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finnbbl · 8 months ago

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Hyunjin x M! Reader - Dancer AU | SMAU | Chapter 7

Ch. 7 - Friend? | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter |

| Story Masterlist |

Written: Yes

Smau: Yes

Word Count: 1.6k

A/N: I just wanted to mention that I’m aware this may not be how it actually is to be a backup dancer, or that this stuff wouldn’t actually happen IRL. However, it is just a story and an AU so it really isn’t that serious. I ask to just enjoy the story and not criticize plz !! tysm for your support :)

Warnings: Swearing, Sex jokes lol

That conversation was one you particularly weren’t fond of. It did you no good and only flooded back negative memories. Sounds silly, but you had your own reasons. All you could have hoped was that they were just bluffing and wouldn’t actually try to go through with the idea. What really shocked you was Lia. She was on board with it and was encouraging it, despite what you had told her years prior. Maybe she just forgot? Or did you imagine you told her and to never really did. Both was a possibility and now you were second guessing yourself. If the second option was true then you were upset for no reason, which only caused you to feel guilty. All these thoughts ran through your head and it felt like one big jumbled mess. You sighed as you saw the studio come into sight. You had arrived, thank god. Maybe you could push everything out of your head now.

As you guys stepped off the bus one by one, you were led by staff members were you were given instructions. You had about 10 minutes before group rehearsal would start. You’d actually be dancing with Stray Kids. It started to be come hard to believe, how had you gotten to this point? No idea, but all you knew is you were incredibly lucky. And you weren’t gonna allow yourself to let them down or take this opportunity for granted. As everyone was doing stretches or warming up, the eight of them wandered in. Laughing and bantering with each other. You decided to try and avoid eye contact with them right now, especially Hyunjin. This whole thing was new and you felt rather awkward about the situation. Making eye contact with him would only make you start thinking, and you’d most likely be distracted. You couldn’t afford it right now. So, you blocked everyone out as you continued your leg stretches. It was definitely something you’d always struggled with. You weren’t the most flexible and always had trouble with this particular stretch. Sitting on the floor as you did your best to reach your toes.

However, this was quickly interrupted as everyone was called by the choreographer. He was there to make sure everyone was on point. His plan was to watch the members do it, then the backup dancers. Followed by combining everyone to make sure it looked good. That’s when something had caught your ear. They said you had only one day to rehearse, you must’ve gotten dates mixed up. It wasn’t really a problem for you, but it was stress inducing none the less. You’d made a mistake of mixing up the dates and now you had to deal with it. You convinced yourself you’d be fine.

Hours and hours went on of rehearsal. It was exhausting dancing for hours upon hours for sure, but dance was something that had brought you comfort and peace. Even with the yelling, the sound of feet against the floor and deep breaths of the others around you. Somehow you were able to tune it out, and focus on your performance and matching the moves to the music. Then, it wasn’t long before it came to an end. Around 9 P.M. it was. Staff, managers, and the choreographer had praised you all. They gave encouraging words as you exited the building. You all waited and waited for the buses to show up outside. Everyone else had seemed to have had their own little groups already. They must’ve all known each other already, wasn’t that great for you. It felt so awkward, standing off to the side as you impatiently tapped your foot on the ground, hoping the buses would show up soon. Fortunately for you, you received a phone call. That would give you some relief and not make you feel like an absolute idiot all by yourself.

Pulling the phone out of your pocket, you noticed it was San calling. Most likely to check up on you and see how your day went. San was probably one of your biggest supporters right now, aside from your girls. You could tell he was a very genuine person who had a very kind and fun personality. Swiping right, you brought the phone up to your ear.

“Hey, San! What’s up?” You spoke as you glanced around for the buses once more.

“Y/N! Just wanted to see how rehearsal went, was it fun?”

“Yeah, definitely. You know how much I enjoy this stuff.” You smiled, chuckling lightly into the phone. Making sure to be aware of how loud your voice was, not wanting to draw any unnecessary attention to yourself.

“Awesome, the concert’s in a few days right?” With hearing San’s question, you sighed. Being reminded of your careless mistake.

“Ah no actually. I mixed up the dates, it’s tomorrow.” You said sort of embarrassed.

“Well, it’s nothing you can’t handle I’m sure. I know your trip has been hectic so far but, hang in there. It’ll get easier.”

“Thank you, so much San. It means a lot.” Truly, you found his words quite comforting and reassuring. You’d traveled with a few other groups, sure. But none of them were as popular as this one. So although it was entirely new, there were definitely some things you had to adjust to.

“Oh I wanted to ask by the way-“ As San had started to ask, his question was interrupted by a small shriek that came from your side of the call. Followed by a male’s laugh.

You had felt someone poke your sides. You weren’t really ticklish, but it definitely caught you off guard and scared you a little bit. Turning around ready to swing, you were met with Hyunjin laughing. At this point you had suddenly forgot you were on the phone. Before you could say anything, San had brought you back to reality as he spoke.

“You okay?” A laugh had laced his voice. He had known the surface of your situation as you had explained a lot of it.

“Yeah I’m okay it’s just some idiot.” Making sure to put an emphasis on the ‘idiot’ part, specifically so the blonde male that decided to surprise you, could hear. His face fell into a playful pout as you focused your attention back on the phone call.

“Didn’t know your voice could go that high.” At this point, San had to be teasing you. It was a lie if you had claimed you weren’t embarrassed by that. In your eyes, it wasn’t a very flattering thing.

“Anyways, you sound busy so I’ll let you go.” You took a peek at Hyunjin who still had a small pout worn on his face.

“Alright then, bye San. Talk to you later.”

“See ya y/n.” Pressing your finger on the red button, ending the call with a smile. It quickly faltered as you turned to the blonde haired boy who has interrupted your call.

“Now was that necessary?” You let your head fall to the side with an unamused face, crossing your arms. “Was calling me an idiot necessary?” Hyunjin retorted, taking a step closer mocking your movements. Except his eyebrows were raised as if he was very much aware of what he was doing. Shaking your head and rolling your eyes. “Anyways, what do you want?” Your body relaxed as you searched for an answer in his facial expressions.

“I don’t know you seemed lonely so…” Hyunjin swung his body side to side. Almost as if he was trying to act shy, though both of you knew that was definitely not like him. Narrowing your eyes, a few brief moments of silence followed. “Well you must’ve not noticed I was in fact on the phone.” Sarcasm was now leading your voice. You hadn’t known him for very long, but for some reason you felt as if it was the opposite. Almost like you’d known him longer than Lia. Despite your hesitance of interacting with him, as the situation felt rather awkward and unusual, something about him drew you in. And it wasn’t long before those feelings of uneasiness got pushed to the side. You found yourself enjoying the banter you shared.

Your thoughts were interrupted by a familiar yet unfamiliar male voice. “Hey Hyunjin, why’d you run off so quick?” It was a short haired male, and you couldn’t help but notice that his face was rather representative of a fox. Remembering his name was Jeongin, or I.N, he glanced between you and Hyunjin. It shown on his face that his question was answered.

“Oh, this is my new friend Y/N.” The word “friend” fell out of his mouth, and it caught you off guard as you almost didn’t know what to say. “Friend?” You questioned, making sure your ears weren’t fooling you. “Yeah, I mean.. what you don’t wanna be?” That definitely wasn’t the case, you particularly didn’t mind it would just take some getting used to. “You’re always putting words in my mouth I swear dude.”

“Yeah, you’re just easy to tease that’s all.” He shot a dorky yet mischievous smile as you briefly raised your eyebrows. “Sure.” That’s when you two were interrupted by Jeongin. “You know we should go, I see the buses.” I.N spoke to Hyunjin, “I’ll be right there.” He said before turning back to you, “Well, see you tomorrow then.” He nudged you with his shoulders before lightly jogging back over with Jeongin. Waving bye to him as it was finally time to head back to the hotel. You wasted no time at all, it had seemed like a such a long day and you knew you’d most likely pass out as soon as your head hit the pillow.

Taglist: @silverstarburst @virluna148 @galaxycatdrawz @onementally-unstabel-kid @uso-dakedo

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bethanydelleman · 10 months ago

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New Year's Resolutions for Jane Austen Characters (mid-novel) Part 2

George Wickham: Marry a heiress. Stop gambling lol, as if, that's what marrying the heiress is for.

Lady Catherine: Convince Darcy to follow through with his duty and honour of marrying my daughter Anne. Learn pianoforte

William Collins: Continue in the esteem of my patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh in order to secure additional livings. My wonderful partner in life joins me in this goal.

Charlotte Collins: Convince husband to spend as much time in the garden as possible. Secure extra livings in order to gain more Mr. Collins-free time.

Georgiana Darcy: Practice harp at 10am sharp every day until fingering improves

Mrs. Jennings: Marry off every eligible girl within sight, beginning with the Miss Dashwoods.

Fanny Dashwood: 1. Suck up to mom to secure inheritance 2. Keep Edward & Elinor apart at all costs, 3. Hang out with this Steele girl to make Elinor jealous

John Willoughby: 1. Marry an heiress before my entire life explodes 2. Worm my way back into Mrs. Smith's good graces. 3. Marianne???

Sir John Middleton: 1. Go hunting 2. Host parties and balls 3. Make sure my tenants in Barton cottage are happy (Not actually goals, just what he does anyway)

Lady Middleton: Maintain the propriety of my great house and title while spoiling my children

John Thorpe: 1. Marry that rich heiress I so cleverly secured 2. Buy and sell horses for extravagant prices 3. Attend Belle & James's wedding (If I have time)

Isabella Thorpe: ❤️❤️❤️ Marry Captain Frederick Tilney ❤️❤️❤️

Jane Fairfax: *hands back the paper blank and blushes*

Frank Churchill: MARRY THE LOVE OF MY LIFE JANE FAIRFAX um, some girl I know. Don't tell my aunt, please

Mr. Elton & Mrs. Elton: keep being the hottest couple in Highbury *high five*

Dr. Grant: Eat a lot of yummy dinners (same goal since he was born)

Julia Bertram: Catch a better husband than Maria Keep partying with Maria

Mrs. Price: hire better servants, have Rebecca fix that carpet... I really have the worst servants in Portsmouth, it's a tragedy... (we cut off her complaints here)

William Price: MAKE LIEUTENANT

Sir Thomas: Finally figure out how to make Tom stay at home and do his duty as the eldest son. All the other kids are doing very well so I have nothing to improve there.

Sir Walter: There is nothing I would ever change about the amazing person that is myself.

Elizabeth Elliot: Marry Mr. Elliot and reestablish myself as the mistress of Kellynch

Lady Russell: encourage Anne to marry Mr. Elliot, read all new poetry publications

Mr. Elliot: Keep Sir Walter from marrying that vile seductress so I stay in the line of succession

Mrs. Clay: Marry Sir Walter, at all costs

Part 1

#jane austen #mansfield park #pride and prejudice #northanger abbey #sense and sensibility #persuasion #emma #happy new years #new years resolution

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cloud9gojo · 2 months ago

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salt & the sea

consider this a one-shot for now, i really just wanted to get this prologue style chapter for my self-infsert suguru fic out there it was eating me alive. this is so on a whim, i don't have a header, nor do i expect anyone to actually read this lol. if you do like it, hmu @peachygf

pairing: geto x f!reader if we ever make it there

words: 4.2k

warnings: sfw they're kids bro, sign language, synesthesia, kid awkwardness, me being awkward, there ya go

also made a playlist for this but it's on apple music 😭 lmk if you're into that and i can convert it or smth

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December 1997

The morning of December 27th in the Inumaki household was chaotic.

Some months prior, it was decided that the disgraced, elder Inumaki son, Miharu, and his family would be offered redemption through certain means. During July, in the southern part of Japan, a sorcerer with the potential to become a special grade was discovered. They had no family lineage and the powers-that-be would have your family introduce them to jujutsu society. The order had been passed down that they would train alongside the son's eldest child, in both theory and practical study, until they attended Jujutsu High at fourteen years of age. That is if they survived that long.

So when your parents sit you down and make you promise to be on your best behavior, to not antagonize, make fun of, or laugh at your guests or there would be consequences, dirty dishwater-related consequences, you say yes. You promise them you will be good, nice, and welcoming.

At first, it was easy because it was exciting! Everyone (except Akari, who was drooling in her crib) was bustling with frantic energy, cleaning, and then going over the entire house. Making sure everything was in its place; flowers in the foyer, record playing in the living room, new sake ready to be opened on the counter. You even tolerated your little sister's incessant babbling and following afternoon tantrums with a great attitude. Granted, you couldn't hear her cries at full volume, but still, you were a good sport about the whole thing. You were more focused on the idea of training with another sorcerer your age and what gifts your parents might bring back from their visit to Jujutsu High in Tokyo next month. It was going to be a good new year.

When your guests arrived, your family had arranged themselves at your home's entrance. A poised, respectable sorcerer family welcoming a newly awakened sorcerer and their parents. Who you knew from peaking at your parents' signing during movie night, were normal humans, not a trace of cursed energy on them. (Your parents should really be more careful where they sign.)

Greeting the couple was nice and normal enough, you were bright and of course, the perfect host. You interpreted for your parents perfectly, like you had been doing for the majority of your life, "The Inumaki's are honored to be coordinating your child's sorcerer training."

"The honor is ours, thank you for allowing us into your home. Why, it's so beautiful!" Mrs. Geto's voice was soft to your ears, but the color of it radiated a light pink that settled neatly in the air around her. Her smile was sly, but inviting. She reminded you of a fox, especially with the way her updo gave her two bumps on her head that looked like little ears. You pursed your mouth to match hers and decided to keep that happy little thought to yourself.

