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#I made so many great friends but left very ehh
streets-in-paradise · 8 months
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We're Best Friends as Friends should be
Cult of Chucky oneshot
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Characters: Andy Barclay, Chucky
Warnings: Constant exposing to silly children shows used as some sort of phiscological torture method.
Summary: Andy accidentally discovers an alternative method to avenge his destroyed childhood. For most of the time he had been playing with Chucky in the bloody way he was taught by him, but he had still left to try making him suffer in the way of a child.
Note: Inspired by this post i saw and couldn't let go lol
Tags: @losersclubisms @series-thoughts I apologise to both of you in advance for this nonsense lol
Chucky loved to talk and his captor needed someone to talk to. Not all their conversations had to end in torture sessions, despite many eventually would, but Andy was learning a lot about him whenever he would let him talk. For instance, his complete ignorance of the lore of the Good Guy show lead him to an enlightening realization.
He had no idea about the very same thing he used to destroy his life and that had been never used against him. Chucky endured the physical damage knowing he had the upper hand in the mental, breaking the already broken child living in the memories of the sick man he had become.
Not for long, little Andy was going to have his turn to break him when his adult version would try his tools on him. The doll was forced to endure hours of watching episodes of the show he ruined for him along with his childhood over and over. Andy would set things very carefully so he would have no choice but to stare at the screen, often leaving him for hours. The goal was making that the song would become a trigger, just like it happened to him after Chucky came to his life.
The results were surprising and he continued experimenting, soon starting to switch shows. Most didn't even come from his childhood memories, but were considerably more annoying to the adult eye than the Good Guy show ever was. Andy wanted to make sure Chucky wouldn't get a single instant to be comfortable, even if he wouldn't be actively harming him at the time.
It didn't take him long to discover the one Chucky ended up hating the most.
" Ehh - Hoo!" He macabrely saluted the doll head. " Want some more? "
The screen was still displaying an endless cycle of Telletubies when he removed the gag.
" FUCK YOU, ANDY!!" Was the enraged answer his tease obtained. " IS THIS WHAT YOU CALL TORTURE? BE A MAN AND GET YOUR HANDS DIRTY, YOU PATHETIC LITTLE SHIT!"
Andy chuckled to himself, aware that he was just trying to provoke him into turning it off.
" ... But that would give you a distraction and that is exactly what you want. " He recalled, merciless. " Admit it, Chucky. You can't stand it anymore. You would prefer I would be burning you alive to keep watching."
" I'm getting used to it. Tinky Winky is a dumbass and Dipsy wakes up every morning choosing chaos. " The doll attempted to deny the obvious out of pride. " Laa-Laa is a bossy bitch and that whinny little shit of Po should be thrown off the cliff."
Andy gave him a skeptical smirk and pretended to carry on with his day careless for him, what made Chucky more impatient.
" I get it, when you were a kid I made you believe life with me was gonna be like Barney and I gave you Annabelle. Is that what this is about? Push down my throat all the lies i told you? "
The unexpected comment made the man stop in his tracks.
" Don't worry, Chuck! You are still on time to make it up. We are going to be the best of friends, just like you promised. "
It was a strongly ironical tease and it was about to get even more ironical.
" I love you, you love me. We are a happy family. " Andy began to sing." With a great big hug, and a kiss from me to you. Won't you say you love me too? "
On top of the uncomfortable time he was making him go through, Andy also wanted to ironically humilliate him and he was not going to allow it.
" Don't you fucking dare." Chucky warned, cutting him off. " Bring the flamethrower, I'm not gonna do that shit."
" I could bring noise cancelling headphones. " His captor warned. " Telletubies is all you are going to hear for the rest of the day ..."
If he could be honest, Chucky would rather be killed. Since that was not an option, he just kept an initial silence intending to conserve his pride.
" C'mon Chucky! " Andy insisted, in a tone that resembled a little bit to the children he once meet. " It's your line."
He didn't have much of a choice, not at that point, and the disgust in his face perfectly matched his dark singing.
" I love you, you love me. We're best friends like friends should be ..."
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nickywhoisi · 2 years
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GREAT GOOGLY MOOGLY so thanks to @land-of-diesel-10 for just messaging me about the cool Magic Railroad behind the scenes photos, I have now been made aware of all of these incredible finds! So much production pics for both Thomas & Friends AND Tugs!! All of which may not yet have made it our way, but I intend to change that real quick! Thanks also goes to, of course, the choo choo groop discord that Coqui’s a part of, and the crew who went on twitter to upload all of this for the fandoms! Here’s where they all are if you want to take a peek!
I’ll leave Coqui to post all about D10 and the Magic Railroad in particular, but I definitely want to showcase these lovely Tugs images, and talk about them. It is so cool to see how it was made!
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Wow, this is apparently how massive the sets were, pictured here at Bigg City Port. Look at how small that real life guy is at the very left. As we know, this was based on New York, but looking at it right now as a Vancouverite, I could almost swear that this was somewhere here, almost like a mishmash of the mainland and the island. The right side looks reminiscent of New West, while the right has that little blue and white chapel. I have seen a building on the island that looks almost like that, especially the placement being closer to the water. And everything around this area I grew up in has been pretty industrial like this anyway, so a part of me weirdly wants to headcannon that Bigg City is actually in Canada. Oh, but that’s just me being silly. We can also see the bridge which is so obviously San Fran bridge. But anyway, my eyes cannot get enough of all the details in this photo alone. There’s so many of these little buildings! So much that wouldn’t have even been more than brief background shots I bet, but the madlads put so much effort into making this set look like an actual full city! Everything is placed right, and they didn’t have to go that extra mile when the focus would have been elsewhere, but they did it! I wish I could walk around this set and peer down at all of those little hidden streets...see just how much detail went into everything. Like a curious kaiju.
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Here’s another size comparison shot, with some guys from the crew standing next to a lighthouse(?) building and some of the tugs. If I’m guessing right, it could be TenCents, Sunshine, and...Boomer? I swear I see some orange, but then it might be a trick of the light, and it’s TopHat or something. As good of a pic it is, it’s very dark. Would anyone else be able to tell if this was a still from one of the episodes, or not? I would be really excited to know if this was a production on one of the episodes that didn’t make it past scripting! And I couldn’t possibly know what all that pile of glunkety is in front. Maintenance materials...?
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Here’s a neat one! We see a shot of the bridge from a different angle, and see where the edge of the universe is. All propped up by a lot of wood. I can only begin to imagine how they managed to hold all the water used for the show. It looks like the water was always there, but I’m waiting to see a pic where it’s emptied. And we can see that the horizon shot was not so far away at all; just a cloth picture just like in the old-timey days of film! It still looks beautiful though. Oh, and there are the pipes for the tugs to have their smoke stacks working! Very neat.
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Oooooh, and here we have one of the big ships that appeared in the show! I believe this is the famous Duchess? I always wondered why the main cast of boats had faces, but those like the Duchess didn’t, yet the tugs treated her like she was as sentient as them? Seemed to me like she was just a...regular not-alive cruise ship, but ehh. Finally, we can see quite clearly how all the boats were rigged and carted around...maybe at least while they were out of the water. Wild how all of that wiring is next to a giant basin of water that could short circuit everything if the wrong pieces fell in, eh? And I can’t not mention the weird-ass sight of Izzy without a hat. Good lord he is so bald he looks to be cleaved. Someone help him
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sidespart · 3 years
Note
For the fic title thing: Make Up Your Mind/Catch Me I’m Falling
Make Up Your Mind (this seriously got away from me and became basically a whole string of conscious fic whoops)
Logince, Bakery/coffeeshop AU Mutual Pining/ Not-Actually-Unrequited love, + loceit friendship
So Janus owns a Bakery (struggling to think of a snake/lie based bread pun for the name but ehh). He is the head only baker and sends most of his time in the basement kitchen blasting the phantom of the opera soundtrack and kneading dough. 
Logan is his childhood friend. Janus hired him as cashier after Logan dropped out of collage but then he never left and is now basically manager/ accountant/ hbic of this whole operation.
So one night as Janus is leaving he’s casually like: ‘oh by the way, a couple are coming by tomorrow for a wedding cake consultation’
And Logan blocks the door and is like: ‘Janus. We don’t do wedding cakes. We don’t even do cake. You only make weird artisanal bread. it took me 6 months and 8 powerpoint presentations to convince you to sell banana loaf’
Jan, his eye enormous: ‘but Logan, you should have heard this guy on the phone. They only want to use LGBTQ businesses for their wedding, they want to support the community that’s supported them for so long. He spoke so passionately and eloquently about why it just had to be us I couldn't say no’
Logan, his eyes not enormous: did you tell this man we make wedding cakes just to make the phone conversation end?
Janus: I was going to miss the murder, she wrote marathon, Logan 
So Jan manages to escape, and Logan rolls his eyes but like. This is nowhere near the worst ‘cleaning up after Janus lied to get out of a situation and made everything more complicated for no goddamm reason’ incident that he has had to deal with during the course of their friendship so, whatever: he can tell the couple there was a miscommunication when they show up in the morning. 
Next day, the guys arrive. Virgil, who barley introduces himself and then stays hunched in his hoodie not speaking for the whole meeting, and Roman. 
Roman does not have a problem speaking. Roman has lots of ideas.
Roman has a binder. 
Somehow in the course of this conversation Logan goes from ‘we don’t make wedding cakes’ to ‘I’LL SHOW YOU, WE’LL MAKE THE BEST GODDAMM WEDDING CAKE THIS TOWN HAS EVER SEEN’
Maybe it was the passion of Romans argument. Maybe it was the slightly disdainful look on his face when he looked round the shop. Maybe it was the ridiculous amount of money he was prepared to pay (see: Janus insists on only making specific, weird bread as to why the shop’s always on the brink of collapse). Maybe it was the power of the binder (Logan is like 80% sure Roman hit him with the binder at one point). Maybe its just Logan hasn't had a full blown passionate argument like that since high school debate club and the rush of adrenaline made him dumb.
Whatever the reason - they’re now fully committed to making this 6 tier, purple and blue, Disney inspired, multiflavoured wedding cake
(Janus, who skipped out on the meeting because he is Like That: But Logan....we don’t make wedding cakes...this was really irresponsible of you...
 Logan: I know where you sleep. I could kill you at any time) 
Which would be doable (the weddings a while off, and Logan is ready to RESEARCH) except Roman keeps. Coming. Back. 
With new ideas. And tweaks. And suggestions. All of them seemingly designed to make the cake less structurally sound. 
Basically every time he comes in they end up having a blazing row, first about Romans inability to make up his mind about the cake and then about...literally everything. One time they spent 25 minuets arguing about whether or not Shakespeare wrote all of his plays, which somehow turns into ‘who was the best host of blues clues?’ which then turned  into ‘how would nationalised healthcare best be implemented?’ (the loudest arguments were during the blues clues section).Logan had even fewer customers then normal that day.
(Logan: I hate that guy so much! He shows up at 2pm every day and now my blood pressure has started going up at 1.55pm in anticipation of the fight! He’s causing me actual medical distress because he’s so stupid!
Janus:...you’ve memorised some guys schedule and your heart starts racing whenever you see him?
Logan: yes! because he is my enemy!
Janus:...
Janus: mmKay.)
ANYway, one day Roman turns up and is like: Can’t fight today. Need caffeine. Must Study. and sequesters himself on one of their two rinky dink tables and starts pulling enormous textbooks out of his bag. Turns out Roman is in law school, he’s back home for the whole summer to help with wedding prep and has been neglecting his summer reading. He wants to be an environmental lawyer and, ideally, singly handily prosecute every oil company and give a speech at the UN whilst wearing an immaculately fitted Italian suit. 
Logan has a panicked moment of OH NO HE’S SMART (he doesn't need an oh no he’s hot moment because Roman’s been hot the whole time). Very carefully he does not think about how upset hearing Roman mention the wedding again made him feel, and then shares a bit about his own anxiety during college which led to him dropping out.
Roman says degree or no degree its obvious Logan is one of the smartest, most capable people Romans ever met.
Cue: blushing, stammering, Logan standing up to quickly and knocking half a pot of coffee over etc etc all that good fluff. 
And after that their conversations are less confrontational (although they still debate like. everything.) and more friendly.
They have one (1) more conversation about the wedding wherein Roman apologises for being so stressed and snappy over all the preparation stuff but he just wants everything to be perfect for Virgil. (Logan, awkwardly: you must love him a lot. Roman, himbo-ly: Yeah!) aaand then Logan changes the subject to the best rhyming structure because Romans big sappy grin is making his heart do awful twisty things-
And eventually, Roman asks Logan to go out with him outside the bakery.
Logan: hahaha this is friendship, we are great friends, we are going out as friends. I am not going on a date with a man with a fiancé because that would be the actions of a crazy person.
 So they go on their date. It’s amazing. Roman leans in for a kiss at the end and Logan is delighted!
And then devastated.
He pushes Roman away, yells some creative insult (malodorous centurion?) and flees. Spends the next week basically hiding in the kitchen area, refusing to see any customers and working on the wedding cake.
(which is looking perfect by the way)
So after a week of Logan moping round the kitchen Janus finally blocks the door to stop him leaving and demand he tells him what the hell is wrong. And after a few minuets of filibustering Logan ends up telling him everything.
“In any case, the very fact that he is the kind of man who would cheat on his fiancé means he’s not the kind of man I thought he was. Therefore any alleged feelings I may have developed towards him would now be null and void” says Logan, looking like the worlds sadist accountant
Janus: So...wait. You’re saying wedding cake guy and hot lawyer guy are the same person?
(Logan: you need to come out of the basement more often Janus: YOU need to tell me what’s going on in your life more often. (they have had this conversation many times in the past))
So Janus sincerely tells Logan he’s sorry...and that he’s even more sorry that he needs him to help him deliver the cake to the venue tomorrow.
(this thing is way to big for one person to carry and there’s no way Jan would trust any of their occasional teenage cover staff to do this and ‘we’ll go round the back and you wont have to see anyone anyway comon Lo’ you basically built this monstrosity you should see it home)
So, reluctantly, Logan goes. And they go round the back as promised, and get this enormous cake settled, and then get told to wait there one sec cus one of the grooms is going to come sign for it and before Logan can throw himself out of the widow (get OFF me Janus we’re on the ground floor it’s FINE)  from behind them they hear squeeing.
There’s a curly haired dude in a pastel blue linen suit who Logan has never seen before in his life looking at the cake and cooing over ‘all the little details! its perfect! oh Virgil is going to love this! You know he was so embarrassed about asking for a Disney themed cake he had to ask Roman to go with him to -”
“Who ARE you?”
The man blinked at Logan, who realised dimly that he still had one foot up on the windowsill and slowly returned it to the floor. 
“I’m Patton” said Patton.
“And I’m Janus” said Janus, removing his arms from where they’d still been clamped around Logan’s waist and stepping smoothly towards Patton, clipboard held aloft “A pleasure to meet you, if you could just sign here...”
“BUT-” Patton paused, hand still raised to accept the clipboard, and looked over again at Logan who found himself mumbling:  “but - but the groom is supposed to sign for it?”
And Patton just smiled at him looking a bit bemused and goes ‘I am the groom? And who are you kiddo?”
Logan says he’s Logan. Patton suddenly looks a whole lot less friendly. 
“Oh.” says Patton. “You.”
And since Logan’s mind is currently refusing to take in the information in front of him Janus is the one who ends up stepping in between them and going “so just for 100% transparency - you are Patton. 
“yes?”
“and today you are marrying the love of your life: Virgil?”
“Yes!”
“And are either of you, at any point today, also planning on marrying one Roman Sanders, caffeine addict and terrible communicator?”
And Paton burst out laughing and says “ROMAN? Virgil’s big brother Roman? He’s my best man but I don’t think we’re planning to take it any further...”. And because Patton is apparently much quicker on the emotional uptake than Logan he gives him a vey soft, if slightly exasperated, look and says:
“Roman - who again, is my future brother-in-law- is helping set up in the main hall.”
And Logan likes to think he said thank you before he took off fucking RUNNING through the building but he can’t be sure.
So he gets to the hall, where a load of people are setting out chairs, putting up flowers etc,  and skids to a stop at one end of the aisle. Shouts: “ROMAN.” (Roman and Virgil, who were standing at the other end arguing over a flower arrangements, both look up) “YOU’RE NOT MARRYING YOUR BROTHER.”
“um.” Says Roman “No?”
Explanations are given. Virgil, who is a lot more talkative now that he’s not on 7th wedding appointment of the day burn out, is ready to physically fight Logan for breaking his brothers heart. And then once he understands the full story is ready to kill both of them for being such dumbasses.
Roman: But I s2g I told the guy on the phone that it was the groom and best man coming??? Logan: Yeah he might have lied and said you were a couple for a joke, or he may have just straight up not listened to you. Either way, he is just Like That.
Logan: WHY DID YOU NEVER MENTION VIRGIL WAS YOUR BORTHER?? Roman: I WAS TRYING TO GET TO KNOW YOU AND ALSO SEDUCE YOU WHY WOULD I WASTE TIME TALKING ABOUT MY LITTLE BROTHER??? Virgil: Yeah...he does like talking about himself, sorry he’s just  Like That.
Anyway it all ends fluffily, Patton and Virgil get married. Roman cries. Logan and Jan hang around for the wedding. Roman and Logan hold hands throughout the speeches and dance during the reception. Roman has to go back to law school soon but they agree to call each other every day at 2pm to catch up and argue. 
Janus gets off with the moustachioed DJ. 
And Roman and Logan get another chance at their first kiss.
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simple-friend · 2 years
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sigh ..., sorry again.
30 days of productivity PhD Edition Day 10. 08 February 2022
I went to uni to meet a friend, he got there late as usual, we are stuck in the same boat, but he want to risk it the other way where he choose to study the unknown module and cancel the others(more power to him). I studied that module with him that day and found that it not something that could be studied in 15 days among others, I mean this is not an exam, it's a competition that you should excel at not just learn. I just don't know what to do, I searched the lists of those who made it in the last years in those universities, the first three are very young and then a bunch of 1987 dudes came after them. and other story I heard about people who passed the exam, ehh, the least we can say is that it is full of nepotism. so I just canceled two exams and kept the two I knew about but dislike. I also talked to some of my teachers and they gave me some resources to study from, and that's great but one of them did something that I think should be illegal, he talked about the amount of nepotism in these PhD exams which is so bizarre, demoralizing and against uni common sense. I came from home so tired and I just started reading a book I always wanted to read, actually, I started reading two books at once and I am glad I did because they complete each other.
30 days of productivity PhD Edition Day 11;  09 February 2022
I took a look on the new resources and I was flabbergasted by the amount of concepts that I didn't know about. like whole chapters that I didn't even know existed. So I went to study them and I got stuck after an hour or so, after that I watched a 2h long podcast by Huberman Lab *my favorite health podcast* about dopamine and partially understood why I can't sit on my chair for a long time but when it comes to gaming, I can sit for many uninterrupted hours.
30 days of productivity PhD Edition Day 12. 10 February 2022
this day is great, I practiced what I understood from Pr.Huberman and those two books and it worked. I did sit for a straight 4 hours until my butt hurt, but it worked and did a total of 12 exercises.
I started the fault calculation chapter because my uni never taught me about it and then I've got that feeling when you automatically say; 
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"ooh, wait a minute' because I understood things about other modules when I studied that concept, like when you can't get a scene from a TV-series because the scenario gave you half what it takes, just like detective Conan,  but after a while you get that scene because the missing information enters your brain late and you completed the cycle inside your mind. The order in which they teach things is horrible.
30 days of productivity PhD Edition Day 13. 11 February 2022
I confirmed my PhD entrance exam (you need to confirm that). I heard about people who got their PhD (brought to you by nEpotism 22 max plus) and I did feel so confused that I am probably wasting time and money for something opaque without transparency (c'est pas du tout un risque calculé) !!
 then I went to help my friend with moving out, *season 2* last time the van was filled so we left other things in there. my friend's father told me to learn German and get the hell out of here. *he said it in a very very serious tone*.
30 days of productivity PhD Edition Day 14. 12 February 2022
this day was off the road, It was productive but not for the PhD; I decided to start my job seeking journey and for that I wanted to make a portfolio with everything I did (websites, software, apps) and I am *trying* to finish my angry unfinished projects. I read a total of 150 pages of those two books and understood so much things about life and my social anxiety. I also watched a Lex Fridman podcats *omg, I love those*
30 days of productivity PhD Edition Day 15. 13 February 2022
I started programming again *yaay* and recalled a lot of things, and I understood things that were mysteries for me. (didn't do any studies related to the Phd exam)
30 days of productivity PhD Edition Day 16. 14 February 2022
I did not study today.  I was busy with my polyamorous Valentin's date (those two books are so lovely and cute). I just programmed more (I was so productive that when I looked at the time, I thought it would be like 11 or 12 pm, well, It was 3 am and just went to sleep. which let me thinking if I really have ADHD because that hyperfocus period used to hit me a lot when I was in college. 
30 days of productivity PhD Edition Day 17. 15 February 2022
I got up early, sleeping just 5 hours, my muscles hurt but I just started programming again for straight 4 hours then came lunch. after that I finally did look toward my PhD (like I said, it's an experience) and did two subjects on electrical grids so I am thinking to split my time into four partitions; the two books, the PhD exam, the programming and job seeking and I will add some German into the mix.
the two books are:
The Unfair Advantage - Ash Ali, Hasan Kubba.
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck - Mark Manson.
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soyouthinkucanwrite · 3 years
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Chapter 2 - Show Time
2.8k words
Synopsys: The name of the series is super random, don't mind me. Reader is a postgraduate student at NYU, made a docuseries on her research, and the show got picked up by Netflix. She goes on a press tour and meets Tom on a ‘chat show’. They get together and she decides to stay for a few days in London with him. This could be an amazing few days or more? It’s been interesting writing how they’ll deal with distance and tight schedules once ‘honeymoon’ is over...
Heads up: my first language is Portuguese, so that might explain some things here - of course, I wrote thinking about myself hahaha
Warnings for the series: mention of illicit drugs, angst caused by distance, smut (next chapters, very explicit), anxiety caused by paparazzi, and rude random people taking photos.
Other than that, this is just my guilty pleasure writing so lots of caring sweet Tom and fluffiness.
Chapter 1 - A new city
Chapter 2 - Show time
Chapter 3 - Unexpected texts
Chapter 4 - A new day
No extra warnings. A lot of it was adapted from the real interview, so you might wanna watch it again before reading this, for refreshing. The docu-series doesn't have a name, so you can imagine your own favorite subject.
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HEY THERE EVERYBODY! MY NAME IS TOM HANKS AND IT IS MY GREAT PLEASURE TO SAY WELCOME TO THE GRAHAM NORTON SHOW!
You walked down the corridor led by the stage assistant, but you could already hear the cheering and claps close by. “Don’t worry. There’s a monologue and then he’ll introduce you guys.” She smiled at you. You smiled back. Nervous smile.
“I think I need to poo.” You said.
“What?” She stopped and looked at you.
“No. I don’t really need to poo. I’m just really nervous.” You said. She definitely thought you were in way over your head.
“Okay, just wait there and you’ll go on stage when he calls your name. Frank is there to signal, don’t worry. Good luck!” She said and turned back running.
“Ok. Thank you!” You shouted after her but she was already gone.
“Shhh!” The other guy with a headpiece, Frank you assumed, shushed you.
“Sorry.” You whispered. You looked to the side and Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Holland were talking. Jake was taller than you imagined. Tom was shorter.
