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tossawary · 4 years ago

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Chapter 29: “The Ringing Bells” of “pride is not the word I’m looking for” quotes and commentary. Not a full list of favorite quotes or full commentary.

It’s just been him, Yue Qingyuan, and the not-so-modest Qiong Ding entourage befitting Cang Qiong Mountain Sect’s leader. Shang Qinghua and Yue Qingyuan still haven’t talked about anything personal (Shang Qinghua kind of hopes they never will!), but putting up a united front and then putting up with other sects seems to have brought them closer together again.

If Shang Qinghua had given in to his idea of bringing a flask of emergency wine in his sleeve, they could have made a drinking game or something every time someone managed to “casually” mention that Zhao Hua Temple Sect’s barrier techniques were the best in the world. With that face Yue Qingyuan made after the third, ear-gouging hour of listening to a long line of Zhao Hua experts condescend to them about security measures that will surely stop invading demons in their tracks, Shang Qinghua would have bet the man could have been talked into it. Big Bro would have been down, he’s sure.

AN: There is something immensely amusing to me that Yue Qingyuan and Shang Qinghua of all people run this sect (like, sure, SQQ and WQW and the other peak lords do stuff too, but YQY and SQH seem to be the ones who actually deal with worldly affairs and interact with people). To me, they both have such “I don’t want to be here” energy. YQY would rather be thinking about his slow reconciliation with Shen Qingqiu, and SQH would rather be daydreaming about the sexy ice demon he’s been betraying the sect for for 20 years.

But nooo, they have to be responsible.

Yue Qingyuan nearly dying at the end of SVSSS to me had such... vibes of relief? This man is carrying SO MUCH stress over his position and his responsibilities and appearances, that his reaction to dying seems to be at least a little bit: “Oh, time to put everything down. I can give up. I don’t have to be the invincible sect leader above it all anymore. Thank goodness.” You can fit so much trauma and unhealthy ideation in this man!

Which is, I think, why this connection between SQH and YQY was a little inevitable in this story. They’re both carrying so much stress and trauma, and doing their best to not let anyone see it, so they really relate to each other but... in a way that’s kind of one-sided on both parts? Because SQH isn’t supposed to know shit about YQY’s past or pressures. And YQY doesn’t have the full picture of what SQH is dealing with at all. After their fight after SQQ died and SQH coming forward about their invasion, SQH and YQY are finally getting to have some more direct connection, but neither of them are willing to put their masks down yet. It goes against their natures and their perceived duties (as sect leader and a transmigrator/traitor) to honestly confide in each other.

YQY and SQH both kind of have a “I know better than you” thing going on here. Yue Qingyuan because he’s the sect leader and he’s been taught that he has to manage himself and everyone else. Shang Qinghua because he’s a transmigrator and also... the fallen creator god of this world?

Yue Qingyuan is apparently just as eager to make it home as Shang Qinghua is. Their travel pace puts them a full day ahead of schedule, and Yue Qingyuan courteously sends his youngest personal assistant ahead via flying sword to warn the sect.

“Shen-Shixiong and Wei-Shixiong will need time to hide the mess from all the parties they’ve been throwing in our absence,” Shang Qinghua jokes.

Yue Qingyuan looks at him with polite but concerned bemusement.

“Aha, never mind, I’ll just… go check the last report my head disciples sent me again.”

None of them are expecting the assistant, who flew off with all the energy and eagerness of youth, to return only a little over an hour later. The assistant is red in the face and panting for breath. He collapses in front of Yue Qingyuan.

“Shizun, I-! I turned back as soon as I saw- in the distance-! The sect was on fire! Qiong Ding Peak was on fire!”

Yue Qingyuan and Shang Qinghua exchange a look of shock. When Shang Qinghua joked at the beginning of their journey that the sect would probably set itself on fire without them there to do damage control, he really was only joking! He’s had way too much of the shit he says coming true on him!

AN: I don’t think I’ve mentioned this yet, but Yue Qingyuan’s youngest assistant is the kid that Shen Qingqiu shoved on him from the House of Rejuvenation mess. Qi Qingqi and Liu Qingge picked up Luo Fanli from that, Shen Qingqiu picked up Fu Qiang from that, and Yue Qingyuan got this kid.

He doesn’t have a name yet, but he’ll probably get one at some point. Probably in Part 4 when Shen Yuan and Fu Qiang’s story comes to the forefront.

“Shishu!”

Shang Qinghua turns and gets an armful of nephew. Binghe’s arms wrap around him with no care for the bandage around one of them and Binghe’s warm face is buried into his neck - he’s so tall now - to share his dirt stains.

Shang Qinghua has no idea what to do. He wants to hug his very huggable nephew, of course, but in front of so many people?! He can’t just shove Binghe away either! Luckily, Binghe seems to realize his mistake about two seconds after contact and launches away from Shang Qinghua, bowing deeply enough to hide his face completely.

“Apologies for tripping, Shishu!”

Shang Qinghua nearly laughs. “Ah, ah, it’s fine. It’s fine.”

This is probably one of the worst kept secrets in the sect, anyway.

AN: This is absolutely a reference to Binghe pulling this trick in SVSSS canon, only unlike SY, Shang Qinghua recognizes the excuse.

Luo Binghe clears his throat and intervenes before his friend can accidentally kill Shang Qinghua with kindness or something. “The demon saintess Sha Hualing and her followers attacked.”

“Oh,” Shang Qinghua says, relaxing a little.

“Is that all?” he thinks. “Phew! Earlier than I was expecting, but okay!”

AN: It’s very funny to me to have CQMS going, “Demon attack! Demon attack! Totally unexpected demon attack!” And Shang Qinghua going, “Shit, I think I put that down on my calendar wrong. Did I put that down on my calendar...?”

This apparently prompted Liu Mingyan and Luo Fanli to volunteer at the same time.

“They looked like they were going to argue over it, at first, or even fight over it,” Luo Binghe says. “Qi-Shigu and Liu-Shishu didn’t seem to want to let them fight, but they just ignored them and almost started a quick hand-game over who would get to fight. And then the demoness said… she said… she...”

“What?” Shang Qinghua asks.

Ning Yingying lifts her nose to the sky and declares, “She said: ‘If I get a say in this, I want to fight the pretty one in the veil, and not the old lady!’ So rude!”

“...Ah,” Shang Qinghua says again.

That explains the awkward grimace Binghe is making right now.

“Liu-Shijie and Luo-Shijie froze, then Luo-Shijie just looked at Shizun and Qi-Shigu and Liu-Shishu,” Ning Yingying continues. “ Snap! And then it was really quiet. And then Shizun said, ‘I’ll allow it.’ And Qi-Shigu and Liu-Shishu and even Liu-Shijie didn’t say anything.”

“Of course not! Shizun outranks them,” Ming Fan says.

As though that has ever honestly mattered to Liu Qingge or Qi Qingqi.

“So she got to fight the demoness,” Luo Binghe says, like it was a foregone conclusion that his stubborn auntie would get what she wanted. Who’s surprised about this? Not this long-suffering nephew!

AN: So, Sha Hualing made the “old lady” joke in front of 1) Qi Qingqi, Luo Fanli’s teacher who knows about her student’s past with the House of Rejuvenation, 2) Liu Mingyan, Luo Fanli’s friend who either knows about it or recognizes that LFL is touchy about her age, 3) Liu Qingge, LFL’s brother-in-law who also knows, and 4) Shen Qingqiu, who was THERE and that’s how they met.

So, there’s sort of a collective, “If we don’t let Luo Fanli try to beat the shit out of this demon girl, we will never hear the fucking end of it,” here.

Also, as soon as I made Luo Fanli into Liu Qingge’s apprentice of sorts, there was no way that she was NOT going to want to fight Sha Hualing, and it seemed a good way to shake things up from canon while also doing some stuff with the Fanli & Binghe relationship. I’m really trying to breathe new life into all the scenes that I’m redoing from SVSSS.

“She kicked that demoness’ ass!” Ning Yingying squeals.

“Ning Yingying!” Ming Fan hisses.

Shang Qinghua snorts. “Oh? Really?”

“It was rough,” Luo Binghe says, while Ning Yingying and Ming Fan both turn bright red realizing what she just said in front of a Peak Lord. Binghe, however, has totally heard Shang Qinghua say way worse than that. “The demoness was really good and really mean, and she kept getting up even after she got slammed into the ground, but eventually she got pinned and had to forfeit to keep her head. Fanli is still mostly in one piece. She’s over there right now with Mu-Shishu and Liu-Shishu.”

Shang Qinghua follows his nephew’s finger, then winces. His little sister-in-law looks pretty roughed up, her face is beginning to swell and she’s got a lot of claw marks, but she’s grinning up at Liu Qingge. Liu Qingge looks totally fine, besides some flecks of blood that must belong to other people, and is smiling down at her.

Mu Qingfang looks less than enthusiastic about all this as he treats Luo Fanli’s injuries of victory.

Aha, yeah, Liu Qingge is definitely the one explaining this to Luo Jiahui later.

AN: I really like building and having built up all these relationships. I like giving Binghe friends, even if they’re friends that he kind of runs rings around given his manipulative tendencies (NYY and MF rely on just grabbing him at this point and relying on sheer force of obliviousness/authority). I like giving Liu Qingge more connections in the form of Luo Fanli and Mu Qingfang too.

This cast is... so big at this point. I didn’t really expect this when I started.

Inside the cell is… a bloody demon girl who looks about fifteen-ish (sixteen-ish, maybe?), with dark hair in many braids, a sharp face and a sharper stare, and clothing that looks like it was made out of not nearly enough silk ribbons. Ah, wow, that’s way more skin than Shang Qinghua ever wanted to see of Sha Hualing. No jewelry at all, though, not even a belt. Not even boots or even slippers. Just lots of blood splatter.

Both Sha Hualing’s arms and legs have been restrained. She’s also been muzzled, though that doesn’t stop her from showing off her teeth in the least happy-looking smile anyone has ever smiled. There’s blood in Sha Hualing’s teeth! That’s blood there smeared around her mouth!

Qi Qingqi is in the cell too, utterly unimpressed, making sure that Sha Hualing is properly restrained and even treating an injury on the girl’s thigh. Demons are pretty tough, Sha Hualing would probably be fine, but Shang Qinghua supposes they can at least be a little kind toward the poor disciple who’ll have to mop the floors here later.

“So good of you to finally join us,” Shen Qingqiu says to Shang Qinghua. His voice is dry, as usual, but it might be missing its worst sharp edges? The man seems pleased at having caught himself a demon.

“Ah, I didn’t want to show up the sect leader with my speed,” Shang Qinghua replies.

That gets an amused look from Yue Qingyuan. “Let us speak elsewhere,” he says, politely admonishing everyone to shut up in front of their guest. “Qi-Shimei?”

“A moment,” Qi Qingqi says.

“Oh, don’t leave me all alooone,” Sha Hualing says, only slightly muffled by the muzzle, her eyes going wide and scared. “I’ll behave! This is really too much! These restraints are hurting me. Please… it’s making it hard for me to breathe, please…”

Qi Qingqi ignores her and finishes up her work.

Yue Qingyuan lets the Xian Shu Peak Lord out and then seals the cell behind her. Shang Qinghua is familiar with those seals and yeah, there’s very little chance Sha Hualing is getting out of there on her own. The demoness complains loudly about being left behind in a cold and lonely cell. Shang Qinghua can still hear her wailing as Yue Qingyuan instructs the guards on, mainly, not letting anyone in and not taking any of Sha Hualing’s bait no matter what lies she tells.

If anyone gets “seduced” by that teenage girl - a trick pulled many times by the wily Sha Hualing in Proud Immortal Demon Way - Shang Qinghua is going to be so disappointed. Surprised? Not really! But still… depressingly disappointed!

AN: It was... hm... important to me that none of the characters here actually sexualize Sha Hualing or disregard the fact that she’s very young to them. In his narration, Shang Qinghua mentions her skimpy clothes and the possibility of her seducing a guard, but it’s with the casual detachment of someone who was writing a stallion novel and knows the tropes.

I wanted to focus more on the fact that Sha Hualing is not just a “wife character”, but an extremely dangerous non-human individual and already a minor political player, if currently trying to play outside her league. She’s an enemy. Also, just because she is currently playing outside her league doesn’t mean that she’s not dangerous and shouldn’t be taken seriously.

All she needs is someone to get close and she will inflict life-long injuries.

I also wanted to use her here for some Mobei-Jun stuff, which I’ll talk about later when I get to the Mobei-Jun part.

“Shang-Shidi, do you recognize any of these materials?” Shen Qingqiu asks next, like he’s reading Shang Qinghua’s mind now! He looks so unimpressed by Shang Qinghua’s startle. “You are, after all, one of our experts on tracking down the source of such strange things.”

“Aha, off the top of my head? I couldn’t say! But… I would suspect part of this weapon came from the far north of the Demon Realm...”

Wei Qingwei finally looks up. “I would make the same guess,” he says, like a real bro. “If only this weapon hadn’t broken, we could have tested its limits of disruption! But our plans have been disrupted there… I’d like to see how something like this would go up against the different types of barriers out there.”

“Zhao Hua Temple’s barriers, perhaps?” Shen Qingqiu suggests.

Yue Qingyuan audibly sighs.

“Of course, they won’t wish to see proof that there are demon lords preparing to invade,” Shen Qingqiu says icily. “How remiss of me to forget that fact. What does it matter if a demon lord’s daughter was swinging around a previously unseen weapon like a child’s favorite new toy?”

AN: So, when I say that I want to breathe new life into the canon scenes that I’m redoing and reinterpreting, my goal for this one was to really... build up the upcoming Immortal Alliance Conference and actually connect Sha Hualing’s invasion to... well... anything.

In SVSSS, Sha Hualing’s invasion happening is just following PIDW events apparently, and SVSSS in my opinion isn’t... really too interested in PIDW worldbuilding or Sha Hualing’s character from the standpoint that this really is a real world now. It’s all about Shen Yuan reliving the PIDW plot.

So, if I’ve put 200,000+ words at this point into actually trying to establish that this is a real world, these are real people, there are real long-lasting politics and sect relations, that world elements aren’t just spawning into existence when the plot needs them and exist now, even if I’ve been doing so kind of as a joke because I think it’s funny to make Shang Qinghua deal with that, I wanted to actually try to place and connect Sha Hualing’s invasion to other story elements and place Sha Hualing’s character in relation to the others.

Here, Sha Hualing’s invasion is a spoiled and violent child looking to make herself look good and cause trouble, as it is in SVSSS, but here it’s emphasized that Sha Hualing really is 1) a child, 2) a demon lord’s child, and 3) a future demon lord herself. And Sha Hualing is showing off her family’s inventions in preparation for the Immortal Alliance Conference. This is a move that has consequences for her and for Cang Qiong Mountain Sect, and will continue to have consequences for her (partially indebted to MBJ’s clan) and for Cang Qing Mountain Sect (it makes them look bad in front of the other Great Sects).

“Aha, off the top of my head? I couldn’t say! But… I would suspect part of this weapon came from the far north of the Demon Realm...”

“Zhao Hua Temple’s barriers, perhaps?” Shen Qingqiu suggests.

Yue Qingyuan audibly sighs.

AN: Me to myself: “...Is there canonical evidence that Mobei-Jun can read and write???” Because, like, the impression I get from this guy is that he basically raised himself and barely survived, so the System could interpret that to make an AU in which MBJ never learned to read or write.

Mobei-Jun can read and write in “pride is not the word I’m looking for”, Shang Qinghua is just exaggerating here because he’s a little miffed.

But it’s kind of tempting to write an AU now in which SQH realizes early-on in knowing MBJ that... his king can’t really read or write... his upbringing was so shitty and his father was so careless that MBJ never learned more than a few words that he picked up from context. That’s fucking horrifying. MBJ’s poor socialization and communication levels reach new heights!

“It’s just that something like that happened before, remember, Uncle?” Binghe presses. “With the skinner demon? That same light and that same warm, almost burning feeling! It was different this time - that weapon wasn’t going to hit me, I was blocking it; I know that I was blocking it the right way - but it’s too similar, isn’t it?”

“It’s… very similar,” Shang Qinghua agrees slowly.

“System?! Bro?! This is your fault!” he thinks. “Why the fuck are you leaving these explanations to me?! If you take points off me for any of this, you piece of shit, I’m going to find a way to strangle you, I swear! Preemptively: fuck off!”

Shang Qinghua lets himself visibly think about, trying to figure out what the fuck to say here. Binghe looks up at him like he’s trying to see into Shang Qinghua’s head to watch his thoughts come together. It’s a lot of pressure to put on a man all of a sudden! Binghe is too clever to be easily fooled by weak bullshit! How is a man supposed to come up with a decent lie under these circumstances?

“Well, ah, it’s happened when you’ve come into contact with demons who are trying to kill you, so it seems like it’s… some kind of unique reaction between that demonic energy and your spiritual energy,” Shang Qinghua says finally, because it��s better than explaining that there’s some shitty, no-good god-like being invested in a predestined plot. “Strange things happen sometimes in life-or-death situations, you know. Cultivators can accidentally pull off great feats sometimes when they’re desperate or panicked, without knowing how they did it.”

Binghe doesn’t look very reassured. Which makes sense, because a long-winded way of saying “I don’t know, it sounds like a freak accident to me” isn’t really reassuring.

AN: This, plus Sha Hualing’s invasion, is about Shang Qinghua’s coming up against the consequences of his choices. He can’t really have everything at once! He’s managed to have a lot all at once so far, but the time for Binghe’s demon reveal is coming closer, and Shang Qinghua is going to have to make some tough decisions and live with them. He’s going to have to deal with the people in his life having opinions on his tough decisions.

Shang Qinghua is trying to keep the System happy, with his eyes on the end goal of keeping Binghe out of the Abyss, which makes him unwilling to take certain risks deviating from the plot. But, if you’re looking at it from the perspective of someone who doesn’t know about the System or the plot, Shang Qinghua’s decision-making seems completely illogical.

Binghe is too clever not to at least notice that there’s some bullshit happening here. He doesn’t know what his uncle isn’t telling him, but Shang Qinghua isn’t the greatest bold-faced liar, so he knows there’s something.

At the end of the day, Shang Qinghua leaves his fellow Peak Lords (Shen Qingqiu, Qi Qingqi, Liu Qingge, and Tang Qingling) arguing in circles over cold trails (Yue Qingyuan is stuck refereeing, poor bastard). He returns to his Leisure House and finds a familiar ice demon lounging in his sitting room, eating some of his snacks.

“My king, did you help Sha Hualing escape?!” Shang Qinghua demands.

“She did not contribute,” Mobei-Jun answers.

Mobei-Jun looks good, like breaking in and out of Cang Qiong Mountain Sect last night was no trouble for him. Why would it be any trouble for him? He’s been doing it for years and years without getting caught, after all!

“How did you bypass the cell’s seals so cleanly?” Shang Qinghua wonders, as he puts some papers aside and kicks off his boots.

The cell doors hadn’t been ripped off its hinges, just… taken off like they were never attached… which combined with the ice-related injuries on the guards, plus the fact that the intruder slipped in like a shadow and left the same way, kind of gave the whole thing away.

Mobei-Jun raises his eyebrows. “You have shown me many such protections.”

“Ah… yeah… I guess I did do that.”

AN: Presenting Sha Hualing as I did: a dangerous and political figure even though she’s only a teenager, was also meant to reflect on Shang Qinghua’s relationship with Mobei-Jun. Mobei-Jun is the enemy. Mobei-Jun may be on Shang Qinghua’s side and his own side, but he is not on Cang Qiong Mountain Sect’s side and he has loyalties to people in direct opposition to Cang Qiong Mountain Sect.

Sha Hualing is, in many ways, Mobei-Jun’s people. He’s completely unfazed by her violence. To him, Sha Hualing’s behavior is normal and expected, if the foolishness and arrogance of someone trying to act grown-up. He is not human. He is from a completely different world to Shang Qinghua.

And their separate worlds are now colliding.

Shang Qinghua really can’t have everything he wants here. He’s a traitor and, realistically, he can’t expect that not to come out sooner or later. He’s making decisions for the sect (releasing SHL to prevent another demon invasion (and also to keep the plot on track)) that Yue Qingyuan might have agreed with if he knew the full picture of SQH’s spying (all he knows at the moment is that SQH has informants), but that YQY doesn’t know about and so can’t agree with, so SQH is acting beyond his authority letting MBJ break SHL out.

It’s a mess! It’s not sustainable! Shang Qinghua’s old character role and his new character role can’t continue to coexist like this.

Thinking of worrying unnecessarily, desperate to change the subject away from the looming plot, Shang Qinghua brings up the very important subject of Mobei-Jun possibly, maybe, if he has the time, letting him know when to expect him, when he’s going somewhere, and when he’ll be back. He’s brought this up before, though mostly in a “my king, this humble servant would really appreciate it if you at least learned to knock, but if that’s too much to ask, it’s fine, it’s really fine, never mind, forget I brought it up” kind of way.

He only realizes just how daring it sounds after he says it! He’s always kind of figured that the proud Mobei-Jun would take offense to the concept of being at Shang Qinghua’s beck and call in any way. Why would Mobei-Jun need to explain himself?

“Why?” Mobei-Jun even says.

“...Why?” Shang Qinghua repeats, kind of hoping that he wouldn't have to explain the things he asks for. Mobei-Jun said he could ask for things, but he has to explain himself too? That's really too much. “I didn’t get to see you at all while I was gone! I got back and I didn’t know when I’d get to see you again, my king.”

This gets him another random pinch to the cheek, but it also gets him another surprising kiss. Mobei-Jun is apparently not even a little bit offended by this request. So it’s fine! This one thing, at least, is really fine.

AN: But Mobei-Jun is also becoming one of SQH’s rocks in many ways! This relationship is new and exciting and comforting! Giving up or betraying Mobei-Jun is completely out of the question for Shang Qinghua.

I’m kind of fucking loving these secret forbidden romance vibes.

If Shang Qinghua asked, Mobei-Jun would whisk him away from everything right now, but he understands that Shang Qinghua needs to be here for his nephew, his sister-in-laws, and his students. With his father as king, Mobei-Jun doesn’t have the position or authority yet to make any kind of peace with CQMS. MBJ’s relationship with SQH could get him in deep shit with his father, with his uncle, and with other demon lords.

Shang Qinghua is a filthy traitor and he’s dragging MBJ down with him.

#tossawary commentary #tossawary svsss #pride is not the word

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fluffymisha97 · 4 years ago

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Falling, Fallen - Part 3 - 1/2

Summary: The next date couldn’t possibly go as wrong as the first one.

Warnings: Language.

Word count: 3,512

About a week later, Chris had thought of everything. Had anyone asked him, he would say that he’d come up with a brilliant plan. Although he did ask Scott for advice in the beginning. The little brother was more than happy to help out. He could see how much it meant to Chris. Anything to help out a brother.

The day couldn’t and wouldn’t end as badly as your first date. That was something Chris had decided on. He’d texted you on Wednesday asking if you’d plans for the weekend. Luckily, you didn’t have any plans. Chris decided on taking you out Saturday around noon. You were both excited for your date and none of you could hardly wait.

When Saturday came, you’d been waiting by the window looking down the parking spaces in front of your building. A car honk was all you needed to know that he’d arrived. He waited by his car as you came down the stairs inside the apartment building. You smiled as you spotted Chris outside. You briefly heard Abby yell out something a la ‘have fun and don’t do anything I wouldn’t’. You stepped outside in the cold breeze and walked towards Chris.

“Hi.”

“Hey.”

Chris awkwardly went back and forth between going for a hug or a handshake. It ended up being a very odd handshake with a halfway sided hug. Chris cringed inside. Great start. You hadn’t given it much thought and stuffed your hands inside the warmth of your

“So, where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise for now.”

“Exciting… Although I should probably be a little more cautious when getting into a car with someone I don’t know all that well. Stranger danger and everything.”

Chris flashed you a smile as he opened the door for you.

“It’s a good thing that you know me a little bit then?”

“We’ll see. Hopefully you aren’t an axe murdering movie-star.”

“Nope, just me.”

You climbed into the already warm car and buckled up. You watched as Chris took a few long strides around the car and then gracefully getting in. He smiled at you as he typed in an address on the GPS. You fiddled with your hands as you prepared yourself mentally for what the day would bring.

“Besides think about all the work murdering me would bring you. I mean disposing the body, cleaning the crime scene and so forth on.”

“Yeah, that does seem like a lot of work. Plus, I’ll probably end up unraveling the truth about the murder anyway.”

“Aww, that makes me feel a little bit better. I think.”

Chris laughed with you. It felt like you were trying to break the ice for him. The two of you chatted non-stop as the radio hummed in the background. It was insane how easy it was to talk with Chris. He talked and then listened at all the right moments. He mostly listened to you wanting to know everything about you. He enjoyed hearing your voice. It was a nice speaking voice and it turned out that you were also gifted with a nice singing voice.

Chris had given you his phone so that you could find some music. You shuffled through some of his many playlists and found one that made you smile.

“So, uh…Chris, tell me something… Are you a fan of Grease?”

“Well I…I… Depends on if you think it’s kinda loser-ish of me to have a playlist called ‘My Grease groove’.”

You could tell you made him nervous and self-conscious about a lot of things apparently. You pressed play and the tune of ‘Summer Nights’ filled the car.

“I happen to love Grease.”

Chris breathed out in relief as he saw your smile out the corner of his eye. You softly sang along to many of the songs and Chris mostly listened and hummed along every now and again.

The drive lasted about 45 minutes which flew in a hurry. Chris parked the car outside what looked like a hall. You dreaded it was a gym center or something like that. As you were getting out, Chris who’d opened your door held up a blind fold which made you narrow your eyes a bit.

“Okay now seeing where we’re…I’m beginning to circle back to the ‘what if’. What if you’re an axe murdering person?”

“Only kidding. C’mon.”

Chris smirked at you and gestured for you to walk ahead. You scanned the place for any signs that would tell you where you were. Mostly because you were so curious to see where you were going.

“So, Y/N. you’re probably wondering what we’re to do out here, yes?”

You nodded your head as Chris continued walking towards a backdoor entrance. He opened the door for you and as you got inside you started to realize just where exactly you were. Or what kind of place it really was. Chris came to stand in front of you with arms wide as he gestured to the room. He sported a very happy face as he watched you.

“What’s your take on Ice skating?”

“The sport genre or my ability to do it?”

“What do you think?”

“Well, I’m probably pretty decent at it but-…”

You and Chris were interrupted by a hoarse voice behind you. An elderly man appeared as you turned around.

“Mr. Evans, I got the rink ready for you and your date. If you’d follow me- Oh, I’m going to need your shoe size, Miss.”

You told him your size and followed the two men leading you to a skating rink. All ready and polished. You felt giddy inside. But something was off. Chris, the man called Sal, and you were the only people in the room.

“Hey, did you rent this entire place?”

“Well…not the entire place just this rink.”

You were completely baffled at this. Never had anyone done something like that for you. Sal came back with two sets of ice skates and gave them to you and Chris.

“Thanks a lot Sal. I’ll be sure to tell my sister to book her son’s birthday party out here.”

“You do that, son. Remember: Sal’s skates is for everyone all shapes, sizes and ages. Now, you two go and have fun.”

You giggled hearing the sales pitch Sal shouted out enthusiastically and sat down to put on your skates. Chris sat down next to you and put on his own. You were much quicker than Chris and already up on your feet when were still working on securing his first skate.

You carefully stepped onto the ice while holding onto the wall for ‘support’.

“So, when I said that I was decent on ice I should’ve probably elaborated.”

Chris looked at you puzzled as you leapt of the wall and started skating with pace and grace that clearly showed that you were no amateur. You skated a few rounds wanting to get warm and went right back the latch where Chris stood with a gaping mouth.

“I’m not just decent, I’m kind of great at skating.”

You bit your lip and offered the gaping Chris a nervous smile.

“Well okay then Tonya Harding.”

You could tell that Chris was still a bit in shock over your confession. It was clear that he hadn’t seen this coming.

“No, no. I’m nowhere near her. Brilliant lady but kind of insane the way things turned out.”

Chris let out a dry chuckle as he ventured out on the ice. He seemed a bit unsteady on his feet. You skated around in circles waiting for Chris to join you when a thought popped into your head. You moved back so you were in front of Chris.