You spared a glance at their son who had at first sight seemed ordinary like you. His bow was short and curt, his name lost to your wooden flooring. Only when prompted by his mother did he repeat it, "Geto Suguru. Pleased to meet you." The sound waves around him bent the light strangely, making the shadows curl around him even though the foyer was well-lit.

His voice sent a shiver down your spine, soft like his mother's but not at all like the soft pink she gave off. The color of his voice was deep indigo and unnerving. The waves refused to settle, creating a dark corona around the boy. It had you straightening your back, setting your shoulders up, back, and then down at attention.

"Inumaki. Pleased to meet you." Your bow wasn't as low as it should have been, but you had your eyes trained on him, making sure you saw every single movement.

The Getos, you're sure, were impressed with you either way. Especially with how grown up you were for a child your age (it's what every other adult seemed to say after meeting you). It was only natural, you were a jujutsu sorcerer after all. Or at least on your way to being a first-grade one. Right now though, all you were was a seven-year-old being told to make nice with some stranger.

"Go play, try to be friendly. You're going to be spending more time together soon." Your father's usually composed signing was rushed as he ushered you both through the backdoor and hurried to get back to where your guests were seated in the living room. His anxiety was visible, he had been going on and on about this day for a month straight. Finally, he would be respected again. (Or something like that, you tried not to peer in on your parents' private conversations in their bedroom. Most of the time.)

You were pretty sure he was happier to share his special sake and show off his vintage record collection than to talk about jujutsu society, those poor, poor people. They would have to get by on pen-and-paper conversations and charades with your tipsy parents while you were exiled outside with their son.

Alarm bells start ringing in your head finally being alone with him. He was just a little kid like you, all knobby knees and awkward limbs, but you could tell he was powerful. You don't know whether to run from him or fight him. You struggle, momentarily stuck to your spot, but ultimately decide against fighting. You would be going in blind and set a bad first impression.

Both of you stand apart, facing out into your backyard. A small garden that your mother keeps up is in the center, while the rest grows tall and wild around an old patio set towards the far right corner. A desire path is starting to form along the edges from your many trips back and forth from the beach that was just beyond the green belt of tall grasses at the end of your property. You let your eyes trace it as you chew on your lip, considering how to befriend this boy beside you.

You don't know what he can do exactly, only seeing your parents discuss it once in passing; Cursed Manipulation. What things he could manipulate was a mystery, all you knew was that you didn't want it to be you. Your mind screamed danger! but you had to get to know this strange boy, now that you were going to start training with him in the new year. After your eighth birthday, so you could still have time with your family before getting serious.

You pout and think of how your father had made you promise to be nice this morning. But you didn't feel like playing outside with this weird, jittery kid now! You wanted to cry, it was either this or dish duty for a month and you would rather die than touch nasty dishwater. So you make down the steps into the yard two at a time, in a huff, only partially caring if Geto follows you or not. (He does, with his hands in his pockets, taking his sweet time.)

Walking into the garden, you watch the air ripple with little bursts of color in every step. When you reach the patio set, you plop down facing the tall grasses at the back. It gives you a view of the sunset peaking through the blades, pale yellow into a muted blue sky.

Geto wiggles his chair out from under the table and positions it to face the same way as yours. He all but falls backward into it, releasing a long sigh when he settles. You sneak a peek at him from the corner of your eye. He's slouching so much, you're surprised he's still on the cushion, but he looks content to be watching the sky. You turn to watch little bugs flitter through the evening air. The beating hum of their wings gave off tiny warm yellow waves. At least they were a nice distraction from your present company.

"So, are you going to tell me your name?"

His voice almost makes you jump out of your seat. When you face him, he has his cocked to the side, a bored expression on his face. You masterfully pull yours into a kind expression, no dirty dishes for you. "Inumaki, remember?" You say it sweetly, to make up for the fact that it's not the answer he's looking for. You're not dumb, you know what he's asking you, but you don't want him to know your first name. Not yet, at least.

Geto scowls before turning away from you once again.

You sigh in frustration, you had been looking forward to having a friend, someone like you who wasn't three, stinky, and drooling. (Sorry to your sister, but she was just not very fun right now.) You were fighting an uphill battle of social awkwardness with Suguru Geto and losing. You weren't used to failing, ever. If this is how it's going to be between you both, then what would training look like in the spring?

Your parents believe you're being a good host, so that's some good-daughter points for you. Ugh, but if you don't try, then nothing is going to change between you both and you'll be stuck with your stinky sister your whole life. Yuck! You conclude that you can't rely on him to make the first move. You're the host, you make the conversation. It doesn't mean that Suguru Geto is going to be your best friend, but maybe you can get a powerful ally out of him. You perk up in your seat, yeah, you could make that work!

Working together with other sorcerers is important long term, if you're going to persevere in and preserve the jujutsu world. Maybe, if you tell him about when you first got your cursed technique, it'll make him feel more comfortable.

The thing is, you don’t really remember when your technique manifested.

You remember the heat and stickiness of the day. It must have been late summer, in the rainy season. A rare sunny day, no clouds in sight, spent at the park near your home. Your very pregnant mother sitting down watching you, laughing along with your high-pitched giggles. The red of the picnic table was a streak in your vision as you flew through the air on the swings, pushed higher and higher by your father. Silent, wearing a mask to cover his clan markings, but happy.

It was so, so hot that day, and the humidity had turned your hair into a frizzy mess. Sweat caused it and your clothes to stick to you uncomfortably, but you didn’t care. The sky was so blue and clear, and the air so crisp. You could see the expanse of the horizon at the top of your swing and the urge to jump was too great, you were weightless when you threw yourself from the seat.

You remember how the sky burst into color halfway down, how everything thrummed with color and strange vibrations. It was so pretty that you screamed with joy at the sight of sound waves emanating from everything. It was exactly how your mother described how she saw the world through her technique. The overload of visual information then clouded over the fact that everything was quieter. Like the volume set at full was dialed down quicker than your little brain could register.

You were only four or five when that happened. Suguru Geto, seven, is a late bloomer by jujutsu standards. The thought makes you want to laugh, but you hold it in and then calmly release it as a breath of air. Whew, that was close.

The evening was turning into night and the wind was cold against your arms causing goosebumps. Pieces of your hair were flying around your face, getting caught in your glasses and mouth. You sputter and push it back behind your ears for the hundredth time, even now it refuses to stay in place. You notice the indigo of Geto's sneaky giggles more than you can hear them.

"Are you laughing at me?" Geto, looking unashamed about being caught, meets your eyes only once before turning to watch the swaying grasses. You frown and follow his gaze, yup, still grass and sky. Beyond that was the color of the distant sound waves from the water crashing against the sand, although you know Geto can't see them like you could. You turn to face him once more, wishing he would at least try to keep eye contact with you. Or make conversation. Or do anything besides stare at stupid beach grass!

"You sound kinda funny." He tells you this very casually, like it's not the first thing he's said that wasn't a greeting or a question.

You blink at him, incredulous. "I don't get to use my voice that often." You're fully facing him now, bracing yourself on the patio chair's arm.

"Is it because your parents use their hands to talk?"

Did he really just ask you that?

"Yes."

"Oh."

Be nice, be nice, be nice. "My father can't speak because of his technique and my mother and I have some hearing loss from our own so it just makes sense for us to use sign," you manage, after a lengthy pause.

“Oh.”

He’s still not facing you, have you done something wrong that you missed? Your family wasn’t exactly the most social, maybe it was you. Were you the one being weird? You can’t tell if he's being mean or not, but you also don't know why he would be mean to you in the first place so maybe you're overthinking it. You've never made a friend before, but surely it can't be this hard.

"When you see curses, are you afraid of them?" When he says it he doesn't face you so you have to read his lips to make out the parts you miss.

You take a moment to mull it over. "No, I already know some defensive techniques so I think I could protect myself. Low-level ones I feel like I could kill easily." You smile at that, remembering how your parents said your barrier technique was very strong for your age. It made you happy that you had a sound-related technique like your mom. You liked being like her, strong and beautiful, but also kind. (You were still working on that last part.)

"What about the stronger ones? Would you run or fight?" This time when he says it, Geto's gaze is so steady, you couldn't escape it if you wanted to. His pale face was open and honest.

"I'd fight." You try to keep your face earnest and keep eye contact, you want him to know you're being truthful. When you focus on them, his eyes are a dark amber framed by straight, long eyelashes. (Annoying, how boys always got pretty lashes without even having to try.)

Geto presses his lips into a thin line before casting his eyes back to the horizon past the grass. "I'd run."

You giggle at that, trying to imagine this string bean of a boy running from some scary curse. "I guess we'll have to work on that when we see each other again in the new year. Right?" You smile when he looks back at you. If you relax and keep making conversation, then training will go well the next time you meet. Having him warm up to you also means a boost to your strength, in the end.

Which means you have to be good at this making friends thing. You want to be good at it, for your parents who rely on you to carry on their legacy. For your sister, who will look up to you as you both get older. And for this new kid, who has no one else in his family like him. Who was assigned to the closest sorcerer family available so that he's prepared for jujutsu society—your family. Maybe, you think, you could be good for him and whip him into shape by the time you both attend Jujutsu High and start taking missions.

He blinks a few too many times before slouching even more than you thought possible, (looking at his posture was making your neck ache) and giving you a small, "Sure."

Another beat of silence, and you think he's going to let this one stretch out before he asks another question. "So why can't your dad talk?"

You laugh at his bold line of questioning this time, "My dad comes from a long line of cursed speech users. That's why his mouth has those little markings, even though they're a little faded. They're the symbol of our family, the Inumakis." You decide not to tell Geto why your father's marks are faded or why he jumped at the opportunity to sponsor him. That's all stressful, adult stuff.

"And your mom? She can talk, but doesn't?" Geto arches his eyebrow at you and you wonder, does he know that it lets you know he's asking a question? He's already good at nonverbal communication, you don't have to think too hard about what he means when he's facing you.

You shake your head and lift yourself up from your seat with great effort, ready to head back towards your house. "My mom and I can talk, but it's easier when we can all just sign what we mean, together." It's a simple explanation, you hope he accepts it.

Geto pulls himself from his seat to follow you, this time side by side. "What's her technique like?"

You suck air into your cheeks, making a big show of contemplating your answer. "My mother has control over sound and pressure waves at the molecular level." You take your time sounding out the complicated words, you don't actually know what pressure, let alone molecular means. "She can create barriers with sound the same way I can. We can also see the sound waves in the air. My brain is so used to it though that I don't even focus on that anymore. Like when your brain ignores your nose, you know?" You crinkle your nose at him, twitching the tip of it like a bunny. It makes him laugh and you smile, you like the color of it much more than normal conversation. "But because we can see all that stuff, our hearing isn't as strong as other peoples. It doesn't feel any different though, I don't remember a time before it."

You've never had to say all these big words out loud before, you catch Geto laughing at the way you're pronouncing some of them. You tut disapprovingly at him but laugh with him also. You probably do sound a little funny.

He hums and swings his hands back and forth, the effort making his t-shirt sway on his frame like a big pillowcase. "Is it only barriers you can make with sound?"

You hum, thoughtful. "I haven't really tried anything else, but that's why I'm excited to train with you in the spring!"

"Is that what you think we'll be working on when we see each other next?"

You focus on the way he shapes his vowels, how they stretch and flow, before looking back at his eyes. "Mmm, probably not. My dad will make us start with the basics of cursed energy and breathing techniques. Prepare for lots of meditating, my dad loves to put on his jazz music every morning for stretches and quiet time, it's awful. Let's see what else..." You tap your chin, thinking. "Then we might move on to basic fighting forms, which I've barely gotten to practice." You see the familiar notes of your father's records seep from the house as you get closer to the steps of your porch. When you reach them, you each take a seat next to each other.

Geto smiles at you, like his mother it's sly, but more smug than anything. More music escapes into the air behind him as faint swirls of color. Pretty, you think. "I'm already pretty good at fighting, I take after-school lessons. Or, at least I used to." His brow furrows at that last sentence. Suddenly displeased, he turns to stare at the ants crossing near your feet.

You note the shift with a frown. You've never been to a regular school, you've been taught by your mom and dad your whole life. Math, science, reading, all that boring stuff. You've never experienced public school, so you don't know exactly what it is that Geto might miss.

This is an exciting opportunity for you and your family, something you were looking forward to and happy about. Getting to introduce someone to jujutsu society is a great honor, but it doesn't seem like that's how it is for Geto. You lean forward to try and catch his eyes again. "Are you going to miss it?"

He eyes you from behind his dark hair, debating his answer. "I'm going to miss my teacher and my friends. I thought we would all be together until high school or something like that." He closes his eyes and takes a breath. You see his lip shake more than you can hear the quiver in his voice. "I didn't ask to be a sorcerer."

Something hard has formed in your throat watching this boy you were just laughing with almost cry in front of you. You force it down and take a moment to think about what it was like moments after your technique manifested. Chaotic, too bright all at once, and then quiet. You definitely started crying at some point after your joy turned to fear. But your parents had never hid their culture from you, so curses and cursed energy weren't anything new. It was more overwhelming than scary.

Before you can try to comfort Geto, the backdoor slides open and a flurry of color fills your vision. Your mother stands in the doorway, jovial and laughing until seeing Geto's expression.

"What's going on?" She steps forward, displeased.

