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dankusner · 8 months ago

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The Hunt for John Wilkes Booth Goes On

If Abraham Lincoln had leaned back in his rocking chair that night at Ford’s Theatre and turned around—hearing a footfall or a rustle, or glimpsing, out of the corner of his eye, a stage light glinting off the mouth of the derringer—he would have recognized his murderer.

Lincoln loved theatre; in his four years as President, he attended more than a hundred plays.

“This is act vee one eye,” he’d whisper to his little son Tad, reading out the Roman numerals on the playbill.

And he loved Ford’s: in December, 1863, he’d sat in its Presidential Box for two consecutive nights of “Henry IV”—“pause us till these rebels now afoot / Come underneath the yoke of government”—and that November, ten days before he delivered the Gettysburg Address, he’d seen John Wilkes Booth perform at Ford’s.

“From these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion,” Lincoln said at Gettysburg, “that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth,” little knowing that he was engraving his own Shakespearean epitaph.

John Wilkes Booth wasn’t the best actor in the Booth family: he was outshone by his father, Junius Brutus Booth, and by his brother Edwin.

But John Wilkes was the most beautiful of the Booths, the handsomest man in all America, it was said: lithe and feline, with dark Fauntleroy curls and a leading-man mustache.

“All you have is rage or self-pity,” Edwin tells John Wilkes, deriding his little brother’s hammy acting, in the lush and tense “Manhunt,” the new seven-episode series from Apple TV+.

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Booth, played by the smolderingly beautiful sleepy-eyed Irish actor Anthony Boyle, is dastardly and desperate.

“Tomorrow, I’m gonna be more famous than anyone in my family,” he announces on the night of the assassination. “I’m gonna be the most famous man in the whole world.”

In his diary, Booth wrote down his reason for killing the President: “Our country owed all her troubles to him, and God simply made me the instrument of his punishment.”

Boyle doesn’t utter that line, but he embodies it, lunatic and frantic, believing himself Brutus.

Billed as an adaptation of James L. Swanson’s best-selling 2006 book, “Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer,” the series involves a great many men riding horses, wielding guns, and gritting teeth: costume drama meets police procedural.

After shooting Lincoln in the back of the head on the night of April 14, 1865, Booth leaps from the Presidential Box onto the stage, breaking a leg.

He flees the theatre and mounts a horse, escaping to Maryland, and then the chase begins, led by Edwin Stanton (Tobias Menzies), the stalwart Secretary of War.

“Come here immediately and see if you can find the murderers of the President,” the real Stanton wrote in a telegram to L. C. Baker, the head of the National Detective Police, on April 15th.

In “Manhunt,” Baker is played by a miscast Patton Oswalt, who is saddled with some truly dreadful lines—“If you hear something, say something”—and seems more amused than shocked by an assassination that sent the nation into a cascade of mourning.

Oswalt’s Baker also doesn’t have that much to do, given that in the show it’s Stanton who not only coördinates the manhunt from the telegraph room at the War Department but also, on the spot, reënacts the crime, collects evidence, inspects footprints, follows clues, cracks codes, interrogates witnesses, and even, implausibly, joins the chase on horseback.

Edwin Stanton suffered from asthma and would soon die of it.

In a harrowing portrayal, Menzies’s clenched-jaw Stanton grimaces and winces and leans on a cane for support.

He is seized by bouts of coughing and wheezing.

More than once, he simply collapses, as if, before the curtain falls, he, too, will have to be carried off the stage, another American slain.

“John Wilkes Booth’s escape and disappearance unfolded as though scripted not by a master criminal but by a master dramatist,” Swanson wrote in “Manhunt.”

Swanson is the author of several other books about manhunts, including one about the hunt for Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederacy; one about the pursuit of Lee Harvey Oswald; and, most recently, a Y.A. book called “Chasing King’s Killer: The Hunt for Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Assassin.”

If you like manhunts, he’s your man.

But the public appetite for a well-told tale about the pursuit of Booth began even as it was happening.

The essentials of the drama can be traced not to any of Swanson’s books but to “The Life, Crime and Capture of John Wilkes Booth, with a Full Sketch of the Conspiracy of Which He Was the Leader, and the Pursuit, Trial and Execution of His Accomplices,” a seventy-nine-page thriller that was first sold in 1865, for twenty-five cents.

Its author was the talented investigative reporter George Alfred Townsend, who covered the case from Washington for the New York World.

The book is a compilation of the reports he filed in the weeks after Lincoln’s assassination, “fresh from the mouths of the actors,” and his own reconstruction of the events he reported, complete with floor plans and maps.

Townsend, not Swanson, is the master dramatist of Booth’s crime and escape.

Here’s Townsend writing of the moment Booth fired the shot: “A keen quick report and a puff of white smoke,—a close smell of powder and the rush of a dark, imperfectly outlined figure,—and the President’s head dropped upon his shoulders: the ball was in his brain.”

And of the moment Booth rode away: “His horse’s hoofs might almost have been heard amid the silence that for a few seconds dwelt in the interior of the theater. Then Mrs. Lincoln screamed.”

A War Department handbill headed “Appeal to the Colored People” announced, “The pistol from which he met his death, though held by Booth, was fired by the hands of treason and slavery.”

Lincoln’s assassination, as Townsend reported, was part of a wider plot to decapitate and incapacitate the federal government.

The night Lincoln was shot, another assassin tried to kill his Secretary of State, William Seward (he survived), and a third assassin had been directed to kill the Vice-President, Andrew Johnson (only to lose his nerve at the last minute).

Stanton heard first of the attack on Seward and went to his house.

He then raced to the boarding house across the street from Ford’s Theatre, to which Lincoln had been carried, and found the President dying.

Townsend wrote, “Secretary Stanton, just arrived from the bedside of Mr. Seward, asked . . . what was Mr. Lincoln’s condition. ‘I fear, Mr. Stanton, that there is no hope.’ ‘O, no, general; no, no;’ and the man, of all others, apparently strange to tears, sank down beside the bed, the hot, bitter evidences of an awful sorrow trickling through his fingers to the floor.”

Booth had earlier plotted to kidnap Lincoln and hold him hostage.

He considered Lincoln a tyrant who had imposed emancipation on a martyred South.

As he explained in a manifesto that he wrote in November, 1864, “This country was formed for the white, not for the black man.”

On April 11, 1865, two days after Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox, Booth was in the crowd when Lincoln gave a speech in which he expressed gratitude for Black men’s service in the Union Army and said that under the policy that would reconstruct the nation they would be rewarded for that service.

“That means nigger citizenship,” Booth muttered.

He appears to have only then decided to kill Lincoln, seemingly in the hope of reversing that policy.

One tragedy of the assassination is that in some measure Booth was successful.

The Apple series follows much of Townsend’s account, but with the storytelling jumbled.

It conveys both Booth’s plotting and Stanton’s relationship with Lincoln, in flashbacks as relentless as strobe lights.

Only the chase moves forward in time, a neat narrative solution to the problem of the inevitability of the story’s outcome: Booth would not live to stand trial.

Stanton’s investigation involved tracking not only Booth but also a half-dozen conspirators who had originally signed on to Booth’s plan, and who aided his escape.

“What if the Confederacy is behind the assassination?” an associate asks Stanton.

He replies, “I’d have to start another war.”

Many in Lincoln’s Administration in fact suspected that Jefferson Davis had conceived of and ordered the assassination, and believed that the only way to truly end the war would be to capture and convict him.

This did not come to pass.

In the show, a colleague of Stanton’s tells him, “The connection between John Wilkes Booth and Jefferson Davis—you don’t have it!”

Swanson’s book displays little interest in slavery, emancipation, and Reconstruction.

This is not true of the Apple adaptation.

In a sped-up time line, “Manhunt” hints at how, with Lincoln dead, Johnson fought the policy of Reconstruction proposed by Radical Republicans and endorsed by Stanton.

The show’s engagement with the origin and the course of Reconstruction is serious and informed, and—from a historical and political perspective—the most interesting and distinctive aspect of the project.

Surprisingly, the series gives real play, too, to the theory that Johnson, not Davis, was behind the plot.

“Don’t wish to disturb you,” Booth wrote to Johnson on April 14th.

“Are you at home?”

Was this to figure out where the assigned assassin would find Johnson that night?

Or was Johnson involved in or even the head of the conspiracy?

Very likely he was not; nor was Davis.

But, in “Manhunt,” Johnson (Glenn Morshower), seen here unravelling every effort at securing equal rights for freed Blacks, is wonderfully despicable—it’s easy to believe the worst of him.

If much of the storytelling in “Manhunt” dates to 1865, later generations of Americans were told very different versions of what happened.

On the early morning of April 15th, Booth and his guide, David Herold, made their way in the direction of Bryantown, in Charles County, Maryland, and to the home of a doctor named Samuel Mudd, who cut off Booth’s boot, set his broken leg, and applied a splint. Stanton pursued him as a conspirator.

The Mudds were part of one of the largest slaveowning families in the county, and Samuel Mudd was, in fact, a Confederate agent.

Mudd insisted he did not know that his patient was Booth, and did not know that Lincoln had been killed.

Mudd’s suffering is the subject of John Ford’s 1936 film “The Prisoner of Shark Island,” enthusiastically received by one of his daughters for offering “complete vindication” of her father.

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This Mudd, played by Warner Baxter, is a simple country doctor—“one of the most unselfish and courageous men in American history,” according to a title card at the beginning of the film—who merely helps a man in need.

When he and the other suspected conspirators are put on trial, the courthouse is surrounded by a Union mob screaming, “Burn the traitors! Burn them!”

Mudd’s former slaves—he calls them “my hands”—include Aunt Rosabelle, a mother of twelve and a source of comic relief, who is played by Etta McDaniel, the sister of Hattie McDaniel, who three years later would become the first Black woman to win an Oscar, for her portrayal of Mammy in “Gone with the Wind.”

During the Civil War, the sisters’ father had fought in the Union Army: he was one of the men to whom Lincoln promised citizenship in the speech that so riled up Booth.

(The father was denied a pension, and the family lived in poverty; Hattie and Etta’s mother worked in white homes as a domestic, as did the McDaniel sisters, even after their débuts in show business.)

“The Prisoner of Shark Island” is not interested in the testimony of Mudd’s former slaves at his military trial, but Mudd’s defenders sought to destroy their credibility to establish that Mudd had always been a kindly master and had nothing to do with the Confederacy.

Such was the fiction of the Lost Cause. “Manhunt” crafts a different fiction: call it the Found Cause.

In “Manhunt,” Mudd, played by Matt Walsh (best known for his role in “Veep,” as the beleaguered Mike McLintock), is a sadistic Confederate agent who lives with his young housekeeper and former slave, Mary Simms, played by Lovie Simone, in an arresting performance that captures the struggle between terror and resolve.

“I’m going to be part of a community,” Simone’s Simms tells Mudd, defying him. “I’m going to be somebody.”

Mary Simms is not mentioned in Swanson’s book.

Nor are any of the other people formerly owned by Mudd who testified at his military trial, including Simms’s brothers, one of whom Mudd had shot in the leg.

(Five of the prosecution’s eleven witnesses were former slaves of Mudd’s.)

Simms’s testimony was particularly important in establishing that he carried Confederate mail.

Q. To whom did they bring letters?

A. To Dr. Sam. Mudd.

Q. Now state to the Court whether he would give them any letters to take back.

A. Yes: he gave them letters to take back, and clothes and socks.

But about Booth she could say very little, because, notwithstanding the story told in “Manhunt,” she was not at Mudd’s house when Booth rode up with a broken leg early on April 15, 1865.

The brother of hers who had been shot in the leg had run away in 1863, and Simms herself had fled in 1864, after Maryland abolished slavery

.A. I left him just about a month before Christmas. I was free then: he whipped me, and I ran away.

Q. You left Dr. Mudd’s house because he whipped you?

A. Yes, sir.

In the series, Simms and her brother choose, inexplicably, to return to Mudd’s house in 1865 and Simms is in the house when Booth arrives; she hides his boot and later directs Stanton to its hiding place.

Her testimony, elicited by Stanton, is crucial not so much to Mudd’s conviction as to the series’ interest in both racial justice and a happy ending.

We’re also led to believe that Simms—having met with Elizabeth Keckley, a Black writer and seamstress who served as a dressmaker for Mary Todd Lincoln, and having opened a school for Black children—has a grand future ahead of her.

In the series’ epilogue, we see her wearing a precisely fitted new calico dress, carrying a stack of books, and chatting with other Black students as she arrives at the library of the newly founded Howard University: a door of learning opened.

The facts are less comforting.

Mudd, having narrowly avoided hanging, was sentenced to hard labor for life in a prison on an island off the coast of Florida, but in February, 1869, in a ceremony at the White House attended by Mudd’s wife, Andrew Johnson signed his pardon.

(This coda is not mentioned in “Manhunt.”)

Mudd went home, resumed his practice, and ran for office.

He had nine children and thirty-three grandchildren.

His house is now a museum.

Mary Simms appears in the 1900 U.S. census as a widowed, sixty-year-old mother of two, living in Bryantown, in another family’s house, and working as a cook, and is listed as unable to either read or write.

Pray that she was happy, and part of a community, and somebody, surely somebody, to everyone who loved her.

But she did not attend Howard University.

You get, onscreen, the civil war you’re living.

“What if Booth weakened our democracy?” a reporter asks Stanton in the first episode of “Manhunt” (filmed in 2022).

Lest you miss any of the clues pointing to the crime of our time, the insurrection at hand, we see a nefarious villain—famous and cosseted, one of the richest men in New York—boasting, as he points a gun at Stanton, “I could fire this on Wall Street in broad daylight and nothing would happen to me.”

Stanton, however determined to capture Booth, is as hobbled as his prey.

In “Manhunt,” the War Between the States is a war between two crippled, broken men.

“Manhunt” is “The Prisoner of Shark Island” upside down: the Confederates have become the villains.

Much else remains the same.

The killer is a man with a gun.

The law is a man on a horse.

They stagger after each other, armed to the teeth: the least frail man wins.

You also get whatever civil war, or whatever history, that Hollywood is willing to pay for, which, as a rule, involves men, horses, and guns.

George Saunders’s luminous novel “Lincoln in the Bardo,” about the President’s grief at the death of his young son Willie, in 1862, became an eerie, three-hundred-and-sixty-degree New York Times virtual-reality short in 2017, and feature-film rights were soon sold, but there’s still no movie (although an opera is in the works).

Nor has there been a film of Geraldine Brooks’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 2005 Civil War novel, “March,” an exquisitely unsettling upending of “Little Women.”

And there doesn’t appear to be any upcoming adaptation of Karen Joy Fowler’s 2022 novel, “Booth,” long-listed for the Booker Prize, a book that is to Swanson’s “Manhunt” what “Little Dorrit” is to an episode of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.”

Fowler’s searching family saga begins with Richard Booth, “skinny as a stork,” a former lawyer and an admirer of the English radical John Wilkes.

While living on his family’s halfhearted farm in Maryland (“the people who live there call it the farm, though it’s half trees”), crafting a new translation of the Aeneid which he will never finish, and helping fugitive slaves escape to Philadelphia, he is given the honor of naming the baby who will become his most famous grandson.

Richard Booth’s son, Junius, has left his wife and son in England and fled to America with a woman named Mary Ann Holmes.

She is left on the farm to raise the children for nine months of the year while her husband tours the country, performing onstage, between bouts of insanity that the family calls his “mad freaks,” though they also involve suicide attempts, first by hanging, then by drowning.

As for Mary, Fowler writes that, by 1838, the year John Wilkes is born, for “seventeen years, almost without break, she’s been either expecting a baby or nursing one. It will be twenty continuous years before she’s done.”

There was a hole in the middle of the Booth family, something like the phantom limb that lingers after an amputation.

“Frederick was the first to die,” just one year old, Fowler writes. Then Mary Ann, and baby Elizabeth, and Henry Byron. The sorrow found no bottom.

“Let me die,” their mother prayed.

Their father put stones in his shoes and walked mile after mile after mile, in penance for whatever sins had led to such losses.

This was no civil war.

Fowler writes, “This grief was a war against the world.”

John Wilkes Booth was born into this war and never escaped it.

But none of this family drama finds a place in “Manhunt,” whose domestic concerns lie chiefly with the First Family.

Lili Taylor gives a riveting performance as Mary Todd Lincoln, herself driven all but mad by the deaths of Willie and another son, Eddie, in 1850, at age three.

“All mothers are my sisters,” she tells her husband, in a kind of Victorian-style version of America Ferrera’s monologue in “Barbie.”

She’s there to speak for every mother who has lost a child, but only because there are few other women or children in the show’s world.

(Even Mudd’s wife and children have been erased.)

Hamish Linklater, as Lincoln, is oddly tremulous, and everything about his life as a father is better rendered in Fowler’s novel: “Nighttime finds Tad sleeping, curled up like a cat, beneath his father’s desk, his head on his father’s shoes.”

In period drama after period drama, Hollywood producers appear to pride themselves on the exact reproduction of everything from candlesticks to carriages, but they do not seem capable of imagining the lives of women and girls before birth control, safe childbirth, and ready abortion.

In Hollywood’s version of American history, as in the imagination of the current Supreme Court majority, every man owns a gun and no woman is ever pregnant.

Most nineteenth-century American women, whatever their race or wealth or state of servitude, were pregnant or nursing for decades.

You hardly ever see them onscreen: no swollen bellies, no leaking breasts, no babies in arms, no toddlers clinging to legs, no lullabies, no “little stone lozenges” like the gravestones that mark the burials of Pip’s five infant brothers in “Great Expectations.”

“Manhunt” tries hard to get Reconstruction right; it gets the warp and woof of daily life quite wrong.

“I did not want to write a book about John Wilkes,” Fowler has said. “This is a man who craved attention and has gotten too much of it.”

She decided to write “Booth” during yet another series of mass shootings in the United States.

She wanted to write about the rest of the Booths, the family that nursed the assassin, the family left behind: his brothers Edwin and Junius and his sisters Rosalie and Asia—Asia, who loved John Wilkes the most.

Asia Booth Clarke, three years older than John Wilkes, married an actor and gave birth to nine children, seven in ten years—her “little trotters,” she called them.

After her brother murdered the President, she moved to England; all three children she bore there died.

“It is dreadful to have no babies,” she once wrote.

On April 15, 1865, she learned of the assassination when, in bed, pregnant with twins, she read about it in the morning newspaper.

Eleven days later, when Booth was killed in Virginia, a theatre manager came to tell her the news.

“Is it over?”

“Yes, madam.”

“Taken?”

“Yes.”

“Dead?”

“Yes, madam.”

The twins were born that summer.

One, a girl, died the next year.

Fowler writes, “They do not name the boy for John.”

This is act vee one eye.

Long before Lincoln became President, “Macbeth” had been his favorite play.

As a young lawyer, he carried a copy of it in his pocket.

John Wilkes Booth had often played the title role.

“After life’s fitful fever he sleeps well,” Lincoln had said, days before his death, reading a speech from the play.

“After being hunted like a dog . . . I am here in despair,” Booth wrote in his last diary entry.

“And why? For doing what Brutus was honored for.”

Booth, the overactor who knew only rage and self-pity, was best known for his performance as Richard III, scheming, enraged, crippled, doomed.

A horse! A horse!

He performed it, as was standard on the nineteenth-century stage, using a loose seventeenth-century adaptation that cribbed from other Shakespeare plays.

“All quiet—after Richard twice tries to rise and cannot,” he once scrawled on a blank page in his prompt book, across from Richard’s dying lines (borrowed from “Henry IV”): “Now let the world no longer be a stage / To feed contention in a lingering act . . . On bloody actions, the rude scene may end, / And darkness be the burier of the dead!”

Long after Lincoln’s death, as one tale has it, Edwin Booth opened his brother’s trunk and found inside theatrical costumes that had belonged to John Wilkes and their father, many stitched by his mother.

He tugged them out and burned them: Iago’s ruffed tunic, Mark Antony’s flowing toga, Richard’s long cloak, each by each, in the dead dark of an American night.

