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dialovers-translations · 3 years

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DIABOLIK LOVERS MORE BLOOD Vol.2: Mukami Kou [Track 7+8]

Original title: 堕落した証 & いらいらする

Source: Diabolik Lovers More, Blood Vol. 2: Mukami Kou [CD not owned by me]

Audio: Here

Seiyuu: Kimura Ryouhei

Translator’s note: Oh boy oh boy. I should have kept my mouth shut during the last few tracks because these two tracks had me wriggle around in my seat as my stomach turned upside down. > < Those of you who have been around since last year might recall how I struggled with Shuu’s D-S Kyuuketsu CD because of the ‘bodily gore’ noises when he cuts the MC with a knife and then stirs his fingers around in the open wounds. KOU DOES THE EXACT SAME THING GDI. I had to pause several times because I got nauseous. :’’) Please no more of this Rejet.

Track 1+2 ll Track 3+4 ll Track 5+6 ll Track 7+8 ll Track 9+10

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Track 7: Proof of Corruption

“Well then, where should I bite you next...~? Both your neck and arm are already dyed a bright crimson from your blood. Fufu~ While I’m at it, I guess I should make you even more red...Perhaps that’ll improve your looks a little.”

*Rustle*

[00:25] “Hmー Such slender wrists...Fufu, I could probably twist them with ease. If I were to plunge my fangs in, they might just pierce right through, don’t you think? Come on, show me your hand.”

*Rustle*

“Hm...These marks are still fresh. Hmー They weren’t left behind by me, which means they belong to one of those guys? Heeeh...Now what a lovely decoration you have here. You really are a maso-kitty, aren’t you? I sort of get now that you’re not doing all of this on purpose. Which means...is someone controlling you behind the scenes?”

*Rustle rustle*

[01:18] “Take flowers, for example. They don’t particularly wish to bloom beautifully, do they? However, some larger force in nature is ordering them to do so to lure in birds and insects. So perhaps you were put together by someone with the specific goal to seduce us Vampires? If not, a plain girl such as yourself couldn’t even dream of having someone like me suck you, not even out of pity. Fufufu...~”

*Rustle rustle*

He digs his finger inside your skin.

[01:59] “Ah-aaah...Since the wound hadn’t fully healed yet, my finger sank in the moment I pressed down. Does it hurt? Fufu~ I’m digging my nail into the open wound after all~ I bet it hurts...Then suffer more...Scream...! Nobody will hear you here. This place has been equipped to ensure that they won’t find you.”

*Rustle*

“But...Well...If they did know you were here, I wonder if they would come and get you? These guys who seem to be oh-so obsessed with you, I mean~”

Kou continues to stir up the wound with his nails.

“Are you writhing in pain? Ah-aaah...Your ugly face only became even more hideous. Should I say it has a certain charm to it? I’m incapable of loving you while you look like that though. However...”

*Rustle*

[02:57] “In regards to these wounds, I feel a strange sense of attachment. I wonder why? Perhaps it’s just fun to compete with other Vampires over a prey such as yourself? Hahaha...But in that case, I have to leave behind my own marks as well or it’s no fun, right? ...I’ll leave my mark on top of these wounds, as if to overwrite them. It’ll be perfect proof of how thoroughly corrupted you’ve become.”

*Rustle*

Kou bites you.

*Gulp*

“Mmh...*

*Gulp gulp*

“ーーHah!”

*Gulp*

[03:50] “Mmh...Haah...I can smell them from here...It pisses me off...Hahn...”

*Gulp gulp*

“Hah, haah...It makes me want to just rip up your whole arm with my fangs...”

*Gulp*

“Fufu...This must be the taste of hatred...~ Exactly...I can’t forgive them...Never! That’s whyーー”

*Gulp gulp*

“Haah...Haah...”

*Rustle*

[04:38] “I won’t return you to them. You’re basically mine now. Offer both your body and soul to me...And go mad. Fufu...Damn~ What’s wrong with me? Am I being spurred on by you? Uwaah...This is a first for me. Fufu~ I truly got my hands on a nifty toy. I was just going to have a little taste before handing you over to Ruki...but I might not want to let you go again.”

*Rustle*

[05:22] “Haah...Let me suck more...Your blood is messing with my head...as I find myself wishing you would offer more of that delicious blood pumping through your veins to me and me only.”

*Rustle*

“Oi. I bet you have other marks left behind by them as well, don’t you? Tell me. I’ll make you go through those painful memories again. Come on, hurry up and fess up.”

*Rustle*

[06:00] “Hey? Are you listening? If you space out like that, I’ll do something much, much more painful and rough?”

You muster a response.

“Hm? Your belly? Eeeh~? Now where could they be...~?”

*Rustle rustle*

“Ah, you must be talking about these. Marks spotted~ They really don’t hold back when devouring you, do they?”

He licks the marks.

“Oh, this one smells different. So, tell me. Did you have them bite you from head to toe? Hah! What a slut you are.”

You protest.

[06:46] “Hm? You didn’t wish for any of this to happen? ...Che. Why are you giving me that defiant look? Do I have to repeat myself a million times before your idiotic brain gets it? I was reminded once more the moment I sucked your blood. You’ve been tampered with in some way to lure in Vampires. I wonder who could be behind it...~? Fufu...Somehow that piques my interest...”

*Rustle*

“But for now, I’ll cover you with my marks. So I’ll thrust my fangs inside these wounds as well...”

Kou digs his nails into your skin once more as you flinch.

[07:31] “Aren’t you happy? I’m the one saying these things after all. ..Aaah-aah, such filthy marks. I’ll erase them right away.”

He bites you again.

“Hahn...”

*Gulp gulp*

“Hah...”

*Gulp gulp*

“Haah...Haah...”

*Sluuuuurp*

“Haah...This stench is persistent...It won’t disappear...Ugh, it pisses me off. If I can’t get rid of it with my fangs...It just makes me want to mess you up as a whole...”

*Rustle*

“Haah...Guess I’ll just have to sink them in deeper and deeper...Like thisーー!”

*Gulp gulp*

“Hah...Nnh...”

You cry out.

[08:41] “Ah...It hurts? Look at you gushing blood all over the place. You really have no shame, do you? But you shouldn’t be able to feel the pain, you know? My fangs have already made it so you perceive everything as pleasure. Fufufu...”

*Rustle*

“I can tell you want me, so try and voice it out loud? Beg for me with a cute tone. Come on, hurry...Ask me to make you feel ever better~”

You whimper.

[09:24] “Hmm~~? I can’t hear you...~ You’re going to have to speak a little louder. Also, don’t forget to sound cute, okay?”

You repeat it.

“Fufu...~ Exactly, like that. Just be honest with yourself...Perhaps then I’ll be able to feel a little affection for someone as ugly as yourself.”

You beg again.

“Mm~ Good. You managed to beg for it cutely, so I’ll love on you in return. ...With these fangs of mine, that is.”

Kou bites you again.

*Gulp gulp gulp*

“Hahn...Mmh...”

*Sluuuuurp*

[10:14] “...Hah...! ...Hm? ...’More’? ...You can crave it more. I kind of like it when people yearn for me. ...I’ll plunge them inside even deeper than before...”

*Gulp gulp*

“Haah, haah...Ugh...Haah...I guess the smell is starting to fade a little?”

You moan.

“Fufu...Seems like you’re feeling rather good as well. Your body has completely given in to the pleasure, it feels as if your blood has become sweeter as well.”

Track 8: Irritation

Kou inspects your body.

*Rustle*

“Where else have they bitten you...? ー Ah, don’t tell me. I’ll try finding it myself this time...~ After the stomach, it has to be...The legs, right~?”

*Rustle*

[00:18] “Yes, I got it right! ...They sure love going for the risqué spots, don’t they? Hah! Right near your crotch (1) ...How lewd. On top of that, you can tell they’ve sucked from here repeatedly...Very dirty! I wonder what kind of expression you made as they sucked from here? Perhaps you didn’t realize it yourself, but they pretty much got a full view of aaaall your embarrassing places.”

You squeak.

“How embarrassing, gosh! ...But I’m sure you love that sorta stuff, don’t you? After all, I can see a glint of anticipation in your eyes. Or am I just imagining things? Is it because I’m the one doing this to you? ...Well, I guess I’ll figure out the answer to my own question once I bite you. Well then...”

*Rustle*

“Where should I leave my mark? ...Right here. I’ve settled on this spot.”

He bites you again.

*Gulp*

[01:28] “Mmh...Hah...Haha! What a lovely view...Fufu...”

*Gulp gulp*

“Seems like it’s making you weak as well...Look at you twist and turn your body like that...What a dirty girl you are.”

*Gulp gulp gulp*

“ ーーHah! We’re still nowhere near done...Let me suck more and more...Hahn...”

*Gulp gulp*

“Hah...Hah...”

*Gulp*

[02:11] “Haah...Fuck...Could this be a trap of some sorts...? Fufu...I feel as if your blood is leading me straight to my own demise...Well, I guess that’s fine. As long as it feels good...whether it’s a trap or whatever, I’m not scared. Perhaps the person who set you up this way predicted this all along? ...Say.”

*Rustle*

[02:44] “I bet they knew that we would try and snatch you away like that. Guess we’re being mocked, huh? That pisses me off. ...You seem to be feigning ignorance but you’re part of the whole scheme, aren’t you? ...If you think this will all pass as long as you just obediently spread your legs, you’re gravely mistaken. I’ll give you something much, much, much more painful, you’d find yourself wishing you’d be dead instead...!”

*Thud*

Your eyes widen in horror.

“Hehe...”

*Gulp gulp*

[03:26] “...Heh. Does it feel good? Lucky you! I think you might be the first human who has gotten the honor to receive this much pleasure from me. Well, under normal circumstances, one bite is plenty to make any human ascend to Heaven, but in your case, the more I have, the more delicious your blood becomes and on top of that...You dare oppose me. It pisses me off. ...Mmh...”

*Gulp*

“...Hm? There’s marks on your thighs as well!”

*Rustle rustle*

[04:06] “I have to engrave my own mark here as well. ...Geez, I wonder what they find so appealing about these stick legs? I can’t relate, but I don’t like the idea of there being marks from someone other than me. ...Mmh..”

*Gulp*

“Nnh...”

*Gulp gulp*

[04:37] “...Hah...Ah...Haah...~ I feel sluggish for some reason...Have I been numbed? In that case, your blood is to blame. ...This is bad...Fufufu~ I just don’t understand how I want to keep an ugly girl such as yourself all to myself...Makes no sense, does it? I feel irritated by it myself but...I also just can’t help it. This strong desire for you keeps on welling up inside of me...What is happening to me? Geez...Honestly, it pisses me off! I’ve never felt this strongly attached to anything or anyone before!?”

*Rustle*

“Hahn...”

*Gulp gulp gulp*

“...ー Hah!”

*Gulp gulp gulp*

“Mmh...Haah, haah...I can’t get enough...Do you want me more? ...So do I.”

*Gulp gulp*

[05:57] “Hah...Yearn for me more and more...You just need to keep your eyes on me. ...You belong to me now. Happy? Of course you are. If you continue to writhe around like that, I’ll give you never-ending pleasure.”

*Rustle*

“Mmh...Haahn...”

*Gulp gulp*

“Mmh...Nnh...”

*Gulp*

“Haah, haah...!”

*Gulp*

[06:37] “Haah...! I can’t...I still haven’t had enough...Hm. I still refuse to give you up. I’ll make you forget about those other guys in no time. I’m obsessing over you, so it only makes sense. ...Unlike those guys, I won’t call you prey either. You’re mine after all. ...Doesn’t that make you happy? I’m a gentleman after all~ I know how to make a girl happy. I’m sure you didn’t like being degraded by having them call you ‘prey’ either, right? Fufu...~”

ーー TO BE CONTINUED ーー

Translation notes

(1) 足の付け根 or ‘ashi no tsukene’ is the root/base of the leg where it connects to the hips.

#diabolik lovers #dialovers #kou mukami #diabolik lovers translation #diabolik lovers more blood #diabolik lovers drama cd #drama cd

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dulce-pjm · 3 years

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takes two to tango

word count: 3.0k

genre: fluff, absolutely tooth-rotting

summary: hoseok solved his problems and got the girl. he’d worked up the courage to ask you out and now life couldn’t be better, living as your boyfriend. but what’s the point of dating if he can’t even kiss you?

Damn. Hoseok was a real loser, wasn’t he?

Three weeks, three fucking weeks of dating you and he hasn’t been able to kiss you once.

He’d thought the hard part was over when he was finally able to spit out that he liked you before finals and asked you on a date. After a semester of desperate pining and you being completely oblivious to his flirting attempts, he thought the worst was over.

But alas, no.

Your one-month anniversary was rapidly approaching and Hoseok has yet to lock lips with you.

Maybe it’s stupid to be so caught up over such a small thing. But Hoseok likes you and he really doesn’t think it’s too much to ask for and he’d just really, really like to kiss you.

It wasn’t like he hadn’t tried. He’d gone through all the steps, even resorting to the cheap tricks he’d used in high school. But the timing was always shit or something stupid got in the way. It felt like the universe had it out for him, putting the chance just within his grasp before promptly yanking it away in the most inconvenient (and sometimes embarrassing) manner possible.

Should Hoseok be grateful for the time he’s already gotten to spend with you? Yes. And he is. You’re spectacular. A joy to be around. You kept him guessing and laughing and happy.

Actually, he’d actually kind of already gotten his wish. You’d kissed him on the cheek in joy after watching your team win whilst on an ice hockey date. You turned out to be surprisingly (and scarily) competitive, which Hoseok found all the more adorable. Despite being a small gesture born from the exciting moment, he’d found himself giggly and shy, melting from the attention. That night, while walking you home in the cold, he’d snuck a quick peck on your forehead before bidding you good night. He found himself wishing he’d done more as you disappeared behind your door, smiling to yourself.

But Hoseok was human. He was greedy. He just wanted one, small, teeny weeny little thing. And that thing was to kiss you on the lips, goddammit.

You weren’t his first girlfriend. He isn’t an amateur at this.

So why was it so fucking hard?

His first attempt was on your second date. Which, admittedly, might be a little soon but it actually wasn’t even his attempt. It was yours. The two of you were ice skating when he kept catching you staring at him.

“What, is there something on my face?” You’d giggled, reaching up your hand and lightly tapping his nose.

“You just look cold. And very cute.” Despite attempting to maintain a cool facade, the compliment had Hoseok reeling. His cheeks only grew warmer as you leaned upwards, eyes becoming half-lidded. He’d grinned, ducking down to meet you halfway.

It was perfect.

Until your skates suddenly lost traction and you slipped, lips colliding with his shoulder instead of his face.

Caught off guard, the both of you tumbled to the ground. In a movie, it might have been even more romantic. But in reality, falling on ice hurts like a fucking bitch. It took an entire minute for you both to get back on your feet, laughing and shouting from the pain along the way.

Cold and traumatized and bruised, the two of you shuffled back to the entrance while clutching onto each other for dear life, kiss long forgotten.

You both swore never to go ice skating again.

Hoseok’s actual first attempt had been at a small Christmas party. Hoseok’s Christmas party, in fact. It was for a small dance exercise class he led every Monday through the university. It was through that same class that he met you, actually. You and several of your friends were regulars, and soon he was smitten. He wasn’t sure whether it was your laugh or your smile or your unending optimism that drew him in, only that he had fallen for you and hard. You two, along with the rest of the group, had naturally gotten close over the past semester, so Hoseok decided to give the group one last hurrah together via a small Christmas party just after everyone finished their exams.

While everyone else was pigging out on brownies or getting drunk off of cheap beer or karaoke-ing to the best of their abilities (which was pretty god-awful), you and Hoseok were camped out in the corner, trying your best to put together a gingerbread house.

You were failing magnificently, but that didn’t make the activity any less fun. Hoseok was in charge of holding the pieces while you piped icing, with you naturally taking every opportunity to swipe bits of the white fluff on his nose and cheeks and forehead. He’d cried out in protest, promising to exact his revenge, but he cared too much about this stupid gingerbread house to move his hands and risk the whole thing collapsing.

But before you could even get to the decorating stage, the whole thing shattered. Literally shattered. You blamed it on Hoseok, claiming he’d been gripping it so hard that the pieces snapped in two. He, in turn, blamed it on you for being such a distraction.

While the two of you were playfully bickering, one of your friends snuck up behind the table with a bunch of mistletoe.

“Kiss already, ya lovebirds!” she’d cried, clearly having one (or three) too many beers. The entire class was painfully invested in your relationship, so it only made sense that they’d also tease you about it relentlessly.

The two of you glanced up at the green leaves and then back at each other. A pitchy rendition of ‘Silent Night’ echoed throughout the room. Hoseok smiled and leaned in, muttering something about “tradition” and “giving the people what they want, Y/N.”

His eyes fluttered closed as his lips approached yours, his last thought being how nice you looked and how warm his heart felt.

It was perfect.

And then you wiped a massive blob of thick white icing across his entire face. He’d gasped while you and the rest of the party burst into a fit of giggles.

“I’m sorry-” You choked on your laughter, tears sprung from your eyes. “-Hoseok, the opportunity was just too good! You should have seen your face!” He didn’t have it in him to be mad at you, not when your laugh was that adorable.

Instead, he’d rubbed his frosting-covered cheek all over yours for revenge as you screeched and struggled against his grip. By the end of the night, both of your cheeks were aching from laughter.

But still, no kiss.

At your annual New Years’ Party, he’d tried a different strategy: being slick.

The two of you were pleasantly tipsy but not quite drunk. And the alcohol gave Hoseok just enough courage to try kissing you again.

While perched on two barstools around your kitchen island, he’d casually thrown his arm around your shoulder while you were babbling about some story a friend had told you. He’d tried to listen, he really did, but what was a guy supposed to you when you looked as cute as you did?

“I mean, what are the odds? They saw each other in standstill traffic, Hobi. Isn’t that so romantic?”

“Mhmm.” Feeling the weight of his arm, you moved to look his way and felt your face getting very hot very quickly with the way he was gazing at you.

“Hobi?” He was much too caught up in how soft your lips looked from here, slightly parted and inviting. Everything about you was soft and sweet.

His eyes flickered back to yours, shimmering under the mood lighting.

He shifted forward, not loosening his gaze for even a second. He was going to relish every second of this, every second of you.

It was so perfect.

But in his drunken stupor, Hoseok hadn’t quite noticed the way his barstool was wobbling until it was too late and he tumbled to the floor.

You immediately freaked, rushing to his aid. While your concern was genuine and made Hoseok happy that you cared for him, he couldn’t help but be disappointed. The mood was dead once you lugged him to the couch and, despite his protests, insisted he lie down for a while and instructed him to not touch any more alcohol, worried that he’d injure himself further. The night ended kiss-free and with Hoseok falling asleep before the clock struck twelve, missing the countdown.

But last weekend? Now that was the final straw.

The two of you had decided to catch a drive-in movie, some silly rom-com. You’d suggested a holiday-themed horror movie, but Hoseok was quick to shut that idea down. Not only was he a coward, but he wasn’t sure how the hell he was supposed to be romantic when there were demons threatening to jump-scare him every three seconds.

As the two leads finally began confessing their feelings in the final act of the movie, Hoseok looked to you. He found you staring right back, as if you knew this was coming.

His hand lifted to cup your cheek as the male lead cried “I love you!” Your hands slid behind the back of his neck as your eyes shut and the two of you grew closer and closer, lips mere millimeters apart. Hoseok could smell your lavender shampoo and cherry lip gloss, could even count your lashes from here.

It was so fucking perfect. The epitome of romance. As the two leads passionately confessed, Hoseok and you were about to share your first kiss.

And then some idiot fell asleep on their horn, sending the obnoxious, blaring sound echoing throughout the drive-in lot. Hoseok shrieked, absolutely startled to the core.

“For fuck’s sake!” he’d cried, throwing himself back in the driver’s seat.

You’d found immense humor in his pouting and tried to tease him back into his old self, but the moment was long gone. Hoseok cursed the male lead for being able to get his girl when he was so clearly suffering. You held his hand for the rest of the film and jokingly critiqued it on the way home. But it wasn’t enough. Hoseok had just one thing he wanted and he couldn’t even accomplish that.

And now, he had a vendetta against the whole fucking universe.

He was going to kiss you if it killed him. And it was going to be perfect.

He’s chanting that thought like a mantra as the two of you are taking a very romantic stroll in the park, hands intertwined and bodies huddled together to conserve heat in the winter weather.

“I can’t believe we only have one semester left,” you murmur, clutching your coat closer to your body. “I still feel like a kid.”

“Based on your eating habits, I’d have to agree.” You gasp in shock, slapping his arm.

“Hey! What do you have against Lunchables?” Hoseok laughs at your offended look, finding you all too endearing.

“It’s not the Lunchables I have a problem with. Lunchables are great. It’s the cheese and peanut-butter crackers you’re crazy about. It’s disgusting.” You roll your eyes and groan, tired of this argument.

“For the last time, I didn’t know they were cheese flavored and they taste good!”

“Why else would they be orange, Y/N?” You shake your head, refusing to indulge him any further. “Disgusting.”

The two of you approach a quaint bridge crossing a babbling creek. The sky is colored with purples and pinks and oranges, reflected across the water. A few kids are playing by the shore, much to the disdain of their parents. Hoseok feels his chance approaching.

You both stop and lean against the bridge railing, watching the sunset. You nuzzle against him, taking delight in his warmth.

Hoseok studies the way the light reflects off of your face, the way a small smile creeps across your lips. You’re beautiful. Hoseok feels immensely lucky to have had you for this long. There’s a growing part of him that wants to keep you forever.

“You’re so pretty-”

“It’s so pretty-”

The words are uttered at the same time, you staring at the sky and Hoseok staring at you. When you meet his eyes, the two of you can’t help but laugh quietly to yourselves. Timing’s always been funny for you, huh.

