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gatorbites-imagines · 2 months ago

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Kinktober day 31

Bravern (and Lewis Smith) + unconventional

I had NO idea what to call this honestly, cuz I had already used size difference earlier and Braverns like 9 meters tall. I love this big bot, and I just wanted to finish kinktober even if I finished it late, so here we go.

Yall should watch Bang Brave Bravern so we can talk about it, it’s really good. Giant gay robot 👍

Some Bravern spoilers, so if you wanna watch it first, go do that. Its only 12 episodes. No outright smut in this one cuz I couldn’t figure out how to do it?

Kinktober 2024 masterlist

Having a giant robot for a boyfriend was… different than your past relationships. Well, dating Lewis had been normal and all, but then he became a giant robot that reminded you of something out of Hollywood. You could already hear him whining that it wasn’t Hollywood but more so the mecha genre of Japanese superhero shows.

It was a bit of a mind fuck, or maybe a very big mind fuck. It felt kinda like having two boyfriends, but not really since they were the same guy, not again, not really. Lewis was still around, as himself, but he was also there, as Bravern. It also felt a bit like cheating, since no one but you had figured out who Bravern truly was.

But how could you not clock it immediately, when Lewis had spent hours telling you how his mecha would look, if he was in one of his shows or manga, back when you were both still in military training. You had never really gotten the gist of it, but it made Lewis happy. This also meant you easily went along with Halloween costumes he wanted to do, especially since seeing you in some sentai hero suit always got him so hot and bothered.

But, back to Bravern. It was almost impossible to meet up secretly with a robot, mecha, this big. He barely fit into the warehouse set up for him. Hed started stuttering over his words when you showed up saying you wanted to talk, and really, how could you not recognize your own boyfriend when he did that.

In the end, you coldly and seriously told him you knew his secret, making Bravern gulp, could mecha even gulp? But, before you knew it, Bravern had shifted into a ship? Car? Thing? And told you to get in so you could talk privately.

After getting the whole situation from him, part of you couldn’t help but be hurt that you weren’t his pilot. Why was Isami so great, when you were right there? Bravern, Lewis? Seemed to recognize your hurt feelings immediately, and scooped you up as carefully as one with a jellyfish in his giant metallic hands.

He immediately started apologizing in ways you knew so well, from the times hed accidentally ripped your shirts pulling them on thanks to his impressive pecs, or that time he scratched your car showing off one of the new nerd swords hed bought. You weren’t sure if mecha even could cry, but somehow Bravern looked near tears about it.

Even without pupils you could tell Bravern was looking at you the same way Lewis always did, when he felt like he had messed up and wanted to be forgiven. He always reminded you of a floppy eared golden retriever, and somehow, even as a giant 9-meter tall mecha, he still did.

A long-drawn-out sigh left your lungs as you pinched at the bridge of your nose, the noise making Bravern curl in on himself in such a familiar way. “Lift me closer to your face” you finally muster out, running a hand down your face as Bravern was quick to do so, seemingly not wanting to hurt your feelings even more.

Kissing a giant robot was even weirder, part of you wondering if he could even feel your tiny lips against his massive pair. This was probably how those chicks felt in the transformers fanfiction you sometimes read. What? There is very little male reader stuff, so you take what you can get.

Bravern jolted enough for the ground under you to shake a little, his lips parting for a moment before he pursed them. It was almost comical, to be standing on the palm of his giant hand as he pursed his lips, like some weird princess and the frog mockery, but the princess was a red, white and gold mecha, and the frog was you, in your dirty military uniform.

Placing a hand on his metallic chin kind of reminded you of doing checkups on your titanostrider, except Bravern was, more alive under your touch? It was difficult to explain, and you’d probably give yourself a migraine just thinking about it. You still hadn’t really registered how he was both here as Lewis, and here as Bravern at the same time.

When you kissed Lewis, you would always grab his chin between your pointer and thumb and squeeze it, just enough for him to part his lips so you could slide your tongue inside. Your hands seemed to have the same reaction with Bravern, whose large lips parted slightly. On Lewis it would barely have been noticeable, but as Bravern it was right there.

“Stick your tongue out a little” you mumble, somewhat unsure if he could even hear you, with you standing below his nose and his ears being… wherever they are on a mecha. But Bravern, always being so good no matter what form he was in, stuck the tip of his tongue out between his lips.

Normally, you liked to really coil your tongue around his, knowing it drove Lewis crazy to have all that spit and slobber all over his face and running down his neck. That obviously wasn’t possible, so instead you sank your teeth into the tip of Braverns tongue before sucking it into your mouth.

You hadn’t really had a tongue this big in your mouth before, so you resorted to the same tongue and suckling movements you’d do when you had your mouth around Lewis’s large pecs. There wasn’t a nipple to tease or bite at, so instead you just cranked up the way you rubbed and moved your tongue.

Hearing Bravern moan was so loud, and it surrounded you in a way you hadn’t experienced before. Even the times where you had Lewis sobbing with pleasure in your ear wasn’t like this, but Bravern sounded just as needy. His fingers trembled under you, like he wanted nothing more than to touch you, his lips parting further as his tongue slid more towards you, almost knocking you over.

For a split moment, the mental image of Bravern pulling your clothes off and just licking you flashed before your mind. It made you way too hard to be normal, and you had never had fantasies like that before, so you weren’t gonna acknowledge them more than blaming it on the fact that it was your boyfriend.

Bravern looked ready to eat you, he had that same look in his eyes that Lewis always got when you two were apart for longer periods of time, when he wanted to push you down on the bed and ride you till you felt like one of those scrunched up juice boxes with not even air left inside.

Of course, at that moment, as Braverns tongue neared your torso, did the phone in your pocket ring. Something inside Bravern must have notified him too, of whatever you were being contacted about, as he whined and pouted. “I-im sorry baby, w-we can… continue later” he stumbled, giving you a faint impression that he was looking around like crazy even without pupils.

“Sure. Its probably… important enough” you cough, trying to collect yourself again and pull your uniform back on to fit the standard. Bravern kissed your chest carefully, clearly fearing he might crush you if he pressed any harder.

The flight back to base was a quiet affair, the air thick with a familiar heated feeling. But duty calls, so its not like you could even rub one out in his cockpit and dirty talk him until he came in his pants, codpiece? Could mechas even do that? You didn’t know, but you knew damn well you could make it happen.

Instead, you had to step out of Bravern in his ship form and join the others, brushing off questions about what you had been doing with Bravern. The mecha was so much worse than you when it came to lying, stuttering something about wanting to show you how fast he could go, as Isami climbed inside.

You could feel Lewis staring at you, intensely enough that you had to look back at him. He was biting his lip in that oh so familiar way, his brows furrowed as he stared at your lips. You couldn’t help but reach up and touch them, only then realising they were probably flushed and kissed, making dread pool in your stomach.

But Lewis didn’t seem angry at the aspect that his boyfriend may have been off, making out with a giant robot. Instead, Lewis seemed quite hot about it, if the flush rising in his cheeks and the clear way he was swallowing his spit had anything to say. That… you noted down for later. But first, duty, and then… find a way to make your boyfriend, boyfriends? Kiss, since you knew it would drive them both crazy.

#male reader #bravern #brave bang bravern #yuuki bakuhatsu bang bravern #robot boyfriend #mecha boyfriend #lewis smith #bravern x male reader #bravern x reader #bravern imagine #bravern headcanon #lewis smith x male reader #lewis smith x reader #lewis smith imagine #lewish smith headcanon #giant nerdy robot boyfriend his human self and the reader whos normal i guess :/#lewis smith is into it #both of them are

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marypsue · 1 year ago

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In that vein (hah), I just have to take a moment to gush about the costuming in The Lost Boys because. Have you seen the costuming in The Lost Boys. Like each costume standing on its own without anyone in it still gives you a sense of a whole character, which is important because some of these characters don't get, uh, lines. We have to be able to distinguish them immediately by visuals, and the thing is, we can, because they're not just dressed to look attractive, they're dressed with the purpose of establishing character.

Like, consider Michael. They kept it very simple for him, on purpose, he's a regular everyman kind of guy thrown into a Situation. But also, he's trying too hard. The white t-shirt, jeans, and leather jacket call back to James Dean, Rebel Without A Cause, but the leather jacket's brand new without a scuff or a crack, not broken in, and it sits uncomfortably on his shoulders. The earring doesn't suit him - it belongs to somebody else, a funhouse mirror version of himself that he's tempted by, but also it literally belongs to somebody else. Who gave him that earring? Star's implied to have done the piercing, for him, which also tracks - the earring's a little piece of someone else, someone darker and wilder, that's been dug right down into his flesh by his association with Star. It's tasted his blood.

It's also a little piece of the boys' uniting aesthetic bleeding over onto him. There's a magpie sensibility to all of them, but then each of them are visually distinct as themselves within it.

Star's clothes have 80s cuts but form a 60s hippie silhouette, solidified in time. She's the most colourful of them all, her white tops signifying a flash of innocence, but at the same time as she climbs on David's bike, she pulls on a big black jacket that almost envelops her, a little piece of his shadow falling over her and devouring her light. Again, it doesn't quite fit her, like she's playing dressup as a darker, wilder self just like Michael is.

And speaking of David. That boy is chin to toe wrapped up in black. The coat references batwings, which is a great detail. And those gloves! He doesn't touch Star; he doesn't touch Michael; he doesn't touch the world, except through a layer of darkness. It's real Old West, white-hat-black-hat level symbolism. Except.

The real villain of the piece isn't the dangerous, sharp-edged boy in black - although of course you need to look out for him, they don't call him 'dangerous' for no reason. The real villain of the piece is the most perfectly conventional, middle-class, unassuming, don't-look-twice take-him-home-to-mother normal guy imaginable. Grey and beige. Business casual.

It's the perfect camouflage for a predator.

(And then also like. I can't wax as poetic about it right now because my brain cells are otherwise occupied. But please consider how much character is there in, like, the Frogs' army-surplus duds and Sam's terrible, incredible shirts.)

#the lost boys #costuming is characterisation. thank you for coming to my TED talk #is any of this coherent. have i just been swept away on this movie's tide of sensuality homoeroticism and oily sax man music #this is why in my 'michael turned sooner and everything went to shit' fic I have him collecting embellishments left right and centre #he's really truly fitting into the pack now. not just playing dressup #also something something borderline anachronistic details something something timelessness something

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lazyneonrabbitt · 2 months ago

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🎃 Mister Uruk

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Modern!Adar x reader

Pure tooth rotting fluff with single mom reader, and single dad Adar.

I heard someone say "Halloween meet-cute and, I guess that works for this one

October was only a couple hours away from ending and parents roamed the streets with their children dressed as pirates, mummies, witches and ghouls.

Almost all little ones were back home already and now the older kids ran in groups, racing who collected the most candy over the night.

"Mommy, mommy please I wanna go there!" Your ever so persistent daughter had convinced you to let her go trick-or-treating after the younger kids' usual time 'because the big kid costumes are so much cooler' and made you wear simple black cat ears and drawn on whiskers along with a full black outfit, to match her spooky witch costume. It was clear she was the main event and you were just her sidekick.

But you had to agree wirh her. You were tired of hearing the parents with sticks up their asses complain about all the in your opinion harmless pranks the older kids pulled the day before on Devils' night.

And thus you let your daughter drag you to the large house at the end of the street. No one went near the house, not even delivery drivers dared to pass the gates so thr sons these days always went to pick up their takeout dinners. The house had an eery look to it with its dark walls, original stained glass windows and garden full of atrange plants the mysterious old man who otherwise barely left the house tended to with great care. The scarred, lanky man with the permanent scowl on his face if he ever needed to go outaide the gates

More often you only saw his sons at stores or around town, being the slightly more accepted ones of the family.

About a mother nothing was known, not even the rumors about the family ever had a mention of her.

You had seen the sons roam the streets, donning iconic slasher masks and scaring even the toughest kids around.