“Oh don’t worry. You’re the star here, you can do whatever you want to.” An older voice said to you. He was obviously joking. You looked to see Tom Hanks. You smiled and nodded. God, please don’t let me freeze from starstruck now. Please.
“Ehh…” You’re pathetic.
“Hi!” Said Gwyneth Paltrow to everyone in the dark zone, having just arrived after you. Everyone responded excitedly.
“You guys are on. On my mark.” Said Frank pointing to Tom and Jake. They looked at you and said hello but you could barely answer before hearing Graham Norton’s voice going:
HES THE OSCAR NOMINATED STAR OF BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, NIGHTCRAWLER, AND DONNIE DARKO. PLEASE WELCOME JAKE GYLLENHAAL!
And Jake went up the small flight of stairs. The curtains opened for a while and the sound got really loud and everything went bright. You took a look at Tom Holland and boy was he hot. He was looking at you too. You smiled and he smiled back.
HE’S YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN. IT'S MISTER TOM HOLLAND!
“See you out there.” He said and walked out. You barely had time to process anything when Frank pointed at you and said: “You’re next”. You were still trying to remember how to walk when you heard:
SHE’S THE PRODUCER AND STAR OF A BRAND NEW NETFLIX DOCU-SERIES. STRAIGHT FROM NEW YORK: MISS (Y/N)!
Up you go. You walked out and Graham Norton went to greet you. He went for a kiss on the cheek and you went for a hug. Great. Off to a good start. He laughed it off and showed you the couch where Tom and Jake were standing in front and clapping. You went for a kiss on the cheek this time with both of them when you greeted them.
“Hi!” You said casually. Graham was speaking and soon Gwyneth was standing by your side. She greeted you and the actors by your side and then there was only Tom Hanks left. His introduction was longer and the cheering was way louder. But you weren’t surprised by that. This place was massive. There are so many people here. Way more than you’d think by watching from home.
“We met backstage.” Tom Hanks said pointing to the other guests on the couch.
“You all chatted backstage. I went backstage, I didn’t see the two of you. Nor you (y/n). Where were you guys?” Graham asked.
“We were there” Jake said.
“We waived” Tom said.
“Yeah, I- I was late.” You said laughing a little.
“Very suspicious. I bet you were having your own private party with your entourage.” Graham said making everyone laugh.
“Welcome all! Welcome all!” Graham went on to start the round of interviews and apparently, Tom Hanks was the first topic. You just smiled and laughed along, copying the way Gwyneth Paltrow was sitting and concentrating to keep your posture straight. Once in a while you would laugh and moment by moment you were getting more relaxed, even touching thighs with Tom accidentally when you laughed.
“I started recording Woody in 1991.” Tom Hanks said.
“Guess who wasn’t born then?” Graham said and both you and Tom raised our arms laughing.
“I was having sex I think, by 1991.” Gwyneth said.
“And so were our parents.” Said Tom gesturing between you and him. Everybody laughed.
“He probably meant his mom and his dad and my mom and my dad. Separately.” And everyone laughed even harder.
“Ok. We painted a picture now.” Graham said.
“You never know, it was a crazy time back then in 91” Jake added making everyone bust out laughing.
“Now, our newest guest tonight is the beautiful (y/n). This is your first time in the show!” Graham said looking at you. Oh boy. This is it.
“Yeah! This is crazy. Thank you for having me! And my first time in London!” You answered, blushing a little by the claps and cheering from the audience.
“Now, of course, (y/n) you’re the star and the producer of a documentary. The new Netflix series everybody is talking about. Have you guys seen it?” He asked the other guests.
“Absolutely! It's so good! I loved it!” Tom Hanks said. You stared at him like he just said the most absurd thing, and then Gwyneth said:
“We loved it! It's so different from everything we’ve seen out there.” She complimented you. You put your hands together and bowed your head in gratitude.
“I started watching it today when I knew you were coming here, but everybody is talking about it! It's so good! I wanted to binge-watch everything but then we had to come here.” Jake said.
“Own! Thank you, that’s very sweet.” You said.
“What about you Tom Holland? Have you seen it? Or have you guys met before? Because you have the same age, isn’t that right?” Graham asked him, pointing between the two of you.
“I was the one who told Jake to watch it! I must have seen it twice already!” He said laughing.
“What? Twice?” You laughed.
“Yeah because every time someone’s watching it if I’m passing by, I’ll just sit down and watch along. And all my friends decided to watch it now, it’s like some fever, I don’t know, it’s just really fun and you actually feel smarter binging it!” He said making everybody laugh along.
“But did you guys knew each other already? Because you sure sound like a fan!” Graham teased him. Tom shook his head no and you answered first.
“No…well, I know you. I definitely know all of you. But we’ve never met.” You said vaguely, trying to change the focus from you and Tom. But Graham was on a mission.
“Are you sure? Because the two of you weren’t seen early on backstage so I’m just wondering…” He said cheekily.
“I was late today! It was quite not British of me, I know, but we were very late so I didn’t get the chance to say hello before. Sorry, everyone” You said apologizing to everybody on the couch who waived and laughed politely.
“That’s quite alright. Thankfully you’re not British so we won’t punish you. Well, maybe we’ll leave that to Tom later if you’re into that sort of thing” Graham said making you and Tom very much embarrassed.
“These 90’s kids are crazy man” Jake added making everybody laugh.
“Anyway, we have a clip for you guys.” Graham announced.
[CLIP FROM THE SERIES]
“That’s so great! By the way, I introduced you saying ‘from new york’, because the show was taped there, but you’re not really from NY are you? You’re actually…uh… from (your city/country)! Is that right?” Graham asked you and the rest of the cast looked at you interested.
“Yes! That’s right. But I’ve been living in New York for a good while now so, that’s ok.” You answered.
“You’re getting your PhD, isn’t it?” Tom Hanks asked you.
“Yes, the show was part of my research, actually. I’m surprised you know that.” You said.
“Dude, I told you to pick up a book once in a while. Jake said teasingly to Tom, who just laughed and shook his head looking down.
“You guys are making this so much easier to me. Thanks!” He said sarcastically. Now it was your turn to get embarrassed.
“He’s right though, you might wanna step up your game here cause she’s both smart and beautiful. Do you speak…how many is it? 5 languages?” Graham stepped in.
“Well, I mean…sort of, yeah. I guess.” You answered kind of embarrassed for being in the spotlight, but glad it was about your brains and not looks.
“And the show is so good! I’ve seen a critic saying that is (your reference) meet Humans of NY. In a good way! Where the idea came from? Did you always wanted to film a tv show?” Graham asked you.
“Well, first of all. Thank you for the compliments and I’m truly honored by the comparison to (your reference) and Humans of NY, because I truly watch and admire those projects, so they’ve definitely inspired us. But uh…about filming a TV show, I guess not. I’m researching (your subject of preference). But I’ve always loved to, you know, get in there and get ‘my hands dirty’, I wouldn’t want to write about something I haven’t experienced. So I got to know so many incredible stories and amazing people. I followed their routines and there were so many great plots…I just couldn’t let that go. And I’m really glad I didn’t. It’s like we’re highlighting the extraordinary in the ordinary. I’m really glad people liked it as much as I did because it would have been really heartbreaking if nobody cared, I guess.” You laughed. Everyone was staring at you in awe. You got really excited when you were talking about this project. Maybe a little too excited.
“How did you do that by the way?” Gwyneth asked you.
“Did what?” you said.
“Get them to care about it. To give it a shot.” She explained.
“I’m not sure. I think there’s so much noise out there. And everyone is just competing for our attention, but they don’t always have anything to say. And these people have so much to say. To teach us. I just tried to show that.” You answered honestly.
“Well, thank you for that. And not jinx anything, but I have a feeling we’ll be hearing a lot more about you too. Any new projects coming soon?” He asked you.
“Uh…not really. I’m just living in this high for now, I guess. But it really has already opened so many doors, I’m very grateful for that.” You answered honestly.
“And your boyfriend must be really proud too" Graham asked teasingly.
“No, no boyfriend.” You answered suspiciously.
“Ah! Of course.” He winked nothing discreetly in Tom’s direction.
“So there’s a chance Tom! You might want to pay attention to this next one. Gwyneth Paltrow! What is this I hear about vagina steaming?” Graham continued making everyone bust out laughing.
The show went on and soon, the topic was Tom again. “I was making a film with Doug Liman, in Montreal. And I was playing a real tough kid and he asked me to grow as much facial hair as I could.” Tom told everybody. You just looked very closely at him, because his face was very much hairless.
“I think we got a picture.” Graham said. And then everybody was laughing out loud.
“(y/n)? Is your heart won yet?” Graham teased. You just laughed.
“Oh come on! The kid’s got better moments! You got to give him a chance!” He teased some more.
“Oh man! What is going on with this show? I swear I did not put him up to this!” Tom said looking at you and you just laughed awkwardly.
“It’s true! I did!” Jake said laughing and then got up to high five Graham.
“You know, if this wasn’t going so badly I’d ask if my mom put you up to this. Cause she’s the only other person I know who’s so focused on getting me matched.” You teased.
“You think its going badly?” Tom asked and the crowd “aww” loudly. Silence and some laughs.
“Right, moving on.” Graham joked and everybody laughed. You were feeling a little awkward, especially because you did not want him to think you weren’t interested, just not while in a tv show. But you can’t get things mixed up. This stuff is new to you, but you’re not some schoolgirl. Focus on the job. Stormzy was singing now, so the show must be almost over.
“Oh this is wicked! I was really happy when I saw you’d be here!” Stormzy said when he sat on the couch.
“Me? Wow! Really?” you asked him, surprised.
“Oh-oh looks like you got competition Tom Holland” Graham joked and Tom just laughed and shook his head.
“Well cause your show is just really cool” He said to me.
“Wow! Thank you for saying that!” You couldn’t believe this, someone from all across the world liked something you did. You’re going to get emotional.
“You know that we live really close to each other?” Tom asked him.
“Is it? Where do you live?” Stormzy answered and the conversation went on.
AND THAT’S IT FOR THE SERIES! IF YOU’D JOIN ME NEXT WEEK FOR A LOOK BACK AT SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PAST 12 WEEKS. WE’LL BE BACK IN THE AUTUMN, TILL THEN HAVE A GREAT SUMMER! GOOD NIGHT EVERYBODY BYE BYE!
This was becoming routine now, but there’s no other way to describe it other than to say that you loved and hated every minute of it. Well, at least it’s done now. The lights went out and when everybody stopped clapping and cheering the producer approached you guys and said you were taking a picture. Graham went for the back of the couch and everyone snuggled a little closer. Tom put his hand on your thigh and you instinctively looked at it. “Sorry.” He mumbled and took it off. You just smiled and shook your head lightly. After some pictures, you made sure to thank everybody and say how much of a fan of them you are. When it was your turn to talk to Tom he said laughing: “Sorry about that whole thing” You could tell he was uncomfortable.
“No, common! He was playing with us. Well, you more.” You dismissed.
“Yeah! It was fun though. Had a great time, it was great to meet you!” He said politely.
“You too. Love your movies! Can’t wait to see the new one.” You offered and heard someone calling your name.
“Right this way Miss.” The stage assistant called.
“Ok, so…bye! Good luck on growing your facial hair!” What. You. Idiot. He just laughed it off. And touched his chin.
“Right. I’ll try my best. Thank you! Good luck with (your research subject)” He said back.
“Alright, thanks” You had to go, the stage assistant was getting impatient. “Bye Tom.” You offered your hand and he hesitated a bit before taking it and shake.
“Bye (y/n).” He said.
David was already waiting for you down the small flight of stairs. “That was really great! Congratulations!” He hugged you.
“That…wasn’t bad, right?” You said. “I actually had fun.” You completed while you two made your way to the little room where you did your makeup and hair earlier.
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make-me-imagine · 3 years
Text
Red Roses: “I Love You” - Clint Barton Ending
Valentines Special: Day Nine
Day One: Morning Glories  //  Day Two: Blue Salvias Day Three: Sunflowers  //  Day Four: Pink Camellias Day Five: Yellow Tulips   // Day Six: Violets Day Seven: Lisianthus  //  Day Eight: Daffodils (Post with rest of the character endings)
Plot: It’s finally Valentines Day, the day the reader will finally learn who it is that had been leaving them flowers and notes expressing their secret feelings.
Pairing: Gen!Neutral Reader x Clint Barton
Triggers: Mention of gunfire/violence (very brief)       
Words: 1,678 
Requested Taglist: @aquariuslavenderhoney​​, @thebookbakery​​, @fablesrose​​, @kitkatd7​​, @thefallenbibliophilequote​​, @beksib​​, @destynelseclipsa​​, @criminaly-supernatural​​, @tammythompson-singslikea-muppet, @belloangelus​​, @snarky--starky​​, @saintbootlegloras​​, @wecallhimbrowneyess​​, @empath-bunny​​, @okkulta​​, @katinthemoon,  @ravennight41​​, @youcancallme-rae , @radhumandragonclam, @unfortunateidiotinadilemma, @past3l-w1ngs​​ ,  @goinggoinggonzo​​, @mxxnmocha​​, @theofficialzivadavid​​, @fred-deeks-ben​​
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February 14th
You ducked down behind the car as one of the assailants fired his gun at you, peaking out after hearing a grunt followed by a thud, you see him lying on the ground, stun-arrow stuck to his back. Your eyes dart to where the arrow came from as Clint and Natasha came out of the building. 
“Took you guys long enough!” you yelled as you threw a stun grenade into the building where you heard men coming from to chase after you “What happened you get lost?” you quipped as you all began running back to the car.
“Whats your hurry, got somewhere to go?” Clint asked eyeing you with a smile as you all jumped into the cars. 
“Maybe I do, what’s it matter to you?” you asked as you caught the hard drive Natasha tossed you. Unseen by you, Natasha and Clint shared an amused look as you all caught your breath.
You had suddenly been sent on this mission this morning when you found out that two home-terror groups were sharing dangerous information and SHIELD secrets. Finding out about a drop of the hard drive you were sent to retrieve it. 
“I never knew you to be interested in any of Tony’s parties.” Natasha said.
“I’m not” you replied simply as you plugged the hard drive into a computer. 
“Why not? Should be fun.” Clint said.
You remained silent as you began hacking the hard drive, ignoring Clint’s comment, but unable to ignore the heavy beating of your heart. 
After getting back to the SHIELD office you were heading back to the tower, Natasha fell into step beside you “So, are you excited about tonight?”
You glanced at her quickly “I don’t know.” you said truthfully. You had told her about what tonight would bring, the truth about your admirer. You hadn’t told Clint, because, well, you wanted it to be him more than any of the others, and you were afraid that talking to him about it, would make it too obvious, or maybe he would be to obvious about it not being him. 
“I’m sure it’ll be fine” she said, as if to console you.
Entering into the tower, you see various Valentines decorations littering the front entrance all the way to the elevator. You and Natasha stopped as you looked around, none of it had been there when you left. Feeling a presence behind you, you realized Clint had entered.
“Wow. Looks like Cupid threw up in here.” he joked before brushing past you.
You and Natasha smiled as you followed behind him, all three of you had to rush to get ready, the party was starting in about an hour and you were sure you all looked like hell after having a firefight. 
- - -
After quickly taking a shower, and getting ready, you sat on the edge of your bed as you slipped on your shoes. Taking the silent moment to really think about what might happen in the coming evening. 
You tried your best to be accepting of the fact that it could be any of the others who might confess to you tonight, and you tried convincing yourself that you would be alright with it being any of them. And in a way you were. 
But, thinking more about it being Clint, made you feel more excited and hopeful that it being any of the others. And thinking about it, not, being Clint, made you the most disappointed. You had known each other for years, he is the reason you became an Avenger in the first place. He knows almost everything about you, and you about him. He makes you comfortable, he makes you smile, laugh, and he makes you feel safe. 
Looking over at your desk, your eyes land on a series of photo booth photos of you and Clint you had pinned up. You went undercover as a couple once a few years back and took them. It ended up being one of the funnest nights of your life, even through the spying and fighting. He had a matching set of photos tucked away also, his favorite of them all, torn off and placed safely in his wallet. But this, you didn’t know.
Checking the clock, you take a breath as you stood and left your room, the party had begun. Once you got to the party you were a bit intimidated with how many people had already shown up. ‘How many people did Tony invite?’ you thought to yourself as you scanned the room.
You jumped slightly when an arm slipped through your own. Looking over you see Natasha by your side as she looked around the room too “I don’t even know who have of these people are. And that’s impressive for being a spy.” You smiled at her comment, feeling comforted by her presence as you both walked further into the room.  
The first hour of the party seemed to go by quickly as you spent most of it greeting and chatting with some of the guests, per Tony’s request. Walking away from a particularly perverse man, you rolled your eyes as you walked into the other room, someone falling into step beside you. 
“Someone certainly pissed you off.”
You turned to look at Clint with a look of disdain “If I had to hear one more suggestion about what would make my superhero costume look “better” I was going to deck him.”
Clint snorted as he took a sip of his drink before setting it on an empty tray in a waiters hand. Reaching out his hand he looked at you “Dance?”
You looked from him and into the crowded room of slow-dancers, you hesitated “Ehh, I don’t know, you know I’m not much of a-”
“Oh come on” he smiled as he took your hand in his and all but dragged you further into the room. As he brought your intertwined hands up, and set his other on your waist he smiled at you as you began to move with the music “You’re a great dancer. And I say that as the guy who taught you in the first place.” 
You smiled at the reference back to an undercover mission you had been on, that involved going to very rich man’s party. “Now you’re just trying to boost your own ego. As if I didn’t crush your toes more than a few times.” 
“Hey, I got over it, and you got better.” 
“We’ll see, it has been a while.” 
“You’re doing fine.” He said honestly with a small smile that made your heart pound. 
You chatted through the rest of the song, and as the next started Clint paused as he looked around “I have something for you.”
Queue the rapid beating heart again “What?” you asked. 
Reaching into his suit pocket, carefully, he pulled out a single, delicate, half-bloomed rose. You froze as you stared down at it as he handed it to you. You stared at in in surprise before you glimpsed up at him, your eyes briefly scanning the people behind him, noting that they were all preoccupied with their partners. 
“Clint, this is...”
“A confession.” he finished.
You met his eyes “So it was you the whole time?”
He smiled while gesturing his head “Yeah well, I guess I just couldn’t stop myself from falling in love with my best friend.”
If your heart could beat so hard out of your chest, this was the moment. “What?” you almost whispered out. 
He took a small step closer so that your faces were mere inches apart as he brought up his hand to gentle brush the side of your face “I’m saying I love you Y/n. Have for quite a while actually.” 
Unable to stop yourself you all but leaped forward and you wrapped your arms around his neck in a tight embrace making him chuckle as he wrapped his arms around you. He spoke into your ear “I’m hoping this is a good reaction.”
You pulled away with a laugh “Yes it is Clint. I- “ you hesitated, out of fear and excitement before whispering out “I love you too.”
Clint grinned at your words before he cupped your face in his hands and pulled you into a kiss. Both of you smiled into the kiss before pulling away. “I’ve been wanting to do that for a hell of a long time.” 
Your smile continued to beam at him as he said this, before he reached out and pulled you closer, his hand intertwined in your again. Leaning in, you kissed again before pulling away as he began to sway your bodies again in time with the music “Natasha knew didn’t she?” you asked, thinking back on all the times you and her had talked about it. 
“How could she not? Besides, she helped me deliver them on a few occasions.” he smirked making you smile and shake your head as you thought back to that day in the gym.  
“So why the flowers and the notes? I knew you were a romantic, but even for you this is a bit...dramatic, not to mention patient.” 
He chuckled “Oh trust me, there were times I almost gave in and just told you. But, I heard you talking to some of the others about Valentines a while back, you know when you guys were laughing about how they put all that Valentines stuff in stores two months before? And I heard you mention that you’ve never really had a Valentine before, so I thought, hey what the hell, I’ll be your Valentine.” he finished with a cheesy smile that made you giggle.
“Well.” you paused “I couldn’t have asked for a better Valentine that you.”
He smiled fondly at you before pressing a kiss to your forehead. Moving to rest your head against his shoulder he pressed a kiss to the side of your temple as you continued to dance. Both of you unaware of the grinning and giggling Natasha and Wanda watching from the corner of the room.
xx xx xx xx xx
If you liked it, please consider reblogging and checking out the rest of the endings!~ :)
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halcyonstorm · 3 years
Text
The Girl at the Library Chapter 2
Pairing: Levi Ackerman/Hange Zoe
Themes: College AU, Library, Fluff, Slow Burn, Falling in Love, Female Hange Zoe, Student!Levi
Word Count: 5870
Summary: Levi visits Hange in her dorm. He misses his family but is too busy to drive. Hange has a car.
Chapter: 2/3
Warning: Mild Language
Read on AO3 here
Levi went back to his dorm room after the encounter with Hange. He seemed to be walking a bit faster.
The skip in his step, unfortunately, quickly dissipated once he walked in his room. His roommate was hanging out with a few friends, two he recognized were the guys who fucked up his laptop. As soon as they saw Levi, their conversation came to a halt. The two brats nervously gathered their things and rushed out of the room. Levi shook his head in annoyance, shutting the door behind them. He placed his wet bag on the floor. Right. He was soaked from the rain. 
“Levi, good to see you,” Erwin --his roommate-- said, slightly annoyed. There was a card game set up on the small table in their dorm. Levi didn’t respond and walked past them. He always had friends over. Levi was always pissed about it. The least he could’ve done was ask. The room was small enough as it is. Also, Erwin and his friends always left a mess.  
Levi’s and Erwin’s dorm room was small. Would Hange’s room be this small? he asked himself. He felt himself get hot. He grabbed a fresh change of clothes, went to their bathroom and changed. He wore a pair of grey sweats and a white t-shirt. He hung up all his wet clothes in their shower. Levi took a deep breath, leaving the bathroom. He spent the rest of the night thinking of his new friend, and his mood was restored.
The next day couldn’t come fast enough. He woke up at 8am that morning to go on a run and to get some of his physical homework done. He also showered, spending an extra minute than usual. He wondered if he should bring something for Hange. 
“Erwin, what snacks do you have?” He asked, starting to dress in the bathroom. He put on a pair of black jeans and an olive green t-shirt.
“Uh,” he shuffled through his ‘secret’ stash. Levi knew where it was. “I’ve got chips, granola bars, ramen, peanut butter…”
What the fuck am I gonna do with peanut butter? He asked himself. 
Levi shook his head and rolled his eyes. He finished getting dressed and grabbed a few bags of chips and stuffed them in his bag. He made sure to pack his notes too.
It was finally 10:45 and he decided to leave to go to her dorm. He brought his phone, keys, wallet, and backpack with him.
“Be back later,” Levi called out before closing the door behind him. Levi began walking to her room. He had to take the elevator up four floors, making stops along the way, but he made it. 506… On his left side, there it was. On the door were two drawn cut-outs of the two residents. He recognized Hange’s drawing right away. It was colored in with colored pencils. The character had her same brown hairstyle; closed, happy eyes; oval glasses; and a big toothy smile. She wore a green long sleeve and brown pants. Her character was waving. Under her character, it has the name “Hange” in big green block letters. The other character was of a girl with short blonde hairstyle and blue eyes. Her character was smiling but had her eyes open. That must be her roommate. The name written underneath the drawing was “Nanaba” in blue bubble letters. Levi hesitantly knocked at the door after admiring the drawings.
Hange opened the door. “Hey!” “Hi.”
She invited him in. One half of the dorm room was messy and the other was averagely neat, at least in Levi’s eyes. She shut the door behind him. 
