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lovely-peace · 8 months ago

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Lovely?

Summary: You don't like the marauders. You don't talk and don't even look at them. But as you visit your friend in the hospital wing you encounter a certain boy with brown hair, scars and this lovely eyes.

Pairing: Remus Lupin x Gryffindor!reader

Warnings: Low self esteem, past bullying?, This is no bully! Marauders fic!!

Part 1 Part 3

"Hey, do you want to study for Transfiguration together?"

A normal day. It should have been. But ever since I was asked who I would date, I've been hearing giggles and whispers. And now James is standing in front of Amy and me. Ready to finish something. I don't know what yet, but it's going to hurt.

Because it will be a joke of theirs.

"Why should we?" I go straight on the offensive. Leave fears behind and intimidate them.

Sirius, who was standing behind James, looked to the side to stifle a laugh. That kind of upset me.

"Well, in the last lesson you had... We thought we could help each other."

Oh. My mistake. That they laughed about. Learning. Together. Actually, they just want to smile at my stupidity. SMILE.

"Amy doesn't even have Transfiguration." I hissed, looking the boy in front of me in the eye for the first time. He looked almost uncomfortable.

This boy I rode to Hogwarts with in the same wagon. And who now feels too cool to remember my name. I'm just a joke that you crack a few times and then forget.

"Which is why, unfortunately, I have to say goodbye and go upstairs. Important subjects are waiting for me!" Amy tapped my shoulder and I was about to thank her inwardly until- "That's why I'm leaving this sweetie here with you, okay?"

Peter looked up from his book for the first time. He was sitting on the couch by the fire.

In the common room of Gryffindor, it was not uncommon for people to fight over this space. Peter snatched it early enough so that Remus, who looked very ill that morning, just sat on the chair at the table next to it.

Peter was probably just as disappointed that Amy left as I was, if I interpreted his expression correctly.

"Amy," I whispered to her, "what are you doing?"

She raised her eyebrows, rolled her eyes and sighed briefly. And I understood. She wanted me to give them a chance.

I looked at her with begging eyes and screamed at her in my mind not to leave me here alone.

"So...?" James stood there like a boy waiting for his mother's permission.

And I wasn't going to give it to him.

"Sorry, Jarry, but I was planning on studying for other subjects with Amy today. So if you'll excuse us." What did I just say?

"Oo-," James looked to his friends while Sirius laughed out loud, "-okay?"

I didn't look at Amy and just stomped faree upstairs to our room.

Amy followed me, but not without letting out a sigh of disappointment.

"What was that about?" My voice was a little louder than usual. "I thought we agreed that we didn't like the four of them?"

Amy groaned and threw herself on her bed. "I never said that. I meant that they can be assholes sometimes, that's all."

"But they just were assholes?"

I also sat down on my bed and looked out of the window. The Hufflepuff team was playing quidditch.

"How were they assholes in any way, please? James just asked us if we wanted to study with them in the common room."

I could hear Amy starting to get angry.

"You know what he meant. He only asked because I said something completely stupid in Transfiguration the day before yesterday and everyone had a laugh. And now he wanted to hear more of it."

Amy had gone quiet. Then she snorted loudly. "Jesus Christ."

"What?!" As I turned around, two piercing eyes looked into me.

"Can you please stop painting the devil on the wall for once? You sound worse than Cassandra!"

Now I snorted.

But Amy wasn't finished yet. "You're so afraid of being ridiculed that you're becoming an asshole yourself!"

The sun was setting. And the moon slowly rose.

"Why are you so sure that the four of them are making fun of you?"

I hated that tears were welling up in my eyes. "That's how it always is! Suddenly all these people are nice to you, who didn't even know who you were before, to lure you into safety, but in reality they're blaspheming and laughing at you. It's always like that!"

Amy shook her head.

"No, it's just always like that in your head. There's a chance that these people just want to get to know you better."

Amy took her DADA textbook and turned to the other wall. "To exclude this opportunity from the outset is not only a mistake, but also a missed opportunity to make new friends."

I looked up at the full moon. I felt as if he was out there suffering with me.

You understand me, don't you?

Probably not.

The next morning, Amy was still mad at me. I couldn't blame her. What I said already sounded pathetic.

But so far it had always been the truth.

It was unusually quiet at breakfast. Amy ate almost nothing and hurried to her tray.

We had different subjects at the beginning of the day, but at lunch Amy was nowhere to be seen. There were whispers again and I wanted to scream.

And it was only in charms that I was told she had been taken to the hospital wing.

That was not uncommon for Amy. Amy was very fragile. Amy always put on a very strong front, also to help me. But the truth was that stress really affected her and at one point she almost fell over sick.

Was it because of our argument? I don't know. But I certainly felt guilty.

After class, I hurried to the hospital wing and let myself be led to her bed.

She looked almost peaceful as she slept. I carefully sat down next to her and took her hand. She was sweaty and cool at the same time.

Madam Pomfrey explained to me that Amy had been under a lot of stress lately and had eaten something bad. Then she went to the next bed and talked with the visitors there.

Visitors with... familiar voices?!

"Oh, please, you can't expect us to just leave him here alone?" Was that Sirius?

"Yes, I must. You know he needs his rest now. So shoo." Madam Pomfrey sounded a bit annoyed.

"We can stay here quietly!" That was James. Ironically loud.

"No, Mr. Potter, you cannot. So, gentlemen. Out!"

I saw out of the corner of my eye how Madam Pomfrey shooed several people outside. But who was behind the curtain of the bed? Whom were they visiting?

The curtain didn't cover the whole bed. In fact, it was only drawn on my side. Quietly, I got up and tried to get a quick look at the person. I took a cautious step to the side and—

There layed Remus. A pretty battered Remus, wrapped in bandages.

Suddenly, the curtain was pulled back and I stood there as if caught red-handed.

Remus looked at me in surprise. His look was somehow different than usual and I imagined he took a deep breath before he spoke.

"Hi." ... "Hi."

His body was even worse wrapped up than I had seen from the side. He was sitting upright and his upper body was full of bandages. His face also had scratches but his eyes were still so deep-

I stared at him. For far too long.

I quickly sat down next to Amy, who was still asleep.

Remus cleared his throat. "Is Amy very unwell?"

Somehow I wasn't prepared for a conversation with him. Not with one of the four. Not with Remus.

"According to Madam Pomfrey, it's just stress. She just needs to get some rest and then she should feel better." I was almost whispering, my voice was so quiet. Nothing compared to yesterday.

"That's good. I hope she gets better soon. Has anything bad happened?" I looked up at him. His eyes were so gentle, as if he really cared. "Something that's really stressing her out?"

When he noticed my look, he looked away. To my disappointment. "But actually, it's none of my business-"

"We had a fight." Why did I tell him that? "I worried her again."

I looked at Amy. Her face wasn't quite so pale and her hand, which I was holding, wasn't quite so sweaty.

"Oh." Remus' voice was very quiet. As if he was afraid of saying the wrong thing. As if he was worried to say the wrong thing.

"And why are you lying here? What happened to you?" It was only when I looked at him that I realized the question was a bit rude.

"If you want to tell me," I added.

He just sighed and suddenly looked so far away. "It was an accident."

I waited for him to tell me more. He didn't.

It stayed quiet between us for a long time. I could feel his gaze from the side, but somehow it didn't bother me a bit. I almost felt safe.

Suddenly he asked me: "Why did you argue?"

I looked into his eyes and almost wanted to tell him everything. I looked at Amy and borrowed her words. "I was an asshole."

He tilted his head and smiled cautiously. "Somehow I can't imagine that."

I looked at him. He looked at me.

"Why?"

"Well, you... It's not like you at all."

I continued to look at him. He continued to look at me.

"What do you mean?"

"You're usually so... Lovely."

Lovely? He saying I was lovely?

I had to laugh. He looked away.

"Me? You don't know me then." I giggled softly. "Besides, anyone can be an asshole, no matter how sweet the person still is."

He looked outside. The moon was up. He had that look again. "Yeah, I guess you're right about that."

It was quiet again after that. I heard soft footsteps outside and my anxiety wanted me to leave. So I stood up and was about to say goodbye to Remus as he-

"I want to know."

"What?"

He suddenly looked into my eyes so intensely that I felt dizzy.

"I want to know you properly."

I didn't know what to say and just looked at him as he continued.

"I want to know what goes through your mind when you see me us."

His gaze moved away from me. "I want to know why you hate us so much."

My whole world suddenly spun and I was in the middle of it. What was he saying? What did he mean, why was he even talking to me? What was going on here, why was he even here? And why did he call me lovely? What did he mean?

I wanted to say something. Something about... What actually?

Somehow I couldn't get anything out of me and was stuck in this spiral of trying to say something and figure out what to say. I opened my mouth, as-

"Remus, we're here!" James' voice tried to sound quiet but was unmistakable. Just like the footsteps of the two boys walking towards his bed.

When I saw them, so many things came back to me. Why I didn't talk to Remus.

"Are you feeling better? Remus -" Sirius faltered when he saw me. He looked between me and Remus and then grinned at me.

"Oh hello."

He turned to James now and 'whispered' to him. "Prongs, let's go and give these two some time to themselves-"

Remus cleared his throat and pointed at Amy who was lying next to me. Sirius fell silent.

"I'd better go now." I said in a very quiet voice again. James and Sirius even left me alone, but I heard their voices before I closed the door behind me.

"So, did she talk to you?" "What was going on with her?" "Is there something-"

The door slammed behind me and my head seemed to explode with questions.

#marauders era #marauders #the marauders #harry potter #remus lupin #sirius black #james potter #remus lupin x reader #remus lupin x you #remus lupin angst

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sweetcollywobbles · 7 months ago

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more leon headcanons

i miss him i miss him i miss him i miss him i miss him i miss him

i miss my wife, tails.

so lets talk about him.

⟢ leon was 6 years old when his family was murdered. there was a time when he could remember all of their faces. yet as he gets older, their faces have become a lot more blurry. sometimes he catches himself staring into the mirror. did nonno have the same nose as he did? was he the same blonde as his nonna? does he have his moms' smile? were his dad's eyes just as blue as his? when they looked at him, did they see themselves in him as he's so desperatley trying to remember them in him?

⟢ leon is the italian version of a "no sabo" kid. he knows the language, yet doesn't seem to be able to put the words together himself. he just kinda stands there nodding his head with a blank stare. then when he has to respond he's just kinda like "uuuhhhh tbh idk". he knows how to correctly pronounce some words and phrases, but that's about it.

⟡HOWEVER, he will call his lover with italian terms of endearment, i.e., amore mio, cucciolotta, cuore mio, piccola, etc. he might even say some phrases that he does know in italian, i.e., Io e te per sempre (you and me forever), sei la mia vita (you are my life), ti amo tanto (i love you so much), etc.

+p.s. sorry for any misinterpretations, i'm not italian but i am mexican so spanish and italian are not too different (???) but please correct me if i'm wrong!

⟢ leon has always been a dinosuar guy. he's watched probably every dino documentary thats ever been made and rewatches them whenever they're on. so, naturally, whenever he travels for work, he'll try his best to visit every museum he possibly can to see their dino exhibit and nothing else. of course, as het gets older (probably DI to RE6) he'll explore the other exhibits but for rn he'll just stick to the dino exhibits. and if you must ask him what his favorite dinosuar is, he'll say the answer he said as a kid, a spinosaurus. it's common enough for people to know and not give him a strange look of confusion. but really, his heart belongs to the pachycephalosaurus.

⟡ of course, in its natural progression, leon will also delve into a fascination of raptors and reptiles. he'll go to zoos and spend his time in the reptile exhibit. he'll also go bird watching for any avian raptors he can find. this also does mean that he has nice pair binoculars and will buy a native bird identify guide when he travels. his documentary options have now expanded with his two new interests which really excites him.

⟢ whether you believe it or not, leon is actually more of a fruity cocktail kinda guy. he doesn't mind beer or hard liquor, especially when he needs something strong and to the point. something to help him drink away the bad memories and all too realistic nightmares. but if he's just in the mood to enjoy himself, leon will cook up a salty dog or a cranberry vodka.

⟢ leon oh so terribly wants kids. but before he forces you into his life, he never thought that to be possible. so in his off time, he would volunteer for the NICU at the local hospital to be a baby cuddler. he got into it after he tried it with rebecca. it gave him the sense that everything will be okay, that even if he can't have a few of his own, at least he can be there for little ones that need someone, even if its for a moment.

⟡ TRUST, that once you do have a baby with this man, he's all over them. that baby will never not be in his arms or in the proximity of him. he's on spit up and diaper duty. baby wakes up late at night crying? no worries, he's already in the room (he was sleeping on the nursery floor). you will almost have to battle this man to hold YOUR baby.

⟢ leon is actually a really big fan of romcoms and time pieces. in fact, his favorite time piece movie is pride and prejudice. oh he absolutely adores romantic pieces like that especially because he's a hopeless romantic at heart. he's fallen in love with the idea of falling in love with a girl he's just met and having soft intimate moments with them. his guilty pleasure romcom is 13 going on 30, especially since after the whole plagas incident, the movie was just released and he binged that movie on repeat.

⟡ BUT, just because he likes time pieces and romcoms doesn't mean he doesn't like action or thriller movies. leon's a really big fan of the matrix series and star wars series. also the fast and furious franchise is actually where his love of fast cars and motorcycles stem from. he just can't do any horror movies because baby has trauma :(

₊˚⊹ ᥫ᭡. 𓂃

it's not much, but i thought these were silly and gave him a little more character. please let me know what you think or if you have any headcanons of your own!!!

xxox

#leon kennedy #leon kennedy x reader #leon kennedy headcanons

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alwaysahiccupandastrid · 2 months ago

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Gladiator II - Thoughts (SPOILERS)

I was fortunate enough to watch Gladiator II at the Royal Global premiere at Leicester Square last night (Wednesday 13th November) and I NEED to share some thoughts but there are definitely some spoilers, so…

I cannot stress this enough:

THERE ❗️ ARE ❗️ SPOILERS ❗️ BELOW ❗️ THE ❗️ CUT ❗️

Once again

⚠️ DO NOT CLICK THE READ MORE IF YOU DO NOT WANT SPOILERS FOR GLADIATOR II ⚠️

There’s probably things I’m missing/forgetting right off the top of my head, and I might be paraphrasing/summarising some dialogue. I definitely need to rewatch it when I’m NOT super close to an IMAX cinema screen because I spent the whole movie with my neck craned backwards and my eyes darting everywhere because I was trying to take it all in.

Anyway, without further ado:

The opening credits were very beautiful, it recounted the plot of the original film but kind of like in the style of the opening credits of Pillars of the Earth? I don’t know if that makes sense 😭

If I remember correctly, Joseph is billed third behind Paul and Pedro, and Fred is billed fourth 🥹♥️

The film opens with a huge battle where the Roman army, led by Marcus Acacius, conquering the last free city of Africa (I think?), which is what Lucius and his wife are trying to defend

I cannot for the life of me remember what Lucius’ wife was called but she seemed nice, we only had her for a few minutes though before she got killed 😭

Okay so I’m going to start right off the bat by talking about the Emperors as they were the ones I was most looking forward to seeing, and I want to give them their own section!

We NEED to talk about Fred as Caracalla - this isn’t even me being biased, I’m being as unbiased as I can when I say that he was AMAZING

By the way, for months I’ve seen people talk shit about Fred, complaining about how they wish it was Barry Keoghan, whinging because “we could have had Joe and Barry” - to those people I say, shut the fuck up ☺️ I will NOT tolerate any hate for my boy Fred!

Fred actually had a much meatier part than Joe which was pleasantly surprising. I’m not saying Joe wasn’t unhinged or good, but he was way more sane than Fred’s character and you got the feeling that he was trying to hold their rule together and keep his brother from bringing down the whole empire

Caracalla surprised me because he was so much more softly spoken than I anticipated; in so many scenes he was childlike and almost pitiful to watch. For example, there were times where you could see him pouting or fidgeting like a bored toddler, at one point he essentially threw a tantrum and Geta had to hold him back from killing Acacius and Lucilla (and then in the background you could see him playfully swing the sword about like a child would with a toy) He would grin and get excited like a child whenever there was fighting or bloodshed, bouncing in his seat, he looked surprised and excited in the beginning when Geta handed him wine etc.

In the last coliseum fight scene, this was literally Caracalla getting excited when the fighting started - a literal child 😭

Honestly it was just fascinating to watch Caracalla because you could never tell if he was going to be childlike and almost-innocent or if he was going to start screaming and get violent

So apparently the reason that Caracalla is unhinged is because (to quote Geta) “the disease from his loins has spread to his head” (to paraphrase) which makes me think he’s got syphilis or something.

Also both of the emperors are briefly seen with concubines (as in the trailer), and Caracalla has both male and female ones hanging around him 😭 we love a bisexual Emperor!

Caracalla seems to have memory problems (probably as a result of his STI) because he doesn’t remember seeing Lucius fighting in front of them from just a couple of days ago at their party (the scene with the concubines) and Geta tries to remind him, “it’s the poet” but Caracalla just sits down and says he doesn’t remember

There’s a scene where Marcus and Lucilla are brought to the emperors in the middle of the night after being caught in a conspiracy to overthrow them, and you’ve got Geta in that red robe from the trailer whilst Caracalla is basically just wearing a fucking bedsheet toga style 😭 you know that shot in White Lotus where Fred/Quinn has a duvet around himself? Kind of like that

Contrary to that Letterboxd review calling the twins “BJ brothers”, there is NO incest in this film, and no hint of incest between the twins. I know a screenshot is circulating of Joe in the red robe where you could see what looked like the top/side of Fred’s head as if he’s on his knees, but they were absolutely NOT doing that 💀 the scene shows them both entering the room (Geta in his robe, hastily put on) and Fred in his bedsheet toga thing. I definitely didn’t get the vibe of incest at all, I got the vibe of “it’s the middle of the night and they’ve both been woken up because these two traitors (Marcus and Lucilla) were caught plotting against them”

I love that Caracalla’s weakness is Dondas (or Dundas? Different magazines are using different names so I’m so confused), his pet monkey (WE FUCKING LOVE CHERRY AND SO DOES FRED 😭♥️) Like he’s got Dondas/Dundas wearing a fucking dress and on a little chain lead, eating sweets from a bowl, and I have to applaud Fred for being able to act with a straight face while he had the monkey crawling over his shoulders, touching his hair, and at one point when the monkey moved the chain lead literally went right around/over his face

While there’s riots going on outside the palace, Caracalla is freaking out and has Dondas/Dundas the monkey on his shoulder, and Geta straight up threw wine at both of them before saying that maybe Dondas (or Dundas, whatever the fucking name is) go and calm down in another room 💀

There’s a scene where Macrinus finds Caracalla hiding under a table with the monkey and it made me think they were almost playing hide and seek 😭 truthfully I think he was just under there crying and hiding

It’s the fact that Macrinus was able to manipulate Caracalla into killing Geta by using his love of Dondas/Dundas against him; the people of Rome protest against their emperors, and Macrinus basically tells Caracalla that Geta is going to throw him to the plebs outside to be killed - and Dondas/Dundas. “Think about what they might do to Dondas” (or Dundas) - and that’s what pushes him over the edge.

NOT CARACALLA AND MACRINUS SAWING GETA’S FUCKING HEAD OFF LIKE THAT 😭 IT WAS STRAIGHT UP LIKE A HORROR FILM WITH MACRINUS COMING UP BEHIND CARACALLA AND HELPING?!?

