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snapefiction · 3 years

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Someone who appreciates me Pt. 1 - Snapefiction

A/N: Hey! Thank you to everyone who supports my writing. I just recently reached 200 Followers after not even full two Months of starting this Blog and I couldn't be happier that you enjoy my writing. In hopes that you'll like this one too! x

(I tried to use gender neutral Pronouns and Descriptions at first but sadly lost the track of it so it slipped back to a fem!Reader. I'm sorry, I am trying to learn and do better next time.)

❤️ Please remember that English isn’t my native language and that my Writings will include Mistakes and maybe weird formed sentences. ❤️

Pairing: Severus Snape x Y/N, Severus Snape x fem!Reader

Setting: 3-4 Years after the Battle of Hogwarts

Warnings: Mentions of Insults

Word count: 2871

Y/N - Your Name, Y/L/N - Your Last Name, Y/W/A - Your wished Age, Y/B/M -Your Birthday Month

Someone who appreciates me - Pt. 1

,,Dear Professor, As you may know Minerva can be very consistent of certain things. One of these Certain Things seem to be the fact that we both are (if all my given Informations are correct) not currently in a relationship. I do not want to pressure you to read my letter or even answer it but i´d be very thankful if you’d at least let Minerva know about what your intentions are. Since a long time now- to be exact 7 Months and 3 days - she started to play my personal Matchmaker and I’m very sorry that you seem to be chosen by this fate that she gave us as well. So by Merlins Sake I’m going with her wish in hope Minerva may be Satisfied by it.

My Name is Y/N Y/L/N. I´ m currently working for the Ministry but will be switching to the St. -Mungos Hospital soon to continue to work as a Healer. I am Y/W/A years old and will be turning Y/W/A on Y/B/M. I live near the Diagon Alley. I despite the idea of introducing myself to someone else like I just did. It feels like I am exposing myself.

In my free time -which has gotten very rare over the years - I enjoy reading, drinking tea and going on walks. It’s not very much, actually it’s nothing, but it makes me happy. I’m a simple Woman.

Since this is the most awkward Thing I have done in a while i will end this letter down here. In hopes that you’re well and have a great day.

Yours sincerely Y/N YL/N”

Sighing he turned the Letter to look at the sealing. It must’ve sent directly from their workplace as they even used the official seal from the ministry itself for this use. He had to admit that he was lonely. Very indeed but Minerva was taking it too far by now. She tried to set him up a few times yet but he never really went with it. But now that she persuaded another Person to send him a letter directly to his workplace he was fed up. Pity grew in his stomach as he imagined what Minerva must’ve said about him to the other Person. She was always exaggerating about him, his past life and everything from the present. She mothered and did everything to fuss over him since he was a Student at Hogwarts himself and yes, he had to admit it, he liked it sometimes. Enjoying their annual Tea each Sunday it was alright having her as a Friend. Especially after the Dark Lord passed and he finally got rid of the pressure of hiding. But her well trained skill to brew a perfect tea won’t make up that she tried to play a constant matchmaker for him.

A deep Sigh left his throat as he sorted his Thoughts. Whatever he’d try to say would lead to a discussion about why she wants him to meet that Person so dearly. It was always a repeating scheme. Getting up from the wooden Chair which could need a replacement he took the letter in his one hand before heading to her chambers.

The Parchment burned in his Hands. Deciding on how he’d like to drop the bomb that he’d prefer to stay alone he kept walking faster. To be honest, he would never admit that towards Minerva nor anyone else and not even himself, he loved the idea of founding a family. He always imagined it as a great Joy since his own family was rather a decent disaster. But he knew what the Newspaper wrote about him after he survived, he knew what rumours go around at the Ministry, he knew how People still degraded him and how everyone secretly was checking twice if he wasn’t secretly still a death eater. He knew, felt and saw it everyday. So it just wasn’t meant to be for him to become the man he dreamt about in private. Maybe i should go back to Cokeworth, get a dog and dedicate my life to the science.

Before he could continue his daydream of vanishing from his current world he reached the door leading to Minerva´s private rooms. Knocking he already knew she was there because the heat from inside and the smell of tea already reached his nose.

After a few seconds he heard her mumbling and finally opening the shrieking door.

,,Severus, my dear. What is it?“ A warm smile formed on her face. He just tried to keep his cold face as he hoped it’d get him further in the argument that he tried to start to prove his point. Silently holding up the Parchment he pointed the wax seal directly towards her.

,,Is it from Y/N?" Her eyes shined brightly and she was already asking him inside as her hands took the letter and she moved her tall figure aside to let him in.

,,Of course it is." He mumbled while making his way over to his usual seat. Watching her reaction as she read the Letter he wished to vanish. It was simply embarrassing.

,,Oh, she can't be serious. I told her to tell you something about herself."

,,She did!" He pleaded.

,,No she didn't! She just talked about me. Oh! The two of you match perfectly. You both are very self conscious about what you are and what you deserve or in general on how to communicate." She went to the kitchen to get kettle.

,,You're just mad that we don't want to play along with your plans." Mumbling Severus knew that she heard every whisper.

,,No you're just mad that I told her about you." Rolling his eyes he watched her setting down the kettle and filling him a cup of tea.

,,I don't need a Relationship." Stating his Fact he hoped it could bury the Topic finally.

,,I know. But it wouldn't harm you as well." Taking a sip from the still brewing water tea mixture he wondered how she wasn't burning herself.

,,Can you just stop setting those things up?" Now it was her who rolled their eyes. ,,Only if you give it one first and one last try. Y/N is very kind."

,,Kindness isn't everything. Her Letter wasn't very tempting."

,,Merlin, if you start judging people over their Kindness I'll lose my mind. You aren't very charming yourself, you twit."

,,You call me a Twit?"

,,You're clearly a Twit."

,,Stinky Witch." Shrugging her shoulder she hid her smile behind her cup of tea before downing it almost completely. ,,One date and I'll stop for good."

,,Do you promise?"

,,I solemnly swear. If this won't work out then you might be a helpless case." Ignoring her spur he gave in. Again.

,,Fine." And so it came that he drank his tea and they chatted about something else. Their Friendship had their own charm. But before Severus could leave to go back to his own Rooms Minerva put the Parchment in his Hands and told him with a warm smile to write back.

It didn't work out like he planned. Actually it was the opposite. He wanted to burn the Letter and forget that it had happened but if it was the only way to get rid of any unwanted dates, matches etc. he would actually give it a chance. Unbelievable. He'd really write Y/N back.

Since it was almost midnight he decided that it was time to continue his paperwork. He couldn't fall asleep until three A.M. anyways if he was able to fall asleep in general. After answering a lot of Letters, correcting some Works and finally writing down what he had to get from his next visit at Diagonal Alley he couldn't stop his mind from wandering to his new acquaintance living there. Wasn't she repelled by his ruined reputation?

Rereading her Letter he was wondering what a type of person she was. How did she look like? What made Minerva think that they'd be a great Match? In his Mind he was starting to puzzle a picture of someone he'd expect to write to. Of what he'd expect someone nice to be and act like. To his surprise it wasn't anything close to Lily. Not at all. It was almost the completely opposite. Bewildered he laid down his feather. He almost hasn't noticed how he started to mindlessly write all the attributes down that he was hoping to find in Y/N.

Nice but not foolish. Intelligence. A dry sense of humor. Challenging. Special. Complementary. Appreciative. Pretty Eyes. A soothing voice. Someone who appreciates work. Someone who appreciates me?

Eyeing the Clock he noticed that it was already past 4 am. Again he was completely loosing his track of time. Packed by the idea of finding something of those attributes in her he grabbed a paper and his feather.

His enthusiasm quickly faded. What was he supposed to say? What did she knew about him? His wide eyes and his raised eyebrows scaled down a bit. This grew to be more complicated than he anticipated.

,,Y/N, I'm sorry that Minerva grew this Mania about you as well. I have known her for a long time by now and can confirm to you that despite all her promises she won't stop setting things up. It seems like it became one of her dearest ways of passing time.

Not knowing of what she has told you about my person I will just start formally.

My Name is Severus Snape. Currently I am still preoccupied as the head of house of Slytherin at Hogwarts. And due to latest events I won't return to teaching soon or anytime again. Most of my time I look out to keep myself busy with science studies, working and reading.

To be completely honest, I promised Minerva to write back as she promised me in return to stop setting any acquaintance with me. Also I feel uncomfortable introducing myself as well. I prefer Meetings.

Yours faithfully Severus Snape"

After his eyes read the letter multiple times he finally got himself to seal it. Watching the wax cool down he noticed how much he hoped that she could at least fulfil on of the attributes he was looking for. Hope? Don't make a fool out of yourself. She will probably loose her interest soon.

But she didn't. He sent his Letter around 4:50 am and already at 8am after he slept 2 full hours she sent her response. Not truly believing his eyes that Y/N was answering and not someone who would want to mess with him he quickly opened it. This Time the Seal was a different one. One that contained her Initials.

,,Dear Severus, Taking it from your response I anticipate that we are on first name base now? If that's so completely fine with that.

Reading your Letter I had to laugh. Minerva is simply one of a Kind and somehow I feel very reliefed that you're as uncomfortable as I am.

Maybe that's a great opportunity to admit that I already know a lot about you. Minerva is very chatty and as you probably already are aware of your Name is very well known and greatly appreciated. And by that I don't mean that that's the Reason why I decided to write you but I mean that I'm impressed by you. I actually chose to follow Minerva's will to contact you because she introduced you as a very kind, intelligent and somewhat funny Man. And despite the fact that I am happy by being alone I can't deny that the idea of meeting someone like you was interesting me. Someone who Minerva introduced as a great Friend. This may sound cheesy but you deserved to get known to my intentions.

You mentioned that you prefer Meetings. What about a Meeting at the Three Broomsticks? I bet you know a lot funny stories about Minerva which I'm not aware of yet. Name a Time and Day and I'll be there. And if it makes you more comfortable- you can decide if it's as friends or if you want to call it a date. As I already said I'm mainly interested in getting known to you.

I hope you'll have a successful Morning and i'm expecting your Owl.

Yours sincerely Y/N YL/N"

That wasn't like anything he expected. She wasn't disgusted by everything he did? She wanted to meet him? He thought that she'd politely decline and he'd get rid of all the fuss but she actually sounded nice. Should he give in?

Some time has passed since he received her letter. To be exact four days and nights. Severus told himself that he had gotten busy in hopes this could ease his guilty Feelings. But Minervas Questions wouldn’t stop and he had to make the decision he was shoving back for too long. He just wanted to end that Matchmaking Service and now it had gotten him to the point where he was too nervous to answer a simple letter after the Person openly admitted their interest in him.

Hoping for someone to take the Decision which now laid heavy on his shoulders he wandered around the corridors. His duties for the day have been already done by now and he was just looking for a task to get his mind of the Woman’s Name. He was too nervous to answer, way to nervous. It was nice to get known to someone, yes. But it was too early for him. He hasn’t recovered yet and still felt hurt from his past. Who could blame him? No one. Right? Slowly he started to feel better. Like it was a great opportunity to back off and make this another awkward Memory he had in one of his many brain cells. He won’t answer her. That’s it.

Feeling some Weight flowing off his shoulders he reached his Chambers. He should at least answer Harry. Since he had graduated two and a half years ago he still checked up on him. It simply was his promised duty to do so. Thinking of Questions to ask Harry about his new Life as a Auror and about his Girlfriends Ginny Weaslys as a Professional Quidditch Player he grabbed some Parchment and took his Feather. Dipping it into the small ink Pot he had to notice it was empty. Annoyed he took the List he had put in his drawer in his hands. Diagon Alley, was written on it. Tea, Ink, a new Book and some Parchment.

,,Dunderhead.“ He called himself as he again rolled his eyes. He had forgot to get his supplies. That one Task had slipped off his mind. Annoyed and grumpy as always he gritted his teeth while grabbing his Coat and using his Cabin to reach named Diagon Alley. Slighty coughing he scrunched his nose. As Years have passed he grew to hate using Floo Power.

Diagon Alley was shining. Lights from every Window invited Passengers into their Shops. But Severus wasn’t the Man to just go shopping and buying random Things. He was organised. So Organised that a simple Woman who showed slight interest in him could get him off his tracks. Ironic. He worked Years as a spy and now a simple Letter did this to him.

His Feet lead his set route to the Shop where he got the Parchment and some ink and afterwards to the Teashop. The last station was the Book Shop. It was the only stage where he was spending an unknown amount of time each time he got there. Words always had a big impact on him. Of course Actions were important too but it are words who seduce him easily.

That’s why he was carrying his now heavy bag through the huge aisles of Books trying to find a new object of Desire. He was very fond of almost every Herbalism, Potion and Healing Book so it had to be something new. His Position as Head of house was boring him. He needed something to do. So he decided to focus his energy on Books and as already mentioned Science.

Opening a smaragd green book he followed some lines about Muggles. Even though he never found himself very intertwined in this Topic he gave it a chance. The fact of how well written and even advanced it was was interesting him. Putting it in his little Basket he continued to decipher the Book Titles. Death Omens: What to Do When You Know the Worst is Coming. Taking it in his Hands he way eyeing it closely.

,,I hope you aren’t expecting anything bad, Professor Snape. That's a dangerous Book.“ Caught he quickly looked to his side. A young Woman was smiling nervously at him. Confused he tried to remember her. Was she a Student? A former Death eater? Merlin, no. She was too young to be a death eater.

,,Y/N.“ Her cheeks blushed now and she lowered her glance shortly. ,,Y/N Y/L/N. I thought it might be not very polite if I wouldn’t even say hello since we somehow know each other.“ Getting lost in her eyes he quickly forgot his Plan on to stop thinking about her and not writing her back.

to be continued. last update 30.jan.21

Taglist: @deepperplexity , @monstreviolet , @wow-life-love4 , @lizlil , @once-upon-an-imagine , @darkthought15 , @elizabeth-baelish , @looseheartedlady , @ithinkweallsing , @simpforsnape

Let me know if you want to be added to my Taglist. :)

#Severus snape #snape #Severus Snape x reader #Severus Snape x y/n #snape x reader #snape x y/n #prosnape #snapefiction #my writing

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slythraco · 3 years

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Hateful - D.M (Part 2)

Summary: Draco Malfoy falling for a Gryffindor, sounds mental right ? If only you knew.

Warnings: Swears

Words count: 2K

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"Can we put it off until tomorrow? I can't take it anymore..." You complain on your potion book under the amused gaze of Draco. "No way, You're not going to get off that easy." You sigh loudly to make him understand that his answer does not suit you. He giggles. "Courage Y/N, you got this !" You smile when you hear his encouragements. You nod as you look at your watch on your wrist, it's been two hours already and your head was hurting from all the explanation Draco gave you. You've seen each other in the library after school for a week now. You had agreed that these "study" meetings should remain secret for his reputation and you, to avoid an argument with your friends, but every night you seemed to get on a little better with each other. Which was not displeasing you, you no longer had to put up with his scathing remarks every day during the day.

You frown when you realise what time it was. "Cricket ! I should be with Ginny right now !" You shouted in panic. "Why ?" Draco asked, confused. "I told her i would help her to prepare the party tonight !" Draco frowns while you quickly get up to pick up your stuff and put it in your bag. "The party in the Gryffondor common room ?" He asked, curiously. "Yes ! You're coming ?" You ask as you put your bag on your shoulder once everything is packed up in it, all it rests is your potion book that you take against your chest. Draco gets up at his turn. Anyway, he had nothing to do in the library if you leave. "Um...no. I don't think i'll be welcomed there." He complains, it's true, a Slytherin, surrounded by Gryffondors who hates him, it didn't sound like a good idea. "Come on, since when do you care about what people think ? Especially if you have a chance to annoy them !" You tease as you put a light punch on his arm, making him slightly tilt. "You're right. But I had other plans tonight." You nod as a respond, a bit disappointed, it would've been a good thing if Draco came, you would've the chance to discover him in other circumstances then a potions lesson. "Alright, see you next time then !" You shouted before making your way towards the door. Draco looks at you, sadly, he secretly hoped that your course did not shorten.

...

The party was in full swing, Ginny and you had made an amazing work, everyone was having fun. You were currently dancing with her and Hermione on the dance floor when you hear the Muggle-born. "What is he doing here?" She shouted, you frown and look in the direction she was looking. You gasp when you see Draco accompanied by Blaise, but all you could see was his wearing his black suit that made you feverish for a second. You didn't if it was the effect of the drinks of fire whiskey you took or just that he was attractive to you all of a sudden but he had an effect on you, you couldn't lie. "I'll make him go, i'll be right back !" Ginny proposed but you quickly stop her by putting your arm before her. "No don't worry ! I'll talk to him !" You don't let her say anything before you disappear in the crowd to join Draco. Without him seeing you, you grab his arm and quickly pull him behind a wall so no-one can see you too. "You came!" You scream out of joy while Draco takes a second to figure out where he suddenly is Until his eyes finally meet yours, he takes a second to look at your outfit, you looked really good and it kind of disturbed him.

IIndeed, it was the first time he saw you in something else, then your school uniform. " Are you okay?" Your voice gets him out of his thoughts. He blinks quickly to come back to reality. "Yes, sorry! You're just..." You tilt your head to the side, confused. "I...?" He was about to answer but two identical men appeared out of nowhere. "So we hide from other people's eyes ?" One of them asked. "What do you want ?" You avoid the question by asking another one. "We were looking for you !" Georges shouted while Draco didn't know where to put himself. "Why ?" You frown. "Take this !" Fred hand you a little vial filled with a colourless liquid. "What is it ?" You ask as you take it between your fingers. "Concentrated happiness." They said at the same time. "You want one too Draco ?" George proposed to the Slytherin prince. "No, thanks." He dryly said without stopping to look at you who was staring at the potion. "It's sound like a bad idea to take it." He whispers and the twins rolled their eyes. "Oh please ! We won't give it to you if it was dangerous ! It's just going to make you more happy !" Fred explained. "And more energetic. You'll love it !" You hesitate a second before opening it and drink the beverage. The blondie looked at the scene, powerless, having a bad feeling about it.

While blink a few times under the happy gaze of the Weasley twins. You could already feel the effects of it, everything around you seemed, brighter and happier. You turn to Fred and smile to him like a kid. "Well, don't we have a party to run !" You scream and they both start to scream with you. "Yeeeees ! Let's go Y/N !" George exclaims before picking off the floor to bring you back on the dance floor, far away from Draco. The Slytherin was far too worried about you to leave the party, his bad feeling didn't go away when you turned into this over-happy girl. So he stayed there, making sure you won't get in trouble.

...

The troubles only came a few hours later, you were still dancing with your friends. Draco, was sitting on the couch that you and Ginny pushed to the side to make room for the dance floor. He was staring at you, it was a question of time before he interrupts all of this. You were out of control, dancing glued up to every guy who was passing by. For a reason he ignored it made him crazy to see you like that. It was the twins fault, so when George pass by, Draco quickly get up and grab the collar of his shirt. "What the fuck did you gave her !" He angrily asked the ginger head. "Hey calm down ! I just made her happier !" He tried to explain. "Shut up ! You just made her a fucking a whore !" Draco spit, looking directly into his eyes, if he had knives as eyes, George would already be dead. "Why do you even care ? Now she's really what you treated her the other day !" Draco was about to punch him but Blaise's hand stop him before he can. "Calm down Draco, we should go." Zabini proposed. "No." Draco simply responded as he let go of George who run away from him to tell the story to his brother.

He turns to look at you again, but you were gone, he starts to look around him, but you were nowhere to be found. "Where is she ?" He asked Blaise like he could know. The blondie sigh and walk on the area people were dancing on, he got grabbed a few times by drunk girls, but he quickly pushed them away. You were still nowhere but Draco joins Ginny and Hermione who were still dancing without you. "Where's Y/N ?" He asked the youngest who was probably under litres of alcohol because she gives him the information right away. "In the bathroom, why ?" She asks but Draco doesn't even take the times to answers. He heads over to the girl bathroom and gets a few dirty looks when he enters it. "Y/N ?" He shouted inside. You knock on your door to signal him where you were, Draco tries to open it, but you were lucid enough to lock it. "Are you okay ?" He asked, worried. "No..." You said in a little voice. "Open the door." The Slytherin demands in a reassuring voice, which works, you unlock the door and Draco immediately opens it. He can't help but giggle when he sees you sitting on the floor, head over the toilet bowl. "That's not funny !" You yell when you hear him laugh. "It is, did you throw up ?" He asks, you just nod as a response. "And my head hurts so bad...what happened ?" You complain, rubbing your forehead. "I'll explain to you tomorrow, come on, I'm bringing you back to your dorm." He reaches out to you and you gently take his hand, so he can help you getting up. You feel your head spinning once you're finally on your feet. "Are you okay ? I can carry you if you don't feel like walking." Draco proposed, all worried to see you like that. "No don't worry...I'm fine." You try to lie, but you almost fall when you make your first step. "Okay, come here."

Draco grabs your waist and lift you up to put you on his shoulder before starting to walk out, in the direction of your room. "Hey ! Help me ! I'm getting kidnapped !" You yell as you hit his back with the little strength you have left. Malfoy laughs a little at your attempt. "Shut up Gryffindor." You giggle at his response. "Make me, Malfoy." You tease and without no warnings your feet touches the floor and find yourself pushed to the first wall Draco had to his disposition. "Don't test me Y/L/N." The sudden proximity between you two make you both in a weird state, it was like the distance between you was still too much, you needed to make it disappear. "What ? You want to do it ?" You ask with a playful smile on your smile that made Draco go crazy. His eyes go to your lips, they seemed so desirable all of a sudden. As he slowly leans to kiss them, your arms snakes around his neck, you were ready to kiss him, but he stops a few millimetres away, making you wanting more. He saw it, how much you wanted to kiss him, and it made him, and it was driving him mental but then he remembered. You took that weird potion that is probably fucking up your brain. He then slowly pulls away, as much as he wanted to do it, he just couldn't take advantage of you. "Let's go." He takes your hand and pull you until you reach your door.

He gets out his wand and murmurs. "Alohomora." the door opens for you and you quickly enter to jump on your bed. You fall asleep in less than a second which made Draco sighs. He walks to you and remove your shoes and put the cover over your body, so you don't get cold and just when he was about to leave, you stop him. "Wait ! Stay with me..." You beg as you sit on your bed. "I barely saw you tonight..." You complain sadly. Draco consider your offer for a second. You weren't in your normal state is what he thought, he didn't want to be the kind of asshole that take advantages of someone, even less you. "I'm sorry, but I can't." He grins open your door, he turns one last time on your doorstep. "Have a good night Y/N" He murmurs before leaving for good. "You too, Draco..." You whisper too late before letting your back fall on your bed.

...

#Draco Malfoy #draco x reader #draco imagine #draco malfoy requests #draco #Tom Felton #tom felton imagine #tom felton one shot #tom felton x reader #imagines #imagines request #one shot request #tom felton request

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taeguboi · 4 years

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BTS Reaction to you bumping into an ex that was emotionally manipulative / abusive

... (and in which the BTS member is your current boyfriend)

So first of all, a big fat [!]Warning[!] about the themes about abuse - it’s not like highly descriptive or visual, just mentions about it but I don’t want to upset anyone.

Like seriously, please don’t make yourself read this because it’s BTS themed or because you think you should force yourself to read something like this when you aren’t ready too. Sending much love to everyone who might have had similar experiences <3

EDIT: here’s my Reactions Masterlist if you would like to pick out some content to read that’s more your jam :)

Calms you down

You see your ex one day when you and Namjoon are just walking down the street before a nice stroll in the park. Today was supposed to be about you relaxing and forgetting about all of life’s problems but you can’t help but feel a bit sick in the stomach at the sight of your ex who was very emotionally abusive and manipulative. He’s right there in the near distance; across the road but heading in your direction. You start thinking all sorts of negative thoughts about yourself like maybe he was right about your appearance, weight or ambitions…

Without you even saying a word, your current boyfriend Namjoon just knows there is something the matter. Just a second ago you were extremely chatty and having a laugh and all that, and the next thing he knows, you’ve gone silent, so pale, almost grey, in the face.

He looks around, in front of the two of you, behind, then finally as he turns back, he can see across the road, a lonely figure. From description, he initially wonders if it’s this ex you opened up to him about even though you still haven’t said a word about it right now.

