#my dad. he speaks to me. my father who art underwater | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

kookie-doughs · 4 years ago

Text

Y/N L/N AND THE HALFBLOODS

Percy Jackson X Reader -Y/N L/N met Percy Jackson and everything was now ruined.

CHAPTER 8: I Really Hate Water

The next few days I settled into a routine that felt almost normal, if you don't count the fact that I was getting lessons from satyrs, nymphs, and a centaur. Each morning I took Ancient Greek from Annabeth and sometimes Luke, and we talked about the gods and goddesses in the present tense, which was kind of weird. I discovered Annabeth was right about my dyslexia: Ancient Greek wasn't that hard for me to read. At least, no harder than English. After a couple of mornings, I could stumble through a few lines of Homer without too much headache. The rest of the day, I'd rotate through outdoor activities, looking for something I was good at. I had struck around with Percy the whole time unless it was dinner time or night where I spent with Luke. Chiron tried to teach Percy and I archery, and we found out pretty quick he wasn't any good with a bow and arrow. He didn't complain, even when he had to desnag a stray arrow out of his tail. It was hilarious. While I on the other hand, could compete against Merida and Hawkeye with wining in favor of me. Foot racing? He sucked. The wood-nymph instructors and I left him in the dust. I told him not to worry about it. They'd had centuries of practice running away from lovesick gods. But I guess, it was a little humiliating to be slower than a tree. And wrestling? Forget it. Every time he got on the mat, Clarisse would pulverize him. Luckily I took some martial arts class back then and stood some chance against her. "There's more where that came from, punk," she'd mumble. The only thing he really excelled at was canoeing, and that wasn't the kind of heroic skill people expected to see from the kid who had beaten the Minotaur I guess. But hey, He's better at canoeing than me. I don't even know how I drowned all the time. Percy had to save me a couple of times. I knew the senior campers and counselors were watching us, trying to decide who our Olympian parent was, but they weren't having an easy time of it. I was as strong as the Ares kids, or as good at archery as the Apollo kids. I have Hephaestus's skill with metalwork, luckily I didn't have Dionysus's way with vine plants. Luke told me Percy might be a child of Hermes, a kind of jack-of-all-trades, master of none. But I got the feeling he was just trying to make him feel better. He really didn't know what to make of me either. Despite all that, I liked camp. I got used to the morning fog over the beach, the smell of hot strawberry fields in the afternoon, even the weird noises of monsters in the woods at night. I would eat dinner with cabin eleven, scrape part of my meal into the fire, and try to feel some connection to my real parent. Nothing came. I tried not to think too much about my mom and dad, but I kept wondering: if gods and monsters were real, if all this magical stuff was possible, surely there was some way to save them, to bring them back.... Even D/N would do...

I started to understand Luke's bitterness and how he seemed to resent his father, Hermes. So okay, maybe gods had important things to do. But couldn't they call once in a while, or thunder, or something? Dionysus could make Diet Coke appear out of thin air. Why couldn't my parent, whoever they were, make a phone appear? Thursday afternoon, three days after we'd arrived at Camp Half-Blood, I had my first sword-fighting lesson. Everybody from cabin eleven gathered in the big circular arena, where Luke would be our instructor. We started with basic stabbing and slashing, using some straw-stuffed dummies in Greek armor. I did okay. At least, I understood what I was supposed to do and my reflexes were good. The problem was, I couldn't find a blade that felt right in my hands. Either they were too heavy, or too light, or too long. Luke tried his best to fix me up, but he agreed that none of the practice blades seemed to work for me. We moved on to dueling in pairs. Luke announced he would be Percy's partner, since this was his first time. And then my turn after his, so I had to train with another kid from the cabin. "Good luck," one of the campers told us. "Luke's the best swordsman in the last three hundred years." "Maybe he'll go easy on me," Percy said. The camper snorted. By the time he called a break, I was soaked in sweat. Everybody swarmed the drinks cooler. Luke poured ice water on his head, which looked like such a good idea. I turned to talk to Percy and he had done the same. "Okay, everybody circle up!" Luke ordered. "If Percy doesn't mind, I want to give you a little demo." I wanted to try going against Luke as well. I wasn't confident with my skills. The Hermes guys gathered around. They were suppressing smiles. I figured they'd been in his shoes before and couldn't wait to see how Luke used Percy for a punching bag. He told everybody he was going to demonstrate a disarming technique: how to twist the enemy's blade with the flat of your own sword so that he had no choice but to drop his weapon. "This is difficult," he stressed. "I've had it used against me. No laughing at Percy, now. Most swordsmen have to work years to master this technique." He demonstrated the move on me in slow motion. Sure enough, the sword clattered out of his hand. "Now in real time," he said, after Percy had retrieved his weapon. "We keep sparring until one of us pulls it off. Ready, Percy?" He nodded, and Luke came after him. After a while of clashing, Percy tried the disarming maneuver. His blade hit the base of Luke's and he twisted. Clang. Luke's sword rattled against the stones. The tip of Percy's blade was an inch from his undefended chest. The other campers were silent. He lowered his sword. "Um, sorry." For a moment, Luke was too stunned to speak. I had a huge grin on my face. I had no idea why, but I was proud. I was so close on giving him an encore and all that. "Sorry?" Luke's scarred face broke into a grin. "By the gods, Percy, why are you sorry? Show me that again!" I didn't want to. The short burst of manic energy had completely abandoned me. But Luke insisted. This time, there was no contest. The moment our swords connected, Luke hit my hilt and sent my weapon skidding across the floor. After a long pause, somebody in the audience said, "Beginner's luck?" Luke wiped the sweat off his brow. He appraised at me with an entirely new interest. "Maybe," he said. "But I wonder what Percy could do with a balanced sword... ." My time with Luke wasn't as amazing as Percy's was but I wasn't that bad. Friday afternoon, I was sitting with Grover and Percy at the lake, resting from a near-death experience on the climbing wall. Grover had scampered to the top like a mountain goat, but the lava had almost gotten me. Percy and I's shirts had smoking holes in it. The hairs had been singed off our forearms. We sat on the pier, watching the naiads do underwater basket-weaving, I was resting my back on Percy's since I felt like any moment they'd drown me. Percy then ask Grover how his conversation had gone with Mr. D. His face turned a sickly shade of yellow. "Fine," he said. "Just great." "So your career's still on track?" He glanced at me nervously. "Chiron t-told you I want a searcher's license?" "Well... no." I had no idea what a searcher's license was, but it didn't seem like the right time to ask. "He just said you had big plans, you know... and that you needed credit for completing a keeper's assignment. So did you get it?" Percy said. Grover looked down at the naiads. "Mr. D suspended judgment. He said I hadn't failed or succeeded with you yet, so our fates were still tied together. If you got a quest and I went along to protect you, and we both came back alive, then maybe he'd consider the job complete." "Well, that's not so bad, right?" "Blaa-ha-ha! He might as well have transferred me to stable-cleaning duty. The chances of you getting a quest... and even if you did, why would you want me along?" "Of course I'd want you along!" Grover stared glumly into the water. "Basket-weaving... Must be nice to have a useful skill." I tried to reassure him that he had lots of talents, but that just made him look more miserable. Percy and him talked about canoeing and swordplay for a while, then debated the pros and cons of the different gods. Finally, I asked him about the four empty cabins. "Number eight, the silver one, belongs to Artemis," he said. "She vowed to be a maiden forever. So of course, no kids. The cabin is, you know, honorary. If she didn't have one, she'd be mad." "Yeah, okay. But the other three, the ones at the end. Are those the Big Three?" Grover tensed. We were getting close to a touchy subject. "No. One of them, number two, is Hera's," he said. "That's another honorary thing. She's the goddess of marriage, so of course she wouldn't go around having affairs with mortals. That's her husband's job. When we say the Big Three, we mean the three powerful brothers, the sons of Kronos." "Zeus, Poseidon, Hades." "Right. You know. After the great battle with the Titans, they took over the world from their dad and drew lots to decide who got what." "Zeus got the sky," I remembered. "Poseidon the sea, Hades the Underworld." "Uh-huh." "But Hades doesn't have a cabin here." "No. He doesn't have a throne on Olympus, either. He sort of does his own thing down in the Underworld. If he did have a cabin here..." Grover shuddered. "Well, it wouldn't be pleasant. Let's leave it at that." "Why though? What would children of Hades do then? How would they fend themselves?" "I-I don't know... Its not my idea not adding Hades!" He shrieked as if he was at fault and felt guilty. "But Zeus and Poseidon—they both had, like, a bazillion kids in the myths. Why are their cabins empty?" Percy changed the subject. Grover shifted his hooves uncomfortably. "About sixty years ago, after World War II, the Big Three agreed they wouldn't sire any more heroes. Their children were just too powerful. They were affecting the course of human events too much, causing too much carnage. World War II, you know, that was basically a fight between the sons of Zeus and Poseidon on one side, and the sons of Hades on the other. The winning side, Zeus and Poseidon, made Hades swear an oath with them: no more affairs with mortal women. They all swore on the River Styx." Thunder boomed.. . . . . .. I said, "That's the most serious oath you can make." Grover nodded. "And the brothers kept their word—no kids?" Grover's face darkened. "Seventeen years ago, Zeus fell off the wagon. There was this TV starlet with a big fluffy eighties hairdo—he just couldn't help himself. When their child was born, a little girl named Thalia... well, the River Styx is serious about promises. Zeus himself got off easy because he's immortal, but he brought a terrible fate on his daughter." "But that isn't fair.' It wasn't the little girl's fault." Grover hesitated. "Percy, children of the Big Three have powers greater than other half-bloods. They have a strong aura, a scent that attracts monsters. When Hades found out about the girl, he wasn't too happy about Zeus breaking his oath. Hades let the worst monsters out of Tartarus to torment Thalia. A satyr was assigned to be her keeper when she was twelve, but there was nothing he could do. He tried to escort her here with a couple of other half-bloods she'd befriended. They almost made it. They got all the way to the top of that hill." He pointed across the valley, to the pine tree where we'd fought the minotaur. "All three Kindly Ones were after them, along with a horde of hellhounds. They were about to be overrun when Thalia told her satyr to take the other two half-bloods to safety while she held off the monsters. She was wounded and tired, and she didn't want to live like a hunted animal. The satyr didn't want to leave her, but he couldn't change her mind, and he had to protect the others. So Thalia made her final stand alone, at the top of that hill. As she died, Zeus took pity on her. He turned her into that pine tree. Her spirit still helps protect the borders of the valley. That's why the hill is called Half-Blood Hill." I stared at the pine in the distance. The story made me feel hollow, and guilty too. A girl my age had sacrificed herself to save her friends. She had faced a whole army of monsters. "Grover," Percy said, "have heroes really gone on quests to the Underworld?" "Sometimes," he said. "Orpheus. Hercules. Houdini." "And have they ever returned somebody from the dead?" "No. Never. Orpheus came close... . Percy, you're not seriously thinking—" "No," Percy said. "I was just wondering. So... a satyr is always assigned to guard a demigod?" I looked over to him warily. "Not always. We go undercover to a lot of schools. We try to sniff out the half-bloods who have the makings of great heroes. If we find one with a very strong aura, like a child of the Big Three, we alert Chiron. He tries to keep an eye on them, since they could cause really huge problems." "And you found me. Chiron said you thought I might be something special." Grover looked as if I'd just led him into a trap. "I didn't... Oh, listen, don't think like that. If you were—you know—you'd never ever be allowed a quest, and I'd never get my license. You're probably a child of Hermes. Or maybe even one of the minor gods, like Nemesis, the god of revenge. Don't worry, okay?" I got the idea he was reassuring himself more than us. "What about me?" They looked at me. "Chiron said you didn't know I was a half-blood..." "We didn't. When you didn't forget who... Mrs Dodds was. We thought you just saw through the mist. Then when I saw you with Percy that night... and your parents aware of me and the camp. I assumed you were... a half-blood." "How about now? What do I smell like?" He looked at me gingerly then at Percy, "Nothing. You smell too human. Even for a very minor god. That's why there are plenty of satyrs then are confused as to why there's a human here. That night after dinner, there was a lot more excitement than usual. At last, it was time for capture the flag. When the plates were cleared away, the horn sounded and we all stood at our tables. Campers yelled and cheered as Annabeth and two of her siblings ran into the pavilion carrying a silk banner. It was about ten feet long, glistening gray, with a painting of a barn owl above an olive tree. From the opposite side of the pavilion, Clarisse and her buddies ran in with another banner, of identical size, but gaudy red, painted with a bloody spear and a boar's head. I turned to Luke and yelled over the noise, "Those are the flags?" "Yeah." "Ares and Athena always lead the teams?" "Not always," he said. "But often." "So, if another cabin captures one, what do you do— repaint the flag?" He grinned. "You'll see. First we have to get one." "Whose side are we on?" He gave me a sly look, as if he knew something I didn't. "We've made a temporary alliance with Athena. Tonight, we get the flag from Ares. And Percy's going to help." The teams were announced. Athena had made an alliance with Apollo and Hermes, the two biggest cabins. Apparently, privileges had been traded—shower times, chore schedules, the best slots for activities—in order to win support. Ares had allied themselves with everybody else: Dionysus, Demeter, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus. From what I'd seen, Dionysus's kids were actually good athletes, but there were only two of them. Demeter's kids had the edge with nature skills and outdoor stuff but they weren't very aggressive. Aphrodite's sons and daughters I wasn't too worried about. They mostly sat out every activity and checked their reflections in the lake and did their hair and gossiped. Hephaestus's kids weren't pretty, and there were only four of them, but they were big and burly from working in the metal shop all day. They might be a problem. That, of course, left Ares's cabin: a dozen of the biggest, ugliest, meanest kids on Long Island, or anywhere else on the planet. Chiron hammered his hoof on the marble. "Heroes!" he announced. "You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!" He spread his hands, and the tables were suddenly covered with equipment: helmets, bronze swords, spears, oxide shields coated in metal. "Whoa," I said. "We're really supposed to use these?" Luke looked at me and laughed. "Unless you want to get skewered by your friends in cabin five. Here—Chiron thought these would fit. Do you want to be border patrol with Percy or come with me?" I smiled at him, "Tempting offer but I think I'll stay with Percy." "Your lost." He smirked then ruffled my hair. I went over to Percy who was holding a shield was the size of an NBA backboard, with a big caduceus in the middle. Our helmet, like all the helmets on Athena's side, had a blue horsehair plume on top. Ares and their allies had red plumes. "Looking at real good." I laughed. He frowned at me. "Like you look that different." "I am sporting this helmet just fine excuse you." I said picking up a dagger from the table. Annabeth yelled, "Blue team, forward!" We cheered and shook our swords and followed her down the path to the south woods. The red team yelled taunts at us as they headed off toward the north. Percy and I managed to catch up with Annabeth without him tripping over my equipment. "Hey." She kept marching. "So what's the plan?" Percy asked. "Got any magic items you can loan me?" Her hand drifted toward her pocket, as if she were afraid I'd stolen something. "Just watch Clarisse's spear," she said. "You don't want that thing touching you. Otherwise, don't worry. We'll take the banner from Ares. Has Luke given you your job?" "Border patrol, whatever that means." "It's easy. Stand by the creek, keep the reds away. Leave the rest to me. Athena always has a plan." She pushed ahead, leaving me in the dust. "Okay," he mumbled. "Glad you wanted me on your team." "I don't want to be near the creek." I said anxiously. "Maybe I should just go with Luke..." Percy then took my hand. "Since when have I ever let you drown? Don't worry. I'll be there for you." He smiled. With a pout and a worried look I stuck out my pinky said, "Promise me." "I swear I will never let you drown. I will save you with all I can." He swore connecting our pinkies. "Everyone knows pinky promises are better than Styx." We laughed and made our way to our station not letting go of each other's hands. It was a warm, sticky night. The woods were dark, with fireflies popping in and out of view. Annabeth stationed us next to a little creek that gurgled over some rocks, then she and the rest of the team scattered into the trees. The bronze sword, like all the swords I'd tried so far, seemed balanced wrong. The leather grip pulled on my hand like a bowling ball. There was no way anybody would actually attack me, would they? I mean, Olympus had to have liability issues, right? Far away, the horn blew. I heard whoops and yells in the woods, the clanking of metal, kids fighting. A blue-plumed ally from Apollo raced past me like a deer, leaped through the creek, and disappeared into enemy territory. I lied down on the ground. "This is so boring." "Stand up, who knows when an enemy will show up." He scolded pulling me up. "I don't know... I think I'd rather shrivel and die." I shrugged. "Plus I know I got a knight in shining helmet to save me." "I mean yeah of course you do." "Luke's like few meters away after all." I smirked. He turned to me with a frown and a 'not funny' face. Which made me laugh. Then I heard a sound that sent a chill up my spine, a low canine growl, somewhere close by. I stood up and Percy pulled me behind him as he raised his shield instinctively; I had the feeling something was stalking me. Then the growling stopped. I felt the presence retreating. On the other side of the creek, the underbrush exploded. Five Ares warriors came yelling and screaming out of the dark. "Cream the punk!" Clarisse screamed. Her ugly pig eyes glared through the slits of her helmet. She brandished a five-foot-long spear, its barbed metal tip flickering with red light. Her siblings had only the standard-issue bronze swords—not that that made me feel any better. They charged across the stream. There was no help in sight. I could run and leave Percy. Or I could defend myself against half the Ares cabin with no more than 9 inch dagger and Percy Jackson. I managed to sidestep the first kid's swing, but these guys were not as stupid the Minotaur. They surrounded me and Percy, while Clarisse thrust at us with her spear. Percy's shield deflected the point. My hair stood on end. "Electricity. Her stupid spear was electric." Percy groaned and I pulled him back. Another Ares guy slammed me in the chest with the butt of his sword and I hit the dirt. They could've kicked me into jelly, but they were too busy laughing. "Y/N!!" Percy yelled but he had a sword pointed at his throat. "Give her a haircut," Clarisse said. "Grab her hair." I managed to get to my feet. I raised my dagger, but Clarisse slammed it aside with her spear as sparks flew. Now my arm numb. "Oh, wow," Clarisse said. "I'm scared of this guy. Really scared." "The flag is that way, let her go!" Percy told her. "Yeah," one of her siblings said. "But see, we don't care about the flag. We care about a guys who made our cabin look stupid." "You do that without my help," I told them. It probably wasn't the smartest thing to say. Someone took a hold of Percy so the sword was no longer pointed at him. Two of them came at me. I backed up toward the creek, tried to raise arm, but Clarisse was too fast. Her spear stuck me straight in the ribs. If I hadn't been wearing an armored breastplate, I would've been shish-ke-babbed. As it was, the electric point just about shocked my teeth out of my mouth. One of her cabinmates slashed his sword across my arm, leaving a good-size cut. Seeing my own blood made me dizzy—warm and cold at the same time. "No maiming," I managed to say. "Oops," the guy said. "Guess I lost my dessert privilege." "Y/N!! I will kill you all!!" He was thrashing around. "Let her go! She can't swim!!" "It's fun seeing your girlfriend suffer ain't it?" Clarisse laughed. The guy finally pushed me into the creek and I landed with a splash. They all laughed. I figured as soon as they were through being amused, I would die. I was sinking. I couldn't breathe. The water was pulling me for what felt like 10 meters deep. Blood were coming out at every wound I had. I was loosing consciousness. Help me. Please... -With Percy- Clarisse and her cabinmates came into the creek to get you, but you weren't there. "Hey, she's missing?" One of the cabinmate said. "What? It's like 3 meters deep. She's just there." Clarisse scoffed. "I's telling you she's can't swim! Water pulls her down! I will kill you if she doesn't survive!" Percy managed to get power from somewhere and got out of the hold. He knew what to do. I swung the flat of my sword against the first guy's head and knocked his helmet clean off. I hit him so hard I could see his eyes vibrating as he crumpled into the water. Then he jumped down. Hoping to see you somewhere. Muttering your name over and over in hopes to catch you. Save us He heard from his right. When he turned he finally saw you at the bottom. He swam with all could and got a hold of you. To haul you up. Finally surfacing, Percy panted and laid you of the ground. Pumping your chest. When the water finally came out of your mouth. Percy turned to glare at the people. Ugly Number Two and Ugly Number Three came at me. He slammed one in the face with his shield and used his sword to shear off the other guy's horsehair plume. Both of them backed up quick. Ugly Number Four didn't look really anxious to attack, but Clarisse kept coming, the point of her spear crackling with energy. As soon as she thrust, he caught the shaft between the edge of my shield and my sword, and I snapped it like a twig. "Ah!" she screamed. "You idiot! You corpse-breath worm!" She probably would've said worse, but Percy smacked her between the eyes with his sword-butt and sent her stumbling backward out of the creek. -Back to you- Coughing myself awake. Water came out of my mouth. "Percy..." I called. He turned so fast that I was surprised his neck didn't snap. "Y/N!" He ran to me and pulled me in a hug. I couldn't move, I felt tired and weak. "I want to sleep." I could feel my wounds stinging. Cold air hitting it. I felt sore despite barely moving. Then I heard yelling, elated screams, we both turned and I saw Luke racing toward the boundary line with the red team's banner lifted high. He was flanked by a couple of Hermes guys covering his retreat, and a few Apollos behind them, fighting off the Hephaestus kids. The Ares folks got up, and Clarisse muttered a dazed curse. "A trick!" she shouted. "It was a trick." They staggered after Luke, but it was too late. Everybody converged on the creek as Luke ran across into friendly territory. Our side exploded into cheers. The red banner shimmered and turned to silver. The boar and spear were replaced with a huge caduceus, the symbol of cabin eleven. Everybody on the blue team picked up Luke and started carrying him around on their shoulders. Chiron cantered out from the woods and blew the horn. The game was over. We'd won. Percy carried me still with an angry expression and tense body. I wanted to reassure him but I knew it wouldn't work. Luke looked over and saw us. I could see his sudden shift of emotion. He wanted to approach but he was surrounded by every cabin. We then heard Annabeth's voice, right next to us in the creek, said, "Not bad, hero." I wanted to turn to see her but I couldn't. I could barely keep my eyes open. "Where the heck did you learn to fight like that?" she asked. The air shimmered, and she materialized, holding a Yankees baseball cap as if she'd just taken it off her head. She was now in front of us. I felt Percy tense up once more. "You set us up, You put us here because you knew Clarisse would come after me, while you sent Luke around the flank. You had it all figured out." Annabeth shrugged. "I told you. Athena always, always has a plan." "Because of you, Y/N is like this." The venom in his voice were obvious. "I came as fast as I could. I was about to jump in, but..." She shrugged. "You didn't need help." "I didn't. But Y/N did! And what did you do?! She could've died!" Percy was shaking. I could feel it. "Calm..." I managed to whimper. "What's that?" Annabeth pointed at Percy's neck. "A sword cut, obviously." "No. It was a sword cut. Look at it." The blood was gone. Where the huge cut had been, there was a long white scratch, and even that was fading. As I watched, it turned into a small scar, and disappeared. "I—I don't get it," Percy said. Annabeth was thinking hard. I could almost see the gears turning. She looked down at our feet, then at Clarisse's broken spear, and said, "Step out of the water, Percy." "What—" "Just do it." He came out of the creek and immediately I could feel myself better. Percy almost fell over, but I managed to hold him. "I got you." I panted. "Oh, Styx," she cursed. "This is not good. I didn't want... I assumed it would be Zeus... ." Before I could ask what she meant, I heard that canine growl again, but much closer than before. A howl ripped through the forest. The campers' cheering died instantly. Chiron shouted something in Ancient Greek, which I would realize, only later, I had understood perfectly: "Stand ready! My bow!" Annabeth drew her sword. I drew my dagger and pushed Percy behind me. There on the rocks just above us was a black hound the size of a rhino, with lava-red eyes and fangs like daggers. It was looking straight at me. Nobody moved except Annabeth, who yelled, "Percy, Y/N, run!" She tried to step in front of me, but the hound was too fast. It leaped over her—an enormous shadow with teeth—and just as it hit me, I was pushed aside as Percy stumbled backward and its razor-sharp claws ripping through his armor, there was a cascade of thwacking sounds, like forty pieces of paper being ripped one after the other. "Stop that!!" I screamed and somehow managed to grab her. She turned to me sharply and stared me down. As if she was waiting for the perfect opportunity to jump me. It approached me and settled down at my feet, sitting down as if she was an obedient dog. She watched as I catch my breath. From the hounds neck sprouted a cluster of arrows. The monster fell dead at my feet. By some miracle, I was still alive, and wasn't even hurt. I instantly turned to look uat Percy. His chest wet, and I knew it was badly cut. Another second, and the monster would've turned him into a hundred pounds of delicatessen meat. Chiron trotted up next to us, a bow in his hand, his face grim. "Di immortales!" Annabeth said. "That's a hellhound from the Fields of Punishment. They don't... they're not supposed to... How did..." "Someone summoned it," Chiron said. "Someone inside the camp." Luke came over, the banner in his hand forgotten, his moment of glory gone. Clarisse yelled, "It's all Y/N's fault! Y/N summoned it!" "Be quiet, child," Chiron told her. We watched the body of the hellhound melt into shadow, soaking into the ground until it disappeared. "You're wounded," Annabeth told Percy. "Quick, Percy, get in the water." "I'm okay." "No, you're not, Y/N get him to the water," she said. "Chiron, watch this." "No... She doesn't do well in water..." Percy choked. I carefully swung his arm around my shoulders and without thinking twice, I stepped back into the creek, the whole camp gathering around us. Instantly, I felt weak. I could feel the pulling me down. Some of the campers gasped. Percy who could barely stand few minutes ago got a hold of me. I could feel my consciousness loosing once again. "Look, I—I don't know why," Percy said, trying to apologize. "I'm sorry... But I need to get out of here. Y/N---" But they weren't watching Percy's wounds heal. They were staring at something above our head. "Percy," Annabeth said, pointing. "Um..." By the time I looked up, the sign was already fading, but I could still make out the hologram of green light, spinning and gleaming. A three-tipped spear: a trident. "Your father," Annabeth murmured. "This is really not good." "It is determined," Chiron announced. All around us, campers started kneeling, even the Ares cabin, though they didn't look happy about it. "My father?" Percy asked, completely bewildered. "Poseidon," said Chiron. "Earth shaker, Storm bringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God." Percy looked down at me. I wasn't sure what but I had the feeling it was somewhere along the lines, 'I am the reason you drown every time you step on water.' "You're claimed..." I managed to squeak. Percy stepped out of the water. "Congratulations." I smiled weakly.

