#she won the free without any triple-triples!
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Wang Yihan (CHN): Main Theme I / The Gold Pavilion / Wing Chung | 2024 JGP Bangkok, FS
Congratulations to Wang Yihan, the first Chinese woman to win a Junior Grand Prix title!
#figure skating#wang yihan#jgp bangkok 2024#jgp 2024#fskateedit#my gifs#she won the free without any triple-triples!#a nice and clean program that i would love to see mature more in the future#she's a bit too focused on executing everything cleanly so it's a bit empty#I hope she gains the confidence to work on performing later on
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길복순 다시 보기 무료보기:(Kill Boksoon)
길복순 다시 보기 무료보기:(Kill Boksoon) 링크<<
길복순 다시 보기 무료보기:(Kill Boksoon)
길복순 다시 보기 무료보기:(Kill Boksoon)
길복순 다시 보기 무료보기:(Kill Boksoon)
길복순 다시 보기 무료보기:(Kill Boksoon)
길복순 다시 보기 무료보기:(Kill Boksoon) 영화
In the 3rd Junior Grand Prix 2018 JGP Lithuania short circuit, the triple lutz + triple toe loop combination was judged under, and the triple flip showed an overall uneasy appearance, such as stepping out. Fortunately, he showed strong performance in the non-jumping element [8] and scored 61.63 points. In the free race, he neatly succeeded in the triple lutz + trip길복순 다시 보기 무료보기:(Kill Boksoon)le toe loop combination, which was judged under in the short, and earned a high bonus of 2.11 points, and perfectly succeeded in all six subsequent jump tasks. The strong non-jumping element also showed a good performance, receiving a high score of 130.26 points in the free and raising the overall ranking to second place with a total of 191.89 points [9], showing off its potential to win the silver medal following Alexandra Trusova. The free and total points recorded this time are길복순 다시 보기 무료보기:(Kill Boksoon) the highest among all Korean female single players who have appeared on the junior stage, and are the third highest free and total points in Korean female singles after Kim Yuna (150.06 points) and Choi Da-bin (131.49 points). In the meantime, she has been evaluated as being far behind Yoo Young and Lim Eun-soo in terms of her performance and topicality, but this tournament provided an opportunity to be reevaluated by changing various records.
She competed in her first senior event of the season to secure skill points for the 2019 Four Continents Championships. She competed at the 2018 CS U.S. Championships in Salt Lake City, USA from September 12-16. At the International Classic길복순 다시 보기 무료보기:(Kill Boksoon), she won the bronze medal behind Satoko Miyahara and Eunsoo Lim.At the 5th Junior Grand Prix 2018 JGP Czech Republic, she broke her personal best with a score of 69.45 in a clean shot in a series of mistakes. In the free, she also performed without any major errors and received 126.89 points with a one point deduction from the time limit as the music ended midway through the final spin. Although scoring slightly lower than her third competition, she again broke her personal best with an overall score of 196.34. She then won anothe길복순 다시 보기 무료보기:(Kill Boksoon)r silver medal following her last 3rd event, behind Alyona Kostornaya. As a result, she became the first Korean female athlete to win medals in two Junior Grand Prix events in a row following Kim Yu-na and Choi Da-bin. has become She is also the only non-Russian player to qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final Women's Singles this season.[10]
In her first appearance, at the 2018-19 Junior Grand Prix Final Short, she received a score of 62.51 when she landed on her hand while being judged under in the linking jump of the triple lutz + triple toe loop combination. In the free, she fell on 길복순 다시 보기 무료보기:(Kill Boksoon)her triple flip and was under judged on her other two jumps, giving her a score of 115.40. She finished sixth in the final with a total score of 177.91. Since all of the contestants in the women's singles were Russian except for herself, she appeared at the gala with winner Alyona Kostornaya.
In the short game of the 2018 President's Cup Ranking Competition, she was clean but lost a little in the non-jumping element, scoring 64.58 to finish second. She performed rather poorly in the free the following day, where she scored only 116.86 points to place fifth, but with a total of 181.44길복순 다시 보기 무료보기:(Kill Boksoon) points, she won the bronze medal behind Lim Eun-soo and You Young. This earned her a spot at the Four Continents Championships.
She missed out on the 2019 World Championships and 2019 Junior World Championships, finishing 5th in the final standings due to several mistakes in the free at the 2019 All-Around Championships.
At the 2019 Four Continents Championships short, she was judged by attention on her triple flip, and she only scored 64.42 points, but in the triple lutz + triple toe loop combination, she received first place in additional points among all players who길복순 다시 보기 무료보기:(Kill Boksoon) competed. In the free, she failed to connect the follow-up jump in her scheduled combination of double axel + triple toe loop and faltered slightly on the steps, but overall impressed her composition points, receiving a total of 123.51 points. She finished the season with a final score of 187.93 in 8th place.
After her fifth tournament at the Junior Grand Prix, she ended her season with treatment for a sore heel that had deformed her bone due to her boot change. Although she regretted not being able to continue participating in the World Championships, she achieved the highest score in short, free, and total points for Korean junior players, as well as entering the first junior women's Grand Prix final after Kim Yuna, and placing in the top 24 of the season's best ranking. It was also a season to receive.
Appeared at the ice show held from June 6th to June 8th. Prior to the Grand Prix series, they participated in the 2019 CS Lombardia Trophy and the 2019 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, where they placed 4th and 2nd, respectively. After this tournament, coaches were changed to Shin Hye-sook & Lee Eun-hee.
She competed in the 2020 Youth Olympic Trials and made up a layback spin for the first time in a long time in the short, but misunderstood the double Axel sequence in the free and placed third, thus failing to qualify for the Youth Olympics.
She made her senior Grand Prix debut by participating in Skate Canada 2019. She finished in 8th place with a score of 61.23, placing attention on the triple lutz, under judgement on the single triple loop, level 2 on the step, and level 길복순 다시 보기 무료보기:(Kill Boksoon)3 on the flying camel spin and sit spin. In the free, she handled her first 3-3 combination jump alone, and in the triple flip, she was downgraded and fell down. Overall, she performed poorly, earning 115.70 points and finishing 7th in the final. In a situation where she was waiting for an additional assignment with Yoo-young, she herself did not perform well, so she virtually finished her Grand Prix competition with her debut.
In the short of the 2019 President’s Cup Ranking Competition, he received 68.61 points with equal bonuses in jumps and spins, except for level 2 in step. In the free, she got a score of 140.06, clean all the jumps she performed, and took her first win in the President's Cup Ranking Competition with a total score of 208.67. She has placed second and third in this event before, but this is the first time she has won. Fans were worried and disappointed due to the lack of additional assignments in the Grand Prix series this season, but they returned to the ranking competition with a solid appearance and won the championship, securing the right to participate in the 2020 Four Continents Championships.
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A Little Extra: Too Fat For Furniture
Rating: Explicit Words: 1419 Pairing: None just Lee Additional Tags: Extreme Weight Gain, Mobility Struggles, Breaking Furniture, Diets (mentioned), but Lee doesn't lose any weight
[on AO3]
After getting shot and nearly bleeding out in a remote forest in the middle of nowhere Lee was less than eager to return to work. In his absence, one of his former deputies had campaigned to be elected Sheriff. Of course, he'd won.
Lee had been bitter the first few weeks, but slowly the blessing in disguise had revealed itself. Suddenly, Lee was to be pitied instead of hated. His poor sister and that terrible incident with the Russel boy.
It was like the whole town had forgotten about any of his unsavoury business from Before. Obviously, Lee took advantage of that.
It started when his neighbour brought over a pie.
"I know you boys don't cook well. I wouldn't want you starving after that tragedy!"
Lee was perfectly capable of feeding himself, but he wasn't about to decline free dessert.
"Aw, thank you, Ms Smith. You didn't have to but… yeah, you know what? I have been having some difficulty readjusting, you know?" Lee tacked on an awkward laugh for full effect, and it worked like a charm.
Ms Smith's expression softened, and she patted him on the shoulder.
"I know it's difficult. You know when my husband died…"
Listening to her blabber about her husband got on Lee's nerves quickly, but she promised to bring by some more food tomorrow.
With that, the flood gates were opened.
The whole town must've heard about what Lee said because they all came flocking to his house carrying platters and platters of food. Even after a month, a few stubborn souls stuck around to make sure he was well-fed. And it sure was showing.
He'd never been skinny or anything, but the bit of pudge around his middle blossomed into a full-on gut. A heavy ball that sat on his thighs and pushed out into his lap more with every day.
Lee made a few half-assed attempts at losing the weight.
No beer before bed or no desserts after dinner, but he rarely stuck with it longer than a week and any weight he did lose came back double or triple the week after that.
'Well-fed' quickly turned into 'fat'. Lee was slowly encroaching on a size that he hadn't ever seen on other people.
On one memorable call, he'd had to help a man weighing double what he did back then out of his tub. The guy had to have been 400lbs, maybe even closer to 450lbs.
Lee had crossed 300lbs after eight months of consistent feeding. After a year he was pushing closer to 350lbs than 300lbs, but he ended the year without crossing that boundary just yet.
Seeing that number on the scale shocked Lee back into dieting for two whole weeks. Food piled up in his fridge and freezer as he valiantly tried to stick to tiny portions. It all culminated in a two-day binge that ended with Lee pinned to his sofa.
He'd never really understood how someone could struggle to get to his feet, but he learned then. No matter how much he tried, his stomach hurt too much. His bloated belly got in the way and his puffy arms couldn't get any leverage on the battered sofa.
Lee had done a number on the sofa. A deep dent into the left side where he usually sat to watch TV (or stuff his face more frequently now). The small dining table had quickly gotten too uncomfortable for his growing gut and eventually, one of the foldable chairs had given out under his heft.
He'd struggled just to get up from the floor again. It was a humbling experience but with food still, on the table, Lee didn't think too much about it and just moved to the living room. Not like he could break his sofa, right?
Wrong.
It did take until Lee reached over 400lbs. His rickety, old sofa just wasn't made for this weight constantly torturing it. Sitting down normally had just gotten too much work and one of the supporting slats broke with a loud crack when Lee let himself fall down.
While it scared the hell out of Lee, he'd reached a sort of breaking point. There wasn't any use in losing weight now, right? And he'd surely plateau at some point. So, he still ate his breakfast.
Food deliveries had petered out a while ago. Once he'd really blown up no one wanted to keep feeding the fat (ex)-Sheriff, but his pension was good enough to keep up with his habit. He didn't need money for much else.
400lbs turned into 450lbs without him really noticing. Lee didn't think it was possible to gain 50lbs without so much as a creeping suspicion but sure enough, his (new) scale wasn't lying. His clothes were getting tighter too, but Lee had had enough foresight to get something with a bit more room.
A lot more room actually because his clothes held up until 500lbs. That's when the weight really hit him. He'd been struggling with lots of little things so far and slowly decreasing stamina, but it was like he'd crossed a magic boundary from being able to still do most things to struggling for breath while he was sitting on his ass (to eat another meal).
Things started getting really scary when Lee felt both sides of his sofa brushing his sides. No matter how he sat his wide hips and thick love handles were always brushing the sofa's arms.
Of course, that didn't slow a proper glutton down.
If anything, Lee increased his food intake. Some subconscious realisations that he was cutting his life short with every additional pound he gained, every hour he spent on his ass instead of exercising and every single, greasy bite he shoved past his lips. So, of course, he needed to make the best of the time he had left.
Lee committed to his lifestyle of hedonism, not just food-wise, but also by overindulging in his drinking, spending his pension instead of saving anything and getting even lazier. Most of his days were spent inside, but occasionally, he longed for a change of scenery and undertook the laborious trek outside.
Walking had become increasingly difficult, and his gait had turned into a shuffling waddle. The heavy bag on his shoulder didn't make it easier, but he couldn't imagine sitting outside without something to snack on and a few drinks.
Just lifting his feet exhausted him and his joints screamed at him with every lumbering step. But he made it out to the porch. It was a cool evening and Lee sighed when the breeze cooled his overheated skin.
However, that moment of relief wasn't enough to cut through the pain of walking and standing. He spotted the porch swing not too far away. He hadn't been out here in a few months, so it looked a bit run down, but the wood looked sturdy enough. Surely, it could hold him. He dropped the bag full of food right in front of the swing.
Then, Lee tried to sit down as gently as possible but at his size that wasn't really an option. He crashed down onto the wooden bench and while it groaned underneath his weight, it held.
For a moment.
Just as Lee started to trust the construction of the porch swing and started to relax one of the chains to his right creaked with an ominous tone. A second later it snapped, and Lee was dumped to the ground.
The porch shook under the impact. Lee's first instinct was to get back to his feet, but the walk outside had exhausted him so much, that he took the opportunity to finally catch his breath.
Dread set in at the realization of how fat he'd let himself get. Every meal flashed before him, but before he could dwell on it the urgent need to breathe took over his mind again. Wheezing gulps of breath that still didn't seem to fill his lungs. His chest was too heavy for them to fully expand.
It took some time before he could concentrate on anything but breathing. Lee was still wheezing a bit now, but to his delight, he spotted the bag he'd nearly crushed. It was squished against his leg and Lee actually struggled a bit to reach around to grab a package of sugar cookies.
Once he crammed his mouth full of cookies all those negative thoughts vanished, and Lee fell back into the mindless consumption that had gotten him into this situation.
#Extreme Weight Gain#Mobility Struggles#Breaking Furniture#Diets (mentioned)#but Lee doesn't lose any weight tho#Get Beached#Get Beached 2022#Too Fat for Furniture
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Vanity Fair interview translated
Just a side note before the actual translation; I don't know why, but instead of reporting the full questions and answers in full as she should, the journalist decided to report only summarized fragments of what Måneskin said and patch these fragments up into messy clusters. She also worded a couple phrases in a very confusing way (and yes, she's fully Italian). In short, she did quite a poor job, so the final shape of the interview is not that good. I didn't expect top-tier journalism from Vanity Fair but ffs. You'll see what I mean.
I translated it as it is, adding just a couple footnotes to give you insight on Italian pop culture references.
Translation under the cut
Måneskin: "Different from whom?"
by Lavinia Farnese, 09 June 2021
"True justice is being judged for what you do and not for what you are." The ones who are convinced of this are Damiano, Victoria, Ethan and Thomas who, by being the emblem of a generation that is finally free, refuse labels and conformism. In life, in love and on the stage. Where, maybe precisely because of this, they're winning everything
With the still unexpected (first place at Sanremo Festival) and the incredible (triumph at Eurovision) in their eyes, Måneskin are on the sofa of the house-studio they rented - to resume writing songs and rehearsing them - like you are after a won battle: lying in a calm and unreal silence, alert and a bit irreverent, happy.
In the garden there's the tennis table and the pool, the light of summer when it's starting and calming the country all around, and it filters inside from the large windows, and it goes onto the shining black of Ethan's hair, which blends with Thomas' eye shadow and the butterfly he has tattooed oh his naked forearm, which completes the picture of Victoria's golden crucifix hanging between neck and tank top and ends on the black nail polish of Damiano's stretched hands.
It's a human fresco, a Theatre of wrath [translator's note: "Teatro d'ira"] - to call it with the title of their latest album, a platinum record already - where their flaunted 20 years of age, their irregular femininity and virility are grown into proud and challenging custom, a pop glam rock generational manifesto of hard-earned liberties in a finally-unconditional expression of the self.
To watch them from any angle and from another age is to think that a great love will be born in those who'll understand: this new way of being in the world, the true and sovereign realm they hold where "diversity=exceptionality", the power of the artistic and cultural revolution of which they are healthy carriers in establishing in all lyrics and gestures the right to live according to one's own nature past the "people (who) talk, the people (who) unfortunately talk, and don't know what the fuck they're talking about." [tn: "Zitti e buoni" lyrics]
We go where we're afloat, where the air isn't gone. [tn: journalist's own variation on "Zitti e buoni" lyrics]
Miley Cyrus says hi – The numbers of a phenomenon
"The streams of Zitti e buoni are growing by the second, and they bring us above Muse, at the top of English charts, twelfth in the Spotify Global Chart. Followers almost tripled, in the post-Rotterdam period (from 1,4 to 3,3 millions, ed.) Contagious and universal folly: t-shirts and merchandising sold out in 10 minutes. Like the records, the tickets for a tour that keeps adding dates and expanding over geographic maps. They're contacting us even from some festivals were The Rolling Stones went." Thomas
"After the pretextual controversy over cocaine that France built against us, later disproven by my drug test, some graffiti popped up in Spain depicting me as a “No drugs” poster guy. Some tweets made us laugh: "Congratulations, Italy! I've never been more certain that four people have had sex with each other." Miley Cyrus started following us -You're great. -You guys are greater." Damiano
From the garage to the stars – Story of a flight
"It was only 2016, and we played in restaurants, in the streets, in via del Corso. Damiano without even a microphone, Thomas' guitar with wonky strings, Ethan was drumming on a cajón. During Rome highschools' sit-ins (Kennedy, Virgilio, Mamiani) we had our first confirmations and half-hours of celebrity, playing among those who criticized us and those who went "wow they're really cool." One of the rare times when they would have paid us – 50 euros each – we gave the money to the next band in the lineup so that they would make us play in their spot, later in the day, when there would have been more people. We had already realized how things worked. Visibility mattered more than money. And we still think that." Victoria
The intimacy of rock – Choice of a genre
"Music allows us the miracle of extending to others some very personal and private topics, sometimes even difficult and thorny ones. They are and they remain deeply your own, but at the same time they become a confession that reaches a wider audience, and in this passage that is alike a delivery, they find a place in you as well, a processing of them. You overcome them, you accept them. One second it's something aggressive, the next it's a ballad. Cathartic». Damiano
Against panic – The stage as therapy
"I've suffered a lot from anxiety and panic attacks, it's an issue I've worked on thanks to a psychotherapy course, my friends and my family. Playing helped me in not letting myself be paralyzed by my fears, not making myself limited in my private and professional life. I've learned to accept, to live with this side of myself. I don't hide it. I don't feel ashamed of it." Victoria
Analysis as necessity – Relying on someone saves you
"This belief that only madmen go to the psychologist is a widespread ignorance. No-one's born learned. [tn: common Italian saying] And it's often hard to understand the very reason why we're here, let alone the origin and direction of our desires. It's a long and legitimate journey towards lucidity, a kind of backing to become transparent." Damiano
Being out of our minds – But different from them [tn: "Zitti e buoni" lyrics]
"When you feel a strong passion towards something that is not a canonical job but an artistic language, that already puts you on a level of anomaly, which is not superior or inferior to other people, but it puts you in the position of the one who breaks the mold and also works at a loss, the one who sustains great risks while trying to do something that who knows if it will take you anywhere. "Why do it if it doesn't pay?". You want to give this dream of yours an aesthetic, but it becomes "You're dressing so weird! You must be gay!" - now that I'm 22 I laugh about it, but when I was 17 it had an effect on me, too." Damiano
The beauty of uniqueness – Of believing in it and defending it
"And I mean, at the end of the day if we're all different it's not because we want be alternative but because, really, no-one is the same. Justice is being judged on what you do and not what you are. Justice is equality, respect, beauty." Ethan
Fluid sexuality – Pride is freedom
"Heels for men that like themselves in them, kisses among ourselves, we have an open, extended mind, and we're proud of it. The horizons become vast, past the oppression of conservative families. With the information on the web knowledge becomes greater and with it the possibility that minorities will be less and less minorities, because the majority will be less of a majority. This way we'll make insults and bullying grow quieter. If social media get to a village of 50 souls and reveal to a girl who's afraid of the dark that someone has felt her same fear, then there's no reason to give a name to that fear, to mark it with labels which also limit and restrict. Definitions always had this effect on me. You shouldn't even consider the gender when judging someone, let alone their orientation." Victoria
Sexism – A culture to be dismantled
"Emma [tn: Emma Marrone, Italian singer] drops the bomb: “At Eurovision when I was there they massacred me for a pair of shorts, while they said nothing to Damiano – bare-chested and in heels.” The easy judgment against women is more fierce, constant, debasing (if I have a lot of sex I'm cool while Vic is a whore, where I show myself strong I'm a leader while Vic is despotic and a pain in the ass who reached success because she's hot.) As a male I'm privileged, the abuse I get is not comparable to those a woman has to live through, the comments over my aesthetic are centered only on my aesthetic and don't insinuate anything about my professionalism and my competence, while women are victims of this kind of thought in a systematic way. It happened though to find myself standing with a woman who while pulling me to herself to take a selfie, started licking my face out of the blue... I mean, what the hell do you want? Who asked you? Consent exists, and it's due." Damiano
Grow yourself – The only commandment
"To me conformism is the opposite of education [tn: could also mean "politeness"] and is the asphyxia of expression. I fortunately never endured heavy bullying, heavy enough for the the judgement of others to change me. But the mold of the small crumbs of bullying I got and of the kind of aggression that scars is the same. If I'm a kid who dances and likes dolls you have to let me do what I like. I was a kid who wanted to keep his hair long and played with Barbie. As a teen, my friends looked at my hair: " You have to find a girl with short hair to be at your side." My grandparents took away my dolls: "Stop it, they're not for you." Ethan
"When I was six I was already sick of them, the distinctions between masculine and feminine. I've always had strong ideas about how I wanted to be. I refused things that were typically defined as girly, and all around me they mocked me because I went skateboarding, I played soccer, I didn't wear skirts, I was giving myself the chance to be as I wished. I endured it a little, I suffered a little, but I had courage, and now thanks to that courage I know that I could have gotten even much more hurt, otherwise I would have left to others the most important choice: the one about myself." Victoria
Love in progress – Music, girlfriends
"I've been married to music for the last 20 years. I can't wait to celebrate our golden wedding anniversary." Ethan
"Everyone makes their own experiences, sometimes it goes well, sometimes it goes wrong, but it's always not anybody's business." Thomas
"When I first felt feelings and attraction towards a girl it was a bit disorienting because I had never had the courage of going beyond the limitations I had put for myself. For society being heterosexual is the norm and so you often define yourself in that way automatically, depriving yourself of the freedom to live many shades and faces of love. Once I overcame the initial insecurity of having to call into question my certainties I've lived my sexuality in a very natural and free way, as it should be for everyone." Victoria
"I had paparazzi at my door every day and night. So, after four years of relationship, I revealed her name. I still have paparazzi at my door every day and nigh, but at least I don't have to hide anything anymore." Damiano
The worth of the group – Phenomenology of protection
"The true engagement though, the true family is among ourselves, our band. We've believed in it since day zero, even before we called ourselves Måneskin (Moonlight in Danish), even before Ethan drew a giant moon on the flier for the first concert we ever did. We share everything, even the pain for the tragedy of Seid Visin, who committed suicide at 20 because of racism. [tn: I think the journalist asked them their opinion about Seid Visin's death, which was a current events topic in Italy, and then pasted it syntaxically in the middle of Thomas' answer, which was not a great move] A group is what we all should be: stay united and not back down an inch in the face of oppression that is generated by a distorted view of diversity." Thomas
I'm not of the right age – Like Gigliola [tn: Gigliola Cinquetti won Eurovision with her song "Non ho l'età", which means "I'm not of the right age"]
"Before you the only one who won both Sanremo and Eurovision on the same year was Cinquetti (1964). If there's anything I feel I'm not of the right age for? No, honestly no. Maybe having children. Regarding children I'll be honest: I'm not of the right age." Damiano
Having touched the sky – The fears that remain
"We're more than inside the dream, we're in the conquered dream. When you fly high there's the risk of plummeting and hurting yourself, but we'll work hard not to end up like Icarus, who burns his wings with the sun. Everything is in our hands. And this - a bit pretentiously - reassures us rather than scaring us." Damiano
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Måneskin: "Different from whom?"