You jump up to try and rectify the situation. "We were just talking about his school!"

Your mother purses her lips and looks between you both now that Geto is standing on the step above you. "We'll discuss this later. Come inside and say goodbye."

You whine and hang your head in defeat knowing you can't sway your mother. "Yes, ma'am."

You look at Geto and motion for him to go inside first. "Mom says that they're finished. Let's go."

You suck in your lip, chewing on your unspoken words, and trudge into the house behind him. You watch the trail of indigo his footsteps leave behind, he must scuff his feet along the floor. Something pangs in your chest, you don't want him to leave you sad or mad at you. Before that mess about school, you started to get along.

Before he can get too far away from you, you reach out to tug on his shirt. "Geto, wait."

His hands are in his pockets and he's slouching so much you're surprised he's still upright, but he gazes you over his shoulder with an arched brow, a silent acknowledgment.

You drop your hand back to your side, letting go of his shirt. "I just wanted to say that I'm looking forward to seeing you. Next time, you know? This is all new for me, I've never trained with anyone my age so I want this to go well. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings asking about your school." You cringe at how it all spills out. Much too fast and eager, you're not used to speaking out loud so much. But, it gets him to turn fully towards you before entering the foyer.

"I know, Inumaki-san. I'm happy to be training with you too, but leaving my friends and everything else behind isn't easy. Not for me, anyway."

You stare back at him, wanting to comfort him all over again, but all that comes out is, "Okay." You want to smack yourself, you are so lame.

For some reason, he lets a hint of a smile come over his face. "Okay." He nods before continuing, "I'll see you in the new year."

With that, both of you enter the foyer to be with your parents. You skip past Geto so you can be by your parents' side to interpret their goodbyes. You preen as your father smooths your hair back with his hand. Its warm familiar weight settles on your shoulder. You did a good job tonight, making Geto feel welcome to the best of your ability. However socially awkward you were, you got him to have a solid conversation with you. Next time will be even better.

The three of you walk them out and down the steps of your home. It's later than you thought it was and you're starting to get sleepy. You return Geto's little wave through the glass window of his parents' car.

When you get back inside, you make your parents wait with you until you see the lights of the Geto's car fade from view before you turn off the porch lights. Your father carries you to bed, and your mother tucks you in and sings you a lullaby. Your sister is already asleep in her bed next to yours. It was a good night, you think before letting your heavy eyelids rest.

When you finally drift off into sleep, your dreams are full of inky indigos and soft pink clouds, with little foxes jumping between their misty hiding spots while you giggle watching them.

#suguru geto x reader #geto x reader #jjk x reader #geto x you #jjk x you #suguru geto x you #EVENTUALLY IF WE EVER GET THERE!#suguru geto #jjk #jjk fics #ggs.fics #oof im scared marty fuck it we ball #series.s&ts

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cloveroctobers · 6 months ago

Text

BURN — DANTE TORRES: [Summer Writings]

A/N: Don’t fall over, yes this is a part two to one of my previous works which can be found here + we only saw a sprinkle of Mr. Bambi eyes since the last time I wrote the first piece because we clearly know who the show is catered to but we won’t go too deep on that lol.

🏷️: @darqchilddaydreamz

WARNINGS: Dante taking his job seriously, slight crossover with other shows such as: Chicago fire (character mentioned at best) + Abbott Elementary, language, she/reader now has a name for story purposes, mentions of addiction, mental health and drugs, slight plot with references to the final episodes of this last season, and me bringing you nothing but angst!

ོ༘₊⁺☀︎₊⁺⋆.˚ ོ༘₊⁺☀︎₊⁺⋆.˚ ོ༘₊⁺☀︎₊⁺⋆.˚ ོ༘₊⁺☀︎₊⁺⋆.˚ ོ༘₊⁺☀︎₊⁺⋆.˚ ོ༘₊⁺☀︎₊⁺⋆.˚ ོ༘

June’s air is a great contrast to what March once was. She can smell the grilling of food in the warm breeze as her face is turned towards the open passenger window and…shes hesitant. Which is a foreign feeling but it demanded to be felt. She can hear the squeal of laughter from children as they patter down the sidewalks, simply being children and that makes her heart swell to see they that still had their innocence.

There’s a mixture of Reggaeton and 2000’s r&b playing on different sides of the block and she’s reminiscent to many summer days on this same street as a teen, no JLO. Her fingertips are resting on the door handle, staring at the brick home and she knows she’s always welcome but things have been different since that night. It’s not like Dante would ever be nonexistent in her life, there was no timeline where she could imagine that happening but life really happened since then.

Dante went off and dug deeper into his case so communication was a bit tougher until it was all over. The only way she knew that was mainly from Momma Catalina who had called to chat with her, wondering when she was going to stop by (since the older woman missed her son’s friend’s pretty face—her words) and have dinner with the both of them soon because she also liked hearing the praises on her go to dish: Jocón from the younger woman. She also knew Dante’s case was over because the texts weren’t just a simple sentence and he would incorporate voice notes like he used to do. Yet the friends made no plans to come around despite being on each other’s minds. However she kept busy, like she always did when Dante got caught up in a case and she was a working woman herself, so she also knew how to keep her head on what she strived to do in life.

They were still parallel even if they weren’t face to face.

Now she has a case of her own, being brought in and working with forensics to figure out this new fatal strand that’s been killing kids as young as being in their preteens and may or may not have a connection to a serial killer as well. She already guessed that it did before a certain someone got in contact with her. It was heavy work and not typically the field she worked close with in years—since triggers were a thing—yet it was also the reason why she wanted to be a chemist. To make a loooong story short, she was to “blame” for her severely depressed mother’s addiction (granted her mother was now thirteen years sober) bringing opioids, unknowingly laced at the time, into the house with the intent to sell and also to try at just fourteen was the start of a lengthy journey. The reason she felt like she was to blame was her father not letting her forget it even now in her thirties. Which brings us to life in the now, being a “know-it-all,” chemist who always felt like she had a lot to prove.

Normally she did the basic boring tasks working with businesses and ensuring that their products were deemed safe for consumers rather than another serious level of crimes like murder, however she initially started out as a forensics chemist until she switched paths after it became too much on her mental. Her father felt that was a terrible decision, only thinking of the income rather than how that screwed with his daughter’s brain but she always learned how to take his words with a shard of glass. That’s right, glass. In spite of that anyone would be lying if they said she wasn’t one of the most well known in the city, going above and beyond—just behind the scenes now—to solve many cases. She preferred it that way, to herself, some may even say safe, being out of the way and she still got her thrill from figuring out what most couldn’t. And here she was over the last two weeks working this slowly building case, finding a balance of catering to her own self care by leaving the work solely behind at the lab and even engaging in a few more dates—just not with the salt and pepper haired SWAT member anymore.

Which didn’t turn sour, there was no need for that and she respected that Deacon also wanted to keep his mind on his work and his kids. He was still a good man in her eyes. Ultimately she knew that she didn’t see it working in the long run and that she didn’t have to take dating so seriously…at least that’s what she tried to tell herself.

“You seem stressed,” a voice says to her left, reminding her that she was in fact sitting beside another male that wasn’t her best friend, “you gotta roll that tension away, smell the lilacs, and then realize that there shouldn’t be any nerves right? You talk so highly about the guy…unless you want me come with?”

Immediately her eyes widen and she’s shaking her head, although the brunette means well she tells him, “no…I appreciate it though, Manny. it’s just the caffeine wearing off I guess. I’ll only be five to ten minutes tops, I need to get back home anyway and into a eucalyptus bath.”

Manny raises his brows, “a bath you say? You do know that it’s eighty degrees out here right?”

It was the woman’s turn to raise her own brows, silently challenging the man who breathes out a laugh with his signature wicked grin.

“Alright, alright.” Manny’s hands are raised in surrender, “I’m sensing hot showers are a thing too all year around? Which I don’t get if summer is here but if that’s your thing then I’ll accept it.”

“As you should.”

“I do.” He places a large hand against his chest still grinning, “there’s no static on my end.”

“Oh you’re such an east coaster,” she playfully rolls her eyes, “but you’re kinda great.”

“That’s what they tell me.” He winks as he reaches over to give her shoulder a light squeeze, “you’ll be fine out there I don’t doubt it. Now go and celebrate your best friend’s birthday and don’t forget the two slices of cake.”

She leans against the outside of the door, frowning at the man who shakes his head, “yeah that would be too much, considering we haven’t even met, right?”

She gives him a small smile in response and a point before she spins on her heels, taking the short walk towards the Torres’ household. Dante didn’t have much family here in Chicago, most being spread all over the globe, leaving it to always be just Catalina and Dante. From as long as she’s known the mother and son, Momma Catalina was always on the phone having long distance calls with family members but they seemed to be missing in action when she was being beat on nearly every day.

Moving along the side of the house towards the music and charcoal, her hands are behind her back as she nervously makes her way to the backyard. She likes to say it’s the social anxiety rather than seeing Dante but perhaps it was a mixture of both. Most of the faces are probably neighbors but it’s a nice crowd as she instantly spots the buzzed man up ahead, dressed in a short sleeve white loose fitting button up v-neck, tattoos on his arms are on full display, along with the chain that sways from his neck as he dumps chunks of ice into a cooler that Upton is holding open for him.

“Whaaat? Who let you out the cage? I thought they kept experiments locked down, Coty.” The voice of Atwater pulls her gaze to the man who’s smirking down at her with a beer in one hand.

Coty scoffed although there’s a smile on her lips, “You always know how to give the most warmest welcomes, Kev.”

He laughs as he swoops in with a side hug, “Well I had to say something with you sneaking in here like you about to steal something and roll out.”

“Not my style.”

“Yeah, just like you not interacting with nobody.”

“I just got here!”

Kevin nods his head letting the woman have that one before adding, “and how long do you plan on staying?”

“I haven’t decided yet.”

His round eyes give her a look of disbelief while she shields her eyes from his stare. Laughing to himself he taps her arm, “well in that case, I won’t hold you any longer to go talk to your boy. Just as a fair warning to you, don’t touch that potato salad. Somebody made it and it got peas, carrots, and I think I even saw some apples all up in it.”

Tilting your head to the side you say, “…sounds like a Russian salad.”

“A what?” Kevin cups a hand over his ear although he’s sure he’s heard Coty correctly.

She just smiles at him, giving his arm a squeeze before she turns to make her way to Dante, who is not where she’s last seen him. Coty pauses, scanning the backyard again and sends a wave to Burgess and Ruzek who are sitting thigh to thigh on the picnic bench with a face full of smiles. They echo a wave back in Coty’s direction before some hands plop down on her forearms.

“Seraphina, mija! You made it.” Momma Catalina greets before sinking into Coty’s frame.

She was a tiny woman who still managed to have the kindest of hearts given what she’s been through. Coty grips the woman back in a sweet embrace before they’re eye to eye again.

“Of course! Had to see the best lady in town,” Coty tells the cedar brown haired woman with a blunt bob full of ringlets.

Her grin reaches her summer green eyes which mirrors her son’s as she almost bounced on her toes, “that’s right! Didn’t know it had to take you forever and a day to come see about me.”

“I’m sorry about that…”

She blows a raspberry, “no need to dwell on that because I already know and all is forgiven now that you’re here! Let’s get you something to eat so you can enjoy the party.”

“Oh no, Momma Cat. I can’t stay.”

Her usual soft stare darkens for a moment and it’s actually scary to witness when you irk this pocket full of sunshine’s nerves, “you will stay, eat, and dance. You are family. Then you and my son will fix whatever this bullshit is.”

“Dante and I are fine.” It sounded weak coming from Coty’s lips but she knew she couldn’t fool Catalina. Momma Cat was the first to see something special between her son and Seraphina (even before Séan) before they ever did so hearing this felt like a big insult.

That’s when the woman shifts in her slippers, fists digging into her hips as she peers up at the woman in front of her, “Seraphina! do not lie to me in my own home, mija. I will not have it and you will do as I say.” Catalina clapped her hands as if she was dusting off Coty’s worries, although this was only adding to it.

Coty felt like she was being scolded and her own mother wasn’t even here! Sure she was grown and didn’t have to take being yelled at but she would never disrespect Catalina, especially when she’s done so much for her growing up and when her own parents didn’t want to be bothered with her when she was up to no good.

“Ma…is everything okay?” Dante’s quiet tone could be heard over the music, along with his body heat from behind the pair.

Coty can feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up just from Dante speaking and she’s been sweating since she got out of Manny’s car.

Catalina flashes a smile at her son, reaching to cup his face as Coty steps to the side for the two to have their moment, “Everything’s perfect! Your best gift is here so enjoy it.”

She whispers the last part to him with a wink while Dante just scoffs with a shake of his head as he watches his mother start to dance with a neighbor on her way by. He turns to face his old friend and let’s out a sigh, “see what you started? I was expecting the dancing to start the moment I woke up but you seem to always bring it out of her.”

Momma Catalina came from a background of dancers and it was a dream that became distant once she gave birth to Dante and knew that passion wouldn’t pay the bills. Dante’s birth father passed when he was around six so everything really fell onto Catalina’s shoulders and seemed to keep piling up.

She was never regretful over how her life played out but rather thankful that Dante chose her to show her how to truly love. There was never sadness in her words when she showed the stack of photos of herself in her younger years and her joy shined whenever she still broke out into a move. In the end, you do what you have to do for family.

“Me?” Coty points to herself innocently although she’s not really at fault this time, “Maybe you should check if the Aguardiente is still available.”

