Tumgik
#ill just celebrate with my two other close friends and my brother instead
mothmans-cumrag · 8 months
Text
Imagine turning 21 the week your three best friends are sick. Couldn't be me
2 notes · View notes
the-catboy-minyan · 5 months
Text
I feel like venting.
I have a chronic illness, I'm not going to share what it is, but it's partially influenced by stress (as in, getting stressed worsens my condition but it's not the only thing that affects it).
when 7/10 happened, it was a Saturday, I just had a really good week since it was Sukkot and I celebrated it with friends, I had my first date ever (kinda), I hanged out with my sibling and their friends in Dizingof Center, and I was about to have a relaxing weekend with my little brother while my parents go on a trip overseas.
then I got a call from my sibling.
apparently there were bombings all over Israel, I wasn't even that surprised, this wouldn't be the first time Hamas attacked on a holiday. my parent's flight got delayed but other than that it was fine. I have a friend that keeps Shabbat so I couldn't reach them for the entire day, and we were worried sick because they live in a more dangerous town. then I found out my parents are stuck overseas until the next weekend (they were only supposed to go for 3 days). then I learned about the kidnappings. and oh no are we in a war right now??? this isn't just a regular bombing spree (as depressing as that thought is)????
the stress really got to me, I got really sick, and couldn't go to work. a few days turned to a week, my parents got back, my sibling stayed weekends in the military due to increased workload. the week turned to two, my friend got kicked out of the house for a couple of weeks because their mom is a manipulative bitch. everyone in our friend group were looking for ways to help them, offering their place to stay and almost calling child support (they're still a minor), until their mom finally calmed down enough. then it became a month, I entered the hospital for some time, then back to house rest I went. then two months, then three.
I'm finally back to work but I'm still sick as fuck from everything, I can't open the news, I can't stay in the room if people talk about politics, I can't open most social media sites, every time I see the colors red green white and black I can feel my heart start racing, I don't have access to a therapist because they're all booked as fuck and expensive, even being on jumblr can get me too stressed sometimes and I had to mute all notifications from this blog.
why do I even have this blog then? because venting about the situation actually kinda helps, seeing support from diaspora jews and other israelis helps, and as much as I can't physically watch the news, I still want to be in the loop even slightly.
so yeah, am yisrael chai and stuff. I'm not saying this like "oh woe is me", I luckily haven't lost anyone in this war and the people I know who do have only lost distant relatives. it's not a "I'm literally neurodivergent and a minor" thing, I'm aware that just by having this blog I'm inviting hate to my front door, but if I'm ignoring instead of confronting hate well then now you know why.
I have no idea who this is going to reach, and I don't really care, I just wanted to get this off my chest. this war had affected my life so much even though I was never close to the front lines, the only thing I want is for it to end.
20 notes · View notes
shifterdomain · 2 months
Text
Kids Interview / Jonah Hauer-King X Actress!Reader
Tumblr media
Summary: You and Jonah are traveling across Europe with the rest of the cast for the press tour of The Little Mermaid. You were set to have a day off, but when Halle couldn’t make it to the interview with Jonah because she was feeling ill, you came to do the interview with Jonah instead. Warnings: It's mostly some humor, cute kids and a little hint of flirting between Jonah and reader. Word count: 1470
Disclaimer: You portray Eric’s niece in the movie who came to live with him and the queen to learn how to become a well-behaved princess and your character helped Sir Grimsby to get Eric to forget the mystery girl and go after Ariel. You were like Eric’s closest friend.
─── ・ 。゚☆: .☽ . :☆゚. ───
You were rushed to the location where press was being held by the driver Rob Marshall send to pick you up. Doing your make-up in the car had been a trick you had gotten better at over the course of working on this film, so all you had to do was get dressed once you arrived.
Halle had fallen sick with food poisoning, luckily nothing too serious, after you, her and Jonah had gone out to dinner the night before to celebrate the kickoff for press of the movie. It was something all three of you were very nervous for.
Halle had gotten a lot of backlash for being a person of color cast as Ariel while Jonah got the backlash for being a white person cast as Eric which wasn’t ‘woke’ enough (you simply thought that Christian Navarro, who started the gossip, was jealous for not getting cast himself) and because people were upset the role didn’t go to Harry Styles. And you, well, you got the backlash for being a character that wasn’t even in the original.
But the three of you got through all of it together, ending up being very close friends. Which made it a no brainer for you to fill in for Halle when you heard that she was sick. So after checking up on her you were raced to the venue and got ready before joining Jonah in the studio.
“Hey, I tried to come as quick as I could,” you greeted him with a small hug before taking a seat in the chair beside him.
“Don’t worry, you’re,” he checked his watch. “precisely on time,” he flashed you a charming smile. You let out a sigh of relief at those words before watching two little kids come into the room. They were both dressed up like Disney characters, holding a set of cards in one hand and a doll in the other.
Your jaw dropped slightly as you placed your hand over your chest in awe of the adorable kids who couldn’t be older than 8. Jonah did the same before getting up to give the kids a welcoming hug. You followed suit, feeling sad for Halle that she had to miss this, knowing how much she loved kids.
“You both look so beautiful,” you coo as both you and Jonah sat down in your chairs again, the kids sitting down across from you. The little girl dressed up like Ariel and the boy like prince Eric.
“Hello, I am Marissa,” the girl introduced herself, looking into the camera. “and this is my little brother Ivan and we are here with Y/N Y/L/N and Jonah Hauer-King to talk about The Little Mermaid,” she introduced and you could tell that this girl was made for showbusiness with the flair she had in just the introduction, while her little brother shyly looked down at his cards.
“Thank you for having us, it’s so nice to be here,” you smile kindly as Marissa turns her attention back to the two of you.
“Definitely,” Jonah chimed in with a smile of his own.
“Jonah,” Marissa looked at her card for a moment before looking up at him with a serious look on her face. “what was it like to get the part of prince Eric and how did you find out that you got the part?”
“Well, it was a very long process of auditioning and I was pretty nervous. I had never done something on the scale of a Disney movie and I’m a really big fan of Disney myself, so I really wanted this part. So yeah, I was very excited. Uhm, it had been months since I heard from the studio after my last audition, which actually happened to be my screen test with Halle, who plays Ariel. And I got this call from Rob Marshall and he said in that Rob Marshall voice: ‘Hello, I am looking for prince Eric’,” Jonah attempted to do a Rob Marshall impression, causing you to chuckle lightly. “So I was like: ‘This could be him…’ and yeah, that’s- that’s it.”
“And Y/N, what was the process for you?”
“Well, I got the same kind of phone call,” you answer. “and yeah, I guess you could say I was pretty anxious. Y/C/N isn’t originally in the movie so I was very nervous about what it was gonna be like and how people would react. There were a lot of auditions and at first we weren’t told the part we were auditioning for, I only really learned about the character when I got the part. You know, so that people wouldn’t find out about the new character before they were supposed to. But… Rob Marshall is a great director and we had an amazing team of writers and choreographers and the crew, all in all, is just amazing. And I think they did a great job at creating this character who… it isn’t really clear what her intentions are. You don’t really know where she stands because, well, she’s morally grey as we call it. She cares about Eric and wants to help him, but she’s got her own motives as well. So I think it was really fun exploring this new character. Rob really helped in coming to understand her and once Lin Manuel, he wrote the new songs, showed me the song he had in mind for Y/C/N I think it really came together for me.”
“Who were you most excited to work with?” Marissa asked, crossing her legs. I looked towards Jonah to see if he wanted to answer first, but he nodded for me to go first instead.
“For me, I was very excited to work with mostly everyone. I love ‘Hamilton’ so Lin Manuel and Daveed Diggs were just… amazing. And then Halle is such an angel and Jonah, of course, is just… everything you want to work with. But I actually think I might have been most excited to meet Melissa McCarthy. I grew up watching Gilmore Girls and I loved her character, Sookie, so it was just so surreal meeting her. She inspired me so much, so yeah, I was really excited about meeting her.”
“I’d have to say Javier Bardem,” Jonah answered, rubbing his hand over his jawline in thought. “I really embarrassed myself the first time meeting him. You know, I grew up on his movies. So, I went to his trailer and just knocked and I was so nervous. The door swung open and there was this really big guy and I looked at him, he looked at me and I just asked: ‘Can I have a hug?’ and he said: ‘Come here’ and just gave me a bear hug. But yeah, he must’ve thought ‘who is this kid showing up by my trailer asking for a hug’, so… that was pretty embarrassing,” he laughed shyly and you could swear his cheeks had a crimson hint in them.
“And what was it like working together?” Ivan asked, his voice hushed as his eyes darted around the room. You could simply melt at the adorableness.
“I mean, I love this job,” Jonah started and you braced yourself for whatever he was gonna say next. “even when it’s infuriating, like working with Y/N and… basically working with Y/N,” he joked and you give him a look of feigned hurt. “No, I’m just joking around. I loved working with her. She’s an amazing actress and she’s just got this beautiful, theatric voice. We got really close over the course of filming and I’m genuinely a little sad I don’t get to work with her anymore. We spend every day together for the past… almost two years. So yeah, it’s- I’m gonna miss having her around all the time. Bugging me to sing for her,” he said the last part like he was annoyed with it and you couldn’t help but laugh, knowing that he actually enjoyed it.
“You know, I feel the same way. I’m gonna miss our days together. Jonah was just such a joy to work with. He’s so passionate about what he does and he’s just so driven. Seeing him act is enough to make me realize why I went into acting. Seeing the joy he has and experiencing the fun we have together. Not just us, but with Halle too. I mean, we had the most fun. He’s just an amazing human being and I couldn’t be prouder of what he’s achieved and what he’s done with the part and I can’t wait for people to see this wonderful man sing and play his heart out.”
“Ahw, that’s actually the nicest thing you ever said to me.”
“Don’t get used to it,” you reply jokingly, smiling back at him. You really were gonna miss these moments together.
13 notes · View notes
rosewantstowrite · 2 years
Text
MASTERLIST
GUIDELINES
Here some information, this is my masterlist and will regularly update it when I make a new story or a new chapter. Here’s the symbol you need to know what’s to know what’s the story contains.
Fluff: ❤️
Angst: 🔪
Smut: ♨️
Favorite: ❤️‍🔥
Natewantstobattle:
Nathan sharp:
none
series
1. New Girl ❤️ (discounted)
summary: What’s will happen between the new neighbors? Will it be a fairytale or would it be dangerous
2. Miracle Baby 🔪 ❤️ ♨️
summary: After almost losing her baby from her baby daddy by him hitting her in a fight, Nicole ran to the one person she can trust, she ran to Nathan Sharp, her long time best friend, they grew up with each other, after moving to California she supported Nate on his adventures to be a musician but she too found an adventure with a guy, she let agreed to a family but after almost killing her and the baby she goes to Nate, what will happen when Nate realize that’s he’s in love with his best friend? Can he face her?
Natemare:
none
Nightmare world 🔪
summary: Natemare just witness his love get killed and ripped of her soul by Phantom, and tried to bring her back as she was once but she come back different.
series: none
Phantom:
Don’t leave me 🔪
summary: When his lover gets tired of him always trying to get them in a contract with him so he could have them forever they break it off with him, but before they could get away he had knocked them out and kidnapped them.
series: none
Markiplier:
Mark Fischback
none
series: none
Darkiplier:
none
series: none
Damien:
none
series: none
Wilford Warfstache:
none
series: none
Jacksepeticeye:
Seán Mcloughin:
none
series: none
Antisepticeye:
none
series: none
Chase:
none
series: none
Actors:
Aidan Gallagher
None
Series:
Dreamland ❤️🔪♨️❤️‍🔥
summary: What happens when two souls keep meeting in the land of dream? What happens when they finally meet? Would they be able to make it work, or will the sudden attention comes too much?
Emmy Raver-lampman:
None
series:
Elliot page:
Good kitten: ♨️ coming soon
summary: While watching a movie, Elliot begin to get bored so to see how much his lover can take of his teasing which didn’t take long so they end up having fun instead of watching the movie they picked
series: none
Robert Sheehan:
None
series: none
Tom Hopper
none
series: none
David Castenada
none
series: none
The Umbrella Academy:
Luther:
None
series: none
Diego:
baby blues: ❤️ coming soon
summary: it was the first year for y/n of being mom, she begin to get the baby blues and tries to trick diego of having another baby but he keep refusing
series: none
Allison:
none
series: none
Klaus:
None
series: none
Ben:
None
series: none
Viktor:
lonely memories: 🔪
summary: it was the one year anniversary of his beloved fianc��’s mental illness battle that they lost to, now he’s sat in their room, with a bottle of whiskey and the only solace of her favorite jacket and the goodbye letter in front of him, the last note from his fiancé.
series: none
Five:
Birthday Love ♨️
summary: It’s Five’s birthday so you decided to celebrate it the way you thought he’d like to celebrate it but he had different plans.
series:
1. Light love 🔪❤️♨️
summary: What happens when Viktor brings in a stranger with a mysterious past and Five overheard something he didn’t expect to know about his brother’s friend, what would happen when the two starts to get close and he decided to change his entire life, taking on the role that Viktor had previously been doing? Can he handle the responsibilities that’s goes with his decision?
2. Long Forgotten Memories ❤️ 🔪♨️
summary: After 17 years for Rosaline Kwon of never going back to the Academy until the day of Reginald’s funeral, she decided to go back to give mortal support to what used to be her second family, the only one who she stay in contact with after deciding to stop going there was Klaus Hargreeves, he helped her forget about the one who shattered her completely who was her childhood best friend and secret crush; Five Hargreeves, what happens when she returns to the Academy and Five returns? Will she be able to fully forgive and tell him everything she wanted to tell him that day he disappeared or will her hatred for him cause her to go to the one person who she used to forget about him or will she just leaves the family to do their things once more and try to ignore everyone again?
Other:
Darren Treacy:
none
series: none
Kpop
Soloist artists
Lee Wonho
none
series: none
Anime
Yu-Gi-Oh (Duel Monsters)
Yugi Muto
• Head canons
Nsfw Alphabet
Mixture of head canons
none
series: none
Yami Yugi | Pharaoh Atem
none
series: none
Seto Kaiba
none
series: none
My Hero Academia
Touya Todoroki/Dabi
none
series
Burn Into Memory ♨️🔪❤️❤️‍🔥
Akira Williams was a Touya’s lover before he become a villain, something in her past caused her to grow angry at Enji, she wants revenge, what will happen when after 8 years being away from her home and she returns to exact her revenge against Enji Todoroki but runs into two people she hoped to not come across until it was time to reveal herself? What happens when they both finds out who she was? Would they be angry at her to the point they will never accept her apology or would they try everything to win her over again and have her be their lover? Will she accepts this outcome?
TikTokers:
Ish (Ishnessarmy)
none
series
The Long Forgotten Lover ❤️ 🔪 ♨️
Nicole Mikaelson, the girl who always give it her all but never gotten the things she deserves, back in elementary school she used to date this girl but the girl that Nicole was in love with had an unknown secret, Nicole moved right before middle school, ultimately forgetting about the girl who had capture her heart, years past by, the girl turn into a distant memory, but after her mother died Nicole had moved back to her hometown in Maine, the only problem was she was different from everyone. Nicole has a secret and one mental health problem that no one will know. She followed this person name Ish on tiktok not realizing it was the girl thats gotten her heart, when she moved next door to Ish and she didn't realizes that but when he comes to her door to introduce himself, he saw the girl who he used be in love with. What will happen when he falls back in love with her and she doesn't remember him for who he was?
47 notes · View notes
jessicas-pi · 2 years
Note
PLEASE tell me about Match Making, Mad Science, and Accidental Child Acquisition
I WOULD BE ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTED TO.
I, uh, JUST replanned the whole thing, chapter-by-chapter, which means I don't have much of anything exactly written (but i have about 18 different scenes i'll be frankensteining into the fic later), so instead, how about I ramble aimlessly about it to you! Like a lot! (Ohhhh boy yeah this got long, i'm so sorry, i've just wanted to talk about this for such a long time and you gave me the chance i needed!)
There's four main plot threads, for the four main characters: Ahsoka, Barriss, Caleb, and Cal. But Ahsoka and Barriss's plots tie in to each other a little. (They also have separate stories but those are Spoilers for later in the fic.)
They're the Matchmaking part of the title! Barriss is 23, which in the medieval-ish setting, is kinda getting close to "old maid" territory. Ahsoka decides she needs to find this girl a handsome gentleman to sweep her off her feet. (Barriss is just fine without one, thank you very much!) And Ahsoka, with a little help from her brother Anakin, settles on objectively the WORST choice possible for a bf for barriss. Hijinks ensue.
(Ahsoka is also having fun breaking social etiquette and causing headaches for her bodyguard Rex, but i've talked about that before.)
Then there's Mad Science! That plot thread starts at the first grand ball of the year at Jedha Palace, when three unlikely friends meet. The first is Cal Kestis, a young Jedhan noble who loves botany. The second is Lady Merrin. She's a chemist, but her people are reclusive and the volcanic island of Dathomir is super creepy so there's plenty of rumors that she's a witch. And the third is Omega, Madame Se's ward, and a student of biology. They start a science club.
(I still haven't decided if I'm gonna ship cal and merrin in this, or if i'm not. like on the one hand i love a strong platonic friendship but on the other hand, if i DID ship them, then i could have a moment late in the fic where someone calls her a witch and he's just like HEY, SHE'S NOT A WITCH SHE'S MY WIFE, so. platonic friendship vs. princess bride reference. it's a tough call. I'm leaning towards the princess bride reference but i might change my mind.)
And FINALLY the part i know you're gonna love: the Accidental Child Acquisition!
So a year or two before the war ends—oh and by the way, i'm ignoring canon timelines and ages so some stuff is shuffled around—Hera and her brother are sent to jedha to be safe. there she meets Prince Dume and they go on a trip through the city, either pre-fic or in their first chapter together, and find Ezra, an orphan.
After the war ends, Hera leaves Jedha, only to come back, along with many guests from across the continent, for a post-war peace celebration. Ezra is DELIGHTED to see her again. he's also convinced that she's going to marry caleb and they're gonna adopt him (caleb's like haha i have no idea why he would think that it's not like he overheard me daydreaming or anything) and ezra is SO annoyed when he realizes they are not DOING THAT yet. So he decides he needs to help them speed things up a bit. He also befriends a mini mandalorian and then caleb and hera find that they have TWO children crashing their not-exactly-date-nights and falling into ponds and stealing pastries and dumping paint on people and wait when did they become PARENTS??
Oh, and Zeb is there! I promise I did not forget about Zeb! (He's the one getting paint dumped on him.)
(and ALL of that is just in the first 20% of the story. So much more happens!!! I won't spoil it, but there's murder mysteries and secret tunnels and that thing jane austen loved to do where a beloved character gets deathly ill and nearly dies and there's PALPATINE and there's a chapter named 'I have about twenty bazillion favorite tropes and Moment Killer is thirty-two of them' and there's—)
Ahem. So, yeah! That's Matchmaking, Mad Science, and Accidental Child Acquisition. I am so sorry i cannot shut up but THANK YOU FOR ASKING because I've wanted to ramble about it for SO LONG!!!
(Oh! Also! I have gone COMPLETELY wild with ALL the chapter titles and it was 100% inspired by you.)
