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sunsetfell · 1 year

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Ethan’s Fire

TW: suicide.

NSWF

If you had asked Ethan (known then as “Eth” or sometimes even “Baby Eth”) why he and Sparkle rode a freight train for miles away from their homes, he would have said: “Because I wanted to get away from the mess of my life. I wanted to be alone with my thoughts and not worry what people would say to me. I wanted to have a story that was just mine and Sparkle’s.”

It started late on a Sunday afternoon in September. Ethan trudged through math homework in his second-floor bedroom. His pencil dragged over the page as he rested his head in his arm and felt the warm air from the open window. Sounds of the usual afternoon chatter floated up from the street below. Somewhere in the house his uncle argued loudly with his mother.

Ethan’s phone buzzed with a text from his cousin Donte. A few minutes later he was sitting on the railing of Donte’s porch. Stan and Sparkle were on the steps. Sparkle had on a new pink shirt and her wavy hair looked as if she had just undone her braids.

As the night grew dark the four kids grew restless and left the porch to meander about the neighborhood. Passing the corner of an old warehouse now used as a junk yard, Sparkle hid in the shadow and slapped Ethan’s butt as he walked passed. The three boys laughed uncontrollably.

“Come on man, slap her back!” Donte yelled. Ethan pretended to chase Sparkle for a few yards while she stayed three steps ahead of him.

The four kids crossed under the railroad bridge over Turner Street and climbed the embankment to the edge of the reservoir, holding onto the chain link fence to stare at the placid water lit by fluorescent lamps.

After a few minutes of chatting the air grew chillier and Donte announced it was time to go home. As Donte and Stan walked down the hill to the sidewalk, Sparkle grabbed Ethan’s pant leg and held him back. Ethan dutifully stayed by her side as the others left.

Sparkle was two years older than Ethan, and her voice was deep yet airy—and slightly raspy though she did not smoke. She was a real woman who had dated Terrance at the end of the block for two years starting when she was 16 and he was 24, then broke it off without crying. Donte made fun of Sparkle’s weight when she wasn’t around and called Ethan a “chubby chaser,” but as Donte walked out of sight under the bridge, Ethan no longer had to worry what Donte would say.

Sparkle let go of Ethan’s pant leg and they traversed the embankment around the reservoir, holding onto the chain-link fence despite its cold touch. Carefully in the dark, they found the path to the railroad tracks among the bushes. Ethan delicately lifted a branch of a thorns off Sparkle’s pink shirt as they slipped through.

They had been here once before—together but not alone—with the older boys from the next street. They had walked along the graveled rail bed and thrown rocks at signal poles, but Ethan had grown scared of getting caught and made an excuse to leave.

Tonight was different. Tonight Sparkle had slapped his butt and held his pants. They walked along in the darkness, between messy backyards and porches of the houses that lined the railroad tracks, stumbling over gravel.

Sparkle pointed to a small dot in the sky ahead.

“Is that Venus?” she asked.

“It must be,” Ethan said. “It’s so bright.”

“Let’s follow it!”

In time the two kids came upon a stopped freight train. Its line of black tanker cars was nearly invisible in the night until they were close, gazing up at the dark metal structure that towered over them.

“Wow! What is that doing here?” Ethan asked.

“Wow, what’s a train doing on the train tracks!” Sparkle mocked him. Ethan pretended to chase her but tripped on a stray railroad tie and fell down. Sparkle helped him up.

They kept walking, now with the train to their left. What little light had reached them from the city was half blocked by its shadow. At times, Sparkle put a hand on Ethan’s shoulder to steady herself.

The line of tanker cars turned to double-stacked intermodals of the sort Ethan had seen loaded and unloaded by the river. After those were old-fashioned box cars intermixed with a type of metal frame that looked like it might hold lumber.

“My cousin Donte once rode one of these,” Ethan said, as a beat up, empty box car came into view, its door fixed in the open position.

“What! How far did he go?”

“Just a couple miles. There’s a yard in the north of the city where all the trains stop. So long as you go at night they won’t catch you.”

“That’s crazy,” Sparkle said. “I’d be scared to death. I’d fall off just from being scared.”

“I can’t imagine you scared.”

“Is there something wrong with your imagination?” Sparkle asked. “Or have you just not seen me in enough situations? ’Cause I’m scared of everything.”

“Yeah, I’d like to see you prove it,” Ethan said.

They stopped walking and stared at the empty box car. This part of the city was quiet and a slight breeze was the only sound, save for the two kids breathing. Then faintly, up ahead, the sound of metal clanking against metal signaled that the train was about to move.

Ethan helped Sparkle into the car first, hoisting her legs in his arms, then climbed up himself. The box car was empty with a dusty corrugated metal floor. The two kids leaned against the side wall and stared out the open door as the city passed by.

The train did not stop at the yard. The outskirts of the city sped by, becoming first suburbs, then farmland.

“My phone’s got no signal,” Sparkle said as she put it back in her purse.

“Mine neither. We must be far away from everything.”

When hours later the train began to slow, they were in a forest.

“We gotta jump off here,” Ethan whispered.

“You idiot the train’s moving!” Sparkle yelled back.

“It might not stop till morning.”

Ethan smashed into the gravel and yelled in pain. Sparkle yelled back in fear. Ethan followed the open box car on foot.

“Come on, Sparkle!”

She crashed into his body and they both fell down. For a minute they lay there, Sparkle’s head resting on Ethan’s chest.

“We made it,” Ethan said. Sparkle let out a long sigh. The last of the black tanker cars rolled away.

The two kids trekked into the woods a few dozen yards. Out of sight from the tracks, close enough they might find their way back come morning, they chose a space among the trees as their campground.

“Let’s build a fire,” Ethan said.

“You got a lighter?”

“Nah, I’m gonna rub two sticks together.”

Ethan’s fire failed to start. They sat in front of his little pile of sticks anyway, the one piece of furniture in their forest home.

“The night doesn’t feel so cold anymore,” Sparkle said, resting her head on Ethan’s shoulder.

“Yeah, you’re right.”

They talked about home. About the people on their block. About Ethan’s last year in high school and Sparkle’s job managing records at a healthcare agency. About the coworker who stared at her chest and how she called him out and told him he was a creep but then touched herself in the bathroom thinking about him.

“Wait!” Sparkle interrupted. “Is that one still Venus?”

They lay back and looked up between the branches.

“I can see stars,” Ethan said. “We must be miles from the city.” Neither of them had ever seen so many. They stared at the sky for several minutes. The brightest light, Venus, had risen to nearly overhead.

Sparkle sat up suddenly.

“Let’s dance around the fire under the stars,” she said.

“We don’t have a fire.”

“We can still dance around it!”

They pranced around the pile of sticks, arms flailing in the darkness. A rite of their own creation, never to be repeated.

“You know,” Sparkle said, as they came to a stop, “I always wanted to dance naked around a fire.”

“We don’t have a fire.”

“I can still be naked.”

She held Ethan as if for a ballroom dance. Together they stepped back and forth in a pretend waltz. Then Sparkle took one hand and, still fake waltzing, unzipped her jeans.

Soon her pants were around her knees. She pushed down her panties. They kept waltzing.

When Sparkle’s panties were around her thighs, she gently placed a hand on Ethan’s chest and pushed him back. Their waltz stopped, and they stood facing each other.

“Look at me in the fire light,” Sparkle whispered.

“We don’t have a fire.”

“You can still look at my pussy.”

Her thighs were pressed together, slightly crossed, but she spread them apart. Ethan stared, trying to make out as best he could in the darkness.

“Why you look so shocked, Eth? You seen a girl’s pussy before?”

“You mean in real life?”

“Ain’t you got a sister? What about your girl cousins?”

“I don’t look at them naked!”

“Somehow I always been seeing my brothers’ dicks whether I wanted to or not.”

Sparkle kicked off her shoes, then sat down on the ground, still facing Ethan. She pulled off her pants and her underwear, then lay down and spread her legs.

“Take a good look, Baby Eth. This is all for you.” Ethan stood there, transfixed.

Sparkle sat up.

“I have to pee,” she said.

“Me too. And I’m thirsty.”

“Shh,” Sparkle said. She held up a finger for Ethan to be quiet while she listened.

“I don’t hear running water,” she concluded.

“Oh…”

“You go that way, I’ll go this way,” Sparkle said. “Maybe one of us will find water while we’re peeing. We'll meet back by the fire.”

Ethan began walking in the direction Sparkle had pointed while Sparkle put on her clothes. The trees here were enormous, but the ground among them was clear. This forest was the opposite of those little wooded patches around the city that were filled with bushes and thorns. Ethan could still see Venus overhead. He had no idea where they were.

Ethan and Sparkle got back to their campsite around the same time.

“Omg, you got the fire started!” Sparkle yelled as she ran up to Ethan.

“What?”

Ethan looked at their pile of sticks. Near the bottom, where Ethan had arranged a clump of dry leaves, a one or two flames poked out between the sticks. Ethan stared.

“Was it the heat from my body?” Sparkle teased, making an exaggerated wink so she could be seen in the darkness.

“I didn’t do it.”

“What?”

“I didn’t touch the fire. I got back when you did.”

Sparkle looked again at the pile of sticks. The flames were growing, and some of the smaller twigs had started to catch. For a few minutes neither of them spoke.

“How did that happen?” Sparkle asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Are we alone?”

“I don’t know.”

The light from the fire made the forest seem darker. Its faint crackling was deafening compared to the silence around it.

“I don’t like this.” Sparkle said. “I’m scared. I want to go home.”

Ethan reached out to hold her hand but she pulled it away. He didn’t try again. The two of them were still staring at the fire, now fully ablaze.

Ethan walked around their campsite peering into the trees, but there was no one there. He came back and sat down near Sparkle.

After a time, Sparkle sat down too, a few feet away from him. Neither said a word, but Sparkle’s breathing revealed she was crying. They stared at the fire a long time. Venus, still visible, descended to the West—toward home.

“Hey Eth?” Sparkle said.

“Hm?”

“You wanna try dancing again?”

They walked around the fire a few times, but their steps had no energy. They sat back down.

Ethan’s face was barely illuminated except for his eyes, in which Sparkle could see a reflection of the flames. Ethan spoke:

“I don’t want to go home, Sparkle.” He looked at the fire rather than at her as he said this.

“What?”

“There’s nothing for me there. I’ve never been free until we came here to these woods.”

“You don’t even know where ‘here’ is!”

“You’re right,” Ethan said. He stood up. “But I’m not going back.”

He marched away from the fire and toward the railroad tracks, kicking leaves and sticks out of his path.

“Wait!” Sparkle cried. She stood up and stumbled after him.

Sparkle reached the tracks before she caught up with Ethan. She didn’t see him at first and looked around calling his name. Then she saw him lying across the rails.

“Eth what the fuck are you doing??” Sparkle cried.

“I’m not going home,” Ethan repeated.

All the rest of the night they stayed there, with Ethan firmly planted on the tracks. At times, Sparkle pulled at him, but she couldn’t move him. Other times she kicked and hit him. Mostly she lay with her head on his chest weeping uncontrollably. But she never left his side.

The first train came around dawn. Neither Ethan nor Sparkle remembered what it looked or sounded like.

Years later, Sparkle rang Ethan’s doorbell on a Sunday afternoon in late September. Ethan still lived in the same house, but a ramp had been installed to accommodate his wheelchair. Ethan’s mother came to the door.

She smiled when she saw Sparkle. It had been nearly a year since she last yelled at Sparkle, screaming, crying and throwing things at the wall while accusing Sparkle of destroying her son’s life. All that was behind them now.

“Come in, Dear. Ethan’s in the back room.”

Sparkle delicately stepped off the ramp with her prosthetic foot and walked to Ethan’s room. He was lying in bed looking at his phone.

Sparkle closed the door behind her.

“You wanna come to my wedding, Baby Eth?” Sparkle and his mother were the only ones who still called him that.

“Hell yes!” Ethan said.

“It’s October 23 at New Life Church.”

“I’ll be there!” Ethan said.

Before Sparkle left she bent down and kissed Ethan gently on the cheek.

“Thank you, Baby Eth,” she said. “It’ll mean a lot to me for you to be there.”

#story #romance #short story #ethan frome

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cazimagines · 3 years

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Every day, it feels like I've lost them again

Synopsis: Sam shouts at Zemo for the things he has done. Though Zemo doesn’t show it the words hurt him deeply. Later on the reader finds Zemo and talks to him about his past.

Word Count: 1.8k

Warnings: Hurt/Comfort, Bit of angst, Sad Zemo, mentions to his family’s death and his attempted suicide

Author note: I had plans for another Zemo one shot but then I watched a sad Zemo edit which made me cry and here we are

Cross posted on my Ao3 account under the same name

MASTER LIST

The streets seemed silent as you sadly walked home. The only sound was your footsteps dragging along the floor. The silence between all of you was piercing. Today had been an enormous failure, and you all were feeling it weighing down on you. Pushing down your hopes for things to improve. Zemo had somehow found out where the flag smashers would be, from a trusted source, he said, so you all went charging off to talk to them. It was a trap. Zemo didn’t know it was a trap either, though Sam still believed otherwise. You all had barely got out of there safely. It had been close, too close for your liking.

“There’s always tomorrow,” Zemo says, hating the stone cold silence coming from everyone.

“But there’s not,” Sam spits back angrily, “That was the one proper chance we could've had to talk to Kali, and we failed”

“You shouldn’t be so pessimistic,” Zemo argues back, rolling his eyes.

“Pessimistic. Are you for serious, pessimistic,” Sam says shaking his head at Zemo, “You hear this guy I’m the pessimistic one”

“Leave it Sam” Bucky mutters trying to push him along, but Sam refuses.

Sam steps towards Zemo, standing just a few centimeters away from his face, his eyes glaring daggers at him. Zemo stops walking, clenching his jaw and tilting his head to stare back at Sam, not breaking eye contact.

Both you and Bucky glance at each other, not really sure if you should stop this or let it happen.

“You could have led us to our deaths today, Zemo, which I am sure was your intention. You make it clear that you wouldn’t hesitate to see any of us off to our funerals. All because you got butt hurt about the avengers preventing Ultron from destroying the earth at the cost of your country.”

The breath leaves your mouth as the words slip out of Sam’s mouth. Your lips, slightly ajar, turn to look at Sam. He’s breathing heavily, glaring at Zemo. Zemo’s lips curled down into an angry frown and his eyebrows furrowed. You could see his fists curl up, something Bucky must have noticed as well, and he put a hand on Sam’s shoulder to pull him away from Zemo.

“Sam this isn’t the time”

Sam finally gives in and pulls back, but Zemo steps forward, grabbing onto his jacket. Bucky reaches for his gun, but Zemo waves his hand at him, motioning him not to.

“You don’t know the first thing about me, Sam.” is all he says, letting go of Sam’s jacket roughly and storming off.

It would be hours later till you saw him again. During that time your mind was often thinking back to Zemo. When you really thought about it, you realised you knew nothing about him. Heck, until recently you didn’t know he was a Baron. All you had been told was that he was a Sokovian who wanted to split the avengers up because of what they did to his country. Being a Baron, you supposed that made it more personal for him. Still, it felt like something was missing. Something didn’t add up.

You laid in one of the many guest rooms tossing and turning while all these thoughts flooded your mind. Eventually you gave up on the idea of ever getting sleep tonight and got up. If you weren’t sleeping, you might as well get some midnight snacks. Heading into the main room, you notice the door leading to the back was open, letting a chilly breeze float in.

Heading over to check it out, your eyes lie upon Zemo sitting on top of a fallen over tree trunk in the back patio, looking up at the night sky. His coat was wrapped around him to keep him warm, and his face was expressionless as he looked up to the night sky that was scattered with the stars. He hadn’t noticed you staring at him, his mind was far from where his body was.

After a few moments of just staring at him, you broke the silence, “Zemo?”

His head instantly snapped to you, surprised to have been caught unaware.

“Oh, hello y/n, can’t sleep?”

You shake your head, taking his question as an invitation to go over and sit next to him, “No, to many thoughts in my mind to go to sleep”

“Ah, a common problem for an insomniac”

“I assume you have similar reasons, since you are out hear”

He looks away from you, smiling weakly at the floor, “Yes something like that, sleep comes rarely to me”

Your eyes flutter down to the ground, not really sure what to say, “I’m sorry to hear that” you whisper

You both sit there in silence for a few minutes. It wasn’t an awkward silence like what you were used to. No. It was a comfortable silence. You were both thankful just to have someone beside you at that moment. You shudder slightly as the wind picks up, making the hairs on your arm stand up. Zemo notices and slowly shrugs off his coat, placing it around you. You smile politely up at him in thanks.

“May I ask what your thoughts were?” Zemo asks gently, glancing back over to you

“You probably think it was about our failure, right?” you say and Zemo nods his head slightly

“They weren’t, actually. I didn’t suspect us to accomplish anything. It seemed to good to be true. No, I was thinking about what happened after. Between you and Sam”

Zemo’s face instantly shifted, his mouth pulling into a frown and his eyebrows furrowing, “Ah” is all he says

“What Sam said was way out of line. I can’t understand the pain you must feel about losing Sokovia”

Zemo hums to let you know he heard but doesn’t say anymore, his gaze just returns to the sky.

You didn’t want to push him too far. Over this time you had gotten to know him and almost considered him a friend, but you couldn’t help but be curious. You wanted to know more about him.

“But there’s more isn’t there. Something we don’t know,” you say gently

You can see him swallow and his fingers dig into his palms as he tenses at your question.

After a moment he finally responds, “Yes, you’re right. I... I had a family who died that day. My father, wife and child. I told them to go out of the city to the countryside. That was where my father lived, you see. I had to stay behind as I was a part of this Sokovian kill squad. Even as royalty, I still had duties. I had faith in the avengers. They would sort everything out. But they didn’t. When the battle was one they just returned home, leaving us with the hard task of finding all the dead. I assumed my family would be safe, yet it took me two days after to find their bodies.”

Your body gets overwhelmed with coldness as you hear his story. The memories of the battle flooded your mind and you could feel a bitterness creep into your mouth. You could have stayed behind to help. Why didn’t you? Your eyes water slightly as you sympathise with him and feel the guilt lie on your soul.

“Oh god Zemo, I’m sorry I shouldn’t have asked,” you are quick to respond

“No...it’s okay. If I didn’t want to tell you, I wouldn’t have said anything”

You look up to the night sky and reflect over his words. All the pain that Zemo must feel, holding onto, and you did not know. None of you did. You were sure if Sam knew he wouldn’t have said the things he did. You knew what Zemo did was wrong, but damn you couldn’t help but empathise with him.

“If you want…” you start, hoping what you were choosing to ask wouldn’t be going too far, “would you like to tell me about them?”

Zemo finally looks away from the sky, his eyes looking to the ground. He swallows again, slightly sniffing before speaking.

“My Son, Carl, he was four when he... when he died. He always did this cute thing where if he didn’t like the food on his plate he would pretend he was gifting the food to you to show his love for you”

You chuckle slightly thinking about it, “That does sounds cute”

“He was the most precious thing in existence. He always wanted a sibling like his friends had. He loved the idea of being an older brother. Every morning when the mail arrived, he asked if he had a brother or sister delivered to him. Me and my wife… we were planning on having more kids. We knew he would've made the best big brother. We hoped for a girl, you know, to even things out”

“What was she like?”

“She was so beautiful. Like the goddess Venus. Many men tried to win her affection, but she settled for me. I had never felt like a luckier man. She was so kind, so generous, so loving. My perfect angel”

The tears that had been threatening to fall from Zemo’s eyes broke the dam and fell down his cheeks.

“If I could, I would give up everything I have, everything I own just to hold them in my arms again”

A sob breaks out of him and he holds his hand up to his mouth as his eyes crinkle up as more tears fall. He tries to wipe them away, but he can’t stop crying. You put your arm around him and pull him into a hug which he gladly accepts. He wraps his arms around you and buries his head into your shoulder as he sobs.

“I miss them so much”

You say nothing, just rub your hand on his back reassuringly. He takes a few minutes before he speaks again.

“I tried to end my life after I completed my revenge. So I didn’t have to live another day without them. But I failed. I spent the next seven years without them. And everyday it feels like I’ve lost them again,”

“What do you plan to do… after we have finished here?”

You can feel Zemo’s body tenses in your arms as you ask that question, “I think you know, y/n”

You pull back from him to look into his blood-shot eyes. “Zemo, I know this is so very hard for you, but please don’t. I know with your wit and cunning you can think of a way to escape all of this safely. I will not pretend to know your wife, but if she is anything like what you have told me about, I’m sure she wouldn’t want you to either. She would want you to find some happiness in life,”

Zemo finally moves away from you, standing up off the tree log and taking one last look at the sky before then looking back at you. He’d stopped crying by now but the tear stained cheek and dark under eyes were evidence of what had just occurred. The side of his lip tried to twitch up into a slight smile but it faltered,

“Thank you, y/n”

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#zemo #baron zemo #zemo x y/n #zemo x reader #tfatws #sam wilson #marvel #daniel brühl #mcu #zemo x you #i love zemo #helmut zemo #sugar daddy zemo #yes this is about zemo

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fandom-collective-writers · 4 years

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The Transit of Venus (Nobunaga Oda x MC)

Fandom: Ikemen Sengoku

Pairing: Nobunaga Oda x MC

Prompt: Eclipse, hide n’ seek, scavenger hunt, shooting stars

Warning: Smut!