The aim here for Joon is to stay calm and ensure that this doesn’t get made into a scene. For now, at least he thinks so anyway, the ex hasn’t caught sight of the two of you yet. But in order for this to have a chance at being handled well, he needs you to talk to him (to Joon).

“Um… is that…?”

“Afraid so” you reply.

“Don’t worry about it honey, all you have to do is have a normal conversation with me, yeah?”

“Okay” you utter.

And that’s exactly what the two of you do. He asks you about how your work / studies are going and you manage to think just about straight enough to send calm, constructed replies and the two of you even get a giggle in when your boyfriend responds to something you just said with a joke.

In the corner of your eye, just as you are laughing with Namjoon, you can faintly see the figure walking across the road, now passing you. It seems Namjoon’s idea worked. The ex doesn’t seem to have any intentions of talking to you and as a bonus, he looks unhappy at the sight of you with someone else. You moved on and now he knows you are happier than you used to be. Just the kind of closure you didn’t realise you needed.

Jin

The defensive boyfriend

As your best friend even before the two of you got together, Jin was always very protective of you. In fact, he was your ex boyfriend’s worst nightmare, not that the latter would have ever admitted that to you.

Your ex was… let’s say not the nicest of human beings in the world, and whenever an argument arose - usually caused by this ex - the subject of Seokjin would always arise. Constantly, you were accused of cheating on him with Jin or that you spent more time with Jin, and so on… You ultimately plucked up the courage to break up with him when Jin agreed to be present when you had the conversation to break things off.

Fast forward about 6 months and you’ve been together with Jin for about 2 months now after finally getting over the trauma you experienced and allowing yourself to think about other people in a romantic way.

But just as life for you finally seemed to be turning around, the sight of your ex really put a cramp on your day. There you were just minding your own business in the supermarket, and he just so happened to be shopping in the same place at the same time.

Immediately Jin notices who is nearby and wants to go up to him and tell him to leave you alone, but you insist that he doesn’t act rashly just incase the ex actually doesn’t even bat an eyelid at the sight of you two; for all you and Jin know, he could just honestly be shopping there and not around only to bother you. This could be a coincidence.

However, a few minutes after spotting him and when the two of you are browsing the veg aisle, really putting some thought into what you’d like to cook this week, you can’t shake this feeling that your ex is sort of… lingering… and it sends a unpleasant shiver down your spine, causing you to twitch.

Jin, sharp as ever, notices this sudden movement you make and your ex happens to catch his sight. He could have sworn he was there like 5 minutes ago. And there’s nothing in his basket STILL. What’s he playing at…?

You give Jin a look though, giving him the message that you don’t want any trouble and he nods to show that there won’t be any trouble. Instead, he just gives your ex a hard glare, giving the message without using words that he should probably stop this suspicious business. Jin would never let anything bad happen to you and it seems he warded away the ex boyfriend for the rest of your shopping trip, the rest of your day and hopefully the rest of your life.

Suga

He won’t give trouble as long as he doesn’t get trouble

You were a bit shook when you were out alone one day. You were just walking back home from a friend’s house when you saw your ex. Now, you weren’t sure if he had seen you, but just you seeing him was enough for you to feel like your lungs were about to go into overdrive.

Hands shaking, you reached into your pocket and hit Yoongi’s number, being sure to whisper as you tell him what’s going on.

“Hey, y/n! I was actually just about to...”

“Yoongs, he’s here” you tell him a little breathlessly

“Hey, hey, calm down and start over” he says, his voice having a bit of a soothing effect on you

“Okay, so you remember... do you remember when a while back, I told you that thing? The thing about my last relationship...” and you’re trying your absolute hardest to keep the breathing pattern regular

“Yeah, of course... what’s the matter?”

“Can you come meet me... please? Like could you just walk up the street as if we were walking up to [y/f/n]’s house?”

“Yeah, sure, sure... Is there any way of telling me what’s happened sweetie?”

“Um, yeah, I think... Um... Well, about what I just said....” You beat around the bush a little, worried that your ex might be within hearing distance. “About what I just said... I can see him; it’s him”

Yoongi immediately hangs up and pretty much races down the route you asked him to go to come find you.

To your relief, it only takes your boyfriend a matter of minutes to find you, now much calmer than you had sounded over the phone. It seems the ex was out of sight now and once you think about it a bit more rationally, you’re quite sure he didn’t see you anyway and you tell your boyfriend you feel silly for causing such a fuss.

Yoongi doesn’t mind though. He will always be there for you. Though Yoongi didn’t come across your ex this time, he imagines some scenarios in which he could just get the opportunity to talk to him. There’s questions. What is wrong with that brain of his? Did he consider therapy? How could he treat anyone like that let alone the wonderful being that is you?

And although no trouble happened in this situation, if there is ever a time this ex tries anything with you, Yoongi knows he will be there to defend you. If the ex is civil, Yoongi will be civil. If there’s trouble, then your ex will probably regret his actions.

J-Hope

“Nope, she’s not here...”

You had another bad nightmare again and had asked Hoseok to stay the night with you. Whilst it felt a bit odd roaming the streets at 1am, he didn’t mind coming to comfort you.

He let himself in with the key you gave him and everything felt great again. A sudden knock on the door makes you both jump and your boyfriend Hoseok offers to answer it for you because a) you’re still in a bit of shock about the dream and b) this is an odd time for someone to be knocking on your door...

Since you were both in your living room, you’re sat pretty close to the door, within hearing distance anyway. Your heart sinks when you hear the voice other than your boyfriends in conversation.

“Uh, oh, is y/n here?” you can hear him asking. You don’t believe it. You thought that was the end when you broke up ages ago and that he’d quit bothering you.

“Who’s asking?” replies Hoseok, being certain not to reveal anything too soon.

“I’m [your ex’s name]... I’m uh... a friend of hers...”

Hoseok knew instantly who he was talking to as soon as he heard the name. Whilst the two had never met, you had recently opened up to Hoseok about your past.

“Y/n you say?” replies your boyfriend, playing dumb.

“Yeah, I...”

“Well, I don’t know if this y/n was nocturnal or something but she moved out. A couple of months ago... did she not tell you that as her friend?” he challenges but still pretending to be some unknowing tenant of the house.

“Oh, right...” sighs [your ex] unsure what his next move is. “Did she leave like any details of where she moved, like a place to forward her mail, or...?”

“Afraid not fella. Have a good night anyway” Hoseok tells him, warding him away now.

Shutting the door behind him and coming back into the living room, you can’t speak. All you can do is stare at your boyfriend in shock at the ex’s appearance and mouth ‘no fucking way’ and he can see the worry on your face. He instantly comes to cuddle you on the sofa as you get emotional but he reassures you that [your ex] won’t be bothering you anymore any time soon. After all, thanks to Hobi, your ex now believes you no longer live at the address he thought you did.

Jimin

It’s all about the future

Jimin hated to see you feeling this way. Worried, emotional, even scared. There were an increasing number of incidents in which you had passed your ex: the one that flipped your world upside down and took everything away from you that was in your personality - your confidence, your self-esteem, the lot.

You had started to get back on your feet but you couldn’t shirk the feeling that either you were being followed or there was these set of coincidences that meant you saw your ex at the local shop, the park, and on one occasion, work.

So Jimin made it his duty, his mission, to help you move on. He believed that your best defence against this situation, to ward this dude off, was to show him how happy you are now, or at least show you’ve moved on. Once your ex gets the message that you’re no longer available, he won’t be as interested in the idea of pursuing you, right?

Jimin starts by just taking you on days out just because, you know, to make new memories with him. Sometimes he takes you out of town and sometimes, he takes you to some of the places you went to with your ex but at first it’s only the places that don’t hold strong memories like that one takeaway down the road that you maybe went to twice ever or that one pet store you think you walked into once like a year ago.

Once he thinks you might be feeling more up to it, one day Jimin suggests you go to that park with him for a stroll. It’s a sunny day, you should go and appreciate the nature, but... you’re hesitant

“I don’t know Jimin, it’s just that last time I went there...”

“Exactly! The last time you went there. This time it will be us going there. I’m here for you...” he replies, coming in closer for a cuddle.

“I’m always here for you now he assures you, kissing your head.

Pulls you in closer

Okay I may or may not have sort of based it on this even if I wrote it like 3 years ago lmao (the post’s date is actually Feb 2017 woww)

You want to run out of the local convenience store as soon as you see your manipulative ex already in there as you enter with Taehyung. Your boyfriend keeps hold of the arm you have linked through his and you wonder why he is even making you stay.

“No, no, no, don’t worry sweetheart, you’ve got this. I’m here, yeah?”

He un-links his arm from yours and instead puts his arms around your waste, keeping you close. This both makes you feel a bit safer and gives your ex a stronger signal that you’re taken.

With Tae’s confidence and smooth acting skills, you both manage to pretend you didn’t even see your ex and he’s none the wiser. But, just to be certain about the whole making it clear you moved on thing, whenever Tae thinks you’re both within hearing distance from your ex as you navigate the store to shop for essentials, he just makes little comments to sort of hint at the life you now have with him like

“What should we get in for dinner this evening?”

“Ah, I haven’t had this wine since we sat out in our back garden...”

Before you know it, your ex is out of sight, out of mind. Taehyung is all you need to focus on to make you feel better and to have a happier life with

Jungkook

Tells him to go away

One night, you and Jungkook were sat in watching a movie. You were waiting on the takeaway order of both your favourite pizza so you were listening out for the door.

You shoot up from the couch at the sound of the doorbell, open the door, and to your shock... there stands your ex with your order.

“Oh, um, hi...” you say.

“Yeah, hi...” he replies awkwardly

Worry fills you; you aren’t even sure you can recall your ex even mentioning a job like this. Granted, it’s been a long time but still...

“You alright?” he asks.

“Yep, great” you abruptly reply, not even caring to ask about him.

“So, it’s been a while...”

“Yep”

“Uh, can I come in?” he asks, really sending panic through your system.

“No, thank you!... Mr delivery guy” you boom, sort of being over the top in your state of panic.

Jungkook hears this from the other room and decides it’s been a while for the pizza delivery person to have only brought the pizza.

“Hello?” questions Jungkook, eyeing your ex up and down as he comes to the front entrance next to you.

“Oh, hello... I...”

Something in Jungkook just sparks because he knows exactly who this dude is as you all went to the same school together.

“Listen mate, thanks for the pizza, now I think you have better things to be doing now than harassing my girlfriend...”

“I wasn’t harassing, I was just...”

“Come on, what sort of pizza man asks to come in? No. They give the pizza,get paid and leave. We have the pizza” Jungkook tells him crossing his arms. “Now leave.”

Your ex tries to as about the payment part but Jungkook is one step ahead “And since I’m sure you wouldn’t want your boss to know about this incident... let’s say this one’s on the house, yeah?”

You were amazed at how confident your boyfriend had suddenly become all because of this situation. Usually he was so shy, never dared even speak a bad word about his older friends.

The ex admits defeat, albeit in a huff, and walks away, allowing you to finally shut the door.

“Wow, Jungkook, that was...”

“Yeah, I don’t know what happened” he laughs nervously. “I guess it was just not seeing him after all this time and I guess I didn’t realise just how angry I was about the way he treated you, and...”

“Kookie, there’s no need to say anything. Thank you”

He never really realised he had it in him, but now he knows... he really can and will protect you.

***

I don’t know why but I felt like I needed to write about this; I think it’s just that with lock down and all that, my mind sort of casts back to weird, bad and confusing times in my life because I guess I’ve been left alone a lot with my own thoughts and then there’s the bad dreams which don’t help, and sorry that’s really enough about me, I just thought I’d explain in case anyone was wondering why I would want to make this kind of piece. Also I guess I have less angsty stuff on my blog because of all the fluff and more so the smut I wrote over the years lmao

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missnight0wl · 4 years

Text

Wayward Son

I finally succumbed and wrote an AU fanfic where Jacob dies. It focuses on a few moments between the siblings over the years after the Cursed Vaults. And to be fair, death aspect aside, most of it is basically canon for their relationship.

And yes, the title is a reference to the song by Kansas because it does make me think of Jacob.

Words: 5560

Autumn, 1991

When Helena declared that she wanted to stay longer at home after her graduation, her parents seemed to take it as an obvious decision. Physically, she was completely well even before September. She wasn’t going to waste it, so she started helping at the grandparents’ bakery. Mentally, however… She still needed to heal. And they all needed some time together.

Jacob stayed at home as well. He insisted that he wanted to pass his N.E.W.T.s, and with some help from Dumbledore, he managed to get permission to take exams in June next year without going back to school. He was studying a bit, but usually, he was spending his days similar to his sister: trying to find his place. It had to be more difficult for him because of his absence. Some things had changed their place at the house, people had altered some of their customs. He got new habits too. For their mother, it was especially hard to accept his smoking. Nevertheless, they were surviving, learning each other anew. Helena liked in particular when they were catching up on all pop culture Jacob had missed. It felt familiar, almost like childhood. Almost like it could be normal again.

The days weren’t the worst with all their distractions. When the nights fell, though, it meant either sleepless hours or endless nightmares. If Helena woke up with a scream, Jacob would always run into her room, sitting on her bed and cradling her.

“Shhh. It’s okay, you’re safe,” he’d say, stroking her hair. “I’m here, I’m finally here. It’s just a dream…”

But it hardly was just a dream. Usually, it was her memories - and Jacob knew that.

“Will you sing to me?” she asked quietly once when she calmed down.

He chuckled softly. “Aren’t you too old for that?”

“Please?”

He sighed, left without a choice. They both got more comfortable on the bed, although Jacob was probably too tall for that. He cleared his throat, yet his voice was rather raspy when he began. It didn’t occur to her that he probably hadn’t sung in ages. Still, it quickly turned into a sound she remembered from years ago. Only before the last verse, he made a longer pause.

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.

You make me happy when skies are grey.

You’ll never know, dear, how much I love you.

Please, don’t take my sunshine away.

Spring, 1992

They were sitting at the table, and she was sceptically watching him staring at his books.

“You don’t need it, Jacob.”

He glanced at her before starting to browse pages. “But I want it.”

“Then why you’re just pretending that you’re studying?”

He cracked a smile, already knowing where she’s going with that. “Because I know most of those things.”

“See? Then you don’t need it.” She leant back in her chair. “Admit it, you’re just stalling before moving on.”

“Fine, maybe a little,” he replied, finally looking at her again.

She shook her head and sighed. “Bill should be here any moment now. I’ll go get my things.”

She left the room and went upstairs. She’d packed most of her belonging, but she still wanted to double-check everything. Besides, it’d take her mind off Jacob for a while. She was a little worried about him, but she didn’t want to nudge him. It was always hard to recognise if he was going through something because he was great at redirecting people’s attention, but it wasn’t even about him suppressing his emotions. It seemed like he was trying to get back the stolen time and feared that leaving would make it lost forever. As a result, he was stuck. He was offered a job at Gringotts with Helena, but he refused, making excuses about his exams. She wanted to do more for him, but she was ready for the next step, and she felt that if she wouldn’t take it, she’d got stuck as well.

She gathered her luggage and was about to get back to the living room when she heard Jacob and Bill talking.

“You sure you don’t want anything? Tea, water?”

“No, thanks.”

There was a moment of silence before Jacob spoke again. “You know, I never got a chance to thank you.”

“Hm?”

“For being a brother to her. When I failed--”

“Don’t,” Bill tried to interrupt him.

“No, I mean it. Thank you for taking care of her.” He took a deep breath before continuing, more tentatively. “It’s weird to think that you probably know her better than I ever could...”

Another pause preceded Bill asking: “What was she like as a child?”

“Oh.” Jacob got surprised by that question, but when he started to talk, Helena could almost hear him smiling. “She was like sunshine. Brightening your day and pissing off when she shone straight into your eyes. I suppose you know how it can be with younger siblings.” Bill laughed, and Jacob went on. “She… she was so curious about everything. They say there’s a certain age when kids won’t stop asking questions, but for Helena it was permanent. And she always had to defend everyone. Y’know, when Snape started teaching us, I complained about him back home, and she was like: you can’t say that, you don’t know him.” He modified his tone slightly to imitate her. “Maybe he has problems. You’re sometimes mean when you’re upset, too, but you’re a good person.”

They both chuckled.

“Well, she did change her mind on Snape, I can tell you that,” said Bill. “But other than that, sounds pretty much like Helena I know. Give her some time, Jacob. Give yourself time.”

The silence between them was longer now, so Helena took a few steps back to get some natural speed and pushed the door open. Two wizards were standing opposite each other and got startled when she entered.

“I thought I hear you,” she grinned at Bill. “What are you two plotting here, hm?”

“Oh, nothing at all,” the redhead replied with an innocent expression.

“Just gossiping about you,” Jacob added casually.

She gave them a suspicious stare. “Is that so?” She’d love to tease them, but they had to arrive with Bill at the appointed hour, so she glanced at her watch instead and then at her friend. “All right, I think I’m ready. We can get going.”

“You sure you have everything?” asked Jacob. Their parents said their goodbyes in the morning before leaving to work, so he took the responsibility of sending Helena off. “Mum left you package in the kitchen, did you take it? Do you have sunglasses? The cooler ones? What about sun cream?”

“I have everything,” she stopped his babbling with a hug.

“Be careful there, okay?”

She tightened her embrace in respond, feeling his ribs against her body. He still didn’t put on much weight.

Winter, 1994

Dear Jacob,

What the fuck do you mean you’re not coming? It’s Dad’s sixtieth birthday. SIXTIETH. You have to come. I don’t care what other plans you have - you knew about that day. Tell that pretty girl (or whatever you’re busy with nowadays) that you have responsibilities at home.

Seriously though, I know that you want to be here too, so… Please, try to make it.

Love you always,

- Ellie

“I can’t believe he didn’t come.”

“It’s all right, Ellie,” said Christopher. “I’m sure something just came up. He can visit us at the weekend.”

“Something came up? On your birthday?” Helena spat. “You know, but it’s not even that. He could’ve just let us know, say anything. It’s hard for all of us, but why he shouldn’t be trying too?”

Alice gave her a stern look. “Well, now you’re just picking on him.”

“I’m not! Mum, you got him a job at the Ministry. A good job. And what did he do? He quit--”

“That job was a bad idea from the beginning. You’d probably quit as well.”

“No, I wouldn’t!”

Alice only smiled softly. “You’re really not that different. Believe me, I know.”

The truth was that Helena was picking on Jacob. She indeed had no reasons to be mad at him, other than him not showing up on that specific day. He did quit his job, that part was accurate. But while she was certain that he’s getting in all sorts of troubles ever since, he never caused problems for them. He always appeared when his help was needed, during holidays or not. On top of that, Helena caught him a couple of times hiding money in places like a sugar bowl since their parents wouldn’t simply take it from him. But all of that made the current situation only worse. In the best-case scenario, it meant that he’s not telling her something big enough to stop him without giving any explanation. He could also be hurt, kidnapped, or worse…

“All I’m saying is that he has no excuse. Even if he’s too drunk or high to Apparate, he could’ve used stupid Floo Network or--”

And then, just like on command, the emerald green flames appeared in the fireplace, and Jacob entered the room, appearing quite confused.

“Did I make it?” he asked nobody in particular. He beamed when he looked at the clock. It was half-past eleven. He faced Christopher, spreading his arms wide. “Happy birthday, old chap.”

Over the whole day, the birthday man was trying to act unaffected by Jacob’s absence. Yet, he obviously got happier seeing his son.

“I’m so, so sorry that I’m late,” Jacob continued, not breaking their hug. “But! I do have an explanation!”

Helena rolled her eyes. Of course he did. Still, she got curious when he reached to his bag and took out a package covered in brown paper.

“I’ve found a lead for that a while ago, however, a bloke who was supposed to get it for me had some problems, and… let’s say he needed a reminder. Anyway, it created a delay, and long story short, I couldn’t risk not getting it at all after all the effort, so… That happened. And I’m really sorry once again, I should’ve known better from the beginning. But! At least I got some wine!”

When Christopher started to unwrap the gift, Jacob hurried to welcome both Alice and Helena.

“Oh my, is it the first edition?” Christopher was already holding an old book in his hands, studying the front page, his eyes twinkling.

“One of the first ones,” clarified Jacob. “But it has notes made by a professor from Uagadou.”

The old man looked at him excited before carefully browsing a couple of pages. “Oh, I have to compare it with my atlas. I’ll be right back.”

He left the room, patting Jacob on a shoulder while passing by. When he was gone, Alice looked attentively at her son.

“And I wonder how much did it cost you?”

Jacob shrugged and smirked. “A lovely dinner with my family.” He opened his bag again, pulling out two bottles of wine. “Did everyone leave already?”

“They did, not long before you came,” Alice replied softly.

To break the silence, Helena grabbed one of the bottles. “What about that wine? It looks fancy.”

“It is quite fancy. But this one is for Dad, and for Mum. We have the other one.” She looked at the other label and frowned her nose. “It’s the cheapest one they had, and it tastes like acid.” Jacob was clearly amused by his sister’s reaction.

Alice got up. “I’ll go bring some glasses then, how about that?” Then, she also left, letting the siblings stay alone.

“You’re mad at me, aren’t you?” Jacob asked finally.

“I thought we agreed to no secrets.”

This time it was him who rolled his eyes. “It’s no secret! I just wanted it to be a surprise!”

“Still, you could’ve told me! I’d cover for you!”

He was quiet for a moment, pondering on his words. A corner of his lips twitched faintly. “You know you’re terrible at surprises, Ellie.”

“That’s not true!” she said reproachfully. He only raised his eyebrow. “Oh, because I’d go to Dad and tell him everything, right?”

“No, but you’d tell Mum, and she’s no better than you.”

She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. Then, not thinking much, she opened the cheaper bottle and took a sip. She grimaced, regretting her decision immediately.

“I warned you it tastes like acid.” He was trying very hard to hold a laugh. “It gets somewhat better the more you drink.”

All four of them were sitting and talking until the late night, so by the time Helena woke up the next day, it was already noon. She got down to the kitchen where she found an unfinished bottle of wine as it turned out that Jacob brought bigger supplies with him. She took a clean glass and poured some liquor when her brother showed up out of nowhere and snatched it out of her hand.

“Ah ah ah, what do you think you’re doing?” he teased her.

She sighed. “I’m having a drink.”

“No, you’re not, young lady.”

“Jacob, I’m twenty-one. If I want to have a drink, you’re not gonna stop me.”

“I don’t care how old you are. It’s only past twelve.”

She gave him a stink eye because he was holding two glasses at the moment: hers and his own. “I’m guessing it’s your third one, you hypocrite.”

He seemed a bit perplexed for an instant, but then he grinned. “Only the second.” Still, he put both glasses on the side when Helena started brewing coffee.

“So, what you’re planning now?” she asked and covered a yawn.

“Like today or in general?”

“Both, I guess.”

“Well,” he started. “I wanted to visit grandparents’ today. That’s probably most of the day. And in general, I thought I could stay with you for a little.”

“Oh! But… I’m getting back to work.”

“I know. I wouldn’t bother you, I can get busy on my own or help you, whichever you prefer. And in the evenings, we could do something fun. What d’you say?”

Every now and then, Jacob would stop by whenever she was currently at her curse-breaking mission. However, he never stayed for long. They’d usually get out once, and after making sure she’s alright, he’d disappear. Spending more time together could be nice.

“Sure, sounds good,” she replied with a smile, filling two mugs with coffee.

Summer, 1995

Jacob was pacing between walls, running his fingers through his hair once in a while.

“We should leave,” he said eventually, stopping and crossing his arms.

Helena looked at him in disbelief. “What?”

“We should leave. I don’t know, to the States or whatever.”

“There’s a war coming, and you want to leave?”

“Yeah, exactly. You’re not gonna tell me it’s not a better solution than becoming Dumbledore’s soldier.”

She opened her mouth and closed it again, not being able to find the words. “I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Jacob, innocent people will be dying!”

“I know! You think I don’t?!” He started losing control over his voice. “But there are people ready to fight for them, and we don’t have to be among them! Even if Voldemort is back, he never got beyond Great Britain, so there’s no reason to think it’d be different any time soon. We’d be safe across the ocean.”

“How can you be so selfish?”

