#true love is eating cake of the ground with each other

[moremaybank]

YOUR EYES OPEN — j.m

day six childhood friends to lovers with jj maybank

pairing jj maybank x fem!reader

summary you and jj visit a fortune teller for a laugh at the first annual obx carnival, but her predictions end up coming true. (loosely inspired by all american 3x07)

warnings jj licking your fingers in a non-sexual way (lmao), pretty sure that's it. just hella fluff with bestie!jj

obx week ‘23 masterlist ;; jj masterlist

“For a moment your eyes open and you know.” - Keane

You plucked a tuft of pink cotton candy from the cone in your hand. “Last piece. You want it?”

“Hell yeah. Give it to me.” JJ grabbed your wrist gently, bringing it toward his face so he could eat it. He goofily licked your fingertips to get rid of the stickiness, and your nose scrunched up in disgust. 

“Ew, J. You actually have no boundaries.” You wiped the residue of his saliva on his shirt.

“We’ve been best friends since we were nine. What boundaries do we have left?” 

Truthfully, you couldn’t argue with that. You and JJ had seen it all together. You’d been as vulnerable and open as two people could get with each other. You shouldn’t have been shocked by his…gross action. The man passed all kinds of gas around you twenty-four-seven. He’d eaten foods far past their expiry dates. You’d seen him drink spoiled milk on a dare (though you can’t say he wouldn’t have done it if he wasn’t dared to).

That’s not to say you two weren’t good for each other, because you undoubtedly were. JJ’s wild spirit helped you break out of your shell. He pushed you to try new things, push your boundaries, and make you see that you had all this untapped power inside you. You didn’t think he could surprise you any further, but he still managed to every day, even now in your twenties. 

On his side of things, your calming presence grounded him. It provided him with the safety and the domestic feeling he’d longed for while living his life with Luke Maybank as his father. No matter how chaotic things became, all he had to do was take one look at you, and his mind calmed. You, even as a child, gave him a comfort he never knew he needed until he had it in the palm of his hand. 

“I guess that’s true. You’re still gross though.” 

He winked at you with a cheeky grin. “You love it.”

The sun began to dip below the horizon, and the warm hues of pink, orange and yellow painted the sky as the two of you made your way through the colourful maze of booths and rides. Laughter and music filled the air, and your mouths watered at the sweet smells of funnel cakes and caramel apples. 

Your eyes wandered over all the activities surrounding you, and one specific booth caught your eye. You tugged on JJ’s arm. “J, look!” 

His eyes followed your pointed finger to a quaint, candlelit tent a little ways from where you both stood. He squinted, trying to focus on the large lettering of the sign above the booth. “Madame Zara’s Mystical Fortunes. Are you for real?” 

He couldn’t deny that it piqued his interest at least a little bit, but he also wasn’t sure about wasting ten bucks on words of ‘wisdom’ that you could easily get out of a fortune cookie. 

“Why not? It’s all in good fun anyway.”

“Y/N/N, I can give you a fortune right now for free. Watch this.” JJ stood, raising his index fingers to his temples and closing his eyes. His voice picked up a spooky tone. “I predict that we’re going to go on the tilt-a-whirl in the next thirty seconds.” 

His eyes open, and he points to the ride right next to you, clasping a hand over his heart with a shocked look on his face. “Oh my god, look! The tilt-a-whirl! I was right!”

You rolled your eyes at his mockery but still let out a laugh. “Come on. Do it for me?”

JJ looked into your pleading eyes and your jutted-out bottom lip, and felt himself starting to crack. He’d always had a soft spot for you. How could he deny your wishes when you looked at him like that? 

He let out a large sigh. “Fine. But we’re hitting the tilt-a-whirl as soon as we’re done. And I don’t want any complaints about how fast I spin us.” 

“Deal.” 

You stepped into the dimly lit tent, where an older woman with piercing eyes welcomed you. “Welcome, young ones. I sense that you seek answers.” 

You and JJ exchanged amused glances as you spoke. “Sure. Why not?”

She gestured for you to sit across from her at a small table, covered in a rich, purple velvet cloth. She took your right hand and JJ’s left, closing her eyes as her fingers traced invisible patterns on your palms. 

“There’s an abundance of energy between you two,” she began in a hushed tone. “This night you embark upon…it’ll offer you both clarity, unlocking secrets hidden in the depths of your hearts.” 

JJ laughed softly as a smirk took over his features. “Clarity, huh?” 

You kicked his leg under the table, trying not to laugh. Madame Zara continued, though, unfazed by your shared skepticism. 

“Remember, clarity often reveals truths you’ve chosen to ignore.” 

You thanked the fortune teller and exited the tent. “That was…something.”

“It was a load of bull,” JJ laughed. “I mean, clarity? Clarity about what?” 

“Who knows,” you replied. “Alright, we can go on your beloved tilt-a-whirl now.” JJ grinned at that, grabbing your hand and tugging you over to the ride. 

You two spent the evening going on every ride you could manage and indulging in all the sweets you came across. You’d be sick to your stomachs by the night’s end, but you couldn’t bring yourselves to care.

The night wore on, and you found yourselves atop the ferris wheel, overlooking the brightly lit carnival below you. The twinkling stars above you seemed to be in perfect alignment. JJ had grown eerily quiet, which was odd for him, seeing as he was always bouncing off the walls with an energy you couldn’t quite comprehend. 

You turned to look at him, planning to break the silence, when you caught his heated gaze. Your brows furrowed. “What’s that look for?” 

He licked his lips, turning his body toward you slightly. “Nothin’, I was just thinkin’ that psychic lady was right.” 

“Right about what?” You asked. All of a sudden, things had turned serious, which was rare for you two. Everything about your friendship was fun and lighthearted, but it didn’t feel that way anymore. At least, not at that moment. 

“About me needing clarity. Y/N, we’ve been best friends for so long. I mean, we’ve been through everything together. But sometimes…sometimes it feels like there’s somethin’ more. Somethin’ we both kinda deny.” 

Your eyes searched his for an understanding. “What are you saying, J?” 

“I think— Nah, I know. You’re my world. You make everything better, make everything brighter. I love you, pretty girl. I’m in love with you.” 

Your heart raced as you processed his words. Suddenly, the fortune teller’s prediction didn’t seem so foolish or ridiculous. In that moment, that same clarity JJ felt washed over you. The lightbulb switched on inside your head. You realized that you weren’t just in love with the idea of your friendship; you were in love with him. 

“I’m in love with you too, J,” you admitted, your voice barely above a whisper. Your hand found his, and your fingers intertwined. He smiled at you brighter than he ever had, and his eyes sparkled as the moonlight bounced off of them. 

“Can I kiss you now?” 

“You definitely should.”

JJ TAG LIST (JOIN HERE!): @surftrips @oncasette @taintedxkisses @maybankslover @goldenroutledge @penny4yourthoughts @bmo-bri @hemogloban @princessbetsy123-blog @slytherhoes @whoisdrewstarkey @aliyahsomerhalder @dreamingwithrafe @vigilanteshitposting @poppet05 @wildflwrdarlin @adoreyouusugar @f4ll-for-you @tell-me-when-ur-ready @bbycowboi @jjmaybankisbae @enhypens-hoe @loverofdrewstarkey @earth2starkey @angelofcigs @koalalafications @aerangi @cantstoptheimagines @sarah5462 @slut4drudy @lvvrgrl @somerandos-world @peachpitlover @sya-skies @emmalandry @gillybear17 @thatsthewaythechrissycrumbles @madelynie @urbestieboo @abbybarnesstuff @lovelyxtom @camelliaflow3r @dirtytissuebox @runningfrom2am

[miasmaghoul]

honestly something i’d absolutely love to see in your style of writing would be mountain and one of the other ghouls having a relaxing day potting plants in the greenhouse :) maybe they’re talking about something deep, maybe they’re exchanging gossip, maybe they’re working in comfortable silence, but whatever it is, they’re having fun, they’re soft and chaste, and they’re so so in love <3

yes uh huh yep absolutely lets go

soft boys below the cut

Dew sways in place, humming a tune to complement the raindrops pattering against the glass walls surrounding him. A springtime sunshower that makes him feel refreshed, makes his skin buzz and his gills flutter. He's tempted to sneak away, just long enough to get his fins damp and his hair frizzy, but it's a fleeting thought.

Dew's tail swishes aimlessly on the ground, stirs up fallen leaves and withered petals. The result of one of Mountain's seasonal repotting days, of hours spent pruning and stripping and checking for root rot. Of lugging around countless pots and sacks of dirt and the putrid fertilizer Mountain swears by. It's lousy work, really. Delicate but backbreaking, especially for a ghoul of smaller stature. Exhausting.

Dew's been here since just after sunup, and there's nowhere else he'd rather be.

It's been hours now, the sun hanging high where it peeks through the rainclouds. He has at least six different kinds of soil caked under his nails and streaked across his face, muddy smears covering both his apron and the garbage pair of jeans he'd yanked on this morning. They're more stain than denim at this point, and Dew wears them exactly four times a year. The little ghoul stretches his arms over his head and relishes the way his spine pops.

He's sore all over, truth be told, but it's a kind of good sore. The kind that comes from manual labor, from hard work and dedication. Dew catalogs the places he'll need to ask Aether to rub later, a little quintessence analgesic that he'll definitely have earned; his shoulders for sure, they're starting to crunch when he rolls them. His fingers too, Dew knows his knuckles will be all swollen up otherwise. Probably his legs and feet as well, but that would be better saved for -

"I'm back."

Dew's ears perk up when a deep voice calls from across the greenhouse, accompanied by the telltale squeal of the heavy glass door. Booted footsteps follow, wet soles squeaking against dirty concrete, and Dew hops off the stool he's been perched on just in time for Mountain to round a nearby pallet of exotic ferns.

"Don't get up on my accout," he chuckles, smoothing wind-mussed hair back between his antlers. Dew can just barely see misty droplets clinging to those auburn strands. "Besides," Mountain adds, holding up a paper bag, "I brought you lunch, and you don't want to eat standing up."

Dew's stomach growls mightily the moment he says it, loud enough that they both look down at it.

"Good timing," he says, poking at his belly. Dew hops back up onto his seat and scoots it closer to the filthy bench he's been working on. "Any longer and I might have started consuming things with no regard for signage."

Mountain laughs, but it's true. Dew hasn't eaten anything since he and Mountain found each other in the kitchen this morning. Even that wasn't much, a couple pieces of toast and a container of some weird coconut yogurt he'd found on the bottom shelf of the fridge.

Dew has these four days memorized at this point - three days before a solstice or three days after an equinox - but Mountain still always seems surprised to see him stroll into the common room in his work boots and crusty jeans. Dew supposes that has something to do with the fact that he usually sleeps until at least noon, but that's neither here nor there.

"Wouldn't recommend that," Mountain rumbles, setting the bag on the table for Dew to pounce on. "Last time Ifrit did that I couldn't keep him off me for a week."

"Woe is you, " Dew laments, collecting his prize. "I'm sure you suffered, what with his huge dick and endless stamina."

"It was a struggle like no other," Mountain deadpans, slipping his apron back over his head. He'd hosed it off before Terzo had called him for an unexpected meeting, and Dew had taken the liberty of pulling the moisture from it while he was gone. Left it in dark stains on the floor below instead. "I smelled like him for two weeks."

Dew snickers, opening up the bag. Pulling out a hefty container that's still warm to the touch and a real fork. There's a drink in there too, a bottle of coffee in Dew’s preferred mocha, and a paper-wrapped fruit pie the size of his hand. He looks up at Mountain with a quirked brow.

"What's all this?" Mountain tips his head while he secures his apron, makes a questioning sound. "You said lunch, I figured I'd have a sandwich or something. This is like," Dew gestures vaguely, "this is a whole thing."

Mountain shrugs, rolls up his sleeves. Dew definitely doesn't stare at his forearms for the second or two it takes to open the container. For the smell of it to hit him - roasted salmon with creamy polenta, along with a small pile of green beans flecked with garlic and lemon zest. His mouth waters immediately, and his stomach gives another loud complaint. Dew grabs his fork and gathers up an oversized bite, and it's halfway to his mouth when Mountain answers.

"I stopped by the mess after my meeting," he explains with a casual shrug. "Got there at the right time, I guess."

Dew freezes mid-bite, looks over at Mountain with his mouth still hanging open. He's in the middle of hauling pots onto his own bench, a cart of miniature rose bushes in the process of being repotted sitting beside it.

"You went to the mess?"

It's a well known fact that Mountain can't stand the parts of the abbey that attract swaths of humanity - it takes real effort to even get him to attend mass - and Dew can't imagine him braving the mess hall on his own. Again, Mountain shrugs.

"It was on the way back from Terzo's office," he offers, collecting a bush from the cart. Setting it on his worktable and brushing a few stray leaves to the ground. "You've been working hard, you deserve real food."

Dew's face goes unbearably warm, but he doesn't argue.

"Thank you," he murmurs instead, soft but genuine.

Honest.

Mountain's tail sways up to pat at his arm in response, the tufted end ticklish against his exposed forearm. Dew finally pops that forkful of food into his mouth, and the taste of it is exquisite. He groans, his eyes fall shut, his shoulders curl, the whole shebang. Surely an overreaction, but in fairness he's really hungry.

"Fuckin' hells, that's good," Dew sighs, popping a green bean into his mouth. "Say what you will about Sister Agata, but that old broad makes damn good food."

Mountain scoffs, shoots him a dramatic, offended look.

"Better than mine?"

Dew snorts, shoveling another mouthful of polenta. He makes a wavy gesture with his hand, a silent ehhh, maybe that Mountain responds to with a shocked gasp. Dew rolls his eyes, flicks his tail at Mountain's calf.

"'Course not," Dew assures him, spearing a bean on each tine of his fork. He gives the other ghoul a wink. "No one burns popcorn like you, Mount."

The end of Mountain’s tail whacks the back of his head, right above the knot he's tied his hair into. Dew waves it off, but makes a happy little sound when that tail settles on his thigh instead.

They fall into comfortable silence, Dew watching Mountain unearth a bush from its home and set it on his table. Munching away while he follows the way Mountain starts gentling its roots apart, spreading them out to better suit the large pot at his feet. No matter how often Dew does this, he can never get enough of seeing the way Mountain gets lost in his element.

If Mountain were anyone else, Dew would've asked where his lunch was, why he was eating alone. But there would be no point; Mountain has a certain philosophy when it comes to food, something that must have come ingrained in his vessel. He believes in only eating what he grows or catches himself - be it fish from the lake and streams, animals from the forest or even the odd, wandering sibling. He wouldn't eat mess hall food if it were the last thing Above.

Plus Dew's pretty sure he can photosynthesize, so there's that too.

Dew polishes off his meal quickly, while he watches flowering vines curl their way up Mountain's antlers. Speckled with tiny pale blue blossoms that Dew knows match his eyes. He's quiet, but his lips are moving like he's speaking to the plant in his hands. Dew imagines him encouraging it, coaxing life back into any fading roots. He's tossing back the last of his coffee by the time Mountain's hoisting the new pot onto the workbench, already lined with rich, black soil that will keep that little rosebush happy for months to come.

"What color will that one be?"

Full and re-energized, Dew slides from his seat and sidles up beside Mountain, observing the way he meticulously shake the old dirt from that mess of roots.

"Pink, supposedly," he mutters, brow gently furrowed. "That's what the label said, at least. Hard to know with these, though. Ivy did a lot of crossbreeding in her younger years. These could be black for all I know."

Mountain settles the little bush into its new home, carefully aerating the new earth with nimble fingers. Dew reaches forward out of habit, helps to redistribute that soft dirt and get those roots covered up nice and snug.

"I hope they're white," Dew chimes in, focused only on the task at hand. "The white ones are my favorite."

"And Zephyr's," Mountain hums, tapping the back of Dew's hand when he's happy with the plant job. Dew pulls back obediently, gives Mountain the space to fluff up its leaves. "Guess we'll just have to wait and see."

"Guess so," Dew sighs, leaning his elbows on the table while Mountain adds a layer of topsoil to the pot. "My turn now?"

"If you'd like," Mountain offers, standing back. "Unless you want to wait until they're all potted first."

"Nah," Dew straightens, cracks his knuckles, "I already walked all the way over here, might as well."

Mountain laughs, a brief but rich sound that Dew treasures every time he hears it. Dew extends his hand, takes a deep breath through his nose and exhales between his fangs. The tips of his fingers tingle, cool in the temperate heat of the greenhouse.

"Soil or leaves?"

"Both," Mountain replies, and with a nod Dew twists his wrist.

This is his favorite part, of course. When it comes time for the watering, for Dew to make himself useful and earn a pat between the horns for his efforts. He holds a flat palm towards the bush and manipulates the moisture hanging around them - in the air, consensed on the glass walls, even the few droplets still clinging Mountain's hair. Channels it all into a fine mist that he's sure to apply to every last leaf and burgeoning bud. Dew hums to himself while he works, cupping his hands once he's happy with his coverage and letting the water fill his palms instead.

"There," he says, pleased, pouring a few modest handfuls into thirtsty soil. "Good enough?"

Dew steps back so Mountain can check his work. He wipes both hands on his apron, smears around the caked on dirt that'll take a chisel to remove by the time the day is done. Mountain rumbles his approval after a moment, and Dew preens from the sound alone.

"Very well done," he lilts, and Dew rolls up onto the balls of his feet just in time to meet Mountain's hand. It rests perfectly between his mother-of-pearl horns, ruffling the loose hairs that have escaped their ties. Dew purrs, Mountain chuckles, and they part once more.

"One down," Dew says, peeking around Mountain at the remaining plants on the cart. "How many to go?"

"Eight," Mountain replies easily, already hoisting the next bush up to work on. "Of these, at least. I think the new guy is almost done racking the orchids, so those will be next."

Mountain looks at him from the corner of his eye, like he's waiting for Dew to complain. To whine about this taking too long, or that it's too boring. The look he gives him every time Dew volunteers to help him with this. Dew gives him a fang-filled smile instead.

"Sounds good," he says easily, striding back to his own work station. "I'm here as long as you want me, big guy."

Mountain chuffs, eyes sparkling. Dew can't believe how much more obvious the gold flecks in his emerald irises stand out on these days. He looks so...whole. Mountain's fingers dance over what will one day be a rose, now just a green bud, and Dew doesn't miss the way his ear flicks.

"Hey, Dew?" His voice carries something deep, something real.

"Yeah?"

There's a long beat of silence, and all Dew can hear are fading raindrops. The sun's getting brighter now, fewer clouds to hide behind. He can see Mountain’s freckles in the warm light, and the streak of copper in his hair. Then,

"I'm...really glad you're here."

Everything around them seems to soften. Dew smiles, unabashed and open, his tail drifting over to tangle with Mountain's just because he can. He huffs our a deeply amused laugh, staring down at his tabletop to hide the way his cheeks flush. Force of habit.

"Nowhere else I'd rather be," he replies, easy as anything, and he really hopes Mountain believes it. "Now gimme something to pot, my fingers are gettin' itchy."

Mountain snorts, shakes his head, but doesn't hesitate to grab another bush and a pot, depositing them on Dew's table. Dew busies himself scooping fresh dirt into the terracotta vessel while Mountain checks the plant for anything that requires pruning.

"This one's even supposed to be white," he says, not missing the way Dew perks up at the words. "Take good care of it, yeah?"

He will, of course. And in a few months, when these plants are hale and hearty and flush with springtime blooms, a bouquet of them will appear in Dew's room. Perfectly trimmed and never wilting, wrapped in silky green ribbon that Dew will save in a secret place behind his sock drawer.