“Ehh, I’m sorry my side of the room is kinda messy,” She confessed. She had the messy side of the room. Her bed was made, but her desk was a mess. Papers, books, and food wrappers were spread out on the desk and migrated to her bed. There were at least four empty ramen containers on her desk, which she clumsily grabbed and tossed away. Hange grabbed the papers off her desk and moved them to the side, clearing the spot for him. She lazily crumpled some food wrappers and threw them in the trash, one wrapper missing and falling on the floor. Levi shuddered. How did she live like this? The foot of her bed met the left edge of the desk. Her desk was big; It had many drawers and an overhang where she had small knick knacks including small comic book figurines, plants, and books. She had a figurine of a character with a green hooded cape on who looked like a soldier. He really liked that one.
“Let me just log you on.” She bent over the chair to use the computer. Levi put his bag down next to the desk. “Thank you.” Levi said. 
“Oh, It’s nothing,” she said. After a few moments, she stood upright, backing away from the computer. “Alright! You’re good to go. If you need my help, I’m here. I have some work to do too.” He nodded, sitting down in the very comfortable desk chair. He let out a relieved sigh. Hange chuckled.
“Comfortable, right?” She asked, jumping on her bed and crossing her legs. Levi agreed. It was comfortable. It was one of those gaming-like chairs with cushions and lower back support. He noticed she had a bunch of bookmarks tabbed which were disorganized. He began to type in “Addison’s Disease” and as he did, he noticed it was recently searched. Before he could ask about it, Hange began to speak.
“I found some articles for your paper,” she explained, not looking away from her books. “I printed them out for you.” 
Levi was pleasantly surprised. He hid a smile. “You didn’t have to do that.” 
She shrugged. “Pfft. Shush. I wanted to.” There was a pause. “Oh! I made sandwiches for us. I know it’s kinda early for lunch, but I’ve been up since 6 this morning so I’m starving. I hope you like PB&J.”
Fuck! Levi thought. Erwin’s peanut butter. I could’ve made sandwiches. He mentally smacked his forehead.
“I brought some chips,” Levi added. “Take whatever you want.” He grabbed some bags from his backpack and placed them on her bed. He grabbed a blue bag of Doritos, she grabbed a bag of Fritos.
“Thanks,” she said, popping the bag open by squeezing it. Some chips flew out of the bag, falling on the bed. 
“What?” Levi asked, bewildered. Why did she open it like that?
“I’m not good with pulling the seal open…” she admitted, chuckling. Levi found it weird. Levi locked eyes with her and opened the bag by pulling the seal open with ease. Hange pouted.
“No fair.” She laughed. He was never going to get any work done if she kept distracting him. He grabbed a sandwich and ate it. He really enjoyed it, especially since she made it. 
“Thanks for lunch,” he said. He was kind of hungry anyways. 
“No problem!”
The two began to work.
-
About three hours passed before Levi finished his paper. He ended his final sentence with a loud tap of the period on the keyboard. He took a deep breath and looked Hange's way. She was prone, resting her chin in her left palm. Her feet were in the air, crossed at the ankles. She was reading a textbook and had a pen and paper on her right side, probably answering homework. She looked very studious and attractive. 
“I’m finished with my paper…” Levi said aloud. “Can I read it to you?” 
Hange quickly wrote something down on her paper, dropped the pen, and pushed herself up to sit criss-crossed.
“Yep! I’m all ears.”
He began to read through his paper. He realized during his speech that this was probably the most he’s said to Hange. He felt guilty in a way. He was bad with words, so he felt it was better if he kept his mouth shut. Hange didn’t mind, though. She enjoyed hearing him talk, as she found it very soothing. As he read, he felt her eyes on him. He finally finished reading his paper.
“I have a few suggestions on some wording, but besides that, I think it’s great,” Hange said, getting out of bed. She walked to Levi’s right, then squatted. Levi felt himself get nervous. She was really close. He thought she smelled good. 
“Scroll up a little…” she said, gesturing to him to scroll up. He did as she asked. “There. That sentence: ‘Medications used to treat Addison’s Disease include mineralocorticoids and glucocorticoids, such as fludrocortisone and hydrocortisone.’ It is kinda wordy. They’re both corticosteroids, so I think you should shorten it. You can mention the classes of the drugs in the next sentence, if you wanted to. Also, ‘A big teaching point includes following the steroid regimen exactly as prescribed. Abruptly discontinuing this medication will result in adrenal suppression.’ I think there is a better word to use than ‘big’. What about ‘important’, or ‘essential’ or ‘paramount’...”
He turned his head to look at her. Hange’s sentence had trailed off the moment he looked at her. She was stunned by his eyes. She hadn’t been this close to him, so that moment was the first time she could admire his eyes up close. They were a beautiful, piercing steel blue. When she realized he was staring back at her, she stood up, shaking out her legs nervously. 
“‘Paramount’ will do,” Levi said after a moment passed. He typed it in.
“Good job, Levi. You’ll score well with your paper,” Hange said, trying not to stutter. She meant it. She was proud of what he wrote.
“Thanks. I couldn’t have done it without your help, though, four-eyes.” Hange liked the nickname. She smiled and patted his shoulder before going back to sit on her bed. She grabbed her phone and realized she didn’t have his phone number. Did he have a phone? He must have. She thinks she saw him use it once. 
“If you need my computer again, or just wanna text, I can give you my number,” Hange blurted out. When Levi looked at her, he realized she wasn’t looking at him when she asked. He agreed, handing his phone to her. 
“Go for it,” he said. He was attempting to sound ‘cool’ (and it worked). Hange reached to grab his unlocked phone. She found his contacts and put her name and number in. She sent herself a text message from his phone. She was hoping he would text her more. When she closed out to the home screen, she noticed his background was a photo of him and a small, dark haired lady.
“Is this your mother?” Hange asked, handing his phone back to him.
He looked down at his phone and nodded. “Yeah. This photo is from my first day at the university.” He had swiveled the chair to face the bed and her. “I remember she was sad to see me go, but happy too. She was proud of me.” Hange’s heart swelled. Levi seemed to remember her with a bittersweet smile. Hange frowned a bit.
“Is something wrong?” Hange asked.
“I just… haven’t seen her in a while. I’ve been so busy with assignments and exams that I haven’t had time to go visit her. Every time I have free time, I’m studying or catching up on sleep...”
“I can take you,” Hange offered instantaneously. She didn’t even have to think about it. She wanted to help her friend.
Levi’s eyes widened. “What?”
“You have to get stuff done and I have a car on campus and a license Let me take you.” She explained. Before he could bud in, she continued. “What day would you like to go? This weekend? I’m free this weekend.”
“I’d never get any studying done if we did that,” Levi said. We. 
“You didn’t say no,” Hange retorted with a smirk. “I’ll be good. I won’t distract you. Promise.”
Levi took a deep sigh. He really wanted to, more than he let on. “Saturday morning works for me.”
-
A few days passed by and now Friday came along. Levi’s paper was due in three days, so he wanted to go to the library to revise it before printing and submitting it. He knew Hange worked on Friday’s too, so he had another motive. 
His class had ended, then he was on his way to the library. When he entered, he heard laughter. Don’t people know they’re supposed to be quiet in the library? He wondered, but he didn’t pay much mind to it. There was a blonde woman standing at the front of the counter, leaning over it. He heard Hange’s voice and laugh and felt his heart skip a beat.
“I gotta see if the patron needs help,” Hange said to the girl without noticing who walked in.
“Zoe, since when do you actually care about your job?” The blonde said playfully. Hange smiled and rolled her eyes. Zoe? Hange made her way around the desk and saw Levi standing, looking at some books in the entryway.
“Levi! Good to see you,” Hange said, pleasantly surprised. She held her hands behind her back. “Computer?”
“Yeah.”
“Very good, come here.” Hange walked towards the desk, then around it. Levi stayed on the opposing side. “Levi, this is Nanaba. Nanaba, this is Levi. Nanaba is my roommate.”
“Nice to meet you, Levi,” Nanaba said, smiling at him. He nodded, exchanging pleasantries. Hange wrote his name down on the paper. “Okay, Levi. You’re all set.” He muttered a “thanks'' and then set his stuff down by the computer. He heard Nanaba whispering something to Hange. She shook her head, waving at her to follow her towards the back. Hange didn’t want to disturb Levi, and she also didn’t want Levi to hear what they were talking about.
Hange and Nanaba sat down at the table in the break room. Hange sipped on a can of soda.
“That’s Levi?” Nanaba asked, punching Hange’s shoulder playfully.
“Yeah. He’s just my friend. I don’t know why you care so much.”
“You two were in our dorm… alone?! Do I need to clean the room again?”
“No! He just had to work on his project. My side of the room is messy, though.”
“Uh huh… I can tell by the way he looks at you that you two aren’t ‘just friends’ like you claim,” Nanaba concluded, leaning back and crossing her legs.
“I told you it’s nothing,” Hange reinforced, getting flustered and annoyed. “Besides, he wouldn’t even be attracted to someone like me anyways. I am extremely messy and clumsy. His shirts are never wrinkled, and he is always extremely clean and neat.”
Nanaba rolled her eyes. “Haven’t you heard of ‘opposites attract’?” Hange made a “pfft” sound.
“That’s such bullshit.” Hange felt like Nanaba was giving her false hope.
“Well you wouldn’t be asking me for advice on your crush then if you thought the whole ‘opposites attract’ thing was bullshit, would you? No.” 
The small bell above the entrance dinged, so Hange stood up. “Nanaba, I’ve got work to do, you know. That’s what you do at a job. Also, he is not my crush. ” Nanaba sighed and stood too. “I’ll see you at home.” She waved before walking ahead. “Bye, Levi. Nice to meet you.” She said in passing. Levi said “see you” to her. The patron who walked in was the same blonde guy with a big nose from last week. Levi recognized him.
“Mike!” Nanaba exclaimed, kissing his cheek. “Good to see you. Ready to go?” Mike nodded, taking her hand. “See you later, Zoe!” She called out before the couple left together. Hange and Levi were alone again. Hange came to the front of the library where Levi was. She sat down in the chair next to him. He turned to face her. Her cheeks were red.
“What time do you want to leave tomorrow?” Hange asked, crossing her legs. 
“Is 9 good? I wanna make sure I spend enough time with her.” Levi suggested. Hange smiled. 
“That’s fine. Just let me know when you want me to pick you up then. I can stay in the area, just send me the address.”
“You can stay, you know,” Levi offered. “You… don’t have to leave.” Hange looked shocked. She was very grateful for his offer.
“Are you sure? I mean, that’s very generous-”
“Don’t question me,” Levi said, looking back at the computer. That means ‘yes, I’m sure’.
“Thanks, Levi,” Hange said, standing up. “I’ll meet you at your dorm at 9 then we can get on the road.”
“Sounds good, Zoe.”
Hange woke up early the next day. She wanted to make sure everything went perfectly. She even got up early to clean out her car, which was a mess. It was full of junk. She had a pre-owned black four-seater that was well loved. She made it as clean as possible, making sure to wipe off the seats of any crumbs. It looked acceptable, and Hange went back inside. She realized at this point how long of a walk it was from her dorm to the parking lot. Nonetheless, she took the extra trip. She wanted to make a good impression. When she got back to her dorm, she packed a small backpack. Levi had texted her the address, and it was about an hour away. It was in the city, however, so it would probably take more time. She kept reminding herself to keep her mouth shut during the car ride to help him study.
She arrived at his dorm room a bit late, around 9:10. She felt really bad about this, but Levi didn’t seem to mind. Levi wore a grey university hoodie with black jeans. It was supposed to be cold today. Hange wore a black zip-up jacket with a pair of blue jeans and white sneakers. Her hair was half-up and half-down. Levi liked those colors on her. They headed for the elevator and walked to the parking lot. Hange omitted the part of her morning where she cleaned out her car as they talked about their mornings. They reached her car. She opened the trunk. He put his bag in the trunk and shut it.
“Don’t forget to keep your books in the front so you can study. I packed snacks. If you want any just let me know,” Hange said, unlocking the front door and getting in the car. 
“Thanks,” Levi said, getting in the car. He closed the door. Hange locked the car and opened her phone. She began searching his mom’s address on the GPS. It ‘dinged’ when it found her house, and she propped her phone up in the holder.
As Hange began to drive, she noticed how Levi murmurs to himself when he studies. She can hear him repeating medications to himself and reciting the cards. Hange smiled. She found it endearing. The roads were pretty busy. They had left by 9:30am. Hange enjoyed driving, however, she wasn’t the most safe driver. She would make sudden stops, jerking Levi and Hange forward in their seats. Levi was grateful his seatbelt worked. She would make sharp turns and didn’t allow the wheel to return when the turn was finished. With one of the stops, it threw the cards that were in his lap on the floor. Levi took a deep sigh, packing up his cards.
“Sorry, Levi.”
“I’m taking a break,” Levi said, closing his eyes. “I have this exam coming up and it’s all about antihypertensive medications. There are too many, I think I’m going to develop hypertension.”
Hange laughed out loud. “They aren’t that bad. You’ve gotta come up with songs and mnemonics to remember them, then it's easy!” Levi scoffed.
“Do I look like someone who comes up with songs to remember things?” Levi asked, crossing his arms.
“No,” Hange quickly replied. “But you happen to be sitting next to someone who does. Read some of the meds to me.”
“Oh, god. No,” Levi moaned, opening the window. The breeze made his hair blow in the wind. Hange was lucky enough to catch a glance. She caught a whiff of his shampoo.
“I will stop this car right now,” Hange threatened playfully, raising her voice. She made a jolting stop at a light. Levi jerked forward again and groaned.
“Fine.”
He pulled his cards out of his backpack again, finding the medication cards. “First are the ACE inhibitors. These medications include the -prils… Lisinopril, enalapril. These help lower the blood pressure by inhibiting the action of angiotension converting enzyme, which causes vasoconstriction. Adverse effects include high potassium, orthostatic hypotension, angioedema, persistent coughing…”
“Hmmm… ACE,” Hange said proudly. Levi shook his head in confusion. “What?”
“ACE: Angioedema, Cough, hypErkalemia.” Levi was shocked. “Thanks…” He murmured.
“Give me another one,” Hange challenged. Levi shuffled through his stack. “What about Beta blockers?”
“Ah…” Hange sighed. “Tell me about them. I only know so much, you know.” You can’t say you know then say I know that you only know so much. You are confusing, Levi thought.
“Beta blockers act on beta1 and beta2-adrenergic receptors, which can affect the heart, lungs, and bladder. These will lower blood pressure, as well as cause bradycardia, hypoglycemia, fatigue, and bronchospasms in patients with respiratory issues such as asthma and COPD,” Levi explained. Hange was so happy. She was helping him, and got to hear him talk. She decided at that moment that she loved his voice.
“Beta blockers seem to slow everything down,” Hange began. “Beta blockers make everything low and slow, right? They lower heart rate and blood pressure, they lower blood sugar, quote en quote ‘lower energy’ by causing fatigue… That’s what I would try to remember.”
Levi was impressed, and he isn’t impressed easily. She was extremely clever with her mnemonics, and she wasn’t even a pharmacology major.
“You are…” Levi began. Hange looked at him for a moment while they stopped at another light. He felt woozy, but in a good way. She looked nice. “Such a nerd.” Hange beamed.
“I’ll help you more later but I gotta focus on the road now. Levi smiled, putting his cards away. Hange noticed this, and turned the radio on. She got distracted trying to pick a channel, which made Levi frantic.
“I will pick a channel. Focus on the road, four-eyes,” He decided, shaking his head. His heart almost fell out of his chest. He made a mental note to never let her drive him anywhere again. Hange sighed, submissively agreeing, putting both hands on the wheel. They got into the city. Hange hadn’t been to the city often, even though it was not too far away. Levi disliked the city. It was too loud for him. Being out at the Uni didn’t make it as easy for him to sleep as he had originally thought. He was used to hearing the hustle and bustle of the city, that his ears buzzed with silence at night time on campus. Levi attempted to give Hange directions as they weaved their way through the busy roads. She almost got into two car accidents. She just laughed it off, but Levi was frazzled.
Finally, Levi thought. Out of the main city. Levi took a deep, deep breath. His mom lived on the outskirts of the city, which was very convenient. They were almost there. Hange finally found the house and pulled into the driveway. The house was small and a dark navy blue. Hange parked the car, and opened the trunk. She handed Levi his bag and they headed to the door. Hange was standing awfully close behind him which made him nervous. He knocked on the door.
A few moments later, the door opened. A beautiful lady opened the door. She had raven hair, steel blue eyes, and a beautiful smile.
“Levi!” She exclaimed, smiling wide. She hugged him. Levi patted her back, and Hange saw a smile creep on his face. “What a pleasant surprise!”
“Good to see you, mom. I wanted to visit.” They broke away and his mom peered over his shoulder. 
“Who’s this?”
“This is my friend, Hange,” Levi said, introducing Hange. She smiled and put out her hand. “It’s wonderful to meet you, Mrs. Ackerman.” His mom shook her hand.
“Call me Kuchel,” She insisted. She invited them in. 
“Hange actually drove me today,” Levi began, setting his bags down on the side. “I needed to study so she offered to drive…” He wasn’t sure why he told his mom this information. Maybe he felt he needed an excuse as to why he came with a girl.
“That’s so lovely! Well I’m glad the two of you decided to come down. Uncle Kenny will be stopping by later. I’m sure he’d be happy to see you. Miss Hange, are you staying for dinner?”
Hange blushed, scratching her head. “I’d love to, if that’s okay.”
“Great! Make yourself at home.”
Hange admired his house. It was very cozy and extremely neat. There was a big open living room area when they first walked in, a kitchen and dining room to their left, and other rooms to the right. It smelt of clean laundry. She liked it a lot. There were assorted pictures hung on the wall. She shoved her hands in her pockets as she admired the photos. Kuchel had a photo of Levi hanging, which Hange stared at for the longest. It was a photo of Levi with his mom at an event, most likely high school graduation. The photo was taken outside on a sunny day. He wore a blue cap and gown. Kuchel’s arm was around his shoulder, smiling wide. Levi wore a small smile. She saw another picture, which was of Kuchel and an older man with long hair. Hange suddenly felt a tug at her sleeve. Levi.
“Take your shoes off,” he said. Hange slipped her shoes off and put them on the rack. 
“Levi! Hange!” Kuchel called. “Would you like some tea?” They both agreed. They wandered into the small dining room and sat across from each other. Hange liked how Levi looked that day. He looked comfortable. His grey sweater made his eyes stand out. He almost caught her standing. Kuchel carefully brought over the steeped pot of tea and sat down at the head of the table.
“I boiled some earl grey tea, I hope that’s okay. That’s Levi’s favorite,” Kuchel said, cupping both her hands around the teacup. Levi picked his tea cup up by placing his fingers around the rim, taking a slow sip.
“Hange,” Kuchel said, smiling at the girl. “How do you guys meet?”
Oh great. Here she goes.
“Well, Levi happened to come to the library I work at to work on his project. I was able to help him out… Although I study botanicals, I read a lot so I know a lot about different topics. One of them happens to be drugs. Medications, I mean. So, anyways, he and I started talking and hanging out and whatnot. And here we are,” Hange explained. When she finished, she looked at Levi. He was staring at her. Her eyes lit up again, and Levi couldn’t look away. Doesn’t everyone know they shouldn’t stare into the sun?
“That’s lovely!” Kuchel exclaims. She sips her tea. “Levi usually doesn’t ask for help. But I’m glad you were able to help him. I remember back in elementary school, he would always insist on doing the projects himself. My stubborn boy. He gets that from me, you know. I can be so stubborn sometimes.” She took a pause, and Levi jumped in.
“Mom,” Levi intervened. Kuchel looked at her son. Kuchel could tell she may have been embarrassing him. “I’m gonna go study.” Come with me, Hange, he wanted to add. Hange finished her tea, and stood up. “Thank you for the tea, Kuchel. I’d love to hear more of your stories, but I offered to help Levi study.” Kuchel smiled, squeezing Hange’s shoulder.
“It’s okay, go on ahead.” The two nodded. Levi led her down the hall, and opened a door. It looked like Levi’s bedroom. It was extremely tidy. He also had a desk. It wasn’t too big, but did the job. He had some drawers with some photos on top. He kept the door open.
“You can take the desk chair. I’ll sit on the bed,” Levi concluded. He sat on the bed, pulling his knees up. He took out his drug flash cards.
“Levi, do you have a white board? Or poster board?” Hange asked. 
“Why?”
“You’ll see.” Levi remembered he had an easel in the back of his closet. He stood up to retrieve it. He finally set it up. It was wide, which was perfect. It’s spotless, Hange thought. It’s like he never used it.
“My mom got this for me but I have yet to use it,” Levi said. Did he hear me?
“Okay,” Hange began. “So, we talked about ACE inhibitors and Beta Blockers, right? So, let’s go through the rest and compare them all.” She took out a purple marker, beginning to write on the board. In the center, she wrote “Anti-HTN Meds”. She drew an arrow to the left corner, writing “ACE Inhibitors” and writing all its information. She did the same with Beta Blockers.
“What’s next?” Hange asked, looking at Levi.
“Thiazide diuretics,” Levi sighed. “This is HCTZ. It helps lower blood pressure by removing fluids from the body, resulting in diuresis. Side effects include hypokalemia and hyponatremia, orthostatic hypotension.” Hange wrote as he spoke. He was surprised she can write so fast. 
“Okay! So, it seems that a common theme is orthostatic hypotension, no?” She questioned, not facing him. She grabbed a red marker to write “orthostatic hypotension” and replaced the other one written. As Levi read off multiple classifications of medications, Hange created the web. She made a map that connected the similarities of the medications, while making it organized enough to understand the differences. Levi was impressed for the second time that day. Hange was sincerely helping him conceptualize and comprehend the information. Then, he realized Hange hadn’t sat down since they began studying. 
“Oi, don’t break your back,” Levi said. 
“Haha! I’m fine! I’ve only been standing since around 11 am...” She took her phone out of her pocket and turned it on for the time. “...it’s almost 3 now! Wow! We really pushed through for hours! That’s fantastic!” She smiled wide at him, but Levi could tell she was exhausted from standing.
Levi hopped off his bed. “Lay down,” He ordered. Hange furrowed her brows, but didn’t protest. She sprawled supine on his bed, sighing. “Thanks, Levi,” She exhaled, closing her eyes. His bed was still a bit warm from when he was occupying it. It was lower than her bed at her dorm, but she liked it. 
“Let’s take a break,” Levi decided. He had a small flatscreen TV mounted on the wall in his room. He walked to the TV to grab the remote, and turned it on. He admired Hange for a brief moment as he passed her to sit in the desk chair. She looked tired. He put on a crime documentary. Hange perked up automatically. Her eyes widened with interest.
“Honestly, I’m not surprised you like these,” Levi assumed. She chuckled and replied: “I guess we’re both freaks after all.” It made Hange’s heart happy that they had something in common. She was worried Levi wouldn’t like her since she was so different from him, but maybe she had a chance now. She was so absorbed in the show that she didn’t realize Levi left the room to grab something to eat. Levi greeted his mom.
“Hi, honey,” Kuchel responded. “How’s Hange?”
“She’s fine. I wanted to get us something to eat.”
“Oh! You’re in luck,” Kuchel cheered, opening a cabinet to grab two bowls. “I just heated up some soup for myself. Would you like some? It’s wild rice.”
“Sounds good,” Levi replied. Kuchel filled two bowls. 
“She’s pretty, your friend Hange,” Kuchel said. She wasn’t facing Levi when she spoke. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you two ended up dating. You seem to like her a lot.” Levi felt his face flush bright red.