As the sun peaks farther behind the horizon, Hoseok tucks a strand of your hair behind your ear. You can’t fight the grin on your face as Hoseok wraps an arm around your waist and tugs you in.

This is perfect. This is the moment Hoseok has been waiting for. He’d suffered for three miserable weeks, but it was all about to be worth it. There’s absolutely nothing that can shatter the happiness in Hoseok’s heart.

“Oh my god, is that a dog?” You’re torn from Hoseok’s embrace as you dash across the bridge. All he can do is sigh and grasp at the cold air you’d occupied seconds before.

When he turns to see where you’ve run off to, he finds you plopped on the ground loving on a fluffy black and gold mutt. You crane your neck to face him.

“It doesn’t have a collar, Hobi. I think it’s a stray.” The dog jumps excitedly against your chest, tackling you to the ground and licking at your cheeks and nose and mouth. Showering you with kisses before Hoseok’s eyes.

Lucky bastard.

Hoseok doesn’t have the heart to be mad. You’re too damn adorable. And the dog is pretty cute too. The puppy jumps from you to Hoseok, hopping excitedly and running between his legs.

“Hyper one, aren’t you?”

He begrudgingly takes the creature into his arms and hauls you to your feet, mumbling that he knows where the nearest animal shelter is. You trail after him, doting on the animal the whole way. Hoseok sighs, accepting the fact that he’s not getting his kiss tonight. But he thinks he’s okay with that, what with the way you’re talking in your animal voice and gushing over how cute this dog is.

God, Hoseok’s such a loser. But he’d like to hope that he’s your loser now.

“I miss him already!” you cry as the two of you stumble out of the shelter. Startled by the chill, you quickly take his hand, but even that can’t bring Hoseok the joy he wants.

“He’ll have a nice and loving home soon, don’t worry,” he soothes, ruffling your hair. He does his best to smile, but it comes off strained and fake, and you notice. Your lip immediately puffs out at his sulking.

“Is there something wrong?” Guilt fills Hoseok’s chest at your genuine worry. But he’d been acting strangely since New Year’s, he knew, so he figured at this point he owed you an explanation.

“Well...” Hoseok ponders the situation, trying to put together the right words. “Ireallywannakissyoubutshitkeepsgettingintheway.”

“I- what?” You’re staring at him in utter confusion. Hoseok sighs as you lean in closer, trying to decipher his words.

“I’ve been trying to kiss you for three weeks now but it never works out!” he shouts into the cold night air, relief filling him as he finally gets his biggest worry off of his chest.

You’re silent for a moment before bursting into laughter, the sound sweet and loud and in any other case, infectious. Hoseok pouts, wondering how you always manage to find the humor in his suffering. The sun is long set but he can still make out your cackling figure in the lamplight.

You regain your breath before pulling him closer to you, still giggling between your words.

“Why didn’t you just ask?” It’s a genuine question, Hoseok supposes. He’s about to answer, but that’s when you say something that sends him over the edge. “It’s just a kiss, there’s no need to take it so seriously.”

“Of course it’s serious!” he exclaims, making you jump. He quickly lowers his voice, looking at the ground sheepishly. “Well- I only mean that I’m serious about you. So I just wanted it to be nice and romantic and perfect because I care about you a lot and you deserve that, okay? And I know that we’ve only been dating for a few weeks but I really-”

When Hoseok lifts his eyes, you’re whipping your head around wildly, as if you’re being stalked or something is about to pop out from behind a corner.

“Y/N? What are you doing? Is something wrong?” After a few more seconds of your paranoid glances, you meet his eyes, a cheeky grin plastered across your face. You shrug innocently.

“I was just checking to make sure nothing could possibly interrupt us.” Hoseok freezes, jaw dropping slightly. You find the expression hilarious but decide to keep that to yourself. And then Hoseok is smiling like an idiot and pulling you close and running a hand through your hair.

Your lips barely brush against his when you suddenly lean your head back, making Hoseok cry out in frustration. You can’t get far though, not when you’re wrapped in his arms.

“Just for the record,” you say, lifting a single finger between your chests. “That was the most romantic and perfect thing you could have said before our first kiss.” Hoseok rolls his eyes. You choke back a giggle at his impatience. You watch the puffs of condensation leave his lips, considering torturing him for longer, but you don’t. “Now, please continue.”

With your permission, Hoseok does the one thing he’s been waiting all too long for. Despite his pent-up frustration, he kisses you softly and slowly, relishing in every second and every touch.

After a long minute, he pulls away, gazing at you happily. You stare right back, unable to wipe the stupid grin off of your face. You’re content and lovestruck and stupid together. Until a large gust of chilly wind hits you and the two of you are screaming and tearing off back to your respective apartments.

It certainly wasn’t perfect. Maybe a little sloppy. Certainly not like Hoseok would have planned it.

But it was with you. And he wouldn’t have it any other way.

#bts #bts scenario #bts fluff #bts fanfic #hoseok fluff #hobi fluff #hoseok fanfic #hoseok scenario #ngl im so proud of this one #this was the concept i toyed and changed with the most but now im in love #dedicated to my lovely friends who inspired and helped build this story #the shortest but def the sweetest #enjoy!!!!

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warrentrash · 3 years

Text

we'll meet again (bucky barnes x oc) part one

series summary: Eleanor, Steve and Bucky, the trio that relies on one another, face the horrors of war and the consequences of other people's actions, which ultimately puts their friendship to the test

chapter summary: Steve get’s denied again, but he learns that his two dearest friends are going to be leaving him sooner than he expected

warnings: mild violence, mentions of war and deployment

a/n: this is part one to a series I have written in my drafts, I hope you all enjoy it :D

word count: 3.7k (the longest chapter i’m going to ever post lol)

1939

“Oh! Well, you almost landed a hit darling,” Eleanor Hope said to her best friend, Steve Rogers, as she passed him a towel to wipe down his sweaty face.

Steve Rogers was the sweetest guy Eleanor had ever known. A little awkward, but a loyal and true man. Now, Steve was a small guy, and he couldn’t help it seeing as he had many medical complications, so he sought out advice from his other best friend, James Barnes, for a couple of boxing lessons to help prepare him for any trouble.

Now, James Barnes, or better known as Bucky by the two, was another one of Eleanor’s closest friends. Bucky was very confident, and he excelled at anything he tried. He and Steve had been best friends for a short while before they had met her that same year, but the instant the three had all met, they became as close as close can be.

Bucky had always been a little flirtatious with Eleanor, same as how she was with him and Steve, but it was never anything more. They all grew to love each other very deeply over their long-lasting friendship.

“Thanks, El,” Steve sighed and took the towel before wiping it across his red and blotchy face as he left the boxing ring.

“Whattaya’ say doll? Wanna take Steve’s place?” Bucky asked from inside in the ring, pushing the tip of his gloves together.

“Oh, heavens no!” Eleanor laughed and shook her head as she looked up at him before placing her hands on her hips.

He raised his eyebrows and used his forearm to wipe his brow.

“What’s the look for Buck?” She asked in curiosity. When Bucky pulled a face and shook his head, she knew he had won their small disagreement. "Fine" she muttered and climbed the small steps that led to the ring.

Bucky laughed in success and lifted the ropes for her to step through.

“What am I doing?” She asked as she picked up the pair of gloves Steve had been wearing earlier. She eyed Bucky as he tore one off of his own glove with his teeth before taking his other one off normally.

She held her hands still as he put the gloves on her in concentration before he tightly secured them. He stepped back and put his own back on as Eleanor tapped her gloves together, mumbling about how foreign they felt on her hands.

“Okay, don’t go easy on me now Barnes,” Eleanor grinned and kicked her heels off to the side, dropping several inches in height.

“don't go easy? Oh, darling, I don’t think you could handle my strength.”

“Is that a challenge?”

“Well, we’ve already got the gloves on.” Bucky looked at Steve and smirked. “Like I’m actually going to hit h-” He was silenced by Eleanor’s hard right hook that landed square on his cheekbone.

“Oh my goodness!” Eleanor gasped as Bucky hunched himself over in shock.

From the bleachers, Steve laughed loudly.

“Are you okay?” She asked and rushed to his side. Completely forgetting she had gloves on, Eleanor lent down to grab his cheeks but instead hit him again -not as hard as before- and managed to poke his eye.

Steve’s laughter grew louder as Bucky winced and turned away from her. Eleanor struggled to rip the gloves off of her hands, even her attempts at tugging at them with her teeth and putting them between her thighs and pulling didn't work.

“Stop laughing and help me get these things off, Steven!” Eleanor exclaimed as Steve’s laughter grew louder and louder. With one last tug, Eleanor had set one hand free with great force, only for her to practically back-hand Bucky across his other cheek.

Bucky whined and sat down on the ground as Eleanor continued to apologise over and over before she crouched down next to him. He gestured to her hand and pulled it close to take the other glove off for her.

“Bucky, I am so sorry,” she winced and gently, and carefully, placed her hands on his cheeks.

He grabbed her wrists and looked up at her, “you’re a pain in my behind, El.” She smiled sheepishly as Steve lent on the edge of the boxing ring, still grinning from cheek to cheek.

“You sure you’re ready for war Buck?” Steve asked him as Eleanor tugged him to his feet.

“Well to be fair, I oughtta’ doubt the Germans have a bunch of girls with boxing gloves running around the battlefield,” Bucky joked causing Steve to shake his head from side to side in amusement, letting out another small chuckle as he thought back on what had just happened.

Eleanor laughed as he slid his hands into hers. “You’d have some real competition then bubs,” she told him, trying her hardest to pull her facial features from humorous to serious.

Bucky rolled his eyes and let go of her hand to sling his arm around her shoulder before saying, “We gotta get you a husband so you can quit botherin’ us.”

“Fine, if you want me gone so bad I’ll marry Stevie.”

Both men looked at her as she removed herself from Bucky’s grasp to duck under the rope and walk down the steps.

“I’m kidding!” She laughed once she saw Bucky’s face. She glanced at Steve and winked before turning around in a fit of giggles after hearing Bucky claim he was also kidding.

+ 1945 +

Eleanor glanced around the front of the theatre with an exasperated look on her face; she knew she had just seen Steve in the exact spot she was standing in, but now he had disappeared. Eleanor knew he was going to get his butt kicked badly if he attempted to fight a guy as big as the heckler they had just encountered in the theatre.

They had gone to see a film, just like every Wednesday, and Steve spoke out against the man who had begun yelling at the screen before it even started, disrespecting the troops that the commercial was supporting. Steve was quite patriotic and took offence to this, knowing how much it hurt the feelings of others in the theatre. He went outside with the loud heckler and Eleanor followed with a quick hop in her step, hoping to stop him from rushing into things, but they had vanished before she could catch up to them.

She glanced to her right and saw the familiar heckler run from the alleyway next to the theatre.

The alleyway, of course! Eleanor rolled her eyes at how oblivious she had been and rushed around the corner and along the road, her heels loudly clicking against the damp pavement. She sighed in relief when she saw Bucky picking up a piece of paper near Steve, who was adjusting his jacket and looking rather dishevelled.

Eleanor took note of what papers were in Bucky’s hands as she began to fuss over Steve’s hair, attempting to part it back normally. She did a double glance at Bucky’s outfit. He was wearing a fresh set of uniforms with his hat sat upon his head nicely; it didn’t take much to figure out he had finally gotten his orders.

Instead of dwelling on the fact that Bucky was more than likely leaving soon, she turned her attention back to Steve. “Really Stevie? More enlistment forms? How many times is this?” She asked him and stepped back as she read them upside-down, seeing as they were in Bucky’s grasp still.

“Oh, you’re from Paramus now? You know it’s illegal to lie on an enlistment form? And seriously, Jersey?” Bucky asked Steve in offence. Eleanor silently agreed, why did he have to pick Jersey of all places?

Steve gently pushed Eleanor’s hands away as she reached forward and plucked at a flyaway hair of his.

“You get your orders?” Steve asked Bucky, looking his uniform up and down in a small amount of shock.

Bucky didn’t smile as he nodded his head. “The one-o-seventh. Sergeant James Barnes. Shipping out for England first thing tomorrow,” he said, looking at Eleanor who quickly looked away and down at the handkerchief she was pulling out of her coat.

She handed it to Steve for him to wipe his bloody nose as he mumbled, “I should be going.”

Bucky and Eleanor glance at one another in concern. They knew how much serving his country meant to Steve, and to see his spirits so crushed hurt them greatly. Although Eleanor would be lying if she said she wasn’t relieved that Steve would be staying home. At least she knew he was going to be safe and wasn’t putting himself in any more harm than he typically is.

Bucky finally broke into his Hollywood grin and threw his arm around Steve’s neck.

“Come on, man. My last night! Gotta get you cleaned up,” Bucky said. The boys began walking back down the alleyway as Eleanor followed closely behind, listening to their conversation. Bucky threw Steve’s enlistment forms to the side and handed him a newspaper.

“Why, where are we going?” Steve asked as he unfolded the news.

“The future.”

Eleanor then took an extra step and a skip before she shoved herself between the boys, linking her arms through theirs, earning two grins in return.

“Then we go dancing!” She declared, making Bucky laugh. “It’s my last night off, and it’s Bucky’s last night here, so we better make it a good one.”

Eleanor smoothed her orange dress down and checked her hair in the mirror.

“How did it go dear?” A voice called out. The voice belonged to her mother, Charlotte, and it was coming from the kitchen. “How did they take the news?”

She paused and hesitated to answer. “I didn’t tell them. Not yet,” she admitted, turning around to face her mother who frowned deeply after appearing in the doorway.

“Eleanor Elizabeth!” She scolded and uncrossed her arms. “How dare you not tell those boys you enlisted! What, are you not going to tell them you’re leaving until you step foot on the ship tomorrow? How do you think they’re going to feel when-” Eleanor politely silenced her mother by raising her hands in defence.

“I know ma’, I know,” she sighed and ran her hands down her sides stressfully. “Steve was denied again today, and Bucky’s got his orders, so everyone’s pretty upset already. I don’t want to hurt them even more so,” she mumbled as her mother approached her and grabbed her hands gently. “Steve more than Bucky if I’m being honest.”

“Steve may be small, but he’s tough. You need to tell him tonight. The both of them.” She let go of Eleanor’s hands before taking a step back, “and make sure you have fun, dear. You kids always knew how to when you were younger, albeit a lot of it you shouldn’t have been doing...”

“Of course, mother,” Eleanor said and smiled at her mother’s mumbling.

"Are you going to tell James how you fe-"

Eleanor shut her mother down quickly by shaking her head.

"No. No. It'll only ruin what we have."

Eleanor walked through the crowd, searching for Steve and Bucky and their dates. She had decided not to bring one, even though her mother had been begging for her to settle down and marry a nice young lad, but she just couldn’t, not yet at least.

She gently pushed her way through the gathering crowd and grinned when she saw the top of Bucky’s hat.

“Hey, Steve! Bucky!” She waved and almost knocked a young man over in her quick attempts to reach them both. They looked at her and smiled widely as she finally reached them. "Are you going to introduce me to your dates?” She asked and gestured to the two girls who shared a look.

“Yes, of course. Connie, Bonnie, this is Eleanor. She can be rather annoying but we bring her along anyway,” he winked at Connie as Eleanor rolled her eyes, something she did a lot around him.

“Is that why you two get along so well Buck?” Steve asked the taller man who raised his eyebrows in shock, his jaw-dropping a little.

Eleanor smiled in triumph and nudged Steve lightly as everyone turned their attention back towards the stage where a bunch of showgirls welcomed the one and only Howard Stark. He was all anyone could really talk about in terms of what the future holds for them all.

“Ladies and gentlemen, what if I told you that in just a few short years, your automobile won’t even have to touch the ground at all?” He asked and gestured to his right at a car. Several girls took the wheels off it, causing Steve and Eleanor to share a surprising look. Eleanor accepted some popcorn that Steve offered to her after he received no reply from Bonnie. “With Stark robotic reversion technology, you’ll be able to do just that.”

Everyone watched in anticipation as Howard Stark flipped the switch in front of him. The car began to splutter before coming to life, the engines that replaced the wheels were glowing and working hard to lift the vehicle off of the ground.

“Holy cow,” Bucky muttered in astonishment.

The engines suddenly faltered and the car came crashing back down onto the stage as Howard Stark wooed the crowd, distracting them from what had just happened with a few comforting words of, “I did say a few years didn’t I?”

Eleanor looked to her left at Steve and frowned when she saw he wasn’t there. She looked around and her eyes landed on a recruitment centre in the distance. Of course...

As she began to make her way back through the crowd to find Steve, a large hand pressed itself into her lower back, making the hairs on her neck stand. Bucky ushered her forwards quickly, his gaze over the top of her and glaring at the recruitment centre. Behind Bucky followed Connie and Bonnie, the two of them gushing over Howard Stark and his latest invention.

They finally entered the building to see Steve standing in front of some illusion thing. He was too short to see into it.

“Come on. You’re kind of missing the point of a double date, along with Eleanor, or something,” Bucky said and glanced at Eleanor who rolled her eyes with a small grin. “We’re taking the girls dancing,” he added as they shuffled into the hallway.

“You guys go ahead, I’ll catch up with you,” Steve muttered, his head hanging low.

“You’re really gonna do this again?” Bucky asked in exhaustion as he and Steve stood in front of each other. Eleanor stood between them and off to the side, knowing full well they were about to argue. It was strange, it was normally her and Bucky arguing with Steve acting as the referee.

“Well, it’s a fair. I’m gonna try my luck.”

“As who? Steve from Ohio? They’ll catch you. Or worse, they’ll actually take you.” The fear in Bucky’s voice caused Eleanor to frown and glance at him in worry.

“Look, I know you don’t think I can do this.”

“This isn’t a back alley, Steve. It’s war!”

“I know it’s a war. You don’t have to tell me.”

Eleanor sighed and asked, “can you two please not do this here?” But they either chose to ignore her, or she was too quiet and they hadn’t heard her.

“Why are you so keen to fight? There are so many important jobs,” Bucky laughed in disbelief at his best friend's urge to go to war.

“What am I gonna do? Collect scrap metal-”

“Yes!” Bucky interjected as Eleanor hid her face with one of her hands, glancing around in embarrassment at the two bickering men.

“- In my little red wagon,” Steve continued but Bucky continued interrupting.

“Why not?” He asked quickly.

“I’m not gonna sit in a factory, Bucky.”

“I don’t-”

Now it was Steve’s turn to interrupt Bucky as Eleanor politely smiled at a passing couple, nodding her head at them.

“Bucky, come on! There are men laying down their lives. I got no right to do any less than them. That’s what you don’t understand. This isn’t about me,” he sighed, wishing his friend would just understand his reasons.

“Right. Cause you got nothing to prove,” Bucky muttered.

Sensing their argument had come to a close, Eleanor stepped between them both, pulling their attention to her.

“Are you two done arguing because I have something to say to the both of you.” She looked at them and took a small step back. “Steven, you’re insane for wanting to try and enlist again, there are too many risks involved and that’s without your medical history. James, you have no say in what Steve does even if you think it’s the best option, just like I don’t have a say. He can do what he pleases…”

Steve raised his eyebrows as Bucky’s jaw slacked a little. Her tone along with her use of their full names surely shocked them both.

Eleanor swallowed the small lump in her throat and nodded her head, averting her gaze to the floor in front of her. She knew if she didn’t tell them then, she would never get the chance. “I also leave tomorrow,” she muttered.

“Leaving? What?” Bucky asked and turned to face her front on, Steve copying his actions.

“Are you and your mother going back to your grandmothers?” Steve asked her.

Eleanor shook her head no. Bucky was the first to realise what she had meant, and Steve wasn’t too far behind with his conclusion.

“I wasn’t going to enlist. But my sisters are over there, and my two brothers-in-law. The hospital was “encouraging” the majority of us to put our names down anyways. They even threatened to fire some of us...” She trailed off, the weight of her news leaving her shoulder but soon being replaced with a deep sense of shame and guilt. “So, this will be the last time we all see each other for a little while,” she said dejectedly but still wore a small smile.

Steve nodded to himself as Bucky’s shoulders deflated in defeat. He wanted nothing more than to protect his two best friends, and he thought God was on his side for once, considering the number of times Steve had been denied, but then he realised his luck ran out with Eleanor.

“I’m going to miss you,” Steve said to her as they quickly moved to embrace each other in a tight hug, one that had provided comfort over the years for the both of them.

They pulled apart and Eleanor pressed a kiss to Steve’s cheek. “Good luck, Stevie,” she said quietly, knowing he understood what she had meant.

Bucky looked at Steve and nodded his head. “Don’t do anything stupid until we get back then,” he said, not liking the way he had to change I to we.

“How could I? You’re taking all the stupid with you,” Steve said as Eleanor and Bucky slowly began to retreat out of the recruitment building.

Eleanor stopped and watched as Bucky walked back over to Steve, pulling him into a tight hug as he said, “you’re a punk.”

Steve rebutted with, “jerk,” causing Eleanor to laugh a little. “Be careful,” Steve muttered quietly as Bucky joined Eleanor once again, this time offering her a small smile. “Don’t win the war until I get there!” He called after them.

Bucky and Eleanor turned around and Bucky mockingly saluted him, resulting in the three sharing a laugh before settling into silence. Bucky grabbed Eleanor’s hand firmly and led her back towards Connie and Bonnie, who had both been patiently waiting for them to return.

Eleanor was a little upset about waiting so long to tell the boys, but she knew if she hadn’t she never would have wanted to go and she would have made a fool out of herself. She kept telling herself it was fine though. Her sisters were over there, so she would be joining them soon. Her mother had fewer people to worry about, financially that is. Eleanor was going to be travelling overseas, something she had always wanted to do, and she was able to go and help anybody who needed it.

“Hey Sarge, are we still going dancing?” Connie asked and bit her lip in excitement.

Eleanor smiled softly at her and lowered her head, ready to give her and Bucky the privacy they wanted, but she looked up at her best friend in shock after he declined her offer politely.