Dante nods in realization, “you’re right…that could be it. I’ve been running around since this thing started so who knows how much is left and it’s supposed to be my day.”

“I thought you loved birthday’s?” Coty’s response is sarcastic, knowing just how much Dante dreaded his birthday but was right with Catalina in honoring your special day around the sun.

The look Dante sends his friend makes her snort out some laughter, “We still have six more hours at least.”

Letting out a low whistle, she lightly grips his shoulder, “you still have six hours. I can disappear with ease.”

Dante groans, “you’ll take me with you, won’t you?”

His light green’s were pleading as Coty slipped an arm across his waist, leaning into his shoulder, “stop being a little turd, have some more drinks and you’ll get through it.”

Dante grumbles, “I’ll remember that when it’s your birthday.”

“Uh…i’m going to Vegas.”

“When did we decide that?”

Coty lifts her head from his shoulder, “You should have gone to France with all this we talk.”

“Nah, not my vibe.” He says before peering down at her, “…thanks for coming. I was beginning to lose my mind.”

“Why?” Coty questions as she looks around at all the faces in the backyard, “You had the team here with you at least.”

“Yeah…but that’s not the same and you know it.” He honestly says as his eyes begins to trace over Coty’s features.

She couldn’t stomach the way he was looking at her and it made her guess how many drinks he’s had himself this evening. The amount of tenderness and care in his green hues was the same reason why they were in a constant battle in the first place.

“How’s Gloria?” Flies out of her mouth before she can even comprehend it.

Dante sharply inhales at this, looking elsewhere in slight annoyance before shrugging, “gone.”

“Gone where?”

“Can’t discuss that with you, Nina.” The way he’s the only one that uses her name this way, is enough to let her know that he means business.

Mostly everyone calls her by her last name: Coty, which she preferred (he’s not everyone) but he’s firm in his stance—closing himself off to that part of him and that’s not like Dante. Sure he’s not this open book by any means but it’s not like he has a piece of him that she hasn’t seen. That particular piece was still there but reopened by someone like Gloria. Someone that could bring out his skeletons and glamorize it to match her own pain. Coty knew Gloria was not the answer to whatever it is Dante was looking for and now that Gloria was suddenly gone, it will hold a weight he was willing to carry on his back—that he shouldn’t have to—but Coty was not willing to help him with that.

She said that months ago and she still meant that shit. She never wanted to pay for someone else’s mistakes. Coty knew how to love Dante but he wouldn’t let her, not in that way.

Only Dante and Gloria know what they’ve been up to since they decided to fuck around.

And perhaps they found out.

“…who’s this?” Dante suddenly lifted his chin, stepping forward a bit as Coty stood to the side of him.

Her eyes follow his line of sight to see Manny, searching around the backyard for her. Once he found her, he smiles, waving a bit before he starts making his way over. She deeply sighs as Dante sends a look her way, silently questioning her before the brunette gets closer.

“Hey, Having fun?”

Coty molds her lips together while Manny looks back and forth between the two, either oblivious to the tension or trying this best to ignore it.

“Phina-Mena, you left something—

Manny starts but Dante cuts him off, “sorry man, who are you?”

“Oh! How rude of me.” He frees one of his hands, “I’m Manny, friend of Seraphina’s. And you must be Dante! I’ve heard good things about you so it’s nice to finally meet you, bro.”

‘Finally?’ He cautiously puts his hand out to shake Manny’s but his eyes are hot on Seraphina’s who shifts on her feet, lightly swaying from one foot to the other.

“Can’t say the same…Nina hasn’t mentioned you at all.”

“Oh well…don’t worry about it, y’all been busy.” Manny shrugs it off, not the least bit phased.

Dante nods his head and folds his arms, “right but…I’ve got time now. So you said you’re Manny. What do you do Manny?”

“I proudly work for the Philadelphia school district and I’m just here for a conference but it also doesn’t hurt that I get to hang out with Phina-Mena!” He boasts as he sends finger-guns at Seraphina while Dante finds his personality to be a lot.

And that was saying enough since Seraphina was mostly introverted and easily got exhausted around people…except for him.

Dante rounds off another inquiry, “where did you two meet?”

She huffs but Dante ignores her, awaiting all the information he can get.

Manny talks with his hands, “Down at that bar with the sticky floors along with one of the floorboards being this naturally strange color of purple that takes up a good portion of the place? My apologies, I forgot the name.”

That gets Dante frowning as he casts a glance over at Seraphina who’s chewing on her bottom lip now, “A bar? You’re not really a bar kinda woman.”

Manny shrugs his shoulders, “eh…people can surprise you.”

“Did you go alone…were you alone?” The second half of that question is directed at Seraphina and now she was getting agitated, this Dante could tell as she side eyed him.

Manny also gazed at the woman, picking up on the tension now. “You know my dad was an officer too so this is feelin’ a little too familiar for me.”

“Really, what precinct?”

“Dante, cut the shit.” Coty bites but the buzzed haired man just blinks not missing a beat.

“It’s only right I get to know your new friend since he already seems to know so much about me.”

“Well not everything…” Manny laughs, trying to ease the heaviness in the air but Dante’s not backing off.

Dante was suspicious and his guard had to be up so he redirects the conversation back, “so you said you two met at the bar…I’m assuming the Violet Branch?”

“Yeah,” Manny snaps with amazement crossing his bearded face, “that’s right! You know the place?”

Dante hardened his stare as he turns his head to Seraphina, “uh huh. That’s Sarge’s spot.”

Manny turns his eyes into slits, “sarge? As in sergeant. Oh was that the guy you were—

“Manny!” Coty interjects, “I think this interrogation is over. Why don’t you go mingle with the rest for a little, while I finish talking to the birthday boy.”

“No, No.” Dante shakes his head, “Let him finish, Nina.”

Manny’s eyes are moving back and forth between the two who are holding each other’s stare, “oh…I see what’s happening here. I’m doing that thing where I’m talking too much. I’m just gonna leave this…on that lovely gift table over there.”

And with that Manny swiftly points and drags himself to the left where most of the party goers are eating or dancing.

“He’s…interesting.” Dante’s stare lingers on the man who quickly strikes up a conversation with one of his nosy neighbors.

Coty scoffs, “the hell is your problem?”

“I don’t have one.”

“So you think it’s cool that you just grilled into my friend like that?”

“Is that really all he is? Because you didn’t tell me about him at all.” Dante’s jaw is tight, almost like he’s irritated with the woman for leaving this out over a few phone calls and then also bringing him here to his house with no type of heads up.

She attempts to reason with him, “We just started being somewhat normal again, Tay.”

“That didn’t stop you from telling me about things ending with Deacon.”

“You asked. I didn’t just bring him up.”

“I see so that was your way of what? Being fair by bringing up Gloria? Why bring her up if you know that topic bothers you so much?” Dante searched Coty’s eyes, trying to understand what she was doing and up to although his gut was telling him everything he needed to know.

Coty furrows her brows, “Because I’m being a good friend and checking in on you since you know? I can’t exactly do that when you’re undercover.”

Dante rubs at his jaw, “I can’t say I fully believe that. I feel like this was a tactic to get me riled up because I developed a relationship with Gloria—as if I don’t already know who you’ve been around since you’re that important to me. First it was Deacon, then it was that firefighter Jake Gibson, and now this Manny guy? It’s a game for you and I don’t want to play.”

Coty laughs in shock as Dante walks away from her, “are you fucking serious? And then you’re gonna walk away from me after that?”

“Yup.” Dante says over his shoulder as he makes his way back to the cooler.

Coty isn’t having that as she charges after him, watching as he squats and begins searching through the ice. She desperately tries to keep her voice leveled but she can feel her skin getting hot and her eyes beginning to burn out of frustration.

“I don’t even want to know how you know about Jake ghosting me—

Dante looks up at her, “he didn’t ghost you, he checked himself into rehab. Stop selling yourself short.”

Her mouth can’t help but to drop open at that.

“Dante.”

“Yes?”

“You can’t go searching up every guy that I might want to give a chance…I shouldn’t even have to tell you that,” her frown is so deep that it should be permanent for the rest of this conversation, “and I wouldn’t just bring a random stranger to your house. I told him to wait in the car but I left your gift.”

Dante snickers and drops his head with a shake of his head, “that’s no better, Nina! You don’t know him and I don’t know him.”

“Well I’m getting to because that’s my choice! He doesn’t even live here and you’re acting like this. And you don’t have the right to get upset with who I spend time with while you do whatever the hell you want anyway, clearly.” Coty crosses her arms while Dante is upright now.

His heat is radiating again as he stands in front of Coty, “I know.”

“You know?”

“Yes and I wish I could say I’m sorry, as if that’ll ever be enough when I know it’ll never be especially when you’re the one who said you’re not over me.”

“That was how many weeks ago? I didn’t think you’d still be worrying about what was said when who knows what you’ve been up to with Gloria. You say a relationship but judging by the fresh burn mark on your neck, tells me it’s been anything but loving.”

Dante exhales, “stop.”

“Stop what? Caring?”

“No, stop trying to tell me you told me so.”

“I wouldn’t gloat yet I’m not sure what it is exactly you want from me, as your friend?” Coty quizzed him, “To stay by your side and just continue accepting everything for what it is? I did that before and now look where we are.”

Dante blinks, trying to get his thoughts together.

“She was wrong from the start and you knew that. And that burn is enough to remind you of that forever.”

“And what about me huh? What about what I’ve done to you all these years, those scars I gave to you and you still stayed while she had to leave. You don’t think I’m not dealing with all that?”

That alone leaves Coty stunned.

To know Dante from his late preteen years all throughout many phases of their lives to this point now, was so much at times that Dante knew just how much it stung. He couldn’t give Coty what she wanted and not in the way she wanted because of his own issues. If it stung for him, he had to know that it burned for his dear friend Seraphina Coty. He tried to be alone, almost begged Coty to get out of his life by the time they were eighteen but there was a constant need for their souls to be intertwined.

It felt like bleeding internally when they were apart but somehow they were still functioning. It’s been a minute since that damp spring day but the earth never stopped spinning. When the good was present, it felt like a summer sunrise compared to a fire tornado the two of them could unleash.

“I—

Coty starts but stomps against the grass, catches both of the two’s attention, revealing Kevin who’s appears to be getting off his phone, “My fault for breaking this up but Voight needs us.”

“Now?” Dante asks, practically forcing his eye contact to his team member.

“Pronto.”

Dante dips his head, his hand going out to gently touch Coty’s elbow, “Looks like I have to go.”

Kevin glances between the two before adding, “Uh, he needs all of us. Including Coty.”

Dante’s widens his eyes at this news and this confirms what his gut was saying all along when Manny dropped the crumbs. Coty was about to get wrapped up in the same danger she warned him about. He couldn’t say what he felt in that moment since time was always of the essence but he’s aware that Coty saw the eruption in his eyes just then.

She sparked the flame that Dante didn’t want to spread.

He wasn’t sure how he could protect her after this. His blood was boiling in the passenger side of Kevin’s car and he wanted nothing more than to tell Kevin to pull the car over and to leave Coty on the side of the road, sending a ride to bring her back home and away from it all like she conditioned herself to be.

Dante knew Seraphina like the ink on his back and with her stare burning into the back of his neck, eyes probably focused on his new mark, he peered over his shoulder at her, meeting her view and was aware that she always finished what she started, whether he liked it or not.

“Happy birthday,” she mouths to him with a small smile but it’s anything but comforting.

The glare on Dante’s face is evident as he turns back to face the front with a roll of his eyes, rubbing at the tightness in his jaw once more while slouching down in the passenger seat.

June’s air is a great contrast to what March once was.

ོ༘₊⁺☀︎₊⁺⋆.˚ ོ༘₊⁺☀︎₊⁺⋆.˚ ོ༘₊⁺☀︎₊⁺⋆.˚ ོ༘₊⁺☀︎₊⁺⋆.˚ ོ༘₊⁺☀︎₊⁺⋆.˚ ོ༘₊⁺☀︎₊⁺⋆.˚ ོ༘

-> Part Three!

#Spotify #chicago pd #Chicago pd x reader #Chicago pd Dante #dante torres #Dante Torres x reader #summer writings #chicago pd fic #benjamin levy aguilar #Abbott elementary manny #josh segarra #kevin atwater #queued

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sabo-has-my-heart · 8 months ago

Note

This is two part again. Thanks for listening and replying to my message, that means a lots to me. Though, I'd say I prefer a certain red head karma to bite me instead of my coworkers :^) just kidding.

This is not really an emergency request but also a bit like it? I guess? It's just I've been dying of thirst for some romance due to my situation so I'm up here to request something (only if you want to write, that is)

Office workers couple of Sabo and fem!Reader. I just wanna read some fluffy moments between them. Like when y/n is working over time and he quietly put an iced coffee cup he just bought for y/n on her cheek, making her jump as he smiles warmly and sits next to her to help her with the work. Or when y/n knocks on his office door and says "I'm here to pick up Mr. *insert married last name*" and Sabo chuckles and walks to her to say "Let's go home Mrs *insert married last name*"

I don't know if this is how it works but that's my request. Feel free to skip it if you don't like the idea. Love your writing as always, have a great day!

Hi two part anon! no need to thank me for listening, and replying, I care about you 🥰. So here's some fluff, I'm sorry these things have been taking so long. It's super stressful here lately. Hoping to get some more writing done soon. It's funny because writing for you and my other beloved anons reduces my stress but I need to be less stressed to write sometimes, lol 😆.