“Thanks for the food,” He ignored her comment, taking the bowls to his room. He made sure to keep his face out of his mother’s sight. Kuchel giggled softly to herself. She knew he wouldn’t dare to reply to a comment that he knew was true.
He came back to the room with the two bowls. “Here’s lunch,” He said, handing her the bowl. Hange was sitting with her knees to her chest, intently staring at the screen. She looked toward him when he spoke, accepting the bowl in two cupped hands. “Thank you!” She smiled wide. He smiled too. He loved her smile. “When did you get this, anyways?”
“I left the room to get it. I said, ‘Hange, I’m getting us lunch.’ You didn’t hear me?”
Hange chuckled in embarrassment. “I guess I was too absorbed in the show. Sorry.” Levi shook his head lightly and sat down. He attempted to move the chair closer to the bed without her noticing. He was successful. Hange was sitting up on the bed with her legs criss-crossed, bowl in her lap. Levi was cross-legged in the desk chair, which was right next to the bed. Hange didn’t seem to mind or even notice until she had turned to look to her right, and she realized Levi was so close to her. His face was really close. He felt her staring, but couldn’t dare to look back. His heart would’ve exploded. 
“You’re staring is creeping me out, four-eyes,” Levi said, startling Hange.
“Oh, yeah?” Hange chuckled. She suddenly grabbed his chin and turned his head towards hers. His wide eyes were staring into hers now. He felt like his heart was about to explode. “What about now?”
“...Creep,” He murmured. The tone of his voice changed entirely compared to his previous statement. Hange noticed this. His voice was soft and nervous. Levi felt his whole body start to heat up. He felt his heart throbbing in his head. He felt his breath hitch in his throat. He gently placed his hand on her cheek. She accepted his touch. He leaned in hesitantly, closing his eyes. Hange did the same, and finally there was no space between them anymore. Their lips collided.  She kissed his lips softly, as if she was nervous to kiss too hard. Levi had kissed girls before, but it was never like this. Never so emotional. Never so breathtaking. Never so soft or warm or gentle. He never wanted it to end. He was smitten by her. Their lips parted. She wasn’t extremely close after they parted, but she kept her eyes focused on his. Hange felt her heart pulsating in her chest. He looked into her rich hazel eyes again. He swore he fell in love with her in that instant.
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hereyoucantseeme · 3 years
Text
The Host, cogitations about ethics and morals.
The Host has always been my favourite book and the truth is that nobody understands why. They always say "How can it be your favourite book? You're 21 years old, study science and that book is a love novel for teenagers" (I think that is not reason enough not to be, but anyway) I have decided to explain here why, in my opinion, people underestimate this book.
When you have this book on your hands for the first time, on the back cover you can read that the book is about a love story. And that is right, but people are closed to the love of a romantic relationship for teenagers (which too) judging by the section of the bookstore from which they have taken this book and they read with that preconceived idea in their heads which, unfortunately, does not let them see the deep interior that this story has.
WARNING, SPOILERS.
I think the part of the book that we can learn the most from is (more or less) when Wanda decides to stop at Picacho Peak, since this point, it is a mere introduction. Melanie gets Wanda to reach a somewhat more objective point of view since she "forces" her to empathize with her situation. During the book cogitations are made on what good and evil implies and on what is good or bad that, although it defies logic, are not always linked.
The author exposes two realities, one is the society of souls, in which everyone is kind, empathetic and helps each other. We could say that they are doing good, right? In the same way, souls speak of an enemy, the Vultures. But would not the role of souls on earth be the same as that of Vultures on the first planets where souls settled after The Orgin? They say that their enemies were really bad with the inhabitants of these planets but they "fixed" it. On the other side are humans, who act violently against souls but, although the latter refuse to realize it, they behaved with humans like Vultures on other planets. I don't mean to say that the end justifies the means, but in this case, don't humans have the right to claim what is theirs? In this case, although violence is associated with evil, these people fight for the only thing left in the world, their lives and the lives of the people they love and that could be understood as something that is right. How do you get away from the reality that you have been taught to see and learn to be objective? It is something really difficult since each point of view supposes a different reality (yes, I think I'm more or less quoting Qui Gon Jinn), but I think that being objective means assuming the point of view that generates more benefits and less damage without take into account our personal situation. This book teaches us this very well.
Another point to discuss about the book is trust, how can we learn to trust the unknown? I don't want to say "trust an enemy" because I just don't see it that way. As Ian says, Wanda would be nothing more than a private under the misdeeds of her commander, she would not be explicitly the enemy, if not an unknown. 
This world has taught us not to trust, (I personally don't usually trust anyone, I only trust three people and two of them are my parents, and if I don't trust them turn off and let's go*) but if someone shows us that their intentions are good in all its fullness, why does it still cost us so much? Doc exposes himself to us as someone with the ability to understand and make people understand and he acts with kindness as one would expect from a doctor [I must say that he is my favorite character in the book (yes, obviously Ian goes  after him, Ian is lovely, let no one suffer) but, seriously, what were they thinking about in the casting of the movie? THAT'S NOT DOC, it should have been Jake Abel. Well, almost no character fits but we better not go there], he does not hesitate to distrust the medicines that Wanda takes to save Jamie. In this case, this lack of confidence may be due to pride, it hurts him as a doctor not to be able to heal someone he loves and that, instead, someone comes with a magic potion and heals him as if it were a miracle. But Doc deep down understands that Jamie's health is above anything else. However, what about the other characters? What about, for example, Sharon? (What was Doc doing with Sharon? Ehh, no, I mean, they don't even glue, sorry, Doc deserves someone better). Sharon, by not trusting Wanda mired in her stubbornness, was capable of letting her little cousin die. And she also left Doc, who was supposedly the love of her life, because he trusted in something that, to human eyes, was strange. It could also be about envy but I don't want to extend this too much since envy is something that we usually perceive easily without anyone having to show it. Finally I would like to highlight the case of Jared, it seems to me that it was the most difficult for him to trust and he was the one who did it with more strength and security. Maybe it was because he had nothing else left to hold on to but, if anything, he had faith in Wanda when it was more difficult for him to trust her (Jeb had a great judgment because of his age and, moreover, it was his niece's body, which did not interfere sentimentally, and Jamie played with the benefit of the innocence of children, for whom it is easier to trust and believe). He had to put his prejudices and feelings behind him to keep a cold head and act objectively and I think that's commendable.
We are also taught to forgive. Not only in the most obvious moment, when Kyle apologizes for trying to kill Wanda (Kyle, I must admit, is a character that seems somewhat comical to me, perhaps because, in a less violent way, he reminds me of close people. We all know a Kyle), I mean more hidden moments in the book. When Jamie approaches Wanda for the first time after she was released from her makeshift prison (the second time he has seen her in history), it is understood that he has forgiven her, he has forgiven her taking away her sister, the closest thing that he had to a mother. Although Wanda apologized later, by that time he had already forgiven her. Melanie, by allying with Wanda, makes it clear that she has been forgiven since her intentions were not really bad. In the same way, all the characters forgive through Wanda all the evils that souls have done to them. It is not easy to know how to forgive and even less in certain circumstances, but this book shows us that it is possible, but we must want to forgive.
Finally, The Host teaches us to love. Not the love that Wanda feels for Jared, in fact that is an example of the only meaning that today they usually give to love someone. Love implies sacrificing for another person, doing everything possible to make the other feel happy. She loves Melanie because she knows that she is a friend whom, after all they have lived together, she can trust. She loves Jamie because she knows that in the child there is only kindness and sincerity. She loves Doc because she knows he is a man of his word and that he would not harm anyone, not like many other people in this world. When Wanda saves Kyle from falling into the water, she does it, mainly because of her affection for Ian, she doesn't want him to suffer for losing his brother. I believe that to know how to love others you have to get rid of any desire for evil towards the other and learn to appreciate their virtues and defects, because each person is unique, otherwise we would be like the souls that, lacking defects, are identical and incapable of loving.
Ultimately, it seems to me that the book shows us Wanda as an allegory of the hidden virtues in each person that, perhaps out of fear, we are unable to show others. I hope you now understand why this is my favorite book. And these are things that are very difficult to find in other stories, so it seems to me that it has a very special value and that almost no one, unfortunately, is able to appreciate.
I'm sorry if there is any mistake or some quote or reference that may be wrong, I'm Spanish and I have read the book in my native language. Thank you for reading!
*Spanish expression that means there is nothing left to do
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ga-yuu · 3 years
Text
~Yoshitsune~Main Story Chapter 5~Part 2
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Part 1
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--------Part 4-------
Yoshitsune: "The moon looks beautiful tonight. Whether you see it's from Hiraizumi or Kamakura, it's just as beautiful."
(By the way, I was thinking....)
Yoshitsune-sama's words suddenly reminded me of the time we met.
Yoshino: "You said you came to Kamakura alone, right?"
Yoshitsune: "Yeah. But if Benkei finds out, he'll keep nagging me."
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(Benkei-san.....he's that scary person, right?)
(So unexpectedly, he seems overprotective....)
Yoshino: "So what's the actual reason for coming to Kamakura?"
Yoshitsune: "Well..."
I felt that the Yoshitsune-sama's eye color grew darker for some reason.
There is a small silence between gasps and a slightly lower voice echoing in the wind.
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Yoshitsune: "I wanted to take one last look at the town before it gets destroyed in the war."
(For the last time...)
Yoshino: "So you have lived in Kamakura, before?"
Yoshitsune: "Yes. It was when I was under Yoritomo. I had a certain affection for Kamakura, but....Soon after the Genpai War, I was banished my Yoritomo."
Yoshino: "So that's it...."
(To be banished by your own brother out of all the people....is heart breaking.)
Yoshitsune: "That's why I've come here, to make my last appearance. ....This town and its people. It's just how I remember."
His face casted a variety of emotions and I'm sure he's the only one who knows how that feels."
(But...I feel like I was able to touch Yoshitsune-sama's heart just a little bit.)
When, both of us, stopped talking, and let ourselves be consumed by silence-----
???: "Hey, are you there?"
(I just heard a kid's voice....?)
A little boy emerged from the trees.
Boy: "....Why? Why isn't he here?"
Yoshino: "What's wrong? Are you looking for someone?"
Boy: "Ah!"
The boy noticed us and comes running in our way.
Boy: "Have you seen my brother, big sis? He's was wearing a dark blue kimono...."
Yoshino: "No, I haven't."
Boy: "Oh..."
Yoshitsune-sama looks at the boy who is in daze and opens his mouth.
Yoshitsune: "Did you and your brother got separated?"
The boy's shoulders shook for a moment at the quiet question.
Eventually, he started getting scared.
Boy: "Yeah....we had a fight and he ran off."
Yoshino: "Oh, that worries me."
(Already the street is crowded with people, so its' hard to find someone once you get lost....)
Boy: "It was my fault. But, maybe he shouldn't have ran off like that......I searched for him a lot, but I couldn't find him...
The boy squeezes his little hands together and tears well up in his eyes.
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Boy: "I'm sure he doesn't like me anymore...."
(That's right....when you have a fight, you can't help but feel anxious.)
Yoshino: "Don't worry----"
When I opened my mouth----
Yoshitsune: "No younger brother can hate his brother that easily."
-------Part 5--------
Yoshitsune: "No younger brother can hate his brother that easily."
(Yoshitsune-sama....?)
The boy also blinked at Yoshitsune-sama's words.
Boy: "You think so....?"
Yoshitsune: "Yes."
Gently, he placed his palm on the little boy's head.
Yoshitsune: "But from now on, get along okay? Because one person can't stay on the same path forever."
(Ah......)
Yoshitsune-sama's face illuminated by the moonlight, was kind of sad.
(I've never seen anyone look so sad.)
Though, his outer expression is completely dead....
My heart clenches at the emotions that are quietly wavering behind his eyes.
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(Why do you have such look?)
I was irresistible curious, but....
(......Now, this child and finding his brother is more important.)
I looked at the boy and opened my mouth.
Yoshino: "If you don't mind, can I help you find your brother?"
Boy: "You will?"
Yoshino: "Of course!"
Yoshitsune: "Okay, let's find him together."
Yoshino: "You're coming too!?"
Boy: "Thank you! Thank you very much."
(But...)
I gently asked Yoshitsune-sama.
Yoshino: "Are you sure? What if someone sees your face?"
Yoshitsune: "You're right, but also....No one would even imagine me attending a festival with a woman and kid."
Yoshino: "Oh, I get it..."
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Yoshitsune: "And if somehow, someone recognize me, I can make my own escape."
(He's looks so confident.)
Yoshino: "....If you say so."
Yoshitsune-sama stands up and looks around.
Yoshitsune: "We were here for a while now, but we haven't seem any kids. Let's go and check the town."
Yoshino: "You're right. The festival lights might lure him out."
I stood up and offered the boy my hand.
Yoshino: "Want to hold hands with me? It's better not to get lost in the crowd, right?"
Boy: "You're right!"
The boy takes my hand with a big smile.
Then, the boy boldly offers his hand to Yoshitsune-sama.
Boy: "Big brother, you too!"
Yoshitsune: "....!"
(Eerrmm....)
Yoshino: "Umm....big brother is...um..not really that kind of person...."
Yoshitsune: "Okay, let's hold hands."
(Ehh)
Yoshitsune-sama took the boy's hands who asked plainly.
Boy: "Mm! Let's go, let's go!!"
Yoshino: "Wait...slow down!"
The boy started walking happily while pulling both of us along the way.
(....This is weird. I wonder what we look like to people who sees us.)
(A family? No, no, no. No onw would be that dumb to think that.....right?)
As I saw the festival lights coming closer and closer, my heart started pounding.
(What does Yoshitsune-sama think of this?)
When I looked at him to see what he was thinking....
(Of course. He's expressionless. How could I forget?)
........................
The town was filled with more people than before.
Yoshitsune: "He doesn't seem to be here.....let's check elsewhere."
Yoshino: "Okay."
(I hope we can find him soon...)
Boy: "....Look!"
Yoshitsune: "...! Did you find him?"
~~~Because I Know Your Sorrow. (Normal Story)~~~
Yoshitsune-sama and I were walking around town in search of a little boy's younger brother, who we met by chance.
Yoshitsune: "He doesn't seem to be here.....let's check elsewhere."
Yoshino: "Okay."
(I hope we can find him soon...)
Boy: "....Look!"
Yoshitsune: "...! Did you find him?"
Suddenly the boy stopped as if he noticed something.
Boy: "Look! That pinwheel...! Isn't it pretty?"
Yoshino: "True. It's so colorful!"
Boy: "I don't see those every day. Isn't festivals cool!"
Yoshitsune: "Do you want one?"
Boy: "....Ah! You'll buy it for me? But...I feel bad for letting you buy me..."
Even as the boy says this, his eyes were fixed on the pinwheel.
Yoshitsune: "Wait here."
(Eh?)
Yoshitsune-sama goes to the store and buys two pinwheels. He comes back and presented to the boy.
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Yoshitsune: "You should give one to your brother when you see him. It's to help you two to make up." (To be honest, when I first played this route, I thought he bought one of the pinwheels for Yoshino....because, you know she's so underaged.)
Boy: "...Thank you, big brother!"
(.....Yoshitsune-sama is so kind towards children.)
I can't help but smile at the two of them.
Yoshino: "Good for you! I'm sure your brother will be very happy too."
Boy: "Yes!"
The boy carefully puts the pinwheel on his obi with great care.
..............
Yoshitsune: "He doesn't seem to be here too. Let's check elsewhere."
After searching the area for some time, we decided to check the next area, when-----
Boy: "....!!! Wait! I think I heard my brother!"
Yoshino: "Really? Where?"
We cut through the crowd and went a little further.
Boy: "There!"
Younger brother: "nnn....uh....brother.....nnn..."
(Is that his brother....!)
We saw a small child in a dark blue kimono crying on the side of the street.
Yoshitsune: "Is he your brother?"
Boy: "Yes!"
The boy instantly released his hands from ours and rushed to his younger brother.
Boy: "HEYY!"
Younger brother: "!!"
With his face full of tears, the younger brother hugged his older brother.
Younger brother: "Nn...I'm sorry....I'm sorry for running away!"
(I think he was really scared that he and his brother had a fight and got separated.)
Boy: "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have done that.... But, I'm glad you're safe..."
Yoshitsune: "Our job is done here."
Yoshino: "Yeah....!"
The boy turned to us with a big smile.
Boy: "Big brother, big sis. Thank you for helping me! From now on, I'll be a friend to my brother!"
Yoshitsune: "Of course."
(!!)
Yoshitsune-sama's face shows a faint smile. So faint that you'll miss it if you won't pay attention.
Yoshino: "Be careful on your way home, okay?"
Boy: "Don't worry! Our house is close by."
The boy gives one of the pinwheels to his younger brother and smiles at him.
After watching the two brothers walk away happily hand in hand, I turned to Yoshitsune-sama.
Yoshino: "I'm happy that they made up."
Yoshitsune: ".....Me too."
(Yoshitsune-sama...?)
Yoshitsune(expressionless): "...................."
Yoshitsune-sama amethyst eyes shined while watching the backs of the two boys.
(What is Yoshitsune-sama thinking right now....?)
(I thought I had touched Yoshitsune-sama's heart a little, but I still don't understand.)
I felt far away from him, though we were standing next to each other.
Yoshino: "......Okayyy, looks like, it's time for me to go home."
Yoshitsune: "Same here."
....................................
We walked slowly together and before we knew it, we reached the street on the other side of the Imperial Palace.
Yoshitsune-sama's shadow suddenly stopped in the middle of the bridge.
Yoshino: "Yoshitsune-sama?"
The next moment, I looked at Yoshitsune-sama.
Yoshitsune: "I'll stop here. I don't want to come close to the Imperial Palace. Can you go from here, Yoshino?"
(Aha...)
Yoshino: "Soooo, when did you decide you'll walk me home, Yoshitsune-sama?"
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Yoshitsune: "----While you were busy looking around Kamakura.
With his eyes downcast, Yoshitsune-sama smiled faintly.
(You could have just left me behind in the streets like that....but, you didn't.)
Once I started living in Kamakura, I heard many scary and inspiring stories about Yoshitsune-sama
I also know that the closer he gets to the Imperial Palace, the more dangerous it is for Yoshitsune-sama. But still, he was sweet enough to bring me here without saying a word.
Yoshino: "....Thank you very much!"
(I still can't bring myself to believe that such a kind person....is an enemy of Yoritomo-sama.)
There must be a severe reason for this.
With all the courage I could muster, I opened my mouth.
Yoshino: "Umm....what does Yoshitsune-sama think of Yoritomo-sama?"
Yoshitsune: "....................."
---A gust of wind passes between us.
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Yoshitsune(icy glare): "I hate that man."
Yoshino: "!!!"
I hold my breath when I looked at the murderous glint in his eyes.
There was a feeling of anger and sadness in the air.
I knew I couldn't ask him anymore, so I stopped myself.
(But....it doesn't look like you entirely just hate him.)
--------FLASHBACK-------
Yoshitsune: "No younger brother can hate his brother that easily."
............
(His words sounded like they were referring to 'someone'.... And that someone has to be....)
(....Not only Yoshitsune-sama!)
.............
Yoritomo: "We may be brothers, but our upbringings were different."
Yoshino: “Really? Then, when did you both first meet….”
Yoritomo: “When I was raising an army against the Heike. Yoshitsune came all the way with a small force to join us. For a brother, he has never met, he was ready to help just after receiving my message.”
Yoshino: “But, why would….Yoshitsune-sama suddenly rush to your aide?”
Yoritomo: “—–I don’t know. Well, it’s true that he’s made the fight a lot easier.”
------FLASHBACK ENDS-----
(I'm not entirely sure about this, but I think Yoritomo-sama didn't really hate Yoshitsune-sama either.)
(If that's true then.....)
Yoshino: "Is there no other way but to kill each other?"
Yoshitsune: "This is the fate we chose."
Yoshino: "But----"
Yoshitsune: "But what?"
My words were interrupted by the voice of Yoshitsune-sama.
Yoshitsune: "Why do you care so much? You just got involved in all of this, right? Whether Yoritomo and I hate each other or kill each other....why does it matter to you?"
Yoshino: "Even so---."
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(I......want to know more about Yoshitsune-sama.)
My heart was warm as I felt so many emotions rushing towards me.
Yoshitsune: "Yoshino."
Yoshino: "Ah...."
His hand suddenly reached out to touch my cheek----
Yoshitsune: ".....Sorry."
Squeezing my hand finally, he turned and walked away.
(Yoshitsune-sama....)
His figure gets smaller and smaller and all I could do was to stand there and watch him disappear.
Chapter 6
16 notes · View notes
boymeetsweevil · 4 years
Text
the shape you make
Grouping: Reader x Johnny
Word Count: ~4.1k
Warnings/Themes: Halloweentown AU (again), body insecurity, slight allusions to speciesism, graphic smut, communication issues (as always), a very thirsty work friend
Summary: For both you and Johnny, there is something big holding you back from being intimate. At the yearly Harvest party, that something big becomes something known.
A/N: This fic is part of The Intimacy Anthology, and then Halloween came and ate it :) If you’re interested in the project and/or would like to see the works from the other talented artists, click the link!
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“—I mean, we’re doing fine. I would say it’s perfect except for one thing.”
You frown down at the dragonling wriggling in your hands, partially in pity for him. Snickerdoodle is in for his first-ever check up and by the way he tries to burrow into the front pocket of your uniform, you can tell he’s uncomfortable. It’s likely that the coolant pills given to suppress fire during examinations are upsetting his stomach. You pat his rough belly. 
The rest of your frown is dedicated to a predicament you face with your boyfriend. 
You’ve been dating Johnny for three months. After being set up by two mutual friends who thought you’d be a good pair, you hit things off and decided to see where things would go. The issue was, while you’d had many a good conversation and even met his mother, you still hadn’t let Johnny get to know the real you. Which meant things between you felt too good to be true and you were preparing for an inevitable rebuff.
“What’s the problem again? He doesn’t want to go with you to the Harvest party?” 
Your coworker Nautilanita ruffles her wings anxiously as she hunts for the correct syringe for dragon skin and a few treats to distract Snickerdoodle. 
“No, we’re going to the Harvest party. The problem is that I want to go further with Johnny, but I don’t think I actually can.”
“Oh. That’s what I thought you said. But he’s literally perfect, so I figured I misheard you.” 
You roll your eyes. Despite being pair-bonded to another lovely griffin for almost 13 mating cycles, something about Johnny turns your friend into putty.
“I think that’s the problem. He’s hot, he’s sweet, he’s funny—”
“Ehh. I don’t think I’ve heard a great joke from him yet.”
“He’s funny in that cute, corny way.”
“Fair.” Nautilanita approaches Snickerdoodle with a dried newt and distracts him just long enough to give him the first of his vaccinations. “So, what, you don’t like perfect guys?”
“It’s not like that. It’s more like he treats me like I’m perfect.”
“Okay, did you just come here to brag?”
The flat look on Nautilanita’s face is enough to startle a laugh out of you. You’re glad for the tiny distraction and allow some nervous energy to leave you.
“You know what I mean. There’s things he doesn’t know about me that I’m pretty sure could ruin us. I’m not the perfect person he thinks I am.”
“What does not perfect mean?”
Nautilanita hands you a needle and switches places with you, scooping up Snickerdoodle. You take up a new syringe to draw some blood from between his wings for the examination. With quick work, you watch the gold liquid fill the barrel of the syringe.
“It sounds dumb when I say it out loud,” you whine while taking the blood away to the chemistry machine. Nautilanita smiles softly at you.