Also Caracalla made the monkey a fucking consul of state (I think) after he killed Geta?!?! 😭 Absolutely fucking UNHINGED I TELL YOU

“ALL HAIL DONDAS! 😃” (or Dundas - again, someone please tell me the fucking monkey’s confirmed name)

They showed Geta’s head for WAY too long 😭 and Macrinus just showing it around like that?!? NASTY

Reeling over the fact they airbrushed out Geta’s head for the trailer because in this shot in the film Geta’s head is clearly visible on the table behind Denzel 💀

Sorry but Fred looked damn fine in that purple outfit near the end 😋

I feel like Caracalla had a little bit of a soft spot for Lucilla but the two sides of his personality were warring with each other: the sadistic bloodthirsty side wanted to murder both her and Marcus right away, but then near the end he whispers to Macrinus “must we kill Lucilla?” and he sounded a little hesitant or unsure which was interesting

Seeing Fred as Caracalla without Geta in that last coliseum battle scene? I can’t help but love him, Fred is seriously too good in this role. The shouting, the childlike excitement when the fighting started (see gif above)

Fred was definitely playing up the childlike side of Caracalla in his last scene when the people started revolting, he was literally curling up in his seat, snivelling and crying like a baby until Macrinus killed him from behind (he put something in his ear, i think he stuck a pin in his ear to impale his brain?) Truly pitiful end for Caracalla.

Once again: Fred Hechinger for Best Supporting Actor at the 97th Academy Awards campaign!! 😊↕️

Okay so now I’ve talked about the Emperors, I can talk about the rest of the film:

Ridley Scott truly said fuck historical accuracy in this film 😭 which is not surprising to be fair if you know him and his movies

This film was, expectedly, VERY bloody and violent from start to finish

NOT LUCIUS TAKING A BITE OUT OF THE BABOON 🤯

At one point where they’re bringing the slaves into Rome, they show statues of a wolf feeding two human children from her teat and Lucius recounts the story - this is obviously a reference to Romulus and Remus, twins raised by a wolf mother. This is actually really fitting because from earth on, Ridley AND Fred and Joe have mentioned the idea of the twins being based on this Romulus/Remus story?

DAMN, Paul Mescal was super beefy in this film like holy fucking shit dude

Honestly I adore Pedro but his role was way smaller than I thought it would be. His role is essentially to be Lucilla’s decent and loyal husband who also happened to lead the invasion that killed Lucius’ wife in the beginning of the film, something he did not want to do, hence why Lucius wants to kill him so badly (family drama, eh? 😭) and who is part of a plot to dethrone the twins

MATT LUCAS AS THE MASTER OF CEREMONIES?!? 😭 I won’t lie, at first it distracted me because I was like “why the fuck is Matt Lucas here” but he got a few laughs out of the cinema screening so his tiny parts added a little bit of humour to the film when it got tense

As I said above, there’s no incest shown - there is a MENTION, however, of a rumour that Lucius’ real father wasn’t Lucius Verus(?) but rather Commodus (obviously Lucilla’s brother/Lucius’ uncle from the first film). However, it’s not true because they make it very clear that Lucius’ father is Maximus. They do however briefly mention that Lucilla was a child bride at the age of 14 which is a bit fucked up

I was probably the only person in my screening who noticed this but at one point I saw graffiti on one of the walls on the outside/entrance to the coliseum that said something like “Irrumbo Imperators” - according to Google, that translates as “I attack the emperors”. However, it could have also been “Irrumabo Imperatores”, and if you ask Google to give you the Latin word for “fuck”? It’s “Irrumabo”. So essentially there was graffiti in the film that either said “attack the emperors” or “fuck the emperors” 💀

I thought that maybe Lucius had somehow forgotten that Lucilla was his mother despite being 12 when she sent him away but nope, he’s fully aware of who he actually is and who his mother is, he’s just angry at her for sending him away and never seeing him again 😭

NOT THAT SERVANT TATTLING ON LUCILLA AND MARCUS?!? 😤

They killed Marcus off WAY earlier than I thought they would by the way. The trailers give the impression that the final battle is Lucius vs Marcus but it’s actually Lucius vs Macrinus which is WILD to me

You know that scene in LOTR where the orcs shoot Boromir full of arrows? That is basically what happened in this film to General Acacius but with about 20 more arrows 💀 I had major Boromir flashbacks watching this scene

I’m glad that Lucilla and Lucius got to reconcile before the ending, given what ended up happening

“Because Emperor Caracalla is generous, he will allow Lucilla to have one Gladiator to fight to defend her” - ONE. ONE AGAINST ABOUT 30 TRAINED GUARDS 💀

I’m still reeling over the fact Derek Jacobi spoiled his own character’s death on the red carpet a mere hour before the film screening in front of THOUSANDS of people 😭 that man did NOT give a fuck quite frankly and I think that’s kind of hilarious of him

THE GASP THAT EVERYONE IN THE SCREENING COLLECTIVELY LET OUT WHEN MACRINUS KILLED LUCILLA BY SHOOTING HER IN THE CHEST?!? HE KILLED CARACALLA AND LUCILLA IN 60 SECONDS FLAT 😭

That said, this shot from the behind the scenes featurette about Ridley Scott is ten times funnier to me after watching the film and realising that not only is Ridley showing Denzel how to shoot the arrow that kills Lucilla, but Fred is also supposed to be dead in the chair at this point since Macrinus takes the bow and fires the arrow straight after killing Caracalla 😭

Poor Lucius has now seen his father, his mother, his uncle and his wife all die right in front of him, the man CANNOT catch a break 😫

That final battle between Lucius and Macrinus was GRUESOME 😳 Lucius cut off his hand and slashed him - I’m not sure if he actually cut him in half or if Macrinus just crumpled in the river in a heap but DAMN

This film used footage from the first Gladiator film so they gave the actor who played Lucius in the first film a credit which was nice!

That said, I know obviously it’s been 24 years since the original film so of course the child actor from the original is no longer 12 and so could not be in the flashback scenes showing young Lucius, but damn the difference was a little jarring to be honest, especially when it went from footage of the original film to new footage with the new child actor

Ridley Scott spoiled the ending of this fucking movie by saying he wanted to have Paul back to play Lucius again as the main character in Gladiator III 💀 so yeah, I already knew Lucius was surviving this film

Some final summary thoughts:

Let’s be honest, it would be impossible to top the first Gladiator and so while I loved Gladiator II and think it was amazing, it was obviously never going to quite reach the same level as the original

I know I just made the comment about nominating Fred for Best Supporting Actor but I have to be honest, I truly think Denzel deserves the nomination - if there’s only one actor from this film who gets that nomination, it has to be Denzel because he was by far the standout of the whole film. If I had to rank it personally I’d say Denzel and then Fred is a close second, then maybe Joseph and Pedro?

^ This isn’t me saying Joe and Pedro were bad at all, they were all really amazing, but this film just had so many characters and quite frankly Fred, Joe and Pedro had WAY less screentime than Denzel so they didn’t have nearly as much to work with as he did.

Again; I’m biased because I went in the most excited to see the Emperors, but I wish we’d had more of Caracalla and Geta. Fred and Joe did their best to work with what they were given, but they didn’t have that much and pretty much all of their scenes were shown in trailers or TV spots etc.

GIVE CHERRY THE MONKEY A FUCKING OSCAR

I obviously wasn’t expecting Paul Mescal to fight real baboons, rhinos and sharks but the CGI was… not great. It was quite obvious that it was CGI for the baboons and sharks, I think the rhino was slightly better though (Fred mentioned in an interview his first day involved “the mechanical rhino” so it was somewhat partly practical as well I suppose)

The pacing of this film was a little all over the place, if I’m being honest. I want to rewatch soon, from further back in the screen because, as I said, I was craning my head back the whole time and it ended up giving me a neck and headache so that probably added to me being uncomfortable (plus I’d had a long day and was thoroughly burned out by the time the screening started), but there were times where I was like “oh… we’re back here then 😐”

^ What I’m trying to say is that some of the storylines happened so fast and had very little build up (eg. The emperors in general) whilst other plots were so slow burn in comparison.

The music was so good! I know people are going to compare it unfavourable to Hans Zimmer’s original score from the first film, but I LOVE Harry Gregson-Williams (he did the soundtrack for the first two Narnia films so I’m biased 😅) and I thought he did a great job with the score here. The fact he had Hans Zimmer’s approval and praise made me confident the score would be great anyway

I feel like people are obviously going to compare Paul Mescal to Russell Crowe which… let’s be honest, has gotta suck for him because how the fuck do you live up to Russell Crowe?!? Some people have already said that they didn’t like Paul in this film, which… okay, fair enough. I honestly don’t think comparing him to Russell Crowe does him any favours. I enjoyed watching him personally, and I think given that this whole film rests on him, he did great. Not quite Russell Crowe but I have no complaints about his performance personally.

People are also going to compare Joe and Fred to Joaquin Phoenix’s Commodus, and I think they both did a great job given that they didn’t actually have nearly as much screen-time as Joaquin did in the original film. It’s almost unfair to compare them because in the first Gladiator, Commodus was the main antagonist - in this film, Macrinus is the main antagonist overall whilst the Emperors are more secondary antagonists that serve as obstacles for Macrinus’ rise to power. But they both did great with what they had.

Overall, my opinion of the film?

This film NEEDS to be seen on a big screen at the cinema! Go and watch it!

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haowrld · 5 months ago

Text

MATH CLASS AND FEELINGS — CHWE HANSOL

SYNOPSIS : you fall for vernon. it was simple but it hit so hard

NOTES : chwe vernon x gn!reader, ft.boo seungkwan, fluff, highschool!au, non-idollau, unrequited love, lowercase intended, overthinker reader vs chill vernon

WORD COUNT : 2.4k words

WARNINGS : attempts at killing someone(?), jealously and awkwardness from reader (its kind of embarrassing), reader panicking, seungkwan is supportive but a bit of a menace, MATH TALK AHHHH

A/N : may or may not be inspired by a crush i went through (still am) last school year lol so PRETTY SELF INDULGENT

MASTERLIST

now playing : accidentally in love by counting crows

“now, if anyone remembers that a plus b is equal c. it’s quite simple as that. we’re going to use the formula…”

you stare at the clock that is above the whiteboard, it is only a few more minutes before lunch finally comes. unfortunately, you had a few more minutes with math class. it was an alright class, the teacher was pretty funny at some point, but every single material that your teacher was trying to teach was almost sleep-inducing.

quietly working on the question on the board, you glance at vernon, a person that you had become friends with because of seungkwan, who was friends with everyone. vernon was an interesting one, you liked him because of his somewhat odd personality and your cheesy little banter that you had with him.

he was also classmates with you in two classes. right now, his desk was only a few spaces away from you, a utility cart with a projector was separating you two—when both of you had nothing to do, you and vernon would share glances with each other.

maybe you two were watching a movie for class, or a teacher takes too long to finish class since they keep on continuing to tell their whole life story. you and vernon would get some sort of entertainment with each other’s reaction.

it was nothing out of the ordinary to you. but seungkwan thinks it’s something more and you don’t even realize it. you remember seungkwan telling you that your conversations with vernon weren’t exactly like how you talked with your other friends. he basically called you and vernon, ‘a couple that he usually sees in the hallways teasing with one another’.

it didn’t make sense, but it was a joke of course.

vernon looks up and then down at his paper, trying to copy the formula. you notice how he was fiddling with the black beaded bracelet on his left wrist and how his eyes are very laser-focused on the board.

“okay, check in with whoever is next to you, if you got the answer correctly,” the teacher said. shuffling papers and quiet talks can be heard throughout the classroom.

you had no one to check it with since your deskmate, seungkwan, had called in sick today. you don’t mind though since you know you probably got the formula correctly. but it was kind of boring, having no one to talk to. seungkwan was kind of the only person you were close to in that math class.

so you look at vernon, you thought that maybe a conversation could work even when you two are so far away. vernon was listening to the teacher’s life story whilst he talked to his other seatmates, laughing with, it sort of looked like a fun conversation to you, with all the laughter and such that the teacher had to quiet it down.

it makes you kind of jealous of vernon, the way he could easily talk to anyone around his vicinity whenever the chance appeared.

vernon turns to look at you, he was chewing on mint gum. looking at his whole appearance, you notice everything about him. you notice his short, but fluffy dark brown hair that falls softly on his face. you notice how he doesn’t have any piercings on his ear. then you remember listening to his conversations with seungkwan about how he doesn’t like getting his ears getting pricked.

vernon looks back at the people with a grin when someone makes a joke, you listen to the way he talks (it was pretty low voice), and the way he laughs, which is something that you wouldn’t know how to describe.

it takes you a while to realize how long you have been looking at vernon. but he doesn’t mind at all. vernon shuffles through his backpack, pulling out the packet of mint gum that he was using, mouthing out the word, “gum?” smiling as he asked.

…

the bell rings, and everyone runs through the door as quickly as they could, including vernon, who gives you the rest of the gum packet before leaving.

it was simple yet, it hit you.

“oh no...” you like vernon.

🗯️﹕──﹕🧮﹕──﹕🗯️

“i was gone for like two days,” seungkwan says, “and that’s when you started liking vernon!?”

“shush shush!” you try to shush seungkwan up by covering his mouth, “he literally has the same classes as us. why are you yelling it?”

seungkwan grabs your wrist, forcing you to shove your hand down from his mouth, “i know, but he’s still not here yet,” he grins, “so you can talk about your fleeting feelings about him all you want.”

you look away from seungkwan, making him frown, “come on don’t be like that…” he pulls out his phone, showing you a picture of vernon from his gallery, “does this make you feel better?” he looks at you with his big round eyes that looked like a deer.

“no,” you reply sharply.

seungkwan sighs in disappointment, “i guess i’ll have to send more than one,” seungkwan then uses his phone to text something before setting it down.

you hear your phone vibrate. grabbing it you notice that seungkwan had sent you a message.

seungkwan : stop ignoring me

seungkwan : this is all ive got!!

seungkwan : [10 photos]

seungkwan : buy me lunch <33

the photos were of vernon, on different occasions where seungkwan took photos of him. one of them was when they were eating lunch together, and another one was when he was with him during drama class. all of them were amusing photos of vernon being silly. you found it cute. but then you read the rest of seungkwan’s message.

you turn to look at seungkwan, “i’m not buying you lunch,” which makes him grin.

“but you liked the photos right? i bet you did—” you don’t let seungkwan respond, you grab his phone. which makes him yell out, “what are you doing?!”

you hear the door opening but you don’t care. until you did, when you notice your peripheral vision, a person standing still, “hi, what’s happening with you two..?” you hear the familiar voice of vernon. you turn to find him looking at you, confusion yet amusement formed on his face when he notices your predicament, it looked like you were trying to kill seungkwan by the neck.

“vernon! hi uh—” you quickly let go of seungkwan, he gives you a face that could betray you later, you were shaking your head at seungkwan to not start something that he would regret before looking back at vernon who was already taking a seat, “you did not just see that.”

“yeah, sure i didn’t..” vernon smiles, taking a seat, “but what did i miss exactly?”

“oh, just talking about math…” seungkwan immediately led the conversation as you simply just listened to whatever he and vernon were talking about.

it had only been a few weeks since you started to like vernon, and you’ve been nothing but a quiet mess on the inside whenever you are with him.

“speaking of finals, we have the math finals a bit earlier right?” vernon says, “we could totally study together. it’s probably easier, from what the teacher said.”

“that’s probably a cool idea, we’d have to plan where to study,” you reply, “coffee shops tend to be too crowded..”

“how about my house?” vernon replies, before typing something on his phone, “you’re not that far from me seungkwan, right?”

“mhm, it’s just yn who’s going to drive there,” seungkwan says which makes you sigh. he then types something on his phone which makes your phone vibrate, it is a message from him, even when his desk was right next to yours.

seungkwan : this could be your chance to be closer!

seungkwan : heck, i could drive you there

seungkwan : and then boom! romance 🌹

you : it’s just a study session nothings gonna happen???

seungkwan : you never know, maybe it leads to a kiss 😉

you use your foot to tap on seungkwan’s ankle, at least hard enough to make him up let out a light “ahck!”

“hey, vernon…” you and seungkwan quickly look up, stopping at what you are doing to see who is talking, and find one of your classmates, taking out a piece paper before handing it to vernon.

“hi,” vernon says, “and what is this..?”

“i don’t know man, it's yours apparently,” your classmate replies before going to their seat.

vernon opens the paper, it had black sharpie ink written, “this looks interesting, look at this,”

the paper had such poor handwriting that it looked bad on purpose; it had to be some sort of a love confession because of the heart written next to vernon’s name.

“ohh, guess someone likes you,” you feel seungkwan suddenly nudge you.

“that’s silly,” vernon says, “i doubt it’s even real.” he immediately crumples the paper before shooting it in a nearby trash bin.

you look down, vernon was back to fiddling with his black-beaded bracelet. should you tell him that there is someone who actually likes him?

🗯️﹕──﹕🧮﹕──﹕🗯️

it was only a few days before your math final. and your head is going haywire. not because you're basically at vernon’s home, but because seungkwan left you alone with him.

seungkwan dropped you off, not before giving you some sort of life advice, his hands were squishing your face “if you tell him right then and there, then you’re gonna regret it for your whole life!”

“i know just please don’t squish my face—”

“good!” seungkwan lets go of your face, “now go get him!

“aren’t you coming with me?” you ask him nervously.

“who said i was?”

now you’re awkwardly sitting at the edge of vernon bed while he was somewhere outside his bedroom—he mentioned he was going to change into something comfortable. you twist and close the cap of the water bottle that he had given you.

“this is just a study session,” you tell yourself, taking a sip of the water bottle.

vernon enters the room, setting down piles of papers. you notice that he’s not wearing his usual clothes that he puts on at school but rather something more comfortable,

“i like your shirt,” you mention the graphic t-shirt that he was currently wearing.

“oh thanks, i like your outfit too,” vernon replies, sitting next to you before laying in bed.

“do you think we could pass this?” vernon asks, “without seungkwan, we could probably do well, but i’m not really sure.”

you turn to look at vernon, you notice how he looked like a dead person, with the way his arms are neatly folded to his chest, “i think we’ll do our best,” you say.

“yeah you’re right,” he gets off the bed before sitting on an empty chair, he gestures to you to take the other chair, which you do so.

“alright algebra..” vernon makes a noise like he is cracking his knuckles, you let out a quiet chuckle when he does it, “let’s see what you’ve got..”

doing math formulas without your notes was pretty difficult—you wouldn’t exactly call yourself a person who’s good at math, but vernon however, was easily getting the material, muttering to himself as he wrote the answers.

you stare at your paper, then at his, your head hurts at this point, “i don’t get it..”

“oh, it’s cool,” he says, “it’s basically…” vernon begins to explain carefully, his pencil traces over the simple mistake you had when you worked on it, “and then you have to find the square root of 20, but you have to do it on the inside, like this…” vernon leans closer just to write on your paper. easily solving the question.

“do you get it?” he asks you while he twists a piece of his hair, you feel your face flush when you look into his eyes, he had long eyelashes that fluttered when he blinked, and light brown eyes that looked at your own eyes.

you were not focused at all.

“if you don’t get it, i could totally write out a new problem for you—”

“can i tell you something?” you suddenly say. vernon looks at you confused before nodding. now you’re immediately regretting interrupting him, but then you remember seungkwan’s nagging voice in the back of your head, so you try to stay confident.

“tell me what?” vernon is now all eyes on you, a little curious as to what you are going to say.

“it’s stupid but..” you turn the chair to look at him directly, “i have been meaning to tell you thing for a while but i didn’t know how to tell you, it’s a lot for me and i know it’s going to be a lot for you since of course we have a literal math final coming up and,” you take a deep breath before continuing, “i just didn’t want to ruin our friendship but i think i am ready to tell you even if it becomes awkward—”

“whoa whoa, calm down yn,” he places his hands on your shoulders, “what’s wrong?”

you panic, you didn’t want to stop with what you were doing, but you didn’t want it to become a whole essay that you wouldn’t get to the point. so you take a the pack of sticky notes, writing something down before handing it to vernon. it was the only way to get to the somehow.

vernon takes the sticky note from you, staring at the writing. it takes him a while to say anything, “is this about me?” he simply asks.

you nod not looking at him directly, massaging your knuckles, something that keeps you calm in this embarrassing thing that you had just done to yourself. you’re probably going to vent to seungkwan on the way back home.

vernon takes out black pen. with a smile on his face, he begins writing something back on the sticky note. your brain is setting on fire, you were nervous that this might ruin your friendship with vernon or even make things awkward.

but now that it’s happening, you quickly close your eyes telling yourself that it’s gonna be the end of the world, it’s gonna be the end of the—

“yn,” vernon says before letting out a slight laugh, “open your palm” you feel a hand taking your stiff, nervous hands, “and also open your eyes, i promise it’s nothing scary,”

you carefully relax your hands, letting vernon return the sticky note of doom. when you slowly open your eyes, all that is written on the sticky note is a smiley face and the word ‘same’.

you look at vernon, who was smiling, “w-what…” you were baffled.

