#who just last episode promised her that he would be there for her; in whatever capacity she would accept; for however long she let him | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

thegreymarveljedi · 21 days ago

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He’ll Be Home Soon

(Echo x reader)

This idea came to me while at a family gathering. I was just daydreaming and whatever and I thought of this idea and ran with it. This is probably one of the first fics in a while that I’m actually very proud of. It took a few weeks but it feels good to get my motivation back and with a few extra ideas from others on how to keep my works from getting deleted again (thank you @techhasmjolnir , @isthereanechoinhere96 @inkstainedhandswithrings ) I’m back for the new year with a few good stories coming out!

This story takes place starting just before Star Wars the clone wars Season 3 Episode 18 (I am so so sorry lol). I hope you all enjoy this!

(Also, last minute add but divider is done by @stars-n-spice )

Warnings: ANGSTTT, major character ‘death’, ‘5’ stages of grief, mentions of blood, concussion, denial, delusions, mentions of anxiety, hurt/ eventual comfort, tears from many people, fluff, mentions of loneliness/ introvert, insecure Echo, happy ending

Words: 10.6k (Way more than I thought lol)

(Y/N) stood with Echo at the front door of their apartment, watching as he fixed the rest of his armour. She helped where she could, passing him pieces and fixing others that were crooked. He smiled at her as he finished fixing his armour, grabbing his helmet and securing it under his arm.

“I’ll be home before you know it mesh’la. We’re only ment to be gone for 7 rotations minimum and 10 rotations maximum. In and out is what the job is,” he said, looking down at (Y/N) with eyes that conveyed so much confidence and love. Even with his confidence she couldn’t shake her worry, the war weighing on her in so many ways. She was worried for his life more than her own and she wanted so much to join the mission, to ensure he came home to her but she knew it was impossible to convince the council of it.

“I know Echo. But I have a really bad feeling about this mission,” (Y/N) said, placing one of her hands on his chest and the other finding it’s way to his cheek, the stubble on his cheeks tickling her palm, “Just stick close to Fives please? And don’t take any unnecessary risks okay?” She pleaded even while knowing full well that it was futile. She knew Echo would be careful but she also knew that he was a soldier who would do whatever it took to complete the mission.

“With General Skywalker, there’s always risks,” he chuckled, though the face (Y/N) gave him must have made him rethink his joking manner.

“I know that,” she replied, rolling her eyes at the mention of her best friend in the order. (Y/N) had worked with the 501st many times and she knew that Anakin could be reckless with his actions. But she also knew how much he cared for his men, even if he took unnecessary risks. Echo looked at her with a soft smile, his gloved hand coming up to take hold of her own that still rested on his cheek.

“I’m serious Echo. Don’t do anything you shouldn’t do. I need you to come home to me.” Her voice cracked as she spoke those word’s, her emotions spilling over. As a Jedi, attachments were forbidden, a path to the dark side as master Yoda always said. But (Y/N) liked to think that her relationship with Echo was different. She didn’t feel any darkest in her heart or anger when he was gone, all she felt for him was love and the occasional worry. But I guess that worry turned to fear in this case and she knew that master Yoda would frown upon this revelation.

“I will cyar’ika, I promise.” Echo snapped her out of her thoughts, his words touching her heart and easing her mind even if only a little. (Y/N) stared at her handsome arc trooper, his hazel eyes deep pools of wonder that she could admire for hours, his lips so kissable and soft, pulled into an affectionate smile that she wished would never leave. His hair was cut in accordance with regulations but still as soft and fluffy as his heart, the very soft waves tempting her to run her fingers through them. She refrained however, instead choosing to kiss his nose and tilt his head forward toward her own, resting their foreheads together.

“I’m going to hold you to that,” (Y/N) spoke softly, her voice trembling slightly at the thought of letting him go. She knew it was war times and that they had a fight to win, but that didn’t mean she liked it. It didn’t make parting with him any easier.

“I’d expect nothing less from you my dear,” Echo chuckled, his helmet falling from his hands as he wrapped her in his arms one last time. (Y/N) returned the embrace, determined to hold his warmth against her body for as long as she could before he really had to leave.

“Ni kar'tayli gar darasuum ner kar’ta,” Echo whispered, his face buried in her neck as he breathed in deeply, taking in the scent of (Y/N)’s body soap. His hands found her hips, running his gloved palms up and down her sides as her arms remained locked around his neck. The press of his armour against her torso was painful but worth every moment, as long as he was in her arms.

“I love you too Echo. So so much. I always will,” (Y/N) replied just as quietly, not wanting to break the serenity of the moment. After another minute of holding one another his comm went off, the beeping of the device signalling that it was time for him to go.

She gave her beloved trooper one final squeeze, feeling tears prick the corners of her eyes as she begrudgingly let him go. Echo smiled sadly at (Y/N) as she leaned down and retrieved his helmet, tucking it under his arm once again before bidding her a final goodbye. As the door opened to allow him to leave, he turned back to face his cyare once more and blew her a kiss, one that she caught and returned, her hands trembling slightly as she watched him leave.

“I’ll be home soon ner sarad. I promise,” he spoke one final time to her, his smile never leaving his face and the warm affection in his eyes conveying his love. She nodded as the door closed, cutting her off from the love of her life temporarily.

(Y/N) tried her best to hold the tears at bay, her emotions bubbling up and threatening to burst out in full force. She took some deep breathes, composing herself before she looked around the apartment, suddenly feeling so small and alone in the space meant for two. She cracked her neck and sighed, trying to think of everything else besides the handsome trooper who had just left her presence.

“It’s only 7 rotations at minimum. We’ve gone longer without each other. What’s the worst that could happen?”

~Time Skip~

Being on a meditative retreat was relaxing, time away from the fighting and the politics, not having to think about much of anything. It was peaceful, like it should be, even if (Y/N) was still a little worried about Echo. But once he returned, they could disappear off world together for the last week of the retreat, head to Naboo and just relax for a few days.

She smiled at the thought of it, thinking about how relaxing it would be to spend time with her love after he came home. It was 8 rotations ago that Echo and the others had left on their mission, the details of which were still classified to almost all besides the council and a few other veteran Jedi. All she knew was that Anakin and Obi-wan were leading a team to rescue Master Piell.

(Y/N) was snapped out of her thoughts when there was a knock at the door, the sounds firm and stern. She smiled giddily, thinking that it was her trooper coming home and wanting to surprise her. She smoothed out her robes and fixed her hair, ready to greet Echo after a long mission away. She walked over to the door and pressed the panel to open it, her large smile falling as she gazed upon two troopers she hadn’t expected to see.

“Rex, Fives what are you guys doing here? And where’s…” (Y/N)’s eyes went wide and her heart stopped immediately when she noticed that Echo was nowhere to be found next to Fives. Her eyes darted between the two troopers, fear gripping her heart like vice, a cloud of darkness forming around her in the force.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” Fives said, his helmet tucked under his arm which allowed her to see his face, eyes bloodshot and tear streaks staining his cheeks. (Y/N) laughed and shook her head, giving Fives a punch to his chest and gesturing for them both to come inside.

“N-no. Stop messing with me. This is another one of your stupid pranks right?” She laughed again, a very unpleasant sounding laugh leaving her lips as her eyes continued to dart between the Arc trooper and the clone captain who had yet to utter a word. The glare Fives sent (Y/N)’s way sent a shiver down her spine, his gaze intense and full of anger.

“I would never joke about this,” Fives hissed, taking a menacing step forward as tears began to gather in his eyes once more. Rex placed a firm hand on Fives’ chest, giving him a small push back and glaring at him. He shook his head, knowing that Fives was hurting but also knowing that (Y/N) had lost the love of her life. Fives realized his mistake and looked over Rex’s shoulder to the woman, eyes finding her horrified expression at the realization that they were telling the truth.

“Bu-but he can’t be. H-he promised me he’d come home.” She shook her head as the words fell from her lips, in disbelief at the prospect that her beloved Arc trooper had fallen in battle. Her knees felt weak, like they couldn’t support her weight any longer. (Y/N) eyes continued to dart between the men as she took a few steps back into her apartment, the space suddenly feeling even smaller than it did when Echo left.

“I’m- I’m so sorry (Y/N). But he’s gone,” Rex said, his voice that of a defeated captain who had just lost another brother. Her head continued to shake as Rex and Fives slowly walked into the apartment, the doors sliding shut behind them.

The men knew they were welcome in her home, having hosted them for many nights after a successful mission. This however, was a different monster entirely. Echo was gone and they were in mourning, (Y/N)’s own mind having an impossible time coming to terms with these revelations. She could feel the cloud of sadness growing, gripping her heart and taking over her senses.

Their eyes looked sad and genuine as they told (Y/N) what happened to her soldier, how bravely he fought and how tragic the mission was as a whole. She felt her heart crack as they continued to retell it, wanting them stop but knowing that, deep down, she needed to know. She felt like her legs would give out, the trembling getting more and more violent as their recounting of the mission went on. Fives had deposited himself at the dinning room table, his helmet long forgot by the front door as Rex stayed standing.

“N-no. Nonono.” (Y/N)’s words seemed so distant even to her own ears, stumbling over her feet as she continued to step back, trying her best to back away from the reality of this situation. She knew she was in denial, Rex and Fives’ presence telling her all she needed but it didn’t feel real. It felt like someone was pulling the world right out from under her feet, reaching into her chest and tearing a piece of her heart away. There was ringing, so loud and annoying, like an alarm in her ears that didn’t seem to stop.

“I’m deeply sorry vod’ika. He fought like a hero and died a hero,” whoever said that, their voice was distant to (Y/N)’s ears, the ringing intensifying tenfold her heart crumbled in her chest. She began hyperventilating, as if she was falling down a dark hole with no visible way out. She blindly reached for the counter in the kitchen, trying to find some kind of solid surface to keep her grounded.

“I-I-” words seemed to fail her, the world around her growing darker and darker as her knees began to give out. She couldn’t feel her lower half or even her fingers, her body failing her just as the words did.

“(Y/N)?” Rex asked, Fives perking up at the concern in the captains voice. He turned to look at (Y/N) and his eyes went wide, seeing her shake and stumble. He was on his feet and walking over to where she stood immediately, knowing that Echo would come back from the grave and shoot him if he let anything happen to his cyare.

“I-I can’t fe-feel my legs…” (Y/N) said, so quietly that both men almost missed what she said. Her vision went black, eyes rolling into the back of her head as the ground seemed to swallow her. Her consciousness came crashing down, the force around her swirling a deep purple. Her subconscious mind could feel her falling, fingers on the counter slipping off as her body came hurtling toward the hard surface of the floor.

“(Y/N)!” Fives yelped, catching her before she could hit the ground, but not before her head slammed into the counter, a loud thunk reverberating through the apartment. Rex was by her side in an instant as well, helping Fives to slowly bring her to the ground. Rex turned her over slowly to check on the spot where she hit her head, blood oozing from the wound.

He cursed and stood up, moving to grab the first aid kit from under the sink as Fives quickly sent a message to Kix. Rex came back with the kit and a damp cloth, holding it against (Y/N)’s head to try and stop the bleeding.

“Let’s move her to the couch, carefully,” Rex said and Fives nodded, feeling quite guilty that they hadn’t told (Y/N) to sit down before they told her the tragic news. His mind went to his fallen twin, seeing his helmet lying there on the durasteel of the citadel landing pad. It was burnt, fried to a crisp from the explosion, but he had begged Ahsoka to use the force and bring it to them, needing to take the last part of his twin home.

“Comm Kix now.” Rex snapped Fives out of his thoughts, his voice somehow calm even with the current situation as they brought (Y/N) over to the couch to lay her down. Rex quickly placed down a few extra clean towels to stop the blood from seeping into the couch, not wanting to make (Y/N)’s apartment feel any more chilling.

“He’s already on his way,” Fives replied, his eyes downcast as he held (Y/N)’s hand. It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence for him to do so, (Y/N) accepting the small gesture of platonic affection whenever the boys came over after a mission. He held it gently, as if trying to ground them both and come to terms with the reality that his twin was gone. It was so hard to grasp, Fives struggling to understand how much this had effect (Y/N).

“Should we have waited to tell her?” The words fell from his lip before he could stop them, voice soft yet defeated. Rex took a moment to mull over Fives words, knowing that they were all grieving. But he hadn’t wanted to keep (Y/N) in the dark about this, especially when he knew she’d hear that they were home. It wasn’t right to keep this from her no matter how much he wanted to.

“No. It needed to be done now,” he said firmly, though his words lacked their usual confident conviction. He stared down at (Y/N), someone who had been a second in command to him many times, saved his and his brothers lives more times than he could count and always welcomed them into her home with open arms.

“But why?” Fives said quietly, looking to Rex with such sadness and despair written across his features.

“Because I don’t feel right lying to her. She doesn’t deserve that,” Rex said, his eyes turning to look at Fives before turning back to look at (Y/N). Her unconscious expression was unreadable, her face neutral even if the rest of her body was tense. Her skin had drained of some of its colour, once vibrant but now dimmed and dull. Rex turned back to Fives, watching the emotions pass along the Arc trooper’s face as he started at his twin’s cyare.

“I know you just lost your twin, Fives. But this is his Cyar’ika. Even if it hurts to shatter her world, she deserved to know that he went out like a hero,” Rex said, placing a hand on Fives shoulder to try and convey his thoughts to his Vod. Fives only nodded, not wanting to be reminded of such a tragic event. It was still fresh in his mind, that much was true, but for as long as he could, he wanted to just pretend it wasn’t real.

“I know Rex. It just…hurts. A lot,” Fives said, his voice cracking as the tears returned, the emotions no longer wanting to stay hidden behind the mask he had managed to put on. He removed his gloves, putting them down on the Caf table along with his chest plate and gauntlets.

“I know Fives. I know,” Rex said with a sigh, moving to do the same as Fives. They removed their armour silently, placing it neatly in piles by the door as they waited for Kix to arrive.

“Should we have given her the holo instead,” Fives said as he removed his belt and pulled the small device from one of the compartments. He remembered the moment that Echo had given him the holo tape, telling him that…

“If something happens to me, I need you to give this to (Y/N). She needs to hear what is on this and I need her to know that I love her.”

“I don’t know,” Rex’s shoulders sagged as he thought about it all, loosing one of the troopers he had trained since shiny, one of the 501st brothers he was closest too, “This way at least, we can stay with her and help her through this.” Rex had seen the holo before, having been close by to Echo when he had reordered it. He knew what it said and had even teared up a little at how sentimental it was.

“Will we ever give it to her?” This time it was Fives to break the temporary silence that had fallen over the apartment, looking at (Y/N) with sad eyes.

“I don’t know,” Rex said. Before he could utter another word, there was a firm and slightly frantic knocking at the door. It slid open to reveal Kix with his med pack and Hardcase and Jesse behind him, both sporting grim expressions. They quickly walked into the apartment and closed the door, Jesse initiating the lock as soon as they were all in.

“There isn’t much we can do right now but I suggest we tell general Skywalker,” Kix said as he put his stethoscope away, standing up and depositing his med pack next to the front door along with the rest of the boys armour.

“We can’t. What will he do?” Jesse asked curiously, knowing that yes, Anakin and (Y/N) were best friends, but was this really something that he could help her with. He and the others knew that attachments for Jedi were forbidden but they had chosen to stand by their Vod and his cyar’ika. None of them knew what their general would say though.

“He might be able to help,” Hardcase replied, his voice low and timid which was a bit of a shock to the others considering Hardcase was always so loud and boisterous. Hardcase cast his eyes to (Y/N), watching as she lay there unconscious. He knew that this was going to affect her greatly but he wanted to help in any way he could. They all did.

“How?” Jesse snapped without thinking about his tone, his own emotions over the situation much more uncontrollable.

“I don’t know okay! But we can’t just leave her alone to wallow in her grief. Echo wouldn’t want that,” Hardcase snapped back, his usual volume returning though his words only held sadness and despair. A silence befell the room at that moment. The five men thinking over what they could do to help their other general, their sister. It was another few moments of silence before Rex went to speak up, his words being interrupted by a groan and coughing. The men all turned their heads to look at (Y/N), all equally concerned for her wellbeing after what happened.

“Vod’ika are you okay?” Fives asked quietly, his hand giving (Y/N)’s a gentle squeeze as she slowly and carefully turned her head left and right. She could feel the dull throbbing pain of where she hit her head, the bacta patch on the wound helping to sooth the spot.

She spoke no words as she took in the state of the apartment, not many things out of place but enough that she began to make a plan in her head of how to clean them up. She took another survey of the space, noting that there were now five troopers present rather than two. She didn’t mind the extra company, though right now she felt as if she wanted to be left alone. She tried to sit up, her body feeling heavy, as though her heart had been ripped in two. Her head felt foggy, like there was a missing piece of the puzzle though that was definitely the concussion, she deduced.

“General?” Kix asked tentatively, helping (Y/N) to sit up with the help of Rex and Fives. They sat her up against the back rest of the couch, making sure to place pillows around to help her sit comfortably. She gave a short nod in thanks, feeling like there was so much more to say but no words to articulate how she was feeling.

“This is all just a bad dream,” she said, smoothing one of her hands down her face. This had to be a bad dream, there was no way he was gone. The pieces of her heart were scatter, the fog of her mind still swirling with thoughts that Echo would be home soon.

“I wish it were (Y/N). But it’s not. I’m sorry,” Rex said, hanging his head in shame that he couldn’t bring his younger brother home. The others in the room mimicked Rex, all of them feeling awful for what happened, especially Fives. The guilt of the incident weighted on him most of all, not having done enough to prevent Echo from pushing for the shuttle prematurely.

“I should clean up, he’ll be home soon,” (Y/N) said slightly dazed, as if on autopilot and not fully present in her own body. She went to stand up, a little too fast as she stumbled, being caught by Kix, Rex and Fives. They all looked at her confused, not fully understanding what she meant with her words.

“Who?” Hardcase asked tentatively, slightly fearful of the answer her would receive. Kix and Rex steadied (Y/N) on her feet, making sure that she was physically stable before letting go, even then their hands weren’t too far away. (Y/N) looked at Hardcase with an innocent smile, one too innocent for a grieving woman who just found out that she had lost the love of her life.

“Echo. He’ll be home soon so I need to clean this place up,” (Y/N) said moving away from the couch and towards to the kitchen where there was a very small pile of dishes and a warm meal prepared. She would offer some to the guys but it was Echo’s favourite and she didn’t want him to have any less when he came home.

“(Y/N),” Jesse spoke, his tone one of disbelief. Had she not heard anything they had said to her for the last hour? Or was this the denial stage of grief. He looked over to Rex and Kix who were already looking at each other, both not knowing how to go about this situation.

“You guys should go, before Anakin starts wondering where you all are,” she said, picking up the sponge on the side of the counter and beginning to scrub what dishes were in the sink. She surveyed the counter looking for anymore before her eyes landed on the spot where she hit her head, the counter covered in a little bit of blood.

“But-“ Kix began but was cut off very abruptly.

“I have to clean up.” (Y/N)’s words were sharp, cutting through the tension of the room like a lightsaber. She sighed and reached under the counter for the bleach, pulling on gloves and pouring some bleach onto a clean cloth. She wiped the spot down until it sparkled, going over it with a damp cloth with water and soap.

“We can help you.”

“Thank you Fives. But I’ve got this. I want to make everything look just right for when he comes home,” (Y/N) replied and used the force to throw the bleached towel into the washing machine and turn it on.

“Vod’ika,” Fives said, him voice quiet as he tried to move towards (Y/N), only being stopped by Kix’s hand on his shoulder. He turned to look at his older brother who shook his head, not want to escalate the situation to a point where they couldn’t come back from. Fives hung his head in defeat, feeling even more helpless than before. He was watching as someone who he considered to be his sister, denied that the love of her life was gone.

“He promised me he’d come home,” (Y/N) whispered to herself, a smile on her face and her brain still foggy. Echo was going to come home to her, she knew it. Fives, again, went to approach her but this time with the holotape in his hands. However this time he was stopped by Jesse and Hardcase, both shaking their heads just as Kix did. Fives huffed in annoyance, shrugging both his brother’s hands off his shoulders and making his way to the front door, throwing on his armour quickly before leaving, tears streaming down his face as he left.

Rex watched Fives walk out, the knowledge of how frustrated the arc trooper was weighing in him like a gunship. Rex turned back face (Y/N) watching as she continued to cleanse the kitchen, going over surfaces that had already been cleaned.

“He’s not coming back (Y/N). He’s gone,” Rex said, desperation in his voice at not being able to get through to her. He went to step forward just as Fives did but was also stopped by Kix, his vod’ika giving him a pitiful look.

“He’ll be home soon,” (Y/N) repeated, the force around her drowning out their voices. She was determined to get the place clean before Echo came home, wanting everything to be spotless for his return. Kix watched as (Y/N) was in severe denial, the concussion and head wound she sustained doing nothing to help her subconscious delusions.

“Rex, let her mourn. She’ll come to terms with it eventually. Let’s leave her be.” he gave Rex’s shoulder a squeeze, signalling to Hardcase and Jesse to kit up, wanting to let (Y/N) mourn in peace. Jesse and Hardcase both cast one more glance at their captain who nodded in agreement with Kix’s words, begrudgingly agreeing to let (Y/N) have some space. Kix however walked up to (Y/N) and placed a hand on her shoulder, placing a bottle of pain pills on the counter next to her.