For now, Mountain returns to his own table, and together they work. The silence doesn't last nearly as long this time, broken by Mountain humming a folksy tune that Dew has heard enough times to harmonize with. So he does, the sound bouncing around them and accompanied by the gentle rustle of leaves swaying in a nonexistent breeze. The plants singing with them, Dew thinks. Peaceful.

Soon enough, one of them will speak again. Will break up the monotony with talk of music or recent happenings, or maybe even indulge in a little gossip regarding Terzo's newest summon. He's a hybrid, Dew heard, fire and earth and supposedly just enough quintessence to make him a Problem. Dew wonders if that's what Mountain's meeting was about, but he doesn't ask. Not yet.

For now, all he needs is this.

[fanmoose12]

What about levihan through the eyes of other parents at the school when they drop off their kids. Hange usually drops off the kids but was busy was work so Levi had to. Levi being nonchalant but a little worried that he might give off a bad impression which could affect their kid's life at daycare. Hange laughing and reporting the next day that most parents had a crush on Levi what with him being affectionate with their kid, preparing lunch and making sure their kid was cleaned. How he is now the husband the mothers want to have.

so i tweaked both prompts a bit but i hope you still enjoy what i came up with!!

Bad children do not exist. There are unruly ones, yes, undisciplined too, disobedient and rude, and some too angry for their own good, but there is not a single child that you cannot redeam with a bit of kindness, patience and understanding.

That's the first lesson that Petra learnt as she became a teacher at the preschool, and this belief remains unchallenged even after many years of work.

Although no one came quite as close to making her rethink it than an adorable ball of happiness with two pigtails who goes by the name Mia. 

The girl is an angel, there is no denying that, she’s kind and curious, and her mere presence fills the room with warmth, but god almighty, Petra definitely doesn’t envy the girl’s parents. Her energy appears to be unending and her curiosity seems to know no limits. Mia is interested in seemingly everything around her and anything that captures her attention must immediately be studied in great details - if she sees a peculiar tree, she has to climb it, if a rain filled the ground with poodles, she has to jump in each and every single one that happens on her way, if she notices a flower, she has to smell it, if it’s a berry, she absolutely must taste it. Petra can only guess how many stones the girl finds to be ‘cool’ she has stashed at her house. 

And the most unusual thing about Mia is how different she is from her father. Levi is probably the most reserved man Petra has ever seen. He is quiet, a man of so little words that it sometimes seems that he prefers to communicate with only nods, grunts and occasional one-syllable words. He is also surprisingly peculiar about cleanliness - always clean-shaven, wearing clothes that have not a single crease and never, ever a stain, he even smells like soap and washing powder. If it wasn’t for Mia’s features, her black hair and narrow, grey-blue eyes that she undoubtedly inherited from Levi, Petra would never guess that the man is her true father.  

So alike to one another, father and daughter act like direct opposites. Mia is loud, while her father is quiet, she is expressive, while he’s reserved, she's unbelievably messy even for a kid, with hands often covered in dirt and pants marked by caked mud, while his appearance remains impecable, no matter the circumstances, she is warm and kind, while he appears to be distant and cold. 

And yet, one has to be completely blind not to notice just how much Levi loves and treasures his child. He provides the girl with everything she can possibly need - he brings her extra clothes in case she needs to change, makes her lunch and her favorite juice when she doesn’t want to eat at school, fills her little frog-shaped backpack with toys, coloring books, pencils of all colors, a small shovel and a bucket so that the girl can dig up and collect all the cool stones that she comes across. 

So, it’s not at all surprising that Levi is impossibly popular with every mother at their school. Loving, gentle and attentive, he’s an example of a perfect father, and, of course, a no less perfect husband. Although he does wear a wedding ring, it doesn’t stop most women from desperately trying to get his attention. He gets surrounded by them every time he brings Mia over, and no matter how many of them he politely, but firmly rejects, his popularity not diminishes even a bit. It seems that his aloof, distant persona only adds to his charisma. 

Petra honestly feels bad for him, such constant and clearly unwanted attention must be quite grueling, but- even she can’t deny that she developed a sort of crush on the man, although she does her best to conceal it. She knows better than to chase a married man, after all. 

She does wonder, and not seldom, just what kind of a person Levi is married to. As far as Petra’s aware, no one at their school has ever seen his wife, Levi is the one, who always drops off Mia and he’s the one, who always takes her home. But it doesn’t seem that she’s completely absent from the family, she’s just a very busy person, or so Mia says. It’s obvious that the girl adores her mother no less than she adores her dad; when she feels like talking about her, there is no stopping her ramblings. If Mia is to be believed, her mother is the smartest person in this world, a scientist, who works tirelessly to make their lives so much better. And although Petra has never met Mia’s mother personally, she’s inclined to believe every word that the girl says about her. After all, the person, who managed to raise a child as precious as Mia and not only earn, but to also keep Levi’s love and devotion, must be nothing short of extraordinary. 

Most moms of the school would disagree, however. In their opinion, Mia’s mother is the most despicable person on this planet, a cruel, heartless person, who cares not for her child and even less for her husband, who surely is a gift from the heavens above. 

So, naturally, when the day comes that Mia is dropped off not by her father, but her mother, it causes quite an uproar amidst teachers and parents alike. 

Everyone at school turns speechless, when they see Mia hand in hand with a tall, slim brunette in glasses, who wears a grin nearly identical to the one that Mia always sports. 

“Good morning all of you, I’m Hange!!” Mia’s mother exclaims in a voice so cheerful and warm that it’s impossible for Petra not to answer the greeting with a smile of her own. “Since my precious husband feels a bit under the weather, I’ll be performing the role of a doting parent today! Mia,” Hange kneels before her daughter, pulling the kid for a swift forehead kiss. “Be good, don’t annoy your teachers too much, and… what dad usually says to you?” 

“Don’t get in trouble?” Mia offers with a delightful chuckle. 

“Mm, yes,” a thoughtful frown appears on Hange’s forehead, “I’m afraid I can’t in good conscience forbid you from doing that, so… don’t get into too much trouble, alright, pumpkin?” 

“I’ll try my best!” 

“Good,” Hange smiles and ruffles the girl’s hair. “Now, go, your friends are probably already waiting for you. I’ll take you home at… four o’clock, right?” she asks, causing a wave of disapproving murmurs all around the playground. 

“Dad usually takes me home at three,” Mia corrects with quiet amusement she definitely inherited from her father. “And…” she adds with a mischievous glint in her eyes that Petra now sees she got from her mother. “He also takes me out for ice-cream afterwards.” 

“Take you home at three, then treat you to ice-cream, got it. Anything else, my dear?” 

“Well, there is this game dad promised to buy for me, and also…”

Petra decides it’s time for interruption, gentle, albeit firm.

“Mia,” Petra approaches the girl with a slight frown on her face. “All the kids are already on the playground, why won’t you go and join them?”

Mia huffs, but takes the backpack out of her mom’s arms and, after waving at her one last time, hurries to the playground. 

Watching her kid, Hange emits a fond sigh, then turns to Petra. 

“I know that Levi doesn’t actually take her out for ice-cream every day,” she admits. “Says that sugar is bad for children and all that. But the kid should be pampered from time to time, don’t you think?”

“In reasonable amounts, yes,” Petra agrees. 

Hange lets out a short chuckle. “That's something me and my husband disagree on, usually, but… she seems happy enough, no?” 

“She does. Mia’s a nice kid. And already very smart.”

“And so cute!” Hange gushes, her eyes glinting. “She’s Levi’s little copy, isn’t she? Just without his ever present scowl.” 

“I… guess?” Petra murmurs, not quite sure if the answer was the expected of her or not. 

“Maybe, we’re not that bad at it, after all,” Hange whispers, seemingly to herself. She observes her daughter for another moment, then turns to Petra, blinding her with a radiant smile. “Thank you for looking after her. I know Mia isn’t the easiest one to handle.” 

The girl certainly isn’t, with her constant thirst for adventures and surprising stubbornness at times, but Petra doesn’t say it out loud. Hange appears to be a good mother, who cares for her daughter no less than her husband does, and Petra feels the need to ease her worries. 

“You raised her good,” she says, reaching out to squeeze Hange’s forearm reassuringly. “She’ll blow us all away one day, I have no doubt.” 

“Let’s hope she’ll do it in a metaphorical way, eh?” 

Petra joins Hange in her laughter. 

After spending a few more moments gazing at her kid, Hange leaves, and when she does - the hushed whispers around the playground stop being so hushed. Without even trying, Petra hears other parents discuss Hange, critic her admittedly a bit messy appearance and scorn at her forgetfulness and supposed carelessness. Although, after observing her interaction with her daughter, no one dares to claim that Hange is cruel and heartless and doesn’t care for her child. 

The talks about Mia’s mother don't die out for weeks to come, even as Levi returns to his duties, and they reach a crescendo, when one sunny day Mia arrives at school hand-in-hand with both of her parents and the biggest smile Petra has ever seen on her little cute face. 

Mia’s mom and dad drop her off, then stay a little to watch over their daughter, as the rest of the adults turn to watch over them. 

Petra is no exception, of course, she is no less curious to witness the relationship between Levi and Hange, and pretty quickly she comes to the conclusion that they share a bond only few are lucky to experience. The subtle, quiet affection with which Levi gazes at his wife is as surprising as it is beautiful, and the loud fondness that Hange expresses so freely towards her kid and husband is amusing and heartwarming. 

Levi’s popularity doesn’t decrease even after that, although invitations to coffee dates become nearly nonexistent. 

After all, there is no chance of winning over a man, who’s already dedicated his heart to another.

[princesssarisa]

The next set of Donkeyskin tales in Cinderella Tales from Around the World take us first to Turkey and Syria, then down to South and East Africa, and then back into Asia through Sri Lanka, India, and finally Japan.

*There are two versions from Turkey in this collection (@faintingheroine). In one, the king resolves to marry his daughter because she fits her dead mother's clothes; she requests gowns that resemble "the sky with stars," "the ground with flowers," and "the sea with fishes," and as in the Italian versions, she disguises herself in a suit made of wood and calls herself "Wooden Mary." In the other, her finger fits her mother's ring; at the advice of a fairy, she requests gowns of gold, silver, and pearls, and then a long fur coat, all of which the devil supplies; after she runs away, she lives alone in a cave for six years before the prince finds her and brings her to the palace. In both versions, the events to which she follows the prince in her finery are three royal weddings in other kingdoms; at the weddings, the prince either gives her three valuable trinkets (version #2), or else she steals them from him (version #1). Then when the prince falls ill with longing for her, she bakes cakes or pastries for him and slips the three trinkets inside, leading to her discovery.

*The Syrian variant is a "heroine hides inside a hollow object" version, in this case a chest. It also portrays the father as "a rich Jew." While this means the heroine herself is also Jewish, which could be good representation, I doubt it was meant that way; since her Jewishness is only mentioned once in the text, while her father is constantly called "the Jew," I'm afraid it's antisemitism, implying that only a Jew would try to marry his own daughter. Especially because in the end, his daughter refuses to forgive him and the prince has him executed.

*The two South African tales aren't exactly Donkeyskin tales as Europe knows them, but they do feature a persecuted heroine dressed in animal skin. In both of these tales, a king or a chief has two wives, each with a daughter.

**In Nya-Nya Bulembu, the king favors one wife and daughter but scorns and abuses the other wife and daughter, and he forces the unfavored daughter to wear the mossy green skin of a water monster so everyone will despise her. But one day she meets an old fairy man who gives her a magic stick that will temporarily restore her human form and bring her food each day. One day a prince comes to visit, sees her during this time, and knowing her true appearance, asks to marry the "monster." When she bathes before the wedding, the green skin floats away on the river, revealing her beauty to all. Meanwhile, her stepsister – a kind girl and a friend to her, in contrast to her cruel mother – is carried away by pigeons, which serves as her wicked parents' punishment as they assume she's dead. But really she's taken to another kingdom where she marries the king and lives happily ever after too.

**In Baboon-Skins, the heroine's stepmother and stepsister are jealous of her beauty, so to protect herself and her mother from their abuse, the girl dresses herself in baboon skins to hide her beauty. Still, she remains graceful and charming, and when a young chief's servants come looking for two brides for their master, her demeanor charms them just as her stepsister's beauty does, and they choose them both. At first the chief is angry, thinking a girl who hides her appearance must be ugly, but her demeanor wins him over too, and on the wedding day, she finally discards the skins.

*A French-language version from Mauritius is called Donkeyskin and basically a transplant of Perrault's version, except for a twist at the end: the prince doesn't get sick, but secretly meets with Donkeyskin after seeing her undisguised and falling in love with her, and urges her to put a ring in a cake that his mother the queen has already ordered her to bake. When she does and he eats the cake, he holds the ring at the back of his throat, pretending it's stuck, and no maiden but Donkeyskin can pull it out.

*The tale from Sri Lanka is called The Scab Girl and is only vaguely a Donkeyskin tale. A baby girl is abandoned by her parents because they wanted a son, but two cranes find her and raise her in a cave. When she grows up, a wicked "Rakshi" discovers her and tries to eat her, so the cranes dress her in cloth covered with scabs to make her look disgusting and inedible, then send her out into the world. She becomes a scullery maid at the king's palace, but secretly takes off her scab cloth to bathe, and eventually her beauty is discovered by the king, who marries her.

*There are three Indian variants, which also bear only a slight resemblance to the European versions, and none of which include attempted incest:

**In The Disguised Princess, the heroine is the eldest of three sisters and betrothed to a prince. But on her wedding day, her jealous younger sisters put sugar in her palanquin, it attracts flies, the prince thinks the flies are attracted to her, and in disgust he has his servants abandon her in the jungle. There she meets a carpenter and has him build her a wooden suit that disguises her as a man. She journeys to the prince's palace, where she wins the prince's favor and becomes a head servant. Meanwhile, the prince is about to marry another princess, but "by accident," when the "man of wood" meets the bride, "he" knocks out her eye with his wooden hand, making her repulsive to the prince. Soon afterward, a washerman tells the prince that every day, the "man of wood" takes off his wooden shell to bathe and reveals a beautiful human form. The Prince sends for "him" and demands to see "his" beauty, and so the princess reveals herself, and the prince marries her.

**In The King and the Fairy, a beautiful golden-haired fairy is persecuted by a Deo (giant), who wants to kill her because she refused to marry him. So she disguises herself in a leather robe covered with treacle, which attracts flies. She becomes a lowly servant in an old woman's house, but one day as she bathes, one of her hairs floats downstream. A prince finds the beautiful golden hair strand and resolves to marry the girl whose head it came from. He invites all the people in the land to a feast; the fairy comes in her disguise, and an elephant approaches her and lifts her up three times, which means that she's the prince's destined bride. The prince is disgusted by her, until he learns from some watchmen that every night, four fairies come and remove her disguise to bathe and perfume her, revealing her true beauty. When she tells him her story, he devises a trick to kill the Deo, leaving the fairy free to resume her true form and marry the prince.

*In The Princess and the Cat, the princess has an enormous pet cat who becomes jealous of all her suitors and claws at them until they run for their lives. To escape from the cat's possessiveness, she runs away, disguises herself in a coat of smelly skins, and becomes known as Chamni ("skin-woman"). She becomes a servant at the prince's palace and is sent out each day to tend the elephants, and when she's alone, she takes off the skin coat. One day the prince sees her, falls in love with her, learns her story, and marries her. When the cat learns of her marriage he comes after the couple, but the prince kills him, and they live happily ever after.

*Last but not least is The Wooden Bowl from Japan, which isn't really a Donkeyskin story, but does share some of the same themes. A poor peasant girl's dying mother instructs her to always wear a wooden bowl over her head to hide her beautiful face and protect her from men's lust. She obeys, and lives by laboring in the fields, mocked and scorned by her fellow workers for the bowl, until a rich farmer takes pity on her and brings her to his house to be his wife's servant. There, the farmer's son manages to catch a glimpse of her face one day, falls in love with her, and resolves to marry her. His relatives object because of her low birth and her oddness, and though she loves him, she refuses his proposal so as not to cause discord. But in a dream, her mother's spirit urges her to accept. On their wedding day, she tries to remove the wooden bowl, only to find that it's stuck. But when the wedding ceremony is complete, the bowl shatters, releasing a shower of pearls, jewels, gold, and silver to serve as her dowry, as well as revealing her beauty.

@ariel-seagull-wings, @themousefromfantasyland, @adarkrainbow

[sherlokiness]

JD foreshadowings are sexual, not romantic and I think they will have a sexual relationship but I just cannot see Jon being into her

Hi, anon! Thanks for the ask.

I do agree with you that's why I subscribe to PoliticalJon. I'm also thinking about one eye Jon clues and how it might relate to jonsa and aegony cause the only Jon who could possibly fall in love with Dany is a blind Jon. If I thought Dany was a hero then yes, I think Jon would sincerely fall for her bc what's not to love, right?

The catch is that Jon will voluntarily "blind" himself for love of Sansa so he could look at Dany with love which is what PolJon is. A blind Jon whose thoughts and actions seem consistent but irrational to those who are around him. An example of this is when Dany gave a dragon to the slave masters and Jorah and Co. couldn't believe how she could do that. It's simply not worth it! The audience was also tricked into believing it until the veil was revealed. Dany used tricks and deception to get herself an army then killed the masters. Nobody cared they died bc they were monsters and Dany was even hailed as a hero. What a freaking nice coincidence that Dany went there to buy slaves she couldn't afford and gained a slave army for free. She got to have the moral high ground and the army she sought to buy. She got to have her cake and eat it too.

I'm expecting Jon's true thoughts on Dany will be concealed by the author once he decides to be blind. Jon goes to Dany for her armies and dragons and in the process falls for her. There's Dany who was just spurned by Aegon for love of Arianne and hated by the people of KL all the while thinking her last treason is over. What a freaking nice coincidence that JD falling for each other gets what they need from each other. Dany gets the love she's denied while Jon gets the armies he initially sought.

Not to be a conspiracy theorist but this is what I'm imagining GRRM gave the hints to D&D. Like JD will have sex because of love but he didn't say for love of who? This is also why the show had JD break up and not marry bc of "incest" which is a forced and nonsensical reason bc no way in Planetos will Jon see having a relationship with his aunt as incest. It's not taboo in their world, rare but not forbidden. So in the books after RLJ, what will stop Jon from marrying his lover/auntie if he's not icked by supposed incest? Because he loves another.

To play Devil's advocate and in defense of Dark Dany, how could Jon still fall for her?

1) Jon seeing through Sansa's eyes mean he will be as blind as AGoT Sansa who fell in love with Joffrey even though he had red flags.He fell in love with a beautiful Queen who saved him and ignored her occasional lapses. Sansa paid that trust with Ned's head and Jon will pay with the people of King's Landing. Sansa was only 11 but what's Jon's excuse?🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

2) Jon truly falling for a villain Dany would make him dumb as fuck but Dany is not without her merits. If sweet and perfect baby Brienne can fall for someone like Jaime, why can't Jon fall for a monster like Dany? Maybe the bad things he heard about her are all just rumors and she had good reason to do them. He would know how rumors could get twisted.

3) Maybe the aegonys are right that the foreshadowings are romantic. They're negative which can be interpreted as them ending doomed but the romance is there. The wolf howling scene could also be interpreted in a way that Jon is begging her to stop but Dany's greed for the Iron Throne doesn't lessen which eventually leads to her death.