“now can we finish the math problem now, or are you still shocked..?”

you cover your mouth, still trying to process on what he just wrote, “uhm..” you reply, “let’s continue..??”

“good,” vernon says, typing something on his phone, “cause i’ve got a movie to show you later for our date.”

taglist (open) send an ask or fill out the form to be part of the taglist!

©️HAOWRLD

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flemingology · 4 months ago

Text

breaking point ─ jessie fleming x reader

in which: the stress concerning everything going on with the national team causes jessie to lash out at you

Warnings: little bit of angst, if you can even call it that? argument but they make up, fluff at the end :)

wc: 5.3K

a/n: based on these two requests! thought they were similar enough to be grouped together. really enjoyed writing this, it's quite a long one too. hope you enjoy! <3

You were just downing the rest of your morning coffee when you heard a notification come through on your phone. The clock read 8am, which meant it was 5pm in France. If you remembered correctly, Jessie had a tactical meeting from 4:30 to 5:30 so it couldn't be her. You made your way over to the couch where you left the device earlier. Your eyes widened upon seeing the headline from CBC News.

"BREAKING: Canada Women's National Team Coach Dismissed From Olympics Amid Drone Scandal"

Your jaw fell slack. You had heard a little something here and there from the spying case, but you didn't know it had gone this far. Jessie hadn't told you much about it either. Despite being in the leadership group now she tried as much as possible to put it next to her – focusing on the controlables; her football.

Being away from Jessie was hard. Your schedules clashed quite frequently; her being away for games or for camps, you being away for business trips with your company. You knew what the downsides were going to be about dating your Canadian, but you wouldn't change it for the world. On moments like this, though, when you knew Jessie was going to be put under enormous loads of stress, you'd much rather be by her side in France than on the other side of the world in Portland.

Jessie was adamant you stayed home. Going with her to France would've meant you giving up on one of your projects you'd worked on the last couple of months, and as much as Jessie would've loved to have you by her side throughout the tournament, she knew that this was important to you.

So here you were, back in your shared apartment in Portland, sat on the couch not knowing what to do. You went over the options in your mind. You could call her, but you didn't know if she was free right now. Texting her seemed a safer option, but maybe she would want to come to you with the news instead of you coming to her about it. So that's what you did, you spent your morning dancing between trying to get some chores done and checking back with your phone if you hadn't magically missed a notification in the last 30 seconds.

After what felt like ages, just as you were about to take a shower – you'd contemplated it for a good 20 minutes, because what if she called while you were in there –, your phone rang. You sprung up from the side of the bathtub and knocked your elbow against the wall in the process, silently cursing while crossing your bathroom in quick strides.

You grabbed your phone and headed back into your bedroom, accepting the call once you made sure it was your girlfriend who was calling. "Hi," you breathed out as you sat down on the edge of your bed. "Hey baby."

Jessie sounded tired, and you noticed how her voice wavered – despite the effort to conceal it. A silence fell over your conversation, neither of you knowing what to say nor how to tackle the subject at hand. "How are you feeling?"

You tried your luck with an easy question. As far as she knew, you could be talking about how she was feeling after Canada's game against New Zealand yesterday – which they won 2-1. You had stayed up to watch her game, the bags beneath your eyes more than worth it seen as your girlfriend helped Canada win their game with an assist and a great performance.

If she remained silent any longer, you would've thought she had hung up on you, but right on cue Jessie spoke up. "Okay. Could be better. It's been a rocky afternoon," you hummed, acknowledging what she said.

"Is there anything I can do for you?", you knew she would probably say no, but that was Jessie's way of coping. She toughened up, built her walls a little higher than they already were. You had worked really hard over the past three years of your relationship to meticulously tear them down – and most of the time she kept them down around you –, but not everyone was that lucky. Especially in moments like these, stressful situations, you expected her to bring them back up.

"I'm fine," she quipped back. It came out quite harsh, and it left you a little taken aback. You bit back a disappointing sigh. "I know you are, Jess. You're strong and I know you can handle these situations. But that doesn't mean that you can't talk about it," you knew you were starting to push her, but you also knew that if you didn't, she'd never talk about it and bottle it up until one time it'd explode. You'd been the dupe of that a handful of times, and you knew that you were better off pushing her to say something than letting it get to that stage.

"Babe, I said I'm fine," she paused but you felt like she had more to say, so you didn't counter her. Jessie took a deep breath before she continued. "I'm fine." You felt like she was leaving many things unspoken. Even though you didn't feel confident in what she said, you decided to leave it for now and enquire her about the rest of her day.

You sensed an end was coming to your conversation. A glance at the clock taught you that Jessie would probably have to hang up soon, because she told you earlier that she had a couple media appointments to attend to that evening. She hadn't told you what for, but it was more than clear what the reason was. Still, after 20 minutes of conversation, the subject hadn't been mentioned directly. As much as you felt like Jessie needed this break away from the whirlwind that it had been this afternoon, you felt like she was excluding you and it wasn't a nice feeling.

Just as you were going to say your goodbyes to each other, you interrupted her. "Jessie, wait. I know you'd rather not talk about it but I just want to reassure you that if you're ready, I'm here for you, okay?", there was no malice intent to what you said. As you told her, it was just about making sure your girlfriend knew you were there for her if she wanted to talk to you. And maybe, just maybe, you were hoping you could pull something out of her – but you'd never expected the response you got in return.

"Please, for the love of God, I'm fine!", you could sense the irritability in her voice and went quiet. Jessie rarely ever raised her voice at you, so her tone took you by surprise. "I've told you I'm fine plenty of times, what don't you understand? I don't want to talk about it and especially not with you. I called you to get it all off my mind and not talk about the bullshit that I've had to deal with here but clearly you can't even catch a hint. Honestly I don't even know why I bother with calling you anymore, if you can't even give me a break from my football."

Before you could muster up a response, you heard the sound of the call ending. You slowly retracted your phone from your ear, remaining seated on the edge of your bed for a little while before you came back to your senses. You had nothing but good intentions with the way you handled the situation, although you could acknowledge that maybe you pushed her a bit too far. That aside though, you didn't feel like you deserved her lashing out to you like that. You fought back the tears that were threatening to spill when you thought back about the way she snapped at you, so out of character and something she'd never done before. Sure, you two argued from time to time but it never ended up like this. You sighed deeply before pushing the call and what your girlfriend said to the back of your mind, finally hopping in the shower and hoping she would come back to you sooner rather than later.

–

Jessie let her body fall against her mattress after she ended the call. Deep down she knew you were full of good intentions but it hadn't done her any good that you pushed, and she snapped. She'd never snapped at you before, not in the way she did now. She'd raised her voice, not often, but that was something that occurred from time to time. But it was different now. Especially the way the call ended, it wasn't just something that would pass overnight.

She rubbed her hands over her face and stared up at the ceiling as she fought back tears. Out of frustration or sadness – she didn't know. What she did know, is that an argument with her girlfriend was the last thing she needed to be added to the pile of growing worries.

Jessie's watch read 6:03pm now, which meant that she had to go down for dinner soon. She grabbed her keycard and left her hotel room, taking the elevator down to the dining hall. She rehashed the conversation you were having merely 5 minutes ago in her head while the elevator took her downstairs, thinking about where it went wrong and why she snapped at her. Jessie's frustration settled rather quickly after the call and insecurity settled in, the realization hitting her that she probably overreacted.

The bell of the elevator pulled her out of her thoughts. She dragged herself towards the noise, mentally preparing herself to plaster a smile on her face for the next couple hours.

As much as she did her best to conceal how she was feeling inside, her inactivity and lack of participation in conversations around the table had grabbed some people's attention. Janine, especially, could tell that Jessie was acting off. She knew Jessie liked to take a walk after dinner, so when she set off, Janine followed suit a couple moments later.

She jogged up to her Canadian teammate who was trudging along the hotel perimeter. "Jess!", Jessie's head turned to the side upon hearing her name, offering Janine a tight-lipped smile when she joined her. "You okay, bud?", she threw an arm around Jessie who shrugged and looked down at her feet.

"My girlfriend and I had an argument earlier," Janine hummed, allowing Jessie the space to explain herself further. "And I think I'm the one that caused it.", Janine sucked in a breath through her teeth and squeezed Jessie's shoulder. "Dog house?"

She shrugged again, seemingly the only appropriate response she could come up with as she didn't speak further. "Wanna tell me what happened?", Janine tried. Jessie took a deep breath before she recited the whole story of what happened when you two were on the phone earlier, while taking a detour of the path she'd normally walk – allowing Janine and herself a bit more time to talk about what was going on.

"So yeah, that's where we are at right now. I sent her a quick message to check in after dinner but she's giving me the cold shoulder – I got left on read. And I don't know how to go about things now."

Before she replied anything, Janine couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped her lips. Jessie frowned and looked at her friend, confused as to what she found funny. "You're one of a kind, Jeff. Honestly. You've got a caring girlfriend that's on the other side of the world right now, and all she wants is to check in. She can't physically be with you so the only thing you can do right now is be emotionally available.", Janine grabbed Jessie's shoulders and halted them both, turning their bodies towards each other. "I know you don't like speaking about your feelings, but this is a serious matter, Jessie. This is not a silly subject, it's about your job. Our job. It's okay to be insecure, to be in your head, to be annoyed at the situation and to not know how the future is going to ensue. And it's more than okay to voice those feelings to someone – especially your partner. You've gotta let her in sometimes, okay? I know you're reserved but if anyone deserves to be opened up to, it's her."

Jessie closed her eyes and sighed, and Janine physically felt tension escape her shoulders as she still had her hands on them. "How about you fly her out here? Things like that are better talked about in person. If I remember correctly, the project she stayed home for was presented two days ago. Is her schedule free for the rest of the week?"

Jessie quickly checked your shared calendar on her phone and saw your free – granted nothing had been planned that you didn't put in the calendar yet. "Yeah, she should be. There's nothing in the calendar that she can't miss."

When she looked up her eyes found Janine's, who were full of concern. "Make it up to her, okay? Fly her out, talk to her about it. Maybe it'll give you a boost on the pitch too. We're all tackling this issue together, but it won't work if you get yourself into precarious situations like these. I know you love her, then show her too."

Jessie nodded, Janine's words convincing the Canadian midfielder to make things right with you.

From: Jess 🤍 "Hi baby, I checked the calendar and as far as I can tell you don't have any obligations at work anymore. I remember them telling you if you wanted to come to the Olympics for a couple days you could, so here's a plane ticket. It's for tomorrow and you would arrive in time for our game against France. I'd love for you to be there and have you with me again, and for us to have a chance to talk about things. Please?"

You had just woken up from a nap to Jessie's message. It was quite late in the evening in France now, way past Jessie's usual bedtime which confused you. She wasn't one to miss her 9 hours of sleep, especially not during tournaments.

You had ignored her previous message when she checking in with you a couple hours ago. You knew you were probably being unreasonable, but you wanted to let her know in one way or another that you weren't pleased with the way she handled the situation – didn't matter if she was under a big stress load or not.

You typed out a couple responses, none of them which seemed suitable to you. In the end, you settled on something relatively simple, yet would probably settle her worries around you a little.

From: You Thank you, I'll be there. Kick ass. ❤️

You finished up packing the next day around 10am and set off, your flight departing at 2pm which left you enough time to grab an Uber to the airport and be comfortably on time.

You arrived 2 and a half hours early, giving you enough time to check in and go through bag checks, making sure your gate exists before settling down on one of the free seats. You tried to kill some time by replying to some emails before you officially made an "Out of office"-announcement for a couple days.

The flight went reasonably smooth. Jessie got you a business class ticket – you always assured her there was no need –, because she 'only wanted the best for you'. You slept through most of the itinerary and when you woke up you let Jessie know you were almost there. The jet lag was something you'd have to deal with later, but all in all you were very excited to see your girlfriend. Argument aside, you'd not seen her for 4 weeks now and it was weighing down on you anyway – missing her embrace, her touch, her smell, her kisses.

You had booked a night at a hotel not far from where Canada would play France tomorrow, but far enough from Jessie's hotel to not be tempted to go over. The team didn't allow any visitors on the day before a match, and you knew Jessie wouldn't appreciate that either right now. Considering the energy between the two of you was still tense, meeting you now wouldn't be a joyful conversation for her, it would only add more stress to the load that was already on her shoulders and you wanted nothing less than to be an extra burden.

You spent your afternoon exploring the streets of Saint-Etienne, an adorable city where Jessie and her teammates would face France in Stade Geoffroy Guichard tomorrow. Soon enough the evening came and you ordered takeaway in your room, not feeling comfortable enough to go to a restaurant by yourself in an unknown country. You spent your evening scrolling through the French channels on tv, quickly realizing that the little French you taught yourself was way less useful than you thought it was. You fell asleep quite quickly after a long day of traveling.

Jessie woke up the next day feeling much better than before she went to bed, a whole lot of pressure off her shoulders ever since she knew you got to Saint-Etienne safe and well, and especially since she knew she was finally going to see you again tonight.

The usual matchday routine started for Jessie and her teammates, trying to dance around the ongoing scandal allegations and trying to manage the team without Bev in place. They prepared themselves as best as possible for the game and tried to put everything towards the back of their minds and focussed on the task at hand; trying to beat France in their second group match. The points may have been deducted, but that didn't mean they wouldn't go full on and leave it all out on the pitch. There was little chance, but it wasn't lost yet. And as long as there was opportunity, Jessie and her teammates would rise to the occasion.

Breakfast, mobility sessions, pre-match walk, it all went smoothly. Jessie had to refrain from texting you and asking what you were up to, but she knew that was a place she wouldn't come back from. She had always taken it upon her not to text you on matchdays, she liked her own bubble and as much as she wanted to break it for you on this occasion, she had something more important at hand tonight.

It was only on the short bus journey from the hotel where the Canadian team stayed at to the stadium when Jessie started to get nervous. She'd done incredibly well to keep all the nervosity at bay throughout the day, but reality came crashing down on her on the bus and she couldn't help but get a little anxious. It was the first time the Canadians would step onto the pitch since the scandal escalated. What would the reaction of the fans be? How will it be received? How will it feel to play against the home crowd? Jessie tried to ground herself by playing her pre-match playlist through her headphones instead of listening to the songs that were being played on the bus speaker.

Arriving at the stadium, it was easy for Jessie and the team to just go through the motions. Entering the changing room, getting changed into the warm-up gear, getting massaged or strapped by the physios, having an energy gel or drink – it was a routine that was engraved into their minds, no one in that room had to think twice about anything they were about to do. Some things came easy in football, and this was one of them. It's things like this that ground the team; the routines, things they could hold onto.

When coach called it was time for the team to go out for warm-ups, Jessie called the girls into a huddle in the changing room.

"Let's do this, yeah? We're up against the home team and their crowd today, it won't be easy. We might also be up against a whole lot more people seen what happened the past couple days. But that's not our focus right now. Let's go out there and show that we're pretty damn good footballers, yeah? I believe in us. In every single one of you. If you believe in yourself, we have one hell of a shot at turning this situation around. Canada on three. One, two, three..."

"... CANADA!", you only caught the back end of what the stadium speaker said, but you didn't care. Jessie had just scored the equalizer for her team in the 58th minute of the game, bringing the score back level and giving Canada a second chance of grabbing something from this game.

Jessie's mum engulfed you in a tight hug in means of celebrating her daughter's goal together. You high-fived her dad and her siblings, who were also in the family box watching the game.

You'd made it to the game just in time, Saint-Etienne traffic taking you by surprise as a quick Uber to the stadium turned into a 30-minute start and stop journey. You'd rushed to the family box, greeting Jessie's family before your eyes scanned the pitch looking for your freckled Canadian. Warm-ups were long done and the players were just about walking on the pitch, getting ready for the anthems. You noticed Jessie singing along, eyes closed while she took everything in. Your eyes stayed locked on her figure, waiting until she opened hers again. When the anthem finished, Jessie looked up to her family box and you couldn't miss the little grin that formed on her face when she saw you. You gave her a small wave which she reciprocated eagerly, then quickly falling back into captain's duties and getting ready for the game.

So now you were here. You were sure you didn't have any nails left, your leg bouncing up and down as the clock slowly but surely ticked further leaving the Canadians with little time to score a potential winner. The fourth official held up the board that said there would be thirteen minutes of extra time, a wave of excitement being heard from the stands from both sets of fans who believed their team could score a second goal.

Then, everything seemed to happen so quickly. Janine made a wonderful defensive move before passing a through ball to Adriana. She laid the ball of to Jordyn whose shot got saved, but the keeper had nothing against Vanessa's rebound. It felt like ages between the ball leaving her foot and the net rippling, but they had done it. They had scored in the 103rd minute and they successfully saved their Olympic group stage, giving them a chance at qualifying for the knock-out stages of the tournament.

You jumped up and down, no longer trying to fight back the tears that were threatening to spill across your cheeks. You found yourself once again engulfed in a hug, a big family hug this time. "They did it!", you screamed to Elysse. You could tell she was having a hard time to keep it dry too, endlessly proud of her sister and teammates.

Not long after, the whistle blew and the game was officially over. The Canadians made their way around the pitch making sure to thank as many fans as possible for having made the long trip from Canada to France. They took pictures, signed jerseys, gave away boots, until they found themselves in front of the family boxes.

They all started climbing up and over the barriers and made their way to their friends and families, as you took a step back from the group to allow Jessie to talk to her parents and siblings first. She got engulfed in many hugs, accepting the congratulations from many other people around her. As captain, she had led this team to a historic win and you couldn't be more proud of her. When conversation died down with her family she slowly retreated from that group and tentatively made her way over to you, a slight smile creeping on her face once you noticed her coming up to you. She stopped right in front of you, locking her eyes with yours.

"Is it okay if we talk about everything later, please? I missed you and I really, really want to kiss you right now."

You hummed in agreement and couldn't stop the bright smile from spreading across your face when Jessie closed the final couple steps of distance between the both of you and wrapped you in a tight embrace, digging her face into the crook of your neck. "I missed you so much," you could just about make out the words she mumbled against your skin and you pulled her impossibly tighter against you. "I missed you too, Jess. I'm so proud of you," she retreated her head from your neck and you cupped her cheeks, looking her in the eyes. "You've done incredibly well. What you did tonight is amazing. I couldn't be more proud."

You leaned in closer to her and waited for Jessie to cross the final bits of space before you finally pressed your lips against hers. You couldn't hold back the soft moan that escaped your throat upon the feeling, Jessie chuckling and digging her fingers into your waist. In this moment it felt like you'd never ever been apart, her lips slotting perfectly against yours and bodies moulding together. Jessie deepened the kiss as you started playing with the baby hairs at the back of her neck, a shiver going through her body when she felt the soft touch of your fingertips on the sensitive skin. Before you could get carried away, you broke the kiss with a teasing bite on her bottom lip, smiling ear to ear as you locked eyes again.

"Go get a shower, you must be cold. I'll wait for you up here," Jessie nodded and pressed another chaste kiss against your lips, savoring the feeling of being together again and having you at arm's length, rather than on the other side of the world with a 9 hour time difference.

