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liliannadelaphinehartifelt · 1 year ago

Note

Helloo!

Idk if you take requests , but could you maybe write a fic with Human!Alastor and male!reader where reader exaggerates his whole personality to comply with everyone else and is easily exhausted from it and Alastor "relaxses" reader in that way ?

Thank you in advance and have a good day !

Alastor - [ MASQUERADE ]

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A/N: This request really made me brainstorm but I've decided to break it into 2 parts. I hope you'll enjoy it! As always kindly lmk the artist of the fanart so I can tag them and give proper credit! ❤️

WARNINGS: [ SLIGHT NSFW ] + [ MDNI ] + [ SUGGESTIVE THEMES ] + [ MALE READER ] + [ FLUFF…if you squint ]

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“You're on air in ten minutes, Y/n. Pick it up before the host gets restless!”

Your so-called manager barked from the dressing room doorway, giving one last glare your way before strutting off, grumbling a string of curses you'd learned to ignore.

“Asshole…” you scoffed, turning back to the striped mirror of your vanity; the large bulbs that lit it gave enough light in the old stuffy backstage space, illuminating every detail of your appearance.

Not one thing could be out of place.

You wouldn't allow it, committed to your role as a rising preformer in the golden age of the stage, and conditioned to perfectionist standards from years of tribulations

Suffering behind a practiced smile won you your stardom. The ambiguous beauty you possessed helped immensely in your success on the silver screen, but the truest contributor to your fame was appeal.

Humourous, intellectual, but most crucial, sex appeal.

That's what kept your admires enthralled, permanently put you in the limelight from the start, and inevitably earned you considerable amounts of money.

You weren't opposed to being called a child of Dionysus himself, envied by those who wanted you. Still, the burden of putting on a show for everyone every day without giving them a glimpse of your faults was excruciating.

Yet, you chose the burden over sulking in the darkness, remaining among the ordinary when you so clearly had the makings of a star, and your status of high popularity among the masses was proof of it.

So be it if your cheeks ached from smiling at frivolous fans that your laugh sounded less like your own the more you forced it, that flirtations of others felt like empty praises, or that every project you agreed to felt less and less stimulating.

So fucking be it.

Fame is fickle; you knew this all too well, but your existence felt meaningless without it.

Empty.

All the world's riches, the undivided favor you garnered from the public, and the sparkling awards cluttered your penthouse display shelves…

Even with all that at your fingertips, you had yet to feel seen…

Seen and truly adored.

“Two fucking minutes! Get your ass in position. This interview is being broadcast live, remember?” your manager harped at you from the hall, causing you to grunt in frustration before yelling back, “Would you shut your trap?! Fucking hell…I'm coming!”

You set aside the whiskey glass in your left hand, ran your right through your recently styled hair, and checked your reflection one last time.

“It's only a radio show. One little interview and you can go home and get black-out drunk…” the idea of spending some much-deserved time alone after running around doing a press tour brought a sad smile to your face as you stood and exited the dim room.

This would be your last stop, an interview with Louisiana’s prided radio host, and the last person you'd need to put a show on for before returning home.

“Finally…” your manager grumbled as you stepped into the hall, giving you a once over as the two of you strolled down the hall towards the host recording area, “Don't fuck this up. People say this ones a real talker and can make or break ya..” he mumbled begrudgingly.

You paid his incessant pestering no mind, flashing him a suave smile as you both stopped before a heavy door, “Don't tell me you're starting to care about my reputation now? Thought you only saw me as a nice money grab…”

Your smile grew as laughter bubled in your chest, seeing the other slowly become agitated at your backhanded comments.

“Why, you little-”

“Oh, don't be rude, sir. You'll spoil my good mood, and god knows sour spirits bring bad luck,” you smirked, enjoying the scrunch of his nose as his expression reflected his true nature, but before he could snap, you pushed the door open and slipped into the soundproofed station room.

What a fucking pain he is…

You cursed the raging man outside, sighing softly as the sound of jazz lingered through the air and the smell of freshly brewed coffee mixed with a distinct cologne engulfed you.

The space felt and looked inviting, relaxing even, but what caught your attention was the man who occupied it.

He sat in a desk chair across the small room, facing a table full of controls and a mic to match. His face was lowered from the device, glasses resting comfortably on the bridge of his nose as he stared at what you assumed was a script for your conversation with him, but the simmering amazement overtook your curiosity about the paper he held you felt hearing him hum along to the song he was airing.

You didn't dare move an inch closer, satisfied with watching and listening to him from afar, oddly entrapped by the silent allure he cast.

It was no mystery that people loved the sound of his voice. You'd be fooling yourself if you said you hadn't found his commentary enchanting, but looking at him in the flesh, you were sure he'd flourish on the silver screen like no other.

He could indeed win the eyes of many…

Yours especially, and to some degree, he had already, but you hesitated to admit it even as he turned to face you.

Oh…. he is a beauty, that's for sure…

That was the singular thought in your mind as he smiled, standing from his seat before approaching you with all the confidence you'd merely portrayed.

“Hello there. You must be Y/n L/n. I'm Alastor Hartifelt. It's a pleasure to meet you, my friend!”

His voice was as smooth, melting into the background melodies inexplicably, and your heart lightened immensely as he held out a hand for you to shake.

“The..the pleasure is all mine, Mr. Hartifelt..” you inwardly scolded your delayed greeting, losing track of your practiced charm relatively quickly in his grasp. Still, in seconds, you recovered from the blunder while returning his smile.

Alastor took you in with a glance up and down your figure, cataloging every detail of your appearance out of habit, but when his gaze met yours, one thought crossed his perceptive mind.

Longing?

How curious…

You hid the familiar emotion well; seeing past the veil of contentment wasn't tricky, and though he was tempted to bring it forth.

You two shook hands briefly but firmly. Alastor stepped back, gliding his hand out to mention towards the recording station. “Come, have a seat, and please call me Alastor. We will be on air after all; formalities aren't necessary for an engaging broadcast.” His smile grew, emitting an unearthly kindness as you nodded in understanding before sitting in the chair opposite his.

“You make an excellent point, Alastor. I hope we enjoy each other's company.” You chuckle softly, feeling a tad nervous for a reason unknown but genuinely harboring a rise in excitement, hearing him respond promptly.

“I have no doubt we will…” Alastor muses more to himself, a delicate edge to his voice as he trailed behind you, and a certain twinge of intrigue rattled your spine at the implication.

For the first time in a long time, you weren't dreading the inclinations of your fame, gradually succumbing to the sparks of joy Alastor evoked with the most straightforward words and becoming surer of the fact as he took his seat next to you.

“Shall we begin?” he implies cheekily, and you reply in a quick, witty fashion, “We shall.”

————-

“Care for a drink, my friend? I believe we’ve earned ourselves a cold glass of whiskey… that is, If your evening is unreserved.” Alastor made the offer moments after switching your respective microphones off, quickly arranging the recording panel to a specific setting as he listened for your response.

Your mouth moved quicker than your mind; a distinct rush overtook at the thought of spending more time with the charismatic radio host, “I'd be delighted to join you. I must agree that our interview went quite well. It's rare to have an easy conversation with a stranger these days..”

Alastor raised a brow, sparing you a glance as he finished sliding keys and flicking switches into place to keep a calming stream of music lingering in his broadcast, “So, I'm still a stranger to you?… My, and I thought we were getting on so well…“

He spurs you casually, an air of hurt in his expression, and it stuns you, causing a red hue to rise on your cheeks, “Th-that's not at all what I meant, Alastor…” Your lower head twinges of embarrassment staining your consciousness, and for the third time that evening, Alastor had chipped away at your charm.

He enjoyed it….

Seeing you falter and conform to his standards, though you didn't need to, at any time, you could've remained indifferent to him and taken your leave the moment he shut your mic off, but you remained.

Solely because you'd grown attached to him or the defect he had on you.

Humbling, genuine understanding, but above all else, validation.

“My dear, I am only poking fun. I take no offense to your words, and I hope you'll grant me the same courtesy!” Alastor reached for you, thumb and forefinger slipping under your chin to lift it, and you obeyed his gesture with a soft smile. “Oh…I…”

You paused, swallowing thickly as he raised himself from the chair, head lowered toward yours as he stood above you.

Had he always been so tall?

So brooding?

You weren't entirely sure, but your heart raced, every nerve in your body tingled with anticipation as if you were a deer caught in his headlights, but you couldn't retreat or evade him.

“You what?..” Alastor cooed quietly, chocolate eyes on fire with an emotion you'd long forgotten but returned subconsciously.

Control.

You needed to be back in control, or the next breath between you two might lead to something…

Your mind played scenario after scenario, beginning to short circuit as he peered down at you, lips only inches from yours, and his other hand reaching to caress your cheek. His touch is searing, warmer than those you'd felt before, intentional, and your entire being buzzed in his grasp as if in a drunken stupor.

He was dangerous… able to tear through your facade easily, which was terrifying.

Polarizing.

Don't let him get any closer…

Keep him at a distance…

You've only just met him...

Warnings rang in your head, but your eyes lowered to his lips, and your voice remained quiet as you responded to his question.

“I" 'd like to have that drink before the night ends. Wouldn't you?"With a gentle nudge of your head and a soft laugh, you draw away from Alastor's touch. The space between you increases, and the ability to breathe becomes less strenuous as you stand to your feet, collecting your overcoat before slipping it on, "I'm not familiar with the city yet, so I'll leave it to you to show me around." The chipper in your tone amuses Alastor; you'd perfected the art of illusion so well that in the clutches of what some might consider an intimate moment, you balked and reclaimed sensibility like it never occurred, though you wished for it to carry on further.

He'd met and spoken to his fair share of actors, learned their ticks and telling habits, and used it against them when he saw benefit in toying with them.

However, being able to see right through you evoked another motive for the host, and he dared to think it was mutual.

"Well, I'd be honored to show you the ins and outs of this lively town I call home so long as you promise to keep up," Alastor retrieves his coat, a heavy jet black trench withered accents paired with matching hat, stylish in all the right ways -presumably warm to be in. Still, you were sure if he ventured into the night dressed like that, any stranger would fear him.

They had good reason to, but you didn't need to know why.

Not yet…

With a coy smile, you followed Alastor out of the station, matching his strides as he paved the way to a nearby speakeasy, "You'll find it quite entertaining, my friend. Few visit at this hour, but my dear Mimzy puts on a vine show regardless!" Your heart skipped a beat at the thought of Alastor being infatuated with another, for what reason you weren't sure, but your disappointment flashed clear in your eyes that he took it upon himself to clarify his remark.

"She is an old and loyal acquaintance. Nothing more. Nothing less."

You perked up at the explanation, face burning with a blush as you raised both hands to dissuade his interpretation of your expression, "I understand. You needn't explain anything to me-"

Alastor halted in his tracks, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he peered at you curiously, "Hm, so you did assume we were something to begin with?..."

Shit, was I that obvious?...

"Not at all..." you lie, as calm as ever but internally conflicted.

How could he go about messing with you so boldly?..

And why did it excite you?..

"Your eyes say otherwise, my friend..." he counters your nervous reply with a smug smirk, beginning to walk off as if he wasn't toying with your head, "My eyes?..." you whisper in response.

"They are the doorway to the soul...I've learned to walk through said doors, and you, my dear, hide a lot of fears behind them." Alastor chuckles, ears tingling as you reclaim your spot at his upon reaching your destination. Still, you're less concerned with the dark alley lit with a singular neon sign situated above a heavy lead door and more worried about what he is implying regarding your emotions.

Who was he to know anything?

Sure, he was pleasant to be around, an avid intellectual with a knack for continuing conversation with you, and you had no reason to believe he'd been faking his friendliness to you from the start...

That still gave him no right analyzing you, prod at your exterior with more confidence than necessary, and you intended to let him know it.

A glare beset your expression, mouth open to speak, but you weren't allowed to do so as the lead door swung open.

Alastor guided you close to his side as a gaggle of patrons spilled from the doorway, ranting and raving about the time they had inside. Their rowdy behavior irked him, but you did not comment on the matter as he placed a hand on your back to lead you inside after their dysfunctional departure.

“Drunken idiots,” he mumbled begrudgingly, and for the first time you'd seen the radio host truly bothered. He'd been so composed during your interview, inviting and flirtatious on and off the air, so getting a glimpse of his annoyed state felt like a treat.

At least you knew he had flaws, insignificant but telling ones.

“Um. Alastor, you can..” you paused, unsure if you wanted to let him know he was still holding onto your waist as he led you inside the dim speakeasy. Alastor hummed, irritation gone, and his coy smile widening as you shuffled alongside him. “Y-you can let me go now.”

“Oh, nonsense, my dear! I wouldn't want you to run into unsavory characters like the ones that just passed..”

He quickly navigated the lingering crowd, clearly familiar with the club's layout, and you marbled at its unique atmosphere as he led you through it. “I can handle myself, Alastor,” you tried again to reason, but Alastor was quick to give a response as he ushered you to sit at an unoccupied lounge chair complete with a table and lamp.

“I'm sure you can but I'm rather fond of keeping you close.” He sat next to you after setting his coat and hat aside.

What did he mean by that?..

“How selfish of you,” you feigned disappointment as he shifted to face you with a soft chuckle leaving his lips, “Would you be so kind as to forgive my greed for your attention?” Alastor stares you down, noting how you bite your lip, another nervous tick you'd yet to disregard in his presence. “I'll consider it if you buy me a drink or two..”

The suggestion was meant to sound confident, unmothered by the mounting pressure in your chest, but it came out breathless. You were sure that you'd mastered the art of indiffenece, permanently established a mask of charm, but as much as you wished to maintain the certainty…

Alastair disproved it with little more than a gesture or equally compelling word.

It was unsettling, intoxicating too, but undeniably riveting.

“A small price to pay,” he mumbled, eyes lowering to your lips as you laughed softly and leaned back to admire the other patrons roaming or dancing around. “I never said I was cheap..” you taste him, gaze drifting to him as he shifted closer. You wanted to jump out of your skin as his arm came to rest behind you, head lulling to ward your cheek as he breathed into your ear. The resulting warmth made you shiver, quickening your breaths, and your body tingled with intrigue.

“No…” Alastor affirmed your jest, free hand raising your chin, tilting your head to face him as he continued, “…but you are desperate to be loved. One might say that's just as inappropriate, mon Cher..”

His tone dripped with condensation, a sensual purr loud enough to drown out the jazz and chatter surrounding you, and for a moment, he was all you could comprehend.

You should've felt angry, unsettled even, but his words struck a more profound emotion.

Comfort.

You weren't crazy, a constant wonder for the masses to marvel at and never care about.

Alastor could see you.

He wanted to…

“And so what if I am? Why would it concern you?..” there was no harsh undertone to your question, and it earned a sultry hum of amusement from him. “You've interested me, so I must not ignore your charade. I'm partial to the truth of a person, and you, my dear, abandon it in the hopes of success..”

Spot on.

It is shamelessly hurtful but direct nonetheless.

You clicked your tongue dismissively, attempting to turn your head away from his grasp, but Alastor held you tighter.

A glare crossed your face at the brushing grip he established, but a pool of excitement rushed to your crotch as well.

“I'm not one of your scripts to read, Alastor..” you scoff, rolling your eyes to make your point clear, but he isn't affected by the arrogant gesture.

“My apologies if it seems that way, but my intention to know you, inside and out, is purely innocent...”

“I find that hard to believe…” you retort, very aware of the minimal space between you two, and it became harder to focus on anything else but his soft lips that were stretched thin into a smile.

God, I was doomed from the beginning… you think to yourself as you laugh at your shameless line of sight. “Believe what you wish, my friend, but I enjoy being the object of affection..”

“That's inappropriate to suggest,” you mutter, face burning with blush and your hands raising to grip his wrist and collar. Alastor hummed, amused by your denial, “Mm, I suppose it is…would you like another apology?”

You shake your head, tugging him in by the collar of his shirt, eyes lifting to his, full of determination, “A kiss will do just fine…”

He holds your gaze, checking for mockery, but there is none. “That's the first honest thing you've said all night, mon cher,” Alastor points out in a hushed tone, lowering his head to place a slow kiss on your lips as they pull into a satisfied smile.

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I rewatched Heartstopper for this. Was it helpful? Yes. Did it make me cry harder than the first time I watched it? Also, yes. Will I forever love that show?… (yes). Again, this is just part 1! The second half is being drafted. Please look forward to it. I'm not sure it'll include smut…but I'll debate on that later.

[ BONUS CONTENT + ]

He's so cheekyyyy but I love him for it hehe like he’s just the right amount of ‘cocky asshole’ ya know? ❤️ credit to creator!

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marchsfreakshow · 9 months ago

Text

Withdrawals And Heartache [Kai Anderson]

Angst / smut teasings

Your friend got you into a cult when you moved back into town for a bit. Not that you knew it was a cult. But, the leader...looks oddly familiar.

Request for anon who suggested a part 2 to 'A Drug For His Heart' !! Ur request honestly gave me so many ideas so thank u for that.

Some warnings: smut implications has non-con, reference to hitting, Kai himself. Mentions of religion/corruption. Ultraviolence references but the roles are reversed. We got everything here at MarchsFreakshow

No one's perspective

⊹˚.⋆ ₊꒷ᘏᘏ︶ଓ︶꒷꒦⊹˚ᗢ₊꒷︶ଓ︶꒷

"look just come to one. It'll be worth it."

"Hm.."

You looked at your friend with distain. Being back in this town, knowing the possibility that Kai still lived here tugged at you. Well...you hadn't seen him so far, what was the possibility of seeing him at this... meeting you were suggested? You figured 100% you wouldn't see him.

The man's voice was lower, his face darkened by the shadows. You almost clung to your friend when you walked into the room with them. This place looked familiar. But you didn't put it past you, plenty of houses in this town looked similar to one another. Maybe it was your ditzying memory. 2 years away and a job that paid you well. There was not much here for you apart from family.

"Finally."

His voice rung through your ears. Your friend sat you down with them at the back. Why that voice...like the one that whimpered your name so long ago? Despite those lingering thoughts, his face was still hidden by the shadows. Quick, lingering glances to you. Like he knew you. His eyes on you had you slightly squirming. Adjusting your legs casually, pulling your coat sleeves down. He took notice of it all.

"You. Stay sat." His finger pointed directly into your eyes. Silently eyeing your friend, begging them to stay. Yet, they left in the crowd. Eyes meeting eyes. His footsteps, calculated, short and sour.

Standing up, you left your chair, to stand in front him. The stringy, greasy blue hair, the boba black eyes, the nose. The hands.

Kai.

"Kai.."

He repeated your online name. It made you cringe slightly. "You looked familiar. Why are you back in town?"

"Family."

"Tell me something...your real name. The one people use to devote their time to you."

Slightly stuttering, you got out your real name.

This wasn't the incel, nervous, shaky loser you met on Reddit over 2 years ago. Kai stood taller. Still had terrible hygiene. Atleast one thing never changed. He was more confident in himself, proud and ready to kill. And..the blue hair. It almost confused you. Why blue? He looked perfectly fine the way he did with his natural hair.

"It suits you." A moment of almost awkward silence between the two of you. "Why did you move? Was it me?"

"It wasn't you." It was him. Another step towards you, and his hands confidently found the small of your back. Not reminiscent of his shaky, nervous hands on your waist and your back when he held you close, when he pulled you flush against his chest. Yet that heartbeat stayed the same. Picking up it's own pace once he had you in his arms once again. "Ha...Kai." You breathed out, sprawling your hands over his chest, almost an instinct to push him away.

No. He couldn't have you push him away. Not after what you put him through. "I missed you."

"...I didn't."

Those dark eyes, somehow darker when Kai stared his soul into your soul. Rage. Confusion. Why didn't you miss him? He poured his heart out to you when it was so long ago. Shouldn't you've taken it all to him when you noticed it was him? The dim light over you flickered like a horror movie, a horrible cliché. His fingers digging themselves into your coat fabric, holding himself back from doing something that could drive you away from him.

Kai missed you. He had back in his arms. After so long. He held himself back. His true love. His love for you wasn't enough. Was it? It never was enough. Why was loving you hard? It was so easy...when you were the same person. "I'm different now Kai." Like you knew what he was thinking. "I'm healthier...not wasting away in front of a-"

His hand struck you. A quick, hard slap over your cheek. The reddening skin covered just as speedily with your own hand. "Kai-!"

"Do you really think you're that much different from when you were depending on me?"

"..what the fuck Kai?!"

Meeting your gaze, levelling himself. This definitely wasn't Kai. Whoever it was, you wanted out. Now. "..Still a pretty one. I suppose you're one with a rosary on your bedstand. Hoping for a better world."

No retort after a few minutes. Steeling silence with a unclear gaze, your hand still soothing the sting of your cheek. It almost earned a huff of a chuckle from the blue haired man. Why blue? "Believe yourself to be a lamb? Innocently following the word of god?" Well...you wouldn't go so far as to call yourself a lamb of god. But maybe you read a few verses on Sunday. Visited the church and made a donation when you felt you needed some time away from your own head. Not a full puppet to the landscape of religion. Silent still. Not giving up yet? Kai had seen that. Seen how you were digging your stare into those eyes of his.

"Your god has only let you down." Taking a step around you. Breathing out a sigh, putting his hands on yours and wrapping them around you. Pressing his cheek to the side of your head. Like he was taking you in. "If god...truly loved you..why has you lead you here?"

Your lips were sealed. No response. There was no way you were giving into his stupid tauntings. He was doing this on purpose. Riling you up. You ached to lay your hands back on him. Yet, not wanting to give the desperate man an inch of your time. Such a different man to the one you knew, but still the same. Needing your attention, and your touch at all times like the loser in his mom's basement.