Greetings from Miley Cyrus - phenomenal numbers.
The streams of Zitti e Buoni are growing by the second, and ahead of Muse, on the top of the English charts, twelfth in the Spotify Global Chart. We almost tripled followers after Rotterdam (from 1.4 to 3.3 million, ed). Contagious and universal madness: T-shirts and merchandise sold out in 10 minutes. Like records, tickets for a tour that adds dates and expands on maps. They are even looking for us in festivals where the Rolling Stones have played. - Thomas
After the whole cocaine scandal that was started against us from France, which was later denied by my drug test, in Spain there people have been making murals with my face saying "No drugs". Some tweets made us laugh: «Congratulations, Italy! I have never been so sure that four people have fucked each other ". Miley Cyrus started following us. "You are great". “You are more” . - Damiano
From rags to riches - what a story
It was only 2016, and we were playing in restaurants, on the streets, in via del Corso (famous street in Rome). Damiano without a microphone, Thomas's guitar with broken strings, Ethan drummed on a cajón. At the occupations of the high schools in Rome (Kennedy, Virgilio, Mamiani) we had our first gigs and half an hour of fame, between those who criticized us and those who said "these guys are so cool". One of the rare times in which they offered to pay us to play - 50 euros each - we offered that money to those after us, in exchange for the chance to play during their time slow, as we knew there would have been a bigger crowd. We already understood then how it worked. That visibility was worth more than the money. We still think so ». - Victoria
The intimacy of rock - Choice of a genre
Music allows is this miracle which allows one to talk about very personal and private topics, even difficult and delicate ones. They are and remain deeply yours, but at the same time they become a confession that reaches a wider audience, and in this passage which is like a delivery, they also find their place in you, their elaboration. They are overcome, they are accepted. One moment it feels aggressive, one moment later a (soft) ballad. It's very cathartic. - Damiano
Against panic - The stage as therapy
I have suffered a lot from anxiety and panic attacks, it is a problem that I have worked on thanks to a course of psychotherapy, to my friends and family. Playing has helped me not to let myself be paralyzed by my fears, not to be limited in my private and professional life. I have learned to accept, to live with this side of me. I don't hide it. I no longer feel ashamed. - Victoria
This belief that only crazy people go to the psychologist is widespread ignorance. Nobody is born learned. And it is often difficult to understand why we are here, let alone the derivation and direction of our desires. It is a long and legitimate journey towards one's clarity. - Damiano
Essere fuori di testa – Ma diversi da loro (Be out of your mind - But different from them)
Already feeling a strong passion for something that is not a 'regular' profession but an artistic language, it puts you on a level where you're an anomaly, and while you're neither superior nor inferior to others, it places you in the condition of what breaks the mold but you're also being at a loss, leaving it to you to be bold and to take risks, hoping that they will pay off and land you somewhere. "What good is it if you don't stand out on your own?". You want to give it an aesthetic to your artistic dream, but to others it boils down to " You dress differently! You must be gay! ”, I'm 22 now and it makes me laugh, but at 17 it had an effect on me too. - Damiano
The beauty of being unique - Of believing in that and defending it
After all, we are all different not because we want to be alternative but because really no one is the same. Justice is being judged on what you do and not what you are. Justice is equality, respect, beauty. - Ethan
Fluid sexuality - Pride is freedom
We appreciate heels on men, we kiss each other, we have an open, extended mind, and we are proud of it. The horizons become vast, beyond the oppression of conservative families. With information on the web, knowledge is enriched and with it the possibility that minorities will be fewer and fewer, because majorities will be fewer and fewer. This will lower the volume to insults and bullying. If social networks can reach a village of 50 souls to reveal to someone, who is afraid of the darkness, that someone has felt that same fear.. There is no longer the need to give it a name, to define that "something" to fear, to brand it with labels that only limit you. Definitions have always had this effect on me. Gender should not even be considered in a person's judgment. Let alone orientation ". - Victoria
Sexism - A culture to be dismantled
Emma (Italian singer) dropped the bomb:" When I went to Eurovision, they insulted me over a pair of shorts. Damiano - half naked and in heels - was never criticized ". The judgment against women is constant, ferocious, and demeaning (if I have a lot of sex I'm cool but Vic a whore, where I show myself strong I'm a leader she is domineering and pain in the ass, who is successful because only because of her looks [and not the hard work she puts in]). As a male I am privileged, the harassment I suffer is not comparable to that experienced by a woman, the comments on my aesthetics are focused only on my aesthetics and do not insinuate anything about my professionalism and my competence, while women are victims of this kind of thinking in a systemic way. But I did find myself in a situation, out of nowhere, with someone who, pulling close to her for a selfie, started licking my face ... "What do you want, did you ask me?" Consent exists, and it is a must ». - Damiano
To grow as a person - The only rule to follow
For me, to conform is the total opposite of educating oneself, and the asphyxiation of one's expression (of freedom). Fortunately, I did not suffer heavy bullying, to the point where I felt I needed to change to adapt to how others saw me. But the matrix of who I am and the aggression that marks me is the same. If I'm a kid who dances and loves dolls, then allow me the freedom to do so. I used to be a kid who wanted long hair and played with Barbies. My friends, as a teenager, looked my long hair and teased me: "You have to find yourself a girl with a short hair to make up for it". My grandparents took the dolls away from me and said: “Stop it, they're not for you” ». - Ethan
“I was six and I already could not tolerate the distinctions between masculine and feminine. I've always had strong ideas about how I wanted to be. I refused things typically defined as feminine as a child, and they made fun of me for skating, for playing soccer, for not wearing skirts, for giving myself the chance to be as I wanted to be. I suffered a little, as I was bullied, but I had courage to stay true to myself, and today thanks to that courage I know that I could have been much more hurt, or I would have risked leaving the most important decision to others: the one about being just me". - Victoria
Love - music and girlfriends
I've been married to music for the past 20 years. I cannot wait to celebrate our golden wedding anniversary. - Ethan
Everyone goes through their own experiences, sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, but it's never other people's business." - Thomas
When, for the first time, I developed feelings and attraction for a girl it was a bit disorienting because I had never had the courage to go beyond the limitations I had imposed on myself. For society, being heterosexual is the norm and therefore often one automatically pegs himself in that way, giving up the freedom to experience many different shades and facets of love. Once I got over the initial insecurity of having to question one's own certainties, I lived my sexuality in a very natural and free way, as it should be for everyone. - Victoria
I had paparazzi under my house morning and night. So, after four years of relationship, I finally revealed her name. I still have the paparazzi under my house morning and night, but at least I don't have to hide anything anymore. - Damiano
The value of the group - Protecting each other
But the real relationship, the real family, is between us. Our band. We believed in it from the first day, even before calling ourselves Måneskin (moonlight in Danish), even before Ethan drew a giant moon, on the poster for our first concert. We share everything, even the pain of the tragedy of Seid Visin, who committed suicide at 20 because he was a victim of racism. Being a group is what we should all do together: stay united and not retreat in the slightest in the face of abuses generated by a distorted vision of someone "being different|. - Thomas
Non ho l’età – like Gigliola (It references Gigliola Cinquetti who won both Sanremo and Eurovision with her song "Non ho l’età" which translates to Not old enough)
Before us, the only one to win Sanremo and Eurovision together was Gigliola Cinquetti (in 1964). Is there is something for which I feel I am not yet old enough for? No, honestly no. Maybe for kids. I'll be honest, I'm not enough to be a dad. - Damiano
Reached the sky - What fears still remain
We are more than in the dream, we have conquered the dream. To fly high this high, there is the risk is to fall and get hurt, but we will try not to end up like Icarus, who burns his wings with the sun. Everything is in our hands. And this - somewhat presumptuously - reassures us rather than frighten us ". - Damiano
(ORIGINAL INTERVIEW IN ITALIAN)
[Please note that I have changed some words or structure sentence, trying to make it so that the interview made more sense lol - I skipped the first two paragraphs, which was basically the interviewer gushing over how pretty the band is lmao (relatable).
Any mistakes in the translation are sorely mine, nothing was proofread, so apologies in advance]
#maneskin#ethan torchio#damiano david#victoria de angelis#thomas raggi#i'm off to drink some wine lol
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WHAT BENNY DOESN’T KNOW | Chapter 5
A TRIPLE FRONTIER STORY
Summary: One good night out turns into a two month affair.
Warnings: Mature 18+ ONLY!! Drug use, relationship abuse, mental manipulation, drinking, cheating, angst, language, smut, praise, fingering, slightly rough sex, squirting, unprotected sex (you know the phrase kids...).
Word Count: 6335
A/N- This is a heavy chapter so I have done a longer authors note here. Please read before continuing if you haven’t already read it. Events in this chapter take place 11 months before Italy and a couple weeks after Will’s chapter.
PART FIVE| 11 MONTHS AGO
'Hey Will said you were back. Want to go grab a drink tonight?'
'Yea, sure. Who else is gonna be there?'
'No one else, unless you want to invite others. I kinda just wanted to spend some time with you and catch up.'
'Okay, sounds good to me.'
Frankie had run into Will as he was coming out of a bar earlier that afternoon. He was grateful that Will hadn't notice him coming out through the doors of the establishment, allowing him the chance to pretend like he was just in the neighbourhood; and the fact they had run into each other outside a bar was just coincidence. When Will had casually dropped into conversation that you were home and that he had seen you, that had triggered something in Frankie. Whether it was just his slightly drugged up and alcohol riddled mind or something else, Frankie couldn't tell, but he knew he couldn't get you out of his head.
Frankie had always had a thing for you, ever since Benny first brought you home with him after your last tour together and introduced you to everyone. You were gorgeous, deadly and had a wicked sense of humour, you were everything he wanted in a woman and that's why he had been absolutely terrified to make a move. As time went on and you found your place amongst the group, Frankie came to appreciate how lucky he was just to have you in his life and as a friend and as time moved on further still, it became clear to him that he'd completely missed his chance.
He had started dating Laura just over a year ago now. She was nice, pretty, sassy. She reminded him of a slightly watered down version of you and believing he had fully missed his chance with you and would never get the real you, he figured he could do a lot worse than settling for Laura.
Around month nine of the relationship Frankie started to recognise he wasn't happy. He soon found himself relapsing into old habits he'd fallen into after he'd first come home for good and the PTSD had settled in. It started off as sneaking a bump off someone in the bathroom of a bar one night when they had gone out for drinks with some of Laura's friends. Just a little something to get him through the rest of the evening. A couple of days later it had happened again. It was only when Frankie had dug out his old burner phone from a lock box in the garage and contacted his old dealer, did he realise he was no longer in control anymore, but he didn't care. That's how he had ended up drunk texting you at half past three on a Tuesday afternoon asking you to go out with him for the evening so he didn't have to be at home with 'her'.
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“Hey.” you said getting up from the booth you had commandeered as you waited for him to arrive.
“Hey.” he grinned as he wrapped you up into his arms, his head burying into your hair. It was so soft and smelt amazing, like coming home. “You been waiting here long?” he asked as he reluctantly pulled away from you, both of you sitting yourselves back in the booth. Frankie had taken a moment longer than he should have to get out of his truck when he had first arrived, prioritising snorting another line of coke up his nose off his dashboard, instead of coming straight in to you. A slight panic fogged his brain as he feared he'd taken longer than he had and made you wait ages for him.
“Nah, I only got here like 5 minutes ago or something like that.” You confessed and Frankie relaxed a bit. “Do you want me to go get the first round?” you asked, pointing towards the bar.
“No, its alright, I'll get it.” Frankie said hopping up from the seat. “What do you want?”
“I'll just take a beer.” you replied. You really were a girl after his own heart.
Frankie came back with two bottles of beer a few minutes later, handing one over to you as he tried to manoeuvre himself back into the booth without using his hands. “So when did you get back?” he asked casually, a typical conversation starter.
“Nearly two weeks ago.” you said, taking a sip of your beer.
“Where did you go again?” Frankie asked, his memory of where you'd been the last 6 months hazy.
“Colombia.” you said.
“Ahh, te dio la oportunidad de trabajar en tu español.” Ahh, gave you an opportunity to work on your Spanish.
“Cállate, mi español es muy bueno. Después de todo, aprendí de los mejores.” Shut up, my Spanish is great. I did learn from the best after all, you said stroking his ego and making him blush slightly.
“So what were you doing down there?”
You looked down at your bottle, unable to meet his eyes. “A whole load of stuff that, probably wasn't very legal.” you said, giving him as vague an answer as you possibly could. You looked up, expecting him to have a judgemental look on his face, but instead you were met with one of sympathy. You'd all landed yourselves in some form of shit or another since leaving active service and Frankie was the last person who could pass judgement.
You sat there for almost an hour just talking, drinking your first beers slowly. “You want another one?” Frankie asked, motioning to the empty bottle in your hands that you were now peeling the label off of.
“Yeah, sure.” you said with a smile. You looked to your left to find the pool table had also just become free. “Do you want a game?” you said motioning to the table where the last occupants were throwing the cues on top of it.
“Yeah sure. I'll go get the beers, you go rack ‘em up.” he said, hopping out of the booth with a smile.
You made your way over to the pool table, reaching your hand into the pocket of your jeans, searching for loose change. You took the quarters out, slotting them into the machine. The balls dropped like thunder as they were released, rolling towards the end of the table so you could pull them out the hole in the side. You rolled the discarded pool cues to the side of the table as you reached for the triangle, placing it on the top near you. You bent down to pull out the balls, dropping them blindly inside the triangle above your head. When you had pulled out the last one you stood and was met with Frankie's still smiling face making his way back over to you.
He handed you the beer and you took a sip before placing it on the edge of the table so you could use both your hands to pick out the balls, moving them into their correct spots within the triangle, then sliding them all into place. “Who's going first?” you asked Frankie who had put the pool cues that had been on the table, back into the rack on the wall, choosing his own to play with in the process.
“Well that depends, you get any better at breaking.” you screwed up your mouth at the cheap shot he'd just taken. You were a decent pool player but you were awful at getting the game started.
“Fine Morales, looks like you're going first.”
“Thank you.” he said, jokingly tipping his head at you as he put himself in position at the end of the table.
There was a loud crack as Frankie hit the triangle, the balls bouncing off each other in different directions. You winced in disbelief as he managed to pot two balls with just one shot. He flashed his eyebrows at you, showing off. “You know I think that was one of each.” you taunted him, bringing him back to earth. “You can only chose one, what's it gonna be?”
“Just because I know how much you love playing stripes...” he said leaving the sentence open with a shrug before moving himself around the table to pot one of the solid coloured balls. For a moment, both of you watched eagerly expecting it to go in, but it leaned to the right at the last second and bounced back, away from the hole.
You took a quick sip of your beer before placing it back on the side. “Ready to see how it's done.” you teased, dancing around the table sizing up your first shot. You started out with an easy shot, potting it with not much trouble. Frankie gave you a small nod of acknowledgment before you began circling the table again, working out your next move. You saw it near the corner. You lined up your shot and... clunk, you sank another ball into the hole.
You stood back from the table grinning as you looked over to him, ready to taunt. “That's two.” you said, a faint giggle at the end of the sentence. You danced around the table again looking for the next one. You decided to try your luck but ultimately missed.
“Hey, you can’t get them all in one go.” he said, pushing himself off the wall where he had been leaning. He handed you his beer to hold as he took his go. He fumbled his shot and you were soon handing his drink back to him to take your next go.
It had ended up being a quick game. You had won, easily potting ball after ball, much to Frankie's amazement. “Okay, you had to have been cheating. I want a rematch.” Frankie said, playfully challenging you.
“I mean, I am more than happy to give you one... then beat your ass again and then again and again.” you laughed.
“Okay, okay, I get it. Just rack 'em up again. I gotta go to the restroom.” he said backing away towards the door to the toilets.
When Frankie came back from the toilet he carried himself differently. He seemed both a little bit shinier but also spacey. It was a look you had recognised in people around you many times and had even, on occasion, experienced yourself. You had experimented with drugs a few times over the years, sometimes to keep your cover when trying to get intelligence out of a contact, other times just because it was a night out and you wanted to let your hair down. You never made a habit of it though. You never would have pegged Frankie of making a habit of it either, but it was becoming clearer and clearer to you, as you thought back on his behaviour at the start of the night, that it was.
“Hey, you ready?” he said as he picked his pool cue back up, snapping you away from your internal monologue. 'He's a grown man, he knows what he's doing' you berated yourself, shrugging off his actions. “You wanna break this time?” he asked you, raising his eyebrows encouragingly.
You pulled a face of discomfort. “Uhh.”
“Come on, I'll help you. You'll never get better if you don't practice.”
“Fine.” you said rolling your eyes, your footsteps falling heavier, stomping, mocking a stroppy teenager. He laughed.
“Come here.” He said ushering you to the table and taking a stance behind you. “You're problem is you doubt yourself and then get shaky on your follow through.” He said as you leant forward and lined your cue up with the ball. He leaned over with you, one hand on your left arm, helping hold it steady, the other finding a home over your hand on the cue.
He helped guide it back and you relaxed into his touch as you let him manipulate the shot. It was a gentle, yet forceful, nudge of the cue that sent the white ball careening quickly towards the waiting triangle of balls at the other end of the table. You turned back to him, smiling in triumph at the clack of balls as they scattered across the table. That's when you realised how close the two of you were. You couldn't help but look directly into his eyes. His pupils were blown wide, somehow they were both bright and glassy at the same time.
You weren't sure why you were doing it, but you found your fingers reaching for the front pocket of his jeans, hooking just the tips of them in slightly, nudging the bag of blow. His eyes grew panicked as you began to pull the small baggy from his pocket, curling it into your fingers. You bit your lower lip, trying to search his eyes for how he was going to react, if he was going to react. He didn't move. A part of you thought about just getting rid of it, just tossing it out, but you were having a good time with Frankie, he was having a good time with you. You felt safe and it had been so long since you'd had a good night out you thought 'fuck it'.
Neither of you said anything as you began to creep away, bag still firmly scrunched into your fingers. Frankie tried to act casual, attempting to go back to focusing on the game as you snuck off to the toilet. He assumed you had gone to get rid of the coke, he never imagined you'd have some yourself.
You rushed into one of the stalls, quickly assessing how best to go about this. You decided that none of the surfaces were sanitary enough to do this properly. You sighed, half excited, half still berating yourself for stooping to this, as you took a seat on top of the toilet lid. You tucked your hair out of the way before opening up the baggy and tapping only a small amount of the white powder onto the back of your hand. You listened a second, making sure there was no one else in the bathroom with you. Silence. You quickly lifted the back of your hand to your nose, closing off one of the nasal passages and then sucking in all of the powder, with your intake of air, with the other.
You'd forgotten how awful it felt in that first moment, your nose burning. You coughed and continued sniffing as you attempted to clear the passage, waiting for the initial pain and discomfort to subside. It only took a moment for the rush of euphoria to set in. You resealed the bag, then wiped off any remaining remnants on your hands, before tucking the baggy back into your clutched fingers, hiding it, as you left the stall. You quickly checked yourself over in the mirror, self consciously wiping underneath your nose, then fixing any stray hairs.
As you went back out into the bar, the effects of the drug really started to settle in. Everything seemed shinier and brighter, happier. You made your way back over to Frankie who was stood leaning against his pool cue, awaiting your return.
He stared at you intensely, trying to work out what it was that you had done with the drugs. It was only when you came to a stop directly in front of him and he got a look at your eyes did he realised what you'd truly done. He found himself breaking out into a small smile of adoration, impressed by your courageousness, but it carried with it this underlining guilt in the pit of his stomach. That feeling of guilt though was quickly quashed altogether by another feeling as you pressed yourself close to him once again so you could discreetly put the little bag back in his pocket. You gave him a sly smile and that was it. That was the moment Frankie knew he was completely in love with you. You gave him a coy grin before reaching for your pool cue and continuing the game.
Watching the coloured balls dance across the table top when you hit them, felt so much more satisfying now. You didn't even care if you were losing as long as you got to keep watching the balls of colour roll back and forth across the table. You enjoyed your beer and your company, you and Frankie nudging each other and taking any chance possible to touch one another now you were both happy and relaxed. “Come on Morales.” you said as you placed your hands over his shoulders, giving them an over exaggerated massage like he was about to go into a fight. He tried to shrug you off so he could concentrate and sink his last ball. You stopped your movements but didn't take your hands away and both of you froze watching the ball intently as he took the shot. Clunk.
He stood up straight and whirled around, wrapping you in his arms, a big grin on his face. “You know I let you win right?” you teased him.
“Sure you did.” he said placing a kiss on top of your head before leaning back slightly so he could get a better look at your smile, his arm still firmly around your shoulder. He leaned back against the table, his legs spread apart slightly so you could rest between them. You were both smiling content in the embrace, neither one of you wanting to pull away.
Frankie moved his hands to rest against your hips as he began to wrestle with the idea that had just popped into his head. He looked longingly to your lips, wanting to kiss them. Your smile faded as you scanned his face, realising what he was thinking. It was probably only 3 or 4 seconds but it felt so much longer due to the pace at which your next thoughts flooded your head. 'Oh my gosh, are we gonna kiss? What about Laura? Maybe they broke up? Oh I really want to kiss him.' then his lips were on yours and it was like someone had just set off a bunch of fireworks in your brain. Your head felt like it was fizzing and tingling, you couldn't help but smile as you melted into the kiss.
Frankie felt your lips pull tight against his as your smile burst from your lips and it only encouraged his own. He pulled away only briefly so you could both acknowledge how happy you were right then in that moment, but you quickly closed the gap again, practically throwing yourself into him, desperate to feel that tingling feeling in your brain again. At your enthusiasm, Frankie wasted no time deepening the kiss, his hands snaking down to your ass and pulling you tighter to him. This was everything he ever wanted, what he'd dreamed about for years now and it was finally happening. It felt better than he could have ever imagined it to be. Your kisses were powerful and hungry and for a moment you both almost forgot where you were.
Frankie quickly broke the kiss. You were about to protest when he took hold of your hand and started leading you to the door.
Neither of you said anything as he lead you to his truck. He gave you one more quick passionate kiss before opening the passenger side door to you and encouraging you to get in. You happily hopped in before turning back to give him another kiss as he closed the door.
He drove you both back to your place, using his spare key to let you both into the apartment. You had given each of the boys a spare key to your place just in case of emergencies but this was the first time you'd ever seen Frankie use his and it made you happy. The image of it felt so natural to you, like you were both coming home together after a long day.
You didn't have time to revel in the domesticity of it though as Frankie pulled you inside, rapidly closing the door before latching his lips back onto yours. You felt him lift you up into his arms and he carried you to your bedroom.
Your feet dropped back to the floor as you both made it through the doorway, Frankie wasting no time to start undressing you and himself between hungry kisses, both of your tongues fighting to pull each other back together after every break.
When you were both completely naked Frankie wrapped his arms tightly around your middle, lifting you slightly, walking you both towards the bed which you collapsed onto together, Frankie coming to lay on top of you. You reached your hands up into his hair as he covered your naked body with his own. It was only in that moment that you fully realised he hadn't been wearing his trademark hat this evening. You made a mental note of the actions significance and happily kept smiling and giggling into his kisses.
A sudden feeling took over in the pit of your stomach as you watched Frankie's gaze darken, his lust for you taking over at your joyful sounds and the way your naked body moved underneath him. You felt his hands move to your hips and he suddenly flipped you over onto your stomach before guiding your hips up so you were resting on your knees, your ass and pussy on full display for him. “Oh god.” Frankie groaned at the sight. “Hold it there baby, there's something I wanna do.”
You felt him get off the bed and heard him shuffle around on the floor for something. It took you a moment for your brain to realise what he was doing. He was rooting back into his pocket for the cocaine. You thought about saying something but decided not to for fear it would ruin the moment and this would all stop. This was Frankie. You had wanted this for so long and you were willing to put up with anything just to have his love and attention all to yourself.