Jessie emerged from the changing rooms about an hour later, caught up in conversation with some of her teammates when she entered the family box. Her parents and siblings had already left, their journey to their hotel quite a bit longer than yours. You were waiting for your girlfriend while sipping on a drink you'd ordered, when she dropped her washbag next to you and put her hands on your shoulders, towering over you as you were sat down.

"You wanna get going? We're allowed to have a visitor to stay the night the evening after matchday. I've not been able to make use of that yet, so I'd like to do so now," you grinned at your girlfriend and nodded your head, excited about the idea of sleeping in her arms again tonight.

The ride to the hotel went smooth. Jessie came with the team bus so you had to get a taxi back there, which caused a dent in Jessie's wallet but you both went with it. The ride was silent, and as much as you enjoyed being in your girlfriend's presence, you could feel the air shifting. It grew tense upon nearing the hotel, unspoken words hanging between the both of you as you knew you'd have to talk about things later. You grabbed Jessie's hand that was in her lap and pulled it into yours, steading yourself with her touch.

Once arrived, you greeted and congratulated some of the other Canadian players who had also brought their partner back to the hotel. They were all mingling in the entrance hall as you moved past them, Jessie leading the two of you to the elevator and towards her room on the second floor.

Seen as the squad moved around the south of France for their games they didn't have a set hotel, which meant they couldn't really make it their own space. This meant that no home comforts were trickled around the room, something Jessie would normally do when she was away for multiple weeks for camps or tournaments. You let her unpack her stuff while you sat down on the bed, having quickly changed into something more comfortable and forgiving.

A few minutes later Jessie joined you in bed, ushering you both to lay under the covers as she claimed to be cold and tired, wanting to be in bed properly. You laid on your back as she cuddled up next to you, a big smile on her face as she finally felt the warmth of your embrace again. She pressed a kiss against your chest and let out a sigh of relief.

"How are you feeling, Jess?", you were well aware the last time you posed your girlfriend this question it turned out in a way no one wanted, but you were confident it wouldn't happen this time. Jessie shifted and positioned herself so that she could look up at you, a faint smile lingering on her lips. "I feel good. Genuinely. Better than I have been feeling the past couple days," you nodded, silently pushing her to go on. "It's been a lot but the game and you being here have helped me settle. Thank you," she pressed a fleeting kiss against your lips to accentuate her words.

You reciprocated the kiss, but pulled away rather quickly to not get lost in her affection. Jessie understood why you did and spoke up again. "I'm sorry about what happened the other day. I shouldn't have snapped at you," you soothingly rubbed her back when you sensed the nervosity that crept in her voice. "It had been a rough day and I wanted nothing more than to unwind and talk to you about other things, but when you started pushing I just couldn't bare with it anymore. I know you were just trying to do good, though. I talked about it to Janine and she made me realize that I'm not honest enough with you. I always try and bottle up my feelings, but that ends disastrous in ways like it did between us two days ago. I promise I'll try and be better for you. For us."

Her words were laced with emotion, her voice soft as she tried to keep the emotions at bay upon expressing how she felt about the situation. You wiped away a stray tear that had escaped her eye and was making its way across her cheek, pressing a tender kiss against her forehead. "Thank you, baby. I want to be there for you, but you need to let me. It's a two-way thing, okay? We both give, we both take."

Jessie nodded, shifting again and now burying her face in your neck, soaking up the warmth of being under the covers together. "Thank you", she mumbled barely audible against your skin. You let out a chuckle at her words. "What for?", you asked. "Just, for being you. For being the person you are and for dealing with my moods. I love you so much," she lifted her head from out of your neck and looked you in the eyes before she lowered her head and pressed her lips against yours. "I love you too," you mumbled against her lips before you two got lost in one another and made up in different ways for all the time you had missed out on together the past month.

#woso #woso community #woso imagine #woso x reader #jessie fleming #jessie fleming x reader #jflem #portland thorns #canada wnt

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tealvenetianmask · 6 months ago

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Blitz is dyslexic (petty post about why I'm right with proof from recent episodes)

Disclaimer: I don't have dyslexia, so I can't speak from personal experience, BUT neurodivergent people tend to find each other, and I've been very close with a few people with dyslexia, to the point where I've extensively edited their writing. I've also learned quite a bit about dyslexia while working in the education field. Okay- let's go.

I hear way too often (yes, I'm referencing a certain youtuber here) that Blitz can't have dyslexia because we sometimes see him reading and we sometimes see him writing without errors. So when he shows spelling and grammatical errors in his texts and notes to self, that must just be him being rude/trying to be cute/being lazy.

And if the errors were just slang and abbreviations, maybe the people making those arguments would have a point. But they're not. And I'm convinced that he has dyslexia. So what gives? Why the inconsistency (assuming it's an intentional choice on the part of the writers)?

Most dyslexic adults CAN write correctly with extra effort. It's just harder. In the learning disability world, we sometimes call it self- accommodating. With any disability, that means doing work that neurotypical people don't have to do in order to overcome the obstacle that the disability poses- and often, no one else sees that work or understands that it's necessary. For people with dyslexia, that often means that they have to check and double check their writing.

When YOU AND I (if we're both non-dyslexic people) write casually and don't put in effort, our spelling is going to be mostly correct. And if we use slang and abbreviations, it's a choice. When someone with dyslexia shoots off a quick text, it's going to look messy, and they'll probably only do it in a text to someone they're comfortable with. THAT IS THE DIFFERENCE.

Let's look at some recent examples from Helluva Boss.

Blitz is writing notes to himself here, so he doesn't have any need to make them presentable. Cute inside jokes with himself are possible (i.e. the horses and nicknames that we sometimes see), but the spelling mistakes here don't really make sense as jokes. They also wouldn't be easier to write than the correct words for someone who isn't dyslexic. Mok(backward S)ie isn't shorter than Moxxie, and remembr isn't much shorter than remember. The spelling is also phonetic, which fits with how many people with dyslexia spell in initial drafts. He just isn't watching for and correcting his mistakes, because why would he in this situation?!

Okay, different situation . . . the apologies. I would argue that Blitz IS putting in physical effort here, even if it's not emotional effort. He brings entire gift baskets full of his favorite foods for the people on his apology list after all. Here's what he writes to the DHORKS:

I think "sowy" IS meant to be cute here. It's not phonetic after all. He put a little effort into drawing them a cute little horse too. And then the cherubs . . .

I think this is pretty interesting. Blitz actually bothers here to fix his spelling mistake. He spells everything right on the inside too, even though he's telling these guys "fuck you." Notice that he runs out of room and has to write sideways. And notice the nice block letters on the front. In terms of why he's trying so much here, well, it's to prove to Stolas that he can put effort into apologizing to people, isn't it? And that means that the unintentional errors get fixed!

Now, Blitz tries to text an apology to Stolas (and obviously stalls for emotional reasons), and we see him typing it in real time,

Yeah . . . it's a combination of shorthand and just plain old misspellings. He's focused on choosing the right words, not on getting the spelling right, and it's impossible to say he doesn't care at this point. Someone who has an easy time writing correctly spelled text might use some shorthand, but just like we saw with Blitz's notes to self, they wouldn't likely intentionally misspell completely unnecessary things, especially when trying to come off as genuine.

Sigh. I rest my fucking case.

If you'd like to see my thoughts on that text conversation from Western Energy, go ahead and click on the link- it isn't really about dyslexia, and I do actually think that Blitz is pretty literate in spite of his disability and limited education, but it does explain why I think the conversation goes the way it does.

#My helluva meta #stolitz #blitz #blitzo buckzo #blitzo #helluva blitz #helluva neurodiversity #should be obvious but this doesn't negate other neurodivergences that he clearly has #People rarely have just one condition

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tonyboneysblog · 6 months ago

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HII Im the anon that requested the touya fic you can just call me the 🍊 anon if thats fine with you because ill probably be back a lot more 😭 your fics are SOO good can i request another touya fic, basically the same as last time what it was like being childhood friends with him? Ty!! 😁😁

SECRET SPOT: oneshot request!

parings: Touya Todoroki x reader

wordcount: 1.4K

notes: actually took forever because I forgot what kids do in their free time

warnings: none

summary: you find a cool spot you’d like to show Touya, shenanigans ensue.

You feel your lungs by start to burn as your run as quick as you can towards to best friends house.

You knock almost violently on the door when Rei Todoroki opens it.

“Miss L/N? Is everything okay?” She says with a worried tone.

You nod your head quickly before you say breathlessly, “I-i have something super cool to show Touya!”

Rei chuckles nervously at your excitement, “he’s in his room, I remember correctly.”

You mutter a quick thank you before booking it towards Touya’s room, only to find it empty.

Now you weren’t too concerned by the fact Touya wasn’t in his room like he was supposed to be, if he wasn’t holed up in his room then he’d be holed up at Sekoto peak over using his quirk in the name of ‘training’.

You shrug before making your way back to the front door, you weren’t planning on telling Rei that her son was up at the peak, he made you promise not to anyway.

Sekoto peak wasn’t the farthest away from the Todoroki household but by the time you got there at the summit you could feel your legs aching.

Now all that was left was to walk up it…

You could make out flashes of red as you hiked up the trail, few sparks of blue which was curious since Touya’s was red?

No point on dwelling on it.

You yell out his name, scaring him before running up to him excitedly.

“Y/N- you scared the hell out of me-“ he blabbers out.

You try to make your voice serious as you speak, “Touya- you absolutely need to follow me now, we’re going on adventure.”

Touya scoffs softly, “adventure? What are you- twelve?”

You stare at Touya after he choices his words, quietly as the seconds tick by.

He clears his throat, “ahem- sorry uhm, where are you trying to take me?” His voice is steady unlike yours, “can’t tell, it’s a surprise.”

“Then scram, I’m training right now Y/N.” He starts to walk off over to his little training corner with the log before you grab his wrist.

“Please Touya?” You beg with a pout on your face.

Touya try’s to tug his wrist away, ��Nope, I don’t know what I’m getting myself into.” You groan before pulling him back, “Touya- don’t be a brat I’m trying to show you something cool!” You continue to plead.

“You trying to fight me now? I’ll win.” He says almost threateningly.

you tug again, “you built like a prepubescent chicken- look Touya please just do this for me?”

You and Touya enter an unspoken eye staring contest, Touya loses by looking away nervously and you could almost feel his skin heating up.

“Fine, take me to your stupid spot.” He says lowly, but it doesn’t have any venom behind it.

You celebrate silently in your head before dragging him down the mountain, then towards the woods near your own home.

Touya’s brows furrow, “are you planning on murdering me or something?” his voice could be described as a fake out between ‘I’m so scared!’ And pure sarcasm.

You shrug, “keep up the attitude and I just might.”

He laughs at that one.

You climb over smaller bushes and duck under branches before entering a thicker part of the woods, you got lost in it one time and your parents had called every emergency number they knew.

Touya still dogs on you for it til this day.

Whilst trekking throughout the woods your legs decided to make home with a near by rose bush that hooked into your skin painfully.

You yelp before trying to ease the small thorns out of your poor calf but Touya decides to help out for once.

“Don’t move.” His voice was stern when he said it but his face was filled with worry practically.

He grabs you calf then the vine and pulls the two apart gently, only to leave a small stinging sensation in the wounded area.

“Be glad it’s not bleeding.” He hops over the vines to join you, you kinda hopped his leg would get stuck too for karma but you’ll get revenge soon.

Revenge for everything you’ve done to get him to this cool spot, made your legs sore, made them injured- what’s next? A broken arm?!

You continue to walk throughout the forest, the ground below you getting wetter with each step. Then you could finally hear the faint noise of water rushing.

You walked out nearer towards it before hitting a drop off but luckily you had already scooped out the terrain. There was and edge that you could scoot by on if you held on good and if you fell you- probably- wouldn’t die!

Before you could get to it Touya grabs your hand, “that isn’t safe, find another way.” his brows furrow.

“This is the only way that I know, hold on and you’ll be fine-“ “Y/N I don’t want you getting hurt.” He cuts you off before you can rationalize with him.

“Touya I’ve done this before, I’m not gonna fall.” You smile while you say this but then Touya made it fade quickly with his next words.

“I’ve seen Bridge to Terabithia, don’t play with me Y/N.” His tone is serious but it almost sounds like he’s messing with you.

You mumble out a small fine then Touya smiles like he won, you don’t like that cockiness.

So you quickly run back and scoot the wall almost expertly, pieces of rock falling down below as you move.

Touya calls for your name but by the time you respond d your already on the other side, “see- I told you I’d be fine!” You smile cheekily.

Touya visibly relaxs before his face goes mean again, “you could’ve fallen.”

“Yet I didn’t?”

“I’ll push you down myself.”

You scoff, “thought you didn’t want me getting hurt?”

Touya groans as you start to skip off towards the rushing water, it’s a nice little spot but it has logs all around it like some parkour obby.

Touya watches as you walk over towards one, it’s over a larger area of water- hell it evens look deep.

“Touya, be careful here since it’s slippery.” you sound sweeter than usual, Touya notes.

Touya cautious steps onto the log with the water calmly drifting beneath him, truly it wasn’t hard to balance on it.

You step behind him following close, then you wind your arms back and push him into the water with all your strength. He hits the water with a loud splash, it only takes him a few seconds to resurface.

“Y/N- are you fucking crazy!?” He yells out, you could barely hear him from your own cackling.

You don’t even notice when he grabs your own ankle to drag you down with him.

You yelp before hitting the water, whilst falling you accidentally hit your back against the log.

When you plop back up from the water, coughing violently. You can hear Touya laughing at you, you splash water at him before he could continue.

“Psh- don’t be angry that I got you back!” He yells, his voice sounds light.

Like he’s having fun.

You and Touya continue to have a splashing fight before you raise your hands up, “okay- we’re still not there yet-“ he splashes you again.

“Touya!” He stops for a moment, listening to you.

“It’s a little up ahead, follow me.” You trek through the water, making your way past floating branches or jagged rocks.

Touya could faintly hear water falling, then he felt the water become much more shallow.

The two of you continued to walk throughout the shallow water before it starts to rush before your feet, once Touya look up the first thing he sees is a miniature waterfall.

You turn back to look at him, “isn’t it amazing Touya?” Your smile is bright.

He can’t help it when his faces starts to match yours, you just have that affect on him.

He watches you run up to the falls, collecting rocks or whatever you do.

He can’t help but think how glad he was that he stopped training, even for a moment.

He felt good, his heart felt warm.

you just have that affect on him.

EXTRA:

“Touya- why in the world are you soaking wet?!” Rei practically screams.

Touya stumbles over his words for a moment before speaking, “uhm- next question?”

“Were you out training again?!” Rei says her voice going softer.

“Uhm….next question?” Touya says whilst looking down.

He’s never going on adventure with you again.

#anime #fanfics #mha #mha touya #touya x y/n #bnha touya #touya todoroki #touya x reader #dabi touya #protective dabi lowkey #dabi x reader #mha dabi #dabi todoroki #bnha dabi #dabi my hero academia #dabi #childhood #tonyquests!🪷

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emelinstriker · 4 months ago

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So from my understanding, sometimes the champions will be sent out to retrieve certain artifacts if I remember correctly. What if one of them was sent out to retrieve and bring back an artifact that can turn people into a child temporarily? Whether it be a clock or an hourglass… or anything like that, and said artifact ended up temporarily turning the reader back into a child?

(I ask this because I sometimes like to imagine myself being turned back into a child)

cue the champions standing there, surrounding their master, and being all like "...okay the fuck do we do now- how do we reverse this- is this permanent-"

and while they would try figure out a way to reverse the artifact's effects, or find out that it's just a temporary thing, nezha would probably be the one taking care of their master the most. with mink still being around their master. which makes things a lot more challenging, considering you should not leave those two alone together :)

have a bonus meme that's not for specifically child!reader, but i just found this funny while looking for potential memes

#eternal servants au #esau qna #esau memes #off to bed i go

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kytiapseud · 2 months ago

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In Defense of Epic Manwhore au

Okay, so I’m kinda nervous to post this but I feel like it should be said. I hope I tagged correctly for the topics I discuss in this. So, in defense of the Manwhore au as for the concept being coerced, it’s not like the god(s) said ‘you’ll die if you don’t have sex with me’. Odysseus is the one who brings it up. Although yes, the line of consent there is a bit murky with Odysseus more doing so to get out of situations rather than because he wants to. It’s totally valid for some fans to not be a fan of the au, not everything in fan spaces is for everyone. You are entitled to your opinion and get to make your fandom experience safe for you. There is something I saw though that felt like commentary about those who came up with/ enjoy the au. To me this felt close to attempted fandom censoring or those who try to ‘cleanse’ all fandom content to what they think is morally correct. Again, it is fine if you want to share your thoughts on something. But I hope no one comes after those who do enjoy the au. I haven’t seen that happen yet, I’m hoping it doesn’t. But the generalization about what it says about those who enjoy the au doesn’t sit right with me. For reasons like I mentioned above, about worrying it could turn into attempted censoring. Especially if anyone tries to get others to agree to black-and-white thinking about what they think is true. That could easily turn into justification to harassment, which I have seen in fandom spaces before. Particularly with anti-proshippers.

There may be valid criticisms to this au concept, but that doesn’t mean everyone who is a fan likes it for the same reasons. Let me address some of what I’ve seen though. The joking about Odysseus being a Manwhore coming from homophobia. Yeah, that’s possible (although personally I feel like a homophobe is more likely to not even mention gay things.) I don’t think that’s always the case though. I know there was one animatic I saw, the first thing I saw for the au, that had a joke in it that I didn’t like. I don’t judge this creator, and in fact it’s a common joke I’ve seen. Particularly with people wishing they didn’t see something. It just doesn’t vibe with me. In no way do I think that those who say such jokes have something wrong with them. People have different senses of humor and I think some use such jokes as a way to cope.

Anyways, I think some of the humor more comes from how unexpected it would be. I mean, we have a war captain facing foes who instead of choosing to fight goes for seducing them. It’s certainly interesting. I know some of the jokes come from the others not involved in the coupling being just shocked or grossed out. I think that more comes from like not wanting to see someone else talk about or get busy with another? I mean, some of these men probably consider each other to be like brothers. I imagine that would be weird. I think homosexuality wasn’t taboo in ancient Greece, I’m not entirely sure though I may need to do more research on that. So there could be some homophobia to the jokes, but I don’t think that’s the case for everyone. It certainly wasn’t for me. It could also be lgbt+ fans wanting to see more gay stuff in the story. Gay shipping isn’t uncommon after all.

I don’t think everyone who talks about the Manwhore au has no problem joking about sa. There can be many reasons why someone may enjoy a concept in media. You don’t know. Like how women are criticized for rape fantasies. I watched a documentary about sex once (I can’t remember which one this was in now) and there was a whole segment about the rape fantasy, discussing why this is an appeal to some women. It did not mean these women want to be raped of course. Part of it could come from a culture of feeling pressure to not experience any sexual feelings, so the scenario allowed them to experience something without feeling guilty about it. There isn’t always a clear explanation for why someone can find something sexy.

I think this started as a joke, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some who wanted something sexy in their Epic fan experience. I mean, having read the Odyssey in school (twice actually) I did not expect I would want to see Odysseus in such a scenario. But then I saw one sexy fanart of him with others and cough I ended up liking it more than I expected. Those who have seen my reblogs on this tag know heh.

There’s also the infidelity notion. I feel like given the situation, Penelope would understand. I also saw some comments that they could be poly, which is a concept I like for this. I’ve also seen mention that human relationships with gods have ended up tragically for the humans involved. I don’t think everyone who listens to Epic knows about that. I didn’t. But again, this goes back to it being fantasy. People enjoying picturing it the way they want to. It doesn’t have to be accurate to the myths. It’s fanfiction/au.

I think the infidelity notion to it didn’t bother me as much as others because in the original, he wasn’t faithful. Sorry for Odyssey spoilers I guess. Anyways, I was already used to him being a cheater. Although the one with Circe may match more with the coercion along the lines of ‘sleep with me for your crew’. The knife that’s been shown in some animatics wasn’t in the original. It’s been a while since I’ve read it so I’m not entirely sure about how that went down.