Warnings: office romance? fluff

Word Count: 1580

People say office romances never turn out well. Especially if you’re dating your boss. After all, your boss might give you special treatment or promotions. That being said, you and Sabo were an exception, an outlier to the statistic. The two of you had been working at the same office for years, you’d watched his promotion from working beside you to being your new boss, watched him deal with the worst of the department’s problems, and helped him celebrate some of the department’s greatest achievements.

Likewise, he’d been there for you as well. The year that nobody seemed to care about your birthday, the raise for finishing that ‘impossible’ project, and the one time when you snuck a kitten into the office because it was just outside the building and you didn’t have time to take it to a shelter until after work. It seemed that whenever there was something big that happened to one of you, the other was there to share in it. Of course, nobody knew about your little office romance. Neither of you wanted to risk the rumors, the scandal, or the accusations that would be sent your way. To say nothing of HR getting involved or needing to transfer departments simply due to the fact that the two of you were together.

It wasn’t like Sabo actually gave you special treatment at work. Quite the opposite, he treated you like every other employee, expecting nothing but your best and you were quite happy to give it your all. There’d even been a few times where he’d been forced to call you into his office because you’d messed up. Granted, when you messed up, he wasn’t nearly as hard on you as others, but it wasn’t due to giving you special treatment. Only that he could have a calm, serious conversation about what you’d messed up. Most of your coworkers had to be handled in a different manner, he wasn’t dating them, he couldn’t just say “angel, you messed up, if you needed more time, we could have canceled our date.” or “I know I tell the others to come to me if you need help, but I’m literally in the other room. You don’t exactly have an excuse not to come to me.”

Sabo sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. There was another big project due at the end of the month, another ‘world will end if we don’t finish this on time’ project. He hated these projects so much, hated his bosses so much for projects like this. Acting like they had sticks up their asses and not giving a damn about who suffered from the long hours forced on their employees. Always giving deadlines that were far too short for his liking. It was as if they purposefully gave a shorter than necessary deadline. He’d change that one day, he’d climb in the ranks and become high enough to change things. He’d never accept projects unless he knew they could be finished without working his employees to death and he’d fire anyone who treated their employees like shit!

A knock on his door drew him out of his thoughts, looking up to see your head peeking in through the cracked open door.

“Hey, You got time for a short break? I got your favorite for dinner.” you called softly, holding up a bag of food and gently shaking it. Sabo smiled and sat up in his chair, beckoning you in.

“What are you still doing here, Dove? Shouldn’t you be at home?” he asked as you set the food on the desk.

“How can I go home and sit around when I know you’re pushing yourself so hard to get this project done in time? You know I hate going home to an empty apartment.” you said, giving him a sympathetic smile.

“I know, but I don’t want you to overwork yourself. You need sleep and time to relax, not spend time in an empty office, alone.” he said, reaching over his desk and caressing your cheek.

“What, you mean like you’re always doing? Sabo, love, you’ve fallen asleep in your office 5 times in the last 2 weeks trying to get this done. You’ve missed 3 meals and eaten in your office 8 times. The sooner I help you finish this, the sooner you can relax.” you said with a small chuckle, leaning into his hand.

“Have I really? I’m sorry, Angel. I don’t mean to be for so long. You know I prefer the comfort of our bed.” he said, running his hand through his hair again as you pulled the food out.

“I know, that’s why I’m still here. So we can finish this sooner. Let me help, we’ll get it wrapped up faster this way. You know I’m capable of taking care of things.” you offered, handing him some food and utensils.

“I know, I know things would go faster if we did them together, but I don’t want your health to suffer because of this. I hate seeing you look so tired and worn out.” it was true, he’d never felt so bad as when you overworked yourself helping him with these stupid deadlines. The times you had fallen asleep on his desk late at night trying to help him. The dark circles and bags under your eyes when you’d stayed up 3 nights in a row to finish a ‘our company will go out of business if we don’t finish this’ project. And he’d never forgive himself for the time he’d passed out from overworking and given you the scare of your life. He’d woken up to the paramedics in his office as you hovered around him with tears brimming in your eyes. He’d had a talk with his bosses and HR after that one. They hadn’t given him another one of those after that. He was one of their better employees and did great work, they didn’t want to lose him.

“And what about your health? You know I hate seeing your health suffer too. This way we can split the work this way, that way neither of us is too overworked.” you offered, making him sigh. You were right. He knew you were right.

“Alright, alright. Let's finish this part up then we’ll go home; and once we finish this project, we’ll take a weekend trip to get away and relax.” he offered. You nodded in agreement as the two of you started to eat.

It was a few weeks later that the project was finished, Sabo taking a moment to lean back in his chair and relax. The blond hadn’t even realized he’d fallen asleep in his chair until you were gently shaking him awake, a soft, sweet smile on your lips.

“Dove? Did… did I fall asleep in my chair again?” Sabo asked groggily, sitting up straight and rubbing his eyes.

“Yeah, don’t worry though, nobody really noticed. We all just thought you were working on the next thing you were given. I wanted to let you sleep, but it’s not good for you to fall asleep in your chair like this. Besides, if you fall asleep here, you’ll have a hard time falling asleep at home and I have the perfect evening all planned out for us so you can relax and enjoy yourself.” you said with a grin. Sabo looked at you and chuckled, shaking his head.

“Isn’t it supposed to be the other way around? I’m supposed to be doing nice things for you so you can relax?” he asked, his eyes closing as he yawned.

“I’m not the one carrying the weight of the world at work. Besides, no one ever said I can’t do things for you as well.”

“You spoil me, Dove.” he said softly, pulling you close, sitting you in his lap and nuzzling his face into your neck.

“I spoil you? Sabo, you’re always doing so much for me. This is the least I can do for you.” you said with a laugh, enjoying the way he held you so lovingly.

“Mmm, no, pretty sure you spoil me more. Always staying late with me, getting me my favorites and making sure I don’t overwork myself. I’m just repaying the favor.” he ‘argued’, grinning mischievously. He loved playing this little ‘game’ with you. Who’s actually spoiling who and why. How you deserve everything he’s done for you and how you think he deserves the world. Always ending in sweet, loving kisses and endless ‘I love you’s.

“As much as you know I’d love to continue this, I promised the others I was just asking about our next project and they’ll get suspicious if I take too long.” you whispered, pouting at the idea of your sweet moment being interrupted. Sabo sighed and nodded as well, letting you go.

“Alright, alright, but don’t work too hard. I heard from a very reliable source that you’ve got a date at a nice restaurant tonight and you don’t want to be late for that, do you?” Sabo asked teasingly.

“You’re right, my darling husband is spoiling me again and I can’t let all of his hard work go to waste.” the both of you laughed as you reluctantly headed for the door, giving him one last longing look before returning to work. You had to admit, you really loved working with him, loved how the two of you had somehow managed to make an office romance work.

#one piece #one piece sabo #op sabo #sabo the revolutionary #chief of staff sabo #flame emperor sabo #chief of staff sabo x reader #flame emperor sabo x reader #sabo x reader #sabo the revolutionary x reader

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writing-frenzy · 1 year ago

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Mob Protag Ichigo and the Puppet Master (UraIchi Isekai Idea :3 )

So yeah, for anyone who's read my first idea with the Kurosaki Fam Isekai, they'll know all the stuff that has inspired this and that I've already mentioned an idea with a Mob Character!Ichigo and a Puppet Master Benihime (AKA Urahara Kisuke)

Let us set the scene :3

How will Ichigo go to a fantasy world, especially with how he is? Well, as Ichigo was growing up, one of his sisters was really, really sick; they weren't sure if she was going to make it tbh. Ichigo did all he could, but being a little guy, there wasn't much he could do. One day, he came upon a weird being who said they could grant wishes; Ichigo immediately asks if they can make his little sister healthy. The being said yes after a moment, but it will cost him a peaceful afterlife. Ichigo takes the deal, the being is admittedly touched by this child's goodness and unselfish desire, because for such a sweet child, they know of death and the loss it brings already. So the being actually doesn't twist the wish like so many others he does, letting the children live out their natural lifespans in peace.

All is well, until a 17 year old Ichigo saves his other sister and her friend from dying to a truck. Our World's Divine Being is like; damn, you still had way, way more life span and time than you should have to had died now... but since you have a contract, I can't just let you survive :/ eh, I'll use it to at least give you perks to survive your reincarnation in that hell hole. (not to mention how they too are actually touched, they're a sucker for loving families)

Ichigo: wut

Godly Being: *throws a book series and some powers at him* Wish you luck out there!

After feeling just a bit violated and like someone was digging around in his head and blood, Ichigo wakes up in an abandoned house in some modern looking steampunk like city. Looking around he doesn't have much but some basics for survival, weird as heck items, and a book series. Not much to do, he reads the series, which answers a whole lot of questions even as makes Ichigo scowl like a thundercloud.

See, this is a very, very dark fantasy like series, it's gonna have all the canon Bleach fighting and gore but with magical surprises and such, with a very, very bittersweet ending. It's kinda like a modern setting meets with a very eco-friendly way because the world will crush those it sees trying to abuse it (mother nature don't play around here) so it's kinda steam/water/wind/solarpunk. Don't know who I want as the OG Story's protag to be, maybe Rukia or one of the Karakura Kids, but it follows them in a world were contracts/pacts/deals with spiritual beings is over everything; it can be with weapons, it can be with bloodlines or any such. Not all pacts and such are unequal, some in fact are real and true bonds, the pact bound loyal to their contractors to obsession... others, it is is very much a thing of slavery and torture, which can go both ways depending on what was exactly contracted.

Ichigo goes about trying to figure out his own contract/pact thing, which while so long ago, is just something he has never been able to forget, seemingly inscribed onto his very soul in a way. He knows he was picked because his soul was the most compatible for the spirits the being wanted for him, and he already knows its going to change his body as well, but it still confuses him.

(maybe something like;

A mix of holy power and darkness that would find most be consumed,

Flames properly controlled that can reach the moon,

Cut it from the sky and devour it if so desired,

But yet all one wants is to protect their own wary lost and life tired,

For One such as you a power so great is to be entrusted,

It will find you, change you, leave your life chain broken and rusted,

In Time it will be shown if you can make this power your own,

But already, your fate has sown.)

(LOL, this is Ichigo, he's gonna break his fate and make friends with his Hallow and Ossan, because I love the idea of the three together again in this au :3 later tho)

But yeah, so Ichigo is figuring things out, especially with controlling his body once more because his strength went a bit wonky, but I also like the idea of a different weapon Ichigo if that makes sense? Like, he will still be an op power house, but the thought of him using spells and martial arts makes me grin evilly? Like, with his Hollow more bonded later, he can make claws come out to rip soft bellies apart and such. And Ossan just insists he learn a bow for those times he needs long range and such, even if he gets a bit despairing when Ichigo occasionally gets too frustrated and just throws the damn arrow (all three in Ichigo's head are quiet whenever the move proves highly effective, which is always.) Oh, but now I can't help but think of Childe from Genshin Impact's fighting style :D maybe instead of blades though, Ichigo switches to a hand to hand with bracers of some sort covering his arms that are hard as fuck, easy to move around in because of magic.

But ah, getting sidetracked again, this all comes later down; for now, Ichigo is still figuring shit out, avoiding protagonists and co because yeah, people not protected by plot armor tend to die really, really messily around them and he still can't do jack right now (doesn't mean he doesn't do what he can, even if its just simple things like helping the elderly, making sure kids get home safe, or even knocking out some regular thugs harassing some ladies.

Ichigo, despite all his scowls and looks, still draws people in with his kindness and protective nature in this dark, lonely otherworld.)

Its as he's helping someone shopping, this sweet little lady who goes on and on about her sweet grandbaby, that Ichigo goes to the Urahara Shoten for the first time; not much gets his attention, besides the fact that the protagonist has only been here once or twice in the early chapters for some odds or ends, this place being some mixture of candy/pawn/tea shop.

But then something in the shop resonates with him; with his very soul. Looking around, Ichigo tells the sweet grandma he'll be right back, and call him when she's done, to which she gives a cheerful reply before Ichigo goes off, looking high and low before he finds a strange book and block with it, like a set. Picking it up, it just feels so damn right... till he looks at the price tag and cringes. While he has odd jobs here and there to help him out, it's just enough money for him to live with since he doesn't have to worry about rent with his questionable abandoned house, covering his food expenses and the public bath fee.

"Find something you like dear customer?" is said from behind him, which makes Ichigo jump like a few feet into the air, clutching his book and block set to his chest, before turning to the one who startled him.

And so thus the first meeting with Urahara Kisuke, Geta-boshi as Ichigo likes to call him. After a bit of back and forth between the two, Ichigo admits he can't afford the book and block set, too which Urahara merely hums, eyes oddly shadowed from his hat as he considers that. one thing leads to another and somehow Ichigo not only gets the set but even a steady job at the shop, even if his paycheck will be cut because of said set. And sure, Geta-boshi is sus as fuck, but Ichigo doesn't sense any ill will from the man, not too mention the man even helps him with understanding the book, a soul book as its called, which strengthens souls and their contracts, enabling them to get a growing weapon called an Asauchi that transforms with the soul. Its not bad.

On Kisuke's part, he is actually pretty intrigued by Kurosaki, this youth who carries the potential of a predator but the heart of a protector, actually reacting to the soul book and Asauchi Kisuke had made more for curiosity and boredom then to actually make a functional weapon. Not to mention just how much fun it is too mess with Ichigo, the boy shows he has a clever mind and a strength that just seems to constantly grow more and more. Kisuke is actually considering just how he can possibly use this youth for his goals, wondering if he can be the chest piece he needs to finally topple the king in this game between Puppet Master Benihime and Greater Lord Aizen.