Previous | Masterlist | Next

UwU Here's another chapter I am sorry for some holes in the story -kookie-doughs

Taglist?

@gayer-than-the-gayest-gay @the-natureofme @booknerd-3000

#Percy Jackson #Percy Jackson X Reader #Percy Jackson X Y/N #percy jackon and the olympians #pjo #luke castellan #Luke castellan x reader #Y/N L/N #Y/N L/N and the halfbloods #X Reader #Lightning thief #Book 1 #Chapter 8 #Fanfiction #fanfictions

64 notes · View notes

remmushound · 4 years ago

Text

Bay/rise 47!! @errorfreak88 @brightlotusmoon @dakotafinely @yarchurr @selfindulgenz @sprinklestheditty @digitl-art-monstr @sententiously-sarcastic

Content warning: Detailing of nightmarish descriptions and blood

Raphael didn't know where he was. Only that it was an unending valley of white. Distantly, he could hear voices but he couldn’t for the life of him make out what was being said.

“Mori mo iyagaru…”

The words were like a storm cloud hanging over the weight, carrying the distorted and slow tune through the empty nothingness like frost on the wind. The sensations around him felt like cold raindrops hitting his bare skin, bouncing off shell and muscle both as the downpour covered him and almost drowned him. He knew he should be doing something, but he couldn’t figure out what that something was supposed to be.

“Bon kara saki-nya…”

That voice. Haunting melodic and warming him just as much as the air chilled him. He looked around but couldn’t see where the singing was coming from. Whoever it was, Raphael felt the need to find them and so he kept walking. Each step felt like he was wading through quicksand, and each breath was like a mouthful of water filling his lungs and making him so delirious that he just wanted to sleep.

“Yuki mo chirasuki-shi… ko mo naku shi…”

That voice again! It wouldn’t let him sleep, like a siren calling out to a sailor to dash his ship on the rocks and doom his crewmates to a cold and dark sleep. Is that why Raphael felt so tired? Maybe that was the siren's purpose, and that was why he was so cold and so slow, and he wanted to deny himself. But the song went on.

“Bon ga kita-tote nani ureshi-karo. Katabira wa nashi, obi was nashi…”

He had to find where it was coming from! He started to run, but it was like he was in a dream and every step was slower than the last. Was this a dream? Or was everything else a dream? All the things that he tried to think of as they slipped through his fingers like sand and were lost to him in the wind. What were they? Who were they? He could hear their voices but couldn’t place them to faces, only feelings. Love, protect, shelter. Love, protect, shelter…

“Kono ko you naku mori wo ba irjiru.”

Love, protect, shelter. Love, protect, shelter. Love, protect, shelter.

“Mori mo ichi-nichi yaseru-yara…”

Love, protect, shelter. Love, protect, shelter. Love, protect, shelter!

“Hayo-mo yuki-taya kono zaisho koete.”

He was getting tired. So very tired. But he had to keep going. He had to find the ones he loved and the one he’d protect and the ones he'd shelter. They were close, so close he could feel their hands in his. Feel their bodies against his! He could feel them getting closer and closer, yet still they managed to keep away from him. He just needed to get back to them, but he wasn’t even sure who he was!

“Mukou ni mieru wa, oya no uchi…”

He saw something and a part of him got excited thinking it was one of the ones he’d lost. But another part of him told him that he didn't know who this was, but it most certainly wasn’t one he was looking for. Was he the one singing? No, not that either. He was just sitting there, back to Raphael, not moving.

“Excuse me?” Raphael called, but the figure didn't turn to meet him. “Do you know where we are? Hello?”

Raphael reached him after what seemed an eternity and put a hand on the stranger's shoulder. Raphael didn't even see the stranger turn around; one minute, his back was to the mutant and the next they were face to face, except the other didn't really have a face. It was a skeleton, charred black, his empty eyes staring into Raphael and his jaw slack without muscles to hold it in place. The skeleton slumped into Raphael’s touch, turned to dust and fell apart, the cloud of black swallowed Raphael whole.

“Anata ga hitori de iru… you are… alone…”

Raphael felt as if he were choking on ash now instead of water. The ground beneath his feet fell apart and took him with it into a sudden black abyss to contrast the white that had recently engulfed him. Looking up revealed quickly fading light, and looking down was nothing but a dark pit, hot and sticky on him like tar as he fell and fell and fell and suddenly, he wasn’t falling anymore, but he couldn’t remember landing either. The black remained.

The sound around Raphael was warped like he was underwater, that song playing all around him and again with no clear singer. Raphael tried to run again but looking down he had no feet to run with! It was like the tar was slowly swallowing him whole. No— no no no no no NO NO NO NO!

When he opened his eyes, he was in a field, like an island surrounded once more by the white ocean of emptiness. He looked down and instead of tar found grass beneath his feet. He twisted his toes into the softness of the earth. He closed his eyes and gave the softest of churrs as he felt the wind blowing through his mask, taking in the coolness of the air. When he opened his eyes, he was still in the field, but it was distorted by war. Blood stained the grass red, and the air was putrid with smoke that choked the very life from Raphael’s chest. The blood kept rising in a steady flow as blurred silhouettes were cut and slaughtered before Raphael in a raging bloodbath. The blood kept rising and there was nowhere to go— and then it swallowed Raphael and though he tried to swim it was too thick and when he could hold his breath no longer, the taste of iron flooded his mouth and his senses and—

He fell to his knees gasping, back in the beautiful green field as if nothing had happened. Like not a drop of blood had ever tainted the sacred place. He looked over himself and saw no red beyond what was normal, but the taste in his mouth still lingered. Instead of those violent silhouettes engaged in an unyielding battle, he saw only two humans. A tall silhouette laughing as he lifted a young child high above his head, twirling her around ever so gently. Like a father would. Then he put her down and leaned to kiss her on the head.

She swatted playfully at her father as she fell over on her back, speaking gracefully in a tongue Raphael knew. “Oh dad! Leave me alone!”

The father-figure laughed as he grabbed her cheeks and gave her a raspberry on the nose. She swiped at him once more like a playful kitten until her father finally relented and let her sit back up.

“Remember, my little Karai. You are never alone.”

Those words echoed in Raphael’s mind like the ringing of a bell as the scene went up in flames, and then Raphael saw the girl, Karai, older than she was before, maybe in her teens. She was clutching at her hair and sobbing as she flames trapped her, repeating over and over again that she was not alone. She was not alone. She was not alone.

Then the scene changed again. Raphael hardly recognized the father figure as he kneeled before a powerful creature. An oni. His face and arms were badly burned but he was alive, and he seemed to be begging for something. And then Raphael saw what it was. The oni pulled from within his vessel a kura kabuto shining with mystic fire.

The next thing Raphael beheld was the girl, all grown up now with hair like the frill of a cobra flowing behind her in wind Raphael could not feel. Her body was emblazoned with marks of green and her eyes shined the same. Above her heart and on her shoulder were matching tattoos of a twelve-petaled lotus with a six-pointed star in its middle. She wielded twin katana, both working independently of each other in fluid motions. On either side of her, colorful soldiers stood in similarly strong stances.

Kappa. Four of them— two on either side. To her right were red and orange, and to her left blue and purple. Compared to her they were no bigger than a child of ten would be, but they wielded their weapons with all the skill of seasoned warriors. Raphael felt as if he were spinning. Spinning and spinning until he came to face what they were facing. Shredder.

Raphael fell back and the image shattered once more into blackness, the soldiers blipping out of existence one by one. Green, orange, blue, purple… and it left the red kappa alone and falling to the ground as he clutched his plastron. He cried out in a grief that Raphael, though he couldn’t hear it, felt in the pit of his stomach. Mourning. Lost. Alone. Then he, too, was gone.

“Why are you showing me this?” Raphael called to the blackness that had returned to him yet again. “Why?!”

His only answer came in the form of his echo. That is, until the echo started to shift into a voice that wasn’t his own. With each return of his echo, the voice shifted and changed so subtly that it took Raphael until the very last echo to hear the change.

“Let me help you…”

“Dad…”

Raphael felt as if fifteen years of life were slammed back into him all at once, and he was lifted off his feet as memories forced their way down his throat and into his mind, making him cry in pain that, while it was most certainly in his mind, felt as real as being torn in two. He could have sworn it— he thought between the memories that bombarded him— that his plastron was being pried apart. He looked down at his plastron and brought his hands to touch the shell and when he brought it back, he was bleeding. He was being torn apart! Drained…

“No…” Raphael remembered it all now. He remembered it and he was furious! “NO!”

The decayed skeletons returned to torture him, repeating their nasty words of torment as they circled him and tried to cast him back down into the pits. But he refused.

“Anatawa Hitorijanai… I am not alone!” He screamed at the skeletons in turn, “AND NEITHER ARE YOU!”

#in his mind #so many references in this one

33 notes · View notes

mystech-master · 4 years ago

Text

F/GO High School/Modern AU BS

Me and @rex101111 have been talking about a modern/HS AU ft. as many Chaldean servants as possible. Here are the ideas we came up with (I am pretty much cut and pasting our message convo, so this is a mixture of both me and Rex's ideas):

Gil is the douchbag Senior everyone hates but his dad owns the school or whatever so he can do whatever he wants. The only decent person who willingly hangs out with him is his childhood friend Enkidu who's hoping he can un-douch his bro. He has kid Gil as his little brother and Caster Gil as his older bro who both agree that he sucks (Gil is the loser middle child of the family), Caster Gil wonders what Enkidu sees in his shit head brother. "He's too good for you." "Blow it out your ass." "One day he's going to wise up, see how much of a shit you are, and when you're all alone don't come crying to me." Caster Gil is in college studying political science, Kid Gil goes to a fancy boarding school. Archer Gil goofs off and throws parties

Scathach is a swimming class teacher, mainly b/c I recall underwater training being a part of Cu's regiment under her tutelage. People were jealous of the Cus for like two seconds when they find out the swim teacher is their mom, then they see her having them do an extra twenty laps and ignoring when OG Cu starts floating in the water. "CU DIED!" "YOU'RE NOT HUMAN!" while Scathach is like "you have two seconds to stop playing around before I ACTUALLY drown you" and he's back to doing laps.

Yeah with 4-5 Cus (if you count Setanta from Arcade) that is like 5 brothers.

Nightingale as school nurse, she is friends with Asclepius who works at a hospital associated with the school (strictly professional, but the students think otherwise).

Side note, keep in mind you can have multiple servants be the same type of teacher, just for different classes/grades.

King Hassan is the old Religious History teacher. Every one thinks he's older then the rock is the school is made out of. He has a scary face and a scarier voice but most students consider him the most fair and patient teacher in the whole school. He always gets a lot of food gifts before Ramadan form the students. (A few students, such as the Guda twins and Mash, call him gramps.) The other Hassans are his grandkids, like actual grandkids. He's super strict with them because he expects a lot from them. He always praises them when they do well though. He made sure they ALL got into his class and they've been living in fear ever since. They love their grandpa but by Allah they know not to disappoint him. The only one to ever get out of anything is kid Hassan (one of the hundred face). Cursed Arm is oldest, then Asako (the main hundred face), then Serenity.

"I am very disappointed in ALL of you, have you all lost your heads? I swear I-*to kid Hassan*-ah no Habibi not you you're fine here have a candy-*back to the rest*-I KNOW you're better than this!"

VERY traditional guy, Cursed Arm mutters "Oh for God's sake" while doing a pop quiz and King Hassan looms over him and growls, "No Blaspheming In This Class Room"

For the various Artoria/Arturias, I imagined Lancer and Lancer Alter being sisters, so Saber Alter is a cousin. That leaves everyone else to just be sisters with one brother. Mother Lartoria owns a casino and gas her own yacht in reference to the summer event where she became a Ruler. If you want MHX could be a part of the family as a massive fucking Star Wars nerd. MHXX and MHX Alter are her mom and sister (so MHXX is a third sister for the two Lancer Artorias)

For Irisviel, I remember in one of the Nero Fest things that she was called Therapist Iri. Maybe she starts to get into that b/c she wants to help her adoptive son Shirou (instead of a big fire like in Zero it can be an orphanage fire thing, similar situation but a much smaller scale) , so she is the school therapist/psychiatrist. Like Maruki in P5 Royal.

Iskandar died in his 30s, Waver is around his 30s as Lord El Melloi II. The two are old college friends who still hang out and Alexander is Iskandar’s kid.

If you guys want you can see this as the two being gay dads since I know that ship is popular.

Fran had an abusive father before Babbage and Moriarty got involved. In the og story, Frankenstien has a scientific mindset like his creator, here Fran has a talent in the field, but she also hates it b/c it reminds her of him. Like imagine being talented at the thing your abusive parent was good at/known for. Moriarty tried to get it into her that SHE'S the one with the talent, not her college dropout bum of a father, "From you tell me of him Victor couldn't engineer his way out of an argument with a cat, you have a magnificent mind my dear, not letting it flourish to spite him would be a horrible waste...it's your talent, your skill. Not his." He smiles that smile she loves that scares every one but she knows he only smiles like that when he is absolutely convinced of something, "and you can out perform him without breaking a sweat."

Moriarty teaches Fran sign language while Babbage teaches her some engineering.

Jekyll is going for a major in medicine with a minor in law (in the actual irl story Dr. Jekyll was a doctor in medicine and law).

For science associated servants, you got da Vinci, Babbage, Edison, and Tesla as possible science teachers.

The Jeanne sisters. Without the Avenger BS, the reason Jalter (or Joan as one series of fics calls her) could hate her here is just inferiority complex and being compared to her perfect saint big sister all her life. Joan does have her talents, based on the summer event an, but again she doesn't acknowledge her own talent b/c of her always being compared to her older sister., in the 7 counterfeit events she is a really good artist. And it is the typical thing of Jeanne actually being scared out of her wits of being less than perfect because of all the expectations thrust on her. She gets one A- and runs to the bathroom crying and Joan has to swallow her pride and actually have a conversation with her sister for the first time in years. Jeanne Alter lily puts up Christmas decorations super early, much to Jeanne Alter/Joan's displeasure.

"IT JUST TURNED NOVEMBER CHILL TF OUT!"

"CHRISTMAS!"

Martha is Jeanne's BF since middle school and has this HUGE dog that scares everyone and growls at anyone expect Martha and Jeanne. She calls him Terry.

Rex loves Penthesilea. and we talked at length about the situation between her and Achilles. Can you not tell that he likes a woman who can kick his ass *gestures to all of his Baiken posts*

Rex's idea: I think they had a fight when they were little and Achilles, being a little shit back then, made fun of her for being a girl, and Penth has been sore about it ever since. She keeps running into big misogynistic meatheads that reminded her of that and she just got angrier over the years. She's a wrestler and can knock out just about every dude in school by herself. Achilles is very regretful about back then and wants to apologize but Penth ain't having any of it.

My idea: I thought they were on opposing HS sports teams and when Achilles handed her ass to her he forgot to drink his respect women juice and then Penth got all pissed.

In this AU, Penth and Hippolyta's dad was a general who taught them how to kick the ass of men twice their size since they were seven or something.

Penth surprises everyone when a festival comes up and she gets picked to be the one to organize everything...and does a spectacular job. Another surprise is that she plans on being a business major when she goes to college (Obligatory Amazoness CEO jokes)

Bedivere is the Arturia Pendragon family butler with a prosthetic arm. He's also the security guard, last guy that tried to steal something or cause trouble got slapped right out of the window he sneaked in from.

Francis Drake and Artoria Alter Lancer are work friends (referencing them both being associated with the Wild Hunt in F/GO's lore).

Beni-Enma is the short and shorter tempered lunch lady, last kid who mouthed off at her during lunch got smacked upside the head with her spoon. She's sweet, but if you're in detention and have to help her in the kitchen she's a mini Gorden Ramsey, "IT'S RAW DECHI!!!" She can also come into the home EC class where Shirou is her best student. Also her roasting of the other girls like in her quest. Getting Fs in Beni's class is the worst, because it isn't just an F, it's a meticulous dressing down of exactly why letting into a kitchen should be considered a war crime, dechi.

The three Avenger Nobus are three different people. 1st Ascension is basically Archer Nobu, then you got Oda Kipposhi, and then the mom is Ascension 3 with Demon King Nobunaga. The youngest Ascension 1 Nobu is a musician. Demon King Nobu is one of those "super scary but also super polite people that only makes them scarier" type, basically a female koei Nobunaga from samurai warriors (check out some cutscenes form the games with him, he's a treat).

Imagine Demon King Nobu mom in a business suit.

Suzuka Gozen and Sei Shonagon are the textaholics who always talk in slang to the point of it sounding like they speak a different language. Murasaki is the librarian but Sei is like that ONE student who just makes her job so much harder.

Every week it's "No phones in the library Miss Shonagon." while Sei rolls her eyes and types out twitter post like "fugly ol librarian at my school needs a life lol"

Oui Katsushika is a gifted art student, and her dad (not a floating little octopus), is just a normal dude with a squid/octopus like beard. She's the teacher's pet in De Vinci's art class.

Eresh and Ishtar come from a rich family, Ereshkigal is the older sister so she had a shit load of responsibility to take over the family business while Ishtar basically gets to party her life away. Rin is the cousin they each try and swing their way. Eresh wants Rin to keep up her studies and get into a good university, Ishtar wants Rin to loosen the fuck up and admit that she likes that scrawny Emiya kid already.

BB is the host of a talk show downtown so she is kind of an absentee mom. Meltryllis has prosthetic legs that she specifically asked to be made into stilts b/c she wanted to be taller, and Passonlip has a massive rack that makes life difficult (either people staring, people assuming she's gonna be a home wrecker b/c said staring must be intentional, etc.), and of course he also has prosthetic arms to match her canon claws, obviously not as massive.