“So, what was the idea or the plan of taking me out here?”

“Plan?”

“Yeah? I mean you must’ve given this some thought. Maybe you thought about taking me bowling but then you ditched that idea and came up with going ice skating. Maybe you assumed or hoped that I wasn’t that good at it? And that I would probably need to lean on you for support or that we would have to hold hands so I wouldn’t fall flat on my ass in front of you. That way we would’ve established the psychical contact… Tell me that wasn’t something you thought of while planning this?”

Chris cringed hard inside for the second time. Was he really that transparent? Had he lost his game and had become this mediocre halfway loser with absolutely no game? His nervous smile gave him away instantly.

“Nooo? Of course not.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you got the worst poker face?”

Chris looked down feeling dumb. You weren’t mad or offended. You hadn’t meant to make him feel like you were calling him out. Even though that’s what you’d gone and done. Now it was your turn to cringe inside. The sound of whistling made him look up.

“Are you going to stay over there or are you going to join me out here? The water’s fine.”

Chris nervously laughed as he moved further out on the ice still a bit wobbly. Chris started regretting his decision as he watched you skate around gracefully while he felt like an elephant inside a porcelain shop.

“C’mon, Chris. I’m sorry if I was a little too harsh but- I think it’s a shame not to take advantage of being here.”

“No it’s not that… I guess, I over- and underestimated this situation both you and myself. I wanted to do something outside the box and in the haste of wanting to get this day right I forgot how bad I really am at ice skating. That was that brilliant yet stupid plan right out the window.”

You giggled softly at the still wobbly Chris and inched closer to him slowly.

“Okay, okay. Maybe your plan is still doable but maybe not in the way that you’d hoped for. Here, take my hand.”

Chris stilled and looked at you.

“What?”

“Hold my hand, Mr. Bold. I promise I won’t tell anyone.”

Chris reached out and grabbed your smaller hand in his larger one. You started to move bringing Chris with you. The two of you skated in circles in a slow but comfortable pace. Chris smiled widely feeling confident and went to release your hand only to start wobbling a bit again. You could see Chris face falter. He quickly wrapped his arm around your waist with his right hand and the left hand found your still extended hand. Soon he felt himself being steadied. He breathed out in relief. You titled your head and smirked. He was now holding one of your hands and the other arm was wrapped around your waist.

“Now that was real smooth.”

“What?”

You couldn’t decide if he was truly a bit thickheaded to see his move clearly or if he had in fact been on his way to fall flat on the ice. You decided that it didn’t matter. Being that close to Chris wasn’t the worst thing in the world. Not even close. Your right hand moved so that it rested on top of the hand on your waist. You saw Chris smile briefly out of the corner of your eye. The two of you went a few rounds like that. It was no secret that both you and Chris enjoyed the closeness while skating. You tried calming yourself down knowing that this was only your second date and that you ought to chill out, like your friend Emmett would say. ‘Chill out girl, and relax.’

“So, tell me Miss ‘Harding’ did you ever do some professional skating or are you just this good all on your own?”

“I did very, very little when I was a kid but nothing worth writing about. But I guess I’ve just always enjoyed skating. I go a few times every year to keep on practicing. Lame I know.”

“Nothing about you is lame, Y/N.”

You shared a sideways smile as you picked up the pace skating in circular motions in the empty rink. Chris listened as you went on about things from your childhood and then asking him about his childhood. He told you about his siblings and the way that they were brought up. Just hearing about his family made you smile. It was clear to you that he came from a family filled with lots of love. His love for his mother shined through when he’d talked about her. You liked listening to Chris talking about everything and nothing. You enjoyed your conversations just as much as he liked them.

The two of you skated for some time. Truth be told, you’d lost track of time during the time you’d spent with him. You smiled at Chris who seemed to also enjoy himself on the ice. Chris started feeling a little more confident as he took the lead and picked up the pace. He even did a little cross with his feet. He looked very proud which only made him look all the more cute to you. He let go of your waist and readied himself for letting go completely. He gently let go of your hand and skated on his own. Chris flashed you a wide smile as he picked up the pace even further. A smirk even appeared on his face as gracefully skated past you in a circular move.

“Wow, look at you. Quick learner I see.”

“Yeah! Well, it’s like riding a bike I suppose. I guess, I was just a bit rusty-AHH!”

Just as he was showing off to you he lost his balance and fell right backwards. Your hands went up to cover your eyes as you saw the whole thing play out in slow motion. You heard a breathy groan which made you look at the scene before your eyes. Chris was lying on his back breathing hard as he raised his head to look at you. You went over to him and bent down to him.

“Chris! Oh my God. Are you okay?”

Chris didn’t answer you straight away and seemed to have trouble looking you in the eye. You instantly feared that he’d hit his head on the ice. You maneuvered so that you kneeled down on the ice and were leaning down to examine him closer.

“Hey look at me. How many fingers am I holding up? Do you know your name? Where you’re right now. Do you know who I am? Are you hurt anywhere-…?”

Your nervous rambling was caught off by Chris’ hoarse and breathy laugh.

“Depends. That was a whole lot of questions.”

You let out a breath of relief hearing him talk.

“My ego’s probably the most wounded…I had this horrible dream where I brought this great girl out here to impress her and only ended up botching this date because I got too cocky.”

You felt yourself smile at that. Chris leaned up on his elbows and pretended to look around as shock appeared on his face.

“OH no…It wasn’t a dream.”

He made a pouty face and looked down.

“Hey, you haven’t botched anything.”

“So, you don’t think I’m a transparent doofus?”

“Well, maybe you’re a little bit transparent but-…”

You sheepishly smiled at him as he let himself gently fall backwards on the ice with a groan.

“Just let me die here of humiliation and embarrassment.”

“God, you movie stars truly have a flair for the dramatics.”

Chris snorted at your comment but well knowing that you were absolutely right. You gently patted his arm making him look at you.

“C’mon, big guy. Up, up.”

You helped Chris upright with ease while still looking him over with worried eyes. He had just fallen quite hard.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yup, yup. I’m okay. Luckily my ass broke the fall.” “You want to go and sit down? Just for a while.” “Sure. Let’s do that.” The two of you slowly skated over to the latch door and Chris went out first. Chris sat down on one of the benches. You carefully went over and sat down next to him.

“So apart from falling flat on my ass in front of you just now, I hoped that you still liked it here.”

“I thought it was a great idea, Chris. Something outside the box.”

“Well, then I have a small plea for you. Or more of a question.”

You nodded your head at him.

“Could we pretend that this was our first date considering that our first was a bust? Clean slate and everything. Although I didn’t make a fool out of myself that other day so maybe it was a bad idea to even-…”

“Chris, it’s cool. This is officially our first date then.”

Chris gave you a grin thankful that you were on. This date had to be great. He wanted everything right to go right.

“Hey, what do you say we get out of here? Unless you want to go back on the ice. I mean we can go if you want to. You looked like you were enjoying yourself.”

“It’s all good, Chris. I think you’ve had enough ice time for now.”

The two of you took of your skates and went to clerk where you handed them in. Sal came over and quietly shook hands with Chris.

“I hope you kids had fun. It looked like it. I must say that you miss, looked like you knew exactly what you were doing. Say, have you ever done some competitively skating?”

“I did very little when I was a kid but nothing big.”

“You looked like you belonged on the ice. I think Mr. Evans would agree with me.”

Chris only nodded in awe which you felt was totally misguided. Your cheeks felt warm as you felt the two men staring at you. Chris shook hands with Sal while you were putting on your gloves.

“Thanks a lot for today, Sal. I appreciate it.”

“Don’t mention it.”

You were getting ready to exit when Chris excused himself to go to the bathroom. You leaned against the counter as you waited. Sal remained behind the counter as he arranged some papers or so.

“So tell me Sal, did you really let him rent an entire hall because he’s famous or?”

“Tell you what, I’ve known him for some time and I would’ve probably let him anyway. That guy’s a good young man. He’s decent that’s for sure.”

“So, he’s brought other girls here too or what do you mean, Sal?”

“Naah, I’ve only ever seen him here with his family. He’s a family man no doubt.”

Sal winked at you and went to answer his phone ringing in his pocket.

Chris came jogging over to you and gestured for you two to walk outside again. As you reached his car, you gave Chris a questionable look.

“Are you sure that you’re okay to drive? You did fall pretty hard…”

“Yeah, I’m fine but if it makes you feel better then-… Here.”

Chris tossed you his car keys. You let out a small gasp.

“Wait- you would let me drive your car just like that?”

“Sure. Unless you would rather not to-…”

“Nooo, it’s all good.”

You grinned and practically jumped over to the driver’s side. Chris chuckled at your enthusiastic laugh and got in the passenger’s seat. You buckled in and started the car. It was defiantly something else than your own. Chris typed in the new address for your next destination. Then you were off to God knows where. Still you’d never felt more safe with Chris by your side.

The drive was about 30 minutes or so, Chris pointed to an exit where the two of you switched places.

“I wanted to keep going with the element of surprise.”

You didn’t mind and Chris seemed very okay to drive. Although he only drove for about maximum of 5 minutes before he’d parked by what looked like field. Chris had beaten you to open your door, he gently grabbed one of your hands and led you closer to wherever you were going.

“Close your eyes.”

You narrowed your eyes slightly but did as he’d asked.

“Tell me what you smell now.”

“Smell, what do you mean?”

“Just go with me on this. Try to take a deep whiff.”

Again, you did as he told. Inhaling, you could suddenly smell all kinds of smells. Confused, you found yourself inhaling like an asthmatic snail.

“Okay maybe I’m way off here, but I smell cotton candy and popcorn but aren’t we out in the middle of nowhere?”

“Well, yes and no. You’re in fact right, cos if you open your eyes you’ll find out just where we’re right now.”

Slowly you opened your eyes and discovered that you were now standing at by the entrance of a funfair or something that looked like a Carnival. You couldn’t hide your shocked state nor excitement. You were definitely liking where this was going. Chris beamed as he watched your happy face as it lit up.

Tag list:

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@Chris-butt

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@ la-cey

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Tag list for Falling, Fallen series:

@commanderrykov

@ thatoneperson5000

@hockeychick10

#chris evans #chris evans fanfiction #chris evans series #chris evans imagine #chris evans x reader #chris evans x y/n #chris evans x you

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domestic-harry · 7 years ago

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Lisa can you rec me some harrie-larrie blogs please? I need more harry on my dash but every time I try to follow harries they end up being those kind of people who think Harry hated 1D/ot4 and was "plotting his solo career" all along and only stayed in 1D to get where he wanted 🙄 (I talked too much sorry lol *louis' voice* as you can see I'm very frustrated about this!) HELP A GIRL OUT!!!!! 🙏

Here are some sweet kind good harrie-larries!!! If you’re actually a louie…oops…I tried. Also, if you’re a non-problematic sweetpea harrie larrie, just like this ask.

@jewelsfae @hazzardstyles @harrysgaytour @mlmharry @justlookatthehearteyes @dancerharry @dunkirks @hxrry @kiwihunny @aquitecontentbum@harry-es @homemp3 @hazalmighty @fckharrystyles @lostjams @musicianharry @glossharry @lovesincerelyharry @urbancityharry

#this ask made me realize how many people I follow that I have NOOO IDEA WHO YOUR FAVE IT #So....If I love you and didnt tag you.....I trolled your blog and couldnt tell #oopsies #asks

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possum-rat · 3 years ago

Text

King ophelia

is this nearly 2 months late? yes yes it is.

@king-ophelia

“If i die im totally haunting your ass”

(Y/n) x C!Sam Platonic

______________

Mentions of: death, blood,tommy’s prison arc

There had always been a close Mentor and Student type of bond Between a certain droopy elf-eared green-tinted skinned man and a young kid around the age of 15-16? Some might even say that it was closer, more Father and child-like. So naturally when Awesamdude began distancing himself from everyone while making the prison (Y/n) felt a mixture of anger and slightly guilt. Guilt because it wasn't Sam’s duty to take care of them. Sam had simply shown them Human kindness, and (Y/n) not having many good encounters with people had clutched to the praise that Sam had given on the regular. (Y/n) had only felt angrier and angrier as time passed. Especially when Ponk had stumbled into their small dark oak cottage on the outskirts of what was Pogtopia. His red yellow and black mask burned beyond repair and holding what was left of his arm. Leaping up from the small couch situated in the middle of the small one-floor house (Y/n) turns their attention to Ponk. As they work feverishly whispering that it’ll be okay more to themselves than anything else. That day they realize that the Man that they had admired so much and had tried to please didn't care. ------ “Sam? I made something look!” (Y/n) says happily as they pull the prosthetic arm they had been working on for Ponk. “I'm busy (Y/n), Tommy needs help with something,” Sam states as he brushes past (Y/n) without a thought. “Of course. It’s always Tommy and tubbo this. Why don't you have a second of time for me?” (Y/n) mumbles dejectedly. Shoving the arm back into their bag they grumble annoyed. Eventually, they bump into Foolish. “(Y/n)! Didn't see you there! How are you?” he asks cheerfully crouching into a squat. “I made something for Ponk. I tried showing Sam but he was busy. As always.” They say quietly while fiddling with the hem of the bag. Foolish’s emerald eyes widen in interest. “You did? Can I see?” Nervously they pull a wooden base of an arm armor of the bag before turning their attention to Foolish, (Y/n) smiles shyly up at the man before gently placing the arm in his huge calloused hands. Foolish sits on the ground in front of (Y/n) and turns the arm silently, his jade eyes staring intently at the arm that’s a quarter -if that -the size of his hand. Growing more nervous and agitated at the lack of response (Y/n) a close mentor-student type of bond between Sam and (Y/n). If you were to look closer it might be called a Father/child type of bond. Maybe even Found Family. Always ever since (Y/n) had been younger. (Y/n) had always looked up to him, always trying to be just like him. Horror was the least they felt when Ponk- stumbled into (Y/n’s) small cottage. His arm was bloody in his other arm. His mask torn in places, his hood pulled up pasted his face. To cover the deep cuts. Dropping the book they had been reading: The Book thief, on the couch they spring up and run toward Ponk one line still ringing in their head. “I guess humans like to watch a little destruction. Sand castles, houses of cards, that's where they begin. Their great skill is their capacity to escalate.” The meaning of those words smacks (Y/n) like a truck. Just like how Sam had destroyed (Y/n’s) view on the world, Ruining the one last thing that kept (Y/n’s) view of the parental figure like a parent. It didn't help that (Y/n) was the youngest in the vast land of DreamSmp. Being 12 when they lost their first life jumping in front of Technoblade's fireworks that Schlatt had ordered him to fire at Tubbo. And 13 when they had lost their second life to a forest fire that Niki had started. Niki had apologized of course, but techno. You know how he is. ---- It had been a few weeks after Ponk’s visit, and (Y/n) had been wandering around looking for Sam for some input. Eventually finding him they tap his shoulder and present the Wood and golden ornate hand they had been making during the past 2 weeks. “Sam! Look!” They state excitedly. As they hold out the arm. “That's nice (Y/n). But I'm busy. I need to help Tommy with his hotel.” Sam says as he shrugs (Y/n) off brushing past them. Nodding slowly (Y/n) stands on the prime path before turning and shoving the arm into their bag before walking down the prime path with no particular idea. “Oh- sorry I didn't see you there-” A tall man with bright observant jade green eyes and golden shining olive skin gazes down wearing Egyptian royalty wear with gold, and emerald stitching along the hems of the shendyt. Shifting down he smiles down at (Y/n) his gold ornately patterned Wesekh with lapis emerald and Netherite hangs off his chest while he grins happily. Sharp shark-like teeth gleaming. “(Y/n) right?” he asks as he offers out a huge hand. “Y-Yeah. You're Foolish right?” the man nods causing (Y/n) to breath in deeply the scent of pine filling their nose. (Y/n) gazes at the ground while Foolish asks “May I see the arm you tried showing Sam?” nervously (Y/n) obliges. As Foolish sits on the ground examining the minuscule arm (Y/n) grows agitated at the lack of negative response- well any response. “Sorry- I know. It's stupid and it won't work-” they mutter quietly. “No, no-no. that’s not it at all. Im amazed at the level of detail on the fingers and the knuckles (Y/n).” --------- “Tommy? I can give a note to Dream so you don't have to see him.” (Y/n) states with an undertone of wanting to prove themselves. “No- You're too young-” he begins. “No.” They interrupt loudly. Tommy raises an eyebrow. (Y/n) never really questioned anybody's judgment, they merely followed without question. “I- uh. I want to help. Please.” they continue their voice growing quieter as the sudden jolt of courage dissolves into fear of rejection. Tommy nods a small smile on his face. “Sure. Only if you pinky promise you’ll be safe okay?” ------ As they reach the prison, the anger they had repressed for months begins bubbling up. In addition to anxiety. (Y/n) hadn't really interacted with Dream much. Only briefly when he needed somewhere to hide. And foolishly (Y/n) had let him. As they reach the other end of the portal Sam doesn't look up from the desk he’s sitting at. “Tommy. Kid. I have something for you to sign.” he says tiredly. As he places a book in front of (Y/n). “Read that out loud.” (Y/n) feels a twinge of anger at the nickname Sam had given Tommy. Sam had never taken the time to do that for (Y/n). Taking a deep breath they begin. “Page 1 I HEREBY ASSUME ALL OF THE RISKS OF VISITING THE HOLDING CELL, including by way of example and not limitation, any risks that may arise from negligence or carelessness on the part of the Prison guards, prisoners misbehaving, from dangerous or defective equipment” (Y/n) read haltingly and slowly sounding out negligence. Sam suddenly glances up and sighs “(Y/n) why are you here. Tommy said he’d be here.” ignoring what sam had asked they continue rambling

“Page 2 or property owned, maintained, or controlled by the Prison Guards. I certify that I waive, release, and discharge the Prison from any and all liability, including but not limited to, death, disability, personal injury, property damage,” they glare at Sam and murmur “you did that to ponk. You hurt him.” they take another breath before continuing:

Page 3 property theft, or actions of any kind which may hereafter occur to me, including my traveling to and from visiting the Prisoner. Written name, then sign: (Y/n)” They sign it and slide the book toward Sam. “(Y/n). Why are you here.” they scoff annoyed and reply “Why else? I'm visiting Dream. I'm telling him something Tommy wanted me to say.” ------------- As (Y/n) reaches the platform they turn toward Sam and state. “Sam. If I die. Then I’m totally haunting your ass.” Sam sighs and retorts “You're not going to die. And stop talking. Face forward.” Nodding (Y/n) turns forward tears forming in their eyes. Gazing up at the ceiling (Y/n) lifts a hand pressing it against their eyes while mentally shouting at themself to not cry. Being in prison wasn't as bad as they thought. Dream seemed nice enough, so he made conversation. “So (Y/n) have you made anything new? I’ve heard that you like making things.” Dream says as he leans against the wall his tone curious. (Y/n) jumps at the opportunity of having someone showing genuine interest in what they enjoy. “Well- I’ve started reading Norse Myths. Those are cool- I also really like- I like uh building things. Like a few weeks ago I made a fake arm for ponk cuz Sam ripped him off.” They state excitedly. Dream nods his mask contorting into a small smile. “Wait-” Dream pauses his mask’s eyebrows contorting into a frown “Did you say Sam ripped off Ponks arm?” (Y/n) freezes the hairs on the back of their neck suddenly standing on end. They laugh awkwardly, alarms blaring internally “What- nooo that's preposterous. Why would Sam do that? I mean Sam loves Ponk.” they blabber nervously as they fiddle with their hands nervously. Suddenly there’s an ear-splitting boom. Causing (Y/n) to freeze in place. ------ About a week has passed since (Y/n) got trapped in the prison. (Y/n) eventually grew more nervous and twitchy whenever Dream so much as looked at them. On the 4th day, they had gotten a cat. (Y/n) had named the calico “Fat Ass” as he was one of the Fattest cats (Y/n) had seen. On the 8th day or so (Y/n) had been trapped Fat Ass had seemed to have enough with everything and committed unalive by walking into the lava. (Y/n) would never forget his pitiful yowls as he burned alive. The ninth day (Y/n) began growing desperate Screaming at the lava for hours on end until their throat grew dry or Dream had yanked them up and tossed them across the small room. As he yelled “(Y/N) SAM DOESN'T CARE. HE’S GOING TO LEAVE YOU HERE TO FUCKING ROT. WHY WON'T THAT GET THROUGH YOUR FUCKING HEAD.” (Y/n) grew silent at that. Playing with the orangy drawstrings of their hoodie. “Okay.” (Y/n) whispers in defeat. “You win. Just stop yelling at me please.” Dream scoffs bending closer to (Y/n) grabbing the collar of their Hoodie. “(Y/n). You're pathetic. I could kill you right now and revive you because I'm bored. I could do that for hours and Sam wouldn't move a damned muscle.” (Y/n’s) (e/c) eyes widen in fear as they whisper “Your lying.” gulping they rasp “You wouldn't. You don't have it in you-” Dream grins. “(Y/n), I’m a GOD.” He Lifts a clenched fist before sending it into their gut. “I can do this as much as I want and you can't do anything about it.” He sends blow after blow. And as he bends closer to (Y/n). They take the chance and grip his ears tightly. Before screaming as loud as they could. “SAM-” As Dream sends another punch to their gut (Y/n) pulls down hard on the ear. Dream squeezes his hands around (Y/n’s) throat. “SAM PLEASE HELP. DAD-” they wail as they kick trying to escape Dream’s grasp as air begins to be a long-lost luxury. “Aw- Are you calling for daddy? He won't come (Y/n). He’s busy.” Those last words are the final words (Y/n) here before everything doubles and shifts into kaleidoscopic colors and shapes, and they take one last half-hearted breath.

(Y/n) wakes up in a calm place. Everything is so...peaceful...weirdly so. As they spin in a circle they see a playground. The cool midnight breeze ruffling (Y/n’s) hair as they skip toward the structure. Not thinking twice (Y/n) sits on one of the swings and begins to kick off. The rocking mixed with the cool breeze of the night and footsteps- wait why were their footsteps… Jumping from the swing at the top of its arch (Y/n) comes crashing down to earth. Wincing at the feeling of their body slamming against the ground. “Hello?” (Y/n) asks quietly. “Dear? Oh my- oh you were so young- Come here let’s have a little chat you and i.” a feminine voice says. (Y/n) tenses up and replies “Can- Could I stay here? On the swings I mean? I- I don't really know- I’m a little scared here- Where am-” the feminine figure comes into sight wearing a flattering simple black dress that throws her elegant features into greater depth. “Oh Honey, Do whatever makes you comfortable okay? You're in well that's hard to explain. But to put it simply, you're dead. I guess this Empty park is yours- what did My husband's son call it? Limbo? You're stuck here while we talk.” (Y/n) freezes tears forming as they sit in front of the woman. “No- I cant- Sam saved- I’m just- I'm dreaming right?” they whimper as they clutch the soft material of their sweatshirt. “Sam- He was- He saved me and I'm just having a nightmare.” (Y/n) whispers to themselves as they rock back and forth. “Here Honey let me help you. You have a bad cut and I don't want it to get infected.” (Y/n) nods slowly and as the gentle touch of the woman’s hand grazes their cheek (Y/n) jerks awake with a start. ------------------------- There had been an alarm. Luckily Sam had been in the prison at the time. As the automated voice says calmly “The Prisoner is displaying violent acts toward the visitor.” Sam’s blood runs cold. “(Y/n)” he gasps as he sprints through a special tunnel he had created in case of an event like this. As he waits for the lava to drain he regrets ignoring (Y/n). As the lava finally drains he can see Dream leaning against a wall, a hand covering his left ear as bloodstains it. While (Y/n) seems to be asleep at his feet. That doesn't help his fears. “Dream. What the hell did you do?” Sam asks quietly as he reaches the halfway point of his destination. Dream turns slowly before reaching down to (Y/n’s) head and turning it where it’s on full display for Sam to see. Bloody, and 2 giant purple hands print upon their throat. Sam Backs up disgust filling his brain. “They wouldn't stop yelling for you. I got annoyed.” dream states simply. Sam backs away in disgust as he crouches down and hoists (Y/n) up. “Sam- D’you know they kept begging for mercy. They shouted and I quote“Sam Please help. Dad” Dream’s tone is mocking as he stretches. “Obviously you failed them as a parent. When they first came in they were so eager to have someone listen to them for once instead of being bossed around.” Dream laughs. “They tried so hard to make you happy or to be proud of them. (Y/n) felt so neglected that they were genuinely excited when me- a prisoner showed interest. That says a lot about them doesn't it Sam.” Sam stares at the floor, his heart beating faster and faster. “Sam- I heard what they said to you before they came in here.” As Sam steps back onto the floating bridge he set’s (Y/n’s) body down and backs up his hands rubbing his face as the Lava begins to return to place. Sam leans on the wall a few feet from the lava covering the entrance of Dream’s holding cell. ----- Phantom(N/n). That's the only thing the ghost remembers. The only name apart from Awesamdude. Phantom(N/N) is pretty sure that Awesamdude isn't their name. Standing in a small purplish room, where two unfamiliar men stand one cowering under another man with a scar running down his face making his eye white. Tensing up Phantom(N/n) backs up and crutches into a small ball trying to stay out of view. But they were spotted. The man with the scar crutches in front of Phantom(N/n) and smiles offering out a reddish hand. Phantom(N/n) gazes up at him before taking it nervously and avoiding the gaze of the man wearing green while Alive(Y/n)’s voice murmurs to stay away from Dream. The man with the scar has warm hands Phantom(N/n) notices. Glancing up Phantom(N/n) smiles up at the man, as he gently guides the two of them across the bridge. As they reach the other end Phantom(N/n) lets go of the man's hand, noticing then that he has Light brownish feathers coming from the side of his head along with wings coming from his back with dark shiny greens and other colors. “(Y/n)?” he asks as he places his hands on each side of their shoulders. Phantom(N/n) frowns before saying “Oh you're talking about Alive(Y/n), I’m Phantom(N/n)” they smile up at him taking in his injury. Gently raising their hand Phantom(N/n) places a finger on the man’s cheek while frowning. “Does it hurt?” Phantom(N/n) asks their head tilting in concern. Phantom(N/n) removes their hand from his slightly rough scar before turning when a set of footsteps grow louder. As they turn Phantom(N/n) fiddles with the orange drawstrings while they gaze at the shiny slightly refective Blackstone floor. Lowering themself Phantom(N/n) sits on the floor tracing the cool stone tile as the two people talk in hushed hurried tones. Before the man with duck-like feathers suddenly erupts “SAM- THIS IS A CHANCE FOR YOU TO TRY TO REPAIR YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH (Y/N).” The other man Sam retorts his voice shaking “Quackity. (Y/n’s) dea-” Phantom(N/n) looks up at those words. As their eyes meet Sam’s they flick their gaze back to the floor. “I’m not (Y/n). I’m Phantom(N/n).” Phantom(N/n) murmurs quietly while Quackity and Sam continue to argue. As their shouting becomes louder and louder Phantom(N/n) stands up and tries to find an exit. Finding a passageway probably for employees Phantom(N/n) walks through pressing a hand to the wall as they skip through the cold narrow halls. The cool rush of air a pleasant change in contrast to the hot sticky-stale air of the prison cell. The yelling growing fainter Phantom(N/n) feels a breath of air go. On they didn't realize they were holding in. Reaching into their pocket Phantom(N/n) pulls out a soft Bunny. One with orange wool, and a small carrot attached with a thin string. Holding it in their hands Phantom(N/n) stares at it a small smile spreading on their face. An expression of confusion replaces the small smile before the grin returns.“ You’ll be...uh...Your...Pluto. Yeah, you’ll be Pluto.” One of pluto’s shiny black eyes catches the light of something and Phantom(N/n) stiffens as they gaze forward. Slowly turning around Sam stands their Axe in hand. Tensing up Phantom(N/n) says with a huff.“That’s not nice. You shouldn’t point pointy sharp things at people. Someone could get hurt.” Sam frowns before crouching infront of Phantom(N/n) and placing the axe somewhere in his inventory. Smiling in approval Phantom(N/n) shrugs their jacket higher on their shoulder before jumping toward Sam. “Who are the rings for? You and Mr.Quackity both had 2 each. Are you married to two people? Do I get 2 more dads?” The questions roll of Phantom(N/n’s) tongue fast. Sam stands up resting Phantom(N/n) on his hip his left arm securing them to his body. Sam hesitates before nodding. “Yeah.- yeah you do. Do you want to meet them?” the two people walk through the same hall that Phantom(N/n) had walked through. “Mr.Quackity? Who are you married to? Isn’t it the man with the swirly pattern and the other man with the headband?” Quackity nods slowly before muttering. “Something like that. They forgot about me.” Phantom(N/n) doesn't seem to like this information. Squirming in Sam’s grasp Sam gently places them down before they grab Quackity’s hand and smiling up at him “Well We’ll go make them unforget! Come one!” They state firmly as if there were no room for criticism.