Now that was mentioned...you were here. In the basement. This..was infact Kai's house. How could you be so stupid? Of course this was Kai's place!! You knew the hallways looked familiar. The whole house. "fuck."

"There we go... can't keep yourself quiet for long. Even when I begged you to stay quiet." He lead you over to a table. Even if that did include a bit of thrashing and refusals. Attempting to get yourself away. Such a pitiful thing. So pitiful. The stinging of your cheek had lessened by this point, but it was still there. Never backing yourself down however. You'd gotten this far. Such a pretty thing. "I've missed you..Even if you haven't missed me."

Not particularly wanting to give into your fate, you continued to struggle. Attempts to get away from him; cut your trip short and go back home.

As much as you would never admit it, Kai did appear in your mind once or twice after you moved away. How could he not? For one, he took your virginity. You took his. That was something important to you, and you yanked it away from eachother.

Like how he yanked your jeans away from you. The cold air hit your thighs before you could respond. Both of you stayed silent. His belt hit the ground. You still felt the same. Gripping onto you. Playing with your skin as he got used to how you felt around him again. Whimpering your name again. But your actual name this time. Not your online name.

Somehow become his again, even though you'd leave again in a week or so.

"fuck..mine.."

⊹˚.⋆ ₊꒷ᘏᘏ︶ଓ︶꒷꒦⊹˚ᗢ₊꒷︶ଓ︶꒷

Tags: @babygorewhore / @taintandviolent / @oceanblvd111 / @nahoyasboyfriend / @coentinim / @slutforgarlogan / @briaroftheroses @am3ricanh0rrorwh0re /. @evanpeterspeter / @feefymo / @fear-is-truth / @lacucarachapisser / @marchsfreak / @saintlucretia / @jazz-berry / @t8-ak47 / @lemoniiiiiii / @xrag-dollx

#kai anderson #kai anderson x reader #kai anderson x y/n #kai anderson x you #x reader #kai anderson imagine #ahs #american horror story #ahs cult #american horror story cult #ahs imagine #ahs fic #angst #ahs fandom #evan peters #evan peters x reader

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dakogutin · 1 year ago

Note

hiiii i just binge read all your fics and obsessed is an understatement!!!

idk if u take requests but i had an idea and it’s driving me crazy i just had to put it somewhere.

okay so i thought of it while reading the fic in which remus and sirius hear each other in bed at night.

well…. james and lily share quarters when tnehre head boy and girl, i know they don’t share a room exactly, but i was thinking: with all their tension building up throughout the years, especially that year, one of them hearing the other even if it was so so quiet would drive them crazy and i’d love to see your interpretation of how it goes.

i really hope you consider writing this but if you don’t thank you so much for all you’ve given the fandom!

ive never been thanked for giving to a fandom🥹🥹thankyousosomuch!

havent written exclusively jily smut yet but this one's for you anon<3

[cw for cute plot but with very filthy m/f smut below cut]

=-=-=-=-=-=

Head Boy and Head Girl. That was definitely one way to have her final year at Hogwarts, Lily thinks to herself. For one, she was forced to work with James Potter often. But the surprises didn't end there as she's progressively making sense of why James Potter became Head Boy.

In the first month she could still deny it, but with their rounds scheduled together, the endless meetings, and their regular check-in with Professor McGonagall, she can't avoid it anymore. James Potter was surprisingly and unfortunately... she shudders... responsible.

She tries-- very hard-- not to let anything show, especially knowing James Potter will run with any reaction he'll get from her. But the realisation hits her harder than a Hex sometimes. And it had been too much lately.

Like that time when they were deciding on which Prefect to assign on the fifth floor corridor. It's where their DADA professor had hidden a "secret special dark creature", and no one was permitted to use that floor for their own safety. The task of keeping that corridor empty fell on the Prefects. Lily had names ready, which included Lupin. She watched James' reaction and sure enough, he protested. He and his gang were always weirdly protective of that quiet Lupin.

"Davies can take Lupin's place."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "No one gets special treatment, Potter. I wouldn't have you use Lupin for whatever kind of mischief you otherwise reserved him for."

Potter held out his palms in the air and let out a small chuckle. "None planned, I'm afraid. Just that Davies is rather, how shall I call it..." He shrugs. "A bit of a pompous sod."

"And you'd rather have a pompous sod keep check of whatever dark creature is in there?"

"If the choice is either that or Peeves, Evans? Yep."

"What does Peeves have anything to do with this?"

As though he was waiting for that exact question, Potter leaned his head on the pillar as an arrogant grin on his face matched his tone. "Lupin is one of the few people who can go toe to toe with Peeves. There's Sirius, but he's out of the question. Not a Prefect and all that. Of course, I'm another option but I'll clearly be occupied, won't I?"

No words come to Lily. He was right. To think she was too caught up with the smaller picture of using Lupin to spite Potter.

"And," James adds, "Davies loves his authority. If anything, students passing by that floor wouldn't think twice in following what he says. While Lupin can help the first years get to their common rooms without being tormented by our resident poltergeist."

It's this point that Lily failed to contain the awe from her face.

"I know. I'm rather brilliant." James waggled his eyebrows.

She simply rolled her eyes in response then.

At present, she couldn't help but have all those other similar instances where James Potter surprised her of his maturity and dedication to his role fill her mind as she went searching for him. He just had to have Quidditch practice at the same time with their meeting, so now the task of passing him the minutes of meeting fell to her as Head Girl.

She could wait until tomorrow of course, but the thought of an unfinished business with James Potter didn't exactly sound appealing. She'd much rather be done with it as soon as possible.

The pitch was empty when she reached it. Practice must've been over. For a moment she dreaded the more complicated prospect of searching for James in the entire castle, but that was when she spotted Sirius Black.

"Where's your other half?" she demanded.

"Evans," he noted. "Good morning to you too." Then he proceeded his steps.

"Black, wait." Lily held out the paper. "Why don't you give him this."

He stared at it for a second, then glanced up to her. "I'm allergic to official documents. Sorry."

"Don't be an arse. I'm just asking you to pass it to him since you're attached at the hip anyways. And it would spare me the trouble of having to look for him."

"Do it yourself." Black grinned. "He's in the changing rooms, doodling the team's strategy like a proper swot."

Lily sighed. "Why can't you do it? Please," she added, begrudgingly.

Black shrugged, already walking off. "I'm not the Head Girl."

He was gone before she could even form a retort.

After dragging her feet to the changing rooms she found it as empty as the Quidditch pitch. Lily debated simply sending her owl, but in the end she decided against it since the Owlery is in yet another tower. She cursed Sirius Black in her head, dismissing this as some stupid prank. Honestly, why hadn't she expected that?

She then heard a distant noise. Someone was inside. Lily proceeded further and was about to call out Potter's name when she recognised the sound of water spraying down on tiled floors.

If this person really was Potter, he was in the middle of a shower.

Lily clamped her mouth shut and cursed Sirius Black again, retracting her steps as silently as possible.

As she turned for the exit she heard a noise from the shower. She thought it had been a hum-- that maybe James Potter was one of those people who sang while showering...

Except it was too faint and too guttural to be a hum.

When Lily heard the noise again, she was more than certain he wasn't singing. The noise shot right through her, leaving a shudder. She needed to leave. Now.

But as another soft moan echoed in the small room, Lily could distinctly tell it was indeed James Potter's raspy voice. And that just made everything worse.

Her face heated as it became harder to breathe. Suddenly all she could picture was James Potter-- just a few steps away-- completely naked, sopping wet... and touching himself. Her treacherous mind reminded her how he's always been showing off about his form and how he worked hard during the summer, plus with playing Quidditch all these years. The thought of that form he worked so hard on right now?

Lily swallowed, and that's when she realised her mouth was watering. She was mortified as much as she found herself frozen. Another moan slipped out from behind her, deeper and gruffer. And just like that her mouth wasn't the only thing that's wet.

She needed to go. She needed to go. She needed to go. "Fuck!" she hissed a whisper. This was wrong on so many levels.

One foot was out of the room when-- she dropped her wand.

Horrified, she didn't waste time picking it up and bolting out. She could only hope James Potter was... too busy... to have heard that.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Lily stayed at a deserted hallway overlooking the Great Lake for Merlin knows how long just collecting herself, questioning her life choices, and wondering if she should Obliviate herself. The thing is, distraction was just about impossible. She'd find herself circling back to all those sinful thoughts, and those sounds.

A voice broke through her spiral. She jumped at the unexpectedness but failed to make out the words. Turning to face the person, her knees almost gave out to the sight of none other than James Potter. He was still wearing his Quidditch uniform, which only sculpted his indeed very fit form. Why? Wasn't his practice over? Hadn't he already showered? Why did he have to wear that now?

She stared at him for a while and she saw how he was still expecting a response. "What did you say?" she asked dumbly.

Hands shoved in his pockets and grinning slightly, he stepped closer. "I said, are you all right?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" "Lily felt her breathing become unsteady once more and internally cursed herself. "And... why would you just come out of nowhere to ask me that? How did you even find me? What do you want?"

"Right," Potter chuckled. "You seem tense."

Lily took a deep breath. "I'm just tired. Look, I only meant to give you this." And finally, she was relieved from her task.

"Thanks, Evans." He said without sparing more than a second's glance at the paper.

"Sure." She then fixed her bag over her shoulder and walked past James Potter.

"Wa- where're you going?" He called behind her.

"Erm..." She hated that she didn't have an immediate reply. Anywhere was honestly better, with all those feelings she'd just shoved down already coming back to the surface as Potter looked at her with those round searching eyes. "My room."

"It's 4 in the afternoon on a Saturday."

"Your point being?"

Potter shut his mouth, whatever he wanted to say was left in his thoughts. "Nevermind."

"Okay... well, I'll see you around." Lily turned away once more.

"Actually, I wanted to ask you something."

"The answer is still no, Potter."

He laughed. "Not that." He stepped closer again, taking away the distance Lily just made.

"What is it..." She could smell his aftershave this close.

His glasses were skewed as his eyes scanned her. For the first time Lily felt an impulse to fix it on his nose. "Have you been looking for me?" he asked.

Lily had no idea how to deal with a James Potter like this. He was speaking in a softer voice and he was giving her a gentler gaze. It was far from his usual loud and uncaring tone along with his brazen grin. "I was," she replied. "Just to give you that."

"Right. And you were at the Quidditch pitch?"

She didn't like where this was headed. "Yeah. You had practice, of course that's where I'd look." At that, he simply nodded. "Why do you need to know?" she challenged.

James Potter's grin was back. "Guess I'm just curious."

Don't answer. Don't answer. Don't answer. "About what?"

He shrugged. "How long you can avoid what you know I'm talking about."

Lily decided to play his game. "What are you talking about?"

"Sirius told me he saw you," he said, stepping closer.

Lily held his gaze. "Oh? What else did he say?"

"That he told you where I was."

Nope. She couldn't do it. "Have you no shame?" Lily turned away, her cheeks heating up. "Whatever, okay. I didn't see anything."

Potter broke into a laugh. Of course he had no shame. "I didn't mean to make you... tense."

Still refusing to meet his face, Lily replied, "I'm perfectly fine."

"Evans," he called soflty, "I can tell your face is red."

"Maybe because this topic is largely inappropriate!"

"Alright, sorry," he said with another wave of chuckles. "I'm letting you go now."

Lily sighed in relief. "Thank you." She made one move to head off when Potter spoke once more.

"Just thought I'd let you know, I'd recognise your perfume anywhere."

There was just no way she was getting out of this unscathed. It became clear she should just stop resisting. Lily turned. "So, you knew I walked in."

Surprise was evident on Potter's face. Perhaps he expected Lily to walk away. "Not at first," he admitted.

"But you continued anyway." Lily took slow but consistent steps like a prowling cat, stopping right in front of Potter. He followed her every move with his gaze alone, half-lidded eyes trailed down to hers. "Would you do that if anyone else had walked in?" she added in a murmur.

Potter tilted his head. He had a dazed look, and his lips were parted. "You know I wouldn't."

Already this close, it didn't take much for their lips to meet in a kiss.

A shudder spread through Lily's skin in hearing a pleased but muffled sound from Potter. The thought of drawing more of those sounds from him filled her with dark anticipation. Big warm hands caressed her softly as she tugged on his hair. Too lost with the slick heat of James Potter's mouth, she gasped at the sudden solid brick of the wall against her back. James was crowding her there-- in the middle of the hallway where anyone could pass by and see.

"James..." she mumbled against his lips.

He responded with a groan, strong arms squeezing her. It was remarkably secure in his hold, and she could definitely feel his form. She took a self-indulgent moment to let her hands explore, never leaving his lips. From his sturdy chest to the narrowing of his waist. Merlin, she could do this for hours.

"Mmph..." James let out a deeper moan, and she felt it on her neck. "Lily..." His voice this close to her ear was nothing compared to hearing it in the shower. And for him to moan her name...

Lily's knees threatened to give out, and the certainty of being held firm by James almost convinced her. Instead, the palm on his chest pushed him until their lips were apart. "Not here," she whispered.

James stared at her for a while, still caught in a daze. She watched as her words settled in his mind, dilated pupils scanning her until they widened in realisation. Then, a smirk stretched his swollen lips. He looks as though the disbelief hasn't left him. That this really is happening. In all fairness, Lily couldn't believe it too.

"Wipe that stupid expression away and find us somewhere private, will you," she said with a chuckle.

His smirk stretched into a grin. "Yes, ma'am." He stole one last kiss before stepping back, pulling her with their linked hands.

James led them to an empty classroom. With a wave of his wand the lock clicked, and he was instantly back on her like a starved man, guiding her to the nearest desk. Lily welcomed every kiss before pulling his tight uniform over his head. "You found this room really quickly, huh." She couldn't help but notice.

"Hmm?" His shirt was now off, his hair was messier, and his glasses sat crookedly on his nose.

Finally, Lily fixed his glasses. "I just said, you seem to always know which places to look. You found me easily too, just earlier. I had to look for you for hours!"

Two blinks until he managed a response. "Oh." He shrugged. "Just... great sense of direction. May I?" he asked, glancing to the buttons of her shirt.

Lily gave him a look. "Since when were you a gentleman?" she said, then proceeded to unbutton herself. Much to her satisfaction, his eyes never left her hands.

"Since," he swallowed thickly, "since you bothered to find out."

"That doesn't make sense." Lily let her shirt fall from her shoulders and perched on the desk.

James' breaths were heavier. "No, it doesn't." His eyes stayed stuck on her breasts. He would lift his gaze to her eyes but they'd constantly fall back down. It was adorable.

With a fond smile straining her cheeks, Lily reached for James' hand and placed it on her left tit. "You can touch me, you know." She then pulled him closer, parting her legs to make space. "I want you to touch me."

A surprised laugh left James' throat. He bit his bottom lip, if only to contain his wide grin. "Fuck, Lily..." James surged forward into a desperate kiss, pressing down until Lily was lying back. Her skirt hitched up until it was now loosely around her waist. She could feel everything in this position, the most prominent being the erection against her own wetness, and the thrilling fact of being separated only by a few layers of clothing.

She bucked her hips impatiently, grinding against James. The groan she elicited from him went directly into her mouth. It's then she zeroed in on one goal. She needed to hear more.

While James' hands were otherwise engrossed with feeling up Lily's tits, she trailed hers downward, reaching for a buckle. James noticed with a gasp and pulled off to shoot her a look of pure want. Hooded eyes, heaving chest, and swollen lips curled into a grin. He was the image of a wet dream.

James watched as her deft fingers unbuttoned him, tugged his pants to pull out his hard cock. It fell right between her legs, sitting on top of the wet patch of her panties. Then, she stroked.

She was rewarded with a shaky moan from the man on top, his head dropped to rest on her neck as she found a rhythm. Right next to her ear, she could hear the shaky sighs and the small whimpers whenever she twisted her wrist just so. Then, an idea popped in her head.

"This was what you were doing in the shower?" she cooed.

"Oh, fuck..." he drawled before dissolving into a short laugh. He rocked his hips, aiding Lily's fist. It caused his cock to graze against her clit. She jolted in surprise just as a moan escaped her lips. "No," James continued, now gazing down at her. "This is infinitely better."

"James..." she whined, pleading. She didn't know what exactly, just that she wanted him to do something.

It's as though she flipped a switch in James' brain. He pulled up from lying on top of her, closed one hand around his cock and used his other to dip inside Lily's underwear, finally sliding his finger through her slick folds. Lily sobbed out a moan, her head falling back.

The finger stopped teasing and finally rubbed her clit. With Lily's mouth hanging open, she reconnected their lips until they swallowed each other's moans. Her hand that was still around his cock started jerking him off in time with his fingers. It prompted James to slip them inside her waiting hole and her other arm instantly flew around his shoulders, gripping tightly to ground herself from the whirlwind of pleasure.

They stayed in that perfect dance for a while as James' fingers tested different angles and eliciting different responses from Lily. When he found that delicious spot inside her, and she cried out from beneath him, he pulled out. Then, he got off her completely.

Before Lily could even form her protest, getting on her elbows to find exactly where he is, she was met with the sight of James getting on his knees between her legs. He delicately slid her knickers to one side-- then licked a stripe up her wet cunt.

Her head fell back down as she moaned hoarsely, a distant thought crossed her mind that hoped no one passed by this classroom, but it was quickly replaced by that same wave of arousal when she felt two fingers slip inside her again.

Just as she'd thought it couldn't get any better, James would moan-- and the vibrations went directly where his mouth kissed and sucked. It was too much.

"James!" She panted. "James, fuck, I'm... I think I'm go--" But James wasn't interested in helping her finish her sentence, speeding up his fingers, sucking harder, and moaning louder. She didn't stand a chance. Lily came in waves and waves, writhing in place as she was powerless to James' firm grip.

When the high subsided and she felt one with her body again, she didn't waste time pulling James up to his feet and smashing their lips to a heated kiss. Her hands crawled to his neglected cock, hot and leaking, and stroked him with all the intent to see him fall apart. His jaw fell slack and all he could do was turn into a mess of whimpers and groans.

A twitch in her hand told her he was close, and then he was coming a rope of hot white on her. It seemed forever that he recovered from his peak. "Fucking hell," he said after taking his first breath. "I don't think I came this hard in my life." He shook with laughter. The sight prompted a surge of emotion in Lily's chest that she couldn't help but drag him back into a long kiss.

The only coherent thought in her head was this couldn't be the last time this happened. "Ask me again, Potter," she said breathlessly, fixing his glasses back to the bridge of his nose.

It took him a long while to figure out what she wanted him to say, until finally, he grinned. "Lily Evans, will you go on a date with me to Hogsmeade?"

She mirrored his grin. "I'd go on a date with you wherever, James Potter."

The elation on his face could light up the entire castle on Christmas day. He let out one huff of laughter before collapsing on top of her and drowning her in kisses.

#letsgoo my first cishet smut #this is me breaking free from the chains of writers block #jily #jily smut #james potter #lily evans #lily evans potter #my fic

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ranchstoryblog · 1 year ago

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Ranch Story Community Q&A Volume 3: Igusa Matsuyama Returns!

Igusa Matsuyama, the legendary artist behind the Story of Seasons series since the original 1996 game has once again agreed to a Q&A featuring questions from fans from around the world! A big thank you to all the members of the community who helped make this possible.

Some aspects of the text have been altered to match localization people are familiar with. (Japanese names to English names, for example: Bokujou Monogatari (牧場物語) was formerly localized as Harvest Moon and is now localized as Story of Seasons, etc). Images were not part of the original text and have been added as a visual aid. Though we translated as many questions as we could, we did not include questions involving personal information or regarding unannounced releases. Please understand.

If you would like to read our original correspondence (in Japanese), that will be provided in a separate post.

Additional cosplay photo provided by Foxface from our community Discord.

Translations: @artycharmy (correspondence, outline) Editing and Clean-up: Jerome, @artycharmy, and @regularcelery

——— Anonymous asks: What is the relationship between Jamie and the Harvest Goddess?

Igusa Matsuyama: Jamie was treated as a fairy or spirit. I'm sorry, but I'm not sure if there's any points that link them and the Goddess.

Editor's note: the term Matsuyama uses is "妖精."

Tomato asks: I would like to ask about what their inspiration was for the outfits designs in the original release of harvest moon another wonderful life. Since I got reminded of the girl clothing brand Mezzo Piano when looking at the I love Kuma/I love bears outfit.

Igusa Matsuyama: I remember the only thing I thought of was using Spring-like colours! (All designs were made with seasonal colours In mind) When I knew that Daachan, who was planned to be used in a lot of events, wouldn't actually play a big role in the game, I put him on the T-Shirt so he could at least get some attention as a mascot-like existence.

Pansy asks: If you were able to create your own game for the Story of Seasons franchise, with no rules or limitations whatsoever, what do you think it might look like?

Igusa Mastuyama: Since I love dogs, I'd like to try making a Story of Seasons that's set in a world just full of dogs. Though that dream of mine probably won't come true.

Anonymous asks: The look of Story of Seasons has changed a lot over the years! What would you say is more challenging to create - simple designs, where you have to work with very little space, or complicated designs, where you have to consider many little details?

Igusa Matsuyama: A long time ago there were a lot of things you weren't able to replicate in video games. There were constraints for things like the number of colours and patterns for hair styles and clothes. It was difficult to work around those constraints, but at the same time a lot of fun. Nowadays, it's the complete opposite. Now we can design anything with hardly any constraints. And unlike a long time ago, now I'm asked to make more complicated designs, like patterns and decorations. However, if it's a big request, sometimes I run into quite a lot of trouble when designing. They each have had their own difficulties.

Anonymous asks: Hello, Matsuyama! Thank you for bringing the worlds of Bokujou Monogatari to life for many years. Your art has had a huge influence on me!