11 notes · View notes
peninkwrites · 2 years
Text
The First Night - Ch 4 of 9
Tubbo celebrates his birthday. An ending and a new beginning all at once.
crossposted to ao3
Ch 1
Ch 3
Ch 5
Mafia AU masterpost
~ Tubbo ~
Tubbo leaves home easily enough not long after dark, heading back toward Niki’s bakery.  Its front windows are dark and the closed sign is pressed to the door, but Tubbo still sees the rye at the top of the display case.  He heads around the back to a narrow staircase.  There, he knocks 3 times and then once more.  The door opens a hair.
“Rye.”
“Tubbo!” Ranboo throws open the door and pulls him inside.
Tubbo isn’t used to this much positive attention.  Niki and Ranboo have decorated the speakeasy with balloons and multicolored streamers.  The basement of the bakery is much longer than the actual building, more than large enough to house a dozen wooden tables, a few booths, a long bar taking up the far wall, and a small stage beside it.  The neon sign glowing out The Secret City is accompanied by a happy birthday banner.
“Happy birthday!” Niki says excitedly, abandoning her two current patrons to greet him with a hug.
“You already said happy birthday,” Tubbo says, a bit startled by the fanfare.
“And I’m saying it again!  Come on– Jack is here already, still waiting on the others,” Niki nods over to the booth nearest to the bar.
“Hey Jack,” Tubbo gives him a nod.
“Happy birthday!  You had your first drink yet?” Jack drums excitedly on the table.
“No, I haven’t.  Not especially psyched for that part.”
“What part are you, then?  Gonna get registered to vote?” Jack scoffs.
Tubbo shrugs, sitting across from him.  “I just love democracy, man.”
“Ranboo!  Go sit with your friends,” Niki calls scoldingly to her little brother.  “If someone hears a knock, just get the door,” she says vaguely to the patrons nearest to it.
“Fine, fine,” Ranboo slides into the booth beside Tubbo.  He’s not wearing his mask anymore, instead there’s an unsure smile and a jagged, violent scar through his left cheek.  “So.  How was your birthday?”
“Uh.  Highlight was helping Tommy pickpocket some tourists.  So.  Nothing special,” Tubbo shrugs.  “I asked Big Q to come, though!  I think he will.”
Three knocks, followed by a fourth.  An unsure customer answering it and letting in a grumpy looking Tommy.
“Sorry I’m late!  Had to find a way down from a fucking rooftop.  How come only some buildings have roof access and others don’t?” Tommy complains loudly before sitting next to Jack, who already looks irritated.  “Hello, Jack.  How have you been?” Tommy grins, before feigning sharp worry.  “Oooh, you been stressed recently?  Your hair is starting to fall out!”
“Tommy,” Tubbo says scoldingly.  “We said play nice.”
“I am being nice.”
“Yeah, you’re right–  How about you, Tommy?  Been sleeping well, lately?” Jack feigns the same worry, annoyance ill contained.
Tommy scowled.  “You might think I’m above breaking locks but I most definitely am not!  You should’ve kept the old ones, save you the property damage.”
Jack sours at this.  “When I lose my fucking job I’m going to kill you, chop you up, and sell your pieces on the black market to pay rent.”
“No, you’re going to come work security for me here.  Ranboo is not going to be my doorman forever,” Niki says pointedly from the bar.
“Are we all just gonna stroll on past this man threatening my life?” Tommy whines.
“We’re not ignoring it, Niki just offered an alternative.  Problem solved,” Ranboo points out.
Tommy grumbles at this.  “Oh!  Yeah, reminds me–” Tommy rummage through his many pockets.  “Eryn couldn’t make it, busy working,” Tommy rolls his eyes at the thought, “but he sends his best and… this!” He slaps a mess of crumpled bills on the table.  “Wish he gave me money for my birthday… last year all I got was ice from your shitty ice machine,” Tommy glares at Jack like that was personally his fault.
“He– For the love of god tell me you don’t wander the halls as well,” Jack looks panicked by the thought.
“No.  We’re not stupid.  That’s what made it a present. Eryn had to sneak down there to get it.  It was a one time thing,” Tommy nods wisely.
“I still don’t see why you don’t move in here,” Ranboo says.  “Niki said the couch is yours if you want it.”
“I’m not gonna break your fuckin’ couch,” Tommy scoffs.  “I would much rather sleep in a real bed.”
“Right, you rest easy knowing some poor person could check into their room late and find a filthy child staying there instead?” Jack snaps.
“Oh yeah.  I like living on the edge.  I like the challenge too.  Keep changing the locks, Manifold.  I’ll just break ‘em,” Tommy leans back, arms behind his head.
Tommy’s life is saved from Jack’s wrath by the arrival of cake.
Tubbo is starting to think Quackity isn’t coming.  It’s inching closer to midnight, Tubbo has had his first drink– a sweet thing, mostly a honey soda with a splash of rum, just to say he’d tried it.  That’s fine by him.  Quackity didn’t have to come.  Tubbo is fine in the company of his friends.  Tubbo is managing to survive getting gifts, even if he always feels like it’s too much.  Niki and Ranboo had provided the cake, and Jack’s offer of spending a few days out of the city and going fishing with him at some relative’s cabin is thoughtful even if Tubbo can’t afford to take him up on it.
“We’ll match!” Tommy says excitedly as he passes over a green bandana with a bow on top.
“Uh, no.  It would match if it was red.  Yours is red,” Jack points out.
“Shut up, Jack Manifold.”
“Thanks, Tommy,” Tubbo takes it.  He grows more delighted.  “There’s a price tag on it!  Did you buy it?!  Or,” he grows more suspicious.  “Did you shoplift?”
“I bought it.  With money,” Tommy says proudly.
Tubbo wipes an imaginary tear.  “I’m touched.”
“Where’d you get the money?”
“Shut up, Jack Manifold.”
There’s another knock at the door, Tubbo doesn’t think much of it, patrons had been coming and going all evening, but then a familiar face in a suit comes to the table.
“Sorry I’m late.  Hope I didn’t miss all the fun,” Quackity hesitates, unsure of where to sit, both sides of the booth occupied.
“Pull up a chair,” Tubbo nods to the surrounding tables.
“Better have a good excuse, Big Q!” Tommy scolds him.  “It’s the man’s birthday.”
“Sorry, sorry.  Had to help Karl with some stuff.  Oh– speaking of,” Quackity slides a golden box across the table.  “Happy birthday.”
Tubbo opens it to find a beautiful golden watch that was probably worth way too much money.  Not that Quackity had to spend any to get it.  “Ah, give my thanks to Karl too, then.  Oh! The little spinny thing on the side is a tiny bee!  Oh my god that is so cool.”
“Thought you’d like it,” Quackity tries to sound cocky, but it’s clear he’s pleased.
“Thank you all, really.  This was… too kind.  I don’t really know what to say,” Tubbo doesn’t know what to do with all of this caring.  He is loved.  He doesn’t know if that fact is what will make the rest of this night easier or so much harder.
“I wouldn’t say it was too kind,” Ranboo pulls him from his train of thought.  “Maybe just kind enough.  You’re a good friend, Tubbo.  Could at least let us return the favor.”
Tubbo nods.  “How about the last round is on me?”  He shoves forward the cash Eryn had left him, letting the cheers and mindless chatter around the room wash over him.
Eventually the night must end.  The Secret City closes and those remaining are asked to leave in small groups.  Tubbo’s party leaves together in good spirits even as a drizzle has started over the cold city streets.
“Tommy, you better be going off to find a couch to crash on!” Jack says warningly.
“You’re not even there tonight!  What do you care?” Tommy teases back.  “Right, good night then, bossman.  I’ve got a hotel to break into,” he says with a wink.
Tubbo makes it halfway down the block, trying to hold onto the joy of the night even as his destination looms closer, when he’s startled by company.
“Hey!” Quackity calls, jogging to catch up to him.  “Want me to walk you home?”
Tubbo rolls his eyes.  “You don’t need to do that, Big Q.  I’ve walked back from Niki’s alone a hundred times.”
“Yeah, well, I worry.  Humor me,” Quackity shrugs.  He pauses, walking beside him with his hands in his pockets.  “Sorry I got all… defensive earlier.  Guess you just took me by surprise a bit.”
Tubbo manages a stiff nod.  “It’s okay.  I pushed.  Wasn’t right of me either.”
“Has… has something happened, Tubbo?  Lately, you’ve been… well, kind of acting like you don’t give a fuck anymore.  If that makes sense,” Quackity isn’t sure how else to say it.
“I’m just tired,” Tubbo keeps his tone mild.
“Yeah? Tired of what?”
“You heard what I said earlier.  I stand by it,” Tubbo heads up to his front door, Quackity follows.  “You gonna come inside to read me a bedtime story as well?” He says dryly.
Quackity laughs.  “Nah, actually.  Just gotta pick up some shit from Schlatt’s office.”
Tubbo pauses at this, clearly unhappy with this.  “Right.  Got it.”
Quackity follows him inside, giving a nod to the sleepy lackey tasked with guarding the house.  Tubbo heads upstairs.  He turns left instead of right at the landing.
“Where’re you going?” Quackity asks, making no move to go to Schlatt’s office.
Tubbo pauses, looking back to Quackity with perfect calm.  “...Just going to say goodnight to my dad.  Tell him I got home safe.”
“Okay,” Quackity doesn’t follow Tubbo upstairs.  He doesn’t go down the hall to Schlatt’s office.  He turns around, sits on the steps, and waits.
4 notes · View notes
robininthelabyrinth · 3 years
Text
Initiative - aka NMJ and JYL get engaged - ao3 or tumblr pt 1, pt 2
Jiang Yanli’s first engagement had been announced when she was three and a half years old – there had been a big party, festooned in color, exquisitely and meticulously planned out in advance, and she’d been obliged to stand on stage next to a baby in a cradle that had done nothing but cry and spit as all the adults around her congregated and congratulated each other on the excellent match.
She hadn’t enjoyed that at all.
Her second wedding announcement was simultaneously more casual and more noteworthy, and she enjoyed it tremendously. 
Madame Jin had sent several invitations to Jiang Yanli to come visit Lanling in advance of the hunt planned for Phoenix Mountain, speaking of how beautiful it was and how much she looked forward to seeing her good friend’s daughter – talking about she’d always regretted how Jiang Yanli had been obligated by circumstances to take shelter at the Unclean Realm rather than in Lanling City, although she’d been pleased to hear from her son that she was doing well – all the right sort of words. The words might have been more welcome if Jiang Yanli hadn’t known that Madame Jin was still intent on securing the marriage she had arranged.
If she hadn’t been engaged, she would have accepted the invitation, hoping to form an alliance for her sect through a close relationship with Madame Jin even if she didn’t have one with Jin Zixuan (no matter what Madame Jin hoped), but as she was, in fact, engaged to another – even if it hadn’t been formally announced – it would be inappropriate to go. So she instead played ignorant and responded graciously, protesting that she couldn’t possibly impose, that the rebuilding at the Lotus Pier needed her, but that she would of course be happy to attend the hunt alongside the rest of her sect.
She arrived at her brother’s side, smiling all the while.
Her second engagement was announced like this: Sect Leader Jin, using his newly legitimized son as his mouthpiece, had brought forward some ghastly ‘entertainment’ that involved shooting at helpless prisoners, tied up in chains. Jin Zixuan had complied, but Wei Wuxian had marched out and disrupted everything by showing off to a ridiculous extent – Nie Mingjue, who had been watching with a black face full of rage but unable to speak due to propriety, had started applauding very loudly and very enthusiastically – and Sect Leader Jin had ordered the prisoners taken away.
“Well, then,” he said, clapping as if he had impressed himself: as if they hadn’t just been subjected to a powerplay under the guise of hospitality, as if everyone would be over-awed by his might now that they had seen him abuse the helpless while they were all forced by the rules of etiquette to say nothing or else risk carrying the blame for trying to start another war. “Absent anything else, we should proceed to the hunt itself, where await you only the finest of prey and the sharpest competition among your peers.”
For the further display of the power of the Jin sect, he meant.
“Actually,” Nie Mingjue said, interjecting in a moment in which Sect Leader Jin had paused to take a breath so that it was technically not an interruption, “there is one thing. A request, in fact.”
Sect Leader Jin’s eyes narrowed in suspicion, but he maintained his false smile. “Of course, Sect Leader Nie. What can I do for you?”
“I’m getting married,” Nie Mingjue said. “The bride is Young Mistress Jiang, of Yunmeng Jiang, and I would like –” He raised his voice to overcome the abrupt explosion of talk that had erupted. “– I would like to have her accompany my sect in today’s hunt. I hope that doesn’t interfere with your plans for a competition between the sects?”
There were those who said that Jiang Yanli’s chosen husband was bad at politics, and they might even be right. But it didn’t really matter in the end if he’d thought of the idea on a whim or if it’d been a prearranged plan by Nie Huaisang, who was cleverer than he liked to let on to people, Jiang Yanli’s future husband had still wiped away in a single sentence all memory of the farce they’d all just endured and of the hunt that was yet to come, ensuring that the only thing anyone would remember about today was the shocking news of the engagement of the leader of one Great Sect to the sister of another.
(And if everyone remembered that at the last celebration hosted by Sect Leader Jin, he had proposed to resurrect the marriage between Jiang Yanli and his own son, instead, forcing her to publicly demur on vague terms…well, that just made it all the more satisfying.)
Now it was Sect Leader Jin’s turn to scowl and glare, and Madame Jin’s expression looked no less thunderous, but in the end Jiang Yanli got to go with the Nie sect on the hunt.
“You know I’ll only slow you down,” she said to Nie Mingjue, who snorted.
“No more than Huaisang will,” he said, and if his face was stern and his voice gruff then she still thought she detected fondness and humor beneath it. “Besides, it’ll be a good opportunity to measure you.”
It turned out that he meant that more literally than she might have thought.
Jiang Yanli was promptly whisked away to the back of the Nie retinue by a small cadre of Nie disciples, men and women both. She was presented with a number of training sabers shaped out of wood and made to hold them in a variety of positions as they murmured things about stability and reach and balance as if they really, truly thought that she would actually use the saber they were preparing for her.
“This one,” Nie Jiahui, a steely older woman with silver in her hair and fierce eyes, eventually announced, and the practice saber Jiang Yanli had been waving around was taken away. She was then presented with one that was twice as heavy, for “practice”.
“Do you always practice with something heavier than the actual thing?” she asked, and Nie Jiahui nodded.
“Strengthens the shoulders,” she said, curt but not standoffish. “Have some candy.”
Jiang Yanli blinked, but smiled and accepted the offer. It was licorice, which she liked.
“Do you often carry candy with you on night-hunts?” she asked, listening to the sound of fighting from up ahead. Every so often, a disciple or two would trot by carrying the corpses of larger and larger creatures, slain in the fighting; it seemed that the Nie sect was not, in fact, being slowed down in the slightest by her presence.
Of course, she also wasn’t being tended to as if she were their chosen lady, either, as she might have otherwise expected – all pomp and flowery language, Nie Mingjue by her side at all times to show her around as if they were on a pleasure stroll – but in all honesty that would have been a little bewildering. It was very much not the Nie sect’s character, all practical and straightforward, and she found that she preferred it that way.
“It’s important to have something to replenish energy,” Nie Huaisang said, having dropped back to join them from the front. He looked tired and grumpy, but his saber appeared to have been put to some work; he immediately climbed up into the carriage that people were taking turns riding and started cleaning it. “And licorice candy clears the lungs.”
“Clears the lungs?” Jiang Yanli asked.
“It’s good for more than that,” Nie Jiahui said. “But that’s one of the uses, yes. Do you ever feel like your chest is too tight, especially when you move too much? Leading to coughing, shortness of breath, your lips turning blue?”
Jiang Yanli blinked. “Yes,” she said. “But that’s just because I was born with a weak body.”
Nie Jiahui scoffed and Nie Huaisang laughed. “Good luck with that,” he said cheerfully. “I was born with muscles that didn’t keep their tone: too flexible, incapable of gathering strength, requiring more energy to do less, making me twice as tired twice as fast – even sitting up straight can be a struggle in some extreme cases, though luckily not mine. And do you think that helped me one bit in getting out of saber training? It did not.”
“Early childhood intervention is best,” Nie Jiahui said. “But the next best is starting today. I’ll show you some low-impact exercises that you can start working on to strengthen your shoulders and stomach, as well as some balance movements to center yourself and improve your posture – that way, by the time your actual saber is ready, you’ll be able to take it through one of the basic routines.”
“I’m happy to learn whatever you have to teach,” Jiang Yanli said, ignoring Nie Huaisang’s dramatic cry of ‘And here I thought you’d be on my side!’ “I only regret troubling you.”
“Not at all,” Nie Jiahui said. “It’ll be good to have someone watching the Sect Leader’s back on night-hunts.”
Jiang Yanli felt a surge of terror and excitement in her belly. “He would trust me with that? You would trust me with that?”
“I did tell you that you’d need to keep up with him,” Nie Huaisang said mildly, and it was true, he had, only she’d assumed it was a bit more metaphorical. “You don’t have to fight or even walk too much, if it doesn’t suit you – my grandmother was lame in both her legs from a childhood illness, she rode everywhere, scariest woman I’ve ever met by far – but you do have to be there. Someone needs to be able to tell my brother to stop. Someone he’ll listen to.”
And wasn’t that something of a thrill to think of?
Jiang Yanli wasn’t someone anyone listened to – not her parents, not her brother, not her sect disciples. She’d always been the one who comforted them afterwards, who supported them; she made them food and tried to convince them to be kinder to each other, and sometimes they even tried for a while before getting into another tiff. They would kill for her if she so much as hinted at it, tear down the sky for her, but it was more in the nature of indulging her rather than actually allowing them to guide her.
Yet here was Chifeng-zun, a war hero and a sect leader, one of the most powerful men in the world, a man admired by men and sought after (even if only in their hearts) by women, and his family was telling her that he would listen to her.
“If you say so,” she demurred, but they insisted, and by the time the hunt was over Jiang Yanli was surprised to realize that she hadn’t needed to resort to sitting on the carriage more than twice the entire time.
“We’ll send Auntie Jiahui to the Lotus Pier after today’s hunt is done,” Nie Huaisang chattered cheerfully in her ear as they headed back towards Jinlin Tower. “She’ll work you through your paces, believe you me, and all the supplemental things, too – making sure you eat the right thing, take medicinal baths to improve your meridians, apply massages to loosen your joints…those parts are nice, actually. Take care of your body as you would your saber, take care of your saber as you would your wife! That’s how the saying goes. Trust me, you’ll be regretting the whole thing soon enough.”
Jiang Yanli didn’t think she would. “You seem very confident that A-Cheng will allow you to do as you please, even in the Lotus Pier.”
“I’ll tell him it concerns secret Nie sect marriage rituals,” Nie Jiahui interjected. “When two women are involved, men tend to run away when the words ‘marriage’ and ‘secret’ are combined.”
Sadly, she was probably right.
“Show me those exercises again,” she requested, and Nie Jiahui climbed up on to the carriage to show her the ones she could do even while sitting down.
Jiang Yanli might never have had the opportunity to strengthen herself before, and she was moderately certain that she wouldn’t have too much success now, as the various tricks Nie Jiahui had taught her were largely body refinement, barely reliant on qi, and her cultivation was still as low as ever.
But she was good at devoting herself to learning something when she wanted to, and as soon the hunt at Phoenix Mountain was over and they had shifted over to the various feasts and meetings that Lanling Jin had planned for the rest of the week, she began her efforts at self-improvement in earnest.
The weak body her mother had always despaired of might always be weak – Nie Jiahui had been quite blunt on that subject, making it clear that nothing she was suggesting was some sort of miracle pill, and furthermore that there was nothing wrong with being weak as long as she made an effort (Nie Huaisang had been the recipient of several pointed looks there) – but Jiang Yanli was determined to at least demonstrate that she was trying.