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jeonsbwi · 2 years ago

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Hello ari! This is your bangtan secret valentine ❤️ I hope you’re doing well? I’m so very excited to get to know you a little better and make you something full of l♡ve soon. A little birdie already told me a few things about you, and I was happy to see that we like quite a few of the same things; I love the same eras and songs you do (you have an excellent taste hehe), and I also love green! I see that your biases are taehyung and jeongguk – I’m dying to know why! What makes you love them? Do you have favourite eras for each of them, or looks you just can’t get enough of? Are there special moments that just make your heart melt? Tell me all the taekook ari facts! All the best, 💌

omg hi!! i'm doing very well, thank you, sweet one 🥺 i also hope you're doing amazing! aaah are you perhaps… my twin? you have no idea how giddy it makes me that we share various favorite things <3 (since i have excellent taste, that means you do too 😌)

oh, oh, no one's actually asked me that question before so i'm very excited to answer it!! i'll break it down into two paragraphs for each of them since it might be a lot of info! i'm also horrible with describing my feelings with words, i apologize in advance 😭

jungkook: initially, my bias in bts was yoongi, but i had taken a year break from bts due to some things happening in my life at the time. when i returned, jungkook truly stole my heart. i considered myself yoongi biased when i made my return but god… every time i looked at jungkook, it's like he was reaching out to me. from that moment, i knew i was doomed. i'm in love with him. i love the way his big, doe eyes grow wide and sparkle like stars in the night sky, i love when he spaces out in the middle of nowhere (i want to pick his brain to know what gets him in such a trance), i love his pretty nose scrunches when he's smiling. i love how he time and time again shows how much he loves armys (he tattooed us on his hand!!!!) and his hyungs!!! how he puts his 110% into everything that he does makes me want to work harder/become a better person myself. his competitiveness is also very endearing to me. the man simply hates losing and i respect that!! like idk man, he's just so good, so talented. in the famous words of kim taehyung, "the best voice in korea as far as i'm concerned." (HE'S RIGHT BTW) not only is he amazing at singing, but dancing?! his stage presence?! he's an ace. my heart swells up with adoration when i look at/think of him. looking at him makes me cry a little. sometimes (all of the time) i want to take his face into my hands to shower him with forehead and cheek kisses. that's my baby star candy!!! if i could put him in my pocket, i would. cutest, handsomest, most talented boy jeon jungkook protection squad <3333 would risk it all for him, i mean it.

fave jungkook eras/looks: 190811 jungkook (listen… this is where he started being a menace to me and was like "ari, you can't ignore me!" and i said "i accept defeat"), gq jungkook where he's wearing the black turtle neck (he looked so good please </3), dicon x bts jungkook shoot where he's wearing the black leather jacket in one pictorial and a white, fluffy sweater in the other (HIS DUALITY!!!). map of the soul on:e jungkook (concert & photobook). also, anything involving softboy looks is good to me. i love, love, love soft, prettyboy!jungkook looks. for favorite eras, ly: tear, ly: answer, mots7, and butter era jungkook are my top fave!

taehyung: this man creeped up on me when i least expected it. he slithered into my heart, created a home out of it, and has resided there since. i really knew taehyung became my 2nd ult when i saw a picture of him smiling on my tline only to burst into tears (jvngoo can vouch for this, she was on the phone with me when it happened). seeing taehyung happy makes me teary eyed for the simple fact that happiness looks good on him. he deserves everything good in the world!!! i have this need to protect him because i do feel like a couple of people misunderstand him due to his resting facial expression and how he's grown more quieter than when he was younger. taehyung is SUPER sweet, caring, and thoughtful. an actual angel. i hate when anyone believes otherwise. his love and respect for his work, his members, his fans (HE CREATED BORAHAE!!! AN INNOVATOR!!!!), his family, and his friends is quite evident 💜 i, too, want to to take him into my pocket with jungkook and keep them there forever. my favorite things about taehyung are when he gets shy from compliments, his tete mic faces and his bREAD CHEEKS!!! BREAD CHEEKS FOR DAYS!!!!! how do you expect me not to become emotional when he's giving me bread cheeks, you know? let me also bring up how talented he is. blue & grey, singularity, stigma, sweet night, snow flower, inner child, christmas tree, winter bear?! oh, and before i forget, KING OF STAGE PRESENCE???? yeah, that's my man! nobody does it like him! tbh would 10/10 d*e for him if he asked me to. would do it even if he didn't (i love him, i do, i do).

fave taehyung eras/looks: 2020 grammys taehyung. ly: her, ly: tear, mots7, dynamite, proof, and butter are some of my fave taehyung eras. map of the soul on:e taehyung (concert and photobook). VOGUE KOREA TAEHYUNG!! HIS PHOTOPHOLIO SHOOTS!!! i have so many more fave looks from taehyung, but my brain is a little fried rn. if he has black or blonde/light colored hair, i more than likely enjoy it!

taekook moments that melt my heart:

in the soop s2 when taehyung pleads for jungkook to cook for him, and jungkook is like "how are you going to live your life (if you can't cook)?" but ends up cooking for him anyway <3

may 5th, 2020 taekook vlive. self explanatory. (i clicked the vlive notification that said they were live and screamed when i saw it was them lmfao)

all taekook interactions during the PTD concerts!!!

the live where taehyung and jungkook said they're fire and water, and that they need each other to keep the other grounded :(((( (their bond is everything to me)

this particular fansign: 1 + 2 (THEY WERE BABIES, PLEASE!!!!)

when they mimick each other's actions or facial expressions!!! CTRL + C/CTRL + V DUO!!!!

all taekook interactions tbh, i'm not picky, i'll take EVERYTHING!!!!!! bc everything they do tgt makes my heart beat with joy!

i didn't mean for this to be so long, i'm very sorry 🥹 got carried away. i hope you enjoy reading my dump of feelings and that your questions have been properly answered, sweet one <3 thank you for coming into my inbox, and don't be afraid to return!

#mail from 💌#secret valentine #<3 #ari answers #should i put this under a read more???#idk #lol

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bleachhaven · 4 years ago

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Soutaicho’s Secret Admirer (Shunsui x Reader) — Part 2/6

Here is the highly requested Part 2!! I know I said it was going to be a 2-part series but it turns out I have a lot to say about Shunsui getting the romancing he deserves...so it’ll be a bit longer than expected.

I’m always excited to hear your feedback!

Read Part 1 first!

Dear Shunsui,

It’s been a while since I last saw your face, and I find myself missing you.

I confess, thoughts of you have me distracted. I keep looking for you no matter where I am, hoping to catch just a glimpse of you.

—

She found herself staring at the parchment for a while, contemplating the dilemma she was truly in. She was in the process of writing another letter to him. Another one that he might not even read let alone take seriously. It had her sighing at the hopelessness of the whole situation.

In the end, a letter or two snuck into the Soutaicho’s office would be as close as she would get to romancing him. He was the most powerful man in the Gotei 13. She, a lowly third seat, had no hopes of catching his attention let alone his love. To him, she might as well be a newborn shinigami who had no clue about anything.

What hope did she really have? None, that’s what.

But to her...he was more than just the Soutaicho. So much more.

It brightened up her day to see him in that ridiculously pink kimono. He was probably the most handsomest man she had ever seen. While most men look almost too pretty, Shunsui was so manly. The hair smattering that chest, peaking through his uniform did terrible things to her. The way those grey eyes would look at someone...not that she’d been truly privileged to have them on her in her time as a shinigami. Maybe a passing glance at best. Direct eye contact might have had her bursting into flames on the spot! The eye patch didn’t make him seem any less. In fact it seemed to add just a bit of a dangerous aura to him that only worked to make him seem even more attractive to her.

He was always kind to everyone, always teasing, always smiling that lazy smile of his. She had been sad to notice that he smiled less and less nowadays.

She had been slowly falling for him while he was still in the Eighth. Even then, he was way out of her league but now they might as well be from two different planets. Their statuses in life felt that far apart.

Her being hopelessly and endlessly in love with Kyouraku Shunsui was the reason why she hadn’t been able to date anyone in over a decade. Not that she minded. Any man she knew couldn’t hold a candle to what he made her feel.

She didn’t begin writing these love letters for the Soutaicho because she had any hope of him reading them and reciprocating her feelings. She maybe naive and romantic, but she wasn’t stupid enough to have such foolish hopes. She knew there was no chance of him finding out who she was. She wouldn’t get in any trouble. So it just felt like a safe way to brighten up his day and give an outlet for her pent up feelings. But then one letter became two. Then two letters became a weekly thing that she looked forward to — sharing her thoughts with him even if he had no clue who she was.

It was still hers. This was just theirs. And maybe it could be enough. If this was all she could have, it had to be enough.

She was so deep in thought, contemplating the futility of her love story, that when someone walked into the room, she was completely taken off guard. But realizing who exactly it was had her blushing like a startstruck fool while she rushed to hide the parchment she was writing on. For there stood the object of her affection himself squinting down at her in confusion.

“Soutaicho!” She gasped.

Oh. My. God. She felt like she couldn’t breathe. Oh good lord. How embarrassing would it be if she actually passed out and that ended up being his first ever impression of her? This was the worst thing that could ever happen to her. The absolute worst considering she could feel her cheeks flush even redder.

— — —

Shunsui wasn't Yamaji. He wasn’t one to sit in an office or be strictly all business. It wasn’t in him to be that way.

In fact, even Nanao-chan insisted that he try to stick to being his wandering self so that he could hold on to the truest parts of himself while he was handling the responsibilities of being Soutaicho, without having the title absorbing him whole. He wanted to cultivate his own traditions in the Gotei 13 rather than adhere to the old ones, doing everything exactly the same way they had been done for a millennia or more. Rigidity could spell death. For the Gotei. And also for his sanity.

One of his favorite traditions so far would be his impromptu visits to the other divisions. It wouldn't ever be formal, though the other Taichos never seemed to get that memo. He just liked to know if the Gotei was doing alright under his care. What better way to know than to see it for himself?

Kuchiki Rukia had just become the Captain of Squad 13, and that squad held a special place in his heart after all. Why wouldn’t he want to check up on her?

Fine. Who was he fooling? That was not the reason he was here at all. The moment he left his office, his feet were drawn to Squad 13 and the ugendo purely out of habit. It wasn’t until he was already there, startling the squad’s third seat out of some paperwork that he realized where he really was.

“Soutaicho!” The third seat, whose pretty face he remembered but the name he couldn’t recall, stood up instantly, shuffling her papers around hastily. “I...I..uhm...I didn’t realize...”

The door opened and Rukia walked out interrupting the poor girl’s stammering. “It’s alright, _____-san. I think he’s here to see me.”

“I thought I forgot a scheduled inspection, Taicho!”

Rukia looked at him as if to ask if that was the case, but they both knew it wasn’t. After all, it wasn’t the first time that Shunsui had wandered only to end up here.

Just the same, he wanted to put them at ease. “You’re not in trouble,” he said with a smile. “I just felt like a walk and I thought I’d come see the new Taicho.”

The third seat, still probably mesmerized by Shunsui and the fact that she was actually standing before the Soutaicho of the Gotei 13 itself, stared at him with wide eyes. She was a tiny little thing. Barely reaching even the top of his shoulders. And in that moment, she looked a bit like a doe caught in headlights.

“You go on ahead, _____-san,” Rukia said gently, taking pity on her subordinate. “The workday is already over. We can finish the rest of the paperwork tomorrow.”

“Oh! Uhm...yes, Taicho!” _____-san said. Then she turned to Shunsui and bowed before making a very hasty exit.

The scent of lemons that softly teased his nostrils as she rushed past him was the first breadcrumb. Looking back at that moment, he would think so. But in that moment, he didn’t really make note of it all.

His mind was too busy trying to think of an excuse to give Rukia for randomly showing up. One that wouldn’t have her feeling too sad for him.

Besides it made perfect sense when Rukia offered him lemonade that the third seat usually made for the squad once in a while to keep up their morale on summer days. What else would smell like lemons if not delicious lemonade?

———

When Shunsui reached back to the office to see if Nanao-Chan had anything more he had to attend to before he headed out, the office was empty.

But there at the center of his desk was a carefully placed envelope with his name written in the same beautiful handwriting he had grown to know so well and wait for with anticipation.

Dear Shunsui,

It’s been a while since I last saw your face and I find myself missing you. I confess, thoughts of you have me distracted. I keep looking for you no matter where I am, hoping to catch just a glimpse of you.

And in the rare moment that I do, I wish I could just run up to you and greet you with a kiss. As if you were truly mine.

I see the sadness you hope no one would notice. I see how it lingers even when you smile. You could never know how much I wish I could take away the pain but I know that is beyond me.

So I wish I could just hold you close and maybe make you forget the rest of the world and the weight upon your shoulders. I wish I would get a moment to make you smile just so I can kiss the curve of your lips.

But my love must remain confined here to ink and paper and that breaks my heart.

Love,

Your Secret Admirer

—

This one tugged his heart in the strangest way and had him holding the letter close to his chest.

He did indeed have people around him. People who respected him. People who revered him. People who flirted with him and the ones he flirted back with.

Yet he longed for the kind of companionship in which even proximity could offer comfort. In which even silence could soothe him.

These letters started out silly and romantic and seductive...all things he definitely enjoyed.

But now, on a day like this, when he felt too low and too alone, this letter had him yearning too. It had him hoping, and wishing in a way he hadn’t felt the need to in a millennia.

He had to find her. He just had to.

——

Read Part 3 next.

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#bleach #bleach anime #bleach imagines #kyouraku shunsui x reader #shunsui kyouraku x reader #shunsui kyouraku #kyouraku shunsui #bleach x reader

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mimisempai · 3 years ago

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The evidences of our love are everywhere

Summary:

Thor is worried about his little brother's happiness and spies on Loki and Mobius in a more or less subtle way.

Tumblr request : Thor spying on Loki and Mobius.

As usual I got carried away and added most of my favorite tropes :p

https://archiveofourown.org/works/33254275

1643 words - Rating G

"I know it, that you are watching us Thor."

Thor wanted to protest at first, but even though he hadn't known Mobius long, he knew the man was perceptive and there was no point in trying to lie to him.

He sighed, "I admit it."

"I suspect you have no malicious intent," Mobius said kindly, "but I would like to know why."

Thor thought about what he would say in response.

He could see that his little brother was happy. That he had changed, or rather that he had become the best version of himself.

And this was partly thanks to Mobius, but he needed to see it with his own eyes. In their daily lives. So he had been watching for every moment he could spy on them during their stay in Asgard.

**********

One evening, he had overheard a scene he never thought he would see.

Mobius with a brush in his hand was sitting behind Loki and asked him softly, "Should I start brushing your hair?"

Loki nodded and closed his eyes, as if he already knew he was going to like it. Like it had become something familiar.

Mobius started at the bottom, taking care not to pull, then slowly worked his way up. After a while, Mobius' fingers replaced the brush and it was clear that Loki was enjoying it. He did not startle or protest. He turned his back to someone and let them touch him. This showed how much he trusted Mobius.

Not so long ago, such contact would have been unimaginable. If it was anyone else but Mobius, Thor thought, Loki would never have allowed it.

Thor could hardly tear himself away from the scene since he was so fascinated.

Mobius stopped and his hands slid over Loki's shoulders and Loki held his head back with a gentle smile on his face. Mobius leaned over and kissed him gently.

Thor thought it was time for him to retire.

**********

" Tell me candidly, is there anything in me, except my ugliness, which displeases you? Do you object to my birth, my temper, my manners?”

“No, truly,” replied the princess; “I like everything in you, except”—and she hesitated courteously—”except your appearance.”

Thor had just entered the living room of Loki and Mobius' suite and stopped in front of the incredible scene he had before his eyes.

Loki was lying on the couch, his head on Mobius' lap, Mobius had one hand in his hair and in the other hand a book that he was reading aloud.

Thor held his breath, because the two men had neither seen nor heard him.

Mobius continued reading.

“Then, madam, I need not lose my happiness; for if I have the gift of making clever whosoever I love best, you also are able to make the person you prefer as handsome as ever you please. Could you love me enough to do that?”

“I think I could,” said the princess, and her heart being greatly softened towards him, she wished that he might become the handsomest prince in all the world. No sooner had she done so than Riquet with the Tuft appeared in her eyes the most elegant young man she had ever seen.

Loki sneered, "Of course, to be happy, they both have to be beautiful and smart. I know it's a fairy tale and doesn't fit reality, but frankly, I'd never read that to my kids."

"Sweetheart," Mobius said softly while stroking Loki's hair soothingly before continuing, "Listen to the end, I think you'll enjoy it more."

Loki harrumphed, but remained silent as Mobius continued, " Some people have said that this was no fairy-gift, but that love created the change. They declare that the princess, when she thought over her lover’s perseverance, patience, good-humour, and discretion, and counted his numerous fine qualities of mind and disposition, saw no longer the deformity of his body or the plainness of his features. However this may be, it is certain that the princess married him; that either she retained her good sense, or he never felt the want of it; and he never again became ugly—or, at least, not in his wife’s eyes, so they both lived very happy until they died. Morality, all is beautiful in those whom we love, and those whom we love are witty and intelligent"

Loki turned on his back and looked at Mobius.

Thor stepped back into the doorway, he was no longer able to see but he heard Loki, "Mobius, it's kind of like the two of us in the end," he chuckled before continuing, "except that we're both princes. But what I mean is that you have seen beyond what I have shown the world."

Thor heard Mobius nod before answering, "And you, Loki, have opened my mind. So there is nothing to stop us from living very happy until we die."

The only thing Thor heard again before walking away was his little brother's undoubtedly happy laughter.

**********

Thor had not often had the opportunity to see Loki in his Jotun form. He knew that even after all this time it was still an extremely sensitive subject for his brother, so he was surprised to see him like this, sitting on the balcony railing of their suite, looking at the sky.

He was about to join him, when Mobius appeared next to him bringing what appeared to be some refreshments.

When Loki was aware of Mobius' presence, he began to revert to his Aesir form. But Mobius protested, "Loki, you know you don't have to hide from me, Sweetheart. If you want to take on that appearance, I have no problem with it."

And as Loki returned to his Jotun appearance, Mobius put down the tray and approached him, gently touching his face, as if he was used to doing it, knowing that if he lingered too long, the cold sensation would be too much.

Loki said in a voice Thor didn't know, "Do you really not mind touching me while I'm like this?"

Mobius shook his head and replied, "No, the only downside is that I can't touch you or kiss you like I want to, but otherwise I have no problem with this shape. I told you before, I love you, I love everything about you and it's part of you so I love this form too."

Then Mobius sat Loki down on a small bench that was on the balcony, put a pillow on Loki's lap, and lay down next to him resting his head on the pillow then said softly, "And you see, even when you are in this form, it is possible for us to be close."

As he walked away, Thor thought to himself that he would not soon forget his brother's amazed expression.

**********

The next time, Thor had first heard just laughter, as he went to knock on the door of Mobius and Loki's suite.

"No, Mobius! Stop it! You're scratching! I don't want you to kiss me if it scratches like that!"Then Thor heard Mobius reply in a sulky voice, which was quite rare, "Loki..."

"No, no, no your itchy skin will not come in contact with my delicate skin!"

He heard Mobius cough before he replied, "Then would you please shave me?"

Then the two men seemed to be gone, and Thor couldn't help but be curious and slowly opened the door. The living room was empty, but Thor heard voices that seemed to come from a small adjoining room. He knew he shouldn't, but he peeked through the half-open door anyway.

Mobius was sitting with a towel over his shoulders, shaving cream on his cheeks and chin. Loki had rolled up his sleeves, and was holding a razor. He leaned over to Mobius, and with a serious look on his face asked, "Do you trust me?"

Mobius answered firmly, looking him straight in the eye, "Intimately." before stretching his chin forward and closing his eyes.

Thor once again baffled, discreetly turned back and left their suite.

**********

"I'm sorry Mobius. Of course I had no malicious intent. I guess I just wanted to make sure that Loki was happy. It was something I didn't expect to see. I think I wanted to see it for myself, I'm sorry I was kind of a stalker, I-"

Mobius stopped him by putting a hand on his forearm, "It's okay Thor, you don't have to justify yourself. I know Loki's life, his whole life, so I understand perfectly well the need to reassure you, but I can promise you one thing, that I will always do everything to make him happy. That will always be my priority. Loki is the only family I have so I will always take care of him."

Thor nodded visibly moved as a voice echoed behind him, "You see, brother you don't have to worry. My happiness is truly real."

As if to prove what he had just said was true, Loki approached Mobius and put his arm around his waist before kissing him on the cheek.

"This man Thor, is the person who allowed me to change what I thought was my destiny, he saw the good in me, and in doing so I finally believed that I was capable of doing good."

Thor answered softly, "I always knew you were capable of doing good, little brother, but I'm glad you believe it now too."

Then he stepped forward and took the two men in a strong embrace before stepping back and adding, "Mobius, there was only one thing that was wrong with everything you told me before."

Mobius and Loki looked at him in surprise.

Thor added with a gentle smile, "You said Loki was your only family, but that's not true, it's not true anymore. Welcome to the family. We are your family and you are ours now."

_________

Series of Oneshot : Together, for all time, always

Fairy Tale used : Riquet and the tuft, oft underrated or shallowly interpreted. Shaving scene, inspired by Gil Grissom and Sara Sidle shaving scene in CSI

As always, bear with me as it is not beta'd and english is not my native language I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless🥰

#Established Relationship #tooth rotting fluff #lokius #lokius fic #loki #mobius m mobius #thor #Loki/Mobius M. Mobius #loki x mobius #moki #wowki

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nazyalenskyism · 4 years ago

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Unusual Encounters

A/N: This fic is for the GVBB's mini bang @grishaversebigbang! We're so excited that we get to finally share our works with with you! @sketcherooroo ‘s fantastic art for this fic can be found here, and @art-by-me19 ‘s fantastic art for this fic can be found here!

Summary: With impossible stakes on the line for both the Ravkans and the Crows, the last quiet moments before the chaotic auction provide a brief opportunity for peace.