One of my favorite candidates is “Rock” from “A Wonderful Life.” I’d love to know any particular influences for his character design from 21 years ago, and his new design for the remake.

Igusa Matsuyama: I was told that he was a young, wannabe playboy, so I somehow ended up with that sort of design. For the remake, I made his clothes a little looser without changing his design, so he'd look even more playful. I, too, wanted to avoid changing him as much as I could as there are other people among the staff that also like the original for his “Rockness”. So, he got that makeover after everybody shared and checked their opinions with each other.

Jerome asks: On page 130 of the "Special Comic" manga there's artwork of Super Famicom characters that have never been printed anywhere else. Do you or Marvelous still have these? It would be great to see them in more detail in the future some time.

Igusa Matsuyama: They're all characters that appeared in the SNES version of "Harvest Moon." Nina's parents, Ellen's mother, Ann's father, Maria's parents (The mayor couple). I'm sorry. My SNES illustrations have gone missing...

Raven Bloom, Ryan, and Moth ask: How did you feel when your designs for the men in A Wonderful Life were repurposed to be bachelors? What do you think of the changes made to the bachelors in the remake of A Wonderful Life? I miss the “Bruce Campbell” look Matthew used to have.

Igusa Matsuyama: Matthew (マシュー) is Masshu (マッシュ) in the Japanese A Wonderful Life (Editors note: Charmy made a careless mistake when translating the questions, sorry Matsuyama san 🫣) When I first heard this name, the first thing that came to mind was Evil Dead's protagonist, Ash. You're right. I designed him after Bruce Campbell. I still love Bruce Campbell today. When Wonderful Life was under production, I had heard they weren't going to make a girl version, so I designed him not as a love interest, but as a quirky character. Knowing that he'd appear in the remake as a marriage candidate, I redesigned him as a character that would be liked by many. I hope you can enjoy the game for its nostalgia, as well as for being a shiny, brand new release.

Salmon Axe and Anonymous ask: I personally adore Doraemon x SOS game. Are you interested in working directly with or collaborating with other franchises in the future? And is there a series outside Story of Seasons you would like to work with now as a guest artist? (Could it be Pokemon?)

Igusa Matsuyama: I've loved Doraemon manga since I was a kid! Working as a guest artist? Hmm, I'm happier being the main illustrator, so nothing in particular comes to mind. I enjoy a lot of games in my free time, such as Fallout, Far Cry and Border Lands.

Anonymous asks: Even though we never see his face, was there ever a concept of how Woofio would look without his costume?

Igusa Matsuyama: I designed Woofio as the being that is Woofio, so there's no design of him without his costume.

Idris asks: Your style has upgraded a lot over the time to match the trends. Do you think you will ever go for an old school look (early HM) for a SoS game again? What do you think is the secret to your art’s charm?

Igusa Matsuyama: What I'm particular about when designing for Story of Seasons is making characters with head/body proportions and an atmosphere that go well with that release. First, I listen to the client's request then think of a design according to that. These days, game visuals have gotten fancier and fancier, so there's not many opportunities for characters with short proportions to make an appearance. To me, what's important when designing is "playfulness." More so than "pretty" or "cool" and such, I get attached to the character, have fun making the character. I find joy in character creation itself.

MacGyver asks: Yasuhiro Wada has shared some interesting stories about how chaotic the original game's development was. Is there anything interesting you remember from around that time?

Igusa Matsuyama: Now it's a memory I can look back on and laugh about, but I'm not sure how much I can talk about it so please forgive me. If Wada hadn't been there back then, then "Harvest Moon" wouldn't have become a thing.

Toyberb and Anonymous ask: There’s a lot of different cow designs now, which is your favorite to draw?

Igusa Matsuyama: I've loved drawing animals since I was a kid, so I love all of the cows. Although the easiest one to draw is the cow with the big nose.

Anonymous asks: Were there any games where you made designs for protagonists of genders that did not end up available to play as? (Like a girl protagonist for Save the Homeland/Hero of Leaf Valley or a nonbinary protagonist for any game before A Wonderful Life)

Igusa Matsuyama: There's so many designs that got scrapped, but as far as I recall, there's not really many where that character's setting itself was scrapped. (Excluding Thumbelina, mentioned below)

Koharu asks: Were there ever any character designs made for other older SNES characters like Ellen for 64? Some magazines had Marie with blue hair, like the SNES character, so it made me wonder if she (SNES Maria) was meant to also be there at some point.

Igusa Matsuyama: I'm not in the position to make settings or scenarios where characters from other games appear, so I can't say, but I like the idea of older characters making an appearance!

Amina/k0iisu asks: Hello! I really love Hiro’s design specifically. Could you tell me a few facts about him/his design that might not be well known information? Thank you so much! I love your art :D

Igusa Matsuyama: Thank you very much! Hiro is a future doctor, so I tried to make them look as much like a doctor as I could. Also, to make him look friendlier, I designed him as your average everyday boy you'd see in the neighbourhood. He doesn't have a flashy face or hairstyle, but he's one of my favourite designs, too. I wrote this in the guidebook too, but what I like about him is the Asian flair I added to his clothes and the spot of colour around his feet.

Bunbun asks: I'm excited for the Nendoroid that was announced of Claire! I hope there will be ones of HM64 designs too. Since you have a lot of figures on your blog, how does it feel to be able to add one of your own characters to your collection? Are there any of your other characters you hope will get figures of?

Igusa Matsuyama: A nendoroid of Claire! I'm looking forward to it too, but when is it going to be released? If it's possible, I'd like one of Woofio.

Editor's note: Preorders are open for Nendoroid Claire now!

Chickee asks: A purple-haired princess character was rumored to have existed in Harvest Moon 64, but she didn't make it to the published game. Did you create a design for this character?

Igusa Matsuyama: That's probably Princess Thumbelina. Wasn't she Incredibly small? What I designed didn't end up being used. Speaking of HM64 characters, I pushed for them to include a pet turtle, but in the end it only appeared as an ornament. For A Wonderful Life, I asked for a turtle to be included again and designed a tortoise with a scarf, but it didn't make it as a pet and appeared only as a wild turtle that walks around the pond. I'm waiting for the day they finally include a pet turtle in the game.

emery flower147 asks: omg I saw the pics where the AWL girls are in a team and Muffy has a shotgun and stuff? Do you think any other characters would work in a cool team like that?

Igusa Matsuyama: For the Friends of Mineral Town guide book, I had the five girls, Popuri, Marie, Ran, Elly and Karen work hard as Harvest Sprites. Also, for the guide books, I drew Pete (The old male protagonist), Sarah (The GB version female protagonist), and Claire doing whatever I wanted them to. I don't know if you can call it cool or not, but it was fun being in charge of that.

Ixur asks: A lot of the PoOT character designs for the regular villagers seem more popular than the marriage candidates in my region. Is that something that's been noticed by you/Marvelous in Japan? Lars, Clemens, Beth, and Misaki for example.

Igusa Matsuyama: Marvelous doesn't really talk about that sort of thing so I'm not sure if they're aware of it or not. I don't do social media so I'm also not sure which characters are popular. I'm happy as long as the characters are liked. The design on Lars’s shirt is modeled after my beloved dog, so I’d be especially happy if you like his shirt too.

Anonymous asks: What do you think about people cosplaying your designs?

Igusa Matsuyama: It makes me very happy! I'm no good at sewing, so I really admire people who can make their own clothes. It's an honour having the designs I made be made into real clothes, and I think it's great to have fun acting out the characters.

Afro Fae asks: When creating designs for characters, how do you settle on a specific color palette? Do you take color meanings into account with a character's personality or do you go purely off of feeling?

Igusa Matsuyama: I keep in mind the overall colours the client asked for while designing. Sometimes I propose a new colour when I think there's one that fits better. I'm also careful when choosing colours and everyone's traits to make sure it's easy to tell which character is which when seen from a distance. However, in the cases of families and such, I do the opposite and give them all a common colour to give them a sense of kinship.

———

From all of us at Ranch Story, we'd like to thank Matsuyama from the bottom of our hearts for answering our questions again! Whether a fan has only just discovered the series or has grown up alongside it, so many people have loved these characters and worlds that Igusa Matsuyama brings to life, so it feels truly special to be able to have this opportunity. We'll end this article with Matsuyama's own words, as well as a parting gift.

Igusa Matsuyama: I'm so glad I could answer your questions again. I'm the one that should be saying thank you. It means the world to me knowing that everyone enjoys my illustrations! I added an illustration as thanks. I'll keep up the hard work!

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lovelybotblog · 11 months ago

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─ iv. sympathy is a knife

summary: For some reason the universe always puts you in an unfavorable situation, a super secret mission with the person you don't want to encounter, you wouldn't achieve, not even if you tried. pairing: Satoru Gojo x female reader content: this bitches are messy asf, you guys are classmates but you don't fw his personality, I would say most of this is angst and also backstory from the reader song of the chapter: sympathy is a knife by charli xcx word count: 6.2k

“y/n, come here,” Sensei Yaga called you behind your back.

You pulled your head out of the classroom you were peaking for any sign of an acquaintance. You went for a nap after your morning class but since then neither Shoko nor Suguru had made an appearance, oddly to the usual, because they always managed to sneak on your bedroom and accompany you in the bed or sitting in your desk and finishing their homework, sharing the warmth of the sunset rays invading your room by the window.

“Follow me.” Your superior orders as you close the door in front of you, you raise an eyebrow when you catch a glimpse of mysteriousness in his movements, but never questioning it. You did the requested, walking behind the big figure of his.

You were getting used to sudden motivational talks and secret training sessions. You have met him before entering Jujutsu High, the first time you remember meeting him was at your parents funeral, ten years ago when Sensei Yaga had just gotten his teaching license. Nowadays, you weren’t really saddened by the absence of your parents, you no longer remembered them as much, they were like fleeting memories. You were too young, and you didn’t remember most of your early years, but the way you saw how your life was getting discussed in the living room of your house by your family and some said friends of your parents was important enough to remember.

"She's too young for us to take her, you know that," you remember hearing Yaga say to your mother's sister.

"Well, she is one of your kind, isn't she?" The woman replied, arms crossed, tears pooling in her eyes. You were never appreciated in that family of non-sorcerers, to them you were the spitting image of your father, the man who led your mother astray. "It will be easier for you to control her than we ever will be, that girl is a bad omen."

You still remembered the repudiation that their eyes expressed, the rejection that they always had towards you, a girl who hugged the empty coffin of her parents because the thing that killed them didn’t even leave a trace of their existence.

Your mother came from a middle-class, non-sorcerer family in the suburbs of Tokyo. It was a surprise to them to learn that their youngest daughter had "diabolical" abilities, though they let it pass because she was a good girl and still had time to be rescued, but that hope was dashed when she met your father and announced her marriage. Your father was a deserted member of the Zen'in clan, a promising sorcerer but considered "weak" by the family when he refused to fulfill the role assigned to him.

Sensei Yaga was their younger classmate, one of his closest friends. He never had the opportunity to meet the daughter of his idols due to a busy schedule, until the assigned mission was to analyze the case of their death.

"It will only be a few years, the father's family is not an option." Sensei Yaga implored, knowing what you would be subjected to if you fell into the hands of the Zen'in. If he had the chance he would have taken you under his protection, but the director had been cautious enough and forbade it. With a pension of high digits he managed to get your mother's sister to agree, but that didn’t prevent the Zen'in from finding your existence and with a larger check you being acquired.

He had never confirmed it to you, but you know that deep down he cares about you. Ever since the checkups he took the time to do on you when you were under the control of the Zen'in clan, where you were neglected by the Old Man, how you always called the person who was assigned to take care of you and train you, but he did nothing but scold you and punish you if you didn't do outstanding right away.

"Are you going to tell me what's all the fuss about or...?" You inquired, hands posing on the side of your hips in annoyance, one of your feet tapping the floor as you saw your professor close the door of his office then moving to the chair of his desk.

He sighed, you always try to show everyone off with a defensive and calculating position, but that didn't work with him, he had met your scared and childish side. "I have a top secret mission for you." A smirk fighted to escape when he saw your eyebrows extend in curiosity and your eyes shine with hunger, waiting for more information. “This is the direction.” He handed you a paper with his writing on it.

"And what do I have to do?" You asked again, unsure of what to think. Usually they gave you papers with all the information about the case, maybe this was different because it was secret.

The illusion of having your first top secret mission collapsed when your superior spoke again.

"I entrusted this mission to Satoru Gojo in the morning, as I suppose you have noticed his absence in today's class," Yaga respond, of course you noticed, it didn't need a genius to see the lack of irritating noise and the eyes of a creep on your back missing. "He was supposed to just pick up a package and return, tha assistant assigned to accompany him lost him, you have to find him-"

His words were cut off by the paper he gave you, being irreverent thrown at his desk. "Sir, with all due respect, why don't you find another person to babysit that boy?"

Yaga fought the urge to rant about your generation of brats and troublemakers, always harassing his peace, but he just breathed out, "Because you are the best of your class, and the person I trust to bring back the package and Gojo Satoru."

"Then why did you send an incompetent like him before me?" You huffed, jutting your hip, leaning forward in an accusative way, he was so lying to your face.

“Ehh? I'm your authority, you shouldn't be questioning me, young lady." The professor pointed out, handing you the paper again. He hoped that would be enough for you to take the case with no-whining about it. You took the paper from his hand, dissatisfied with the situation he was putting you on.

"Is that all?"

He nodded, dismissing you with a wave of his hand, trying not to chuckle as he watched you give him your back grumbling. He knew he might provoke some riot, forcing you to interact with Gojo. Actually, he didn't even need to give his students the mission. It was just a request the principal had made him, an easy to-do, but Yaga was too fatigued and Gojo was getting on his nerves earlier in the day, so yeah, the first thing that came on his mind was sending him away to a ‘mission he was the only one capable to do’.

You smacked your tongue against your teeth as you got out of the car that took you to the shopping district in downtown Tokyo, passing by Gojo's assistant. You couldn't blame him, your partner was a nightmare to deal with, but because of his carelessness you now found yourself searching for the strongest sorcerer on a street filled with crowds of people.

“Which way did he go?” You asked the assistant without stopping your walk, analyzing the street and the stores in the place. It was obvious that he got distracted from the purpose of his visit, you knew that if he had been attacked he would have easily gotten out of it, so that was not an option.

“Over there," the man replied, an unsettling anxious tone in his voice. He screwed up leaving Gojo alone, and now another sorcerer was sent to finish the job. "But that was hours ago. When I went to look for him, I couldn't find him. I don't know where he could be now. I'm really sorry."

“No worries, and thank you.” You reassured him, trying to put on your best smile to comfort him. You didn't know where he could be either, you didn't know him well enough to know where he could be, he could even have already left.

You continued walking down the sidewalk, glancing at the shops trying to find something that your classmate might be interested in. You were sure that the hardest part of the mission was finding him, but for a moment the option of picking up the package crossed your mind. After all, Gojo would be back that night or the next day, but you couldn't afford to leave a classmate behind. You were tasked with returning with the package and Gojo Satoru.

You chuckled, the universe always managed to get him on the track of your life, it was funny because that was one of the few things you avoided. Then you remembered how Suguru, one break between classes, when you and him were laying in a tree, the shadow of it cooling you from the heat of the sun, your shoulder brushing each other, and the first thing he said to you was, 'Why don't you try to sympathize with him?'

How could you? He threatened your success, your well being in your family was based on how much you could match his strength, they didn't expect anything from someone like you, you were warned to stay away from him, the reason the sorcerer community was shakened. Yet, you thought that if you were strong, you could live a better life. You didn't needed to gain approval by the Zen'in clan, but you did want to prove that you could be better than what they expected, that you could be someone to fear.

It burned you, it embarrassed you the way you think of him.

You finished browsing the clothing stores without any trace of his cursed energy, you were at the crossroads between the souvenir street and the food street. You would be in a dilemma if you hadn't seen the disgusting way he ate morbid amounts of food.

By now he should be hungry, you wanted to be sure you were right, little by little your annoyance began to increase and if you didn't find him quickly, the news of a whole street being strangely banished was going to be on the cover of the newspaper the next morning.

You had been walking for about an hour, approaching the windows of the shops to get a better look at the people, it was easy to notice a tall mop of white hair. You were really trying to convince yourself that spending so much time with non-sorcerers helped you understand them better, but god- you couldn't help but get irritated, noticing how they worried about such insignificant things, living so naïvely of the world around them.

You were starting to think about the 'what if', you hated those words. Rarely, but sometimes you think about what your life would be like if you weren't a sorcerer, nothing ever comes to your mind.

Almost unnoticed, a Mochis stand flashes in the background of your peripheral vision. A strong feeling hit your chest, suddenly cursed energy was screaming all over the place, that was why you hadn't noticed it from a distance.

You strode down to him, sneaking through the crowd of female vendors surrounding him, offering him samples of all kinds of mochi. Of course you were going to find him in that kind of situation. He was so delighted that he didn't notice you by his side for a few seconds, his arms were scoot with bags of shopping hanging, his hands full of the colorful desert, his round sunglasses slid down his nose.

“Mhmp.” You cleared your throat, both arms crossed over your chest to keep from punching his face off.

You watched as his head slowly turned towards you, eyes closed savoring the sweetness on his tongue and a bright smile plastered on his face, which slowly faded as his eyes took in the person in front of him.

"Is she your girlfriend?" A girl squealed beside him, your face twisted, looking up and down at the man in front of you, muttering a ─ew, no─

“Uhh- I- I didn’t knew you were here too.” He mumbled with rests of mochi stuffed in his mouth. He didn't decided yet if the bitterness that had fallen down his throat was because of the surprise of running into you or because of the annoyance that your face directed at him.

"I'm not supposed to.” You grunted, rolling your eyes. “Do you have the package?” You questioned, hoping that you could return quickly to the comfort of your bedroom. But you weren't that lucky, Gojo's face was lost in confusion, "The package? The thing that you were sent here for?" You asked, raising your tone, but your breath left you when the snow-haired boy popped a mochi into his mouth again.

"Oh, I forgot. I thought I had the day off." Gojo replied nonchalantly, slowly turning his back to you with a giddy smile, taking out money of his wallet to finally make his purchase.

“Huh? How could you forget that?!” You yelp, the vendors of your sides slowly disappearing from the scene. “"I've had enough, let's go." You ordered, smacking his arm, turning your body to leave as you massaged your nose bridge, a pang resounded on the sides of your forehead.

Gojo glanced at you, then the mochis, “I’m not going to waste my time on this.” He heard you say as you walked away.

The white-haired boy quickly exchanged the money for the box of mochi and bowed to the girls in gratitude, and sorry for the bother with your grumpiness. You are so moody─ he thought, following your steps as he carried the shopping bags on his sides.

When he reached your pace, he tried to read your expression. It was the first time the two of you were out on a mission, it was the first time the two of you were alone. But that didn't seem to bother you for him, you were too busy trying to locate where you were, eyebrows furrowed and your lips pouted in concentration.

He giggled, caughting your attention, enough for you to glance at him pissed off. He ignored it, taking the paper off your hand with the directions, reading it fast as he tilted his head to the street on your right. “C'mon,” He said.

"I have to make a call first." You stopped him, walking over to one of the nearby pay phones, the boy looked at you with a raised eyebrow, confused as to what you were going to do but following you anyway.

You stuffed the money into the slot of the machine and called Gojo's assistant. You grabbed the phone and placed it to your ear, the automated voice playing that your call was being transferred. You tugged your earlobe, facing more at the wall in front of you, avoiding Gojo's gaze.

He put his hands in his pockets, leaning against the wall next to you, looking away when he noticed what you were doing. His gaze fell upon a group of middle school girls who were watching you from a table outside a cafeteria, giggling and mumbling amongst themselves.

He huffed, his mind rambling about what was so funny about. He sneaked a glance at you, the way your gaze softened when you heard the assistant's voice, telling him that you found him. Then he looked at himself by your side, shopping bags in his arms. Both of you were wearing the same uniform, he guessed that for other people you looked like close friends hanging around after school, then he thinked a little more, boy and girl, you looked like a- He shook his head at that thought, a warmth settling on his neck.

You hung up the phone again and looked at Gojo, being more surprised that you would like when his cerulean eyes were already shining in your direction, "Are we going?" You said trying to keep your tone steady, letting out the air that the interaction had restricted you, you weren't used to looking him in the eyes.

He nodded, guiding you in the direction where you were going to pick up the package, since he was more familiar with the place than you.

You didn't notice, too deep in your thoughts, but a smile crept onto the white-haired boy's lips. You were walking together side by side, not you walking with a quick pace so as not to see his face, nor you walking too slowly behind him talking to Suguru immersed in your own conversation leaving him aside, this time it was you and him side by side.

When it came to you, you revolted his insides. Always too bratty, too hermetic for him to catch a glimpse of your true self. He could only see your outside, keeping him away with your indifference, something that causes a strong mordacious sting in his chest, bringing back memories of the rejection he received from his clan relatives and most of his upper classmates. But the difference between you and them was that you didn't show any kind of interest in him, neither positive nor negative.

When you passed by him you didn't look at him, and when you did you looked at him without any trace of expression, as if you were seeing a void. Never showing surprise by his ability to easily complete the ridiculously difficult training Yaga-sensei prepared for him, or by the missions he managed to successfully complete in record time.

But over time Satoru managed to notice that it was nothing more than a facade. You weren’t as heartless and blithe as you wanted to appear. He could see the twist upwards the corner of your lips made while hearing Shoko ramble or the way in which your eyes shone when you observed Suguru slowly getting beat by sleep in class. You would never admit it to him, but Satoru could tell how you cared for others from the shadows and secretly always trying to improve yourself.