4) GRRM isn't that unconventional with tropes. There's the bastard/secret king trope, exiled princess,puppet boy king, and the pimp getting killed by a prostitute, etc. I think jonsas shouldn't be dismissive of tropes because our ship, in essence, is the tropiest of them all. It's a princess in a tower who marries the hero(her hero)who slayed the dragon and they lived "happily" ever after. Aegony ship is basic but there's the incest twist ig?

5) Jon comes back darker and doesn't care that much about the realm so he hooks up with a pyro Dany. Yolo basically. Why should he care about the opinions of others after being backstabbed by his brothers and sacrificing his honor for the realm?

6) Dany being lovers with Jon imo is the only way for the author to expose Dany's hypocrisy and greed for power. Dany will not give up the throne for love nor duty to Jon-her lover and righful King. I suspect Daario will be like Jorah, a scumbag who will sincerely fall for Dany, but she will leave him and the readers would justify it. Who cares? Well, once she usurps Jon, all her previous claims about giving up the crown for love will be shit. Words are wind.

[obsessivelyloved]

Someone asked to see it so here it is. I might re-write this because i do like the concept I had

______________________________________

Long ago, in the country Blaggerdorf, a civil war broke out. In the end, neither side was victorious. But they each came to an agreement, to build a wall that'll divide the south and north. Over time, one side became a hell on earth, while the other was a near perfect society. And thus the tale of our two lovers was born.

Edd looked longingly at the wall that separated him and his love. He didn't understand how Tord was able to climb it, it was completely and utterly terrifying! Speaking of Tord, Edd wondered what he was doing, he was usually here by now. Edd sighed in sadness. If only their country didn't go into a pointless civil war and build this idiotic wall. Then he and Tord could be together! Even though it was a beautiful dream, Edd knew it was a fantasy that could never come true. For not many people in this country supported same-sex relationships.

"Why so down my love?" Edd looked up to see Tord sitting on top of the wall. Edd's face immediately broke into a grin.

"I'm not down!" He protested, "I'm just thinking."

Tord laughed with a sly smile, running a hand through his brown locks. "Could it be that you were thinking about me?" Edd blushed, which in turn made Tord laugh even more.

"I don't blame you, I am quite handsome after all." Tord teased.

Edd stifled a small smile, "No my dear, I'm handsome, you're cute." Tord laughed and climbed down off the wall.

"That's what you think," Tord smirked. Edd rolled his eyes and took his backpack off his back. Tord was immediately interested in what was in it. Edd pulled out a small container of cake and Tord's eyes widened in awe.

"Want some?" Edd asked as he opened the container.

"You should know what my answer is by now," Tord said as he snatched the container away from him. Edd didn't mind, he knew that since Tord lived on the bad side of the wall, he didn't get such things as pastries. Edd rummaged through his bag for a fork and handed it to Tord, who took it gladly.

"What's… what's it like living on the other side of the wall?" Edd asked hesitantly. Tord immediately stopped eating the cake, his appetite gone.

"It's like living in hell." He answered quietly.

"C'mon It can't be that bad!" Edd exclaimed. "I could go live with you!" As soon as Edd said that, something inside Tord had snapped.

"Absolutely not!" He barked at Edd. Edd snapped his gaze down at the grass.

"It was only a suggestion," He muttered. Edd's green eyes brightened back up a minute later.

"I know, what if you lived over here with me!" He exclaimed in happiness. Tord sighed.

"You know perfectly well why I can't live over here with you Edd," He said quietly, picking at the hem of his red shirt. Edd ran a hand through his brown hair. Just as Edd was going to respond, a shout made their blood freeze in their veins.

"DEMON!" Edd and Tord started at the man who shouted in shock. Their minds numb with panic, they sat frozen. The man kept chanting "demon" but when a crowd started to form, Tord snapped out of it and helped Edd climb the wall. He then proceeded to climb it himself.

"That was close," Edd breathed out. He could still hear the chants from the other side of the wall.

"Oh God," Tord whispered, holding his head.

"What's wrong?" Edd asked, his voice thick with concern.

"You're on my side of the wall," Tord choked out, starting to panic. Realization dawned on Edd's face.

"What should we do?" Edd asked Tord shakily. Tord stood there for a few minutes, deep in thought.

"I know," He said, his voice jumping uncharacteristically lighter, "We should-

BANG!

Edd's eyes went wide as he fell to the ground, the gunshot ringing in his ears. Blood began to seep through his green shirt. He looked up at Tord and whispered, "Why?" Tord looked at him with an excited smile, his amber eyes twitching.

"Because now my love," Tord whispered into Edd's ears as he held him close, "Now we can be happy together forever.”

With that, Tord leaned in for one last passionate kiss before turning the gun on himself and pulling the trigger. Tord pulled Edd closer and died in the embrace of red and green.

[imaginationofomi]

Come Together

Eleven

The longer she waited, the more Nayeli wanted to go home. The entirety of her week went to other people, and the same would happen once the sun rose the next day. She just wanted to lay in silence for a few hours.

Regardless, she sat in her favorite family owned Italian restaurant, scrolling through TikTok while her dad likely fought with his wife about why he would be gone for the evening. That was only an assumption, but it was the most logical one for why he was running late.

She couldn't imagine being locked in a marriage that came with so many disadvantages. The good clearly didn't outweigh the bad with Maxwell mentioning divorce. It would be his second. Another round of hurt.

Life sometimes made her question if getting married was a wise decision. Too often, couples ended up divorced. While her parents' was amicable, others didn't have the same privilege. Divorce made people angry and bitter. True colors came out. Children suffered.

But she didn't like to focus on the negative. Not when the world was going to hell in a hand basket.

In moments of doubt, she looked to both sets of her grandparents, each married for over forty-five years. Poppy swore he fell in love with Nana Jean all over again everyday. That was what she wanted. PawPaw had his faults, yet he still flirted with Big Momma like it was their first date. Their relationships grew and changed, but the love was always there. She wanted to change and grow in love as well.

The man she chose would also have to be dedicated to the nurturing of their union in all aspects, and the list of prospects was shaky. The current crop of men to choose from wanted the most for the bare minimum, if that, along with having their cake and eating it, too. She would have to sort through mountains of rubble until she found her special rock.

Stomach growling quietly, she fished the lemon wedge out of her water and bit into it, a habit she got from her mother.

"I tried for years to get Bonnie to stop doing that, and all she did was pass it on to you." She heard her father's voice and looked up, dropping the lemon wedge onto a paper napkin and standing to give him a hug, "Sorry I'm late," he said and kissed her temple.

"It's okay." Nayeli rubbed Maxwell's back, "I ordered for us. The food should be out soon. How's work?"

"Been busy. Lot of brush fires the last few weeks. It's worse than last summer."

"Considering how dry California is, I'm not surprised."

"We're supposed to be getting some good rain soon."

"I hope it either passes before or waits until after the Harvest Festival. It sucks getting rained on at the fair grounds. It turns into mud central." She got a headache just thinking about it. Mud in Briton Beach turned to muck and sludge that was hard to get off shoes once it was caked on.

"Yeah, and people start driving crazy. More work for us. You should come by the station. The crew misses you." A decorated fire captain, Maxwell treated the first responders he oversaw like an extension of his immediate family. Nayeli had quite a few "siblings, aunts, and uncles". Some she didn't care for, but she got along with everyone for the most part.

"Maybe I'll stop by with brownies or something. When's your next shift?"

"Tuesday, but I'm picking up a couple extra this week and for the next few months."

"Why?"

"It's time to buy the twins a car."

"They're driving already? My goodness." Resting her cheek on her fist, Nayeli smiled when she saw her father's hazel eyes light up at the mention of her estranged brothers. They very rarely spoke about his second family at the request of his wife.

"Yeah, they're almost as tall as me, too. Jax passed his test on the first try. Jake is taking it again next week. They want to meet you."

That was news to her ears. She'd only seen them once as infants and a picture of them when they first started school. That was the extent of their interaction, and after sixteen years of radio silence, she assumed it would remain that way.

From what she could remember, they looked much like their dad in general. Same fair skin that burned before turning into a tan, sandy brown hair that was almost red. One had Nana's green eyes like Nayeli while the other had hazel like Maxwell. If they were almost as tall as him, they were definitely over 6'0", "Since when?"

"For a while now."

"I wasn't sure they even thought about us as their sisters."

"Cheryl tried to make it that way."

"What's her deal?"

"Only child syndrome. She can't handle being criticized, even if it's done in a nice way, and she's selfish. She's never been told no or had to share, so she doesn't know how and she won't learn. She's always felt like me still taking care of your mom and you guys was a slight to her."

Nayeli scoffed, "A slight how? You've given that woman everything she asked for, even at your own expense and ours." Lost time, broken relationships with her sisters that had to be repaired over the years. Nothing about their family dynamic was sunshine and unicorns.

"She doesn't see it that way. I've been trying to reason with her for years. Every time she's pissed off at me, she packs up the twins, cuts off communication and goes to her parents' house. And every time, I'm afraid she might not bring them back. She's threatened to take them before," Maxwell sighed roughly and pressed his fingers into the corners of his eyes.

"That's why you won't divorce her."

"Yeah."

"If the twins are old enough to drive, they're old enough to make decisions for themselves. They could argue on your behalf in court and make sure that you at least get joint custody. You have a great job, and you're the best dad to all of us. A judge would see that," Nayeli said.

"Even if it were that simple, Cheryl would do everything in her power to fight it. Attorneys are expensive. Divorcing her is already going to be hell. If the boys are away and in college, they won't get caught in the thick of it."

"I'm sorry that this is what you have to deal with. If you do decide to do anything before the boys turn eighteen, you can count on me as a character witness."

Maxwell covered his daughter's hand with his. Parents weren't supposed to have favorite children, but if he were to pick, she would be it with Jaxon right behind her, "Thank you. I never should've left your mother. I thought having boys and carrying on my family name was more important than the family we already had. I love your brothers, but I regret my decision everyday."

"Sometimes a hard head makes a soft rump." As she got older, Nayeli learned just how much that statement rang true, "Is that why you still take care of her?"

"I do that because when I married her, I promised that I would for the rest of my life. She had a career while I was just starting mine and took a chance on me. I wanted to make it worth her while." The divorce didn't mean that Bonnie was any less important to Maxwell. They wanted different things, but he loved her dearly still. More than his own wife. He'd come to the harsh conclusion that he really wanted nothing more than to turn back the hands of time. He should've watered his own grass before thinking it was greener across the street only to realize the lush color came from toxic spray paint.

"It's going to get better, Dad," Nayeli told him.

"I hope so, Baby Love. Do you want to meet Jake and Jax?"

Pausing she gnawed the center of her lips and pressed her thumbnail into her index finger, "I don't know. It feels weird. I don't know what Cheryl has said to them or what they think about me. Have you talked to Maxine and Leti about it?"

"I talked to Maxine earlier, and she said she'll consider it. Leticia didn't answer when I called."

"Why do they want to meet us now?" she asked, confusion lacing her eyebrows together.

"They've realized Cheryl is the problem," Maxwell answered. He was grateful for the fact, but it was making things extra tense in their home, "Jaxon wants to become a pastry chef."

Nayeli's eyes grew wide, head tilting to the right, "What?"

"Yeah, Cheryl flipped when he told us. She thought he was going to the academy with Jacob."

"Plenty of parents don't agree with their kids career choices. Why would that make them want to meet us?"

"It's not that they didn't want to meet you before. They didn't want to deal with the consequences of defying their mom." But they were growing up and starting not to care, "You're the reason Jax wants to go to culinary school. I bought your episodes of Sweet Delight and keep them on my laptop. He watched a couple with me and asked to meet you years ago. Cheryl overheard and claimed that I was trying to turn the boys against her so that I could leave her and they'd want to come with me. She took them to her parents for two weeks."

"What a wacky bitch." Nayeli let out an annoyed huff, straightening her back when Maxwell gave her a look of warning, "Sorry, it slipped." She knew better than to curse in front of her parents, over thirty or not.

"You must've seen Maxine recently." His second oldest always cussed like a sailor, and it tended to rub off on Nayeli when they were around each other.

"Yesterday. I went out with her and Leti."

"It makes me happy that you guys are still close." Maxwell smiled, wishing he got along with all of his siblings.

"I'm worried that'll change when Leti moves."

"Flights up that way are short and inexpensive. You'll still see her. Is she closing down her studios out here?"

"Not that I know of. She said she's going back and forth a lot for the first six months of the year since classes will be slow when she gets there, but I feel like Chace is going to keep her locked up. He did not take their break up well at all." And once they were back together, everything started to move at lightning speed.

"I'm just happy she has a man that really loves her."

"Me too." Because her last was beyond a piece of shit, "Chace is up there with the best of them......so Jaxon really wants to become a pastry chef?"

"Yep. Last Wednesday, he went to the bakery after school to talk to you. He said you weren't there, but he brought some stuff home, and it triggered Cheryl. She told him he wasn't allowed to go back, and when he asked why, she wouldn't say anything other than because I said so."

"That's not an answer. Learn how to communicate with your children. It's not hard." 

"He'd agree with you on that. It wasn't good enough for him so he kept asking until she said you're never around and they don't know you."

"Whose fault is that? Not mine! And I didn't realize that we only visit the establishments of people we know personally. So now we have dinner and shoot the shit with the owners of every store we buy from in town?" Nayeli's palms grew hot, and she pressed her lips together tightly, "Your wife has worms for brains."

"Deep breath, out slow. Cheryl may not want them to have a relationship with you, but I made sure you weren't strangers to them. They've seen pictures, they ask about you guys. Jaxon told Cheryl you're family whether she likes it or not because of me. He went to the bakery on his own. We didn't know until he walked in with the box."

"I'm really surprised to hear that," Nayeli said and sat back when their waiter brought their food out, thanking the young man as she put her linen napkin across her lap.

"You shouldn't be. I've done what I could without rocking the boat. The rest is up to you guys. I can't make you have a relationship with them, but I do want you guys to know each other at least. Jaxon made a point. You are family, and I shouldn't have allowed Cheryl to keep you apart. Forgive me for not doing more."

"I don't think there's anything to forgive you for. She's the one with the problem. You did what you thought would keep your home intact. I've never been mad at you for any of it...except maybe choosing a psychopath as a second wife. But I think you've paid for that a few times over."

"I would say that I have." Maxwell reached across the table for Nayeli's hands, and they bowed their heads while he prayed over their meal. Stabbing his fork through pieces of chicken and bacon, he twirled some pasta around the utensil and lifted it to his mouth.

Nayeli was weighing her options. She couldn't think of a reason not to meet her brothers. They didn't hate her like she assumed. They were pushing back against the woman that kept them isolated, but she did want to talk to her sisters first. Picking up her phone, she text the sibling group chat to arrange a family meeting and looked up at her father.

"I'm going to have a conversation with Leti and Max about all of us meeting at once, but if they're not okay with it, tell Jaxon he can come by the bakery again. Jacob, too, if he wants." She would likely be the first to meet them anyway. Her sisters were a lot better at holding grudges than she was. They could include people associated even if they weren't at fault. She couldn't do the same.

"I will." Maxwell visibly relaxed, grateful that after all of his mistakes, things were starting to mend, "Thank you, Nayeli."

☼☼☼

Midday rush provided everyone with a burst of adrenaline. It was needed to keep up with the line that was out the door, a few paces down the sidewalk, and growing. Busy was normal, but there were more people than usual. However, there was no cause for complaint.

Nayeli went beyond and baked extra treats for the day, and everything was selling like hot cakes. She would be leaving soon. The rest of her staff could have a chance to do so as well.

Departing from the service counter, she entered her office and shut the door. Her neck cracked when she stretched it, and she sank into the couch to rest. It seemed like only a few seconds had passed before her phone began to ring and vibrate on her desk. She thought about letting the person trying to contact her go to voicemail. Bad for business if it was an emergency. Luckily, it was only Renée announcing her arrival.

Five more seconds on the couch, and Nayeli was back on her feet amongst her customers. Renée sat at a recently vacated table with two tequila lime shrimp salads and dole whip, eyes flickering until they found her.

"You finally done being mad at me?" Nayeli asked with a half smile as she sat down and pulled one of the salads to her side of the table.

"I guess." Renée playfully rolled her eyes, "I wasn't even mad at you. I'm just tired of everybody coddling Brittany's feelings. She's a fucked up person, and people still kiss her ass to make her feel better. It's aggravating."

"What do you have against her? Because that wasn't the first time you snapped. You showed your ass at brunch, too."

"Like you've never gotten out of character."

"When did I say that? Quickly." Nayeli waited for an answer she knew would never come, "Don't deflect because you know you were a cold bitch for no reason."

"There was definitely a reason."

"Which was?"

Renée was their circle's bone carrier. If there was business to know, she made it her business to find out, and she always ended up in the right place at the right time. She sat on information for weeks, and with no more reason to hold it in, she let the truth fly, "I knew Jeffrey was fucking around months ago. I tried to warn Brittany's stupid ass and the bitch had the nerve to say that I was jealous she had a husband while I was still out dick hopping. All bets were off after that," she said lowly to keep the passerby from hearing their conversation.

Nayeli sat in shock, aware of Brittany's ability to be rude as hell but not understanding why she went there in the first place, "How'd you find out?"

"He was playing happy home in Chuck E. Cheese, tongue touching Dana's tonsils while the kids were at the table eating pizza. I had pictures and everything, Ellie, but I'm jealous of a failing marriage for trying to look out for my friend." Fresh French tip acrylics rattled on the top off the table as Renée began to get upset all over again.

It was unfair of Brittany to react the way that she did. People told her for years that Jeffrey was no good, but she never wanted to hear it. Once again, a hard head made a soft rump. Nayeli started to feel bad for getting on Renée's case the way that she did.

"I can understand why you've shown her no mercy now," she said.

"But."

"No buts. I get it. Do I agree with the way you handled it? No. We're different people, though. What she said to you was messed up." Especially because Renée had proof. Brittany's pride and delusion would cost her more than her relationship.

"Tell her that."

"She's not answering anybody's calls right now."

"I wonder why," Renée said sarcastically and blew a stretched coil out of her brown eyes.

"She's probably grieving."

"The man didn't die. Grieving what?"

"The loss of her relationship. That's a real thing, Née."

"But her relationship wasn't even real. I don't think Jeffrey ever stopped messing with Dana."

"It was real to her, and we all know he didn't. That doesn't make it less painful for her." Nothing would make that wound less painful. Having a person you loved betray you was enough of a stab to the gut. Knowing you contributed to it when you could've gone the other way had to add fuel to the fire.

"Oh well. You lose them how you get them. Dummy probably went back already."

"That is her husband."

"On paper only. What husband do you know spends half the week with his baby momma?"

"Honestly, for a while, my dad split time between houses, but that was to kind of get me used to the fact that my parents were divorcing. Max and Leti took it a lot better than I did. I started having panic attacks."

"Your parents were still sleeping in the same bed and fucking?" Renée asked.

"I don't think so. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if it happened once or twice because they really didn't want to get divorced to begin with, but he slept on the couch when he came over."

"We'll call your people the exception to the rule because everybody else is fucking." The truth for some but not all. Nayeli was set to tell her that she needed to stop being so much of a cynic when Renee's eyes suddenly went wide with hysteria, "Oh, shit. How's my hair look? I got a booger? Anything in my teeth?"

"Good and no. What's the matter?"

"You remember that fine ass man I told you about a few months back? We met up at a music festival, had a great time and he ghosted me? He just walked in. Hype me up." She picked up her phone, using the dark screen as a mirror to make sure her face wasn't fucked.

