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rockinlibrarian · 2 years ago

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ao3 wrapped [writers edition]

This was an Ask Game Thingie from a couple weeks ago, but it's a yearly round-up thing, and Back In My Day on LiveJournal we used to pass around surveys like this and answer EVERY QUESTION, whether or not anybody Asked you any, and Year-End ones were great for, you know, wrapping up the year, and ultimately led me to writing full Year-End Wrap-up Posts that span a ton of different categories-- this year's coming later this week! So I've gone and filled out this whole thing because it's MY year-end wrap up and I can do it my way and have it on my blog like so!

How many words have you written this year? The word count on AO3 for 2022 says 51,282, but I assume this includes ALL the words of “Exploration of the Astral Plane” still even though only 3 of the seven chapters were actually published this year, and most of those were also WRITTEN last year. Likewise, I’ve WRITTEN a whole lot of words this year that have not been published yet (and will they ever be, one wonders?) So, grain of salt it.

2. How many works did you publish this year? Seven total listed works. That includes three new chapters of one work I originally published last year (see previous question) and three chapters of a work I haven’t completed yet (see next question). Five self-contained works (a couple of which have two chapters, but at least I published both this year. Wait, that’s a lie: “Chapter 2” of “Everything I Know About Writing the Loudermilk Twins” is actually the essay I put in the “Memory Work” Zine a few years back). Anyway, there are seven individual titles listed under 2022 on AO3.

3. What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)? “A Captain With Seven Children”— because first off the concept is brilliant and kept getting more brilliant as I wrote, but can one really take credit for concepts, specifically considering I just happened to dream this one? But I took this seemingly-crack concept seriously, and that’s what led to bringing the inherent brilliance of it out. Secondly, it’s both so much fun and a nifty challenge to take the script of one of my favorite movies and see how it can be adapted to fit characters of a completely different time and culture and— only slightly different situation? One would think it’s a REALLY completely different situation, but the fact that it’s not SO far off after all is part of what makes it so much fun.

4. What work of yours has the most hits? “Not Just Stupid Kids,” which is ironic because I originally posted it anonymously. It would also have the most kudos if you discount what I believe is a weird glitch on somebody’s bookmark of “Chapter 19.5: Hidden. Safe. Somewhere,” which, don’t get me wrong, is a perfectly nice little fic, but it’s a throwaway interstitial thing for Legion which has a teeny fandom anyway, and there’s NO WAY it could get that many kudos naturally when there are so many better Legion fics to choose from. Apparently if you’re not signed in, you can kudo as a guest as many times as you want? And there’s one guest I believe has been through all my Legion fics multiple times this year, and kudoed them every time. But perhaps every time they open the link to “Chapter 19.5” it automatically kudos it again. This is the only sensible explanation.

5. What work of yours got more feedback than you expected? CLEARLY “Not Just Stupid Kids,” considering, like I said, I first posted it ANONYMOUSLY. Normally I post a ton of links on social media when I post something on AO3, “Hey everybody, come READ WHAT I WROTE!” but since I was embarrassed by that one (it’s a non-canon ship! I don’t DO those!) I didn’t. And somehow THAT one took off completely. I pondered, is it because it’s a ship? People follow specific ships? But the non-anonymous sequel has gotten a fraction of the reaction. Which can only lead me to conclude one thing: MAYBE IT’S ME PEOPLE DON’T LIKE.

6. Favorite title you used: Hmmm. I’m kind of torn: I liked coming up with a Community-formatted title, but I couldn’t decide between “Introduction to Eternal Crossover” and “Introduction to Infernal Crossover” so I combined the two, but I actually like either of the two separately better than the combination I went with in the end. So it’s more like my favorite potential title. I’m also strangely fond of “High on a Roof Stood a Lonely Seven,” which is the next chapter of “A Captain With Seven Children,” but is, barring miracles, not going to be actually posted until 2023.

7. If you use song lyrics, which artist’s songs did you pull from the most? Speaking of which, that would be Rodgers and Hammerstein. And that only because I’m specifically parodying “Sound of Music” lyrics. I hadn’t noticed that so many people name their stories and chapters after song lyrics until after I made this decision, and now I’m like, Come ON, at least MINE is a DIRECT reference to the story I’m writing.

8. Pairing you wrote the most for this year? Fiktor, ie Five and Viktor Hargreeves, ie the ONLY pairing I wrote this year, with a grand total of TWO. Non-canonical and should be completely ridiculous, so basically both fics are me trying to work out WHY the heck I love the concept of them together so much.

9. Favorite pairing you wrote for this year? Well that goes without saying, then, doesn’t it?

10. What work was the quickest to write? If Scrivener history is to believed, I created the file for “Not Just Stupid Kids” —called “Unrelated Fiktor”— on July 31, and according to AO3, I published the first part (which I thought would be the whole thing) on August 1, so apparently I really WAS just trying to get it out of my system. I ended up adding “chapter” 2 on August 8, which ties it at 8 days with “Intro to Eternal/Infernal Crossover.”

11. What work took you the longest to write? “Exploration of the Astral Plane,” which according to my Scrivener history I started writing on 3/29/2020, and finally finished in September this year. Granted, it’s also seven chapters long, but I also apparently started writing the last chapter on 3/15/2021. That last chapter was close to finished for a very long time. It was just the penultimate chapter that was taking so long.

12. How many WIP’s do you have in your docs for next year? Well, I count six unfinished stand-alones in Scrivener, and a couple more in Word (those are the OLD ones), and two multi-chapters that have already started being posted but just need to be finished. But whether they’ll specifically happen NEXT YEAR? We’ll see.

13. What’s your longest work of the year? Technically “Exploration of the Astral Plane” at 13,008 words, but not all those words were published this year. Only 5,417 words were, and about a third of those were written last year. So “A Captain With Seven Children” steals with 11,371 words published so far, and that’s only halfway done.

14. What’s your shortest work of the year? “Introduction to Infernal and Eternal Crossover” at 1,263, which edges out “Chapter 19.5” by 7 words.

15. What WIP are you taking into next year with you? Is this a different question from #12?

16. What’s your most common “Additional Tags” tag? “Backstory”— this is true both for this year and total. Some people write fanfiction to imagine characters’ futures— I tend to write it to figure out their pasts. Go figure.

17. Your favorite character to write this year? I was going to say Oliver Bird out of force of habit and then I realized I haven’t actually written much for Oliver this year, considering he was unconscious for most of it.* My real answer when I think of it is probably Hypnos God of Sleep, but I haven’t actually finished that fic yet, even though it was supposed to be a quickie (it’s almost done! But LIFE happened). As for characters that aren’t basically OCs (yes I didn’t invent Hypnos, but I did invent his personality for my story), writing the Hargreeveses as children is always fun. Peeling back the later influences on their personalities to the roots of who they are, including things that hint at future developments— and also they’re funny. *I just re-read Chapter 6 of “Exploration,” which is the one chapter I wrote ENTIRELY this year, and Oliver actually spends a good portion of that awake and active and delightful, for probably about as many lines as Hypnos, so maybe he counts after all.

18. The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year? Huh. I guess I avoid writing characters that I can’t hear clearly in the first place. I can’t think of anyone whose voice I couldn’t get right or anything, if I can be as bold to claim that. Approaching the question from a different angle, Viktor Hargreeves. Dang his self-esteem issues. They were simultaneously “yes I relate very much to this feeling of Complete Nobody-ness, therefore it’s all too easy to write” and “UGH would you STOP already and just believe what Five and/or Maria depending on the fic is trying to TELL you?!” And as it turned out, the moment of this that bothered me the most was the same moment my beta reader Frimfram* called out, too, which just goes to show, if your characters are annoying you, they’re probably also annoying the reader. Oh, and he also has the added challenge of not realizing he was trans until he was 29 and a half, which makes the fact that I write a lot of childhood stuff an odd balancing act of pronouns. *(OH WAIT, she's on Tumblr, as @amperdash! Hi, @amperdash!)

19. What’s one pairing you want to explore next year? Look. I didn’t INTEND to explore any pairings THIS year. I’m not a shipper! And yet, hopefully I DO finally post more of or even finish “Tesseract,” which has a lot of lovely deep married-folk discussions happening between Alex and Kate, if not overtly romantic— no, some of it IS pretty romantic, especially for Demis like me who are all about deep partnership being romantic. Hey, maybe I’ll even finish the Wash/Zoe fic I started ten years ago or something. Who knows. Oh, it’s also possible for these “pairing” questions to refer to non-ship relationships, or “&”s on AO3, but I always forget to note those, anyway. Ironic, isn’t it? I’d probably have better answers if I looked at it that way. Relatedly, do you think I should go back through my fics and add the “&” tags that apply to each? They might get more attention that way.

20. Which work of yours have you reread the most? That’s a good question, and I think it’s more confusing because I reread so much WHILE I’m writing, so I’m not sure how much I reread snippets of in process and how much I read as a completed whole. Maybe “A Captain with Seven Children,” because it is fun and also I'm still writing it, too.

21. How many kudos in total did you get this year? Now, if you click 2022 on the Stats page it says 303, but I was curious, so I added up all the kudos on the seven fics I supposedly published this year, and whaddya know, 303. But the majority of the 30 kudos on “Exploration of the Astral Plane” were actually received LAST year, when the fic was first posted; and it also isn’t counting the many kudos I keep getting on “The Invitation: an Epilogue” (still holding out as my most popular fic ever) and the less-often but still coming steady “The Puppy-fly Effect” and a few other random ones on other older fics, like the guest who frequently binges the complete Loudermilk Chronicles and rekudos every one (the “Placeholder” has even gotten two kudos!); and for that matter, how can you really count the absurd extra kudos on “Chapter 19.5,” anyway? There are 80 guest kudos there and I’m certain that’s only about 5 actual individual guests. I could go back through my email notifications and add up the kudos I ACTUALLY got this year (including the random 80 guest kudos on Chapter 19.5) but that’s a bit excessive.

22. Which work has the most comments? “Not Just Stupid Kids,” clearly the most popular work published this year. Most of the comments are like “Aw, don’t let the haters who say you shouldn’t ship adoptive brothers with complicated age-issues and much mental illness force you into anonymity and shame!” and I’m like, “No, seriously, it’s not THAT part that embarrasses me, it’s the fact that they’re NON-CANONICAL and exactly the sort of pairing I would be all ‘WHY CAN’T THEY JUST BE GOOD FRIENDS?!’ about any other time! Because I am freakish this way!”

23. Did you do any collaborative works this year? No, though it was lovely beta-exchanging with @amperdash. We’d get to cheer for each other! (You can read hers here: "Seong-min Ha has Superpowers"!)

24. Did you write any gifts this year? Not unless you count our Christmas card letter.

25. Did you receive any gifts this year? Not unless you count other people’s Christmas card letters.

26. What’s your most common category? Um, Gen? Like you had to ask?

27. What do you listen to while writing? I have an “Instrumental” playlist. I posted about that before.

28. Favorite work you wrote this year? I guess “A Captain with Seven Children,” but there’s a special place in my heart for “Everything I Know About Writing the Loudermilk Twins,” because they’re forever my babies.

29. Favorite line/passage you wrote this year? I think I keep coming back to this one the most, and it’s a perfect example of why writing “A Captain with Seven Children” delights me so much. To set the mood, here is the exchange as it appears in “The Sound of Music”: Maria has just arrived at the Von Trapps’ and is pretending to dance in the ballroom when Captain Von Trapp takes her by surprise saying, “In the future, you’ll kindly remember there are certain rooms in this house which are not to be disturbed.” She nervously stutters out, “Yes, captain, sir.” Then he says, “Why do you stare at me that way?” “You don't look at all like a sea captain, sir,” she says. He bites back, “I'm afraid you don't look very much like a governess.”

Now, this functions as a meet-cute— they’re taken aback by each other, she was being whimsical (which he surely needs in his life), and she’s embarrassed, and she’s staring at him because my gosh is he handsome and she was not prepared for that. But in my story this moment is absolutely not a meet-cute, but it is a first meeting that proceeds in almost the same way. Maria, being Maria, is still going to get impatient waiting and go poking around in the house; and Reggie is very much against his office being disturbed. But she’s not going to be struck dumb by how handsome he is— she’s going to be really distracted by how anachronistic he looks— old-fashioned even for her original timeline, and that was already 60 years earlier! So anyway here’s the scene:

“In the future, you’ll kindly remember there are certain rooms in this Academy which are not to be disturbed.” Maria jumped and succeeded in just barely not knocking the contraption over. “Yes, sir, Mr. Hargreeves, sir.” She gaped at the tall, thin man in the doorway. He looked like a Victorian shipping baron, with a monocle in one eye and a graying auburn goatee, a natty three-piece suit and cane. He squinted back at her. “Sir Reginald, if you please. Why do you stare at me that way?” “Well, you don’t look at all like I imagined the adoptive father of seven children, er, in the late 1990s, would look, sir.” “And how many of us have you been previously acquainted with?” “Well…none, actually.” “So I trust you will refrain from making further assumptions.” So the scene starts out almost exactly the same, in the office instead of a ballroom, but when Maria explains why she’s staring, Reggie is just GOING to react with a bit of snooty logic. And the weird thing is, I can totally hear Christopher Plummer saying it, too. I actually had to look BACK at the Sound of Music script because I wasn’t sure, anymore, which parts I wrote and which parts were from the movie. It just FITS so freaking well.

30. Biggest surprise while writing this year? BESIDES the popularity of “Not Just Stupid Kids”? WHILE writing, hmm. How many lines you can swap between Sir Reginald Hargreeves and Captain Von Trapp without being able to tell the difference!

#year-end roundup #ask game #fanfic

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ilytyun · 4 years ago

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((cw: smoking, alcohol consumption))

[22:33]

“I thought you quit smoking.” There’s a familiar warmth in Soobin’s voice that’s bittersweet. You suspect that it’s because he’s reminiscing. Soobin always finds something to be sentimental about. Even if it’s as simple as standing beside you on his balcony when he should be entertaining his party guests inside. Soobin is well mannered on top of being a people pleaser, but he opts to stay with you, circling his index finger over the edge of his glass of whiskey. He stares at the line of smoke that took root at the end of your half-burnt cigarette as it floated up and swept into the frigid night breeze.

“It’s only when I’m stressed,” You let out a chuckle before taking a drag from the cigarette between your lips. Casually. As if to prove that the taste of smoke on your tongue wouldn’t be the only sense of comfort you’ll be able to get your hands on tonight.

After all, if there was anyone who hated parties more than Soobin, it was you.

”You’re stressed?” Soobin asks, tone laced in something between concern and confusion.

You hold back from scoffing at the question. “Well, yes. Soobin. Parties are stressful, and even if it’s not some stupid frat party, this is still a party.” You say, a cloud of swirly smoke clinging onto your breath that followed every word. “Although, this party is an important celebration for you so I’m deciding to endure it. Thank me later.”

Soobin hums in response, and your eyes avert to his frame as he leans onto the balcony railing. He purses his lips before taking a sip of his drink. He wants to say something, you think. Soobin always had a knack for small talk, but there are times where he needs to take a beat to collect his thoughts. It’s usually when he’s about to say something that would be better left unsaid.

“Y’know,” He starts. You prepare yourself for the potential bomb your friend is about to drop on this cold spring night. “I spent the last half hour trying to find you in there.”

“Why?” You ask, taking another drag from your cig to tame the nervousness blooming in your chest. Tonight, there are more important things to worry about. Soobin knows that. He sighs as he watches you exhale.

His voice sounds small when he speaks, “I don’t know. I just… it feels like, the more I think about what I’m getting myself into, the more you’re running through my brain.”

There it is, you think, biting the inside of your cheek before a scoff leaves your lips in a strained, lopsided smirk. There it is. A bomb disguised as a single sentence. A force that would singlehandedly destroy the walls you spent years building in attempts to keep Soobin out. All crumbling right before your very eyes. You could almost laugh.

“Soobin,” You start, trying to ignore the numbness spreading through your body from your chest. You don’t let it reach your head; you needed all the brain power you could muster to choose your words wisely. “don’t lie to me.”

“It’s not a lie, though.” Soobin chuckles weakly. It’s a pathetic attempt to ease the tension that lay on both your shoulders. Neither of you can even bear to look at one another, but it’s not like this is an unfamiliar feeling anymore. You just refused to ever get used to it.

“Yes it is. You know that I know you better than anyone. You can’t lie to me.” Your eyes don’t leave the cigarette between your fingers. The flickering orange ring at the end of the cancer stick was travelling closer and closer to the two fingers that it was nestled between. You’ve never felt more stressed in your life, you doubt taking another drag would be any help anymore.

“I know. That’s exactly why it’s not a lie.” Soobin’s voice is eerily calm. It was as if he’d been rehearsing this very moment for years before finally letting it play out. “I know you can tell I’m telling the truth.”

Your face scrunches in discomfort. “You can’t do this to yourself, y’know.” You say, taking it upon yourself to face Soobin head on. Your eyes meet when you do; he’d already been looking at you, watching for your reaction. Not that it probably even mattered to him. Your breath almost hitches in your throat. “You can’t do this to me.”

“...I know.” Is all he says. You know he does. Just as you know Soobin better than anybody else, Soobin knows you better than you know yourself. He knows that this conversation would have gone much differently a few years ago, back when there wasn’t anything stopping your growing feelings for him. He knows you think he’s selfish for even wanting to keep you by his side, but he knows that you can’t say no to him either. He has you wrapped around his finger.

Neither of you have anything to say anymore. There’s nothing more to be said, especially as the balcony door slides open in a haste. Your head turns to see Beomgyu, one of the many old friends who’d been invited to Soobin’s apartment tonight.

He’s gotten more handsome.

“I should have known the two of you would be gathered somewhere together, I’ve been looking for both of you all night.” He groans, glaring at Soobin. “Who the hell just disappears at his own engagement party? Everyone’s asking for you—”

Beomgyu’s scoldings fly through one of your ears and out the other. You hated everything that reminded you of why everyone was gathered at your best friend’s apartment tonight.

It’s not until Beomgyu shifts his attention to you that you finally snap out of your thoughts.

“And you! I knew you’d be out here, I thought you said you quit smoking! Do you know how bad it is for you? You two are unbelievable.” Beomgyu grumbles, stepping out onto the balcony to grab ahold of your upper arm. “Let’s all go inside. And put that out, if I see you lighting cigs at Soobin’s wedding I’ll seriously get angry.”

Your head turns to direct your gaze to your cigarette. It had wasted away until just the butt was left. Your eyes avert to Soobin’s half empty glass of whiskey, the probable fuel to the fire he decided to light tonight.

Out of pure spite, you lean over to drop your cigarette into his glass. Beomgyu quirks an eyebrow, and Soobin doesn’t mention anything about it. The only thing he could focus on was how his younger friend’s fingers had wrapped around your arm so casually.

You stare at the shriveled cig sinking in Soobin’s drink. “Don’t worry. That’s the last one I’ll ever light.” You say, knowing it’s going to be the truth. You’ll quit everything that you were holding onto for comfort. It’s time to move on.

Your eyes avert to Soobin’s. He stares at you like he’s trying to hold onto you, but you won’t fall for it again. It’s time he quits as well.

#soobin scenarios #txt scenarios #soobin imagines #txt imagines #tomorrow x together imagines #soobin #soobin timestamps #txt timestamps #tomorrow x together fanfic #tomorrow x together timestamps #soobin fanfic #tomorrow x together #txt fanfic #txt #choi soobin #⚠️i don’t condone smoking !! it’s really bad for your health :(( pls take care of yourselves !!!!❤️❤️⚠️#im sorry ive been so inactive ive been busier than usual .. which tbh isn’t even that busy it’s just busy enough for me to not want to-#do anything LOL😭😭😭#also y’all the length of this timestamp is making me go crazy it’s too long to be a timestamp but not structural enough to be an actual fic😜

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tomorrowsdrama · 4 years ago

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2020 Year in Thirst Pt. 2

Sometimes, I will watch a drama for the plot/premise/substance and be rewarded with a surprise hottie, and it’s the best feeling ever! It’s like finding money in your pocket that you didn’t know about. The following list of dramas can be described as:

Came for the plot, was rewarded with a surprising side of thirst

1. Flower of Evil

Brief Summary: Lee Jun Ki plays Baek Hee Sung and Moon Chae Won plays Cha Ji Won, his wife who is also a detective. What Ji Won doesn’t know is that her husband, Hee Sung, is actually Hyun Soo, a man on the run from a murder that he did not commit and also a suspected accomplice to a series of murders committed by his father in the past. Oh yeah, his dad secretly tried to groom him into being his protege/murder partner. Because of how he was raised, HS believes that he has no emotions and is simply putting on an act as the perfect husband and father. His “parents” are in on the ruse and are actually the ones who forced him into assuming their comatose son’s identity. Anyway, of course things from the past start to catch up with HS and his wife is somehow assigned to investigating his old murder case. She of course feels betrayed, but also conflicted as she discovers her husband is not who he said he was and a prime murder suspect. Things get even more complicated as the real murderer re-appears with fabulous long hair and tries to frame HS for the murders. In between all of this are delicious make outs between the couple and at least one instance where they banged so hard, HS was wiped out the next morning.