Ao3: Unusual Encounters

“You don’t trust them,” Inej’s voice whispered in his ear. She had quietly found her way to his shoulder, as she always had but something was different now. Ever since he’d caught her eye at the Slat, when she’d nearly leapt down to avenge him in what she’d thought were his final moments, he could sense that she saw through him, truly saw him. It was a feeling he had avoided, when his Crows tried to get to know him, or other bosses tried to figure him out, he’d evaded their attempts as easily as he slipped out of handcuffs. But Inej was different, she always had been. Even when he had guarded himself from her, she had always been able to find a way to understand him. It was an unspoken part of the pact they shared.

“I don’t trust anyone.”

He could feel her gaze on him without turning to confirm it, the dark brown of her eyes posing a question, maybe a challenge, don’t you? And she was right, didn’t he trust her? He had trusted her with his secrets for years, as much as he hated to think that he had let anyone know any part more of him than the lies he’d built around himself, he trusted Inej, and that was the truth. Fortunately for him, he was not virtuous or honorable like his Wraith and therefore he had no issue with lying, it was what thieves and conmen did, and he felt no shame in that. He ignored the look. “I don’t need to trust them. They care about their country, they were desperate enough to come make a deal with a thief from the Barrel because they have no other choice. They need Kuwei to save the Grisha, and they will pay any price for that. The idea that they could let him slip from their fingers is so unfathomable that I don’t need to trust them. Their position makes them predictable.”

Kaz flipped his pen between his fingers, allowing himself a moment to contemplate. He believed that what he had told Inej was the truth, but there was something about the Ravkans that made him want to hesitate. He had never played games alongside Kings before, and while he’d heard much about the incompetence of the Fjerdan king and the old Ravkan King, there were fewer whispers about the current king than there were shouting remarks. People in Little Ravka had hung banners for the new king, singing about the Boy King, the King of Scars, who had supposedly been taken prisoner and tortured by the Darkling. Kaz didn’t care about Ravkan politics, but in his business, secrets and knowing your surroundings were key, and there was something to be said of a man who had been king for years, yet had managed to keep any rumors from finding their way down into Inej’s hands, and then Kaz’s. Perhaps there was even more to the royal than Kaz had let himself see. He would have to keep note of that, no good came from underestimating your allies and enemies.

“You like him,” Inej mused, following his line of sight to the boy king turned pirate, “why?” “I don’t like anyone, Wraith.”

“You like Jes,” Inej countered, “you like Wylan and Nina, maybe even Kuwei and Matthias, and you like--” she broke off, turning away from him. Kaz desperately wanted to reach out and say, what, exactly? That he did like her, that it was more than like, that he valued her beyond her talents. That he appreciated her strength, her light, the magic she brought into his world that he had long since dreamt was impossible to conjure? But they didn’t have time for that, and she did not want to hear those words from him.

“Would you trust a pirate?”

“He’s a privateer Kaz, authorized by the Ravkan king to be here, accompanied with the highest ranking Grisha in the world.”

“You didn’t answer the question,” he rasped, amusement pulling at him.

“If I’ve learned anything from you, it’s to never trust anyone, so no,” she relented, hand brushing over her knives, and he knew she must be asking the Saints to spare them a betrayal. Kaz knew that if they did face a betrayal, he would put money on his crew to come out on top any day. ***

“Look at them,” Zoya hissed from over his shoulder. They were mulling over the plan they had concocted for the auction the following day, hunched over a desk in the corner of the room.

“Who, Nazyalensky?” “Nina, her Fjerdan, the Wraith, the Barrel rat, the Grisha and the merchant boy, the whole lot of reprobates.”

“So, everyone?” Nikolai muttered, amending the papers before him, the inner workings of Mister Brekker’s mind laid out before him. The plan was clever, but to someone who had built their life upon being clever, he could tell there were obvious omissions, Brekker was clearly up to something more than what he’d written down, but Nikolai would expect nothing less from the boy who’d orchestrated a heist into the Ice Court. “You should be more worried,” she huffed, snatching the pen from his hand to scribble something down, “they’re not trustworthy.”

“I don’t trust them, Nazyalensky. We’re simply allied towards a common goal.”

“Allies don’t trust one another?”

“I believe they’ll keep their side of the deal because they want their money, and they want Kuwei to make it out of Kerch alive. We are useful to them for that reason, so they won’t break the deal.”

“So our plans hinge on the wants of a group of children?”

“You were about their age during the civil war,” Nikolai said, “besides, I thought you would be elated that she’s alive,” he hummed, thinking back to how devastated Zoya had been when she’d come back from the mission where Nina went missing. She’d spent weeks searching for the girl, and it was only an order from him that had brought her back from searching the oceans for that Drüskelle ship, and though she’d never said it, Nikolai knew she had resented him for it. “She’s being reckless! A Fjerdan— not to mention a Drüskelle? What is she thinking?”

“That she loves him.” In the corner of the room, Nina sat with her legs splayed out over the boy-- Matthias’ lap as she indulged in a plate of waffles, heaping with whipped cream and strawberries. The Fjerdan simply smiled as Nina rambled on about the exact viscosity required for syrup to best enhance the waffle-eating experience, the smile transforming into reddening cheeks and an abashed look when she dalloped cream onto his nose.

Zoya huffed, looking away from the pair, “love is for fools.”

Nikolai cut her a glance, “ruthless as always, Commander. They found each other and despite all circumstances managed to fall in love. That’s the stuff stories are made of.”

“You need to cut down on the novels, you’re too much of a romantic already. I fear for your future bride.” “Not marriage talk again, Nazyalensky. If I didn’t know any better, I would think you were trying to get rid of me.” “Clearly I’m failing,” Zoya muttered as Brekker motioned for everyone to gather round to discuss the plan. “If I had been successful, you’d be bobbing for herring in a canal.”

Brekker raised a gloved finger causing his gang to quiet like a group of children falling in line before their governess. Interesting. Not only was the thief an expert in disguise and evading attention, but commanding it was another skill entirely. Nikolai wondered what scars the boy bore, to don gloves like Nikolai’s own. What horrors caused a 17 year old to rise to being the most notorious Barrel Boss in Ketterdam, after years of climbing up the ladder and making a monstrous name for himself?

“Everyone out except the Grisha and the Pirate.”

“Did you hear that, Nazyalensky,” Nikolai muttered under his breath as the others began to protest, “‘the Grisha and the Pirate. Sounds like a rousing title for a play, though I do prefer ‘The World’s Handsomest, Most Skilled Privateer, and the Grisha.”

“I prefer, “The Pirate Who Finally Shut up Because the Grisha Ripped Out His tongue.”

“Privateer,” he corrected, returning her glare with a wink. “Such vivid imagery, Commander, have you ever considered becoming a playwright?” “Perhaps I’ll pursue that avenue once this plan goes to hell and our country falls because of it. I’m sure it pays better.”

Nikolai laughed, their attention turning back to the gang as Brekker held up a hand again, “we will discuss the final plan once the details have been agreed upon and the Ravkans are back at their embassy.”

The tall Zemeni boy-- Jesper, halted on his way out of the room, peering back around the door, “what about the airship?”

“What?” Kaz’s voice was irritable, or perhaps that’s how it always sounded. Then again, Nikolai thought as he caught Brekker’s eyes drifting towards the girl perched on the open window sill behind him, sunlight glinting against her plait, firing a similar light behind his eyes, maybe not always. “Perhaps if you visit Ravka, you’ll get a chance then,” Nikolai replied coyly, winking at the boy. “Yes,” Zoya added, as he let out a laugh, turning around to leave, “you’ll find that doors in Ravka are always open to those wanting to seek entry.”

“What was that?” Nikolai muttered as the others followed the boy out, “that was so cryptic that I barely put it together.”

“How else was I supposed to allude to it, Sturmhond? I can’t very well say, ‘you’re a Grisha, you should come to train at the Little Palace right this instant?’ You’re the brains, I’m the muscle.” “Why, Zoya, did you just call me smart?”

“You’re as smart as I am pleasant,” she retorted, moving towards the table Brekker and the Wraith were at. “Fortunately for me, I find your company to be nothing short of intoxicating, Nazyalensky.”

She rolled her eyes as they sat down across from Brekker and the girl named Inej, Nikolai spreading their plans out next to Kaz’s.

“So,” he said, letting the voice of authority slip him as easily as he slipped into his teal frock coat, “where do we begin?”

#gvbb21 #gvbbminibang21 #gang 15 #exp. gang 21 #kanej #zoyalai #zoyalai fic #kanej fic #soc #tgt #kos #soc fic #Kaz Brekker #inej ghafa #nikolai lantsov #zoya nazyalensky #jesper fahey #nina zenik #grishaverse

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ohpedromypedro · 4 years ago

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I Love It When You Say That

A/N: @manuphantom wanted a second part for More Than Okay, so here it is! The well awaited part 2 she’s been looking for. 😘💕 Big thanks to @bxbyriku for the Spanish translations, you’re the real MVP 😩🙌🏼

word count: 5.8k (this is literally 20% plot and 80% smut, sorrynotsorry)

pairings/characters: Pedro Pascal x f!Reader, minor oc for the fic.

warnings: smut smut smut, but passionate smut. oral (f and m receiving), unprotected sex with use of birth control by reader, lots of swearing, fluff if you squint

summary: no please, I suck at them

“Hello? Earth to Y/N?” Your coworker Zena snaps her fingers in front of your face, bringing you back to reality and out of your rapidly running mind.

“Huh?” You snap out of it when her hand invades your vision, looking at her with raised brows. “You said something?”

“Yeah,” she laughs, wiping down the counters by the espresso machines. “Asked what you were doing after work?”

“Oh,” you blush, shaking your head with a smile as you continue washing mugs at the sink. “I’m sorry Z, was sort of daydreaming. I...I have a date tonight.”

“You do? Who with?” She grins, leaning in close as if you’re telling her the biggest secret in the world and she’s a million percent into it.

“You wouldn’t believe me.” You laugh, playfully shoving her away.

“Try me.”

“Did I tell you what happened on my birthday several months ago?” You bite your lip, looking at her with a slight head tilt.

“Well your birthday was before you started working here, so no.” She laughs.

“Long story short, no one remembered, not even my own family, so I found myself sitting in a park miles from my apartment just crying, knees tucked to my chest and face burrowed in my arms. While I was there sitting under a tree an absolute mess, someone started talking to me, asking if I were okay and why I was crying under a tree; eventually after a few shoulder shrugs and head shakes from me in response to his questions, he asked that if he introduced himself by name would it make me feel more comfortable talking to him, so I nodded in response… Well, it was Pedro Pascal. You know, Prince Oberyn Martell from Game of Thrones?”

“Okay one, I’m sorry you had a shitty birthday,” she frowned. “And two, you’re fucking with me, aren’t you?”

“See that’s the thing, it was shitty until by some Godly miracle Pedro Pascal happened to be in that same exact park as me and when he found out I was crying under a tree on my birthday, he went out of his way to make it better.” You bite your lip thinking about it, the smile on your face genuine. Z notices that.

“What did he do?” She asks with pure interest, occasionally glancing over at the coffee shop’s entrance for any new customers.

“Took me to dinner and a movie.”

“Cliché.”

“Yes, but it was delicious food and the movie at the drive-in was a surprise.” You smile.

“Which was?” She quirks her head in question.

“His movie, one of my faves too, Bloodsucking Bastards.” You sigh dreamily and she just laughs.

“Let me guess, he’s a vampire in this movie?”

“Head vampire,” you smirk.

“Hot.”

“Right?” You laugh softly, giving your head a shake. “But... but that’s not all.”

“Oh? You fuck him?” She asks, eyebrows raised high.

“No!” You blush, hard. “But he did kiss me… many times. And...And when he dropped me back off at my apartment after the movie, he...gave me his number.”

“To keep in touch?” She grins, looking somewhat genuinely happy for you.

“Yeah! He....he sends me good morning texts every single morning…” you bite your lip with a smile. “And tonight is I guess technically our second date since he took me out to dinner for my birthday, but...this time our date is going to be spent inside for a more private, relaxing setting.”

“That’s romantic.” She smirks, hint of a suggestive tone in her words.

“Yeah, it is.” Your cheeks couldn’t be any more hot. “It’s also our first time seeing each other since my birthday cause you know, filming and such.”

“It’s nice that he still wants to see you despite being a busy bee with acting life.”

“It’s more than nice,” you grin wide, looking at her with eyes full of genuine happiness. “It’s beyond anything I could ever ask for, he’s...he’s more than just a silly celebrity crush, you know?”

“I understand that.” Z grins. “You’ve got to actually spend time with him, he took you out for your birthday for God’s sake, so yeah I can definitely understand that you’ll feel for him as more than just that.”

“He’s the sweetest, most caring, adorkable, and handsomest man out there.”

“I bet,” she giggles, hearing the bell above the door ding to alert there’s a new customer and going over to the front counter to greet them. “Hi! Welcome to-- oh, you’re...wow… May I help you?” She looks up at the new customer awestruck, Pedro Pascal himself standing there with a cheesy grin.

“I’m here not for a coffee, thank you, but just to pick up Miss Y/N over there.” He points to where you’re still standing at the sink washing and drying the coffee mugs and spoons by hand, humming to yourself. Z smiles when she looks over at you and decides to make this a little fun before she alerts you that he’s here.

“You must be the vampire guy she was telling me about. Bloodsucking Bastards or something?” She smirks, looking up at him with a small tilt of her head. “I prefer Prince Oberyn, if I’m being honest.”

Pedro laughs softly, giving his head a shake with an amused smile. “Yes, I am that vampire guy from Bloodsucking Bastards and I am honored that you enjoyed my role as Oberyn.” His eyes flick back over to you, watching with an adoring gaze as you place the mugs and spoons back in their designated spots after drying your hands with a clean dish towel.

“I’ll let her know you’re here,” Z murmurs quietly to him, seeing in his eyes alone how much he truly feels for you.

Z goes over to you and gives your shoulder a light tap, gaining your attention immediately. She has a look in her eyes that seems both mischievous and amazed and you can’t help but give your head a curious tilt when you look up at her. What she says next has your heart thumping in your chest.

“Your vampire boyfriend is here to pick you up.”

Your gaze quickly moves to the front counter and your eyes light right up at the sight of Pedro standing there smiling at you.

“Bye,” is all you say before you pull your apron off and toss it onto the counter, quickly grabbing your purse from the small associate break room so you can meet Pedro by the front counter. “Hi,” you smile widely when you step out of the work area, allowing him to right away engulf you into a warm embrace, which you happily return.

“Hey, hermosa. Ready for our date night in?” He grins, pulling back to gaze down at you while his hands rest on your waist, the two of you completely unaware that Zena is ducking behind the counter to secretly watch your interaction. If only she had some popcorn...

“More than ready,” you whisper, yet again another blush coating your cheeks tonight. “I’ve missed…” You bite your lip and move your gaze elsewhere, too nervous to say what you want to say in case of scaring him away for being so forward.

“I missed you too,” he says it for you, reaching one of his hands up to gently brush his thumb against your cheek so he can gain your attention again, a genuine look in his eyes. “Missed that beautiful smile of yours.”

“Awwwww!” Z chimes in, the two of you breaking your gaze to see her standing at the counter with a wide smile and hand over her heart, as if in an adoring way.

“Oh shut up,” you mumble with a shy smile and Pedro only chuckles.

“Come on,” he smiles, taking one of your hands in his own and sending a small wave Zena’s way, leading you out of the shop. “Let’s get to your place for our date, yeah?”

“Yeah.” You grin.

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

“Did you want something scary or not scary?” You ask Pedro with a smile, flipping through the movie options on Netflix.

“Depends, will the answer change whether I get to hold you in my arms during the movie or not?” He inquires with a soft smile of his own while carrying the few snacks the two of you picked out together into the living room. You blush at his response, but smile up at him when he places everything down on the coffee table.

“Do you want to hold me during the movie?”

“Yes,” he states simply, but with adoration and you can’t help but grin.

“Then no, the answer will not change depending on what genre you choose.” You reach out for his hand, gently pulling him down onto the couch next to you and bringing your freehand up to gently rest against his cheek which he leans into, just staring into his eyes for a moment while you admire his company. Ever since your birthday you just can’t help but to truly appreciate Pedro Pascal more as a person and there’s so much you wish to do to pay him back as a way to show your appreciation. “I owe the world to you, Pedro Pascal.”

“You are my world.” He whispers and your face says it all, you weren’t expecting that from Pedro Pascal himself, not yet at least.

“I am?” You whisper right back, tears already welling in your eyes.

“Fate brought me into that park on your birthday, Y/N… I never quite believed in it, at least not until you.” His own freehand comes up to rest against your now damp cheek, his gaze never leaving yours as he wipes away the few tears that escape your vision. “I knew from the moment I met those tear filled eyes the first time that you were going to change the course of the rest of my life...and boy was I right. You, I just…I can’t get you out of my mind. I film scenes with many wonderful and beautiful women, but none of them occupy my mind the way you do...none of them come close to you, your courage, your passion... I think about you and that bright smile of yours, that adorable genuine laugh that brought so much joy to my heart and ears when we watched Bloodsucking Bastards, your cute little giggles when something I said amused you and those eyes...like gazing into a whole new and beautiful galaxy. Such beauty, everything about you...”

You’re stunned, absolutely stunned. Your gaze is soft, but wide and full of adoration. This man who you’ve grown to love over the years because of his incredible acting skills and his downright glowing personality, is practically confessing his love to you without actually using the term, yet. You’re at a loss for words, unable to even comprehend any to begin with, so you respond by leaning in for a deep, passionate kiss, pouring every ounce of your emotion into it. Pedro’s response is immediate, arms wrapping around your waist and pulling you flush against his chest while kissing you with as much fervor in return. After a few long moments, the two of you pull back to catch your breath and he lets his forehead press to yours with a wide smile.

“I definitely missed your lips too… Such beautiful, kissable lips,” He murmurs, smiling when he hears your giggle.

“Ditto, mister.” You smile, moving your fingers to gently card through his hair. “I didn’t realize you felt so strongly for me…”

“Love is the only term that comes to mind when I look at you.” He pulls you against his chest with a soft murmur, sitting you sideways on his lap and moving to press his lips to your forehead.

“I…” You bite your lip softly, looking up at him as he cradles you against him. “I love you too.” You whisper, judging by his wide grin that he was hoping you’d say that.

“That’s all I needed to hear,” he hums softly, moving to give you one more deep kiss while holding you tighter against him.

Your arms move to wrap around his neck, pulling yourself up further where your faces are level with one another and letting out a content sigh when one of his hands instinctively grabs you by the leg and pulls it over his lap so that you’re comfortably straddling him. His other hand moves to hold you by the waist as the two of you momentarily get lost in your heated kiss, your lips molded against one another’s like the perfect puzzle pieces. You’ve never had a kiss this real before or one as passionate and full of love; everything about this moment screams that this is it, this is what life’s intentions are for you.

After several minutes of slow, passionate kissing and allowing your hands to freely explore one another, you pull back to breathe again, moving your hands to cup his face.

“I wish to show you how much I love and appreciate everything about you, Pedro…” You murmur quietly, moving your hands to gently rub circles along his chest. He hums at the soothing sensation, looking up at you while his hands stay seated on your waist.

“How so?” He muses, rubbing his thumbs into your sides and smiling at the way you melt into the feeling.

“With my lips,” you sigh contentedly, studying the way Pedro’s eyes light up with blown pupils at the mention of your lips being how you’ll show your love and appreciation. You smile. “I want to kiss every inch, crevice and curve of your perfectly toned skin, kiss every one of your cute little tattoos to mark my admiration for each of them and how they’re a part of what makes you you.”

Pedro doesn’t let you speak another word, only presses another kiss to your lips while shifting to stand up from the couch with your legs wrapped firm around his waist. “Which way to your bedroom, hermosa?”

“Second door down the hall on the right.” You breathe, carding your fingers through his hair and kissing him once more before dipping your head to start kissing along his jawline toward his neck while he walks the two of you toward your bedroom. His low groan makes you smile and urges you to leave a playful nip to one of his throat’s sensitive areas before finishing with a gentle kiss.

“Mmmm you’re a dream come true.” He sighs, opening the door of your room with a quick gentle kick of his foot against the bottom corner.

“That would be you, mister.” You giggle softly, grinning when he drops you onto your bed after getting the door kicked open and closed and moving to lay comfortably before him.

“Me? I’m just Pedro Pascal.” He chuckles, climbing his way up and along the bed until he’s hovering face to face with you, his lips finding his way to the curve of your jaw now.

“You’re more than that,” you say breathlessly, moving your fingers into his hair again. “You’re more than just the sum of what Hollywood makes you out to be… I love you for who you show me when we’re together, not only for what Hollywood shows. You are more than just Pedro Pascal the actor, you are José Pedro Balmaceda Pascal, the man I shamelessly fell even harder for after he saved my birthday from being the absolute worst one to ever happen to me.”

“You deserved every minute of what I did for you,” he murmurs against your skin, pulling back to gaze down at you with admiration. “I appreciate everything you say to and about me, hermosa. Every word.”