“Actually, Miss Hope and I here are going to have a few dances. Come and find me after,” he said and gently patted her shoulder before leading Eleanor away from them and through the crowd in the street.

“Miss Hope?” Eleanor teased him with a raised eyebrow. “You’ve never been one for the formalities Mr Barnes- Sorry, Sergeant Barnes,” Eleanor laughed as Bucky rolled his eyes but softly swung her outwards, only to pull her in close.

Her left hand locked with his as her right hand went to his shoulder and his left hand went to her waist.

"Why didn't you tell us you enlisted?" Bucky asked her with a soft sigh. Eleanor looked over his shoulder, knowing she wasn’t getting out of the conversation anytime soon. "I thought we were your best friends? We’re supposed to tell each other everything." And no matter how childish Bucky knew he sounded, he was genuinely hurt by her choices to keep a secret.

"That's why I couldn't. I didn't want to hurt you both and leave you counting down the days until I leave like I know you would have," she told him as the music echoed throughout the street that was slowly filling up with dancing couples; many of the men were dressed like Bucky, it was both a beautiful yet depressing sight.

Bucky sighed and dipped his head.

"You're a pain in my-" Bucky stopped himself and chuckled as Eleanor grinned up at him. "You're a pain, you know that doll?"

"If I'm such a pain, why do you keep me around?" She asked as he slowly twirled her around. His eyes followed the seams of her dress as they travelled to the bottom where the hem of it fanned out and swayed with each step she took.

He pulled her back in close and let her rest her head on his chest. He was going to miss her more than words could ever say.

"For good luck I guess," he muttered and pressed a firm kiss to the top of her head. "You're good luck…"

#bucky barnes x oc #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes #bucky barnes fic #steve rogers #captain america #catfa #the winter soldier #the avengers #fan fiction #tfatws #sebastian stan #we'll meet again #eleanor hope #bucky barnes imagine

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bqstqnbruin · 4 years

Text

The other end of the spectrum

I don’t think I’ve written for any av besides Tyson, but don’t worry, he’s in this fic, I just kinda had to. But this was requested like a decade ago (no exaggeration there since you know I’ve had my account for about a year), and I still have three (maybe ?) more to work through. That being said, though, because I suck, Teach me something 3 is probably going to be dropping v soon since that is almost done.

Again, ignore typos (or point them out be like ummm excuse me)

I hope you like it! -------------------------

Should you be skating with your AirPods in? It wasn’t something that you had ever tried before, but it might be worth a shot now, right? But they were expensive, what if they flew out of your ears during your Biellmann spin, or while you’re trying to land your triple axel and ended up breaking on impact when they hit the ice? What if they fell out and someone skated over them? You could argue that whoever did that would have to buy you new ones, but you really weren’t that type of person to do something like that. Maybe, you could just try with something slow and see how they felt?

If only the rink weren’t open to everyone right now. Then you could lose yourself in the music of your routine like you did every time you were on the ice alone. You couldn’t make everyone get off the ice, either. Free skate was just that: free. There were parents with their children teaching them how to skate, some teenagers messing around on the ice, laughing, and making fun of how they look with their shorts and skates since it was the middle of the summer. None of them seemed to realize beforehand that the rink would still be cold since it was, you know, ice. One guy seemed to catch your interest: the only one skating around with a puck and a hockey stick. Hockey players and figure skaters were the exact opposite of the skating spectrum; you were all about delicacy and grace, hockey players were brash, crude, and rough. You were even on the ‘rougher’ side of a figure skater, and that only meant that you swore a little too much and didn’t really have an indoor voice. And yet, you were still infinitely more elegant than any hockey player you had ever encountered.

Whatever. You had managed to be on one end of the ice while it seemed like everyone else besides hockey boy was on the other. If you started your routine or even just practiced some of the elements of the routine that you knew you needed to work on, maybe that would get him to go to the other end. Sure, it wasn’t completely fair, but, hey, it’s worked before.

The AirPods were going to stay in, you decide, praying that nothing happens to the small expensive things in your ear. You start your routine, drowning out the sounds of the other skaters and letting the music fill your head. You close your eyes, not fully doing each element as you imagine a crowd around you. Competitions used to terrify you; the idea of a bunch of people holding their breath every time you did any sort of jump to let out a gasp if you fell or faltered, people averting their eyes if you had any sort of wardrobe malfunction that wouldn’t necessarily hurt your ability to skate, but would definitely hurt your ability to earn points from the judges, the overall sense of being watched was enough to almost make you quit the sport altogether. Now, it’s just natural, not being able to skate unless you know someone was watching you.

And someone was. Hockey boy, of all people, had stopped what he was doing with his stick and puck, standing against the boards, mesmerized by your fluid movements. He could tell that you weren’t doing everything to completion, but there was something about the way you seemed to take control of the ice that he couldn’t help but just stare at you. Your eyes were closed, it looked like you were muttering to yourself. Your hair was in a bun perched messily on top of your head, random strands framing your face seemingly perfectly. Who were you?

You decide to practice your camel spin; something that you were struggling with was making sure your leg was parallel, so might as well try now. You knew how it felt when it was right, you just had to actually get it right. Your music hits the place in your routine where you start to gear up for it, looking around you and seeing that you have open ice, you go for it. You do the move going right into it without problem. You can feel your leg just out of place as you speed up into the camel spin, not quite there. The music surrounds you in your AirPods, until one of them goes flying out. You stop your spin, trying to orient yourself and figure out where the small white ear piece went on the ice.

“Shit,” you mutter to yourself, scanning the ice to see if you can find it. If someone skates over it, you were going to throw a fit. Not at them, of course, because it was your own damn fault for wearing them in the first place, but a fit nonetheless.

“I think this is yours?” a deep voice comes from behind you. You spin around to see the hockey player standing in front of you, AirPod in hand. He almost looks nervous to be standing in front of you.

“Uh, yeah, thanks,” you say, taking it from him and putting it back in. The music fills your ears again, only to realize that his mouth was moving. “Sorry?” you say, pausing the music so you can hear him.

“Oh, uh, I was just saying that what you just did looked really good.” His eyes dart between you and the ice, shifting his weight between his skates as he runs his hands through his hair. There was no way a hockey player could be this nervous in front of you. While you weren’t frail, you weren’t exactly made of pure muscle. People could tell you did some dainty sport just by looking at you.

“Um, thanks. It wasn’t right, though,” you admit, looking at your phone to try to get back to where that move came in the music.

“What do you mean?”

Was he actually interested? He could have skated away already if he weren’t and you were about to start talking to someone else to get rid of him, nor were you going to try to be rude to him. “My leg is supposed to be parallel to the ice when it’s in the air, and it wasn’t. For some reason, I’m struggling getting it up.”

You look at each other, both blushing at the unintentionally sexual thing you had just said, “I’m willing to ignore how bad that sounded if you are.” Neither of you can help your laughter, but wow, he had a really nice laugh.

“Can I help you in any way?” he offers, putting his stick down against the boards.

“Uh, just watch me I guess? See if it looks like my leg is parallel or not?” you suggest. He nods, backing up to give you space after you hand him your phone with your music playing. You go on with the move, knowing that it didn’t feel right. “I have done this element hundreds of times, and yet in this rountine, I can’t get my leg parallel.”

“I mean, it looked parallel,” he says, skating back to you. You scrunch your face, obviously frustrated. Maybe you didn’t know how it felt when it was parallel? Or maybe you had stretched differently? No, you knew exactly how it felt. Maybe he didn’t know what parallel was. “I could help in any way you need me to, I just don’t know what I would do,” he spits out, his voice shaking again. Was he really nervous to be around you? Since when was a figure skater more confident than a hockey player?

“No, it’s fine, but thanks. I see my coach tomorrow, so I’ll have her check it out,” you shrug, bothered by the fact that you can’t get a simple move.

You start to skate away, muttering a goodbye when hockey boy speaks up, “Wait! Are you going?”

“I was going to. I’ve kind of been here all day working on my routine, so I was going to go grab food.”

“Maybe you’d like some company,” he asks, shuffling his weight between each skate, looking down at the ice. He brings his eyes up to meet yours, a smile on his face as his face turns red in anticipation of your answer.

“I don’t know if I should be going out with someone who hasn’t even told me his name,” you say, watching his face go from horror to relief.

“I’m Nate.”

“Well, Nate, where do you want to go?”

---------------

Nate walked up to the Pepsi Center, feeling weird that he wasn’t in a suit and carrying a cup of coffee, but a bouquet of flowers, dressed in a normal t-shirt and jeans and also using the same entrance as everyone else.

“Do you even like figure skating?” Ryan asks, him and Tyson trailing behind Nate as they struggle to keep up with Nate’s anxiously fast-paced walking.

“I think he likes his girl more,” Tyson says. “Hey, man. Slow down.”

Nate didn’t know why he was so nervous. It wasn’t over seeing you; you had been dating for nearly four months now. He might be more nervous about seeing you perform in general. You weren’t nervous about the competition and for some reason, it made him nervous; sympathy nerves? Were those a thing?

“She’s going to be fine, you know that, right? You said you’ve watched her practice this routine like a million times or something?” Tyson asks, hoping that it’ll calm him down. Nate didn’t even get this nervous when they were about to play a game. They were about to play game seven of a playoff game last season and Nate was the calmest guy in the room.

“I know, I know. She’s just been struggling with that camel spin since the day we met and her coach said that she was doing it fine and I said that she was doing fine but she didn’t think she was doing fine, and-” he rambles as the boys try to find their way to their seats.

“Dude. You’re not the one performing. Calm down,” Ryan says.

“I just want her to do well,” he says, shaking his leg, driving Ryan crazy. Tyson didn’t care much, but he just couldn’t figure out why his teammate was this nervous.

“She’s going to be fine,” Tyson reassures him, hoping that that was enough.

Nate’s leg kept shaking the entire time. They watched routine after routine: men’s short, pairs, ice dance, no one he knew since it was a United States competition and he had no idea who even came to these things. The only reason he remembered figure skating existed at this point was because of you.

You were waiting your turn to perform, running through your routine in the back area they had set up for the skaters to warm up, practice, stretch, calm down, do whatever they needed to do without pulling a Tonya Harding. Your coach was watching you intently, not nagging you enough to stress you out, but enough that you were fighting the urge to roll your eyes at the trivial things she was telling you. You already knew what you needed to do, and at this point, so close to you stepping on the ice, nothing in your routine was going to change unless someone hit you with a bat.

It’s your turn, all the nerves you thought you would be feeling melting away. “You’ve got this,” your coach says before pretty much shoving you on the ice.

You hear your name called over the speakers, waiting for the judges to give them the alright for the music to start and your routine to begin.

“Yeah, Y/N!” you hear three voices call, trying to be in unison, but just off enough that you could make out one of the voices: Nate. You didn’t even know he was coming. You can’t help but smile, a real genuine smile, unlike the practically forced one you normally had on when you were performing.

The music starts, you going through your routine like it was second nature. Knowing Nate was there made the routine feel so easy; every move you did felt right, the crowd seemed to be on their feet, not that you even paid much attention to them. You had no idea where Nate even was in the stands, not bothering to look for him until your routine was done. You wave to the crowd, everyone cheering, you hearing your coach screaming from the side. You find Nate, Ryan, and Tyson, excited to see them after the competition was over.

“That was amazing kid! You looked like you went to a whole other place while you were on the ice!” your coach boasts. You forgot you were even actually skating a competition for a moment there, “That might be a winning routine right there.”

You hadn’t even thought about winning, you just needed a high enough score to be invited to the next competition. It was the road to nationals, the road to the national team for the next world championships. But winning? That would be amazing, and definitely help your case for the national team.

You and your coach sit down, waiting for your score. You scan the audience, trying to orient yourself and find the boys again. Ryan looked like he was there because he had to be, which was fine; he didn’t really strike you as the type to want to go to a figure skating competition. Tyson seemed like he was enjoying himself, for the most part, maybe he actually liked the routines. But then there was Nate. He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off you, even when you were just sitting down, pretending to listen to your coach ramble on about the next competition. You couldn’t believe he would come and surprise you like this. Or that he would not only make two of his teammates come, but also make them yell your name like they were teenage girls about to see their favorite boyband.

The score was in, you were just waiting for the judges to announce it. This was the part you hated the most: the waiting. You were one of the last skaters, so whatever place this put you in was probably going to be your standing, maybe one place lower. Your score was in: five points higher than the next. “Holy shit!” you say, your coach hugging you as you sit there shocked.

“That’s first place! That’s first fucking place!” Nate starts screaming, Tyson and Ryan trying to get him to calm his excitement down, especially since there were children around. He couldn’t help it; his girlfriend probably just secured first place at the competition, especially after he watched her struggling with the routine in the days leading up to it.

The next few skaters go, coming close to your score, but none of them really able to break it. There was one more skater, a girl who’s made the national team for the last four years in a row. If you came in second to her, you wouldn’t be that mad about it.

She does her routine, you watching on the TV in the back while you know your phone was blowing up with texts from Nate. He knew that you wouldn’t look at it until the end of the competition, but that didn’t stop him from sending texting you about his excitement anyway.

‘You were amazing’

‘I’m so proud of you!’

‘We’re going out after to celebrate’

‘But if you can’t tonight then we will tomorrow after the game’

The other skater finished the routine, she looked a little shaky in Nate’s opinion, but then again, what did he know. He was just so proud of you. “So after this, if Y/N can, do you guys want to come with us for a little celebration?” he askes Ryan and Tyson.

“Something tells me this celebration should be just the two of you,” Tyson says.

“Yeah, I really don’t want to be involved in whatever it is you guys are going to do,” Ryan adds.

“You guys don’t have to be gross,” Nate says.

The score came in for the last skater: Y/N had a score 0.04 points higher than her.

You came in first place. You couldn’t believe it. Your coach practically lifted you off the ground, you were speechless, Nate was losing his shit in the stands. You couldn’t wait until after the medal ceremony for you to go see Nate.

After you get your medal, congratulate the other skaters, and finally gather your things, the only thing on your mind was finding Nate, knowing that he had already waited for so long. “Nate!” you squeal when you see him, tossing your bag to Tyson, causing him to accidentally fall into Ryan as Nate picks you up off the ground, arms wrapped around you as he kisses you.

“Get a room,” Ryan mutters playful under his breath as you two pull away blushing. “I’m joking,” he says, throwing his hands up in protest, “only get one if you both want to.”

You can’t help but laugh as Tyson tries to hit him with your bag. “God, Y/N, I thought hockey bags were heavy, what do you have in here?” He asks, handing it off to Nate.

“Costumes, skates, tights, warm-up clothes, headphones, makeup, hair stuff,” you start to list off, Nate throwing his arm around you as the four of your start to walk, “I think I have a mirror in there, some books.”

“Books?” Nate asks.

“What? We have a lot of free time,” you shrug. “But I’m curious: did you bring those flowers for one of your boys?” you tease him.

“Yeah, they’re for Ryan for not pouting the entire time,” he jokes, sending Tyson into a fit of laughter while Ryan punches him in the arm. Nate hands you the bouquet filled with sunflowers and roses, your favorite flowers. “These, I hope obviously, are for you.”

“I love them,” you beam, stretching up to kiss him on the cheek. “You had mentioned going out tonight? Are you two coming, too?”

“Nope, we’re going home,” Ryan says, jingling his keys in your face.

“I was hoping to get a ride with you?” Nate asks, “Ryan drove the three of us here.”

“Sure, where to?”

“His house,” Ryan says, Tyson smacking him in the chest. “What! They could order food and be in private that is a perfectly reasonable suggestion!” Tyson pulls him away before he can say anything else, Ryan defending him while Tyson just tells him to quit while he’s behind since he has no chance of getting ahead.

“Interesting choice of teammates to bring,” you tell him as his free hand intertwines in yours.

He shrugs, walking with you to his car, “They were the only ones who I could convince to come.”

“What did you have to promise them?”

“I may or may not have to tie their skates for a few games,” he says, throwing your bag in the back seat as the two of you climb into your car.

“You did that for me?” you say, pretending to swoon to make him laugh.

“I think we’ve established that I would do almost anything for you.”

“Great, because I need to go rob a bank real quick,” you joke, getting another laugh out of him as you pull away from Pepsi Center and head towards his place.

In the middle of his laugh, you hear him let out, “I love you.” His eyes go wide with shock, surprised he just let that slip. He had planned on telling you how he felt soon, but not like this. Not on some night in your car on your way home from a competition.

Out of the corner of your eye, you can see him starting to freak out over what he just said. That was the first time you had heard him say it, but you knew he meant it. “You do?” you ask anyway, not bothering to hide the smile on your face.

“Well, uh, yeah,” he says, trying to calm himself down. Great. Now he was more nervous than he was before you did the routine. “You don’t have to say it back, I don’t know where you stand and I definitely don’t want you to think that I’m pressuring you into saying it or anything,” he starts to ramble.

“Oh, be quiet jitters,” you say, cutting him off before he takes it back altogether, “I love you, too.”

#nathan mackinnon #nathan mackinnon imagines #colorado avalanche #colorado avalanche imagine #avalanche #avalanche imagine #ryan graves #tyson jost #nhl #nhl imagines #hockey #hockey imagines

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creepyalienghost · 3 years

Text

Yandere.

It was Sammy’s first day of college but it was also Sammy’s first time away from home. Where he grew up in an a abusive house hold. He had never been shown love by anyone in his life. Not even at school. The students constantly bullied him and the teachers there hated him. Even his boss treated him like a robot and didn’t care how tired and overworked he was. He was numb to the pain and didn’t care for people anymore. To him they would all just hurt him one day or another. He was glad the dorms there only held one person, him. He wouldn’t ever get any rest or time to recover if there he had to worry all the time here.

His first corse came Monday the following week, Business. He didn’t care for the core but he figured it would help him in the future. The Professor spent the first half explaining the rules to the class and the things they were going to learn here. In the second half the professor told them to group up in twos for the first activity.

Sammy dreaded this activity. He could hear everyone getting up and finding there partner or friend. No one will choose him. No one ever chooses him. Ever. He gets left behind in everything all the time like-

“Excuse me?” Came a nice Southern male voice behind him, causing him to be startled and looked back. “I’m sorry for scaring you there. May I be your partner?” The man to the voice ask.

Sammy looked away from him, shyly. Why has he come to him an ask. Usually the teacher just ins up putting him in one or demanding another kid to join him so they could get on with the lesson. But this guy! He came without that or hesitation. It felt...good. “Y-yea.” Sammy clear his thought. “Yea sure.”

“Thanks” the guy replied, sitting next to Sammy. “I’m Norman.”

Sammy’s heart was beating fast and his stomach was doing all kinds of flips. Why would he want to be his partner? Why does he speak so kind to him? “I’m uh. Sammy..”He mumbled.

Norman gave him a kind smile. “That’s a nice name, Sammy.”

Sammy’s heart skip from that. No one has ever complemented him before. It was a lovey feeling. “ I-uh...t-thank you...” he mumbled again.

They were silent for a minute as they listen to the professors instructions on what the activity was. They would have to come up with a Product and try to sell it to the class. Once the teacher was finished he let everyone begin. “Alright, Sammy. Got anything in mind for a Product?” Norman asked

Sammy tried to think of something but his mind was distracted by his kindness. After a moment he shook his head. “N-no.” He replied, scared now that he’ll hate him for failing. “I’m sorry...”

Norman wasn’t mad though. He smiled at him again. A smile that flipped Sammy’s stomach. “No need to be sorry Sammy.” He replied. “Let’s do...a new game?” He looked at Sammy. “How’s that sound?”

“That sounds...n-nice..” Sammy said relieved yet confused that he still doesn’t hate him.

Sammy sat there and watched him write down some idea Though out the activity. Norman green eyes return to Sammy after he finished with his part of the list. “Do you have any ideas for this new game?”

Sammy looked down in wonder in thought. He didn’t want to fail him with this. He wanted Norman to like him. He needed it. “Maybe....a music game?...like you can play as a musician?...” he mumbled looking back at his face.

Norman nodded. “That sounds interesting.” He wrote it down and they continue to work on this.

The class ended 10 minutes later and everyone beings packing up and leaving. Sammy starting doing the same with his belongings when Norman turned around to him. “Hey Sammy. Is this your first year here?”

Sammy turned to him and nodded. “Y-yes. Why?”

“Because. It’s my second here.” Norman replied. “And I was wondering if you wanted to hang tonight? I can show you the town?” He ask.

He...He wanted to hang out with him? Like on a date? He he only experience this type of thing in shows. Sammy’s palms begin to sweet as well as his heart beats faster. “Yes!..I -I mean yes..” he cleared his throat.

Norman smiled a beautiful smile. “Great. Meet me at the lobby to the dorms at 7” with that he left the class.

Later that night Sammy goes to the lobby a few minutes before And learns on the wall, waiting. He passed the time by watching people. One guy was doing homework at one of the little tables, a group of guys were playing pool on the other side of the room and more walk in and out.

A few minutes later he saw Norman walk in and he got up as he approaches. “Hey. You ready?” Norman ask.

Sammy nodded. “I’m r-ready”

Norman smiled and leaned Sammy out. It was a nice cool night out and perfect for walking in. Norman loved these nights. It was peaceful walking and watching the people or sky watching or going to haunted places according to his friend Joey.

The first place Norman took him was a coffee shop. Hanks coffee shop to be exact. It was located on Main Street between the corner store and a diner. When they entered the shop, the delicious smell of coffee with a hint of honey hit them both. It made his mouth water.

“This is we’re I’d love to come and study or do homework.” Norman said. “It’s relaxing and a great place to get coffee.” He informed him with a smile. “Speaking of coffee wanna get one for the road?”

Sammy nodded in reply. “Yes. Coffee sounds great!”

Norman had ordered an ice coffee for himself and offered to pay for Sammy’s chocolate chip flapper chino coffee. They slowly sipped it as they walked down the sidewalk, passing other cute little shops

And places. A clothing store, a comic shop, a candy shop and many other places.