You both walked in an unusual silence, making your way through the sea of people surrounding you. Your shoes echoed in unison against the stone floor until the sun set and the moon shone brighter under the cloak of the progressive darkness, leading your presences to an uninhabited street, only a couple of shops still in operation.

An old store that seemed to sell second hand items sat in front of you.

“Are you sure this is the address?” You questioned your classmate, grabbing the paper with the direction off his hand, no specifications of the place to help you.

He huffed, hanging his head in offense, “Tots.”

You entered the place keeping your doubts to yourself, you were no longer in the mood to question what you were doing. The top secret mission had seemed like nothing more than a joke to you, it shouldn't cost a sorcerer of your size so much. But the universe has managed to make the situation oddly inconvenient.

The lighting was poor, the wooden floor creaked with every step, the place smelled like dust and incense burning. You were supposed to just pick up a package but your instincts wouldn't let you let your guard down. There were only two customers in the store, hulky and grotesque looking, without a hint of cursed energy. But you knew too well that it wasn't synonymous of weakness.

Gojo walked behind you, his gaze shifting from object to object without interest, his hands clasped behind his head. When you got to the glass counter you didn't see any worker nearby, a well-polished golden bell shined in your sight and you pressed it. Gojo must have found it amusingly hilarious, because he pressed it not once, not twice, not even three times, but five times until you pushed his hand away.

He laughed out loud, the sound buzzing around the room as he turned around, flipping through a book on an oak shelf for sale. A man's voice echoed from behind a door at the back of the store, ‘coming!’. You couldn't help but prepare yourself for a possible fight, what if there was a misunderstanding and they didn't want to give you the package? Or if the package itself was of extreme importance and tried to steal it? You had to proceed defensively but there was no sign that those present were sorcerers. Even so, the companion on your side was surely going to want to show off if the opportunity arose.

The door opened, your gaze and Gojo's expectant, a hunched, white-bearded old short man smiled at you. Huh? You couldn't figure out what was so super secret about the situation, there were no obstacles to fight or some extreme security to break.

“Oi! The guys with the spiral buttons,” The man greeted you with narrowed eyes, putting on the glasses that rested on his head, realizing that you weren’t, in fact, men at all. "Oops, my sincerest apologies, young lady." He said ashamed under the thunderous and irritating laughter of your companion, who was holding his stomach and pointing at you mockingly.

You glared at him with flames in your eyes and gritted teeth, before returning your attention to the man in front of you. "Offense not taken." You try to answer kindly, faking a smile that only makes Gojo explode more because of the falseness of it. Maybe this is worse than getting covered in sticky curse residue.

“"I thought no one was going to pick it up anymore, I was told that you would come in the morning." The man pointed out the delay with some displeasure. You took the comment like a slap straight on the face, the snow-haired boy progressively quelling his laughter when it turned into embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, sir. There were some mishaps." You apologized, bowing your head in respect, poking Gojo in the ribs with your elbow to get him to repeat your action.

The old man nodded, waving a hand dismissively, he bent down to open the sliding door of the counter and took out a wooden box with several stamps indicating that it was a fragile product.

"The receipt?" The man asked.

Your eyes widened, you didn’t have it but Gojo quickly reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a sheet of paper folded in four and gave it to the man, who stamped one corner and signed it as delivered. "That would be all."

You cast a quick glance towards the suspicious men, now looking at a restored Nordic clock. If it were any package you would open it to check it, but it was clearly specified that it was secret even for you.

The harder part was finally over. You snapped your fingers at Gojo to carry the box, he clucked his tongue between his teeth and whispered 'Brat' low enough that only you and he could hear, but still he did as ordered. You pressured him from behind, tossing a thank you to the salesman as you walked towards the exit.

You both walked past the ones you thought might be a nuisance but were nothing more than simple shoppers. You were both dismissed by the door bell as it closed behind you. You let go a sigh, stretching your muscles, you don't even remember when you concentrated so hard to numb yourself that much.

“We should-” The sound of your mouth stops when you notice Gojo looking at you with a smirk, his glasses down in his nose bridge giving space to his eyes shining schemingly. “What?” You hiss, nothing good comes after his head flashes a thought.

“Aren't you curious what this box contains?" He asks you, running his fingers dangerously slowly over the opening of the box. You're about to say a direct no when he speaks again, “It could be a new special tool,” Gojo smiles from hear to hear, a purr longing in his words. Your low lip quivers, a new tool would be a good addition to your training. “What do you think it could be? Definitely not a type of sword, the box is too small."

You take an instinctive step back as he approaches you. “We are forbidden from opening it.”

Deny it, deny it, deny it, you forced yourself to fight his temptations.

"It's most likely a Kunai knife," Gojo ignored your comment, you growled, being intercepted by his right arm daring to rest on your shoulders, heat flooding your body. Your gaze fell on the contact of his hand with your shoulder, his heat poisoning your skin, making you stumble through your thoughts, you pushed him out of you by nature, or sanity preservation.

"But it would be epic if it were shurikens.” You heard him say, the jump in his voice when you looked at him didn't go unnoticed, he seemed as shocked as you were by his recent audacity. It was the first time he touched you, that he got physically close to you even. Gosh- you didn't even call him by his last name. “Didn’t you say you knew how to use them?" He tried to play it off.

His words brought you out of the trance of his eyes, you had never noticed that his glasses hid so much behind. His orbs resembled the bright water of tropical beaches so much, twining to the clear, aquamarine sky. Eyes shining like the reflection of the moon at night.

"Or receiving him at this place is just a facade, you know, because it's top secret." Gojo continued chattering, murmuring the last two words, his usual giddy smile plastered on his face again.

Your expression closed up, you truly were tempted to know the contents of the box but his way of convincing you was atrocious, he was just throwing a bunch of words at you until you gave in. He didn't even need your permission, and if he wanted, he could blame you for opening it.

Although the culprit would be more than obvious.

“Come on, I know you want to." Gojo coo, passing the box in front of your face, you shake your head, eyes closed and arms crossed. He pouted in annoyance but that didn't stop him from finding the truth himself. "Do you always play by the rules? Bo-ring."

You stuck your nose in the air, you weren't a sanctimonious person, but what was in the box was confidential information, you reminded yourself. Gojo looked to his sides and then lifted the lid of the box, eyes shining with excitement and a smile waiting for a big surprise.

Who were you kidding, you quickly approached to peek at the box.

As if you had witnessed a divine apparition, you raised your gaze to connect with his. Both of you were expressionless and your mouths were gaped, a confirmation that you didn't see wrong.

You both burst out laughing at the same time, as if you were looking at a reflection. Suddenly there were no barriers between you two, the revelation of the content was more outrageous.

It was a Hello Kitty music festival edition tea set.

Why of all the things that could be, it was just the most ridiculous?

If someone had told you in the morning that later you would find yourself laughing with Satoru Gojo, you would have checked-in the person in a psychiatric center for nutso.

Gojo's laugh was partially dismissed when he caught your smile, you were all laid back with the corners of your eyes crinkled, he felt like a warm blanket embraced his body. He was a little intimidated by the way he felt his pride rise at the knowledge that he now shared a memory with you, that he sighed in despair when your voice hummed like a melody from his ears to the cage of his chest.

Betrayed by his mouth his thoughts escaped out loud, "Knowing you could smile like that I would have made you laugh sooner."

As if you had been threatened with being pierced by a thousand cuts, you stopped dead.

Gojo felt a heat burn on his cheeks, the words stuck in his throat, but forcing himself to play it cool, “I don’t understand why you are always so pressed.”

Suddenly the atmosphere became bitter, settling into Gojo's body.

You regained your demure posture, weight once again falling on your shoulders, the constant brickbat not to ruin your family's appearance any further by hanging out with anomalies like Satoru Gojo drowning your thoughts. Your smile faded in eyebrows twitched and nose wrinkled, “I don't hope for you to understand.”

He shaked his head, deep down wishing that he could go back in time one minute ago.

“And if we are gonna talk about understanding, then I could say I don’t understand why you are so obnoxious all the time.” You snapped, an urge to return him the bad taste kicked in you. Contrary to what people thought, you didn’t enjoy fighting meaninglessly.

You knew that Gojo would one day return the pitiful behavior you directed at him, but you didn't expect to be shaken by such childish and insipid words like 'pressed'.

“You know nothing about me or my past, and I have never messed with you for you to try so hard to bother me and make my life difficult,” Your words came out of your mouth without thinking, as if a dam was overflowing without any control, making a direct path towards the destruction of everything nearby. "Because that seems to be what you want, you stand in one place without thinking twice about If you are blocking someone else's path."

You watched as white strands flew in front of his motionless eyes upon you, his mouth gate open to speak, closing again when nothing came out.

His thoughts bounced around with indecision, he didn't mean what he said, no, it was sincere but not worded correctly for you to understand. Then a crack split in his mind, but did you mean what you said? He wanted to know better than he did, that you weren't as deceiving and hurtful as you scratched, but any trace of your smile and the small dose of warmth it gave him left no trace behind when you noticed his presence. Your indifference hunted him down.

It wasn’t disinterest or apathy. Satoru's theory that his Six Eyes weren’t telling anything to him was wrong, his instinct was sending him signals but he simply couldn’t decipher it.

You were like searching for a message in a bottle sunken in the sea.

He would have every right to be angry at being judged and unwanted without reason, but he was looking for more behind that. Since that day when he saw you talking to Suguru, leaning on his shoulder, fully trusting all your weight in him, with your guard down and your expression so soft and attentive to his words, it made Satoru think that the reason for your behavior towards him was something more than simple annoyance or envy.

He'd be lying if he said he was used to being hated and rejected as well as praised and loved, sometimes he could tolerate it more, but you were like hiding small doses of poison in his favorite food.

"Is that what you think of me?" His voice came out more sneering than his expression reflected.

He didn’t consider himself an understanding person, he tried to be until people convinced him that the world owed him for his existence. That if he was born with the purpose of being better than others and protecting them, then he was at a godlike level above them.

Your eyebrows furrowed and your fists clenched, you couldn't figure out if he was still provoking you or if he was trying to hide his thoughts.

"I don't trust someone who is always smiling and whose only method of communication is to piss people off with wordplay.” You added, catching his grin tense.

You had been watching him from your peripheral vision for as long as you'd known him. Unlike you, he didn't enjoy a serious fight that was open to negative emotions.

"I don’t like you not because you're immature or loud, or because you've been the face of jujutsu sorcery since you were born." Your words meandered in front of the boy, accompanying you as you got closer to him, each step squeezing his chest, making it difficult to breathe normally. The atmosphere was tense and it progressively closed in even if you were outdoors.

It was twisted the way you could aimlessly shoot your words like bullets to his weak points, but it was more twisted the way he let you keep going just to hear what your perception of him was. As if that would be the key to finding the answers to do the same with you.

He was a better-man than the rest of humanity because he had the power to be worse than any.

“I don’t like you because you were given everything and you don’t seem to take the importance of it, you have every right to not care about it or anyone.”The fact that you were opening your deepest feelings was revolting your insides, your despair crawling weighing on his body.

“Is that so?” He nagged, gripping the edges of the wooden box still between his arms around his chest. Being used so childishly and uselessly as protection from your snipes.

It wasn't just your thoughts about him, but also the emotional discharge you were throwing at him. You were aware that he was not at fault for being the switch-breaker of the community of sorcerers and curses, it just turned out that casualty made both of you meet your paths.

“You represent everything! You are strength and the reminder that weakness exists because you aren't that.” Your voice was raised, piercing his ears, wording him so kindly but also recalling every scolding and reviling surmised to him by everyone who misinterprets him.

"And that's the only thing that makes you oppose me?"

"Of course not!” You replied, biting your lower lip, hesitant to say what was next, but you were tired of keeping it in. Those feelings wore you down just as his cursed energy consumed his brain, “I'm selfish, I'm ambitious, it frustrates me that we could seem to come from similar and privileged places and at the same time be so different and hurt. I'll never be able to be as skilled or powerful as you, no one else can, I can't aspire much to things that are innate given to you without forgetting my limits."

Your head was pounding incessantly, you didn't know if it was because of the accumulated fatigue or the embarrassment that was growing red and hot on your face.

“But the thing is,” You murmur, stepping closer, the box with the package was the only thing producing space between you, a quick flash of a thought wondered if it wasn’t there, how much would you dare to get close? Enough to slap him? Enough to push him?, “I don’t understand why everyone expects so much from you, because to me you seem just like a kid who obviously would rather not carry all the weight people put on him.”

His eyebrows raised, his eyes widened, and his cheeks tinted pink as your pitiful soft gaze fell upon him, intimidating him as if he were a child again. Anyone would think that you were seeing him as a poor thing, as if you wanted to snatch away what he owned, as if you were going to stab him with a dagger out of compassion.

But he had the ability to see further than others, physically and figuratively. You didn't need to give him more explanations to make him understand, although your actions firstly made him think that you weren't even a little envious of him, they were uncertain, your sincerity led him further into his thinking.

You were real, you were observant and cautious for that very reason, you had become one of the first people that saw him beyond prejudice. You were capable of being human and aware of your weaknesses, and at the same time being governed by reason and morality. He couldn't blame you for keeping your distance with him because his nonchalant and playful mask had been dismantled without him realizing it.

He played his most annoying card, he tried to bring you to the edge of hysteria to test your limits and he never completely succeeded because you were surely just as or even smarter than him, and you were also testing him.

It didn't bother him that people thought he was arrogant and apathetic, after everything experienced in his lifetime he concluded that not everyone had the capacity to understand the level he was at.

When the car that would take you back to Jujutsu High arrived, you got in without saying a word or looking at him, not ignoring him because you were mad but because you understood that what you said not only implied your vulnerability, but his as well.

‘You seem just like a kid who obviously would rather not carry all the weight people put on him’ He couldn't even get angry or overthink about your raw comments that hurt his ego. For the first time in his life he felt truly seen and he couldn't stop himself from constantly smiling about it.

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fakeagatha · 1 year ago

Note

Could you do a cute one shot or headcannon of reader and Agatha baking together?

Like maybe one of then isn't the best so the other has to help?

Icing | Agatha Harkness x Reader

A/N: Hey anon! So firstly I want to apologize profusely for taking almost a year to get this done for you, I've been distant from Tumblr, and even though I had the fic as a WIP, I couldn't find the time to complete it, but it's finally done!

Summary: Agatha wants to start baking again, and requests your help. The only problem is that you have no idea how.

Warnings: Swearing Word Count: 864 Genre: Crack, Romance, Fluff Date: 11/4/2024

Ever since you and Agatha started portraying your roles in Westview, it gave you and your wife a chance to take up new hobbies and activities, since you had to pretend to be held captive in the fantasy as well.

Agatha was next door, and Wanda was baking some sort of Sokovian pastry for the twins.

Being a 300 year old witch, Agatha has a lot of experience in almost everything, of course. One of them being baking, since she has generally done a lot of that in her life. She hasn't baked in years, and she was inspired by the redhead.

So that's why you found her in the kitchen, rummaging through the cabinets as you came home from your walk.

You approached her, looking around at all the open cabinets. "So, what's up with all this?" You chuckled.

"It's all Wanda's fault. I want to bake again, I haven't done it in years!" She exclaimed, "We need to go shopping." She added.

You raised an eyebrow at her "Why not just... Use your magic?"

She simply glared at you, shaking her head. "I want the full experience." She grinned, and grabbed your arm as you walked to the car.

You looked at her in amusement, not protesting whatsoever as you entered the passengers seat.

Not even a minute on the road, and she was singing "Sweet Child of Mine" at the top of her lungs as it blasted on the radio. You do regret your life decisions sometimes, but you wouldn't change it for the world.

Westview's local grocery store only has specific things in stock at certain times. Thankfully, since you had decided to go at the time you did, there were baking products.

It was frustrating when Agatha wanted to make a meal, but Wanda hadn't stocked the shop with the ingredients she needed, just because her so called best friend didn't currently need them.

Your luck was fine, so that's when you found yourselves picking up a lot of supplies, a bit too much, just in case it took a while for the next stock.

Your wife had picked up some bags of flour, sugar, baking powder, some cake mixes, and pretty much anything that was baking related.

"Your total comes to 376 dollars."

Agatha looked at the cashier for a moment, "Sure..." She smirked.

Let's just say you only paid 10 dollars, after she used her powers to manipulate the woman behind the cash register.

As you arrived home, the witch placed the five shopping bags, which you weren't allowed to carry, onto the table, and grinned.

"This is perfect!" She exclaimed.

You kissed her on the cheek, and helped her unpack everything.

She sighed after everything was put in its place, before thinking for a moment.

"Do you like cupcakes and cookies?" She suddenly asked.

You smirked, "Of course."

She beamed, and used her powers to bring over the ingredients, along with some cooking essentials.

"Right, we're making strawberry and chocolate cupcakes with cookie toppings and sprinkles, as well as some red velvet cookies, and you're going to help me." She demanded, grinning.

You blushed slightly, "I actually have no idea how to bake..." You admitted, shrugging.

Agatha's smile grew, and took you by the hand over to the counter next to her. "There's a first time for everything!"

The purple witch pulled out a baking tray, inspecting it slightly before placing it on the counter. You handed her the dough, which the two of you had made together, attempting to make various shapes.

You shaped out a cat for a cookie, you think, it could've been a cow, or even a lizard. You weren't quite sure about the answer. Agatha on the other hand, had somehow managed to perfectly sculpt a rose.

Agatha then turned to you, grinning, "Now we get to make the icing!" You smiled back at her, allowing her to guide you.

She handed you a bag of flour, and you carefully took it, and attempting to pour it into the bowl Agatha had set out in front of you.

Most of what you were supposed to put in had fallen out or ended up on you and Agatha's face.

"Oops..." You looked at Agatha, who was completely covered in flour.

Half an hour later, after adding the toppings and finishing up, you finally put the cupcakes into the oven, as Agatha took off her messy apron and smirked. "Most of this mess is your fault," She chuckled, and you rolled your eyes while smiling.

"You know I'm crap at baking!" You whined, and she laughed again, "I know, I know. But I'm so happy that you tried for me anyway!" She beamed at you, and you kissed her cheek as you smirked.

When you heard the alarm of the oven going off, you quickly turned it off, taking the tray out and placing it on the counter top to cool down. "They look great!" You exclaimed, and your wife nodded in agreement. "I'm quite surprised that the shapes turned out so good." She replied.

You both took a cupcake, admiring the mini cookies and sprinkles that you had added, and took a bite. You weren't sure what to expect, but they tasted just as good as they looked, and the same went with the cookies.

Agatha then smirked, "Next time, we're making a cake!"

#agatha harkness #kathryn hahn #agatha x reader #agatha harkness x reader #wandavision #kathryn hahn x reader #marvel #mcu #fics

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romanticizing-writing · 3 months ago

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—Meet the Cast!—

(Part Two: The Stan Twins)

Stan:

Stan has spent the majority of his life as an actor. Ever since he was young, he auditioned for parts in plays; giving him an early start to his career. His lengthy experience has allowed him to perfect the art, becoming a professional of the finest quality. He would have never ended up at this point, however, if not for his passion for performing.

"I'd have to say I love the thrill of it. Always have. Putting on a persona and just fallin' back into the character. I dunno too much about the mental implications — that's more of Ford's thing, ya see: nerd stuff — but maybe the fact that it makes me feel in control of the situation is why. And, yeah, I know that it's 'you' not 'ya,' or whatever. I get enough of that at home from you-know-who," he explained upon questioning.

He was requested specifically to play the role of "Stanley Pines" by the creators, Mickey Mouse and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. They claimed that they thought no one would be able to bring the character to life as well as him. After all, it was a difficult balance of "greedy conman," "grumpy old man," and "secret softie" that had to be done perfectly in order to accurately reflect the vision. A feat they believed only Stan was capable of achieving. Ultimately, they were right: Causing Stanley Pines to become a character loved by the public all because of Stan's acting.

In his free time, he tends to attend casinos for the cause of gambling. He'll walk in with a small amount of cash in his pockets (moderated by Ford to ensure that his twin doesn't accidentally drive himself broke) and come out with bags overflowing with money. He claims to be an extremely lucky person with natural talent and good instincts when it comes to the activity. He has been accused of cheating by many, but his good heart and reputation is enough to challenge and disarm such slander. (Plus, Ford comes to his brother's defense in a way so aggressively protective that some of them back off immediately out of fear.)

Despite his tough outside and gruff voice, he's a kind person who cares a lot about those around him. He's started multiple charities with the money he's won from casinos and gained over the years in an attempt to help those in need. He implores others to step up and do the same, since every donation and act to make the world better makes a difference.

He lives with his twin brother, Ford, and the two of them spend much quality time together. Some people are suprised that they still stay so close at their age, but they just reply that they're like fictional counterparts and wouldn't have it any other way.

Ford:

Ford is a well-established scientist whose scientific endeavors, while usually being a bit more unorthodox, have paved the way for several accomplishments. He strives for the betterment for society and believes that in order to make discoveries, you need to realize and accept the truth surrounding you. Recently, he's also developed some fame for his first ever acting role of playing "Stanford Pines" from the adored series, "Gravity Falls." The story of how he came to receiving that role is one of humorous coincidences.

"It really was just a huge struck of unbelievable luck — though it was because of Stan, so maybe it isn't that out-of-left-field. The beginning of the story, so I was told, was this: Stan was talking to the writers about upcoming episodes and they revealed to him that they were going to green screen him as double for the rest of the series for the long-lost twin brother, Stanford. Stan was asking about the appearance — what does the twin look like, are there any specific details he should know in advance for when it came to dressing for the scene shoot — so then they mentioned, 'Oh! Well, he has polydactyly, so we'll have to find some way to add an extra pair of fingers on.'" Of course, Stan immediately thought of me and told the crew about having a twin brother who just so happened to have six fingers. They were delighted by this information and offered me the role as a result.