“I mean every one and I will always stand by them.” You whisper with reassurance, your lips finding his once more. “Now please, let’s prove to each other how true our words are?”

“Yes,” he smiles, moving away so he can rub his hands up and along your sides. “And you’re sure you’re ready for a step this big?”

“Yes,” you breathe, grabbing his hands and lowering them toward the hem of the comfortable sweatpants you changed into after arriving home from work, your eyes showing how ready you really are. “Please.”

Pedro smiles and nods immediately, lightly gripping the hem of your sweats and pulling them down and off your ankles, leaving you in just your black laced panties you wear beneath. His hands go for your cotton t-shirt next, sitting up a bit so you can help him to get it pulled up and over your head, a blush burning at your cheeks as his gaze takes in your form laid out for him, your matching bra and panties a pleasing sight to his eyes.

“You’re so beautiful…” He muses in a gentle tone of voice, gliding his hands along your soft skin and smiling when goosebumps start erupting from his touch. “Your body reacts so naturally to me…” He leans forward to kiss from the edge of your shoulder toward your neck where he nuzzles his face against it, his lips and teeth eliciting soft gasps from you.

“Pedro…” You tilt your head, your fingers once again brushing through his dark locks.

“Hmm?” He hums in an inquiring tone, moving his lips from your neck down to your chest to start kissing at the swell of your breasts.

“Oh…” A soft moan escapes your lips when he reaches your breasts, your fingers giving a light clench in his hair. “Please,” you whimper softly, using your freehand to start tugging on his own shirt, which he immediately leans back so he can help you pull it off and toss it to the side. Your hands go for his pants next, getting the button undone and watching as he momentarily moves to the edge of the bed to kick them off and let them join his shirt, now only in his boxers as he climbs right back over you.

“Better?” He chuckles, letting his hands gently roam along each inch of your skin they can reach.

“Almost,” you murmur, shifting your positions in a quick blink of an eye so he’s now laid against the pillows and you’re straddling him by the waist, your hands tracing over each inch of his sun-kissed chest. “Now it’s better.” You smile down at him before starting to trail kisses along his skin the way he did you, starting from his lips and working your way from his neck, along his shoulders, down his chest and over every inch of his stomach.

“Bebita…” He sighs pleasantly, watching you shower him with love and affection with that pretty mouth of yours.

You have him speechless from the way your lips move over every inch of his skin that you can reach in your current position, him wanting so badly to have his hands on you in some way, but enjoying too much of the attention you’re so willingly giving him. It’s something he doesn’t receive very often and he doesn’t have the heart or even want to stop you from doing it. When you start kissing down the center of his stomach toward the waistband of his boxers, his breath hitches and you can only smirk at the small sound when it escapes him.

You look up at him through your lashes as your mouth hovers just over his clothed cock, your warm breath hitting his hardening length through the thin fabric of his boxers and making him visibly shiver. You smile this time and lean forward to press a gentle kiss to his twitching member as your actions cause him to grow harder. Your gaze is trained on the obvious size of him beneath his boxers and you can feel your cheeks burning again knowing you finally get to feel and experience what you’ve only gotten to think or dream about before you met him. You’ve always had a hunch that he’s an endowed man, pictures are obvious evidence of that, but seeing it for yourself in this moment for the first time has you wetter than a waterfall.

You gaze up at him when your fingers reach for the waistband of his boxers, your eyes asking for permission before pulling them off, even though you already can tell he wants them gone. With a quick nod of his head and a gentle brush of his thumb against your cheek, you quickly slide his boxers from around his waist, your cheeks even hotter now as his entire length springs free. You feel your mouth water at the sight of him, immediately dropping your head to kiss at the base of cock before trailing your tongue along the entire underside of his shaft.

“Fuck,” Pedro gasps, his eyes wide and lust blown as he watches you work your tongue along his length. When you stop at his swollen, precum leaking head to swirl your tongue in circles and collect the few beads of cum dripping from him, he lets out a deep groan, his fingers moving right into your hair. “Bebita…”

“Hmmm?” You repeat the hum he made at you minutes earlier, smirking when you take his tip into your mouth and suck on it as if it’s a lollipop.

“Oh bebita, your mouth feels so good.” He breathes, moving his fingers through your hair toward the back of your head and choking on air when you suddenly hollow your cheeks and take him further into your mouth and down your throat, your fingers wrapped around the base of his length to hold what you can’t reach just yet. “Holy fucking shit,” he groans louder this time, his hips bucking up into your mouth.

“Mmm…” You hum around him in response, swirling your tongue a few times before pulling back almost completely then taking him right back into and down your throat, gagging a bit the deeper he goes.

You repeat your actions several times, breathing through your nose with every bob of your head and letting out a deep moan when you take the entirety of his length down your throat, your nose pressed right against his pubic area.

“Jesus, bebita, if you keep that up I’m gonna cum and I’m not ready to cum yet.” He groans, clutching his fingers in your hair. He watches as you slowly pull off his cock, your lips swollen and eyes glossy when you gaze up at him.

“Sorry,” you bite your lip, moving back up his body to press a deep kiss to his lips, gasping when he has you flipped onto your back and pinned to your bed beneath him.

“It’s okay, but now it’s my turn.” He smirks, kissing and making his way down your body until his face is level with your clothed core, his fingers massaging into your thighs before curling around the waistband of your panties and slowly pulling them down, revealing your pretty dripping folds for him. “Fuck… What a pretty little pussy you have, bebita.”

Pedro dives right in, doesn’t even give you a chance to say a word before he starts swirling his tongue in circles around your clit and sucking it into his mouth. Your moans are instantaneous and he hums as he pushes his tongue right into your aching heat, groan rumbling through his chest when he tastes the sweet juices of your pussy.

“You taste so good, bebita… I desire to wake you up like this every morning...” He muses as he gives his lips a small lick, going right back to sucking at your clit and slowly easing two of his fingers inside of you, giving them a few small scissoring motions.

“Oh Pedro. Please,” you gasp, cheeks burning again at his words, wishing you could wake up to this every morning like he desires. If that’s what he wants then he can have it.

“Mmmm yeah? Is that what you want too, bebita?” He rasps, moving his fingers in and out of you while gently curling them against your spongy walls, humming and sucking your clit back into his mouth.

“Mmm oh yes,” you moan out, giving your walls a squeeze around his perfect fingers and bucking your hips against them and his tongue. “F-fuck, please don’t stop!” You plead with a soft cry, dropping your hand to card your fingers through his hair as he pleasures you with his mouth and fingers.

“I won’t,” he murmurs, picking up the pace of his fingers and curling them right against your sweet spot, lapping and sucking at your clit to coax you toward that high slowly burning inside you.

“Just like that!” You gasp, squeezing around his fingers again and giving his hair a gentle tug. “Oh fuck it feels so good.”

“Yeah? Gonna cum for me, hermosa?” He coos, repeating his actions and earning himself another soft cry from you.

“Yes! ’m s-so close already, oh please don’t stop!”

“I won’t,” he reminds you with a small smirk, continuing his licks and sucks on your clit and the rapid thrusts of his fingers against that same spot inside you until you’re finally coming undone for him.

“Oh Pedro!” You cum the moment your walls clamp down around his fingers when his pace quickens, soft wails of pleasure leaving your lips the longer he gives your clit harsh sucks to extend the high of your orgasm even more. “Fuck! Yes!”

“Mmmm.” He groans against your folds, lapping up every drop of your release while his fingers give one more curl inside you. “You taste so good, hermosa. I could feast on you for hours.”

“I need you,” you murmur with a soft pant, your fingers loosening in his hair. “Please.”

“Bebita…” Pedro coos, pulling his fingers from inside you and slowly making his way back up toward your face, leaving a gentle trail of kisses in his wake. “Tell me what you need.” He murmurs, pulling you forward off the bed and pressing his lips to your shoulders to leave a trail of soft kisses while his hands reach around to unclasp your bra.

“I need you inside me, please. I...I want you to take what’s yours,” you plead with wide doe eyes, sighing in content at the feel of his lips kissing further along your skin after getting your bra pulled off and thrown to your bedroom floor.

“Yeah?” He grins, gently pushing you to lay back again while moving to press a deep kiss to your lips, settling between your legs with a low hum. “That all?” He smirks, hint of a tease in his tone as he kisses down your chin and toward your breasts, taking one of your nipples into his mouth and giving it a soothing suck.

“Mmm I want--” you moan, moving your fingers into his hair again after he takes your other nipple in his mouth and sucks the way he did the first time. “--your big cock, please… Want to feel how w-wide you stretch my tight little pussy and n-no condom either, I’m on-- fuck, I’m on birth control.”

“Joder, nena. ¿Dónde estuviste toda mi vida?” He groans deeply, moving back up to kiss your lips deeply while pressing the head of his cock at your entrance. “Are you ready for me, bebita?” translation: fuck baby, where have you been all my life?

“Yes,” you whisper, wrapping your legs firm around his waist when he starts to slowly push his hips forward, allowing your warm walls to swallow up his cockhead and the first few inches of his length. Your head tilts back with parted lips as he slowly fills you, finally letting out the loud moan building in your throat when he finishes burying himself to the hilt inside of you. “Oh Pedro...”

“Fuck you’re so tight, bebita.” Pedro hisses, giving your walls time to adjust to the burning stretch of his cock before starting his movements. Pressing his lips to yours once more after a few moments of letting you adjust, he slowly pulls his hips back, the two of you moaning in unison. “You feel so good, hermosa…” He murmurs into the kiss, one of his hands holding your right arm above your head while the other cups your cheek, pushing himself back inside of you with a deep groan.

“Oh yes, you stretch m-me so well…” You moan along with him, your hand in his hair pulling him further into the kiss as you start rocking yourself against him. “P-Please make love to me, baby.”

“Joder, te amo.” He groans, bringing both of his arms over to rest on each side of your head while slowly pulling his hips back again, pressing a deeper kiss to your lips and with more fervor than you’ve ever experienced when he pushes right back in, repeating the slow motions of his previous thrust.

“Te amo, Pedro…” You murmur into the kiss, both your arms now slipped around his neck and holding him close against your chest while he repeatedly makes his slow back and forth thrusts inside of you. “Oh g-god, baby...”

“‘m not gonna last long, bebita… Fuck, you feel better than anything I’ve ever felt in my life.” He buries his face against the crook of your neck with a groan, leaving chaste kisses as he lovingly fucks into you.

“Mmmm f-faster, please.” You moan, tilting your head sideways to give him better access to your neck while he kisses your sensitive skin, biting your lip at the groan that leaves his throat from your request before he starts picking up his pace. “Y-yes, like that, oh please don’t stop!”

“I love it when you say that,” he groans more, thrusting as deep as he can go with every gradual increase in his pace. “You love how good I make you feel, huh bebita? Finally get to feel the things you could only ever fantasize or dream about?”

“Mmmm yes!” You admit without shame, your eyes rolling back the faster and deeper he sends his cock inside of you, squeezing your legs tighter around his middle so your heels are pressing into his lower back. “E-Everything I’ve ever dr-dreamed it to be, oh god Pedro!”

“I love the sounds you make for me, bebita… Your beautiful moans and cries of my name…like music to my ears, music I wish to hear and cherish for the rest of my existence.” He murmurs tenderly while pressing a kiss to the shell of your ear, pulling back so he can gaze down at you as he gives your breasts a gentle caress and squeeze, continuing his deep and fast thrusts.

“I want...it too, I-- Oh…” You moan again, arching your back into his touch to your breasts and pressing your ankles hard against his ass, simultaneously pushing him even deeper inside of you. “Oh right there.” You groan, your fists balled up in the sheets.

“Fuck,” he grunts in response to the way you push him deeper into your warm center, his immediate reaction being to hit that same spot over and over again, both of you groaning at how great it feels. “Right here?” He grins, gently tweaking your nipples between his thumb and pointer finger.

“Yeah!” You gasp, rocking your hips against his own to match his forward thrusts into you, your head thrown back as a soft, deeper moan escapes your open mouth. “I’m gonna cum, oh god I’m gonna cum.”

“Cum with me, bebita.” He groans, leaning down again to kiss you with extreme fervor, one of his hands dropped so he can rub quick circles on your clit, eliciting a cry from you at the sudden attention to your bundle of nerves.

You kiss him harder now, throwing your arms around his neck again and hugging him closer as he coaxes the two of you toward your rising climaxes, your walls fluttering around him with his every thrust. “I’m so close I’m so close I’m so close!” You whine and with one hard thrust right against your cervix and a few more rubs to your clit, Pedro has you coming undone beneath him, your walls clamped down around him as you cum hard and in turn trigger his own release, your body trembling in his embrace as your orgasm rips through you. “Oh yes!”

“Joder bebita,” he moans as he fills you, burying his face in the crook of your neck while he continues his thrusts, still aiming for your deepest areas to help ride both of you through your highs.

“Oh Pedro, I--” You groan softly, fisting your fingers in his hair at his continued thrusts into you, your eyes rolled to the back of your head. “--fuck!”

You’re the one left speechless now by how mind blowing sex with this man is, how intimate and passionate he is as he makes love to you and how verbal he can be, the Spanish spoken words and phrases the cherry on top of it all. You just can’t believe how lucky you are to have someone to love you like this, so intimately, and you’re even more blessed that it’s Pedro Pascal himself.

The two of you are panting by the time Pedro pulls out of you, his forehead gently resting against your shoulder while you both catch your breath, unable to contain the smiles wide on your faces. If you were able to read minds, Pedro’s thoughts would for sure make that smile wider and even your cheeks a lot hotter.

“Wow…” You breathe, lightly scratching your nails at the nape of his neck. “That was…”

“Everything you’ve ever dreamed it to be?” He teases, lifting his head to give you a playful smirk.

“Yes,” you giggle, leaning forward to capture his lips for a deep kiss. “I love you, Pedro…”

“Te quiero más que a nada en el mundo.” He murmurs against your parted lips, slowly pulling back and giving your thighs a firm massage. “Now wait right here for me, okay?” translation: I love you more than anything in the entire world.

“Where’re you going?” You pout and he just chuckles.

“Bathroom.”

“S’right there,” you point to the bathroom just off your room and again he chuckles.

“I’ve noticed, hermosa.”

Pedro gives you one more kiss before carefully moving off of you and heading to the bathroom to grab a nice warm wet washcloth to clean you with, giving himself a quick wipe down with a cloth of his own before rejoining you in the bedroom.

You smile when you see him reappear out of the bathroom, gaze landing on the washcloth in his hand and you become flustered at the thought of him tenderly cleaning you up after making love to you. He smiles down at you as he climbs back on the bed, taking the warm cloth and washing your sensitive area as gentle as possible, being sure to get your thighs too. You sigh softly.

“I’ll miss this while you’re away...”

“Miss it? I’m taking you with me.”

Other translations:

bebita: baby, hermosa: beautiful, joder: fuck, te amo: I love you (duh)

Everything taglist: @halefirewarrior @takemepedropascal @wildcard566 @readsalot73 @talesfromtheguild @msmona @oberynispunk @whiskeyxinxaxteacup @pedrosdoll @ah-callie

Pedro taglist: @manuphantom @unadulterated-neckherolover @luna-longbott0m @hanelijoy @bxbyriku @lireandcampfire

#pedro pascal x reader #pedro pascal x you #pedro pascal x y/n #pedro pascal x f!reader #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedro pascal smut #nsft #writing #ohpedromypedro

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logo-comics · 3 years ago

Note

Political Mastermind DLC

I actually touched on this in a PREVIOUS REQUEST, but let's expand on it anyway!

Aren’t you tired of being nice? Don’t you just want to cut loose? In Fortune Lover’s Wicked Maria DLC, you’re able to do just that.

Maria Campbell is a woman on a mission: Become the most politically powerful woman in the world. To that end, she needs allies and romantic partners that are suitable to such a task.

View the Capture Targets through new eyes as Maria works to find the right leverage to apply to appeal to them, all while avoiding the risks of being caught!

Prince Geordo: The Sadistic Prince - Always seeking some novelty to entertain himself, but there's a reason that the Third Prince is the one most expect to take the throne

Prince Alan: The Fourth Prince - A mix of pride and self-esteem issues, while his prospects are rather low for advancement, he is not only familiar with the Court, but also most aware of the political landscape due to being ignored

Keith: The Incorrigible Playboy - The Claes Duchy is important to Sorcier's entire political structure. Despite being raised to take on the amily legacy and understanding politics, however, he is largely more focused on romantic conquests, a weakness that can be exploited by one so inclined, if they're willing to make that gamble

Nicol: The Handsomest Man in Sorcier - As the Prime Minister's son, he knows what's happening in politics better than most, despite or perhaps because he speaks very little. Truly, though, it's the sister you should keep an eye on

Sirius/Raphael: The Wildcard - by the start of the DLC, Maria already has her suspicions about the Dieke Barony, and intends to use the Student Council President to find out more. As potentially volatile as in the baseline game, it is best to proceed with caution

Play as a cunning Maria who plots out her every move with care as she plays chess against her most impressive foe in this school:

Katarina Claes: The Rival - Not wise in academics and weak in magic, Katarina knows how to wield political power, and knows the signs of someone playing those games. Maria has her attention, and she intends on wringing every drop of entertainment out of their battles of wits on the political landscape of the Sorcier Academy of Magic.

Play along as the Light Magic user and the girl who holds the school on a string match wits and slowly but surely come together to create the ultimate storm of power in which even the two Princes are pawns in these two’s games in Fortune Lover's Wicked Maria DLC!

#hamefura #bakarina #my next life as a villainess #fortune lover dlc

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killian-whump · 5 years ago

Text

Okay, so this might be an unpopular opinion here, but I’m gonna share it, anyway. I know a lot of Prodigies have mixed feelings about Edrisa. Some want her and Malcolm to get together. Some find the fact that her interest in him is played for laughs to be offensive. Some find her behavior itself offensive. Most probably just enjoy it for what it is and have a giggle.

But I gotta say... I love Edrisa being Edrisa, because it’s hilarious, but I also love it because it’s so good for Malcolm.

Malcolm’s always been a nerd. An outsider. A “bad dad kid” at the corner table, his only friend in the world being the other bad dad kid. We all know he was probably mercilessly teased and bullied growing up, and probably since, and I doubt he was Mr. Popular at the FBI. In the first episode, he even jokes to Gil about not having any friends - and it’s clear from his over-eagerness in befriending the others on the team that he wants to fit in and wants to have friends, and he’s SO overjoyed when Dani says they’re friends, because OMG HE HAS FRAND T_T

So I will tell you something else I don’t think Malcolm’s ever had - an admirer. I don’t think he’s ever been pursued or treated like a hot commodity. Or even a lukewarm one. Sure, there’s probably been a few ladies who slept with him or went on a date or two and then went “whoa, too much baggage here” and noped out. But I don’t think he’s ever had a woman chase him or just straight out appreciate him the way Edrisa does.

And you can see it in his reactions to her overtures. Here, look at this great gif @malclombright made in this gif set:

It’s right after Edrisa says that the vic was voted the handsomest man in NYC - and she quickly adds that she disagreed (of course). Everyone in the room knows who she thinks IS the handsomest man in NYC, so haha, yes, there’s amusement... but look at Malcolm’s reaction. He’s not uncomfortable. He’s confused, a little surprised... and then, look how he glances at the others and then rocks up on his toes. That’s not a man who minds the comment she made. That’s a kid at Thanksgiving being told they can finally sit at the adult table with everyone else. And it’s adorable. The only thing I like more than Edrisa’s blatant flirts is Malcolm’s responses to them.

And I’ll be honest. If I paid a man - any man - a compliment and he responded like that? Looking adorably surprised and confused and kinda maybe pleased with himself? I’d compliment that man all the fucking time, because he clearly needs it. And Malcolm does. He has absolutely abysmal self-esteem, thinks he’s fundamentally broken, and doubts that anyone could ever want to take on his baggage in order to BE with him. Having a woman, particularly an intelligent woman that he respects, remind him that he’s the cat’s pajamas? That probably feels really, really nice.

(And before anyone goes there, no, this isn’t intended to be a blanket statement condoning unwelcome advances in the workplace or elsewhere. It’s not intended to be taken as a “women should be flattered when men catcall them” argument - because (a) Men and women are very different in this regard, psychologically and socially, and men do tend to react more favorably to “catcalls” than women do - which is the KEY reason why so many men truly do not realize that catcalling women is offensive (ie they would be flattered, so they assume women would be, as well) until they are taught as much, and (b) every human relationship is unique, and what may be true, acceptable, or even enjoyable in ONE relationship may not be in most others - in other words, me saying Edrisa’s attentions are “good” for Malcolm’s self-esteem should not be taken as me saying blatant flirtation is “good” in any other relationship or for any other person. It’s beneficial in this relationship, for this particular character, but everyone else’s mileage may vary ;))

Anyway, that’s why *I* love Edrisa’s constant mooning over Malcolm. He is definitely a man who needs to be reminded that he’s handsome, and intelligent, and a motherfucking catch. And Edrisa is a woman who is MORE than happy to remind him of it - often, and with SO much aplomb. And I love it.