“That probably means it is dumb. And that you don’t have to worry about it.”
“You’ve seen Johnny, though.”
“Yes. Of course I have,” Nautilanita sighs dreamily. If it were anyone else, you might get jealous.
“He’s athletic and super buff. He’s normal. And I...”
“Yeah, I’m gonna stop you there. This is dumb. Do you think Johnny is a shallow guy?”
“Of course I don’t. I know he isn’t.”
“Then do you really think he’s gonna just drop you because you’re not 'normal’? I still don’t even get what that means.”
“No, but—”
The machine beeps and Nautilanita hands Snickerdoodle back to you to collect the sample.
“But what?”
“But I what if he doesn’t want me? What if he can’t be attracted to me?”
“Have you and Johnny kissed?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“More than once?”
“Yes.”
“And has he ever initiated a kiss?”
“Sure, lots of times.”
“Then I think he finds you attractive.”
You grimace to yourself. It sounded so easy put that way though you weren’t sure if Nautilanita even understood your worry. Maybe sitting down at that Leprechaun-run cafe after work with Nautilanita would help make your predicament clear, but at the moment you felt too exhausted. In an ideal world, it would be just as easy as Nautilanita said.
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“What do you think?”
Mark holds up two button down shirts to his front for Johnny to compare. One is a saturated red and the other is a muted periwinkle blue.
“Blue one, easy.”
“Thanks. I’d ask Yeri, but she’s gonna be working almost up until the Harvest party. You’re lucky.”
“I don’t know who you’re calling lucky. I put sweat and tears into my outfits because I pick them all myself.”
“That’s bull. That one with the turtleneck and chains two weeks ago? There’s no way that was all you.”
“What? Yes it was”
Johnny tries not to eye the Harvest outfit he has laying on the chair at the other end of his room. The one that he’d recruited you into helping him with, over the duration of several days.
“Hmm. Not even when you’re shopping? Like when you’re in the fitting room and kind of flirting a little bit? Not even then?”
“Didn’t know you were such a hoe, Mark.”
"I have layers,” is all he says with flushing cheeks.
He’s glad Mark didn’t notice he avoided the question because the truth is that he’s never had such a moment with you. He’d like to, though. He’d like to be able to take you shopping with him, like normal couples do. Maybe you’d manage to sneak into the fitting rooms and give him a stack of things you’d want to see him in. Maybe half the time he’d come out shirtless just to see your reaction. Maybe at the end he’d pull you into the fitting room with him after one too many appreciative glances from you. But he can’t.
You’ve actually never seen him shirtless. Despite the fact that his thoughts sometimes go that direction when at the gym. Despite the fact that all his friends, Mark included, seem to think he’s already long since seen you bare and bared himself for you.
“You okay?” Mark asks when the minutes have ticked by and the conversation has screeched to a halt.
“Yeah, yeah. Just thinking.”
“What about?”
“What if, just as a scenario, we hadn’t done anything other than kiss.”
Mark’s eyes widen in the middle of folding his shirts and though he tries to hide the reaction, Johnny catches it.
“You mean you and—”
“Yeah.”
“So, just a peck or...”
“No! It’s definitely gotten, uh, intense. But I haven’t ever taken off my clothes in front of her or anything.”
Mark tilts his head, eyes narrowed above Johnny’s head. “Because you don’t want to?”
“That’s the thing. I do. But I’m pretty sure I’m not her usual...type.”
“Have you gone through a catalogue of her past relationships and found her type?”
“No, but—”
“Has she said she doesn’t like certain things about you?”
“...No.”
“Then why do you think that?”
“Well—”
The chimes of an alarm on his phone interrupt his explanation. Johnny turns off the alarm and gets up to the bathroom. He leaves the door open, not worried about privacy in the company of his best friend. Over the sound of running water and the aerosol of shaving cream leaving its canister he continues.
“I don’t want to make things awkward for her.”
“I mean, if you want her to look at you that way, that’s important. Even if she does have a type.”
“Right,” Johnny mumbles while running his razor under the tap. 
Mark comes to lean against the doorframe of the bathroom to hear better. Johnny’s lips purse at Mark’s reflection in the mirror. He feels torn.
“And if you’re wrong, then you can just move forward.”
“Right.” 
Right?
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This year, the Harvest party is being hosted at the mayor’s house instead of at a corporate venue. There are probably hundreds of guests on the property all milling about and giving you a calming sense of anonymity. Johnny texted you earlier that evening telling you where you could find him when you finally left the vet clinic and made it to the party.
A few friends stop you to make small talk and instead of telling them you have to go meet Johnny, you let them delay you. A nymph from work brings you to the large kitchen to eat some rare berries she brought. Another friend from work ushers you onto the main floor to spin you a few times while a song that you like plays.
When the song changes, you exchange goodbyes and stumble off from them. Unfortunately, you bump into Nautilanita, who you had also technically been avoiding.
“Look who it is,” Nautilanita‘s talons curve dangerously around the stem of a wine glass.
“Oh, hey.”
“Guess who I ran into half an hour ago.”
“Who?”
“Guess.”
“Johnny?”
“Mhm. Your boyfriend,” Nautilanita snaps. “Why was he asking me where you were? I had to lie and say you got held back at work.”
“You weren’t required to do that,” you point out. Nautilanita narrows slitted eyes at you.
“I’m guessing you haven’t sat down and talked with him yet.”
“I haven’t. I do plan to, though. I’m just...”
“Nervous?”
You nod and suddenly Nautilanita is grabbing your arm and pulling you over to a darker corner of the house. There’s a group of people huddled loosely near the basement door, light smoke wafting up from where their heads are craned down.
“What are we doing?”
“Getting you some extra courage.”
“Nautilanita,” you hiss before darting your heard around your surroundings. “Did you forget we have weekly drug tests at work?”
“I’m not getting you drugs. I’m getting you some courage. It’s legal, I think.”
You stand off from the group, confused, as Nautilanita chats with the lady in the middle of the huddle. A witch, based off the purple ring she wears. The witch reaches into her bag when Nautilanita does actually ask for courage by name. Nautilanita returns with a small bag of bright yellow orbs that flash welcomingly in the low lighting.
“Open.”
You open your mouth obediently and chew the little rubbery yellow ball until it bursts into your mouth. It tastes a bit like dish soap but you swallow it.
“How long does this last?”
“10 minutes.”
“You mean I only have 10 minutes to find him and tell him everything?”
“Well, 9 minutes and 55 seconds now.”
You push past Nautilanita to circle back through the crowd and climb the staircase to where Johnny said he’d be on the second floor. He’s not in the billiard room at the end of the hall, but someone there points you toward one fo the guest rooms. When you find him he’s sitting in an arm chair in a corner guest room, scrolling on his phone when you enter abruptly.
“Hey.”
“Hey,” he puts his phone down and makes his way over to you. “Why are you out of breath?”
“I, uh, ran up the stairs.”
“You ran up the stairs to see little ol’ me?”
Johnny’s smile is bright and genuine and suddenly you feel a rush of something. It must be the courage. You throw yourself into his waiting arms and press your face to his chest. He should know, you think. He deserves to know.
You’re about to pull away and confess to him, but then he’s lifting your chin with a finger. His smiles bleeds into his eyes and softens into something you think you could swim in. He leans down and catches your mouth in a kiss.
Instead of worrying about the courage running out, you focus on the kiss. With your eyes closed you can properly lose yourself in the feeling of the hard muscle under his soft sweater. The sweater he chose after frantic consultation with you. 
Emboldened by the way you relax into him, Johnny pushes further into your space. His bangs tickle your face when he swivels his head and presses a fuller kiss to your lips. Warm hands creep a slow path up from the flare of your hips to the hem of your work shirt. His breath hitches a little in a puff against your cheek when you push up into him and kiss him harder. His hands come to anchor himself on your lower torso again. This time your movements have pulled your work shirt up to expose your stomach. 
The drag of the skin of his fingers on your lower back has you yanking yourself back with darting eyes and a shaky smile. It pains you to ruin the momentum of the moment, but you know that if you don’t explain yourself before your clothes are supposed to come off, you don’t know how things will end. You’re not expecting to look up and find Johnny’s eyes filled with something that looks akin to fear. 
“Shit—I’m sorry.” He rocks back on his heels and lets his gaze bounce around the corners of your face looking for a cue. “Should we talk about this?” 
You think about the 10 minutes you have, and how much of it could possibly be left.
“Y-yeah.”
You gravitate towards the guest bed and he follows with a flop.
“I hope you know I don’t want to pressure you into anything,” he offers.
“I know you weren’t. It was just getting kinda heavy there for a second.”
“And you don’t want that to happen.”
“I want to make sure you still want to.”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“Because...I haven’t been totally honest with you.”
Johnny can feel the prick of sweat at his hairline and across his shoulders. He kind of wishes you would just tell him you know what he’s hiding so he can begin to adjust. He knows it’s not what Mark would suggest, but he doesn’t want to lose you.
“I know humans say they like magical folk, but being friends with the magicals and being with them is really different.”
“Yeah, sure.”
“And even if they really are fine with us, they probably still would prefer to be with other humans.”
He nods, and then replays your words in his head. You said ‘us’.
“Maybe you wondered why it’s taken us so long to be physical”
“I have, honestly. But that doesn’t mean you should rush to do that.”
“Well, it’s not because I really needed more time. It’s because I didn’t have the courage to before. I didn’t want you to see me like a monster from those old books.”
“Wait, are you saying you’re—”
Before he can finish his sentence, you reach for the buttons of your work shirt and undo them as quickly as you can with shaking fingers and courage long since run out. As the shirt loses its structure and falls away, he can see more of your skin than he ever has before.
Scattered in patches across your abdomen, breasts, and even your back are teal scales that reflect his shocked expression back at him in dozens of little frames with the clarity of a polished gem.
“I’m actually not human. I come from a long line of water sprites.”
The tears of shame in your eyes, another first sight for him, are the same iridescent teal and leave subtle crystalline streaks on their way down your cheeks.
He doesn’t mean to, but he can’t find actual words, and the laugh seems to jump from his throat. Low bubbling first it then grows as the seconds pass by. You look up from the bedspread because you can’t believe your ears. This isn’t at all how you imagined he’d react. He holds up a hand. He knows how bad the reaction is but he can’t help it.
When the laughter begins to subside a moment later, he attends to his own shirt. He hikes the material up over his head and reveals smooth skin. You’re not sure what’s going on at first, but then he removes the silver earrings he wears every day and fur begins to sprout from his torso, his forearms, around his face. His canines and nails lengthen before your eyes to sharp points. And suddenly you understand.
“I bought these from a witch who specializes in werewolf magic the day before our first date,” he reaches over and places the small silver hoops into the palm of your hand.
You look down at the jewelry and then back up at your boyfriend’s face. You’re surprised to see that he looks different, though not because of the sudden lycanthropic transformation. There’s a lightness in his eyes and length in his spine that makes you realize just how much his secret was weighing on him.
No words leave your mouth as you crawl into his space. A small smile graces his lips and he lays on his back to make room for you. You kiss him once more and you’re shocked at how different it feels to do so without a secret smothering everything. As you part his lips, Johnny lays his hands on your skin gently. When you don’t withdraw, he lets his hands wander. 
His palms skim over the cold patches of scales like he’s trying to warm them. He likes the juxtaposition of the warmth from your skin and the cool brilliance of your scales. He likes the way they pattern on you, lining your spine and sloping over your roundnesses. He kiss parts he can reach on your shoulder and when you stop to let him move more, his kisses follow the trail below your collarbone and between your breasts. When he tentatively swipes his tongue over them, you sigh and sink more fully into his lap.
You pull at the thick hair hear the nape of his neck and redirect him back to your mouth. It doesn’t escape you that your bare torsos are constantly brushing. Your nipples harden when he hugs you to him and shivers at the cool patches meeting his skin.
“Are we going to?”
“Do you want to,” his breath puffs against the side of your jaw.
“Please.”
The press of your rocking hips against his reminds him of just how much clothing there’s still left to remove and how much skin there still is to marvel at. After switching positions, he has you on your back and makes a start on removing your pants. He makes quick work of them by trailing a claw under the stubborn button. When the slacks are gone, he looks over the splashes of blue on the inside of your right thigh, spilling over the front of both your shins, wrapping around your left ankle.
He starts there, with a simple kiss to the sparkle on your ankle and then continues. Like skipping a stone through cerulean waters, he kisses over your shins and makes his leisurely way over the hill of your knee. His tongue makes an appearance at your right thigh, where you had been praying for it. He lingers there until he’s certain the area is no longer untouched. There’s an urge to mark up the other thigh as well so there’s some symmetry. He follows the urge with your hand fisting in the thick strands of his hair the whole time.
“Johnny,” you groan when he takes too long trying to mirror the pattern of your scales with small nips to your skin. “When I asked if we were going to have sex, I was asking about today.”
“Sure, I’ve got you.”
He pats your thigh in a placating gesture, and then slides your underwear off at an obnoxiously slow pace with a shit-eating grin. You try your hardest to level a glare at him, but you break eye contact to gasp when he slides a gentle finger between your folds with no prior mention. You briefly consider just letting him continue, but you’re chasing a very specific sensation.
You rake your nails up the part of his back that you can reach, parting some of the fur there. The shiver that wracks through his whole back has you biting your lip in an attempt to stifle laughter. But it also has him shifting so he can hover over you, his hips occupying the place his shoulders once did. While he balances his weight on his knees and one hand, he uses the other hand to get just free enough from his pants.
He replaces his hand when the button, zipper, and the waist of his pants and underwear bunch around his lower thighs. You reach down before he can do anything else and see what he’s working with. Johnny releases a shaky breath while you feel him up, trace the trail of hair that run from his stomach to his groin. Your other hand runs up his arm in an idle fashion. It’s unintentional but, still, the feeling of your nails running over his skin feels like a live current, even through the fur.
The concentration he exhibits is clear as his head lolls forward. You stop your exploration and nudge him into action with a squeeze of your thighs. He still leans down to plant a kiss on your lips before hooking one hand under your back and around a thigh and shifting so you’re seated in his lap once more. You lower yourself onto him fully and begin rocking. You had been ready to take him early on but you’re wet enough to surprise him. He fights the instinct to pitch up into the wet heat until he’s sure you won’t mind.
When you start to get a bit frustrated with the angle, you push him back and brace yourself on either side of his chest. He lets out a long moan as you ride him, fangs glinting when he throws his head back. His hands come to pull you down onto him more firmly. He doesn’t realize that the prick of his claws on the swatch of scales that adorn your hip spurs you on as well. Each downward snap of your hips he meets halfway until he can feel the tell-tale signs of his orgasm coming. He’s not expecting you to reach down and brush a fingertip against the tip of one of his fangs. Carefully so you don’t cut yourself while you continue to bounce against him, you brush your finger across his lips. He’s not sure why, but it sets him over the edge and he spills into you.
You watch the way his face contorts with the pleasure and ache to join him. Grabbing one of clawed hands, you bring it to the apex of your thighs and he quickly guesses your need. He does his best to rub at your clit while the edges of orgasm fade away from his peripheral vision. It’s just slick enough to get you there, and you finish soon after his fog lifts.
The first thing you do is collapse onto him as you recover. Johnny tries to take deep breaths that you can match and eventually the two of you are letting out twin exhales. When you’re able to, you lift yourself just enough to kiss him again. This time it’s one soft singularity.
He sighs against your lips, and when he pulls back there’s a bemused smile on his face.
“I can’t believe you thought I was human.”
“Yeah,” you close your eyes. “I don’t know how we managed to fool each other for so long.”
“I was actually shaving five times a day since the first date.”
The thought makes you smile when you think back on all the times he would go to the bathroom and come back with a pink face.
“Now I’m sure you can guess why I never washed dishes at your place.”
“Would you get more scales,” he asks while brushing his thumb over the apple of your cheek.
“Close. My fingers would turn blue and web.” You wiggle them for effect.
“You know what? I don’t even think either of us actually said we were human. I guess we just assumed.”
You nod and wonder how things would have been if you came out earlier. The idea of surprising a Johnny that thought you were human on the 2nd date with webbed fingers makes you break your composure. He must follow your train of thought because he begins laughing too, shaking the two of you with the force. When you quiet down again, there’s a heavy calm settled in your ribcage. You suppose this is what courage can bring. Johnny rubs your back as you start to nod off. The last thought you have is that you’ll have to remember thank Nautilanita.
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88 notes · View notes
argumentl · 3 years
Text
The Freedom of Expression, Ep 41 - 'Antique' displayed in showcase. Its true identity is..
K: Hi, this is Dir en grey's Kaoru with this week's episode of The Freedom of Expression. Joe san, Tasai san, welcome again. Ok, should we get straight on with it?
J: Yeh, shall we?
T: Yeah.
J: Just get started quickly.
K: Ok, Ojikyun... (*see last episode*)
T: Yeh, Ojikyun.
J: I'll try my hardest.
T: Ojikyun Joe.
J: Ok, well, this is today's news. 'Antique displayed in showcase, its real identity is..?' A photo posted to Twitter of a shop's showcase is getting reactions like, 'I had to look twice!', and 'I was fooled!'. The person who posted the photo was walking the streets, when suddenly they saw a shop with a showcase containing numerous pots. But when this person had a closer look, they were amazed. They read the explanation card and discovered the pots were actually Baumkuchen! The pots, made in various sizes, resemble the real finish and shape of an actual flower vase. The shop, named Villon, is a patisserie located in Sakura Shinmachi in Tokyo, and was established in 1965. These Baumkuchen made in the shape of pottery go by the name of 'Grand Villion', and the shop owner says they were born out of an idea to express the beauty of pottery though cakes. The shop also sells many other products, but people who have seen the photos online have been mistaking the cakes for real pots one after another.
So I think if you have a search online, you'll be able to find the images, but it really is Baumkuchen which looks exactly like a pot.
T: Absolutely.
K: Yeh, for sure.
J: What do you think about this?
K: Its incredible.
T: It is, yeh.
J: Yeh, it is.
T: It is amazing.
J: Yeah. I wonder if they sell a lot of these?
K: Can you buy these online?
J: I wonder if you can?
K: Just by looking, it seems like you order it in store.
J: These look like they are probably difficult to deliver.
K: Right.
J: I feel like it would break during delivery.
T: Yeah. But peope are buying these and taking them home as souvenirs.
J: Yeh, using Baumkuchen to make a pot...
T: Won't it become really well-known?
J: Yeah, it will. Its like making curry into the shape of poo as a kid...What? Didn't you do that?
T: Haha
T, K: No
J: Didn't you ever make curry into the shape of poo and offer it to your friends in elementary school?
K: Haha, no.
J: Its only me?? I bet some people did *points to camera*
T: They didn't, I'm sure they didn't, haha. No-one's gonna fall for you with that.
K: Haha
J: Im not Ojikyun material?
T: Not at all.
K: I thought everyone did that.
T: Hahaha
J: Isn't it a good trick? Making poo with curry? This is the same, just making a pot with Baumkuchen.
K: ??? *1
J: Is that a bit rude of me? Don't you make piled up poo with curry?
T: No! Haha.
K: How do you even make that with curry??
J: Its like, if the curry is left for a while, it congeals a bit, right?
K: The roux.
J: Yeah, kinda like the roux. I did it with that when i was a kid.
T: You did it with that? haha
J: I got into trouble with my parents for it.
K: Well, yeh.
T: Yeah, you would..playing with food.
J: ???*2
K: So thats why you're like this now.
J: No no no, ???*3. But anyway, its like an extension of that, what Villon is doing.
K: Its amazing. The cake at the bottom looks exactly like a real pot.
T: Yeah.
J: Yeh, they have uploaded the pics, but at a glance the Grand Villlon seems to cost close to twenty thousand yen.
T: Yeh, twenty thousand.
K: The big one, right?
J: Yeah, the big one.
T: Oh, the medium sized one costs ¥14,500.
J: Yeh, the big one is about ¥20,000. It would make someone very happy if you gave it as a gift.
T: Well, I wanna try it once.
J: Yeh, me too. Though it probably just tastes like regular Baumkuchen.
T: Of course, yeh.
J: So like, curry in the shape of poo tastes like curry, haha.
T: Hahaha
K: It reminds me of that thing, poo flavoured curry or curry flavoured poo?
J: The ultimate decision, right?
T: Oh, I remember that.
K: Which would you choose?
T: Probably curry flavoured..
K: Poo flavoured is impossible.
J: But the poo flavored one is still just curry.
K: Its ok to eat?
J: Yeah. 
K: So if its curry flavored poo, and you eat it will it have an  ???*4 influence?
J:..Yeh. It might be something sent from above. But anyhow, it tastes like curry.
K: So, its poo that doesn't harm your body?
J: No, well, the taste. The taste is curry...What are we talking about?? haha.
T: Right? haha
J, K: hahaha.
K: So for this, its like, is it a real pot?
T: Haha
K: Like, a pot that looks like Baumkuchen, or a Baumkuchen that looks like a pot?
J: I feel like this convo is getting off track.
K: That was your fault.
T: You went off on a tangent all of a sudden, haha.
J: Was it my fault? Im so sorry.
K: Should we buy one of these Baumkuchen?
J: Yeah, lets buy one.
K: Haha
T: Lets buy one.
K: We could eat it together.
J: Yeh, we could each put ¥5000 towards it or something.
T: Well, something like that.
K: Yeah.
T: It looks like this store is well established, I bet its delicious.
J: Its great though, established in 1965. The shop is older than me. Its been there for 55 years.
T: Thats amazing.
J: Definitively, lets try it as the TFoE team.
T: Should we ask Kami?
J: Ok. Kami?
Kami: Yes?
J: Oh, he's there, thats good.
T: Yeh, thats good. I thought he might be asleep.
Kami: Did you guys eat Baumkuchen as kids?
J: Well, honestly I was quite poor as a kid. We had a business in our house, but we suddenly went bankrupt and became poor very quickly. My Dad had a car, and he had about a million yen in debts with it, or fines.
T: When was this?
J: Oh, when I was in elementary school, so about forty years ago. So we didn't really eat fancy sweets like Baumkuchen...not that I can remember anyway.
T: Hm, as a small kid..
Kami: Um, I spent a lot of time in Nishinari in Osaka..Baumkuchen in not common there. (*Nishinari is know as a bit of a slum*)
K: Haha.
T: Im sure you can eat it there.
Kami: No, there didn't used to be any there.
T, K, J: Hahaha
J: So, you were in Nishinari, Kami?
Kami: For quite a long time actually.
J: Oh, really?
Kami: In Nishinari they really work hard making ocotopuses with sausages.
T: Haha
J: Haha. Octopuses with sausages?
T: You can buy that in the supermarket.
J: But its the same kind of idea right? Like making pots with Baumkuchen.
Kami: Also using carrots to make flowers.
J,T: Ahh, yeh, I see.
J: Kami, as soon as you enter, the conversion suddenly gets really common.
T: Yeah
Kami: It is the same idea.
K, T, J: Haha
J: Kami, you are pretty interesting.
T: Have you seen those things that are like deep fried Baumkuchen on skewers?
K: Oh yeh, I have.
T: Have you tried them?
J: I've seen deep fried ice cream, or fruit and stuff on a skewer, but not Baumkuchen.
T: Oh, there is that too.
K: Yeah, there is.
J: Ehh.
T: They definitely did this in Nishinari, right Kami?
K: Yeh, they did.
Kami: No, they didn't.
T: Haha
K: He's sure about that.
J: Yeh, he's certain.
T: He doesn't want to lose on this one.
