#me who's been waiting since I started playing to pull her is like STFU I WANT THE SHORT QUEEN
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captivemuses · 2 months ago
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You can tell I'm desperate to have as many pulls saved as possible for Silver Wolf if I'm doing random parts of Simulated Universe that I never touch just to farm more jades.
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shojislady · 2 years ago
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2. PISSBABY TSUKISHIMA
"BYE MA!! LOVE YOU TOO! SEE YOU AFTER SCHOOL!" y/n screamed out as she shut the door behind her. today was the day that y/n started school at karasuno high. she wasn't nervous, not at all. y/n never had any trouble making friends. she was an outgoing person and was easy to get along with.
(lol imagine)
beginning her walk to school, she decided to text the group chat to see how everyone was doing. the gc was originally made by the twins and y/n for chaotic reasons, but sooner or later they actually used the group chat for important reasons like planning or just occasionally checking up on each other.
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'i miss them, but I'm gon beat them up when i see them. wanna act all tough cuz I'm 10 ½ hours away. just wait till i visit them.' y/n thought.
this is basically the format for each conversation that happens. y/n going into the group chat to check up on everyone to make sure they're okay, then the twins start ganging up on her until kyoya gets annoyed and tells them to stfu because he's trying to relax and he can't silence his phone. it was funny because when they got back to school, she would pretend like nothing ever happened and continued to flirt with kyoya.
"oh, there's the school!" she pointed out to literally no one. there were a bunch of students flooding in the gate. "gauh LEE.. that's a lot of damn people.”
she continued her slow pace to the school, not really caring about what time she got there, as long as she was before lunch. she was gonna be a bit late, either way, seeing as she had to go to the front office for her schedule.
"well, time to go beast mode." #alpha
. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .
"All right Ms. l/n, welcome to our class! go sit behind yamaguchi. Yamaguchi! raise ur hand!" the teacher yelled out. y/n had gotten to school on time, but joined the rest of the students during their third class, since the VP took her on a small tour of the school after giving her the schedule.
she scanned through the sea of students to see a timid-looking boy raising his hand. he was cute, and looked to be a few inches taller than her. he had freckles and a nice mop of green hair standing on top of his head. if his face was red, he'd be a human strawberry.
with her black and blonde faux locs swaying behind her, she went to sit in her newly designated seat behind the boy who was now known as yamaguchi. she pulled out a notebook and opened it to a blank page, which was deemed useless seeing that she had already learned what was being taught.
bored, she pulled out her headphones, opening spotify, she pulled up her chill playlist, she clicked shuffle play, smiled, and relaxed a bit seeing the first song that came up. it was ' Big Poppa - the notorious b.i.g'. it was one of her favorite songs to chill to.
. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .
"hey, it's time for science.!" was what y/n heard as she removed her headphones. it was yamaguchi, telling her that it's time for the next subject.
now that she had the slight chance to talk to him, she decided to say what had been on her mind for when she saw him.
"thanks. y'know, you're really cute by the way. you look like someone i'd accidentally bump into and you'd apologize and i'd say "no really its all my fault" then start talking to much cuz i got nervous. that's a compliment by the way."
'...huh?' yams was shocked yet confused. he wasn't used to out of the blue compliments like that, or really at all. especially not from girls, and a really attractive one at that. but aside from the initial shock, why the fuck was it so specific and detailed?
"oh! uhm- thank you! you're really pretty yourself!"
"thank you! and thanks for waking me up! wanna be friends?"
"oh, no problem. and sure!! "
'that was odd...' tadashi thought to himself as he turned to face front. "damn, that was quick, yamaguchi" his childhood friend, tsukishima, teased. "im surprised you didn't stutter ur ass off.”
tsukishima kei was a very tall individual. he had short, blonde hair and was more on the thinner, lanky side.
"oh piss off tsuki, ur just mad that i talked to the pretty new girl before you, loser." yams shot back.
(bozo😹👎🏽 take this L tsuki🤡 )
"whatever😒😒"
. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .
"hi yama! hi yama's friend! what are we doing now?" y/n asked. the bell had just rung, and y/n was too lazy to pull out her schedule.
"hi l/n! this is tsukishima! its lunchtime right now so we're heading to the cafeteria!!" he replied with a small smile on his face.
"BOOO!! the cafeteria sucks ass. that's why I always ate in the club room." y/n complained with a big ole thumbs down.
although she was pretty extroverted, she didn't like all the extra loud noise and nosy people. there are some hating ass hoes back at Ouran, but she couldn't give less of a fuck. all they ever did was talk shit because they were jealous of her relationship with the hosts, but she knew it was part of the deal when she became friends with them.
"wah wah, cry me a river. either sit with us or not, jeez." blabbered smart-ass tsuki.
"actually, you're in luck! we and a few others are all going to meet and eat lunch in the gym to go over some stuff for our club, you can join if you want!" yams offered.
she happily accepted the offer and continued to walk along with them to the cafeteria, then to the gym where they would eat. they stopped by the vending machine for y/n, because her thirsty ass drank all her water before lunch, now craving a nice refreshing beverage to wash down the curry she's about to fuck up.
after a few more short minutes of walking, they had finally reached the gym and heard arguing coming from the inside, not knowing that the moment she steps into that gym, she'd be going on a wild trip.
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taglist: open and empty
guys.. dont be mad at me ik i missed my deadline☹️☹️
but im thinkin..
should i still write the beach episode for ouran? i have a few ideas for it but idk..
LEMME GO UPDATE THE OTHER BOOK
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dancingazaleas · 4 years ago
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ymir & historia reiss | addition
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i literally never stfu abt them so why not write abt them
THIS IS A POLY ONESHOT!!! i love them but it’s hard to imagine them with someone else (romantically) so why not both! this post is so long and kind of cringy i’m so sorry besties 😞
warnings/notes: cursing, angst to comfort/fluff, modern au!, college au!, reader, historia, and ymir are 19-20.
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you groan and slam your head against your desk, ymir just laughs at you, sitting to your right. the two of you were in your geography class and you felt like your brain was melting.
“it really isn’t that hard,” ymir nudges your ribs with her elbow.
“easy for you to say. you’ve been around the world, i’ve barely left trost,” ymir rolls her eyes as you whine into your arms, “you’re also literally majoring in paleontology. you’ve been into it since you were a kid, like a nerd.”
“i might just punch you for that,” she threatens, “historia was pretty good in geography back in highschool. maybe she can tutor you?”
when ymir said historia’s name, it felt as if you were getting whiplash from how you felt giddy and then felt slightly bitter.
historia has been your best friend ever since the two of you were 17 and met at a bed, bath, and beyond store. she goes to community college, her dad forbade her from university and she only agreed if it she could go. when you gushed about the university you’re currently going to, she immediately started listening and asking what classes you were in.
that’s how she found out you have geography with her girlfriend, and your other best friend, ymir. she started squealing and decided to introduce the two of you.
you both tried to intimidate one another when you first met a year ago, but once historia said something about farting from anxiousness you both bursted into laughter.
that’s how you integrated into their lives. you hang out with the both of them almost everyday, you talk to them everyday, you eat lunch together every thursday, and you three even go see new movies together on saturdays.
within the first four months of befriending the both of them, you felt like as if you were ruining the their alone time. multiple times you had come to hang out with ymir and/or historia only to find out that they were having a date night. even if they invited you to join after, you still felt guilty.
you also felt guilty for feeling jealous and sad whenever they both would show affection for each other. you didn’t know what you were/are jealous of and you don’t know what would make you sad about them being happy.
but you realized what exactly was making you feel that way when ymir and historia started pestering you about your love life. specifically, about a girl named hitch that they think you’d like. and ymir asked you if you’d ever even been in love before. after a few minutes of contemplating, you told her yes.
you love them both. you wanted to be with the both of them.
but you never could be. they don’t love you in the same way as each other. they don’t want to kiss you, hold you, and sleep with you.
and you know that.
“hey doofus, class ended. you comin’?,” ymir’s voice shook you out of your trance.
you look at her and nod, shoveling your stuff into the tote bag you use as your backpack. the two of you are going to meet historia for lunch, you both don’t have classes after 12. thank god.
it’s raining when you two step outside and ymir’s rambling about what restaurant the three of you should go to for lunch as you both walk to her car. you tell her you’re okay with anything as the two of you get in the car, which makes her whip her head towards you and pause after you’ve closed the doors.
“alright, what’s wrong with you,” she asks abruptly.
“what? why are you asking?”
“you’ve been so spacey and quiet lately, you’re hooking up with people, and now you’re okay with eating whatever? you’re a little picky about your food. and you usually never shut up. something is up,” she’s started the car and is no driving out of the parking lot.
“it’s just classes and work. i’m fine. i don’t wanna talk about it,” you shrug and look out the window. you don’t want to look at ymir.
“you’re lying,” she scoffs and shakes her head, “liar.”
you just ignore her and keep staring outside the window.
the rest of the car ride is silent excluding the tame impala song ymir’s playing on the radio. you almost jump for joy whenever the restaurant that historia and ymir must’ve decided on is in view. historia’s standing is sitting on a bench outside of the restaurant, holding an umbrella over her head and a smile shows up on her face when she sees the two of you pulling up. she’s stands up and waits for ymir to park and for you both to get out of the car. it makes your heart flutter a bit. she’s gorgeous.
you almost lunge out of the car whenever the door’s are unlocked, catching the attention from them both. you start fast walking towards the doors of the restaurant, but historia is blocking your path with her arms out wide to give you a hug.
you don’t want to hug her. you don’t want to burst into tears from the hug alone. she’s closing in on you, but you manage to swerve to the left and successfully dodge the hug. you scurry into the restaurant before she can get another chance to hug you. historia and ymir give each other a look of confusion and sadness.
after they exchange a peck on the lips, they follow you into the restaurant. when they get inside, they’re met with the view of you chatting excitedly and bashfully with the hostess, who’s name tag says nifa.
when nifa starts leading you to your table, you spare them a look that says to follow you. while nifa’s leading everyone, you’re both still laughing and blushing. historia and ymir give look at one another, feeling somewhat bitter at seeing this. you hadn’t even said anything to historia and you’ve barely talked to ymir all day.
the couple almost cry out a thank you whenever you’re all seated and nifa leaves.
you start looking at your menu aimlessly. you’ve been here before and you know what you want. but anything to avoid eye contact with ymir and historia, and it makes them sad.
“(name), did you know the hostess? seemed like you two were good friends,” you look up from the menu to see historia leaning towards you while smiling.
“no, i don’t know her. she said i looked familiar and we started talking about if we go to the same university. only to find out that i have a class with her,” you look embarrassed as you start to stare out of the window.
ymir hums in response and the waiter makes his appearance before historia can ask something else. you all decide to order your food at the same time of your drinks—it speeds up the process. when the waiter leaves, the table falls into an uncomfortable silence.
a couple minutes later, you’re scrolling through social media and taking a sip of your drink that was brought to you. you’re debating if you should text the groupchat you’re in with eren, mikasa, and armin. but before you can even make the decision, ymir and historia clap quietly, a signal that the food is here.
even when you’re all eating, the silence is unbearable. you feel like banging your head against a window. you opt to stare outside of it instead.
for some reason, this sets ymir off and she drops her silverware against the plate, the noise startling you and historia.
“alright,” she’s still chewing, “what the fuck is up with you? something’s obviously wrong, and you won’t tell us for whatever fucking reason. you’ve been so distant towards historia and i lately, you’re not even talking to us that much in person, you reject historia’s hug, and you seem so spacey lately!! you’ve also been rejecting our invites to hanging out when it isn’t thursday or saturday. you can’t just act like this and then expect us to not fucking notice the obvious changes. so what the fuck is wrong?”
you struggle to reply, “i’ve just been... stressed with school work and stuff. i’ve got a lot of stuff on my mind. how have i been distant?”
ymir slams her hand onto the table, and that’s when you realize that she’s actually pissed off. she’s pointing her finger at you as she starts raising her voice, attracting attention from other customers.
“you told me that you don’t have much work unless finals or what the fuck ever is coming up and finals end two fucking months ago! you fucking avoided hugging historia, and you’ve known her for years. but you’re so happy to chat with the fucking hostess, who met today. you’re acting like you don’t want to be our friend anymore, and if that’s the case then fucking tell us up front. it’ll save us some pain,” she spits and historia’s slapping her bicep and trying to get her to stop.
your throat feels clogged as your eyes start to tear up. you look petrified.
after a few seconds of you staring absentmindedly, you’re crying. fat tears rolling down your face and dripping onto the table as you bite on your bottom lip to avoid sobbing. you’re eyebrows are drawn upwards and you can’t stop sniffling.
you don’t want to lose them, but you don’t want to tell them. ‘this sucks,’ you think.
both historia and ymir are taken aback at your tears and feel the guilt crawling up their shoulders. you’re not easy to push to tears, it’s how you’re able to be around ymir. whatever’s upsetting you, it must be really stressful.
“(name),” historia speaks softly and puts her hand over your’s, “i’m sorry ymir made you cry. we’re just worried about you, but that doesn’t excuse the way ymir reacted. do you want to talk about it?”
you let out a broken sob as your shoulder shake, “take me home. take me home please.”
“wh—ow!!” ymir is slapped hard by historia.
“are you sure that’s what you want? you know you can tell us anything, right?”
you nod and let out a hiccup. historia frowns but chooses not to say anything and starts digging in her purse for her wallet. she pulls out a fifty and puts it onto the table, pushing ymir gently to get her outside of the booth. you’re getting out of the booth, scrubbing your wet eyes and trying to hide from nifa.
“i’m gonna drive you back to your apartment, okay? ymir, can you get their stuff out of your car,” she gently holds onto your arm while ymir begrudgingly obeys.
you get in the passenger seat of her car, covering your face as you start crying harder. historia’s standing at the front of her car, talking about something with ymir. whatever it is, it’s upsetting the both of them and you can’t help but feel like they’re arguing about you.
they seem to come to a conclusion, seeing as historia gives ymir a kiss on her lips. she’s getting in the driver’s seat, handing over your bag full of textbooks and laptop.
when historia starts the car, her car starts playing a tennis song that makes you smile. she switches it to soft lofi music to help you feel just a bit calmer.
the drive is mostly quiet besides your sobbing and crying. historia’s holding one of your hands in silent support.
she feels guilty and confused. had ymir really upset you that bad? what are you so upset about? is it because of us?
historia loves you dearly; both as a cherished friend and as a lover. it was the same for ymir, but historia had told her that you might defriend them if they confessed. they don’t even know your thoughts on polyamory.
they’d rather keep your friendship then possibly ruining it.
before historia can say a goodbye, you’re slamming the car door and jogging up towards your apartment.
‘this sucks,’ you think again and a loud sob rocks through your body. you’re unlocking the door with shaky hands. you go to swing the door open only for it to bounce back right into your face because the fucking deadlock is on.
you fall onto your ass, fumbling to get onto your feet. out of all the times mikasa, your roommate, wants to have her girlfriend, annie, over, why does it have to be now. you sob as you bang your fist against the front door, yelling for mikasa to let you inside. you’re probably going to get a noise complaint, but you don’t really care.
when there’s no sign of either or mikasa or annie coming to the door, you realize that they must be knocked out. both of them are heavy sleepers and mikasa’s room is furthest from the door, there’s no chance they’re going to wake up.
you slam the door shut and the urge to puke is strong. you’re going to have to go over to historia and ymir’s place. you start crying even harder, starting to tug onto some of the strands of your hair. you sit on the ground against the wall, knees pressed to your chest as your hands cover your eyes again.
this whole day has been shit, starting when you hung out with ymir and historia before your geography class. they were so affectionate with on another and all you could do is watch in want.
you hear the clacking of heels getting closer and you assume it’s historia.
“(name),” it’s historia, “c’mon. i’ll take you back to my house.”
you sniffle and silently get back up onto your feet. your jeans are damp from the rain and the feeling of it sticking to your legs has you cringing. scratch that—your whole body was damp from the rain.
you’ll take a hot shower later, when mikasa isn’t dead asleep along with her girlfriend.
you find out you’re wrong about your previous statement and in 15 minutes, you find yourself undressing in ymir and historia’s bathroom. they told you to get in the shower, shoving a big shirt and underwear you’ve left over at their house into your arms. you know that they’re clean, ymir is forced to do laundry every sunday.
you stand under the shower faucet, silently enjoying the piping hot water falling against your skin. you’re done in a matter of ten minutes, toweling your hair and then brushing it. you gather your wet clothes after you unlock the bathroom door and push it open.
steam rolls out of the room when the door opens and some of it trails behind you as you walk to find ymir. she’s sitting on the couch, munching on a KIND bar and watching the show victorious—it’s her guilty pleasure. she perks up when she sees you though, taking the clothes out of your arms and whisking away towards the washing machine.
you sit down on the couch, slouching lazily. ymir and historia flop down next to you on both sides, little huffs of air falling from their mouths. ymir’s got her arm resting on the couch cushion near your shoulders and historia’s throwing an arm around your waist and snuggling her cheek into your shoulder.
historia opens her mouth, here it comes, “what’s wrong?”
you sigh and throw your head back against ymir’s arm, who just hits her knee against your own.
“i...,” you sigh again, “i can’t tell you.”
ymir rolls her eyes as she lets out a huge huff through her nose. she’s irritated.
“why not? why can’t you tell us? we just wanna help,” her eyebrows furrow when she starts to speak and the hand that isn’t on the couch is motioning to herself and historia.
you start crying again, “you can’t help me with this. and i just can’t tell you.”
historia peeks up at you and her eyebrows are bunched up in concern and confusion.
“why can’t you tell us? please just give us an actual reason, and we’ll back off. all we want to do is help you, so just give us a way that we can. we love you so much, we don’t want to see you upset any longer,” historia’s starting to tear up too, bottom lip sticking out as evidence.
“you guys don’t love me in the same way that i love you,” you sob without thinking, and you reach up to cover your face with your hand. ymir traps it with her own, interlocking her fingers with your’s.
“did... could you repeat that,” historia hiccups, taking ahold of your other hand.
“i love you guys. but not in the same way you love me. i want to kiss you, hold you, and do all that sappy stuff couples do with you guys, but you don’t see me like that,” you look down towards your lap while historia and ymir share a look.
ymir’s lanky hands are grabbing ahold of your cheek’s, thumbs running across your cheekbones then your brow bones. she’s staring at you, a bashful blush on her freckled cheeks.
before you ask what she’s doing, she’s giving you one of the softest kisses you’ve ever had in your entire life. you’re closing your eyes and scrunching up your eyebrows, you don’t want this moment to end.
the two of you stop the kiss when you feel historia climb into your lap, sitting on your thighs. you face towards her, slightly dazed from the amazing kiss you’ve just had with ymir. you briefly wonder if this is what it feels like for historia each time.
historia kisses you too. it’s gentle and a little more persistent as if she were trying to show you that she loves you back. her fingers are tangled with your own, using it to her advantage and gently holding them to the couch cushion.
she pulls away after another second, a light pink spreading across her tear stained face. you’re still dazed, is this real? once you go over everything that’s just happened, you jump.
“oh my god, why’d you two just kiss me?!” you’re freaking out, you’ve just overstepped boundaries, right?!
ymir kisses your cheek and says it bluntly, “we love you too. we’ve wanted to make the relationship a poly for a while... we thought you’d hate us though.”
your jaw drops and you whip your head towards ymir, “HUH?”
“we love you,” historia giggles, she’s rubbing her cheek against your chest now.
“oh.. okay. are you sure?” you hum, a huge and dorky smile coming up on your face after they both nod.
“you look stupid,” ymir snorts, “now can we watch victorious and snuggle?”
“before we do that, why did you try hooking me up with hitch,” you ask with a slight scowl.
“we thought it might help us get over you, but it didn’t work for a lot of reasons. you and hitch are good as friends, but not romance; at least that’s what you told us. and if anything, it just made us jealous and sad,” historia explains, tracing patterns with her finger into your stomach.
“that makes sense, i’m ready to watch victorious,” you pause, “wait, when are you taking me home?” ymir and historia stare at you blankly.
“you’re not going home.”
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creampuffqueen · 4 years ago
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Just Like This | Chapter Two
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a/n: Hey friends! It's been a hot second, but here's chapter two! This chapter is about a high school football game, but written by someone who has never attended a high school football game as a student (I was always performing haha) I also have no idea how football works and yet wrote Rayla explaining it to Callum! So please forgive any inaccuracies lol. Anyway, hope you enjoy!
Word count: 3846
Warnings: Dirty jokes/innuendos, language
Read on Ao3
~~~~
Friday, October 5th, 2020
Callum’s house, 6:02 PM
HONK HONK HONK!
Rayla leaned on the horn of her car with a snicker, face splitting into a wide grin when the front door of Callum’s house opened. He was still putting his jacket on, and his mother followed him out, fussing.
“Have fun!” Sarai called as Callum clambered into the passenger seat, face red.
“Bye Mrs. Prince!” Rayla shouted back, waving goodbye as she put the vehicle in drive. Callum just groaned, putting his face in his hands and shaking his head.
“God, my mom’s embarrassing.”
“No, it’s sweet,” Rayla assured, “At least you know she cares.”
Callum quirked an eyebrow, but didn’t press at the statement hidden in those words. Instead, he turned his gaze out the window. “This isn’t the way to school, Rayla.”
“Duh, I’m not stupid,” She snarked back, “We have to go pick up Andie and Callisto. I just didn’t tell your mom, because technically I’m only supposed to drive with one other person, but I don’t really care about that rule.”
“Fair enough.” Callum opened up the glovebox, rifling through all the trash to find the CDs stored beneath. Her car was old enough that the radio still used CDs rather than just connecting to a phone. He found one that seemed good, and put it in the player.
At the next red light. Rayla took her eyes off the road to glare at Callum with full force as Taylor Swift’s voice filled her little car. “Where did you even find that?”
Her best friend gave a knowing smirk. “It was actually at the top of the pile. Which is weird, since you supposedly hate Taylor Swift.”
The light turned green, and Rayla was forced to look away, though her ears still burned. “I never said I hated all her music. Just the new stuff.”
“Oh, so you’re a country Taylor fan?”
“If you don’t shut up and change the music before Andromeda gets in this car I swear to god I will throw you onto the concrete.”
Callum responded by nonchalantly tossing his legs onto the dashboard. “What, like we don’t all already know you’re not as badass as you pretend to be? You’ve got a reputation to hold with us?”
“I hate you.”
He dragged a hand through his fluffy brown hair, leaning further back in the seat. “No, you love me.”
Rayla gave him her middle finger, even as her face seemed to suddenly catch fire. If only you knew.
Thankfully, she pulled up outside of Andromeda’s house just in time. The other girl could diffuse some of the sudden tension, and maybe in a few minutes Rayla could look back at Callum without her head going all fuzzy.
“Hellooooo fellow sexy people!” Andromeda crooned as she plopped into the backseat, “How are we all feeling this fine evening?”
Glancing behind him, Callum’s eyes widened at the other girl’s outfit. She was completely decked out in the colors of Katolis High School, red and gold covering her entire body.
“I thought you were just wearing that getup for the first game?”
Andromeda shrugged. “Why not for every game? It’s fun.” She tugged at the red and gold jersey emblazoned with the number eight, then twirled her silvery hair tied into two pigtails with red ribbon.
“Let’s go get Callisto,” Rayla suggested, pulling out of her friend’s driveway.
“Perfect,” Andromeda replied.
As they drove, Rayla continued to speak, “Ground rules: you and Callisto keep your hands to yourselves in my car. I don’t care what you do at the game, but I’m not having any bodily fluids on my nice seats. Am I clear?”
“You and Callum with your ground rules,” The other girl sighed, “But fine. You two clearly think way worse of us than we actually are, though.”
Rayla and Callum shared a grin between them. Andromeda and Callisto were great on their own, but ever since they’d begun dating freshmen year they’d starting getting all handsy. Rayla knew, because Andie shared everything with her, that they hadn’t gone all the way, not yet.
Key word: yet.
And god help her, they were not going to complete their yet in her backseat.
It wasn’t long before they pulled up to Callisto’s house finding them similarly decked out for the Friday night game.
“Well now I’m feeling underdressed,” Callum snorted, glancing at the couple behind him. True to their word, they were keeping a perfectly respectable distance, but everyone knew it wouldn’t last.
“You’re wearing red,” Callisto suggested awkwardly, gesturing to his read scarf. “Just not the right shade.”
“I’ve got extra ribbons for my hair, if you want some, Rayla,” Andromeda offered.
As they pulled into the stadium parking lot, the sun rapidly setting behind them, Rayla turned back to her friend with a grin. “Yes please. You’re so good at hair, Andie.”
The group piled out of the car, Callisto and Andromeda holding hands, as expected. Callum turned to her with a smile and offered his arm. Nudging his side affectionately, Rayla hooked it with her own, desperately trying to keep her face from reddening.
Soon enough they were inside the stadium, and Callum had let go of her arm to pull out his phone and ask where the rest of their friends were. Rayla’s phone buzzed, probably from the group chat, and she opened it up to find where Claudia, Ram, and Skor were sitting.
Claudia: We’re on the far right of the bleachers
Claudia: Kind of near where the band is sitting. We’ve got a really good view close to the top
Ram: Hurrrrry
Andromeda: stfu ram, we’re coming
Ram: If Callisto’s with you then you’ll certainly be coming ;)
Andromeda: I’m going to obliterate your tiny twig ass
Claudia: ANYWAY
Claudia: My friend Nyx from theater class is here, is it okay if she sits with us? Maybe not for the whole game bc she says her friends are coming but just for the start
Their small group began to make their way to the far side of the stadium, where Claudia said they were, while Andromeda still had her nose in her phone. Probably insulting Ram, if Rayla had to guess. The idea of another person staying with them bothered her, if she was honest. They already had their friend group; they didn’t need to add anyone else.
Callum: Yeah sure, it’s fine
With a slight sigh, Rayla followed her friends up the steps of the bleachers until Claudia came into view, standing up and waving. Callum bounded up the stairs, a wide grin on his face. When he reached her, Claudia gave him a quick hug, then released him to reach for Rayla.
“Everyone, this is Nyx!” After hugging everyone, Claudia turned towards her other friend to introduce her. Nyx was sitting casually on the metal seats, and she gave a cheerful wave.
“Hi Nyx,” Everyone seemed to chorus in unison, making the other girl chuckle slightly.
Soon everyone had settled onto the metal bleachers, waiting for the game to begin. Tonight they were going against Neolandia, a longtime rival. The other school had a bit of a reputation for playing dirty, and everyone had resolved to keep a sharp eye out during the game for any instance of foul play.