A gesture of good faith, perhaps. Some small show of initiative.
Nie Huaisang had said that Nie Mingjue appreciated her initiative.
“A-Xian,” she called one morning, only a few days later. “A-Xian, are you going out for a walk? Let me come with you.”
“You’ve gone on a lot of walks recently,” Wei Wuxian laughed, but allowed her to take his arm as they walked into the crowd. “Do you like Lanling City so much?”
“It’s the exercise I’m after,” she said, smiling at him. “The Nie sect is a martial sect, remember? I’ll be going on more night-hunts in the future, if all goes well, and I’ll need to keep up.”
“Oh, but surely they’ll bring a carriage..? I don’t know if you really need to go on night-hunts –”
“I want to! It’ll be nice. Don’t worry about me so much, A-Xian –”
Wei Wuxian was shaking his head, smiling, and he wasn’t looking where he was going; perhaps that was why he bumped into the young woman.
But then she looked up at him, and he looked down at her, and he froze.
“Wen Qing?”
1K notes · View notes
my-tin-can-mans · 3 years
Text
She Knows Part 2, (Wolffe x Reader)
OH BOY. First I'm sorry this took me so long I've been busy with college. But! this is the longest fic or anything really I've written so wow. Hopefully you enjoy.
Warnings: angst, mentions of Alcohol, mentions of cheating slight smut (minors do not interact or read).
Note: italics are flashbacks
“So, what do you usually do during leave?” the question threw you a little of guard. You’d been stationed with the 501st for four months now, four months since you’d broke it off with Wolffe after… everything. You had been the head medic in the 104th battalion, but quickly put in a request for a transfer after the humiliation Wolffe had put you through. The only position available was with the 501st, working under their head medic, Kix. It was a demotion sure, but honestly it took a lot of stress of your shoulders and well, anything to get away from the situation you were in.
Working with Kix almost 24/7 forced you two to grow close and form a close relationship. It was more of a brotherly/sisterly love than anything else, though others saw how well you two had worked together and insisted you would make a good couple, you both were comfortable where you were, which you were grateful for, it was nice to have a friend as kind and understanding as Kix.
Tomorrow the whole battalion would be stationed on Coruscant, the general had some jedi duties to attends to and the war was at a standstill for the moment, giving the men time to relax instead of being thrown under another general for a while.
You had been checking bacta supplies when Kix happened to spring this question on you. Freezing your hand in motion as you had begun to type up an order to restock while planet side. You’d never actually had a leave without Wolffe. Most of the time on leave was spent in that dark corner of 79’s, the other half in a hotel bed.
“Mesh’la, come on, up. I promised the men we’d meet them tonight for a round.”
“But I don’t wanna go Wolffe can’t we just stay here? The sheets are so soft and I don’t feel like wearing clothes.” You’d whined.
“I already told them we would be there, now come up before I drag you out of bed.”
“you wouldn’t,” you peeked your head out from under the covers, narrowing you eyes at him, he stood at the foot of the bed, wearing his blacks sans shirt. He himself had just untangled from you and the sheets. How he had the willpower to do so you had no clue. He dawned his famous predatory smirk on his face
“Are you questioning my word Mesh’la, because you know I always keep my word.” He took a step forward, his thighs now touching the mattress.
“of course not Wolffe,” you gave him a sweet smile, “but I bet I could change your mind.”
“oh?” he raised an eyebrow. “do tell.” He placed his hand on either side of your feet, leaning over the bed
“why don’t you come up here and find out.”
With one swift move Wolffe was on top of you now and you brought your hands to his face pulling him in and kissing him, it was rough and passionate, you really didn’t want to leave and you wanted him to know that, hoping he would see how desperate you were and decide to stay. But after a few moments he pulled back, looking down at you with that damn smirk again, “that was quite convincing.”
Before you could retort anything Wolffe had left from his position on top of you, yanking you up to your feet in the process, “but unfortunately like a said before, I am a man of my word and I already gave it to my brothers, sorry mesh’la but you’ll have to show me your negotiating skills another time, I promise ill make up for it.”
“To be honest Kix I’ve never really done much with my leave time, ya know? I just kinda destress and go out every once in a while.”
“Oh? Well do you have any plans for our first night off then? Me and a couple of the boys are gonna be at 79’s if you’d like to join.”
The mention of 79’s made your heart skip a beat. You hadn’t been back there since you’d found out about Wolffe. “I don’t know Kix,” you sighed, 79’s was a clone bar, and also a favorite hangout spot for the man you had been trying to forget about.
“oh come on, you think Jesse’s a horrible flirt now, just wait till you see him drunk, you’ll be laughing so hard your stomach will be sore in the morning.”
You snorted a laugh in response, Jesse and you were also pretty close, but he was notorious for always trying out stupid pick-up lines on you, he took every opportunity he could to flirt with you, even when he had gotten injured and you were stitching him up, “you look so pretty when your concentrated.” He had said.
But the issue at hand still itched in the back of your mind, what if Wolffe was there? Going back to your holopad, typing up the order you were previously working on to make yourself seem less concerned about your next question you asked him, “the 104th isn’t on leave right now are they?”
“no I don’t think so, why?” Kix had since turned around focusing on organizing medical supplies to help you order.
“Nothing, just, ya know making sure.” You’d told Kix about what happened between you and Wolffe. Just about every clone knew you two were dating, Wolffe always had to make it known you were his. So Obviously everyone was curious as to what had happened.
He turned and looked at you, realizing what you meant, “Oh Kriff, this is your first leave without him isn’t it?”
You nodded, too afraid, after months of finally getting yourself together you didn’t want to revert back to breaking down again.
“Hey listen, if you don’t want to be there I understand. But maybe it would help ya know? We’ll all be wasted you’ll totally forget about him I promise we’ll have a good time.”
It was very convincing, you’d seen the 501stparty and 79’s before, they went hard, unlike Wolffe who was usually more private and reserved. That didn’t mean you two still didn’t have fun in your own way on leave.
Much to your dismay you’d put on a dress and Wolffe had dragged you to 79’s anyways. The second you’d stepped into the place the music and dark lighting consumed you. It was loud tonight. The 501st was celebrating a successful occupy over a separatist world and you could tell. The blue armor was spread throughout the crowd, some at the bar hitting on the women already occupying it, and some on the dance floor.
You wished Wolffe danced more with you, you loved to dance but he only ever accompanied you once, and that was after a drinking competition with Thorne who was hard to beat. He didn’t even remember it in the morning.
Without a second glance to all the men, Wolffe grabbed your wrist and led you back to the booth he always sat at. Instead of the usual commanders, Sinker and Boost sat there awaiting their commanders arrival after being promised a drink with him. You slid into the booth and Wolffe sat right up against you.
He was broad so he took up most of the space, he always presented himself in such a way that he was always there, chest puffed out, shoulders broadened and head held high. When he got situated he spread his legs, taking up more space and knocked his with yours. The two of you practically sat in each other’s lap with how close you were to each other. he placed his hand on your thigh, resting just below the sundress you and reluctantly put on earlier.
It was a last resort to get him to stay in with you. It was his favorite. The first time he saw you in it he’d practically kneeled before you, although you were sure he was just trying to get a peak underneath.
Four shots were already at the table when you two had arrived and Sinker, who was sitting in front of you, had passed one your way while Wolffe grabbed his own downing it without even flinching.
As the night drove on, the men began to become tipsy and Wolffe’s hand grew higher and higher. It was when Boost was at the climax of telling you a story from before you had signed on with them that Wolffe finally breeched your center, rubbing his index finger over the already wet spot in your panties.
You jumped, not expecting him to be so bold as to touch you in front of his men. You turned to look at him but he was looking straight on at Boost, absolutely engrossed in the story he was telling. Without making eye contact he leaned over, giving you a small peck on your temple, while at the same time, he pushed you underwear over to the side and slipped a finger into you.
His face was flushed, from the alcohol or the devious act he was performing you couldn’t tell. It was probably a mix of both. Wolffe rarely showed PDA in public especially in front of him men. So you were practically in shock with what was happening right now.
You went to grab a sip of your drink while he slowly pumped his finger a few times before deciding to add another. You let out a chocking noise.
“Hey you okay?” Sinker seemed concerned at your reaction.
“Yeah, yeah just fine, drink must’ve gone down the wrong piper there” you tried to play it off.
He bought it just fine, resuming the conversation that had started up after Boost’s story. When you turned to look at Wolffe again he was wearing that shit eating grin he often dawned and maker you wanted to wipe it clean off.
When Sinker and Boost were distracted enough, Wolffe leaned into you, “come on now mesh’la, I did say I'd make it up to you, and as I recall we’ve already proved I’m a man of my words.”
“Well I guess a few drinks wouldn’t hurt.” You thought back to all the times you’d seen blue armor on the dance floor and envied the fact you hadn’t been there as well, “but I better get a couple of dances out of you guys”
Kix chuckled, “I can promise you, if you stop by for long enough those men will be fighting over who gets to dance with you next.”
You bellowed out a laugh at that. The thought of Jesse, tup and the rest fighting over you was quite the scenario. “Just comm me what time you boys are gonna be there at.”
He nodded his head in agreement, both of you chatting lightly about other topics as you finished the order.
****************************************************
The ship had landed a few hours ago, longing for a good night’s sleep you had left the barracks for the stay, packing up your necessities and checking into a hotel a few blocks out of the main traffic for some peace and quiet.
As you were getting ready for your night at 79’s Kix had sent you a comm message, letting you know they were on their way and would be arriving in 10 minutes. All you had left to do was dress yourself. You rummaged through the bag of clothes you had. It wasn’t much, mostly GAR issued scrubs and a few dresses. You heart stopped when you saw the dress though. The one that was always Wolffe’s favorite. You picked it out, holding it up so you could see the whole thing.
Kriff. This dress brought back so many memories. It almost hurt to look at it. if you were being completely honest with yourself though, you did look damn good in it. screw it you thought. Time to make better memories in it.
After you slipped the dress on you hailed an air taxi to 79’s once inside you scanned the bar, looking for the men who were going to take up your evening. You spotted them at the bar ordering drinks and from the looks of it Jesse was already on his shit and flirting with the bartender.
You walked up to them and their heads turned. Jesse let out a whistle, “Damn, look at you! If I didn’t know any better I'd say you were trying to entice me.”
Kix shook his head at that. Putting his face into his palm. Tup who happened to be standing beside Jesse elbowed him to which Jesse frowned at. “Could you not flirt with my favorite medic?” he turned to you, “you look nice by the way, but not in a creepy I want to get with you way like he meant.”
You let out a giggle. You were already having a great time and you hadn’t even been in the building for five minutes. You took a seat at the bar between Kix and Jesse, Tup to the other side of him.
As the night ticked by you happened to get pretty tipsy, never getting truly drunk for fear you couldn’t make it back to your hotel safely. The men held their alcohol well though and although they were drinking twice as much, they were probably the same level intoxicated as you were. You all stayed at the bar, cracking jokes and telling insane stories, often Jesse would flirt with you or the bartender but it wasn’t too much and you both welcomed the light heartedness attention he gave.
An hour in you heard a voice behind you, “Hope I didn’t miss too much.” You swiveled in the bar seat, turning around to be face to face with the captain of the 501st.
“Captain!” Kix exclaimed, “what took you so long?”
“Sorry boys had a few reports I needed to fill out before the night ended.”
“Well, were glad you here now.” You said.
You got up to give the captain a hug. Something you defiantly wouldn’t do sober, but the alcohol had given you a little confidence. Rex looked surprised by the affection but embraced you anyways. He leaned down and you put your chin over his shoulder patting him on the back staying like that for a second.
It was then that you wished you hadn’t hugged Rex, hadn’t drank as much to give you a confidence boost, and hadn’t stepped a foot in this maker forsaken bar again.
He sat there, in the seat he always sat in when he came here. Only this time he wasn’t with any of his troopers or the other commanders. This time he was with another girl. She was a purple Twi'lek and she was drop dead gorgeous. And the dress she was wearing, or lack thereof because of how tiny it was , made you look like you had just picked yours straight out of the garbage. And you couldn’t help but wonder.
Was that her?
“Kriff Wolffe, what the actual Kriff!” you screamed, you didn’t care about the other guests in the hotel, you were so mad you were practically seeing stars.
“I'm sorry mesh’la I'm sorry I'm so so sorry.”
“No. No! don’t you dare call me that right now. I can’t – I don’t even have words for you right now.”
“please, please let me explain,”
You whipped you head around to him, seeing a whole new layer of red. “Explain? What is there to explain Wolffe. You cheated on me then proceeded to not tell me while apparently everyone else knew and I found out through one of your brothers! Isn’t that enough of an explanation.”
You sat down on the bed, head in hands. He kneeled down in front of your feet. Placing his hands atop of your knees. “I'm sorry.” He whispered. You slapped his hands off you, the thought of him touching you after another woman practically revolted you.
“you already said that.”
“I know, and I mean it I am, it was a mistake, I- if I could take it back I would, Maker I- I hate myself for letting it happen.”
“you should hate yourself.”
“I do, I do. Please, tell me what I can do to make this better.”
For a man who was supposed to be well tactical he kept making all the wrong moves.
“Wolffe there is no making this better. What’s done is done and now it's time to move on.” you finally made your decision, after debating back and forth in the air cab on how to react.
“Yes of course let’s move on, it was in the past but I love you Mesh’la I want you that’s all.”
Kriff that’s not what you meant. “No Wolffe, I mean I’m moving on. from you. I- I can’t continue to be with someone who has done what you’ve done. It's- it's not fair to me.”
By this point tears were strolling down your face. You turned your head to wipe them, not wanting him to see how much he had broke you. “no, no please I- I love you please we can fix this we can work this out please just stay I- I need you.”
“I love you too Wolffe, but there is no fixing this. I loved you so much that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you, I gave you everything thing, I gave you all of me and you took that and you stomped on it, you might as well of placed my heart in a dumpster and set it on fire.”
He put his head in your lap. A single tear rolling down his face. “please, please don’t go, I'm so sorry.”
“I know Wolffe. But I can’t accept your apology.”
Your head was pounding. He wasn’t supposed to be on Coruscant right now. Kix had said so himself. You pulled back from Rex. He placed his hands on your shoulders his face blocking the view of him. He smiled warmly but his expression quickly changed when he saw yours.
“you look like you’ve seen a ghost” he joked.
But you facial expression didn’t lighten, in fact it only got worse. With every waking second, every harsh beat of whatever hit song was playing over the speakers you drew yourself inwards more and more.
“hey hey what wrong?” Kix had left his seat at the bar quickly coming to your side. Him and Rex both dawned a look of concern.
“You said he wouldn’t be here.” You turned to Kix, channeling you emotions onto him.
He looked confused at first, but the realization hit him and he turned his head to look over Rex’s shoulder. Rex followed his line of vision and they both saw him. Sitting there in the booth, while the woman clung to him, practically in his lap.
She was kissing his neck, which honestly surprised you, Wolffe was never one for public displays of affection. Or maybe that was just with you. Because he seemed to be enjoying this.
Rex turned around to face you again, a look of panic and empathy on his face, “Kriff I'm so sorry I- he was on a solo mission with General Koon and they’re stationed here for the night so I told him I’d be here. I'm so sorry, it was an honest mistake.”
It wasn’t the first time you’d heard that from a man in this room.
You felt like the whole room was spinning, be that the alcohol or the nervousness and upset that came with seeing him again you weren’t sure. All the men you had come here with were suddenly surrounding you with sympathetic looks and it felt like someone had placed a spotlight on you and you just wanted it to go away.
This night was meant to help you forget him, be happy and have fun with your new assigned battalion. Kriff was the so much to ask for!
“hey hey come on now,” Jesse finally broke the silence, “forget about him! If I remember correctly I promised you a dance earlier?”
This made you finally break out of your trance. You needed a distraction, and had been waiting for someone to dance with all night.
“actually I would love to Jesse.”
“right this way then”
He held out his hand for you and took you to the dance floor. The song that was playing was loud and upbeat, you and Jesse moved together to the beat, it was fun and you really enjoyed it, when the beat of the song dropped everyone on the dance floor was jumping to it, you and Jesse did the same
When the song stopped, you were practically out of breath, you let out a laugh of relief, actually feeling a little better. You looked up are Jesse and he was smiling at you.
“Feeling better, huh?” he asked.
“A little, thank you.”
A few second later another song had come on. This time it was more slow, the partners on the dance floor started to grab each other.
Jesse grabbed your waist. “Come on huh? let’s give that son of a blaster something to look at, plus this might be the only time I get to be this close to you, despite my attempts” he smirked at you.
You nodded your head, letting out a giggle at his lame excuse to flirt with you again. You wrapped your arms around his neck and he pulled you in closer, your chest practically touching his. And finally you both started to sway to the beat.
A few seconds in Jesse started rubbing his thumbs on your hips, trying to calm your nerves, and it worked. Caught up in the music you started to lightly grind your hips into his, although it was soft guarded by his armor, he still took notice to it. smirking at you and grinding in time with you. His hands started to rise, growing closer and closer to under your breasts, but never reaching, knowing he would be crossing a line, and although Jesse was a flirt, his last intention was to make anyone uncomfortable.
He nuzzled his head into the crook of your neck. You could feel his breathe on your skin, and his nose rubbing up and down. He placed a soft his on your shoulder and the next thing you knew you were being turned around. His hand were back on your waits, but his cheat was now pressed up against your back. He gave you a harsh grind into your ass and you gasped. His arms now wrapping around you, pulling you impossibly tight into him. His head resumed its spot into your neck.
“is this okay,” he whispered into your ear.
“yeah.” You breathed. He kissed you neck this time. but it was just one short one, it was slow, and hot, you closed your eyes. he placed them all the way up your neck, all the way up to your jaw. All the way close to your mouth, and he whispered again, is this okay.
You nodded your head, eyes still closed and you turned you head towards him a little encouraging him. And his lips met yours.
You hadn’t kissed very many people. Wolffe giving you the majority of your experience. and although they were clones, they felt completely different. When Wolffe used to kiss you he practically stole your breath, he put everything he had into kissing you, and it was almost always hot and it made your insides flip, no matter how many times he kissed you, you always felt dizzy and perfectly happy, like his kissed could cure any problemed you had. To say Jesse was a bad kisser would be a lie, it was a good kiss, but it almost made you feel the opposite, all you could think about was Wolffe.
And when the song ended and you opened your eyes you were facing him again. Him. And he was sitting there with his lounge practically down the woman’s throat. And it hurt, hurt to know that he didn’t even acknowledge you. Hadn’t even cared that the person he once begged to stay with was with someone else now. Even though you weren’t actually. It hurt that he used to kiss you like that and now he was kissing someone else like that.
you weren’t sure if it was the beginning of the next song, or if your head was going fuzzy, but all you could hear was ringing in your ears. Jesse had unwrapped his hands from around you and the moment he did you sprang towards the doors of 79’s.
you heard the faint sounds of Jesse, rex and Kix calling out for you but you couldn’t be bothered to hear what any of them had to say. You left the building and walked a few blocks. Finally coming across an empty alley. You pressed you back against the cool metal of the building you were beside and let out a breathe. The air was cool and crisp against your skin, but it felt good.
After all the time you spent forgetting about him you were practically back at square one. And it pissed you off. How dare he have this effect on you.
You let out a sigh, gathering your emotions. And when you finally felt calm enough you went to comm Kix, letting him know you’d be going back to your hotel for the rest of the night, but you were interrupted.
