#would be my song of choice but honestly i hope they use her music somewhere

[poolsidescientist]

Since they're killing it with the 90's music, I sincerely hope Yellowjackets includes at least one Celine Dion songs before the show ends.

[idontwanttospoiltheparty]

I think about Tim McGraw (the song) a lot. I remember when that song first hit country radio, and it made me a fan right away. And I've always thought it was a great song. I go back to it regularly and am sad by how underappreciated it is as a fandom. But seeing it in the context of the eras tour has shifted my view of it. I don't think I ever fully appreciated how powerful those opening lines are as an introduction to Taylor's career. "He said the way my blue eyes shined/put those Georgia stars to shame that night/I said that's a lie" tells us so much about who Taylor was, is, and intended to be as an artist. It's honestly mind-boggling that so much of her career is predicted in those lyrics. You can maybe argue that there are better songs on debut (although I wouldn't agree). But I don't think there was a better choice for introducing Taylor Swift to the world. Her storytelling, her insistence on centering her own perspective even when it's a perspective the world isn't interested in (i.e. a teenage girl), her love for flowering romance, and how it contrasts with her commitment to honesty, her need to make her voice heard. There's so much there. I don't have a question, I just wanted to share this with someone who would care. (Also, since this is Swiftles land. Love Me Do is nowhere near as good a song as Tim McGraw. But The Beatles insisting their first song be self-written does do a similar thing given the musical conventions of the era. Even though Love Me Do is arguably their worst song.)

Anon I love you, I love you, I love you FOREVER.

I've not been a fan since Tim McGraw, but it's a song I've only grown to appreciate more and more as time has passed and just a few months ago I was having very similar thoughts about it being the perfect introduction to Taylor as a person and artist we could have asked for.

Additionally to your amazing points about the opening lines, I also think there's something so powerful about beginning your career in music by evoking your musical influences* – except she's framed it in this deeply personal way that doesn't require one to be a musician to find relatable: she simply wants her high school sweetheart to think of her when he hears her favourite song and, as someone who's felt solace in music like no other place, that resonates with me profoundly.

I also think one of the most quintessential things about her songwriting is that her memories are always sensual and picturesque. She connects memories to places ("Backroads at night"), to the weather ("The moon like a spotlight") and, especially, to clothes. ("I hope you think that little black dress").

So yes, 100%, Tim McGraw is lowkey a masterpiece and a gorgeous debut.

And your point about Love Me Do being a self-written debut when that wasn't at all an obvious choice at the time is so <33333

*I also read somewhere recently that this is a classic country thing, name-dropping your influences.

[xspeter]

𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒

𝟎𝟎𝟒: “The beginning of the end.”

m.list ⇦ previous chapter next chapter ⇨

Y/N: The first solo album I released didn't do amazing, but it didn't do horrible either.

It didn't even bother me either. I didn't go on tour- the album didn't do good enough for that- and Shyla had gotten signed to a new record deal and she was going on tour in Europe, so I spent my time getting sunburns and getting high.

I also stopped writing songs. I didn't see a point to it if I already had an album out.

Brenner was checking on me all hours of the day, he wanted me to get new music out. He was doting on me like I was some sort of prize horse.

Then one day, Jim Hopper knocks on my door. I guess he was put in charge of me. He was supposed to convince to get back into the studio and make a new record.

When I open the door he doesn't even say hello. He just says, "Lets cut the bullshit, Y/N. You've gotta get your ass back in that studio, or Brenner's taking you to court for violating your contract."

I said, "I don't give a shit. They can take their money and leave me the fuck alone."

Hopper wasn't listening to any of my BS though. He says, "Just make the album, Y/N. Before you get yourself in some real trouble."

I didn't care about any of that though. I didn't care if I was living in a car board box- as long as I had my drugs, I was fine. I just rolled my eyes at Hopper, and that's when he started getting fed up with my shit.

He says to me, "How do you see your life in ten years?" And, honestly, I don't think I saw myself being alive in ten years, so, I just shrugged my shoulders.

Hopper scoffed, he goes, "Well, if you get your ass in that studio, I see you being one of the most successful l women in the country."

The next day, I was writing music.

It only took me a few weeks to have my songs ready, so I call up Hopper and I said, "I'm ready."

Shyla: Y/N's second album wasn't anything special, it was kind of middle of the road, but you could definitely tell she was going somewhere.

Steve: We started recording our second album in 1985. And- I honestly think we were pretty proud of it. At least I was.

Jon: When I first heard the album, I didn't think it was as gritty as it needed to be. It was more pop than it was Rock n' Roll. Every song Steve wrote was about his family.

[Snorts] I mean, Murray said it best, "Rock n' Roll is about getting it on with a girl for the first time, not making sweet love to your wife.

Eddie: I thought we had a lot of songs that could be hit singles. But, Hopper disagreed. Everything was either too slow or not slow enough. Too hard rock or not rock enough.

Hopper finally told us that he thought we needed a female vocalist on one of the songs. Said we were needed to aim for number one, and a good way to do that was a duet.

Hopper said we should make "Look At Us Now" a duet, but, I just didn't understand why. He wanted to add a female vocalist to the softest song on the album, and that was supposed to fix the problem?

I said, "I will not be in a soft rock band."

Steve: "Look At Us Now" was about the life I wanted to give to Nancy. It was romantic. It was soft. It didn't need a female vocalist. But, Hopper didn't care. He just told me to write what Nancy would say back to me.

Robin: Hopper named around ten girls until Steve finally had enough. He goes, "Who is Y/N L/N?" Hopper smiles and goes, "I was hoping you'd ask that."

Eddie: I'd heard Y/N sing at this bar on the strip a few months back, and I thought she was sexy as hell. She has these huge eyes and these chunky hoop earrings. I mean, she just looked like a rock star.

Steve: Once we brought up Y/N, Hopper didn't really give us a choice if we wanted her to sing the song or not. If Hopper thought that she was the right person for it, then she was.

Y/N: I had heard of Silver Springs. I mean, obviously we were on the same label, but i'd heard one of their singles on the radio too.

I really loved Steves voice too. It was just... I don't even know how to explain it. It sounded like the voice of a man who'd seen things.

I could see the potential of our voices, could see how we'd match. So, I listened to their demo of 'Look At Us Now" and I just felt like something was missing. Like the song just wasn't really finished.

Steve: We were all at the studio the day Y/N walked in. I just remember getting this awful feeling in my stomach when I saw her. For one, she was barefoot and she was wearing this huge shirt that made it look like she didn't have any pants on.

Robin: When she walked in I remember thinking, Where are her pants?

Dustin: I remember thinking that Y/N was the prettiest girl I had ever seen.

Jon: I got worried for a second that I was staring at her, but then I thought, This girl has probably been stared at her whole life.

Steve: I saw her and I introduced myself, I said, "Nice to meet you. Thanks for helping us out." I asked if she wanted to sit down and go over the song, but she just said, "No, thanks."

Murray: She went right into the booth and started warming up.

Robin: I said, "We don't all need to be here watching her." But the shitheads ignored me.

Y/N: I finally just ended up asking for some space.

Steve: Everyone started funneling out after that, except, Me, Hopper, and Jerry.

Jerry Blue: I miked her up and we did a couple of test runs, but for some reason, the mic wasn't working. So Hopper said Steve and her would just share a mic.

Y/N: I read the lyrics to that song probably a hundred times. I knew how I wanted it to go.

Steve sang it in an almost desperate way, and I figured it was because he didn’t really believe what he was saying. And I thought that just made it so much more complex and interesting. So I planned to sing it like I wanted to believe him but I couldn’t.

When we were ready to get everything rolling, me and Steve step up to the mic we glanced at each other and then he started singing the opening.

The lyrics were originally, “Oh, I know we can get it all back, Oh, I know we can get it all back.” But that made the song feel you know, boring, to me. So, I changed it.

Steve: She changed the lyrics of my own song, and no one told me about it. She sand, “Oh, We can make a good thing bad.” But, to me that defeated the purpose of the song. The whole point was that I was telling Nancy that we would be able to get back to where we were. And Y/N ruined it.

Y/N: We’re in the middle of singing and he stops me. He goes, “Those aren’t the lyrics. Do you- do you know the lyrics? Do you need me to write them down?”

I knew the lyrics, he was the one who didn’t.

Robin: Steve wrote the song as a way to convince himself that his future with Nancy was a real thing. But we all knew he could relapse at any minute.

The first month he was out of rehab he was obsessed with woodworking. We’d come over to visit Nancy and the baby and he’d be working on some random dining table.

Oh, and then there was the running. He’s run at least five miles a day.

I mean, it was all getting a little ridiculous.

Murray: Steve was this guy who made everything look natural. But he was trying so very hard to stay sober, and you could see the strain it took on him.

Robin: “Look At Us Now” used to be a song about security. But Y/N made it a song about insecurity.

Steve: That night I told Nancy what Y/N did. And you know, Nancy’s got her hands full with Amber and i’m ranting about something that really didn’t matter.

She just said, “It’s a song, Steve.” And that’s made me realize that to me, it wasn’t just a song. My version was the future I wanted, and Y/N’s version was the future I was getting dangerously close to having.

Eddie: I think Y/N was just very unexpected for Steve.

Jerry: When we put their voices together, it was so compelling. It was like they were made for each other.

Jon: They took a rock song and they made it a pop song. I was a little pissed about it.

Murray: Hopper was over the moon when he listens to it, so was pretty much everyone else, but when Steve heard it, you could see the way his jaw clenched.

Steve: I liked the new song. But I felt like Y/N’s vocals just ruined the whole thing, so I asked Hopper to just take her out, but he said I needed to trust him. Said we had just written a hit song.

Eddie: Steve was always in charge you know? He wrote the lyrics, composed the instruments, arranged the songs. If Steve goes to rehab we have to cancel the tour, If steve wants to go back to the studio then so do we. He ran the show.

So what Y/N did to “Look At Us Now” was not easy for him.

Steve: We were a team.

Y/N: I wasn’t sure why Steve hated me so much. I made the song better, so why was he so upset?

I ran into Steve at the studio a couple days later when I went in to hear the final cut. I said hello, have him a smile, and all he did was nod.

Robin: It was a man’s world. You had to get a man’s approval to do pretty much anything and there was only really two ways to go about it.

You either acted like one of the boys, or you acted real girly and fluttered your lashes and all that shit.

But, Y/N didn’t do any of that. She was kinda just, “Take me or leave me.”

Y/N: All I wanted to do was make something original or cool and Steve didn’t like that.

Robin: You know how sometimes you’ll meet someone who just seems to breeze through life? Well, that was Y/N times ten. Maybe I should have hated her for that, but I didn’t. I loved her for it. With her around I felt like I didn’t have to take the shit i’d been taking from men for years.

Y/N: Robin was the kind of person who had more talent in the top of her pinky than most people have in their whole body.

Steve: When the record was about to be pressed, I told Hopper, “You made me hate my own song.” And you know what he said back to me? He said, “You’ll get over it.”

listened to fleetwood mac the whole time I wrote this

@brxkenartt @freezaz123

[knife-moth-mc]

With the music asks, I'd like to ask prompts: 1, 3, 11, 19, 23, 26, and 30!

1:A song you like with a color in the title

3:A song that reminds you of summertime

11:A song that you never get tired of

19:A song that makes you think about life

23:A song that you think everybody should listen to

26:A song that makes you want to fall in love

30:A song that reminds you of yourself

1: It's All Over Now, Baby Blue by Bob Dylan, but specifically this version. I haven't formally posted my Haven music playlists anywhere (I will do that.... soon......) but this is one of the first songs on the arc 1 playlist. You can think of it as Anathema and C!Moth's meetcute song : P

3: The Beast of Pirate's Bay by Voltaire. A girl I went to summer camp with... gosh, at least a decade ago now--taught it to all of us since we didn't have access to music that wasn't us singing. I also learned about Homestuck and bisexuality from her, so, you know, pretty much all the good parts of my life I found originally through meeting her that summer. Wiki, if you're still out there, thank you.

11: I could be wrong, because I haven't known it that long, but I think I'm going to go with Blacksoul by Onya. I could say more about it but honestly just listen to it. It's beautiful.

19: God Fearing, Sea Faring Man by The Accidentals. I listened to the album this is from a lot back when I first stumbled onto it, and while I think the band has now largely disavowed it it remains very deep in my heart. This specific song has stuck with me especially, I think because there's a kind of... the word that's coming to mind is grace, it feels like there's a kind of grace to this song. It feels like a moment of clarity. If I had to claim the meaning of life was buried in any one song, I would pick this one.

23: I'm going to cheat here and say an artist, because so far as I know they only ever released a handful of songs, most or all of which I try to link people to every so often because they're not otherwise available. I'm talking about superedge, who was a fanmusician back in 2015 or so. I hope they're still creating somewhere, but they've left behind some of my favorite songs in the world and I'm grateful that I happened to find them when I did.

26: Ben Caplan's cover of Lovers' Waltz by A. A. Bondy. The original is also solid but something about Ben Caplan's version really particularly speaks to me. I think according to the lyrics this song is actually about dying together? Which makes this a weird choice I guess but it feels in a way comforting, and I think fits the prompt better, because I have lots of people I love! I don't need a generic love song! But this song feels deeper and more permanent, in a way that's at least as appealing as it is scary.

30: You know, I have a whole collection of books that are me; you'd think I'd have a collection of songs that are me. But I don't. I think I have a tendency to shift songs from me to my (or others') characters, or to strongly associate songs with the circumstances under which I first listened to them. I've been combing through my library trying to think of anything and I could make some cases but most of them are weak. So I'm going somewhere very personal and emotional, and I trust you'll understand.

When I was 17, I was in a really bad place. It was, I think, the worst year of my life bar none. I'll spare you the details, but one day after a really intense couple of weeks, I played nice until I was given back my ipod. The moment it was in my hands, I grabbed my bike and fled to the library. I cried the whole way there, and I listened to this song, The Bust from The New Albion Radio Hour by Paul Shapera. This wasn't the song I came to identify with at the time--that would be The Wasteland, from the same album--but to this day, I can't listen to it without remembering that scared teenager.

[limalosershq]

WELCOME, JUNE! OR IS THAT VIOLET MENDEZ? EITHER WAY, YOU'RE A LIMA LOSER AROUND HERE NOW! Remember to look at our checklist here and then send in your account within 24 hours, if you need more time just let us know! That way I can send you the link to the discord server and you can get to plotting with everyone there. We all look forward to rping with you and once again, welcome to the mayhem of show choir!

OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION

NAME/ALIAS: june PRONOUNS: any! AGE (21+): 21+ TIMEZONE: aest ACTIVITY: with uni and work, lemme say 6/10!

IN CHARACTER INFORMATION

NAME: violet mendez FACECLAIM: isabella gomez AGE/BIRTHDAY: twenty, september 16th GLEE CLUB: vocal adrenaline SONG CHOICE: two birds - regina spektor MAJOR/MINOR/GRADE: freshman studying music composition  LOCATION: living off-campus in akron, with a large amount of roommates she barely sees. OCCUPATION: employee at rinky dinks. CLUBS/EXTRACURRICULARS/SPORTS: member of carmel’s gay straight alliance 

LIST AT LEAST 3 HEADCANONS ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER!

Violet comes from a family of performers. As a matter of fact, she comes from a family of Vocal Adrenaline performers. Both of her parents and all three of her older siblings attended Carmel and took home trophies during their time on the team, and they are now financial supporters of VA. This meant that Violet’s spot was quite literally handed to her. The only issue? Violet’s debilitating stage fright. Sure, she can hold a tune and do a box-step, but the second there are people in the audience, she’s falling over her own feet, which hasn’t exactly made her many friends.

When she’s not on stage, Violet does actually have a knack for writing music. She has no interest in performing the songs herself, but hopes they end up in the hands of someone really awesome some day. In a dream scenario, she’d be the ghost writer for some big mainstream pop star. All of the royalties and praise for the music, without any of it being on Violet’s name itself.

One thing that helps Violet feel like she’s less of an anxious mess is her best friend and confidant, Snake Gyllenhaal. Yeah, he’s her pet snake. He also happens to be perhaps the world’s only vegan ball python, which does make him a little less badass. A snake that refuses to eat meat and eats tofu instead? Probably about as cool as Violet herself.

QUESTIONS

IS THIS WHERE YOU PICTURED YOURSELF RIGHT NOW IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS?

Uh, well…no. I wanted to study veterinary medicine when I was a kid actually. But if I did that then I’d have to deal with the disappointed and disapproval stares of my family every time we spoke and I think I’d rather die than live through that so…yeah, music at Carmel it is! 

HOW’RE YOU FEELING ABOUT ALL THE SHOW CHOIR RIVALRY?

I had heard about it from my family, but I honestly thought they were trying to prank me. Like, people really take glee club seriously, don’t they? I don’t think the other teams are all that bad, they all seem nice enough…Don’t tell my parents I said that.

WOULD YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF A LIMA LOSER? WHERE EXACTLY IS YOUR LIFE HEADED, OR REALLY, WHERE SHOULD IT BE HEADING?

See, there’s another thing! I don’t see why Lima is so bad either! It’s quaint, I like driving through there sometimes when I wanna clear my head. If that makes me a loser, then sue me. And my life is…well, it’s heading somewhere! Currently to be decided, I guess.

[pcstvlates]

FRANCIS’ DEBUT ALBUM ‘WASHUP’ GETS DELUX RELEASE

It’s been only eleven months since the release of the new folk-pop singer’s debut album. Francis Mancini, better known by just ‘Francis’ has been taking TikTok by storm with her raw and intimate music. Fans have been begging for a deluxe version. Finally, Empiric Records gave in and have released the special addition to include four extra songs, two covers, and two new singles released within the past few months (one of them being with Sawyer, which had the internet gagging).

This month, at Woodstock Magazine, we got to sit down with the new folk sensation, and talk to her about her iconic record.

Read the interview below, and check out the album HERE.

JONES: I’m going to be honest Francis, I didn’t expect your deluxe version to include covers, what made decide to include the two iconic songs?

FRANCIS: Honestly, I think the songs on my album were really tough to write. Like, they’re really personal, they took a lot out of me. At the time the album took off, and there were talks for a potential deluxe, I couldn’t really imagine putting myself in that headspace. It has to come naturally. So really, if the big guys wanted a deluxe, it was going to have to be covers.

JONES: But you did include a couple originals, though they’re singles people are already familiar with. And they stack up against the rest of the album in terms of intensity. What was the choice with that?

FRANCIS: Well, they’re still released pretty close to this album, and in terms of era and theme, they still seemed to fit quite well. Hopefully, my next album doesn’t have to be a drugs, loneliness, and losing a love. I hope I’m somewhere else by the time I start on the next thing.

JONES: I wanted to ask about that. This album is known for how hard it hits, and you’re not shy about what this album is based off of in your personal life. How has it felt sharing that with the world?