Referring back to if Odysseus wants it even if he was the one who offered (sorry if I’m all over the place with this, I have a lot of thoughts.) Seducing foes doesn’t necessarily mean he didn’t want it. There’s a character in a Sanders Sides roleplay I was in named Remy (Sleep), whose rp version was created/and played by the wonderful @queroze , who was proclaimed by them to be a manslut. His go-to to get out of situations, if he saw it was a fit strategy, was to seduce. Sure, he got into situations that weren’t great, but often he was the active one in the seducing. I wouldn’t say his go-to being to seduce meant it wasn’t always consensual. In fact, there’s many descriptions and some statements from Que themselves saying Remy loved bringing pleasure to his partners.

Then there’s the mention of the unlikeliness of the scenario actually happening. I don’t think this matters that much to be honest. It’s fandom enjoyment. Who cares if people want to enjoy something that doesn’t seem likely in canon? I personally couldn’t see seduction working, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t find the concept entertaining. Sure people shouldn’t insist it could occur to the creators. But aside from that, it doesn’t affect you. Enjoying fan spaces is way more fun if we let things stay peaceful.

I kinda want to write a fanfic now that adjusts to some of the critiques I’ve seen of this au. I know I said I probably wouldn’t, but I got inspired while planning this heh.

#epic the musical #manwhore au #odysseus #sa mention #sa tw

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forever-rogue · 2 years ago

Note

Ooh what about Joel giving reader a kiss on the cheek now and then and calling her sweetheart and darling because he knows it makes her blush

Basically Joel torturing reader by shamelessly flirting with her until she finally caves and kissed him and he’s like “took ya long enough”

AN | Please!! This is so soft and fluffy 🥰

Pairing | Joel Miller x Fem!Reader

Warnings | Language

Word Count | 2.2k

Masterlist | Joel, Main

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

“Hey trouble,” you felt his hands on your hips as he gently moved you out of the way before you saw him. You hadn’t even heard him coming up, but he was good like that - stealthy and lethal when he needed to be.

“Joel,” your entire face turned so warm you were almost sure you could have fried an egg on it. He looked over at you as though he knew exactly what was going through mind whenever he came around. Honestly he probably did and that made it all the worse, “what’re you doing here?”

“Nothin’ much,” he took a seat at the bar next to him. You felt stupid for even asking - you were at the bar, what else would he be doing here? You wish the ground would open and swallow you whole, “thinkin’ about having a beer. What about you?”

“Same,” you’d been nursing the same beer you’d first ordered when you walked into the bar. You shrugged meekly, “long week.”

“I’d say every week is a long week,” he offered up and you couldn’t help the snort of amusement that escaped your lips. His own beer was passed over and he took it, clinking it against your own, “cheers.”

“Cheers,” you whispered softly, taking a small sip. You didn’t even really like the beer, but it was a social thing to do. Although with Joel currently sitting next to you and leaning into you, it was hard to focus on anything but him. The two of you sat in silence for some time, nothing needing to be said by either of you.

You’d always liked Joel, always found yourself gravitating to the older man, but just how much you liked him was still dizzying and overwhelming at times. But you’d never say anything - you were pretty sure you’d rather die. You didn’t really have much to offer, which is always what kept you from saying anything. Instead, you like just being his friend, which was just fine with you.

“I have to leave tomorrow,” he said suddenly, angling his body closer to yours. Your heart dropped at the idea of not being able to see him, but you tried not to let it show on your face. He chuckled softly and tucked a strand of hair behind your ear, “don’t get all sad on me yet - I haven’t even finished what I was saying.”

“I wasn’t…sad,” you lied although there was no reason to, “sorry - go on.”

“I have to leave tomorrow for a few days to get some supplies,” he explained, “and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me?”

And then your face broke into a huge smile that you weren’t able to hide, beaming and lovely. Joel returned your smile as you tried to not let your imagination run away too wild, “you want me to come? You’re sure?”

“I am,” he nodded, “what do you think? It’s nothing much, just a lot of driving and maybe a night or two of camping.”

“I’d love to,” you agreed with hesitation; you’d probably have done anything and everything he asked of you. He perked up at your response and raised an eyebrow, almost as if he was making sure he’d heard you correctly, “when are we leaving?”

“In the morning, bright and early,” you groaned lightly and that just made him laugh a little harder, “is that going to be a problem, sweetheart?”

“I hate bright and early,” you groaned dramatically, “but I guess I’ll do it for you, Miller. Remember, I’m doing you the favor here.”

“Of course,” he nodded seriously, “and I’ll never be able to repay you. Forever in your debt.”

“Okay now you’re just being dramatic,” you rolled your eyes but there was nothing but affection behind your gesture, “well, I look forward to an adventure. Bright and early.”

“Bright and early.”

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

You might have been panicking. Okay, you were definitely panicking. But why? You wished your mind explained that bit. You’d known Joel for several years, and had managed to be around him without any issue but the idea of spending so much time alone together and potentially small spaces just made things that much worse. You just hoped that you wouldn’t somehow manage to spill your little deep rooted secret.

“Good morning!” Joel pulled up to your place bright and early just as promised, waving as you met him at the door. You wondered for a moment what he put in his coffee, but decided not to question it too much. He came up and took your bag as you followed him and mumbled your own version of a good morning. You climbed into the truck and made yourself comfortable and he cranked up the heat for your benefit, “ready to go?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” he grinned at you but paused for a moment before shifting the vehicle into drive. He reached under the seat and pulled out a blank, draping it over your lap. Your heart swelled at the gesture and you almost couldn’t contain yourself, “thank you, Joel. That’s really sweet of you.”

“I can be nice sometimes,” he winked and oh. That made the butterflies flutter in your tummy, “off we go.”

You spied the second cup of coffee sitting in the cupholder and you knew immediately that it would be made just the way you liked it. He was thoughtful like that - in so many ways.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The two of you spent most of the morning and early afternoon, passing the time with conversation about anything and everything that crossed your minds. It was all so easy with him, everything always felt so right and natural. You liked that he made you laugh and you liked making him laugh too. When he’d first arrived he almost never smiled, but he was doing it a lot more these days. And it was a lovely sight to behold.

You rested for a few hours, to stretch your legs and get some fresh air. You could feel him studying you intently, but decided not to question him. Maybe you just had something on your face, or your hair was funky…or something.

"There's a small town nearby," hed suggested, "we'll stop there for the night. Unless you'd rather rough it and make camp?"

"Can't trust just anyone these days," you shrugged, "but I'm willing to chance it instead of camping out in the wilderness."

"Good point," he agreed without much emotion. If you'd taken him up on his offer, you might have gotten to share a tent with him. Ugh. Maybe you'd made the wrong decision, "I'm sure we can find a room somewhere there."

A room. Singular. Alright, perhaps things would be okay after all.

"We'll figure it out," you agreed as you looked at the lights in the distance. He reached over and brushed his knuckles over your cheek. Your skin felt like it was on fire from even the simplest of his touches and it made you smile despite your best efforts.

The rest of the ride passed by in silence, a comfortable one at that, and before you knew it you were parking inside the small town and looking around in amazement. You knew more towns like Jackson existed but it was still amazing when you got to see them. It was like a little bit of normalcy back into your lives.

"Come on," Joel tugged on your arm as he started to lead towards the small diner, "let's get inside."

You followed his lead, trailing slightly behind him as he slid into one of the booths. You looked around and couldn't keep the smile off your face, "this place is cute."

"Hmm," he hummed in agreement, "you think about what you want to eat and I'm going to ask about where we can stay for the night."

"Okay," you watched as he slid out of the booth, enjoying the view but not before he gave your shoulder a gentle squeeze.

You looked at the menu and you weren't sure how much time had passed before he sat back in the booth. Only when you looked up, it wasn't Joel sitting there.

Instead, it was a young man who was smiling brightly but managed to send an unpleasant shiver down your spine.

"Haven't seen you around before," he smirked and immediately there was a shift in the air and you did not like it at all, "I think I would have remembered such a pretty little thing."

"I…I'm not from here," you shrugged him off, "just passing through-"

"Well, I'm sure you'd like some company right?" He completely cut you off, "wouldn't want you to get lost or anything."

"I have someone," you searched the place, desperately willing Joel to just pop up, "if you don't mind."

“I’m sure no one will mind if you come with me for a little bit,” everything about this man had your blood boiling, “I can show you a good time, and you can show me a good time in return. Whaddaya say, sweet thing?”

Neither of you got the chance to say anything else before you heard the sound of a gun cocking and the cool metal was pressed to his temple. Your eyes widened in shock as you looked at a livid, furious Joel, “don’t say another word. Get out of this booth, apologize, and walk away.”

“Listen old man-”

“Now!” he shouted, causing you to jump slightly, “I won’t hesitate to blow your brains out, kid.”

“Fine,” he gingerly moved but Joel kept the gun pointed at him. You could see that the guy was genuinely nervous; you couldn’t blame him, Joel was scary when this side of him came out, “I’m sorry.”

You said nothing but gave him a subtle nod as he almost ran out. Joel kept his eye on him, before sitting down across from you again, “are you okay? Did he do anything or touch you?”

“No,” you swallowed thickly, a few tears rolling down your cheeks. Joel reached over and brushed them away, “he didn’t do anything. You got here just in time.”

“Good,” he let out a sigh of relief, “oh, my little trouble.”

“Thank you,” no one ever made you feel as safe as Joel did, “I don’t think that guy will try anything again. I think you made an impression on him.”

“Well, can’t go around and not make an impression,” he huffed bitterly, “you’re sure you’re okay?”

“Positive,” you promised, “thanks to you.”

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Joel had found a small little room in one of the hotels and your mouth almost dropped open when you realized it was only one bed. You set your bag down and looked before laughing nervously. It was an easy tell of yours that Joel had picked up a long time ago.

“Umm, there’s…” you trailed off and pointed at the bed, “only one.”

“I can sleep on floor, sweetheart,” he promised without skipping a beat, “its not a big deal.”

“Joel, no, don’t,” you sat at the edge of the bed and patted the space next to you, “your back is going to kill you and I can’t deal with all of your belly aching. We can share.”

“You sure?” he asked softly as you looked up at him nodded, “I won’t try anything.”

“I know,” you smiled in relief, “if there’s a man I trust, it’s you. So.”

“So.”

"Can I ask you something?" You asked so quietly that he almost didn't hear it. He sat down next to you and nodded, "why do you look at me like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like…I dunno," you whispered, "like the way you do."

"The way I do," he repeated softly, "which is?"

"Joel, you're so - you know what I mean," you turned to him and found that he was looking at you and very close, "oh. Like that."

“Mhmm,” he reached over and cupped your jaw with his large, warm hand, “just like that. You know what I’m about to do, don’t you?”

“Maybe?” oh yeah. You were almost positive you knew what was coming but a small part of you was still doubting that this was all real and not some wild fever dream.

And then he kissed you, just like you had imagined he would. It was soft and sweet, barely anything that would be considered mind blowing but it was just perfect. When he pulled back, you sighed softly and he pressed his forehead against yours.

After a few moments you stole a few kisses, both of you smiling shyly at each other.

“Do you understand now?” he closed his eyes and you laughed softly.

“You like me?” you asked and he just grinned.

“Mhmm,” he kissed you again, “took you long enough to catch up.”

“What if I hadn’t?”

“I would have waited,” he promised, “you’re worth waiting for.”

“Joel,” you looked at him with the embodiment of heart eyes, “do me a favor?”

“Anything.”

“Kiss me more,” and he had no problem with that request at all, “please.”

#joel miller #joel miller x reader #joel miller x you #joel miller x fem!reader #joel miller imagine #joel miller one shot #pedro pascal #tlou #tlou hbo #the last of us

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tootalltech · 2 months ago

Text

okay so like. lab rats: bionic island is not real, season 4 is the worst one, it's very disorganized, etc etc yes BUT. i think the angst potential of the bionic soldiers was very interesting and so under-explored.

bc like. what the hell happened with all these kids? krane basically just kidnapped them, wiped their memories, and implanted them with bionics, right? and then controlled all of them with the triton app. that's just crazy to me. bc it's like. none of these kids are like adam, bree, and chase at all when it comes down to it. they had actual families. they were not MADE to be bionic. there's a line that i keep thinking about from bob that's like "i keep asking them where they grew up, but they all just say, 'i don't know, i don't remember'!". that's so sad to me. they had families and lives that they just may never find their way back to.

and this all makes it even more depressing that they consider krane their father in bionic rebellion (sebastian especially). these are just random fucking kids. who maybe just got unlucky and were randomly picked by krane to be part of his army, or maybe were chosen for some particular reason (which is honestly kind of worse bc if any of them realized there was actually a reason, that just makes it feel more like it was somehow their fault even though it wasn't). but in the end none of these kids are related to each other, at all. they consider themselves to kind of be one big group of siblings now, but that's only because they were all put through the same trauma. and also. if they were chosen by krane for a reason. then what the fuck happened with characters like spin? or bob? they're both so young. why would krane have picked them? it gets more disturbing the more you think about it. they also are all probably not going by the names their parents gave them either. because they all got renamed to designations (S1, S2) and then renamed again when krane stopped controlling them.

and finally on the note of them not being made to be bionic the way adam, bree, and chase were: that is its own angst potential. i think the showrunners kind of forgot that they established that about the chips, that adam bree and chase can't even switch chips for a day without messing things up because they aren't built to handle each others chips. if that's really the case, then some random teenagers probably also can't handle being implanted with bionic chips? they should all be experiencing a lot more difficulties due to that. it would be fun for the difference between all of them and abc to be highlighted in a way that is not just "abc are old models" anyway. because given the actual lore of the show, no, they're probably NOT old, they're the only ones whose chips WORK PROPERLY ALL THE TIME. krane got his technology from douglas. he doesn't know how to do bionics himself, and he would not be able to make it work correctly with kids he pulled off the streets once douglas left. there's just no way.

okay thanks bionic soldiers rant over.

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personasintro · 1 year ago

Text

Mutual Help | #08

𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭: @kithtaehyung

↳ 𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬; in order for you to pretend to be his girlfriend, he helps you with your sexual desires ⏤ he calls it mutual help

⇢ 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: jungkook x reader

⇢ 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: fake dating au, fluff, angst, smut, slow burn

⇢ 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: explicit language

⇢ 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 1.6k+

⇠ 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯. | 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐱 | 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 ⇢

"Why are we here?" you ask with narrowed eyes, eyeing your best friend whose cheeks are puffed up with pork belly.

"We are on a date." he answers with an obvious tone.

"I got that from your single message." you roll your eyes, remembering the message you got when you barely got home.

It's Tuesday, it's not even the middle of the week, and you definitely weren't expecting him to want to hang out during the week. He's lucky you were hungry anyway, home with an almost empty fridge. He knows you can't say no to food, especially when it's a typical Korean barbecue.

'I'm taking you out in an hour, be ready'

That's what the message said and even when his black car parked in front of your apartment building, he barely explained the point of all of this.

"Well, this is Seokjin's restaurant," he starts, seeing your dumbfounded look before he sighs. "Seokjin, you've met him when we went bowling with Tae, Jimin and Kiko. Even Hoseok tagged along." he explains, unfolding a very hazy memory.

If you remember correctly, it was the day when Jungkook introduced Kiko to you.

Jungkook looks like you should know exactly who he is, and the way he stares at you like if you were an idiot makes you annoyed. "It happened like a year ago. Do you really expect me to remember that?" you snark, rolling your eyes in annoyance when you see Jungkook doing the same.

So much for acting like a couple who loves each other.

"Anyway, he's not here right now. But Hoseok works here as operations manager."

Hoseok, Kiko's close friend, is here right now and it all makes sense. He knows when Hoseok would see you, he'd probably tell Kiko. Nothing is sure, but it's worth a shot.

"Ah, right. Now I get it." you breathe out, reaching for a chopsticks before you make yourself a wrap.

Jungkook just nods along, eating quietly before he opens his mouth. "Oh, Seokjin is getting married and he invited me to his wedding. You're coming with me."

"What? Why do I need to be there?" you exclaim with a full mouth, causing him to glare at you in disgust before he sighs.

"Because I need a date and he knows we're dating. He kinda invited you as well," he explains, shooting you his pleading look which consists of his doe eyes and slightly pouted lips in hope. "Okay, I'm sorry for dropping this on you all of a sudden. He just called me yesterday to remind me of the wedding and I forgot. I was supposed to go with Kiko, but that changed..." he trails off, silencing himself for a few seconds before he continues. "And now he knows we're dating, so I told him you'll come."

"Yeah, okay. Is she going to be there?"

He nods, biting the inside of his cheek. "Yes, Seokjin is marrying her best friend. She is going to be there."

With that, you only nod and stuff your mouth again.

It's just another plan that might work perfectly. Jungkook told you about him and Kiko talking to each other at the club. He hasn't said much, but he clearly sees the hope in winning her back. Even you can see it, after hearing her questioning you and his relationship. If she didn't care, she wouldn't ever stop by to talk to him.

"When's the wedding?" you ask him, noting that you need to buy a proper dress for that.

Your wardrobe mainly consists of sweatpants, slacks and basic shirts. If you want to look good, you need to invest some money in a nice dress.

"Next week."

"Jungkook!" you exclaim, watching your best friend in horror.

Next week is too soon.

He sheepishly looks at you, offering you a piece of pork belly with his chopsticks as a sign of apology. You roll your eyes again, but still lean towards him to eat the meat, not forgetting to glare at him in the process.

"What are you doing?"

Eyeing Jungkook, who's scooting his way over to you as he unlocks his phone.

"We should take a photo," he answers, turning on his camera. "And make it Instagram official, baby." he wiggles his brows, causing you to snort in return before you try to adjust your hair.

"Wait, I'm not ready." you tell him, glaring at the phone that's shoved into your face before Jungkook snaps the picture of your face.

He snorts, looking at the picture of you glaring at the camera with hands in your hair and slightly opened mouth. He tries to do it again, but you slap his hands before you properly adjust your hair. You smile into the camera, before Jungkook does the same and snaps a picture.

He eyes it, brows furrowing as he exhales. "It looks like most of our photos."

You lean to him, looking at the photo that looks cute. Jungkook obviously looks hot, even with the soft smile that's settled on his lips. "I think it looks good." you shrug, reaching for your drink as you slowly sip from it.

"We're supposed to look like we're in love," he points out, shoulders dropping in disappointment.

Well, you came here on a date and yet you've spent all your time teasing and making jokes. None of that showed one piece of your fake love.

"Come on, let's take another one." he nudges you, causing you to groan but you still lean closer to him.

Jungkook puts his arm around your waist, pulling you even closer to him as you quickly smile into the camera. He does the same, your faces much closer before he starts to take more of them which turns to you goofing around, making different grimaces that makes you both laugh. The last shot is probably the best one and most believable. You're smiling widely with your eyes closer, while Jungkook presses his nose softly into your cheek, with a toothed grin.

You both check all the photos, none of you moving from each other as you silently comment on every one of them. You're both too focused from your creations to notice someone approaching, that's until he speaks catching both of yours attention.

"Hey, Hoseok." Jungkook greets him back, glancing at the man that's sporting a black slacks and a casual white button up.

"Hey guys, what a surprise," he beams, smiling at you when you wave at him in a brief greeting.

Although, you know Hoseok since the two of you hang out with the same people, you can't really consider him as your friend. He's a nice guy, very communicative, friendly and loud. You both have the same circle of friends, so there are times when you see each other from time to time. But that's it.

"What are you doing here?" he asks, looking back at Jungkook.

"We're on a date." he answers, a realization crossing on Hoseok's face as he takes his outstretched arm behind you and the proximity between you two.

"Oh," he opens his mouth in surprise. "So it's true." he comments, chuckling after that but something about his tone is off.

Of course. He's Kiko's friend.

"Yeah," Jungkook nods, not really sure what to say.

Just as you think he'll let it go, he opens his mouth again.