"Sweety, don't feel bad if no one opens the door, okay? The old man doesn't like visitors." But your words fell on deaf ears as she practices her elaborate scene in her head, passing the open gate that surrounded the freestanding house.

At the front door you rang the bell amd stepped back, letting your daughter take the spotlight and watched her wiggle her fingers in excitement, no doubt repeating her rehearsed lines one last time before the door opened with a creak.

In the opening appeared the man everyone spoke of but nobody really knew, with his black jeans and shirt hugging his figure. Out from under the fabric peeked scarred skin, from the sides of his head down one side of his neck and reaching all the way over one arm and hand.

His dull blue eyes stared down at your daughter, who instead of doing her little show stood with eyes wide and mouth agape. "Woah.."

"What a cool costume!" She jumped up and had a mile wide smile on her face.

You visibly cringed at her unfiltered thoughts being yelled out like that and gave the man an apologetic look, mouthing 'sorry' as his eyes landed on you. But he didn't respond, just grabbed the bowl of candies he had by the door and lowered himself to sit on his haunches to be at eye-level with your daughter.

"Oh? What pray tell does a witch seek at this house? You are not here to turn me into a frog, are you?" His eyes flickered back to you for just a short moment before his attention went back to the child in front of him, who promised she would leave him be, but only for a grand offer of treats. You chucked at her schemesWith her arms she gestured greatly and held out her bag.

"But of course, your magic majesty. Anything to keep my current form, I have grown to like walking on two legs and speaking like humans do." In his large hands he took a pile of candy and put it into the little witch's bag.

Wigh big, blinking eyes she stared at the man. As well as you, who for the first time really saw him for who he really was; a kind and friendly guy at the end of the street.

"I see you think, little one. You wonder. Was I not always a person? Maybe I was a simple house cat like your pretty familiar over there. Or a dog, a bird or a fish." His hands moved a lot as he talked theatrically to entertain the young girl to the best of his ability.

"Or maybe.." He slightly ducked his head, brows pulled in a frown and pulled up his shoulders.

"..A child eating uruk!" With a quick move he threw up his hands like claws and bared his teeth with a growl that had your daughter jump back with a squeek and a fit of laughter.

Content with his theatrics he stood up again, reaching back inside the house and offering a delicate bag of spooky themed chocolates. "For adults only. No alcohol for the little ones."

The smile he offered you as he brushed his long black hair away from his face had heat rise to your cheeks.

With a thanks you bid him farewell, returning a sweet smile as your daughter happily trotted down the path, looking back and waving "Bye, mister uruk!"

Back home you helped your daughter to bed and cleaned yourself up before changing into some comfortable clothes and laid down on your couch.

Some horrible cheesy monster movie was playing. The kind where the lady fell for the not-so-monstrous at heart creature the town hunted.

The bag of chocolates sat on the side table beside a cup of still steaming tea. They called out to you, you were so curious about their taste. There was no label on the bag that was tied with delicate black and orange ribbon. They looked handmade.

And they tasted delicious! The taste of liquor was evident but not overwhelming, a perfect balance of flavors in the small pumpkin shaped confection.

Adar watched the little witch and her mother walk off his property from the wooden chair on his small porch. The bowl of candy sat on the ground beside him as he lit a cigarette and smiled to himself.

It wasn't often such a young child graced his doorstep on holidays like this. Especially with all the crazy talk going around about him and his sons these last years he was even more surprised you let her walk up to his home and so closely interact with him.

He treated his very few visitors of the night kindly, the teens all wowed with the vast amount of candy he gave out compared to the other stuck up households.

When his sons finally returned home he had retreated back to his favorite chair and sat in front of the tv. The cheesy monster movie not even registering as he fondly recalled the little witch girl and her beautiful mother.

November first was cleanup day, where the community parents assisted in taking down large decorations and removing toilet paper and eggs from houses and share leftover homemade treats. It was always a fun time for the most part, besides the usual posh mothers not lifting a finger. You overheard them complain about certain people not showing up for the fifth time today and decided to move along further down the street.

You arrived at an elderly couple's home thay had such nice flowers in their yard all year round and now laid covered with foilet paper and yarn.

"Hey, let us help you out." The old man's sons appeared from the sidewalk and quickly came to assist, chatting and clearing one yard after another in record time.

You enjoyed working with them. They were kind and lots of fun.

"Oh, thank your father for the chocolates. They're really tasty. Had to put them away before I finished the whole bag in one go last night." The boys said they'd forward your message and everyone went back on their way.

"Dad, please go out more." "Yeah holy shit that lady was so nice, totally oposite of your cranky ass." "You should ask her out if you like her enough to offer her chocolates."

The doorway out of the kitchen where Adar found himself was blocked off by his sons.

"Good to hear the townsfolk like you more than me. I thought we knew that already." Adar kept his focus on the coffeemaker, begging it to work faster so he could pretend to be busy at least.

"Yeah right. 'Liking' us is all fine and dandy but she was all blushy and shit when we mentioned you only giving those out to special folk." With fingers pinching the bridge of his nose, Adar slumped against the counter, a deep sigh leaving his lungs. "I'll think about it. The going out more part, not the dating."

Weeks passed and like clockwork you kept running into the old man and his sons, quick hello's and how are you's shared.

Until one day it was just the old man, no sons with him at the store. You could see him staring in confusion with the basket hung off his arm.

"You look lost." You spoke carefully as to not startle him. His eyes found yours quickly, the grocery list crumpling as he fidgeted with the corners of it.

"I hate to admit that yes, I think so. It's been a while and nothing is in the same place as it was back when I still shopped myself." The words flowed like he never expected they would, talking to a stranger. Or well, not entirely stranger.

"Come, walk with me and we'll do the full store so you can get familiar with it again." You took him along and by the time you reached the register you had managed to make him smile and laugh with you. Much to the annoyance of the townsfolk who just scoffed as they passed you, but you happily ignored all of it.

"I should thank you, for making me look less of a fool. I am Adar, by the way. I realized I never told you my name." You gave yours in return, shaking his hand and letting it linger for a moment, complimenting his home and well kept garden.

Adar felt the looming pressure of his sons' voices telling him to ask you out. But he would never willingly set foot in public dining places that were known to indulge in rumors about him.

"Would you maybe like to come by for dinner once?" He cursed himself out in his head for it, his sons would not leave him be when they heard about this. And of course you agreed with a stammering, blushing mess of an answer and day suggestion.

You agreed to meet over the weekend for dinner at Adar's place.

Saturday came around fast and you were pacing around in the chaos of your exploded clothing cabinet in search of an outfit. To the point of your smartmouthed daughter barging in, who already had her clothes picked out by you and put on. "Mommy you look pretty in anything. Do this one!" She held up a top that matched the color of hers and without any idea what else to wear you agreed.

So you arrived at Adar's place with your daughter for dinner, simple one time thankyou dinner. That's it. You tried to convince yourself of it, but it wouldn't settle.

Aaron, the eldest son answered the door and led you to the diningroom where Eric, the youngest was setting the table and Adar busied hinself in the kitchen beside it.

"Good to see you made it in time. You look nice, miss."

You thanked him and looked into the kitchen where Adar came walking out with bowls of food in hand.

More and more appeared. Meat, two sorts of potatoes, different veggies and salad with dressings, gravy and sides enough for a week.

You couldn't help but stare in awe, not even noticing your daughter sneaking a single fry out of the bowl close to her and snacking on it.

"Please, enjoy the food." Adar's gruff voice spoke to start dinner, and swiftly there were bowls being passed around and people ate.

"Man, it's been ao long since we ate like this. The last time--" Eric's words were cut off by a smack on his arm by his brother, earning the boys a confused look that Adar answered to with heavy heart.

"The last time we ate like this their mother was still with us. It was before we moved here." You let out a soft sigh at a memory of your own resurfacing.

"Yeah, I understand the feeling. Last time I ate like this I had my parents over, and my ex's too. I announced my pregnancy that day, for the first time to my ex as well.. He left after a week of trying to get me to, you know." You made a gesture with your hands and the hint was clear to the adults in the room.

The rest of dinner was had while sharing funny tales and laughing over past adventures, soon all hanging back in your chairs with how good the food was.

Dishes were all done as a team, and finished in no time. The leftovers put in boxes for later and new drinks poured. For a while you chatted there in the kitchen while your daughter had joined Adar's sons who went to watch a movie.

Soon it started getting close to her bedtime, but she refused to go home before the movie had ended. Except the boys had put on the extended version of the first Lord of the Rings movie and it was only fourty-five minutes in.

"Well, now tou gotta stay." The boys had claimed the large couch and your daughter sat curled up in the huge lounge chair, lazerfocussed on the movie. So you and Adar shared the smaller couch.

The movie was good, that was a given, but after a while the boys retreated and your daughter had fallen asleep. To Adar it was clear what his sons were doing, and somewhere he appriciated it. It was just you two now with the little one snoozing in the chair.

"It wouls be a shame to turn off the movie halfway. Another drink?" Adar had that week finally dared to admit to hinself what he had denied for so long. He was lonely, and while his sons may have been pushy, their plans had led to something good. So when he came back with new drinks he sat closer to you, hoping you wouldn't mind and enjoy his advances.

When Adar came back and settle next to you your head screamed at your heart to not act immediately, but to no avail. You carefully settled against his shoulder and soon you two were cuddled up against each other. By the time the movie had ended neither of you wanted to move away.

"I can feel you think, but as much as I feel the same as you it's better for her if you take her home to sleep in her own bed." With heavy hearts you both went on to end the night, sharing contact information and agreeing on a second movie night in the process.

"So, did you at least tell her you like her?" "Come on, you have to!" As soon as the front door closed Aaron and Eric were at the stairs.

"I did not, you scheming brats. But we did agree on another movie night, at her place." The boys cheered and high-fived ine another at the plan. "And the two of you are babysitting her daughter."

The second night, you saw remarkably less of the movie. Limbs tangled, curled up in a thick blanket you only had eyes for each other. Neither of you found a bed that night and woke up on the couch regretting it with every cramped muscle in your bodies. Yet you laughed about it ovee breakfast.

And then by the time the third movie night was planned to happen you were all back in Adar's home. The men just finished up redoing their old study, that was now painted and decorated under your daughter's command. It was her new bedroom after all, and Adar had stupidly promised her to make it perfect for her, and she was very clear about her wishes.

That night when you brought her to bed she just would not settle, and eventually plopped down on her bed to question you.

"Now that we live with mister Adar, does that mean he is your boyfriend now?" Her big, wondering gaze turned into a frown. "Aren't you too old for boyfriends?"

You faked shock at her calling you old. "I'm not too old for boyfriends!" You crossed your arms with a pout. "Besides, Adar is even older. Isn't he too old for girlfriends then too?"

With her fingers at her mouth she made a diaplay of thinking about it. "Yep." She stated simply. "Old people have husbands, and wives."

"Really now? That's what you think?" God, that child had opinions..

"No no, she makes a point." Adar's voice suddenly appeared from the open doorway. "An old man like me talking about his girlfriend has a bit of an eery feeling to it, no?" An amused smile tugged at his lips. "I don't think I would mind being a husband once more, even if it's not on paper but just in title." He strolled over to the bed where you were trying to get your daughter to sleep. "If your mum agrees, tomorrow you'll wake up with two new older brothers, and only if you wish so, someone to one day call dad."

With each of Adar's wordsthe sparkle in her eyes grew.

"So, what do you say, missus? Girlfriend, or wife?" Two sets of eyes stared at you now. One patiently waiting on your answer, and one who, if she stared even the slightest bit harder, she'd develop laser eyes.

"Hmm, I never had a husband before. I think I'd like to give it a try." Happy cheers from beside you quickly turned sour as Adar nuzzled your cheek and kissed the corner of your mouth. It took seconds for her to crawl under the blankets and disappear. "I'm sleeping! You can go now!"

"Come on, my dear wife. Let the child sleep so she can have brothers by morning."