Hijikata is a very serious police officer but his wife Carmilla just uses this to have fun in the bedroom. They have two Dobermans. Hijikata's route has him patrolling near the school so most of the kids know as that scary police dude that has a picture of his wife in his pocket. One day a famous Idol called Eli-chan~ (yes spelled with the ~) is about to perform in the town and the kids can't stop talking about her, so Hijikata overhears. But, being the serious dude he is he shrugs it off until he sees a picture of this "Eli-chan~" and realizes it's his sister-in-law that came to visit and suddenly the influx of parasitic paparazzi near his house start making sense.

Carmilla: "Now you see why I hate them?", Hijikata: "No you cannot send the dogs after them honey."

She almost ran one of them over in her, very expensive, car and when that reporter says she should be locked up Hijikata corrects that would only happen if she had hit him...and she would be fined. For littering.

Okita Alter being Hijikata's partner, while Okita is her younger sister who's looked up to Hijikata since she was a little kid but she has asthma and such so she's afraid she might not get accepted.

Sigurd owns a metalworks shop (referencing his myth where he was raised by the dwarf Reginn), he met his wife Brynhildr when she was disowned by her overly controlling father.

Ozymandias, Nitocris, and Cleopatra are all the high board members of a company. Nitocris specifically got wind of Scheherazade's abusive husband situation and after getting said husband arrested, she offered Scheherazade a job.

Atalanta is a college student/TA who worked with Achilles' dad who ends up at their HS for a program or something, Achilles' dad has told him a lot about her.

Amakusa Shirou is an uncle married to the CEO of Babylon Gardens Pharmaceuticals, Semiramis. Semiramis herself is kinda chill if REALLY scary. She had to be pretty cutthroat to get to her position in the company, but Amakusa Shirou helped her mellow out, but she is still a massive tsundere.

"You know you COULD poison their lunch." "Semi, dear, I'm not going to poison my coworker's sandwich for being an ass." "It wouldn't kill them! Just a bit in their peanut better and they'll be stuck on the toilet for a week, no harm no foul."

Rex initially said Taiga would be an overly enthusiastic gym teacher but then I remembered that she was a homeroom/English teacher in Fate canon, but either or can do if you wanna be unique.

For Quetzalcoatl, Wrestling club supervisor when she isn't the senior year gym teacher. Some of the male students laughed that they didn't think a woman would know anything about wrestling. Two piledrives later, the students have earned a new appreciation for the importance on how not to be two pieces of shit. She's big on Lucha as in canon and during Halloween she gets JAGUARMAN to have an exhibition fight with her. They make a show of it but later on Taiga admits that Quatz could have CRUSHED her if they were actually fighting. She takes the wrestling club out for homemade Mexican food after tournaments

For Siduri, there's a bunch of rumors she's dating Caster Gil but it's strictly professional, Caster respects her too much to consider that. Archer Gil hits on her relentlessly, she manages to wound his ego more severely then anyone else simply by being unfailingly polite in her rejections and treating him like what he is, a teenage punk jumping higher than he can handle to land.

Ibaraki is Shuten's adoptive little sister after she was taken from an abusive mother, hence why Ibaraki looks up to her. Ibuki is either Shuten's big sister who had to take on a guardian role, or just her mom. Shuten and Ibuki have a bit of a strained relationship because Shuten saw the way Ibuki acted as they grew up, taking more and more responsibilities onto herself and refusing any distractions. And she decided that her biggest nightmare is to wake up one morning and realize she's turned into Ibuki so she tries to do everything to avoid that, hence their relationship not being the best. Ibaraki is kinda stuck in the middle because she wants to side with Shuten but she sees where Ibuki is coming from. Messy.

Caren is still Kotomine’s daughter, but he isn’t a good dad and in rebellion she sleeps around despite being a woman of god. Including sleeping with local punk Angra Mainyu. Angra Mainyu seems like a bad guy but he has a shit load of issues due to being blamed for everything going wrong in his old town, eventually coming to believe them and thinking he will cause nothing but problems. Caren banging him gives him a type of closeness he’s never felt, but under very warped circumstances.

For the Tamamo family, Vitch totally fucked her way up a corporate ladder or something, imagined Tamamo Cat working at a Cat Cafe if she were a Student. Tamamo no Mae accidentally fed her prev BF a food he was allergic too, and that kind of haunted her and scared her rep. IDK basically she seriously fucked up a previous relationship, either on purpose or accidentally, and that kind of hurts her deeply so she wants to start over with Hakuno.

Nero and Tamamo no Mae are rivals over this one guy.

Kiichi Hougen is the adoptive mom, Benkei is the family friend/uncle, Taira is Ushiwaka's older sister. Taira isn't on the best of terms with her family, some drama way back caused a rift and nowadays Ushi is the only one who's willing to talk to her and visit. Benkei never lets her go alone because he doesn't trust Taira one bit. Taira and Ushiwaka are Kintoki and Tomoe's cousins (I say Tomoe b/c apparently her husband and Ushiwaka were half cousins, with their grandpa having kids with their grandmas. I tried to make a whole family tree out of a few servants).

These are the ideas we had the most to talk about, if you guys have any suggestions for your fav servants in this AU, let either me or Rex know. Or just reblog and say them here. Who knows maybe you have a much better idea for a Servant we already mentioned.

#fgo #fate series #fate grand order #high school/modern au #high school au #f/go #fate/grand order

13 notes · View notes

thetriggeredhappy · 5 years ago

Note

Arranged marriage prompt #3 (sniperscout. Duh)

arin if you weren’t basically my little brother i would be super bitter at the amount of bending over backwards i did to try and make this specific request work and also the fact that i wrote like 7k words for this Bit but as it is just know that i do this because i appreciate you very much

(also at some point I'm gonna cross-post this on ao3 for readability but for now, here ya go)

“—which is why we all need to escape from the planet at once before it is covered entirely by magma!”

The room was mostly silent, the only sound the very quiet voices of the translators speaking to their respective world leaders for a few moments. There was then a moment of full silence, which all at once transformed into laughter.

A few people weren’t laughing at all. One diplomat leaned to his translator and began to speak, and the translator started in as well. “I beg your pardon, Mister—“

“King,” he corrected without a beat.

The translator sighed, then repeated the correction to his dignitary and started again. “King Bill-Bel, would you mind clarifying. Are you being entirely serious with us?”

“Of course! My calculations—“

“So you, the elected leader of the lost country of New Zealand,” the translator continued, speaking very slowly, “decided it was time to break almost forty years of complete silence and isolation, and attend this particular gathering of the UN, because you, both the elected leader and head scientific expert for your entire country, allegedly discovered that the world would be covered by magma in the near future? Am I correct in all of this?”

“Yes!”

More laughter from the room at large, several attempts at questions. The laughter and chatter died down as the man who had been sitting next to the king with the queen, whose head had been in his hands for the large majority of the time that the king was speaking, moved forward and shoved the king aside bodily to instead stand in front of the microphone, needing to tilt it down just a bit to speak into it.

“I’m his son,” he said firmly to the security personnel that tried to step forward. He then looked forward and addressed the larger room. “I’m... I’m the prince. My name is Mun-Dee, and I’m the king’s only son. And this man here—“ he pointed at the king, “—is a liar.”

Gasps across the room, muttering. The king tried to move forward again, but was stopped by his wife.

“He was not elected king, it’s a title he took by force and decided on by himself,” Mun-Dee said, voice firm. “Because ten years after our country went underwater, there was some kind of accident. We three, as far as we’re aware, are the only survivors.”

More alarm from the room at large, several dignitaries rising from their seats.

“I’m revoking the earlier request for a motion to collectively leave the earth and submitting a different one instead,” he said, giving a pointed glare to his father. “I’m requesting humanitarian aid and disaster relief funding to search the ruins for any other survivors and to recover any of the art or cultural treasures we can find.”

“You’re not the king!” Bill-Bel tried to interrupt, only to come across as more than a little bit whiny. “You don’t get to do that!”

Mun-Dee glared at him again. “Good luck getting any other funding now that they all know you’re a liar,” he said.

“Prince Mun-Dee,” called one translator. “Is this a sincere request?”

“Yes,” he replied, turning back to the room again. “It is. We need help. Please.”

The cacophony within the room had risen to the point where there was a larger call for a temporary recess. Mun-Dee found himself being escorted along with his mother and father forcefully from the room.

“Good on you, Mun-Dee,” his mom drawled as they were finally brought to a stop a little while away from the conference area, in one of the many large, ornate hallways of the building the UN conference was being held in. “Telling this idiot what’s what.”

“Well, you weren’t going to,” he replied, a little bitterly.

“Why did you do that?!” his dad all but shouted, shaking Mun-Dee by the shoulders forcefully. “Now the human race is doomed, son, doomed!”

His arms were batted away with no small amount of disgust. “You’re a lunatic,” he snapped. “Why should they believe you, and why would they listen anyways even if you were right, which you aren’t, because you’re a lunatic?”

“What gives you the right to stand up and say anything?” the king snapped right back. “First you didn’t want to wear the robes, next you’re shoving me! Right in front of all the other world leaders!”

“I already told you, I’m not wearing the robes. I’d look like an idiot.”

“Everyone loves the robes! They��re fashionable!” Bill-Bel protested, picking at his own robe to demonstrate and gesturing at his wife’s.

“They’re ridiculous. Do you know how much everyone stared at me when I was wearing a robe in public? They were the second thing I bought once I got topside, right after food and before clean drinking water.”

“What about the sunglasses?”

“We live in a lab underwater, I’m still having trouble adjusting to sunlight and whatnot. Can you please go one day without grilling me over every little thing?”

“I’m the king, you’re the prince. That means I’m in charge, not you! What I say goes!”

“Is that right?” Mun-Dee asked, voice dry. “Until when? Until you die? Because if it’s just you dying, we can go ahead and switch rulers as soon as I find a sharp object. Nobody would be able to put me in prison, what with you being the judge jury and executioner as well as king. Since everyone else in our country is dead.”

Bill-Bel looked appropriately scared of the threat, but blustered anyways. “You—until it—until you get married or engaged!” he blurted. “And have someone to rule with you!”

Mun-Dee narrowed his eyes. “Any world leader in their right mind would marry into the “royal family” if it meant inheriting New Zealand and all the cultural treasures in the ruins,” he said, lowering his voice as several other dignitaries were escorted into the hallway as well. “We haven’t given away our territory yet. Nobody would pass that up.”

“Except it can’t be a world leader!” Bill-Bel said quickly, getting desperate now. “Because it... keeps the bloodline clean!”

Mun-Dee dropped his head into his hands, sighing bodily. “Is that right?”

“And your mother’s the advisor to the king, so she gets to pick who it is!”

“Oh, for the love of—now why that one?!” he snapped.

Bill-Bel fidgeted with his sleeve. “Well, we... we just worry about you!”

“You can’t just make up any rule you want, Dad!”

“Yes I can, I’m the fucking king!”

Mun-Dee kneaded at his temples, sighing again, frustration mounting further. “Fine. Fine! Not that I have a choice anyways!” he muttered, tone sarcastic. “Mum, any ideas? Anyone who you’re just dying to marry me off to?”

She raised an eyebrow at him. “What, off the top of my head? I’ll need a minute, here.”

“Lar-Nah,” the king stage-whispered. “You’re meant to not pick anyone so we get to stay king and queen forever.”

“I’ve been queen for exactly two days and I already hate it, Bill-Bel. It’s either this or double regi-suicide.” She glanced around their immediate vicinity, eyes landing on the bodyguard standing nearby them. “Hey, you. Are you married?”

The guard had clearly been listening to the conversation, because he looked absolutely scandalized. “Uh. Yes, I have a wife and one daughter, your Majesty.”

“Damn.” She looked down the hall at the other people gathered, and her eyes landed on one of the translators, the person stood nearest to them. “Hey! You!”

The translator looked up, a bit surprised and visibly distasteful of them. “Yes? Can I help you?” he asked, voice tinted in a way that was immediately identifiable as French.

“Get over here, I have a question.”

 “Mum, you’re not serious,” Mun-Dee said, horror rising in his chest as he realized what was going on.”

“Shut up, I’m a queen.” She turned her attention to the translator, looked him up and down. “Are you married?”

“Yes,” the translator said after a second, frowning at the question.

“Hmm. Do you have kids?”

“...Yes, several.”

“Are any of them married?”

“Mum, you can’t just—“ Mun-Dee tried to cut in, but she raised a hand to stop him, still looking at the translator.

“Most of them,” was the reply. “Might I ask where this is going?”

“No,” she said. “Are any of the single ones...” She glanced at Mun-Dee. “...roughly between the ages of twenty-four and thirty-two?”

“Mum,” Mun-Dee tried to protest again, head in his hands.

“Below the age of thirty, please,” Bill-Bel chimed.

“Yes, one of them is.” The translator seemed to sense where this was going and his eyebrows rose for a moment. “My youngest son.”

“A son? Perfect, that was my next question,” Lar-Nah said, thumping her own son on the back, who looked very much like he was about to commit some form of treason. “Can you bring him here?”

“He and my wife are both in the city as well while I am on call for this conference, yes,” was the answer.

“Perfect. Do that.” She then waved the man off, who walked away, looking both confused and exasperated. “There you go. Found him a husband,” she said calmly. “Are we done? I want to go see what the bar is like.”

“I can’t believe you,” Mun-Dee said.

“Lar-Nah, now he’ll get to be in charge!” Bill-Bel whined, clearly upset.

“And you won’t. He can’t be any worse than you. And maybe he can actually get something done. Not like you’re smart enough or I care enough to do anything.”

Mun-Dee was quiet for a second before he forced himself to take a breath. “You know what? If that’s what this takes, then fine.”

“Excuse me,” one of the security guards said, standing at attention and stopping Mun-Dee as he entered the hotel that he and his family were meant to stay at along with many of the other officials. “You’re Prince Mun-Dee?”

“Yeah,” he replied, straightening up a little bit. “Uh... at ease?”

The guard shifted into parade rest. “Your Highness, the civilian you requested a meeting with has been searched and brought to your rooms. The guards who did the search reported finding a standard Swiss Army knife in his back left pocket, but otherwise nothing immediately dangerous.”

“Oh, thank you, that’s—“ He stopped for a minute. “Wait, my room? He’s in my room?”

“Yes, your Highness.”

Mun-Dee blinked a few times in shock, mouth moving soundlessly, and the guard started to look nervous.

“I’m sorry, your Highness, but Queen Lar-Nah gave us orders to take him to—“

“Mum,” Mun-Dee groaned, head in his hands again. “God, okay. How freaked out was he?”

 The guard’s confusion was only mounting. “Um. The civilian was relatively calm, your Highness.”

“No, be honest with me,” Mun-Dee said, giving the guard a look.

The guard shifted. “He was apparently extremely nervous and somewhat jumpy, your Highness,” he admitted.

“God. Do you remember what they told him?”

“Apparently his father gave him a briefing on the way to the conference hall itself, your Highness. He was already nervous before he was frisked.”

Mun-Dee pushed his sunglasses up to knead the heels of his hands into his eyes, groaning. “Okay. Okay, I, okay. Thank you.”

“We have a guard on staff ready to escort you to—“

“No, I, I have a room key already. Thank you.”

The guard shifted uneasily. “Of course, your Highness,” he said, voice trailing off as Mun-Dee walked away.

He stood outside his room for several long moments, key in hand, taking deep breaths, before he moved to open the door and enter.

“Alright, I’m going to preface by saying I’m really sorry and I absolutely wasn’t the one to suggest you go into my literal room and all,” he started in the moment he was through the threshold, working hard to keep his voice level. “I know this probably seems like some sort of, some sort of extremely creepy thing, but I swear I just meant to meet you in some sort of extremely public area so you wouldn’t be uncomfortable—“

“Woah, woah, it’s okay,” he heard, halfway laughed, and managed to get the courage to look up at whoever the hell his mother had decided he was apparently going to get married to. And he was glad that the man kept talking, because his voice got stuck in his throat for a few moments. “Uh, your Majesty. Or—no, shit, your Highness. That’s what I’m supposed to call you, right? Or, wait, I’m not supposed to swear, fuck—shit—uh, frick.”

The man looking at him was, to put it frankly, very cute. His clothes fit him in a way that suggested some workable amount of muscle but probably not bodybuilding, and his hair was a little tousled on one side, and he had freckles on his face and on the visible parts of his arms, and he had a dimple when he smiled, and most notably he had these big cute front teeth that made him want to smile right back. He was sat on the little couch next to the dining table, cross-legged and vaguely casual while still clearly being some amount of nervous.

“It‘s alright,” he managed to say, waving off his apologizing quickly. “Uh.”

Silence for a second.

“I’m so sorry,” Mun-Dee said again. “This is probably bizarre.”

“I mean, yeah,” the guy shrugged. “But, y’know. It happens. Uh, your Highness.”

“You don’t need to call me that,” he said, waving it off again and instead holding out his hand. “You can just call me Mun-Dee. That’s my name.”

“Cool! You can call me Jeremy,” he said, standing and accepting the handshake, then looking Mun-Dee up and down once in a very obvious way. “Woah. You’re, uh, you’re really tall. Is everyone from New Zealand like that?”

“Yeah, actually, all three of us,” Mun-Dee said, a bit of sarcasm in his voice, and Jeremy frowned.

“Huh?”

Mun-Dee sighed heavily, sitting down on the couch and resting his elbows on his knees. He saw Jeremy sit as well in his periphery. “Well, you might’ve heard. New Zealand sunk itself into the ocean to make itself an isolated little utopia something like forty years ago. But what you probably didn’t hear is that ten years after that, a bit less than thirty years ago, there was some sort of accident. The dome broke, the entire place flooded. Everywhere except for one tiny little water-sealed laboratory. As far as we know now, there were only three survivors. My dad, my mum, and me.”

Jeremy gave a low whistle. “Wow.”

“Yeah.” He took a breath, pulled his sunglasses off to rub at his eye. “That was when I was just a baby, not quite a year old. Learning to crawl and all. Lucky I wasn’t outside of the lab when it happened.” He put his sunglasses on. “Regardless, that’s where I grew up, locked in a laboratory a few miles below the sea. Learned how to talk, learned to read—mostly taught myself with the books we had. Figured out how to access old archives and whatnot with some of the technology we had when I got bored of the old reading material. New Zealand and Australia apparently swapped technology for art back before the dome, before relations turned sour and we got somewhere near a nuclear war, we got some digital archives of old literature on tablets and the like, I ended up reading plenty of those.”

Jeremy was giving him a blank look at some of the terms he used, so he moved on, putting the sunglasses back onto his face.

“Anyways. My dad is an absolute lunatic, every few weeks he’d “discover” some new apocalypse that was about to happen,” he said, doing air quotes for emphasis. “And mum was just a drunkard and barely cared to correct him half the time, so most of my learning was self-taught and from finding videos and movies in the archives to get a grasp of what the world must be like. Then when I was about fourteen I figured out that there was something fishy about what my dad was always ranting about, and I found out that the world hadn’t actually ended up on the surface like he always said it had, and what happened to New Zealand, everything. By the time I was sixteen I was working on getting my dad to try and build a submarine, by the time I was eighteen I figured out that he’s also an idiot and that I’d be better off figuring out how to do it myself so we wouldn’t all die the second we got in the water because he forgot... I dunno, air or something.”

“Woah, you made a submarine?” Jeremy asked, eyes wide now. “On your own?”

“Only took me a few years once I found some blueprints,” he agreed. “And it didn’t need to be much, just enough to get me topside, and to some sort of landmass. Then, when I was about twenty-three, I managed it, and ended up in Australia. There was a bit of an issue for a day or so before they figured out what to do with me. New Zealander shows up from the bottom of the ocean and all on a public beach, it... it caused some problems. Eventually the deal was made that I could stay for a little while as long as it was kept secret where I was from, and didn’t leave the town I was in, and as long as I left once they had a good submarine to send me back with. Spent six months there, then when I went back, spent years pestering my dad into letting us all leave for real. It took that long for my dad to figure out that he could just go ahead and call himself the Crowned King of New Zealand since there wasn’t anyone else alive who could contest him on it.”

Silence for a moment. “That’s it? He just—“

“Yeah.” Mun-Dee ran a hand through his own hair fretfully. “And I guess I just... I just wanted to tell you. So you’d know what you were getting into if you agreed to any of this.”

Silence again. He didn’t dare look up at Jeremy.

“I’m sorry, I should never had tried to bring anyone else into this—“ he hurried to say.

“No, no you’re fine, I just—“ Jeremy laughed, a little nervously. “I just, okay. So that wasn’t some kind of joke.”

He couldn’t help but laugh too, the sound oddly infectious. “What kind of joke would that be?” he asked.

“I dunno, you tell me, what sounds more like a thing that happens to people, right? Either a prince from a goddamn fairytale lost city shows up and asks for your hand in marriage, or your asshole dad is playing a weird fucked up prank on you. Wouldn’t be the first time he tried to mess with me like that, he’s the worst.”

“The, er, translator?” Mun-Dee asked, just for confirmation’s sake.

“He’s not even a translator, that’s not even his job, he just got asked to come work as a translator because he knows a bunch of languages and stuff like that. He does some sorta other... whatever. International somethin’. I dunno. Good excuse to drive up to New York and all, though.”

“You’re American, then? You have an odd accent, don’t quite sound like it,” Mun-Dee said.

“Yeah, Boston, Massachusetts, it’s just sorta east from here. It’s in America, it—there’s a lot of American accents, big country and all. You’ve never heard an East Coast accent?”

“I live at the bottom of the ocean, there’s a lot of things that I don’t know,” Mun-Dee replied, a little bitterly, looking off at one of the decorations in the room. A pause. “Really, though. I… I know this will probably be a series of conversations and all, but… I, the offer is genuine. This—I’m serious. About…”

Silence. “About the whole marriage thing.”

His expression tightened. “Right. That.”

“Y’know, you’re gonna have to say it out loud at some point.”

He ran a hand down his face. “I know.”

“...And you’re gonna have to look at me at some point.”

He squeezed his eyes shut. “I know.”