FRANCIS: It’s a part of the healing, honestly. I’ve been so grateful to be able to share my life through music and that the music reaches so many people. I mean, the process of making this album was brutal. I was at some pretty low moments, but the craft of it, I knew, would be so important for me. Now that it’s out there and I meet the people it connects to, I know that taking this leap of openness was worth it.

JONES: Can you tell me about the title ‘WASHUP’, what was the message you wanted people to take from it?

FRANCIS: It’s two-fold, honestly. I mean, there’s the sense of being a washup in the sense that I was a failed playwright, drug addict, dumped two months before my wedding, and in a city where I had few friends. I was washed up. But it’s also this idea of washing onto shore of a new space, I will wash up onto the sand and I will be reborn. This is me moving on.

JONES: That’s really beautiful. Now I have to ask, you did a song with Sawyer, the ex-band member of the super succession rock band Riot Band. None of us saw that coming, but the song is genius. What was that like being in the studio with such a talent?

FRANCIS: I mean, totally honest, I wasn’t really a fan of Riot Van when they were in their hay day. And I think it’s important to clarify he reached out to me. I didn’t even know he sang until he showed up to the studio and we started working together.

JONES: I would have loved to been a fly on the wall in that studio. What was that process like?

FRANCIS: It was totally wild. I mean he’s such a professional, it was like the moment he stepped in, it was all about the music. I had had a verse of something written, and he’d had some lyrical ideas as well, it was just uncanny that they happened to fit together so well. They when we kind of figured out the groove, it was like we shared the same mind. I had began playing on the piano and he began to play his guitar and then next thing I knew we were recording and I was crying and we were done.

JONES: You cried?

FRANCIS: A little, yeah. I mean, when we sang, the energy--- I mean, it’s like--- really, I can’t explain it, I was just overcome. 

JONES: Sounds like you two have something special. Do you think you’ll work together again?

FRANCIS: I mean he’s busy making his album, I don’t think that’s going to be in our futures anytime soon.

JONES: I think people are disappointed to hear that, but I understand. Thank you for taking the time to talk to Woodstock, Francis. I’ll be playing this Deluxe album on repeat for weeks. 

FRANCIS: Thank you, my mom said the same thing.

[foolforharrry]

Strawberries & Memories - Chapter 2 - It's Beautiful Isn't it?

Hi. This is the second chapter of my brand new book. I'm really excited about it and it would mean a lot if you shared it or gave me some feedback on it.

Summary for Strawberries & Memories: Anna went to the Coachella Music Festival to finally see her idol perform in person. Little did she know that would end up changing her life forever in ways she never even dared dream of. But everything comes at a cost.

Chapter index

Chapter 1

I really hope you enjoy this story as much as i enjoy writing it

"You're lying right?"

I shake my head, unable to suppress the massive grin threatening to break out on my face. "I am dead fucking serious, Morgs."

While I wait for her to process, I take in the calming sound of the waves rolling over the sandy beach before retracting back into the ocean again and the warm sun hitting my skin. My sunburnt skin.

I need to start remembering to wear sunscreen when I'm here. Or anywhere with sun and the danger of getting sunburnt.

I did my best to avoid getting sand in my shoes, but the second I stepped onto the beach, that game was lost. Under normal circumstances, I would have been grumpy and frustrated about it until I was back

"You're telling me that the man you've been drooling over since you were a teenager invited you out for drinks...and you said no?" I flinch when she screams the last part, grimacing at the unnecessarily loud volume.

"Jeez. Calm down please.", I plead, deciding to just sit down in the sand. My phone is in my tote bag, probably getting the screen in worse condition than it already is as Morgan keeps scolding me for being responsible and not going out with someone who's virtually a stranger.

"...finally getting some action. You know if you keep not taking opportunities like these, then you're going to end up being the grumpy cat lady who is mean to everyone but her cats."

"At least I would be the cool aunt to your kids.", I point out, expecting her to argue it. But instead, she changes the topic, "So since you obviously weren't busy with a man these last two days I haven't heard from you. What were you doing?"

"I've been getting busy with my laptop."

Margot giggles, "I hope you hear how sad that sounds, Anna. You're in LA and you're couped up in a café and your hotel room with your laptop instead of doing something you can't do back home."

I know she's right. But there isn't a lot I can do about it. When inspiration strikes, I have to use it. Because there is very little that compares to when the block finally eases up and everything you've wanted to get out just flows out just the way you want it to.

"I am outside now. And not at a café. To socialise.", I defend my life choices even though I know she isn't going to change her mind. She rarely ever does.

It's one of the things I love most about her.

"Whatever you say, baby." Morgan doesn't sound convinced at all. "I gotta go. I've got a hot date waiting for me."

"You better tell me all about them when I get home tomorrow night."

We say our goodbyes rather quickly. The second she hangs up; Spotify resumes my playlist. It has an instant calm wash over me when the familiar melody to 'Night Changes' starts. The same way the water does the beach.

I've always had a love for music in general. Not just because music is something truly and undeniably beautiful. It's also the ability it has to make me go from devastatingly sad to dancing with joy in a beat. And vice versa. Or the way it can transport you back to a moment you've tied to the song so effortlessly you don't even notice it until the memory is playing like a movie in your head.

It still feels surreal that I've met the man who's written a lot of the songs that gave me the strength to keep clawing myself back off the edge when all I'd wanted to do was let go.

I'm honestly convinced I had a stroke at some point and these past few days are just a figment of my own imagination while my body is in a coma somewhere. And I have a tube stuffed down my throat and the doctors have decided I'm brain dead and they're about to pull the plug so all my organs can be donated to the dumpsters.

If against all odds, that's not the case, then the last two days I've done a few things.

1. I've found a new favourite café to sit and write at. It has the cutest little stuffed bunnies everywhere and little cookies shaped like seals.

2. I have written at the café.

3. I have talked to Harry Styles.

I still don't fully understand what possessed Harry to actually DM me instead of just unfollowing me the second I left on Saturday. But he did. And I can't say that I have been complaining about it.

I have learnt two things about him.

1. He is genuinely funny.

2. He is also clinically insane.

He would have to be for asking me to meet him. Again.

I threw my phone across the room when the words 'would you want to meet' were in the grey bubble on my screen. From him. I might also have screamed as if I was dying, but that's beside the point.

And what else could I answer him with but, 'Are you on drugs right now?'. And I stand by that. What else was I supposed to say? Something normal?

Like, just say no? Probably would've been the best thing for me to say considering I'm not even half as stable as a normal person should be. But after Harry assured me that he was 100% not on any kind of drugs and promised no one had a gun to his or his loved ones' head, we agreed that he would pick me up here.

I still don't know what or why he wants to see me again, but it's too late to talk myself out of it now.

He told me to meet him here at 3. And looking at the time right now, it's in two minutes.

I'm never on time, but I am for sure not going to be late when I am meeting him.

"Ok, Anna. You can do this.", I tell myself, doing my best to focus on the distant sound of the traffic that's almost completely drowned out by the waves.

Almost.

The beach is around a five-minute drive from the highway. I couldn't see any clear point I was supposed to get out of the taxi, so I just told him to drop me off when he was starting to get a little impatient.

I sent Harry a photo of where I settled on getting out of the taxi. So hopefully he manages to find it.

The taxi driver was a sweetheart though. He even asked me if I was sure I wanted to be dropped off in the middle of nowhere.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

With wide eyes, I snap my head towards the sound of the voice. If it had been anyone else, I would've probably jumped out of my skin from someone suddenly sitting down next to me without me noticing until they speak.

I clear my throat, doing the best  I can to push away the nerves that have been bubbling in my stomach ever since I opened my eyes this morning.

Don't say something stupid now.

"Yeah, it is pretty." Ok, that's not the stupidest thing I've ever said. We're good. "Hi."

Harry's smile grows wider, his bunny teeth coming into view as I feel my own smile grow as well.

What can I say? He has an infectious smile.

His curls are mostly pushed back and out of his face by his hands. But a few, short strands have fallen over his forehead and temples despite the comfortable breeze coming from the ocean. The ends of the hair barely brush against his eyelashes. They move every time he blinks.

He must have noticed me staring at it because he lets out a light laugh while pushing the rebel hairs back with the rest, "I forgot to grab my clip, so it keeps falling in my eyes."

"That happens to the best of us. I have a spare hair tie if you want it?", I offer, already rolling it off my wrist. Harry takes it, quickly and skilfully gathering a large section of hair on the top of his head and twisting it around his finger until it's a little ball. That's when he seals it with the hair tie.

"Thank you, Anna." I cock an eyebrow at the way he emphasizes my name. "You're welcome, Harry."

Harry wrinkles his nose a little, his eyebrows scrunching together, "That feels a little weird."

"What's weird?", I ask confused. "No, no, no.", he sits up a little straighter, probably getting more sand on his brown, wide-legged trousers. "I like my name. But all my friends call me H. It's just strange when you say Harry."

I feel like my eyes are about to pop out of my head.

Do. Not. Say something stupid. "You're not allowed to call me A.", I tell him seriously.

I've watched two seasons of Pretty Little Liars. And what I learnt from it is that nothing good ever comes from someone called 'A'. I'm not saying I'm this really great person who only brings good into the world. But at least I don't send encrypted texts and torment a group of teenagers.

"Ok. Deal. I won't call you A and you don't call me Harry." He holds his hand out between us expectantly. His fingers are curled up into a fist apart from his pinkie.

"I might call you Harry. But on very rare occasions." "Deal."

I wrap my own pinkie around his, squeezing it firmly while nodding, "You can't go back on a pinkie promise." "Oh, pinkie promises are holier than marriage, darling."

"Does this mean I'm your friend?", I have to ask to make sure I don't just assume something he doesn't mean. Because he just said his friends call him H. He didn't actually call me his friend. If I just went around thinking we weren't. That would be way too embarrassing. Even for me.

Harry releases the hold his thumb and pointer finger had on his bottom lip, his smile dropping. "Do you not want to be? I- I'm so sorry, Anna. I completely just assumed. But if it makes you more comfortable, we could be sworn enemies or something."

He furrows his eyebrows, scowling at me playfully as if he was actually mad at me while gesturing to his face "I can be angry and scary. Just look at this."

My hand flies up to stifle my mouth to stifle a laugh while he keeps up the 'angry' face. "You look like an angry kitten."

Harry shoves me playfully, "You're a dick." "At least I don't push people.", I roll my eyes at him while brushing off the sand on my left arm from catching myself on the sandy ground.

He points a stern finger at me, "I only push people when they insult my angry face. It is very scary. You've just been around too many scary people to know." He justifies his actions as he stands back up off the ground, stretching his hand out for me to take.

"By scary people do you mean Morgan?", I ask him with a cocked eyebrow. I accept the gesture hesitantly, not fully trusting him not to drop my ass to the ground. He keeps a strong grip on my hand, helping me off the sand with ease as he nods, "She seems pretty terrifying from what you've told me." He doesn't even bat an eye when I thank him with an obnoxiously high voice. He just offers me a soft smile.

If he doesn't run for the hills now, I'll be more surprised than I was when he asked me to meet him here.

"She is pretty great though.", I say softly. Harry hums, "That's great."

He is wearing a white t-shirt with brown and beige stripes tucked into his trousers. It looks immaculate. There should be some kind of law against it to be honest.

I trail after him when he motions for me to follow him.

"So, did you have anything specific in mind. Or did you just plan on walks on the beach and kidnappings?", I ask him after walking in wordlessly for a bit, kind of regretting breaking the serene calm that came from the waves.

If Morgan would be up for it, maybe moving to LA wouldn't be such a bad idea. Or at least to somewhere with beaches like these.

Harry takes a minute, keeping a slow, steady pace as the sand dips beneath our feet. "I was going to ask if you had anything you wanted to do in LA before I suggest anything.", he explains, making a wide grin spread on my face before he adds, "This is your first time here, right?"

I ignore the warm feeling in my stomach from the fact that he remembers that I told him this is my first time in California. Instead, I play it off. "Do you mean at this beach or in Los Angeles in general?"

"Please tell me you're not trying to be funny right now, Anna.", he pleads. "Because that's just sad."

I scoff, pretending to be offended, "It's better than some of the jokes you've come up with." "What do you mean? My jokes are amazing. You just have no humour." Harry turns his nose up and away from me. The sun is making the higher points of his face stand out more and it's getting harder to keep myself serious.

"Sure, H. I'm the one with no humour, Mr. let's start a conversation with the worst pick-up line I've ever heard."

Harry purses his lips, blowing out air in disappointment, "Don't you know that the foundation for every good friendship is a good pick-up line?" I take a second, debating to myself whether or not I should comment on it while also trying not to laugh.

I decide to just agree with him. "Sure, H. Whatever you say. And to answer your question." Harry perks up at that, directing his full attention back to me. "No, I didn't have anything I wanted to do in LA."

"You're fucking with me, right? You go to LA for the first time, and you don't have anything planned other than Coachella?" When I shake my head, Harry walks faster than before, grabbing my forearm to make sure I'm keeping up with him.

I laugh at how much this seems to be bothering him, "I've had a really nice time, though. I've been working. And I'm going home tomorrow anyways."

"If you're leaving tomorrow, we have to get going.", he tells me, changing direction from going straight forward to away from the sealine and to a car parked just where the sand begins.

"Where are we going?"

Harry twists his head to look at me, still nearly speed-walking to his car, "We're going sightseeing."

-

Masterlist

[mistressemmedi]

Måneskin: "Different from whom?"

Greetings from Miley Cyrus - phenomenal numbers.

The streams of Zitti e Buoni are growing by the second, and ahead of Muse, on the top of the English charts, twelfth in the Spotify Global Chart. We almost tripled followers after Rotterdam (from 1.4 to 3.3 million, ed). Contagious and universal madness: T-shirts and merchandise sold out in 10 minutes. Like records, tickets for a tour that adds dates and expands on maps. They are even looking for us in festivals where the Rolling Stones have played. - Thomas

After the whole cocaine scandal that was started against us from France, which was later denied by my drug test, in Spain there people have been making murals with my face saying "No drugs". Some tweets made us laugh: «Congratulations, Italy! I have never been so sure that four people have fucked each other ". Miley Cyrus started following us. "You are great". “You are more” . - Damiano

From rags to riches - what a story

It was only 2016, and we were playing in restaurants, on the streets, in via del Corso (famous street in Rome). Damiano without a microphone, Thomas's guitar with broken strings, Ethan drummed on a cajón. At the occupations of the high schools in Rome (Kennedy, Virgilio, Mamiani) we had our first gigs and half an hour of fame, between those who criticized us and those who said "these guys are so cool". One of the rare times in which they offered to pay us to play - 50 euros each - we offered that money to those after us, in exchange for the chance to play during their time slow, as we knew there would have been a bigger crowd. We already understood then how it worked. That visibility was worth more than the money. We still think so ». - Victoria

The intimacy of rock - Choice of a genre

Music allows is this miracle which allows one to talk about very personal and private topics, even difficult and delicate ones. They are and remain deeply yours, but at the same time they become a confession that reaches a wider audience, and in this passage which is like a delivery, they also find their place in you, their elaboration. They are overcome, they are accepted. One moment it feels aggressive, one moment later a (soft) ballad. It's very cathartic. - Damiano

Against panic - The stage as therapy

I have suffered a lot from anxiety and panic attacks, it is a problem that I have worked on thanks to a course of psychotherapy, to my friends and family. Playing has helped me not to let myself be paralyzed by my fears, not to be limited in my private and professional life. I have learned to accept, to live with this side of me. I don't hide it. I no longer feel ashamed. - Victoria

This belief that only crazy people go to the psychologist is widespread ignorance. Nobody is born learned. And it is often difficult to understand why we are here, let alone the derivation and direction of our desires. It is a long and legitimate journey towards one's clarity. - Damiano

Essere fuori di testa – Ma diversi da loro (Be out of your mind - But different from them)

Already feeling a strong passion for something that is not a 'regular' profession but an artistic language, it puts you on a level where you're an anomaly, and while you're neither superior nor inferior to others, it places you in the condition of what breaks the mold but you're also being at a loss, leaving it to you to be bold and to take risks, hoping that they will pay off and land you somewhere. "What good is it if you don't stand out on your own?". You want to give it an aesthetic to your artistic dream, but to others it boils down to " You dress differently! You must be gay! ”, I'm 22 now and it makes me laugh, but at 17 it had an effect on me too. - Damiano

The beauty of being unique - Of believing in that and defending it

After all, we are all different not because we want to be alternative but because really no one is the same. Justice is being judged on what you do and not what you are. Justice is equality, respect, beauty. - Ethan

Fluid sexuality - Pride is freedom

We appreciate heels on men, we kiss each other, we have an open, extended mind, and we are proud of it. The horizons become vast, beyond the oppression of conservative families. With information on the web, knowledge is enriched and with it the possibility that minorities will be fewer and fewer, because majorities will be fewer and fewer. This will lower the volume to insults and bullying. If social networks can reach a village of 50 souls to reveal to someone, who is afraid of the darkness, that someone has felt that same fear.. There is no longer the need to give it a name, to define that "something" to fear, to brand it with labels that only limit you. Definitions have always had this effect on me. Gender should not even be considered in a person's judgment. Let alone orientation ". - Victoria

Sexism - A culture to be dismantled

Emma (Italian singer) dropped the bomb:" When I went to Eurovision, they insulted me over a pair of shorts. Damiano - half naked and in heels - was never criticized ". The judgment against women is constant, ferocious, and demeaning (if I have a lot of sex I'm cool but Vic a whore, where I show myself strong I'm a leader she is domineering and pain in the ass, who is successful because only because of her looks [and not the hard work she puts in]). As a male I am privileged, the harassment I suffer is not comparable to that experienced by a woman, the comments on my aesthetics are focused only on my aesthetics and do not insinuate anything about my professionalism and my competence, while women are victims of this kind of thinking in a systemic way. But I did find myself in a situation, out of nowhere, with someone who, pulling close to her for a selfie, started licking my face ... "What do you want, did you ask me?" Consent exists, and it is a must ». - Damiano

To grow as a person - The only rule to follow

For me, to conform is the total opposite of educating oneself, and the asphyxiation of one's expression (of freedom). Fortunately, I did not suffer heavy bullying, to the point where I felt I needed to change to adapt to how others saw me. But the matrix of who I am and the aggression that marks me is the same. If I'm a kid who dances and loves dolls, then allow me the freedom to do so. I used to be a kid who wanted long hair and played with Barbies. My friends, as a teenager, looked my long hair and teased me: "You have to find yourself a girl with a short hair to make up for it". My grandparents took the dolls away from me and said: “Stop it, they're not for you” ». - Ethan

“I was six and I already could not tolerate the distinctions between masculine and feminine. I've always had strong ideas about how I wanted to be. I refused things typically defined as feminine as a child, and they made fun of me for skating, for playing soccer, for not wearing skirts, for giving myself the chance to be as I wanted to be. I suffered a little, as I was bullied, but I had courage to stay true to myself, and today thanks to that courage I know that I could have been much more hurt, or I would have risked leaving the most important decision to others: the one about being just me". - Victoria

Love - music and girlfriends

I've been married to music for the past 20 years. I cannot wait to celebrate our golden wedding anniversary. - Ethan

Everyone goes through their own experiences, sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, but it's never other people's business." - Thomas

When, for the first time, I developed feelings and attraction for a girl it was a bit disorienting because I had never had the courage to go beyond the limitations I had imposed on myself. For society, being heterosexual is the norm and therefore often one automatically pegs himself in that way, giving up the freedom to experience many different shades and facets of love. Once I got over the initial insecurity of having to question one's own certainties, I lived my sexuality in a very natural and free way, as it should be for everyone. - Victoria

I had paparazzi under my house morning and night. So, after four years of relationship, I finally revealed her name. I still have the paparazzi under my house morning and night, but at least I don't have to hide anything anymore. - Damiano

The value of the group - Protecting each other

But the real relationship, the real family, is between us. Our band. We believed in it from the first day, even before calling ourselves Måneskin (moonlight in Danish), even before Ethan drew a giant moon, on the poster for our first concert. We share everything, even the pain of the tragedy of Seid Visin, who committed suicide at 20 because he was a victim of racism. Being a group is what we should all do together: stay united and not retreat in the slightest in the face of abuses generated by a distorted vision of someone "being different|. - Thomas

Non ho l’età – like Gigliola (It references Gigliola Cinquetti who won both Sanremo and Eurovision with her song "Non ho l’età" which translates to Not old enough)

Before us, the only one to win Sanremo and Eurovision together was Gigliola Cinquetti (in 1964). Is there is something for which I feel I am not yet old enough for? No, honestly no. Maybe for kids. I'll be honest, I'm not enough to be a dad. - Damiano

Reached the sky - What fears still remain

We are more than in the dream, we have conquered the dream. To fly high this high, there is the risk is to fall and get hurt, but we will try not to end up like Icarus, who burns his wings with the sun. Everything is in our hands. And this - somewhat presumptuously - reassures us rather than frighten us ". - Damiano

(ORIGINAL INTERVIEW IN ITALIAN)

[Please note that I have changed some words or structure sentence, trying to make it so that the interview made more sense lol - I skipped the first two paragraphs, which was basically the interviewer gushing over how pretty the band is lmao (relatable).