“I’m selfish?!” He made a sound between a gasp and a snigger, but when he spoke again, he was more steady. “Ellie, who helped you with the Cursed Vaults? Dumbledore? Who cared when we had to stop R which was, let me remind you, an international threat?”

“Oh, so that’s why we should do nothing now? Because that’s how we were treated? Do you hear yourself?! An eye for an eye and the whole world goes blind, Jacob, and passiveness can be as bad as violence! There will be more wizards thinking like you, but if we all leave, who’ll stay to fight?”

He wasn’t looking at her, and he switched to almost a whisper. “I was never selfish in my life. Never selfish enough to let the adults deal with all the cursed mess, as they should. Though, you know? Maybe I was selfish, maybe I just wanted to feel useful, fucking protector of everyone.” He sighed. “But you know where it got me? My best friend died when he was just fifteen, I had to leave my family, and I was imprisoned for years by R. Ellie, I…” His voice cracked and he swallowed hard, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Just for once, I don’t want to worry about people being in danger. If it’s selfish of me, so be it.” Their eyes finally met. “I don’t care. I just want some peace.”

“Well, that’s not how life works.”

She left, not giving him a chance to reply.

The rest of the day, she spent with some of her friends, learning more about the whole situation connected to Voldemort’s return. The first shock - caused also by Cedric’s death - had passed, and they had to focus on planning. Still, Helena kept going back in thoughts to Jacob. She probably was too harsh on him. She saw where he’s coming from. In fact, sending their parents off to the family in the States wasn’t a bad idea at all. She came home late, so she went straight to her bedroom to think things over.

The next morning, however, it was neither Christopher nor Alice who she found in the kitchen – it was Jacob.

“What you’re doing here?”

“Breakfast,” he replied blandly.

“No, I mean, I thought you’d just leave after yesterday.”

“Someone has to keep an eye on everything when you’re in Egypt, don’t you think?”

“I didn’t tell you I’m going back there…”

“Yeah, well.”

He was chopping some vegetables while eggs were frying on a pan. There’s a joking rule in their family that you could use magic in the kitchen only if you’d learnt to make the dish also without it. Jacob always preferred to prepare things Muggle way, though. Helena could never match him, even with the help of the spells.

“Thank you,” she said abashedly, sitting at the kitchen island.

“For what? Food’s not ready.”

“For joining our side.”

“No, my dear. Let’s make it clear,” he spoke firmly, involuntarily pointing a knife in her direction. “I’m on no one’s side but yours. Got it?”

“So… you’re not joining the Order?”

“Hell no.”

“Well, thank you anyway,” she repeated. “And I’m sorry. For yesterday. I don’t think you’re selfish at all.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He still sounded a bit coldly, but he smirked ever so slightly. “Just…” His voice got softer as he knitted his brows in a worried expression. “I beg you, Ellie, be smart. Just because you’ll be outside Europe doesn’t mean it’ll be safe. It’ll be hell everywhere. And above all, remember: no information is worth dying for.”

“I know, I know…” She reassured him, though it felt like there’s not much she could say. “So, what are you planning to do?”

“I dunno,” he shrugged. “Maybe I could renew some connections in Knockturn Alley.”

“Oh, because that sounds very safe.”

“No, it doesn’t,” he cut in. “I’m aware of that. And that was my point. If you get involved, it’ll always be dangerous. But because you’re too stubborn to listen, I can’t simply… sit and watch, y’know. I don’t want to hear from some strangers one day: Hey, remember that cursed siblings? Yeah, the younger one just died. She was killed by fucking Death Eaters because she refused to learn from her brother’s mistakes. And he screwed up again because he could’ve done something.”

She bit her lips to hide a smile. Jacob only glanced at her, shaking his head with feigned disapproval before he focused back at his cooking.

May 1998

It was getting crowded at the Hog’s Head when Helena spotted Jacob near the door waving his hand at her. She immediately rushed to him.

“Jacob! You came!”

He frowned in confusion. “Of course. I told you so.”

“I guess part of me wanted you to not come…”

“Do you really think I’d let you go into a battle alone?” he asked raising his eyebrow.

“I’m not alone,” she replied, mindlessly pulling his flannel. “And you don’t want to be here.”

“And I don’t want you to be here either. But I know I won’t convince you to leave because Charlie’s here. And he’s here because his whole family is here. And I’m definitely not gonna discuss with all the Weasleys because it’d be both pointless and possibly stupid.” His smile faded away when Helena didn’t even react to his joke. “Hey, we faced worse before, didn’t we? At least we’re not the main target for a change, right?”

She nodded haltingly as Jacob embraced her with one arm, leading away from the entrance.

By the time they arrived at Hogwarts, the battle was raging. It was overwhelming chaos with troops of people storming to the castle. Helena was keeping both Charlie and Jacob in the reach of her sight, but as they were in the Entrance Hall, one scream caught their attention among all the noises.

“Fire! There’s a fire!” yelled someone.

“Then put it down!” they heard in a respond.

“I can’t! They had to cast Fiendfyre!”

Three of them froze. If it actually was the curse, there’s no way students could deal with it, and it’d be bad to let it spread. On the other hand, it could’ve been regular fire, looking more dangerous due to fear and panic.

“I’ll go check it,” decided Jacob. “We’ll meet in the Great Hall. Look after her, okay?” he added, smirking at Charlie.

Helena briefly squeezed his hand. “Be careful.”

In the next moment, Jacob was running up the staircase while Helena and Charlie joined the crowd moving to the Great Hall where most of the fighting was occurring. It seemed like they’re gaining the advantage over Death Eaters, but it was still heated, and spells were shooting from all sides. Helena had just helped some girls counter an attack and was looking for Charlie when she felt a sudden sharp headache. For a split second, her vision went black, which was enough distraction to not notice a beam of light speeding in her direction. She tried to dodge it, but it was too late, and the spell grazed her side, causing her to fall.

“Nell!” Charlie appeared almost out of nowhere and kneeled next to her. “Are you all right? Talk to me…”

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” she hurried to calm him down, though she grimaced with pain.

Charlie quickly checked the spot where she was hit. Her blouse was torn, revealing red skin, but there was no wound. “Come on, let’s take you from here.”

He helped her get up and led her to the edges of the room where he spotted Ben Copper tending to two students.

“Ben! We need you!”

The Healer hearing his name turned his head to them. “What happened?”

“Nothing, I’m fine,” replied Helena. “I can--”

“No, you have to rest at least,” Charlie cut in. “Keep an eye on her, Ben.”

He deflected one more spell and run back into the fight. Ben in the meantime tried to examine her, but she gently pushed him away.

“It’s nothing, really. There’s no time for that.”

She was calm but determined, so Ben didn’t push. “All right, but you’re not going back there. I need some cover when I take care of those two.”

He pointed to a Hufflepuff girl and a Ravenclaw boy behind them, both visibly scared. Helena nodded and took her position. Everyone’s attention seemed to concentrate towards the centre of the Great Hall, so they weren’t being attacked directly, but stray curses almost hit them a couple of times. Helena also managed to stop some Death Eaters, whether from escaping or assaulting the others.

Suddenly, the shouting in the middle became louder, and the whole atmosphere got more tense. Helena was too far to tell what’s it about exactly, though - until almost all went silent. She exchanged questioning looks with Ben.

“Go, see what’s happening,” he told her.

When she finally broke into the crowd, she realised that everyone was paralysed because of the encounter within the circle. The Boy Who Lived was facing the Dark Lord. She tensely watched them moving in constant distance between them, looking ready to attack. She listened to the story of the Elder Wand, of the big intrigue behind that war. And then, with just one hit from both sides, it was over. Voldemort was dead.

The joyful cheering exploded around her. Everyone was trying to reach Harry Potter now, pushing her in that direction. But she needed to find someone else. She was scanning people in search of familiar faces to finally pick up Charlie’s. She ran right into his arms, laughing with relief. However, when she made sure that he’s all right, she felt a wave of anxiety.

“Have you seen Jacob?” she asked, holding onto his arm.

Charlie shook his head and his face got graver. “There are so many people. I still haven’t seen everyone.”

“I better go search for him…”

“I’m sure he’s fine.” He sounded confident, but she knew it was only because she needed to hear that. Anything could’ve happened, and a bad feeling was growing inside her chest.

She left the Great Hall, going oppositely to the most. She didn’t get far when she met Rowan, and she almost sobbed at her sight.

“Helen!”

“Rowan! You’re all right!” she whimpered, hugging her tightly. “Oh god, I didn’t see you at all, I didn’t know--”

Her voice cracked, so Rowan started patting her back calmingly. When they finally parted, Helena noticed an open wound on her friend’s arm.

“Oh god, you’re not all right!”

“It’s not a big deal.” Rowan waved her hand. “I’ll take care of it in a moment.”

Helena frowned, but she nodded and swallowed hard. “Have you seen Jacob somewhere?”

Rowan’s eyes got wider. “No, I haven’t. I thought he’d be with you.”

“He was. But then we got separated.”

“He’s probably helping people around the castle. There’s a lot of the injured. Do you want me to help you find him?”

Helena looked at her arm and took a deep breath. “No. It doesn’t look good, you better have it checked.”

Rowan hesitated, but she agreed to go see the Healers while Helena continued her search, walking faster through the debris, calling Jacob’s name. She started to think that perhaps they missed each other and she should return… when she finally spotted him on one of the higher levels. He was lying unconscious under the wall. There had to be a cut on his head because blood covered a part of his face.

“No…”

She approached him slowly as if it could delay the terrible truth. She fell to her knees and leant over him, cupping his face.

“Jacob, can you hear me?” She brushed his cheek with her thumb. “Open your eyes, Jacob…” She laid her fingers on his neck. There was no pulse. “Open your eyes, please,” she repeated. “Don’t do this to me…”

She wanted to believe that if she waited long enough, if she’d be patient enough, he’d come back – just like Rowan. That it’s not real, just another lie in her life. But at the same time, she knew that Jacob was truly gone. It was a battle, and he was just one of the casualties. She didn’t even know how he died.

She sat on the ground, leaning on the wall, and pulled Jacob up on her chest. She wasn’t sure how long she was holding him before she heard footsteps and Charlie got down next to her. He didn’t speak.

“It’s not fair, Charlie,” she whispered, sniffling.

“I know.”

“It wasn’t his war, he didn’t even want to fight. We should’ve left as he said.”

Charlie tried to touch her arm, but she got startled, so he just sat by her side instead.

“He already saved that fucking school! And for what?!” she cried out. “To be killed like that?!”

Her last words turned into a shriek. She pulled Jacob’s body up again as it was slipping from her grasp. He was too heavy, and she was too tired to carry him. Some more time had passed before they were found by Ben.

“Helen…” he started softly. “I’m so sorry. But we have to take him to the Great Hall.”

She finally raised her head and looked at them. Ben was squatting in front of her, Charlie still in the same place. She took a deep breath and carefully rested Jacob against the wall. Then, Charlie helped her stand up once more that day, and she immediately buried her face in his chest. She couldn’t watch Jacob being taken away. When she looked at Charlie, though, she recognised that there’s more bad news to come.

“What��s wrong?” she asked, trying to contain trembling of her voice. “Who else?”

His eyes were glistening. “Tonks… and her husband… they didn’t make it.” Helena covered her mouth with both hands. “And Fred--” The words stuck in his throat.

“He’s just a kid…” she murmured, hugging him again. “I’m sorry, Charlie…”

She wanted to stay with him and comfort him. She wanted to find Rowan and make sure that nobody else got hurt. But all the noises were overwhelming, and she felt like she started suffocating.

“I have to get out of here. I’m sorry…”

She somehow reached the exit, not fully registering things around her. Only some young excited wizard stopped her when she was about to leave.

“We won! Can you believe it?!”

“Did we, really…?”

He was too thrilled to notice her blank stare, and so he quickly went his way. As soon as Helena got outside, she choked on the morning air. She sat on the stairs and embraced herself in an attempt to control the shaking of her body.

“Hey, may I?”

Another minutes or hours escaped her attention. This time, it was Talbott standing above her. She nodded without a word, and he took a seat on one of the steps.

“I’ve heard about your brother. I’m really sorry.”

She bit her lips to stop a weep, but the tears fell down her face. They were sitting a long moment in silence.

“Will it always hurt?” she finally said weakly.

Talbott watched her with compassion. “Yeah.”

“What am I supposed to do?”

“Move on,” he replied softly. “Find something worth forgetting about the pain. And most importantly, always remember the good things.” He hesitated before patting her shoulder. “Tonks would want us to celebrate the victory,” he added with a sad smile. “You know where to find me if you need to.”

And like that, she was left alone. She hid her face in her hands. It suddenly occurred to her that her parents probably didn’t know anything yet, so she wondered whether she should go back to the castle or home. But then, she was disturbed again.

“Hey, are you all right?”

She had to shade her eyes from the sun to see who’s talking to her. To her surprise, it was Harry Potter himself. The Boy Who Lived who just defeated the Dark Lord was asking her if she’s all right. He was the same age as her when she entered the final Cursed Vault. The same age as Jacob when he joined R. She suddenly felt bad because if her experience taught her anything, probably nobody showed much concern about Harry in all of that. When the wizarding world would stop relying on children to solve their problems?

“Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks.”

He took a closer look at her. “Do we know each other?”

“No, I don’t think so. I mean, I know you…”

“No, but I’m pretty sure I saw you at the Burrow.”

“Oh!” She smiled faintly at that remark. It was almost funny that they never had an occasion to be introduced properly. “That is possible, indeed.”

“Well, nice to finally meet you then. I’m Harry.”

He reached out his hand to her. He appeared as exhausted as she felt. “Helena.”

“Are you sure you don’t need anything?”

She nodded. “Don’t mind me. But I guess you could use some help with those blankets.”

She took a part of the armful he was carrying, and they headed together back inside. She started helping wherever it was needed. She found Rowan being tended to by Ben and who was upset with him because he didn’t let her go find Helena – but he insisted that Rowan’s wound might’ve been too serious. She spent some time with the Weasleys, grieving over Fred. She was trying to keep herself busy and bring consolation to the others.

And the same thought was motivating her in years to come, just to not let herself get lost in the emptiness. Eventually, she even learnt to be happy again. But nothing could change the fact that in the Battle of Hogwarts she lost not only brother and friends. Part of herself died that day as well.

#long post #hogwarts mystery #hphm #hphm mc #jacob's sibling #helena ellis #hphm jacob #jacob ellis #alice ellis #christopher ellis #bill weasley #charlie weasley #post hphm #my writing

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jq37 · 4 years

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The Report Card – Fantasy High Sophomore Year Ep 17

Then Perish (in which the Plot is Happening No Matter How Many Nat 20’s you Roll Ally Beardsley)

Strap in my dudes. It’s a wild one.

Last ep, we’d just entered the forest of the nightmare king and things went sideways pretty quickly. All of the non-familiar NPCs have been poofed away and Kalina is currently fully killing Kristen. Riz, recently cured by Kristen (something that seemed to genuinely distress Kalina), can hear Tracker getting further and further away from them in wolf form. He gives Kristen his flare gun, tells her to run, and looks for the pollen they need to make the Kalina vaccine. Kalina disappears and in comes Sandra-Lynn with a weird mandrake-y plant for Kristen to bite. But, with a nat 20, she realizes that she’s seeing an illusion and Kalina is trying to get her to bite and reinfect Riz.

All of the Bad Kids try to find each other, using all the tricks at their disposal to move faster (Fly, Jump, Dashing, etc). Fabian gets the Hangman to meet them at the edge of the forest with Gilear. Kristen shoots up the flare (presumably to alert Gilear of her position?) and cures herself as she runs, trying to buy time. Kalina tries to make a deal with her so she and her friends will destroy the photo of her and their crystals but Kristen is not about that at all. She just tells everyone to run. Once Fig catches up with her, she does her one better and Dimension Doors with her almost all of the way out of the forest (after Fabian hits her with some Heroism which gives her regening temp HP to help combat the constant damage Kalina is doing). This cuts down the rounds needed to escape from 44 to a much more manageable 12. She manages to just get out alive after 24d6 of damage and Kalina is stuck at the edge of the forest with a threatening, “Get you next time.” The rest of the Bad Kids also make it out without too much trouble due to all their speed buffs.

After everyone takes a tight five to be like, “Welp, that sucked,” they head to the Tinkerer’s Hall to enlist help with making tinctures. Overnight (together with Riz--since Kristen has quarantined herself) they’re able to make six doses of the tincture. Meanwhile, Fig learns more about her bass and Gorgug gets a new Ax from the very grateful tinkerers. Fig’s bass does a lot to help her be effective while she’s being attacked by all sides but--most importantly (imo)--gives her a +5 to performance checks, something I think Brennan is gonna live to regret. Speaking of regret, Fig is beset by whispers of guilt for her “fault” in the disappearance of their friends. Let’s put a pin in that. Gorgug gets a choice between a sick lightning ax and a dope gravity ax. He picks the latter, which, among other things, gives him auto-crits on objects (which seems like a plot tease for sure). While this is going on, Adaine makes two days worth of progress on a spell for Ayda. Kristen, who is being understandably sad in the van, prays to “not knowing” and gets her spells back, clearly (to us at least) missing something as she rolls a Nat 1 perception check.

The gang cures Kristen with a dose of tincture then they upload the video of Kalina Riz took with his tie cam (which, btw, can scan for good and evil while recording and only pings Celestial magic from Tracker and Kristen, Kalina doesn’t ping as either). To my immediate delight, they post the video (respectfully clipped to not include Tracker) as sort of a fantasy version of The Dress, and it very quickly goes viral as people try to figure out why some people can see the tabaxi in it and some can’t.

Back to Fig for a bit, Fig realizes the whispers in her head berating her aren’t external. They’re internal. She says she’s better than being loud than quiet and attempts to drown them out rather than ignore them. Fig realizes that, now that she’s out of the forest, Ayda’s feather is glowing again. Using that connection, Adaine tries to Scry on Ayda and sees that she (along with Zathriel) are caught in a horrifying web with web going into all of their face holes. Ayda’s eyes are clear because the fire of her eyes burn out the webs but she's full on weeping. She’s also trying to use the bloody earring Fig gave her to teleport back to her (knew that was gonna come back, at least for flavor) but her restraints won’t allow it. This absolutely lights a fire under Fig’s ass and she is ready to go back into the forest immediately. Before they do, Gorgug gives his Van to the gnomes (since it was bought with KVX money) and Riz makes one of the potions into a tranq dart for Tracker.

The journey to the temple Adaine saw in her Scry is two days away which means a bunch of sleep and navigation checks (without the Van or Tracker there to cast a Moon Haven). They sleep in shifts with Kristen, Fabian, and Fig sleeping first. Kristen rolls and 19 and Fig gets a 17 with Adaine’s Portent. Fabian is the low man with a 10. Even though Fig seemingly made the check, we still get dream narration for her as she is met by a pre-horned, 13 y/o version of herself who berates her. But Fig (who has made the check and can leave the nightare at any time) says she’s so much happier now than she’s ever been and boom! She loses her College of Whispers subclass and becomes a College of Lore Bard (gaining the Cutting Words feature). Whispers banished, she finds she’s able to communicate with Gorthalax who tells her being a devil doesn’t just have to be about being “evil”. At its core, being a devil is about rebellion. It’s about flipping off the universe, something Fig can very much vibe with.

When Fabian wakes up, not having had a dream, he sees a familiar, tri-cornered hat a little ways away. As soon as he steps away from the group, he is possessed and starts attacking his friends--brutally as per DM’s orders. Luckily, Adaine has a low portent roll to give him, Riz has a net gun, and Gorgug now has a super heavy axe which he simply lays on Fabian, restraining him. They snap Fabian out of it and Adaine can tell it wasn’t an ambient effect of the forest. It’s something that was actively cast on Fabian (the same thing that was cast on Fig when she gem’d Gorthalax). However, it’s probably stronger in the forest. They also realize that when the Baron thing happened, Riz was attacked but not possessed and he also didn’t go to sleep. So, if they go through the forest not sleeping, they’ll be safe from possession at least. The next three are able to sleep without problem (even Riz who rolled a 7) but, in the morning, they don’t do so hot on their navigation checks. Instead of losing time, they decide to push through to the temple.

When they get there, they see that it’s basically surrounded by skeletons, like people just showed up to lay down and die. Something above the entrance has been moved and they also see (from much more recently) three sets of footsteps joined by a fourth set halfway (boots, not talons or paws). Adaine casts Locate Creature on her mom but doesn’t sense her within 1000 ft. Riz takes point and decides to scout the temple and report back. On a Nat 20 for a total of 30 Investigation, he fully cases the joint in less than ten minutes. He sees a brick of Dusk Moss and a bunch of spooky books which he realizes means a ritual happened to take the casters almost further into the forest in some kind of non-euclidean direction. He sees a skeleton of a unicorn filled with webs and egg sacs which died looking at a portrait of a woman in a black robe with black hair but the face is destroyed.

Riz reports back all of this to his friends and Adaine decides that she’ll shoulder full responsibility for looking at the potentially evil books, trusting her friends to snap her out of it if she gets possessed or something. Equally supportive in their own ways, Fig plays a countercharm for her off to the side and Riz points a gun at her. From reading the book, Adaine is able to piece together a lot about the mechanics of what’s going on. There is a tree in the center of the forest (the broom that was turned into a tree) which helps to boost all the illusions in the forest. Because of this, illusions are all more real. For example, illusory wings created with Disguise Self would actually grant you flight. The Dusk Moss used in the ritual was probably to give them some measure of control over the insane nightmares (as in, “I know this is a dream sorta, therefore I can’t be hurt”). Brennan says Adaine would probably be able to do the ritual with some time and study. Siobhan Galaxy Brains and scours her spell list for spells involving illusions for what she calls, “some fuckery” (“Give me the fuckery,” Brennan says, even the game DM). Adaine wants to use Illusory Script to write a spell that will allow her to do the ritual with the hope that it will become real. Brennan looks directly into the camera like it’s The Office and asks for a DC 30 Arcana check. She doesn’t get it but she does get the sense that the principle behind the idea is solid. Anyway, back to the other transubstantiations. The Familiar to a Plague is, as we all already knew, Kalina who is controlling the illusions in the forest. The Spellbook is the KVX coin and is (1) aligned with the Enchantment school of magic and (2) responsible for the possessions that have been happening (ie: Fig, Ragh, and Fabian this ep). The Sanctum to Cottage is aligned with the Abjuration school of magic and basically a trap for Celestials coming into the forest and also will prevent certain levels of spellcasting as they get progressively deeper. And now back to the tree (he doesn’t say the school of magic it is and also he says there are four when there are actually 8 so I’m not sure which school it’s supposed to represent--Divination maybe since that’s Adaine’s school?). The forest becomes alive the further in they go. The more safe they feel, the more the paths will move around. The only way to get they can get to the center is by feeling fear and uncertainty--which has got to be simultaneously great and terrible news for someone with major anxiety to get.

All of that is all going on in the main chamber. Meanwhile, Gorgug is in the hallway and Fabian is in the chapel with Kristen who is checking out the picture of the goddess. Kristen, on international DM’s day, rolls a nat 20 religion check because of course she does. She hears the goddesses’s voice in her head. “Why do you search for me?” Kristen says she’s really into the praise through doubt thing. Brennan makes her roll a Con check with disadvantage--13.

He says, “I’m gonna describe what Kristen sees and then I’m going to describe what Fabian saw,” instantly activating my Fight or Flight.

Kristen feels a wave of spite, rage, and betrayal from the goddess and then she feels blinding pain as the unicorn skeleton runs over and gores her through the heart from the back.

“What praise will you have in death?” the voice in her head says, as she collapses, fully lifeless.

The unicorn turns to a panicked Fabian (who is only not driven mad by his immunity to Fear) and says, “You should not have come here.”

In conclusion, AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Detention

Brennan for Killing Kristen on a Nat 20

Using a Nat 20 to kill a player is such a power move and please do not let this placement make you think I don’t respect the unmitigated gall.

Honor Roll

Adaine for An Incredible Piece of Fuckery

The fact that it didn’t work doesn’t change the fact that this was a Galaxy Brain connection that she made instantly and will almost certainly end up saving their asses. Mark my words: Before the end of the season, some Looney Tunes-ass painting a black circle to make a real hole type nonsense is gonna happen.

Random Thoughts

Emily’s constant awe at Ally’s dice rolls is so funny to me. She’s like head parishioner at the church of Ally’s dice.