“Hey,” Jeremy said, and hesitated for a moment before putting a hand on his arm, and Mun-Dee’s eyes instantly were whipping around to look at the point of contact, more incredulous than startled. “Look, I, I’m just as confused as you are, here. Just… let’s talk about this, okay?”

He swallowed hard. “I just, I really am sorry to drag you into all this, and… full disclosure, I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing. I’ve spent my entire life around exactly two other people and… and watching videos on screens, and reading, and trying to get a handle on what humanity is supposed to be like. First half of my life was spent…” He scratched idly below one ear, searching hard for his words. “...I spent years and years thinking we were the last people alive on the planet, and that meant that humans were absolutely done for, and… I’m no good at this. Any of this.”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Jeremy said, moving to squeeze his shoulder, and it sent a wave of comfort through him unlike anything else. “Look, if anything this is just… real flattering, huh? And, y’know, at least my Ma will like you, you’re… tall, and real polite, and, can read. And this’ll, I dunno, really set me apart from all my brothers, showin’ up back home from a weekend trip with fuckin’... Prince Charming.”

He scoffed, felt himself starting to smile. “Hardly very charming.”

“Nah, you are, just in your own sorta… weird nerd way,” Jeremy assured, and thumped him on the shoulder. “Like, uh, like in movies when there’s… wait, you know movies, right?”

Mun-Dee made a see-saw motion with his hand. “If they came out about fifty years ago, sure,” he said.

“Hey, that can be a start!” Jeremy chimed, thumping him again. “We can go out and see some movies. That’s some classic first date material.”

“That’s real, then? Not… one of those things that gets made up for films and books and the like?” Mun-Dee asked hesitantly.

“Yeah! Movies kick ass. And comics and stuff, I’m big into comics.”

Quiet for a second. “So we’ll go on a date, then?”

“Yeah. What, you think I’m gonna marry a guy without taking him on a date first?” Jeremy joked.

Mun-Dee shifted. “That’s… reasonable,” he acquiesced without fanfare. “Could you, er… is it off the table to… for you to just say we’re engaged?”

Jeremy’s eyebrows rose.

“It’s just—one reason I’m doing this—“ and since when did it become just one reason, not the reason? “—I’m not allowed to take on the power to make official orders and the like until I’m engaged and “have someone to rule with”,” he said, doing air quotes.

Jeremy’s face screwed up as he tried not to laugh. Mun-Dee frowned. “No, no, just… that’s not how you do air quotes,” he said at the look.

Mun-Dee frowned further. “What?”

“You don’t fuckin’ wave your hands all over the place like that. You just sorta,” he said, and demonstrated a much more subdued version of the movement, hands just bobbing in front of him. “Like that.”

“Oh.” He felt his face heating up. “I’ve only ever seen my dad do them. And he does them like,” and he waved his arms around again.

“Yeah, well, he’s also totally batshit,” Jeremy laughed. His expression fell a little. “So I guess it’s probably a good idea for him to sorta… not be king anymore.”

Quiet for a second. “But you’re taking the idea seriously? You really are considering…” Mun-Dee trailed.

“I guess I am.”

“I—“ he started, and had to take a breath to find the right words. “I just wanted to reiterate, you… there’s not much to gain from all this. You’d be marrying into a kingdom of absolutely nothing. This doesn’t come with… with political power, or financial stability, it would mostly just come with a good bit of media attention and… and teaching me how the world works, and traveling, and… talking to all sorts of people.”

“Hey, I like attention and I love to talk,” he shrugged.

“How much do you know about world politics, exactly?” Mun-Dee asked.

“Not a lot,” Jeremy admitted. “But my dad knows all sorts of shit. He could probably tag in, help with some of that stuff.”

A pause. “And I don’t know how much you’ll be seeing of me, I imagine this might have… a lot of work involved, a lot of sleepless nights. Research and the like. And I’m not terribly interesting.”

“You live at the bottom of the ocean,” Jeremy deadpanned.

“That’s not a good thing!” he protested, a little weakly.

“C’mon,” Jeremy laughed, and leaned in, cupped his cheek, and it stole the breath directly out of Mun-Dee’s lungs. “Quit trying to talk me out of this before I’ve even agreed to it all the way. I’m tellin’ you, first date. If we figure out that we hate each other on the date then, hell, I’ll just be on the books as the guy you’re engaged to long enough for your dad to go fuck off, and you can find somebody else.”

“Right,” he said, exhaled. “Right.”

A pause, Jeremy’s hand dropping from his cheek to instead thread their fingers together idly. “Hey, what’s the deal with titles, anyways? If you’re gonna be king, would that just make me… other king? King Two?”

“Technically I wouldn’t be king until my mum and dad both die,” he corrected lightly.

“Prince Two?”

“I think the title would be Consort, Prince Consort then King Consort,” he replied. “You’d probably start going by Prince Jeremy.”

“And, uh, if we figure out like months down the line that… I dunno, you’re like, allergic to all the shit I like and we can’t put up with each other anymore, what’s the plan there?”

Mun-Dee considered the question. “I suppose you’d be the Prince Consort at that point. You could make up whatever rules you please in terms of divorce and the like. I won’t fight you on it, I, I know this is already… a lot to be agreeing to in the first place.”

“Eh,” he shrugged. “I mean, it was this or go out to dinner with my mom and shitty dad for more “family bonding” bullshit,” he said, only using one hand for air quotes to leave the other one tangled with Mun-Dee’s. “Prince Charming sounds like a way better deal to me.”

“You’re,” he started to say, and couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled forth to interrupt him. “I, I suppose that’s fair.”

A pause. “Hey, if stuff goes well, you’re gonna need to actually propose, by the way,” he added. “With a ring and stuff.”

“Right. Also fair.”

“And—“ he started to say, paused, “—and I already sorta promised one of my brothers that he gets to be best man at my wedding eventually, so, we’ll have to figure that out. Whether we both have best men, or what the deal is.”

“As of right now I know exactly two blokes and one of them is you and the other is my dad,” Mun-Dee deadpanned.

“Right. Bottom of the ocean.” A pause. “Y’know, I never thought about the best man thing being an issue until just now.”

“Never thought about weddings much?”

Jeremy laughed, but there wasn’t much humor in it. “More like… the liking guys thing being kinda… new.”

A pause. “Oh.”

“Yeah. Just—only just started figuring that out a few months ago.” Another pause. “So what I’m saying is that I don’t really know what I’m doing here either. We’re both kinda rookies.”

“Well,” he tried to say, but he didn’t exactly have much experience comforting people, so it took a little while to find the right words. He took a moment to squeeze Jeremy’s hand. “Well, first date first.”

Jeremy exhaled, not quite a sigh. “Yeah.”

“Then whatever comes after that… after that.”

“Yeah.”

A pause. “Sorry.”

He laughed. “What are you sorry for?”

“I’m… a mess at this. I’ve… bottom of the ocean, I’ve never… dated. Or had friends. Or talked to anyone besides my mum and dad. This’ll take some getting used to.”

Jeremy leaned his elbow up on the back of the couch, propping his head on his hand. “Man. I, I really just can’t fuckin’ imagine. I think I would’ve just thrown myself out into the ocean. I would’ve lost my mind.”

Mun-Dee shrugged. “Well, I never exactly knew anything else. If anything… this, all this,” he said, gesturing around them, “this was far too much for me for a while. Too bright, too loud, too… the first time I saw the sky, it scared the hell out of me. Something so big. I didn’t have any concept of what big was until I saw the sky that first time.”

Jeremy had an expression on his face that he didn’t really know how to read, but there was an amount of smile there, so he figured it wasn’t something to get worried about.

“I think… assuming I don’t spent the whole rest of my life working on trying to unearth the ruins and fix whatever I can, assuming I have a break,” he immediately self-corrected. “If I ever get the chance, I think I want to travel. Not much variety down under the ocean, I think I want to go different places and… eat different sorts of food and the like. See what forests are like. And animals, I’d like to meet all sorts of animals. Not fish. I’ve decided I hate fish.”

Jeremy laughed. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. I—I’ve decided I like dogs a lot. When I went topside the first time, I got to see a dog. It was so friendly. Soft, too.”

“Y’know, I’m, this is a real trip,” Jeremy said, still wearing that odd expression. “Because you go from these big philosophical things and all about like, responsibility, to like… getting really hyped about dogs. It’s, you’re, you know you’re adorable, right? You know you’re the best?”

Mun-Dee felt a smile pulling at his face. “Am I?”

“Yeah. What kind of dog was it?” he asked, going back to the topic at hand.

He frowned. “...Grey? And white?” he said slowly.

Jeremy’s smile widened. “Oh my god. Okay. So, hey, Prince Charming, did you know that there’s different kinds of dogs? Big ones, small ones, fluffy ones…?”

“How big?” Mun-Dee asked, frowning further.

He thought for a second before he held his hands apart. “Like, maybe this big, longways?” he said, as if he wasn’t holding his hands a good meter apart.

“And how small?” he asked next, taken aback.

“Oh, like,” Jeremy said, now holding his hands less than a foot apart. “Like, tiny.”

“So horse-sized to cat-sized?” he tried, entire world shaken by this new information.

Another pause. “How big do you think a horse is?”

He held his hands about a meter apart.

“I’m pretty sure that’s not it,” Jeremy said, visibly trying very hard not to laugh. “Okay. So date number two, I’m taking you to a zoo to see some animals.”

“Already on the second date?” Mun-Dee asked, starting to smile again despite the embarrassment clouding in his chest.

“I get the feeling that the first one’s gonna go well. You’re pretty cute,” he shrugged, smiled.

“How do dates work, exactly?” he asked, already feeling ridiculous for having to ask.

A laugh. “Man, I dunno. You go do somethin’ together, and talk about all sorts of stuff, and hold hands and maybe kiss at the end. And… I mean, maybe more than that, but I’m, y’know. When it comes to real dating, that’s not really a first date sorta deal. I was gonna say I’m classier than that, but… I mean, y’know. Stuff happens.”

Mun-Dee laughed, only a tiny bit nervously. “Right?”

“Hey, look, you’re super new at this,” he was quick to assure, “I’ll try and take stuff slow. Show you the ropes on everything. As slow as you need to. I, I know I’ve got kind of an issue with rushing stuff and fucking things up, so, I’m gonna need you to tell me if I’m being… I dunno, too much? Too quick?”

“Right.”

“If... I’m serious, if you start getting overwhelmed or start feeling weird about stuff, you gotta say somethin’. I’m pretty great and all, but I’m not the brightest sometimes. And, you’ve never done any of this stuff before, and I don’t wanna freak you out.”

He swallowed hard, averting his eyes. “Right, I, I’ll try my best. I… but I also don’t really have… any concept of how fast things are meant to be? I’d hate to be far too slow and bore you to death.”

“Hey, that’s fine. I’d rather you be chill and take things slow than freak yourself out.”

“And if I take things too fast?” he asked slowly.

Jeremy looked at him. He started to grin. “You think that’s gonna be an issue?” he asked.

He shrugged aimlessly, glancing away again. “I just… I can’t be sure,” he said. “Not sure how much of this is meant to be… something I want, but should wait for.”

“What‘ve you got in mind?” he grinned.

He had to really fight to get the words unstuck from his throat. “Well, I guess it’s just that I’ve spent my whole life under the ocean and I’ve been wondering for a long time what kissing must be like,” he murmured to the carpet, “I’d really like to try that, but you just said you don’t feel like rushing things and all—“

He was cut off by a hand on his cheek, turning his face up and over, and then he was being kissed, just like that.

It…

The word he would use to describe kissing when he thought back on it later was “good”. At the time, he didn’t call it much of anything, because his entire brain felt like it was shutting down.

Now, Mun-Dee didn’t exactly have a lot of life experiences. On the way to the UN meeting a car had suddenly honked nearby where he was walking and it had been literally the scariest thing to happen to him in his entire life. The best meal he’d ever had was picked up from a tiny eatery in the town he’d been confined to during the very short amount of time he’d spent topside in Australia. The best joke he’d ever heard was told to him by a particularly brave child in the airport who’d wandered over to talk to him about the strange old people in the robes that he was clearly traveling with. He had practically no real context for anything going on in the world around him, and he was well aware of that. So it wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy kissing Jeremy—or being kissed by Jeremy, more like, because he was scared to death of making any mistakes and let Jeremy take the lead for the most part—it was just that he literally didn’t have the vocabulary to express how much he liked it.

It was overwhelming. He didn’t want it to stop.

“Well, there you go,” Jeremy said simply once he’d pulled back, and when had he closed his eyes? He blinked them open. Jeremy was smiling. “Now you know.”

Quiet for a few moments. “Can you do that again?” Mun-Dee asked, a little weakly.

Jeremy smiled and leaned back in.

He’d read enough books and seen enough films to be aware that this wasn’t even particularly… impassioned kissing. It was rather chaste, overall. Subtle presses of lips, a hand on his cheek, the other on his shoulder for balance. Eventually, between kisses, he tangled the hand on his shoulder with his own, and laid a hand on Jeremy’s shoulder to help keep him steady instead. At some point Jeremy started fiddling with his hair, and that felt very extremely nice. He enjoyed that a lot. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do if he ever had to combine the feeling of kissing with some other second sensory input. He was fairly sure his entire brain would shut down and he would drop dead.

Mun-Dee felt a little disappointed when Jeremy pulled away a bit more, a slight pressure to the push pack just to indicate that he was pulling back for a little while now. “Y’know, for someone so new at this, you’re really not terrible,” he said, a little surprised, but his tone largely humorous.

He took a moment to get the breath back in his chest. “Well… lots of… reading romance stories and the like, watching films,” he managed, brain in a fog.

Jeremy was still playing with his hair.

“One more?” Mun-Dee asked, tone weak.

A little laugh. “Fine, one more,” he said, and leaned back in again.

When he started pulling back, he couldn’t help but murmur it again, “One more?”, as earnest as he could manage with his mind muddled. And that got him quite a few more, easy minutes, world falling into a haze, narrowed down to the feeling of fingers entwined with his own, and carding through his hair, and the fabric of Jeremy’s shirt under his hand, and warmth, and pressure.

“Okay, okay, take it easy there Tiger,” Jeremy laughed finally, and put a hand on his chest to guide him to sit back again. At some point, he’d wound up leaned forward considerably. He wasn’t sure when. “Save it for the date.”

He opened his mouth to respond, but it took a second for words to catch back up with him. “Sorry,” he managed. “I just… like this a lot. Like you a lot.”

A laugh again. He was really starting to like how laughs sounded. Not his dad’s laugh when he was off on some insane tangent, or his mom giggling drunkenly, just this kind. The kind that meant he’d made Jeremy feel happy for a little bit. “Good.”

“Do… I’m sorry, I’m sure you probably have other things to do today,” he said. That was once concept that he’d picked up on pretty quickly, that people generally had things that they needed to do.

“I mean, I’m sure my Ma’s gonna start worrying about me at some point,” he said, leaned to get a look of the clock hanging on the wall. “But I’ve got a little more time.”

“You could… tell me more about yourself,” Mun-Dee offered hopefully. “What sort of things you like.”

“Well… yeah, okay. How much do you know about baseball?”

It would be a good few hours before Jeremy finally ended up leaving. Mun-Dee was fascinated with everything that he had to talk about, with what the world was apparently like, with how sports really worked, with movies, with actors, with music. And, according to Jeremy, it turned out that Mun-Dee was a good person to talk to. A good listener. Mostly he found himself hanging off of every detail he was told, distantly fascinated by the feeling of a hand in his own. At one point Jeremy had an arm up around his shoulder, and that was its own situation for a little while, him just attempting to push down the flurry of emotions that rose in his chest.

He was smart enough not to say anything about it, though. He was aware that it would be extremely sad if he admitted that he couldn’t remember the last time somebody held him, if ever. Surely it had to have happened when he was a small child, but he really, truly couldn’t remember. It was far nicer than he could put into words.

But despite what he wanted deep down in his heart, he knew he couldn’t just trap the man here to use as a teddy-bear, and he didn’t argue the matter when Jeremy eventually glanced at the clock again and realized, shit, he really needed to get going before his Ma started freaking out.

He was walking Jeremy to the door when it occurred to him. “When—when would you like to go on that date?” he asked, almost abruptly.

“Well, there’s a couple more days left in the conference and stuff,” he said, tugging at his own jacket idly as he thought. “But I’m in New York until next weekend. How about, uh, Monday? Then we can figure out the next one at the end of that. Here—“ He leaned over to the table by the door, picked up the pen and pad of paper there, wrote something down. “That’s, uh, that’s the hotel I’m at, and room number. You can call and we’ll figure out what time and stuff, and I’ll find out what movies they’ve got playing.”

“Alright,” he agreed. “I’ll—I’ll call you.”

“Cool,” Jeremy nodded. A pause, then he was kicking up onto his toes and planting a kiss on his cheek. “See ya.”

“Bye.”

And then Jeremy was off down the hallway, and he was closing the door, and he was alone.

He breathed in, breathed out. Walked over to his bed—it was massive, bigger than any bed he’d ever seen in his life, not that that was saying much. He picked up a pillow, and buried his face in it, and yelled.

He could not believe that this was happening.

Did he have to be good-looking? Did he have to have such a nice laugh? Did he have to be funny, and sweet, and concerned about taking things too fast and making him uncomfortable even though they’d literally just met? Mun-Dee had spent a good portion of the time that he was getting baseball explained to him half-preoccupied by thinking about how cute Jeremy’s teeth were. And he had freckles—freckles! He’d half thought that they weren’t real, or were something fake that people put on, like makeup, but they were all over his arms and hadn’t smudged when Mun-Dee had smoothed them under his hand. And he had callouses on his hands, and promised to introduce Mun-Dee to his mum’s cat, whose name was apparently Meatball and who was allegedly bright orange and dumb as all hell. No, his mum just had to randomly pick a very attractive young man with a good sense of humor and opinions on just about everything under the sun.

And he had an argument with himself for a little while, because he was well aware that he probably wasn’t in love with the man already. It was just the first time he’d ever spoken to someone besides his parents for a length of time, and Jeremy just also happened to be attractive and willing to go on a number of dates with him. They’d only just met, he was being ridiculous.

But if this was just a crush, just an infatuation or a fascination, then how was he meant to handle it when he fell in love someday? This was already almost too much for him to handle.

He took a deep breath. It didn’t work very well, so he took the pillow off of his face and tried again. It worked much better.

Just… just try the first date, he told himself. And then whatever happens next, happens.

He couldn’t get the feeling of a hand in his own out of his head.

God, he was a dead man.

#sniperscout #speeding bullet #shut up me #everybody talks #my fanfiction #my writing

88 notes · View notes

jasper-hutchinson · 5 years ago

Text

White Flag | Self-Para

[mentioning: @warrenhutchinsoniii / @agnescohen / @tateahadi / @taissa-ahadi / @chanelhcrcwitz ]

"I guess I just never felt like I needed to be here. I mean come on, I’ve..despite all the shit with my dad, I’ve had a good life. Like a really good life and it seemed...stupid for me to get hung up on my emotions. Which..is hypocritical a bit if I really think about it.” He took a deep breath and sat up a bit, feeling like he had sunk in on the couch. His therapist, recommended by Taissa’s mom, had been nice enough as he rambled through the past few months, focusing more on what had happened with Agnes than what had initially made him upset. He had a sense she could see that as she looked at him and he had to admit there was something about talking to a female therapist that was more comforting than talking to a male one. He figured he’d feel too much like he was talking to his father, though the more he thoughts about it these days, he didn’t really have great male role models in his life, aside from Chanel’s dad and the time he spent with him was less and less these days. Maybe that was part of the issue.

He took a deep breath and reached for the cup of coffee she had nicely made him, after he had denied it first and kept staring at the machine. It was all new ground to him and he was never good at not being in control, especially when he was being so vulnerable. “I guess I just..felt like a switch turned one day and I felt like..complete shit about myself. I mean I had in the past but it wasn’t as..deep. Then I woke up and looked in the mirror and I thought..who the fuck is this guy?” He let out a sad laugh and looked at her again. “You probably think I’m ridiculous, huh? Rich sad kid, how..typical.”

“The opposite, actually. Do you do that a lot? Assume what other people are thinking about you?”

His smiled dropped a bit and he sat up, giving it some thought before his eyes dropped to his cup. “I mean..yes, I-I mean I’m not always wrong but I guess..that’s fair. Don’t we all?”

"To some extent, yes, but you talk as if..you know it’s for a fact. It suggest to me that maybe, you think these things about yourself more than others do. I mean you said it yourself you’re always worrying about others more than you do yourself. Was that not part of the point Agnes was making with you?”

His expression changed a bit at the mention of Agnes and he suddenly wished he hadn’t said anything about it, not wanting his focus to be pulled away. “I-I well,” he let out a sad laugh, “I guess you’re right,” he had to admit, pushing his hair back again before he reached for the fidget spinner in his back pocket that Tate had given to him that morning, having to admit that it was pretty helpful. “You’re kind of good at this,” he added with a soft smile as he lifted his head to look at her again. “I mean not that i doubted you would be but I guess..this is why people do this, right? For those aha moments?”

“Something like that, yes. Does that mean you’ll be returning?”

Jasper nodded, finishing off the rest of the coffee as he glanced at the time, realizing he had pretty much taken up all of it, not used to spending that much time talking about himself. But he was starting to see the benefit if not the idea of letting it go, as hard as that seemed.

“Well I’m going to give you some homework. And I really want you to put your thought about it. A few worksheets I want you to fill out and monitor your mood. But before that, I want you to take a breath and I want you to tell me something. You mentioned Agnes and Warren, Tate, Tai and Chanel, all of these people who clearly love you and care about you. So if they were sitting here in front of me right now and I asked them to tell me why they love you, why they spend time with you, why they..keep you around, frankly. What is it that you think they’d say?”