"I've never expected you guys to end up together,"

You shift in your seat awkwardly. "None of us did." you mutter, earning a very subtle kick to your shin from Jungkook underneath the table.

"We've decided to try it," Jungkook shrugs.

It's so damn fucking awkward, his short responses earning even more suspicious look from Hoseok, that he desperately tries to hide underneath his friendly smile. And the fact that you and Jungkook act so weird doesn't help.

"Ah, hyung," your best friend suddenly says, unlocking his phone before he hands it to Hoseok. "Can you take a photo of us?"

Hoseok eyes his phone before he slowly takes it from his hands, glancing at you before he smiles. "Sure."

It looks like Jungkook is one step ahead of you, knowing his friend and his rare fake smile. He must've thought the same thing like you did, proving that he got this. No matter how many times your conscience comes up to tell you that you're getting busted, Jungkook proves you wrong.

And when Hoseok finally aims the camera at the two of you, you're completely shocked when Jungkook grabs your face gently, hand spreading on your neck with his thumb on your cheek, before he connects your lips together. He kisses you, right in front of him, hiding your own shock by his mouth. When he pulls away, he does it slowly making sure when he opens his eyes, he's looking straight into yours with unrecognizable glint in them.

He traces your lips with his thumb, before he pulls away and looks at his friend. "Thanks." he says, grinning as he takes his phone from him.

"Yeah, no worries." Hoseok mutters, smiling at you as Jungkook takes a look at the photos.

Just when you thought he bought it, you glance from Jungkook's screen at Hoseok causing your breath to hitch. He's subtle, but still sporting an evident frown on his face as his eyes are glued to you. Your nerves get the best of you, a nervous smile spreading on your lips as Jungkook is completely obvious at your exchange with his friend.

Hoseok smiles at you, shaking off his previous frown as if he never stared at you like that.

But this time, you're smarter and see right through him.The smile he gave you was fake.

#networkbangtan #bts smut #jungkook x reader #jungkook smut #bts au #bts angst #bts fluff #jungkook fic #mutual help #ksmutclub #ficswithluv #personasintro

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idkmanwtfishumanityanymore · 6 months ago

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No I’m sorry Y’all I’m seriously still so fucking pissed off abt this episode, and I have to scream into the digital void about everything wrong with it and how downright mocking it felt or I’m gonna EXPLODE-

FIRST OFF, MY BIGGEST FUCKING ISSUE. Moon, near the end, says that “Bad people are bad people, no matter what dimension it is” or something similar.

HOW THE FUCK DOES SOLAR EXIST THEN, HM?

BECAUSE IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, SOLAR STARTED AS “NICE ECLIPSE”, BUT WAIT.. HOW CAN THAT BE POSSIBLE WHEN “BAD PEOPLE STAY BAD, NO MATTER THE DIMENSION”??? CAUSE I’M PRETTY FUCKING SURE ECLIPSE WAS BAD WHEN THAT HAPPENED, AND SOLAR WAS A GOOD VARIANT OF ECLIPSE.

YOUR LOGIC FALLS COMPLETELY, FUCKING, FLAT.

IF SOLAR, A GOOD ECLIPSE CAN EXIST, WHY IS IT SOOOOOO FUCKING IMPOSSIBLE FOR A GOOD BLOODMOON TO EXIST? HM? ANSWER ME THAT, HYPOCRITE.

THE ONLY FUCKING REASON, THEY WERE EVEN CONSIDERED “GOOD”, WAS BECAUSE THEY DIDN’T KILL. SOMETHING THEY ORIGINALLY, HAD TO FUCKING DO OR ELSE THEIR INSATIABLE BLOODLUST, WHICH WAS HARDWIRED INTO THEM, WOULD FORCE THEM TO GO AND KILL BECAUSE IT WAS PAINFUL TO IGNORE IT.

AND DON’T EVEN FUCKING GET ME STARTED ON HOW DISRESPECTFUL THIS FELT TO ANYONE WHO WAS (REASONABLY) PISSED OFF ABOUT HOW BLOODMOON’S CHARACTER WAS HANDLED, AND THE PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY HAD AN ATTACHMENT TO HIM???

THIS WAS THE DEFINITION OF “If I give you what you want, will you fuck off?”

THE WRITERS, (probably fucking Davis), JUST TOSSED SOMETHING BLOODMOON RELATED AT THE FANDOM, TO GET US TO STOP CRITICIZING HOW HORRIBLY THEY HANDLED BLOODMOON AS A CHARACTER.

THEY JUST CHUCKED IT AT US, AND BASICALLY SAID; “Fuck off already, look, they can NEVER be actually good, they’ll always be bad, now stop whining”.

WE LITERALLY SAW THAT THEY COULD BE ATLEAST DOCILE-ISH IN A WAY, BACK WHEN THEY VERY BRIEFLY LIVED WITH FOXY AND FC. FOXY THOUGHT OF A WAY TO KEEP THEIR BLOODLUST AT BAY, THEY HAD ENTERTAINMENT IN THE FORM OF THE BOUNCY CHICK, AND THEY ACTUALLY SEEMED KINDA OKAY WITH LIVING THERE.

BUT NOOOOOOOO, THE FUCKING WRITERS GAVE US A GLIMPSE OF WHAT A VAST MAJORITY OF THE FANDOM WANTED, AND IMMEDIATELY RIPPED IT AWAY LIKE 3 OR 2 DAYS LATER BY HAVING THEM BOTH ABRUPTLY GO AFTER FOXY, AND HARVEST GOT FUCKING KILLED.

THEY WERE FUCKING DEPENDENT ON EACHOTHER TO SURVIVE AND FUNCTION, THEY WERE LITERALLY EACHOTHER’S OTHER HALF. WE CAN CLEARLY SEE THIS WHEN BLOODMOON IS STRUGGLING WITH PLANNING AND CALCUTION, BECAUSE THE OTHER TWIN HANDLED IT. THE OTHER TWIN KNEW HOW TO PLAN, AND CALCULATE SHIT FOR THEIR PLANS, THE REMAINING TWIN WAS THE BRAWN, AND THE OTHER WAS THE BRAIN IN SIMPLE TERMS.

AND DOUBLE DON’T GET ME STARTED ON HOW BLOODMOON WAS LITERALLY HARASSED AFTER HIS BROTHER WAS KILLED???

MONTY AND PUPPET, BOTH, FORCED BLOODMOON TO SIT ON THEIR STUPID LITTLE FUCKING PODCAST, AND PROBED HIM WITH ENDLESS QUESTIONS ABOUT HIS BROTHER.

FOR FUCKS SAKE, MONTY’S FIRST WORDS AFTER THE TIMESKIP WERE “How’s it feel bein’ an only sibling?” OR SOMETHING INCREDIBLY SIMILAR, AND YES, I’LL GIVE PUPPET SOME CREDIT, SHE SEEMED A TINY BIT DISAPPOINTED WITH MONTY FOR OPENING WITH THAT, BUT LIKE 5 OR SO MINUTES LATER, SHE WAS PLAYING THE FUCKING DEATH OF BLOODMOON’S BROTHER, ON FUCKING LOOP, AND EXPECTED HIM TO WATCH.

AND THEN THEY HAVE THE GALL TO CALL THEIR COMMUNITY, ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS THEY CAN EVEN HAVE SUCCESS FROM THEIR CHANNELS, CRAZY, FOR THINKING THAT THEY WENT TOO FAR, AND HAVING EVEN THE SLIGHTEST BIT OF SYMPATHY OR EMPATHY FOR BLOODMOON.

THEY CLAIM WE’RE INSANE FOR HAVING BASIC HUMAN REACTIONS TO SEEING SOMEONE LOSE A LOVED ONE.

THEY CLAIM WE’RE MENTALLY UNSTABLE FOR SYMPATHIZING WITH THE TWINS AND THEIR TRAUMA, WHICH MIGHT I ADD IS NEVER FUCKING ACKNOWLEDGED??

IF ECLIPSE IS ABLE TO HAVE A REDEMPTION ARC, BECAUSE HE’S “NOT THE SAME PERSON”, AND “A CLONE”, WHY IS IT SO IMPOSSIBLE THAT THE TWINS, WHO ALSO WEREN’T THE SAME PEOPLE, AND WERE ALSO CLONES, TO BE EVEN SLIGHTLY REDEEMED??

I DON’T FUCKING CARE IF THEY WERE STILL KILLERS, IT WAS STILL HARDWIRED INTO THEM, IN BOTH ITERATIONS.

I’m not going to touch how predatory Ruin was with them back in October right now, or ever, because I’m honestly appalled that the writers WENT THERE with their script.

Every fucking argument made in this stupid fucking mockery of a video falls flat, and directly conflicts with past fully canon information, and I’m fucking pissed.

on a lighter note, more (JUSTIFIED) complaints about the loan-shark!twins;

OKAY WHY THE FUCK DID THEY SEPARATE THEM INTO “BLOOD” AND “MOON”, COULDN’T THEY HAVE ATLEAST TRIED TO CONNECT WITH THEIR COMMUNITY AND USE ONE OF THE MANY RENAMES WE’VE HAD? BLOODY AND HARVEST, SYTHE AND HATCHET, CRIMSON AND MAROON TO NAME A FEW, BUT “BLOOD” AND “MOON”??? GOD HOW FUCKING DISCONNECTED CAN THEY BE?? THERE’S ALSO ALREADY A MOON THAT EXISTS, SO HOW THE FUCK DOES THAT WORK? HOW CONFUSING DOES IT GET WHEN THEY’RE IN THE SAME ROOM AND SOMEONE SAYS “MOON”, BUT ONLY MEANS ONE OF THEM???

And then the sheer fact that they were literally traumatized by the thought of drinking blood- like I’m sorry but that is NOT enough to traumatize anyone, unless they have like, a crippling phobia of blood. Hemophobia or something like that I think. And considering they say they “bleed people dry” (financially), I don’t think they have a fear of blood, or they wouldn’t use the saying-

So there ya have it, me, in the dark, at 10:33PM on a Friday night in July, on the 26th, writing a whole ass essay assignment because of how PISSED OFF one single episode made me.

I’m gonna go die now. (For legal reasons I mean go to bed /Gen)

#tsams bloodmoon #sun and moon show #sun and moon show spoilers #sun and moon show bloodmoon #rant #SAMS BloodMoon #bloodmoon twins #brite stfu #BloodMoon defender #proud BloodMoon supporter #TW// Implied S/A #in a way.#I’m talking about what happened with Ruin btw.

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yutori-do · 2 months ago

Text

The four things I notice and hate the most in Gai's (bad) characterization:

Intelligence: In some fics they make him completely stupid, with no ability to conform to social labels or understand what they say to him without rethinking it, and that makes my blood boil because this guy is anything but stupid; He is an avid learner and always seeks improvement (genin at 7, chuunin at 11. He may not be Kakashi but he is still quite a lot, right?), able to predict, if I remember correctly, up to a hundred movements of his enemy before to be executed, someone who thinks quickly in battle and very adaptable.

My God, he drives NUNCHAKUS and you think he's incapable of concentrating? I understand that it is one thing to sit down and study and another to train, but I don't think GAI, of all people, wouldn't take on such a challenge. Appearing empty-minded is his facade, his mask. The only way I can accept that he's pretty stupid is if it's because of the trauma of losing his father, he clings to the attitude of a child as a way to feel like he's back in his childhood. AND YET-

Okay, next point.

Darkness: This man was literally beaten by chuunin because when he was a child just for being the son of a outcast of Konoha, they made fun of him and probably isolated him from the rest as a child, and he has also been under a strict exercise regimen since he was 5 years old. An exercise that made him fall from fatigue and pain, and he, despite everything, continued to get up, continued to force himself to overcome the pain. Gai's darkness is not easily detected because he is not visibly cruel to anyone but himself; The only way he is easily seen is with his relationship with Lee, his dedication to put him through everything he put Lee through even though he is the person Gai loves the most (possibly after his father). The way he pushed his (Lee's) limits to the point of telling Lee that he should face death to hold onto some hope for a better future (to be a shinobi again) is very dark. The relationship he has with Rock Lee ironically brings out the worst parts of Gai, and there we enter the next point.

Cruelty: Gai is a character who has been shown to have an extremely strong code of values, in which benevolence always comes first; He is empathetic in a world where that is condemning, he is kind to people who at best only make fun of him for how he looks. In short, a great person. But that does not mean that he is not cruel, that he hesitates when killing; he is still a soldier, a child soldier who participated in a war based more on ego than anything else. His moral code does not prevent him from killing, but rather makes him limit himself, to limit himself to what is absolutely necessary. If he has defeated his opponents and thus achieved his mission, then he will not kill, because the rest are shinobi like him and also had a mission.

We've only seen traces of Gai's cruelty throughout Naruto, small flashes of what he truly is in battle. Do you seriously think that the title of Beast is achieved only by defeating enemies? It is not even a specific animal, but literally: Konoha's Beast of Prey.

And what is a beast but an animal that kills cruelly? One kick of his was capable of breaking rocks when he was just a child. What prevents him from punching through his opponent's chest? Breaking skulls using just his fingers? You're not going to tell me that someone like him, with his strength, is not capable of ripping off your arm in a single movement.

Gai is capable of great, great cruelty cultivated by years of being humiliated by the village he now protects with his life, by the Village for which he destroys his body day by day. Still, his morals prevail, but it does not mean that cruelty is inappropriate for him.

And possibly the root of all his problems...

Death Wish: Dying for the Village is something that is as ingrained in how Gai thinks as any Konoha child, but this takes a drastic turn when his father sacrifices himself to save him. His father was, despite being ashamed of him, his World. The only person who loved him with everything, who showed him sweetness and tenderness in everything, he who took care of him as the most precious thing he had. In a place where everyone hated him and slowly began to change because Gai was useful to them, only his father loved him unconditionally, no matter what.

It is not specified how old Gai was when his father dies, but he can be placed after 11 and before 14, and that is possibly the source of what he is like; totally adhered to what his father was in an attempt to demonstrate that Maito Dai was a great man and shinobi through his legacy of the Eight Gates, his greatest and only technique. It is known that before he was 20 he had already acquired his title of the Blue Beast of Konoha, so it is accurate to say that he already knew how to open the Seventh Gate, at LESS THAN TWENTY YEARS OLD, the time it took his father to master the technique.

Gai's desire for death and his perspective of it is shown by his speech about Lee's highly risky surgery; If he can't live fully as a ninja, then he doesn't want to live. For him, Death is a price, the most precious coin that he is able to throw to prove something, to prove that he is worth something in a world where Death is common, where he was expected not to survive, much less prosper.

He lives life to the fullest, being his best person, enduring whatever it takes because he knows that his end, his death, when it happens, will show everyone that he was never weak, that he was incredibly powerful, and for someone who grew up being treated as the lowest scum except by his father, who ended up dying in a blaze of glory as an outcast, a death like that is the highest he can aspire to. For him, the only destiny is death, and the only way to prove his worth. And that's not fucked?

(And if you want to add another tragedy, possibly the Eighth Gate was a relief during the war because Gai's death cannot go unnoticed, hidden. Being someone who had so many limitations, being at a significant disadvantage, and being sent to war so young, where the majority are children or other young people who die anonymously, the Eight Gates were his way of establishing that no, he would not be killed, because he would kill himself first. Oh, now i know why he respected Kisame so much at the end.)

#maito gai #young maito gai #might guy #might gai #character analysis #character study #i guess?#rock lee #maito dai #might duy #naruto #just rambling #i love this man so much #he deserves everything #long post

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thisgirlnamedblusy · 4 months ago

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Hi, your writing is lovely and always make my day everyday :] can you please do this one if it's okay?

Donna visited the village to buy something and Angie ran off to play, stumbled on a village teacher (reader) who likes dolls but couldn't afford it when she was a kid, so instead of being scared of Angie, reader plays with her like she always does with the kids, her students.

Donna saw that and felt warm to see reader happily play with Angie, and she was too nervous to get Angie. Then reader and Donna met for the first time, and somehow it grows into a close relationship into a romantic one. But both stay in secret and only meet at nightime to avoid ugly rumors. They both don't like it to keep it a secret, especially Donna and it anxious her so much because she only meets reader briefly everyday.

Reader noticed the anxiety so one day she decided took the risk to visit on daytime but unfortunately, Donna is busy in her workshop, then reader made a surprise dinner with Angie help (ofc after she played with Angie (Angie demanded)) >:] and on the romantic dinner reader comfort Donna anxiety to ensure that she loves Donna as much and decided if Donna wants reader will visits more, to hell with rumors.

Also, ahem, if you're okay can you please close the romantic night with some steamy love making :3 TopReader and NO GP please :] (Donna needs to be loved more <3)

Yesss!!!! Thank you for your support and for your request!!! I hope you like it and sorry about the language mistakes!!! :)))))))

To teach how to love

Pairing: Donna Beneviento x Fem, village teacher! Reader

Warnings: smut, Minors DNI, fluff, insecurities, Donna being Donna

Word count: 8,715

Summary: To keep it in secret was a bad idea...

N/A: Sorry about the language mistakes!!! Requests are open!!! I'm waiting yours!!!I love you all!!!

“Miss (Y/N), if the Black Gods protect us, why do we need that amosphere?” the innocent boy asked.

You had to make a great effort not to roll your eyes visibly. Well, you couldn't blame them for thinking that way.

“Mm, that's true, Chris; the Black Gods protect us, but so does nature,” you said with a smile, leaning on the desk. “Just think what would happen if the atmosphere didn't exist,” you explained, emphasizing the word correctly. “The Black Gods wouldn't have anything to protect, because we wouldn't exist.”

“My mother says that the Gods are powerful, but they can't do everything for us,” another girl intervened.

“Yes, exactly, that's what I mean,” you said pleased, to which the boy nodded slowly.

“What nonsense,” another boy said. “The Gods are Gods, they can do everything. Even if that thing didn't exist, we could live thanks to their protection.”

“Igor…” you sighed, shaking your head. “If there's no atmosphere, there's no life, no matter what the Gods do.”

“Yes, they'd probably get bored because there'd be no one to help,” said girl another, swinging her legs innocently. “Listen to the teacher.”

“Oh, okay…” the boy said, head down.

“Okay, if there are no more questions…” you said, looking at the clock again. “I think you're all looking forward to going home and…”

“Hey, you! I have a question!” a shrill voice caught your attention, making you frown. You certainly didn't recognize that voice, and that lack of manners.

You turned quickly, looking at the class, who froze, staring at one of the desks where a doll stood, a sinister, living one.

“Ahhh, it's Angie!” a little girl shouted, making the doll laugh.

“Boo!” the puppet shrieked, waving at the children, who screamed, fleeing the classroom in terror. “Run, run, I'm hungry!” the doll mocked, pretending to chase your students.

You approached slowly, not scared, but curious.

You were born in that place, in that village. You knew that your life wasn’t yours and that it never was. The Black Gods, the Lords, Mother Miranda… That inevitable darkness surrounded you for as long as you could remember, but you always knew how to adapt.

Your family was never blessed by the Gods, they never, despite being faithful devotees, obtained the grace of those deities. Always poor, humble but good-hearted, your parents survived as best they could.

You were never a special girl, apart from your obsession with reading and knowledge, things that your father saw as a waste of time, as something that would not contribute. Unfortunately, your parents left you before realizing they were wrong.

That desire to learn, to know everything, led you to, at the young age of 22, being chosen by the village as an important person, as the right girl for the younger ones to learn something about life.

Teaching became your passion, the only thing that made you smile in that world of shadows. Your students were the most important thing to you, and you did everything possible to make them forget, for a moment, the hopeless place they were in.

But that was a much more complicated task than making them understand that the Earth revolved around the sun, and not around the Black Gods. Luckily, education and culture were something that Mother Miranda valued enough to let you do your job in peace.

Idolized but respected, the Lords always stayed away from your work, you doubted they even knew of your existence. Of course, a living doll, belonging to the youngest, most mysterious Lord, Donna Beneviento, was a terrifying thing for those poor children. You couldn't blame them for running away.