“Mesh’la.”
ending notes: soooo, im not sure if im gonna do another part on this or not, i have some ideas for other fics but im kinda cramped on time at the moment so we shall see.
Tags
@fandom-garbage @dionysuskid21
232 notes · View notes
aomineavenue · 3 years
Photo
Tumblr media
Summary: Six years ago, L/N Y/N wouldn’t exactly say that she loves her life. It had always been problematic but her best friend, Miya Atsumu, since she was eight when she moved to Hyōgo, has always been there for her, and she wouldn’t change it for the world. However, things would always fall apart for her ever since, so she should have expected of such. Running away from her problems seemed like the easiest route to take at the time, so what happens when the past comes barging back into her life demanding answers? Will she be able to confront her demons?
Pairings: Miya Atsumu x f!Reader
Genre: Angst, ANGST I LOVE ANGST, a lil bit of fluff here and there.
Warnings: Language, etc.
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters except for the reader and my ideas. I do not claim any images used for content in this fic, everything goes out to their respective creators unless it is mentioned that it is mine.
Status: completed. | series masterlist
↩ at peace | dearest daddy
Tumblr media
mia speaks!: 
okay, wow. So it took awhile for us to get here and I apologize for that but we’re finally done with Homesick, wew. It’s been a challenge but I’m so happy and grateful for all the positivity you guys have been sharing with me. Also, thank you so much for your patience. 
It’s been an emotional ride but we’re finally done. There may be a few short stories after this chapter but no promises. Hopefully I get the chance to though, I do want to be able to. But for now, if you guys have any requests for imagines/scenarios with this series, don’t be afraid to send them over!
Also, big thanks to @oii-sugasan​ and @sunshinesero​ for beta-reading this for me! I apologize if this chapter is any way lacking compared to the first nine chapters, it’s been awhile since I wrote anything so I hope this was a great way to end this series. 
I love you guys so much, I’m so glad to be (sorta) back. I hope you guys enjoy this!
Tumblr media
Time was a funny and fickle thing. Sometimes there was never enough of it, and other times it stretched out endlessly. It had been seven months since your life had once again made drastic changes. It often surprised you how time flew by so fast.
Seven months since your two precious boys had been introduced to the man that they now call their father. And well, seven months since you had been reunited with the love of your life. Sure, it had ups and downs, it wasn’t bound to be perfect since the two of you were your own person. It was inevitable for such different personalities to clash, it didn’t help when there were two children present, one of them being as handful as their own father.
Atsumu had shown that he was a doting father, despite only being a part of their lives for less than a year, he had put his new family as his top priority, wanting to make up for lost time. He would instantly drop anything and everything, sometimes even volleyball when he could for times when his family needed him. Not that his new family had been a burden since then, his sons and of course you, have been nothing but loving and supportive. Showing up to games to cheer him on and the twins attending his training to either join or just watch their father and new favorite uncles.
It had been a rollercoaster ride since it was officially announced that Atsumu was off the market and that he actually had sons. Some fans were supportive, believing the news and claiming that both the young twins were striking replicas of the volleyball player. And of course, there were fans that were against it, raging how you were nothing more than a money-grabbing harlot and that you had probably lied to Atsumu about the twins being his.
They were quickly shut down, of course, by not just fans but various people close to the volleyball setter who defended you without you even asking for it. You weren’t going to lie, that particular month filled with venomous words thrown your direction stressed you out but it was mostly because of your motherly instincts, wanting to keep your sons away from such unnecessary drama. You and Atsumu had decided to ignore the majority of the vile comments but seeing you so emotionally exhausted had only fueled the already tiny flame in Atsumu. He was quick to announce that he would no longer tolerate any form of slander towards his family and would handle things legally if anyone were to step out of line.
And by the next few weeks, the hate simmered and the stress that had engulfed you and Atsumu in its grip had vanished. All that was left that made you both worry was Atsuhiro’s health.
Fortunately, Atsuhiro’s sickness didn’t grow worse as time passed by since his first transfusion. If anything, the boy was healthier and it was very much evident in his features. The healthy glow returned to his skin, he was smiling more and had shown his usual energetic-self like before he had fallen ill. Atsumu on the other hand, much to Atsuhiro’s dismay, had started becoming such an overprotective father. It took a lot of begging from Atsuhiko for their father to spend the day outside of the protective bubble of your apartment.
It took time and patience from everyone’s side to get this far, and for Atsumu, (and of course, you) he didn’t mind it one bit. He had grown more mature, despite his twin brother’s disagreements, he not only took care of himself more but he had become a role model to his sons.
Not only that, but as his relationship with his sons grew stronger, the love the two of you had for each other only seemed to intensify as well. Sure, the two of you had ups and downs back then in your friendship but it was as if time and distance hadn’t kept the two of you apart. If anything, it was as if it made your bond stronger. Two best friends, reuniting and finally expressing their true desires, it was easy for the two of you to fall into a comfortable routine.
“Where are the boys of the hour? I’ve been wanting to see how good Hiko looks in my jersey!”
Bokuto interrupts your thoughts for a brief second before you return your focus to your duties of cutting up the vegetables in the kitchen. You can’t help but chuckle at the sour expression that graces Atsumu’s expression as he fills a tray of refreshments on one of the island counters. “Don’t remind me, Bo-kun.”
“You’re just jealous that your sons didn’t want to wear your jersey," he teases, a playful grin on his lips as he lifts himself off of the ground by his hands to sit on the counter.
The scowl on Atsumu's face only deepens at the reminder, "Get off the counter, Bo-kun. Don't be rude. Why don't you actually start to help and give out these refreshments to the guests?"
You watch in amusement as the two exchange their usual banter around the kitchen of your home in Hyogo. It was decided a week ago after Atsuhiro's second transfusion was a success, that the twins would celebrate their birthday back at Hyogo instead of having the guests cramp up in your small apartment in Kanagawa.
It was also then decided by your sons what theme they would be having for their birthday. It was traditional for the twins to have their birthdays themed depending on their current interest. Lately, since the two were very fixated on volleyball due to their new favorite uncles and of course, their father, it was decided that they would be having a volleyball themed birthday where the guests were required to wear their favorite player's jersey.
For a minute, your new friend Bokuto had been rather excited upon hearing the idea.
"So show up with our own jerseys? Great!"
And as for Atsumu, he was excited at the prospect of seeing his own sons wearing his jersey. That is, until his sons destroyed such dreams.
"Are the two of you really sure?" you hear Atsumu's voice echoing from the twins' bedroom throughout the walls of the apartment as you stepped inside, shutting the door behind you as you ventured further into the comforts of your home. “Like really? Those are your choices?”
You grew curious as you slipped out of your shoes and let your hair loose from its tight bun, wincing slightly from your tugging. There was a tinge of whininess dripping from Atsumu’s voice that you couldn’t help but wonder what the three of them were talking about. It wasn’t unusual for Atsumu to be around when you had to work on days where the boys came home from school or when they didn’t have school.
At most times, when Atsumu didn't have training, he would be the one taking care of the boys instead of your mother or Osamu. Majority of his free time away from volleyball was spent with his sons, wanting to make up for the time he had lost. And there wasn't a day where the young twins wouldn't ask about their father and if he was going to visit. It was as if they were scared one of them would disappear, wanting to spend the entirety of their lives together.
"Maybe we can go with superheroes this year!" Atsumu's voice grew louder as you reached the door to the room where they occupied. Leaning against the door's frame, your eyes land on the back of Atsumu's head as he's seated on the carpeted floor facing the twins who were playing with their action figures. A small grin curling upon your lips at the sight of Atsumu’s slightly dishevelled bleached hair.
Atsuhiro, who seems to have the ability to sense your presence, looks up from his toys and in an instant, his eyes widen happily. He was about to greet you but you quickly pressed your index finger against your lips to signal the little boy not to announce your presence just yet, wanting to see Atsuhiko and Atsumu's interaction. The smart little boy that he is, nods and returns to his toys.
"But daddy," Atsuhiko protests, his focus still on the action figures in his hands, "We did superheroes last year! I wanna wear Uncle Bo's jersey!"
You fight the urge to burst out into a fit of giggles as soon as you catch a glimpse of Atsumu slumping his shoulders dejectedly. Now you understand as to why he had his moppy voice on. "But don't you want to wear daddy's jersey for your birthday?"
"But daddy," Atsuhiko lets out a sigh, looking up at his father with a look that meant the little boy wasn't up for any arguments on the matter, "Uncle Bo is the best! So I wanna wear his jersey!"
You could have sworn you heard Atsumu whine, suddenly wishing you had decided to film this from the start. "But it will make daddy really happy if you wear his jersey!"
Atsuhiko shakes his head as he continues to play with his action figures, "But I want Uncle Bo and I to match!"
Atsumu sighs in defeat before turning his attention over to Atsuhiro, looking hopeful. "What about you, Hiro? Would you wear daddy's jersey?"
"No, daddy. I wanna wear Kageyama-san's jersey," he nods with a proud smile, "Wanna be just like him! He's so good!"
"But daddy's just as good a setter as Tobio-kun!" Atsumu cries out, throwing his hands up in the air, "betrayed by my own children. 'Samu isn't going to let me live this down."
This time, you let your presence be known by finally releasing a bubble of laughter. Atsuhiko instantly drops his action figures and rushes over with a happy squeal. Atsumu pivots his body, looking up at you with such a pitiful gaze as he juts his lower lips out ot a pout, "I want new children."
Needless to say, Atsumu had been pouty ever since and has been dreading today due to the reason that every single one of his friends had found out about it. He had tried a handful of times to change their minds, unfortunately, the young twins won't budge.
“It’s not my fault your kids like me better than you,” he huffs, folding his arms across his chest, “I am an ordinary ace after all!”
A scowl graces on Atsumu’s features which causes the other occupants in the room to chuckle in amusement. It wasn’t as if Atsumu didn’t like the idea of his sons becoming close to his teammates, but lately, it was getting harder for the setter to share. “Get your own children!”
“Ah, about that...” Bokuto trails off with a nervous chuckle which causes everyone to fall silent and look at him in curiosity, “I actually will be getting my own child soon, I think.”
“You think?” you ask with an arched brow, “You can’t just think you’re having a child, Bokuto-san.”
Atsumu interjects, “And aren’t you in love with that best friend of yours? What happened to never being with anyone else but her?”
He waves his hand in the air dismissively with a frown etched on his lips, “Well, I can’t exactly be with her when she just got married.”
“You are so getting your ear torn off by the management when this news gets out,” Atsumu snickers, which he earns a smack to his shoulder from you. “Ow!”
You narrow your gaze at your boyfriend, completely unamused with his behavior. “Don't be dramatic, I didn't hit you that hard!" Letting out a huff as you wipe your hands on the apron you were wearing, "You aren’t helping Bokuto, ‘Tsumu.”
His lips curl up to a cheeky grin at the sight of your expression. He leans forward to nuzzle his nose against your cheek, your cheeks growing warm from the public display of affection. His heart swells from your reaction to his gesture, murmuring teasingly, “Sorry, darling.”
“Please, don’t make me barf.” Osamu interrupts with his features scrunched up in distaste from the interaction between you and his brother.
Atsumu sticks his tongue out at his brother who returns the gesture with a shake of his head. His arm snakes around your waist to pull you closer to his side as he returns his attention over to his teammate, “Well, is the woman making you marry her?”
“Making you pay for child support?” Osamu quickly adds.
Atsumu quips with a chuckle, “Threatening to expose your sins?”
You interrupt the two with a glare towards them, “Stop ganging up on him!”
Bokuto lets out a laugh as he begins helping your mother set up the desserts onto one of the trays to bring outside to the guests, “Nothing like that, she’s pretty chill and we’ve gotten pretty close lately. So we’re going to co-parent.”
“That’s very mature of you, Bokuto-kun.” your mother compliments him with a smile before patting his back.
He feels his cheeks grow warm from the compliment, his heart swelling with pride. “Thank you.”
“Maybe you’ll end up falling for her anyway,” Osamu teases with a smirk playing on his lips, leaning against one of the kitchen counters.
He shakes his head at the idea as his brows knit together, “Jess and I won’t fall in love.”
“Jess?” Atsumu blinks at the familiar name before his eyes widens at the realization, releasing his grip from your waist, “Jess, that journalist that you showed around town when she first visited Japan?”
Bokuto nods with a smile gracing his features, “Yeah, she’s pretty cool.”
“Maybe you’ll learn to love her in your own way through your child,” you suggest with a shrug of your shoulders as you began untying the apron you were wearing upon realizing what time it was.
Atsumu shakes his head and responds before Bokuto could utter a single word, “No, no. That’s impossible. Bo-kun’s heart belongs to his best friend.”
“Stop teasing him,” you scold your boyfriend with a shake of your head, handing over the apron you successfully took off, “make yourself useful and help out here in the kitchen,"
"Bu—"
Cutting him off with a stern glare as you lift a tray from one of the kitchen counters and handing it over to Bokuto, a small smile gracing your lips, "Don't mind him, Bo. Can you bring these to the backyard and help out if anyone else needs help? I think Reiji needs a hand setting up the bouncy castle,"
Retrieving the tray from your hands, his eyes lighting up from the excitement, "bouncy castle, you say?"
"That's for the kids, Bo-kun." Atsumu scoffs but soon lets his lips form into a pout when he had been ignored, turning his attention over to you once Bokuto slips out of the kitchen, "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to check on the boys to see if they're ready for their big entrance," you muse with an amused grin. Of course, you knew what your sons had prepared for the big entrance that they insisted. Atsumu had pestered both you and the young twins since he had heard of their plan but as your sons refused to budge, you had feigned clueless, claiming that your sons had opted it to be a surprise.
Little did Atsumu know that you had helped your sons pull off such an idea.
"I don't get why they have to have a big entrance," he sighs, brows furrowing as he racks through his thoughts on what the surprise could be. It didn't help that he was both curious and excited at what his sons might pull off.
Osamu lets out a snort, rolling his eyes at his twin brother as a smirk curls upon his lips, "What do you mean? They're your kids."
"What does that even mean?" Atsumu scowls as he slips on the apron you had handed over, walking over to where your mother was situated to take over what you were doing.
You shake your head at the two bickering older twins and shoot a look of sympathy towards your mother that was going to be left with them in the kitchen before she waves you off. Your heart was swelling from happiness at how natural everything felt, despite the silly banter thrown around. It was home.
As you step into your childhood living room, you're hit with a nostalgic wave from the memories surrounding the whole area. Though it may be a mixture of good and bad memories, since you had come to terms that you were no longer running away from your past, you only feel comfort. You made your way through your childhood home over to the bedroom that had been renovated to the liking of your twin boys.
The mere thought of your boys growing to love the place where you had grown up yourself was enough to bring a smile to your face. You press your knuckles against the wooden door to signal your presence by knocking on it repeatedly, “Are you two ready?” you ask, your voice probably muffled on the other side. Your fingers wrap around the handle of the door and as you were about to twist and push it open, the door instantly snaps back shut with a loud thud. “Can’t-”
“No, mommy!” Atsuhiko screeched causing you to blink from both the surprised force and tone. Pressing your palms and ear against the door to hear what the commotion was all about, you frown upon hearing only their shuffling feet, “What are you two doing? Guests have arrived and your party will be starting soon,”
“We’re almost ready, mommy!” Atsuhiro assures you from the other side.
A chuckle escapes your lips at their antics as you decide to not interfere any further, “Alright you two, just be sure to be out in a few. You don’t want your daddy to come fetch you. It’ll ruin the surprise.”
“Okay mommy!” you heard Atsuhiko yell out, their excited muffled voices purely obvious from the other side that you couldn’t help but smile.
On the other hand, back in the kitchen, the father of your twins was having his own little dilemma back in the kitchen. It wasn’t as if he was uncomfortable being around your mother, but it was more like he felt he was still lacking.
Despite him knowing that your mother and you hadn’t had the greatest relationship when your father passed away, he still wanted to be someone your mother would approve of. He didn’t know whether your mother knew the whole story of the relationship between the two of you but being away from you and your sons during most of their childhood was enough to make him worry. The mere idea of his sons looking up to him sent his heart soaring, but of course, he also wanted your mother to feel secure enough for him to be together with you and the twins.
“I’ll bring out these sliced up fruits outside,” Osamu cuts the clear tension surrounding the kitchen. Atsumu resists the urge to glare at his twin for leaving him behind with your mother, knowing full well that his brother knows his current insecurities. A small smirk graces Osamu’s features but not the obvious one that would make your mother notice.
Atsumu watches his twin slip out of the kitchen with a tray full of food for the guests before flickering his gaze over to your mother situated at the other side of the room, making final touches to the cupcakes. “Is there anything else that I can do?”
Without looking up, a smile etches on your mother’s face. “No, it’s fine. We’re just about done with everything.”
“It looks good,” he states with a nod of his head, not really knowing what to say.
Placing the piping bag to the side, your mother lifts her head up to look towards the direction of Atsumu and wipes her hands on the apron she’s currently wearing, “You know you can always start calling me mom.”
The mere sentence made Atsumu want to leap in excitement, but at the same time he was nervous, a sudden fear of messing things up engulfing him. “I don’t want to overste-”
“Oh please,” your mother waves her hand in the air with a light chuckle, “I’ve known you since you were eight. We’re practically family. So you might as well call me mom.”
Atsumu couldn’t help but let the corners of his mouth tug up to a wide smile, “Alright, mom.”
“I’m really happy that the two of you decided to work things out,” your mother spoke with a smile as she delicately places the cupcakes on the cupcake stand.”
His feet shuffled across the room to help your mother stack the cupcakes onto the stand, “We had to for the kids anyway.”
Your mother hums in thought for a second before responding, “I think the kids were just the push the two of you needed. If anything, I’ve always thought the two of you would always end up together since the two of you always leaned on each other for anything.”
He nods his head slowly, leaning against the counter as he feels his heart swell with happiness. “I guess you’re right, mom. I did lean on her majority of the time when we were growing up. I guess I still am now. I just wish I could make her happy.”
“Don’t worry, you do. Before she left Hyogo, I know for a fact that she was miserable in this house after her dad had passed. You were the only one giving her a reason to move forward,” your mother spoke, sadness dripping from her voice.
A sigh escapes Atsumu’s lips as his features scrunch up to something that resembles pain. “I was also the reason why she left. I may be even the biggest reason why she left.”
Your mother extends an arm out and places a hand on Atsumu’s arm, trying her best to give assurance and comfort, “You weren’t the only reason behind that. I don’t know if she’s told you, but I had neglected her. I’m not proud of it and apologies are probably never enough for forgiveness. I was barely a mother when my husband had passed. I was almost an empty shell and instead of being a moth-”
“Mom,” Atsumu cuts her off and grabs hold of her hand in his own, “Don’t blame yourself. She loves you very much. It’s all in the past. We’ll be able to move forward, we already are.”
The two were interrupted with Osamu’s arrival, knocking by the kitchen’s door frame to announce his return. A smile etched on his lips at the scene before him, “Hey, Y/N wants everyone in the living room. Apparently the boys are ready to make their big entrance.”
Your mother excuses herself as soon as she removes the apron tied around her, excitement clearly evident in her features. Atsumu knew it well, despite the relationship that you had been slowly rebuilding with your mother, she was just as excited as him to have the twins into her life. She has equally doted on, if not more, on the twins ever since and well, Atsumu wouldn’t have it any other way.
Atsumu knew for a fact that you adored the time you’ve been sharing with your mother. As long as you were happy, nothing else mattered.