Intended Audience: Female Audience

Word Count: 3,495

Requested by: @nad-zeta

Written by: @lordsisterxotome

Disclaimer: I do not own Ikemen Sengoku or any of its characters. All of that goodness is the property of Cybird. I do, however, own the plot of this fanfic. Please do not repost this on any other website.

Other notes: My left arm is still in a cast so it took me way too long to type this.^^;

It started with an innocent conversation.

Nobunaga was hungry for knowledge, the kind that was commonplace in her time thanks to the advances of modern technology but undiscovered in the Sengoku period. MC couldn’t remember how they had gotten on the topic of the stars and planets while lazing in bed, but before she knew it, she was explaining the types of eclipses to him, including the rarest of them all.

“It’s called the transit of Venus,” she murmured, tracing circles on her lover’s calloused palm as she lay nestled comfortably against his chest. “And it happens every 243 years in pairs spaced eight years apart.”

It had been relatively useless knowledge up until now, floating around in her brain amongst other miscellaneous facts, but it seemed to interest her warlord, whose red eyes gleamed in interest as she spoke. “What’s Venus?” he asked, pulling her closer as if he could cuddle the answers out of her.

“It’s a planet, the second from the sun,” she replied, closing her eyes and snuggling closer to the warmth of his chest. “It’s named after the Roman goddess of beauty, love, and prosperity.”

Nobunaga hummed, his hand ghosting along her bare side and making her shiver. “I’ve never heard of such a goddess.” MC could feel him smirking down at her, and she opened one eye to peer lazily up at him, her suspicions confirmed. Reaching up, she buried a hand in the dark hair at the nape of his neck and pulled him down for a long kiss, feeling him smile against her lips.

“Tell me more,” he purred, lips brushing hers as he spoke.

“Shouldn’t we be getting up now?” Chuckling, she brushed his hair away from his forehead. “I think we’ve stayed in bed long enough and Hideyoshi won’t be happy if I’m distracting his lord from his duties.”

He groaned but let her roll away from him with a quick kiss to his jaw. She could feel his gaze on her, drinking in the sight of her, as she rose from the bed and the blankets fell away to expose her naked body. Her lips curled in a coy smile as she peered at him over her shoulder, watching the way his eyes roved over her hungrily. “Nobunaga,” she said warningly, an amused edge to her tone. “You have things to do today, a country to unite, konpeito to steal.”

“I believe I can fit ravaging my lover into my schedule,” he replied, the blankets falling away from his bare chest as he raised himself to his elbows.

MC snorted, pulling on her kimono and cinching it closed over her chest before reaching for her obi. “If I remember correctly, you have a council in an hour.”

Muscular arms wrapped around her waist, undoing the progress she had made on her obi as a hot mouth descended on her neck. Biting her lip, she tried not to moan as her lover sucked at her pulse, his hand parting her kimono to cup her sex. “You don’t think I can satisfy you in an hour?” he murmured, making her shiver as he left open mouthed kisses along her neck and shoulder. A thick finger parted her folds, searching for the bundle of nerves at the apex of her thighs.

What he was proposing really did sound quite tempting. A little more time spent in the arms of the love of her life? She would never complain about that...except the love of her life was also a warlord whose actions would shape Japan’s feudal history, sooo…

“Thanks, but I have things to do today that require me being able to walk.” Nobunaga grunted in disapproval when she slipped out of his arms again and bent to snatch her obi off the floor, tying it into place properly this time. His mouth was set in a sour line when MC next looked at him, glaring eyes burning a hole in the floor as he pulled his clothes on as well.

Biting her lip, she debated the consequences of her next words. Despite her rejection of his invitation to stay in bed a little longer, she couldn’t deny the ache of want deep inside of her, ever yearning for the one she loved. What could she say? She was weak for that adorable pout.

“Later…” MC began and his eyes snapped to hers, the intensity in their depths startling. “If you find me, I’ll let you continue what you were doing...you know, a second ago…” Her cheeks burned as she said it, looking at him through her lashes as a hungry grin broke across his face.

“Is that an invitation to play a game, fireball?” It seemed she’d awakened the competitive side of him, the part that played any game to dominate and win, and he’d decided she was the prize.

“M-Maybe.”

“Then I accept.” Donning his white haori with a flourish, a shiver went down her spine as Nobunaga’s red stare pinned her in place, his presence wrapping around her even though he stood across the room. She saw his muscles bunch a second before she realized what was about to happen, and ducked through the door just as his arms closed around the empty space where she had been standing a second before.

“Nobunaga!” she half giggled, half screamed his name as she escaped down the hall, his booming laughter echoing after her. Her heart was still pounding when she reached the seamstress’ hall and she cupped her blushing cheeks in her hands, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, before opening the door.

What was left of the morning went by without incident, but thoughts of Nobunaga and their little game lingered at the back of MC’s mind. For the first few hours, she startled every time the door opened or someone called her name, but her jumpiness wore off as the day continued, slowly blending into afternoon.

Maybe he really was too busy to make good on his determination to win? No, that wasn’t like him at all. Whatever it was, her guard dropped bit by bit, making his first attack that much more surprising when it finally did come.

She was walking around the corner, going through a bundle of letters that needed to be delivered, when hot breath tickled her ear, making her squeak as a tongue licked the shell. “You’ve left yourself open, fireball.”

Without a glance, she bolted, racing down the hall and making erratic turns down the winding corridors. A couple of times, MC swore she could feel his heat at her back, his arms closing around her, but when she finally stopped, out of breath and exhilarated, Nobunaga was nowhere to be seen.

Exhaling slowly, she leaned against the wall, a hand to her racing heart. He was more serious about this than she’d thought, using the same tact and patience she had experienced firsthand during their games of strip go. It was his plan to leave her alone until she had let her guard down, until she wasn’t expecting him to make a move.

Peeking back around the corner, MC took a deep breath, biting back a smile. If he was going to be serious, then so was she.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in a careful game of hide n’ seek. She knew she probably looked strange sneaking around the hallways, but she didn’t have much choice if she was going to successfully evade her observant boyfriend. Hiding away in her room all day wasn’t an option, not when she had work to do, and besides, Nobunaga would find her all too easily if she stayed in one place.

More than once, she had to dodge his wandering hands reaching to capture her when she passed an open door. A couple of times she swore she felt his hawk-like gaze, watching her as she spoke with one of the other warlords or scampered across an open courtyard. It seemed no matter how careful she was, he always knew where she was or where she was going next, and the chase thrilled her, her thighs rubbing together at the thought of what awaited her when he did catch her.

The game finally started winding towards its resolution when MC went out into town to order more fabric to be delivered to the castle. Her usual seller had gotten a new shipment of fabrics and she had immediately become enraptured by the new colors and dye patterns. It wouldn’t hurt to relax a little, she figured. There was no way Nobunaga could seek her all day and keep up with his workload.

She was speaking with the salesman and trying to decide between two different patterns when she saw his eyes focus over her shoulder, a respectful smile stretching his weathered cheeks. Her head turned to see what, who, he was looking at, but a hard body pressed against hers from behind before she could, wrapping her in a familiar embrace.

“Have all of the items she’s looked at sent to the castle.” Nobunaga’s breath teased her hair as he spoke, obvious satisfaction in his tone as he said, lower, “Found you, fireball.”

The salesman clasped his hands in front of him, bowing. “As you wish, my lord. Your lady has impeccable taste as always.”

“I would expect nothing less,” Nobunaga purred, his grip tightening even though she had no way to escape even if she wanted to.

MC wanted to ask him how he’d found her, how he’d managed to be one step behind her all day, but she waited until he’d arranged payment for the fabric and taken her hand to lead her through the busy streets, headed for the outskirts of the city. The sun was sinking below the horizon when they finally emerged on a grassy field, the sky darkening above them.

“How did you know where I was?” she asked as his pace eased to a stroll through the tall grass.

Nobunaga chuckled, his hand squeezing hers. “You didn’t think I’d know your schedule by now? I’ve been following you all day.”

Her steps halted and she frowned at him as he looked down at her in amusement. “Then you could have ended the game anytime!”

“I could’ve, but it was more fun this way,” he laughed. His dark hair looked aflame as his figure eclipsed the setting sun, red eyes glowing with triumph in the dim, and his voice resounded with dominance. “You should know what happens now.”

Breathless, she nodded, her gaze dropping to the shadow of his smirking lips.

Closing the distance between them so they stood chest to chest, his words rumbled through her with a force like thunder when he spoke. “I found you.”

Her tongue darted out to wet her lips.“You did.”

His hands brushed up her arms, her body relaxing into his touch, and soft grass met her back as Nobunaga pulled her down. The commanding lines of his face softened tenderly as he hovered over her, his smirk losing its edge. “So now I get to claim my prize.”

Gentle lips met hers in a loving caress a heartbeat later, so different from his usual hunger, and her arms wrapped around him to hug him closer. His body pressed hers into the ground as MC sighed into his mouth, longing for more. “I want to propose another game,” he murmured against her lips when they parted for air.

“Another?” she asked as his fingers fisted in her hair, tugging her head to the side to expose her neck. “What kind of game?”

“A scavenger hunt,” he replied, the tip of his nose tracing the column of her throat. “I win if I find all of the spots that bring you the most pleasure.” She gasped as he nipped at her earlobe, sending a shiver down her spine. “What do you think?”

“Mm~! I accept!”

He smiled against her pulse, his hands falling to her obi. “Good.”

The last orange sliver of the sun disappeared under the horizon as her kimono fell open, exposing her bare skin to the cool night air. Her body arched into his touch as his hands cupped her breasts, his thumbs flicking her hardening nipples, and a hot tongue licked across her collarbone as he nipped and bit his way to the sensitive spot on the side of her neck.

Nobunaga purred in satisfaction as she moaned, tilting her head to the side in a silent plea for more. “Here.” Teeth closed around the first spot hard, and she cried out as the pain and pleasure shot straight to her core, her thighs clenching in a desperate attempt for friction. Kissing the bright mark he’d made, he moved to her breasts next, kissing the heaving swells before enveloping a nipple between his lips.

MC pressed a palm to her mouth as he sucked, his tongue swirling around the hardened peak as he found yet another of her sweet spots. Her inner thighs were already sticky with her wetness, a hot pulse filling her body. When he pulled away, a string of saliva connected her reddened nipple to his lips, the sight so erotic she clenched around nothing, suddenly unbearably empty.

Grabbing her hand away from her mouth, he brought her fingertips to his lips and gave them a few harsh nips. “Don’t muffle your sounds,” he ordered, “I want to hear how good I’m making you feel.”

Holding eye contact, his hands moved to untie his kimono, baring chiseled pecs and abs to her lustful gaze as it trailed lower, following the path of his v-line. She whimpered as his cock sprang to attention, thick and red and pulsing with the need to plow into her, and Nobunaga smirked at her thirst.

“Patience. I haven’t finished finding every one of your sweet spots yet,” he grunted, caressing and groping down her body. Taking her foot in his hand, his eyes fell shut as he placed a kiss to her toe in homage to the beginning of their relationship. Soft giggles wracked her form as his mouth ghosted across her ankle and up the inside of her leg, his hands smoothing over her thighs and spreading them.

A second later, MC gasped as his teeth sank into the supple skin of her inner thigh, her legs closing around his head instinctively. “Here,” he breathed, kissing the new mark he left behind. His gaze flicked to hers as she peered down at him through half-lidded eyes and her heart stuttered as his breath fanned against her core, coming close but never close enough.

“Nobunaga…!” she pleaded as he teased her, writhing in his hold.

He chuckled, looking all too pleased with himself as she begged for him. “Don’t fret.” His hands wrenched her thighs wider, spreading her open for him. “I fully intend to give you more pleasure than you can handle.”

MC cried out as his mouth descended on her, licking a long strip up her slit. Her fingers tangled in his dark locks as his hands dug into her hips, tugging her closer as he slurped noisily. His moans vibrated through her trembling body as his nose nuzzled her clit and she nearly came when his tongue plunged inside of her, drinking her like a man dying of thirst and she was the finest thing he had ever tasted.

“So sensitive,” he growled, rubbing his aching erection against her leg. His lips and chin glistened with her arousal as he panted, brow furrowed. “I can’t get enough of your taste.”

He ate her out so ravenously it wasn’t long before she couldn’t take much more, the coil in her lower belly winding tighter with each greedy suck. “Nobunaga, I’m-!...It’s too much!” she warned, shutting her eyes tight.

A hand cupped her cheek, urging her to look at him, and she felt another wave of desire soak her folds as she beheld her Adonis of a lover. “Don’t close your eyes,” he demanded, sinking back between her legs. “I want you to watch me while I pleasure you.”

Fingers trailed along her slit, circling the bundle of nerves at the apex of her thighs before sinking two digits into her heat. Soft mewls fell from her lips as she rolled her hips against his hand, his fingers curling and scissoring within her and his thumb pressed on her clit. The whole time she obeyed his order to watch, unable to tear her eyes away as he prepared her for his cock..

“Nobunaga…” she panted, tugging his hair. “Mmh!...I’m close! Feels so good!” The calloused pads of his fingers curled against the spot inside of her that sent sparks dancing through her limbs and MC screamed his name as her orgasm suddenly crashed over her.

“That’s it, come all over my fingers,” he husked against her thigh, watching her entrance flutter around his fingers. “I’m going to give you so much more. You won’t know any name but mine by the time I’m finished.”

She whimpered as his fingers left her, laying limp against the grass as he moved to hover over her. Biting her lip, she trembled as his cock parted her folds, the engorged head prodding her oversensitive heat. Her back arched as Nobunaga slipped into her pliant body, looking every inch her virile Demon King as he pulled back to slam in again. His hands laced with hers and her legs wrapped around his waist as he rutted into her, his angle changing to reach spots that had her clenching around him.

His length reached so deep she swore she saw stars, and for a second she thought it was her vision playing tricks on her from the immense feeling of him thrusting into her, but when it happened again and again, filling the sky above her, she gasped. “N-Nobunaga!...Ha...Look!”

“I’d much rather ravish my Venus than look at the stars right now,” he grunted and MC almost missed his invocation of the foreign goddess’ name.

“Your...Venus?”

His hand stroked her blushing cheek, brushing strands of sweaty hair from her skin. She couldn’t have known how she appeared to him, breasts heaving and skin flushed with want in the moonlight as he claimed her. “You - ngh! - You said she was the goddess of beauty.” His mouth attached to her neck, leaving kisses between his words. “Of love.” Another kiss. “Of prosperity.” A hard thrust that had her fingers digging into his back. “Correct?”

“Y-Yes.”

“And...am I correct in assuming...there’s more to her definition?” Her eyes closed as his body pressed down hard against hers, pinning her in place as his thrusts turned rougher. “Desire.” The tip of his cock brushed the sweet spot deep inside of her, his name falling from her lips on a scream. “Fertility.” He angled to hit the spot again, hard body grinding against her softer form. “Victory.”

She nodded along to his words, feeling her second climax of the evening approaching. “Yes.” Her legs tightened around him, desperate for more. “Yes, yes, yes!”

“When I picture such a goddess...all I can think about is you.”

She didn’t have time to simper over the meaning behind his words. MC screamed his name as Nobunaga slammed into her, throwing his head back with a muffled roar. His hips continued to thrust shallowly as he released inside of her, warming her core with hot spurts of white. She almost missed it when he continued, his voice raw, “You’ve brought me all of those things and more.” Desperate kisses fell across her face, barely felt through the pulsing stimulation. “So, so much more.”

He pulled her into his arms as he collapsed next to her, her head resting against his chest. Her whole body felt pleasantly warm, safe in the arms of her love, and a smile curled lazily at her lips as she felt his lips plant a kiss to her hair.

“Shooting stars,” he mumbled, and she opened her eyes to see that the sky was indeed still streaked with the tiny lights. It was beautiful, but as her gaze settled on Nobunaga she found that she liked looking at him much more, the lines of his face soft with wonder as he watched the stars.

“I love you.” They blinked at each other as they spoke the words at the same time and a heartbeat later they chuckled, snuggling closer. Comfortable silence settled over them as they basked in the afterglow of their lovemaking, until Nobunaga grasped her hips, suddenly flipping their positions.

MC gasped his name, wide-eyed as he brought her to straddle him, hardening dick prodding her entrance. He only cocked his head innocently, chuckling at her expression. “Why so surprised? I accepted another game earlier, didn’t I? I don’t think I found all of your sweet spots earlier and as your lover, I need to thoroughly pleasure my goddess.”

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be11atrixthestrange · 3 years

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Waking Up In Vegas Chapter 13

After a night of debauchery, Ron and Hermione wake up in Vegas... married.

Muggle!AU. Romcom!Romione. Slow burning, smutty, angst-fest.

Rated M for reasons.

Ao3 | FFN

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[Ron]

The moment immediately after Ron admits his feelings, and before he draws up the courage to snog Hermione senseless in public seems to last a lifetime, and it's bursting with questions.

Why does he hesitate? He can't simply tell a girl he's falling in love with her, pause to stare at her lips, panic, and then do nothing.

But that's what Ron does. Maybe she's thinking the same things he is: that they agreed not to kiss, and they weren't expecting to admit such strong feelings, nor were they expecting them to be reciprocated. Although it feels silly not to kiss, doing so would feel like breaking a promise, and they have all night to kiss, so what's the rush? Why risk outing their relationship at the wrong time simply because of the heat of the moment?

Or maybe she's simply wondering why the fuck he isn't kissing her.

However long the moment lasts, it's over when a drunken Seamus staggers up to them and interrupts.

"Ron, Hermione! I've been looking for you," he says, stumbling through the crowd to greet them, oblivious to what he's barging in on. "We're going on the Deathstick. Come on!"

Seamus points to the ride in question — the Deathstick — and next to Ron, Hermione groans in response. In the middle of the venue is a thrill ride that towers up and through the ceiling. Riders pair up into compartments and rotate around a tall pillar, rising through the ceiling until they… well, Ron doesn't actually know. Presumably, they drop, but it all takes place above the roof, out of sight. That's probably part of its appeal.

The pair follows behind Seamus, and Ron can sense the reluctance from Hermione. One glance at her pale face tells him she's not much of a thrill-seeker.

"You good?" he asks.

"I'm not sure about this," she says, eyeing the tower with trepidation.

"You don't fancy an adrenaline rush?"

Hermione laughs. "Oh, I do. It's just that my idea of an adrenaline rush is a glass of wine and a murder mystery."

A glass of wine and a murder mystery sounds fantastic right about now, and Ron can't help but smile at the thought of Hermione curled up on the sofa with a book, her legs on his lap, and a cabernet in her hand.

In the London flat that they share, of course.

"Well, that sounds amazing," says Ron. "We don't have to go." His heart sinks the moment he says it, and he's suddenly aware of how much he wants to go.

"You should go," she says, noticing his reaction. "I'll wait for you."

Ron smiles at her and turns toward the ride. The rest of the wedding party has already partnered up for the two-person compartments — Harry with Ginny, Dean with Seamus, Neville with Luna, and Demelza with Lavender. Ron's all alone.

Ron looks back at Hermione and follows her gaze to a group of girls — possibly another hen party — running into a similar dilemma. Hermione scowls as one of the partner-less girls scans the crowd, looking for someone to ride with. He can hear a faint suggestion from her friend, "Why don't you ask that red-head? He's cute…"

"I'll go with you," Hermione says, smiling back at Ron. "How bad could it be?"

"Are… are you sure?" he asks, unable to stop the smirk that spreads across his face. She's jealous.

"Yes, I'm sure," she says. "I wouldn't want you to ride alone, or worse, with a complete stranger."

"Agreed, I'd prefer to ride with my wife than a girl I just met," says Ron, winking at the girl who's both. They proceed to the ride entrance, and Hermione hesitates before letting Ron pull her along.

"I'm sure the view up top will be worth it," she says, her voice shaking.

Once they reach the front of the line, they pile into the tiny cell and strap themselves into their harnesses. Hermione's fingers intertwine with Ron's as the doors close, and she lets out a small whimper. Ron squeezes her hand.

"It'll be over soon," he assures her, even though he's not sure he wants it to be. It's probably only a five to ten minute ride, and the small compartment has a lot of privacy.

As if on its own accord, his thumb starts caressing the top of her hand.

They start their slow ascent to the top, passing through The Slug Club's ceiling into the night sky. Hermione squeezes Ron's hand more firmly, and Ron can feel her rising pulse through her fingers.

"How are you doing?" he asks.