“Don’t bite the baby your mom gives you.”

Adaine taking pics of Fabian on Gorgug’s back while running out of the forest.

The teamwork shown during Kristen’s rescue? *chef’s kiss*

“It doesn’t protect you from losing all your friends in a forest.” Ow.

Emily going, “Thank you Brennan,” like a little kid when she got her new bass’s stats.

“All of our girlfriends are in there!”

Brennan, upon being denied a wisdom save from Emily: You have to! I asked.

Ice feast?????? Ally, what????

There is very much a world where the Bad Kids immediately leveraged Fig’s social media presence to get a better sample size on what was going on with Kalina. I wonder what would have happened if they’d gone viral with it much earlier.

Ayda was drawn to the cottage with Zathriel because she’s part Celestial apparently. Are Phoenixes Celestial? That’s news to me.

Also, on the topic, very Concerned about where the remaining NPCs are.

The fact that Ayda had Fig’s earring in her hand while bound and unable to move much or do a spell that would allow her to get it into her hand implies that her split second reaction when captured was to reach for it and that was the one thing she could do before she was incapacitated which is A Lot.

Kristen keeps asking Riz to hold the tranq gun because she wants to look out for Tracker, which is sweet but you have -3 Dex girl. The kindest thing you can do is never touch that gun and toss Riz some Bless.

The break they took between leaving the forest and going back Concerned me as it was happening. I was like, y’all literally anything could be happening right now. I had no sense on the amount of tie they realistically had to spare before something unreversable happened.

Lol at Brennan clearly trying to throw some levels of exhaustion at the party and them just rolling out of it, no problem.

I feel like Brennan knew Kristen was dying this episode no matter what and I gotta say: (1) I think it’s a great skill as a DM to keep our story on the tracks while also having the players actions matter and have meaningful consequences and (2) I wonder if she hadn’t gotten a Nat 1 when she got her spells back, if we’d get some information that could potentially contextualize what happened.

I do not remember what the unicorn’s deal is but I remember it was mentioned specifically at the top of the season and I don’t trust anything about it--separately from the fact that it gored our girl. Was it speaking independently or was the goddess speaking through it? Or was it just the unicorn the whole time and Brennan was lying--not for the first time that episode?

Fig being asked by her younger nightmare self what all the people in her life who had bad stuff happen to them have in common: Aguefort Advenuring Academy?

The image of an angel falling out of heaven and then rising up to flip off God and go, “F You,” is so cinematic that it makes me upset there aren’t animatics for this show.

I am dying to know whether Brennan thought about the implications of making a setting where illusions are hyper-real in a game where Emily Axford is lousy with illusion magic. Did he consider it? Is there a mechanic to limit this? Or, next week, is Emily gonna say, “I cast disguise self on myself and I disguise myself as a super buff version of me with sick devil wings and I also create a minor illusion of a tiny, fairy, cleric.” What could stop her? Minor Illusion is a cantrip, guys. It’s a CANTRIP. I feel like either Brennan wildly miscalculated and made himself a double edged sword which Emily and Siobhan are gonna use to make him eat his dice OR he’s about to throw some absolutely unfair nonsense at them that even he doesn’t know the way out of and he’s trusting them to harness the power of the fuckery to figure it out. Either way, there are only 3 episodes left so I guess there’s only so much they can break the game in 3 episodes (she said, fully expecting to be proved wrong).

“Crunch it up bro.”

When Brennan was talking about the ritual, he said, “Your parents and stuff” with regard to who did it, which makes me think Anguin was the fourth figure. But the “and stuff” is vague hedging language which makes me think we’re still being played. Brennan, tell me what’s going on in Abernant-Land, I’m begging you bro.

One thing I didn’t mention in the main recap because it was getting long is the 4 transubstantiations were done on 4 gifts from the 4 tribes who worshiped the goddess The cat was from the wood elves. The sanctum was holy to the centaurs. I think the sprite was the spellbook which would make the broom from the treents.

Partial credit to @camwritery for this: Brennan gave Gorgug a weapon that, among other effects, insta-crits on inanimate objects. Which is a random ability unless a future plot point involves destroying some items--a la the pylons they destroyed earlier in what feels like a tutorial level in retrospect. And camwritery is the one who pointed out, hey, isn’t there a super important tree in the middle of the forest? Magic axe? Magic tree? Feels connected y’all.

Everyone getting new gear and spells the past two eps has felt like that scene in Lion/Witch/Wardrobe where Santa shows up and is like, “Here are some weapons kids. Shit’s about to hit the fan!”

The fact that Riz escaped possession on a 7 seems to be explained by the fact that the cursed money is linked to possession and he gave all of his away. Which means Fabian and Adaine are still in danger, along with I think Fig since she kept her tour money which is likely infected.

Anyone else get Wrinkle in Time/The Boy Who Reversed Himself vibes from all the dream travel talk this ep?

OK, I guess we gotta talk about Kristen dying for the third time in her life. Poor girl. She’s just trying her best to be a good person and earnestly trying to find meaning in the world. And what has it gotten her? Killed three times. And yet she keeps trying! The fact that it’s her makes me kinda more and less worried at the same time, you know? Because she is currently the sole healer on the team which is BAD--if Fabian went down, it wouldn’t be as big of a deal because Kristen would presumably just need to make her fright check and then cast Revivify. K-girl doesn’t have anyone to heal her (barring some illusion shenanigans from Fig or Adaine). However, Kristen’s motto might as well, “Whatever does kill you makes you stronger.” She basically has an at least 1 death per season clause written into her contract. If anyone can face death with grit and come out singing (and prob with some sick new powers) it’d be her. What an absolutely brutal way to end the episode.

She was mentioned in this episode for a hot sec I think--that racist ranger from earlier in the season--I don’t trust her. She could just be a one off NPC but I feel like there’s more to her.

So I guessed correctly that the photos of Kalina would end up being a bargain chip potentially but somehow it didn’t occur to me that they could just...leave. Lol, I was like, “I guess they’re in it,” and they were like, “Yeah, bye.”

Kalina didn’t come after the gang in the forest the second time except maybe to possess Fabian if she did that directly. I wonder why that was. She had plenty of time.

I don’t like this spider motif. I don’t trust this spider motif. My spidey sense is going off re: this spider motif. I just want that on the record.

This episode, Adaine rolled 1 Nat 20, Riz got 2, and Kristen rolled 3 but one was cancelled out by disadvantage. Meanwhile, Fig, Kristen, and Gorgug each rolled one Nat 20 each.

#fantasy high #fantasy high live #dimension 20 #fantasy high spoilers #dimension 20 spoilers

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teddyhyuck · 4 years

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the beginning of an imperfect romance | STAGES OF LOVE chapter one

pairing: Haechan x Y/N, Jaemin x Y/N

word count: 1.9k

warnings: angst, fluff, love triangle

previous || master list || next || trailer

Y/N: You eventually meet the people you are meant to meet.

𝙹𝚊𝚗𝚞𝚊𝚛𝚢 𝟾, 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟺

“She has improved!” Mark said proudly. They were watching my most recent cover on Youtube. SM decided it was good enough to post it and as usual Mark and Donghyuck were watching it. “What do you mean she was always this good!” this was usual as well Mark and Donghyuck were bickering again. Mark started launching why? No idea he’s weird so it’s okay.

Donghyuck: Scroll down the comments.

Mark: Comments? okay.

Mark: Oh! Oh hey. Oh my god.

Donghyuck: Why? Why? What do they say?

Mark: Jaemin wrote “She's cute I like her.”

Y/N: The person I am meant to meet is Donghyuck.

Donghyuck: *Smile drops* Really?

𝙼𝚊𝚛𝚌𝚑 𝟸𝟻, 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟹

The school bell rings, It's finally lunchtime. “Y/N~” Donghyuck sat in front of me. I couldn't hear him since I was listening to music. I wouldn't call myself a loner it was just that I could find comfort in the music I listened to, the reason I decided to become an SM trainee in the first place. I looked up to see the boy seated in front of me, Haechan or how I like to call him Donghyuck. He's my friend, best friend. “Here I bought you banana milk your favorite.”

“Why?” “Just because *sighs* you've been studying hard.” “Thanks.” Suddenly he started to laugh so out loud, I guess he forget we were in a library “Shhh!” “ Why?!” He never listens, guess that’s what I like so much about him. He’s such a dork.

𝙼𝚊𝚢 𝟷𝟺, 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟺

I was walking home with Donghyuck nothing unusual, him irritating me wasn't unusual either.“Ahh! Donghyuck stop it!” “What did you say?” he started tickling me till it legit started to hurt but regardless of that I was happy, really happy. “Donghyuck stop it!”.

𝙰𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚕 𝟸𝟻, 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟻

“I guess these two won't stop fighting,” Renjun said with a chuckle. “Stop trying to tickle me you’re annoying!” I started chasing Donghyuck to get my revenge until he stopped me. “Y/N wait, wait.” “Why? What is it?” I asked confused. He was looking at Renjun and Jeno who happened to look at us. ”Maybe, maybe we should pretend to date. These guys won't stop staring at us, lets fool them.” “Lee Donghyuck, you're a genius.” we both started laughing, I mean yeah he was right I mean what can go wrong right?

Y/N: And so we started a fake relationship for fun.

𝙹𝚞𝚗𝚎 𝟼, 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟻

For Donghyuck’s birthday we decided to surprise him, so we all gathered together in the and starting hiding. The boys were planning on the bring Hyuck to where we were hiding to “ask them how to do a certain dance move”. As soon as Donghyuck and the boys walked in we jumped “Suprise! Happy birthday Donghyuck!” “ah really Woah.Thank you, guys.” His smile was bright It just made me automatically even happier than I already was. I decided to be a little funny and smear frosting all over his face “Y/N~” everyone started laughing. That day I was happy really happy and lucky life couldn’t get any better.

𝙰𝚞𝚐𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝟷𝟶, 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟻

“Okay and now Y/N will sing a song for everyone! Good luck!” another episode of The Mickey Mouse Club and I was lucky enough to sing a song. The performance went well I was confident so afterward I went back to my seat and sat down. “Jaemin, why are you blushing?” the host suddenly asked, and I couldn’t help but notice that he indeed was blushing. His cheeks were the same color as the dress I was wearing.“Do you perhaps like Y/N?” such a sudden question made me blush as well. “Yes.” I didn’t know that was how Jaemin was feeling about me but, I just brushed it off he was probably joking. Donghyuck was mad no he was furious but why? He didn’t have the right to be, his relationship with you was fake anyway. But he just couldn’t help but feel his heart sink a little bit. If looks could kill Jaemin wouldn’t have been sitting there smiling anymore.

Donghyuck: I was so immature to start a fake relationship. Because I realized that I was truly falling for you.

After the show me, Jaemin and Hyuck were gonna go to rehearse our script for the upcoming episode. “Okay, so let’s start with practicing our script, let’s start from page 56.”

I was clueless, of the looks Hyuck was Jaemin he didn’t notice it as well we were a little too clueless to his liking.

𝙼𝚊𝚢 𝟸𝟿, 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟼

“No~ pizza is better!” Jeno and Jaemin were seated on a bench during break arguing over food. “Don’t be so basic burgers are much better!” I mean Jeno wasn’t wrong burgers are life. They both started laughing at the weird topic they choose to argue about.” I always had this question in my mind.” Jeno began. “Do you like Y/N?” “Y/N? I do. Should I ask her out?” “Ah, but Donghyuck is gonna be mad.” Jeno pointed out. “We are friends, he'll understand. And they only pretended to date anyways.” “You’re right” Jeno said. He looked like he was in deep thought but they didn’t last long till Jaemin brutally interrupted them. “Come on let’s go to class I don’t want the teacher to scold us again.” he chuckled.

𝙹𝚞𝚗𝚎 𝟼, 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟼

“Happy birthday to you~” after we were done singing the happy birthday song to Donghyuck I decided to slice the cake while I was doing that Jaemin decided to ask Donghyuck to have a talk in private with him. “ So, I’ve been wanting to tell you this for a while now” he started, why was he nervous there was nothing to be nervous about other than the fact that he was gonna tell Donghyuck about his feelings for you. “I’ve liked Y/N for a while now and I’ve been planning on to ask her out. I just wanted to ask you if you were okay with it” Donghyuck could have told him that it was okay and that he didn’t even have to ask him about it since you two never really dated anyways, but he knew that if he did there was no going back he would lose you forever and he didn’t know if he really wanted to see the girl he’s been in love with walking hand in hand with his best friend right in front of him. “The thing is I do really like her. And I'm sorry for not knowing how you felt.”

After his talk with Jaemin, he was quiet which was weir considering that t was his birthday, so you decided to go and ask him what is up. “You’ve been so quiet. Why? This isn’t like you.” I really hope he will tell me what is up since his quietness is starting to bother me. “Well the thing is...Jaemin told me he liked you and wanted to ask you out.”And at that moment I got it I wasn’t sure but maybe just maybe Donghyuck liked me back.”Are you done sulking? Even if Jaemin has feelings for me, you know my heart belongs to you.”

His face lighted up he was smiling again, oh that damned smile was gonna be the end of me.

𝙳𝚎𝚌𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝟷, 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟼

“Did you finally tell your feelings to Y/N, Donghyuck?” Renjun asked Donghyuck. Renjun, Jeno, Donghyuck and Jaemin were currently in a hotel room laying in bed and talking. “Well, I…” the truth was that even 5 months after he had that conversation with Jaemin he still didn’t confess his feelings for you. “ I didn't-” “You still didn't tell her?!” Jeno interrupted Donghyuck. “ Well I am already her boyfriend without her knowing.” Renjun looked at Donghyuck like he was crazy. “And she's already mine”

Renjun: No but Donghyuck is crazy.

Donghyuck: Okay deal I am gonna tell her soon.

Renjun: Oh, but Y/N deserves so much love!

Donghyuck: Donghyuck is actually scared of asking Y/N to be his girlfriend. Because Donghyuck might get rejected.

Renjun: Donghyuck is just…

Donghyuck: Y/N is super pretty. Y/N is really pretty, everyone easily falls in love because she is that pretty.

Jaemin, poor Jaemin, his friends are helping his other friend to get the girl he is in love with. He just stayed quiet. I mean what was he supposed to say? No Donghyuck don’t confess to the girl you’ve been in love with for years because I like her too? He couldn’t do that, he just couldn’t.

𝙵𝚎𝚋𝚛𝚞𝚊𝚛𝚢 𝟷𝟶, 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟽

Donghyuck was playing the piano and I was seated next to him trying to mimic whatever he did with his fingers.“ You’re so good at this!” I said chuckling.“Y/N, I have to ask you something.” “Spit it out.” I laughed.

Donghyuck: I asked her on a date for Valentines day and it happened

𝙵𝚎𝚋𝚛𝚞𝚊𝚛𝚢 𝟷𝟺, 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟽

My first Valentines day with Donghyuck, my first Valentines day with anyone! “t’s all on my face! I am going to kill you Lee Donghyuck!” Donghyuck being the dork he is smeared cake all over my face so I smeared cake all over his face its what he deserves! I just felt so happy, just like I always do when I am around Donghyuck. He makes me happy. I don’t where I got the confidence from but I kissed him, I kissed the boy I’ve been in love with for years, and I couldn’t be happier. He did his part so now it’s my turn. “I really…like you a lot. But you already knew that.”

𝙼𝚊𝚢 𝟷𝟺, 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟾

“Well, we finally graduated high school,” Donghyuck said proudly. We were walking around the streets late at night in Seoul after our graduation party. “Can’t believe you made it,” I said jokingly. “Don’t be such a meany!” Donghyuck responded to my diss laughing.” I actually wanna take you somewhere. Come on.” he took my hand and pulled me with him. I didn’t know where he was going but I knew that I was gonna be safe, I am safe with him “Where are we going? I am getting tired~” “Don’t worry we’re almost there.” And after what seemed like ages we got there. Haechan let go of my hand and climbed on the roof.“No way I am coming up there its scary.” “You can trust me.” he was right I could trust him. And just like that, we sat there on the roof as weird as it may sound. I felt at peace with him I mean we didn’t have moments like this anymore since he debuted in NCT. I am happy that he is happy but I do miss him.

𝙾𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟶, 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟾

*To the world we are NCT, hi we are NCT DREAM*

I was seated on the same roof Donghyuck took me on our graduation day, but this time I was alone looking at him through a screen.

Y/N: To see you debuting and getting successful, only makes me proud to see that you're achieving your dream.

𝙼𝚊𝚢 𝟷𝟺, 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟾

“Even if we're gonna take different paths, don't forget me.” Donghyuck started.“How can I forget you...”

𝙾𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟶, 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟾

*Hello, I am NCT DREAMs mood maker of the group, Haechan.*

You even started calling yourself Haechan, cute.

𝙼𝚊𝚢 𝟷𝟺, 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟾

“...You are the pillar of my life.”

to be continued…

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

“Stages of love: chapter one: the beginning of an imperfect romance” youtube video made by Dream Chaser: https://youtu.be/JuXEoVLL7Fs

I highly recommend clicking on the link I add at the end of each chapter for a better experience.

Inspired by Dream Chasers “Stages of love”

Original writer *Dream Chaser*

Dream chasers Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7Nn8XlPaHzPBMOit226oeg

Dream chaser started this idea and made the series first, I fell so in love with their work I asked if can turn it into a longer au.

I got permission to make this series.

I am not the owner of Dream Chaser.

17 notes · View notes

anthropologicalhands · 4 years

Text

ceg fic: miss do it right

title: miss do it right gift for: @clemdhoffryn for @crazyexvalentine word count: 4,885 summary: Valencia is ready to propose to Beth. The question, however, of when and where requires expert advice. Valencia & Heather, Beth/Valencia. notes: Happy Valentine’s Day!

“I need your help,” Valencia announces, breezing into Heather and Hector’s foyer, straight into the living room and perching on the arm of the couch adjacent to Heather’s current seat. “Also you really need to get a gardener—that trellis is leaning over.”

“Hector’s getting around to it,” says Heather, looking up from her magazine. “Hi, welcome back to West Coast, Best Coast or whatever. Didn’t I tell you to start texting if you were gonna come over?”

“I told you I was planning a wedding this weekend,” Valencia says archly, as if the mere statement of fact automatically absolves her of visitor’s etiquette. “Remember? In the group chat?”

“Oh, I remember. I just kind of generally assumed it was in New York. Since you do, you know, live there.”

Valencia pouts. “Come on, aren’t we hashtag gurlgroup4evah? Physical walls are meaningless. And I totally gave you a key to my place. You could do the same exact same thing to me and I wouldn’t mind.”

“That argument worked when you were in East Cameron, not East Coast. When am I ever gonna go to New York?”

“For me, obviously,” says Valencia. “Or for a Home Base conference, I guess.”

“They’re a West Coast chain.”

“So? Weren’t you planning on revolutionizing their corporate headquarters, or something?”

“I was, but that’s like, halfway through my five-year plan that I’m going to start next year.”

“Oh. Are you really not happy to see me?” asks Valencia, and she sounds just a tiny bit deflated, like she’s actually worried that that’s the case. Heather drops her magazine on the side table (occasionally, she marvels at how adulthood came upon her so fast—these have mermaid feet, irony unintended, that make her ridiculously happy).

“I’m happy to see you, Vee, can’t you tell?”

Valencia narrows her eyes. “Usually you’re happier.”

“You literally just walked in when I wasn’t expecting you for three weeks. Let me have a reaction time. And given your stance on Hector is lukewarm at best I’m still surprised to see you here.”

“I follow Hector on Instagram, and I happen to know that he has a surfing competition in Monterey this weekend,” says Valencia knowingly. “And I definitely know that you are always down for adventures, especially if there is just the right amount of drama.” Valencia wiggles her shoulders for emphasis.

Heather leans forward, studying her friend. There’s something surprisingly spiky and Rebecca-like about her energy –not out of whack, not in a bad way, but it’s there.

“Everything all right, Vee?” Heather asks. “You’re weirdly hyped up. Are you on a Guatemalan coffee kick again?”

“Please, you know I’m on a kombucha cleanse right now.”

“Kombucha can do all this?” Heather gestures up and down Valencia, like her “this” is the new “it” and she’s Clara Bow.

(Heather took a film class for like, three weeks in freshman year before she dropped it for being insanely pretentious.)

Annoyed, Valencia swats Heather’s hand away—all right, she’s not too far gone.

Valencia gives an exaggerated roll of her eyes. “No, it’s not the kombucha. It’s something way more important.”

There is a very meaningful pause; Heather waits, unsure whether it is done out of Valencia’s natural sense of making an entrance or for Heather’s benefit is a sincere question.

“I’m going to ask Beth to marry me.”

“Oh,” Heather blinks. “Wow.”

It’s not an unexpected announcement and given with Valencia’s usual careless confidence. But there is trepidation there, if one knows how to look for it.

“Does it seem weird? Tell me if it’s weird.”

“Uh, not weird, no,” says Heather carefully. “But given what happened a few months ago, I have to ask…”

“Yeah, we’ve been talking about it,” says Valencia irritably, waving a hand. “We’re on the same page. But I want it to be right, and I need help to make that happen.”

“Okay. And you’re asking me because…”

“Because Rebecca has a lot going on, and while I love the girl, I need someone who won’t let me get carried away with something way out of my budget.”

“That makes sense,” Heather agrees. “What about Paula?”

“She has that big case she’s presenting on Monday, and she doesn’t know Beth as well as you do.”

“True. That afternoon at the Korean spa means we’re bonded for life now, united by a great and terrible event.”

“You loved it. Didn’t you feel all nice and fresh?”

“Only because I had to grow a whole new layer of skin. I’m amazed Beth liked it; she was completely pink.”

“I mean, that happens if she steps out in the sun for five minutes without a hat,” says Valencia fondly. “But I’m not asking you to climb into a sauna, I’m asking you to help me propose to my girlfriend. Will you do it?”

“I mean, obviously. I’m a total romantic, so of course I’ll help.”

Valencia’s forehead wrinkles in a very pointed way. “You got married because of health insurance. I just need someone to tell me if I’m getting out of bounds with like, budget and expectations.”

“Wanting your partner to be healthy for the long run is very romantic.”

“Not enough to try to skip the actual wedding part,” grumbles Valencia.

“Who is asking who for help getting married, again?”

“Fair,” concedes Valencia grudgingly, though her smile undercuts some of her pretense. She kicks herself up and off the couch and gestures imperiously at Heather. “Now come on, we need to get going if we don’t want to be late.”

“Uh, we? Where?”

I have a vineyard in Temecula to make sure it is an ideal venue for my client, remember? We can multitask on the drive up.”

“Uh, now?”

“Why not?” With a flourish, Valencia pulls out a notebook that is already crammed full of post-its and other notes. “You can look at this on the way up. Plus, I can guarantee that we can ask to sample some of their viticultural offerings.”

“Well, when you put it like that.” Heather stands and stretches. “I did have a busy afternoon planned for contemplating my existence, but I’ll move for free wine.”

Valencia’s planner, much like her initial dream wedding plans, is elaborately and meticulously tabbed. Leafing through the pages, Heather briefly recognizes one of the strange commonalities between Valencia and Rebecca that reminds her that, as strange as the beginning of that friendship was, there’s a reason that their bond is as strong as it is. Valencia drives. It gives her a weird burst of fondness for them.

“You really thought these out,” says Heather, reading through a meticulous list of what it would take to plan a flash mob in Times Square with a reasonable budget.

“Right? I mean, I have ideas for days. It’s what I do—dolling up other people’s bad ideas and persuading them that mine are better. I can do this forever.”

“Great. So, why do you need me?”

Valencia’s fingers drum against the wheel of her rental car, clearly annoyed. “Because I’ve been striking out. Like, these are objectively great proposal ideas, right? But I can’t decide which one is actually, like, the best one.”

“I can see that,” says Heather, eyebrows shooting up when she turns a page and sees an elaborate plan for a hot air balloon proposal scribbled out with angry red marker. “What are you looking for, then?”

“Something that speaks to both of us. Like, as awesome as my spacing is for the choreo, I know that Beth wouldn’t want a flash mob in Times Square.”

“Yeah, that seems like a you thing. A pretty specific you thing.” Heather shoots her an inquiring look. “Did you?”

Valencia shifts uncomfortably. “There was a time where I might have mentioned it to Josh.”