Surprise Thirst Factor: I checked out this drama fully expecting to drop it because the promos were so misleading and unappealing. But boy was I in for a pleasant surprise! Not only was the drama super addicting, it also had some nice eye candy in the form of Lee Jun Ki being a completely unrealistic house husband who satisfies in the housework (The man cooks and does the laundry!), childcare, and bedroom and Kim Ji Hoon’s glorious mane of beauty making viewers have a moral crisis over lusting after a homicidal maniac (who turned out to be a real loser without murder daddy around to clean up his mess. It’s ok, we’ll always have his hair).

Yes, work that hair honey. It’s the only good thing you’ve got going on for you (the character, not Kim Ji Hoon)

The chemistry between Lee Jun Ki and Moon Chae Won was fire and the make out scenes were soo believable. Like yes, these two beautiful people are really into being married to each other and understandably want to make out all the time.

He’s the primary caretaker for their daughter and it’s just *swoons.* Not all thirst traps come in the form of sexy abs (although I would not mind if he wanted to flash some).

2. Six Flying Dragons

Brief Summary: The story of young Yi Bang Won (who later becomes King Taejong) and the founding of the Joseon Dynasty. As short as it sounds, that really is an accurate summary of the drama haha.

Surprise Thirst Factor: I started watching this drama because I heard it was a great sageuk and I’m a big fan of Yoo Ah In. Even though I’m a fan of his acting, Yoo Ah In doesn’t necessarily get my hormones raging so I wasn’t expecting to be so thirsty while watching Six Flying Dragons. But then. BUT THEN. Byun Yo Han showed up in all his scruffy tortured deadly killer glory and my hormones woke up and said hi, hello, who are you, what’s your name, what’s your sign, can I get your number? The deadlier and more tortured his character got, the sexier he became to me. Sorry Yoo Ah In, you’ll always be my acting boo, but Byun Yo Han’s got my thirst. Byun Yo Han looks so good when he's sad and/or covered in blood, it makes me feel like a sadist for thinking that I wouldn’t mind if the drama made his character cry some more.

3. Ever Night S1

Brief Summary: As a child, Ning Que witnessed his entire household get massacred because of a prophecy that the child of Hades will be born from the house and bring about the Eternal Night. Somehow, he managed to escape and was the lone survivor. He finds a baby buried in a pile of dead bodies as he’s fleeing and names her Sang Sang. The two orphans grow up inseparable from each other and do whatever it takes to survive in the harsh, cruel world. Ning Que earns money by becoming a deadly mercenary and Sang Sang takes care of the household affairs. At one point, Ning Que becomes a disciple of the powerful Fu Zi and somehow gets entangled in the struggles between the Holy Sect and Demon Sect. A bunch of beautiful women fall for Ning Que, and the drama tries its hardest to convince us that he has chemistry with and reciprocates the feelings of one of them (i.e. Mo Shan Shan), but anybody who was even half paying attention knows that the only one for Ning Que is Sang Sang. They are the OTP of all OTPs and take “ride or die” to a whole other level. Oh also, their height difference is the stuff manga dreams are made of. Ning Que is a “good guy” but also not a “good guy” in the sense that he is not above doing whatever it takes to seek revenge and is only out for himself and Sang Sang (and later, his older brothers and sisters from the academy).

Surprise Thirst Factor: Chen Feiyu is an attractive person but I could not in good conscience thirst after him because he was literally born in the year 2000. It did not help that he was only 18 when he filmed Ever Night and looked every bit his age. My thirst may have no shame, but it does have its own set of principles and one of those principles is thou shalt not lust after those born in the new millennium! Luckily for me, Second Brother is played by Dylan Kuo who is a beautiful, elegant, tall man

and Brother Chao is exactly the type of rugged and manly that I am into.

(you don’t have to be)

who looks better when wet

AHEM. Yeah.

Sixth Brother is also not so bad with his scanty pounding work attire,

4. Novoland: Eagle Flag

Brief Summary: Asule is the prince of a tribe in the grasslands who is held as a royal guest (i.e. hostage) in the Eastland Empire. There he meets his two future best friends, Yu Ran, a free spirited princess who is descended from a race of bird people, and Ji Ye, an emo neglected/shunned son of a concubine who is probably the best fighter in the empire. Ji Ye loves Yu Ran who is a ball of sunshine to his Johnny Raincloud dark emo self. Yu Ran loves Ji Ye back. Asule loves both his friends and will do anything to protect them. The world decides to fuck over best friends Asule, Ji Ye, and Yu Ran for no reason as they try their best to just live a peaceful life away from all the political scheming and fighting.

Surprise Thirst-worthiness: I was completely content with enjoying Eagle Flag purely for its story and substance. It’s seriously a wonderful, yet heartbreaking drama and the scale of the production is amazing. No cheap $10 costumes here. Also, the direction is beautiful/artistic and not the run of mill “let’s shoot it and complete it as fast as we can.” The two main actors were cute, but not really my type. Then the drama decided to give Ji Ye the “Sexy Bloody Tormented Killer Makeover” and all of a sudden your girl was rushing to MDL to check Chen Ruo Xuan’s birthday and calculating his age. I am simple, predictable, and consistent when it comes to my thirst and give a character some scruff, long hair, angst, and some bloodlust and I’m all yours. I am literally:

Is it wrong that when Ji Ye showed up looking like this ready to kill his mother’s torturer

I thought, yes, can we have him kill another?

5. Run On

Brief Summary: Im Siwan plays Ki Seon Geom, a national track runner from a rich family who is a bit of an oddball and marches to his own beat. Although his words can sometimes be construed as rude since he has no filter, they are also completely honest and have no hidden meaning. He also has his own personal code that he lives by and he will stick to it no matter how negatively it may impact himself. He meets Oh Mi Joo, a translator with her own strange quirks and sparks fly as Mi Joo is assigned to be his interpreter.

Surprise Thirst-worthiness: I kind of watched this drama by accident. I had read about Im Siwan starring in a new drama but nothing I saw from the description or promos for Run On appealed to me. Nor did it give me any information about what the drama would be about. Then one day, I just happened to be browsing Netflix for something to play in the background and decided on Run on since I thought I wouldn’t be that invested. What a happy accident that turned out to be because I’m so in love with this drama right now. This is a case where the thirst does not stem from the character’s physical appearance, but from the intensity/charisma the actor brings to the character and the character himself. Ki Seon Geom is so odd, but so appealing at the same time and Im Siwan is so magnetic in the role. Prior to Run On, Im Siwan wasn’t really my type physically. In fact, I always scratched my head whenever people called him handsome in dramas (I know, I know, forgive me). So color me shocked when I found myself swooning all over Im Siwan in the second episode of Run On. Now, it’s like I have “Im Siwan is attractive” glasses on and he looks attractive in everything to me. I want to gobble up all the dramas he’s been in.

#flower of evil #lee jun ki #six flying dragons #byun yo han #ever night #novoland eagle flag #run on #jtbc run on #im siwan #kdrama #cdrama

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sandwichfox · 5 years ago

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AHH LISTEN! You write such beautiful headcannons, I feel like I'm literally there. 6x the joy of getting married and having gorgeous competent spouses to help with our gorgeous grumpy children! Thank you so much for this gift! Would you be down to write for the main 6 a lil oblivious, mutual pining and what causes them/the MC to finally snap? (And if you wanna get racy, what happens next? ;) )

Listen, listen, you came for my entire heart with this ask, the compliments definitely punched me in the face but the mutual pining was what KO’d me, my forking jam. (Also, we are always happy to get racy here in la mía casa)

Asra

★ He already really, really loves you, so it just kind of evolves naturally for him. There’s no internal conflict on his part, because of course he would fall for you, it’s only right.

★ However, he does want to be absolutely sure you’re ready before taking any next steps, he doesn’t want to set you back in your recovery.

★ Except for Asra, that translates into never initiating anything, ever.

★ He hugs you and touches your shoulder and all, but that’s just Asra with anybody he trusts. He does stare at you an awful lot though. If he catches you staring, this fluffy idiot will think nothing of it.

★ Physical contact is already so natural between the two of you. That one day you just.. kiss him? Oops.

☆(NSFW)☆

★ “wait was that-?” “…oh! Sorry I-“ “No it’s- can I kiss you again?” The answer is yes, he kisses you with purpose this time, soft and warm. Then immediately dissolves into giggles. He kisses you again, still giggling. “I love you” he says, voice stuck between a laugh and a sigh (and a kiss).

★ It was meant to be a brief kiss, but now he can’t seem to stop. (He’s lost count of how many times he’s kissed you now), but his hands -they’re shaking- skim tentatively up your arm, into your hair, hold you by the nape of your neck. And when you sigh he can’t help but brush a finger against your collarbone, then kiss that same spot.

★ He feels drunk (he probably knocks against the shop’s counter, almost drops a jar of some herb or another), but now he’s got you pressed against it and he’s not laughing anymore, his brow is furrowed with want. He pants your name and you’re both gone.

Nadia

♠ Doesn’t want to come on too strong but she is starting to suspect she fell for an entire dumbass.

♠︎ Maybe you just don’t want her? It’s entirely possible, but then what about all the times you seem to be flirting with her?

♠︎ She’s tried everything, lavishing you with gifts, turning on the charm, even showing you off at parties and to dinner guests.

♠ Problem is, she’s the countess, and why would she be interested in you? That’s ridiculous. All this must be because she has all this money, and you’re a special guest, and she’s just amazing like that.

♠︎ But one day you can’t take it anymore, and ask her outright what her intentions are. (Literally “are you flirting with me?” “I have been for a year now, thank you for noticing”)

♤(NSFW)♤

♠︎ Oh boy, she has to make up for lost time, now doesn’t she? She asks you (up front this time) if you’d like to come up to her room at the palace. “Don’t worry, nothing nefarious” her gaze says otherwise. Goodness, she’ll eat you alive.

♠︎ You get to her chambers and, unexpectedly, she asks you to try something on for her. A necklace, she says, that has been sent to her. She’s not sure about it yet, and would like to see it on you before deciding if she likes it. You’re a bit taken aback, but agree.

♠︎ She’s wicked, dragging the cold metal chain slowly across the skin of your shoulders, breathing against your neck as she fastens the clasp, she takes you (legs shaking) to stand in front of the mirror. She places a kiss against a soft spot on your neck and then presses her teeth against it, her hand travels up to your throat. “Darling, you look ravishing” but you barely hear her, your ears are ringing.

Julian

♦︎ Oh boy.

♦︎ This dude right here invented pining. He thinks you’re absolutely gorgeous the moment he sees you, but then you two get to talk and it’s over, my man is gone.

♦︎ Alternates between the smoothest man alive and a literal mess. Also, he wants to date you so bad, but he thinks he’ll be bad for you. Can’t decide between being selfish and a self-sacrificing idiot.

♦︎ You like him so much, but he keeps sending these mixed messages, you wonder if it’s better to just maybe just steal longing glances at him for the rest of your life.

♦︎ One day, when he’s feeling particularly angsty, you ask him what’s wrong and he tells you in many, many scrambled words that he likes you. You had thought you had mistaken his usual Julian-ness for flirting, but this new revelation changes everything.

♢(NSFW)♢

♦︎ “You like me” you breathe. He looks up miserably from his pint and nods. You already had a hand on his shoulder from where you were comforting him, but the surprise makes you tighten your hold, dig your nails in. And he- did he-? You snap your gaze to his and yep, he’s red to the very tips of his ears, lip caught between his teeth. “Oh?” You smirk. He lets out another tiny, miserable whine.

♦︎ You can’t remember ever feeling this giddy, your heart is pounding and your hands feel clumsy, it’s nearly impossible to get the buttons of his coat to come undone. And you’re hiding in an alley, goodness. Julian’s lips still taste of salty bitters, and he’s clutching at you like he wants to climb inside you.

♦︎ “You’re drunk” you say “on you” he retorts, though muffled, he didn’t even miss a beat. You bite his lip playfully in response and he, mmmelts (seriously, you have to catch him a little). “Okay” you say, hot all over, “okay” and you kiss him some more.

Muriel

♣︎ Hates it. Hates that he’s pining for you so hard. He tries the whole avoiding you thing and everything but it doesn’t work.

♣︎ It never even crosses his mind that you might want him back. Sometimes he catches you looking at him and his immediate reaction is to be absolutely mortified (has he had something on his face this whole time?!)

♣︎ Doesn’t know what to do with himself, basically. He wants to talk to you but he only goes so far as to following you around at a distance. He wants to touch you but doesn’t want to ask for contact. He brushes against you once in passing and immediately goes beet red.

♣︎ Thing is, you’re so good. So good, soft, like he doesn’t deserve. You treat him like he’s… Sometimes you bring by some of your cooking, or a shiny rock that you thought was pretty, or you take him out for some smoked eel (and keep him company while he eats it, sat in the shadows). You constantly check that he’s alright “is it okay if I put my hand on your shoulder?” “Are you alright?” “Can I touch you?” “Can I help you?” “Can I hug you?”…

♣︎ “Can I kiss you?” You whisper, he can only nod.

♧(NSFW)♧

♣ Muriel is so sensitive to touch, starved for it, though he’d never admit it. So when you start kissing him there’s an immediate churning heat in his belly. He’s lightheaded, feels like he’s about to boil over, he doesn’t know where to put his hands.

♣︎ Somehow you’ve ended up in his lap, though he can’t say exactly when that happened (time is strange, when he’s kissing you), his hands have traveled to your sides and something about having you there, holding you to him, he’s going to go mad.

♣︎ He doesn’t want to ask for more than you’re willing to give him. But you give so easily, each tentative press of his lips is met with wet, purposeful pressure from yours. When his hands first brush your skin you shiver and come closer. He kind of never wants to stop.

Portia

♥︎ Is a whole mess.

♥︎ Listen, she gets lost in your eyes sometimes, alright? That doesn’t mean she’s in love with you. Or maybe it does, but you don’t have to know that.

♥︎ Maybe you’re an oblivious fool (u are) because that’s the only way that you wouldn’t have noticed her pining. Literally goes ‘eep!’ every time you catch her staring.

♥︎ Portia is the kind of person that talks about their crush all the time, (‘the other day I was with MC and-‘ ‘and then MC said- insert mildly funny thing- and haha- wait- hahaha- they said- hahsghdgsh’) so literally everyone knows she’s crushing but you.

♥︎ She’s naturally flirty with everyone, but one day she says something that you read as actually flirty, so then you’re like wait, really? And Portia’s all ‘oh! Sdgdhhdj I was just, I didn’t mean- I was just, uhm- KIDDING! Just kidd- unless..’ (anyway spoilers you both like each other and then make out lol)

♡(NSFW)♡

♥︎ She spent so long having a crush on you and daydreaming about being with you and now she can actually have you. She has to hide away with you for a little while ASAP. You notice her acting giddy one day in the gardens and ask her what’s wrong “nothing!” She says immediately, then a pause “actually, do you want to stop by the cottage?” A perfectly innocent question, but she’s gone all red. Oh.

♥︎ You stop by her cottage. As soon as you’re in through the door she turns up the flirty-ness tenfold (you’re gonna pass out), until she finally takes your hand and walks you backward against a wall. “Wanna make out?” She whispers. You do, actually. She’s surprisingly bitey, and very responsive.

♥︎ After a few moments her hands start wandering, “you’re so cute” she sighs “beautiful, wow”. She’s letting out these breathy little sighs, pressing closer until there’s no space between you. She has one leg slotted between your own, her back arched to press the length of her against your body, one hand on your back at your waist, the other clutching at her shoulder, and she’s moving in a slow, waving motion, kissing your jaw and lips and ear and scraping teeth against your neck (you’re going to die).

Lucio

▲ Oh he hATES it. (Feelings?! No thanks, yuck). It’s probably the whole ‘feelings make you weak’ mentality he grew up around, because he’s not above indulging in company, if ya know what I mean.

▲ But he doesn’t just want that from you, and it throws him on a loop. He keeps bouncing back and forth between sending for you about the most ridiculous things just to see you, and sending you away in a huff when he realizes that no, bad Lucio.

▲ It can’t be helped though, and soon he’s head over heels. He gets ridiculous, honestly. ‘Subtly’ asking about you and giving you increasingly odd, expensive gifts and trying to get your attention.

▲ As soon as he gives in and admits to himself that he actually likes you his first thought is to go out and demand that you be with him. But he’s actually nervous, and not exactly sure that you would like that at all. So he starts testing the waters.

▲You think it’s just Lucio being Lucio but you’ve liked him for some time and it kinda? hurts? when he suddenly starts complimenting you and making jokes about being with you for real, saying it so casually like there’s no way in hell and it hurts. So one day you tell him to stop.

△(NSFW)△

▲ “Wha- huh?” He says, and you’re embarrassed, maybe you shouldn’t have said anything, but Lucio’s already seen your face, and now he knows what’s going on. “Oh, sweetheart” he says in a drawl “I’m being perfectly sincere, I love your pretty face” he takes a step closer “that amazing body” his voice is softer, you blush, he takes another step “your powerful magic” another still “your sharp mind” he’s right in front of you know, reaching out with a clawed finger to tilt your chin up “I’d like to be with you, if you’d let me.”

▲ “I’d like to do so many things to you, magician.” His golden hand trails from your chin to your bottom lip, tugging down before letting go and traveling up your cheek to the side of your head. He’s holding himself up against the wall with his other hand, bracketing you in against him, all in your space. “Perhaps I’ll call you to my room, feed you whine and fruit and sweets, drape you in fine silk” he leans in close to your ear “I’ll keep you to myself all day, kiss every inch of you, maybe keep you all night as well.”

▲ “Lucio” you gasp, he grins devilishly and surges in to kiss you. He kisses you long and hard right there in the hallway, pulling back a few inches just to hover near your lips, you lean into him and he pulls back a little more, teasing. “Please” you pout. “Oh no, beautiful, you’re much too pretty to be begging a man like me for kisses. I should be the one doing the begging, getting on my knees and showering you in gold.” He’s grinning, but he’s glowing red with enthusiasm at the thought. “Kiss me then” you say, pulling him to you, he shivers like he’s weak at the knees and does just that.

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psychemeanscure · 4 years ago

Text

PART 26

“How are you, señorita?”

The first thing the man uttered the moment her directress left them to converse. She was obliged to tour the unexpected guest while the former needed to call her attention after sensing her spaced out actions.

Picking up a random book from a shelf, the man seemed to understood her circumstance. “Is it my poor Spanish that bothered you, or were you actually expecting someone other than me? Isn’t it, Ms. Sung?”

Right then, she awakens from her reverie as she turns with embarrassment. “M-my apologies, sir…”

Igor Oblonsky, the Russian mafia boss himself only smiled as response. Truly, she didn’t see it coming and damn Judy for planting another rumor to her. When will she learn anyway for in it comes to him, she’s always been blinded with possibilities to possibilities. Proven how she end up dealing with a related one at this time.

“How long has it been? Three years, is it? Yet, I can still remember how you purposely scold me about him after thanking me for saving your foster parents. You’re one hell of a Gal indeed, Ms. Sung. You made this elite one a puppy, what more to him. No doubt, he’s into you.”

For she can only hide her blush by its words. “Disappointed, aren’t you?”

“S-Sir?”

“Having to expect me instead being able to see him.”

She went silent. “Ms. Sung, want me to tell you a secret? Guess, I had to share this to you anyway.” Then she listens.

Putting down the book he picked out, the elite man rested his arms at its back as they continue to walk in small steps of the venue. “You see Ms. Sung, when that boy came to me, he was a wimp but he is diligent. The first time I set my eyes on him, I knew he has the potential. Much more after learning his true intention of joining my organization. That wise underdog kid who only clasp a hand just for his own experiment of SIESTA drug.”

“SIESTA?”