Any mistakes in the translation are sorely mine, nothing was proofread, so apologies in advance]

[satelliteinasupernova]

Anyway, hello again, good morning. Since we’re all throwing theories around, here’s what I suspect will happen with the Tabitha, Jughead, Betty, uh, love triangle as it were (I mean the real answer is that they should all kiss, but that’s not my theory)

The sequence of events that I imagine happening:

-Jughead returns to Riverdale after an episode monologuing to the audience about what happened to him. I’m not going to theorize about what actually happened in the past, or how Betty plays into it because honestly... it feels like the writers have been making it up as they go along. Whatever it is, I’m sure everyone will have a lot of opinions about it. It’ll be what it’ll be.

-Tabitha is glad Jughead is back! Jughead is happy to see her! They will be cute. They like each other (y’all it’s fine. Like full disclosure, I can’t fully engage with Jughead/Tabitha because it makes me feel sad! But that doesn’t keep me from thinking they are very cute and have a lot of potential. And I’ve said this before, but I’d rather Tabitha be treated with respect by the narrative AS someone who has really been there for Jughead, and who Jughead could potentially have a great relationship with. But relationships are about choices.)

-Moving on. Jughead will be like “hey Tabitha, I’m ready to put this harmful stuff from my past behind me. What do you say about trying out this thing between us?”

-Tabitha will be like, “That’s great! You’re cute, I like you, but um...... I heard the voicemail that you left for Betty two years ago, and it really hurt her. If we’re going to start something, I really need you to work things out with Betty first. After that, maybe we can talk.”

-Jughead will be like “shit, what was on that voicemail.”

-Jughead and Betty will have their intense heart to heart about what happened/ the voicemail/etc [confirmed by RAS in interviews]

-Jughead will come away from that realizing that things aren’t necessarily over with Betty (whereas before he would have had every reason to assume she wasn’t interested/that she had moved on). And more importantly, that he wants to be there for her. (To me there’s not really a question about whether they still love each other? I think it’s been clear that they do and that’s what hurts about everything that has happened between them. And it’s something they will have to work through. But it’s riverdale so... they’ll probably work through it within two episodes.)

-After this Tabitha and Jughead talk about everything. Again, it’s riverdale, so I imagine it’ll be A scene, and then it will never be talked about again............... (but really all three of them should kiss)

-Somewhere within all this Polly’s body is found. Right before the musical episode? Before that? I’m not sure of the actual break down of episodes here.

-Betty is spiraling, Jughead tries to connect with her. At first she shuts him down, closing in on herself. By the end of the episode, she takes steps toward reconnecting with him [see songs Hey 1/Hey 2/ Hey Reprise from Next to Normal. I don’t think they will be used in exactly the same way, but the parallels are pretty direct here]

-By the end of the season they are either back together or on track to be back together, but as for how the overall plot threads of this season will resolve......... I have no clue. (Are the writers going to throw in the Trash bag killer at the end of the season?? Is that a next season thing?? Was the mothman just trauma all along? Is Chad going to die? I can’t theorize about those things because Riverdale loves to just throw shit around and call it a plot.)

So, that’s where I think things are headed. Obviously, I could be wrong. And even if I am right, the thing about Riverdale is that they will always find out a way to play out what you expect in the most frustrating way possible. So, uh, be prepared for that either way.

And to any Jabitha shippers who might have read this. I love you, I’m sorry people have been jerks. If things do play out where Tabitha and Jughead end up dating, I hope it plays out in a way that you enjoy! And if it doesn’t happen, I hope you find a way to enjoy them anyway!

To my bughead shippers. Please chill, xoxo.

[jostepherjoestar]

👑Hewwu Queen 👑 is it alright if I request DIO in part 3 meeting his descendant?. Like he basically had a kid accidentally in part 1 and now he’s meeting their great grandkid who looks allot like him and seems to not be fully human. Maybe he meets them at night since their family was traveling around the world and stopped off in Egypt where he found them maybe listening to music?

Since you write for DIO, is it alright if I request that he somehow meets one of his kid after they get into some time travel shenanigans. Maybe his kid has a stand that is kinda similar to his but they aren’t confident in using it

DIO aiding his helpless descendant 

sfw / gn reader 

notes/warnings: implied assault (on your great-great grandmother)

Another case of two anons thinking alike!! It was really fun to think about this and sorry for taking so much time to get to it :o I hope you’ll still enjoy 💖✨also the pacing is strange/fast (to me), but i felt it fit with how frantic i imagine meeting Dio is

Somewhere between irking Jonathan and wishing to destroy any respectful sliver of the Joestar bloodline, Dio had his own way of indulging and spending his time. Men, women; any creature he could manipulate to his will and suck the life out of to join his dark army was welcome in his dimly lit hideout to meet their fate. The self proclaimed god that had surmounted humanity took pleasure in playing with his food; leaving them in complete darkness, literally. He’d let them suffer in silence, hearing them whimper and regret their choice to ever step foot inside the wicked monster’s palace. But it was always too late.

Except for the very night Jonathan had decided to come spoil the fun and ruin Dio’s playtime. The woman hadn’t meant anything to him, just a toy to play with and to later discard on the pile of other bodies strewn about. Was she glad to have been saved by the burly Joestar? At first yes; brought back to her senses, out of that monster’s grasp but left terribly violated. Left to carry and care for the offspring Dio would never know or care about, too busy being left to slumber in the ocean and gaining a new form from his hated ‘brother’.

Dio rose again, skulking in the shadows of dimly lit cities, looking for any and all petty humans and stand users to claim for his side. It took time and patience he didn’t know he possessed to get fully comfortable in his new body. There was always this inkling, a nagging sonar that kept getting louder and louder, not much unlike his connection to the new generation of Joestars. It grasped at his thoughts, kept him from any semblance of peace of mind -as much as he could acquire it- and there seemed to be no way of silencing it. He couldn’t see a clear picture; it was just nothing but an annoying sense of something being near.

He had searched for weeks like a bloodhound hot on a trail, irritated that he of all people, nay creations, was being made to follow and be obedient to the terrible nagging. It angered him greatly and only when he found a mere youngster sitting on a bench, you, a simple looking human, did it boil over. Sat with your walkman resting next to you on the wooden seating, head bopping along to your newest cassette in the middle of the night. Completely lost in the song you’d been drumming along to with your fingers. Dio was furious but knew better than to strike before investigating, he needed answers and he needed them now.

As he got closer to you, sneaking from behind, he noticed an immediate shift. You were no longer alone. An image, a blur that became clearer and steadier and more live-like as each second passed; posing defensively, staring down Dio with a fire in your eyes not much unlike the tall blonde’s. Not for a moment does he fear for his safety. Even though The World is a newly acquired power it could easily wipe out a scrawny kid without even hitching a breath. He smirks, eyes cast over in shadow by the dim street light as he hears you pause your cassette player.

“Oh? Was I disturbing you?’ he mocks in a smirk, catching the way your eyes glint and the vaguely familiar image you awaken in him. Just like before he’s left to figure out who this annoying hazy memory is. His voice shivers down your very being, goosebumps taking over your skin; not sure if you had already missed your chance to run. It was like his glare fixated you in place, finger still resting on the pause button of your player while the other reached up to remove the flimsy headphones.

“You…” you barely get out the word. The accusatory tone you had tried to convey had watered down to a whimper. You had felt the connection too, something nagging at your soul and stringing you along until you’d finally found the source. “Me? Hah! No, you.” Dio slid closer, his steps so quiet and calculated that even though you couldn’t take your eyes off of him you swore it seemed like he floated. You swallowed thickly, the huge figure that excluded an aura so menacing only a meter away from you.

“So. Who are you and why was it so disgustingly annoying to find you?” he joked impertinently, amused by the way you clenched your jaw at his remark. “I could ask you the same.” a brave little spark still smouldering inside. “DIO. Now don’t make me ask again, you’re making me dreadfully inpatient.” He hadn’t felt the need to kill you, at least not yet. Dio was truly curious about your answer but by the looks of it you really didn’t seem to know all that much.

You begrudgingly gave him your name, in need of some answers yourself. The sound of your name didn’t ring a single bell, not a tick, not a clank. Nothing. Not a single step further to knowing anything. “Well it seems like you do have a stand. Maybe you possess a great power that might be useful to me.” that wicked grin on his face told you a little too much of his motivations. He reminded you of those Saturday morning cartoon villains. But still you felt compelled to listen, ignoring every single red flag.  

Deciding to humour him you give out your stand’s name. “Trust me, we can’t really do much.” you huffed. You’ve only obtained your stand recently and honestly, it has been pretty shitty so far. You didn’t know exactly what it could do, it was just there. Any time you felt stressed or in danger it did come to your aid but it remained awfully docile. Their presence comforted you but you just knew it was capable of so much more.

“Are you a vampire?” The sudden question came out more surprised than Dio had hoped to let on. He regained his posture, opting to slide next to you on the bench with a swift move. There was something… off about the way you carried yourself that reminded him of himself and the other vampires he’d created. The question stunned you, your eyes that had already been widened in shock only growing more so. The way he had changed the entire conversation that had barely earned its start urged you to think quickly. “I don’t know.” you mumbled demurely. You really didn’t know. So many weird things had been happening to you lately that you being a vampire would explain a lot.

Your answer seemed to change the imposing man’s gaze and expression. It hardened a bit, his grin now slowly diminishing into a straighter line and his pointed brows resting down at a more natural angle. Even in this low light his image felt so familiar, like you were already supposed to know who he was but the memory remained hidden. Locked away for your safety. “You should feed. And don’t go out in daylight anymore.” Dio paused for a second. “Strange...” He pondered to himself out loud. He’s only seen a few cases like this, vampiric genes passed down through generations. For some reason he pitied you, as much as he could muster it. The unknown bond you shared felt too unusual to write off.

“What am I supposed to do?” you felt tears prick your eyes, trying your best to remain strong but you’ve been so tired. You couldn't confide in anyone, not about this. Tears started rolling, falling in thick streams down your cheeks and dropping onto your lap. Here you were, crying to a stranger named Dio about being a vampire and having weird powers. A bizarre twist of fate.

“First of all, stop crying. Then, widen your stance when you’re about to fight someone. I could have easily knocked you down with that flimsy imitation. Fix your posture while you’re at it. Call out your stand again.” He rattled off his demands quickly and flatly. Was he helping you? They were barbed complaints but it seemed like he actually wanted to aid you in whatever it was you were going through. You sniffled, wiping at your cheeks. You felt like a kid again; asking your parent for any reassurance when life knocked you down.

Dio actually offered a lot of viable advice, telling you about techniques to silence your steps, how to take someone down easily, to feed on humans within an inch of their life. You had asked him, just in case. You weren’t planning on killing anyone; a comment which made him scoff. That intimidating impression and overall feeling of having to bend to his will had lessened the more you talked to the blonde. He casually sat with you for what felt like hours. He hadn’t divulged into his own history, instead asking you about yours. He was still trying to figure out what this weird pull was.

“No one in your family has experienced anything like this before? Hmph. It seems to have skipped multiple generations then.” he was asking about your great grandmother and all the others that came before you. It could have occurred to them but you would have never known. “My family did come from England, though. My great-great grandmother fled in a hurry. We don’t really know why, Windknight’s Lot seems like an unusual place to frantically run from.” As soon as the small town’s name left your lips everything fell into place for Dio. His grin grew again, satisfied to finally know your connection to him.

Family.

One he made for himself, by accident, by a relation created on his own devious whim. Not that horrible Joestar bunch that kept ruining his fun or his horrible father that was but a faint minuscule memory. Something he did. It brought him even more satisfaction to know how perfectly in place it felt for you to be the one to develop these powers at the perfect time. His mind could have exploded with possibilities; a thousand ways to make you join his side. But it didn’t, he wasn’t sure that’s what he wanted yet. And he surely wasn’t going to tell you of your bond either, lest you get attached too quickly.

As you finished up and the early signs of a rising sun were starting to make itself known on the horizon, you were saying your goodbye’s. “Thank you for helping me. Truly, I- I don’t know how I-” you weren’t allowed to finish your earnest thanks. Dio knew you meant it, one of the only few truly grateful acknowledgements he’s ever received. “I’ll be taking over the world in a few months. If you feel so inclined to join, you know where to find me.” His lips curled into a smirk and he was making his move to leave you behind, alone on the bench again. Left to scramble for your stuff to try and stop him but he was already out of sight. “WAIT! I don’t know where to find you! You never told me!” you yelled into the empty streets, heart thumping out of your chest, hoping this wasn’t just a very elaborate dream you were caught in.

“Trust your instincts.” The voice felt incredibly close but so far away, like catching a falling snowflake; as soon as you grasped it, it just melted away.

[dialovers-translations]

Diabolik Lovers LUNATIC PARADE ;; Shuu Route ー Chapter 3

Monologue

“To heal Riegel-san’s heart,

broken and closed off to others

from losing his beloved.”

That was the goal we set in mind,

when preparing for this party.

I want it to be held at a place,

where Riegel-san would be able to relive,

vivid memories of himself and his late wife.

I am willing to go through great lengths,

to accomplish thisーー

ー The scene starts in the hotel room

Yui: ( First things first, we need to secure a venue. )

Shuu-san.

About the party venue, don’t you think we should hold it somewhere memorable to Riegel-san and his wife?

Shuu: Yeah...In that case, it’d have to be on a gondola, no?

Yui: On a...gondola...?

Shuu: If the information we gathered through the Familiars is correct, that is where Riegel and his wife tied the knot.

Coincidentally, it happened during the Parade as well.

If you want to make it memorable, now’s the perfect time, no?

Yui: You’re right...! I’ll go negotiate right away. Please wait here!

Shuu: ...Oi, hold your horses.

ー Shuu approaches her

Shuu: You’re going by yourself?

Yui: Um...Knowing you, I figured you’d rather not move...

Shuu: Yeah, I don’t. It’s a drag after all.

But...I’ll make an effort for you. (1)

Yui: Are you sure?

Shuu: Yeah. Let’s get going before I change my mind.

ー The scene shifts to the gondola docks

Yui: ( The reflection of the light on the water makes the surface glitter...How lovely. )

I’m sure meeting each other at such a lovely place must have made for a wonderful memory.

Shuu: ーー Well my bad that our meeting wasn’t all that ‘lovely’.

At first, you were just terrified the whole time after all.

Yui: T-That’s, well...You’re right, but...

Right now, I consider all of them good memories.

Shuu: Well, I guess that works. Haha...

ーー Anyway.

If we want to use this place as our party venue, we have to talk to the gondolier in the back.

Yui: Yes, I know.

( Here goes nothing! I’ll try and ask him. )

ー Yui approaches the gondolier

Gondolier B: Welcome! A ride for two?

Yui: Ah...Oh. 

I’m sorry. Actually, we came here to ask for a favor...

Gondolier B: A favor...?

Yui: Yes. 

You see, we are hoping to hold a party and...

We would love to organize it here.

Gondolier B: Eeh!? A party, right here!?

Yui: Yes. We want to hold it here no matter what.

Gondolier B: That’s easy for you to say, but the Parade is when we get most of our customers and when most of the money comes in.

I can’t just easily give you permission to use it.

Yui: Right...

( I guess we’re being pretty unreasonable. )

( However, I can’t imagine Riegel-san would prefer any other place over this one. I wonder if there’s really nothing that can be done...? )

Gondolier B: My bad, but we’re expecting a lot of people today as well. So I’d like to ask you to hurry up and leaーー

Shuu: ...Pwaah.

Gondolier B: ...! Y-You are...Karlheinz-sama’s...!

Geez! You should have told me that sooner!

Gotcha! Go ahead and organize whatever you want on the gondolas! My bad for being so unwilling earlier.

So...Please give my best regards to your Father.

Shuu: If I feel like it, I guess.

Yui: ( ...W-Wow...I’m not sure if I should say I saw this coming or what. )

*TIMESKIP*

Shuu: Haah...That concludes it for the venue.

So, what’s next on the list?

Yui: Um...

We can’t hold a party without food and drinks, huh?

It’d be nice if we could rely on the hotel as our main catering service but...

I’d also love to prepare a specific dish which was his wife’s favorite.

Shuu: If I recall correctly, the report we got from the Familiars described her as having a sweet tooth.

Yui: Exactly. For example, she was particularly fond of what we’d call a ‘Galette de Rois’ in the human world...

How about we go to a sweets shop which might be able to make it for us?

Shuu: ...I’m not too thrilled about this, but sure.