#Poss angst #awesamdude #(Y/n) x awesamdude #Platonic #Quackity #Dream smp #ponk x foolish x sam #karlnapity #Dream #tommyinnit

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krreader · 4 years ago

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good for you | chapter 5.

pairing: teacher!kim seokjin x student!reader fandom: bts warnings: non idol!au ; college!au ; student x teacher relationship ; language ; sex ; dirty talk genre: smut ; crack ; angst previous: 1 ; 2 ; 3 ; 4 word count: 1.8k+

summary: when you’re in dire need for more credits and your roommate finds a course that she wants to participate in but doesn’t want to go alone, you get dragged with her and end up in the class of kim seokjin, the new Korean teacher. suddenly all those stories, movies and shows about a romance between a professor and his student made sense, because how could you not fall for someone who looked like that?

a/n: this is so long overdue, but here it is my friends. finally.

“I have to say,” the waiter brought out your food, you finally having something to focus on other than your extremely handsome teacher Mr. Kim, “This is a little weird. I've never went to dinner with my teacher.”

“If this makes you uncomfortable..-”

Jin understood where you were coming from. He certainly hadn’t pictured himself having dinner with one of his students like this either.

“Oh no! No, that's not what I meant,” you quickly said, shaking your head, “I just mean that this is all new for me.”

“Well, if you want, we can talk about school stuff. Or maybe you could practice your Korean. After all, the test will be very soon.”

“I'm confident,” you said, beginning to dig in without mercy. You hadn't eaten all day because you thought you'd go on that date with Taehyung.. but clearly not, “Not like Perry. All she learns are words that will help her argue with Jeongguk.”

“It's really interesting to me that she was the one who dragged you to my course, yet you're the one that's studying for it and she's not.”

“I need the extra credits.. and I really like the language. I always wanted to learn it ever since I became friends with Jeongguk and Jimin.”

“And.. Taehyung?”

“Oh,” your shoulders dropped, just like your smile, “He's not a friend..”

“You're right. He's not a friend. And he's not worth your time,” Jin narrowed his eyes at you while taking a sip of his drink.

“I try telling myself that, too, you know? But I guess it's easier for other people to say than for myself to understand it,” you shrugged, “Whatever. It's fine.. You seem to be good company too, so I'm content.”

That made Jin smile brightly, almost proudly, “Then a toast to good company, good food and..-”

“..-and assholes who don't show up to dates.”

You both laughed and continued to do so throughout the entire night.

You and your professor had a chemistry that you couldn't deny, you still hadn't forgotten about that time you and him had almost kissed, but tonight wasn't awkward like you feared it would be at first. And maybe that was because of the alcohol that you both consumed and the fact that, by the end of the dinner, all you two could do was laugh and lull, but it was great fun and you really appreciated him being with you, because if he hadn’t, you would have gone home and bawled your eyes out after the guy that you thought you liked so much had stood you up like an idiot.

Him and you talked about your lives, about your interests, about the future.. you actually had really interesting and deep conversations, at least up until the alcohol had gotten to your heads.

Then it was just.. a mess.

“My apartment is soooooo far away,” you complained when you and him were finally out of the restaurant, “That asshole made me drive so much for him. Fuck Taehyung.”

“Yeah.. well, no,” Jin laughed, “Don't fuck Taehyung. He's not worth it.”

“Yeah, right,” you snort-laughed, falling against his chest and Jin, being as drunk as you were, wrapping an arm around you without thinking about whether or not that was ‘proper’.

Though, ‘proper’ was not a word that he thought about at all tonight.

“I'll get you a taxi.”

And see, if you had just said yes in that moment, or if you had just nodded or if you hadn't even said a word and just gotten into that goddamn car that he tried to hail for you, then none of this would have happened.

But you were still upset about having been stood up, your pride was hurt, your teacher was still looking like a sex god and you weren't thinking straight anymore, so what you said next, sounded like a good idea in your head in your drunken state at the time, but never in a million years would you have been so forward if you had been sober, “Nooo, don't. I want to go home with you,” you grabbed the lapels of his coat and came dangerously close to him, grinning seductively.. or tried to, “I want to be with you tonight.”

And see, if Jin was in any other state, he definitely would have pushed you into that taxi, he would have wanted you to say something like that when you were thinking clearly - even if he still tried to deny that -, but his own mind was clouded with lust for you, with alcohol and with.. loneliness, quite frankly.

“My, my, my.. you want to go home with your teacher, Ms. (Y/L/N)? That is quite naughty.”

“I've been thinking about it ever since I first met you, you know?” you whispered, biting down on your lip.

You were obviously both consenting here, that wasn't the issue, the issue was that once you'd cross that line, there was no going back from it. This boundary of teacher/student that could be crossed, but really shouldn’t be.

Neither of you realized that though.

Not when you followed him home, not when he pushed you against his closed door as soon as you were inside and not when he finally entered you after having spent absolutely zero time with foreplay, because neither of you were willing to wait any longer to really feel each other.

“Fuck,” you moaned out, arching your back into his soft mattress, “You feel so fucking good.”

“I imagined this so many times,” Jin chuckled against your throat, pulling out and then pushing into you as hard as before, biting down on your neck when you almost screamed his name, relishing in the feeling of how tight you felt around him.

“Me too,” you gulped down hard, “My best friend is going to kill me for this though, you know? She wants you so bad.. everyone wants you so bad..”

“Hmm,” Jin pushed himself up a little and then kissed you in an almost sweet manner, before whispering, “I only want you, though.”

And he really meant it, even if you couldn’t comprehend it and he wouldn’t remember having said it.

The sex wasn't rough, but it wasn't soft either. It was the perfect middle ground that made you both moan out each others names for a surprisingly long amount of time.

You would assume that being drunk would make him cum sooner, but nope. Your teacher proved to you that he had stamina and was rather creative when it came to positions.

And you and your three – yes, you heard that correctly, first time with him and he managed to make you orgasm three times, your ex-boyfriend should have signed up for a fucking class with him too – orgasms were very grateful.

Naturally the act was also a bit clumsy, but that almost made it even better. Sex didn’t always have to be super passionate and rough, tonight was fun, you two laughed, you two moaned, you two screamed eventually.. it was a good time and your sober self – if this weren't your teacher – would agree with you. In that moment, you wouldn’t have wanted it to be any different.

You've never had better sex in your life and never had a more handsome looking partner.

Thankfully, even in your drunken state, you hadn't been stupid and Jin had used a condom, eventually spilling everything he had to offer inside of it and moaning your name over and over again, like it was some sort of prayer.

Both of you were completely drenched in sweat, the sheets beneath you felt disgusting, but you yourself didn't.

Your legs were still wrapped around him, you could feel him soften inside of you, yet neither you nor him wanted to move, both too tired and too comfortable in the current state.

Your breathing was heavy and so was his weight on top of you, but instead of pushing him off, you actually pulled him closer, your fingertips gently running over his back.

You didn't say anything for a long time, only when he pushed himself up and looked at you did you ask, so low, as if you were afraid of the answer – which you didn't understand why: “Do you want me to go?”

But Jin's smile was soft and his lips on your forehead even softer, “No. Stay.”

And so you did. After you had washed up, you had cuddled into his chest and he had wrapped his arms around you, something so domestic that made both of you giddy like teenagers.

You had sobered up a little at this point, but not enough to realize that what you had just done would have immense consequences.

In that moment, you were just a normal woman and he just a normal man who had enjoyed themselves thoroughly.

And you both wished this moment would never end.

But it did.

It ended when you fell asleep.

It ended when you woke up and accepted that call from your best friend.

“Do you need me to come and get you?!” Perry was immediately alarmed, “Where are you, tell me, I'm already there!”

“No, no, no,” you whispered, tiptoeing into the bathroom with your clothes, “No, fuck, no. Just.. I'm okay. Give me.. thirty minutes, okay?”

“(Y/N), I really..-”

“I'm fine, Perry!”

You couldn't very well tell her where you were, or why you were there.

She might be your best friend, but she would certainly not approve of this. The man she had wanted to fuck – even if only to get back at her ex-boyfriend – as well as your teacher having been your sex buddy last night?

Nah, that wasn't a good look. You couldn't tell anyone about this and you were sure that he’d feel the same way once he’d wake up.

What the fuck were you thinking, (Y/N)?! This was such a bad idea!

You put on your clothes in a hurry, then checked and made sure Jin was still asleep, before hurrying out of his apartment and jumping into the first taxi that was free.

You barely remembered last night.

You remembered Taehyung standing you up, you being upset and then Jin coming along. You remembered him and you having dinner and then things started to get foggy. After that there's only snippets.

You remembered..-

You pressed your eyes shut as well as your thighs when heat rushed back between your legs at the memories of what you had done.

You still felt him on your body. His lips on your throat, his hands gliding over your legs, his dick pushing in and out of you.. and.. it felt so good that you felt ashamed.

He was your teacher. Your fucking teacher!

And even though this wasn't against the rules, didn't mean that it had been a good idea.

Especially because.. you.. kinda wanted to do it all again.

#bts x reader #bts imagine #kim seokjin x reader #seokjin x reader #kim seokjin imagine #seokjin imagine #jin x reader #jin imagine #bts #bangtan boys #bangtan sonyeondan #bangtan #kim seokjin #seokjin #jin #reader #mine

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twixtandshout · 3 years ago

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Tagged by @pidgeonpostal! And not tagging anyone else because I have SOILED the original template (soiled it!!) in deference to my [brushes off skirt] mostly clean public-facing appearance.

...I’ve been making a lot of Spongebob memes lately for someone who has not seen Spongebob.

How many works do you have on AO3?

71!

What’s your total AO3 wordcount?

...306,834. Jesus.

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Uh. Many! I do a lot of one-offs (and/or start long things I never finish) in many different places. My top three fandoms by fics written are RWBY (29), Undertale (25), Gravity Falls/Transcendence AU (4).

Bet you can’t tell where my hyperfixations have fallen.

I’ve also got some Pokémon and Sonic the Hedgehog fics back on my ff.net account, or I think I still do, anyway, but let’s never go back there pls

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1. Sweeter Than Honey (Undertale): Taking a Completely unsurprising first place, with over 600 more kudos than the runner-up, the haphazard Underswap fic featuring a post-college self-insert I wrote just after high school! I shake my head some at how overblown and ridiculous the gap between this and all my other stuff is (c’mon, guys, I’ve written way better fics), but this is also the fic which prompted me (and at least one other person!) to start using they/them pronouns. I’ve gotten a lot of really sweet comments about how seen and appreciated it’s made people feel, so I can’t get down too far about it.

2. To Be A Hero (BNHA): I don’t count myself as part of the BNHA fandom, for a number of reasons, but for something that’s arguably the main motivation for the entire plot, Midoriya’s quirklessness is something I’ve never thought has been handled well. This fic marked the first time I (somewhat tentatively) claimed the disability label (thanks again to Sweeter Than for prompting that realization) to hold that lens over canon. It also really shot up my chart, dang! It’s the only thing here I’d consider “recent.”

3. Three-Sentence Shipping (Undertale): Self-explanatory.

4. Brothers Beyond Bonedaries (Undertale): Ah, the way-overcomplicated AU³ I got nowhere close to finishing. One of the things I really like about Undertale is the interface screw, how Toby Fox uses the medium of the video game to pull off crazy things and enhance his game, but most of the fic written for the fandom seems dedicated to explaining it away, grounding it, rather than taking it to the next step and messing with the medium of fanfiction when you keep the story going. I tried to do something cool like that here, playing with questions like narrator and authorship and breaking the fourth wall, even taking the “final boss” fight to a “totally separate” fic reached through the first by link – but, well, then I never finished it, which probably didn’t make anything less confusing for the poor folks who missed the intent.

5. Spirit and Such (Gravity Falls: Transcendence AU): A whole fic written to line out a particular image I had, which, naturally, never made it to the page. I consider it a bit of a cautionary tale for myself when it comes to writing (near-)original content; there’s a lot I look back on and cringe. I still love the characters, though – well, the important ones – and I think just stepping away from the tried-and-true Mizar formula nets it a star sticker here.

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

>w>; I try, but a lot of the time I just don’t have anything to say? Like, oh, you liked it? Neat. There’s not much to respond to in comments like that, and then I’m weighing falling down on an ~obligation~ to respond to every message in my inbox vs annoying people with copy-paste fluff responses all down the page. Plus I know I make more of an effort to comment on things that didn’t get the attention I feel they deserve, so if I’m driving up my own comment count with nonsense, am I preventing myself from being in a position to receive more comments later? And then if I do comment, am I being too effusive or running people’s ears off explaining things they don’t actually need to know? Sometimes people just want to express interest or admiration and don’t necessarily want a whole peek and guided tour behind the curtain.

Can you tell I have anxiety? x3;

Anyway, I do respond when I can. And I keep most of the comments I’ve gotten to go back and reread.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Hm, hmm. Lots of stuff in the TQ Nonsense series would probably qualify! I’m thinking of Unfixable, Wolfsong, and Ethanol. And there’s Bursting Through A Blood-Red Sky (I Can Live, I Can Breathe), of course, but that was always intended to have a fix-it epilogue. It’s just that I wrote it in a couple of hours day-of, stared at it, and decided I didn’t wanna just then. But now that’s As Long As You’re Still Burning Bright (I’m Still Awake), and that’s probably the best romance I’ve written, so that one worked out.

Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve ever written?

Now and then! When the urge strikes. Uhhh, I’ve got a series of Doctor Who x Undertale crossovers I actually made a whole dang verse for that never made it to print. Get a couple great comments on that every few months or so. I think the World Trigger x Undertale crossover is probably weirder, though, by virtue of WT being a very small fandom. My enthusiasm kinda sputtered out on that one.

Mostly I just daydream crossovers with whatever happens to catch my eye at any given moment. I have a lot!!!! Though odds are out on whether I manage to remember any of them once the initial thought’s passed, lol.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Gotten a couple eyebrow-raising comments, but I think mostly I’m just too small a writer to draw that kind of attention.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don’t? think so? Think my tastes are a little niche for most people to bother ^^;

Have you ever had a fic translated?

I had someone apologize once for any language mistakes in their comment cause they had to run it through a translator! That’s not what you asked (the answer is no), but it’s very flattering to think that someone liked my fic enough to read and comment despite the language barrier.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes! :D @pidgeonpostal was gracious enough to agree to co-write Five Nights at Denny’s with me off an idea about shoes. This has fulfilled a long-held dream of mine (collabing with someone, not the shoes) and also introduced me to some lovely people.

What’s your all time favorite ship?

Who has time for just one? ;3c Honestly, I care more about the characters and how the relationship – any relationship – between them changes them than I do about ~A Ship~ as a solid, bounded noun-object. I’ve got characters I like more and less and feelings about who does and doesn’t have chemistry in which directions with whom, but finding anything that agrees with those preferences is hard, harder when you take alloromanticism into account. I’ll play in any sandbox with cool toys, especially if other folks have already built sick sandcastles there.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

[kicks every single unfinished fic further under the bed] What nooo no WIPs here, everything on my account is either finished or does not exist

I’ve got a couple extra chapters of Sweeter Than floating around unposted, but 1. that fic’s a mess 2. high school Twixt and post-college Twixt are different people and trying to contort myself into three other me-shapes just cause people Like this fic is not something I’m super interested in 3. it’s headed for an emotional dip and I’d rather leave it where it is than post two chapters, stall out again, and leave folks with a bad end.

As for other fics... it’s looking more and more likely that v7 of my Yellow Brick Road AU will never actually make it out. >w>; I’ve got some really great ideas, but not enough to make me feel like I know what I’m doing, and that’s a big roadblock. Plus trying to engage with RT’s Atlas-Mantle worldbuilding in any serious capacity is... a headache. I can’t recommend the Happy Huntress Cinematic Universe enough, but it leaves some pretty big shoes to follow! And I’ve got small feet. <w<;

What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue’s fun, probably as an extension of characterization. I love tearing into what makes people tick, especially against the backdrop of their environment, the story they’re in, and the people they’re up against. Voice is a double-edged sword; I’ve been told my writing is really recognizable and individual, but on the other hand, I’ve been growing frustrated with with the limits of my narrative ability. There’s a strong rhythm I keep when I write (you might notice it here, even) but that leaves me feeling predictable and stale. I’m not sure I’m great at setting as a matter of course, but I’m pretty good at describing setpieces where the need comes up; that comes from my background in poetry, as does the fun I have with sublimating and abstracting complex imagery. And I think I bring some needed nuance to the universal. For good or ill, I don’t do what “everyone else” is doing.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Well, writing, for one thing. If I don’t know how something’s going to go and don’t have the urge to write it, it isn’t getting done, which means there’s a billion things that will never see the page and a few hundred more that are never getting finished. I lose momentum easily and have a hard time getting started, and I put way too much standing on finding a foothold with other people; as critical as I am of my work, I have high expectations for the stuff that passes muster, and it never seems to measure up. I’m also really uncreative. Yeah, I can mix up elements and extrapolate events, but coming up with things wholesale is really hard, which is why I avoid it wherever possible and steal/reskin stuff from other places instead.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

Something along the lines of “Hoo boy, I am Not qualified for this but hopefully it’s decent anyway.” Maria’s Spanish lines haven’t been a big deal – I’ve used it sparingly and, as a Latin language, it should be easy for English-speaking audiences to pick up on the gist – but I’ve had a harder time with Tai’s Chinese, both because I have Even Less background there and because it is, of course, an entirely different language system. If I write it out in English or Romanized italics, am I colonizing it or changing the meaning? If I write it out in the presumed-original characters (presumed because it’s Google Translate and who knows if I’m even barking in the right forest), am I confusing or alienating my presumed-majority-English-speaking audience? Where should I put the translations? Should I put the translations? And for Frisk’s sign language, thinking back, are the brackets I used instead of quotes alienating/infantilizing? I like that different characters give the text between a different feel, but I’m not an ASL speaker – and I’m pretty sure the word is “speaker,” which would only reinforce that that demographic would rather I didn’t do that. It’s important for all these characters, I think, that they use non-English language where it makes sense; it’s part of who they are. But as a white monolingual English-speaker, I don’t think I can really weigh in.

What was the first fandom you ever wrote for?

Thaaaat’d be Pokémon, followed closely with Sonic the Hedgehog. Whether those fics are still on my ff.net account or not (pretty sure I’ve purged them, but you never know) I’ve still got a couple saved to a folder on my current laptop, ostensibly so I can look back and see how far I’ve come and more practically to allow for the possibility of furthering group cohesion through public shaming.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

I still like the idea behind The Man Who Is Atlas, and Burning Bright (Still Awake) gets props for being my current fic, though it’s currently in that spot where I’m excited to get new chapters posted but also quietly marking everything up in red pen. I think Harbinger gets the crown here, at least for now.

#answerin' stuff

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crystalwillow · 4 years ago

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Count My Blessings

Pairing: Noah Harris x Anna-Rose Price

Features: Mason Jennings, Hazel Harris, Elijah Harris & Ms. Harris

Mentioned: Samantha Lawrence, Mackenzie Price, Dave Price (Mc & Mack’s dad)

Word Count: 4.7K

Inspired by the finale of My Two First Loves. I wanted to write something for us who took the route of romancing Noah. Having Mason and Ava as friends. I do want to quickly disclaim that I chose to rename Ava to Samantha, to give Elijah one last chance and not turn him over to police, and to take the sweet route in the finale, not the steamy one. So this will mostly be fluff with slight steamy moments between Noah and Anna-Rose.

I am using the names of the characters in my play through, and I am referring to Noah, Elijah & Hazel’s ma as Ms. Harris.

I will at some point replay the book a further two times so I can write something similar to this for both Mason and Ava. But I do ask you to just bear in mind that Ava might be called Samantha because that’s what I’m choosing to call her.

Also, this is written in first person, which is different for me as I usually mainly write in 3rd person. But nonetheless, I hope you enjoy this fiction.

=============================================================

The night after the recital, I sat around the dining table in Noah’s home with his family. Ms. Harris had no idea what to make for dinner, so in my infinite wisdom, I had offered to pop by the store earlier in the day, and with the help of Mason, I was able to get all the ingredients I needed to make my favourite pasta dish. We’d also stopped by a clothing store to buy a couple of new outfits for me to choose from to wear for dinner. But of course, now being part of the family, I couldn’t not get anything for Hazel. So naturally, I spent hours browsing the shelf for the little rascal whilst Mason went through the women’s section, picking out potential options for me. I was starting to feel hopeless in the store we were in when I saw something that was screaming Hazel right at my face. Red is a colour that has always suited her, so when I came face to face with a beautiful red dress, with golden stars printed onto the material and a headband to match. I screamed, snatching up one in her size almost immediately. I was adoring the dress when Mason came rushing round the corner with what looked like a dozen dresses over his shoulders.

“Anna-Rose!” he panted, slightly out of breath.

“Mason? What is it? What’s wrong?” I asked, confusion clear on my face.

“You screamed.”

My face fell before breaking out into a wide grin and eventually laughter erupted from my throat.

“What? Why are you laughing? I don’t get it.”

“I just found the perfect dress for Hazel, I’m not in danger.”

He scowled at me as I grinned at him before breaking out into laughter of his own, realizing how ridiculous our current situation was. “Right... You didn’t shout the..”

“Codeword of shobaloobagoobleflop.”

“Yeah… that.”

We stood in the moment for a while longer before heading to the fitting rooms for me to try on the dresses he had picked out and carried over his shoulder. After a further 45 minutes in the store, I’d narrowed it down to three options. A stunning silver bodycon dress, but it looked more like something someone would wear to an award show. A beautiful flowing sun dress in a beautiful midnight blue mixed with a little purple colour. And my personal favourite. A simple yet effective shirt dress in my favourite colour and made from my favourite material. Navy blue denim. I already owned a dress similar to this one, but in all the excitement of getting back to Eastridge to support Samantha at her first recital, I’d forgotten to pack it. And nobody can ever own too much denim. Or too many dresses. Right?

“How’s it going Anna-Rose?” Mason asked loudly from outside the changing room.

“Uhhh… I don’t know which to choose. I don’t want it to be too much and inappropriate for the dinner table. But I also want to look rejuvenated after actually spending the time cooking which is going to make me tired.” I shouted back.

“Well.. what options do you have left?”

As I told Mason the options I had left in the changing room with me I heard him reacting.

“Okay. so you so do not want the bodycon. Hand that back.”

“Okay..” I replied as I stuck my arm out of the curtain, dress hanger in hand.

“Thank you, I’ll just pop this back. One moment please,” Mason said and I heard his footsteps retreat, I sat on the stool and looked at myself in the mirror and let out a small chuckle. Six months ago the girl looking back at me was going through so much she thought she might just not wake up one day due to exploding from stress in her sleep. But now, she’s a student at NYAI, is certain in her future, is lucky to have the friends she has and is proud of being the girlfriend to one of the most handsome people she has ever seen.

As I sat staring in the mirror waiting for Mason to return, my phone pinged on the side with a notification. It was a voice note from Noah in response to a message I’d sent whilst I was shopping for groceries with Mason.

“Anna-Rose, you’re already too sweet for me. But it sounds like a good idea for you girls to get in some premium bonding time. I guess I could spare you for... Let’s say… 2 movies.”

I smiled as I listened to his chuckle and small whispering of “I love you” at the end, I held down the button to record and send my own response to him.

“Noah Harris, you are not getting out of spending time doing face masks and painting your nails with myself and Hazel by slinking away to watch your videos about macho racing cars, or whatever it is you do. Plus I got our favourite candy! You can’t say no to that!”

I followed the voice note with a picture of me pouting in the changing room mirror. Just as I locked my phone, I heard Mason return saying my name after clearing his throat.

“I’ve just spoken to a shop assistant and she said that you should definitely go with the denim dress. It’s perfect pair with black heeled booties and your hair in a braid, pretty much how it is now.”

I smiled as Mason relayed the information to me and got dressed back into my own clothes before making sure I had everything and pulling back the curtain. These two remaining dresses in hand.

“Then I guess we’re putting back a sun dress.”

Mason smiled and before we knew it he was dropping me back off at the Harris household, helping me inside with the bags before bidding me goodbye and leaving to head home. I was unpacking the groceries when I heard small footsteps bounding towards the kitchen, followed by much bigger ones.

“Anna-Rose! Thank Goodness!” Hazel gasped as she ducked behind my legs as a grinning Elijah rounded the corner. He straightened up upon seeing my presence and swallowed harshly as he cleared his throat.

“Anna-Rose. Ah. I um-”

“Was just doing what big brothers should do. Playing with their younger siblings and making them happy. Carry on, I just need to unpack these groceries and then I’m going to start preparing for dinner. But, I do want you two to clean up and be settled before your ma and Noah get home from work, okay? They’re going to want some peace and quiet before dinner.”

Elijah and Hazel looked at each other, talking with facial expressions before turning back to me and nodding profusely with large grins. “Okay, Anna-Rose!” they said in unison before carrying on with their game.

Later on around 5:30pm, the door opened and closed as Noah returned from work, taking a deep inhale.

“Something smells delicious.” he commented.

“Anna-Rose is cooking dinner for us sweetie.” Ms. Harris replied as Hazel and Elijah bickered over a crayon’s shape on the floor.

“No! I’m telling you Elijah. It’s a mermaid!”

“Nooo. it’s definitely a shark.”

Noah looked at them and chuckled from behind me before greeting me with a kiss.

“Hey gorgeous. Miss me?”

“Of course I did.”

He smiled at me and we shared another kiss before he sighed. “As much as I’d love to stand her and cuddle you whilst you finish cooking, I’m gonna go jump in the shower. I’m covered in grease and brake fluid. It’s not the best smell.”

“Okay. Dinner won’t be long, only about another 10 minutes maximum.”

“Alright. I’ll try not to be too long.” he winked before walking in the direction of the bathroom.

I listened back to the conversation happening between Elijah and Hazel.

“But you said that basketballs can be customized to be rainbow. And that you’d get me one with my name on and everything. Even teach me how to play. And you still haven’t.”

“That was before. When my ways weren’t moral at all. I used to be a bad guy, like dad. The only difference between us is, I had a brother and a girl that’s very special to him, show me it’s not too late to be good before I was a copy of dad. So I’m not going to jail. Noah isn’t going back to jail. Ma will be around more often soon too. Things are only going to get better from now on. Okay, kiddo?”

I smiled softly as Hazel turned her head to look at me before looking back at her brother and breaking into a soft smile of her own. “So you’re a good guy now?”

“I’m at the very start. But it was the tortoise who won the race, wasn’t it?”

Hazel nodded with a smile and launched herself into Elijah’s arms. He looked over her shoulder at me and mouthed a “thank you” as tears glossed his eyes. And I knew he meant it. He was on the edge of no return when Noah, Mason, Samantha, Mack, and I found him in that warehouse that night. We could have made the total wrong decision giving him one last chance. But he wasn’t wasting it. It took for him getting severely injured for the danger of the lifestyle he was choosing to register in his mind. But I could tell he was truly sorry for all the pain he had caused. And I could tell that Ms. Harris was happy to have her eldest son back at home safe and away from being a criminal. Just as I was plating up dinner and Hazel was setting the table, Noah walked back into the kitchen, freshly showered and in some cleaner, more comfortable clothes.

“Hey, Hazel?”

“Yes, Anna-Rose?”

“I could use your help quickly. Would you mind?”

“No, I’m coming!” she chimed and took my hand, following me to her bedroom.

As we entered she immediately noticed the bag hanging on her door handle. “What’s in the bag?”

“Why don’t you go ahead and take a look?”

“Okay…” Hazel cautioned as she opened the bag, taking out what was inside, screaming happily. “AH! ANNA-ROSE! HOW DID YOU KNOW I WANTED THIS?!” She abandoned the dress and headband in her bed and rushed into my arms hugging me tightly. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!”