“Angie?” you asked curiously, without any fear. No, that doll didn't generate fear or a survival instinct in you. You always found it curious. You saw in it a part of yourself that you thought you had forgotten.

However, seeing the puppet that close was something strange.

“Great Angie for you, silly,” the doll said, pointing at you disrespectfully.

“Yes, yes,” you murmured, approaching slowly. “Hey, what are you doing here?” you asked, taking the opportunity to observe that curious doll closely.

“Silly Donna came to the village to buy… Well, I don't remember what, but the fact is that I was bored and I looked out the window and what a coincidence, a bunch of children to scare appeared in front of me. I couldn't waste that opportunity,” Angie explained, speaking naturally.

That doll reminded you of other times, times when you admired those beautiful porcelain dolls that Lady Beneviento made.

“It's not right to scare children, Angie,” you said with a relaxed smile, with the same expression with which you educated your students.

“Oh, you dare to question me, commoner?” the doll mocked, climbing onto a table and putting her hands on her hips.

You couldn't help but laugh and shake your head.

“I would never think of that,” you sighed, watching with curiosity as the puppet climbed onto your desk, shuffling through your papers. “Hey, be careful with that.”

“So you're a teacher, huh?” Angie asked in the same mocking tone, looking at the books.

“Uh-huh,” you said nodding, trying not to let the doll mess everything up.

“Donna didn't like lessons, they said they were boring,” the puppet murmured, making you raise your eyebrows.

“Oh, really?” you asked, taking advantage of the situation. You were always curious about that dark lady in black. “She seems like a very cultured woman.”

“She is, stupid,” the puppet snapped at you. “She just didn't like her boring lessons. Are you boring too?”

“Me?” you said amused, pointing at yourself. “Well, I don't think so…”

“All teachers are boring… They give you homework…” the doll whispered with an amused tone.

“Well, not me, I prefer that the children enjoy their free time, if they have it,” you explained, crossing your arms, not the least bit scared by the doll's presence.

“Oooh,” Angie hummed, staring at you. “So you're not boring? Do you like to play?”

“The truth is that playing is how children learn best,” you said, tilting your head.

“Oh, oh, then play with me, silly,” Angie said excitedly, tugging at your dress. “Or are you lying to me and you're boring?”

“Mm, what do you want to play?” you asked amused.

Playing with a living doll… Well, that wasn't how you expected the day to go, but nostalgia and your maternal side prevailed over the terrifying logic.

“Hide and seek! I hide, you look for me,” the doll said, getting down from the desk with a sinister laugh. “Come on, silly, come on! The game has already started!”

You had a really fun time, playing look for that doll, with a smile on your face for seeing one of your childhood dreams come true, being able to play with dolls.

It seemed silly, it seemed like it really didn't matter, but for you it did, and a lot. Your family's poverty deprived you of those little fun moments, of having an inanimate companion who was always with you.

“Where are you?” you asked, amused, bending down to look for the puppet under the desks after a while of humiliating defeats. “Hey, you're good...”

“Of course I am!” the doll shouted, giving away her position.

“There you are!” you said, crawling under a table but freezing before getting up.

A black dress appeared in front of you like a silent intruder, one you hadn't seen. Your blood stopped as you looked up and saw the owner of that doll standing in front of you; the dark lady, the doll maker, Donna Beneviento.

“Oh, um...” you stammered nervously, standing quickly and hitting your head on the table clumsily. “Ow! L-Lady Beneviento,” you sighed, getting up in the most dignified way possible, rubbing your bruised head.

The lady didn’t say anything, she simply looked at you through her black veil. She looked like a ghost, she barely moved. What you were sure of was that her eyes were fixed on you.

“H-Hello…” you stammered, your face flushed with embarrassment. “Um…”

“Donna, Donna!” the doll shrieked, coming out of her hiding place and approaching the lady, who picked her up in her arms. “I’ve been playing with that fool.”

“Yes, um… She snuck into the classroom and…” you explained nervously. You had never had a Lord close. Seeing her in the village wasn’t something common.

“I'm sorry, she bothered you,” a hoarse voice came from behind the black veil, a dark, melodic voice, one you had never heard before.

“Hey! I never bother, silly Donna!” the doll protested, fidgeting in her arms.

“Taci,” the lady whispered in a barely audible voice.

“She's right, Lady Beneviento, we've, we've been playing,” you explained nervously, with a fake smile that hid the trembling of your body.

It was true that no one in the village knew that mysterious woman well but you had heard rumors and none especially good.

You knew she was dangerous, that her mind was sick, that anyone who dared to enter her territory would disappear forever. You prayed that the Gods would have mercy, so that you wouldn't suffer punishment for your audacity.

“Playing?” she asked, moving to control the overexcited doll, who was laughing amusedly.

“Yes, well…” you said with a sigh, moving away from that uncomfortable proximity. “I'm used to play with my students.”

“Mm,” she murmured, nodding slowly.

“Um…” you said, looking with your eyes for something to get out of that situation. You were unable to tell if you were in danger, and that scared you. “I-I…”

The lady remained silent again, slowly turning around and walking towards the exit with an elegant step.

“It was funny, silly!” Angie shrieked, leaning over her owner’s shoulder and waving her arm in farewell. “Hey, hey! What’s your name?”

“(Y/N),” you said pleasantly, sighing in relief because apparently, the danger had passed.

“See you, (Y/N)!” the doll said, before disappearing irremediably from your sight.

“See you,” you said with a smile, calming yourself down.

It had been a different day at least, the routine was very reluctant to abandon you, but it returned as soon as you left the school, starting the way back to your humble cabin.

A hot bath, a bit of reading… It all seemed tedious and boring but for you it was reassuring, it was the sign that the Black Gods had taken pity on you one more day. Your solitude wasn’t uncomfortable, it was rather a refuge.

Being surrounded by children was a striking contrast to the eternal silence of your home but you liked that contradiction. You couldn't imagine living any other way.

The next day seemed normal, it seemed that the difference from the day before, that little adventure with the Angie doll would simply be an exception in your life, but when the time to say goodbye to your students came, you realized that it wasn't like that.

The puppet returned with its insatiable desire to play with you. As long as there was no trace of its owner, everything was fine. That woman gave you the creeps.

Your encounters with the lady in black were brief and silent. Oh, sure, those visits had slowly become a new part of your routine. Sometimes you even went out later to see if the doll would show up.

A strange change in your life, but one you were grateful for. At least you wouldn't be alone for so long. At least you could play with a doll, something you could never do when you were a child.

“Today we played riddles,” explained Angie when her nervous owner appeared to pick her up.

It seemed that this new routine was not exactly pleasant for Lady Beneviento, but little by little, you got used to her presence.

“Yes, we tried, at least, don't be offended, but your doll is quite tricky,” you commented amused, with a cautious smile.

“Mm,” the lady in black murmured.

Since the first day the doll appeared, you hadn't heard a word from the lady again, something that didn't surprise you, but that made you slightly uncomfortable.

“Well, I think I deserve a break…” you sighed after a particularly hectic day. “The kids have worn me out.”

“Angie too!” the doll added, to which you nodded.

“Yes, you too,” you said amused.

“It seems you're good at dealing with children,” the lady in black commented, making you blink in confusion.

The black veil prevented you from seeing her face, from knowing if it was really her who had spoken.

“Yes, well… I, I like being a teacher,” you said with a somewhat broken voice as you picked up your bag.

“I hate teachers,” the woman said in a low tone that made you shiver.

“Oh, why is that?” you asked, letting curiosity get the better of you.

Donna shrugged, leaving her doll in the ground.

“You always think you know everything, don't you? That a child is an idiot who has to spend half its life doing stupid calculations,” the lady said, making you frown.

“Oh, well… I… I try not to be like that,” you said with a fearful whisper, putting your bag on your shoulders. “I don't force them to try harder than they can.”

“Mm,” she murmured, with an elegant pose. “Do you also hit children who don’t do their homework on time?”

“What? Of course I don’t,” you said, horrified by that insinuation. “Excuse me, Lady Beneviento but… Don’t say such things about me. I would never dream of laying a hand on a child.”

“Mm,” she murmured again, with a vague nod.

“Did you have a teacher like that?” you asked without thinking, wanting to know more about the lady's aversion to your profession.

“Mr. Hill. My parents hired him as a personal tutor when I was little,” she explained, pushing away the doll, which was impatiently tugging at her black dress. “Angie…”

“A personal tutor? That’s quite a luxury,” you commented with a false smile.

“No,” she said dryly. “It was torture.”

“Oh, I… I'm sorry, I'm sorry to hear that, my lady,” you said kindly, with an understanding face. “I try to make them learn by playing, so no child thinks learning is boring, do you understand?”

“Mm, you're different then,” she whispered turning on her heels, ready to leave, much to your relief.

“If it's a compliment… Thank you,” you said, sighing, following her closely out of the school. “Anyway, I think I'll go back home… Dorian Gray is waiting for me…”

The lady stopped, glancing at you out of the corner of her eye as she took the doll in her arms.

“Dorian Gray?” she asked suddenly. “Do you like Oscar Wilde?”

“Can you even read, silly?” Angie asked amused. You couldn't help but laugh.

“Of course I can read, I love to do it,” you said, stopping your steps next to the lady in black, who seemed to be looking at you with interest. “Although to tell the truth I have read that book hundreds of times, but I always have to imagine the ending.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?” Donna asked curiously, stopping a few steps ahead.

“W-Well I… The, the truth is that the book I have is… It’s not full,” you explained embarrassed. “It belonged to my parents and… Well, it was torn and I never knew the ending.”

“Hey, hey, hey, hey, Donna!” Angie interrupted. “You have that book at home!”

The lady sighed, trying to silence the doll.

“Mm, would you like to know the ending?” she asked, with a strange tremor in her hands.

You, confused, nodded.

“Come with me,” the lady whispered, turning again for you to follow her.

You walked in silence, crossing the forest, a part of the village that was completely unknown to you. Lady Beneviento's lands were dangerous and you knew it. Still, you were intrigued, following closely the black figure that apparently had not the slightest interest in you.

After walking for a while, the old estate rose before your eyes, with that imposing waterfall at its side.

Unwillingly, you wondered how long you could stay there, if you would ever return to your humble cabin. Rumors came back to your head; you knew that everyone who entered never left.

“Wait here,” the lady ordered you once inside the mansion, where your eyes were fixed on the cracks of the wood, on the darkness and sadness that emanated from that place.

“Wait here!” Angie shrieked, already on the floor, walking next to the lady.

You nodded slowly, looking around the room, stopping at the stairs, at that portrait hanging on the wall. It was a portrait of a really beautiful woman holding the irreverent Angie. The doll, that dress… It couldn't be anyone else, it was Donna, you were sure.

Why would such a beautiful woman cover herself? Why the black veil? Why is she so pretty? Stupid questions like that began to echo in your mind.

“Here,” the lady whispered, interrupting those ramblings and handing you a book that seemed new but at the same time old: The Portrait of Dorian Gray.

“Oh, wow, th-thank you, my lady, um, that's nice,” you said smiling and taking the book in your hands. “It wasn't necessary…”

“Think of it as compensation for distracting Angie,” she whispered, clasping her hands in front of her body.

“I don't need any compensation,” you said with a sincere smile. “I always wanted to play with dolls,” you said without thinking too much, letting yourself be carried away by those perfect pages, so different from your worn-out books.

When you realized, you looked up, your cheeks flushed by the childish and simple way in which that statement of your most private feelings was stated.

A strange laugh came out from the black veil, a shy and funny laugh that immediately caught your attention.

“Aren’t you old to play with dolls?” the lady asked amused, to which you scratched the back of your neck confused, thinking how to fix that mess.

“Yes, well…” you murmured. “I, the truth is that I could never do it.”

“Why?” she asked abruptly, something that even startled you.

“My, my parents never had money to buy me a doll,” you said with a sincere voice, closing the book and putting it under your arm, remembering difficult times. “We were quite poor.”

“Mm, I understand,” she said nodding slightly, with that same elegant pose.

“Yes, I… Um, well, it will be, it will be better if I go back home and…” you said, turning around and suddenly getting scared by a terrible thunder that shook the walls of the old mansion.

“What a scare, silly!” Angie mocked, laughing outrageously while you looked out the window at how the sky seemed furious, throwing a terrible curtain of water against the ground.

“Oh, wow…” you sighed angrily at having to walk in the rain. “Well, I hope I don't get too wet.”

“Wait,” the lady interrupted, roughly grabbing your wrist “Don't be stupid, if you go out now you'll ruin my book,” she said with a growl

“Yes, it's true, I…” you murmured nervously. “Um, I…”

“Stop babbling and come with me,” Donna told you, gesturing with her head for you to follow her. “I hope you like tea.”

“Tea? Oh, yes of course,” you said nodding with a polite smile, accompanying the lady in black.

The last thing you expected was to be having tea in silence with a Lord, with that Lord. The sound of the rain hit the windows as if it were inducing a conversation that took a long time to exist.

That was the first day of many more, of more visits to the Beneviento estate, to silent conversations, books, smiles…

It was an unspoken pact, visits that you made automatically, that she made automatically. Little by little, that cold relationship warmed up, turning into a close one, a strange one but one that you found pleasant.

Donna wasn’t like the rumors said. She was a dark woman, yes, disturbed but… She was a kind woman in her own way, polite, curious and terribly intelligent. That little friendship grew thanks to your moments of fun with Angie, thanks to Dorian Gray and that storm.

The visits were more and more frequent, your stays were longer and longer, even one night, one in which time seemed to pass faster than usual, you stayed to have dinner with her, she invited you to try her cooking, which was terribly good for a fearful Lord.

“Just for that he deserved to pass,” you commented amused, telling one of your hundreds of anecdotes with your students.

“Planet Miranda? It seems very bold,” the lady in black said, sipping discreetly from her wine glass. “Miranda is a Uranus’ moon, not a planet.”

“Yes, I know, that's why it's funny,” you said, looking down so as not to see directly the part of her face she uncovered. “The boy thought that if Mother Miranda was so powerful, she deserved a higher status than a simple moon.”

“I see,” she murmured, leaning back in her chair. “Children are amazing, aren't they?”

“Of course,” you said nodding, wiping yourself with a napkin. “They have an enviable imagination.”

“Mm,” the lady gestured, looking down. “My sister used to say that the stars were the Black Gods’ eyes, that you couldn't do anything wrong without their light giving you away.”

“Oh, I didn't know you had a…” you said frowning.

“She's dead,” Donna snapped, her voice harsh, slamming a tightly clenched fist on the table, forcing you to look down again.

“Oh, I'm, I'm sorry,” you said in a soft tone, regretting your words. “I didn't know.”

“It's not your fault,” she said, sighing, trying to reassure herself. “I hope dinner was to your liking.”

“Yes, it was delicious, my lady,” you said, glad to have changed the subject before her nerves, her problems, forced you to leave early. “I didn't know you could cook that well.”

“My mother taught me,” the lady commented, finishing her glass of wine. “She's dead too.”

“I'm, I'm sorry, my lady,” you said nervously, trying to get up, something that surprised your hostess. “I'd better get back home.”

“Are you leaving now? Don’t...? Don't you want to stay a bit longer?” she asked, abruptly getting up from the table, with an inquisitive tone.

“Stay, silly!” Angie demanded. “Let's play!”

“I would love to, Angie, but I have to go… Tomorrow is a school day,” you said in a kind tone, walking through the mansion towards your coat.

“Wait, please,” Donna said, approaching slowly with a voice that sounded almost desperate.

You didn't want to leave but it was true that you had to get up early. Her warm hand on your wrist made you stop dead and tremble. Your feelings had long been confused, feelings towards Donna Beneviento.

“My lady…” you sighed, letting yourself be caressed by that soft hand, letting your body turn with her grip.

“I have, I have something for you,” she murmured, motioning for Angie to bring something, something incredible.

The puppet appeared, jumping with what looked like a porcelain doll in her arms, a doll that Angie handed to the lady, who handed it to you.

“What…?” you asked, looking at that beautiful doll, the details of its clothes and the miniature book it was holding. “Wow…”

“It's you,” Donna said, pointing at the hair of the doll, which was identical to yours. “Y-You told me you'd never had a doll so…”

“Is it for me? Really?” you said excitedly, to which the lady nodded with that same shy laugh. “Oh, thank you, thank you…” you whispered, jumping on the floor and throwing yourself into Donna's arms, hugging her carelessly.

“Lasciami, lasciami,” the doll maker protested, pushing you away from her.

You obeyed smiling, nervous about what you had just done, even regretful.

“I'm sorry, I got emotional, my lady,” you said in an apologetic tone while she put on the veil that you messed up.

“Donna,” she said dryly.

“Donna,” you repeated bowing slightly, holding the doll firmly.

There was a moment of silence, one in which your breathing was dangerously agitated for no apparent reason.

“Ahem,” Donna was the one who interrupted that moment, that intense look between the two of you. “W-Well... Um... Did you like the end of the book?”

“Oh, the book, yes, yes of course,” you said nervously, looking unintentionally at the portrait on the wall, one that you always looked at, one you had been fantasizing about for some time. “It's a…Terrifying story....”

“What are you looking at?” she asked, apparently annoyed by your indiscreet gaze. “Do you think I'm like Dorian Gray?”

“No, no, I'm sorry, I just…” you said, apologizing, stepping back when the lady walked slowly towards you. “Besides, that portrait is beautiful and…”

“I'm afraid that reality differs from that book, (Y/N),” the lady whispered nervously, playing with her hands. “The monster doesn't reside in the painting, but in me.”

“But, but…” you stammered. “I don't think you're a monster, Donna.”

“That's because you haven't seen my face,” she said with a sad voice. “I didn't make a pact with the devil, but I have paid the consequences.”

“I, I would like to see it,” you said without thinking, undoubtedly attracted by this mysterious lady, putting your feelings in order, confessing to yourself that you liked her, that you felt something more than friendship, a truth that you had been hopelessly struggling with for some time.

“You wouldn't like it,” she said, lowering her head, tightly squeezing her hands together. “You would never want to come here again.”

“Wait, silly, I'll help you!” Angie interrupted, comically climbing up her owner and snatching the veil from her face, making her gasp nervously.

“Angie!” Donna shrieked furiously, turning around and trying to catch the puppet, without success. “Basta, Angie!”

You approached slowly, putting a hand on the shoulder of the woman with newly discovered black hair.

“Don't come closer,” she said, pulling away abruptly. “Don't look at me!”

“Donna, wait,” you said softly, moving away the hands that nervously covered her face, discovering her bright eye, the resemblance to the portrait, the injustice of that painting with her unmatched beauty.

A horrible scar occupied the right side of her face, but that wasn’t enough reason to turn away, to stop seeing that mysterious woman as the most beautiful woman you had ever met.

“Don’t… Don't look at me,” the lady sobbed, breaking away from your grip. “Per favore…”

“I couldn't stop looking at you,” you sighed, automatically bringing a hand to her cheek, letting your body act on its own, letting your heart recognize the love you felt for her, an unexpected, but inevitable love.

“(Y/N), I…” the doll maker murmured calmer due to your caresses. “I-I understand you're going to leave, that you're never coming back, but, but I want you to know that... That your caresses feel very... Very good,” she said, distracted by your fingers on her skin, as if she really was so nervous that she didn't know what to say.

You smiled tenderly, making real eye contact for the first time, with the sparkle in her eye matching yours.

“I like to caress you…” you whispered, getting closer and closer, letting a strange atmosphere envelop you before closing your eyes, getting even closer and brushing your lips against hers, which parted in surprise.

“I'd like to kiss you,” Donna whispered, with a marked accent, with her hands traveling to your waist. There were no dolls, there was no mansion. There was only Donna and you.

“I wish you would,” you whispered, finally placing your lips on hers, kissing the lady slowly, letting yourself be carried away by the sensation of her soft lips against yours in a slow, chaste and pure kiss.