“Take one of these before you go to sleep at night and one when you wake up general, they’ll help with the migraines from the concussion,” Kix said, only receiving a very small nod from (Y/N). He turned back to the others who were now kitted up, following suit before ushering Hardcase and Jesse out, both wishing (Y/N) the best.

Rex was more reluctant to leave, not wanting to leave (Y/N) but knowing that she needed time right now, “if you need us at all, you know how to reach us (Y/N).”

There was no reply from the women and Rex sighed, kitting up and tucking his helmet under his arm. He opened the door and cast one last empathetic glance at (Y/N) before the door closed behind him, leaving her alone in her apartment.

~ Time Skip~

It had been another two weeks since the incident and (Y/N) was still in denial, her subconscious mind pushing forth memories of their time together to make it appear as though Echo was still alive. She smiled as she washed her hands in the kitchen, just having finished making lunch when there was a knock at the door. She used the force to open it, her eyes lighting up as she spotted Anakin standing there.

“Hey (Y/N),” he greeted a sympathetic smile on his lips as he walked into her apartment.

“Hi Anakin!” she said cheerfully, coming over to hug her best friend. She gave him a squeeze before pulling away, giving him a once over to check for any injuries but found none. Her cheery disposition caught Anakin off guard, making him tilt his head slightly but he said nothing.

“I just made lunch, would you like any?” She offered, moving back to the kitchen and taking down a bowl and two glasses from the cabinet.

“I’m okay for now (Y/N/N) but thanks for the offer,” Anakin declined politely though accepting the cup of water that she offered him.

“How’re you doing?” He asked as she sat down, a bowl of stew in her hand and her legs tucked up under her body. Anakin took a sip of his water as she answered his question though her answer sent a shock through his spine making him choke on his water.

“I’m doing good. I’ve got a clean place and it’s ready for when Echo comes home.”

“What?”

“My apartment. I cleaned it up so that way when Echo comes home he can just relax.”

“D-did Fives and Rex not-“ Anakin stutter over his words, placing his glass down on the caf table and staring at (Y/N) as if she had turned to the dark side. She continued talking however, as if trying to drown out what Anakin was saying.

“And then I’m going to make his favourite dinner and make sure th-“

“(Y/N/N).”

“Yeah?”

“Echo’s gone. He died at the Citadel,” Anakin said, standing up and kneeling down in front of where (Y/N) was sitting on the couch. She refused to meet his eyes, finishing off her stew and standing up, navigating around Anakin before moving to the kitchen.

“N-no he didn’t. He’s just-“ she stuttered out, dropping her bowl in the sink and running the water over it.

“(Y/N)-“ Anakin started but was cut off again.

“He’ll be home soon. I know he will be,” (Y/N) said, turning to give Anakin a quick glare before moving toward her bedroom.

“(Y/N) wait,” Anakin said quickly, jumping over the couch and chasing after her, gently taking hold of her wrist to stop her from walking away. (Y/N) stood still for a moment, thinking over what Anakin had told her, thinking back to when Rex and the others were her.

“I should get going. I need to shower and meditate before he comes home,” she said quietly with a sigh, shaking free from Anakin’s grip and heading down the hall, “you can see yourself out,” she said as the door to her room opened and closed, leaving Anakin alone on the boarder of the living room and hallway.

He sighed as he looked around the apartment, taking in the spotless mess of everything and how nothing was out of place. His eyes landed on the side table next to the couch where there was a holophoto of (Y/N) with him, Rex, Fives, Echo and the rest of Torrent company. Next to that was a holophoto of her and Echo, holding each other and smiling. Anakin picked up the captured moment, looking at the happy couple that reminded him so much of himself and Padme. He felt awful for not being able to bring Echo home, his helmet the only thing coming home with them.

Anakin made his way to the door, sighing once more as it opened and closed behind him as he left (Y/N)’s apartment, thinking over what he could do to help her.

“I’m worried about (Y/N), Master,” Anakin said as he stood against the wall in Obi-wan’s office. He had come to his master after visiting (Y/N), needing some advice at how to help her out.

“Why’s that?” Obi-wan said as he continued to type up a report for the council on his datapad.

“She’s in denial about Echo’s death, She still thinks that he’s alive,” Anakin said, shaking his head as he gave Obi-wan the run down. Obi-wan nodded along, listening to Anakin as he spoke. He knew of (Y/N)’s relationship with the arc trooper, even if they had tried their best to hide their relationship. Obi-wan had chosen to show his silent support, turning his head and letting (Y/N) be happy. He knew what it felt like to give up that kind of connection in favour of being a Jedi and there wasn’t a day that went by that he didn’t feel some kind of regret.

“But didn’t Rex and Fives-“ Obi-wan started, looking up at Anakin as his apprentice cut him off.

“They did. And so did I but she responded with ‘he’ll be home soon’ and won’t hear anything else about it,” Anakin said, coming over and sitting down at the chair in front of Obi-wan’s desk this time.

“I see. That’s not good then,” his master replied as he looked over to Anakin, placing his datapad away from himself and giving Anakin his full attention.

“He left her a recording but Rex and Fives didn’t feel right giving it to her,” Anakin explained, placing the holorecorder down on Obi-wan’s desk as emphasis along with Echo’s helmet that he brought as well. It had been a battle to get Fives to part with it but Anakin had said to him that he needed it to help (Y/N) through this.

“Why not?” Obi-wan said, somewhat flabbergasted that they hadn’t given (Y/N) something that was intended for her. He looked at Echo’s damaged helmet next, putting a hand against it and closing his eyes, allowing the force to guide him through Echo’s last moments. He felt anguish, anger but mostly sorrow for leaving (Y/N) behind.

I love you (Y/N). I’ll see you again someday.

“Because they didn’t want her to be alone when she found out,” Anakin said, watching as Obi-wan continued what he was doing. He knew his master was focused on his task, connecting with Echo’s last conscious thought.

“I understand that but they should’ve given it to her,” Obi-wan said as he opened his eyes and removed his hand from Echo’s helmet. He had found the closure that he himself had been looking for and he hoped that (Y/N) could find the same. He looked to his student, a defeated look present in his face.

“I know. I understand the denial but how do we get her to snap out of it?” Anakin said, desperation present in his voice.

“I’m not sure but we need to find a way, before the council catches wind of this.”

“I know but how? She won’t listen to anyone about it.”

They sat silently for a moment before Obi-wan spoke up, “Maybe I can help. Give me the holo,” Obi-wan said, taking the holo and pocketing it before using the force to grab a bag big enough to hold Echo’s helmet. He pulled the bag over his shoulder and made his way to the door, leaving Anakin sitting down.

“What are you going to do Obi-wan?” Anakin asked quickly but there was no response from his master as he walked out, power walking to where Anakin knew (Y/N) would be.

“(Y/N)?” Obi-wan called out catching (Y/N) as she was about to enter into one of the private training room. The woman turned at the sound of her name, eyes lighting up and lips turning into a smile as she saw Obi-wan.

“Master Kenobi! How can I help you?” She said with a smile and invited him into the room she was entering, closing and locking the sliding doors to give them a chance to talk.

“Actually, I was hoping I could help you,” obi-wan said making (Y/N) tilt her head in fake confusion. She had a feeling that Anakin had gone to his former mentor for advice and support and she had a sneaking suspicion that Obi-wan would be the next to talk to her about the situation. He had been there after all, the mission had been one that he led.

“Oh? I-I don’t need any help Obi-wan but thank you for the sentiment,” (Y/N) said, walking further into the training room and discarding her robe onto one of the bench’s against the wall.

“(Y/N), look at me,” Obi-wan said, walking over to where (Y/N) was, “You deserve to be happy you know that right?” He said, placing a hand on her shoulder. (Y/N) reluctantly nodded, knowing where this was going. She was over it at this point, everyone trying to convince her that Echo was gone.

“Haha very funny. Has everyone else got you in on this prank to?” She said with a forced fake laugh, moving away from Obi-wan to sit down in the ground. She readied herself into a meditative position, hoping that Obi-wan would get the hint to leave her alone.

“It’s not a prank my darling,” Obi-wan said, turning to (Y/N) and following her to her meditation spot. He sat across from her and placed the bag with Echo’s helmet next to him, waiting for the right moment to bring it out.

“Yeah yeah, tell Anakin to knock it off. I have to make sure I’m alert and ready for when Echo comes home-“

“(Y/N).”

“Obi-wan.”

“I’m telling you the truth,” he said, trying to get through to her about how this was not a trick. There was a sigh hanging by thread on his lips, the frustration of (Y/N)’s denial making Obi-wan question if he should just rip the bacta patch off.

“Well I don’t believe you,” she said, closing her eyes to try and tune out Obi-wan and his words. She knew that Echo was somewhere out there and no one could dissuade her from that thought.

“When have I ever lied to you?” She heard Obi-wan say, the question striking a cord inside her mind and her chest.

“Today is the first,” she replied after a brief pause of thought. Obi-wan sighed again, watching as (Y/N) sat in denial. Her eyes remained closed so Obi-wan figured that now was the only time he could pull out his cards. He pulled Echos damaged helmet out of the bag he brought, placing it on the ground in front of (Y/N) before pulling out the holorecording and pressing play.

“Cyar’ika.” (Y/N)’s eyes flew open at the sound of that voice, the hope in her chest bubbling up before she realized that it was just a recording. She looked at the holo of her Arc trooper, watching as his eyes seemed to light up as if he was talking directly to her and not addressing her through a camera. She took another moment and looked down, tears gathering in her waterline as she laid eyes on Echo’s helmet, charred and damaged beyond repair.

“If you’re hearing this then… there’s no easy way to tell you but…I’m gone. I’ve had this recorded since I met you because I knew there was always a possibility that I wouldn’t come back.” His words hit her like a turbo tank, making her fragmented heart shatter even more. Her eyes temporarily met Obi-wan’s before they focused back on the holo of her lover.

“I gave it to Fives because I knew he would be the one to deliver it if something ever happened and unfortunately it did.” She picked up his helmet, the tears now spilling over her cheeks as she finally came to grips with the fact that Echo was really gone for good. She ran her thumbs over the visor of his helmet, holding it in her lap as she continued to listen to the message that was left for her.

“I just want you to know (Y/N), I will always love you no matter where I am. I will always be with you even when we’re miles apart. Ner mesh’la Sarad, move on and live happily, I know you can. Ni kar'tayli gar darasuum.” His final words broke her, a strangled sob leaving her lips as she clutched his helmet closer to her chest. She placed her forehead against that of his helmet, feeling Echo’s last moments before the memories faded.

“I’m so sorry (Y/N),” Obi-wan said, watching as (Y/N) broke down over the message Echo had left her, having to wipe a few stray tears away from his own eyes. This whole situation reminded him so much of how he had almost lost Satine when they were younger. He felt horrible that he had to do this but it needed to be done before the council caught on. He couldn’t keep covering for her even if he wanted to, wanting to help her as much as he could.

“Let’s get you to bed,” Obi-wan said, standing up and gently maneuvering (Y/N) to stand up. She was pliant and didn’t resist Obi-wan much, still trying to grapple with the message that she had just seen. Obi-wan slowly and carefully took Echo’s helmet and placed it back in the bag so that no one would be none the wiser. He handed the bag back to (Y/N) and placed the holorecording inside it alongside the helmet.

He took (Y/N)’s hand softly and guided her out of the training room, being careful to avoid as many Jedi as he could in the halls of the temple. (Y/N) remained quiet, holding tightly onto the bag that now housed Echo’s helmet and the last message she received. She felt as though she had skipped the second and third stages of grief, no amount of anger or bargaining able to bring him back.

Next thing she knew they had made it to her room in the temple, the door opening and closing behind them. Obi-wan guided (Y/N) to her bed, coaxing her to lay down and allow him to take off her boots. He felt like a father comforting his daughter after a heartbreak. He was pulling off her boots when she finally spoke.

“He’s really gone?” (Y/N) said, her voice distant and haunted, not able to meet Obi-wan eyes. Her eyes instead moved to where Echo’s helmet lay in a bag on the floor of her room, the visor poking out and allowing her a glimpse of his beautiful hazel eyes one last time.

“Unfortunately he is,” Obi-wan said sympathetically, following her eyes to his helmet before he sighed again, “Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“No. Thank you Obi-wan. I’ll be okay,” (Y/N) said as she gently forced Echo’s helmet and the holorecording into her hands. She needed to be alone to process everything and she just wanted to try and sleep.

“If there is anything that can be done, please allow me or Anakin to help,” Obi-wan said softly, placing his hands on her shoulders and giving them a fatherly squeeze before he turned around and left the room, but not before she said to him,

“I will,” (Y/N) said before the door to her room fully closed behind Obi-wan, leaving her alone once more. She stared at Echo’s helmet, the plastiod charred and damaged, the blue paint scuffed and faded. She closed her eyes again, following the force as it led her back to the happy memories she shared with Echo. The words of his holorecording played over and over in her head as she stripped out of her robes and into her night clothes, haunting yet comforting to her.

She lay there in bed for another while, Echo’s helmet clutched to her chest like a tooka doll. She had made up her mind a while ago but now she knew for certain what she needed to do.

“What do you mean she left?!” Anakin snapped at Obi-wan as his master told him the news. (Y/N) had requested a private council meeting yesterday and had informed her masters and mentors that she would be resigning from the Jedi order effective immediately. It had come as a shock to most of the Jedi on the council though Master Yoda seemed to understand why. She had apologized profusely, but Master Yoda just bowed his head and wished her well.

“I’m not happy about it either but she resigned of her own volition. There was nothing that could have been done,” Obi-wan said, trying to quell the anger of his apprentice. He knew that Anakin would take the news hard, but he also knew that there was nothing he or Anakin could’ve done to change (Y/N)’s mind. She needed her time and space and they were going to give it to her whether they agreed with her decision or not.

“How am I going to break it to the boys?” Anakin said, dragging his mechanical hand down his face in defeat. The 501st loved (Y/N), always the life of the party and sharing her compassion for them wherever she went. She was their unofficial sister, their vod’ika as they liked to call her.

“I don’t know Anakin. But you’ll have to find a way,” Obi-wan said, mulling over in his head if there was any way that he could help Anakin break the news to his troopers.

“I know.”

“Maybe this will help her Anakin. She was grieving and she was beginning to get reckless on assignments.”

“But that’s not her fault!”

“It was. That’s why the Jedi are not meant to form attachments,” Obi-wan said, giving his padawan a look that told him not to argue but he knew Anakin was to stubborn to let this go.

“But you and Satine-“ Anakin started but Obi-wan cut him off very quickly.

“Satine and I were different. And I did not let me feelings get in the way of my duty,” Obi-wan snapped, not wanting to have the same argument with Anakin that they have had multiple times already. He had made his decision a long time ago, even if he still regrets it in some ways. Anakin sigh in defeat before sitting down in one of the chairs in front of Obi-Wan‘s desk again, bowing his head.

“I hope wherever she goes, she finds peace,” Anakin said, Obi-wan nodding along as well and wishing through the force that (Y/N) find what she needs.

~Time Skip~

“The island is beautiful Phee,” Hunter said as she led the Batch down the island towards where they would be staying for a little.

“I’m glad you like it. It’s our own little slice of heaven in this crazy galaxy. We have a lot of refugees here and it’s a place for them to find peace,” Phee explained as they came to a stop outside the island inn.

“I can see why,” Echo said as he took in the laughter the island had to offer. It was a gorgeous place with a diverse community and a kindness that hadn’t been present in the galaxy for a long while. He surveyed the area around them before Phee lead them inside the inn, momentarily catching a glimpse of someone he thought was familiar. He shook his head though, believing he was imagining it, after all it had been three years now.

“I hope you guys can find the same kind of peace here. Away from Cid, away from the Empire, away from the fighting,” Phee explained as she turned to the inn keeper to ask about rooms where they could occupy for a while.

“Believe me, I think we could use it,” Wrecker said, holding Omega on his shoulder as the younger girl nodded in response.

“I know you could. There have been a lot of people who have passed through here to get away from the fighting. And because we’re not a resource heavy planet, the empire just kind of leaves us alone,” Phee explained as she received the keys to one of the larger guest houses on island and turned to hand them to Hunter.

“Here you go Hunter, I can take you to the house if you want? Or let you guys wonder and find it yourself,” she said, smiling at the Batch looked at one another.

“We should be okay Phee. Thank you, for all your help,” Hunter said with a smile. The others agreed with him and thanked Phee for all she had done for them.

“Don’t forget, dinner at Shep’s tonight.”

She reminded them before she bid them a goodbye and head off to her own homestead, giving Tech a cheeky kiss on the cheek on her way out. The genius clone blushed and followed Phee with his eyes, a shy smile on his face.

Echo smiled at the scene, thinking back to before the citadel mission when he and his cyar’ika used to be so happy. His smile faded as he thought about it, about the war and how when the bad Batch had rescued him from Skako Minor she was gone. Anakin and Rex had filled him in on what went down after the mission, (Y/N)’s denial, Obi-wan giving her the message and his helmet, (Y/N) leaving the order. It broke his heart to hear how much his supposed death had impacted her, he just hope she was happy, where ever she was.

“Echo?” Echo was snapped out his thoughts by a tug on his human hand, turning his eyes to see Omega trying to get his attention.

“You okay? Wrecker called your name twice,” she said, Echo’s head turning to look at his larger brother before realizing that the others were looking at him as well.

“Yeah, I’m okay. Just….memories,” he said quietly.

“About what?” Wrecker asked, tilting his head in curiosity.

“About (Y/N)?” Tech said, making Echo’s head shoot up to look at his genius brother. Tech just shrugged, as if it was the most obvious thing, “I over heard General Skywalker and Rex speaking to you about it when we rescued you. I am assuming the public display of affection by Phee must have triggered repressed memories.”

Echo just sighed and grumbled about ease dropping, not wanting to justify Tech with a response. Hunter had also heard the conversation but hadn’t thought it relevant to bring up, knowing that if Echo wanted to talk about it he would when he was ready.

“Yes, I was thinking about (Y/N),” he said and felt Omega give his hand a reassuring squeeze.

“What happened to her?” She asked, her childlike curiosity seeping out. Echo sighed and turned to the door of the inn, moving to step outside. The others followed him out, beginning to walk to where their temporary house was.

“She resigned from the war effort after I…” Echo spoke, though the words died on his tongue quite quickly. He didn’t like thinking about the citadel or how (Y/N) must have felt.

“After you blew up?” Wrecker said, ripping off the invisible bacta patch that those thoughts brought along. Echo and the others glared at their larger brother, Hunter giving him a smack over the head.

“Tact Wrecker, we’ve talked about this,” Hunter scolded him like a child. Wrecker looked down and apologized to Echo knowing that he may have just undone some of Echo’s personal healing.

The ex-arc trooper sighed and turned around, walking fast to leave the Bad Batch where they stood. They called after him but he ignored their calls, needing to be left alone for now. Echo knew that yes, (Y/N) had resigned after his accident but he didn’t like to dwell on those thoughts. The message that he left to her was still fresh in his mind as if he had recorded it yesterday, telling her to move on and live happy. He hoped that she was happy wherever she was.

(Y/N) sat in her secluded house on the island, reading a book and drinking a cup of tea. It had been three years since she resigned from the order and now she kept to herself, going out only when she needed to, speaking to very few people. Shep had been very welcoming to her when she first stumbled upon the beautiful island that Pabu was, a peaceful, secluded place where she could escape.

When she first arrived, she shut herself out from the force, wanting to start a new life even if she had become an introvert. She had found peace and quiet, her new life away from the war and the death was something she was content with, though there was no true happiness. Her happiness had died with Echo and she hadn’t been able to find someone new. There were a few people who had hit on her at bars before she found Pabu but she always turned them down as politely as she could, talking them that her Arc trooper would be there soon.

(Y/N) was coaxed out of her thoughts at the sound of chirping, a blue bird landing on the windowsill of her home. She smiled at the little creature, one that seemed to visit her home frequently.

“Hello little fellow. How’re you today?” She asked the little bird, knowing that she wouldn’t get a response back at all. It was something she did every time the little guys came around, trying to strike up a conversation even if it was one sided.

However, for some reason this encounter felt different, the little blue bird staying on her windowsill a little longer than normal. (Y/N) titled her head slightly as she observed the little creature, the bird staring back at her just the same. She shook her head and went back to her book, reading a few more words before there was another chirp from her little blue friend. This time when (Y/N) looked up, she was shocked to see the blue bird had made its way inside her home, resting on the caf table infront of her.

“Hey little guy. You’ve never done this before,” she said curiously and lowered her book, continuing to observe the small creature as it looked back at her. It flapped its wings slightly adjusting its position before it took off, flying further into (Y/N) house.

“Hey!” She said and stood up, quickly tossing the book on the caf table as she follow the bird to her room. When she rounded the corner to the open door of her bedroom, there was the blue Bird, sitting on top of Echo’s helmet. (Y/N) stared at the little creature in wonder as it rested on the damaged helmet of her deceased beloved, staring right back at her with big black eyes.