Osamu gives him a pat on the back, arching a brow in curiosity as they make their way out of the kitchen, “Everything alright?”
Atsumu gives him a nod, giving him the largest grin that he could muster. “Yeah, definitely.”
“You look disgusting,” Osamu jokes, pretending to shudder which causes Atsumu to give him a shove as they step into the living room where most of the guests have already gathered.
“Hey ‘tsumu!” Bokuto calls out from next to you as soon as Atsumu comes into view. “Hurry up! I’m excited to see Hiko in my jersey!”
Atsumu rolls his eyes as he approaches, grumbling to himself. As soon as he reaches your side, he places a quick kiss to your temple before snaking an arm around your waist to pull you closer. “Yeah, yeah. You have to stop rubbing it in. We get it.”
You couldn’t help but let a laugh escape your lips as you lean yourself into Atsumu’s warmth, “Oh come on now you two, focus on the big entrance will you?”
Bokuto just snickers from the side while Atsumu sends him a glare. If you were to describe the two of them, they were practically acting like petty children but you know those two will eventually switch attitudes as soon as your twins step out to make their entrance.
You flicker your gaze over to Osamu who was situated a few steps ahead from your little group, trying his best to act natural with his phone up. The two of you had discussed prior to the party that he would be the one to film the whole thing going on. Your little boys had practically begged their uncle to film their big entrance but mostly, what you hoped Osamu to capture was Atsumu’s reaction.
A part of you expects that he would be a grinning mess at the sight of his kids but also, you’re also hoping he’d be speechless from all the teasing his kids put him through of having to wear someone else’s jersey.
“What’s taking them so long?” Atsumu asks, tilting his head slightly hoping to meet your eyes as his fingers play with the hem of your shirt.
As you were about to answer him, the familiar voices of your two boys echo throughout the room from the top of the stairs. You didn’t even have to look to know about their surprise since you know very well of what they had planned. Well, obviously, you had helped them out with picking up the jerseys that they were going to wear.
However, you had wanted to capture Atsumu’s reaction to your boys with your own two eyes instead of just watching it from a video. And honestly speaking, you didn’t think you’d fall in love with this man any more than you already do but here you are.
Just the mere sight of his features scrunching up to a look of awe was enough for your heart to swell. It looked as if he was close to tears as watches the twins descend the stairs with the prodest smiles they could muster.
You pry yourself away from his side as soon as the twins approach Atsumu, knowing full well what was going to happen as they had practiced what they were going to say. Flickering your gaze over to Atsuhiko and Atsuhiro, seeing them in Atsumu’s high school volleyball jersey made your own eyes water despite the fact that you were the ones who had gotten them the uniform a week ago.
“Wh-What are you guys wearing?” Atsumu almost chokes out his words, “What happened to the jerseys that we bought that you said you were going to wear?”
Atsuhiko throws his arms out in the air, smiling widely. “We changed daddy!”
“We wanna wear your jersey daddy,” Atushiro nods his head enthusiastically, lifting his hand up to grip onto Atsumu’s shirt.
Atsuhiko wraps his arms around Atsumu’s waist, “‘cause you’re our favorite volleyball player daddy!”
The scene itself was enough for everyone to watch in awe, a few of the guests that were invited had their own phones up to capture the moment with smiles on their faces, the others were almost practically in tears themselves, and well there was also Bokuto by the side with his pouty self at the realization that neither of his nephews were wearing his jersey like he thought they would. Atsumu on the other hand, had eventually dropped down to his knees and wrapped his arms around his two boys, burying his face in between them as he let out his own tears stream down his face from the overwhelming joy that coursed through him.
Yes, this is your family.
This is your home.
Tumblr media
You stare out the window from the kitchen of your childhood home, a smile on your face at the beautiful afternoon of your backyard full with people you adore and have missed so much. 
The party was still in full swing despite the sun about to set, the laughter from the guests and a few children present rang in the air. Happiness had engulfed your heart and honestly, you had trouble believing it yourself but here you were. 
You wouldn’t trade this for anything. 
An arm snakes around your waist from behind and you would have been startled if you hadn’t felt Atsumu’s presence a minute ago. Despite not having seen each other in years, everything about him was still familiar. Sure, there were a few things about him that you didn’t know but that didn’t mean that he still wasn’t your Atsumu that you’ve grown to love. 
“Thank you,” he whispers as he nuzzles his nose into your hair, a smile playing on his lips. 
You place your hands atop of his and lean yourself back into his warmth, your brows furrowing in confusion. “What are you thanking me for?” 
“For everything,” he lets out a sigh, causing a shiver to run down your spine from the heat radiating from his breath close to your ear, “For giving me two amazing boys and for existing yourself.” 
Pivoting your body around so that you were facing Atsumu, your hands settling on his chest as you look up at him with your lips curling up to an assuring smile, “Thank you.” 
“And what for?” Atsumu questions, matching your own smile with his own as his hands cup your face. He lowers his head slowly, nudging your nose with his own as the pads of his thumbs brush delicately against your skin. 
Heat spreads across your cheeks at his gestures, feeling shy yourself but despite that, the majority of what you felt was only comfort in being in his arms. “For loving me as much as I love you.” 
He hums in response, placing a quick kiss to your lips. “No, I probably do love you more. More than you can imagine.” 
Before you could respond, he places his lips back firmly on yours and your eyelids flutter shut as if on instinct. The hands of yours that were resting on his chest eventually found their way around his torso to pull him close. Tilting your head to the side, the kiss itself deepens as he runs his fingers through your hair. 
It just felt so natural being with him.
Before the kiss could grow more heated however, a loud yell from outside had interrupted the both of you causing you to pull away much to both of your dismay. Your heads turn towards the direction of the commotion, the bouncy castle coming into view.
Or rather, the depleting bouncy castle with Bokuto and Hinata coming out hastily in laughter. 
You shake your head at the scene, a bubble of laughter leaving your lips before turning your head back over to look at the man before you. Just when you had decided to pull back and return to your duties of being a mother, he wraps his arms back around your waist to pull you back against him. Another laugh escapes your lips as you playfully slap his chest, “What now? We have a party going on, we have to entertain our gue-” 
“Move in with me,” he interrupts, his features showing nothing but seriousness. 
You meet his sincere gaze with your own and your heart makes a leap out of joy. There was only one answer you could possibly give. 
“Yes.”
168 notes · View notes
champagne problems (part 1)
here's my first part of my modern no magic "champagne problems" singer-songwriter quarantine thomastair AU! happy birthday to @foxglove-airmid even though I don't think it's your birthday where you live anymore (and I still haven't posted zia's birthday fic, it'll happen I swear)!
no content warnings for this part (besides maybe quarantine), but future parts will include discussions of mental illness, substance abuse, and a suicide attempt
obviously, the song alastair "wrote" in the fic is not mine, it's by taylor swift! and a few of the lyrics have been changed!
Masterlist | AO3
Thomas breathed out a sigh of relief as he lugged his suitcase up onto the fifth floor landing.
“‘Ere we are,” Piers announced as he unlocked the door.
Thomas was utterly exhausted, such was the result of taking a redeye flight across the Atlantic during a global pandemic, but any idea of rest that he’d had was interrupted when he heard the sound of piano flood the apartment.
“Ah, sorry about that,” Piers nodded, “One of my flatmates, the walls are paper thin. He can’t record at the studio right now, but he’s trying to finish his EP, so it’s been a bit noisier around here. He’ll take a break soon, hopefully.”
Thomas shook his head. “It’s no problem. Thank you, again, for allowing me to stay here. I’ll be looking for my own place as soon as the quarantine is up.”
“Of course. You’ve got the couch as long as you need it. Couldn’t just hang you out to dry, could I? Although, you did pick a god awful time to move to the city, if I do say so myself.”
Thomas sat down on the couch and tried to make himself comfortable. It was more comfortable than the flight or the airport, at least. “I know… I considered postponing the move, but the visa was so difficult to get, I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity. They say this will all blow over in a couple of weeks, but borders are closing and I heard talk of them suspending all pending visa applications. I didn't know how long it would be if I waited, if the job was even still here for me at all.” Although at first entrance, the music had seemed to be a nuisance, it now comforted him. It wasn’t bad at all, in fact, it quite reminded him of the days Alastair’s playing had filled their flat…
“Where did you say you were working again? At a record company?”
“Yeah. I’m just doing pretty basic stuff for now, but if I ever do want to record my own music, I’ve got to start somewhere.”
“Hm,” Piers said, gesturing to the room the music was coming from. “Perhaps you’ll get on with him well, then. Would you like some tea?”
Thomas nodded and Piers went to start the teapot. Piers continued, “Though I suppose he's more of the tortured artist type. Very reserved, quite prickly. I didn't even meet him until a couple weeks after I moved in here because he was off in some psychiatric hospital.” Thomas shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He was never one for gossip. “My other roommate’s nice, though, I think you’ll like him. He-”
“How did you end up in New York, again? I don’t think I ever asked.”
Piers dove into the subject change quite readily, explaining his uni - or college - years in New York City and his decision to stay afterwards. Thomas had tuned most of it out, truthfully. It wasn’t that he was trying to be rude, but he was rather exhausted, and Piers was wearing thin on his patience.
As the kettle started to whine, Thomas heard the musician begin to sing, and he froze. It sounded so much like Alastair. But it couldn't be, could it? With over 8 million people living in the city, he would not end up in Alastair's apartment by accident. His Alastair was certainly reserved and prickly, but it wasn't possible. It must be like all those times he thought he saw him on a street he'd never walked or heard his laugh in a café he'd never been to. Just his mind, tricking him. Even if he knew that voice so well, despite not hearing it in so long.
“It’s quite good, isn’t it? His first single just dropped.” Piers asked, bringing over his cup of tea. He hadn’t realized it, but he’d been staring intently at the door.
Thomas took the cup. “Hm? Yeah, I guess. Thanks.”
“You should look it up. It’s called “champagne problems” by Simurgh. That’s spelled- Well, it should come up.”
The name Simurgh sounded familiar, but Thomas couldn’t put his finger on where he knew it from. At Piers’ insistence, he pulled out his phone and brought up the song. As he skimmed through the first few lines, a cold feeling settled in his stomach.
“You booked the night train for a reason So you could sit there in this hurt Bustling crowds or silent sleepers You're not sure which is worse”
“Simurgh,” Thomas realized.
“Yeah, I think it’s Arabic or something.”
It took Thomas a moment to process that Piers was responding to him. “It’s Persian.” He was certain that Alastair would have some very stern words to say if he heard Piers confusing the two, actually. Thomas had admittedly let his Farsi skills deteriorate quite a bit since the breakup, but he was fairly certain the name came from the Shahnameh. There was no doubt in Thomas’ mind now: he was staying in Alastair’s apartment, and Alastair’s first single was about one of the most painful days in Thomas’ life. “I, er, I used to study it.”
“Oh, yes, that’s right!” Piers launched into a tangent that Thomas tuned out as he read through the rest of the page.
“Because I dropped your hand while dancing Left you out there standing Crestfallen on the landing Champagne problems”
“Thomas? Are you alright?”
He realized then that his hand was trembling so badly that his tea nearly spilled. He used his other hand to steady it. “Oh, uh, yes, I’m just tired.”
“Perhaps you should rest. I can ask Alastair to quiet down for a while-”
“No!” he exclaimed rather too forcefully. “No, that’s not necessary. I’d just rather not talk, if that’s alright.”
Piers nodded.
Thomas kept reading.
“Your mom's ring in your pocket My picture in your wallet Your heart was glass, I dropped it Champagne problems”
Of all the songs, why did he release the one about him? Why was it about a memory still so painful in Thomas’ heart, all of these years later? He remembered it so well, standing there, alone, shattered into a million pieces.
“You told your family for a reason You couldn't keep it in Your sister splashed out on the bottle Now no one's celebrating”
He was fairly certain that Barbara had been more excited than even he was, confident that Alastair would accept, and so very proud of her baby brother, all grown up. She’d been furious when it fell apart, but it was her who stood with him during the aftermath, who boarded him onto a train to Edinburgh to visit Eugenia when he couldn’t stand to be in the same city as him any longer, who went through his phone, blocking all of Alastair’s accounts so that he could obsess over him no longer, who comforted him as he wept and held him as he picked the pieces of himself back up again.
And all the more sour was the memory in light of her death.
“Dom Pérignon, you brought it No crowd of friends applauded Your hometown skeptics called it Champagne problems”
He looked up at Piers, who had fortunately become enthralled with something on his phone and was no longer paying Thomas any mind. He lifted the teacup gingerly to his lips, but he felt far too sick to take a drink.
“You had a speech, you're speechless Love slipped beyond your reaches And I couldn't give a reason Champagne problems”
A reason, that’s all Thomas had wanted. Just any explanation. He understood if they were moving too fast, or perhaps he’d misread something, but he just didn’t understand it.
Why? Why can’t you tell me why? I deserve an explanation, Alastair. Please, anything.
I… I’m sorry, Thomas.
Stop it! Stop apologizing! We can just go home and pretend this never happened, please, forget about all of it, it was a stupid idea-
Thomas, stop. I shouldn’t’ve… This was a mistake. I’m sorry I didn’t see that sooner.
That was the moment Thomas felt his heart stop beating.
“Your Midas touch on the Chevy door November flush and your flannel cure "This dorm was once a madhouse" I made a joke, "Well, it's made for me" How evergreen, our group of friends Don't think we'll say that word again And soon they'll have the nerve to deck the halls That we once walked through”
Despite the nearly two decades Thomas had spent in London before Alastair, it was never the same without him. He saw him everywhere he went, despite knowing he was thousands of miles away. After graduating uni that May, he accepted a spot at a graduate program in Spain and didn’t look back.
“One for the money, two for the show I never was ready so I watch you go Sometimes you just don't know the answer 'Til someone's on their knees and asks you "You’re the only one I want by my side, What a shame you’re fucked in the head," you said”
Those were the words that haunted Thomas’ nightmares, even now.
It’s you! It’s only you for me! It was always going to be you! But I can see now that I was never going to be enough for you, you and your secrets and walls and your lies. It’s a shame… it’s a shame you’re so fucked in the head, Alastair. You’ll never truly love anyone, will you? You’re not physically capable of it.
Alastair hadn’t responded. Thomas had wanted a rise out of him, any reaction at all, despite knowing how lethal and volatile Alastair could become when provoked. But there was nothing. Not a flicker of anything in his steeled expression. He’d simply looked down, apologized again for any pain that he’d caused, and left.
That was the last time they’d spoken.
Thomas and his sister left for Edinburgh that night, and when he’d returned to London, Alastair was gone.
“Well, you'll find the real thing instead Who'll patch up your tapestry that I shred And hold your hand while dancing Never leave you standing Crestfallen on the landing With champagne problems”
Thomas couldn’t imagine giving his heart to anyone again, not now and certainly not then. He’d dated in Madrid, but it had always stayed casual. He’d made sure of it. He could see now that he and Alastair had gotten together quickly, moved in together quickly, done all of it very quickly. After all, he’d fallen hard and fast. He gave all of himself to Alastair, and he’d nearly lost all of himself in the process.
“Your mom's ring in your pocket New picture in your wallet You won't remember all my Champagne problems
“You won't remember all my Champagne problems”
Now, he wondered what the rest of the story was. He’d convinced himself that Alastair had never loved him, that he was heartless and cruel, though he’d known that wasn’t true. Could Alastair have written this song if he’d never truly loved him? Perhaps he was a sociopath.
Thomas felt like he should run. Like he should pick up his bag and dart out of the apartment before Alastair could notice him, find some hotel somewhere with undoubtedly extraordinary high rates and just pretend like this never happened. He could get back on a plane and go back home to his parents and delete his phone browser history and pretend like this was all just a bad dream. But he could not move.
He didn’t know how many minutes had passed before Alastair’s door opened. He looked up with a start.
“Thomas,” Alastair breathed. He stood wide eyed, flushed.
“Do you two already know each other then?” Piers asked.
There was a moment of silence before Thomas cleared his throat. “We used to,” he said, looking down.
“I, er, I forgot that your friend was coming today,” Alastair told Piers. “It’s quite a long journey from London, you should have told me, I would have been quieter.”
Thomas considered correcting him for a moment, but decided not to. “Don’t worry about it. I heard you had your first big release. Congratulations.”
Alastair gave an awkward nod. “Thank you. Right, well, I’ll just…” He rushed over to the kitchen and pulled a bottle of water from the fridge. “I’ll try to be a bit quieter.”
“Don’t- It’s fine, really. In fact, I’m sure there’s some hotel in the area I can stay at for now, actually-”
“Well, don’t leave on my account,” Alastair interrupted. “We agreed to let you stay here, and the city’s a bloody mess right now. I’ll stay out of your hair, Thomas.”
Thomas only nodded as Alastair disappeared back behind his bedroom door.
Thanks for reading! Taglist (ask to be +/-): @stxr-thxif @chaos-and-starlight @zosiaenrique @lifewouldbebetteronmars @littlx-songbxrd @dianasarrow @eugeniaslongsword @bookswitchcraftandcats @jamesherondaleofficial @thomas-gaypanic-lightwood @livingformyself @anarmorofwords @foxglove-airmid @writeforjordelia @sapphic-in @jem-nasium @fortheloveofthecarstairs @alastair-esfandiyar-carstairs1 @shadowrunner2000 @thewarthatsavedmylife @fair-childd @itsjusta-j-really
85 notes · View notes
Text
sister’s approval ~ machine gun kelly
word count: 1415
request?: yes!
“Machine gun Kelly x female reader. The reader is Kells younger sister who’s a singer and who’s really close to kells. When kells and Megan start dating people start saying how Megan is trying to push her out of kells life, trying to make kells forget about his sister even though Megan and kells sister immediately became best friends when kells introduced them. She finally has enough of people saying stuff about Megan and she posts on social media saying that she’s tired of people saying stuff that isn’t true and that her and Megan are best friends and she doesn’t hate Megan and that she’s really happy that her brother found someone as amazing as Megan. Please and thank you”
description: in which the tabloids are trying to paint her brother’s girlfriend as a bad person, so she decides to set the record straight
pairing: machine gun kelly x sister!reader
warnings: swearing
masterlist (one, two)
Tumblr media
She ran right past her brother and immediately tackled his girlfriend instead. Megan chuckled and hugged (Y/N) back as Colson watched with amusement.
“Good to see you too, sis,” he said.
“Yeah, yeah, you’re cool I guess,” (Y/N) said, waving Colson’s comment away. “We both know I’m here for Megan.”
“Weird, I thought you were here to record a song with me.”
“That’s like the side quest, the main mission is Megan.”
Colson rolled his eyes. (Y/N) made her way to his home studio, basically making herself at home in his house.
Despite both of them being in the music business for over 10 years, neither of the Baker siblings had ever done a song together. With the production of his next album, Colson insisted that (Y/N) made a feature on the album. She said yes on the condition that they both kept it an absolute secret until it was released to which Colson agreed.
(Y/N) threw herself down onto the couch in Colson’s home studio and pulled her songwriting notebook from her bag. “I have a few different verses written just because when I started writing I couldn’t stop. You choose one that sounds best with the rest of the song.”
“I’m sure all of them would work.
“Yeah but we can’t do a six verse song, that’s just too long. Pick one and I’ll use the others for a different song.”
Colson took the notebook and read through the verses. (Y/N) took her phone to look through social media while he read them. Megan was sat next to her, sending each other 8 Ball games back and forth between social media sessions.