He took in a deep breath and exhaled a nervous laugh as he thought about it. “Shit well uh, that’s...okay, I guess I can go down the list. Warren probably because I’m his cousin,” he joked, “But uh, you know he’s always said I’m like a brother to him and I guess he’d say that I’m loyal and encouraging, a little bit..daring but mostly at family dinners. The stories we have,” he let out a soft laugh, his smile widening a bit as he thought about it. How much he had survived childhood because of Warren and because of their ability to see each other for who they were, not for who their family wanted them to be. “Chanel would probably roll her eyes at first and make it clear she does not like my sneakers. But if forced to, I suppose she’d admit that I’m pretty..funny, smart if not..too smart. And that I’m decent company. Protective. A horrible dancer but great spirit.” He laughed at his own words, making a note to send her a text so they could actually catch up during the holidays, he had already bought her gift after all.

“Tai though, she probably has an endless list of good things to say about me. I know because she told me once. Uh she’s probably start with how beautifully floppy my hair is and my ability to roll a j with lightning speed. Uh she’d say that I’m...kind and generous and probably..brilliant. She’s used that words before and it makes me feel nice. Supportive too, especially with her art.” He knew he was speaking about himself but it felt different to be saying it as if he was someone else and he could see the point she was making, even though it was hard for him to admit as he looked at the fidget spinner for another moment. “Tate is the same in that he would have lots to say, he’s always hyping me up, he’s..the friend I’ve always wanted, you know?I think he’d say the same about me. Also that my vegan dino nuggets are awesome. I found those especially for him.” He took a deep breath and cleared his throat, not sure why he saved her for last when he could have just sped through it. “Agnes I-,” he sat up a bit and thought about it. “I’ve never felt better about myself then when she’s complimented me. She once called me..beautiful and I felt like it was the nicest thing anyone had ever said about me. When we..first started dating she said something like, I can’t wait to show you off to my friends, which it just..it made me feel wanted and so I uh,” he cleared his throat and clutched the spinner in his hands, “So I think she’d say a lot of things, that I’m sweet and thoughtful, loving, even. I think she’d sit here and still say I was one of the best people in the world, if not at least her favorite vegan.” He laughed softly and took a deep breath, willing himself not to get emotional. “I mean I guess, I’m all of those things, I guess I just don’t really see it,” he concluded, letting out a shaky laugh. “Fuck, is that how you end all sessions?” He pushed himself up from the couch and put the payment for the session on her desk as she scheduled another appointment with him and he nodded along, still feeling like his heart was pounding in his ears as he thought about everything he had revealed.

His mind was in a million places as he exited the building, He still felt like he had his head underwater and they talked about the possibility of medication in the future. He just wanted it to be gone, even though he knew that was naive as he got into his truck. But he understood the point of not wallowing of what Tai’s mom had said about giving yourself time to wallow and the move forward. It was different than hiding it, he could be honest and still keep moving, or at least he could try. Still, he felt a little bolder than he had when he walked in there. Which was why he reached for his phone and selected the one number he had dreaded calling for months. He wasn’t surprised he picked up on the second ring, probably shocked to see his name at all.

“Jasper?”

He took a moment, nodding as he could be seen through the phone. “Hey Dad, do you have some time to talk?”

#sp #self para #who proofreads?? not me #white flag

4 notes · View notes

dabble-writes · 6 years ago

Text

The Magician and I- (1)

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |

Pairing:

Yoongi/Reader

Summary:

Suga is a wish-granting magician. He grants wishes—for the price of your most prized possession.

Your parents and brother died tragically in a plane crash and you visit Suga to grant your wish to bring them back to life...but instead you become his assistant.

Now you’re thrust into a world of magic and the mysterious being known as Suga.

Tags:

Fantasy, romance, comedy, a bit of a slow burn, angst

Warnings:

Mentions of death, strong language

CHAPTER 1: WHO IS SUGA?

You knew instantly you were in a dream.

Strange, you thought, I never have such vivid dreams.

You looked around you and recognized that you were in your home—the home you lived before the accident. It was unchanged, and you were marveled at how your mind remembered every detail.

“Y/N!”

You turned around and was met with the vision of your mother.

“Mom!” You cried as you ran up to her and gave her a tight hug.

She chuckled, “Oh my, what’s gotten you this excited?”

You could barely speak as you sobbed quietly against her shoulder. She felt so soft and warm, like she really was alive and here in your arms. It was so vivid you can even smell her familiar scent, which made you choke.

“There, there.” She rubbed your back, trying to soothe you, “I’m here.”

You reluctantly step away so that you can see her face again, “Mom, are you really here?”

She gave you a warm smile, “Of course, darling.”

“Then I wish I never wake up.” You said honestly and she brought up her hand to stroke your cheek.

“You are so strong, know that I’m always proud of you.”

This made you cry.

“Please don’t cry, honey, I have something I need to tell you.”

You felt the world start to shift around you and you scrambled to grip unto this dream.

“No wait, Mom, tell me!”

Her face became more blurry as her voice seem to be muffled, like your head was underwater.

“Go find the magician, Suga.”

“What?”

“Suga, he will help you.”

You reached out for her but you just grabbed at air, “No! Mom, don’t leave!”

“Go and ask for a wish. He…and you…”

“And what? Mom what are you talking about?” You asked, panicked, but you couldn’t hear her now and everything was spinning.

“MOM!” You cried as your eyes flew open, tears running down your cheeks.

It took a moment for you to orient yourself as you wiped the tears from your eyes.

About three months had passed since the accident, but it was still a fresh wound for you. You look around at the unfamiliar room, so different from the room you were used to for the last twenty years.

It unnerved you to have such a vivid dream, you still could feel her lingering touch where she stroked your cheek.

You then remembered what she said to you and you were puzzled by the message.

Who is Suga?

“Maybe he’s a long lost relative or something.” Your best friend, Hyelin, said and you shook your head.

“I doubt that’s what it is.”

“What did your mom meant that he’s a magician? Like the one-that-pulls-rabbits-from-hats kind of magician? They are all con artists, you know.”, She looked thoughtful as she took a sip from her coffee.

You rubbed your temples, “I don’t know. All I know is that I’ve been having that same dream for a month now and it’s kind of freaky.”

“Do you think it’s a sign? From your mother?”

“Probably not.” You answered, “Maybe my mind is making up things because I miss them so much.”

Hyelin’s smile dropped, “Right, I can’t even imagine what you’re going through. I’m sorry for bringing her up.”

You smile sadly, “It’s fine, you didn’t brought her up, I did by mentioning the stupid dream. I just…it just feels weird…without them…you know? I keep waking up, expecting to smell my mom’s cooking. I keep thinking that I’m going to hear my father’s voice asking to come take our daily walk or that each knock at my door is my annoying brother coming to tease me. There’s just so much I took for granted with them, and in one moment it’s all…gone.”

There was a pause and you realize you made the conversation awkward.

“I’m sorry, Hyelin, this was supposed to be a fun meeting to cheer me up and here I am, bringing the mood down.”

“It’s fine, y/n, you don’t have to appear strong all the time.”

“Thanks, Hyelin.” You smiled and squeezed her hand, “I don’t know how I would have gotten through these months without you.”

“What kind of friend will I be if I didn’t? Now enough with the somber mood, you’re right, today was supposed to cheer you up. As your good friend it is my obligation to distract you at least for a little bit.”

You laughed, “Yeah, it’s just this dream. It just puts me in a strange mood.”

“What you need is closure.” Hyelin said and took out her laptop, “Your mind will probably not let it go until you find out the truth.”

“The truth about what?”

“Is Suga a real person? Is he or she really a magician? And finally, can they really grant your wish?”

“Hyelin, you can’t possibility think that the dreams were message that held some truth in it?”

Deep inside though, you wished it was true because then you could make the wish that can make your life right again.

“Listen, y/n,” Hyelin said as she typed on her laptop, “there’s only one way to find out: by googling his name.”

You rolled your eyes, “It can’t be that easy.”

“Never underestimate google.” Hyelin said solemnly, “Now how do you think it’s spelled?”

You gave her an incredulous look, “How am I supposed to know?”

“Fine we will go with S-U-G-A. ‘Suga…magician’.” She typed as she said those two words.

You huffed, “You’re probably going to get a sugar daddy magician or something like that.”

Hyelin laughed, “Don’t be a hater, y/n—oh wait, this looks promising!”

Curious, you peered over her shoulder and snorted.

“Wow this website is so obviously old.”

“Stop it,” Hyelin chastised, “look, it says ‘Have a wish that needs to be granted? Visit Suga, the wish-granting magician.”

“Hyelin, this is written in comic sans, how much can you trust this website? This interfacing and graphics are making my eyes bleed.”

“Ok, but how much of coincidence is this? You get a dream for a month about a magician called Suga that grants wishes and he actually exists.”

“Uh, correction: he claims to be a magician that can magically grant wishes. Do you not see anything shady about this?”

You just couldn’t believe your friend was actually believing this bullshit website. Not to mention you are kind of peeved that the website doesn’t seem to have been updated since 2001.

“Oh my god, this gets even better.” Hyelin said, obviously not listening to you, “the address they give here is right here in Seoul! Y/N, this is obviously destiny.”

“Let me see.” Sure enough, not only the address was in Seoul, it was like a 10 minute walk from your apartment. “Wow, that’s freaky.”

“Or…fate. You have to at least check it out, y/n.”

You sighed, knowing Hyelin is persistent and won’t let this go. Plus, you were just a tiny bit curious and wanted to check this Suga out.

“Fine, I’ll go on my way home. Do you want to join me?”

“Of course!” Hyelin said excitedly, “How often do you get to meet a magician who can grant wishes?”

You decided not to not break her bubble and looked back at the screen so you can take note of the address properly. You then noticed fine print in the bottom of the screen and squinted.

“ ‘The price for a wish is your most prized possession, so be warned’—what the heck?”

“Where does it say that?”

“There”, You pointed at the screen and she squinted.

“Wow, your eyesight is good, I probably wouldn’t have caught that. It also doesn’t help that it’s yellow text on a white background…”

“Hyelin, do not realize what that means? My prized possession?That is some serious bullshit.”

“Okay, but what is it?”

“What?”

“Your prized possession?”

You furrowed your eyebrows, “I don’t know, I used to be so sure…but I lost it.”

“Wha—oh.” Her face fell, “Well it’s not like you’re going to make a wish anyway, right?”

Right, you were just going to check out if Suga is legit or not and why your mom sent you to him in a dream.

“Right.” You said, but were not so convinced.

“Plus I thought you thought it was bogus anyway.” Hyelin teased you and you laughed.

“Okay, okay, I get it. Let’s go and check this Suga out.”

Why does his name have to be so ridiculous?, you thought, it’s probably not even his real name.

“Alright lemme just pack up my laptop.”

You nodded as you finished your iced coffee. Hyelin’s phone dinged and she looked at her phone.

“Oh my god, I forgot!” She exclaimed as she started to text furiously.

“What happened?”

“My dad is back from his business trip today! We are supposed to meet him in the airport in half an hour.” She looked at you and bit her lip, conflicted.

“Hyelin, it’s fine—go to your father. I know how much you miss him.”

“But—“

“I’ll be fine going on my own, I’ll tell you all about it.”

“Thank you so much, y/n! I’ll see you tomorrow then” We hugged goodbye as she ran out of the café.

You’re a little disappointed that you’re going by yourself, since this Suga guy could be a creep.

Thankfully your parents made you take martial arts classes as a child, so you know that if things take a turn for the worst you’re able to defend yourself pretty well. Not to mention that you developed fast reflects because of Jin, your brother; he loved sneak attacks and claimed he was “training you”. For what, you never knew.

You reached the building where Suga’s business supposedly resided and was surprised that it looked like a very nice office building instead of some mystic hole-in-the-wall shop with mood lighting.

Maybe it’s an outdated address, you thought, that website was old after all. Maybe some company bought the building, knocked it down, and erected this fancy building instead. You were about to leave when the doorman called to you.

“Hello miss, do you need anything?”

You blushed, knowing you looked very out of place, “Oh um, I was trying to find someone by the name of Suga but I think I got the wrong address—“

“We get that a lot, don’t worry. He should make it more clear. He’s on the 5th floor.”

You blinked, “Wait, this is the right address? Someone by the name of Suga has an office here?”

The doorman chuckled, “I hope you find what you’re looking for, miss.”

You gathered your thoughts together and gave him a smile, “Thank you so much for your help.”

As you walked to the elevator, you admired the prestige condition of the lobby. The floors looked recently polished, it looked so shiny you were afraid to make a mark on it. This was honestly the opposite of what you were expecting and was very nervous.

Who the heck is Suga? Is he making so much money scamming people that he can afford to have an office space in this building?

You entered the elevator and pushed the floor, trying to get yourself together. The door opened to a hallway with only one door. You walked up to the door and saw the sign “Suga, Magician. Monday to Saturday 4-10 PM”.

What unusual hours, you thought and checked the time, I should be fine since it’s 4:10 PM.

You didn’t know what to expect when you open the door, but it sure wasn’t a classy waiting room. Everything was so shiny, you were almost blinded by the opulence of it all. You went up to the window, but saw no one behind the counter.

Strange, you thought. You then noticed a bell in front of you and a sign that says, ‘Ring Once For Assistance’ in fancy script.

You rang it once and waited a moment. Nothing happened. You rang it a few more times and wondered if whoever was supposed to answer it heard it. You were about to ring it again when the door flew open, making you jump.

“What part of ‘ring once’ do you not understand?” The man in front of you said in a gruff voice, giving you a dark look.

The man was handsome, probably the most handsome man you’ve seen besides your brother. His glare didn’t mar his delicate features, his skin so beautiful and pale. His hair was a unique shade of mint that surprisingly suited him very well. He wore a slick business suit that obviously came from an expensive brand.

“If you’re finished with checking me out can you tell me what you want?”, He asked with a bored tone, making you blush.

Unlike your brother, who was always joking by how attractive he looks (he even called himself “worldwide handsome”), this man just said it in a matter-of-fact way.

“Are you Suga?”

He gave you an unamused look, “Yes, are you here to wish for something?”

You hesitated, how crazy would it be if you told him your dead mother told you in a dream to visit him? Your mom said to make a wish so maybe you should just make a wish…

“Um…”

“Follow me.” Suga simply said and walked back into the room he came from. He didn’t wait up for you and went into an office. The office has a whole wall that was just windows and showed the beautiful skyline of Seoul. You stared at it in awe as he just sat down on a seat and regarded you.

“Sit down.”

You nodded and awkwardly sat down to the nearest chair, fiddling with your hands nervously as he just studied you.

“Tell me your wish, I don’t have all day.”

Suga looked so different than your stereotypical fortune-teller or shaman. For one, he looked like a business man and didn’t speak in flowery language. He was curt to the point of it being rude. He also looks like he couldn’t care less with what you had to say, his face barely showing any emotion. His voice was gruff, like he just woke up from a nap. Still, there was a certain aura about him that makes him…not ordinary.

“You can grant me anything at all?”

“Yup, just know that the price is your most prized possession.”

Fuck it, you thought, what harm can it do to tell him what you want most?

“Can you bring back my dead parents and brother?”

There was a silence and then he replied, “I don’t know what you heard before you came here but I can’t grant wishes that mess with existence, that’s more God’s area and I don’t want to get into that mess.”

You look at him in disbelief and anger, the anger mostly at yourself for letting yourself believe him. You had a tiny spark of hope that your family can be brought back to you and it just fizzled out in smoke.

You forced yourself to not to cry, “How convenient.”

“Is there anything else instead?”

You snorted, everything else seems trivial, “What, so that you can say that you can’t do it? I can’t believe I stooped so low to ask some sham for a wish like a fucking five-year old.”

You stood up and saw that he still had that expressionless face; you hated that face and wanted to get some reaction out of him. You saw a vase next to you and pushed it, making it fall with a crash. He didn’t even flinch which made you even angrier.

“Fuck you, you’re just a fake magician, I’m outta of my mind to visit such a place.” You started to leave as you mutter, “Forget it, I hated the idea of giving up my prized possession anyway, bye.”

But you found that you couldn’t move a single step, as if you were frozen to the ground. You panicked.

“What the—“

“Wait.”

Suga lazily got up and walked up to you as you continued to struggle to move your legs. “Coming here was your decision, but I decide when you get to leave.”

“You’re doing this! Let me go, you creep!”

“I’m sorry I can’t do that, seeing how I’m a ‘fake magician’.” He smirked at you as he threw your words back at your face and you were not amused at all.

“Let me go now, if you don’t I’ll—“

“You’ll do what?” He asked, “You don’t seem to understand your situation at all. Once someone has seen my face, they have to make a wish or…”

“Or what?” You asked and he took a step closer to you.

“Or you die.”

You started to panic. Oh my god, I can’t die. He looks like he would kill me too, he’s not bullshitting. Why did my mom send me to this psycho? Oh my god I’m gonna die—

The world started to spin and before your world turned black you just saw that jerk’s emotionless face.

You woke up saw that you were on the cold floor. You remembered what happened and realized that you fainted. You looked up and saw Suga sitting again. You tried to get up but of course you couldn’t move a muscle.

Asshole.

“Let me get up.”, you said with gritted teeth.

“Will you be civilized and not break things again?”

You looked at where you dropped the vase but saw that it was repaired without a single scratch in its original place.

“Fine.” You muttered and you were able to get off the floor. You glared at him and took a seat.

“Let’s make a deal.” Suga said and you narrowed your eyes at him, suspicious.

“What do you mean by a ‘deal’?”

Do I have to sell my soul to him or something now? Just my luck.

“Since you don’t wanna make a wish or die, give me your body.”

“W-what?” You gasped out as you crossed your arms over chest defensively, “W-what do you mean by that?”

Just what kind of sick fuck is he? I shouldn’t have listened to some stupid dream—

He smirked as he stood up and walked towards you, “What I mean—“

“—d-don’t come any closer!” You exclaimed but he simply walked passed you and opened the door.

“—is that my assistant suddenly got pregnant and resigned. You are going to be working for me starting today.”

It took a moment to process what he said.

“Wait, what? Says who?”, You walked up to him and put your hands in your hips.

“Your service ends when you make your wish.” He looked at you, “Unless you have a wish in mind—besides the one you already said, of course.”

The bastard, he knew that was the only wish you really wanted. Nothing else is worth giving up your most prized possession. Plus, you’ve seen too many movies where wishes can go horrible wrong.

“I-I—“

“Well then, it’s settled.”

“Wait! I can’t work here! I’m a busy student, I have classes—“

“Just think of it as a part-time job, I don’t work mornings anyway.”

“No—!”

Suga turned to you and grabbed your chin, “You don’t think I’ll kill you?”

You looked into his cold eyes and knew he was serious. You bit your lip and tried not to cry, “Ok, fine.”

Suga let go of your chin, “Just sit behind the desk for now and greet whoever comes in—you can manage that, right?”

You grit your teeth, “Yes.”

You were cursing him out in your head as you went to sit behind the reception desk. It’s honestly your rotten luck that you know have to work under him of all people. You looked around your desk and sighed, there wasn’t even a computer! Then again, if the state of his website is any indication he’s totally technology inept. You were organizing the highlighters by color when a door opened and a smartly-dressed older man walked in. You straightened up and put on your customer service smile as he walked up to you.

“Hello, how may I help you?”

He didn’t smile at you or greet you, “Is this the magician Suga’s office?”

You forced yourself to keep the smile as you remember that asshole, “Yes it is.”

“Is he available?”

“Let me check his schedule,” you said sweetly and looked at the planner in front of you that you knew was empty, “He is available. I’ll let you in then.”

You opened the door for him and led him to the office.

Those brand of clothes are expensive, he must be rich, you thought, I wonder what he came to wish for.

Suga was sitting behind his desk when you entered the room. He greeted the man with a handshake and you gave him a dirty look behind the man’s back, which Suga ignored.

“Do you want tea?” Suga asked the man and he said yes. Suga then turned to you, “Prepare some tea for this gentleman.”

You looked at him in shock but Suga gave you a pointed look and you gave him a gritted smile, “Sure! Tea coming right up, sir.”

It wasn’t until you left the office did you realize that he gave no indication how you were supposed to make the tea. Bastard.

You wondered through the hallway and found a kitchen. Does he live here or something? And started to go through the cabinets to find tea. Eventually you found that there was some tea that was already brewed and still hot, so you put a cup and the kettle on a tray and walked back to the office. I’m not going to serve any for that trickster.

You opened the door to find that they were in a middle of a conversation, so you were careful to be quiet.

“…wish for?”

The man spoke up, “Because of my own experiences with poverty, I’ve always been obsessed with making money, no matter the means. This was all for my only son, whom I never wanted to experience what I had to go through.”

You set the cup in front of the man and started to pour the tea, he paid you no mind. You saw that there was a photo of an attractive young guy on the table and figured that this must be the son he was talking about.

“For the sake of his future, I also went through the trouble to set him up with an acceptable match. But…without any consideration for me he went ahead and started to date a poor, unhealthy girl.”

You started to walk away, but when you mentioned that you paused. This doesn’t sound good at all.

“I’ve tried everything to separate them, but none of it worked and that’s why I’m here today. I heard you’d grant any wishes as long as it doesn’t mess with life’s existence.”

No, don’t tell me—

“So I’ll make my wish, it doesn’t matter if I go to debt—please split up my son and that horrible girl.”

You look at Suga in shock, surely he wouldn’t—

Suga seemed unfazed, “Your wish has been received. Those two people will definitely have to part.”

Does this guy have a conscious? Any morals? Your opinion of him, if possible, dropped even lower.

The man smiled, “Oh, thank you! How much do you require…?”

“I don’t take money.” Suga said simply, “But the moment your wish is granted I will take your most prized possession.”

The man looked a bit worried, “My most prized possession? It’s not money?”

“For the most part, humans live without actually knowing what’s most important to them. The most important thing to you isn’t money. The moment your wish is granted, you’ll understand exactly what that is.”

“…alright. Whatever it is, it won’t be a big deal..”

“Alright, then you need to sign the contract, I—“

You couldn’t hold your tongue for a second longer and set down the tray on the desk hard as you glared at Suga, “Why are you such an ass? Do you have any sense of decency whatsoever?” You then turned to the man, “Same goes for you, baldy—making such a thing as your wish! You should be ash—“ You felt lips move but no sound came from it. You gave Suga at dirty look, knowing that he did this to shut you up. The nerve!