"I'm okay," she says, her voice trembling.

Las Vegas shrinks as they ascend into the night sky, until they're floating above a sea of sparkling lights. The neon signs, vehicle headlights, and illuminated windows pepper the desert floor, now looking like tiny, electric legos that Ron could pick up and hold between two fingers. From up high, the city looks like the perfect set of pieces to rearrange and create something new from scratch. It reminds him of his childhood daydreams when he would build castles and fortresses with blocks and imagine he could fit inside and live there. He'd write himself into stories about knights, talking statues, princes, and princesses, and play out the unlimited possible futures and happy endings.

The weight of Hermione's hand pulls him out of his reverie, but only partially. There's something magical about the moment, hovering above the world, with the commotion of the city reduced to candlelight, that keeps him tied to the innocent optimism of his younger self. As a child, Ron lived his life guided by a heart that had never been broken, and he would have had no issues falling in love with a princess before learning her middle name. Maybe there's wisdom in that forgotten mindset because right now, the idea of building something beautiful from nothing and writing his own happy ending feels more relevant than ever.

"Check out that view," says Ron, breaking the almost silence.

They rotate on the axis, and Hermione's eyes tear up as she admires the electric grid below. Ron continues to rub circles onto her hand, matching the calming pace of his breath. Hopefully, she feels a moment of peace too.

Away from the ambiguous city noise at ground-level, it feels like he's been submerged in silence at first, but as his ears adjust, the subtle sounds of their breath fill the space. It's a sound he hasn't heard in a while, and upon a closer listen, he starts to make sense of it — it's like its own language, nuanced but informative. His calm, rhythmic breath matches the peace of the moment, and as they slow to a stop at the ride's highest point, Hermione's choppier, erratic breathing reminds him that at any second, they'll drop into freefall.

"It's beautiful," she says, squeezing his hand back and admiring the view.

"So beautiful."

Hermione must sense by the closeness of his voice that he's looking at her, not the view, and she turns toward him with a smile on her face. They lock eyes, and the heat in her gaze suggests that if she weren't strapped down by a harness, she'd be snogging him senseless by now.

Then they drop into freefall.

The quiet of their carriage turns to screams of adrenaline as they plummet toward the ground, only to rise and drop again; how many times, Ron doesn't know, but he grips her hand as the only still, unmoving anchor to reality as the world blurs around them.

Eventually, their screams turn to laughter, and Ron's relieved to see Hermione smiling wide, her eyes sparkling. Her face is red, her hair is frizzing out every which way, and Ron has never seen anything so gorgeous.

"That was amazing!" he says once he catches his breath, and his heart rate returns to normal. "How do you feel, Hermione?"

"I don't know yet. Give me a second," she says, but her smile suggests she's just fine. "A little dizzy."

"Well, let's get you to a bench."

As they exit the ride and head over to a bench to rest, the rest of the wedding party pours out of their compartments, unsteady on their feet, and Ron has to stop himself from looping an arm around Hermione. Instead, he reaches for her arm under the guise of supporting her balance.

"I'm so proud of you!" he exclaims when she plops to a seat.

"What? Why?" she groans, leaning back on the bench and closing her eyes. She deepens her breath as if staving off nausea.

"Because you just did something that terrifies you, and it took a fuckload of courage."

Hermione laughs. "You did it too."

"Nah. Stuff like that doesn't scare me," he says as he sits next to her and waves off her questioning glance. "You're amazing, Hermione. Really."

Her eyes crack open for a moment, and she smiles at him. Ron's extra aware of the distance between them and how easy it would be to close it. He could just pull her into his lap for a quick snog. Who's really watching?

He doesn't have the chance to act on the temptation before Harry's panicked voice diverts his attention.

"Ginny! Are you okay, love?"

Harry sprints past their bench faster than a lightning bolt to where a sick Ginny is leaning over a rubbish bin.

Without a second thought, Harry rolls up his sleeves to hold her hair back. He doesn't bat an eye when she's sick yet again, and when she finishes, Harry pulls her into a hug and kisses her forehead, paying no attention to the risk of contaminating his shirt.

"I want that," mutters Hermione, staring wistfully at Harry and Ginny.

"Want what?" asks a confused Ron.

"Aren't they cute?"

Ron scoffs. "No, they're not. Look at them. They've never looked worse," he says, laughing.

"Well, that's exactly what I mean!" says Hermione, turning toward him now.

"Explain yourself."

"You and I think they look… awful right now," she says, gesturing toward Harry and Ginny, who are still embracing. "But even though they're stumbling drunk and covered in sick, they still think the other is the most attractive person in the world. I think it's sweet."

Ron watches his sister and future brother-in-law. Harry mutters something in Ginny's ear that makes her smile. The look in his eyes is one that Ron never wants to see directed at his sister, but Hermione has a point.

"I want to know what that's like," she says.

Ron looks over at Hermione, and he can't help but smirk.

"What?" she asks, her eyes narrowing.

"You do know what that's like, Hermione."

For good measure, he tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. She catches his hand and leans her cheek against his palm. Her cheeks flush pink, and in a bold moment, she turns her head and presses a kiss to his hand.

He almost gets lost in the moment before he remembers that the reasons he can't kiss her are the same reasons he can't stay here and cradle her face. She seems to have the same realization and lifts her head, letting his hand drop back to his side.

She smiles at him, and there's a glint of something in her eye — mischief, maybe.

"What are you thinking about?" he asks, fully knowing his tone comes off as suggestive. He doesn't care.

"That I owe you a drink."

Ron raises his eyebrows. "But didn't we agree to stay sober tonight?"

She raises hers back. "Just one drink?"

Ron smiles. The way he sees it, his best life decisions have been made while drunk with Hermione Granger.

"Just one drink," he confirms.

Hermione grins, and by the look she gives him, he knows that she doesn't mean just one. It's okay, though, because he doesn't either.

When they reach the bar, Ron's disappointed to discover that they aren't the only ones in the wedding party with the idea. It appears that the adrenaline rush of the Deathstick has made everyone thirstier, so their friends scatter in pairs around the taproom. With everyone's attention a quick shout away, Ron's hopes of stealing a kiss from his wife diminish.

"Hello again, Mr. Weasley. Miss Granger. Can I get you a drink?" asks Rosmerta, approaching them with a smile.

"Sure," says Ron. "Madam Rosmerta, what is the most popular cocktail at this bar?"

"Madam! I like that!" smiles Rosmerta. "Our most popular drink would probably be Felix."

"Never heard of it!" says Ron.

Rosmerta leans across the bar as if preparing to tell him a big secret. Hermione and Ron lean in to listen.

"Years ago, a customer came in and handed over directions to concoct a very specific drink. He called it 'liquid luck'," she says, winking. "At first, we laughed at him; thought he was taking it way too seriously. He was a very superstitious type. The joke was on us, though. He hit up the casino and left five million dollars richer. We ended up naming the drink after him."

"Bloody hell. We'll take two of those!" he says, sending a questioning glance toward Hermione, who nods.

"Don't get too excited," says Rosmerta as she fixes up two shimmery golden cocktails. "No one's ever been able to mimic that level of luck, though many have tried." She slides the drinks across the bar to Ron and Hermione and shrugs. "It tastes good, though."

Ron reaches into his pockets to fish out some cash for Rosmerta. She deserves a big tip for putting up with a rowdy crowd like this one, and who knows what rude customers she's had to deal with today.

"Thanks, Rosmerta! Can you hold the straws on those, please?" he asks, just as Rosmerta is reaching under the bar to grab two plastic straws to plop into their drinks.

"You sure?" she asks, hesitating before the open cabinet.

"Yeah," says Ron. "Save the sea turtles, right?"

"As you wish!" says Rosmerta.

Ron turns back toward Hermione and opens his mouth to speak, but pauses when he catches her eye. There's a fiery passion in her gaze, and it's something that Ron has never before seen in a woman's eyes, at least not directed at him.

Her look is like a spotlight, yet he doesn't mind the attention. It feels like he's on a stage, and no matter what he says or does, it will earn him a standing ovation. He can't help but wonder if Hermione's ever looked at a man like that before, but before his insecurities can take root, she springs forward and crashes her lips against his.

It takes some time for Ron to process what's happening before he responds. He's not entirely sure how much, as time might as well stop turning. When he gets his bearings, his fingers snake into her hair, and he holds her head in place, although he doesn't need to as she makes no effort to break away from him. She kisses him with a passion that Ron would expect behind closed doors only; the way her tongue slides between his lips is slow and sensual, yet eager and full of lust, and the sound she makes when he gently tugs at her hair sends Ron's mind spiraling into dangerous fantasy territory.

With great reluctance, they pull away, panting to catch their breath. Ron doesn't even think to look around and check if anyone saw them. As far as he's concerned, they're the only two people in The Slug Club.

"I know we were trying to keep this quiet, but—" she says, but Ron cuts her off by pulling her lips back to his.

The second time is even hungrier. Ron can feel Hermione's teeth bite his bottom lip, teasing him, as her hands slip around his shoulders. She lets out a soft moan as her fingers trace the muscles of his arms, and any negative thoughts he's ever had about his body — too lanky, too scrawny, not athletic enough — float to the background and become irrelevant. The increasing pressure in his shorts suggests he's close to getting carried away, and although he wouldn't mind, he doesn't want Hermione to get a slap on the wrist for public indecency, so he forces himself to pause.

When they surface for the second time, Ron notices that she's ditched her bar stool and is standing before him, leaning her weight against his leg, dangerously close to his growing erection. His arms have managed to wrap around her hips, and his hands are shamelessly resting on her bum, but again, he pays no mind to the crowd. There's only one person that matters.

"I haven't even had a sip of Felix yet, and I already feel like the luckiest man in here," he says. "What inspired this?"

"It was everything. I swear every time you look at me, and every little thing you say, it gets more difficult to keep my hands off of you."

Ron pulls her against him, tilts his head up, and presses a light, chaste kiss to her lips. He loves that she's short enough to reach his lips when he's sitting down, and her face is just as beautiful from this new angle. He wants to see it from every vantage point possible.

"What was the tipping point?" he asks, his tone playful.

"The straws," she says. "And the 'save the sea turtles' bit."

Ron beams. Straws. Of course.

"What did sea turtles do to make you love them so much?" he laughs, tightening his embrace. "And can they give me some tips?"

Hermione smiles down at him and toys with the hair on the back of his neck. "You don't need any tips," she says, inching her lips closer. "You'll be just fine."

She closes the space between them, and once again, he immerses himself in kissing her. As if they're back on the Deathstick, the ambient noise of the surrounding crowd fades away, and he finds no difficulty tuning into the sound of her breath and the taste of her lips.

Nothing can distract him from this moment. The wolf-whistles around them fade away, and Ron has all but forgotten about the two sparkling gold, untapped glasses of Liquid Luck on the bartop. He could kiss her forever, taking mental notes on every response, every reaction, eager to discover this growing language between them, and the endless stories it can tell.

#be11a_vegas #Ron Weasley #ronweasley #Hermione Granger #hermionegranger #Ron and Hermione #ron x hermione #ROMIONE #romione fanfic #romione fanfiction #hpromione #muggle AU

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xxxdragonfucker69xxx · 3 years

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@lyhoradka tagged me in that post about five bits of text from written media that are burned into your brain and, kindly, gave me a theme of places. i am going to annotate this because i am a bitch

1. holy places are dark places. the wisdom that we get in them is not thin and clear like water but thick and dark like blood. - cs lewis, till we have faces

im almost certain ive misremembered this one but its better this way. clive what the devil fuck were you trying to say with till we have faces. burn it down and start over with this. i have a sidenote about hope faith and love but thats beyond the scope of this discussion

2. night falls. the workers put down their tools and point to the sky. “there is the blueprint,” they say. invisible cities, italo calvino

again idr if its sky or stars. this is the description of thecla from invisible cities, kindly appointed to me by my good friend venus. this is not the strongest one but it is a strong one and its for Me and i remember it. inna thought i was going to make this whole post about haunted houses and this one is completely the opposite; i’ll consider it aspirational

3. walk to the east till you can walk no more. swim east until you pass the sunrise; swim east until you pass the stars; swim east until you come to the edge of the sky. there you will find yourself on the shores of a different land. even in that place, they shall know your name, and mine. - adel, kc danine/unlikely flowerings, jenna moran

sorry i cheated on this one bc i looked up the attribution and found my memory was wrong. but i cut it up to match what i thought. this one is actually a combo with

3a. the sea will be the color night behind glass. then, slowly, it becomes green: first rain-wet slate, then darkest jade. green as fresh emeralds. green as remembered rivers - the sun beneath the sea, sunless seas

again ive hashed the first part of that but green as remembered rivers lives in my head rent free. these two live under the heading “an exile in the uttermost east”

4. THIS IS NOT A PLACE OF HONOR. NO HIGHLY VALUED DEED IS REMEMBERED HERE. NOTHING OF VALUE IS STORED HERE.

the warning continues of course but the basis is here. the idea that we cannot produce something so horrifying and terrifying that it does not also fascinate us, as you might guess, fascinates me. nightmare and obsession are such close brothers

5. a woman drew her hair out tight/and fiddled in the violet light/and upside down in air were towers/tolling reminiscent bells that kept the hours/and voices singing out of empty cisterns and exhausted wells.

in my head sean bean reads these lines in his civ vi voice. why did so much weird fiction pattern weird bits of worldbuilding after this bit. not that i am immune. voices singing out of empty cisterns and exhauuusted wells

BONUS CONTENT

so many things i wanted to add that werent written or that i didnt have memorized perfectly enough

1i. the, like, entire first half of to tundra by los camp, which i will reproduce below

meet me at st nicholas among the oaks behind the church that sway like pigtailed girls as summer wind whistles around your bare-shin knees and the forsythia leaves in the shade lay with me tickled by the feather reeds thats where the trees grow old under the ivys hold as you in my two arms equally safe from harm and in a hazy daydream our bodies married the stream and we broke down into pebbles and silt the water ran from the fields until the oceans we filled and found the seabed the comfiest quilt

there was more life in the weeds than in the few hundred seats that rose from transept to chancel to nave [...]

2i. prim leaves her father’s house. i won’t reproduce the whole story here but there’s a girl prim and her father is the god hansa and they live in a house of iron nails and one day her dad is killed and she has to go bury him and takes nothing but his corpse and a single iron nail. and she traipses all across creation and the void looking for somewhere to bury him but every time she tries his corpse shouts at her for being shit at it. and eventually she collapses, and drops the nail and it springs right up into the same exact house, and she imagines crawling in there with her fathers corpse to die next to him and freaks out and then

A pale face came before her and she was abruptly struck from her despair as though by a great hammer. A beautiful stranger had appeared, mild and tall, of milky flesh, spare in figure, but radiant in voice and visage. "I know you," said the stranger in a small voice, "you are Prim."

"I was Hansa's orphan, the slave, Prim," croaked Prim in response, "and now I am nobody, just a small dirty thing in great emptiness and here I will die."

"No," said the stranger, and the clarity and firmness of her voice and smile send a shock through Prim, "you are Prim, and Prim only, and Prim you shall be." And Prim there realized her tears had made a great pool and she was greeting her own reflection. And she fell into that murky pool and straight away it turned clear as crystal and Prim vomited forth a great black knot from very deep within her, and her body was scoured and lashed by the icy waters of that pool, and great draughts of poisonous filth and despondency were drawn in rushing gasps from her wounds, and her skin was sealed and her soiled trappings were purged and the caked illness and death was ripped away and she rose from that pool fresh and humming. Her back straightened and she scarcely thought on her father's corpse or the faintest echo of that iron house. That is how Prim left her father's house.

so basically abaddon scooped all of tsiy and every other haunted house writer in like five thousand words

3i. berenike

From my words you will have reached the conclusion that the real Berenice is a temporal succession of different cities, alternately just and unjust. But what I wanted to warn you about is something else: all the future Berenices are already present in this instant, wrapped one within the other, confined, crammed, inextricable.

4i. a ghost does not come to stand in the dark doorway of your room because it is an 18th century orphan girl named annie. a ghost comes to stand in the doorway of your room because the doorway is where things come to stand. - i am in eskew, david ward

the formats all fucked up now huh. this has influenced my thoughts on both psychogeo and necromancy. what a fucking guy. theres also the pope lick bridge one but

5i. i hope you will forgive me for including a bit from tsiy

I opened my eyes. I was kneeling at the base of a tree, at the top of a grassy hill, under starry night. Dad was standing a little ways back, head craned back to look at the tree. "What is this place to you?" he asked, looking around. The island came to an abrupt stop at the edges; it wasn't a floating island in space or anything, there just.....wasn't anything beyond the edge of it. Like looking past the edge of your own eyesight -- not the blackness of eyelids, but the colorless place beyond.

"I'll die here someday," I said, and meant it.

i really need to work on getting places and haunted places into the new draft. im slacking. but im also not allowed to go back and change anything rn or ill just never get anywhere

#visible cities #also sprach #christ this took a million years

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ey8508 · 4 years

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Rumors & Secrets LZ

Totally more contents about LZ : )

[Finally, we meet again]

Note:

R&S for this card (CG above)

Chapter SPOILERS up to chapter 37 (read with your own risk)

Contains 5 chapters

Translation isn’t 100% accurate (or grammar errors)

This is mostly in Li Zeyan’s POV before he meets MC (in the past original timeline) and ends with the iconic “Evolver?” question (where it all begins in chapter 1)

Do not repost to any other site (reblog is fine)

Chapter 1

Page 1

The sun is slowly setting...

At the horizon, a large rose color slowly fainted from the golden sunlight, soaking the low-hanging cloud curtain, allowing the color of the stratus clouds to burst out, reflecting the blue sea surface that meets the sky.

The extended Bentley drove away from the bustling part of the town and moved slowly along the winding road. It rained at noon, and the air was full of the smell of wet soil and raindrops soaking leaves. Li Zeyan lowered half of the car window and turned his gaze to the red-brick and white-walled building under his feet, unconsciously a little surprised.

Eze, one of the most beautiful towns on the Mediterranean coast, is also the former residence of Li Zeyan's grandfather and grandmother.

Page 2

Since he can remember, he has often come to Eze with his mother to stay for a while. The leisurely and beautiful memories of his youth are composed of the humid sea breeze here, the touch of the ankle being drawn by the low bushes, and the moment when the eyes are filled with bright and full bouquets.

Mother always likes to go to the market in the early morning to buy a few bunches of flowers, before he gets up. He then will put the flower branches in various containers or clay pots or glasses as the way he likes.

When grandpa and grandma were still alive, they would have a richer breakfast. Although they had settled in Eze early in the morning, they still had a Chinese stomach. They wanted to eat porridge and noodles. When they passed away, breakfast becomes a little simpler, only bread, omelette, or instant cereal...

Page 3

Of course, his mother is also studying cooking seriously and wants to cook some complicated dishes for him, but progress is slow.

Although these memories became more and more blurred with his busy life, as soon as he returned here, the images of sunlight, green trees, ocean, and flowers in his mind became particularly clear.

The corners of Li Zeyan's lips showed a faint smile.

The video conference is already being connected, and Li Zeyan withdraws his gaze and sets his sights on the laptop in front of him. Soon, several young people in suits and leather shoes appeared in the meeting room. Although their hair colors were different, their pupils were different, the confident and relaxed look on his face was particularly noticeable.

Page 4

They are several industry stars recently discovered by Li Zeyan. They have been successively arranged in several venture capital companies established by Huarui overseas. In Li Zeyan's view, the times have changed. It is no longer the person in the investment department holding a bunch of industry data. In financial statements, you can easily figure out whether a company really has the stage of commercial value. They need to work hard in a field, understand every link that a student can accomplish, understand the most innovative business models, and look at all new things with suspicion and surprise.

They can contact any field they are interested in on the platform of Huarui, accumulate experience, and become Li Zeyan's eyes for exploring new tracks.

Page 5

The car drove halfway through the mountain, and the cascading sunset cast a golden glow on Li Zeyan's face, covering his smiling eyes in a warm color.

[They're talking in EN]

"Li, looks like you've got a brilliant sunset."

"It sure is."

[Back to CN]

"Isn't it Eze? It's a place worth sitting on the balcony all day."

" Indeed. "

Page 6

[Now they're talking in French]

"Better to drink good wine and appreciate the scenery."

"D'accord."

Chapter 2

Page 1

The relaxed video conference ends when the vehicle reaches the top of the mountain.

Li Zeyan got out of the car, strode forward, and a gentle breeze came towards him, messing with the strands of hair on his forehead. He fastened the suit that was blown up by the wind, took the rose bouquet from the entourage, and walked to the corner he knew.

Only a little golden light remained in the setting sun, hooked in the dark blue of the starry sky, quietly spilling on the white marble tombstone.

"mother."

Page 2

Li Zeyan put down the flowers, took out a brown handkerchief from his pocket, and knelt down to wipe the floating dust on the monument. Although there are people taking care of it every day, the tombstone is never slender. Every few days someone will come to replace a bunch of flowers, they are all taken care of and was cleaned with moisturizing liquid in the crystal vase that was placed in front of the tomb.