#prodigal son #off topic #just random thoughts

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dalleyan · 4 years ago

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Shattered (1st chapter of new LoTR story posted, 1-20-21)

Eomer thought that his life would be less complicated after the War, but loving a woman he could never have made that unlikely. Then unexpected circumstances altered everything. Complete in 5 chapters.

Chapter 1

(Cormallen, late April, 3019 III)

Hearty laughter rent the night. “Oh, Eomer, I can scarce wait to have you meet the rest of my family. I am sure they will love you as I do. Already you are like a son to me,” Imrahil warmly told the king of Rohan.

“I am honored!” Eomer responded, humbled by the man’s approbation.

“You know, my friend, now you are king, you will need to think about beginning a family of your own. I doubt a queen and a few heirs would go amiss in Rohan’s eyes!” Imrahil urged.

Eomer chuckled. His friends had already been goading him in the direction of matrimony. It seemed marriage and children were on everyone’s mind in the wake of their victory, and he could not truly deny that the thought had occurred to him how pleasing a family would be. He would gladly see the hall of Meduseld filled with laughing children, driving back the long shadows of the past.

With a glint in his eyes, he teased, “How may I even consider marriage when you have told me that your only daughter is already betrothed? Shall I seek solace in some lesser maiden?”

Imrahil laughed appreciatively. “Had I known I would meet you, I might have required Lothiriel to wait instead of approving her betrothal.” He sighed, and shook his head before shrugging. “We live in a new world, one that none of us thought would ever exist. There are many worthy ladies who will eagerly seek your suit, Eomer. Choose wisely. The right woman beside a man, especially a ruler, makes all the difference. Do not let your advisers press you to marry someone in whose company you cannot be perfectly at ease. Many noble marriages in Gondor are made for alliance rather than love. I know it is so, but I was fortunate enough to achieve both, and I believe I would not have done half so well with anyone else united to me. She has given me four beautiful children and a lifetime of joy.”

Eomer nodded silently at the counsel, taking another swallow of ale. Wise counsel, indeed, he was sure, but privately he knew that a wife would likely have to wait a while. First the Mark needed his full attention in being rebuilt.

Over the next few days, Eomer gave little further thought to his conversation with Imrahil their last night at Cormallen. The company traveled to Osgiliath and then on to Minas Tirith, where Aragorn was crowned king on May first. Consequently, he had not given much thought to Imrahil’s daughter, Lothiriel, or that they would soon meet. Had he done so, he supposed he would have expected her to be tall and dark like the other members of her family.

The reality, when they came face to face, was far more than that. All of the men in the Prince’s family would be considered handsome, and Eomer had noted appreciative looks cast at them from the ladies. Not only did the family have Numenorean blood, but it was also rumored that they had Elvish ancestry. In Lothiriel of Dol Amroth there was every reason to believe the rumors. Eomer had come to admire the dark looks of Gondorian women, but he thought Imrahil’s youngest child might well be the handsomest woman he had ever seen. He noted that he was not the only man, upon first meeting her, who took a moment to recover his composure in the presence of such beauty.

More than her looks, though, he found her a pleasant and charming woman, as he would have expected. While yet young, at only twenty years, she carried herself with grace and dignity that reflected well upon her father and his house. Eomer was not at all surprised to note her parents beaming proudly as they watched their daughter move about in noble society.

During the sennight Eomer tarried at Minas Tirith before returning home, he came to realize that he could very much regret that he had not met the lady sooner, before she was betrothed. There had been little time in his life for the pursuit of ladies and romance; now that he had time, even needed to make time, the one that most caught his eye was unavailable to him.

Despite that, Eomer formed as warm a friendship with the lady as he had with the others in her family. With the defeat of Sauron, Imrahil’s wife and daughter, heir and his family, and Lothiriel’s betrothed had all journeyed to Minas Tirith for the celebrations and the coronation of their new king.

Imrahil’s wife, Sirrin, was a gracious woman, tall and regal, with little gray dusting her hair despite her many years. Apparently, in her eyes, friends of her husband’s were friends of hers, and she welcomed Eomer cordially into their home. With the affection that had developed between Eomer’s sister and Imrahil’s nephew adding an extra tie uniting their families, the king found himself a frequent guest there.

Elphir and his family were equally appealing, and the toddler heir was an active boy that kept amused smiles on many faces as they surveyed his antics.

The last member of the party, Lord Gaerost of Edhellond, was a bit of a mystery, not so easily assessed as the others. Well-spoken and tactful, Eomer watched him socialize with practiced ease. Amrothos had told him that the man held shipping interests along the coast at the various ports, and was quite wealthy. His fleet of ships had been employed in protecting the coastline, and thus he had remained in the south during the war. He and Elphir had long been acquainted, and it was through that connection that he had met and offered suit to Lothiriel.

Perhaps it was just Eomer’s predisposition to dislike the man, but he found something pompous and pretentious about him. Indeed he was a handsome man, but bordered on being ‘pretty’, and seemed to pay an inordinate amount of attention to his appearance. Eomer had never seen any male preen so much as this man, but at the same time, in comparison, the king felt almost unkempt and rough-hewn. It was unlikely Eomer’s manners would ever be that refined or particular.

Though Eomer met Imrahil’s family during the course of the day when they first arrived, he spent the majority of his time with Eowyn and had little interaction with them. Not until the feast that night, did he have an opportunity to speak with them more and get a better sense of them than what casual observation allowed.

The first thing to catch his eye was that Lothiriel was now moving with the aid of a cane. As she had been perfectly healthy when they met earlier, he could only presume something had happened in the interim. His eyes narrowed with consternation at how little attention her betrothed seemed to be displaying toward her, particularly given her ailment, but as Lothiriel did not appear bothered by it, he supposed it was none of his business.

continue reading on AO3:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28886217/chapters/70864245

#Eomer #Lothiriel #eothiriel #Lord of the Rings #LOTR #first meetings #how they met #Imrahil #Eowyn

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sanders-specs · 5 years ago

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Roman’s Playlist Analysis

A/N: So I wanted to take a crack at diving into Roman’s Playlist and analyzing it to the best of my abilities. how each song relates to Roman, his character, his part of Thomas. I thought about the story arc Thomas talked about and tried to put that together a little bit.

Now keep in mind this is just my interpretation of it. I could be completely wrong in my conclusions, and honestly I’m interested to know your thoughts if you disagree with me on anything.

I’m going to leave my basic tl;dr here because this is long as hell. I went into each song so it’s a long read. I’m also going to tag some people who seemed interested in this. I’d say if you were going to read any of the song analysis, to read the last three. they’re my favorite.

tag list: @viva-la-pluto @nonexistent-username @writingfeedsthedarkestones @such-as-we-are-made-such-we-be

Here’s the story of Roman’s playlist:

We start with some pretty obvious songs that show who Roman is. He’s a huge fan of Disney, gay, he loves Broadway and wants to be famous. He’s a hero, someone who will vanquish his foes and come out victorious! He has big dreams, and he’s determined to make them come true! He’s got high expectations, both for himself and for a future romantic partner. He’s confident, determined, sassy, and a huge diva.

Then we go a little deeper. He’s lonely, he’s desperate for love. He wants someone in his life. He wants to achieve his dreams so badly, but he has doubts. He’s unsure of himself. Both as a performer and as a lover. He’s unsure of his place among Thomas’s sides, if he’s important to them. He’s just really afraid, underneath it all. He’s so, so scared of possible failure, of letting Thomas down.

But he still wants to be the leader for the actors and singers and creators following him. He wants to show them that you can get back up again and take off after your dreams.

And then he decides that he wants to be the one to go after his dreams. really, truly, fully. He’s lonely, he’s scared of failure, but he doesn’t want to let that hold him back anymore.

Okay let’s start with the very first song on the playlist, A Gay Disney Prince.

So this one will be pretty obvious for everyone. Roman is a prince, Thomas is gay (ergo Roman is gay). Roman loves Disney. I would’ve been very confused if this song didn’t make it onto his playlist. I would’ve had to gotten through my social anxiety to ask them why. But they have it on there, so I don’t have to.

My interest lies in the fact that it’s the first song on there. Thomas said that while putting together to playlist, they were trying to make it like a story—a beginning, a climatic middle, and an end. So to start off with this song honestly makes a lot of sense to me.

Most kids walked through life but I sang and danced

… Everyone around me could see That Disney meant everything And as I grew up Disney did too

It starts with talking about Thomas (we’re going to talk mostly about Character Thomas, since in this context it feels a little weird to talk about Roman as if he wasn’t apart of a person) growing up loving music and Disney. So we’re starting from the beginning here, talking about when Thomas was younger. And as he grew up and his love of Disney did too, so did his realization of his sexuality. This song, as originally intended by (real) Thomas and Joan is that growing up as a gay man would have been a lot easier had Disney had that representation.

Disney don't shoot so straight You're in the musical scene --- A guy who likes guys who is still humanized in his Film! ---- Try the gay stuff, it's delicious! Please give us more than this bullshit Yeah, that's a bit screwy Makes me say Lefouey Put me in a film Gee, that would be swell --- Who is that prince I see? Very straight, unlike me

And then the stanza that really ties it all together: If only I'd had you in my early years I might have seemed less weird to my non-queer peers Who'd mature into parents, understanding and warm Knowing hetero-ever-after doesn't have to be the norm If they'd have seen

Someone like me

A gay Disney prince

Roman (C!Thomas) longs to have had that understanding as a child, to have that representation in the movies and songs and characters he loves so much. Roman is the side of hopes and dreams and romance. This one falls under the hope category, even though he is all grown up now, he still yearns to see a true gay Disney prince for that validation.

So we start simultaneously in Thomas’s childhood as well as him in the present. At least, the part that Roman cares the most about. Really who he wishes he could be.

Now onto the next song, Wonder Boy. Now, I know this is from a musical (appropriate), and one that I know next to nothing about, so I’m just going to go off the lyrics. Forgive me if I overlook something related to the plot of the show.

This song is one that highlights Roman’s need to be a hero.

High above the mucky-muck Castle made of clouds There sits Wonderboy Sitting oh so proudly

He wants to save the day! Concur the villain! Wonderboy is someone who sits above all and has all these powers to help him with this conquest!

The song goes on to talk about Wonderboy’s arch-nemisis, Nastyman, who has all these powers that make him on level with Wonderboy.

Now it's time for me to tell you about Young Nastyman Arch-rival and nemesis of Wonderboy With powers comparable to Wonderboy What powers you ask? I don't know how about the power of flight That do anything for ya? That's levitation, holmes How about the power to kill a yak From 200 yards away With mind-bullets That's telekinesis, Kyle How about the power To move you

Reminds ya a bit of Roman and Virgil huh? Roman is able to have a very big influence on Thomas. He literally holds Thomas’s hopes and dreams and everything he wants to do with his life. Virgil, on the other hand, can stop Thomas from achieving those dreams out of fear. He can be louder than Roman, get Thomas’s attention easier, make Thomas pay attention to him.

It’s interesting to me that in the song, Wonderboy and Nastyman end up joining forces in the end. It reminds me a little of Accepting Anxiety and Moving On, when Roman has to accept the fact that he has to work with Virgil in order for Thomas to be successful. He “joined forces” with the “villain” in order to be “victorious.” Well Wonderboy and Young Nastyman joined forces They formed a band the likes of which had never been seen And they called themselves Tenacious D That's right

Oh Take my hand Young Nastyman And we'll fly Bring out your broadsword There's the Hydra Slice his throat And grab his scrot' You take the high road I'll take the low

In the end, Roman learned that Virgil not only helps Thomas a lot, but works well with him in order for Thomas to create as well as he does. The “bring out your bradsword/there’s a Hydra/Slice his throat” part, to me, in the context of Roman, shows that he’s handing some of the control—and the glory—to Virgil. He’s letting Virgil help and working with him, like a team in a fantasy story learning to work together and finally finding how they work as a team.

And now…Disney Princess.

I love this song. It cracks me up. I think Thomas had it on one of his monthly playlists and that’s how I found it, but I love it so much. I’m so glad it’s on this playlist.

This song is chock full of satire. they take the ridiculous parts of the movies and put them in the song. And seeing as this comes after the Wonderboy song, you could honestly draw a comparison to The Dark Side of Disney which is really the first time Roman realizes he actually has something in common with Virgil, the supposed villain. It’s got the same kind of sarcasm that Virgil adopts in that video with the movies.

But there’s also a bit of wistfulness in it, because, yeah, the Disney princesses are the stars of Disney. The princes didn’t get a couple of cameos in the second Wreck-It-Ralph movie that Disney over-sold. As ridiculous as the situations the princesses went through at times, they do all have these amazing abilities and experiences.

If I were a Disney Princess I would have everything at my fingertips

---

And I wish I could be a Disney Princess So I could fight the Mongolian army

---

I could cry life saving tears I could resurrect dead men with my tears

Mulan, I wanna be you So that I could have a sassy dragon I want a sassy dragon

The song also makes it clear that they want all the good stuff that comes with being a Disney Princess. The attention, the powers, highfiving the ocean.

Also sassy dragon. We all want a sassy dragon in our lives.

I can see how Roman would hear this song and relate to it. Circling back to the first song, there’s no prince out there he can relate to, so he projects onto the heroines, the princesses. They always get the man, after all.

Then there’s this las verse, which I think is the most Roman out of the entire song.

I wanna be a Disney Princess And if I were I'd take no recess to spread the warmth and love It's the best way to live your life I'd be a handsome man's wife And we'd kiss, and we'd kiss, and we'd kiss it’s full of wistfulness and is really the only verse in the song that is more positive and not as sarcastic. Not only that, but it’s romantic as well. Replace wife with husband and you’ve got one of Roman’s biggest dreams: to find the [second] most handsomest prince in the world.

Broadway Here I Come!

From the brief research I did, this is a song from a musical TV series. I’m not going to go too much into it’s original context. And if you’re triggered by sensitive material, I suggest you don’t look it up either.

So in this song, it’s another pretty obvious Roman song. It talks about wanting to be on Broadway, to be famous, to be known, and how hard that success is. For any musical theater performer, Broadway is the ultimate goal. For someone like Roman, who does crave that success and fame, this song is almost like his cries of longing for it.

It shows how hard it is to make it. To be known and gain that success, and how even though some make it look easy, it’s actually very hard.

See I've been bravin' crazy weather Drownin' out my cries I pull myself together I'm focused on the prize

---

The people all are pointing I bet they'd never guess That the saint that they're anointing Is frightened of the mess But even though I fear it I'm playin' all my cards

It’s also got this hopefulness in it. Like the singer has no doubt that they’re going to make it. But there’s also some doubt. Will they still be the same person? Or will they change dramatically?

Will I remain the same, or will I change a little bit? Will I feel broken or totally complete? Will I retain my name when I'm the biggest, hugest hit? Or will I blend in with the rest of the street?

Roman, as much as he acts heroic and like he fears nothing, wants nothing more than to be known, be given the validation, to show off his talents. He knows he’s good, he knows he’s got what it takes, but it’s hard for him to get there. Maybe even to have the confidence to get there. People have to like him in order for him to have all that. They have to like his ideas, his talents. Without their validation, Thomas can’t succeed. Roman can’t succeed.

On to Hallelujah. No, not the amazing Jeff Buckly song (though this song is pretty amazing and catchy).

This one kinda ties in with the last one. It talks about wanting to be someone, wanting to be super star. And having people doubt that, even your own family. Also being inspired by other artist and the creations they make.

I heard it on the radio On my way back home That I'm gonna be someone I guess it was a song they wrote Saying don’t go slow 'Cause you're gonna be someone

--- Some days I don’t think my momma thinks I'm good enough to be a superstar But one day I will show her I'm a diamond in the rough, I'll be a superstar

It also throws that doubt in their faces. It kinda hints that their doubt only makes them want to succeed even more.

'Cause there's a crown Covered in glitter and gold I'm gonna wear it, whether you like it or not Yeah, there's a crown Covered in glitter and gold I’m gonna wear it, whether you like it or not And I’ll be singing Halle-halle-halle-halle-halle-hallelujah Halle-hallelujah Whether you like it or not

Also, no, I’m not going to ignore the ‘there’s a crown covered in glitter and gold’. Give Roman a glittery gold crown 2020.

But yeah, it really goes with the previous song. It matches the theme of Roman wanting to be famous, wanting Thomas to be famous and known. To wear that crown, no matter what anyone else says. No matter what they think, or how much they believe in him. It goes against the doubt in the last song, but don’t we all have those moments of doubt, then confidence, then doubt again? Our confidence can wavier and surge just as much as our anxiety.

Holding Out For A Hero. Ah, what a great song. Still should have been the Shrek 2 version because man could I have made some comparisons, but oh well.

So here we’ve taken a break from the dreams part and gone back to the hope and romance part. This song is pretty self-explanatory. The singer is looking for a partner who will be, well, their hero to come rescue them.

Now, I’m not sure if the intention for the inclusion of this song was that Roman would be that hero, if he is also waiting for that hero, or a bit of both. He is very save-the-damsel-in-distress type of prince archetype after all. But I wouldn’t be surprised if he wants a prince who matches his own heroic ideals and who would treat him the same. It also says a little something about his standards. He won’t let Thomas settle for just anyone. He’s got to be perfect (Roman’s standards of perfect, anyway).

Where have all the good men gone and where are all the gods? Where's the streetwise Hercules to fight the rising odds? Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed? Late at night I toss and I turn, and I dream of what I need I need a hero I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night He's gotta be strong, and he's gotta be fast And he's gotta be fresh from the fight I need a hero I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light He's gotta be sure, and it's gotta be soon And he's gotta be larger than life Somewhere after midnight in my wildest fantasy Somewhere just beyond my reach, there's someone reaching back for me Racing on the thunder and rising with the heat It's gonna take a Superman to sweep me off my feet

Yes, I had to include the entire first part of the song. I honestly feel like it sums up Roman’s standards pretty well. He won’t settle for anything less than superman or Hercules himself.

On the other hand, it could be Roman’s standards for himself as well. He has to be that Superman, the savior of all those in trouble and be the dashing white knight. Just as he holds his talents up to high standards, he holds his entire self up to high standards (his…part of the personality?). His actions, his thoughts, his ideas. Everything has to be perfect. He has to be the hero to everyone around him.

If I Dare is so fucking beautiful. Sara Bareilles has such a pretty voice.

I love the message in it too. It’s such a strong “fuck off and watch me” song.

Which, you know, also goes with Roman. It ties in well with Hallelujah. It follows the same themes of people doubting the singer, and the singer basically saying “hold my purse” and going to prove their doubters wrong.

This song is basically saying, dare to hold yourself to higher standards than what others hold you to. Dare to do more than what you thought you could, because you really can surprise yourself.

Seriously just really listen to this song, it’s so empowering. I’m literally going to leave most of the lyrics, aside from the repeating ones. It’s so fucking great.

If I dare to ask it, then I dare it to be true If I dare to risk it, then I know that I'm willing to If I dare to want this, to want more than I have Then I dare to believe I'll have it in the end You climbed the mountain, sent pictures of the view And still can't believe when I started climbing, too You haven't heard that I'm not afraid to fall That I'm not deterred yet until I tell them all I am holding out for more than what I have now I'm holding out I don't want your pity, I won't use your little scraps I don't build my cities with what could get taken back I don't need permission to rise up when it hurts You don't have to listen, but you'll hear me Mark my words When the room gets dark, and I am quiet There's a voice that's soft, like someone's silhouette Saying, "Don't let me go yet" If I dare to ask it, then I dare it to be true (Believe me, I will be) If I dare to risk it, then I know that I'm willing to If I dare to want this, to want more than i have (Believe me, I will be) Then I dare to believe I'll have it in the end

If you can’t tell, I love this song.

It’s got such a confidence surge in it. It also goes with my last point in Holding Out for a Hero of Roman holding himself to high standards. Not only does he want to be a hero to others, and he’s not going to settle for any less, he’s not going to let anyone stop him. He’s not going to let the doubt, the fear, of others influence him. He’s going to take their pity and doubt and use it to make him stronger. He’s going to hold himself to these standards and take his own fate into his hands and be like Merida (no not go on a psychedelic trip with a bear, but good memory). He is going to be the gay Disney prince he needed so much for himself.

Go the Distance continues the “I’ll do what I want” theme. And I don’t mean that in an angsty teen kinda way. Just in a “You can’t strike down my confidence” kind of way.

Now, the tone of this song, while heroic and hopeful, is also a little softer than the others, so it kinda feels like it doesn’t fit, but the lyrics and meaning of it does.

Hercules is probably the closest Disney has to a Disney Prince being the main character of the movie (having the movie named after him, going into his backstory first, all that jazz). At least off the top of my head. He at the very least is the closest to having a hero song akin to Let it Go, Almost there, How Far I’ll Go, Show Yourself etc. (yes, Elsa’s on there twice. Yes, I know she’s not technically a princess, but she also has some pretty badass songs in what is technically considered Disney Princess movies).