But every thought about the impending football game flew from Rayla’s head as Callum leaned against her side, his soft hair brushing right below her eyes.
“Aren’t you cold?” He asked, giving a pointed glance to her bare arms.
“I probably will be later,” She admitted, taking in her outfit. Jeans, Converse, and a red and gold t-shirt wouldn’t do much to shield her from the cold when the sun went down.
“Just tell me and I’ll share my jacket,” Callum promised with a good-natured laugh. Rayla’s eyes widened a bit. Was he serious?
She was jolted from her thoughts by a sudden tap on her shoulder. Andromeda sat behind her, several hair ties and various ribbons clutches in her hands.
“Braids or pigtails, Rayla?”
“Er…” Slightly unsure, she took one of the red ribbons from her friend’s hand and twisted it slightly in her own.
“Braids,” Callum finished the sentence for her, “Your hair looks good in braids.”
“It really does look good like that,” Andromeda hummed appreciatively, dragging Rayla to sit closer to her so she could brush her fingers through her silver hair.
With the motion of Andromeda rhythmically combing her hair, Rayla allowed herself to relax in the familiarity of her friends. All around her they talked idly, Claudia’s snort-laugh punctuating sentences, Callum’s voice cracking providing plenty of entertainment.
The buzzer rang to begin the game just as Andromeda tied off the second braid, flicking both of them over Rayla’s shoulders so she could see them better.
“Oh, they’re so pretty!” She leaned back to give Andromeda a hug. “Thanks, Andie.”
“GO SOREN!” Claudia screamed suddenly, causing Rayla to nearly topple backwards into Andromeda’s lap. Everyone around them flinched, and they got a couple dirty looks from the other spectators.
Claudia didn’t seem to care, though. She was standing, cheering ecstatically for the blob moving down below, who must have been Soren. At some point she’d acquired pom-poms. From where, Rayla had no clue.
Callum and Rayla shared a look, neither of them lasting very long before bursting out laughing. If Claudia noticed, she didn’t show it, and kept cheering in the stands for her older brother.
“Woohoo!” Andromeda pumped her fist, though she didn’t stand up and join the junior girl. Instead she scooted over on the metal seat to sit next to Callisto, nearly tossing herself in their lap. Her partner just rolled their eyes and wrapped an arm around Andromeda’s waist.
Claudia’s cheering eventually faded into the background, letting Rayla focus on the field. They were rapidly taking yard lines, but it was only the first quarter. Things could change. Though she sure hoped not; if they were going to lose a game to anyone it had better not be Neolandia.
Then, on the next play, someone tossed the ball high and far, and Rayla was on the edge of her seat, and it was getting closer and closer to the endzone-
“TOUCHDOWN!” Claudia roared, sweet demeanor evaporating in the spirit of the game. “WE GOT A TOUCHDOWN!”
“We got a what?” Callum glanced up from his sketchbook. Both Rayla and Claudia whipped around to glare at him, neither realizing he’d brought it out. In an unspoken agreement, Claudia distracted him with a piercing stare, giving Rayla just the opening she needed to snatch the book from his hands.
“Hey!” The other boy yelped, but it was too late, and Rayla was already sprinting down the steps of the bleachers, sketchbook in hand.
“You’ll get it back after you watch the game!” She shouted from below, sticking her tongue out to blow a raspberry.
“Oh, very mature Rayla!”
“Come watch the game!”
His pout was absolutely adorable, and Rayla flushed at the thought, waving the stolen sketchbook high in the air. “Come watch with me!”
Finally, he relented, though not without a fair amount of complaining and cursing as he traipsed down the bleachers to get to her side.
“You are an evil person.”
She giggled, tucking the book under an arm. “I’m the weirdly sexy villain on a kids’ TV show.”
Callum just sighed. “Not funny.”
“Excuse you!” Rayla shot back, giving a dramatic wail, “I am the funniest person in this entire school!”
He made a weak grab for his sketchbook, but Rayla simply danced out of the way. “Nuh uh, no sir. You are going to watch the game with me.”
“But I don’t even know how football works,” Callum complained, gesturing to the field. The timer was paused, and Katolis was ahead, though not by much. It was going to be a tight game.
“Then I’ll teach you. And you’ll have fun, and learn to enjoy football, and we can all be a big happy friend group and you won’t have your face buried in a sketchbook.”
“For the record, I like having my face buried in a sketchbook-”
“Nonsense!” Rayla exclaimed, “You’re going to have fun. Without this old thing.”
“Alright, alright,” Callum sighed, “I’ll put it away. Can I please have it back?”
Rayla finally relented with a triumphant grin. “Let’s go back up top; you can see way better. Plus we’re near the band so we get to hear their stand tunes up close and personal.”
They arrived back at their seats just as the timer started again, and Rayla began her intense rundown of the inner workings of football. Callum tried to pay attention, but she could tell everything was going right over his head. Finally, she just settled for, “Cheer whenever our side is cheering, and you’ll fit right in.”
In the time it took to explain the first quarter had nearly ended, with Neolandia pulling ahead. Claudia was doing an elaborate pompom routine to rival the cheerleaders down below, even involving Nyx for parts.
“Gimme an S! Gimme an O! Gimme a R-E-N! What does that spell!?”
“Soren!” Nyx finished, and Claudia waved her pompoms triumphantly. Rayla watched them both with slightly piqued interest, flicking her ribbon-braided hair back and forth over her shoulder.
“Rayla, Callum-” She was pulled from her thoughts by Skor’s booming voice as he walked near them. “First quarter is over, we’re going to get some snacks. Come with?”
“I’m starving!” Callum chuckled, “It’s definitely time to stuff my face with junk food.”
“There’s the football game spirit!” Rayla cheered, clapping her friend on the shoulder. “Let’s go consume sugar-rich foods in unhealthily excessive portion sizes!”
The small group left Nyx and Claudia to their pompoms, and Callisto and Andromeda to… whatever it was they were doing. Perhaps trying to fuse their faces together? Whatever it was, it was gross and making everyone want to leave for a minute.
Beneath the bleachers was crowded with students and parents alike. Callum linked one hand with her, offering the other to Ram, attempting to keep from losing their group in the crowd.
It was a struggle to keep her face neutral. All her thoughts suddenly surged away from her head, instead focusing on that single point of contact. Were her hands sweating? God, she hoped they weren’t. She hoped she wasn’t the only one feeling too many emotions to count.
In the line for the snack bar (or, what she hoped was the line, as it was too crowded to properly tell) Callum didn’t meet her eyes, but his grip was firm as he pointed out the menu. Ram and Skor stood nearby, having foregone holding Callum’s other hand. Rayla wasn’t sure if she was happy for it or not.
“If we pool our money we can get a hot dog for everybody,” Skor suggested, “And maybe some popcorn too.”
“Yeah,” Callum agreed, “Let’s get a few popcorns and we can all share in pairs. Like you two, Claudia and Nyx, me and Rayla, and then the two leeches.”
“If they ever come up for air,” Rayla snickered, and she was greeted with Callum’s resounding voice-cracky laugh, and he truly turned to meet her eyes.
“Wanna bet they’ll eat it out of each others’ mouths?”
Rayla pretended to gag, “They’d better not.”
“Oh! Wait! They’ll eat the hot dogs like in the spaghetti scene from Lady and the Tramp!” Ram snickered, and his suggestion was met with varying levels of disgust.
Finally, it was their turn to order. As they all gathered up their food Rayla could hear the buzzer on the field and more cheering from their side, so she hustled her friends back onto the bleachers.
Just in time, too. On the field, the ball flew into the endzone, and the entire Katolis side erupted into cheers. The band started playing a tune, and the cheerleaders began a mini routine.
“THAT’S MY BROTHER!” Claudia screamed over the roaring of the stadium, bouncing so hard Rayla wondered how she hadn’t simply flown away yet. Andromeda was standing on her seat to cheer, Callisto’s arm wrapped her around her waist to keep her steady.
“Gold! And red! We’ll knock ‘em dead!” On the edge of the field, the cheerleaders chanted carrying it throughout the stands. The band kicked into a higher gear, playing the school’s iconic fight song that had everyone clapping to the beat. Out on the field, Rayla could spot Soren’s blond head among the other players, pumping his fists in triumph.
“So I’m assuming we did something good?” Callum shouted over the din, wading through the throng of people to sit back down on their metal seats. One of his hands was still attached to hers, and Rayla had no intentions of letting go any time soon.
“Yes, dummy!” She giggled back, pointing to the scoreboard. They finally were able to reach their seats, and plopped back down while the cheers began to fade. Callum had been holding one of the bags of popcorn, and he placed it between them so they both could share. Ram and Skor passed out the rest of the food, and the group all relaxed once more.
When the game was finally up and running again, Nyx turned away from Claudia’s intense one-woman cheer session to face Rayla and Callum, plopping pieces of popcorn in her mouth. Her eyes, one blue and one amber, honed in on Rayla in such a way that an embarrassed flush crept up her cheeks with little warning.
“You two look cozy,” She remarked with a smirk. Rayla’s face burned hotter, and she resisted the urge to scoot away. Callum blinked in surprise, glancing between Rayla and Nyx.
“Callum’s my best friend,” Rayla replied, though it sounded lame, even to her. “We’ve always been close.”
The other girl just smiled broader. “It’s so cute. At least you guys are way more subtle than those two over there.” She gave a pointed glance behind them, and Rayla didn’t even have to turn to know that Andromeda and Callisto were making out. Again.
“Oh, uh, we’re- we’re not dating…” Callum said awkwardly.
“You’re not?” Nyx blinked up in mock surprise. “I mean, you’re sharing a popcorn, she’s practically in your lap-”
“I am not!” Indignantly, Rayla shot a glare at the other girl.
Nyx just rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say, lovebugs.” Reaching for more popcorn, she turned back around in her seat to chat with Claudia some more.
“Well, she’s something,” Callum muttered under his breath, “Going out and assuming things.” He met Rayla’s eyes, then looked away just as quickly, like he hadn’t meant to be heard. “I mean, us dating?”
Rayla’s whole face was on fire. Scratch that, her whole body was on fire. Was she having a panic attack? Is this what a panic attack felt like?
“Crazy, huh?” The words came out of her mouth before she could stop them. The two teenagers shared an awkward laugh that did nothing to lessen the tension, then went back to eating their popcorn.
Rayla didn’t have much of an appetite anymore.
The rest of the game was a blur she hardly remembered, points and scores blending from one to the next. On the outside she was smiling, laughing, cheering. On the inside she was empty.
Before long the last buzzer had rung, and Katolis had won the game by the skin of their teeth. The band played their final tune, and everyone began to vacate the stands.
With the crowd that had come to the game, it took a while to make it back to Rayla’s car. They said their goodbyes to their friends while they walked their separate ways, promising to see them again on Monday.
It was pretty late, nearly 10:30, so the chatter that had filled the car on the way in had lessened now. Andromeda and Callisto were even talking, rather than engaged in a lip-lock. In the passenger seat, Callum once again had his feet up on the dashboard, and was sketching by the light of the stadium floodlights as they waited their turn to leave the parking lot.
When they finally exited, the talking stilled even further. There was no sound in the car save for the radio, and the quiet scratching of pencil lead on paper.
Callisto was dropped off first, Andromeda not too long after. And then it was just Rayla and Callum, alone once again.
She pulled into his driveway and put the car in park, letting it idle while he gathered his things. He reached for the door handle, but something stopped him. He turned back to face her.
“Rayla, I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry?” She echoed, “For what?”
Callum scratched at the back of his neck. “For making things all awkward. You know I’m not good being put on the spot like that, but I just made things worse and I’m sorry.”
“You mean about Nyx?”
“Yeah.”
Rayla shrugged. “You’ve got nothing to be sorry for. It’s her who should be sorry, assuming and being an ass and all that.”
“Still.” Callum glanced down at his sketchbook, still open. After a moment’s hesitation, he reached down and tore out the page. Rayla only had enough time to furrow her eyebrows in confusion - Callum never tore out pages of his sketchbook - before the page was in her hands.
Oh.
It was a picture of her. She was smiling, and her hair was braided with ribbons. It was a picture of her just tonight.
“You’re my best friend, Rayla.” She glanced back up to see Callum’s earnest expression as he spoke. “I don’t wanna let something stupid come between us. Whatever Nyx said doesn’t matter, okay? We know what we are.”
“Yeah,” Rayla said, punctuating the sentence with a half-hearted laugh.
“Okay,” Callum chuckled, “Glad we’re on the same page. We communicate, you know?” His grin was real as he stepped out of the car.
“See you on Monday, Rayla.”
She waited for him to reach his front door, making sure he got inside safely, before she pulled away. She was so exhausted that she drove all the way home nearly in a daze (which would have been way more unsafe if she hadn’t just been driving through a neighborhood).
It wasn’t until she was back at home in her own driveway, car turned off, that everything truly hit.
If he hadn’t been clear before, he was crystal now. He may as well have outright said, ‘I just see you as a friend and I’ll never see you as anything else’. Maybe being so upfront would make things easier, and keep her from clinging to stupid, false hope.
Rayla refused to let herself cry. Don’t cry, not over him. He’s still your friend. Take what you can get.
So she got out of the car, went inside, and went to bed. And maybe she cried, just a little.
No, you love me, he’d said with that adorable little grin of his.
Okay, maybe more than just a little.
~~~~
a/n: AHHHHHH I feel bad for Rayla and I PUT HER THROUGH THIS PAIN. They never even got to share Callum's jacket because Nyx made things awkward :(
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i-love-side-characters · 4 years ago
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What did you think of the end of The Toll?
!!! TOLL SPOILERS !!! PROCEED WITH CAUTION !!!
Scythe Cult:  @honorablescythecurie @honorablescythefaraday @palli-x @book-limerence @lochscinders @a-lonely-tatertot @shellyseashell
bored? send me serotonin please <3
Okay now lets get a couple things out of the way. I haven’t read Toll in a little bit, and it’s taking forever to come from the library. Also, yes I did have it downloaded before, but I kept rereading Faraday’s journal entry when he find out Curie is dead. I know, I’m trash for them but honestly let me have this #curiedeservedbetter2021 #faradaydeservedbetter2021 #curadayforlife
Now that we’ve established that I’m just lonely and so I cling onto healthy (ish) fictional couples for my source of love, let’s proceed.
Things I remember:
 - Rowan and Citra go zoomy zoom into spacey space, but Citra’s deadish because Goddard pulled some shit and so Rowan’s going to wait a couple hundred years for her to wake up
 - Total hottie Ayn Rand shanked Goddard which is honestly a power move you go girl
 - Faraday and Munira unleashed the failsafe, which basically infected a whole bunch of people and now Scythes just kill the infected people so that there’s no suffering
 - Jeri!!! and Greyson!!! Babeys!!! Smol Beans!!! My genderfluid babey with my weird Jesus man it’s a match made by the Thunderhead (because it literally is)
 - Rowan and Citra (who renounced her Scythehood) are going to start a new colony on some random ass planet
Things I don’t remember:
 - Whatever happen with Cirrus
 - Whatever happen with Joel the Jobe Man
 - Whatever happen with Loriana and Munira who are totally in love Shusterman said Sapphic rights 
Okay Akki stfu lets move on:
Okay. I didn’t really like it. I did like Rowan’s sarcasm, but the ending fell a little flat. Compared to the other books’ endings, I didn’t really think it measured up. It was just a bit bland. Here’s why.
The end goal:
Let’s just work our way through the series to show why The Toll just didn’t really work for me.
Scythe - Book 1:
Goal/Climax:
The goal/climax of the book was clear. Citra and Rowan are fighting for the ring. Only one can get it, and the winner has to glean the other. 
The ending:
Citra wins the ring, and is ordained. Instead of actually killing (gleaning) Rowan, she slyly grants him immunity by punching him so that his blood’s DNA would transfer to the database and no Scythe could kill him.  We also got a confession scene where they tell each other they love the other. It ends with Rowan finding out that Faraday did not self-glean.
Why it works:
It is tense. We are watching the two main characters have to either kill the other or be killed. Neither want to. It is clear from their actions throughout that they harbour feelings for each other. This is a high stakes situation. And it flows nicely. We don’t have any unnecessary dialogue/scenes. We don’t have a dumb solution to the problem where a bunch of unnecessary events happen like a character death/romantic scene. They do tell the other that they love them, but the moment is quick and is not the focus of the moment. The focus is on the actual ordainment ceremony and the challenge. The solution directly addresses the main conflict of the book.
Thunderhead - Book 2:
Goal/Climax:
Goddard and Citra (now Anastasia) are presenting their arguments as to who will win the inquest. The inquest was called because Anastasia and Curie needed time to gain more votes in favour of Curie for the position of High Blade. 
The ending:
Anastasia and Curie win the inquest, and Goddard must complete a full new apprenticeship in order to train his new body. Goddard, however, has tricks up his sleeve. He had made a plan prior to the events on Endura to cripple the Grandslayers tower. The plan changes, but works to his favour and destroys the entire island. Curie, in a desperate attempt to save Rowan and Citra, locks them in an airtight chamber that will preserve them so they can be revived. With this sacrifice, Curie is forced to self glean.
“She thrust her blade inward, directly into her heart. She fell to the ground only seconds before the sea would wash over her, but she knew death would wash over her faster. And the blade hurt far less than she imagined it would, which made her smile. She was good. Very, very good.”
-Thunderhead, page 499
Why it works:
*violently screams in my head* I’m good don’t worry
It is a logical ending. If Curie and Anastasia had won the inquest and survived Endura, there would be no need for a third book, unless Shusterman had decided to write a book about Curie being High Blade and Goddard sulking in the shadows and plotting to kill her. That wouldn’t work because I don’t think there is any possible way Curie wouldn’t catch Goddard in two seconds because she’s a boss.
Many people say that Curie should have gotten Rowan to lock her and Anastasia in the vault instead of him. Rowan would have died for Anastasia, it makes sense, but that takes away from the very essence of Curie’s character. She is a truly Honourable Scythe. She knows that Anastasia loves him, and she cares deeply about Anastasia. Letting herself survive would have been completely out of character. She also knows that Anastasia is the future of the Scythedom. While it would be a great help if Curie didn’t die, as well as sparing us emotional trauma, it doesn’t make sense for her character.
This ending also directly “solved” the issue in the book. While the villain won, it was a satisfying ending. Curie is dead, that was a very smart move, because obviously Goddard wouldn’t survive two seconds if she was there. It gave us a good reason for the Thunderhead to disappear.
 *violently screams again* Curie died, yeah, no, I’m okay
The Toll - Book 3: *note that some details may be wrong
Goal/Climax:
Faraday, Rowan, Jeri, Munira, Loriana, Anastasia, Greyson, and Cirrus need to figure out what to with the frozen Tonists, all unknowing that Scythes Goddard and Rand are heading towards the island. They still need to beat him in order to make sure that the non-Scythe population won’t be subject to bias/malice/aforethought/Goddard’s ego. 
The ending:
Rowan, and Citra, who renounced her Scythehood, travel to another planet that can support life with the frozen Tonists, as well as 42 other ships carrying Tonists. Cirrus is copied into 42 different versions in order to save humanity. After being offered Citra’s old ring, Munira (I believe) returns to the Library of Alexandria. Faraday follows through with the failsafe and gleans only the suffering. Greyson and Jeri stay together on the island, and become romantically involved. Scythe Rand is the one who eventually kills Goddard.
Why it DOESN’T work:
Okay, there’s a lot to unpack here. I’m just going to go character by character and by the plot.
1. Plot - It just doesn’t make sense. The hero’s solution doesn’t in any way stop Goddard, who is the main villain. We’ve led up to this for a very long time, and Rand is the one who gleans him. If I’m correct, The main characters don’t interact with Goddard for nearly the entire book, save Rowan. The solution, to save humanity by colonizing other planets would, without Rand’s interference, let Goddard wreak his havoc on the world. Only Scythe Faraday and Morrison could truly challenge him, and even then Faraday is old and hasn’t kept his abilities refined, and Morrison is young and inexperienced and wears a denim robe.
2. Rand and Goddard’s Arcs - Rand is the one who kills Goddard. I think that this was a very interesting move, and one that made a lot of sense. Goddard has treated her terribly, it would satisfy her arc of turning against him, as well as giving her a redemption arc that would also avenge Tyger’s death. I think that this is actually a really good arc, were it not for the fact that Citra and Goddard never fought/interacted with each other. If there had been a fight, and Rand had killed him then, that would have been better and would have better satisfied the actual conflict in the book.
3. Rowan and Citra’s Arcs - In terms of Citra’s arc, I think it was emotionally impactful to have her renounce her Scythehood. But Rowan didn’t have as much of a part to play in this book as he could have had. Citra and Goddard also never interacted, which would have been very interesting since he was the direct cause of her mentor and canon mother figure’s death. It would have been an interesting scene that could have played out really well. Based on Discord texts from a conversation I had, I know an reminded that the last two pages of The Toll were incredibly impactful and beautiful. I don’t have much to say about Rowan since I don’t remember much of his role.
4. Jeri, Greyson, Loriana, and Munira’s Arcs - I paired these four together since their doings aren’t very solid after the books. Jeri and Greyson are canonically together, which I think was a great move by Shusterman. Having a main character in a healthy relationship with a canon LGBTQ+ character was incredibly impactful for me, and it satisfied Greyson’s thoughts about how he doesn’t care if Jeri is a boy or a girl, he just loves them. Loriana didn’t have as much of an arc, but Munira did have a small one. Her refusal of the Scythe’s ring let her dispense of her hatred for Scythes and their system, and let her let go of her bitter feelings about not being ordained. 
5. Cirrus’ Arc? - I do not remember enough to speak about Cirrus’ role in the books.
6. Faraday’s Arc - This is probably the one I have the most to say about. I am sorry in advance. Faraday is an emotional character. He has cried canonically twice as far as I can remember, once when he gleaned a child, and the other when he found out Scythe Curie and Anastasia had died on Endura. He is also openly disgusted with Scythe Goddard and his practices, which is why I supremely dislike his arc. It would have been so interesting to see how he would have reacted if Scythe Goddard and the heroes had interacted during the end scene of The Toll. We know he is an Honourable Scythe, like Curie, and upholds the Scythe Commandments, especially after his punishment over his breaking of the 9th commandment “Thou shalt have no spouse nor spawn.” It would have been so. interesting. to see whether Faraday would snap and attack Goddard, if he would try and talk to him, how he would react. Like with Anastasia, he would have been interacting with Curie’s murderer. The potential of that moment! Don’t forget that Faraday is definitely still in love with Curie, based on his elevated heart rate in Thunderhead, and his journal entry in The Toll. I think it would have been so interesting to see him confront her killer.
Summary:
Okay that was much longer than I intended, and I have more thoughts, but it’s 2:40 am and I haven’t slept in a while. So my summary. I liked The Toll. It was a solid book, that had funny moments, jaw dropping moments, heartfelt moments, and emotionally impactful scenes. It was a solid book.
I don’t think it compared as much to the other two, especially Thunderhead. The ending fell a little flat and didn’t carry the arcs as well as I would have liked, but honestly, I still reread it. Shusterman really managed to pull at your emotions.
Because I just beat up on the book for the last couple paragraphs, let me tell you some of my favourite parts of the book.
1. Literally any scene with Possuelo and Anastasia that dynamic was so good and him calling her “meu anjo” literally made my heart do a little happy dance the father-daughter dynamic was what we needed. It also offered a nice levity to tough scenes.
2. The Rowan-Anastasia Reunion. They ran towards each other and knocked each other off their feet. Ohhhh my god, they ran towards each other and knocked each other off their feet! That was so cute, and as someone who was a strong supporter of platonic Rowan & Anastasia, I honestly loved it.
3. Faraday-Anastasia Reunion. Him dropping to his knees in front her her, her initial confusion as to who he was, and the “perhaps the greatest of all Scythes was kneeling in front of her” part killed me. Their reunion was so well written and heart-wrenching.
4. Anastasia Cries about Curie’s Death. I feel like WatchMojo right now. Anyways, the way her emotions break after trying to repress her sadness over her mentor’s sacrifice for her.
5. Rowan’s sarcasm. Beauty. What a power move to sass the guy who’s going to set you on fire in front of 3000 people.
6. Scythe Constantine and Rand. What a dynamic I wasn’t ready for. Rand’s cool comebacks with Constantine’s sly personality just made for the most amazing dialogue opportunities. 
Thank you anon!
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your-local-bnha-writer · 5 years ago
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Hello ur my favorite account😭! Can I request a HC with Tanaka, Noya, Tsuki, & Kageyama where u guys are dating but at a tournament, u run into ur ex boyfriend ( who is a huge douchebag) and is saying a bunch of garbage about u? How would they react? , how would it impact their playing style cause get this- karasuno is playing against ur ex boyfriends team🤭🤭🤭🤭
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jealous bfs tanaka, noya, tsukki kags,
hey I’m gonna mash these two requests! I hope you enjoy this was a lot of fun to write!
also favourite account?? me?? 🥺🥺
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➣ characters included : tanaka, noya, tsukki, kageyama (separately) x fem!reader
➣ headcannons
➣ warning : a lot of swearing 😳 like there’s a lot, your jerk ex talking crap, scary bfs
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ryūnosuke tanaka
- karasuno had made it to the nationals, and right before their game against Tsubakihara, lil ol Tanaka had to use the bathroom
- a horrible decision really, just ask hinata
- he walks in and hears your trash ex talking crap abt you
“Yeah, can you believe it? I saw my ex here, Y/n. I think she’s the manager for her team? Karasuno. Is she really that desperate for attention from other guys?”
- Tanaka is p i s s e d like, no one gets to talk about his precious love without experiencing the wrath from Ryūnosuke Tanaka
- So mans just straight up walks to your ex, “gently” taps him on the shoulder to get his attention, and starts defending your honour
“Y/n? Y/n L/n? The most beautiful, gorgeous, precious girl in the world? That Y/n?”
“Uh, yeah? Who are y—”
“Hi I’m the new boyfriend, and let me just tell you...”
- Tanaka goes oFF he’s not letting this douche bag of an ex get his way, he straight up just goes on a 2 hours speech about how perfect you were
- and how much of a douche your ex was
- Eventually, Hinata finds Tanaka in the bathroom (since his stomach was actin up lol) and goes to alert the other guys + you
- So, the whole gang is here, Daichi and Suga have to drAG Tanaka away from your ex while Noya hypes him up
- You have to calm him down and ask him why the hell he was yelling at someone in the bathroom
“Your ex was talking shit about you, I’m not just gonna let them do that”
- You’re immediately like 🥺🥺 Tanakaaaa you didn’t have to do that omg I love you sm
- When it’s finally time play these guys Tanaka is surprisingly calm, like it’s actually terrifying
- Oh and you bet Tanaka’s going all out he is on fire, he’s landing every spike and you can practically hear the impact on it
- Right after he lands a spike he celebrates with his team and stares directly at your ex who’s shooketh 😳
“Yeah take that! You regret breaking up with Y/n now?”