J: But Kami, do you want to eat these pots made from Baumkuchen?
Kami: Well, yeh, to look at them, they look delicious.
J, T, K: Haha.
T: By the way Kami, how old were you when you first tried Baumkuchen?
Kami: I don't really want to tell you that.
J: Haha, its that much of a secret?
K: Maybe he doesn't remember?
J: Yeah, maybe.
Kami: But first, I want to try one of thier basic Baumkuchen.
J: Ah, more basic than this?
T:???6*
J: Ok, I got it. They do sell regular Baumkuchen too, so we'll get one of those for Kami, and we'll get one of the pot Baumkuchen for us.
T: Yeh, I'll eat that. 
Kami: You still have to share it though.
J, K: Hahaha
J: So you do want to eat it?
Kami: Yeah, I do.
J: You do? You should have been honest from the start. Well, I learned something today...that there is no Baumkuchen in Nishinari.
T: No, there is, there is. Will he get mad at me? There definitely is.
J: There definitely is? Well, we got to learn a bit about Kami's history.
T: You can kinda tell he probably lives in the west.
K: Well, he has a Kansai accent.
J: Yeh, he definitely has a Kansai accent. But now we know specifically about Nishinari.
T: I get the feeling he was just lurking there, as opposed to living.
K: He does seem kinda low class.
T: Yeh, he does.
J: Like, the kinda guy you want to avoid if at all possible, haha.
K: Ok, so, is that it?
J: So, we'll have to go and buy this sometime. Within the year?
T: Lets go asap.
K: Well, if they have to be reserved, we'll make a reservation.
J: Oh, yeah. Well, Kami wants to try a piece too.
K: Will Kami come down to join us then?
Kami: I do want to eat it.
J: No, well, what should we do? How can we give you it, Kami?
T: Right?
J: Kami?
Kami: Yes?
J: Yes?
K: hahaha
J: He doesn't know how to answer that, haha. Clearly, haha. He obviously doesn't know what to say! You're in the sky, right, Kami?
Kami: Thats right.
J: Yeh, so how can we get the cake to you?
Kami: Yeh, Im not sure, how could we? haha
J, K, T: Hahaha
J: He is totally stuck with this unexpected question.
T: What should we do then?
K: How about we look forward to what happens at that time?
J: Certainly!
K: Haha. Ok, well, Lets finish here for this week. Please subscribe. Thank you very much.
*1,2,3,4,5,6 Couldn't make out, usually due to too much background laughing.
11 notes · View notes
keijikunn · 3 years
Text
Rivalry ── Chapter III
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── A @babythotshq collab “To All the Boys I’ve Loved”
Old feelings
Pairing: Tsukishima Kei x gender neutral!reader Tags: college!au, angst, it’s kinda fluffy??? i don’t know, it’s not that angst either Summary: Tsukishima Kei had never imagined that you, his forever rival in high school, would write him a letter confessing your feelings. Does Tsukishima feels the same way? Word count: 3.7k
Author’s note: I’m dividing the last chapter in two, so I won’t be too long (trust me, it’s over than 6k and I wanna spare you all lol). Hope you all enjoy the chap III and I swear by the end of the month I’ll post the final part! Biggest thank you to @kaitycole​ and @newfriendjen​ that helped me out a lot, I love you two so much 🥺
WARNINGS: swearing, tsukki being salty but what’s new?, makeout (???), hints of anxiety
RIVALRY MASTERLIST
BECOME A BOOKWORM!
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Ever since that… eventful day, you managed to avoid Tsukishima like the plague. It helped the fact you had classes in different buildings, not to mention the fact the college campus was huge. You were about to forget about the letter issue, as the courses have started a few days earlier and you dedicated most of your time to get things settled into a nice routine. Things were too good to be real, though. 
You couldn’t believe in what you saw the first time you stepped inside the extracurricular class, after the first week since classes started. Not only your love letters were sent to all your previous crushes (who seemed to attend the same college as you), but the person you dreaded to see again would spend the next semester with you during your afternoon activities. 
Tsukishima Kei smirked at your distressed expression, waving at you as if you were long time friends. He wants to irk you, Y/n, don’t give him this pleasure. You are better than him anyway, you repeated it as many times as possible before the bell rang - indicating the class was about to start. Fortunately you managed to sit on the opposite side of the room as Tsukishima, though you could feel his eyes burning holes on the side of your head. 
“Why is he so annoying?” You muttered to yourself, sighing in annoyance. The professor entered the classroom, quickly introducing himself and the upcoming project you would work on. You were excited for it when you researched about the university, it was as if a dream was coming true, and you made up your mind to not let Tsukishima Kei ruin this experience. 
“As always, we randomize the duos, so be prepared to work with someone who does things differently than you.” The old man at the front announced, and your guts were telling you that this wouldn’t be good. “Raise your hand if I call your name so your partner can find you.
The longer he took to call out your name, the more convinced you were that fate wouldn’t play nice with you. When the other two people left were paired up together, leaving you and Tsukishima without a partner, you had to hold the urge to scoff. As much as you tried your hardest to not bump into your old crush, the whole universe made sure to go against your will. 
I should have gone to another extracurricular activity, damn it.
“So… guess we’re a duo, now,” Tsukishima snickered at your disgusted face, laughing at your dismay. “It’s not that bad be paired up with me, Y/n, c’mon”
“You’re right, it’s not bad.” You started, sending him a sharp glare. “It’s the worst thing ever”
With that, you turned around to pay attention to the further details the professor addressed the class. You knew Kei would try to make your experience in this project a literal hell, but you weren't going to let his antics distract you from getting anything less than the best result. You internally hoped that the tall boy also aimed for that, despite his annoying demeanor around you.  
If not, you’d have a long semester ahead of you. 
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“For God’s sake, Tsukishima, this is not how we’re supposed to do it!” You whisper-yelled at the blonde boy, angrily gripping on your hair, holding yourself back from screaming at his face. It has been two weeks since you two started working on that stupid project, and it’s been two weeks of complete hell and anger. Being at the college’s library didn’t help as well, since you couldn’t externalize your frustration.  “Can’t you read what I wrote down? Professor said we should follow this!”
“Yes, I’ve read it and decided that it sucks.” Tsukishima shot back, pushing away your notebook, writing a few words on your draft. “C’mon, Y/n, you should know by now that we don’t follow any professor’s instruction. We’re not at high school anymore, be more independent, won’t you?”
You hated to admit, but he was (at some instance) right. What hurt your pride more was that his suggestion was actually good- not that you would admit that, you’d rather die than say it out loud. This idea could easily work out with what you have thought previously, not to mention it would make more sense. 
The lack of response made Tsukishima’s shit-eating grin grow on his features, irking you the exact same way he knew he was able to. He proceeded to add a few details on the paper and neatly placed it inside his folder, collecting his materials from the table. You two have been workin for almost two hours non-stop on the project after the whole morning classes, you had to admit your energy wore off at that point.
“Give me the paper, I want to add a few extra things.” You demanded, holding out your hand for him. Tsukishima arched his eyebrows as if he was surprised by such a request, then he scoffed at you - like always. “I’m not joking, I do want to modify it a bit.”
“The point of this being a group project is that we work on this together.” He stressed the last word, zipping his bag and shoving it over his shoulder. “And you wouldn’t do anything, judging by how tired you are.”
“I’m not!” 
“Then care to explain how you didn't think about what I suggested earlier?” Suddenly your mind went blank at his response, what in the world does that mean? “You can think about this tomorrow, try not to melt your tiny brain.”
The tall boy left you without sparing a second glance, fumbling with his intertwined earphones as he walked. To say you were confused by his comment would be an understatement. Was he worried you would overwork yourself? No way, Tsukishima Kei would never care enough about you of all people. 
Yet he’s still your partner. 
“Fuck off, Tsukki.” You muttered tiredly, focusing on putting your belongings inside your backpack to (finally) head to your dorms.
The first time you’ve ever heard Tsukishima’s name was after the first exam of your freshman year in high school. Everyone was crying about their low grades, groaning at the prospect of having to study a lot more to the upcoming test. If you were not mistaken, a boy in your class named Yamaguchi commented how “Tsukki was smart” and he wasn’t surprised he aced it. 
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“Hey, L/n!” The girl who sits next to you approached you, paper in her hands. “How did you do?”
“I got 96%.” You answered quietly, trying not to drag attention to yourself due to your great performance. People in middle school didn’t like when you mentioned your grades, claiming you did that just to brag. 
“Ehh? You’re so smart!” She said smiling. “Please, help me study! From what I heard just you and a boy from class 3 had such a high score. And Yamaguchi-kun said Tsukishima-kun doesn’t help anybody.”
“Of course, we can study at the library if you want to.” The offer seemed to appeal to her, given the fact she nodded quickly and proceeded to write down her cellphone number to you. “By the way, who is this Tsukishima guy?”
“He’s a tall, blonde boy. He uses glasses and if I’m not wrong he’s part of the volleyball club.” She answered, waving at you as she went back to her circle of friends, leaving you to think about who this boy is. “He’s not nice though. Always treats everyone as if he’s superior.”
You were able to put a face to the name you had in your mind after a couple of weeks, when another private school had a volleyball match against the male team of Hakone Academy. It wasn’t hard to figure out that the middle blocker with a poker face was Tsukishima, and you were surprised that he was actually good looking. Something that lacked in him, though, was passion in the sport - or rather in anything, according to your classmates. 
Ever since that game, it seemed like you started to see Tsukishima every day in the corridors. You’d see him walking down the halls, his headphones always placed on the top of his ears, muffling the loud noise caused by the other students. He was cold to everybody, even rude if you were to be honest, but he was something else. His interests were inviting, itching your curiosity to get to know him better.
You realized you had a crush on Tsukishima Kei when you noticed how you paid attention to whenever you saw him around school, hearing his steady tone (usually talking to Yamaguchi) and his snarky smirk. All information you knew about him was, being honest, too little to grow intense feelings, but what got you hooked up was exactly this: you wanted to get to know him. 
Things, however, didn’t work out the way you planned. The very first interaction you had with him was a disaster. You sounded way cockier than you wanted, you’ve never planned on teasing him and you have never imagined that it would backfire on you and lead him to dislike you.
After that incident, you discovered the aversion quite a lot of students had against him. Most of them claimed the same thing: Tsukishima Kei was mean, smug, had a superiority complex and always treated everyone poorly. A part of you didn’t want to believe in that, but how could you not when he mocked you in front of everyone?
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Things didn’t get easier as the project progressed, not because it was too technical or that it required too many details. Yours and Tsukishima’s endless arguments and bickering always ended in screaming matches, hurtful comments and you two not on speaking terms. The premise of group projects was to create something together, but at this point you were doing your own thing while thinking about what the other was working on. 
“Are you a dumbass or do you just pretend to be one?” Tsukishima angrily asked, dropping your notebook on the table. “This is horrible, Y/n.”
“You think it’s horrible because you’re doing things as you wish, not considering what I have to suggest!” You responded, your voice tone a few octaves higher due to your stress. Currently you two were at his dorms - the library was not an option anymore, the librarian kicked you out after you were shouting at each other - both awfully close as his dining table was tiny. “This is a fucking group project, you said it before! So you have to listen to what I have to say.”
“I’m not listening when you suggest stupid things like this!” He retorted, ripping the page out and crumpling it to toss on the floor. You widen your eyes, shocked at his recent action. 
“Wow, Tsukishima, you are really being this petty.” A humorless laugh escaped your lips, you shook your head in denial, getting up to collect your paper off the ground. The tension in the air grew thicker and the man’s intense gaze burned holes on your back. “People were right, after all. You are unbearable.”
Tsukishima’s smug facade cracked a bit, you noticed, after hearing what you just said. His smirk left his face for a brief moment and his eyes mirrored mixed feelings, could they be sorrow, insecurity? You didn’t have enough time to decipher them as he quickly recomposed himself, offering you a snark grin. 
“That’s why you liked me, huh? Did you want to correct the horrible, mean, malicious person that I am?” Tsukishima teased, hitting your emotions with ease. Your mind was empty, only his words echoing inside it, bumping into your skull with force. 
You couldn’t understand him, honestly. 
One time he is all worried about you overworking, passively aggressively implying you’re capable of suggesting better ideas; and now he’s being childish and not sparing a single offense towards you. You knew Tsukishima Kei was a hard person to handle if you’re not as quick witted as him, but this? This level of pettiness and stubbornness? For a young adult like him, that claims he’s better than everyone else? 
“I’m done.” You stated, too burnt out to respond to his teasing comment. Your temples hurt due to the confusion the blond man was giving you, the constant push and pull between you two worn you out. 
“What do you mean ‘you’re done’? We’re not done yet.” He stated as if it was a matter of fact - which was, he wasn’t wrong. 
“Do I look like I care? I’m doing this shit by myself, you can do whatever you want, I’m done with you.” Silence engulfed the room, and you mentally thanked this peaceful moment. It, however, didn’t last long, because Tsukishima always finds ways to make things worse. 
“Are you giving up that easy, Y/n? Couldn’t handle a bit of teasing?” That was it. The mocking tone he used against you was enough to snap the last string of sanity inside you, freeing a rage you never knew you had against him. The angriness burned your chest as you slammed your hands on the table, making Tsukishima flinch at the sudden outburst. 
“Yes, I can not deal with your teasing ass.” You admitted shamesly, your mind ran a thousand miles a minute, not registering the words that left your mouth. “What I can’t deal  with is a petty boy that can’t take this goddamn project seriously!”
“It wasn’t me who suggested stupid ideas.” Kei spat back, leaning in your direction, inviting you to answer him - almost like a dare. 
“You always say my ideas are vain, stupid or whatever, but you never offered anything great or fucking brilliant,” it was indeed true. Tsukishima proudly belittled everything you said for the past few weeks, but never came up with something new. Instead, he modified everything you’ve given to him. “So please, before you put yourself above the others, do something that makes you actually the best-”
Any and every train of thought you had was interrupted by the aggressive contact of Tsukishima Kei’s lips against yours. Everything seemed to melt with the heat coming from the kiss, your hands sneaking behind his neck and gripping rather harshly at his blond hair. In between the feverish moment, Tsukki managed to sit you on the table and place himself between your legs. Gasps and soft murmurs interrupted the kiss every once in a while, your mouth occasionally made its way down his jaw and neck, nibbling and sucking his skin.Only until one of you reconnected them, tongues sliding against each other.
You honestly don’t know how long you two spent making out, but it was enough time to leave a few hickeys on each other's necks and clothes lightly pulled up. Tsukishima’s ears were as red as his swollen lips, the blond hair was a mess thanks to your roaming hands and the white t-shirt wrinkled.
“Still think I don’t suggest brilliant ideas?” Tsukishima teased, but the embarrassment he was feeling was written all over his face. To say you were speechless was an understatement, you’ve just had a full make out section with your biggest high school rival, the one you knew hated you the most. “Cat got your tongue? Or should I say- did I get your tongue, Y/n?”
“What the fuck did you just do, Tsukishima?” You demanded flustered, the feeling of his body close to yourself fading away. "Why have you done this?!" 
"Don't tell me you didn't enjoy, Y/N, I can feel the spot you left a hickey on." His comment made you groan in annoyance, because you knew you wouldn't be able to retort it. 
Not paying attention to your surroundings, you pushed Tsukishima away from you, quickly grabbing your bag to leave his dorms. You didn't mind if you forgot something at his place - you would see him the next day, anyway. All you wanted was to get away from him, to finally think straight.
The cool air of the end of the day would help you come back to a reasonable state of mind.
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You kept acting around Tsukishima after the first encounter. Whenever you had the chance to irk him you did it, initiating an unnecessary banter. You felt stupid to say the least, how low could you go? 
Yet, you continued. Just to have his attention. Pathetic. However, you had a limit. And Tsukishima managed to trespass it with such facility you were surprised. 
It happened during your second year, exactly one year after you got so interested in that mean boy. Things weren't easy for you, many reasons were behind your unstable state. School was overwhelming like never before, you could barely juggle between regular activities and your club's. 
The stress weighted on you to the point you let your grades slip at one exam. You knew you had your worst performance so far, and the subject didn't help you as well. 
"I'm going to hand back the exams." Your homeroom teacher announced, earning heavy groans from the whole class. A sigh escaped your lips, knowing how screwed you were if Tsukishima knew how poorly you did. "L/n Y/n" 
As you got up from your desk, you felt a familiar pair of eyes burn holes on your back. The moment you read the barely 50% score written on the top of the paper, you blanked out. You missed how your teacher kindly smiled at you, reminding how this one performance didn't define you. The words didn't make sense to you, because for you it didn't matter. You failed. 
Tears pricked the corner of yours eyes, shallow breaths escaped your parted lips as you sat down once again, barely sparing a glance at the paper on your desk. You truly didn’t know if someone tried to approach you, mind far away from reality, engulfing itself in a spiral of self doubt, worries and self depreciation. 
“Well… looks like the top 2 student failed miserably on the test.” The steady, yet teasing tone of Tsukishima’s voice broke you out of your own head. “You’re fake, couldn’t even get more than half of it correct. You’re a lie, Y/n.”
“Not now, please.” It took most part of your will to mutter these three words without letting your voice crack. Tsukishima arched his eyebrows, amused by the scene unfolding in front of him: you lowering your head against your forearms on the table, shielding your tears from anyone. “Tease me all you want, but please do it another time.”
However, he kept going. Tsukishima pointed out every single question you got wrong, rubbing in your face how he aced another stupid paper while you were a failure. The classroom was noisy, the end of the period let the students talk freely, but you only heard Kei’s voice, adding to your pre-existent stress and pressure. 
As far as you could remember, you’ve never underestimated him in any interaction you two had. Sure, you threw a teasing comment every once in a while, but always bragging about yourself, how you’ve outsmarted him. But you were sure you never humiliated him - and you’d never do such a low blow like this. 
“Enough, Tsukishima!” You raised your voice, everyone now was paying attention to you two. The embarrassment heated your entire face and your tears finally ran down your cheeks, the blond boy seemed startled with your sudden outburst, though his smirk quickly returned to your face. “I got that you’re better, now can you please shut the fuck up?!”
Thankfully the bell rang, indicating classes were over for the day. You quickly shoved your test on your bag, throwing it over your shoulder as you turned to head to the door. With the sleeve of your coat, you wiped the reminiscent tears from your eyes and left the room. Not only you exited that suffocating place, but also you left behind the stupid crush you had on Tsukishima Kei. 
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Since that day, you couldn’t stand being near him, all teasing interactions reduced to none and you’ve never checked the scoreboard as soon as the grades were out. You focused on your own stuff, trying your best to clear your thoughts from Tsukishima - which didn’t work as well as you planned. 
Every once in a while, in the middle of a studying session, you found yourself pushing your limits like you used to do to get a higher performance than him. As much as you hated to admit, Tsukishima was a great incentive to do better, to set higher goals academically speaking. And though he caused you a lot of pain, a part of you (the stupid one, in your words) still thought he was attractive, you still had a tiny interest in the true guy behind that acting. 
That’s why you decided to write him that letter. Perhaps admitting your “crush” on him would make you realize you’ve created almost an entire new person using his name and face. In a way it actually helped, you truly thought you have moved on from him and college would give you a new beginning away from Tsukishima. 
Fate, on the other hand, had other plans for you and here you are: walking slowly towards your dorms, emotionally drained and confused. The prospect of Tsukishima Kei having the slightest interest in you was shocking, especially after all those three years of. endless insults. 
Are those feelings coming back? 
“Oh, no.” You muttered to yourself, immediately stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, frightened about your last thought. “Oh my, there’s no way I’m crushing Tsukishima once again!” 
If you concentrated enough, you could still feel his chapped lips against your skin, his large hands roaming through your body. He was right about you enjoying it- in reality, you did more than you’d like to admit. Tsukishima Kei was annoyingly filling your mind with both his smart and arrogant ass and that unexpected (but surprising) heated moment. 
You needed to get to your dorms and take a long shower to put your thoughts in order, because there’s no way you’re having feelings for Tsukishima Kei once again.
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COLLAB MASTERLIST!
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ohbae-me · 4 years
Note
"and then i knew that i could become homesick for you too" or "I missed being with you like this" with mammon, please !
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Hope it’s okay I combined these two! They just worked so perfectly. Again, this ended up longer than planned, and I even had to shorten it down and stop myself from adding on another couple thousand words. I have too many Mammon feels. I hope this one is okay! I had a lot I wanted to add, but felt like it was too much..
Mammon x MC; SFW, fluff
Ever since MC had gone home, an air of gloom had stuck around the House of Lamentation. No one had talked about it, but it went without saying that things were just much less interesting without the constant shenanigans MC used to rope them all into somehow. 
Lucifer had expected there to be an adjustment period after she left, seeing how close all seven of his brothers had gotten with her. Even the eldest himself had to admit that he missed her. But what Lucifer hadn’t anticipated was Mammon’s reaction. He’d known his younger brother was closest to the human, and that he’d cared for her a great deal. However, Lucifer had known him for thousands of years. Watched him chase many romantic feats, for better or worse. Mammon had always lost interest quickly, pursuing his next venture with renewed vigor. Whether it be his next money making scheme, or his next fling, Mammon never sulked for long. It was probably the one aspect of Mammon’s personality that Lucifer actually admired. 
It had been several months now since she’d returned home. It was time for Lucifer to step in. Discreetly, of course.  
As he’d made his way around the rooms for surprise inspections, he’d casually let it slip to Mammon that he’d be gone the next day as he had important business in the human world. And it just so happens that it’s in the same city as their former exchange student. 
Lucifer put on a good show of initially denying Mammon the chance to accompany him. He let him beg and plead his little heart out before the first born oh so graciously agreed to let him come. 
Mammon had been laying on his bed, aimlessly flipping through various apps on his phone. Nothing quite seemed to peak his interest though, he thought with a sigh. His eyes fell on his home screen, a photo of him and MC with the alien-panda stuffie she had made. The one still sitting on his bed that he often woke up clutching. 
He had been so lost in thought, he almost hadn’t noticed Lucifer enter his room for inspection. He barely acknowledged his elder brother as he went about his business, until he heard Lucifer mention that he’d be visiting the human world. Specifically MC’s home city. 
Mammon couldn’t fly out of bed fast enough to block Lucifer from leaving the room. He’d begged and pleaded and made more promises than he’d probably ever be able to keep, but Lucifer had finally agreed. 
He would get to see MC again!
Mammon spent the rest of the night outlining how he’d wanted it to go. He’d planned the perfect lines. She’d be so impressed by how suave he was! He wondered if she’d hug him tight and tell him she missed him, like he himself has been so desperate to do.  He hadn’t gotten to say everything he’d wanted to before she left, and the regret seized his heart and mind every single day that she’d been gone. 
He wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.
The next morning, Mammon beat Lucifer to his study. He’d been leaning against the doorway, tapping his foot when the eldest turned the corner, eyebrow quirked. He knew Mammon would be eager, but it was almost unheard of for any of his brothers to beat him anywhere. 
Lucifer, deciding not to push to matter, simply handed Mammon a slip of paper with an address written on it. 
“Don’t forget, if you do anything to cause Lord Diavolo or myself any problems whatsoever-”
“Yeah, yeah,” Mammon waved it off. He knew his punishment if he caused any trouble, and he certainly wasn’t going to risk never being able to visit MC again. “Best behavior and whatnot.”
Lucifer sighed. He hoped he wouldn’t regret this.
It had been a while since Mammon had last been allowed to roam the human world, but he found it familiar still. It was a lot like MC had described to him. He found a taxi easily enough, and gave the driver the address. 