"What is that going to do for you?" The sudden change in mood made Nayeli a little dizzy. It was only seconds prior that Renée was brooding, yet she added a coat of lip gloss and tugged down her shirt to expose more cleavage like she'd never been upset at all.

"Give me the confidence I need to make him feel like he fucked up."

"Or you can sit pretty and unbothered instead of looking like you want to get a reaction out of him. Men sniff out desperation like hounds, and they'll either ignore you or use it to their advantage."

"I don't need sense right now, Nayeli. That's one ride I never got to get on, and I'm sick about it. I need his chest to hurt so he asks me out again."

"I'm all for going after what you want, but he ghosted you after the first date. Are you su-"

"Shhhh, he's walking this way." Renée switched up her posture, lips stretched into a flirty smirk as she lowered her eyelids, and Nayeli readied her feet to leave the table and let them talk. A third wheel, she was not. Other things could hold her attention while her friend tried to charm Mystery Man.

"What's up, Shortcake?" The nickname and voice that accompanied it made her look up. She was on her feet a second later, and Ezra's arms slid around her shoulders. He leaned down, resting his chin on top of her head.

"Hi! I thought you were coming tomorrow?" She hugged his abdomen.

"I am, but I'm bringing Tati. I just wanted it to be me and you today."

"If you don't mind sitting for a minute, my office is empty. You can wait in there."

"Cool."

They separated, and Nayeli looked into the display cases to see what was left on the shelves, "Do you want something to eat?" she asked him.

"You got my cookies?"

"Not until next week, but I have snickerdoodles." He grinned at her and held up two fingers, wiggling them back and forth, "I got you. This is my friend Renée." When she turned around, what should've clicked into place for her from the beginning snapped her like an extra large rubber band popping her wrist. 

"How you doin'?" Ezra gave her a short wave that Renée responded to with a quick nod, ego deflated and mood back to brooding. Nayeli felt awkward standing between them and cleared her throat.

"Are you in a rush?" she questioned and took a half step back, unable to go further because he had a hold on her hand.

"I have time. Tati's carpooling with one of her friends to soccer practice."

"Okay, you can go ahead. I'll be there in a bit."

Maybe longer than a bit. Maybe even shorter. She was unsure. Ezra couldn't sense her discomfort, or if he did, he behaved as if he didn't, kissing her fingers before he left them.

"Small fucking world," Renée commented, refusing to look Nayeli in the eye as the latter sat back down.

"Isn't it? I found out Morgan and Angelo know him not too long ago."

"Yeah, that's how I met him." She'd complained to Morgan about Briton Beach being full of duds and needing to venture outside of the city to find a decent man. Morgan's way of rectifying that was setting her up with one of Angelo's friends who she claimed to be a stand up guy. The music festival was supposed to be the start of something beautiful. Her hopes were high. She got ghosted instead and further embarrassed by his lack of a fuck to give, "He didn't even look like he remembered me, and he's obviously here for you, so I'm gonna jet. I've been out of the office for too long."

"Renée, hold on-"

"I'm good, girl. I'll call you later." She left the table without looking back. Nayeli continued to sit, a small twinge of guilt blooming in her chest because of the man waiting for her in her office. Picking up her salad and dole whip, she joined him and shut the door.

"I got something to tell you," Ezra said as she walked to her desk and put her lunch into the mini fridge behind it, "I hung out with your homegirl a few months back. I had no idea you knew each other."

"She told me, but thank you for being honest. I appreciate it." She didn't have to ask or try to lead him to an admission. In her eyes, that was a good sign. Too often, people tried to lie their way out of things when the truth would get them much further. She sat down next to him, tucking her knees and resting her arm over the back of the couch as they faced each other, "You ghosted her."

"She's not my type."

"Then why did you ask her out?"

"I didn't. Angelo's tried setting me up with a few different women. She was one of them. It was kinda a blind date." And he almost left early. Ezra didn't think he asked for much from anyone, but Renée rubbed him wrong from the moment they met up. She was over the top, consistently needed to be the center of attention, and she didn't know when to stop talking. He couldn't stand a try hard.

"In my experience, those never turn out well."

"It didn't. Does this put us in a weird spot?" She hadn't said it, but she didn't need to. He could see in Nayeli's face that the situation bothered her.

"It shouldn't, but it might," she sighed lightly, still feeling guilt but for a second reason. On a count of girl code, she felt the need to leave Ezra alone entirely. At the same time, a failed date didn't make a relationship. Had she really violated the code of conduct?

"Women and your unspoken rules."

"I don't know about unspoken. We speak of them quite a lot, and men have a code of their own. Protect anything with a penis, regardless of the owner's actions."

"Don't lump me in with the rest of them. Niggas are really dumb, disrespectful and disgusting," Ezra said, making Nayeli giggle.

"Truly."

He stared at her like he did every time he saw her, but that time she was looking back at him while he did it. Long lashes fluttered above her freckles as she blinked. His heart was already soft, and she turned it to goo with a simple sound. He grabbed her hand, toying with her fingertips and maintaining eye contact.

"Watch out for your friend," he said, wanting to protect her from any potential problems. Jealousy was a bitch, and Renée wasn't someone he'd consider above the bullshit.

"Why do you say that?"

"She's a real bitter individual, and I know y'all can be territorial when it comes to men. Time spent doesn't matter. Just keep your head on the swivel."

"I will." In the past, she wouldn't have thought that she'd be at odds with a friend over a man, but Renée was temperamental and already showing that the chain of events upset her. It didn't matter that no one in their circle knew of the interesting connection, "Now when you say she's bitter....."

"You think you can hold a grudge? She's worse. All she wanted to do was talk shit about somebody named Brittany. One or two comments, alright whatever, but she wouldn't stop talking and she was loud as hell for no reason. Bad impression to make on a first date. I was just tryna chill and enjoy the music, and she had a problem with everything. You can't be that mad at the world."

Nayeli didn't want to admit it, but that sounded exactly like Renée, particularly on a bad day. She could be unfriendly and downright disrespectful when provoked, but there was more to her, "She wasn't always like that. Renée's been through a lot."

"Everybody's been through something."

"And half the world is crazy for it. She's not a bad person. She's been my friend for years. I know she can be nasty to people, but there are good things about her, too."

"Don't matter to me either way," Ezra shrugged. He knew where to leave that woman, and he did just that.

"Why am I getting the feeling that once someone gets on your bad side, it's a wrap," Nayeli said.

"Correct."

"Any particular reason why?"

"When someone shows you who they are, believe them."

"Come through with the word, Ezra Angelou," she joked, "I don't disagree with you, but also, people make mistakes. They change. They grow up, and they need the space to do that. Humans are complicated. It's not all black and white."

"True, but you give someone an inch, they take a mile. Second chances make people think they can play with you, and I'm not the one. Dealing with Savannah is enough of a headache. I refuse to take that from anybody else. If I could get rid of her ass, I would."

"Hard line."

"I didn't say anything bad about her. It's the truth." A lot worse waited to spill from his lips, but he wanted to respect Nayeli's wishes so he bit his tongue. However, his face gave away what he was really feeling.

Nayeli scooted closer and touched his arm, "What did she do?"

"She wants to take Tati out of the country for Christmas."

"Is there something wrong with that?"

"She said the same thing last year. I had Tati packed and ready to go, and she cancelled twenty minutes before she was supposed to come pick her up."

Nayeli's heart splintered in her chest. Clicking her tongue, she shook her head and sighed sadly. What kind of mother would do that to their child? Her parents wouldn't even consider the thought. Her grandparents either. She understood that people were built different, but she could not get with anyone treating children terribly.

"That's horrible," she said.

"I know."

"Why don't you guys do a joint trip? That way you don't have to wait on Savannah. Pick a good spot, book the rooms close together, and meet there. She could be more incentivized to show up for a family vacay."

"That won't stop her from bailing if she feels like she found something better to do."

Family didn't mean to Savannah what it meant to other people. Raised by nannies herself, she was used to spending time without her parents. Early on in their relationship, she expressed to him that she hated growing up that way, just to turn around and do the same with their daughter. Her being hypocritical on top of being a spoiled brat kept his sympathy for her at a rate that toed the line of nonexistence.

"But at least you and Tati will be together in a new place. Make so many good memories she doesn't think about the bad ones," Nayeli suggested, running out of ideas to attempt to keep the peace. Well, creating peace was probably a better way to think about it.

"I don't want to get her hopes up, especially because I'm filing all paperwork in January. It's about to get messy, and I want to end the year on a good note." Stressed creased Ezra's forehead and mouth. She felt for him, just wanting to do right by his daughter while her other parent behaved like everything but.

When people heard or talked about deadbeats, it was usually a father being discussed, but she had personal experience with, now, two women that were horrible mothers. She couldn't argue if one was worse. She just knew all the children involved deserved better.

"Everything will work out the way it's supposed to," she promised despite not knowing if she'd be able to keep it.

"You sound real sure about that."

"I know God, and I trust my gut."

"What does your gut say?"

"Justice will prevail."

That could be hard to believe sometimes, but Ezra wanted to be optimistic. It had to be Nayeli rubbing off on him because he always considered himself a realist, "I got a long road ahead of me then," he said.

"You don't have to walk it alone."

"Are you volunteering for the marathon?"

"I signed up weeks ago. You didn't notice?" Heavy conversation took a spirited turn, smiles spreading their mouths and warming the chill of irritation.

"I saw your name at the top of the list, but I thought you might back out."

"I just need a few more months of training, that's all. Oh! And the list of dos and don'ts." The real reason they were in the privacy of her office. Ezra tried to disappear into the couch and dropped his head back, "You were hoping I forgot about it."

"I was hoping it wouldn't matter."

"Why?"

"Because we don't need it."

"Every relationship needs boundaries, Ezra, platonic or otherwise," she said, pulling her hand out of his so she could grab her phone from the desk. She unlocked it and tapped the first note in the list. "I'll go first. I need you to speak up more."

"In what way?"

"Kids are naturally curious. They're going to ask questions, but when it comes to questions about us or anything related, you need to be the one to explain why certain things don't happen or can't. That's another hard line. You've left me scrambling twice when you should've stepped in."

"Twice?"

"At her birthday party when she kept asking me to stay, and the suggestion that you guys come over every Sunday. She pushed back both times I gave her an answer, and you let her. That can't keep happening."

"I wanted you to stay, and I like Sunday traditions," he explained.

"I get that......but I'm not your girlfriend." A somewhat harsh reminder for him, and it wasn't the most pleasant thought for her, either, when she considered his disappointed expression and everything else she had going on.

"A small technicality that won't matter in a couple of months."

"But until that happens, even after, you have to do better. We need to be on one accord and stay there. I don't want to be the person that has to disappoint her."

"My job, huh?" he said before she could tell him again.

"You are her father." A damn good one at that. Shady boots or not, Tatiana adored Ezra. Rightfully so. It was clear that he would do anything for her, and she deserved nothing less. Learning how people should treat her early on would save her tons of unlearning in her later years, "Second thing on my list, she doesn't need to know everything. I do want to be honest with her, but I don't want to confuse her, either. As far as she knows, we're friendly until we figure everything else out."

"I don't know if she's gonna go for that."

"That's where your explanation comes in. Don't let her run over you. Has she said anything about us?"

"She called me out last night."

"First time?"

"The first time was actually here, when we came for the samples."

"That was only our second time seeing each other." Third if they wanted to get technical, but it was the meeting that seemed to have sealed their fate. Or maybe that was the day Jalen came in.

"I couldn't take my eyes off you, and she noticed."

"Kids notice everything." Straight little sponges that soaked up the world around them faster than dehydrated soil, "What did she say?"

"She wanted to know if I told you I liked you yet."

"Awww," Nayeli laughed sweetly, unable to contain her smile, "You haven't."

"Because you already know how I feel about you."

"I do?" she teased and scrunched up her nose.

"Yes, you do."

She did. She thought she did, anyway. She also thought she knew how Jalen felt about her, and she turned out to be royally incorrect on that front. But that felt like comparing apples to oranges. Two very different men that gave her very different feelings, one certainly scarier than the other because of how fast it developed and the circumstances under which it did.

"You know, sometimes I think about our conversations, and it feels like we fell into whitewater rapids from a broken raft with no life vests, and now we're panicking because we're seconds away from smacking into a rock and drowning," she said.

"You're panicking. I'm a great swimmer," he replied nonchalantly. Grinning, she left a love tap on his shoulder, happy to be in the presence of someone that she could joke around with. He grinned back at her, "I love your smile."

"I think I've smiled more with you than I have for a while, so thank you."

"No need. Getting to see it is my reward. As long as I'm here, I'll do everything in my power to make sure you never frown again."

Nayeli took a lengthy breath, chewing the inside of her cheek and contemplating the repercussions of throwing her lips on top of is. The urge was sudden, strong, and unwavering, but they weren't done talking and she was still trying to weave a delicate safety net.

"I would appreciate that. I'm not ready for frown lines, but we should get back on topic. We've strayed a little."

"It's hard to focus when I look at you," he told her.

"Try, please. If we're going to do this, it has to be done right."

"What's right isn't always easy."

"And what's easy isn't always right. I'd rather make a hard decision now than to have to make a harder one down the line." Picking up her phone again, she went back to her list, which was relatively short as her boundaries sat under an umbrella. Ezra's weren't that different, though he mentioned her not being able to discipline Tatiana. She didn't mind that at all. She wasn't her mother nor a mother figure. When they got to the end of their lists, she exhaled with relief and tossed her phone away, "So we're on the same page. You handle the parenting, I'm the fun friend that's around occasionally."

It sounded silly stated that plainly, but each of them had already crossed one line of some sort. They had to work hard to maintain balance while they continued to get to know each other.

"Yeah. Is it alright to pick your brain, though?" he asked.

"About what?"

"Tati. You said you got a degree in early childhood studies, and you're good with kids."

"I'll help indirectly however I can, but I'm not a therapist. I can't answer every question or even confidently say that everything that comes out of my mouth is right. I can only offer my perspective. Don't take it as gospel," she said.

"I think it'd be cool if I did. You don't think in extremes, and that's what I need. Someone fair because I'm going off the edge every time."

"Yeah, let's not do that. One more thing."

"Aw hell." He threw his hands up dramatically and covered his eyes with his arms.

"Stop that. At some point, we are going to have to sit down and talk to Savannah."

There was her maturity again. Grown woman shit that he valued yet despised because of who it was directed toward. Savannah didn't deserve maturity when she couldn't be bothered to do simple shit, "Why?"

"She's the mother of your child. Threat aside, I really don't want to have any issues with her that translate into issues with you." Because baby daddy/baby momma drama was real, and she wanted no parts. Without kids of her own, there was no reason to put herself through the psychological torment, "I'm not someone that likes to create drama or participate in it, and I definitely don't want to do anything that can affect Tati at any point in time. Princess being happy and healthy comes first always." Non-negotiable. She was an innocent child that didn't ask to be born or put in the middle of the adults' mess.

"I'm telling you, Savannah is not around like that. She might bitch when you see her, but other than that, there won't be a problem."

"Didn't you just get through telling me that women are territorial no matter the time spent? I don't even know how long you guys were together before Tati was born, but she's seven now, and you and Savannah are connected for life. If her behavior at the party could be taken as a warning shot, I might be the reason she starts showing her face more. She wasn't trying to get rid of me for fun. We don't enjoy feeling like someone can take our place."

"I don't like the fact that she uses my daughter as a prop. Another woman coming in the picture shouldn't make her want to step up as a mom. That's embarrassing."

"It is. Tati might get a better parent for it, though." That was more important than one-sided beef.

"No, she wouldn't. She'd get somebody trying to overcompensate for the fact that they don't actually want to be around because their ego is too big to bow out."

"You know better than I would, but I'm standing on what I said. We're all going to need to have a conversation somewhere down the line."

"If I get sole custody, it won't matter."

"It always matters."

Irrespective of things like mistreatment and separation, people longed for connection with their biological parents, for answers, for closure. She didn't want to speak out of turn, but she was sure Tatiana would grow up to want the same thing if she and Savannah did become estranged. All Nayeli could do was hope Savannah would grow up and be a parent or hope Ezra and Tati would leave the door open for her to do so in the future.

[whats-she-gonna-post-next]

I'm gonna talk about The Hobbit films for a moment, specifically BotFA, so like... spoiler for that.

So, I think that The Hobbit films kinda suck. Are they enjoyable in the mindless, watching them for action sense? Yes. Did I adore them the first time I saw them? Also yes, however, since then I have had a chance to step back and examine them more closely, and have found that - at least to me personally - they are neither a good adaptation of the book, nor do they work as a fantasy epic setup for the LotR. This is, in my opinion, due to these movies wanting so badly to have their cake and eat it too, in which they could have had a really good, funny, lighthearted comedy that fits the tone and story of the actual book, or they could have had an awesome, cool, grounded retelling that fit the vibe of the original trilogy. But they wanted both.

They could have had a film comprised of insane slapstick fun, which would have made sense since Tolkien wrote the book as a bedtime story for his kids and lends itself as to why the dwarves are functionally useless at getting out of the situation, and Bilbo need to help them, it's also why a character we barely know kills the dragon over our protagonists, it's why Bilbo gets knocked out of the fight, and we miss the whole thing. It's meant to be told to children over the course of a few bedtimes, and as such is episodic and a little silly. But because they wanted to tie it in with LotR while keeping it consistent with the story (and let's be real, make as much money as possible), they tried to add some of the realism beheld in LotR, but refused to change the more childish storyelements - even inheancing the obserdity of some of it (I'm looking at you barel scene -_-) - which leaves us with a film trilogy that doesn't really do the book justice nor does it fit the established continuity of the original trilogy.

But there are some scenes that I think are absolutely phenomenal, and in which I think truly come to ahead at the end of BotFA

Specifically, the fact that Thorin's death scene actually kills me.

His complete acceptance in the fact that he is going to die playing in conjuncture to Bilbo's pleading with him to hold on brings me near to tears if I even just think about it - which, considering my mild distain to moderate apathy in relation to the rest of that particular movie, is quite a feat - and I think it's a real testimate to both Martin Freeman and Richard Armitage's acting abilities and is something I find quite fascinating, when, to be quite frank on the matter, I really kinda dislike the bulk of the rest of the movie - especially when it does so much to glorify war, which Tolkien took great strides to avoid in his books, going to far as to literally condem the Battle of the Five Armies as completely stupid and mindless fighting and is tge whole reason Bilbo isn't present for the fight and why it gets so little story time in the book.

But I think my love of this scene - though I'll often say I hate it on principle that it makes me sad - is, as mentioned earlier, completely on the part of the actors being absolutely amazing at their jobs. Despite the convoluted nature of Bilbo and Thorin's relationship (be it platonic or romantic, however you interperate it), watching them build from a mutual sort of dislike/apathy of each other (which I have always read as stemming from Thorin viewing a younger version of himself who had yet to see the hardships of the larger world in Bilbo and resenting him for it, and Bilbo subsequently refusing to give Thorin respect that he himself isn't being shown) to mutual respect and understanding (stemming from Thorin watching Bilbo risk himself again and again for him and the company and Bilbo coming more to understand why exactly Thorin is the way he is) to true friendship/love depending on your interpretation - in wherein Thorin, even in the throws of dragonsickness, gifts Bilbo with a piece of armor made of an exceedingly rare material that is worth more than the entirety of the Shire - to something torn apart by said dragonsickness and the force of trying to do the right thing even if it means hurting the one you love, only to have them reconcil at the end of it all in a truly heartbreaking moment in which the battle is won but much is still lost, is, I think, such a deep and profound moment that somehow manages not to be cheapened by the insanity of the film it is set in.