“Tanaka stOoOoP omg—”
- After Karasuno wins he gives you the most passionate kiss, in front of your ex and you pull away blushing
- Your ex just rolls his eyes and goes to pack up with his team while Tanaka’s looking all smug and Noya’s hyPED
yuu nishinoya
- The boys were getting ready for the match against Johzenji, and were just doing some basic warmups
- You had to help Kyoko and Yachi with something so you weren’t in the gym at the moment
- But your asshole of an ex was talking shit about you, very loudly 😳 and very obnoxiously too
- This mf, instead of practicing and doing fricken warmups, he��s talking crap abt you, and you weren’t even in the vicinity!
- But your boyfriend was, oh and he heard everything, every single word that came out of you ex’s mouth
“Pfft yeah she’s still annoying as ever, not surprised she’s dating the dude that’s 5’2”
- Ohh big mistake bud, not only did you insult his perfect Gf, but his height as well? Like dang pick one or the other dude
- So, Noya can’t take it anymore he’s been holding back bc he’s supposed to be warming up for the game but at this point he just couldn’t
- He straight up runs over to the other side of the gym to knock some sense into the jerk
- Tanaka follows not to stop him (although he is a bit worried 😳) but to hype him up bc that’s his best friend’s gf you don’t get to do that
- Asahi is scared shitless so Ennoshita has to keep the horny tornado in check, while Suga is conflicted
“What the hell did you say? Don’t you dare insult Y/n again! This is why she left your sorry ass! Who are you talk shit about my beautiful girlfriend I’ll fight you right now—”
- Ahem well, as you can see he’s very pissed off and uh he ends up getting scolded by coach Ukai
- except at the very end of him scolding he gives noya a few pointers on how to defend your gf without showing bad sportsmanship
- You witness the whole thing and just go up to Noya to calm him down a little
“Thank you, but you didn’t have to go off like that,”
“Yeah I did, Im not letting that douche talk shit about my crazy hot girlfriend”
- noya stop this isn’t the time 😳🥵
- During the game he is extremely focused and there’s this terrifying aura that’s escaping him
- Like Asahi might actually shit his pants just standing next to him
- Karasuno absolutely destroys Johzenji bc Noya is not letting that ball drop on their side of the court
- After the game, like Tanaka Noya straight up kisses you in front of your ex, leaving you a blushing mess as Noya gives him a smug look
kei tsukishima
- aHEM um, alright get ready folks bc this is a scary one
- So it’s Kagugawa vs Karasuno and Yamaguchi is sort of wandering around with Hinata right before the game probably to try and cool their nerves 💀💀
- When they hear your someone talking abt you
“My ex is here we’re vs her team, I know yeah, she’s probably so annoying”
- Dude Yamaguchi and Hinata have never ran faster in their entire lives, they immediately go to tsukki and it’s just a scream fest
“TSUKKI THERES SOMEONE TALKING ABT Y/N!”
“yeAH!! and he was all like ‘she’s probably so annoying’”
“mHM AND—”
“okay I think I got it, where are they?”
- shits about to go down, when Tsukki gets mad, he doesn’t lose is cool, instead he keeps a level head and strategize on how to completely destroy his opponent
- so Yams and Hinata drag him to where your ex was and point him out, and he’s stILL on the phone
“Mhm, yeah she’s super annoying”
- Oh Tsukki is pissed off, he has this intimidating aura coming from him as he approaches the dude that’s shitting on you
“You’re the ex? Yikes...😬”
- Tsukki will wait for what he has to say and the whole time he just has the biggest smirk on his face, like it’s about to go down
- Yams and Sho are hyped uP but they’re waiting behind the door bc they’re babies and they’re scared
- Mm Tsukki does not hold back, he straight up roasts this dudes ass, mans just releases all the salt that’s stored in him
“Mhm yeah, that’s pretty pathetic”
“Heh lame”
“Wow...I can’t believe she really dated you”
- Yeah that’s not that much salt
- Tanaka find the three of them in the bathroom and as much as he wants Tsukki to keep going, they have to get ready for the game
- During the game, your ex tries to spike and he’s instantly shut down my Tsukki and his 6’3 ass, It’s quite hilarious 😌
- Anyways, Tsukki blocks your ex every single time wiTH A SMIRK, mans is not holding back on this bitch
- He says it’s bc he was predictable
- Later, Karasuno beats Kagugawa and Tsukki hardcore glares at your ex like it’s pretty scary since Tsukki is one to act all sassy rather than mad when he gets irritated
“You don’t talk shit about her, ever”
- SUDHDJD DAMN TSUKKI CHILLL
- You watch all of this happen and you immediately ask your boyfriend if something was wrong bc you’re a tad bit worried
“We just had a disagreement that’s all”
“uHH YEAH RIGHT TSUKKI WENT OFF EARLIER IN THE BATHROOM—”
tobio kageyama
- Um another scary bitch please do not talk trash about his gf when he’s around
- He’s probably filing his nails away from his team bc he needs his peace and quiet and doesn’t wanna get bullied by Hinata and Tsukki
- When he hears a guy talking very loudly to his friend, now usually he’d ignore them or move spots but like this dude is talking abt you
- So, he stays for a bit and listens to what he has to say. Who even is this dude? Why does he know you? Why is talking to loud like please shut the f—
“Pfft yeah my ex is here with her volleyball team, I talked to her earlier and oh my god she’s exactly the same when I first dated her”
- I’m not sure if that’s a roast sorry I’m bad at these
- Oh now Kags is pissed, see he was already a little irked that this jerk was your ex but he was also talking trash abt you? Nahh
- He throws his nail file on the ground and stomps right up to this douche to smack some sense in him
“Yeah she’s hella annoy—”
“Why don’t you shut the fuck up?”
“Who tf—”
- So Kageyama is also unusually “calm” about the whole situation which makes it even more terrifying
- Kageyama will most likely go off and tell this dude that he has no business talking abt his gf like that
- he’ll focus more on dissing the dude and let me tell you this dude’s roasts h u r t
- like his insults are like 90% swear words
“goblin lookin ass”
“long titty no nipple lookin ass”
“get outta here you abominable fuck waffle”
- Imagine this scary ass dude coming up to you, telling you to shut the fuck up, then realizing this is Tobio Kageyama, The King of the Court, the incredible setter that has precise aim, the 2nd half of the freak duo, going off on how you should stfu abt his gf
- oh and you’re facing him on your next game
- and he absolutely obliterates your sorry ass
- his sets are perfect, he blocks every single fuckin spike you make, and when you think he’s going setting to #10 think again bc he will do a setter dump
- basically he’s on fire and tear the other team to shreds it’s kind of scary actually, hinata was sweating buckets when kageyama served since he looked so terrifying at the moment
- after the game, kageyama would want to leave immediately he doesn’t want to see your ex anymore
“You doing okie? Did something happen with you and him before the game?”
“Yep, but it’s nothing don’t worry about it”
- kags you have that creepy smile again stop you’re scaring y/n
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shhhlikeme · 5 years ago
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Hello! Can I get an S/O that’s tall (not like super tall but like 5’9, 5’8, maybe even taller) and she’s really insecure of her height with Tsukishima, Atsumu and Kuroo. It can go into NSFW
Hi! 🥰 You may! I’m 5’4 but one of my best friends in high school was 5’11 and she was always insecure about her height even though she was stunning so this felt relatable and I want every tall girl to read this!!. Let’s just say reader is 5’10” to be safe. Why not!
Also, I only wrote for Atsumu and Kuroo here because the writings are relatively long and I want to get to all suggestions. If you still want a Tsukki version in the future just request again okay? xo
Atsumu | Kuroo x Reader Who is Insecure about being Tall
Atsumu
After a long chase and his relentless pining you had finally agreed to be this boy’s girlfriend last week
The first thing he wanted to do was show you off
The two of you were getting ready for Atsumu’s College Formal Athletic Banquet, where his volleyball team were the guests of honour
As it usually goes in relationships, the blonde boy was ready way before you
but it wasn’t like you two were late so he wasn’t complaining
He also wasn’t complaining because that meant he could watch you put on your finishing touches
As much as he loved when you were makeup-less and natural more, there was something sexy about the way you applied your lipstick and the way you ran your hands along your long torso to straighten the dress you had on to your hearts content
He was leaning against his bedroom door frame silently gawking at your beauty
He admired your long legs that peaked out under the double slits of your dress because they looked like like they went on for days
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In his head, he thanked every God and Deity out there for making him the lucky son of gun who gets to call you his date
Man, the guys are going to be so jealous, he thinks as you sit down, stretching your legs out in front of you to apply lotion on your legs individually
Mesmerized, Atsumu licks his lips. get your bf girl he’s about to pounce
He kinda wished your dress was shorter like the drool-over-me dress you wore when he first saw you at the club with your friends
That night you were the tallest girl in the club which meant you commanded all of the attention on the dance floor. Atsumu can recall perfectly how thirsty he felt which had nothing to do with the fact that he hadn’t visited the bar yet watching you—this beautiful, tall Goddess of a woman confidently striding past her admirers too low to even get your attention.
He told his friends that they better not dare hit on you and when they protested he shot them a menacing glare so intense they immediately stfu
Back in the present, he also wished your dress was shorter so that your God-Tier legs weren’t playing a sultry peek-a-boo game with him all night that he was sure to lose
You’re tempting him
But on second thought, he remembered how other guys looked at your legs that night at the club and thought otherwise
Atsumu’s eyes recovered from their glaze over as you stand back up and fix your hair one last time before you spot him in the mirror and smirk.
“I’m ready.” You say simply.
Atsumu cleared his throat and pushed himself up into a standing position, ready to compliment you until your face turned red.
“You look—wait you’re not ready. What about your shoes?”
You peered down at your feet in simple nude flats. You sighed.
“Atsumu......I changed my mind.”
Atsumu raised an eyebrow at you disapprovingly.
“Y/N.”
He asked you if you wanted him to call your best friend Mariah, who always forced you to wear heels. She did this at the club the night you met your incredible boyfriend and has held it over you ever since.
Atsumu walked to the corner of his room where you had set down the box of gorgeous high heels that you were planning on wearing tonight if your insecurities didn’t get the better of you.
Looking like a prince, he walked back over to you with an intense expression. You couldn’t look away from his eyes. He backed you up until the back of your thighs hit his chair and you sat down.
Your boyfriend stared down at you.
Still maintaining eye contact, he slowly took a knee in front of you in his expensive suit to run a hand down your long legs
“If my coach wasn’t making us go to this thing tonight, I would have you screaming my name right now with these fucking remarkable legs wrapped around my ears, baby girl.” He took off your flats gently and replaced them with your heels.
Is this Cinderella or whattt? How could he be so romantic and so utterly seductive at the same time?! Your breath shortened at his words
“I’m still debating it.” Atsumu stated before groaning as he caressed your perfect legs in the new shoes. “Do not rob me of the rare opportunity to see them look even better in heels.”
You shivered at the chilling undertone in his deep voice. It was the same voice he used when he was inside you, talking you through your release. He spoke again.
“If you do, there will be consequences.”
Kuroo
“You were bullied.... for being tall?”
Asked your boyfriend Kuroo for the third time since this conversation about your biggest insecurity had started.
The two of you were lounging in the pool in your backyard. He was in the water, his chiseled arms folded in front of him as he propped his upper body on the edge of the pool. You sat your bum on the edge beside him, only allowing your feet a dip in the water.
You nodded for the billionth time
The boy looked perplexed
“But, you’re so beautiful...? And I thought it was a good thing to be tall.”
He was always praised for it his whole life so he took a lot of pride in being shy of 6’2.
You calmly explained to him that anyone can get bullied and you definitely didn’t look this way before puberty. That you stood out like a sore thumb, all the boys avoided you -and that it’s a good thing to be tall when you’re a male. That the trend was always how cute “fun sized” girls were and not how cute your 5’10” frame was. You explained to him that it was the same way girls dismissed short guys and fawned over the ones that looked like him.
“I see.” Your freakishly good looking boyfriend pushed his wet bangs back and out of his face. “I guess I never really thought a girls attraction was dependent on her height. I mean, you do know that guys only like the fun sized girl because it made them feel better about themselves, in terms of feeling able to protect the girl and stuff. It had everything to do with how it makes the guy feel, not how valuable the girl was.”
You nod slowly because you never thought of it like that. Still, you were not sold on why you should drop your insecurities when they were very relevant
“And.... Kenma is considered pretty short, right?” He shrugged, thinking about his best friend. “Girls confessed to him just as much as they did to me, if not more...”
You tried to find a good comeback to that but you couldn’t.
“You look like a freaking Victoria’s Secret Model, Y/N. You wouldn’t if you were short. When you wear lingerie for me or this bikini.......” His eyes visibly darkened as he drank in your body. “To be fair you look better than any model. By far.” Halting himself from checking you out he lifted his eyes back up to yours before he started humping the pool wall. “All guys liked Victoria’s Secret models at that age when you were being bullied, and if any of them were to say that they wouldn’t sell their right arm and jump at the opportunity to date one of them, no matter how tall the model was, then they were fucking lying. We actually really love tall girls they’re just intimidating. Boys talk but everyone was probably just jealous of you. I mean, you’re my girlfriend and I still feel like bowing every time you walk into a room, you just command attention. I can kiss you without leaning down much which is the bessst, and our bodies match up flawlessly in bed. I love it. Height is power, babe. If you were with another guy and I saw you I would be sooooooooo salty because how did he get the confidence to approach someone that looks like you??? That’s why I had to ask for your number when we met. I would be kicking myself if I didn’t. Not only are tall girls hot and you could be a Victoria’s Secret model, but YOU are a dream come true for me.”
You shut your mouth completely. Your boyfriend always knew how to make you feel better and he didn’t even know it.
“Thanks, babe.... I love you.” You smiled at him suggestively and lifted your sunglasses to rest on top of your head. You pulled your legs out of the water and swung them to the side in order to stand up and walk over to the beach chair.
Kuroo couldn’t believe his eyes as he watched you literally look like a front-page super model in real-time. Your legs were so long and sexy. He wanted to leave hickeys on every inch of them.
“Hey, speaking of Victoria’s Secret... that reminds me.... I have a few more sets I’ve been dying to show you.”
You wrapped a towel around your body and looked back over at your boyfriend whose eyes were so dark it made you slightly dizzy.
“You always know how to make me feel better..” You cooed at him, pretending his gaze wasn’t making you wet. “Let me return the favour.” You daringly turned your back to him and tugged on the two strings that unravelled your bikini top.
Kuroo gulped.
Before you walked back inside your house, you carefully lobbed the bikini top over to your boyfriend who caught it in the air with perfect athleticism.
Frozen with lust, Kuroo stared at your retreating figure. You were so tall which he was sooo happy for because that meant you had more skin to worship for hours on end. He craved you.
“Fuck me, Y/N.” Your now horny boyfriend cursed as he thought about what you looked like under that towel, dressed only in a thong bikini bottom. “You are so gonna get it.”
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cloveroctobers · 4 years ago
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SEBASTIAN “SEB” KATSAROS —
IG bio/info: @/s3bgl00m | 17.4k followers | i hate it here. i hate my username name too. Listen to my podcast wth my mate here...open.Spotify.com/podcast/?!.doomngloom
28 years of age
Born & raised in Liverpool, England...don’t ask if he’s met the Beatles he will completely ignore you if you do
Music shop owner in the heart of town
It’s called, “Kicking Kettles”
loves collecting vinyls, cassette tapes, & cds sorry, what did you expect?
His mother is a children’s illustrator
She’s Ashkenazi Jewish
His father is a graphic designer
And is from Nafplio, Greece
They’ve been separated for about a year now, with seb’s father living in France
His mother was skeptical on dating around while she was in a place of uncertainty in her marriage but with a deep discussion with her husband, then her children, she slowly went forward just to see what was out there & found that she wasn’t sure if she’d be open permanently with other beings
Seb was similar to his mother in many ways...
Has a older sister by 2 years named, Xenia...she’s very bossy, a busy-body, & is very vocal. The opposite of seb
she used to beat up guys just for them to turn around and ask her out on dates, a few of them tried to bully seb but Xenia was not having that ofc
very close to his family, even if things are a little off between mum & dad
I feel like he went through a buzzed hair phase & when he finally made the choice to start growing out his hair, going on 4-5 years now, everyone seemed to approve
Even if they didn’t? It be no matter, sure he’d feel a little awkward if someone he cared about didn’t like it but he was sure they would get over it OR get used to it
The hair only comes out when he’s showering or going to bed
His best friend who’s a barber (and a bit of a douche) tells him he’s got to let his hair breathe more often or he’ll have breakage, seb doesn’t think it’s that serious? He’s not sure how much longer he’ll keep the bun now anyways...
This same friend encouraged him to get a “Pompadour” haircut & seb’s never been so offended before in his life, “I wouldn’t want to look like the rest of you knob-heads.”
Anyways, he takes care of his hair the best way he knows how and it seems to work for him...some slightly expensive haircare products here and there & a trimmer & he’s good to go
When he first started growing his hair out, he felt like he needed to go to the salon to know how to manage it. After awhile he learned how to do it on his own + you save $ that way
uses his hands to talk or holds one hand in the other when having a conversation since he doesn’t know what to do with his hands exactly
He’s a chapstick kinda guy who always loses his before he can finish it (been there)
Absolutely loves Japanese food and eats it almost everyday
Japanese Mayo is the superior condiment, bill can stfu!!
probably watches anime
owns a bunch of vans, beanies, and hoodies
smokes hookah every now & then but isn’t too crazy about it
canon: catlover! I feel like he would have a Sphynx, Abyssinian, Ocicat, or oriental shorthair + was over the moon when his baby had babies !!!
He wanted to keep all 5 of the kittens but knew he probably couldn’t, at least not forever but he was going to wait until they were all at least a few months before he decided to put them up for adoption...which sucks but would ultimately be the best choice, maybe???
tried eyeliner again outside of the villa & finds pencil or pomade is better than the standard liquid liner
likes black nail polish but is slightly embarrassed to be seen out with it, it’s the same thing with the eyeliner...he’s not that confident
the guy is a huge blusher & he despises the fact that his face betrays him 80% of the time
often gets nosebleeds
loves red wine especially if it’s on a rainy day and he’s home to fully enjoy it, he feels like he’s on his grown man shit when he does so
I feel like he’d be a fan of the umbrella academy & thinks it’s way better than stranger things...him & nick have argued over this on doom n gloom!
Five is his favorite
Everything he owns is in either black, red, gray/grey, or green
His main phobia is emetophobia (fear of v*mit) & he won’t share why, that’s just what it is
Introvert!
Canon: he’s not a Aquarius
So wtf r ya? Nick & I would like to know plz
Virgo sun? + Taurus moon? + Pisces rising?
I feel like he’s one of those people that feels the need to bring a backpack with him everywhere and you can imagine it to be black ofc
“Who tf are you Linus? But with a backpack?” His sister often jokes (I do this with my sibs, both of them love carrying backpacks. Me on the other hand? I don’t have time for the shit)
He drives a shitty car from the 90s that’s Engine sounds as if it’s about to blow
but 100% perfers to drive his moped, Atticus around
played football (soccer) growing up to help get rid of his asthma
Cannot sleep with the tv on or any form of light around him, it has to be completely dark & quiet!
He’ll only do so if it’s with Genevieve since you know they’re trying this whole long distance thing out
Are one of those couples that will fall asleep on the phone/cpu together
Genevieve might be the, “no you hang up first” & seb will actually hang up the phone and get into bed lmao
Just for vieve to call back like?!! “I can’t believe you’ve done this!
“Well you said—
“Never mind what I said, sebz!!! It’s extremely rude...”
his last relationship before Genevieve lasted 6-8 months (there was a time when he felt like he was unsure if he was still in a couple with that person, isn’t that a shame?)
his love language is acts of service, he’ll do things for you to ease your worries out of love and not obligation so that you feel valued as his partner & I believe he wants this in return as well
I think he’s a bit of a worry wart too when it comes to certain things even if his exterior might show him trying to hide it
He was super nervous to get his first tattoo on his chest, “if words fail, music speaks” but he found that the slight pain was worth it? And quite nice! then he kept going back monthly and soon enough his arms were completely covered
mum hated it, her baby boy was becoming a man! (It’s not like he’s almost 30 but you know how moms are)
Deff has a collection of silver rings, he’s tried out necklaces but he thinks he looks better with his rings
The slit in his brow came from trying to squeeze thru the broken patio glass door with his sis as if it were some booby trap (not exactly, but a safety hazard forsure!) & a piece of glass fell from above slicing his brow and left him with 4 stitches
Secretly into watching those dating shows before and after experiencing it himself
people he enjoyed seeing on the Telly from previous seasons: jen, jake, talia, erikah, lottie, Noah, Carl, Kassam, Priya, & Hannah
AJ is his best girl friend (besides vieve) they FaceTime quite a bit & chat shit to each other on the daily
Feels like she fits in well with his friend group, which just contains his barber friend — they put up with his banter & give it right back to him but he can also be vulnerable & comfortable with those around him so that’s always a plus
It’s the same with nick, except they share a hobby together, their podcast & that’s what seb wants to keep it as, a hobby, for fun & giggles yet nick is thinking about getting paid for what they do. He thinks it’s a great idea whereas seb doesn’t want this to turn into a career/chore
He’s perfectly happy at kicking kettles
He feels strongly about his stance while nick is on both sides
They’ll figure it out, soon.
How are things outside of the villa & since the boat party? They all have a group chat that they randomly speak up in, in the beginning they would do morning and goodnight texts but that became tedious so they settled for either or. Or simply just checking in to see how each other’s days went with seb secretly being the most curious to everyone’s days
Things are awkward between him and Yasmin, he kinda avoids talking to her tbh & not because he doesn’t want to...its just yeah it’s not the same with him and aj where they can easily move forward, it feels like pulling teeth with Yasmin since they’re some what similar & it seems like she’s waiting on him to take the lead on fixing some imagined issue they have with each other? It’s weird idk
Lives in a cramped studio apartment, it works for him so he doesn’t need any inputs thank you
celeb crushes? Demi lovato, Hwasa, Amanda Seyfried, & Birgundi Angel Baker
as for music? Sleeping with sirens, pierce the veil, teagan & Sara, the pierces, panic!at the disco, all time low, twenty one pilots, x-ambassadors, awolnation, jon bellion— listen when atl dropped? Seb felt like he was reborn okay?! , Japanese breakfast, & great grandpa
Anthem = The Postal Service, “Such great heights”
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eclecticwordblender · 5 years ago
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Mahabharata Highschool AU
(Part-4)
The Draupadi-Arjuna fiasco:
It was the first week of freshman year in high school. Most of the pumped up teenagers had a very recent visit from the puberty fairy. Kids were still choosing their ECAs.
It was Physical education. Most of the bright sportsmen decided to pick soccer, no one really paid much heed to basketball. The soccer feild was lively as always, so was the basement where kids who hated PE would sit and gossip while claiming to play tennis.
Drupad, the basketball coach, was disheartened, sitting alone in a corner when a chirpy freshman walked towards him.
“Umm. Morning sir, Could you tell me where to find a ball?”
He half heartedly looked towards this kid, her face glowed as though it reflected something ethereal, Drupad didn’t really care.
“Take this.”
“This has no air?”
Drupad laughed.
“So you really wanna play sports huh?”
“That’s funny because(?)”
“Well no one really wants to play basketball around here.”
“But I just saw one kid around here.”
“Must be Bheema. May I know you young lady?”
“I’m Draupadi. Freshman year.”
Draupadi started attending practices on a daily basis. Bheema started coming earlier than ever, the boy seemed smitten, why wouldn’t he, he had been, since junior school days, when no one really knew Draupadi. The boy shared his food with her everyday, one may say he was falling *in love*.
Arjuna and Krishna arrived at the practice one day, to meet their pal, Bheema. Draupadi was leaving, her long black hair, tied in a high ponytail, moving as she strutted. Arjuna developed an instant crush on this beauty who had just started becoming popular. Draupadi’s eyes found him too. She stood still, as though admiring every bit of this achingly beautiful boy.
Krishna smirked looking at those two. Arjuna seemed lost, so he asked Bheema-
“Should I do something my OTP has finally met!”
Bheema reluctantly forced a smile. He wanted to say no, to say that this will only cause chaos, but he saw Draupadi smiling, his heart sank, but wasn’t Draupadi’s happiness worth dying for too?
He nodded.
Krishna called out “Sakhi!!!”
Draupadi snapped out of her dream world. Walked towards them.
“Meet Arjuna. The guy I keep talking about. Arjuna, Draupadi, the girl I always wanted you to meet.”
Arjuna scratched the back of his head a little for despite being a ladies’ man he fumbled while conversing with Draupadi.
The bell for the morning assembly rang. The four of them rushed. Krishna, to the assembly, Arjuna and Draupadi, towards the soccer field because no one would catch them missing the assembly there, Bheema, towards the washroom.
Bheema sobbed a little. Soon he sucked it up. Decided he has to live it, for Draupadi he may be a friend but for him, she’s his whole world.
Arjuna and Draupadi sat in field, laughing. The set of kids who skipped the assembly daily staring at these newbies. They were mostly senior years, so they didn’t really care. The only other freshman present was Shishupal, *face palm*.
The next day school was a little different. A hot gossip around. Was Arjuna actually dating Draupadi!
Draupadi stormed at Arjuna upon hearing this.
“Excuse me!?!? Stop spreading these crappy stories!”
“Wait! Didn’t you do it?”
“Umm, NO!”
“Well the rumour doesn’t sound so bad now, does it?”
“I guess.”
Both of them smiled awkwardly, Arjuna pulled Draupadi closer, they kissed.
As they leaned away, twitching, still a little awkward.
“Who started the rumour then?”
They both shouted in unison- “SHISHUPAL!” Then laughed.
From a safe distance, Krishna silently giggled, he did start the rumour, but knew no one would doubt him, he’ll easily get away. “It was necessary,” he told himself and walked away.
While returning home, Krishna asked Arjuna about all the stories going around, acting as if he had no idea.
“Krishna, my eyes weren’t closed when I kissed her. What if I shouldn’t do this.”
“What crap bro! You both are soulmates made for each other stfu YOU LOVE HER SHE LOVES YOU.”
“Gee I wouldn’t say love.”