You felt his hand smooth over your ass, his fingers digging into the flesh, giving it a squeeze before he let go. You shifted your head slightly so you could look back and watch him as he opened the little baggy and began gently patting the powder out of it, leaving a line of it across your right cheek. The dark look in his eyes as he stared at the sight made your knees want to go weak. He could sense the slight tremble within you, “Hold still for me baby.” he said as he took hold of you again, his hands firmly placed either side of your ass, holding you still. You closed your eyes, thinking if you didn't see what was about to happen, maybe you could act like it never did.
It all happened so quickly you didn't even have time to really take it in. Frankie quickly leant down, taking the powder up his nose, his tongue coming out to lick up any remaining powder before he thrust his face between your folds. You let out a startled squeal of pleasure as you felt Frankie's tongue dive straight in, catching you completely off guard. His patchy facial hair tickled your skin and you jerked back further towards his face, Frankie moaning in pleasure at the feeling.
He quickly pulled his mouth away, thrusting two fingers inside you instead, stretching you out and making sure you were ready. His fingers took a moment to explore your heat and you moaned as this thick fingers stroked your inner walls. You let out a groan when he took his fingers out and you were about to lift your head to turn and whine pathetically about it when he suddenly thrust his cock inside you.
“Oh fuck.” you cried out as you attempted to adjust to his size. He leant over you, his arm wrapping around your upper chest, pulling you to your hands. His head nuzzled into your neck, trying to get you to turn your head so he could kiss you. As you began to turn it towards him, his hand that had been holding your chest moved up to grasp your jaw, forcing your lips to his. He felt you clench around him as you reacted to the power move and he gently rolled his hips into you, your back arching, trying to encourage him even deeper.
He began pounding into you rapidly as he straightened himself up again. His grip on your hips was firm, holding you steady, pulling you back into him with every thrust. The feeling was overwhelming and the lingering effects of the cocaine only heightened everything more. “Oh my god baby, you feel so fucking good.” he praised you as your moans of pleasure rang out through the room.
You felt him lean forward again and you turned your head, seeking out his lips once more. “I've wanted this for so fucking long.” he grunted out between kisses. He almost melted when you moaned back into his lips in response to his words. He wrapped an arm around you, pulling your back into his chest again, making his rapid thrusts even deeper. He was hitting a certain spot inside you and it was devastating, your eyes wanting to roll back into your head as you relaxed it against his shoulder.
A feeling began to rise inside you. It felt so overwhelming and rapid you weren't even sure what was happening until it had already happened. Frankie felt your walls pushing back against him and when he thrust back he was forced out of you completely, your release gushing all over his cock and the bed. “Jesus fucking Christ did you just-” he couldn't even say the word. He was so fucking happy and impressed, but he saw the look of surprise on your face. He quickly crashed his lips into yours as he tried to reassure you that what had happened was a good thing. No a great thing. “Fucking do it again for me baby.” he said as he lined himself back up with your entrance and thrusted himself inside you once more.
You couldn't help but cry out, your mouth falling open against his. You felt so sensitive between your legs it didn't take much time at all before Frankie had you squirting again. “That's it, that's my girl. You're so fucking beautiful when you do that baby.” he said as he turned you around to face him. He could tell your eyes were unfocussed, completely blissed out from each devastating orgasm he was pulling from you.
He placed his hands either side of your head, smoothing your hair out of your face as he kissed it. He sat himself back on the bed, trying to avoid the wet patch on the sheets, pulling you to sit on top of him. He held you close as he pulled you back down onto his erection and you relaxed your head against his shoulder as he continued to smooth your hair. He began rocking you gently on top of him, letting you have a small break, both of you enjoying the moment of being close.
When you felt your strength coming back to you, you lifted your head from his shoulder, fixing your lips to his again. He lifted you in his arms, laying you back on the bed. He lifted your legs back, allowing him to push himself deeper inside you as his thrust began to pick up again.
You placed your hands either side of his head, forcing your eyes to focus on one another. “Fuck, you're so fucking beautiful.” he said, his forehead pressing into yours. You're mouth hung open again, your breaths coming out fast inbetween his thrusts, your moans stuttering wordlessly from your lips. He could tell your eyes were starting to become unfocussed again as your next orgasm built inside you.
He placed his hands under your hips, lifting them slightly allowing his thrusts to reach deeper still. The feeling inside you was devastating and your hand reached to rub circles over your clit, encouraging your release to come even faster. Once again Frankie felt himself being forced out from inside you as you once again gushed all over him and the bed, only this time he had a much better view. He was getting so close to his own climax and this only spurred him on even more. He barely gave you a moment to recover before he was thrusting himself back deep inside you.
His thrust were rapid as he chased his own finish and your fingers clawed at his back as you tried to ground yourself. Frankie let out a deep growl as he buried his head into the crook of your neck. His thrusts became sporadic, stuttering as he lifted his head to capture your lips in his own as he finished inside you. He stilled inside you and you relaxed into his arms as you felt every pulse of his cock inside you. It was a feeling that made you feel proud.
You looked up into his eyes. They were ones of complete bliss and adoration. You wanted to tell him you loved him but the words caught in your mouth so you settled for kissing him once more. This time the kiss was tender and not just because you were both exhausted. It said everything you both didn't feel like you could say. A silent acknowledgment of love.
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“Hey where are you going?” you asked him as he climbed from the bed an hour later and began pulling on his clothes.
“I gotta go.” he said as he shrugged on his t-shirt, unable to meet your eyes,
“Oh, okay.” you said, sitting up and curling your knees up to your chest. You watched him silently as your racing thoughts from the bar slowly started coming back to you. They were more prominent now in this post sex quiet. “Frankie.” your voice said tentatively. It was half broken as the reality of the situation set in and an ache began to form in your chest, along with a churning feeling in your stomach. He looked back at you, eyes sorrowful.
Frankie felt like he had just been punched in the gut. He could see the hurt behind your eyes and it killed him. He knew his love for you was so great and he hated that he was hurting you in this moment. He made his way across the room to you, his arms leaning on the bed either side of you as he leant down to kiss you. “I'm gonna make this right, I promise.” he said as you dipped your head away from him. He gave you a tender kiss on your fore head. “I'll text you in the morning.” he said before placing a hand under your chin, encouraging you to lift your head once more so he could give you a final kiss goodbye. You could only watch silently and helplessly from your bed as he turned and walked away. You practically flinched as you heard the front door close behind him, the sound echoing around your quiet apartment, the reality of your actions setting in. What the fuck had you done.
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True to his word, Frankie had indeed messaged you the following morning. There was no mention of Laura just an 'I really want to see you. Can I come over later.' You had of course said yes and you had both had a repeat of the night before, just this time with pizza and TV. You had wanted him to stay, but you also understood why he couldn't. He promised you he would soon though.
You had both carried on that way, the days turning into weeks. Wild nights turning into wild afternoons, always with the promise that at some point Frankie would break up with Laura and you would be together properly soon.
One week turned into two months and with every passing day your feelings for Frankie were growing stronger and stronger. You didn't care if he hadn't left Laura yet. You didn't care about the drugs, mostly because you could see he was using less and less when he was around you. You could see he was getting better. He was happier and shinier and you knew when he was ready he would end things with her and move in with you.
It was a Saturday evening when he turned up on your doorstep drunk and high and unable to get his key into the lock to let himself in. When you finally opened the door to him there were tears in his eyes. “Frankie?” his name fell from your lips as a question as he stumbled through the door. He made a beeline for your kitchen, searching the cupboards for more alcohol to drink.
You rushed over to him as you saw him pull a half full bottle of whiskey from the cupboard. He didn't even bother to get himself a glass, just started sipping it straight from the bottle. “Frankie, what the fuck is going on?” you asked as you snatched the bottle from his grasp.
“She's pregnant.” he choked out. Your face dropped, complete shock taking over.
“What?” your voice was barely louder than a whisper.
“Laura, she's pregnant.” he said again. His gaze wouldn't lift from a spot on the floor. There was silence between you as you both let the information settle in.
“What are you going to do?” you asked him tentatively.
“I love you.”
“What?”
“I love you.” he said again, finally looking up to meet your eyes.
“No-”
“I don't want to be with her-”
“Frankie she's carrying your kid.”
“I don't want to be with her, I want to be with you.” he said again stepping towards you, his hands outstretched reaching for you. You remained frozen to the spot as his hands rested either side of your face. “I love you. I don't love her, I want to be with you.”
“How long have you know?” you asked him, your voice cold. He was silent. “How long have you known?” you asked him again, your voice rising, becoming desperate.
“About a week.” he finally admitted. You stepped backwards, away from his touch, tears beginning to fall down your cheeks. “Please baby, please-” he began to beg, trying to step forward and close the distance between you again but you kept stepping away, shaking your head in disbelief. “Please, you make me better. I'm better when I'm with you.” You turned away from him, leaving the room in an attempt to get away, panic rising up inside you.
“I'll tell her everything, I'll get help, I promise just please-”
“FRANKIE STOP!” you shouted, rounding on him. He finally fell silent, allowing you a moment to breathe, to think. “I can't do this anymore.” your voice said broken. “If you really loved me, if you were actually going to leave her you would have done it weeks ago when you said you would. If you didn't want to be with her, why were you still sleeping with her, why did you get her pregnant-”
“I don't even remember it.” his voice came back broken and his knees gave way, his back leaning against the open kitchen door. He was sobbing now.
“Frankie, you need help.” you said to him tenderly as you made your way towards him. You sat on the floor beside him, your head leaning on his shoulder. His head slumped against yours in defeat.
“How did I fuck this up so bad?” he asked you. You didn't answer. You didn't need to. “I wish I had a time machine, like that car in that movie, back to the future,,, or that hot tub in that stupid movie Benny made me watch.” he started, his voice calming. “I wish I could go back to when I first met you and tell you how I felt about you. I wish I had told you I loved you the moment I saw you. I wish I'd never let Will or Santiago have the chance to fuck you before I did. Maybe then you would be the one carrying my child right now and not her.”
You let his words hang in the air. You wished more than anything that things could be different right now but they weren't. Frankie had a drug addiction. He had cheated on his girlfriend with you. He had promised you he would leave her but he didn't. Instead he had gotten her pregnant. You had been willing to over look so much for Frankie but for your own sake you couldn't do it anymore. There was a child involved now and there was no way you were gonna hang around and make this situation more difficult for everyone. “I'm gonna go to Italy.” you told him. He looked at you lost.
You had gotten the call that morning. You had been wondering all day whether or not you should take the job but now you saw it as the only option you had. You both needed space. Frankie needed to be there for Laura, for his kid and you couldn't be here as a temptation for him. “My supervisor called this morning about a job in Italy. I think I'm gonna go. I think we both just need some space away from each other to clear our heads.”
“How long?”
“I don't know. Could be a couple of months, could be longer.”
“I love you.” he said again after a moments silence, hoping it would change your mind, hoping it would make you stay.
“Promise me you'll get help Frankie.” was all you said. You were on the next flight to Italy the following morning.
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@icanbeyourjedi @theshiningharmony @darnitdraco @kesskirata @wyn-dixie @rosiefridayrogersunday @actual-spawn-of-satan @clydesducktape @asta-lily @honey-hi @heythere-mel @heidi-toevs @wigofokoye @choricenter @goodgriefitsawildworld @lostgirlheather @d0uwannkn0w @justdrawings101 @nicotinebirds @bisexualolympus @babyratt19 @cookiecat22 @peterhollandkait @a-bang-for-your-bucky @asta-lily @codenamewife @lazyunknownwerewolf @emmy626 @natura1phenomenon @fanfics-that-hit-my-feels @fangirl-316 @thisisthewaytofiction @rosiefridayrogersunday-reads @aficwhore @slayerx147 @alberta-sunrise @itspdameronthings @nano-pax @bunnypascal @niki-xie @eowynshairflip @mamacitapascal @dobbyjen @t3rradactyl
#triple frontier#triple frontier x reader#what benny doesn’t know#frankie morales#frankie catfish morales#frankie morales x reader#santiago garcia#santiago pope garcia#santiago garcia x reader#will miller#william ironhead miller#will miller x reader#benny miller
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Serotonin Booster :D 🐉
How to train your dragon edition
Here are some things I had forgotten or little details I just noticed on my rewatch, maybe even Unpopular Opinions 🤭👀
✨Race to the Edge✨
SEASON 6
I love how the twins were basically the reason Hiccup figured out that Johan was the spy
NOOO THE WAY GOTHI WENT TO TRY AND STOP STOICK FROM THROWING AWAY HER MEDICINE AND THEN GOT THROWN OFF THE CLIFF WAS SO FUNNY [ep2]
Omg that fight between Hiccup and Stoick in ep2 was crazy whenever Stoick said "I'm talking to the expert in getting duped by Trader Johan" and THEN HICCUP WAS LIKE "but I was only duped for half as long as you were. So what does that make you?"
Awww the way both Toothless and Skull-crusher were trying to get them to talk
And also Astrid being the only one that wasn't caught by the Hunters right away, she's just superior bro
I love how both of them were right - Stoick was right to not trust the merchants and Hiccup was right about Johan's plan
Toothless is actually so strong like he's not only agile and clever, I mean he just flew up to the ballista and crashed against it and destroyed it without using his Plasma Blast 😎🤩
Mala and Dagur fighting over where the Dragon Eye lenses are gonna be hidden is hilarious. Mala is so calm I love it
I got chills when Atali was like "no, Hiccup, this is my island I will defend it"
I really want to know the origin of the Wingmaidens, like where did all these women come from? How come they're still there?
I love Minden and Snotlout's relationship, the way he tried to convince her to not give up AND SHE KISSED HIM!!!
Krogan's Singetail actually cares about him
Never gonna get over Adelaide Kane voicing Mala
Also Snotlout running when the dude had the razorwhip on him LIKE HE WAS LITERALLY FLYING AND HE WAS STILL RUNNING Y'ALL HAVE TO WATCH THAT SCENE I JUST DONT KNOW HOW TO DESCRIBE IT ITS IN EP3
Generations ago Fishlegs's ancestors were dragon hunters
The Loyal Order of Ingerman - decimated the Dramillion dragons, pushing them to the brink of extinction
Grump is amazing I love him
Dramillions - have both a lava blast and a magnesium blast. Omnivores. Still being hunted.
The Hunters were founded by Ingar Ingerman
The Dramillion trying to take the manacle off his tail🥺
And when Fishlegs threw his helmet and THEN THE HAND THING 😭🥺
I love the Dramillions they're so smart they learned how to get rid of the manacles by just looking at what Meatlug and Stormfly were doing 🥺
I just realized that the twins are 19 AND I FIND THAT ABSOLUTELY CRAZY HOW CAN THEY BE THAT OLD
I really wish we knew each of their birthdays like I wanna know which one's older and which one's younger
I feel like for some reason the twins would be the oldest ones then Fishlegs then Astrid then Snotlout and lastly Hiccup. Idk I'm still iffy on this
Most Thorstons don't make it to 19
I love the twins' relationship, they love each other so much that they would rather be alone and not form part of a clan than leave each other alone and the fact that other people know this too? Plsss like the only reason Gruffnut got them back into the fake induction trials was by telling them how bad it'd be for each other to not be part of a clan.
Titanwing Zippleback HOW DO THEY KNOW ITS A TITANWING IT LOOKS THE SAME AS THE OTHER ZIPPLEBACKS
"Ughh, what's the point of winning alone? Being a Thorston means nothing without him. We are one Thorston."
I love them and also technically Ruffnut won the induction trials.
THE LAST LENSE GOSH
Love how Fishlegs cares about global warming
I'm all Snotlout, Toothless and the Triple Stryke reacting to Mala and Dagur- I'm also Mala whenever someone tickles me I'LL KILL U
UGHHH I HATE HOW SNOTLOUT MADE HICCSTRID UNCOMFY FOR HAVING A DIFFERENT RELATIONSHIP
Astrid overthinking 🥺😭
"How would you like your yak cooked?" JSHDHHA
bro I love how both Tuff and Toothless noticed the betrothal necklace
"So want to deliver some scrap metal?" Hiccup baby? Why are you so oblivious?
At least he asked her if she was alright in the armorwing's island 😩
No but if I was Astrid I'd be pissed too, the dude saw a dragon eye lens from far way and didn't notice her betrothal necklace? 🙂😤
No I can't that scene was too harsh to watch, I mean I loved to see Hiccup noticing something was wrong with Astrid but then the way Astrid compared their relationship to Mala and Dagur's and then threw him the betrothal necklace... And the way he caught it too I can't- 😭😞😖😭😓🤧
Seeing the twins trying to capture Mala was hilarious JAHDHDHHSHA
I love how when they're fighting Astrid's still there for him whenever he's expected to have all the answers. She ignored her anger and went over to him and grabbed his hand and that single thing was what gave him confidence in a moment of panic 🥺
"I'm with you"
"I know"
That final Hiccstrid scene in Mi Amore Wing was just too perfect, we have Hiccup grabbing Astrid's hand to bring her outside and talk to her, the sunset in the background, every little thing Hiccup told her about being there for her and loving her with everything he had and that he should've noticed the necklace right away AND THEN THAT KISS WAS JUST AMAZING❗️❗️❗️ it was passionate and sweet and Astrid was blushing and then Fishlegs was all uncomfortable and Mala was like "okaaayyyyy😏" and Dagur like "alrighhtttt👌🏼" ig the only thing I didn't like is that Astrid didn't say I love you back 😭 but it's ok cause yk she does I just wished she had said it.
Baby razorwhips love the water
Tuffnut named the baby razorwhip that bonded with Ruffnut, Wingnutt
Top scenes of Ruff Transition ep7
Tuffnut throwing up in Ruffnut's mouth and Ruffnut throwing up in Wingnutt's mouth just do that he could be fed- seeing the windmaiden's reactions is the best lmao
Hiccup trying to teach Ruffnut how to fly (with his dragon flight suit) and then Ruffnut losing balance but Hiccup helping her regain it BUT we still get overprotective Tuffnut jumping off of Toothless to try and help but all he did was make things worse HIS SCREAM WAS HILARIOUS nonono and the way Toothless tried to help BUT AGAIN MADE THINGS WORSE 😩😮💨😂
Ruffnut finally figuring out how to connect with Wingnutt and fighting the dragon hunters and saving Atali was so badass and then Atali riding Barf 😭🤩
Hiccstrid kiss count (approximately) : 6😘
The way he slightly and carefully touches her face to reassure her that he'll be fine
The Singetail's only predator is the Skrill
The Berserkers used to use metal daggers to lure Skrills into traps. The dragon is drawn to it due to its electrical properties
VIGGO JUST DID THE HAND THING THING WITH THE SKRILL WTF
If I could have any dragon it'd be in this order
Skrill - it's so badass and powerful
Nightfury - it's badass, powerful, pretty, strong and fast
Deadly Nadder - it's extremely fast and agile, has multiple attacks and the spikes
Dramillion - has multiple attacks and is very smart
Just realized that ep8 is called Triple Cross because 1st Johan crossed Viggo 2nd Viggo fake crossed Hiccup and 3rd Viggo and Hiccup crossed Johan and Kogan
That episode was basically jusr to show Viggo's arc and the way he changed for the better and learned to respect dragons
That's why the Singetails wouldn't leave in ep9 whenever they were trying tp free the Deathsong- their eggs! They're in that island.
I can't with Hiccup and Astrid sitting together just chilling but with Astrid feeling guilty and Hiccup assuring her that he was also at fault 😭
I love Narrator/Author Snotlout! The titles of the chapters of his book remind me of the ones from Pjo
Stoick and Skullcrusher acting as 1 and being worried about each other 🥺 I love their relationship
Also the way Stoick bats off the shots from the Singetails with his axe just like Astrid. They're both truly warriors
No but Toothless asking for a head scratch from Gobber bc he's worried abt both Hiccup and Stoick🥺
The way Toothless tried to make Hiccup feel better- I mean the man blamed himself for putting Stoick in "his deathbed" it was just so awful seeing Hiccup in that state and the way everyone was trying to make him feel better but it was ultimately Astrid who managed to get through to him😭
I love it when they put scenes of the movies
I love how Astrid always knows what to say without lying
Looks like it's you and me, then.
Always... was that corny or-
Probably. Nice, though.
The way Astrid is so natural at being a leader and putting everyone on their places 🤩
That lil moment they had in ep12 where he holds her face and thanks her for everything and I just love them too much 😭
I love how Spitelout is so happy when he's beating ass, this dude literally goes "I'm sure I've had more fun than this. But at the moment, I can't remember when"
Have I mentioned I love the Dramillions before? I love them way too much they're amazing and the sound they make is so 😩 I love it
The Dramillion is a distant cousin of the Changewing which means the Titanwing Dramillion shares the de-cloaking ability with its subspecies.
Stormfly's spine clone was literally so badass, my girl was surrounded and she finished every single dragon flyer with it. Badass move. Wish we had seen it more throughout the series
It really pissed me off that Hiccup had to choose between getting Tuff, Ruff and Snotlout out of that sinking ship when he could've been following Krogan. Like ofc it was the right decision but that wouldn't have happened if the twins and Snotlout didn't follow Gruff into the ship :/
I love how strong Barf and Belch are! They literally carried the a Titanwing Dramillion on their own.
That scene when they figured out that the Titanwing Dramillion is not the King of Dragons but instead the last piece of the puzzle to get to the King of Dragons
When the Wingmaidens got to the battle it was amazing
Also the way Dagur was so proud that the King of Dragons was a Berserker and how Ruff was so excited to see Wingnutt and Snotlout to see Minden🥺
THEY REALIZED THAT BBYS AREN'T AFFECTED BY THE KING OF DRAGONS BC OF THE BABY RAZORWHIPS
that last Hiccstrid Scene where Hiccup is worried about Astrid's safety- I mean his face 🥺🥺🥺 and she told him that his dad would be proud and that she's proud too and when she was about to leave he held her back and kissed her 😭😭
Ik I said this before but I simp for Astrid as a leader, she's just so natural at it
Also I love how the King of Dragons has ice powers instead of fire
WAIT SO IS THE EGG THAT HICCUP FINDS IN THE FINALE THAT THEY GIVE TO VALKA IS THAT THE KING OF DRAGONS THAT VALKA CARES FOR IN HTTYD2?!!
Valka being friends with the Wingmaidens sits absoluteky right with me
no but the way Toothless hesitated when Hiccup told him to leave him and get the egg
I love how all the dragons arrived to fight the dragon flyers, it was just so poetical to me, the dragons finally getting to fight the people that hurt them 🤩
I FINISHED IT AND NOW I'M SAD!!! I loved the end tho and I'm glad we got to see Shattermaster at Dagur's wedding, also Astrid's outfit change- we love that. And them leaving the edge is just so sad bro 😭but I love how we got to see some "insight" ig u could call it on HTTYD2 😭 also seeing Snotlout and Fishlegs's love for Ruffnut start forming was hilarious
#httyd#how to train your dragon#dob#defenders of berk#riders of berk#rob#race to the edge#rtte#hiccstrid#hiccup haddock#astrid hofferson#hiccup x astrid#fishlegs#snotlout#toothless#ruff and tuff#ruffnut#tuffnut#dagur the deranged#queen mala#Wingmaidens#Heather#Stoick#Valka#the King of Dragons
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safe
part 9 of the ‘hey batter batter’ series
pairing: Francisco (Frankie, Catfish) Morales x reader
wordcount: 2.3k
warnings: none, lots of kissing
summary: it’s a Triple Frontier baseball AU! Trust me, you don’t need to know anything about baseball.