“Wow.”

“Hey, Josh is terrible, but if he choreographed a dance proposal, it would have been amazing.”

“Can’t argue with that.” One of the pages just seems to be a froth of white lace paper surrounding a list of names at its center. Heather squints at the neat penmanship, idly wondering if she needs glasses or if Valencia’s handwriting is just really that small. “Is this a guest list?”

“No. I also really always wanted to do it at someone else’s wedding. Preferably Denise Martinez’s—”

“Valencia…”

“But that’s also not Beth’s style,” finishes Valencia slightly irritated. “Like I said, the proposal has to match both of us. I did learn from my mistakes, you know.”

“I’m not saying you didn’t,” says Heather mildly.

“And that list is out of date anyways. Denise got married last month and I hear that her and her new husband are already fighting.”

“Don’t sound so gleeful.”

“Sorry,” says Valencia almost contritely, merging off the highway. “We have a long history.”

“So I heard. We definitely need to unpack that some time.”

“Oh, this is perfect,” Valencia breathes, overlooking the gently rolling hills and the rows of twining grapevines.

“It’s pretty great,” Heather agrees, coming up besides her, hands tucked in her pockets. “It’s practically worth the sticker price.”

“Nothing’s worth the sticker price. I’ll get a better deal.”

“That winery owner guy seemed pretty stodgy.”

“I have my ways,” says Valencia enigmatically, which both impresses and concerns Heather in equal measures.

“I don’t doubt it.” There’s a pause as they survey the scenery together.

“Why wouldn’t you propose to Beth here?”

“Hm?” Valencia turns to look at Heather, the arch of her eyebrows more inquiring than sharp.

“You and Beth. I mean, this place makes a wicked rosé—”

“Since when do you use wicked? That’s an East Coast word.”

“’Cause it’s a great word? And I’m from Michigan, which is kind of East Coast.”

Valencia pulls a face.

Heather rolls her eyes in response. “Whatever. But seriously, this seems ideal. It has a view, it’s romantic—it’s everything you wanted. And you and Beth have family here, so you can have a big party after she says yes.”

“It has a lot,” agrees Valencia wistfully. Then she sighs. “But it won’t work.”

“Why not?”

“Josh and I used to come here. Too many memories.”

“Oh.”

“Right? Josh just ruins everything.”

“Okay, it’s been three years, I think you can lay off of Josh.”

“Nah. I’ve dedicated too much time into it. I’m going to be doing this until after we’re both married. Speaking of Josh, you’ve met Rosa, right?”

“Yeah. I like her. I didn’t know that you met her—”

“Oh, yeah. Nice girl,” says Valencia, sounding vaguely surprised. Given Josh’s previous type, Heather can’t entirely blame her. Valencia continues, “But for whatever reason, they work well together. We had a long talk - I warned her about all of his flaws, and she said that she knows and she was positive she could handle it. Then she complimented my earrings.”

Heather has to smile at that. She is the least well-acquainted with Josh of their friends (though she’s probably seen him in far more intimate situations than most people ever have to see their friends), so her personal frustrations with him tended to be from far briefer interactions, over much more quickly. She’s glad to see that Josh seems settled in a way that he hasn’t been since she’s known him.

“It’s nice, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” admits Valencia, softening a little. “I am actually happy for him. But I have to keep up appearances - we were together way too long.”

“That’s fair.”

Once the vineyard has been approved (and Valencia has worn down the owner to her terms), they head back to Heather’s place, open a couple extra bottles of rosé and buckle down.

“Too much hassle,” says Valencia, X-ing out what seems to be a plan for a private yacht.

“Too showy,” agrees Heather, marking off a flashing billboard. She turns the page and squints at a picture of a dark room lit by hundreds of tiny flames.

“Isn’t Beth allergic to those candles?” she asks.

“They would be soy,” Valencia protests, but rather hastily reaches across the page to mark it out. “Still, you have a point.”

“That’s also a fire hazard, right there.”

“I’m not Rebecca,” says Valencia irritably.

“That’s still a lot of open flames. I’m just saying. Why not just go Big Fish and propose with a bunch of flowers?”

“I can’t. Beth’s allergic to flowers.”

Heather blinks.

“Seriously?”

Valencia shrugs. “Look, there’s a reason she hired me to do certain events that she couldn’t. She’s all about the hands-on activities. Pollen and natural phenomena - not so much.”

“Got it. So Big Fish is totally out?”

“Totally.”

Despite what Heather expected and the width and breadth of the notebook, they are burning through the ideas in the planner at an alarming rate. Valencia is clearly panicking too, if the two glasses of rosé are any indication.

“You know what would be great? The Met! Yeah, you could hide behind one of the exhibits to record, we’re surrounded by all this history, I’m sure they have something by Sappho in there, Beth loves her stuff—”

“Okay, just so we’re setting reasonable expectations or whatever, I can tell you right now that I am not going to New York just to help you propose,” Heather warns. “I have like, a household budget, and there’s only so much that I can dip into Hector’s accident fund and still have enough.”

Valencia lets out a little huff that indicates that while she respects Heather’s commitment to her budget, she continues to be less-than-impressed. It reminds Heather to text Hector and tell him that he might need to spend the night out with the guys—just because him and Valencia are no longer on murder terms doesn’t mean she can feel like she can guarantee his personal safety.

“Okay, fine. Skip to page sixty-eight.” At Heather’s disbelieving look, Valencia shrugs defensively. “What? A girl can dream in destinations.”

Heather does as she’s asked without further commentary. It’s not that Heather expected that helping Valencia plan a proposal would be simple. But Valencia knows her tastes—Heather was reasonably certain that her role would be as a yes woman and occasional financial wisdom rather than active decision making.

They aren’t using the couch or even the coffee table anymore—they’ve pulled off all of the cushions and have created a sort of nest on the floor.

“I can propose at a concert!” says Valencia, entirely too brightly.

Heather raises her head off one of the cushions. “You guys like going to concerts?”

“Not really? But everyone proposes at John Legend’s concerts, so it would work.”

“Beth likes John Legend?”

“Kind of? She doesn’t mind him but she loves Chrissy Teigen. And maybe we’d get some good karma from their marriage.”

“Not bad. You might also get drinks spilled on you,” Heather reminds her. “It could be sticky. Plus, other people might propose at same concert and steal your thunder.”

“Ugh, true. Plus, the scheduling doesn’t work out—he won’t be on tour for a good few months.”

Perhaps it is the tiredness, or remembering that she still needs to write up the shift schedules for next month, that prompts her to suggest, “Why not Home Base? I mean, you guys did agree to meet there. So, like, it’s sentimental.”

Valencia somehow looks affronted, disgusted and poorly hiding it, and despairing all at once. Heather would almost be impressed.

“I’ve been going to Home Base longer than you’ve been working there, Heather. I really don’t want to propose marriage at the bar where I used to pick up Elena from softball practice. It doesn’t feel right.”

Heather props herself up on her elbows so that she can look at Valencia properly. “Okay. What doesn’t feel right? It’s not going to be perfect.”

“I’m not going for perfect,” says Valencia irritably. “I gave Rebecca perfect, and look where that landed her. A perfect proposal would mean an island vacation, and dessert for Beth, and possibly sky writing. But it would also mean debt and she would so not be happy about that.”

“Great. Is that the only thing you’re worried about?”

Valencia’s hands twist against each other in her lap. Then they untangle and she dives into her purse and pulls out a small black box, which she sets on the table between them. Gone is her haughty event planner bravado, now Valencia just looks lost, more than Heather has ever seen her.

“This proposal has to feel right because I messed up the first time.”

“The first time?”

“The ultimatum,” says Valencia glumly. “I don’t want it to be too much—it needs to be something that Beth would love to accept. Something that proves that we know each other and can be a part of each other’s lives.”

“Can I see it?” At Valencia’s nod of permission, Heather reaches over and opens the box to look at the ring.

“It’s beautiful.”

“Isn’t it? Moshe has a good collection. I’ve known this is the one for her for ages now. And…I want that feeling about how I propose. Does that make any sense?”

It does. Heather nods, waiting for Valencia to continue.

“It’s just…I made such a big deal about wanting to get married, and I want this proposal to show her that I know her, and it’s not all about me me me.”

“Of course.”

“That’s why I asked you. You might not be the biggest romantic of all of us, but you follow your gut about what feels right. And I want that confidence when I ask her.”

It’s both touching and terrifying to have that much faith in a person. Awkwardly, Heather pats Valencia’s shoulder. Valencia leans into the touch anyways, seeking whatever awkward comfort that Heather tries to give.

“You know, she’s going to love you whatever you do,” says Heather slowly. “And obviously, you know her well enough to know that these insanely awesome proposals are still awesome, just not right. We’ll find something better. And, like, I’m not gonna give up. You’re not going to leave California without a game plan.

Valencia gives her a tiny smile.

“Thank you, Heather,” she says. She looks ready to say more, but then there’s the sound of a very small gong being struck.

Valencia frowns, pulling her phone out of her pocket, scans the screen, and sighs. “I have to go. The client with the vineyard wants to meet now, of all times. I’m gonna go to her place, but when I get back, maybe we can just have a girls’ night in? No more proposal talk?”

“Sure, whatever you want. I can just duck out and like, get some more rosé. Just wines. Ablutions to drown our frustrations.”

Valencia smiles wanly and sees herself out. Heather waits until she’s sure that Valencia’s car has pulled away before hitting her speed dial. Heather is the coolest of her friends, even now that they are all responsible adults, and sometimes that means admitting that you are out of your depth.

Still, Heather isn’t lying when she says she needs to go pick up wines. She does.

At Il Cabino. Where Rebecca is waiting at a table for two, astonishingly early.

“You need to help me,” says Heather, not bothering with niceties. As frustrating as Rebecca’s flakiness can be, it is refreshing that she never gets insulted by Heather’s brusqueness.

“Oh, absolutely,” says Rebecca, eyes wide. “I know I haven’t been very good at that in the past, but like, right now I’m all ears.”

“Valencia is going nuts about proposing to Beth—”

Rebecca nods sympathetically. “Oh yeah, I know.”

“You know?”

“Yeah. She’s been texting me.”

Heather looks closely at Rebecca and only sees frank interest in the other woman’s gaze, no impression of jealousy or hurt. “Okay…so you know and you don’t feel left out?”

“She made it very clear that I’m not supposed to help, and given my past record for helping Valencia with anything, I figured the least I could do is let her do her thing,” says Rebecca with remarkable understatement. “Anyways, I’m actually crazy busy. My singing lessons are turning my brains to mush.”

“Hm, and I was hoping to hear that you were actually working your pretzel stand so we could swap tips as fellow businesswomen.”

“Nah, I just let AJ take care of it. His rent is less than a hundred bucks, he can manage.”

“Right. Enough about your life, back to my problems.”

“Shutting up now.” Rebecca mimes zipping her lips.

“Thank you. But Valencia is driving me insane with rejecting every single proposal idea I have. And, like, my ideas are good. I’m good at organizing events.”

“Right. You guys are crazy good at that.”

“I suggested Home Base, kind of as a joke, and she nearly bit my head off.”

“I mean, Home Base is not super romantic. I had enough sex in the back room there enough to know.”

“What a coincidence, so did I,” says Heather dryly. “Which means I probably should pay for an extremely thorough cleaning, but that’s besides the point. If Valencia isn’t feeling it, it’s not going work. So I figured, I’ve been striking out, I might as well ask our local romance expert for tips.”

“Aww,” coos Rebecca, placing her hand on her heart. Then her expression shifts from soppy to self-deprecatingly wry. “You guys must really be in a tight spot.”

“Yep. So…what do you have for me?”

Rebecca looks thoughtful, not unfocused like when she goes in her head or is too absorbed in her problems.

“I mean, Beth isn’t a total romantic, but she likes to make things meaningful,” says Rebecca after a pause. “She wouldn’t be in these kinds of events if she didn’t. Maybe for Valencia, she’s asking Beth to spend the rest of their lives together. Ask her about if there’s any specific moment when she knew that she wanted Beth to be in her life forever. Like, I know you are big on how there isn’t one moment of magical epiphany and I totally agree, for the record—but she made the decision that it was gonna be Beth at some point. Maybe asking when and where would give her a few new ideas.”

It's an almost stupefying simple idea. Heather nods slowly. “Right. Like, what do they do together that makes Valencia want to spend every day doing the same thing?”

“Exactly. Like, it’s just about finding resonance, right? Something that reaffirms how they feel, but not in an artificial or contrived way. Just love.”

“Right,” says Heather, starting to smile. “Thanks, Rebecca. That helps a lot.”

Rebecca beams. “Any time. And uh, not to be mercenary or anything, but since I gave good advice, does that mean you can pick up the tab? Music lessons have really tightened up my budget and you did offer to take me out to happy hour, so.”

“You’ve been gone a while.”

There’s a faintly accusatory tone to Valencia’s words when Heather gets back. She’s already sprawled over the couch, reading the magazine that Heather dropped earlier that morning.

“And yet, you still let yourself into my house. How was the meeting?”

“Okay. Honestly, it’s a good thing I’m in a personal crisis right now or I would have never agreed to do their wedding. Ugh, what annoying people. But, I promised, no more wedding talk. Tell me what’s been going on at Home Base. Don’t spare any details—I know you love that drama.”

“I do love drama. But before we get into that, I think I have one more suggestion that might help you with the whole proposal situation. Just one.”

“Okay?”

“I’m not a traditionally romantic person. You know this.”

“I do.”

“And I married Hector when I did because he really needed the health insurance. But I knew that I wanted to spend my life with him before that. He makes me laugh. He makes things light in my life. Even when he does something stupid like almost lose his toe.”

“That’s…surprisingly sweet, Heather.”

“Don’t say it’s wasted on Hector,” Heather warns.

“I’m not, but trust me, it’s hard.”

“Good. But that was a very roundabout, Rebecca-like way of asking: maybe think about when you decided you wanted to marry Beth?”

Valencia exhales noisily, slumping back against the sofa arm. “I’m almost never not thinking about it. When we’re at work together, when we’re talking, whenever I see her when I wake up in the morning with all of the light in her hair—” Valencia abruptly stops speaking, eyes wide.

Heather takes the opening.

“So there is a moment?”

“Yes.”

“In the morning?”

“Yes!”

“So you’re basically saying that she’s your sunshine?”

Valencia is too excited to be annoyed by Heather’s teasing. “Yes, exactly. She’s my sunshine! Which believe me, was sometimes the only thing that got me through this winter. It was cold.”

“I’ll bet,” agrees Heather. “New York isn’t exactly balmy.”

“Yeah, yeah. No, this is perfect.”

“So you know what you’re going to do?”

“Uh huh.”

“Are you going to tell me? Where will this event take place?”

“Our apartment. That’s our home now. It’s a shoebox and extremely uncomfortable, but it’s also ours. And mine. And that’s the first time I ever had something like that.”

Valencia actually sounds giddy.

“What do you think?” she appeals to Heather.

“That sounds just like both of you.”

“I think so.” Valencia looks conflicted. “But I want to share it with you guys too. Like, I want a little fun, otherwise I’ll just start crying and in the sloppy way, not the movie-style pretty way.”

“Again, I can’t go to New York. Paula’s too busy and Rebecca is equally broke.”

Valencia’s eyes sparkle. “Okay, but what is the best way to visit New York without visiting New York?”

Heather has an inkling of where this is going.

“You’re going to livestream your proposal?”

“Of course not. I’m going to livestream after she says yes.”

“Oooh boy.”

Valencia flutters a hand. “I think she’ll be fine as long as the actual moment itself is private. She’s not like me—she doesn’t want to get a proposal in front of people. So…you think it’s good?”

“It’s perfect. Out of curiosity, why did you want to be proposed to in front of people?”

“I mean, it used to be a social-capital type of thing, but honestly, I don’t want all of West Covina there. I would want you guys, and my family to share the moment. Cause you love us, you love Beth…and it’s still nice to be the center of attention once in a while. But that’s me, not Beth. Now, enough proposal talk. Let’s crack these wine babies open.”

Heather nods, a little distracted, a new idea forming in her head.

“The drone was a nice touch,” Paula observes as the three of them crowd around Heather’s laptop in her kitchen a few weeks later.

“Not mine. That was all Valencia.”

“Oh my god, I can’t believe Valencia’s engaged!” Rebecca’s squeal is exactly what Valencia seems to want, she just beams all the brighter. From within the camera, Beth seems amusedly resigned, leaning her head on Valencia’s shoulder, admiring the ring.

“Well, since you have your girls on the line…” says Beth, and Heather smirks, the only woman of the lot of them who knows what’s coming, as Beth disappears out of their sight line, and emerges with a small velvet black box of her own.

“Oh my god!” Valencia’s squawk has all three of them jerking away from the laptop, but the general cacophony from Paula and Rebecca more than make up for it.

“A double proposal!” Rebecca’s grin is so wide that Heather’s own face aches in sympathy.

“Valencia, Valencia stop shaking me, I have a whole speech prepared, and I know it’s not a flash mob in Times Square—”

“I don’t care!” Valencia shrieks. “How did you—when—”

Beth laughs, giddy with adrenaline.

“Thank Heather,” she says, her voice clear even over the faint buzzing of the drone. “I called her for advice, and she didn’t give me any details, but she did say that if I wanted to propose, I might want to consider keeping the ring in the apartment. Preferably under the bed.”

“Heather!!” Valencia glares at her across the country, mascara running, but the smile on her face is impossible to repress.

“Told you I’m romantic,” says Heather mildly, but still smiling, pleased.

“I know,” says Valencia. “Thank you.”

She turns back to Beth. “But I thought you wanted a private proposal. Everyone’s watching us right now—”

“I did, and I’m glad I got one. But you’re not me. Valencia, you are a sun, and you draw all of us in your orbit—”

There is more, but Heather can barely hear any of it, between the screamlets coming out of the laptop and the shrieks echoing around Rebecca’s kitchen. Rebecca is punching Heather’s arm and saying something about she knew Heather was secretly a romantic at heart, she just knew it, and Paula is looking misty again, but Heather only has eyes for the two women on the other side of the screen, wearing rings and embracing so tightly it’s like the drone isn’t there at all.

What? She said she’s a romantic.

#crazy ex girlfriend #beth x valencia #heather davis #valencia perez #beth #crazyexvalentine #ellie writes fic #this was a lot of fun

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clevernewdimension · 5 years

Text

Unearthly Delights Part Eighteen

Preview, One, Two (M), Three, Four (M), Five, Six (M), Seven (M), Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven(M), Twelve (M) , Thirteen (M), Fourteen (M), Fifteen, Sixteen (M), Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen (Coming soon!)

Genre: Drama, Smut, Action, Romance, Supernatural Creatures and Monsters AU

Pairing: JunmyeonxCharacter

Word Count: 3.6K

AN: After this part this story will go on a bit of a hiatus as I try to remember what exactly I had planned after losing my notes. Sorry to everyone who loves it :(

Yixing sighed, looking around the warehouse, eyes wide. The smell of ash everywhere, invading his senses. He moves, seeing Sehun standing there. His hands shaking, the archangel blade held tightly in his grip. He looks at the now dormant weapon, the slightly glowing platinum. The most powerful weapons known to the world, archangel blades. The only thing that can rival it is probably the power of God himself. Sehun was standing there, his hair the color of blood and in his rage. He turned, pointing it at Yixing for a moment. His eyes looking as if molten gold, just staring in them hurt. Like he was looking into an extremely bright light, but Yixing did so anyways.

“Sehun,” Yixing says, looking around, “What have you done?”

The man was silent, Yixing notices how tense he was. Yixing’s heard of it. The rage of angels has left their mark all over history, but most of the time archangels stayed out of it. Archangel’s anger led to some awful things in history, where people were wiped out. Seeing Sehun standing there with nothing but ash around him, Yixing could believe it. It scared him a bit, seeing his friend like this. Sehun just took a step, the place where his feet were as he shot the vampires trying to flee was melted. The once smooth concrete glowing, molten but starting to cool. Yet Sehun’s shoes are fine, untouched.

Yixing has never been happier that Sehun was on their side than just now.

I felt the gnawing hunger at my stomach as Minseok looked at me with worry. There was something about it that made me feel bad. This bond stronger than you read in books, for sure. I can feel his emotions sometimes, and I think he can feel mine too. “You need to eat, Ava,” He mutters, “Do you want me to get someone?”

“Blood bag,” I mutter, holding my knees to my chest. “I… I don’t trust myself right now,” I mutter, feeling tears leaking from my eyes and down my face. I shake my head, “All I want to do is make someone hurt as much as I’m hurting.”

“That’s a good sign that you are in the right mind enough to tell me that,” He mutters, nodding. Minseok sighs, “Alright. I have a few, hold on.”

I close my eyes, and all I see is Aiden. His smile, his laugh. The times we’d spend on a roof looking at the stars. All the time I spend morning him, how Taemin helped pull me out of that. Taemin…

The door opens and Minseok moves, placing a bag of crimson liquid next to me. I grab it, biting into it, the taste stale as I drink it quickly. Like drinking flat soda or crackers that have been out too long. My eyes look over, seeing my leather jacket on the chair at the other side of the room. The blood filling my stomach quickly, dulling the hunger a lot. I toss the bag away, before getting up. Minseok watches me carefully as I move to the jacket. Heavily used, the leather distressed after years. This memento of a love long gone. A love that was real to only one of us. I hold it in my hand, before closing my eyes, remembering Aiden. His lies that I knew about now. How he could tell me he loves me even when it was a lie. I feel anger rising in me, a rumbling growl coming from my chest.

I pull, hearing it rip into two pieces. Minseok says nothing, watching me carefully as I rip it more and more. I glared at the pieces, on the ground as I just shake my head. I feel Minseok place his fingers on my shoulder and I look back, seeing him worried for me. It’s bizarre, after being turned how quickly our friendship has blossomed. The bond between us strong, probably more than friendship truthfully since he turned me.

“I’ll be fine,” I say, before shaking my head. “I just… leave me alone for a bit.”

A few minutes of him looking at me, like he was studying. Looking to see if I was ok. “Alright,” He says, “I’ll wait for you.”

Then, he was gone.

I was alone. My mind racing as I just let my feet carry me. The city a blur around me. Everyone too much, the signs and lights too bright and every little noise too loud. This happens from time to time. Getting lost in my feelings. I always was my own worst enemy. My mind always cruel to me. Even still, as I open the door to Taemin’s, and I guess my, place.

He was in every part of this place. It was like he was still here. I move, going to the kitchen, opening the cupboard. Bottles on bottles on bottles I took down. The feeling burned my throat as I drank. But the haze won’t come. The numb won’t set. I’m left to actually face my feelings. To mourn.

Everyone I ever care for ends up like this. Cold and lifeless. My mother. Aiden. Taemin. It was like a curse placed upon me. Almost like I needed a warning label. Get too close and you’ll suffer. Keep for distance for your own safety. The sight of my mother and Aiden dead burned in my mind. Oddly they gave me something to be angry about. Something to fight about. Taemin’s death just left me feeling hollow. I barely knew Jongdae but even he was caught up in the curse of me.

It’s funny, too. I act like I’m better off alone but I fuck… I need people in my life. I need that support system. The ones who pick me up when I’m down and stop me from being a total fucking idiot.

This time I don’t have Taemin there to pick me up. I don’t have the times where he would hold back my hair as I puke from being completely blackout drunk. I don’t have the showers where he would silently take care of me. I don’t have the man who was the closest thing I had to family since my mother.

It’s me. Alone. For the first time since Aiden, I felt the emptiness that is isolation.

I hate it.

The water around him felt colder today. Though, everything does right now. He’s just glad he remembered to have the fish in this tank taken home. So it was just him, the kelp and his thoughts.

So Junmyeon thought, until he sees someone splash into the water. He looks over, seeing Sehun in front of him. Junmyeon can smell the ash all over him. His hands and hair covered.

“Sehun,” Junmyeon asks, looking at him.

“You’re going to have to change the water,” He says, falling completely into the water now. Junmyeon looks below, seeing Sehun run his hands through his hair, seeing the cloud of dirt come from it before he comes back up.

“What did you do?”

“I dusted some of them,” He says, his form shifting as he was pulling clothes off. Junmyeon sees a glittering gold tail as Sehin dips under the water, able to breathe now.