And I think it goes a long way to show that - had they not been so focused on rivalling LotR or in making extra money or creating a shock value fight for no real reason - there was huge potential for a really good film within the 9 hour destruction of a frankly amazing and fundamental piece of literature. There are several fanedits of these movies that really pair down the movie to the story it wants to tell at its core, and those mixed with my own interpretations are how I choose to view the film version of The Hobbit.

Anyways, I don’t know if any of this made sense because I kinda just word vomited

[rueririn]

Episode 3

And now for my best boy’s time to shine--- USOPP EPISODE YEEE

Okay the starting sequence is really funly directed. Back and forth with each sound of the bell. The kid runs. We see people panic. Then we see people roll their eyes. Someone groans that he should be stop. Then young Usopp exits stage left and Older Usopp enters stage right. And no one even cares. He crashes into someone-- and with that, the episode finally truly begins.

Nami’s bandanna has the sunflowers that are on the sunflower lion Bellemere shirt. I repeat. Nami’s bandanna has the sunflowers from the sunflower lion Bellemere shirt.

Luffy: “Who said pirates had to be scary?” utter confusion on Nami and Zoro’s faces

Expanding our quaint little Syrup village into a big shipbuilding town is a very interesting choice, and I love it for the greater parallel it connects to Franky, Water Seven, and Sunny. (Usopp and Franky already have huge parallels by both being 3rd to join in their half of the sea + handymen + leaders of their troop of men, but that’s not a ramble I’ll have today.) 

Plus, making Kaya the inheritor of a shipbuilding business makes sense. At least she’s not just a random rich girl in the middle of nowhere now.

MERRY!!! Sccreaming noooiseess

Usopp already closely maintaining and in love with Merry is such a good addition. Thinking of what happens to Merry hurts me more now thanks

Coby being visibly enthused to play othello with Garp is cute

Oh I see what they’re doing with the setting. Fitting more of the Black Cats into the mansion is actually a really good idea. I barely remember any of the Syrup Arc villains, but implementing them into the more establishing parts (Usopp and Kaya’s story) is doing a good job of making them feel more relevant.

I don’t trust the gatorade blue tea. Is the kuro-poisoned-kaya theory coming true? Oh yes it is. I can roll with this. 

Nami being dressy in the walk-in-closet while Luffy and Zoro absolutely do not get it is so funny to me. This is why she and Sanji have to dress the mongrels every time they go out. This is why. 

Just as I say that she picks out their clothes. She chucks something at Zoro, he likes it, and he wears it. The birth of the king of wearing whatever shirt gets thrown his way.

The way Luffy speaks to Kaya and so clearly brings the light of adventure into her eyes is so fascinating to me. 

Zoro leads Luffy the other way he was going, then says he’s going to find a drink. Luffy’s nose proceeds to turn them 180 degrees to the kitchen. I love this detail because Lost Marimo 100

Nami proceeds to collect girlfriends as she does

Okay I love this dual setting of boys night vs girls night in the calm before Kuro attacks. Nakamaship vibes that I need. 

LUFFY STUFFING CAKE IN HIS POCKET PLS STOP HES SO CUTE I CANT AKSJLAKJSLKAS the sheer wonder in his eyes omg he took them all the tray is empty when we see him again

“Have you ever lost anyone close to you?” “No.” Nami, you’re hurting me. 

“I’m jealous.” “Says the rich girl.” Okay I really love the Kaya and Nami dynamic though. 

LUFFY JUST SUTFFED THE HALF-EATEN DRUMSTICK IN HIS OTHER POCKET WHY IS HE LIKE THIS

Luffy do not eat the weird blue--- LUFFY! Honestly I feel so bad for Makino who had to raise this thing. First the creepy devil fruit, now the blue oatmeal, Makino taught Ace manners but never managed to conquer the trial of ‘teach luffy not to eat weird off-coloured things on the ground’. 

Holy shit I did not expect COBY to show up here as a Coby fan I love this but holy shit I genuinely did not expect garp to show up here

Pirating OPLA, thoughts

Episode 1

Garp being at Roger's execution is a nice touch

Really like how full Luffy's dinghy is-- crates of fruit, a barrel of fish instead of just one barrel of apples--- all makes sense. All the tiny details removed from manga that are just added onto opla for realism-- like the way the execution stand works, too, with the people cranking the manual lift to get roger up there. It's all very cool and makes the setting feel more piraty than mangapiece.

Our beloved Zoro tried to go to Sixis on a cruise ship. This is a good way to casually mention Zoro earlier (plus that's Ace's first island so it actually lines up on the One Piece map to be around Dawn Island--)

"it's worth more than the rest of our loot put together" a nika mention that can be interpreted as just a devil fruit mention

"You should never let anyone tell you what you can't do. If I did that, I never would have left my village to go find the One Piece." Luffy referencing Garp like this is so funny to me

Unlike mangapiece, Luffy invites Coby along before knowing his dream to become a marine. This makes me sad because now I wish la coby joined the crew

opla Shanks is weirdly more serious than mangapiece Shanks. Not necessarily in a bad way, just different. That's the attitude I'm takign for most of opla anyways.

Adding the Mr 7 and Zoro fight here is actually really cool

Beta Nami outfit aaaaa they moved the pre-orange town ship-stealing scene to serve as her introduction scene and that works so well for her.

I love that they all naturally congregated in Ririka's bar. Everyone congregates and chaos occurs. Really like how they switched things up while never really taking things off course.

"PIRATES SPREAD DISEASE" poster on the wall

Coby sliding under the table once a fight breaks outajslkdjalsijdsakj i love him pls

ADORE the barfight. It's Zoro vs Baroque Works but bite-sized and with everything we love about the most consistently badass member of the crew. Thank you.

Zoro really pulled a reverse on Helmeppo lmao. "Three swords? I only need one" proceeds to get curbed by zero swords

oh! Zoro introduced himself as pirate hunter. that makes him different from mangapiece where he explicitly says at some point that he never called himself that. But it fits the opla characterisation so fair enough.

Luffy popping out of the manhole to yell 'thanks' at Zoro just sends me. Makino taught him well.

Nami being the most independent and capable girlboss up until the second Luffy literally crashes into her life and ruins her plan is actually 100% compliant with the basis of their relationship.

Oh is this the ass naked Helmeppo scene everyone's been yelling abo--- oh it is. ok.

I've never realized how badly I wanted a Nami and Luffy fighting together scene until now. I just realized how little of those we get in Mangapiece. Holy shit.

Romance Dawn trio just has this really satisfying trio cohesion that I can't describe. They're forever my favourite trio in the strawhats and opla does a magnificent job of bringing justice to what the manga couldn't give them with its chapter and page limits, since their only trio time together without being dragged around by handicaps was in the gaimon arc.

Makes me a little sad that Coby's involvement in Shells gets cut down a little, but that's fine I guess, he got plenty of touchup in his introduction scene.

Luffy holding back laughter when he sees Helmeppo's hair. Zoro chuckling because "yeah I might've done that" and Nami just being speechless. They're so stupid i love them

Garp going silent when he hears a straw-hat pirate stole the map to the grand line. I like to think this could imply Roger also stole his map once upon a time, but for now I'm just laughing at Garp internally screeching "that STUPID GRANDSON it's been ONE DAY"

[hardcasey]

Party Hardy

Won’t Fade into the Background - Part 7

Pairing: Boost x Reader

Summary: The Wolfpack attends their first house party and an accident brings you closer to one of them.

Word Count: 3.2k

Ratings/Warnings: T, warnings for alcohol consumption and smoochin'

A/N: This is a follow up of sorts to the last chapter with Sinker. It was inspired by the story of how Alan Alda met his wife, which is very funny and cute. I thought the premise fit our resident stinky boy, Boost, which is how I ended up with whatever this is. Enjoy~

They could feel the pulse of the bass two floors below their destination. The Wolfpack - sans their leader, who was too busy ‘writing reports’ (aka being a party pooper) - climbed up the narrow stairway to reach the party Sinker’s girlfriend and her roommates were throwing in their apartment.

They all could tell what door it was without Sinker even telling them the room number, the lights flashing under the door were a dead giveaway. There was a couple outside the door, a human woman leaning up against the wall and chatting up a pretty green-skinned twi’lek. They didn’t spare a second glance at the passing troopers, save for a quick nod that Sinker returned.

He was about to knock when Comet piped up, “Uh, are you sure this is a good idea? We could just head back to the barracks, it’s not too late.”

“What, are you scared?” Boost teased, nudging his brother with his shoulder.

Comet pushed Boost away before replying, “I’m not scared, I’m just… We’ve never been to a civvie house party before. I don’t know what to expect.”

“Just think of it like going to 79’s, only with less rules,” Sinker reassured him before knocking on the door. It swung open immediately, one of the people near the door opening it and inviting them in.

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Comet muttered under his breath as he followed his brothers through the doorway.

The party was packed, humans and non-humans alike crammed into every available space, chatting and drinking and dancing to the loud music that blared through a set of speakers. The air was slightly hazy from the group of people tucked in a corner and passing around a joint. The three troopers stood in the doorway for a moment, stupefied as they took in their surroundings.

“Alright, I just messaged my girlfriend to let her know we’re here. She said to meet her at the bar,” Sinker informed them.

“Wherever that is,” Boost sighed, standing on his tiptoes to try and see over the sea of people.

Comet decided on a different tactic, instead flagging down a nearby Mirialan who had a drink in their hands. “Hey, do you know where the bar is?” He asked, having to shout to be heard over the music.

The Mirialan pointed towards the back of the room and gave Comet a cheeky wink, the rest of their friend group giggling behind them. Comet blushed and was about to respond with something flirty when Boost grabbed him by the collar and started tugging him towards the bar.

It took a while as the clones squeezed through the crowds of people, but eventually they made it to the bar, which was really just a fold out table stacked with booze. Sinker’s girlfriend was nowhere to be found, so the group decided to grab a drink while they waited.

~~~

You stood behind the makeshift bar, bouncing in place to the beat of the music as you mixed up a drink in the cocktail shaker. One of your roommates had shoved a pair of huge novelty light up sunglasses onto your face at some point in the night and you had a bunch of plastic bead necklaces around your neck, your collection growing as more and more people offered you them.

You had volunteered to work the bar tonight, hoping to show off the skills you’d picked up after taking a mixology class you’d found a coupon for. You thought you’d be tired of making drinks by now, but it was surprisingly fun. You got to chat with everyone as they waited and you’d even gotten a few tips. There was also the added benefit of having access to all the booze you could want, and even though you knew you weren’t really supposed to get drunk off your own supply, who could blame you for taking a few shots here or there?

Maybe you were drunker than you realized, though, since you swore you were seeing double all of a sudden. Wait, make that triple. A group of three identical looking men moseyed up to your table, and you blamed the alcohol in your system for how long it took you to not only realize they were in fact three separate people and not one guy, but also that you knew one of them.

“Hey, Sinker! How’s it going?” You greeted the white-haired clone loudly, straining to be heard over the thumping bass.

Sinker greeted you and introduced you to his fellow clones, his ‘brothers’ as he liked to call them. The two of you had interacted only a handful of times - usually he was too busy macking on your roommate in her room - but he’d always been polite and kind.

“This is Boost,” Sinker pointed his thumb towards the clone sporting a set of wild-looking double mohawks, “and this is Comet,” he pointed to the clone with a shooting-star tattoo on his temple.

You waved at them with both of your hands. “Well, Comet, Boost, and Sinker, can I get you anything to drink?” You motioned to the chalkboard listing all the drink specials you were offering, each one of them complete with a little drawing to go with it. It had taken you much longer than you cared to admit to make it, but it had been worth it in the end.

The boys crowded around to get a better look at the drinks listed. “Naboo Sunset… Jedi Mind Trick… Outer Rim… These are some fancy drinks, I’ve never heard of ‘em before.” Boost commented as he read the names aloud.

“Well what liquor do you prefer? The Naboo Sunset and Outer Rim are tequila based and the Jedi Mind Trick has vodka.” You’d had this same conversation several times tonight, enough you could recite what was in each drink without thinking.

“Which one is the prettiest one?” Boost asked after thinking about it for a second. He wasn’t choosy with his liquor, couldn’t afford to be when all he had access to was whatever someone put in front of him at 79s.

Comet raised an eyebrow at his brother. “Really?”

“C’mon. You’ve seen some of those crazy drinks people order at 79s! The ones with all the colors. This could be our only chance to try one for free.” His head shot up all of a sudden as if he just remembered something, “Wait, these are free, right?”

You couldn’t help but laugh at their antics. “Yup, totally free. Though I do take tips in the form of credits or in particularly cool bead necklaces.”

“Sweet!” Boost pumped his fist in excitement, making Comet roll his eyes, though he couldn’t contain the smile on his lips.

“If you want something colorful you should try the Naboo Sunset. It has a bunch of different colored liquors layered on top of one another. Very pretty,” You suggested.

“Okay, I’ll have that one,” Boost agreed. “What are you getting, Com?”

“I’m torn between a Jedi Mind Trick or an Outer Rim. What about you, Sinker?”

Sinker considered for a second. “You get the Jedi Mind Trick and I’ll get the Outer Rim and we can share them.”

“Okay, one Naboo Sunset, one Jedi Mind Trick, and one Outer Rim coming right up.” You told them as you started grabbing bottles.

Just as you began mixing Boost’s drink, you saw a flash of red in your peripheral vision as your roommate ran past and all but tackled Sinker. Had he not been a soldier you were pretty sure he’d be flat on his back right now, but he was strong enough to catch her with one arm as she launched herself at him.

“Hey, babe,” he said with a lopsided grin as he spun her around, “I brought the ice you asked for.”

“My savior!” She said as he set her back on her feet, pecking him on the lips before taking the ice from him and quickly handing it over to you to deal with so she could go back to hugging her boyfriend.

You rolled your eyes at them as you cut open the bag and dumped the ice into the almost empty ice bucket. When you turned back to your task, you caught Boost and Comet’s eye and the three of you exchanged a look.

“I’m really gonna need that drink if we have to deal with this all night,” Boost quipped, making the three of you burst out into laughter.

“I’m on it, darling,” you reassured him as you hurried to make their drinks.

The boys kept you company as you worked, sharing silly stories that had you nearly crying with laughter. You had the three drinks ready in record time, though by the time you finished it didn’t seem like SInker would be able to pry himself away from his girlfriend long enough to take a sip.

“Well, I guess you get both drinks then,” you told Comet as you handed him his and Sinker’s drink.

“Be careful mixing alcohol, vod,” Boost warned before taking a long sip from his brightly colored drink, layered with shades of pink, orange, and yellow. His eyes had lit up like a toddler being handed a cookie when you gave him his glass, and by the way he was sucking it down he was enjoying it immensely.

“Or… you could go and bring one over to that Mirialan over there.” You pointed with your chin to motion towards the Mirialan they had met when they got here. “They’ve been making eyes at you this whole time. Plus, I know they really like the Jedi Mind Trick,” you offered with an eyebrow wiggle.

The two clones both turned to look at where you were pointing, and the Mirialan gave Comet a little wave. Comet waffled around for a bit until Boost elbowed him in the side and told him to go live a little.

“You’ll be alright without me?” Comet asked.

“Yup, I’ll be hanging out with our new friend here. Now go get ‘em, tiger.” With that, Boost shoved his brother towards the Mirialan. Once the two of you were alone, he turned to you, “Hope you don’t mind me keeping you company. The only other people I know here just ditched me!”

You laughed at his choice of words. “Of course not. If you want, I can teach you how to mix drinks.” He’d had a lot of questions for you as you prepared the drinks, wanting to know what every item did or what every step was for, so you thought he might find it fun. Plus, you could use a buddy at the bar now that things were slowing down somewhat. It seemed like everyone who wanted a drink had already gotten one and you only had to deal with those coming back for seconds.

“Sure! That sounds fun,” he said, rushing over to join you on your side of the table.

~~~

You weren’t sure how many hours had passed, but you and Boost made a countless number of drinks, some for the partygoers and some for yourselves. At some point in the night the two of you had sunk to the floor behind the drink table, both tired of making drinks and too busy talking with each other.

“What is this party even for anyway?” Boost asked between sips of the water you had forced him to drink. You’d given him your big light up sunglasses and the rim of the glass clanked against them as he brought it up to his face, knocking the glasses askew and making Boost frown dramatically.

You adjusted them for him before answering. “Uhh, I think it’s a birthday party.” He gave you a look as if to say how could you not know so you added, “It’s for a friend of a friend and I’m four Naboo Sunsets in, don’t give me that look.”

Boost nudged you with his shoulder as he laughed, and you were suddenly aware of just how close the two of you were, snuggled up together with your head on his shoulder. When had that happened? Not that you were complaining. All of the clones were attractive, but something about Boost was especially so. He was unapologetically himself, loud in both personality and looks. You’d asked him about the mohawks at some point and he’d told you they started off as a dare but he’d gotten attached. His brothers apparently liked to tease him about his crazy hairstyle but he wore it with pride. He said his hair made him stand out, which you could guess was important when you shared a face with millions of others.

The area behind the bar was a flurry of activity as your other roommates scrambled around grabbing snacks to pass out to everyone. One of them grabbed a cake from the fridge and started putting candles in it.

You got Boost’s attention and pointed it out to him. “See, I told you it was someone’s birthday.”

Not ten seconds after you said it, your roommate grabbed it off the counter and was ready to bring it out to whoever it was for when someone else bumped into them from behind, sending the cake flying. Everyone in the vicinity watched in horror as it sailed through the air before landing upside down on the floor with a splat. There was a chorus of shouts as everyone realized what had happened, the person who caused the accident apologizing profusely while others lamented the loss of the cake.

Once everyone got over their initial reactions, things settled down and your roommate rushed out to explain what had happened to the cake’s intended recipient. Everyone else in the room started debating what to do with the ruined cake.

“Are you really just gonna throw it out?” You asked sadly. You’d been eyeing that cake all morning and couldn’t wait to try a piece.

“Well yeah, it fell on the floor,” someone else responded.

“But there’s still a bunch of good cake left!” Not all of it was touching the floor, just the top portion. From your side you could hear Boost agree with you.

“If you want to eat it, be my guest.”

You thought about it for a second and looked over to Boost. “Wanna eat some floor cake?” He asked, handing you a fork.

You grabbed the fork and smiled at him, the two of you shuffling over to where the cake had fallen before digging in, careful to only eat parts that were safely away from the floor, and since it was a triple decker cake, there was a lot to choose from. You grabbed a big piece, making sure the cake to frosting ratio was acceptable, and held it out to Boost.

He gobbled it down in one bite. “Mmm, gourmet,” he joked, flashing you a huge smile before offering you a bite. “For you, my dear.”

You giggled in between bites of cake. “The dirt really adds a certain something.”