Mammon’s heart raced as the cab pulled up to an apartment building. It looked classy compared to some of the other places they had passed, and Mammon was impressed. Once he was standing outside her door though, Mammon felt himself falter, mind blank. Damn it! He’d planned this out so perfectly too! Every last line meticulously devised to impress MC when he finally saw her again. 
His heart stopped altogether when he heard the lock click and handle turn. He stood there frozen, arm raised like he was about to knock, face to face with a wide eyed MC. 
“Mammon?! You scared me half to death! What are you doing here?!” She stood there in shock, hand over her chest trying to calm her heart. She hadn’t expected someone to be standing right there, let alone a demon. 
Words, Mammon, words! He scolded himself.
“W-well, I happened to have some very important business here, and I figured you must be dyin for a visit from THE Mammon! You should be honored-”
He was cut off by a squeal, followed by MC throwing herself at him, her arms locking around his neck in death grip. 
“I’m so happy to see you, Mammon! I missed you so much.” He thinks he hears her voice wavering, like she’s about to cry. He feels something bloom deep in his chest under her warmth. He lets himself drop the act, wrapping his arms tightly around MC’s waist, burying his face in her hair. It felt so familiar, and just so damned perfect that it hurt. 
He doesn’t know how long they stood like that, but he felt her pull away and reluctantly loosened his grip. She took his hand and pulled him into her apartment. Her place was nice, he thought. Clean, spacious, and very much MC. 
“You should have told me you were coming! I would have planned something fun to do." 
"Nah, we don’t have to go out or nothin’, let’s just hangout here.” Mammon said as he took in the surprisingly lavish apartment. “Nice place.”
“We’ll I had to find somewhere new after I got back seeing as my old apartment was occupied. At least Lord Diavolo and Barbatos had my stuff moved to storage while I was gone so I didn’t lose my things. Turns out I had a fair amount of money in my account when I returned, and this place just kinda fell in my lap.” She shrugged. 
She gave him a quick tour, and he couldn’t help but smile when they got to her bedroom. She had modeled it to look almost identical to the one she lived in back home. Just more human-like. Instead of enchantment lanterns, she’d hung coloured string lights above her bed. Various plants bloomed all around the room, and there was even a desk and bookcase that looked like they were pulled right out of the Devildom. 
“Should we order food and watch a movie then? Just like old times?” She asked him. “On me, of course.”
“Woohoo! That’s a good human.” She laughed as he ruffled her hair and he felt his body warm at the sound. He didn’t realize just how much he’d missed it. How much he needed to hear it again. 
As the night went on MC told Mammon all about her new life in the human world. She had made new work friends, and one gentleman in particular had seemed quite sweet on her. Mammon didn’t like him. But, she seemed happy and enthusiastic, so he listened, interjecting his own opinions when needed. He could listen to her talk about anything, honestly. All he really cared about was that they were cuddled up together on her couch, eating pizza like they always did. 
It was late when they’d finally gotten around to watching the movie. He’d noticed MC kept looking over at him throughout the film, then she’d look away quickly and busy herself by picking at loose threads in her blanket. It was starting to make him anxious. 
“Ehh, you keep staring at me instead of watching the film. What’s up?" 
"It’s just… it doesn’t feel the same here anymore. The human world I mean. I’ve tried so hard to make it feel normal..” She avoided his gaze, back to picking at her blanket. “But you being here with me, it feels like home." 
Mammon’s heart skipped a beat. He wanted to say something cool, but found he couldn’t. He took in the sad expression on her face and reached over to grab her arm, pulling her onto his lap and wrapping his arms around her. Had she been just as troubled as he had been since she’s returned? The thought of her sitting here sad and alone felt like someone was ripping his heart right out of his chest. 
"I missed being with you like this, too.” The rest of the movie went forgotten as they snuggled into each other, both unwilling to let go for fear that this might have to end. 
Mammon always got what he wanted, one way or another. He was going to find a way to bring MC back to the Devildom where she belonged. 
And he’d promised her as such as he slipped the ring off his pinky and onto hers. 
He’d figure out the details later. Right now he just wanted to enjoy this. He wiped away the tears that had slipped down her cheek and finally got the rest of those kisses he had missed out on that day on the balcony.
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errthel · 3 years
Text
Route Two : Part Tree I guess
Hey, it's your friendly Lucien simp neighbor from the other side of the world and I come with part three of my fanfiction of @tri3tri 's Second Wife A. Yee yee.
His eyes carefully observed the glowy moon, lack luster look on his face signified his boredom. He had after all watched the moon for more nights than he could count with his fingers.
Lucien's window stayed open as he studied on the desk near the window. A snowy owl had brought over books, for what he assumed was his new school. How kind of them, he wasn't sure if he would have to pay them back though.
Flipping over the crisp white pages of the new book, he was able to find out that he had classes in Magic History, Chemistry, Dancing, Physical Education, and other subjects he was sure he would be able to ace with some time.
The click of his door alerted him of the entrance of either one of his grandparents, judging from their footsteps, Lucien narrowed it down to his grandmother.
"Don't stay up too late Lucien."
"M'kay, but I wonder why you still bring up some snacks."
"I noticed you didn't eat as much during dinner, so I thought you would be hungry now." the tray of snacks hit the desk with a thump, showing off its contents
Tea, chamomile Lucien thinks, some grapes and cream cheese and apple slices.
"I guess you're right, I am a bit peckish. You can go to sleep now Grandma, I'll be showering in a bit."
"Are there things popping up?" the question brought up the questioning things Lucien sees sometimes, be it fangs, a tail, horns, or scales, he would always see something inhuman in the bathroom mirror, but they would always disappear in some time
"Hm, nothing out of the ordinary, but the scales are starting to permanently stay here" Lucien gestured to his forehead, which was covered by his fringe
"Is that so?"
"Mhm, but it's fine, I don't usually tie up my hair so no worries."
"Alright then, I'll take your word, goodnight Lucien. Sweet dreams..."
Lucien watched as Hanna left his room, her white dress flowing from behind. This makes him remember the first day he was here, the day after that wretched day.
As well as forgetting what his family looked like, he also seemed to forget what the tall woman looked like. It was odd, Lucien knows that he has sharp memory, was it perhaps him erasing those memories of his?
Did he lose those memories to trauma? Was is just plain fear, that he forced himself to forget what those people looked like for his own sanity? But he still remembers what happened, he just doesn't remember. Why doesn't he remember?
Long fingers sharply tugged at (h/c) locks, desheviling the strands.
He racked his brain for any recollection of those long past memories. But he couldn't find any, he could no longer take it. The heavy breathing in the room quickened as the room started to become unbearably stuffy.
The quick and sudden drizzling hitting his window instantly notified the boy. The drizzling turned into heavy rainfall quicker than he could realize and thunder started to echo in the town.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit." desperate eyes swiftly moved over to the open window
Lucien immediately closed the window, preventing anymore rain to get inside his room, with a heavy sigh, he cleaned up his desk and went to take a shower.
Warm water cascaded over the slim pale body of the teen, his hair slicked back to reveal very offputting black scales that create an intricate and somewhat beautiful geometric pattern on his forehead. Some traces of bright green could be seen on the edges of the scales which shine brightly under the warm lighting of the bathroom.
Along with the scales was a pair of horns, with the same bright green highlights. Lucien hopes that this form of his won't show up during his stay at Royal Sword Academy, but the likeliness of that happening is closer to zero.
Lucien is aware that there will come a time where he will be forced to show off his other form, and he dreads that day.
After drying up, he changes into a pair of underwear and sweatpants and brushes his teeth. He notices the sharpness of two teeth and sighs once more, he can't catch a break with these sudden appearances of unwelcome features can he. While scrutinizing the existence of his fangs, the slit pupils of his eyes catch his attention and receive a small jump back from Lucien, mostly from surprise and terror.
"Slit eyes... this is definitely getting out of control..." the fearful expression stays on the boy's face as he walked back to his room, ready for bed
"...I wish that when I wake up, these things are gone and never coming back."
~
The warm, slightly chilly, day arrives, the suitcases that the family of three carefully packed a few days prior were now sitting on a seat inside the silvery pumpkin carriage.
Lucien's grandparents hug him as if it's the last time they would ever see him as Lucien wears the luxurious white garb with silver embroidery and subtle blue accents.
"I hope you'll be alright there Lucien."
"Will be. I will try to find ways to communicate with you when I get there." the comforting words allow the older couple to release their beloved grandchild
They watch as he walked to the carriage, ready to face the world he fears. His feet brings him to sit inside the velvety seats of the carriage as it whisks him away from his family.
He silently watches the view of his town vanish as they reach higher altitudes and by then his eyes have already dropped down, bringing him into a land of sweet dreams.
~
Royal Sword Academy, a prestigious magic school situated in Twisted Wonderland. Along with it's long standing rival, Night Raven College,  they are dubbed 'The Best Magic Schools in All of Twisted Wonderland'.
It truly shows, the moment Lucien stepped inside the school proper, he was greeted with marble and glass, fountains of all sizes, Greek-styled statues made of smooth ivory. He noted the extravagant architecture of the school, like The Palace of Versailles; with its enormous gardens with hedges trimmed to perfection, the delicate carvings of the walls, and the neatness of the school perfectly reflected the students who attended this institution.
Lucien briskly walked over to the well where the sorting of dorms was taking place in. As he sang his name into the well, a delicate chiming ring from the well was heard as a feminine voice sung out, 'The Aurorian Dorm'.
The Aurorian Dorm was one of the several dorms of Royal Sword Academy, founded on the patience of the Princess Aurora, her patience in waiting for her true love helped her defeat the dragon that had been terrorizing their lovely kingdom.
He joined his peers, also dressed in intricate white garb, introducing himself and mingling with them let him establish himself as 'The Kind Freshman'
Lucien was kind, to some extent, he very much was. It wasn't at all fake, why would he bother faking such complex things like emotions? But his kindess doesn't blindly extend to everybody, he is someone who isn't unconditionally kind, and he knows for sure that his peers weren't also kind from inside out.
The Aurora Dorm was definitely cozy, if not a bit overwhelming. Like a small village, cottages dotted the feild that was surrounded by lush forests. Each cottage would be shared by four people and it was a sizable enough cottage, definitely enough for four people with room to spare.
Lucien was put into a cottage with another freshman and two sophomores who chatted with him the moment they entered their cottage.
The freshman was called Brier Rome, a glowy individual with lovely soft blonde hair that curls at its tips and beautiful purple eyes. He was the first one to talk to the intimidating Lucien while he was putting away his clothes.
One sophomore was named Linden, a demure senior, he was almost as tall as Lucien, if not a bit taller. He had green hair with a bit of visible black roots, along with his hair, he had golden eyes that seemed to know everything.
The other sophomore calls themselves Hawthorne, he was shorter than his friend but makes up for it with his loud talking. He also had dyed hair, this time blue, and strangely like his peer, he had golden eyes.
Muffled noises coming from the cabin indicated that the four cabinmates were having the best time meeting each other.
Walking with each other to the central cabin to have some dinner was exhilarating to Lucien, many types of flowers and greens was planted all around and he had a fun time naming the plants with Brier.
In commemoration for the new students, they were going to partake in a picnic out in the flower feild.
The white daisies, purple chrysanthemums, pink carnations, blue hydrangeas, yellow roses, and many more beautiful flowers were present at this feild.
The Aurorian Dorm members talked to each other, sang, danced as they welcomed their new students with great joy.
"Brier Rome! You mean the heir to the throne of the Valley of Flowers?! It's wonderful to met you!"
"Mhm! Nice to meet you as well!" Brier paused a bit before his eyes lingered to the person behind him, he stood quietly, observing the flowers with great closeness, "Lucien!" the blond male called out to his taller peer
Briskly walking up to the taller boy with a bright smile he teased, "You seem to not put alot of effort into meeting your seniors~ what happened to your energy a while ago?"
A deadpanned expression bloomed on Lucien's pale face as he answered, "It's been diminished, I cannot bring myself to talk to people any longer."
"Awww don't be like that!" Brier said clinging to Lucien's arm as he walked him closer to the crowd
"Ah, hello, my name's Lucien (L/n)."
"Wait! You mean you're the special student who was accepted from another world?! How cool!"
"Ehh! Lucien's from another world?" a surprised look overtook the blond haired boy, "Why didn't you tell me~"
"Mhm... I didn't find a good time to really bring it up."
"Alright, I'll accept that. Say, what's your world like?" Brier's question brought eyes to look at Lucien, expecting his answer with baited breaths
"Eh? Well my world doesn't necessarily run on magic, to my world, magic is just nonexistent there."
"Ohhh! That's really weird then, how were you able to get magic then?"
The question brought a bit of surprise to Lucien, before he reverted back to his kind, kind smile, "I don't know."
~
The cold days of September brought a little chill to his spine, so wearing a lovely wool trenchcoat over his pyjamas, which was just a very loose white shirt and some sweatpants,  brought him joy. The warmth coupled with some early morning tea reminded him of life at home, being woken up at ungodly hours of the morning and being forced to carry out your normal activities while being half asleep, yeah definitely home.
The lax atmosphere of the early morning hour of six encouraged the (h/c) haired male to walk the expansive flower feild. After wearing some shoes, he walked out of the cottage and closed the door.
The fragrance of the forest seemed to stimulate his nose perfectly. Paired with it was the smell of a thousand different kinds of flowers. The experience of being in this wonderful place calmed the boy. As of late, he has been feeling a bit overwhelmed... it bothered him. Was he mentally weaker than he thought? Was he actually not ready for this? No, no, he's fine, he should just calm down, the flowers are there after all, it would be unsettling to show them such behavior.
The silence of the feild was broken by some rustling behind Lucien, who was alert and now facing the rustling bush.
"Who's there..." he wasn't so defensive, he was confident that he would be able to take out anyone with any sign of malicious intent
"Ah! Sorry... I didn't realize someone was having a walk." a head of flaming red hair popped up from the bushes
He was a tall person, not as tall as Lucien but tall enough. The person also exuded an aura of authority as he walked towards Lucien. Bowing forty-five degrees, he introduced himself.
"I am Florius, the Dorm Leader of this dorm. We weren't able to meet last night, but I had always wanted to make your acquaintance." smooth, his voice was as smooth as honey rolling of his pink lips
"Ah... um Florius-senpai, as you know, I am from another world so I'm quite curious about something." Lucien said
"Hm? Ask away then."
"Tell me everything you know about the Valley of Thorns."
So we finally frickin arrive at RSA, do note that this is my interpretation on what RSW is like, this has been written in like November of dumpster fire was 2020, so currently we only know about Che'nya and omg, I forgot his name, that Snow White dude. Any mentions of RSA are limited and most of this is what I think RSA is like, your interpretation of RSA can be different from mine and that's fine.
Okay, so I like to think that Royal Sword Academy is like really civil and sends an acceptance letter to their new student instead of kidnapping them, I'm looking at you NRC, and sends them their equipment to warm them up before bringing them to school.
My version of RSA is more of like a replica of NRC but good, I guess??? So there will be several dorms, all based of on the heroes of the Disney movies The Great Seven are from.
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apparently-artless · 3 years
Text
The Other Way Around - 1st Chapter
A Daiya no Ace Fanfic
Warning: Not Beta Read, English Grammar Nazi be warned! ( `ε´ )
Summary:
Just as how the whole baseball team is protective of one Sawamura Eijun. The southpaw pitcher is also protective of his teammates – his second family away from home.
Note: Different settings and timelines for each character. Check out source below for AO3 version.
Characters: Sawamura Eijun, Okumura Koushuu, Seto Takuma, Asada Hirofumi, Okumura's classmates
Chapter 1: Okumura Koushuu
Summer had finally ended and so is Kōshien. Seidou baseball team, the new champion of the said event, is busy preparing for the upcoming Fall Tournament now that the third year had retired. Sawamura Eijun, the new captain, was unanimously selected by their former two vice-captains and captain.
It’s a heavy burden considering he is still the team’s ace but he’s being supported accordingly by Kanemaru and Kominato as vice-captains. Besides, there’s Furuya and it’s not wrong to say that they have two aces in the team right now. After the summer tournament, Furuya and Sawamura had become even closer but the rivalry is still there. Their usual antics can still be heard from the bullpen and dugout. Needless to say, Sawamura is mostly the one doing the talking. But this time, Furuya is sharing the ace burden with Sawamura when he sees that Sawamura is trying to fulfill his responsibilities as the captain. He even requested Coach Kataoka to let him be the one in charge of the pitching team. Of course, Sawamura complained at first but eventually agreed upon seeing the determination in his rival’s eyes.
Summer ending also means classes resuming. During lunch break, Sawamura was on his way to the classroom of Seidou’s new main catcher, Okumura Koushuu. As soon as Sawamura arrived at 1-A room, he loudly announced himself as he looked for the catcher.
“I’m Sawamura Eijun of the baseball team! I would like to request the presence of our new main catcher, Okumura Koushuu! May I know where he is?” The southpaw declared while rotating his head from left to right.
There were several murmurs across the room as gazes traverse from the loud southpaw pitcher.
That’s Sawamura-senpai. The ace of the baseball team.
Wow! To think that someone as great as him is visiting our classroom.
His pitching is so sick! I saw him during the Kōshien. Maybe I should go ahead and have him sign my baseball?
Eh? So Okumura is the new main catcher now? Even though he’s still a first-year? So cool!
As expected, Okumura-kun belongs to a different dimension.
The whisperings continued but Sawamura couldn’t care less. Fortunately, one of Okumura’s female classmates answered the pitcher’s inquiry.
“If you’re searching for Okumura-kun, he just went out for a bit. He’ll be back in a few minutes,” said the girl in glasses with a smile who appeared to be their class representative.
“Oh! Is that so? If that’s the case, I’ll just be waiting outside. Thank you so much, young lady!”
The girl blushed at being called a young lady. “N-No, it’s fine. You can stay inside. It’s not often that a senpai visits our room. Also, I think some of my classmates would want to talk to you. Would it be possible to indulge them while you wait for Okumura-kun to arrive?”
“I see. So the first years would like to hear the wisdom of this lowly pitcher,” Sawamura responded in a serious tone with his arms crossed and his eyes closed as he pondered on the girl’s request while trying to hide the blush forming on his cheeks. “Then, if that’s the case, feel free to ask me anything and I’ll make sure to respond to the best of my abilities!”
How many pitches do you have?
Were you a member of a senior league before you went to Seidou?
Do you plan to go pro after high school?
The southpaw pitcher was continued to be bombarded with questions that he unwittingly responded to as he scratched his head because the first years seemed to assume that he’s some big-shot when he’s actually not. At least, that’s how the boy perceived himself. After all, he still has a long way to go.
After about five minutes of waiting, Okumura arrived and noticed how half of the space of the room was vacated and most of his classmates were gathered in front. He only needed two seconds to process what’s happening inside as he heard his main battery partner's obnoxious way of laughing.
As he entered the room, most of his male classmates and some of his female classmates were listening attentively to the southpaw pitcher.
“Okumura-kun! You’ve finally arrived. Sawamura-senpai is looking for you. He’s been here for a while now,” said one of the first-year managers who is in the same class as Okumura.
But before Okumura could respond, Sawamura already noticed his arrival.
“Okumura-shounen! Where have you been? I’ve been waiting for you,” Sawamura bellowed in the center of the crowd as he raised his left hand while waving enthusiastically at the catcher.
The whole class turned silent as they watched Okumura moved towards the front of the room where the pitcher and some of his classmates were gathered. As if intimidated by the boy’s aura, his classmates dispersed to give way to Okumura which he didn’t notice as he’s focused on the beaming second year.
“What are you doing here, Sawamura-senpai? Do you need something from me?” Okumura asked.
As soon as he spoke, some of his classmates seemed amazed hearing his voice.
So, he does speak.
I see. He’s still using Keigo when speaking to his senpai.
“Now, now! Don’t be so stiff Okumura-shounen! Why don’t we speak outside so I can discuss the details with you? You see, Furuya and I tried to come up with our training menu for the week for our pitchers and catchers. Since you’re the main catcher now, we thought it’d be best to seek your approval too! We’ll start the training this afternoon so I’d like you to check it now. Just check the ones for today then you can check the remaining ones once you have the time.”
Okumura-shounen?
So Sawamura-senpai calls Okumura-kun as Okumura-shounen?
Does he call other first years as ‘shounen’ too?
Okumura-kun doesn’t seem to mind.
Okumura’s classmates remained silent but they were obviously thinking at the back of their heads. They didn’t expect to see this side for both players. This is indeed a rare sight for them – a talking Okumura and a very serious Sawamura. Before Okumura arrived, Sawamura was wearing this idiotic look which made him appeared to be approachable. Had he shown this serious face right at the start, no one would have even tried talking to him.
“I wouldn’t mind doing this now. However,” Okumura paused as he looked at the two megane duo silently peeking at the front door of their classroom. “Taku, Hiro, what are you two doing here?”
“Ha-ha-ha. Koushuu, you found us,” Seto replied as he fake-laughed while Asada just smiled awkwardly.
“You’re not even making an effort to hide,” Okumura commented with his usual monotone.
“We heard Sawamura-senpai is in 1-A room right now so we decided to take a look.”
“Take a look? What are you talking about? You see him all the time in the dorm and during practice.”
We’re here to make sure nothing bad will happen between you two.
Asada and Seto thought to themselves as they immediately went to 1-A room upon hearing someone from their class that Sawamura was in fact visiting one of the first-year classes.
The conversation went on like this:
Boy A from class 1-C: Oi, you’re from 1-A, right?
Boy B from class 1-A who’s speaking to one of his friends in 1-C: Yep. Why do you ask though?
Boy A: Are you sure this is the time for you to be here?
Boy B: Huh?
Boy A: I heard that Sawamura-senpai is visiting your class. Don’t you want to check him out? You won’t even shut up last time after watching Kōshien.
Boy B: Ehh? For real? Dude! Tell me that earlier!
And then the boy ran towards his own classroom. Seto and Asada who were nearby happened to hear the entire conversation. And in 1-A room, they could only think of one person as the main reason for the southpaw’s visit.
Going back to the present –
“Oh! Seto, Asada! You’re here as well! Feel free to join this tiny meeting. It’s good to be exposed to this type of planning. Especially you, Asada, since you’re one of our pitchers too,” Sawamura beamed in response upon seeing the two first years while naturally ignoring Okumura’s comment.
The four of them had forgotten the fact that they were still inside the classroom.
The boy in black glasses called Okumura by his first name.
So he has friends too.
Are they from other dimensions as well?
Sawamura was the first one to notice the weird silence emanating in the room, which is surprising, to be honest. He noticed too, that Okumura’s classmates seemed to be looking at him with curiosity. A realization suddenly dawned at the southpaw as he drew nearer to the boy.
“Oi, Okumura,” whispered Sawamura.
“Why are you whispering?”
“Your classmates are looking weirdly at you. Are you by any chance being bullied? Are you not getting along well with the class?”
“Huh? Just where did that come from?”
Seto and Asada who can hear their conversation just fine were trying their best not to laugh. Since the two were classmates, Seto had already explained to Asada how he worried a lot about Okumura being in a different class because he tends to be misunderstood by some of his classmates. Needless to say, he knows what’s actually going on in the minds of Okumura’s classmates. After all, those were his initial thoughts too when he became Okumura’s classmate for the first time.
“Or maybe it’s that! You’re the one bullying them? That won’t do Okumura-shounen! As one of the members of Seidou baseball team, you must not use your strength to bully the weak,” Sawamura whispered once more, his right arm placed on Okumura’s shoulder and his left arm covering his mouth as he spoke, as if the two of them are on the mound planning some tactics to strike the batter out.