“Arjuna, bro STFU!”
Krishna called Draupadi that evening. She wouldn’t stop talking about the cutie who was her boyfriend now. She sort of had self esteem issues, despite being possibly the most beautiful girl in school, she couldn’t believe, HEARTTHROB ARJUNA WAS HER BOYFRIEND.
Soon the word spread. Teachers found out too. Ma’am Kunti couldn’t stand how someone was “Ruining” the life of her fav baby by being a “Distraction.”
She wouldn’t let Draupadi at peace. Sent her to the counsellor every single day.
Vidur was so annoyed, but only out of baseless respect for ma’am Kunti, he didn’t speak up. However, he helped Draupadi deal with that woman.
Yudhishthir, who tried v hard to become everyone’s favourite, and even thought that he was, said “If Ma’am Kunti says it she must have a point.”
Draupadi shot a look at him. He shut up. She has hated him ever since. Bheema wanted to beat this guy up, but wasn’t sure how Draupadi would feel about it. Yudhishthir would’ve had a good beating had it not been for that and the fact that Coach Drupad hadn’t become close to Dhrishtdyum yet.
Arjuna loved this extremely problematic teacher so much that he didn’t realise what Draupadi was going through. He even told her that she was the one who was overreacting, Ma’am Kunti was a goddess in human form.
Draupadi had enough. She walked up to Arjuna
“Arjuna, this isn’t working out.”
“Uh.. what do you mean?”
“We’re breaking up!”
“Umm.. well can I tell Karna that I broke up with you? I mean the guy wouldn’t leave a chance to mock me when he hears the real story.”
She rolled her eyes -
“ W h a t e v e r .”
Arjuna didn’t really seem to be impacted. It did hurt Draupadi. She didn’t shed a tear though, she accepted AND MOVED ON.
A lot of fake stories spread around about why the couple broke up. They were both bothered at first. Eventually, this made both of them immune to any rumour they’d encounter in future.
Some say coach Drupad was so annoyed by this that he privately called Krishna and told him how teachers find out everything the kids here do and HE SHOULD NEVER PLAY MATCHMAKER AGAIN!
Kunti ma’am still hates Draupadi for some reason.
Some say Draupadi got over it. Some say she still has feelings for Arjuna.
However, it doesn’t matter, they’re both still best friends, and their chemistry is so much more amazing this way. Even Subhadra isn’t insecure with them being friends.
Krishna looks at them hanging out together, while he’s with Radha after school-
“I’m telling you these two are going to end up together!”
“Krishna for the last time! THEY HAVE MOVED ON. ARJUNA IS NOT EVEN SINGLE.”
“Arjuna dating? Who?”
“Subhadra, she is like your little sister.”
“Oh. But you see.”
“Ugh! SHUT UP!”
Check out elaborate characterisation in the previous parts of the Mahabharata High School AU series at @eclecticwordblender
Tagging fandom mutuals because I need attention to matter in life- @incorrectmahabharatquotes @soniaoutloud @lemponkoira @askhindumyths @chaanv @bigheadedgirlwithbigdreams @1nsaankahanhai-bkr @supermeh-krishnafan
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openheart12 · 4 years ago
Text
I Did Something Bad
A/N: Today is my lovely adoptive mom’s @burnsoslow birthday! I never thought me making a post about yk what would lead to our friendship and Kryce! I hope you have the best day ever and that it is every bit as amazing as you are! I’m so thankful for your friendship and how you make me laugh until I cry or pee fvhujskdghfn and you’re the only one who could ever make me into a Drake stan. I love you so much! Eat all the cake you can for me! Happy birthday, love! I hope you know how much I adore you ❤
A/N 2: This is very much full of Donald Trump hate and despitement because who wouldn’t hate him anyways jkhkdjgh there’s also quite a bit of cussing 
Word Count: 2,613
Thank you @rigatonireid for pre-reading!! 
“This is bullshit,” Kurns exclaimed as Bryce and Dick were watching the events unfolding at the United States Capitol. “This is why you don’t vote for oranges.” She said while rolling her eyes. 
“Agreed,” the two men replied in unison. 
“Jinx!” They replied again at the same time that led to twenty minutes of them saying “jinx again” in response until Dick finally gave in and let Bryce win. 
“You win, Bryce-y poo,” he had said. Kurns had kept her attention glued to the television during their little game. 
“You okay over there, banana flavored moonpie?” Dick asked, directing his attention over to Kurns. 
“No, look at all those turnips. And the cult leader himself told them to do this shit. People actually voted for this moron? They should all get head CTs to check for brain damage which they undoubtedly have.” 
“Would it make you feel better if we overthrew the government while kidnapping Donnie?” Dick asked seriously. 
“Yes, actually,” she answered with a wide grin. 
“Okay, let me make a few phone calls and can you download some episodes of My Little Pony on Netflix for Bryce?” Kurns nodded her head in response, she also took the liberty of downloading Among Us on their phones so they wouldn’t be bored on the flight. 
The flight from North Delanois was a little over eight hours and being on a plane that long with a toddler, well Bryce, was going to be a challenge. 
It was a private jet so hopefully it would be more bearable, but just in case she also downloaded a few episodes of Max and Ruby and Yo Gabba Gabba. She also downloaded some episodes of Parks and Rec and Friends for herself. 
After packing the essentials; clothing, toiletries, handcuffs, whipped cream, ice cubes -who knew- and My Little Pony gummies, they were off to the airport.  
“Dick Kock,” Dick said introducing himself along with Kurns and Bryce. 
Kurns was decked out in a Taylor Swift 1989 t-shirt and a pair of leggings with her trusty white vans whereas Bryce was dressed in a rainbow colored polka dot shirt, black and white striped pants, one blue croc and the other was yellow, and socks with weed on them. Him and Kurns had forgotten about meth since it already landed them in jail one. Chris P. Bacon was still a sore subject for the pair. 
They boarded the plane and Bryce immediately went to find his gummies. Kurns took a seat next to Dick and pulled up CNN news to get an update on the attack on the Capitol. 
Suddenly breaking news flashed across her phone screen: Taylor Swift set to release her tenth studio album later today. 
“OH MY GOD! BRYCE LOOK!” Kurns exclaimed, jumping up out of her seat to show Bryce. 
“OH MY GOD! TS10! TS10! TS10!” He chanted. 
“Oh wow, that sure is exciting!” Dick chimed in. 
“By the way, D, I think we should call this Operation ‘I Did Something Bad’ in honor of Taylor’s new album.” 
“That’s a spectacular idea, Kurnel Mustard!” Bryce said with a smirk, it had been a new nickname he had given her after the three of them had played Clue one night.
“Shut up, Apple Bottom Jeans, Boots with the Fur,” she retaliated, mocking the Little Pony named Apple Jacks. 
“Stfu,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. 
“You must be really mad if you’re talking in text.”
“Dick,” he pouted, “she’s doing it again.” 
“Be nice you two, we have a long flight ahead of us.” 
For the first two hours, they each did their own thing; Dick was reading a hunting magazine, Kurns was watching the news, and Bryce had already finished the entirety of My Little Pony. 
“Do you guys wanna play Among us?” Kurns asked out of the blue. 
“Hell yeah! I just bought the baby crew mate and I’m dying to use it,” Bryce responded. 
“I’ve never played before but sure!” 
“Okay so you’re either a crew mate or impostor and if you’re a crew mate, you have to do these tasks whilst trying not to die and if you’re an impostor, you go around killing other crew mates trying not to get caught in the process. You’ll get the hang of it eventually,” Kurns explained. 
“Thanks love bug,” Dick placed a quick kiss to the side of her head. 
The three of them found an open lobby and talked in the chat box waiting for the game to start and when it did, Dick asked the question of, “why is my name red?” 
“Oh my God, Dick! Don’t say that. It means you’re an impostor,” Bryce explained at the same exact time Kurns called an emergency meeting. 
“It’s purple,” Kurns typed in the text box, referring to Bryce’s color. 
“What the frick! It’s so not me. I’m not playing anymore,” he pouted, turning off his phone and crossing his arms over his chest. 
“Now, children, can you two not get along? Think about the bigger picture,” Dick intervened. 
“True, but I’m still not going to play with her.”
His statement didn’t affect Kurns in the slightest and she went back to playing the game. Dick joined her while Bryce was running away from an imaginary dragon and he ended up colliding into one of the seats, face first. 
“Ow,” he rubbed his forehead that was now bright red. 
“That’s what you get for being a baby,” Kurns said, not looking up from her phone while Dick went to go check on his blueberry muffin. 
“You okay, strawberry flavored fig bar? That’s quite a hit you took.” 
“Yeah, a kiss would make it feel better though,” he said, using his puppy dog eyes. Dick smiled softly at him before kissing his forehead all better. 
The three of them spent the next six hours playing games, eating, and watching movies from the age of the dinosaurs that Kurns had saved since she was over 10,000 years old. 
After landing in Washington D.C., the trio headed straight to the Whitehouse, if people could storm the Capitol, how much harder could it be to kidnap the president? That was Kurns logic at least and as it turns out, it wasn’t that much harder. 
Kurns went to the Oval Office while Dick and Bryce went to the bunker since that apparently seemed to be Trump’s favorite place in the Whitehouse. But unexpectedly, Kurns found the Donald Duck under the office in the Oval, tweeting away on his iPhone 4s. 
“Mr. Racist,” she called and he immediately turned to look at her. 
“What? I’m tremendously busy if you can’t tell.” 
“I see that, Mr. Pigman.” 
“That is hugely racist towards me. I happen to be winning very bigly at the moment. I’m trending on Twitter!” He said proudly, he then proceeded to show Kurns his crusty ass phone. 
“Come on, I have some candy for you if you come with me,” Kurns coaxed him out from under the desk and led him to the white van they had brought with them, you know, the kind your parents warn you to stay away from. 
“Fake news!” Trump exclaimed with a huff. “You must be friends with sleepy Joe.” 
“You’re right,” she winked. 
“You know, frankly, this doesn’t make America great.” 
“I disagree, I think this definitely makes America great again,” Kurns retaliated. 
“Does Mikey know about this?” 
“Yeah, we planned it with the fly,” she snickered. 
“Well, it’s fake news, believe me.” 
“What?” 
“Nothing you libtards wouldn’t understand it anyways. Anyways, what's that thing on your face?” 
“My mask?” 
“Yeah, what’s that for?” 
Kurns shook her head, not even being surprised by the question. “We’re in the middle of a pandemic, Donald Dump.” 
“What’s a panoramic?” 
“Don’t worry about it.” She got out her walkie talkie to talk to the boys. “The orange has expired. Over,” she said, their code word for getting Trump out. 
“Okay, bet, we’re on our way out. Over.” 
“Good job, K!” Dick said. 
“See you soon and thanks! Over.” 
Fifteen minutes later, Dick and Bryce arrived with a six foot cutout of Donald. 
“What the fuck is that?” 
“Hey, that’s me!” Trump chimed in. 
“Shut the fuck up,” Kurns said, she was quickly losing brain cells being in his proximity. 
“That is rude, quite frankly.” 
“We found it in his bedroom… along with some other, uh, questionable things,” Bryce explained. 
“Like what?”
“Like a, uh, dildo with Pence on it.” 
“Ew…” they all turned to look at Trump who was looking away and whistling, trying to pretend he wasn’t there. 
“Oh, um, about that. That was a tremendous invasion of privacy.” 
“Shut the fuck up,” they all said in unison and he pulled an imaginary zipper over his lips and threw away the key like a literal child. 
“I can’t be near him anymore,” Kurns said suddenly, getting out her phone to call someone. 
“Who are you calling?” Dick asked. 
“Joe, I was gonna invite him to go get some ice cream.” 
“OMG! I wanna go too!” Bryce exclaimed. 
“And me!” Trump said. 
“No, to both of you. You two have to keep an eye on Don and make sure he stays off of Twitter.” She was explaining when Joe picked up the phone. “Hey, Joe, do you want to go get ice cream somewhere?” 
“Duh! Taylor is actually here right now and you don’t care if she comes do you?” He asked to make sure. 
“Of course not! You can bring Champ and Major too! I know Jill is busy right now.” 
“Okay! On our way!” He said before hanging up. 
“Where are you going to go?” 
“Probably McDonald’s or something, Taylor is also coming with us, he said.”
“YOU MEAN THE TAYLOR?” Bryce asked in shock. 
“Yeah, him and Taylor are like BFF’s.” 
“I still like her music 25% less, okay?” Donald brought up. 
“Shut the fuck up,” Kurns said again. 
“Fine, fine. But could you make sure Barron is fed?” 
“Oop,” Bryce slapped his hand over his mouth. 
“Yes, now shut up.” 
Kurns was getting ready to go meet Joe and Taylor when Melania walked up to the van. “You have Trump?” She asked quietly. 
“Yeah, why? You need him?” 
“Yeah, could you make him sign this?” She placed some papers in Kurns hand. She read them and wasn’t shocked after realizing they were divorce papers. 
“No problem, hold tight real quick. Dick, make him sign these!” 
“Of course, ladybug.” He took a hold of Trump’s hand and wrote his name for him since he wouldn’t do it himself. 
“Here you go,” Kurns handed the papers back to Melania and she left without looking back. “Okay, I’m leaving. Be careful with that moron and for the love of God, don’t let his supporters know you have him.” 
“Roger that!” Bryce responded. 
“Don’t worry, vanilla brown sugar! We’ll hold down the fort while you’re gone. Have fun!” He called after her. 
She met Joe and Taylor at a local McDonald’s and greeted both of them with a hug. “Congratulations on winning the election and congratulations on album number ten!” She reached down to pet both of the German Shepherds who happily wagged their tails. 
“Thanks!” They replied in unison. 
“So how are the boys?” Taylor asked. 
“Good! They sent their regards. They’re actually, uh, holdingtrumphostage,” she said fast enough so hopefully they couldn’t understand but they are actually educated. 
“WHAT?” Joe exclaimed. 
“Miss gurl, how did y’all pull that off?” Taylor asked while hysterically laughing. 
“It was easier than I thought! Either security sucks or they wanted Trump gone and I can’t blame them for that.” 
“Amen sister!” Joe replied. 
“Can we see him?” Taylor asked. 
“I mean, yeah if you want!” 
“Okay let’s go!” She went to get up when Joe gently grabbed her arm. 
“But the ice cream…” He reminded her. 
“Of course, how could I forget?” She playfully rolled her eyes. They all ate their ice cream before heading back to the Whitehouse. 
Once arriving, Taylor and Joe headed straight to the front doors while Kurns stood there like 🧍‍♀️. “Hey guys, he's actually right there,” she said, pointing to the white van. 
Taylor opened the door to find Bryce half asleep on the ground, Dick was listening to ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ and dancing in his seat meanwhile, Donald had his lips glued to the side of the door, making out with it. 
“What the fuck?” All three of them asked at the same time. 
“OMG TAYLOR! HI! HOW ARE YOU?” Bryce shouted, jumping up off of the floor and pulling her into a hug. 
“Hi!” 
“Hello, Ms. Swift,” Dick greeted, gracefully bowing. “Mr. President,” he nodded. 
“How did you all meet?” Don asked. 
“We actually just met, our hate for you is what we bond over!” Joe explained in terms he would understand. Hopefully. 
“Oh,” was all he said and started to play with his fingers. “I don’t know if you knew this, but Washington D.C. is actually the capital of the United Stats. Did you know that?”
“What did you think it was? And it’s the United States, not… Stats.” Kurns asked in a surprisingly concerning tone. 
“I thought it was like a stat… or well state. Whatever it is.” 
“Oh,” Kurns said while Taylor called him an idiot under her breath. 
“That’s embarrassing miss gurl,” Bryce chimed in. 
“ARE YOU TALKING TIKTOK TO ME? I WILL BAN YOU,” Trump threatened. 
“Please, these empty promises you keep making are getting really old just like your term,” Dick said, making the others die of laughter… no literally, some Trump supporter that had been walking by had just collapsed and died. 
“And I oop-” Kurns and Bryce said at the same time. 
“IFHCBXNZNZ, HAHAHAHA,” Bryce barked out. 
“Can we get something to eat? I really want some Dino nuggies 🥺,” Trump pleaded. 
“No,” they all replied. 
“So what are we going to do with him?” Taylor asked. 
“I don’t know, what do y’all want to do with him?” 
“Excellent question, K, I say we feed him to some alligators!” Bryce exclaimed, flapping his two arms together to make an alligator jaw and started running towards Donald who jumped back in fear. 
“That’s not nice,” he pouted, a lone tear trickling down his cheek. 
“Fuck you, but not literally or physically,” Taylor said, making sure to explain what she meant. 
“I want some My Little Pony gummies!” 
“Me too!” Donald said with a smile now on his crusty, orange ass face. 
“No,” they replied again. 
“Fine,” he crossed his arms over his chest and turned his back to them, like the toddler he is. 
“Anyways, y’all want to go get Cookout?” Kurns suggested. 
“Yeah, of course!” Joe responded. 
The five of them headed to the nearest Cookout to get food and milkshakes, leaving Trump behind all alone. After hanging out with Taylor and Joe, it was unfortunately time to head back to North Delanois. With promises to meet up soon, the trio were soon enough taking off at the airport. 
“What ended up happening to Trump?” Bryce asked seriously. 
“He went to prison.” 
“As he should, period,” Kurns said with a smirk. 
“What are we going to do when we land?”
“Sleep!” Kurns and Bryce said. 
“Of course, my love doves. I’m going to try to do that right now, so please try to get along.” 
“Promise!” Kurns said, holding out her pinky finger which he took and kissed. The rest of the flight was surprisingly peaceful, Kurns and Bryce were able to get along while Dick slept. It had been a fun trip, one they hoped they would actually never have to make again. 
Tags: @burnsoslow @ao719 @callmeellabella @rigatonireid because no one else should have to read this :)
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merinnan · 5 years ago
Text
DMBJ Ep 5
We start episode 5 with the Xiaoge Rescue Count at 6 for Wu Xie, and 7 total.
- Pangzi just sitting there eating while they go to dig an evil bug out of A-Ning 
- A-Ning is luckier than Pan Zi, though, having it in her leg rather than in her gut 
- Should I consider this part of the Xiaoge Rescue Count? Technically he is saving A-Ning here, but does she count?
- Fuck it. There's now 3 Xiaoge Rescue Count categories: Wu Xie, the protagonists as a whole, and everyone 
- So the count is now 6 for Wu Xie, 7 for the protagonists, and 8 for everyone 
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- That was a relatively painless bug removal. Probably helped that A-Ning was unconscious 
  - That's a large hole left in her thigh. Speaking from experience, standing & walking are not going to be fun for her for a LONG time. 
- But this is a cdrama, so she'll be fine within an ep or two 
- lol, I've never seen an unconscious person with this level of muscle control
- Wu Xie, you don't just wrap a bandage around a wound like that! Dress it first! 
- But, again, it's a TV show, so a bandage will be fine 
- JESUS CHRIST PANGZI 
- LOL, yes, shhhh, Pangzi. Shhhh. 
 - Pan Zi's looking a lot better this ep 
- ...what's wrong, Wu Xie?
- Aaaand he just passed out. 
- Xiaoge actually looks mildly disturbed. I think this is the second most amount of emotion we've seen from him so far 
- That looks like a nasty bite 
- Oh, we're just gonna...feed him blood. That's what we're going. 
- And it woke him up
- Okay, so Xiaoge Rescue Count is now 7 for Wu Xie, 8 for the protagonists, and 9 for everyone 
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- Fortunately, Xiaoge hasn't lost as much blood as he did last time he used it for magic rescue purposes. Last thing they'd want is a comatose Xiaoge down here
- Everyone is just so chill whenever Xiaoge does weird stuff, it's great 
- Aaah, I was wondering how he'd been bitten, since I didn't remember a bug biting him. I forgot that A-Ning did 
- That's some odd poison if it got into her saliva just because she had a bug in her leg
- GDI Pangzi 
 - Of course the cure is in the tomb, and of course Xiaoge knows about it 
- LOL, there's a vaccine against the poison gas 
- Oooh, I was wondering when the dudes in the trees were gonna make their move. Poor Wu Xie's friend. He really would have been safer in the tomb, huh
- Hahah, why are the bad guys treating Wu Xie like the leader when he's just a uni student? 
- Ooh, who did that? 
 - Oh, Wu Xie's friend. Good boy. I mean, it was dumb, but brave. Now they can't use you against your friends. 
- Poor Wu Xie is so woozy he's not sure what happened
- Yeah, figured it was some more of A-Ning's friends 
- YOU LOSE CONTACT, & YOU LOSE CONTACT, & EVERYONE LOSES CONTACT! YAAAAY! 
- Get out before nightfall. Isn't that what Xiaoge said, too? 
- Yeah, abandoned in a forest at night doesn't sound like fun
- She should NOT be walking that well, although at least it is showing her limping and in pain instead of just okay 
- God, Pangzi, that was a dick move 
- And that was even more of one 
- Wow. I...don't really like this Pangzi. Those things he just did were actively cruel, even if she is an antagonist
- It's blocked? Yeah, ya think? 
- Oh, STFU Pangzi 
- Pan Zi looking at him like "I really regret not shooting you properly when I had the chance" 
- Xiaoge doing this "stab fingers STRAIGHT INTO MORTAR and remove the brick" trick again 
- The look on Pangzi's face is pure gold
- Had to pause watching for a sec to think about why I'm so mad at this Pangzi and more forgiving of Liu Sang in Chongqi. I think it's because Liu Sang intended to pull a prank. A mean prank, but he lacked the experience to understand that it was actively harmful and dangerous. It went wrong, and then he freaked because of that lack of experience and didn't know what to do/say until Xiaoge pushed him. And then he tried to help make up for it. Whereas this Pangzi did things that he knew would cause real physical pain to A-Ning and potentially worsen her injury just because he doesn't like her, and he doesn't seem to care or even give that a second thought, let alone look like he's going to apologise or try to make up for it. 
- OK, mini-rant over, back to the episode.
- Gratuitous Xiaoge side-profile pic just because
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- And now Pangzi is gonna embarrass himself by trying & failing to be Xiaoge 
- YEAH CHENGCHENG I WONDER HOW THEY KNOW YOUR NAMES 
- Okay, I gotta stop to look up his name. I can't keep calling him Wu Xie's friend all the time
- High Shao. There we go
- High Shao is a good kid 
- A-Ning's eyeroll at Pangzi is my entire mood with his antics right now 
- Eyeroll from Wu Xie 
- Can't see Pan Zi's face, but his whole posture is basically an eye roll 
- Oh. Well. Huh. I did not expect Pangzi to actually manage to break the wall
- Judging by everyone's expressions, no-one else did, either 
- Oooh, something bad must be coming, Xiaoge is going on guard 
- Yep. Zombie dude is on his way 
- Yes, send the woman with the serious leg injury to go crawling through a tiny cave tunnel first. Brilliant idea, Wu Xie
- OK, I should stop being so hard on bb!Wu Xie, this is his first time in a tomb after all 
- Y'know, guys, I really think it would have been a better idea to let Pan Zi go before Pangzi, given that he's also injured and all. Get your most injured people to safety first.
- How the fuck is that zombie deflecting Xiaoge's sword with his HAND?! 
- WHY IS IT MAKING TINGING NOISES AS IF IT'S METAL HITTING METAL?! 
- Oh, NICE, Xiaoge! 
- I am very disappointed that I could not get a good screencap of that awesome, smooth, and effortless slide he did through the tunnel
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- Things I discovered when I went to YouTube to see if I could get a good screencap of it by slowing down the playback (which I can't do on Viki) 
- the eps on YT and the eps on Viki are edited differently. I'm gonna have to watch this again on YT once I'm done with the Viki one
- At a guess, the YT ones have a bunch of stuff cut, because where I'm up to in ep 5 on Viki is in ep 4 on YT 
- For instance, XIAOGE'S AWESOME SLIDE THROUGH THE TUNNEL JUST THEN is not in the YT one?! 
- Wow, I'm going on a lot of tangents tonight. OK, back to the ep.
- Xiaoge holding the zombie at swordpoint until it gives up and backs away 
- So these zombies have some intelligence 
- ngl, though, if I was on my hands and knees in front of a hot guy holding a sword on me, backing away would be like the last thing I would be doing
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- Why the fuck is there a giant, chained up tree deep in the middle of an underground tomb? 
- And ivy all over the cave walls? 
- WHERE ARE YOU GETTING SUNLIGHT FROM DOWN HERE?! HOW ARE YOU ALIVE?! 
- I'm glad you're just as confused as I am, Pan Zi
- OK, some sunlight is getting in, since there are two bodies laying in a conveniently positioned sunbeam 
- Sure, what the fuck are you gonna do to him, Pangzi? He's dead. He doesn't care. 
- Unless he's another zombie who's gonna rise from the grave, but still don't think he cares
- Yes, Pangzi, tomb robbers don't end well 
- Love Wu Xie's cute suspicious face 
- Lucky grab there 
- Oh, there you are, Sanshu 
- Do all the tunnels in this place empty out at this tree? 
- LOL, I love that Sanshu immediately doesn't take any of Pangzi's shit
- That was a bad place to faint 
- Good thing Xiaoge is right there! 
- Xiaoge Rescue Count: 8 for Wu Xie, 9 for the protagonists, 10 for everyone 
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- I love how often Wu Xie is the damsel in distress
- Don't worry, Sanshu, Xiaoge will definitely look after his future bf
- Looks like Pangzi is about to fall. Again 
- Pangzi, if you had HELD ON to that vine, it wouldn't have been as bad 
- Wait for him to realise he's laying between two corpses in 3, 2, 1... 
- Uh...I hope they're just stuck to him and not actually sitting up under their own power
- These are remarkably well-preserved corpses 
- THERE'S that realisation 
- And there's the freakout 
 - They did get just get caught 
- They're not gonna have kids, Pangzi, they're dead 
- Pangzi, what are you doing? Leave the corpses alone now
- Wake them? I don't like the sound of that, Sanshu 
- Also, how do you know that? 
- Cute pingxie shots just because 
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- In her mouth? 
- Oh, a key, thank goodness. I thought it was gonna be an evil bug 
- Pangzi, stop appraising her necklace, didn't you say you're not a tomb robber? 
- There's fucking what now? 
- HOW?! 
- THERE'S A WHAT IN HER ASS?! 
- Hahah, well that certainly stopped Pangzi from checking out the valuables on her 
- JFC 
- That got Xiaoge's attention 
- Oooh, he's noticed something in the tree 
- Sorry not sorry for more gratuitous Xiaoge shots
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- That's a pretty looking key 
- ...and now her corpse is undergoing rapid decay? How the fuck was the key preventing the corpse from decaying? 