In this chapter, you discover how truly committed you are to a man you’ve only been on one real date with.
notes: just a head’s up, next week will be the last chapter of this series! I’ll give a proper thank-you then, but I also have a couple (at least three) one-shots in the universe because I... want to. hope that’s okay!
<<
When you were younger and you attended the baseball games under the summer heat with James, you spent more time watching the people in the crowd than the players. Vague knowledge of the rules and even your grandfather’s enthusiasm weren’t nearly enough to keep you interested during the long stretches of advertisements. Now, the moments when Santi was getting strike after strike were exhilarating instead of boring and you grinned with pride, like it was personal each time the ball found it’s home in Frankie’s glove.
This season had been a whirlwind as you began to appreciate the game because of the players, and you didn’t think you had any more room for excitement.
That was, until Francisco’s mother decided she wanted to attend with you and James.
The sweet catcher hadn’t even had time to apologize and offer an alternative before your grandfather stepped in, and the rest was history. You didn’t mind, of course you didn’t, how could you? It was strange, spending time with her so early in the relationship but it made you happy that she was so excited about you. The two of them hung on your elbows, and you laughed at how awkward it made walking through the narrow gap to your seats.
From somewhere in her bag, she produced an entire tupperware of homemade pan dulce, sugar filling the grooves on the bottom, and you settled in. You were fairly sure that wasn’t allowed but you were helpless against her sweet, determined face so it only made sense security would be too.
It wasn’t work, talking to her, she felt like an auntie or a friend’s friend – someone you half already knew, and who certainly knew you. She filled the silence with stories and questions and only heard the first half of your answer before excitedly pointing at her son and his friends on the field. It felt like you were at a kids baseball game, how she clicked her tongue and freely gave them advice as if they could hear her.
At some point, Will stole second base and her and James began a conversation around you. She called them niños and matched your grandfather in her personalized affection for them. You wondered if you should feel guilty for your lingering eyes on the son of the woman next to you, but she half encouraged it, telling you he got his legs from his padre.
When the opposing team was up a point, she muttered pobrecitos and grabbed your hand and prayed for Benny’s next hit.
You caught pieces of Frankie, in her. Or more accurately, you realized what parts of her he had grown into, and learned about his younger self from her eyes and her tone and her smile. Your poor grandfather was probably exhausted but you drank it in.
“Francisco was saving all his money from his work for the neighbors – his team was taking him to watch a game at this very stadium!” Without even looking she handed you a pastry, shaking sugar onto your lap until you took it. “But then his escuela collected donations for the orphanage. I told him, you know? I told him if he gave all his money I couldn’t help him, he wouldn’t get anything from the stadium.”
Her eyes were warm in yours and she squeezed your arm, trying to communicate her pride. “Mi frijol gave it all! And he did not even complain, not even once!” You smiled at her, trying to answer however you could that you understood. Maybe not completely but you saw how much he cared about other people, how hard he tried.
Around the eighth inning, she quieted, smiling gratefully when you produced an extra water bottle. Her hand was soft and maternal as it rubbed your shoulder, a foreign but pleasant feeling.
“His hermana tests him all the time,” she murmured, and you nodded cautiously. When she resolutely added, “You give him strength, hija,” you almost cried right there in the stands.
You settled for covering her hand with yours and squeezing back.
When they won, no one cheered louder, no one was prouder, but you and James gave it your best shot.
-
“So,” Frankie looked at you, his big brown eyes full of questions. Alone, you couldn’t resist him, much more when the rest of them matched his gaze.
You were all at Tom’s rental, unexpectedly. He didn’t tell anyone, but he had burst into Molly’s office, only to find it empty. It had bothered him, and when he was bothered, he took extra effort to pretend that he was not. The new opportunity to spend post-game evenings with decks of cards and childish snacks had already become the highlight to his friends, so he figured he could do that. Just a little bigger, a little better. And it’s not like any of you had enough information to say no.
The elders had long since gone home, and now they all wanted to know what secrets his mother had spilled about them.
You laughed at their faces, feeling a little devious with the power. Before giving anything up, you stuck your tongue out at Santi and meandered to the kitchen, feeling them watch you as your filled your champagne flute with apple juice.
“She didn’t say anything,” you said with exaggerated elegance, lounging against an unnecessary column.
The act broke when you had to dodge a pillow.
“Okay, okay,” you held up your free hand in surrender. You looked at your catcher with a wink before grinning almost maliciously at Santiago. “She told me she had to bring Santi socks twice last season, and one time she saw Benny eat a hot dog off the ground.”
They erupted in teasing and you waited for it to quiet a moment before you added, “And she shared that Tom,” you drew out his name for extra emphasis, “Goes to the same hairdresser as her, and she once threatened to dye Will’s pants pink for calling her ma’am one too many times.” The men were howling with laughter like they hadn’t since college, shoving each other and half tackling one another, shouting their defenses and stories alike.
When Frankie extracted himself he found you curled on the armrest of the couch, watching with amusement. His hair was messed up and his eyes crinkled in the corners. “What did she say about me?” he asked under the noise and he settled next to you, trying to be confidant as he wrapped his arm around you shoulders.
He liked that he could feel your shrug.
“That you’re practically perfect in every way,” you relaxed into him and it felt so natural he could hardly imagine it wasn’t always like this.
-
Francisco was spending his day off with his family, doing some projects around the home, but so it surprised you when your phone rang.
It surprised you even more that it was Benny, inviting you to lunch. Just to talk, I’m not being weird, he said, backpedaling when you teased him about being a little late to ask you on a date. Is that okay? He seemed just a little bit nervous, which made you laugh. Of course, you were more than happy to.
The longer you knew him, the more you understood why they all treated him like a little brother.
He was already at the restaurant – Thai food, his choice – as friendly and kind as the first time you had met him. Unlike then, you weren't even a little bit nervous sitting across from him, despite the glares of the women at an adjacent talking the two of you were still new friends, so it wasn’t quite effortless, by the made up for it with his genuine enthusiasm.
If he had something on his mind, he didn’t get to it right away, the first half of your lunch hour spent talking about you. For how loud his personality seemed sometimes, he was well spike and well mannered, and curious about almost everything. You checked the time, before finally asking if everything was okay with him, and the shortstop ran his fingers through his hair, looking past away.
His foot tapped on the rug, and you used your chopsticks to push your remaining food into a small mound in the middle of your plate.
“I’m paying, by the way,” you looked up, back into his eyes, your own eyebrows drawing together to shake your head.
“I owe you,” he defended himself before you could voice your dissent, and when he added, “for looking out for me,” you softened.
“Relationships aren’t transactional, Benjamin.” It was a gentle scold, true, but relenting.
Broad shoulders shrugged.
“Think of it as a thank you,” he said, and you let him talk. For all that his brother and the guys worried over him, he wasn’t as young and naïve as they thought of him. His eyes and ears were sharp and it’s not like he hadn’t heard the stories, seen what they were protecting him from.
“You help us look after each other,” it was almost like he rehearsed it, and his blue eyes confirmed he had been meaning to say this to you for awhile.
“And you look after me.” That nervousness from before came back, and you wondered if he still hadn’t quite gotten to the part he was meaning to say. Ben launched into a story in between flagging down the waiter and you let him pay, but even when the receipt came, he didn’t stand.
The story stuttered to a halt and you rested your chin in your palm.
“Will and Frankie have been talking about Tom – saying he’s been off.” It was abrupt, and you waited. He was restless, his habit of changing the topic becoming even more prominent. Both of you knew what he meant.
It was messy, hard, existing with them.
“Would you… will you stay?”
There was a burst of warmth in your chest, a wave of affection as if he confessed outright how much you mattered to them.
You stood, smiling and offering your hand, as if he needed help standing.
“Yeah, Ben, what are friends for?”
He looked so relieved that you hugged him. Although, you suspected he would’ve hugged you regardless, if you had given him a moment.
-
After work you had a voicemail and a text from your… from Francisco, and you drove over to his place. Walking up the stairs in the cooling evening air felt strange, like it was humming with potential.
He greeted you with slow kisses, his rough hands wandering your skin and clothes like he was still grasping that you were real. If you could’ve thought, you might’ve wondered why he called you over or looked around his apartment but it didn’t matter because all you could think of what him. The gentle scrape of the hairs on his face over your cheek, your neck, the needy pull of his fingers as he curled his fists into your outer layer.
His mouth, moving in ways you’d thought you’d never quite felt before, leaving you breathless.
It didn’t escalate, neither of you pushing for more, but when he finally moved away, he was pulling you onto the couch and under his arm.
“Hi,” he said, looking flushed and happy, despite the flash of anxiety in his eyes.
“Hi,” you figured you mirrored him, and you let out a rough cough of laughter.
Francisco joined, and your head found a rest on his shoulder, cheek squishing from the closeness. The tips of his fingers wandered over your skin, and it felt like a habit years in the making, to catch up with him about his day, his family. A stretch of silence followed, and your realized he was tired.
“I should probably make you dinner or something,” he whispered, almost to himself, dark eyebrows drawing together. Suddenly you felt shy, aching because you should’ve brought something, should cook or… he was the one who had a long day, but this was his home.
You had memorized the feeling of his hairs on your waist, and yet you didn’t know if he would be okay with you cooking in his home. Actually, you didn’t even know anything about his home.
Looking around, you compromised.
“I’m good, Frankie, I had a big lunch,” taking in the simple furniture and quickly cleaned surfaces, you didn’t notice his head tilt, shoulders rising slightly with tension until you looked back at him. The sweet man had realized he hadn’t heard about that part of your day yet but he didn’t want to pry.
“Benny got me thai food,” you offered, which only increased his distress. Your hand slipped into his as you explained.
“I think he’s just scared I’m not going to stick around,” you sighed, hoping he felt like that was as unlike as you did.
Against your head, you felt him nod, but he didn’t say anything for a moment.
“He’s right, though,” his voice seemed higher, as shy as you’d been a moment ago. “Things with us, with me are… a lot.”
As he always did, he was asking you more than you said, and you wanted to honor it so you though, really thought about what you were getting yourself into.
“Frankie, you told me you wanted me to be a part of your life,” you kissed the corner of his mouth, which pulled as he smiled hopefully. “I want that too, if you’ll be part of mine.”
A little rougher than they’d been before his hands tugged you into him, a solid kiss. No questions were buried in the touch, and it made you feel like you were floating.
Long moments later, you laughed a little, too warm to feel shy.
“Does this make me your novia?”
You weren't sure if the color on his cheeks was warming because of embarrassment that you caught the word in his mother’s talk, or because he hadn’t actually asked yet.
“Yeah,” a final kiss, on your forehead sealed the deal.
And when you moved away, it was to explore his kitchen for something to cook for the both of you.
<<
translations:
pan dulce: pastries
niños: boys
padre: father
pobrecitos: poor babies
escuela: school
mi frijol: my bean
hermana: sister
>>
hija: daughter
novia: girlfriend
taglist:
@fangirl-316 @scribbledghost @writeforfandoms @beautyagegoodnesssize @princess76179 @mrsbentallmadge
hey batter batter taglist:
@icanbeyourjedi @studyofawearymind @hnt-escape @athalien @the-witty-pen-name @daffodin @sarahjkl82-blog @pintsizemama @anaaaispunk @pjkimrn @dobbyjen @stuckontheceiling
edit: take 3 having tumblr save the taglist on this thing
#francisco morales#francisco morales x reader#francisco morales x you#frankie x you#frankie x reader#catfish x you#triple frontier baseball au#hey batter batter#maybe i don't know people
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Headcanon | Rivendell and Celebrian
This headcanon is set in the timeline from S.A. 1697 to T.A. 2501, so it’s going to be very long. It is my attempt at the fullest account of Elrond’s priorities in that timeline, and his life and marriage to Celebrian. And the After.
PRELUDE After the initial crush that Elrond had on Celebrian, Elrond did wait more than 1700 years before proposing to her. Elrond did not want to subject her to a life of war and hardship with him when they’d only just met. Elrond loved Celebrian enough to let her go home to safety and a more peaceful life. But Elrond loved Middle Earth more, that he would sacrifice his personal happiness in order to protect and save the free peoples.
The dire costs of the War of the Elves and Sauron were echoes of the War of Wrath, where Elrond had seen the wrath of the dragons as a youth and the trumpets that eventually marred and sunk Beleriand. He was determined not to let Eriador reach that stage of destruction, and since few of the strangers in the Valley were well enough to engage in battle, Elrond was frequently at the helm of offensive measures against the forces of Sauron that sought to besiege Rivendell.
POST WAR OF THE ELVES AND SAURON When Rivendell was founded, it was basically filled with refugees and soldiers gravely wounded from the destruction of Eregion and Sauron’s conquest of Eriador. Simply put, Rivendell was functional at best, and a stinky shit hole of armour and blood at its worst. A stronghold with severely weakened military power. There was no Ring of Power to protect it yet, so Elrond took it upon himself to ride out and meet evil before it could come near. Frequently, he rode from the northern foothills of the Hithaeglir, to the south bordering the outskirts of Eregion, then east across the valley to the ford of Bruinen, and even further still to penetrate the forests to the west.
Even though Elrond wanted to beautify Rivendell with other areas like education, hospitality, music, etc, it remained clear to Elrond that his immediate and most urgent priorities had to be taking vanguard in most marches as his elves and men were recovering, returning home, or sailing West.
After Vilya was handed to Elrond and he was made Lord and Master of Rivendell, Elrond was at the peak of his power and strength. Loyal and following the passions of a war won, the coverage of Vilya stretched from the Men-i-Naugrim to the Coldfells to the Last Bridge to the meet of Mitheithel and Bruinen. It matched his initial marches, patrols, and more. Elrond purified the forests and straightened the roads, dealing death to the last of the fell beings out of the Coldfells, the East Road, and the Old Forest Road. Strongholds were built upon the Misty Mountains and the borders of Eregion to keep watch on the southern and eastern passages. Where the Ring could reach, there Elrond’s spirit was, working its inner machinations to keep it safe.
FALL OF NUMENOR Elrond took his marches very far south to keep the borders and to exercise his Crown rights. He tripled the patrols around southern Eriador. If there were any stray survivors, they must be verified clean and without evil before they could travel. Otherwise, they were caught and handed to the nearest City willing to let them stand trial. When the presence of the Crown Prince of the Noldor increased near the borders of Gondor, there were quite many mixed reactions. A certain pressure to observe decorum, for example, to stop everything one was doing to answer questions, possessions checked thoroughly, and weapons that were deemed stolen or machines of darkness were confiscated until further notice. As long as one saw the banners of Gil-galad, even from a distance, they were compelled to stop and obey.
MARRIAGE TO CELEBRIAN Elrond is not a free and easy leader. He is a leader who actively chooses to sacrifice his happiness, his reputation, rest / sleep / food, for the sake of protecting and aiding the people at large. Elrond’s version of taking care of himself was stretched until his limits threatened to break, then rest for a while. It was the equivalent of sleeping once a week.
I think that Celebrian would have heard a lot about Elrond and what he was doing, Elrond’s fame and infamy spreading far and wide over the Misty Mountains. On the other side of the land, Elrond knew his deeds and renown were preceding him. He had some fears that he wouldn’t be well liked, because who could understand the land’s emergencies as well as him? He didn’t think anyone could, not because he was arrogant or wanted to do everything himself, but he was the most endowed.
Celebrian would be the only person Elrond could be weak to without being judged, rejected, or told to change or stop what he was doing. With her, Elrond was that bit more comfortable in taking / asking for comforts, and sharing his griefs, resentment, the nasty stuff and not just his plans, counsel, the good stuff that was always dispensed to all without cost. Celebrian was the shoulder Elrond cried on, while he was the shoulder for the world. Celebrian was the person whom Elrond revealed all of his quirks and eccentricity to. It was Celebrian who really made Rivendell into a Homely House. Celebrian was the one who helped him fulfil his visions and execute the blueprints of his mind while he properly focused on keeping Eriador and Rivendell safe. With her in mind, Elrond took more care of himself because he did not want her to be worried about him. Elrond was the healthiest in the 1000+ years before the Angmar War.
ANGMAR RISING The split and existence of Rhudaur in T.A. 861 unsettled him and so Elrond frequently visited Arthedain in secret, debating upon many topics of potential insurrection and defense strategies. The chief of the matter were these: Both Rhudaur and Cardolan desired to possess Amon Sul, and Rhudaur resisted Argeleb who claimed to be High King over all of Arnor. Elrond was sensitive to the matters of kingship and the Palantir. For the lands of Men and the Palantiri to come under one king was better than for them to split into the hands of the wrong people. Celebrian understood that for Elrond to ally Rivendell with Arthedain, hostilities with the rest would be inevitable.
( my Angmar war timeline here where Elrond suffered a Morgul-wound at the end of )
THE WATCHFUL PEACE … is a deceitful name. It was more watchful than it was peaceful.
Rivendell spent the early years recovering from the 600 year war, especially Elrond - being the first of all elves to suffer a Morgul-wound, a large scar on his back with no recovery method yet. Elrond had to devise and experiment on himself, while he was suffering from it, before he managed to heal himself. However, the military never again rises up to any relevant standard in a war. A lot of commanders were lost, Elrond was weak and sick, and many elves succumbed to their injuries, grief, and they faded or sailed West.
Every year for the rest of Elrond’s life in Middle Earth, on the same week, the Morgul-wound brought Elrond searing and debilitating pain. He still could hold the power of Vilya over The Angle and the Misty Mountains, but the western forests and Coldfells were neglected.
Rivendell never ceases to send patrols across Eriador, despite Elrond being in an extremely bad shape and the vale was desperately short handed. Elrond depended on Vilya more, both to heal and to protect, as he would leave Rivendell defenseless except for the Kingsguard, while he sent aid and resources everywhere else. Celebrian was beside him every step of the way, going into a Post-war scenario in a huge piece of land called Eriador again. They really could not enjoy the quieter times at all.
Furthermore, before the Watchful Peace ended, evil again invaded Eriador. It was followed by Galadriel’s summons of the White Council.
CELEBRIAN ASSAILED, DEPARTURE TO THE WEST 46 years later, tragedy ended the marriage of Celebrian and Elrond. He would be officially widowed with her passing over the Great Sea. The greatest healer who ever lived could not save his greatest love.
He let her go when she made her choice to go. He did not force to stay her, it would be too cruel to her. Elrond chose to do what was right instead of what was kinder to himself. When she left, she tore half his heart and flesh along with it.
This trauma is one that Elrond carries with him. The darkening of the times did work to twist his sacrifice into guilt, into thoughts of ❛What if❜ he was stronger, more powerful, better, or enough. Because of how obvious it was that Celebrian’s assault was premeditated by Sauron to weaken Rivendell, Elrond would always blame himself for bringing her into his life. Perhaps he should have just continued hiding his love. Perhaps she would have been safe. Perhaps.
In Elrond’s lowest moments, he could not understand what was so good about Valinor. He could not reconcile Celebrian’s choice of Aman over him and their 3 children together. For all his wars and battles in Middle Earth, no army ever came from the West to aid the people. He has no good perception of Aman. Over time, Celebrian’s departure joined one of many gravestones that Elrond had to force himself to move forward from. It was the only way, force himself not to dwell on it, bury himself in work, in the forge, in planning. For his children, for all the people who depended on him, for the sake of unseating Sauron, Elrond had to move forward even if it was by crawling through the mud.
His love for her did dull, did become mixed with depression, and he feared to see her again if he sailed to Aman. Elrond fears that Aman might actually be better for Celebrian than him. The dilemma? Wanting Celebrian to be happy and healthy, but wanting it to be him for her and no one else. Elrond knew the solution to that, and the answer was: Not him. It is a fact that is so hard to swallow at times, that he has to leave the love of his life in someone else’s hands.
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plainly in truth, chapter 5/5
"Without you around, it's sorta like stuff is just kinda...bleh."
Or: hiding, confiding, and misguiding.
read the final chapter below or the entire work on ao3
—
“Help us, Saras—” a stream of coughing rings out, eating up the rest of the words.
“What the hell happened!?”
“I don’t know! One minute he was kicking ass, and the next—”
“He’s down! Oracle, scan him for signs of life.”
Their voices sound far and muffled, like he was under a foot of ice.
“He’s alive, I know he is. Kikur…” More coughing, wet and almost retching. “Dammit!”
“Skull hasn’t moved in ages and we pumped him with more Diaharan than we know what to do with!”
“Then why isn’t he moving?”
He feels like he got hit with back-to-back garbage trucks, all fully loaded with an entire city’s trash and was going eighty down the freeway.
“I...I don’t know…!”
“Why not? Why the hell not?”
“Joker!”
“Unicorn—” Actual retching comes this time, sporadically. “Why isn’t—!”
“Please stop! You’re only going to get yourself hurt!”
“Akira. Quit it, or I’ll cast a Dormin so strong you’ll wake up next year.”
A groan escapes his lips, and all arguing stops.
“Oh thank god,” Makoto’s voice sighs in relief. “Skull? Can you hear us?”
“Skull?” A leather-clad hand touches his cheek. “Are you with me?”
Ryuji suddenly bolts upright. “Konoe!” The whole world lurching sideways but he ignores the nausea. “Where is he?”
“Gone,” Yusuke replies. He’s looking slightly better than when he last saw him, able to stand on his feet again. “Disappeared, just like the rest of them. In no small part thanks to you.”
“It was more than that,” Haru disagrees. “It was nearly completely thanks to him. Your last battle with him was quite a spectacle.”
“It really was,” Sophia agrees. “You got hit near the end, though.”
“Oh,” he forces a laugh. “My bad. Must’ve worried you guys. Thanks for the heal.”
“‘Thanks for the heal’?”
Any levity that was present gets sucked away as Akira pulls his hand away from him, expression unreadable. “It wasn’t just a heal, Ryuji. It was a Recarm.”
He winces, eyes darting away. “That must’ve been scary for you,” he mutters. “Sorry.”
“I’m not interested in an apology. I’m looking for an explanation.”
“What am I supposed to explain? He caught me off guard, it happens. I might be good, but I’m not getting out of a fight with the creator of the Metaverse Part Two without a scratch.”
“It was a scratch. I’ve seen you take bullets better than that,” Akira says flatly. “The strangest thing about all this is that I think you knew about this. I think you knew what would happen if you got hit, no matter how light it was.”
Do not panic. Do not panic. “Spit it out. What are you trying to say?”
“I think something’s up and you’re hiding something from me.”
“Guys,” Futaba whispers. “Don’t fight.”
Akira turns on her, taking in her expression for a long moment before his eyes widen. “You know about it,” he realizes.
“What?!”
“You knew that he changed, and you didn’t tell me.” His eyes flashed. “Futaba, he could’ve died, and you didn’t say anything.”
“Stop it.” Ann’s voice was low and hard. “Don’t take out what you’re feeling on her.”
Looking away from Futaba, Akira scans each and everyone of their faces, and it dawns on him. “You knew.” Hurt takes up every syllable, heavy but small at the same time. “You all knew, and nobody told me. I can’t believe this.”
“Don’t get mad at them,” Ryuji snaps. There’s no way he’s letting his friends take the fall for his own actions. “You’re getting worried over nothing. I took a hit—that’s it. Bad guy defeated, let’s move on.”
“I’m not moving on if people on my team, people that I thought I could trust are hiding things from me,” he insists. “Especially you. Dammit, Ryuji, I thought I could trust you!”
His stomach doesn’t twist. Instead, a gigantic pair of scissors made up of Akira’s words goes ahead and snips off his stomach from his intestines, and he’s free falling with nowhere to crash land.
“What the fuck else do you want from me?” Everyone but Akira flinches at his words. “I beat Konoe, didn’t I? You were worried about that, you wanted to retreat because you thought I wouldn’t be able to do it, but I did it!”
“What I want from you is to be safe. That’s it.”
“But that shouldn’t be the only thing you want! Don’t you want us to win? Don’t you want us to be able to finish what we started?”