“W-what are you doing their little guy?” She asked, her voice cracking a little at the bird continued to stare at her. This had never happened before and she had done well not to dwell on Echo’s helmet no matter how hard it was not to look at it. She had placed the helmet and holorecording on her bedside table a little while after she settled on pabu, her own way of having Echo home with her even if she didn’t like looking at his helmet.

(Y/N) watched as the little bird did a 360 turn on the helmet, it’s eyes meeting (Y/N)’s once more as it completed it’s rotation. The curious little creature then flapped it’s wings and flew the little distance down to be on the surface of the side table, looking at (Y/N) again once he landed. She stared back at the little blue bird, her heart racing as she felt a tug in the back of her mind.

The little blue bird looked at (Y/N) unmoving and unblinking for a moment before he picked up the holorecording and took flight, flying out the open window of her bedroom. (Y/N) shrieked and raced to the window, watching as the blue bird flew away with the holorecording.

“No! Bring it back, please!” (Y/N) pleadingly yelled, running to the front door and throwing on shoes before swinging the door open and running after the little blue bird. She needed that recording. It was one of the last things she had of Echo, the only one where she could still hear his voice. She ran like her life depended on it, trying her best to catch up with her little friend. She bumped into a few people on her way along the island path, apologizing profusely as she passed a few men in armour and a young girl. She had no time to stop as she chased the bird further up the island, needing to catch it before it got too far.

“Come back little birdie please! That’s too important for me to lose!” (Y/N) called out, speeding up her pace.

“Was that…?” Hunter asked as his eyes followed the women who had just run into them.

“I think it may have been,” Tech said, quickly typing away at his datapad before pulling up a picture of (Y/N) from the Republic’s database.

Echo found himself in the square, wandering around aimlessly, while looking at the vendor stands around him. There wasn’t much that caught his eye until he spotted a little blue bird flying through the air. He smiled at the little bird, something about it reminding him of simpler times. Echo held out his human hand out, hoping to coax the bird into landing on his palm. He felt as though he was on autopilot, never having done anything like this before.

To his complete surprise, the little blue bird flew down and landed on his outstretched palm, looking up at him with big black eyes.

“Hey there little fella. Whatcha got there?” Echo asked as the blue bird released the holorecorder from its beak, looking back up at Echo. The former Arc trooper looked curiously down at the device before his eyes went wide, recognizing the recorder as his.

“Where did you get this?” Echo asked the blue bird quietly, not expecting an answer. Rex and Anakin had told him that Obi-wan gave the recording to (Y/N) before she resigned, the message on the device one that he had struggled to record. He didn’t like thinking about the possibility that one day he wouldn’t come back from a mission, but he knew that the message needed to be heard. He stared down at the bluebird in the palm of his hand, his eyes welling with tears as he thought about what this could all mean.

“Blue bird! Where’d you go?” Echo heard a voice call out, eyes closing as he instantly recognized the angelic tone of who it belonged too. His heart beat quickened and his breathing picked up, suddenly feeling self conscious with himself. A lot had changed since the last time he had seen her and he had no idea what would happen when she finally saw…

“Echo?”

He exhaled a breathe he hadn’t realized had been trapped in his throat, tears threatening to stream down his face as he opened his eyes again to look back at the little blue bird in his hand. The little creature just looked back up at him before fluttering its wings and taking off once more, leaving him alone again.

“Echo is that you?”

Echo’s mind was racing a million parsecs a minute, so many things going on but all he wanted to do wasn’t turn around and confirm that she was really here. Slowly Echo did turn around and the sight that greeted him made him want to crumble.

There stood his beloved, tears prickling her eyes as she stared wide eyed at him, her mouth forming an ‘O’ shape as she seemed to grapple with the shock of the moment. They stood there and stared at one another for a moment, neither having the courage to move forward before Echo spoke up.

“Cyar’ika?” His voice was quiet, barely above a whisper as he watched the woman he loved breakdown even further. She went to walk towards him but Echo took a small step back, feeling even more self conscious about himself now that he had confirmed it was really her. However Echo regretted his movement the second after he made it as he watched (Y/N)’s face crumble, the hope in her eyes dying ever so slightly.

“Echo,” she pleaded, her voice trembling as she spoke his name out loud for a third time. It was really him, he was alive, even if he looked different to the man she knew. It was still her Echo.

“I-I’m not the same a-as I used to cyare. I-I’ve changed.”

“I don’t care.”

“Really?”

“I don’t care about what has changed physically about you. You’re still my Echo,” she said, her voice cracking as she made her declaration. Echo couldn’t help the smile that graced his face as he opened his arms for her.

“I told you I’d be home soon Mesh’la,” he said and that was all (Y/N) needed to run into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably as she wrapped her arms around his slim waist. His arms found their home around her shoulders, holding her close to his chest as his own tears began to fall.

“I thought I lost you Echo,” she managed to choke out between sobs, Echo’s grip tightening as she spoke.

“I thought I was too ner sarad, but I’m okay now,” he said and felt her nod into his chest. They stayed there for a while, just holding one another as they grappled with this new, almost perfect reality. Echo pulled away slightly from the hug, tilting (Y/N)’s chin up and not waiting a second more before he planted a firm yet gentle kiss to her lips.

(Y/N) tensed briefly before relaxing again, reciprocating the kiss with just as much passion and love. It had been so long since they had seen each other and she knew there was much to discuss but for now, both Echo and (Y/N) were content to be in each others arms again.

He finally came home!

—————

I hope you all enjoyed this! There will be many more stories to come!

Part 2 anyone?

(Fully Edited January 22nd, 2025)

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venus-is-thinking · 4 months ago

Text

DRDT Chapter 2 Episode 16: Initial Thoughts

Sorry for missing episode 15 :(

That being said, oh my god, Chapter 2 is actually complete! This is so exciting! I'm really hyped to talk about this episode and give my not-live summary of my live reactions!

SPOILER WARNING FOR DRDT THROUGH THE END OF CH 2!!!

CW: Murder, sacrifice, suicide

The Reactions

12-1, this time. I'm still personally partial to the extra vote on Teruko last Trial being Arei (being petty about her "I'm voting for you no matter what" thing), so I would assume Ace is the Teruko vote. If so, I do think it's interesting that he voted Teruko as opposed to, like, Nico. Then again, it might be that it's just more convenient for DRDTdev to consistently put the extra vote on Teruko, lol.

Notably, the dead people have "N/A," not 0. We probably could tell this because of Xander last time, but I didn't check. I wonder if this implies we won't ever need to vote for someone dead (ex. a mastermind who "died" earlier in the killing game).

I'm free... I can read whatever Eden says as genuine...

Take THAT, Whit time loop theorists /j

I do think it's funny/kinda telling? that Whit is only saying this after the trial is over. Like, I feel like the normal time to go "oh my god we're having another trial" is, like... when you find the body? So, it's interesting that his reaction is so delayed.

So, I don't know if this was an intentional parallel, but...

These feel similar to me. I really like the Ace/Arei parallels, where they're both chronically hated people, but Arei apologizes and tries to change whereas Ace lets the fear and paranoia consume him until there's no turning back. Ace only says this after he's already been found guilty of murder; Arei says this before promising to change her ways to the victim of her bullying.

Teruko out here hopping on that self-blame train.

It's so funny how different Hu's standards are when talking about Ace's murder vs. Nico's attempted murder. Like... Hu this is what everyone was telling you like an hour ago. What.

It's really interesting that we're highlighting this line. I wonder if this is part of a theme that we're going to explore further, maybe tied into the "all murderers have to be punished" thing. Or maybe Eden isn't actually accurate here, but doesn't know it; has Ace killed someone in the past?

Fun trick you can do here!

When we first met Teruko a week ago, she was the same person, certainly, but she was also different. She was happier, and she trusted people more.

There are so many good character parallels in DRDT. The Ace/Teruko one was really interesting in this post-trial.

Ooh, new flavor of J anti-murder! This seems to be broadening it to also being critical of the killing game, which would go against my weird hypothetical "J is anti-murderer but also the mastermind" read.

It's interesting, with how this is Ace's logic. It makes total sense for his character, though. I think it's easy for us, the viewers, to forget the fact that the characters probably don't have the precedent of "every blackened ever always loses." When Ace is running the odds, he thinks his survival odds were better as a killer than as a participant in the killing game. And y'know, considering how close he came to dying as Nico's victim, that's kinda fair.

I desperately want to know what Levi was going to say here.

I really like the fact that Ace DID care about Levi. That he intrinsically cares about him, but he knows factually that he isn't supposed to like or trust someone in a killing game. That once he killed Arei, he had to resolve to kill everyone in the killing game, even Levi.

The only way Ace knew to prevent himself from caring was to stay mad, I guess. Kinda unfortunate though, considering that I do think Levi wanted to patch things up with him genuinely.

Meanwhile, Levi, who doesn't understand emotions, is just like "man what the fuck. That makes no sense."

What a pair. I'm sad we're not going to get to see their dynamic anymore :(

In other words, I'm back on the Levi survivor train baby! My biggest problem with it before was that I thought Ace was gonna survive and I didn't think Ace and Levi were both gonna survive, so now we're locking tf in!

This is fun! I always wonder why more people don't try stuff like this. Like... shoot your shot. You're gonna die otherwise, soooo...

Great animation as always

I think it's really funny that Teruko is so fucking mad that she bullies Ace into action. Like, that's so fitting for both of them.

I love using this David expression here. He's just like, "was it that easy? Why was I trying to throw the trial then???"

aaaaAAAAAAAA--

What the fuck!! XF-Ture mention!!!!!!!!

I like the spooky vibe MonoTV has for this post-trial, but I do hope we get our normal silly lil guy back next chapter. I like the MonoTV personality we see all the time. I'm gonna miss it if it just died like that :(

I am also squinting so hard at everyone's reactions through "who is the mastermind" goggles. Maybe I'll analyze them in a different post sometime.

Fascinating purpose. Not "to create despair." Not "to run the killing game until only one participant survives." To kill everyone.

Does this include whichever mastermind?

Why does whoever programmed MonoTV want to kill all of these people? Are they being punished for something?

This countdown sequence fucked me up. The tensions and emotions are so high. Even as someone who was confident that Teruko, at least, wasn't going to die no matter what, I was so on edge. I got really scared that Eden was going to take the hit for Teruko, though, and that's what I was reading into when I wasn't sure Eden would make it to Chapter 3.

This speech, more than any other one Teruko has made or any actions she's taken or endured, really made me feel for Teruko. The fact that she can so casually talk about truly traumatic and horrific things happening to her, while smiling, truly shows how much she's grown used to it. Like, girl. You don't deserve this. What.

The character work on Teruko especially this episode is just fantastic. No words.

This panel stressed me out so bad because it was really just a question of WHO took the bullet for Teruko. Like, if she's thinking this, someone clearly did.

My bets were on either Eden, Charles, or Ace.

Levi, though, was such a surprise to see. Like, in a good way. It means so much.

First of all, it's a callback to the end of the prologue. Levi attacks MonoTV, and when MonoTV tries to kill him in response, Teruko's danger sense alerts her. It's only through Teruko warning Levi to move that Levi dodged the main attack, resulting in only an arm injury rather than death. Now, Levi returns her favor, preventing her from dying from attacking MonoTV.

Second, it puts Ace into the position we see of having to confront the possibility of Levi's death. I got the distinct sense that they wanted Ace to be able to do something heroic on his way out, to prove all the haters wrong (which is why I thought it was possible he'd take the hit for Teruko instead of Levi). By putting Levi, pretty clearly the person he cares most about, into harm's way, it makes Ace take action. It means that he HAS to confront the fact that he cares Levi, and that he has to die.

And, thirdly... I am so fascinated to learn why Levi did this. Was it as simple as a transactional, "you saved me from execution before?" Is it "I thought saving someone would make me a good person?" Does Levi actually feel some remorse for Teruko in this moment, causing him to take action?

No matter what his reasoning, I can't wait to hear from him. I strongly suspect Levi won't actually die from this (at the very least, I hope not, because I really want to hear more from him), but even if he does, hopefully we'll still get some more insight in a bonus episode or a flashback or something.

I'm trying to figure out what triggered Whit here.

This is immediately following "The elevator won't open," but it also definitely can just correlate to "[person] will die if they don't receive immediate medical treatment." I have to assume that something here is reminding Whit of his mom...?

With the weird "Whit knows a lot about hanging" earlier, I got the impression that Whit's mom probably hung herself. From this, I would probably theorize that Whit found her while she was still alive, but not quickly enough to save her. Yikes.

Anyways, I think that means everyone has some kind of despair sprite now! That's fun!

I'm sure many have pointed this out, but do we think he's counting himself here (Arei + Ace + Levi = 3), or do we think he feels responsible for someone else's death in his past (probably Taylor)? I'd lean towards the second one.

Y'know, before I thought Arturo was just pressed about the surgeon thing because people were unfairly hating on him. This, at least, I think implies something relating to Felicity.

Arturo doesn't have any experience saving lives. He left, and Felicity died. He can't save lives; he's only responsible for Felicity's ending. I think that's how he sees it.

On a side note, I think there's a very definite possibility that Chapter 3 cold opens on Arturo saving Levi's life??? Like, how Chapter 2 started with Eden POV, I think Chapter 3 could start with Arturo taking his shot at healing Levi, eventually resulting in Levi stabilizing. I'm not sure who would be there with him. Possibly Hu, since she was leading the "let's get Levi to the infirmary" effort...?

I love executions like this. Accirax has said before that the best executions are what make their recipient feel the most despair, and that's definitely what they did with Ace here. Put the talent aside; fear is what Ace fears the most.

Uhhhh. I'm pulling an Accirax. Part 2 in reblog!

#drdt #drdt spoilers #danganronpa despair time #levi fontana #ace markey #teruko tawaki #arturo giles #whit young #i think those are the people who have justified this #reblog being made rn

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thebearer · 2 years ago

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honestly, thinking about the last episode and thinking about pete, and i am an honest to god pete defender.

like he is so good to sugar, and tries to hard to be good for her, good for the whole family. he knows how fucked up they all are, and he's just there- a little sunshiney boy trying to keep everything together. he has the best of intentions, he really does.

the scene with donna outside the restaurant. how he's just trying to do what's best and he feels empathy for her? he sees the best in people and honestly, i get why they're hard on him- he's not their usual type in the family, but pete deserves all the love and support genuinely.

just picturing your first true berzatto family get together. donna wants to see the new baby, so they have it at the restaurant. steven and michelle from out of town, jimmy, leo, donna, everyone- the whole gang. you're overwhelmed, especially when donna starts drinking.

pete just kinda comes and sits by you, while you're alone and unsure in the corner. you'd already been hounded with a million questions, carmen is trying to keep the peace in the kitchen, trying to check on you, trying to keep everyone from killing each other.

"how are you doing?" pete asks, sitting beside you, baby mikey in his arms.

"i-i'm good." you muttered, eyes darting around the room.

"it's a lot." pete sighed.

"it is a lot." you muttered, nodding slowly. "i mean, i knew it was gonna be a lot. carmy warned me on that but it's like..."

"so much worse than you thought it would be?" pete looked at you carefully.

"yeah." you nodded. "i, uh, i understand a lot more now."

"they're, uh, they're actually really nice. all of them, on their own." pete offered. "like steve and michelle, they're great, really. easy to talk to, always really nice, super fuckin' funny. and...and you know jimmy. leo is... leo's kinda a ball buster. got this dry sense of humor, but he'll be nice to you, a little invasive you know? but he's got good intentions."

you nodded slowly, eyes scanning around the room towards each person. "what about his mom?" you muttered, looking at the white haired woman nursing another glass of chardonnay. "she, uh, she hasn't spoke to me the whole time. i tried to introduce myself and she walked right past me." you tried not to sound hurt, carmen told you to shake it off, but it did hurt. that was his mother, no matter how he tried to play it off.

"donna is... donna is a lot." pete hummed. "she... you can't force donna. ok? she'll come to you when she's ready. right now, she doesn't know who you are. and as fucked up as it is, it's her way of looking out for carm, looking out for herself. just give that one time. she's watching you."

you scoffed lightly. "yeah? that supposed to make me feel better pete?"

"no. no not at all." pete laughed. "but, just some advice. you gonna leave carmen anytime soon?"

"no." you furrowed your brows, shooting a glare at him.

"then you show her that. she'll ease into you. i promise." pete said.

"thank you, pete." you nodded sincerely at him. "thanks for this."

"of course." pete grinned. "it's a lot and they're all too caught up in their own to try and help so... we outsiders gotta look out for each other."

you laughed lightly, looking down at the baby in his arms. he had the berzatto nose, carmen's and mikey's. "you're not an outsider anymore." you grinned. "not with this little guy."

pete smiled proudly. "i'm still an outsider. just got like a lifetime pass in." you laughed, reaching out to stroke the baby's soft tuft of hair. "you wanna hold him?"

"are you sure?" your eyes flashed to him. "i'm not great at it."

pete shrugged, fishing his hand sanitizer out and tossing it to you. "just don't drop him. i won't abandon you with him. promise."

you freshly sanitized hands shook lightly, grabbing the baby a little unsure, shifting the weight in your arm until it was comfortable. baby mikey gurgled, face scrunching for a moment, before he settles, lulled back into whatever rest he was in before.

"ah, he likes you." pete boasted. "must know you're gonna be a vip like me."

you snorted lightly, swaying back and forth with the tiny baby. "yeah. hopefully."

"you will be." pete nodded, his eyes cutting over to the figure by the windows. "judging by carmy's face, you definitely will be."

you looked up, seeing your boyfriend standing there, a water in his white knuckled grip staring at you. you smiled gently, nodding him over.

"they got you on baby sitting duty?" carmen grinned, trying to play off how flustered he was before, how his heart was skipping a beat seeing you like that.

"somethin' like that." you hummed. "pete just asked if i wanted to hold him. he's cute. kinda looks like you."

carmen scoffed as pete boasted. "he does, doesn't he! i told nat that and she told me i was crazy! see, nat!" he stood, going to get his wife from across the room, a promise he'd be right back.

carmen slid into his spot, leaning over your shoulder to look at the baby- his nephew. "he's cute." he nodded. "sorry you got stuck with pete." his tone snarled, rolling his eyes gently.

"hey, stop that." you frowned. "pete is very sweet, alright? he's a good guy, carm."

carmen could feel his shoulders tense. he was a good fuckin' guy, he knew that, that's why they gave him such a hard time. "you're right." carmen muttered. "he is a good guy."

"what were you two talking about?" carmen asked, letting the baby wrap his tiny fist around his finger.

"he was just telling me about your family."

"oh." carmen rolled his eyes sarcastically. "i'm sure that was great."

"it was." you said firmly, looking at him. "all the good stuff, baby. promise."

carmen blushed, resisting the urge to kiss you while his sister and pete came back over, pete exaggeratedly talking about how the baby did look like carmy and mikey and you agreed, which then brought jimmy over to give his opinion, stevie and michelle following, until everyone was around you bickering and throwing back and forth about who was right.

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inalandofsadclowns · 11 months ago

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Aight, who wants to talk about the theoretically most optimal occasion for Merlin to come out about his magic to Arthur?

I'll go first: 1x10, Ealdor.

In the prior episodes Merlin was basically still getting to know Arthur. For eight episodes he was the brave and noble prince that Merlin had grown to respect, because Arthur apparently did not value his own life any higher than that of a servant, but who was also the son of Uther Pendragon. Arthur would save Merlin at any price, he got to learn that multiple times. But would he save a sorcerer? He couldn't know. (This question remained even when Arthur had lifted Merlin's sorcery allegations.)

But in 1x08 Arthur knowingly broke the law saving Mordred, a druid; he was in fact more devoted to the cause than Merlin himself.

For Merlin to reveal his secret he needs three prerequisites to exist:

To trust Arthur

The opportunity

To be prepared to leave Arthur forever

The Moment of Truth might just be the only episode where all these exist?

Let's look through these points one by one.

1.Merlin had been wanting for Arthur to know since forever. There's nothing he wants more desperately than to know if they're really, truly friends. Once he says to Will, he does trust him.

Will: Friends don't lord it over one another.

Merlin: He isn't like that.

Will: Really? Well, let's wait until the fighting begins and see who he sends in to die first. I guarantee you, it won't be him.

Merlin: I trust Arthur with my life.

And this gem here. The first time Merlin doesn't promise Hunith to keep Arthur in the dark.

Hunith: You can't let Arthur know about your gift.

Merlin: Why not? Maybe it's meant to be this way. And if he doesn't accept me for who I really am, then he's not the friend I hoped he was.

2. Opportunity. They have these several times throughout the series: fights for survival, heated arguments, quiet moments of vulnerability. There are several brilliant opportunities in this very episode.

The armor scene:

Merlin: Whatever happens out there today, please don't think any differently of me.

Arthur: I won't. It's alright to be scared, Merlin.

Merlin: That's not what I meant.

Arthur: What is it? If you've got something to say, now's the time to say it.

Oh. He tried. My boy tried, he was so close...My heart bleeds for him here.

Then, obviously, right after the battle.

Arthur: Wind like that doesn't just appear from nowhere. I know magic when I see it. One of you made that happen.