“Yes, SIESTA. You somehow heard about the drug?”

She was surprised, that’s for sure. How can’t anybody know about the famous drug which occupied most of the headlines back then including the mysterious person behind it. Just for her to learn that it was her loco all along? He’s hell of a wise man indeed for how can this important thing slip through her!

She can only look down then as she admits her incompetence. “W-who wouldn’t know about it sir, it’s been a talk in town back then, but I… I didn’t know he was involved. Into just how...” stuttered by her thoughts, the elite man openly answered for her.

“A risk taker he is, yes. He might not know about this, but I’m proud of that young man Ms. Sung. Then things happened, he became stronger while I became obsessed of his work. We bond, we became fond of each other or rather was I the only.” He laughed perhaps remembering a certain moment. “You see Ms. Sung, that lad was just too reserve on his own that you’ll actually be the one to adjust for him. A closed book I thought won’t open until you came.”

“Sir?”

Her abrupt response after hearing its last word as the Oblonsky just smiled to her. “I maybe ruthless young lady but I still do care for him like my own son. I do have a soft spot for that boy that It was easy for me to grant his wish to part ways with us. Did you know what I actually wish for him as well?”

She only looks at him as an answer, thus the latter looks back at her. A knowing stare she can’t seem to understand for she finally asks for it. “What is it, sir?”

Maintaining its smile as he wanders by the sight of the orphans. “I had wished that he’ll found a life better than he imagined. And thankfully it did. Thank you, Ms. Sung.” She was left confused.

“I… am not following, sir. Sorry?”

Igor Oblonsky can only laugh hard as she looks flustered afterwards. “Oh, Jesus. I never thought I could still witness a cheesy lovesick schemes at this age. Child, have you ever wonder how he manage to ask this elite man in front of you to save mere strangers despite his long parting? For a mafia leader being dictated by a former man, that’s a shame on the ego you know. But how can I? I’m sure you know a bit of our little rules, try guessing.”

Indeed, she does. How can’t she if she was once surrounded by corrupting officials whom majority obviously, policeman openly boasting their petty achievements as one she repetitively learned about them was the fact that you can’t easily deal with gangs, unless…

“Consequence. H-He offered, didn’t he?”

Words starts to crack for she can actually imagine his surrendering decision back then while the latter is simply impressed as he urged her with heads on. “A smart girl you are, I see. Now, I want you to try more. Let me hear it.”

Then the rest has been bestowed upon her. All what she wanted to know, the Russian leader shared it not leaving an inch as guilt eat her once again. Because of her, he had to open the box he should have forgotten. The SIESTA drug he had to endure to remember from the failure of his lifetime. Her damn fault as it is.

Sensing her self-rue, the Russian man needed to speak. “Don’t blame yourself child. I’m sure he wouldn’t like it for you either. And even I as well.”

“What do you mean, sir?”

He turned to face her as he plastered another smile. “Like what I said I should be thankful of you, child. And this? This sponsorship is indeed my way of gratitude to you.” Ear to ear, the latter even spread its arms as a gesture of his work. Before turning to rest it behind again.

“Honestly, SIESTA was just an excuse for me to stay contact with him. I never take it seriously for I know he won’t give in anyway. It brought a nightmare to him, you see. Then that suddenly happened. A request I never expected to came through. A weakness I once tried to strike out into him was simply pluck by you. Did you know what I realize back then? Wow. My little boy, the Jang Taeyoung I once raised has finally found his life. A perfect match he wanted for a lifetime.”

Distinguishing where the topic will bring her once again, she needed to retort. “S-sir, I know what you’re thinking, but we… we weren’t like that. Our relationship, or so not even one, was just a product of hurdles needed to be compensated.” Screw herself for stuttering even.

But she was only responded by its shaking head. “I’m no love guru or something but if that’s not it then what more reason he’ll risk his own will just to save you? Compensation? Please, I had known him for so long and I never once saw him went all out for someone but you. As simple as that, child.”

Speechless. That’s all she could react for. She’s not dumb to understand either for she felt it as well. They both are, but being busted like this seemed to be a big slap for her. She’s not worth it, that’s how sudden she thought for herself.

Reprimanding from the downcast she felt on herself, she’s thankful how the opening of the event brought her back to distractions, letting her forget from another awakening despair as they both split turning to how their separate agenda should be. Enthralled instead from the book fair’s success like she always wished for.

She thought that was it. That was the last conversation she’ll have with the Russian leader not until the event has ended and was called for her attention once again. She was block by its car as soon as she went out of the event’s entrance. Gliding down its backseat window, she waited. “Señorita! Glad I still catch you, though.”

Peeking in, she needed to respond. “Sir?”

While the latter simply handed her a book and stilled her. The same one where she found the mysterious sticky note. This time, it was a folded one. She was bewildered for she needed to look back to the Oblonsky who practically answered her questions with swiftness. “This probably the last time I’ll be a matchmaker. So please just stop chasing games you two, will you?”

~el único arrepentimiento que tendré al morir es si no es por amor~

Reading another quote from its author as her name is next to it which actually became a sentence…

‘The only regret I will have in dying is if it is not for love, Sung Eunyoung.’

The Russian man knew something. Before she realized? It was too late. The matchmaker has fled to answer her proceeding ones. For their she is again, taking a never ending hope in mind for she can only hold on to the breeze she needed to breath as the shore’s solemnity would bring her peace.

Dwelled by the shutters of her eyes, alters of the blurs, she finally released the strain of her thoughts. ‘Find me, Sung Eunyoung’ Allowing herself to guise back by the puzzles of notes in her hands. She urged to remember the past.

“Why? Why did you have to say that in the first place if you intended to play with it anyway, cabrón?”

‘Te amo.’

That hasn’t been voice out yet she can clearly hear it. The last words which made her shatter from leaving. His dreaded frame she cannot fade away. It was all because of it. Stupefied of waiting.

Not knowing the person who’s currently occupying it has finally decided to show himself. Full and whole, in front of her...

“Jang Taeyoung.”

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ahtohallan-calling · 5 years ago

Photo

all that matters in the end // kristanna post f2 one-shot // angst and hurt/comfort with a happy ending

read on ao3

thank you @gabiwnomagic for once again collabing with me on this fic and for the beautiful art!

One moment, Kristoff has a hand raised in the air to wave a greeting to their hosts, the other pressed casually against Anna’s lower back.

And then the next he’s on his knees and still falling, and the cape she’d been wearing is in tatters, half in his hand and half still hanging from her shoulders as she charges after the assassin with the sword she’d yanked from Kristoff’s belt the second she’d seen the flash of a knife.

It’s meant for decoration more than anything, not sharp enough to kill, but she knows from the way the man gasps and scrabbles at her hands that it still hurts like hell when it’s crushed against an exposed throat.

She can’t look back, only down at the assassin’s purpling face and the scratches his blunt nails leave on her fingers. If she doesn’t look back then that means Kristoff is still alive and not bleeding out, sentenced to death for the crime of standing beside her.

“Mercy,” the man gasps, and she presses harder.

---

Someone took the sword from her; she’s not sure when. Her fingers itch for it still, curling and uncurling at her side as she waits in an unfamiliar room for him to wake.

The king and queen have been exceedingly gracious, have cancelled all matters of diplomacy and state and locked down the capital til the would-be murderers are caught.

(Would-be, because he’s going to survive. He has to. When she had turned back he was already unconscious, and she cannot fathom a world where she didn’t get to say goodbye.)

And they’re in a suite of guest rooms now, with guards posted at every door and window, and a revolving team of physicians, and Anna has a bed for herself, but the sheets haven’t even been pulled back.

She brushes her fingers over his cheek again, trails them down to cup his jaw. “Look at me,” she pleads, “wake up and look at me, honey, I promise I’m here. I’m not leaving, not ever again.”

She’s told him that once before, after the forest. She promised. And then she ran after the assassin anyway instead of even lingering long enough to catch Kristoff as he fell.

“Forgive me,” she sobs, begging him now as tears course down her cheeks and she curls forward to rest her cheek against his shoulder. “I mean it this time.”

---

When he does wake, she cries so hard it scares him.

He tries to reach for her out of instinct, but then a hiss of pain tears from him as he falls back against the bed.

“I’m sorry,” Anna gasps as she runs her hands over his face, through his hair, across his shoulders, over and over again. “I’m so sorry, Kristoff.”

He finally catches her wrists and stills them. “For what, baby?” he asks, eyes wide with confusion.

Before she can give him the answer he deserves, the doctors sweep in, and she backs into a corner of the room, watching from afar and trying to stem the flood. Mattias sees her and stands beside her, putting an arm around her shoulders to steady her. “It’s alright, your majesty,” he says, sounding so paternal that despite his gentle words the tears start all over again.

He murmurs reassurances and holds her, and she hates herself for accepting them, when all she’s done is sit around feeling sorry for herself.

And leave, she reminds herself furiously, you fucking left when you said you wouldn’t.

She wants to leave again now, to escape Kristoff’s worried gaze, focused on her even as the doctors poke and prod at him. She doesn’t deserve the kindness in his eyes; she never has, but she’s terrified of what her world would become without it.

---

They go home a few days later; the visit was to forge a stronger bond, and that has been accomplished, at least. Now she knows that Corona will stand with Arendelle under any circumstances, and has assured them that her own kingdom and people owe them a debt that could never be fully repaid.

There’s not going to be a trial; the assassins went down fighting, and all intelligence points to a rogue group that has evaporated after the botched attempt on their lives. Still, there are extra guards onboard the ship with them, posted outside their stateroom doors.

Anna doesn’t see much of them, only catches glimpses when food is brought by. She eats for Kristoff’s sake more than her own; he won’t touch his own supper until he’s watched her force down a few mouthfuls.

They don’t speak much; apologies lay heavy on her tongue like burning coals, stifling any other conversation that would normally flow with such ease between them. Kristoff doesn’t ask for them, doesn’t give any indication at all that he even expects them, only keeps looking at her with those sad, dark eyes, catching her hand and holding it tightly.

“I love you,” she tells him again, the only words she can manage to get out.

For once, he doesn’t say he loves her too. Instead he squeezes her hand a little tighter and says, “You’re scaring me, baby.”

I know, she wants to tell him, I know and I’m sorry for that too, and I’m scared too, and I’m not leaving again, but if you want to now--

“I love you,” she whispers again, and he sighs and closes his eyes.

---

The bandages came off today.

She didn’t even have to tell Gerda she’d make her own bed the next morning, their own secret code, normally delivered with a wink and answered with a fond sigh and shake of the head. But today, the older woman took one look at the expression on the queen’s face and said softly, “I’ll not send anybody up til the afternoon, Anna.”

She wishes she was still just Anna to everybody. Then she wouldn’t be in a bed that still felt too big in a room that felt too stuffy on a night that felt like it would never end.

And Kristoff wouldn’t have a fucking hole in his side.

Not a hole anymore, she reminds herself dully, not like it was a month ago when the assassin’s knife was torn free, spilling spurts of crimson all down the vest she’d had made for him to match her new blue dress.

After, when Mattias had draped a blanket over her shoulders and pulled her close to try and stop the shaking, she’d asked through chattering teeth, “Why didn’t it turn purple? It’s blue and red, so why didn’t it turn purple? That’s how it works, doesn’t it?”

“Your majesty,” he’d said softly, “I think you need to lie down,” and when she’d refused he’d slipped her a powder that kept her from doing anything else for the next day.

But it’s not a hole anymore; it’s a puckered red scar, one she can feel through the thin fabric of his nightshirt. She tries to focus on something, anything else; brushes her nose against the warm expanse of his back, presses a kiss to the knob of his spine, slips a hand under the shirt to press against the warmth of his stomach as it rises and falls with each sleep-slow breath.

He’s alive, but now it’s in spite of something, and the thought of that is going to haunt her for many more nights to come.

---

She’s been waiting for this a long time. She closes her eyes now, lets it wash over her and soak her to the bone.

“Jesus, Anna,” he says, frustrated. “I just-- I can’t do this anymore. It’s killing me.”

There it is; the dismissal she deserves. She rises so quickly her head spins, and before he can say another word the door is closed behind her.

She’ll see to it that he’s taken care of, of course, for the rest of his life, though God knows he’s never needed her and all this finery, not when he’s known how to survive on the side of the mountain since he was a child. But she’ll do it, all the same, love him in a way that doesn’t hurt him, as long as he’ll let her.

The ring, though; that’s the one selfishness he’ll have to allow her. She’ll pay him for it, if he wants, but she can’t stand even the thought of looking down and seeing her left hand bare once more. She’ll not take it off, not for herself or anyone else; she’ll have to talk to her sister, or to Kai and Gerda if she’s no help, find out if there’s some distant cousin who can inherit, because--

She cries out in surprise when a heavy hand settles on her shoulder. “Sorry,” Kristoff says hastily, though he doesn’t let go; instead he leans more heavily on her, taking a moment to catch his breath as his other hand clutches at his side.

“You’re-- you’re not supposed to be overexerting yourself,” she says frantically, turning and setting her hands on his ribs to help him stay upright.

“And you’re not supposed to leave,” he replies, so seriously she flinches and looks away. “Anna, you promised.”

“I know, and I’m so sorry I broke it, I--”

“No,” he says fiercely, resting his forehead against hers. “I heard you. You said if I woke up you wouldn’t leave again.”

Something in the ruin of her heart stirs at the thought that somehow even unconscious he knew her, heard her calling for him, came back for her-- but the warmth is fleeting, snuffed out by the hurt in his eyes. She shakes her head frantically. “I-- I know-- but it’s better this way, I’m glad you see it now, I--”

“What are you talking about? I don’t want you to go.”

“You said you can’t do it anymore,” she whimpers. “And I-- you’re right, you can’t. I can’t ask you to. This is all my fault, Kris, I’m so sorry.”

He pulls her closer to his chest, resting his cheek on the top of her head as his hand runs soothingly up and down her spine. “It’s not, baby, none of it is.”

“If you-- if you never met me, then you’d still be safe. You’d be with the trolls and Sven and you’d be--”

“I’d be alone, even with them. I don’t want-- I can’t go back to that. I don’t want to.”

“You could have died,” she chokes out, her hands fisting in the front of his shirt. “And it would have been my fault, and I-- I--” She gulps for air, squeezes her eyes shut; she can’t stand to see the tenderness in his expression, not right now. “When they-- when you...I’ve never been more scared, Kris, not of anything. Not ever.”

His hand stills on her back. “But you…”

“I’d-- I’d take freezing to death, and Hans and all his bullshit, and the rock giants and all of it, I’d do it all over again if that would undo this. I can’t imagine anything worse than losing you.”

“Oh,” he manages to say. “Oh, Anna…”

“I love you,” she whispers. “More than anything. You have to believe me.”

He kisses her forehead again, each of her cheeks, even the tip of her nose, and waits until she finally looks at him before speaking again. “I do,” he says softly. “I do.”

They stand there for a while longer, until his breathing is steady once more and the last of the tears on her cheeks dry. She nuzzles her cheek against his chest, letting the warmth of him sink into her. “I’m sorry, Kristoff,” she says for what feels like the millionth time; some days it feels like failure is all she has to offer him, and still he stays.

“Don’t be,” he murmurs. “I know how it feels to be afraid like that.”

And he does; she knows that, knows he tosses and turns at night and calls her name until she’s able to rouse him, knows how his heart pounds under the press of her hand for a while afterward.

She lets her fingers drift down to his side, to settle lightly over the scar she thinks she can feel even through the layers of his nightshirt and robe. He lowers his own hand to press over hers, large enough to cover it entirely.

“It’s alright, Anna,” he reassures her. “I’m here.”

And so he is, and that’s all that matters, really, in the end.

---

a/n: i want to say another huge thank you to gabi for the inspiration and idea, for helping me develop the story, for the art, and for being such a fantastic friend to me and so many others. love you angel xo

#kristanna #my fics

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bucnananbitch · 4 years ago

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Stuck with You (Sam Wilson X Bucky Barnes)

PT 1- Ice Cold

Series Masterlist

A/N: This is my first attempt ever at any type of Au, so if it’s shit then at least I have room for improvement. I take English as an A-Level so let’s hope for the sake of my grades and my ability that this doesn’t suck ass. Thanks for reading if you did though!

Words: 1290 (I know it’s short)

Ice Cold

The cabin was quaint, but not like Tony’s old cabin he shared with pepper and Morgan. This one had a cold feeling to it, a lack of cosiness embedded in the walls.

The kitchen, which was connected to the main living room was sparsely furnished, with nothing that suggested it was a home, nor were the bedrooms any better. It was dusty, probably due to lack of use and areas were damp.

It could’ve been the house itself that gave off an unwanted feeling, or it could’ve been the two men staying in it, that could barely look at each other, never mind live together. They hadn’t been there for long, but already Sam’s constant movement was enough to irritate most people.

Bucky wasn’t one for following orders but when fury, who he had once tried to kill and failed, threatened him with all his might to stay in a safe house he didn’t dare question it.

Well, it’s not that he didn’t dare per say, it’s that he didn’t feel like being on the run for another twenty or so years. However long Fury threatened to hunt him down, and Bucky didn’t doubt it would be to the death.

Either way it felt like a large price to pay for not staying in a cabin until the mess they had gotten themselves in subsided. Or the mess that Sam had gotten them in. If it was up to Bucky he would’ve left that hydra base the second they got there, but did Sam listen. Of course not.

Bucky was stood leaning on the kitchen counter watching the man pace around the room, on the phone to whoever. They had one job, one mission, and due to a lack of planning and some bickering the mission went downhill faster than a boulder on steroids.

Now the hydra base was aware the avengers knew of their situation, and everything was either destroyed or moved to a different location. Which would take just as long to find as the first one. All the work from the other Avengers, especially Barns himself was put down the drain.

“let me know how it goes down Rhodes, thanks”. The room was filled with nothing but silence, as the two refused to speak to each other. Was it normally like this? Not to this extent, although the two bickered and fought and to be honest never really agreed on even the smallest of things. The tension in the room was substantial, and there was no getting away from it.

“Why didn’t you just listen to me when I told you to go right” Sam turned to Bucky with a sour look on his face, which wasn’t reciprocated by Bucky.

Instead, no emotions at all were shown on the super soldier’s face. Not for affect, but because Sam’s exact face and tone reminded him of everything he wished to forget from hydra.

He may give the impression that he wasn’t too bothered about the mission going sideways, when in fact it terrified him that hydra was still powerful enough to take down part of the Avengers. He was just relieved that he and Sam got out alive, but that relief was soon changing.

It wasn’t that he had no reply to Sam, he had many. But he was too busy on pushing down everything he felt, while Sam pushed his buttons.

“I asked you to do one thing, and you did the complete opposite and look where we are now” Sam stressed as he threw how phone onto the wooden table, the clatter echoing through the small room. He was sat on the old dusty sofa, with his elbows on his knees, still not looking at his partner.

“How is it my fault? You’re seriously pinning this on me? If we went left, we would’ve been killed. If you’d done the risk assessment better maybe we wouldn’t have been in that situation at all.”

Bucky stood straight, his fists clenched, emotions getting the best of him like they always did when Sam picked a fight with him. Except this time there was no one to split them up.

“If you feel like dying to the hands of hydra be my guest, but the last thing I ever want is to give them is the satisfaction of ending my life” Sam finally looked at Bucky, but only when he had brushed past the couch to head for the stairs.

“Walking away again, see this is your problem you can control your anger, or any of your emotions for that matter. Shouldn’t have taken you there in the first place, you’re obviously not capable” Bucky didn’t dare turn around, because doing so would only prove Sam right. Even if he was.

“This is the reason you always loose your partners” Bucky new it was brutal, but he wasn’t to bothered about the latter’s feelings at the moment, just like Sam was never concerned about his. He slammed the door behind him, and that was hopefully the last he would hear from Sam that night.

All Bucky and Sam knew when it came to the other was fighting, whether it was with or against each other. In those cases, they had Steve and Nat to keep them straight. Steve was old and getting the life that Tony had told him about, and Nat was… well, gone.

Ever since then they’d been on several missions with each other, which either had bickering or ended up in some sort of fight Wanda or Rhodes had to stop. Nothing bad had come of it until now so they never fixed the problem. Or never really attempted to.

For Sam, the looming pressure of being the next captain America, made this one failed mission feel worse than it really was. Bucky just didn’t understand. Letting criminal masterminds get away, the people who created both Wanda and Barnes themselves amongst several other things. They were out there and thanks to the duo no one knew where.