The two of you carried on like that for a while, ignoring the stares sent your way. You wished you could have blamed your suspect judgement on the alcohol, but you knew you would have probably done this when you were sober too, so you had no excuse. But you were happy you had someone by your side who was just as weird as you.

~~~

Sinker nudged his girlfriend. “Hey, I should check in with the guys. Just to make sure they are doing okay.” He hadn’t checked in with them in a while and was feeling a little guilty for abandoning them for so long.

“I think I saw Comet making out with someone a few minutes ago.” His girlfriend offered with a yawn. It was getting late and the party was starting to wind down. It was far less crowded now and there were people passed out on the couches nearby.

Sinker looked around and sure enough he found his brother in a corner, wrapped around the Mirialan they’d encountered earlier. Good for him, he thought, happy Comet had been able to come out of his shell after being so nervous about going to the party. He hated having to be the one to break them up, but it was getting time to head back. Wolffe had kindly reminded them they had an early morning training drill the next day as they were leaving for the party, his way of telling them to be home at a reasonable hour.

Once he had collected Comet, he set off to find Boost, knowing that out of the both of them Boost was way more likely to have gotten into trouble. After asking around a bit, they were pointed in the direction of the kitchen. Sinker ducked his head in the doorway only to find what felt like the worst case scenario, his brother surrounded by a huge mess. It took a second for his brain to process the fact that you and Boost were feeding each other bites of cake from the floor.

“Please tell me you didn’t cause this,” Sinker sighed.

“Nah, we’re helping clean up. Didn’t want it all to go to waste.” Boost explained from his position on the floor, his legs sprawled out and tangled with yours. That was an interesting development. He’d met you a few times and thought you were very nice, but he’d never in a million years have put you and Boost together. You seemed too… normal for his brother, though apparently that wasn’t actually true.

Sinker’s girlfriend poked her head in as well. “Awe, cute! Now smile you two, I want a picture,” she said before snapping a quick photo.

“It’s time to go, Boost. We gotta get up early tomorrow.” Sinker told him.

Boost turned to you. “I should help you clean up first. Like actually clean up.”

“I don’t want you to get in trouble with your C.O. Don’t worry about it,” you assured him.

“Okay,” He hesitated for a moment before starting to get to his feet.

“Wait!” You called after him. He turned back towards you and you took the opportunity to snatch the front of his shirt and drag him into a kiss. It started off tense, with you catching him by surprise, but he melted into it, his lips sweet with the taste of frosting. When you broke apart you added, “I had fun tonight. We should do this again sometime.”

“Y-yeah,” Boost agreed, stumbling to his feet. Sinker and Comet were all but dragging him away but he resisted long enough to ask. “Wait, I don’t have your number.”

“I’ll give it to Sinker,” your roommate offered, and that was enough to get him out the door. She closed the door behind them before joining you on the floor. “I’m gonna show that picture at you two’s wedding,” she teased, a shit eating grin on her face. “Y’know, you have me to thank for introducing you. I expect you to name your first child in my honor.”

“Shut it,” you told her, taking a piece of cake and mushing it onto her cheek.

[cerastes]

Whats wrong with Near Light?

It is completely clueless as to what its own point is.

"Maria Nearl" made an excellent job of portraying the capitalist bloodsport known as "the Kazimierz Major" as a soulless venture meant to sell dreams and deliver bloodshed, propaganda, and ad revenue instead. It is impeccable in its themes, to the point that Blemishine is in fact told that she is expecting far too much, by EVERYONE else, when she says she'll compete in the Major for the sake of House Nearl having a Knight Primus. Her closest associates end up supporting her not because they truly believe she's right, they support her because they literally don't want her to end up dead. Zofia, Vogelweide, Kowal and Marcin know there's no actual stopping Maria once she sets up her mind on something, so they choose to train her not so she can win, but so she can survive at all in something she's woefully unqualified for. There's absolutely no glory to be made. This is a vie for survival first and foremost.

Near Light then completely disregards all of this and makes Margaret Nearl, a character I really like, into a generic fantasy hero that Must Fight To Achieve Things. It takes the very grounded "meaningless fight for something" from the first event, which is completely in line with old knightly literature, and turns it into a shonen, which I found pretty, well, insulting. Victory equals successful ideals now, because she's Margaret "Kirito SAO" Nearl, so if she does it, it's Fine now. It spins everything into seemingly being honorable knightly duels (but we're the good ones), while giving a horribly passive centrist narrative to what was purely a criticism of late stage capitalism in the prior event. Margaret wants to change things systematically from within.. Which is just a load of hog-fucking-wash when we already established from moment one that the system is in itself flawed, corrupt, and a cesspit of maggots trying to eat each other. It makes you wonder if it was the same writer that wrote both events, because it sure as shit doesn't seem so, and if it was, did they get into NFTs in the meantime or subscribe to Infowars or Andrew Tate or whatever equivalent there is mainland China or something? It went from a clearly muddied look at a system that is inherently flawed into "Actually, if we win enough fights... We can begin the Change Everything castbar, it's pretty simple, actually".

And I bring up those particular shitstains because Margaret Nearl, VERY uncharacteristically, pulls off a "no handouts, let them pull themselves up by their bootstrings" in the event: She refuses to go rescue Pinus Sylvestris because "they can't be saved by those who already have true conviction, they must do it themselves"... Actually what the fuck? You see in Chapter 0, 1 and 7 of the main story that Nearl will go out of her way, risk her very own flesh, to rescue those who are hopeless because that's what she believes in, that's why she's admired, because she'll fucking pull through in these situations... And then she says this shit in Near Light? AND THEN, as if that wasn't enough, smashing a fucking broken thermometer over a salted wound, it is then stated in god damn Operators Files that she did rescue Pinus Sylvestris off-screen anyways, because whoever was responsible for "writing" this, and I'm being fucking magnanimously generous with that word, couldn't just have their cake, but also had to devour it wholesale in one single bite? Get the fuck out.

On screen: Yeah, they gotta earn their lives. [Some fakedeep shit about needing to be devoted enough to their own cause and beliefs] Off screen: Oh I saved them anyways lol, I need to Look Cool.

It's not good writing, g, I'll tell you that fucking much, and it makes me upset because it's a character I like in a setting I love.

Of course I'm not going to like if they Kiritofy a character they had consistently written real damn well prior to an event meant to star her.

It makes me mad because the ultimate resolution of it all is a very cowardly "I Will Now Improve Things From Within" yeah okay and Suzaku was right in Code Geass too, right? Jesus fucking christ, man.

Bottom line, it all feels like they set up something incredible in Maria Nearl, right up until the very end, when Fan Favorite comes out of fucking nowhere to save the day, and then her event contradicts the key tenets of her character thus far to boot.

So you'll have to forgive me but my opinion on Near Light is not particularly positive because it became a "Wow look at how COOL this character is!" kinda shonen shitshow when we had a very "The system is inherently wrong, the solution is not at all simple" sort of seinen narrative going on. It should be telling when Mlynar embodies a more scathingly apt take on the sides Maria herself did not cover in her event towards the narrative than whatever the hell they decided to tarnish Margaret with. It's like the Twilight of Wolumonde writer handled Maria Nearl until the end and then they put the Sword Art Online writer on for Near Light.

It's not because I dislike Margaret Nearl that I feel this way. It's because I like her and they did her dirty. But sure, wau cool horse dom wife mommy or whatever.

[adrunkskeletonsduck]

May I please request some Anakin Skywalker x jedi! reader, she’s from earth and she met Anakin during their padawan years. (y/n) has a different Jedi master, they're always excited to see each other after training. A few years later (y/n) and Anakin went to earth to visit (y/n)’s parents at Christmas. Anakin doesn’t know what Christmas is.

Anakin is very much welcome to her home, (y/n)’s parents treated Anakin like their own. (y/n) and Anakin spent time with one another and got together in the end.

honestly we all know Anakin needs some love and a place to call home. Thank you sm for the request!

Hᴏᴍᴇ

➜ Pairing: Anakin Skywalker x reader

➜ Synopsis: Christmas time was something you treasured greatly. Whether it be the gentle caress of the white wisps snow on the once sullen ground or the warmth of the crackling flames casting winding shadows along the house, it was a time you missed greatly. The holiday had been reduced to a far away memory during your time at the temple and now you presented the council a thinly veiled plea to return to your homeworld of earth to bear witness to the celebration after 15 years. Only this time you will bring a peice your new home to the familiarity of your former life.

➜ Warnings: Gn!reader, fluff

➜ Word Count: 2.6k

➜ Notes: I’m abt to hit 100 followers soon and I want to do an event but idk what to do, so pls send some ideas 🫰🏽. Also I’m so sorry for my inactivity last week and this week, I'm just super busy and in all honesty unmotivated asf 😭. Also i got a user name, hehehehe i love it sm, you better like it to >:(

Sᴛᴀʀᴡᴀʀs Mᴀsᴛᴇʀʟɪsᴛ

You remembered your early life on Earth. You remembered playing outside with your friends, coming home caked in mud to be scolded by your mother before she would push you into the shower and help clean you up. You remembered dressing up for Halloween, you remembered watching your favorite channels on nickelodeon and small bits of elementary school. Playing on the swings, talking to your teachers, and getting into petty arguments with classmates. You even remembered when the Jedi had knocked on your door and you agreed to go with them, you remembered the confusion at their words, and how you stood by your mother as they spoke to her.  

A Jedi?  

Your favorite and most prominent memory's, however, where around Christmas. You always were reminded of them as the year neared winter and the air grew cold. You often found yourself replaying them in your head during this time. The smell of freshly baked cookies every Christmas eve, running around with your cousins as you waited for dinner to be served while your aunts and uncles talked amongst themselves, sipping wine or beer. You remembered willing yourself to sleep, eager to wake up the next morning and see what Santa had left you under the Christmas tree.  

It was nearing the middle of December when finally, Anakin convinced you to ask the council about a visit, he had been listening to you talk about the tradition for years and could tell how badly you wanted to go back and experience it all again. The council, although hesitant, agreed and aloud you one other person to take with you for security measures, which you quickly decided would be Anakin since he was your closest and oldest friend in the order.  

The two of you were planned to arrive the week of Christmas, and come back the day after, which gave you plenty of time to take part in the festivities and catch up with old friends. Although you wouldn’t have minded one more day. You were very anxious about how this would go; you hadn't spoken to your parents or anyone from your home world since you had been taken, and the anxiety had been eating at you for days. 

What if they didn’t recognize you? What if they were angry at you for not reaching out? What if they were scared of you now that you were a true Jedi? What if they had moved on and forgotten you while you had clung to memories of them? The list of things that could go wrong only got longer with each passing moment that you and Anakin raced through hyperspace, and the worry seeped into your force signature.  

“I’m sure everything will turn out fine,” Anakin tried to assure you from where he sat next to you in the pilot's seat, but you just shook your head 

“I haven't seen any of them in years, I mean so many things could go wrong! Like, what if we bring the war to them!” you exclaimed, a new horror washing over you. It was Anakins turn to shake his head now,  

“The council gave us a ship with some of the best cloaking technology in the galaxy, the separatists couldn’t follow us out here if they tried. Besides I highly doubt they will turn their attention to a planet so far out.” You never understood how Anakin seemed to be able to soothe your nerves in a way no one else could. Well, you sort of understood, it was probably the small – massive – crush you had had on him since you were padawans at work.  

You let out a breath you didn’t realize you had been holding at his words, he was right. There was no reason to worry. “No, you're right, I need to get it together,” Anakin chuckled at your words in agreement, beginning to flip switches in the ship.  

“Alright were exiting hyperspace, buckle up.” You did as you were told, taking a deep breath as you exited hyper space and your home world came into view.  

You had only seen Earth from space once, and that was when you were leaving for the Jedi temple, the Jedi who found you had told you that you were the only force sensitive child from your planet and answering all your questions as you sped away from your home world, watching the planet get smaller and smaller and then disappear as you entered hyperspace. Other than that, though, you had only seen it from the satellite photos that your teacher showed you when you were studying the solar system. 

 It was a truly a beautiful sight, one that made a feeling of awe and joy wash threw you the minute you caught your first glimpse of it. Anakin glanced at you, a smile curling at his lips at your expression, content to see you so happy.  

You were here. You were home.  

The rest of the trip was spent in a comfortable silence until you landed, making sure to hide the ship well, despite its cloaking capabilities. Lucky for you, they lived in the country side in a small town, so there was plenty of forest to wedge the ship in between and under. You kept it not far from your parents' house in case the two of you needed to make an emergency escape. You vaguely remembered where your parents lived, you had faint memories of the exterior of the house but didn’t know the actual address. The council had somehow dug up all the quadrantes and such you needed though and supplied you with them, but you were a bit wary of their accuracy. 

You and Anakin didn’t exactly have very earth appropriate clothes to change into, so you did get weird looks from the locals while walking through town, especially because you were practically skipping out of delight, but you couldn’t seem care less. The excitement of being back here, back home, after such a long time distracted you from their judgmental eyes and Anakin didn’t think he had ever seen you so happy in his life as he watched you point out yet another area, place, or name that had a story tied to it, nodding as you explained it to him enthusiastically. 

The minute you stood in front of the house, you instantly knew that it was the right one, you could feel the two faintly familiar force signatures inside and the beaten down porch and door mat instantly rung a bell of familiarity. You stopped in front of the door, taking a shaky breath and trying to shove all your anxieties down. You looked to Anakin for support, your expression telling him everything he needed to know as he took your hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze and giving you an encouraging nod. You pursed your lips, your hold on his hand tightening ever so slightly as you brought your other hand to the wood of the door and gave it a firm knock.  

Once 

Twice 

Three times 

It took a painfully long moment before you began to hear the padding of footsteps getting closer, and then stop as the door swung open, squealing on its hinges as it opened harshly. Your eyes widened as you looked at her, your mother, for the first time in fifteen years, it felt like a dream. Your breath hitched in your throat, at the sight of her.  

“I already told you peo-” she started, but cut herself off at the sight of you. Recognition flashing through her eyes as she looked at you. You didn’t give her time to process that you were actually there, throwing yourself at her, and wrapping your arms around her tightly. Tears filled in both your eyes, and she slid her arms around you.  

“Welcome home honey...”  

___ 

It had been five days since you’d arrived, now you sat cozied up on the couch, wrapped in a fuzzy blanket in front of the lit fireplace and a warm cup of hot chocolate in your hand, enjoying the sight of your family all together once again. You’d already caught up with everyone earlier, introduced yourself to some of the younger cousins that were a relatively new addition to your family and you’d never met before, as well as your oldest cousin's new husband and your new niece. You’d talked to your aunts and uncles, exchanged tight hugs with them and watched as they looked at you in disbelief. It had felt good knowing that they had missed you as much as you had missed them.  

You watched as your relatives chattered around you, passing around neatly wrapped and bagged presents as they played white elephant on the floor of the living room. The Christmas tree glowed with colorful lights in the corner of the room, and Anakin chatted happily away with one of your uncles. He’d fit in nicely with your family, being excepted with open arms by everyone. Although it had taken him a minute to warm up to your parents, they both had been patient with him, and you could tell he appreciated it greatly. He especially seemed to appreciate the warmth and hospitality that your mother had shown him, and you hopped it had eased the pain of losing his own, even if it was the smallest of comfort to him, you were glad he knew that he had a home here.  

“So,” your mother started, sitting down next to you and pulling the blanket over herself, breaking you out of the trance you were in, “how have the Jedi been treating you these past few years?” 

The entire time since you’d arrived, she had been talking about it like you had simply been gone for a year or two in college, not for fifteen years in a boarding school for people with powers. None the less you smiled at her as you answered, the joy of being home had rooted itself deep in your emotions this past week, you weren't sure it would ever leave. Even after you left.  

“Well, the best it can treat us in the midst of a galactic war,” you joked. She furrowed her brow at your answer, obviously not amused by your joke, “Of course it’s nothing you have to worry about though,” you added quickly in an attempt to reassure her.  

“That doesn’t sound ver-” she started, a deep frown on her face, but she was quickly cut off by Anakin who had seemingly appeared out of thin air behind you and clasped his hands onto your shoulders, sending you a wink which made your face heat up as he spoke,  

“I wouldn’t worry too much about this girl, she knows what she's doing on the field and with a saber.” Your mother, however, didn’t seem very reassured at his words. “Besides,” he continued, “I’ve got her back.”  

She looked at you, a raised eyebrow and motherly judgment painted on her face as if to silently ask ‘just friends?’ for the millionth time that week. You answered with a role of your eyes and a weak glare. She just chuckled, getting up from her spot on the couch, a smile on her face to replace the look of worry that had previously been there as she looked at Anakin.  

“Well, I’m sure she’s in good hands then,” she said pausing as she caught Anakin glancing at you, and a small smirk tugged at her lips, “I’ll give you two some space.” Then she turned, walking out to the dining room were your uncles and aunts sat with glasses of wine and an endless list of topics for conversation.  

“Have you packed yet?” Anakin asked as he took the spot next to you, and you sighed at his words, leaning into him ever so slightly, chasing his warmth.  

“No...” you replied, without looking at him and continuing to watch the game of white elephant that was beginning to come to a close. Anakin hummed at your words,  

“You probably should tonight, we leave at noon tomorrow.”  

“Yeah,” you agreed, “I probably should.” Your hold on your cup of coco tightened, something that didn’t go unnoticed by Anakin, and neither did the gentle sadness that began to roll of you in waves at the talk of leaving. He understood what it was like all too well, and he didn’t want to be the reason you spent the last of a very enjoyable night in sadness, so he cleared his throat and got up, extending a hand out to you.  

“Why don’t we take a short walk?” he suggested, and you nodded taking his hand and letting him help you up. Throwing on a coat, you told your mom that you and Anakin were going to step out for a minute, and you’d be right back.  

Shutting the door behind you as you followed him out, you told him, “I don’t want to think about leaving right now,” he nodded in understanding.  

“Then we don’t have to talk about it.” You didn’t let go of his hand as you walked down the drive way and off the property to begin on your route around the block. At that moment he was like your anchor, keeping you grounded in the moment, and bringing you back to reality. Reminding you that right now you were still on Earth, that for now the Jedi, the war, the Sith, all of it, didn’t exist. For now, all that existed was you and him, here, in this moment. Neither of you would have had it any other way.  

Soon the two of you found yourselves at the park, laying side by side in the fields of grass and staring up at the sky, fingers still threaded together. Anakin was the one to break the silence,  

“y/n?”  

“Yeah?” 

“I’m in love with you,” he blurted and you sucked in a sharp breath at his confession. There was a long pause of silence were the air seemed to become thick as butter, and everything seemed to stop.  All of a sudden you were back at the temple, seeing him for the first time. Your heart was racing at every word he spoke or glance your way, and you were stuttering and tripping over your words while your cheeks flamed a deep red as you tried to talk to him.  

You could feel Anakins nerves as he waited for a response from you, while you contemplated your answers. These feelings were against the code, and admitting them would be your final act of treason. You weren't sure you cared at the moment though. Anakin was already looking at you when you turned to him and pressed your lips to his.  

The kiss was sudden and unexpected, and you could tell he hadn't been prepared for it by the way he froze, every muscle in his body tensing and you couldn’t see it but his eyes were wide in shock as well. But after a moment, his heart beat slowed back to a normal pace and his eyes slipped shut and he relaxed into you, kissing you back, his lips molding against yours in an endless flurry of kisses, each more passionate then the last. His lips were soft and you could taste the lingering sweetness of desert on them as you kissed him.  