Both men seemed unfazed as the man signed the contract and asked, “Then when will you…?”

“It will be granted at midnight.”

The man nodded, stood up, and held up his hand, “Pleasure doing business with you.”

Suga shook his hand and the man walked pass you and left the office. You just looked at Suga in disbelief.

“You shouldn’t have interfered.”

You snorted and realized you were able to make sounds again, “You’d really grant such a wish? You think it’s just okay to grant any wish at all?”

He didn’t even looked up at you, “I don’t have any interest in human wishes to begin with. The only thing of importance is the precious possession I receive in return.”

Of course he wasn’t human, you thought, somehow that didn’t surprise you.

But still, granting a wish that will separate two people deeply in love…

“You’re truly evil.” You simply said, “I’ll stop that wish from coming true myself.”

He finally looked up, “Are you planning to kill me?”

“W-what?”

“Once a contract is made if the wish fails to be granted I’ll die.”, he simply said, like he was discussing the weather, “I have no intention of letting you get in my way. It may not look like much, but I stake my life every time I grant a wish.”

You were not amused at all, “An idiot who banks his life on such things deserves to die.”

Suga regarded you and there was a heavy silence. He then said, “Fine, then try it. If you really think you can. Let’s make a bet. If you succeed, I’ll release you from having to work for me.”

You were wary of making a bet with him, but this was so tempting. Not only will you be helping this couple, you could be free.

“But,” Suga continued, “if you fail, then you’ll remain in my employment until I get tired of you.”

Until he was tired of me?, you thought, I can be very annoying, he’ll soon grow tired of me.

For you, it was a win-win situation. You have to at least try to help this couple, you don’t think you’ll ever forgive yourself if you don’t try.

“Deal.”

You managed to worm the address of the apartment where the son and his fiancee is living from Suga.

Gotta hurry, there’s only four hours until midnight.

You were running to the direction of the address and slammed into a guy so hard you both feel on the floor. You sat up and looked over to see if the guy was alright but he was unconscious. Panicking, you rush over him and try to get him to wake.

“Oh shit—I’m sorry! Please don’t die, wake up!”

You heard strange sounds coming from him and paused, was that—-?

“Don’t worry,” the boy said, “This isn’t the sound of death, it’s my stomach growling.” He gave a small laugh and you were relieved that he was okay.

You then looked at his face and narrowed your eyes.

“Do I know you?”

He frowned as he slowly sat up, “I don’t think so…”

Wait—he’s the son! He looks just like the guy in the picture! Wow, it’s my luck that I run into him here.

Before you can say anything, he gave out a cry of disappointment, “Oh no! The dinner I made…”

You looked to see what he was looking at and saw a lunch box knocked over and the food was all over the pavement. You grimaced and looked at the boy, who looked like he was a bout to cry.

“I made it just for her…and it was all the money I had left…”

His stomach growled again and he looked at you in embarrassment.

Scrambling for the opportunity, you bluttered out, “Let me make it up to you--let me buy you some food!”

His face lit up, “You would do that? I’ll greatly appreciate it...”

You helped him off the floor and you guys walked to the nearest convenience store.

“What’s your name? Mine is y/n.”

“Chan.” He answered.

“So, you mentioned a girl…?”

Chan lit up, “Yes! My fiancee, Jeonghwa, I love her so much. She’s a few years older than me, but I don’t mind.”

“How did you guys met?” You asked, curious. He obviously loves Jeonghwa so much, he is so animated talking about her.

“I was doing a summer internship at my dad’s hospital, my dad owns a hospital by the way, when I met Jeonghwa in the cafeteria. She was so beautiful and so sweet, I had to talk to her. It took me a while to impress her and make her see me as a man, but it was all worth it.”

“If your dad owns a hospital, how are starving now?” You asked, you can already guess what had happened though.

Chan’s face distorted to anger, “Yeah all my dad cares about is money. When he heard that I got engaged to Jeonghwa he threatened to cut me off. And when that didn’t work he kicked me out of the house and said the only way he would want to see my face again was if I broke up with her.”

You were shocked by how cruel his father was, “Wow, I’m so sorry. My parents are dead, but at least they were never like that.”

“I’m sorry about your parents,” Chan sighed, “My dad wasn’t always like this. Before my mom died he was actually really decent and actually cared about me. Afterwards though, he became obsessed with money.”

You fell silent and you paid for the food, “...Well at least I can help out in this little way.”

Chan lit up, “No, this is awesome--you didn’t really have to do this. We really appreciate it!”

You smiled at Chan’s beaming face, he was a good kid.

You guys continued to talk as you walked to the bad side of town and entered a worn looking apartment building.

“Jeonghwa, love, look—food!” Chan said excitedly as he burst through the door. It was a small one bedroom apartment, obviously very run-down, and a beautiful but frail woman was sitting on the bed.

“Where did you get all this food?” She then noticed your presence, “And who’s this?”

“It’s a funny story,” Chan replied as he started taking the food out and preparing it. He then explained how the two of you met, “She bought all this because she felt bad, noona.”

Jeonghwa frowned, “But Chan, you caused so much trouble for someone you don’t know. You’re really…” she then stopped and looked away.

Chan stopped his preparations, “You were going to call me young again, huh?”

“No, but when you do things like this I—“

“I’m not that young, I’ll work hard to make sure you’re taken care of.”

“What..?”

“I took a leave of absence from school—“

“What? You quit school?” Jeonghwa was obviously not happy and the couple obviously forgot that you were here because they were talking quite freely.

“No, I didn’t quit, I’m just taking a break—“

“That’s basically the same thing!”

“Look, I was kicked out of home so it’s not like I can afford to go to school anymore.”

“I told you not to worry about school. I’m better now and can work, I can support us.”

“Don’t say that! You barely recovered, how can you work?”

“I don’t want you to end up like me!” Jeonghwa cried, “A loser with no job or future.”

“Don’t say that.” Chan said, grabbing her hand, “You have a future.”

Jeonghwa was crying, “I don’t want to ruin yours though.”

Her tears made Chan’s eyes start to water, “You’re not ruining my future, noona!”

“Yes, I am!”

They were getting agitated and it was one line away from it becoming a full blown fight. You panicked, what if they end up breaking up? I have to do something…

“H-hey!” You called, getting their attention, “I can take care of the food, at least until you can afford it. My family died and now I get monthly income that’s more than enough, so I can help you.”

They both stared at you, then looked at each other.

“She must have hit her head really hard when she fell.”

“We must be very pitiful, huh?”

“She’s clearly not thinking well.”

“Clearly.”

Great, that had the opposite effect, “Look, look, I can really help—!”

They simply ignored me and Chan started to feed Jeonghwa.

“Eat this, since you haven’t eaten been able to eat in a few days.”

You kept trying to get their attention, but they seemed to be in their own little world.

No, I can’t fail…but they won’t even listen to me…, you thought.

“What about you…?” Jeonghwa asked.

Chan gave her a bright smile, “I already ate.”

Liar, you thought, if his stomach growling earlier was any indication.

Jeonghwa started to cough and Chan was instantly at her side, “Noona? Are you okay?”

She started to hug her stomach, “My stomach…it hurts…”

Chan started to panic as Jeonghwa fainted in his arms. He turned to you, “Y/N, what should I do?”

Tears started to well in his eyes and you quickly brought out your phone and called a taxi.

“We have to get her to the hospital fast.” You said and he nodded as he picked her up effortlessly.

The travel to the hospital was tense, Jeonghwa came back to consciousness but she was still feeling very weak and her stomach was still in pain.

She was carted into the emergency room and you had the task in trying to comfort Chan.

“I knew it wouldn’t last,” he mumbled, “this happiness. I knew sooner or later her sickness was going to be too much. I don’t know how I’m going to pay for this hospital bill.”

You again offered to help him, but he shook his head.

“Jeonghwa is right, it’s too much to ask for a stranger—you already did more than enough.”

Before you can argue about that, the doctor came out and Chan ran up to him.

“Well…?”

“Well the good news is that it’s nothing serious, she’s sick because you feed her such greasy food after days of not eating. But more importantly while I was running tests on her, I found out that her sickness has gotten much worse. If she doesn’t get surgery right away, she could die.”

Chan’s face fell, “But I can’t come up with the money right away…”

“I recommend you try to. Every minute is valuable.”

“But how could this be? Last time, you said she was getting better.”

“It’s perplexing to me too. It’s unusual for the patient to get worse in such a short time…”

Did Suga do this, you thought, the bastard, bringing Jeonghwa’s health into this—she could die!

You looked at the your phone and, sure enough, it was almost midnight. That son of a bitch, if she dies because of this…

You heard Chan sigh and looked up to him; he looked like he was debating something.

“There’s only one way...”

“What...?”

You noticed his father was there, and clenched your hands. Of course.

“You win,” Chan said solemnly, “If you can save her, I’ll do whatever you want. I won’t see her.”

His father smiled, “I knew you’ll come around.”

“They said she’ll get better once she gets surgery.”

“I’ll make sure she’s healed.”

“Then I’ll do it, I’ll break up with her.”

“No.” You whispered and looked at your phone. Midnight on the dot.

Chan’s father also realizes it’s midnight and he stared at his son as his eyes widened in panic, “Wait—”

Chan looked at his father in confusion, but then he suddenly collapsed. His father tried to catch him but he too went to the ground, unable to support all the weight. He started to panic.

“Chan! No, not my son!” Medics started to swarm around them and Chan’s father collapsed.

You were shook by the whole scene, which happened so quickly. You knew somehow Suga was responsible for all this and wondered if Chan ended up being his most prized possession.

I have to find Suga, you thought as you ran out of the hospital and to the direction of Suga’s office. Things can’t end like this.

You couldn’t remember when was the last time you ran this much, but by the time you reached the lobby you were really out of breath. You were able to catch your breath a bit when you were in the elevator. When the elevator door opened, you ran up to his office. Suga was resting in the couch. It seems like your entrance woke him up and he was glaring at you.

You ignored this and said, “What did you do to them?”

He simply stared at you.

“Well?” You asked, losing your patience.

“I didn’t do anything, now let me go to slee—“

He started to close his eyes when you poked his cheek, “Chan and his dad. The one who asked for the wish today—what did you do to them?”

Suga glared at you, “Don’t touch me. And I didn’t do anything to Chan. As for the father, I didn’t do anything to him, strictly speaking.”

“Then why did they both collapse? Right when the wish was granted, they collapsed.”

Suga seemed to realize that I wouldn’t leave until he offered me an explanation and let out a sigh. He slowly got up and started to walk. You followed him, confused. He walked down the hallway and opened one of the rooms. It was a room filled with vases and boxes. He went towards the middle of the room where there was a floating crystal orb. “See for yourself, they’re fine.”

“What—?”

He waved his hand and in the orb there was an image inside the crystal ball. It was Chan and his father, who was in a hospital bed. They seemed like they were talking and you heard soft voices coming from the orb. You strained your ears to listen.

“—you’re alright!”, the father grabbed Chan’s hands, as if making sure he was right there in front of him. “Yeah, I’m fine,” Chan said awkwardly, “I was starved for so long that I must’ve gotten dizzy. But what happened to you? Do you feel fine? The doctor said you just collapsed because of stress.”

The father still looked shocked, as if he was trying to process everything, “Tell me, is that girl alright?”

Chan looked puzzled, “What?”

“Your fiancee—is she alright?”

“Y-yeah, they just finished the surgery on her and she should be recovering.”

“I’m glad that she’s doing better; you should go see her though.”

Chan looked so shook, “Wait, what? I thought you didn’t want me to see her again…”

“I know, but I while I thought you were gone I realized how silly I was being. You love her, right?”

“Y-Yes...”

“Then that’s all that matters. I was a fool before thinking that money will bring you happiness.”

“Father, I--” With tears in his eyes, Chan hugged his father, “Thank you.”

Confused at the scene in front of you, you turned to Suga.

“Why is he like that? You did do something to him after all.”

“I only took his most prized possession, as promised.”

“So then what did you—?”

“Greed” Suga answered, “Usually it’s a lie when parents say they do things in the kid’s best interest. He never did the things he did for his son, but because of his greed.”

You stood there in awe and looked back at the scene in the orb, “So what happens now?”

“Well since I took his greed away they’ll be happy, for now. But there’s always another type of greed that springs up eventually. Hopefully, he would learn his lesson by then.”

This guy, you thought, maybe he isn’t so bad after all.

“Did you plan this from the start?”

“No.” Suga simply said, “I knew his son was the most important thing so I risked my life and took the next best thing. Fortunately, it worked.”

He studied the vase labeled ‘greed’ and you have to say you were a little impressed.

“Do you do that often? Instead of taking someone special from them you take something else that can be lost?”

Suga laughed, “Oh no, I have taken souls before—see that vase?” He pointed to a vase across the room, “That’s my collection of good looking guys.”

You stared at him to see if he was joking but he was as serious as ever, “Wow, you’re sick—I definitely can’t trust you.”

And to think I was so close to thinking he was a good guy, I should have known.

Suga just smirked, “It’s probably better if you don’t. Well since you lost the bet, you’ll be working for me until I get tired of you. Which could be tomorrow, could be fifty years from now—we’ll see.”

You inwardly sighed, he’s right—I’m probably going to see him for god knows how long. The very least we can be is civil so that we don’t have such a miserable time. You held out your hand.

“I dunno if you know, but my name’s Y/N. In any case, I’m sorry I told you to die.”

He just stared at my hand and said, “Ah, yeah…”

So rude!, you thought as you awkwardly brought your hand down, “Don’t just say ‘ah yeah’. I said my name, so you’re supposed to say yours back.”

“You already know my name.”

“No, I meant your real name.”

There was a slight paused, then, “Just call me Suga. There’s a curse on my real name, so if you use it you’ll get hurt.”

Ugh, nothing can be simple with him, you thought, why do I feel like this is only the start of some cruel plan the universe had thought up for me?

“Fine, Suga.”

You were still suspicious of him and his agenda, he was still an absolute jerk, but at least you’re not alone anymore.

#suga fanfic #yoongi fanfic #bts fanfic #yoongi x reader #suga x reader #bts x reader #magic!yoongi #magic!bts #suga angst #yoongi angst #the magician and I

79 notes · View notes

tessatechaitea · 5 years ago

Text

Teen Titans Spotlight #10: Aqualad

Who s the head that looks like a shark? Starfire?

Nine issues into Teen Titans Spotlight On and it's better than I remember. It seems to have run for 21 issue but I definitely didn't buy the entire series. My guess is that the last issue I bought will turn out to be Teen Titans Spotlight On: Cyborg before I became unwilling to spend the extra 75 cents per month to keep up with the series. I'm actually surprised I didn't dump it with Aqualad but then this issue was written by John Ostrander so I can see why I didn't mind picking it up. I have no memory of ever reading it though. The artist is Erik Larsen of Savage Dragon fame. I assume he's famous for that even though I've never read it. I'm only a fan of Savage Dragon in that he's the only Image founder who stayed true to the premise of Image Comics, drawing and writing every issue of his creator owned comic book. Obviously he didn't have to do that to stay true to Image's manifesto. But he certainly would have needed to pay anybody who worked on his book royalties on any characters he created. Just like Todd McFarlane should have done and eventually failed to do but then was finally forced to do by the courts. Because sometimes people believe the ideology that backs their effort to make more money and sometimes people just want to make more money.

Garth to his adoptive parents: "Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck yoooooooouuuuuuuuuu!"

Garth has awoken in dark water unable to remember how he arrived at this point in his life. When you awaken from a blackout submerged in water, how do you know if you've pissed yourself? Garth could probably taste it with his super powers. I don't know what Aqualad's super powers are but what good is an underwater superhero who can't tell if some kid pissed in the pool? If that were canon, I'd finally stop claiming that Aquaman is a useless member of the Justice League. Garth finds himself in the throne room of his real parents, King Who-Fucking-Cares and Queen Whatever. King WFC is shooting everybody he sees with his finger guns because he's convinced they're going to kill him. And Queen Whatever, pregnant with Garth, believes everybody is trying to kill her baby. So I guess I now relate to Garth being that we both had a paranoid mother and an alcoholic father? And I can probably taste pee in a pool too except I've never tried! Because, thinking about it for even a second more, that's probably not a super power. Being able to taste pee is just part of the human condition. Jericho and Nightwing show up to kill Garth's dad. Jericho possess Garth to do it because that's hilarious.

Judging by the art, I guess this is supposed to be comedic?

Nightwing and Jericho kidnap Garth's pregnant mom. Garth tries to stop him but he can't because he's just Aqualad. Also because he gets sucker-punched by Cyborg.

The voice my brain read this panel in makes me think my brain is racist.

No wait! It's not my brain's fault! It's Aqualad's prejudiced perception of Cyborg! He's obviously never met Cyborg or else that panel would containt three "Booyahs!" and be super boring. Instead it's mildly interesting due to its exposure of Aqualad's bigotry! If I didn't love John Ostrander's work so much, I could have blamed the stereotypical black voice on him. But I know better! He's a true writer which means it's canon that Aqualad is fucking racist. Aqualad blows Cyborg to bits because Cyborg is just like Robotman and Red Tornado. It's fun writing stories where they wind up dismembered because it doesn't kill them. Next Aqualad runs into Changeling who's doing an impression of Jon Lovitz's pathological liar character, Tommy Flanagan. I didn't remember that's the name of the character. I used Google! Sometimes I want people to believe I know things I totally didn't know to make me look smart. But other times, I want to make sure people don't think I knew stupid bullshit that makes me look like a fucking asshole. So I guess the entire tone of this comic book is supposed to be humorous and surreal. It was hard to tell if Nightwing and Jericho threatening to kill a pregnant woman was funny because they were drawn in a goofy way or because threatening pregnant women is just inherently funny. See how you're thinking, "Is it funny? I don't know about that." I get it! You need further proof. Like that panel above where Garth shoots his dead square in the face! Sure, I found it funny! But I know not everybody is me. So for further proof, let me introduce "Cyborg's racist caricature" as further evidence of how wildly hilarious this comic book is! No, still not convinced? Well, the Gar bit has to convince you, right?!

What's funnier than an impression of a Saturday Night Live character?! Yes, yes, I know. But The Office didn't exist in 1987!

Some of you might not have read Teen Titans Spotlight On: The Changeling so you might be wondering, "What the fudge is going on?!" Well, for those people who didn't read my commentary for that comic either, Aqualad has been captured by Mento. He's being mentally tortured right now. Oh! Mentioning Mento, I just realized that maybe Aqualad isn't racist! Of course he knows how Cyborg speaks! It's Mento who doesn't understand the Titans and thinks of them as caricatures! He's providing the totally racist and not-at-all funny and super aggressive dialogue by the other Titans!

Weird. Mento totally nailed Wonder Girl's vibe.

I feel better now that I've concluded Garth isn't both useless and racist. While trying to save Tula, Garth learns from Mera that everybody who ever died did so because Garth couldn't save them. He finally breaks down and screams, "Nooooooooooooo!" Which I guess was the secret to breaking Mento's hold on his mind! Garth wakes up in a small aquarium to see Mento jerking off in his wheelchair. Catching him unawares, Garth is able to use his sea creature telepathy to take control of Mento's helmet. I could explain how it all makes sense since Mento and Garth explain it all but how much detail do you really need? It's a fucking comic book, people. As soon as you flip open the cover, you should be ready to buy into whatever lit-slop the writer shovels into your brain mouth. In Aqualad's fantasy for Mento, we learn that Garth might not be racist but he's super ableist.

This comic book should be framed and hung on Ethan Van Sciver's living room wall.

In the mental battle of wills that follows, Garth and Mento learn that each of them has lost their greatest love. The suffering they share breaks their mental link and Garth's prison shatters. While Garth feels pity and sympathy for Mento, Mento feels only anger that Garth would learn of his weakness. He curses Garth with a mental command that if Garth ever returns to Steve Dayton's residence, his body will believe it's been out of water for three hours and he'll instantly die! How come Grant Morrison never remembered that bit of continuity and used it to kill stupid Aqualad in a later book? Teen Titans Spotlight #10: Aqualad Rating: C. This was an average story about an average character. The theme was grandiose but I don't think Ostrander managed to convey the emotion of it with all the silly hallucinations. It was called "Scar Tissue" because it was about grief and opening oneself up to be available for healing even if it also opens a person to more pain and suffering. Garth is on the road to healing while Mento is covered in scar tissue. It wasn't until the very end where any of this becomes obvious and by then, I'd already been turned off by Changeling's Jon Lovitz impression. I mean by the sexism and racism!

#Teen Titans Spotlight #Teen Titans #Aqualad #DC #DC Comics #Mento

2 notes · View notes

julchenawesome · 3 years ago

Text

I posted 1,290 times in 2021

84 posts created (7%)

1206 posts reblogged (93%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 14.4 posts.

I added 434 tags in 2021

#marvel - 73 posts

#loki - 72 posts

#loki series - 44 posts

#mcu - 42 posts

#zukka - 41 posts

#loki laufeyson - 36 posts

#dinluke - 35 posts

#wandavision - 34 posts

#what if - 30 posts

#loki spoilers - 27 posts

Longest Tag: 137 characters

#loki just admit his weakness because he knows that from his point of view none else would care of his reasons apart from this strange man

My Top Posts in 2021

Like I have so many questions about the Dinluke WandaVision AU. Like how did it start? Is like the show but with the start wars elements? What exactly occurred? I have way too many infinite questions!

Well, first, thanks @hotsauceonabiscuit for the art❤

Second, I think that the old Luke, in pain after what happened (you know what), he creates accidentally a reality based on the holos he saw when he was a child in Tatooine.

But with someone special: Din Djarin, the Mandalorian who "disappeared", the man who Luke falls in love but never confessed his feelings to him.

So in this reality he is Luke Skywalker-Djarin, married with Din Skywalker-Djarin, both a newlywed in the city. Normal people, right? Well, they tried, because Luke is a "wizard" and Din is an astronaut that who falls in love when Luke saves him (yeah, it's Bewitched with I dream of Jeanie).

Then they have a kid, Grogu. The parenthood started. The little kid, green, it's lovely, even in the moments he is a demon spawn.