After scrolling through Instagram for a while, (Y/N) switched to Twitter to find her own name trending. Confused, she clicked it to find an article at the top of the trend. The title read: “MGK blows off sister again! The rapper stands up (Y/N) for Megan Fox yet again”, accompanied by a picture of (Y/N) sat alone outside of a restaurant.
She didn’t have to read the rest of the article to know it was bullshit. The picture was of (Y/N) waiting on a friend outside the restaurant, not Colson, and the headline was so false that (Y/N)’s hands started to shake.
“(Y/N)? You good?”
Colson’s voice brought (Y/N) out of her enraged trance. She looked up to see him and Megan looking at her, expectantly.
“Yeah, I’m good,” she responded. However, another brief glance at her phone brought her anger back. “Actually, no, I’m not. I’ll be right back.”
She got up and walked out of the studio. She went to the living room, far enough away that she knew they wouldn’t be able to hear her as she filmed her video.
The press had been trying to pin (Y/B) and Megan against one another since she and Colson started dating. (Y/N) and Colson had always been close, but once Colson started dating Megan, the paparazzi started taking pictures of just the two of them or just (Y/N), totally ignoring the fact that (Y/N) was constantly posting pictures and tweets about Megan, and that all three of them spent time together often.
(Y/N) had had enough of the lies and the clickbait just to make Megan and Colson look like bad people. She was about to set the record straight, whether people wanted to hear it and believe it or not.
She switched her phone to Instagram again and went to her story. She held her phone up so that she was framed perfectly in the shot and held down on the button to begin recording.
“Hey everyone! I just wanted to address something really quick,” she started. She held the phone out so that the camera would pick up the background. “You see this behind me? This living room I’m in? This is Colson’s living room, because I am in Colson’s house. I am here spending time with him and with Megan, as I do almost every day. I am bringing this up because I just saw yet another article trying to make it out as if Colson has stopped spending time with me due to Megan. These articles are nothing but clickbait and lies to try and grab reader’s attention, especially the attention of my fans.
“Colson and I have not had any sort of falling out. There are no ill wishes from me towards Megan, and vice versa. In fact, Megan is my best friend. I like her more than I like Colson. And no, Colson has not stood me up or dumped me for Megan. Does he like to have his alone time with her? Of course! All couples do! But we still spend time together and we still talk to one another. There’s no bad blood between any of us. To the tabloids that have been spewing this bullshit for nearly a year now, I’d like for you all to kindly and politely shut the fuck up and move on. If I keep seeing this slander about my family, I will not hesitate to take legal action. To any of my fans who actually believe this and are sending hateful messages to Colson and Megan, I also beg you to stop. They are my family, and by hurting them you are hurting me. Whether you choose to believe this video or not is totally up to you, but this is the truth. All three of us, we’re a family. So fuck off of my family.”
(Y/N)’s hands were still shaking as she pressed “post”. She watched the videos load one by one before they were all posted to her story. The moment they went up, the views came flooding in, as did the positive messages. Many of her fans sent her private messages in response to the story, telling her they were sorry that she and Colson had to deal with that and assuring her that the real fans knew there was no ill intentions between the three of them.
Satisfied that she had finally gotten that off her chest, (Y/N) went to Colson’s kitchen and poured herself a glass of water before going back to the home studio. As she walked through the door, both Colson and Megan’s heads turned to look at her.
“Did you guys want water, too?” she asked, trying to lighten the mood.
“You could’ve told us you were going to film that video,” Colson said. “We could’ve addressed the rumors, too.”
(Y/N) sighed and took her spot on the couch again. “I know that, but I felt like it had to be me addressing it. I was the one being made out to be a victim. If you guys said anything before I did, everyone would just think you’re trying to cover your own asses. You can make statements if you want, but I felt like I had to be the first one to speak up about this.”
“She’s right,” Megan agreed. “If we came out about it first it would just be fuel to the tabloid’s fire. Although, I don’t think we should have to make any sort of statement about it. The fact that anyone believes that shit makes no sense to me.”
“People like to demonize celebrities they don’t like,” (Y/N) responded. “Whether it’s true or not. Chances are that video will be taken out of context to fit their agenda, but whatever. I said my piece, I’m moving on.” She nodded to her notebook in Colson’s hand. “Did you choose a verse?”
Colson looked down at the notebook before passing it back to (Y/N). “They’re all really good, so I thought maybe, instead of one single, we do an entire album together.”
(Y/N)’s eyes widened. “Are you serious? Like you actually wanna do that?”
Colson nodded. “Yeah! I think it’ll be a fun surprise to both of our fanbases, and it’ll definitely make up for the last ten years where we haven’t worked together.”
(Y/N) was basically bouncing with excitement. “Oh my God, this album is gonna be so fucking awesome! We should give it a really cheesy name, like Baker’s Dozen.”
“No,” Colson said.
“Yes!” Megan retorted.
“Two against one, it’s being called Baker’s Dozen,” (Y/N) decided. She and Megan high fived while Colson buried his head in his hands and let out a groan.
303 notes · View notes
likeiwishiknew · 3 years
Text
Azriel x Gwyn - The Jump
https://archiveofourown.org/works/29716227/chapters/73319802
Tumblr media
He was not a fan of birthdays. 
He certainly never celebrated his own. 
But the Night Court, his family, enjoyed them plenty. Though, admittedly, they enjoyed any occasion where they could all gather together for good fun and good wine. 
Tonight was Nesta’s birthday, and Cassian had gone all out on decorating the House of Wind. Rhys had gifted the place to Cassian and Nesta in honor of their mating, but Azriel still kept rooms here. The pair had insisted upon it, saying that it was much his home as it was theirs. 
Azriel wasn’t so sure about that. Home...he didn’t quite know what that was supposed to feel like. 
He stood off to the side as he always did, watching the revelry. 
Mor was speaking to Emerie. There was an ease between them that he was quite certain he’d never before seen from the female who’d once consumed his thoughts. 
It was no question that Mor was beautiful. He would always acknowledge that, would always care for her, but after centuries of pining after her, he found, in recent years, she no longer affected him the way she used to. And in truth, he was grateful for it. 
Over the centuries he’d tried to convince himself to be content with what they had. That her companionship, her friendship was enough. But that was the thing about one-sided love. No matter how hard you might feign contentment at being able to remain by their side, a part of you would always hope for more. And a heart that yearned for someone who showed no reciprocation was bound to become bitter. 
He was no exception.
One would think it would’ve made him wise enough not to ensure he never fell into the same pattern again. But he damn near had. 
Elain Archeron was lovely, gentle, and seemed to have shared his attraction. 
She was also another’s mate. 
He and Rhys had almost come to blows over Azriel attraction to the middle Archeron sister. His brother had gone as far as ordering him to stay away. An order that had irked him and had the dominant side of him almost determined to go against his High Lord’s order, if for no other reason than to prove his will was no one’s to command. However, time and some distance had given him perspective. He’d come to realize that perhaps it wasn’t so much Elain that he wanted but the idea of her. The idea of belonging with someone so beautiful and soft. The idea of being made whole, the way his brothers had when they’d found their mates. 
That was what he wanted, to feel whole. To be unbroken. 
His quiet introspection was interrupted by a burst of laughter. His eyes darted across the room at the almost musical sound. He caught sight of Gwyn speaking to Nesta and Cassian. Her face alight with happiness.
He hadn’t seen her since their uncomfortable encounter at the shop.
The sight of her put him in good spirits. Until he noticed the excessive rosy tint to her complexion. It took him a second to realize the issue. 
She was drunk, or at least well on her way to it. 
What the hell? 
He headed to where she was, eating up the distance in a few long strides. 
Cassian was the first to notice his approach. His brother gave him an interested look. Perhaps, surprised to see him headed toward people rather than away from them. 
He came up beside Gwyn, something she would normally detect immediately. But with her dulled senses she took far too long to notice. 
When she finally did she only looked up at him in confusion, like she did not know who he was. 
“Are you drunk?” he asked concerned. 
A mischievous smile crossed her face, recognition in her eyes at the sound of his voice.
“Maybe just a tiny bit,” she admitted, raising her fingers to emphasize how tiny. 
Nesta spoke up, “It hadn’t occurred to me how low her alcohol tolerance would be. Though, in retrospect, it should’ve. I doubt she grew up drinking much at the temple.” 
“I feel great though,” Gwyn interjected. 
Cassian gave her an affectionate smile. His friend looked as though he found this amusing. Azriel did not. He wanted to insist she go rest and sober up, but he knew in his gut she would not appreciate being ordered about. 
“Perhaps, you should like to get some air,” he offered instead. 
Her smile grew wider and she nodded, “That is a most excellent idea.” 
She turned to Nesta and Cassian, “Would you the two of you like to join?” 
Nesta smiled at her friend.
“I think we’ll stay inside, mingle with the others. But you’ll be safe with Azriel,” his brother’s mate started saying, only to meet his eyes, “Right, Az?” 
He returned her stare, “Of course.”
Nesta gave an approving nod and took Cassian by the hand, leading him away. 
Azriel offered Gwyn his arm, uncertain she’d be able to make her way to the balcony without some assistance. He waited for her to scoff, offended, but she took it with no protest. 
He led her over to the double doors leading to the balcony and pushed them open.
Releasing his arm, she rushed to the edge. Her face was awash with wonder as she took in the light of the stars, almost as if seeing them for the very first time.
He quietly observed as she took a deep breath, taking in the cool night air. 
“You know I never knew how much I missed the sky until I saw it for the first time again after spending nearly two years locked away in the dark,” she confessed, a smile on her face, “I thank the stars, that I found the courage to meet Nesta and Cassian up here that first day.” 
He did too. 
In moments like this, he was in awe of her. This young woman, whose soul remained bright, whose heart still managed to be grateful, even after all she’d endured. 
Gwyn spun back around to him, “Shall we play a game?” she teased. 
He smirked at her, “What sort of game?”
“A trust game,” she hopped up onto the ledge, sending his heart damn near leaping out of his chest.
“What are you doing?” 
She stood facing him and shot him a playful smile. 
“Game starts...now!” she called out, letting herself fall backward off the ledge. 
Fuck. He cursed. 
He spread his wings and jumped after her. 
She was falling fast, but he was faster. He swept her up into his arms and pulled her close. Moments later, he had them touching down gently on the ground below. 
“What the hell was that!?” his voice near shouting. 
Gwyn tapped her chin in thought, “I believe humans call it a trust fall.” 
His brows furrowed in annoyance, “You could’ve been hurt.”
She stared at him, looking genuinely surprised at his frustration, “I only did it because I knew it was safe.” 
“Jumping off a balcony when you cannot fly is hardly safe,” he admonished.
“It is when I know you’ll catch me,” she all but sang back, grinning up at him. 
He fell silent at her admission. He wasn’t sure how to respond. 
So, he shook his head and changed the subject. 
“Let’s get you back into the house.” 
As he readied to fly them back up, she spoke. 
“About the necklace...” she started. 
He winced that the mention, uncertain he wished to discuss it with her in her current state or any state. 
But she was too drunk to pick up on his mood.
“I want you to know I was never angry I was...hurt some. But mostly I was...embarrassed...I think...I don’t...it doesn’t matter,” she trailed off, “I know you didn’t have ill intentions. I’m the one who made assumptions.”
He paused. About what?
“So it wasn’t you who hurt me. It was me. I - never mind, it is silly anyways.”
“No. It’s not. Tell me,” he insisted. 
She hesitated, “I was silly for thinking someone like you would like someone like me.” 
Her admission floored him. Why would she think that?
Any male would be so lucky to -
He stopped himself. He couldn’t have this conservation now. Not when she likely wouldn’t even remember any of this come morning. 
Tucking her close to his chest, he went ahead and winnowed them back upstairs. 
Gwyn glanced around, clearly not understanding how she’d gotten from one place to the next. 
“I’m taking you back to your room,” he declared. 
She shook her head, “You can’t enter the dorm area, priestess’ only.” 
Damn, that was right. Funny how she happened to remember that little detail. 
As though summoned by her sister’s presence, Nesta appeared.
“She’s a bit of mess so it probably would not be wise to bring her downstairs,” the female pointed out, “I’ll take her back to my old rooms, that way if she needs anything I’ll be close by.” 
“It’s alright. I’ll bring her,” he insisted. 
Nesta raised a single brow. 
“I want to make sure she’s fine,” he defended, holding the female’s stare. 
“And you don’t trust that I’d make sure of that?” Nesta returned, with the barest hint of offense. 
“I - Nesta, please, let me do this," he requested. 
She took him in with her all too seeing gaze. 
They stayed like that. Assessing each other, until she realized he wouldn’t yield on this. At which point, she only nodded her assent. He gave a single nod, passing her to take the stairs up. 
Reaching the room in little time at all, he opened the door - taking care not to jostle Gwyn in his arms. 
With steady footsteps, he headed over to the large bed. Kneeling on the edge, he laid her down as gently as possible. 
His shadows danced around her, kissing her skin as though wishing her good night. 
She curled up with his arm. He tried to pull away but she held on tight. 
“Gwyn, Gwyn,” he whispered, to no avail. 
He brushed back a strand of hair that had fallen into her face, and she nuzzled his hand. Her hold on him loosening. 
He was about to pull away again when she whispered his name, “Azriel.”
The sound was so faint he wondered if he’d imagined it. He stared down at her, trying to discern if she was awake. But she did not stir. 
His name on her lips brought the tiniest smile to his face. Carefully, he extracted himself from her hold and reluctantly got off the bed. Something inside him calmed at the sight of her peacefully sleeping face. He stared down at the hand she’d held in hers. 
“If there’s anyone who isn’t good enough, it’s me,” he whispered, eyes returning to her.  
He stroked her cheek with his thumb, “Goodnight, Berbara.” 
- - - 
Her head was pounding. 
She had a sour taste on her tongue, and she was unbelievably thirsty.
Turning over in bed, she opened her eyes. It took all of two seconds for her to realize this was not her room. She sat up and frantically looked around. Absolutely nothing looked familiar. 
Staring toward the door Gwyn willed herself to remember how she’d gotten here. 
She took a deep breath and counted down from twenty. By the time she reached ten, everything from the night before came flooding back. Her face heated from embarrassment. 
God, she could not believe she’d done and said those things. 
Glancing on the nightstand she realized someone had placed a jug of water there, along with a glass. She smiled at the thoughtfulness. 
Filling it to the brim, she took a large sip. When she suddenly remembered she had morning plans. 
With Azriel. 
Oh, gods. 
She was never drinking again.
For a brief instant, she considered not showing up. But that idea went as quickly as it had come.
She was a grown woman. She would not hide from her mistakes and avoid Azriel when he’d been nothing but good to her. Despite her ridiculous behavior. With that in mind, she jumped out of bed and quickly hurried back to her own room, to change out her clothes, before heading up to meet him.
Gwyn had just made it past the archway when Azriel turned. He looked almost surprised to see her. Which was strange because surely his shadows had warned him of her approach. 
He watched with keen focus as she approached.
“I wasn’t sure you’d come,” he admitted.
She met his handsome gaze head-on, “I wouldn’t miss this. I know how busy you are, and I’m the one who asked you to teach me the technique I found in the old tome.”
For a moment, Azriel said nothing. She started to grow a bit anxious, but thankfully he put her out of her misery. 
“Shall we get started then?” he asked. 
She nodded, getting into a fighting stance. 
And with that, they fell into familiar territory.
- - -
Any unease and tension between them had faded with each calculated movement.
He would have to leave soon. Spymaster business. Nesta mentioned it to her the other day in passing when she’d visited her in the library.
In one final attempt to take him down, she darted forward. But just before her hit landed, he stepped out of the way. Her momentum had her tumbling forward, but before she started to fall Azriel caught her by the arm and pulled her back.
Still off-balance, she didn’t catch herself in time and wound up crashing into his firm chest.
Palm pressed against him, she pulled back. Praying she managed to keep from blushing, she looked up into his warm hazel eyes. 
“Thank you for catching me,” she voiced, and then, remembering events of the night before, she added, “Both times.”
A smile slowly curved his lips. He leaned in and whispered in her ear, “You’re welcome, on both counts.”
She knew she was doing a piss poor job of not blushing.
“Oh, also, I meant what I said by way. I know you giving me the necklace didn’t mean what I thought it did. So you don’t have to worry about me having any silly ideas.” 
Gwyn felt him stiffen. Turning her head, she saw his expression had shuttered at her words. Which left her a bit confused. 
Perhaps, her words hurt because they made him think of his own situation. How he pined after a female who already had a mate. It pained her to see him this way, but it wasn’t her place to address it. He wasn’t hers to worry over. 
“Right...well I should go. I mean, I know you have somewhere else to be and so do I so...”
When he said nothing to stop her. She turned to leave.
His voice was so quiet, she almost didn’t hear him, “Gwyn...are we okay?” he asked hesitantly.
She looked over her shoulder at him. She was the one who’d made a fool of herself yet he seemed to be the one beating himself up over his own mistakes. 
She smiled, meaning every word, “We’ll always be okay.”
~~~
Author notes: I thankfully have not been privy to much the fandom drama that apparently has been occurring as of late, and for that I am grateful. But knowing that it is happening somewhat inspired the ending for this chapter. The reminder that no matter the drama: We will be okay. I genuinely enjoy this series, and I obviously ship Gwynriel. But I know that at the end of the day, this is a work of fiction. We’re meant to get enjoyment out of it. Not start petty wars over it. Anyways, that’s all I have to say on the topic and I promise shall not bring it up again because I don’t like to invite negativity into my life. I hope you all enjoy the latest chapter, and if so do please like and comment =D
Bonus notes: 
Me: You’ve determined a schedule Cindy. Do not post until Saturday.
Also me: The world needs more Gwynriel / Azriel x Gwyn content now!
Me:...
Me: Random whims you win again! 
So yeah, let’s just say I’ll post once a week whenever I fancy the chapter complete 😆
~~~
@azrielsshadowsdanceforgwyn @bittermuire @ofstarsanddreams @corrdolium
@brucexselina @inejjg @rhysmoira @gwynnight @fairytamy @bluegold08 @amandapearls @highqueentaey @lioness-says @chosenfamily-valkyriequeens​
@my-fan-side​
131 notes · View notes
katnissmellarkkk · 3 years
Text
Andddd here’s my chappy three thoughts 🥳🥳🥳
Tumblr media
Hmmm Katniss saying that her mother has a dress made of velvet is actually really interesting because it shows that Mrs. Everdeen Lily-Rose really was well-er off before she married Katniss’ father Hunter.
Or did she get the velvet dress from Maysilee? Oh well, who knows.
Aww, Katniss’ nervous habit of touching soft things repeatedly to soothe herself 🤧🤧.
“Crying is not an option. There will be more cameras at the train station.” — someone tell that to Peeta 🤣🤣🤣.
Okay I gotta stop picking on Primmers, I know but like. How small is she that she sits on Katniss’ lap like a toddler but then in the following year is the same height as her? Doesn’t matter I know but still I wonder.
Okay so Mrs. E is the doctor for the people of the Seam? Idk I never thought about this but who does people like Peeta or Madge or Delly go to if they’re sick or hurt? Is there a still running apothecary shop that Katniss never mentions? Are her grandparents still running the family biz?
Also okay, I gotta stop having so many thoughts on all the lil details I know but like. Katniss says here she’s familiar with the herbs her mother doesn’t grow on her own so like a). Katniss is more of a healer than she leads on because no average person knows what kind of plant is medicinal and b). Her mother is just growing herbs and Katniss never mentions it again in the whole series? Or I just missed it.