"Father was originally going to come over, but something happened temporarily. He asked me to bring you this bouquet of roses to make amends."

Li Zeyan slowly stood up as he spoke, looking at the sun that had completely sunk at sea level, inadvertently folded his fingers slightly, and clenched into a fist.

Page 3

On this day of the year, he will definitely take time to return to Eze. Although the schedule is tight, sometimes he can only stand in front of the grave for a short while, and has to rush to the next meeting. However, he still insists on coming in person...

His mother's death day is of extraordinary significance to him.

Li Zeyan breathed the cool air at the top of the mountain and talked about trivial matters for no reason.

"The charity project I talked to you last time is fully operational. I have found a lot of professional teachers who are willing to teach music to disabled children. Many of them have experience in caring for disabled children. Some also have a background in music schools. It should not be an issue to send gifted children to regular schools in the future-"

Page 4

"By the way, I saw the Moments two days ago. Aunt Gu said that she wants Wenwen to accept the wedding, as she has a very good boyfriend. Given her previous battles with Wenwen to urge her to marry, I think they will be urged to get the certificate soon."

" Do you remember Ronan? He went to Italy two days ago and sent me a two-meter sculpture, the sculptured piece was me.

...It is really difficult for him to spend such a large cost to let the world's best sculptor accompany him to do such boring things."

After a moment of silence, he remembered another thing.

Page 5

"Father’s favorite program "Discovering Miracles", the ratings and profitability of the last year are not good, Huarui is preparing to divest. Although it is a pity to say that, in the process of fast-forwarding, many people have been left behind, and "Discovering Miracles" is just one of them."

The hands on the dial had reached the time when Li Zeyan planned to leave, but he was standing in the dark, looking deeply at his mother's silent gravestone.

A breath of wind was quickly blown away by the night wind, and his voice became lighter while he was talking.

"All leads are broken..."

"I still didn't find her."

Page 6

After that, Li Zeyan sighed slightly emotional. He retracted his gaze from the tombstone, raised his hand to shake off a leaf hanging on the neck of his suit, and then strode away.

As if responding to his lonely back when he left, a quiet meteor suddenly struck across the endless night.

Chapter 3

Page 1

On the tarmac, Li Zeyan's private jet had been waiting for a long time. The weather tonight was good and the field of vision was wide. When boarding the plane, the captain rarely suggested that he could take a look at the sea covered with white moonlight from the porthole.

As soon as he sat down, Wei Qian walked over with his tablet computer.

"President. Regarding today's schedule, there are some parts that need your confirmation."

"First of all, the equity investment plan of the SE network video platform has been formally established. The relevant meeting is scheduled at 2 pm, and the representatives of SE will land at 12 noon, and the airport pick-up personnel have been arranged."

Page 2

"But you have promised Mr. Chen to attend his cocktail reception at 7pm on time, so the dinner after the meeting with the SE representatives..."

"Just say that we understand their hard journey, postpone the meal for one day, let them rest for the night."

"Understood. Also, Yaoxing Circus has accepted our invitation and is willing to come to Lianyu City for performances. However, they still have some doubts about the performance venue and performance permits, and they want to determine the original schedule. Is it possible to successfully obtain the performance license? Regarding this point, I have asked the relevant person in charge to prepare the materials required to apply for the license. I apply in the name of Hua Rui. I believe that it is not a big problem to get this license. So please ask the president, can you give them a positive answer directly?"

Page 3

Li Zeyan nodded faintly, and turned his sight out towards one of the porthole. The plane was flying over the city, and the star lights were gathered in his eyes. In the darker glass, a pair of eyes were also as deep as night.

"President Mr. Bao's payment for this month has passed, but he replied to this email and asked me to convey it to you."

"He said that he has only found some useful clues in the first few years before. In the last year, almost nothing was collected. He loves money very much, but he does not want to take your money for nothing. None of these investigations have yielded much. He is willing to help you do some commercial work. Business. No additional fees will be charged to you. He has a wide range of knowledge and resources. If you can find some news, you can help your friends... "

Page 4

Lao Bao's original words were "commercial espionage," and Wei Qian thought about it repeatedly before coming up with this rhetoric.

Li Zeyan couldn't help but smile faintly when thinking of Lao Bao's joking expression.

"Tell him, we don't need it for now. Hua Rui's information channels may not be less than his. Let him take money at ease and do things seriously."

Wei Qian replied in a low voice and stopped talking. The silence in the cabin was comparable to that of the night. The plane traveled steadily in the quiet, clear night, repeating the journey it had traveled countless times without moving.

Chapter 4

Page 1

Half an hour later, Li Zeyan finished shower, changed into a white bathrobe and sat on the bedroom sofa.

The red wine in the decanter has reached its best taste. Li Zeyan poured himself a half glass and tasted it, his expression was neither salty nor light. He vaguely remember that this 85-year-old Romanee-Conti seems to be a gift specially given to him by a director of Yuelai Entertainment at the auction.

At Yuelai Entertainment, Li Zeyan was tasting the wine, and a few projects that could work with them flashed in his mind, but when then changed his mind, as he puts it down.

Can wait, they are not qualified now.

Page 2

Li Zeyan leaned on the sofa, turned on the computer, and casually browsed the letters in the mailbox and the approval process.

An e-mail with the subject "Facial Structure and Profit Prospect Analysis Report" was lying on the first line of his mailbox. He clicked it in and glanced at the conclusion part 1 hastily.

According to the final data analysis, the film company’s only variety show "Discovering Miracles" lost about 80% of its audience in the last year, and its ratings ranked thirteenth (that is, third from the bottom) among the programs at the same time. At the same time, the film and television company has changed the person in charge a few months ago. The investigation showed that the person in charge had no experience in program production, company management, business negotiation, etc. before officially taking over the company. Accordingly, the venture capital department requested the president and the board of directors to suspend the continued capital injection of the company.

Page 3

Li Zeyan replied to the email with one hand with little thought: Approval of the withdrawal.

It never takes him too much time to make such a decision.

In the last two weeks, Li Zeyan has divested five companies, and this film and television company is the sixth. At the same time, he also made a lot of investment transactions, such as SE.

Huarui's capital chain is operating at a high speed, quickly responding to the market.

Page 4

Many people think that there is a gamble in this. Li Zeyan never denies that Huarui's style of offensive and never procrastinating seems too "aggressive" in the entire industry. But it doesn't matter. He knows better than anyone that the steady fight of the so-called industry giants is just a strategy that has to be adopted without an efficient business promotion mechanism and redundant management structure.

In a few years, perhaps Huarui will do the same.

But it doesn't matter, before that, he will lay the best foundation for Huarui, so that Huarui can still maintain active and vigorous vitality in the continuous expansion.

Page 5

After drinking the red wine in the glass in one sip, Li Zeyan pressed the sleep mode on the remote control, the light-shielding plate slowly fell, and the surrounding lights dimmed a little bit. He walked into the bathroom again to brush his teeth and wash to end the busy day.

This night, Li Zeyan had a deep dream.

In the time of emptiness, countless spots of light flowed slowly between his fingers. He tried to hold one or two in the house, but every time he made a fist and opened it, his palm was empty. Someone was smiling in front of him, her long light brown hair was slightly curly, and the corners of her lips were slightly raised with a smile, that was his mother. She smiled at him, her eyes calm and gentle, as if looking at a unique treasure in the world. She seemed to be asking something, but she also seemed to be just smile quietly.

He couldn't keep up with her.

Page 6

He knew that he had been waiting for a long time in a strange vortex, but who was he waiting for?

The indicator light on the wing is not clear in the thick night, the whole continent under the clouds is sleeping, and the time is as quiet as stopping, freezing the whole world at this moment.

In the sky, the stars are shining, and the whole Milky Way witnesses him breathing while in a dream.

Page 7

In the same deep dream, a girl was holding a mobile phone with a flashing light in her arms, and she was talking indifferently in a drowsy sleep.

As the two ends of the world are finally connected, the trajectory that continues to move forward is quietly changed.

The smoothly moving plane passed the sunrise scenery on the horizon.

The light-shielding board was slowly raised in accordance with the program instructions, and the first ray of sunlight in the morning shone into the porthole, covering Li Zeyan's bed.

Chapter 5

Page 1

Li Zeyan originally planned to go directly to Hua Rui, but halfway through, he received a message that Mr. Cai said that he had committed rheumatism and wanted to ask him for two days off.

He was a little worried, and after hesitating a little, he decided to visit.

Coincidentally, it was close to the meal time when he went to visit. The elderly eat early, and the house is full of plants when he enters the door. Mrs. Cai said that it would keep her down for a casual meal. He couldn't refuse the meal, so she took over the dishes.

Li Zeyan held a bowl straight at his waist, eating, and asking about Mr. Cai's condition. He had already arranged for a doctor to follow up for Mr. Cai before he finished the meal.

Page 2

Mr. Cai was grateful, and remembered some gossip he had seen on the Internet before, "I saw a lot of people commenting about the restaurants on the Internet. You must have seen it, manager, don’t keep it to your heart."

Li Zeyan smiled, he did not expect Mr. Cai to comfort him in return, "Mr. Cai, I never care what they think, how the restaurant wants to operate, I have always been aware of this, please rest assured. You can rest in peace in these two days. According to what I just said, Souvenir will be out of business for a week. Firstly, see what the doctor says."

Mr. Cai pounded his long-painful knee with a smile on his face, "I am old and useless. You don't have to do it for me"

Li Zeyan remarks "It's nothing"

Page 3

Then Mrs. Cai silently took a thin blanket from the living room to cover her husband. The two couples looked at each other for a short time, and said nothing. They still followed the topic just now and started talking cheerfully. The restaurant diners praised the manager’s craftsmanship.

Li Zeyan took the scene in his eyes, and a faint smile flicked across his lips.

After finishing light meal with a cup of tea, Li Zeyan did not want to disturb the couple too much, and left after that.

When he came, the weather was fine, the sun was fragile, and there was a leisurely sunny day scenery. Unexpectedly, when Li Zeyan walked to the intersection across the street from Huarui, there was both the sun and rain.

Page 4

He thought of the evening reception, thinking about whether to let Wei Qian bring him a clean suit. At this moment, a petite girl suddenly stood in front of him.

The green light on the crosswalk turned red just after the countdown, the vehicles coming from a distance did not slow down at all, and the girl was still standing in the middle of the road slowly, not aware of the coming danger!

It happened too suddenly, and two rapid bangs rang out.

Page 5

Li Zeyan's expression between his eyebrows changed slightly, and all the noise around him stopped in the moment.

He took a step forward and held her in his arms.

The girl stared at him with stunned eyes.

"Evolver?"

When time stands still, raindrops hover in the air, he also stopped his gaze.

#rumors and secrets Victor #love and producer #love and producer li zeyan #mr love queen's choice #mr love queen's choice victor #mr love li zeyan

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talesfromgringolandia · 3 years

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Underwing Challenge, final day(albeit a day late)

Thanks for the final question, @drippingmoon! And thanks for compliments, too. You wouldn't believe how many things I just came up with specifically for the questions you asked. This has been so fun for me, and I'm glad you enjoyed it too!

Anwho, here's some things I've been dying to talk about some more: The Titans, and the moon.

So, here are some things I was dying to talk about: My Titans, and the moon

The titans are powerful beings of unknown origin. There are six, and each one has a specific domain, and also directly opposes one of the other titans. Essentially, each Titan poses a thesis about the truth of life, and their paladins live according to that thesis. Every titan also exists physically somewhere in the world, but I’ve only come up with the physical forms for two of them so far.

The first titan I came up with was Lralso. (You thought I’d say Felenor, didn’cha?) Lralso’s interesting in that he’s barely changed from the moment I conceived of him, not even his name. He’s always been the titan of trickery and dishonor, although originally he had fire as well but I got rid of that. Lralso embodies the idea that there is no such thing as honor, but rules that society puts up with because it's convenient. Meaning that every person who claims to be honorable is a liar and a fraud. (I came up with him before watching the Dark Knight, I swear. But the movie did help me refine him).

Lralso is directly opposed to Felenor, who I came up with second. Felenor embodies honor, justice, and protection. Everyone deserves a safe place to thrive, and Paladins of Felenor are supposed to provide that. Not necessarily because it helps others, but because it's the right thing to do. The ideology of Felenor is that there is an objective morality which exists whether or not it helps anybody, and every human knows this natural law instinctively. So when a person saves someone from being robbed in a dark alleyway, he shouldn’t expect payment or a thanks, but should do it because it's the right thing to do. This is why white lies are also very bad. The most valuable possession of a paladin of Felenor is his honor.

Next is Ildra, titan of pleasure and suffering. That seems contradictory, but bear with me. Ildra posits that the sole purpose of life is to enjoy yourself physically, with no consideration for morality or convenience at all. Do the standards of society get in the way of your material pleasure? Tear them down. Everything in the world, including other people, only exists for the sake of making you feel better. Nothing is sacred for a paladin of Ildra. Naturally, this kind of lifestyle does not actually lead to fulfillment, and every so often, you find yourself with two options - pull out of this life of misery and try to live in a way that can fulfill you, which is a daunting task, OR dive even deeper into this life of sin and pleasure to ignore the gaping whole inside. The most powerful paladins of Ildra are the most evil beings you will ever meet, because they do not only ignore their pull to good - they actively run from it.

Next I’ll talk about Elara, the direct opponent of Ildra. She’s actually the last one I came up with, so she’s still a little fuzzy in my mind. She’s also the last titan who has anything to do directly with humans. Elara’s thesis is that every other person you meet exists so that you can help them. Many of her paladins live in convents together. (Yes, they’re nuns. Sue me)

Now I’ll get into my non-human involved titans. First is Caorr, who I’ve talked about before. He’s a massive dragon who lives in the abyss, at the surface of Venus. He commands the hordes of dragons who also inhabit the Eternal Storm down there. Caorr represents the idea of destruction and chaos, pure and simple. He doesn’t like the existence of the isles up above. He has only ever had one paladin, named Azor, who was one of the most powerful humans to walk the isles. He caused a massive war, with Azor and the dragons vs all the humans, resulting in the destruction of many cities. It was essentially a world war, for all the impact it had afterwards. The Order of Felenor picked up the pieces, creating a golden age of law and order, and setting the stage for their defeat by Galras and their fall at the hands of Ildra.

Yes, I named the titan of chaos, Caorr. I’m subtle like that.

Finally, the titan of nature, Elorath. His form is that of a massive whale or turtle(I’ve yet to decide) made of earth and stone, floating in the sky like another isle. He’s very far away at the moment, which is why nobody’s found him yet. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t exert control over his domain. His Paladins aren’t well-known at all, because they don’t leave their forests, deserts, or whatever habitat they call home. They only care to protect their home, and are often called druids. Elorath is naturally opposed to Caorr, but it's not like their domains cross very often.

Yeah, those are my titans! All of them have a physical form somewhere in the world, but I’ve only figured out that form is for Caorr and Elorath so far.

And then there’s the moon!

So, as I mentioned in a previous post, Venus doesn’t have a moon. And according to the definition of moon(a satellite of a planet), it still doesn't have a moon in my setting. But there is a moon-looking thing, just a lot smaller, and floating in the atmosphere along with all the isles. It floats a lot higher though, making access to it difficult. You have to use powerful hot-air balloons in conjunction with propellers, and then you can’t be up there too long because there’s not much oxygen. It’s very far away from the other isles as well, about two week’s journey there and back. Why would anyone want to go there? Well, it’s made of a material called Aetherstone. Aetherstone has the ability to receive, hold, and conduct aether, meaning it can act as a battery and a jump starter. Humans can only use a little aether at a time, meaning that Tinkerers would be limited to machines that function with a slow burn. Aetherstone can release a lot of aether at once, but it requires a skilled tinkerer/alchemist/etc to control it. Otherwise it can wreak all sorts of havoc. Aether is energy, and if it's not directed, it's going to cause some kind of change.

#underwing challenge #writeblr #worldbuilding #writing #writeblr community #fantasy venus

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pinkgirl94 · 3 years

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Investigation of Dazai's Dangerous Dating - Part 1

Hi! As you guys can see, this is my second BSD fanfic & I wanna write something laidback or, to be precise, what if the members try to investigate their colleague's shenanigans. Hope you enjoy reading it!

Bright blue sky. The sun shines above the clouds. A ship blew its horn, signaling its presence. Busy streets around the city. These are the signs of the normal and peaceful port city, Yokohama. That is what Atsushi thought.

“Today’s another pleasant day, right Kyoka-chan?”

“Yes,” replied Kyoka in her usual nonchalant way.

Atsushi and Kyoka were on their way to their workplace, the Armed Detective Agency. They reached the building, went inside, and took a lift to the fourth floor. After reaching the floor, they headed towards the detective agency’s door. As Atsushi’s hand reached and turned the doorknob, this was what their usual routine looked like.

“Good morning, every-”

“Kunikida-kun, look around. We’re finally in the underworld! Isn’t it amazing? A flying pink elephant, waterfalls pouring upward to the sky, strange-looking trees with lollipops grew out… an incredible place, right?”

“Yeah, sure,” replied Kunikida with his usual stern look while focusing on his work.

What Atsushi saw is his senior Dazai spouting nonsense about the view of the underworld while standing at his table.

“Good morning.”

“Morning.” Both Kyoka and Kunikida greeted each other normally, ignored Dazai’s shenanigans like a ghost.

“Um… what happened to him?”

“You know what it is, Atsushi. The usual.”

“Another suicide attempt?”

Dazai’s suicide attempts never stop. No matter where at or in any situation, he tried them all the entire day nonstop. He sometimes lazy or never coming to work according to his feeling. Kunikida tried to make him a proper working man but failed. In the end, he lets him do whatever he wants as long as his works were done.

“Though you thought that way, this is a bit different. Look at his book.”

Atsushi goes to Dazai’s table and took a book. He reads the content and found out about the types of poisonous mushrooms. There are various kinds of lethal ones that should never eat. The picture of the mushroom he reads right now, however, looks a bit different from the one he bit.

“A delusional mushroom type?”

“Yes, though he knew since he did the same two years ago.”

“Then why did he eat it again?”

“He said something about confirming whether the vision he saw the other day was real.”

“What…”

Dazai turned his head towards Kunikida. His delusional eyes became wider as he found something valuable.

“Would you look at that? A giant golden bug! This will cost an enormous fortune if I sell it. Atsushi-kun, help me catch it.”

“Wait, Dazai-san! That’s not a bug. It’s Kuni-” Dazai made a sudden jump at Kunikida, who he thought was a golden bug. He was about to get strangled, but his hand quickly grabbed his shirt collar.

“This giant golden bug wants you to shut up and stay down!!!”

“UWAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!”

Kunikida easily threw Dazai up and floating until he pulled him down hard. Dazai was no longer in the underworld as he finally returned to reality. But what Dazai was looking at right now the world is spinning around, finding it difficult whether he is back or transported to another world. Finally, he knocked out.

After that, the entrance door opened. Three young people are coming in for reporting their duty. They then greeted everyone in the office. Atsushi turned around and found the familiar faces.

“Oh! Tanizaki-san, Naomi-san, Kenji-kun, good morning.”

Those people are Tanizaki, his sister Naomi and Kenji. Tanizaki found Dazai lied on the floor. So he asked Atsushi.

“Atsushi-kun, what happened to Dazai-san? Why is he sleeping on the floor?”

“Well, Kunikida-san threw and knocked him down because of his usual attempt. He’s going to be like that for a while.”

“I see…”

“Kenji, go tied Dazai up and put him in the storage room.”

“All right!” said Kenji with a smile as bright as the sun. He then really did what Kunikida ordered as if it is a normal thing to do. Dazai, though unconscious, keeps blabbering about the things he saw from his hallucination. The door slowly closes as the darkness comes, leaving him from the bright world to repent his blunder.

Soon after that, Yosano comes, followed by Ranpo. All the employees returned to their seats and continue their work. Kunikida and Yosano started looking at today’s works and revising previous requests. Atsushi, Tanizaki, and Kenji looked up their emails and files for any recent case. Ranpo just sat on his chair, takes out his snacks, and eat them. Others like the clerks were ready to receive calls from the clients and make arrangements.

Time passed by in a flash, and lunch break starts. Atsushi and the others go out of their office and took a lift down to the ground floor. When they step out of the building, the sun is already above them. So bright, but also hot at the same time. There was no cloud to be seen. Just the clear blue sky along with the sea breeze. They headed towards a door that has a sign written ‘Uzumaki’ hanging above and swung it.

As the bell rings, the members entered a familiar venue. The aroma of coffee floating around the entire place along with jazz music. A set of antique coffee makers displayed on the table. The classic-themed interior designs, both the furniture and walls.

The cafe was the agency’s favorite spot to relax. Not just because of its delectable food, but they enjoyed drinking the finest coffee made by the cafe’s manager who has many years of experience in making coffee.