- That explanation makes no logical sense, Sanshu 
- Maybe that box the other corpse is holding, Wu Xie? 
- Pangzi thought of that, too
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- What were those flashes? Were those just for the viewer, or was one of the characters getting them? 
- That seemed to be the unnaturally bright green-eyed man from the opening credits 
- Leave the sword alone, Pangzi 
- Although I do understand the desire to pick it up
- Uh...what 
- No shadow is NEVER a good thing 
- WTF? 
- Sanshu, I never wanna play poker with you 
- This doppelganger has done a damn good job of acting like Pangzi this whole time 
- When did it replace him? 
- Maybe it was the doppelganger who was so cruel to A-Ning? We'll see.
- That's a very solid ghost 
- And that's kinda creepy 
- Uh...isn't she already dead? 
- Sanshu just going straight for the tackle 
- Clever boy, Wu Xie 
- Though, Xiaoge, where were you? Were you just gonna let Pangzi strangle Sanshu, or did you figure Sanshu had it handled?
- (he did not have it handled) 
- (pretty sure if that had been Wu Xie you'd've jumped in the moment Pangzi's hands went around his throat, if not before) 
- *sigh* Pangzi, pls 
- The Green Eyed Fox? 
- Was that the dude in the fox mask? 
- Probably (also?) the opening credits guy
- How the fuck has it taken me 3 hours to get through half an ep? 
- Oh yeah, I keep going off on tangents and pausing to take pretty screenshots of Xiaoge 
- So we're doing fox demons, are we? 
- Don't touch anything. Yeah, like that sword you had casually slung over your shoulder.
- Storytime! 
- Suuure, Pangzi 
- Xiaoge really seems to know everything 
- Don't rattle it, Wu Xie 
- Oh, that interested A-Ning 
- I wonder if this is the thing that's supposed to cure Wu Xie 
- Sanshu thinks it's a bad idea, but doesn't want anyone other than Wu Xie to know
- Or, more to the point, doesn't want Pangzi and A-Ning to know 
- Good excuse, Wu Xie 
- I wonder if Pangzi is still supposed to be a doppelganger, or if that was part of the hallucination 
- Yeah, suuure you're not going to steal relics, Liu Tai
- Have they set up a new camp at the digsite, or did they take Chengcheng and High Shao back to their original camp? 
- I think he does legit want A-Ning to be ok, though 
- Looks like I was right, all the tunnels lead to the tree 
- Which means I expect zombie guy to show up any minute
- Don't think A-Ning will be happy they kept what happened to her friend from her when that happens 
- Xiaoge back into 'something is coming' mode 
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- Oh, how was that for timing? Less than a minute after I said it, zombie dude is on his way 
  - And it goes straight for Pangzi 
- Maybe he knew Pangzi was a dick to his friend 
- GDI A-Ning 
- That's a strong zombie 
- XIAOGEEEEEEE! 
- Xiaoge Rescue Count: 8 for Wu Xie, 10 for the protagonists, 11 for everyone
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- Yes, Pangzi, Xiaoge IS amazing
- lol, Pangzi making so much noise cheering for Xiaoge that he got the zombie's attention back 
- Xiaoge Rescue Count: 8 for Wu Xie, 11 for the protagonists, 12 for everyone
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- This is apparently the Xiaoge Rescues EVERYONE ep 
- I'm not surprised you fell, A-Ning, with that wound
- That was a heavy fall. Ouch 
- Come on, A-Ning, you seemed more level headed than this so far 
- And the zombie knocks away the easier/closer target, Wu Xie, to target A-Ning 
- Wonder if there's a reason for it, or just dramatics
- And then he stops trying to bite her to kick her away & go back to fighting Xiaoge? 
- Those are some very nice moves from Xiaoge 
- And now the zombie is...launching himself at Wu Xie and the others? 
- Wu Xie being the hero and pushing everyone else out the way
- Pangzi to the rescue? 
- No - A-Ning!
- Poor A-Ning 
- Oh yeah, better pull Pangzi out the tree 
- Zombie spitting up blood as he's dying 
- No, Pangzi, he's not gonna be fine. A-Ning shot him like 4 or 5 times in the chest 
- Aaah, zombie is lucid now
- Wu Xie ain't doing too good right now 
- Those are some nasty bruises. Caused by the poison gas/blood, I'm guessing 
- WTF made you think drinking the water in a tomb chamber was a good idea? 
- Xiaoge's shown emotion a total of 3 times in 5 eps, and 2 of those have been worry for Wu Xie
- Whatcha looking for, Xiaoge? 
- Huh, no-one even thought to look under there, just assumed the box was all that was interesting 
- Kirin blood?!  
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- And how did A-Ning know what it was, esp from that distance? 
- Pan Zi, you are like the second most badass person here next to Xiaoge
- Also, I am no longer feeling sorry for A-Ning 
- You owe these people your life, A-Ning, and this is how you repay them? 
- Xiaoge isn't too impressed. After all Pan Zi ain't Wu Xie 
- Oh, that seems like a fair deal. 
- I am pleased with the amount of Xiaoge in this ep
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- Xiaoge Rescue Count: 9 for Wu Xie, 12 for the protagonists, 13 for everyone
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- Not gonna count his offer to A-Ning as a rescue, since he didn't bother waiting to see if she'd accept before he went ahead and saved his future bf 
- This is the softest I've seen him look all show
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- Pan Zi is much nicer than I would have been. I would have probably punched her 
- Then again, they've made a fuss a few times about treating her differently because she's a woman, ugh
- Hahah, Xiaoge just getting up and walking off without any explanation for poor Wu Xie
- Wu Xie seemed so concerned, like he thought he'd done something wrong 
- Then all worried, aww 
- Hahah, Xiaoge not even gonna wait for A-Ning, just gonna go find her guys all by himself 
- Several *thousand*? No wonder Wu Xie's gagging
- Oh, eating super old kirin blood is what made Xiaoge's blood magical? Does that mean Wu Xie's blood is also magic now? 
- Just Chengcheng in danger, Sanshu? What about High Shao? 
- What about climbing the tree? 
- XD XD XD
 - Sanshu saying exactly what I just did
- There's sunlight already coming through, will you even need to dig a hole? That sunbeam on the corpses was pretty big 
- Pan Zi like "of course I can climb all the way up there with a hole in my gut and several other injuries"
- Of course Wu Xie is gonna worry about A-Ning getting out as well. He wouldn't be Wu Xie if he didn't 
- Wu Xie is such a nice boy 
- Pan Zi is also pretty forgiving 
- Pangzi, you just can't take people being sincere with you yet, can you? 
- That's some depressed fatalism there
- Sanshu now doing his part to convince A-Ning by appealing to her sense of responsibility for her men 
 And there we go for ep 5! It only took me...5 hours for a 40 minute ep 
We end with Xiaoge Rescue Count at 9 for Wu Xie, 12 for the protagonists, 13 for everyone
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silver-wield · 5 years ago
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Final Fantasy 7R review
I finished the game this morning and I already have regrets that there’s nothing left for me to do besides replay and anxiously wait for news of the next installment. I want more. I want to not have finished it yet. I need to know what happens next, not just in the updated story, but with the game mechanics, too. I’m happy the team is taking their time to make the game as good as it deserves to be, but on the other hand I wanna throw a toddler tantrum demanding the rest of my game! 
Beware, spoilers.
The bad stuff
To be fair, not a lot from where I’m sitting. I’ve seen people bitch about textures and how the scrap yards don’t look dynamic enough and some stuff is flat, but seriously, why are yall looking at the walls? They’re the least interesting thing about the game and you’re just nitpicking. The graphics overall were amazing and I stopped multiple times just to rotate the camera and take in this massive city we actually get to really explore for the first time ever!
I have to admit a slight disappointment in the amount of space, verbally, that was happening. There were times where I expected characters to make comments and they said nothing. Things were overlooked or just not addressed and it wasn’t even anything plot related, just a point where there could have been dialogue and it didn’t happen. It wasn’t often, but those few times the air was left dead I noticed it. The most notable time was in chapter 17, right after Sephiroth appeared on the gangway. Now, I get them being too shocked to say anything when he’s right in front of them, but after, when they separate and fall into two groups? Nothing? No comment? Tifa, I definitely expected to say something in a shocked tone, but even after they found Cloud again, she didn’t mention it. It was like the moment didn’t happen. I know the other times nobody else but Cloud saw him, but this time they saw him, and he’s linked to Tifa’s past too, so she definitely should’ve had some kind of comment in that empty space.
That was the only major point, but other small ones were when people were talking and one character remains silent. The only one I expect to never speak if he doesn’t have to is Cloud. Because it’s Cloud. Everyone else should have something to say. Like when they climbed the stairs. If you took the stairs - I was all done in from so many fights and just wanted a break - then you got hilarious commentary from Barret, Cloud and Tifa. It showed how close they’ve become. Cloud made a joke! His second one of the game! If you missed the first, it’s likely because you obsessed over him going on about money all the time and saying that’s all he cares about when he’s with Tifa. So, yeah, after being shown how the group can talk to each other and banter I’m hoping Square adds more chatter to the next game. I know some people prefer less chatter, but this is a group of people who are supposed to be shown as friends, so conversation is important.
The other thing that got on my nerves was the mechanics of the weapons upgrade. Unless I missed a shortcut, having to go out of each one and then into the next one instead of just switching over to the next weapon’s skill tree. It took a long time to level things up and I wish there was an option in the auto to just unlock every skill one at a time, so they’d do it on auto without me having to go in there. And the ATB. That got on my nerves. I’m lazy af, so I’d like for action to just pause whenever someone’s atb fills so I can give them a command and then go back to the battle instead of having one eye on all the atbs. It’s probably more classic than Square wants to go with it, but having that as a battle option would be nice and a further throwback to the old style of gameplay.
The good
Everything from chapter 3 onwards. The intro chapters were good, too, but I really just wanted to dig into the game and that didn’t happen until chapter 3. The VAs killed it! Graphics were amazing! The weapon abilities were fun and added something different to the regular gameplay style of just grabbing the next strongest weapon. Side quests were enjoyable and I wish there was more of them, especially a save the citizens for after the plate fell. That really would've hammered home the tragedy.
The story
I’ve seen people - mostly OG fans - bashing the new elements. Sure, the whispers are a weird angle to come at it from, but the explanation for them, that they’re trying to maintain the OG storyline, made for an interesting twist on a 25 year old story. Sephiroth’s early appearance was just something that had to happen, along with a Jenova fight, because, come on, this section of the OG was like 3hrs worth of content and this is 40hrs, so ofc they had to include new things and it matches with the new storyline and I think people need to release their death grip on the OG storyline and enjoy this game for what it is. 
I found the ripple effect(?) interesting too. From what we learned, the OG happened in the future. If things hadn’t changed that’s the future everyone was heading towards. Ok, cool, pretty simple. 
This timeline had small changes. Biggs, Wedge and Jessie survived!? Or did Wedge finally get shoved off a building at the end, I really couldn’t tell if he bought it that time, but if he did I’m mad cause he was adorable. The plate falling didn’t have as big a casualty number as originally, either. And Hojo almost spilled the beans to Cloud early, but was cut off, and that’s the other thing Cloud ignored in dialogue afterwards, but it’s Cloud, so we’ll give him a security pass for that. The others ignoring his Ptsd induced freak outs isn't cool though and I expect Square to fix that level of callousness towards him from the others.
Those are the only two changes from the OG. Sephiroth showing up early instead of in Nibelheim doesn’t really matter. He’s his usual cryptic asshole self and his goal is unchanged. The team just knows he’s the big bad earlier now and have a solid goal instead of just randomly wandering after they leave Midgar. So, yeah, does Biggs, Wedge and Jessie living make a big difference overall? Will that ripple from them being alive make further changes?
We also saw that Zack survived because of our team, but the Zack in their timeline is still dead. I think we saw it this way because the planet is trying to find a way to prevent being hit with Meteor and ending up with geostigma, so the OG timeline, everything was still bad. Our timeline gives possibilities for a slightly better future and then the timeline behind it - the one with Zack - offers even better odds, not that we’ll see that. That’s the timeline I think Aerith will live through, so that way Square can say Aerith lives, just not in the game we play now.
Shipping
I’m not into wars, so if you love Aerith, cool good for you, I was focused on building affinity with Tifa and Square didn’t disappoint! There were so many romantic moments between them! And damn do they have chemistry! I squeed at such a high pitch the dog next door started howling! All the small touches, longing looks, affection, support, trust and OMGOSH IT WAS JUST THE BEST!!! They were so damn cute!!
I have no idea how the game changes if you focus on Aerith and to be honest I don’t want to. I think that’s what I love about the options for that. You can choose and no one can say your choice isn’t valid. 
One thing though, I would like an end to it because it’s 25 years of people arguing and it’s made the entire fandom toxic af and it’s actually the reason I avoid most of the final fantasy discourse because people can’t be civil to each other. Square should finally say once and for all that Cloud/ is canon and the other isn’t, instead of throwing a bone to them and being all “maybe if things were like this”, like no, pull on your big boy pants, Square, man tf up like Barret on a mission, and tell people who is the canon pairing in this damn game so people can just stfu and enjoy playing it without getting flamed.
This is why I want a FF8R because at least there’s no doubt who the couple is in that one.
Smol stuff
I’ve seen complaints about new characters being 1 dimensional, but they’re new characters in a game series that’s a trilogy, so they’re likely gonna appear again. Roche seemed added not just to give Cloud a boss to fight in the bike event, but also to show there’s other SOLDIERs beyond Cloud and Zack and the ones from Crisis Core, which not everyone has played.
Same goes for Leslie. I liked that dude and I’m interested to see him pop up again. His design wasn’t the typical bad guy henchman, easily disposed, thank you very much for playing. He has a story and I’m betting that’s not the last we see of him.
Again, same goes for Cloud’s infantry buddies. I’ve not played CC, but I get they’re from that, so will we see them again at some point? What about other CC characters?
Best Bits
Cloud in a dress. “Nailed it, thank you, moving on.”
Cloud dancing. Boy got moves and I wanna see him dance again!
Cloud/Tifa. Complimenting her like a smooth mutherfucker.
Cloud/Tifa Battle couple. They were my absolute favourite fighting combo and definitely kicked all the ass!
Cloud/Tifa. All the shipping bits, but especially jumping off the train and then trusting her to go kick Corneo’s ass. That’s how you show you know your girl
Wedge. Kitty momma
Biggs death. Damn you, Square, you got me all choked up.
Red. Specifically the bit where he highfived Barret with his tail lool
Barret. “Damn it, Red.”
Reno. Just Reno in general killed me. Love his conscience though and that he’s not a 1 trick pony.
Tifa/Aerith. Had more chemistry than Aerith/Cloud. Yeah, I said it. 
Barret and Marlene. Such a good daddy! His expression with her was like a whole different person!
Aerith bitchslapping a would-be rapist with a chair.
Cloud/Tifa/Aerith teamup to threaten Don Corneo’s balls - though I only include Aerith since she was there and she was about as threatening as a cupcake.
Conclusion
I want moar! I really hope the next one comes out soon! It’s not the same as OG, but has the best bits of OG along with something new to bring in a new generation of fans. The alt timeline angle feels fresh and open to possibilities and I’m excited to play this game for what it is, instead of comparing it and demanding for the OG like a crusty whisper lool
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twilightfansofcolor · 5 years ago
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Not A Good Look (Edward Cullen x black OC)
not requested
Naomi and Edward. Edward and Naomi. You couldn’t say one name without thinking of the other, it was impossible to separate the two of them. Naomi Mitchell and Edward Cullen were the most popular couple at Forks High School, and the best looking couple as well. They were goals, but they were extremely lowkey, never really flaunting their relationship except for a few kisses here and there.
Naomi thought they had a good thing going until Isabella Swan came to Forks. She didn’t think much of the chief’s daughter except for the fact that she looked skittish whenever a boy tried to talk to her, but Naomi was on the school’s welcoming committee, so she had the task of showing Isabella, or Bella as she liked to be called, around school and letting Bella sit with her friends. When Naomi left for Seattle with her mom to visit her sick dad, Edward had absolutely despised Bella, but when she came back, he was always talking to her, and everyone was talking about it. It was all her friends were talking about in the group chat. Girl, you really need to talk to Edward, because new girl beginning to be a problem. i’m surprised Jessica and them didn’t fill her in, her friend Larissa typed.
All this talk about Bella Swan was overshadowing her good news she received in Seattle. Naomi had been scouted by one of the biggest model agencies in the world, known for representing the biggest models in the fashion industry like her namesake Naomi Campbell, Tyra Banks, Alessandra Ambrosio, Iman, and Heidi Klum. Naomi typed back, ain’t shit happening between her and Edward, he can’t stand her. now can you, meghan and brie stfu so I can tell yall what happened in seattle? Three dots popped up just as Naomi began to type. homegirl goin around sayin Edward saved her from tyler’s van.
Naomi heard all about the accident from Rosalie who was practically screeching over the phone to her with rage. okay yall i get it, now stfu so i can tell yall what happened in seattle. so me and my momma were in starbucks waiting for our order and this woman came up to us and asked if i ever thought about pursuing a career in modeling and I said, “uh kind of” then she gave me her card and said to call if I was ever serious about it. Right away the group chat was blowing up with reaction pictures and gifs. It happened over a week ago and her mom was still telling people what happened; Ms. Mitchell told anyone who listened: the checkout lady at the grocery store, the woman in Port Angeles who does their hair, even her own clients. In fact, she could hear her mom downstairs doing a client’s makeup and telling the whole story. 
so are you gonna do it? Meghan asked. It seemed like a good idea, but Naomi didn’t think she could go through with it; she loved Edward and she didn’t want to leave him. A message popped up from Brie: bitch, from your lack of response i’m gonna assume that you’re too busy rn practicing your walk for nyfw cuz I know damn well you ain’t giving this shit up because of Edward, and if you are imma beat yo ass. Still Naomi didn’t reply because she knew her friend was right, and knew that Brie would keep her promise. If her mom knew that she wouldn’t take it because of a boy, she’d beat her ass too.
Every time Naomi would watch a rerun of Friends or The Hills, she’d always tell herself that she would not be like Lauren Conrad or Rachel Green who turned down Paris because of an ain’t shit man, and here she is, contemplating doing just that. i’m gonna get ready for bed. i’ll see yall on Monday. When Naomi got out her mom’s car on a gray Monday morning, everyone was staring at her, but not for the normal reason. She always rode with the Cullens, and as she made her way to one of the picnic tables, the whisperings started. “If I was Bella Swan I’d start running.” “Edward Cullen is a dead man.”
Naomi took out her math book and notebook and looked over her homework, anything to avoid the stares of her classmates. “Naomi looked pissed as hell. I would be too if my boyfriend started hanging around another girl the second I left town,” she heard a girl in her history class whisper to her friend. She tried to fight back tears and it took everything in her to not call her mom and tell her to turn around. Instead, she just texted Edward saying they need to talk. As soon as she pressed send, his car pulled into the parking lot and she shoved her books in her bag, relieved that she wouldn’t be waiting too long. Naomi felt like she got punched in the face when she saw Bella Swan getting out of the passenger side of her boyfriend’s car.
What the fuck? Now all eyes were on the three of them, Bella looking like a deer caught in the headlights as she saw Naomi coming to them, Naomi, who looked like she was about to beat Bella’s ass, and Edward who tried to put himself between the two girls; Naomi’s right hand began clenching as she marched over. “Edward can I talk to you? Now?” It began to get darker and a crack of thunder sounded, followed by rain. She didn’t care that her freshly braided her was getting wet and didn’t bother with the hood of her jacket.
“Why haven’t you answered my calls? Rosalie said you were out of town. What’s going on with you?” They were under a stairwell near the boiler room, where students hardly ever go. “I didn't think this was a conversation meant for a phone call or FaceTime.” Naomi’s heart dropped to her stomach, and she could feel the tears again. “W-what conversation? You’re not breaking up with me are you?”
“I’m sorry Naomi, but Bella and I.. we... like each other.” “Are you fucking kidding me?! You hated her the second she got here and now you like her?! I was gone for a week. And you don’t even check on me to ask how my dad is doing. You know, the one you met on two occasions and played chess with? They’re thinking about taking him off life support if you’re wondering!” Edward knew that Naomi wasn’t that close to her dad since he left her and her mother for another woman years ago and he immediately felt bad that he hadn’t thought of the girl at all. He tried fighting his attraction to Bella by being mean to her, leaving the state, but it hadn’t worked.
Edward couldn’t hide it anymore, and he knew he had to break Naomi’s heart. “Naomi, I’m so sorry, really. If there’s anything my family can do--” She held up to hand to stop him. “No you’re not, if you were you would’ve answered my calls. If you wanna be with Bella, fine. Do whatever you want, I don’t care anymore.” The bell rung and Naomi ran out the back exit of the school. She didn’t care that she would be missing school, didn’t care that her clothes and backpack with her homework were getting soaked in the downpour. 
Naomi just wanted to get home and back into her warm bed and watch movies all day. She cried the whole ten minute walk home, even as she got into the hot shower and didn’t stop until she got back in the bed. She knew her mom would get a phone call about her attendance and didn't care about the trouble. Naomi just snuggled under the covers and fell asleep in her dark room, hoping it would be a bad dream.
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picturetoburnnn · 6 years ago
Text
Like To Be You (Ch. 2)| Ashton Irwin x Reader
word count - 2.1k
warnings - mentions of harassment and/or assault. fluff pursues.
taglist - @songforhema @asht0ns-world  @lukesflaredpants @sunflowerxcal @lover-calum @cxddlyash @emomack @merryblueberry02 @kinglyhood @caswinchester2000 @babe-babylon @irwinkitten @1delicate-fangirl
requested tag for LTBY series - @biddyboi5000 @cashtonsbetch @ghostofcth @kikii-stfu @lockthisheartinchains @charlyssacook @imadontstopacoustic @afuckingunicornn @claredolphinbear24 @carostar2020
author note - y’all are cool. sorry this took so long. a bit hard to write with a broken wrist :// hope yall enjoy this!! 
PART ONE // MASTERLIST
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It’d been three weeks since she’d last seen or heard from Ashton, but only days since an envelope filled with cash appeared in her mailbox with a snake stamped in the corner. It had no address, return or delivery, leading her to believe that someone had placed it there in the middle of the night or while at work. 
But tonight wasn’t the time to think about that. Y/N was out with her friends, and she was damn sure gonna have a good time. 
The club was dark, with neon lights flashing every few seconds. The bass beat thrummed through Y/N’s body, convinced it was her heartbeat. She smiled with her best friend as they danced, swaying hips like nobody’s business. 
“Want a drink?” Her friend’s voice was hardly even audible over the blasting music. 
“What?” Y/N yelled over the crowd.
The question was repeated louder; Y/N heard it this time, nodding in response and watching as her friend squeezed between people to head to the bar. 
As soon as she was out of eyesight, Y/N felt hands on her hips. She spun in place to find a mousy looking man smirking, hands still on her waist.
“Hi baby.” His voice was scratchy, grisly. 
Y/N’s expression twisted into one of disgust. 
“Get off me,” she simmered, spinning back around and dislodging the wandering fingers. 
“C’mon sweetheart,” he whispered in her ear, replacing his hands. “Don’t be like that.”
She fought against his hold, but to no avail. He was determined to keep his palms precisely where he wanted them. Y/N began to panic, but shoved it down. She would not allow this man to control her that easily.
“I can fuck that mean right out of you.”
Y/N brought her foot up sharply, then jabbed the heel of her pumps on his foot. He released her with a cry of pain, balancing on one leg as he held the injured foot. 
With him distracted, Y/N tried to fight her way through the crowd, to little avail.
“You bitch,” he seethed, reaching out for her again. But before he could grab her, a hand clamped around his wrist. 
“The lady said no,” came a familiar voice. “No means no.”
“This doesn’t concern you,” Handsy hissed, half-limping as he tore his hand away. 
“This is my club, and you’re harassing my patrons. Pretty sure I can step in.” Y/N stood tall behind this new redheaded defender, who looked quite good in his white tank top and dress pants.
“My girl and I were about to head home.” Bullshit-Man beckoned to Y/N. 
Y/N stepped forward, surprising both the males. She gave the assaulter a sweet smile before shoving her knee upward, watching as he crumpled over in pain. 
She crouched over his figure. “Don’t fucking touch me.” It took all her willpower not to spit on him as she stood and walked away. 
“Y/N!” Her friend appeared in front of her, a drink in each hand. “Took forever to get them.”
“I think I’m gonna go home,” Y/N sighed. 
“What? This drink cost five dollars alone! Please?"
"Sorry ma'am." the man who had come to Y/N's rescue spoke again. "She's not suited for a night out this evening. I'll have the bartender refund the drink. Tell him Ash said it's alright."
Without further conversation, he guided Y/N to a side exit she didn't know existed. 
"What the hell, Ashton?" she hissed once the door had shut, the light rain falling between them. "You flirt with me for a few days, then you fucking ghost me, then you show up on my night out? This is my first night off in weeks, and you show up and ruin it!"
"I'm sorry, would you rather I hadn't have stepped in?" Ashton's hiss made Y/N flinch, but she hid it well. 
“I was handling it just fine.” She turned on her heel, raindrops flying from her hair.
“Wait,” he sighed, grabbing her arm.
She wrenched herself free of his grasp. “You don’t touch me either.”
He immediately withdrew his hands, holding them up, palm facing out, by his shoulders. His red hair clung to his forehead in cute little strands.
“I just wanna talk to you.” His face held some sort of emotion Y/N couldn’t name. She considered for a moment.
“I still carry that pepper spray in my purse,” she said, signalling for him to start speaking. 
“Didn’t expect any less,” he acknowledged, dropping his hands. “I’m sorry for just dropping out of your life like that. I just--” He couldn’t seem to find the right words. How could he explain how he was trying to ensure your safety by keeping you out of gang business without revealing how much he liked you?
“It wasn’t safe if I kept hanging around you. If anyone from the other gangs in town thought I had some connection to you, they would target you. I’m sorry, but I just couldn’t deal with the thought of you getting hurt because of me.”
Y/N stepped closer to him. “But what if that was a risk I was willing to take? Did you think for one second that maybe I liked being around you?” She jabbed a finger in his chest, getting up in his face. “I am well aware of the people you are friends or enemies with. It was a risk I was willing to take. You’re entitled to be worried, but you can’t just drop off the planet then resurface looking like this and take my goddamn breath away when I’m trying to be mad at you.”