And, I mean, it’s an incredibly hopeful song. Hercules is going out to prove himself, to show that he can be the hero he was born to be. I can see how that is something Roman would look to. How he can relate to.

It also goes along with the idea of wanting to be known and seen. Recognized for what you do.

I have often dreamed of a far-off place Where a great, warm welcome will be waiting for me Where the crowds will cheer when they see my face

The song is also about finding your place, where you feel like you should be. About keeping up hope as you go through the paths to where you need to be. Where that “hero’s welcome” will be waiting. Hercules feels like an outsider, like he doesn’t belong, so he’s searching for that place.

I'll be there someday, I can go the distance I will find my way, if I can be strong I know every mile, will be worth my while When I go the distance, I'll be right where I belong

We all feel like that sometimes. Like we’re trying to find our place in the world. In the context of Roman, he’s in the middle of searching for that place. He wants Thomas to be in a place where he feels like he belongs, where he feels welcomed and embraced. In the theater world, maybe. Or YouTube. Maybe even Hollywood. Somewhere he can flourish, really show what he’s capable of, what Roman knows he’s capable of. But also where he doesn’t have to hide who he is, be it a different part of his talents or his sexuality. Roman wants Thomas to be in a place where people will embrace all of Roman.

And he’s going to find it. He’s going to do what it takes to get there.

Flamboyant is a fun one. This one delves into who Roman is, the kind of character that he is, rather than what he encompasses in Thomas. At least, that’s the way I see it. I’m sure if roman were the only side there, then, well, Thomas would just be Roman.

Looking at the lyrics and thinking back on the previous songs, this one makes me think that even though Roman wants (needs) people to like him, he also wants to be unapologetically himself. Extravagance and all.

Don't tell me what to do Don't tell me what to say You know I like it loud 'Cause that's the only way No taste for subtlety And no time for restraint No, I go all the way

I think we can all agree that this pretty much sums up Roman and the energy he gives off. We saw him in Virgil’s room. In Patton’s. Subtly is not something he’s very good at and he’s not very good with taking other people’s opinions (or suggestions) when it comes to his ideas or his work.

You always see me putting on a show I entertain until it's time to go

He’s always playing up the prince role. The actor role. He doesn’t tone it down. The fancy phrases, the exaggerated movement, the way he dresses.

At least until he thinks no one’s looking.

Alllllright now we’re getting into the love songs. Or…lust songs? Is that a category?

Okay, look, I’m ace, sex repulsed, and clueless at times. I’ll do my best here. But looking at the next few songs, it’s not a very happy story.

Jumpstarted is a song that I honestly can’t really pin down what it’s about. It’s catchy, for sure. I love the harmonies in it. But I can’t tell if it’s a love song or has a different meaning that I’m not going to delve into.

But in Roman’s case, it seems like a song that screams love. Roman is a part of Thomas that falls in love easily. He’s romance, after all (and, yes, lust. Remus too). So this song shows how easily he falls, and how easily those fantasies of romance can take hold.

As two hearts started dancing A new story begins

---

To the races, got my love jumpstarted The only one I want is you (Say it again, hey!) I hear the bells, and they're ringing already Four kids and a big ol' wedding, singing "You" (Say it again, hey!) Now as I make the long walk home You got me feeling like an overdose, singing (You)

Thomas is a romantic. Roman is proof enough of that. In Moving On, he’s coming up with all these wild ideas to get Thomas’s ex back. In other videos when they talk about love, he always expresses the most wistful reaction (or overdramatic. Or, well, both). Thomas sees one cute guy and Roman is already planning the next five years of their lives together. Not only does he want the romance, he craves it, so the tiny semblance of it has him running headlong into it.

And your gravity, my depravity won't take my advice (So nice) I never run while I still (Can)

Brave New Girl makes me think that this shows a wilder side of Roman. I suppose if there’s any side of Thomas who likes to part, it’d be Roman.

Also reckless.

Brave New Girl is a song that seems like it’s about someone who is new to the world, maybe a little naïve, but still out to have a good time. It’s reminiscent of your classic collage story. A freshman girl away from home for the first time and embracing the “collage life.” Parties, hook ups, your stereotypical definition of having fun (in the case of collage movies and such).

She wants a good time, no need to rewind She needs to really, really find what she wants She lands on both feet, won't take a back seat There's a brave new girl, and she's coming out tonight

Roman out of everyone else is the side that would really push Thomas to just let go, have fun. Maybe if Thomas wasn’t so introverted, he would be able to meet the love of his life. Maybe if Thomas didn’t hold himself back (or I suppose if Logan and Virgil didn’t hold him back) then they could have more fun and accomplish his dreams. And meet the love of his life!

This could also be reminiscent of Thomas’s coming out? It’s not something I want to try to “analyze” because that’s something personal to Thomas and also not something I’m too familiar with. I don’t really want to step on any toes. But with the song talking about a new person entering the world, and “uncovering [their] eyes” I thought to mention it here. After all, it would be after that that Roman really would get the chance to be fully himself.

Every Boy is very self explanatory. It’s just Roman being gay.

‘I just wanna kiss every boy in the world’ is repeated so many times, ya’ll. Like at this point you’ve probably listened to it, but that one phrase takes up most of the song.

It’s very much showing Thomas’s sexuality, because again, that’s a big part of Roman since he encompasses romance and sexuality.

It also shows a lot of wistfulness, because Thomas is single and doesn’t have a boy to kiss. Even the tone in the song kinda reflects that. He’s lonely he just wants to kiss a boy. All the boys. In the world.

But yeah Thomas really likes boys. Roman really really likes boys.

Okay now we’re just to the point of Roman being sassy.

Primadonna definition: a very temperamental person with an inflated view of their own talent or importance.

Sound like someone we know?

The song, Primadonna, really just reminds me again of Roman and how he acts and presents himself.

Living life like I'm in a play In the limelight I want to stay I know I've got a big ego I really don't know why it's such a big deal though

---

All I ever wanted was the world I can't help that I need it all The primadonna life, the rise and fall You say that I'm kinda difficult But it's always someone else's fault

The song also goes back to the whole Roman doing what he can to achieve his dreams, in a way. He is going to do what he can to get what he wants, but he doesn’t want to change who he is in order to get there. These last few songs really show that too, I think. The first songs, while showing longing for his hopes and dreams, these are showing that Roman honestly isn’t afraid to be himself. He’s out and proud, he’s got an ego (he is an ego), he’s sassy, extravagant, maybe a bit high matinance, and he doesn’t want to or plan to change for anyone.

Though…

King kinda has an exception.

Remember how I said Roman falls in love easily?

Yeah, this song kinda shows how that can go wrong. He clings to his loves, we’ve seen it. His refusal to let go of Thomas’s ex really shows that. Of course, there are lot of layers to that, but Roman was just as guilty about making Thomas (Patton) hold on to the hope of winning him back.

And, oh-oh-oh-oh-oh I was a king under your control And, oh-oh-oh-oh-oh I wanna feel like you've let me go

Maybe in this case it means that Roman (Thomas) felt that perhaps his ex did have some semblance of control over him still. He must have, if Thomas was still thinking about him.

I don’t want to reach too far with this comparison. Thomas left the details of his ex pretty vague. But still, it’s the only reason I can think of that this song would be on the playlist. Or the fact that Roman, while very forward and dramatic, can fall under the gaze of a pretty guy.

Cheap Queen is a song I had to look into a bit to understand it. Cheap queen is “a drag term for someone who is resourceful, who makes something out of nothing, who is a creator on a budget” (this is coming from the singer). While Roman isn’t a drag queen, he would take inspiration from them, and that definition can describe the kind of creator Roman is.

But there are some lyrics here that put in the context of Roman make me think that it shows more of his doubts.

I've been alright I've just been doing the same shit I've always liked (Smiling for the audience) Like smoking and movies and homies who bring me wine I've been going out too much (Queen) And talking 'bout myself too much (Oh, smiling for the audience)

Side thought: This song feels very…1920’s actress smoking in a green room vibes.

Why? I have no idea. Maybe it’s the background audio.

But it makes me think about this diva in a swing dress, a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other.

Yeah, I watch too much TV.

I can be good sometimes I'm a cheap queen I can be what you like And I can be bad sometimes I'm a real queen I can make grown men cry

Something about this verse makes me think that it’s a bit of Roman trying to prove himself? To himself, to the others, to his audience. While still trying to keep up his persona. Again, he wants people to like him, to like what he does. He is Thomas’s ego after all. He wants to please the masses.

Humility is where we get real.

So far, I think we’ve gone from who Roman is on the surface and slowly dug down. We’ve seen his insecurities, his hopes, his dreams, his more sexy side, his desperate side.

Now we’re seeing the lonely side.

Calling the world from isolation 'Cause right now, that's the ball where we be chained

---

I'm the lonely twin, the left hand Reset myself and get back on track I don't want this isolation See the state I'm in now?

Now I this verse isn’t intentionally targeting towards Roman, complete with the twin part, then I don’t know why it would be on this playlist. He feels isolated. Romantically, socially. Perhaps even among the sides. Look at the point where we are right now in the series. He had to give up on a huge dream with the callback. He’s being put on the back burner, Remus—the side he said is everything he doesn’t want to be—is now known to Thomas which means he has to deal with him even more.

If I pick it up when I know that it's broken Do I put it back? Or do I head out onto the lonesome trail And let you down?

I think he’s scared of letting Thomas down. Of not reaching the goals he sets out for them, of Logan being right. That the path Thomas is on is not one that is right for him. So he’s alone and scared and doubting himself and doing everything he can not to show it

Following that, Ain’t Got it Like That shows a bit of self-understanding, if I phrased that right?

Roman knows that he’s the only one of the sides who really wants these hopes and dreams for Thomas. Patton wants Thomas to be happy, so sure he supports Roman, but if Thomas were to listen to Logan or Deceit (and suppress Roman, his true hopes and dreams), then he would support them too.

One in a million, maybe it's me The chances of winning are slimmer than three Moving and shaking and makin' it happen Producing and singing while people was trappin' Chasing a dream and living for free A whole lotta people help the hell out of me A job ain't the move, I'm just a musician I followed the path, continued the mission

Roman’s going to continue being himself, doing his job, and trying to make himself heard. Even if he’s lonely and has self-confidence issues. He’s nothing if not determined. And as the song says, “a whole lotta people help the hell out of me.”

One thing Thomas has is friends and family who support and encourage him. They help to feed into what Roman wants and helps to give him the reassurance that he needs that he’s on the right path.

I got soul and a whole lotta songs I get love even if I'm dead wrong And I know that I got what I need Even when I don't got what I want

Roman is convinced he’s right. Look at how hard he fought Logan during their episode. He knows he can be wrong, he knows he’s not perfect, but he also knows that when it comes to the path Thomas is on, he is right and he is at least confidant in that fact.

Look I've thinking that I'm at the limit The fact I need money with all my decisions I want it all and all, I'll admit it If you never had it, I know that you get it They say that everything ain't gold, but damn I mean, I... wanna little of my own I'm sayin' that I know that (I know that) They say that pressure makes diamonds But I just wanna pay my bills on time

I feel like this song really shows that he understands that being a singer and performer is hard and definitely not the easy way out. The is really the only song here that talks about money. It’s hard to make it as a performer. YouTuber, actor, you name it. Roman knows this, but that doesn’t stop him from dreaming and being determined to go after those dreams.

God I love these last three songs

Do you guys have those set of songs that are like your inspirational songs? Ones that really make you feel good and the lyrics really speak to you and make you want to really go after what you want? Songs of hope. They sometimes make you cry if you think about the lyrics too much.

I feel like those are these songs for Roman. Or maybe I’m just projecting.

Dreamer is another song where I might just have all the lyrics here, because the entire song just feels like Roman talking to himself. Reminding himself of all these things.

Dream, little dreamer Don't care what they say Don't let the pain of their failure Tear you away

The other Sides. Logan, mainly. The naysayers on YouTube, the old friends who don’t believe in him. The people around him who fail at what he’s trying to do. He can’t let that get to him. He can’t let them get into his head. He has to keep going.

You can do anything What would you do if I told you You would always succeed

He has to remember that he can do anything. Thomas is capable of anything.

And well we're afraid of the same things Scared to end up alone Scared that no one will remember our names And well we're afraid of the same things Scared to try and to fail Scared our best isn't good enough

This really circles back to some of the middle songs. He wants to be remembered, known. He’s afraid he’s going to fail. That Thomas will not only not achieve his dreams, but that he will be alone through it all. Not even a shoulder to cry on. He scared of that failure. Scared of letting Thomas down. And through that…Thomas is scared of letting himself down.

Dream like you won't fail Sing like no one's there Dance like you don't care

And I mean you really have to. If you think too much about that failure, that fear, then it can hinder you. You have to move through life like you’re going to achieve your dreams, that no one can hold you back, not even yourself.

Even if you are scared. Even if you do really, really care.

Don't fear, little dreamer You'll get there one day And I know that it's scary But you'll succeed

Don't fear, little dreamer Let them hear you sing What would you do if I told you That we'll always believe

He has to remind himself of all of this. This support, this encouragement, is something every creator needs. It’s the fuel that keeps us going. So having this, in just a song, is so important for him.

And we all Oh we question the same things Why does life seem unfair Why does loneliness hurt so much

This part really highlights Roman’s feelings. Again, he’s lonely in this. He feels like life is unfair, that a wedding is getting it the way of achieving a dream he’s so close to.

And we all Oh we question the same things What is my purpose in life Why does love never seem like enough

I don’t really have too much to add to this one. I feel like it’s something that stands by itself. I can really see how Roman feels this way, asking himself these same questions.

---

You're exceptional You're original So stay true to your soul Don't let them take that away You're magnificent You're sensational And the dreams that you're dreaming will surely come true one day

More reminders that he needs to tell himself. That he needs to remember. He can’t let the doubters hold him back from his dreams. He can’t let the setbacks stop him.

I can imagine Roman having this song on when he’s feeling down. When the weight of all his failures and his loneliness feel like too much. I can picture him hanging on to every lyric, learning them and memorizing them so call on later when he starts to feel those doubts again.

Dream, little dreamer

This next song makes me cry.

Paving the Runway (You’re Gonna Fly) is so fucking good. It’s so pretty. The piano is gorgeous, the message is beautiful, it’s so soft. I love it a lot.

Okay, anyway.

This is another one that is there for encouragement. A reminder not to give up. Not even when your wings are broken and battered.

Go after your dreams, as crazy as they may seem Go chase all the stars in the sky Baby, I'll be paving the runway 'Cause I know that one day you're gonna fly Darling, stand on my shoulders Up where it's carefree, simple and good Baby, soon you'll be older You will reach higher than I ever could If ever your wings, are tired and broken things Can't see through the tears in your eyes Baby, I'll be paving the runway 'Cause I know that one day you're gonna fly

I can see Roman being tired. His job is not an easy one. He wants so much for himself, for Thomas, but it’s so hard. The rejections, the mistakes, the hardwork going into a project only for it to not do well. It’s enough to beat you down, flood you with doubts.

Think about the songs leading up to this. Growing up without seeing yourself in your favorite movies, trying so hard to work towards his dreams of singing and acting. Trying so hard to find love, only for it to be just as hard. being in this lonely place where he feels like he’s working by himself, not even the other sides really helping him (Patton being an exception at times, but even then, when it came to wedding vs callback, Patton went with wedding).

This is a song I think Roman would really need after all of that.

Another thing I like to think about with this, though, is that Roman is the one singing it to others. He’s been there, he knows what it’s like. He’s got bandaged wings that are still strong. He wants to be able to pave the runway for those coming after him. He wants to be a beacon of light for actors and singers and creators who were once or still are in his position, taking their hand, and helping them up, getting them running, and watching them fly towards their own dreams.

Maybe it’s a mixture of both. Maybe he’s not going to be the first gay Disney prince, but he can sure as hell make way for him, wherever he may be, while still going after his own dreams.

Now, imagine:

Roman is watching these other creators, all flying off towards their dreams. he take a deep breath and starts running himself.

GO is the song that plays as he takes off with his own bandaged and tattered wings.

Why are you waiting for Another open door You've seen it all before GO Exit stage left Lay your act to rest Don't second guess GO Do Do Do Do Do Do, Do Do

The fear within Has held you hostage Break free and live

Roman has been doubting himself. He’s been scared and lonely and not sure if what he’s doing, what he wants, is right.

He wants to think it is. No, he knows it is. So why is he holding himself back? He needs to just go, to do it.

I like that this song leaves it off with an ending, but not one that just ends, if that makes sense. Roman is off, going after his dreams. he picked himself back up and he’s off. What is he going to do next? Where is his next destination? Well, we’ll just have to wait and see.

#roman sanders #sanders sides #long post #roman's playlist analysis #remus sanders #patton sanders #logan sanders #virgil sanders #thomas sanders

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cardsbizarreadventure · 4 years ago

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[Event : Welcome to the Mafia]

“Please do not do this... please someone stop him...“ a very annoyed voice spoke up , trying to hold back his frustration.

“AHEM!!! May I have your attention please. I would like to introduce you to our little crew... or should I say Mafia.“ Jinsei spoke up with confidence , as he did a little dramatic pose on his end.

“First off I want to introduce you all to our newest member of the Special Forces! “ he pointed over to the green-eye blonde who just smiled and did a little wave with his hand. “Ohayo.“ he spoke up. “ He will be our ears and eyes for this mission , he will be running operations in our own little bus to make sure not to miss any detail and if something goes wrong we can count on him to navigate us and get us out of there. “ Jinsei explained. “His name is Dimitri Romanov. “ he finally introduced him. “ Now lets go ahead and introduce the cast!! “ the ruby-haired man clapped his hands together happily .

“ The first honor goes to our very first cast! Mister Ethan , who is a very serious and responsible individual , also known as our favorite boss Mister Rei Kasai. “ Jinsei spoke up , introducing Rei and his role. “I swear you’re narrating us like we are some comedy show... this is a very serious mission Jinsei...“ he looked at Jinsei already annoyed by his commentary.

“Next up we have is Mister Jay , he is known to be a very rough fighter and a very scary one too , he is also known as our favorite friend Hugo.“ Jinsei pointed over to the brown-haired man , who had just crossed his arms . “ Aren’t you getting tired of this , Jinsei? ” Hugo sighed . “ Nope!! We have to be introduced properly!! ” the ruby-haired boy smiled widely. “You’re making us sound like a bunch of clowns...” Hugo complained. “Let’s get this over with...” the tan man added.

“Next up is your truly! Couldn’t miss that one hah! I’ll be going with the name Fei for this one. I’m the most handsomest of all of the crew.“ he spoke up with confidence behind his voice , as Hugo was trying to hold Rei from smacking him so hard right upon how he made seem like it was some ridiculous comedy show. “And last but not least!! The most important role of our little operation. Ladies and Gentleman may I have your full attention to our last cast. The cast that will be our ‘Boss’ for this operation.“ Jinsei spoke up , as he stared at the red-haired woman enter the scene , popping up with her bright red colors and fashionable wear. “This is so embarrassing... “ the pillar girl frowned , as she was refusing to go out looking like this on their mission . “Why must I wear this...“ the girl complained as Jinsei just smirked . “Come on now... you gotta show off , we are doing introductions remember? Plus you’re our ‘lead singer’ for this operation.” Jinsei was dying to see her come out , he could only imagine

A heavy grunt could be heard until the annoyed pillar girl finally got out of the shadows . “I feel so... exposed... ” the frown on her face grew wider. “I am never letting Jinsei pick outfits...EVER again...” Rei complained , before he saw Joelle walk out in that flashy outfit , he felt like his eyes were glued on her . “You alright Rei? ” Hugo glanced over to him , who seemed to be rather speechless at the moment. “Oh woah , now that’s a perfect fit! NOW that’s one fire woman!!” Jinsei felt like he was about to faint , when Joelle walked out and showed herself.

“May I introduce you to our ‘Boss’. Lady Jun Lee , also known as our favorite beauty queen Joelle Joestar!! “ he pointed over the red-haired woman who looked like she was ready to punch him into the wall. “ I can’t believe you made me wear this... You’re going to be in a world of hurt once this is over... “ Joelle said irritated “But you look amazing in it!! ” Jinsei complimented with sparkles in his eyes. “It barely covers anything Jinsei.... you... Báichī... ” the pillar girl felt how she clenched her fist. Jinsei had already collapsed down on the ground as Dimitri was trying to wake him up , while Hugo was shaking Rei who seemed to have spaced out entirely. // Event Start! //

#jojo oc #jjba oc #Joelle Joestar #Rei Kasai #Hugo #Jinsei Shiraki #Dimitri Romanov #Event : Welcome to the Mafia #Detective Arc Oc #Jojo Detective Arc Oc #Jojo Detective Arc #Detective Arc #Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Into the four chapters #jjba into the four chapters #jojo into the four chapters

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elysmi · 4 years ago

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Something there // Zuko x Y/N

Based on ‘Something there’ from Beauty and The Beast

Warning: Zuko being aangsty

I recommend listening to the song as you read.