Junmyeon joins him, both able to communicate with one another now. “How many?”

“Fifty-three,” Sehun, mutters. Junmyeon sees his eyes burning bright like pure sunlight. The anger he felt was so strong it was making the water warm. Junmyeon places his hand on Sehun’s shoulder, making him look over.

“You’re so determined to put a target on your back, aren’t you,” Junmyeon says, shaking his head.

“If it means to protect all of you, yes,” Sehun says, nodding.

Junmyeon’s heart hurt at that. The man before him, while the oldest, acted like the youngest. He was loyal to a fault, and Junmyeon was scared he’ll get himself killed. “Just be careful,” He says softly, “I don’t want to lose anyone else.”

“I am the least of your worries,” Sehun says, crossing his arms. “They know not to send people after me because I will rapidly dwindle their numbers. Now, I’m a factor they have to plan around. Try to attack when I’m not there.” Sehun smirks, “But, as a shapeshifter, they’ll never really know when that is.”

Junmyeon shakes his head, “They literally created the thing that will destroy them.”

“And I will,” Sehun nods, “Happily. But there is another talk we have to have. About your sister and what are we going to do. I’m personally a fan of Yixing teleporting her in a different country, throwing some money at her and tell her hope we never see her again.”

“I didn’t expect you to want to give her money,” Junmyeon mutters.

“Well, she needs room a board for at least a few days before she can find I dunno… a job or something,” Sehun explains. “France has a very heavy vampire population.”

“I’m just surprised you don’t want her dead. Since you did threaten her, after all.”

Sehun looks at the merman, unapologetic as he nods. “I don’t want to have to, because you love her. But if she tried to get more of us killed? No question. I know it would hurt you, but… I can’t let any more suffer. And I’m not going to apologize for doing it either.”

“I know,” Junmyeon nods, “I would understand. Perhaps not at first, when it immediately happens, but given a day or two, I would understand.”

Sehun doesn’t believe it, but remains silent anyways. He stays, watching Junmyeon changing. Legs instead of a tail as he moved, leaving. Sehun moved after a few moments.

After a quick towel dry, he saw Yixing at the bar, looking up. “Minseok wanted to see us,” He says, “Since the plan is coming along now.”

Sehun just wordlessly takes his hand, letting himself be teleported to the vampires place. He sees the kitchen of the place in a blink, seeing Kyungsoo looking over a map of the Venture’s manor that Sehun managed to get. He looks up, seeing them.

“Are we late,” Sehun asks, looking around the room.

Kyungsoo shakes his head, “Chanyeol is currently on guard duty, Jongin went to eat because he’s been starving himself, the idiot.”

Sehun just nods, knowing how badly Jongin was taking this. Hard to get into the nice warm feeling that eating as an incubus gives you when you’re upset.

“Minseok-”

“Is here,” The vampire says, walking into the room. He pointed over his shoulder, “He’s here from the Seelie court.”

Sehun glances, seeing a man there. He was tall, but no one that he recognized from his trip there. He wore plain human clothes in green and brown, much like Yixing dresses in. His arms covered in glittering tattoos, giving him added strengths in... something. Sehun wasn’t sure.

“Junmyeon is going to think and be alone for a moment,” Sehun says, moving and sitting down. “Hopefully he’ll go and talk to Ava soon.”

Kyungsoo nods, “We know Venture is at his manor during the day. It’ll be best to attack during the day that way they can’t escape easily.”

“The Unseelie fae could just teleport them,” The man says, looking at the map.

“And you’re name is,” Sehun asks, looking at him.

“Tree Root,” He says, looking at him. “Elite warriors lose their names and take on a title.”

Sehun looks at Yixing, “Please tell me you didn’t have a awful name like that too.”

Yixing just rolls his eyes, shaking his head. “We could have all of us wear charms that prevent teleporting around us but that means if it starts going wrong, WE can’t leave either.”

“Queen Hyuna is willing to distract them with a battle,” Tree Root says, looking at Yixing. “All of them have been ordered to return should the traitor King needs them.”

“That will leave them vulnerable,” Kyungsoo says, nodding.

“Or you all could just let ME go alone,” Sehun says. “I can literally pretend to be one of his advisers, get close and kill him. Done.”

Yixing shakes his head, “The point is to kill them all. The risk of you dying going in alone would be high.”

Sehun shrugs, “One for many, then.”

Minseok glares, “We are NOT losing anyone else so cut the self sacrificing bullshit.” He shakes his head, pulling out one of the barstools and looks over the map. “Get ready, we’re not leaving until we have a plan set.”

Sehun pouts, “Can we at least order food? I’m hungry.”

“I’m sure you are after what you did today,” Kyungsoo says, looking at the map some more.

As Sehun was ordering food on his phone for everyone, he knew it was going to be a hellish night. Planning has never been his forte after all.

I drank every ounce of liquor in the place and yet nothing dulled the pain. Everything was numb and not in the good way. I laid in the floor of the bedroom, holding a picture of myself, Johnny and Taemin. Back from Chicago, where everything was easier and uncomplicated. The smile on Taemin’s face, something I thought could never be dulled, was now extinguished.

I’ve cried as much as I could cry. My eyes sore from sobbing. Between Taemin’s and Jongdae’s deaths to learning that Aiden didn’t give a fuck about me, my heart was shattered. Hearing the knock on the door made me jump, the bottles around me knocking into one another. I glance, seeing Taemin in everything here. From the obvious pictures all the way to the the furniture and the way things are placed in the room. I feel tears sting my eyes as I grab the bottle beside me, holding it to my mouth. Nothing. Booze doesn’t make me lose it all anymore. I can’t get lost in it. I can’t hide away from everything through it.

I fucking hated it.

I move and I wasn’t even buzzed. The thought alone pissed me off. I open the door, seeing Junmyeon looking at me. His eye red as he looks like he struggled for words. His hair a disaster and every single article of clothing he wore wrinkled. He normally looks youthful and charming, but now he just looks tired and sad.

“Ava,” He says, his voice sounding like it was cracking out through the pain he felt.

My heart couldn’t break more, but if it could, it would. Seeing him like this hurt so bad. I wanted to make him happy again but I know I couldn’t. I just looked away, shaking my head. “I can’t do this now,” I say, feeling tears come to my eyes. “Don’t make me. Let me just… get numb.”

“It won’t work,” He says, looking even sadder now. “Pain like this can never be numbed.”

I feel anger bubbling up in me for some reason. Grief, I guess. I try to slam the door only for him to catch it. “Ava-”

“Leave me the fuck alone,” I yell, the words coming out in a growl. I could feel the rumble in my chest. An actual growl. Minseok warned me about this, getting this upset. I wasn’t angry at him, it was just coming out. Like a pot boiling over, spilling over without a care. The vibration of the growl shook my chest. Almost like if you stand too close to the speakers blasting music at the club. I could feel my teeth getting sharper without meaning for it to happen.

Junmyeon, however, didn’t seem scared. I feel him push against the door again. My body let it open. I guess him being here was ok. I felt so alone… him here will take that part of the pain away, maybe.

He pulls me into his arms immediately. I grip him, holding him close. My eyes couldn’t make tears but damn I wanted to cry. When he pulled away, he looked at me, “I’m so sorry.”

I shake my head, pushing him away. “You should just… go.”

He looked confused. He took a step to me as I took one away. He looked hurt, but waited for an explanation.

“Everyone I ever care about end up dead,” I say, feeling my throat get tighter from emotions. I look down, “If we stop now, perhaps you’ll b-”

Junmyeon laughs, “It’s too late for that, wouldn’t you think?”

I shake my head, “If we stop, then it won’t happen to you too! Then I don’t have to worry… you’ll be ok.”

He holds me tightly, “Avelyna, I’m not letting you push me away when you need someone most.” I feel fingers gripping my clothes, pressing a kiss to the side of my head. “I’m here. I’m not leaving. It’s too late anyways.”

I pulled away, “It’s not. Just… go… take your sister and leave and we’ll fight this. You just move on and forget abou-”

“No,” He says, looking at me. “I’m not leaving you.” He shakes his head, eyes shining with tears. “You’re too important to me. Our friends are too important.” His hands move, holding my face as he stared in my eyes. He lets out a small, pained laugh, “You don’t get it, do you?”

I looked at him, my eyes searching for what he was talking about. He just smiles, though sadly because of everything that’s happened, “I love you. It’s already too late for whatever nonsense you were thinking. You can’t push me away to save me because I’m already in too deep,” He says, smiling, tears falling from his eyes. He shakes his head, “You deserved to be told this at a happier time, but I can’t hold it in anymore. I can’t lie to myself. I can’t pretend I don’t feel it when it’s… fuck,” He says pressing his forehead to mine, “It’s the strongest feeling I’ve felt in a long time. When I’m with you I’m happy. Genuinely, and I haven’t felt that since my family were still here.” He opens his eyes, moving away, “Like hell I’m going to let you take this away from yourself. You deserve to be happy and I’d like to think I make you happy too.”

He moves, letting his thumbs wipe across my face. I notice that tears started to fall again as I just listened to him. I could feel my lip quiver, “But I’m scared. I’m scared our friend will get hurt.” I close my eyes, “My feelings for you are so strong and I’m scared you’ll…”

“I’m scared too,” He says, nodding, “but I’d rather try… take this chance than just run away from how I feel. You don’t even have to tell me it back. I just wanted you to know before all this happens.” He moves, taking a step away, looking at me. “So… are you going to run away again, or are you going to try?”

I looked at him. I know what I was going to do. I tighten my fists and nodded. He glances at me looking me over, “You’re not…”

“Wearing the jacket,” I asked, looking at him. “I ripped it up. No reason to keep something in memory of a person who was an asshole.” I shrug, “Guess I have to get a new one…”

“Same style, then,” He asks.

“I think so. They’re very warm, after all… not that that really matters to me anymore, actually,” I mutter, hearing him let out a small laugh. “Well, either way, it’s badass and so am I.”

“As long as you’re happy.”

“I’ll try… after all this is over I’ll try to… mourn normally or whatever,” I say, frowning. “After all, I can’t drink myself mindless anymore when things get to be too much.”

“Probably for the best, honestly,” He says.

“What about you,” I ask, “How are you?”

“Just… in shock.” He looks towards the couch. “Want to sit? Talk about things where we’re comfortable?”

I nod, “I… don’t know what to do with this place. He owned it and I don’t know if can sell it… but I don’t want it to be sold.”

“I’ll handle that after all this,” Junmyeon says, as we sit down on the comfortable couch. “If you want me to, that is. I can just make sure it’s owned by one of us and kept clean for whenever you feel ready.”

I nod, the feeling of sadness aching. It was exhausting, being so emotionally overloaded. I lean my head on his shoulder, shaking my head, “I’m just… I’m sick of this. I want them to pay for once.”

“They will,” He mutters, moving and wrapping an arm around me.

I stay quiet, letting myself just, for a moment, enjoy his embrace. Rarely, it feels like, are we both just still. Quiet. Enjoying each other’s company without it getting heated or ending suddenly. He’s a busy person that people come to often for advice and help. He can never say no to them, either.

I smile sadly. I somehow conned this kind man into falling for me. There is nothing I could do to deserve him. I’m a total piece of shit, but if I am who he wants, then I’ll do everything I can to keep this, whatever it is. He believes in us, so I should too.

I feel him press a soft kiss to the top of my head. I lean more into him, wanting to do nothing but forget the nightmare that’s going on. I decide, for once and for all, that this is what I want. This relationship should have a chance. And I’ll give it the chance it deserve.

After we get the justice we both deserved.

#exo fanfiction #exo fanfic #suho fanfiction #suho fanfic #junmyeon fanfic #junmyeon fanfiction

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krpk-remaking · 6 years

Text

on kurapikas further development, the plots general direction and why leorio is on the black whale

this is just kind of a speculation on where kurapikas arc and the general plot is heading right now!

i wrote this with the help of mags @geysers/@butchmeruem !!<3

First off, i think that, while there is still a possibilty, it seems unlikely that Kurapika will die, as killing him off would be a very easy way to just finish his arc.

It wouldn’t resolve his trauma and it just seems predictable in a way and i want to believe that Togashi is a better writer than that.

Killing off Kurapika simply for shock value would in no way be a satisfying end for him or anyone around him.

I do believe there are about three directions his arc could go in.

(Manga Spoilers, obviously!)

1.1. Kurapika Gives Up His Revenge And Takes In Prince Woble

I believe this is a very likely possibilty, since it’s been shown that Kurapika is naturally calmer and happier around children - during the hunter licence arc hes at his best while hes together with Gon and Killua, and Leorio too and he very obviously feels naturally inclined to nurture kids, much like Leorio as they both are very worried about Gon and Killua during those arcs and now, during the current arc, Kurapika seems to enjoy being around Prince Woble.

If Kurapika were to take in Prince Woble either Leorio or Melody or even both would probably end up helping him take care of her.

Kurapikas arc appears to very much be about him finding the human connection, that he lost when his clan was killed, again, effectively making this found family story a Big Deal thematically.

Him finding a new purpose in life through taking care of Woble would be, in my opinion, a thematically satisfying ending for Kurapikas arc, since its been said by many in-story characters that his search for revenge will only destroy him in the end

Though, for this scenario, Prince Wobles Mother would probably have to die. I’ll discuss how i think it might happen in a bit!

1.2. Kurapika Won’t Rest Until The Phantom Troupe Is Dead And Then Takes In Prince Woble

In my opinion this is less likely, since its been talked about so much how the Revenge will destroy Kurapika.

But it might be a hint towards him finishing his revenge, only to loose his purpose in life, only to find it again bc taking in the baby.

Its basically a slightly darker version of my first theory.

1.3. Prince Woble Is Killed And Kurapika Looses It, Possibly Dying Too

I really dislike this one because it’s perfect, terrible angst fuel. Theres a lot of things going on on that Boat that could kill a baby

The Sucsession War, obviously

The Phantom Troupe

The Mafia

Hisoka

Probably more that I’m forgetting right now

So, if one of those factors ends up killing Woble i think it might be cause for Kurapika to finally, completely break, even more so if combined with the fact that he will most likey have to find Pairos preserved head with the remaining eyes of his clan.

Like i stated earlier, i do believe that this isn’t very likely but it still is very much a possibility, sadly.

2. Possibilities For The Plots General Direction

2.1. Queen Oito Dies

Queen Oitos death is very, very probable at this point.

She might sacrifice herself for Woble and possibly Kurapika to live, which supports Theory 1.1. & 1.2.! Possibly 1.3 too, with her death just being in vain.

But, remember how Kurapika and Queen are still connected through Emperor Time.

When Kurapika passed out because of overusage of his Nen, Queen Oito passed out right with him.

If Queen Oito dies and her and Kurpaika are still connected, I think Kurapika might experience the Sensation of Dying, without actually dying, which would be a huge traumatic experience for anyone.

> possible Leorio Reappearance though, since Kurapika would most definitely need a Doctor after that.

2.2. Pairos Head

I think most HxH fans have accepted/ackknowledged that the head that the Prince has in a Jar is most likey Pairos and that Kurapika will find it and experience extreme Emotional Turmoil, because of course.

Its his dead best friends head in a jar. What do you expect.

This is just wishful thinking but again, possibility that Kurapika will black out and need a doctor. > Leorio Reappearance

3. Why Leorio Is On The Black Whale

First, theres THIS post i made about how Leorios and Kurapikas arcs are connected. Reading it might add onto this specific point!

Now, simply put, from a narrative Perspective, Leorio is on the Black Whale for Kurapika.

I love Leorio but if Togashi wanted this arc to be about him, he would’ve given him more focus early on.

But no, the last time we saw Leorio it was Kurapika thinking about him.

“Though...Reality...Isn��t all that...Simple...!!!” Is literally Kurapika thinking, how always being on his own and alone is not as easy as he thought it would be, while thinking of Leorio, Gon and Killua.

More to this in a bit.

The in-story reason for Leorios presence on the Black Whale is that all the zodiacs are going, though Leorio stated that he wishes he could continue his studies.

This easily could’ve been used as an excuse to make him stay behind but Cheadle really just so happend to be someone who could train him so he could come along anyways.

There is little actual reason for Leorio to come along, except to maybe fight but someone else could easily fill that role.

The Key Difference is that Leorio is part of Kurapikas found family and also very quick to call people out on their bullshit which is exactly what Kurapika needs this arc.

I believe that’s why Togashi put him on the boat.

Now, again about the “Though...Reality...Isn’t all that...Simple...!!!” bit.

This is might really just be wishful interpretation and overthinking but Leorio has his own Panel and is facing closest to the viewpoint in the third one.

Also, the panel that shows him alone has him on the Phone.

I think that this implies, that Kurapika truly appreciates Leorios concern for him but keeps pushing him away for, what i assume is a fear of letting anyone get close to him, which brings us to:

3.1. Pairos Words

Since Pairos head might show up very soon, there will probably be a callback to his words, or atleast when Kurapikas arc ends, hopefully with him being happy, there will be.

I believe, or want to believe that those words will ultimately let Kurapika allow himself to be happy and let people in to actually help him, Re: Leorio and how he might help Kurapika!

If you’ve read this far, thank you so so much!!! I hope you liked what i wrote with Mags help and if you have anymore thoughts on this/any corrections on mistakes please feel free to send me an ask!!!

#WWWWWWWWW #GOS THIS IS SO SO INTERESTING #R #strawberrypost #hxh #hunter x hunter #kurapika #hxh spoilers #watch out!#words are so hard this is so bad to read im sorry khaskhjasd #strawberrymeta

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screamingatanemptyroom · 6 years

Text

Fictober18 Day 30

Original Fiction

Prompt: “do we really have to do this again?”

Erin/Gerald story Part 10! We meet the rest of Gerald’s family

“Your… parents.” Erin stared at the handsome couple before her blankly for a few moments, before giving a polite bow.

“Your Majesties.”

The woman laughed, reaching out to grab Erin’s arm and pulling her down to the seat next to her. “No need to be so formal dear, you can call me Agatha, and my husband Charles.”

“Or father-in-law.” Low muttered words were spoken by the king, Erin couldn’t quite hear it clearly.

Gerald sat on the other side of Erin, grabbing her hand and holding it as he spoke.

“Did you seriously use a royal summons as an excuse to lure Erin here to interrogate her as my new girlfriend?”

“What?” The king looked greatly offended. “Of course not! We would never do something so underhanded.”

“Never.” The queen agreed with an innocent expression.

Gerald didn’t look convinced. “So what did you want to talk to her about then?”

“About…” The older man looked around, as if searching for an answer. “…the attack of course! Can you tell us about it, dear?”

“Well…” Gerald started to respond, when before being cut off by his mother.

“We weren’t asking you… We want to hear from this lovely young lady.”

“…” Erin was slightly shocked, but didn’t feel like she could refuse. She took a deep breath and described the opening sequence of events. The king and queen listened carefully, interrupting to ask more specific questions.

“How many men were there?”

“What type of weapons?”

“What kind of man are you looking for as an ideal husband?”

“DAD!” Gerald broke in at that last question, his face turning red. The king showed an innocent expression.

“What?”

“That last one clearly wasn’t about the attack at all!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. This is an important topic regarding the safety of our country, I would never use it as an opportunity to get to know my future daughter-in-law.”

“Your what?” Erin asked.

“Anyways… back to the topic, did they identify themselves in any way?”

Erin described their words before they took their lives. Hearing the whole story the king nodded solemnly. “I see, that’s much more information than we have gotten on this group previously, you and your team’s ingenuity in capturing them alive is greatly appreciated.”

He turned to his wife. “See, I told you! She’s smart, capable, thinks quickly in critical situations… she would be a great future queen.”

“It’s definitely reassuring.” The Queen smiled at Gerald as she agreed. “At least he had the good sense to bring back someone intelligent. We could plan for a spring wedding.”

Erin broke out into a cold sweat. “Umm… Your Majesties?”

“I told you, no need to be so polite, just call us by our names.”

The king added to his wife’s words “Or just call us Mom and Dad.”

Gerald groaned and covered in face in embarrassment. Erin pushed forward awkwardly. “I don’t want you to have the wrong impression, Gerald and I are not engaged.”

“…” The couple stared at her blankly for a moment, before the Queen nodded sadly. “Oh we know dear, but we still have hope for the future.”

“Exactly!” The king agreed, “Is there anything about Gerald you really don’t like? We know he can be a bit noisy at times.”

“Doesn’t keep his room clean.”

“Has a tendency to get distracted and wander off.”

“Can talk too much.”

“Please stop!” Gerald waved his arms, cutting off his parents cheerfully listing off his faults. “Stop giving her more reasons NOT to marry me!”

They turned their attention to him. The King frowned. “Now that’s no good, my boy. She has to know what’s she getting herself into. If she knows your faults and still wants to marry you, you’ll be much happier.”

“Of course,” the Queen added, “If there’s anything that’s a true deal-breaker, Erin, let us know, we’ll do our best to fix him.”

That sounded ominous, Erin looked at them all silently for a moment, his father’s hopeful expression, his mother’s stern, determined look, and Gerald’s bright red complexion… and broke out into laughter.

Finally when she could breathe again, she spoke with a smile. “There’s no deal breaker, but I just met Gerald a few months ago. We started dating a few weeks ago. There’s no rush.”

The couple looked at each other, grinning. “So you like our son, even with all his faults?”

Erin felt her face grow warm. She avoided eye contact and suppressing the urge to run away entirely, nodded slowly.

Gerald reached over from his seat next to her, and hugged her tightly.

“Well, alright then. We won’t pressure you two to get married.” The Queen watched them happily.

“For now.” The king muttered.

Gerald let her go, his expression satisfied, and went back to holding her hand. “So, about this attack… you said that Erin had gotten more information on this group then you had previously… is this not their first attack?”

The king sighed. “No, this is not the first. Although they’ve never done something quite as big or high profile before.” He stood up, pacing back and forth. “Over the last month, several of our barracks closer to our borders have been attacked in a very similar manner. Explosives, masked men in swords, they strike quickly, and before reinforcements can arrive, they retreat. We’ve only ever captured one or two alive, and they’ve immediately taken their own lives, in a similar manner to which you’ve seen.”

“How many attacks have there been?”

“Five attacks total, six counting the larger scale attack on the welcoming ceremony.” The queen shook her head. “It’s unclear what they’re after, but I worry that they may be targeting the magical competition and its competitors, we’ll call in some of the armed forces to beef up security.”

“We’ll be stretched a little thin at the borders, but if we can’t prevent an incident from happening at this competition, it will turn into a diplomatic disaster.”

Erin and Gerald exchanged glances, worried. “Is there anything we can do to help?” Erin offered.

“We appreciate it, dear, but you and Gerald should just focus on winning the competition.”

Gerald chuckled. “Is it okay for a monarch to say something in support of another country’s competing team?”

“If I can’t support my son and future daughter-in-law, who can I support?” The king huffed with annoyance, his eyes cheerful.

“How about your other son and future daughter-in-law?”

A confident voice called out from the room’s entrance. A young man walked forward, stopping before the group with a stiff smile. Erin studied him curiously. His features were regular, handsome, somewhat reminding her of Gerald, but there were significant differences. It seemed… off, as if the polite cheerful expression that Gerald wore so naturally was just a stiff mask instead. His eyes were sharp, moving around the room, missing nothing. His gaze met Erin’s and she felt the urge to strike out at him. Her fist clenched beside her, the hand still holding Gerald’s stiffened in place. She had a strong sense of danger from him, as if only the thinnest veneer of etiquette was preventing him from showing his true monstrous intentions.

He reminded Erin of her father.

The king smiled, but the expression wasn’t as happy as it had been a moment ago. “Richard, of course we’re cheering for you and… your fiancé as well. Even if I have two sons competing against each other, I’ll definitely cheer for both!”

Gerald shook his head. “Thanks, dad.”

“Really? You’ll treat both of us equally?” Richard’s expression didn’t change, but his eyes grew colder. “Even though I’m the heir to your throne, and Gerald is the weaker son who can’t even hold onto an engagement?”

“Richard!” The Queen stood up, her face pale. “We agreed to honor your engagement with… that girl… only because Gerald insisted he didn’t mind after she betrayed him. Flaunting the fact that you stole your brother’s fiancé is not actually working in your favor, child.”

“It’s only natural.” Richard insisted. “I’m the stronger of the two, I am destined to be king, so of course she would choose me.”