“Welcome! Take any seat you like.” The person who greeted the members was Lucy Montgomery. A former Guild member and currently working as a part-timer.

Everyone chose two tables right beside the window. They then started ordering their food and drinks. Later, they started their lunch after the food was served.

After the members finished eating, Lucy approached them, wanting to ask something.

“I wanna ask you guys. What’s with the ruckus at your office this morning?”

“Oh, that? It’s Dazai-san’s.”

“And he’s…”

“Stayed inside the storeroom for a while. That must have been disturbing you and other staff members working here. Sorry about that.” Tanizaki and Atsushi both bowed down for their apology.

“Well, there’s no need for it since it’s his usual high jinks but…”

Lucy put a bunch of letters on the table. Her hand was holding them for a while. The senders were from various women and they were all for Dazai.

“We usually get those whenever the women came here.”

“We usually get those whenever the women came here. It's fine, by the way, since we can send them to you guys. But there're a few problems.”

Atsushi got curious about what could it be regarding Dazai and his habit. The members knew him a lot, from his approach towards the women, his smooth-talking, to his peculiar relationship with them.

"At one time, one woman came here and waited for Dazai, but then, another one appeared for the same reason as the first. Those two got into a fight after they noticed it."

"That must've been hard on you, Montgomery-chan."

"Oh no. There's more. Remembered that last week a crazy woman made her attempt something crazy and shouted in front of this building?"

"You mean that time..."

The woman carried a knife for threatening Dazai to date her and her only. It was chaotic.

Among many women he dated so far, some of them were already broke up and never seen each other again. But there are also some are a possessive type that they brought a great pandemonium.

"That's why I'm requesting you, as your client, to stop him from dating women. Or else, more women will come here and cause commotions and scare our customers."

"Stopping Dazai-san from dating? Easy for you to say but...." Atsushi cannot find any words to reply that Lucy's request is impossible to fulfill and does not want to sound rude.

"Listen, Lucy. I respect your demand of wanting Dazai to stop dating to prevent ruckus done by the women he dated. The problem is that Dazai's a slick man like a snake can crawl through the traps. We previously tried to tie him when he was about to go out but he was gone before we knew. Even if we can put a tracker on him to know where he's going, that guy's smart as if he can read what we're doing to him." Kunikida answered Lucy after he finished his lunch, stood up, and went to her and Atsushi.

"Demand?! I didn't say demand; I request you. Re-qu-est. If you can't do that, then at least investigate why he keeps dating women."

Both Atsushi and Kunikida are in silence for a moment until Atsushi spoke to Lucy.

"Well, we can investigate him but, like what Kunikida-san said, Dazai-san's a very smart person that he will know immediately if we try it."

"You won't know unless you try. You guys are Armed Detective Agency members, right? You're part of an establishment that handles cases that none the police nor military force can handle."

"..."

The jazz music from the LP recorder stopped and fell silent. The scent of coffee almost fades since there is no one else to order it. Thus, begin an investigation of Dazai's date.

#nakajima atsushi #izumi kyouka #dazai osamu #kunikida doppo #tanizaki junichirou #tanizaki naomi #miyazawa kenji #lucy maud montgomery #bsd fanfic #my fanfic #bungou stray dogs

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3mp3r0r-k1n9 · 3 years

Text

Destiny: Heroes of the Light

New Light

Chapter 1: A Guardian Rises

We call it the Traveler, and its arrival changed us forever. Great cities were built on Mars and Venus. Mercury became a garden world. The human lifespan tripled. It was a time of miracles. We stared onto the galaxy and knew that it was our destiny to walk in the light of other stars-- but the Traveler had an enemy. A Darkness, which had hunted it for eons across the black gulfs of space. Centuries after our Golden Ages began, this Darkness found us and that was the end of everything. But it was also a beginning…

*Somewhere in a place called the Cosmodrome in Old Russia a small machine known as a ghost is being chased by aliens. These aliens are known as Fallen Kell and had been chasing this ghost for a while. As the ghost hides inside of one of the old rusty cars the Fallen pass by it and the ghost waited until the scavengers walked away. He then got out and sighed*

Ghost: *sighs* at this rate I’m never going to find my Guardian. Where are you, Guardian? *he then shakes off any self-doubts and floats through another pile of rusty cars*

*The ghost scans through the cars and passes by skeletal remains which had its skull pierced and all the Ghost could think about was “Ouch”. He then passes through other rusty vehicles but he was unaware of a pack of Fallen following him. Then the Captain howls for reinforcements and approaches toward the ghost. Then the Ghost pass by a pile of cars and scans remains which seemed to be the one he was looking for.*

Ghost: Is it possible? *the ghost then scans the body and confirms his suspicions* there you are *he then uses his energy to revive this new Guardian*

*This new Guardian wakes up and breathes heavily looking around all confused and looks at the Ghost*

Joseph: *breathes heavily* huh? Where am I? What happened?! Ugh! My head! *Grabs his head out of pain*

Ghost: haha! It worked! You're alive!

Joseph: ah! *Jumps back and hits the rusty car* A floating light bulb!

Ghost: *gets annoyed* hey that's rude! Do you know how long it took me to find you? Is what I get for reviving you? *Looks away*

Joseph: huh? Revive? *Thinks to himself and looks around and sees a wasteland of no other life forms to be seen for miles* What happened here? Who are you? Who am I?

Ghost: *the ghost looks at him* One, long story I'll let the speaker tell you. Second, I'm a ghost… well I'm your ghost. As for that, I can't say. Hm? *Sees an old I.D. tag in the car that he probably owned in his past life.* How about we call you Joseph?

Joseph: Joseph… can't see why not. *looks at his old I.D. tag* What happened to me?

Ghost: Well... let's just say you've been dead for a long time. So you're going to see a lot of things you won't understand yet. *He then hears the howls of the fallen and gets spooked* This is fallen territory. You're not safe here. We need to get you to the city. *Looks at his new Guardian* hold still. *Disappears in thin air and speaks in the Guardian's mind* don't worry I'm still with you. Follow the path in front of you and get inside the wall.

*Joseph then runs to the path and heads for the entrance inside the wall. As he entered the wall he sees a hallway with worn-down walls and flickering*

Ghost: Let's see what we can find to defend ourselves before the Fallen find us

*He walks through the buildings looks around for any weapons he could use. But when he got deeper into the building the lights were out then the ghost came out and lights his way through the darkness. but then here's crawling from above.*

Joseph: *gets surprised* what-

Ghost: *interrupts Joseph before they get caught* shhh! they'll hear you.

*Joseph then stays quiet and then walks on what appears to be a balcony. Then the ghost came out.*

Ghost: *appears in front of Joseph* hang tight. These guys love the dark and thrive from it but we don't. We need more light. I'll see what I can do.

Joseph: *whispers loudly* be quick this place gives me the creeps.

*The ghost then disappears and finds a power console and gets a bit annoyed*

Ghost: *sighs* another one of these hardened military systems… and a few centuries of entropy working against me.

*As he turned on the lights fallen began climbing down towards Joseph*

Ghost: uh oh! They're coming for us! *Sees an old Khvostov 7G-02 rifle* there next to the crate! Grab it!

*Joseph sees the rifle and grabs it then runs. As he passes through the hallway Fallen dregs began to shoot at him from behind and Joseph dodges the shots.*

Ghost: Eyes forward! Watch your tracker!

*He then turns the corner and sees a pack of Fallen.*

Ghost: uh. You know how to use it right? *The Ghost sounded concerned*

*In Joseph's mind he didn't know why but he knew how to use the weapon as if by instinct he then presses the bolt catch and pulls the charging handle and aims at the fallen. He pulls the trigger and shoots the heads of the dregs and one-shots the shanks. As he took out the enemies in front of him he charges through and throws his fusion grenade at five fallen troops. Then a Fallen came out of a corner but then he void melees the Fallen vandal and it disintegrates.*

Ghost: Nice shot!

*As he kept running and shooting his way out he runs into landmines and stops*

Joseph: *stops right in front of the laser and steps back* Whoa!

Ghost: trip mines!!! Don't touch them!

Joseph: Yeah you think?

*Joseph then goes under and over the lasers, avoiding ignition from the mines. He then passes by all mines and continues to run. After passing through a room full of fallen he finds himself outside and sees the stars of the night sky. Then a Fallen ship came and it was dropping off some Fallen troops to engage Joseph.*

Ghost: *gets annoyed* ugh! Can't we get a break? Take them out! I picked up a signal coming from that building. *Sets a waypoint for Joseph*

Ghost: got it! *He then holds off the Fallen and pushed them back.*

*He shoots off the Vandals on the small buildings off. He then ran out of ammo and sees a shotgun and ammo on the ground.*

Ghost: it must be your lucky day!

Joseph: How do you- *he was about to ask how the shotgun worked. Then again by instinct, he knew how to use it. He cocked the gun and loads the bullet in the shotgun. Then a Fallen Captain charges at him and as he finishes loads the last bullet and shoots at the Captain.* What the…

Ghost: watch out! *a Vandal comes out of the bushes and fires it’s gun at Joseph*

Joseph *dodges a bullet from a nearby Vandal and throw a grenade at the Vandal and took it out with the dregs behind him* thanks for the heads up!

*He then shoots down the Dregs in his path and heads inside the building. As he went inside the building Dregs jump on him but managed to use his void abilities to push them off and finish them. He then arrived in a room and sees a ship but it was surrounded by Fallen.*

Ghost: a ship! Take them out!

Joseph: don't have to tell me twice.

*He then charges at the Vandals and melees two Vandals disintegrating them then shoots his shotgun at two dregs. But then shanks came out of a room nearby and began firing at Joseph. He then took cover behind some crates then a Fallen Captain came to fight him*

Joseph: I need ammo for my other gun- *sees a magazine clip for his Khvostov 7G-02 rifle and takes it and reloads his weapon.* I got insane luck today!

Ghost: please don't jinx it.

*He then comes out over the crates and shoots the shanks one by one. Then he changes weapons and jumps towards the Captain shooting his face. The Fallen's lifeless body falls.*

Ghost: Phew! finally! Let me see if I can get us out of here.

*The Ghost comes out and they both face the ship.*

Ghost: *sighs* the ship has been here for a while. *The Ghost scans the ship* Hasn't made a jump for centuries but I think someone in the last city may be able to fix that problem. Fortunately does it Fallen haven't completely picked it clean.

Joseph: *ask out of concern* will it fly?

Ghost: *looks at Joseph* I can make it work.

*The Ghost then teleports inside the ship and turns on the power and engines. The ship worked. The ship then hovers over Joseph.*

Ghost: Okay, it's not got to break orbit but it will make it to the city.

Joseph: *scoffs* well that's comforting.

Ghost: hey, it's the best I can do for you. *The ship then faces upward towards the giant hole on the ceiling.* Now-- about that transmat…

*Then a howl can be heard coming from inside an entrance and sounded bigger than a Fallen Captain.*

Ghost: *gets spooked* yeah, bringing you in!

*the Ghost Teleports Joseph inside the ship. As the ship hovers over a huge Fallen Kell came out and was prepared to fire. Joseph then looks at the controls and the fallen began shooting. He didn't know what to do but his instincts kicked in and then turns on the ignition and took the wheel. The ship then blasts off and heads towards the Last City.*

Joseph: *sighs in relief* we got out of there ok. Thanks.

Ghost: *giggles in joy* no problem. You're my guardian after all.

Joseph: *he then realized something* say, I never did get to ask your name.

Ghost: oh, hmmm… *thinks to himself about having a name but he never had one* well... I don't have one. Most Ghosts don't anyway so you can call me whatever you like

Joseph: really? *Acts a bit confused* Well I hate to call you Ghost all the time. *He then thinks to himself of what to call his new and first companion. As he sees the clear night sky above him it then hit* hmmm… how about Cosmo?

Cosmo: Cosmo? *Thinks to himself and kind of likes it* I… I like it. *Giggles*

Joseph: *gets boastful* well you gave me my name so it's fair for me to name you myself.

Cosmo: *get a little confused* technically that was already your name. *He corrects him*

Joseph: yeah, but I was technically reborn and didn't know who I was. *He then turns to his ghost smiling* You found out my name so I owe you.

Cosmo: *he corrects him again* you owe me a lot. Three to be exact. *He then corrects himself* But since you named me you owe me two favors.

Joseph: yeah? Well, thanks again for saving me. *Smiles then looks outside and sees in the distance lights over the mountains.* Hm… I wonder what the City is like.

Cosmo: *gets excited over the topic of the Last City* oh, you're going to love it there and there's many like you as well.

Joseph: can't wait to see. *He then yawns, he was a bit tired* Mind taking the wheel? I'm feeling a bit tired

Cosmo: sure… partner.

Joseph: *he smiles at Cosmo then took his hands off the wheel and Cosmo took control and heads towards the Last City.*

~end of chapter 1~

~Disclaimer I do not own Destiny 1 or 2 nor do I own their comics. I only own the characters I created the rest belongs to Bungie and Activision~

#Destiny #Destiny2 #Fanfic #Guardian #Joseph #Cosmo #Ghost #FallenKell

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feverinfeveroutfic · 3 years

Text

chapter twenty-two: when in england

“Such a trip,” Sam muttered under her breath.

“Such a trip to go on such a trip?” Marla chuckled.

“Exactly!”

The two of them had taken their spots by the window which looked out to the vast stretch of Atlantic Ocean as it disappeared into the northern darkness. The sun was already starting to rise up before them, ready to welcome them to the other side of the waters: the sky overhead had been painted that rich dark violet and it bled into a bright tangerine orange with the brand new day on the horizon. Off in the distance, Sam spotted the first clouds of the fall up north and she wondered about that night in Sweden, that night when Cliff was killed, especially since Metallica themselves were three rows behind her and Marla. Every so often, she heard a giggle from Lars and then another one from Jason, but that was as far as it went with them back there.

Here she was, right next to Marla and across the aisle from Belinda and Joey, both of whom had fallen asleep when they left New York City the evening before. Aurora and Emile were in the seats behind them, and Sam knew she still hadn't told him yet.

As far as the two of them knew, their union stood on the shakiest of grounds. Every so often, she overhead Emile speaking about rum and whiskey and she wondered why on Earth he would be mentioning those things to Aurora of all people. She needed to tell him soon; if not there on the plane while everyone was still asleep, then later when they were in the hotel room.

She stared out the window once again at the colorful sky and for a second, she swore she saw the aurora borealis itself off to the north in all of its neon green glory. But then again, it was merely part of her imagination, especially once the plane reached the Azores followed by the outskirts of the British Isles. The clouds gathered around the edge of the islands and Sam sighed one of relief when she remembered she had in fact brought a couple of sweaters with her.

“Britain gets cold, even this time of year,” Lars told her over the phone during the night before, “so dress warm. No exaggeration—dress warm.”

They touched down in East Midlands: she spotted the castle down below, the venue Anthrax and Metallica were supposed to be playing at come two nights from then.

“They're gonna be going on after Bon Jovi and Cinderella of all bands,” Aurora said right into her ear.

“Wow,” Marla declared.

“Bon Jovi, Cinderella, and then W.A.S.P.,” Aurora continued. “They're gonna be the odd ones out, if you ask me.”

Sam turned to Marla, who raised her eyebrows at that. They touched down in East Midlands right as the low clouds collected up in the early morning sky for a bit of late summer rain: Sam shook her head as she realized she had left that black hat back home. Their hotel was right down the block, but she still yearned for the protection of that wide brim.

She bowed her head as Marla and Aurora walked on either side of her, and Belinda right behind them, on the way across the narrow street: behind the hotel stood a stream with waters deep enough to swim in at some point, as well as a small stone bridge that crossed over into a stretch of bright green grass. Things were in fact greener.

“Once we're checked in I'm gonna call my parents,” Sam said once they were in the small, warmly lit lobby, to which Belinda glanced down at her watch.

“It's probably ten o'clock at night back over there,” she pointed out.

“So? My dad told me to call once we get to England no matter what time it is.”

“Wish my parents were like that,” Marla confessed.

“Yeah, me, too,” Belinda added with a slight grin on her face. Sam turned her attention to the bar on the other side of the room, and Marla did, too.

“Looks like we've got cocktail makings on hand,” she noted, and then she turned to Sam.

“I'm gonna get a bottle of that sweet stuff over there for later on,” Marla told her. “Martinis for us ladies for a bit of a celebration.”

“What sweet stuff?”

“Marshmallow vodka. A little bit of that in juice? Tasty.”

“Sounds good.” Sam showed her a grin, and within time, they checked into their rooms; Sam, Marla, and Belinda took the one on the left, down at the far end of the bright warm corridor, next door to Emile and Aurora; meanwhile Joey, Frank, Dan, and Charlie took the one across the way. James, Lars, Kirk, and Jason were in four separate rooms themselves on the other side of the building; but Sam need not protest. She had left the United States for a short time and relished in the feeling all the while.

Marla had bought a large bottle of the marshmallow vodka, which had a dark pink label on the front; and she stashed it in the small wine cellar on the other side of the room for the time being. Sam wondered what sort of drink she had in mind as she began to unpack her things for the next few days there in East Midlands.

One of the first things she took out was her journal, a small set of pencils, and her black ink pens. She thought about the little drawings for good luck she had made for Charlie over the course of the North American stint of the tour: given they were overseas now, she figured it would be best to make a single special ink drawing for them. A special drawing to signify that she was outside of the United States, no less.

She lay flat on her stomach on the full sized bed and plunked the journal before her as if she was a little girl with a coloring book. Aurora had gone out somewhere in the hotel, while Belinda took her spot on the other bed and looked over the guide there in the drawer. Sam wondered what she could draw for Charlie as she adjusted her pose there on the bed and tucked her arms right under her chest. They were across the hall: she could always walk on over there and ask him about it, but then again, she had no idea if either of them were any decent, either.

Soon, Marla returned to the room with a towel coiled upon her head.

“You took a shower?” Belinda asked her.

“Yeah. No way I'm walking about here without feeling refreshed. That shower is the bomb, by the way.” She made her way over to dresser drawer she had claimed upon check in, and then she turned her head to Sam on the bed.

“So I've got my inks and my good paper with me,” she told her.

“Oh, good! Good, good, good. The British must see your art, Samantha!” Marla stated that last part in a fake British accent.

“Not sure what to draw, though.” She extended her arms out before her so she resembled to a lion on her throne. “Do you know if the boys are settled in over there?”

Marla shook her head.

“I've been in the shower, so I'm afraid not.”

“I haven't heard a peep over there since we came in here,” Belinda confessed, and without another word, Sam climbed off of the bed and she ambled over to the door: their door hung wide open and as a result, she could see Charlie seated with his back to the wall and his drum sticks in either hand. He glanced over at her and nodded at her.

But she continued on in there and he froze right in his spot. He then extended a hand for her and she stopped right in the doorway.

“Joey's changing his clothes,” he told her.

“Who is it?” Joey's voice floated out the door.

“It's Sam.”

“Oh! She can come in.”

Charlie chuckled at that and Sam made her way into the room: indeed, Joey stood between the beds with no shirt on and his shorts pulled all the way up past his waist.

“What's up?” Charlie asked her.

“Would you like me to draw you something?” she suggested. “I've got my inks with me.”

“Oh, sweet! Um—yeah. Draw us!”

“The four of you?”

“Yeah!”

“Yeah, do it, Sam!” Frank called from behind the bathroom door.

“No rush, though. The show itself is in a couple of days and we're going on near the middle of the set, too.”

“Sure, sure. I gotta sketch it out first, anyways.”

Charlie then gave her a high five and Joey followed suit with her as well, and then she returned to the room for a pencil sketch of the drawing in question. But she decided that a single drawing wouldn't be enough for them. They were a full fledged quartet now, each with their own vibe and feeling, especially with Joey at the helm as guitarist and lead singer.

She spent most of that first day in the hotel room with her journal right before her: lucky for her, the pages were perforated at the binding: she pictured what would happen once she had put down the black ink, and each of the four drawings in a frame, framed for each of them to take along all around the world following that show before the castle.

At some point, Belinda lay down on the bed for a nap to help her cope with jet lag, while Marla went out for something to make cocktails with, which in turn left Sam alone with the drawings in progress. By the time she opened the cap on the one millimeter pen, the door opened and Aurora sauntered into the room.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey,” Sam greeted her, taken aback. “What's going on?”

“Emile's taking a nap,” she told her.

“Bel is, too.” Sam nodded to the opposite bed and Belinda, who had rolled over onto her side, away from the soft gray light that filtered in through the window next to Sam.

“What'cha doing, though?”

“Drawing something for Charlie. I also want to make a special drawing for the fact we're in Britain, too.”

“Right, right, right.” Aurora then stooped over and she opened the cabinet on the wine cellar, the one which had the bottle of marshmallow vodka inside of it. Sam lifted her gaze and gasped as she recognized that hot pink label on the front.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait—you seriously wanna be drinking that?” she asked her, stunned. Aurora sighed through her nose and she held the bottle right before her chest.