Akira shakes his head, frustrated, and starts rummaging through his pockets.
“What are you doing?”
“We aren’t fighting here.” A Goho-M flashes in his palm, and before anyone can say anything, they blink and suddenly they’re at the entrance of the Jail again. “Everyone, get out.”
Ryuji glares at him as the rest scurries to the entrance as quickly as possible without making it look like they’re making a run for it. Akira stares back.
“...Fine.”
The familiar but unpleasant swirl between the transition of the Jail and the real world takes over them, feeling their cells tear apart from each other before instantly clicking back into place, and then they were at the foot of the Tenboto tower.
Akira’s eyes don’t leave his. “Everyone who isn’t Ryuji, go find something else to do. We need some time to talk.”
Nobody questions it except for Futaba. “Um, do you want me to take—”
He shoves his hand in his pocket and throws his phone at her. Usually, the rose gold shade always makes him crack a smile, but he doesn’t even look at it this time. “Here.”
When she still doesn’t leave, Akira spares her a glance. “What is it?”
“Don’t...don’t be too harsh on him.”
“Don’t push it. I’m still upset that you didn’t say anything about this.”
Futaba’s head falls downwards as she walks away, Sophia in tow.
“So?” Ryuji crosses his arms. “Are we good?”
“No, we are not good, Ryuji. You argued with me over something stupid, spat in my face and deliberately went against with what I knew would be better for all of us, and worse than all of that, you knew that your defense is down by an insane amount.”
“Who cares if it’s down! Get the fuck over it, we already won.”
Akira's jaw goes slack. “Who are you? Why are you acting like this? What’s gotten into your head that you’re trying to pretend that I don’t care about your health and your safety?”
“Because you shouldn’t,” he insists. “You’re slowing the rest of us down by doing this whole hero schtick—if you just focus on what we need to do rather than something like my god damn endurance then things would go so much faster!”
“I don’t give a shit about efficiency, and do you have any idea what it even means for you to have a drastic change in your Persona? Or are you just looking for another stupid thing to argue about?”
He draws back, shame instinctively bubbling at the implication. “No, but it can’t be that damn important for us to be fighting like this.”
“Personas are the strength of the heart,” Akira roughly prods at his chest. “Whatever you’re feeling, whatever you believe in, your Persona would reflect that.”
“Okay? So what?”
A shift overcomes his expression, and Akira closes his eyes. When he speaks, it’s like he’s an ethereal being rather than a boy his age. “You seek power, correct? Since your name has been disgraced already, why not hoist the flag and wreak havoc?”
“The ‘other you’ who exists within desires it thus,” Ryuji finishes, frowning. “Why do you have that memorized?”
“Because I’ve memorized everyone’s awakenings, and because I think that’s the reason why you can’t take a hit anymore but you can throw a punch the way you can,” Akira shoots back. “You awakened your Persona to ‘wreak havoc’ on the people who piss you off, right?”
“Yeah.” His patience is waning thin. “What’s your point?”
“What if that feeling—rage against corrupt adults, your need to wreak havoc on them—what if that gets flipped around and you direct that on yourself?”
“What?” Ryuji shakes his head. “Is that even possible?”
“I can almost guarantee it, because your stats are shuffling like crazy. Your endurance is down, yeah, but do you know what skyrocketed in its place? What nearly tripled?”
“My strength?”
“Exactly. Look, I don’t know what happened, but something has shifted in your heart enough to make you believe that it’s more important to be strong than to keep yourself alive.”
Akira shoves his glasses higher on his nose, and Ryuji swallows when he sees his hand shake. “Tell me. Please. I won’t get mad, or disappointed, or whatever you think I’ll feel if you tell me. I just want you to be honest with me. I want us to work this out.”
It’s the way he says it, like it’s really that simple. Like the two of them can take on any problem together, no matter how big it is, because it’s them. They’re two pieces of a puzzle—they can only ever see the bigger picture when they both click into place. It would be easy, because Akira makes it easy.
A droplet of rain lands hard on his shoulder. He opens his mouth.
“Just because I’m not telling you something, doesn’t it mean gives you the right to hound the fuck out of me until I cave.”
Akira recoils like he’s been slapped in the face. “I just want to understand.”
“And I just want you to leave me alone, okay?” He wipes away the rain from his face only for it to be replaced almost immediately. “You don’t—you just don’t fucking get it, Kurusu. You have no idea what it’s like being a piece of shit, you have no idea what it’s like being a moron, with everyone hating you—”
What? He doesn’t mean that. Of course Akira gets it. That’s how they got to know each other in the first place.
“You don’t know what it’s like to hear so much shit about you wherever you go—”
That’s not true, either. Why is he saying this?
“To have no one even take a look at you, to be a ghost, to not even exist anymore—”
Are you kidding? That’s all Akira lives through in his hometown.
Ryuji levels a gaze at him, chest burning. “You don’t know what it’s like being nothing,” he finishes.
Akira stands there, staring at him, refusing to wipe the rain away from his face. His mouth opens, before closing again, and shakes his head. His movements are jerky and stilted.
When Akira looks up, his eyes are empty. “You don’t know a single thing about me.”
He turns around and walks away without another word, leaving Ryuji to stand alone, drenched in the rain and feeling like gasoline is eating through his chest, and all he can do is burn.
Osaka has bright lights and has the scent of mouth-watering in its every nook and cranny, but the only thing Ryuji can process right now is the squelch of his socks with every step he takes.
He’s only vaguely aware that he’s moving, traversing through Dotonbori in a hazed state. It’s like his consciousness left his body, trapped and distant, the burning in his chest turned into something smoldering, filling his entire being with suffocating smoke.
Ryuji’s spent who knows how long staggering through the streets, unfamiliar sights with unfamiliar people, and none of it has the same excitement that normally comes with them visiting a new place. The rain hasn’t let up, and his t-shirt has long since been soaked through. His body is still crazy sore, with his ankles begging for rest, but the idea of stopping makes him nauseous.
A large body hits his shoulder, and it nearly knocks him sideways. “Watch where you’re going, dumbass.”
“S-sorry,” he manages, but the stranger is already gone by the time he finishes.
Ryuji scrubs his eyes and looks up, surprised that he isn’t horrifically lost. He’s at one of the dual bridges in Dotonbori, a place that he recognizes because he and Ann stuffed their faces with so much takoyaki they could barely breathe afterwards.
His body sags against the bridge’s concrete railing, exhaustion making itself known, forearms pressed in an odd angle that he knows is going to leave weird patterns etched into his skin. In his pocket, his phone buzzes angrily, but he ignores it.
He scrubs his eyes again, harder. He hasn’t cried, which sucks. In fact, he hasn’t even felt the familiar panic build up in him, and he didn’t even know it was possible to miss that feeling. The feeling of something other than the gaping hole inside of him, only getting bigger.
For the first time in his life, he wishes he was angry, just so he can stop feeling this never-ending plane of nothing.
That’s a lie, actually—there’s some anger, too. A lot of it. At himself.
His phone buzzes again, and Ryuji can’t even muster a meager response. I’m fine, don’t worry, is what he’s supposed to say.
Bullshit. All he can ever do is say bullshit, over and over again.
Pressing his forehead against the edge of the concrete, he grits his teeth, staring down at his hands, miserable and desperate for something to take away this gnawing feeling inside of him, eating its way through his gut like an insatiable parasite. He tries focusing on the waves lapping against the stone below him, on the pitter-patter of the rain that’s coating his skin, on the chatter from the people behind him, but he can’t because all he can see behind his eyelids is the hurt in Akira’s face and the crack in his voice when he spoke and it’s Ryuji’s fault because he fucking sucks and he’s incapable of keeping anything good in his life and he’s trying to cry but it’s not coming, why isn’t he crying, please let him get some fucking relief, why can’t he cry—
A shadow casts over him, and he’s about to move out of the way when shoes enter his periphery. Standard sneakers except for colorful beads tied into the shoelaces.
“Yo,” Futaba greets, holding an umbrella over him.
Ryuj tries for a laugh, but it comes out hollow and pathetic. “You track my phone?”
“No.” There’s a pause. “Akira mentioned that you have a thing for bridges.”
His heart goes utterly still, before beating into overdrive. “Leave me alone,” he finds himself saying. “Just fucking get out of here, Futaba.”
“No.”
“No?” It’s sick how fiercely glad he is to be able to grasp onto anger like a lifeline. “I don’t want to be around anyone, don’t you get it? Leave me alone, Jesus, I thought you were supposed to be the smart one in the group.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“And why not?”
“Because you didn’t leave me, even when I really, really wanted you to.” The gaze behind her eyes is unreadable. “You dragged me out of my tomb, screaming and kicking, but you didn’t let go.”
His lungs tightened up. “I don’t want to be around anyone right now,” he says weakly.
“Then I’m not here.” Futaba readjusts her grip on the umbrella, careful that he was still covered. She trains her eyes on a random point in the distance, away from him. “No one’s here. I’m just another stranger, and you’re just some guy who’s talking to the rain.”
They stand there for a while, unspeaking. Each passing second lets the aggravation seep out of him, bit by bit.
“Can…” he tries eventually. Maybe he can let it out, just a little bit. Enough to stop the boiling froth from spilling over the pot, maybe the water would stop rising. “Can I ask you a question?”
When she doesn’t answer, he looks down into the black water.
“What’s it like hating yourself?” he asks. “Like, really, really hating yourself. All you want to do is hide, in your room or away from everyone else. You don’t want to die, you don’t want to disappear, either. You just want to...stop. To the point where you don’t even know what you want anymore—do you want to just keep hiding? Do you want to tell everyone, to finally let someone know? To let the one person who fucking matters know what’s happening to you?”
A boat passes underneath them, and he can see a couple drinking together, laughing. “Isn’t it so embarrassing? You failed so fucking much, and you’re only making it worse by hiding it from everyone. You hid it so much, you were so unwilling to let them know, that you actually ran the damn risk of them leaving.”
The last of Ryuji’s resolve, weak as it was already, crumbles. Something inside Ryuji cracks, and his eyes are wide, so wide they might roll out of their sockets. “I couldn’t tell him, Futaba,” he rasps out. “I couldn’t—what if he leaves me? What if I lose the only damn thing that made my life something worth getting out of my room for? What’s going to happen when he realizes I’m nothing more than the kid with the fucked up leg who failed high school?”
Futaba continues to listen in silence, unable to hold back the streams of hot tears running down her cheeks.
“He loves me,” he says this with an unshakeable force, an unforeseen barrier unwilling to be broken down by anything. “I know that for a fact. But—” he sucks in a breath, and before he can stop himself, he leans his body over the bridge.
“I’m so fucking selfish!” he yells. “I can’t! I can’t tell him! I can’t face another failure, I can’t do it, it’s going to kill me, I swear to god. I failed myself, I failed all of you,” he wildly gestures at her. “I failed my mom, but I can’t fail him. Not him, anyone but him.”
“Sir Sakamoto Ryuji.”
He turns his head to her with a crumpled expression, and she wipes her face with her sleeve before grabbing his hand, pulling him away from the bridge. Ryuji is too surprised to resist. ”W-what?”
She doesn’t turn back, and despite her hoarse voice, her words don’t shake. “I will not let you continue your great sin of wrath unto yourself. You cannot,” she tugs harder, and he stumbles forward. “You cannot keep yourself in this, this darkness of hatred and anger, and thus I, Sakura Futaba, a member of the Phantom Thieves, have decided to intervene.”
“Was—” It took a lot of effort, but he composed himself enough to keep up with her short legs. “Was that a calling card?”
“You’re damn right it is, with or without the fancy paper.” Futaba glances back, and her eyes are shining and determined. “I wasn’t ready at all when you guys showed up in my room to take my heart, but good thing you did, because that was exactly what I needed. So here I am dragging you out, kicking and all. You’re going to tell Akira—”
“I can’t,” he pleads, weakly crossing the street when she keeps pulling. “Dude, I just told you why I absolutely cannot.”
“You’re going to, and that’s final.”
“No!”
And to his absolute shock, she stops in the middle of the road, expression defiant. Cars honk and flip them off, but it does nothing to deter her.
“Get out of the way!” he screams, roughly pulling at her, but Futaba doesn’t budge. “Get off the road!”
“Welcome to my ultimatum: I’m not moving until you go to him!” she points directly at him, ignoring the way headlights flash over her and puddles splash on her shorts. “You say he loves you? Cool, now prove to him that you love him.”
Ryuji rolls up his sleeves. “I’m going to carry you off of the street, you gremlin.”
“Try me, because I’m going to scream so loud,” she says seriously, and he knows she is.
“You’re insane!” he yells back, because she is.
“And you’re a moron, and it’s not because you couldn’t do academic whatnot!” Her glare is hot steel and he’s nothing more than a warm stick of butter. “He’s known you since day one, has seen you at bedrock level, and he’s still following you around like you’re some kind of queen bee and he’s the hive. You’re going to talk to him, or I swear on my mom’s grave that I’m going to jump in front of a big truck and you’re gonna have to be the one to explain to everyone why I died.”
Screw it. He rushes forward, picks her up and, because she’s never been one to back down in anything, she screams from the top of her lungs until he eventually sets her down on the other side of the road.
“Hey!” she stomps her foot. “That’s cheating!”
“Are you out of your damn mind?”
“No more than you, you clown!” she yells. “Why don’t you want to tell him?!”
“I already told you why!”
“Then what if he felt the same? What if this happened to him, and he kept it from you this entire time?”
The thought is enough to make him feel uneasy. “He doesn’t feel the same.”
“But what if he did?” Futaba insists.
“Then of course I’d want to know,” he answers before he can stop himself, and quickly adds, “But he doesn’t.”
“If he was, though, then you—” she prods his chest. “Are hurting him. You’re hurting him, and I thought you loved him, and I thought you didn’t want to disappoint him. You’re a gigantic hypocrite, and screw being a bad boyfriend,” she spits the word as if eager to rid it off her tongue. “You’re being a really freaking bad best friend.”
They stare each other down, with Futaba breathing hard and him, completely unseeing.
“You’re right.”
“I’m always right,” she says immediately. “But elaborate.”
“I’m being a really, really bad best friend.” His fingers make their way to the root of his hair and starts pulling. “I made this entire thing about me, and my problems.”
“To be fair, they were pretty big problems.”
“Yeah but...holy shit, I completely—I completely forgot that this trip is about Akira and to make sure that he’s smiling, and happy, and stress-free and—I fucked all of that to hell.”
“You did,” she agrees, relentless. “Totally screwed the pooch, but hey, you know what? There’s a big plus sign to all of this:” Futaba throws up jazz hands weakly. “You can still fix this!”
“I can still fix this…” he repeats, in a daze, and he slaps his face with both hands. “I can still fix this, dammit! This isn’t going to be another failure; I’m going to take this,” he wildy gesticulates around himself. “And shred it down so Akira doesn’t have to worry anymore. I’ll talk to him, he’ll understand, and we’re going to have a fan-fucking-tastic rest of the summer vacation, even if my life is horrible and falling apart.”
She nods enthusiastically. “But we can all fix it together once we get back home. One step at a time. First,” she levels him with a look. “You’re going to talk to Akira.”
“I have to. He’s had my back since day one, and I promise I’d do anything for him.” Even if it means showing himself, every ugly part of himself, to the most amazing person that’s ever walked on planet earth. The panic twitches inside of him, coming alive again, but he doesn’t push it away. He lets that feeling wash over him, that adrenaline, and he starts jumping on his feet. “I’m going to talk to Akira,” he announces, looking around to see any place that Akira’s eye might catch. “I need to find him, ASAP.”
“Say no more.” She pulls up her phone. “This won’t take more than two minutes.”
Glancing around wildly, something catches his attention, and he grins. “No need. I know exactly where he is.”
“You do?” A hard slap lands on his back, pushing him forward with a yelp. “Then go! Run to him! Get out of your tomb, Ryuji! I’ll see you on the other side!”
He takes a few steps forward, before turning around and quickly taking Futaba in a hug. “Love you, shorty,” he says seriously.
“I love you too.” She hugs him back tightly before letting go. “Get out of here before you find a new insecurity to change your mind.”
Ryuji opts to ignore that last bit and sets off, sneakers slapping the wet concrete as he runs, Tenboto Tower already in his sights.
“Akira!”
Everyone jumps as he slams the glass entrance open, loud and unyielding as he runs past tourists, wildly taking in each of their faces and pausing at none of them. He sucks at everything—at school, at being a good friend, at basic communication. But this? Facing public humiliation in front of strangers?
“Akira!”
He can do this any day of the week.
Nervous employees start to approach him and Ryuji books it before they can get close. Not on the ground floor, but he knew that before he even came in here. Elevator, he thinks, skidding to a halt to see that it’s already six floors up. It would take too long.
Letting out a sharp breath, he lets his feet take him to the stairwell, apathetic to the fact that he’s about to sprint up eighty-eight meters.
He’s an idiot. A moron. World’s biggest buffoon. That doesn’t surprise anyone, least of all him.
The soles of his sneakers squeak as it slaps against concrete stairs, using the railing to propel him up faster.
And he hates it. He fucking hates being the dumb one so much that it hurts.
A couple that was making out screams when he barely dodges them, and he doesn’t even have it in him to be embarrassed.
He wants nothing more than to bury that part of him. Shamefully, completely. Like a corpse, or some ancient artifact. Gone for the rest of time.
Sweat streams down his back and it’s gross and he doesn’t care, not one damn bit.
But if burying it means destroying what he built with Akira? If scrambling to hide actually makes things worse when the only thing he wanted was to preserve what the two of them have?
His throat is drying up and he can feel his thighs about to split in half, but he keeps going, keeps running.
Then screw it—the whole world is about to know what a big failure he is.
Ryuji bursts through the door to the top deck, gasping for breath and dozens of heads turn to him. Gulping down as much air as his lungs can take in, “Akira!?” he booms, and he knows he’s being an asshole but he doesn’t care right now.
Nothing happens. He grits his teeth and starts running again, soaked shoes ruining plush carpet as he looks for a familiar patch of messy hair. Ryuji evades tourists left and right, around gift shop stalls and hundred yen telescopes, ignoring the picturesque view from the huge glass windows. Just like he thought—from up here, it looks eerily like you were overlooking the entire city of Tokyo if you were desperate for any sense of familiarity.
And that’s exactly what Akira had needed at the time.
Come on, come on. He’s about to hit a full circle around the observation deck and he still hasn’t spotted him. I know you’re here. There’s no way that you’d be anywhere else in the city.
Ryuji takes in another breath, ready to yell out his name for the upteenth time, when he sees an open balcony, nearly empty except for a boy leaned over the parapet, eerily still and barely underneath the glass covering above him.
Despite his earlier fervor, Ryuji slows down to a walking pace, chest heaving and feeling like his heart is going to burst.
It’ll be okay. It’s him.
He takes his place beside him, mimicking his pose, leaning over the cool metal railings. Akira doesn’t even look up, which is what he deserves, really. The wind is light, and the city sparkles below them.
No games. No bullshit. Just him and his best friend.
“I failed second-year,” he says. “And also I think I’m at a real, real low point in my life.”
Akira’s face flits in mild surprise, but Ryuji doesn’t stop, doesn’t want to give himself an out.
He starts from the very beginning—from getting called into his homeroom, to Ushimaru giving him a look that said he expected this because that’s ‘just the type of student he is’, to hiding it from his mom, from Ann, from him. He tells him how being alone is tiring, but being with people is exhausting.
And the tears. The minute he started talking, the tears came and kept coming no matter how many times he wiped it away. At first he thought it was from humiliation, at the guilt from keeping it from Akira. But after a while, he realizes that keeping this huge, weighty, life-altering secret from Akira was hurting him, too. It’s like the entire sky got lifted off of him, and he can finally breathe again. For the first time, he feels relieved.
Akira stands there, silent the entire time, not looking at him but he knows he’s soaking in every word that he’s saying.
Ryuji stands up straight and faces him. His voice is barely above a whisper, used up and crackled like dried out stone. “Akira, I’m so, so sorry. I said horrible shit and I kept you in the dark for so long, and-and I forced everyone not to say anything because of my own issues, and I could’ve—” he flinches when he remembers feeling his life deplete out of him from a single hit. “I could’ve died, dude. And I kept it from you over something so petty like being bad at algebra. I know I shouldn’t have kept it from you. I know that now, and hindsight is a bit of a bastard.” He looks down, sees people from below, small as ants. “There’s no good excuse, I get that. It’s just...I was fucking terrified, dude. Of whatever you see in me fading away once you see me for what I actually am.”
Ruffling his own hair, he lets out a long breath. “Alright. I’m done. It’s your turn, if you want it.”
“Is that really how you feel?” Akira asks, emotionless.
“With my entire body.”
His feelings are twisted together between shock that he actually did it, and earth-shattering fear that something bad might happen. No, Akira would never in a million years openly mock him, but he can easily imagine a small, faint smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. An it’s okay. I get it. A shallow hug and a kiss on the cheek. An obligatory comfort that Akira feels he has to give but Ryuji never wanted.
But what he didn’t expect was for Akira to suddenly start laughing.
Ryuji stares in shock as his shoulders, always straight back, hunches in on itself, shaking uncontrollably, hands instinctively flitting to his mouth but unable to hold in the snort that escapes through his lips.
“Uh,” he asks, confused. “What?”
“I—” Akira tries, but doubles over, gripping the metal railing. “Give me a second, sorry—”
They stand there for a few long minutes, Ryuji bewildered and Akira laughing harder than he’s ever seen him. Whenever he looks like he’s about to finish, Akira gives him a look, and starts laughing uncontrollably again.
Eventually, he sobers up enough to resume his earlier position. “Ryuji,” the smile is still stuck on his lips. “I love you.”
“...Okay?” he replies, still lost.
“And I’ve been in therapy since April.”
The entire world halts to a grinding, screeching halt.
“You’re—” Ryuji fumbles. “You’ve been in what?”
“Therapy.”
“Why?!” When Akira raises an eyebrow at him, he backtracks a little. “Okay, I didn’t mean to say it like that. It’s just...surprising.”
He can’t even imagine what kind of metaphor he’d have to use to begin explaining the complexities of a Persona and Palaces. “Is it tough trying to explain all of this?”
“It’s not about the Metaverse or anything,” he says, and, with the slight mirth still stuck on his features, “It’s because I’ve been depressed for a few months now.”
About a trillion questions want to fly out of his mouth right now, but he settles on one for now. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Akira looks up, staring at the few specks of stars that still poke out despite the light pollution of any big city in Japan. “I just think,” he starts. “That I’m really, really lonely.”
Before Ryuji can say anything, he cuts him off with a look. “Please don’t blame yourself.”
“I won’t.”
“Good,” he says, relaxing. “Because it’s not your fault, or anyone else’s. I’ve just…It’s been hard, going back to that life after living such a good one in Tokyo. When I finally came back home, it’s like I was stuck in a time loop. Every day that I stay there,” he stares down at his hands. “Is another day that everyone’s moving on without me.”
Ryuji nearly bites his tongue off in an effort to hold himself back. Move on? Without Akira? Not a snowflake’s chance in hell.
“It didn’t help that no one would even look me in the eye there,” he continues. “It got to the point where the days just blended together, the same cycle of nothing, the same day of being alone, over and over again. Worrying about being forgotten, being trapped and stuck.” Akira’s pale cheeks turn red. “Eventually, my grades started dropping,” he admits. “My parents noticed, because of course they did, and…”
Akira curls his fingers around the bar. “They threatened that they wouldn’t let me go if it stayed down.”
“Son of a bitch,” he hisses, unable to help himself. “What the hell, man?”