Okay imma move on from this one singular paragraph but Gale and her made a pact a year ago that they’ll supply each other’s family with game if they were to be reaped... I’m feeling like their close friendship is probably only one year old then? Idk. Just my interpretation.
Honestly I love Katniss getting mad at her mom here.
She’s sixteen, for God’s sake, of course she’s angry at what her mother’s illness put her through.
Also I lowkey like that her mother got mad back because that lady in the movies had zero personality.
“Boys who are two to three times my size.” She sounds so little, omg 🥺🥺🥺.
“I don’t care if we’re rich, I just really want you to come home” 🤧🤧🤧😩😩😩😩 okay Primmers, you got me here.
“the Peacekeeper is at the door, signaling our time is up, and we're all hugging one another so hard it hurts and all I'm saying is ‘I love you. I love you both.’ And they're saying it back...” this is so sad leave me be 😫😫😫😫
Katniss is burying her face in a pillow to block out her emotions this is too much for me 🥵🥵🥵
Omg I forgot Peeta’s father visits Katniss 😅
Why does he visit Katniss?
She describes Peeta’s father as a “big, broad-shouldered man.” And then describes Peeta as stocky. Idk the comparison of the two descriptions has always led me to think Peeta is gonna be a big dude when he grows up like his father. This made no sense and had zero correlation but I thought, so I said it, no regrets
Oh he brought her cookies 🤧
WAIT WAIT WAIT. I just had a new thought, y’all. What if instead of the baker bringing cookies being a thing he does for all tributes, what if he’s bringing the cookies because Peeta asked him to, because he made them and wants to give them to Katniss and knows she’ll never accept / trust them coming from her competition? What if that’s the real reason the baker visited her in the first place? Because Peeta asked him to? This was such a shipper comment but idc, no regrets, remember?
Omg Peeta’s father is just mute 🤣🤣🤣
Between an abusive, angry mother and a mute for a father, the Mellark brothers must have had a fairytale of a childhood 😅😅😅😅.
But seriously #PoorPeetaMyBaby
Aww Peeta’s father is gonna help keep Prim alive 😭
Omg I just remembered he’s her mother’s ex boyfriend. Haidon Mellark, as I named him in my fics.
That one fic where he was thought to be Prim’s real father is just playing now in my head, rent free.
But does Katniss not realize that he may be offering to help Prim as a favor to her? Like she claims Prim is just so wonderful people adore her but there’s like zero evidence in the text that make her endearing? Okay I need to turn this bus around, I need to find a love for Primmy Deen.
Madge is not one for preamble apparently. No “hi, how are you? I’m sorry you’re gonna die? What will your last meal be?” Just right to “here, wear this family heirloom of mine, k thanks.”
I like that Madge had to kiss her cheek for Katniss to realize they were friends 😅😅😅.
I remember always loving her and Gale’s hug here. I’ve always felt like it was platonic, but especially when I first read the books and had zero preference one way or another for Gale or Peeta, I really liked how she said even with nothing romantic between them, “when he opens his arms, I don’t hesitate to go to him” or something I’m paraphrasing ok I’m lazy
Also though, this is the first time they’ve ever hugged? Idk why that surprises me? It shouldn’t because where is a hug gonna fit into a hunting trip 😅🤣😂 “I just caught a deer!” “let’s celebrate with a hug!”
I like that Katniss remembers how her father even failed to make a good bow sometimes. Random, I know.
I like that the Capitol weren’t entertained by the people freezing to deaths because it wasn’t bloody enough 🤭🙃
“How different can it be [to kill a human vs an animal]?” She’s about to find out, Gale 🥺. And when she comes back you won’t understand 🙄😔
What did Gale want to say before the Peacekeepers dragged him away?
I used to think it was a confession of love but I’m actually sure it wasn’t now? Just the wording “remember I-“ doesn’t sound like it, considering he never confessed anything prior to her coming home.
I’m assuming now he was just gonna give her some more advice to stay alive 🤷🏼‍♀️. Clearly if it were relevant it would have made its way to the others books.
Aww, she’s never been inside a car before 😭😭. I didn’t even know they had cars in this universe but okay.
I notice though how she says “In the Seam, we travel on foot.” So is Peeta just riding his trolly down the street every day with the other merchants then? 🤣
Peeta just openly crying on camera 😅😢.
I like how Katniss is like “ooo is this an act to get sponsors?” when in reality Peeta’s like “no, I’m just a soft and genuine boy ™️”
Omg I just realized this totally goes along with Peeta’s thing later on “I want to die as myself”
He’s refusing to hold back his emotions because he thinks he’s doomed to die and he’s already refusing to pretend to be or feel something ingenious.
But a Johanna mention in book 1 chapter 3 woohoo 🥳🥳🥳 also Katniss comparing Jo and Peeta is kind of like foreshadowing of their shared torture in book 3.
Omg she just called Peeta broad-shouldered and strong. 🥰🥰🥰 my headcanon for his post-canon body is confirmed
Also why does Katniss keep allotting his strength to carrying bread trays around? Are they heavy? Why have I never once heard of people who carry bread trays being strong? I always thought Peeta was really strong because he learned to fight in order to defend himself against his mother but that’s probably wrong.
But if a mother is abusive, it can lead to one of the kids being physically violent as well and we know Peeta isn’t but he has two older brothers I’m gonna cut myself off now but I think we all smelled what I just stepped in.
Also I just find it so fascinating now how she regards herself vs Peeta here.
When talking about herself, she says, “The competition will be far beyond my abilities. [...] Oh, there'll be people like me, too. People to weed out before the real fun begins.” But when she talks about Peeta, she immediately says, “It would take an awful lot of weeping to convince anyone to overlook him.”
It’s just funny how she discounted herself right from the start but thought he was a real contender and then come to find out, Peeta believes it’s the exact opposite 😂🙃. They’re both so stupid I can’t even take it.
Wait did they actually give the location of the Capitol and the location of District Twelve in today’s world? And I just overlooked it? Brb I’m gonna go to google maps right quick.
Okay so basically what I gathered is the Capitol is probably in New Mexico and District Twelve is somewhere between Kentucky and Alabama. Irrelevant I know. But just a reminder now to everyone that Katniss and Peeta are literally speaking, crying and screaming in thick, backwoods southern accents.
It’s literally so sad how everything for Katniss is about food. Like every motive she has, every action she does is about preventing starvation ever again. 🤧🤧🤧
First mockingjay mention 🤭🤭.
“My father was particularly fond of mockingjays” 😭😭😭 I bet he was 😭😭😭😭
We always go on and on about how Katniss is a mockingjay or her children are mockingjays but Katniss herself here says mockingjays represent her father imma cry, y’all 😫😫😫😫
“It’s like having a piece of my father with me, protecting me” shut up shut up shut up shut up
Awww, Katniss has never had food like this before 😔😔😔
Neither has Peeta 🤧🤧
Katniss disliking the way Effie put the two kids from the year before down and so began to eat like a pig just to prove her point, is so her. And the beginning of her fighting for the underdog.
Omg the Rue introduction 🥺🥺🥺
Bahahahaha the commenters calling District Twelve backwards but charming 😅😅😅 they really are the hillbilly district
Peeta’s unexpected laugh 🥺🥺🥺 I love you, baby
“He was drunk. He’s drunk every year.” “Every day.” Katniss and Peeta are already finishing each other’s sentiments and teaming up to get on Effie’s nerves I love them so much 😍
Oh my God, Effie, you selfish jerk. They’re kids having fun for like one second, no need to throw in their faces they’re gonna die if the drunk won’t help them. I’d forgotten why I don’t really like the book version of her. I actually prefer her as comedic relief in the movies.
I actually just realized I really dislike Effie Trinket, I hope they never speak to her again Post-Mockingjay. Idc how you’re raised you don’t need to treat teenagers who are sentenced to a probable death badly just because they laughed at you 🙄🙄🙄😡😡😡😡. They didn’t even really laugh at her, she’s just annoying and awful, we don’t stan Effie in this household.
Okay, that’s all for my thoughts on chapter three! Until next time, y’all ! If anyone actually read this long mess of a post.
40 notes · View notes
sunsoothed · 3 years
Text
lightness
jang hanseo character study kinda fic i promised. i'm not sure if this is a character study anymore. i have no idea what this became. anyway! i wanted to explore hanseo and give him a bit of a backstory, so here it is!
*deep breath* content warnings: graphic descriptions of violence, physical abuse, blood, injury, canonical character death (not hanseo), recreational drug use, underage drug use, implied drug abuse
word count: 1866
read on ao3
hope you like it!
-
When Jang Hanseo is seven, he is acquainted with elder brother. Regal; nine-years-old and already hunting.
He still hides behind their father with him when he pretends to be terrified of the sound of gunfire.
Hanseo says nothing. He never brings up how his brother had thrown the bloodied rabbit and his rifle to the servant attending him, never brings up how thoroughly he washed his hands to hide the evidence of his independence from his father.
Never brings up how his brother assessed him with just a look and nothing more.
The first words Jang Hanseo’s brother says to him are as follows:
“Don’t call me hyung.”
Jang Hanseo blinks, traces his eyes over the leather of his brother’s jacket, over the blood that drips from his gloves, over the rifle he holds in his hands. He smiles.
“Okay, hyung-nim!”
A scoff, but some appraisal. Jang Hanseo doesn’t understand the half-smile he receives that autumn afternoon, but he remembers it until he beats his brother with a hockey stick, striking his head trice ‘til he’s out and his back once just for good measure, just to see the blood coming up to his mouth for him to choke on.
-
The first time his brother hits him, Jang Hanseo is eight. The ice rink is dark, and his brother is more geared up than he is.
Jang Hanseo misses thrice, scores once. He is rewarded with a swipe of the hockey stick on the back of his calf, and he thinks it is a game.
For that, he is rewarded with his first broken bone and a seared memory of a hand heavy on his throat. A laugh without mercy.
-
When Jang Hanseo is thirteen, he is offered alcohol at a party his father is hosting.
He declined, having seen first-hand what alcohol does to you, what a rage it puts his father in as he breaks porcelain, the scar he left on his mother’s cheek that lasted till the day she died.
-
When Jang Hanseo is fourteen, his brother kills four people. Classmates, he tells him, when he comes home with red speckled on his face. They weren’t worthy of being my classmates.
-
Jang Hanseo celebrates his fifteenth birthday with the diagnosis of his brother being a psychopath and accidentally tearing open the letter of a one-way ticket to the United States.
Instead of cake, he consumes his own blood, and instead of a pat on the back, he has a dislocated shoulder.
When he wakes a day later hooked to an IV, his brother is gone. The phantom of his laugh lives on, searing long into Hanseo’s conscience.
-
At fifteen-and-a-half, his father sends Hanseo to his grandmother’s for the summer. His father is undergoing a trial, on the charges of bribery, abetting murder, and perjury. With one son shipped off to the States and another to Jeju Island, he has no pawns he will feel ill about sacrificing. It’s not that he loves them. It’s that letting your son die because the ransom money you can very well afford would require you to take some shares out, and that’s too tedious of a process to go through.
So Jang Hanseo boards the short flight, stares out of the window for the longest one hour and fifteen minutes of his life so far. He’s never met his grandmother.
He wonders if she’s like his father, knowing she’s raised him, or if she’s worse.
She’s leagues different from anyone in his family.
Halmeoni scans him up and down when the driver drops him off at her estate. At the front door itself, she says, “We have a lot of fixing-up to do.”
It leaves an impression, that’s for sure.
-
The best summer of his life, Hanseo learns how to uproot weeds and catch a chicken without screaming like his life was being threatened. His halmeoni owns a farm, some 150 acres of greenery and animal and mansion.
Halmeoni teaches him first how to eat well, how to fill his plate and not feel bad about it, how to overeat and regret it. Halmeoni teaches him second that he is the most important person to himself; never his father, and not his hyung-nim.
Halmeoni teaches him third that he has no one else in the world but himself.
This, Jang Hanseo remembers the most.
(But his brother’s —)
-
With his brother’s absence, an anxiety sets into Hanseo’s veins so intensely that upon looking up his symptoms, he sees words like psychosis and personality disorder and promptly closes his laptop shut.
Unbidden, but not unwelcome, he remembers the rages his father fell into. He remembers the embers of gold in those small wide glasses that abeoji owned, remembers the crates of bottles that they used to have moved into the house. He also recalls the putrid smoke that used to emerge from the study. The smell of something burnt and something that made him cough so hard it alerted his father of his presence.
It’s in the boys washroom that he smells the scent again. By the open window, out curls smoke.
Jang Hanseo catches the eye of the assailant. Oh Yeonwoo will get him into this mess and then out. He will be Hanseo’s first true friend.
-
Jang Hanseo tries it for the first time on the terrace of the school. One joint between the two of them and nothing but heaving coughs from him until he learns how to take air after smoke and allow its natural passage back up. The joint is over by then, and Hanseo feels nothing.
Yeonwoo bumps their shoulders together, carelessly tossing the filter over the railing of the terrace. “You’ll get the hang of it,” He assures. “I didn’t even make it after a couple of joints, so you’re doing better than me already.”
Hanseo lends him a half-smile. Better than him, he thinks. When have I ever been better than anyone?
“Hanseo-yah, what’re you thinking with that scowl, hm?” Yeonwoo bumps their shoulders together again. “You’re so scary when you space out.”
“I am?”
Yeonwoo nods again. Hanseo notes something hazy in his eyes, something completely unguarded in his demeanour. He blinks cautiously.
“Hanseo-yah,” Yeonwoo whines, “Stop staring at me.”
“I’m not,” He replies. “Are —” Are you okay? Hanseo was going to ask. Stupid. Yeonwoo has settled against his shoulder now, humming some tune. He stretches his legs out in front of him and sways his feet to the rhythm. He seems better than okay.
So this is what it does, Hanseo thinks. Lightness. He wants to be light.
-
And so, Jang Hanseo, age sixteen, falls into something whose magnitude he cannot guess. Addiction is only the half of it. The other half had started the day Yeonwoo showed him something called shotgunning, which had taken his first kiss and his first experience with intoxication whose harm had lasted longer than its euphoria.
When he lies beside Yeonwoo, all too hot and all too cold, unable to distinguish which fingers are his when they hold hands, he finds it. The lightness. When Yeonwoo turns and exhales into his neck, prickling sweat and prickling hair to stand on edge, Hanseo smiles.
And when Hanseo wakes up, the dread in his gut is deeper than it’s ever been.
(— his brother’s —)
-
So it seems that boys with no family and boys with brothers who know nothing but violence and boys with a terrible, terrible blankness to them can also, by some grace of humanity, fall in love. And so it seems, as Hanseo feels the telltale thumping of his heart and lightness in his abdomen, that Yeonwoo will keep having this effect on him.
Subtlety, Yeonwoo tells him, the afternoon they sit on the roof and stare at the sky and at the smoke. Subtlety will let you get away with everything.
Subtle touches, then. Hanseo’s fingers lingering a moment too long on Yeonwoo’s arm, Hanseo’s hand firm between his shoulder blades. Subtle words, and subtle smiles, and subtle smoke between their mouths as they chase lightness.
Subtle kisses, too, when Hanseo feels he can see his own eyes in Yeonwoo’s, when Hanseo still finds the thrill of sealing his lips with Yeonwoo’s to be a minefield of his own feelings. Subtle kisses that Yeonwoo always blackens — drags them down into teeth and tongue and desire. Hanseo doesn’t know, then, that this is what differentiates them. What puts him on a curved, unshapely parabola and Yeonwoo on a straight line.
Feral, Hanseo once thinks, his gaze only slightly unclouded, as Yeonwoo bites at his lips, his neck. Feral, in the way he never kisses to coax Hanseo’s mouth open; never to cherish feeling. Only to chase after something so much deeper.
-
At seventeen, Jang Hanseo implodes from heartbreak.
Transfer student. Short, ebony hair, in that oh-so-timeless straight bob. He has a nice smile, even Hanseo can tell, and he has a charming walk. He’s also assigned a seat beside him. This, of all things, was the catalyst.
Yeonwoo didn’t want to kiss him anymore. Yeonwoo wanted to smoke with him, but Yeonwoo also bought a new companion along with him. Yeonwoo, it seemed, never wanted what Hanseo did. Yeonwoo, it seemed, never felt the way Hanseo did.
Hanseo knows that he knew, somewhere, beneath what his world had become, that this would not stand for long. Its foundations were, in the end, smoke.
-
But it does not surprise him, Hanseo thinks, seventeen and a quarter, something vile in his veins. It does not surprise him that he’s here.
His head hits, dully, the floor under him. He laughs. And he laughs some more, as the world turns from dust to sky to ocean. And he waits for the servants to find him in his father’s study.
-
They tell him that he’s lucky, later, in the hospital. Jang Hanseo thinks this is what death feels like, on the verge of eighteen. He states blinking at the ceiling. Hospital rooms are white on all six sides, and heaven is supposed to be white on all six sides as well. He wants to laugh, so he does.
And it hurts.
Hanseo stops laughing.
(— his brother’s laugh —)
-
Hanseo laughs. Ten years past, ten years perished, Hanseo laughs until his heart hurts. His brother’s heart is still beating. His blood is still warm, the three hits to his head and one to his back hadn’t kept him down. Hanseo laughs as the blood splatters on his face, sprinkled red on his chin and lips, a sprinkled red dancing in his eyes as he brings the hockey stick down, down, down.
For everything Hanseok has made him — less, more, just enough. For all these little things that had changed Hanseo more than broken bones could. For lost love. For things that weren’t, in the end, Hanseok’s fault.
Hanseo beats him till his heart stops fighting back and the blood pooled in his mouth flows quietly. Till Hanseo feels no fight left in him, and then some, till the exhaustion in him takes over.
Hanseo slumps over his brother’s dead body, and Hanseo laughs.
(But his brother’s laugh will always be louder.)
48 notes · View notes
itsmeevie01 · 4 years
Text
Bio!dad Bruce Day 7-Fashion Show
Marinette laughed as she linked arms with Alix and hurried out of school. Today, the girls had arranged to go out for the evening, and they were insistent that nothing would ruin their fun, even an akuma. As the shorter girls hurried away, Alya watched from where she stood on the steps. When she had transferred, she had hoped that the girl she had made a connection with would become her best friend. Now, as they neared the end of April, she had resigned herself to the fact that she wasn’t part of the other’s inner circle.
Although she was friendly with the entire class, Marinette had quickly proven to be hard to get close to. She had her life out of school, and she had her life in school. They didn’t mix.
Unknown to the rest of the school, Marinette’s birthday was coming up. Every year, she would do something small with Tom and Sabine. Sometimes she would invite a friend over. Mostly, she kept her birthday quiet. The teen knew that if she offered, her class would love to celebrate with her, but she didn’t see it as a big deal. three years earlier, Bruce had asked her if she wanted to do anything for her birthday. When she had mentioned that she didn’t really celebrate it that much, he had nodded in acceptance. Each year, he flew into Paris and took her out for a day of shopping, an amusement park, or a fancy dinner. This year, he had invited her to join him in Gotham so that her brothers could come along. Since the event earlier in the month, Bruce had been more at ease when talking about many of the things going on in his home city. Now that he knew that Marinette was already entrenched in the hero life that he had been working so hard to keep her out of, he had opened up about the times that the family had vanished during her visits.
When Marinette had eagerly agreed to join him in Gotham, Bruce had asked his daughter of she had any preferences on what they did. The girl, as expected, shook her head and told him to surprise her. As long as they were together, it didn’t really matter. Imagine her surprise, when she got home from her late-night movie with Alix, to find her parents waiting for her, both buzzing in excitement.