Merlin: Arthur...

Merlin just so manages to exhale Arthur's name with a so-so painful look in his eyes. Arthur knows what Merlin was about to say. Just for a moment, because Will gets shot saving Arthur.

He even tries to stop Will from taking the responsibility on his deathbed, even though Arthur knew, that the windstorm was conjured by one of them; if it wasn't Will, than that leaves only Merlin.

Will: Yeah, it was me. I'm the one that used the magic.

Merlin: Will, don't.

[Arthur looks at Merlin.]

3. The most important part. The greatest issue for Merlin has always been the threat of having to leave Arthur. But in this episode there is a cause just as important to him as Arthur - his village and his mother.

The first Merlin and Arthur exchange of the episode is Merlin saying goodbye to Arthur.

Merlin: It's been an honour serving you.

Arthur: You'll be coming back.

Merlin: Well, she's my mother. I have got to look after her before anyone else. You understand?

Then he was prepared to come clean for Ealdor's sake several times that day. Merlin is going to fight for his village, he's well prepared to use magic if needed - in front of Arthur, if needed, knowing full well that might be the last time they ever speak or meet. Whether Arthur forbids Merlin from returning to Camelot for Camelot's sake or Merlin's own sake, the result would be the same.

At the very end, even with his magic still a secret, he was going to stay in Ealdor with Hunith, had she not sent him after the others, so he really was prepared to part from Arthur.

[Arthur walks over to Morgana and Gwen. Hunith walks over to Merlin.]

Hunith: You better be going.

Merlin: I don't have to go.

Hunith: Yes, you do.

Merlin: If anything were to happen to you...

Hunith: I know where to find you. You have to go, Merlin. You belong at Arthur's side. I've seen how much he needs you. How much you need him. You're like two sides of the same coin.

That whole episode was Merlin attempting and failing to come out to Arthur.

After this, though, Merlin was too close to Arthur to ever consider prerequisite 3., other than in the form of dying for Arthur.

#bbc merlin #merlin meta #merlin analysis #merlin #arthur pendragon #hunith #merthur #enough you're going in the queue

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lunexrin · 1 year ago

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KISS KISS FALL IN LOVE !

"Why the hell would you do that?!" "Did you think I wanted to?! Your germs... Ew.”

Blurb: A few glimpses of certain episodes if you and Tsukishima Kei were in a shoujo anime!

Genre/Tropes: academic rivals, slice of life, shoujo, romance, slow burn (?).

Reader: fem. (you will be addressed as 'Seiu' which is your supposed last name because i hate putting 'y/n' in my writings. it feels like a turn-off, for me.)

WC: 4.7k.

A/N: oh my god it has been so long?? this idea came from back in SEPTEMBER, on his birthday. and yes it took that long to finish *insert crying emoji*. this is my longest work so far (7 jan 24). but i don’t really like it? i think it’s tedious. i apologize for any grammar mistakes, and would love any feedbacks or critics *insert crying emoji again*.

“Aw, look at you,” He cooed, and you're actually contemplating on smashing your head straight into the glass window of your class rather than hearing his taunts to degrade your scores on this stupid, science quiz.

His pale, slender fingers came into your harsh gaze, watching him tap the wood of your desk in an unknown yet familiar rhythm, gazing down at you. “Why the sour face? You got a ninety-nine, your scores are higher than most in this class— ah!” He snapped his fingers like something suddenly clicked in his mind that he definitely hadn’t thought of before and that he definitely wasn’t using it to brag about it. “But I don’t think you’re the highest, though..”

Darn him for getting the highest. Darn him for getting a hundred.

You could just see him grinning like the fucking Cheshire cat even though your eyes are still glued on your scores.

Ninety-nine. And a little ‘good job’ note the science teacher wrote on the side, with a little smiley face next to it.

Now, why the hell did that smiley face seem like it's mocking you?

“Hey,” he crouched down, resting his forearms on the edge of your desk, and looked into your eyes, his smirk growing bigger. You looked back at him, and your eyes narrowed. “Thought you were crying for a sec.”

You felt offended and immediately went defensive. “I was not!” You exclaimed, accidentally slamming your arms on the desk louder than intended, resulting in dozens of heads turning, and a disapproving look of your teacher from the front of the class.

“Good. You were too quiet, made me uncomfortable.”

You opened your mouth to continue the argument, but before you could say anything, the teacher spoke. “Seiu! Tsukishima!” You both turned towards the teacher, and she gauged her eyes at you both. You knew what she meant, and so you slumped back in your chair defeatedly, while the blonde returned to his seat— that was unfortunately next to you— triumphantly.

“Remember the deal.” He whispered from his seat, scoffing while he took out his notebook and pens.

You sighed and clenched your jaw. “Fine. I’ll get you the darn strawberry shortcake after school.”

“I was afraid that you’d run off,” He was leaning against the wall, close to the gates of your school. “You can be a little cranky about saving a few pennies, don’t you?” He took off his headphones, letting out a small chuckle.

Yes, you can be cranky about money, but a promise is a promise.

There's this stupid bet, or dare I say a tradition where after every quiz, debate, and exam— the one who tops gets to ask the other to buy whatever they wish.

“The usual?” You asked, with the most deadpan expression you could’ve pulled. Tsukishima burst out laughing at that, pointing his finger at your face and mocking every little detail he could.

“It’s either you shut that darn mouth of yours or the strawberry shortcake—”

“Okay, okay! The— pfft— the strawberry shortcake, sure sure.”

You dragged him out of the school gates by the end of his uniform, and he laughed again.

So annoying.

He sees that you are leading him (dragging him) around the familiar streets that lead to the café that you both always went to, ever since freshman year.

He sighed. “The usual it is.”

A few moments passed by, and you both fell into a comfortable silence, which was almost too good to be true. You often just stared at the long shadows on the ground, following you and Tsukishima’s every little movement. Once in a while, crows would caw as they fly high up in the sky, making you look up to the orange-purple skies, the orange rays illuminating your eyes.

At times you overlooked nature, and sometimes you just lost yourself in it.

And at times you overlooked the way your heart beats faster when he looked at you like this— under the sunset where no other soul was near.

“What?” You asked, looking at him in the corner of your eye. Your heart beat faster when you saw him literally glowing under the sun, looking at you with a smile that seemed a whole lot more genuine than you’d like it to be.

He scoffed, staring up at the sky, and then at you. You noticed the two tiny twinkles of light in his golden brown eyes— wait, since when was it there and why are you noticing it just now?

“Nothing, pipsqueak.” He says, staring up ahead with a cheeky grin.

The familiar ding of the bell echoed through the empty, dim-lighted bakery, the nostalgic aroma of freshly baked bread and brewed coffee hits your nostrils, feeling at home.

A small smile curved on your lips, and a sigh of contentment escaped your lips. "Home sweet home." You said, eyes twinkling in fondness.

Making your way towards the counter, you paid for everything that you would be indulging, including his strawberry shortcake that looked ridiculously good. Sitting in the very corner of the small shop, you got yourself lost in the atmosphere as the rain fell outside.

You rested your head atop the wooden table, eyes watching out the race of rain droplets to see which one won, just like when you were a kid— when life was nothing but sunshine and rainbows, unlike now, where everything felt so nonchalant to you, for some reason.

Shamelessly, you kept your mouth stuffed with the cream bread you'd always eat, ever since you discovered this precious of a place. Glancing at the male who's apparently just as caught up with the rain as you are, stuffing his mouth with some strawberry, you begin talking (with your mouth full, still.)

"Are you ever going to try something else?" Your eyes shot to the cake, then back to him. He scrunched up his nose, an expression of disgust as he saw your stuffed mouth. You rolled your eyes, not caring. "It's not like you ever tried anything else— and stop eating like that. It's not like the bread would run off—"

"It's not like the bread would run off." You mimicked him, and he gritted his teeth. "Annoying little shit." He whispered, sipping at the warm coffee to try to keep his cool.

"I didn't know you had a habit of talking to yourself." You smirked, glancing at the tall, clear jug filled with water right in between you both on the table, doing a splendid job at reflecting himself on it. His eyes shot open, glaring at you and the poor jug.

"You weren't this talkative earlier," he said, setting his coffee on the table. "Finally getting over your marks?" He asked, his smirk returning which made your eyes roll.

"Bastard."

“Oi, Seiu.” He almost grumbled out your name, your ears catching the sounds of flipping papers, even through the headphones sitting on your head.

“What?” You replied groggily, taking off your headphones. You’re just about to fall asleep but he ruined it!

You were slumped next to him on the train, temple resting against the cold, metal railing on your side. Maybe it’s because of the scorching weather this July that you felt so incredibly exhausted— all your willpower was drained out at school earlier, and coming to cram school to violate your energy and brain further certainly doesn’t help your current state in any way.

You feel as if your soul is going to be sucked out, yet he’s still reviewing the papers? Doesn’t he feel tired or something?

“English essay papers. The one the teacher graded earlier.” His palm was lazily exposed in front of you, expecting the marked sheets to arrive in it upon his demand. Tsukishima doesn’t know what ‘asking’ is.

“You can still study?” You mumbled, eyes narrowing as you rummaged through your bag. Wrinkles formed on your forehead when your eyes turned into thin slits trying to search for what you wanted, the blur decorating your eyes not subsiding as quickly as you wanted it to.

“You’re going to get old faster than anyone else with that frown of yours.” His voice was lower than usual, but the playful spark remained. His banter was replied to only by the click of your tongue. You’re too tired to joke around.

When you finally found it, you shoved the crumpled sheets into his hand and slumped your head back onto the railing. “Don’t you know what rest is?” You said, sighing as you got into a more comfortable position, forgetting about the device hanging on your neck.

“I need to work harder to beat you.” His eyes narrowed as he read the messy scribbling of your writing, but he can’t deny how he adored your talent to form a masterpiece with a foreign land’s words, every. single. time.

“You’ve already beaten me a lot of times, didn’t you?” At times like this when your consciousness stays for the sake of a conversation, you’re more truthful, or maybe even less hostile. You didn’t have the energy to have an ongoing banter with him no more.

Even though your vision was black, you could feel his eyes glued to you. You were expecting some witty comebacks to launch from his mouth, but he was silent, for a while. It’s deafening.

It almost makes you uneasy.

“I’m not as smart as you, Seiu.” He finally blurted out, but it was so quiet.

Your eyelids fluttered open just slightly as if you couldn’t believe your ears.

He beat you every single time, so what nonsense is spitting out from his mouth? Did the weather get to him too? Until he’s feeling ‘under the weather’? (With all puns intended.)

Ironically as that thought finished, the rain fell. Hard.

You moved the back of your head towards the glass window instead, the coldness of the rain droplets spreading through the glass sent a wave of relief onto your body.

You eyed him from the corner of your eye. That bad posture, the metal frame that sits atop the bridge of his nose that looked like it was about to fall any second from now, the crumpled sheets that were lucky enough to feel the caress of his slender fingers—

You’re doing it again. You’re too observant at times like this, it’s more than necessary.

“You’re insane.” You snorted, closing your eyes again.

“You’re a fucking genius without trying, Seiu.” It’s his time to sigh, almost frustrated. “You don’t even try.”

It’s true. You’re lazy. You hardly even try and yet you score all of your exams.

“If ever someday you decided to pick up a book and scribble more notes..” He drifted off, and you’re kind of eager for him to continue.

“I’m done for.” He mumbled.

What a compliment, you thought. Maybe you would’ve grinned cheekily if you had the energy, but you don’t.

“Wow.” That’s all you could utter.

You could hear him huff as if he was regretting what he said.

“Just don’t get all romantic and don’t sleep on my shoulder.” He mumbled, the sound of turning pages starting again.

“I don’t want your cooties either.”

“Good night, Seiu.”

You both snorted out loud.

It was P.E., and another class had joined yours’ to play.

It was a warming-up session, and everyone needed to jog a few laps before playing.

You weren’t exactly the sporty type that had a lot of stamina, and you never liked running. The summer was taking a toll on you again, and you were slower than usual— than everyone. You were at the very back when the other girls were a few meters away. You’re not too slow, but not that fast enough.

Behind you were the boys, from your class and the other. You didn’t pay much to them and kept jogging.

You did notice a couple of times that Tsukishima was staring at you, and even when you caught his gaze, his eyes were still on you. It was nothing new, just that same old glare he always gives you.

You heard laughter erupting from behind, footsteps becoming louder as a group of guys caught up beside you. One of them pushed the other and he ended up bumping into you hard. You fell, scraping your knee and palms in the process.

All you heard next was laughter. Mocking ones, from both the guys and— whom you thought was— your friends.

It turns out the one who bumped into you was someone you had a few problems with in the past. He was your… not enough to be a former lover, far from a friend but yet, he’s no stranger. He held a grudge against you, it seems.

The guy laughed along, as well.

It was only for a few seconds the scene unfolded, but it felt like an eternity of humiliation.

Did Tsukishima join them?

You slowly got yourself up, the burn in your knee only increasing with each inch you elevated from the ground.

Halfway through, someone grabbed your upper arm and shoulder tight, slowly helping you up. Those pale, slender arms..

Tsukishima.

Exaggerated gasps were heard, and whispers were accentuated. Honestly, you would’ve acted the same way, if you were them.

Tsukishima… helped. He didn’t make fun of you.

You heard him click his tongue, and you raised your head just enough to see the scowl on his face, and the way he glared at the guys from earlier.

“Can’t you fucking see she was next to you?” He cursed, and everyone fell silent. Everyone was always a little wary of him, even scared. His height was intimidating, but seeing him in such a way was a lot scarier.

Even you haven’t seen him this angry.

The teacher jogged over, a tense expression on his face.

“Tsukishima-kun, enough. You can go on and I’ll put her aside—“

“Don’t bother, sensei.” He quickly cut the teacher off, eyes glued to the fuckers that were too irrelevant to be in the same place as he is.

“I don’t feel like playing football with people who are clearly blind.” He snickered, almost mocking them.

He brought you under a tree, and you freed your wrist from his grasp and slumped against the tree. Your head was down low as if the skin of your legs had some ancient scripture that you were so persistent on staring at. A large shadow emerged, and turns out it was him standing in front of you with his hands on his hips, eyes ahead staring at the other students.

Don’t cry don’t cry don’t cry don’t cry.

“Don’t worry.” He tried to reassure, but he sounded a little too bitter— he’s not used to it. “I won’t let them see how ugly you are when you cry.”

You cried anyway.

“Know how to treat a wound?” He asked as if he wouldn’t already do it himself as he rummaged through the cabinets.

Your silence in speaking and a few sniffles are enough to tell.

He sighed, reaching for a box filled with stuff that’ll help heal your wound— only on the outside, though. It’ll only help what’s on the surface, only helping your scraped skin, but the humiliation inside? Who knows how long the tear of your heart will last? Who knows who is going to tape it up for you, saying everything will be okay?

A small part of your heart’s tear was stitched up already at the sight of him getting down on one knee in front of you, getting the band-aids, antiseptic, tweezers, and cotton wools out.

“What’s the point in hiring nurses if they’re just never going to show up to work?” He rambled on like an old grandma, complaining how he needed to do everything himself.

But really, even if the nurses were here and you were being tended to, he’ll never really leave you. He’s treating you like you needed all the help in the world as if you were in a coma or something.

The rustling of the bed sheets when you squirmed, the annoyingly strong scent of the antiseptic throughout the whole room, and Tsukishima’s rambles as he treated your wound made you… strangely emotional.

Your shoulders shook rather violently, and your gaze blurred with the salty liquid once again.

His eyes widened upon taking in your appearance, drawing the cotton wool soaked with medicine away from your wound as quickly as time allowed it.

“Woah, woah, woah, hey! Does it hurt that bad?!” He almost yelled, and did he not panic like the world was going to end.

“Okay, look— okay I’ll stop! I told you to prepare yourself beforehand—”

“Arigato, Tsukishima-kun.”

You wailed like your life had crumbled— looking back, it was kind of funny with the snot and everything, he’ll definitely tease you for that later— and you sobbed your heart away. You didn’t even cry like this when a relative died but you cried when someone insisted on treating your wound? Wow.

And Tsukishima? His face could be taken as pure gold. He was dumbfounded, with wide eyes while staring at you crying like so. In literal words, it’s best to say he malfunctioned. You were crying way harder than before, you’re crying harder now than when you fell!

You keep sucking back in the snot that threatens to goo down their way, wiping your tears rather harshly, but it kept coming down anyway. It was embarrassing, but you couldn’t stop crying.

You heard him sigh.

“You’re disgusting, Seiu.” He said, though not much disgust was evident in his voice.

You felt a soft cloth arrive on your face, the fabric particularly covering your nose. You stopped your wail and looked at him, blinking rapidly as you were confused about what he was trying to do.

“Blow it out.” He said defeatedly, sighing as he looked away.

Sprettttt!

He crunched his nose upon hearing the noise, his glasses lifted slightly in the process before settling down to its original position.

“Again.”

Sprreettttttttt!

“I kind of feel bad for Seiu.”

You stopped dead in your tracks, and so did Tsukishima.

It was that group of guys again, and the one who spoke was the one that, well… the one that bumped into you.

“You still like her?” One of his friends said, and the others fell silent.

You both were standing on the top of the stairs like a fool, like deers caught in the headlights. But the question is, why did Tsukishima stop too?!

“I don’t!” He quickly denied but the others burst out into laughter and a series of teasing ‘oooh's.

Your class was just right there. Why did they have to walk through the hallway where your class was located, when there were a dozen others? You don’t want to come across them! Your cheeks were puffy, your eyes were red. You didn’t want them to know you cried, especially not when they were the reason. (Well, partly of the reason).

“Seiu’s quite sensitive. What if she’s like.. I don’t know!” He grumbled.

“Aw, you worried that she cried? You still like her!” Another laughter erupted.

“That’s her class, isn’t it? Where is she?”

They were peeking through the windows, but of course, you’re not there, you’re hiding in the corner of the hallway like a fool.

“She’s not there.” One said, confused.

“Oi… Tsukishima’s not there either.” Some of them gasped, and some of them went silent.

“I think.. Seiu and Tsukishima—”

Tsukishima grabbed your hand, his gaze hard. He wasn’t looking at you though, but just staring into the clear windows in front of you both, as if he was waiting to get caught or.. as if he was ready to do something.

“Don’t say things like that!” The guy defensively said, his voice raising an octave. He still has feelings for you, it seems.

“But don’t you think it makes sense? They’re always together,”

They’re getting closer. Their footsteps are getting louder, and your body just tensed. Tsukishima squeezed your hand harder, and you looked at him through your sore, reddish eyes.

You wanted to get out of here, but you can’t just run to somewhere else in the building. You need to get into class, and it’s almost time. You’ll get a cleaning punishment if you’re late, and you don’t want to involve Tsukishima in any of it already. He’s done more than enough.

“—For the last time, they are not!” They were just around the corner, and their shoes came into your sight.

“I just.. I just want to apologize to Seiu and—”

Everything shut down.

Your ears were ringing, succumbing to a forced silence, your whole body refusing to react to anything else.

Your back against the wall.

His hand on your waist.

Your glasses clashing onto each other’s.

His lips on top of yours.

Tsukishima… was kissing you.

Shielding you, almost.

A loud, erratic pair of footsteps ran to the opposite side, kicking you both out to reality once again.

Then followed by a few others.

The ringing slowly subsided, and your irises moved.

Oh, they’re gone.

Your irises drifted to the ones in front of you, the pair being the most nastiest, gorgeous golden brown eyes you have ever seen.

His eyes have twinkles in them.

Don’t know if it has always been there or if you only noticed it now, but it’s pretty.

Ethereal.

The loud ring of the school bell rang, and you both flinched and covered your ears— you’re literally below one.

It snapped you back to the current situation. For real, this time.

Wide eyes, you looked at him, gasping.

A little too late to act shocked now, but oh well.

“Why did you do that?!” You yelled into his face, mouth agape. He seems just as shocked as you were, cheeks painted with crimson tints.

“Did you think I wanted to?!” He looked away, eyes frantic.

“Your germs…” He covered his lips with his hand, wiping it down gently with his palm. “Ew.” He stared at his palm blankly.

Is that a cover-up… or was he actually disgusted?

You bolted into class.

And so did he. (Well, after a few seconds of standing there like a pole).

You couldn't help but glance at him throughout the entire day, barely even focusing on what's been taught ahead of you. You kept fidgeting with whatever you could, with your fingers, sliding your feet from one place to the other and whatnot.

No matter how much you tried, your gaze would return to him.

You saw how he'd stare at you from the corners of his eyes, albeit you pretended not to notice. You noticed how he glided his fingertips over his lips, over and over. You noticed how he zoned out, just like you did.

He barely ever loses focus.

Was he thinking of the kiss, just like how you did?

You had hoped that was the case so you wouldn't be the only one who looked like a dumbstruck, confused fool. And you just prayed that he wouldn't pretend as if nothing had happened because it wasn't. It was one hell of a situation to just throw it over your heads as if it wasn't anything— you both seriously need to talk.

Without noticing, the vibrant azure skies turned orange, and the familiar tone of ringing echoed through the school's speakers, noting that it was time to return home.