He was the one to pull away, making you whine quietly and lean forward, chasing his lips. He chuckled at the sound of displeasure you let out, a signature smirk tugging at his lips which made you roll your eyes at and push yourself up.  

“Common,” you said, reaching a hand down to him, “we should start getting home.” He took your hand graciously, letting you help him to his feet as he agreed with you.  

“Yeah, we should.”  

[hikari-kaitou]

Capcom's Official AA Fanclub Surveys - DGS Edition

Many Western fans may be familiar with the Turnabout 4koma comics that get posted on the official AA fanclub site that Capcom runs, thanks to some lovely fans on tumblr and elsewhere who have shared their translations. What fewer people seem to know about is the character surveys.

Back in the old days, they used to hold a survey on Capcom's official AA fansite every few months where they'd write about the seasonal activities of a handful of characters and ask fans to vote for the funniest/most pleasant/strangest/etc answer.

They stopped doing them in like... 2016? 2017? The original text is lost for good as far as I can tell. Even the wayback machine couldn't help because the content was password locked and you can't get past the password wall while remaining in the archived version.

Fortunately, I saved some of my translations of them so I thought I’d share them.

Cut for length...

"February has begun, and the DGS cast is nearing the end of their journey aboard the RFS Alacrei. Which of them acted the most strangely?"

Ryuunosuke ~ Exhausted from his intensive study session, he decided to try some katana swinging practice as a change of pace and to combat his recent lack of exercise. But because he wasn't used to handling the katana, he swung it too hard and it went flying out of his hands and got stuck in the wall right next to Sherlock, who had just entered the room. Sherlock asked him, "aren't you supposed to be studying right now, Mr. Naruhodo?" and handcuffed him to his desk.

Susato- worked on developing a curriculum for Ryuunosuke. 'If we keep going at this pace, he won't be able to learn it all in time... It'll be hard on Naruhodo-sama, but we'll have to work hard through a couple of nights together.' With that thought, she created a harsh study schedule, and almost seemed to be looking forward to it for some reason.

Sherlock- Driven by excitement over the thought of returning to England after a long absence, he went up on deck to stare at the ocean. Being February, it was very cold out there and he ended up being chilled all the way to the tips of his fingers. He returned to the ship cabins and amused himself by putting his frozen hands on Ryuunosuke, who was stuck in his room studying.

Van Zieks- Upon hearing from Vortex that there was a Japanese exchange student coming to England to study law, he smashed a Lord's Bottle. He apparently also didn't care for the fact that that Japanese student wouldn't be alone, because he proceeded to shatter his chalice, too.

Hosonaga- in order to provide a respite from studying, he provided some hot chocolate. They enjoyed a pleasant tea time, marveling over how sweet and delicious the drink was until Sherlock piped up with some unnecessary trivia: 'Actually folks, chocolate has long been used in Europe as an aphrodisiac!' Everyone promptly spat it out."

"The long winter is nearly over and spring is on it's way, putting the DGS cast members in a celebratory mood. Who found the best way of enjoying spring?"

Ryuunosuke: the Yuumei University faculty members were holding a flower viewing event, and he joined the assistance committee. He exhausted himself keeping the blankets clean so the intense shower of flower petals wouldn't pile up too high on them, delivering sake and snacks, and mediating whatever pointless fights arose. To top it all off, for some reason his compensation was only a single piece of leftover candy. Talk about a sad result!

Susato- her father and the others living in his dormitory were  holding the flower viewing event, so she got up early to prepare the bentos. But her father carelessly forgot to tell her that they wanted tea cakes, so she had to go around the house and neighborhood collecting sweets. For some reason, she ended up being able to gather caramels, biscuits, candy sticks, basically everything but tea cakes, for the tea ceremony.

Sherlock- he disguised himself as a beat officer and infiltrated Scotland Yard to have some fun. There was a real beat officer napping on his feet in the spring sunshine, and while observing him, Sherlock ended up falling asleep too. Detective Gregson gave them a good scolding when he found them, but then Sherlock revealed his true identity with a "hey, it's me, folks!" "What the blazes do you think you're doing?!" Gregson shouted, his rage growing even more, and Sherlock ended up making a run for it.

Van Zieks- went to the vineyard to oversee the production of the contents of his Lord's Bottle. As he viewed the still unopened grape blossom buds, he thought about how they would someday grow up to fill his Lord's Bottle, and ended up going around to look at each one. But the farm hands couldn't stop wondering whether the bottle itself or its owner's heel might come flying at them and were quite uneasy.

Asougi: exhausted himself running around since early morning helping with the professors' flower viewing event. When it was over, he took a break, sharing his reward candy stick [the name of the candy literally translates to 1,000 year candy] with Ryuunosuke, who had also been helping out. 

"I wonder if the candy's effect is halved if you share it with someone."

"That still gives us 500 years."

They laughed and enjoyed looking at the flowers until dark. Then they parted ways with a handshake and a "see you later, best friend."

(This one was something about celebrating New Years. For some reason I didn't save the original question)

"Ryuunosuke ~ To celebrate New Years, he planned to pound mochi with everyone at the office. He somehow managed to get his hands on some mochi rice and he and Sherlock started pounding. Iris was having such fun watching them that she steamed a whole bunch more mochi rice so they could have some to share, and he and Sherlock spent the whole evening pounding mochi like crazy.

Asougi~ Because it's New Years, he went around to a bunch of shrines. When he drew his new year's fortune, he got a "horrible luck" result. "I'm not worried about it," he claimed, and headed up to the mountains early on New Years morning and work hard on a full training course of purification by water, meditation under a waterfall and wooden sword practice. It seems that he was working really hard to clear his mind of all earthly thoughts

Sherlock- Agreed to help Ryuunosuke pound mochi. As Ryuunosuke was flipping the mochi over, he carelessly dropped his badge into the bowl and Sherlock mixed it in without noticing, so they had to crack open both the hard and soft mochi to look for it. Fortunately they found it in the 4th one they checked, but apparently Sherlock got his hands and face covered in sticky white mochi in the process.

Susato- Wore a furisode and went with her father to do the first shrine visit of the year. The shrine was incredibly crowded and they had to wait in line for a long time, but she brought the Encyclopaedia of British Law and a copy of the Strand Magazine in her sleeves to secretly read as they waited so she actually ended up enjoying the wait.

Van Zieks- Ryuunosuke cheerfully gave him some mochi as a New Year’s (which at that time was celebrated at the same time as the Chinese New Year) gift, which he accepted confusedly, wondering “...Can the Japanese not even keep track of when the New Year is?” Because Ryuunosuke referred to it as a rice cake, he tried to eat it like a regular cake without softening it with heat first. It was so hard that he couldn’t imagine how it could possibly be food, and ended up misunderstanding the Japanese even more!

"Autumn has arrived, and the weather is starting to cool off, which means that everyone is becoming more active. Which character chose the most pleasant autumn activity to keep busy with?"

Iris was making bread but her hands are small and it’s difficult for her to knead the dough, so she asked for Ryuunosuke’s help. She wanted to make enough to hand out to Gina and all the other homeless children in the East End, so she made a massive amount and Ryuunosuke was stuck kneading this massive mountain of bread dough all day. Apparently he became such a expert at kneading that he could be a baker now.

Asougi was practicing with his sword, slicing autumn-colored ginko leaves as they fell from the tree. He cut so many leaves, though, that he ended up making a big mess on the ground, the number of fallen leaves now having increased, and it took him a long time to clean it all up.    

Sherlock: Ryuunosuke told him that he was making anpan (bread filled with sweet red bean paste, the bane of my Asian-dwelling existance) and asked Sherlock to help by being in charge of getting the poppy seeds they’d need to sprinkle on top, so Sherlock went out and gathered a ton of poppy seeds. In fact, he got so many of them that no one knew what to do with them all cuz they had a huge amount of leftovers. Sherlock said, “Well, they’re only the size of poppy seeds! Surely you two can deal with them somehow! Ahahaha!” and Iris scolded him.   

(I couldn’t capture it in English, but Sherlock’s line contained a pun, and a pretty stupid one at that, so that’s part of why he got scolded)

It’s grape harvesting season, so Van Zieks commutes to the winery regularly to direct the production of the contents for his “Lord’s Bottle.” He demands perfection in everything from the selection of the grapes to the way they’re squeezed, and the winery staff is terrified by the “grim reaper’s” gaze and heel swinging (i.e. the leg thing he does in court) so they grumble as they work. 

"Hearing that there’s a holiday in the West called Halloween, the people involved with the court in Japan decided to try it out themselves. Naturally Halloween is a big deal in England as well. So, which member of the DGS cast had the best celebration?"

Team Ryuunosuke and Asougi- Asougi got Naruhodo up on his shoulders and they draped a white sheet over themselves to make a ghost costume. They went out like that, but Naruhodo had such exaggerated reactions to the fear of the people who saw them and to bumping his head on tree branches that they ended up losing their balance and falling on top of each other?!   

Sherlock Holmes- went wearing a horse’s head mask. Iris used her skills to make it a fancy horse covered in stars, but the eye holes weren��t well made and he had to wander around blindly. Because of that he tripped hard over a pile of coal! He ended up getting so dirty that the stars on his costume were covered up!

Van Zieks- took inspiration from his nickname and dressed up as the grim reaper. He covered himself up with a skeleton mask and hood figuring no one would know it was him. Unfortunately he got angry when he saw Megundal (McGilded) pass by and started throwing bottles and glasses and ended up giving himself away.

"November has arrived, and autumn is nearing its end. However, the DGS cast is still keeping busy, even on their days off. Which character chose the most interesting way to spend their late autumn day?"

Ryuunosuke- Thinking that he’d better learn more about British culture if he was going to be a defense attorney in Britain, he went down to the East End with Gina for a little observation. However, because an Asian like him stood out so much, he got mobbed by the other children. On top of it all, his arm band got stolen from him and he had to send a replacement request to Yumei University on the other side of the ocean.

Asougi- He went for a meal at La Quantas. The customer at a nearby table got a persimmon for dessert and scarfed it down, saying “Mm! This is it! This sweetness makes it worthy of being called a treasure among foods!” Asougi tried to comment on this by saying, “The customer at that table sure is enjoying his pershim--gak!” but he may or may not have accidentally bitten his tongue in the process and been unable to finish his sentence.

Iris- She accepted Ryuunosuke’s request to learn more about British culture and prepared a bagpipe and kilt costume for him. “This outfit sure is breezy,” Ryuunosuke said shyly upon trying it on. With Ryuunosuke now dressed, he, Iris, and the others from their office headed over to Gregson’s place to get him to treat them to some fish and chips.   

Sherlock- He accepted Ryuunosuke’s request to learn more about British culture and cooked up some European style curry for dinner. Thanks to the fact that his secret ingredient was a large amount of Chinese herbal medicine style spice, it caused some strange side effects and Ryuunosuke, who’d eaten it, ended up passing out and falling over.

“Another taxing trial for Ryuunosuke has finished and now it’s December. As the year draws to a close, which character acts the strangest?”

Ryuunosuke- he was recruited to help with snow removal around Yumei University and the courthouse and he enthusiastically began his task with the help of a large shovel. He got a little carried away, though, and ended up accidentally burying his umbrella, which he’d left propped up against the side of the building, in the snow he’d just finished shoveling.  He had no choice but to share Asougi’s umbrella on the way home.

Asougi- On the way home, he nods silently to Ryuunosuke’s question of whether he’d finished his travel preparations and changes the subject: “...Come to think of it, it seems that tomorrow is celebrated in the West as God’s birthday.” “I’ve heard that they eat chicken as part of the traditional celebration. Wanna try it?” Ryuunosuke asks invitingly. Asougi is strongly opposed to that particular menu item, however, and they end up going out for their usual beef stew that night instead.           

Susato- in addition to her year-end travel preparations, she also was busy with straightening up the book room in her home. She managed to get the law books in order when she suddenly stumbled upon some old issues of Strand Magazine! She hurried through the rest of her cleaning, then began flipping through the magazines she’d found, trying to decide which to take with her on her trip. She accidentally lost herself in her reading and didn’t realize it until it was already the middle of the night.

Sherlock- he was in the middle of a long ship voyage when Christmas night came. His mind on his partner in a far-off country, he made a toast alone on deck, when suddenly the crew began shooting off fireworks with a cry of “Merry Christmas!” Sherlock had to dart back and forth across the deck to prevent the fireworks from hitting him and setting off the explosive chemicals he carries with him.

Main series edition

[that-yandere-life]

Hi, since yandere Steve and Tony won’t share an obsession, then what would happen if both of them are obsessed with the same person?

[Warnings: Yandere Themes *Obviously*, Fighting, Violence, Murder, Mentions of Blood]

First off it would start with them realizing that they were after the same darling, and it won’t go over well to begin with.

Not only do they bump heads on everyday normal topics, but the rift that was caused by the Civil War split was still very much underlying.

Neither of them mentioned you to each other at first, but constantly watched when the other wasn’t looking.

Each of them will try to get you to like them naturally, which while flattering at first you don’t understand the true implications.

Tony surprises you with lavish gifts, anything you have ever mentioned wanting it will be at your doorstep, along with dozens of fresh flowers.

Steve can’t afford fancy gifts but he will show his affections towards you in different ways, such as making you dinner, rubbing your aching muscles after an intense training session, or just listening to you vent sometimes when you need someone to talk to.

Much like their vastly varying personalities their love languages are definitely not the same so who you actually fall for depends on which one speaks more to yours.

When things start to get more serious between them you will be caught in the crossfire of a massive blowout fight.

They demanded to know which one of them you were attracted to, and that you needed to choose one or the other.

Stammering over your words your mind was lost in a deep panic as you processed what was happening in front of your very eyes.

Suddenly words just weren’t enough for them and they started throwing punches at each other, trying to dodge the hits their opponent was sending their way.

Neither of them had any gear or suit, so it was just the two of them in a one on one sparring match, all you could do was watch on with intense anxiety building in your chest.

Escalating further when Steve tackled Tony to the ground and started punching his face repeatedly, until Tony kneed him in the pelvis able to roll out from underneath him.

Blood poured from his nose and a couple other cuts left behind in the wake of the vicious attack.

Surprisingly Tony was holding his own pretty well against the super soldier without the use of his armor, you would imagine it being an unfair match-up.

Part of you wanted to go run for help to get them separated but the other part of you couldn’t look away from what you were witnessing, locking you in place right where you stood.

Back and forth it seemed like neither of them were going to stop until the other was out of the picture permanently.

Tony Wins-

Kicking Steve harshly in the gut, sending him falling backwards, obliterating the glass coffee table that was right behind him.

Shards of glass spread out everywhere, the action distracting Steve long enough for Tony to call for his Iron Legion.

At least ten suits showed up surrounding the Captain, purposefully blocking the scene that was about to commence.

Steve was down on his knees, breathing heavily, his body ached like never before, it was as if the very fight was leaving his body.

Trying to beg Tony not to do it, you were held back in a tight metal grip, one that you could never hope to shake loose on your own.

Tony heard your pleas for mercy but he had secretly been wanting this day to come for a long time, he wanted you and his revenge at the same time.

The master of having your cake and getting to eat it too, he was used to getting what he wanted, and what he wanted now was you to himself.

Flashes of light start flickering their shadows along the wall, an anguished cry came from Steve before silence took over the room.

Tears quietly fell down your cheeks collapsing against the thing that held you in its grasp, having no energy or will to stand on your own anymore.

Walking up to you he will be saddened by the grief written on your features, but glad that it’s finally over, and he has you, his perfect little prize for the rest of your lives.

Stroking your tears away with his thumb as he examined every last detail of your face, a sigh of relief leaving his lips.

Taking you into his embrace rather than his cold robot, praying that one day you can forgive him for what he had to do, but he did it for you in the end even if you couldn’t see that yet.

Steve Wins-

After being hit in the pelvic region he felt his previous anger rupture into something far beyond anything he had ever experienced.

Seeing red as he began sending kick after kick, and punch after punch his way colliding with whatever body part he could reach.

Practically dancing around with Tony in an attempt to get closer to deal more damage than the grazing strikes he was managing to hit.

Both of them were starting to tire out, it was rather apparent by their heaving chests as they tried to regain some much needed oxygen.

Unfortunately Tony was far more wiped out than Steve was, thanks to his father’s serum nonetheless.

He honestly didn’t want it to have to come to this, but he didn’t have a choice when you were on the line.

Getting a hold of Tony, throwing him over his shoulder roughly as you watched on in complete horror at the sight of what was coming next.

Dropping him onto the ground for a moment hard enough to knock the wind out of Tony, Steve grabbed a chair and smashed the window out with it after a few hits.

Before Tony can get back up, he has hands on him again, yanking him from his planking position, nearing the now sharp jagged hole that remained.

Tossing him out without a second thought, watching intently as he plummeted towards the ground before returning his attention to you.

Apologizing for you having to see that, but it was for the better because now the two of you could forever be together.

There was no one or nothing that could get in his way now, you are his and that is non-negotiable.

[I did this one a little differently but I think I like how it turned out! Let me know! I hope that you like it, and that it answers your question! <3]

[hoodoobarbie]

The mythology of the Siren, Mermaid, Water Spirits & Mami Wata and it’s origins within black feminity.

Today I had to listen to other another black woman rant about how mermaids/sirens/mami wata are evil low key. So this educational post was born in response. 

Did you really think the divine essence of the black feminine wouldn’t protect itself ? That energy exists for a reason.  Suddenly it’s evil, to have teeth and protect yourself from predators. Water is a precious resource. You will be tested to see if you are deserving of it or not. Also these spirits will defend natural resources so they don’t get fucked up by human greed. 

It’s common for some places in Africa for people to offer the Sirens/Mami Wata/Water spirits or make an offerings/contracts with them in order to use the resources on their land. It also keeps the white ppl away too because they cause so much trouble.

Sirens are also associated with being the killers of children and men, but often this is completely misrepresented intentionally.

Men fear the power of the siren because she can override the patriarchy at core and can completely unravel them. The orgins of many water spirits lie in matriachal societies, temples divine feminine and motherhood. This is why temples and sacred magikal knowledge was intentionally destroyed and stolen, especially to empower the white patriarch.

Sirens are also described as thiefs of children and child killers. Sirens have been known to kidnap kids who were being abused or have were murdered near water and take them to their kingdom to restore them.

Sometimes the child returns, sometimes they are not. However in general they are big on kidnapping people, mostly women and giving them powers, if they decide to return. The idea of them eating and killing children, was a lie perpetuated by Greeks to cover up some truly horrific acts. Unfortunate these false accusations have been allowed to continue to perpetuate.

If a siren is acting in a predatory way, there is a reason why as their energy as been disturbed. Sirens are natural guardians. 

So the real question is . . . what did you do ? Did you destroy their habitat ? Abuse a child or a person ? Commit an egregious act against a woman ie rape/murder etc ? Disrespect a sacred place, the land, the seas or rivers ? Steal precious resources that weren’t yours to take ?

These sacred traditions are more than just deities, spirits and our ancestors. All forms of ATR are access to our spiritual mind state as an entire community. When you move in Vodou, you can sense the whole of black consciousness and all of our problem spots, specifically  areas that need healing. 

Oxum-Oshun, Olokun, Yemaya, the Mami Wata, La Baliene, La Siren, Met Agwe, The Simbi - these are all spirits with a connection to waters. Water is life and has always been inherently associated feminine energy. I’m not going into detail about all these cross connections but let’s chat about La Sirene, specifically.

La Sirene, Queen of all Mermaids is more than just a powerful sorceress and queen of song/music and dreams, she is also a keeper of secrets an a guardian of sacred memories & knowledge.

Many of the souls of slaves, from the Transatlantic slave trade that were thrown off the boats into the ocean are her children, citizens and warriors now. She comforts them eternally & they live in paradise. That doesn’t mean all of these souls are at rest, plenty continuously ask their mother if they will be avenged, especially the young children. She also has a close connection with the Indigenous Taino. The isle of Hispaniola also known as Haiti (Ayiti) & the Dominican Republic is her most known domain. 