Norman brought him to the local book shop next. When they arrived inside Sammy saw rows and rows of books. From sci-fi to horror. “I’m a bit of a nerd.” Norman said chuckling. “So i come hear a lot.” He turned to Sammy. “Are you? Do you like to read”

Sammy shrugged his shoulders after a minute of thought. “I’m...I never really read anything t-that wasn’t for homework..”

Norman smiled. “Would you like me to pick you out a book?”

Sammy smiled and nodded. “Yes please! That would be fantastic!

Norman and Sammy spent hours looking around for something Sammy would enjoy. Norman ask questions to help decide what he likes like “do you like things about monsters” or “do you like a good mystery” in the end they came up with a sci-fi book. They payed for it and the two went to the diner to eat before heading back.

——

The morning after he took an hour reading his new book before classed and found himself really enjoying it. Once it was time to get to class he got ready and walked out of his dorm, passing the lobby on the way outside. But he stopped by what he saw. Norman was playing pool with another person! She was tall and fit with brown hair and Hazel eyes.

Sammy felt crush by this. Norman was laughing with her and talking to her, showing her how to play. He even offered her hang out later! This was unfair! Wasn’t he Normans friends? Why was she even around him! He needed to do something! Before he losses his own friend.

In the first class he didn’t focus on the Biology lesson the Professor was given. He was to busy deciding what to do with her. Should he push her in front of a car? Or should he trip her down the straits? No. Those are all Public. He needed something that could be done in public. He didn’t want be seen by people and get arrested.

After another minute of thinking he came up with the perfect way. A small twisted smile spread on to his face. After this Norman would be his friend again

—

Lacie entered the girls dorm after leaving the library with Norman and headed up

To her room. She unlocked her dorm door and stepped in, kicking off her shoes. It’s been a long busy day with school, work and homework that she was ready for a shower and then sleep. Lacie set her bag down on the desk and walked to her closet for some clothes, opening it. That’s when her head burst out in pain and everything went black.

When she came to she had a massive headache. The light was blinding as she slowly opened her eyes. Once she was cautiously aware she her hands were tied in the back and she was up on a chair with a noose around her neck. “What the hell!?” She yelled before noticing a guy in the corner. “Who are you?!... what the fuck is this?!”

The guy came forward with a deep glear of hatred tours her. “I’m Sammy. And Normans my friend!” Sammy kicked the chair out from underneath her, watching her fall and struggle to breath. He watched her kick her feet And try to kick the chair back to her, with no luck. It wasn’t long before she stopped moving and her body slumped.

Sammy finished his work by cutting her hands free from the rope, placed a note on her desk and slipped out into the night without being seen. He later laid in bed and thought about Norman being his friend again tomorrow.

Its been three days since the passing of Lacie. Everyone was shocked that she would do something like that. She always seemed so happy. So ready to take on the day. So ready for anything that life through at her. Norman took it pretty hard. He blames himself for not seeing the signs. He was just with her before she did it. Why couldn’t she had talk to him? He would’ve listened and tried to help her. The school held a memorial in her honor. Everyone showed up to pay respect. Norman was one of them that gave a speech there. She talked about how they were best friends since they were kids. This hurt Sammy a lot to see. Part of him felt sorry for hurting him but the other part was hurt by how much he loved her. Still, now that she’s gone he can have Norman be his friend. Other than that Norman hadn’t came out of his dorm in three days.

Sammy decided that he wanted to visit him tonight, to make sure he was alright. He could help him feel better and hopefully make him laugh.

After his last class of the day he stopped by the flower shop to buy a lovey Bouquet of flowers for Norman. He never been to a funeral before nor tried to help anyone feel better. He saw this idea on tv shows and movies and he thought it was a nice thing now. There were many different options and all of them beautiful but he eventually chose a set with Beautiful red and orange flowers that smelled good.

He walked happily back to campus and into the boys dorm. He heart was filled with Joy as he walked down the 5th floor to Normans room. But the Joy and happiness was instantly crushed when he saw another guy walking out of Normans room. He stopped in his tracks and hid behind a wall, listening.

“Don’t hesitate to call, alright man?” The guy said to Norman.

Norman stepped out and nodded. “I won’t. Thanks Jack.” With that he closed the door and jack began walking out. He passed Sammy without noticing the small man. Sammy dropped the flowers, stepping on them and following jack.

Sammy followed him for little more then five minutes, planning on what he was going to do with this one. When they got near a pound he knew exactly how to get rid of him.

He looked around on the ground for a minute before he stopped a good side rock and grabbed it. He then quicken his paste to get closer to him. At that point jack notice the sounds behind him and turned around to see what it was. It was to late for jack though. The rock knocked him out before he could respond.

Sammy quickly got to work. He started stuffing large rocks in jacks pockets. His Jeans, his hoodie pocket and even in his hoodie it self. Once he was finished with that he pushed jack into the pound and watched him sink. He quickly left the area.

Luckily for Sammy, It stormed that night. The rain watched away all of jack blood and smooth out there foot prints. The neck day there was a missing report on jack. The police searched for days and came up empty-handed. After a week of looking they had to call off the investigation. They chief of police finally claim was he ran away to stop a new life.

Sammy waited a few days before he decided to visit Norman. So things can calm down enough in Norman life. He seen Norman sad when he was in class earlier and wanted to help him and be there for him like he was on the first day. Sammy had been preparing a speech since Monday, again like he seen on tv shows and movies. He felt like he was ready on Wednesday to give the actual speech to Norman.

He went to Normans next class and waited outside of his class and waited for the remaining minutes. Once they were rushing out he peak in between person after person trying to catch Norman. But once he saw him he was hugging another girl. This time with short blonde hair and green hair. She was more girly then the last. She was also beautiful.

This time Sammy didn’t feel sad or heart broken or betrayed. Sammy felt anger and hate in his heart. Why couldn’t he just have one friend to himself!? Why couldn’t he have one good thing in his shitty damn life?! This was so unfair to him and he couldn’t take it anymore! He snapped.

Late that night Sammy came across campus and snuck in the girls dorm. He were a black hoodie that covered most of his face up, not like anyone would notice him anyways. In the pocket laid a knife. He went up to Susies dorm and knocked on her door. He wasn’t in his right mind now. Anger and hate lead him.

When she opened the door she couldn’t even get a word in. He took the knife out and stabbed her in the stomach, watching her gasp. He took it out and stabbed her with it again. He repeated it over and over again even after she stopped responding. It was like was in a trance. Stabbing and stabbing. He opened snapped out of it when he herd a gasp like scream.

He looked over and saw Norman at the door but backing away from him. He looked back down of what’s in front of him and gasp himself. There was so much blood on and around him! So much it scared him. He looked back at Norman and reached out for him. “No wait!-“ he called out.

Norman backed away another stepped. “Stay away from me! Don’t come any closer!” He replied and on the verge of crying. “Someone help! He killed my friend!” He yelled out.

Nothing could be done now. Sammy herd doors opening and people starting to freak out once they released what was going on. He herd the caretaker coning and some got on the phone for the police. He couldn’t run away from this. From what he just done. He looked at his hand all covered in blood then cried.

About 15 minutes later the police and ambulance should up on the campus. The police stormed up to Sammy and arrested him with no problem. He didn’t fight them, And when he was lead to the police car he didn’t look at the people watching the scene unfold. It was unbearable to see that. They put Sammy in the back of the car and drove him away.

——

Who wants a part two?!

#bendy and the ink machine #sammy lawrence #Norman polk #jack fain #susie campbell #lacie benton

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rachelbethhines · 4 years

Text

Tangled Salt Marathon - Painter’s Block

Once again, we have a decent episode that winds up falling apart in context of the wider story arc.

Summary: Traumatized after the previous events, Rapunzel is feeling out of sorts, even having trouble painting again, and starts taking a class with a mysterious new art instructor. The other members of the class disappear one by one to a mysterious location by the sea, apparently painting an old, withered tree. The instructor is revealed to actually be an old witch serving Zhan Tiri (the monster who released the blizzard), released after the use of the weather machine and wishing to release her master as well. It’s up to Eugene and Cassandra to rescue Rapunzel.

Tonal Dissonance Is a Problem

We start this episode with a recap of Queen for a Day and then we jump straight into yet another festival.

Ok, ignoring that clearly a lot of time has past and no one hasn’t done anything to help Varian nor even mentions helping him; it’s just aggravating to switch from a serious storyline back to a supposedly low stakes situation without resolving the first arc properly. Yes, levity is needed to break up tension, but not in a way that distracts entirely from the narrative.

Rapunzel Doesn’t Even Bother To Think About Varian When She’s Having Her PTSD Flashback

Its a minor thing, but throughout the episode Rapunzel keeps having dissociative moments as she constantly hears voices in her head as she remembers the storm. Now I actually do appreciate what the writers are trying to do here. As some who also struggles with Complex-PTSD and dissociation, it's nice to see it represented here in some way. However, the fact that they leave out the key part of her trauma, letting down Varian, undermines these moments. Especially when they had no problem using Varian’s voice clip of “You promised!” earlier in the recap. It’s one of those things you may not notice it at first, but once you do it winds up distracting from the scene.

What an Odd Place to Make This Reference

Sugarby is quoting Ursula here, but I honestly don't know why. Ursula’s actual VA, Pat Carroll, does appear in this episode but she plays Old Lady Crowley instead. Sugarby’s VA is Ellen Greene, of Little Shop of Horrors fame. (and Rock-A-Doodle) You’d think a quote from that movie would be more apt. Also Rapunzel was admiring everyone elses work right before this, not talking about tough choices.

Yet Again Cassandra Gains What She Wants, But the Narrative Refuses To Remember It

Cassandra’s beef in seasons two and three is apparently no one notices her or gives her credit for what she does, yet in season one she gets tons of recognition. Like here for instance, when her dad gives her a detective assignment on a missing persons case. To her specifically. He doesn’t ask anybody else first and isn’t running low on troops.

You can’t have one of the main characters achieve their goal on screen several times and then act like they had never achieved it in later seasons. The audience isn’t dumb. We’re going to remember what happened and it’s insulting to the viewers for the narrative to pretend like what we’ve seen just didn’t happen.

Friedborg is Wasted Here

I’ve talked about it before, but Friedborg is an unnecessary addition to the cast. However I bring it up again because this episode could have been the perfect set up for making her plot relevant. There’s tons of unintentional moments within the episode that could have easily served as foreshadowing that could have connected her to Zan Tiri, more so than any of the other characters.

Trauma is an Explanation, Not an Excuse

This episode presents the idea that Rapunzel is procrastinating helping Varian because she’s reluctant to face her trauma. Which isn’t excusable. It gives reasons for her actions but those reasons are still ultimately selfish.

Now, had the show owned up to this mistake, I would have no problem with using it as a point of conflict, yet the show constantly excuses Rapunzel’s behavior here. In fact the show excuses the behavior of several characters with the idea that so long that they had a traumatic backstory, they’re justified in their horrible actions. All but Varian, which a big double standard.

However, and I can’t stress this enough, trauma is never an excuse for harming others. Especially people who've never done you wrong.

Rapunzel spends several episodes ignoring Varian’s problem, long past the point of acceptability. And if viewed in the intended production order, the amount of episodes doubles. Varian is left alone for months, given the timeline of the show, and yet Rapunzel, the supposed adult in this situation, is never held accountable for neglecting a child.

Xavier isn’t Tied Into the Plot Properly

Xavier just so happens to have a convenient spell book that also just so happens to have all the exposition on the big bad that’s needed. It’s never explained how he got this book, why he has it, nor is it ever used outside of the first season.

Xavier is plot important as the exposition fairy but the show never explorers him further than that and doesn’t tie him into the narrative properly, even though there’s plenty of reasons to do so. In fact Xavier will become just as useless as Monty by the time season three rolls around, even though he previously had the most connection to the ultimate villain.

The Disciples Plot Goes Nowhere

Ok, first off we get no real explanation as who these guys are, nor why they follow Zan Tiri to begin with. Why do they want Zan Tiri freed? What’s in it for them precisely?

Second, what meminal backstory we get on these guys, contradicts what we’re told about them here. Xavier calls them evil spirits, but later we find out that they were actual real people who onced lived. You could call them ghosts if you want to, but that begs the original question of why they followed Zhan Tiri in the first place and why they continue to do so even in the afterlife. Simply being ‘evil’ no longer cuts it because real people aren’t just purely ‘evil’. They have goals and motivations.

Finally, they accomplish nothing. They never wind up freeing their master. That happens through other means. They never connect back to Zhan Tiri’s own goals and motivations. They don’t add backstory to any of the other characters nor expand the mythos of the series. They’re just there to be a baddie of the week, and it’s is such a let down given what other hints we got for them.

Sugarby Misgenders Her Master

So it’s clear that the writers did not fully figure out Zhan Tiri’s plot before they started making episodes. Given how animation works and how much pre-production time you’re given before you ever even start animating (which is several years btw), that’s a sign of mismanagement right there.

Zhan Tiri is revealed to be a girl, but is referred to using male pronouns until that reveal, even by people who very well should know better, like her disciples.

Also all these tree metaphors and hints come to nothing either, as Zhan Tiri is ultimately both freed and imprisoned without them. So what was the point here?

Rapunzel Doesn’t Learn Her Lesson

This episode is suppose to be about Rapunzel learning to accept responsibility and owning up to her decisions even if it's hard. This should, sensibly, end with her taking upon her responsibility for Varian and following up with him. But no, we get a painting party instead.

This isn’t Proper Foreshadowing

So everyone acts like this painting of Cassandra in front of the moon is foreshadowing for her taking the moonstone, but it’s not. Not good foreshadowing, anyways.

For starters, it’s not focused upon. Everyone is also painting stuff and crowding out what she’s doing so your eye isn’t lead to her

Nothing anybody else paints is a hint to anything later on, so why should the viewer pick up on this? It’s just a thing anybody could paint. If anything, Freidborg painting the void over there could have been some real foreshadowing cause that’s different and stands out, but it isn’t.

It’s not on screen long enough to register for the audience. If you’re only going to notice something after the fact then it’s not a meaningful clue. Real foreshadowing has to be detectable and the audience needs to be able to plausibly figure out a twist before it happens or you’ve got a bad twist that’s not integrated into the story.

There’s no other evidence to backup the twist. All we get is one framing shot of a mirror and that brief talk with Eugene in in the cell in Cassandra vs. Eugene. That’s not enough. And no, Chris claiming her ‘dress is blue’ as a hint is utter bullshit, cause there’s Freidborg right there wearing the exact same dress.

If MoonCass was always a thing that the writers intended to happen, which we do have evidence for given released production artwork and Chris’s own discussions about the show’s development, then they needed to put more effort into establishing the character and setting up her arc.

The very fact that viewers can easily pick out supposedly non-existent ‘hints’ with other characters like Freidborg and Varian, but not pick up on the actual twist, means that the writers failed to communicate clearly with their audience. That is on them and not the viewers, no matter what Chris says.

Conclusion

This episode is frustrating. Much like the pilot, it offers up good ideas but then never properly follows up on them. To make matters worse, it winds up distracting from the plot that viewers actually care about rather than furthering.

#tangled the series #tangled #rapunzel's tangled adventure #anti-tangled #zhan tiri #rapunzel #anti-rapunzel #cassandra #varian

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evendeadlmthehero · 5 years

Text

The Five Year Promise: The Arrival (6/10)

Summary: Y/N Stark, a 20-year-old, makes a promise with Peter Parker, a 16-year-old, that if 5 years pass and and they both haven’t found love, they’d have their first date. Then the snap happens. Y/N is gone. Peter isn’t.

Warnings: Angst. Some swearing.

A/N: this is a short/filler chapter but you guys aren’t READY for part 7

Five Year Promise Masterlist

Based on Avengers: Endgame (2018)

It was quiet in the ship. Tony was sitting by himself, not accepting food, and giving it to Nebula and Peter. Peter also didn’t feel like eating, but on day 15 on the spaceship, his stomach had begged him to eat. His cheeks were sunken and his face had lost colour. Peter no longer grieved yet was in a state of numbness.

Thoughts kept racing in his mind. Is Aunt May okay? Is Ned fine? He couldn’t deal with another loss. Thanos had won. And he truly did leave a mark on the universe. A legacy. Peter snuggled up to nothing but his arms wrapped around himself.

Tony had saw this and whilst he was asleep, he had put his jacket on him. Both him and Peter were deprived of food, meaning more susceptibility to the cold of the endless space. Nebula however was part robot, and although she was starving, her bionic side slightly eased the pain.

Everyday, Peter had nightmares of you. Sometimes it’s you turning into ash, sometimes it’s you turning into roaches and spiders. He woke up screaming, yet no sound would come out. Water had ran out, and his throat was too dry to produce sound.

On day 22 he had made a little video for his Aunt, in case he himself did not make it. He sat down, putting on his suit as he told Karen to record.

“Hey May,” he mumbled tiredly, rubbing his eyes. “It’s been 22 days. In the rare chance you get this, I’m sorry. I-I’m sorry you have to go through this again, i-if your still there. If you aren’t gone-“

He stopped himself, unable to finish that sentence. He then looked at his watch that you have given him, making bile rise up to his throat as he was reminded of what had occurred almost a month ago.

1796 days and 2 hours, it had read. He then looked back into the recorder, letting a tear leave his eye. “She’s gone. Y/N, the girl I told you about. S-she- I couldn’t save her. She didn’t want to die. She told me she didn’t want to. She was scared. She was too young. She didn’t even get to graduate. I-I don’t think I will too. Water ran out days ago and I think I heard Mr. Stark say that oxygen will run out soon. M-May, please take care of yourself. I love you a lot and thank you for all that you’ve done. T-this world hasn’t been kind to you. A-and you deserve better.”

His hand shook as he ended to video. He then slept in the same position he was in, not really wanting to move. You were gone. And this time, the suit didn’t save you. He couldn’t save you. He tried to tell himself that Thanos is a menance, that it wasn’t his fault. But then a stupid voice told him he was so close to taking off the gauntlet, if only he was just that bit stronger.

His eyes started drooping down, begging him to sleep. Peter didn’t want to succumb to it. He was so exhausted, sick of being reminded of what had happened in the form of nightmares. He hated waking up in sweat, more dehydrated then before.

And Tony wasn’t any better. His mind was consumed with malicious thoughts towards himself. And how can he not? The worst pain for a parent is losing a child. Tony had to watch his slowly decay and disingrate into ash. He had kept some of your ash in a jar he had found in the ship. Kept it just in case you’d come back.

Your dad also didn’t want to leave you on that planet. He wanted to leave your ashes in Earth, right near his mother and father. You had to be close to your grandparents.

On day 23, your father and Peter had no energy left. Peter had his ribs sticking out of his skin and his cheekbones now more prominent then before. He could feel death closer then ever.

Nebula watched as she saw both your father and Peter drift off into what had looked like sleep, but was imminently death. She felt alone, cold as she realised she was truly going to be a left alone.

All hope was lost until a bright light came near the window, making Peter and Tony open their eyes. They saw a figure in the light, thinking it was you. It had looked like your powers. The lights then dimmed down and there she stood.

An unfamiliar face of hope donning a red and blue suit.

Natasha Romanoff ran into the field as she saw a spaceship coming down from the sky. It was held by a female, a glow circling around her. Her heart was beating against her chest, awaiting to see if you were alive or gone like the rest.

When the plan had landed, Tony was the first to get out of the ship. Steve had run towards him, holding him upright. Tony then looked at his old friend in sorrow and grief. “Couldn't stop him.”

“Neither could I,” Steve had spoke as he guided Tony down. Natasha kept watching, waiting to see you arrive. She saw movement, and realised it was the Peter kid she had seen during Germany. He looked in bad shape, skinnier than ever and blue bags under his eyes.

She watched as a blue female also walked out of the ship, when Rocket, a person who she’d made friends with in the recent weeks, ran out to greet her.

Natasha’s smile faltered for a secound, little hope now left that you might actually come out of the ship. But you didn’t. Her eyes welled up as she took a look at Tony who finally made his way towards her. “I l-lost her.”

Natasha let out a little breath as she shook her head, tears streaming down her face as she grabbed Tony’s shoulder. “Tony, we lost.”

“Is, uh?,” Tony struggles to ask about Pepper. He then sees the stressful blonde run up to him, embracing him.

“Oh, my God! Oh, my God!” She gasped as she let out a sob, thinking that she lost him. She then moved back, her eyes looking for you. She then looked at Natasha, who was held by Steve to stop her from collapsing and then to Peter, who had sat down, not saying a word. “No, no, no, no, no.”

You were a simple girl, an infectious girl. You had a bubbly attitude, was fierce and determined. You were brave, heroic and a genius. And today, you were mourned.

In the Avengers Compound, the heroes sat in a living room area. Tony was sitting at a table, getting blood in order to heal. He hadn’t spoken since he got off the spaceship. He didn’t want to speak about the horrors he went through. And neither did Peter, who sat down without saying a word, also attached to a tube and a blood bag.

“It's been 23 days since Thanos came to Earth,” Rhodes spoke, the tone of his voice in complete tiredness. You were like his little niece. He had known you since you were born. He knew who your mother was, before she died giving birth to you. He knew how Tony was before and after you. He knew you since you were in diapers.

“World governments are in pieces,” Natasha’s voice wavers, too emotionally distressed to speak in her usual voice. “The parts that are still working are trying to take a census. And it looks like he did- he did exactly what he said he was gonna do. Thanos wiped out fifty percent, of all living creatures.”

“Where is he now?” Tony had asked, rubbing his bottom lip. “Where?”

“We don't know. He just opened a portal and walked through,” Steve had replied back, looking at the various images of those who vanished. Wanda, Sam and T’Challa. Then, a photo of you appeared, with a beaming smile. Peter quickly looked away playing with his fingers.

Tony swallowed the lump in his throat before looking at Thor, sitting on a bench and seemingly deep in thought. “What's wrong with him?”