Yui : ( Fufu, I’m glad he’s still willing to come with me despite his complaints. )

ー The scene shifts to the Sweets Shop ‘Saphir’

Female Vampire A: Woah, looks delicious! As to be expected from Saphir, the number one sweets shop in the Demon World!

Female Vampire B: I don’t even know where to look first. I want to try them all...

Female Vampire C: In that case, we’ll just have to buy the entire line-up and take them home with us~

Yui: ( Wow...This place is packed with people...Just getting around the store seems difficult... )

Shuu: ...

I’m leaving the rest up to you. I’ll be...resting in the back.

ー Shuu walks away

Yui: ( Ah...He retreated to the eat-in area.... )

( Actually, I do feel a little bad for forcing him to be amongst such a large crowd. )

( I hope I can talk to a member of the staff soon... )

*Thud thud*

???: Hey, you! Move aside, move aside! Coming through with the cake!

Female Vampire A: Ah, it’s the owner! This scent...Aah, irresistible~ 

Yui: ( So that guy’s the owner! Okay, I should try and have a word with him...! )

U-Um! Excuse me!

Sweets shop owner: Hm? What do you want? I’m in a rush, so move aside!

Yui: I’d like to have a small talk with you! There’s a dessert I’d like to order by the final day of the Parade...

Sweets shop owner: An order by the end of the Parade? Not happening. Right now we are especially busy, I can use all the help I can get. (2)

Aah, so busy! I don’t know what to do first!!

Yui: ( No way... )

I-In that case...

Let me help out! I’ll try my hardest!

Sweets shop owner: No, no! There’s no way I canーー

ー More and more customers come in

Sweets shop owner: Hey, you! If you’re willing to help, then get to it!

In regards to what you asked earlier, depending on it, I might consider it.

Yui: Eh? Y-Yes! Understood...!

( I-I just have to give it my all for now! )

*TIMESKIP*

Female Vampire D: Please give me three more of these cakes.

Yui: Y-Yes!

Female Vampire E: Excuse me!? It was my turn first! Give me four of these first!

Yui: ( O-Oh no! It’s super busy...! )

Shuu: Nn...

Pwaah...

Yui: ( Ah...Seems like Shuu-san’s awake. )

ー Shuu walks over

Shuu: ...What are you doing?

Yui: As you can see, I’m helping out in the shop.

Female Vampire A: Hey, miss staff member! You’re in the way!

*Thud*

Yui: Wah!

*SHATTER*

Yui: ( Aah!? The plate broke! )

Shuu: Helping out? Like this?

Yui: ( Uu...E-Either way, I better clean up! )

ー Yui cleans up the shards

Shuu: Good grief...I can’t watch this...

Yui: ( Huh? Where is Shuu-san going...? )

Female Vampire A: Hmー If possible, I’d like at least one pie which isn’t too overly sweet...

But I have no idea which one to pick...

Shuu: ...In that case, I would recommend this. Not only does it cut back on the sugar, in turn it allows for the natural sweetness of the fruits to shine.

Female Vampire A: Oh dear, you seem very knowledgeable.

Yui: ( Wow... )

Female Vampire A: Right...In that case, I’ll take your recommendation and buy this one.

Shuu: You’re welcome.

ー Shuu returns to Yui’s side

Shuu: Well...There you have it.

Yui: You’re amazing, Shuu-san! The customer was delighted as well!

Shuu: Let me tell you, I’m not doing that a second tiーー

ー More customers approach them

Female Vampire B: We heard there’s a clerk who is especially knowledgeable on cakes here, but who could it be?

Female Vampire C: Anyway, I want to get a recommendation as well~?

Female Vampire D: Could it be the young man standing there!?

Female Vampire E: It has to be!

Yui: ( Ah...They found us. )

Shuu: ...

Seems like...I won’t be able to go for another nap.

Yui: ( Ahaha... )

*TIMESKIP*

Sweets shop owner: Honestly! Thank you so much for today! You helped me out a ton!

I don’t want to simply call this a way to return the favor so...

Please allow me to accept your request from earlier.

Yui: A-Are you sure?

Sweets shop owner: Yeah!

Doesn’t matter when you want it, I’ll make sure to fulfill my duty as the owner of this shop!

Yui: ( Hooray! )

Sweets shop owner: So? What kind of sweet treat is it?

Yui: Umーー

ー Yui explains

Sweets shop owner: I understand what you want very well.

You’ll have something to look forward to on the final day of the Parade!

Yui: Thank you very much!

ー The scene shifts back to the main street

Yui: It’s all thanks to you, Shuu-san! Thank you so much

Shuu: That was the first and final time I’ve done that, okay? ...Haah...

ーー So? What should we do next? We’re not done with all preparations, are we?

Yui: Um, I was thinking we should tackle the decorations for the gondola next.

Since we actually get to use it, I figured we might as well dress it up nicely.

Shuu: In that case...Reine de Aji’s shop could work, right?

Yui: Reine de Aji...?

Shuu: You’ll understand once we get there. Follow me.

Yui: ( ...? )

ー The scene shifts to general store Reine De Aji

Yui: ( Waah! There’s so many beautiful decorations out on display...! )

( I don’t know where to look first. )

How do you think we should decorate, Shuu-san?

Shuu: Anything works. I don’t really have a specific preference.

But well, personally, rather than the decorationsーー

*Thud*

Yui: ( Ah...They’re even selling antique violins. )

Shuu: I believe the music is what makes or breaks a party.

Yui: You might have a point.

Ah...Since it’s such a good opportunity, how about you play one song as well?

Shuu: No. Too much work.

Yui: ( Ahaha, I figured he’d say that... )

...I’d love to hear you play since it’s been so long though.

Shuu: ...

Yui: Is that too much to ask?

Shuu: Haah...Just a little, okay?

*Thud*

Shuu: ...

ー He starts playing the violin

Yui: ( What a beautiful melody... )

*THUD*

Shuu: ...Who’s there?

???: ...

Shuu: Aji, is that you?

Yui: ( So this is Aji-san. )

Reine de Aji: ...What exactly brings the eldest Sakamaki to my establishment?

Shuu: I don’t owe you an explanation. It’s none of your business, is it?

Reine de Aji: Hmph...If you don’t feel like answering my question, then I don’t feel like selling you anything either.

Yui: ( O-Oh no...! )

Aji-san! We’re actually planning to hold a party for a certain someone...

We came here to purchase the necessary decorations.

Reine de Aji: ...I see...

Well, in that case, you made the right choice by coming to my store.

After all, my line-up is rather extensive. On top of that...

I have a great offer.

*Rustle*

Reine de Aji: Voila.

Yui: A locket pendant...?

Reine de Aji: It’s not just your regular old pendant.

It’s a bewitched object which makes the wearer take the appearance of the person whose picture is put inside the locket.

Yui: W-Wow!

( Then...If we were to put a picture of Riegel-san’s wife inside...! )

Reine de Aji: Well then, this isn’t a demonstration. Better put it away again...

Yui: Ah! P-Please, wait! Could you please let us borrow that pendant?

Reine de Aji: This?

You make it sound so easy, but...

Yui: Is it too much to ask...?

Reine de Aji: ...

Under one condition.

In return for borrowing this pendant, you have to show me something good.

Yui: ...Entertain me...?

Reine de Aji: If no, it’s a no-deal. What will you do?

Yui: P-Please let me! I’ll try my best!

ー The scene shifts to Aizen Alleyway

Yui: ( I replied in the spur of the moment but... )

What do you think we could do to please Aji-san?

Shuu: ...

Yui: Shuu-san?

Shuu: Say...Do we even really need that pendant anyway?

Yui: ( Seems like he’s not too happy about the idea. But... )

I’m sure it’d make Riegel-san happy.

Shuu: ...

...Well, if you insist, fine.

Anyway, let’s try asking the people in town about whatever may catch Aji’s attention.

Yui: Y-Yes...!

ー The scene shifts to the main street

Male Vampire A: Hm...You’re kind of catching me off guard with the sudden question.

Yui: Anything will do. No matter how trivial...

Male Vampire A: ...

Yui: ...Ugh.

Male Vampire A: I’m sorry, I don’t know. Please ask someone else.

Yui: ...Okay...Thank you very much.

Male Vampire A: Bye.

ー The Vampire walks away

Shuu: ...That was our tenth try...What will you do? Give up already?

Yui: ...No. Why don’t we test our luck somewhere else? If we do, I’m sure we’ll...

( Gotta keep trying and not give up! )

ー The scene shifts to the wagon area

Yui: ( It’s even more crowded than earlier. One of these people might know something. )

( Okay...! I’ll try asking that person over there first. )

Excuse me...! I’d like to ask something...

Male Vampire B: ...Oh dear, what could that be?

Yui: Do you happen to know the person who runs a store over in the other street called Aji-san?

Male Vampire B: I do know her.

Yui: Actually, we want to make her happy somehow and...We were wondering if you knew any good ways to do so?

Male Vampire B: ...

...Hmー...

Yui: ( This time for sure...! )

Male Vampire B: My apologies, I doubt I’ll be of much help.

Yui: ...I see...

Male Vampire B: ...

If I had to name something I know about her...The only thing I could tell you is that she enjoys flora.

Yui: ...Flora...You say?

Male Vampire B: Yes. ...Oh, I made plans to meet up with someone, so you’ll have to excuse me now.

ー The Vampire walks away

Yui: T-Thank you very much!

( Flora, huh...? )

Yui: Um, Shuu-san? Why don’t we try giving her a plant she might like?

Shuu: ...I’m not sure. I can’t tell you whether that’ll actually please her or not.

Yui: But I don’t think we have much other choice but to rely on the information we just got...

Are there any stores selling plants nearby?

Shuu: I mean, there are, I guess.

Yui: ( Okay...! Let’s go take a look! )

ー The scene shifts to the garden store

Yui: This is the place...

( There’s so many plants I’ve never seen before! Guess I should have expected as much from the Demon World... )

...Amazing...

Shuu: Not really. They’ve only got plants which are commonly seen around the Demon World. I doubt any of these will please Aji-san.

In short...I feel as if we’re only wasting our time here?

Yui: S-Sorry...

( Hm...What a shame. Seems like we’re back to square one. )

???: ...Hm? Are you customers, perhaps? Welcome.

I’m the owner, so if you are looking for something, please ask away.

Yui: Thank you very much.

Garden store owner: My extensive knowledge on the flowers which grow in the Demon World is the one thing I pride myself on.

Yui: ...I see. In that case...

Which flower would make a person the happiest if they were to receive it as a gift?

Garden store owner: Everyone has different tastes.

But...A flower which can please everyone, can only be ‘that’.

Yui: ‘That’?

Garden store owner: Exactly. ‘That’ flower which only blooms in the mountains.

Yui: Only grows in the mountains...Then where exactly are these mountains?

Garden store owner: Don’t tell me...You want to go pluck one?

Yui: If it’s a flower which can make any person happy, then I’d like to if possible.

Garden store owner: I see.

I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I doubt it’ll work out.

...Well, I’m sure you’ll find out once you reach the mountains. I don’t mind drawing you a map.

Yui: ( I wonder what he means? )

ー The scene shifts the entrance of the mines

Yui: ( Um...I’m pretty sure we have to go right here...Then left at the next corner... )

ー The scene shifts to an underground lake

Shuu: Oi...We’re still not there yet?

Yui: P-Please wait. I’m pretty sure we’ve reached our destination...

According to the map, there should be a cave closeby.

Shuu: A cave?

Couldn’t it be that one over there?

Yui: Ah...!

Shuu: Good grief...You’re getting way too caught up in the map instead of actually looking at your surroundings.

Well, that being said, I’d rather not get ourselves lost again from walking around aimlessly.

Come on, let’s get going already.

Yui: Y-Yes!

ー The scene shifts to the Selenite Crystal Cave

Yui: ( Wow, it’s glittering somehow... )

What are these...?

Shuu: Selenite, right? Seems like the entire cave is made up from them.

Yui: ...I see...

Shuu: Oi, this isn’t the time to be captivated by them. Let’s look for the thing we came for.

Yui: Right.

( The shop owner didn’t tell us anything about the actual flower, did he? )

( ‘You’ll be able to tell straight away’ is the only hint we have... )

...Um...

*Flash*

Yui: ( ...? )

*Flash*

Yui: ( I’m not...imagining this, right? )

Shuu: ...Oi. Don’t you think that could be it? There’s been flashing lights coming from the back.

Yui: Let’s go look.

Monologue

What we found at the end of the path,

was a mysterious flower.

Covering the whole surrounding area,

they spread a warm light across,

shining amidst the dark like fireflies.

Their beauty is simply out of this world.

I subconsciously extended my hand towards the stem.

Howeverーー

*WOOSH*

Yui: ( I-It disappeared... )

Shuu: This must be the Ghost Flower.

Yui: Ghost Flower?

Shuu: Yeah, just like actual ghosts, you aren’t able to touch them.

Yui: ( So that’s why it vanished. )

( But...It was really pretty. I think I understand why anyone would be happy to see these flowers. )

( I’m sure Aji-san as well... )

...Um, Shuu-san? Can’t we get this flower to Aji-san’s store somehow?

Shuu: ...Haah...

Doesn’t seem like you’ll give up any time soon, so why don’t you try out some things?

Yui: ( Um...He’s basically saying he’ll stay here with me for now, right...? )

( F-For now, I’ll just try anything which comes to mind! )

*TIMESKIP*

*WOOSH*

Yui: Aah...Another fail...

( No matter how gently I touch them, it’s no use. Trying to pluck them from a different angle didn’t work either. )

( I guess it really is impossible... )

Shuu: ...

Yui: ( Shuu-san appears to be listening to music, but he seems bored. )

( But...There’s one more thing I’d like to try. )

( They disappear upon contact...So basically I have to avoid touching them, right? )

( I wonder if digging them up together with the soil would work then? )

( It’s all or nothing...Here goes...! )

*Thud thud*

Yui: ...! Shuu-san, look! The flower didn’t vanish...!

Shuu: Looks like it.

Yui: We can take it back with us to Aji-san’s store like this...! Aah, I’m so glad!

Shuu: ...

No, it’s too early to rejoice.

Try waiting a little like that.

Yui: ...?

*TIMESKIP*

Yui: ( I wonder how long I should wait? I’d guess about five minutes have passed by now. )

Shuu-san, what’s the point of thiーー

*WOOSH*

Yui: Ah!

Shuu: ...I knew it.

I figured that if all you had to do was scoop it out with soil and all, then the people from the garden shop would have long been doing that.

Yui: You...do have a point...

( There’s no way we can make it back to Aji-san’s shop in just five minutes. )

I wonder if it’s really impossible...

Shuu: ...No, that’s not true either.

Yui: Eh...?

Shuu: Let me ask you once more. ...You really want to borrow the pendant, right?

Yui: Well...Of course!

Shuu: Okay then.

ーー Oi. Dig out that ghost flower from the ground once more.

Yui: S-Sure.

( What could he be thinking? Anyway, I’ll just put faith in Shuu-san for now... )

*Thud thud*

Yui: Done.

Shuu: Okay. Now I just have to do this...

Yui: ( Why did he pick up a pebble...? )

Shuu: Thereーー!

*Swoosh*

*Thud*

*Flap flap flap flap flap*

Yui: Wah!? B-Bats!?

( They were startled by the sound of the rock and jumped out! Where did this many of them even come fromーー!? )

*Rustle*

Yui: Shuu-san!? What is this about...!?

Shuu: They can carry us to Aji’s store in under five minutes.

Yui: I seeーー

*Flap flap flap flap flap*

Yui: ...Wait, eeeeeh!?

Shuu: Wake me up when we’ve arrived.

*Flap flap flap flap flap*

Shuu: ...

Yui: ( Geez, Shuu... )

( O-Okay! I have to just let myself be carried. )

Monologue

I made up my resolve.

And decided to keep still,

as I let the bats carry me.

When taking a quick glance at the ground below,

I could see,

the ongoing Parade.

If I hadn’t gotten my heart stolen, then perhaps right now, 

Shuu-san and I would also beーー

Such thoughts flashed through the back of my mind.

I shake my head, getting rid of those thoughts,

while continuing to pray,

that the Ghost Flower in my hands would not disappear.

ー The scene shifts to Reine de Aji’s store

*Flap flap flap flap flap*

Yui: ( W-We somehow got here before the Ghost Flower vanished. )

Shuu-san! Wake up, please! We’re here!!

Shuu: Nn...Pwaah...

That’s pretty fast. I wouldn’t have minded snoozing for a little longer...

Yui: More importantly, we should hurry up and find Aji-sanーー

*Flap flap flap flap flap*

Reine de Aji: W-What is this ruckus about!?

Yui: Ah, Aji-san!

Reine de Aji: You lot...! Are you trying to destroy my shop out of spite for not getting the pendant!?

Yui: N-No!

Take a look at this, please! We wanted to make you happy, so...

Reine de Aji: T-This is...Could it be, a Ghost Flower...?

The legendary flower, and the one flower in this world I had yet to see...

*WOOSH*

Yui: ( Aah, it vanished... )

Reine de Aji: ...

Yui: ( Oh no. The shop’s a mess because of the bats... )

( I guess...We failed to please her... )

Reine de Aji: That wasn’t an illusion just now, it was an actual Ghost Flower. I...

I’ve always wanted to see it here in my store, even if only once.

You did all of this just for me?

Yui: I just thought it’d be nice if it would make you happy...But I’m sorry you were only able to see it for such a short time.

Reine de Aji: Don’t sweat it. You made me plenty happy.

Furthermore, the fact they wither is exactly what makes flowers so beautiful.

ーー Thank you. I’m very pleased.

Yui: ( T-Thank god! Then... )

Reine de Aji: As promised...

*Cling*

Reine de Aji: I’ll lend you this pendant.

Yui: T-Thank you very much!

( We did it! )

Reine de Aji: Hey, you...Sakamaki.

Shuu: ...

Reine de Aji: I’ve written you guys off as lost causes for the longest time.

But you did all of this to make me happy. Especially this young lady over here.

...She’s quite the catch.

You chose your partner well. I suppose we should have expected as much from the eldest son of the family.

Shuu: Thank you.

Yui: ( I guess...she complimented me? It’s a little embarrassing but I’m happy. )

ー The scene shifts back to the hotel

*Cling*

Yui: ( If you put a picture inside this locket and put the necklace on, you can turn into that person...Huh? )

( Reevaluating it, it really is a mysterious thing. )

Anyway...We can hold the party without any trouble now.

Shuu: Yeah.

But...You’re forgetting one important thing.

Yui: Important...?

( What could that be? )

We’ve settled on the location, the cake and even got a surprise prepared...Which leaves...

Shuu: ...

Yui: Which leaves...?

Shuu: ...

Yui: U-Um...What do we still have left to do exactly?

Shuu: Good grief...

ー Shuu steps closer

Shuu: ーー Show your gratitude.

Yui: Excuse me?

Shuu: Show your gratitude to me.