"I didn't know what to think at first. Acting wasn't my forte and I didn't have much experience; not to say that I had none, for there were a few times where I covered for Stan when he had to drop-out last minute. Regardless, I still wasn't very skilled in that particular field of expertise. I wasn't that confident in my ability and felt that my acting would only hinder the quality of the show. That should've been the end of it.

"...

"Yet, it wasn't because Stan is nothing but stubborn, and I can't help loving him for it. He sat down next to me and gave me an encouraging talk. He said that I'm much better than I think I am and this would be a chance to prove those words to be true. He then...he then told me that he would love to be able to work with me on set, and that accepting the role would save the CGI crew some time. At that point, I couldn't refuse, so I was welcomed as the actor of 'Stanford Pines'. And I have to say, I don't regret that decision," the scientist reminisced during a behind-the-scenes interview.

Ford is usually quiet unless a topic of his interest is brought up or he's speaking to a person he enjoys conversating with. He's extremely fond of academics and has been found to help the younger actors with any educational assistance they require; whether that be a math problem they don't understand or an in-depth lesson on theme.

Now, this part is purely theorizing, but many people suspect that he has some kind of past relation to popular actor, William (actor of "Bill Cipher"). Despite the two claiming to not be familiar with the other, they seem to avoid each other specifically out of all of the cast members — even on their supposed 'first day' of meeting! William is more subtle, suddenly being reminded of things and gaining convenient excuses to leave the room. Ford, meanwhile, just slips away once the yellow triangle comes near. However, please remember that this is pure suspicion and not anything valid, so do with this information as you please.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next Part

Previous Part

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xxsycamore · 6 months ago

Text

2024 WRITING SUMMARY!

Thank you for your love and support! I had an amazing writing year once again, and it wouldn't have been the same without you! ❤

First of all, here's the year in banners collage! Check last year's one here. I really like looking at all of them put together! 🥺

Total Word Count: 106,847

total works: 111

of which drabbles/headcanons: 80 (72%) of which requested: 77 (69%) of which nsft: 31 (28%) of which featuring Napoleon: 19 (17%) of which ikevamp: 30 (27%) of which ikepri: 27 (24%) of which ikevil: 18 (16%)

total characters written: 62

of which first-time: 13

new fandoms: 0

challenges hosted: 3

extra (nsft under the cut):

places where characters had sex: bed, bed, bed, beach chair, bathtub, floor, kitchen of an abandoned base of a criminal group, beach, car, icecream booth, porn set, toilet stall, bedroom chair, bed, opera house, bed, bed, bed, laboratory, bed, bed, secluded corner at a party, garden, balcony, secluded corner at a party, throne, in the air, hedge maze, floor, secluded corner at a party, bathtub, balcony, desk

And finally...

One sentence (or more) from each work (sans ficlets/headcanons) of 2024! (be warned: some of those are from NSFW fics!)

I decided to leave out the titles, but don’t hesitate to ask if any caught your attention and you want to check out the whole thing! <3

Still pouting because he's unfairly knightly as if he wasn't being a big tease just a second ago, you sink deeper into the soft embrace of the duvet, losing the inner fight too soon and letting yourself be pampered.

Scien makes a small sound of approval, a quiet purr almost, the barely visible bulge of his tongue moving from one side of his mouth to the other all but telling of how he savors the piece of chocolate.

"What are you sounding so scared for?? Are you planning to turn down my proposal? Napoleon? Napoleon???"

"I'm joking, sorry. The others said I should joke more often... something about being able to keep a straight face."

"Pancakes again? I'm starting to get tired of this. You got something else for me, Sebastian?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm your little bunny in heat. I'm beginning you to finally, finally take me."

"In case what? In case you take it a little too far in role-playing? In case you go down on me and the words mon empereur leave your lips?"

"Maybe I just ate something funny at lunch? You know how it is with Sebas and his fusion cuisine, always trying to live up to everyone's taste, haha…"

It's another beautiful day of your life in 19th century Paris, in the neat little mansion up the hill that you call home, just you and your lover and your 8 housemates who are reincarnated vampires and your sugar daddy landlord whose wealth you all live off of.

"I think you're okay, Nunuche. You can be dressed in more skimpy things around me, you know? Or you can discard them altogether if that's more comfortable for you. It's not like I haven't- Ouch!"

Your plea falls on deaf ears for the duration of the task, but the Jin Grandet you know won't just ignore an undressing request like that.

Your new tactic is silence, and it never works on him, but you're prone to making the same mistakes again and again and he likes that about you.

A show like that is best watched with a glass in hand, as much as he hates sounding like a certain information broker with a penchant for hedonism.

At least it's not doves taking flight or anything else alive, but that doesn't make the contents of his inner pockets less bewildering as he takes the items out on the counter one by one.

After spending a good time admiring the tan line left by a thin strap and how it sealed their memory, seriously rivaling his awfully temporary in comparison lovemarks, he is no longer holding a grudge against non-nudity.

He places his hands on the steering wheel to get a better feeling of it, marine blue eyes sparkling with the wonder of a child receiving a shiny new toy on Christmas morning.

The sounds of the crowd outside are a backdrop to Ellis' soft whispers, a sharp contrast between the intimacy and the reminder of where you are.

The last thought lingering in your mind before you orgasm is that there simply can't be any co-star of his that has ever had to fake this.

Your gaze moves from Liam's pretty lips curling in a small laughter as he conversates with Harrison, to Harrison stretching out while he listens; to Elbert's tall frame as he looks out the window next to them, to Alfons staring at him, putting one leg over the other as he stirs the steamy liquid in his cup.

Without your favorite attic slash club room, you have to make do with your…what, super comfy bed covered with many pillows and the plushies he bought you? Seems like a bargain.

No, you should be thankful for having been given this chance at all - to Elbert for agreeing, and mostly to Alfons, who put the wicked plan together.

It's like diving into the unknown; both for you and for him, almost in a manner that is special to you, to have another first together, to share the feeling of this discovery.

"I swear, this has nothing to do with you, Harry. I too like to drink strawberry milk sometimes, okay? It's as simple as that! I wanted to drink some so I got myself some. It was my strawberry milk. It wasn't strawberry milk I left for you because I'm too shy to tell you I got you a gift! Jeez!"

The weapon entrusted to you - now that you recognize the pillow as such - has to act as a shield first, as you barely react fast enough to block an upcoming attack from your eccentric boyfriend.

A sense of belonging overcomes you, strongly, as if you can make Napoleon melt into your chest if you hold him like that just a little longer.

It's even more obscene when Roger smooths down your dress, letting it conceal the sight, before giving your ass a little pat.

Yet there it is, standing in your peripheral vision; the wooden cradle he presented you with tonight, just a couple of days after you first mentioned the peculiar piece of furniture.

"Their feet will be… about thiiis small," you lift your hand in the air just enough for Luke to see the measurement you draw using your thumb and index finger.

But knowing Victor and his penchant for dramatizing things, it's no wonder why you're readily brushing it off as nothing now, as you make your way into the dimly-lit ballroom.

More than for his country, it's dulcet et decorum to live for MC - in the same way that more than the bunch of rowdy residents downstairs', it's important to ensure MC's good time. So here he is.

#ikemen series #ikevamp #ikevil #ikepri #ikesen #writing summary

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3rdsday · 6 months ago

Text

Broken Vows and Mended Trust

Sonic 3 spoilers ahead!

Summary: Things are settling after the events of the third movie, and Sonic and Knuckles need to have a conversation about Sonic's broken vow.

Note: Hi I did NOT expect to write this tonight it just had to come out and I did 0 editing on this whatsoever but here it is. I will be going to bed immediately after posting this <3

Read on AO3 here

---

Sonic clutched his left arm in his right hand, rubbing it. He wouldn't meet Knuckles' eyes, instead studying the forest floor.

It had been a few days, and everything had finally started to settle following the... Eclipse Canon incident. Tom had finally woken up and would be okay, so a layer of tension that had been blanketing the rest of the Wachowskis had fallen away.

For Sonic, its place was taken by Knuckles' request that they have a discussion.

Knuckles was typically an echidna of few words. He preferred to make his point made physically when possible. So a request for a discussion, especially a serious one, immediately put Sonic on edge.

He was certain he knew what it would be about, and it only took a few words from Knuckles to prove that his intuition was correct.

"You broke our vow."

Sonic knew it was coming, but he still flinched. It wasn't even Knuckles' tone that caused it; the words weren't harsh or accusatory. Rather, the sentence was spoken simply, a pure fact.

Sonic just hated that it was true.

"I know, Knuckles, I am so sorry-"

"Wait!" Knuckles cut him off, raising a gloved hand. "I am not finished."

Sonic's mouth snapped shut, his stomach churning as he awaited Knuckles' next words.

"After our fight against Robotnik last year, I chose to trust you and the fox to share the duty of protecting the Emerald. Yet you were willing to compromise the Emerald's safety for the sake of seeking revenge."

"I was wrong," Sonic couldn't help but say. He wanted to wait until Knuckles was finished, but he couldn't help it. He had to know how terrible Sonic felt. How much he regretted it.

"You broke my trust, and in doing so, you could have risked the safety of the entire planet."

Sonic's shoulders hunched in as he instinctively tried to make himself smaller. All the guilt he was already feeling was increasing tenfold with each word out of Knuckles' mouth.

"Yet, I chose not to stop you."

...That made Sonic pause, blinking as he took in the words. "You didn't," he said slowly. "You let me go. ...Why? You could have won that fight."

Knuckles sighed and sat down on a felled tree trunk, motioning for Sonic to join him. After a moment that felt like it was teetering on the point of something, waiting to fall to one side or the other, Sonic joined him.

The view from their perch was beautiful. They were on a cliffside, overlooking Green Hills below.

"You might have broken our vow, but I still decided to trust you."

"I don't get it," Sonic insisted. "I betrayed you. Why would you still trust me after that?"

Knuckles turned his head to look at Sonic, who was still not meeting his eyes. "Because you're my friend, and my brother," he explained, like it was the simplest thing in the world.

Family was a concept that took Knuckles a little bit to truly understand, having lost his so young. It wasn't something that came naturally to Sonic or Tails either, both of them having been alone from an early age as well. But over the past year, the three of them had settled comfortably into their newfound roles as brothers. Sonic reveled in it, taking great joy and delight in his family. Tails was a little more tentative about it, hesitant to open himself up to familial affection when it had burned him in the past, but he had become a delightful little ball of chaos once he fell into his place in their dynamic.

Knuckles, though, once the concept had clicked in his mind, had taken up his role of eldest brother with an unrivaled enthusiasm.

Being Sonic and Tails' older brother was as important to Knuckles as guarding the Master Emerald was. Keeping his younger brothers safe and happy was a job he treated with the utmost importance, even if he was willing to tease and annoy them as he did so.

Sonic had forgotten that, somehow.

"I didn't know what would happen if you took the Emerald," Knuckles continued, not acknowledging the way Sonic finally met his gaze, or the way his eyes shone in a misty way. "I feared it would lead to catastrophe. But I knew what fighting you would lead to: both of us hurt. And I never want to hurt you.

"So I decided to trust you. Trust that, if nothing else, you could keep yourself safe while you took the Emerald long enough for Tails and I to back you up. And trust that you'd realize what a mistake you were making."

Sonic swallowed hard, fighting the lump in his throat. "I don't deserve that trust from you."

Knuckles hummed. "Maybe not. And I am still hurt by you violating our oath." He placed a hand on Sonic's shoulder with a gentleness not usually associated with the echidna. "But even if it takes some time for you to regain my full trust, I still forgive you."

Knuckles' eyes were filled with such intense genuineness that Sonic couldn't bear to look at it anymore. He turned his head away, staring out into the distance again as he shrugged Knuckles' hand off his shoulder, letting it fall away. A moment, then another, passed before he spoke again. "How can you forgive me so easily?" he asked, voice wavering.

"You forgave me for siding with Robotnik, did you not?"

Sonic let out a small chuckle that he didn't fully feel. "Yeah, I did."

"We all make mistakes, hedgehog," Knuckles insisted, "You regret yours. That's all I need to know."

Silence fell over the duo. Birdsong filled the mid-afternoon air. A chilly breeze, heralding the approach of winter, cut through the trees, although it was not quite harsh enough to be felt through the thick fur of the brothers. Despite the chirping and chittering of the small forest creatures, a calm silence seemed to settle over the scene in the woods. For just a moment, time was suspended, as two young boys, who normally stopped for nothing, took time to sit in the world around them.

But the spell did not last forever. Sonic found the courage to speak again, finally trusting that his voice would stay steady when he did.

"You shouldn't trust me with the Master Emerald again." Despite his efforts, his voice still came out small and hesitant.

Knuckles frowned, although Sonic wasn't looking to see it. "Why not?"

"I've proven that I can't be trusted to resist the temptation to use it," Sonic explained. It felt like he was stabbing himself in the chest at the admittance, but he knew it was true. "You should keep it safe from me, hide it somewhere secure. More secure than Wade."

Knuckles hummed again, taking a second to consider Sonic's plea before shaking his head. "No, I don't think I should."

"What do you mean? If I hadn't-"

"If you hadn't used the Emerald, you wouldn't have been able to share that power with Shadow. And if you hadn't done that, Shadow wouldn't have been able to help save Earth. Therefore, you taking the Emerald was the best possible outcome."

Sonic's head snapped to the side quickly to let him look at Knuckles. He didn't make any attempt to hide the surprise on his face.

"I- what- but-"

"Maybe you took the Emerald for the wrong reasons, but it worked out the way it needed to in the end. So I am glad that I trusted you," Knuckles said, giving Sonic a small smile.

"But- but it all could have gone so wrong!"

"But did it?"

"I- well, no, but-"

"Then there's no reason to worry about it, is there?"

Sonic's mouth hung open as he stammered a bit more, trying to find the words to counter Knuckles. When he couldn't form a reasonable argument, he sighed and let himself slump over slightly.

"I still don't think I should be allowed to consider myself a 'guardian' anymore," he muttered, bitterness leaking into his tone.

"What?" Knuckles exclaimed, a small bit of outrage entering his tone for the first time during the discussion. "You would abandon your duties?"

"I already broke the oath. I don't deserve to have them as my 'duties' anymore."

"Sonic," Knuckles said seriously, intensely. "There is no one else in all the worlds that I would rather have help me guard the Emerald than you and Tails. Your mistake does not change that."

"But how do you know you can trust me?!" Sonic insisted, feeling almost hysterical. He had gone into this conversation expecting Knuckles' anger and hurt, but instead he was insisting that Sonic still share the duties of guardian? How could that bethe case?"

"I don't need to know for certain. I just know that trusting you has never failed me yet, even if there has been some rough parts to get through."

Sonic's eyes darted between Knuckles', searching for any hint of a lack of sincerity or the trust he claimed to have. When he found nothing but the unwavering loyalty he'd come to know from Knuckles, he hung his head.

"I don't deserve your trust."

"Then do better. Work harder to earn it." Knuckles returned his hand to Sonic's shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Fight to be better than you were yesterday. I know you can."

Sonic leaned into Knuckles' touch until he was essentially slumped against him. Knuckles wrapped his arm around Sonic's shoulders, careful not to get pricked on his sharp quills.

The two of them remained there for what might have been two minutes or two hours, pressed together in their half-side hug.

If a few tears slipped down Sonic's cheeks, nobody had to know.

Eventually, Knuckles pulled away and stood up from the tree trunk, stretching dramatically. "I don't know about you, hedgehog, but I'm ready to eat. Race back to the House of Wachowski?"

Sonic stood up to join him, giving a small but appreciative smile as he tried to fall back into his usual energy. He didn't quite make it all the way, but he was closer than he'd been in days. "Oh, you're on. Don't get too sad when you lose."

"Only if you don't get too humiliated when you are utterly defeated!"

With those words, the brothers disappeared into bright streaks of color, speeding off towards a better, trusting future, and leaving the weight of their emotional talk behind.

#sonic #sonic 3 #sonic movie 3 #sonic spoilers #sonic 3 spoilers #sonic movie 3 spoilers #sonic wachowski #sonic the hedgehog #knuckles #knuckles the echidna #knuckles wachowski #sonic fic #sonic fanfic #sonic fanfiction #...is that it did i tag everything

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idyllic-affections · 2 years ago

Note

hmm thinking about the recent trend with sibling xiao recs, what about if he has zhongli babysit one day? just some kind fatherly zhongli for the soul…

fatherly inclinations.

summary. zhongli takes on a fatherly role over xiao's younger sibling figure.

trigger & content warnings. brief references to implied violence.

tropes, pairings, fic length, & other notes. fluff. zhongli & reader, (implied) xiao & younger sibling!reader. 0.6k words. they/them pronouns used for reader.

author's thoughts. the way i had to literally dig this request out of my inbox..... it was all the way at the bottom....... the triple digits are getting closer every day LMAO but anyway. just know that if you have sent in a request, i promise you it does cross my mind every once in a while. anyways fatherly zhongli is very good for the soul!!!!! it is important to get your daily recommended dose of kind dad-like old man zhongli <3333

i believe zhongli has a number of fatherly traits to him, whether he realizes it or not... but of course, i also think he is aware of it.

he is—or more accurately, was—rex lapis, after all. surely it wasn't uncommon for him to be seen as a fatherly figure? the people of liyue looked up to him as one when he was a god, so it isn't like it's a new experience for him or anything.

he's used to it, but that doesn't mean he feels any less endeared by people who deem him as such! it happens often, but he never ceases to feel a parental warmth when it does happen. perhaps it has something to do with his more... dragon-like instincts.

whatever the case may be, he isn't at all bothered by being seen in such a familial way. in fact, he's quite fond of it.

so, inevitably, he would naturally take on that kind of role over his own beloved son's yaksha's younger sibling figure.

...though, as good of a father figure as he is, i think he would be a little bit of a boring person for those not interested in his lengthy history rambles.

but assuming xiao's sibling is interested, for the sake of this post—

he's happy to tell them about anything they'd like to know. if they have questions about liyue's history or about the times when the other yakshas were alive, he's completely alright with telling them his tales... excluding the more violent and grotesque details, of course.

(something tells me he wouldn't want to ruin their image of him, but... he's sure they know part of the truth. they don't say anything about it, so neither does he.)

i think zhongli has a handful of funny stories about xiao, which he totally tells the yaksha's little sibling about. he doesn't mean to embarrass the poor thing! it's more of a wistful, fond nostalgia thing for the ex-archon. now, cloud retainer or madame ping on the other hand...

well. their stories would certainly come with the intention of being teasing, but zhongli is not either of those people. he does it because he's just very fond of those times.

if they're interested in doing something or spending their time somewhere, zhongli will just borrow mora from childe to make it happen LMAO

he'll also take them out to eat with that mora and let them get whatever they'd like <3 it's not like it would put a huge dent in childe's savings, anyway, so it's fine.

(to be honest, childe would probably be especially happy to share if he knew zhongli was using it to spoil a kid. he's just that kind of guy, you know? it shouldn't come as a surprise, given that he has little siblings of his own.)

AND AND AND consider zhongli telling them about liyue's native plants and flowers... he'll explain their symbolisms, how those meanings have evolved over time, what conditions they need to grow properly, etc etc. if they made him a flower crown, he would proudly wear it btw.

he likes sharing information, you know? it's something of a love language.

he's seen so much. he knows so much.

why should he withhold that information, those thousands of years of wisdom, from the people he loves? the way he sees it, maybe one day the information he shares will be of use.

[name] may not be his child biologically or legally, but he sees them as one of his own all the same, just as he did the yakshas and just as he does to the one who remains.

and, you know, if they happen to fall asleep at the end of the day on his shoulder, i don't think he would mind. he'd just lean over, gently kiss them on the temple, adjust their posture so that they don't wake up sore, and kindly murmur with all the tenderness to be expected of a man such as himself, "sleep well, little one."

perhaps xiao comes to find them and take them home, or perhaps zhongli takes them.back to wangshu inn himself.

whatever the case may be, they will be returned home safely.

nothing will get to them with zhongli around.

please consider reblogging, it helps me out quite a lot!

#aphelion's headcanons 🌸#favoniuslibrary #astronetwrk #platonic genshin x reader #platonic genshin impact #platonic genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #zhongli x reader #platonic zhongli x reader

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ebenelephant · 6 months ago

Note

Happy Wincest Wednesday! This week, I come to you all with a humble request: non-traditional omegaverse wincest. Aka: anything that isn't alpha/omega. Do you think about it? Do you have headcanons? How does that impact their dynamic, the way they were raised, the way john treated them, the way other people look at them now, whether everyone still knows damn well that they're together or if they couldn't possibly suspect because they aren't alpha and omega?

(I will also count female alpha/male omega as non traditional because it's my ask and i make the rules)

If you don't like omegaverse, you can just ignore this. But I still sent it because i didn't want you to feel left out this week.

Catch me taking 2.5 weeks to respond. Thank you so much for including me! This is my first Wincest Wednesday ask and it sparks such joy, I've been ruminating on an answer for like 3 days.

Okay so general premise: alpha!Sam and beta!Dean. Alphas are generally expected to be bigger (taller, better at putting on muscle mass), and are regarded as more sexual and aggressive beings than their counterparts. It's almost taboo for alphas and omegas to date within their alignments, but there are also all sorts of stigmas regarding the ways they date and are in general. E.g., an alpha woman is simultaneously unfeminine and also less of an alpha than a man would be. Misogyny, homophobia, and whatever you call the omegaverse version of sexism all tangle together, and there are particular notions of sexual dynamics and acceptability. Dean wants to absolutely dominate his baby brother; society has many issues with this.

