he possibly apologize for? Sorry for getting stuck in the future, sorry for not being able to come back. He knows it’s futile, and so does y/n.

But from the look on her face, Five knows that doesn’t mean it hurts any less. So after a moment’s consideration, Five finally responds, “So talk to me about it. All the time lost, fill me in. That’s why you brought me here, isn’t it?”

He leans back, shooting her an expectant look. She studies his expression, eyes narrowed, before she takes a deep breath. “I was desolate when you went missing.”

Guilt rushes through Five’s body. He lowers his head, gaze dropping into his coffee. He can see his rippling reflection in the dark liquid, and he absently swirls the mug slightly. Suddenly, he can feel the weight of all the years him and y/n spent apart, violently ripped from one another’s lives to each face a world that they’ve never faced alone. As twins, the two were inseparable, no matter Reginald’s attempts to break that. And in the end, it wasn’t even Reginald who managed to tear them apart. No, Five managed that feat all by himself.

He curses his arrogance now, curses his boisterous self. The apocalypse aged him more than anything else, burdened him with wisdom and knowledge beyond his age. It all comes in handy now, but at what cost?

“It was painful, at first,” y/n continues. “But the years blurred together after a while.”

Whatever childhood y/n had was stolen from her the day Five went missing, although she reckons there wasn’t much childish innocence left to begin with. It wasn’t long before Ben’s death shattered her further, and she damned the Umbrella Academy within her own mind. A loveless home that had taken everything from her, a cold house that left her empty.

y/n didn’t know where life would take her, but she always thought one certainty she could rely on was her twin brother. Whatever would happen, he would have her back, until he didn’t. Once she left the academy, she tried living a normal life, tried at some semblance of being ordinary to cover up the childhood trauma. Went to college, got a job, dated around, even thought about starting a family. But with each milestone she hit, every goal that made her seem more normal, it served as a painful reminder of the years she had gone without her brother. A reminder of how old she was getting, and how she would never get to see Five get old with her. Even the few sparse sibling reunions she had with the others were too much to bear, because the family didn’t feel complete without the siblings they had lost.

“You know,” Five speaks up. He sucks in a sharp breath, as if the vulnerability is hurting him, but he admits, “I would reread your chapter in Vanya’s book, to the point where I’d memorise the words. But I felt like it was all I had of you left. You and everyone else.”

A sad smile appears on y/n’s face. She doesn’t say anything, before remarking, “I adore Vanya, really. But I’ve never hated anything more than I’ve hated the book.”

Five blinks in surprise at y/n’s statement, before he lets out a low chuckle. “Like I said, that book was all I had left of you guys. But honestly? I hated it, too.”

y/n laughs, snorting in a way that Five used to mock her for, but the bubbly sound of his sister’s laughter makes him feel nostalgic instead. She shakes her head, remarking, “I missed this.”

Five nods, a soft smile lighting up his face. A rarity, y/n knows, for him to genuinely smile without a hint of sarcasm or smugness. The seconds don’t feel wasted anymore, and Five replies, “I missed this, too.”

tag list: @egg2k16 / @cnco-babes / @floup-doodles / @batfam16 / @redbullchick / @fangirlsarah16 / @ofthedewthesunlight

#five hargreeves x reader #reader x five hargreeves #reader x number five #number five x reader #tua #tua imagine #number five #number five imagine #five hargreeves imagine #tua one shot #number five one shot #imagine #imagines #reader insert #one shot #oneshot #not really a fan of this the more i read it the more i hate it

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