“Oh, he's pissed,” Rocket spoke, making Tony look at him weirdly, not expecting him to speak. “He thinks he failed. Which of course he did, but you know there's a lot of that's going around, ain't there?”

“Honestly, until this exact second, I thought you were a Build-A-Bear,” Tony replied back, looking at him curiously.

“Maybe I am,” Rocket had spoken to himself, as he too did not know what he was.

“We've been hunting Thanos for three weeks now. Deep Space scans, and satellites, and we got nothing,” Steve spoke, before looking at your father. “Tony, you fought him-“

“Who told you that?” Your father asked harshly, looking at Steve with anger. “I didn't fight him. No, he wiped my face with a planet while the Bleecker Street Magician gave away the stone and my own daughter decayed right in front of me. That's what happened. There was no fight.”

“Did he give you any clues, any coordinates, anything?” Steve had asked him in his usual professional voice, angering Tony even more.

“I saw this coming a few years back. I had a vision. I didn't wanna believe it. Thought I was dreaming. And then Y/N had the same vision too. You all told me that I was making her crazy, that I was planting ideas in her head-“

“Tony, I'm gonna need you to focus-“

“And I needed you! As in past tense. That trumps what you need. It's too late buddy. Sorry. You know what I need?” Tony asked as he stands, pushing things off the table with a clatter. Everyone winces at the noise. “I need to shave. And I believe I remember telling all youse!”

Tony goes for Steve. Rhodey quickly comes in front of him, trying to stop him. “Tony, Tony, Tony!”

“Alive and otherwise what we needed was a suit of armor around the world! Remember that? Whether it impacted our precious freedoms or not- that's what we needed!” He yelled at Steve, the frustration and betrayal of the passed years finally exploding.

“Well, that didn't work out, did it?” Steve had spoken back, trying to get Tony to calm down. But it looked like it had the opposite effect.

“I said, "we'd lose". You said, "We'll do that together too." And guess what, cap? We lost. And you weren't there. And now my own daughter is dead. But that's what we do, right? Our best work after the fact? We're the Avengers, we're the Avengers. Not the Prevengers! Right?” Tony had yelled, his hands swaying around and hitting everything.

“You made your point. Just sit down,” Rhodey had spoke, trying to help Tony from hurting himself.

“She's great, by the way. Has similar powers to Y/N. You guys do remember Y/N right?” He then looked at Carol who looked like she didn’t want to be apart of this argument. “We need you. You're new blood. Bunch of tired old mules! I got nothing for you, cap! I got no coordinates, no clues, no strategies, no options. Zero. Zip. Nada. No trust. Liar.”

Steve looks affected by Tony's words. The old friends just gaze at each other. After a moment, Tony rips his Arc Reactor from his chest and shoves it into Steve's hand. “Here, take this. You find him, and you put that on. You hide.”

Tony falls to the ground, making everyone gather around him. He whispers “I’m fine,” before collapsing onto the ground.

“Bruce gave him a sedative. He's gonna probably be out for the rest of the day,” Rhodey told Peter who was sitting on the same couch for three hours now. “You okay man?”

Peter is snapped out of his stare before he gets up from the couch, taking the tube off his arm. “Yeah, I- I need to go check if May and Ned are fine.”

“Peter you need to recover first,” Rhodey yelled out at Peter’s retreating figure. Peter continued walking away, not listening to him. He walked outside the building and into the cool breeze. It was quiet, no sounds of birds or anything. He didn’t realise until now that Thanos really did take away half of the population.

It took a couple of days until Peter got home. No landlines were working, due to a national emergency. There was no cellphone reception because of fires and crashes. No trams, trains or buses were working, due to obvious reasons. Peter had to steal a bike and ride it back to his home.

Of course that only made him weaker. Shops and fast food outlets were abandoned, giving him a food source. It was a tough couple of days for Peter to get back home. But he had to see her. He had to see if his Aunt was okay.

His hand was shaking as he picked the key that was hidden under the mat. He held his breath as he unlocked the door of his house. The door let out a creak as it opened.

It took Peter a while before walking inside the apartment. He tried to prolong the process of finding out the truth. Delayed the inevitable. But he knew he had to at one point. So after letting out a breath, he finally stepped inside the apartment.

It was cold, wind blowing in from the half opened window. He then looked over at the kitchen, where a bunch of dishes were stacked on top of one another. He then looked at the living room and that’s when he saw it.

Ash all over the coach and floor. A broken mug and coffee stain on the carpet. It was true, you were gone.

Before Peter could mourn, he quickly ran out of the aparentment and to Ned’s house location. He passed many houses. Many old folk and children were lost, sleeping out on the streets and crying. It was a horrific scene, straight out of an apocalyptic movie. He even saw a one year old calling out for his mother.

He then caught a glimpse of the familiar house and ran in full speed towards the door, knocking. No one answered. Peter ran towards the windows, trying to find any sign of life. “Ned? Ned!”

He smashed down the window with his fist, his hand now bleeding. But he didn’t care, he had to find his friend. He looked around furiously, up and down the house. He checked and re-checked rooms, the backyard and front-yard. He then waited hours, days outside Ned’s home, hoping that he was just returning late from the trip.

But he never did.

Everyone was gone.

Taglist (CLOSED)

@kissingtrutharchives @autobotgirl15-blog @clockblobber @im-a-stranger-thing @isabella-bby @jonsnowdoesknow @fangirlingonrhys @trenchcoatedwhiskers @platonictrashh @misswritingintherain @itsbebeyyy @xs-hoodie @callmedaddys-blog @fangirling12566 @editsbyjenny @bubblegumholland @hollandinq @lordofthunderthr @hgacutan @colored-confetti @legendarydazekitten @maya-t-13 @house-arya @cutie1365 @buckysblondie @clipopex-writing @wifunozomi @babebenhardy @sadgirlhours247 @sweetdarlingholland @taliarosej00

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clockworkgraystairs · 4 years

Text

Everything I didn’t ask for #2

JURDAN FIGHT CLUB AU

Rated M

Warnings: Sexual content and violence.

After his friend Locke got them a doubtfu job, Cardan finds out things won’t be as easy as he thought.

Maybe one mysterious girl will help him sort things out.

Or not.

Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 [coming soon]

EIDAF Masterlist General Masterlist AO3

HAVE FUN

“I’m just saying, if I end up in some ditch tied up and face down it’s going to be on your dork conscience.”

Cardan rolled his eyes.

For the last twenty minutes, the Roach had been complaining about the same thing. It was getting a little annoying. By the look on Locke’s face, he was already regretting inviting him.

The guy who had talked to Locke asked him for three people for the night, and since they were the closest ones from the whole bar the decision had been easy.

When the deal was closed, the man who presented himself as Madoc, had muttered some very specific rules:

-Be at the assigned place (outside the Elfhame) the next monday at 8:00 pm.

-No speaking about the job to anyone. He claimed he’ll know if they did.

-No cellphones.

After that, he’d left without another word.

On mondays and tuesdays the bar was closed, so that was not going to be an issue. What worried him though, was thinking the kind of trouble that kind of job could bring them. The promised payment, the weird man, the ridiculous rules, the fancy limousine that picked them up at 8 o’clock from the bar…

Once the door closed behind him, he knew there was no coming back.

Now, the three of them were sitting side by side in that limo that despite its comfortable leather seats, stinked awfully like cigars and alcohol.

While Cardan was looking outside trying to see where the hell they were, Locke had successfully distracted Roach by trying to put some eyeliner on his face claiming it would make him look less like a cringy old man. At some point Roach’s attempts to escape left them both struggling on the car’s floor. Cardan could only laugh at the horror in Roach’s eyes. None of them realizing the vehicle had stopped moving. “GET THAT DEVILISH THING OFF MY…” he yelled, pausing mid-sentence when the door opened.

Standing outside, Madoc stared at them with a quirked eyebrow. With a head movement, he commanded them to sit back down before entering the car. He carried two suitcases.

Locke opened his mouth to start apologizing when he realized the man was not alone. Behind him two other women got inside and sit next to him. The first one with straight half-blonde half-blue hair falling to her waist and a long black dress, didn’t even bothered looking at them and just stare through the window, her expression empty or maybe bored Cardan could not tell. The second one though, was a little taller and her navy blue dress made her brunette wavy hair stand out, he found her to be absolutely gorgeous, and unlike her companion she did survey them with curiosity in her eyes.

Once she sat down she crossed her legs, the dress revealing a dangerous opening that ran up to her mid-thigh. It was until he raised his gaze and found her chestnut eyes looking right back at him with a playful grin in the corner of her lips, that Cardan realized he was staring, mouth half opened.

He blinked and lowered his head, feeling a rush of blood reaching his face. Madoc tapped the driver’s window twice and the limousine started moving again.

“I trust that you won’t be climbing each other like that once we arrive to our destination, am I correct?” he asked Locke. The poor guy looking pale as a ghost just nodded.

“Certainly not sir, we were just-” he babbled, playing with his hands. “We are deeply sorry.” The Roach didn’t say anything but his face was something between ashamed and angry, probably both.

“Good.”

Madoc opened the zipper from one of the suitcases and pulled out two pairs of walkie talkies. “All of you will have one of this for the entire night, you’ll have an specific work area but if you are needed somewhere else for any motive this is how I’ll let you know.” he gave a device to each one of them and kept the last one for himself.

“You must not take it off, not even for going to the gods damned bathroom, understood? If this or any other of the instructions I gave you is ignored there will be consequences. Not pleasant to say the least.” his voice calm as he leaned back on his seat opening his coat. He had a gun. The three boys immediately tensed up. Cardan inhaled a sharp breath.

The girl in the navy dress snorted. Even while gazing to the road outside, she was clearly paying close attention to everything they were saying.

The man continued as if he didn’t hear her. “Now, I’m going to need your names. I don’t care for any last name. Just first name, or nickname if it suits you better.”

When none of the others answered Cardan turned to them. Locke had gone from white to green and Roach wasn’t doing any better. His heart was hammering in his chest. Clearing his throat he pointed to each one.

“Well that’s Locke, you know him already. This one’s Roach, or that’s how we all call him.” A pause to see if he was going to correct him and tell his true name. He didn’t. “And my name is Cardan. We will attend all of your instructions so don’t need to worry about it.”

“You sure about that?” he answered, looking at the others in disbelief. “Because-”

“Gods Madoc, just give them a break.” The brunette interrupted, her voice low and silky. “We haven’t even arrived yet and those two look as if they’re waiting for the door to open so they can run for their lives.”

The man glared at her, and Cardan took those seconds to elbow his friend, hard. Get yourselves together! he seemed to shout at him. The red-haired shook his head and blinked as if he was coming back from a trance, quickly recovering and smirking to the girl.

“We won’t go anywhere miss, you don’t need to worry. We were just… processing all the instructions.”

The Roach only nodded once, still not daring to say anything but wearing a better face than before.

The car stopped. Somehow in that little time they’d managed to get out from the city. Now the driver was parking in front of some kind of warehouse, a well maintained building even if it was in the middle of nowhere. Around them were parked at least other fifty cars. Expensive cars.

Someone opened the door and the girls exit the limo. Just before it closed again the navy dress girl turned to them, her gaze on Cardan.

“Have fun.”

After dropping the girls at the entrance, his group and Madoc entered the place through a backdoor that leaded to some kind of cellar and a kitchen. A couple of guys came and went from double doors carrying trays full of glasses.

Madoc pointed at a cabinet on a corner. “You’ll find a uniform there, put it on and meet me at the bar outside.”

Outside, turned out to be a huge saloon lighted up with a beckoning and low blue light, half filled with poker tables as well as other gambling stations. All of them nearly filled with people. The other area was some kind of dance floor where men and women were pretty much drinking and talking.

The whole place surrounded by smoke, excited howls, and loud jazz and blues music. Roach whistled at the view. Cardan just wondered how high the bets actually went in those tables.

They hurried to the bar zone, located on the opposite corner of the main entrance where Madoc waited with a not so patient face. He quickly explained the half-area they were supposed to attend, as well as the behavior expected from all of their workers. It was large, practically doubled the Elfhame’s bar size. Across it, another three boys in the same black and white uniform were in charge of the other half.

After repeating the initial instructions, emphasizing on not dropping the walkie at any moment, Madoc was gone. People arrived almost instantly.

Rich people liked spending money, that was common knowledge. Still, it surprised Cardan how many of this (really expensive) martinis and mojitos they would dare to buy in a record time of three hours, either for themselves or to invite an entire round to some table partners. A glance from Locke told him he was thinking the exact same thing, needless to say his friend was having the time of his life flirting with some of those loaded women. Even the Roach had relaxed by now.

“Hello Cardan.” The whiskey bottle almost slipped from his hands.

He turned around to find the brunette girl from the limousine sitting in one of the bar stools right in front of him, her gaze soft. An amused smile curved her lips. “Having enough fun?”

Don’t you dare staring at her as a total idiot again, he scolded himself.

“Good evening miss, indeed we are. It has been an… interesting experience.” He gave her the charmiest grin he could manage. Her smile widened. “The mojitos are flying away, in case you wanted any I suggest you hurry.” MOJITOS? Are you fucking serious?

She wrinkled her nose in the most adorable way he’d ever seen, “Thanks but I don’t really drink.”

Cardan nodded once.

“Ok, uh- in that case maybe something with no alcohol in it?” It was getting harder to concentrate under her intense eyes. He took a glass and started cleaning it with a cloth.

“Maybe. Only if I get to invite you something too.”

A couple of seconds passed. He chuckled quietly. “There’s…no need miss. I am here to serve you. But I appreciate your kindness.”

“Do stop calling me ‘miss’. And I’m not talking out of kindness Cardan, I’m doing it because since I saw you in that hideous limousine I’ve thought you are incredibly hot.” The girl bit her lip and widened her eyes as if she could not entirely believe what she’d just said.

Actually his own mind had fully stopped working at the moment, but not exactly out of shyness.

“Well I’m sorry, miss, but I’m afraid I don’t know your name.” Keeping their gazes locked, Cardan left the glass and the cloth aside and leaned to her, resting his hands on the table. She didn’t move backwards and looked up at him through thick eyelashes. “Care to tell me?” His voice came out guttural.

She opened her mouth.

“Heeeey there!” Locke’s arm materialized out of nowhere around his neck. “Are you offering this beautiful girl a drink? Because if you’re just boring her, allow me to take it from here." He winked at her ignoring Cardan’s frown.

A flash of annoyance crossed her face before giving Locke a less wider grin. “The beautiful girl has a name, it’s Susan.” By the glint in her eyes, Cardan was almost sure she was lying. “And it’s nice of you but I’m everything but bored. I wasn’t exactly planning on asking your friend for a drink.”

He quirked an eyebrow, and she took her gaze back to Cardan, biting her lip again in a totally different way. His pulse rose again. She was not just flirting anymore. That was a look of pure desire.

Cardan could almost listen the switch clicking on Locke’s brain.

“Oh!” His friend turned to him, both amused and stunned. Then to her. “So I guess I just fucked up, my apologies milady.”

After that he crossed the bar in long-legged strides, only half turning back to Cardan to give him a thumbs up while mouthing DAMN.

She chuckled. “Was I too rude?”

Cardan kept his gaze on her. Her bright eyes, her lips, the exquisite cleavage of her dress. Gods she was gorgeous, and that damned look she’d gave him had tored him down completely. Would it be too much to rip off her dress right there? He leaned down to her again, this time at a distance that allowed him to smell her scent of violets.

A flash of Madoc’s gun passed through his mind and he froze.

Whoever this girl was, it would probably get him nothing but trouble. Even if he wasn’t the embodiment of measurement himself, he had enough to deal with.

She immediately noticed him and tilted her head, a silent question in her eyes.

“I’m sorry… I-“ Cardan gulped, backing up an inch. “Maybe it wouldn’t be the best idea to… you know.”

She leaned back onto the stool, leaving one of her hands next to his. “I guess you’re right.” His breath hitched as he felt her soft fingers tracing his, slowly. “A terrible idea, Madoc would be furious.”

Been foolish enough to ruin one of his brother Balekin’s dirty businesses had cost Cardan a life-long debt and several beatings already. He should know better than getting involved in something just as dangerous.

He really should.

The shelf rattled as her back slammed against it. Without letting go of her, Cardan kept devouring her lips as her hands tangled in his hair.

Somehow, they’d managed to sneak into a spot behind several boxes and shelves way behind the kitchen, out of sight of pretty much everyone. If any person, besides Locke or Roach, had seeing them leave Cardan didn’t know. Or care. Mostly because his mind was went completely blank as she took his hand and led him out the saloon.

As soon as they got out he’d encircled her waist fimly and grazed her ear with his lips. “Where are you taking me?”

“Careful,” She’d purred, reaching his neck with the hand that wasn’t holding his. “We may get in trouble if we’re seen.”

“I get the feeling you wouldn’t really care if we were, miss.” He’d teased, nibbling her earlobe. She tensed and pulled him faster, finally getting to a little corner where the light was low. She turned to face him, her breath ragged and her eyes dangerous.

“I told you,” Her hand grasped the collar of his shirt, tugging him down to her eye-level. “To. Not. Call. Me. Mi-”

He yanked her to him before she could finish, their lips colliding fiercely. She let out a sharp gasp, her arms lashing around his neck.

Gods, she tasted so good. She arched deliciously as one of Cardan’s hands slide down her back, then lower. Her teeth grazed his bottom lip. In a heartbeat, he lifted her onto a small shelf pushing himself between her knees, caressing her thigh at the split of her dress that had taunted him from the first moment. She pulled him closer, if such thing was possible.

Cardan growled against her lips “Will you tell me your true name?”

He felt her grin as she slipped her kisses to his jaw. “And if I do?” she sighed. “Will you drop with formalities?”

“There isn’t anything formal about what I want to do with you right now.”

Her next words were suppressed by a moan as his hand moved inwards to stroke her over her panties. The heat that came from her was enough to make Cardan want to kneel in the spot and eat her up.

But not yet.

In a swift move his fingers set aside the fabric so he could feel her exposed skin, teasing her entrance just enough to make her head roll back.

Without stopping his ministrations, he seized her neck again prompting her to look at him. He could feel her heartbeat against his fingers. “Your name.”

She breathed twice, short and ragged, her eyes still defiant. He slipped one finger inside her, deep. She cried out and tried to shift her hips.

Cardan leaned to brush her lips with his. “I said-”

“Jude.” She sighed in defeat. “My name is Jude-ah”

She whined at the intrusion of a second finger. “Are you telling me the truth, Jude?”

Breathless curses slipped out of her. “Yes yes I am, please…”

That last word was his undoing. He groaned and moved his fingers faster. Pumping in and out until she squirmed against him. Feeling her moans in the hand he kept around her neck he kissed her again. She was gripping his hair tight enough to hurt, and shivered when he changed the angle of his thrusts to a different spot.

Her breathing changed as she got closer, panting against his mouth. She pulled back an inch muttering his name.

“That’s it Jude, come for me.” He let go of her neck so he could clasp her hips still, rubbing with her clit with his thumb.

Jude jolted and cried out, falling over the edge with her hand covering her mouth in an attempt to muffle the sounds that were coming out of her.

As she came down, she leaned back to the shelf. If Cardan hadn’t already decided she was the most exquisite creature he’d ever met, the sight of her breathing hard against her tight dress, mouth parted and a scarlet trace of blush that ran from her cheeks down to her breasts, shit, that would have done it.

Pulling out of her, he took his fingers to his mouth giving her a wicked grin that made her blush even harder.

“If you did that just to know my name,” She hooked a finger in his waistband preventing him from moving. “Let me show you what I’d do for your number.”

Jude’s hands roamed soft as feathers under his shirt, Cardan cursed under his breath as one of them headed down until she was stroking him over his clothes.

His self control was not as good as it showed, he’d been rock hard since she’d whispered his name against his mouth when she was falling apart. And right now he could only think of Jude on her knees, taking his-

A loud ring came out of the walkie he was carrying, making them both stiffen.

“Cardan.”

Locke. He was going to kill the bastard.

“Pst, Cardan.”

Taking the damned thing he hissed. “What?”

“I’m sorry to interrupt… again. But Madoc is looking for you. I told him you were on the bathroom but I don’t think he is going to believe that a third time, man.”

He sighed and cursed again.

“He won’t. You need to go.” Jude muttered, getting back on her feet. Her face was serious but still got a hint of mischief in her eyes. “Besides, you’re not the only one who’s needed elsewhere.”

Cardan stared at her. “We are not done yet, you and I.”

Her lips curved. She leaned to kissed him, her lips barely grazing his.

“Oh I haven’t even started.”

For a moment he wondered if it would be worth risking Madoc’s temper.

“You are so dead”

Locke raised his hands in surrender.

“Hey don’t blame me, I’m the one who’s been covering up your ass remember?”

Cardan clenched his jaw, he knew that, he just needed to get out his frustration with someone.

“Yeah, whatever. Thanks, man.” By the look in his friend he could say there were a lot of questions waiting for him. As soon as they get to a safer place. Cardan eyed the room searching for Madoc.

That’s when he noticed something had changed.

Something in the air was different. Even the music was. The fluent jazz and blues replaced for faster and harder beats.

People weren’t gathered at the poker tables anymore. Barely a handful of them. He spotted the rest at what he thought was a dance floor. None were dancing though.

Everyone there shouting and some of them clapping. Apparently surrounding something. A stage maybe?

“There you are!”

They turned to find Madoc, rushing towards them. He eyed Cardan. If he noticed his rumpled hair or wrinkled shirt he didn’t mention it. “Leave whatever you are doing and come with me. No questions.”

As they walked near the crowd Cardan could surveyed better what was going on.

He felt his face pale and heard Locke catch his breath.

The multitude formed a circle, in the middle, two men wearing nothing but trousers were circling each other.

Both of them had bruises and blood all over.

With a roar, the broader man hurled himself against the other. They struggled for a moment before falling down to the floor. The smaller man could do little when the first one started dropping vicious blows against him. The attacker’s eyes were wide with rage, the people around screaming louder. Like animals.