#sometimes I write #adar #stepdadar #adar x reader #adar imagine #adar fanfic #halloween #fluff #trop #rop #the rings of power #lord of the rings #adar rop

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a-romantics-guide-to-life · 3 months ago

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⋆⟡˚ ཐི⋆♱ 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞, 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐦 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞 ♱⋆ཋྀ ˚⟡⋆

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: fred weasley x fem reader

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: halloween has always been magical time at hogwarts but your first all hallows eve with fred ends up being extra special

𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐬: mentions of blood, costumes, mentions of pale skin (for a costume), mentions of blood and ooze comng out of some ones mouth (nothing too graphic)

𝐚/𝐧: happy flufftober!!! here is the first out of five weekly fics all centered around spooky season! i was very inspired by british traditions of halloween so i hope you enjoy! title is from 999 happy haunts (haunted mansion's ride song)!

𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐟𝐟-𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

Halloween at Hogwarts was a magical time of year.

Every single year, the castle was always bright with delightful merriment and warm pumpkin candles. There was always laughter in the air as people played pranks on each other leading up to all hallows eve which also happened to be one of the mischievous nights of the entire year.

Every one would wear loud costumes, paint their faces, play pranks and cast harmless hexes at each other. The Great Hall would always be a war of pranks and debates of who had the scariest costume.

Of course, every year you and a couple other fellow Gryffindors would create a trial of bravery in the hallway leading up to the tower. It was always so fun with magic and tricks playing. Fred and George Weasley, obviously, were usually the ones to mastermind the trials. They even created a new spell to summon ghost-like figures to haunt the hallway.

Ghouls, dragons, spiders, and even hauntingly terrifying Veela were cast as the main haunts of the hallways. Well, not real ghouls or dragons, they were all the horrifying realistic spells, spell-enhanced dolls, or sometimes even students dressed up and scare those brave enough to enter the trial.

One year it was a play on the Forbidden Forest with huge spiders and frightening trolls. Somehow, the twins even got some of the frog choir to perform horror music alongside the jumpscares. Another year it was based on Azkaban and all the dark wizards and witches trapped who had seemingly escaped. That year was by far one of your favorites since you got to dress up as some lunatic witch who got to scare cowardly Slytherins shitless (although some of them did make it up the tower and got to go to the party in the common room).

It was amazing to say the least.

What was even more amazing though, was how Fred looked at you that night. Even with your hair all messy and poofy, your face painted snow white, lips dried using a spell to make you seem like you had actually just escaped the famous maximum security prison, he still surprised you, as he did everyday.

It wasn’t hard, loving Fred Gideon Weasley.

You had always felt a magnetic pull to those two boys, Fred and George. It was never a gloomy day with those two around. You had been so ecstatic that you had been sorted into Gryffindor, even if it was much to your family’s disappointment.

Fred would never forget the way your enchanting eyes had lit up as you looked straight at him from where he sat at the Gryffindor table. Your joyful smile as you sat down next to him. Not George, not next to one of the other newbie Gryffindor’s, him.

He likes to think of that moment as the moment he fell in love with you.

You had surprised him by choosing and loving him. And from a household of seven children, six boys and only one girl, it was seldom that the twins, much less Fred, had the attention of anyone else besides Ron or even George.

He vowed that from then on, he would always try to surprise you.

Just like how he surprised you in second year by always trying to make you laugh, especially when the bad times rolled around.

Just like how he surprised you in third year by gifting you one of his favorite bracelets that his grandfather had gifted him.

Just like how he surprised you in fourth year by asking you out to hang out with him at Hogsmeade, just the two of you. That day had been magical and he even walked you back to your dorm where you bid him good night with a kiss on his cheek.

Just like how he surprised you this year by kissing you in the hallway after someone dared him too.

At first you thought it was nothing, the feel of his lips against yours, the way he cradled your head so gently as he kissed you. He pulled away within a second and you looked up into his swirling amber eyes and you swore you saw something in him snap into place as he kissed you again in the hallway right outside of potions.

You would be lying if you said it wasn’t a dream come true. And a war raged in your chest telling you it was nothing more than a stupid dare. But, when he pulled away again, air filling your lungs again, the look on his face said it was more than a dare.

His whiskey eyes told you that this was all he wanted, the smile playing on his lips told you that he would do it again.

So, before he could kiss you again, you wrapped your arms around his neck and kissed him fervently.

Fred could’ve died a happy man at that moment. He felt like he was on top of the world, all hallows eve was soon, his and your favorite time of the year, and you two were finally together.

You two felt unstoppable.

“Freddie?” His arms wind themselves around your torso tighter as his face finally leaves your hair.

“Yes, pretty lady?”

You chuckle at his horrendous pet name for you. Yet it was comforting to know that it was something just for the two of you. Even after all these years of friendship, dating Fred felt so unreal. Yet, it flowed so naturally it was akin to rivers flowing to the sea; it may have taken a while, a long winding journey, but it always made its way back home.

That’s what Fred was to you, home.

You spin around, the blankets covering you two from the frosty air of the Gryffindor tower twisting along with you. You place your hands on the fuzzy fabric warming his chest. He wore the lovely knit sweater his dearest mother made him last year. Mrs.Weasley always did have an eye for fashion you thought as your eyes trailed down Fred’s lean but broad chest where a golden embroidered F proudly signaled which of the prankster identical twins was which.

Of course, you never needed it. After all these years of friendship and youthful love, you could tell the two of them apart in a heartbeat. Fred had always been the more daring and adventuring one while George was slightly more grounded. Your boyfriend also had a mole on his right ear that always made you think it was an earring while George had a freckles on the side of his neck.

Needless to say, there were a plethora more differences between the two but that only made Fred feel more loved. To know that his girl, his bestest friend, could tell the twin apart from the other. What the real kicker was that you still loved him when everyone else couldn’t help but love “the Twins”, never just Fred or just George, “the Twins”; however, you love Fred, and that meant the world to him.

“We’re dating.”

“Mhmm, finally” He leans forward kissing your forehead gently, his eyes closed as he revels in your warmth. His hands find purchase at your hips, his fingers tickling you softly eliciting a soft chuckle from you.

“This is our first Halloween together.”

He opens his amber eyes, looking at you through his long lashes.

“Mhmmm, and what does the princess want?” He smiles, pressing a tight lipped kiss to your cheek.

You swat his chest, “Not funny. I'm being serious right now git. Like, what are we going to do this year? Couple costume? You could be Frankenstein and I’ll be his Bride. I always found those muggle horror movies especially unique. I mean, I’ve never seen, much less heard, of any kind of “Frankenstein”s in Britain so however in Merlin’s magical world did the muggles make special movies on something no one has ever seen or documented?”

He laughs as you ramble on and on about plans for Halloween mentioning how you two aren’t on the trial committee this year so you two have too much free time on your hands. You two lay there bouncing off ideas for costumes and epic pranks to play on unsuspecting Hufflepuffs and uptight Ravenclaws.

“Darling, as much as I bloody love this mischievous side of you, we really should get some sleep. We can talk about this tomorrow babe.” He sleepily groaned as he shut you up by pressing his lips into yours. You conceded, your eyes drooping as you fell prey to Fred’s warm embrace.

Maybe tomorrow will be a more productive day.

Turns out that yesterday’s tomorrow was indeed not a productive day and instead was spent lazing around the castle, taking in the air of mischief and terror that would soon flood the halls, paint the walls, and fill the air.

Even Peeves was ecstatic. He had already begun his torment on the younger students, pulling pranks messy with paint and terror-inducing scares.

Of course, being the seniors you were, Peeves let you alone seeing as he has already served you your fair share of youthful scares (although no one would ever say it to his face but you and Fred thought his “scares” were more like intense funny pranks).

The air of the castle was already spooky and playful as more and more pranks were played on fellow students and even faculty, although the poor young soul that tried to pour a potion on Professor Snape was now facing weeks worth of detention and a ban on participating in mischief, mizzy, night, forever.

As the hours passed, Halloween was only getting closer and closer; that means that you only got more and more excited for that year's festivities to start as everyone finalized all their plans for mizzy night and costumes.

Oddly enough, that meant that Fred must surely have already made plans for pranks and parties. The trial was nearly in full swing as the hallway was getting decorated with eerie lights and faux cursed items. Thundering bolts of lightning would shake the floors of the hallway, the first years would piss their pants in horror as more electrifying lightning shot down upon them.

It was bloody brilliant, Fred had to admit.

Every single student within those castle walls was so ready and excited for a wonderful night full of mischief and pranks, and an epic party in the Gryffindor common room, but Fred was most excited to surprise you. He had a naughty, but brilliant, “prank” to pull on you.

It was only a matter of time, as soon as the clock struck midnight on halloween night, then mischief would begin.

You had to admit, it was hard to trust Fred with your costume. Knowing him as well as you did, which was very very well, you knew that it could be part of another grand prank of his all just to get a kick out of you.

Of course, he may play a few tricks on you occasionally, but it was never ever to humiliate you. More to make you laugh or make you smile. Godric, one time he played a prank so unfunny that not only did you laugh from how terrible it was, he was the one to be humiliated.

So while you were a bit nervous, for good reason, you knew that you could trust Fred.

Still, the nerves like butterflies flew all around your stomach, your insides all flowery as they tickled you incessantly from inside.

Going to classes on any day is as follows, breakfast in the morning, classes then lunch where you’d eat with the twins and all complain about some bullshit divination homework from Trelawny, and then a few more classes before you and Freddie would go hangout in the Room of Requirement, then of course the day would end with supper and curfew.

Of course, Halloween at Hogwarts made everything turn upside down. You still had your classes and the mornings would still stay the same. But, you and Fred would never dare miss the Halloween feasts (neither did Ron). Plates stacked high with savory foods with a spooky twist, roast chicken made to look like a terribly large monster’s wing, corn so sharp it looked like a rotten witches teeth, and sweets so terrifyingly delicious, you had to go for round two.

But it was never the enticing sweets or the rich savory feast that made both you and Fred love the Halloween feast, it was the air. The air of the room was filled with excitement as everyone buzzed to be let out of the Great Hall and back into the dorms where they would transform into a tantalizing mermaid or perhaps a captivating Veela. Along with the costumes and dressing up, the pranks and scares would start.

Gryffindors would host the trial as Hufflepuffs start handing out candy to random passersby. Slytherins would pull scares that even shook you to your core and made you jump, and that took lots of effort. Ravenclaws would usually stick to just the feast, opting to go back to their dorms to study but some would still dress up and go out, usually keeping to themselves as they assess the trial and lounge about at the Gryffindor party.

It also meant that Fred would finally unveil what he had been working tirelessly on for what he likes to call his “most epic halloween plan, ever.”

“Okay, so darling, you’ll be wearing this, ta da!” Fred exclaimed. He held out a box to you that had no doubt been sitting underneath his bed for Godric knows how long.

You took the box gingerly, lifting the worn and dusty lid to reveal a pristine delicate dress. The crimson velvet felt silky and soft underneath the pads of your fingers as you ran your hands over the delicate dress. There was dainty black lace outlining the chest and hip area, an intricately gothic pattern woven into the crushed velvet. You lifted the dress up to your front in astonishment, noticing the layers that made the skirt slightly full. You shifted to look at yourself in the mirror, noting how the dress would cling to your curves, accentuating your silhouette with the dark red fabric and deep black lace.

You look at Fred through the mirror, his eyes a dark and deep swirling amber. He walked up to you, hands holding the velvet at your hips, his lips falling to your shoulder.

You turn around to look up at him, “Fred, this dress is beautiful, where did you get this? Why?”

He kisses you softly, taking the dress and laying it down on the bed, the velvet matching the dark red of the Gryffindor blankets.

“My aunt knows somebody who knows one of the oldest dress makers in Paris. Turns out that exact dress maker was also in the market for a really good love potion so my aunt got me in touch with her and we made an exchange. I'm just glad that the parcel made it in time because Errol is not known for being speedy.” He smiles gently, as you wrap your arms tightly around his torso, crushing your face to his chest, hugging him tightly.

“Thank you so much Fred, really.”

“Baby, it was nothing. Besides, that’s not all there was in the box.”