Erin glanced over at Gerald, but if anything, he looked bored at his brother’s outburst.

“Richard, do we really have to do this again?” He sighed. “I meant it when I said I hope you two would be happy together. You saved me from what would have been a very unhappy marriage, although I wish you had gone about it differently instead of betraying me behind my back.” He paused, looking over at Erin with a smile and squeezing her hand. “I’m much happier now, though, so don’t mind me and just live your life the way you want, brother.

Richard’s attention turned to Erin. His gaze made her skin crawl. “Ah yes, the new girl…” He looked her up and down, his lips curling into a sneer. “You must be very… skilled… to rope in my brother so quickly after his broken engagement. Especially as my sources say you’re currently engaged yourself. I had no idea that my brother was alright with sharing his fiancé.”

Gerald was trembling with rage, but Erin was still and calm. She smiled, and stood up, walking until she was only a few feet from him. He was not nearly as tall as his brother, and as she moved closer, he had to look up to maintain eye contact.

Staring down at him, she spoke with a perfect polite tone. “We’ve not met. I am Éirinne de Roderick.” She held up her hand. “Don’t bother telling me your name, I don’t care to remember it. Whiny children like yourself aren’t worth the mental energy.”

She smiled, stepping a little closer. He opened his mouth, clearly wanting to talk, but Erin waved a hand, a wind spell sealing the air in his lungs. His face turned purple.

“I will correct some of the lies you spoke about, however. First, I am not engaged to anyone. Your information is incorrect. While it is true that my father is trying to force an engagement on me for his own political gain, I neither know of the man or have any intention of agreeing to it. I am also not engaged to your brother, not that it’s any of your business.”

She grinned as Richard gasped for air, a hand waving wildly as he tried to counter with his own wind magic. He must have fairly powerful magic, at least level 4, as Erin felt his power clash with her own.

Unfortunately for him as she stood up she had pulled off her restricting artifact. His wind powers simply couldn’t compare with her own.

“Now I will let you go, but I’ll do so with a warning, little boy.” She paused, making sure his attention was on her. “Do not meddle in my life or my relationships. Do not try to hurt those I love. If you do, I won’t even give you a chance to regret it.”

With that, she waved a hand, and her spell dispersed, allowing him to pull in a lungful of air. He collapsed to the ground, gulping in large breaths, before looking up at her with rage in his eyes.

“I’ll pay you back for this.”

Erin’s smile widened, and Richard shrunk back with fear. She leaned closer and whispered softly.

“Bring it.”

He ran off, stopping only once to glare behind him before slipping out the doors.

“…” There was an awkward silence. Gerald stood up, and smiling, reached out to take the restricting artifact from her clenched hand. “May I?” He asked. Getting a nod in response, he slipped it over her head and refastened the chain.

“Thanks.”

“No, Erin, thank you.” He chuckled. “I got to see you terrify my brother and his fiancé… and we’ve only been here a few days.”

“It sounds terrible when you say it like that.”

“Only to someone who doesn’t know the situation.”

Erin turned towards the royal couple, who still sat on the couches in silence. She bowed solemnly. “I’m sorry to threaten your son.”

The king snorted. “It’s good for him. He thinks that just because he’s got a little bit of power and he’s marrying that… girl… that he’d be a good king? Hmph!” He smiled at Erin.

“No dear, we apologize that our son was so rude to you. How terrible of us to allow such a thing to happen as our guest.” He shrugged. “I guess the only answer is to give you our son’s hand in marriage to make up for it.”

“Dear…” The queen’s tone warned him. “Don’t pressure her.” Standing up, she hugged Erin tightly. “Take care of Gerald, he’s too nice for his own good sometimes.”

Erin hugged the woman back. “I will.”

With that, they said their goodbyes and headed back towards the dorms.

“So… what next?”

“Well, we have a couple of days before the first competition, so we should take that time to practice working together as a team.” She grabbed his hand as they walked, “We didn’t do too badly against the attackers today, I’d like to build on that success and really get us fighting side by side smoothly.”

“The first competition is the magical theory one right?” Gerald frowned. “Will you be okay?”

“With me and Olivia as the nominated competitors?” Erin laughed. “Just wait and see.”

#fictober18 #writing #Erin/Gerald #part 10 #Competition begins in next part.#Also more Frederick tomorrow

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lancetuckershairgel · 5 years

Photo

The Family Secret: A Superfamily AU

Eleanor is forced to face Steve when he returns home unexpectedly from his mission. Loki takes Eleanor to a Broadway play despite Steve’s objection.

Loki and I had a nice time at The Bean Tap, a hole in the wall hipster coffee shop close to school. We discussed the current books we’re reading, the ones for leisure not school, and both realized that we like different time periods better than the one we are currently in. I sipped my latte as I listened to him go on about Shakespeare and he drank his coffee, which he took black, as I went into detail about Gone With the Wind, one of my favorite novels that he hadn’t read. When it was time for both of us to go home, we exchanged numbers and parted. I headed down West 42nd Street, toward our towering home and realized as I approached the door that I hadn’t stopped smiling since I left the coffee shop.

Loki wasn’t like a lot of the boys in our school. He seemed mature, confident, slightly arrogant, and knowledgeable about things other than the latest Vines and sports. We had a lot of things in common too, from our love of historical fiction to our view on current events going on in the country. It was nice to have someone my age to share these things with, and I had to admit he was pretty cute. I had never been interested in boys much, mostly because they were all immature dorks like my brother, but my dad was always over protective of me. He prefered that I focused on my studies and get into a good college instead of boys. He’d find something wrong with any boy at school Peter said had an interest in me, therefore I couldn’t have an interest in them.

I sighed blissfully as I walked through the front door. I entered the large living room and stopped short, greeted by a group of people. Peter, Tony, Happy, and Pepper were there, but so were my Aunt Natasha, Uncle Clint, Rhodey and my dad.

“Oh…hi” I said, swallowing as I looked at my father who was leaning against the door frame.

“I thought you’d be happier to see me, Sweetheart” Dad said, smiling at me

“Oh..of course I am I just wasn’t expecting you to be home already” I stammered

I recovered quickly and pushed all of my raging emotions down deep. Now wasn’t the time to bring up anything and I didn’t want to act suspicious. I walked up to my dad and gave him a hug, wrapping my arms around his neck as he pulled me to him tightly. I closed my eyes and for a moment it felt like it was just the two of us in the room. I felt tears form in my eyes and I blinked them away. I had so many questions for him, many I had already made up answers to which caused a slew of negative emotions. I held onto him for a minute longer, knowing that the hug might be the last one we’d share. I finally let go and wiped my eyes before quickly going over to Clint to give him a hug.

“Hey, doll”

My uncle gave me a quick kiss on the top of my head before I moved on to my aunt and finally to Rhodey. I sat down next to Peter and half listened to the adults talk to each other, half thinking about how I was going to bring up the birth certificate to Dad. I realized that I hadn’t put it back in his office yet and quietly left to go upstairs. I went into my bedroom and opened my desk drawer. My eyes lingered on the piece of paper for a moment before I picked it up and quickly ran it to the office. Once it was back in it’s place, I made sure the office door was closed and went back to my room. I pulled out my phone and saw I had a text from Loki.

“I really enjoyed our date today. I do hope it’s alright that I call it that.”

My mouth was agape as I read the words, and I felt myself blushing. I bit my lip as I typed a reply.

“I enjoyed it too. I’m not sure if that counts as a date, maybe we should have a real one?”

“What am I doing?” I said aloud after I hit send

“Talking to yourself” Peter said from the doorway

I jumped and threw my phone under my pillow. Why, I don’t know.

“You ok?” Peter asked as he joined me on the bed

“I’m fine”

“I can tell when you’re lying” Peter raised his eyebrows

“It’s girl stuff” I lied

“Oh. Ew” Peter’s wrinkled

“Not that girl stuff.” I hit his shoulder

“Oh.” Peter said with relief “So like, boys?”

“Maybe.”

“Ooooh” Peter grinned

“Shut up.” I hit him again “And don’t tell Dad”

“I won’t”

“I’m serious Peter”

“I said I won’t. Sheesh. Anyway, pizza’s here”

I grabbed my phone and went downstairs to the dining room. Pizza boxes were spread out across the table with paper plates at each seat, obviously placed by Pepper because of the way the napkins were properly folded and set on beside them. I sat down at my usual spot and grabbed a slice of Hawaiian.

“How was school today, kids?” Dad asked as everyone else came into the room and began to sit down

“It was ok” Peter said as he grabbed four slices of various pizza

“El? How was your day?” Dad asked me

“It was fine.” I said, looking down at my plate

“Volleyball practice?” he continued

“Fine.” I said again

“She got hit in the face with the ball” Peter said

“How do you know that?” I looked at him

“MmmJaahh” he shrugged

“Peter, seriously kid, swallow your food before you speak” Tony shook his head

“Sorry.” Peter said after he swallowed “MJ told me”

“Of course she did” I rolled my eyes and bit into my pizza

“You weren’t with MJ after practice?” Dad asked puzzled

“Crap” I thought to myself

“She had a date!” Peter said cheerfully, apparently our conversation moments ago already forgotten

“A what?” Dad asked

“Oh boy” Tony’s hand instantly went to his face as he rolled his eyes

“Oops” Peter said as he quickly shoved more pizza into his mouth to prevent himself from saying something else

“It wasn’t a date” I said defensively “I just had coffee with a friend”

“What friend? Was it a boy?”

“Here we go” Clint muttered and Dad shot him a glare

“Yes, it was a boy.” I sighed “He’s new at school and I was being friendly. We discussed literature”

“I don’t like it” Dad said, but let it go

I quickly finished my pizza and excused myself from the table. I ran back upstairs to my room and closed the door. I made a mental note to kill Peter in his sleep later and pulled out my phone, reading another text from Loki.

“I would very much like to take you out on a proper date. Are you available Friday night? Are there any Broadway plays you’d like to see?”

I couldn’t believe his idea of a first date was Broadway. Those tickets were crazy expensive and hard to get a hold of on short notice.

“I’d love to see Anastasia, but I wouldn’t expect you to want to see that. Are there any that interest you?”

“Anastasia sounds wonderful. I will pick you up at six thirty. Goodnight, Eleanor.”

I immediately called MJ and we spent the rest of the evening talking about what was to come Friday night. She agreed to come over after school, as she and Ned always did on Fridays, and help me get ready.

It seemed like it took weeks for Friday to finally arrive. Between school, avoiding my dad as much as I could without it being obvious that something was wrong, and the anticipation of my first date, time went by painfully slow. I practically dragged MJ all the way home from school Friday afternoon, and we ran straight to my room. We began throwing clothes out of the closet and onto my bed, trying to find the right outfit to wear. I settled on a knee length red dress that I had bought around Christmas when I went to a work party with Dad. It was cute, but classy, and paired great with my black pumps. As MJ worked on curling my hair while I did my makeup she asked me all sorts of questions.

“Are you going to kiss him?”

“I don’t know” “I wonder what kind of car he has...or are you taking the subway?”

“I hope we don’t take the subway. Not in this dress”

“If you do kiss him are you going to slip him tongue?”

“Oh my god, MJ, stop!”

“What? I’m just asking”

When six thirty drew near, I began to get nervous. What if Tony and Dad were in the living room when I went to leave? Should I go out the back door and through the alley? Will we really be taking the subway?

MJ noticed that I was nervous and asked if I was afraid of getting caught. I admitted I was but then a rebellious spirit rose up inside of me and I became determined that I didn’t care if Dad found out. I was sixteen. I was a Sophmore in highschool and my grades were good. I wasn’t planning on sleeping with Loki. I was mature and responsible. It was time I went on a date. Besides, he could possibly have been lying to me for the last sixteen years and that made me angry at him.

“Glad I’m not Steve’s kid” MJ said as she popped some sour gummies into her mouth

“I might not be either” I reminded her, half joking

“True. What’s happening with that?” she asked

“Nothing.” I shrugged as I stuck an earring through my ear lobe “I don’t know what to say to him”

Six twenty came and I decided that it was time to go downstairs. If I could get through the front door without being noticed, I’d wait for Loki on the front stoop. MJ and I walked down the hallway and I thanked the stars that Peter’s door was closed. We could hear him and Ned yelling at whatever video game they were playing and I knew that I would be safe from his blabbing mouth. We quietly descended the stairs and MJ poked her head around the corner to see if the coast was clear.

“Dude. Your dads are watching a movie”

“Crap” I said under my breath and pressed my back against the wall

“And they’re cuddling. Gross”

I ignored her comment. I didn’t want Loki to arrive and ring the buzzer, so I had to think of something quick.

“If we walk fast maybe they won’t notice that I’m dressed up and you’re not” I said

“Your funeral” MJ shrugged

We bolted toward the door. Well, MJ bolted, I walked as fast as I could in heels. I had made it past Dad and Tony on the couch and was almost to the front door. I breathed a sigh of relief as my hand went for the handle.

“Where are you two heading?” Tony asked

“So close” MJ whispered “Well, see ya”

MJ ran out of the door and I slowly turned around. Both of them were turned on the couch, facing me. I had to think quick because I could see Dad looking at my outfit and piecing things together.

“I’m going out” I said

“Where are you going wearing that?”

“To see Anastasia.”

“Did you get tickets?” Dad turned to Tony who shook his head

“I’m going with a friend, and I’m going to be late”

“What friend?” Dad asked “Is it that boy you were with Wednesday?”

“Screw it” I said to myself, feeling a burst of defiance rush over me again

“Yes, actually, it is, and his name is Loki.”

“Loki?” Tony laughed

“You’re not going anywhere” Dad stood up from the couch

“Steve…” Tony groaned “We were having a nice night”

“Yes, I am” I said as my shoulders stiffened

“Young lady..” Dad began, crossing his arms and furrowing his eyebrows in disappointment

“I don’t understand why I can’t go. I’m sixteen. I’m a good kid” I exclaimed

“Exactly. You’re a kid” Dad said, stepping closer to me

“I’m not a little kid, though. I can take care of myself. I’m mature and responsible” I protested “Why don’t you trust me?”

“It’s not you that I don’t trust. I know what teenage boys want”

“You don’t know Loki”

“You’ve got to stop saying his name” Tony said, unable to hide his amused smirk

“I’m going to the play” I said as I turned around

“No you’re not” Dad said

I turned back around and saw that he had began walking closer to me.

“Yes. I. Am.” I said

“Listen, young lady!” Dad raised his voice

“No you listen!” my voice raised louder “I am going on this date and you can’t stop me!”

Dad blinked and took a step back. He looked at Tony who just shrugged. By this time Peter and Ned had come downstairs and Pepper and Happy had emerged from their quarters to see what the fuss was about.

“Don’t ever talk to me in that tone of voice again, Eleanor” Dad said “I’m your father and-”

“No you’re not!” I laughed sarcastically

“Excuse me?” Dad asked

“Wait, what?” Peter asked

“Oh shit.” Tony said

“What did you just say?” Dad asked, his brows now raised like they do when he’s surprised

“You heard me. I said you’re not my father”

I spun on my heel and walked as quickly as I could out the door and down the sidewalk. Loki had just stepped out of a black sedan and was making his way toward me with a smile.

“Let’s go. Hurry” I said as I let myself into his car

Confused, Loki got into the drivers side and we pulled away from the curb as Dad was walking down the front steps. I looked in the side mirror to see him and Tony standing on the sidewalk. As we made our distance away from the building, I saw Dad lean into Tony’s chest.

#Steve Rogers #Tony Stark #Peter Parker #Loki #Superfamily #fan fiction

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borusawa · 5 years

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1 new message

A/N: So, recently I decided to do a fic with chapters and this is all new to me but I’m excited. The name is “1 new message” and I’ll post on ff.net and wattpad as well (and you’ll find the link in my masterlist soon).

Beta reader: @abbypdg (thank u, you’re an angel)

Warnings: there’s some cursing in this chapter but the book as a whole is mature content.

Word count: 3,692

Chapter 1 >

PROLOGUE

The library was full of pretending. Students pretending they cared for the finals next week, the librarian pretending as if his job wasn't terrible and I, pretending that the way Boruto was looking and smiling at me from time to time wasn't affecting me at all and it was actually bothering.

"Why are you smiling that way?" I said with an annoying tone without removing my sight from the notebook in the table right in front of me.

"Nothing." He smiled again turning himself to be facing me. "You look cute when you're fully concentrated like that."

I couldn't avoid blushing but I tried my best to not let him see the pink shade spread all over my face. I should be accustomed to his usual compliments by now but how could I do it when he always did that with his perfect smile and blue eyes staring back at me? I don't blame myself for these feelings, they were totally his fault.

"You are way cutter trying to hide your blush from me, Uchiha." He sat straight again and his comment made me blush even more. So he knew what I was doing? Like reading my mind he said: "I know you too well not to notice what you're trying to do."

I turned to him completely surprised only to see he was already focused on his own notebook. Oh, yeah. That reminded me, I should be studying, not talking. That thought brought me back to my tracks. It was peaceful for a while despite all the people filling the room we were, their whispers becoming louder when grouped with others whispers. All I should think of was this big test I was going to have on Friday, also known as tomorrow. I was pissed at my teacher for giving a test on a Friday but the other option was Monday so basically there are evils that come for the good. Finishing this test in peace meant study slash gossip party with my girls all weekend and I was up to that. There were a lot of things I needed to talk to them about, some of them even related to the man right beside me. Boruto. Sometimes the reason of my happiness, sometimes the reason of my sadness but always the reason of my confusion. What did he feel for me? Was I just a friend? That would make no sense. Did he even notice the way I had been acting around him lately? I was trying hard to act normally and I hoped it was working because I did not want for him to find out, at least not before I felt ready, that is. Why was I thinking about him anyway? The test tomorrow, that's what I should be thinking about. As soon as I tried to focus again one of the kids in the library started to scream and laugh really loud with his friend, getting pissed looks from everyone around. The librarian didn't care enough to stop them because, as I said before, his job sucks and he knows it. Someone grabbed my wrist and I immediately looked for the source of the touch.

"We should leave, here's so crowded that we won't get any study properly with all the noise."

As soon as I nodded, Boruto started to pack his stuff and so did I. "Where will we go then?" I asked without stop gathering my things.

"If it's okay to you we can go to my apartment... Shikadai won't be home till at least 9PM." He sounded cute and shy and I smiled at that. "I-I mean, only if you're okay with it." Again, shyness rising from his voice.

"It's okay."

He smiled back at me and stood up. "Okay, so we should be going."

I followed him to his car and noticed the parking lot was quieter than the library itself. God, I was happy to leave. Even happier because I was going to spend some time alone with my best friend. No dirty thoughts. At least I was avoiding the dirty thoughts at all costs. When we were getting close to his car, he hurried up to open the door for me. What the fuck is this guy doing to me? Ashamed, I accepted his gesture and entered the car. I watched his smile while he got on the driver sit, putting the seat belt on.

"You okay? Why are you staring me with that look in your eyes?"

"What? You wish. I'm not staring you." I switched my sight to the window and heard his laughter behind me. He started the car and we were on our way.

It wasn't a big distance between the library and his house so we only took a few minutes to get into his building. We stayed silent all the way, more like a comfortable silence or, better yet, a what-is-going-to-happen-now silence. Boruto and I were alone together all the time but never in our houses. There was always someone with us at that times, so it was technically the first time we were really going to be alone, like alone alone, not in a public place or with friends alone. And that was frightening for me, with my feelings and all. I knew I shouldn't be worrying about it because he was my best friend in the world but at the same time how could I not. He parked the car and we waited for the elevator, in silence still. Okay, now that was bothering me, I thought I should say something.

"So, where is Shikadai?"

"Oh" He said between giggles. "It looks like somehow his mother managed to discover he is smoking now and have been calling him ever since. He told her, of course by message, that he could not answer her calls because he was going to a trip." The elevator opened and we entered. He pressed his floor level before starting to talk again. "He is afraid as fuck of her getting here and makes him live a scenario where he will have to talk to her face to face, so he is out. I don't know exactly to where, though. Must be napping somewhere."

I laughed a lot at the story. "What did he thought? That she was never going to find out?"

Boruto smirked. "Yeah, pretty much."

Soon my laughs stopped and we fell in silence once again. Why is it being so weird?

The elevator door opened and we were finally inside his house. "Do you wanna a drink or something?" He threw the keys in a pot over a cabin right beside the door and placed his backpack on the floor, directing his pace to the kitchen while I sat shyly in the couch.

"No, nothing. Thanks."

"Come on, we're studying since 10AM and it's already 2PM, so you must be starving. We might as well eat before start studying again. Make yourself comfortable while I prepare something for us." I heard his shout through the wall separating us.

"You are forgetting that you don't know how to cook." I said I little louder than I used to talk so he could hear me on the other room.

He returned to the living room only to smirk at me with his arms crossed. "Then I guess I'll need your help."

Once I got on the kitchen I knew I could not stay there any longer without cleaning. "We are going to clean this before making food."

"But I'm too hungry to that." He made a puppy face. I crossed my arms. "I’m glad you agreed."

He knew there was no escape besides accepting his fate and we just cleaned the whole kitchen. At least the most we could. I was happy cleaning because, first, I could not let my friends live like pigs and second, there's no sexual tension when people are cleaning rests of food. Once we finished, everything was so clean that we only knew none of us had the courage to do anything to change its current state.

"Pizza it is?" he asked, although no questions were needed. "Totally."

Boruto took his phone to call the pizza’s place and that remind me of checking mine. Took me a while to find my phone between the papers and books on my bag, and when I looked at the screen I just knew something was wrong.

5 missed calls from Chocho

11 new messages

"Oh fuck."

Boruto stopped his phone talking and looked me. "What happened?" and I just showed him the notification. He smirked at the sight. "Something must have happened with one of the Kardashians." And with that, he restarted his complain to the phone. No, I want pepperoni. What do you mean you guys don't sell those?

Unlocking my phone, I started to read the messages.

11:34AM Chocho

GIIIRRL

11:34AM Chocho

I have something URGENT to tell you :O

11:45AM Chocho

Sarada, answer this phone.

12:17PM Chocho

WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?

I called you a thousand times

already

12:17AM Chocho

I should change friend and roommate,

u r not helping me rn

12:18AM Chocho

I swear to god if u are with Boruto or Mitsuki

again I'll have to kick you from our apartment.

12:18AM Chocho

No, I won't, but I'll be pissed.

1:34PM Chocho

Okay, I'm getting worried. No normal person

stay this long without checking the phone for no

reason. Not even you.

3:26PM Chocho

Nothing? I'm calling the police.

3:36PM Chocho

So, I'm with Mitsuki and he doesn't have any

idea of where Boruto are either. Hope u r fuckin' :)

Now Chocho

(Photo)

I clicked on the picture and it was a cute photograph of my second favorite couple in the world, the first being my parents, obviously. Chocho was holding a hamburger in her hands and Mitsuki had the prettiest grin on his face with one hand holding the phone and the other arm around Chocho's shoulders. I smiled at them, even though they couldn't see it. I was so happy that they were finally together after a hell of a rollercoaster. I wonder when it will be my turn. I quickly typed her a message saying that I was alive, well, and with Boruto and that the picture she sent me was cute.

Boruto finished the call and sat right beside me. "They said we'll need to wait twenty minutes tops." I turned my phone so he could see the image I was smiling at. "They are great together, aren't they? I'm happy for them."

"Me too." was all I could say. "We should do something till the pizza get here, right?" I didn't want to be in silence with him again.

"What about watching Black Mirror? What was the last episode we watched?"

"The one with the girl with a camera in the eye and the crazy mother."

"Oh yes, that one." And suddenly the fact that he only had a television on his room fell upon us. "I figure it can be weird go to my room since we are totally alone. We don't need to-"

"No, it's okay by me." Of course it was 'okay' by me. I guess he shouldn't trust me.

We awkwardly walked to his room. I sat on the bed hugging his pillow with my arms and legs. He laughed at me and also sat at the bed. Again, not the first time we did it, but we never did it when no one else was home. Boruto easily found his remote and turned on the TV. "So, what are you up to these days?"

"Not much." I answered, watching him pick the show and getting closer to me. "What are you doing?"