I chuckled as she hugged tighter before letting go. “Can you help me put it on?! I want to show Noah and Elijah how many heart’s I’m going to break when I grow up!” She enthused

“I don’t know about that.” I chuckled. “I think they might be a bit protective of you.”

She gave me her best “and you think I care?” look before we burst into a fit of giggles. I helped her into her dress before disappearing into the bathroom and changing into my own. As we were inside, I didn’t bother with heeled booties as suggested. Instead I put in some fluffy black slippers and gave Hazel a matching pair, then together, we applied some lip gloss before rejoining the rest of the family for dinner.

“Ohh Hazel! Look at you! You’re so pretty my sweet.” Ms. Harris cooed as she engulfed her in a hug, whilst Noah and Elijah gave me matching skeptical looks.

“What?”

“Do you know-”

“Are you aware-”

They stopped and looked at each other, mumbling an apology at each other.

“Oh. I get it. You boys are jealous I got Hazel something and not you. Don’t worry. Elijah you’re after your mom who is next month and then Noah, you’re after Samantha, who is after Elijah.” I teased with my best poker face but couldn’t help but break out in a smile as Elijah failed to remain his own poker face beside me at Noah’s twitching eye.

“I’m teasing! Of course you’re next month with your mom. You two deserve something nice with all the hard work you do. I’ll send you details in the post.” I winked at Noah before taking my place between him and Hazel, Ms. Harris flashing me a kind smile.

“Thank you so much for making us this meal Anna-Rose. I can’t express my gratitude enough.”

“Your smile is all I need ma’am. Nothing more.”

“Oh.” Ms. Harris replied as she choked back a sob. “Noah. Don’t you ever do anything foolish and lose this girl. Because I will personally rearrange your entire being myself.” She warned and Noah flashed a grin.

“Don’t worry ma. I don’t plan on it. She’s my everything. I wouldn’t- WE wouldn’t be where we are, had she not come into my life.” Noah reassured her, looking at me lovingly as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

“You’ve got to teach me the game Noah.” Elijah stated.

“What game?” He responded, his adoring gaze never leaving mine.

“The one of scoring a girl of my own with a heart of gold.”

“There is no game.” He said, a small smile gracing his features. “You just have to be your true self, give them your everything and let them know they have you, even if for a while you don’t have them. If they need space to figure out who they are for them to then figure out what they two of you could be. Give it to them. Because if you don’t. You’ll lose them. Forever.”

I smiled back at Noah softly and gently reached up, swiping the tear from his cheek that left his eye and he voiced the alternative of what could’ve happened to us.

“Noah.” Hazel piped up.

“Yes, ballet master?”

“You haven’t told Anna-Rose how pretty she looks. That’s really rude. Ma raised you better than that. Also. This pasta is delicious, thank you Anna-Rose.”

Everyone chuckled at her bluntness as she chowed down on her food.

“She’s right. I haven’t. You look stunningly gorgeous tonight babe. Thank you for the effort you’ve put in.”

Elijah piped up too. “Yes. Thank you Anna-Rose.”

“Oh. Guys. It’s nothing, seriously. I just wanted to cook a nice meal for my family.”

Elijah, Hazel and Ms. Harris froze mid-bite and looked at me. Elijah lowered his fork back to his plate before clearing his throat to speak.

“We- you- but you two aren’t-” he stuttered.

Noah smirked. “How do you know?” He teased.

“You didn’t…” Elijah gasped

“Maybe I did.”

“But she would have…”

“Not necessarily.”

“Bro, did you seriously…”

Noah was about to respond when their mom interjected.

“Noah, stop winding your brother up.”

“Ah, maaa! You ruined the fun. Just look at his face!” Noah chuckled with a gleam in his eye.

Elijah looked between the two of us for the rest of dinner, I could see the gears turning in his head. Trying to figure out if Noah had popped the question. Even though the answer right now was an obvious no.

After dinner was done, Elijah offered to do the dishes whilst Ms. Harris announced she was off to bed, leaving myself, Hazel and Noah to take up the living room and watch movies whilst doing face masks.

As the night wound on, I flooded my Pictagram stories with small videos and various pictures documenting our night. Being careful to stick to Ms. Harris’ rules of not showing off the location of their house. By 10:30pm Hazel was sound asleep on the couch, whilst Noah and I were snuggled on the floor under blankets. We were engrossed in a movie when Elijah stuck his head in the room startling us as he spoke up.

“Hey. Ma wanted m-”

“Ah!” I yelped quietly, Noah gasping beside me.

“Sorry.” Elijah apologized, “Ma asked me to check up on you three. She’s now going to sleep but could help but worry.”

“Oh. Well. Hazel’s asleep. And we were just finishing the movie before heading to be ourselves.” I explained.

“Okay. Let me carry her to bed. Oh, and Anna-Rose?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks. Again. When are you going home to see your dad?”

“Uhh… tomorrow. Why?”

“Could I.. tag along? I owe him a massive thanks for risking his job to save my life.”

I let the question hang in the air for a moment before smiling softly, “Sure. But… you’ll also owe him a profuse apology for leaving his daughters to get arrested for a crime they didn’t have any active part in.”

“I… yeah. I do. I’ll work on it tonight. Noah?” He jerked his head at his younger brother. Noah raised a brow back at him. “Am I crashing in your room tonight?”

“No. There’s 15 minutes of this movie left. You can settle on the couch and wait for us to leave, we won’t be long.”

“Okay. Cool.”

As the movie finished, I spared a glance over at Elijah who had rejoined us after putting Hazel to bed, and was now asleep on the couch. I felt my brow furrow with concern as I watched him flinch and whimper in his sleep, a cold sweat taking over him before he sat up with a shout, scaring Noah, who was putting the DVD’s away.

“Hey. It’s alright. You’re okay. You’re safe.” I said softly, gently rubbing his back in circular motions.

“Wha- Where- …”

“You’re at home. With your family.”

He looked at me and his eyes widened in terror.

“You!” He exclaimed pointing an accusatory finger at me. “You’re lying about your full name. Noah doesn’t know it. He only knows the shortened version.”

Noah looked at Elijah suspiciously. “Hey. Are you… okay? What nightmare did you have this time.”

“She’s a criminal Noah.”

“What? Elijah. She’s not. It was just a bad dream. Anna-Rose, can you grab a bottle of water from the fridge?”

“Sure.”

“No!” He yelled as I turned to leave the room. “She’ll poison it.” He whispered to Noah, earning a confused look in return.

“Elijah. You’re being silly. Who do you think I am?”

“The largest serial killer known to man.”

“What? No. I’m Annabella Rosaline Marianne Price, 1st daughter to the late Sheila Price and her husband Dave Price. I’m a graduate of Eastridge High and am currently pursuing my passion of photography at The NYAI. I’m no murderer. I’m your brother's girlfriend. And I see you as family too. I helped make sure you survived a horrible attack. If I wanted you dead I would have left you.”

I looked on with a steel gaze towards Elijah despite Noah looking at me with his cute puppy dog face. Once Elijah came out of his trance and nodded I turned to Noah and raised a brow.

“What?” I asked softly.

“You’re full name.”

“What about it?”

“It explains why you’re so beautiful… Annabella Rosaline Marianne Price. The woman I will one day, make my wife. I- … Wow.” He whispered softly with a smile, which I gracefully returned.

“I’ll go get that water.” I said as Elijah cleared his throat reminding us of his presence.

--- The Next Day ---

As the sun beamed through the crack in Noah’s curtains, I stirred awake and turned to face the wall with a groan. It couldn’t be morning already could it? I smiled as I felt a soft tickle of breath against my neck followed by Noah’s voice.

“Good morning, beautiful.” He whispered in my ear and I could hear the smile on his face.

“Shhhhhh.” I said back, earning a small chuckle from him as he wrapped his arms around me and snuggled as close as possible.

“We have a couple hours until we need to get up. How long do you wanna stay like this for?”

“Forever. You’re so warm and snuggly. I’m gonna miss you so much when I go back to New York.”

“I’m gonna miss you too. Though. I have a question.”

I opened my eyes as I turned to face him, his bright blue skies meeting my forest greens. “Shoot.”

“When moments are special. Like this one right now. Can I call you my Annabella?” He blushed.

I smiled at his cuteness. “Only if I can call youuuu…”

“Noah Maurice Harris?”

“What?”

“My middle name. It’s Maurice. After my late grandfather on ma’s side.”

I smiled for a moment bringing my hand to his face and cupping his jaw, caressing his cheek with a gentle thumb. I watched as he closed his eyes and inhaled, peace etching itself on every inch of his face. He somehow looked even more angelic this way than when he had his eyes open.

“I don’t want to call you your full name. I just want to call you mine.” I whispered, placing a soft kiss on his forehead as his bedroom door opened. Ms. Harris poking her head inside, giving us a smile as she laid her eyes on us.

“Good morning Anna-Rose. Morning Noah.”

“Morning Ms. Harris”

“Hi ma.”

“Oh. Anna-Rose. Thank you.”

“What for?”

“I haven’t seen or heard my little baby so relaxed for years. You two truly are meant to be. Thank you for being a safe person for him.” She whispered, gently stroking Noah’s hair and we watched as a small smile crept onto his face.

“Ma. You’re gonna seal the deal and put me back to sleep in a minute.” Noah smiled lazily and I chuckled softly as Ms. Harris smiled.

“It’s… nothing Ms. Harris. I… I love him. He’s amazing. His past doesn’t define who he is at heart. A soft, sappy, kind, warm, loving, hopeless romantic. And… and someone who I can see my future with. I would trade what we’re starting to build for ourselves for anything in the world. You’re an amazing mother Ms. Harris. And it’s reflected in both Noah and Hazel. I’m hoping one day we’ll see it in Elijah too. I know it’s there. He just has to stop being afraid to let it shine through. Please never doubt yourself because every one of your kids has the purest of hearts, just like you.”

I reached out and took Ms. Harris’ hand in my own as she sniffled and a tear fell from her cheek onto the pillow beside Noah’s head.

“I couldn’t ask for a better daughter-in-law than you Anna-Rose. You’ve done so much, not only for this one here but, for Hazel and you helped bring my other boy home. Things feel more complete now, and we have you to thank.”

I smiled at her as we squeezed each other's hands in an understanding gratefulness. I was thanking her for bringing Noah into this world and she was thanking me for loving him despite the rumors and harsh things being said about him, for reaching deeply and seeing Noah within. Who he truly was. Our moment was interrupted as Elijah poked his head in.

“Is he not up yet? We’re supposed to be leaving for our morning run in 5 minutes.”

“Oh shut it Elijah. I’m in a moment of bliss. Go for the run on your own.” Noah slurred. Ms. Harris and I chuckled quietly as Elijah let out an exaggerated sigh with an eye roll before leaving.

“Well, I popped in to remind you not to be late for work today Noah. And tell you your lunch is in the fridge. I need to be off to work myself. I’ll see you later.” She smiled and pressed a kiss to Noah’s temple and one to my forehead before collecting her bag from the floor and leaving, quietly shutting the door.

After she had gone, Noah slowly opened his eyes and smiled at me.

“What?”

“Nothing. I just… thank you. For treating her so well. She means a lot to me and well… she’s the only parent I’ve got. If it wasn’t for her..”

“Hey! It’s okay. I… it’s been a while since I had a mother figure in my life. And well… your mom’s not exactly mean is she? She deserves the nice words, gifts, and love. To be cherished and shown how amazing she is. Plus. Being rude isn’t in my nature.” I whispered softly

He smiled back at me and I stroked his hair, sighing contently before pushing himself up. “I should join Elijah for our morning run. Then we can cuddle up again when I get back okay?”

“Yeah, sure.” I smiled, sharing a kiss with him before snuggling under his blankets and hugging his pillow.

“NOAH I'M LEAVING!” Elijah shouted.

“ONE MINUTE, I'M TYING MY SHOES!” Noah shouted back and gave me a wink as he pulled his shirt over his head, grabbing his shoes from the rack by the door and walking out.

There wasn’t much to do whilst he was gone, but put the dishes away from last night's meal and have a shower myself. I was reading a book, coffee mug in hand when Hazel came into the room, plopping herself down next to me.

“Good morning, Anna-Rose.”

“Good morning, Hazel. Can I get you breakfast?”

“Can you make pancakes?”

“I make the best pancakes. Shall we see if we have all the ingredients?”

Hazel nodded and together we made pancakes before getting up and dressed. When the boys returned we were sitting watching TV. The rest of the day passed by how you would expect. We played board games and drew pictures, when Ms. Harris arrived home from work, Elijah, Noah, and myself set off for my dad’s house. When we arrived he received us with a warm welcome. Firstly Elijah apologized profusely to dad for the mess he got myself and Mack in. Then he apologized to Mack for even putting her in that position in the first place. By the end of the evening everything was smoothed over and starting to heal. The next morning Mason knocked on the door, he was taking me back to New York today. There were some things I needed to get before college started back up and it was gonna take a while.

Elijah decided to make his own way back home but Noah was coming with us too. I’d promised him I’d show him the sights. As we travelled along the highway, I couldn’t help but feel sadness. Being miles away from your friends and boyfriend sucks. You just want to stay close forever and make a tone of memories together. But everyone has to lead a life of their own eventually. Mason was Noah’s ride back to Eastridge so he parked in the parking spot outside my dorm and the two helped me inside with my bags. After they were secured safely, I locked my dorm and we headed out to see the sights and go shopping.

Eventually the part I had been dreading came and I teared up as I stood on my dorm doorstep with Noah, clutching his hands tightly in my own.

“I wish you could stay.”

“I wish I could stay too. But we’re blessed with phones. We can hear each other daily.”

“It’s not the same as being able to hold you though.”

“I know. But we’ll see each other again over our next break.”

“Promise?”

“Wholeheartedly so, my sweet Annabella.” Noah whispered and I closed my eyes as he pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead before pulling me into a tightened embrace. “Did you hug Mason goodbye?” He mumbled into my hair and I shook my head.

Noah turned to the car and motioned for Mason to join us. He walked over and cleared his throat.

“What’s wrong?”

“You haven’t hugged your friend goodbye. That’s pretty rude Mason.”

Mason sighed and looked at me, opening his arms and I dove into them, squeezing him tightly too. “I'm going to miss you. Have fun in the Navy.”

“I will.”

I stepped back inside and waved goodbye, watching as Mason's car drove off into the distance. When I could no longer see it, I closed the door and climbed into bed. I had just settled when my phone pinged. Opening the message from Noah I chuckled. It was a goofy selfie of him and Mason pouting as they sat in traffic, captioned “We miss you already 😢”

Sighing I sent a pouting selfie of my own back captioned “missing you guys too! 🥺😢💔”

Usually I found it hard to fall asleep being away from everyone, in a big city all on my own. But there was something different, I realized as I was drifting off to sleep that all I had to do was count my blessings.

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the-terminal-archive · 3 years ago

Text

“Demantoid…?” It was as if I was an unknown being to these two as they looked at me up and down. “Sooo, you look a lot like Savvy, which is weird!” “Perhaps we were made in the same vein…” “Does the composition of rock here even support that…?” “Doesn’t matter! What matters is that you’re new! Maybe I could take you out to look around- WAIT!!! Even better, we can look at what Savvy’s getting us into!!! A little peek!” “...Ametrine, that’s all the way in Shining Signal… we’d have to cut through Root for that, but…” “But nothing!!! We are going! If they find out we’re there, oh well! They can catch up!” “A little rude-” yet, I was cut off by the shortest- Ametrine, was it?- carrying me off. The conversation that followed was one I paid little attention to, something about this Tsavorite working on something for so long that nobody would ever even notice them. I realize that both of them are holding weapons. “What are the weapons for?” “Taking down really big monsters! The Root is full of ‘em, we’re probably going to run into several!” “Are we the only people?” “Oh, we’re not people.” The one striped green and white looked at me, a stupid smile on his face. Why were they talking about morbid things with such expressions? It was...surely off-putting. “We’re gems. Commonfolk never know of our existence.” “...how peculiar.” And with how many I’ve already met, I’d assume there’s more outside of...wherever this was. How many more, though? I...wouldn’t say many. What a lonely life we live.

Moving about the long, seemingly endless corridors, I couldn’t help but notice what little differences there were. It seemed that the other two didn’t seem to care- the odd glowing minerals, the hand of...hm… It looked like Torbernite, sticking out from the very wall I woke up outside of. Was this place known for such? “Hey, Demantoid!” “Hm?” “How do you feel about committing identity theft?” “Seeing as I formed about 5 minutes ago? I wouldn’t really call it theft.” “You’ll be able to find a purpose for living within that, perhaps!” Seraph seemed to be on board for this, for whatever ungodly reason he had for doing such. Why did he smile so goddamn much? “It’s always nice watching a personality develop...I remember Ametrine’s nature developing, it was so much fun to be able to witness it!” “Haha, Savvy kept telling you not to intervene, it was so silly! Well, now we have another gem to help! We’re gonna do it our way!” I scoffed at being strung along so soon after waking up. I didn’t expect to get pulled into the ordeals of another- let alone ordeals involving people wishing to commit a crime. What was said after this didn’t matter, either...it was all pointless banter. I had a heavy urge to leave this in the scripture, however, I didn’t feel like writing it down. If you really, truly, wish to know anything of note there...There were just the odd headaches I got walking past Torbernite. This wasn’t long after the walk began, even if the walk itself took hours. We had to pause for hours just because it was taking so long. “Ugh, if it was just me, I would have been outta here by now! We’re nearly at Ravenous Root, and both of you are tired?” “Shush. It’s not as if we are as well versed in traversing the several cave systems littered about.” “W-Well! I know you’re not! But I’m not, either! All I know are bits and pieces of what Savvy has told me!” They tapped their chin.

“Oh!!! Um!!! The Root is infested with bad things, I was told! Maybe we should make a little signal if we're in trouble or something! Y’know, in case we’re in trouble and are too far away or too quiet to call for help! “Oh! That would be helpful because I will run from most of those.” Seraph began to fidget with his hands until he made a little hand formation. Middle and ring fingers curled in, the thumb and pinky touching, and the index finger wagging… This all felt so stupid. “Doesn’t it look like a person pleading for help?” “OOOOh, it does!!!” Ametrine grabbed onto my hand shortly thereafter, forcing my fingers into the pose of the striped green gem before following suit. “Hehehe, we all want help!!! Ohhh nooo!!! Whatever will we do?” They giggled, but nobody laughed with them. I surely wouldn’t have wanted to, but Seraph looked...genuinely concerned? “C-Can we...go back to Tsavorite, by chance?” “No! Nono, I promise I’ll keep you safe! Pinky promise!” “You promise?” “Mhm, mhm!!” The nodding was vigorous, the handshake-well- pinkyshake even more so. Ametrine’s gaze darted to mine a moment later. “Oh!! Oh!! Seraph, did you remember to take that other weapon? The one that Savvy was gonna take?” “...Well, yes. I just wanted to see what they would use to defend themself.” “What did they decide on?” “It’s weird, but…” He reached into the holes of the plating he had, pulling out a series of magenta throwing knives. “I think they’re made of corundum. You should probably have them, Demantoid.” “Hmhmhm...Demmie…” “What?” “Your nickname is so easy to come up with! Demmie, demmie…” I rolled my eyes at the remark, taking the knives. I put most of them away, save for one. Ah, I...really didn’t know how to use these… I felt something lean against my shoulder.

Glancing over, I realized that weak gem was leaning against me. “...Sleepy…” “Already?!” “Well, Ametrine, we did come all this way. I don’t really want to take a break, either, but…” I felt the green gem sink until his head rested on my lap. Ugh. “We don’t really have a choice. I can’t exactly move, as it stands.” “That’s dumb! Then what are we gonna do?” “...Let him sleep?” “We could just carry him, silly!” “And leave one of us vulnerable? That’s the worst idea one could come up with in a time like thi-” ...Oh, they were already walking off with Seraph. It seemed the stupidity was highly contagious to that quartz.

Ravenous Root...it was an interesting place to dwell in. The monsters weren’t even hidden- they grazed the land without anything to restrain them. It...it was hard to make out where all of them came from, but thanks to their size, gaping holes were torn into greenery- well, could it even be called that when all of the colors didn’t come close to green? “Must we really pass through this place?” “Well, we have to get to that Topaz guy somehow!” They grinned, such optimism prompting a scoff from me as I pinched the bridge of my nose. The audacity of this one...Wishing no more than to do as they please with no regard to their surroundings! Calling them reckless would be a horrific understatement…! “N-Not like that, you nitwit!” They looked at me...as if they should be surprised by whatever I just mentioned. Clearly, they have never heard of a bright idea.” With all of the awkward tunnels, surely there’s a back route somewhere in here?” “Hey dumbass, are you trying to get us lost?” such a question made me blink in surprise, a brow surely furrowing upon being asked such. “Wh- I’m trying to keep us from getting killed, you moron!” “Whatever, I guess we’re going this way!!!” They even had the gall to stick their tongue out at me!! Well...this first interaction was...less than stellar, definitely. “Do you know how to fight the big guys, Demmie?” “...I’m not even a day old.” “Oh! Okay! We’re gonna fight one for practice, then!” And before I could say anything, Ametrine had already darted off, down the long, jagged paths to lure some sort of hellspawn our way. This was a disaster waiting to happen, yet….it seemed that I just didn’t have control over that. This was going to be a horrific journey if I’ve ever seen one. Well...I haven’t, but you know exactly what I mean. Not to mention the fact that Seraph had only just begun his sleeping! …

Just what was wrong with the world today? Was it always this horrific...? Was it always infested with creatures? ...Just what was their purpose, really?

#cookie run #cookie run ovenbreak #cookie run au #ametrine #demantoid #seraphinite #chapter one: the reason for creation #- --- / -.-. .-. . .- - . / .. ... / - --- / .--. .-. --- -.. ..- -.-. . / .--. .. . -.-. . ... / --- ..-. / .- .-. - .-.-.-#- .... . / -... .-. . .- -.-. .... / .. ... / .- -.-. - .. ...- . / .- --. .- .. -. .-.-.-

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not-magnus-bane · 4 years ago

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My first fanfiction! I wrote this fanfiction a month ago. I hope you like it!

February 14th

3rd person

Will wasn’t worried. At least, that’s what he told his siblings. Inside, he was panicking. He hadn’t seen Nico all day. On this day of all days. February 14. Valentines day. Nico had been acting distant all week, but now he had disappeared completely. Will tried not to let his panic show, but it was worthless.

“Are you sure you haven’t seen him?”

“Since you asked ten seconds ago? No.” His best friend Cecil said, rolling his eyes

“I’m sure he’s fine. You know he needs time alone sometimes.”

Will stalked off, going to find some other person to pester about Nico’s whereabouts. Cecil would later swear he saw Jason Grace guilty avoiding Will’s gaze.

Will however, noticed the way Jason shifted in his seat at the Zeus table and refused to look him in the eye. He walked towards Jason’s table with determination. At first, He didn’t say anything, just looked Jason square in the eye.

“Do you know where Nico is?” Will asked, his voice deadly quiet. His glare proved that he had possibly been spending too much around his boyfriend.

Jason looked like a deer in headlights. He paused and then shook his head vigorously.

“I’m going to ask you one more time.” he paused for effect “Where. Is. Nico.” Jason looked pleadingly across the pavilion at Piper. She shook her head slowly behind Will’s back. Will gave Jason one more look of pleading, and turned on his heel, marching out of the pavilion.

All the campers who had stopped to watch the show continued eating breakfast, disappointed that nothing dramatic had happened.

Will slammed the door to the infirmary and sat down on a cot.

Nico

They ask me what I’m so afraid of

That if I tell them, they can help

Will

I sighed, putting my head in my hands. What had I done wrong? Why was he avoiding me on this day of all days? I was jerked out of my misery when Kayla walked into the infirmary. I quickly tried to dry my tears and pretend I was organizing the bandages.

“You don’t have to pretend, Will. I know you’re upset.” Kayla sat beside me on the cot. She glared at the sky. I knew she was cautious of Nico. She just didn’t want him to hurt my feelings.

“I just want to know where he is? Why would he run away?” I said, my voice cracking.

“Well…” She began slowly “That’s kinda what he does, isn’t it? Run away from things he’s scared of. Run away from camp.”

“Don’t say that about Nico. He’s the bravest person I know. He doesn’t run away when he’s scared.”

“Sure Will, I just don’t want you to get hurt.” She said, raising her hands, innocently. I gave her a look and she shrugged, eyebrows raised. I stood up and walked out of the infirmary.

Sometimes I can’t believe her. Nico might need my help.

Or, he might want to be alone. A voice in the back of my head told me. I told the voice to be quiet.

I realized I had walked right up to the Hades cabin. Cautiously, I stepped inside. The air smelled of dust and pomegranates. I walked over to Nico’s unoccupied bed. I sat down, breathing his distinctive smell. Rain over stones and a hint of peppermint. Not that I spent a lot of time analyzing Nico’s smell. Cecil told me that to everyone else he smells strongly of death. He thinks that it’s me imagining things, but I think he’s just close minded. What does death even smell like anyway?

I ran my fingers through his thin charcoal blanket. I scanned the cabin for any sign of life. Not that life would be caught dead anywhere near the Hades cabin.

A creak of the floorboards made my head snap up. Jason Grace stood, stock-still, in the doorway. His electeric blue eyes made contact with mine.

“Wiiilll.” he mumbled, drawing out the word

“Yes, that is my name.” I replied “What are you doing here?”

“I-I could ask you the same question!” he exclaimed. His eyes fell to Nico’s bedside, where a razor usually lay. I followed his eyes.

“Where is Nico?” I asked, all hardness gone from my voice, replaced with pure desperation. Jason scratched the back of his neck, looking nervous. I blinked back some tears. Jason sighed, giving in.

“He told me not to tell you.” he admitted, guiltely. I had a moment's hesitation. What if Nico was avoiding me because he was upset with me! Nico might need your help, and that’s what's important. I gave Jason a look to continue.

“He said he needed to be alone today, and that he was going to the last place.” he paused, looking confused at what he was saying.

“Last place! Where in Zeus’s name is that!” I exclaimed, exasperated. I tugged at my hair.

“Do we know anything that happened to Nico for the last time?” Jason asked.

“Nooo… but we know someone who might.”

Nico

I’ve seen to many people walk away

When they know

Percy

One day. That's all I ask. One day without someone’s life one the line. I knew something was up when Will and Jason knocked on my door, Will with a worried expression, and Jason with a nervous one.

“Do you know where anything happened to Nico for the last time?” Will asked, jumping right to the interrogation.

“Hi Percy.” Jason said, looking sheepish. I leaned on the doorway, my brain processing what Will had asked.

“What?” was my brilliant answer.

Will looked exasperated. He repeated his question.

“Well,” I began “if it’s somewhere Nico went if he wanted to be alone… We know he goes to places that make him sad, for some reason. And if it’s the last place something sad happened, that could be the last place he saw someone… Bianca! The last place he saw Bianca! (Sorry for the run-on sentence. I feel like that’s how Percy would talk.)

“Seems you’re not as much of a seaweed brain as I thought you were!” Jason exclaimed, clapping me on the back. I mumbled under my breath about ‘nicknames and expectations’.

“Where did Nico last see Bianca?” Will wondered out-loud

“I think it was when she told him that she had been chosen for a quest.” I informed them.

“Where was that?” Will asked. I looked at him with pity. It was Valentine’s day, and his boyfriend was missing. The only reason Jason and I were alone was because Piper and Annabeth had gone to plan something together for today.

“I think it was somewhere in the woods.” I admitted.

“W-what!” Will stammered. He looked quite pale now. He seemed to steal his nerves and said, in a much calmer voice “Okay, let’s do it, for Nico.”

Nico

Their hateful looks reserved just for me

The way the words cut my arms

Jason

We walked into the woods, Will’s demeanor was very nervous, mine was what I hoped was righteously cautious, and Percy’s was an obviously put-on no-cares-in-the-world. His attitude changed the longer we walked, the farther away from camp. He stopped.

“We’re near.” he whispered, in an ominous voice. I rolled my eyes at his antics. This was serious!

We didn’t need to see Nico to know we were close. Pure waves of darkness rolled through the air. Will, who was a few steps ahead, stopped abruptly and we all bumped into him. He turned to face us.

“I think only one of us should go from here.” he whispered.