Who’s to thank for making it this far into the preparations?

Yui: ( S-Starting with the gondola, I guess none of this would have been possible if Shuu-san hadn’t been there with me. )

Shuu-san, thank you so much for today.

I’m sorry for not saying this sooner.

Shuu: Just words won’t suffice.

In that case, let’s see...I wonder what I should ask from you instead?

I guess I should pose you the question for once.

Yui: U-Um...

( ...Something I can do... ) 

Selection

→ Give him a massage (☾)

Yui: ...Ah, right!

How about...a massage?

Shuu: A massage...

Yui: ( Uu, I feel like he’s appalled. )

I figured you must be exhausted, so I thought it wasn’t a bad idea...

Shuu: Haha...I guess it wouldn’t be bad every once in a while. Guess I’ll let you do your thing then.

Yui: Y-Yes...

*Rustle rustle*

Shuu: ...Oi. You can’t call that a massage. Put in a little more effort.

Yui: Okay.

*Rustle rustle*

Shuu: ...Phew...

*Rustle rustle*

→ Write him a letter of gratitude

Yui: In that case...How about I write you a letter of gratitude?

We can frame it and hang it on the wall at the manor, for example...

Shuu: ...

Yui: ( H-He looks disappointed. )

Shuu: Haah...Guess I’ll take the sentiment at least.

Yui: Yes...

( I guess it would have been way better to offer him a massage or something... )

( I’ll do that next time. )

*TIMESKIP*

Yui: ( Anyway...I’m glad preparations for the party went smoothly. )

( Ah...But... )

( Shuu-san didn’t seem too stoked about the idea of the pendant. )

( I wonder why? )

ーー TO BE CONTINUED ーー

Translation notes

(1) The てやる or ‘te-yaru’ construction implies that he is doing something for the sake of someone else. 

(2) Literally he says ‘I’d even be willing to accept help from a cat’. This idiom is used when someone is so busy, they will accept any help, even from someone who might not be the best.

← RETURN TO CHAPTER 2

→ PROCEED WITH MAIN STORY [CHAPTER 4]

→ SUB-SCENARIO #1 [W/ SUBARU]

→ SUB-SCENARIO #2 [W/ RUKI]

→ SUB-SCENARIO #3 [W/ KOU]

[alj4890]

Hello dear! I have an ask I just recently read TRH book 1 what if we get Liams POV when Riley goes into labor and when he has to make that awful decision. What are his thoughts when Riley passes out and there’s no doctor? Maybe we can find out how they got the door open?

I replayed TRH book 1 & 2 recently, so this ask couldn't have come at a better time 😂. I wonder though if anyone else thinks it was odd that Godfrey was put in charge of installing new security at the Palace. I mean, why wasn't Liam and his King's Guards handling that? I don't know, but those chapters of Riley giving birth are some that hurt me, and only because the poor woman is denied an epidural 😂 I would have Godfrey strung up by his thumbs for causing that and allow Olivia to torture him to her heart's content. But enough of my revenge ideas, let's see what I can do with this for you.

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Masterlist

The Decision

It was too much to comprehend.

One moment, Liam was confronting the man who killed his mother and the next was nothing but chaos and darkness.

Screams rent the air as flashing red lights revealed steel enforced doors dropping down over the ballroom's doors and windows.

Liam knelt beside his wife when he realized she had been knocked down by a panicking guest.

"Are you hurt?" He asked, gently brushing her hair out of her eyes.

"Only my pride." She tried to smile but a painful tightening around her middle struck.

Her eyes widened when she felt a wetness between her legs.

"Liam!" She gripped his arm. "My water broke!"

"What?" He searched through the crowd for their friends. "Now?"

She nodded while breathing through another contraction. "We have to get to the hospital."

"We will." He helped her up. "Let's get you somewhere more comfortable while we get a door open."

"Liam!" Riley doubled over. "I don't want to have our baby in a ballroom filled with people."

"Is there a problem?"

The couple stiffened when they heard Isabella's voice. Her husband Bradshaw smiled at them.

"Our guards would be more than happy to help with the door situation," his smile held a hint of smugness, "as long as your child is betrothed to one of our twins."

Olivia arrived at that moment followed by their other friends.

"Are you saying your guards won't help rescue you without a betrothal?"

"We're in no immediate danger." Bradshaw explained.

"In fact, we're quite comfortable waiting for your pitiful little guards to find a way out." Isabelle added. "No need for us to cross international lines and damage delicate feelings with our more than capable personnel."

"Delicate!" Olivia heaved a deep breath. "We don't need your help to get out of this."

"We don't?" Maxwell asked. He let out an oomph when Olivia elbowed him. "I mean, yeah we don't! This isn't the first time we have been faced with a challenge."

"No steel door will ever convince us that their baby should be forced to be with one of your twins." Drake added.

Olivia beamed at him before turning her fury on the visiting monarchs. "I'll have it opened in no time."

"Yeah!" Maxwell cheered. "Go Nevarkis Ingenuity!"

She rolled her eyes while going to examine the metal door that covered the double doors into the ballroom.

"Oh!" Riley eased back down into a chair. She raised her eyes to Liam's. "They're getting stronger."

He gently rubbed her back. "Have you had any pains this evening?"

"It was all in my back. I thought it was from being on my feet most of the night." She took deep breaths to calm down. "But now--"

The flashing red lights and alarm stopped. The couple turned to see a proud Olivia slip a strange looking quartz bladed dagger back into a garter under her dress.

There was a square shaped hole cut within the wall with numerous wires exposed.

"That's going to be difficult to repair." Maxwell muttered.

Liam could not have cared less about the damage. If Olivia wanted to tunnel underground to get them out, then he would gladly rip up the marble tiles himself.

Riley cried out as a strong contraction struck.

"I need a distraction!" She puffed through the pain.

"How about some music?" Hana asked. "I composed a new piece recently."

"Or we could sing." Maxwell offered. "Any song you'd like."

"We could?" Drake shook his head. "Sorry Brooks, but that's not happening."

"You would deny her a song when she's in labor?" Maxwell's jaw dropped.

"I doubt our singing would help her any." Drake replied. "Might even double her pain."

While his friends bickered, Liam found his thoughts drifting back to the secret chamber they had unearthed less than an hour ago. He slipped his hand into his breast pocket to touch the letter he had discovered.

His mother's words about how much joy he had brought her echoed in his heart. He wished she could have lived to see the type of man he had become. He had tried with everything within him to live up to her expectations. Would she have noticed? What would she think of him as king now? What would her opinion have been on this choice he and Riley were given for an arranged marriage for her grandchild? Would she approve of them wanting to give their baby the right to choose his or her own spouse?

He wished he knew. He wished she was here guiding him in not only capturing her killer but in also knowing what to do for his wife and unborn child. He would have given anything to have her wise counsel once more.

"Hana!" Riley yelled to stop the argument between her three friends. "Please play whatever you like." She glared at Drake. "Someone's voice is getting on my nerves."

Hana hurried over to a piano and began to play a soothing song.

"I'm going to check on the door situation." Liam pressed a kiss to Riley's cheek. "I'll be back in just a moment."

"Hurry, please." She pleaded.

"I'll watch over her." Maxwell promised.

"I'll go check on the door with you." Drake added.

Liam made his way through the crowd, pausing here and there to reassure everyone that they would be out soon.

"Give me a boost." Olivia ordered.

Drake squatted down and linked his fingers together.

Olivia slipped her heels off and placed her foot in his grasp.

"One...two..." He heaved her up in the air, "three!"

Olivia steadied herself and quickly studied the mechanism that had allowed the door to drop. A lock had formed thus causing them to be unable to lift it up.

After poking and prodding with one of her stilettoes, she noticed the thin metal holding the lock in place.

"Bring me down." She ordered.

Drake grunted as he brought her back down. "Next time, stand on my shoulders."

"Did you figure out how to get it open?" Liam asked.

"I think I might be able to weaken the lock with heat and one of my daggers. Once we destroy that, we should be able to lift it." She explained.

"Can't we hotwire it?' Drake asked, gesturing toward the exposed wires.

"Not since I had to cut so many to get the alarms to turn off." She remarked. "I wouldn't be surprised if there is some emergency failsafe in place for an enemy's attack on the wiring. It might even drop another door on us."

Liam ran his hands over his face. "Do whatever you can to get us out of here."

"Good." Olivia nodded towards the bar. "Drake, we will start with the brandy to use for fuel."

Liam shook his head at her plan to start a fire of sorts. He hoped she didn't end up hurting herself in the process. Honestly though, he couldn't seem to focus on what he could do to help get the doors open.

"Your majesty! I don't think I can breathe in here another second!" Penelope grasped his arm while hyperventilating. "I don't do well in enclosed spaces."

"When will we get out of here?" Another noble demanded.

Questions began to be thrown at him as the crowd closed in a circle, trapping him directly in the middle.

"Is Olivia trying to burn us up in here?"

"We're going to die!"

"What are the guards doing to save us?"

"Auvernal's guards will have us out in minutes, if your king agrees." Bradshaw yelled out over the crowd. His smile was the final straw to break Liam's barely restrained temper.

"Enough!" Liam roared. "We are not going to die in here. The guards are doing all they can and Olivia is graciously assisting." His eyes zeroed in on Penelope. "Go sit down to try and calm your breathing. You're in the same ballroom you have danced in for years." He then turned to Auvernal's king. "As for your assistance, it isn't needed at this time."

Bradshaw shrugged his shoulders as if it wasn't a big deal, but his eyes held a deep seeded anger as he looked upon Liam. "If you think your guests wouldn't prefer to get out of here as quickly as they can, then I suppose there is little we can do."

Murmurs rose once more around him. Liam clinched his fists then pushed his way through when he heard Riley call out for him.

Will this night never end?

It was becoming too much for him. The whining of his people, his wife in pain and in need of medical care, his own innate need to chase after Godfrey and make him pay for poisoning his mother...he needed it all to stop for a minute to allow him to think.

"Liam!" Riley had tears falling down her cheeks. "We need to go to the hospital now!"

She gripped his hand as Hana finished the last few notes to her song.

He knelt before her chair. "Olivia has found a way to open the door. We'll soon have you out of here and--"

The sound of metal screeching had everyone turning toward the double doors.

Seeing the steel door go up caused Liam to scoop his wife in his arms and rush toward the exit.

Their friends and guests spilled out after them to only stop short.

Godfrey had installed these same safety measures on every window and exterior door along the first floor.

"Liam?" Riley puffed through another contraction. "What are we going to do?"

"I found a way out of there." Olivia boasted. "I'm certain I can--"

Bradshaw clucked his tongue. "This isn't the same type of door, your grace." He smirked at her. He knocked against the thicker steel door. "My guards could find a way outside to open it, but only if you sign this."

He produced a betrothal contract.

Riley whimpered as she looked at it and then her husband.

"Get. That. Out. Of. My. Face." Liam ordered.

He turned on his heel to take his wife upstairs to their chambers. Once he reached the first step he spoke over his shoulder. "Olivia, we trust you to handle this. Hana, please call Riley's doctor and ask her to meet us here instead of the hospital."

***************

The hours dragged on as they waited. Olivia appeared periodically to vent her frustrations with getting the door to open. Drake, Maxwell, and Hana attempted to keep Riley's spirits up as she endured the ever increasing contractions.

Liam felt absolutely useless. He didn't know what to do to help his wife. He didn't know the first thing of helping a woman give birth. What if there was a complication? What about their child? What if he couldn't clear the baby's airways? What if--"

"Liam?"

He focused on Riley, weakly gripping his hand. "Yes, my love? What can I do?"

"I feel...odd."

Maxwell nudged Liam out of the way to check her blood pressure.

"Where did you find a blood pressure kit?" Drake asked.

"I know it's hard to believe, but Bertrand has high blood pressure." Maxwell winked at his friends. "I can't imagine where his source of stress comes from."

Riley tried to smile at his teasing. She could feel whatever it was pulling her under making every movement feel like it she was wading through quicksand.

Maxwell's smile disappeared. He studied Riley's flushed cheeks and stepped back.

"What is it?" Liam whispered as his friend pulled him away from her bed.

"Her blood pressure is really high right now." Maxwell glanced over his shoulder. "I don't know if that's normal for a woman in labor, but I do know that this is when I would be calling an ambulance if it was Bertrand with this reading."

Liam rubbed his hands over his face. This entire night was one nightmare after another.

"Riley?" Hana shook her by the shoulders. "Riley?!"

Liam rushed back to the bed to see his wife passed out. He took a cold rag and wiped her face, hoping it would bring her back to them.

"Riley?" His voice cracked. "Please, wake up." He looked around at their friends. "What should I do?"

"I don't know." Drake draped his arm along Hana's shoulders when she began to softly cry.

"Keep talking to her." Maxwell jogged out the room. "I'll see about the door!"

Liam turned back toward Riley. He placed his hand on her stomach and could feel the tightening of contractions along with the faint movements of their child.

Riley opened her eyes.

Liam gently cupped her cheek.

"What happened?" She asked.

"You blacked out." He explained. "Your blood pressure--"

Maxwell returned with a frustrated Olivia.

"...short of dynamite, I don't know how I'll--" she stilled when she saw the color drain from Riley's face.

"I think it's happening..." Riley became unconscious once more. Her head dropped back on the pillows.

"We have to get that doctor here now." Liam looked up at Hana. "Any word from her?"

"She is right outside." Hana explained. "And so are Auvernal's guards."

Liam took off out of the room. His long, deliberate strides had him at the balcony overlooking the entryway where the Auvernal monarchs stood talking to some of the guests.

His friends had to nearly run to catch up with him.

Bradshaw looked up and curved his lips. "Trouble, King Liam?"

Isabella snickered. "I hope Queen Riley isn't suffering unnecessarily."

Liam launched himself at the smug king when he brought up the severe pain Riley must be in at this moment.

Shouts from his friends, guests, and the King's Guards drowned out him telling Auvernal's monarch to have his guards break down the door.

"No." Bradshaw's easy smile grew into an evil smirk. "I don't see any reason to have my men do anything like that to help a woman who isn't a part of my country nor one who wishes to ally herself with mine."

"You bastard!" Liam jerked his arm back. His fist formed as he prepared to beat this man within an inch of his life for denying his Riley a doctor.

It took Drake, Maxwell, and Bastien to hold him back from starting a war with Auvernal with a single punch. Olivia and Hana got between the two kings while Isabella merely looked on in glee.

"My wife and child are going to die if I don't get that doctor in here now!" Liam shouted. "And you stand there refusing to--"

"Not refusing!" Bradshaw snapped. "I'm trying to help you." He snapped his fingers and was handed the engagement contract by a nearby Auvernal guard. "Sign this and my men will have your doctor in here within five minutes."

Liam felt all the adrenaline that had rushed through his veins when he tried to punch the man leave his body. He felt not only weak but utterly worthless. He couldn't see any way out of this. He couldn't lose his wife. He couldn't lose the child they had eagerly waited for.

He couldn't get the damn door open without the very people he had grown to loathe these past nine months.

"Liam," Olivia whispered, "it's the only option we have now."

"We'll find a way to break it." Maxwell whispered.

"Yeah," Drake patted his shoulder. "Right now, you need to just accept the deal to get Brooks and the baby some help."

Liam glanced over at Hana to get her advice.

Tears filled her eyes. "I--I know this isn't what you want, but we have no choice."

Liam swallowed and snatched the paper from Bradshaw's hand. He signed the cursed document and tossed it in his face.

"There! Now get that doctor in here before it becomes null and void."

Bradshaw quickly gave the orders for his guards outside to break down the door with a battering ram.

In three minutes, Dr. Ramirez was following Liam up to the royal chambers.

She helped rouse Riley and then guided her through the delivery.

Liam watched in awe as his wife produced the most perfect baby girl he had ever seen.

Tears of joy and immense relief trickled down his cheeks as he held his daughter for the first time.

"I think we should name her Eleanor," Riley said, watching him kiss their little one's forehead, "in honor of your mother."

His eyes practically glowed as he looked upon his wife. "Thank you, my love."

She snuggled her head on his shoulder as they both gazed down at their own miracle.

Liam knew he needed to tell Riley what had happened with Auvernal yet he didn't want to ruin this first moment of them as a family.

He silently vowed as he held his daughter that he would somehow find a way to save her from an arranged marriage.