And a surprise! Anakin, the lost father of Luke, appears to become his dad, Din's nightmare and Grogu's best grandpa ever! In Halloween Luke disguise himself as te character of his favorite movie: Karate Kid (yeah, you know, the story of a guy training with an old man who speaks really funny). Din as knight, but a cheap one. Grogu is a funny ninja, and Anakin mixed a samurai disguise he find an painted it black xd

Well, it's wonderful, isn't it?

"Luke, can your hear me? Can you hear me? Who did this to you?"

92 notes • Posted 2021-03-02 16:07:50 GMT

Ben was jelaous of Grogu, because his mother(a Senator) and father (an idiot who flies) goes to their differents paths, left him with his uncle to train as a padawan, meanwhile Grogu had his mandalorian father (the leader of his people) and uncle Luke (THE Jedi) around him AND for all of this is a better padawan. For Ben, the problem wasn't the light or the dark side, was the indifference from his parents. It was the absence of love, the signs, a demonstration of the love of his parents.

And that is the reason why he couldn't kill Grogu. He is Kylo Ren, but even if he was jelaous of him, that he wants to hurt his uncle, he remembers the force around the Mandalorian, sending love not only to Grogu, also to the others, to him. This love save Grogu that day. Because he realized that if Grogu survives, Din Djarin would priorize the kid over Luke. The Mandalorian would leave and break Luke's heart. If this happen also Leia and Han's hearts would suffer.

For Kylo this is good. It's perfect. Finally they would understand him. And in the way, father and son would save themself of being part of the Skywalker/Organa/Amidala/Solo family.

He just did them a favor.

96 notes • Posted 2021-01-06 04:11:53 GMT

"Memories from the deep"

"Feels like we only go backwards"(?)

(Or forward) Chapter 21

By @oldpotatoe

[ID: Sokka is floating underwater, bubbles from his mouth towards the surface. He seems worried. His hand extending to the betrothal necklace that is also floating. Behind him, with the blue sea are phrases of Chapter 21 of "Feels like we only go backwards", highlighting the references to Zuko or Sokka's feelings. Lights from the surface, focusing the necklace.]

102 notes • Posted 2021-10-28 18:35:03 GMT

Maybe this is a general headcanon, but for me, when Grogu calls a Jedi, at the same time he was thinking "But I don't want to leave my daddy alone", "My daddy would be sad if we don't stay together", and more 'dad-alone-is-sad-and-I-don't-want-that' are his principal thoughts. And then Luke happens.

This is the idea: Grogu it wasn't calling a Jedi, he was calling a partner to his dad!!!

(That's all. Long live dinluke)

138 notes • Posted 2021-01-05 19:34:59 GMT

The Skywalkers have a type: Anakin fall in love with Padme, once a Queen, Senator, fighter, the family is important to her. Padme fall in love with Anakin, a Jedi, the "bad guy" of the Order, a great pilot, but family is important to him.

Leia fall in love with Han Solo, a scoundrel, a "bad guy", a pilot. So she is like her mom.

Luke fall in love with Din Djarin, a "bad guy", but also de Mand'alor, a fighter, and family is really important to him. Luke is like her dad.

Yeah, the twins Skywalkers have a type.

170 notes • Posted 2021-01-13 19:26:58 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

#my 2021 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

1 note · View note

jamais-sans-couleur · 7 years ago

Text

tagged by @bababyron

Appearance:

I am 5 Ft 2.5 in (this is partly because I didn’t get proper sleep, nutrition, and exercise as a teen lmao)

I wear glasses (I don’t like wearing glasses. I prefer contacts)

I have at least one tattoo (I hope to get a tattoo of 2interlocking Mars symbols)

I have at least one piercing

I have blond hair

I have brown eyes

I have short hair

My abs are at least somewhat defined (I may be skinny but I’m relatively lean)

I have or had braces

PERSONALITY:

I love meeting new people ( To be more precise, I like it when new people meet me)

People tell me that I am funny

Helping others with their problems is a big priority for me

I am playfully rude to people I know

I enjoy a physical challenge

I enjoy mental challenges (No, this is why I stopped studying English literature)

I started saying something ironically and now I can’t stop saying it (bish)

There is something I would change about my personality

ABILITY:

I can sing well

I can play an instrument

I can do over 30 pushups without stopping

I am a fast runner

I can draw well

I have a good memory (long-term, not working)

I am good at doing math in my head

I can hold my breath underwater for over a minute

I have beaten at least 2 people arm wrestling

I can make at least 3 recipes from scratch

I know how to throw a proper punch

HOBBIES:

I enjoy sports

I was on a sports team at my school or somewhere else

I was in an orchestra or choir or band at my school or somewhere else

I have learned a new song in the last week

I exercise at least once a week ( I try... )

I enjoy writing (I love writing for myself but I hate writing for school but I like reading what I wrote anyway)

I have gone for runs at least once a week in warmer months

I have drawn something in the past month

Fandoms are my #1 priority

I do some form of Martial Arts

EXPERIENCES:

I have had my first kiss

I have had alcohol (I hate beer but wine is delicious)

I have scored a winning point in a sport

I have watched an entire TV series in one sitting (can’t sit still for that long)

I have been at an overnight event

I have been in a taxi

I have been in the hospital or ER in the past year (father had an episode of Tachycardia a few years ago)

I have beaten a video game in one day

I have visited another country

I have been to one of my favorite bands concerts (I saw Miley Cyrus in concert in Omaha in 2009)

MY LIFE:

I have one person that I consider to be my Best Friend

I live close to my school/work

My parents are still together (undivorced but have lost all carnal love)

I have at least one sibling

I live in the United States (I better not die here)

There is snow where I live right now (It’s melting, thank God It snowed again since the last time I edited this lol)

I have hung out with a friend in the past month

I have a smartphone

I own at least 15 CDs

I share my room with someone (my dad sleeps on the floor because he can’t sleep comfortably downstairs. ugh.)

RELATIONSHIPS:

I am in a relationship

I have a crush on a celebrity (Torben Liebrecht. Was für eine geile Stimme )

I have a crush on someone I know (Can’t get lead on if you avoid talking to the people you’re attracted to)

I’ve been in at least 3 relationships

I have never been in a relationship

I have admitted my feelings to a crush (Awkward)

I get crushes easily

I have had a crush for over a year

I have been in a relationship for over a year

I have had feelings for a friend (Ended up completely ruining it)

RANDOM:

I have break-danced

I know a person named Jamie (That wasn’t the exact spelling of his name, Greg, but yeah, that was unfortunate. Anyhoo, my college speech professor had this name)

I have a teacher that has a name that is hard to pronounce (Mark Celinscak /SAW-lin-sahk

I have dyed my hair (white streak à la rogue, light brown, currently auburn)

I’m listening to a song on repeat right now

I know someone who has gone to jail (brother was sent to juvie for setting a trash can on fire, dad was detained in New York for trying to head to Russia without valid passport, mom is currently in jail for having worked under a false identity)

I have punched someone in the past week

I have broken a bone (never placed myself in the position to do so.)

I have eaten a waffle today

I know what I want to do in life

I speak at least two languages (Native Mexican Spanish speaker, practically native American English speaker, fluent in French à la française, okay in deutsches deutsch)

I’m too lazy to tag anyone. If you see this, go ahead and consider your tagged

1 note · View note

tehrisa · 7 years ago

Text

Free! -Timeless Medley- the Promise/Yakusoku (spoilers...duh)

Part two of the Timeless Medley series, Yakusoku/The Promise, is a Samezuka centered recap of Eternal Summer; in other words it's ES without most of the Iwatobi scenes. The plot centers on Rin and Sousuke's individual character arcs, Sousuke's most heavily, as well as their relationship with each other. Nitori's character development is also covered because of the relay being central to the overall story, and Momo remains as a supporting role.

The movie opens with new scenes of Rin and his family, showing his mom (Miyako) and dad (Toraichi) for the first time in the series. We're shown a more in depth look into Rin's relationship with his dad, the person he's always loved and looked up to the most, since chasing his dad's dream was an important part of his story in season one. Toraichi is shown to be a caring father who often plays with Rin and Gou, and even teaches them how to swim when they discover that he used to be a talented swimmer. One day Toraichi goes out for his fishing job despite a storm coming, then Gou is accidentally woken up by Miyako and they see the clock in the room suddenly broke and hands are stuck at 4:55. Later Gou and Miyako leave to visit their Grandma, leaving Rin home alone. While taking a nap, Rin is woken by a phone call, the call is about Toraichi dying in the typhoon. After Toraichi’s death, the whole family is shown to be broken hearted, but Rin is determined to remain strong in this time of sorrow. Afterwards we see the days when Rin meets Sousuke and Haru for the first time; Sousuke challenging Rin for the first time at the Sano SC, and Rin seeing Haru at the tournament aforementioned in ES Episode 12. When Sousuke sees that Rin has a sudden fondness for Haru at that tournament, he’s visually disturbed. After, Rin tells Sousuke that he’s transferring to Iwatobi. From there we see a montage showing the events of Season 1 and the High Speed movie. Starting from the Iwatobi SC relay and Rin leaving for Austraila, we see parallels of Haru and Rin during their first year in middle school and what happened to them up until their reunion in winter that same year. Haru is shown to have a positive development with the Iwatobi Middle team, while Rin has the opposite experience being unable to overcome swimmers that are stronger than him and even stopping in the middle of a race just like Haru in ES Episode 9. A new clip of the Iwatobi Middle team is shown just before the scene of Rin and Haru's reunion race. While the team is walking home together, Haru looks up at the sky to see a hawk, then fading to Rin solemnly staring at an empty sky in Australia. After the reunion in middle school, the montage skips to show Rin's development in Season 1, overcoming his torment to regain his passion in the final relay of Season 1. The montage ends with Rin becoming captain at the start of Season 2, and the scene where Rin is alone at his dad’s grave from Season 1 Episode 7. From there it's the opening theme.

The opening theme, Rising Free, is mainly clips of the main Samezuka boys, and brief clips of Kisumi, Ikuya, Asahi, as well as Natsuya and Nao together as adults (however they're only shown from behind). The Iwatobi team is shown towards the end of the theme standing opposite to Samezuka in a setting similar to the season one opening when they're underwater looking at each other.

From there the movie is a direct recap of ES with some scenes edited out and a few new clips/scenes added.

Starting with Episode 1, Sousuke Is shown visiting Iwatobi SC Returns before quickly changing scenes to Samezuka. Rin is trying to get used to his new duties as captain when he recieve a call from the Iwatobi boys telling him to come to Iwatobi while he's in the locker room. This is the same invite to see the Sakura pool but is change from the direct invite at the local tournament that was in the TV anime to just a phone call. The Sakura pool scene remains the same, but Makoto and Haru being unsure of their future when asked by Rin is cut.

From Episode 2 we see Sousuke and Rin reuniting, Sousuke joining the swim team, Iwatobi inviting Rin and his team to Splash Fes, meeting Momo, Sousuke and Haru's confrontation at the vending machines (but without that dubstep music is was awkward yet intense), and the relay race.

Next it's straight to Episode 4. This is almost completely unedited aside from cutting out the Iwatobi scenes (no gross rice balls, sorry). Basically it’s all the Rin and Sousuke scenes from that episode.

Afterwards are scenes from Episodes 6 and 7, i.e. the regional tournament. Before the start of the tournament, there is a new scene where Gou is at the hospital with a cold and sees Sousuke there too; replacing the scene from the end of ES Episode 7 where she only saw him at the train station. Then Gou and Rin visit their dad’s grave before they go to the tournament. At the tournament we see Nitori's race, Rin's race against Haru, Momo being chosen for the relay team, Nitori sulking over not being able swim with Rin because he thinks his swimming is poor but Sousuke reassures him to try harder, the relay race (except the actual race isn't shown, it's just the scene before it starts and skipping directly to Samezuka celebrating their victory).

Nitori congratulates Rin on receiving offers from scouts, including "sousuke's team". And then the fight between Rin and Sousuke where Rin questions how serious Sousuke is about the relay. Let me quick mention that the whole movie has a new soundtrack, and this scene had one of the best new tracks in my opinion; it was super intense. Afterwards is the scene where Sousuke coaches Nitori, and then the race that secured Nitori a spot on the relay team; I believe that was from the beginning of Episode 9.

Speaking of Episode 9 (nice transition between thoughts), from this episode we see Rin announcing the relay team (Momo, Nitori, Sousuke, and Rin), Seijirou seeing the relay listing from Momo, Momo telling the other relay members that they're the "best team", Sousuke's shoulder starting to hurt in the practice pool, Rin's freestyle race, Rin seeing Haru stop in the pool, Rin talking to Haru in the locker room (most of this scene is edited. It's just Rin yelling at Haru "what are you doing?!" And then cut off by Haru slamming his fist on the lockers. That it).

Episode 10 is also almost fully shown, aide from most of the Iwatobi appearances being cut. So we see Rin confronting Sousuke about his shoulder and then Sousuke revealing the truth, along with Sousuke, Nitori, and Momo telling Rin they want to swim the relay no matter what. The relay from that episode is edited so that is focuses on just the Samezuka team’s swimming. And then the ending clip where Sousuke says he's found his dream.

Episode 11. Rin receives the air mail from his coach in Australia, and Sousuke talking Haru at Iwatobi about talking his future more seriously after the fallout at the prefectural tournament. After Rin dismisses the Samezuka team for their week long break, he receives a text from Makoto. This is followed by three new scenes. First, Makoto calls Rin while he's still at the cliff where he and Haru had their fight. Makoto explains what happened with Haru and how he's worried about Haru's future and wants him to see the world (essentially just retold what he said to Haru). He asks Rin to do something to help Haru, which is where he decides to take Haru to Australia with him. The next scene is Rin packing for his trip and Sousuke ask if it's really ok for him to take Haru with him, to which Rin claims he's "not doing this for Haru" or something like that. Also Rin asks what kind of souvenir Sousuke wants and he says "nothing sweet" (it was really cute). Finally, Nitori and Momo are talking about practicing together to prepare for Nationals. Sousuke overhears the conversation and the two of them tell him they’re nervous about swimming at Nationals for the first time. Sousuke gives them some advice and offers to watch them practice sometime too.

Because it has no relevance to the Samezuka plot line, Episode 12 is completely skipped. Sorry RinHaru fans, your ship is cut.

Not much is shown from Episode 13 aside from Rin coming back, the third years graduating and Nitori becoming captain, and Rin telling Sousuke that he'll wait for him to come back to swimming. This scene transitions into the ending theme with Nitori and Momo inviting Rin and Sousuke to go eat, and they four exit the pool together while the ending theme, Clear Blue Departures, begins.

The ending theme shows many new clips including Nitori performing his captain duties, Rei being appointed as the new captain of the Iwatobi team while Makoto and Haru say their goodbyes, a flashback of the Iwatobi Middle boys (Haru, Makoto, Asahi, Ikuya, and Kisumi), and a flashback of Rin and Sousuke in elementary school. The credits start rolling with a series of clips of the Iwatobi boys from Seasons 1 and 2, clips from the OVA, and the ending art frames.

The post credits scenes are all new animation. Starting with Rin and Sousuke having a talk on a cliff side park at sunset. Rin is going to be leaving for Australia soon and tells Sousuke that he'll write him letters again, and properly reply this time. Sousuke tells Rin about a swimmer that caught his interest at the National tournament, Ikuya. He remembers when Ikuya swam Breast in middle school, but says he's become more talented because he performed well in the individual medley. But most notably was that Ikuya's freestyle swimming was exactly the same as Haru's. Sousuke warns Rin about Ikuya since it's likely that they may complete agains each other in the future. Transition to Ikuya in his dorm room with his roommate, Hiyori who is also on the swim team. Ikuya exits the room to call Natsuya. (Hiyori: “where are you going?”. Ikuya: “to call my brother *leaves*” Hiyori: "calling his onii-chan, huh". Ikuya: "*comes back in* don't call him that *leaves again*". Hiyori: "lol that was cute"). Next is Asahi at his swim club saying goodbye to his kouhai. He gets a text from Kisumi saying "Let's meet up!" (something like that) and Asahi agrees to meet up in Iwatobi in May. Reading Asahi’s reply, Kisumi thinks about how he wants to meet up with everyone again. The final scene is Haru and Makoto at Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo. Clearly still getting used to Tokyo life by commenting on how big and busy it is, they both agree that they're excited to start moving towards the future. The frames switch between the two of them standing in Tokyo and standing alone on starting blocks in a large stadium, Haru in his swimsuit and Makoto wearing his Iwatobi SC coaching wetsuit. An announcer says " Take your marks. Go." and they cross the intersection, and the scene fades out with "See you next stage" in the corner.

A preview for Take Your Marks is at the end, where Style Five is commenting about new stories that will be told from after Haru's graduation in March. Four "episode" titles are given, #1 運命のチョイス Choice of Fate #2 秘湯のクーリングダウン The Secret Hot Spring of Cooling Down #3 結束のバタフライ Bonds of Butterfly #4 旅立ちのエターナルブルー Eternal Blue Departure, along with the release date for Take Your Marks, 10/28. No footage from TYM is shown, there’s only clips from FrFr! under the character voices.

#free!#free! timeless medley #free! tm

274 notes · View notes

sliceannarbor · 7 years ago

Text

Eric Saarinen

Director/Cinematographer  Los Angeles, California  ericsaarinenfilms.com

Photo by Perigrin Jung

SPECIAL GUEST SERIES

Eric Saarinen is a Los Angeles-based director and cinematographer best known for his work in feature films, documentaries, and wide-ranging commercial projects. The son of architect and designer, Eero Saarinen, and the grandson of architect, designer, and educator, Eliel Saarinen, Eric’s latest documentary project, Eliel Saarinen, now in development, is a tribute to his grandfather’s life and architectural contributions in Finland and the United States. He also co-produced, hosted, and was the director of photography on the documentary, Eero Saarinen, The Architect Who Saw the Future, part of a 2016 PBS American Masters series about his father. In earlier years, Eric served as director of photography in feature films by Albert Brooks, including Lost in America, Modern Romance, and Real Life. He also filmed music videos for Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix, Pat Metheny, The Rolling Stones, Neil Young, and others. The recipient of numerous awards for his commercial work, Eric received 13 Clios, four MOMA’s, two Gold Hugo’s, and the Grand Prix at Cannes. He is a member of the Director’s Guild of America and was the first director of photography ever to be inducted into the American Society of Cinematographers for “Extraordinary Achievement in the Field of Television Commercials.” Eric earned a bachelor of arts at Goddard College, and a master of fine arts in filmmaking at UCLA. He was also inducted into the Finnish Society of Cinematographers. When Eric is not working, you can find him searching for the perfect woman. He resides near Los Angeles, in Harbor City, in a house filled with Mid-century modern furniture and art. Eric has two sons, Eliot and Evan.

FAVORITES

Book: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

Destination: Places no one has seen.

Motto: “Dare to be great” - Gordon Willis.

Sanctuary: Mantaharyu, Finland (Midsummer’s Eve)

THE QUERY

Where were you born?

Detroit, Michigan

What were some of the passions and pastimes of your earlier years?

Pretending to be an Indian in the forest at the Cranbrook Educational Community, building a machine gun nest on the roof of the abandoned barn behind our house, and underwater kissing at Hilltop Camp, Northern Michigan.

What is your first memory of film as an experience?

When I was young, I made a film in a cardboard box with two cranks and paper images viewed through a large hole cut in the box. It seemed important at the time, although I don’t remember any plot twists.

How did you begin to realize your intrigue with cinematography/film?

By forgetting to close the gate in a 16mm Bolex camera, and later learning how beautiful a mistake can be. I felt that every frame I shot was proof that I was alive, then and there. I was legally blind and walleyed when I was young, so I taught myself the painter’s tricks of how to make three dimensions out of two.

How did you get your start in the profession of filmmaking/directing?

I made art films after UCLA film school for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Gemini GEL, a publisher of fine art limited edition prints and sculptures. I went to EXPO ‘70 in Osaka, Japan, and worked with artists of that period. I decided to try to work with other directors and bought a camera and worked my way up to feature films, shooting as a director of photography for more than 15 features.

Was there a project/period along the way that presented an important learning curve?

In 1981, my cameraman’s reel was shown to an agency, and someone had ‘mistakenly’ labeled it ‘director/cameraman.’ I directed a spot for the San Diego Zoo that went on to win best commercial in California (The Belding). This was the beginning of Plum Productions, a thriving commercial production company that my partner, Chuck Sloan, and I ran for 28 years.

What role did your father play in the creation of the Cranbrook community in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan?

Eero came to the United States when he was 13 years old. At that time, Cranbrook didn’t exist as a school. Growing up, Eero participated in the design of many of the details, placemats, school logos, chairs, gate designs, interior furnishings, etc. at Cranbrook. Years later, after studying at Yale, he came back to Michigan and taught architecture at Cranbrook. Charles and Ray Eames (my godparents), and my mother, Lily, studied there under Eliel Saarinen and Carl Millis. In its entirety, the educational community took about 15 years to build. Meanwhile, Eliel (then president at Cranbrook) and my father worked together on eight other projects before my grandfather passed away in 1950.

How did the concept for the PBS American Masters documentary Eero Saarinen, The Architect Who Saw the Future, take seed?

Robert Zeigleman, an architect who worked for my dad, wanted to make a documentary about Eero. He did some research, found Peter Rosen, a seasoned documentary producer/director, and approached businessman and philanthropist, A. Alfred Taubman (he designed the shopping mall) who was a fan of my father’s work. Peter called and asked me if I wanted to shoot the documentary, and I turned him down. At the time, I still hated my father, largely because he had an affair with another woman, in 1953, when I was eleven years old. A divorce followed, and my mother, sister, and I had to leave Michigan. It was an unsettling time for me.

A year after I turned down the Eero documentary offer, I read the love letters between my father and Aline, and was able to put myself in his shoes. He was in love. Peter wisely filmed my journey back in time…looking at my father’s work, some I never had seen before. He let me shoot Eero’s work, design the shots, and so on, while he filmed my own discovery process - making it a multi-level story. I shot most of my father’s architecture in high definition (6K), to repurpose later, and donate to architectural causes.