“Good thinking,” Percy whispered back “you guys head back, I’ll -”

“I was thinking I should.” Will stated “Being his boyfriend and all.” Percy mouthed Oh and nodded. I wanted to go too, but I understood Will’s reasoning. Me and Percy made eye contact. We walked back, the pure misery washing over our heads.

Nico

If I die

Will anyone miss me

Will

The deeper I walked into the wood alone the more the dark seems oppressive. The waves of darkness almost push me to my knees. I keep walking. Finally, after what feels like an eternity, the darkness lessens, leaving only a patch of dead grass. I looked through the dark haze, and spotted a small figure lying prone on the ground. I rushed forward, my head pounding.

“Nico?” I look over him, gasping when I see blood. I grabbed the razor lying on the forest floor and put it in my pocket. Why was this happening on Valentine’s day? I pushed my thoughts, turning my head when I heard a groan.

“Nico! Are you okay?” even though it’s obvious he isn’t.

He groans, turning his head to face me. Tear tracks line his face, fresh ones pouring out. His eyes widen when he sees me and struggles to get out of my reach.

“Nico! What! No!” I exclaim. He struggles more, trying to get out of my reach. I see him reach for the shadows, preparing to shadow travel away.

“Why?” my voice sounds rough and hoarse. That gets his attention.

“I’m sorry Will, I just can’t -” his voice breaks off. I look at him pleadingly.

“Nico, tell me what’s going on.” he sighs, looking defeated and broken. I don’t want that. I just want him to be happy.

“Did Jason ever tell you why I hate Valentine’s day?” I shake my head “When we were on the quest,” he says, not needing to specify which one “Me and Jason -”

I cut him off “Jason and I.” That earns me a look.

“Whatever. Jason and I went to Split, in Croatia, and we went to Diocletian’s palace. We met Cupid. Eros. Whatever. Anyway, he made me admit that I had a crush on Percy, and that I’m - that I’m gay.”

“That doesn’t seem so bad.” I commented. Nico’s eyes look into mine. They look so broken. I wish I could heal Nico’s cracks.

“Will, I grew up in a time where people were killed for who they were. I was taught to be disgusted with myself. Valentine’s day is like a reminder that I’m not good enough, and I don’t deserve love. I can just hear Cupid’s laughter.”

“Poseidon's pants! Nico, I had no idea!” I held the shaking smaller boy in my arms. I cradled Nico’s wrists in my hands.

“I don’t want - I don’t want you to see me cry.” he murmured.

“I won’t look.”

We stayed there for Hades knows how long, just holding each other.

“You’re not… sad that I ran away on Valentine’s day?” his voice was so soft I had to lean in to hear it.

“Neeks, I’m sad you felt you had to run away.” I assured him. He let out a broken sob. I hug him impossibly close, letting his tears soak my shirt. He cried so long that when the sound of his tears faded the silence felt alien in my ears.

“Will?” Nico’s voice cut through the silence.

“Yeah, Death boy.” I replied.

“Can we go back to camp? We can do something fun if you want.” I assured him that I was fine whatever we did, and we walked, hand in hand, back to camp.

When we got there I snuck him into his cabin so that no one would ask any questions. I would have preferred going to the infirmary but I did as Nico asked.

After a bit I went to say hi to my siblings so they didn’t worry. I didn’t see Percy or Jason. They were probably on their date with their girlfriends, completely forgetting about Nico. The thought made me feel angry. I walked back to the Hades cabin. Without knocking I scurried through the door.

“Hey Nico! I -” I paused, realizing that Nico wasn’t in his cabin. I rushed out trying not to panic. I wandered over to the strawberry fields, where I went when I was overwhelmed. I ran my hands over the bushes of strawberries, which were impossibly tall.

“Will!” a voice cries out. I run in the direction of the voice. Just past the edge of the fields, I can see a flash of red. I reach it, panting for breath.

Standing there is Nico, his hands on his hips, glowering with no menace. He’s standing on the edge of a red and white checkered picnic blanket wearing - I swear to Zeus - a flowered suit. On the picnic blanket there’s an assortment of my and his favourite foods.

“Glad you got here. I was worried you wouldn’t come at all.” Nico admits, showing no sign of being worried except a few dried tear tracks left on his cheeks from earlier.

“Well, now I feel super underdressed.” I said, glancing at his suit. Where in Hades name did he even get that?

“I don’t mind.” Nico announced, sitting down with a grin on his face. My heart melts into my shoes when he smiles like that. (Sorry for the bad, cheesy line) I would do anything to keep that smile on his face, so I sit down next to him.

We spend the evening eating and chatting, watching the sun go down.

When the sun is past Half-blood Hill Nico says that we should probably head back. We kiss once more before grabbing the stuff and sneaking back.

When we get to Nico’s cabin he looks around at the sound of the harpies screaming in the distance. Nico gives me a side-glance and insists that I stay in his cabin for the night, lest the harpies find me on my way to my cabin.

Nico

But you are different

When you clean my deep wounds

And help me to stand

#nico di angelo #fanfic #solangelo #valentines #love is love #pjo/hoo #rick riordan

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shima-draws · 5 years ago

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Shima please tell me about your galaxy brain human Lucario AU I wanna know how it all pans out

NDASKMADMLASMKSA OMG ANON I am more than happy to share :'D This got really REALLY long, I hope you enjoy a good read lmao

So we have. Lucario. As a human. Possibly named after an actual Pokemon Lucario, idk. He's still Aaron's apprentice—trains under him at the castle to become an aura user. However, human Lucario is like. 15, making his connection to Aaron that much more powerful bc he's pretty much baby and Aaron's in his mid twenties practically raising this kid by himself. Lucario views Aaron as kind of a father/guardian figure? He's still so uptight at this point tho;; and he views Lady Rin as a mother (which. Is. SOFT). Rin and Aaron might be in love, it's hard for Lucario to tell, he doesn't Romance. He just focuses on his aura training. Pssh.

Fast forward to the time of the Big Pokemon War. Aaron realizes the only way to stop the fighting is to go find Mew at the Tree of Beginning. However he knows that this is a huge sacrifice—and knowing how loyal Lucario is to him, Aaron knows he'll follow him and be subjected to the same fate. And Aaron's like—Lucario is just a kid, you know? He still has so much more to experience and live for. So while it fucking breaks his heart to shatter Lucario's trust in him (for the time being) and totally ruin his father figure status, Aaron "betrays" Lucario and traps him inside the staff. It's some crazy magic aura crystal thing that seals something inside of it, whether it be a Pokemon, human, spirit, or whatever else. At this point it's also for Lucario's safety—bc nothing can really touch him while he's in there, and they're in the middle of a war, so yeah it's just really good timing and planning to protect his kid. However Aaron, being the adorable himbo dumbass he is, kinda forgets that this is an aura crystal, and therefore needs aura to "unseal" it essentially, which would set Lucario free. Unfortunately after Aaron goes to the Tree and gives up his life to stop the war (cue Titanic music) there's not really any other aura user around. They're pretty rare, even way back then;; so Lucario falls into a deep slumber, being sealed, and is kept there for about 1000 years.

And then!! Ash fucking Ketchum enters the picture!!

Lucario is suddenly woken because he senses Aaron's aura nearby. Absolutely pissed at Dad for leaving him behind, Lucario escapes from the staff and goes to attack, but stops when he realizes Dad is actually not Dad, it is adorable 14 year-old boy who has a similar aura to Aaron. Cue a very disgruntled teenager running through the palace, totally out of place and confused. Eventually he's stopped by Lady Ilene, who explains what's going on. Naturally Lucario's heartbroken—not only is his master/dad/guardian dead, but so is his mother figure, and everybody else he'd once known in the castle. Bc Ilene looks so similar to Rin, Lucario takes comfort from her. Ilene does her best to console him and asks if he'll do her a favor. He leaps at the chance to make her happy—apparently he's a sucker for getting good Parent Figures to like him—and agrees to go help Ash and co. find Pikachu at the Tree of Beginning.

Instead of Lucario doing the Naruto run ahead of the group (which like. How the fuck is he so fast...) he actually sits in the car in the passenger's seat with Kidd doing the driving for him, bc hell if a human can run for that long and not be totally wiped out afterward (also he just woke up from a 1000 year nap. Yeahhh. Not gonna happen.) Also baby has no idea what the fuck a car even is so he's a bit nervous around it, and Kidd's like "Um yeah no I'm not letting you drive. Just tell me where to go" so Lucario uses his aura to lead her. Things progress p much the same way, with Lucario getting strangely attached to Ash despite not wanting to, at all, but it's hard because Ash is just Perfect and a Good Boy and pretty much gives Lucario the sort of attention he craves. Eventually tho that all comes to a head when Ash brings up his friendship with Pikachu. Lucario's still bitter about Aaron and honestly can't bring himself to trust any of them—and is pissed at himself for having taken a liking to Ash despite that—so that leads into their giant fight in the first step of their enemies to lovers trope. Ha. Even so, he still gets consoled by Max (and is given CHOCOLATE!! Which is the most fucking heavenly thing he's ever tasted), and witnesses Ash unable to sleep bc of his honest worry for Pikachu. Lucario does some Deep Thinking to himself about his relations to the group.

The next day, the group activates the Time Flower that recorded Aaron's entire abandonment of Lucario. Believe it or not being a young kid in training for a war tends to give you a bit of trauma, so Lucario freaks out a little and starts attacking the hollow projections of the enemy Pokemon. Ash manages to calm him down. Lucario collapses and asks why Aaron had abandoned him. What did he do wrong? Why would Aaron turn against the kingdom? Why did Aaron trap him in the staff? He doesn't know shit and it's frustrating. Ash comes up to him and apologizes, and as soon as the waterworks turn on Lucario's like oh nooo. Oh NOOOO. Here's this boy laying his heart out on his sleeve and is so honest and open and sincere that he can't help but feel awful for how he treated him. Lucario immediately forgives Ash and is like "I will now protect you with my life" bc Ash is baby and Lucario realizes for the first time!! He's made an actual friend with somebody that isn't his dad or the queen! And if he's friends with Ash that means he can be friends with Brock and May and Max and Kidd too. The prospect is EXCITING. He can trust these people now, he knows, because they saw what happened and they believed him about Aaron. They're choosing to side with him over the "kingdom's hero" and that honestly means a lot—it's a huge commitment and Lucario's just. Super grateful that he has a group of people backing him up. Lucario promises himself that he'll reunite Ash and Pikachu, bc if he were given the chance he'd reunite with the people he once held dear too. Ash and Pikachu really care about each other and Lucario admires and respects that a lot and he wants to make Ash happy so!! He's like. It is my personal mission to see that we find Pikachu successfully. And Ash is just like :'D !!! And it's that moment when Lucario realizes that he might like Ash a biiit more than he originally thought he did. Huh.

Literally not even 30 seconds after that revelation Regirock attacks and Lucario almost has a fucking aneurysm because he JUST made friends with these people!! And now they're going to get killed if he's not careful! Story of his life. He immediately shifts into Protect Ash Mode™ and hurries everyone to safety. Things are crazy. Lucario has too much of a burden on his shoulders. He's stressed. But Ash is with him and that makes things a little bit better so he focuses on getting them to where they need to go and protecting them along the way. Big job for such a young kid. Whew!!

Traveling through the Tree of Beginning, weird antibodies keep voring people, and it's not fun. At one point Lucario takes the bullet for Kidd, but is mysteriously released (probably bc of his aura and his connection to Aaron, who gave up his life, which gave energy to the tree and to Mew. So there's a connection there. The tree kinda sees Lucario as one of its own.) Finally, finally! Ash and Pikachu are reunited! Lucario can immediately sense how close they are and how much of a bond they have. Seeing someone with so much history with Ash makes Lucario a bit shy around Pikachu, but it’s cool, they warm up to each other eventually!

Right after this, Ash and the others find out that May, Brock and Max were devoured by the antibodies. Lucario barely has any time to grieve for them before the Regis burst in and essentially trap him as Ash and Kidd are attacked by the cells next. Lucario watches in absolute horror as Ash is swallowed up. It’s like Aaron all over again—and this time it’s worse because Ash hadn’t done anything wrong, and Lucario had really come to trust him and admire him as a person. It’s absolutely fucking heartbreaking. He watches in hollow-eyed despair as Pikachu and Ash’s other Pokemon cry over him. Everything sucks. The world is a nightmare. Lucario almost wishes he’d gotten swallowed too. Why is it always him that’s the last one standing, the only one left, the remainder to deal with the carnage and the loss by himself? Then Mew performs its voodoo magic and lo and behold!! Ash and the others are miraculously revived! Lucario is absolutely overjoyed and relieved. It’s then that he realizes he’d be absolutely devastated if he lost Ash for good—even more so than Aaron. At this point he’s kinda come to terms about Aaron’s death, though it still hurts because there’s so many questions left unanswered.

Of course right after this Mew collapses and everything goes to shit again. Great. (Can he get like five seconds to maybe just breathe?? Idk.) At the center of the Tree of Beginning, Lucario finds Aaron’s gloves and things start to click into place. Maybe...the stories were true? Lucario activates the Time Flower there and realizes what Aaron had done, his noble sacrifice, and why he couldn’t bear to get Lucario involved. Lucario breaks down in tears bc he’s so relieved and yet so unbearably sad. Aaron was like his father. Someone who cared for him so immensely and deeply. Aaron urged Lucario to continue on and live his life to the fullest—that’s what he wanted for him, after all. But at this point Lucario isn’t sure if he can. Mew needs saving, after all.

Lucario decides he’ll follow in Aaron’s footsteps and save Mew, no matter how sad it makes him to have to leave his new friends so early. Ash immediately protests, along with Kidd, and Lucario tells them that it’s a risk he has to take, just like Aaron. Mew and the Tree need his power more than ever now, and he can’t just abandon them. He starts to pour all of his aura into Mew, but it’s not enough. Ash puts on Aaron’s gloves and jumps in, deciding to help out. Lucario is grateful but also very panicked because Ash literally just came back to life—he couldn’t bear losing him a second time, especially since he already lost Aaron. Lucario tries to bump him out of the way but Ash absolutely won’t let him!! If they’re going down they’re going down together. Ash tells him that he can’t watch Lucario take on the burden by himself over and over—that he wants to split the weight and make things even. Cue a very emotional tense moment between two boys about to sacrifice their lives together. Neither of them want the other to die, but they don’t really have a choice. Mew absorbs their power and then…

Lucario wakes up.

And he’s alive. Holy fuck!! (There’s no fucking way I’d kill him nope not happening not this time bitches)

Apparently splitting the burden of giving one’s life energy to another with a second person eases the consequences—leaving both Ash and Lucario alive (which makes him realize that if he’d gone with Aaron all those years ago and split the burden, both of them would have lived. But strangely Lucario wouldn’t trade that opportunity for what he has now.) Ash literally jumps on him and hugs him so tight he nearly dies a second time, but it’s fine. It’s a good way to go.

The tree is safe, and so is Mew. Ash rejoins the others, bringing Lucario with him. They all have a merry little reunion, and then head back to the castle together.

At this point, Ilene thanks Lucario for all he’d done—for Ash and co. and for the tree and Mew. She then sets Lucario free—saying he can do whatever he wishes, he can follow any path in life he wants to now! Suddenly there’s a whole world full of possibilities, and that world is there for him to explore. He can practically hear Aaron encouraging him to take a step into the unknown, journey to his heart’s content, make tons of friends, and master his aura. Except Lucario isn’t really sure he wants to take the trip by himself. He bashfully asks Ash if they’d be alright with him joining them. Ash is absolutely fucking ecstatic, of course. He asks Lucario to teach him how to properly use his aura, and Lucario has a big self revelation moment like “The student has become the master” and it’s magical. So we hit off a brand new adventure with Lucario traveling with Ash, Brock, May, and Max, and teaching Ash how to hone his aura! Which gives us more aura Ash moments, which everybody craves! And it’s kinda gay and lovely!!

And that is my rewrite happy ending for Lucario and the Mystery of Mew thank you goodnight ✌️

#Shima answers questions #Pokemon #Pokeani #Lucario #Long post #Ash Ketchum #Aurashipping #Anipoke #Lucario and the Mystery of Mew #Human Lucario #May #Max #Brock #Shima’s AUs #I had FUN writing this LOL #Hope you enjoy uwu

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chittsu · 5 years ago

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college!au with Johnny

haro evlyone!

Here’s my another attempt of writing that I believe you’ll enjoy. I won’t annoy you with a long introduction, just - alexa, play ‘radio romance’ by NCT

strangers to friends to kinda lovers to strangers to friends to lovers; that was complicated but you have to read it to see; bulleted scenario; fluff; slight angst?; pretty funny if you ask me; 6,7kthey just keep getting longer

summary: Johnny desperately needs someone to host a love-related podcast with him on the campus radio; and by accident, you start working with him - you, the only person that can resist his charm… but for how long?

enjoy! :)

Night Night is everyone’s favourite campus radio show broadcasted every Tuesday and Thursday evening

people love it because it touches many everyday problems of college students and-… stop

who are we kidding

people love it because of Johnny and Jaehyun - the DJs that are officially considered the ultimate boyfriend materials

every person currently failing with finding love on campus turns on the radio just to listen to their voices and feel a little less lonely

ever since Jaehyun successfully saved Taeil’s relationship through Night Night, people started sending a lot of love-related requests; Johnny made a drastic decision to create a new show called Lovey-Dovey dealing with those concerns

the problem was that none of them felt intelligent enough to talk about that stuff

and Johnny was worried about it; honestly, it’s not that difficult for a boy to offend girls’ feelings without even knowing - but while giving them love advice, the probability is skyrocketing

he met you for the first time on a party

well, technically it wasn’t the first time you two met - Johnny was frequently asked to be a DJ at parties and your closest friends Ten and Yuta were party animals, so you followed them often

he remembers going to the bathroom when he heard your conversation with a drunk girl that you didn’t even know

you were drunk too and alcohol turns you into a psychologist? suddenly, everyone tells you about their problems and you just solve it for free

the amount of money you could earn from that… girl, you’re either stupid or your heart is too big

Johnny just stops right behind you when you tell the girl to stop depending on this asshole so much because every man is trash and they’re just not worth it

and he’s like… ummm false alarm

but you manage to make this girl smile and calm down; she’s not sobbing anymore so you finally understand what the problem is and you form your opinion on it seriously this time

and Johnny’s like… that’s what I need

but he also needs to go to the bathroom like NOW

and when he’s DJing later, he constantly looks for you in the crowd; well, it’s a little hard since he only saw you from behind and he’s getting worried that he lost his chance

he spots the girl that you were talking to though, so he thinks that’s good enough

he stops her later and almost earns a beating from her boyfriend that seems to be extremely jealous - and all that for nothing, because the girl claims she doesn’t know you

‘but she had a blue bracelet with a star, like a friendship one if that helps’

‘oh, I know exactly who that is now, thanks’

she doesn’t understand the irony in this and goes away genuinely thinking she helped while Johnny comes back to his apartment shared with Mark and Jaehyun feeling very disappointed

he even develops some kind of obsession? he stops people randomly and asks if they attended Taeyong’s party and that’s so embarrassing for Jaehyun

‘Ten! don’t you know like, everyone here?’

Jaehyun looks at Johnny unamused for the 52nd time this week

but Ten’s eyes are already sparkling; where’s drama there’s Ten, especially when Johnny’s involved

‘oooh who are we looking for?’

‘Johnny is looking for some girl that he fell in love at first sight at the party but he only saw her back so I don’t know how that happened’

'Suh! she must have had a REALLY pretty nape, huh?’

and the clowning continues for the next two weeks

in the meantime, Jaehyun manages to indirectly tell one of the listeners that she’s stupid if she thinks this one boy likes her and that’s exactly why Johnny needs to find you

and then, Yuta throws a party

it’s not the best time for you to have fun - you’re stressed about life, you have essays to write and exams to pass and on top of that, your older sister is getting married in a week

so instead of dancing or witnessing Ten’s stupidity, you chill in Yuta’s kitchen while sipping wine; the music is muted here and the alcohol is slowly getting to your head

that’s when the almighty Johnny Suh enters the kitchen

well, that sounded like you don’t like him

you’re probably the only person that feels neutral about him because everyone else adores him regardless of gender, age or opinions on politics

he walks in confidently and gives you a small smile out of courtesy and you nod slightly, not really looking at him

he starts looking around for something to drink before his eyes land on the bottle of wine in your hand

'someone’s been through a rough day, huh?’

you force a smile

'nooo, where did you get that idea, life is amazing, my grades are fantastic, I’m on time with everything especially the essay due to tomorrow oh, and I definitely have someone to take to a wedding this weekend, and how are you?’

he smiles at your rant and he opens his arms saying

'just tell me when and where and I’ll be waiting for you in my best suit’

he’s drunk isn’t he

'i don’t know why but I want you to help me with the essay more’

and he gasps dramatically and puts his hand on his chest and looks at you with big eyes

'are you embarrassed to show me to your family? do you think I’m not good enough to be your partner?’

'let’s just forget this conversation’

your straight face makes you unapproachable now, so he shrugs and continues looking for something to drink and get drunk even more

and he opens every counter possible and he makes so much noise that you just close your eyes and breathe slowly to calm down

before aggressively grabbing a cup and pouring your wine in it

'here’

you give it to him and he looks at you for a few seconds and squints his eyes suspiciously

'is it poisonous’

'drink and see’

'okay’

he takes the cup from your hand, but his eyes land on your bracelet; blue braided bracelet with a star

it’s crazy but… maybe?

'hey…’

'it’s not poisonous just drink, God’

'first of all, my name is Johnny. second of all, is it possible I saw you at Taeyong’s party two weeks ago?’

'depends on your eyesight but I was there if that’s what you want to know. why?’

'were you talking to a girl on the stairs?’

’… don’t tell me you’re her psycho boyfriend’

'I’m not but he nearly punched me so I guess you could say we’re friends’

'interesting criteria’

'do you like Night Night?’

you snort and lean back on the counter, showing your side profile to him

'is that your best pick up line?’

'I’m not flirting now…… unless you want me to’

he then manages to WINK at you and you hate it

'what do you want from me exactly because I’m very confused since the moment you spoke to me’

'I want you to host Lovey-Dovey with me’

and you look at him for a while, blinking a few times; he looks back at you and it suddenly turns into some weird staring contest but you don’t even know the rules

'are you ghosting me but like, in real life?’

'is it working?’

'not exactly. so? what do you say? me and Jaehyun are too dumb and everyone’s talking about love, losers if you ask me, and we need someone to help’

you’re not thinking clearly and you forget to use sarcasm while saying

'so I’ll be able to tell people what to do? that’s my dream, I’m in’

and after that, you both observe a couple that stumbles into the kitchen while making out and it’s extremely awkward since you and Johnny didn’t even notice how close you’re standing to each other so you clear your throat, take your bottle of wine and evacuate

'Johnny, hi. y/n, remind me to never get a girlfriend. this one couple started fighting and it’s so annoying, jeez’

the both of you look at Ten that catches you right when you exit the kitchen; you look at the couple again before saying

'they didn’t exactly look like they were fighting, also there’s no a girl stupid enough to date you, Nine’

'you know each other?’ Johnny is drunk and confused

Ten raises his eyebrows with a smug face before grabbing your wrist to show off your friendship bracelets

'are you asking me if I know my best friend? weren’t you the one to tell me I know everyone?’

'Eight, you’re embarrassing me’ you roll your eyes before snatching your hand away from him

'call me Ten or I’ll tell Yuta you hate our friendship bracelets’

'he knows I hate them, Seven’

'JOHNNY let’s get a drink or I’ll go to jail today for murder’

and before he knows it, Johnny is following Ten and he never sees you again for the rest of the party - may be because you fell asleep in Yuta’s wardrobe

you’re VERY surprised when Johnny finds you on Monday standing next to your lecture hall

so are all students in your major because since when do you know the almighty Johnny Seo?

he rests his arm against the wall next to you and smiles at you cutely; I mean, that’s what he thinks

'you didn’t even tell me at what time the wedding starts and I realized I would look terrible in your mother’s eyes if we were late’

and you raise your eyebrow

'you actually remember that we talked? I’m impressed, I thought you are the type to get amnesia after drinking’

'of course I remember, especially the part where you said you want to host a radio show with me’

'I was drunk, don’t use words I said against me’

'what? hey, it’s a matter of honour, you can’t take back what you promised’

'I’m friends with Ten, we even wear those stupid friendship bracelets - do you think I know what honour is’

you expect another remark from him, but he bites the inside of his cheek and looks at you with furrowed eyebrows; it was indeed stupid of him to think you’d agree to that right away

'what about visiting me and Jaehyun at the studio tomorrow? just to see how it really looks like before you reject the offer. what do you say?’

'are you actually serious about this? you don’t even know me’

'well, I hope I’ll get to know you along the way’ he winks and titles his head to one side, his long hair falling on his face softly

and when you see some girls whispering to each other while looking at you two, you really don’t want them to get the wrong idea so you say to them

'he’s not actually flirting with me’

that earns a laugh from Johnny but suddenly he stands straight and looks at you with big eyes

'oh, and how do you know?’

'can you just leave please’

'wow, you really don’t want to be associated with me! I knew that was the reason why you didn’t want me to be your wedding date!’ he continues dramatically and you just shut your eyes

and those girls whisper more eagerly now

'AGAIN he’s not serious now’

Johnny laughs at suddenly he finds himself wanting to ruffle your hair? well, that’s a normal gesture between him and his friends

and then it’s the time for your lecture to start and you’re so thankful for that, so you go in but you hear him for the last time

'tomorrow at 7 pm, don’t be late!!’

you have no plans to go there at all and surprisingly, Johnny knows that

so he uses his secret weapon - Ten; he tells him that he actually looked for you all this time and again, Ten clowns it for him because why would anyone purposefully want to interact with you

anyways, Johnny complains about the situation for a while and since Ten has a soft spot for him, he blackmails you into visiting Night Night’s studio

Johnny seems focused on work so he’s not even annoying you today; Jaehyun is very nice towards you, probably because he thinks you’ll save him from losing more boyfriend points

and you find yourself fascinated by how the radio works? I mean, it seems like a fun and memorable experience and since you always felt like you were missing a hobby, that seems like an opportunity

you start to understand why the boys need you with them when they start answering love-related questions and you cringe hard

when they ask you again if you want to host the radio show, you pretend to be hesitant about that and that gains you a free coffee at every broadcast

and you officially become DJ Blue - you tell them that you want to stay anonymous because people can be strange sometimes, especially when you tell them what to do and that’s a big responsibility

and you host Lovey-Dovey with Johnny every Monday

you make lots of mistakes at first; you actually have to learn a few things

your biggest fail was when you forgot to turn off your mic and started ranting about that one professor you hate with Kokobop playing in the background; Johnny had a blast while you were so stressed that someone might recognize you and snitch on you

but listeners are satisfied with the new addition; they like the way you form your opinion and how you always try to be fair and honest

Johnny shows you listeners’ comments saying that they’re thankful for your advice and that it worked or you were right

and you see a comment saying 'wow I wish I knew who you are because you seem like the perfect girl’

and you look at the nickname and your smile fades face because it’s the guy that’s been playing you for months before saying that you’re not someone he wants to date

Johnny stops scrolling and asks you what’s wrong but you wave your hand at him

'you’re not experienced enough to help with my love life yet’

Johnny has to admit you’re a hard nut to crack; you don’t share too much about yourself and when you do, it’s all sarcastic and he’s not even sure what’s real and what’s not

your relationship for the first few weeks is based on bickering and him flirting with you jokingly and you rejecting him in every way possible; listeners LOVE your conversations - when you have to host Lovey-Dovey with Jaehyun, everyone immediately asks for Johnny to come back

it takes Johnny a few months before he gets you to open up finally; well, honestly it takes him 3 bottles of alcohol to do that

because one time, you’re both tired of studying and living in general and Johnny offers you alcohol

and you think he’s crazy, you’re about to start the show

but how can you say no?

and yes, that’s your most popular broadcast; you don’t even remember it but you know you two were crying from laughter while talking about a mysterious hat and you aggressively danced to My Chemical Romance and you even started some role-playing about bread but that’s when Jaehyun came in running to the studio and turned all the mics off

he ended the broadcast while you and Johnny started hitting each other in the corner pretending to be karate kids

that was…. wild

and you got into so much trouble because of that

and you were so afraid to face Johnny the next morning but you just burst out laughing when you saw each other

but then you quickly shut up because it was too loud and your heads were POUNDING

also, you were clowned AGAIN by all of your friends for that little rebellion

anyways, Johnny feels a sense of accomplishment because now you smile at him and it’s not forced

he never told you this but he wanted to become friends with you ever since you answered a question that really hit home for him; he was going through something similar to a break-up and you were the one to ease his pain without even knowing

well, you also start to understand why everyone likes him so much - he’s such a chill guy, ready to help anytime and he’s actually very funny

you’re impressed with his photography skills; you knew he was a film student and that kinda fits together, but when he’s taking photos his aura is so different than usual

he started walking you home after the broadcast some time ago and sometimes he randomly takes pictures of you; and because you’re awkward with this kind of things, you make ridiculous poses and then you two look through the photos in front of your apartment while wheezing and waking up your neighbours

it’s nice sharing new music with each other because you have similar taste

and he’s so random with his plans and hangouts

he just comes to you and says 'oh by the way i booked us a flying yoga class on Friday so get your yoga pants ready ’

and that’s kinda smart because he knows you like to excuse yourself out of many things and if he has already booked or paid for something - you have no choice but to go

also, eventually you all hang out together - and by that I mean you, Johnny, Yuta, Ten, Jaehyun, Mark and sometimes more

Yuta teases you a lot about your friendship with Johnny - he says it’s amazing that you don’t notice how he looks at you

and indeed, you failed to see that

'this is Lovey-Dovey, your favourite radio show. hello to new listeners that joined us. I’m DJ Johnny and we seem to have a little emergency here because DJ Blue fell asleep. I don’t know how she managed to do that while listening to EXO’s Monster but yeah, that’s why I’m whispering now’

Johnny smiles, his lips lightly touching the microphone; he starts looking through questions sent by listeners

'so let’s quietly answer another question now. someone called Iced Latte asks how to confess to your friend. great question. I wish DJ Blue was awake, sorry that you’re stuck with me’

'I think that honesty is the key? you don’t need roses or gifts or romantic setting… you just look at the person you like-’ his eyes find your sleeping figure ’-and you feel that this is the perfect moment, that you’re sure that whatever’s going on in your heart is real. you definitely should be honest with this person and with yourself’

he falls silent for a moment; it’s funny how he doesn’t listen to his own advice

you wake up after his ending ment and you’re very confused

'did I seriously just fall asleep’

'yeah, amazing how you slept so long with that pencil digging into your cheek’

'you should have woken me up’

'i couldn’t, you’re actually pretty cute when you don’t talk’

you scoff while rolling your eyes and you throw the pencil that caused you discomfort at Johnny earning a laugh from him

you both get up and start cleaning up the place a little bit as you usually do

Johnny stops organizing the papers on the table and looks at you

'hey, remember that one drunken podcast we did?’

you automatically smile at him and turn around to face him

'why? do you want to do it again?’