[palettepainter]

A friend for Shizen

(tried a new drawing style for Ecto and honestly super proud how it came out! I wanna draw this dork as best I can so we really fun to try drawing how he looks in cannon) Shizen doesn’t like socialising. She doesn’t like talking. She doesn’t like people. She prefers the company of animals over most of her coworkers, with the exception of a few UA students who she has become fond of, and so - like a good friend - Ectoplasm drags her to teachers karaoke night against her will. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Why am I here again?” Shizen asked aloud, boredly “Because you need to learn how to have some fun” Ectoplasm answered as though it was obvious, Shizen replied with a not so subtle eye role and a groan. “Who knows, you may actually enjoy it” Ectoplasm said hopefully, turning to Shizen with a smile. She met his joyful expression with a flat frown “..With all due respect, you are one of the few people I can tolerate. Secondly, I’m not looking forward to hearing Hizashi sing, he’s already obnoxiously loud enough on the daily. Thirdly, I don’t sing. And finally-“ she pointed a finger towards him, scowling “The only reason I’m here is because you forced me to” Ectoplasm hummed and nodded “True..” he didn’t seem upset, which made Shizen scowl more. For how smart and polite Ectoplasm could be she sometimes wondered if he was deep down just as much as gremlin as her cousin. She let out a long sigh “Why would you lot want to come here of all places anyway?” Shizen regarded the small building with a look It was tucked away in the side of a alley way, hardly noticeable it if wasn’t for the giant karaoke sign hanging above the door. It looked dingy and suspicious with the location it was in, not somewhere you’d expect pro heroes to spend their Friday nights. Certainly not somewhere she would spend a Friday night. She wanted to be at home. “I know some of the workers” Ectoplasm answered “Plus it’s not as crowded as some of the more popular karaoke places, it’s nice to not be interrupted by the public sometimes.” “Hm..Yeah, that makes sense I guess” Shizen answered, the last thing she needed from this evening was the public. It wasn’t that she had any bad experience with the press or some of the occasional fans that would bombarded UA’s gates - but her social battery was already run down from the counselling sessions she had to do that day, especially since the last and longest session had been for Bakugo Katsuki, not popular for the good reasons in her books. “If you really don’t want to stay you can always leave early” Ectoplasm proposed, Shizen peered up to him through the corner of her eye “At leash stay an hour or two? It’d be nice to see you have some fun with everyone - we always have a good laugh!” Ectoplasm suddenly chuckled, remembering something “Last Christmas we came here Aizawa actually got himself drunk! Don’t tell him I told you that” he whispered that last part quickly Admittedly that got a tiny smile to her face, but as the two began to get closer to the door it fell And no sooner then when they opened the door did Shizen feel her hopes for a peaceful evening slip away. “Hey hey hey!!” Mic cheered with his signature grin, throwing two finger guns smoothly in Ecto’s and her’s direction as they stepped inside. “Here’s our main microphone master himself! Bout time you showed you Ecto! Would hate for you to be a no show!” Ectoplasm chuckled in good nature, walking over to the little reception desk where the Friday evening worker he knew well was already preparing keys to their booked booths for the evening. “Would hate to be a killjoy” Ecto joked back as the man behind the counter handed him the keys. The main reception area plus the front desk was barely big enough to hold all of the group inside, the miniature bar towards the left was full to the brim, lest forget the obvious drunks that where lurking in the corners or the ones who where laying face first on the bar in their spilt drinks. The music from the already booked rooms was just barely being muffled by the heavy doors, and of course, her enthusiastic coworker Hizashi who looked far too hyped already and the singing hadn’t even started - she could already sense an on coming headache   While Ecto sorted out his share of the payment Shizen stood off to the side, arms crossed, brows slightly furrowed, scuffing her shoe on the floor. This was dumb. Why did Ecto drag her into this?? Shizen didn’t hate her coworkers, but they where just so..different then from what she was used to. She was a private person with little to say unless she felt as though she had something to bring to the table, someone who didn’t like big lengthy conversations or talking about how hot the weather had been. She didn’t like being interrupted from her work with someone reminding her to get lunch on time, or the constant gossiping from Midnight and Mic just next to her at their desks. Shizen’s idea of happy was different from theres In short: Shizen didn’t fit it. She would have at least felt a little better if Higari or Hounddog could have come along. Alas the two where fortunate enough to escape such an evening, though she had a feeling Higari would have jumped at the opportunity  of a night out rather then cleaning up the clutter in the lab. Hounddog on the other hand, now that she was thinking of him, she didn’t think she’d be all that pleased if he was here either. After all: instead of defending her like she thought he would, he actually encouraged Ectoplasm’s plan to bring her along! The traitor. A voice suddenly chimed in her ear “Looks like Ecto really did hold up his word. Ready for a fun night out?~” With effort, Shizen turned her head slowly to the side. Midnight was giving her her trademark half open eyed smirk, her brow cocked. “...You want the honest answer?” Shizen grumbled “Or the nice one?” “Oh don’t be such a grump!” Midnight patted Shizen’s back fondly, causing the smaller women to look back at her. “For once pretend that legendary stick isn’t up your rear end, this isn’t work. It’s a fun night out!” Midnight tried to encourage and then giggled at the unimpressed face Shizen had. Shizen scowled “I don’t care if it’s a night out. I don’t like karaoke” “How do you know you don’t like it if you haven’t even tried it?” Midnight reasoned cooly, pushing Shizen forward while she had no choice but to go along. “I don’t like singing” Shizen reasoned, growing more uncomfortable the closer the group got to their karaoke booth. “No ones going to make you sign your name in blood if you don’t sing! Just enjoy the evening!~ Loosen up!” there was a pause and for a moment, Shizen was convinced - until.. “All that scowling and glaring will give you wrinkles~” Shizen heaved a sigh “And you where just starting to win me over..” Two hours later and Shizen was sure she had seen more chaos happen in that one karaoke room then her entire time working at UA. Hizashi was the first to get drunk then followed shortly after by Nemuri, multiple rounds of shots left the two wobbly on their feet. Aizawa, though not as drunk, was easily persuaded by Mic who he then quick left the room with, only after Midnight had wolf whistled and yelled a saucy comment after them. They had disappeared into the men’s bathroom down the hall twenty minutes ago, and..Shizen didn’t want to imagine what they where doing. Then Midnight had walked her way over to Snipe with a hazy glossy look in her eyes, giggling away at nothing - Shizen was grateful he hadn’t been drinking because he would have defiantly spat all over the table and ergo herself after Midnighr whispered something dirty in his ear. Not as subtly or as quite as Midnight thought. Bursting back into the room returned Mic and Aizawa, their shirt collars undone Shizen noted, and then the singing and partying resumed. While everyone else was having a lovely time grooving to the music and singing horribly out of tune, Shizen’s sober rump was off in the corner with a glass of water, rubbing her temples. “Here” A frothy beer was placed in front of her “On me, I thought you might like something better then water” Shizen looked up to Ectoplasm standing next to her, holding his own cup of beer. Shizen eyed the drink briefly before she looked back up “I don’t really drink” she said with a shrug. “...Really?” Ectoplasm asked. “Why are you so surprised at that?” Shizen rose a brow and then shuffled along to allow Ectoplasm some space to sit “I didn’t mean anything rude. It just wasn’t what I expected. Higari and his siblings all drink so..” he trailed off, seeming emabressed “..Sorry, that does sound pretty rude..I should have asked” “Don’t worry about it” Shizen brushed it off and then took an unhurried sip of her water “It’s not that I have a zero alcohol policy, I just don’t drink a lot that’s all” she placed her cup back down on the table “I didn’t really drink all that much before UA anyway so..never broke the habit I guess” “Just not fond of it?” Ectoplasm asked curiously “Hm..” Shizen hummed, thinking, head in her hand “...Not exactly.” She finally answered “My dad wasn’t a big drinker either so, when I was old enough to buy alcohol I just never did. Sometimes I would on birthdays or celebrations but I wouldn’t every time” “Oh” A moment of silence passed over them, a true miracle with how they where sitting in a karaoke room. It seemed Hizashi and Nemuri where struggling to find a new song to sing to and where lightly squabbling with Aizawa laying with his cheek pressed into one of the room’s leather sofa’s and Snipe seeming to eagerly agree with whatever it was that was being said by the other two, placing his cowboy hat playfully atop of Mic’s head “...It’s been a while since I had a beer” Shizen said aloud, pulling the drink closer, the glass wet from the chilled beverage. She swirled it around, watching as the frothy bubbles popped with the motion. Curiously, she brought the mug to her lips- and then gagged Ectoplasm snickered into his drink and then quickly turned away to wipe his mouth “Hey.” Shizen snapped at him, embaressed “Like I said, it’s been a while! Alright?!” “Sorry sorry!” Ectoplasm waved his hand in a feeble attempt to resolve the conflict, but his snickering and the amused glint in his eye didn’t convince Shizen. Her eyes narrowed, cheeks hot “Oh yeah har har, laugh it up essay-plasm” “Essay-plasm?” Ectoplasm blinked, tilting his head “What? I think it’s a fitting name” “Shizen having a sense of humour?? Someone call the papers” In that very moment Shizen’s lips twitched upwards into a small smile, and Ectoplasm caught it “It seems I am capable of moving boulders with my humour” He praised with a hand on his chest, Shizen rolled her eyes. “And you ruined it” She deadpanned. Shizen looked back to her beer and hummed, the flavour had shocked her, it really had a while since she’d had a good drink. Sure she’d had a coffee or other beverage with a small splash of alcohol with it, but honestly she didn’t keep a whole lot of alcohol at the teacher dorms anyway. She slowly brought the mug back to her lips and, not wanting to be seen as a coward in front of her coworker, took a big gulp. And then gagged again. “Bleh..” Shizen stuck her tongue out “Did beer always taste like this?..” She drawled, wiping the beer that had dribbled down her chin with the back of her hand. With ease Ectoplasm brought his own glass to his mouth and took a smooth gulp  - the show off, Shizen thought “It’s a required taste” he said, clearly amused at Shizen’s suffering. “God if Higari could see me now he’d laugh in my face” Shizen’s brows furrowed in annoyance at the very thought. Her cousin had a knack for being especially frustrating when he desired to be “I don’t doubt that” Ectoplasm agreed, he could certainly remember the way Higari hollered at him when he tried his first shot. He’d joked about it for days! “Still...” Shizen voice became quite, the combined sound of the muffled chatter from Hizashi, Nemuri and Snipe combined with the purring of the air fan made for a pleasant atmosphere. Ectoplasm was certainly making for a good conversation partner, then again he’d always been good at keeping things from getting boring. Perhaps she was..enjoying it a little. “I guess this is...nice” She admitted, giving Ectoplasm a sideways glance to catch his reaction. Ectoplasm was giving her what had to be the most smuggest look she’d seen from him. Head in his head with one brow cocked, the other slowly swirling his beer as he slowly nodded “Mhm - not as bad as you thought then?” He teased, bringing his beer up to his mouth to take a slow sip. Shizen snickered at the bubbly moustache it left below the area his nose would have been “Don’t get ahead of yourself, it’s..okay. But don’t expect me to sing anytime soon” “One day it’ll happen” Ectoplasm reassured calmly with a light shrug “Pft, keep dreaming” ///time skip/// What had happened between their conversation and now had been a bit of a blur. Ectoplasm wasn’t drunk, he figured they’d need at least one functioning adult to make sure everyone got home safely. He’d had a few drinks and was feeling a bit more light on his feet then usual, but he wasn’t tripping on air. Shizen on the other hand.. “There there..” Ectoplasm patted her back as Shizen groaned into the toilet of the cramped cubical in the ladies bathroom, Ectoplasm hunched at her side holding what hair had fallen loosen from her bun out of the way as the other rubbed her upper back. Ectoplasm wasn’t sure when Shizen had gotten drunk, and he had no idea why she called him of all people to come and help. Maybe it was because he was the only one still sober? He wasn’t sure. As far as he knew Shizen only had the beer he’d gotten her and maybe a shot or two, he didn’t think it’d take that much to turn Shizen to this - puking up her dinner pathetically into the toilet, and it seemed that with the way things had been going, Shizen and drunk nausea where going to be well acquainted after this night. Shizen had up and left all wobbly, and then five minutes later called him by his cell. Though obviously unsure if he should even enter the ladies room, he reasoned that Shizen would have only called him if it was something serious - so he went in, and that’s how he’d gotten there “Uuuughhh..” Shizen let out a long groan “..UUUUGHHH” and then a louder groan after that, her hands that clung to the toilet as if it was a life support gripping tighter “Blergh...Everything is...thing is..spinnin’..” “When did you even start to get drunk!” Ectoplasm asked, quickly turning to peer out of the cubical to see if anyone else had come in “I thought you said you didn’t like drinking” “I don’t!..Ugh-HRCK!-“ Shizen heaved a drag gag into the toilet and groaned again “Bleh.. “ “Then why would you have more drinks?” Ectoplasm asked, trying to find reason in this confusing situation. Shizen went quite and seemed to want to curl in on herself, pulling herself closer to the toilet, almost whimpering with guilt. Thinking he’d upset her or made her embarrassed Ectoplasm went to apologise- “I’m a..” Shizen’s slurred drunk tone echoed into the toilet, grateful she had something to hide her sickly red face in “I-I’m a......lightweight..” “...Pardon?” Ectoplasm blinked “Urgh!” Shizen groaned in annoyance, pulling her head up from the toilet to turn to him “I said I’m a light-!!!” Shizen’s hand flew to her mouth, her face paling as she felt the icky crawl up her throat. She whirled back round to the toilet clumsily and then emptied out what was left in her stomach. “W-Why didn’t you say anything!” Ectoplasm, recovering from his surprise, quickly reached over to hold her hair out of her way again as Shizen breathed deeply through her nose. “Cuz-“ she heaved again and then gasped for air “Ugh...Nemuri ‘n’ the others wouldn’t shut up bout it if they...t-they-oh no..” Ectoplasm cringed at more sickly noises and then splashing as Shizen hurled once again, the smell not making things any better. Shizen groaned, hands that had been death hugging the toilet dropping to her sides like sand bags. Humiliated, sick, and defeated Shizen let out a feeble groan into the toilet A truly sad sight, Shizen of all people - one of if not the most serious person from Higari’s family Ecto knew, puking up their lunch into a stingy karoke toilet. There truly was a first time for everything “...Come on-“ Ecto picked you Shizen’s arm and looped it round his shoulder, heaving her as gently as he could to her feet “On your feet!” Shizen tried to pathetically push him away, muttering weak protests, but she was honestly too weak in her sickly drunken state so in the end reluctantly allowed Ectoplasm to help. “Sit here” Ectoplasm carefully sat her down after flipping down the toilet lid. Shizen slurred something illegible but did so “Hm..” Ecto glanced to his watch “It’s late anyway, we should all start heading back soon-“ “N-No!” Shizen threw her hands out, and then pushed them against either side of the toilet cubical walls to steady herself. “Shizen please be careful!” Ectoplasm said, having thrown his arms out ready to catch her if she fell forward off the toilet. Shizen groaned, hand on her head. “N-No...No” Shizen sniffled “Don’t want...others to..t-to-Ugh..t-to see..” In defeat, Shizen pathetically gestured to herself, looking away Ectoplasm hummed again understanding what Shizen meant “..I’ll just let them know we’ll be leaving early.” He looked back to Shizen who merely nodded in agreement. After making sure Shizen would be okay Ectoplasm quickly slipped out of the bathroom and into the karaoke room they had booked to grab his coat. “Aaayyyy! Ecto!~” Mic in all his drunken glory, slapped an arm round his shoulders microphone in hand “Where ya been my man!! Parties just gettin’ started and we’re just ‘bout to bust out the duo songs! Howza bout it?!” He eagerly tried to hold the microphone to Ecto’s mouth, but in his intoxicated state he nearly poked him in the eye “Sorry Mic, Higari called, he needs some extra hands moving his hero suit to be cleaned for tomorrow” - Which wasn’t a lie, Higari was going to be cleaning his suit tomorrow. He gently pushed away the microphone from his face as Mic let out a whine. “Already??” Mic frowned, almost pouting as Ecto nodded and pulled on his coat “Sorry Mic, next time I’ll stay longer!” “Bu-bye Ecto!!~” Midnight sang happily with a waggle of her fingers, looking to be enjoying herself as she sat on a very flustered Snipe’s lap. Snipe barely managed a wave before Midnight was on him with kisses. He rolled his eyes with a huff, things like this where just the norm with their karaoke outings. Waking back to the ladies bathrooms Ecto felt a moment of panic when he saw Shizen laying on the floor on her side. He worried she may have fallen - however when Shizen groaned a rather annoyed ‘fuck off’ when Ecto attempted to turn her head to check for injuries he sighed, she was fine. “What are you doing on the floor?..” he asked, kneeling besides her Shizen half turned her head to him, then mushed her cheek back into the cold tiled floor “My head was hurtin’...and standing made it-..it worse..shoo I decided to lay down..” A part of him was chuckling at her slurred speech, but the other part, the majority of him, felt pity at seeing her look so miserable. “I just want this pain to go away..” “..Well-“ Like before Ectoplasm pulled her arm over his shoulder and hauled her to her feet, Shizen groaning in the process “I can’t work miracles and I can’t walk on water..but I can make sure you get back to your dorm safely” Shizen gave him a look of disbelief, her hair frizzy and dis-shelved. She looked ready to argue but Ectoplasm beat her to the punch “With all due respect I doubt you could even open your door without help, considering you where just laying on the floor moments ago.” Ectoplasm reasoned sternly, giving Shizen a cocked brow “And I’ve had my fair share of having to nurse Higari when he got drunk, so it’s not as though this type of situation is new to me” “...Ugh” Shizen groaned, then flopped her head against Ectoplasm as she felt another throb of pain in her head “Just take me back to UA..” Ectoplasm smiled, grateful there wasn’t going to be an argument. Higari could be stubborn when drunk and he feared Shizen could be the same, but it seemed she’d lost the bite to her bark. Walking her to front lobby area - which was thankfully pretty desolate of life besides themselves and those left in the mini bar- called up a cab and then helped Shizen clamber in. All through the drive she was practically leaning on him, groaning the whole way about her headache. It was a stark change to her usual serious, blunt and authoritative front she put up at work. It seemed she knew this as whenever she had to lean against him she would give him a sharp look as if to say “not a word”. Ectoplasm didn’t speak, he figured it was for the best, she was probably embarrassed enough Not to mention how insistent she was on not wanting the others to see her like this Shizen did her best to stay awake, nearly nodding off three times during the ride. When the car came to a halt at UA’s gates her eyes jerked back open. It was dark and the air was bitter cold, the late evening chill settling on the campus with the eerie silence making the place feel deserted. With Ecto as her walking stick Shizen hobbled along beside him, Ecto making sure she didn’t fall or trip on any stones as they slowly made their way to the teacher dorms. A quick check of the ground floor and no one was around, must all be in their rooms “Almost there” Ecto said quietly as the elevator dinged to a stop at Shizen’s floor. Shizen mumbled, showing she’d heard him but was clearly too tired to try and mumble something that made sense. Pushing open her door Shizen instantly made an unsteady bee line for her bed, blissfully sinking her head into her pillow “Sleep on your side” Ecto said as he tried to pull Shizen to roll over. After a bit of coaxing she did so, hair askew over her pillow and face. “..Everything still hurts” She muttered, spitting out the hair that was in her mouth. Ecto reached over and politely brushed it over her shoulder “Yes it will, it’ll be like that for a while” “Mnngghrrr..” Ectoplasm reached over to slide the balcony door closed, the room slightly chilly as he drew the curtains. Shizen muffled a response into her blankets as she lazily tugged them over her and kicked off her boots “...Don’t you want to change into something more comfy?” “..’M drunk” Shizen deadpanned “I couldn’t even take off my sock right like this” “I can always call Higari to come a-“ Shizen had never snapped a glare to him so quick. “NO.” Ectoplasm was quick to hold up his hands, never get on the wrong side of an enraged animal “Alright alright!” He sputtered “I won’t call him” Shizen have a sharp nod, and then flopped her head back down, Ectoplasm sighed. “...Why dont you want people knowing you’re a light weight?” “Please don’t say that..” Shizen murmured pathetically. She tugged the blankets over her head, only parts of her brunette hair still visible “..It’s embarrassin’..” she finally answered, still hiding under her covers “I don’t like bein’ teased...makes me feel..” she didn’t finish her sentence “..Last thing I need is the others pokin’ fun at me for it” Ectoplasm paused, he didn’t think Shizen was one to care for being teased. “...Im sure Nemuri would tease a little, maybe Hizashi too” Shizen muffled a groan from under her blanket and curled up on her side. Ectoplasm moved to pick up Shizen’s shoes that had landed on the floor by her door “But they wouldn’t mean any malice, Nemuri and Mic just like to mess around.” Ectoplasm dropped Shizen’s boots to the side where they wouldn’t be in the way when she woke up, before standing back up straight “I’ve had my fair share of being a victim to their teasing too, they never mean any harm” He said in an attempt to lighten Shizen’s spirits, Shizen shifted under the blankets and peaked her head out just slightly “...For real?” She asked “For real” Ectoplasm repeated with a nod “I had gotten tired of Nemuri’s and Hizashi’s April fools gags, and so I decided it would be a fun idea to give the two a little office surprise with Hizashi’s air horn” “..And?” Shizen asked “I took Hizashi’s air horn and decided it would be extra fun to fill the horn with flour. I planned to wait till the two where relaxing at their lunch break, and sneak up behind them both with it...Turns out-“ Ectoplasm shyly looked away, the memory instantly popping to mind and replying in his head in vivid detail “Hizashi and Nemuri decided it would also be funny to use that same air horn to wake me up” Shizen tried to hard to contain her smile “A-And Uh-...” she cleared her throat, faking seriousness “What happened?” “Oh..” Ectoplasm shrugged “Just about what you’d expect” “Pfft-“ the dams broke as Shizen’s mouth broke open into a grin, honest to god  laughter tumbling freely from her mouth at Ecto’s hilarious tale. “Oh god!” Her body relaxed against her mattress, the laughter making her forget almost entirely about her headache “I would’ve gotten so mad if they tried something like that with me” “I don’t doubt that...You know, if you asked them they probably would ease off on the teasing. I’m sure they only tease you because you’re so serious all the time” “Hah..” Shizen’s laughter drowned to an end, her smile now having a more harsh look to it “Yeah.” “...You know-“ Ectoplasm walked to the end of Shizen’s bed, when she didn’t say anything he sat himself down, hands together as he gazed off at the wall “I don’t think you’re as uncaring and mean as you make out to be” Shizen promptly threw her head to him “What?” “You heard me” Ectoplasm said, unthreatened by Shizen’s glare “I actually think deep down you care a lot for your co-workers, despite how you insist otherwise” “I-You-..I’m not-“ Shizen sputtered, failing miserably to come back Ecto’s utter accusation in her still drunk state “I do not.” Shizen hissed, flushing an angry red Ectoplasm failed to cower “Really?” He asked with a sarcastic tone. Ectoplasm gazed back off at Shizen’s bedroom wall to collect his thoughts “...Do you remember what you told me after me and Higari got married?” “...No?” Shizen replied with uncertainty, not sure what Ectoplasm was planning. “After the ceremony you congratulated us, that you where happy I was the one Higari ended up with and...” Though his face was hard to read, it was clear his smile had turned warm, his eyes soft as he looked back on that day, the happiest day of his life “That I made him happy” Ectoplasm smiled wider, turning back to Shizen who had fallen quite, but she was no longer glaring “..I feel like you wanted to say something more judgemental, but you said that instead” “......” Shizen turned away with a huff “..That proves nothing” Her blunt delivery seemed to put a damper on Ectoplasm’s mood, the reminder of his wedding and his happy smile fading as he looked away with a small sigh, shoulders slumped Shizen gave him a glance “...Look-“ Shizen sat up, the blanket lazily wrapped around her shoulders as she scooted a bit closer “Out of everyone here you’re not..the most annoying.” It was obvious Shizen wasn’t used to being this open with her opinions on people, evident in how she refused to look at him, her eyes trained on the floor as Ectoplasm blinked innocently “You’re intelligent, patient, good in a fight..you train your students well, you never half arse things. And..you’re good to Higari. He lived with me and my dad when he was at UA and I see how happy you make him!..You’re clearly passionate about teaching and-...and..” Shizen caught sight of the grateful smile Ectoplasm had on his face and she suddenly felt very embarrassed. “A-And don’t expect any more compliments“ Ecto huffed a small chuckle “Thank you Shizen” “...Thank you too” Shizen replied “For..Well-“ Shizen once again gestured to herself “Helping me out” “You’re welcome” Ectoplasm stood, remembering it was still late and more so that he still had paperwork to finish, even if it was a weekend. “I’ll be back up with a glass of water for you, and leave your phone out on your nightstand. You have mine and Higari’s contacts if you need anything, though I suppose you still won’t want Higari to see you like this so perhaps it’s better you just call me to make things quicker” “Yeah yeah..” Shizen said with an eye role, thought her usual snark wasn’t in her tone. She laid back down, resting the side of her head on her pillows are already feeling the drowsiness of sleep taking affect. “..You tell anyone about this-“ “My metaphorical lips are sealed” Ectoplasm said before Shizen could finish. Shizen gave him a hard look just to make sure he was telling the truth, before she laid back down again, muttering a “good” under her breath as Ectoplasm softly closed the door and slipped back out into the hall. ///One day later/// To no surprises Shizen had spent the whole of Saturday asleep, cursing the world for the head splitting hangover she had to endure. Thankfully she hadn’t called him, yet at least, so it seemed she was able to handle herself just fine without his assistance. He just hoped she was feeling better by the time Monday came around, he had no doubt that Nezu would be understanding of the situation (not impressed, but understanding), but Shizen was as stubborn as a mule, knowing her she’d tried to work regardless of if she still had a hangover. “Still slavin’ away huh?” Higari announced as he walked past the table Ectoplasm was working at. “Ya know a weekend is supposed ta be a break right?” He teased, picking up some of Ecto’s marked papers to briefly scim his eyes over them before returning them back to the table “It’s only a few more” Ectoplasm reached over and picked up a smaller pile of papers to his right “Besides, this means come Monday evening I won’t have any extra work to worry about” “Good” Higari said, casually walking to Ecto’s side to give him a small squeeze “You look way more sexy in bed then markin’ papers” Ectoplasm chuckled, his cheeks tinting pink “Flirting? At this hour??” He pretended to tut and shake his head “Not even gone lunch and you’re already off with your shenanigans” Higari chuckled, a smirk gracing his lips as he shrugged “What can I say? It’s your fault for being too cute” “Are you blaming me?” Ecto asked, resting his chin on the back of his hand, placing his pen down - just what Higari wanted, all his attention on him. Boldly, Higari rested his hand on the back of Ecto’s chair and leaned in “Never said bein’ cute was a bad thing. Yer a real beauty~” Ectoplasm’s cheeks went a bright pink as he huffed a chuckle “..I suppose I am quite a luxury~” Higari’s hand reached up into the back of Ectoplasm’s hair, gently scratching his scalp. Ecto relaxed at the affection, eyes closing - totally missing the mischievous turn in Higari’s smirk “Damn right you are~” In a swift motion Higari tugged Ecto’s head down to him, Ecto expected a kiss - what he got instead was Higari whispering something shamefully dirty into his ear, something that he dare not say out loud. His cheeks burnt crimson, his glasses askew over his face as his gaping white eyes shot open to the size of plates, uncaring of his papers as the one had been marking fell to the floor by his feet. Higari chuckled into his ear, pleased with Ecto’s rather flustered reaction- “You have zero shame” Ecto jumped in his seat and then whirled his head round to the newcomer, feeling a rush of relief when he saw it was only Shizen - God forbid if it had been Midnight, he would never hear the end of it. “Guilty as charged~” Higari said with a mock surrender motion, obviously unashamed at being caught flirting. Shizen narrowed her eyes at him in disgust “Sometimes I question how us two are related” “Love you too” Higari replied back, releasing his hand from Ecto’s hair but not before he threw in a sly wink. Ecto’s entire face and upper neck where a deep red as he clumsily fixed his glasses, Higari’s dirty words causing him to need a reboot. Higari let out one last chuckle before he went off on his way back to his and Ectoplasm’s shared dorm Shizen watched him leave and then looked back to Ecto in all his pink faced state “Ah-Uh-“ Ecto, failing you think of an excuse, cleared his throat and tried to distract himself from Shizen’s gaze by picking up the paper he had dropped earlier “S-Shizen! Glad to see you up, feeling better?” Shizen hummed, making her way over towards Ecto’s table with two cups in hand, steam rising from them indicated both had a hot drink in them. Shizen stopped besides him and then took a sip from one of the cups “Been better” she said “But not as crappy as yesterday” Ecto nodded “Oh, well- t-that’s good to hear” he hoped Shizen wasn’t going to comment on what she had seen. Shizen rose a brow at his red face, apparently that was all that needed to be said on the matter she had unintentionally walked in on. “Hm, looks like you’re having a good morning” Ecto’s face went hot as he choked on air, fumbling with his own before he dropped it. Shizen slowly slurped from her drink, Ecto coughed hard into his hand “W-Well Uh-It has-...Uhm..” Ecto couldn’t answer that question with a straight or calm face, not sure if Shizen was teasing him or if she was genuinely trying to start conversation. “...Itsbeengood..” he finally answered, barely above a mumble “Hm” Shizen nodded “That’s nice” she replied For a moment silence fell over them, for Ecto it was horribly awkward, he had no clue if he should try and say something to change the subject, if he should just suffer silently, or wish for the floor to swallow him into non-existence. Maybe a combo of all three- Clink “Hm?” Ecto peered up as a cup of piping hot coffee was placed before him, the smell already causing him to perk up and realise just how tired he was from all the paperwork he’d done. Ecto peered to Shizen, who looked to be pretending he wasn’t there - slowly, he reached for the cup. “Don’t expect this every morning” Shizen finally spoke, still avoiding eye contact as she swirled her drink in her cup. “...Just see it as a..final thanks, for helping me out...A-And Uh-“ Shizen cleated her throat, fingers awkwardly tugging at her bandana as she half turned around “Let’s just forget all the..Uhm, uncharacteristic things I may have done or said” Ectoplasm nodded humbly, bringing his cup closer towards him to take a drink. His body sunk into his chair, the warmth of the drink pleasant, shaking away the drowsy feeling of an early morning start hanging over him “Hm...you mean like when you where laying on the ladies bathroom floor looking rather sorry for yourself?” Shizen gave him a sharp look “...Yes-“ “Or maybe when you kept nearly falling asleep and then you would stubbornly jerk you’re eyes back open again because you found out you where half falling asleep on me?” Ectoplasm teased, his eyes narrowed Shizen’s brow twitched, face growing red “Ectoplasm I am not above hitting my cousins husband in the teachers dorms” Ectoplasm let out a hearty laugh, Shizen’s threat flying over his head as the smaller women merely narrowed her eyes at him. “Don’t worry I’m only teasing! I won’t tell, I promise” Shizen narrowed her eyes one final time, as if to double check he was being truthful. Sensing her doubt Ectoplasm spoke again “Like I said before my lips are sealed, you don’t have to worry about me spreading gossip about the dorms. And being a lightweight is nothing to be ashamed off” “Hm..” Shizen thought for a moment “...Yeah well, next time I’M picking where we go for teachers night out” “Oh?” Ectoplasm rose a brow “Are you implying you enjoy spending time with your coworkers after all?” Despite herself, the tiniest of smiles came to Shizen’s face, she let herself laugh a little “Heh..well, maybe you’re not so bad”