Sam sat in the same spot for the next two hours, doing only what could be described as moping. A glass of whisky was clutched tightly in his hand, while the half drank bottle was on the table. He only had one glass, just to take the edge off because he knew that the one bottle might be the only one in the cabin, which belonged to the late Natasha.

The contents of the bottle were Russian, meaning one glass was enough for a night. He drank in hr honour, hoping she wasn’t watching him while shaking her head. Even Tony was probably rolling over in his grave, especially if he knew hydra were still on the loose.

The sun disappeared, not that either of the men took notice. Sam was too engulfed in his thoughts while lying on the couch, waiting for sleep to take him so that things would be fixed by the time he woke up.

He didn’t have the energy to find a bedroom and figure out which one was his. Assuming there was more than one bedroom. Bucky on the other hand wasn’t even in the cabin, but sat outside where the cold nipped at his skin keeping him comfortable as he sat.

Although, being frozen was traumatic, it was somewhat comforting to Bucky knowing that there was a period of time in which he wasn’t able to hurt anybody. Where he was safest from anything that tried to hurt him. He was always cold, and most of the time he hated it, but in moments of struggle he urged for it.

Nothing hurt Bucky more than Steve leaving, apart from watching Sam, who he respected, try to become him. This was a moment Bucky wished he was back in the ice.

#sambuckyau #safehouse #the falcon and the winter soldier #sam wilson #sambucky #bucky barns #tfatws #marvel #the avengers #cabin #sebastian stan #anthony mackie #captain america

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dc41896 · 5 years ago

Text

Say Something

Pairing: Johnny “Human Torch” StormxBlack Reader

⚠️: Maybe a teensie tiny bit of angst, fluff

“Hey Sue, I got the study results for Reed but his office is locked. Could you hand them to him for me? I have to meet someone in a few minutes,” you ask, slightly losing your balance from the stack of papers against your chest paired with your platform wedge sandals.

“Yea sure, I’ll give it to him when he comes back,” she smiles taking the stack from you. “And might I add you look so cute!”

“Whoa whoa whoa, and where are you going?”

Of course the night wouldn’t be complete without you running into Johnny.

Not exactly a couple but also more than friends, you guys had been playing with that line for a while now and you were getting tired. With each goodnight text and playful second glance, you thought maybe you guys would soon make things official.

But in typical Johnny Storm fashion, he’d bring a new fling to the Baxter building trying to impress her with a tour and leave you heartbroken feeling like a clown. Being disappointed one too many times, you finally decided to stop waiting and move on with your life.

Yeah it hurt, but constantly feeling as if you were left on the sideline without even a second thought hurt you more.

Arms crossed as he leans against the doorframe with signature smirk on his face, he eyes you up and down making you roll your eyes.

“Nowhere you need to worry your little mind about,” you sarcastically smile. “Thanks Sue, I’ll see you later.”

Watching you walk past, he finds himself mesmerized by everything from your sweet perfume to the way your skin glowed against your floral off the shoulder dress. Then again when wasn’t he entranced by you? He knew he wasn’t the type to openly express it in some grand, romantic way, but at least once a day he couldn’t stop the smile he’d get seeing you writing some formula on the whiteboard and occasionally pushing your glasses higher on your nose as you discussed science with Reed.

Never had Johnny experienced such strong feelings for someone like this before, which scared him more than any villain could.

“Need me to get a bucket for your drool?,” Sue asks peeking over her glasses as Johnny rolls his eyes.

“Seriously though, where’s she going?”

“And why do you need to know? Is someone jealous?”

“No, I’m just...curious,” he shrugs walking up to stand in front of her desk.

“Yea sure,” she laughs going back to the computer screens in front of her. Hearing footsteps on the white tile floors, he turns to see Reed solely focused on the phone in his hands as he enters the lab and sparking an idea.

“Well I’m about to head out, do you want me to give this to Reed since it’s on my way? He just got back.”

“Sure if you want to, thanks,” she smiles as he picks up the stack walking out the door and leaving her with a smile.

“I hope Reed knows to keep quiet,” Sue whispers to herself shaking her head as she watches the two men interact.

“Hey Y/N left these for you. She would’ve given them to you herself but she was running late.”

“Oh thank you,” he smiles skimming through the first few pages.

“Big night for her huh?”

“Yea she’s been so excited for a while now. I hope everything goes well.”

“Me too. Oh that reminds me, she said she’d bring you back something as an apology for not being able to go through that, uh, stuff with you,” he adds leaning against the metal table behind him.

“That’s nice of her but Pho really isn’t a favorite of mine,” he answers still looking at the paper in his hands.

“So that’s where she went,” Johnny speaks under his breath, devious smile on his lips as Reed finally looks up from his work.

“Did you say something?”

“Oh no, I was just thinking out loud really. Hey I’m heading out for a while, maybe try to give that brain a rest yeah?”

Whistling as he enters the golden elevator, he twirls the keys to his red corvette around his index finger; for the first time in his life excited to get a bowl of Pho.

———

“No way that happened!,” you laughed along with your guest, hand covering your mouth as a drop of water fell from your closed eyes.

“Yep! I still have the scars to prove it.”

Since you both sat down, it seems that all either of you did after every story was laugh and joke around. At first, you kinda felt bad thinking you might be a disturbance because of the noise, but the more you talked the less you cared what others thought and just wanted to enjoy your time out with him.

Using your chopsticks to gather some of the contents in your bowl before placing it in your mouth, a looming figure overhead nearly makes you choke as soon as you hear his voice.

“Y/N?! What are the odds that we both meet here tonight!” Pulling up a chair, he sits at the table before sticking his hand out towards the stranger in front of you. “Johnny Storm.”

“Um Cole Jones, nice to meet you,” he hesitantly shakes his hand confusedly looking at you.

“I’m sorry Cole, Johnny is a friend from work.”

“Yea really close work friends,” he smiles looking at you.

“Mmm that’s a bit of a stretch, especially with how I’m feeling at this moment,” you reply through your forced smile trying not to make a scene. “What are you doing here?”

“Uhh...to get something to eat duh.”

“You don’t even like Pho.”

“Nonsense I eat it all the time!”

“Hi can I get anybody anything?,” the waitress smiles looking between the three of you.

“Yea can I get what she has?”

“But without mushrooms please?,” you add giving her his menu as she nods before leaving towards the back.

“Aww you remembered I’m allergic to mushrooms,” he cockily smiles leaning back in his chair with hand over his heart.

“Yes and you’re making me wish I hadn’t.”

“Do you guys need a minute or something? Because I can step outside,” Cole asks still confused on what exactly was going on to which you and Johnny both quickly replied no.

“Yea everything’s fine! And what about you guys? How long has uh this been going on?,” Johnny asks crossing his arms on the table.

“This isn’t a date,” you frustratedly sigh rubbing your temple and hoping a giant hole would open somewhere that he would have to go investigate.

“Woww that bad huh? Hey don’t feel bad bud it’s not your fault she’s been spoiled with higher quality.”

Kicking him under the table and making him yelp in pain, Cole scoots his chair back before standing and collecting his things.

“Okayyy you know what? Clearly you guys have some issues you need to work through so I’m gonna head to the bar to get the bill then head out. I’ll talk to you later love.”

“I’m so so sorry about this, I promise to make it up to you,” you whisper with an apologetic smile as you give him a hug. Directing a head nod in Johnny’s direction, he flashes a fake smile before rolling his eyes as soon as Cole was no longer in view.

“You know, for people who aren’t dating it’s strange to hear couple nicknames like that.”

“And for someone who shouldn’t be in my business here you are. Who told you where I was?”

“Hey it’s like I said I came here to eat, it’s highly coincidental we met,” he shrugs taking a bite of his food.

Not caring that you were in public, you grab his ear pulling him along as he continuously “ow’s” behind you.

“Um is everything ok?,” the waitress asks looking equal parts concerned and amused at the sight in front of her.

“Yea it’s fine, and thank you for everything the food was really good.”

“Uh..you’re welcome,” she replies as you walk out with your “plus one” and all eyes on the both of you.

“Jeez don’t rip it off!”

“How could you embarrass me like that?! Seriously what is wrong with you?!,” you shout, words echoing off the parking garage walls.

“Nothing! I told you-,”

“Don’t lie to me!”

Looking into your frustrated dark brown eyes, a long sigh escapes his pink lips while he leans against your car with arms crossed over his chest.

“Fine, I got jealous ok? The moment I walked in and saw you both laughing and having fun I wanted to stop it there I admitted it,” he explains making you laugh in disbelief.

“So you can go be with any woman you want without even a second thought, yet the moment I go out that’s when you apparently have some sort of feelings for me?! You really are that full of yourself.”

“Listen I know I-,”

“No don’t try to excuse your way out of this like you do everything else! Do you know how long I waited to finally be chosen by you to only continuously get pushed to the back?!” Eyes burning as angry tears forced their way down your face, you quickly knock away his hand trying to wipe them for you. “I’m not some toy you pick up when you want to play and put back when your done. Your other girls might’ve been okay with that, but I’m not.”

“You’re right.”

“....what?”

“I said you’re right,” he softly chuckles at your shocked reaction. “To string you along while still going out with other girls was wrong and I’m sorry.”

Shifting from one foot to the other, his hand runs over his head as he lets out a breath. “Y/N I’m in love with you, have been since we started hanging out really. But I know how I am and that you deserve someone so much better so that’s where the girls came in. It sounds dumb, but I figured you would see that too and then both of us would move on like it was nothing. Only no matter how much I tried all I wanted was you.”

“And no this isn’t me trying to make more excuses or soften you up with lines. I’m telling you where my head was and is and how instead of just telling you how I felt, I made things 10 times worse which definitely sounds like me.”

Silence falling over the both of you, you wipe your face getting out your last few sniffles before looking down at your feet.

“You’re right, you aren’t the best person for me,” you finally speak. “You’re reckless, have selfish tendencies, and honestly sometimes I wonder if you even have a brain.”

“Ouch, but I deserve that,” he replies looking away until he feels your cool hands on the sides of his face.

“But that doesn’t mean that I don’t want you too.” Johnny’s icy blue eyes light up as he smiles hearing those words from your mouth. Taking your hands in his, he moves them to wrap around his abdomen while he embraces you, kissing your temple.

“That also doesn’t mean that you’re completely forgiven,” you add looking up at him. “Saying it is one thing, but you have to show me that you really want this Johnny because I swear if you play anymore games-,”

Unable to finish your sentence, you feel his soft lips crash onto yours while his thumbs gently graze your cheeks. Your heart races the deeper the kiss gets and your knees feel like they won’t last much longer making you grab onto his white tee shirt.

“That is part of my promise to you, Y/N, that there won’t be anymore games or immature stunts like tonight. This is gonna sound super cliche but you’re the only one for me and I will do whatever I can everyday to prove that to you,” he smiles, thumb now grazing over your lips. “So what are you gonna say to Cole?”

“Oh about that, Cole is my cousin. He’s in town for a few days before his next assignment and he wanted to hang out,” you giggle watching him hang his head as he laughs at himself.

“I really am an idiot huh?”

“No, not a total one. You just might want to get all the facts before trying to ruin someone’s night again,” you laugh pecking his lips.

Taglist: @fumbling-fanfics @honeychicana @lady-olive-oil @my-rosegold-soul @themyscxiras @melinda-january @lovelymari4 @curlyhairclub @renfrewscorner @secretmysteriousperson @fullofmelaninsarcasmandepression @plokyu23 @nunubug99 @felicity-x0 @ellixthea @jojolu @jnk-812 @brwn-sgr @captainsamwlsn @wildfirecracker @nina-sj @iammyownlover @chaneajoyyy

If anybody wants to be tagged, has asked to be tagged but don’t see your name, only want to be tagged for certain people I write for, or no longer wish to be tagged just let me know🤓!

#chris evans #chrisxblackreader #chrisxwoc #chrisxreader #fantastic four #johnny storm #johnnyxblackreader #johnnyxwoc #johnnyxreader

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rocket-remmy · 4 years ago

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Don’t You Forget About Me || Morgan and Remmy

TIMING: Current PARTIES: @mor-beck-more-problems and @whatsin-yourhead SUMMARY: Remmy says their final good-bye.

Morgan sat in her car for a long time after she pulled up to the Haunted Mansion. The last time she’d seen her friend, Constance had just finished torturing her for funzies and she was yelling her head off because she was so hurt. She didn’t understand why Remmy had acted the way they did any more now than she had then, just that none of it seemed to matter so much anymore. She wanted...well, maybe not the kind of relationship she’d had with Remmy before, where they mostly talked during fighting lessons and tried to talk each other out of their self-loathing. They both needed better than that. And not what they had before then, where she couldn’t even look at their username without seething with rage. And not what they had when she was alive, because that was impossible. That Morgan was at rest somewhere, as avenged as she was ever going to be.The thing now was to honor her and this new self she was finally coming around to. Maybe she and Remmy could become a new them too.

Holding tight to her nerve, Morgan got out of the car and came up the front walk, hands in her pockets. She felt the imprints of the other times she’d come up here since she died, mostly awkward, some worse. More than anything, she wanted to shake off those cobwebs and exorcise the ghosts of their past selves and step into something new that wouldn’t hurt so much. She knocked and leaned against the doorframe while she waited. When Remmy opened the door, she gave them her warmest smile.

“Hey, you,” she said. “Long time no see.” She tugged lightly on the ends of their hair, which was getting long, nearly past the end of their neck and a little shaggy. “Happy almost new year. Has it been too long to get a hug?”

As Remmy looked around the entryway of the mansion, they decided that, yes, that picture looked better in the spot over the staircase. Nora was out for the day, which Remmy was grateful for. Not that they didn’t enjoy her presence, but they’d wanted some private time with Morgan here at the mansion, and despite the large size of the house, knowing someone else could’ve been listening, or was around, didn’t feel like enough. They’d already packed up most of their room, it was in boxes and labeled for shipping-- they’d rented a moving truck that someone else was driving-- but the rest of the mansion sat as a beacon, colorful and bright and welcoming. There was even a guest book, now, and even though Remmy and Nora’s names were the first ones in there, they wanted Morgan’s to be the first real guest name in the book. Proof that she existed and was here and was a part of something Remmy wanted in their life.

The knock sounded at the door and Remmy drew in a breath before turning to open it. Morgan looked almost dreary, sagging under the weight of everything she’d been through since they’d last spoke-- and more. “Hey,” they answered, putting on a gentle smile, because despite everything that had happened between them, they were genuinely happy to see her standing there. Alive, smiling, soft-- maybe a bit worn, but okay. They watched her play with their hair. “I’m trying something new,” they said, pushing the door open to let her inside. “C’mon, I’ll show you around.” A slight pause. “No, I think that would be nice.”

Morgan jumped onto her toes and put her arms around Remmy’s shoulders as tight as she could. She lingered there, almost dangling from their neck as she nuzzled in. “I like the hair. With the bleach, it makes you look like a real stud.” She mussed their scalp fondly and gave them a squeeze. “You’re gonna get a lot of looks from pretty girls this way, I hope you know.” She pulled away and smiled up at them once again. Something was different. Remmy seemed steadier on their feet, even confident. Morgan took their hand and followed them into the house.

The walls had all been done up in bright pastels and neutrals that reminded Morgan of springtime. Gone were the cobwebs, the squeaky floorboards, the peeling victorian wallpaper, the dusty, moth-ridden drapes. The parlor looked like more of a lounge with cozier, more modern furniture. Off that, she could see a game room, a computer room, and on the other side of the main hall, a kitchen and dining room big enough to sit at least ten people. Her head swiveled to catch everything at once, but she felt the thoughtful Remmy details slipping past her gaze. “Holy shit,” she said. “This is incredible. How long did it take you to make all of this?” Smiled, pride mixing with embarrassment. She wasn’t exactly someone who would fit here, if she ever needed another place to go. She had a lot of blood on her hands and some fairly complicated regrets. “You’ve, uh, you’ve done really well here...”

“About a month,” Remmy replied, “it was gonna take longer before Nora got back, but she’s been really good at helping me out and fixing up the place with me. We took like two whole days just to paint, then the next few days to refurnish. We wanted the place to be welcoming to as many people as possible. We’re uh-- we’re making the mansion into a Supernatural Sanctuary. Nell, Bea and Lu--” Remmy choked on her name, clearing their throat, “Luce uh...did a spell to help protect the building from attacks and...violence.” They turned to look back at Morgan. “I’ll show you all the bedrooms, too, if you want?” Telling everyone else that they were leaving had somehow felt easy, almost relieving-- but the thought of telling Morgan, of telling her they were leaving her behind, it made Remmy’s throat close up. “We even redid the master, though Nora wants to keep it closed off for Blanche.”

Morgan noticed the tension creeping up Remmy as they explained the new set up to her. “Nora mentioned you had something like this going on when I ran into her at my family’s old place.” She gave them another squeeze. “I know we have some differences with the lines we won’t cross and what we’re willing to let in or be around, even as much as I’m uh--” She let out a sad, breathless laugh. “--coming a lot closer to where you are, after everything. But I’m so proud of you, and this huge accomplishment. I’m sure it’s going to help a lot of people.” She mussed their hair again, teasing gently like a sister might. “I’d love to see it. Come on and show me, okay?”

“You’ve seen Nora since she got back?” Remmy asked. “Good. Good, she-- I think she’s a little lonely. She wants people like her around, even if she won’t admit it.” They shook their head after Morgan ruffled their hair again and straightened it back out, giving her a soft smile. Even if it felt strange being like this again, after what she’d said to them in her backyard-- they couldn’t lie, they were relieved to know she wanted to move past that. Remmy still wanted very desperately to be Morgan’s friend, despite the cruelty she’d shown. “Are you?” they asked, perking a little at the statement. They looked upstairs, then back at Morgan. “Yeah, i’ll show you.” Looped their arms and led her upstairs, showcasing the many rooms they had refurnished and redecorated, before stopping just shy of their own room. “So, what do you think? Think it’ll um-- work?”

“I am. Seriously.” Morgan said. She beamed at everything they showed her, reminded of that stint during the summer when almost every spare bedroom in her house was decorated to the taste of every guest they had passing through or standing by. Those had been better days for a lot of reasons, but not in the least because Morgan felt like she was doing something to help the people she cared about. “I think it really might, yeah. Why wouldn’t it?”

“I don’t know,” Remmy admitted quietly, glancing back over at Morgan. “It-- I love Nora, and I think she’s going to try her hardest, but I…” they scratched their head, trying to think of how to phrase this, “I think she might need some help. With...everything.” Morgan was looking at them with those expectant eyes, and the door behind them was hiding a big secret. “So, um-- about that thing I need to tell you.” They sidled around Morgan and grabbed the knob of the door, turning it but not opening it. “It’s not a bad thing, but I--” their eyes fell to the floor. They opened the door and let it swing on its hinges to reveal the packe boxes inside. They couldn’t find the right words, not when Morgan was the one thing that could’ve made them stay. “I got accepted to MIT.”

There was a weird dissonance between Remmy’s words and what they showed Morgan, like an out-of-body experience. She had pushed Remmy to do something for themself for so long, and they were so brilliant in so many ways. Applying to MIT was some kind of miracle in itself, getting in was even better. It was proof that none of them were making it up when it came to Remmy’s potential, that anybody, even some stuffy admission’s board, could see it.

And then there was the empty room. The packed up boxes. It was like Remmy hadn’t even settled after they’d left their home, like they couldn’t wait to get out the door. Morgan stopped short, covering her mouth as she stifled a cry of surprise. “You’re---leaving?” She rasped. “You’re...going to Massachusetts.” Her voice cracked and she stiffened, straightening as she tried to reign her feelings in. This wasn’t personal, she reminded herself. This wasn’t about her This may not even be permanent, this was just… sudden. And something small inside her was crying and hurt about it.

Morgan turned to Remmy, eyes wide. “When did you decide?”

“Yeah,” they said quietly, trying to parse out what Morgan’s expression meant. But the stuttering, the words, they made Remmy begin to panic quietly. They swallowed. “It’s-- yeah. I am.” They didn’t know what else to say, how else to explain it. Leaving for school was about as open as they could be about it. That Morgan couldn’t blame them for wanting to get out if there was a reason other than that White Crest was destroying the person they wanted to be. They shuffled around her and looked at her with as much gusto as they could. “Not very long ago, but also-- kind of a while ago. At least...I’ve been thinking about it for a while. Since--” they paused, swallowed, “--since we found Chloe.” They didn’t want to say it was because of Lydia, they didn’t want to give her that credit. But it was. In the end, it was. Their eyes lowered to their feet. “I applied to some places just before that all happened. MIT was one of them…They um-- they liked my military engineering background a lot. I got a phone interview and then a little after that, I got the acceptance. I-- wasn’t going to go, originally, but--” they shuffled over to one of the boxes and sat down, “--I guess I just wanted to try and do what you wanted me to all this time. I really, really wanna go. I wanna do this for me. Can you-- can you understand that, just a little?”