"I want to lie down." He removed the pillow off my arms and placed his head on my lap. I knew it wasn't a meaningful act so I just started to run my fingers through his blond and soft hair. The show started, we stayed that way until the pizza guy arrived and Boruto answered the door. I started to follow him but the window caught my attention. It was getting dark outside, and we didn't study like we said we would.

My test was the next morning, so no postponing the review anymore.

"It's too late, Boruto. I should go home." He frowned his brows to me, holding the pizza box in his hand while closing the door with his feet. "And we didn't study at all. Our test is tomorrow, we're gonna regret this."

"No, you don't need to leave. I promise you we're going to study after the pizza, I swear. And then I can take you home." I smiled at the last sentence. I loved when people gave me a ride.

"Okay. But know that I'm staying for pizza and the ride." I deadpanned.

"You're not staying for me, I got it." He walked to his room.

"Well, you're the one who paid for the pizza and will give me a ride so... It's kinda for you if you think about it."

I press play on the show and we start eating. "This pizza is good. Where is it from?"

"There's a pizza place two blocks away that opened recently. I don't know if you noticed yet." He kept talking but I lost my composure and just stared at him unblinking, admiring his eyes and the way he smiled through his words. He called my name and then I woke up from my daydreaming to see his worried slash confused face.

"Sarada, are you okay? You spaced out for a moment."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. You were saying?"

"Nothing important."

We finished the pizza without any further problems. Once we were done I took the remote and turned off the TV. "Now, let’s study." Boruto frowned but moved from his bed to his table. I sat on the floor with the books over his bed.

I was mostly reading my notes from the rest of the semester and thinking about how I truly couldn't wait for the summer vacation to start. All of our friends were planning to drive to the beach and stay some days at uncle Naruto's beach house. He said it was okay since he haven't used it for a while, but warned us about the possibility of it being a little dirty. We were aware that probably it wasn't 'a little' but everyone was too excited to worry.

Boruto motions his notebook in front of me. "Sarada, I'm struggling a little here. Can you help me?"

"Sure, come here." I waited for him to place himself on my side. I put my head above his shoulder so I could see the problem but he never started talking. I lifted my sight to ask him what was going on, only to see that he was facing me. I looked right into his eyes while he looked into mine. We were only centimeters apart, I could feel his warm breath on my face. Our sudden proximity got me motionless and I couldn't stop wondering if he was also holding the urge to lean into a kiss.

"Boruto, I'm home" Guess we will never know. Shikadai's voice filled the house and Boruto and I broke apart, both blushing hard. Shikadai soon appeared at the room’s door. "Sorry, I didn't know you were here, Sarada."

"It's okay." I moved my sight to Boruto. "I think we should stop studying anyway. Will you give me that ride?" I stood up fixing my clothes, and both Boruto and Shikadai stared at me; confusion drawn in his faces. "What?"

"Is it because I got home?" Shikadai asked unsure.

Flustered, I answered him shooking my head. "Noooo, of course not. It's just late and we gotta sleep well for our test tomorrow, right Boruto?"

"Yeah, I guess. We can go, then." He blushed and things got weirder. I left the room first and Boruto trade some word with Shikadai before catching my pace.

The car ride to my home was even more awkward than it was earlier that same day. After all, what was that? Everything was fine before that moment. And why was he blushing? I had a lot of questions floating in my head and I only noticed I was home when he stopped the car.

"So..." He started.

"So?" we looked blankly at each other. He wanted to say something but started measuring if that was the right moment to say whatever that was in his mind. I decided for him. "Thanks for the day, see you tomorrow." I left the car with no more words.

Sincerely I could not take anymore more minute thinking about him when he was right beside me. I don't know, it felt weird, like if I was hiding something from him. Indeed, I was hiding but still, I didn't enjoy that feeling. I totally chickened out and I knew it, and I was sure I would hide that part when I told my day to Chocho. When did I become a liar? I waved him from outside the car and waited his car to disappear from my sight before entering my building. I knew I was overthinking a lot but... What was that?

The lights were all turned on in my apartment and the first thing I saw was a blue haired guy underneath a beautiful girl, both faces glued on one another. “...hi?” They stopped the making out session to look at me. Mitsuki waved me with his weird smile plastered on his face. Chocho only took a glimpse at my presence before turning to her boyfriend again. “You guys know you could like, be doing this in her room, right?”

“Yes, we know, thanks.” Chocho said between kisses. Then she leaned to kiss his neck, leaving Mitsuki free to talk to me.

“How are you, Sarada? I heard you were with Boruto.”

I started to move to my room. I sure loved them and the fact that they were together, but did I deserve to watch their make out session? No. Touching my room’s handle, I decided to answer Mitsuki. “Yes, whatever.”

That must’ve clicked a bottom on Chocho gossip side, so she stopped what she was doing to approach me. “Girl what happened?”

That’s what I want to know. “Nothing.”

“Why are you so moody? Something must have happened.” She stared Mitsuki for a brief moment, sadness in her eyes. “I’m sorry, baby, we continue some other day, okay?” She walked him to the door.

“Please not in the living room.” I said. Chocho sent me and annoyed look and Mitsuki only smiled. They hugged and kissed while I waited Chocho to finish saying goodbye to her boyfriend.

As soon as she closed the door behind, her gaze fixed on me. “Nothing must be good because I just ditched my boyfriend to hear you.”

“To be fair, I didn’t ask you.”

“...Out loud, I know what’s in your head no words needed.” Oh, I knew that. “Come on, sit here with me.” She motions for me to sit by her couch. I leave my bag on the floor and pace till the place she pointed. I sighed.

I explained the whole day to her, of course avoiding the ride part, and she listened carefully, not even making any question. “So, that was it. Maybe I’m seeing too much into things and rushing and it was actually not meant to be anything but I’m confused.”

“Maybe you are. You will need to ask him.”

“No way I’m asking him anything.” I shook my head. “I won’t. That’s a fucking no.”

“No cursing allowed in this house, girl. You don’t need to be direct, just ask him about his feelings. You guys are friends and your ask won’t be weird.”

“I guess so...” I looked around the house and noticed a purple figure missing. “Off topic, where is Sumire? Shouldn’t she, like, be here to avoid that kind of lascivious behavior I spotted in our living room?” Our third roommate was generally the quiet and prude kind, the one that kept me and Chocho under watch, saving us from ourselves most of the time.

“First, who the hell says ‘lascivious’? Are you eighty? Second, she’ll be staying at her boyfriend’s tonight.”

My mouth dropped open in total disbelief. “She is what now? And what?”

“You didn’t know about that? Do you still live in this house with us?” Chocho crossed her arms and raised her brows completely pissed.

Oh no, she’s in the mood. I tried to change the subject as fast as I could. The truth is I had been spending too much time with Boruto lately. “So, have you met him already? Does he treat her well?”

“No and I don’t know. She is hiding him from us because she is afraid we will discover something sick about his past. Where did she get that from?” I was pretty sure the “us” was added by Chocho herself.

I giggled. “I don’t know, maybe from her last three boyfriends.”

“Hey, she should be thankful for what we found out, they were trash. Or did she want to marry someone who had a YOLO tattoo?”

“I still don’t know how you found out about that.”

“Girl, I have my methods. Don’t question them, just follow the flow.”

A quick glance at my phone made me notice how late it actually was. “Anyway, time sure flew by today. I’ll have a test early tomorrow so I’ll better be going.”

“Okay, don’t forget that I’m here anything.” I smiled and Chocho smiled back. I knew she would.

...

I usually was a morning person. Seeing the sun rise was something that I loved but I couldn’t give me that lux that day. I woke up 7AM with my alarm buzzing like crazy. But when I took my phone, there was a notification. Who could it be that early in the morning? I got up putting my glasses and unlocking my phone. It was Boruto.

3:23AM Idiot

We gotta talk. Wait for me if you finish

the test first, ‘kay?

#borusara #borutoxsarada #borusarafics #boruto #sarada uchiha #naruto next generation #mitsucho #shikadai #borusara au

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tysmiha-witchnotes · 5 years

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Waning Crescent - Looking Back (one more time)

It feels good to have started a new year with so much positive change ahead of me, but 2018 was vital in helping me get here, so in the spirit of the waning crescent moon I’d like to take some time to reflect on the progress I made over the course of the past year. (this gets a bit long so I’m gonna shove it under a cut)

One year ago I had barely started seriously studying witchcraft, and I was eager to jump into it head first. So in an effort to immerse myself, I picked up a Llewellyn’s spell-a-day almanac. Maybe the first spell suggested was one to help really cement my new year’s resolution, so that’s what I did -- maybe it was the deciding factor in my success, maybe it just helped a little bit, but either way I feel like that should be factored in. Pretty quickly I realized that none of the rest of the spells felt right to me (there’s a lot of calling on deities sort of willy-nilly, which I wasn’t cool with, and a lot of spell ingredients that I just didn’t have). Even still, that was another step in learning about what I wanted my craft to be.

I spent the next months researching places to move, discussing with my wife what would be best for us. We needed to be near a starbucks so she could easily transfer, but there wasn’t much in the southern Appalachian region that wasn’t inside a grocery store (those starbucks locations tend to not be actual starbucks, but rather just serving starbucks coffee). I desperately wanted to live in the mountains though, so I started looking farther north, way, way farther north, up to New Hampshire. I loved the idea but I knew in my heart that it was really impractical and the farther away I looked to move, the less likely it was to happen.

Still, I was determined to make it happen, and if I gave up and decided it wouldn’t work then of course it wouldn’t. Some time passed and my wife was presented with an opportunity to be promoted to assistant manager -- if she took the promotion, it would push the move back a year to allow her to transfer and keep her new position. They turned her down. A couple months later they offered her another opportunity. And turned her down again.

It was at that point my wife and I had something of a come-to-jesus conversation. I was disappointed and angry for her, that she’d dedicated so many years to this company and all they wanted to do was jerk her around. I told her that I felt there was no future for us here. I asked her if she agreed, and I asked her what she thought the solution was. I knew that it was my personal goal to move, but I knew I had to be willing to set that aside if it wasn’t what was best for her. It took a couple days of thinking it over, but eventually my wife and I reconvened and decided once and for all that we needed to move.

We decided on a city closer to where we already were, where my brother is currently living with his family, where she can go back to her college and catch up on what’s current in her field. The more we talked about it, the more sense it made. It wasn’t a final solution, we decided, but it was definitely a stepping stone. Cutting my ties with where we’re currently living would be the hardest part, as I’ve never moved on my own before, but once that happened it would be easier to move anywhere else we wanted to be, anywhere her potential next jobs might ask us to go.

There was one last hold-up when my wife’s store offered her yet another opportunity for a promotion. I told her I was happy to stay here another year if it was what she wanted, if they really meant it this time. It didn’t take long for her to come back to me with a firm decision that she didn’t care if they offered her the job, she didn’t want it. So at that point I think we were both in a place of being totally done with this city. I asked her one last time if she was positive, she said yes without hesitation.

So over christmas I told my parents, they accepted without much argument, and now I can breathe a sigh of relief and start the planning process in earnest. Today my wife is going to notify the leasing office that we won’t be renewing this year, and in a couple months we’ll head down to scope out a new place to live. I have a lot to work on with my parents to make working remotely as easy as possible. But it’s really happening and I couldn’t be happier.

I know I keep talking about it but I’m just really proud of myself for following through with this. I’m proud of myself for taking my life into my own hands and making the changes I know I need. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this amount of hope for the future before and it’s so refreshing.

Anyway, I hope all of you have infinite success with whatever resolutions you’ve made this year, or just the goals you’ve set for yourself at any point in the past. Do what you know is in your best interest, you deserve that ✨💕

#personal #the moon #waning crescent #waning crescent moon

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anything-advice-blog · 6 years

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Switching Majors/Career Change

Okay, I’ve asked people who actually know me for advice on this, but honestly, I don’t think it’s really helping, so here I am… I have a little over a week to figure this all out, but to be honest, I feel like I know the answer but I’m just too scared to go through with it.

This is a long explanation because I just don’t know what I’m doing, so please bear with me if you can.

I used to play the piano for over 10 years until I stopped officially taking lessons senior year of high school. I started getting relatively intense muscle pains (spasms that got to the point where I wasn’t able to sit up to get out of bed) toward the end of high school, and that stopped me from playing comfortably. Granted, those muscle pains have still been going on, but there’s not much I can do now for health insurance reasons.

Academically, I’ve gotten As my whole life, I graduated in the top 1% of my high school with honors, I ended up getting a full scholarship to an engineering college (after the fact, I feel like I only applied there because my demographic meant I had a higher chance of getting scholarships+I felt like my parents had expectations for my future career). In fewer words, I used to be as close to a perfectionist as I could be.

Anyway, I started off majoring in computer science. I realized that I hated the idea of doing that the rest of my life one month in. I knew I wanted to change my major, and the first thing I thought of was majoring in piano studies/performance, but then I caved in to other people’s+my family’s suggestions and ended up trying to transfer to economics because I just had a bad feeling about majoring in a science/engineering field. But because of school policy, I wasn’t able to change majors until sophomore year, and my GPA tanked while I waited. Because my GPA was so miserable (it still is), I wasn’t able to transfer out of the engineering school, so I was stuck with a handful of engineering options. I ended up changing my major to biology in my second year, trying to trick myself into thinking that going to medical school was a good idea. It was more like trying to sign myself up for a 13-year distraction, and I realized that halfway through sophomore year. I wasn’t able to raise my GPA- it just kept getting lower and lower, and I failed basic mechanics. Twice. Yep, we’re talking about the same student that went so far as quantum mechanics in high school. All my other grades are average at best, and I feel myself doing worse and worse. It’s gotten to the point where on the surface, I’m caring less and less about what happens, but underneath it, I have this anxious feeling about whether I’ll be able to graduate on time and about not wasting my parents’ money.

I want to say that I don’t know why I’m doing so badly in college, but every time someone mentions the idea of doing something they love, I think about how happy I used to be when I played the piano and it makes me feel like crying. I try to forget it and keep on doing my work, but I just feel empty. I can’t express my emotions normally anymore (people have gone so far as to call me a sociopath… and I can see why they’d think that), and I feel like a part of me has just… kind of died. People keep suggesting that I should try to work harder so I can get a job that pays well because I’ve already gotten this far and logically speaking, it makes sense. I know that getting a degree in piano studies or piano performance will rarely ever lead to a lucrative career (okay, it sounds like I’m obsessed with money- I don’t think I am really, it’s just that I feel hyper-aware of how much my parents have invested in me, both in terms of time and money, and I feel the need to ‘pay them back’ for everything they’ve done for me), and since I’m already in my 3rd year of university and I’ve barely taken enough classes to transfer over to a piano degree, I feel like it’s too late.

I rambled on about that a little too much and I probably gave too many details, but here’s my problem: I know what makes me happy, but I don’t know if it’ll make me happy in the long run. At the very least, I know it’ll make me happier than I am with my current career path, at least for the next 10 years. I miss being able to actually do something with how I feel, I miss being on a stage, I miss being recognized for something that I was really, truly good at. I just don’t know if that’s enough for me to leave everything I have and go with it.

This sounds like it must be incredibly stressful. My first question for you – how good of a player do you think you are right now? It seems that you took a break, and piano at the college-level is not something to be taken lightly. If you were to go back, or if you did go back, how much did you retain? On another note, if you were to go in that direction, what would you like to do? Become a professional pianist? Write songs? Work with famous musicians? Teach music? There are many opportunities in that field, but you’re right that they are not the most well-paid, and it’s hard to reach success.

Choosing the path for your future requires a lot of reflection. First of all, make a pros and cons list, which may look something like this, depending on what it is you’re looking for:

Biology/Computer Science

Pros:

· Well paid

· Abundant jobs in the field

Cons:

· It makes you very unhappy

Piano

Pros:

· You love it

· You’ll have a flexible schedule

Cons:

· It’s a risky path

Then you can take a look at your options. Of course, since your parents are paying it, you need to sit down and have a discussion with them. Let them know how you’re feeling, ask what their expectations are for you, and go over all the options. I don’t know what your parents are like, but I hope you’re able to communicate effectively with them.

If it were me, I would take a year off of college. I would try to investigate more career options. Maybe you can minor in business or science, just as a backup. Or, if you think you can do it, you can double major! Languages, mathematics, biological sciences, physical sciences, social sciences, communication, psychology, business, and technology are the most common majors taken with music. This would probably be the most favorable option, but maybe not the most realistic. Regardless, I would take a gap year.

During a gap year, you can work in the piano field. These jobs are mostly freelance, such as tutoring or performing at an event. Still, it builds up a great resume and allows you to have a taste of what the career is like. This way, you will probably also make great connections! Alternatively, you can take free or cheap classes in different areas to see if there’s anything you like. You can take this time to figure yourself out, strengthen your relationships, and achieve any other goals you’ve had. It’s never too late or too early to take a break, and it seems that the stress is having an effect on your grades, which won’t benefit anyone in the end.

I know that not everyone is in a situation where they can afford to take a gap year, and I may not be the best-qualified person to give you this advice, but I really hope I was able to help you out.

Let us know what you decide! We’ll support you!

Best of luck,

Iris

#iris #anything advice blog #advice #majors #careers #change #switching

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eirianerisdar · 6 years

Text

He shouldn’t be a doctor

So this morning, I had one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had in my six years of medical school, courtesy of the absolute worst doctor I’ve ever seen in my life - not knowledge-wise, or practical-wise, but the fact that this senior doctor is as of today the most horrible person I’ve ever met in medical care. Ever.

What makes it worse:

He is currently the consultant of palliative and end-of-life hospice care in one of the largest long-term care hospitals in our area.

Which means he’s in charge of patients that healthcare workers arguably need to put most care in helping: end-stage cancer patients.

But more on that later. Let’s get to how he showed how much of a jerk he was.

(As a note: I’m from Hong Kong. The public healthcare system here is almost 100% financed by the government, barring a few more-expensive things per department such as rarer targeted therapies.)

It started like this:

Twelve of us final-year medical students turned up at 11:30 on the dot for this doctor’s tutorial. He turned up, slammed his hands on the conference table, and barked at us to get around it.

There wasn’t enough space for twelve.

He didn’t care.

“I believe in humiliation therapy,” he told us. “I’m going to humiliate you in front of everyone. I’m going to get you to argue against one another until you know the stuff you’re supposed to know.”

Well, so he’s that sort of senior doctor, I thought.

Despite this, the tutorial started off okay. Until a classmate brought up the issue of financial burdens for cancer patients - how if patients came from wealthier backgrounds, they could expect to worry less about whether they could afford anything from non-subsidied medication to hiring extra carers at home. Something those with less wealth couldn’t afford.

The doctor was on him in a second. “Does that mean you think wealthier patients get better outcomes?” he sneered. “Do you think medical care is so bad here that wealthier people are happier than poorer people in the palliative ward?”

No, one of my groupmates (We’ll call her C) pointed out. We’re simply saying that despite the public medical system here being almost fully subsidised by the government, there are still a couple of rarer treatments in every department that are too expensive for the government to cover completely. Wealthy patients don’t always have that worry at the back of their minds about whether their family can pay for any extra things that slip past the well-subsidised net, while those on government welfare do have that worry.

The doctor pointed at C and told the entire group that she thought that wealthy patients got better care (which she obviously wasn’t) and how it didn’t matter if a patient was on welfare. “I saw a patient who was rich and had family who didn’t care for him at all,” he said. “and other who was poor but had family who cared. Who do you think was happier?”

Well, yes. Family matters. But pray, dear doctor, what do you mean by the other things you said?

Sure. Money doesn’t bring happiness, or a family that supports you.

But money lets you get that PET scan at diagnosis while the patient who couldn’t could only get a government-covered high resolution CT scan, so you know you have stage 4 cancer a month earlier than they do, at which point they realise that the CT didn’t pick up a minuscule cancer they had spread to a distant organ; by this point, they’ve gone through surgery, but the cancer’s grown larger elsewhere already. At this point, the patient with money’s already started their second round of chemo. The cancer’s responding nicely.

Money lets you hire that private carer so your daughter doesn’t have to change jobs to take care of you at home.

Money lets you do that plethora of rarer gene studies to see if there’s a horrendously expensive form of medication that may work for you if you were lucky enough to have one of those genes.

Money lets you go on one last lovely holiday with your family to a country you always wanted to visit, and to live comfortably at hospice in your home.

If you don’t have any of that, there you are in your 60 square foot box of an apartment with a wife who is as old and as aged as you, as she’s trying to scrounge up a few extra hong kong dollars (less than 1USD) so you can have meat instead of tofu for dinner.

You can’t afford to buy your granddaughter a peach for her birthday; the last birthday of hers you’ll see.

And here we had a consultant for end-of-life care telling us we were all ignorant idiots, and that money didn’t matter in end-of-life care.

My classmate, C, the girl who so bravely stood up to him and pointed out the illogicalities of his argument, started to cry.

She later told me she thought of something that happened to someone close to her, and couldn’t stop the tears.

The consultant looked at her and said, “Aww, now I’ve made you cry! It hurts me more than you to see you like this.”

Utter. Foul. Vermin.

The doctor told a male groupmate of mine to pretend to counsel someone. We’ll call this classmate F.

F got halfway through the sentence and started to tear up.

He usually doesn’t speak of it much, but we know that someone close to him in his family’s got a long term illness of some sort.

He fell silent, sniffing.

At this point I started crying.

Not because this doctor hurt me.

But because here were two of my friends, both deeply, personally hurt by this doctor, and I wanted to rise up and yell at him, to ask him what sort of person he thought he was to think he had to right to hurt his juniors like this, but I couldn’t say anything.

Because he’s one of the examiners for our exam this coming Wednesday.

Because he’s a consultant.

Because he wouldn’t let us speak.

Because he was still smiling as he said, “Ah, I have hope. You have more heart in you than I thought you did. This generation tends not to care as much.”

Why, I thought, as I continued to cry. We have more heart in any one of us than you. I’m crying because I empathise with my friends, who you have hurt. Every one of us in this room is seething. But we are cutting our losses and keeping our mouths shut.

“Aren’t I nice? I’m not a mean doctor,” he told us. “I know a guy who told his students that if they didn’t know this-and-this material, they weren’t worthy to be a doctor and should jump off a building. I don’t do that. And anyway, I know that guy, and he actually is very nice. He just had a bad childhood so he was used to hearing and dishing out words like that.”

No, doctor. (I won’t call you a good doctor because you shouldn’t be a doctor at all) Your friend not a “nice guy”. No person, traumatised or not, should ever tell anyone else to end their own life. Just as you, who we are supposed to look up to, should have more empathy in you than the narcissistic, self-important, heartless man you are.

He spent the next hour and a half waxing poetic about his own values, how patients loved his department so much, and (upon shutting off the fan that had been causing my crying classmate, C, to shiver for an hour and a half without him noticing) how that showed how NICE of a person he was.

I didn’t stop tearing up throughout the whole thing.

And the icing on the cake?

At the end, he looked first at C, then at F, then at me, and said, “I haven’t been mean, right? I haven’t been unkind to you two especially.”

And, as we looked into his smiling eyes, we did the only thing we could do, for our grades, our continued mental health, to avoid a battle that could harm our careers. We nodded, and said, “No. You haven’t.”

He smiled a self-satisfied smile. “Students always thank me afterwards,” he said.

Then he let us go.

C and I hugged in the lift lobby.

Let me tell you a little something extra.

I woke up at 5 am on the morning of this tutorial. My period had come. I was in unusual, excruciating pain. I spent an hour hissing in pain until I stepped up my own pain meds and fell asleep again still at a just-reduced pain scale of 5/10 (it had been 8/10).

And then I got up and went to the tutorial anyway.

And met him.

For you, the reader, I’m sorry for this lengthy rant. But if you’re a medical student, or any healthcare worker in the medical field at all, remember this man.

This man is scum.

But you know who isn’t? You. His department is still rated excellently by all the patients who pass through it at the end of their earthly lives. But it remains rated so because the nurses, the junior doctors, the clerks and the psychologists and the clergy and the other spiritual/religious workers and the medical social workers and the people in charge of cleaning the ward itself care for the patients far, far more than he does.

If there’s anything this man taught me - it is to remember that kindness is not about yourself.

It is about the other person. That’s what medicine was always about.

#med school #medical school #med student #medical student #doctor #long post #sorry for how lengthy this was I just couldn't not write something #personal #not sw #suicide tw #forgot to put that in there for that doctor's comment sorry

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