'actually..’

he smiles and his hand travels under the table

'don’t tell me…’

'no, I don’t hide alcohol here but I wanted to see your excitement’

'you shouldn’t make fun of people dealing with addiction’

Johnny shows you his cute smile; he straightens up and comes closer to you, suddenly standing right in front of you

'that podcast… it was very special for me, you know? I had such a blast that I didn’t want that evening to end. at first I thought it was because of the alcohol, but then I realized that it’s always this fun when I’m with you’

you can feel your body tensing; you can sense that he’s serious and you don’t like where it might be going

he looks into your eyes and his eyebrows furrow; you turn your attention to his lips when they seem to get closer to you

you feel his soft lips on yours and sudden warmth overtakes your whole body; you melt into the kiss when his fingers run through your hair

he pulls away from you and his eyes are glistening with hope

but you can’t bring yourself to say anything; your mind is completely blank and you just really don’t want to make a mistake

Johnny takes a step back, his face falls for a moment but he smiles soon after

'I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have put you into a situation like this’

'Johnny…’

'it’s okay y/n. it’s fine’

and you really want to say more but oh God, why is it so difficult?

you observe Johnny gathering his things in silence and you follow his actions; he still offers to walk you home but you decline and he just nods silently

you’re not able to sleep that night

you start analyzing everything he said to you, every action and wondered how could you miss the signs that he might like you; Yuta was right and you’re ashamed to admit that

the worst thing about it is that you have no idea if you feel the same; well, technically you rejected him today so is it even important now?

you know that you enjoy spending time with him, that he’s a good friend and that he became a big part of your life

and that terrifies you because, what will happen now? how will the two of you act around each other?

you stay with your thoughts alone, not sharing them with your friends which is a problem

because, the next day, you see Johnny and Jaehyun ordering their drinks while you and Yuta are already drinking your coffees at the table in your favourite coffee shop

he calls them even though you hush him

and you catch Johnny’s gaze when he’s approaching your table; a shiver goes down your spine and something in your stomach starts shifting dangerously

but he says hi and tells you that he has to go now, taking Jaehyun with him

Yuta squints his eyes when he looks at you; you keep your best poker face but then he points his finger at you, then at the door, then at you again

'something’s not right’

'everything’s fine, I don’t know what you’re talking about’

'DID HE DO IT’

you look at him with big eyes, feeling exposed

'you’re literally so dumb, I was constantly hinting that he likes you and you didn’t believe me. and now, I’m assuming you rejected him so that makes you twice as dumb’

'I’m leaving’

you even grab your bag but Yuta stares at you through his long bangs before speaking up seriously

'you don’t like him?’

'I don’t know, okay? I was sure that I’m safe with him, I mean… I was sure that there’s nothing going on between us so I blocked the thought of liking him from my brain’

'so if he likes you, it’s not safe anymore?’

and you stop for a moment because that’s a brilliant question that you don’t know an answer for

talking with Yuta calms you down; he doesn’t give you direct advice but he asks you questions that are worth thinking about

and Ten is pissed when he finds out that you told Yuta about this situation before him; but after that, he starts comforting you by saying that you can be sure that Johnny won’t make it uncomfortable

and he’s right, but Johnny needs time

for a week, you don’t even talk to each other; yes, you meet on the corridors or at random places but besides saying hi and sharing a few awkward looks, that’s all

you are informed on Sunday that Jaehyun will host Lovey-Dovey with you tomorrow and that’s when you think that you messed everything up

and Jaehyun is really bad at giving love advice, so your podcast is basically you disagreeing with each other for 3 hours straight; the comments are flooded with listeners begging for DJ Johnny to come back

in the middle of the broadcast, Johnny actually visits you; and you just stare at him because he looks different? he’s wearing a blue striped shirt with ripped jeans - such a simple outfit, yet he looks so handsome?

Johnny clears his throat and Jaehyun seems to be amused

'I’ve heard a bit of the show and I think there’s something wrong with Jaehyun’s mic, I’ll check it real quick’

'so you heard how bad our chemistry is?’ Jaehyun asks and Johnny looks at him for a second before turning away

'I wasn’t really listening’

and those words make you sad but you focus your attention on the new comments

he leaves after fixing what needed to be fixed and Jaehyun looks at you while smirking

'he looked nice, didn’t he? hmm maybe he has a date and that’s why he couldn’t do this broadcast?’

'maybe’

'next Monday we should…’

'we’re not going to host Lovey-Dovey ever again’

'you don’t like working with me? why don’t you complain to Johnny, you might be able to catch him still’

and you’re THIS close to try and suffocate him; he knows it and just smiles showing off his dimples proudly

but luckily, Johnny hosts the show with you next time

he even comes to say hi to you when he sees you studying in the library and asks you how are you; it’s awkward for you to suddenly talk like that with him but you know he’s trying hard so you have to try too

so after a month, everything seems to be okay

you may not hang out outside of the radio studio, but you talk

also, whenever his shirt’s unbuttoned enough to show his collarbones, you can’t focus on hosting and you catch yourself recalling the softness of his lips

you make scenarios in your head, thinking what would be happening now if you acted differently that one evening

but you stop when you see Johnny smiling at another girl, the way he used to smile at you

you really don’t want to act like that, but you go to Ten and ask him about this girl; he says that she was very close to becoming Johnny’s girlfriend a few months ago but she chose her ex-boyfriend over him

'her boyfriend probably broke up with her again and she’s using Johnny as a rebound’

'or he’s using her’

you look at Yuta that suddenly appears next to you, eating chips casually and Ten just grabs a whole fist of them and no one protests

'what did you say?’

'um I don’t know, what did I say? did that interest you?’

you curl your fingers into a fist

'what Yuta tried to say is that Johnny is probably still not over you and you’re an idiot’

'I’ve been called stupid so many times lately that I even start to believe it’

'oh, so you didn’t know that before?’

'do you want to die Three?’

and just like that, you find yourself in this very strange situation; you want to spend more time with Johnny and get closer to him as you watch him getting more involved with this girl

you hate yourself for that because why do you have to hurt yourself like that? you were the one to reject him so why does it feel like you are the rejected one?

it hurts when you hear that Johnny won’t be meeting you and your friends today, because he has other plans; it hurts when he posts a photo of this girl on his social media when it used to be your photos; it hurts when he has his eyes glued to his phone when there’s a music break in Lovey-Dovey; and when he smiles to the phone, you realize you haven’t made him smile in a while

and the worst part of it all is that you know very well that you have no right to feel that now

another Monday, another Lovey-Dovey broadcast

Johnny is currently telling a story about the last movie he watched and you know he watched it with her so to distract yourself, you search for another question to answer

and you find someone called Chaito; before you can read the actual question, Johnny is done with his story and asks you to pick another concern to solve

so you just go with it, but you’re suspicious - for a reason

'hello Lovey-Dovey’s listeners! DJ Blue, could you help me because I think I’m too much of an idiot to sort it out myself… my friend confessed to me but I rejected him unsure of my feelings-’

you stop reading; your face is getting so hot and you can’t even bring yourself to look at Johnny even though you can feel his stare on you

you don’t want to finish it but you know it’s too late; surprisingly, it’s Johnny that continues reading

'he found another girl and I’m SO frustrated whenever I see them together that I have to take it out on my poor friends. is it possible that I like him? what do I do now?’

your heart is racing at this point and your eyes are shaking; you can’t believe that Ten and Yuta did that to you and you search your mind for a way to get rid of dead bodies

but first, you have this question to deal with

Johnny doesn’t know what to do as well; he looks at you a few times but you don’t look back and time is ticking and you can’t go on without saying anything for too long

'that’s a difficult question’ you start 'our listeners must believe that I know it all but I’m sorry to disappoint - I make mistakes too. actually, someone confessed to me a few months ago and I said nothing. I made a decision without knowing. it still occupies my mind. I’m wondering what would I could have said but does it matter? we shouldn’t dwell on lost opportunities too much, the past is the past. in this case, Chaito, I think you should think about this person’s happiness first and step back. this person is trying to start again and you should let that happen’

‘I think-’ Johnny’s voice startles you and you let yourself look at his calm face ‘you all know what my motto is, right? you should always be honest with others and yourself. I think there’s nothing wrong with saying how you feel, even if it won’t change anything. at least you know that you did everything you could. maybe that girl is just a friend? maybe you’re misunderstanding something? you’ll never know without talking about it’

'umm SO, you got two points of view on that. pick the one that fits you better. now, shall we listen to NCT’s Knock On?’

you quickly turn on the song and you exhale loudly; your eyes find Johnny’s instinctively and you’re surprised to discover that Johnny is fighting back a smile

when he sees your straight face he can’t hold back anymore and his eyes make a crescent shape while he grins

‘shouldn’t you be focusing on your phone now, as always?’

‘why, does it bother you?’

‘do you want that to bother me?’

‘don’t reply to a question with a question’

‘why? because it’s your speciality?’

‘you seem frustrated, are you taking it out on me now?’

‘and you seem overjoyed, can I possibly know the reason?’

‘I’m just happy that you have great friends’

‘I have no idea what you’re talking about, and that conversation is making me uncomfortable so I’ll avoid it by saying I have to go to the bathroom but I’ll actually go home and never come back, so excuse me’

‘go ahead, just one little thing before you go - this girl wanted something more but I told her I’m not interested because I still like you’

and you stop dead in your tracks and you just look at Johnny like it’s the first time you see him; he just tilts his head and copies your expression perfectly

‘weren’t you supposed to go to the bathroom tho?’

'I don’t need to anymore’

you stand up and make your way towards him; he watches you patiently and the softness of his eyes reassures you

you sit on his lap and put your arms around his neck, pulling him into a tight hug; his hands find their place on your lower back, pulling you even closer to his body

you can only whisper 'I’m so sorry, I didn’t know how to react back then and it all turned into that mess that I never wanted’ into the crook of his neck

'I’m sorry too, that confession was too hasty and I acted like an idiot because I was just so disappointed’

'I guess we’re both idiots then’

everything is perfect and then, Johnny’s phone starts vibrating like crazy; he groans as he reaches for it, with you still in his embrace

he picks up the call and you hear Jaehyun’s voice

'congratulations on your marriage! your mics were on the whole time IDIOTS’

you kinda feel like dying at that moment but Johnny just laughs and goes with the flow

'our dear listeners, I hope you’ll be able to understand that we end Lovey-Dovey earlier today due to the circumstances’

and when he turns off everything, he looks at you and his eyes are smiling

'so does it all mean that you like me too?’

'no, I’m sitting on your lap because my chair was uncomfortable’

and he laughs with throwing his head back and oh, you just love when he does that

he takes your face into his hands and plants a kiss on your lips; this time it’s long and it’s just so meaningful and makes you all fuzzy inside

'okay, you know what? I think like you’

'so will you finally accept me as your wedding date????’

'with your dance moves? forget it’

and next day, when you’re leaving your apartment, you see Johnny waiting for you at the exit; he gives you one of his flirty smirks

'what are you doing here?’ you ask as you approach him

'I guess I missed you or something, I dunno’ he shrugs with the most nonchalant face expression he can make

'didn’t you leave my apartment like, 3 hours ago? you’re the clingy type, huh?’

'not my problem, you could have just rejected me AGAIN’

'I didn’t reject you I just-’

'oh yeah you GHOSTED ME’

and you roll your eyes and try to go past him because how many times is he going to remind you that

but of course, he grabs your hand and uses force to make you bump into his chest; he looks down on you and you smile at each other

'hey hey hey, where’s my morning kiss?’

so you hold hands when you enter the university building; Johnny tells you to be prepared to run as soon as you see Ten

and just then, Ten and Yuta appear in front of you with stupid grins on their faces

'oh, is that DJ Johnny and DJ Blue? I’m your biggest fan!! my name is Ten and I’m one of the friends you were talking about yesterday’

'and I’m Yuta! I have a complaint tho - how can you two solve everyone’s problems but you suck at sorting out yours?’

'don’t offend me or my girlfriend y/n please’

'you didn’t even ask me if I want to be your girlfriend’

'well, I assumed… yesterday we did things that only couples can do’

Yuta gasps dramatically and Ten puts his hands on his ears

'WHY DID I NEED TO HEAR THAT’

'One, shut up, he’s just joking’

'One?? the number keeps on decreasing, you must really hate me now huh’

basically, Johnny is still as annoying as he used to be, but he’s also the most caring person you know

he remembers to buy you coffee when you don’t have the time to and he carries an extra scarf in winter just in case you forgot

and honestly, at first you’re both very clingy - it’s like by that you want to make up for the lost time; you hang out with your friends less and less and it gets to the point that Ten calls you out

and you realize that it’s not healthy and that you should have separate lives while dating; you still spend a lot of time together but you also meet your friends and have your own hobbies

about that - you’re a little hesitant about continuing as a radio host now that you and Johnny are together but it turns out that listeners support you a lot and they want you to stay

well, now everyone knows who you are - they heard your confession and now Johnny’s holding your hand so it became clear that you are DJ Blue; that suddenly made you popular? it’s nice because now everyone wants to share their notes with you but you also had a few unpleasant incidents of people blaming you for their break up

luckily, you have Johnny and his positivity; you learn to be more optimistic from him and you don’t care about what others say that much anymore

it’s very cheesy but you know how people say 'you’re my vitamin’? that’s honestly how you think of Johnny, he makes everything better

what you love the most are your spontaneous trips; every few weeks you just go and explore the world surrounding you - Johnny’s admiring the views through his camera while you’re admiring him and those trips calm you down so much

also - he has a car so that makes up for the fact that he makes fun of you all the time; he feels invincible now knowing that his lips are your weakness

oh, and he still reminds you that you rejected him whenever you don’t want to kiss him

and even though Ten promises that he’ll never get a girlfriend because he nearly throws up when he sees you and Johnny - you’re all shocked to discover that he actually finds himself a girlfriend…. or does he? well, that’s a story for another time :)

disclaimer 1: my inspiration for Yuta was him calling Taeyong dumb when NCT 127 was playing the mafia game disclaimer 2: drinking game! drink every time you read stupid/dumb/idiot :) disclaimer 3: if you liked it, please let me know by liking this post or reblogging disclaimer 4: if you REALLY liked it, you may be interested in my masterlist?

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the-second-circle-ffxiv · 5 years ago

Text

Cocoa and marshmallows

Iris cursed under her breath, as she made her way through the snowy streets of Ishgard towards Silke’s apartment. The midday was knocking on the door, as the women had finally left the Blacksoul manor. Silke had a day-off, true... but if she had left her apartment already, there would be no way Iris and Eva could find her from the city of size that Ishgard was.

The library, Jeweled Crozier, Second Circle... too many chances. Too many places to go looking from. All Iris could do was hope her friend had slept long, and was still at home. High stiletto heels knocked merrily against the stony walkway, as the two arrived to the apartment building. Silke’s small, lowly flat was located up on the third floor. “...The heckin’ stairs tend to be slippery at dis time o’ a day, Cinnabun... So watch yer heckin’ steps. I’m not gonna catch ya, if yer to fall and break yer neck, just sayin’.”

Iris looked up at a narrow stairway, leading up on the outer wall of the building, and with a sigh, she gathered up her long, black dress, and started making her way up, Eva following just couple of steps behind her. The morning had been warm, and the ice on the stairs had melted away, making their climb that much easier, and in no time, the two arrived onto Silke’s door.

Iris listened for a moment, trying to hear if anyone was home. The walls were like paper around here anyway, but she couldn’t pick up any noises. A lonely dog was barking somewhere in the distance. The voice was too deep to come out of Silke’s little puppy, Laurence. Giving a quick side-glance towards Eva, Iris knocked onto the door.

“‘Ey! Silkee! Blackbird, yer ‘ome?! It’s mi! Open tha door, mi ass is freezin’ ‘ere!! Silkeee! Darlin’!”

Silke flinched awake when she heard knocking on the door. “It wasn't me I swear!” she yelped stupidly, before realizing she had just been dreaming and she was in fact in her own apartment, alone. She rubbed her eyes and glanced at the clock. It was nearly midday. Cursing silently, Silke flung her blanket aside, stepped into her moogle slippers which had been waiting next to her bed and was already about to dash towards the door. Then she remembered she was wearing only tiny panties and black, short nightgown, which barely reached her buttocks and was made of some thin fabric that showed more than she would've wanted to.

The garment actually belonged to Lareine, or Iris, who had left it behind sometime. Silke had ended up wearing the thing after deciding to be effective and washing all of her laundry at once, before noticing she had mashed her both own nightgowns into washings and thus didn't have anything to wear during the night. Luckily her pink morning gown with brash turquoise carbuncle patterns hadn't been among the laundry, so she grabbed it from the sofa and wrapped it around her while hurrying towards the door. Her long, straight, ash black hair was messy but she couldn't have cared less. The damn thing was so thick and slippery it was a mission impossible to try and keep it braided during the night. She was equally indifferent about her dark circles. If someone hadn't seen dark circles by now then it was about bloody time.

“I'm poor and I'm not buying anything!” she announced at the same moment she flung the door open. A wide smile spread on Iris’ black lips as her friend opened the door, wearing her silly carbuncle morning gown and the fluffy moogle slippers. Even when not trying to, Silke looked dashing in Iris’ eyes. The mess of a black hair, like that of a demon from eastern tales just enhanced the effect.

“...And Im not sellin’ anythin’, mi star on da night sky!” She stepped up to the woman, wrapping her arms tightly around her, giving her a squeeze, and breathing in the familiar scent of ink and gunpowder... the scent of home.

“...Fockin’ ‘ell, I was afraid ya ‘ad left da buildin’ already! I missed ya, gal!” Iris released her friend, quickly fixing her round glasses, which the hug had tipped on the side, which together with her messy locks, made Silke look bit like she had just survived an explosion. “...I just ‘ave to tell ya everythin’! Ya wont believe whut’s ‘appenin’ back at tha manor... A major shitestorm. I guess... uhh... someone finally dropped a match onto the fockin’ barrel o’ gunpowder dats been sittin’ casually between Grumpy and Lucy... Oh...”

Iris stepped aside, giving some space to Eva, still standing behind her on the narrow stairway. “...Dis is... Evangelin’! I stumbled upon ‘er in tha church, ya know... She was comin’ to look for a goddess, and she found mi instead! Which... in tha end is not too far as a heckin’ outcome, or whut do ya dink? Aniway, we are kinda ‘avin’ a deal... Guess Grumpy is hirin’ her, so she can pay mi for company... ‘Er gal left ‘er to fock ‘round wid sum random lad somewhere, so I’m kinda ‘elpin’ ‘er to fock dat said gal outta ‘er head!”

Then she turned back to Evangeline. “Cinnabun, dis is Silke! Mi heckin’ fallen angel... Isn’t she just dashin’?” A sly smirk played on Iris’ lips, as she glanced towards Eva, before quickly moving her attention back to the viera at the door. “...Ya ‘ave dat tea of yer’s still, darlin’? Guess who’s been almost heckin’ sober for a month!” Iris was chattering up a storm. Though Evangeline hadn’t known her for long, she knew that this had to be unusual for the sarcastic, abrasive woman she had just met a few days ago. Around everyone else Iris painted over herself a veneer of prickly indifference that kept most, if not all, at arm’s length. Even Arsene, who she seemed to be most accustomed to, or at least the most comfortable with, was still held at quite the distance. This though... this was different. Evangeline couldn’t hope to compare to this. Iris was beaming, ecstatic to see this woman... a jumble of words exiting her mouth at neck-breaking speed.

She was almost tripping over her words trying to tell Silke anything and everything she possibly could. Somewhat dazed, Evangeline inspected Silke as Iris spoke, half-tuning out what the slight viera was saying. The woman in the doorway was undeniably adorable. She was clearly frazzled, having probably just woken up to the sound of someone at her door. She seemed bookish, from a combination of her round glasses which sat slightly askew on her nose, her frame, and what Eva could see of her dwelling... which seemed to be crammed wall-to-wall with literature.

This was about to be a long conversation... a visit between Iris, the woman who had Eva wrapped around her finger, and Silke, the woman with whom Iris seemed to be very much in love. At the thought of the word ‘love’ the little green monster struck at Evangeline’s stomach. Its spines were particularly sharp today... Eva didn’t know how much of this she could take. She tried to hide her pensive expression with a smile, waving slightly to Silke as Iris mentioned her name. Evangeline watched with mounting horror as Iris kept talking, though... explaining not only everything that had happened after the incident at the church, but also mentioning what exactly had happened during the incident... namely the carnal encounter the two of them had shared, and the fact that Eva was paying for Iris’ company. She supposed it had been foolish to hope that Iris wouldn’t delight in telling every living soul of their arrangement, but it was still painfully embarrassing. She looked at the ground, her face hot to the point that she thought she might be pressing it against an oven. She could barely extract words, but managed to anyways.

“G-good morning... p-pleased to make your acquaintance”, Evangeline was able to squeak, and accompanied it with a modest curtsy, hands gripping tightly at the skirts of her dress. She was unable to bring herself to meet eyes with Silke, instead choosing to inspect the steps upon which she was standing, waiting for her to laugh... or respond... somehow. Iris let out such a sudden flood of words that at first, Silke, who was still half asleep, couldn't do anything but stare her eyes wide and mouth slightly ajar. She clumsily patted Iris' back while she hugged her.

“Me? Nooo...”, Silke gave a laugh. “If I, for once, get to sleep late, then hells yeah that's what I'm gonna do. I wonder whose voidspawn's ingenious idea it was that everyone should get up while it's still dark? Purely idiotic, if you ask me. Messes up our natural circadian rhythm and probably causes a whole lot of heart attacks and such, geez...”

When Iris started to talk about the drama between Varg and Lucian, Silke couldn't help but lick her lips greedily. She was usually allergic to drama, but that certain one was like straight from some really bad soap opera. Silke had never truly understood people who were too interested in others' business and loved to gossip, but because of this one case she had perhaps started to understand them on some level.

Silke let out a frustrated sound. “You must tell me immediately if something happens, Iris”, she pleaded. “I'm having lots of exams coming up and I'm very very busy, but I'm still willing to halve my cramming time if it means I can witness the outcome. Make your way into my school if you have to, aight? Rather early, so we can grab some popcorn.”

When it was time for Iris' introduction of Evangeline, and description of what they had been doing together, Silke felt an unpleasant sting of jealousy. She had been so absorbed by the delicious news Iris had brought, that she hadn't paid much attention to the other viera until now. Evangeline seemed like complete opposite – at least externally – to Silke. She seemed somewhat older, her body was toned and her face radiated health. Her dark skin and flaming hair reminded Silke of a torch or pyre.

'And the most important thing, she wants to fock', a little voice in Silke's mind reminded.

Its goal had probably been to upset her, but instead of pushing it away like usual, Silke just let it linger there, agreeing with it. Indeed, this woman was able to give Iris what I can't, she thought to herself.

What in the world was going on in Iris' mind, though? Why was she telling her this? Silke was aware of Iris' occupation, but still this wasn't the kind of information one just blurted loudly around like that. Silke both hated and loved her imagination, which was able to paint pictures, like works of art rich in detail in her mind. It helped tremendously with studying. Though, in situations like this it burned some truly unwanted images on her retinas forever. Besides, now her neighbors knew as well. The other two could see very pale pink splotches appearing on her cheeks before they vanished almost instantly.

“That's... interesting?” Silke noted and nodded politely at Evangline, trying to shoo away the mental image while looking at her. Immediately Silke rebuked herself. Who the heck said 'interesting' after someone had been just describing in detail about their intercourse? Well... herself, apparently.

“I mean, um... nice”, she corrected, smiling – while hoping it didn't look too much like a grimace - and slapping her hands together. “I'm glad to hear you're having a good time with each other.”

Silke rebuked herself again. 'Nice' sounded even more awkward.

“Um... yes, I have tea”, she answered Iris, while stepping aside so that the other two could enter. “And cocoa too. Come in, come in. I want to hear more.” 'Oh. My. Gods', she thought. “Like, IN GENERAL.” Silke was acting weirdly, Iris thought to herself, as she stepped past her friend, letting her hand brush against Silke’s rear as she entered the house. Well, Silke was the type who usually acted weirdly, but this? Even for Silke, this would be considered weird. Iris had noticed the slight blush rising on her friend’s pale cheeks, yet fading away as quickly as it had appeared, like a dream you suddenly wake up from. Had it even been there?

Silke did blush, but in the end, it was very rare for the woman. Such thing sometimes occurred when Silke was angry and confused... or wanted to take something cute home. But right now? This was different. Was... Silke jealous? Silke? Jealous of her?

Well, if the situation was so, it was just as Iris had planned it in the first place! But why did she feel a sting in her heart? Like someone was pushing an icicle through it.

Pale viera walked up to the sofa, and threw herself down onto it, next to Laurence who rose his head, giving a quick glance at her, before curling up once again. Iris gave the dog a gentle rub behind his little orange ear. The shiba seemed like he had mostly forgiven what Iris had done back in the day, but still had some mistrust towards her.

“Ohh, cocoa would be just frickin’ lovely...”, she was about to add if Silke could top it with a sliver of rum, but realized it was not the best idea, after she had just told her friend about the month sober... Or well, sober was maybe not the right word to describe it, as Iris still drank. A month without drinking herself under the table, maybe?

All in all, Iris knew Silke never had alcohol at home. The ghostly viera had a bad habit to grab a bottle under stress, and that’s what Silke definitely had with her studies... Stress.