You squeal, shooting out of his arms rushing to dig through the box. You find a pair of dainty see-through gloves and…. fake teeth?

“Love, um, thank you for the new teeth, really but mine are just fine.”

He laughs sitting down on the couch, taking the sharp teeth out of your hands putting them next to his wide smile. You giggle and sit down next to him.

“Darling, there for your costume. I was thinking that you could be a vampire and I’ll be a werewolf.” He fake howls at the moon, eliciting a hearty laugh from you.

“Freddie, you do know there are much easier glamour spells for cosmetics and such right?”

You two had finally finished getting ready. You were wearing the elegant velvet dress, a black belt also loosely hanging around your hips, necklaces hung from your neck and pearl earrings adorning your ears. You left your hair down, changing the color to a dark red, pairing the whole look with dark red lips, the red smudged around your lips like blood, and a pair of seductive heels.

Unconsciously, your eyes searched the wild crowd of zombies and demons for a certain redhead. Fred had kicked you out of the room after he had finished helping you cast glamour spell after glamour spell. Your teeth were now as sharp as could be and your skin pale like the dead.

The butterflies from earlier today flew back in, your stomach fluttering as you nervously started to walk around the common room looking and smiling at everyone. Some came up to you, admiring your dress.

Suddenly the dim lights of the crowded common room went out leaving many, most of them younger, squealing in excitement and fear. The lights flickered as music started to play. In the middle of the room is where you saw them.

Fred and George standing on a circular table in the middle of the room, hyping up the crowd. They both wore plaid loose flannel and tight pants that accentuated their height. Fred’s eyes met yours and the familiar glimmer of trouble swarmed his eyes.

The nervous butterflies that flooded your blood soon turned to spinet dragons of excitement as your blood hummed in your veins.

“HAPPY HALLOWEEN HOGWARTS, WHAT A NIGHT!!!”

Cheers erupted as George started yelling into the crowd.

“AND WHAT A NIGHT WE HAVE PLANNED FOR YOU, IT'LL BE A BLOODY BRILLIANT FRIGHT!!”

Your boyfriend shouted, looking right at you as he said fright. You smirked, surprising Fred as you mouthed…

“Try me.”

Fred felt his heart face as your delicately painted and smudged lips worded a silent challenge. He smirked and announced

“Let the games BEGIN!”

The room erupted into cheers as the twins drank some sort of potion. And within the minute, they started to choke and black ooze started to bubble out their mouths. Many gasped, backing away. Your heart leaped out of your chest as you rushed to the front.

That’s when you heard a blood-curdling scream from one of the third years. You rushed to see that the black ooze had turned a crimson red and the twins started to wake, their eyes wild and red. Snarls came out of their mouths as they jumped up and ripped their shirts open only to reveal a full chest of hair, much like werewolves. They started howling, jumping up on the table.

Their feet on the wood thundered through the room as everyone started cheering them on, some squeals even.

Fred smiled softly, reaching his hand out to you. You take his hand, stepping up onto the table. His strong arms pull you to him, cupping your cheek trapping you into a savage kiss. Hollers and whistles were heard in the room, Fred pulled away from you for a minute, admiring your pale skin and your deep red lips before pulling you to him again.

“I gave you a real fright there, didn’t I, darling?” He smiled, looking down at you as the chaos and revelry started once more with screams of joy and terror.

“Sure, a really terrifying prank there. I was more concerned about the black ooze staining the table and Professor McGonagall yelling at us.” You smiled.

“Admit it love, you were bloody terrified for me.” He smirked, you looked away to look at all the smiles and smirks around the room. Halloween truly was the best.

“Of course I was terrified for you, I love you,” you kiss him, cupping his slightly stubbled cheek; no doubt a side effect of the potion, “git.”

thank you so much for reading! hope you enjoyed! also pls pls pls let me know if i forgot to tag something triggering because i feel i always do! thank you!

#emi's flufftober 2024 #emi’s halloween special #flufftober #halloween #all hallows eve #mischief night #as the brits call it #spooky season #haunted mansion influenced this HEAVILY #fred weasley #fred weasley x reader #fred weasely x y/n #fred wealsey fic #harry potter #emi sanity

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latenightreadingpdf · 2 months ago

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A Happy Halloween - Marauders Era

₊‧⁺˖⋆ Masterlist ⋆˖⁺‧₊

Summary: At the Hogwarts Halloween party, Y/N plays matchmaker, leading to a magical night full of romance, laughter, and a bit of mischief among the Marauders.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

The Gryffindor girls’ dorm was buzzing with excitement, every inch of space covered in notebooks, bits of parchment, and quills. A huge bowl of sweets from Hogsmeade sat in the middle of the floor, quickly diminishing as the girls threw out idea after idea for Halloween.

“We need something iconic,” Marlene said, plopping down on her bed with her legs crossed, fingers drumming on her knee. “Something that’ll turn heads and make everyone wish they’d thought of it first.”

Mary grinned, popping a chocolate frog into her mouth. “Yeah, but it’s got to be a group costume, too. Last year, half the school went as duos, and it was chaos trying to figure out who was who. Imagine if we rolled in as a full set. People would lose their minds!”

Dorcas leaned back, eyes gleaming. “What about fairies? Like…the Winx Club?”

“Too niche,” Lily replied with a slight smirk. “Maybe we’re aiming too young. What about something bold, like superheroes?”

The room exploded with ideas, each one stranger than the last. You leaned in, head on your hand, as they debated.

“What if we did Mario Kart characters?” you suggested, leaning in and wiggling your eyebrows.

Marlene snorted, reaching for another candy. “What, are we all supposed to carry around fake steering wheels all night?”

Dorcas snapped her fingers, eyes bright. “Ooh, ooh! Minions! We could be, like, a whole army of yellow.”

Mary burst into laughter. “The only ‘minion’ we’d look like is a nightmare with the amount of yellow we’d have to wear.”

At this point, they were sprawled out across the floor and each other's beds, snickering at the ridiculousness of it all.

“What if we tried Disney princesses?” Alice suggested finally, shrugging as she threw it into the mix.

Marlene and Lily’s eyes lit up immediately.

“Oh my god, that’s perfect,” Marlene exclaimed. “And we can put our own spin on it, make it look classy but still hot.”

Lily clapped her hands, her eyes gleaming with excitement. “We can each pick one and go all out. It’ll be like our own royal court, but dangerous and…beautiful!”

Everyone buzzed with excitement as you all quickly claimed your princesses, with Marlene insisting she had to be Aurora and Mary immediately taking Snow White. Dorcas was going as Tiana, and Lily being Megara. Alice obviously going as Alice from Alice in Wonderland and you end up choosing to be Belle.

By the time you’d dug through your trunks, swapped clothes, and haphazardly stitched what you could, everyone had their costumes mostly ready. Just a few last touches were needed, but it was time for dinner, and with a collective sigh, the girls abandoned their fabric chaos to make their way down to the Great Hall.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

As they entered, the Marauders were already at their usual table. Predictably, James shot up when he spotted Lily, putting on his best charming smile. "Evans," he greeted, clearly fishing for a reaction.

"Potter," she replied, unimpressed but with a glint in her eye that made Y/N smirk. Lily would never admit it, but the way she looked at James sometimes—like he’d just hung the stars for her—was hard to miss.

As they sat down, Y/N leaned in and whispered, "Why do you keep shutting him down? You know he really likes you."

Lily rolled her eyes but bit back a small smile. "He's just... a lot to deal with. And he's dramatic."

Still, Y/N could see the way Lily’s gaze trailed back to him as she spoke. Y/N had a plan forming, one that just might break down Lily’s walls once and for all.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

Dinner didn’t take long. You could feel everyone’s eagerness to get back to the costumes; the group energy was practically bubbling as you finished dessert and prepared to head out. You were about to follow the girls out when a sudden idea hit you like lightning. Heart racing, you quickly told them, “I left something on the table, go ahead—I’ll catch up!”

You darted back into the Great Hall, skidding to a stop at the Gryffindor table. James blinked, surprised to see you there. “Y/N? Did you need something?”

“Yes,” you said, catching your breath, a smirk forming on your face. “So, here’s the thing: the girls and I are doing a group costume for Halloween—Disney princesses. Lily’s going to be Megara. You should be her Hercules.”

Peter raised his hand. “Wait, but we were going to be Ghostbusters!”

“Shut it, Wormtail,” James interrupted, eyes glinting with excitement. “Y/N, you are absolutely brilliant! You’re the best wing woman ever, thankyouthankyouthankyou.”

You grinned, knowing this might be the perfect plan to bring them closer. “She’ll be surprised, so don’t let on that I told you.”

After quick goodbyes, you dashed out to rejoin the girls. As you made your way up to the common room, you could practically picture the Halloween party—James dressed as Hercules, swooping in with some over-the-top line. It was going to be perfect.

When you arrived back at the dorm, the girls were waist-deep in costumes, trying to make the last adjustments. Dorcas waved a green sash at you, and Marlene threw a handful of glitter into the air, declaring, “Princesses of Gryffindor, we are ready for Halloween!”

And as you looked around at the chaos and excitement, you couldn’t help but smile, satisfied with your master plan. Halloween was going to be unforgettable, and with any luck, it might just be the night Lily finally sees James the way he’s always seen her.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

The night of the Halloween party had arrived, Marlene’s playlist blasted through the dorm, a mix of upbeat tunes that kept them all hyped as they perfected their costumes. They took turns braiding hair, applying lipstick, and laughing about how they'd pulled this whole Disney princess thing together with their limited wardrobe and a lot of creative swapping.

As they descended the stairs to the common room, they were met with the sound of laughter and music echoing through the halls. The room was buzzing with students dressed in an eclectic mix of costumes, and Y/N could feel her excitement growing.

“Holy Merlin,” Lily muttered beside her, freezing in place.

Y/N followed her line of sight and almost laughed. There, in all his muscled glory, stood James Potter in a Hercules costume that made the costume look straight out of a Greek myth. He looked incredible—his broad shoulders and arms on full display, his hair charmingly tousled beneath a golden headpiece.

Lily was staring. Hard.

Trying not to grin too wide, Y/N nudged her. “Please don’t be mad, but… I kind of told James to go as Hercules. It seemed fitting, don’t you think?”

Lily shot her a half-hearted glare, but a reluctant smile broke through. “I want to be mad… but it’s actually kind of sweet he’d do that.” She paused, her cheeks going pink as she muttered, “Plus, he looks… really good.”

They burst into laughter, which caught James’s attention from across the room. Spotting Lily, he straightened up, his usual bravado suddenly replaced with nervous excitement. He came over, cheeks tinged with a blush.

“Lily,” he started, voice soft and sincere, “you look beautiful.” He held out his hand, barely hiding his nerves. “Would you like to dance?”

Lily’s surprise was evident, but she didn’t hesitate for long. She nodded, slipping her hand into his, and Y/N saw the look of pure disbelief on James’s face. Before they stepped onto the dance floor, he shot Y/N a look of pure gratitude, mouthing thank you. She winked back, feeling like a matchmaker extraordinaire.

With the night in full swing, Y/N wandered through the crowd, catching up with friends. Eventually, she bumped into Remus, who gave her a warm hug.

“Hey! So, what did you all decide to go as for Halloween, since James bailed?” she asked, grinning.

Remus smirked and gently turned her by the shoulders. There, in the corner, was Sirius Black in a Gaston costume, flexing and striking ridiculous poses to impress the girls around him.

“Sirius,�� Remus explained, holding back a laugh, “doesn’t know much about Beauty and the Beast. He thinks Gaston is the hero who wins the princess.”

Y/N’s face twisted in horror and amusement as she tried to stifle a laugh. “You didn’t tell him?”

“Oh, no,” Remus chuckled. “I’m letting him figure that out himself.”

Her laughter bubbled over, and she shook her head. “Remus, you’re evil.”

You quickly look Remus up and down trying to figure out what he’s supposed to be, but it doesnt look like he has a costume on and you look at him confused.