Morgan’s eyes spilled over as she listened to Remmy. “I remember telling you to--” To apply. To let themself have something more than a small room and a duffel bag. To let themself be loved as much as they loved their friends. And Morgan didn’t need to hear Chloe’s name in order to remember their long talks about morality. For two people who didn’t like to see people get hurt, she and Remmy had different lines around their social circles, and what counted as an exception or something dire. For all that Constance had rattled her, there was one thing Morgan still believed: the world Remmy wanted to live in didn’t exist in White Crest and probably never would. She had kind of hoped that Remmy would concede a little ground so they could stay and make things as good as they could get here. But of course, of course not… “I remember,” she repeated.

Morgan came over to Remmy and sat down beside them. It took her a while to pry her hand off her face and find her voice. “Why wouldn’t you go? Why is that even a-- Of course you should. Why not?” She whispered, more harshly than she meant it. Morgan grimaced and reached out for their hand, squeezing it tight.

Remmy waited patiently for Morgan to work through whatever it was she was struggling with, watching her with patient eyes. She sat down beside them finally, letting out her quiet answer, even if it felt sharp. Remmy accepted it, for what it was worth at the moment. Squeezed her hand back. “I was gonna go even if you said I shouldn’t,” they teased quietly, bumping shoulders. “I have a life here, though,” they went on quietly, “I have people here who I’m leaving behind, responsibilities--” a hesitation as the lump began to rebuild itself in her throat-- “but when I think about it, I only feel sad. And I don’t-- I don’t want that anymore. I want to be able to think about his place one day and be happy. I want to...I want to be happy. As much as possible.” They turned to look at her finally, giving their same old gentle smile. “The good news, though, is like...because of this place, I’m gonna be visiting frequently. So it’s not like I’m just disappearing into the void. I couldn’t do that,” a quieter sigh, “especially not to you…”

Morgan let go of Remmy’s hand only so she could throw her arms around them in a crushing hug. “Don’t come back here too much,” she whispered in their ear. “Don’t--fuck, don’t look back at all as much as you can.” Her voice broke with held in sobs. For all the times she and Remmy had stopped speaking, Morgan had imagined that they would always be somewhere on the other side of town, sketching and brooding and making friends wherever they went, just being Remmy, right in reach if she needed them. “I want you to be happy too, I do. I just wish that didn’t mean losing you here. I know that’s so stupid, wanting two completely different opposite things, I’m being so--” Awful. But it had been so many years since she’d had a best friend. And Remmy was the first who hadn’t been pulled away from her or killed. Morgan shuddered and squeezed them tighter. “Please don’t leave me,” she said. “I mean, leave this place, don’t come back if you can help it, because it’s not good, not the way you want it, but maybe Massachusetts…” One of her sobs broke free. She didn’t want to think about this being the end of anything. She didn’t want to be alone in her death, alone in her hope, in this place. “Just don’t leave me. I can come visit. I um...could help you move? Make sure you don’t live in some shitty shoebox apartment and have a real couch and a kitchen and a big fridge? if I can do that, you know? If I can just not lose you, Remmy. Things have been so shitty and Cece is is gone too and I’ll be a better friend, I will, okay?”

A vast distance had seemed to grow between Morgan and Remmy, but as they looked over at her, and across that chasm, they were sure now more than ever that it could be bridged. Perhaps never drawn back together, but definitely crossed. With time, with effort. “I’m not gonna leave you, Morgan,” they murmured quietly, folding their arms around her. “I could never do that. You’re my family, and I love you. I just need--” time, they thought silently, time and distance and space. They didn’t know who they’d be at the end of all of this, but they looked forward to finding out. Even if they couldn’t guarantee that they’d be someone who still fit into Morgan’s life somehow. They breathed in and out deeply, enjoying the sensation of the unnecessary act. “I don’t need you to be a better friend, Morgan. I think...I think you need to just, figure out what kind of person you want to be from here on out. And then whoever that person is-- she’ll be great and wonderful.”

Morgan nodded along to Remmy’s words. The tension in her shoulders fell away, surrender more than relief. She kissed their temple and combed her fingers distractedly through their hair. “You need space,” Morgan said with a wet laugh. “I get that. Oh, stars, you should see my studio before you leave, speaking of space. We uh, built it together. Deirdre is really good with power tools, as it turns out, and I made everything nice inside so it feels like me and not just some weird codependent time-out corner.” She scrubbed at her eyes and pulled back, smiling at Remmy. “I know I wanna be someone you’re proud of, even if we take things on differently. That’s a start, huh?” She sniffled. “I love you too, Remmy. Can I help you do this, please? Maybe it’s some lame delaying the inevitable thing, but hauling furniture upstairs to your apartment and stocking your fridge is something family does, right? Or at least driving you to the bus stop? Stars, you’re not bus-ticket-far into this, are you?” She pleaded with her eyes.

Remmy gave a short chuckle. “It’s funny you say that,” they said, shaking their head, “Deirdre asked the exact same thing when I told her.” Which had, in fact, just been earlier that day. They looked over to Morgan beside them and took her hands again, giving a squeeze. “I have a bus ticket and movers coming this weekend for my boxes and stuff. I...think I’ll probably buy new furniture there. I know you really want to help, but...I think I want to be alone when I get there. The uh-- the university put me up in the really nice apartment that’s nearby. I got lots of scholarships money. Did I tell you that part yet? They basically wanna pay my tuition, thank to the VA and stuff.” They gave her a smile, gentle and soft and sad. “Besides I-- I think you’re needed more here.” Gestured around them. “And if you-- if you want to start picking up the pieces somewhere, giving back somehow...I think this place is gonna need a nice touch. Nora is great, don’t get me wrong, but I think it might need someone more...welcoming. You know?”

“Fucking fuck, you don’t do anything halfway, do you?” Morgan said tearfully, trying to turn her sob into a laugh. “I know...shit, I know we’re not the best family anyone could ask for, but...we’ve gotta be better than a cab to the bus, right?” She shuddered, smiling bravely. “Can I have something, Remmy? So this doesn’t feel like…” Like it’s for good. Like this wasn’t some very kind way to friend break up and never talk to her again. She didn’t have the bandwidth to process what they were offering her. Faintly, some things made sense, even as a whisper of guilt recoiled at stepping into someone else’s dream. But Morgan was stuck on Remmy’s hands, which were so strong neither of them had to hold back, so steady they stopped her trembling in its tracks. She’d taken it for granted how good they were at holding things together; she wasn’t sure how she was going to hold up without them. “Please, Remmy….” She whispered.

“Not really, no,” Remmy said with a half smile, “my lieutenant always said, never do anything half-assed, or you might end up assed in half.” They contorted their face a moment. “I guess that applied much more when you realize it was for being a bomb technician, but--” a shrug-- “guess it can apply in life, too.” They squeezed Morgan’s hands once more, hoping they could continue to steady hers, as they felt her desperation growing in her words. “Yeah, you can. I already told Deirdre you could. I’m not just gonna disappear into nothing, Morgan,” they muttered quietly, pressing their foreheads together, “I promised I wouldn’t.” At her plea, it reminded them of the second reason they’d asked Morgan over. “Right, yeah--” they stood up, then, slowly as to not rustle her, and started rifling through boxes. Finally, they pulled out a small box, before coming back over and sitting down again. “Here. It-- it’s not much, but I’m really not good at gift giving,” they said, shrugging. “It’s more a...going away gift than anything, though.” Because inside the box was a key to the mansion. A small charm was attached to the key, of two clasped hands, and another that was a rainbow flag. “It’s not forever, Morgan,” they murmured quietly, “we have forever, anyway.”

Morgan pressed her head firmly back into Remmy’s, holding them steady with a hand on the back of their neck. “Only you would give someone else a present for your own going away. Thank you. For all of it, thank you.” she whispered. “I’m just not used to this, you know? I don’t usually get to have people come back when they go. And after Deirdre, I don’t know if there’s anyone I want to lose less than you, Remmy. I mean, I’d get it if you needed a five or fifty year break from me someday. We don’t always have the easiest time. But just come back to me after.” She clutched the keys tight in her other hand, trying to anchor herself with the pinch of sensation. She breathed in, reaching for all the good of Remmy that was before her; breathed out, releasing their hurt and misunderstandings. In and out, together and apart and back again, two spheres of energy cycling through the world at their own pace.

“I love you forever, Remmy,” she whispered. “Even if you finish school and move all the way to Houston to build space ships and I don’t see you again til I’m a hundred, I love you forever.” She kissed their cheek and breathed them in one last time before pulling away. A fresh, brave smile on her bleary face. “So, hot shot. How about a nice goodbye dinner before I head home? You don’t really expect me to let you cook by yourself tonight, do you?”

“Guess I’m gonna have to be the one to change that, too,” Remmy said with a firm smile on their face. Now that Morgan had accepted it, now that Morgan was on board, everything felt so much easier, so much lighter. “It’s my only key, by the way,” they said jokingly, “so when I come back I guess I’ll have to come see you in order to get it.” And even if it was just that, a joke, they knew that the words themself were reassuring enough to let Morgan know that their meaning was true. They wrapped the hand she was gripping the key with in their own and squeezed tightly with her. “One step at a time, okay? Who knows, maybe there’s a place here I can work at to design spaceships.” They doubted that, but it was worth the mention. School would take a while, anyway, and all they wanted, for now, was to concentrate on the life ahead of them right now, and stop hanging onto what ifs and maybes. They were done with all that. It was time to put everything behind them and stand tall on the shoulders of the people they’d loved along the way. And the one holding them up the most, the one sturdy rock they’d had through everything, despite their differences, despite their shortcomings, despite their suffering, was Morgan. Always Morgan. They let out one last, long breath, and nodded. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

#chatzy #chatzy: morgan #wickedswriting #don't you forget about me #morgan

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trueishcolours · 5 years ago

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The ‘what if a different VK had love spelled Ben in Descendants 1′ post nobody asked for

Having Mal be the one to spell Ben doesn’t JUST boil down to ‘she’s the protag, so she gotta’ - there’s also the fact that she’s the most committed to the ‘steal-the-wand’ plot, while Evie is following her mother’s more small-scale plan to ‘find a prince with a big castle,’ and the boys are...honestly pretty ready to just fit in. No wonder Mal doesn’t want to give any of them a key role in the plot when she has to keep dragging them back into the plot! But Mal is arguably also the worst choice for doing a seduction plot. Evie is better at performing romance, and Carlos and Jay are both more comfortable with actual affection. Plus those three’s ambivalence towards Maleficent’s plan makes the plot splinter in interesting ways. So here I go!

Carlos: Probably the most straightforward. He is the only VK besides Mal to get a solo scene and relationship with Ben in D1, and what do we see in that scene? Ben being reassuring, Carlos opening up about the Isle, Ben making a clumsy attempt at giving affection which nonetheless goes over pretty well with Carlos. Carlos is also the first of the Core Four to say that going to Auradon might not be so bad, and, if we go with book canon, had the hardest time on the Isle, so he’s really got no incentive not to crack immediately under the onslaught of Ben Affection. I reckon in a universe where Carlos was the one love-spelling Ben, we’d see him falling in love a lot quicker than Mal (who’s still ambivalent in D2, after all!) and then dealing with a LOT of guilt over manipulating Ben. He’d probably try to talk the others out of the want plan before the coronation. Though he does have a core of steel and a loyalty to his friends that might keep him committed to the plan for longer, keeping things more interesting...

Evie: Probably the most emotionally interesting for me. In order to talk about what would happen here, I need to talk for a moment about what happened between Ben and Audrey. As we see in D3, Audrey is under tremendous pressure to marry Ben for her family’s sake, which means that she feels the need to constantly curate and perform their relationship, rather than letting Ben have the actual relationship he wants to have with her. If she thinks he’s not performing the relationship properly, she’ll correct him too, discouraging him from supporting the VKs because she doesn’t think it’s the right idea. This leads to moments like that scene where Audrey’s complaining about Mal’s magic, which is a scene I actually think about A LOT. For a moment, Audrey slips and reveals an ACTUAL INSECURITY (’if everyone looks good, then where will I be?’) Ben’s response? He goes to reassure her, but before he can get the words out, Audrey’s got her mask back in place; she cuts him off and changes the subject. Ben wants a true partnership with Audrey, but she can’t relax enough to actually open and let him, leaving him so emotionally dissatisfied that he’s primed for Mal to steal him away.

(When you think about it, Ben’s story is a constant pattern of him trying to give love and care to people who won’t accept it. First Audrey, who won’t stop performing for him, then Mal, who is afraid of connection, struggles to trust that he loves the real her and, by D2, is performing for him as well, and even Uma, who (quite reasonably!) mistrusts his offers of cooperation. But this is not a Ben post.)

So, what’s Audrey got to do with Evie? I can see Evie/Ben going wrong in exactly the same way as Audrey/Ben, because Evie and Audrey are actually people with very similar goals - marry a prince to please your (grand)mother. It would probably go wrong a lot more slowly with Evie than with Audrey, because Audrey is quite openly domineering, whereas Evie is more sweet-natured and, in D1, more needy, so it would probably take Ben longer to realise that she wasn’t truly letting him in. Which leaves us time for some deliciously slow-burn angst.

The central tension in a Ben/Evie Descendants would probably come from Evie debating whether to go for the wand or just try for marriage with Ben. After all, her personal goal was to marry a prince, and there’s not much point in that if he then loses his throne in a bloody revolution when you release all the villains on the Isle. So she’s wondering whether to just keep her new prince and her three friends, or whether to try for the wand, and meanwhile the guilt is slowwwwwly creeping up that she’s using and manipulating this prince who she’s actually starting to care for...

I think Evie would twist in the wind for a lot longer than Carlos, or even Mal, because unlike both of them she’s actually been brought up to manipulate a man into falling in love with her. There’s a double-bind which Audrey and a lot of real-life women who’ve been raised on traditional femininity fall into, where you’re taught simultaneously that True Love is real and happens spontaneously and feels wonderful - and that you must work constantly to deserve it, achieve it, and keep your man in it. So when Evie starts to have feelings for Ben, she will want to give into them, and at the same time she won’t trust that his kindness towards her will continue unless she makes it. She simultaneously believes in the dream and the nightmare. And meanwhile Ben is just bathing her in the above-mentioned ‘let me love youuuuuuu’ energy...

...maybe I need to write this AU.

Jay: So, if Evie is the natural choice to love-spell Ben because love-spelling Ben actually aligns with her personal goals, Jay is the natural choice in that he’s already the group honey trap. Seriously, guys; Jay is the only one of you who is comfortable with casual flirting and does it on the regular. I don’t know why you didn’t give him the job that literally requires flirting.

It’s the heteronormativity.

This one is tough, because we really learn almost nothing about Jay in canon, so I’m going to have to go off my own interpretations. I see Jay as the group protector, both physically and emotionally. He wraps his arms around them when they think they’re going to be driven into the sea; he goes to fight Maleficent before anybody else; in D2, when Harry kidnaps Ben, he taunts Jay specifically for failing to stop him. For emotional protection, see the scene in D1 where the Core Four Skype their parents. Jay manages everybody’s feelings in that scene. When Carlos starts snapping at Cruella, Jay puts an arm around him, drawing him away from a confrontation that he knows isn’t worth having, then keeps that arm round him for the rest of the scene. As the parents squabble amongst themselves, we see Evie start to look more and more distressed - and Jay notice her distress, struggle for a moment, then make the snap decision to cut off the call. And through it all, he’s aware that Fairy Godmother may be surprised at how much their parents suck, and upset that her idea for a call turned out to be a bad one, so he immediately turns to manage her feelings too - ‘thanks for the special treat.’ He’s like the eldest sibling in a dysfunctional family at Christmas dinner, managing conflict, pulling the plug, apologising for his family to the guests. So what I want to know in all this is, when do JAY’S emotional needs get met???

Ben whispering let me love youuuuuuuuuuu in the background...

So I’m not saying that fake-dating Ben would destroy Jay instantly, I’m just saying that, for all his character arc is supposed to be about discovering the meaning of teamwork, he seems to leave the Isle with a better sense of what it means to care for others than any of the other three. And when he suddenly finds himself BATHED IN CARING rather than having to DO all the caring...well, it’s just a question of who out of him and Carlos would crack quicker. Judging by the fact that Jay was the first one to actually voice any doubts about the plan to Mal, I’m going to say it’s him. Boy would MELT.

(Fun addendum: Jay is sexy and he knows it. Can we get some of him being worried at first that Ben only likes him as arm candy, then later really enjoying being Ben’s arm candy once he knows that Ben loves him for himself?)

Let’s round off this LONGBOI post by talking about the carriage scene, where Ben reveals that he knew he was spelled. ‘I haven’t been faking anything.’ Immortal words. Jesus fuck, Ben, why are you so bad at self-care and boundaries? So for Mal, this line doesn’t only make her feel bad, it makes her feel trapped. While obviously it’s awkward to find out that somebody who you’re about to betray loves you for real, for Mal Ben’s declaration of love would be inherently undesirable, even without the context, because Mal doesn’t want love, or at least thinks she doesn’t.

Evie, meanwhile, does want love - or at least thinks she does. So her reaction to ‘I haven’t been faking anything’ would be less ‘oh God, somebody is emotionally vulnerable to me, how do I respond, am I capable of reciprocating’ and more ‘oh God, I desperately want to believe him but I don’t know if I dare’ (see above-mentioned performativeness).

Carlos and Jay, meanwhile, are much more uncomplicated about accepting love than either Mal or Evie. For them, realising Ben loved them for real would be a straightforward betrayal-and-guilt kind of deal. ‘I haven’t been faking anything’ would kill them both instantly.

#descendants #evie grimhilde #jay son of jafar #carlos de vil #ben florian #monstrous blogs

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razorblade180 · 5 years ago

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Sunshower 9

Dusk time, the time every resident has been waiting for has returned once again. Decorations start to light up like yesterday and one by one people started to roam the streets yet again; including Neptune. He leaned against a small metal railing that went down to the beach via several steps. His pants were replaced with red shorts and a black, half buttoned up shirt. Perfect casual attire for having fun on the beach. It also was the only place his goggles didn’t stick out.

Even though the festivities had just begun, Neptune had already been patiently waiting for Ilia. Sun had informed them of conversation that took place by the lake and eagerly waiting to hear her interpretation of it. He’d had practiced pretending to be ignorant about it for an hour. Secretly being the friend they both turn towards for this predicament was rather challenging, yet flattering. Not to mention he was kinda living for this type teen drama. It was sure more investing than dealing with grimm.

Neptune:Hmmm, where the hell is she? I hope she didn’t change her mind.

“Freeze Human! You’re under arrest!!!” A voice cried out behind Neptune that made him jump instantly and turn around with his hands up.

Neptune:Officer I swear it was Su- Judy?

Judy:Hahaha! Man I got you good!

The fox officer laughed hysterically while holding their scroll sideways like a gun. Neptune would’ve been furious if he wasn’t busy looking at Judy’s outfit. The uniform from earlier was replaced with some blue daisy dukes that showed off her legs and a red crop top that proved that Judy definitely was the type who took police academy seriously. It was a good thing Judy had warned him earlier about using compliments like foxy because he definitely would’ve said it here.

Neptune:Woah.......

Judy:I could say the same thing. I guess earlier I saw you in standard clothes and not party attire. Not to shabby.

Neptune:Th...thanks. You look....wow.

Judy:Hmmm first woah, now wow. Here I thought you had flirting down packed.

Neptune:I’m...sorry?

Judy:Don’t be. Bumbling is was more adorable. *winks*

Neptune:*red* S..so, you’re definitely not dressed for work hehe. I guess you’re off the clock?

Judy:Yep! But technically an officer never really is. If something pops off and I’m around then you bet your ass I got to do something about it. With parties like these even the best of people can do something crazy with enough liquor in their liver.

Neptune:Hehe, ain’t that the truth?

Judy:Hmm, aren’t you too young to drink?

Neptune:.......

Neptune:Am I about to get a ticket?