“I know,” he agrees. “Bad move on their part, considering that it got even worse after they said that. It’s...it’s actually why I’m getting tutoring now. Not necessarily for Tokyo U, but I really do plan on going to a Tokyo-based university. Because if I don’t…” he trails off.
“I am the only person in the world who isn’t allowed to say this, but,” Ryuji shakes his head. “Why didn’t you say anything, Akira? I could’ve visited you more, or had more phone calls, or, I don’t know. Something to help.” To help you the way you helped me.
“Good question,” he muses, slightly amused. “Alright. Imagine this. You’re a new kid in town with a criminal record. Everyone hates you, more than they usually do, and you were starting to accept that your life is just going to be like this. But suddenly, a guy comes barreling into your life.” Akira’s expression softens. “He’s loud, tough, and extremely cute, and next thing you know, he became your best friend. You don’t know what he sees in you, you don’t know what you did to make him approach you in the first place, but the only thing you know for sure—”
“Is that you’re never letting him go,” Ryuji finishes for him. “Even if it means hiding yourself away, yeah?”
Ryuji’s gazing down at the city beneath them, unseeing. He can’t react the way he wants to, but what the fuck.
Akira is the best person he’s ever met and he’s pretty sure at least twenty other people scattered around the streets of Tokyo would agree with him on that. Yet he hid such a massive secret from Ryuji because he thought that Ryuji would leave him? That’s beyond ridiculous. That’s messed up, that’s—
Ryuji looks up to see that Akira’s already looking back at him, a knowing look in his eyes.
“Yup,” Akira tries to pull it off like he was scratching his cheek, but the shine of the tear makes it obvious. “You got me.”
Finally, Ryuji cracks.
“I’m—” he chokes, wracked with grief. “I’m so fucking sorry. I am so, so sorry, you were going through so much and I didn’t even—”
Akira takes a step back, shocked. “Why are you the one apologizing? I’m the one who was too busy wallowing to notice that you had changed enough that your Persona—”
“Because you’re depressed, and I should’ve been there to help you!”
“And I said that it was never your fault!”
“That doesn’t matter, I should’ve helped you go through that, wait outside the clinic with you, I don’t know!”
“And I made you think that I would have left you if you failed high school, which is insane—!”
“Kurusu, I lied to you. I lied to your face, I said so much shit, I jeopardized the entire team all because I didn’t want to lose you—”
“Don’t,” he pleads. “I know why you did it, but me? I don’t have an excuse. I’m your leader—”
“I’m your partner—”
“I’m your best friend—”
“And I didn’t notice!” they both finish in unison, distraught and breaths heaving, hearts pounding in time with each other, always together.
And then they both laugh; it’s teary, wet, and they probably look insane to any tourist ten feet from them, but they’re cracking up because it’s hilarious. It’s absolutely hysterical that either of them ever believed that they would leave the other over something so stupid as their own perception of themselves.
Ryuji sobers up first, grin so wide that it’s hurting his cheeks. “Can I apologize one last time?”
“No,” he says, voice tender. “I’ve heard enough sorrys to last a lifetime.”
“Come on! Just one more!”
“Just one more,” he relents.
He throws his arm around Akira, squeezing him tight against his side. “I’m sorry that I’m apparently the most good-looking guy you��ve ever seen that you instantly fell in love with me.”
“Dammit,” Akira tries shoving him off weakly. “I knew you were gonna use that against me.”
“Damn right.” He kisses his forehead, gentle despite the rough grip.
“Can I apologize too?”
“Copycat. You can apologize once.”
“Okay.” Hugging Ryuji’s torso, they’re close enough that neither can feel the chill of the wind. “I’m sorry this happened to us,” he says seriously.
Pulling back, Ryuji frowns. “Dude!”
“I know, I know, what a downer. But it’s true.”
“It’s true,” he agrees. “But we can work on this. Together, this time. Like a couple of smart, capable people.”
“That sounds fantastic,” Akira murmurs before leaning forward and catching his lips. He tastes like rainwater and heat. He can feel his own lips twitch into a smile, and the vibration of Akira’s chuckle against his throat. It’s familiar, memorized, but he still makes sure to relearn it every time.
They kiss so deep that the hole inside Ryuji’s chest is full enough to burst.
“Kaboom!” Futaba had said.
The booming sound of a firework rings from up top, illuminating their faces in bright colors in the night. It reflects shades of red, yellow, blue and pink all over the surface of the water like paint buckets that got toppled over in a kindergarten classroom.
Ryuji’s chin is tilted up, watching them explode and take over his entire view of the sky. It’s almost blinding, but he can’t peel his eyes away from them even when he can feel them drying up.
It’s the last day of summer—his worst nightmare.
A purple one sparkles, the sound of the explosion delayed by half a second. He leans his head against Akira’s shoulder, lip quirking up when he feels weight pressing against the crown of his skull.
It’s the last day of summer, but he can’t feel anything but the warmth at his side, fingers intertwined with his, the ringing in his ears. Everything feels more real than they had in the last few months, the haze shifting away, the fog thinning out.
His heart beats strong in his chest. A hand squeezes his tightly.
Kaboom.
The sweat on the back of Ryuji’s neck is thick as he climbs the stairs into the attic of Leblanc, the heat just as intense as it was this time last year.
Stray beams of light poured in from the open window of what has turned into a study cave for any of the thieves to use—cram books of trigonometry to art theory lined the shelves, the walls lined with study good luck charms that they had hoarded from any shrines that they had visited, and day-old tea cups and coffee mugs littered the desks.
Amidst all of that sat Akira, elbows propped up on the table, expression serious. “Happy last day of school,” he says, voice monotone, staring at the thick, impressive envelope in front of him.
“‘Happy’ my ass,” Ryuji flops down on the seat next to him, wood creaking under the sudden weight, nodding at the parchment. “Is that it?”
“If it isn’t, it’s going to be one insane train ride back home to get it.”
“I don’t know how you did it, man. I would’ve torn that thing open the minute I got it.”
Akira gives him an alarmed look. “You didn’t—”
He puts his hands up in surrender, holding a much thinner, yet somehow just as weighty sealed envelope between his fingers before throwing it down with the other. “I didn’t.”
“Good.” Akira doesn’t quite relax, but he lets out a breath. “So.”
“So,” he repeats, a little wobbly. “Moment of truth, huh? Either you got into school…”
“And you passed second-year.”
“Or we don’t.”
The silence that follows is heavy, contemplative, coating the air with something thick and hard to swallow.
Ryuji slams his hand on the table, gut twisting and knotting tightly. “Let’s fucking do this.”
They both reach forward to their corresponding envelopes, hands shaking but neither comment on it. Akira opens his first, and Ryuji very nearly bites it open just to get it over with. He’s suddenly glad that he’s sitting for this. His knees would’ve given out for sure.
Eventually, he finally gets it out of the envelope. His vision blurs as he starts scanning through the letter, eyes flitting all over the page looking for a few choice words, and his breathing stops cold.
He raises his head in time with Akira, and their eyes are wide. A wind chime clinks somewhere behind them.
“I got in,” Akira whispers.
“I passed,” Ryuji whispers back.
They stare at each other for a moment, before they explode.
Immediately, Ryuji jumps out of his chair and lifts Akira clean off his seat. “You got in!” he cries, and he’s not even embarrassed at the horrendous crack in his voice. “You bastard, I knew you could do it!”
“You passed,” Akira throws his arms around his neck and clings, so tight he can barely breathe. “I knew it, I could feel it, I knew you had it!”
Ryuji grasps the back of his hair, still spinning. “I’m so happy for you, I’m so happy for you,” he chants, his entire body feeling weak with relief and unencumbered joy but he knows he’d never drop him. “You fucking did it.”
“And you fucking did it!” He starts planting kisses on his head, his cheek, his shoulder, wherever he can reach. “You worked so hard, and you—” another kiss, this time right on his eyelid. “You did it, and I am so, so, so proud of you.”
With whatever last strength Ryuji has, he spins double-time, yelling at the top of his lungs: “Tokyo University, baby!”
“Third-year!” Akira tries, voice barely above his normal volume. “Third-year!”
He sets him down, and the grin on his face is wider than it’s ever been. Ryuji feels like he can eat the entirety of Yongen in one try. “You are—” he holds Akira’s face between both of his hands, face inches from his. “The smartest person on the entire fucking planet.”
“And you—” his eyes are bright, so bright. “Need to call your mom.”
“Shoot!” Ryuji slaps his forehead. “Totally slipped by me. Uh, I’ll—”
“Bathroom works, and Soijro locked up the cafe for us.”
“Boss is the best. I’ll be back,” he turns, headed for the stairs.
“Wait.”
Ryuji looks back only for a hand to hold his nape, pulling him forward. Akira kisses him, still smiling. When they pull away, he says, in a crystal clear voice, “I love you, I love you, and I’m proud of you.”
He could barely reply past the lump in his throat, wanting nothing more than to bury himself in that sentence. “I love you,” he manages. “Don’t go anywhere, okay? I want to keep talking to you.”
“Of course,” Akira says, and Ryuji slips out of his grasp before he can do something stupid, like cry. Again.
Cracking the door open to the tiny powder room of Leblanc, he leans against the wall and catches his expression in the mirror—grinning and flushed with pleasure. It’s a good look.
He hits the speed dial on his phone, and his mom picks up almost immediately. “Did you get the letter?” she rushes out. “Whatever happens, you’re still the best son I could ever ask for, you hear me?”
“Ma,” the reflection’s grin grows impossibly wider. “I passed.”
The screaming from the receiver is loud enough that he had to pull it away from himself, wincing but laughing at her reaction. “I knew it!” her voice sounds years younger. “I knew you could do it!”
The wall is cool behind him, and he shoves his hand in his pocket, embarrassed. “Thanks, ma.”
“Of course, Ryu! Are you happy?”
“Am I happy?” he blinks. “Well, yeah, of course.”
“That’s all I ever wanted,” a noise that sounds suspiciously like a sniffle sounds through. “You could’ve stopped going to school entirely and as long as it made you happy, I’d go along with it.”
Air catches in his throat, awe-struck. He knew how she felt, but having her tell him at face value is something else entirely.
Ryuji’s about to answer when a cascade of voices and footsteps suddenly flow into the cafe, just outside the powder room.
“Akira,” Makoto says gently, audible through thin walls. “Did…?”
He doesn’t catch a reply, but screams and cheers fill up the cafe, dust falling from the ceiling as people start jumping up and down.
“I can hear your friends celebrating from here,” his mom chuckles. “I’ll let you go. Let’s get dinner when you get home, okay?”
“That sounds great,” he says, coughing, brushing the flecks of dried wood off his shoulder. “I’ll see you when I get home.”
He hangs up, sighing happily. After mentally preparing himself, he throws the door open, doorknob slamming against the wall that he prays didn’t leave a dent.
“Is that him?” Haru’s voice flows from above.
“That’s him,” Akira confirms.
Ryuji takes the steps two at a time, welcomed by the sight of everyone clinging to Akira with overjoyed expressions, and they quiet down when they see him.
Ann takes a step forward, gently letting go of Akira’s shoulder. “So?”
He takes a deep breath, makes a big show of kicking the floor boards, before looking up.
“Yeah, I did it.”
An eruption of pure noise goes straight into his eardrums as he’s tackled by arms and bodies, knocking him to the ground. Everyone’s yelling, some are crying, and he can understand exactly zero of what they’re saying but he hugs back as best he can. Through the cracks of shoulders and hair and necks, he can see Akira watching them all in amusement.
With no small amount of struggling, Ryuji wriggles a hand free and extends it to him. Akira doesn’t hesitate to take it, but yelps as he proceeds to get tugged right into the middle of the pile, crashing into three other people and loving every second of it.
Delusion is a real funny thing in hindsight. How could he have ever thought that he had nothing to be proud of? That his list of accomplishments added up to exactly nothing?
Yusuke is reciting victory speeches from wars won long ago while Makoto is listing off scholarships he can apply for in his third-year. Futaba is repeatedly hitting his shoulder, shrieking in his ear while Haru is quietly telling him how proud she is of him. Ann’s already pulling Shiho on speakerphone, and Akira has a look in his eye, a fondness that tells Ryuji that there’s nowhere else he’d rather be.
The room is full, and the sun is still streaming through, warm and inviting. He wishes that Ryuji from a year ago could see this, see his friends that are still by his side, that will always be by his side, and rest easy.
#p5#p5s#ryuji sakamoto#akira kurusu#plainly in truth#fic tag#mine#persona 5#persona 5 strikers#akiryu#pegoryu#chapter five huh? we actually did it.#shes completed babey
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The entire weekend
Chris Evans naughty mood lives rent free in my mind
So my hormones have been really crazy lately and when I’m about to write something naughty my mood changes drastically and have the feeling to write something angsty and before the first idea dies, here we go. I hope you like it. Enjoy my beautiful gems
word count: 1,894
warning: +18, smut, dirty talk, body fluids, slight dom vibes?
________
“You okay doll?” I heard Chris’s deep voice, trying to catch my breath I feel his hand caressing my tummy, “i think I’m ruined and you?” I giggled I turned my head to see his darken baby blue eyes- “same here and we haven’t even doing that much but we already close to real thing...”he kissed my shoulder -“... I promise doll” and he gave me a smirk and kissing my lips slowly and passionately, one of his hand placed on my cheek and the other exploring my upper body.
We were laying in bed, our clothes abandoned all around his bedroom, damp sheets underneath and our sweaty bodies screaming for attention. I mean when this man told me that he wasn’t planned to letting me go the entire weekend and today was about teasing each other, lots of foreplay and coming until he say so, wasn’t even kidding, why? Because he wants to please his shiny gemstone and he knows how much i love the whole foreplay stuff, so his plans for the weekend was to tangle our bodies and his excuses were “we need lots of foreplay to make us ready for all the sweet dirty things that I planned to do with you this weekend, and I know that you are an expert on the job doll and so am I”, and that was four hours ago, so many kisses here and there, touches all over our bodies, teasing each other unlit we were cried and just saying “ do it, wanna see you”.Patient is a virtue...so building the tension and the desire for our taste, our sounds and the owners of a sweet frustrated release was a freaking honor and a reward for our egos . One day we talked about how long we could push the foreplay and Chris took to serious that conversation, cause today he put in table a lead time for both of us.
He said “just foreplay” “teasing you and teasing me”, our cries rumbling the walls, the room feels like summer even though was the middle of winter. It wasn’t a punishment,no, it was a pure pleasure, you know just fun games. Four hours of sweet foreplay, he was the one in charge to allow us to come as hard as we want, yes he decides when he wanted to come and when I was allowed to do it, nothing mean or cruel, as like said just funny games.
Pure lust in our eyes, the only rule we agreed for that night was that we can’t connect our bodies the way we always do, so he can’t be my plug until the clock says is midnight. Yes call us crazy but this game was pretty fun to play. The time says it was another hour ahead to feel the real and sweet electricity we make when our bodies are properly connected. How the heck we aren’t fucking each other, don’t know, but we are two strong and stubborn humans who wanted to push the limits and prove that we have the virtue of being patient.
“Come on doll I know you can give us another hour of that sweet teasing,” Chris said while he was getting up to change his position, spreading my legs and make space for him, once between them his stare admiring my shiny heated body, his hands massaging my thighs. And here we go again... what are we doing now? , cause we touched, talked dirty, played, lots of fun and every time is hotter and the insatiable feeling gets worse than before.
I laughed by his words and he just frowned-“prove me if you want... you know I can, but you? You look like you are about to break your own word”- I said with a bratty tone, but he just laughed and said “ oh pretty girl, you know I can keep my dick this last minutes out of your warms walls, you’re so strong and patient, so good for me” while he lean to kiss my cleavage and the top of my breast, I wimped feeling his lips on me and his talking dirty game coming in my ears, I couldn’t help and my body shove, he giggled- “and so responsive too, can’t wait to make you mine, if I was you I’ll enjoy this last time of teasing cause they won’t be able to appear the rest of the weekend”, the bastard played pretty good, he finished saying kissing my earlobe and his warm breathtaking mine away. But he was right, I need to enjoy this little game, and two can play.
I arched my back, brushing my nipples against his tattooed hard chest I feel his heavy cock twitching against my thighs, his entire body tensed by the way I played too- “you know...” I started my next move, while I began touching his grown biceps, his new training for that new role was hitting different levels and he knows that, -“...i can be as good as you want...”- he was now looking me in my eyes, so desperate and anger-“... My body can respond to you anytime you want to... but remember that you’re at the same place too... Remember that I can make you hard faster than the velocity of the light...”- I said brushing our lips and his lips slightly apart.
“You made things to me pretty girl, I can’t deny you that..and”- he stopped a second to give me a quick kiss and continue-“remember I’m yours..”- I gasped and replayed-“you’re mine, you’re my man”- I kissed him quickly and he continues his speech-“ exactly... and you’re mine, my beautiful Ruby, so beautiful and unique, all mine baby..” I moan before our lips started a battle that he won. Catching our breaths after a short but heated kiss I said-“ all yours...” my eyes closed trying to bring more words, I felt how his heat moved away from me, kneeling again between my legs.
“11:11 doll, make a wish, I’m already asking mine,” Chris said while he checked the clock on his nightstand, bringing my attention to him I bite my lip watching him stroking softly his cock while his turn his eyes to me again, a cheeky smile on his face waiting for my response-“did you made it pretty girl?”- I nodded-“oh yeah?”- he pumped his length harder and I raised my hips for attention, he just lets a small laugh out “oh I can tell we asked for the same thing... but we have a deal pretty girl, why don’t you tell me what was you wish, mmh?” His voice sounded so deep and harsh, I was losing my mind, but I have to continue my game too, but any freaking word has the courage to let out my mouth.
“What happened doll?, I thought you were talkative, you’re the teasing queen”- he said and my eyes couldn’t leave his big hard cock, and swallow again my words, he was enjoying this and obviously took vantage of it -“oh... you want this pretty girl mmmh?”- he brings close his cock to my wetness -“you want my cock isn’t huh?, yeah i know, i’m so hard for you, so hard that hurts petty girl, you want to know what was my wish mmmh?”- i took a deep breath and bring myself together again and anxious to hear his answer i whispered- “what was your wish?”- he smiles wide-” there she is, I was missing your voice doll...”- he chuckled and before he continues, he began to rub his hard against my puffy lips, we immediately moan at the feeling of our aching skin- “... my wish was this... your beautiful pussy, shit! i want it so bad, i want it to feel you around me, but we need to be patient isn’t pretty girl?”-
He grunts while he rubbed harder against me, coating him with my juices, both breathing heavily every second, I began to make a circular motion trying to feel him further than what he was doing, but Chris stopped me, he pressed harsh my hips against the bed, on oh his hands on my hip preventing to move and the other playing with my clit and grabbing his cock and slapping my pussy with his hardness, making me moan and letting a puddle under me, he moaned even louder by the pleasant feeling of my greedy cunt, we both were counting the seconds to feel us connected.
-”yes pretty girl keep going with those pretty noises you’re making, i love hearing you, fuuuu-cckk baby girl i love how your pretty pussy sounds, so wet for me, she looks so pretty with my cock rubbing her, shhiiiit baby, can’t wait to be inside you..”- i was playing with my tits, my walls were clenching around nothing, his dirty talk excited me, I always do, but this time he was losing control, the veins on his necks stood out from the effort of not burying himself in me, his arms have marked the triple all he screamed a high level of eroticism, we continued like this for several minutes, talking dirty and rubbing our sexes without penetrating, saying what we would do to each other once they want twelve o'clock, his cock shining with my juices looked so appetizing. His painful red tip plaything dangerous at my entrance, but never getting inside.
-”fuuu-cckk Chr-Chrisss! i’m so close, please!”- i cried out loud, a burning feeling inside me screaming to see the light, Chris groan i felt how his cock twicht and i knew he was close too,- “aaaahhhg yeah! mmmmmh yeah pretty girl? are you gonna come for me?, yeah you are, i can't wait to feel that pretty tight pussy squeezing me and coming around me...”- he rubbed faster-”... come on pretty girl, come for me, i’m right behind you, i’m gonna come so hard, where do you want it baby mmmh?, i think I’m gonna come right here, close to your pussy, yeah! gonna make her look even pretty”- at this point we were both lost, everything was so hot, i scream when I felt his tip rubbing harder my dripping pearl, and just like that let my release come out by the body, I was shaking, Chris didn’t let me close my legs, he rubbed faster and with a loud moan he painted my cunt with his white warm seed.
He let himself fall on me trying not to hurt me, with a spleen he supported the two of them breathing heavily, made a mess, his warm breath on my neck and his moans turned me on even more, I hugged him by the neck. He kept playing with his cock in my pussy and expanding his seed in me, something sounded at the back, the clock updating us by the time and from one moment to the next I felt how he collected his disaster and without warning, he buried himself in me , I felt how he stretched my walls, we let out a cry of pleasure, Chris kissed my neck and said- ”fucking finally, is midnight and we have the entire weekend to fuck as much as we want and there'll be no fucking foreplay, did you get it pretty girl ?, no more funny games ”- i cried and just nodded in response.
------
Ruby’s note
ammm okay! i need a moment, please don’t touch me, i need a cold shower know.
Let me know what did you think
show me your love
say yes to reblog
love you all
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Jasonette/ Daminette- Little Sister Pt.3
First ~ Previous ~ Here(Final)
Marinette was bouncing in her seat, her mother and father chuckled at her childlike reaction to the plane landing. When it was finally their turn, the Dupain-Chengs grabbed their carry-ons and exited the plane.
"Come on, Maman, Papa! Damian said they were waiting by baggage claim!" The bluenette helped her parents with their things while they made sure they had everything before eagerly leading them through the now familiar airport.
Damian and Marinette had been together for a little over three years, the young designer was now eighteen, her boyfriend a year older. The couple visited each other throughout the year for birthdays, holidays, and whenever they could- of course, Jason was more than happy to chaperone Damian's visits to Paris, always eager to see his little sister.
The Waynes were quick when it came to accepting Marinette as one of their own, once she'd been fighting one of Hawkmoth's akumas and apparently someone saw. The entire family ended up spending an hour watching her defeat the villain just to make sure they didn't need to go help.
Of course, during some of her many visits Marinette got herself in the middle of more than a few prank wars. At first, she participated to get Damian and Jason to work together- wanting two of the most important boys in her life to get along but it quickly became a free for all. It was safe to say Marinette won, getting the entire family with the exception of: Alfred, Mar'i, Kor'i and Selina, stuck doing a live interview about the family dynamic with questions written by Marinette.
Marinette dragged her parents past her favorite TSA officer with an excited hello before thinking back to when she saw the Waynes family interview. Bruce thought it was the funniest way to oust her to the public, and allowed her to go through with it. Everyone saw Marinette smiling cheekily from the sidelines as they answered question after question, clearly written by her.
// Flashback, 2 years ago //
"Alright, next question: who is the best superhero?" Everyone laughed softly, darting to each other picking sides for the debate to come.
"Oh boy, not this again." Bruce sighed, Selina patting him reassuringly, she decided to attend the interview, wanting to watch the chaos unfold in person.
"Bat girl!" The three girls exclaimed in unison, hopefully Babs was watching as Stephanie elaborated. "The original, of course. She was awesome, always doing these cool gymnastic tricks- way better than Nightwings!" The boys were quick to counter.
"No way! Robin had way better tricks, did you see the video of him doing that cool triple flip thing?!" Tim offered.
"Nope! Because Nightwing has superior acrobatic skills, I heard he was able to beat the Batman in a fight because of them- when he and the Justice league got brainwashed or something!" Bruce sighed tiredly as everyone else continued to argue, eventually it became a shouting match. Bruce whistled loudly, everyone quieting. The reporter continued.
"This next question is for all of you, except Mr. and Mrs. Wayne, who is your favorite sibling?" They all shared a smug look and answered from left to right, Dick went first. Stephanie and Tim were quick to follow, Cass responding immediately after them.