Ichigo does know about Puppet Master Benihime from the story, they were a neutral character only focused on making sure the world would not collapse, no matter the amount that would be needed to be sacrificed in the end. But in the story, it only ever showed Benihime herself, never even mentioning that she was actually contracted, and 100% loyal to said contractor, so Ichigo has no clue about just how scary his mentor is at first, besides when the man actually did finally spar with him and Ichigo couldn't even get a hit on him. In this world, these two have a bit more time, a bit more room to act, and with it they bond, much to Kisuke great surprise even as he still plans to use him.

So things happen, things are reveled, discoveries are had, and Kisuke goes to Ichigo, confirming that he knows.

And then he kneels before this youth; he kneels and apologizes, thinking and knowing in his soul he's done something unforgiveable, thinking he won't be forgiven and fine with that as long as Ichigo still lives well... only for Ichigo to actually forgive, just like that, just because he could tell Kisuke meant it, scowling still but most of all accepting.

Its a good thing Kisuke was already kneeling because that alone would have made him bow just from the sheer acceptance and warmth Ichigo just seems to shine with. Ichigo has no idea just what he's done, who's utter loyalty and trust he has secured, and Kisuke will kill, die, and live for this boy, he just has to say the word. Even with all the people Ichigo has gathered, from villains to protagonist, people who are loyal and true if to no one else but him, Kisuke feels blessed he can be included, can be trusted even over the others to always remain at Ichigo's back and protect it no matter what.

In return, Ichigo looks up to Kisuke as both a mentor, ally, friend, and after an interesting dream, a damn annoying crush he can not get rid of, going strong for years (no longer a crush then but let him deny it for a bit). Parts of him wants to devour this man whole, never share him with the world, but Ichigo is such a being of freedom he could never dream to rip such a thing from someone else. (Kisuke being Kisuke wouldn't mind if its Ichigo tho >:3 All Ichigo has to do is ask, and this man would give him the world, Benihime right behind him.)

I feel like this story would be a slow burn but not if that makes sense? like, there is a tension from the very beginning of the story to Demi-romantic/sexual Ichigo's awakening of shit, so that's what that feels like (Fight me on this, I will defend it to the grave Very Demi!Ichigo)

But yeah, so far that's it for my Bleach Ideas :D hope you enjoyed them and stuff.

#Bleach #bleach au #ichigo kurosaki #kisuke urahara #uraichi #Mob Character Ichigo

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jq37 · 6 months ago

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Ok so we've talked about Mom Quest fan casts, who would you cast if we got a Rat Grinders season (pre or post getting defeated by the Bad Kids). I nominate Grant as Ruben JUST to be funny

OK, now that the season is over, let me give my thoughts.

I don't know what the context of this sidequest would be and Brennan threw a wrench into the plans by having, for instance, Ruben be completely different when he was broken from his rage star, but let me give it a shot.

For Buddy, I want Caldwell Tanner. He did goofy, earnest, and very religious in NADDPOD as Beverly so I think he could do Buddy.

I saw someone else say Krystina Arielle for Lucy and I think that could work. If we want someone who doesn't already have a Spyre character, I could also see Laura Bailey doing a good job. Ashley Johnson too actually based on how she played Yasha.

I think Katie Marovitch for Mary Ann. She does low-energy deadpan really well.

And I can see Lily Du for Ivy.

I think Grant would work as Ruben but my pitch was BDG (even though yes, I know he already plays Hargis). I can see him thriving as both emo Ruben and puka shell Ruben.

Before you even sent this ask I was thinking Omar Najam for Oisin but that was before his heel turn, lol. In any case, I think Omar would do a good job for sure as nerdy Oisin, and I'm gonna assume he has the range to also be a rich jerk.

People have given a lot of opinions about the ideal Kipperlilly but I'd have Brennan do it. She was his character before Junior Year and I think that that should remain the case. Also he should just get to be a player more!

And with Brennan playing, I'd want Aabria to DM. I made a post a while back about how she's so great at social elements/consequences in games and I think that would be very key for a Rat Grinders season since we didn't get much depth on them in this season.

Anyway, those are my thoughts! Anyone else should feel free to chime in.

#asks #a-salty-alto #dimension 20 #fantasy high #rat grinders #I am going to get through all my asks I promise #And I am halfway through the ragenarock recap #i have all of part 2 to do now #we are closing out this season slowly but surely

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burningupp · 2 years ago

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Fated Friends | lmh

skz masterlist

pairing: lee minho x f!reader

warnings: female reader (i'm sorry, i promise to branch out one day), reader has a kid, heavily based off of gilmore girls bc it's my comfort show, slight health scare, not proofread lol

summary: minho isn't a very outwardly emotional guy, and honestly, he's come to be comfortable that way. weird how the kind of person he's sure to be the bane of his existence ends up breaking that habit, huh?

a/n: this is going to be at least two parts... yeah. i'm sorry. anyway i hope you enjoy this, whatever it is. also, sorry for any eventual grammar mistakes; i am not a native english speaker, so be gentle with me pls 🙏 also, i have had this as a wip for a while so using this as an excuse to complete the november clownracha prompt! @wooyussy @sunnytaes

The diner was busy. Minho hadn’t been running it for that long, just two years and some change, but it had still become somewhat of a staple in their little town. There were regulars who came in almost every day for at least one meal, and even though he might not show it outwardly, he really enjoyed making them food they seemed to appreciate.

There was a routine to it all, and it made him feel safe. The first six months he’d had absolutely no idea what he was doing, and it had been terrifying. Once he got past the insecurity, he’d felt good. He had managed to do what his father had done before him and run a successful business. Granted, his father had been running a hardware store before he died, not a diner, but it was close enough in his mind.

Once a year had passed, he started to feel bored instead of good. He loved his diner, and he loved running it, but he felt like there was no excitement in his life (unless you counted burning himself on oil from the deep fryer, of course - that had definitely led him to an eventful few weeks without the use of his left hand). Since he was running his own business, there was practically no rest for him. He had taken a total of two days off since starting the diner, but only because he actually did have to go to the hospital (courtesy of the fryer-incident) and the dentist.

The days that the diner was busy were good. There was no time to think about how he missed fishing and camping, how he hadn’t flirted with a woman since all this started, and much less been on a date with one. There had been a few customers, mostly tourists passing through, who had flirted with him before. He had always been generally awkward, stuttering his way through the interaction and then suffered through the teasing of the older women who lived in the small town and had known him since he was in diapers. It was great, obviously.

And then someone showed up and broke his routine entirely.

It was a busy day, the town selectman had been arranging a festival of some sort to “encourage tourism” which meant that Minho had a whole lot more customers than usual. He was running around taking and delivering orders, refilling coffees, and wiping down tables as fast as he could. He inwardly sighs when he hears the bell over the door ring again, because as much as he loves running a successful business, he’s busy enough as it is.

“I’ll be with you in a moment,” he says over his shoulder as he’s wiping down a table.

“No but see, I don’t have a moment,” a woman’s voice says back, a sort of panicky twinge to it that makes him turn around to look at her.

She’s gorgeous. Her eyes are shining in the sunlight streaming through the windows, and her hair is a tangled mess. Her clothing is a bit rumpled, and she’s not wearing any make-up, but suddenly the urge to flirt has returned to him from the dead. Then he hears the bell signaling food is ready, and he’s snapped out of his brief stupor.

“Yeah, well,” he starts, moving toward the two plates readily waiting for him on the counter, “neither do I. Wait or go somewhere else for coffee.”

Once he’s grabbed the food and turned around to give it to the customers at one of the tables in the corner, he is immediately stopped in his tracks as the woman is standing two feet in front of him with a gleam in her eyes that somehow both intrigues and terrifies him.

“No but you don’t understand,” she starts, and Minho heaves a sigh as he dodges around her to actually complete the order delivery, “my coffee machine at home broke, and my five-year-old is sick so I had to stay up all night, and the coffee at work has run out and so I am here, desperately begging you for like five cups of coffee before I collapse in a heap on the street and it’s all your fault.”

The woman follows him to the table and keeps incessantly nagging, and the only thing he can think is wait, she has a five-year-old? She doesn’t look older than 20 or so, if even that. At least that gave him a reason to stop looking at her beautiful eyes, stop his stupid heart from wanting him to talk and flirt with her, because he cannot handle a kid. He kind of hates kids, honestly - they’re always sticky, and never have intelligent answers to anything, and always get on his nerves.

“Listen, it sounds like your day isn’t going particularly well and I have the utmost sympathy for that having had a few bad ones myself, but I have a diner full of hungry people, so if coffee is all you want I’m gonna have to ask you to wait.”

At this, the woman gasps out loud, her eyes widening and jaw dropping indignantly.

“Excuse you? Just coffee? This is classism! Discrimination! You’re the one who serves coffee in the first place, which I know by the way because I saw someone with a take-away cup with your logo on it, and if you don’t want my business then I guess I should just leave.”

This makes Minho snort out loud and turn to her bemusedly. “Fine by me.”

She lets out another indignant gasp and goes up to the counter, grabbing a newspaper that’s just lying there. He hears the bell signaling another order is done, and goes to fetch the plates, but he keeps her in the corner of his eye.

“You,” she says when he walks past her to take another order, “what’s your zodiac sign?”

He stops in his tracks and turns to stare at her. What in the world was this woman even doing in here? She must be some kind of crazy. Or many kinds, he mutters in his own head.

“Well if you’re not gonna tell me, I’m just going to assume which one,” she says defiantly, staring at him for a moment before huffing. “Okay, taurus it is then.” She then grabs a pen, writes something on the section of horoscopes in the newspaper and tears it out, holding it out to him. “Take it,” she says when he just keeps staring.

“Why should I?” He asks in confusion, and she huffs again.

“Because you should read your horoscope, of course,” she says in a tone that implies he’s being an idiot. Boy, does he feel like one when he takes the note. It says Give the crazy woman a cup of coffee, or she’ll never leave you alone.

“What is this?” He asks exasperatedly, spotting the customers wanting to order becoming impatient.

“It’s your horoscope, duh,” she replies, rolling her eyes at him. “You should do what it says and keep it, I’ve heard that horoscopes have been updated to be the same every day from now on.”

“Every- just fix your coffee-maker, or better yet, get a new one!” Minho finds himself yelling back, and the woman just smirks at him.

“No, I like my old one, my kid put googly eyes on it and we named him Lambert. Now get me my coffee so I can get back to work on time!” Minho stares at her for a bit longer. “You do know that if you’d just given me the coffee when I asked for it I would have been gone already, right?”

He realizes that she’s right, even though he hates to admit it. He gives her a stern glance and goes to take the couple in the corner’s order first before quickly pouring four cups of coffee and handing them to her in a cardboard tray.

Once she gets them, she gives him a huge smile that makes his stomach do a flip before grabbing them and running out the door - not before giving him more money than the coffee is worth. He huffs, staring after her through the window for a moment before being pulled back to reality by the loud clearing of a throat - a customer wants to order.

A few days later, it’s the middle of the afternoon lull. All the dishes are done, all unused tables are cleared, and Minho is filling salt and pepper shakers at the counter when the bell above the door signals that someone entered the diner. He looks up and immediately regrets it when he sees the crazy woman from before accompanied by a little kid.

He begrudgingly has to admit, he had been thinking about her a lot. Her eyes had been so captivating, and the smile she had given him before leaving had made him feel completely out of his depth somehow. Every time he poured a cup of coffee for someone, all he could think about was her. Which is crazy, because he doesn’t even know her name.

This time, her hair is let down and styled in gentle waves. Her clothes aren’t rumpled, and she’s wearing make-up. And yet, the one thing that pulls Minho in is her eyes. Well, that and her absolute angel of a kid. The kid’s eyes are the exact same shade as her mother’s, her cheeks round and rosy, her hair long and neatly brushed, and her bag so full of books it hangs slightly open due to the zipper not being able to close all the way around the sheer volume of them. Her mother helps her hop onto a chair at a table, taking the bag and placing it on the floor. The little girl immediately reaches to grab a book out of it, but her mother snatches it mid-air and places it on the other side of her own chair, out of her daughter’s reach.

“But mom,” the little girl whines with such an adorable pout Minho is sure he would have given in after 0.2 seconds flat, but the woman just shakes her head.

“I know you want to read, and I’m really really glad about that, but we’re gonna be eating now, honey. You don’t want those library books to get all sticky, now do you?”

At her mother’s words, the little girl gasps and shakes her head. It’s the cutest thing he’s seen all day. “I would never let them! That’s gross, and I would probably be fined!” Then she gasps again, her eyes even wider than before. “Would it get put in a record somewhere?!”

Minho expects her mother to simply calm her down, tell her that she probably won’t be put on some list of wrong-doers and that, even if she was put on one, it wouldn’t have any consequences other than a $2 fine.

“Oh yes, you’ll be put on a record. It might even go to the police,” is what she says instead, and Minho blanches. Aren’t you supposed to comfort kids instead of scare them?

“No way,” the little girl says, eyes still wide as saucers.

“Yes way,” her mother says with a straight face and a playful tone. “They’ll put you on a list, and then they will forward it to the police, and they will pay to have a man with a camera to follow you around and take pictures whenever you make a mess. Then all those pictures will be sent to Harvard when you apply.”