[juniorgman187]

Home Alone (Reid Fic)

Summary: For the first time since living with Spencer, Reader is home alone and left to brave the figurative and literal storm on her own.  Pairing: Platonic Fem!Reader x Spencer Reid Category: Fluff, One-shot Content Warning: Storm, fear and paranoia, use of a deadly weapon Word Count: 2.8k

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　

It was a dark and stormy night. 

Too cliche? Let me start over. 

It was the time of the year when the wind was so strong, even the sturdiest tree would blow over. Meanwhile, the rain relentlessly pelted the windowpane, cascading down the glass at a record speed. In the distance, you could hear thunder’s deafening clap and see lightning’s blinding flash preceding it. The only thing that could make this storm worse?

Being home alone in it. 

Spencer, my roommate, was never gone for more than two days at a time. He always arrived at the exact hour when he texted he would be, and he never ever left me home alone before his arrival. Without fail, he would call over a friend to stay with me or if he knew he’d only be gone a few hours, he’d drop me off in a public space, where he knew people would see me. To put it simply, if I was in the apartment, I wasn’t alone, and I had to think it was because of something he would never tell me about. 

Without explicit reasoning for his unwillingness to leave me by my lonesome, I could only conjure up theories and inferences that were never confirmed. My best guess was an accumulated paranoia caused by all of those cases he worked on. I’m betting there’s been more than one instance where a woman was home alone and ended up dead one way or another, and after all that he’d seen, he couldn’t let the same thing happen to me. If for no other reason than he just didn’t want to slave over another case like this and have me be the victim in it. He’d seen it too many times to not learn his lesson. And trust me - Spencer Reid is not a person who needed to be taught something twice. 

But before I lived with him, I was never scared of being home alone. In fact, I might’ve actually preferred to be alone as opposed to being in the company of someone else, but I think my compliance with his precautionary procedures made me weaker. After years of living with Spencer’s routine, I relied on it for my safety. I’d gotten so used to the luxury of having somebody around when he was away that this loneliness was so unfamiliar that it left me uneasy. By now, I’ve associated the presence of another person with the feeling of being safe, and conversely, I now associate being alone with being in danger. 

So if you asked me to sum up how I was currently feeling alone in this storm in one word, I’d choose ‘uncomfortable’, but if you asked me to sum it up in two, my answer would be ‘in danger.’

It wasn’t until the situation presented itself that I realized I’d never been forced to deal with it, so I never knew what to do when it happened. Never before had I needed to call Spencer while he was at work because prior arrangements had always been made in advance, but I hadn’t heard from him since noon when he told me that he was boarding the jet and he’d be home before I came home from work. Was it inappropriate to call him while he was working? I wouldn’t know - I never had to do this before. 

But then again, he called me when he said he was about to board the jet, so if I called him, maybe he was still on the jet and it wouldn’t be bothering him. Unless, they got another case as soon as they landed and it required his immediate attention and the thought of calling to let me know he wouldn’t be home yet completely slipped his mind. I could see that being a possibility too because even if I was totally oblivious about when to call him, I wasn’t blind to the mayhem his job involved. 

With no good reason to pester him with a phone call, I decided against it. After all, I was a big girl. I could be home alone. 

In fact, this was the perfect opportunity to do all the things I couldn’t do while someone was around. Plus, distracting myself was the only way I could ensure that I wouldn’t slip into the same downward spiral of paranoia that led Spencer to enforce this very system.

After my steamy shower, I wandered aimlessly around the apartment in just my towel and nothing else. This was something I hadn’t done since the days when I lived alone. Mainly because I didn’t want to leave so little to the imagination. Honestly, as much as I love Spencer platonically - I’m not blind. He’s obviously a very gorgeous, very single man for God’s sake, so the thought of prancing around in nothing but a rectangle of terry cloth had certainly crossed my mind once or twice, but if anything, wearing more clothing would attract his attention more than wearing less would. That’s just the way he is.

Second on my list of luxuries that came with alone-time was blasting music. This is something I hadn’t done in forever. Out of courtesy, whenever I played music, it would only be through my headphones, so Spencer wouldn’t be bothered by it. Even then, I think sometimes he could hear it faintly in the background while he read or studied his paperwork, but if he noticed, he never said anything. So to relish in my newfound freedom of aloneness, I turned my phone’s volume all the way up and danced ridiculously to it, too. Of course, the music wasn’t loud enough to disturb our neighbors - I wasn’t that insensitive - but it reached new volumes tonight. Louder than it ever had been in this apartment before. 

Somewhere in the middle of my impromptu concert, I heard something like knocking. It was a distinct enough sound to make me pause my music, but not so distinct that I could recognize where it came from. I wondered if it was a noise coming from my song, like when you’re playing music and you think someone called your name, but when you pause your music you realize no one actually did. But this … this was different. It was too real of a sound for me to be imagining it. I could hear it from exactly where I would normally hear knocking, but now that I was alone, and quite frankly - naked - hearing knocking made my stomach churn. 

“Hello?” I dumbly called out from my bedroom doorway into the living room.

This was a horror movie-esque choice, I’m aware, and it was usually made by the docile female only seconds before a murderer appeared and chased her up a flight of stairs that she’d somehow forgotten to properly ascend. But my thinking was if there really was someone knocking outside, they’d answer me, and I’d be able to detect the danger if necessary, but in true horror movie fashion, no one responded. Leaving me to hunt further to access the situation. I didn’t want to jump to any conclusions, but my mind did exactly that. 

You’re about to be murdered. My conscience concluded. Or kidnapped. Or assaulted. Or violated. Or -

Knock! Knock!

My heart accelerated at a pace my lungs couldn’t support, not without heavy breathing. It was here where all my logic and rationality flew out the window because for some reason, I started tip-toeing to the door as if not making any sounds on the floorboards would somehow ensure my safety.

I didn’t know what I was trying to prove by finally grasping the doorknob with the intentions of turning it open, but it certainly didn’t prove I was a “big girl” or that I was any less scared because as quickly as I had touched the knob, I just as quickly recoiled my hand away from it and ran to my purse to find my phone. 

Matching the speed of lightning, I dialed Spencer and sighed a quick sigh of relief when I heard the line ringing. That was a good sign. 

“Please pick up, please pick up, please pick up,” I pleaded to myself as if God would hear it and grant me my prayer. “Please pick up, please pick up.” 

“The number you are trying to reach (702) -“

“Fuck!” 

That’s never happened before either. He never sent me to voicemail, not even when he was away and asleep. He’d always answer my call. This wasn’t a good sign. 

The knocking went away minutes ago, but my fear hadn’t. I couldn’t tell you what exactly was so scary to me, but all I knew is that I would feel a whole lot better, and honestly - a whole lot safer - when Spencer came home. 

“Come on, Spencer. Where are you?” I tried his cell phone probably three more times after the first call, my hope decreasing with each dial tone.

There was nothing I could do but wait. After all those missed calls, he’d have to call me back sometime, but I just hoped he’d be home before it’d get to that. 

My trepidation clearly clouded my judgement because rather than putting on clothes first and having my priorities in order, I was already reaching for the spare gun I knew Spencer kept in his bedside drawer. He didn’t know I knew it was there, but I did. And I planned to use it tonight if it came down to it. 

One hand held the top of my towel up from falling while the other shakily clenched a gun. 

Before this, I’d never actually held one before, but then again, there’s a lot of ‘firsts’ I was experiencing tonight. 

I didn’t expect it to be so heavy - and I don’t mean the actual size, but the weight of the object itself. This thing could take so many people’s lives, and I was holding it. It was a nauseating feeling, but my rapt fascination wouldn’t let me put it down. I had never noticed how intricate the contraption was. There were so many little details, so many little parts that needed to work harmoniously in order for it to carry out its function. I was only made more aware of just how many parts there were inside the gun because of my shaky hand unconsciously rattling the magazine inside. 

The clip sounded nearly empty. Jesus, Spencer, how many times have you had to use this thing?

My thoughts were cut short when the sound at the door returned. It didn’t sound like knocking, but something much worse. 

Someone was coming in. 

I wasn’t yet prepared for the worst so rather than confronting it outside, I stayed hidden within Spencer’s room ready to shoot when they finally came into my line of sight. 

If you were an intruder, I don’t think you’d be very intimidated at the sight of me, but for some reason, I still felt rather powerful. My hair was like strings draping over my shoulders since it was still damp, and the one hand I was using to hold the gun (the other being used as a towel holder) was shaking violently. I could barely carry this thing with one hand, and yet I still couldn’t put it down. 

I needed protection. 

I needed Spencer. 

I could hear footsteps slowly trailing in, and it seemed like the slower they walked, the faster my heart beat. 