You got up as slow as you could, eyeing Tsukishima who was frozen in his seat. You packed your things and shoved them into your bag, the chair screeching quietly across the floor as you stood up.

"Tsukki." Your voice knocked him back from his series of pondering, flinching upon hearing you speak. He looked at you, almost nervous.

"Yeah?"

"Time to go home." You mumbled, stating the obvious. Might as well mention that the grass is green.

He packed his bag in no rush. It was as if he was trying to slow down his moves, though his intentions remained unclear. He looked guilty almost, his lips pressed into a thin line.

"We need to talk about earlier." You blurted out, and he froze. His bent figure slowly straightened, and a long shadow of his figure emerged and decorated the walls— how did you even manage to catch that? Well, maybe because you were looking at everything but his eyes.

"I thought you didn't want to talk about it." He mumbled, finally facing you. He stared down at you before looking away, scratching at the back of his head.

You took a few steps backward, sitting against the still of an opened window. The wind gushes through your air, making you shiver slightly. The heat was no joke, and the intensity of the situation only escalated it.

"How could I not?" Your voice turned quiet as you stared at the ground. "I can't just go on and pretend nothing happened." You began fiddling with your fingers.

"Why did you do it?" You whispered almost shakily.

"I don't know." He whispered back.

"Do you... like me?"

Not once did it ever cross your mind to have feelings for him, but now you knew. Now you know why at certain times you tend to be so observant of every little thing that he does. Like how beautiful his eyes look under the sunlight, how gently he turns the pages of your paper sheets as if he was afraid to leave a single crumple, how he manages to insult you every time but never goes too far to actually hurt your feelings—

Now you knew.

The pounding of your heart was because of him. The very presence of him around you calms you down like after a storm and yet manages to roar it wildly and harder than ever.

You, Seiu, have fallen for him.

Your question was left hanging with no audible answer that left his mouth. Silence.

Something bottled up inside you and it was going to explode.

"I can't believe you." You snarled and gripped the metal still of the window. "Is kissing a random girl in the name of helping just so normal to you? Is that how you help? Without even considering how she feels— how I feel?"

"Seiu—"

"For you, it might not be anything important," You sniffled, tears rolling down. You lost count of how many times you cried. "But it is important, for me—"

Your breath hitched when his lips landed on yours again.

Damn, at least let me finish. You thought.

His fingers crept onto your cheeks, cradling them ever so gently. His thumb wiped away the tears wetting your skin. He tilted his head to get a better angle and his kiss got softer by each second.

"Can't you at least kiss me back?" He mumbled against your lips, eyes still closed as if he was afraid to see your reaction.

You finally closed your eyes, moving your lips again his own by following an unknown flow. The second he got a response from you, his other hand pulled you in closer by your waist, pressing your bodies together. The sudden touch combined with the wind that attacked your back made you shiver. His hand moved and pressed onto your back, rubbing up and down to soothe you.

You let out a shaky breath through your nose, and the wave of relief and pleasure spread throughout your body into every vein and muscle. Your hands found their way linked at the back of his head in which you daringly pulled him closer.

You couldn't get enough. Kiss after kiss, breath after breath, you caught his lips again once you both sucked in a breath to continue. His glasses kept clashing with yours with every movement, and he attempted to take it off.

"It's okay, leave them on." You mumbled and took his hand away. You love his square glasses. You'd never want him to take it off.

He only smirked against your lips, the adorable sharp fang of his showing. "You didn't even let me finish earlier, and now you just can't stop, can't you?" He sighed and pressed his lips to yours again.

"And yeah, I like you, Seiu."

#—lunexrin #tsukishima kei #slow burn #shoujo #tsukishima kei x reader #tsukishima kei x you #tsukishima kei x y/n #haikyuu fluff #haikyuu fic #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu x you #haikyuu #haikyuu x y/n

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hyog-blog · 2 months ago

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Fangs of Fortune (ep. 33 - ep. 34)

Okay, I might need therapy after this show now, but oh boy, did they end on a hopeful note (I mean that sweet special episode that made EVERYTHING better). I almost don't want to recount the torment that was the last few episodes, but it was pretty. And all of them are incredibly beautiful sufferers D:

Li Lun had a spectacular, albeit short, redemption arc, sacrificing himself both for Zhuo Yichen and, most importantly, Zhao Yuanzhou. LL and ZYZ are especially tragic if you come to think of it. They've both lived 30,000+ years, can you imagine the amount of cycles their relationship went through? They could have been enemies just out of boredom, and then lovers again, and then friends, and then whatever. They both don't pose as very sociable beings, so I imagine having each other in their lives was pretty important. Thus, losing the other one was pretty much unbearable. It's akin to losing a part of yourself, of your body and soul (once again, the TORMENT of Li Lun dying and what ZYZ was going through was palpable).

"I can't stand seeing him so useless."

And that moment when Zhao Yuanzhou needed to kill the phoenix but he couldn't utter the goddamn spell because Zhuo Yichen was in there, too, and he could have been killed. Gosh, give that old demon a break, hasn't he suffered enough already? (Mr.Guo says: nope, not nearly). But that handshake was hotter than a kiss, I swear :)

That moment when Zhao Yuanzhou was going to his death, leaving Wen Xiao behind and breaking A LOT at the passageway, realizing he wouldn't be able to keep any of his promises - to her and to him, that was almost worse than the death itself. Hou Minghao played it so well it physically hurt to see him like that.

Don't get me even started about Bai Jiu and how he held onto Zhuo Yichen's hair bells for strength and courage D: In the end, he was the one who saved everyone. A baby boy who was scared of everything.

And what a day it was for Wen Xiao to lose both her stepfather and her loved one. Zhao Yuanzhou did sacrifice him for her (otherwise she would have done it as a goddess for all those people), but a small evil voice in my head (probably Li Lun's XD) whispered that it's just one city, how many ppl could the Chongwu Camp have infected? Screw the city, save Zhao Yuanzhou XD Well, I'm obviously biased, so, yeah. One Great Demon saved the day, finally realizing his deathwish, which was no longer there.

Zhao Yuanzhou and Zhuo Yichen during the killing - it was just pure heartbreak. ZY manned up (if it's even applicable here) and did the deed himself, not waiting for ZYZ to go full-on Ying Long on him. Instant depression for the whole Demon Hunting Bureau, whoever was left there still. But kudos to our boy for saving a part of Zhao Yuanzhou's soul - just like Bing Yi did. And not only that, he went looking for it. I have no idea what you could do with a particle like that (can you grow him back? I'd like to think so, although Ying Long was kinda stuck and didn't seem too happy, hmm).

Also, the last person Zhao Yuanzhou saw was Zhuo Yichen D;

But still, that ending in the special was hopeful. Instantly made everything somehow less dreary and lonely. Zhuo Yichen's character growth was IMMENSE. Our boy went from hating demons who killed his family, then getting to know so many of them, and one especially well, and even to becoming one himself. And in the end, he refused to give up on Zhao Yuanzhou, saying he'd be guilty for the rest of his life if he didn't find him. Well, maybe that, but also because of their love, which was HUGE.

I like how the show explored different types of love - friendly, sisterly, brotherly, m/m, f/f, and everything in between. Unrequited love, platonic love, the whatever love - it's all been there. Pei Sijing's face said a lot when Wen Xiao told them she was also leaving - to stay in the Wilderness. It's not-really-funny how without Zhao Yuanzhou their whole team broke apart (well, some died, but each of them went their separate ways). I kind of hopefully imagine that if he came back, he'd probably want to spend a small eternity with Zhuo Yichen or Wen Xiao (or more likely both) and that could be a whole new adventure for them.

I sacrificed my night's sleep for this, no regrets whatsoever XD Not nearly enough kittens in the world to heal after this, though. But the show is so-so good.

#fangs of fortune #i'm really not well about all of this #which was expected but still #what a ride it's been #I need to bathe myself in kittens now XD #fof #zhao yuanzhou #zhuo yichen #zhu yan #li lun #neo hou #hou minghao #yan an

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rekino2114 · 4 months ago

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Arei's s/o during the second trial

A/n:on this final installment of drdt daturday we have......angst well it's not as angsty and heartbreaking as the last episode I NEED TO GIVE TERUKO A HUG RIGHT NOW....don't worry I already have some ideas for some comfort fics for her

[Spoilers for all of drdt chapter 2 obviously]

It was hard to explain the emotions you were feeling in that elevator. You stood in the back with your head down and your arms crossed, you hadn't talked to anyone during the investigation, you didn't want to, the image of your girlfriend's body hanging from that swing was still fresh in your mind and the idea that you could even accidentally talk to the person who killed her made you want to vomit.

"Y-y/n are you OK?"

"......no"

"O-oh"

"Sorry eden, it's just.....she's gone"

"Don't worry, I understand. Her death hit me pretty hard so I can't even imagine what it's like for you"

".....thank you for checking on me"

"It's nothing. I promise we'll find her killer"

"......I don't know if that's gonna make me feel better"

"......."

Your conversation was interrupted by the door opening and everyone walking out. You went to your podium, and the trial started.

You stayed mostly silent during the first part of the trial only telling the secret you received and occasionally interjecting.....until David said this

"Ahahaha!!! Oh fucking fine.....i.....I killed arei, does hearing that make you happy?"

"!"

"You piece of shit, you really admitted to it"

"You.....how could you do that! You're horrible!"

"What a mess"

"How exciting~"

teruko convinced David to explain himself, and you were still shocked to hear what he had to say....but for a very different reason

"I suppose you could call me arei's murderer but it's more like I talked her into killing herself"

........what?

"You........what?"

"She already had a pretty low opinion of herself, and she was looking for validation from me. It was pretty easy to convince her she should die"

"That's.....that's-"

"Terrible! how could you possibly do that! Arei wanted to change! and you talked her into believing she couldn't!"

"And why should I care? Actually, to that matter, why should you care? Arei contributed nothing of significant value to my life or to yours. She existed as a background character for a few short days, to occasionally interject brief interruptions of bitching and now she's gone. Arei had about as much impact as a temporary weather spell, but no one cries when the sun comes out again"

You couldn't take it anymore. That bastard needed to shut up

".....I see so that's how it is.......how dare you"

"Oh, what are you mad that i-"

"How dare you lie to our faces like that!"

"........."

"Ahahaha and to think I believed you for a second, arei killed herself? Sure whatever you say!"

"Y-y/n?, what's wrong?"

"Listen to me, arei would never kill herself, do you know how many death treaths she received? Do you know how many times her sisters told her to do just that? And you think she'd do that because of you? Fuck off"

"I agree with y/n, arei wasn't the type to commit suicide plus there's too much stuff that David can't explain about the crime"

"Oh, you don't believe me? how cruel! I wanted to make this trial easier for you, you know?"

"Shut up! I'm sure teruko will find some concrete evidence to expose your lie but just know I'm not voting until this blue haired bitch tells the truth"

"Blue haired bitch? Awwww are you seeing arei's ghost? Maybe she wants you to join her"

"I was talking about you shithead, now stop lying"

"..........you want the truth uh?.......fine then I guess I'll tell you, y/n is right, I didn't kill arei, I didn't talk her into suicide, our conversation had nothing to do with her death"

"W-what?"

"Took you long enough"

"Why the hell did you lie then? Don't you know that if we vote wrong all of us will die, you too shitface"

".....I don't know if that will answer your question but if anyone was wondering............I know who the real killer is"

"E-eh?"

"What the fuck?"

"What are you on about now?"

"It's true, I was near the crime scene around the time of the murder, did you forget that? And I saw the murder being committed"

"He's probably lying again.....right?"

"But why would he?"

"W-who is it? Who killed arei?"

"Alright then, listen closely cause I'll say it one time only......the cold-blooded killer who ruthlessly took arei nageishi's life is.............. Y/N L/N!"

W-what did he just say?

"W-whaaaaaaaaaat?"

"No way!"

"Y-you bastard"

"Explain yourself"

"Very well, since teruko asked me so nicely, I'll do it. So, as you know and as ace can confirm, arei and i had a conversation in the relaxation room, after she left I stayed there for a while thinking about our discussion and when I left I passed by the playground, the rooms are right in front of each other if you remember, and there I saw....y/n right in the middle of strangling arei, of course I left immediately to not become the next portrait around here"

"....there's no way, you're lying, y/n would never, they loved arei"

"If you knew they were the killer, then why did you claim to have killed her earlier?"

"Because I was soooo distraught by the scene of y/n killing the person they claimed to love that I just felt the need to cover for them"

"R-really?"

"Nope I just wanted you all to vote wrong"

"Fuck you"

"We almost died because of your lie"

"Like I care, so what do you have to say.... you murderer?"

David looked straight at you, and you snapped, not only did this piece of shit lie to arei to gain her trust, not only did he try to get everyone killed but now he was lying again and claiming that you were the killer?

"......so that's how you want to play.... alright then, I'll play by your rules"

"How fun~"

"First of all why the heck would I kill arei? She was my girlfriend for fuck's sake"

"I dunno maybe you had an argument that escalated"

"As if I'd kill her for something like that"

"Then maybe she started attacking you first. She was pretty aggressive after all. Maybe this was all just self-defense"

"Oh, so you think I just carry around rope with me everywhere I go? She was hanged, remember?"

"Well I saw you choking her so maybe you put too much force and accidentally killed her, then when you realized what you had done, you decided to grab the rope and make it look like a suicide"

"Then why the fuck would I object when you yourself told everyone you talked arei into suicide? everyone was about to vote for you, if I stayed silent I would have won the trial"

"You said it yourself. You knew teruko was going to disprove me sooner or later, so you thought that by doing that whole scene, you would look innocent and play the part of the heartbroken partner who just lost their girlfriend. 10/10 performance, by the way, you could have given me a run for my money"

"Y-you........t-then why would I feel the need to fake the letter in eden's name, I could have used mine, and it would have probably worked better"

"Ah! You're so desperate. You're asking me these obvious questions? Anyone with a brain knows that if their name was found on the letter, it would have implicated them. Luckily for you, there was just one other person who arei trusted enough to meet with alone"

"..........son of a-"

"That's enough y/n, I have some questions too. What's the deal with the fishes at the crime scene?"

"How am I supposed to know, I'm not the killer. Ask them!"

"Y/n?"

"I. Don't. Know. I am not the fucking culprit"

"*sighs* you're both being so unhelpful"

"You want me to be helpful? Fine then. Why the hell are we trusting the testimony of the guy who NOT EVEN 5 MINUTES AGO admitted to lying to get us all killed, and might I remind you, who's secret is that he exists to manipulate everyone. We might as well trust a pathological liar at this point"

"Y/n's right, David's definitely lying again"

"Y-yeah, there's no way they'd kill arei"

"I agree with eden, y/n and arei really loved each other, I-I don't think they'd ever hurt each other in any way"

"I mean, people kill their lovers for stupid reasons all the time. If you add the killing game and arei's personality into the mix, I could easily see y/n killing her"

"......*sighs* I base my suspicions on evidence alone, not sentimentality, and right now, the only evidence we have is David's testimony. I would do the same if any of you accused him"

"T-teruko, you believe him? You really think y/n killed arei?"

".....it's definitely a possibility, one that I need to investigate"

"Are you even listening to me?!"

"I. Didn't. Kill. Arei. How many times do I have to say that before it gets through your thick skull? And I thought you were the smart one teruko"

"I didn't even say it was for sure. You have to admit it's a possibility, plus with how defensive you're getting"

"DEFENSIVE? do you know what it's like being accused of killing the person you loved. Actually you should know that feeling all too well after what happened with Xander"

"S-shut up"

"No, wait, now I understand. You're being like this because you think I'm like Xander, you think I pretended to love arei just to betray her in the end, you're projecting you own trust issues onto me aren't you?"

"........."

[Rebuttal showdown]

"I'm not arei's murderer!"

"What motive would I even have?"

"We already knew each other secret's even before this killing game"

"I have no reason to kill her!"

[Advance]

"As much as agreeing with David gives me physical pain. Like he said, the reason for arei's murder could have nothing to do with the secrets"

"Then what about the opportunity"

"The murder took place at 7:30 p.m right?"

"You're out of your element"

[Break]

"Huh? Charles? What is it?"

"I think David is lying, but when I was trying to think of evidence to prove y/n's innocence, I realized something much worse"

"Worse? That's bad!"

"What is it now-"

"Everyone Shut up! I need to think...........damn it. Teruko, we really fucked up"

After Charles explained that the murder could have happened at 7:30 am and teruko and Arturo admitted their mistakes (one way more calmly than the other) you started talking about your alibis at that time

"Most of us wake up at 8:00 am as early as 7:30 we would all still be asleep"

"Yeah. I was definitely asleep at that time"

"I don't have an alibi in the morning, neither does Charles"

"Do none of us have alibis during the time of the murder?"

"No I do"

"Hm? Y/n?"

"I woke up early to have breakfast, At around 7:30, David and Veronika were also there, and j came in a bit later, so they're all clear and should be able to confirm what I said"

"Yeah it's true I woke up early too to shake off arturo"

"Yep,yep, we were all having breakfast together. None of us could possibly be the murderer"

"And to think I was happily eating while arei was being murdered in the other room......it's so-"

"Exciting~"

".........."

".........shit"

"If y/n has a alibi, then they're not the killer"

"Not only that, but David was there too, so he can't have killed arei either, even if he already admitted to lying about that"

"S-so David lied....twice?"

"He really did try to get us all killed....what an asshole"

"So y/n's not the culprit after all"

"That's what I've been trying to tell you for the past 30 minutes......anyway, what do you have to say you lying piece of shit?"

"Whoops! You really should have skipped breakfast that day you know y/n? Waking up early isn't even that fun"

"Shut up!"

"David, without a doubt you lied about both you and y/n being arei's murderer especially now that we know that both of you are two of the few people who couldn't have murdered her"

"Well when you put it that way, I suppoooose its in the realm if possibility that I've been lying about everything for the past 2 hours"

"Dude, what the fuck? You do know that an incorrect vote will get everyone killed right?"

"David, why?"

"If I tried to explain why, would you even believe me? After all, everyone thinks I'm some sort of compulsive liar now,like y/n said"

"Don't give me that crap, teruko has already apologized for misleading the trial by accident. And she's teruko of all people"

"I'm "teruko of all people?" harsh"

"So don't think you can weasel out of an explanation for misleading the trial on purpose....twice"

"Besides,to try and get everyone killed, yourself included....I'm sure you must have a remarkably interesting motivation. So please, do tell me. Oh, and don't say something as boring as "I want to kill myself." I have no interest in such mundane reasons"

"Please, I'm an incredibly interesting person full on joyous zest for life......the truth is......... I killed arei"

That stupid repetition made you yell at him again

"SHUT UP, NO SHUT THE ACTUAL FUCK UP. I swear If you lie again I will actually kill you"

"Come on. It was just a little joke~ it's true neither me nor y/n killed arei. I only said whatever was necessary to make you all think I or they did. Hell, I didn't even think to take the blame for her death until halfway through this trial! And I only accused y/n because they wouldn't believe me, and they pissed me off. Also, it would make a good story, don't you think? You know for the TV show"

"So you accused me of murdering arei because you felt like it?"

"Pretty much, it didn't really make a difference to me as long as you believed my lie"

After David did his whole speech about Xander being a good person (which pissed off teruko) and how he wants to end the killing game, you started talking about alibis again and Levi, hu, Veronika and teruko said which secrets were theirs finally revealing them all.

"I've started to detect that this trial is no longer about me, it'd be bestif I kept my mouth shut from now on riiiight?"

"If it's settled then-"

"Wait before he shuts up for good, I need to ask him something"

"Oh what a surprise! I thought you hated me"

"I do, but you're the only one who can give me my answer.....oh, and my previous statement is still valid if you lie I'll kill you"

"Nooooo please, I'm sooooo scared. Don't worry, I'll definitely tell the truth"

"......what were her last words?"

"Hm?"

"You know what I'm talking about. You and arei talked the night before she was killed.....what did you talk about?"

"Didn't ace already tell you? She found out about my secret and confronted me about it."

"I know that. But what happened later?"

"........."

"How did the conversation end? Was she mad? Did she yell at you? What happened exactly?

"........."

"Eden, you want to hear that too right?"

"....Y-yeah exactly"

"Tell us, David. What did she say?"

".........nothing. absolutely nothing. I didn't say anything to her, and she didn't have that much to say to me either. Arei simply got annoyed with me and left without saying anything else"

"....that's a relief-"

"You're lying again"

"Uh? How do you know?"

".......I don't, but it's a bet I'm willing to make. Arei.......she couldn't have simply left. She had to have said something, anything.....let me hear her last words"

"........why do you even care? Those weren't even her last words"

"..........."

"She died the next morning, remember? She probably said something between our conversation and her death. I'd wager her true last words were her cussing out her killer it would be very in character for he-"

"STOP IT"

"Uh?"

"STOP TREATING AREI LIKE THAT"

"........."

"None of you know what she was truly like. You all think she was some irredeemable bitch who got what she deserved. I'm tired of everyone slandering her, hell even before this game, do you know how many "you deserve better" or "i bet she doesn't even love you" I got. Everyone who found out I was dating her looked at me like I was willingly undergoing torture"

".......y-y/n"

"And even now that she's dead, you can't even put an ounce of respect on her name. You're talking about her like she's a mannequin, someone who wasn't here talking to us just a few days ago. And when you occasionally remember that she used to be a living person, you remember her like she was a piece of shit who contributed nothing but being annoying, and I'm tired of it"

"........."