The story is ridiculous, and yet… Minho finds himself smiling. It’s kind of funny. Then he starts to fear that the kid is going to cry. He really can’t handle children crying, he hates the sound of it and never knows how to fix it so he gets all panicky and ends up leaving most of the time. (It also kind of breaks his heart, but no one needs to know that.) However, the little girl doesn’t cry. Instead, she grins at her mother.

“Ah yes, whatever shall I do.”

At her response, her mother huffs happily and ruffles her daughter’s hair. The little girl opens a menu and starts browsing through it, looking remarkably concerned as she reads it over. Her mother starts looking around, and suddenly locks eyes with him. She smiles awkwardly. That’s when Minho pulls himself together and realizes he should go take their order. He clears his throat and walks over to their table.

“You’re back,” he remarks in a monotone.

“Ah, yeah,” she says, looking down at her hands on the table. “What are the chances I didn’t act quite as crazy as I remember? Because what is crazy when you think about it, you know?”

“Well, I’m not a doctor, but I would say you qualify,” Minho answers before he really registers what’s going through his head. He freezes, scared that he offended her. She might get on his nerves (kind of), but he doesn’t want to be mean nonetheless. He might lose a customer, after all.

“I agree,” the little girl chimes in, looking up from the menu and grinning at Minho so brightly he’s sure it could have blinded him. He feels his heart squeeze tight. “Mom gets crazy when she doesn’t get her coffee.”

“Hm, well I don’t think you’re old enough to know whether I’m crazy or not, missy,” the woman responds, sticking her tongue out at her daughter, which the little girl does right back.

“I read more than you do, so I would say I am more qualified to make a judgment on that than you are,” the woman’s daughter bites back with a sarcastic grin, and Minho just stares as the woman rolls her eyes and calls her daughter a nerd under her breath with a proud smile through it all.

Having to move on for the sake of his sanity (because if he gets any more opportunities to stare at the woman’s eyes and demeanor and general presence he will absolutely lose it - out of frustration or attraction is unclear), he clears his throat a little and raises the notepad and pencil he has at the ready to take their orders.

“Oh, right,” the woman sighs, grabbing a menu and flipping through it quickly. “I’ll have a cheeseburger with fries, a milkshake, a grilled cheese, two donuts and a cup of coffee. Hana?”

Minho just blankly stares at the woman, shocked at the amount of food she had ordered just for herself. It’s 4pm and she ordered food for at least two people? Then again, he muses to himself, she did have a kid so there was probably a husband around somewhere. Maybe they were meeting up and having an early dinner before the town meeting that night?

He tries not to think too hard about the notion of her having a husband; it’s stupid to be disappointed, especially when he still doesn’t know her name or really anything about her except for her crippling caffeine addiction.

“I want a cheeseburger, too,” the little girl - Hana - says thoughtfully, chewing on her lip. “Oh, and can I have extra fries, please?” He can’t say no to her adorable angel-like face (just as he predicted), and just nods, so she continues. “I also want a milkshake and a chocolate muffin, please.”

Her bizarre order goes over his head first, as he is distracted by the little girl’s impeccable manners and the thought that maybe, just maybe, all children aren’t demons, but then he registers what she said and raises his eyebrows as high as they can go.

“Are you sure? That’s a lot of food,” he points out gently. She thinks for a second, chewing on her bottom lip again, and then nods firmly.

“Yes, please,” she says, and he just nods.

“Okay then,” Minho says, half expecting her mother to chime in and tell her that no, it’s a Wednesday and she can’t have that many sweets, but nothing comes aside from an indulging smile.

He goes to the kitchen, tearing the page he had written on out of his notepad and handing it to the chef dazedly. Then he turns around to look at the table again, and just stares. There was no way that little girl could eat that much food, was there?

As it turns out, there was. Minho watches in astonished horror as the sweet angelic little girl puts away a cheeseburger, extra fries, a milkshake and a chocolate muffin. Who really takes the cake, however, is Hana’s mother. His theory about the father joining them had evidently been entirely false, as the food that already had been a tall order for thwo people to consume had been completely devoured by no one except a mid-sized woman and her tiny six-year-old. On top of that, halfway through their meal, the older woman had ordered an extra plate of chili fries. How in the world those were gone in ten minutes, Minho would never know, and he is pretty happy that he can escape that knowledge.

When they are done eating, Hana’s mother patiently helps her wipe down their table so she can take out her homework and get started on it. She then looks around until she finds Minho and waves at him to come over with a smile. He ignores the somersault his stomach does at the gesture.

“Want to pay?” he asks, fully expecting that to be the case.

“Uhm, not yet. Could I just have another cup of coffee?” the woman asks, and he decides enough is enough.

“You do know caffeine is horrible for your health, right? So are burgers, fries, chili fries even more so, donuts and milkshakes,” he points out, fully expecting a screaming match. To his surprise, the woman just smiles brighter.

“Sure I know that. So, my cup of coffee?”

He just blinks in pure astonishment. He then turns around and goes behind the counter to grab the pot of coffee, returning to their table to fill her cup. Then the little girl looks up.

“Excuse me mister, what’s your name?”

The way the little girl has him wrapped around her finger already is terrifying. His heart is melting, he feels the urge to be all sappy and ask her about school, her friends and her hobbies, and play games with her or something. Whatever would make her smile. He has no idea where that urge came from.

“Uh, it’s Lee Minho,” he answers dumbly, looking down into those innocently sparkling eyes.

“Okay. Mr. Lee, could I have some orange soda, please? I’m a bit thirsty,” she says, and he feels the need to save the poor girl from her mother’s habits. Not really, but he is a healthy man himself, and he wants a kid like her to live a long, healthy and happy life.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer some water, then?” he asks gently, but when she shakes her head, he just sighs. “Coming right up. Oh, and you can just call me Minho.”

“Okay. Thank you, Minho. My name is Hana, and this is my mom Y/n. It’s nice to meet you,” she beams at him, and he feels himself melt once more. Damn it.

“Nice to meet you too, Hana,” he says and goes to fetch her soda.

Since that first afternoon the L/N girls visited his diner, Minho sees them at least three times a week for the next 3 years. Well, he sees Y/n pretty much every morning for her regular coffee fix. Apparently they did manage to fix Lambert, but apparently his coffee was “better than anything Lambert could ever make.” They told him vehemently that Lambert could never know this, and he had to keep it a secret from him. They both now greet him by name, and they usually have a quick chat about what’s going on, just like he does with some other regulars.

Then again, he can’t exactly claim that he is quite as interested in the other regulars as he is in the mother-daughter duo. He asks them about work and school, and they pull him into their debates over stupid stuff (that Hana almost always wins), and he finds himself enjoying it. It must be something about their positive outlook on life, or how crazy smart Hana is, or just about how excited they are about seemingly dull and boring things. They talked about the little town’s makeshift cinema as if it was entertainment of the highest degree, better than most things you can do in big cities, despite it being someone’s living room with a cheap projector and a popcorn machine. He does not understand it, but it sure is refreshing.

He’s still just as smitten with Hana as he was the first day, if not more. She’s intelligent and funny, and even though she does certain childish things, she largely feels like an innocent grown-up. He had once asked her about a book she was reading, which turned into a (one-sided) debate on different classical writers and their influence on both society and one another, and he was lost in the first minute. He briefly wondered if her mother had any idea what she was talking about, but it quickly became clear that she did not.

Then one day, only Y/n comes bursting through the door of the diner, during mid-morning no less. She is almost frantic, breathing hard and fast, eyes wild and hair ruffled.

“Minho!” she exclaims when she sees him, body sagging in relief. “I need your help.”

He immediately sets down the pot of coffee, walking towards her with furrowed brows. “What’s wrong?”

“My coffee?” a customer says impatiently.

“Bite me,” Minho responds over his shoulder without hesitation.

“It’s Hana,” she breathes, tears welling in her eyes. Minho puts a hand on her shoulder as he feels his heart speed up to a truly concerning pace. He doesn’t know if he’s trying to make her feel better, or if it’s purely to steady himself, but he thinks it doesn’t matter. “She-she has this, uhm… this stomach ache, and a really, really high fever, a-and it won’t go away and I was, uhm, I was reading this book, and,” a breath leaves her in a whoosh before she gulps down another one, “and it said something about if pressure on her stomach makes her feel better, she should go to the hospital because it might be appendicitis so I was going to take her to the hospital, but my stupid car won’t s-start and I need…” she stops and takes a deep breath, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment before looking at him with absolute fire in her eyes. “I need you to take us. Please.”

Minho’s brain is going a mile a minute. He thinks about nothing except for that poor girl in pain. He thinks about how awful he feels whenever he has a fever, and how much worse it must be for such a tiny, innocent little girl. And then he thinks about whether or not she’s staying warm despite her high temperature, because he heard something about keeping the temperature up helping the body beat viruses and bacteria and making you healthy faster. And then he thinks about what he should be doing in this position, because he’s never been a father bef-

And then he stops. He stops and thinks about the fact that he is not her father. He is not the person who should be worrying like this. He is not the person Y/n should be turning to, because she should have a support system in her husband, and he wonders why in the world her husband isn’t currently breaking a million traffic laws speeding down the highway to get his daughter into capable hands. And then…

He doesn’t like to think about it too much, but sometimes he can’t stop himself. Mainly when it’s late at night, and the town is quiet, and all he can hear is the hum of his broiler and the light shifting of the sheets whenever he breathes. That’s when he can’t stop his mind from imagining. Imagining being Hana’s father. God, how proud he would be. He imagines walking her to school, buying her gifts for her birthday and spoiling her without spoiling her too much because he still wants her to be a rational adult some day. He imagines cooking for her, imagines the day he gets her absolute favorite food right, and the way that Y/n would be in the kitchen while he cooks, sitting at the kitchen table in the house they would have, talking absolute nonsense with their daughter. He imagines waking up in the middle of the night to the sound of Hana getting a glass of water in the kitchen, only to roll over in bed and find Y/n, his wife, right there, sleeping soundly beside him.

That’s usually when he stops himself. But this time, he imagines that whole situation. And then he imagines Y/n, his (hypothetical) wife, asking another man to help her take his sick daughter to the hospital, and he can’t do it. So he does what he has been so diligently avoiding, and asks her.

“What about her father?”

Minho’s voice is gentle, and he looks into Y/n’s eyes just as softly. He wants her to understand that he would do absolutely anything for Hana, hell, he would do anything for her because he has no doubts that he is so in love with her he would marry her on the spot even though they’ve barely broached the basics about one another, but in this particular instant he really does not want to step on any toes.

But then, she scoffs. She scoffs at him, rolls her eyes, and her jaw clenches a bit. It’s a clear signal to him that her father is most likely not an option at the moment.

“Okay I know we haven’t talked about this and we really should, and I promise you we will, but please can we talk about it when my daughter is not in excruciating pain and needs her mommy? Please?”

So he lets go of all his preconceived notions and nods. He squeezes her shoulder once, then turns around and grabs his keys. He doesn’t even glance into the kitchen as he yells for his chef, Felix, to handle things for the rest of the day, even though he hears a startled and confused shout right before the door swings shut behind the pair of them, because he thinks that as long as Hana and Y/n are okay, his business could burn down for all he cares.

They get to the hospital okay, and Hana is immediately ushered into an exam room and then to an operating room. Minho isn’t in the exam room with them, but he does go to see the little girl off before the surgery.

“I’m scared,” she whispers to her mother, eyes shiny with unshed tears, but her mother just shushes her with a calm smile.

“That’s okay. I’m right here, and I’m not going anywhere except for the waiting room and maybe the cafeteria until you can come home with me.”

“Even if Channing Tatum asks you on a date right now?”

“Mm, I would have to consider it, but I think that if Channing can’t wait, we weren’t meant to be anyhow,” Y/n teases her daughter who just giggles in response. Then Hana turns to Minho.

“Thank you for driving us,” she says meekly, and he feels his heart twist and crush into a ball in his chest. “You really didn’t have to.”

“I wanted to, little one,” he smiles gently, and she reaches out a hand to him which he grasps immediately. “Thank you for letting me see you off before your surgery.”

“I’m glad you did,” she says back, eyes a little less teary. Then she gets a thoughtful look on her face. “Do you think I’ll have a cool scar?”

He can’t help himself and scoffs a little laugh, squeezing her hand encouragingly. He sees Y/n smile too, and he has somehow never felt as complete as he does in that exact moment. It scares him. It’s not real. But he will keep pretending for as long as he can.

“The coolest,” he answers before the doctors let them know that the OR is ready for them.

Minho and Y/n walk out to the waiting room and sink onto the chairs heavily. He is briefly impressed by how well she seemed to be handling everything, before he turns to her and sees her shaking, tears streaming down her face. She seems to be holding her breath, too, probably not wishing to openly sob in a hospital waiting room.

He briefly considers his options of hugging her or not before deciding that screw it, she needs comfort and he’s there so he will provide it for her. He smiles gently despite his heart breaking in his chest at her tears, and gets in front of her to half-crouch so he can give her a hug.

For a second he worries that he overstepped her boundaries, but then he feels her completely melt into his embrace and bury her face in his shoulder to muffle the sobs she no longer can hold back and shield her tear-streaked face from the other people in the room. She relaxes so much that they almost fall onto the floor, and Minho decides that it’s best to just pick her up in his arms and settle on one of the chairs with her in his lap.