She hadn’t meant to say the last part, but he heard it anyway. In an instant, Ashton was cradling her face in his hands, and pressed his lips harshly to hers. Y/N let out a squeak of surprise. Ashton pulled just inches away, breathing heavily. Y/N stared into his eyes, and when he opened his mouth to say something she pulled him back to her. 
The kiss was fiery, like the floodgates holding every emotion the pair had bottled up over the past three weeks were opened. The searing intensity was almost overwhelming. With the rain falling, it was like a scene from a movie.
When the couple finally split, neither felt they could breathe properly. 
"Sorry," Ashton breathed raggedly. "I had to do it just once."
"Shut up," Y/N whispered and pulled his lips back to hers.
"Let me make it up to you," he whispered. "I will. There's a little place I know not too far from here. Are you hungry?"
Y/N nodded.
~~
"So what is it that you do?" He asked gently as they walked through the city.
Y/N swung their intertwined hands. "I'm a pediatric nurse at the hospital. I take care of the kids when they're not immediately in the doctor's care."
Ashton smiled softly at her. 
"What?" She half-chuckled.
"That's so adorable," he giggled. "Like, I can't explain it. Picturing you and little kids -- it's just so cute to me."
"Wow, buy me dinner before you talk about kids to me." Y/N smirked deviously.
The redness that overtook Ashton's face made any ounce of uncertainty she had about this 'date' disappear.
"That-tha-that wasn't what I meant, I'm so sorry Y/N, I didn't mean to imply--"
"Ashton," she cut him off. "I'm teasing. It's okay."
The redhead looked at her, wide eyed, before letting out a nervous laugh. The rest of the walk was in comfortable silence, with the occasional point and saying "that dog is so cute!"
A diner came into view: an adorable retro design in all black, white, and red. Y/N couldn't help but chance a peek at the gang member beside her. He looked so soft in the yellow glow of the streetlamps. His smile was so wide. She almost wondered how he could have looked frightening that first night. 
"I used to come here when I was a kid," he mumbled. "Me, Lauren, 'n Harry would walk here when mum worked late. It's been years."
"Well they better be good." Y/N grinned as she tightened her grip on his hand, pushing open the doors.
~~
Laughter filled the diner, with furtive glances across the table. With only themselves and the waitress there, the whole place felt like theirs. 
Halfway through a shared chocolate shake (“What do you mean you’ve never dipped your fries in a chocolate shake?” “I mean I’m sane!”), the opening notes to George Ezra’s Hold My Girl played softly through the diner. Ashton’s head whipped up from his straw when he heard her gentle gasp.
“Oh my God, I love this song,” Y/N breathed.
The redhead watched in awe as the girl closed her eyes and whispered along to the words, swaying side to side ever so slightly. Before he can think about what he’s doing, he stands from his side of the booth and holds his hand out for her.
“What are you doing?” Her question was laced with nervous giggles as she opened her eyes.
“C’mon, trust me,” he muttered softly. Y/N put her hand in his.
He pulled her up from her seat, chest pressed to his. She automatically pressed her cheek to his chest, though she had no idea why.
“Sing it to me,” he muttered into her hair as he began swaying them back and forth.
For a moment, the song was only heard through the speakers of the diner. His heart dropped as he thought he may have moved too fast. Then--
“I’ve got time, I’ve got love.”
He let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding.
“Got confidence you’ll rise above. Give me a minute to hold my girl, give me a minute to hold my girl.”
They danced through the tables to the soft love song, getting faster and wilder with the music. He spun her in circles, giant smiles on both their faces.
My girl, my girl.
It takes one hot second to turn it around.
It takes one hot second to turn it around.
As the song gently slowed down, so did their dance. The closing notes played quietly as the couple swayed back and forth, all thoughts of whoever else may be in the diner forgotten. The moment of silence between songs was all Y/N to break out of her trance. She pushed herself off Ashton, wide eyed. The boy confusedly watched the girl of his dreams sit back in the booth, dazed. 
“Everything good? Can I get you two anything else?” The elderly waitress that appeared at the table pulled his attention away. Agnes, her name tag read.
“No ma’am, just the check please,” Y/N muttered softly.
“Oh, don’t you worry about that,” she said in the most grandmother-like way possible. “It’s on the house. You two-- I’ve never seen anyone as in love as you are. It’s the most lovely thing I’ve seen in years. Beautiful couple, you are.”
“Oh, we’re not-- I- I’m not--, Ash and I, we--”
Agnes gave a knowing smile. “Of course not.” She walked off without another word.
Ashton said nothing, but brought his wallet out and carefully placed a hundred dollar bill in the center of the table.
“Ashton,” Y/N hissed, eyes wide. “The total was less than twenty.”
“She was sweet. She complimented you,” he said without looking up at her. 
Wrapping her fingers around his, Ashton once again pulled Y/N from her seat. “It’s late, I should take you home.”
~~
The walk to Y/N’s home was filled with quiet, both lost in thought as the rain faded to mist around them.
“Here we are,” he breathed when they arrived on the doorstep. 
“It was good to see you again.”
“Yeah, it was, wasn’t it?”
Neither dared speak louder than a whisper, afraid to lose the moment. Afraid to lose the butterflies in their stomachs.
“Do you wanna come in?” Y/N offered, desperate not to let the night die.
“I don’t think I should, doll. Next time, I will. I promise.” He held her cheek with one hand, fingertips brushing the nape of her neck. Their faces were inches apart.
“Am I gonna see you again?” Y/N asked, finally letting her vulnerability show.
“Without a doubt,” Ashton whispered before sealing his lips to hers gently.
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coffee-obsessed-writer · 6 years ago
Text
When You Least Expect It, Part Nine
Jensen x Musician!Reader; Rob Benedict x Reader (Platonic); Jason Manns; Nathan (OMC); Dee (OFC)
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Masterlist - Contains Chapter Links & Wardrobe Collages
A/N: This is a slow burn fic that I have been working on for a while. Its a story I wrote for myself and just wanted to share with everyone. Yes, the “Dee” in the story is who you think, but there is no intended hate on her or their actual marriage. It is a work of fiction, that is all. Part nine is from the Both POV. There is also a playlist to go along with the series. 
Spotify Playlist : Songs in this chapter - “Wow and Flutter” “Stay With Me” “Every Breath You Take”
Beta’d by @closetspngirl who has contributed so much to this fic! Thank you for not only indulging my lunacy but encouraging it with gusto! I don’t know what I would do without you!!!
Chapter Summary: Just as they decide to finally take this whole crush thing to a new place, people from their pasts like to pop in and cause some trouble.
Chapter Warnings: Language, Mild Violence, Floof, PDA
WC: 13K (Yeah, I know... I need to just stfu) **with lyrics. Lyrics NOT written by me in bold, italic. That honor belongs to the wonderful April Smith and The Great Picture Show. Song is on the playlist and I highly suggest checking it out. Its a great tune.
*Banner created by me; pics & gifs found online.
Tags are open if you want on, or wanna hop off.
Jensen woke up that morning with a smile. For the end of May, it was already hot in Austin, and the humidity wasn’t exactly being easy on the people who lived there. It was barely nine and he could already see the heaviness in the air. It didn’t phase him one bit because in the next two hours he would be heading over to the townhouse to spend the day with Y/N, Robbie, and Jason. They had planned a full-on day of just working and brainstorming on the best way to go about arranging the schedule of bands, where each one would be playing and for how long.
It wasn’t an easy task, as many of them were traveling into Austin for one day. Y/N had already taken care of all that and even arranged for a shuttle service to take the acts to and from the venues to hotels, airports, or even the local convenience store—wherever it was they needed to go. They were giving their time and talent for a worthy cause, so if there was something she could do to make their stay more comfortable, she was more than willing to do it.
It was little things like that, that made her a good partner on the event, but it was also those traits that made him look at her with hearts in his eyes and butterflies in his stomach. Her mind had a way of working and problem solving it like he’d never seen before. She wasn’t just thorough with following through, she took steps above and beyond what would be expected and consistently blew his mind.
On today’s agenda, the schedules would be finalized, and he could finally talk to her about the music she would be doing over the course of the weekend. That was what started all this, after all. Watching her play at the Beachcomber, seeing her play on New Year’s Eve, singing at the convention—Jensen knew this festival would not be complete unless Y/N took the stage. If he could convince her to sing with him as well? Even better.  
It didn’t take more than an hour for him to be ready to go. As he showered and dressed for the day, he rehearsed a hundred different ways to approach Y/N about performing. He had brought it up casually in the weeks since they were in Chicago, but she always found a way to change the subject or just blow him off completely. Today, he was determined to get her to agree to getting on one of the stages and sharing her gift with the crowd.
Keys in hand, Jensen was heading for the door when there was a knock at it, quickly followed by the door opening. Jensen was about to go off when he saw Jared come through.
“Hey! You here?” Jared called out, then spotted Jensen standing off to the side.
“Uh, yeah. Right here,” he chuckled. “What are you doing here? Thought you were heading out for a road trip with Gen and the munchkins.”
“We are. Leaving later this afternoon, I just had to talk to you real quick so I told her I had to run a quick errand.”
“So, you’re lying to Gen about coming here? Has she been reading fanfiction again? She worried there’s some, uh, frisky business…” Jensen motioned back and forth between him and Jared but kept a straight face.
Jared rolled his eyes. “No, you jackass. But she was talking with Dee yesterday at the house.”
Jensen was a little taken back by his statement. “Uh. Ok. So?”
“So? Dude, I knew Dee had been calling and shit since New Year’s, but you didn’t tell me she and what’s-his-face broke up. She made it sound like you two were getting close again and she was interested in reconciling. So, what gives?”
Jensen didn’t know what to say to that. He stammered and then started to pace from the entryway into the living room. He tossed the keys he had in his hand onto the coffee table and turned back to Jared.
“She said what now?”
“All I heard was that she and that guy broke up a couple weeks ago and that she’s been talking to you every day. Is she?”
“She texts me a lot. But it’s stupid shit, mostly. Not like we’ve been talking talking. What did she say, exactly?”
“I didn’t hear all of it, and when I walked in Dee clammed up. But, from what I could hear, your name along with the word ‘reconciliation’ was being tossed around.”
Jensen groaned a deep sigh and exhaled. “This is just aces. What the hell is she thinking?”
“So, you’re not, then? You and Dee aren’t—”
“No! No way. I haven’t thought about her like that in a long time. Especially after New Year’s.”
“Because she was there with her new man—ex-new-man,” Jared mumbled to himself, then waved it off. “OR is it because of Y/N?”
“Honestly, both? I guess…” Jensen shrugged.
This was all news to him and news he wasn’t exactly happy to hear. Y/N had her issues with an ex, now it was going to be his turn? It was bad enough that weeks had passed since he asked Y/N out on a proper date, but their schedules just hadn’t allowed for it to happen yet. Now, there was another potential roadblock that he wanted to prevent as quickly possible.
“Whatever you do, you didn’t hear this from me, alright? Gen and I have had enough conversations about you and Dee. No offense, but I just don’t need to go another round.”
“Hey, I get it completely. I’m sorry you had to catch some of the fall out from that.”
“It was bound to happen. Just for the record, Gen doesn’t have a vested interest either way. Not like she’s on Dee’s side waving pom-poms just because they’re friends.”
“Even if she was, she’s rooting for the losing team. I will always care about Dee, but the breakup happened for a reason. Took a while, but I am seeing what the reason is now.”
“Y/N?”
Jensen smiled, and that flutter of butterflies kicked up in his stomach. “Yeah. Because of Y/N.”
Jared considered it for a minute and nodded. “Despite the miscommunication debacle, you do seem pretty damn happy since you met her.”
“Because I am, man. She just makes me feel good. It's going slow, but, slow is good.
“How slow?” Jared asked, his expression wrought with curiosity.
“Slow. Very, very slow. But… it’s okay. It’s good. Means maybe it will work out.”
“Well, well… look at who’s being Mr. Level-Headed. Didn’t think you had it in you, to be honest.” Jared was trying his best to control his grin as he continued taking shots at his best friend.
“Don’t you have a trip to go on?” Jensen asked, then looked at his watch and back up at Jared with a deadpan gaze.
“Seriously! I mean, you freaked when Dee left. Completely overreacted and created this larger than life project. Didn’t you buy like, twenty pair of cowboy boots—”
“Alright, alright… thanks for the info and painful reminders, you can go now.” Jensen hurriedly tried to usher Jared towards the door. “Come on Paul Revere, you delivered the news. Time to ride off now. I got places to be.”
“Y/N’s?”
“Yes, now go.”
“You’re gonna talk to Dee?” Jared asked before he was pushed out of the door completely.
“Yes. I promise. I’m not lookin’ for a fatal attraction situation here, okay? I will speak to her and not bring you into it. Happy?”
“Blissfully. Tell Y/N I said hey. I’ll call you when we’re back.”
“Alright mom,” Jensen smiled and waved as Jared walked towards his car in the driveway, flipping him the middle finger as he went.
Jensen closed the door and went back into the house. He didn’t want Jared to see the mild panic at what he had told him, but there was some anxiety growing. When Dee had first reached out, Jensen was glad to have smoothed things over with her. Being friends again seemed like an achievable goal, and he didn’t even care anymore that she was with someone else. In the time between New Years and seeing Y/N again in Chicago, Jensen became hyper-aware that his fascination with the songstress from Seaside was more than just a fix for his loneliness. She was way more.
By the time they were in Chicago, and Y/N seemed just as happy to see him as he was her, it felt like a given that Dee was just an old friend, and their communication reflected that. Y/N was his focus, aside from the festival. Rekindling whatever he had with Dee was the furthest thing on his mind.
He debated on calling Dee then, but he didn’t want to bring Jared into it, so he thought it best to wait until Dee contacted him first. Then, it would give him time to figure out the best way to broach the subject of her possible intentions without it feeling like an attack. A provoked Dee was not a happy Dee.
Just as he was about to reach for his keys and head out the door, his phone vibrated from within his pocket. Almost afraid to see who it was, he slowly pulled it out and looked at the screen. When it was Y/N’s name and not Dee’s, he smiled with relief and tapped the message icon.
>>Please hurry. Robbie is playing a harmonica while Jason is playing a kazoo and doing a jig. I cannot be the only person to witness this chaos. HURRY!
<<I’m gonna need video evidence. It’s great for blackmail. On my way.
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Jensen was able to get across town and be at Y/N’s complex in less than thirty minutes. As he approached the front door, he felt a twinge of anxiety. It only took a moment to realize that it was related to what he and Jared had talked about that morning, mixed with the understanding that he would have to tell Y/N about it.
He had to, right? Yes, he thought as he was only steps from the door, I don’t wanna fuck this up. Be straight up with her. She’ll understand.
Back when he had been with Dee, he always second-guessed himself. He would mull over a thousand different questions and had even more moments where he doubted what he thought or felt in regard to Dee. Jensen had no doubts now. He knew that Y/N would be understanding of the situation, and he realized that none of those past insecurities were coming up. Having that kind of confidence in not only himself, but in Y/N, made him even more determined to be upfront with her as soon as possible.
He knocked but could hear the music muffled coming from the third floor. Since she had come back from New Jersey, Y/N transformed the third floor of the townhouse not just into her office, but into space where people could jam, pick at guitars, or just sit quietly and enjoy the view of the river. The sound of guitars and yes, even a kazoo, floated down from the open window making Jensen smile. He went to knock again when the door pulled open, and Y/N’s face greeted him.
There was a split second where he just stared at her. She was radiant, and the heat of the day didn’t look to bother her one bit. Her hair was swept up off her neck in a messy bun, and around it lay the charm he had given her for Christmas. Y/N looked like she had just rolled out of bed, still in an old Pink Floyd concert T-shirt that had been modified into a tank top, and black pajama shorts that exposed a good amount of her legs. Y/N wasn’t wearing a drop of makeup. It was the most natural he had ever seen her, and by far, her most beautiful look yet.
“Don’t just stand there, hurry or you’ll miss it!” Y/N said excitedly and pulled Jensen into the apartment. “Come on! If you get upstairs fast enough you may catch Rob on the kazoo! Who knew he could rock out on that thing!”
Y/N had Jensen’s hand in hers and was pulling him towards the stairs. He froze in place and let go of her hand. “Whoa… easy tiger. Can you just wait for one sec.”
She turned to face him and looked slightly hurt that he let go. “You alright?” She studied him for a minute and then loosely crossed her arms under her breasts. “You’re not. What’s up?”
“Yeah, I mean, I need to talk to you about something and, I’m not sure where to start.”
“Oh,” she said and swallowed thickly. Her arms fell to her sides, and she fidgeted with them for a minute before returning them to crossed under her chest, but this time she was more tense and guarded. “What about?”
Jensen saw her body language shift and realized he gave her the wrong impression. Not off to a great start there, champ, he chastised himself.
“Nothing bad, promise,” he chuckled and closed the distance between them. He lightly rubbed the upper parts of her arms and as he softened his gaze on her, helping a little tension release from her body.
“Then, what is it?”
He already regretted bringing it up. “I’m a dick, this could have waited. I just… I’m so afraid of fucking this up--”
“Stop. You can’t do that. Whatever is gonna happen, is gonna happen, Jay. If you have something to tell me, please do. Then give me the benefit of the doubt that I won’t run out on you again, okay?”
“You’re right.” He paused and gave himself a moment to figure out where to start. “Jared came by this morning to talk to me...” he continued, trying to not be nervous about something so trivial. “You know how Gen is still friends with Dee? And how she and I have been talking again?”
“You’ve mentioned it,” she said.
“Right, well, I guess Dee was at their place yesterday, and she was making it seem to Gen that maybe she wanted to come back.”
“Come back? You mean, like, come back to you?”
Jensen nodded and watched nervously as Y/N processed what he was explaining. She was quiet, and that made him anxious. The longer she just contemplated, the more on edge he was getting. It wasn’t a big deal, it really wasn’t. He was just trying to be honest and upfront because he didn’t want her to get any wrong ideas about his interest, or lack thereof, in Dee.
Y/N paced from the entryway and through the kitchen. Leaning back against the counter near the sink, she used her hands to boost herself up and sat on the granite top. “I thought she was with that guy from the party.”
“Apparently she dumped him last week.”
“Oh… How do you feel about that?”
“About Dee’s breakup? Or about her wanting to come back?”
Y/N shrugged. “Both.”
“I mean, we go way back and she’s not a bad person, just misguided sometimes. I do care about her, and I want her to be happy if that’s with him or someone else… that’s up to her.”
“Do you want her back?” she asked bluntly, and for the first time, he saw a bit of worry threading through the lines of her forehead.
His reply was genuine and immediate. “No, Y/N, I don’t.”
Jensen crossed the kitchen and stood in front of where she sat on the counter. He could tell she was trying to play the whole thing very cool, that wall she put up was there, but not guarding her completely. Jensen could see there was a space that he could crawl into and make room for this business between them to grow further, but he would have to be vulnerable with her, first.
He took a step closer, putting himself within that zone of her personal space; the area reserved for only the most intimate of encounters. His tongue ran out nervously over his bottom lip, as he brushed his thumb lovingly against her cheek.
“I haven’t thought about Dee like that in a long time,” he continued in hushed tones. “Whatever she and I had, it's long over. You are the only person on my mind.”
Jensen leaned in and kissed her lips gently. He saw her eyes flutter closed and felt her respond to his touch. A flood of relief washed over him when Y/N’s arms draped over his shoulders and her hands clasped behind his neck, encouraging him to kiss her. It took every ounce of willpower he had, but Jensen finally did pull away from her before he wouldn’t be able to.
Jensen let his forehead rest against hers for a moment before stepping back. “Besides, you still owe me a first date, remember?”
“I remember. Maybe stop leaving town the second I get back…” she teased, challenging him with the rise of one, well-manicured brow.
“I could say the same for you. Can’t seem to coordinate these travel schedules of ours.”
“Well, you just had to go off to Italy last week…”
“Hey, I told you to come. We could’ve had our first date in Rome!”
Y/N rolled her eyes and sighed. Jensen couldn’t even pretend to be exasperated with her anymore when she did that. From that first night they spent out on the beach in Seaside, the simple expression of annoyance she threw at him quickly became the one he found most alluring.
“I told you, I don’t have a passport--”
“We need to fix that.”
“--Also, I had to work.”
“We should fix that too. This guy you work with seems like a jerk. You should tell him you need a night off. Or at least time to get a proper passport photo.”
“You are such an ass,” she giggled but looked at him with such adoration, even Jensen couldn’t deny it was there despite his constant fear that she would quickly lose interest in him.
“Seriously, he works you like a dog, never gives you weekends off to go out on a first date with me--”
“Ohhh my God, shut up!” she groaned, took his face in her hands and pulled his lips back for a blunt smack of a kiss and released him, solely to shut him up. “You done now?”
“Not if you’re gonna keep kissing me,” he winked. “In all seriousness though, when is this gonna happen?”
“I don’t know Jay, I leave in two days to go back to Seattle, then I have to fly out to Jersey because Miguel and Javier have finally agreed to join the festival. BUT they want me to come out and go over everything. Javier doesn’t trust Leo, and frankly, Leo would just fuck it all up. When do you start up again in Vancouver?”
“Next week,” he sighed. “It’s not lookin’ good here, Trix. I know things are chaotic, but I really want this time with you before things pick up even more.”
Y/N smiled bashfully and cast her eyes down away from the intensity of his gaze. “I want that too,” she replied in a near whisper. “How about tomorrow? Last minute, but, at least we’ll be in the same city on the same night.”
Jensen perked up, but before he could answer, they heard someone rushing down the steps in leaps and bounds, their feet eventually landing on the ceramic tile of the kitchen with a thud. Y/N started to laugh as Jensen’s head whipped around and saw Robbie standing there out of breath and trying to maintain his balance so he didn’t fall.
“Whoa, that’s slippery,” he said with chuckle and then saw Jensen standing there. “Hey! Look who’s finally here! You missed a killer kazoo session, brother.”
“I heard.” Jensen moved to hug Rob hello and then went back to his place right next to Y/N.
Rob looked at them and saw all the signs of two people clearly smitten with each other. Y/N was sitting on the counter, and Jensen was leaning back on the edge directly in front of her. She rested her chin on his shoulder and looked completely comfortable doing so.
“Don’t you two look cozy,” he quipped and went to open Y/N’s refrigerator.
“Aw, come on Robbie. We got our snuggle session later, do be hatin’,” Jensen teased.
Rob ignored Jensen and gasped when he looked inside of the fridge. “Jesus, Y/N, it’s like a deserted wasteland in this thing. Doesn’t the man pay you enough to buy groceries?”
“No, he pays me in wit and booze.”
“Bri was right, you two are a match made in Hell,” Rob sighed and closed the refrigerator door.
Y/N sat up straighter on the counter prepared to defend her barren refrigerator. “Rob, when am I supposed to go grocery shopping? Or cook for that matter? If I am in town, I am here for hours at a time. I can count on one hand how many times I’ve used this kitchen.”
“I’ll tell you what,” Jensen said and moved off the counter to turn to face Rob and Y/N. “Let’s get a bit of work done first. Then, I’ll run to the store and get something to cook up for everyone. Sound good?” Jensen offered her a helping hand off the counter, and she took it happily.
“Pizza?” she asked excitedly when her feet were back on the floor.
Jensen sighed. “God, no. Not again. No Salty Sow, either. I’m talking a home-cooked meal. Alright?”
Rob’s face lit up. “You’re gonna cook for us?”
“Yeah, sure. Why not? But, schedules first.”
“Aye Aye, Captain,” Rob said and thought they would both follow him up. When neither Jensen or Y/N made a move to follow, he realized he had interrupted something, again, and turned for the stairs. “You know, I’ll just head up and get the board clear,” he stammered and retreated back up the steps.
“I love that strange little man,” Jensen chuckled and slightly shook his head before turning his attention back to Y/N.
“So, you’re gonna cook, huh?”
“Yes ma’am,” he answered, accentuating the thick Texas drawl he normally toned down.
She eyed him with playful suspicion. “Didn’t know you could or that you even liked to.”
Jensen took a few steps towards her, his gaze fixed on her as he walked her back until she bumped into the refrigerator. He placed a hand on either side of her head against the freezer door, then bent down and ghosted his nose over hers before he left a breath of a kiss on her lips.
“There’s a lot you still don’t know about me, Trix. Come on, let’s go get some work done before this takes a turn and nothing gets done at all.”
Jensen stepped back from her, but Y/N felt frozen in place. He took her hand and peeled her off the fridge, forcing her feet to move and guiding her in direction of the stairs to join Rob and Jason up in the office.
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An hour in and little work has gotten done up on the third floor of the townhouse. Jensen, Rob, Jason, and Y/N spent most of the time discussing music itself, instead of the scheduling of music. Eventually, it broke down to Jensen on the couch with a guitar, smiling like a fool as Robbie harmonized with Jason and the kazoo. Y/N watched from her spot on the floor, holding her belly and laughing as the guys jammed on what started out as a really nice version of Simple Man, into something unrecognizable, but amazingly fun.
When they had finally worn themselves out and put the instruments down, Rob’s stomach was growling loud enough for the entire room to hear it.
“Jay, please go get this man some food. I’m afraid we’re losing him.” Y/N pleaded with him as she stood up from the floor. “Maybe if he knows food is on the way, and you two aren’t here to distract him, I could trick him into work.”
“You’re devious,” Rob added, looking up to Y/N. “But your plan may just work.”
All eyes were on Jensen now, who regrettably got up from the couch. “Fine. Let’s do this. Jason, wanna take a ride with me?”
Jason nodded and got up from the couch and grabbed his keys from the table. “But we’re taking my car.”
“What’s wrong with my truck?” Jensen asked, slightly offended.
“Not the truck, I just want control over the music. Not really in the mood for Rob Zombie on repeat today.”
“Dude, that was one time. Let it go.”
Jason shook his head and went to leave the room, but turned and mouthed “more than one time” while Jensen’s back was still to him. “Meet ya in the car, buddy.”
Jensen waved him off. “Anything special you want me to grab while I’m out?” he asked Y/N and Rob.
“No, just food,” Rob said and went to pick up the guitar.
“Don’t you dare, Robert. You put that down and pick up the notebook and pen. Start making lists, I’ll be right back.”
Rob frowned, mildly scared. “Yikes. Since when did you get so bossy?”
Y/N gave him a challenging look, that made Rob slowly put down the guitar and pick up the notebook. Satisfied that he did what she asked, and turned her attention back to Jensen. She couldn’t help but laugh at his own expression as he appeared mildly shook at what he just saw happen.
“Damn, Trix. You gotta teach me that.”