The kiss lasted in time, remained almost frozen. The subtle movements of her lips caressed you, tickled your skin. There were no words, only silence interrupted by the slow and wet sound of those exploratory, curious and warm kisses.

Your heads turned, leaned, played at capturing your lips while your hand passed through her skin, through her hair. It was a shy and silent dance but... It was the best of your life.

The glances returned before your closed eyes again, eager for more kisses, for more caresses.

“Ugh, finally!” Angie shouted, interrupting the kiss that seemed infinite, making you separate slowly, without stopping to look at each other. “The tension was going to kill me.”

That was the first time you saw her beautiful smile, her lips curved upwards, her intense, seductive gaze… There was no doubt, you were madly in love with Donna Beneviento and, incredibly, she seemed to feel the same.

“(Y/N)… I…” she murmured, with a distracted look, pulling you even closer to her, tucking a lock of hair behind your ear. “Sono pazza di te”

“If, if that means you love me I… Donna, I… Me too,” you murmured, not resisting the temptation to kiss her, to feel those lips caressing yours again, exploring every inch of her skin, without fear, without knowing who she was or what could happen to you.

She wasn’t a Lord. She wasn’t a dangerous woman… She was Donna, simply Donna.

“This, this may seem old-fashioned to you but…” the lady said, moving away from your increasingly intense, wilder kisses. “I, I would like you to be… To be my girlfriend.”

“Donna,” you said with a wide smile, lifting her chin which the lady lowered in embarrassment. “Yes, I want to be…”

And so, after a while being something more than friends, something more than clueless lovers, your relationship began.

It wasn’t a relationship like the ones you had before. It had nothing to do with stupid, uneducated girls. No, Donna was very different from any past experience. She was tender, sweet, affectionate… Quite the opposite of the rumors.

Her shyness contrasted with the fear she generated in the villagers, but you found her adorable. Her kisses were tireless, the words, the whispers of love always bathed your ears, you couldn't escape them, but you couldn't do it either.

The moments, the dinners at the mansion were the best part of your life. The worst, without a doubt, was the moment of returning to your lonely and dark cabin.

Donna was a Lord, an unquestionable authority in the village. Everyone feared her, your students feared and respected her, the villagers trembled just by hearing her name. You, in some way, were also respected. You were the village teacher, the one who molded those little minds, the one who filled them with knowledge.

You were never a fan of unpleasant rumors, of the whispered comments of mothers during mass. That, together with an irrational fear of being discovered, made Donna and you hide your relationship, reducing it to brief moments, to discreet nocturnal escapades.

At first that was enough for both of you. Your love grew even in those brief moments, it didn’t fade. It remained strong and deep. Over time, that situation stopped being pleasant.

It stopped being an escape of your routine to become a small torture, a small taste of paradise that, every night, disappeared with the cruel sound of the clock.

“Hey, I'm not done,” you joked, settling on Donna's chest while you read together, after one of the endless romantic dinners she prepared for you.

“I'm sorry, tesoro,” the lady apologized, kissing your hair tenderly, turning to the previous page. “That’s my favorite part.”

“Mm, then you've already read it,” you said with a frown, looking up, wishing that her beautiful eye would match yours and that her smile would illuminate your darkness again.

“Maybe I did,” she said amused, moving your face to bring it closer to hers, to kiss you softly, a kiss that you didn't want to let go, that you kept until she had no choice but to let the book go so she could caress you.

“I love your kisses...” you whispered, running away from her affection in a playful way, running away from the shy laugh that came from her lips. “Donna…”

The clock, which had become your worst enemy, interrupted that endless session of kisses and caresses, making you slowly get up.

“I'm, I'm sorry, Donna, but it's late, I have to go,” you said with a sad look, kissing the back of her hand and getting up from the sofa.

“I hate it…” she hissed, with a dark look, pulling her hand away from yours abruptly. “I hate when you're leaving…”

“Oh, my love… I'm sorry, but it's just that…” you said, embarrassed by your haste, while you put on your coat. “It's, it's complicated.”

“Yes, it seems that way…” she whispered, shaking her head. “Will you come back?”

“Of course I'll come back, my love…” you said with a sincere smile, calming with a caress the trembling of her hands, one that was becoming more and more frequent when you left. “Donna, calm down…”

“One day you won't and… You'll kill me…” she whispered nervously, breathing with difficulty. “You, you won't come back…”

“Hey, shhh, my love… Breathe, calm down… Don’t, don't do that,” you said nervously, holding her wrists, which were going straight to pull her hair. “A-Angie…”

“I'm coming!” the doll said, suddenly jumping onto the sofa and calming the lady, who was moving around with a lost look. “Hey, Donna, let her go, she has to go.”

“No, no, no…” the lady repeated, grabbing your wrists, digging her nails painfully into your skin. “Don't leave me…”

“Shhh, Donna, I'm not going to leave you,” you said softly, breaking free from her grip. “Honey… My love…”

“Leave now, (Y/N), I'll take care of this,” Angie said, pointing to the door with her hand. “Donna, silly Donna, look at me, look at me.”

With your heart wounded, you finally left the mansion. The situation was certainly starting to get too complicated. The brunette's crises were getting more intense, more dangerous. Her fear of losing you was growing little by little with each night you left. You would have to rethink many things...

“Have you read it yet, Katia?” you asked the next day, in one of your classes, receiving the book from a girl. “It's a complicated read.”

“Yes,” the girl said smiling. “But it's very sad.”

“Mm, well, Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy,” you commented, putting the book away in a drawer. “I'm sure you have many questions.”

“I don't understand why they couldn't be together,” the curious girl said, making you pay attention to her. “Okay, the families hated each other but... It's just that if they could have been together they wouldn't have died...”

“Yes, you're right,” you said amused, crossing your arms.

“You know what, Miss? If someone loved me as much as Romeo, I wouldn't care what they said,” the girl commented, making you raise your eyebrows. “Love is the most important thing of all, isn't it?”

That innocent phrase from such a little girl penetrated your mind intensely, making you remember each of the moments you spent with Donna, each of her kisses, her words of love.

That girl was right. Love was the only thing that mattered. Donna's crises were getting worse and her anxiety was unbearable for her. There was no point in making her suffer, making her believe that you wanted to abandon her every night because of what the villagers would say.

Let them say whatever they wanted. You loved each other and that was what was really important, besides, who would dare to question a Lord?

“Katia, you've made me think,” you said nodding, slowly getting up. “Children! Class is over now!”

Of course, your students responded to your words with shouts of joy, as they left the classroom with you.

Visiting your girlfriend during the day was a refreshing novelty. You wanted to tell her so many things, to apologize for the fear of being discovered, to tell her that you would like to love her every day, every hour…

“Donna?” you asked as you entered the dark mansion, looking for the lady with a smile, while you bit your lip. “Honey, it's me…”

“What are you doing here at this hour?” Angie asked, appearing in the hallway.

“Oh, hi,” you said bending down to affectionately caress the doll, who laughed amusedly. “I've come to see Donna, I have to talk to her, where is she?”

“Donna? Oh, well…” the puppet murmured, with an exaggerated thoughtful look. “She's in the workshop, working on her dolls.”

“How is she?” you asked in a lower tone. “Were you able to deal with her… Crisis?”

“Sure, that's a piece of cake for me,” Angie said, proudly. “Do you want me to take you to her?”

“Wait, wait, on second thought… Donna concentrates a lot when she works, doesn't she?” you said, with a new idea in your mind.

“Oh, yes…” the doll murmured amused. “There could be an earthquake and she wouldn't notice.”

“Mm,” you murmured thoughtfully. “I have an idea, but I need your help.”

“My help? Do I look like I want to help you?” Angie mocked, with her hands comically on her hips.

“I don't know, do you want to help me?” you asked curiously, searching your head for the best way to execute your plan.

“That depends, silly…” Angie said, acting interesting. “It depends on how much you want to play with me.”

“I'll play with you as always, Angie,” you said amused. “Even more if you help me.”

“Oh, hide-and-seek marathon?” the puppet asked, jumping for joy. “I warn you that I never get tired.”

“I already know that, but you have to help me,” you said satisfied with the answer. “I thought that since Donna is busy with her dolls… Well, I could prepare a surprise dinner for her, what do you think?”

“Do you even know how to cook?” she asked in a mocking tone.

You rolled your eyes, motioning for her to lower her voice.

“Of course I know, and very well, in fact,” you said proudly. “Do you think Donna will like the surprise?”

“Why don't you ask her?”

“Because it's… A surprise,” you whispered, laughing, with a tender look.

“Of course, it's true…” Angie sighed. “Silly cheesy girl…”

“Will you help me?” you asked, clasping your hands together with a pleading look.

“Mm… Okay,” the doll finally said, walking away from you.

“That easy?” you asked, confused by the puppet's receptive attitude.

“No, no, not easy at all…” she mocked. “It's your turn to count, silly! The game begins!”

“But, but…” you said, stammering. “I have a lot of things to do and…”

“Oh, rejection, huh?” Angie mocked, approaching a hallway. “Donna, the silly has come and says that…!”

You ran towards her nervously.

“Shh, hey, shut up,” you said, kicking the ground in protest. “Don't shout.”

“Then play, silly teacher… My help has a price,” the doll demanded of you, with a petulant pose.

“Okay…” you sighed, defeated.

You couldn't say how many hours you spent playing with the doll. It was true that you enjoyed spending time with Angie, that the feeling of childhood was rekindled when you laughed and played with her, but on that occasion your eyes always went to the clock, unlike on your other visits.

Luckily, Angie seemed to take pity on you, finally guiding you to the kitchen, where you began to prepare that surprise discreetly. The kitchen was in the basement and that was risky, you didn't know if Donna would show up.

Angie kept her end of the deal, leaving you alone to distract her owner from the aroma that started to come from the old kitchen.

“The candles…” you said when you were finally finished, placing everything perfectly on the table, waiting for the lady to appear. “There, what do you think?”

“Cheesy…” Angie murmured, staring mesmerized at the flame you lit.

“Well, then it's perfect,” you said winking at the doll, who shook her head with a tired grunt.

“Angie!” a furious scream came from the dark hallway, along with the hurried sound of heels on wood. Donna. “Angie, (Y/N) hasn't come, I told you she would leave me!” she shrieked furiously, walking towards the living room.

The lady entered quickly and after a furious gasp she looked up, seeing you standing by the table, with a tender smile.

“(Y/N)…” the brunette sighed, blinking confused. “What are you…? What?”

“Hi, honey… Surprise,” you said amused, approaching the lady to kiss her quickly and gently push her by the waist. “Do you like it?”

“What is this?” she asked, shaking her head and gaping at you as you helped her sit down. “I-I thought you weren't coming…”

“I've actually been here since this afternoon,” you said amused. “I was going to tell you but it occurred to me that it was much better to prepare a romantic surprise dinner for you…”

“A romantic dinner? For me?” the lady said smiling innocently, admiring every detail you put on the table. “Did you cook it?”

“Of course,” you said proudly, serving her a glass of wine. “I wanted to talk to you, Donna and, well, I took the opportunity to give you a surprise.”

“This is wonderful, (Y/N)… Gods… I love you,” she said, excited like you had never seen her before. “Um, what…? What do you want to talk about?”

“Shhh, let's have dinner first, it's going to get cold…” you sighed romantically, winking at her.

It didn't matter how many times you had dinner with her, each one was different, terribly romantic, but that night… That night there was something different in the atmosphere, something you wanted to tell her, something important.

“It was delicious, amore mio…” the lady sighed, wiping herself with a napkin, without letting your hand go. “It was an incredible surprise.”

“Thank you, darling,” you said pleased, caressing her hand, staring at her with your gaze. “Donna, I have something to tell you.”

“Oh, yes, certo… T-Tell me what you wanted to talk about, tesoro,” she said visibly nervous because of the apparent seriousness of your words.

“I've been thinking and… Well, I wanted to tell you that it hurts me too to leave,” you said stammering unintentionally, playing with your glass of wine. “I enjoy being with you very much, I love you and… And I think I've been stupid.”

“You're not stupid. I'm the one who has to apologize. You see, it's just that… I've never been in love and… Well, I'm afraid of losing you, that's why it hurts me so much when you're leaving.”

“I know,” you said in an understanding tone.

“I behaved terribly with you yesterday, I scared you and I'm sorry,” she said, head down, playing with her sweaty hands. “I understand that you have your reasons for wanting to hide what we have.”

“No, listen to me Donna, that's precisely what I want to tell you, I...” you whispered, fixing her gaze again, interrupting her absurd apologies. “I don't want to be vulgar but... Screw the rumors.”

Donna was surprised by your comment and laughed tenderly but confusedly.

“What do you mean, tesoro?”

“Well, I mean... I don't care what they say, I want to spend a lot more time with you and, I don't know, I could, I could even stay one night to sleep and...”

“Or every night,” she said, interrupting you with a cold look, blinking erratically.

“Well, I...” you stammered, surprised by the proposal, one for which you already had an answer.

“Come, I want to dance,” she said, excited, standing up and gently taking your hand.

“Oh, how chivalrous,” you said blushing, letting yourself be carried away by her grip. She smiled, kissing you slowly and pulling you towards the middle of the room.

“I can't be any other way, tesoro... You drive me crazy...” the lady whispered, gently grabbing your waist. “Angie, put on some music, will you?”

The doll obeyed grumbling, and your bodies began to dance to the sound of a soft and romantic melody.

Your smiles were sincere. Your eyes were full of love. For the first time your eyes forgot about the time, about the clock, they only looked at hers, your hands were not hurried, but slowly enjoyed her caresses, the romantic dance of your bodies together, a dance that you didn't want to end.

That damn clock struck the hour, forcing you to slowly separate. The music had stopped playing for a while.

“I-I guess you'll have to go,” Donna whispered, playing with your hands, her eye sad.

“No, not tonight, my love… Tonight I want… I want to stay with you,” you whispered, kissing her cheek. “If it's okay with you…”

“Do you want to sleep with me? I mean, do you want to stay with me tonight? In my bed?” she asked nervously, trying to control her language.

“Yes,” you said seductively, taking her hand. “Lead me, darling…”

Slowly, silently, you went down to the bedroom with the lady in black who, apparently, seemed nervous. You could understand why, but you didn't want to ask her.

“It looks comfortable,” you said, pointing at the bed, making the trembling brunette look at the piece of furniture out of the corner of her eye.

“Oh yes, it is, it is comfortable,” Donna said confused as you sat down, hitting the mattress with your hand. “Um, (Y/N)…” she said without looking at you, sitting next to you. “I, I…”

“What's wrong, my love? You're shaking,” you said with a soft voice, fixing her hair and guiding her face so she looked at you.

“I, I would like… I would like… Oh, cazzo…” she stammered, bringing her hand to her eye, embarrassed by the clumsiness of her words. “(Y/N), I…”

“Do you want to make love, darling?” you asked with a seductive voice, already an expert in interpreting her gestures. “I would love to…”

“Yes,” she said with a slight movement of her head. “But I…I have never, never…”

“Shhh, that doesn't matter, Donna…” you said, taking her hands, calming her trembling with your caresses. “If that's what you want…”

“Yes, it's what I want,” the lady said, as if she was forcing herself to recognize that desire, the one that had never run through your bodies during your short visits.

“Then lie down, my Donna…” you whispered, pushing the lady against the mattress as you climbed up her body.

The kisses changed. Your body danced on top of hers as you refused to leave her lips. Her hands soon joined those rhythmic and trembling movements. The sighs came from her lips, impregnating yours with a repressed and fearful desire that deepened the kisses, the caresses...

“Donna...” you whispered as you changed your target, kissing her neck softly but intensely, engraving your teeth on her skin while your hand went down her chest, tracing the perfect shape of her clothed body.

“(Y/N), I, I love you,” she said, unsure, watching how your hands enjoyed the softness of her skin, how your impatient fingers untied one by one the buttons of her dress under her fearful gaze.

“Me too, my love...” you whispered, sinking back into her lips, distracting the brunette's worries with your insatiable kisses, with the wet contact of your tongue on hers while your indecent hand ran over her chest, removing the horrible black fabric that hid her beauty.

Her hands were chaste, respectful, content to caress your face, your back, not wanting to desecrate what was sacred to her, not wanting to become a hot mess, like you already were.

The sleeves disappeared from her arms at the same time as your dress slid off your shoulders. Her bare skin reacted to the caresses of your fingers as your palms brushed against her covered breasts.

The dance of your bodies continued slowly, your ardent hips swinging, causing confused gasps from the lady, satisfied moans from your lips, which refused to leave hers.

Finally the softness of her hands reached your chest, the fear of touching you disappeared with each caress on your body, with each response from your eager skin. Her eye was fixed on each part you discovered, on your breasts uncovered with a quick movement, just like hers.

The skin-to-skin contact was increasingly intense. The clothes stopped being a barrier. They slowly disappeared among kisses, whispers and caresses. The brunette's nails ran down your back while your lips went down her neck, down her collarbone, kissing every inch of pale skin in their path.

She panted nervously, but also excited by your movements, you could feel the erratic dance of her hips demanding more contact with yours, an obscene and hot contact that increased more and more.

Your mouth continued its sinful journey. Your hands played with the black skirt, moving it out of your way while you caressed her legs, while you dug your nails into her skin and your lips slowly sucked one of her nipples.

Donna moaned for the first time, pleased by that gentle treatment, by those sweet lips that rested on that intimate place. You smiled without stopping to adore her body, going down a little more, just a little more.

The clothes disappeared completely and on top of the bed there were only two naked bodies dancing tirelessly, wet and hot. The gasps and moans pushed away the whispers, the glances.

Your fingers went down her belly, caressing the wetness of her folds, causing a strong tug on your hair.

“You are perfect, Donna,” you said as you slowly stimulated her clit while playing with the wetness you had caused. She was unique, so perfect, so beautiful…

“(Y/N)…” she moaned, when the circles of your fingers intensified, when your laughter was muffled in contact with the skin of her lower belly and the kisses became tireless sinners, kissing her wetness, joining your tongue to the movement of your naughty fingers.

Donna moaned, surely blushing, embarrassed by what you were doing to the most private parts of her body. You simply enjoyed her wetness, the taste of her arousal, licking, going over every inch of her sex in a calm, quiet, but intense way.

Your fingers stopped playing, moving closer to her entrance, surrounding it while your tongue played tirelessly, kissing everything it could, getting more and more moans from the brunette, who seemed to let herself go.

“Perfect…” you whispered before pulling away with one last wet kiss, going up to her lips, letting her moan in embarrassment as she tasted herself on yours while the tips of your fingers began their feat.

“Tesoro,” the brunette moaned, scratching your back as she felt you enter her, how your fingers made their way between her wet walls, how her hips moved uncontrollably, motivated by the contact. “It so… So good…”

Your body moved envious of the lady's pleasure, your kisses bit absorbing her skin while your fingers continued, taking away Donna's shame, making her enjoy in an increasingly scandalous way. The screams were not long in coming, her body tensing without warning, wetting your fingers even more, feeling her tighten around them in a sudden and embarrassing orgasm.

None of that mattered to you, only the pleasure, the pleasure of your bodies dancing together and naked with the friction of the wetness you caused, stimulating your own desire.

Donna wasn’t stupid. She knew what she was doing. Following your instructions she managed to take you to the top of paradise. There was no clumsiness, only safety, only desire, only a wet mix of moans, obscene kisses and continuous rubbing.

“(Y/N),” she murmured, exhausted, letting herself fall completely on the bed, caressing your head, which now resided on her chest.

You looked at her with a grateful smile for that unmatched passion and closed your eyes.

“Mm?” you murmured, comfortable in her embrace, sleepy.

“I want, I want you to live with me… I want you to never leave again…” she said with a broken voice, her grip on your hair increasing in strength.

“Mm, I think it's not such a bad idea…”

#donna beneviento #donna beneviento x reader #oneshot #re8 donna #re8 village #requests

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