Judy:Pfft, that’s not worth the ink; and you won’t just here me say that. When Menagerie parties like this then it’s pretty common for the young adults to end up drinking as well. If we tried to enforce a law like the drinking limit during these then we’d run out of trees to make paper in a day. So we let it slide. It’s a double edged sword though. Anybody who gets arrested for something better not hope they’re illegally intoxicated. We’ll add that to the charge.

Neptune:So I’m guessing you’re what, 21?

Judy:Actually I just turned 22. I don’t drink though. Not really my style.

Neptune:I don’t know many people like you. A badass older woman fox cop. That’s a mouthful.

Judy:.......

Neptune:What?

Judy:*hands on hips smirking* Give it a second.

Neptune:......!!! Shit! I’m sorry! Badass older...person. Was that rude? I didn’t mean to-

Judy:*grabs his shoulder* Neptune, was it?

Neptune:Y..yes.

Judy:I’m just messing with ya. Lighten up; just wondering if you’d catch on.

Neptune:I sort of put two and two together with a bit of Ilia’s help. Sorry, I have a couple of gay friends but non-binary is a new one. I’ll try not to slip up too much.

Judy:*grinning* I appreciate the thought. I’m not sensitive about that sort of thing though. Cops need thick skin and I’ve lived this life long enough to be comfortable with how I’m addressed. Feminine pronouns are no skin off my back. Brownie points though if you do get the hang of it though. It would definitely make you more....appealing.

That last word was said strangely to him. Either he was reading the room wrong or there was a definite vibe sh-they were trying to give him. The boy was definitely out of his league with this one. Judy watched his face get a little redder as he was finally let go of.

Neptune:Good to know.

Judy:That’s enough about. Wanna tell me why you’re standing here all alone? I saw your friend up at the Belladonna estate just a bit ago. Waiting on a date?

Neptune:No, but I wouldn’t mind one honestly.

Judy:*raises eyebrow* How bold.

Neptune:That’s not what I- I mean if you wanna. Wait, I’m doing something important! I’m waiting for Ilia; I’m supposed to meet her here.

Judy:She was looking pretty rough earlier. I didn’t think she’d party two days in a row.

Neptune:She sort of got persuaded. I’m wondering what’s keeping her?

Judy:Why wonder when you can ask? You have her number right? Face time her.

Neptune:Why not just call?

Judy:Trust me, she doesn’t answer regular calls nearly as often. She’s probably just laying around.

xxxx

“I’m going to be the number one hero!”

“Fuck yeah you are!” Ilia shouted at her tv proudly as she put a spoon full of cereal in her mouth. “I wish someone could give me a super power.”

Bzzz!!! Bzzz!!! Incoming call

She looked down at her scroll to see the little goggle icon she gave Neptune shaking side to side Ilia wasn’t stupid. She knew what time it was; she also knew that she still wasn’t feeling in a party mood. ‘Maybe if I ignore it, he won’t call it again? Then again, it’s face time. Why not just call? .....screw it.’ Ilia answers it.

Ilia:H-

Neptune:Where are you!? Party time officially began at least half an hour ago!

Ilia:Uuhhhhh, fashionably late?

Neptune:Is that why you have dried up milk in the corners of your mouth?

Ilia:.....*wipes mouth* Yes? Hehehe.

Neptune:Are you even dressed?

Ilia:...Does a sports bra and basketball shorts count?

Neptune:You wear a bra in the comfort and privacy of your own house?

Ilia:Yeah?

Neptune:Hmmm, you would.

Ilia:W..what does that me-

Neptune:Never mind that! Ilia, put on something party casual and hurry up. Don’t think I won’t drag you out of your house.

Ilia:You don’t know where I live Neptune.

Judy:*offscreen* I do!

Ilia:Judy!? Are you with my parole officer!!? Am I on speaker phone!?

Neptune:...That sounds pretty bad out loud but yes. Say hi Judy. *hands her scroll*

Judy:Hey Spots. You look comfy.

Ilia:I was. Now I’m suspicious.

Judy:Relax, I bumped into your friend and simply asked what he was doing. Apparently he’s waiting for you, so get off your butt and put on your dancing shoes!

Ilia:Shouldn’t my parole officer encourage me to stay in one place?

Judy:All I have to do is recommend you make good choices, which is something I never had to do with you personally because news flash, you’re a good citizen; reformed anyways.

Ilia:Woah, almost a complete compliment.

Judy:You know I find you endearing. Now are you real going to bum out on your couch watching anime.

Ilia:How did you know it was-

Judy:Or are you going to enjoy the night with your friend who keeps jumping every time he hears a wave crash on the shore?

Neptune:Hey!

Ilia:Sigh........uuuugggggghhhhh

Judy:FYI, if I see you out and about tonight then you don’t have to wake up early and report to me tomorrow. You can sleep in.

Ilia:.......

Ilia:Give me fifteen minutes.

Judy:I’ll give you twenty five. I can smell you from here. *hangs up*

Ilia:I don’t-oooohhhh Judy you.....why can’t I have a normal parole officer!?

xxxx

Judy:She’s on her way.

Neptune:You’re good.

Judy:Nah, Ilia is just a big softie. Even if she won’t admit it. I do hope she cuts back on the drinking.

Neptune:Pfft, after yesterday she already said she’s not drinking a single drop of alcohol.

Judy:Whay happened yesterday?

Neptune:(Crap....) Oh you know..... too drunk to actually enjoy herself. I mean you saw her when I had to basically carry her.

Judy:Hmm, you’re definitely holding out on me. I can hear it your voice.

Neptune:What are you a detective? Wait, are you? *eyes widen*

Judy:No, you’re just really bad under pressure. That’s enough of you talking about what you do with females at parties. We have time to kill. *grabs his hand*

Neptune:*red* Where are we going?

Judy:Standing in one spot is boring! We’re going on a little walk on beach. Maybe get our feet a little wet?

Neptune:That’s...you see....bodies of w..water and I don’t exactly go together!

Judy:Yeah right. Your name is Neptune and I can see the goggles on your head.

Neptune:(I’ve made a terrible choice in fashion. Sun, I don’t know how but you owe me for this one.)

xxxx

Yang:Oh, you’re back....

Sun:Yeah, I have a room here....

The two of them stood in the doorway of Blake’s house. Not many people have come to enjoy the festivities inside yet but those who did were treated to uneasy tension the two radiated. Neither of them had changed. In situations like these, you come prepared for the worst.

Yang:I don’t want to argue with you.

Sun:Me either.

Yang:So why does it feel like we’re one bad move away screaming our heads off.

Sun:Because you’re obviously defensive over this. As for me, I’m.....sad.

Yang:*frown* You’re not sad Sun. I know what sad is. What you are is hurt. Badly. Not that I blame you.

Sun:But you still insist on rubbing it in my face knowing how I feel? I thought you were better than that.

Yang:That’s not what- listen, I get it. I started ya off on bad terms and might’ve...deserved some choice words. My bad. Can we at least try to look past that?

Sun:*folds arms*....For Blake.

Yang:For Blake.

Kali:*walks up* Well that was a sorry excuse for an apology. Shouldn’t huntsman be somewhat good with deterring hostile situations. Both of you are scaring guest. Now I may not know the complete ins and outs of your problems but I know Blake cherishes you both; I cherish you both. Ghira might not show it but Sun, he is fond of you.

Something about hearing that made him smile a little. It would’ve been nice for Ghira to say it himself but still, it was nice.

Kali:If one of you is upset then Blake is upset. If both of you are upset with each other then you better believe that Blake will be concerned and I’ll be mad at both of you. So please, actually try and forgive one another; faking it won’t solve the problem. You’ll only end up more hurt.

Yang and Sun:.......Yes ma’am.

Kali:Sun?

Sun:Yes?

Kali:I hope you know that you don’t have to force yourself to okay so soon? As much as I would be thrilled if you were, we all know that’s not how these things work. Take your time. After all, this isn’t some physical injury you got. You’re heart broken.

He was. Sun didn’t really want to give it that label. Him and Blake definitely shared a lot of deep moments together since they met but they weren’t exactly plentiful. Yet somehow Blake....really captivated him. She was special to him. That feeling itself hasn’t changed. there was now simply miserable end layer that followed it; like bitter sweet chocolate. Coming here in the first place was struggle on its own. His chest felt heavy and face slightly warm. It felt wrong to not be completely happy for Blake. It felt selfish....

Yang:You know, Blake is still getting ready. Kali and I can tell her you stopped by to let her know you just weren’t feeling well? If that’s what you wanna do that is.

Sun:..Yeah. That might be for the best right now. *rubs head* Tell her I’m sorry too.

Yang watched him turn around and begin walking down the stairs. Guilt didn’t stop with him. Even she had to admit this isn’t what she wanted. Seeing Sun low spirited was unnatural. Things couldn’t end like that; not completely poor. “Sun!” She called out to him without thinking and ran to him. Sun turned just in time to receive an unexpected hug from the blonde bruiser. It took a moment before he returned it in kind.

Sun:.....

Kali:*smiling*

Yang:Please feel better. I mean that. You’re just not you without a smile. I’m...I’m sorry I took that from you. I didn’t mean to.

Sun:Something was going to be collateral. No way around that. Thanks though; I needed a hug.

Sun spent no time putting distance between himself and that house. The sunset had was finally fading int night and with it brought more active people out and about. Many heading to where he just left, but some preferred to make the streets their dance floor. He wasn’t quite in a mood for it however. Instead he sat alone on a bench near the beach entrance and closed his eyes.

‘I wonder where the other are? They should be around here somewhere. Heh, Ilia is totally gonna be pissed that I didn’t follow through. Well, not exactly. At least Yang and I seem a bit more friendly. Still, so much for a part do over’

“Someone looks pretty gloomy for them to claim that making friends is their so called secret semblance.” The sarcastic tone was all he needed to hear in order to know Ilia was right in front of him.

“Hi Ilia.” No effort was put into making that sound cheery. “Sun, please tell me I didn’t get dressed for nothing?” His eyebrows scrunched at her words in confusion before actually deciding to take a look at the her. Ilia wore a simple white tank top and jean shorts that looked ripped by her own doing. They were faded and stopped halfway down her thighs. The most surprising part about the outfit, other than it being like colors, was her shoes. Sun didn’t expect Ilia to own a pair of high top sneakers. They were so blue with yellow stitching.

Sun:Where are the others?

Ilia:Don’t know; I just got here.

Sun:What? Shouldn’t you have been here like an hour ago?

Ilia:*red* I-I almost bailed. I’m sorry...

Sun:Don’t be. I kinda wished you did. It would make me feel a lot better about not holding up my end of the bargain.

Ilia:Someone looks like they have a story to tell. Or a reason to scream?

Sun:Try both.

Ilia:I just might. After you tell me about it first. Scoot over.

xxxx

Ilia:....

Sun:Well? No comments?

Ilia:Oh I have comments. They’re just mostly I told you so. Seriously, I’m the one who suggested getting space away from this situation in the first place!

Sun:I’m pretty sure you did not phrase it as kind. “Screw Blake Belladonna mentality” was what you said.

Ilia:Same difference. You got the message.

Sun:Yeah. Sorry, you were right. If you wanna go home then I won’t stop you. I’m not in much of a party mood anyways.

Ilia:.....

Ilia:Too bad

Sun:What?

Ilia:I said too bad. I’m already dressed and out here. You’re stuck with me. We decided on three hours right? Plenty of time to turn this night around.

Sun:But-

Ilia:Too bad....*grins* Listen, would you really rather sit here alone and bummed out. At least around me you’ll look cheery by comparison.

Sun:That’s pretty when you think about Ilia.

Ilia:Trust me, I know. So let’s at least try to fix that!

Her words and attitude were picking up steam so to speak. Only a little awhile ago did Sun hear the girl want to do nothing but lay around but now she was at least trying to give him positive vibes to feed off on. He hasn’t seen this much enthusiasm since their race. “You’re a real haggler aren’t ya?”

“You’re one to talk, banana breath.” She folded her arms and smirked with pride. The petty insult managed to put more of a smile on his face. “Look at that, you’re looking better already.” He playfully rolled his eyes; she might’ve been right though. He’d let her have this little victory if it meant her spirits was lifted too. A smile on her face was beginning to be a rare thing.

The two kept trying to read each other’s facial expression in an attempt to get some sort of edge over the other to tease them about. That all stopped however when the same thought came to both of them. ‘How long have I been staring?’ Unknowingly this had been going on for a couple minutes. Not only that, they hadn’t realized how physically close they had gotten in the process. Someway, somehow, Ilia had inched closer to him until there was almost no space between them except for hands that were finger nails apart. Sun was no better. He was so focused on reading her that he actually had leaned in a bit. Their faces only a few inches away. Ilia’s skin flashed pink briefly before her immediate jolt backwards away from him. Sun wondered if she had noticed? He wouldn’t bring it up if she didn’t. Even he could tell his face was probably a bit flushed from the unexpected breach of personal space.

Sun:S..Sorry about-

Ilia:No, it’s fine. My bad. We’re cool......

Sun:Cool. Cool...*rubs head* so uhh, let’s find Neptune I guess?

Ilia:Sounds like a plan!

They hop up from the bench and begin looking too see if they could spot him. “Judy was with him whe he called me. I’m sure they’re on the beach.”

“Let’s go then.” His mind instinctively went to grab her hand. He had caught what he was about to do but before he could backpedal, Ilia’s hand met his halfway and grabbed it. Her own subconscious action startled her. She had seen his hand swing back to her and simply...reached for it. Ilia looked at their hands then at Sun who was more than a little embarrassed by the incident.

Sun:I-

Ilia:Yeah, this crowd is getting pretty big. Wouldn’t want to get split and then have to find each other too.

She couldn’t tell if she was giving him an out, being logical, or rationalizing what happened to herself; and she wasn’t about to linger on it. Now was the time for fun. Anything else can be dealt with another day. Ilia took the lead and lead him to the beach.

Part8

#rwby #sun wukong #ilia amitola #neptune vasilias #sun x ilia #rwby sunspots #rwby sunshower #yang xiao long #kali belladonna #bmblb #bumbleby #you ever accidentally go on a double date #taking night walks on the beach?#rwby au #rwby ships

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perspective-series · 5 years ago

Text

Vampire Perspective (6/17)

By: @arc852 and @hiddendreamer67

Warnings: Just the usual death threats

First Chapter || Previous Chapter || Next Chapter

—————————————————————————————

Virgil paused. “Wait, seriously? You’re just giving up?”

Logan took a deep breath before opening his eyes back up and looking at Virgil’s upside down face. “What else do you expect me to do? You are in control here. If you want to drop me, you will drop me. If you want to eat me...you will eat me. I die no matter what. I see no point in trying to fight when I know that it is...pointless.”

Virgil blinked. “...oh.” Not for the first time, the borrower surprised him. Virgil cleared his throat, trying to get back into his fear-sona. “Well, that’s just pathetic. Look at you, a borrower who clearly wants to die. Such a little disgrace to your kind.”

“I do not want to die.” Logan said firmly, glaring up at his captor. “Far from it, in fact. But, honestly, what else do you expect me to do? Try and escape? You’ll just catch me.”

“Well, yeah, but I expected you to do it anyway.” Virgil admitted. He dropped to a crouch, still dangling the borrower.

“Because you see me as nothing more than a timid animal? I loathe to break it to you but I am no such creature. I possess far more intellectual intelligence than a creature who acts on pure instinct.” Logan explained. He took a deep breath, starting to feel dizzy from being held upside down for so long. He started massaging his own head.

“Okay, yeah, you’re not a timid rabbit, but you’re basically a tiny human and those are pretty stupid too.” Virgil deadpanned.

“Well…” Logan adjusted his glasses, surprised they hadn’t dropped from his face. “I like to think of myself as even more intelligent than them.” He allowed himself a slight twitch of his lips. “After all, humans are stupid enough to miss things going missing and if they do, they simply chalk it up to something as trivial as a forgotten memory. Or a ghost. Although…” He looked over at Virgil. “I am to assume if vampires are real then…”

“What, are you asking me about ghosts?” Virgil arched an eyebrow, caught somewhere between amused and annoyed as he sat down properly and set Logan on his knee. “As an undead I think that’s racist.”

Logan let out a sigh of relief as he was finally put down. He sat down, seeing no use in trying to escape, especially when he was on Virgil’s person. His eyebrows furrowed. “My apologies...although I am a bit confused on how you found that racist. I was simply asking a question.” He tilted his head. “Also, wouldn’t that be more specist?”

Virgil snorted. “Yeah, sure, whatever. Point is ghosts aren’t in my family tree. Well, they are, but only because my relatives haunt me. Any real ghosts usually keep their distance.”

“Ah, so they are real.” Logan noticed, humming in thought. “Fascinating.” He never would have guessed these supernatural creatures actually existed.

“They’re really not; they’re just humans who are whiners. Oh, and also dead.” Virgil added the second bit as an afterthought.

“Couldn’t that technically be said about you and other vampires? After all, you were all human before too, weren’t you? And now you are technically ‘dead’ though undead is a better description.” Logan asked.

Virgil narrowed his gaze. “Now that is definitely species-ist, and offensive. I advise you to never imply a single drop of me was or ever has been a filthy mortal again.”

Logan blinked. “You...have always been a vampire? I did not even know that was possible.”

“There’s purebreds, like me, and then there’s halfbreeds, like Patton.” Virgil’s eyes widened in slight horror, realizing what he said and stumbling over his words to correct. “I mean, ah, Patton’s not less of a vamp; well he’s weaker, but… no, shut up. Patton’s as vampire as the rest of us and anybody who says otherwise isn’t worth their fangs.”

Logan raised his hands in surrender. “I didn’t say anything. And though I haven’t met this Patton, I believe him to be as much of a vampire as you.” ...Especially if that was the vampire that had eaten Roman.

“...Good.” Virgil sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Sorry, I’m just...defensive, when it comes to Patton.”

Logan hummed. “Is it because you were the one to turn him?” He guessed. He didn’t know what other reason Virgil would care so much.

Virgil tensed, looking down at Logan with confusion and slight suspicion. “How’d you know that?”

“From the way you spoke of him and the fact you live together, it was a logical conclusion to make.” Logan explained, glad to know he was right. “If you don’t mind me asking, why did you turn him in the first place? You do not strike me as the type to enjoy company.”

“What makes you say that?” Virgil looked almost baffled at the insinuation.

“Well...maybe it just feels that way to me, seeing as how I’m meant to be prey at not another being of which you would want to converse with. But you spend a lot of time alone here and I have not heard you speak of anyone else but of Patton. You also give off this...stand-offish aura about yourself.” Logan explained his reasoning, which he took as pretty solid evidence.

“Huh, yeah I guess.” Virgil shrugged. “I just found it weird because I do like company, just… very specifically company. Or exclusively Patton.”

“Is there some sort of bond that happens once a vampire turns a human?” Logan asked, his curiosity getting the best of him.

“Usually, a Turned vampire has a sort of… mentorship with the Vamp that turned them.” Virgil explained in kinder terms than others would. “Sometimes it’s more of an apprenticeship and you leave when you’re trained, sometimes it’s more of an eternal life servant if you can control them, but usually it’s just another way of growing your… family, I guess? I don’t know if that’s the right word. I just know eternity is lonely and I didn’t want to be alone.”

“I...see.” Logan said. He had never thought much of eternity, after all, he was not eternal but he did not like the sound of it. “That makes sense I suppose. Did you choose Patton randomly or was he someone you...for lack of a better term, stalked and chose?”

Virgil tensed, knowing the truth was a bit of both. He had chosen Patton, yes, but only as a quick dinner back in the days when a non-lethal drink was considered poor taste… but then, looking into Patton’s eyes, Virgil felt guilt pool up in him. Not a common occurrence when you’re a horrible monster born to suck the life out of humans and suffer until one plunges a stake through your heart.

“I just knew.” Virgil snipped, not willing to spill his life story.

Logan bit his lip. The tone Virgil used told him to not try and ask any further questions about that. He looked around the room and out the window, noticing the moon still high in the sky. “If...If I am to not die tonight, may I have something to eat or drink?” Logan asked, only slightly hesitant.

“Oh, right.” Virgil inwardly cursed himself. He was exceedingly bad at this… even if it didn’t really matter, Virgil felt like he was failing anyways. Maybe some of Patton’s hosting instincts were rubbing off on him, wanting to make sure his ‘guest’ was taken care of. If that were the case, it was certainly weird that those instincts had decided to kick in now, with what was supposed to be his food.

“Alright, come on then.” Virgil set the borrower on the ground, standing up to his full height.