“Oh don’t worry, I’m happy to boss you around any time,” she winked and then gently pushed him from the room and towards the top of the stairs. When they were out of view from where Rob was hopefully working, Y/N kissed his cheek sweetly. “See you soon.”
Jensen smiled and grabbed her arm lightly before she could turn away. His eyes were wistful and smiling, bringing out the crinkles she loved so much. He stole a kiss, sweet and soft before he released her and grinned smugly.
“I could really get used to this,” he said before turning and heading down the stairs and out the door to meet up with Jason.
Y/N took a moment to compose herself before going back into the office. When she did Rob watched her, a gleeful smile coming to light under his beard. “You guys… you’re pretty damn cute, you know that, right?”
“Shut up,” Y/N mumbled, but couldn’t hide the embarrassment in her smile.
“I mean it. So, what’s the deal, are you guys like… together?”
“Rob…” she whined. “Can we just work, please?”
“Yeah, of course,” he agreed and pulled out the list they had started with earlier that afternoon.
Ten minutes in and they came to their first bump in the road. There was an open spot on Saturday night that no one was able to fill.
“We could call one of the backup bands,” Y/N considered out loud.
“No,” Rob said, shaking his head. “I’ve got a better idea.”
“Which is?”
He leaned over and picked up the guitar, then held it out for her to take.
“You. You sing. You play. I know you have original songs. We’ve already talked about them. I want you up there.”
“No,” she chuckled and took the guitar but laid it down next to her. “None are ready, I don’t have a band anymore. I don’t--”
“Sure you do. We’ll back you up. Come on. Play one of the songs. I wanna hear one.”
“Maybe another time. Right now--”
“Nope. Now it’s my turn to be bossy. We need to fill this spot. It’s a big one on Saturday night on one of the main stages. I love the other bands and singers, but none of them are going to be able to fit that slot like it needs to be. We need a big sound. Original stuff. Too late to get any big, popular touring acts, so let’s give them something new. Besides, I know for a fact that a lot of fans are coming. A lot of which have seen you on stage with us already. So… whatcha say?” Rob motioned towards the guitar with his chin. “Play me something.”
Y/N studied his face for a moment and sighed in relent. “One song. But I promise nothing about the festival.”
“Yesss,” he hissed, excited for what was about to happen.
Y/N picked up the guitar and positioned it on her lap. “It’s not completely finished, but this is Wow and Flutter.”
She began to strum, the tempo was upbeat and had a good rhythm that Rob knew would be easy for the band to pick up.
“I could take a great big bite out of you When I get my cake I like to eat I like to eat it too And can I help myself if I find you simply delicious?
Now I'm like the big, bad wolf at your door My mouth is wide open, ready to explore And I'm not hiding the fact that I'm out for blood Baby, I'm vicious
Don't hate a girl because she knows All the ways to get beneath your clothes Cause you played those games, down to the letter You're just mad cause I play them better”
Rob’s foot was tapping along, and the grin he wore was large and genuine. When the verse went into the chorus, she repeated it twice and then just strummed the rhythm for a few more bars before stopping.
“I told you, it’s not done. I mean the lyrics are but…” she paused and shrugged. “Nothing special.”
“Nothing special?” Rob exclaimed. “Are you fucking serious right now? Y/N, that song… that could be huge. I can hear it finished in my head already and I’m telling you… it works. Please. Please consider this. I am begging you.”
Y/N didn’t know what to say. No one that had heard her original music had ever seemed very impressed by it; other than Mama Mia, of course. But that woman would encourage Y/N to do just about anything so she didn’t exactly trust her judgment.
“I--” Y/N was interrupted from a knock at the front door. “They couldn’t be back that fast, could they? Be right back.”
As she bounded down the two flights of steps, she felt a little relieved to be distracted from the conversation she was having with Rob. Putting it out of her mind, for the time being, she reached the front door and when she pulled it open, she felt like she was hit in the gut with a bag of rocks.
Nathan was standing on the porch, and when he saw her, his mouth unfurled to a wide grin. He looked tired and road worn; his clothes wrinkled and his hair unkempt. Yet, he still smiled wistfully when he saw her.
“Nathan?” His name came out more of a hollow whisper. “What are you doing here?”
“I came out to surprise you. Things at home were getting a little tiresome, so I rented a car and decided to take a road trip.”
“To Austin?”
“Well, not just Austin, but a stop along the way. Hope its a good surprise…”
“Um, yeah,” she said and tried to muster the enthusiasm he was expecting her to have. “Just a surprise. You have impeccable timing. One more day and I wouldn’t be here.”
“Oh? Why’s that?”
“Work,” she started and then stepped aside. “Sorry, come on in…”
Nate walked into the townhouse and looked around, letting out a little whistle as he did. “Fancy.”
“Not really. Just sort of serves as a home base for everything,” Y/N said, a knot of nerves was starting to tie in her stomach.
“Still pretty nice that you get to live here. Quite an upgrade from the bungalow.”
Y/N shrugged. “I don’t know. I love my bungalow. This is a great place, don’t get me wrong, but I miss having the ocean outside my front door.”
Nathan wandered into the living room and looked out of the rear balcony doors. “Yeah but, you got a river out back. That’s pretty sweet.”
“Yeah…” she trailed off, trying to think of what to say, but was blessedly interrupted by Rob coming down the stairs.
“Was that them because I am seriously hungry--” Rob said and paused when he saw the change in Y/N’s expression and body language. He didn’t say anything, but his brow knitted together, confused, and when she looked past him into the living room, Rob turned and saw the source of why her energy had shifted.
“Um, Rob… this is Nate. He’s a friend from Jersey. He’s on a spontaneous road trip and decided to pop in to say hello.”
“Oh, hey man!” Rob said and walked into the other room, hand extended in a greeting. “I remember you from FaceTime.”
“Yeah, right. How are ya,” Nate replied and shook Robbie’s hand?
“Good, good. That’s a long drive from Jersey! Where’s your ultimate destination?” Rob asked, trying to keep him engaged in conversation. He could feel the tense energy vibing off Y/N and he wanted to step in and help her however he could.
“Not sure really. I only have a couple weeks before I start work, so, thinking of checking out the west coast.”
“What work?” Y/N asked.
“Oh, you remember that old guy Ellsworth? The one with the fluke fishery out of Manasquan?”
Y/N nodded. “Of course, they were my dad’s biggest competition.”
“Yeah, well, his kid Kevin hired me on. Gonna be running flukes for the summer.”
“That’s great,” she said but felt that she didn’t entirely believe him. Kevin had been a friend of theirs growing up, and the last she could remember, Kevin and Nate did not leave things on good terms. Not wanting to rock the boat, she let it go and just tried to think of how to make this surprise visit go smoothly.
“Can I offer you a drink? I don’t have much, unfortunately…”
“I’m good,” he said. “Can I use your bathroom though? Long drive and all.”
“Of course, it's down the little hallway there, behind the stairs.”
Nate smiled at her as he passed by, and went down to the bathroom. Rob turned then and quickly walked over to Y/N.
“You alright? You look pale.”
“Just surprised is all.”
“Not a good one I take it?” Rob asked and Y/N just shrugged, then swallowed hard enough for Robbie to hear. “Who is he, really?”
“My ex. We’ve known each other for years,” she said lowly, then moved back into the kitchen so Nate wouldn’t hear them. “It didn’t end well. At all. He came over while I was back in New Jersey over the winter, wanting to be friends. But--”
“But what?”
“I don’t know Robbie, I think he wanted more. I tried to be firm and make that understood. But I don’t think he is taking that rejection well.”
“What makes you say--” Rob was cut off by the sound of the bathroom door open.
“So,” Rob started as Nate rejoined them in the kitchen. “How long you in town for?”
“Um, well, that depends on this one,” Nate said with a grin, that made Rob noticeably uncomfortable and pointed towards Y/N.
“Nate, I just told you, I leave on a trip soon. I won’t be here.”
“Oh, right,” he said, choking back whatever words wanted to follow. “Well, might as well make the most of the time we have, right? Why don’t you give me the grand tour.”
“Sure. I can do that. Rob, you wanna hang here and let the guys in if their hands are full?”
“You got it,” he grinned and watched as Y/N escorted Nate up the stairs towards the second floor.
When they were gone, Rob took out his phone and brought up Jensen’s name through the messaging app.
<<Hey man, how much longer you guys gonna be? Surprise visitor at the house, Y/N is sorta freaked.
He hit send and then held his breath for a beat waiting for Jensen’s response. It didn’t take more than a minute to get a text back.
 >>What the hell? Who’s there?
<<The ex popped in.
>>Mine or hers?
<<Hers.
>>What the fuck. She ok?
<<Yeah, just freaked he showed up unannounced. What’s his deal, anyway?
>>IDK never met the guy. But I’m about too. Be back in ten min.
 Y/N showed Nathan around to the second floor, but skipped her bedroom, then took him up to the office area on the third floor. When he walked into the loft space he stopped and took a good look around. It was a large, open room, with two glass doors that open out onto a balcony.
“Wow, this place… it's huge for one person,” he mumbled and walked through. “Can’t believe you have furniture and instruments up here, and still have that much room to move around.”
“Well the guitar is mine, but the amps and bass, drum kit… they’re all Robbie’s. He brought them up about a month ago and they just sort of became part of the room now.”
“You playing with their band?” he asked in an accusatory tone.
She was taken aback by the tone of his question. “Sometimes, but just for fun. Why?”
Nate shrugged, seemingly annoyed, and walked out to the balcony. Y/N stayed in the room, though she knew he wanted her to follow him out there. A moment or two later, he came back in realizing that she wasn’t going to.
“So what’s the plan, Nate? Why are you here, really?”
“Can’t I just come by to say hello? I mean, we’re friends, right? That’s what you said.”
“Yes, Nathan, we are--”
“They why don’t you call or text me back?”
“Because I’m--”
“Busy?”
“Yes, and stop interrupting me. I’m working, Nate. I travel a lot. I am in meetings with school boards, city councils, business owners, bands…”
“Singing on stages with celebrities…”
Y/N froze. “What did you say?”
“I saw you, Y/N. I saw the video. When you were in Chicago and you never called or texted back. I got scared something happened to you. I was sitting at home worrying that you were dead in an alley somewhere. I mean, you were in Chicago! Anything could’ve happened to you! So, since you weren’t answering, I did some digging. Searched hospitals and morgues, but then I saw the video and there you were, perfectly fine.”
“And? What the fuck does that have to do with anything, Nate? It was work! Also, I don’t HAVE check in with you. I call and text when I can. I told you back in January if you couldn’t handle us just being friends, then, you need to stay away.”
“No… I…” he stuttered nervously “I can, Y/N. I know, I have a lot to make up for. It’s just… I miss you. Just even talking to you. And I worry about you traveling so much alone.”
“I’m sorry Nathan, but that’s no excuse to come here to my house and act like a jerk.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry.”
Y/N sighed and crossed her arms over her chest tightly. From below, she heard the commotion of voices and knew that Jensen and Jason had come back. Relief washed over her, but also a sting of anxiety over Nathan coming face to face with Jensen and what that would entail.
Nathan heard it too, and Y/N saw his body noticeably tense up. “More company?”
“No, the other guys are back with food,” she said and walked towards the door.
“What other guys?”
“Jensen and Jason. We were all here working today.” Y/N turned to go down the stairs. She didn’t invite him to follow, but he did.  
Down in the kitchen, she found Rob, Jensen, and Jason talking in hushed tones, and she had an idea that it was in regards to Nathan. The moment she arrived in there, they stepped back and resumed normal conversation.
“Hey,” she said and went to the counter where they were unloading the bags. “What did you get?”
Jensen studied her demeanor for a moment before answering. “I got some chicken kabobs to throw on the grill, some salads and Jason insisted on the mango salsa and chips.” He was going to ask about Nathan and if she was alright, but right on the heels of his rundown of lunch, Nathan appeared from the stairwell into the kitchen. Y/N heard him and did her best to keep a pleasant tone as she introduced him.
“Nathan, this is Jensen, and that’s Jason. They are both working on the festival.”
“Nice to meet ya,” Jensen said and held out his hand. Jason simply gave a wave from the other side of the kitchen as he pretended to busy himself with the food.
Nathan hesitated when taking Jensen’s hand to shake, but after a moment, he reached out and did just that. Y/N could see he was getting angry. That side of him hadn’t changed, and all his usual tells were still the same; his hands were fidgeting, the vein in his neck was protruding, his body was very rigid. But somehow, Nathan managed to shake Jensen’s hand and even reply normally to the introduction.
“Same here. Heard a lot about you from Y/N,” Nathan said after letting go of the greeting.
“Yeah, me too… So what brings you to Austin, Nate?” Jensen was getting right down to business. Y/N watched nervously as the conversation between them was pleasant, yet ripe with tension.
“Just road tripping through,” he answered and shifted uncomfortably.
“How long you sticking around for?”
“Well, I don’t know, Jensen. Was hoping a few days but seems like you’re working Y/N too hard, as she’s off for another trip tomorrow.”
Jensen knew that she didn’t have to leave for another two days, but nodded in agreement. “Yeah, well, that’s why she gets paid the big bucks,” he said with a forced smile. Y/N saw that expression and knew there was nothing humorous about it. Jensen was getting annoyed by Nathan already, and she needed to find a way to diffuse the situation.
“Jay, why don’t you go light the grill. Takes a few minutes to get going. Rob and Jason can get back on the schedules while the food’s cooking. Right guys?”
“On it,” Rob said, grabbed the chips and salsa, then motioned with his head for Jason to follow him back upstairs.
“Yeah, okay,” Jensen said after the other two left, and gave Y/N a purposefully sweet smile. He grabbed the ready-to-grill chicken kabobs from the counter, then made his way through the living room and out onto the patio to ready the grill.
“Nice guy,” Nathan mumbled sarcastically. “His hair always look like that?”
“You need to stop. I am not going to do this with you.”
“Do what?”
“Have you stand in my house and be rude to my friends. You forget I know you, Nathan. I know your tone, your body language… I know when you’re lying and I know when you’re being a shit on purpose.”
He was growing annoyed and she didn’t care. She was tired of his brazen ways of trying to get her to pay attention to him.
“I’m not lying. I am on a road trip, wanted to see you. That’s all!”
“Ok, fine. But, you should have called. I can’t just drop everything for you--”
“But you would for him,” Nathan snapped and pointed over his shoulder. “Some pretty rich boy… who can buy you townhouses and fly you all over the world. When the fuck did you get to be so God damn shallow?!”
“You know what, fuck you! You don’t have the first clue who he is. You don’t know me anymore, Nate! I am not the same girl you could push around and--” she stopped herself before she ventured down a road she wasn’t ready too.
“And what?” he asked, baiting her.
“It’s time to go, Nate.” Y/N wouldn’t look at him. Her arms were so tightly crossed against her chest, she was beginning to tense in her shoulders and lose feeling in her hands.
“You’re unbelievable. You leave Jersey for what, six months? And now you’re too good to spend time with me, right? You’ve moved on? What makes you think you deserve any of this, huh? Because some fuck boy is gonna give you whatever you want to suck his dick?”
Nate was growing louder and now, more than ever, she just wanted him to go peacefully.
“Nate, please. Just go,” she said, nearly pleading with him.
“You say I’ve changed?” he ignored her and continued. “YOU have changed! You used to not care about any of this shit. It was you, me and Dave. All we had was each other!”
“Right, then you drank everything away and left! Put me in the goddamned hospital before you did, too!” She was so angry she was shaking now, working hard to focus her frustration at Nathan. So much so she never heard the balcony doors open a moment before, or notice Jensen step through.
“I’m sorry, what did you just say?” Jensen’s voice cut through the tension and caused Y/N to finally unfurl her arms, letting them fall to her side.
“Jay…” she breathed and looked over at Nate who was grinning in a way that made her stomach churn.
“Did you actually just say that he put you in the hospital?” Jensen’s gaze was stuck on her, his lips pulled into a thin line and his arms rigid at his side. “Y/N?”
Y/N closed her eyes for a moment and sighed deeply before answering. “It was a long time ago… It’s not a big deal. I’m just asking him to leave now.”
“I don’t give a shit if it was yesterday or a lifetime ago. He put his hands on you and put you in the hospital. Yes or no?”
She tried to swallow back the lump of anxiety in her throat. Words wouldn’t come, but she wouldn’t lie to protect Nate anymore, either. Slowly, Y/N nodded.
In a flash, Jensen took a few lunging steps towards Nathan, grabbed his shirt at each shoulder and shoved him hard up and into the wall. His face was contorted into disgust and it was taking all of his will power not to pummel the man right there.
“What the fuck did you do to her?!”
Y/N could hear footsteps from upstairs, the volume of the argument reaching the top floor of the townhouse. Just as Jensen was getting in Nate’s face, Rob and Jason were there, trying to pull Jensen off him.
“Jay! Come on man be smart!” Rob yelled, yanking at Jensen’s shirt as Jason wrapped an arm around his waist, trying to move him back.
Jensen stopped resisting and let go of Nate’s shirt. He stepped back but was still breathing heavily through his nostrils from the rush of adrenaline.
Nate laughed and smoothed out his shirt. “That’s what I thought,” he mumbled and took a step towards the front door. “Don’t worry, Y/N. I’m going. I see you for what you are now. You ain’t worth--”
Nathan was stopped by the motion of Jensen’s fist connecting with his mouth. Taken off guard, Jensen cocked his arm back the second Rob and Jason had let him go. He had no intention of letting Nate get off that easy. Leaving or not, Jensen would have the last word here. No way he was going to let Nate say anything else, especially not about his girl.
Nathan went spiraling backward, and slammed into the front door, then slid to the tile. He grabbed onto his jaw where Jensen punched him and felt the trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth.
“Come on! You’re so fucking tough to him a woman?! Hit me, asshole! I dare you!”
“Jensen! Jay, please… Just… let him go,” Y/N was standing in front of him now, pushing him back towards the living room and out of Nathan’s reach. “Please, look at me.” She could feel how tense his body was and she was amazed she was even able to move him back at all. Y/N touched his cheek and then lay the same hand on his chest; simply trying to get his attention.
From behind her Nathan snorted a laugh and muttered, “Yeah, that didn’t take long.”
“Dude, I think you need to leave. Now,” Rob warned, feeling ready to lay down some swift justice himself. “Seriously. Fun’s over.”
“I swear to God if you come anywhere near her again…” Jensen growled then trailed off, knowing he needed to be careful, but seething to make a definitive promise of bodily harm. He finally looked away from Nate and into Y/N’s gaze. He saw her desperation for this to be over. For her, he released the tension in his body and laid his hand over hers that rested on his chest.
Nate didn’t say anything else. He glared at Y/N incredulously and gathered himself before opening the front door. When he was done eyeing her with an air of disgust, his gaze flicked up to Jensen. Nate spat on the floor and laughed, then went out the front door and slammed it behind him, making Y/N jump.
Jensen put his arms around her and pulled her into him. He held her until she stopped trembling, then walked her to the couch. In that time, Rob wiped up the floor, so Y/N wouldn’t have too. He and Jason thought it best to give their friends a few moments alone, so they quietly went back upstairs after setting all the locks on the front door.
“You alright?” Jensen asked her. She was tucked into the crook of his arm on the couch, and he was grateful she had stopped shaking.
“Me? How’s your hand? You hit him pretty hard.”
“Eh, it’s fine,” he reassured her and flexed it once or twice. “Promise. Just a little sore.” Jensen sat up and turned to face her. “Why didn’t you tell me what he did? And, I’m not trying to judge you, but why would you ever let him back into your life after he did… whatever he did?”
Y/N slowly shook her head. “I don’t know. He never used to be violent. After the drugs and drinking though, he got that way. We were at the Bamboo, and he had come for money and I wouldn’t give him any. He hit me, square in the face. Broke my nose and when I fell back, I hit my head and got a concussion.”
“Hence the hospital stay.”
“Yup.”
“Jesus,” Jensen sighed and took her hand in his. “He won’t hurt or scare you again. Ok? I won’t let him. In fact, I think it would be safer if you just come stay at my place. I won’t be there a lot, but, better than you being here alone. I don’t like the idea of that while I’m in Vancouver.”
“No, Jay--”
“No, listen. Please… Y/N…For me, for my peace of mind, come stay. We’ll wrap this up and then go back to my house--”
She was shaking her head emphatically. “No. I won’t do that. I won’t let him chase me away. I had to move away from the bungalow for months after that happened because I was afraid. I won’t leave my home again because of him. I won’t, so please don’t ask me too.”
Jensen was quiet for a minute but agreed to stop asking. “If he should come back around, you don’t hesitate to call 911. And tomorrow, I’m calling an alarm company and getting one installed.”
“Jensen,” she sighed, “That’s not necessary.”
“It is to me. And if you won’t come to my place. I will make sure you’re safe when I can’t be here. Sorry, Trix, those are the rules if you’re gonna date me.” His expression shrugged, and it made her smile. That’s all he ever wanted to do was to make her smile.
“I can handle that,” she said and leaned against him again.
“Do you… are you still--I mean, if you wanna cancel tomorrow,” Jensen started half-heartedly, hoping she would stop him. He wasn’t disappointed.
“Oh no, fuck that. We are going out tomorrow. I refuse to let that assclown ruin anything else. Especially that.”
Jensen breathed a sigh of relief and kissed the top of her head. “Good. That makes me happy.”
“Can I ask you a favor?” Her voice seemed small and timid.
“Anything.”
“For the rest of the night, can we not say his name or bring this up again? Everything was so perfect before he came and ruined it.”
“That is something we can do. You know what else, we can do?” he asked and pulled back to look down at her.
“Eat chicken kabobs. Good ones too. Maybe Rob and Jason even saved some of the salsa for us.”
“Now you’re just setting yourself up for disappointment, Jensen,” she teased.
She loved how despite the chaos that just erupted, he could roll with the punches and provide her with the tools she needed to get back on track with feeling good and skirting the void she used to fall into where Nathan was concerned. Jensen was a beacon for her, and she was grateful to have him in her life.
“Call me a hopeless dreamer,” he laughed and stood up from the couch. He offered her a hand and pulled her up to her feet. She turned to go, but he stopped her and made her face him.
He didn’t say a word, just kissed her softly and gave her hand a squeeze. She saw that he winched a little when he did and knew he was downplaying how badly his hand hurt. Y/N walked into the kitchen and went into the freezer. She pulled out a bag of frozen peas and met him near the staircase.
“Gimmie,” she demanded and waited for him to put his hand out. She rested it gently against the bag of peas and adjusted it to cover his knuckles.
“Robbie’s right, you are bossy.”
“It’s a gift,” she shrugged it off.
“It’s cute.”
She shook her head and concentrated on his hand. “I have sports tape somewhere. I’m a klutz, constantly tripping over stuff, so I learned to keep it on hand.”
“Hey, Y/N, it's fine. I’m fine. I promise. Go upstairs and help the guys. I should go flip the chicken. Then we’ll work and after which you and I can just concentrate on tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow? What’s tomorrow?” she asked, but couldn’t keep a straight face. “Still cute?”
Jensen nodded. “Ridiculously so.”
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Jensen called first thing the next morning, letting Y/N know the security company would arrive by ten for a consultation, and the installation was scheduled for the day after she left, with Jensen promising to be there to oversee it. They chatted casually about that evening, and he was very mysterious and vague about the plans he had made for them. Only that she should wear whatever she wanted, and be ready by six.
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There was much different energy throughout that day then there was the last time she spent an afternoon getting ready to go out with him. Y/N leisurely searched through her closet and pulled out a white, cotton dress, with a delicate lace overlay that came to mid-thigh. Pairing it with her favorite jewelry and sandals, she grabbed her light blush colored purse just as his knock rapped at the door.
Y/N exhaled a steady breath before she opened the door. She had been out places with Jensen a dozen or more times, but tonight was different. It wasn’t about work or the festival, it wasn’t planning or brainstorming. This was just Trix and Hollywood, going on a date and that put a mild tremor into her nerves.
She opened the door and saw him standing there staring off into the parking lot. There were a few times she was struck by just how gorgeous he was, but that night, Jensen took her breath away. He wasn’t dressed in anything more than a pair of blue-grey pants and a tight-fitting, long sleeve cream color shirt, but there was something about him that left her speechless.
When Jensen turned and was able to take in the full sight of her, his expression fell, along with his jaw.
Y/N had a moment of panic at his reaction. “What? It's too much, right? I’m way overdressed—” she paused when Jensen looked like he may say something but stopped. “Underdressed? I could change.”
Y/N went to turn, already running through other things she could throw on real quick. Before she could get far, Jensen’s hand gently grabbed her wrist to stop her.
“You’re perfect.”
“You’re biased.”
“Maybe,” he shrugged and guided her closer towards him. “But I don’t care. You’re perfect just how you are.”
She looked away bashfully, momentarily unable to handle the way he was looking at her. Y/N didn’t know if she could accurately describe just how intense it felt; just that it made every hair on her arms stand at attention, and every nerve ending spark with live current. Jensen offered his elbow to her just like he did on New Year’s Eve, and once again, she took it happily, closing the front door behind her.
As Jensen escorted her from the front door to his truck, Y/N had a moment where she wondered if he made her feel like he did because he was simply the most genuine and kind man she’d been out with, or if it was because that’s what it felt like when you met your soulmate. He opened the car door for her and once she was in and he closed it, she watched him walk around the front of the truck and thought the night would help her to figure that out.
 “You never did tell me where we were going,” she said as she watched the city roll by from the passenger window. “I mean, this is you we’re talking about, so I don’t know if you’re taking me to McDonald’s or to The Met.” Y/N turned her head from the window to look at him and was met by a deadpan roll of the eyes.
“Seriously? McDonald’s?” he sighed.
“What? I’m not exactly a five-star bistro kinda girl, Jay. I’m ok with Mickey D’s, as long as you let me supersize.” She wiggled her brows and winked at him. Even when she was being purposefully sarcastic, he found her adorable.
“We are definitely not going to either of those places. I was shooting for something more in the middle.”
“A hint, perhaps?”
“Nope. Sorry, Trix. You’re just going to have to be patient. Besides, we’ll be there before you know it.”
“Mean.”
“Terribly,” he smirked and directed his eyes back to the road in front of him.
True to his word, they arrived at the secret location shortly after. Jensen directed his truck through the entrance and to the parking lot, finding a space and killing the engine. Y/N realized they were in Republic Square and felt slightly confused until she spotted the sign near the edge of the lot that read “Jazz in the Park, Featuring FOR TONIGHT ONLY, Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox”. The realization hit her as to the evening’s entertainment and she whipped her head around to him.
“Seriously?! You got tickets that last minute?! I’ve always wanted to see Postmodern Jukebox!” she squealed and grabbed his hand, giving it a squeeze.