A ringing noise filled Cardan’s head. Staying still as he could do nothing but stare at the blood splashing to the floor.

“Why don’t you ever defend yourself, little brother?” Balekin laughed. Both of his men standing next to him, cleaning their knuckles.

Lying on his side, Cardan tried to lift his head, blood in his mouth blocking his words. He spit, staining the floor red.

One of his eyes was so swollen it couldn’t open.

His brother huffed. “Pathetic.” A blow to his stomach came out of nowhere, throwing him on his back. He couldn’t breathe.

“Cardan. Cardan come back.”

He blinked and turned, Locke staring at him with concern. They’ve met each other since they were kids. His friend knew everything. It’s ok he nodded. Cardan’s pulse hammered in his head. Taking a deep breath he looked back to the ring.

The smaller man lay still, no longer trying to defend himself. Why is nobody stopping this?

As if on cue, a voice came out the speakers. “ALRIGHT ALRIGHT give it up for our winner, VALERIAN!”

Most of the crowd cheered, some other cursed. The champion raised and grinned with nothing but bloodlust in his eyes. His golden hair falling over his face, wet with sweat and red.

“Lift him and bring him to the back.” Madoc pointed to the unconscious man on the floor. His tone left no space to refuse. “Now.”

After the fourth fight, Cardan had already got used to carrying the losers, males or females, without looking at their faces. He and Locke took them out to a room with several beds on it.

Leave them there and return. Repeat. Were there any doctors in this place?

Matches kept going. Bets rising.

Fighters won, fighters lost. Pick them up, take them to the back. Leave them there, return.

He didn’t know how much time passed. Another fight was taking place outside.

He leaned against the wall and rubbed his face, waiting for the encounter to end. For Madoc to call for him. His mind kept going back to Jude, coming undone in his arms. Fuck. The door opened and Locke’s head popped in, wide eyed, motioning him to come out. The cheers were stronger this time.

“Is it over?” Cardan asked.

“Almost, but you need to come.”

He quirked an eyebrow and followed his friend.

Locke stopped near one of the speakers and pointed to the ring.

One of the girls fighting was trying really hard to keep standing. Her unfocused gaze travelled from the floor to the crowd. Cardan clenched his jaw. It would be over soon.

That girl was taller than the other though, and tried to take advantage of that on her next blow. Failing. Her opponent swirled under her arm and connected her elbow to the girl’s nose. She didn’t even see it coming. Taking a step back she fell to the ground.

If he thought the audience was loud before, it was nothing compared with this. They were out of control.

Sighing, Cardan entered the ring to continue his task, and froze right in his track when the winner turned.

She stared at him, breathing heavily. Her brown hair was tied up on a pony tail. She was wearing black pants and a crop top. A bruise forming on her cheekbone.

He gawked at her lips, now cracked and bloodied, and lower, where several scratches and purple stains covered her arms and torso. Blood covered the bandages around her knuckles.

Jude? He mouthed.

Around them the crowd whistled, howled and clapped. It took Cardan a few seconds to decipher their chanting.

“QUEEN, QUEEN, QUEEN, QUEEN!”

TAG LIST

@demydreamer-otaku-and-book-lover

@sensitivehighlord

A BIG MASSIVE THANK YOU TO @highqueenofelfhame for helping me so much with corrections and advice since the first chapter, you give me so much courage. THANKS!!

I’m really sorry the chapter took that long! I moved to another town and I’m starting a new job and well… time is not always on my side, bUT HEY, A LONG CHAPTER AS A ‘FORGIVE ME’ GIFT FOR YOU!

EXTRA: If you want a visual of Jude’s dress, it would be something like dissss:

#everything i didn't ask for #jurdan au #jurdan #tfota #cardan greenbriar #jude duarte #jude x cardan #holly black #tcp #twk #qon #fanfic #the cruel prince #the wicked king #the queen of nothing #the folk of the air #judecardan #jurdan fanfic

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only-by-the-stars · 3 years

Text

the annotated Tome of the Wild

Part 6: Into the Wild!

- I have no regrets about torturing you all with that dream at the beginning. Not just because it was a bit cruel, but because it’s a nod to the series tradition of Link starting his adventure by oversleeping.

- Anjean is a character from Spirit Tracks. A game in which you use a train to explore New Hyrule. Which I put into the chapter that has a speeding train play a pivotal role in Link’s accidental fall into the river, without realizing it till after the chapter was up. THIS WAS HILARIOUS TO REALIZE.

- A pale yellow half-moon and a canopy of stars presided over it all THERE’S THAT MOON AGAIN

- Teba! I like that guy. In BOTW it’s established that he looks up to Revali a lot, and is trying to master his Gale; this is understandable, given that Revali was a legendary hero of the Rito, who fell tragically in battle a hundred years ago. But when he gets to meet him during AOC, he’s... less than impressed with Revali’s behavior towards Link. He still admires his skills, of course, but that hero worship has been tarnished a little by the actual personality of the Rito Champion. It’s like that old saying about how you shouldn’t meet your heroes. So for this, I wondered: what would he think of him if that “hero of legend” factor were removed and Revali was just an exceptional student who also happened to be a major jerk? And thus you get his veiled references to behavior he won’t tolerate regardless of a person’s skill level.

- Aryll put one hand on her hip and thrust her other arm into the air. “Experiment time! OH YEAH!” She giggled. “He says that every time we get to do science stuff.” Another reference to Robbie being Aryll’s teacher.

- And we have our first onscreen appearance of Riju and Medli! I’d mentioned them in passing in one of the letters in things I didn’t send, but now they’re here. I chose them to be Link and Mipha’s friends for a couple reasons. One is simply that I really like both of them; another is that they’re close in age to those two, so it was easy to make them all the same age without it being weird. Medli is one of my favorite characters in the series, and I really liked Riju a lot, especially after being able to fight as her in AOC, so I have a lot of fun bouncing them off Link and Mipha.

- “Yes, we do see.” Riju sounded like she could barely contain her glee. “Thank you, Aryll. You've just helped us solve a very irritating mystery.” And thus is Aryll inspired to play at being “Detective Aryll”, thanks to Riju’s thanking her for this. She and Medli have been just as confused as Mipha about Link’s disappearing act, and very angry, particularly on Mipha’s behalf, as they’ve seen firsthand just how hurt she is by his behavior. But now, seeing that he made a mixtape for her? That changes everything. As soon as they see it, they finally understand: he’s been acting this way not because he suddenly dislikes Mipha, but because he’s got romantic feelings for her and is unable to talk to her about them. And as I established in Mipha’s second letter in things i didn’t send, they’re also aware of her love for Link, and so they really want to get the two talking to each other so this can be sorted out at last.

- “Don't they have to be somewhere wet?” Link glanced back at where the school was getting smaller and smaller as they kept walking. “I know they need a lot of water.” Yeah, like the river you’re about to fall into very soon.

- “You're right! I almost forgot! It talked about that in a show Mom was watching last week about people who catch frogs for making medicine and stuff. Did you know some people actually like to eat them, and think they're a delicacy?” A reference to how you put them in elixirs in BOTW, as well as the Akkala Buns that Midna loves. Link’s disgust here is a callback both to that and to his refusal to eat a frog in that memory in BOTW with Zelda trying to get him to eat one for science.

- Could this night go any more downhill? It can, actually. Literally, in your case, Link. Another bit that was completely accidental and I found myself laughing about later when I realized during the editing process.

- Look. Riju and Medli absolutely want their friends to get together, and they’re more sympathetic to Link now that they know what’s behind his recent actions. But they haven’t completely forgiven him yet, and so they kinda got their revenge by fucking with him a bit when he came back for the tape. Which they did genuinely put in Mipha’s pocket as a way to try to help the two start talking to each other and confess their real feelings.

- “Just think of us as mail carriers!” Medli piped up. Also this is a reference to how the Rito delivered mail in Wind Waker.

- Link's heart skipped a beat as he saw who was standing next to it, her sweater stuffed into the elephant's head-shaped basket as she put her helmet on and climbed onto the seat. Mipha’s bike is Vah Ruta.

- Bazz and Gaddison are, of course, two Zora who were friends with Link in the Domain when he was a kid there, who along with Rivan all formed the Big Bad Bazz Brigade. So naturally, they’re his fencing team teammates.

- “Oh yeah, that fucking guy.” Gaddison rolled her eyes. “Mr. 'I'm the best at everything and don't you forget it, you chumps can't hope to keep up with me, wah wah how asinine'.” She flapped her hands in a mockery of wings, and Link had to struggle not to choke on his water. Two things here. First, I really enjoyed writing Gaddison mocking Revali and using his ‘asinine’ catchphrase. Second, Link seems to keep choking on water, doesn’t he? First when Midna reveals her favorite meal, and now again. Hmmm...

- She laughed too, but something about it sounded strangely off. There was a long pause, as if she was weighing what to say next, and then she took a deep breath. As I established in the final letter in things i didn’t send, Mipha is well aware that Link was at her practice, and is trying to find some way of asking him about it, figuring that the walk to the graveyard will be a good opportunity. She’s also been trying to hide how hurt she’s been at Link’s behavior, so that’s why her laugh sounds off: she’s startled by him acting like himself for that brief moment, but doesn’t want to let it show, so Link is unaware for now of just how deep her pain goes. He’ll find out soon enough, though. And of course, Mipha is also unaware of the tape that’s so, so close, something she later feels a lot of horror and pain over.

- “... Oh. I see.” He looked up in time to see Mipha turn her head away, an unreadable expression on her face. “I understand, of course...” This is the moment when she all but gives up on him, which shatters her heart. It’s perhaps the most agonizing missed opportunity in the whole chapter, as the tape is right there and she doesn’t know, and Link fucks up by pulling away again. He does reach for her, which might have changed things if Revali hadn’t picked that exact moment to walk in and interrupt. If not for that, Link would’ve touched her arm and started a conversation that would’ve led to a breakthrough that didn’t require a near-death experience. All these points of divergence are going to haunt them both later.

- Mipha tries to be outwardly polite, but she can’t stand Revali because of how he treats Link and never would’ve dated him. She goes to the graveyard because she wanted to try and get a reaction out of Link, even if she can’t bear to look at him for fear of what she’ll see on his face, something she feels ashamed of later, but that attempt at politeness just feeds into Link’s insecurities, unfortunately. “The love is requited, they’re just idiots”, indeed.

- To fill out the graveyard group, I chose Yunobo and Komali. As a descendant of Daruk, it stands to reason that he’d still be related to him here, and attending school with Link and the others. Plus his anxious personality makes for a perfect fit for such a scene. And Komali is another Rito from Wind Waker, who is friends with Medli, so that was another no-brainer.

- Mipha's expression was closed off and neutral as she stared down at her own hands in her lap She is trying her hardest to conceal how heartbroken and miserable she is, the poor girl.

- “Give it a rest, Revali!” Riju, sounding remarkably like her mother. I went ahead and made Urbosa Riju’s actual mom in this AU, and this is my little hint as to that.

- “Hey, what's all this ruckus, then?” bellowed a loud, croaky voice. “Buncha Poes sneaking into my graveyard? I'll show you what for!” Another reference to Poes, and though I don’t mention his name, the gravedigger is of course Dampe from OOT, MM, ALBW, and the LA remake.

- “Link, look!” She held it out as he walked over to join her. “I got a frog!” Which means you’re close to water! ... oh shit.

- Which brings us to the cliffhanger, with the reveal that Link and Aryll are drowning while the events in the Wild are happening. I was so excited for this, it’s what so much foreshadowing has been leading up to. I even stuck it in the first letter of Link’s in things i didn’t send, when he compares the effect Mipha has on him to drowning. Which is easy to mistake for yet another use of water imagery in connection with our lovely Zora princess, a recurring element in my work, but becomes more sinister when you know what befalls him here.

and that covers part six!

#annotations

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alolanrain · 4 years

Text

Cursed Object

(all true stories, just with characters swapped in for people)

It starts on July 3rd, 2007. Delia is inlisting all of Red’s friends, their parents, Ash, and the Oaks into helping clean out her garage and finally throw away junk from her late husband since he was a fucking Packrat. At this point she enlisted like half of pallet Town in the beginning. The sun was setting and they can finally see most of the garage flooring. Everyone was chugging drinks and eating several boxes of pizza Blue’s mom had ordered because no one was cooking that night. Everything was fine...

Until Red, at the ripe old age of 7, came ambling out of the garage with a large plastic bat that was a horrid Orange color.

“Mama?” Red yelled across the yard to his mom who was talking to Blue’s Grandma, easily getting Delia’s and half the people’s attention as well, “what’s this?” Raising the plastic bat into the setting rays it flashed an even brighter disgusting orange.

“I don’t know, sweetie.” Delia sighed before waving her eldest away. Eyeing Blue who was cooking over 4 year old Ash and Gary who was six months younger.

“That’s a Wiffleball bat, my boy.” Professor Oak scared the living daylights out of Red by landing a hand on his skinny shoulder. “Your father was great at baseball and Wiffleball was his first sport. He wanted to play with you and Ash when you two had gotten older but never found the time with his job.”

“Ah.” Red muttered lamely before ducking out of Oaks grip and trotting over to his friends. Green had his baby brother in his grip that was eyeing the bat. Red gave the bigger end to the boy, allowing him to feel the surprisingly soft playable plastic, and pulling it away soon after when he tried to put his mouth on it. Luckily he didn’t fuss, turning back to his teething ring instead while eyeing at Blue who still cradled Red’s own brother.

“You know,” Green started, that greedy look in his eyes shining brightly and caused a sinking feeling to form in Reds gut, “Wiffleball and baseball sound pretty lame and boring. I would be embarrassed if my dad made me play baseball.” He spat.

Next thing any adult knew Red had Instinctively swung the large plastic bat as hard has he could in his sitting position next to Green directly into the boys face. Causing Green to drop Gary and for both boys to start wailing. Gary because he bonked his face directly into the dry, hot summer ground, and Green because his nose was now bleeding.

“At least my mom didn’t leave me by choice.” He spat before making eye contact with Blue who looked at him with wide eyes and then at Ash who started tearing up from the yelling.

“Alfred Johnston Ketchum!” Delia screeched across the yard. Making everyone, who was in shock because passive, soft spoken, and loving Red had just down that, jump at the women’s sudden scream of rage.

Red immediately let go of the bat and immediately looked between Green, his hands, and then to his mom before repeating.

———

The next time the bat was taken out of the garage, and Delia had sworn to the police that she had torn the thing up in front of all the rest of adults after the kids were sent home, was next month. Red and Green made their truce yet again for the fifth time since the end of July.

They were playing some kind of ball game out in the back of Greens Grandpa’s lab. Gary and Ash were at some kind of baby appointment so the kids were put under Oaks watch... though he isn’t really doing a lot of kid sitting when he’s staring at the TV half dead basically from the heat.

Red had gone home, while Blue went to hers and Green went down to the Professors basement, to try and find a bat. When he got into his garage, sitting right in the middle of the concrete floor, was the Wiffleball bat. Shrugging he leaped down the two steps and scooped the bat up before charging, much to his mistake, across town and back to the Oak Labs. Both Blue and Green couldn’t find a better bat at their place so they used the one Red brought.

They only lasted an hour until the sun peaked at its hottest and the parents weren’t back yet either. Probably having lunch or grocery shopping since they are in Veridian.

“I’m hot!” Blue complained. Dragging her feet and pulling at her dress. Red chose not to comment at the pit stains that were growing where her dress was pressed between her armpits. “Can’t we go inside?”

“And listen to Grandpa snore the entire time?” Green asked, Shaking his head, “absolutely not. We can’t even change the channel or else he’ll get super mad when he wakes up.” A loud snore echoed from the open window into the living room and made all three kids flinch a little. Lousy old man. “Let’s just continue on playing.”

He tossed the ball to Blue, who had the orange bat that looked even worse out in the sun, who tried to swing it but was to slow.

“I’m tired!” She threw the bat down. Tears pricking her eyes as she continued to stomp her feet like it was supposed to intimidate Red and Green besides being annoying. ”tired, hot, and hungry!”

“Oh stop being a pansy!” Green snarled. Red could only nod his head and murmur and verbal agreement with Green.

“I’m not a pansy!” Blue shouted before stomping off and into the porch. Twirling around and sinking down onto a shaded step. Crossing her arms and pointing while glaring holes into Greens head.

Reds best friend turned to him and pointed behind his back at Blue, “girls are always so weak against guys, that’s why they stay at home and take care of the babies and chores while we men do the real work.”

Next thing Red knew Green had almost fallen into him. Blue standing behind him with the Wiffleball bat raised and an angry rabid look into her eyes. Before Red could do anything to try and placate both or just one of them. Blue descended upon Green.

Hit after hit, Blue didn’t stop. A look Red had only seen in one of those horror movies on the killers face on hers. His little feet carried him into the hose before nearly barreling into Grandpa Oak who started awake with a shout.

“It’s Blue and Green,” Red panted, “their fighting and Blues trying to draw blood.”

“Fucking Arceus-“ Oak struggles to get up from the rocking recliner.

“Grandpa! Make Blue stop!” Green shouted from the backyard. Pokémon from big to small had come out fo their hidy-holes to see what was happening.

“Make me yourself coward!” Blue shouted back before a particular loud Thwak! Was heard.

“Grandpa!”

“What happened to men being stronger then girls!? Where’s your logic now you wet-willy bug-sucker!”

That had ended with the parents rushing home, police called by a bitchy neighbor named Mr. Hickiby, and an ER lady stitching the side of Greens forehead in an ambulance that was also called because Mr. Hickiby had exaggerated every detail over the call.

All three were so grounded.

———

The Wiffleball bat popped up once more around 2010, August 18 to be exact. No one knew where Ash had gotten ahold of it since the three had set fire to the bat last year. but soon he was charging out of the front entry way with Houndoom hot on his heels, speedy little fucker Ash is, and came speeding past Red who was walking home and Berliner straight for Champion Lance who was walking a bit behind Red to enjoy the view of the country side of Kanto.

Lance has bugged Red to show him his home town, not like there’s a lot to see in little ol’Pallet Town besides fields and farms and more fields. Now that Red was an equal to Lance and also technically Lance’s boss since he’s apart of the aka to Elite Four he had wanted to get to know more fo the soft spoken boy.

The Champion wasn’t expecting him to have such a terror of a little brother.

Ash had planted his feet down and slid in the loose gravel. Sliding by and swinging the Wiffleball bat as much as he could into Lance’s groin. Making the much older man double down and the force swung little Ash aroudn to where the bag had hit Lance’s ass with the same amount of force. This causes Lance to sink to his knees with a high picked whine.

Soul the Houndoom, Red and Ash’s mother’s Pokémon, barreled into Ash and bit into the loose part of a shirt and continued to tug the little seven year old back to the house.

Red had yelled at Ash without any words before turning to Lance. Not knowing what to do. All the while trying to ignore Green and Blue who chased Ash and Soul out of the house and are fucking loosing it behind the two in the grass.

Ash shouted that he was in the right because the strange weirdly dressed man, who must be higher then a kite, looked like he was gonna mug Red. That had sent Green and Blue deeper into hysteria while Red tried not to let his anger get the best of him.

———

The bat didn’t make a resurface until December 12 of 2012. Ash was nine and Red was twelve. His ass had just gotten dragged down from Mount. Silver by Green, Blue, two kids named Gold and Crystal, and then his hidden affair brother named Silver a year ago and Red was having his first Christmas with his family after two years.

Red was sleeping off a cold and Ash had just coe charging into the living room. Livid and holding the same plastic orange bat from Green and Blues memory.

“What’cha got there bud?” Gold, a fucking year older then Ash himself, asked.

“Someone,” Ash was already nearly yelling as he glare sweeper through the room, thankfully Delia had left to go last minute Christmas shopping and left everyone to watch Ash, “destroyed my snowman with this!” He shock the bat in the air before letting it fa back down by his side, “and not the hole in its stomach is bright red!”

Blue scrambled up from her slouched position on the one person seat to look out the window at Ash’s actually destroyed and fake bloodied snowman with a large red hole in the middle and red flakes everywhere. “Well damn,” she muttered, “He’s right.”

“Well I know it’s no one in here.” Green didn’t look up from his phone. Texting Lance about his orientation of being Viridian’s new gym leader after Red had knocked that greasy Mankey Giovanni down.

The others muttered their agreement, which was a mistake, and Ash raised the bat to grip it with two hands and yelled “Red you big meanie! You killed my snowman!” And then went charging up the stairs to Reds room.

The other kids were left speechless and in shock before there was a familiar loud Thwak! Noise and then a angry shout before Ash’s scream of terror then the two brothers charging down the stairs.

Ash was only saved by certain death by the hands of Red because Red was only in a shirt and some shorts and also obviously still very sick.

———

It was September 30th, 2015, and Silver had gotten his hands on it this time around. No one really stopped him as he had pinned Gomd down and had beatened him over the head continuously for four minutes before throwing the Wiffleball bat down and storming into the house. Hiding himself in Ash’s unused room, who was in Orange Isles at the time, to scream wordlessly.

Red and Green just dipped their coffee while Blue stomped forward for her own piece.

#worlfy writes #ash ketchum #red ketchum #green oak #blue #silver #gold #professor oak #gary oak #wiffleball bat cursedTM #my brother played by Red #my cousin Brandon played by Green #my cousin Micky played by Blue #baby cousin Gavin thats actually younger then me played by Gary #Me-Ash #yes i did slam the Wiffleball bat as hard as i could into his face

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shadowthrone-ammanas · 4 years

Note

Prompt request thing: Snatcher lets Hat Kid work some of the traps in subcon using the shadow puppet costume (maybe even setting some of her own?) Also, question: do you think Hat Kid can eat souls?

Thank you for the request! And no, I don’t think normal Hat Kid can eat souls.