He gave a soft shrug, his smile a bit sly. “I’m actually the Beast, for… obvious reasons.”

She blinked, processing his dark sense of humor, and let out a giggle. “You know, I really shouldn’t be laughing at that.”

He chuckled, nudging her lightly. “But it’s true.”

Her laughter was interrupted by a question. “Where’s Peter, though?” she asked, scanning the room.

Remus nodded toward the far corner, where Peter stood dejectedly in his Ghostbusters costume, arms crossed. “He’s still trying to make the rest of us feel guilty for ditching the group costume.”

Y/N couldn’t hold back a laugh. “He’ll get over it,” she said, grinning. They shared a knowing look before the crowd swept her away.

As she caught glimpses of James and Lily laughing together on the dance floor, Sirius flexing dramatically, and Peter moping in his Ghostbuster getup, Y/N felt a sense of warmth and satisfaction. This was the kind of Halloween she’d dreamed of—a night full of laughter, a bit of chaos, and just the right amount of magic.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

A/N ~ Just a quick one-shot i threw together to comfort all you Marauder fans out there on this sad day. Happy Halloween everyone!! stay safe <3

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dickgraysonsptsd · 1 month ago

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okay and what about YOUR dickie suit opinions? im curious

OKAY YAYYYYY this is very long so do not click the expand button unless you want this thing unleashed on your dash!!

mulletwing + gliderwing. absolutely radiant. stunning. masculine in a deliriously gay manner. the gold feathers/plating look SOOOO good. the wing-like cape is elegant and cheesy in equal measure. he looks COOL and BEAUTIFUL and DISTINCTIVE and ICONIC and OF THE TIMES and LIKE MEN LUST FOR HIM

2. every robin suit with his legs fully out.

3. nightwing 1996 suit. my favorite post-disco suit! the V chevron looks so much sleeker and more beautiful without the bird head imo and it comes with the beloved fingerstripes <3 if i'm just rotating dickie in my mind it's nearly always in this suit <333

4. classic discowing. you look BEAUTIFUL babygirl!!!! special mention to the front of the suit being zippable.... why do you have a zipper there if not for men to use it to expose your chest mid-combat ?

5. riddle of the beast elseworlds corpse fit. this is such a great fantasy reimagining of mulletwing and also bruce keeps dick's corpse in it next to his throne after dick dies which rockets it up the list by sheer brudickosity. (his actual riddle of the beast outfit is so-so, i'd put it in the bottom quarter of his suits total)

6. agent 37. that chest harness is clearly designed for men to grab onto to yank him closer to them. and such a brave choice deserves respect.

7. white knight. for a comic that made me viscerally disgusted with its spineless centrism and sheer fumbling incompetence, dick looks good here! i love his jacket, and although the suit is a fairly generic variation on the rebirth suit as far as i can tell, it still looks sleek and stylish!

8. renegade. as an evil variant on his nw '96 suit, GREAT!!!!! i love that the renegade logo still looks vaguely birdlike but looks MORE like some kind of military plane or drone... very fitting :)

9. redondo suit. i don't care for redondo's art but this suit really has that "mecha pilot's suit getting shredded apart moments before sex" energy and that compels me

10. btas comic sugar glider. look at him. i want to snap him out of the air like a dog biting a floating soap bubble.

11. hipstripes suits. very kind of the artists to mark exactly where men are supposed to grab him

12. n52 suit. i like the chest logo design on this suit A LOT but it's ruined by not being blue T_T and also T_T by being n52 T_T

13. teen titans cartoon time travel episode. the bird logo is far too chunky. points deducted. i also don't care for the silver/metal belt and gauntlets, but they're appropriate for the overall design choices in tt cartoon so they can be forgiven...... THIS time.

14. young justice cartoon. you are nothing to me.

15. titans tv. i love this version of dick as a character (he's sooo pathetic he has such big wet brown eyes he's so pretty he is SO tormented) but the armor on this suit makes it look terrible imo. leaning into a more masculine armored Cool Super Hero vibe for dick is just not the play

16. gotham knights video game suit. the same "you tried too hard to make him masc" issue as above but without brenton thwaite's air of tragic bisexual melancholy

17. all robin costumes with pants. get his thighs out. what's wrong with you. are you jacking off to him with pants ON? what kind of freak pervert are you

18. batman. it makes me so unbelievably sad LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!

and a link to strawbearri-frog's which is good and funny

#asks #dgptsd talking

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sakurapika · 1 year ago

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Some ideas for Twisted Wonderland events

(*Mild spoilers for some JP server events and Chapter 6)

-A Mulan-themed event: In one of the Halloween events, Silver mentioned knowing the story of Mulan, and Lilia has mentioned having been to "the East" before (not to mention Diasomnia's Halloween costumes are longs). It would be lovely to see Lilia return to the TWST-equivalent of China with some of his friends and meeting new characters--bonus points if someone is twisted from Mushu. A story about a girl who makes a sacrifice for her aging father by enlisting in the military on his behalf fits well with Silver and Lilia, so now would be the perfect opportunity to give them duo magic! Also, Chinese xianxia/martial arts fantasy novels are very popular in Japan and abroad nowadays (if you know, you know :) ), and I would love to see the boys wearing hanfu--they'd look so majestic and cool!

-Sam's hometown event: A Princess and the Frog event where the boys go to the TWST version of New Orleans, chaperoned by Sam. It would be a great opportunity to explore the jazz and culinary scene, and, of course, wear 1920s-inspired clothing. Someone in Octavinelle gets an SSR.

-A pajama-party event: Night Raven College hosts an all-night pillow fight tournament, and everyone gets extremely competitive, kind of like Beanfest. Everyone wears pajamas--I'm not sure if they'd have their own outfits, or if the dorms would match and have PJ sets with their logo on it (kind of like the pajamas they sell at the JP Disney Store). In battle, the chibis throw pillows at each other.

-Octavinelle hometown event: We are introduced to the Tweels' parents and/or Azul's mother. Given how Jamil and Kalim's hometown event carried out, it is likely that only one of the three will actually get an event card, but we'll see. In the Halloween event, Riddle mentioned that he's never seen the sea before. Even though he's had a chance in the Lost in the Book with Stitch event (and the developers probably want to give the spotlight to different characters), I'm afraid he doesn't remember it. Anyway, he deserves to go again. Alternatively, there's an event where the boys go to the Sunshine Lands and meet Prince Rielle. In this case, Riddle and Azul must go together--it would be nice to see after the events of Chapter 6.

-Riddle and Trey hometown event/Black Butler crossover: We've already had a Heartslabyul-themed hometown event with Deuce, but this time, we get to meet Trey's family and Riddle's mother. The likelihood that we get a canon Black Butler crossover as well is very close to zero, but it would be really fun to make a few jokes/hints about Riddle having a younger cousin who wears an eyepatch and solves mysteries with his enigmatic butler. Bonus points if Riddle and Jade have duo magic and dress up in Victorian/ouji clothing.

-J-fashion event: Speaking of ouji clothing, it would be amazing if there was an event inspired by Japanese fashions and subcultures. I think there was a part in one of the anthology mangas where Vil gave the Pop Music Club a visual kei makeover. I know the Pop Music Club has their own SSRs already, but I wouldn't mind seeing more outfits in this style.

-An orchestra-themed event: Some of the NRC students form a classical orchestra. Malleus is there, of course--I imagine him playing the cello this time. The Octavinelle trio is there as well with their respective instruments, as is Idia and Riddle both playing violins. I can see Jamil playing a woodwind instrument--maybe a flute, a clarinet, or an oboe?

#disney twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland #twst #riddle rosehearts #trey clover #azul ashengrotto #jade leech #jamil viper #malleus draconia #lilia vanrouge #silver vanrouge #twst silver #twst sam

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bitchesuntitled · 8 months ago

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Walk in the Park

Little Dieter drabble for the @dieterbravobrainrotclub ❤️ Thank you @sweetenerobert & @jay-zzle for giving this a look over 🥰

Pairing: Dieter & GN!Reader

Warning: Cussing

Masterlist||AO3 Link

Divider by @saradika-graphics

“Fuck!”

You startle, shooting up from the bench you decided to rest at, as a man stumbles out of the bushes.

“Are you real?!” He asks panicked, scrubbing his hands along the sides of his face, twigs and leaves scattered throughout his dark messy curls, eyes hidden behind alien eye-shaped sunglasses you’ve seen at a local party store.

Great, a deranged stranger. He looks familiar but you can’t quite place him, gripping the mace on your keychain tighter. Wary of his presence.

“I just—“ he says, taking a deep breath and leaning over. Palms against his thighs as he exhales slowly, “I’m all mixed up out here. A friend of mine suggested doing shrooms and taking a walk, to get to know nature, all that bullshit. Horrible idea. Ever seen a frog up close and personal? Scary, unpredictable fuckers. Lead me astray hours ago.”

You couldn’t help but feel sympathetic for the man, having had your share of similar shrooms trips.

“Feeling okay?” You ask, deciding to take the kind route, and sitting back down. The man is dressed in soft pj pants, a threadbare shirt, crocs, and a bathrobe. Interesting choice for a trip to the park but you’ve seen worse.

“I think I’m finally coming down,” The man shrugs, “My name’s Dieter by the way,” he adds, extending his hand for you to shake.

“Nice to meet you, Dieter,” you say, grabbing his clammy hand, giving a small shake, and sharing your name.

“Do you mind if I sit?” Dieter asks, pointing at the spot next to you.

“Go right on ahead,” you nod towards the bench.

You begin making small talk, sharing bits and pieces about each other’s lives. You learn he’s an actor, which is why he looked so familiar. Award-winning actor Dieter Bravo, the trainwreck that he is. The bathrobe should have been your tip, can’t even begin to count the number of times you’d seen that featured on all the covers of gossip magazines.

“Okay, now let’s get to the hard-hitting questions,” Dieter says, clapping his hands together, the alien glasses sliding down his aquiline nose, “Do you believe in love at first sight?”

“Negative.”

“What about soulmates?”

“Not sure yet,” you laugh, shrugging, “Never found anyone worth my time.”

“That so?” Dieter asks, eyebrows peaking above the frame of his unique sunglasses.

“What is with those ridiculous sunglasses?” you ask, unable to contain a laugh, “I cannot take you seriously. You’re supposed to be some award-winning actor, yet you’re literally wearing pajamas and costume store sunglasses shaped like alien-eyes.”

“Inspiration, my dear,” Dieter smirks, “Inspiration.”

“Inspiration?”

“Of course! It’s for my next role, I’m a scientist on the search for answers of another life form.”

“So what?” You laugh, “You take shrooms, slap on some alien glasses, take a stroll through the park, and think you’re going to find your character?”

“Next question,” Dieter says, ignoring you, “Do you believe in aliens?”

“Of course.”

“Last question,” Dieter giggles, “Wanna have sex with me?”

You sit back, biting your cheek, looking at him. The patchy scruff on his face, his nose, his hair still scattered with leaves, and the earring dangling off his earlobe.

“Take the glasses off.”

He huffs but removes them, letting you get a good look at his face without anything obstructing your view. You look at those dark orbs, pupils still a little dilated, shaking your head.

“Maybe next time” you smirk, getting up and walking away.