Also, the gif is not mine.

~~~~~~

Something there

Y/N rested against a tree, her eyes glued to Zuko as he sparred with Aang

‘There's something sweet, and almost kind’

Her mind and heart seemed to be at war with each other as she watched him gracefully move his body to dodge Aang’s fire.

She remembered the night before, when she remained outside after everyone went to sleep, keeping herself warm by the fire as she thought about her home.

“You mind some company?” Zuko smiled as he sat down next to her.

She smiled back at him.

“Not at all.”

His eyes met her e/y ones, and a blush appeared on both their faces.

“What’s on your mind?” He asked her.

She sighed, looking down. “My parents. I left them after the eclipse, they told me to go, that it’ll be safer for me.

I’m worried about them. I mean, I’m glad they’re not at the Boiling Rock, of course, but I have no idea where they are and it’s killing me inside.”

Zuko turned his body towards her, and placed his hand on hers. She looked up, her cheeks turning red as he gave her a soft look.

“Your parents are strong and capable, and I have no doubt they are still alive, pridefully fighting. When this is over, we’re going to free them, and you’ll reunite with them.”

He gently brushed his thumb over her hand, and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“They’ll want you to not worry about them. And I’m sure that wherever they’re right now, they’re so proud of you. You’re helping the avatar restore balance to the world, and you’re fighting against everything the other side of the war throws at you. They’re proud of you.”

He gently lifted her chin up, his golden eyes shining brightly as he stared at her as if she was the most beautiful person he ever laid eyes on.

“I am proud of you.”

She snapped out of it, watching him direct a fireball at Aang.

She frowned slightly, remembering the first time they met.

‘But he was mean and he was coarse and unrefined’

It was during the time that Katara stole the water bending scroll from the pirates.

A week after Y/N left Omashu to help Aang and his friends, Zuko found them during the night while Y/N was watching Katara practice her water bending.

Since her earthbending skills weren’t that great back then, she didn’t really stood her ground against the pirates and Zuko with his guards, and ended up tied next to Katara.

“I’ll save you both from the pirates.” He tried to blackmails Katara to tell him the whereabouts of the avatar with her mother’s necklace.

“Go jump in the river.” Y/N spat at the prince.

He turned towards her, as if he noticed her for the first time.

“Well well, another peasant joined your little group.”

Y/N only rolled her eyes at him. “Strong words coming from a scarred banished prince with no honor, don’t you think?”

Need less to say, it didn’t went nicely from that moment on.

She worked hard with her earthbending from that day, swearing she’ll never be as useless as she was that night.

And every single time they met after that day, it was her that fought him. He always noticed that she was getting better each time they fought, and that’s when he truly paid attention to her.

She wasn’t much of a peasant after all.

‘And now he's dear, and so unsure

I wonder why I didn't see it there before’

But those days were in the past. He was a different man now. A strong, brave, kind man, who left his nation behind to join team avatar and fight against his father.

And she’d lie to say she didn’t have feelings for him.

He was handsome, inside and out.

Of course, he was still very insecure and had anger issues, but she knew he was working on that.

And she was proud of him.

She came out of her thoughts as she saw Zuko shot a huge fireball at Aang.

Poor Aang couldn’t firebend back in time, and used airbending instead.

The air blast was so strong, it sent Zuko flying two meters in the air before landing on the water.

He shot out of it after a few seconds, tangled in sea weed.

He yelled angrily as he tried to untangle himself, and she couldn’t help but laugh.

Even in these situations he managed to be just as handsome.

‘She glanced this way, I thought I saw’

His eyes widened when he heard laughter, not knowing Y/N was watching them. He finally untangled himself and turned to face her, and the sight of her giggling in amusement made his heart skip a beat.

How could someone be so perfect? He found himself asking.

‘And when we touched, she didn't shudder at my paw’

Memories of the precious night appeared in his mind, remembering how they watched the stars together the entire night, and he told her about his childhood, his mother, and his scar.

How embarrassing it was for him to realize he was crying. He thought she’d be disgusted by this gesture, that she’ll think he was weak and pathetic, just like his father and his sister thought.

What he didn’t expect was for her to slowly embrace him in her arms, softly leaning his head on her shoulder.

He gasped as her hand softly caressed his cheek, slowly going up to touch his scar.

He pulled away in fear; why was he afraid? Was he afraid? What if she thought he was as hideous as a monster? She must have thought this way, it was completely normal.

He was weak, pathetic, and hideous.

And she knew it, and he knew it.

“I know what you think of me.” He tried to say coldly, but his voice came out in a tremble, as if he was facing his worst nightmare. “You think I am hideous. As good as a monster.”

Y/N gasped in shock as he spoke, and she immediately took his hands in hers and brought them to her lips. Zuko blushed at her gesture, and watched her in surprise.

“I think your scar proves that no matter what you went through, no matter what people threw at you, you came out stronger than you were before. I don’t think you’re a monster, Zuko. I think you’re brave and honorable, and I am so happy you joined our group. I am glad to be around you, because you inspire me so much.”

His eyes widened, his lips trembling.

“I- I inspire you?”

She chuckled softly at him, placing her hand on his right cheek again. “You’re the living proof that we can learn from our mistakes and become the best versions of ourselves. That we can all change for the greater good.”

She leaned in slowly, and her lips rested on his scar softly, making him feel something he never felt before.

“And I don’t think you’re hideous, Prince Zuko. I think you’re the handsomest boy I have ever laid eyes upon.”

Zuko shook his head as Aang asked him if he was alright.

Of course he was.

Why couldn’t he stop thinking about her?

Every since he joined team avatar, there’s hasn’t been a moment he didn’t think of her.

Whenever the group gathered around to eat, it wold physically hurt him if he didn’t sat directly next to her. It would pain him in various ways if she didn’t talk to him or acknowledge his presence.

But she always did. Sometimes he felt as if he was the only one she noticed at all.

‘No, it can't be, I'll just ignore’

He couldn’t let his feelings get to him. She couldn’t possibly like him, of course?

Why would she?

She was the most intelligent and beautiful girl he knew, and she always knew exactly what to say. She was mature and responsible and she wanted the best she could have in her future after the war would come to an end.

He was just a scared banished Prince, hated by his own family and nation. What could he possibly offer her that she’d want?

She could barely tolerate him, anyway.

His eyes widened as she slowly walked towards him as Aang decided to take a break, trying to look away from her hips as she swayed them gracefully on her way.

‘But then she's never looked at me that way before’

Her eyes met his, and a smile appeared on her face as he noticed her.

Several thoughts clouded his mind.

If she truly didn’t like him, why would she act this way around him?

“How was training, Prince Zuko?”

And she always called him by his title, as if it held any meaning at all. She probably did this to tease him, but he honestly thought that his title and his name never sounded as good as they did when it was her to say them.

“Wet.” He muttered, and blushed as she arched a brow in amusement at him. “I mean- seaweed.”

Seaweed? Seriously?

Could he act more like an idiot around her?

He almost sighed out in relief as she giggled softly at his words, and blushed as she took his hand in hers, brushing her thumb over his hand, making sparks lighten his body.

‘New, and a bit alarming

Who'd have ever thought that this could be?’

She blushed as well, but pushed her awkwardness away.

It’s now or never, she told herself.

“Listen, I spotted a nice dining place around the nearest town, ten minutes away from here. Would you like to go out with me there?”

He almost fainted right there and then.

“Are yo- you- a-asking me- you’re asking- you want to- are you-“

‘True, that he's no Prince Charming

But there's something in him that I simply didn't see’

She chuckled at his attempt to form a sentence. “Yes dummy, I’m asking you on a date. So? What’s your answer?”

He stood frozen to his place for a minute, and she shook him gently.

“Hello, Zuko there?”

He finally seem to step on earth, and his face formed a smile bigger than he ever did before.

“Yes! I mean...yeah, I’d love to.” He tried to play it cool, but ended up blushing and leaning in to her touch as she placed her hand on his cheek.

“Then let’s go, shall we?”

He kissed her hand, and took it in his.

“Yes, lets go.”

‘Well, who'd have thought? Well, bless my soul, Well, who'd have known?’

Unknown to them, Katara and Sokka were watching them leave, widening their eyes as they spotted them holding hands.

“I can’t believe it.” Katara gasped.

‘Well, who indeed? And who'd have guessed they'd come together on their own?’

Sokka grinned.

“I can’t believe it took them so long.”

“They are so perfect together.” Katara smiled.

‘It's so peculiar, wait and see, we'll wait and see a few days more’

There may be something there that wasn't there before’

“They truly are. They’re perfect for each other.” Sokka admitted.

“Who’s perfect for each other?” Aang asked as he stepped next to them.

His eyes widened and he let out a gasp as he saw Y/N and Zuko smiling at each other, walking hand in hand.

‘Here's a thought, perhaps there's something there that wasn't there before.’

Aang smiled brightly as his friend.

“Well, it’s about time!”

“What’s about time?” Toph asked as she stepped next to them as well, confused by Aang’s statement.

“What’s going on?”

Aang and Katara smiled at each other and walked away as Sokka turned to Toph.

He ruffled her hair and grinned.

“I’ll tell you when you’re older.”

~~~

This is my first one shot on tumblr and I’m quite satisfied with how it ended up. If you have a one shot or short story request, you can leave it here or message me.

#zuko imagine #zuko x reader #zuko x oc #Zuko #avatar: tla #teamavatar #avatar one shots #sokka #Katara #Aang #Toph #Azula #zuko x you #zuko x y/n #something there #beauty and the beast #love one shot #avatar imagine #Spotify

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miguel-manbemel · 4 years ago

Text

Thomas’ Spooky Halloween-y Date

It’s Halloween, and as I promised, here’s the Halloween one-off special Sanders Sides story I promised two weeks ago. It is out of the main narrative of the Aspects & Fanfics story, and it’s also formatted in regular prose instead of the habitual script format the main story follows. Before you read it, know that the plot is set two months after the latest Sanders Asides, “Flirting with Social Anxiety”, so if you haven’t watched it yet, don’t read any further until you watch it or you’ll get spoilered right from the first line. But it’s been more than two weeks, so I won’t be marking it as spoilers anymore. I hope you enjoy this spooky but romantic story and I’ll see you in two weeks, back to the regular posting schedule with the main story. Happy Halloween!

WARNINGS: It’s a romantic story featuring moments of drama and death mentions. It’s impossible to avoid them if we set the story on Halloween, though, and expect also mentions to ghosts and spooky creatures.

Thomas parked the car in front of Nico’s door. There were children everywhere, going from door to door with their trick-or-treat. He always loved that day of the year, ever since he was a child. He would always enjoy that day no matter what, but this year, it was his first Halloween since he started dating Nico, and the first Halloween he wouldn’t spend single since he had forgotten how long. He knew this year would be special. When Nico phoned him to come along for Halloween, he wouldn’t even hesitate. He always enjoyed his company and spending Halloween with him couldn’t be a better plan.

“I wonder if he’s prepared something for Halloween.” Thomas thought to himself “Nico is the most romantic guy I have ever met in my life and I’m sure he’s gonna make this day spookily fantastic. He loves Nightmare before Christmas, I’m sure he enjoys Halloween just as much as I do.”

“Of course he does, Thomas!” Roman said from the backseat.

“Oh, Roman, you startled me!”

“Sorry. But what are you waiting for inside your carriage, Thomas? Go to his door already and knock! Don’t keep him waiting!”

“Easy, Roman.” Virgil said, appearing next to him. “First, Thomas must check that he’s looking his best. You don’t want Linda to ruin his appearance in front of Nico, do you?”

“I checked myself already, Virgil. I combed my hair carefully and used gel so that Linda doesn’t visit us tonight. Wow, I made Linda sound as if she was the Oogie-Boogie Man.”

“She can be more terrifying, Thomas, especially in romantic occasions.” Virgil said “Are you sure you look okay? Check yourself again in the mirror.”

Thomas sighed and looked at himself in the driving mirror. There was no sign of cowlicks. At Roman’s suggestion, with the telephonic guidance and advice of Talyn, he had put a little dash of natural-looking makeup on his cheeks, and his face looked brighter and healthier than ever, with no visible trace of the ugly green pimple in the middle of the forehead he had woken up with that morning. Nope, he was looking his best and there was nothing to be worried about. Nico already liked is regular appearance, and tonight he was going to fall in love with him again.

“I look fine, Virge, please settle down, at least for tonight. I wanna have a calm and lovely Halloween date with Nico and I want everything to be perfect. Please, I beg you, grant me that wish, at least for tonight.”

“Okay, Thomas, I’ll try. You know I don’t work like that, but I’ll try for you.”

“Thanks, emo friend.” Thomas said, smiling at Virgil through the mirror. “Okay, my face and hair look fine, I just put on my best perfume, and I brought a little bag of Halloween candy that doesn’t include candy corn. What could go wrong?”

Thomas got out of the car and walked to the door. He rang the bell and waited there. He couldn’t help smiling when he noticed a bunch of creepy pumpkins next to the front window, full of cobwebs.

“He truly lives Halloween just as passionately as I do.” he thought “If soulmates do exist, I think he could be my own soulmate, or at least the closest to a soulmate I could ever get. We’ve been dating only for a couple of months and I’m feeling closer and closer to him each and everyday. I… I love him.”

The door opening interrupted his train of thought. Nico appeared there, with a skeleton makeup and a tattered black suit full of dust. The gloomy makeup couldn’t conceal the brightness of his smile. Thomas smiled back.

“Uh… trick or treat?” Thomas said, handing the bag of candy. “You should have warned me to come in a costume.”

“It’s okay,” Nico said “I wouldn’t have wanted you to come any other way. You look gorgeous as usual.”

Thomas smiled bashfully. He had forgotten the feeling of his appearance being complimented on a regular basis and Nico always knew how to boost his moral and make him feel like the handsomest man in the world. Since he had met him, he had started to forget the feeling of doubting his self worth. Nico always reminded him of how important he was, how much worthy of love he was and how much his presence in the world mattered, no matter what, and that’s what he loved the most about his boyfriend: that first and foremost, Nico reminded Thomas of all the reasons he had to love himself on a regular basis and pushed him to love himself above all else. Thomas felt really lucky to have met him at the mall. It was a chance in a million and Lady Luck, for once, had been generous with him.

“Thank you, I guess. You’re gonna make me blush.”

“I’m only saying the truth, Thomas. But don’t stay there, come in… if you dare…” he ended this phrase with a creepy voice and an over the top spooky laugh that made Thomas chortle.

“Of course…” Thomas said entering the house. “Did you have any plans for tonight?”

“First and foremost, dinner will be ready in no time. I made pizza rolls. Didn’t buy them, I made them from scratch. They’re in the oven right now.

“Homemade pizza rolls? That sounds delicious!”

“I know they’re your favorite food and since you’re now following healthy habits and you don’t eat them as often anymore, I wanted to make them just for you, for this special occasion. I just hope I haven’t messed up with the recipe and that I don’t end up burning them.”

“Gosh, Nico. You’re always thinking on me and on what’s best for me. I really feel so lucky to have you in my life.”

“I am the lucky one, Thomas. Your sunshiny disposition always makes my day a thousand times brighter. Of course I want you to have the best of the best, because you’re the best of the best for me.”

“I love you, so much.”

“Not as much as I love you.”

“Is this a competition about who loves who more? Because I intend to win it.”

“I won’t make it easy for you, honey.”

Nico kissed Thomas. Then they stared at each other for a couple of seconds, as if the world had stopped around them. Roman and Virgil, a couple of steps afar, watched the scene. Roman was crying out of emotion. Virgil’s eyeshadow couldn’t be shinier in purple.

“Gosh. Could he be any cuter?” Roman said, squealing.

“I really think Thomas’ life has only got better and better since we met him. I wonder if there’s a top for this turmoil of excitement he makes me feel every time Thomas is with him.”

“Glad to have you aboard the romance train, Virge. This wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t for you, so thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Roman. I don’t regret that push at all, and…” suddenly Virgil became really serious and his eyeshadow suddenly turned black. “Wait, wait a second… What’s that?”

“What’s what?” Roman inquired.

“Don’t you sense that smell?” suddenly panicking “Something’s burning! Quickly, set the alarms! Everybody save yourselves! Thomas!”

Thomas’ suddenly perceived the smell too.

“Nico, something’s burning!”

“Oh, no!” Nico said, scared, running to the kitchen.

Thomas followed him. There was black smoke coming out of the oven. Nico quickly tried to open the oven, but in the rush, he forgot to wear a glove and burned his hand.

“Ouch, my hand!” he yelled, in pain.

“Be careful!” Thomas said, grabbing the glove on the counter next to the oven. Then he opened the oven and took the tray out. All the pizza rolls were completely charred and black. He left the tray in a safe place on the counter, coughing a little bit out of the smoke. Then he opened the window to let the smoke out and turned the oven temperature off.

“Aw, my hand…” Nico said, grimacing in pain. “This looks like a bad burn.”

“Let me see” Thomas said. There were blisters on Nico’s palm. “This doesn’t look good. Put your hand under the running tap. Cold water may be helpful to relieve the pain.”

Thomas opened the tap and Nico put his hand under the water stream.

“I’m so sorry, Thomas.” Nico said with a sad face, also grimacing in pain at times “I think I lost notion of time and I messed everything up…”

“It’s okay, Nico. It was an accident, and the most important thing for me is that you’re okay.”

After a couple of minutes, Thomas turned the water off and dried Nico’s hand carefully, then they both went to the living room. Logan appeared next to the couple and examined the wound.

“The burn doesn’t look bad enough to call 911, but it’ll need a little bit of care. Has Nico got some bandages?”

“Have you?” Thomas asked.

“Have I what?” Nico said, confused.

Thomas remembered that Nico couldn’t hear or see Logan as he was in his imagination.

“Oh, sorry, I was thinking to myself and forgot to speak aloud. I meant if you have some bandages.”

“Oh… Yes, in the medical kit, on that closet under the stairs.”

“Okay, you sit down at the table and I’ll go fetch the medical kit.”

“Do you have medical knowledge, Thomas?”

“Only the basics, you know, first aid assistance and all. I took a couple of courses when I was in college studying chemical engineering. Cause you never know, they could come in handy at any time. And see? The time has come.” Thomas got the medical kit from the closet and carried it to the table, then examined its contents. “Aha! Here are the bandages… and look, here’s some burn cream.”

“An aloe vera burning ointment… A wise choice to treat burns,” Logan said, “much better than the traditional oil-based burn ointment which can do more harm than good depending on the type of burn.”

“You really got this thought out, didn’t you, Nico?” Thomas said.

“Well,” Nico said, bashfully, “let’s just say that this is not the first time I burned myself while trying to cook. I wanted to step out of my comfort zone by trying to cook something for you but I messed everything up. I should have simply ordered a pizza, but I didn’t want to do something so dull for our Halloween date, I wanted it to be special.”

“Don’t worry, Nico. I’m not the best cook either and I appreciate the love you put into this… Okay, here I go. Are you ready? This might hurt a bit.”

“I’m ready.”

Thomas applied the burn cream, spreading it over the burn as gently as he could. Then, he started wrapping Nico’s hand with the bandage. Sometimes, Nico grimaced in pain, but most of the time, he just stared at Thomas with a loving glance. Thomas didn’t notice as he was focused on applying the bandage as painlessly as he could. When he was done, he tied the edge and secured the bandage.

“Done. You should see a doctor, though, as soon as you can so that they can advise better on that wound.”

Nico didn’t answer. He just leaned over and kissed Thomas on the cheek, staining the cheek with his white skeleton makeup.

“Thank you. Sorry I stained your face.”

“You’re welcome.” Thomas said, smiling back. “Well, it seems that we can’t eat these little pieces of coal in the kitchen. Do you want me to order some pizza?”

“I’d be glad. I’m sorry I can’t give you more.”

“For the last time, I don’t need you to give me more. I came here to spend time with you, not with your food. And besides, I adore pizza, I don’t mind at all to have it for dinner. So…”

Suddenly the sound of the oven bell ringing startled him.

“What was that?” Thomas said.

“That… that was the oven… the sign that I should take the pizza rolls out…”

“How much time did you program on the oven, Nico?”

“The time specified on the recipe. Look.”

Nico showed Thomas his phone and Thomas read something on the screen. Logan read the screen too.

“This doesn’t make any sense, Thomas.” Logan said, “The time specified on this recipe is totally safe. It would have been impossible that the pizza rolls had got burnt if they’ve been in the oven for this time only. If anything, it would have been the opposite, they would have come out a little raw and would have needed a little more time.”

“How is it possible that the pizza rolls got burnt when they spent so little time in the oven? Are you sure you didn’t introduce something wrong on the timer?” Thomas said.

“Yes, I’m sure, Thomas. I’m not the best cook, but I can read, and I double-checked that the timer was right.”

“Then, how could the pizza rolls get burnt? This doesn’t make any sense…”

Suddenly all the lights in the house turned off.

“What the…?” Nico started saying.