"Marinette."
"Marinette."
"Marinette."
"Marinette."
"HEY! She was my sister first! Anyways, Marinette." Jason exclaimed proudly.
"tt, all my siblings are annoying- with the exception of Cass, the most tolerable."
"What, brat, you don't like Marinette?" Jason interrupted before the reporter could ask.
"tt, she is not my sister. And she isn't any of yours, I'm the only reason she visits Gotham." Damian huffed defensively.
"YEAH RIGHT! I'm her favorite, she visits for me not you!" Damian scoffed.
"Marinette, obviously prefers me." Damian challenged, standing- dragging Marinette into view as she blushed furiously. She glared at her boyfriend as she was pulled from her hiding spot.
"Damian! No-"
"Yes. You should know better than to include me in their pathetic prank war." Damian kissed Marinette firmly, she responded out of habit before he pulled away with a smirk, sitting. He sat Marinette on his lap, she blushed but didn't move wrapping an arm behind Damian.
"I assume you're Marinette?" The Parisian nodded timidly at the reporter's question.
"And you're?" The woman asked, curious as to how exactly she was related to the Waynes.
"My girlfriend." Damian answered for her, Marinette flicked his ear.
"I used to live in Gotham, me and Jason looked out for each other but I got adopted by a nice couple in France! My parents are amazing, anyways, I was on a class trip and saw Jason, and met Damian and we started dating."
"Despite my best efforts." Jason huffed, a sixteen-year-old Marinette rolled her eyes.
"He's exaggerating." Damian scoffed at that. The reporter seemed to adapt to Marinette's presence quickly, her teleprompter now changing questions from those Marinette sent to new ones.
"Okay, so Marinette and Damian- who said I love you first?" Marinette smirked, whispered in Damian's ear, and answered:
"I did." Damian blushed softly as he starred at Marinette, she said it well over a year ago to which Damian immediately reciprocated. Just to embarrass him, Marinette said 'Me, beach, bikini.' which always embarrassed Damian because it always worked- he'd immediately think back to the first time they went to the beach her in a bikini borrowed from Selina.
Jason snorted, and everyone else seemed amused to see Damian flustered.
"Who is more romantic?" Marinette hadn't been expecting questions other than the ones she wrote but took the opportunity when she saw it.
"He is." Damian glared at Marinette as his family howled in laughter.
"How?"
"OH! I KNOW I KNOW!" Stephanie raised one hand while putting a finger on her nose. "Damian always sends her flowers, and covers her in a blanket if she falls asleep, and always tries to cook for her even though she or Alfie have to save the day! But she is too! When he got sick, she always called to make sure he was resting instead of working, and sang him to sleep like a little kid! She's an awesome singer!" Marinette seemed to get even more embarrassed as the rest of the Waynes added their own compliments. The interview was about to end but Marinette got an idea, an awfully hilarious idea, it was her emergency back up.
"Well since you all seem to agree on everything, who caught my sketch book on fire?" The family went silent, everyone looked guilty.
"It was an accident." Bruce, shockingly, started.
"We never should have tried to cook." Cass continued.
"But you were sick, and Alfred was out of town." Dick tried to amend.
"The book was right next to the burner- Damian was looking at it." Stephanie added, shifting the blame to Marinette's boyfriend.
"Trying to see what you would make him for Christmas." Jason seconded.
" So he could one-up it." Tim added, unnecessarily.
"Because of how great your gift from last year was." Stephanie mentioned before everyone spoke together in unison.
"Sorry." Marinette laughed, they'd rehearsed that.
"You really think I'd leave ideas for all of your gifts in there? PLEASE! You are all too nosy, I keep the one with all of your gifts somewhere safe." Marinette said, smirking down at Damian who was glaring at his tattletail siblings.
// Flashback ends //
Marinette always smiled at the memory, she loved the Waynes- they had such a beautifully chaotic family dynamic.
"Slow down, Marinette! It's not like they'll leave without us!" Tom said, chuckling as his daughter dragged the adults towards baggage claim, only a little bit further and then Marinette would see Damian again. Last they'd seen each other was when Damian visited Paris three months ago, it had felt like an eternity to her. Marinette was pulled to a stop by Sabine, who was cold, the mother put one of her sweaters on while an impatient Marinette watched. Finally, Sabine was ready, closing her bag with a quick 'zip'.
Marinette immediately dragged her parents toward the sign she quickly spotted, Mar'i was sitting on her father's shoulders with a large poster above her head. The sign was neon pink, with white cut out letters spelling out 'Dupain-Cheng' in two rows. There were little doodles and hearts decorating the borders.
Damian stood next to Jason, impatiently checking his watch grumbling about how long customs takes. Tim and Stephanie were near them with Bruce, Alfred, Selina, and Kor'i. Only Bruce, Damian, and Jason had met Tom and Sabine before hand. Mar'i was excited to meet her twin's parents, hearing about their magic desserts.
"Auntie Nettie!" the half-Tamiranian exclaimed, climbing down her father awkwardly before charging towards Marinette. The Parisian was quick to hug the girl back.
"Hello, Mini Me!" The five-year-old was quick to climb onto Marinette's shoulders, offering her hand to Tom who was now at almost eye level. Marinette's father took the offered hand and gave the small girl a firm handshake. The girl giggled.
"Uncle Dami! I did it, just like you taught me!"
"Good job, Mar'i!" The girl's father praised, grabbing his daughter off the short girls shoulders and placing her on the floor. Damian was about to hug Marinette when Jason steps in front of him and greets his sister.
"Hey, Marinette! it's good to see you again!" Marinette hugged her brother close before pulling away and turning to greet a now grumpy Damian.
"DAMI!" Marinette said cheerily, latching onto him with a tight hug. Damian hugged back feeling her in his arms again was almost as relaxing as the smell of her hair. The sharp, sweet smell of jasmine invaded his senses with a pleasant undertone of rose water.
"Hello." She laughed as she pulled away to greet Stephanie and Cass. Damian greeted Tom and Sabine familiarly, as did Jason. Mar'i was quick to properly introduce herself to both.
"Hi! I'm Mar'i, and you're Marinette's parents! Tom and Sabine! Auntie Nettie talks about you guys a lot, is it true you two are soulmates like in the fairy tales?" Marinette's parents laughed softly before starting up a conversation with the girl. Eventually, Marinette's parents were acquainted with everyone and they made their way to the manor. Tom called their new employee, George, to make sure everything at the bakery was going well with the holiday rush.
It was December 23rd and the weather in Gotham was harsh, everyone was quick to rush into the warm manor. Tom and Sabine quietly marveled at the extravagance of it all. Marinette quickly led them to their room, promising to help them around until they got the hang of the manors maze-like layout.
"Thank you, dear, where is your room?"
"It's just down the hall, what do you guys want to do? Diner is always at six so you have time to unpack or take a nap."
"That sounds like a good idea, thank you, Marinette."
"Of course, Maman! I'll come get you at five fifty, okay?" Her parents nodded before shutting the door, Marinette made her way to Damian's room- which so happened to also be hers.
The Parisian plopped on the bed, tired from the flight. Damian noticed her 'tired to the bone' sigh from his seat at his desk and went to lay down next to her, hugging her from behind his lips pressed to her neck.
"I missed you." Marinette mumbled, feeling warm and safe in Damian's arms she struggled to stay awake. Damian stayed silent, slowly rubbing her shoulders as her worked the knots out. Marinette was now laying on her stomach, sighing as he worked. The Parisian always melted under his touch. Finals had been stressful, thankfully she didn't have to deal with Hawkmoth anymore. Ladybug was still active, with Selina now wearing the miraculous of the cat, but she only dealt with normal crimes or the odd super villain when she was in Gotham as Ladybird.
"Father thinks we should stay in tonight, with Drake, to avoid suspicion." Damian mumbled softly, still rubbing Marinette's back through her warm shirt. Marinette hummed in agreement, her body only felt more tired as time went on, her eyelids drooping.
"Of course, we'll have to entertain your parents until they go to bed but after that we have all the time in the world." Marinette could hardly register the words but she caught his tone. He wanted to snuggle, never willing to say the word out-loud.
"Wanna snuggle?" Damian snorted.
"I believe the proper term is cuddle." Marinette rolled her hardly open eyes, they always argued about this.
"Why can't it be both?" Marinette softly slurred, her eyes feeling heavy as lead. Damian gave Marinette a kiss on the cheek as he cuddled close to her, keeping her warm.
"Because that would mean I'm partially wrong and that's impossible." The world faded to black as Damian's warm arms pulled Marinette comfortably against him.
Damian looked down at a sleeping Marinette, her shallow even breathing soothing him, her adorable rosy cheeks now matched her pink nose. Marinette hated the cold but she always looked adorable decked out in winter gear, over dressing to the point where Damian had to coax her out of some of her layers.
Damian looked down at the beautiful, strong-willed, stubborn, terrifyingly tiny girl in his arms he only thought of one thing: he was going to marry that girl.
Selina was guiding the Dupain-Chengs and the rest of her family from the dining room to the living room. Damian and Marinette who were tasked with helping Alfred take everything to the kitchen. Suddenly, the feline woman got an adorably funny idea and led everyone on a short detour to the hallway filled with family photos and portraits.
Marinette was pushed up against a wall, Damian had one hand holding her neck and tilting the girls head up while the other snuck under the girls shirt and gripped her waist, pulling her flush against him. Damian was unyielding, ravaging Marinette's lips as he kissed her senseless. Marinette's hands were in his hair, softly scratching against his scalp or simply running her hands through his soft locks, her hands having a mind of the own as Damian's lips stole all of Marinette's attention.
Damian's malleable lips worked against Marinette's, somewhere far in the back of his mind Damian was thanking Alfred for insisting on his doing the dishes, this gave the couple time to escape from their observant family.
Damian let Marinette breathe as he moved from her lips to her cheek, not stopping as he eventually moved south towards her neck. Marinette was trying to focus on her uneven breathing but Damian was not one to be ignored, his hand on her hip keeping her close as he continued to greedily kiss her neck marking it as his. Marinette's features relaxed slightly her eyes hardly opening, her thoughts foggy but seemed to have a common factor: Damian, it was either Damian's lips as they worked the sensitive skin of her neck, or Damian's smell of peppermint and earl gray tea, or Damian's family staring in shock- WITH HER PARENTS AND JASON!
Marinette tensed as her eyes flew completely open, she squeaked. Damian seemed to notice the change of atmosphere and paled as he saw the murderous look in Jason and Tom Dupain's eyes. Bruce looked so done, as if he'd seen it a million times before. Selina and Sabine shared an amused smirk, Tim and Stephanie just looked away, Dick had noticed and covered Mar'i's eyes before leaving the room, Kor'i with them, blushing intensely- embarrassed for the Parisian, she had been in Marinette's shoes before and did not miss it.
Damian swallowed dryly. Tom and Jason shared a look, Jason was about to grab Damian and Tom, Marinette but Sabine stopped them short.
"Tom! Leave them alone, how else am I supposed to get grandkids?" Marinette was quick to blush, trying to hide in Damian's arms, only securing his guilt in Tom's eyes. Jason was snapped out of Big Brother Mode™ by Tim. Sabine and Selina jokingly ushered the boys and girls out, telling them to give the young couple their privacy.
Marinette wanted to die of embarrassment but once everyone was gone Damian just picked up where he left off, taking his love's mind off the intrusion.
The couple walked into the living room more than a few minutes later. The lights were off and a movie playing so no one payed them any mind when they silently sat in the empty loveseat. No one noticed the hickies that decorated Marinette from her jawline to her right collarbone, a feature Damian practically worshiped, or the love bites on Damian's neck.
Marinette blushed when she saw what Damian had done as they got ready for bed, Damian shrugged before laying on their bed and opening his arms- begging for cuddles.
Jason asked to be Damian's spar buddy for training the next morning and kicked the assassins ass- literally, but the actual spar was a tie. Tom was heard grumbling about hormonal boys for days, luckily Sabine kept him in check.
That Christmas was an interesting one, to be sure. Luckily some things stayed the same, no matter how hard Damian tried Marinette still out did him. She, as always, received jewelry Damian had been stockpiling to give her on one of the few days she couldn't refuse and a very special pendant he'd handmade for her, after taking a jewelry making class.
Mari' insisted the bluenette try everything on, not giving the girl time to take anything off. By the time Marinette was wearing everything she was literally dripping in jewels.
Marinette gave Damian four sweaters, each in a different size. They were for a picture of Damian with Alfred the Cat, Titus, and a very small one that Marinette said went with her other gift. It was a guinea pig Damian was quick to name Adrien, seeing as how both were small rodents, saying Adrien the hamster was far better. Marinette chastised him and Damian relented eventually naming the small animal after Circe, explaining that just like the sorceress bewitched sailors that visited her island, turning them into pigs, Marinette had enchanted him.
~~~ 6 years later ~~~
Marinette was bouncing in her seat, her mother and father chuckled at her childlike reaction to the plane landing. When it was finally their turn, the Dupain-Chengs grabbed their carry-ons and exited the plane.
Marinette quickly ushered her parents through the crowded airport, past customs and Christmas decorations as she hurried to meet up with Damian, Marinette had spent the last month in Paris helping out with the bakery when her mother had an accident and couldn't work for a few weeks. Thankfully, Sabine recovered quickly and the Dupain-Chengs decided to visit Gotham for the holidays. Marinette hadn't seen Damian in weeks and missed him terribly, he always complained about how empty and cold their apartment (penthouse) was without her there.
Damian checked his watch, he still had an hour before Marinette's plane landed. The man walked to where Jason and his father were standing, looking over the nights patrol routes. He'd already received permission from his father, Kyle, and the Dupain-Chengs, all he needed now was Jason's approval.
"Father, Todd." Damian greeted, fidgeting with the box in his pocket. Jason eyed Damian suspiciously.
"What'd you do this time, brat?" Jason asked, a look of annoyance flashed onto Damian's face before he controlled himself, taking a breath Damian showed him the box. Jason's eyes widened in understanding.
"Well, brat, looks like you're gonna beat her when it comes to presents this year. What could be better than your last name?" Damian relaxed at Jason's reaction to the black velvet box, Damian's father spoke up.
"You know what you're going to say?" Damian nodded.
"Where and when you want to ask?" Damian nodded again.
"Well, then all that's left is that you actually do it." Damian knew his family would approve but it still felt nice to hear it.
Marinette immediately hugged Damian when she saw him, her parents patiently waiting behind them. Both Marinette and Damian heard the quiet exchange between the married couple.
"When do you think we'll get the grandchildren?"
"I think they should talk about getting married first, Sabine." Marinette blushed softly, they'd discussed both at length and seemed to want the same things the only discrepancy being names. Damian was dead set on naming a girl Amora, Marinette liked Emma. Marinette loved the names Hugo and Louis, Damian thought they were meaningless and simple. He favored boys names like Aaron or Alfred. Marinette joked that he was obsessed with the letter A.
It was Christmas morning, the whole family spent the night at the manor. Word of Damian's gift spread among the ranks like wildfire, a nine-year-old Mar'i could hardly keep it to herself. After the usual Christmas breakfast everyone crowded around the tree, giving each other gifts. Marinette and Damian had yet to give each other their presents, Marinette went first.
"TADA!" Every year, Marinette hand knits sweaters for Damian and all of his pets, so they could take a cute picture. As time went on, Marinette went from cute to ugly Christmas sweaters. Damian smiled as he rolled his eyes, this year's had intricate reindeer patterns. She always surprised him, and he knew she had a secret place to make his gifts because Damian knew every nook and cranny of their apartment and searched it regularly for hints as to what his gift was.
Marinette's other gift for him was, as always, amazing and would have easily topped almost anything Damian got her- but this time he'd win.
"Marinette, you are light of my life, the reason I wake up in the morning. You are such a beautiful and determined woman, and the care you put into everything you do is part of what makes you the most terrifyingly amazing person I have ever met. Your heart is filled with such genuine kindness, compassion, and empathy that the world does not deserve you and neither do I, but I'd like to spend the rest of my life working to be worthy of your love. 'If love is a labor, I shall slave away to the end.' Would you allow me the honor of becoming your husband?" Marinette stared at Damian, his right knee on the ground with his left foot firmly on the ground as he opened the velvety black box.
There were two rings in the box, one was a simple silver band, something that wouldn't get in the way as she worked, running successful brand like hers was a lot of work. The other was a gorgeous sterling silver ring with a beautifully cut diamond in the center, it was clearly vintage. Marinette felt tears of joy sting her eyes as she tried to get her body to move, finally Marinette was able to speak her voice thick with emotion as she hugged Damian.
"Yes!" Damian couldn't believe the words that left his girlfriend- no, fiancee's lips. He was engaged to Marinette, the love of his life. Damian was spurred into action, hugging Marinette back before pushing her away so he could put the rings on her finger, the first was a simple band, the other his grandmothers. At first, Damian had purchased a new ring for Marinette but Selina and Damian's father gave him is grandmother’s engagement ring and it was perfect. Just like Marinette.
Marinette kissed Damian, the feeling of her left hand on his neck, the cool rings against his neck seemed to ground him. Damian never had to worry again, Marinette would always be with him.
Jason smiled as he saw the pure joy in his little sister's eyes, he had been wrong. Damian wouldn't be the reason Marinette's eyes would look broken, he'd be the reason they swelled with love, with contentment. There was no trace of the broken Marinette from all those years ago, she finally became the person Jason was determined to see her grow-up to be.
She was happy, and that was all that mattered.
#Daminette#Maribat#Jasonette#DamianWayne#MarinetteDupain-Cheng#JasonTodd#AU#LittleSisterAU#DC#MiraculousLadybug#miraculous fandom#Miraculous#Ladybug#Fanfic#Crossover#Robin
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The set up - Chapter 3
Alya being a good friendTM to Marinette; she can't really launch operation: Ladrien without checking that her friend isn't secretly harbouring feelings for one Chat Noir (or anybody else, for that matter)... Actual Ladrien to come next chapter. Hope you enjoy this one in the meantime!
First | Previous | AO3
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Chapter 3
Alya felt like she was walking on air (and really, she probably would have been, were she not sitting at her desk, browsing through the Ladyblog archive).
Her week was just unironically the gift that kept on giving; every day seemed to bring something to extend her smile a little further towards her ears. People really weren’t kidding when they said things had to get worse before they got better; after having witnessed her relationship with her best friend slowly unravel, before full on ripping, things had indeed become better, the stitching between them feeling tighter than ever. It felt like she’d simultaneously won the national lottery and the Euromillion, and that she’d received a personal invitation to intern for the most competitive news channel in Paris, without having applied for any of it. Really, things were good.
As she waited for a new tab to load (she was far from the maximum she’d ever reached while conducting research, but evidently it was enough for her computer to protest), she spared a loving thought for Nino. She hoped he hadn’t taken the fact that she’d been very antsy the whole time he’d been hanging out with her, and then that she’d almost literally slammed the door behind him when he’d left badly; her urge to go and scream excitedly into a pillow had just been too strong, and even though she was usually all for being sappy at the door, she'd had to take her leave to avoid risking Marinette's secret.
She understood her boyfriend's disarray and his distress at the news that his friends probably wouldn’t end up together, no matter how hard he tried, and she couldn’t really blame him. In fact, she actually supposed that she should take the blame for his reaction; she'd maybe, somewhat, oversold double dates with Adrien and Marinette in the past, and maybe even triple dates involving the duo and Ladybug and Chat Noir. She’d had to grieve the latter, but she was hell-bent on making the former happen, although maybe not the way she’d considered it before - if Marinette was still open to the idea, of course.
She picked up her phone, dialled her friend’s number, and stuck it between her ear and her shoulder, opening an email tab on her computer and starting to copy and paste links in it.
“Heyyyy girl, how’s my favourite Lady doing?” She smirked upon hearing Marinette's greeting.
There was an audible sigh on the other end of the line. “Alya, I know you’re trying to be subtle, but please don’t call me that.” Alya knew her friend well enough to discern the slight warning edge underlying her joking tone.
“Why? Because that nickname’s saved for a certain catboy?” She stuck her tongue out cheekily, even though her friend couldn’t see it.
Marinette paused, and Alya was almost certain that if she turned the camera on, she’d witness her cheeks flaming up at the mere mention of romance between her and her partner. Man, it’s good to be back, she sighed happily. She’d missed teasing her best friend.
“Come on, Alya, you know that’s ridiculous,” the latter scoffed.
“Is it, though?” Alya hit the send button. “Check your email.”
“What are you - oh Kwami,” she gasped. Alya leaned back in her chair, a satisfied smile playing on her lips as she went through the content her friend was discovering. “Alya, why did you send me all these romantic collages of me and Chat?”
“Because I wanted you to see why I thought you guys were a thing.” She overheard Nadja Chamack’s voice on Marinette’s side and quickly started the footage of Ladybug and Chat Noir’s interview herself.
Marinette grunted. “Ugh, I really didn’t need to be reminded of that. It was so embarrassing.”
“Because it's hard to deny the evidence, maybe?” Alya was aware that she was starting to push a little far, but she promised herself she’d change the subject soon, if Marinette didn’t take care of it herself.
“I know what it looks like, okay?” She could almost see her friend rubbing her temples in frustration. “But I promise you, he’s really just a friend.”
“Okay! Noted.” Alya closed her Ladynoir tabs, and was greeted with two pictures, side by side: Adrien and Marinette dancing in the moonlight in New York, and Adrien clutching Ladybug in his arms as they descended along the Tour Montparnasse.
“It’s unlike you to give up so easily, what are you up to?” Alya knew her friend was probably squinting suspiciously as she spoke.
“Nothing! Can’t a girl just believe her best friend when she tells her about her feelings?” Marinette harrumphed doubtfully, which Alya took as a cue to move on to the crispier matter at stake. “But speaking of ‘just a friend’s, I kind of want to circle back to something - I’m happy with you swearing off love for the time being if you really think that's what's best for you right now, even though I’ll miss planning double dates, but are you sure it’s what you want?”
The couple of minutes it took for Marinette to organise her thoughts had Alya think she’d be sent packing. She was surprised when her friend replied softly. “I just don’t think it would be very wise. It's kind of tiring, you know? Like, I really enjoyed dating Luka, he was so patient with me and so thoughtful, but it taught me that without revealing my secret, I can’t make myself available enough to have a healthy relationship. Add to that the fact that I don’t even know if Adrien likes me that way, if it’s worth going through the pain of the lies again… I’d rather just wait it out.”
Alya nodded silently. “So it’s mostly the fact that you can’t reveal your secret identity that’s making you feel that way.”
“I guess so, yes.”
“Well I’ll be damned,” Alya chuckled. “Not so long ago, you were practically ready to give away your first child if it meant you’d end up with Adrien, and now look at you. I’m proud of you, Marinette. You’re being so strong.”
“I’m pretty sure it was my first three children, actually, but yeah.” She could tell her friend was smiling, and she was glad that she’d made that happen.
“Okay, well. We’re just going to have to work harder to take down Hawkmoth, aren’t we? Which won't be too problematic, given that we have all the time we used to dedicate to the variations of operation: secret garden that's now free,” Alya replied with as much affection as she could so it would carry over without the smile it was associated with.
“Sounds like a plan!” Marinette chuckled. “Want to come over tomorrow after school, to help me with the Grimoire?”
“That sounds great. See you tomorrow, bestie!”
“Thanks, Alya.”
Alya hung up and made a mental note to hug her friend the next day, just to remind her that she was happy to help and that she’d always be there. The girl really deserved it.
Then, she zoomed in on the picture of Adrien and Ladybug.