Iris followed Eva, as her companion walked in after her. Keeping her eyes locked onto woman, she gave a quick, meaningful nod towards the armchair, with a blue carbuncle plushie laying on its armrest. The icicle was digging its way into her heart, and having Eva sit down next to her on the sofa, would bring on the hammer, that would smash the icicle right through.

“...Its a fockin’ all out war back dere at tha manor soon, I tell ya...”, Iris started, crossing her legs, while still giving some affection to the shiba inu. The soft fur of the dog helped to ease her nerves a bit.

Keeping her eyes locked on Silke, working on her small kitchen of a kind, Iris went through everything that had happened. From Lucian finding her and Eva from the church, to their arrival into the manor, and from Varg possibly hiring Eva, to Arsene bringing in the hitman couple to guard the property.

“It’s a heckin’ powder keg back dere, sweetie... Dat ding only needs a fockin’ spark, and it’s gonna blow up, wipin’ tha city off tha map.” Iris’ black lips curled up into a devilish grin. “I’ll make sure to keep ya informed of every heckin’ turn, Blackbird... Because dis shite will end up to tha fireworks of a fockin’ lifetime, I tell ya... Blacksoul is pissed off like a heckin’ hog in a heat. Lucy’s gonna eat ‘is meals wid ‘is arsehole for a good while, if he’s to shows his fockin’ smug face in tha manor..” Evangeline ascended the stairs behind Iris, still trying to avert her eyes from Silke, who seemed to have ignored at least some of the comments entirely. She seemed so very different from Eva had thought she would be... in a lot of ways, Evangeline had pictured that Silke would be... much like Iris. Another rough-around-the-edges, prickly dancer that would have loved the opportunity to have a laugh with Iris over Eva’s embarrassment. Not someone who, for every intent and purpose, appeared to be a scholar.

And yet here they were, wandering into the home of someone who probably possessed more intelligence in her little finger than Evangeline had in her whole body. That was... an odd feeling... was she intimidated? Was this the sort of thing that Iris truly wanted? Scholarly discussions? Perhaps that was why Evangeline was so thoroughly bound to the often referred to position ‘second fiddle.’ What an odd sensation... she wasn’t used to feeling like this. Intimidation came in the form of combat prowess, no? Eva hadn’t felt intimidated by anyone in years... Even Andreas, the man who had swept Solenna away, hadn’t intimidated her. Over seven fulms tall... strong as an ox... but Eva had been sure that she could have placed his face squarely in the dirt had he come to fight her. This, though... this was different.

Eva entered the room, taking a seat in the armchair at Iris’ behest. Silke certainly liked... what were these things called... the little green aether pups that she had heard some of the other soldiers in her regiment discussing on occasion. Eva did think they were rather cute... but they must be difficult to hug, given that they weren’t... solid? Or were they? Evangeline looked to Silke again, standing there... damnably adorable still, in her half-awake state. She seemed to be waiting for something.

“Oh... um... tea, if you don’t mind. Thank you for inviting me into your home.”

She managed keeping her best straight face. Her eyes drifted across the bookshelves, packed with literature, with knowledge. Knowledge that Evangeline couldn’t hope to touch... not in a thousand years. She enjoyed reading her history books... but that was another thing entirely. It was just stories of battles and who won them and why. It wasn’t... whatever this was.

Study of aether...of magic, perhaps? That would explain the near ubiquitous presence of carbuncles throughout the apartment. Evangeline’s mind fell back through time for a moment though... to Iris in the church. Mentioning magic. Almost spitting as she did. She seemed so displeased by the practice at the time... so why would Silke be studying magic? Perhaps this was something different... chemistry... biology... who could guess?

“Wh-what is it... that you study, if you don’t mind me asking?” Stuttering again... damn. Why was this woman so intimidating?

Evangeline could hardly stand it, feeling this way. Stammering and stuttering around Iris was one thing... Eva had thought her a special case. She clenched her fists, looking around the room again to try and distract herself when... she saw… A puppy. An adorable little... Evangeline didn’t know the name of the breed... but it had a cute little pointed nose and triangular ears and orange fuzzy fur and it was laying next to Iris and it completely derailed Eva’s train of thought. She looked at it for a moment, sitting there and enjoying scritches from Iris, before blurting out the first thing that came back to her mind.

“C-can I pet your dog?”

Silke shivered slightly when Iris' hand touched her butt. The hells was she first bragging about her intercourses with Evangeline and then right after touching Silke's arse? Sure, Silke and Iris weren't in a relationship and Iris was free to do whatever and with whoever she wanted. Silke had already – bitterly – accepted it. But the thing that baffled her right now was that Iris just had to rub it in. Why? Silke couldn't even imagine being capable of doing something like that to the people she cared about the most. Silke had been having an impression there hadn't been any bad blood left between herself and Iris. Had she been wrong the whole time?

For a fleeting moment Silke felt an urge to yell 'You know what? Fock it!' and kick Iris out again. Maybe even speed up her departure with some carefully aimed lightning bolts. She got a hold of herself almost right away, though. She could never become a revered archmage if she behaved like some wretched punk or let her feelings get a grasp of her.

"Hot cocoa and tea - coming right up!" Silke announced after closing the door and turning around, smiling widely this time. The gesture was forced, perhaps, but at least she felt it wasn't as stiff as it had been earlier. She was getting good at this. Perhaps she should've become an actress instead. "I have whipped cream and marshmallows to put into cocoa, and milk and sugar for tea. Which one do you guys prefer, or would you rather drink your stuff completely without?"

"I'll take frickin' both, sweetheart!" Iris answered. "Like a heckin' mountain o' whipcream... and couple o' marshmallows... Whut ever ya wanna stick onto it, go for it."

"Milk and honey if you have it... or, um... milk and sugar if you don't. Thank you...", Evangeline scratched her jawline reservedly, immediately regretting requesting honey. It was a common food in Gridania, but probably was more of a delicacy in Ishgard.

At least Evangeline seemed like a civilized case, Silke thought. The dark viera didn't seem to enjoy the situation as much as Iris did, which meant she probably hadn't even known about Silke – or Iris' occupation for that matter – before she had agreed to... whatever they had going on right now. Silke had heard the saying 'opposites attract', but had never truly understood it. She still didn't. Silke had had many relationships with very different people than herself and all of them had ended into a catastrophe.

Silke filled a pot with fresh water and threw some firewood into the stove. A bright flame appeared from thin air just above her fingertip, and Silke blew it into the stove, igniting the firewood. While waiting for the water to boil she was digging her messy cabinet and trying to find the damn whipped cream and marshmallows. Meantime, Iris was explaining in more detail what had occurred lately. When Iris started to talk about the incident in the old church, something happened that felt like gods themselves would've decided to spit in Silke's face just for laughs.

She had found some godsdamned huge jar of jam from the cabinet, lifted it with her other hand, and noticed the marshmallows behind it. Keeping an eye on the water, listening to Iris repeating things Silke wouldn't have wanted to hear about, and trying to reach the marshmallow package from the cabinet that looked like an aftermath of some imperial mana bomb, had apparently been too much for her concentration to bear. Her grip slipped and the jar crashed into the sink, making a noise that was probably heard at the other side of the block of flats.

"Shiteberries!" she blurted with passion. "It's all good, no biggie!" she yelled towards the living room. "I've got it under control!"

The jar had broken into three huge chunks. Luckily there didn't seem to be any shards in the jam. 'I must save it!' was Silke's first thought after recovering from the worst wave of annoyance. 'One does not simply throw away food. No, no.'

"Black magic and summoning!" Silke yelled towards the living room again over the sound of boiling water, while grabbing an empty jar and starting to spoon the jam from the sink into it. "And pet ahead, if he lets you, miss Evangeline! He tends to be suspicious towards strangers and warms up slowly!"

Lucian had always given Silke the creeps. That was the main reason she liked to make fun of him. The things one feared tended to lose their power if one was able to make jokes of them. Despite Silke holding up her cheerful facade, and simultaneously containing her rage, a tiny glimmer of genuine amusement dug its way through it all while a mental image of the highborn elezen eating his meal with his arse had formed in Silke's mind. She bit her lip so that she wouldn't have laughed aloud.

"Thanks. Now I can't unsee that one either", she mumbled while spooning and having a race against time: how much jam could she save before it was all dripped down the sewer? “Isn’t she just a fockin’ dashiest piece o’ ass ya ‘ave ever seen?” Iris laid back onto the sofa, legs crossed and one hand rubbing Laurence’s neck. “If the gods are real, dey were fockin’ horny as a rat when dey made dat gal. And I bet dats why dey made her a heckin’ bookworm in tha first place. To keep ‘er all for demselves! Selfish fockers...”

Silke was still acting weird though, and it drove Iris crazy. She knew her friend well enough to tell when something was amiss, and now there definitely was something. Silke’s smile had been forced... faked even. It was the smile Silke had on her lips, when she was in a very unpleasant situation, and just wanted to get through it fast. Eva also, had started to act weird after entering the apartment. What was wrong with everyone today?

Deep inside, Iris noticed she started to regret bringing the two into the same room in the first place. What had started as a perfect plan in her head, had suddenly turned into a weird dream, where she was locked into an apartment with two beautiful women, who she... for different reasons cared for? Yet those women were but a couple of meatsuits, which some creature had possessed.

Iris wanted to wake up. Though, if she had truly been in a dream, a loud crash echoing from the kitchen at the halfway of her story would have waken her up.

“Yer okai back dere, Blackbird?!” Iris shouted towards the kitchen, after hearing Silke’s loud curse, startling Laurence from his sleep in the process. "It's all good, no biggie!" answered Silke’s voice almost instantly.

Iris gave a quick glance towards Evangeline, rising her brow with a shrug, and finished the story, finally getting up to the point where they had left the manor. Silke was still in the kitchen. The sound of a boiling water had rose to company the weird sound of scraping metal on metal. It seemed like Silke had no intention on moving the pot off the flames though.

“Fockin ‘ell, I’ll go see whut the fock is ‘appenin’ back dere... Dats not like ‘er... at all.”

Iris stepped past Evangeline, brushing her cheek with the back of her finger while going, and headed into a kitchen. The sight before her eyes made Iris’ jaw drop for a moment. Silke, scraping jam out of the sink like her life depended on it, and a teapot, boiling over on the stove, sending steaming hot water down on the flames with an angry hissing that sounded like a pit of snakes.

“What tha fock, Silke?!” Iris finally blurted out, as she got back her voice all of the sudden. She rushed to the stove, moving the pot off the flames, but while doing so, her hand slipped on the handle, sending the lid flying off and spilling boiling hot water onto her arm. “Shiteclippers! Fockin’ ghhh...”, her curse turned into a shriek, but she still somehow managed to place the pot onto the table.

Her arm was on fire, and the pale white skin had started to gain pinkish tint and couple of blisters where the water had hit. “Silke, whut the ‘ell is wrong wid ya, sweetheart?! Ya did not get ani water on ya, did ya?!” With the heat still radiating up on her arm, like thousand little needles, Iris took a grip of Silke’s shoulders, turning the woman around, and wrapping arms around her.

With Silke’s affirmation, Evangeline slowly approached the cute little dog and extended her hand to him, hoping he would be okay with her lightly scratching behind his ear. She was as gentle as she could be, carefully extending her digits towards his nose, when a loud crash from the kitchen caused her to start, feeling like she jumped almost a yalm into the air. Her heart rate picked up and she looked around, hoping for something weapon-adjacent to be present in the room somewhere. She settled on the poker by the fireplace, reaching for it slowly, when Iris shouted back to her, seemingly unperturbed by what could’ve been the shattering of a window.

“It’s all good, no biggie!” Silke’s voice sounded off from the kitchen.

Evangeline relaxed slightly, a bit less worried of an intruder now. She wondered how Iris could be so blase-faire about the whole deal, given that she seemed to have more than a few people that would happily see her dead. Iris finished her story regardless, wrapping it up and muttering, “Fockin ‘ell, I’ll go see whut the fock is ‘appenin’ back dere... Dats not like ‘er..at all.”

As she walked past Evangeline, heading towards the kitchen, she brushed the dark skinned viera’s cheek as she passed, causing her heart rate to quicken once more. Evangeline sighed and went to turn her attention back to the dog, when she heard further exclamations from the kitchen, followed by a shriek from Iris. Before Eva could think about what she was doing, she was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, poker in hand, just in time to see Iris throw her arms around Silke.

The pot on the table filled with still-bubbling water and the splash on the ground told the story of what had happened, though. Though Evangeline’s emotions battled in her mind, coming to a head in the face of the two women embracing, it was as if someone had flipped the switch in her head, finally, that said ‘high pressure situation’.

Her emotions dulled, and the world grew grey around her, as her body took over. She took the pot, placing it on a potholder with ease, to ensure that the table wouldn’t burn. Placing the poker in the corner, she moved to Iris, who she assumed was the most injured. Stepping around the two, Evangeline assessed for injuries, quickly noticing the blisters rising on Iris’ forearm and asked: “Silke, do you know how to dress a wound?”

"The hells would I know? Do I look like some damn white mage?" Silke cried out, sounding both frustrated and shocked, but still clearly more of the former.

“Right... very well. I know little of burns, but I will go find someone who does. Run cold water over the burn, and I’ll go find an apothecary for proper bandages and whatever else we need. There is one near here, isn’t there?”

Evangeline stepped back from the two. She didn’t touch Iris. She didn’t touch either of them. It wasn’t like Iris wanted her here, anyways... this was all she could do. Perhaps she could be useful, and the two could be left to themselves. At Silke’s response, she turned and walked from the room, out the door and into the chilly Ishgardian air. Silke twitched slightly when Iris hugged her, but she still wrapped her arms timidly around her, shocked that Iris had just gotten boiling water on her. Silke wasn't squeezing like Iris did, though. The heck was she getting all close and personal so suddenly?

"What's wrong you ask, princess?" Silke repeated, slightly aghast. "Everything was just fine before you came and started throwing the pot around! I accidentally dropped some godsdamned jar, which appeared to be heavier than it first seemed, into the sink. I would've taken care of the pot in a moment! ...And... no, I didn't get any water on me", she added a bit more calmly, when they let go of each other.

Then Evangeline, too, arrived into the kitchen. These two dumbasses were like some damn knights trying to save a damsel in distress, Silke thought sourly. While Evangeline was examining Iris' burns, Silke stared at the two, gritting her teeth. There she was again, with her older and more mature companion, who - without a doubt - already had some renowned career behind her.

Silke took a quick glance at herself; her carbuncle morning gown and moogle slippers. Were they the reasons everyone insisted treating her like a child? Because she liked cute things? Or was it something in herself? Something about her behavior, perhaps? Her absent-mindedness? The farther she got with her studies the more sceptical people seemed to be about her fending. First Asagi, then Silke's school'mates', and now even Iris.

When Evangeline asked did Silke know anything about taking care of wounds, she couldn't help but cry out: "The hells would I know? Do I look like some damn white mage?"

She could put a bandage on paper cut but that was pretty much it. The yell had already left her lips before Silke remembered she had just made herself a promise to be more sophisticated and controlled. Before she got her mouth open again, Evangeline was already on her way and had stepped outside.

Silke stared at the door for a while. At least Evangeline had had a good reason to go, but it also annoyed Silke, that every single time, when she and Iris were spending time with other people than each other, Asagi or Arsene – which was very rare – sooner or later their company vanished somewhere, leaving Silke and Iris alone. Why, why did it always happen? Of course Silke enjoyed spending time with Iris, but she was also craving other friends. She didn't want to be depending on only one person. Yet it was either her or Iris - or worse, both of them - who managed to drive away other people. As Eva had left the building, Iris looked at the blisters on her aching arm, and walked up to the sink. What was left of the jam, was now lazily making its way down the hole. It was unlikely that cold water would do any good at this point, but Iris opened the tap anyway, letting the ice cold water run for a while, washing away the jam, before sticking her arm under it, grimacing.

“Yeah, guess I heckin’ overreacted. The damn pot was throwin’ water around like a frickin’ volcano, and I freaked out, as I thought it boild over onto ya...” Iris looked at her arm, still holding it under the running water. It was not looking pretty, but could have been worse. Maybe it could heal without leaving a scar.

“Just look at mi, Blackbird. I keep destroyin’ thin’s, no matter whut I do. For fock’s sake, I hated mi mother, for being a damn useless wreck she was. And now? Shite. Its almost like tha heckin’ apple surely wont fall far from da tree...”, she gave a quick glance towards her friend, before closing the tap, and carefully drying her onto a towel. “...I’m heckin’ joyful yer alright though. Dink we could still make dat cocoa?” Iris walked up to the pot, peeking inside it, and coming to the conclusion it was still half-full of water. Maybe it would do for three smaller cups.

The burning pain on the arm started to return soon after she had dried it up, but, biting hardly onto her lip, she more or less successfully hided the fact from Silke. “Sssshite...”, viera hissed under her breath, feeling like someone had been spanking her arm with a bunch of nettles for an hour straight.

Years back, when she was still living on the streets of Limsa Lominsa, the guards had caught her from pickpocketing, and rolled her in a huge bush of nettle for it. The feeling on her arm, brought the old memory to life in her head.

“...W..Whut ya gonna drink, Blackbird? Tea maybe? C... Could s...share a cocoa wid ya too... Ya know whut dey ‘ave in dose fancy heckin’ restaurants... Dose straws dat go whirly around each other, and ya can share a drink all heckin’ romantically and shite. We could get one of dose. ‘Aight?”

This was one of those moments Silke found herself once again wondering: how the hells did Iris do it? At one moment she was all sweet and thoughtful, then a couple of minutes later a complete arsehat. And then a moment later sweet again, and so on. Or perhaps the most important question was: why? And which one was the real one?

"I'd rather drink all of my cocoa by myself", Silke explained after a short pause, with a hint of formality in her voice. "I should probably start drinking from a barrel or something anyway, since regular mugs or glasses seem to contain way too little for my tastes."

“Well...”, Iris shrugged, knocking the pot with her fingernail. “Dis thin’ is ‘alf empty, so wont fill a barrel wid dis, but... We should all still get a heckin’ mugful...”

Iris’ voice lacked the energy it had a moment ago, suddenly sounding rather tired. Her gaze traveled in the room, from the door, to the flames still dancing on the stove, and to a carbuncle clock, hanging on the wall. She could not look Silke in the eyes. She very well knew she had once again let down the woman she loved. And that love burned in her chest, hotter than the flames on the stove... harder to ignore than the burning sensation on her arm. Yet why was it she could only bring misery into Silke’s life? Time after time after time.

“...I’m gonna find dat whipcream and candies, if ya mix tha cocoa, okai..?” she finally sighed, moving up to the cabinet, starting to go through the foodstuff Silke had stored. Soon she pulled out a small back of marshmallows, waving it in the air, in front of Silke’s eyes. “Lookie-look whut I found! Lets just stack a mad pile of dese onto tha whipcream! It will be fockin’ beautiful... Like a heckin’ tiny snow castle... ‘Aight?”

*** Evangeline walked briskly down the steps, her goal clear in her mind. A chill sat in the air, the same that seemed to sit permanently in Ishgard, regardless of the time of year. Eva could see her breath, just barely, a vaporous cloud that was constantly being remade and dispersed as she exhaled and strode through it. She wore a wry smile, unsure of what exactly she should be feeling right now. She had time to walk, time to herself, time with her own thoughts. Though this, to her, felt like a punishment worse than death, perhaps she could straighten this whole thing out in her head. Find out where she stood. What she should do next.

Very well... let’s look at the facts, she thought, releasing a sigh inwardly.

Fact: Iris and I just met. We have formed an odd sort of arrangement that has her spending time with me for compensation.

Fact: Iris and I slept together. I enjoyed it and she seemed to enjoy it. Evangeline moved slightly out of the way, angling her body to the side so that she could fit between a merchant’s stand and a heavyset man that was moving in the other direction.

Fact: I pulled Iris from a breakdown. She seems to struggle with another personality of some kind. She seemed expectant that I would leave after finding that out. I did not. Also, she fell asleep in my arms. It doesn’t seem like the sort of thing she usually does. She wiped her nose. It must surely be red at this point, with how chilly it was outside.

Fact: She has shown some level of interest in me. She dreaded stating this next one to herself.

Fact: I have... fallen for Iris. Against my better judgement in every way. She has a pull over me that I haven’t truly experienced before, and I can’t fight it.

F-fact... Iris... I-Iris is in l-love... with S-Silke.

That thought was what did it. That was the one that set the tears flowing. Eva kept walking, her goal still clear in her mind, but with tears pouring down her cheeks. How had she done this to herself... jumped straight from one failing relationship into another one. She had left Solenna... sweet, wonderful Solenna...for this? A pale, thin viera woman... so thin that she seemed malnourished... who could barely manage to give her the time of day if she asked?

And on top of all of that... she was so clearly in love with Silke. The woman was all over her! Iris did nothing but praise Silke... her perfect little angel. The apple of her eye. This begged the question, though... why weren’t the two of them together? Was it Iris? Her refusal to be tied down? Or was there something about Silke that Evangeline didn’t know…? There’s no way...no way Iris wouldn’t have said something. She must have confessed her feelings to Silke.

Evangeline turned a corner, tears still stinging at her face. She wiped at her nose again, and then her eyes, wiping them first and then rubbing at them, hoping that she didn’t look to be too much of a mess. She sniffled, and continued walking, seeing the Apothecary’s sign in the distance. Perhaps she should just excuse herself, and return to the manor. Maybe the two of them wanted time alone.

But... if that was the case, why had Iris invited her? She had seemed fairly eager to bring Eva along... despite her outburst in the bathroom. It was just... so damnably confusing. Did Iris want her? Did Iris not want her? Was she a substitute for Silke? Or was she something different?

All of these questions went unanswered, though, as Evangeline stepped through the door to the Apothecary. She must have looked quite the sight, 6 fulms, 2 ilms of musclebound viera, ducking under the doorway to keep room enough for her ears as she did. Flushed from the cold, tears clinging to her cheeks... not something you would normally see on the streets of Ishgard. She stepped up to the shopkeeper, clearing her throat.

“G-good morning…”, she sniffled again, wiping at her nose. “Do you have anything that would help with a burn? And some clean bandages?”

The merchant, a rather young looking miqo'te man, took a moment to first absorb the sight of Evangeline, and then another to process what she was asking for.

“Uhm... er.. .y-yes. The aloe lotion, over in the corner on the second highest shelf. And we have bandages right here at the counter. Just... apply the lotion, it should help with the pain. Wrap it in bandages, and change them every four hours. You’ll probably want to reapply the lotion when you change them.”

Evangeline nodded in thanks, and efficiently collected her goods, paying for them with gil from a small pouch she kept tied around her waist. She took her leave, waving at the young man, who looked as if he wanted to say something as she was leaving, but decided not to.

She exited the shop, back into the cold air. It was starting to feel a bit more punishing, and Eva could see a few snowflakes starting to dot the sky in the distance. She would be back soon. She almost wanted to drop off the bandages and then leave, but... maybe she should stay a little bit. See how things played out. Maybe she could get a little bit more understanding of the situation... because she refused to let go of Iris without being sure she wasn’t wanted. She kept moving forward, upset, angry, sad, and tired...but a bit more determined than she had been a few minutes ago.

***

Silke gave Iris a small nod, before grabbing a pouch of cocoa powder and starting to spoon it into the cups. She was working near the small kitchen window, glancing at the gray inner court every now and then, and her back turned to Iris.

Overall Silke saw herself as a positive person. She didn't truly hate anything, although she often joked about it. Hate was such a powerful word. But if someone had asked her to point just one thing she could say she truly hated, it would've been mixed signals, messing with her. Most people tended to mess with her in one way or another, and at least with her inner circle Silke wanted to feel safe enough to lower her defenses. Keeping them up constantly was tiring and it ate her from the inside.

'It was supposed to be over', she thought. 'We had our misunderstandings and arguments, we overcame them and we were just fine. Why did she have to continue it? She could've done her thing with Evangeline, heck, even bring her here. But why rub it in? I'm too tired for this shite.'

When Iris found the marshmallows and said they'd make the cocoa toppings like a snow castle, Silke felt tears trying to come out. Stubbornly she pushed them back while biting her lip, before glancing at Iris over her shoulder, smiling and agreeing lightly:

"Sounds fancy. Just the thought of it makes me almost feel our blood vessels blocking up." She turned around and started to stir the drinks. "But still, oh, so delicious. Why must everything unhealthy be so delicious?"

Silke glanced outside again, towards the gray sky. After the exams of this month were over, the students could choose a place to go study more how things worked in practice. So far they had been mostly studying theory of all general subjects, and only doing some smaller and safer experiments while their teachers had been watching them closely. Now was the time for action, and the beginning of specialized studies. Silke was about to dive into the studies of a battle mage and destructive alchemy. She pondered to herself which post could possibly be the farthest one away from Ishgard. “Why? Because tha world is a heckin’ unfair place, Blackbird”, Iris said. “In a damn perfect world, we would be livin’ in a frickin’ castle somewhere in tha mountains. ‘Ave a damn barrel o’ cocoa, a bath’ouse and a fockin’ basement full o’ blastin’ powder and booze to play wid.”

Iris rolled a single marshmallow between her fingers, squeezing it down, and watching it slowly buff back up, as she loosened her grip. “...Yet ‘ere we are. In a fockin’ apartment flat, in a city filled with damn arseplucks who dont get us. Like fockin’ birds in a cage...”, she flipped the candy into her mouth, turning to Silke, who was still working with her cocoa mix.

Silke was so beautiful. In her own, rather curious way, she was stunning. After a while, Iris caught herself staring at her friend, the marshmallow still lingering on her tongue. Viera shook her head, picking up another candy from the bag, and reaching it towards Silke, holding it an inch away from woman’s lips. Silke’s spoon stopped moving, and she placed it down on the table. Carefully, she took the candy from Iris, holding it for a moment, and placing it into her mouth.

Oh, how much Iris had hoped for the woman to pick the candy from her fingers, using her lips. She had almost seen it happening in her mind, but then again... Silke would never do such a thing. What was she even thinking? Most likely nothing. The tears were burning her eyes, almost masking away the burning sensation on her arm, but she kept them in, flipping another candy into her mouth. She missed though, the soft candy hitting her on the cheek, and falling onto the table.

“...I’m workin’ mi fockin’ ass off to make sum cash. It’s... gonna take some time, as yer sissie has cut mi shifts to ‘alf lately, but... I’m gettin’ dere, Silke... And... And when I ‘ave got sum savin’s, I thought I could... Ya know... Get sum own place sumwhere, and I thought...” A sound of door opening interrupted Iris in the middle of the sentence, and she hissed a curse under her breath. “...We are in tha fockin’ kitchen, Evangelin’!” she shouted towards the doorway, her long, sickly fingers gripping the bag of marshmallows spasmodically. Evangeline slid the door open, a paper bag of medical supplies clutched in her hand. She had tried to wipe at her eyes and her nose as much as possible, and though she had cleared them both (or so she thought) she could only assume that her smudged eyeliner and her most likely running mascara would display that she had been crying. She supposed that she would deal with that when the time came-for now, at least, she wanted to focus on the task at hand. Iris’ arm needed to be bandaged... she must be in incredible pain right now. Eva’s feelings could wait.

She startled at the sound of Iris’ shout. She seemed upset... which stood to reason with a burned arm. Eva stepped briskly into the kitchen, noting the two vieras seemed to be casually conversing. Iris must have an impressive pain tolerance... ran through her head as she saw how Iris was standing. When she met Iris’ eyes, though, she was a bit taken aback by the other woman’s expression.

Had Eva done something wrong? Offended her somehow? She shook her head, trying to clear out the stray thoughts. That would be a question for later…

Evangeline moved to the sink, excusing herself as she moved past Silke, and washed her hands. Water, soap, water, towel. She picked up the bag from the side of the sink, wandering over to Iris and removing a roll of bandages, a roll of medical tape, and a small metal container from the bag. She gestured to Iris to show her arm.

“We need to put this cream on your arm. It will calm the burn and lessen the pain. Then we wrap it in this bandage, and change it every four hours until it’s not causing you as much pain. Would you like to sit down so I can get it wrapped up?” Evangeline looked at Iris and gave the brightest smile she could muster. “I’m fine, Evangelin’! It’s just a heckin’ small burn... Will... ‘eal on its own by the damn mornin’...”, Iris looked at her burned arm, which was visibly shaking, like dead leaves in a breeze. She felt the burn, like it was creeping into her bones. On top of that, the arm had started to ache, sending arrows of pain up towards elbow, and down to her fingers, still holding onto the bag of marshmallows.