“Mariette! Oh good, we were afraid that you would be out later. Bruce got in contact with us, he is going to fly you our for the entire weekend, instead of just one day!” While the bakers continued to gush about how wonderful it was for Bruce to fly Marinette out for her birthday, the girl paused. Usually, as much as she enjoyed her brothers, they were very upfront with her. When she had asked if they knew what Bruce was planning, they had been cagey. Now, he was flying her out on a Thursday, and bringing her back on a Tuesday? That was a long time considering she still had school.
Later that week as she packed her carry on, the noirette crinkled her nose in concentration. She had been doing the best she could to figure out what it could be, but she still had found nothing on their plans for the next few days. Once she had finished, she plopped the bag next to her suitcase. Whatever her family had planned, she could only hope that she was ready for it.
The next day at school, Marinette rolled her eyes as Alya started to chatter at her. The girl was nice, yes, but Marinette had seen what had happened when she had started to zero in on information. Alya was not likely to let anything go, which sadly, meant that for the sake of her secret identity, Marinette had t keep her distance. When Nino plopped into his seat in front of her, he turned to flash Marinette a grin. “you ready for your trip, dudette?” Marinette smiled in return,
“So ready! I finished packing last night, so Maman is going to pick me up at noon. That makes sure I have a little under four hours to get on my plane.” Nino nodded in understanding.
“International travel is nothing to mess with. You may be joined by Chloe; she is flying out to visit her mother. Where are you flying into?”
“New York! They said that they would meet me there, and that we would head back after whatever surprise they’ve been planning.” Nino snickered at his friend’s frustration. It was well known within their friend group that the girl liked to know what was going on so that she could plan accordingly. The last time they had tried to surprise her, Kim had ended up with a broken arm, and Alix had gotten enough blackmail to last a lifetime. It was also pretty common for the girl to refer to her family in vague terms. As much as she trusted her friends, her class was more than willing to dig into her personal life in an attempt to force friendship. Because of this, Marinette tried to keep her personal life a vague as possible. In situations like this, she was grateful that Nino understood what she meant, because Alya had caught onto their conversation and started to ask as many questions as she could. Thankfully, Chloe must have gotten the notice from Nino to rescue her, because the blonde swaggered into the room and made a beeline for the duo’s desk.
“So, Mari trash, what this I hear about you leaving the country?” while Alya bristled at the name that the heiress had thrown out, Marinette sent her friend a secret smile. Chloe sent her a nod before returning to riling up Alya until Madame Bustier made her way in, effectively shutting down all conversations.
The girls giggled as they hurried through the airport. When they had realized that they were on the same flight, they had agreed to meet up at the airport and wait out the extra time together. As the duo sat there, they chatted and traded pictures, and discussed fashion. When Chloe mentioned that her mother was taking her to meet a ‘rich client who she wont name. Ridiculous!’ Marinette paused. “Chloe, that’s not the only reason that your flying out, right?” the blond gave an undignified snot.
“Honestly Mari, I wish! She’s dragging me to her ‘secret fashion show for the ages’ as she calls it.” Soon the girls were giggling and discussing the latest trends. When the flight attendants called for first class, the two girls gather their bags and made their way over to the line that was forming. When they had gotten settled (conveniently next to each other, which spoke of manipulation to Marinette, although she refrained from mentioning it to the diva next to her), they each pulled out a book and got ready for their flight. Thankfully, they both made the transatlantic flights enough to know what to expect.
 That evening, when they arrived, the girls hurried to get through security and collect their bags. As they exited the baggage claim, both girls started to scan for their rides. On one side of the airport, was Audrey Bourgeois’ personal assistant. Next to her stood the stately figure of Alfred Pennyworth. While Marinette threw herself at Alfred in a hug, Chloe nodded to the frazzled looking brunette who had greeted them. The girls hugged and parted ways, promising to meet up on Monday if they didn’t see each other before hand.
While Chloe settled in her mother’s penthouse, Marinette was buried in a pile of hugs from her brothers. When they had finally given her room to breathe, her father introduced her to a girl who had been standing nearby. Cassandra (her sister!!) smiled at her and waved shyly. Marinette had sent her a smile worthy of the sun and given the girl a hug in return.
The next morning, the two girls were the first to join Alfred in the kitchen. Was Marinette caught Alfred up on the last few months, she started to help him with breakfast. Cassandra (Cass, Marinette scolded herself) settled on a stool to watch her move through the kitchen with a fluidity that spoke of many, many hours of experience. Once Bruce and they boys had joined them, the group settled at the dining table.
When the food had been cleared up, Marinette turned to her father, “you know, you made it really hard to pack for this trip, when I had no idea what we are going to do!” Bruce smiled at her ire and easily brushed aside her worries.
“it’s a good thing that we’re going shopping then, isn’t it, Marinette?” the way the girls face lit up made Tim snort.
“B, you really shouldn’t have said that, now she’s not going to sit still for the rest of the day.” The teen made a face at the look sent his way and Marinette huffed at her older brother.
“At least I know how to dress myself nicely without having someone pick my clothes out for me!” Dick sniggered at her response before wincing as she directed her fury his way. “don’t think I’m ignoring you, Richard.” The man froze, because his sister had used his first name only once and that occasion was not to be brought up unless the world was ending. “your fashion choices are even worse than Dad’s!” As the family started to argue about the validity of her statements, Marinette slipped away, beckoning for Cassandra (Cass!) to follow her.
Once they were in Marinette’s temporary room, the girl handed her sister (!!) a small wrapped package. “Tim gave me a heads up that there was a new addition to the family, and I wanted to make something for you.” The other girl studied her for a moment before hesitantly ripping the paper. Inside was a small journal that was leather bound and had the name Cass written in an elegant script (A/N Cass is probably the character that I am the least familiar with the origin of. That said, I’m going to run off the assumption that she is learning to read when she is brought to join n the Wayne family. If I am wrong, lmk, for now, this is what we are vibing with). The quiet girl gave Marinette a tentative hug as a thank you before Tim knocked on the doorframe.
“Time to go, ladies. Your chariot awaits.” Marinate rolled her eyes at their brother while throwing a pair of balled up socks at him.
“We’re coming, boy genius. Be fearful though, this is the start of an alliance. Soon, maybe ill be able to finally compete against you boys on game night without rigging the games!” Tim spluttered at her declaration as she strode past him. He huffed and hurried after the girls, bemoaning Bruce for making this trip a ‘family affair’.
Three hours later, Tim and Dick were each carrying handfuls of shopping bags, as the family of five re-entered their temporary living space. The girls were walking together, Marinette explaining some of her ideas for different designs. Alfred smiled at them as they all stood talking together, until an unfamiliar ringtone broke the low ambiance. The brothers looked at each other in confusion, while Bruce raised an eye at his youngest daughter. The girl flushed in embarrassment and dug into her purse for a long moment before pulling out a phone that was very obviously not her own. “hey! Is everything ok?” her immediate switch to French made the others pause and zero in on her conversation. “Oh, you caught it. How much damage was there?” A pause and then, “do I need to- I know I’m supposed to be on vacation but- oh fine! Leave it on my balcony in the jar, ill take care of as soon as I can.” A beat, and the girl made a face at whatever the person on the other end of the phone said. “stay safe, and call me if you need me, yeah?” once she had hung up, the girl turned back to them with a raised eyebrow. “what? Are you saying you don’t have a second phone for emergencies?”
The next day, Saturday, was a whirlwind, as Alfred got everyone up and moving by7 am. When asked what was going on by Marinette, the butler simply smiled and moved to lure Dick out of bed. When the family was once again gathered around the breakfast table, Marinette turned to her father and demanded an explanation at the reason for a wakeup call before what she considered ‘reasonable hours’. The man smiled in return, “Today, Marinette, we are going to celebrate your birthday. As promised, this year, the entire fairly will be able to join in.” the girl protested at his declaration.
“what was yesterday? I thought that was us celebrating my birthday without going overboard!” Dick laughed at her shock before jumping into the conversation.
“well, Net, yesterday was part one. Today is part two…and the part that we think you’ll like the most.” At her confusion, Tim leaned over from his spot across the dining table, pushing a stack of six tickets towards her,
“were going to Audrey Bourgeois’ secret fashion show.” The screech that came from the youngest in the family was well worth the suspense.
As the family approached the hidden venue, Marinette felt excitement bubble up once again. She had spent the day making sure that the entire family was dressed appropriately for the event. Somehow, Bruce had managed to buy a dress on the sly for her, after catching her gazing longingly at it for the duration of their time in the shop. As for the others, for the most part, they had the necessary pieces to put together a look that would be presentable at the secret show. The door was opened once they had handed over their tickets, and the Wayne family were handed a stack of passes that they hurriedly settled around their necks as they were show their way to their seats.
When the catwalk lit up, Marinette sat there, frozen, anticipating the beginning of the show. The lights blacked out, and a spotlight followed the first model on her way towards the middle of the room. Marinette’s breath caught in shock at the beauty of the coat that was trailing down the runway. As the next model made his way out, Marinette lost herself in the world of fashion.
 After, Bruce turned to the girl and raised an eyebrow, “so…was this too over the top for your birthday?” the 14-year-old smiled at her father.
“no,” she breathed, “it was perfect”
whew! that was a long one! obviously, this one is not compleate, but it’s other half is going to be coming soon! any feedback is more than welcome, im going to try to keep these a little longer if i can...
also, what did y’all think of Alya? i’m not her biggest fan, but didnt want to make her a villian? 
226 notes · View notes
pig-apologist · 3 years
Text
The 57 rules of Ranboo
·         Rule One: 'Always Win Your Battles'. Losing a battle earns you nothing and teaches you nothing. Win your battles, or don't engage in them at all!
·         Rule Two: 'Never Let Them Laugh at You'. Fools laugh at everything, even at their superiors. But beware, laughter isn't harmless! Laughter spreads like a disease, and soon everyone is laughing at you. You need to strike at the source of this perverse merriment quickly to stop it from spreading.
·         Rule Three: 'Always Be Rested'. Fighting and adventuring take their toll on your body. When you rest, your body strengthens and repairs itself. The longer you rest, the stronger you become.
·         Rule Four: 'Forget Your Past'. The past is painful, and thinking about your past can only bring you misery. Think about something else instead, such as the future, or some food.
·         Rule Five: 'Strength Beats Strength'. Is your opponent strong? No matter! Simply overcome their strength with even more strength, and they'll soon be defeated.
·         Rule Six: 'Choose Your Own Fate'. Our elders teach that our fate is chosen for us before we are even born. I disagree.
·         Rule Seven: 'Mourn Not the Dead'. When we die, do things get better for us or worse? There's no way to tell, so we shouldn't bother mourning. Or celebrating for that matter.
·         Rule Eight: 'Travel Alone'. You can rely on nobody, and nobody will always be loyal. Therefore, nobody should be your constant companion.
·         Rule Nine: 'Keep Your Home Tidy'. Your home is where you keep your most prized possession - yourself. Therefore, you should make an effort to keep it nice and clean.
·         Rule Ten: 'Keep Your Weapon Sharp'. I make sure that my weapon, 'Life Ender', is kept well-sharpened at all times. This makes it much easier to cut things.
·         Rule Eleven: 'Mothers Will Always Betray You'. This Rule explains itself.
·         Rule Twelve: 'Keep Your Cloak Dry'. If your cloak gets wet, dry it as soon as you can. Wearing wet cloaks is unpleasant, and can lead to illness.
·         Rule Thirteen: 'Never Be Afraid'. Fear can only hold you back. Facing your fears can be a tremendous effort. Therefore, you should just not be afraid in the first place.
·         Rule Fourteen: 'Respect Your Superiors'. If someone is your superior in strength or intellect or both, you need to show them your respect. Don't ignore them or laugh at them.
·         Rule Fifteen: 'One Foe, One Blow'. You should only use a single blow to defeat an enemy. Any more is a waste. Also, by counting your blows as you fight, you'll know how many foes you've defeated.
·         Rule Sixteen: 'Don't Hesitate'. Once you've made a decision, carry it out and don't look back. You'll achieve much more this way.
·         Rule Seventeen: 'Believe In Your Strength'. Others may doubt you, but there's someone you can always trust. Yourself. Make sure to believe in your own strength, and you will never falter.
·         Rule Eighteen: 'Seek Truth in the Darkness'. This Rule also explains itself.
·         Rule Nineteen: 'If You Try, Succeed'. If you're going to attempt something, make sure you achieve it. If you do not succeed, then you have actually failed! Avoid this at all costs.
·         Rule Twenty: 'Speak Only the Truth'. When speaking to someone, it is courteous and also efficient to speak truthfully. Beware though that speaking truthfully may make you enemies. This is something you'll have to bear.
·         Rule Twenty-One: 'Be Aware of Your Surroundings'. Don't just walk along staring at the ground! You need to look up every so often, to make sure nothing takes you by surprise.
·         Rule Twenty-Two: 'Abandon the Nest'. As soon as I could, I left my birthplace and made my way out into the world. Do not linger in the nest. There is nothing for you there.
·         Rule Twenty-Three: 'Identify the Foe's Weak Point'. Every foe you encounter has a weak point, such as a crack in their shell or being asleep. You must constantly be alert and scrutinising your enemy to detect their weakness!
·         Rule Twenty-Four: 'Strike the Foe's Weak Point'. Once you have identified your foe's weak point as per the previous Rule, strike it. This will instantly destroy them.
·         Rule Twenty-Five: 'Protect Your Own Weak Point'. Be aware that your foe will try to identify your weak point, so you must protect it. The best protection? Never having a weak point in the first place.
·         Rule Twenty-Six: 'Don't Trust Your Reflection'. When peering at certain shining surfaces, you may see a copy of your own face. The face will mimic your movements and seems similar to your own, but I don't think it can be trusted.
·         Rule Twenty-Seven: 'Eat As Much As You Can'. When having a meal, eat as much as you possibly can. This gives you extra energy, and means you can eat less frequently.
·         Rule Twenty-Eight: 'Don't Peer Into the Darkness'. If you peer into the darkness and can't see anything for too long, your mind will start to linger over old memories. Memories are to be avoided, as per Rule Four.
·         Rule Twenty-Nine: 'Develop Your Sense of Direction'. It's easy to get lost when travelling through winding, twisting caverns. Having a good sense of direction is like having a magical map inside of your head. Very useful.
·         Rule Thirty: 'Never Accept a Promise'. Spurn the promises of others, as they are always broken. Promises of love or betrothal are to be avoided especially.
·         Rule Thirty-One: 'Disease Lives Inside of Dirt'. You'll get sick if you spend too much time in filthy places. If you are staying in someone else's home, demand the highest level of cleanliness from your host.
·         Rule Thirty-Two: 'Names Have Power'. Names have power, and so to name something is to grant it power. I myself named my nail 'Life Ender'. Do not steal the name I came up with! Invent your own!
·         Rule Thirty-Three: 'Show the Enemy No Respect'. Being gallant to your enemies is no virtue! If someone opposes you, they don't deserve respect or kindness or mercy.
·         Rule Thirty-Four: 'Don't Eat Immediately Before Sleeping'. This can cause restlessness and indigestion. It's just common sense.
·         Rule Thirty-Five: 'Up is Up, Down is Down'. If you fall over in the darkness, it can be easy to lose your bearing and forget which way is up. Keep this Rule in mind!
·         Rule Thirty-Six: 'Eggshells are brittle'. Once again, this Rule explains itself.
·         Rule Thirty-Seven: 'Borrow, But Do Not Lend'. If you lend and are repayed, you gain nothing. If you borrow but do not repay, you gain everything.
·         Rule Thirty-Eight: 'Beware the Mysterious Force'. A mysterious force bears down on us from above, pushing us downwards. If you spend too long in the air, the force will crush you against the ground and destroy you. Beware!
·         Rule Thirty-Nine: 'Eat Quickly and Drink Slowly'. Your body is a delicate thing and you must fuel it with great deliberation. Food must go in as fast as possible, but fluids at a slower rate.
·         Rule Forty: 'Obey No Law But Your Own'. Laws written by others may inconvenience you or be a burden. Let your own desires be the only law.
·         Rule Forty-One: 'Learn to Detect Lies'. When others speak, they usually lie. Scrutinise and question them relentlessly until they reveal their deceit.
·         Rule Forty-Two: 'Spend Geo When You Have It'. Some will cling onto their Geo, even taking it into the dirt with them when they die. It is better to spend it when you can, so you can enjoy various things in life.
·         Rule Forty-Three: 'Never Forgive'. If someone asks forgiveness of you, for instance a brother of yours, always deny it. That brother, or whoever it is, doesn't deserve such a thing.
·         Rule Forty-Four: 'You Can Not Breathe Water'. Water is refreshing, but if you try to breathe it you are in for a nasty shock.
·         Rule Forty-Five: 'One Thing Is Not Another'. This one should be obvious, but I've had others try to argue that one thing, which is clearly what it is and not something else, is actually some other thing, which it isn't. Stay on your guard!
·         Rule Forty-Six: 'The World is Smaller Than You Think'. When young, you tend to think that the world is vast, huge, gigantic. It's only natural. Unfortunately, it's actually quite a lot smaller than that. I can say this, now having travelled everywhere in the land.
·         Rule Forty-Seven: 'Make Your Own Weapon'. Only you know exactly what is needed in your weapon. I myself fashioned 'Life Ender' from shellwood at a young age. It has never failed me. Nor I it.
·         Rule Forty-Eight: 'Be Careful With Fire'. Fire is a type of hot spirit that dances about recklessly. It can warm you and provide light, but it will also singe your shell if it gets too close.
·         Rule Forty-Nine: 'Statues are Meaningless'. Do not honour them! No one has ever made a statue of you or I, so why should we pay them any attention?
·         Rule Fifty: 'Don't Linger on Mysteries'. Some things in this world appear to us as puzzles. Or enigmas. If the meaning behind something is not immediately evident though, don't waste any time thinking about it. Just move on.
·         Rule Fifty-One: 'Nothing is Harmless'. Given the chance, everything in this world will hurt you. Friends, foes, monsters, uneven paths. Be suspicious of them all.
·         Rule Fifty-Two: 'Beware the Jealousy of Fathers'. Fathers believe that because they created us we must serve them and never exceed their capabilities. If you wish to forge your own path, you must vanquish your father. Or simply abandon him.
·         Rule Fifty-Three: 'Do Not Steal the Desires of Others'. Every creature keeps their desires locked up inside of themselves. If you catch a glimpse of another's desires, resist the urge to claim them as your own. It will not lead you to happiness.
·         Rule Fifty-Four: 'If You Lock Something Away, Keep the Key'. Nothing should be locked away for ever, so hold onto your keys. You will eventually return and unlock everything you hid away.
·         Rule Fifty-Five: 'Bow to No-one'. There are those in this world who would impose their will on others. They claim ownership over your food, your land, your body, and even your thoughts! They have done nothing to earn these things. Never bow to them, and make sure to disobey their commands.
·         Rule Fifty-Six: 'Do Not Dream'. Dreams are dangerous things. Strange ideas, not your own, can worm their way into your mind. But if you resist those ideas, sickness will wrack your body! Best not to dream at all, like me.
·         Rule Fifty-Seven: 'Obey All Rules'. Most importantly, you must commit all of these Rules to memory and obey them all unfailingly. Including this one! Hmm. Have you truly listened to everything I've said? Let's start again and repeat the 'Fifty-Seven Rules of Ranboo’
27 notes · View notes