“Who’s there?” My voice was loud, but it wasn’t nearly as threatening as it should’ve been to scare somebody. The dominance in my tone was clearly stolen by my fear. 

I saw a figure loom into the space between Spencer’s bedroom door frame and the living room, which was adequate distance for shooting, so with only partial hesitation, I nearly pulled the trigger.

“Shit!” The figure ducked their head while their hands raised into the air to suggest harmlessness - something a suspect would do to surrender. 

“(Y/n), put down the gun! Put down the gun! It’s me! It’s Spencer!” 

I could recognize his voice, but the storm’s darkness hid his face from me so I was still skeptical. It wasn’t until he swiftly came into the light to take the gun out of my hands that the small flicker of city lights illuminated his face. 

Spencer!

As soon as I could make out his perfect nose and his amber eyes, I melted into his already open embrace. I entered his arms wordlessly and shut my eyes so solidly with such relief that a tear escaped. 

“Hey, hey … you’re okay. I’m here. You’re okay, my dear.” He took my face in his hands to read me, and I think he must’ve seen my tears because his voice never travelled above a whisper. Maybe he thought if he spoke even a decibel louder, I’d shatter. He let my head travel back to his sternum, the warmest spot on his body, and again, he embraced me in a hug. His hands hovered in the air for a moment while he tried to find an appropriate place to put them - like I said before, he’d never seen me in just a towel, but he didn’t mention it. Instead, he threw his good manners out the window and hugged me just as tightly as he would’ve had there been more covering me than just terry cloth. 

“There’s nothing to be afraid of, I’m right here.”

He held me for longer than normal, but he knew the circumstances were different here. Maybe that’s why he kept a single arm around me even when he travelled to his dresser where he collected an old t-shirt that he would go on to slide over me. I let the towel drop when the t-shirt was fully on, creating a sort of magic trick, where he never saw my naked body. But that wasn’t exactly true. 

I didn’t need to be without clothes to be naked. I was naked right now, even in his shirt - completely and totally vulnerable. He could see the plain fear that held me prisoner tonight, and so he made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. 

“Do you wanna sleep in my room tonight?” 

I nodded into his chest without a spoken word. He knew I would still be scared, and in some way, I think his doting treatment was how he believed he could make it up to me. He even helped me into his sheets, taking the time to tuck me in like a child. I realized later though, he might’ve only tucked me in so the movement of the bedsheets would mask the sound of him carefully sliding his gun back into its rightful spot in his drawer. 

“Where were you?” I finally croaked, neglecting to add, ‘I needed you.’ It would’ve been redundant. He knew I needed him.

“The storm knocked over a telephone pole just a mile away. I was almost home when it happened.” 

Somehow hearing that he was so close only made me more frustrated. Here I was, thinking I was on the verge of death when Spencer was literally just a few blocks down the street. 

“You scared me when you didn’t answer my calls.” 

“I know, I’m sorry. I didn’t see them until I was at the front door. I was too busy focusing on getting home to you as soon as possible while still driving safely through the storm.” 

With my eyes already shut, I could imagine him, his hands at ten and two on the wheel, his eyes straightward with nothing else in sight but the road ahead of him, his motivation to get home to the person who needed him most being what propelled that car forward - not even the gas. 

“I love you, you know that?” He whispered into my hair, where his fingers were already laced. 

“I know. And I love you, too.” I honestly replied. That’s why I need you here with me. It’s the only way I feel safe. 

I would’ve gone to sleep right then and there, but I was stuck on the fact that he was just a mile away this entire time. Maybe that was the point, though. 

He was never too far away. He was always right there, in one way or another. 

“In the morning, I have to leave at 7, so I’ll drop you off at the library.” What’d I tell you? He always made arrangements for me so I’d never ever be left alone. “So in the car ride there, you can tell me why you were about to shoot me.” 

After his statement was the first time I laughed that night. I nudged him to show my playful disapproval of his jest. 

“I thought you were an intruder!” My voice finally regained its volume. “You scared the shit out of me when you walked in.” 

Our laughter faded to silence and it seemed like that would conclude the night’s conversations, but I could still hear the gears in Spencer’s brain turning. 

“Hey, wait a minute - how did you even know I had a spare gun in my drawer?” 

To his question, I pretended to be asleep so I wouldn’t have to answer, exaggerating my snores to emphasize my blatant sarcasm. 

“Answer me!” He persisted; I could hear him smiling.

But I only smirked against his chest and coquettishly cooed, “Goodnight, Spencer.”

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　

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[mercurysnitch]

1976 Guitar (200 follower celebration)

Summary: An Australian runaway walks into a London pub... and finds herself having a drink with the one and only Roger Taylor.

A/N: As promised, my little celebration piece. I actually started this after I hit 150 followers, but I put it aside because I wanted to work on other things, and then decided to keep it for my next follower milestone. Which ended up taking a lot longer than I was anticipating, but hey, we got here in the end. 

Just fyi for clarity, the reader here is Australian, but living in London after finishing journalism training. Yes, even in the 70s London was full of runaway Aussies. But it must have seemed a lot further away in the days before instant messaging and video chat and free phone calls over the internet.

Title is from a Skyhooks song, recorded well after the 70s, incidentally. The bits in italics are lyrics from the song. This isn’t a song fic, and I honestly can’t remember why this is set in 1976 (I think it just sort of popped into my head like that) but those particular lyrics seemed quite fitting.

Warnings: Drinking, light swearing

*********************************************************

...one night I met a girl at the Sebel bar

And she taught me how to play that 1976 guitar

London, 1976

You decided you liked English pubs soon after you moved to London. They were cosier than the airy places you were used to back home, and the clientele were a lot less rough. Most of the time.

Your favourite pub was your local, just around the corner from your poky little second-floor flat. Decent food, good drinks, and interesting people. The bands playing on Saturday nights were always worth a listen too. Tonight, though, was a weeknight, which meant you were there for a stiff drink and maybe a nice greasy pub meal.

You hardly looked at the bartender as you flopped onto a stool. He floated over almost instantly anyway. "What can I get yer?" "Whiskey please" you ordered, attempting to be polite but mostly sounding tired. The barman smiled. "Coming up." It was fairly empty in the pub, so he returned with your drink almost immediately. You smiled gratefully and wasted no time taking your first sip. But you'd barely swallowed it, still dealing with the afterburn, when you heard a huff of surprise from a neighbouring stool.

You turned in the direction of the noise to discover the source: a youngish bloke with shaggy, pale blonde hair and big blue eyes. He looked strangely familiar, but you couldn't think where you recognised him from. If you weren't so annoyed you would've been taken aback by how attractive he was. Instead you glared at him. "What's your problem, mate?" He flashed you an annoyingly pretty smile. "Nothing. Just don't see many girls drinking whiskey like that." "Like what?" you shot back. "Like they do it all the time. Suits you, though." He flashed the smile again, and you felt your anger ebbing away.

Seeing the smile again seemed to jolt your memory. "Fucking hell," you gasped, "you're Roger-" "Don't say it" Roger hissed, cutting off your exclamation. "You'll tell the whole pub and then I won't get a moment's peace all night." You immediately looked downcast. "Sorry." Roger smiled reassuringly. "It's alright."

You eyed Roger curiously. "So tell me, what's the drummer from Queen doing in a place like this?" He broke into a cheeky grin. "I could ask you the same question" he said flirtatiously. "I've had a very long day and I live around the corner" you told him. "What about you?" "We used to play here, in the early days" he explained. "I always liked the atmosphere, and the people are always… interesting."

Suddenly you noticed him eyeing you up with curiosity. "I like your accent but I don't recognise it. Where're you from?" he asked casually. "Australia" you told him cheerfully. You noticed his expression fall slightly. "Not from Sunbury, I hope" he joked. You grinned cheekily. "Melbourne, actually. But I don’t blame you for not liking Sunbury." Roger was shocked. "You know about that?" You nodded. "I was there. It was a great day, actually, for me at least." Suddenly you smiled. "Anyway, whoever thought booking Queen to play at Sunbury was a good idea clearly knew nothing about bloody Sunbury. Or Australians, frankly." Roger smiled grimly at the memory. "God that was a shit gig. Might be the worst reception we've ever had." "If it makes you feel any better I enjoyed your set" you told him softly. "Queen's just a bit too sophisticated for most Aussies, I think." "But not you?" he asked, smiling. "But not me" you agreed.

"So what brought you to London anyway?" Roger asked. "I got sick of Australia" you told him. "It's so… behind, culturally. Anyone who's a serious artist or writer or whatever buggers off to London or somewhere first chance they get. So when you're still there you feel so far away from everything, it really feels like you're at the arse-end of the world sometimes." Roger grinned. "Arse-end of the world. I like that" he mused. "But I don't think you've come to the other side of the world just because you thought Australia was boring." You stared at him crossly. "Oh yeah? Why d'you reckon I'm here then?" you asked, challenging him with a look. "I think you ran away from something" Roger declared softly. "As far away as it was possible to get, just about."

You stared at him in shock. Now you thought about it, he wasn't exactly wrong. Suddenly your expression darkened. "Well, I suppose I'm running away from my mother and her bloody expectations of how I should live my own bloody life" you grumbled. He quirked an eyebrow. "Expectations?" "She wants me to be like her" you explained. "Find a nice bloke with a ‘suitable’ job, get married, buy a house, pop out a few kids, be a bloody housewife for the rest of my days." 

"And you don't want that" Roger said quietly. He understood how it felt to choose a life different from the one your parents wanted for you. "No, I bloody well don't" you agreed. "I want to achieve things with my life, have a proper career." Your mother had told you several times that there was no point trying to advance in your job since you were just going to quit when you got married anyway. The recent feminist revolutions seemed to have entirely passed her by, but then Australian society in general did have a tendency to run a bit behind on things like that.

Roger's gravelly voice pulled you out of your thoughts. "And what might that career be?" You smiled. "I'm a music journalist. Well, I'm a researcher right now, but I'm trying to freelance a bit on the side." Roger nearly laughed. "Y'know, most music writers seem not to like us for some reason" he observed wryly. "But I get the impression you might be an exception." You grinned. “Wouldn’t you like to know.” "Maybe I would" Roger quipped.

You both drank quietly for a while, Roger gazing at you curiously. "Y'know, you never did tell me what's driven you to drink on a Wednesday night" he commented, casually as could be. "You really want to know?" you asked incredulously. Roger nodded. "Wouldn't ask if I didn't, love." You sighed. "Well, I was supposed to have a date last night, but he stood me up, which was just a delightful way to spend an evening" you said, your voice dripping with sarcasm. "Then this morning my boss was even more of an arsehole than usual, and I found out my article that was supposed to be published next week got pulled from the issue, so god knows if it'll ever see the light of day now. And then when I got home the disappearing date had the nerve to ring with a pathetic excuse that I'm almost certain he made up, and apparently he was blind to the possibility I wouldn’t want to reschedule the date he missed until I spelled it out to him."

Roger winced in sympathy. "Christ, that is a shitty day." “Well, it seems to have improved since I got here” you observed, flashing a sly smile. Suddenly he grinned, not bothering to be subtle about eyeing you up again, almost appraisingly this time. “You know, I could make it even better, if you’re interested” he said smoothly. You cocked an eyebrow in interest. “Oh, really? And how exactly would you do that?” “Have dinner with you” he replied, not missing a beat.

You blinked, shocked. “You want to-to what, take me out to dinner? Why?” “You seem interesting” Roger said, shrugging. “Besides, I like having company when I’m out, being alone’s not as fun.” You had to agree with him there. “So is it a date, then?” you asked, still a little uncertain about the turn your evening was taking. Roger smiled cheekily. “If you want it to be” he said. He seemed nonchalant, but you thought you detected a flicker of uncertainty under the rock-star swagger. You grinned. “You know what, bugger it. Take me on a dinner date, Roger.”

******

There were some decisions in your life you would live to regret, but going on that first impulsive date with Roger wasn’t one of them. One date very quickly became many, and before you knew it Roger was a fixture in your life. Well, as much as a touring rock star could be, anyway. You found it oddly satisfying writing a postcard telling your mother you were going out with a shaggy-haired rock’n’roll drummer, knowing he was almost the complete opposite of the sort of person she wanted you to pair up with. You’d also finally managed to get an article published in the paper, but, predictably, your mother’s response to your postcard entirely neglected that achievement in favour of detailing every reason she thought you should leave Roger and return home immediately. None of them really held much weight, and the suggestion your actions would damage your reputation back home was in your view rather forcefully disproven by the enormous quantity of messages you received from both friends and relatives congratulating you on both the article and your choice of boyfriend.

You did eventually find the things your mother wanted for you with Roger, in a way. Technically you never actually got legally married, but you were deeply committed to each other. And you did end up with the big house and the family of your own, alongside a flourishing career in rock journalism. It wasn’t always easy, juggling everything and getting people to take you seriously as a journalist, but you wouldn’t have it any other way. Sometimes, just sometimes, you were just a tiny bit grateful for that shitty day in 1976.

In '74 we got tight, in '75 we starred

Then we learned to play that 1976 guitar

**************************

A/N: I don’t think there’s too many Australianisms in here, but feel free to ask if you’re confused!

Taglist: (as always let me know if you want to be added/removed/think you should be on here but aren’t - it’s been so long some tags have changed since I added them) @wandering-at-midnight @royal-avengers @trumanjo @ohmygoditsanthonyedwardstark @itsametaphorbriansblog @wineandwanderings @simplyvictoria-93 @kotoamor @j1224 @florenceivy @jennyggggrrr @mercurycrowley

[pen-observing]

Tall, dark, handsome stranger (Ruin)

A devoid life in high society makes you question what making a choice for a passionate life really means. A party brings Lucifer, that beautiful creature, as an answer to what you’re truly looking for.

Warnings: mentions of abuse and infidelity, Lucifer uses a fake name, reader is gn!, I legit hint at you being horn knee but try to be very poetical about it

MASTERLIST

How many years have you spent standing on side-lines? How many years have you already toyed with the concept of regret between your fingers? Some may claim that time is an illusion; a filthy thief drenched in dread – it seems like an excuse; not a justification. An excuse of the lowest kind for those who have trouble admitting that time is very much real. It’s perception, it’s effect, it’s reminders. Time reminds you just how much you are choking in this very room. Nothing but a small human; with a delicate neck, heart full of pain and a wish to live something out on your own terms.

Your wish is as grand as this very room; all golden shine and lights that could be eternal. Delicate order of decorations that scream extravagance. A royal place fitted for the higher educated. A place with such dazzling faces which just pass by without making an impression on your soul. If you dislike it so much; why are you here?

History would claim it was security. History would claim it was a privilege. You just claim it was fear that resulted in a fitting circumstance for a better life. Right now, you are married to a rich noble who, sadly, only has that to offer. It is enough to survive, not enough to fill a void inside your head; inside your soul, inside of this damned ballroom.  

Was it a blessing or a curse which brought you alone to this party? Having to chat empty words with emptier minds as the music plays was torture. However, your spouse’s presence would make things even more unbearable.

As much as you want to break out, explode; turn the gold into dust – you could not bear such fleeting hope after 5 years of the same life. The same parties, the same ruin. Why should something about tonight be different? Perhaps, because you did not imagine time to play illusions on you, yet, alas, time plays along and alone.

Smooth words and fancy talking are never as interesting as hearing about a new face in such a boring crowd. Apparently, a man of black and red with enigmatic features came tonight. Nobody knows him, but - they all talk. It was only a matter of time before someone directed your attention towards him. An unimportant Madam made a casual remark about how: ‘‘All the handsome charms of this world could be in one man, but he would still be unfitting for company.’’ Why?

He was leaning against the wall opposite of you; a gloved hand holding a wine glass. Looking to the side outwardly showing distaste and unamusement for tonight’s crowd. If only you had the luxury of doing so. He was a free man while you were just a human tied to societal standards. Perhaps your eyes lingered a bit too long, perhaps time decided to play again; whatever the excuse or justification you want; your eyes met.  

An invisible string of connection.   Apparently, a strong pull.

When the Madame stepped away and you secluded next to a neighboring pillar; that string tugged his presence closer to you. It must have been his intention. You’ve seen his types before, why should he be more interesting than the surface? He would probably try to flirt just looking for trouble.

“It would seem that you have a strong desire to escape this place. Tell me, where would your soul rather be?”  

Inside of somewhere and something that doesn’t cry of emptiness. “Instead of answering such a pointless question, I will just acknowledge that you were able to see through my joy filled act.”

Was he observing you or just naturally gifted at judging other people? His words were fancy but not without genuine interest in his tone. Did he actually care?  

“If that is the case allow me to acknowledge how rude it is to ask a question without properly introducing myself. My name is Amias.”  

Looking back at such an introduction now, you know you should have stayed away. Why nurture the small hope while time sings a song about how this could be the one thing you are looking for? The song is tantalizing, your soul dances along to the melodious promise.  

You’ve been inside of these circles long enough to spot a dangerous man. You should have been more logical instead of surrendering to emotions. Why? For what cruel game are you dancing with him right now? For what purpose is his scent so captivating, his eyes so seductive and his touch so smooth? Why is his hand trailing down your back?  

Why aren’t you worried about the higher society? Why? You are married with a vow to a noble who seems to embody goodness to everyone inside this room! Even conversing with this handsome stranger can create rumors. Dancing with him creates a scandal.  

Why, why? You could have continued a historically secure life without tasting what is forbidden, would that have been so wrong?!  

Wrong? No. Creating more of that emptiness? Yes.  

Perhaps, you glided under gold with this man because only you know how a secure life for you means only financial stability. Your spouses’ hands are never this gentle, your spouses’ voice is never this delicate. His voice, however, is honey.  

Dancing, trembling with excitement as the anticipation grows from what this man does to you; this, this was the one thing you’ve been chasing. A chance to not play it safe, to not stay on the side-lines. Something to fill the emptiness of this life which has been a void for so long.  

This was a matter of choice only. Amias could give you whatever you longed for. Why wouldn’t you discretely invite him home? Why wouldn’t you give this man your body and soul while well aware about how his name itself was a lie?

His eyes are so pretty. His touch is so satisfying.   You want more.  

Yes. This is your choice.   You choose your own suffering. It might as well have some pleasure woven into it.   After all, Anna Karenina made a similar choice as well.

These strings are binding.   You are not free, he is. You are tied inside an empty life chasing a spark.

If you choose ruin, why not choose the hands of a beautiful stranger to bring it to you?

What is this? This is just an idea I got months ago for which inspiration finally came! Rejoice oh thee who cares! I tried to make it appropriate. One anon recently said they were afraid of asking too many questions so I am here to officially state: ASK WHATEVER YOU WANT! Be free! Honestly I read Anna Karenina in high school and remembered her while I was thinking about this. Speaking of reading, this might be my way of procrastinating on all the assignments I have. Am I rambling? Definitely. I just hope tumblr does this fic justice with tags!