She understood Marinette’s reluctance to start a relationship if she couldn’t be as honest as possible with her partner. But what her friend failed to see was that she had a massive loophole on her side; for all intents and purposes, she had two secret identities - Ladybug, as Marinette, and Marinette, as Ladybug. And hiding Ladybug’s "secret" identity seemed a lot easier to achieve, especially if Adrien really worshipped the ground she walked on. Knowing him, he'd probably be very respectful of the boundaries the superhero set regarding the mask.
She just needed to get the two of them together somehow, reverse Uno card-ing her friend with the technique that had gotten her and Nino together.
Easy peasy, lemon squeezy, she mentally sing-sang as she started jotting down her ideas on a blank document. Looking at the list, she declared operation: Ladrien a go.
#if you're wondering about nino - he's fine it's just a weird day#miraculous ladybug#the miraculous tales of ladybug and cat noir#ml#miraculous fanfiction#miraculous fanfic#miraculous spoilers#miraculous season 4 spoilers#gang of secrets#alya cesaire#marinette dupain-cheng#ladrien#djwifi#elle writes#the set up
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Season 1, Episode 2, p1
".and in the final round, the Buzzard-Wasps, won with a decisive knock-out." Korra read the newspaper eagerly before peeking over at Tenzin. "What do you say we go to the arena tonight, catch a few pro-bending matches?" She grinned hopefully at the airbender. "That sport is a mockery of the noble tradition of bending." He snapped, ignoring you as your coughed into your morning (tea/coffee/hot chocolate). As intelligent as he is, the man hadn't a clue of where or why you spent so much time in the city. You couldn't keep it a secret from your Aunties, and Aunt Lin or Pema were usually the ones who patched you up.
"Come on, Tenzin, I've dreamed about seeing a pro-bending match since I was a kid, and now I'm just a ferry ride away from the arena." She gestured out towards the city. "Korra, you're not here to watch that drivel. You're here to finish your avatar training. So for the time being, I want you to remain on the island." He took another sip of his tea, as you took another bite of your breakfast. "Is that why you're keeping the White Lotus sentries around to watch my every move?" She waved her hand towards the soldiers, who were standing around the room. "Yes, in order to learn airbending, I believe you require a calm, quiet environment free from any distractions." Tenzin finished sternly.
"All right, you're the master." Korra relented, looking out the window, longingly. It was quite yet tense before you abruptly stood up from the table and stormed off angrily, catching the attention of everyone in the room. "(Y/N)? Where are you going?" Korra asked, confused by your behavior. "Fine! Going to meditate!" You grumble, feeling guilty at your Aunt's concerned look. You quickly made your way to the tree you and your Grandfather planted when you were younger, and sat down, crossing your body into a half-lotus position, breathing in through your nose and out of your mouth, praying for a peaceful session.
Your prayers went unanswered.
--Vision start--
You found yourself watching a middle aged Aang look around curiously. The old monk smiled seeing a small figure curled up on the tip of Air Temple Island, before sitting next to said figure. The two remained silent until the smaller sniffed, and pulled his tunic tighter in its fist. "Are you ready to talk about it, grandson?" You walked closer, to see a young you, look up at him with teary eyes. "Hi, Papa." Younger you sniffled, wiping a tear away. "I'm sorry I left dinner like that." Aang merely pulled you to sit on his lap, and wrapped his cloak around you, waiting patiently for you to say what was wrong, because he knew you wouldn't cry over something so little.
"Now, it's not nice to lie about something so small like that. What's really bothering you, my little monkey?" Aang asked with a mischievous grin. Your (e/c) eyes peered at him from under your bangs. "I'm just scared, of the future." You admitted. "What do you mean?" asked Aang. "When I'm sleeping, I see things. I see the next Avatar, but I can't see their face. I-I know their a waterbender because of their clothes, but that's it. And then I see different endings based on her choices, and the world keeps changing and I am afraid--" "Okay, okay. (Y/N), take a breath, you're hyperventilating. You need to relax, before you pass out. Copy me, alright?"
Aang put your hand on his chest, and mimicked deep breathing. He'd dealt with plenty of panic attacks with the Gaang, and of course with his own kids. Eventually you calmed down and that's when Aang spoke again. "I know the future is scary, and no one can truly prepare for it, but what we can do, is be ready to make the future brighter. And if you're seeing the future Avatar, that must mean your destinies are intertwined tighter than I thought. I know the Spirits have a plan for why they're allowing you to see the future. You've already made us so proud, (Y/N). You're a dual bender, and a master of both air and water at such a young age.
"I know you'll make the world proud." Aang stood up, and began carrying you into the library, as your stomach growled at you. The Airbender laughed, and gestured to two plates of dumplings. "Thanks, Papa Aang." You mumble, curling next to him, as he set a small fire up. "Of course, monkey. Now I believe I owed you the story of how Zuko found his mom.."
--Vision end--
You slowly opened your eyes, as you heard multiple steps heading towards you. Your cousins, Uncle and friend all looked back at you with varying smiles. "(Y/N), are you finished with your morning meditation?" Tenzin questioned. You stood up, stretching your back and legs, before answering him. "Yes, Uncle. Is it time for Korra's first lesson in airbending?" "Yes, now come along everyone." You all headed towards a airbender's best friend. "What is that contraption?" Korra asked aloud. "A time-honored tool that teaches the most fundamental aspect of airbending." You rolled your eyes before muttering to the kids, "Or the first step to airbending. Unless, you preferred the long winded version of saying it." You smirk at Tenzin's irritated face.
"Jinora, would you like to explain this exercise, while (Y/N) demonstrates?" Tenzin said, sending you a raised eyebrow, as you got ready. "Well, the goal is to weave your way through the gates and make it to the other side without touching them." Jinora explained. "Seems easy enough." Korra stated. "Jinora forgot to mention you gotta make it through while the gates are spinning." Ikki said, cheekily.
Tenzin stepped forward and sent a sharp gust of wind through the gates, as you then stepped forward. You then began dancing in the wind, fast, fluid, and soft in your movements. "The key is to be like the leaf. Flow with the movement of the gates. Airbending is all about spiral movements. When you meet resistance, you must be able to switch direction at a moment's notice." Tenzin finished, as you sent an equally strong wind, letting Korra know that it was her turn. "Let's do this." she stated, confident.
Now being a air nomad monk, you shouldn't feel as smug as you were. But your mother was from the Northern Water Tribe...so you could feel as smug as you wanted. This was a lesson she needed to learn to be a better airbender, Avatar, and a person. She ran in head first, grunting as she ran into different gates. You snickered, as she fell on her butt, in front of the other Airbenders. Growling, Korra ran back inside, not learning from her previous mistakes. "Korra, don't force your way through!" Jinora called, climbing on your back, to get a better look. "Dance! Dance like the wind!" Ikki encouraged. "Be the leaf!" Meelo danced.
Not listening, Korra groaned, as the gates made her dizzy. Tenzin rolled his eyes groaning. You chuckle, landing next to him, as Jinora jumped down and went with her siblings to look down at the Avatar. You raised your hand, before turning to your uncle. "Well, that was fun. Same time, same place tomorrow?" Your grin widen at your Uncle's annoyed glare, before walking down the steps, whistling softly, feeling Nevermore land on your shoulder. "Hey Nevermore. Ready for some practice?" The (fav color) dragon squealed happily as you made your way to the training area.
You turned towards the sound of footsteps following you. "Yes, Jinora?" You smiled as she blushed at being caught, but she spoke up. "Well, I was just wondering if I could help you with Nevermore's training today?" She asked hopefully. You nod, gesturing her to come forward. "All right, now we're going to work on her flight today. She's getting bigger and it's almost time for her to mature. I need you to keep a steady wind flow, okay?" And this was how Pema found you both before lunch. "Thanks for your help, Jinora." You ruffled her hair, before helping your Aunt serve lunch.
--Later that night--
You stretch your limbs before putting on your uniform, and walking out with Bolin and Mako. "All right, guys. We got this!" You grin, making Bolin mirror your grin and Mako smirked. As soon as the game started, you could hear the announcer speaking over the speakers. You tuned into what he was saying, letting your body take over for the fight. "Ladies and gentleman, I'm coming to you live, from Republic City's pro-bending arena, where tonight, the best in the world continue for a spot in the upcoming championship tournament. Grab your snacks and your kids because this next match is going to be a doozy!"
You grin underneath your helmet, focusing on the game. The announcer rambled on in the background, as you were dancing behind Mako's quick movements and Bolin's sturdy form. Catching the other team off guard was your forte. "This Mako's got moxie! He advances, fires two quick shots. Yomo is hammered back into zone three, by the Fire Ferret's sneaky waterbender, oh! I stand correct folks, Yomo was sent into the sink by (Your fake name)! Now it's up to the rest of Yomo's team to earn their spot! Clock is winding down, can they hold it? The Fire Ferret's line up to pull out their famous Guilt Triple! One, two, and three and the opposing team is in the drain! The Fire Ferrets are in the championships! They're in the championship!!"
The crowd went wild! Screaming your names, as you all walked off to the locker room, chatting happily. "You really came through with the move, (Y/N)!" Mako chuckled, unwrapping his knuckles, as you ran a hand through your hair, ruffling your bangs, ignoring Bolin's wide eyed stare. "Take a picture, Bo. It'll last longer." You snicker, as he blushed at being caught."Sorry, it's just so cool having a airbending master," He whispered those words softly, "Right in front of me! I wanna see you do it!" He begged, using the puppy eyes on you. "No, Bolin. We already talked about this. No one can know. Now, are you gonna sit there, whining, or are you gonna come eat with us?"
You and Mako were waiting by the door, dressed in street clothes(First outfit; instead of sleeves you have one fishnet glove going up one elbow). You were wearing Water Tribe clothes, and waiting for the Earthbender. Mako snickered, watching his brother get dressed quickly, before following you to a restaurant to relax and act like teenagers for a change. You walk with your hands behind your head, looking at the stars, sighing contently, but you couldn't help but wonder:
'What are we going to do now, Mom?'
--The next morning--
You tied your hair up in a man bun, before dusting off your airbender clothing from any wrinkles, and heading out the door. You'd overslept from how exhausted you were from last night's match, and now you rushed to join your family for morning meditation. "Hey, (Y/N)! We missed you at breakfast." Ikki clung to you like a monkey, as you swung her back and forth. "Hey, Cheeky Ikki. Sorry, I was really tired last night, but I'll grab a quick bite to eat after this." Your Uncle smiled at the scene before clearing his throat. "Nice to see you joining us for meditation, (Y/N). It's been a while." He admitted, as you sat next to Jinora.
"Yes it *yawn* has." You covered your mouth, before grinning sleepily at your uncle's confused glare. "All right, everyone. Begin." He commanded. You closed your eyes, breathing deeply, finding your self, sagging in relief as you did not have a vision around your family. You twitch, hearing Korra shuffle and move around. Korra kept shuffling and you cracked your eyes open, irritation flooding them. "Korra, relax." You snap. "I think I'm doing it wrong." She huffed. "There's nothing to do! Let your mind and spirit be free, for air is the element of freedom." Tenzin reminded her.
Korra laughed sarcastically and you snort quietly. Tenzin was not amused. "Is something funny?" He asked, raising a bushy eyebrow at the two of you. "Yeah, you're telling me to embrace freedom, but you won't even let me listen to the radio. And forget about leaving this island." The blue eyed avatar pouted. "Please, Korra. Look at Meelo, he's able to meditate peacefully." Tenzin gestured to his only son. You snicker, looking at the smallest airbender. "Actually Uncle, I think he's asleep." Meelo snored loudly, as Tenzin balked. "Wait, what? Ahh, at least he's got the relaxing part down.: He tried weakly.
"Whatever. None of this airbending stuff makes any sense to me." Korra grumbled. "Korra, I know it's seems frustrating, but the way he's teaching you, it's not only going to help you airbend, but this will help you learn to be patient, and as the Avatar, peace keeping and patience go hand in hand." You spoke up, as your cousins finished their meditation and you picked a sleepy Meelo.
"Yeah, like you know anything about being the Avatar, (Y/N)." Korra said sarcastically, yet arrogantly. You paused in your steps down the mini temple, and turned your (e/c) glare into the Southern Water Tribe girl. "I know more than you think, Korra." You hiss, storming off with a sleepy Meelo, and an worried Ikki and Jinora.
Korra scoffed, looking at Tenzin.
"What's his problem?" She asked, as his gray eyes barred into her soul. "Korra, you need to apologize once he's calmed down. That was rude, and he was only trying to help you. Just like I am. There will be a time when you will want his help, and he may not be there or want to help you if you continue to act like this. Grow up, girl." Tenzin said, sternly before walking off to find you.
"Please, like he's one to talk." Korra did feel guilty, but was too proud to admit it. But she wasn't dumb enough to find you right now.
Even she doesn't want to be on your bad side.
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Ohhhhhh boy, I'm not ready for today! ...uh, I've fully recovered from my illness! It's still cold as hell! ...Spoilers, I guess.
-Go Dai-chan!
-Split that bitch like an atom, boys!
-Oh. Well, we got the other guy!
-Yep, Director Akaishi's a supervillain.
-No intro today, huh?
-Does Papa Gen like... not feel the blatant emptiness in his body? Cause if so, I'd like that to help feed my
-"Pweeeeeeease Mama, I'm staaaaaaaaaaarvingu~!"
-Honestly, you're a pretty good guy Tabuchi, I didn't give you enough credit last episode.
-Listen to Vice, he's smelling demons.
-Oh c'mon, are you Triple Spy, Chigusa?
-Ohhh, I see, Olteca's just evil because he's too big brained for everyone else. I guess it's a good thing he became a Deadman and not a Redditor then.
-Ohhhhh. Olteca's not the founder! ...I should've seen that coming, but like. Okay, this changes everything!
-Oh boy, we're getting that goddamn Driver huh, Olteca? That thing's currently doing more damage than any Vistamp we've seen so far.
-Ooooooh, somebody's in big trouble!
-Yeah, it's hitting you, huh?
-Oh boy, we're doing this again.
-Hiromi's fucked.
-I'm gonna cry harder Vice ;_;
-God, George. I thought we were bros!
-Don't mock a man's catchphrase! This is your fault!
-Ohhhh, the Ultimate Kamen Rider, huh? He'd be able to fight Kiwami Arms, Hyper Muteki, Genius, Zero-Two, Xross Saber, and Ohma Zi-O all at once! Is elevating your OCs really worth a man's life, George?
-Oh, Commander Yujiro's a Force ghost.
-Ikki, don't encourage him! ...or, no, do encourage him!
-Busybody Big Brother!
-Oh no, Tamaki-kun.
-Kick their fucking ass!
-Oh no, don't call her.
-Yeah, looks like she knows about the Demons Driver! ...I kinda understand her a bit more!
-Oh you son of a bitch!
-Oh crap.
-OHHHH THAT'S A GOOD EXPLOSION
-Hiromi's fightin'!
-Do you like... really need the Juniors at this point?
-Ohhhh, badass!
-OHHHH YEAH LET'S GOOOOO
-God, Sakura, I love you so much.
-Oh, this is the full version!
-Ohhhhh, gooooo!
-Yeah, run through them all! Figuratively and literally!
-Man, this cinematography is killer.
-I get it, I wanna buy your merchandise!
-OHHHHH GOOOOOOOOOO
-GET IT GIRLBOSS!
-I know I'm kinda devolving, but there's only so many ways I can say "I love this show so fucking much", y'know?
-He killed the Gifterian without even using the Genomixes on screen. What an absolute legend/
-Goddamn, he really went all the way.
-Congrats, Olteca! You're free! ...well, until we drag yo ass to jail, that is.
-...oh no, that was a bad idea.
-Oh no, that was a very bad idea.
-Oh good, you're alive.
-Thank you, Mikoshiba-sensei!
-A Pyrrhic victory to be sure, but at least we've won something. ...not that I really trust Aguilera or Tamaki with the Gifu Stamp or feel any good about , but hey!
-He's finally getting dinner!
-Ohhhhhhhh, god, it's detatchable! I DON"T WANNA THINK ABOUT THAT EW EWW EWWWWWWWWWW
-...is that Vice mask being sold on Premium Bandai? It absolutely is, isn't it?
-Oh he's talkin'! Yep, you gotta smash that thing like yesterday.
-Ohhhh no, the preview. Looks like we finally get the conspiracy uncovered. On the bright side, it seems like Sakura's gonna have a big role, so I understand that certain sacrifices have to be made for the sake of homegirl Jeanne screentime.
#revive the vice: imprinted like stamps and fossils#kamen rider#kamen rider revice#tsuki talks#revice spoilers
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Colors
FANDOM: Final Fantasy XIV PAIRING: Krile & G’raha, Scions & G’raha, Mentioned WolExarch WORD COUNT: 1,474 LINKS: AO3
Summary: Krile was going to celebrate G'raha's Nameday, even if it wasn't the one on his birth certificate. All of his friends help.
Written for @writersmonth. Trans G’raha lives in my head rent free.
G’raha Tia had never had much in the way of family. His mother wasn’t around, his father was long gone and Miqo’te traditions were hardly inclusive enough to care for his extended family. Thus, when it came to celebrating anything, Krile had found him sorely lacking. When they’d met in their second year of college, she distinctly remembered him spending the entirety of the winter holiday in the dorms. And he had decided to forgo informing her of his nameday until it had already passed.
Krile had done everything after that to ensure he was included with her own family and though they welcomed him, she was not fool enough to think he’d allowed himself to well and truly be part of her family.
But this year, much had changed. The young lady she roomed with in college came out as trans, had begun taking testosterone, had blossomed in the light of support offered by a rapidly growing group of friends.
And so, Krile had elected to celebrate not the nameday of the young lady she had met years ago, but the young man she’d been introduced to just last year and she had recruited his new friends to aid her in this effort.
Unfortunately, she had forgotten what the lot of them was like.
“It’s not straight.”
“I thought that was the point.”
Krile paused to pinch the bridge of her nose, wondering why Nymeia had cursed her with these two.
“I believe I am the one who’s colorblind, Thancred,” Y’shtola says from her spot at the counter, where she’s finishing up icing the cupcakes, freshly baked by the joint effort of Ryne and Lyna.
“He is gay, too, I’ll have you know.”
He sounds so smug , as if he’s won some battle, even as he does as Krile asks and straightens the banner before taking the hammer from Urianger’s waiting hand to finish his side.
“You weren’t the first he came out to, I’ll have you know,” Krile says, clicking her tongue as she turns to help Tataru smooth the wrinkles from the triple-toned table cloth. She runs her hand across pink and blue and white stripes until they’re flat against the table, a smile easing its way onto her lips as she takes a step back to inspect their efforts.
What had once been Raha’s front room had been transformed into a paradise of pride, swathed in the same pinks, blues and whites that were represented on the flag. The overhead banner, the tablecloth, the cupcakes, even everyone in the room had changed clothes to match the theme.
Not that all of them were particularly happy about their apparel.
“Is it truly necessary for me to wear white?” Y’shtola asks, eerily close to reading Krile’s mind.
“Yes! Blue for boys, pink for girls and white for all those in between, lest you wish to mix and match!”
“It is hardly my color,” she mutters, bemoaning the usual black that she wore. And while she was correct , Krile did not particularly care , not today! “And I am icing cupcakes.”
Oh, yes, that white shirt would be stained with pinks and blues before she was done, certainly. All the better, Krile would say, not that she gets the chance to.
Ryne surprised them both by rushing to Y’shotola’s side to deliver another batch of cupcakes, to await cooling before they could be topped with icing.
“You look beautiful in any color, Y’shtola!”
The smile Ryne wore was hard to argue with, even for their monarch of sass. It proved infectious, melting away Y’shtola’s exaggerations in favor of a gentle smile of her own. But there is no time to offer a response before Ryne rushes back to Lyna’s side, the giddy chatter between the two barely audible to Krile’s pointed ears.
“I hope you’ve a solution for the nameday boy, unless you managed to conn him into wearing blue today.”
Oh, but Krile had done no such thing! She couldn’t risk tipping him off and it was G’raha’s boyfriend that had recommended a solution to her. So she paused to retrieve it from the box she’d set in the bottom of his hall closet, where it would be considerably safer during their reconstruction of Raha’s home.
She lifted the top off the box and could feel the heat of a great many gazes on her back as she brought the object in question out of the closet and into the air to show all its majesty. Bright blue with a hint of white dusting at the top was—
“Is that a paper mache crown ?”
"Oh, yes, yes it is! Lovingly handcrafted by the one and only Tataru!"
Alisaie laughs , doubling over with tears of mirth in her eyes at the dramatics of it all. Alphinaud does not grace her with even a glance in her direction, a wide grin on his face that’s just as polite as is his norm.
“He’ll love it, I’m certain,” he says, even as Tataru turns to explain to him that the time allotted to her for its creation had been limited by how hard it was to coordinate all of this when G’raha was all but outright glued to Krile’s side. Between being roommates and working together, that was no small surprise.
Krile is partway through laughing at their antics when Lyna hushes all of them with a hiss under her breath.
“He’s coming!”
Everyone’s reaction is instantaneous. They scatter, scrambling to find a spot to hide in. They bump into each other, curse, the chair Thancred had been standing on earlier gets tipped over. It's sheer luck that the bouquet that was lovingly prepared by their very own hero was not lost to the destruction.
And oh dear, the haste at which a key gets pushed into the lock and the door swings open when the chair clatters loudly to the ground.
“What in Azeyma’s name?”
As soon they hear G’raha’s voice, a trainwreck occurs. A cacophony of voices begin yelling out of sync. “Happy Nameday!” “Surprise!” Urianger whacks his forehead by rounding the too-short-for-Elezen door frame too quickly as they slowly descend into chaos. Alisaie accidentally elbows Thancred, Ryne nearly slips on a stray bit of icing, Lyna nearly topples to the floor trying to save her from impending doom.
And when finally, finally the moment passes and the room descends into stillness once more, it is G’raha Tia who interrupts it once more. He laughs , tears of mirth springing to red eyes as he reaches for the table to steady himself—and misses.
When he hits the floor, still laughing, it spreads to the rest of them.
Krile bursts into laughter, as do many of the others, bolsters when Twelve only knows who lets loose a snort. It makes helping everyone to their feet a struggle that nearly ends in them faceplanting again, Krile having the hardest time of all. Trying to get a man twice her size to his feet was, well, quite a feat!
“Wha— What is all this?” he asked through his laughter, freckled cheeks already wet from watering eyes. “My Nameday isn’t for months !”
“We’re celebrating G’raha’s name day, not G’rahlia’s!” Krile says, face aching from the wide smile and warm laughter. His cheeks flush and the grin on his face shifts from amused to the familiar, sincere glee that she could still vividly remember from a year ago, when he’d come out to her.
“Thank you, Krile,” he whispers, words heavy with a burden that he had long carried, that he could now share with the lot of them without fear of being judged or rejected or any of that ilk.
Red eyes moved from her to take in everyone in the room that had joined them, from the smallest of their efforts to the largest before settling on the bouquet of flowers that sat on the table. He reaches out to touch one of the pink petals, then the white before finally settling on the blue. At last, he finally looks to the small crowd gathered in his apartment, from his foster daughter that loved him with all her heart to young Alisaie who made a show of being cross with him.
“Thank you, everyone,” he finally says, his grin full to bursting, “For…”
He pauses, gesturing into the air at some of the decorations, unable to find words to convey what he wanted. A pleasant laugh follows when Krile reaches out to hand him the crown, ridiculous as he looks the minute he positions it atop his head.
Krile finds her gaze turning from him to the others in the room, to the family he had crafted with his own hands, without the need for something as trivial as blood.
When he speaks again, watery words are warm with affection.
“I love you all so very much.”
#final fantasy xiv#ffxiv#g'raha tia#writerspridemonth2021#Allen writes.#i almost never crosspost to tumblr anymore but yeehaw
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