Logan blinked, straining his neck as he looked up at Virgil. “I-I’m sorry?”

Virgil didn’t bother replying, instead disappearing into the familiar black cloud. When his bat form emerged it dove for Logan, sweeping the borrower off his feet by grabbing both arms with its claws.

“Ah!” Logan screamed as he was suddenly lifted into the air. He tried to look up and saw a portion of Virgil’s bat form from his perspective. He forced himself to cease his struggling, knowing it would do him no good to fall from this height.

“Wh-Where are we going?” He asked instead, wondering if Virgil could even talk in this form.

Squeak!

The bat gave a noise about as annoyed as a bat could sound, rolling its eyes as it glided up through the open window and down towards the forest.

Logan was going to take that as a ‘no’ then. He shifted slightly, trying to keep the nails from scratching him. He supposed he would just have to wait and see where they went.

Once out of sight of the house, the bat unceremoniously dropped Logan onto a tree branch, before with a puff the vampire had reappeared, grinning down at the borrower.

Logan yelped, gripping onto the branch below him as he warily looked up at the vampire. “Was it really necessary for me to come with you?” He asked.

“Yeah- if I’m doing your boring food gathering, you have to come too.” Virgil grabbed up the borrower, placing him on his shoulder. “Besides, now I don’t have to guess what you can eat, and the fresh air will do you some good.”

“How will fresh air do anything?” As a borrower who never went outside, he didn’t get it. He gripped the fabric beneath him in order to stay on Virgil’s shoulder.

“I don’t know- you’re the one that needs to breathe.” Virgil reminded him, walking further into the forest. “Patton just uses that expression a lot. I assumed it was a thing.”

“I have heard humans use it as well but it doesn’t imply to me, as the outside is dangerous for borrowers.” Logan explained. He had only been outside a handful of times.

“Okay, well, pretty sure a vampire coven is more dangerous for you.” Virgil argued.

“...That is a fair point.” Logan admitted. It had certainly been for Roman and soon him.

Virgil stopped, squinting down at the first berry bush that he came across. “Can you eat these?”

Logan looked them over. “I am unsure about these, so I would say no.”

“You could just test them.” Virgil suggested, taking one off the bush and holding it out.

Logan sent him a deadpanned look and pushed the berry away. “Again. I do not wish to die.”

“So picky.” Virgil rolled his eyes, even if his tone was mostly teasing as he tossed the berry back into the bush and continued his stroll.

“Why must we go searching for berries anyway? Could you not just go to a store and buy some food?” Logan asked, warily watching the setting around him. After all, he had never been in the forest before.

“Why should I have to deal with mortal currency? They’re just going to change it again in a few centuries. Plus, there’s like a couple hundred kinds now. Nobody just accepts gold, it’s ridiculous.” Virgil was grumbling now, clearly annoyed at the turn of modern civilization. “Not to mention I’m terrible with glamors, so even if I had a strange desire to stroll through down it would certainly be accompanied by screaming. Humans are bad at minding their own business.”

“I...see.” Logan hummed. “So, you just stay away from humans, period, unless you’re feeding from them?” He asked.

“Why else would I interact with them?” Virgil shrugged lightly.

“Fair point. Humans really are worth only what they can provide, aren’t they?” Logan said. He lived off of humans, sure, but he never wanted to interact with them. Even if mostly because it would probably be fatal for him.

“Oh yeah, you leech off them too.” Virgil mused. “I like the way you think, half-pint.”

Logan felt his lips turn up into a smile despite himself. Were they...actually getting along?

No...no Virgil must simply just be playing with his food. The vampire still planned to eat him after all. His smile dropped and he focused more on looking around him. “There are some berries over there that I think are good.” From this distance, they looked like blackberries.

Spotting the bush, Virgil took some extra strides at vampire speed to hasten the process. He gathered up some of the fruit, cupping it so Logan could take from his hand. “Can you eat these or are you going to deny my charity again?”

“No, these are perfect.” Logan said, grabbing one. They were indeed blackberries and he took a large bite from it. “Thank you.”

“I mean, I was the one accidentally starving you, but you’re welcome.” Virgil accepted his thanks.

Logan ate another bit before biting his lip. “May I have some water, as well? If that’s possible?” He was quite thirsty despite the berry’s juice.

“If you’re not picky.” Virgil knew some humans wouldn’t drink anything but that bottled plastic junk. “There should be a stream this way.”

“That should be fine.” After all, he was used to drinking rainwater.

“Good, cause that’s all I got.” Virgil’s adept hearing picked up the babbling brook. He broke through the overgrowth, spotting water source. Virgil crouched down on the mossy shore. The vampire reached up, gathering Logan in his hand and placing him on the stones.

Logan took a moment to catch his balance before kneeling down and sipping the stream water. He took generous sips, sighing in relief as the cool water washed down his throat. He had been thirstier than he had initially thought. He took a few more sips before standing back up. “Thank you, that should hold me over.” Until his death tomorrow, Logan thought sorrowfully.

“Wait, frick, how often are you supposed to drink water?” Virgil asked, realizing he hadn’t given the borrower any before now.

“Well...really, it should be several cups a day. But I can also go three days without water. It isn’t healthy but it’s possible.” Logan explained.

“Well yeah, obviously, because you’re not dead.” Virgil’s face pulled into a concerned grimace. “Ugh, now I wish I’d brought a bottle or something...why didn’t you say anything?”

Logan blinked. “I did...not think it mattered.” And he did not see how it mattered now either. “I will be dead by tomorrow night anyway, right?”

Virgil blinked, slowly remembering who he was talking to. Yeah, this was the borrower he captured as a powerful snack. It didn’t matter if he stayed hydrated because by tomorrow evening Virgil would be starving and willing to eat anything and completely able to get over this stupid hesitation.

“Right.” Virgil muttered, his voice so gravelly it was nearly a growl as he scooped Logan back up into his fist. “But I’m not going to have a little thing like you cheating and trying to kill yourself off early.”

Logan just bit back a yelp as he once again found himself in the vampire’s fist. He didn’t bother to struggle though. “I wasn’t planning on it.”

“Then you’re going to tell me all the things you need so you don’t accidentally die on me either.” Virgil ranted, storming off into the forest. “No more keeping me in the dark.”

“O-Okay?” Logan said, confused by how worried Virgil seemed, despite how he tried to cover it up. “Really though, I should be fine for the rest of my time with you.”

“Don’t make assumptions about how long you’re with me; I’m the one in charge here.” Virgil glared briefly down at the borrower in hand. “If I wanted I could just eat you now. No rules about having to do it in the house.”

Logan felt his heart skip a beat at the glare. “I am...well aware.” He ducked his head. “My apologies.”

“...I’m not going to, though.” Virgil conceded, ducking beneath a branch as he neared the edge of the woods. “Like I said, not tonight.”

Logan nodded and then paused. “...May I ask a question?”

Virgil stopped for a moment, his curiosity piqued. “Uh, sure I guess.”

“Have you...have you ever eaten any other borrowers before?” With how old Virgil was and how he had already known about his kind, it honestly would not surprise him.

Virgil tensed, feeling his mind wander uncomfortably close to the dark days of his past.

“Nope, changed my mind, no questions.” Virgil didn’t even wait for the borrower’s reply, setting Logan roughly on a branch before switching to his bat form.

Logan found that odd, definitely. But the question left his mind once Virgil changed into a bat. Knowing what was to come next, he sighed and lifted his arms up. Might as well make it easier on himself.

The bat swooped in, gathering up Logan and flapping its wings at a much faster pace than before so even by vampiric standards the duo returned to Virgil’s room in a matter of seconds. The bat flew up to the top of the room, dropping the borrower then transforming back and catching Logan before he could hit the ground.

“Ah!” Logan screamed as he was dropped, only to let out an ‘oof’ as he was caught. He panted at the scare, looking over at Virgil. “You don’t want me to die early and yet you pull stunts like that.”

“I just don’t want you to die not by my hands.” Virgil corrected, opening the cage. “Besides, you’re fine. I didn’t drop you.” Virgil considered the stunt to be adequate payback for the borrower’s question.

“You technically did, you just caught me as well.” Logan said but there was no bite to it. He glanced at the cage and sighed. Back in there again.

Virgil gave a chuckle at that, caught off guard by the borrower’s dry wit. “Okay, fine, I didn’t not catch you. You’re fine.”

“Fine is a relative term, but I suppose I am.” Logan agreed, somewhat.

With a satisfied nod at the borrower’s approval, Virgil put Logan back into the cage. He gave a two-fingered salute, heading back to his coffin. “Whelp, see ya tomorrow night.”

Logan sighed, slumping against the cage as he watched the sun start to rise. “Good...morning.” He said, after a second thought. It was strange to think that this would be the last morning he would ever see.

#vampire perspective #vampire!virgil #borrower!logan #perspective series #part 6

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notbang · 5 years ago

Text

an art or a science

A scene’s worth of deviation from 3x03 - aka AU where Rebecca doesn’t stand Nathaniel up, and Nathaniel takes something Rebecca said in 3x02 to heart.

read on AO3

“Well, we’re here. Are you happy now? Nobody’s blowing anybody off, fly or otherwise. I’ll go up, I’ll sample his spaghetti sauce, and we’ll call it a day.”

Rebecca shuts off the ignition, feeling oddly defensive. It’s only eight thirteen—barely pushing the limits of her track record with punctuality, really.

All she gets is a grunt in return, followed by a snide, “That doesn’t sound very appeasing if you ask me.”

“Maybe if you had a better appreciation of figurative language, it would.” Caving under the glare she receives, she rolls her eyes and concedes. “Fine. We go in, we go out, we maybe engage in some heavy petting in lieu of dessert. I’m talking strictly hand stuff only. One hour, tops.” She casts a glance towards the unimpressed preteen currently sinking down, cross-armed in the passenger seat and purses her lips. “Forget I said any of that. Cover your ears. Wash your mouth out with soap.”

“Why am I the one getting her mouth washed out?”

Rebecca sighs, throwing her hands up as she tips her head back against the seat in thinly veiled exasperation. “I don’t know—because then you’ll be too busy pulling funny faces and gagging at the gross taste to repeat any of what you just heard. Now, can I leave you in here unattended? Do I need to crack a window?”

“You seriously think locking me in the car is going to keep your anxiety at bay?”

“Well, I figure in the very least it’ll give me some kind of a head start. Can’t hurt a girl to try, right?”

Reaching into the back seat to retrieve the haphazardly folded shirt she’d tossed in there on the drive over, Rebecca gives herself a quick once-over in the rearview before reluctantly making her way towards the lobby of Nathaniel’s building.

It takes him longer to answer her knock than she’s expecting, and in the extra stretch of seconds she nearly convinces herself she’s waited long enough to justify leaving. Before she can redirect her inexplicable nervous energy from fidgeting into fleeing, though, the door swings open to reveal Nathaniel, shirtsleeves rolled up to his elbows, and despite having seen him naked only a few nights before she finds herself strangely captivated by this new business-casual bare expanse of exposed forearms.

“Rebecca,” he says, and she thinks it sounds like he’s sighing it in relief, almost. Like he hadn’t expected her to show.

“Hi. I, uh… this is yours.” She fingers one of the gunmetal buttons on his dress shirt before thrusting it it towards him.

“Oh. Thank you.”

His gaze flits up from the white bundle in his hands to sashay up the length of her, and she can see it written across his features that he’s remembering what it looked like wrapped around her instead.

Neck flushing hot, she hikes her purse further up onto her shoulder and clears her throat. “Look, Nathaniel. The other night was fun, and I appreciate you helping me out, but I’ve got a lot going on right now, and I just really think we should avoid making this into something it’s—sorry, what is all this?”

It occurs to her, somewhat belatedly, that his previously tending-towards-Spartan apartment is suddenly overrun with what appears to be stacks of shipping crates. Beyond the rows of boxes, in front of his black leather sofa, she can just make out a small wooden table that wasn’t there before either, unmistakably candlelit and set for two.

Nathaniel examines his nail beds, exuding exaggerated nonchalance. “Hm? Oh, these? Video games.”

Tearing her gaze away from the surprisingly feminine floral centrepiece—did he pick that out himself? she wonders—she blinks at him, still in need of further elucidation. “Video games,” she repeats.

“Mm-hmm.”

“You—Productivity Plimpton the third—play video games,” she says, dubiously, before narrowing her eyes into a suspicious squint. “Do you even own a TV?”

He tilts his head, his expression both guarded and curious, as if confused by her own confusion. “They’re not for me,” he says slowly.

While some spiralling-out-of-control part of her is still desperate to say her piece and leave, she’s nothing if not easily distracted; if Nathaniel’s being deliberately obtuse she’s willingly falling for it, hook, line and frustrated sinker.

“Okay, I’ll bite. What, then? You doing all your company Christmas shopping in one hit? I’ll just stick to a good old fashioned bonus, but thanks anyway, I guess?”

Nathaniel barks out a mocking laugh. “I’m not sure what exactly about disappearing for two weeks of unapproved leave preceded by what was already months of questionable workplace attendance makes you think you’re eligible for a bonus of any description, but no.”

“Uh, maybe the tens of thousands of dollars that I make for the firm every month with my eyes closed,” she lobbies back, making sure to tack on a performative eye-roll for good measure.

“Hmm. Which might be commendable, were it not for the strictly eyes-open policy I had put in place upon my arrival.”

It’s shifting dangerously close to too-familiar territory, their barbed back and forth, and in a desperate effort to reclaim some unspoken upper ground she’s in the middle of rehashing her potential excuses with which to blow him off when he continues on, unprompted.

“I called in a favour with an old law school buddy of mine who convinced a client of his to file a lawsuit against the studio of Josh’s favourite franchise, Sins of the Fleshless, for copyright infringement. The servers for the online multiplayer have been suspended and the upcoming release of the next instalment is indefinitely delayed.”

Hearing Josh’s name sends an involuntary jerk through her, incomprehension creeping with dread. “I don’t understand,” she says.

“Zomber Stomper II: the Quick and the Dead proved more of a challenge, since it’s already hit the shelves, but I was able to pull some strings and secure every physical copy on the West Coast. George should be finishing up at a Buy More in Burbank as we speak.”

It’s his tone, more than anything, that eventually sparks recognition—taking her back to being sprawled out alongside him in his bed, in the very shirt she’d just returned to him, legs tangled together as he recounted their villainous exploits for her with a seductive drawl.

She raises her eyebrows, finally catching on and, frankly, caught more than a little off-guard. “Wow. That’s…”

“Evil?” he offers, stuffing his hands into his pockets and leaning back to perch on the arm of his couch.

“Yeah,” she says with a surprised laugh. “Yeah, kinda.”

It is the perfect crime, in a way—sure, it doesn’t humiliate Josh or force him to reckon with the ways he’s wronged her, but it’s deliciously petty whilst being simultaneously harmless and doesn’t make her feel how she felt watching Josh’s friends turn on him in the face of her lies. Doesn’t make her feel like an infectious black disease, swallowing and rotting everything she touches.

“Why, though? You already held up your end of the deal. I wasn’t expecting…”

For a brief moment, something flinches across his face, so quick she almost doesn’t catch it. As it is, she doesn’t want to interrogate what it might mean. Doesn’t have it in her. Not now.

Nathaniel nods. “Because you were right.”

“I was? About what?”

“I think we can both agree that my original plan was… excessive,” he decides on, suddenly intent on picking at some invisible lint on his slacks. “I wasn’t thinking clearly, and I got carried away.”

Her voice goes soft and small, heady with the memory of his words at the masquerade. “Because you were busy thinking about me?”

“I thought that much was obvious. I was trying to… impress you, I suppose?” he admits with obvious chagrin. He clears his throat. “But you didn’t like my plan, so I regrouped, and went with yours.”

“Oh,” she says, for lack of anything else, and lets them sit with that for a second before she goes on to ask, “What are you going to do with all this stuff?”

He shrugs, seemingly unconcerned. “I’m certainly open to suggestions.”

She thinks back to the aftermath of Jayma’s wedding, of Josh sleeping on her couch and eating her food and playing Playstation and giving her nothing, just like their wedding day, and it helps her turn her anger at him back into something tangible and real.

“Can I break one?” she blurts out after a moment. Off Nathaniel’s confused look she elaborates, “I’ve kind of just always wanted to take one of those shiny discs and like… snap ‘em right in half, y’know?”

Wryness twisting at his mouth, he makes a be my guest gesture towards the closest pile.

Unearthing a case from the nest of shredded cardboard, she traces her fingernails along the seam of the shrink plastic seal until they snag and rip, giving way with a gratifying tear. It takes more force than expected to pop open, setting the disc loose at the same time when it finally gives way, for a split second worrying her that she’s scratched it. The irony of her concern catches up with her as she slides it out, setting the case back down on top of the others.

DEAD END is emblazoned across the front in a dripping, slimy font.

All too aware of Nathaniel’s gaze on her, she winces as she applies pressure to the edges, sucking in a breath when it succumbs, yielding to the torsion with a fulfilling crack.

“Oh,” she says, quietly. “That felt good. Satisfying, even.”

She doesn’t think she’s imagining it, the way Nathaniel’s eyes soften, and the corners of his mouth uptick the tiniest, most tentative amount.

Despite the absurdity inherently obvious to her even as she’s doing it, she carefully places the two pieces back inside the case, upside down, so she can regard the obfuscation of her reflection in the shards.

“Want to do it again?” Nathaniel offers. “I think I have some spares.”

A laugh bursts out of her at that, too loud and too hollow. She swallows it back inside, worried that if she lets too much of what she’s feeling out unchecked she won’t be able to stop herself unravelling with it as it goes.

She wishes all the discs could fuse together to create one giant disc that she could hack at with the rugged blade of her emotions—to shatter it into the million shards she feels like she’s currently comprised of. Wishes she could set them all on fire and watch her mirror image burn.

Instead, she squeezes an arm around herself and swallows, feeling suddenly faint. “You did all this knowing Josh was at a convent? Where he probably doesn’t even have wifi, let alone access to an Xbox?”

“Actually, Josh’s preferred platform is Playstation,” Nathaniel says, lips twitching; oblivious, smug. “I did my research. And he’s back in town, right? As of today? I assumed you knew.”

Rebecca stiffens. Of course she knew that—but how did Nathaniel know that? And how much research, exactly, had he done? Did he know everything?

“I put a Google alert on Josh’s social media accounts,” he explains, ignorant to her alarm. “He tweeted someone named smootharmedsurfer89 on the drive home, telling him to make sure his controller was charged. I’ll have you know, I’m very thorough.” He pauses to look her in the eye, voice dripping with deliberation when he adds, “Besides, I’m always more than prepared to play the long con if need be.”

His words curl around her, warm and wanting, and she has to bite her tongue against assuring him she knows exactly just how thorough he can be.

It had been fun, playing secret mission with him, or as fun as she was currently capable of having, all things considered. She’s been preoccupied all week, but now her skin hums with the memory of a very specific kind of preoccupation, so difficult to push away standing in the middle of an apartment that’s so distractingly bed.

The scent of something garlic and tomato-y wafts out from the kitchen, then, and her stomach gurgles its approval, the sound loud and unflattering in the small space. Too agitated to be appropriately mortified, she presses an absent palm against her belly, dully registering hunger below the gaping chasm of panic that’s been ripping steadily open inside of her since she confronted Josh at the church. She realises she can’t remember the last time she ate.

Nathaniel must hear it because he rushes to pull a chair back for her at the table, suavity suddenly all but gone, his movements uncharacteristically clumsy and embarrassingly eager to the point it reminds her of herself so much it hurts, almost, to look at him.

In spite of herself, she’s seconds away from giving in when her phone chirrups and vibrates in her hand, and the warm, glowy feeling that had been creeping over her vanishes, leaving a renewed spike of panic in its wake.

“I’m sorry,” she says, scrunching her eyes shut against the onslaught of accompanying nausea. “I have to go.”

“But you just got here,” he protests, frowning. “Dinner’s almost—”

She’s already backing away, forgetting about the boxes lining the entranceway and toppling a stack of them, upending the cases on the floor. One of them crunches under her heel, clear plastic cracking, and she grabs onto the wall to right herself when she wobbles, waving her phone at him as if to ward him away when he steps forward to help her. “Shit. Sorry. I’m so sorry. I just… I just remembered I kind of left a small child in my car, and there’s this message from Paula, and I can’t do this now, and I just have to go. I really do. Dinner smells amazing and you are being… disconcertingly nice to me? And… I’ll call you, text you, shoot you an email, or something, because I have to—I have to go.”