“...Fockin’ ‘ell, fine! Do whut ya wish... But change every fourth ‘our, ya say? Ya ‘ear dat, Silke? Yer gonna come over to sleep wid mi, and change mi bandages, and kiss da pain awai, hm?” Iris took one more candy out of the bag, before placing the back on the table, right next to Silke, and making her way to a tiny dinner table, which was loaded with books on a dangerously unsteady pile. Viera sat down onto the chair, placing her elbow onto the table, so her arm was hanging on air. “...Do ya mind, if I smoke, darlin?” Why in the seven hells does she keep talking about 'us', Silke thought, stirring the cocoas even more furiously, although the powder had dissolved into the drinks ages ago. Iris was truly hopeless. Silke had explained to her in words of one syllable why it just wouldn't work, and how it would only cause them both more pain. And despite it all here they were again. Should she draw some godsdamned diagram about it next? It probably wouldn't work either. Iris' skull was apparently too thick for receiving information.

Silke felt, oddly enough, somewhat relieved when she heard the door in the hallway and realized Evangeline had returned. At least now she wouldn't have to listen to all this sweet talk, which made Silke remember all the good moments she and Iris had had together, and which were now like acid poured into her reopened wounds. She grabbed the whipped cream container from the table and squeezed so much cream into every mug, that the cocoas ended up looking like soft ice served in mugs.

Meanwhile Evangeline was tending Iris, Silke took one of the mugs and sat on the other side of the table, opposite the two others. She was observing them closely, while poking her spoon into the cream, taking a full load of hot cocoa and cream, poked it into her mouth, into the cream again and so on. Silke noticed Evangeline's reddish eyes. She had probably been crying. Silke had had somewhat mixed feelings towards her, but right now she was mainly feeling sorry for her. Iris was probably just playing with them both.

Silke couldn't help but frown at Iris' comment. For a moment she froze to stare at her in disbelief. 'Are you focking kidding me?!' she was tempted to ask, and to slam her mug onto the table with full force to give her words some more spice. Then she noticed the mug was one of her favorites: a pink one, that had two black eyes, a snout and a little pigtail on the other side of it. She quickly let go of it, and yanked her shaking hand into her lap.

"I'm not going anywhere", she announced in a steady voice. "I have places to be tomorrow morning. And I doubt you need me to tend you, Iris. I'm sure your other hand is working just fine, and you can do it yourself." She scooped a couple of spoonfuls of whipped cream into her mouth, before adding: "No smoking allowed indoors, they say. The stench gets absorbed into the structures. And if they'll find something to complain about this apartment when I'm about to move, guess who gets to pay the expenses?" “Fine... No smokin’ indoors...”, Iris stuffed the pack of cigarettes back into her pocket with her free hand.

She glanced towards Eva, seeing woman’s red eyes and smeared eyeliner. Of course Eva had been crying. ‘What else I do these days than make people cry?’ Iris thought to herself.

Her gaze traveled from Eva to Silke, sitting on the other side of the table with her pink piggie-mug. Her dearest friend. The girl she loved... the only girl she had ever truly loved... sat there, so distant. Acting almost like she did not even know Iris anymore. There was no snow castle of mashmallows on her mountain of whipcream... And that’s when the storm that had been raging inside Iris broke the dam. She coiled forward on the bench, as the tears started running down freely on her pale cheeks. Dripping onto the burn, like a salty summer rain. Evangeline had been doing rather impressively at holding herself together, she had thought. As she applied the cream very gently to Iris’ arm, she quietly listened to the other two talk. Iris doing her level best to whisper sweet nothings to Silke with a megaphone, and Silke seeming... cold. She sounded even less inclined to put up with Iris than when they had walked in the door.

Iris put away her cigarettes at Silke’s behest, and, with a quick glance around the room, seemed to finally give way to the tension that had been building in her this whole time. She huddled over and burst into tears. Evangeline looked up, shaken by the sudden change in mood, and turned her eyes to Silke, ‘what do I do?’ written across her face.

Silke’s eyes, at first, were locked on Iris, seeming shocked by the outburst. They glazed over with sadness for just a moment... so quickly that Evangeline would have missed it, had she not been searching desperately for an answer on the viera’s bespectacled face. The sadness faded, though, as quickly as it had come. She retained control of herself, and took another drink of cocoa, faster now than she had before.

“Ahh...I-Iris…”, Evangeline said, unsure of how to handle the situation given her companion’s preferences. Iris had specifically said that she didn’t want to be hugged. She didn’t want that kind of relationship with Eva. Evangeline wanted nothing more than to take the woman in her arms and be there for her. But that wasn’t what she wanted. Iris wanted... Iris wanted companionship without the relationship. Because the relationship she wanted eluded her, somehow.

For some reason, her and Silke didn’t work. Eva didn’t know what it was, but there seemed to be a mountain of hurt between the two. She didn’t know what could be done to fix things for these two... and... she hated to admit it to herself... but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to fix this. It felt horrible, and selfish to think of. She wanted Iris to be happy. But she wanted Iris to be happy with her. Wanted Iris to fall into her arms. Wanted Iris to come home to her. Maybe Iris didn’t love her now... but maybe she would. Someday. Maybe... maybe it was best to go with the safest option here.

“Iris? C-can... can I touch you?” Eva hoped desperately that she would be able to embrace the woman. That she wouldn’t run. That she wouldn’t disappear. She couldn’t just sit here in silence, though. Silke didn’t seem inclined to do anything about this. Eva looked at Silke again, wondering if her temperament had changed. As she did, Silke finished her cocoa, stood up, and walked out of the room. While Silke marched into the living room, she cursed from the bottom of her heart they were all in her place. Normally she would just leave situations like this, but where could she go now that she was already at home? She couldn't fall apart while there were guests around. She was so tired of crying. She felt she had cried for at least ten or more people lately.

Laurence was still sleeping on the sofa. Silke was tempted to hug him, but she decided to skip that as well. She knew if she hugged something right now, she couldn't probably hold it in anymore.

Silke had been waiting for the damn dinner so much. It was supposed to have been a new beginning for them all. If Asagi and Varg could've just started behaving like normal, functional adults around each other, it would've made everyone else's life easier. Now Silke was no longer certain did she even want to go. If Evangeline lived in the estate nowadays, no doubt she'd attend the dinner, too. And Asagi had announced Ainu, who had just arrived to Ishgard, would join them as well. Silke thought it was a terrible idea. The lalafell was a focking sociopath. And Asagi was delusional if she thought she could cure her with motherly love and care. That case was beyond help.

And if Iris thought she'd make Silke's heart melt by crying, she couldn't have been more wrong. Silke kept repeating 'self care' like a manta in her mind, hugging herself and squeezing her arms with her nails, while looking outside from the window, although there was absolutely nothing interesting there. Iris was just like the rest of them. For a moment Silke had hoped she would've been wrong, but it was all the same shite in the end, just wrapped in a slightly different package. “Don’t touch mi!” Iris screeched through her tears, while cradling herself back and forth on the chair. “Don’t ya fockin’ touch mi! W-We had a d-deal, is it so frickin’ ‘ard to u-understand?!”

Still, somewhere deep in her heart, Iris wanted Evangeline to hold her. She wanted Silke to hold her. The woman she had once been, on the streets of Limsa Lominsa, would have given anything in the world, to have someone to wrap arms around her, telling her everything would be alright. That the morning would come, after the stormy night, and it would be beautiful.

Yet that woman was trapped, deep below the layers of fear, hatred and agony. From the corner of her eyes, Iris had seen Silke emptying her cup of cocoa, and walking out of the room. The sight was the executioner, wearing a dirty, black hood, and pulling the lever, which finally dropped the heavy blade down, splitting Iris’ heart in two.

“I... I just w-wanted to build... a heckin’ castle...”, her voice was barely audible. “Wanted to build a damn castle for... for us to l-live in...” Iris got up, her head feeling dizzy.

It was like time in the room had suddenly stopped onto its tracks. The spring inside the clock had broken, freezing the pointers on the same dead moment for ever and ever. She made her way to the cup of cocoa, still resting on the counter. Her long, pale fingers, reached into the bag, picking up a single marshmallow, and placing it on the huge mountain of whipped cream. After looking at it for a while, she reached for another, and another, carefully piling them on the mountain, with her shaking hand.

“...A-And dis is where dey lived...”, she muttered, while balancing the candy onto drink. “...A h-heckin’ beautiful castle, on a mountains... dat rose above t-tha forest, like clouds... Damn lucky bastards... A poet and ‘er muse. I-I bet ya ‘ave never seen such beautiful woman...” Iris paused for a moment, to wipe away tears that were running free over her cheeks, like small, salty rivulets.

“...Yet da poet had a s-secret... ‘Er words were poison. Drippin’ from ‘er mouth, every time she opened it to weave words. Why? ...Because tha poet was... a frickin’ monster... A creature, which was in love wid tha gal, and ‘ad taken a form o’ a poet to be wid ‘er... Yet tha mask on ‘er face did not keep tha poison from drippin’... And all tha words tha poet weaved for dat gal? Dey just tainted ‘er. Made ‘er sick... And when da gal finally withered awai? Tha castle on clouds came crashin’ down, buryin’ tha monster alive...”

As Iris stopped, the pile of marshmallows on the whipped cream had grown into an unstable little mountain on its own. She picked up a spoon, her hand shaking, and scooped up most of the whipped cream and candies. “...Fockin’ crashin’ down...” She placed the spoonful into her mouth, and the sweet taste mixed with the saltiness of her own tears. Evangeline sat, listening to Iris weave her story. A fairy tale... Eva wondered if this was some sort of response to trauma. Iris’ other self seemed to be lost in a dreamland, so fully steeped in fantasy that she couldn’t recognize any part of reality. This... this seemed to be Iris teetering on the edge. Wavering between reality and fantasy. Because... because she couldn’t bear... to lose Silke. Damnable, adorable Silke.

After a few minutes, Iris’ story ended, the monster that represented her crushed under a mountain of rubble. Evangeline stood up, hoping that she could figure out how to handle this one. Hoping that she could pull Iris from the edge, and not hurl her off of it unintentionally. She took a step forward... and then another. She felt as if her shoes were lined with lead. She reached up, placing a trembling hand on Iris’ shoulder almost instinctively, her mind ceding to her body once again. Iris winced as Eva touched her shoulder, but didn’t seem to react any other way, still poking at the cocoa with her spoon, eyes fixed on the horizon, where dark clouds were gathering.

“Iris…”, Evangeline said quietly. “I may not be much... but I’m not going anywhere. I know I’m not h-her... but I am yours. I’m right here... by your side. And you’re... you’re right here with me. I couldn’t i-imagine how you’re feeling right now... but I’ll stay with you through it. I’m not running away. I...I don’t want to restrict you... or keep you... I just want to be with you…”, she trailed off, biting her lip.

Gods this was difficult. Finding words... she felt like she was just repeating things she had already said. “I-I like you. A lot.” She blurted out. “You’re att... att…”, her mouth couldn’t find the word, caught in her throat as it was. “Att… attrraactive to me for a lot of reasons. Y-you’re strong...and p-perseverant... you’re beautiful… but I want you to be free, still.”

The tears were welling up in her eyes now... wouldn’t be long before she couldn’t hold them back any more. She thought briefly of offering to talk to Silke... but she was feeling a little too selfish to do that right now. Maybe if Iris asked her... “I want to touch you... to hold you... b-because I think it might help... but I don’t want you to feel trapped…”, she said, her breath catching in her lungs as she did. “C-can you let me? I’ll let go... I’ll let go the moment you ask me to.” Silke heard the other two talking something in the kitchen, and as time passed, she became more and more convinced she either had to get rid of them, or she had to get out. She glanced once again at Laurence sleeping on the couch.

That's right. She hadn't taken him out yet. A perfect excuse. She hurried to her closet and rummaged through it, trying to find some clothes that hadn't been amongst the laundry. The fancy dress Iris had given her was there, but right now Silke would've rather walked out naked than worn it. There were also both of her party dresses. They were all black, but the other one was long and fancy, and didn't have sleeves. Silke had planned to wear it during the dinner. The other one was festive as well, but compared to the first one, way more casual. Its hem reached her knees, it had tight, long puff sleeves, and it didn't reveal as much. That would do, she thought.

Silke quickly changed into it, hoping the other two wouldn't surprise her meanwhile. They didn't. They seemed to have much to talk about.

Simultaneously Silke took off her tiny panties and revealing nightgown. She had used them only for one night, so they hadn't gotten dirty yet. She'd return them to Iris before they left. Silke didn't have to go out without pants, since she also managed to find some old leggings that had gotten short for her. She didn't mind. Nobody would notice their length while she was wearing her high heeled, leathery thighboots.

Silke combed her hair hastily and tied the long, thick ponytail on her crown. Her bangs were somewhat messy, but she didn't bother to do anything to them. Meanwhile looking at herself from mirror she pondered maybe she could go to store too. That would prolong her trip to the city, and Iris and Evangeline would've hopefully focked off by then. Though, Silke was too tired to see too much effort for her make-up. She took a black eyeliner and drew even darker circles on the ones already existing. She painted her lips dark pink, so that she wouldn't look like a corpse.

"Laurence? Are you awake, boy?" she asked in a tired voice, while crouching next to the sofa, gently petting the sleepy dog. Iris heard Eva’s words, but it was like they were coming from somewhere, really far away, behind a veil of fog, even though she knew the woman was standing right behind her. Y-You are not well... s-something is wrong... Iris shook her head, trying to make the voice go away... It didn’t.

I... I want my knight... my knight in a shining armor, where is he? I have... I have lost my knight!

“Shut up!!”

T-The castle, it’s... its crumbling. What is happening..? Help me... please...

“Shut up, shut up, shut up!!”

Iris closed her eyes tightly, fingers on her temples, long, clawlike nails, digging in and drawing blood. She took a step back, walking into Evangeline, and leaning back against the woman’s chest.

Evangeline tensed up for a moment. The other woman was struggling, that much was obvious. Eva hoped that she could calm her down. She was digging her nails into her forehead again. Without even thinking about it, Evangeline gently placed her arms around Iris, not holding her back, or restricting her movement, but cuddling up against Iris' lithe frame.

"Iris... Iris you're here with me, okay? It's just you, Iris. Just you and me. You are Iris, nobody else. It's going to be okay... everything is going to be okay. Listen to the sound of my voice... follow me back..."

“...All I wanted to do, is fockin’ build a castle... L-Look at dat!” Iris waved her hands towards Evangeline’s mug, still resting on the counter, untouched. “Dere is no fockin’ castle... W-Where is my knight? I... I want my... I want mi Silke... Cinnabun? I’m.. I’m so...”

Iris felt the arms that were wrapped around her, like a cradle, everything else was hidden behind the deep fog in her head. What was this place? Who was she? And who’s arms were these? She did not really care anymore.

She felt numb, and when the fog finally parted, she was standing on a shore. A shore of white sand, like ground bones reached as far as the eye can see on her both sides. And in front of her? There was a ocean. A black ocean from where the calms waves rolled in to shore, to caress it like a lover’s fingers for just a moment, before falling back into the embrace of the ocean.

Iris took one step... and another. Her eyes caught the arm, where the burn had been only a moment ago. Yet now? There was nothing. The burn was gone, same with the pain it had brought. Tilting her head, Iris poked the skin couple of times, then pinching it between her fingers, and pullin. No pain. Nothing. She kept walking.

The black waves were calling her with a voice she knew, but could not place to who it belonged to. She stepped into water, walking on, until it reached almost to her knees, when she heard another voice from behind her, and turned around. On the waterline, veiled by the fog, she saw three figures. A Three pairs of long ears.

A tall warrior, a woman with long, ghostly hair, and a sickly, corpse-like woman, standing between them. The panic washed over her... she had to walk back, what was she doing? Yet, when she tried to move her legs, they felt like something was holding them from the bottom of the ocean.

Oh gods... You sound like a vulture... They are my favourite birds...

It’s going to be okay... Everything is going to be okay...

S-Something is not right...

The panic washed over Iris, and she jerked her leg again, but instead of getting it free, she lost her balance, falling back into the embrace of deep black. Iris gasped in Evangeline’s embrace, opening her eyes.

Her burned arm looked horrible. Like someone had been ripping out skin from the burned area. She sighed deeply, moving her fingers on top of the burn, and mumbling words under her breath. A faint light, mix of black and shades of purple started dancing around her fingertips, slowly sewing shut the worst of the damage, even though the arm still looked burned and blistered.

“Seven hells, how did this happen?" Iris’ eyes were closed. She seemed stuck... wrapped in a dreamlike state, twitching involuntarily as if she were sleeping. Evangeline’s heart rate rose, as fear gripped at her, clawing at her arms, her legs... she held Iris, still as gently as if her arms were wrapped around the finest glass vase the world had ever seen.

How was Iris suddenly so precious to her? Why did she feel the need to protect her? Some people had baggage...but Iris had wagonfulls. Cities filled with baggage. The smart move would be to walk away from this mess. To set Iris gently down and leave this place... run far away from Ishgard and never return. Maybe she could win Solenna back.

She barely entertained the thought, though, looking at Iris’ face. Pained and thin, weak and scared. Beautiful, pitiful, and now...alone. Eva could leave her no more than she could leave her own legs behind. She would just have to figure something out.

As Iris opened her eyes, gasping for breath as if she had been drowning, Evangeline’s heart leapt from her chest, relief pouring through her veins. She was about to say something... to thank the twelve that Iris was back... but she watched as Iris sighed and healed her arm.

”Seven hells, how did this happen?” ...What? That... that wasn’t Iris’ voice. Iris couldn’t heal herself. This was wrong. Something was wrong. This wasn’t the other, either. The one who called herself ‘Lareine’ didn’t speak like that.

Evangeline felt herself tense up again, her relief pulled out of her body like air from a drowned person’s lungs. Still keeping her arms gently around the body of Iris, she whispered quietly to the not-Iris:

“In response to your question... you spilled boiling water on your arm. It was burned, and I was caring for it. I have a question of my own, though, if you don’t mind... what is your name?” ‘Burned my arm..?’ the pale viera thought to herself, as her eyes caught Evangeline’s arms, still wrapped around her. ‘Must have been wild evening’.

She had no idea where she was. Nothing in this place seemed in any way familiar to her. She had no memory of burning her arm with boiling water... and the whole idea sounded so foolish in her head. And on top of everything. Who the hell was this woman, embracing her, and tending to her injury? The burn would leave a scar by now... Why did she not tend it with magic herself it in the first place?

Maybe this was all just a twisted dream, and she would wake up sooner or later. The not-Iris reached out towards the counter, picking up the cup of cocoa, and brought it on her lips, taking a sip.

“Well, considering the fact you are asking for my name, I guess you are not my mate... So my second guess would be... One-night stand? Either way, I would be grateful, if you removed your arms from me. As much as this looks like some ending scene on a romance novel, with whole kitchen and hot cocoa... Having a complete stranger just hanging on your ass is rather... obtrusive.”

Placing down her cup, the viera studied the arms that were holding her. Strong... hardy... the woman was either a soldier, or maybe a smith. A farmhand was unlikely, considering the overall cleanliness or the arms and nails. ‘Must be a soldier of some sort’.

“The name is Irene... Irene d’Espair... and I guess this is a pleasure. For now.” The other two could hear a silent snapping against the floor, before Laurence appeared from the living room, stretching and yawning, and wearing a red leather collar, decorated with silver colored, heart shaped staples. A black leather leash had been tied to the collar, and soon Silke appeared from the living room after the dog, holding the other end of the leash, and her high heeled boots snapping the floor as well, though more loudly.

"Guys?" she said, smiling warmly with her narrow lips that resembled a rosebud. However, her turquoise eyes were faded like a corpse's, and devoid of any emotion. "I just remembered the last time I took Laurence out was yesterday evening. I need to go. And I'm going to fetch some groceries too, so don't bother waiting for me. This is going to take a while." Irene turned her head towards the voice, as much as she could with Evangeline’s arms around her. The woman was so tall, Irene could barely peek over her shoulder, but when she did, she saw another viera woman on the doorway. Now this was... curious? How many people were there, calling this lousy hole ‘a home’?

The newcomer was a complete opposite to the viera holding her. Pale skin... straight hair pulled up on a thick ponytail, and dead eyes behind those round glasses smeared with black. The overall impression of the woman was apathetic, even with the beautiful dress and red-painted lips. A junkie most likely... and by the looks of it... a prostitute.

“Well... good morning to you too...” Irene said. At this point, Silke's expectations of the other two and especially Iris had sunken so deep one would've needed a shovel... or no, a digger, to dig them back up to daylight. However, this was the new low. This was the peak of insolence. First Iris had the nerve to strut here, bragging about her fock partner, and now she was behaving like Silke would've interrupted their affectionate moment in her own kitchen.

Instead of giving the lingerie to Iris, Silke squeezed them into her leash free fist and hurled them onto the floor, next to their feet.

"Oh for fock's sake!" she could no longer remain polite. "You two damsels better drag your asses out of my place before I return if you value those pretty faces of yours!"

With that, she flung the door open, marched out with the excited shiba, and slammed the door shut behind her with such power that it made the windows jingle. Irene stared at the viera’s sudden outburst, wincing, as the door was slammed shut. Her gaze traveled from the door to the rather slutty lingerie on the floor, and up to Evangeline. “Your wife, I presume?” Evangeline removed her arms the moment it was requested. She was almost immediately overwhelmed by just how much everything had come crashing down in just the last few minutes. Crying... heartbreak... she could deal with that, and take it in stride. Maybe. For now.

But she had thought...she had thought there were only two of them. What in Halone’s name was she supposed to do now…? She could only hope that what worked last time would work again. As Silke left in a huff, Eva called out to her, hoping she would stop, but she was already well on her way down the stairs, the sound of the door slamming most likely preventing Silke from hearing her regardless.

“Wait, Silke! She’s not…”, she trailed off, realizing how fruitless it was to say ‘not Iris’ given that Silke was long gone already. She was upset... not just upset, but fuming. Evangeline hoped she could do something... but for fuck’s sake if this wasn’t more important right now, she didn’t know what was.

Evangeline was taken aback at not-Iris’ statement, wondering how those dots in particular had decided to connect in her mind. She blushed slightly, mumbling: “N-no...she’s...she’s your best friend. You brought me here to introduce me to her.” She shook her head slowly.

“More to the point…” Eva looked into not-Iris’ eyes. Once again... it was so alien. So not Iris. The spark, the flame that sat beneath the lakes of purple was unusual. There wasn’t a hint of Iris left.

“Iris... are you there? Can you hear me? Come back to me...please…”, she pleaded, hoping desperately that it would work. She was afraid of what would happen... Iris had left because of Silke. Evangeline wasn’t enough. Just like she had always been... not enough. Insufficient. Irene kept her purple eyes nailed onto the viera infront of her. This situation was absurd. Quite intriguing, but absurd... ‘This woman is mad as a cuckoo clock’, she thought to herself, while following the other’s pleas, calling for someone named ‘Iris’. Oh, how she wanted to open this lady’s head, just to see what was going on inside it... And if this was Irene’s dream... would the red-head even mind a little poking around her brain? Such an intriguing case...

“Wait, wait, wait...”, Irene said finally, her voice calm, like a surface of a lake after a storm had ended. “...First of all... I dont know who this ‘Iris’ is... I also have no idea who the woman who just walked out was. I have never seen her before. What I think, girl, is that you are going through a mild case of psychosis... most likely triggered by your wife, finding us together. My name is Irene... And I have never been here before. Honestly? I still believe this is some mindless dream, but in case its not... I’m willing to help you out... If I can, that is.”

A weird smile played on Irene’s lips. A smile that did not reach the eyes. The eyes were cold, and lifeless, except the small foxfire looming behind the purple pools. She placed her hand, or Iris’ hand onto Evangeline’s shoulder. “I think we should go, before your loved one returns. Seeing her now, might just mess your little head even more than it already is.” Iris’ eyes didn’t change. She didn’t wake up... or gain control... like she had before. Usually Iris was desperate to fight to the surface. She had such a strong will. Which meant... which meant this time... she didn’t want to come back. Eva wasn’t enough. She was never enough. She was never what anyone wanted.

Her breath came fast and ragged, such that she was almost hyperventilating. Trying desperately to contain herself, she listened to the not-Iris speak. Offer to ‘help’ her. Flash her a lifeless, lightless smile. A not-Iris smile. Evangeline couldn’t help herself anymore, and burst into tears. Sobbing into her hands, she was able to squeak:

“Y-yeess... w-we should g-go…”

Nodding her head slowly, she gasped for breath, trying to see the other woman through the tears. Maybe this was the best way to do things... she couldn’t let the not-Iris get away from her. Maybe she could get her back to house Blacksoul, and seek help from its lord, or at least Arsene.

“I... I have a place... a p-place we can go…,” she whispered between whimpers. “J-just give me a moment t-to... com-compose myself…” Irene reached for her small incredient pouch, but it was not there... Thinking about it further, these were not even her clothes. The style was rather decent, so she could have very well picked them, but... it was not what she would usually wear. Quickly she went through the pockets of a jacket she had over the long black dress, but the only thing she could find was a pack of cigarettes, and a lighter. No sign of her pouch.

She had hoped to give the weeping woman something to calm her nerves, but it was no use. ‘What happened to me anyway? Something does not sum up...’ The pale viera ended up to offer the pack of smokes towards Eva.

“These are yours? ...Wait a moment.” Irene lit a cigarette, drawing from it deep, and muttering words, her eyes closed. The words were barely audible, and did not sound like any language Evangeline understood.

Smoke was running over her lips with the words, and soon it gained a very faint glow. Irene leaned towards Eva, blowing the glowing smoke right into her mouth.

Evangeline was struggling to think straight. She didn't have much control over herself... her emotions were too much to contain right now. So intense were her feelings that she barely even noticed Irene take a drag of a cigarette and blow a lungfull of oddly colored smoke into her mouth. Her breath halted, and she immediately felt her lungs constrict, unfamiliar with the new sensation she was experiencing. Instinctively, though, she took a deep breath in, accepting the strange smoke into her body without realizing it.

Immediately, she felt a strange calm wash over her, as if her fears and worries had been constrained to a place just below the surface of her mind. She could still feel them beating at her, trying to break down the door, but they were restrained for now. She shook her head, and wiped her eyes.

"Whaat... what was that? What did you just do...? And how did you do it? Iris didn't have... she didn't have any magic."

“I still dont know who this ‘Iris’ is, who you keep talking about, but I have few tricks up my sleeve”, Irene reminded. “Just try to stay calm. The effect is rather light, especially as I did not have my own incredients. But at least you are breathing again. Thats good.”

Irene picked up the mug of cocoa, and emptied it, before finishing the smoke. The cold, dead smile was still lingering on her lips, as she threw the pack of cigarettes to Eva, and walked past the woman, and towards the door, Silke had slammed shut only a moment earlier.

“Dont cry for your girl... She will come back to you, if its meant to be. Now shall we?” she nodded towards the door. “You have not told me your name yet.” Evangeline caught the cigarette pack. She felt falsely calm. It was such an alien feeling to her. That she should be so heartbroken and at the same time so controlled in the face of it was highly unusual. Her thoughts moved through her mind, tasting it and testing it as one would test a cut in one’s mouth, touching it with their tongue to see if it hurt. So enthralled was she with her sudden state of being that she almost forgot to answer the not-Iris’ question.

“Hello... my name is Evangeline. Evangeline Cross. Thank you... for whatever that was. As it seems that I have failed, and that we may be together for a time, perhaps I could do my best to furnish you with some information. Let’s... let’s walk and talk, shall we?”

Eva wandered towards the door, already starting to feel the despair creep back into her heart. She needed help... she needed Silke. She needed Silke to help her get Iris back. The viera was certainly gone for now, but perhaps Evangeline could return on another day. She would find a way to bring Iris back to her... she had to. She just hoped that it would be soon.

Eva opened the door, letting in a draft of dry, cold air. She motioned for the not-Iris to exit the building ahead of her, and stepped through the doorway behind her, shutting it behind her with a soft click.

With @lareine-kira & @evangeline-cross :3c

#final fantasy xiv #ffxiv #storytime #silke doomflare #iris ymir #evangeline cross #viera #rp

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