“I'm not pregnant,” she announced, to which Sam gasped again.

“Oh, damn—really? How'd you figure that out?”

“Time of the month.”

“Ah. But you missed one, though.”

“Yeah, I know—no idea why, though. And I thought Marla told you, too.”

“No, she—didn't say anything about it.”

“Really?”

Sam shook her head and then Aurora pried off the cap and took a small swig from the bottle, much to her surprise.

“Jesus,” she muttered.

“What?” Aurora raised an eyebrow at her.

“You're really gonna go there, aren't you?”

“Go where?”

“With—that.”

“It was just a little bit of vodka I drank right there. Marla said she's going to mix it in to give it a little 'oomph' but not too much.”

“Right.” Sam hesitated right in her tracks.

“Right? Right what?”

“If being around Joey when he's drinking is anything to go by, it's that one sip turns into a full bottle of booze.”

“Sure, sure, sure. Sam—I assure you that I'm not like that. I can keep it under control—I've drank on my period before but I've always kept it to a level.”

Sam squinted her eyes at her, but then she returned to the pad of paper upon her lap. Soon, Marla returned to the room with a couple of bottles of grenadine and some lime juice; but Sam was focused more so on the papers before her. She put down ink by the time Belinda woke up for a drink herself.

Black curls for Joey and Charlie both. That feathery crown atop Dan's head. Lush hair on Frank's head. Each of them with a bit of cross hatchess for shading on their faces.

Marla whipped up a glass of midori sour for her once she had signed her initials on all four of the drawings; she took a sip and nodded her head.

“Oh, man, that's good,” Sam remarked with a swirl of her glass. She glanced up at Marla. “Where'd you learn that?”

“Sam, I grew up in Hell's Kitchen. We know how to groove.”

Belinda chuckled at that; behind Marla, Aurora poured herself a small glass of that straight marshmallow vodka for a shot. Sam then set down the journal to show Marla the drawings.

“Holy wow,” Belinda remarked.

“Oh, man, you're getting clean with your lines,” Marla added as she held her glass away from the bed's surface. “Love how you gave their hair plenty of glimmer and depth, too.”

“Power of negative space,” Sam told her; careful not to damage the drawings, she took each of them off of the perforation and then she took one more sip of her drink before she made her way across the hall to meet up with them once again.

The door had been nudged shut part of the way, but she could hear Joey's laughter on the inside there. She held the drawings close to her body as she knocked on the door panel with her free hand.

“Charlie?” she called into the room. A brief amount of silence in there; she nudged the door open and she was met with Dan and Charlie's backs.

“Charlie!” she called again, and he whirled around and he gaped at the drawings that she put on display before him.

“Oh, wow!” he proclaimed.

“Damn, those are amazing!” Dan followed suit.

“These are all pen and ink. Just exactly how you asked and then some—I didn't want to do a single drawing, so I made four. One for the each of you.”

“Excellent! I'll put these where everyone can see them.”

Charlie showed her a smile and then he put his arms around her, and Dan did, as well. Joey, who stood on the far side of the room, then snapped his fingers.

“Oh, Sam!” he started, “there's someone I want you to meet. He's already across the way at the castle.”

He strode up towards her with what appeared to be a dark blue bandana in one hand.

“You gonna look like a bandit when we go over there?” she teased him, to which he laughed at that as they made their way out to the corridor.

“Nah, it's to keep my bangs off of my forehead. If there's anything I can't get used to, it's the humidity here.”

“The humidity?” she laughed at that. “You're from upstate New York—how could you not be used to humidity?”

“No idea,” he confessed as he set the bandana atop his head. “But it's the truth, though.” He paused for a second to better tie it behind his head, and then he led her down the hall to the front door. The rain had stopped long enough for the clouds to break apart a bit: the afternoon sun filtered through in a gray haze, but it was enough for the castle to light up by the tops of the turrets.

He waited for her to catch up at the curb, and then they continued onward to the other side: he led her down a narrow pathway lined with lush, soaked trees and shrubs. She thought about the quiet place, that nook in the woods that she and Charlie found together when Stormtroopers of Death were recording their album. He bowed his head a bit for a low hanging branch and she did as well; and then he led her to a tall blue and gold tent pitched up right outside of the castle. He held the door flap for her and she padded inside first.

She glanced about the tent, and the stacks of amplifiers on the right side, as well as Metallica's equipment: indeed, she caught the sound of Lars' drums beyond the tent there. The show itself wasn't starting up, and yet he already rehearsed for it. Next over were lights and more equipment for Bon Jovi's set, as well as all that Cinderella needed; but as Joey stood right next to her, he nodded at the short, sinewy gentleman walking towards them. He had a mullet all around the back of his head and a bare spot at the crown, a hooked nose, and a serious expression on his face, and yet, when he recognized Joey, the corners of his beady dark eyes crinkled with the smile.

“Hey, I know you—sort of,” he called out to him as he adjusted the lapels of his black leather jacket.

“Hey, Ron—it's been a while.” Joey threw his arms around him, and then he turned to Sam.

“Sam, this is my friend, Ronnie James Dio,” Joey declared. “Ronnie, this is my friend Sam—better known as Sam I am.”

Ronnie wagged his finger at her. “I've heard a bit about you,” he said in a soft voice, complete with that distinct upstate accent.

“I've heard a little bit about you, too.” To which he shrugged.

“I'm like little Joe Mama right here—I get around the upstate area.”

“That's the only way to do it,” she pointed out with a shrug herself, and that brought a chuckle out of him. “Is there any chance we'll be able to see the infamous Rainbow or Elf?”

“Well, I'm with my own band at the moment—simply called Dio. We're gonna be goin' on once Metallica wraps up the day of the show.”

“It's just rehearsals right now, anyways,” Joey assured her as he reached up to adjust his bandana.

“Although—come with me. Both of you.”

Sam followed Ronnie into one side of the tent: he was like a wizard, especially with that mullet of hair at the back and that black leather upon his body. He stood before a small table the size of the nightstand back at the hotel room: as she came closer, she spotted a series of silver picks strewn about the surface. There was one at the top with a chain attached to it.

“There's no rainbow or elf here,” he told her, “but there is a—a certain sabbath, though.” He picked up that one silver pendant from the table's surface and he showed her the words “earth eternal – sign of the southern cross” etched on the front, as well as the words “Black Sabbath” on the back.

“Here—” He unhooked the pendant and she lifted her ponytail for her.

“It's like you're getting blessed, Sam,” Joey remarked, to which Ronnie chuckled at that; but he kept his eyes fixed on the clasp at the base of Sam's neck.

“Blessed by the gods,” Ronnie added as he moved the clasp to the back of her neck. She peered down at the pendant in the middle of her chest.

“Thank you,” she breathed, to which he winked at her.

“We've been seeing a lot more women in our audiences lately,” he told her. “Not sure if it's 'cause of that amazing punk band Anthrax have been touring with, or because of Doro, but—we have to treat them well.” He leaned his head in closer to her and he lowered his voice to a whisper. “Especially the ones we make friends with.”

And she nodded her head at that. Ronnie turned to Joey right then.

“And I have something for you, Joey,” he declared. But Sam turned away for a moment, just so she could have a better look at that silver pendant. He did in fact feel like a wizard, and it did feel as though she had received a blessing of sorts. She ran her finger tips along the etching on the one side and she tried to think of the most powerful of magic to protect her as she went on her way. Yet another thing she had to protect with that black onyx box back home.

She was about to take a step forward when someone gasped out right before her.

She opened her eyes and there was that little sliver of gray once again. That sliver that haunted her dreams, and for a split second, she swore that with Ronnie's blessing, that she had brought the mysterious man in her dreams to life. But he shook his head about and he raised his eyebrows at the pendant about her neck.

“Hi,” she greeted him in a soft voice.

“Hi—I wasn't expecting to see you here,” Alex noted.

“And I wasn't expecting to see you here,” she echoed him. “I mean, I got the letter from Testament last week saying that you guys are going to be out here in Europe for a few dates.”

“Yeah, but—didn't expect to see each other here, though,” he pointed out with a raise of his eyebrows.

“Well—yeah. But anyways, what're you doing here?”

“Just hangin' out for a bit. I was about to see what Charlie's doing.” He shrugged his shoulders and he ran his fingers through his otherwise jet black curls. “Besides, you think we're gonna miss our guys and their big gateway to being at the pinnacle of the world?” he asked her with a little nod of his head. “Playing in a castle no less?”

“Their literal ascension to rock royalty?” she followed along.

“Exactly! It's also the second time Metallica plays here, too.”

“Oh, yeah?” Sam folded her arms across her chest.

“That's what I'm told, yeah. So I'm told, anyways. So—you know. Bay Area represent.” He bowed his head forward for a better look at that pendant. “That's badass. Where'd you get that?”

“Oh, Ronnie gave it to—” She turned around and gestured back to Ronnie and Joey, but they had disappeared. “—me.”

“Wow,” he breathed, and then he turned his head. “Oh, there's Charlie.”

She followed Alex to right outside of the tent, where Charlie sauntered up to the door with those drawings in hand.

“Where's Joey—he's gotta see this one of him closer,” he told her with a twinkle in his eye.

“He's over there somewhere,” Sam pointed to the other side of the tent, and before Alex could say anything, Charlie bowed away from there to fetch Joey and Ronnie. Alex then turned back to Sam with a puzzled look on his boyish face.

“What was that?” he wondered aloud with a gesture to the drawings.

“Oh, that was—”

“Hey, careful—” Aurora interjected right then. She staggered towards him and he backed off from her. Sam stood still as she watched her best friend stagger into the tent. She sniffled and she rubbed the tip of her nose.

“What's—What's goin' on?” she asked Sam.

“Wow, how many shots have you had since I left the room?”

“Enough for a—a—a—a good time. Enough to get ready to party. Party!” She shot out her arms on either side of her and almost punched Sam right in the face all the while.

“Aurora, the show's not for another couple of days and you're already drunk!” she proclaimed.

“What's the good in that?” Aurora giggled and then she turned to Alex. She clutched onto the front of his shirt and lunged right into his face, and showed him her tongue.

“Hey, cutie pie,” she slurred out to him.

“Aurora!” Sam exclaimed.

“Aurora,” Alex tried to wriggle out from her grip, “—Aurora, c'mon, you're knocked up and smashed—wait a minute, lemme rephrase that.”

“Shhh,” Aurora pressed a finger to his lips, but he moved his head back away from her hand.

“But—”

“No, no, no, nah—Alex—listen to me—listen—listen—listen—”

“I'm listening?” he sputtered and hunched his shoulders. Aurora giggled at him and patted the sides of his face.

“You're cute,” she noted with a slight slur of her speech.

“I try my best,” he quipped, and he gave her a shrug.

“Nah, no—you are just too cute for words, Alejandro.”

“Alejandro. Back up, I thought you were Korean.”

She giggled at him. “Naneun dangsin-ege kiseuhago sipseubnida,” she quipped.

He froze right in his tracks with his eyes wide with confusion.

“Neon jeongmal aleumdaun sonyeon-iya,” she continued, “dali saie mueos-i issneunji boyeojuseyo.”

“Uh... yeah,” he said, baffled. He backed away from her and looked over to the door. Sam tried to step in between them, but Aurora lunged for him. He bowed away from her as a result.

“No—No!” she sputtered. “Alex—come here—come—come—”

“Nah.” He strode over to the door with a horrified look on his face.

“Come!” she called out to him as if he was a dog.

“No way!”

He ducked away from her before Sam could say anything to him. He was the faster runner even if Aurora hadn't had anything to drink all afternoon. He headed out to the trees, and Sam followed suit. They reached the street; Alex continued on to the other side of the hotel and the small bridge which led over to the grass. Panting, he skidded to a stop and Sam did as well right in front of him.

“What the hell was that all about?” he demanded.

“I have no clue,” she confessed.

“Hey!” Aurora called out from the left, and Sam wondered how she got out of the tress so fast. She collapsed there onto the grass right next to them: her hands clutched onto Alex's ankles, and he almost lost his balance as a result.

“AURORA!” Sam shouted.

“ALEX!” Aurora shouted as well.

“Shit!” Alex staggered back towards the stream, such that he almost fell in.

“What's all this yelling?” Marla called out; Sam turned around to see the look of dismay on her face. Marla then looked down at Aurora, who lay there on the grass with her arms outstretched before her.

“Oh, god,” she muttered, and then she returned her attention to Sam and Alex. “Bel and I have been trying to keep her in the room for like twenty minutes and she was like, 'no, no! I wanna party!'”

“The way she is, I don't think so,” Alex called from his spot there on the grass.

“She's not pregnant, by the way,” Marla told him.

“Wait, she isn't?” His face turned as red as a cherry tomato.

“Not even one bit,” Sam resisted the urge to cackle like a madwoman right there.

“She's fucking hammered, though! Nah, man, I ain't doin' that!” Alex clambered to his feet and he walked at a brisk pace onto the bridge. Sam and Marla returned to Aurora, who had passed out there on the wet grass.

“Want me to get Bel and Emile?” Sam offered her.

“Nah, I can do that. You can help me roll her over, though.”

They both rolled Aurora onto her side. Her smooth eyes were sealed shut and her mouth hung wide open; they both stood up in unison, and then Marla headed back into the hotel to fetch Belinda and Emile. Sam turned her attention to the bridge: she spotted the crown of Alex's head on the other side, and she walked on over to him just to check on him. He stood there with with his elbows rested upon the stone railing and he gazed out at the darkening waters under the bridge.

“Hey,” she said to him. He never turned his attention to him.

“Are you okay?” she gently asked him.

“Yeah,” he replied with a bit of haste, “—I hope so.”

His bottom lip trembled. “I thought she—she—” He could hardly talk.

“I tried telling you that she wasn't, though,” Sam pointed out as she lingered closer to him. “And if I'm being perfectly honest: that has to be the first time I had ever seen her three sheets to the wind like that before.”

Alex stood perfectly still, still with his elbows rested on the bridge's railing. He gazed out to the murky waters with his eyes large and the color barely returned to his face.

“There was no way I was going to, though,” he assured her.

“Going to what?”

“You know.” He hesitated for a second and then he cleared his throat. “—while she's drunk.”

And then she gasped when she realized what he meant by that.

“Well, if it's any fairness to you, Alex, I wouldn't want you to, either,” she said. “That's like the last thing you need right now.”

He then turned his attention to her. His eyes were still large; he never said anything to that, but Sam meant it. He returned to the black waters before them, still in silence; silence save for the loud wretching noise Aurora made on the other side of the grass.

“Really hope she brushes her teeth,” he said in a soft voice; she wretched again and that one in particular sounded rather hard. It made him grimace and it made her bow her head a bit.

“I'm sure she will.” Another wretch. “Scratch that—I know for a fact she will. Especially since she's married. Married to Emile no less.”

“At least six times.” Another wretch, and that time he shook his head at the sound. “Six more times of that.”

“You know, we are in England,” she pointed out. He flashed her a mortified glance.

“What, you want me to get drunk myself?” he asked her. “Samantha, I've already dropped a bit of acid the size of my pinky nail and it got my ass grounded for two weeks straight.”

“No, but what I am saying is you can have a drink yourself without—” Another wretch. “—that right there.”

“I dunno,” Alex confessed with a shrug of his shoulders. “I tried beer once and I just about did what Aurora's doing right now.”

“What about wine?” she asked him.

“Haven't tried wine—on its own. I've had steak marinated in wine, though. That's pretty good.”

“That sounds good, too.”

Yet another wretch.

“Man, she's gonna be sore tomorrow,” he remarked, and he turned his head into the direction of the hotel. “Speaking of steak—”

He gestured for her to follow him back to the hotel.

“Metallica and Dio are treating us all to something, it looks like.”

“Anything to get us away from that,” she said.

“Right? When in England, you gotta party after all.” And that in turn made her laugh.

********************

korean translations:

“naneun dangsin-ege kiseuhago sipseubnida” = “i want to kiss you”

“neon jeongmal aleumdaun sonyeon-iya” = “you are such a beautiful boy”

“dali saie mueos-i issneunji boyeojuseyo” = “let me see what you have between your legs”

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saiilorstars · 3 years

Photo

Ch.3: Memories

Chapter summary: The next Shadow Sailor Guardian has awakened and is determined to find her princess no matter what, leaving Azula, Mamoru and Meroko scrambling for numbers and a good plan against her.

Fandom: Sailor Moon (Crystal) – – [Rewrite of season 2, AU-ish in that there’s new OCs and the fusion of plots from the manga, crystal and the og series]

Pairings: Eventual OFC x OMC, Usagi x Mamoru

Taglist: @ocfairygodmother @anotherunreadblog @maaaaarveeeeel @stareyedplanet @perfectlystiles

{If you’d like to be added to this OC’s taglist, let me know!}

// Story Masterlist //

~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~

Sailor Hemera and Prince Endymion walked alongside each other along the dry field.

"My people were originally from the Sun," Sailor Hemera gestured to the setting sun in the sky. "But then it became uninhabitable and we had to move. We found a home in Shadow and merged with its people. They procreated and now here I am."

"But you're not...exactly like the people from...Shadow?" Endymion gestured to where the supposed Shadow kingdom was. He was still tempted to try and go through the invisible barrier but he was also interested in this Sailor Scout before him. Up until this morning he believed there were only Sailor Scouts belonging to Silver Millennium.

"No," Sailor Hemera shook her head. "With each new generation we began to lose our Sun abilities and now they've become almost scarce. The powers of the light on Shadow are truly rare nowadays. I have been gifted with these powers and I believe they were given to me to use them for a higher purpose."

"And what would that be exactly?"

"To protect my Kingdom, my Queen, and my Princess."

Mamoru woke up from his sleep with a terrible pit in his stomach. He had been dreaming about that Sailor Hemera ever since she first appeared on the street. But not only was he dreaming about her, now he was getting brief compilations of other people. There were other men - generals, he believed - and then there were girls who had strange powers. What got him worse was the repeating girl with a golden crescent moon on her forehead he kept seeing. It frustrated him that her face was never clear.

He felt like he had done this before, but that was all a dream.

But then he saw another girl, with flaming red hair that he knew he had seen somewhere…

He was going to lose his mind, he was sure.

~ 0 ~

Azula ran her hands through her bright red hair for the tenth time and released a big, tired sigh. She rubbed her forehead and reached for the keypad in front of her. "I've gone through every facial recognition here, done the algorithms too, but this Sailor Hemera could be anyone, Luna," Azula dropped her hand from her forehead and gazed up at the large computer screen in front of them.

She and Luna were back in the base under the arcade trying to figure out who Sailor Hemera was. It had been days since the woman's first appearance and since then she had been flickering in and out saving those who fell under 'Senka's' path.

"Can't you, I don't know, go to the Moon again and do something magical there?" Azula gave Luna a weary glance. It had been days sleeping in late and waking up early for school because of this research.

"Usagi left it meaning everything there doesn't work," Luna reminded. Usagi had chosen to continue living as a regular human, without her memories, and so everything on the Moon would soon again perish from disuse.

"I swear to God one day I'm going to make a big ole supercomputer that can find me anything," Azula let her head drop on the keyboard much like Usagi would have done in that situation.

"I think you should get some rest, Azula. You've been working very hard since Sailor Hemera appeared," Luna truly appreciated how much the girl committed to taking care of the city and the memory-less scouts. "I can call Artemis in while you're out."

"That's great," Azula raised herself up and took a big breath in. She felt her stomach grumble and decided maybe taking a break wouldn't be so bad. She grabbed her purse on the floor and promised Luna she would be back later.

When she was out on the street she buttoned up her coat and did her best to fight against the cold. It had been getting mysteriously colder with each day. She walked into the Fruits Crown Parlor and ordered some nice, steaming coffee. That'll keep her awake for the day.

"Azula?" Minako called from her booth.

Azula, unsurprised, turned sideways to see Minako and Makoto sharing the booth while having lunch. Since Sailor Hemera's appearance, the two girls apparently had gotten to know each other better now. They had also been talking to Azula more now and it worried Azula that it would trigger their memories. Fortunately, nothing of the sort was happening yet.

"Unazuki, bring the order here," Minako called to the waitress. "Azula, you'll be having lunch with us, right?"

"Sure," Azula smiled weakly and went over to the two. "How are you guys?"

"Oh, you know, battling exams," Minako pretended to shiver.

"It would help if you studied," Makoto giggled but Minako rolled her eyes.

"I wanted to try out for the volleyball team!"

"And did you make it?" asked Azula curiously. She remembered that before everything happened with the Dark Kingdom, Minako desired nothing more than to join the volleyball team at her school.

"Yes!" cheered the blonde.

"The problem is-" Makoto began, earning herself a small glare from Minako for ruining the moment, "-that now her practices are getting in the way of her studying."