Fumbling with the lock, she doesn’t even spare a glance for her younger self, sent tumbling backwards from her precarious position, skulking outside with an ear pressed to the door. Ignoring Nathaniel’s confused attempts to call her back she takes the stairs two at a time, already unsteady on her feet and nearly breaking her neck several times in the process.

She texts Paula from the car.

Any updates on the case? Asking for an over-invested friend.

She frowns at the reflection of Nathaniel’s apartment building in the rearview as she pulls away.

#crazy ex girlfriend #rebecca x nathaniel #my fic #written because every time tumblr user catty-words and i watch 3x02 #whenever nathaniel says to destroy a man you have to go after what he loves most #and rebecca says VIDEO GAMES #notbang says 'AU where nathaniel takes down the video game industry'#and cori mentioning this the other day sent me writing this on a whim instead of finishing any of my multiple wips #another joke i make every time that i also wanted to incorporate but couldn't make work:#following george's advice nathaniel has sex with rebecca and LEAVES except. like. it's his apartment.#so it's absurd #and george is hiding in the bathroom in his butler outfit #whether a fic gets its own post or i add it to my oneshot collection is based entirely on exactly nothing and changes with the weather

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theseirintei-blog · 6 years ago

Note

Headcanons for Ichigo, Chad, and Byakuya meeting their S/O's family during Thanksgiving dinner?

⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠! 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧 ∞

⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ________________________

︴𝐧𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐬: 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑑. 𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑚𝑒 𝑤𝘩𝑦 𝐼 𝘩𝑎𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑜 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑙𝑒𝑒𝑝 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑠 𝑡𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑜𝑓𝑓 𝑤𝑖𝑡𝘩 𝑤𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝘩𝑖𝑠 𝘩𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑛. 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡𝘩𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝘩𝑒𝑚 𝑦’𝑎𝑙𝑙, 𝑠𝘩𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑛’𝑡 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑚𝑒 𝑤𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑦 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑠. 😭 𝐼 𝑤𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑒, 𝐼 𝑡𝘩𝑖𝑛𝑘, 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑏𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝐵𝑦𝑎𝑘𝑢𝑦𝑎. 𝑙𝑜𝑙 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝘩𝑒 𝘩𝑎𝑑 𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝑎𝑢𝑑𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑢𝑝𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝘩𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔𝘩 𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝑛𝑖𝑔𝘩𝑡 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑝 𝘩𝑒𝑟. 𝐼𝑡’𝑠 𝑎 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑡𝘩𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐼’𝑚 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑎𝑡 𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑙𝑒𝑠𝘩𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑢𝑡. 𝑤𝘩𝑎𝑡 𝑑𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝘩𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑎𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓, 𝑠𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑠?

𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬:𝑜𝑚𝑔 𝑖 𝑎𝑙𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑦 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑏𝑎𝑑 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑠𝘩𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑘𝑖𝑛 𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝘩𝑜𝑤 𝑖 𝑎𝑖𝑛’𝑡 𝑤𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑡𝘩𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑎𝑑𝑜 𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑖 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛 𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑐𝘩𝑖𝑔𝑜. 𝑚𝑦 𝑃𝐿𝐴𝑁 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝘩𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑜 𝑠𝑎𝑑𝑜 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑔𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑎 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑜𝑛 𝑏𝑦𝑎𝑘𝑢𝑦𝑎 𝑡𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑡𝘩𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑠𝘩𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑒 𝑠𝑜 𝑖 𝘩𝑎𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝐹𝑙𝑒𝑥. 𝐸𝑛𝑗𝑜𝑦 𝑚𝑦 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑜 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑓𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑏 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑛𝑒𝑝𝑡𝑢𝑛𝑒𝑠 𝑖 𝑔𝑢𝑒𝑠𝑠. 𝐼𝑓 𝑦𝑎 𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑛’𝑡 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝘩𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑐𝘩𝑖𝑔𝑜 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑚𝑦 𝑓𝑢𝑐𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑎𝑒, 𝑡𝘩𝑒𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑠𝘩𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢’𝑟𝑒 𝑔𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛’. 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑦. ︴

»»———————-——-———-—-— ✰ ——-————-——-——————-««

𝐈𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐨 ● 𝒇𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒔𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈

⇝ Ichigo’s never done Thanksgiving before–since it’s not really a big holiday in Japan, he’s unsure of what to do, but you, as his S/O walk him through the process. He knows it’s a family event, but he doesn’t truly know what to expect from it.

⇝ He’s already met your immediate family, but him not really having any extended family, doesn’t know how it feels to have aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. and he is rather curious about what this could entail. All in all, he’s lowkey excited to experience it, especially since this means you guys are getting serious in the relationship.

⇝ When you both first arrive, Ichigo sticks close to you, since he doesn’t know anybody, greeting people like you do, and he can tell they’re a little bit put off by him, due to the natural scowl he seems to wear.

⇝ The cousins around your age and even your older aunties and cousins all notice how attractive he is, giving him various once overs when you aren’t paying attention.

⇝ Though not long after arriving, you are whisked off to the kitchen, since your mother loves to have you help out. Left alone, Ichigo keeps to himself somewhat, avoiding all of the flirty conversation starters your cousins and aunties are giving him until the children get ahold of him.

⇝ He finds himself, like Sado, playing with the kids. He’s pretty good with kids, having younger sisters of his own. And he’s actually kind of glad for it since he knows these kids won’t be trying to break him and his S/O up.

⇝ He’s able to answer their questions, asking about his hair and if he can speak Japanese, or about video games and manga easily and he plays with them outside, giving the adults a reprieve from the children running around.

⇝ When he can get a moment away from the children, he tries to help out in the kitchen, just to be near you, though your mom ushers him out since he’s a guest, though you do take the time to sneak him out some of the food and eat a small plate together in another room, away from prying eyes.

⇝ Since his time is taken up by the children, your family is initially off-put by Ichigo, since it seems as if he’s outright avoiding them by being outside with the children, and you argue the opposite. Of course, nobody wants to start anything serious with you, since you, your mother and father (and any siblings you may have) are known for nipping things in the bud–nothing bad will be said about anyone you’re dating while you’re around.

⇝ At any moment that you have free from the kitchen, you introduce Ichigo to your favorite cousins and together, all of you clue Ichigo in on the family drama and who to avoid, and Ichigo is surprised when you tell him that family drama like this is normal at any family gatherings.

⇝ At the dinner table, Ichigo and you sit side by side and since you’re one of the newly formed couples, the family holds nothing back when asking you guys a lot of different questions. Ichigo easily answers them for you, surprising the family with his quick quips and amusing anecdotes about your relationship or just stories in general.

⇝ Despite how he initially came off, Ichigo does know how to command the attention of the room and everyone is definitely surprised, though they do find that the way he talks about you and how you two banter is endearing.

⇝ After all, is said and done, when the family leaves and you two are helping your parents clean up, Ichigo admits to you that he didn’t think things would go over as well as they did. Not surprising to you, he tells you that he was nervous about the whole thing.

⇝ You’re glad things worked out, but you scold Ichigo for being so charming since one of your not so favorite cousins hardly took her eyes off of him all night, and you don’t need that kind of drama in your life.

⇝ Ichigo just manages to rile you up and make you blush when he (quite seriously) says that you’re the only thing he needs in his life, so forget your cousin. In the end, you’re glad that Thanksgiving went so well, but you’re definitely gonna keep eyes on your cousins to make sure they know this man was yours.

𝐒𝐚𝐝𝐨 ● 𝒇𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒔𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈

⇝ Sado is a little more familiar with the concept of thanksgiving than Ichigo is, but he still has never experienced one. Being somewhat of a loner, he’s a bit skeptical about whether or not he’d enjoy this type of event, but for you, he’s willing to go and meet your family.

⇝ More than anything, he’s nervous about meeting your extended family, since you hardly talk about them. Whether it’s because you don’t like them or they don’t often come up, he doesn’t know. Family is a touchy subject for Sado, being that he’s on his own, aside from you.

⇝ You give him small details about your family, but the main thing that comes out of your mouth is “you’ll see when you meet them”. This doesn’t make Sado feel any better about anything that’s going to happen today, but still, he loves you, so this really is the least he can do, in his eyes.

⇝ Upon arrival, Sado sticks to you almost like a heavy heat wave in the summer. Wherever you go, he goes. Of course, this doesn’t bother you, but you can see that his general quiet, almost brooding nature is putting off some of your family members, though none of them can deny that Sado is very attractive, and many of them ask you questions about how you met.

⇝ Of course, despite you wanting to be near him all the time, your duties are also to help out, since Thanksgiving is hosted at your family’s house this time around. Surprisingly, Sado is not that good in the kitchen despite living alone and your mother, not wanting a repeat of a previous dinner, banishes Sado from the kitchen.

⇝ At first, Sado spends his time lurking around right outside of the kitchen, until he gets in the way of your mother, and in her nicest ‘we’re in front of guests’ voice that she can manage, she makes sure he doesn’t set foot anywhere near the kitchen again. The sad look on his face (that only you can seemingly tell apart from his usual stoic look) is enough to make you want to leave the kitchen with him, but you have to settle for a tearful and dramatic goodbye while he finds somewhere else to exist, away from the ire of your mother.

⇝ He spends time in the living room, watching the uncles play cards and talk nonsense, and when he’s invited to join, they’re surprised at how easily he dusts them in card games he’s never actually played before.

⇝ Sado, however, doesn’t stick around them for long. It’s not that soon after he’s gotten a little bit comfortable that the children being asking him all sorts of questions, like why he was so tall, why his hair was like that, or divulging information about their family members (“did u know, um… my momma ain’t got no car we hadda ride with my brother’s dad”) with no real prompts given.

⇝ The children instantly take a liking to him because he’s large and they can exploit him to be tossed around into the piles of raked up leaves outside. Cause kids love to be tossed around. At first, he’s a little hesitant to do so because he doesn’t want anyone to get hurt, but the kids insist on it and slowly it becomes a game. You knew that you couldn’t start your younger cousins with something because then they wouldn’t want to stop. Unfortunately, you forgot to mention that to Sado and he ends up tossing them for almost an hour.

⇝ When you find Sado again, he’s just standing outside with children climbing all over him. Although everyone else couldn’t tell, you could see that Sado was exhausted and you ushered your smaller cousins away from him to give him a break. Upon further inspection, after you two had been left alone for a few minutes, you noticed a set of small teeth marks and you comment that you think one of them bit him, and Sado himself can neither confirm or deny whether that happened.

⇝ At the dinner table, Sado is still somewhat awkward with your family. He doesn’t speak much aside from giving short sentenced answers or one-worded replies. Although his answers are said with high respect, after a while, the family moves on to other topics of discussion. He feels bad, but you don’t seem to mind. If anything, you’re relieved that they’ve gotten bored of interrogating him.

⇝ You’re not one to accept disrespect from anyone, but various looks from your parents to calm yourself and Sado’s hand on your back are the only things that stop you from saying anything. Snide comments from your aunties as they make their exit does get under your skin, but you ignore the comments about how some guests were rude, and how they wouldn’t let their children date such rude people. You keep telling yourself that it didn’t matter, since your parents absolutely adored him, but you knew that if another one of your family members said something smart, you would have to respectfully put them in their place.

⇝ When it’s finally time for you and Sado to leave, you apologize to him in the car, citing that your family is a little bit tougher to deal with. You tell him how thankful you are that he came with you and that him being there made this Thanksgiving one of the most enjoyable. You jokingly mention how you wanted to start some family drama of your own if they kept messing with your man, but you mention your mother had told you to calm down. However, you do reiterate that you would’ve come for your auntie’s poorly secured wig, or her dumbass children if she continued talking crap.

⇝ Sado is amused by your words and is just glad that you seemed to have a good time. He himself apologizes for not speaking up, but you don’t mind, since you don’t want your family to know how particularly amazing Sado is. Call you selfish, but you like keeping all those small, precious moments to yourself.

⇝ Sado tells you that next time around, he’ll speak up more if it really bothers them. Making a joke, but still deathly serious, you explain to him not to worry because if it bothered them next time, you would nip it in the bud real quick. You know a lot about family secrets and know the best time to use that information. Sado is amused but also afraid of what that might entail.

𝐁𝐲𝐚𝐤𝐮𝐲𝐚 ● 𝒇𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒔𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈

⇝ Byakuya has to have the concept of thanksgiving explained to him. He doesn’t know what it is, why you do it or anything about it. At first, he is opposed to it, but for some reason, he has the hardest time saying no to you (although he would never admit this), and with some pleading on your part, he agrees to attend.

⇝ Of course, your first obstacle is getting him to not dress up like a feudal-era lord. He insists on wearing high-class clothing, but really, all he needs is a nice sweater and some jeans. It takes a lot of convincing, but in the end, Byakuya manages to look like a business casual CEO, and of course, you can’t be shown up. You both appear, much to your family’s surprise, as a nicely dressed couple.

⇝ Polite and distant to a fault, your family is rather put off (some are impressed) at Byakuya. No matter where he is, or where he goes, he always gives off the feel of someone high class.

He doesn’t not like children, but he’s a little awkward around them. It’s like all rational part of his brain shuts down and he’s unsure what to do when he’s around them. Does he pat them on the head? Why do they keep staring at him? Why do they keep poking him? And they’re so messy. The children, however, want his attention, so even as he awkwardly moves around them, they start to follow him around asking him random questions.

⇝ The other adults are amused by the children bothering Byakuya, especially since the man doesn’t seem to have anything like a smart device on him, and yet the children still follow him. The family finds this a little odd, however, since Byakuya is dressed in such a business casual that they all assume that he would at least have two phones on him at all times. Although, the question of “Do you have any games on your phone?” still comes up and this leaves Byakuya confused because what’s a phone and why would there be games on it?

⇝ Eventually, your family members are curious (or noisy) about what he does for a living, and his responses are extremely vague. His answers of ‘law enforcement’ give off different impressions. Some assume he’s a lawyer while others think he’s some sort of undercover cop, either way, they continue to press him for details that he can’t give out.

⇝ When Byakuya finds you again, he has news and rumors that you’ve never even heard before that he learned from the children. You make it a point to make sure he stays away from the children so that nothing old comes up and starts any drama at the gathering. Children like to talk and fill new people in on the life they’ve missed, and apparently, Byakuya easily gets this information out of them without wanting to or even trying.

⇝ Not much for small talk, Byakuya would hold a slight conversation with the older members of your family. However, being much older than them and not keeping up with human events, it’s hard for him to find common ground.

⇝ Being a noble, Byakuya does know how to entertain with some timeless tricks, such as opening a champagne bottle with a knife or even using Kido to do magic tricks to entertain the children. So, where he lacks in conversation, he makes it up with graceful tricks.

⇝ He’s also very good at playing checkers, chess, and surprisingly dominoes when they bring those out. He shows up your grandfather, who is the best player in your family. Your grandfather gets highly competitive and starts to try and bet money on the games, but your aunts soon stop him explaining to him that he’s about to lose all his money while Byakuya isn’t even breaking a sweat.

⇝ Wants you to enjoy your holiday, being stress-free, so tries his best to fit in and enjoy the close knittness of your family. Though the concept is so unfamiliar to him since he only has Rukia and they are not as close as you may be to your cousins or siblings.

⇝ During the dinner, your family sees how he looks at you and treats you and realizes that he’s not all bad. Just a little awkward & bougie. The children have already started calling him ‘uncle’ or ‘cousin’ and the cousins your age have started referring to him as ‘cousin bougie’.

⇝ After the dinner, your grandmother, who was particularly taken with Byakuya states to both of you directly that she thinks you’re a very good couple and would like to see Byakuya at the next family event. Of course, Byakuya agrees, because he saw this woman smack someone with a wooden spoon one minute and then give a child some extra dessert in the next second.

⇝ When you’re alone, you poke and prod at Byakuya to give you details on how he felt about the family event. Of course, he doesn’t at first give you many words to go off of, but you manage to get out of him that it wasn’t terrible.

⇝ In the end, Byakuya tells you that he is more than satisfied knowing that you had a good time. And that’s when you tell him that you two have to attend a baby shower in two weeks. Byakuya abhors the idea of dealing with more children, but for you he considers it.

#bleach imagines #bleach imagine #anime x reader #bleach x reader #byakuya #ichigo #chad bleach #ichigo headcanon #byakuya headcanon #all headcanons #sacredwarrior88 #chad headcanon

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ahnsael · 5 years ago

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I had a regular guest text me (I gave them my number on our last day because they’re a nightly visitor and a good person -- she’s well-known enough that my boss literally let her into the vault to give me a hug on our last night because she had said I would have to personally throw her out for her to leave, but then I got stuck emptying the cash-out kiosks and verifying the money counts and I couldn’t leave so when we closed I couldn’t be the one to do it but my boss trusted her enough to let her in to give me a hug) asking if I’d received any word from the company (as some of you know, I manage a Nevada casino these days).

I had to tell her that I have not heard a thing.

But I started thinking about it -- how will the casino look when we reopen? We’re a smallish casino (maybe 240-250 machines, no table games), but...are we going to take machines out? Just leave some out of service so that if someone likes a particular machine (people do that) we can put it back in service and take the other machines near it out of service assuming nobody’s playing them?

And then I thought...smoking is allowed in general. If we require masks (I really hope we do), and someone takes their mask off to smoke a cigarette, do we tell them to put out the cigarette and stop smoking and if they don’t we kick them out?

Today (April 30th) was the second “stay-at-home” deadline in Nevada (we still have signs on the casino doors saying that we would reopen April 18th, the last day of the original order, but nobody’s been in the building for weeks as far as I know -- at least as of when I drove by a week or so ago just to see). Then the closure was extended until May 1st. Yesterday the Governor of Nevada said he was extending the stay-at-home order (good call -- we’re not where we need to be yet), but didn’t say for how long. So while I get that nobody’s been in the building to change the signs I was told to put up on our last night (I disagreed with putting a date on them but I was overruled), but hopefully people understand that things have changed since then.

There are just so many unknowns.

And I wish I had answers, but I don’t think ANYBODY has answers right now.

And when I go out for a drive just to get out of the house (whether it’s to go to a store for supplies or, like yesterday, just to drive around without getting out to maintain social distancing but not feel trapped), I see SO MANY PEOPLE going into stores without masks, and when I go out for supplies I wear my masks (I have three now, but several more on the way so that when we reopen I can wear a different one for that week and then wash them before re-wearing them) but I also see that people aren’t keeping their distance. I make it a point to stay about 10 feet away from the person in front of me in line just to be on the safe side. And then people cut in, but...under the circumstances, the last thing I want is a confrontation with someone who isn’t doing what we need to do, so I just step back farther to maintain distance, and eventually I get to the front of the line.

I’d feel a LOT better about this if I lived in an area that was taking this seriously. And if I hadn’t had a guest cough in my face as we were learning how bad this is. Because when we reopen, that guest will be back (guaranteed) and I hope I’ve got one of those plexiglass shields between myself and them when it happens again. And I HAVE been given permission to toss them if they’re coughing all over a slot machine (and then sanitize the machine) because this is a thing they do ALL THE TIME, which is why I asked my boss about it before we shut down. I have a feeling I’m going to be throwing a LOT of people out of the casino when we reopen. And I have a feeling that a LOT of them will cough on me and tell me they’ve got the virus because they’re pissed off that I’m tossing them. Because apparently that’s a thing right now in an attempt to try to exert power. Because some people are just jerks.And I’m just going to have to HOPE they’re lying.

Sometimes, when you manage security at a casino, you take your chances. I’m not exactly happy about that, but it is what it is. I should maybe invest in not only the masks I’ve been buying, but also in full-face visors, assuming I’ll be allowed to wear them (I kind of doubt it). Because I’m serious about this virus thing, but I know for a fact that a lot of people in this area are not and think it’s a hoax or want to treat it like a joke.

I’m scared to go back to work. I WANT to get back to work (even though, to be honest, my company is so cheap that I’m making more on unemployment than I make at work thanks to the stimulus and the bonus $600 unemployment payments but that’s not gonna last). But I miss my job. I enjoy what I do, most of the time (though it may not be so pleasant when we reopen if the scenarios I’m imagining actually happen -- I’m always trying to plan for the worst-case scenario).

It’s a STRANGE time to be a customer service worker (well, let’s face it: working Customer Service is ALWAYS weird, but not usually this dangerous). Some workers are still putting themselves at risk every day, while I’m just worried about the risks I’ll face when I’m no longer furloughed. I want to earn my money instead of having it handed to me on a card that is hit and miss when I try to use it, but...I’m scared.

#coronavirus #COVID-19 #work things

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