In all the months he knew Y/N, Jensen had never seen such a rush of excitement come over her. He thought he had seen all of her expressions, but this was new and he found himself liking it, a lot.
“I did. I heard you talk about them enough, and saw there were a few tickets left so I grabbed ‘em.”
“You’re amazing, Jay, thank you,” she breathed, then leaned over and left a longing kiss on Jensen’s cheek.
His breath caught in his throat like it always did when she was that close. But Jensen was able to maintain his composure. “Come on, let’s go find a good spot.”
Once they were out of the truck, he went into the bed and retrieved the oversized plaid blanket he had there along with a big wicker basket.
“Well, well, maybe you ARE a Boy Scout after all,” Y/N said, surprised at all the effort he had put in for their date that had been planned with such short notice.
“Shall we?” he asked, tucking the blanket between his arm and the basket, and offering her his free hand.
Y/N smiled and took his hand, lacing their fingers together, excited for what the evening had in store. “Yes, please.”
After claiming a spot close to the stage, but not in the middle of the crowd, Jensen spread out the blanket and set the basket on top. He offered a hand to Y/N as she went to sit, then took his place beside her.
The park had been transformed into an intimate setting with the addition of twinkling white lights that were strung through the trees that lined the perimeter of the concert area. The evening air was a perfect temperature, and off in the distance, beyond the dreamy atmosphere of the fairy-like trees, the insects of twilight could be heard performing their own concerto.
“What’s in there?” she asked pointing at the basket, then lifting the lid to inhale the familiar, savory aroma. “What did you bring?!”
“Well,” Jensen said, a sly smirk on his face as he pulled the basket closer and opened it up a little. “Wine, cheese, grapes, some caviar--” he looked to Y/N and saw her eyes narrowed at him.
“I know the smell of a burger, Jay. Don’t give me that wine and cheese crap. What did you get?!” She sat up on her knees and tried to get a look in the basket, but he snapped it shut before she could. “Mean!” she sat back on her heels and pretended to pout.
“Close your eyes,” he instructed. Y/N continued to protrude her lower lip and look at up him with wide, sad eyes. “Come on, don’t ruin my fun. Close ‘em.”
Y/N played along and closed her eyes. A moment later she felt him place something in front of her and when he gave her the ok, she was able to see the lengths he really went to for their first date. Sitting on the blanket in front of her, was a six-pack of her favorite brew from his brewery and two styrofoam containers from The Salty Sow.
Jensen went back into the basket and retrieved utensils and napkins just as the opening band took the stage. The smooth soulful jazz was a nice backdrop to a dinner of their favorite burgers and the light, playful banter that flowed so easily between them. By the time that band had played through their set, Jensen and Y/N had cleared the debris from the food and were ready for PMJ to take the stage next.
There was a good size audience spread out across the meadow, and they all rose to their feet when Postmodern Jukebox began to play. They kicked off the first set with the more uptempo numbers, prompting a lot of the people that were up, to dance and move to the beat. Jensen took Y/N’s hand and tried to pull her close.
“Come dance with me, Trix.”
She laughed and shook her head. “I can’t dance, or did you forget?”
“Did I ever tell you that I have a bucket list?” he asked, ignoring her and refusing to let go of her hand.
“No,” she sighed, “do tell…”
“Well on that list, it very clearly says, ‘dance with Y/N’. Are you really going to deny me a chance to cross something off my bucket list?” he asked with a feigned offense. “Really?”
“The first night I met you, I told you I dance like Elaine from Seinfeld, remember? Why would you subject yourself to that?” she asked with a chuckle.
“Oh, I remember. I also remember jumping into the frigid ocean just to get your attention,” he said, and brought her hand to his chest and held it there. “I remember asking you to come work with me…” his picked up her wrist, and brought it up to his shoulder, and laid her hand behind his neck. “I remember how you rolled your eyes at me constantly…” Y/N rolled her eyes purposefully at him, causing a smug grin to unfurl on his lips. “Yup, just like that.”
Finally, he slipped his arms around snuggly around her waist and began to sway her slowly to the music before he continued. “I remember you finally agreeing to come work with me after I sang Joy to the World, and then spent the night.”
The song ended, and just as Y/N half-heartedly tried to break away from him, PMJ’s cover of “Stay With Me” started to play. Jensen brought her in even closer, leaving barely a breath of space between their bodies.
“Oh no, that was barely a dance… Besides, I didn’t tell you what I remember the most about that first night.”
“What?” she asked, the question nearly silent as it caught in her throat.
“What I remember most, is how beautiful you looked in the moonlight.”
Y/N felt her chest ache at his words, and she instinctively felt the need to play it off like what he said was no big deal. She rolled her eyes and chuckled. “Laying it on a little thick, huh Hollywood?”
“No,” he breathed. “Not gonna let you do that.” His face turned serious as he held her a little tighter. “I mean it, Y/N. I knew that night that somehow, someway, I would get to hold you like this.”
“Jensen…” she breathed, unsure of what should come next.
Words were failing her. There was no snappy comeback, no witty retort she could throw at him that would shift the mood of the moment. What surprised her more was that she didn’t really want it to. Y/N wanted to be real with him. The simple act of allowing herself to dance with him was her being pretty open already, but she knew she had to go further. She wanted to put the walls down and be as vulnerable as he was; she craved it. Past experiences and regrettable choices were the only things holding her back, and it was while she danced with Jensen that she came to understand that they didn’t matter anymore. Jensen knew her, understood where she came from and how she’d been hurt because he had been too. He saw that in her and still wanted to be there, holding her while they danced under a canopy of stars.
Y/N sighed softly, and when her eyes were able to meet his she found the confidence to say what she needed to. “You were the first person I told that story to… the one about my dad. No one knew about that; not even my brother.”
The little smile Jensen had been wearing fell and was replaced by something softer. “Really?”
“Mhm, I just never wanted to share that. That was my thing with him. But that night, I don’t know, it just felt right. I wanted to tell you about it. I knew you were someone special when you jumped in the water and sang the song with barely any hesitation. I knew then that he would have liked you.”
“You think so?” Jensen smiled proudly hearing that from her. “I didn’t hesitate because I knew you’d be worth it. Whatever it took, would have been worth it for you to say yes,” he said, his voice low and raspy.
“After everything, you still think that?”
Jensen nodded, “Absolutely. What makes you think otherwise? Because of yesterday?”
Y/N shrugged. “Maybe. And, New Year’s… I know we promised to move on but, Jay… I still feel terrible, and--.”
“Don’t. I’m glad it happened the way it did. My head wasn’t ready for it all yet. Neither was yours. But having that time between then and now, I know for sure that whatever this is, isn’t just a passing thing. But I get still being cautious. So, if that means moving slowly towards something, I am happy to take the scenic route.”
“You really mean that?” she asked.
Before he responded, Jensen took a moment, letting his eyes gaze over her face, taking note of every freckle, the little dimples that only appeared when she smiled a certain way and how her eyes softened when she did. It was rare for him to see her like this; free of the facade she put up to keep people at arm’s reach. This was Y/N, real, raw and stunningly beautiful in her vulnerability.
“Yeah, I really mean that. I’m in, Trix. I’m all in. Just promise you won’t shut me out; not about what you feel, not about your past, not about what you want for your future. And I promise you to do the same.”
“Wow… dinner, music, dancing and heartfelt promises… what’s next?”
“Aaand there she is,” he teased, the smiling growing on his lips was still there when he leaned in to kiss her.
Y/N kissed him back as they danced close, eventually resting her head his chest, and his cheek to the top of her head as the song came to a close.
The band took a short intermission, so Jensen and Y/N sat back down and he opened them each another beer. As they got comfortable stretching out on the blanket, she began to look around the park. He watched her closely, something he had become quite fond of doing, and could tell that her mind was plotting and planning for when this park was under their control later that year.
“Stop it,” he chuckled and drank from the bottle.
“Stop what?”
“Planning. Plotting. Whatever you’re doing. No work tonight.”
“I’m not!” she objected and took a sip of her own beer, then shrugged subtly and sighed. “Ok, maybe I was, a little. But, I can’t help myself. I’m excited. Seeing this place set up like this, I can really envision our stage up there when the time comes.”
“It is pretty exciting. Honestly, I can’t believe how close it's getting. I couldn’t have done it without you, you know.”
“I know,” she sighed, waiting a beat, then winked at him playfully.
“Since it came up… there is one thing we haven’t talked about.”
“What’s that?”
“Well… since I met you, I’ve seen you do burlesque, play piano and sing with Bri, jam with Robbie… but you have yet to sing with me even once.”
“We can sing together anytime, Jay,” she chuckled.
“No, I mean at the festival.”
“You wanna sing with me at Brewfest?” she breathed. “Really?”
“You bet your ass I do, I think we should do a few songs together. Besides that, I think you should get up there with a band and do your own stuff. I know you have songs ready and I also know that Louden Swain would be more than happy to learn them and back you up on stage.”
“I--I don’t know, Jay. I’m doing a number with The Corsettes at one of the theater locations downtown, and I would be thrilled to share a stage with you. I don’t know about my stuff though. It’s not…” she trailed off and shrugged. “It’s just not good enough.”
“That’s bullshit.”
“How would you know? You haven’t even heard it yet,” she laughed and waved him off.
“Because Robbie heard it. I trust Rob and he said its beyond good. Will you at least think about it?”
The stage came to life again as the band returned from the brief intermission. Just as the music picked up again, she turned to Jensen and nodded. “I promise to think about it.”
Jensen leaned over and left a soft kiss on her cheek. “That’s my girl,” he whispered before pulling away and leaning back on his hands; his long legs stretched out before him, giving his attention over to the stage.
Several songs later, Y/N found herself leaning back on her hands as well, her shoulder leaning against Jensen’s, just lazily enjoying the show. The music was heavenly and the air of the evening was deliciously warm with the slightest bit of a breeze. The opening notes of “Every Breath You Take” began, and it made her sit up a little straighter. The original being a favorite, this particular cover was quite beautiful. As the songstress’ voice filled the park, Y/N couldn’t help but look over at Jensen, who wasn’t watching the stage at all; his eyes were firmly fixed on her.
Jensen sat up. He gingerly took her legs and swung them his way so they were draped over his lap, and slid her across the blanket so she was as close as she could be. She giggled and locked in with his gaze. He left his hand to rest on her knee and leaned in to kiss her again. It was soft and gentle, and when she kissed him back, his hand began to move slightly up her thigh, brushing past the hem of her dress. Her hand was on his cheek, sliding to his jaw than to his collarbone and coming to on the back of his neck.
She tried to remember they were in a public place, but the feel of his lips against hers was too good right then to let go of. With this particular song as the backdrop, she felt herself getting lost in him. Jensen’s lips moved from her mouth but didn’t go far. He left a trail of delicate, lingering kisses along her jaw until he reached her neck. He kissed her there, softly yet wanting. The path of his lips stopped when he reached the collar of her dress, and that’s when he lifted his head and met her gaze.
Jensen caressed her cheek with his hand and smiled wistfully. “So, better than Rome would have been?”
“Way better,” she whispered and leaned into his touch, finding his lips again and continued kissing him sweetly.
It didn’t get heated, or greedy; it was tempered and loving. Just the two of them lost in each other and in the song. When it ended, they let the other go. Jensen put his arm around her and held her as close as he could until PMJ closed the show a short time later.
The drive back to the townhouse was quiet but in a comfortable, contented kind of way. The next day she would be off to Seattle, then to New Jersey. Jensen would be back in Vancouver by the time she returned, so it was their last bit of time together for who knew how long.
He parked the truck and went around to open her door for her.
“I gotta say, Hollywood, you are quite the gentleman. Your mama did a damn good job.”
“I’ll be sure to tell her you said that,” he said, and squeezed her hand.
They strolled up to the front door, neither wanting the night to end, but knowing that it had too. If she was lucky, she could get in four solid hours of sleep before leaving for the airport.
“I feel sixteen again,” Jensen chuckled, feeling a little nervous. “Afraid your dad is gonna start flashing the porch light at us. So, when are we in the same city again?”
Y/N sighed, and Jensen thought she seemed as suddenly anxious as he was. “I’m not sure. I hope soon.”
“Before San Diego would be good. Think we could work that out?”
“I will do some planning on the plane. We’ll make it work.”
“Well, since things are going to get hectic, do me a favor and clear the first weekend in August.”
“August? Why August?”
“Gen is throwing Jared a belated birthday, Luau style.”
“Oh, well now, that seems fun. Are you asking me to be your date?” she asked and raised her brow in question and flashed the impish smile he couldn’t get enough of.
“What do you think?”
“I think I need to find a grass skirt.”
“Oh God, please, yes. Do that.” Jensen bit his lower lip at the thought of it and she smacked him gently. “I guess this is goodnight, huh?”
Y/N’s smile faded and she reluctantly nodded. “Unless you wanna cancel the festival and run off somewhere...” she tried to tease, but there was the underlying disappointment and knowledge that of course, they couldn’t.
“Don’t tempt me, Trix.”
“Alright. Another time, then?”
“Absolutely,” he said, almost breathless at the thought.
They embraced under the light on the porch and held each other for a long minute. Jensen kissed her, and despite the warm night air, ripples of goosebumps cascaded down her arms. He could feel himself craving more of her. Jensen was the first to break away; he had too.
“I should go,” he sighed. “If I don’t…” Jensen just shook his head and ran his tongue out and over his bottom lip.
“I know… I should go, too. Get some sleep. Thank you for tonight. It was perfect.”
“It was pretty perfect, wasn’t it?” He took a step off the porch and started to slowly head for the driveway. He paused and turned around, continuing to walk back towards his truck. “Let me know when you land tomorrow, okay? And how that schedule pans out…”
Y/N nodded, and pulled the door key from her purse and called out to him, “Night, Hollywood.”
She knew she should go in, but she didn’t want to until she saw him in the truck. Knowing he wouldn’t leave until he saw her actually go inside, Y/N unlocked the door and did just that. She closed it behind her, set the deadbolt, then closed her eyes and leaned her back against it.
“Oh, girl... “ she whispered to the empty room. “You are so, incredibly fucked.”
 Thirty minutes later, Y/N had retreated up to her room and changed into her pajamas. She’d gone through her nighttime rituals and slipped under the covers with a contented sigh. She grabbed her phone from the nightstand to check her alarm, and before she could navigate to the clock, the phone started to ring. The same mysterious number came up that had been calling on and off since Chicago. She pressed answer and brought it to her ear.
“Hello?”
Silence.
“Look, if you’re gonna keep calling, at least try to scam me or sell me something!” she groaned and waited another second. Ready to hang up, she stopped when she finally heard another voice.
“Stay the fuck away from Jensen. Alright? You’re outta your league here, lady. I saw you two tonight… the way you act around him, disgusting. No one should have had to see that! So why don’t you leave him the fuck alone and go back to that cesspool you came from!”
The other end went silent and the call ended. She immediately went to the call history and hit redial, refusing to let Dee--and she knew it was Dee--get in the last word. The call wouldn’t connect anytime she tried to dial, it would just beep three times fast, then end the call.
“Sorry, Dee,” Y/N muttered with a breath of anger, as she went back to the call log and blocked the number. “You’re too late, he’s already moved on.” She tossed the cell back to the bedside table and fumed before the image of Jensen floated back in her mind. 
Her beacon of light. She replayed his words “...I’m all in...” and laid back down in the bed. 
“Dee... Nathan... neither one of them are going to ruin this for us,” she whispered as she tried to close her eyes and drift off to sleep. “I won’t let them.”
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makeste · 6 years ago
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BnHA Chapter 171: Knock Them Dead With Your Sound
Previously on BnHA: Deku and Mirio visited Eri in the hospital. Eri apologized for everything they went through in order to save her, particularly Mirio who lost his powers. Mirio told her it wasn’t her fault and that everyone was just glad she was safe, and they all wanted to see her smiling face. Eri tried to smile but couldn’t quite manage it. Deku racked his brain for ways to cheer her up, and struck on the idea of inviting her to the cultural festival. Aizawa said he’d need to ask the principal but that it could probably be arranged. After Mirio explained the concept, Eri agreed, saying that she wanted to get to know everyone better. We then cut to the police, who were watching a live broadcast of a convenience store robbery and trying to trace its source. The robber, a gentleman thief named -- wait for it -- Gentle, took out six heroes in the blink of an eye and then left without taking any money. He said he wanted his name to be etched into history, and as he met up with his accomplice afterwards, he pondered what his next great exploit should be.
Today on BnHA: We are properly introduced to Gentle and his social media-savvy adoring fan La Brava. Gentle specializes in “chivalrous crimes” that target corruption. However his recent videos haven’t been as popular, in part because Stain and the League of Villains have been stealing his thunder. Back at U.A., word begins to spread about class A’s band performance and dance program. Bakugou overhears some grumps complaining about how cocky 1-A is and how they’re the ones who “start all the conflict.” That evening the kids meet to hash out who will be in charge of what. Jirou needs a drummer, and it turns out Bakugou plays drums, but he’s pissed at the idea of being obligated to provide stress relief for the other departments. As he puts it, “we aren’t getting smacked down by the villains because we enjoy it.” Instead he reframes the whole thing as a battle, and vows to knock U.A. dead with his sound. I mean, whatever works I guess. Meanwhile Gentle reveals to La Brava that he’s planning a new stunt which will surpass anything Stain or the League has done: he plans to invade U.A.
(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’ve read up through chapter 198 now, so any ETAs will reflect that.)
lol
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LIVING LAWLESS. all about that THUG LIFE
okay so the narrator, whom I assume is Gentle, is talking about people who have left their marks on history
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you’re telling me there’s a hero out there simply known as “Brave”? I know we already had a Mr. Brave, and I can tell you right now he has left his mark on absolutely nothing. so that means there’s another guy out there named Brave, so Mr. Brave, your hero name is even lamer than I thought. WHY DIDN’T YOU JUST GO WITH SPLIT END
ooooohh!
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oh my god. I want to know everything about all of these guys right the fuck now. particularly Destro. “special abilities liberation army” sounds a lot like a Magneto type “mutant rights” type of thing. there’s an era that we still don’t know much about right after quirks first started appearing on the scene, and it fascinates me and I want to know more about what it was like. because I have some fic ideas about that time period tbh. Destro, I’m definitely making a note of you
so now the narration is talking about how before the present systems were established, the lines between heroes and villains were blurred and it was an age of chaos
honestly this all sounds incredibly badass, like a superpowered wild west
and Gentle seems to agree, saying it was an age of pure freedom
this guy really feels what he’s doing, huh
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the gentle, soothing, cuddly criminal. when he’s not out doing Crime, he makes ASMR roleplays in his spare time. “sleep-inducing bank robbery 🌙 (whispered/soft-spoken)”
he’s walking over to La Brava now and she says that their account got deactivated “again”, so she just finished uploading all of their videos to a new account
fucking 2010s manga though, you guys!!
and apparently that narration was from his debut video, which she was rewatching and swooning over just now
so he’s going to finish his cup of tea and then they will get on to today’s filming
oh my fucking god
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you don’t understand guys. he’s really a man of the people. he’s on your side! handing out punishments to “those who do not act gentlemanly.” protecting them all from the horrors of expired pudding
oh my god you guys La Brava is the cutest ever I swear to god
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how is she so cute though??
she’s frustrated because the jstore robbery video didn’t get that many views
but Gent says they’re not in it for external validation
she’s really mad though because she says it’s been 6 years since he’s been active as “the villain of the media world”
and apparently when Stain came along and went viral he stole all their views
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yes but you have to admit they are super compelling though. I miss them, actually. where are they
(ETA: for real, they’ve been way too quiet recently and it’s starting to make me pretty nervous)
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did you read that car chase chapter, though. “spectacle” indeed
he says his style is the opposite of that, but nonetheless it can’t be denied that they have momentum
he says all of the 10,000+ comments on their videos concern that violent behavior
are you sure some of the comments aren’t also shipping Toga and Twice. or theorizing what’s up with Tomura’s hands. or talking about how badass Compress’s new metal arm is. honestly they have a lot going for them, man
lmao
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WAY TOO MANY JUMP CUTS
I also agree with the guy saying La Brava deserves more of the spotlight. she’s so great
Gent is letting loose with a hearty laugh and says he won’t be discouraged though, and that his next project will surpass even theirs
that is a tall order, sir. Tomura’s most recent act was a great service to humanity. all I’m saying is, you better not hype me up like the last new villain only to let me down, because don’t even get me started on that shitshow
so La Brava is all excited and asking what the next project is, and Gent is responding with a bunch of cryptic bullshit
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so I guess we’re going to find out more about the history of heroes and when they became an established thing, huh? I’m 1000% on board with this and I may actually be even more excited for this than for the upcoming class 1-A rave, negl. good job getting this manga back on track, Horikoshi!
(ETA: I’m so thick, he’s clearly just talking about U.A. here lol)
so now we’re cutting back to U.A. and Vlad (who I almost called “Brad” again, it’s been so long) is talking to Aizawa about the cultural fest, and he’s all “so I heard class A is doing a rave huh?”
interestingly, this seems to be one of the rare occasions where Aizawa doesn’t seem to be 100% on board with their hijinks
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stfu Aizawa. what’s more admirable than a fucking rave
now we’re cutting to the always adorable children of class A who are excited to plan their festival program
and some shadowy person is coming up to Bakugou and is all “did you hear?”
oh no wait they’re not talking to him, they’re talking to each other about class A right in front of him
um, whoa
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y’all trying to start some shit, huh? gonna talk shit about his class when they’re trying to do something fucking nice?? like it’s their fault they keep getting attacked by fucking villains? okay then. hey on an unrelated note, go fuck yourselves
so are these guys just assholes or is this really what the rest of the school in general really thinks? because I can see why they might not exactly have a favorable impression of them, truth be told. Bakugou’s stunts at the sports festival didn’t exactly paint them in the best light. and most likely everyone has made the connection between the kidnapping and Kamino and the student dorms. and probably it’s not much of a secret who the two kids who were caught fighting on Ground Beta after hours were, either. so yeah
but it’s still a dick move to come and do this right in front of him when he’s not bothering you or anything, so fuck you still, and I will come over there and fight you if I have to, don’t think I won’t
fuck. well anyway, while I’m here grumbling and trying to take deep, calming breaths, we’re cutting back to Heights Alliance, and Iida is taking charge of a planning session
first they need to decide on the music, so Jirou is suggesting genres
she says they really should be doing EDM if the intent is to play dance music, but on the other hand everyone seems set on playing instruments. lol it would be funny though if everyone took turns DJing
so she’s asking if anyone in class plays bass or drums, and is met with a dead silence
she says she plays guitar mainly, so her drumming is only so-so. and she says that if she has to teach a beginner how to play drums then one month is not going to be enough time
OH MY GOD
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I don’t fully understand what’s happening but ARE YOU IN FACT IMPLYING THAT MY SON KATSUKI KNOWS HOW TO PLAY DRUMS OH MY GOD. KATSUKI ARE YOU GOING TO BE IN A ROCK BAND!?
apparently the answer to that question is YES because class A knows all too well exactly how to manipulate him
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MASTER OF PUPPETS I’M PULLING YOUR STRIIIIIINGS
lmao and JUST LIKE THAT
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TOO EASY
holy shit. and it seems like he actually does know what he’s doing as well. go figure, he is good at virtually everything after all
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well, this is everything I never knew I wanted. good show. excuse me for a moment, I’m gonna go play Song 2 by Blur and wonder what the season 4 OST is gonna be like
now he’s trying to walk away again lol
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this is really just an open invitation for someone to come up with a convincing enough reason for him to do it without losing face
although part of me also wonders if maybe he would just rather not be in the spotlight for once. especially after overhearing those JERKFACES from the department of GENERAL JERKS earlier
oh my god Jirou
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come on Kacchan don’t you want to be a good person?!
oh shit now he’s going on a tangent
he says nothing’s going to come of it
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ahhhhhhhh. I see. so it’s that he’s pissed off at the other departments and doesn’t feel like they deserve class A’s niceness
ahhhh but Jirou looks crushed ;_;
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Hagakure is kind of awkwardly being all, “hey, c’mon...”
but Bakugou says that what they’re doing is just “indulging the enemy”
and when exactly did it become Us vs Them though, I wonder. like, if the other classes are the enemy, that implies that your class is Not The Enemy though, yes? aww
oh shit. ohhhhh shit
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oh my. and I didn’t even order any Bakugou feels. “yes, we know,” Horikoshi says, holding out the delivery bag. “these are on the house. please accept our gratitude on account of being such a loyal customer”
oh shit you guys. so what do I even do with these. should I meta about them or should I just eat them while they’re still hot
lol, but yeah. “I didn’t ask to be kidnapped. we didn’t ask to be attacked.” people acting like it’s their fault and like they’re enjoying the attention. and maybe once upon a time he did want that, but it’s one thing to fantasize about being famous for being the number one bestest coolest hero, and quite another to wind up actually in the spotlight because you’re the kid who keeps getting attacked by sludge monsters and Villain Leagues. and then people act like you brought it on yourself because you were too cocky. especially when we know that on some level he does blame himself, so it stings all the more
so why should they go out of their way to try to support people like that? it’s almost like they’re apologizing to those assholes, and fuck that
mmm. [munching] so anyway let’s see where this leads
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hahaha. what
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oh my god this fucking kid
lol. okay so he is on board, then, but just to make it ABSOLUTELY CLEAR, he is not out to “support” anyone, but rather he is declaring war. via drums. that’s right
well hey, however you need to frame it! at the end of the day he has agreed to help, so!
the other kids seem to be on the same page as me lol
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yep. WE’LL TAKE IT
JIROUUUUU
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;_____; I LOVE YOU SO MUCH JIROU
and now we’re cutting back to Gent and OH MY GOD
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CAN YOU PLEASE. NOT
JESUS CHRIST. CAN THEY NOT JUST HAVE JUST ONE FUCKING THING. LET BAKUGOU DECLARE A DRUM WAR AND LET JIROU SHARE HER MUSIC WITH EVERYONE AND LET ERI HAVE A GOOD “DATE” WITH HER DOTING BIG BROTHER MIRIO AND LET THEM JUST RELAX WITHOUT ANY VILLAIN ANTICS
goddammit. I mean like, Gentle’s idea of villainy would probably be to whip out a violin and challenge them to a classical battle of the bands. but even polite villain antics are really not going to be good for U.A.’s PR at the moment. and this guy films everything he does. and just. we don’t need this sob
BONUS:
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everyone this is Agoyamato Tsutsutaka and Togeike Chikuchi. that’s literally all this is. just their names. did we really need to know this lol oh well
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