But he was interrupted by the sound of something made of glass crashing on the floor in another room followed by a creepy voice laughing and yelling with a squeaky voice: “Who broke this vase!? Hehehehehehe…”

“Okay…” Thomas said with a trembling voice “…if this is your idea of a creepy Halloween, I commend you for your creativity… but I beg you to stop right now, this is too scary for me…”

“I don’t have any part on this, Thomas…” Nico said with an equally trembling voice “I don’t know what is going on.”

Logan looked around.

“All of this has a strangely familiar look, just like that voice. I think I know that…”

Suddenly one light turned on in the middle of the table where Thomas and Nico were sitting. Remus was there, dressed as a zombie, with one eye hanging and blood all over his body.”

“AAAAAYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!” Remus screeched demonically.

Thomas screeched, scared, before he recognized Remus. Nico just stared at the apparition, and with the same gesture and no words coming out of his mouth, he flopped down on the table, unconscious.

“Nico!” Thomas yelled “Nico, are you all right?”

Thomas checked Nico. He had simply fainted.

“What is going on here!?” Thomas yelled.

“Hahahahaha! I surely scared the sh*t out of your boyfriend, didn’t I? Both of you in fact, you should have seen your faces! Hahahahaha!”

“Shut up, Remus! For starters, how in the world could Nico see you!? I thought you were just a figment of my imagination and that only I could see you!”

“Well, you thought wrong, Thomas! Not tonight at least! Tonight is the night where all nightmares become real, and tonight I’m your worst nightmare, Thomas!”

“Remus, will you stop these ridiculous antics!?” Logan said. “You could have killed Nico out of a heart attack! You know we’re not supposed to interact with other humans, it’s against the rules of Sides!”

Remus shifted back into his normal form.

“Oh, to the hell with rules! No rules can bind me, and you know it!”

“Wait, so all of you can become visible at will?” Thomas said “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You never asked.” Remus said with a mocking grin.

“It’s a little complicate, Thomas.” Virgil started saying, until he was interrupted.

“Nico, are you all right!?” Patton yelled after rising up, with a grimace of fear and an over the top concern “Please, talk to me!”

“Okay, okay, guys, enough is enough” Janus said, appearing “What will happen if now Nico starts seeing us? You’re endangering Thomas’ relationship, and bearing in mind his streak of luck, he’s not in a position of wasting relationships…”

“Yeah, I want to keep Nico as our final prize, I don’t want to lose him!

“Oh, brother, you don’t have to worry about anything. You, Light Sides, didn’t know it, but for us, Dark Sides, it was a secret common knowledge that if we never shared it with you, it was because Janus wouldn’t let us.” Remus said.

“What do you mean, Remus?” Roman said. Logan and Patton also looked at Remus, in confusion.

“Can I, Janus?” Remus inquired.

“Only if Thomas wants, Remus, you know the rules.” Janus said.

“Oh, I do want,” Thomas said “I want to know what Remus means.”

“Okay, go ahead Remus.” Janus said.

“Thank you, snake boy. If Nico can see us, then that means that…”

Suddenly, Nico rose his face from the table. Everyone stared at him in silence. The first thing he saw was Janus and his snake face.

“Hi, Mr. Floresssssss” Janus says, hissing with his forked tongue.

Nico immediately fainted again.

“Guys!” Roman yelled “Are you trying to make Thomas a widower before he even marries!?”

“Preposterous.” Logan said “To be a widower you need to be married beforehand, at least legally.”

“That’s the intention,” Roman said “if he reaches the altar alive, that is!”

“Enough!” Thomas yelled. “Everyone get out of sight, now, before he sees you again!”

The Sides shrugged and turned invisible for Thomas, all of them except Remus.

“You too, Remus, you’re the cause of all of this and I don’t want you here! Well, I never want you around but much less right now!”

“Aww, too bad that you’re not my boss, Tommy Boy! You can’t force me to do anything as you remember.”

Thomas sighed.

“At least, could you please become invisible for Nico? Please, he’s survived two strong impressions in a row. He has a young heart, but still, a third shock like that could be fatal for anyone!”

“Okay, I will. But only because I think Nico’s hot and I don’t want him to die yet, not at least before you two…” and he completed the phrase with a lot of… expressive words that this narrator is not willing to quote.

Thomas ignored Remus and started fanning Nico with his hand.

“Nico, are you all right? Wake up, please! Nico!”

Nico started waking up. At first he showed a face of confusion. Then he suddenly showed a face of fear and looked around, anxious.

“Where are they? Where are they!?”

“Uh… where are who?”

“That zombie on the table, and then the snake-man! I remember very well I saw them, and so did you!”

“Uh… well…” Thomas said with a stuttering nervous voice.

Nico looked at Thomas right in the eye, then he went serious and started speaking.

“You’re hiding something from me, Thomas. I can feel it. You always get into that nervous attitude when you’re trying to conceal something that bothers you. You’re not a very good liar, no matter how hard you try.”

Janus watched the scene a few steps behind, invisible for them, frowning at Nico with an offended face.

“Listen, I wouldn’t push you to tell me secrets you don’t want anyone to know, but if I know you, and in just two months I think I know you well already, you only put that face of remorse when you think I should know something but you don’t tell me because you’re afraid or ashamed. If that’s the case, please, open up to me.” Nico held Thomas’ hands “I love you. You don’t need to be afraid and your secret will always be safe with me, I promise. No one will know through my lips. Please, trust me.”

“I do trust you, Nico. And I don’t want to have secrets with you. It’s just that I never thought I would ever need to tell you this, to you or to anybody at all. And I never told you about this, because I feared that you would think you were dating a weirdo. What am I saying? I’m probably a weirdo anyway…”

Nico frowned at Thomas.

“Thomas, I forbid you to speak about yourself in these terms! You’re not a weirdo! You’re the sanest man I’ve ever met and I will physically fight you if you say otherwise!”

“Heh… physically fight me? It’s not the first time I heard someone say these words. And it’s only appropriate that you mentioned them just now. Maybe it’s true we are soulmates after all…”

“You’re diverting, Thomas. Please, tell me what’s bothering you.”

“Well… promise you won’t freak out or think I’m mad?”

“I’ve already promised. Go ahead, please.”

“You see, all of my life there’s been this exercise I made when I wanted to put my ideas in order, or I wanted to analyze my train of thoughts carefully to find solutions to the dilemmas I regularly face in my life. I imagined that the different aspects of my personality, you know, my morality, my logical thinking, my anxiety and my creativity and romanticism, where, like, different people. I visualized them in front of me and sustained conversations with them, and imagined that the thoughts in my head were actually words said by them. It helped me to externalize these thoughts and view them critically and as objectively as I could.”

Nico just looked at Thomas in silence.

“Well, up to a minute ago… I thought that all these people, who I called the Sanders Sides, you know the sides of my personality, were imaginary and only in my head. But Remus… that’s the name of my forbidden creativity, the thoughts I try to repress in my mind which show up as intrusive thoughts… decided to prank us… and showed up in the middle of the table dressed as a zombie. I thought only I could see him… until you fainted out of the impression. I never knew other people could see them if they wanted to. Heck, I don’t even understand how they can do it at all. I’m so sorry, I should have told you earlier. I’ll understand if you’re mad at me, and if you don’t want to date me anymore, it would kill me, because I love you with all my heart, but I’d accept your choice. Well? What do you say?”

Nico kept looking at Thomas. Slowly a face of surprise started appearing on his face. Thomas showed a face of fear.

“You have Lados too?”

“What?” Thomas said, stunned. He didn’t expect that answer at all.

“Yes, Lados. That’s how I call them, it’s the word in Spanish for Sides, which is what you call them. I… I thought I was the only one who had them!”

Roman, Logan and Patton stared at Nico, with their mouths wide open. Remus just smiled mockingly and said:

“That’s the secret I was trying to tell you before he woke up. If Nico could see me, that means he also has the ability to turn his thoughts into Sides, which means he has his own Sides too. Not all humans can see us, only those who have Sides can.”

“Wow, I should have known earlier, you know?” Thomas said, looking at Remus.

“I’m sorry I should have told you… Wait, who are you talking to?” Nico said, confused, noticing Thomas was staring at an empty space.

“Oh, I guess he’s still invisible to you now… I was talking to Remus, he’s over there, even if you don’t see him.”

“I see… That’s an expression, of course. Remus, wherever you are, that was a good prank, you really scared the crap out of me.”

“Thank you, Nico!” Remus said, startling Nico after suddenly becoming visible for him “I love that you’re a guy that can take pranks, unlike other people I know, and I’m not looking at anyone.” Remus said, looking at Thomas right in the eye.

“Yes, today Remus seems to be in a mood for pranks.” Thomas said “But, Remus, even though I know you never listen to me, you could be more careful, look at Nico’s hand, he burned it because of you.”

“Wait, what?” Remus said, confused “What are you talking about?”

“That joke with the oven, accelerating it and making the pizza rolls burn before they were made? You could have set the whole house on fire, and I would have never forgiven myself. Don’t do that again.”

“I recognize that would have been a very funny prank, Thomas…” Remus said, still confused “…but I didn’t take part in that.”

“What? You’re kidding me, right?”

“No, I’m not, Thomas. You know me well, you already know by experience that I would never hide anything to you. For once in a lifetime, I’m an innocent little lamb.”

“You wish.” Patton said.

“No, I don’t, daddy. Feeling innocent is disgusting and it’s not like me at all, you know? That’s more your thing, not mine. Me, I’m more of a guilty-pleasure addict.”

“I’d rather not think what you mean by that…” Patton said, uncomfortable.

Thomas looked at Remus, totally confused.

“But… if it wasn’t you… then who…?”

A demonic long screech started resounding all over the house, and the lights started flickering on and off.

“What is going on!?” Thomas said, scared, yelling over the screech to make himself heard. “Is it one of your Sides… of your Lados, by any chance, Nico!?”

“No, it isn’t, Thomas!” Nico also had to yell to make himself heard. “I don’t know where that screech is coming from!”

“Ugh, that screech is hurting my ears…” Remus said “I’m getting out of here.”

Remus sank down.

“Ugh… this is so horrible, not even Remus could stand it…” Thomas said “But then, what is going on?”

The screech stopped. Then, a demonic voice started speaking.

“You will regret coming into my house… Both of you… will pay… with blood!”

Thomas grabbed Nico, shaking from head to toe.

“Nico… I’m scared…” Thomas said.

“Me too…” Nico said, hugging Thomas.

Then, the lights went off. Roman’s female scream was heard.

“What was that!?” Nico yelled in horror.

“Roman, was that you!? Are you okay!?” Thomas said.

“Yes, it’s me, sorry, Thomas.” Roman said with his own voice “I still hate the dark…”

A demonic laugh startled everyone in the dark.

“A… a ghost… It’s a ghost!” Patton’s whining voice said in the dark.

“Okay, guys, everybody calm down.” Logan’s voice said “There has to be some logical explanation for all of this.”

“Don’t try to explain this rationally, Logan!” Roman said “For once, there’s something not even you can explain, so don’t pretend to know better, Teach!”

“There’s only one explanation” Virgil said “This house is haunted and there’s a ghost living here. Our only hope is to get out of this house, get in the car and drive as far away as the gas level allows us, and pray that the ghost doesn’t follow us to torment us for the rest of our lives.”

“I can’t just leave my house… whoever you are.” Nico said.

“He’s Virgil, my anxiety, always a source of positivity as you can see.” Thomas said, ironically.

“Have you ever experience this kind of… paranormal activity in your house, Nico? And my name is Logan, by the way, I’m Thomas’ logical thinking.”

“Well… no, Logan, I haven’t. Up until today, this house was perfectly normal, no sign of spirits meddling around in my life.”

“How long have you been living here, if I may ask?”

“Well… I moved to Gainesville at the end of last year. I got this job in the University of Florida, teaching Spanish, you know? I got this house around November, to start the semester in January, and I’ve been living here happily and peacefully, until now.”

“So you didn’t live here by Halloween last year, right?”

“Right. Back then, I still lived in Orlando, although I was already preparing to move to Gainesville and looking for cheap rent houses.”

“Then that explains it. The ghost that lives here only shows up on Halloween, for some reason.”

“I thought you were looking for a logical explanation, Logan.” Roman said. “Have you changed your mind about paranormal events?”

“I got a logical explanation. If you’re meaning a “rational explanation”, well, that’s a different story. This isn’t rational at all, but with the information I’ve got, I must bring up any possible theories, even if they go against the scientific method.”

“You do realize that doesn’t make any sense, right?”

“If it doesn’t, it’s because we lack information to understand this phenomenon, Roman. But to try and retrieve the missing data, we must explore any possibilities, no matter how mad they may sound.”

“So you’re saying that you need me to complete this theory, right? Thanks, Teach, I knew you wouldn’t resist my talent one day or another.”

“No, I…” Logan started saying, but then another demonic screech interrupted them.

“Guys” Thomas said “While you’re here theorizing, that demonic entity is still wreaking havoc. Stop trying to find out what it is and start looking for a solution to get rid of it!”

“Yes, even if it’s only for one night, or so you say, Logan, I don’t want an evil spirit on the loose in my house! I’d never sleep in peace at night ever again!” Nico said.

“My house!” the demonic voice said “This is my house and you are intruders! Go away!”

“I’ve already paid a good year of rent!” Nico said “This is my house until I can’t pay my landlady anymore!”

Another short screech was the only answer.

“Did your landlady ever tell you about this happening?” Thomas said.

“No, she didn’t. But Mrs. Howard is a very nice, old lady, she would never hide anything like this to me on purpose. I’m sure she doesn’t know anything about this.”

“Then tell her! I want her to come here!” the voice said. Except that this time it was the whining voice of a child.

“Wait a minute…” Thomas said “The ghost is… is a child?”

The lights turned on, and the couple and Sides saw a little boy dressed in 1960’s fashion. If it wasn’t for the paleness of his face and his anachronistic outfit, nothing would have distinguished him from any other boy like the many others doing trick-or-treat outside. Well, to be fair, he could have indeed blended in with these boys now that they were disguised as spooky creatures. The ghost child stared at them with sad eyes.

“I want her back… Why did she leave me behind?” he said.

“Who left you behind, kiddo?” Patton said.

“It’s weird to hear Patton using the word kiddo right for the first time…” Virgil said.

“My mom.” the ghost said “That Mrs. Howard he mentioned… She’s my mom.”

“My landlady is your mom?” Nico said, in shock. “Oh, my goodness!”

“She promised she would never leave my side. She promised she would always be with me until I got better… but she left me. Why? Why did she lie to me? Why didn’t she want me!? I feel so alone and lost…”

“Oh, gosh…” Virgil said, emotional. “He doesn’t know he died. His mom probably was by his side as she promised, until the kid passed away, but he doesn’t remember the moment when he left his body and he thinks his mother abandoned him. Oh, this is so sad…”

“Okay, kiddo, what’s your name?” Patton said, after concealing his tears, with his most tender fatherly voice.

“Patrick.”

“Nice to meet you, Patrick, I’m… Patton. And these are my friends. We’re sorry if we have bothered you. It wasn’t our intention. Could you accept our apologies, kiddo?”

“Stop calling me kiddo! I’m eight years old, I’m a strong grown up!”

“Of course you are, Patrick!” Patton said.

“Eight years old…” Thomas said, emotional “It isn’t fair, no one should die so young.”

“My mother needed me to be strong, because she’s all alone and has to take care of us, me, my little brother and my little sister, and I need to get better to help her. But where is she? How can I help her if I don’t know where she is?”

Patton looked at the others. He was clearly overwhelmed by the emotion and getting choked up. He silently begged the others for help since he couldn’t speak anymore. Janus decided to step forward.

“Listen, young man. Because as you said you’re a young man, correct? Your mom had to… get away from this house, you know? She had to move somewhere else to take care of your siblings.”

“Then why didn’t she take me with them? Didn’t they want me anymore, because I was sick and they thought I would be useless?”

“No, of course not! Uh… I’m sure your mom loved you with all her heart. It’s just that she couldn’t take you with her because… um… the place where she moved to only allowed two kids, and she had to choose… and she chose your two little siblings, because they were younger and more in need of her care… and you are a strong and capable man, aren’t you? She knew you could take care of yourself better on your own than your siblings, that’s why she left you here, because she also needed someone to help her take care of this house while she was out, you know? She loves and trusts you so much that she left you right here in this place to fulfill your duty. You should hold that trust she has on you with pride.”

“I… I guess… but why didn’t she tell me? And why doesn’t she ever come here, at least to visit me? I miss her so much.”

“She can’t right now, young man. But rest assure, she would love to visit you. And in due time, she’ll come for you, when you least expect it, and then she’ll release you from your duty and take you to a place where you’ll never be away from her ever again, and then she’ll give you all the love she couldn’t give you all these past years and more, you’ll see.”

“Dag nabbit…” Thomas said with tears in his eyes “This snake is making me cry.”

“Me too…” Nico said, also crying, with foggy glasses.

“I… I understand.” the little ghost said. “Will I have to wait for too long until she comes for me?”

“It may take her some time… but each year that goes by will be a year closer to her, so wait for that day with hope and one day, you’ll have your reward. You’ll see.”

“Okay… thank you sir.” the ghost spoke to Nico “I’m sorry for burning your food, sir, and also that you hurt your hand because of me. That was rude and I apologize.”

“It’s okay… totally okay, don’t worry.” Nico said with a trembling emotional voice.

“I feel so much peace now that I know that I’m going to see her again…” the ghost said while he started becoming translucent “I think I know where I truly need to go to wait for her… I think I remember it all now… Thank you so much, kind people. You listened to me when nobody else would and freed my soul. I’ll forever be grateful to you for that.” he smiled with a face of peace and happiness “I can see my dad! He’s there with open arms, calling me! I gotta go, I missed him so much too! Goodbye, everyone! Dad, I’m so happy to see you again! Are you proud of me?”

And with these words, the ghost disappeared. They all stood there looking at the empty space for a few seconds in a silence only broken by Thomas and Nico’s faint sobs.

“I don’t know if his dad will be proud of him, even though I believe he totally is…” Patton said “but I’m certain of who this dad, and I mean me, is proud of. I’m so proud of you, Janus.”

Janus snorted trying to act cold.

“I was only being me, telling the kid a bunch of lies to fool him and push him to the other side, where he wouldn’t bother us anymore, that’s all.”

Thomas smiled at Janus.

“You’re a liar…” he said “…but you’re my liar and I love you, liar and all.”

“Eh… whatever.” Janus said, with his human cheek blushing red and his human eye full of emotional tears.

Nico looked at Thomas with a tender smile.

“What is it, Nico?”

“It’s nothing” Nico said. “It’s just that I’m so thankful that you decided to overcome your fears and talk to me at the mall. Otherwise I would have missed knowing you.”

“Oh, well… I…” Thomas said. “Why are you saying this right now?”

“Your Sides are you, aren’t they? Just like my Lados are me. And your Sides are all so great, each and everyone of them, therefore so are you. I love you so much.”

Thomas got emotional and smiled lovingly at Nico.

“And I love you too, Nico.” he said.

And then they kissed. After the kiss, Thomas said:

“Speaking about your Sides… I mean, your Lados, when am I… are we going to meet them?”

“In time… but tonight, I want this night to be just for us, if that’s okay with you. We’re still on Halloween date, aren’t we, and I don’t have the intention of squandering it.”

“Okay with me?” Thomas said, blushing again “Being with you will always be okay with me. I wouldn’t wanna be anywhere else in the world ever again.”

They kissed again. Remus appeared rising his arms in triumph.

“Yes! Finally!” Remus yelled “I was beginning to lose hope that they two would…”

“Don’t count your chickens before they hatch, Remus.” Roman said. Now the couple couldn’t see or hear the Sides anymore. “I’m sure after so much agitation and horror today, not to mention Nico’s wound, their only plan for the night will be getting a well deserved romantic dinner and watching some Halloween light horror movies.”

“But after the dinner, there always comes the dessert, doesn’t it?” Remus said, wiggling his eyebrows. Then he sighed in frustration. “If only Thomas wasn’t so romantic-driven that he needs to feel that romance in order to go to the next base. It’s boring having to go through all that long process and waiting for him to be ready before we get to the juicy stuff.”

“Well, romance is also good for Thomas’ soul and well-being,” Roman said “and I know, deep inside, you also want what is best for Thomas, even if you try to get it through your gruesome ways. On the other hand, we are brothers and part of a whole, Remus. As much as it is a pain for us both, if we want Thomas to be happy with Nico, we’ll have to work as a team, and our task is to help Thomas find out when he’s ready to move forward in the relationship. And who knows, maybe working as a team will give us an opportunity to rebuild our relationship as brothers?”

“Don’t build your hopes too high, Roman.” Remus said “Right now you can consider yourself lucky that we can work together without me having to pull out my mace.”

Roman chuckled.

“It’s a first step.” Roman said “and all the best adventures always start with a first step. I wonder where this adventure will take us both, brother.”

“If you say so…” Remus said, shrugging. “…brother.”

Roman smiled while Remus pretended he didn’t care. Then they both sank down with the others back to the Mind Palace, giving the couple some well earned privacy while they started ordering a pizza and checking Nico’s collection of Blu-Rays to find the perfect movie for the night.

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