"It's not my fault! I mean, seriously, who can be expected to remember everything Haruna says?" Minako dramatically sighed. "I wish I was like that genius Mizuno Ami. She could probably remember everything just by looking at it."

Azula smiled to herself at the thought of Ami. She rarely saw Ami now. Like Rei, Ami barely left her home without her old friends. Azula figured the girl would probably spend her afternoons studying on her own. At least Azula could catch Rei sometimes at the nearby mall but it was really rare.

"Azula, you seem tired," Makoto remarked after catching Azula languidly blinking into space.

Minako reached for her soda can and glanced at Azula. "High school must be very difficult."

Azula didn't want to discourage them from their future. She smiled through her tiredness and shook her head. "It's the best. You guys will love it when you get there. I've just been having some rough nights."

"Probably trauma from that weird cloud thing calling herself Senka," Makoto offered, making Minako nearly choke on her soda.

"Don't remind me!" went the blonde.

Azula found it hard to believe this was the famous Sailor V, now scared of the mere mention of a cloud-shadow thing. Memories of that particular Sailor Guardian had also been erased, and thoroughly.

"You guys hear of the other attacks?" Makoto lowered her voice when she asked. "This Senka thing really wants to find that Shadow Crystal at all costs."

"What even is that?" Minako made a face.

"Wish I knew," Azula said with a small sigh. Because she, Luna and Artemis had been trying to figure that out ever since the first appearance.

The cats speculated Sailor Hemera and Senka were from another civilization among the galaxies. It was just hard to figure out which one. No matter how impressive those of the Silver Millennium are, their minds are not infinite to hold every information of every civilization in the universe. It was a long job to do, which explained the tiredness Azula carried.

After lunch was over, Azula figured she should get home to take a well needed nap. She had come down the stairs of the cafe when she spotted a familiar blonde stepping out of the arcade with ginger-haired girl.

"Oh hi, Azula," Usagi greeted her kindly and cheerfully. "You remember Naru?" she gestured to the girl beside her.

"Yeah," Azula nodded.

"I should go," Naru said, backing away, "We have that test tomorrow, Usagi. You can't forget!"

"I won't!" Usagi exclaimed but Azula knew damn well she would.

"Did you win at the Sailor V game today?" Azula asked after Naru was gone.

Usagi's face fell. "No," she muttered. "That game has to be rigged!"

"Impossible, I played it yesterday and I won," Azula said proudly but it just ticked Usagi off even more.

"I'm going to win one day-"

"Mhm…"

"I will!"

Azula laughed and stepped back, bumping into someone in the process. "Sorry!" she quickly said but began to stammer when she saw it was Mamoru. He turned sideways and stared her with a new look in his eyes, nothing like before. "S-sorry...I-I didn't mean…"

"You can't be serious," Mamoru put down a photograph on the table. His face was contorted into utter irritation.

Azula sat across him wearing a devious smirk. "I did the math, rose boy. It has to be you." Mamoru was not amused and Azula knew it. She laughed at it honestly. "You are Tuxedo Mask and there is nothing you can do to make me think otherwise. Your disappearances from school coincide with every public appearance Tuxedo Mask made, and Sailor Moon's for that matter. It's you."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because I got bored."

"You're crazy," Mamoru let a little laugh out, but it was a shaky one. "I'm not him."

"Won't matter if I open my mouth," Azula leaned back on her chair. "All I have to do is point out your odd absences, your odd fashion choices, lack of coherent thoughts, and radical distancing...that should do the job. Doubt is very easy to implant in people who got nothing better to do."

"What do you want, then? Money?"

"My Dad owns the Crown arcade and the Fruits Crown Parlor shop. Money I got."

"Then what?"

Azula's smirk was wide as could be. "I want to meet Sailor Moon."

Mamoru blinked fast and rubbed the side of his head. Azula was staring in concern but didn't say anything. "Y-your name is Azula, right?" he finally spoke.

"Yeah…" the red-haired confirmed. There was something in his eyes that was flickering and Azula dreaded it. This was something she had seen in Usagi herself before truly discovering her identity.

Mamoru took an unexpected quick leave. Azula thought it was for the better, honestly.

"Wooooow," Usagi giggled beside her.

Azula noticed the blush on Usagi's cheeks and groaned. "You have got to be kidding me. You couldn't have had more than 30 seconds to look at him!"

Her words flew over Usagi's head. "Do you know him? Does he go to your school?"

"You're not kidding," Azula concluded. She didn't know much about love but she figured this had to be something about that cosmic, star-crossed love story of theirs. It appeared she wouldn't be getting her nap because Usagi was dead set on asking and asking about Mamoru.

~0~

Sailor Hemera was not used to working alone. Sure, she had guarded the sacred barrier between the Shadow Kingdom and the Earth Kingdom for countless years, but at the end of the day she would always come home to the palace where she would see her fellow guardians, Princess and Queen. Working alone had never been a part of her. She wasn't built like that...and yet here she was, awakened in a future where she knew no one. Humans surrounded her by the thousands.

"I must find my sister," she set herself for one goal at a time.

She understood that being awoken meant something was going to happen that would endanger her Princess. The problem was, she barely remembered herself what had happened centuries ago. Her mind wasn't completely awake yet. She was just sure that her Princess had been reborn, not awoken like she had, but truly reborn and reincarnated. Being that the case, it also implied that the Princess knew nothing of her real self and much less that she was in danger. Senka was on her way to find her and Sailor Hemera needed all the help she could get.

"Asteria, where are you?" Sailor Hemera whispered in the lonely, abandoned factory she had turned into her temporary home.

There were no leads so far on any of her people. They were probably still sleeping - well, Asteria was probably on her way to waking up judging by that coldness that never seemed to leave the air now.

"But what if I'm not entirely alone?" Sailor Hemera got to thinking about the only other person she'd managed to remember besides her Guardian comrades, Princess and Queen. "That Earth Prince had to have been reborn too. It's law that every planet have a protector."

So maybe she could start her search with him first. After all, he had powers too and any help towards finding Princess Reign was good.

"Your world is fascinating, Prince, but humans are humans. They have no power," Sailor Hemera had said so calmly and kind. She did not mean any offence but was merely pointing out a fact.

"No, but that does not mean we are any less brave," Prince Endymion said, sure of himself.

Sailor Hemera gave him a sharp look. "Your highness, Queen Nyx informed my comrades and I that the royal human family did hold several unique powers. I know for a fact you have powers."

"Your Queen seems very informed despite living behind this…" he gestured to the invisible barrier beside them, "...wall."

"Well, she held a close relationship to your family."

"But not with me."

"She knew that you were young and still learning. But she has gotten ill, you must understand."

"Must I prove myself to meet with her?"

"No, you-"

But Endymion did not wait for the answer. He was growing impatient not being able to see this Queen Nyx who had settled herself onto his planet. He stared at Sailor Hemera with a new look, a powerful one too. Before she could figure out what he was doing, she heard his voice in her mind.

'I have a right to see Queen Nyx and discuss her stay on my world. If I cannot see her, I demand to see the next in line.'

Sailor Hemera was in utter shock. "You can...you can go into my mind!?"

The prince simply smirked. "And the best part is, due to your linkage with your Guardian comrades, they have heard the warning too."

"Oh he will definitely help me," Sailor Hemera nodded to herself.

He owed Princess Reign, after all.

#ocappreciation #sailor moon #sailor moon crystal #fd: sailor moon #sailor moon oc #sailor moon fics #sailor moon imagines #oc: azula keena #oc: sailor reign #fic: reign from the shadows

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multibug · 4 years

Text

7. reveal (adrienette/ladynoir)

AO3

Church bells ring through the foyer with an essence of nostalgia from Adrien’s younger days—his mother and him would attend fancy weddings for years and laugh at the expensive, unnecessary items people would scatter around their wedding venues.

Adrien’s favorite was the golden duck with diamonds encrusted in its eyes that shot water out if its mouth into a fountain.

Sometimes, he can’t fathom how much time has gone by since he gained his miraculous at thirteen. Six years later, lots of awkward puberty growth spurts and voice changes and here he is, watching two of his best friends get married.

It feels like forever, yet also like no time has gone by. Time is strange and fluctuates weirdly in Adrien’s opinion.

“I can’t believe I’m married,” Nino says from his left, the two of them sneaking through the foyer and out a side door to get a breath of fresh air. “I mean, I can, because I love Alya like no tomorrow, but…”

“But you never thought you’d get here?” Adrien asks, voice gentle.

Nodding his head, Nino flexes his fingers out and stares down the dark alley. “Yeah, exactly. I know a lot of people think we’re too young—”

“To hell what other people think!”

“I know, I know. I just… I’ve known since we were kids, you know? I know it sounds weird and I know you probably think I’m talking out of my ass.”

Nudging shoulders with Nino, Adrien stretches his back out and glances at his best friend. “I’ll only think you’re talking out of your ass if you say ‘I know’ one more bloody time.”

“You spend one year on and off in London for work and you come back talking like you were born and raised there!”

“I resent that,” Adrien grumbles.

“I don’t know about that, Adri—”

The metal door creaks open behind them, the chatter and excitement from the reception floating out to wrap them up like a blanket. Marinette, dolled up in her maid-of-honor dress that fit her like a glove, sticks her head out and grins over at them. “Hey boys! Alya was wondering where you’d gone off to.”

“Does she need me?” Nino goes to run inside, face dropping to a concerned expression before Marinette can edge a word in otherwise.

Marinette stops him with a gentle hand to her chest, opening the door further and fully coming into view. “Relax, loverboy. Alya just wants to dance with you. No need to panic.”

“Duty calls.” The moon is the only thing illuminating them as Nino pats Adrien on the chest with a grin, slipping past Marinette to go find Alya inside. The door snicks shut behind him, Marinette glancing at it before over at Adrien.

“Hey there, stranger.”

“Hey, Mari!” Quickly, Adrien steps forward to bring the smaller girl into his arms and hug her. He hasn’t seen her in forever, not since graduation at the very least. “Wow, it’s been a bit while, hasn’t it?”

Laughing slightly, Marinette returns the hug for a split second before they break apart, her hand wrapping around her forearm in an old, nervous tick. She avoids his eyes by smoothing out the skirt of her dress. “Yeah! As much as I’ve loved texting you, I think I prefer seeing your reaction to memes in person.”

‘Yeah, well, I don’t think anything will beat that time you made a joke in terminale and it made Kim shoot soda out of his nose and hit the girls at the table in front of us.” Adrien’s laughing, back slightly arching forward as he places a hand on his knee to steady himself. “I almost peed my pants.”

“That wasn’t my intention,” Marinette says, through her own bouts of laughs, her long hair falling over the front of her shoulders. “I tried to apologize to them and you kept pulling me back!”

His hand rests on her shoulder as he grins, speaking quickly, “Marinette, I couldn’t let you get fed to the pack wolves!”

Adrien notes her bangs have thinned out since terminale, maturing her face a little. Her dress is a simple bright red strapless, cinching at her waist and flowing outward until it hits her thigh, where a small slit shows off one of her legs.

The striking realization that she looks so much like Ladybug hits him like a tidal wave.

Suddenly, the alleyway is too small, claustrophobia settling into his bones.

“You want to go for a walk? We can make it back before they notice we’re gone,” Adrien suggests, itching to slink out of the narrow space.

‘Sure,” she says, tucking a piece of her curled hair behind her ear.

Marinette leads them out of the alleyway and around the corner, where La Seine flows in all of its glory. Glittering lights romanticize the strip, only outshone by the tour Eiffel itself. The season is shifting from the last remnants of autumn to winter, the air frigid and cold. Tree leaves a beautiful mixture of orange, red, and brown in its wake, whispering a gentle aura over Paris.

It’s Adrien’s favorite time of year.

“Do you ever feel like we’re lucky?” Marinette rests a bare elbow onto the stone railing, her body half turned towards him.

“Lucky?” Adrien asks, frowning when he notices he shiver. It’s small, and she doesn’t say anything, so he shrugs off his jacket and slides it over her shoulders.

He smiles when he watches her sink into it, and continues, “How so?”

“So many people never get to experience this,” she says, gesturing to the city around them without knocking his jacket off her shoulders. Her eyebrows raise as she talks, “Yet we do. There are people that have so much less than we do and we worry about the most miniscule inconveniences.”

Rolling his sleeves up to his elbows, Adrien copies her stance and rests both of his on the railing, chin settling on his palm as he looks at her. “While that’s very much true,” he starts, taking in the slight frown on her face, nudging her ever-so-gently with a wink. “I already know that you help much more than the average person, Mari.”

Her face freezes, grip loosening on the jacket enough to where it almost slips off. “What?”

“Was that the wrong thing to say?” His voice is gentle as he asks, genuine confusion on his face.

“Adrien,” she says, her words choked.

Turning fully to her, Adrien blinks at their height difference, even with her in heels. “I’m sorry? You just love to help people—”

“Don’t,” she whispers, eyes flittering from his face to the river in rapid succession.

He’s confused, he’s so confused.

“Don’t what? I’m just trying to give you a compliment, Marinette—”

Suddenly, Marinette turns to him, fierce look in her eyes with her hands gripping the lapels of his jacket. “Who told you? Or did you figure it out on your own?”

“Told me what?” Slightly taken aback, Adrien stands to his full height above her, his arms crossing over his chest. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about, Mari.”

Marinette’s gaze is rooting him to the spot with a calculating look, one so familiar that his brain nearly rewires itself. She seems to find what she’s looking for in his eyes and her shoulders droop, her lips curled into a frown. It reminds him eerily of his spotted partner.

It strikes him how this isn’t the first, but the second time tonight he’s compared Marinette to Ladybug, however unintentional it’s been. He can’t lie and say he’s never thought about it before, though her quick appearance as Multimouse had crossed her off his suspicious list early on.

As he’s staring at her, with all of the worry and disbelief that had been etched into her skin, he wonders if he had crossed her off too soon.

The girl behind the mask has a special place in his heart, no matter the person—sans Lila. If it’s Marinette who he runs around the city fighting crime with in a skin tight red and black spotted suit, it’ll be an added bonus.

(Because, all of the crap he spewed in collège and lycée about her being just a friend had always been a lie.

He hadn’t realized it until it was too late, accepting that he wouldn’t be the one receiving that type of love from her. He’d persuaded himself that her friendship was enough.

And it was. Until now.)

“You know,” he breaks the silence, shuffling slightly closer to Marinette as if he’s telling her the world’s most important secret. “I was in love with Ladybug for years.”

The shift on her face is priceless, even without the suspicions traveling through his brain. He know it's her, he's sure of it. He just needs some sort of confirmation before he tells her.

Her lips part and her eyes widen, like a deer caught in headlines. “You—You were?”

Adrien shrugs, idly kicking a rock with one of his boots. He’s glad his jacket doesn’t clash with her dress, as the black suit is simple enough. “Yeah. Kind of hard not to be, you know? She’s so inspiring with the amount of people she helps. I could stare into her eyes and get lost in how blue they are.’ He chuckles, shoving his hands into his pockets and peers up at her stricken expression. “More importantly, she never gives up, even when it’s hard. I love that in people.”

“You do?” Marinette squeaks out, her brain-to-mouth filter gone. Her cheeks are the rosiest shade of pink, even in the darkness of the night. Her eyes don’t leave his face, as if she’s staring up at him in awe.

Bingo. If he wasn’t sure before, he’s sure now. That’s his lady, alright.

He allows the smile threatening to break his cheeks spread over his face, dimples and all. “Yeah. Sadly, she’s her and I’m just, well, me.”

“Don’t you ever say that about yourself again, do you hear me? You are the nicest boy with the kindest heart I’ve ever met,” Marinette pushes herself into his space, gently jabbing her finger into his chest to make a point. “Anyone would be lucky for you to love them. Especially Ladybug.”

“Hm. Especially Ladybug?” He’s unable to help the smirk that forms on his face from her embarrassed expression. “You know, I think I would be the lucky one—”

There’s screams, a crash, and an explosion that interrupts Adrien all at once. The wedding venue is on fire, smoking filling the sky at an alarming rate. People from the reception run around the corner yelling as citizens of Paris begin to stick their heads out their windows to see what’s happening.

Adrien sighs, holding his hand out to Marinette who all-but shoves his jacket into his hand. He slips it on, hiding his grin as he notices her taking tiny steps back out of the corner of his eye.

Just as she’s about to jet away, Adrien purposely turns fully towards her. “Mari, where are you going?”

“Oh, I—uh. I’m going to go make sure everyone got out safely, yeah! You should stay here though and worry about the crowd.” She turns around to run off, when Adrien grabs her by the hand and pulls her into his body, ignoring the stares from their lycée friends. “Adrien?!”

“Stay safe, Marinette,” Adrien whispers, squeezing her once before letting her go, ushering her in the direction of the building. “Go, before I change my mind.”

And she does, sprinting around the corner faster than he’s ever seen anyone run in heels. That’s his Ladybug.

“Dude, did you just let her run back into a burning building by herself?!”

Rolling his eyes, Adrien waves dismissively in their direction, breaking out into a jog. “I’ll be back,” he calls over his shoulder, winking in their direction.

“Fuck Hawkmoth. I hate him,” Ladybug—Marinette says to him after she casts her healing spell, a pout on her face. “I was having such a good night and then that bald-headed asshole had to come and ruin it.”

“I’m sorry?” Adrien chokes out a laugh, the two of them fistbumping with their usual pound it afterwards. “What were you doing?”

Laughter fills the air as she steps in front of him, jutting the tip of her finger into his chest. “Down, kitty. I was just celebrating a special event with some friends. I was in the middle of a very revealing conversation when it happened.”

“That sucks,” he supplies with a small shrug of his shoulders, retracting his baton and slipping it back into its rightful place. He takes a seat on the roof, humming quietly. “Come sit with me for a minute?”

They’d decided to meet back up on the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris once reporters and police showed up as it was the closest to the akuma (and the venue). The historical site had been repaired beautifully since the fire, and Ardien hopes this is as good of a place as any to tell her.

His feelings for both Ladybug and Marinette had never fully dwinded, and knowing they’re the same person makes him fall all over again.

“Chat, I don’t really have time. They’ll notice I’m gone and—”

“It’s important, Ladybug.”

Ladybug’s lips purse together at the usage of her full name and listens to him, dropping in front of him so they’re facing one another whilst sitting criss-cross. “Should I be worried?”

“You’ll probably be mad at me,” Adrien admits with a shrug of his shoulders, able to fully see her expression with his night vision.

Worry. Confusion. Slight anger. Though the look that pierces through the most is trust.

It settles his nerves a bit.

“Okay, talk quick then, chaton. We don’t have a lot of time,” she tells him with a tap to her blinking earrings.

Ease her into it, Agreste. You don’t want to scare her away. “I know your identity,” he blurts out, hand slapping over his mouth.

Uh oh. She’s going to kill him.

Ladybug’s eyes narrow immediately as her arms cross over her chest. It’s the same, calculating look from earlier and it sends shivers down his spine. Her lips curve into a frown, his hands aching to smooth out the downward pull of her smile with his thumb.

Then, she laughs. So bright and beautiful, so unabashed that it stuns him. “You really had me going there for a minute.”

“I’m not lying to you,” Adrien says, as truthful as he can, scooting closer to her with a serious expression. “I didn’t mean to find out, honest. But I want you to know that me knowing who you are doesn’t change a single thing for me. It just makes me love and appreciate you even more,” he pauses, gauging her reaction, then adding a beat later, “Marinette.”

The mirth in her eyes starts to dissipate and she covers her mouth with her hand, unable to form words. He can tell she’s trying to think of a plan, a way to get out of the situation, yet is too stunned to do anything other than stare.

Slowly, he reaches a hand out to grab her free one as a comforting gesture, thumb rubbing small circles into it. “Hey,” Adrien whispers, smiling encouragingly over at her. “It’s okay, I promise—”

A blinding, green light fills their visions and once it disappears, Adrien appears in front of Ladybug in his suit. “I thought I had more time,” Adrien whines, face palming with the hand that isn’t holding Ladybug’s. Plagg doesn’t say a word, whizzes into the pocket where Adrien’s hiding his camembert in a tiny container and zooms off.

“You—I—What?!” Ladybug’s gripping his hand tightly, as though she’s unaware she’s doing it, her eyes wider than he’s ever seen them. “Adrien? There’s no way!”

“It’s me, Bug,” Adrien rasps out, licking his dry lips and swallowing harshly. “It’s me, Mari.”

“I’m not going to freak out,” Ladybug tells herself under her breath, gently removing her hand from his and hopping off the ground to pace around the rooftop. “Nope, I’m not going to—”

Pink lights swirl around her and Adrien stares in awe as Marinette appears in front of him, looking as goddess-like in her red dress as she had prior to transforming. Tikki phases through Marinette’s bag, then comes out with a cookie and follows Plagg.

“This is crazy,” Marinette squeaks out, hands clenching and unclenching nervously. Her heels clack over the roof as she walks, her cheeks flushing bright enough for Adrien to notice. “I mean, you sat in front of me in school for years! How did we not notice?”