Seto laughed some more but decided to stop this hilarious conversation seeing that Okumura is now trying his best not to smack the pitcher on the head.
“Senpai, no one’s bullying anyone,” the boy in black-rimmed glasses decided to join in on the ‘secret’ conversation. “Koushuu’s very quiet when he’s in class, you see. I bet some of his classmates are just fascinated to see him talking normally.”
Asada nodded as well.
“Oh! Is that so? Thank God you’re not being bullied, and you’re not the bully as well. Yosh! Let’s clear the misunderstanding right now!” Sawamura proudly declared as he faced Okumura’s classmates.
“Sawamura-senpai, wai – “
But Okumura’s attempt at stopping the pitcher was in vain as Sawamura addressed the entire class.
“Listen up, Class 1-A! Okumura-shounen here is a very passionate baseball player. If you want to know more about him, you may want to start with baseball first! And then everything will follow! These two young megane lads here with me,” announced the pitcher as he walked towards Asada and Seto and placed both his arms on their shoulders. “…assure you that Okumura will not bite people. While I can definitely understand that he seems like a wild wolf, there’s no need for you to be so guarded around him.”
Seto and Asada were once more trying their best not to laugh at this awkward scenario. Okumura, on the other hand, was emitting an ominous aura towards his not-so-adorable senpai.
“Oh, of course! We’ll take note of that! Thank you for your guidance, Sawamura-senpai!” said the girl in glasses.
“No worries! Now, if you’ll excuse us. We still have some things to discuss.”
Okumura was speechless at the moment as he followed the three outside his room. There were various comments from Okumura’s classmates as the four players left.
Sawamura-senpai is a weird one.
Yep! But he’s still cool! At least, he’s looking out for his kouhais.
I wonder if Okumura would be willing to share some strategies when it comes to game-calling? I’m a catcher in our baseball community team.
“Senpai, you’re no longer allowed to go to my classroom. If you want to discuss something, meet me at the library,” Okumura finally spoke as soon as they stepped outside the room.
“Don’t be like that! We’re the main battery now! No need to hold back on me!”
“I am holding myself back, but for a different reason,” Okumura responded, his menacing aura oozing out again.
Seto and Asada initially laughed but tried their best to diffuse the tension between the two by telling them to continue with their meeting.
As stubborn as he is, Sawamura still visited Okumura at least once a week in his classroom. And each time, his class got to see a different side of the catcher. Gradually, Okumura started making conversation with his classmates as they realized that he is a normal student as well. Of course, his catching skills are still extraordinary.
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itsmoonphobic · 4 years
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Elemental Souls (SBI+Tommy 4 elements au)
(🌿) ♡ (🔥) ♡ (🌊) ♡ (🌬)
Techno Blade -Fire:
"Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products."
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You can either see Techno as rude,cocky and egoistic or you can see him as loyal,determined and smart.
Becouse of his cold facade,Techno can scare poeple off easily.The fact that he gets aggressive easily doesn't make it any better.He tends to be very sarcastic and loves to tease/ignore people badly which is another reason poeple tend to stay away from him.
Techno can be described as terrifying.Becouse he is very intelligent and silent poeple around him can only wonder what he is thinking and if he is planning on killing someone soon.Of course Techno never killed anyone and he would never do so but his scary aura makes people believe he did and would do it again.
He doesn't take things very seriously and will only get invested if he is deeply committed and interested in them or if he gets something out of it.Techno may say that he isn't a competitive person but god is this man lying to himself.
Challenging Techno to something is probably the most dumbest move you could make.Not only will he destroy you and win but he will make a whole ass war out of it.This guy won't sleep,eat or talk to another human being until he's won.And you can bet your ass he will totally humiliate you and rub it in till it burns-
That's what Techno can be seen as from the outside. But on the inside he is anything but confident,cocky and unbeatable.He is very shy and socially awkward. He only picks out certain people who he will let take part in his life.On some days his insecurities will get the best of him and he won't come out of his room for weeks-
Hours and hours spent on crying only then become evident once he leaves his room and reveals this mess of red and puffy eyes,dark valleys and pale skin.The vibes he gives off basically scream "back of and leave me the fuck alone or I will burn you to death"
Others may think that a fiery person like him has to have exciting and risky hobbies-When in reality Techno loves peaceful and quiet activities like reading or studying.May I add that in his free time Techno absolutely loves to be outside and farm potatoes on a daily-
Sure Techno does fighting and skill upgrading from time to time but when he is left alone with his head full of thoughts he will scurry to the local library and spend the rest of his day there.Nobody questions why he goes there or makes fun of him that such a tough guy reads books-Becouse they very well know he will personally beat them up and burn down their houses.
Techno's best friend Phil is the only person who he truly trusts with everything and anything.The two of them grew up together and developed a really strong emotional and family like bond.Techno only allows Phil to see his vulnerable and fragile side,he will cry infront of him and even let Phil hug him while he reassures him that everything will work out and be fine.
Techno isn'a touchy guy,for him pda is disgusting and unnecessary-like,why the fuck would you put your hands on another person?What kind of person enjoys sharing physical contact?Not Techno that's for sure.
Over time Techno became more open and extroverted so he agreed to meeting two of Phil's friends,both of them having different elements.Phil commented something about how he thinks that opposite friendships are way more exciting and fun!Techno didn't think much of it,he simply rolled his eyes and went along with it.
That was the day Techno met Wilbur and Tommy.He could immediately tell that Tommy would be annoying as fuck and really hard to deal with-I mean the kid was only twelve when they first got introduced.Wilbur on the other hand sparked some sort of feeling inside of Techno that made him feel welcomed in his presence.
So yeah over the course of the next four years the four element benders became really close.Yes even grumpy Techno had to live with the fact that he would die for all of them-even Tommy.And speaking of Tommy,he and Techno do everything together-
If you would to make fun of Tommy or tease/annoy him in any be it negative or positive way-Techno would hunt you down and burn you-If it isn't intense he will stick to only a threat-but if you actually physically or mentally hurt Tommy??Oh boy-I may have said that Techno never did and never would kill somebody,but in this case there is a high chance of an angry Techno being after you.
Techno sees his friend group as family members.Phil represents a huge father figure,Wilbur his younger brother and Tommy his youngest brother.He is very overprotective of them all,especially over Tommy if you couldn't already tell.With how much shit he gets himself into and the fact that he is only sixteen years young and his braincells are still producing he can't but worry for him and take care of him,even if he does bully the fuck out of him :)
Wilbur and Techno have the best moments.The two of them both enjoy reading so you can occasionally discover them in the local town library where they are just enjoying the peace shared between eachother. Although Wilbur does have a chaotic and wild side to him which he lets out when he's around Tommy,he becomes quite and relaxed when around the fire bender.Techno knew from the moment he met Wilbur that the two of them would get along great.
Techno isn't really good with showing his feelings or dealing with his emotions-Like I said apart from pride and anger he doesn't reveal much to the world.Phil used to be the only person Techno trusted but now with the whole gang on his side he earned himself more poeple to rely on.Of course it took time for him to open up and really let himself go infront of Tommy and Wilbur but the waiting definitely paid off.
When Techno practices,for example his weapon usage and fire bending it is best to leave him alone and stay a safe distance away from him.There is a chance for him to attack you,though he will most likely just snap at you and tell you to piss off if you don't wanna burn alive and if you wanna keep all your fingers in place.
Also not to mention,Techno is on the way of becoming a vegetarian.At the start he only hated eating anything related to pigs,like bacon or pork chops.But after developing his love for farming he noticed just how unnecessary eating meat is.Sure he still consumes meat from time to time but in most of the cases he will turn it down and eat a baked potato instead :D
Squid and Dream(A water bender and a earth bender) are both in a rivalry with him.Techno is probably the one who started randomly picking on Squid at one point and from there on out they kind of grew close?Not too close but most definitely a form of friendship.
Dream on the other hand is hundred percent the one who constantly competes with Techno.Be it in element bending or grades in school.If Dream manages to get even half a point more on an exam he would literally celebrate.The most annoying part is the fact that Techno doesn't even acknowledge Dream. Just to see Dream's face when Techno only shrugs and lets out a small "ehh" while saying that it doesn't matter and he sees no point in anyone trying to be as good as him or better,makes it more entertaining ;D
To sum it all up: Techno is a natural born leader.His dedication and determination along with his loyalty are a healthy base for a powerful soul.The reason behind his aggressive,confident and somewhat rude side is due to the fact that he is a fire bender and his element is naturally fierce.He fights for what he thinks is important and right and never lets anything happen to the poeple he deeply loves and cares about.He is not the best when it comes to showing sympathy and affection and he doesn't seek it from anyone else.He has to deal with major mental health issues but he's more than thankful for his friends that are by his side and help him out on his journey.Once Techno opens up to you more you know he likes you,like I said to earn Techno's respect and trust you have to meet his expectations and show him that you actually care for him and his well being.He needs some love guys <3
Like fire itself, fire benders tend to be passionate, dynamic, and temperamental. Fire can keep you warm, or it can do great destruction. While fire burns out quickly without fuel to keep it going, it can also regenerate its power from the ashes. A single spark can set off a forest fire. As a result, fire benders need to be nurtured and managed carefully.
Phil Watson - Air:
"Air refers to the Earth's atmosphere. Air is a mixture of many gases and dust particles. It is the clear gas in which living things live and breathe. It has an indefinite shape and volume. It has mass and weight, because it is matter."
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The most hardworking,kind and caring guy you will ever encounter.Phil is the definition of wholesome :)
Phil is a very understanding and empathetic person. He patiently listens and respects people's boundaries and insecurities.He is a great comfort to many poeple with phobias and mental health issues.A part of his element is care and gentleness.Phil is very careful and elegant with his words and actions.He tends to not be hasty and obnoxious around people he first meets or knows who don't like that type of behavior.
He and Techno are very close.Phil trusts Techno with his eyes closed and the same goes for Techno.The way the two of them interact with eachother suprises people all the time.How could such a gentle soul deal with a feisty one like Techno's??Outsiders and even familiars wonder if the two share some sort of telepathic connection.All in all they share an unbreakable and strong family like bond.
Not only did Phil introduce his other really good friends to Techno and managed to get him to open up more and trust other people apart from him,but he also helped Techno realize that there are other poeple out there who care about him and want to give him nothing but undeniable love <3
Techno may be close with Wilbur and Tommy but the only person who knows about Techno's struggles and his biggest fears is Phil.He knows exactly in which way he needs to talk to him and how to act around him.Phil knows Techno doesn't like affection like hugs and holding hands but as a sign of appreciation and gratefulness Techno allows Phil to hug him while he calms him down and takes care of him.
The way he acts with such precision and grace makes anyone feel welcomed and comfortable around Phil. Phil is very helpful.He doesn't wait for poeple to come up to him and ask him for something,he goes up to them and asks if he can help them out with anything.
He stands up for justice and always does the right things.Phil has a big heart,if he sees anyone who is hurt or feeling down his parent like instincts will activate and he will immediately comfort them.
All three of his best friends(Techno,Wilbur,Tommy) look up to him as a father figure,which warms Phil's heart and he honestly he thinks it's super cute <3 So naturally Phil can't but see them as his three polar opposite,chaotic sons.He would do anything for the three of them,even risking his own life.
Tommy and Phil's relationship is probably the most cutest one.When Phil tells Tommy to quit it or to stop fighting with Wilbur or Techno(mostly Wilbur),Tommy instantly goes quiet and apologises for it.Phil's air bending is something that Tommy loves about him.He will always ask the elder if he can twirl him around in the air and make him fly.Phil gladly does so and he will tickle him with the wind he creates until Tommy is a giggling mess :D
Wilbur and Phil on the other hand are a completely different dynamic than Techno & Phil or Tommy & Phil. Most think that Phil would be scared of Techno like any other person is but it's actually Wilbur who genuinely scares Phil from time to time.Sure anyone who sees him doesn't think that something like "I just wanna fucking murder everyone around me and drag them to the bottom of the ocean-" would come out of his mouth.It's not only what he says it's how and when he says horrifying things like that.They could be out on a walk and Wilbur would just have the most blank expression while he says sentences like that.Phil is pretty sure that he even caught Tommy holding onto Techno's hand once while Techno shivered slightly with wide eyes.
Phil is known for being very respectful and polite.He doesn't like to be mean and angry towards anyone!He is a big pacifist(unlike other poeple 👀)who likes to sort things out with a nice and peaceful conversation instead of turning to immediate violence.He will argument with someone,but only when he has a good reason to do so.If he sees people arguing or fighting he will confront them about it and make sure they settle down and put their differences aside.
He's affectionate and really interested in the problems of others,as if they were his own.He will always be there if you are stuck with something and need help solving or overcoming said problem.He'll make sure that both of you find a way to get rid of it! <3
Air benders are also the most forgiving element benders,so Phil can tell the difference between acting out and just plain old meanness,and he understands that in moments of strong emotion, people can say and do things to can hurt others. Not that he'd ever do the same!His cool, collected vibe helps him navigate the drama and analyze it throughly.
Phil is a master of both small talk and deep convos, and he knows how to use his wit to get him out of awkward moments.That's another way Phil instantly gets the hang of strangers he just met!!He knows what subjects to bring up and what topics to talk about that they are interested in!
Also I quickly wanna say that Phil's laugh is super contagious!He could be out with Techno,Wil and Tommy while the three of them rant on and on about their days and just talk about random,shit.Phil will silently listen to every detail in the background while he uncontrollably laughs.He will let out a small "What?" or "No way dude" but apart from those small phrases he just prefers listening and cackling.He loves to see other people laugh and smile and is even more happy when he is the reason they do so :3
Phil is generous and selfless.He puts the health and safety of others before his own.He doesn't require many things to be satisfied in his life.As long as he has his family and friends he couldn't be more grateful <3
He definitely has a love for birds such as pigeons and doves.One time about two years ago Tommy brought Phil a beautiful silver feathered bird for his birthday. Even with his element being air,Phil sometimes wishes and dreams of flying himself,being able to feel that freedom for himself you know?He sees birds as lucky to have a gift such as flying.
Air benders are all about action, ideas, and motion—they are the “winds of change.” When a strong gust hits you, you can’t help but move. While some within their ranks may be true-life “airheads,” others are as powerful as a gravity-defying G-force. Air benders bring everyone a breath of fresh air when things start to get stale. Like the breeze, you can’t quite catch them, and you never know where they’ll drop you once they sweep you up. It will almost always been an adventure, though
Wilbur Soot - Water:
"Water is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms. It is vital for all known forms of life, even though it provides no calories or organic nutrients."
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Charming,suave and flirty in a way that can only be from fiction.Do men like that even exist?Apparently they do and they go by the name of Wilbur Soot.
Ever stand under a waterfall? That’s what it’s like when a Wilbur is feeling an intense emotion.
Intuitive, emotional and ultra-sensitive,Wilbur can be as mysterious as the ocean itself. Like water,he can be refreshing,or he can drown you in his depths.Security is important to him,after all, water needs a container, or it dries up and disappears.
He tends to hold on to people and items long past their expiration dates,and his emotions are always flowing like the waves of the oceans.Wilbur has intense dreams,visions,and an intuition so strong that it’s basically a psychic power.He can see situations happening from a mile away before they occur.
He might intentionally seek out sad music or movies, and he probably has childhood photos framed in his room.Emotional and creative,he relays on his heart and gut to make a decision.Logic and reason are second to his feelings which is how he navigates the material world.Wilbur also longs for security at all times,which makes sense as he's protective of his loved ones and himself.He'll do everything he can to help the ones he cares about,even if it’s at his own expense.
However, like most things beautiful, below the surface many complexities often arise and the same is true when talking about water benders.
Wilbur is notoriously perceptive and he possesses instincts when it comes to sussing out people and situations.He's guided by his gut feelings and more often than not his first instinct about a person are dead on.He can get a feel for whether someones intentions are honorable or not just by observing their body language and general demeanor.
Like a river filling in every crevice of its path,Wilbur covers every detail and often picks up on things that others miss.No riverbed is left to dry as the water flows through each and every intricacy.
The water signs are no stranger to emotion, in fact, they often feel things rather intensely.
On one hand,his emotional side can provide him with a lot of insight and wisdom into the human experience which he can even then pass on to others.On top of this,it allows him to be incredibly empathetic which helps him form strong bonds with others.
But sometimes he can get so overcome by his emotions that it feels like a giant tidal wave just hitting him all at once. When he feels overwhelmed like this he can find it tough to think straight and make rational decisions.
Because he is so prone to analyzing absolutely everything he can sometimes overthink things a little too much and make life more complicated for himself then it needs to be.He has a bad habit of coming up with problems and obstacles in his mind that don’t actually exist or aren’t nearly as bad as he's talked himself into them being.
Sometimes you might catch Wilbur acting withdrawn or shy but the truth is he's probably just deep in thought and mentally a million miles away.He often finds his thoughts are racing at a million miles an hour and that he's powerless to do anything about it.
Just like a bustling river,Wilbur can be a bit wishy washy and kinda all over the place… especially when it comes to making important decisions.Too many options can sometimes leave him overwhelmed and struggling to make any decision at all.
He's also known for being easily distracted and can go from paying close attention in one moment to being totally away with the fairies the next.He doesn't do it out of rudeness he just can’t help himself sometimes!
Wilbur has a very private and mysterious side,he doesn’t like to reveal all of his cards at once.He's known for putting up walls and can be particularly guarded when he's around people he doesn't trust.
From time to time he needs space to himself to think and unwind. As much as he loves his friends and family there’s just some times where he's gotta have some alone time to spend by himself.
Wilbur sure has a unique way of looking at the world. His perspective combined with his vivid imagination makes him naturally gifted in music or anything involving a creative flare.He is a dreamer at heart whose ideas aren't limited by pesky rules or conventions.
He has a big musical talent,his voice is a perfect balance between rough and velvety.It's not too high and not too low,not too loud and not too quiet.The moment he strums his guitar strings he can wrap anybody around his finger.
Wilbur is emotionally manipulative.He can make you feel bad for something you didn't even do.He can make you regret things or certaint actions that aren't supposed to make you feel regretful.He will only use this "talent" of his in a worst case scenario.If you ever hurt his friends or loved ones he will make your life a living hell,wouldn't even wonder if you never decided to show your face to the public ever again.
Techno's and his relationship is wonderful.Wilbur has helped Techno so much to open up more and come out of his shell.They both enjoy the peaceful and quiet times in their life.Reading,going on walks or strolling along the beach while watching a sunset is just some of the many things they love doing together.He isn't as close to Techno like Phil is but he is close second. He sees him as his older and stronger brother who will always be there for him when he needs him.Honestly the two of them have such a beneficial dynamic <3
Now Tommy's and Wilbur's interactions are something absolutely opposite.When the two of them spent time together,they become these chaotic and annoying siblings that go around town and fuck with people. There was this one time where they flooded a barn which belonged to Phil's neighbors and the two reckless idiots ran away laughing.Sure Tommy steals Phil's stuff all the time or uses it without permission but Wilbur,just like Techno,is very overprotective of Tommy.If he finds out that somebody hurt Tommy in any way or made fun of him he will beat them up. Literally he will call in Techno for help to go and pay the little fuckers who messed with Tommy a visit.The only ones who are allowed to tease and bully Tommy are Techno and Wilbur,no one else.
Phil and Wilbur have some of the best moments when spending time with eachother.Not only is Phil a great source of reassurance and comfort but he knows that Phil will seal his mouth shut if Wilbur speaks to him about his insecurities and problems.He loves that Phil listens to him and never judges him about anything. Like the other two Wilbur sees Phil as a father figure. A great and inspiring role model he can look up to.
He likes to collect sea shells and old treasures he finds scattered over the sand at the beach.He doesn't like swimming or diving,which is really unrealistic to not only other water benders but benders in general.It's not that Wilbur is scared,he simply likes to admire it from the shore.He will do it from time to time must mostly he will just sit down and let his legs and feet rest in the cold liquid.
I can imagine that when he was a kid he used to pretend to be a pirate.He still has his old eye patch and hook that were part of his costume.Now,even after thirteen years he still likes to go up to the harbor when the fishermen arrive with a freshly caught catch and watch the ships glide across the indigo waves.
Tommy Simons - Earth:
"Earth materials are vital resources that provide the basic components for life, agriculture and industry. Earth materials can also include metals and precious rocks."
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Tommy is outgoing,energetic and he isn't afraid to speak up and share his thoughts with others.A very openminded and positive guy.He always looks on the bright side of every situation he finds himself in.
He is down to earth.He doesn't believe in having dreams,he only believes and accepts things the way they are and how they are portrayed in his eyes.
People don't realize it but they are seriously underestimating Tommy.When you first see him you don't expect him to have good strategies and the ability of leadership like Techno clearly has.But that's the thing.One of the many things Tommy picks up while being in a friendship with the fire bender is experience.Techno will lazily teach the young earth bender how to protect himself and lead a team. Without Techno's guidance Tommy would have been in trouble countless times.So you could say that Techno is Tommy's mentor :)
He's a great mood booster!If there is awkward tension in a room or between others he will make it up by just being there and doing what Tommy does the best, brighten up the atmosphere!He will start random conversations and just try to get everyone else to do something fun like play a game or watch a movie.
Techno may help Tommy with things like self defense and how to establish dominance but the earth bender helps him with his potato farming!He will hurry up the process of their growth and make sure they are perfect before they are harvested.He keeps track of the amount of soil and vitamins the earth their roots grow in receives.
Speaking of Techno's and his relationship: The two of them are so close it's insane.They do everything with eachother!They train,upgrade their skills in bending and fighting,they go out to eat or have a drink,they go around town and fuck things up-the two of them are huge pranksters.Tommy always tries to prove himself infront of Techno and impress him in any way.Tommy loves spending time with Techno,the blond earth bender admires him in so many different ways- They don't have to be doing much together,it can be mindless talking or simply being in the same room.
Wilbur and Tommy are ehhh- special?On one side they are funny and entertaining together but on the other side they can be insulting eachother with such vulgarity that you could think they are about to commit murder any moment.Tommy talks so much shit about Wilbur.If you're dumb enough and actually choose to listen to him,he will ramble on about how Wilbur thinks he's so smart and good with the ladies- Yoo would think that after trash talking him that Tommy hates Wilbur's guts but it's the opposite!!If he catches you talking bad about Wilbur behind his back he will call Techno and they will hunt you down.
Tommy like everyone else sees Phil as his very caring and cool dad!Phil somehow always finds out about all the shit Tommy does and he gets scolded for it.Like most people,if Tommy ever has a problem he's dealing with or he's in a uncomfortable situation,Phil is the first person who crosses his mind and therefore the one he turns to.
The way Tommy goes around their town and picks fights with others is so stupid.At the end he comes home with bruises and wounds all over his skin.One time his best friend Toby brought him to Phil with a bloody nose and Phil's reaction was screeching-
He is extremely curious and stubborn.He doesn't really think before he acts and dives into unknown things he's not familiar with head first.Techno is the one who laughs at him and teases him about how clumsy he is.
Earth benders keep it real. They are the “grounded” people on the planet, the ones who bring us down to earth and remind us to start with a solid foundation. Slow and steady, these “builders” are loyal and stable, and stick by their people through hard times. On good days, they’re practical; at worst, they can be materialistic or too focused on the surface of things to dig into the depths.
Hope you enjoyed this au!!I am currently writing MULTIPLE stories and au's so bare with me guys!I don't like working fast becouse my work afterwards doesn't feel completed:( I hope all of you have a wonderful day/night <3 Love ya!!!
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