More on Sam and Dean's neuroses and other worldbuilding notes below!

In my mind, Sam, John, Mary, and Jess are all alphas. Dean, predictably, has a complex about this. Your dad, your god, is more man than you'll ever be. Your tiny baby brother is the one people respect. You know, logically, that Mary was murdered, but there's a small part of you that resents her; of course an alpha mom wasn't there for you. Even your brother's college girlfriend who looks kinda like you is a better dude. So there's Dean: John's son-wife; Sam's brother-husband-mother. I don't buy into that 'Dean was changing diapers at 4 years old' thing, but he was parentified, half required to fulfil the role that should've been his mom's, and with the dynamics at play here, that fucks him up more than anyone anticipated – certainly more than his dad ever intended. For his part, he raised them equally where he could, but they were not a family who talked about things. So Dean's so ready to be John's loyal follower forever, but Sammy wants to boss him around? Sammy? What, just because he's got a bigger dick? What right does he have?

So Dean just constantly emasculates him.

Sam has never cared – why would he worry about Dean's misinformed notion of what an alpha is? Besides, he'd never say it to anybody else, but even before The Horrors he would sometimes wish he wasn't one. Maybe then he wouldn't be angry at dad all the time. Maybe he wouldn't have these awful thoughts about Dean during his rut, when he just wanted to soothe the pain. Maybe no one would've given a shit about him and Jess. That was one thing John had sympathised with late season 1. People can be cruel.

Dean has thoughts about Jess. For his part, he's a giver, not a taker – he wonders if Sam's picky? – but it's weird enough for an alpha to take anything but an omega, let alone take is from a beta. He loves his little brother, but sometimes he wants to remind him who's boss. And it's not Sammy, with his is comforting scent and protective personality. He's barely even a fucking alpha in the first place.

worldbuilding notes:

just like angels and demons don't have to eat or breathe, they don't need to exude pheromones or any particular scent. it's a strange, almost uncomfortable absence.

heats/ruts aren't inherently a lack of inhibitions, though the sex drive is higher, but much like periods they have a variety of symptoms that vary in intensity. sam looks like someone who should have cramps. it's important to me.

fairly standard sexual implications: alphas expected to be larger, stronger, more aggressive; omegas expected to be smaller, weaker, more nurturing. fantasy bioessentialism! knotting is a thing, as are scent glands and pheromones on all presentations. people have their secondary sexual organ in addition to their primary sex organs if these things do not align, ie a cis female alpha and cis male omega both have a penis & a vagina

it's impossible to distinguish a child's secondary sex at birth without genetic testing (which most don't do), which causes most problems for the aforementioned alpha girls and omega boys, because i'm sorry, but babies are indistinguishable. so are a lot of young kids. pheromones don't usually differ enough to tell until puberty, at which point parents discover whether their son is an alpha or a beta, or, in very rare cases, and when the pheromones present before the body starts to develop significantly, whether their child is a male or female

seriously can't emphasise how fucked the sexism in this world is. yeah we didn't even know you were a girl until you were like 8 and we still sort of doubted it until you were 12 but now we know and you're never going to fulfil our expectations. you never had a fucking chance. i feel like there is probably a special slur for alpha girls and omega boys - indistinguishable for years, disappointing on all fronts.

being intersex becomes way more complicated when there's a second sex to contend with

you better believe the forms of transphobia and transmisogyny in this world are WILD. i genuinely think more omegaverse fics should explore that.

mating bites over the scent gland are a thing, but they're going out of style – look at divorce rates and tell me how many people would be comfortable permanently scarring themselves.

#wincest wednesday #wincest #samdean #spn #sam winchester #dean winchester #omegaverse #alpha sam winchester #beta dean winchester #started having thoughts halfway though. how long would it take you to figure out if your kid was an alpha girl or omega boy??#asks #mine

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mxssingmemories · 2 years ago

Text

I Think I’m Finally Clean

Pairings: Aaron Hotch x daughterfigure!reader, Derek Morgan x daughterfigure!reader, Spencer Reid x daughterfigure!reader, Penelope Garcia x daughterfigure!reader

Warnings: GRAPHIC description of self-harm, lots of crying, reader gets better I swear

Summary: You work at the BAU and you've been having a rough time. You fall into old habits, but the team is there for you. This follows the road to recovery! Set in season 1.

A/N: this got a little too real, too fast, so i apologize if the writing is a little sloppy. this hit home for me. please take care of yourself-if you feel like this will trigger you, please don't read it. my dms are always open.

Also, I promise I'm working on the requests-this was just 3/4 finished :)

Word Count: 2.4k!

You'd been having a shit day. Everyone in the office knew this and were on the lookout, but Hotch was more concerned than he normally would've been. He was trained to not show too much emotion on the outside, but he'd taken you under his wing for a reason. He tended to watch your behavior more often than he did the others. This, in turn, meant that he almost always knew when something was up with you.

This day was particularly bad, he observed. You'd been down all day, your usually smiling face either looking down or with a frown on it. You didn't seem happy at all, which was strange for everyone on the team—Hotch, especially. He knew you had mental health issues in the past, but there was always a way for him to cheer you up. Today, however, nothing worked. He'd given you a few hugs, which he knew you loved; Derek had been extra caring with you today; hell, Garcia had even brought you cupcakes! No matter how hard the team tried, they couldn't wipe the frown off your face. They spent all day worrying about you, and it didn't help when you disappeared to the bathroom for thirty minutes. After ten, everyone was anxious—Hotch was practically pacing, Spencer and Derek were sending worried looks towards the door you exited out of.

Of course, the team knew as much of your history as Hotch did- it was one of the first things they'd found out about in your file. Honestly, after being on the team for four years (and, of course, being the baby), they knew you better than you knew yourself. Spencer, Derek, Garcia, and mostly Hotch did their best to take on a family role for you. It was evident in the way they acted around you that they cared, and you wouldn't change a thing about it. Their gentle touches, reassurances, and comfort—it was all more than you thought you'd have when you got kicked out and started training for this.

As the time passed, they got more and more worried. Everyone was tense. The case that they'd been previously "working on" lay untouched on the table, multiple pairs of eyes staring at the door to the restroom. They were waiting, watching, and hoping for you to come back into the break room before they had to intervene. Hotch had a theory in the back of his mind about what had happened, but he kept pushing it back. It wasn't possible, right? It had been two years since you'd-Nope. No. He cut himself off right there. Worrying too much was only going to make the situation worse.

The atmosphere in the room got more and more tense, the silence stretching on for what felt like hours. There was a silent debate going on about how long they could wait until they burst into the bathroom. A minute later, Hotch stood up abruptly, walking briskly to the restroom door. Derek and Penelope tried to get up to follow, but Spencer stopped them with a shake of his head.

"Hey, Y/N, you okay in here?" Hotch knocked, pushing on the door lightly when he heard a small whimper instead of an answer.

"I'm coming in, kiddo," he quietly said, pushing open the door. He shut it behind him, taking a deep breath before turning around to face you.

To put it shortly, there was blood everywhere around your arms—obviously, self-made cuts were fresh and bleeding moderately heavily.

"Fuck, sweetheart, what happened?" Hotch whispered."I-I don't know. I couldn't help it, it won't happen again, I swear-" You tried to reassure, breaking down into tears before you could finish the sentence. Hotch immediately gathered you into his arms, his parental nature showing through.

"Shh, it's okay, honey; you're going to be okay," he reassured, rocking you back and forth. He put your fingers on his wrist, allowing you to feel his pulse point. Strangely, it helped you calm down.

When you started to breathe a little easier, he pulled back. Pressing his forehead against yours, he brushed some of the tears off of your face, using his sleeve to wipe some snot under your nose. You both stayed like that until you stopped crying, the situation at hand temporarily forgotten as he held you.

"Okay, Y/N/N," he said softly, pulling back a little bit. "I'm going to get the first aid kit. It's right under here, sweetheart." You nodded at his statement, signaling that it was okay for him to detach himself from you.

He grabbed the first aid box out from under the cabinet, pulling out the alcohol wipes, bandages, and gauze.

"This is going to hurt," he warned you, unwrapping the gauze and sterilizing the wounds on your arm. You winced slightly, even though he was being as gentle as he possibly could. He tossed the wipe in the garbage can, pulling out the gauze and bandages next.

"You know we're going to have to do something about this, right?" His question made you tear up again.

"Can we do it tomorrow?" you asked, burying your face in his shoulder. You felt him nod and continue to apply the bandages. He finished rather quickly, and it was time to face your teammates once again. You were very hesitant—you had no idea how they'd react.

"Can we stay here for a minute?" you asked quietly, your voice dropping its volume. Hotch nodded, and he let you climb into his arms once again. He did his best to be careful of your wounds. They were bandaged, sure, but he hated the thought of you in pain at all. He hated the thought of him being the one to cause it even more.

As you moved to walk out the door, he stopped you. He was holding his jacket out to you.

"Just in case," he smiled, opening the door. His hand wrapped around your shoulders in a comforting manner, and his face shot down any questions about what had happened. He led you to the couch on the other side of the room and laid you down as quietly as he could.

"If you need me, call me, okay? I'll be right over there, with Spence and Morgan." He reassured you, planting a quick kiss on your temple. You silently let your eyes close, the stress of the past hour catching up with you.

You awoke thirty minutes later to the sound of chatter in the other corner of the room, a small smile making its way onto your face when you realized Derek was fake flirting with Penelope again. You forced yourself to get up and walk over to your desk. Everyone's eyes immediately turned to you.

"Y'alright, kiddo?" Derek asked, making eye contact with you. You nodded at him, not trusting yourself to speak right then. Your head dipped down as you focused on the paper in front of you—yet another unsub you were trying to track down. He was a bit confused by your lack of response, but with a look from Hotch, he decided to let it go. That didn't stop all eyes from being on you as you worked on your paperwork, though. When it became clear you weren't going to say anything, they all did their best to turn their attention away from you.

Eventually, your sleeve rode up. It exposed the wide bandage on your arm, along with a few cuts that were peeking out. You hadn't noticed yet. Derek, however, definitely did. His eyes widened immediately, almost choking on the coffee he was drinking. The chair squeaked loudly on the floor as he stood up abruptly. Concern covered his face, eyebrows tight, and body tense. He gently grabbed your shoulder and led you into Hotch's office, despite the loud concerns from everyone. The minute the door closed, he pulled you into a tight hug. Realization crossed your face, and you started sobbing into his shoulder for the second time that day. He only held you tighter, his head resting on top of yours. The room was silent except for the occasional loud sob from you.

"Please tell me if you ever feel like doing that again. Please, kid. I can't let you go through that again," he pleaded, breaking the silence. You nodded and fell back onto his shoulder.

He eventually picked you up and brought you over to the couch, letting you lay down on top of him. You wrapped your body around him, desperate for the comfort this gave you.

Derek stayed with you like that until the door opened softly, Spencer and Hotch walking in.

"Hey, sweetheart," Spencer said softly, walking over to the couch quietly. "Pen's on the way with a soft blanket, m'kay?" He sat down beside you two, Hotch following suit. The second they got settled, Penelope walked in with the promised blanket in hand. She laid the blue fleece blanket on top of all of you, then sat down herself. It took a minute for you to adjust—four bodies on a couch meant for three was a lot—but you eventually got settled.

You ended up with your feet in Penelope's lap, your head in Spencer's, and Derek and Hotch holding the rest of you. Derek was rubbing your back, and Spencer was playing with your hair. All of the negative thoughts from the day went away as you were surrounded by the love of the people you cared about most. You knew you were going to be okay, though—you had your people with you.

----------------------------------------

You walked into the room all smiles, happier than you've been in months. Everyone noticed, and boy did they love it.

"What's got ya smilin', sugar?" Derek teased, hopping out of his desk chair to give you a quick hug.

"Can we get everyone in here, please?" You asked him, smiling even wider. He nodded quickly, gathering Hotch, Penelope, and Spencer. They all stood facing you, and you were practically shaking with excitement.

"I'm one year clean!" You shouted, and the minute you said that, they all gathered around you in a group hug.

"Shit yeah! I knew you could do it, angel!" Derek laughed, pulling you into his arms and lifting you up, spinning you around. Spencer and Hotch did the same, laughter ringing around the bullpen loudly.

"Can we have a party? Can we PLEASE have a party?" Penelope yelled, grinning from ear to ear.

"It's not worth a party, though," you tried to argue, but Spencer immediately put a finger to your lips as Hotch spoke.

"Garcia, if you can get everything..you need?" He trailed off, not sure how to phrase it. "In thirty minutes, we can do a party." His words were accompanied by a resounding cheer from everyone, which brought back the grin on your face.

"Alright, alright," you said, feigning annoyance. The smile on your face betrayed you, though.

Penelope walked in the door thirty minutes later. White bags were hidden behind her back as she walked discreetly to the break room. You were held captive in Hotch's office by Reid and the other men were sent outside to "assist in the festivities." You sat there talking to Spencer for about ten minutes before the men-boys, apparently, burst into the room and dragged you to the break room.

The table was decked out in a purple party cloth, with four plates in spots for everyone. The lighting was dim, and blinds over windows were pulled shut. Cupcakes were being sat out on the table for everyone to choose from, and your favorite soda was sitting by each person's plate.

"Pen, this is too much," you smiled, grateful tears in your eyes. She whined and pulled you into her side.

"No tears on your big day!"

She led you to your chair of choice, and Hotch pulled out the chair for you, planting a kiss on your forehead as he did so. Penelope placed cupcakes on everyone's plates, putting a bright blue candle on yours.

"So I know I have a few things I wanna say; does anyone else?" She asked, and when everyone's hands shot up, she positively beamed.

"Hotch, you can go second, then Derek, then Reid," she decided, pointing her fingers at everyone.

"I just want to let you know how happy I am for you. I know what your brain is thinking right now—you don't think you deserve any of this. Well, news flash—you do. You deserve everything right here and more, and I am so, so elated that I got to help and see you get better. I love you, kiddo!" She smiled, effectively ending her speech by sitting down and taking a drink of her soda.

"My turn," Hotch began. "It has been such a pleasure to know you, Y/N. It was terrifying to walk in on what I did that day, but to see you come so far..? It's something I've been hoping to see for so long. I am so proud of you, and things will get better from here," he said, sitting down with tears in his eyes.

"Hey, sweetheart," Derek smiled, making eye contact with you. " You know that this is absolutely amazing, right? You're such an inspiration to everyone on the team, and you impress me every day. The fact you made it this far says a lot about you and your character, and it reminds me every day how lucky I am to know you. I never stop thinking about you—you're like my kid, y'know? I am so proud of you. What I said that day still goes no matter what happens." he said, wrapping his arm around your shoulder as Reid stood up.

"Y/N. I've known since the day I met you that things would be tough. You know what you've shown me, though? No matter how hard things get, a person can always push through. You are such an awesome person, and you've taught me so much—which is more than I can say for most of the people in this room," he joked, causing you to laugh through your tears.

"We love you, kid." Hotch reassured you, everyone finding a way to hug you in the semi-crowded room. The pressure grounded you, and you pulled away a minute later.

Penelope lit the candle, and cheers were heard from the whole BAU as you blew it out. You were more content than you'd ever been in your whole life that day. Being surrounded by all the love and support made that day one of your happiest memories, and you wouldn't trade your crazy family for the world.

#my writing #criminal minds x reader #criminal minds #spencer reid x platonic reader #derek morgan x platonic! reader #aaron hotchner x platonic! reader #penelope garcia x platonic!reader

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echoingvoids · 5 months ago

Text

Accidental Romeo and Uncertain Juliet

Revali didn't want to join theater and here he was, with the main role in their current production "Romeo and Juliet". Things get even more complicated when Mipha is cast as Juliet. They have some difficulties to overcome.

Theme: Highschool theater AU, performing "Romeo and Juliet".

Word Count: 6,020

Originally Posted: Feb. 7, 2025

Warnings: multiple descriptions of kissing.

Other: My sister and I decided to read through Romeo and Juliet and got the fun idea of the Champions group doing the play for high school. My sister asked me to write this oneshot, so here it is! I don't know how theater works for something like this. I'm basing things off limited knowledge and how my church has done skits.

Miphvali masterlist requests

He hadn't wanted to join the drama club with the rest of their group, but his mother practically forced him to. Otherwise he wouldn't have been there. And of course, the drama group wanted people to try for the main roles in the most dramatic and ridiculous play known to humankind: Romeo and Juliet.

He had done it as a joke, thinking never in a million years would they cast him as Romeo. He gave it his all, of course, but he made it clear he wasn't interested. He didn't even try for another part, assuming they'd stick him wherever.

They got their scripts back today, with the list of characters. Not even bothering to look at the top of the cast list, he started at the bottom and made his way up, expecting not to be an extra, but maybe Tybalt or something. He frowned when he couldn't find his name anywhere, finally reaching the top. He froze, seeing his name clearly printed at the very top.

𝚁𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘: 𝚁𝚎𝚟𝚊𝚕𝚒 𝙴𝚊𝚐𝚕𝚎𝚋𝚘𝚠

He sat confused for a moment and then wondered if their director, Miss Sonia, had made a mistake. She must've. He listened to the excited buzz of the other students as he looked to see who Juliet would be.

𝙹𝚞𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚝: 𝙼𝚒𝚙𝚑𝚊 𝙻𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚎

Even better. He glanced up, seeing people telling each other who got what roles and he quickly began to scan the list.

𝚁𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘: 𝚁𝚎𝚟𝚊𝚕𝚒 𝙴𝚊𝚐𝚕𝚎𝚋𝚘𝚠

𝙹𝚞𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚝: 𝙼𝚒𝚙𝚑𝚊 𝙻𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚎

𝙽𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚘𝚛: 𝚉𝚎𝚕𝚍𝚊 𝙷𝚢𝚛𝚞𝚕𝚎

𝙵𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚛 𝙻𝚊𝚠𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎: 𝙳𝚊𝚛𝚞𝚔 𝚁𝚘𝚌𝚔𝚌𝚛𝚞𝚜𝚑

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙽𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎: 𝙸𝚖𝚙𝚊 𝙺𝚊𝚔𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚔𝚘

𝙼𝚎𝚛𝚌𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚘: 𝙻𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚆𝚒𝚕𝚍

𝙱𝚎𝚗𝚟𝚘𝚕𝚒𝚘: 𝚃𝚎𝚋𝚊 𝙵𝚊𝚕𝚌𝚘𝚗

𝚃𝚢𝚋𝚊𝚕𝚝: 𝙰𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛 𝙳𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚜𝚘𝚗

𝙿𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚜: 𝚂𝚒𝚍𝚘𝚗 𝙻𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚎

𝙲𝚊𝚙𝚞𝚕𝚎𝚝: 𝙶𝚊𝚗𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚛𝚏 𝙳𝚛𝚊𝚐𝚖𝚒𝚛𝚎

𝙻𝚊𝚍𝚢 𝙲𝚊𝚙𝚞𝚕𝚎𝚝: 𝚄𝚛𝚋𝚘𝚜𝚊 𝚂𝚌𝚒𝚖𝚒𝚝𝚊𝚛

𝙼𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚐𝚞𝚎: 𝚂𝚝𝚎𝚟𝚎 𝙴𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚑𝚒𝚖𝚎

𝙻𝚊𝚍𝚢 𝙼𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚐𝚞𝚎: 𝚁𝚒𝚓𝚞 𝚂𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜𝚎𝚊𝚕

He didn't bother to read the extras list. He sat back, dropping the script onto his lap. No wonder his pamphlet was so big, he had the biggest role in the whole play! Normally he would've been thrilled about something like this, especially since his role was far more important than the oh-so-popular Link Wild's.

But this. This was awful. The most ridiculous, dramatic play known to mankind, a play about love and he had the main part. The part of the dramatic, lovesick fool who kills himself for a fantasy.

Maybe he should've tried out for Mercutio instead of leaving his fate in Miss Sonia's hands.

And to make things even worse, Mipha was playing Juliet. It came as no surprise to him because she had the sweet, innocent demeanor that was perfect for the role but...

"Revali!" Teba materialized next to him, clapping him on the shoulder. "Congratulations on getting the main part."

Revali shook his head. "This wasn't even supposed to happen. I was mostly bullshitting them, Teba."

"Well clearly you put in too much effort. You're stuck with it now because there's no changing Miss Sonia's mind once its set."

The teenager sighed, running a hand through the loose bits of his hair. "I'd rather sink into the floor and die than be that lovesick fool."

Teba chuckled, clapping his friend on the back again. "Oh look, here comes Juliet."

Mipha was shyly approaching them, absently playing with the edges of her script. "Congratulations on getting Romeo."

He nodded. "Thanks. Good job getting Juliet."

She nodded back, smiling a bit. "I guess we'll be seeing a lot more of each other now, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess we will," Revali sighed dramatically. "In a very interesting way."

She giggled and he couldn't help but smile back.

This was going to be an experience.

"I want you all to try staying in character even when you're just walking around set," Sonia instructed. "After years of trying this technique, it usually helps people develop into the character they're playing."

Revali sighed. "Do I have to?"

Sonia smiled. "It won't be too hard, I'm sure."

Teba chuckled. "I think she's calling you dramatic."

"Shut up, Teba."

The group dispersed to gather scripts and Urbosa joined the two boys. "Are you ready, Romeo?"

"Don't call me that," Revali grumbled. "This is dumb enough."

"That's not very in-character of you."

"Oh wait right, sorry. One second," he cleared his throat and fell dramatically to his knees. "Oh Juliet! You are fairer than the sun and you teach the torches to shine! Oh! Oh, have I not known love until now?" He flopped dramatically on his back. "Let me give up my life on the most unreliable thing known to mankind--love at first sight!"