What was the greatest challenge in making this documentary?

I wanted to film my father’s work for people, now and in the future. I was working for him, and I had to ask myself repeatedly what my dad would say, as I planned and executed the shots. He had been a very hard taskmaster.

What wisdom emerged as a result of the making of this project?

The making of the documentary changed me. Ultimately, I forgave my father after studying and filming his work and raising him up again. It also turned out to be a way of forgiving myself. I realized it was no one’s fault. There is a huge benefit in forgiveness, even if it comes 50 years later. I finally felt centered in my own life.

How did the concept for your new documentary project, Eliel Saarinen, take seed/develop?

Being in the Eero film, as the through-line, I realized it was important to have a strong grasp of the truth in telling this story. I gathered all the books on my father and read and reread them. I had to be able to set the record straight, so to speak. Under that tall pile of books was Eliel’s little book, The Search for Form in Art and Architecture, published in 1948, which became the philosophy that both Eliel and my father practiced. For example, one of the tenets was to never imitate anyone; not even yourself. That was why every building that Eliel and Eero designed had its own style - to best solve the particular set of problems that were revealed.

For Dulles Airport, the problem was that travelers would be walking for miles, so the mobile lounge was created so each passenger had to walk no more than 150 feet. My father made this structure to express the new age of jet travel as a grand entrance…to enhance man’s self esteem.

In the early 1900s, train travel was similar. In designing the Helsinki Railroad Station, Eliel created a grand vision of the future of train travel. That building, too, was expressive and totally unique.

For additional information about the making of the Eliel Saarinen documentary, please visit ericsaarinenfilms.com.

What was your relationship with your grandfather?

“Farfar” or “father’s father,” we called him in Swedish, spoke to me before I knew words. We would spend time at Cranbrook, and he would let me run free in the woods. Christmas Eve was always spent there. Art was everything and Cranbrook became a favorite place for me…kind of like heavenly Elysian Fields. I would see the great scale, and ride on the wonderful sculptures by Carl Milles, and ask myself – who were these people that made this timeless and transcendent world? Eliel died when I was just eight years old. He was a very warm grandfather. I learned by watching him. He was very methodical.

In filming the Eero and Eliel documentaries, where did your travels take you?

In the United States, we scouted, and later filmed, so we went everywhere twice, including the General Motors Technical Center in Warren, Michigan; Saarinen office building in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan; John Deere International Headquarters in Moline, Illinois; Irwin Miller House in Columbus, Indiana; MIT Auditorium and Chapel in Cambridge, Massachusetts; CBS Black Rock skyscraper in New York, New York; North Christian Church in Columbus, Indiana; The Ingalls Hockey Rink, and subsequently the Morse and Stiles Colleges of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut; and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri. Of course, we also filmed at Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. In Finland we went to Eliel's Hvittrask Museum in Kirkkenonummi; Finnish National Railroad Station, Finnish National Museum, and Pohola Building in Helsinki; and Lahti City Hall in Lahti.

What architectural work of your grandfather’s do you find most beautiful?

Cranbrook was Eliel’s city plan: The Cranbrook School for Boys; Cranbrook Kingswood Girl’s School; Cranbrook Academy of Art; Cranbrook Institute of Science; Cranbrook Art Museum; and Cranbrook Library all used different forms. As president for many years, Eliel ended up bringing a large group of artists and architects together at Cranbrook, which became a focal point of Mid-century art and architecture. Eliel always said, “We don’t teach architecture at Cranbrook - the students learn it.” Eliel won the AIA Gold Medal for Cranbrook.

How would you describe your creative process?

Deductive, which is similar to my father’s process. You don’t start with a vision; instead the vision should be the result of problem solving. The first step is to find what the real problems are. That comes by understanding the client, and what he/she wants and needs. Ideally, it is a collaborative partnership. Then you gather the smartest people around and generate more ideas. Once you have the strong bones of the story, you figure out how to shoot it and where, and develop a kind of model, or pre-visualization, and then revise it. During filming, I try to stay low key - knowing I can trust the people around me.

What three things can’t you live without?

Passion, originality, and honesty.

Is there a filmmaker living today that you admire most?

Ridley Scott

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

“Success is 97% hard work and 3% talent.” - Eero Saarinen  “Work is the key to creative growth of the mind.” - Eliel Saarinen

What drives you these days?

Completing the Saarinen legacy by filming Eliel’s work, incorporating his philosophy and thoughts. In addition, I’d love to do a film about Frank Gehry and his amazing work. These people did inspiring work. It’s rewarding to pass their passion on to our youth.

#saarinen #documentary #pbs #eliel saarinen #eero saarinen #ericsaarinen #architecture #losangeles #design #cranbrook #cinematographer

1 note · View note

dantediscoversfic · 7 years ago

Text

Chapter 22: Hailstorm

When you’re playing your life back in your memory like a movie, there are days that get spliced together in a montage; full days, weeks, months or years that get cut; scenes that make you laugh, cry or cringe; scenes where the anticipatory build-up to the big milestone moment may overshadow the actual moment itself; scenes that get reshaped and retold so often they become more tall tale than actual memory; scenes that might seem eerie in how they predicted a future you didn’t realize would happen but you are now living as your present-future self, looking back. The crazy thing is that while you’re living it you have little way of knowing which days will blend together and which days will be the ones you remember for the rest of your life. Those days that you reach back into your memory to find when you need to feel something—anything—joy or sorrow, pride or remorse; scenes that make you think this is my life, for better and worse.

The day I could have died but Ari saved my life; that turned out to be one of the days I know I’ll never be able to forget, even if I wanted to. Even though, afterwards, he wanted me to forget it, or at the very least, never speak about it ever again.

It happened two days after I’d gone over to his house and sketched him. I could have died on a Monday. I’ll always remember that because the day before was a Sunday and my parents and I had gone to church and after services they asked if I wanted to go to my favorite diner for lunch. I had a feeling that the other shoe was about to drop about Chicago because we rarely went out to eat except for special occasions. But I held onto a fragment of hope that maybe I was wrong and maybe they just weren’t in the mood to cook that day. I ordered chocolate chip pancakes and a milkshake and I knew I was done for when my mom didn’t make a single comment about the pitiful lack of nutritional value in the meal I’d just chosen. It didn’t matter anyway because I barely touched a bite of my food.

Turns out I wasn’t wrong in guessing that this was their way of trying to soften the blow. My father had indeed received the job offer for the visiting professor position. Both of my parents wanted him to take the job. My mom brought up the whole ‘love is all about sacrifice’ thing again and how she was willing to put her own practice on hold for the year in support of my father. They talked about the diversity of Chicago and all of the cultural opportunities it offered that were harder to find here in El Paso. They’d make sure to find a high school with a first-rate swim team and art department for me. I wasn’t drinking the ‘Chicago is all happy unicorns and puppies’ Kool Aid and I wasn’t going to do down without a fight, so I tried bringing up all the unflattering things I’d read about inner-city Chicago, going so far as to refer to it as ‘the ghetto’. That tactic didn’t go over well. My parents knew much more about sociology and history than I did and I ended up receiving a long lecture about how the huge economic imbalances and segregation found in most cities stretched back to the institutionalized racism the country was built on; we were lucky enough to be able to move to a safe neighborhood with excellent schools, not one plagued by violence, and that’s something I should not take for granted or make light of. Then for good measure they threw in a guilt-trip about how hard each of them worked to fight for their education and to make their way out of the poverty their families were born into in Mexico. They told me to think of most of my cousins, how they’d never have the same educational opportunities as I would unless they decided to really fight for it, like my parents had.

I didn’t tell them that being around my cousins made me feel like a weirdo at best, an outcast at worst. I listened to their lecture, ears red with shame and my tail between my legs, and drank my milkshake. They assured me that the year would fly by and if I didn’t like Chicago we could move back to El Paso. It would be my choice.

Monday morning I called Ari to see if he was feeling well enough to go swimming with me. He told me he couldn’t because his mom was making him go to a doctor’s appointment later that day, even though his fever was gone. We ended up talking about our families. He told me he had an older brother, who was in prison. I was shocked for a moment after he told me. He’d never mentioned him before because talking about his brother made him feel awful. I wished we were speaking in person, not over the phone, so I could look him straight in the eyes and tell him Please don’t be sad or ashamed. It’s not your fault.

“Ari, you didn’t do anything,” I said.

“I don’t want to talk about him, okay, Dante?”

“Okay.” I knew now wasn’t the time to needle him about his tendency to stew in stoic silence. “But you know, Ari, you have this really interesting life.”

“Not really.”

“Yes, really. At least you have siblings. Me, I only have a mother and a father.”

“What about cousins?”

“They don’t like me. They think I’m—well, they think I’m a little different. They’re really Mexican, you know. And I’m sort of, well, what did you call me?”

“A pocho.”

“That’s exactly what I am.”

I told him about my mom’s family, about how she grew up really poor and had to work to put herself through college and grad school. How my parents met at Berkeley and how the life their parents envisioned for them was not the one they wanted and they had to fight for that new life, together.

“It’s like my mom and dad created a whole new world for themselves. But they understand the old world—where they came from—and I don’t. I don’t belong anywhere. That’s the problem.”

“You do,” he said. “You belong everywhere you go. That’s who you are.”

A thought came to me then. I was surprised by the force with which it sprung into my brain; it almost made me dizzy or feel like I was gasping for air after having my head submerged too long underwater, even though looking back, how could I have been surprised, because the signs were all pointing there all along but I’d been too focused on my blind spots to notice them. I wanted to tell him in these precise words: I never felt like I belonged here in El Paso, not until I met you, Ari. You make me feel like I belong. Because I belong with you.

I couldn’t say it, of course. Instead, I said, “You’ve never seen me around my cousins. I feel like a freak.”

“I know,” he said. “I feel like a freak too.” That surprised me.

“Well, at least you’re a real Mexican.”

“What do I know about Mexico, Dante?”

Neither of us said anything for a little while. “Do you think it will always be this way?” I said.

“What?”

“I mean, when do we start feeling like the world belongs to us?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “Tomorrow.”

But I didn’t want to wait until tomorrow. Not to tell him about Chicago or to tell him that even if we were separated by thousands of miles, part of me would always belong to him, if only he’d let me offer it to him. But I swallowed those words and bit my tongue, too, just in case I would be foolishly tempted to say anything stupid. I realized after that conversation that loving your best friend meant learning to keeping lots of things unsaid.

I thought I wouldn’t be able see Ari until the next day or day after. But he surprised me by calling me up after his doctor’s appointment was over; since the doctor had given him a clean bill of health his mom had lifted his house arrest so he could meet me at the pool if I wanted.

It was late afternoon by the time we got there. Ari was still pretty worn out from being sick so I swam alone for a bit and then we both floated on our backs. We watched as enormous gray clouds churned and rolled by and the color of the sky darkened from blue to slate. We listened, as the wind rustling in nearby leaves got louder and more urgent and far-off thunder rumbled in a way you felt all the way in your teeth and bones. Then the lifeguards blew their whistles and everyone had to get out of the pool. They were closing it early because of the coming storm.

The sky split open when we were still a block away from my house.

Ari looked at me and said, “I won’t run if you don’t.” It was like a dare.

“I won’t run.” Challenge accepted.

Our steps were achingly slow and deliberate. We kept smiling at each other to see if either of us would break down and make a mad dash for it. Neither of us did. We went slower than if we were acting out a slow-motion sequence of a film. Sloth slow. Glacier slow.

His hair was already wet from the pool, but pool-wet hair and rain-wet hair are two entirely different things. I watched as he closed his eyes and tipped his head back while the rain slid through his hair in rivulets, forming little drops right at the tendril tips that trailed down his forehead and neck. The part of me that now recognized that I was very much falling in love with him wanted to reach out and feel the silky slickness of his hair, wanted to drink from the little pool of water forming in the delicate hallow of his neck between his collarbones. I shivered and stuck out my tongue to taste the raindrops instead.

We were drenched by the time we made it down the block to my house.

My dad was none too thrilled when he saw us. He gave me an earful about not having any common sense blah blah blah. I could tell he was mostly mad because he was worried, since Ari had just got over a bad flu. (I didn’t tell him that walking in the rain had been Ari’s idea!).

He made us change into dry clothes. I lent Ari a pair of my sweatpants and a soft t-shirt. I changed in my room and he changed in the bathroom. When he came out wearing my clothes, my body reacted in a way I’d never experienced before. I felt tight all over, almost like I was clamping down my muscles in anticipation of a getting punched, except it was almost pleasurable, like my blood was squeezing my muscles and bones. I liked seeing him in my clothes like that so much it almost hurt.

I handed him a towel for his hair because a wet line was forming down the back of his (my!) t-shirt. Another bolt ripped through me when I thought about how nice it would be to dry his body all off for him, gently, with my favorite fluffy towel. I turned away from him and started flipping through my record collection.

“Does your dad ever get really mad?” he asked.

“He doesn’t get mad very often. Hardly at all. But when he does get mad, I try to stay out his way.”

“What does he get mad at?”

“I threw out all his papers once.” (I’m not proud of this).

“You did that?”

“He wasn’t paying any attention to me.”

“How old were you?”

“Twelve.” This was right after we’d moved to El Paso.

“So you made him mad on purpose.”

“Something like that.”

Ari started coughing just then and I got really worried. Maybe my dad was right to have lectured us after all.

“Hot tea,” I said. Ari nodded. I grabbed him a pullover sweater and a pair of slippers, too. Just in case he got the shivers.

I made us tea and we sat on the front porch, watching the storm, which had turned from rain to hail. There’s almost no other feeling in the world that beats watching a wild storm rage knowing you are safe and protected and dry. The hail pounded against the roof. Clickety-clack. Clickety-clack. The wind was doing a tango through the trees and a slight misty blowback from the rain and hail occasionally brushed my skin. I could see little dewdrops of moisture quiver on my arm hairs.

We watched the storm together for a while, in silence, drinking tea. There was so much I wanted to say to him but I couldn’t figure out how to just open my mouth and start. And if I did start, how much was safe to say? How would I possibly be able to keep everything inside the way Ari was able to? What if I accidentally said something that made me lose my best friend? That thought was impossible, untenable and terrifying. I wouldn’t say anything about the belonging together stuff. That needed to be locked away for my crazy brain only. But I’d realized something, when he told me about this brother being in prison, that there was still so much about each other that we didn’t know. Even though it felt like he’d always been a part of my life, we’d really only known each other for less than one measly summer. Like when I drew him, I needed badly to store up as many little details about him as soon as I could before I left for Chicago.

I took the plunge. I tapped his shoulder and said, “We need to have a conversation.”

“A conversation?”

“A talk.”

“We talk every day.”

“Yeah, but. I mean a talk.”

“About what?”

“About, you know, what we’re like.” He knit his eyebrows and gave me a totally confused look. I changed course. “Our parents. Stuff like that.”

“Did anybody ever tell you that you aren’t normal?”

“Is that something I should aspire to?”

“You’re not. You’re not normal.” This was off to a great start. “Where did you come from?”

“My parents had sex one night.”

The word ‘sex’ coming out of my mouth and reaching his ears felt…weird. Different than when I said cuss words. It felt risqué, a little bold. And embarrassing.

“How do you know it was night?”

“Good point.”

We both cracked up then and the awkward knot I’d been tying myself into eased up a bit. This was how it was supposed to be, me and Ari, relaxed and over brimming with laughter. Loving him didn’t have to change that. Moving away didn’t have to change that. I wouldn’t let it change that.

“Okay,” I said, once we’d both stopped laughing. “This is serious.”

“Is this like a game?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll play.”

“What’s your favorite color?”

“Blue.”

“Red. Favorite car?”

“Don’t like cars.”

“Me neither. Favorite song?”

“Don’t have one. Yours?”

“’The Long and Winding Road.’”

“’The Long and Winding Road’?”

“The Beatles, Ari.”

“Don’t know it.”

“Great song, Ari.”

“Boring game, Dante. Are we interviewing each other?”

“Something like that.”

“What position am I applying for?”

“Best friend.”

“I thought I already had that job.”

“Don’t be so sure, you arrogant son of a bitch.”

I wasn’t planning on it, but I reached over and punched him. Not hard, but not just a little nudge either. That and the cuss words I’d just said made my cheeks flush deeper red than they already were. I was trying to get closer to him the only way I knew how and it was both exhilarating and mortifying. I don’t know what had gotten into me, wanting to use all these cuss words and wanting to touch him and lick the rain off his skin.

Ari laughed. “Nice mouth.”

“Sometimes don’t you just want to stand up and yell out all the cuss words you’ve learned?”

“Every day.”

“Every day? You’re worse than me.” I looked at the hailstones, making a racket as they hit the sidewalk. “It’s like pissed off snow.”

Ari laughed at my choice turn of phrase.

“We’re too nice, you know that?” I said.

“What do you mean?”

“Our parents turned us into nice boys. I hate that.”

A not nice boy wouldn’t be too afraid to say what he really wanted to say, I’m sure of that.

“I don’t think I’m so nice.”

“Are you in a gang?”

“No.”

“Do you do drugs?”

“No.”

“Do you drink?”

“I’d like to.”

“Me too. But that wasn’t the question.”

“No, I don’t drink.”

“Do you have sex?”

I wasn’t looking at Ari when I said it. We were both looking out at the hail beating down against the cement. My heartbeat felt just as loud, like the ball bearing in a can of spray paint when you shake it all up before you let it out with a shhhhhhh.

“Sex?”

“Sex, Ari.”

“No, never had sex, Dante. But I’d like to.”

Clickety-clack. Clickety-clack.

“Me too. See what I mean? We’re nice.”

“Nice,” he repeated. “Shit.”

“Shit,” I said back to him.

Then we both looked at each other and busted out laughing.

We shot questions at each other on all sorts of topics for rest of the afternoon. I tried to keep a mental tally of every little factoid that came out of his mouth, cramming my brain full of the most seemingly banal Ari-isms like I was trying to memorize words off of flash cards the night before a big test. And I wanted him to know me equally, as well. I wanted to share the most banal and important and secret and sacred parts of myself as easily as we could share a pair of sweatpants or a tshirt. I knew we couldn’t get there in just one day. But I had to start somewhere.

Favorite food. Favorite ballplayer. Favorite novel. Favorite poet. Favorite holiday. Favorite school subject. Favorite superhero. Favorite month. Favorite artist. Favorite time of day. Favorite TV show. Favorite dream. Favorite memory.

I wanted to say, This one. This memory we’re making together right now is my favorite. Because I know I’ll never ever forget it. Like I’ll never forget you.

The storm stopped eventually and the air was cool. It was twilight and the sky was turning to deep indigo streaked with orange.

I looked up at the sky and raised my hands. “It’s all so damned beautiful.” It would be dark soon and Ari would have to go home and I still hadn’t mustered up the courage to tell him we were moving. “Let’s go for a walk.”

“Our tennis shoes,” he said.

“Dad put them in the dryer. Who cares?”

“Yeah, who cares?”

Without thinking, I started walking back in the direction of the pool. The feel of the wet grass and sidewalk under my feet was comforting and familiar. I briefly got the crazy idea that we could scale the fence surrounding the pool and go swimming, even though we didn’t have our swim trunks.

Nice boys like us would never do that. Go skinny dipping in the dark.

I turned around to face Ari and told him we were leaving El Paso.

Ari’s eyes were far away, I wasn’t even sure he’d heard me. It was like the words I’d just said were a pebble or stone dropped into a deep dark well, all he heard was the ricochet, the echo.

“We’re moving away from El Paso,” I repeated. “We’re leaving for a year.”

“Leaving?”

“Yeah.”

“Why? I mean, when?”

“My dad’s going to be a visiting professor for a year at the University of Chicago. I think they’re interested in hiring him.”

“That’s great,” he said. Great? I felt like he’d just punched me in the gut. But not like before, the sort of good way when I saw him step out the bathroom wearing my clothes, and my skin had got all tight and it hurt to look at him but that didn’t keep from wanting to look at him any less. Now I just felt incredibly sad. I looked away from him.

“Yeah,” I said. What else was there to say? He was fine with me moving. I’d have to find a way to be fine with it, too.

“That’s really great. So when are you leaving?”

“At the end of August.”

He smiled. “That’s great.”

Why was he smiling like that? “You keep saying ‘that’s great.’”

“Well, it is.”

“Yeah, it is.”

“Aren’t you sad, that I’m leaving?”

“Why would I be sad?”

I smiled then, too. Because if I didn’t smile then I would start crying and if I started crying I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to stop.

I couldn’t look at him. Couldn’t look at the empty dark wells of his beautiful eyes. Or the beautiful way the wind was whipping through this hair. Hair I wanted so badly to touch, just once, before I left him, maybe forever.

A hopping motion caught my eye and I saw a bird in the middle of the road. It’s wing was broken. It couldn’t fly.

“He’s going to die,” Ari whispered.

“We can save it.”

I walked to the middle of the street and crouched down as I tried to delicately and gently pick up the injured bird. I cradled its warm body in my hands, felt the rustle of its feathers and the frantic press of its tiny heart against my cupped palms.

I wanted to hear how the words would sound coming out of my mouth, the words I couldn’t tell Ari, so I whispered to the bird, “You make me feel like I belong. Because I belong with you.”

Then: a horrible screeching noise I think for a crazed moment is coming from the bird in my hands. A flash of headlights. My heart rate accelerating from 0 to 90 and a rush of adrenaline jolting through me and pulling me under like I’m getting caught up in a rip tide wave, yet my brain numbly and uncomprehendingly keeping my body rooted in the same crouching position, unmoving, as I realize too slowly that the car headed straight toward me is going much too fast. That it’s not going to stop.

I’m going to die, I think, just as I hear, from somewhere very far away, Ari calling out my name. Then the slam of his body into mine, the impact wrenching the breath out my ribs. A blast of searing scraping pain in my arm and a cracking thud so loud reverberating inside my skull it makes me want to vomit. I think I do vomit.

And my vision goes black.

When I open my eyes I see that I’m still cradling the bird against my chest, but I’ve crushed the breath from its body. And Ari isn’t moving either.

4 notes · View notes