#dieter bravo fanfiction #the dieter bravo brainrot club #dieter bravo x you #dieter bravo x reader

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moon0fairy · 9 months ago

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Finished 2x05 of heartbreak high and oh boy stuff went down (contains spoilers!!):

I kinda expected the identity of bird psycho but also didn‘t want it to be true. He was kinda acting sus during the camping trip and something about his mannerisms, the way he looked made me suspicious

On reason why I threw away that thought is because I couldn‘t think of a motive since he‘s the new kid but I‘ll guess why‘ll find out soon

Poor Malakai tho, he deserves someone who truly likes him :( I can‘t tell if I still like Amerie x Malakai because she‘s done some not so nice stuff but let‘s see

Amerie listing out to Malakai what he‘s done wrong in a frog costume and a flute was hilarious

Poor Quinni, I totally get it tho :( She was so focused on her detective work and then suddenly it all collapsed. I also panic when my friends have so much stuff going on and I feel left out. I‘m just glad we got such great autism representation

Darren, Cash and Harper sounds like the most chaotic living situation ever (I feel like Cash would do all the household chores and being stressed out)

Kinda need more Darren and Cash scenes, I‘m glad they‘re communicating more ( minus Cash not telling Darren about the whole Chook thing, which also understandable)

Interesting that we get a Spider redemption arc and yeah, after seeing his living situation, I can understand why he behaves like that (what Missy said). I hope he learns that he doesn‘t have to be such a shitty person

Also MISSY IS SO GORGEOUS I HAVE A FAT CRUSH ON HER (Spider you better treat her right)

#heartbreak high #heartbreak high spoilers #heartbreak high s2 spoilers #heartbreak high 2x05 #malakai mitchell #amerie wadia #darren rivers #darren x ca$h #ca$h #missy beckett #spider #rowan callaghan #quinni gallagher jones #harper mclean

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audsthoughts · 11 months ago

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I get it, live actions aren’t for everybody and that’s totally fine. Not everyone’s gonna like it. But to shit on the stupidest things, or draw the dumbest conclusions??? Blocked. Y’all look dense as fuck. Views will be mixed as they always are, quit clogging up the tags with your negativity and find some chill 😂 The originals are still there to watch or read and enjoy…so go do that…it’s literally on the same app 👏🏻 I’m trying to be understanding I am, but some of y’all are so damn hung up you’re letting it completely destroy something you’d otherwise enjoy

Anyways!! Here’s some of the stuff I loved from the atla live action!

•cinematography, soundtrack, costumes - all on point

•getting to see the airbenders flourishing!!! Also the dude who played Gyatso?! Didn’t think I could love him more!! Even though it was painful as FUCKKKK getting to see the first invasion of the fire benders was an epic masterpiece

•speaking of, the first scene?? With the earthbender soldiers in the fire nation?? Iconic

•Omashu: unpop opinion I’m sure (bc y’all hate change but simultaneously hate when it’s carbon copy????????🤦🏼‍♀️) I loved how they incorporated like 3 or 4 episodes into one, and they flowed really well together. Jet is FOINEEE. Mechanist was perfect & his son is a freaking badass, amazing casting! Even though it was change, the secret tunnel scenes were still really freaking cool and the badgermoles were SICK AS FUCK. Also I love that Bumi was still cooky but not just randomly cooky? Like mans was run down from being king basically the entire war…which FAIR. And it made sense that he was peeved with Aang BECAUSE they were such good friends. Like the other avatars being mad at him? Yea that’s whatever. But for Bumi it was kinda personal. Also CABBAGE MAN WE MISSED YOU 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Oh! And the way they mentioned other episodes like they were lore when Zuko was trying to find Aang? That was an amazing way to tie back to the OG series

•I love how they incorporated the blue spirit, Koh, the fog of lost souls & parts of the ep where sokka and Katara got sick & Aang had to get them frogs - just reimagined it. Oh also Hei Bai! Yea, I loved that whole episode. Koh & Hei Bai were SCARY as fuck, it was awesome!!

•HAHN MY BELOVED…I ADORE YOU! Favorite character that they added/changed. Katara getting the other women involved in the battle?! Tui & La? The oasis?! 😭😭 stunning!!!! I also LOVEDDDDD Aangs avatar spirit that he turned into, literally perfect! And I loved the change that he gave himself over to the spirits wrath..fucking SICK. Also right before aang turned into the spirit/whatever that’s called, I was praying they’d do the line and thEY DIDDDD!!!

•Fire lord Ozai?? 😳😚 nothing needed to be said - perfection

•Kyoshi?! The Kyoshi warriors?! SUKI?! - speechless

•I like that they’re making more of a point to show how smart Sokka is! Mechanist calling him an engineer…I hope they play more into that! Ik they did a bit in the show with the subs (cartoon), but still

•”~hE rAn~” seriously my favorite line, I was DYINGGGG!!! The scenes with Zuko and Iroh, Zuko before the war meeting, the leaves from the vine being in the background at the funeral….ARE YOU FUCKING WITH ME?! Zuko’s crew being the crew he SAVED?! And when they find out they all do the fire nation bows to their prINCE?! 😭😭😭😭

I’m being fair y’all - things I don’t love/hope they change:

•this one I’m 50/50 on - I don’t love that they tried to give Kuruk a reason for disappearing. They tried to pull shit from Korra to make him look meaningful & not useless as an avatar and it didn’t hit for me

•some of the wigs: obviously we won’t see Yue again, but I wanted her hair to be white. I didn’t love the wig but it wouldn’t have been as bad for me if it wasn’t so grey. Also do NOT love Azula, Tylee or Mai’s hair. Ik they look just like the show but whether that’s wigs or their actual hair (I’m clueless) it needs some serious improvement. Azula’s looks great down, I just don’t like how big the side pieces are that frame her face when it’s up.

•Katara, my love, I am PRAYING part of your development is also going to be her becoming more outspoken and badass, bc this season we saw the tiniest of glimpses of it, not a fan (unless it’s a part of her development…she did grow up in a tiny ass tribe so I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt)

• IK they’re going with a much more serious Aang, but pleaseeeee give us some actual moments of him being a kid. We saw that like twice 😭

•Dante is the PERFECT ZUKO, I will hear NO slander. However, I need him to be more of a dick. I’m hoping we’ll get that when he gets super desolate when they’re on the run & then we have Zuko alone & he has his inner battle. I need snarky dickhead Zuko, so you can truly see the big differences between what he’s fighting (himself vs. who his dad wants him to be)

Have fun kids!

In case I haven’t made it clear, idgaf if you disagree. I go so hard for these live actions because it’s fun! It’s just supposed to be fun and different and new. If you get so serious about it you’re ALWAYS going to be disappointed, there’s no way around it bc nothing is ever going to be as good as the original book, the original show, the original tale. OG atla is ALWAYS gonna be the winner, nothing will compare! So sit back ~relax~ and find some joy in the little things

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empressofthesunwriter · 3 months ago

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Beauty Is A Curse

Queen B.

Beauty Queen.

Wear your mask, don't let them see.

The Girl underneath.

Hide, hide, hide under snide and pride.

Use a sharp tongue to make them bow.

You are the Queen of this school.

Beautiful, so beautiful, yet deep down, you feel so vacant.

You scream inside and no one hears.

They love your face, but what about your soul?

Beauty is a curse for sure.

Three

Paulina was ready to go to war.

Paulina was ready to fight the status quo.

Paulina...Paulina was scared.

Oh god, could she really do this?

Danny was worth it but for herself?

She lived her whole life in public as Queen B, could she put her real dorky self just out like this?

Nervous she bit her nails, while they waited for Manson to start her presentation in the school aula.

The Latina only took notice of what was happening when all started to laugh and she saw her Danny dressed in a costume from My Fair Lady.

How did this happen?

Was this a prank from Dash and his posy?

Whatever it was Paulina felt so sorry for Danny.

Later as her friends weren't looking she sent him a text message.

P. Sanchez: Danny are you alright?

D. Fenton: Besides my dignity, yeah I am okay, Paulina.

P. Sachez: Did Dash force you to dress like this?

D. Fenton: Not Dash but someone as annoying as him.

What did he mean by that?

Before she could ask, he sent a text message back.

D. Fenton: Say have you heard of the legend of locker 724?

P. Sanchez: The one about the cursed locker, yeah I have, why?

D. Fenton: Great, it's my locker now.

P. Sanchez: You never can catch a break, can you Danny?

D. Fenton: Seems like it.

P. Sanchez: Don't worry, it's probably just a tale.

Danny sent her a thumbs-up, which made her giggle.

She could feel the sarcasm radiant of it.

Star asked her then what she was laughing about and fast Paulina hid her phone.

The Latina stuttered something about a joke she remembered, then excused herself to the bathroom.

Yeah, changing, and showing her true self would be hard.

(*)

The next day in school...was freaky.

Everybody who pulled pranks on the nerds and losers of the school somehow got punished for it by an unseen force.

Paulina was happy, she had said no to Kwan helping him by a prank because now Star had to brush out extinguisher foam from her hair.

It did give her confidence that she was on the right track.

However, the day got weirder from that point on.

Suddenly Danny was giving free soda out to everyone even Dash and his posy treated him like a friend.

They even let him play football with them!

Frowning Paulina looked at how now Manson started to exploit Danny's new popularity for her save-the-frogs agenda.

Something was utterly wrong.

(*)

At night Paulina was back at her hideout.

Whatever had made Danny act this way to be popular ended at the end of the school day and he was now back to normal.

Still...Paulina couldn't shake the feeling she was missing something.

Why these strange unseen attacks on the bullies of Casper High?

Why did Danny act and speak like some 50s guy and then get back to normal?

No, there was more to all of this.

But what?

Then she remembered how Danny had for a while the cursed locker as his.

No...was the legend true that some poor guy from the 50s haunted the locker?

But again, what did it mean for this crazy day?

Frustrated Paulina gripped her hair.

She was missing pieces of the puzzle.

Could she even find an answer?

Done with this day, she decides to go home.

Maybe sleep would help.

(*)

The next few days were normal.

Her friends did wonder why she didn't want to play pranks on the losers, as they called them, anymore, but Paulina just said she found it uncool now.

That had shocked anyone, even herself.

Still didn't stop the others from being their bully-selfs.

Slow and steady won the race.

Paulina had to remind herself of that.

On the bright side, she texted and even talked with Danny over to phone any day.

In school they did like their friendship didn't exist, yet alone in their homes (or her hideout) they texted or talked for hours.

Paulina was fascinated by how Danny wanted to become an astronaut, but she still struggled with what to do with herself after High School.

He knew so much about stars, planets and anything space-related, that Paulina loved to listen to him.

His voice was so soothing and comforting.

Once he asked her if his rambling was annoying her and she told him that she just loved his voice.

The Latina could imagine the blush on Danny's handsome face.

This made her giggle, which in turn made him laugh too.

One day, Paulina hoped, she would be able to see Danny's blushing face and kiss his cheeks.

For now, she told her old friend the Moon how she was falling harder for the boy.

#danny phantom #danny fenton #danny fenton x paulina #danny phantom x paulina #paulina #paulina sanchez #pink astronaut #no comments no chapter

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thefinalcinderella · 1 year ago

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Tsurune Book 3 Chapter 6 - Genuine (Part 1)

Finally...finally the last chapter...

Glossary here

Full list of translations here

Translation Notes

The kumotatewaku is a traditional Japanese pattern that resembles rising clouds. It is often used in the costumes of ancient nobles

The expression used here is 白羽の矢を立てる (literally: sticking a white feathered arrow), which is an idiom that means "selecting someone out of many people"

A chindonya is a kind of old-timey marching band that dressed in elaborate costumes to advertise for shops

Block style or kaisho style calligraphy is the regular script and the most commonly used. Every stroke is carefully executed

Previous | Next

In early June, the prefectural preliminaries for the National High School Kyudo Tournament, also known as the prefectural tournament, were held.

Kyudo supply stores and photo studios were set up around the venue, and the storefronts were lined with commemorative goods for the tournament. The wind was strong on this day, and the young archers were moving against it. The competition event was close-distance shooting, using thirty-six-centimeter kasumi targets with a shooting distance of twenty-eight meters.

For the boys’ individual competition on the first day, Fujiwara Shuu of Kirisaki High School once again won by landing all his arrows. Second place was Kabashima, also from Kirisaki, and third place went to Asahina from Haneina High School, showing the strength of the powerhouse schools. For the girls’ competition, Seo from Kazemai High School placed fifth.

On the second day, it was finally time for the team competition. The format was five-person teams and four shots in zasha. In the preliminaries, the time limit was eight minutes. Forty-two schools were participating in the boys’ competition, and the top eight teams with the highest number of hits in the two rounds would advance to the final tournament.