He heard clapping and he sighed again, staring at the ceiling a moment before getting up. Link came over with a prop sword. "Good job, Romeo."

"Give me that," he took the sword out of Link's hand, pretending to stab himself with it. "UGH, JULIET IS DEAD! LIFE IS NOT WORTH LIVING!"

"No, Juliet is supposed to stab herself!" Impa called from across the room. "Romeo poisons himself!"

"Oh right, sorry," he tossed the sword to Mipha, who had drifted over, then grabbing his water bottle and taking a dramatic swig out of it. With a sigh and a choking sound, he slid to the floor, landing at Mipha's feet. "Oh, Juliet! Parting is such sweet sorrow!"

A long moment of silence ensued, Revali staring up at Mipha, who was clutching the sword handle with her eyes wide. Then he burst into laughter, causing her to giggle, and the whole cast was soon in an uproar.

Revali sat up and did a dramatic half bow, looking over to Sonia. "Was that in-character enough for you?"

She blinked in response and Mipha tapped his shoulder. "Wait, lie back down."

He did as instructed and she pretended to stab herself. "Oh Romeo!"

She flopped to the ground like a fish, causing more laughter from everyone. She held the sword so it looked embedded in her side, flopping a bit before she went still.

Revali grinned. Maybe this wasn't so bad after all.

Mineru, Sonia's sister-in-law, had them start showing up earlier so she could begin altering (or in Daruk's case) making costumes. She was currently pinning up Revali's doublet, sizing up his hair. "We might have to cut your hair for this. I don't think the braids--"

"You will absolutely not cut my hair for a stupid play," he snapped. "I'll find a way to make it work. I doubt the audience cares about Romeo's hair anyways."

Mineru eyed the navy braids skeptically but shrugged. "If you insist..."

"I do insist."

"They're an important part of our culture," Teba explained as he went by, helping Robbie Guardian (who was on the backstage team) carry a large prop. "You can't just cut them off. Unless you're starting a rebellion or something else very serious."

Mineru nodded slowly, moving on when she Mipha emerge from the changing room in one of the pre-existing dresses acceptable for Juliet to wear. "That looks like it fits you well."

"It does," she walked excitedly over to them, holding the front of the dress up slightly. "Its a bit long, but I think it works well!"

"I'll have to tweak the waistline a bit too," Revali turned to look as Mineru analyzed the fit. "You are absolutely tiny, Mipha."

"I know," she blushed a bit, smiling when she noticed Revali looking. "What do you think?"

She did a little spin and Revali couldn't help but smile a bit at her. "I think you look great."

"Heh, thank you. Mineru, should I take it off or..?"

"Just wait a minute. I'm almost done with Revali here and I'll go pin your dress up."

"Okay!"

She skipped off towards Zelda and Urbosa, presumably to show off the dress and Revali found himself watching her leave. Until a needle-like pain pricked him through the side of his abdomen. "Ow."

"You know, if you look at her like that on stage you'll have an excellent performance."

"I beg your pardon? I wasn't--OW you're doing that on purpose!"

"I haven't the slightest clue what you're talking about," she put the last pin in (thankfully not pricking him again) and nodded. "There. And I'm serious, Revali. If you were aware of it or not, you were looking at her like someone in--"

"I have no idea what you're saying," he cut her off, using a version of her own line. "Mipha is my friend and I thought she looked nice. End of discussion. I'll go take this off now."

Mineru simply shrugged, calling Mipha over as Revali stomped to the changing rooms. He hadn't been looking at her like anything. He had simply admired her dress.

He was not in love with Mipha. He didn't fall in love with anyone.

Practice began in earnest and the weeks began to trickle by. Miss Sonia had them simply read through the play several times and then they finally began to practice with motions, going through scene-by-scene. She wanted them as well prepared for the performance in December as possible, and always reminded them to study their lines.

Everything was going smoothly. Despite his moaning and groaning, everyone (even Revali himself) agreed that he really did make an excellent Romeo. Mipha was a perfect Juliet, letting her sweet and innocent nature shine through.

Although there was one scene Revali wasn't exactly looking forward to.

Where Romeo and Juliet meet for the first time. Where they kiss for the first time.

On stage. In front a bunch of students and their parents.

They were practicing that scene this coming Monday and Mipha had yet to say anything about it to him. Maybe she wasn't worried about it. That was fine with him.

Of course, that mindset changed when a very nervous looking Mipha approached him after rehearsal. "Revali?"

He was eating an apple, looking up from his script. "Hey, Mipha, what's up?"

"Hi, uhm..." She twisted her rings nervously on her fingers. "So..."

He raised his eyebrow, calmly waiting for her to work out what she was trying to say. It took her a minute and she was blushing hard. "Uhm...on Monday we're practicing the...meeting scene."

So she was worried. "Yeah, we are. Are you nervous?"

She pressed her lips together, nodding. "I'm...anxious about the kiss."

Fair enough. "You know, Mipha, it won't mean anything. All just acting, right? So you don't have to be nervous."

"I know that, I--" she took a deep breath and with a nervous glance around the room, she leaned closer to him, eyes wide. "I've never kissed anyone before."

He blinked. They were in their senior year and he partially couldn't believe that no one had ever tried to kiss her. She always heard boys pining after her (ew) and it wasn't like she didn't have options. "Are you serious right now?"

The way she nodded completely answered his question. He leaned back in his seat, dropping his script into his lap and rubbing his face. "Well shit..."

"Sorry, I just--" Her face flushed red. "I thought I should let you know."

"Hey, don't apologize, its fine." Revali contemplated the options. He was an exact opposite of her, having kissed plenty of girls in his high school career. All hookups, obviously, but when it came to the act of kissing, he knew a lot more than he ever let on. For good reason.

"I just don't know what to do."

"Alright, look, you have a few options. You could do nothing and just let me kiss you on the practice day or you could find a guy who likes you and convince him to kiss you. Its not like that would be hard," when she wrinkled her nose at the last option, he sighed, looking away. "Okay, this last one is going to sound very weird to you but we could...ugh, you could come by over the weekend and we could...practice or something."

She was pinker than her magenta hair, all the way to the tips of her pointed ears. For a moment he was worried she'd shut down and panic, but she squeaked out, "If you...really don't mind, I--I'd prefer the last one."

Okay. Okay, okay, okay, that was fine. "Yeah, that works. You could swing by tomorrow afternoon if you want. You know where I live."

"Yeah, uhm," she tucked s loose wave of hair behind her ear. "Is anyone...uh, going to be home at your house?"

He shook his head. "My father is on a business trip for two weeks and my mother works all Saturday. So no," he paused. "Would you be more comfortable if someone was there?"

She immediately shook her head, waving her in hands in that nervous little way of hers. "Oh, no, I think I'd actually prefer if no one was there. Don't want anyone getting the wrong impression."

"Absolutely," especially with his track record. His parents didn't care who he brought home or what they were doing but he didn't want Mipha to get dragging into that. "Great, uh, just drop me a text when you're on your way and...yeah. Bring your script, I guess."

"Okay," she nervously wrung her hands. "Uh, I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Yeah."

He watched her hurry over to her stuff, grabbing her bag and disappearing out the door. Link appeared at Revali's side a moment later. "What was that about?"

"Just because we're friends in the play doesn't mean we're friends in real life, Wild."

"Hey, I get that. But Mipha's my childhood friend and she looked awful flustered."

"Don't worry about it. Maybe try asking her yourself," Revali stood, gathering his things. "I'll see you on Monday, Wild."

Mipha had texted him twenty minutes ago and now Revali sat at his kitchen table, a half-eaten sandwich on his plate and his script on his lap. He noticed his leg occasionally bouncing nervously and he tried to force himself to calm down. This was just a practice and this meant absolutely nothing.

So why was he suddenly so nervous? So eager?

The doorbell echoed through the house and he vaguely realized he was out of his chair way too quickly as he scrambled to grab his script. He forced himself to walk slower to the front door, trying to make it look casual when he opened it.

Mipha stood there in a sundress and leggings, which he had come to notice was one of her favorite outfit combinations. She held her script in one hand and she smiled shyly when he met her eyes. "Uhm, hi."

"Hey," he pulled the door open wider. "Come in."

She nodded, stepping inside and setting her bag down while he locked the door. "So, uh, where are we doing this?"

"Guest room," Because there was no way in hell he was taking her to his room. "Come on."

He led her down the hall to the guest room, gesturing for her to enter and leaving the door semi-open behind them. She settled herself on the edge of the bed while Revali scanned the script, open to the part they needed.

He already had it memorized but he was stalling a bit.

Mipha was very fixated on her script too and after a loaded moment, Revali suggested, "Why don't we practice up to the point, starting at the beginning of the exchange between them?"

"O-okay," she stood, placing her skit down and nervously smoothing her dress. "That works for me."

He nodded, offering her his hand which she took. After a moment, he began, "If I profane with my unworthiest hand this holy shrine, the gentle fine is this:" he hated the next line. "My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss."

He brought her hand up, bending slightly to press his lips to her knuckles. She blushed pink.

"Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, which mannerly devotion shows in this; For saints have hands that pilgrim's hands do touch," she brought his hands together in prayer. "And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss."

"Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?"

"Ay, pilgrim," she turned away slightly, like how Sonia had been suggesting she do. "Lips that they must use in prayer."

"O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do; they pray, grant thou, least faith turn to despair?"

"Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake."

Revali turned her face to his. "Alright, listen," he murmured. "Just do whatever feels natural to you and we can adjust as needed. Don't be scared. I won't hurt you or do anything."

She nodded, face pink. "Right."

He nodded back, placing a hand on her back. "Then move not while my prayer's effect I take."

Her golden eyes were wide as he leaned towards her. Just when their noses brushed, she shied away, covering her face with her hands. Revali paused, raising an eyebrow. "Mipha?"

"I-I'm sorry! I--I just can't do it!" Her ears were red and he could just imagine the state of her face under her hands. "I'm sorry!"

"Hey, hey, its okay," he sighed, stepping back and running his fingers through his hair. "I can only imagine how much this sucks for you. I certainly wouldn't want this to be my first kiss."

She peeked at him through her fingers and she lowered her hands, face aflame. "Its not you, I promise, its...I don't, maybe it is you, but I'm just...nervous."

"Would it help if you pictured someone else instead of me?"

She thought about that for a moment, before violently shaking her head. "No, that's worse."

"Uhm...you could pretend is not actually happening. Trick your brain into thinking you're dreaming? Surely you've dreamed of kissing someone before."

She blushed anew. "Well, yes, but I don't think that will help either."

Revali pressed his lips together. "I've only got one suggestion for you then. Focus hard on something else. Completely fill your brain with thoughts of that one thing and only that thing. It doesn't matter what it is, just focus on it and you won't think about what you're doing at all."

She thought for a moment, before nodding slowly. "Okay."

"Perfect," he stepped in front of her again, taking her hand in his and positioning his other hand on her back. "Let's start with 'saints do not move'."

"Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake."

"Then move not while my prayer's effect I take." He stepped a bit closer to her and this time she closed her eyes while he leaned over, his nose again brushing against hers. Their lips finally met and the gasp that left her encouraged him to pull her against him, wrapping his arms around her waist. Her hands landed on the back of his neck, effectively keeping his mouth on hers and their lips began to move.

It was raw, unpracticed, and he found himself loving it despite of what he told himself. This wasn't supposed to mean anything, was only supposed to be acting, and yet he knew they were getting carried away. He was getting completely lost in her, lost in her soft lips and her hands on the nape of his neck and the sigh that escaped her nose.

He forced himself to pull back. Her eyes stayed closed a moment longer and he watched as her lashes fluttered before golden orbs looked up at him. Her face was flushed, lips slightly parted.

Good Hylia. They had completely lost it.

They stared at each other a moment, neither moving to take a step back like they knew they should. After a loaded minute, she asked, "Uhm...how was that?"

"Perfect," he whispered. "Are you sure you've never kissed anyone before? You sure fooled me."

She let out a breathy laugh, flushing crimson all over again. "I assure you, that was the first time. That was..."

Phenomenal was the first word that sprang to mind. "Perfect. Seriously, I don't have any corrections. I think you're just naturally a good kisser."

If she could go any redder, she would've. "Oh, stop it. You made me completely forget my line."

Revali stamped down the prideful response that flared up in him. This kiss was just acting, all for show, and it meant nothing.

Nothing at all.

"And think, we have to say things between and kiss again."

She let out another breathy laugh. "Right. Uhm, I think you say something after the kiss."

"Thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is purged." He murmured.

"Then have my lips the sin that they have took?"

"Sin from thy lips? O trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin again."

He took her face in his hands and kissed her again, as directed in the script. This one he kept much more restrained, keeping himself in control instead of whatever animalistic drive that had taken over the first time.

No one had made him lose composure like that.

She felt more confident now, he could tell by the way her lips moved. They broke apart far sooner than the first time and she announced, "You kiss by the book."

For some reason, he burst into laughter. He threw his head back and laughed and in turn, she began to giggle. "Why are we laughing?"

"I don't know!"

Which just made them laugh more. As their laughter died out, their eyes met and they exchanged a loaded glance. She cleared her throat and took a step back. "Thank you."

"You feel ready for Monday?"

She flashed a smile. "No. But I do feel a touch more prepared. Thank you."

He shrugged. "Don't mention it."

People were gathering in the theater room. Revali was perched on one of Robbie's props, muttering his lines under his breath.

"Excuse me."

Revali looked up to find the aforementioned Sheikah there. "I need that prop you're sitting on."

"And what if I don't move?"

"I'll set Purah on you."

"Ah yes, your girlfriend."

"I have a girlfriend. Purah's not her."

Revali snorted, standing up and looking around as Robbie dragged the prop to the stage. Most of the students had arrived, but they were missing one key player: Mipha.

"You good?" Teba asked, coming up alongside his friend. "You've seemed spaced-out all day."

"I have not been. I'm fine."

Both of them knew he was lying only one didn't know what had caused the zone-out in the first place. Revali was thinking about Saturday, and in spite of himself, Mipha. He just couldn't seem to forget that kiss, and none of his usual distraction methods were working. He had kissed plenty of other girls but none of them ever haunted him like this.

It was her first kiss. He got to share that. He liked that thought way more than he should.

They were just friends, they were just friends, they were just--

"Has anyone seen Mipha?" Sonia's voice drifted over the buzz of student chatter. "We need to start."

Teba nudged Revali's arm. "Go look for your Juliet, Romeo."

He grunted. "She's probably just late or something."

"Revali." Teba's tone caused him to look at his friend. "Go find her. She's probably really worried about today's scenes and it would probably mean a lot to her if you looked for her."

Revali sighed, heading for the doors and pushing them open, ignoring the questioning looks from some of the students. He looked around a bit and then peeked into the hall leading to the nearest bathrooms.

Mipha was tucked against a wall, looking nervous, and as soon as she noticed him she let an alarmed peep. He raised an eyebrow and with a quick glance over his shoulder, approached her. "What are you doing? We're supposed to start."

"Sorry, um," she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, the lights reflecting in her golden eyes. "I got nervous at the last second. Couldn't bring myself to go in there."

"Fair enough," he offered his hand to her. "C'mon. They're waiting for us."

After a moment she took his offered hand, and let him lead her to the theater doors. She let go but before he could open the door, she asked, "How do you deal with the thought of everyone staring at you?"

"With that trick I taught you: I focus. On something, someone, anything that'll distract you from the crowd."

"Right," she nodded slowly, shyly looking up at him. "Can I...focus on you?"

He blinked in surprise. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, if that'll help you absolutely."

"Okay. I...just wanted to ask, because if I'm looking at you too intensely I don't want you to be freaked out."

He smiled. "I appreciate that. Come on, lets go."

They entered the theater room, Sonia immediately gesturing them into their places. They begin to run through the party scene and during Tybalt's angry speech to Capulet, Revali notices Mipha's gaze intensifying on him while they danced. There was small things in her demeanor one would only notice up close, like a slight twitch of her hand or her eyes flickering over his face.

Their conversation began. Revali found himself focusing more and more on her instead of his usual things, like the lines he was saying or how his hand was moving as he spoke. She was staring back, watching him as she pressed his palms together. "Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake."

"Then move not while my prayer's effect I take." It was time. He nodded slightly and she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as he pressed his lips against hers. They moved so slow, so dramatically compared to the first time and he couldn't tell if he liked it more (he shouldn't like it all. This was his friend).

They parted. "Thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is purged."

"Then have my lips the sin that they have took?"

"Sin from thy lips? O trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin again."

They kissed again, his hand sliding into her hair. This was shorter than the first, Mipha pulling back. After a moment, she announced, "You kiss by the book."

"Stop right there!" Sonia announced, standing excitedly and coming onto the stage. "You two. That was beautiful! Anyone could clearly tell how in love the characters were from what you did. Your body language, how close you stood to each other, how you kissed--flawless!"

Mipha was beet red. Revali could feel the back of his neck becoming extremely hot. Sonia nodded. "Do it just like that at the performance and it'll be perfect! The chemistry was undeniable."

She moved on, saying something to Impa that Revali didn't hear. He was so focused on what Sonia had said, on this chemistry they had supposedly infused into the kiss.

But here's the thing--he hadn't even tried to do that at all.

The following weeks were gossip hell.

Someone (he presumed a backstage worker) had spread the word of their "flawless" practice. Everywhere Revali went he was assaulted with overheard whispers and looks. Some people, both boys and girls, went straight up to him and questioned him, much to his embarrassment.

It was going to be living hell until the performance.

They began full dress rehearsals. Revali noticed he and Mipha had started interacting less and less until they only spoke to each other when necessary. He assumed it was because of all the rumors flying around, but he was starting to miss joking around with her and doing dramatic little speeches off stage.

"You need to talk to her."

Revali glanced up from his sandwich at Urbosa. It was Saturday and they were doing one of their last dress rehearsals before the performance the following Friday. "Beg your pardon?"

"Everyone's noticed you and Mipha talking less. I'm the only one who's willing to say something to you about it," she sat down next to him on the bench. "Did something happen?"

"No-ugh, I don't know. Probably those stupid rumors," he took an aggressive bite from his sandwich. "Trying to stop more of them from spreading."

"Hey, that's not a good way to live your life. If you go around sacrificing something you want to diffuse rumors, you'll soon find you have nothing at all," she opened her lunchbox, starting on a mushroom skewer. "Since when do you care about what people say?"

"I don't. I care about Mipha though."

"Then go talk to her. She's missing you, I can tell, and if you care about her, you'll go. Screw the rumors."

He sighed. "What if--"

"That wasn't a suggestion," Urbosa nodded. "Go. Tell her the truth."

"And what truth is that?"

She gave him a loaded look. "What truth do you think?"

The truth that he missed her. The truth that he loved the taste of her lips. The truth that he couldn't stop thinking about her and get her out of his head.

He stood with a sigh, leaving his sandwich behind and approaching her. She sat on a different prop, carefully eating a tuna sandwich over a napkin, trying to evade crumbs on her dress. Her snapped up when she noticed him, watching him sit down next to her. "Hey."

"Hi," she swallowed a bit of sandwich and after a long moment, asked, "Are you alright?"

No, he wasn't. He suddenly found himself aching in an unfamiliar way. Aching for her and he hadn't the slightest clue what to do about it. He cleared his throat. "Look, if it seems like I've been avoiding you, I promise I'm not. I was--I was trying to keep the rumors more toned down because of...well, my reputation and I didn't want you getting mixed up in that."

She blinked, lowering her sandwich to her lap and suddenly taking his hand. "Oh Revali, don't worry about that! I don't care as much about what they say. I'd rather be around you."

He wished they were alone right now. He wanted to tell her the complete truth but here there were too many prying eyes and ears. "Well now I feel like a massive idiot."

"Don't. I really appreciate you thinking of me like that, Revali. Truly."

He nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, no problem. Are you ready for the performance?"

She smiled nervously, picking up her sandwich again. "As ready as I'll ever be."

"Just remember what I told you. Focus on something as hard as you can. You'll forget the crowd," he smirked. "I don't mind if you stare at me."

His line was pushing it a bit but the blush that spread on her face had him wondering if she was just generally embarrassed by it or actually liked it. Oh Hylia help him, this is why he didn't let himself get emotionally involved. He had bigger fish to fry.

A slam made them both jump, and they turned towards the stage to see a shocked Robbie standing over a prop wall that had fallen forward. Purah's voice echoed from somewhere in the room, "Good job, Robbie."

"Hey, I literally did nothing! I was checking the supports to make sure this wouldn't happen!" He bent down, pulling the prop back up. "Isn't it better I figure out it needs adjusting now instead of on opening night?"

"Whatever you want to tell yourself."

Revali sighed, dramatically rolling his eyes and smiled when he heard Mipha giggle.

He was screwed.

It was opening night. Everything they had worked for led up to this. Sonia had given them an encouraging speech and now they were scattered backstage, getting in costume and makeup while Purah checked the props one more time and Robbie settled himself at the soundboard.

Revali was ready. He had his costume on and his stage makeup done. He knew his lines so well he could say them in his sleep.

There was one thing wrong though. He couldn't find Mipha.

After looking around for a few minutes, he found her tucked into a dark corner among some props, nearly hyperventilating. "Mipha!"

Her wide eyes met his and she gasped, "I'm scared. I'm suddenly really scared and I don't know why!"

"Hey. Hey, look at me," he took her face in his hands. "Take deep, slow breaths. You're cutting off the oxygen to your brain which is just making your panic worse."

She inhaled sharply. It wasn't exactly a calming breath but it was far better than the short and shallow breathing from mere seconds before. "What if I mess up on stage in front of everyone?"

"You're not going to, I know it."

"How do you know that?"