Trap

It was finally time, there was finally a new intruder in the forest, headed down the path towards the trap Hat Kid had step up with Snatcher’s help. She hid in the bushes, waiting and watching, particularly vibrating with anticipation. Snatcher was behind her somewhere, hidden in the forest. He’d agreed to do the magic bits and make it look like she was doing them. If he made her look like a fool, she was going to be so mad and would find a way to get revenge.

It seemed to take forever before the Mafia goon came into view. Good! A bad guy, Hat Kid wouldn’t feel bad about making him sign his soul away with a contract. He looked frightened, glancing all around as he meandered down the path towards his doom. Hat Kid was tempted to jump out at him now and scare him but Snatcher had said the traps made things scarier which was why he used them. And having been caught in one, she couldn’t deny the truth of that. So she bided her time until…

The goon stepped on the trap, triggering it. He let out an undignified yelp as he was dragged up into the net, to dangle several feet off the ground. He hung still for a moment before starting to thrash. Grinning wide, Hat Kid ran over to stand in front of the net.

Snatcher poked his head out from behind a tree to give her a silent ‘are you ready’ look. She nodded and gave him a thumbs up; she was so ready for this. What she wasn’t ready for though was for her feet to suddenly leave the ground as she was lifted up into the air by nothing. She glanced back at Snatcher was who was grinning, apparently pleased with his little surprise. But of course it was him, he could levitate things; how come she had never realized he could probably levitate people too?

She stopped rising when she was a little more than double her height off the ground. … She’d be looking down at the Mafia goon from here which was genius actually. So she let herself relax, trusting Snatcher to keep her aloft.

Next, as discussed, he transferred the three of them to his pocket dimension, disguising himself completely in the purple mist. Free of the net, the Mafia goon land with a thud, face first on the ground.

“AHAHAHAHA FOOOOOOOL!” Hat Kid shouted in her best impression of Snatcher as the goon struggled to push himself back to his feet. “You’ve made a terrible mistake, haven’t you?” She trailed off with the creepy giggle Snatcher had instructed her on, doing the evil grin to match.

The Mafia goon flinched. “Ah! Only thing scarier than big ghost is little ghost girl!” He turned and tried to run. This being Snatcher’s domain though, he didn’t get far, or anywhere really, he was running in place.

It was funny enough to make Hat Kid want to laugh. She turned it into another creepy giggle instead. “You can’t get away. You were doomed the moment you set foot into the forest.” Why anyone would was beyond her. She’d been around, everyone knew about Snatcher and what he did to people who entered his forest. Why would people risk that? Really with how dumb they were, they kind of deserved their fate.

With a sob, the Mafia goon gave up running away. He turned back to face her and fell to his knees – the vantage point Snatcher’s levitating gave her made this sight so much better, she felt powerful and in charge. “Mafia sorry, please don’t hurt Mafia. I was only looking for way back home.” The idiot had been lost and thought going into Subcon Forest was a possible way to get back home. How could anyone be that stupid? Well Hat Kid now had a definite answer about the least intelligent, intelligent lifeform she’d ever encountered.

“Hmm…” She lifted a hand to examine her ghostly nails, doing her best to put on an air of indifference. “Normally I’d just eat your soul and be done with it but you’re in luck. There are a couple things that need tidying up around the forest, if you agree to do them for me I’ll let you live.”

“Uh… yes, anything you want little ghost girl just have mercy.”

“Very good. Just sign right here and we’ll be in business.” Hat Kid snapped her fingers and the pre-written contract and quill appeared in the air between them. Wow, Snatcher really was doing everything he’d said he’d do. She was proud of him and would have to give him a hug later.

Trembling, the Mafia goon signed. He didn’t even pause to read the terms and conditions before doing so, just the large text stuff. Which was just dumb… even if Hat Kid had done the exact same thing. She had an excuse though, she’d still been new to the language back then and couldn’t read it well yet and she was just a kid. An adult should know better. Tough it didn’t really matter, did it? He’d be forced to sign it regardless.

As soon as the goon put down the quill both it and the contract vanished in a theatrical puff of purple smoke. A second later, his soul left his body, going to Snatcher but with some magic trickery, it looked like it flew towards Hat Kid.

She grinned, holding the fake soul hovering in her hand. “I’ll need to take your soul for safe keeping of course, can’t have you going back on your word.”

The goon whimpered but nodded.

“Good now get to it, the well won’t fix itself.”

He vanished, dropped from the pocket dimension presumably back onto the path. Then the fake soul in her hand vanished too along with the levitation magic keeping her afloat.

She let out a surprised squeak as she hit the floor of the pocket dimension. “Hey,” she said, frowning at Snatcher as he came out of seemingly nowhere.

He grinned at her. “You should be happy I didn’t drop you before now. I thought about it. The Mafia goon’s reaction probably would’ve been funny.”

Hat Kid pushed herself back to her feet. She wasn’t going to respond to the bait though so… “How’d I do?”

“Your expression and demeanor slipped a few times. And starting off copying me wasn’t your best idea. Your voice isn’t loud enough and doesn’t carry enough weight for that to work, it was far closer to being cute than scary. Also, you were very stiff and unnatural with the way you floated. Though I supposed that one isn’t entirely your fault, it was your first time being levitated. So I suppose I can forgave that one. Overall though, if I were to give you a grade it’d probably be a B minus.”

“Is that good?”

Snatcher sighed. “Yes, it’s good, especially since you’ve never done anything like that before. And your target was too stupid to even notice so it didn’t really matter.”

“Awesome! Thank you for letting me and helping with it so much. It was a lot of fun.” She liked being scary and if either of the directors ever had a horror movie idea, she’d be so down to play the part of the monster.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. It should get you to stop pestering me about playing with you for a while at least. Though, next time I talk to that guy I’m going to have to pretend to be you, which sucks.”

“What if I do it though? Like the whole thing. Get him to do everything that needs to be done and then beat him up in the arena as a show for all the Subconites. I’ll even be flashy and dramatic as possible. So can I please?”

“Ugh… fine, I guess. But you better not pester me to play games with you for at least a month after this, okay?” He gave her a pointed look.

“Yes, okay, deal.” It was worth it. This was going to be so much fun.

For this request event.

#My Writing #ahit #A hat in time #snatcher & hat kid #Shadow Puppet Hat Kid #Snatcher is probably being a bad influence here

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calpalirwin · 4 years

Text

Leave Her Wild

Summary: Ashton fights against every protective instinct he has to leave his little girl wild.

A/N: Tyler Rich’s Leave Her Wild is a song that I will never not use as an open letter to anybody who ever loves a girl.

Content: Cursing. Dad!Ash.

Word count: Bite me! (Little over 3k)

And away, and away we go!

~~~

“You’re late,” Ashton’s voice sounded from the couch. It was the third time this week, and while he struggled to be understanding, the breaking curfew was getting out of hand.

A small shriek escaped the girl’s lips, hand flying to her chest. “Jesus, Daddy! You scared me,” she giggled breathlessly.

Ashton rolled his eyes. If only she knew how much she scared him. “Where were you, Nora?”

“I was out, relax,” the teenager returned with her own eye roll.

“Bring him home,” was the clipped tone.

“What?”

“The boy, Nora. If he’s gonna keep you out passed your curfew, I want to meet him.”

“Daddy! Can’t you just ground me instead?”

“Ground you, so you can just sneak out instead? Nope. Bring the boy home, Nora.”

“Da-” the protested started again.

“Not another word about it.”

“What if it isn’t a boy?” she challenged anyway, pushing her luck in a way only she could.

“Your mother and I love you regardless.”

The girl threw her hands up in the air, sighing in frustration. “Ugh! You’re impossible!”

He just smirked and placed a kiss on his daughter’s forehead. “I know, sweetheart. It truly is terrible how much we love you, and want you to be happy. But, look, I’ll be nice, alright? Bring this person home, and it’ll just be me and your mother. Or, don’t, and I’ll call your uncles, and we’ll set up camp on the front porch.”

“You wouldn’t!”

“Try me.”

Her hazel eyes- an exact copy of his- narrowed. “Fine. I’ll bring Pete home.”

“Good. You got a week.”

“Dad!”

“Good night, Nora.”

“Dad!”

~~~

“Are you tormenting that poor girl again?” you asked, still awake in bed. Ashton had told you to go on ahead to bed without him while he waited for your daughter to get home. But you hadn’t been able to sleep knowing your daughter wasn’t home yet, and your husband wasn’t by your side.

“I just want to meet the boy.”

“Dad’s a menace, Mom!” Nora hollered from the hallway.

“You’re the menace, wild child!” you hollered back with a laugh.

“I get it from you!”

“She does,” Ashton agreed with a smirk.

“Seriously, Mom,” Nora said, her head peeking in the doorway. “Tell him not to do this to me.”

“Come, sit,” you sat, patting the bed next to you.

Nora huffed but landed with a flop beside you. “He’s gonna be all Dad about it, Mom,” she said, her eyes pleading with you to put a stop to it.

“We only care about you, you know this. Tell me about this person that keeps making you miss curfew.”

She rolled over on her back. “His name’s Pete. And he’s really cool.”

“Mhm,” you said, running your fingers through her hair. “And how old is really cool Pete?”

“He’s 18,” she said, biting her lip.

“Nora…” Ashton’s voice growled.

“What?!” she said, shooting up, and you could’ve killed Ashton for ruining the moment that was your daughter telling you about her love life. “You’re older than Mom!”

“By 2 months, not 2 years!”

“Mom!”

“Settle down, both of you,” you said, shooting daggers at Ashton. “So, really cool Pete is 18? Alright. What else?”

“Well, he’s a senior at my school. And he’s on the soccer team.”

“Oh? Uncle Cal will approve of that one,” you noted.

“Right?” she said, wiggling her eyebrows in delight as she laid back down next to you. “But, I didn’t think he liked me. I didn’t even think he noticed me. I mean, I’m a sophomore and he’s a senior.”

“And he makes you miss curfew.”

“Mom…”

“Does he make you happy?”

“So happy.”

“Bring him home.”

“Mom! You’re seriously taking Dad’s side?!”

“I’m not taking anyone’s side. I just want to meet the boy that’s making you dance around your bedroom.”

“Mom!” Nora said, her cheeks flushing in embarrassment.

“Bring him home. End of discussion.”

“Ugh,” she scoffed getting up and storming out of the room. “You guys are the worst! Can’t you just ground me like normal parents?”

“Hear that, Ash? We’re the worst because we won’t ground her!” you cackled.

He fake gasped at you, “The horror! How dare we support our daughter, who we LOVE VERY MUCH!” he shouted down the hallway

“You’re suffocating me!” was the teenage outcry followed by Nora’s bedroom door slamming shut.

You rolled your eyes and looked over at your husband adoringly. “Remember when we were that young?” you asked.

“Baby, I didn’t met you until our twenties.”

“You still drove my parents wild,” you grinned.

“Nah, you did that all on your own,” he grinned back, collapsing into bed next to you.

~~~

You had your hands up and you stretched upwards in the convertible, letting loose a wild scream as you and your girlfriends headed out for a getaway weekend.

“Oh, my God, Y/N!” your friend Sierra laughed at you, tugging you back down.

“Aw, c’mon,” you pouted, your eyes shining behind your sunglasses.

“Hey!” Crystal said, pointing at a car in the next lane. “Car of cute boys to the right! Slow down a bit.”

Sierra slowed just enough to keep pace with the car of, admittedly very cute, boys.

You looked over, winked at the driver, then reached over to honk the horn at them.

The driver honked back and rolled down the window. “Hey!” his voice shouted out over the wind.

“Hey!” you yelled back, laughing wildly. “Race ya to the next exit! Step on it, Si!”

Sierra stepped on the gas while you heard the boys in the other car yelled at the driver to do the same. “I can’t believe you!” Crystal and Sierra laughed.

You were all still laughing by the time Sierra pulled the car into a gas station just off the highway, all of you leaning against the car, grateful for the chance to stretch your legs. A car came squealing to a stop next to you.

“You’re wild,” the driver, a man with the most beautiful eyes you ever seen and brown curls grinned at you as he got out of the car with his friends.

“You ain’t seen nothing yet,” you smirked at him.

He giggled, a boyish sound that didn’t match his look, but somehow fit him perfectly. “I’m Ashton. These are my boys, Calum, Luke, and Mike.”

“I’m Y/N. This is Crystal and Sierra,” you introduced, taking in Ashton’s tattoos as he took in yours with the same hungry look you knew was on your own face.

“So, where are you girls headed?” Ashton asked, leaning against the car as he tried to look cool.

“Wherever you are, hottie,” you winked.

~~~

“Mom, Dad, this is Ash. Ash, these are my parents,” you introduced 6 months later.

“Pleasure to meet you both,” Ashton said politely.

“So, you’re the one who’s been keeping our daughter out until God knows when?” your dad said, eyeing the younger man clad in a leather jacket.

“Dad,” you hissed. “It’s not his fault. And I’m an adult.”

“Oh, we know,” your mother scoffed at you. “She’s wild this one,” she continued, her attention turning to Ashton.

“Leave her that way,” your dad added.

“Yes, sir,” Ashton said, grinning over at you.

~~~

“Ash...” you cried, tears streaming down your face.

“What is it, baby?” he asked, his face worrisome, panic in his beautiful eyes.

“Baby!” you wailed, handing him the wadded up tissue that held a positive pregnancy test.

“Oh, shit…” Ashton breathed.

“What are we gonna do?” you asked, your voice a terrified whisper.

“We’re gonna have the most wild adventure we ever had,” he said, smiling and taking you in his arms.

“You really think we can be parents?” you sniffed.

“The fuckin best,” he continued to smile, a thumb brushing away your tears. “I love you, baby.”

“I love you, too.”

~~~

“Nora, be careful!” Ashton’s voice warned as the five year old girl swung herself higher and higher.

You reached out to smack his arm lightly. “She’ll be fine.”

“She’s gonna fall.”

“So what if she does?”

“She’ll get hurt!” Ashton said, his hazel eyes full of panic.

“Ash,” you soothed, rubbing your hands up and down his arms. “Maybe so. Or maybe she doesn’t. But, we won’t know if we tell her to stop.”

“So, I’m just supposed to let my little girl run wild even though she could get hurt?”

You nodded. “Leave her wild, Ash. She’ll be just fine.”

His head dropped, “I don’t like this. I want to protect her.”

“I know. But, let’s protect her by teaching her how to protect herself, yeah?”

“Okay…”

“Daddy, watch!” came the wild call and you both turned and watched the little girl launch herself from the swing, her small body flying through the air before she landed on her feet. The victory was short-lived as her momentum pushed her forward, sending her crashing to her knees. “Daddy!” Nora wailed as she sat back, her scraped knees already starting to bleed.

“I told you she was gonna get hurt!” Ashton snapped at you, before rushing towards his daughter.

You rolled your eyes as you walked at a slow pace towards the pair, Nora already cradled in his lap. “What happened, sweetheart?” you asked, crouching down to examine her knees.

“I fell,” she sniffed at you.

“Why did you fall?”

“Cuz I jumped from the swing. Did you see, Momma?”

“I did. Looked like you had fun.”

She smiled in spite of her tear-stained cheeks. “It was fun. I was up so high!”

“You were!” you agreed, ruffling her hair.

“But, then I got hurt,” Nora frowned.

“So what? You’re just never gonna swing again?”

“No… I like swinging. I like jumping from the swing. Feels like flying.”

“It does,” you agreed. “So what do you want to do?”

“I wanna swing! And jump! And not fall.”

“Sounds like you need to practice then,” you said.

“And a band-aid.”

“C’mon then,” you said, standing up and offering her your hand. “Let’s go see what kind we have.”

“Can Daddy carry me?” she asked.

“Of course, sweetheart,” Ashton said, standing up and placing the girl on his hip.

“Daddy?” she asked, pacing her small hands on his cheeks.

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“Were you scared?”

“Very,” he admitted.

Nora giggled. “You’re so silly! I’m fine! See!” She threw her hands up and laughed in his arms.

“Told ya,” you smirked over your shoulder at Ashton.

“How I ended up with the world’s two most wild girls, I will never know,” Ashton giggled with a shake of his head.

“You love us,” you winked.

“That I do. So much.” Then, he was nuzzling Nora’s face with his nose, making her erupt in giggles.

~~~

“Momma?”

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“When do I get my pictures?”

“Your pictures?” you asked, confused.

“Yeah. Like you and Daddy,” she said, pointing at your arms.

“Oh!” you said, realizing. “You want tattoos?”

“Yeah!”

“C’mon, I think we got a few lying around,” you told her.

“Tada!” you said, presenting her with an assortment of stick on tattoos your found in a drawer. “Which ones do you want?”

“All of them!” she cheered from where she was sitting on the kitchen counter.

“Alright,” you grinned, wetting a washcloth. “Where do you want them?”

“Here!” she said, holding out her arms.

You laughed and started placing the cartoon tattoos on your daughter’s skin. “Marvelous!” you admired when you were done, setting her on her feet.

“Badass!” she corrected.

“Very,” you agreed, not bothering to lecture the eight year old because as far as cursing went, “badass” was tame given who her parents were.

“Daddy!” she exclaimed, her eyes lighting up as she heard the door open, running to him.

“Hey, sweetheart!” he said, crouching to accept her hug and pick her up.

“Look!” she said, showing him her arms. “I’m like you and Momma, now!”

“Oh, hey! Check that out!” he marveled at her. “Very cute, sweetheart.”

“Not cute! It’s badass!”

He quirked an eyebrow at you and you shrugged. Ashton chuckled. “You’re right. It’s super badass.”

“Super duper badass! Can we show Uncles?!”

“I think that would make Uncle Mikey’s day,” he told her.

“Did it make your day?” she asked him.

“You and Momma always make my day,” he smiled at her before kissing you.

“Ew!” Nora giggled.

~~~

“Mom, Dad, this is Pete. Pete, these are my parents,” Nora introduced.

You and Ashton took in the young man, who offered you his hand. “Pleasure to meet you both,” he said with a polite smile.

“So you’re the one who-” Ashton started.

“Stop,” you warned, placing a hand on your husband’s arm. “It’s nice meeting you too, Pete,” you smiled at the boy. “Nora tells us you’re a senior?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“You’re aware that Nora’s only a sophomore?” Ashton asked, his voice holding a small threatening edge.

“Yeah, I know,” the boy laughed. Nora kicked Pete’s leg. “Sir,” Pete finished with a cough.

“So, why Nora then? I mean, certainly there are plenty of girls in your own class to chase after?”

“Ash!” you scolded at the same time Nora let out a horrified, “Daddy!”

Pete, to his credit, just laughed. “I’ve never met anyone quite like your daughter, sir. She’s…”

“Wild?” you suggested.

“Yes!” the boy said, eyes lighting up. “In the most incredible way.”

“Leave her that way,” Ashton said.

“Yes, sir.”

~~~

“Motherfucker!” Nora screamed, racing up the stairs and slamming her door shut.

You and Ashton shared a glance at each other, eyebrows shooting up. “I’ll go,” you decided, getting up.

“No, I got it,” he said, following you.

You turned on your heel, looking up at the hazel eyes that burned dangerously. “No, you’re not,” you said, placing a hand on his chest. “She doesn’t need you storming in there all mad.”

“I swear if he hurt her,” he growled.

“Hey,” you said, your voice stern, pulling him from wherever his mind was taking him, which you imagined was not pretty. “You can’t protect her from this.”

“She’s my-”

“I know.”

“How is this so easy for you?” he whispered, nuzzling his face against your hands.

“It isn’t,” you assured him. “But, she’s going to be fine, Ash. We gotta trust that we raised her to handle herself.”

“Your blind faith scares me. You scare me.”

“I know, Ash. And I know how badly you want to go up there and comfort her, or storm out of here and strangle Pete. But, I need you to stay here. Can you do that for me? Calm yourself down?”

He nodded.

You kissed him. “I’ll be with Nora. Don’t you dare go after Pete.”

~~~

“Nora?” you called out softly, knocking on her door.

You were greeted by a wild scream of pure outrage.

“I’m coming in,” you said, pushing your way in the room to find Nora staring at her mirror, screaming. “What happened?” you asked, moving to sit on the bed, patting the space beside her.

“Leave me alone! That stupid motherfucker! That asshole! I’ll kill him!”

“What happened?” you repeated.

“He was using me! For sex! Can you believe that shit?! Him and his stupid buddies have a bet going to see how many girls from each grade they can fuck before they graduate!”

“Oh, Nora…”

“If that asshole thinks he can just apologize and I’ll go back to him, he’s got another thing coming,” she growled, her eyes dangerous and hard.

“Did you?” you asked.

“Did I what?! Have sex with him?! God, no!”

“Good.”

“Good?! GOOD?! That’s all you have to say?! Mom! He’s an asshole!”

“I agree. But, why are you so mad? You got out before he got what he wanted.”

“I thought he loved me!” she wailed, then burst into tears.

“Oh, Nora…” You patted the empty space next to you and this time she sat next to you, leaning her head on your shoulder as she shook with sobs.

“He’s such a jerk! How could he leave me so easy? Did he ever really care about me? Was anything real?!” she continued to sob.

“He left you?”

She nodded. “I walked home. He kicked me out of his car when I said I wouldn’t have sex with him. Seriously, who has sex after knowing someone a month?”

You shrugged your shoulders. At sixteen, you were glad she had that mentality, because in five years you knew she wouldn’t. “Sweetheart, you should’ve called. We would’ve come and gotten you.”

“Oh, so Dad could rip his head off, and then give me a lecture?” she scoffed. “Yeah, I’ll pass.”

You chuckled. “Alright, yeah, your dad’s a little hot-headed. But, we still would’ve gotten you.”

“A little? Try a lot, Mom.”

You chuckled again. Your husband was a tad infamous for his temper. A temper you often kept in check for him. “Well, you’re here now. And you’re safe. And I don’t have a lecture for you.”

“Good. I already feel bad enough.”

“What do you wanna do? You wanna go for a drive?”

“Can I drive?” she asked, perking up.

“Not in this state, sweetheart. Maybe on the way back.”

“Does Dad have to come?”