"Do you even remember why she was killed in the first place? Because she trusted eden enough to meet with her, because she wanted to befriend her this bad. Tell me, would a bad person do that? Would a bad person save eden from arturo? Would a bad person die trying to befriend someone?....... Would a bad person love me like she did?"

At that point, you were practically crying, but you didn't care. They needed to know who arei truly was. You couldn't just stand there and let her memory be insulted like that. Especially now that it was the only thing you had left of her

"No matter what anyone says. No matter what she herself says. Arei was the best person I ever met. Because she knew she was a bad person and she tried to change that"

"Well she was doing a pretty shit job at it then-"

"DO YOU THINK I CARE?"

"U-uh?"

"Even if by the end of her life she was only 5% less shitty, hell even if she was exactly the same as she is, I'd still love her and consider her the best person I met. Because none of you know how hard it is to truly change. None of you know the hell she went through daily when she was with her sisters, and despite that, she still tried her best to change. None of you know how fucking admirable that is"

"Please y/n calm-"

"David! Earlier, you said that no one would cry if arei died. Well, I did, I cried. Do you know why I didn't investigate? Because I was locked in my room sobbing because my girlfriend's body was hanging off a fucking swing and everyone else is acting like normal. So I need to know. Tell me. WHAT WERE HER LAST WORDS?"

The trial room fell silent, the only noise that could be heard were the cries and sobs that came from you and eden (who started crying in the middle of your speech).....until David broke the silence

"........she said that good people don't exist"

"U-uh?"

"She said that because even people like me and eden did horrible things, good people don't truly exist, and she didn't have to worry about being one"

"W-what?"

"She said that we could be friends because we're so similar, she said that maybe in the future.......we could be less shitty together"

".....y-you're lying again a-aren't you? Y-you're just playing with my feelings"

"No I'm telling the truth"

His serious tone caught you off guard and you decided to let him finish

"What you said before, about no one truly knowing who arei really was, about everyone disrespecting her after her death and no one believing she was a good person.....that's how I feel about Xander......so I thought you deserved to know"

You stayed silent for a few seconds taking everything in, but then you asked the question you couldn't keep inside anymore

"........d-did she say anything about me?"

"........yes"

[Flashback]

"What about y/n?"

"Uh?"

"You don't think they're a good person?"

"......no..................I think they're the best person I ever met"

"....what?"

"I don't know if they're an objectively good person. Like I said, I don't think those exist, but that doesn't matter to me. In my eyes, they truly are the best person on this planet"

".........."

"Well, I guess they have to be if they can keep up with me. no matter how many times I push them away, no matter how many times I get angry at them or yell, they never left me. They're always there to hug me when I feel down. They saw me at my lowest point in life, and they never said anything negative about me, they saw how shitty I was and never for a moment did they consider leaving me......I don't think I'd be here without them......I love them so much"

[End flashback]

You cried even more, just putting your head down as your tears landed on the podium. She loved you. Her "last words" were that she loved you

"*sobs*....arei......I don't know if you can hear me.....but if you can......please know.....that I love you too.....so so much"

Everyone stayed silent for a few minutes, even eden and hu who wanted to comfort you, they all silently agreed to leave you alone for the rest of the trial as they started talking about the case again, and they did, you couldn't bring yourself to say anything, you still listened but you stayed silent........until teruko narrowed down the suspects to only eden and ace

"......teruko"

"Y-y/n?"

"What is it?"

"Are you 100% sure that only eden or Ace could have committed the murder?"

"Yes, I'm positive. They're the only ones"

"......I see........monotv can I vote?"

"Uh?"

"W-what?"

"Wait a second, you can't be serious. We don't even know who the killer is, and you already want us to vote?"

"No, only I want to vote.....alone...you can vote later"

"What does that even mean? Why?"

"Because......eden can't be the culprit.......that can't be possible"

".......y/n"

"She wanted to be arei's friend, she was just as upset by her death as I was......she didn't kill arei I am 100% sure of that"

"What's your evidence for that?"

"........I have none"

".........what?"

"I trust eden, that's all the evidence I need"

"Your trust is going to get you killed"

"And your lack of it is going to lead to you making more mistakes"

".....!"

"You said it yourself earlier in the trial, right? You want to start to trust people more. Well then, consider this a show of what trust truly is. I'll vote for Ace. "

"W-what the fuck?"

".............why are you doing this?"

"I told you before, I trust eden and.....I know this is what arei would have wanted"

"........."

".......y-y/n thank you.....thank you so much"

"H-hold on is that even allowed. If you're wrong, then aren't we all gonna die?"

"Did you forget how this works? It's a majority vote. Even if I'm wrong, the rest of you can still vote for eden. So will you let me, monotv?"

"Hmmmmm, I mean, I guess there's no rule against a person voting before everyone else. Sure I'll let you it'll be fun here's your monopad"

You did as you said and voted for Ace. Everyone looked at you, surprised that you actually went through with that, except eden, who was very grateful that you trusted her this much.

As it turns out, you were right. Ace was blackened, and he only did it because he was scared of dying.....you didn't know what to think about that so you stayed silent once again in the moments leading up and during the voting.

"Y/n......are you OK?"

".........i....i"

"Of course they aren't. They just found out who killed their girlfriend, I'm sure they must be boiling with rage just waiting to see the brutal way ace dies riiiiiiight~?"

"...........I'm so tired"

"Hm?"

"I just can't do this anymore, yelling at ace isn't going to bring arei back, it's pointless"

"But aren't you angry at him?"

"..............of course I am"

"......."

"Of course I'm angry at him, and of course I want to hate him, I want to yell at him and be happy when he dies, saying that arei is avenged, but I just can't"

"W-why? I'm a piece of shit who killed your girlfriend because I'm a coward. Why can't you hate me?"

"BECAUSE I'M SCARED OF DYING TOO GODDAMMIT!"

"!"

"Everyone in this room is, even the dead, min,Xander,arei they were all scared of dying otherwise this whole killing game wouldn't exist"

"W-what do you mean?"

"Think about it, Ace just said it, he killed arei simply because he didn't want to die, isn't that the same reason Min killed Xander? Because she walked in on him trying to kill teruko and panicked, she was scared that he was going to kill her...and so she acted first"

".........."

"The fact that every single one of us, if pushed to the brink, could murder someone simply because of the fear that that could happen to them........it scares me"

"Y-y/n....."

"That's why even if you killed the person I loved most, even If you are a cowardly piece of shit I just can't hate you because I know that in the right conditions I would have done the exact same thing"

"........i-i"

"Let's just get this over with, I'm.....really tired"

Everything that happened later went by in a flash and it felt like a nightmare, ace punching monotv, Levi saving teruko from her punishment and ace getting executed, you all rushed to the infirmary to treat levi while teruko stayed back in the trial room.

You sighed and went back to your room after everything was dealt with. you plopped down on your bed and.....did nothing, you had already cried enough for the day and there wasn't anything to do, you couldn't even sleep since it was still morning so you started to think

Arei was dead, and there was nothing you could do about it. This killing game was going to continue and you were either going to get killed or give in to your fear of death and kill someone. You felt nothing but pure despair.

"Y/n, they're the best person I ever met, I wouldn't be here without them.....I love them so much"

Arei's last words came back to your mind. She really loved you.........would she want you to give up like this?.....no she wouldn't, she'd probably slap you and call you a coward If she saw you like this.......were you really going to disrespect her like this? Were you going to give up that easily?.....no, you didn't want to...that would just mean insulting her memory. As long as there was the slightest hope that you would get out of here alive, you would follow it.

"When we get back home.....I'll make you a grave in your favorite spot alright?"

You felt the wind hit your cheek like a soft kiss. There was no open window near you or nothing that could make that kind of breeze

".....I'll take that as a yes.....have fun wherever you are and make sure to beat the shit out of ace alright? And say hi to min and xander for me I miss them too"

This time, water hit your cheeks, your own tears that you couldn't hold back anymore even if you were smiling

".........I love you too"

No matter wherever she was, you knew she was somehow watching over you, and you were going to keep living for her....that was a promise that you were going to keep no matter what.

#danganronpa despair time x reader #danganronpa despair time #x reader #despair time #despair time x reader #drdt x reader #drdt #drdt chapter 2 #arei nageishi x reader #arei nageishi #gn reader #danganronpa x reader #danganronpa #danganronpa fangame x reader #danganronpa fangame #fanganronpa x reader #fanganronpa #drdt spoilers

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jedisandspacepirates · 11 days ago

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I have things to say about the finale.

Now that I've seen it, now that the emotions are settled down.

Spoilers for 1x08, so under the cut in case somebody's not seen it yet.

So I'm actually pretty happy with the finale. Really happy because it ended with the victorious people being who it always should have been, the kids. Fern, KB, Wim, Neel, working together and their parents too in their way, to save the day.

I absolutely loved the hug at the end, when they all went to find KB and just that exchange of "Did we win?" "Yes!"

We did NOT get a huge expansive backstory for Jod, but neither were we promised that. All Jude hinted at was a bit about his childhood and how or why he's Force-sensitive. Well, Mr. Law, that last part wasn't quite...we just know that Jod is actually able to use the Force, but the how or why hmm. Unless by that he meant that his Jedi master had taught him how to use it, I suppose.

Anyway.

I actually loved the information they chose to give us. The picture of a (presumedly) orphaned Jod (I wonder what happened to his parents...did they abandon him, were they killed?) living in a metaphorical (or maybe he was literal here) hole depending on the next meal and living a damn rough life. Then a Jedi finds him, teaches him a little about the Force, and she MUST have said that thing to him that he says to Wim, the Qui-Gon idea. (Of course that's a Jedi principle, not solely Qui-Gon's words, but where would Jod have picked that up if not from her?) And this is the tragic part, she took him under her wing and taught him their ways, but then he was forced to watch when they killed her.

That scarred him and definitely damaged him in a real deep way. I am not excusing his behavior departing from 1x05 and his descent there. That's not okay and I'm still mad at him for all that, but the past they've given him tracks with that, I suppose, and it makes sense that Jod would develop such a dark outlook on life from his experiences. Seeing the galaxy as a dark rotten place with only a few pinpricks of light etc...

And, here, look it comes. I, who have argued for Jod's redemption until blue in the face, am content with the way they ended it because I admit, if they had made him do another heel turn or come to some sort of decision as I thought he might have, I don't think it would have been done so well. It wouldn't have been convincing or felt very real to me. That sort of thing needs time. But what I absolutely adore almost above everything else is--and I don't know if it was purely just the writing or Jude's own decisions with acting, his expressions, etc--the nuances of his actions in that last episode.

I saw a post somewhere saying that Jod had "messed up" by not killing the kids because if it were Anakin, he'd have had At Attin under his boot in ten seconds or something like that. That just caught my eye, and it's worthy to note that Jod didn't harm them. He could have, but he didn't. Yeah, he was trying to pass himself off as the emissary and all that stuff, whatever. But when it was just Fern and her mom with him? He could have killed them.

This interview sheds a whole lot of light on stuff like this, and I'll have you know, the showrunners--the creators of this blessedly amazing series--the creators, people, were saying "those small gestures, his tiny bit of hesitation when he fires", referring to the moment he shot at Fern. The interview perceived that he had intentionally missed Fern, and that's when the creators comment on it. Seriously, he's him. He could have hit her squarely, but I really don't think he intended to. If anything, I believe he did mean to miss or shoot just shy of her.

Also, again, the creators saying he's in "a morally gray" area, "tortured by his behaviour". Whether that means conflicted because he has 'greed treasure I will be rich forever and happy' on one hand and 'i care even a little bit about these kids and don't actually want to hurt them' on the other and those are two forces warring in his soul, I don't know. But there is conflict there, and in any villain I've known in TV shows, movies, books...if there is conflict of evil and good in them, they aren't 100%, completely and irredeemably gone.

Just all of this complexity put into Jod and pulled off by Jude Law was completely and utterly amazing, and that is something I really enjoyed about the finale.

I'm saying it's not the end of road for Jod, and that's what's fantastic about fanfiction.

#skeleton crew #jod na nawood #star wars: skeleton crew #jude law #skeleton crew spoilers

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thebestofoneshots · 1 year ago

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Gilded Constellations | wolfstar x reader

Series Masterlist | Previous episode

Pairing: Wolfstar x Reader Word Count: 10.3 K Warnings: none Prompt: You finally throw the magical party that you'd been planning for Marlene. The night gets even more bewitching as you engage in a series of party games, including a daring game of Potion Pong and a spirited game of truth or dare. As secrets are unveiled and dares become more challenging, the first sparks of romantic tension begin to ignite. This IS a wolfstar x reader fic, but it's incredibly slow burn. They won't start all dating each other until we're very deep into the story, but I promise the long wait will be worth it. THIS EPISODE CAN ALSO BE READ AS A ONESHOT

Fooled Around and Fell in Love

Thanks to Peter’s retellings of the Gryffindor try-outs, you’d gone from the new girl in sixth year, to a little bit of a quidditch celebrity. Some smaller kids would go see the Quidditch Practice, and according to James, he’d even seen some of the players from other groups trying to get a glimpse at you when you were in the Great Hall. Trying to measure if the stories had actually been real or if it was all just school gossip.

A smaller Gryffindor girl even approached you once, to ask if it was possible that you taught her how to do the triple backflip you’d done last Friday. You had to awkwardly explain to her that you hadn’t done a triple backflip, but that you would be happy to help her get more confident on her flight technique someday. She’d gone back to her friends with a huge smile, her friends squealing when she told them the news.

“Peter made me into some kind of celebrity,” you complained to Mary as the two of you walked to the courtyard together. You had teamed up with her for your Herbology project, and you were on your way to the garden to find some dried leaves to turn into fertiliser.

“No-uh,” she said, shaking her head “You did it yourself, love.”

“I didn’t go around telling everyone about the tryouts,” you responded as a pair of young boys passed the two of you, looking at you with wonder.

“But you slayed those tryouts by yourself! You did that backflip trick, not Peter. And he’s not the only one who’s been retelling the story all over the school. I heard Teddy tell his friends about you a couple of days ago in the common room.”

“Well, either way, it’s hard to get used to all of this attention. In my older school, I wasn’t so popular.”

“And you thought coming here and making friends with James Potter and Sirius Black of all people would let you blend into the background?!”

“I kinda brought it onto myself, didn’t I?”

“You’re gonna have to take that new-fund popularity and embrace it.” She said “Or you can just do whatever Remus does, he can somehow be a hot shot and still blend in the back when he wants to.”

You raised your eyebrows, it was true, even when he was with the boys all the time, he tended to stay in his own little friend group rather than talking to everyone the same way Sirius and James did.

“I’ll ask him sometime…” you said as you crossed the gates with Mary. Then leaned onto her, “Isn’t that Holden Crawford? Next to Alexander Wood?”

She nodded, “you should invite them now that they’re together.”

“Yup,” you said, giving her a small pat on the back and walking towards the Hufflepuff head boy.

“Hey Alex,” you said with a smile.

He turned to you, and smiled when he identified you “Gryffindor, aye?” He pointed at your tie.

You nodded “I guess so,” you replied “I wanted to thank you for being so nice to me on my first day.”

Holden, who stood next to him, raised one of his eyebrows “Ahh.. so you must be the infamous (Y/N) everyone’s been talking about.”

“Infamous? Hope not!” You teased with a smile and handed him your hand to shake “(Y/N)(Y/LN), nice to meet you.”

“Holden Crawford,” he replied, shaking your hand.

“The Ravenclaw… seeker?” You asked with a bit of a smile. He raised his eyebrows in response “James told me all about the other teams. Gotta know who you’re going up against.”

“And… you’ve done your homework.” You nodded.

“Anyway, I gotta go…” you said pointing at Mary, and after a couple of steps, you turned back to them “Actually boys–“ you said walking back towards them “–this Friday the Gryffindor Tower is having a party. I’m helping plan it. It’s for Marlene’s birthday.”

“Your beater…” acknowledged Holden.

You nodded eagerly, Holden knew Marlene, that was perfect. “Yeah exactly! Anyway, I’m in the planning committee along with Mary over there,” you pointed at your friend “and I think it would be great to have you guys there. You know the more the merrier,” you said that last bit with a smile.

“I’ll come if you come,” Holden said to Alex. Who seemed to be thinking about it.

“Come on,” you animated him. “It’ll be super fun, I promise! I’ll help pick the music out.”

Alex finally nodded “Ok, we’ll see you there.”

“Brilliant! 8 PM, Gryffindor Tower. Don’t miss it!” You chimed “Anyway, I am in the middle of picking up some dried leaves for herbology so I’ll leave you boys to your things,” You said before walking back to Mary.

“So...?”

“They’re coming,” you said with a proud smile. “And Holden knows Marlene. As in, he instantly identified her as Gryffindor’s beater.”

“Oh, she’s so gonna shit herself when she sees him at her party.”

You nodded and the two of you walked inside the small green area to pick out some dried leaves, levitating them from their place on the floor and placing them on the satchel Mary had brought. You then walked together to the greenhouses and started the spell that would turn the leaves into a very potent fertiliser, even if it took some time. Professor Folly would evaluate you based on how efficient the fertiliser was in the end. And you’d found the recipe on an old book in the library, that promised to both potentiate the growth of plants and maintain them.

September 10th, 1976

When the day of the party arrived, the air buzzed with anticipation. You were in the Gryffindor tower, along with Remus and Beth, attempting to decorate the area. Beth had asked her mom to send some streamers and she was magically sticking them all over the ceiling. You sat on one of the coaches and used your wand to blow some balloons that she’d also gotten from her mom. You had the idea to fill some of the balloons with glitter, and you’d blow them up when she arrived, leaving a trail of sparkly glitter all over her, and everyone else.

“We’ll be finding glitter in our dreams after today,” said Remus as he sat down next to you with a box of tapes. You finished timing one of the balloons and leaned over the box to take a look at the stuff he had. Led Zeppelin, Bowie, The Clash, Queen, Abba, they had it all.

“What will you choose?” You asked him, he pulled out a cassette with Sirius’s elegant handwriting and handed it over to you. “Marauder’s mix tape?” You asked.

“It’s what we call ourselves,” he said “Sirius invented it back in the third year, it’s still a thing now.”

“Fitting,” you said with a smile. And turned the tape to take a look at the songs. Smiling when you saw Rebel Rebel in the list. “

“He made this one over the summer,” he said pointing at the cassette, “and he brought a music player too,” he stood up “I’m going to go get it now, wanna help?”

You nodded and stood up, walking behind him towards the boys’ dorm. “Excuse the mess,” said Remus as he let you into their room. He was being silly, there wasn’t much of a mess. Maybe some candy packaging on the floor and one of the beds wasn’t done. You saw a Queen poster on top of said bed.

“Lemme guess,” you said pointing at the bed “That’s Sirius’.”

Remus nodded “It was an easy guess.”

You took that as a challenge and started scanning the rest of the beds, the one to the left of Sirius’ was well done, and it had a hard case for glasses on the nightstand, you pointed at it “James’” Remus nodded, with his eyebrows raised. You kept looking. Now there was a bed lousily made and one that was neatly done. The lousy bed had some parchments on top, along with a bag of chips. The other bed had a nightstand with some books, and a sweater folded over near the pillow, very neatly placed as well. You pointed at the one with chips “Peter’s, and the neatest one is yours, obviously.”

“Almost perfect, I’m next to Pads.”

“But the glasses case?” You asked confused.

“They’re for reading, my eyes get tired at night.” He then walked towards a dresser “Mind giving me a hand?” He asked, you nodded and walked toward it. It looked slightly heavy, but you placed your hands on the other side, ready to help him pull “Just make sure nothing from the top falls, m’kay?” He then pushed the dresser, with an ease that had you stunned. Maybe it just looked heavy. Behind the dresser, there was a small hole in the wall, filled with all sorts of things. From hand-rolled cigarettes, to prank supplies, and scary-looking vials with labels on them.

“You’ve got a secret stash?!” You said surprised, kneeling down to look at it better “How? Does my room have one too?”

“James blew up the wall while practising bombarda in 4th,” Remus explained “We didn’t want anyone to find out so we rearranged the furniture to hide it. Sirius figured it’d be a good place to hide stuff.”

“Do you mind?” You asked, nodding towards the little hole, he shook his head and you grabbed one of the bottles “Shrinking solution?”

“We brewed it last year, Prongs and I stole it from Slughorn’s office.”

You grabbed another one “And…” you looked at the label “Vanishing Solution.”

“Sometimes you gotta get rid of the evidence.” You laughed, Moving some things around, you found some dungbombs, neatly stacked. And behind them found a box of Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder. “Oh, and you’ve got some good stuff in there too,” you said as you grabbed a Magazine with a very dotted young woman –with nothing to cover her chest–, she had a seductive stare and blew kisses at you.

Remus snatched it from your hands “Sirius must’ve put it there,” He said all too quickly, throwing the magazine under a bed.