Let’s not act like slavery and colonization was a cake walk. Rape was common place and mermaids, water spirits offered African and Indigenous women protection and power over men. They became demonized overtime for their hypnotic powers and killing men, who often overstepped their boundaries. Women could leave offerings to these spirits, work or commune with them and be quickly avenged or gain great power and wealth. All of this was threatening to the white patriarchal standard.

La Sirene’s presence in Haiti and other merfolk tales that float around the Caribbean/West Indies, is not without purpose. She has ties to many people and many different cultures. Her sacred symbols are global. This is why I speculate she is much older than people think. La Sirene, is a fairly young evolution. She clearly has ties to much older things. Her older names might have been lost but she has evolved, to save her self and also document other forgotten elements of history in the process. There are those who speculate that La Sirene is the embodiment of a cross mixed culture, the evolution of Indigenous & African water spirits combined, due to the excess trauma of colonization and so the Mermaid Queen was born. Others will argue that she is the Orisha Yemaya but a newer avatar of her.  I hate to argue semantics but I will say this, she exists and her presence is felt to this day, all around the world. 

La Sirene is often depicted as a mulatto woman with eyes like the sea but if you have been blessed to see her in dream state, she does appear sometimes as a brown or dark skinned skinned woman of possibly mixed Indigenous/African ancestry with glowing hypnotic eyes.  Alot of her older depictions, deal with colorism and slavery, but as things have grown in the modern world this imagery has begun to change. However mermaids, are known for their shapeshifting powers - to truly behold her true form, is a gift reserved for the rare few. 

As a keeper of the mysteries, La Sirene also access to many forgotten things in the black subconscious. The element of water is an intensely psychic sign.  Water is her domain, and what is the human body 80% of? WATER! The truth does not hide from her hypnotic eyes. This sacred connection to water and her essence, also means you can  track forgotten elements black history and connect to other deities/cultures who’ve had contact with her & her whole court or other black water spirits as a whole. So let’s take a short historical trip down memory lane.

The Greeks & Black women. Sirens, Aphrodite, Sibyls and other Children of Water 🧜🏾‍♀️

The deity Aphrodite/Venus is of Grecian and Roman legend.  

A little known magikal fact is that Aphrodite/Venus is half siren. She is a child of the water, she was literally birthed this way after Uranus got his balls cut off & thrown into the sea. Much of her Venusian influence and powers of love and beauty come from this element. Now my Mambo doesn’t like mentioning it but Aphrodite, is tolerated by the oceanic court of sirens/mermaids. Any child of water, falls under the domain of the queen. La Sirene has a sort of strange fondness for her and so does Aphrodite for her. However this doesn’t mean they are best friends.  It’s tentative friendship at best and comes with some perks. Aphrodite works quickly for children of water sirens and often will send mermaids to her devotees who misbehave. She has deliberately placed me around her people have pissed her off, to cause mischief. She’s quite petty but also  very generous. I won’t go as far to dare and say she is in the queen’s court, but she does curry favor with the queen. Being born of water, her half siren/mermaid influence has definitely attributed to legends of her beauty in myth but also her treachery with men 🧜🏾‍♀️😂. She clearly also has some sort of homesickness for the world underneath the water, because many of her offerings are gifts of pearls, kisses, sea shells, beauty products etc. Anyone who serves the Mermaid Queen knows the meaning behind those gifts. If you’re a black gyal with water or siren energy and decide to work with Aphrodite, do it!  If you ever irritate her, the least she’ll do is give you pimples and fuck up your skin, she won’t have the full power to completely fuck up your love life like she does with the white girls.  And let me tell you, she has completely ruined some white girls lives by giving them terrible lovers or men.  

The trident 🔱 is known for its connection in Greek and Hindu cultures.  However La Sirene or other African water spirits are depicted carrying it, which is largely ignored in the occult world.

You can track the trident in Hinduism, with the serpent spirits, the nagas or Lord Shiva but let’s focus on it’s Grecian connection. The usage of the trident and Poseidon, even in mainstream society today is associated with him.  This lets us know there is a connection between the mermaids, merfolk and La Sirene/African water spirits. Poseidon’s trident was rumored to made in Athens by the Cyclops - this is the city of Athena. So now we can track an element of black history all the way to Poseidon & Athena. Keep that in your thoughts we’ll come back to that later.

Tridents were also used ceremonially in Africa & India as well, as scepters, tribal weapons and religious symbols.

They were also associated with the sea faring people and fishing. It’s highly likely the origins of the trident are cross mixed between these two societies. Indo-African relations, go back to the Bronze age and the Indus Valley civilization. Which means traveling over by sea to reach each other was necessary. There is historical evidence of African millet being found in a Indian city Chanhudaro, including a cemetary or burial ground for African women.  Maritime relations between these two groups existed before Grecian & the Egyptian Ptolemaic dynasties.

Now of course there are some deranged historians that will try to whitewash history and say the trident has its origins from the labyrs but the Ancient Greeks & Africans/Indians interacted regularly. The trident also looks nothing like a labyrs, which is quite literally a double sided axe.  This is one of the more painful obvious pieces of white washing and historical revisionism. 

Regardless, the trident is associated with water, ceremonial/religious purposes, fishing, battling in the coliseum and the symbol of power for a few African,  Black diasporian an Hindu deities.

🧜🏾‍♀️ Oracles & Sibyls

Some sibyls/oracles were known to be African prophetesses/Mamissi to the Mami Wata/Sirens in Africa, some were stolen or captured by Greeks or Romans, sold into slavery and made to be oracles, some of whom became quite famous in legend. Their connection to these water spirits, is what gave them their gift of prophecy. Not every sibyl or oracle was African but SOME were.  This lead to the sharing and theft of sacred knowledge. It’s likely these women shared this sacred information, with their colleagues, some whom may or may not have been enslaved or kept in these temple and likely this information was traded, for their freedom, power or money etc. This gave way to the usage of sacred spirits and magick being used by men. A great example of this is the snake spirits of the genii, genius spirits (not to be mistaken with genies) and which then evolved into a diluted lesser energy in Greek society being known as daemons (not to be confused with goetic demons) Instead of a woman commanding these specific energies/spirits, the patriarchs decided that these specifics powers were only worthy of being used by men. These spirits were whitewashed, adopted into their religious practices and said to only be given to men at birth. No woman was allowed to possess them anymore.

🧜🏾‍♀️ The whitewashing of Medusa & Lamia. 

In mainstream society these two women stories have been white washed but also to hide a very shameful history and narrative. These two were beautiful women, in older stories of black black mythology were known to be black and they were children of water & daughters of the powerful water spirit/snake/siren divine mother/feminine goddess. 

Medusa was raped by the GREECIAN GOD OF THE SEA, POSEIDON  and Athena covered it up, refused to avenge her and punished her by making her ugly to everyone. It’s speculated in several magikal circles that the snakes in her hair were actually dreads, due to their lack of understanding of black hair and also allegorically might have been a reference to her devotion to the fish or water snake, great mother goddess. A child of the divine feminine, mother goddess was assaulted in a temple by a man and a woman covered it up & celebrated it.

Let’s start there ... cuz this story says a lot! It’s one of the first historical cases  in myth that really documents the issues that surround the black feminine specifically and it was intentionally whitewashed. Then to add insult to injury, Athena made her hideous to all men and her chopped off her head and used as a symbol of protection but also a subtle sign of disrespect to the fullest. This still goes on to this day.

In fact ALGOL, the demon star, which is considered to be strongest protective magick talisman in the occult world today is the HEAD OF MEDUSA. The child of water! BITCH! This energy is invoked constantly and the spirit of medusa is never allowed to rest.

However these egregious acts did not come without a price. Athena at time was a goddess of fertility. However desecrating a child of water or the sirens, is seen as an attack by the divine feminine and can will cause people to be afflicted with fertility and other mental health issues as well. This is speculative but it’s also likely that after this they were constantly visited by droughts, floods or repeating issues with water sanitation & purity after this. Lowered fertility rates and miscarriages might be more prominent, for Athenians and Athena devotees & likely continues to this day.

Devotees of Athena may also develop severe issues when it to their mental health because of this connection. They completely lose touch with their feminine energy and become extremely misogynistic after continued work with her.

Not only did Athena, cause Medusa to be seen as hideous throughout the land but she celebrated when she was murdered and proudly wore Medusa’s decapitated head on her shield. From the feminist eye this virgin deity/woman was extremely male identified and adhered to the patriarchal standard. She was tested by the divine feminine and failed.

Even more strange, Athena’s birth allegorically proclaims her essential character: her wisdom is drawn from the head of a male god; the bond of affection between father and daughter; her championship of heroes and male causes, born as she was from the male, and not from a mother’s womb. A dreaded goddess of war, she remained a virgin and a servant of the patriarchal society and remains so to this day. She is the misogynistic cool girl and very asexual at the core. In fact if you explore more of her mythos, it becomes very clear she hates women. I’m bewildered at how she has become associated with lesbians and the feminine at large, when it’s been very clear that she was intent on transcending her gender from the very beginning, but never managed to escape it.  

To top it off, I’ll leave you with this quote from Aeschylus’ Oresteia by Athena:

“There is no mother anywhere who gave me birth, and, but for marriage, I am always for the male with all my heart, and strongly on my father’s side. So, in a case where the wife has killed her husband, lord of the house, her death shall not mean most to me.”

Queen Lamia was a said to incredible beauty who seduced Zeus, (a literal man whore) which as made Hera jealous. Hera cursed Lamia with infertility and insomnia. She went insane and is said to have killed her own children and ate them. Zeus is said to be the one who gifted her prophecy and gave her the ability to take out her eyes, so she would not be irritated at the site of other happy mothers.

She became associated with a child eating monster who was half woman and half snake, which ties into the Libyan snake cults. She was associated with phantoms, the shapshifting laimai or empusai and the daemon spirits.

Medusa and Lamia were Libyan by heritage and came from a place in Africa where temples to the water snake mother goddess & divine feminine were common before they were destroyed by invaders intentionally. These women likely had extreme gifts of seduction, mind control and other abilities etc. It’s highly likely that Queen Lamia used her powers of seduction, at the behest of her people to save them from colonization and was demonized for it. Zeus’s temple was in Cyrene in Lybia, so this is far more than an allegorical story. This may be a real life story that was disguised in mythos. Unfortunately deeper research into this subject has turned up many dead ends for me. It’s highly likely Medusa was a priestess of the the matriarchal Mami Watas or water goddess/snake spirits and was likely raped intentionally in Athena’s temple, as a show loyalty to the rising patriarchy by descrating the symbolism of the great mother and the divine feminine. This was likely an attempt to lessen power and status of the matriachal societies that existed at the time. Rape was common war tactic amongst colonizers and news of such disgrace would likely spread like wildfire. This also solidified Athena’s place amongst the male gods and gaining her their respect. Athena and her devotees went a step further to show their allegiance to the patriarchy, by stripping Medusa of her beauty supposedly and exiling her, then parading her decapitated head on shields, when going into battle likely with Libyan enemies.

This is just a brief explanation of a few horrific acts in history, which were whitewashed & explain why the essence of the black feminine has evolved to become more protective, predatory and fierce. She learned to defend herself. Now she kills those who threaten her. 

Fun history tip: Usually anytime you see a snake in Grecian mythology, just know something got whitewashed, because the truth was really fucked up, made them look really bad & a black woman was there.

🧜🏾‍♀️ The black feminine is capable of more than you know.

Yes, mermaids/sirens/snakes & the mami watas can be scary at times but that’s what stepping into mysticism of deep waters is like. Water is capable of many things, it is one of the most powerful elements on earth. It can nourish you and kill you, and that’s the beauty of it really.

We should all be grateful the black feminine is so beautiful, fierce & scares the living daylights out of everyone.

You would be dead if it wasn’t.

[inupibaldspot]

Our Snowfall

Pairing: Baji x Reader

Request: OPEN

Note: I cried writing this I’m in so much pain rn 😭

Baji slowly opened the door,revealing room of white color, with faint sent of medicines and anti-septic's.

Earlier he was playing catch with Mikey outside, but Mikey wanting to show off threw the ball too hard making the ball zoom across the sky as it breaks the window to a hospital room.

Baji was about to shout at Mikey only to find the blonde boy had disappeared without a trace. And now Baji was on a mission to get his ball back.

“I’m sorry for breaking your window.” Baji bows his head from the door.

“Don’t worry about it.”

Baji blinked in confusion. The voice was that of a young child and not an adult like he was expecting. He raises his head to see a small figure ,who looked really weak.

The person smiled. “The ball is on the table there. It would be best if you left before nurse comes back.”

Baji nods as he walks in and takes the ball. He notices that the broken glasses pieces were already picked up and clean.

Baji turns to look at you. “My name is Baji Keisuke. What is yours?”

Your lips curl into a weak smile. “My name is Y/N…”

Baji walks towards you. “Are you sick,Y/N?” His expression was somewhat worried.

You nod. “I’ve been here forever.” You laugh. “Mama told me I can’t go outside because I get sick easily so I stay at the hospital so Mr. Doctor can help me…”

Baji frowned. He was always an active kid who spend most of his time playing around so when he heard that you don’t get to go outside,it made him sad. “Is it okay if I visit you sometime.”

Your eyes widens as color appears on your cheeks,you then smiled brightly. “I would love that!”

True to his words,Baji immediately visited you the next day.

Ever since Baji entered your life,your life has been full of colors. Baji would always talk about how he spend his day,he would talk about his friends and all the crazy thing they would do.

He would always visit you,never making you feel lonely. Along the way he even introduced some of his friends. First he brought Mikey along and then the next Mitsuya and Pachin.

You were scared at first when Baji said they were in gangs but when you got to know them,they were just dorks,lovable and funny dorks.

“I heard this time we are going to have a white Christmas.” You said as you looked outside.

Baji who was cutting apples for you, stopped as he looks at you. “Are you going to be with your parents?”

You shook your head. “Both my mom and dad are going to be busy with work so they said we can’t celebrate it with me this time.”

You smiled as you turned to look at Baji. “But the nurses said they’re going to set up a Christmas tree so I’m excited!”

Baji looks at how your eyes brightened when you talked about the Christmas tree. You looked so happy talking about and that made you seem so much beautiful.

“I’m sure it would look so pretty-“ Your words came to a halt when you started coughing. The coughing never seemed to die down making Baji rush to your side and when it finally did,there were blood in your hands. He looked at you in horror but you didn’t seem to panic,rather you looked as if you were think ‘Not this again.’ As if this happened regularly.

“I’ll get the doctor real quick!” With that he rushes away.

…….

To your dismay the Christmas tree was smaller than expected but nevertheless you enjoyed the cake your parents ordered for you,you ended up eating them with the grandma next door.

Maybe it was because you weren’t with Baji today,the day felt bit gloomier even-though it was such a joyous day. You missed Baji. 

Just when you were about to sleep,tiny knocks were heard at your door. “Psttt, Y/N.”

You look at the door confused. “Baji what are you doing here?”

Before you knew it,Baji makes you wear a thick jacket and cover your neck with a muffler not answering your question.The wide grin on his face perked your curiosity more.

He then kneels in front of you,his back facing you. “Get on!”

“Huh?”

Baji turns to you and he gives you a grin. “I’m going to show you a huge Christmas tree.”

Baji and you then sneak out of the hospital as he carries you to the main town. You gleam at how beautifully the place was decorated. The air outside was cold but it was so fresh, so much frsh as compared to the air in your hospital room.

“It started snowing!” You shouted excited as you raised one of you hand to try and hold it,only for it to melt as soon as it touches you. “The report was right! We’re having a white Christmas!” It was your first time actually being outside when it was snowing, normally you'd only watch the snow from inside.

Places were beautifully lit, decorated with lights filled with joyful atmosphere. Some with their family others on dates. As people start to stare at the sky taking in the entrance of the snow.

“We’re here!” Baji stops walking as he nudges his head at a particular direction.

There at a distance was a huge Christmas tree, decorated with fairy lights, colorful bulbs and small other decorations. “Wow…”

“Beautiful isn’t it-“ Baji stopped speaking as he looked at your expression. Your eyes gleamed as it shone,from all the lights, you nose and cheeks slightly flushed from cold but the most beautiful part was your smile.

You burrowed you face against Baji’s neck,making him feel ticklish but he didn’t mind it rather he love it. “Thank you Keisuke …” He could feel your breath against his neck.

“I’m so glad I could spend the Christmas with you…”

……

“I hate school!” Baji shouts as he messes his hair in frustration. “I don’t know why I have to study this bull shit!” Baji was currently in you room as he worked on his homework while you were reading a book. A pleasant way you guys would spend your time together. It has almost been two years since you guys met.

You laugh at Baji’s expression as you set down the book you were reading. “Come on now~ Don’t say that..I think school must be fun.”

Baji stops as he realizes what he did. You were someone who could never join school after multiple incidents of you passing out or getting rushed to hospitals when you were a kid.

You couldn’t experience school like he did. Baji huffs as he goes back to his books. “Fine… I’ll aim for twenty marks this time.”

“Twenty? That’s not even the pass mark.” You laugh at him. “How about you go for thirty at least.”

“Thats not the pass mark either, Y/N!“

You were about to say something when a sudden thought came into mind. “Keisuke … I actually was watching tv yesterday and I saw someone making a pumpkin themed cake…”

“So I thought I’d want to eat that but I don’t think I can complete it by myself. So how about you join me…?” Your cheeks flushed red.

You were basically asking him out on a date.Sure you guys spend time together alone but you never once made an offer like this to him. It has been months since you figured out you had feelings so Baji but you never really acted on it.

Since the thought of you getting rejected and in turn losing a beloved friend scared you to no end.

“Sure!” You turned your head quickly at his reply. Baji was smiling as well as he continued. “When would it be?”

You smile as you brought your hands together, excited. “I was thinking of October 31..”

“Ah… I don’t think I can join you then…” Baji replied regretfully. “How about November 1?”

“Sure!” As long as you could spend time with Baji, you were happy.

But then that day never came.

That day you waited for Baji to enter the room,with an untouched cake box on the table. The door opens to reveal Mikey,Draken and Mitsuya.

“Baji…Baji died during our fight against Valhalla …”

Would it be funny if you said you ate the cake while you cried? Probably,but that’s what you actually did. Stuffing you mouth with the soft creamy treat as tears pool you eyes.

Days after were as if a curtain closed closed your window, everything felt so much dim and it didn’t help that your condition seemed to worsen.

You were losing weight at an alarming rate,coughing up more blood at frequent rates. You grew increasingly weaker as you parents even took time off their jobs to nurse you.

But at certain nights you would wake up in tears,as you could barely breathe as you searched for Baji,hoping to see him with you in the room. “Keisuke…”

It was a peaceful winter evening ,the air was cold and places were quiet as white snow gently falls in the ground.

People outside were looking and hoping that the snow would set properly. Kids were already outside as they excitedly play out, parents in their homes were making food to warm themselves up.

“Stay with me Y/N!”

People were rushing all over the room as you dad hold your crying mom.

You head felt as if it was going to burst,a strong sense of nausea filled you. Everything you hear and see seemed so muffled and blur.

Despite you body feeling limp, it was twitching. You breathing which was rapid at first seemed to now slow down,accompanied with a strong aching pain.

Then suddenly all those suffering at once disappear.

You entered into a white place,as if each and every part was covered in snow.Your body felt light with no presence of pain that you were feeling just a second before.

 You walked around too see that in a distance was a very familiar person.A person who made you life so much brighter. A person who you enjoyed every moment spend with him. A person you loved.

That person turns around as he expression turns into a frown.

“Why did you join me so early?”

You smile as a tear rolls down your face. “I guess I missed you too much,Keisuke.”