“Only if you want him to.”

She shook her head. “Nah, I’m not ready for that, yet.”

“Okay, sweetheart. Let’s go take that drive.”

~~~

“So, you really spent a weekend with Dad without knowing him?” Nora laughed as you both sat on the hood of the car, looking out over the city.

“I knew his name,” you protested. “But yes. I did.”

“Man, I bet Nana and Papa flipped their lid.”

You shook your head. “Nah. I was twenty-one when I met Dad, remember?”

“Am I ever gonna find somebody who loves me the way Dad loves you?” she sighed.

You wrapped an arm around her, “Of course you are! Who wouldn’t love you?”

“Mom…” she chuckled, embarrassed. Then, her hazel eyes were on you, sad and hopeful. “How can anyone love someone like me? I’m not exactly loveable.”

You kissed her forehead. “I used to think the same way. So, I’m going to tell you the same thing my mother did.”

“What was that?”

“That you will. Because everyone is deserving of being loved.”

“Even the wild girls?”

“Especially the wild girls.”

She sighed, seeming content. But then, “How will I know?”

“You’ll know in the way he kisses you slow. In the way his eyes go wide with fear before he chases after you when you run. In the way the only thing he makes you do is smile. The way he just lets you be.”

“Dad does that,” she realized.

“Yes, he does.”

“Can we go home now?”

“We can do whatever you want, wild child.”

~~~

“There you a-” Ashton started, but got caught off when Nora crashed into his arms. He let out a sharp intake of breath in surprise, instinctively wrapping his arms around. “Sweetheart, are you okay?” he asked, placing a soft kiss in her hair.

She looked up at him, a smile on her face, “I love you, Daddy.”

He tightened his hold on his daughter, savoring the moment. “I love you too, sweetheart.”

#leave her wild #ashton irwin #ashton fic #dad!ash #5sos #galcal irwin

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backoftheroomandnotbelonging · 4 years

Text

Magic Mistletoe

Christmas Advent Challenge: Dramione

Chapter 1

Lowering her fork back into her dish, Hermione stared exasperatedly at her two companions. How is it that the 'Brightest Witch of Her Age' settled for such boneheaded friends? As she glowered up at them as Harry stupidly peered at Ron and chuckled as pureed peas dribbled from his mouth; they infuriated her!

Just before entering the Great Hall for dinner the three had been discussing their upcoming escapades and its potential resolutions and now they’re just ignoring what’s happened. Naturally the boys hadn't listened to reason and had belittled Hermione's logic which had resulted in this woeful situation. She raised her fork to her mouth and observed Ron nudging Harry with a smirk on his face.

It had always been those two together and then her. She couldn't help but feel that she always came second to them. She was neither Harry nor Ron's best friend and it was times such as this where she felt alone. It took her back to primary school and her first year. She accepted it on the most part, but it would always haunt her mind with an unsettling niggle.

'That's it. I've had it. I'm gone!' With one last lingeringly, disgruntled glare she dropped her fork, rose and strode away.

Meanwhile, Draco was having similar difficultly. The festivity of the season had put him in an amicably content mood. However, all hopes of a pleasant meal were dashed as a crowd descended around him. Growling, his fork fell from its embrace and he turned to the clutching hand next to him. Simpering by his side, holding him like a lost child, eyes hungry in wanton seduction, was Pansy. ‘How she manages to juxtapose herself like that I’ll never know.’ Childish yet a temptress, it sent shivers of disgust along his spine. He inwardly groaned. He wasn't interested and her inescapable attitude made him feel unable to play. Ever. With anyone. Across from them Crabbe and Goyle heaved themselves downwards, sitting heavily and began piling their plates as though on auto-pilot. On Draco's right, across from one another, Nott and Zambini were placed, nodding demurely.

As quick wit remarks and dumb laughter filled the airspace around him, Pansy stroked his leg. Another joke. Laughter on cue. Fondling resumed. Why was his company always smug, stupid or obsessive? Where was the originality? As his temper mounted he shrugged a manicured claw away. It double-backed and scooted closer.

'Damn.'

He looked over at Theo and Blaise with helpless eyes. "Help!" He mouthed desperately. They looked at each other and then back at Draco, identical smug faces allowing him to anticipate their exact reaction. With a simultaneous shake of their heads he lost hope. He turned to his dunderhead followers with the aim of distracting himself with their conversation.

To no success. Preoccupied with their food they gave off monotonal grunts and carried on their fashion. He turned to the girl beside him and gave up. Any light of escaping had disappeared as if Pansy were a candle snuff. Ensnared in her grip his eyes wandered the Hall. His gaze snagged on Hermione as he caught her staring stonily at her friends. He chuckled, 'What have the Wonder Boys done this time?'

"Draco, darling, ...pay me attention." Her eyes followed his before she continued, "That Mudblood doesn't deserve to be under your gaze Draco."

"And you do?" Draco questioned, whipping his head around to glare at her.

Pansy tittered shocked, "Well yes darling! I am, after all, your-"

"Nothing. You're my nothing," he announced. Those around him stared as he rose and stalked away, no one noticing the Gryffindor with the same target.

She marched defiantly towards the Hall's doors when she saw him approaching. She half-smiled to herself before curling her lip and preparing for battle. 'He looks handsome with his hair all tousled like that. Just an observation.' She was routing for a witty comeback in case he tried anything but still picked up her already hurried pace. Evidently, great minds think alike as Draco too hurried along. She moved under the archway, without incident, and simultaneously with the Slytherin. Except neither could fully pass through as the threshold seemingly had them 'stuck'.

'Great,' Hermione noted sourly. What was the probability that she'd escape unharmed? - unlikely, most likely. She struggled against the forces keeping her in place and she turned to Draco with the intent of demanding her release. Only, he looked as confused as she felt... She peered over her shoulder and saw that the population of the Hall were unaware of their current situation. Phew, although she wished that Harry and Ron would take a second to notice her. 'The irony,' bitterness crept into her thoughts but she pushed it away. She needed to focus. She turned to Draco, summoned the most pleasant smile she could manage before hissing, "Let me go. Right now!"

He had the audacity to look shocked and sneered, "Funny, I was about to say the same thing. Goddammit Granger, you just had to get me stuck, didn't you?!' He was not in the mood for these shenanigans and his stomach was still reeling from the distress settled there. His head was spinning for potential escape routes; Pansy raising an alarm and pulling him away from the 'mudblood' and into her arms was the best and worst he had. In light of this he chose to stare Hermione down and bully her into releasing him.

Panic shone from his eyes, mirroring her own as she held his gaze. Half as a dare, half for comfort. A giggle of awareness rose throughout the Hall and before one could breathe 'Merlin' every eye was upon them, watching them look desperately at the other.

A cocky Ravenclaw declares, "Guys, it's a Magic Mistletoe!" before collapsing in hysterics. Everyone turned back to the caught couple and were sent into fits of laughter upon viewing the look of horror reflected between Hermione and Draco. Hermione glared at Ron. He was leaning against Harry, tears seeping over his red, scrunched cheeks. Pansy shrieked in disgust causing Draco to think that at least some good may come out of this predicament.

#christmas advent challenge #dramione #magic mistletoe #hermione x draco #draco malfoy #hermione granger #harry potter #multi chapter #chapter 1 #fluff #backoftheroomandnotbelonging

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olkapippin · 5 years

Text

secret love

pairing - gong yoo x reader

genre - fluff

request - ‘could you write a scenario with actor Gong Yoo, where they playing friends in drama together and they start to fall for each other in real life but he is afraid of confessing because she is a lot younger than him but is legal adult?’

‘Would you like to go for a coffee with me?’ he smiled shyly, walking along beside you.

He was so adorable, you thought to yourself, blushing to the roots of your hair. Whenever you were around him you were so happy you could explode, the fluttering feeling you got at the bottom of your stomach, the moment of dizziness you felt whenever he walked into the room... there was no denying it. You were in love. Goodness, you could walk beside him, staring at that beautiful face all day lo-

‘CUT!’

You jumped, startled. His call pulled you out of the dream world you were in and reminded you where you actually were!

‘PD-nim, I’m so sorry,’ you bowed apologetically. There was a loud groan from the surrounding cast and crew as they yet again had to start from the beginning.

You felt your face turn pink in embarrassment. It was the first time you were starring in a drama and you were already messing it all up. It was the second time that day you had gotten lost in your thoughts and made the director unhappy.

‘Y/N, I hired you on the basis you’ve starred in so many films and I’ve heard nothing but praise from the cast and crew, but seriously! What is wrong with you today,’ PD groaned, walking away with his assistant to review what could be salvaged from the ruined shot.

You must have looked truly crestfallen because just then, you felt a hand on your shoulder.

‘Are you ok?’

You blushed as you recognized the voice.

‘Y- Yeah!’ you said to him, stammering out your response.

Gong Yoo gave you a warm smile as he continued what he was saying, ‘Don’t mind PD nim, he gets flustered sometimes. I thought you were great!’

You felt yourself turn pink, and you were just about to reply when you both heard the director call out your names.

‘Well, I guess I’ll talk to you later then!’ he smiled. A warm smile. And you just felt like your heart was going to burst.

---------

‘What am I supposed to do damn it!’ he said, pulling at his hair. They had been having the conversation for almost an hour and still hadn’t reached a conclusion, and he was getting more and more frustrated.

‘Listen, if you like her, you like her! What can you do?’ Taewook replied, he looked on at his friend in pity. It was one of those times when he was very glad he wasn’t an actor himself.

Gong Yoo was struggling. He’d never had a situation before when the girl he liked was so much younger than him. And at first, he had tried to ignore his feelings but when you’re around the person you like almost every day for two months, filming flirtatious scenes, avoidance is impossible.

‘The press would have a field day, they’d say I was taking advantage of her or-or using my position as a higher up to -’

‘Stop being ridiculous! You like her for who she is, and she’s an adult who has a choice. To be honest, with your looks I wouldn’t be surprised if she likes you too,’ his friend groaned.

‘Oh my God, I didn’t even think of that!’

‘Yeah, so it will be fi-’

‘What if she DOESN’T like me!!’ Gong Yoo said, looking at him with a look of horror on his face.

‘Jesus Christ’

-------

‘I really like you!’ he stammered, flushing a deep red.

‘What?!’ you exclaimed in surprise, looking him in the eyes.

‘I really do! I’ve liked you for a really long time! Each time you walk into a room, tell a joke, call out my name, it just makes me happy Y/n!’

‘CUT!’

The director stomped over to the both of you, it was the first time Gong Yoo had messed up his lines but the director still looked mildly frustrated.

‘Y/n?!!, her name is Sana!’ he whined, ‘Come on guys, it’s the last episode and we’ve already been working on this drama for much longer than production wanted us to!’ he took a deep breath before carrying on, ‘We’re going to have to pack up anyway for today, but tomorrow is the LAST DAY!’

As he walked away, Gong Yoo came and stood next to you, ‘That sounded like a warning!’

‘Yeah,’ you replied, and then you remembered the reason why you were stopped in the first place.

‘How come you said my name instead?’

Actors like Gong Yoo rarely messed up the names of the characters, he was a brilliant method actor and didn’t usually come out of character for any old reason. He had also diverted from the original script, and whilst his words sounded a bit more real, sticking to the script for scenes like this one would have probably been for the best.

‘I - I didn’t know what to say, I forgot my lines,’ he stammered yet again.

‘Woah, I’m not accusing you, I simply wondered why!’ you said, surprised at his sudden nervousness.

‘Of course, it won’t happen next time!’ he smiled back at you warmly.

It made your heartache.

--------

‘What should I do?!’ you whined to your friend, Soyeon. She had been attempting to give you advice on your troubled heart, but she was probably the last person she should have asked, judging by the advice spouting out of her mouth.

‘Like we discussed, like do a grand gesture or something!’ your friend pouted, growing increasingly frustrated at your indecisiveness.

‘No! I don’t want to put him in an awkward position, especially if he doesn’t like me back, which is probably going to be the case,’ you frowned, dejected.

Your friend huffed as she walked over and put her arm around you.

‘He would be a fool if he didn’t want you, stop thinking that, stop thinking about him!��

You smiled at her manner but found yourself detached from the situation, gazing out into the distance.

Stop thinking about him?

If only you could.

------

The drama had come to an end. It had been three months of hard work from the cast and crew, and as a reward, the production company had sent all of you on a rewarding holiday. The ratings started at 4%-5% however, by just the sixth episode, they had soared to 20%. It had become a hit in a matter of weeks, topping all the buzzworthy lists. And it gave you some relief. At least all that work was actually worth something.

‘It’s finally done,’ you heard a voice behind you say.

Turning around, you saw Gong Yoo, and in his hands were two glasses of champagne. You felt yourself bubble up with excitement inside. You wondered what he wanted to say to you.

‘Hey, Y/n...’

You felt your palms begin to sweat. Sweet Jesus, how could a guy make you feel like this. Pull yourself together, you told your over erratic mind.

‘Listen, I’ve been wanting to say something to you for a while....’ Gong Yoo began.

‘No, I can’t - listen, I can’t hold this in any longer but I LIKE YOU, like REALLY REALLY LIKE LIKE YOU, and I have since forever and I couldn’t tell you because I thought you would think its stupid, and it is but I had to tell you, I need you to know how I feel -, hey! Why are you laughing?’ you exclaimed, catching your breath after your sudden outburst.

‘I’m laughing because I wanted to say the exact same thing..’ he smiled.

‘Wait- WHAT?’

‘Listen Y/n, I’ve been wanting to tell you this a long time, but, honestly, I haven't had the guts to do it. All I could think about was the downsides of it all.’ he stated, looking on at you with borderline regret. Regret that he didn’t tell you sooner. Regret that he couldn’t have found out that you felt the same way, sooner.

You didn’t even know what to say. You had been waiting for this moment for months but now that it had finally arrived, you were speechless.

‘I - I love you’

#gong yoo #Gong Yoo scenario #Kpop scenarios #Gong Yoo scenarios #kdrama scenarios #korean actor scenarios #kpop #kdrama #Gong Yoo imagine #Gong Yoo imagines #kdrama imagine #kdrama imagines

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dukeofriven · 5 years

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I feel you on criticisms on John. Dude certainly has his flaws and his relationship with other people, particularly Roxy, have clearly been unhealthy. But the guy have apparently been depressed for years, and he haven't actually ever had much experience with real life on person relationships. He got issues he needs to work on, but he is not a bad person.

It’s the rampant hypocrisy that’s eating at me. “Let they who are without sin cast the first stone” y’know? Roxy and John are the only survivors of Game Over - even given the trauma that everyone went through those two went through more. Even Rose, with her vague sense of her alt-self in a doomed timeline, experienced what it was like to fail on such a profound scale: and to know that your failure is the one which the alpha timeline was aiming for all along. Your utter failure was not only pre-ordained, it was requirement for existence to go as planned.Both Roxy and John experienced this, but Roxy got to move to a universe where her friends were still alive, and their formative experiences were identical: Roxy lived through, what, 24 hours that Dirk and Jake and John’s Hot Mom didn’t? Less? Dirk is still hurtling through space when John and Roxy arrive in Post-Retcon world, just as he was before Game Over broke bad. Roxy has to live with the horror of seeing her friends die - but her ‘replacement’ friends are functionally indistinguishable from the old ones. Which I’m not saying to be callous, but to contrast her with John. John moves to a universe where his sister shares almost none of his memories of years spent together on a golden ship, growing up together, bonding as closer friends, as siblings.We don’t talk about that enough, I think. Jade gets shafted in several ways in the final hours of Homestuck: she gets no chance to speak to John and say “you were dead” - to come to some kind of understanding, some beginning of healing. What must that be like, to meet someone - your own brother - who mostly knows a you you never were? John has all these memories of Jade and Jade has only a fraction of the memories of John.And for John there are those issues that he would have encountered anyway in the OG timeline had things gone well. His other close friends (heck, I’d argue he was closer to Dave and Rose pre-Sburb than he was to Jade; he calls Dave, at least, his best friend) had all spent years forming closer bonds with one-another and new people. In the OG timeline, had Game Over not happened and they’d won, John would still have had to bridge that gap of space and time: but he would have had his sister there for support, and companionship, and close bonds. The Jade he instead ends-up with is practically a stranger who spent three years mourning him (AND HER BOYFRIEND BIRDFRIEND WHO IS PART BOY (thanks @technicallynotanon for the reminder that retcon Jade didn’t date)) alone save for a bunch of none-too-bright animals and her ghost clown grandmother.It’s tragic - and to make it so much worse things seem to have been easy for everyone other than John. They all fell in to new things. Relationships, mostly: Dave and Karkat made room for Jade, Rose got married. Relationships tend to tax friendships: the singular I struggles to compete with the plural we. Only Terezi - with her endless capacity to understand the paths of mind - might have understood him: but she left, taking the blackrom crush with her as she did so.John was isolated. John was more isolated, more alone than any other person: even Callie, who had an intermission of eternity being dead, returned to a world full of friends who remembered her well, and she snagged a don’t-yet-have-the-label-for-it-partner in the process. She too had someone to turn to, and that someone was the only other person John shared his trauma with.Sometimes its hard to talk to people. Sometimes it is harder still when the shadow of a life-partner looms over everything.So John didn’t talk to Roxy. Why does that shock us? Why are we the least surprised? Why are we acting like his actions are so unconscionable? For all that they were so darn cute together that cuteness comprised a relation of several hours over which one of the top two greatest traumas of John Egbert’s life occurred.The other was the death of his father, who was murdered, and whose brutalized corpse John had to witness. A murder - as far as we know - that never had any closure. A murder - as he may have come to realize with some reflection - that occurred largely through the manipulations of the same troll girl his only other crush fucked-off to go find and be with.We keep minimizing John’s trauma. We keep not putting it into perspective. We do him such a disservice.We say, instead, that his not talking to Roxy - that brief surge of anger and shame that threatened to break through his crushing anhedonia, his envy of one person who found another when he did not - we say it is some appalling moral failure. I’m a depression sufferer with a life of regrets and an embarrassing number of long years full of singledom and opportunities that were missed accidentally, but just as often avoided on purpose because self-sabotage is a way of life for people like me.Self harm can be as simple a matter as seeing something you want and letting it slip away, watch it slip away, watch yourself watch it slip away knowing you could do something and then… just… not. And afterwards struggling to explain your actions to other people, and even to yourself: if only I’d… if I had just…why didn’t…?You let it happen because, deep-down, you know you don’t deserve it. The paths not taken, the paths heavy with bitterness, shame, self castigation - paths such as these I have in spades, and hearts, and clubs, and even diamonds.But I, of course, could NEVER see myself acting like John does, and I am sure that no one on Tumblr calling John a creeper has ever done something like it either. I am sure their reaction is born of pure and moral rectitude, and not fear and revulsion at seeing themselves reflected so completely in so unflattering a manner.Surely not they. Surely not I.John Egbert doesn’t need a reason to be depressed. Nobody does. But his depression is not solely an accident of brain chemistry: it is rooted in his sense of self, and his sense of self is a failure. He couldn’t save his dad. he couldn’t save his friends. He couldn’t win Sburb and he couldn’t build the universe he was allegedly destined to build. All of that happened only because Terezi knew how to use him: left to his own devices, nothing would ever have gone right. John couldn’t save anyone.Or so it must seem in the haunting privacy of his thoughts.John has lived with that failure circling around and around in his head since… oh, I’d say about thirty minutes after everything settled down on Earth-C, about an hour after the party ended and his friends went to their new homes and their new lives and he was alone for the first time with the things he had done and the things he failed to do. It probably started the moment he first noticed the silence of his house, the house that was essentially an exact replica of the house he had lived in on the very day his father was murdered and his litany of failures began. It probably began when he sat on the couch in that big empty house and stared at the door that his father was never, ever going to walk through and listened to deafening roar of being the only person there.That was when it started: with a hollow emptiness in the stomach. With a skull that every-so-slightly seemed to be pressing in on his brain, a feeling he’d never felt before. The sudden, sharp, jarring flashes of memory: his father’s body ripped eight ways to Sunday, Rose breathing her last in the dust of LOPAN, that awesome expanse of Skaia local alight with burning worlds and desecration. It began when the Heir of Breath found himself short of his own element for no reason at all, save that he simply found it hard to breathe, hard to make his body continue to breathe.He didn’t say anything at first.He made excuses.He didn’t want to bother people - told himself he was actually enjoying the alone time, enjoying having nothing to do after what felt like a lifetime of doing: although, really, the events of his life comprised little more than two sets of 24 hours spaced three years apart. And that bothered him too - “all things considered it’s not like you went off to war, John, and spent years away” he told himself. Retirement after two days of solid work? Most would kill for that. These and other good reasons not to say anything came and went: there was always a good reason not to say anything, and even those times when some semblance of human feeling burned hot enough to produce genuine emotion he quickly suppressed it. It’s amazing how quickly depression is something you normalize, how quickly you find reason not to disturb it, to upset the status quo.By the time he realized even dimly that he should have said something to someone, anyone - about Roxy, or about that hollow feeling that now comprised his insides, about how nothing caused him joy or distress, that he could feel his youth rushing away from him in a torrent of time that he could do nothing to stop - it was too late. Perhaps it was always too late. This too, perhaps, was something that always had to happen.Perhaps.There is a moment at the end of Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead where Guildenstern, standing on the gallows, faced with his impending doom and the absurdity of his existence muses “There must have been a moment, at the beginning, where we could have said ‘no.’ But somehow we missed it.”Then he dies.That line echos with me. I suspect it echos with many people like me. That’s the worst part of depression: the sense that no matter how much your condition explains your past you are never free of the feeling that there was a moment you could have done something about it all - but you missed it. The moment was lost, and everything since has been one long, unending chain of payment for that mistake.John Egbert doesn’t need our pity, and nor do I mean to say that he is free of criticism. Our depression contextualizes our actions, but it does not excuse our frailties. John Egbert, however, deserves better than the disapprobation of sinners throwing stones.

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