“Hey! I don’t judge,” you said, raising your eyebrows “It’s a boys’ secret stash after all.”

“But I don’t–“

“–you don’t need to excuse yourself, Remus.” You said and pointed at the back “That’s it, isn’t it? the cassette player?”

Remus nodded and pulled it out, dusting it off “We left it here all summer.” You helped him put all the things back in their place. Except for the dirty magazine that was still under the bed somewhere, and stood up, going back to the side of the dresser to push it back to its place.

You tried to push it before he grabbed onto the side. But it was impossible, the dresser was heavy. At least for you, for Remus, who pulled it with ease back onto its place, it seemed like lifting a feather. You stared at him as he turned to grab the cassette player, he was tall, the tallest of the group, and he did have nice broad shoulders. Again, the sexy pirate analogy came to mind, but he didn’t seem particularly strong. He didn’t have thick muscles like James or Teddy. Which completely clashed with what you’d just seen him do. You shoved all those inconsistencies to the back of your mind and followed him towards the door.

The two of you walked downstairs again, finding Beth still working on the streamers, as Remus went to set the cassette player on the farthest section of the recorder you went back to your balloons, levitating those that were ready all over the common room. As you were doing, you saw Lily and Mary arrive, they both carried snacks and other food things in their hands. Mary had a huge bowl and she placed it on the table Lily was arranging it, and she set herself to prepare a punch. “It’s Mary’s signature punch,” explained Lily “She makes it for every party, everyone loves it.”

“I’m looking forward to trying it,” you said with a smile. When you were done with the balloons you rushed towards Lily and helped her finish the refreshments area.

Sirius and James arrived later. Carrying several bottles in their hands. “Are you sure those are safe?” Lily asked, frowning at the bottles.

“Yes Lils,” said Sirius rather exasperated and turned one of the bottles around for her to see the label was still on “They were purchased in Hogsmeade.”

“By who did you say?”

Sirius smiled, “Nice try Evans, it’s still top secret.”

“When is Marlene getting here?” You asked as you helped James with some of the bottles.

“Tom is distracting her,” said Beth from somewhere. “She’ll be here at around 8:30.”

“Well then, everything looks ready,” Sirius said with a clap of his hands “Imma go put on some nicer garments.”

James, who was still wearing some Quidditch gear from practice, also left the room. You’d been allowed to skip after saying you felt bad, that way James entertained Marlene and you could focus on decorating the common room.

Remus was already wearing casual clothes, while Lily, Mary and yourself went up to change.

Once in party clothes, with glitter all over your eyes –that Mary had insisted you had to put on–, you went back down, finding some people were already making it to the party. You identified a couple of kids from your classes that were from other houses. Holden and Alexander were both already in the party too, which made you smile, nudging Beth so she was aware too. Then she smiled wickedly and leaned into you “I’ll go make some arrangements for later,” she said before disappearing in the swarm of people.

“What’s she up to?” Asked Sirius, who somehow had ended up beside you.

You shrugged in response “I wish I knew,” you said and saw him drinking from a black mug. “What you drinkin’?”

He licked his lips “Mhm.. this?” He asked, raising his cup “Wanna try?”

You raised an eyebrow and grabbed for the mug, feeling his cold rings as your fingers brushed over him to take a hold of the mug, and pulled the mug up to your lips. You winced once you’d taken a sip, you were not expecting for the liquid to be straight-up iced vodka.

“You didn’t even try to water it down,” you complained, handing the mug back to him.

He just shrugged “I like it, cools your throat down.”

You rolled your eyes and pushed him gently “At least put some juice on it or something.”

“It’s the expensive stuff, you’re not meant to water it down.”

You rolled your eyes at his remark when Mary came out of nowhere and pulled your arm "Sorry Sirius, I’m taking her with me,"

You raised your eyebrows at that but followed alongside Mary, "What’s wrong?" You asked her preoccupied. She looked like she’d been running and had a blush on her cheeks, well perhaps running wasn’t it, you thought as you noticed her slightly dishevelled stance.

"Nothin’," she responded casually, "I brought you here because I wanted to introduce you to someone," she pulled you into a corner "he was at the bleachers when you were on tryouts. I got good word he’s been wanting to meet you ever since."

Your eyebrow rose, yes the try-outs had been the talk of the castle for the past week, but someone wanting to befriend you after it… perhaps it wasn’t so incredible "Who is it?" you asked.

You felt a looming presence from behind and the two of you turned around, a very tall boy, probably as tall as Remus, was there, with a huge smile on his lips "(Y/N), this is Minho Yun, Minho this is (Y/N)."

You smiled and held your hand out to shake his, "Nice to meet you.”

He shook your hand “Nice to meet you too.”

He started to talk again but Tom came rushing through the door like a madman “Everyone HIDE!” He roared as he jumped behind one of the coaches. No one moved, he stood up again “Marlene’s coming you whackheads, find a freaking hiding spot!”

“Shit,” you said before running towards a small closet-like spot hidden behind one of the wall rugs you’d found a couple of nights before after your quill sharpener fell out of your hands. But once inside you found yourself sharing the spot with someone else. “Puppy?” You asked when you smelt the same cologne you’d felt before.

“(Y/N)?” He asked “What are you doing here? This is my spot!” He whispered-yelled.

“Well then, move over so the two of us can fit comfortably,” you retorted, he adjusted himself a little, and you managed to fully enter the small space “Shouldn’t be long.”

You could feel his hot minty breath near your forehead “So… how’s your potions essay going? Remus a good partner?”

You nodded, realising later he probably couldn’t see you. “Great, he’s brilliant, I don’t regret switching with James.”

“You switched with James?” He asked shrugging “But Slughorn said–”

“–We switched before,” you explained. “didn’t make a fuss about it like you. Sorry, you got paired with Slime-head tho. How’s it going?”

“We split the tasks,” he sighed. “That way we don’t have to see each other more than necessary.”

“And quidditch practice today?” You asked.

“Oh good, we missed you though.”

You nodded again, perking your ears to see if Marlene had already arrived. Nothing. “Do you mind if I ask you why they call you Pads?”

“Short for Padfoot.”

You raised your eyebrows, looking up at him with “Yeah, I remember that was your nickname, but why?”

“Sort of an inside joke, can’t really tell you without the boys all agreeing on it.”

“Oh,” you said with a nod, turning your head back to the door, “must have to do with everyone’s nicknames then.” He nodded. You took a deep breath. You did not expect Marlene to take so long to arrive. “Do you still have the–?”

“–here,” he said, handing over his mug, "you took a sip, and then another.

You gave him back his mug and exhaled “Sorry to take your spot.”

He shrugged, you did not see it, but you felt him, that’s how close you were standing “No problem,” he said honestly “I don’t mind you being all over me,” he teased.

“Sirius!” You reprimanded, he chuckled.

“But, in all honesty, love, I’m really happy that you came to Hogwarts.”

You looked up at him again “I’m really happy I came too. You weren’t joking when you told me how amazing your friends were.”

He bit his lips as he smiled, god he was stunning, even in the dark “They are, aren’t they?”

And then you heard the portrait door open, giving Sirius a complicit look as the two of you jumped out of the hideout, alongside everyone else, Marlene was taken aback by seeing so many people “One… Two… Three!” You counted.

“Happy Birthday Marlene,” everyone screamed, you waved your wand and half of the balloons blew up, sprinkling glitter over every single person in the room. You smiled when you realised the stunning shower of glitter. Some of it fell over Sirius's hair, he shook it off, like a dog would, causing more to drop over you. You closed your eyes tightly and nudged him “Sirius! It’s gonna get on someone’s eyes.”

He gave you a look “Remind me, love. Whose brilliant idea was to have glitter shower over every single one of us?”

You averted your gaze, annoyed, and nodded “Just be careful!” You said before running towards Marlene, holding her gift in your hands. You’d gotten her a Holyhead Harpies jersey, you remembered she’d mentioned it being her favourite before.

When she looked at you, all filled with glitter she pointed an accusing finger “You weren’t sick!” You shook your head with a smile.

Remus, who had walked closer to the two of you, smiled and placed a hand over your shoulder “She helped with the decorations.”

“And Potter just… let it happen?” She asked.

“He didn’t have much of a choice,” you said with a half smile “Happy Birthday Mars! I hope you have lots of fun!”

Both you and Remus hugged Marlene and then retired to allow the people who were crowding her to give her their own hugs and gifts. You walked towards a less crowded area alongside the boy, and when you turned to him, you realised he had a piece of glitter over his lash, so you placed a hand over his shoulder, “something wrong love?”

You shook your head, “Lean down a little, yeah? You’ve got some glitter over your lash…” he complied and bend his knees until he was about your height, you carefully grabbed his head with one hand, to steady him, and used your other hand to take a piece of glitter away from it, looking at Remus so close, you realised how pretty he really was, he had beautiful chocolate eyes, with golden sparkles, that looked absolutely surreal, inhuman almost. He wasn’t pretty like Sirius who had a very ethereal, fae-like look to him, he had a more haunting and enigmatic look. But after a second, he gave you a questioning look, as if to ask if you were done, you nodded and pried your hands off him with an awkward smile “It’s done!”

“Thanks.”

After that some girl took Remus away from you and you went to sit alongside Lily, who was talking to Peter.

“I think we succeeded,” you said sitting next to Lily, who scooted over to give you some space.

“Totally!” She smiled, “Peter said he’ll bring the cake at 10:00 pm,”

You leaned over to look at your friend “Need any help with that Pete?”

He shook his head, “This… This 5th-year girl will help me, actually.” Both you and Lily rose your eyebrows.

“Oh… Our Pete’s got a date…” you teased.

He instantly went red “It’s not a date…”

Now you shared a look with the redhead “Want some advice?” She asked, placing a hand over his forearm.

“No… don’t worry about it,” he said, almost thinking if he should ask “We’ve been talking a bit, that’s all.”

“That’s how it starts,” you said.

Lily leaned back on the couch “Ah… young love, how beautiful it is.”

You laughed “What are you, 80?” You teased, “What about your young love?”

“I don’t have any young love,” she said, standing up straight and turning towards you.

“Yeah sure,” you scoffed. “There isn’t a messy hair, hazel-eyed boy pining for you at all.”

Lily went red now “(Y/N),” she said, dragging out your name “We don’t talk about that!”

“But we should,” you told her, “don’t you like him back? He’s handsome! Not my type of handsome but handsome nonetheless.”

“Oh yeah,” she teased “I know your type of handsome all right,” she said, eyeing Sirius, who was talking to Remus.

“Evans! Don’t you dare change the subject!”

She laughed at that “He’s just so… sometimes he can be exasperating!”

You laughed, in the short time you’d known James Potter, sometimes might have been an understatement. He had his mind pretty much set most of the time, he was thick-headed and maybe a little unhinged, but he was kind, and so full of love for his friends it was hard not to imagine him making a lovely couple with Lily.

“Hm… maybe he can make up for his bad traits in another way,” you suggested, the other way implicit in the tone you used, and she right up hit you with one of the pillows.

“All right guys!” You heard Beth shout as she came down with a box in her hands “It’s playtime!”

“Oh no,” you heard Lily whisper.

Beth finally reached the bottom of the stairs and placed the heavy box on a long table that you set out with some drinks “It’s time to play potion pong.”

“Potion Pong?” You asked Lily, who looked distressed.

“All right, gather up, we’re making two teams of four people “Marlene Love, you’re the birthday girl, so you’re playing yes or yes.” She then turned to you “(Y/N), this is your first time in a Gryffindor Party, so you’re also in. I’m playing duh, and Evans,” she said to Lily “You playing today, yeah?”

“Last time I got a vomiting potion!” She complained.

“No vomiting potions this time, don’t worry about it.” Beth said dismissively “Potter, you’re in, cause you let lovely (Y/N) out of practice to help with decorations, you, Ravenclaw boy,” she said as if she wasn’t well aware that Ravenclaw boy was Holden Crawford, Marlene’s crush “You’re playing too!” She looked around then, “Minho? Where you at? You said you wanted to play last time in the first round, yeah?” She asked out to everyone “He actually holds the resistance of potion pong title,” she explained, “and… Sirius? Wanna play?” She asked last. Sirius nodded, and you all gathered around the table. Beth divided everyone into two teams, She, Marlene, Holden and James, against Minho, Sirius, Lily and you.

“All right, the rules!” She said as she started setting the table, bringing lots of vials with different colour liquids out of the box, opening and placing them in a triangle position in front of each side of the table “Simple game, each turn a player gets a ping pong ball, and you have to try and make it enter one of the vials with potions by bouncing it on the table at least once. If it goes in, someone from the other team has to drink the potion it fell on.”

“What kind of potions–˝ you started to ask.

“–Well if I tell you then where’s the fun?” She said placing her hands over her hips in a reproaching manner “The team that drinks all the potions first loses. If a player is disabled, for whatever reason it might be, he still has to take a shoot in his or her turn. There’s no skipping players, and no cheating, so hand over your wands.” Everyone complied with her demand and she placed them all in a jar on the mantel. “Excellent, if we don’t have any questions, let’s get started.” She pulled out something from her pocket and opened her hand in front of everyone “These are magic beans, each of you gets one of them, you can take it if you can’t stand the effects of the potion, but only after you’ve spent three turns with the effect on you. And… you only get one,” she said with a wicked smile “so if you use it up with a potion that’s not that bad, then you’re gonna have to suck it up and deal with the next potions by yourself, sorry.”

“And how did she come up with the game?” You whisper-asked to Lily.

“Beth is pretty well known for her party games,” she responded, leaning into you “and she has the resources to make them all happen too.”

Everyone walked closer to the table and picked a bean from her hand. Since you didn’t have where to put it, you handed it over to Sirius “Mind keeping this for me?”

He nodded and placed it in his pocket. Beth spoke then “All right! Witches, wizards, It’s time to start. Mars, it’s your birthday, which means you shoot first.”

Marlene nodded and grabbed the pig pong ball, shooting it towards the table and having it bounce very close to one of the vials, but failing her shot in the end.

“It’s ok Mars, not everyone gets it in the first round,” Beth reassured her.

Minho took the ball next, bouncing it and shooting straight into a cup with light blue liquid. He smiled cockily while everyone who was watching cheered. “It’s gonna be you, love,” he said pointing at Beth “It’s only fair since you brought the game.”

Beth shook her head with a bit of a smile and gulped the mixture down in one go. “Hic–“ she started, “I think it’s –Hic.”

“Hiccup haze,” you concluded.

James raised an eyebrow at you and mouthed “How do you know that?”

“I used it on a teacher I disliked once,” you said with a shrug.

Lily looked at you with her eyes open wide and her hands covering her mouth “Please remind me not to make you my enemy!” She said and you laughed.

It was now James’ turn. He grabbed the ball and had it bounce against the table twice before it landed right on a cup, he made a small victory dance and looked straight at you, “Bottoms up, darling.”

You rolled your eyes but picked up the pink-coloured cup from the table and took the potion in one go. Soon enough all the content in your mouth was turned into jelly, along with the liquid of the potion, “Uggh, I hathe thees slimy feelin’. ”

Everyone laughed, it was your turn now, so you bounced the ball on the table and somehow scored. “It's payback mopherfugher!” You said pointing at James, who took in the yellow potion in one gulp.

Out of literally nowhere, James Potter turned into a cow. You laughed historically as you heard him Mo, almost choking with your jelly mouth. “Thers a coow pothion?” You asked in between laughter.

Everyone in the room was laughing along, except for Lily next to you who looked mortified and James –the cow– who just mooed pathetically. And he would have to stay like that for a while.

Beth was next, she didn’t score. Sirius followed, and he didn’t score either. Marlene’s turn came again and he finally scored, having Minho take the potion this time. He got a potion that made his voice come out in a series of high-pitched squeaks and chirps, like a bird. You giggled along with everyone.

Sirius shot next and scored, having Holden take the potion, he drank the greenish liquid and shrugged, shaing his head as if nothing had happened. But when he opened his mouth a bubble floated from it, popping after it was just above everyone's head “I don’t think It had any effect,” the bubble said, finally letting Holden’s voice out. Everyone laughed. Then it was James’ turn. Beth moved a little to let the cow close to the table and placed the ball in its mouth. He let it go and it rolled pathetically on the table.

You pulled a face to him and grabbed the ball “Zorthy djaaames!” You said with a shrug and shot. You didn’t score. Beth took the ball and shot herself this time, scoring.

“You’ve-hic– been safe so far Lils –hic,” he said “Go –hic– ahead love!”

Lily looked at the yellow potion with a frown and reluctantly drank it. Then she started staggering, as if drunk “Everything’s spinning,” she complained, so you walked towards her to hold her. Maintaining her steady. She grabbed the ping pong ball and somehow scored, this time Marlene drank the potion and she started glowing, literally glowing, shining like a lightbulb.

A bubble came out of Holden’s mouth and popped “Wow Marlene! You really are the star of the party!” You laughed, your mouth was finally getting back to normal, and James turned human again, ending up sitting on the floor and mooing as he turned human.

He quickly stood up, stretching slightly before he grabbed the ball and shot, having it go straight into one of the cups, he then looked at Sirius “You haven’t taken anything, have you Pads?” You exhaled, thinking he would target you after you made him turn into a cow.

Sirius looked to the side but grabbed the vial with the black draught, drinking It in one sip. His hair suddenly turned red. He looked at James with an extremely distressed face “What have you done to me Prongs? You ruined my hair!”

Everyone stared quietly and you handed the ping pong ball to Minho, who probably tried to say thanks but chirped instead. He shot and missed. Beth took the ball next, and shot, right into a purple draught. He gave you a look. “How’s the jelly mouth love?”

“Almoth gone.”

“All right, go ahead then.”

You grabbed the mysterious looking potion and downed it in one go. Your face instantly lit up. giggle brew, you thought as a giggle escaped your mouth, you’d felt this before. A ticklish sensation spread all over your body, which caused another giggle to come out. Lily, who was still dizzy, turned to you with concern.

But her concerned face looked so hilariously amusing, that it caused you to burst into fits of giggles, too difficult to contain. Then, then you saw Sirius, the beautiful Sirius Black with his hair bright red, oh he’d hate it if someone took a picture. Someone should take a picture, you thought and looked around trying to find someone who would. And there you saw it, Alex, your Hufflepuff friend, had a Polaroid in his hands. So you turned to him with a smile and shouted “A picture–“ you said, bursting into a breathy laugh in the end “Take a picture Alex,” you said, turning to him, holding Lily and having Sirius and Minho turn to the camera. By the time Alex clicked on the camera button to snap the shot, you had managed to place Sirius’ arms over yours and Minho’s shoulders, your cheeks flushed with joy, and eyes sparkling with mirth.

When Alex handed you the picture you laughed again, you felt so much joy. The picture was absolutely hilarious and you laughed again as you looked at it. “Who’s turn is it now?” Asked James. Sirius grabbed the ball from your cup and took a shot, it landed right on a cup, splashing the two other cups left on his table, and you giggled again, finding it amusing.

“Who’s drinking it?” Asked Minho, he’d finally gotten his voice back, you giggled remembering the squeaks and chirps.

Beth did, and suddenly she was in slow motion, every movement seemed like it’d been slowed down, which only made you laugh even further. She took a shot and failed. Minho took the next shot and it landed on one of their cups. Marlene drank it and her tongue suddenly transformed into that of a snake. Hissing as she tried to speak. You tried not to laugh, you really did, it was her birthday after all, but you couldn’t suppress the wave of amusement that’d hit you and bursted into laughter again.

Lily shot and missed. Beth shot, in slow motion, and it hit right on the cup. You laughed again. Minho downed it since he was the only one not affected by a potion at the moment. Well, Sirius only had colourful hair, but he was making a drama about it. Minho started tap dancing the moment he took the drink and you giggled yet again.

Eventually, it was your turn again, and you landed the shot, effectively finishing the game. Beth walked towards you and placed a potion-shaped pin on your shirt. It said “Potion Master,” you giggled as you imagined yourself in Slughorn’s clothes, you couldn’t help it, all you felt was a state of sheer merriment and delight.

Everyone started to take the beans Beth had given them at the beginning. Lily went straight to sit down to try and get a sense of stability and Sirius’ hair turned back to normal. You got close to him and grabbed a strand. “It was cute in red too.”

He rose an eyebrow cockily, of course he would “Was it?”

“Yeah,” you said in between breathy laughs.

He grabbed your jaw in between his hands, you giggled when you felt his cold rings against your skin. “Open your mouth,” he ordered.

“Kinky!” you responded with a smile, but complied “AAAhhh.”

He instantly put the bean inside. You munched on it. Finally coming down from the high the potion had you in.

Then Sirius leaned closer, still with his hand on your cheeks “Now love, do you still want me to be kinky?”

You playfully pushed him back and used your finger to warn him “Don’t play games with me Black,” you said before walking towards Lily on the couch.

When you were finally sitting down you saw Peter coming in through the portrait with a huge cake in his hands. A girl making sure he didn’t trip accompanied him.

You smiled and started singing loudly “Happy birthday to you…”

Everyone started to sing along “Happy Birthday to you… Happy Birthday dear Marlene, Happy birthday to you…” Marlene hadn’t taken her bean, so she was still glowing like a fairy as she blew on the candles with everyone around her, you noticed a flash from the camera and once everyone was back in their seats as Peter and Remus helped cut the cake, you took the photo they’d taken during potion pong again.