Tommy-sensei raised his voice. “Now it’s time for the team competition. Kazemai will show its true strength. Everyone, I wish you good luck!”

“Yes!”

After completing the registration process, Kaito, Kanbayashi, Seiya, Himuro, and Minato put their numbers on their right hips. Ryouhei and Nanao were reserve members.

Himuro was expressionless like he always was, but Kanbayashi gently stroked his number.

“Oh no, I might be really happy after all…”

Keyaki nudged Kanbayshi. “Don’t grin like that and get it together. I don’t wanna hear you whine.”

“Of course.”

Next to them, Ryouhei was tying his yellow-green headband.

“Today, my sister, Sae-chan, and Toujou-san are coming to support us. I’m psyched!”

“That’s great, Ryouhei,” Minato and Seiya said.

The Nanao Fan Club had updated its cheering goods and prepared fans with a frog wearing a crown. They also handed them out to support groups and parents, and when the bright green of them swayed, it looked like a chorus of frogs.

As they were about to pass through the noisy venue, people approached Minato and the others. A young prince, twins, a boy with a square face and thick eyebrows, a boy with pleasant features and a crew cut, and an antique doll.

They were Kirisaki’s Fujiwara Shuu, Sugawara Senichi and Manji, Kabashima Umetarou, Yushima Kaoru, and Kuon Takumi. The twins burst into laughter in front of so many of their rivals.

Shuu brought his face close to Minato’s right ear. Since their master Saionji’s left ear was bad, Shuu only showed this habit to Saionji and Shuu.

“Thanks for the birthday present the other day. I’ll treasure it.”

Shuu put his thumb on his yugake. A white underglove with a purple pattern could be seen beneath it.

“I’m glad I was able to give it to you on May 11th this year. I thought it would be perfect for you.”

“The kumotatewaku pattern is rare for undergloves. (1) ——See you in the finals.”

“Yeah, the finals.”

The two of them bumped yugake and returned to their teammates.

Shuu’s gaze drifted to Kuon. Kuon was in the starting lineup for the day, but he was standing separate from everyone else. Everyone could tell that he was isolated, and was not a proudly solitary existence like Shuu. A dissonant sound was wafting from Kirisaki High School.

Kuon, who didn’t care about other people’s concerns, had moved onward. In fact, he was frustrated because he didn’t do well in yesterday’s individual competition.

Manji rested his elbow on Senichi’s shoulder.

“Will we okay with Kuon? I’m more suited to be the starter.”

“It’s frustrating, but his hitting rate is usually high. The coach said there was no problem either.”

“Alright, everyone, let’s go!”

At President Kabashima’s order, Shuu and the others headed to the venue.

Meanwhile, Tommy-sensei and Masa-san were in the shade of a tree, away from the crowd.

Masa-san straightened his collar.

“Why did you remove Ryouhei and Nanao from the starting lineup? There was nothing to criticize about their results.”

“If we make it to the finals, each person would have to shoot twenty shots in total. Even if it’s difficult to shoot twenty shots and hit, how about twelve shots? The aim is to preserve stamina.”

“There’s one more thing I’d like to confirm before we get into the tournament. On the day of the entrance ceremony, I heard you say to Minato and the others, ‘I have given you white-feathered arrows.’ (2) I’m sure that you knew that saying originated from the custom of playing an arrow with white feathers in front of the house of a girl chosen as a sacrifice. Why did you purposely use it?”

“It’s to prepare them. Once a ship leaves the port, you can’t turn back even if you shout to get off.”

“Are you telling them to prepare to share the same fate? Even though those who are wounded might fail again?”

“Hohoho, I didn’t mean it in such a sad way. Youth is the greatest weapon, since they can just start over again and again. I just felt that they could make it to the new continent. The first fleet, the Kazemai High School’s boy’s kyudo team, started with six members. Takigawa-san, you’re the first-born son. When I was able to convince you, I was convinced that we had completed our mission.”

“That’s a bold opinion, typical of Tommy-sensei.”

“It’s true of all sports, but one cannot win by the strength of the athlete alone. Especially in kyudo, the character of the master comes out strongly. Everyone resembles your shooting, Takigawa-san.”

“…My shooting was said to be very similar to my grandfather’s.”

“It’s the spirit of archer that is passed on.”

“…Yes.”

Masa-san looked at the treetops swaying in the wind and laughed.

Following the opening ceremony, the yawatashi ceremony was held.

The boys’ division was called for the preliminaries, and they headed to the waiting area with Masa-san leading them. As always, the most stressful time was sitting in the chairs and waiting. When the team before them finished, the “stand up” signal was given, and they rose from their chairs and advanced to the honza. They bowed at the signal to “begin,” walked to their shooting positions and knelt down. They chose two arrows from the four they had.

First up was the oomae, Kaito. It was lovely how he never trembled when facing the target. The lovelier he became, the more stubborn he got, and he would end up saying things that were different from his true feelings. He would say, “I have no interest in you,” but would grab the other person’s arm and not let them go in the same breath. He lived and breathed kyudo. That was Kaito’s everyday. After his right hand flicked, shouts of “good” came from the stands.

The second, Kanbayashi, raised his bow. The midsummer sun encouraged growth. He absorbed more and more of what was told to him and expanded towards the blue sky. He had seniors who he admired and pursued the shooting he admired. His longing had a zeal that surpassed his anxiety. His arrow pierced the target with a grand hanare.

The third, Seiya, was quiet. Wearing a straw hat and an insect cage, he entered the forest, but stopped when he saw a field of flowers. The neat and trim flowers swayed. When he lay down and looked up at the rising clouds, he felt like he was about to float away. He heard a familiar voice and stopped returning to the sky—he hit.

It was the fourth, Himuro’s, turn. He took the bowstring with a bodhisattva’s hand and looked at the target with a bodhisattva’s eyes. His ability to make an uncurving douzukuri was probably something he was born with. It was his natural posture with no effort put into it. The frogs in the stands jumped when he hit.

The fifth was the ochi, Minato. The white-feathered arrow was proof that he had been allowed to come into contact with the gods. He didn’t resist, go against it, and accepted it as it was. His limbs, stretching vertically and horizontally, were incredibly supple. His body of sixteen, which couldn’t be wished once more after it had passed, embraced the earth, wide and endless.

The matooto sounded.

Hanazawa, Shiragiku, and Seo, sitting in the stands, held their breath.

“The boys are amazing.”

“I feel like they have become more and more refined.”

“I heard that Narumiya and Takehaya have also been going to Saionji-sensei. Their drive is different.”

For the second shot, everyone except for Kanbayashi hit.

For the third shot, Kaito, Seiya, and Minato hit.

Keyaki’s chest swelled at the success of his fellow first-years. “Kazemai, do your best!” Shuu’s younger sister Sae and their butler Toujou cheered in a small voice.

For the fourth shot, Kaito hit with all four of his arrows and left the shooting range to applause. After him, Kanbayashi, Seiya, Himuro, and Minato all hit the target. Their result was four, two, four, three, and four for seventeen hits out of twenty. It was a very good start.

Kirisaki was the sixth team to enter the shooting range. A wall of people filled the surrounding area to catch a glimpse of the champions’ shooting.

The oomae, Kabashima, released his arrow.

Senichi, Kuon, and Yushima all hit. The ochi was Shuu.

Wash your heart and turn it into incense; revere your body and turn it into flowers. Those were Kukai’s words, meaning that it was the duty of a virtuous person to serve others without any thought. Those who had a pure heart were fragrant. Shuu knew firsthand that this wasn’t a metaphor. The feeling of euphoria he felt when he brought his face close to the owner of that scent. He heard whispers of wanting to be intoxicated, of not minding sinking to the bottom of the lake if he could have it all to himself, but those were the words of a demon. He must not fall for the sweet words of someone who looked like him.

Shuu’s evil-expelling arrow dashed forward.

The results for the two rounds were announced.

For the boys’ division, Kazemai had thirty-four hits out of forty, Kirisaki had thirty-six, and Haneina had thirty-five.

The Kazemai girls had only twenty-eight hits, so unfortunately they didn’t pass the preliminaries.

Minato and his teammates got the ticket to go to the finals.

After lunch, the finals began. In the afternoon, the wind became stronger and their hakamas fluttered violently.

“It’s time to change the lineup. Yamanouchi-kun will be second, and Kisaragi-kun will be fourth. I’m counting on you,” Tommy-sensei said.

Ryouhei and Nanao received their numbers.

Minato adjusted the position of Ryouhei’s number.

“It looks like the five of us will be standing on that stage again. A year ago, you invited me to the information session for the kyudo club. That was the first time we five met face to face.”

“I wasn’t the only one who invited you. Everyone wanted to do kyudo with Minato.”

“Now, I can draw a bow. I’ve never been happier.”

Kaito brusquely held out his right hand, and the five boys looked at each other. Passionate feelings could be conveyed without words or skin contact.

Ryouhei, Nanao, Kaito, Seiya, and Minato bumped their yugakes together.

Kazemai’s opponent was Uyoshiro High School.

They were wearing bright red headbands. They lived in an area associated with military commanders who were famous during the Sengoku period, and when they went to a competition, they wore a certain armament. It was glasses. It might seem comical from the outside, but they did it very seriously.

The group stood in the first shajo. The oomae readied his bow and fixed his eyes on the target.

The bow maker, the yugake maker, and the arrow maker were the three gods of kyudo. The archer was the one who became intimate with these materialized gods. If there was a slight doubt or confusion, the string would make a muddy sound with those negative emotions. The twill brocade woven by the trinity of gods resembled battle attire. The flowers, birds, wind, and moon on the robe were the prayers of the samurai, and the butterflies (moths) represented the parents of the silkworm, production.

The flowers scattered. The flower battle was a warrior’s honor.

The oomae’s matooto resounded.

Kazemai’s oomae, Kaito, was undaunted. The wind beat mercilessly at his face, and his douzukuri felt like it was about to collapse under the wind, but he withstood it. Patience was his natural disposition. He might seem short-tempered, but he had the conviction to never give up. To not run away from the way of the bow. He was determined to cling to it for the rest of his life.

The nimato, Ryouhei, was listening to the news of the wind. Seeing the faces of his parents and sister in the stands, he felt strongly that he wasn’t alone in this fight. It seemed that people became stupid when they were angry and when they were happy. Their brain stopped working properly. The state in which one’s mind was clear and free from all distractions was called munen musou, and he learned from the path of the blade that you couldn’t fulfill your duties if you weren’t passionate.

The naka, Seiya, had found the answer to Minato’s question some time ago.

Why did humans shed their fur? It was to continue walking.

The ancestors of humans who left the forest for the grasslands learned to walk or run long distances in search of food. Body hair had a heat insulating effect and protected the skin from UV rays, but in order to prevent the body temperature from rising too high, they chose to abandon their fur and sweat instead. Humans had great endurance. The way one breathed was important in walking the long way of the bow.

The ochimae, Nanao, was thinking. Thinking was a linguistic activity.

There were two types of word formation. One was to give a name to something that had been hidden and make its existence manifest, and the other involved the intention of first creating a word and having the concept follow. When you learned a language, you not only acquired wisdom, culture, and thinking, but also the spell of words.

Letters and patterns were magical techniques that had their own power. If you looked down on them as just a means of communication, everything would be embodied and pour down upon them. There were no magic words; words were magic. A story was a kind of magic and truth. If you write it as tsurune, it would be called tsurune. A tsurune was the beautiful sound of a bowstring.

Nanao’s sharp hanare brought forth the next wind.

The ochi, Minato, held his bow.

Just how heavy was this shot?

Just how light was this shot?

“I” was the one who gave it meaning. The god of the bow didn’t smile at those who couldn’t love themselves or others. Because humans were incarnations of the gods.

Minato forgot that he was a human and turned into the matooto.

Uyoshiro had three, three, four, two, and four for a total of sixteen hits.

Kazemai had three, four, three, four, four for a total of eighteen hits.

Minato and his team made it through the first round without incident.

The second round began.