"Because you're so talented. You're incredible and you are Juliet," he let out a breathless laugh. "You're my Juliet. Who doesn't shy away from things because they're scary or considered wrong by everyone else. She's strong and loving and I know she can do anything."

She was staring at him, breathing slower. "You mean it?"

Goddess, he was in deep. "Every word. You will awe them all. I know you do that to me every single day."

Now wasn't the time for a confession, but these words were tumbling out of his mouth without checking with his brain first. He rubbed his thumbs over her cheeks. Her eyelashes fluttered, and she grabbed his arms, gripping him like a lifeline. They had twenty minutes, maybe, until the crowds would show up and maybe thirty-five minutes tops before they had to be on stage.

Mipha's eyes opened. "Revali?"

"I'm here, Mipha."

She squeezed his arms lightly and without a word, leaned forward and pressed her forehead against his. They stood like that for a long moment, her breathing finally even, staring at each other. "Don't let me go."

"I'll have to eventually."

"Then hold me in your thoughts."

"You're always in my thoughts, Mipha. Every single day."

She pulled back and stared at him and Revali's heart dropped. He had overstepped, he had screwed it up, he had--

She surged forward, grabbing his collar and dragging him down, caught his lips in a rough kiss. His eyes immediately closed, his hands still holding her face as their lips moved against each other. Feeling bold, her lightly bit her bottom lip, tugging her mouth open slightly and relishing the gasp this pulled from her.

This kiss was wild, uncontrolled, and conveyed desperation he had never felt before. Pulling her mouth open was akin to opening a floodgate and her tongue fought with his, making a muffled hum resonate from his throat.

He tilted her head, hearing her gasp in the gap before they interlocked again. He had completely lost control of himself, kissing her in a way he had never kissed anyone else before. It felt...incredible.

His lungs threatened to explode and he reluctantly pulled back, breathing hard. She was fighting to regain air, looking at him with hooded eyes and swollen lips. After a long moment, he rested his forehead against hers again and they stood like that for a long moment.

"That," she breathed. "Was not kissing by the book. That threw the book out the window."

He chuckled, swallowing thickly. "I'm sure it exceeded expectations."

Her eyes opened fully, looking at him with an emotion he couldn't quite figure out. "You always do."

"Well, well," Urbosa's voice made Mipha jump and Revali's head whip over so quickly his neck popped. "I think I can gather what's happening here from the way you two are standing. Trying to get some extra practice in, hm?"

Mipha made some sort of strangled noise and Revali scowled at the taller woman. "I swear to the Goddess, you say one word to anyone and I'll--"

"Relax, whatever you two are hiding is safe with me. Curtain's up in ten minutes and Sonia's looking for you frantically. Be grateful I found you and not her."

"Of course. We'll be right there," Mipha watched Urbosa leave, her face aflame. "Well. I suppose we should go then."

"I guess so," Revali smiled. "Are you ready to wow everyone?"

"As ready as you are," they began walking through the props, back towards everyone else. "As much as I'd like you to, don't kiss me like that on stage."

"Are you sure? It would probably really add to the experience."

"You might get in trouble with the teachers. And besides, that wouldn't be kissing by the book."

"Hm, alright, but only because I'd much rather kiss you like that in private. Away from prying eyes."

He could tell she was fighting a blush as they emerged from the maze of props, receiving instant quizzing from Sonia and knowing looks from Urbosa.

The play was such a success that on the final night, a local newscaster came and did a live broadcast of the whole thing. Not once did Mipha freeze up or forget her lines and people said that the way the two actors looked at each other truly showed the love Romeo and Juliet shared.

When interviewed by the news reporter after the play, Revali was asked how he made his performance so convincing. His response was a shrug and a cryptic reply of, "You focus on one thing. Something that makes you forget everyone and everything else is there and you just do."

Mipha's response to the same question was to blush and she couldn't formulate enough words to respond.

After high school, the two enrolled in a renowned college for the performing arts and they did Romeo and Juliet yet again, receiving just as many compliments about their chemistry as before.

#legend of zelda #miphvali #mipha x revali #hylian revali #revali #Mipha #Hylian mipha #Romeo and juliet inspired #Romeo and juliet #High school au #Urbosa #Purobbie #Purah #Robbie #Link #Teba #Sonia #Queen sonia

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ic-napology · 28 days ago

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Did you ever think Napoleon put on false identities and facades? Do you think he had NPD and Autism?

Hello Lizzy! First of all, sorry gor replying so late. It's the first time someone directly asks me opinions about Napoleon here, so I am so honoured you trust me on this✨️ It also means I have to make a disclaimer, as I'm not a historian nor a psychologist, so everything I'm saying is based on personal sensibility and intuition over the facts I know. They are not few but also not vast.

In any case, here's my answer :)

About your second question I wouldn't be comfortable in putting names of specific neurological or psychological conditions even if I was a trained therapist, especially for a dead person I've never met. Also I'm not even sure what it truly means, so sadly I can't give you a clear answer on that.

About the first question, in my personal interpretation of Napoleon's personality, yes, in general he absolutely put up façades and was very performative most of the time, but most of all during his emperor era.

I think he most felt defined by his responsabilities. There were many factors that inspire this opinion.

He always lived in and referred to large communities with a strong collective identity, so his own was shaped by belonging to them and what good he brought to them. These communities are his family, a numerous and especially a Corsican one, then an army, then a Nation.

But most of all, in all these communities he happened to be asked to, then seeked to play the role of a provider and leader, so his value depended on his ability in being a good one. So that was Napoleon identified with: the best provider possible for a community.

Also he lived during turbulent times where he was in constant crisis mode. In these circumstances, there's no time to dwell on what he or anyone would like to do, only to go on and do the best to survive. He often used urgency to justify even his most questionable or egotistical actions.

(That's why I suspect that even his so called ambition actually was mostly a genuine sense of doing what a critical situation needed from him. His high opinion over his abilities and leadership was certainly not wishful thinking, as it was supported by a great job and it was based over a whole life of being trained exactly to be a provider and problem solver in every situation. Granted, this was combined with a dose of a wish for personal realisation. Maybe as a compensation for such a heavy duty).

I attribute the most important role to the family in shaping Napoleon's view to the world, as it happens to every individual. They first put huge responsabilities on him as a very little boy - he had to provide money as soon as possible - and made him feel worthy of attention at the condition of fulfilling his duty. No care was given to his emotional needs and state, as it is shown by sending him abroad for a then unspecified number of years.

Napoleon inwardly knew he was literally trained to carry and solve problems and provide since a young age, so he was certain about being the right person to be put on positions of guidance and responsability.

Also when your emotional needs are neglected and seen as not important as much as the circumstances, you learn to detach yourself from your own sensibility. So you learn to dissimulate your actual state of mind in order to behave like you feel it's the best, according to the situation only. You learn that to be rational is good all the time.

All of this made him feel pressured to perform a precise role in order to fulfill his responsabilities at best.

When it came to be Emperor, Napoleon took it seriously. More than ever he was requested to be a good leader because it created a lot more tension, thus more need to make your Nation survive. So he felt pressed to perform in a way he deemed the best for being a good Emperor. Even his private life was heavily conditioned by that. He divorced from his wife even if he loved her because there was a heir to be provided to the Empire. It's even suspected that he mostly seeked sexual partners because it was something expected from a monarch, not because of a real drive. Other than try to prove he was not infertile.

There was also a consciousness about not being born a monarch which created anxiety about confrontation with actually born sovereigns. Class insecurity, we might call it, something he also carried within himself since he brushed elbows with noble boys at military school while he was seen as an outcast.

Again, belonging to a community was an important value for Napoleon. Since he was young he highly valued belonging to a Nation and actively seeking the best for it. You can read it in his drafts and fictions as a young man. That must have make him feel even worse about being seen as an outcast.

Thank you again for waiting for so long, I'm sorry for replying so late. Actually I'm on a pause from social media and I took out the apps from my phone, but this was a very nice question to answer to! I hope you find it helpful and that I explained everything clearly, as I struggle a bit with English lately😅

Also I recommend both you to seek opinions from other people here just to have a more complex picture, and also I invite other people to give me your thoughts on my answer too :)

Bye✨️

#napoleon #napoleon bonaparte #napoleonic era #napoleonic #history #french revolution #first french empire #Napoleon's character #Long shots #rant #Napoleonic rant

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chasedbyatlantic · 1 year ago

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nightclub love, joel miller

masterlist summary: IN WHICH — your best friend, maria miller, sets you up with someone she knows you'll fall in love with in no time, despite it being your co-worker.

warnings: post outbreak!joel, jackson!joel, gender neutral!reader, slow burner-ish, maria love, dom-ish!joel, cutesie patootsie dina, drinking, touching-ish, swearing. lmk if i missed anything!

wordcount: 2.9k

a/n: should i make a pt 2?? love this one icl! remember to reblog, like, comment, and follow for updates!! also make sure to send requests! xoxo.

—

For weeks, you had been preparing. Maria, your best friend, had begged and begged you to help with her famous (and upcoming) Summer Solstice Party. Every year since Jackson had been up and running (and Maria was in charge), she hosted this party. She had aimed it to be a night of normalcy, a night to remember what had happened before the world went to shit. It was successful, these parties. You had enjoyed the partying aspect of it, not so much the setup.

In your post-apocalyptic life, you were a painter. You had lived and breathed art, you had even got into MIT for the arts program, but the world ended before you were able to start your post-secondary tour. Though, after everything happened in the early two thousands, you discovered your hidden talent for hunting, and being able to operate firearms quite easily. This lead you to many successes in protecting yourself while you were out on your own, and being able to protect others while leading them outside of the Jackson walls.

Maria had appointed you as the co-leader of the "Jackson Protectors" (something Tommy, Maria's husband, had came up with). After Maria had her baby, Tommy had decided to step down from the role to spend time with his family, and make sure he was always there for his newborn baby and his wife. Maria had only thought of you for the person to step up and take on such a big responsibility, so she didn't really give you a choice in co-leading the group. You hadn't minded, though, it was nice to get out of the walls.

Maria's annual party was only a few hours away now, and you had finally brought over the piece she asked you to make. It was an oil and acrylic painting of the beloved town you all had resided in, she wanted to put it behind the bar (in the town's pub, called "The Nightclub"), so that everyone was able to see the beautiful artwork you were able to create so easily.

"Hello?" You called out as you pushed open the wooden door with your foot, your arms were too occupied carrying the canvas that your foot was the next best option to get the door. There wasn't a response, so you had just proceeded in. Glancing around, you had seen that the bar was turned into a nice hall. Tables were pushed to the outskirts of the room, chairs had pieces of colourful string tied on the backs and legs, the stage was decorated, everything felt so warm.

You had moved your way over to the bar, spotting a tool kit sitting on the counter. It was perfect, you could hang this now and have it be a surprise for Maria whenever she went in the room next. Tucking the canvas under your arm for a split second, you went behind the bar and reached into the tool kit. You had gotten a few flat-head nails out, along with a mallet. You had lined up the nails along the middle of the empty space on the wall, gently nailing them in before hanging your painting up.

Before you could double check that it was nailed in straight, you heard an 'eek!' coming from behind you. You could only recognize it as your best friend, Maria Miller. "Oh my god! It's the most beautifulest thing I have ever seen!" You felt the girl embrace you from behind, this made you fold your arms upward and return the hug (without turning).

"Was nervous ya' wouldn't like it." You chuckled as she let go, you turned around. "Wouldn't like it?" Maria had questioned, "Are you kidding me? I love every piece of art you do." She embraced you in a proper hug now, and you hugged her right back with a smile on your face. You were honestly nervous that she wouldn't like it, and you had braced yourself for any feedback she might've given you.

Maria had let go of the hug, now holding your shoulders. "I have a surprise for you." The smile dropped off your face, you didn't like surprises. Surprises before were nice, but not in this hell-bound world. "What?" You were doubly as nervous about this than with the painting. "Okay, so, I've set you up with someone at tonight's part-"

"You what?" You interrupted the woman in front of you. Oh no, no no no. Your facial expression fell even more after this. "Don't worry! He's a good boy, I promise. You'll love him- please, just please cooperate with this." Maria had pled with you. You could only stare at her, like you were dumbfounded by what she was saying. In reality, you were far from dumbfounded, you just didn't know why she would do this without consulting you first.

You waited a moment before you replied, "Am I able to back out?". Maria could only smile at you, indicating that you most definitely would not be able to back out of this. After a moment of silence between the two, you couldn't help but let out a small laugh while shaking your head. "'M not forgiving you for this, woman."

You had walked out from behind the bar, leaving Maria there. You knew she had much more organizing (things she had made clear she wanted to do by herself, otherwise you would've helped her) to do before tonight. "I'll drag you out of your house if you don't show up tonight, mark my words!" She laughed as she called out to you. Right before exiting the bar, you waved her off, a small 'yeah, yeah!' escaping your lips. You knew that Maria had good intentions setting you up with someone she knew, but you didn't think it was going to go well. God, you thought to yourself, if this party doesn't go well, a hole would be dug and that would be your new home.

You had put on a nice outfit for tonight. The temperature had rose a ton (despite it being dark) since earlier, which had confirmed your questioning of what you should attend the party in. You had showered, fixed your hair, sprayed perfume, and put on some lip products you found inside the bathroom cabinets before making the treacherous walk through hell's half acre to get back to the bar.

You were neighbours with Maria, and she lived in the farthest part of the town. It didn't help when you had events like this, or the long trail to and from work in the early mornings and late nights. Thankfully this was only the third time you made this hike today, earlier going and coming back from dropping the painting off, and now. If Maria and Tommy hadn't given you a few days off of work, you probably wouldn't have went to the party. Work was exhausting, especially when it was hot outside.

You had your hands in your pocket as you were walking, humming to yourself. You were ripped out of your thoughts as you heard someone call your name, you turned immediately to spot a familiar brown-haired girl. "Hey." You nodded over to her, as you slowed your pace so she was able to catch up. This was Talia's (a friend of yours) younger sister, Dina.

"Hi! You're going to the party, right? I'm so excited." You could only bring a smile to your face, nodding your head. "Wouldn't miss it for the world." Dina mimicked the smile you had on your face. You two had talked for a while as you approached closer to the bar. You had found out that she was so to-the-moon for this party because someone she had liked asked her out, and they were attending together. You had given Dina the 'make sure you're safe' and whatnot talk, since apparently Talia hadn't.

As soon as you had gotten to the bar, Dina had bid you a goodbye with a tight hug, before running off and finding her date. You couldn't remember when you had been happy like that. Sure, you were happy a lot of the times, but never beaming. There was too much worrying in this world to ever be beaming anymore, as depressing as that sounds. Not getting into it too much, you had finally stepped into the bar.

You were immediately engulfed with the scent of whiskey, sweat, and good food. Despite what had you had just said, this brought a genuine smile to your face. Seeing people just embracing the current moment, and having no worries for just a little while- who couldn't smile at this?

You had glanced around, looking for Maria. Though you didn't see her, you saw the next best thing. "Hey, Tommy! Have you seen your wife?" The man had turned, raising his brow before he had seen you. "Hey- naw', pro'lly runnin' 'round somewhere, being a hostess and whatnot." He passed you a smile before taking a sip from his dark brown bottle. You smiled and nodded.

You shortly found your way over to the bar, ordering the strongest of whatever they had. You had recognized the bartender from around town, but had decided not to make conversation with him. He passed you the drink in a glass cup, before going back to serving others. You had brought the edge of it to your lips, sipping the amber liquid. Holy fuck, you thought to yourself, this was some strong shit.

Before you had muttered a string of swear words under your breath, something- someone had caught your attention. A hand was placed on the bottom of your back, and you shifted your weight a little. Earlier it was mentioned that you were the leader of the "Jackson Protectors", Joel Miller (Tommy's older brother) shared the role with you. He was tall and extremely muscular, and was definitely older than you.

"Sorry, peach. Just gotta squeeze on in 'ere." Joel had muttered, just loud enough for you to hear. He let the nickname roll off his tongue, although you didn't think anything of it. Nobody would hear, as the bar area was packed like a can of sardines and extremely loud from the many different conversations happening. Joel had ordered something on draft, you didn't really hear.

You had never really seen him outside of work, only a handful of times. You wouldn't have taken Joel as a party type of guy, he was extremely closed off and- well, alone. Not in a rude way, no, but in a protective way. "How's it goin'?" He had asked you, "Noticed ya' haven't been in for a few days." Joel's hand was no longer on the low of your back, but gripping the tall, glass cup. He was leaning his elbow against the bar top, as you were leaning your back against it.

"Way too busy, I've sort of- I'dunno, missed it? Work, ya' know." It came out of more of a question rather than a statement. This only earned a laugh from the man across from you. "I get what ya' mean, felt like that when my arm broke-" He let out a small laugh, "-had nothin' to keep me occupied, wishin' I was out'n huntin' things." You nodded your head as you took another sip from the glass in your left hand, keeping your face neutral this time.

"Ya' didn't come across as the type to like- well, things like this." You hinted toward Joel. He shrugged his shoulder, taking another sip from his cup. "'M not, never was." You had an almost concerning look now, why was he here if he didn't like these types of things? "-But," Joel quickly added, "Figured I'd try it out after all these years o'not goin', ya' know?" You could only nod your head. It was true, you've never seen Joel Miller attend anything other than his daily work shift. Maybe he had a change of heart, but you didn't know if you really believed it.

Joel had started to talk about something else, but for some reason, you had zoned out. Your best friend had caught your eye from right behind Joel, so you were now focused on her. It didn't take long for her to notice you staring at her, and her face turned upwards. She was mouthing something to you, but you couldn't make sense of what it was. After squinting your eyes, and Maria repeating it twice more, it hit you. She had mouthed 'that's the one'.

Your expression fell as you snapped back into reality. Really? Your work partner? You weren't saying Joel was ugly, or had an ugly personality (far from that, actually), but you couldn't mess around with someone you worked with. "You alright?" Your eyes moved from just above Joel's shoulders to meet his gaze. You nod your head before almost feeling lightheaded, you were going to kill Maria.

"Do ya' know how to dance?" You spit out before thinking it through. You were pretty sure you didn't have a crush on Joel Miller, but- no buts, you had thought to yourself. You couldn't, if something bad went wrong, you would still have to work with this man every single day. You could slap yourself right about now.

"Drunk words're sober thoughts, eh?" He asked (rhetorically) to you, which had earned a true, dumbfounded look on your face. You only managed to let a "huh?" escape your lips, and Joel shook his head with a small laugh. "Nevermind, c'mon." His hand fell to the bottom of your back once again, and before you knew it, you were walking with him to the packed dance floor. You could feel the eyes of conservative mothers on you, probably spreading lies about how you two did this at work. It wasn't true (not yet at least).

You two got on the floor, and Joel let go of your back. He moved his hands more forward, placing them on either sides of your hips. You looked down, an immediate heat rising to your cheeks. It was the alcohol, you told yourself (only half of that statement was true). Your actions took over your thoughts as your arms wrapped around Joel's neck, the only thing running through your head was if you still smelled like the perfume you put on earlier.

The song had changed, it turned into a slower one- one that you were able to dance to properly. "Now, I'ain' gone dancin' in years, so don't go too hard on me if I mess up, alright peach?" There it was again, peach. The nickname was given to you by Joel a while ago, after you had found a peach tree while out on a run with him. Joel thought it had really fit you and your personality, so he didn't give it up.

You laughed, probably louder than you should have, "Don't worry, I'm not any professional neither." You were following Joel's lead, following where he put his feet. You never learned to dance properly, there was never anybody to teach you. You had managed to step on his toes a few times, but there was no yap from him about it. Joel was- enjoying himself, the first time in a (long) while.

"You didn't have to," You had began, the drunken thoughts taking over you, "I know Maria put y'up to this, it doesn't need to go further than dancin'." You could feel Joel's grip tighten slightly on your waist, something you wouldn't have noticed if you weren't so focused on him. "I wanted to," He quickly reassured you, "Just had to make sure ya' wouldn't- I'dunno, not let me?" You could tell Joel was being genuine, the tone was in his words. This was the first time the man had ever let you in on what he was thinking, what he was feeling.

You two talked and danced for another while, before the party started to die down into the early hours of the morning. You found out he didn't live too far away from you, so you both accompanied each other on the walk home. You too were far too drunk to be walking alone anyway, despite the town being safe. Joel's house was first on the way back, but he had decided to walk the few extra blocks to make sure you got home okay.

As you got home, you had fumbled with the front gate before stepping in and closing it behind - it was only two feet high, so you could still bid your goodbyes to Joel. You had turned around once the gate was shut, his eyes already down on you. "Had fun tonight, almost too much fun." This brought your face up into a smile, nodding your head. "Guess I better-"

"Can we do this again sometime?" You had interrupted Joel, catching him a bit off. "Only if ya' wanna." You had bit your lip, bracing yourself in case he were to say no. Thankfully, he didn't- far from a no. "Wasn't thinkin' we wouln't go out again, now were ya'?" You two were very close, close enough that he could hear the spike in your breathing pattern. "I'll see ya' tomorrow?" You questioned, your hand on top of the fence post. Joel followed suit, his calloused hand now overtop of yours. "I'll pick 'ya up, bright'n early."

You thought this was going to go horribly earlier, you really believed it was. You didn't want to fall for anyone, because you didn't know how much time everyone had left- you were afraid of loss, afraid of losing the people you got close to. You were scared that one day, you would wake up and they would be gone. Within a span of a day, though, you had gotten over the fear of loss. You had found someone who was just like you, but also the complete opposite in many ways. You knew, for a fact, that you had just found someone else you trusted with so much in you, he wasn't just someone you worked with anymore. Who knows, he could turn into something more with time to come, and you almost hoped he would.

—

nightclub love, matt maltese

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