You stared at it for a while, you looked so bloody happy it was insane “Did you like it?” Alex asked, approaching you.

“I absolutely love it!” You told him with a smile “ You can really tell I’m drinking giggle brew tho.”

He frowned, “I don’t think so,” he said, pulling out another picture from his pocket and handing it over. In this picture, you weren’t holding Lily yet, James was a cow and Sirius’ hair was black. Definitely, before you took the potion, but your smile, it was just as bright as in the other picture. You blinked a couple of times, looking at the picture and back at Alex “I regretted not being chosen to play,” he told you “You guys were having so much fun.”

“I’ll make sure Beth picks you next time. Can I keep this one too?”

“Hold up,” he said, grabbing it from your hands “Gemino,” he whispered, the picture split in two, creating identical copies. “I need to keep them for the yearbook.” He explained.

But you looked at him surprised. “You just… you just used a Gemino Curse.”

He smiled proudly, “You’ll see it in charms on 7th, It’s sooo useful.”

“I bet! Is it too hard? Could you teach me now?”

He seemed to think about it for a minute and nodded. Eventually, Mary came looking for you and dragged you to the table to get some more pictures taken along with the rest of the Gryffindor gang.

Once the party was over, most people were gone except a few of the older kids. That’s when Beth came down with another small box in her hands. “It’s time for the last game of the night,” she said with a smirk and pulled out a potion from the box.

“Is that… Veritaserum?” Asked Lily.

Beth nodded “Welcome to truth or dare, where absolutely no one can lie.”

Your draw dropped in shock “For real?” You asked, and Beth nodded.

“Come on, we’ll sit in a circle.” she said with a smile “Those brave enough, of course.”

“HOLD UP! What kind of dares?” You asked.

Lily turned to you. “Any kind of dare. Last time I had to levitate every single one of the objects in the room.”

“Yeah, this time might be a bit different. See everyone will write 3 dares and 3 questions on a piece of paper. And we’ll place them in these bowls,” she lifted a blue and a red bowl. “Then each turn you’ll choose truth or dare and pick one.”

“Aha,” you said and walked towards her “What’s your plan?” You mouthed.

“I’m playing matchmaker today,” she replied mischievously and nodded towards Marlene and Holden who were talking in the corner.

“I see,” you said with a smile, you decided you’d become her accomplice, making sure all the dares and questions you wrote were relatively romantic. Little did you know your matchmaking would bite you in the back. “Who else is playing?” You asked.

“I’m in,” said Lily walking to fill up some papers “Mary, Marlene?”

“We’re coming,” said Mary. Holden stayed by Marlene’s side and took some paper to fill out as well.

“I wouldn’t miss a good truth or dare,” said Sirius, pulling Remus along with him.

James and Peter joined you next, and eventually around 12 people had gathered along, all sitting in a circle. You sat right in between Lily and Sirius. Beth grabbed a glass and poured all the veritaserum inside, taking a sip and handing it over to the person next to her so they could do the same. Once everyone had taken a sip, the game started.

“Marlene, you’re the birthday girl, which means you go first,” she said looking straight at your friend, “truth or dare?”

Marlene, who was sitting in between James and Holden responded “Truth,” and then went to grab a paper from the red bowl “It says, Which Deathly Hallow would you choose if given the chance: the Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone, or the Invisibility Cloak?” She seemed to think about it for a minute. “Easy, all the other brothers died, I’ll take the invisibility cloak.” She turned to her right “Holden, truth or dare?”

“Dare,” he said and grabbed a paper “Take a sip from the mystery potion left over from Potion Pong… How do I find that?”

“Oh,” said Beth pulling something out of her pockets “Here it is,” she handed it over with a smile.

Holden grabbed it and did what the potion told him “I think it did nothing,” he said, but then Marlene accidentally brushed her arm on his and he started laughing “Oh, stop, please! No tickles!”

Everyone looked at him confused and once he finally stopped laughing Beth spoke “Oh, Maybe it was Ticklemania.” She then turned to Tom, who sat next to Holden “Truth or dare?”

“Dare,” he responded and grabbed a piece of paper “Make a floating sculpture with items around the room, All right then, not that hard,” he said and started lifting random objects until he made a floating dolphin. “Your turn Beth.”

She went ahead and grabbed a dare “Take off a piece of clothing and switch it with the player next to you.” She nodded and took off her scarf, switching it with Lily’s headband.

Lily grabbed a dare “Kiss the player to your right –on the mouth– for 3 seconds.” She then turned to you “To kiss… to kiss her?” She asked, shocked.

Karma, you thought, you’d written that one. But if you called this one kiss off then all dares could be called off and your matchmaking would fail. So in order to succeed in this ordeal, you would have to kiss Lily. Not that you minded too much, Lily was very pretty, and she always smelled really nice too.

“It’s what the dare says.”

She exhaled but nodded “Ok,” she turned to you “Are you sure you’re ok with it?”

You nodded and you both leaned in, locking lips together. It was over quite fast and all you could think of after, to lighten the mood, was to joke about it “Great kisser Evans.”

She scoffed and lightly hit you in the arm “And you expected me to be bad? I’m offended!” You both laughed along after that. But it was your turn now.

Everyone seemed to be avoiding truth so far, and to be honest you also wanted to avoid it, especially since you’d written some of these questions and you definitely did not want to respond them. So you went for a dare. “Perform a spell or charm that can entertain the other players in the room.” You nodded and used a spell to puncture the balloons, causing them all to make a funny sound as they blew all over the room, you leaned down when one of them passed over your head. You smiled when it was done and made a bit of a bow before sitting back down.

“Sirius, Truth or dare?”

“Truth?” He said before grabbing one of the papers “Have you ever used magic for personal gain or to break the rules at Hogwarts? If so, explain the situation.” He laughed right after reading “Which one do I even say?”

“Oh, tell them about the clock,” said Peter.

“No, tell them about the time you got Peeves to help on a prank.”

“Yeah guys, go ahead please, continue telling everyone about ALL the pranks we DIDN’T get caught doing. What could go wrong?” Remus said exasperated.

“I know,” said Sirius “One time, we created a rainy cloud and enchanted it to follow around some disagreeable Slytherin students.”

Minho, the only Slytherin in the room, laughed first “Oh! That explains so much. Severus was so pissed that day, but he had no way of proving it was you.”

Sirius nodded, surprisingly, even if Minho was a Slytherin they seemed to be pretty good friends. Maybe it was because they were both beaters. What you didn’t know is that Minho had been the one to help them get the alcoholic beverages, since he was in 7th and had already turned of legal age, all the Marauders had become his friends like that.

“All right, Moons, your turn,” Said Sirius.

“Dare,” he responded without beating an eyelash and grabbed a piece of paper “Give a 10-minute foot massage to the person on your left?”

You laughed when Sirius threw him a teasing look.

“A FOOT MASSAGE FOR PADFOOT?! WHO EVEN WROTE THIS DARES?”

“Who cares? I get a free massage,” said Sirius as he was unlacing his boots. Remus sighed. Finally, Sirius took his boot off, showing a pair of colourful Gryffindor-themed socks. That’s what you call commitment to a brand, you thought. Sirius then turned his feet towards Remus and let his head fall on your leg “Do you mind?” He asked looking up at you, you could see his dark lashes framing his stunning icy blue eyes, but also noticed how he asked after he had already gotten himself all comfortable.

“No really,” you replied, and he nodded in response, closing his eyes as Remus started rubbing his feet. And damn were you a little jealous as you saw Remus pressing his strong hands on Sirius’s feet, he was clearly, really good at massaging. Sirius’ face told you everything.

Then it was Imogen’s turn, a Hufflepuff girl you’d shared classes with before. She was very smart, you remembered. She picked truth and grabbed a paper “Fuck, Mary, Kill: Slughorn, Kettleburn and Nightshade.” She said, “Ummm… I’d murder Slugorn, fuck Kettleburn and Mary Nightshade.”

“You’d fuck Kettlebrun?!” Asked Beth shocked.

“Between him and Slughorn? Every single time!” Imogen responded.

“And you’d marry Nightshade?” Asked Peter.

“Who wouldn’t marry Nightshade?”

You nodded to what Imogen was saying “No, no, Imogen has a point,” you said pointing a finger at her “Seraphina is stunning.” Sirius looked at you with a raised eyebrow, he still lied his head on your right leg “She has this grace to her, she’s like a ballerina.”

“She was a ballerina,” Said James as he munched on something.

“Really? How do you know?”

“She’s friends with our parents,” explained Peter, and grabbed a paper himself. He also chose truth “Do you like anyone? If so, say who it is.” Peter was instantly red and looked around as if checking if a particular person was still in the room, he took a deep breath once he was sure, and let himself speak “Yes there is, it’s this very pretty Ravenclaw girl from Fifth called Annabeth.”

“Annie Doxon?” Beth jumped from her seat “You have a crush on my cousin?!” Peter nodded, still shy. “Ok then, you break her heart, I break your nose.” Peter nodded, he knew Beth wouldn’t be too excited about it anyway “But I’m happy, at least you’re a good guy, I’m sure you’ll treat her well,” she cheered “Potter, you’re up.”

James grabbed a dare and after reading it out loud he tied his shirt over his belly and started belly dancing as best of his ability allowed him. And surprisingly, he was actually pretty good at it, which had everyone laughing. You leaned over to Lily, careful not to disturb Sirius, whose hair you’d started playing with at some point and whispered “Bet he’s got some sick moves in the bedroom too,” she gasped and hit you lightly, turning red as a tomato. Which just caused you to laugh even more, Lily was definitely going to end up with James Potter. And they’d probably have the cutest children.

Eventually, it was Marlene’s turn again, she chose dare and ended up giving Holden a massage, and Holden had to hold hands with her for the rest of the game when he got his dare. By the time Mary was taking her paper, the sand clock you’d set to measure the 10 minutes Remus would rub Sirius’ feet was over and he shoved Sirius’ feet off his lap.

“Oi, a bit more careful there Moony!” He complained as he finally sat up straight again.

“Yeah?, well I’ve had enough of your stinky feet,” Remus retorted.

“Take that back, My feet are NOT stinky!” He then turned to you “Are they Love?”

“Sirius, no matter how much I appreciate you, I will not be smelling your feet.”

He pouted and was about to speak again but got interrupted by Mary “Fuck James, marry Remus, Kill Sirius,” she said carelessly.

“Who put our names in the–“ Remus started.

“–You’d kill me? But I’m beautiful!” Sirius gasped.

“I wouldn’t wanna deal with the drama,” she responded simply.

“And I’m certain I’d be a better lay than Prongs too.”

“You wish,” James snapped and threw a pillow he had at Sirius’ face.

“LOOKS LIKE IT’S MY TURN!” Said Tom with his hands extended to the sides to get everyone's attention. He took a truth as well. “Name a teacher you’d hate to see naked and a teacher you’d like to see naked. WHO WROTE THIS?! You guys are sick. I’d hate to see Slughorn naked. I’d like to…” he shuddered “I don’t want to see any teacher naked.”

“You have to name someone,” argued Imogen.

“But–“

“Name it, Name it, Name it,” everyone started to choir.

“Professor Spellman?”

“Profesor Spellman!?” Asked Peter confused.

Tom shrugged, “I bet he’s ripped under those robes.”

Everyone laughed. On Beth’s turn, she had to do a cartwheel and then it was Lily’s turn, she went straight for a dare “Kiss for 30 seconds, whoever is in front of you,” she said looking up from her seat and discovering it was none-other than James Potter.

You tried to hold a laugh. And patted her on the back, she turned to Beth distressed “Can’t I just Kiss (Y/N) again?”

“Can’t stop thinking of me, huh?” You teased with your eyebrows raised, Sirius’ personality was rubbing on you. She gave you a reproachful look, as if asking for help.

“Rules are rules love,” said Beth and motioned for Lily and James to get closer together. She awkwardly did, James just stood in his place, frozen in shock.

“I– I’m gonna start, m’kay?” She asked James.

He nodded awkwardly, and in an instant, they were locking lips. Their kiss was nothing like yours and Lily’s, just a peck and then done, no, they were kissing. James had even grabbed Lily by the waist and pulled her closer at some point. Those thirty seconds were up, and you were sure they were still kissing. But eventually, Lilly broke this kiss off, clearing her throat and crawled back to her seat next to you.

You turned to her “You good?” You asked with concern. She nodded a slight blush creeping onto her cheeks. You smiled and grabbed your paper.

“Sit on the lap of the player to your right for the rest of the game.” You read, with a bit of a frown “Seat on the lap of–?”

“–Sirius Black.” Finished Lily.

“Don’t you…?” You were about to ask, but Sirius had already accommodated himself and waited for you with open arms and a welcoming smile. Of course Sirius wouldn’t mind, he was Mr. Flirt after all. “Kay then,” you said and moved to his lap. He held you by the waist and set his head on your neck.

“Mind passing over a dare paper?” He asked.

You leaned in and grabbed one and opened it for him “Let a player draw something on your arm,” you read.

He shrugged and handed you his arm. “There you go love, draw me a Picasso.”

“I could just draw a dick,” you teased.

He nudged you with his head “Draw something nice, would ya? I’ll leave it on all week if you do.”

You raised an eyebrow and nodded as you used your wand to bring your quill and ink closer, dipping your quill in the dark ink and drawing on Sirius’ arm.

“We’re almost out of papers,” said Beth as she leaned over the two bowls.

“We should probably end soon anyway,” Lily said, stretching her arms, “It’s getting kinda late.”

“What’s it gonna be Rem? Truth or dare?” Asked Beth.

“Dare,” he chose again, not even thinking about it, he leaned over and grabbed a paper, looking visibly pale as he read. Not that you noticed, you were very focused on Sirius’ arm.

“Well then? What does it say?” Asked Beth.

Remus didn’t say a word. Imogen grabbed the paper from his hand and read it “Kiss the person to your left for one minute straight.” The second those words left her mouth your pen went completely sideways, leaving a straight line in the middle of your drawing, you looked up, alarmed.

“But… there’s two people on Remus’ left,” Imogen continued.

“Three people kiss?” said Beth as an option.

“Three people kiss? What on earth is that?!” Asked Remus alarmed.

“It’d be too awkward for a minute straight,” said Imogen as she shook her head with a soft tsk, she wasn’t convinced.

“Pick one then,” Beth said with a shrug.

“Well, it’s obvious, (Y/N), she’s the girl.” Said Peter.

“But I had to kiss her too, that doesn’t matter in this game,” argued Lily.

“And Sirius was to his left originally,” chimed Holden.

Remus’ eyes darted from one person to the other, looking further mortified at the second. “Let’s just wand, potion, spell it,” you intervened “Destiny chooses instead, how does that sound?” Remus looked at you and nodded.

“Well then,” you shifted on Sirius’ lap so you could see him directly, “Ready?”

“Do we do it in the first result or two out of three?” He asked.

“I– I don’t know… Rem?”

“Two out of three.”

“Well then, it’s settled.”

The two of you positioned your right hand on top of your left “Wand, Potion, Spell.” You said together. Sirius’ hand turned into a fist with his thumbs up, Potion, beating your extended palm, spell.

“Ok, again,” he said.

“Wand, Potion, Spell.” You repeated this time you chose spell, beating his wand.

You gave him a look, Remus was still holding his breath right next to the two of you.

“Again.”

“Wand, Potion, Spell.” You both choose spell. “Wand, Potion, Spell.” You both picked wand.

“Sirius!” You complained.

“Not doing it on purpose luv!” He argued back.

“Ok, this is the one, ready?” He nodded.

“Wand, Potion, Spell.” Sirius chose spell, you chose potion.

“(Y/N) Won,” said Beth, “It’s settled then, go ahead.”

You threw her a look “I’m gonna end up kissing the entire circle with this game,” you complained as you tried to move off Sirius, but he tightened his hold on your waist.

“Gotta stay here till the end of the game, remember?” He asked, not allowing you to budge. You turned to him with a frown.

“He’s right, if you get off you’ll get a penalty,” agreed Imogen.

You gave him a confused look and he just shrugged, “Rules are rules.”

Remus moved closer instead “You sure you’re ok with it?” He asked, sincerity in his voice as he stared at you, faces inches away from each other. You nodded and closed the gap between the two of you.

As your lips met Remus', you instinctively placed your right hand on his shoulder to steady yourself, Sirius' hands remained securely wrapped around your waist, you could feel his subtle shifts beneath you as you continued to kiss his friend. The nature of the situation made you wonder if you had ever found yourself in such an uncomfortable scenario before. No, not that –it was weird– but it wasn’t particularly uncomfortable, in fact, Remus’ kiss was quite nice.

It was delicate and it was sweet. Remus tasted of chocolate and rum, and you let yourself enjoy the moment, you were sure Sirius was intently staring at the both of you, you wondered what he was thinking as you felt the muscles of his tights tense, and relax. As you explored the gentle rhythm of Remus’ kiss, any apprehension dissipated, replaced by a growing sense of ease, even with Sirius staring at the two, it was strangely enjoyable. The gentleness of Remus' lips against yours seemed to resonate both affection and curiosity, you wondered if he was being gentle because that was in his nature, if he was being gentle because it was you he was kissing, or perhaps because you were in the middle of a dare, and that’s what would be expected of him.

Eventually, the last drop of sand from the hourglass reached the bottom, and it emitted a soft sound. You and Remus finally separated, looking at each other with breaths slightly heavy, both attempting to regain your composure. Once you caught your breath you decided you had to do something to ease the situation, or something. So you channelled your inner Sirius Black and reacted as he would, you smirked; “Well then Remus, thank you for that delightful kiss, love that you put in an effort even if it was just a dare, anyway, who’s next? I really can’t be the only one who keeps kissing everyone around me, can I?” People laughed at your reaction, Remus was shaking his head with a small smile slipping from his lips, maybe he had kissed Sirius in the end.

Sirius leaned into your ear, whispering “Smooth way to divert the tension luv,” he whispered as Imogen grabbed a paper, and you gulped as Sirius' breath brushed your neck.

“It’s me,” said Imogen, still processing how you’d been so brave to kiss a boy while sitting on another’s lap. She wanted to be like you when she grew older “It says: If you could be anyone in this room, who would it be?” She seemed to think about it for a second “I mean… right at this moment? (Y/N), she’s gotten the most action tonight.”

You laughed, reclining against Sirius unconsciously, “Well, then, switch with me,” you told her as a joke, but you felt Sirius’ hold tighten, as if reproachful.

Peter leaned in for a paper “Give your best friend a lap dance.” He read. “What?! Who wrote this?” You laughed, at least you hadn’t gotten that one.

“Get up Jaaaames,” you heard Sirius say in a sing-song voice from behind. He pulled a chair with magic to the centre of the circle and set the record player to “Love to Love You Baby” by Donna Summer.

James sat on the chair with a smile as Peter stood up, walking in front of James and started to dance. Peter was not vibing with the song or the dare for that matter. But he pulled through, even with Sirius’ constant teasing “Come on Pete, you’re not getting tips tonight if you don’t put in an effort!”

You eventually joined the teasing too, whistling as Sirius continued talking. Once the song was over Peter went instantly back to his place, hiding his entire face between his hands and questioning all the life decisions that had led him to that moment.

There was only one paper left, and it was James' turn. He leaned in and grabbed the truth paper “Have you ever had a crush on anyone in this circle?” He read, and then he nodded “Of course I have. But you all know who it is already.”

Lily coughed several times “Well, game’s over,” she said as she stood up and pulled Marlene towards the fire with her “We should sleep soon, so go ahead, time to open the gifts.”

Marlene raised an eyebrow at her, she just shrugged. You, like the good friend you were, decided to tease her further, finally leaving Sirius’ lap and walking behind her “Wow, Lils, never seen you run from a situation faster than that.”

“Shut it, luv.” She Told you and pulled you to sit on the sofa, the rest followed you seconds after, all walking towards the comfortable living room-like setup in front of the sofa. Once everyone was comfortable, Beth urged Marlene to sit on the rug in front of everyone to open her gifts. She’d gotten a quill set from her parents, a magical chess set, an enchanted journal, some fun jewellery, the Jersey you’d gotten her and many other things.

You all sat comfortably in front of the fire as she continued opening her gifts.

You leaned down next to her when she opened a box with bright red wrapping “Is that quidditch polish set?” You asked with a smile “That’s brilliant!”

“Thanks,” said James, of course, he would have been the one to give her that “now you can be the fastest beater.”

Sirius looked at him with a shrug and hit him on the arm with the back of his hand in a reproachful manner “Way to drag your friend down, mate!”

“Hmmm… there’s only one way to find out,” Marlene said with a shrug “A race…” she smirked at the last bit.

You looked at her and then back at Sirius, eyebrows raised slightly and nodding along with Marlene “AND you know, Sirius Black does owe me race…”

He looked at you with an amused look on his face, his eyes shining at the dare “You’re on.”

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A/N: I swear this has been one of my favourite chapters to write so far. What was our dear Sirius thinking when he stared at you? What was Remus thinking? So much drama I love this sm. Some interesting things are coming soon, stay tuned lovelies <3

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