It’s a horrible moment. She’s crying, sobbing, shaking, and he can’t do anything except hold her there. The woman who was so strong, so determined and so unique just crumbled in his arms like a tower of sand. He doesn’t say anything, just holds her. He puts a hand on the back of her head, the other remaining around her waist as she sits horizontally across his lap. He gently squeezes whenever her sobs get louder or her breathing picks up, just reminding her that he is there and he will remain there until she asks him not to.

After twenty minutes or so, her crying subsides into regular sniffling, and he feels her pull back from his shoulder to wipe at her face with the sleeve of her shirt. Then she clears her throat and sits up a bit straighter on his lap.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers, voice still shaky.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m just happy to help,” Minho says sincerely.

And it is sincere. There is nothing that has ever fulfilled him more than this moment, helping and feeling useful and needed and wanted. It’s a sad moment, awful even, but he feels like there is nowhere else he would rather be either way.

He has come to terms with the fact that he views Hana as family. He sees her so often, and she always talks to him, listens to what he has to say almost as if she admires him, and it fills his heart more than anything. When she gets full points on her homework, as she always does, no one (except her mother) is more proud than he is. As long as he gets to be in her life, he is happy.

“God, I’m sorry for bursting in there and just babbling and making you take us,” Y/n breathes out as if she didn’t hear him. “You really didn’t have to, but I pushed and now you probably hate us bo-”

“Impossible,” he interrupts, and Y/n stops rambling. “You two are part of my routine now. I care, you know?”

She gazes at him in shock, searching for any trace of insincerity. When she doesn’t find one, her face slowly melts into a fond smile despite the fear still present on her face. He briefly thinks that she never looked more beautiful, although he’s pretty sure he thinks that every time he lays eyes on her.

“Thank you, Minho,” she sighs out, slumping a bit again.

She seems to realize she’s still firmly positioned on his lap, and immediately gets up, clearing her throat. He immediately mourns the loss of her weight on him, but doesn’t say anything.

“So, I think I promised you a talk about Hana’s dad,” she says after a few moments of silence.

“Oh, that,” Minho says, suddenly feeling like a douche. “Look, if you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to. It has nothing to do with me anyway. I just wanted to make sure I don’t… make a situation uncomfortable.”

Y/n snorts, and he immediately shuts up. What’s that supposed to mean? Did he say something stupid?

“Minho, how many times have we been at your diner in the past few years?” she starts, an unreadable look on her face. He thinks it’s unnatural how she manages to look beautiful even in hospital lighting. “I can’t count the amount of times. If her dad was around, don’t you think that he would have shown up, or we would have mentioned him at least once?”

He casts his mind back over the years, and realizes it might have been a stupid question. Then again, some fathers weren’t very present in their children’s lives. Maybe he lived out of the country, or he worked night shifts so he was always asleep during the day. He had no way of knowing.

“I don’t know,” he answers after a few moments. “Some people are just like that, I guess.”

She slowly nods, mulling over his words for a second. “I suppose,” she then says, smiling faintly. “He kind of is, actually. Either way, to set the record straight; her father - Changbin - isn’t in the picture.” When he failed to mask his intrigue at the answer, she just laughed a little. “I got pregnant at 16. He wanted to get married, but I didn’t. Kind of glad now, to be honest - I doubt he will ever grow up.” Her words hold an edge of irritation, but she is evidently trying to push that feeling back. “He talks to Hana on the phone sometimes, when he gets the time. Last we talked I’m pretty sure he said he was in Ibiza? It doesn’t really matter. I have Hana, and she has me, and we’re okay like this. We learned not to expect too much from him long ago - not that we were expecting much in the first place.”

Minho listens until Y/n stops talking. He struggles a bit to figure out what he thinks of the situation. At least the man had offered to do the right thing, he supposes. Then again, from the sound of it Y/n had made the right decision in not marrying that guy, whoever he is. He comes to the conclusion that it doesn’t actually matter. Like she said, the two of them have one another, and if they say that’s enough, then he believes them.

“Okay. Thank you for telling me, and letting me know I wasn’t severely pissing some dude off for acting like a father to his daughter for a few hours,” he jokes mildly, and then regrets it. He shouldn’t have said father. Just because he sees Hana as a sort of surrogate daughter does not mean that she or her mother feel the same way, or even think that it’s okay.

But then Y/n smiles softly again, and he can relax. “Yeah. She’s lucky to have someone who does.”

His heart feels like it’s beating in his throat, his body warm from the inside due to all the feelings filling his chest. God, he wishes he had the courage to offer to do it always, to move in and help Y/n with raising her daughter because he knows that she must have it hard at times, no matter how angelic Hana is. But he doesn’t. So he just nods and smiles.

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rainmustfallts4 · 2 months ago

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Project Pisces ◇ Wu G1, Part 4

⊶⊰Information⊱⊷ ⊶⊰Chronological (all)⊱⊷ ⊶⊰Chronological (Wu)⊱⊷

─────────────⊶⊰⊱⊷─────────────

The Wu children are unbelievably spoiled. They’re used to wanting things and getting them immediately. So when Jolene decided she wanted a tiny goat and a tiny sheep on a whim… well, Jolene always gets her way.

‘Her brother is going to kill her. Oh my Grim, am I going to witness a murder?!’

They are very cute omg so tiny!

Runt came over to bark at them, ordering them to leave the property before the eldest Wu found them. They ignored him, sleeping soundly as if Runt did not exist.

Yeah you better hug her now because you’re gonna be pissed when you find out, Todd…

Look at him goooooo. He’s getting so much air!

Oh my Grim, he’s a stealth goat 🤣 he managed to jump by while Todd was in the pool and he never saw them! Also, apparently mini goats/sheeps cannot climb stairs??

Oh… I guess they weren’t as stealthy as I thought.

“You bought goats?!”

“No, I didn’t!”

“Then why are there goats in our yard?!”

“There’s not.”

“I just saw them, Jolene!”

“You need your eyes checked, bro. There is only ONE goat. The other is a sheep, idiot.”

“Are you kidding me right now? You can’t just do whatever you want, brat.”

“Watch me!”

“Take them back now!”

“I refuse! You’re not my dad, you can’t tell me what I can and can’t do!”

I think Jolene is still processing the loss of their parents. Or maybe she just doesn’t like being looked after by her brother. Either way, she’s taking out most of her frustrations on him. Granted, he’s not the best father figure in the world, but at least he’s trying.

Before the accident, he planned on moving to San Myshuno for a year before moving to Sulani and marrying a cute local. He put those plans on hold to raise his siblings!

“Hey, baby, whatcha up to?”

“I am preparing a meal, sir.” She didn’t like the pet names he used, but she liked her job more than she disliked this. The pay was great!

“Oh, cool. Don’t forget to remove the bones from the fish for Jolene. She hates them. Oh and the bread should have garlic added to it because it’s Darnell’s favorite. Wait, why are you doing that? You’re doing it wrong. I can show you if -“

“That won’t be necessary sir,” she cut him off sharply, trying to keep her annoyance in check. “I have a degree in the culinary arts. I assure you, I know what I’m doing!”

“Aw, don’t be like that! I was just trying to help. Cooking together is a great way to get closer, you know.” He winked at her, completely missing the way she gritted her teeth.

“Of course, sir.”

After harassing the butler, as one does, Todd headed back to Sulani to buy some equipment he would need for work. After doing so, he got in some swimming to pass the time.

Wait… why does he swim like that lol He literally forms a triangle with his body before propelling himself forward… who swims like this?? Is this a rich thing

Oh… oh my… that doesn’t seem good…

oh well, what’s life without a little risk?

#pp wu g1 #pp wu #project pisces #legendary legacy #the sims 4 #ts4 #sims 4 #simblr #the sims #the sims community #sims 4 community #the sims 4 simblr

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alloveydovey · 9 months ago

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Hellooooo, dramas from this past month :) I had a lot of fun watching most of these, which hadn't been happening lately.

The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract, 2023 (kdrama) 7.5/8

A woman from the past travels to the future where she meets a man who resembles her deceased husband. In need of a wife, he strikes a contract with her, and blah blah blah, you know what happens next.

The chemistry was there 100%, the comedy too, but overall, I think it was just a mid watch for me. I was three episodes away from finishing but was struggling big time because I was getting bored.

The Romance of Tiger and Rose, 2020 (cdrama) 8

A scriptwriter ends up inside her own creation as a side character who dies early on in the drama and has a really bad reputation.

This was hilarious. Laughing out loud alone type of hilarious. It didn't make any sense at all, and it was extremely silly and sometimes even frustrating, but both actors were so great with the comedy (Zhao Lusi the actress that you are), so everything was just fun and romantic and cute... and weird enough, emotional af as well. I love these types of dramas where, after watching, you kinda feel empty inside lol. Comfort drama material? 100%

My Demon, 2023/24 (kdrama) 8

A demon becomes powerless after crossing paths with a cold heiress (who he obviously knew in their, guess what? Yes, past lives)

Kim Yoo Jung and Song Kang (his character is everything) were so cute in this! Their chemistry was definitely chemistring. I loved the concept and all, but for some reason, I couldn’t put my whole heart into this drama, which resulted in me being a bit disappointed. I’d get bored sometimes. I still don’t know if it’s my problem though. Maybe it wasn't the right time to watch it since I had been watching so many dramas with similar storylines. I’ll give them this, though, these two were truly a comedic duo™️

My Man is Cupid, 2023/24 (kdrama) 8

A love fairy accidentally shoots himself with an arrow and ends up in love with a human, condemning him and his group of cupids to 500 years on Earth. In modern day, he gets entangled with a veterinarian who might be connected to what happened in the past. Also! Murder mystery.

This one just goes to prove that liking a drama is all about vibes for me. Is this different from what I’ve been watching? Nope. It’s not better than the other ones above with similar premises. Yet somehow, unlike the others, it got my attention way more, and I totally binged it. Even when this particular one had some very confusing, probably so-so writing, moments. Granted, it has Nana in it. Nana makes everything worth it (Jang Dong Yoon was cute as well lol).

My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, 2010 (kdrama) (rewatch!) 7.5 ⭐️

A cute gumiho saves an irresponsible rich kid who wants to become an action star by giving him her bead. Both of them gotta stick together while he heals.

Like I said back when I first saw this, COMFORT!! And I was in the mood for something silly and sweet after the same themes over and over again. I can't get over how cute Shin Min A and Lee Seung Gi are in this.

Falling Into You, 2022 (cdrama) 9

A student-athlete wants to do high jump but doesn't have the required height for the sport, so a postgraduate student-coach decides to take him under her wing and train him. Noona love story ensues.

So... I have a lot of mixed feelings about it because, all in all, I think this is one of the best cdramas I've watched. It's beautifully shot, the music is incredible, and the pacing, story, characters, and acting are all impeccable. Aside from Meet Yourself (fav ever) it's truly one of the most naturally acted cdramas I've seen so far as well. Even outside the romance part, everything was really good.

Now, was it inappropriate? For me, at least, I think it was. This young student is supposed to be 20, and his coach is said to be about to turn 28. They are both consenting adults (let's put it that way), but the power dynamics thing is still there. Overall, it was a nice surprise, and I completely binged it.

Welcome to Samdal-ri, 2023/24 (kdrama) 9

After a scandal, a famous photographer runs back to her hometown. Her ex, with whom she had an intense fallout (childhood friends to lovers), is there, and it seems like neither of them has moved on. (Also about family, and grief)

From the moment I saw Shin Hye Sun and Ji Chang Wook's pictures next to one another on a tweet saying they were going to be in a new drama together, I knew this was going to be a 10/10 in my books. Maximized joint slay. Add the hometown cha cha cha vibes, and you have an amazing tear-jerker drama. The rest of the cast is a great complement as well; their acting and their stories just make everything really emotional (I cried a lot lol), but it is 100% worth the watch. I'll be honest about one thing, though. As much as I loved it, it took me a while to finish the last two episodes cause I feel like they dragged the story a bit.

Princess Hours/Goong, 2006 (kdrama) 8

In a reimagined modern SK, a girl from an ordinary family gets hitched to the crown prince because of a promise both of their grandparents made in the past. A Diana x Charles x Camilla drama ensues (but like, with a happy ending).

This is what I like to call DRAMA™️. The type you hate everyone's behaviors, and you laugh, and you hate the ML, but you also want him to get with the FL, and you start hate watching, and then you giggle when they share moments and completely forget ML is a really shitty person lol. I started this cause I got sick, and I got way into it. ML being a major asshole and the FL having no self-respect (like the good old dramas and telenovelas) aside, I enjoyed binging this, and I can see why it was so popular. Their romance, though deeply flawed and a product of the time the drama was made, had some great moments, slow burn and natural as well. I was lowkey hoping for a happier ending, tho, but it was cute enough. Also, music bro, that main song is never getting out of my head. Comfort drama material: 100%

Playful Kiss, 2010 (kdrama) 5

FL confesses to ML, and he rejects her harshly. When her house collapses, her father moves them in with an old friend, who ends up being ML's father.

So after Goong, I thought I'd probably be able to watch this. Wrong. Shin's got nothing wrong in comparison so Seung Jo. Seung Jo is probably my most disliked ML ever lol. I binged this, hoping it'd get better, or just like Shin in Goong, he'd change a bit after getting together with FL. But nope, he remained an asshole throughout the whole thing. Gotta love that consistency. Comfort drama material: 1% (I saw the comments on Viki, and I don't know how people rewatched this, lol.)

#the story of park's marriage contract #the romance of tiger and rose #my demon #my man is cupid #my girlfriend is a gumiho #welcome to samdalri #falling into you #goong #princess hours #kdramas #cdrama #playful kiss #dovey watches

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