The stands were filled with people wearing blue and yellow-green headbands. The two waves struggled, almost swallowing each other up, almost to the point of spilling over onto the yamichi.

Kazemai’s opponent was Konoe High School.

Their blue arrow feathers and headbands were their trademarks.

Only those with kyudo experience would understand the exhilarating feeling of seeing the actions of five people overlap. There were rules even for movements such as taking a step forward, sitting, and nocking an arrow into a bow, and because there were rules, it was possible to match each other. Ikiai was the embodiment of the red droplets that circulated around the body.

They shot arrows every day. The faces were almost the same. The repeated daily routines were a series of miracles. They take up the bow, hoping to grow even just a millimeter better than they were yesterday. For most people, landing a hundred hits with a hundred arrows was just a dream, and it was precisely because they couldn’t do what they wanted to do that they got absorbed in it. The sound of the arrow hitting the target was pleasant, and they wished it would happen again, but the god of hitting was a contrarian. The moment you wished it, the chance escaped. Approaching something without wanting to approach it was nothing but a dilemma for humans, who had developed enlarged brains.

Don’t think, just feel, as a martial artist once said. How long would it take to reach that state? Even if it was achieved, would it be possible to maintain it? If you kept thinking like this, it seemed that you still had a long way to go.

Kazemai’s archers faced themselves in the form of the targets.

The aggressive Kaito, the lively Ryouhei, the intelligent Seiya, the sparkling Nanao, and the pure Minato.

They highlighted and polished their inherent colors.

Their inexperience became a weapon. Even though they were told that there was darkness an inch ahead, they wouldn’t be able to understand unless they looked into it, and they wouldn’t notice it unless they fell into it. Pain was something you only knew when you suffered it, and hate was something you feared only when you possessed it. The cry of the inner soul could only be learned through experience, and words were powerless there. No matter how many words you wrote, they would never be understood by those who never experienced it. Only an archer knew the heart of an archer.

A world of just two people, the bow and the human.

The bow caught the innocent body falling.

The ecstasy a bow gave you was different from that of humans. Skin with goosebumps and surging droplets. It was a ritual to bind the soul that was about to drift away to the body. There was no sound without a container. You couldn’t make a sound with an empty shell.

Minato and the others raised their bows, spread them wide, and released their arrows. Ashibumi, douzukuri, yugamae, uchiokoshi, hikiwake, kai, hanare. They followed these eight stages and headed towards the heights.

The results of the second round were as follows.

Konoe had three, four, four, three, four, for a total of eighteen hits.

Kazemai had four, three, four, four, four, for a total of nineteen hits.

Kazemai won by a difference of one hit.

Since there was some time until the finals, Minato went out to the front.

He wasn’t feeling bad. If anything, he was focusing on calming himself so he didn’t go too fast. A dull mind and a weak body. At first glance, it might seem like a state far removed from martial arts, but eliminating the “self” was the secret to being able to freely manipulate the body. As long as “I” resided in the body, the god of the bow would not descend upon you.

To become empty.

Even if it could be understood as a concept, it was extremely difficult to embody it.

An elderly man called out to Minato.

“It’s almost time for the finals. Just like last year, the match between Kirisaki and Kazemai is a must-see.”

“Thank you very much. But the match between Kirisaki and Haneina is about to begin.”

“No, no, the match is already decided before it even began, right? Did you see the head of those students from Haneina? A chicken’s cockscomb and a horse’s tail. The training clothes they wore in their Yotube streams looked like something from an old marching band. (3) You’re wearing a clean white kyudogi and your hair is neat. It’s praiseworthy. That’s what a Japanese boy should look like.”

“…I do have short hair, and I like white kyudogi. But, if someone is serious about kyudo, I will acknowledge them as an archer no matter what they wear.”

“What’s with that way of talking? Seems like I thought too highly of you.”

The man left. Minato went outside to focus his mind, but he ended up inviting needless interference.

His yellow-green headband was fluttering. It was something a master had prepared for his disciples.

Minato took a deep breath once more.

The card of Kirisaki versus Haneina in the second round got people excited.

Asahina raised the corner of his mouth.

“Nice. It looks great.”

Eddie tied an orange headband tightly.

“I am trembling at the prospect of a worthy opponent, that I am.”

Matsuda, who had poor eyesight, placed his hand on the shoulder of the poet Kanuma. Igarashi started walking while holding flowers. People naturally gave way to them. The existence of Haneina’s kyudo club was already dramatic in itself. The five of them walked leisurely down the flowery path.

The two schools began to enter the shajo, and the spectators held their breath as they watched.

In the first shajo, Eddie raised his bow. His blond ponytail swayed and sparkled in the sunlight. A stop, an upward turn, and a sweeping stroke. His shooting was like the block style of calligraphy. (4) A work of art that changed seven ways depending on the tools, brushstrokes, style, and word selection. His stance was to never prepare practice sheets, but always treat it as though it was the real thing. He quickly drew back his brush, and the arrow flew towards the target.

The second, Matsuda, hit.

The third, Kanuma, hit.

The fourth, Igarashi, hit.

The fifth, Asahina, begun to raise his bow. His red hair stood out against the green grass. His self-confidence and warm-hearted personality brought out the bright sun. When he drew his bow, his limbs stretched to infinity. The matooto resounded.

Kirisaki also matched their pace.

The oomae, Kabashima, hit.

The nimato, Senichi, hit.

The naka, Kuon, hit.

The ochimae, Yushima, hit.

When the ochi Shuu hit, the scoring board was lined with circle marks.

No one missed their second shot as well. The sound of the matooto and the cheers of the crowd made their bodies numb, and the elation made them desire more and more matooto. They became greedier and greedier.

Kuon was confident that he would never lose to the red-headed guy. If they went on to win, he would be placed in the same picture frame as the Young Prince, Fujiwara Shuu. What a beautiful picture it would be!

He melted into the world of images.

Now, let’s sneak in.

This was Tsujimine High School.

A boy with the hood of his white hoodie pulled deeply over his head walked over. A boy with streaked hair was standing a little further away. He stole the key from the staff room and hid it in his pocket.

Nikaidou and Fuwa were in the music room. They stood in front of the piano and gently opened the lid.

Along with Fuwa’s piano melody, Nikaidou played the drums using his hands and knees. He was very into music games and could even reach an uncanny level of fast drumming in games like Kotaiko no Tatsujin.

One day, after club activities, Nikaidou was tapping a rhythm on his knees on a whim when Fuwa correctly guessed the name of the song.

“Konahanasakuya-hime.”

“…Correct.”

Since then, the sneak-in sessions, not street piano, had continued.

Konohanasakuya-hime no Mikoto, the origin of the song’s title, was the name of the most beautiful goddess in the history of Japanese mythology. Her father was Ooyamatsumi no Mikoto, and her husband was Ninigi no Mikoto, grandson of Amaterasu Oomikami. Her husband accused her of infidelity, and in order to prove her innocence, she set fire to the delivery room and gave birth to three children in the flames.

When the two of them were babies, they had a scarlet seal stamped onto their faces at a festival called Hatsuyama to pray for their healthy growth. It felt creepy thinking that they might have passed by each other somewhere.

Fuwa began to play a song. As he proceeded at a walking pace, Nikaidou stood next to him.

A fearless smile—the start of a duet.

My fingertips hit the keyboard. The melody, chords, and bass line. Nikaidou sped up the main melody while adding improvisations. There was no way Fuwa wouldn’t take up this challenge.

“Nikaidou, can you keep to my speed?”

“Hah, there’s no way I’m following you.”

“Good grief.”

Fuwa ignored Nikaidou and decided to go fast. He was crafty with techniques such as giving someone glimpses and keeping them in suspense. Fuwa always kept his distance from others. Though he had purposely drawn a line telling them not to come over, those who crossed that line were, so to speak, prey. There was no need to hold back. He would shake them, shake them, shake them until they begged for forgiveness.

Nikaidou attended piano lessons when he was a child, but quit after learning “Turkish March” and had been studying on his own ever since. On the other hand, Fuwa’s mother was a piano teacher. Knowing the difference in their abilities, Nikaidou devised a plan. He tried to find rhythms that players might not be comfortable with, such as lowering the key by a semitone or changing chords.

Fuwa made full use of his techniques. Nikaidou clicked his tongue, then reached over Fuwa’s arm and hit a high key. It was more of a fierce battle than a fun session. Sound and breathing filled the room. The music room wasn’t air conditioned in order to prevent unauthorized use. If the sound leaked out, the shame would be unbearable. They played the whole song while sweating.

“It’s not fun at all playing with you,” Fuwa muttered.

“Same here.”

“Get out of here.”

“Yeah, yeah. You’ve always been an arrogant king, Koushirou.”

Nikaidou took off his white hoodie. His body was hot and he was breathing heavily. He reached into his bag to get something to wipe off his sweat and grabbed a towel and his phone.

The results of the prefectural tournament where Minato and the others were in were displayed on the screen.

“…Oh man. I think I’m gonna laugh.”

“You laughing by yourself isn’t a good thing. Alright, I’ll ask. What happened?”

“Kirisaki lost in the second round of the final tournament.”

“What!?”

Fuwa stared into Nikaidou’s large eyes.

“That’s a big upset. Who was their opponent?”

“It’s the school of the Yotubers Asahina and Eddie. Shuu-kun really is a lovely man. As expected, my special won’t let me down. I wonder if Minato-chan will entertain me as well.”

Nikaidou loosened the collar of his white shirt.

After the wind that had been blowing since the morning calmed down, an incredibly bright blue sky spread out above Shuu’s head.

Kirisaki had nineteen hits.

Haneina had twenty hits.

The powerhouse Kirisaki High School was defeated in the second round of the prefectural tournament.

Under the sunlight, the Kirisaki members calmly began cleaning up. “We all did well,” the president Kabashima exclaimed, and Yushima smiled and said, “It’s been a fulfilling three years. I’m grateful to everyone,” but Senichi and Manji couldn’t hide the heaviness of their steps. They endured the overwhelming mixture of feelings of inadequacy and jealousy toward those who had earned the smile of the goddess of victory.

There was only one person who missed in this team, and that was Kuon. Despite the weather having returned to calm, he looked as though he had inhaled a cloud of dust.

One could almost hear the crunching sound of it.

“Fujiwara-senpai, I’m so sorry.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for.”

“But, still! Even if it’s to yell at me, please just say something to me.”

“I have nothing to say.”

Shuu left without saying any more.

Devastated, Kuon turned to face the person who appeared in the corner of his vision.

Minato, who was going to talk to Shuu, saw what happened.

“Kuon-kun, it’s usual for Shuu to not express his thoughts after a match. Don’t worry about it,” he told him, then immediately followed Shuu.

Kuon stared at Minato’s back and bit his lip.

Was he pitying me?

Who on earth were you talking to when you said “don’t worry about it?”

I can’t believe someone of the lower class is looking down on me!

Minato had no clue about Kuon’s delusions. He was running after someone he must not lose sight of.

He shouted the name of his brother disciple.

“Shuu!”

Shuu turned around and smiled. It was all he could to not drop his bow.

“I’m sorry, Minato. I wasn’t able to fulfill our promise to meet in the finals. It seems that I don’t have any luck with team matches.”

“That’s not true, Shuu. You’re my first bow friend—a genuine archer. We met at that kyudojo when we were little.”

“Minato.”

“Someday, we will definitely team up together.”

“…Yeah, I’m looking forward to that.”

What a cruel person.

You were the one who lit this fire under me.

God of the bow, please save me.

We are babies who don’t know anything. Although no ships nor people have arrived there, the sun is a red, blazing star that will someday turn to dust. We never witnessed the beginning and end of the story, and we believe in an empty dream that cannot be verified. Dreams are seen when one is asleep. People are still sleeping. A dream from which we can never wake. In the darkness, only my old friend knows what I did. Only you can burn me to ashes.

Shuu touched Minato’s forehead with his yugake-covered hand. His cold fingers were trembling.

He couldn’t let go of that unforgettable body warmth.

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#tsurune translation #tsurune

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