“At least we know the magic conceals us?” Adrien tries with a wince, standing up and dusting himself off. He chances a step in Marinette’s direction, heart beating faster when she doesn’t back away. “My lady—”

“Did you mean it?” Her voice croaks as she closes the distance, a determined look on her face. Her hand finds his easily and tangles their matching sweaty fingers together.

“Mean what?”

“When you said that it didn’t matter who Ladybug was?” Marinette licks her lips, hope-filled eyes meeting his.

“Yes,” Adrien rasps out as he nods his head, his forehead falling forward to rest against hers. “Of course, Mari. You’re it for me.”

“Dieu merci.”

Adrien isn’t sure who kisses who. He thinks they may have met in the middle, a clash of lips and passion and holy shit I’ve waited six years for this. There’s no sparks, no fireworks that erupt in his stomach, no moment that blinds him. Instead, it feels like a slow burn that warms him from the inside out, lights him aflame and soothes out the aches in his heart.

It feels like coming home.

Marinette’s hand that isn’t holding his trails up the side of his arm, to the back of his neck and into his hair, carding through his golden locks. A purr rumbles through his body, and Marinette pulls back with a satisfied smirk.

“Did you just purr?”

Leaning in, Adrien presses kisses to her face. “I have—” He kisses her nose. “—no idea—” Her cheek. “—what you’re talking about.” The last kiss lands on her mouth, a short and sweet one, one that she tries to deepen by tugging him back in after he pulls back, but he doesn’t let her. “As much as I’d love to keep kissing you, we do have to go back to the wedding.”

“I guess,” Marinette grumbles, but he knows she doesn’t mean it. He allows her to fix his hair, relishing in the feel of her hands on him. Her eyes are fond and he knows that what she’s about to say may break him. “I’m glad it’s you.”

“I’m glad it’s you too, Mari.”

They’re finally home.

#i can't believe fluff week is over #i also can't believe i wrote for this many days straight and actually did it #who am i?#adrien agreste #chat noir #marinette dupain cheng #ladybug #adrienette #ladynoir #miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug fanfiction #mine #lovesquarefluffweek2020

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minvaleria93 · 4 years

Text

A Better Man • Chapter 1

A story of the members where are all married and have kids.

Words counted for this chapter • 2865

The yellow ball of fire changed to hues of orange, and then almost tangerine. It merged with the sky, like juice-mix dissolving in a glass of water. The clouds were cotton-candy, as though they blushed at the warm touch of the sun. Silhouettes of birds flew home across a sky that was now magenta; and the sun was half into the water, but its reflection in the sea made it look complete. The mauve of the dusky sky intensified, and in just a while, the biggest star had set, giving way to a thousand others.

The thrill of excitement hung in the air, as people stood outside the large building. "Over here!" A young girl, Lily called out to her friend, Sophia to join her and the rest of their friend group.

"Made it!" Sophia bounced off the ground with a big smile on her face.

"Oh my god," Lily clapped her hands. "I can't wait to see them!"

"I don't think I'm ready, but I know I am" said another one of their friends. Lily, Sophia and the others nodded.

Just then, the tall glass doors were thrown open by men dressed in black with the word SECURITY written on their t-shirts. And the crowd entered the building, showing their tickets and passes.

The crowd was a river of people, everyone moved in the same direction through the venue. There were only joyful faces as they head toward the hall for the greatest concert on earth - music to fill them chocked full of adrenaline pumping happiness. They moved not like pebbles in a jar, but like water molecules flowing smoothly past one another, friends stood together with fingers entwined.

The only light in the hall came from the stage, and there were a few people already claiming their seats. Surrounding the mosh pit were metal bars, then a few steps. To the back there was a balcony curving around the gall and then under that there were all the merchandising stalls.

••••

The dressing room looked more a hotel suite than a backstage dressing room. The floor was covered in a deep red carpet, the white walls had frames of artists and their more popular albums. The two black sofas facing each other had a small coffee table sitting between them, and there were four dressing tables with mirror that had lights on the frames. And around the corner were the changing rooms.

"Where is Jin's blazer?" A young woman with long, brown hair that was loosely curled asked, as she looked through the suitcases. She had a porcelain-like face with brown-hazel eyes and plum lips. She wore black high waisted jeans with a silver ad gold chain attached to her belt, a Chanel cropped blouse and black and white trainers. This was Aliyah, a celebrity fashion designer. Aliyah was part Korean from her father's side and part british from her mother's, and she spent most of her time in London due to her studies, but her parents and family moved to Seoul after she started university.

A young woman with ginger hair stepped forward and held a black blazer that was inside a bag towards Aliyah. "Found it," she said.

Aliyah sighed in relief and got to her feet. "Jin," she called out. "Blazer."

A tall and slim young man with jet black hair, a warm undertone and brown eyes reached his hand out and took the blazer. Jin was the member of the group with a mother-mode personality. He cared for each of the members, was very confident in himself and his dad jokes never failed to make the members laugh. And his wife was no different. Anna was the female version of her husband. And they were also amazing parents to their two children.

Aliyah turned around to the four young men sitting on the leather sofas. There was Namjoon, who was the leader. He had a fair complexion with light blonde hair and brown eyes. He was also a deep thinker, emotional, analytical, and perfectionist. He was incredibly intelligent. But he didn't boost himself for that reason. He was the humble-type of person with many mature thoughts and ideas which lots of people of his age never bothered. He was also a father to a beautiful little girl, and was married to Aliyah's best friend, Andrea.

Sitting next to Namjoon was J-Hope, who had dark brown eyes and a light shade of brown hair. J-Hope was very friendly and knew how to make people laugh. He was also a good listener and an amazing father.

Opposite the two sat Jimin and Taehyung. Jimin had a pale mix between light blonde and golden yellow hair, light-honey-like skin tone and brown eyes. Jimin was the member of the pack who showed great personal warmth and made others feel valued and cared for. And like J-Hope he was also funny and friendly.

And sitting next to Jimin was Taehyung. Taehyung was extremely friendly and cheerful. He had dark hair, brown eyes and a warm undertone. He was a carefree guy who just liked to do what he wanted to without any worry, and was a father of twins; a boy and a girl.

The door to the dressing room swung open and in walked two young men, one had dark brown hair, a warm skin complexion and brown eyes. That was Jungkook. He appeared shy, but beneath that he could also be a clown if he wanted to be funny. He was also an amazing father to a beautiful girl and a handsome boy.

Aliyah reaches for her phone to check the time, when she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her waist. "I'm here to collect my reward?"

"Reward?" She frowned.

"I," Yoongi began, as he spun her around. "Got you a Dr. Pepper and Chocolate Buttons. Pay up." Aliyah laughed as she pushed herself up onto her tiptoes and kissed Yoongi on the lips. She was so happy that their last stop before going back to Seoul was London because not having to see Yoongi for months and being away from Seoul made her feel homesick.

••• flashback five years ago •••

The party was going smoothly. Guest were having a good time and enjoying themselves. The light of day drained away, giving way to the velvety dark of the winter night, the air became colder, and the sky looked like a thick blanket was floating in the air.

"Just please, don't make a scene," a girl with loose, brown curls said. She had a fair complexion with brown eyes, her black dress reached just above the knee and showed off her figure.

"I won't," Aliyah held her hands up. Andrea held her gaze for a moment as if she expected her friend to laugh or catch a flicker in her brown-hazel eyes.

They walked though the crowd and greeted a few people on their way, until they reached a group of men with their backs turned to them. "Babe," Andrea chimed, and a tall young man turned around and his face lit up.

"Beautiful," he smiled at Andrea and kissed her on the cheek.

"Babe, remember Aliyah?" She asked. "I told you about her."

"Yes, of course."

Andrea wrapped an arm around her friend and looked at her boyfriend with a smile on her face. "Namjoon, this is Aliyah, she works as a fashion designer," she said. "Aliyah, this is Namjoon." Aliyah couldn't wrap her head around where she heard that name before and it made her brain ache. "He is part of a group called BTS," Andrea said, and Aliyah snapped her finger in her head. That's where you knew that name from.

Andrea's boyfriend looked at Aliyah and smiled as he held his hand out towards her. Aliyah looked at his hand for a second and then met his eyes again. There was a very intense pause in the air that made Andrea look at her friend with a worried expression.

Aliyah shook Namjoon's hand with a straight face. "Namjoon," she began with a serious tone. "It's nice to finally meet you."

"It's lovely to meet you as well," Namjoon smiles nervously.

Aliyah felt the young man's grip on her hand loosen, but she was not done with him just yet. She tightened her grasp on him. "Just to make one thing clear, Andrea is like a sister to me" she spoke in a low and calm tone while smiling softly at him. "So if you hurt her, I will make it look like you had an accident."

To say that Namjoon was taken aback by what Aliayh said would be an understatement. He felt a shiver run down his spine after those words left her lips. He swallowed and slowly nodded his head.

Aliyah tried to keep up her act a little longer, but watching as Namjoon's eyes shifted from her to Andrea as if he was screaming for help made her burst out laughing.

It's been a while, and Aliyah walked around the ballroom until she stopped at the balcony and stepped outside. The bitter breeze kissed her skin making goosebumps to appear on her arms and a shiver run down her spin. The orchestra had turned their music sheets over to the next song and the sound of a grand piano, violins and cello flooded the room.

The view was beautiful. The whole city came to life with explosion of illuminating radiation from well lit tall buildings, giant neon screens, bill boards, streets lights and streaming beam lights emanating from steady flow of vehicular traffics. It was a shame no snow had fallen during her time in Seoul. She really wanted to see what this city looked like covered in snow before she left for England after Christmas and New Year were over.

"The party is back here."

Aliyah turned on her heel at the stiffen unfamiliar voice, and found herself looking at a young man. He was slim and taller than her, and the way he held himself made him incredibly intimidating. His presence was intoxicating, and as she took him in she had to admit that he was in the fact, the most handsome person she'd ever seen. He wasn't just handsome, he was gorgeous. He had dark brown hair that fell just above his eyes, cheekbones and a jawline.

"Really? I thought it was back here," she replied sarcastically.

A chuckle escaped the young man's lips as he tucked both hands in his pocket and stepped outside on the balcony. "Then I've been attending the wrong party this whole time," he said, looking down at her.

Aliayh laughed and held her hand out towards the young man. "I'm Aliyah Lyon," she introduced herself.

The young man took her hand in a firm grip and shook it. "Min Yoongi," he replied.

"In that case,Yoongi, I want you to know,"she sighed. "I've alerted the police."

Yoongi looked down at the girl with his head slightly tilted to the side and confusion written over his face. "Why?" He asked slowly.

"Because it's illegal to be this handsome."

Yoongi tilted his head up towards the sky and laughed. The sound made her heart skip a beat and her ears ring with the chocolate velvety tone of his voice. He looked back down at her, still laughing and she could see that the laugh was not just in his face, but also in his eyes. It was a laugh from within.

••• end of flashback •••

Twenty minutes passed, and the people were starting to get frustrated because nothing was happening. A few started to ask the security and staff members around for information, but they were all given the same answer and told to return back to their seats.

"It was supposed to start by now," said Thomas. "Right?"

"What is going on?" Sophia panicked. "Do you think they will canc?—"

"DON'T EVEN FINISHED THAT SENTENCE!" Lily and Michael exclaimed.

••••

"Alright," said Sejin, as he rubbed his hands together. "Are you guys ready?"

Jin scoffed as he stood up from the sofa and adjusted his blazer. "Worldwide handsome always ready," he said. Yoongi exhaled a sigh, making Aliyah laugh as they followed the others out.

The walk from the dressing room to the stage wasn't too long. On the way they met a few passers and workers who they waved and said hello to. Aliyah walked alongside Yoongi, their fingers intertwined as they followed closely behind Jin and Namjoon.

They finally came to a stop, and two bodyguards stood a few feet away from the group. "Alright," said Namjoon. "Hands in." Everyone held their arms out in the circle. "Hana, du, se! bangtan bangtan!" He said.

(One, two, three)

"Ba ba batang!" Everyone chanted together, and dropped their hands. This was something they did before every show.

Yoongi reached his hand out towards Aliyah and tugged her away from everyone. He cupped her warm and rosy cheeks in his hands and kissed her. Aliyah, no matter how many times Yoongi would kiss her it felt as if they kissed for the first time all over again.

Jimin and his fiancé, Sunny stood to one side and played out their handshake that ended with a kiss.

As for the other members wives they couldn't attended the concert, or even the tour because they had to look after the children.

••••

The tension in the crowd began to make everyone feel impatient, and no matter who they asked that worked at the event they got no answers what so ever. It's been a few minutes since Thomas came back from asking one of the staff members about what's was going on and just as he was about to ask again a few lights turned into a neon blue while the other lights went off. The arena fell silent and the crowd froze as excitement slowly began to grow.

"If you need anything let any of the staff know," said Sejin, and the two girls nodded before he walked out of the room.

The lounge was massive. There was a bar with a bartender working behind the table, the lights hung down from the ceiling, there were a few people here and there taking in small groups and each of them greeted Aliyah and Sunny.

The two girls walked around the large leather sofa and stepped outside on the balcony just as the sound of drums and trumpets played just as the countdown started, and the arena, like a bomb exploded with cheering fans.

On the stage, the large screens showed a picture of each of the members one after the other with fire erupting from the sides of the stage and lights changing. And the song began with J-Hope talking away the first verse.

"Yeah nuga nae sujeo deoreopdae

I don't care maikeu jabeum geumsujeo yeoreot pae

Beoreokhae jal mot igeun geosdeul seutekki yeoreo gae

Geodeuphaeseo ssibeojulge seutaui jeonyeoge

World business haeksim

Seoboe 1sunwi maejin

Manhji anhji i clat gachil mankkik

Joheun hyanggie akchwin banchik

Mic mic bungee"

Aliyah cheered with Sunny and the crowd, but her smile grew even wider when Yoongi stepped forward, fixing his tie before he sang his verse.

"Mic mic bungee

Bright light jeonjin

Manghal geo gatassgessjiman I'm fine, sorry

Mianhae billboard

Mianhae worldwide

Adeuri neom jalnagaseo mianhae eomma

Daesinhaejwo niga moshan hyodo

Uri konseoteu jeoldae eopseo podo

I do it I do it neon maseopsneun ratatouille

Hok baega apeudamyeon gosohae

Sue it"

The lights in the arena began flashing as Taehyung sang the Pre-Chorus first.

"Did you see my bag? (where?)

Did you see my bag? (where?)

It's hella trophies and it's hella thick (hella thick, hella thick)"

Jungkook stepped to the front of the stage, and the girls in the arena seemed to have forgotten how to speak.

"How you think bout that

How you think bout that

Haterdeureun beolsseo hageul tte"

"Imi hwanggeumbit hwanggeumbit naui seonggong

I'm so firin' firin' seonghwabongsong"

Sang Jimin right before Jin sang his verse as well.

"Neoneun hwanggeuphi hwanggeuphi domang syongsyong"

Sunny and Aliayh sang along to Jungkook's verse along with all the other screaming fans.

"How you dare

How you dare

How you dare"

And J-Hope, Aliyah and Namjoon joined him in on the chorus.

Nae sone teuropi a neomu manha

Neomu heavy nae du soni mojalla

MIC Drop

Bal bal josim

Neone mal mal josim

Lodi dodi a neomu bappa

Neomu busy nae onmomi mojalla

MIC Drop

Bal bal josim

Neone mal mal josim"

As the song progressed, the members of the group broke into a dance routine and the atmosphere in the arena became more hyped. Everyone moved to the beat of the song and it didn't matter if they sat, stood or danced on the side— no one could keep their bodies still. It was as though magic spells were leaving the speakers in the arena.

Just as the song was about to end the light lowered as sparkles explored from the corners of the stage. "Let's get this party started, ARMY!" Jimin shouted in his microphone and the crowd cheered in excitement.

#reblog #wattpad #bts #imagine #bts army #bts yoongi #bts x reader #bts imagines #jeon jungkook #bts jungkook #kim namjoon #bts namjoon #park jimim #bts jimin #bts jhope #bts jin #bts taehyung

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0hmydekiru · 4 years

Text

A whole new world and Late Birthday Surprises

Gigi belongs to @melyaliz and this is a late birthday drabble (she is why they sing the song ngl lmao)

Adi, Marisol, Anani, and Dana belong to me.

The concept of a cotton candy taco is not mine, it is from a video i saw and tagged melyaliz in, in reference to Gigi.

Tagging: @coffee-randomness

Adi was late. She felt horrible that she had missed Gigi's birthday especially when Gigi, along with her other friends, always went out of their way to make Adi’s birthday special. She had been away on a mission but that was no excuse, at least in her own mind, for not planning in advance or at least calling even though Adi had ended up with a fractured rib from that mission.

Adi had gone with Marisol to shop the day before and seen a poster advertising the state fair. One of the listed venues had caught her eye and Adi had begged Marisol to take her to check it out, to see if it was actually true or if someone had made up a lie to bring in customers.

Marisol had agreed with mostly amusement which only increased when the advertisement was true. Adi had finally found something that would at least work as a birthday present though it would only be a night at the fair instead of a physical gift that Gigi might keep. Bringing Gigi to the fair might be the only part that was considered hard especially if Adi wanted to be sure Gigi was surprised.

Gigi sat on the couch in the mountain watching Bart attempt to show off at mario kart even as he was blue shelled by Jaime. Bart made an outraged sound as Jaime cheered making Gigi laugh as Jaime's kart crashed into the side of the road.

Adi floated over with a smile as Bart started cheering at Jaime crashing while Jaime groaned as the computer characters started to pass him. "Sorry to interrupt but i am here to borrow Gigi for a bit." Adi said gaining the attention of the three of them.

"Ohhh! What is happening? Are we going somewhere?" Gigi asked trying to pry purely because Adi looked so excited. Gigi stood to stand in front of Adi who mimed zipping her lips before grabbing Gigi's hand and gently pulling her from the room. They both bid the boys farewell for now and they were off.

They took the Zeta out before Adi turned back to face Gigi and ask "You trust me to fly us to the surprise, yes?" Adi knew that she wouldn't be able to hide the fair from Gigi but the particular venue was easily missed unless one knew where to look. Gigi's response of a smile, so bright and contagious it made Adi smile back, and an "Of course!" Caused Adi to pause for a second to rein in her emotions that were so touched by the lack of hesitation in Gigi's positive response. She was the only one to respond in that way.

Anani would agree immediately but that was out of knowledge that she could levitate herself and that Adi had more experience than most people, even Adi herself, knew. Marisol and the other members of the second team that Adi was apart of would agree but than ask questions as they normally only flew with her when there were missions. Jaime always paused in surprise, as if her desire for acknowledgement of his trust in her was unexpected though not an insult by any means, and as he listened to Khaji Da's deadpan comments. Most of their other friends tended to hesitate out of uncertainty, Adi was always considered even more of a ticking time bomb than Conner despite her seeming so innocent.

"Let's do it like a piggyback ride, that is the correct usage of that?" Adi asked and Gigi laughed nodding in agreement. They were quick to get situated before Adi was taking off with Gigi's arms around her neck. They flew over buildings, Gigi pointing out apartment windows that had tvs that were playing movies that she had seen or waving at the few children looking out their windows with wide eyes.

After pointing out one television that was playing a cartoon, Gigi started gently singing "I can show you the world. Shining, shimmering, splendid!" She started as they flew above the skyscrapers and could see the glittering of the city as they headed out toward where it was darker. They had a long way to get to the fair as there wasn't a Zeta connected there, as far as Adi knew.

"Tell me, princess! Now, when did you last let your heart decide?" Gigi continued and Adi was grinning despite herself. Things were rather complicated recently but Gigi was making everything feel not as bad. "I can open your eyes! Take you wonder by wonder!" Gigi continued as they could finally see all the stars lighting up the sky without the city lights.

"Over, sideways and under" Gigi said before laughing when Adi flew in that manner over and under rock formations. "On a magic carpet ride!" Gigi said and Adi snorted amused at being compared to a magic carpet.

"A whole new world! A new fantastic point of view" Gigi sang before pointing out the dark shapes that were the shadowy forms of bats flying. "No one to tell us, 'No'! Or where to go!Or say we're only dreaming!" Gigi continued holding out an arm and feeling the air move past them. The air was warm but thankfully not hot.

"A whole new world! A dazzling place I never knew, But when I'm way up here" Adi sang carefully as if unsure if she should sing too. "It's crystal clear, That now I'm in a whole new world with you!" Adi continued with Gigi singing the last line too before laughing with delight making Adi feel much better that Gigi wasn't mad at her for singing some lines. They were now able to see some lights from the nearing town and Adi was so excited.

"Unbelievable sights! Indescribable feeling!" Gigi sang loudly startling some birds as they flew by. "Soaring, tumbling, freewheeling! Through an endless diamond sky!" Gigi continued and pointed at the glittering sky above them. Adi silently promised herself that if her friends ever wanted, She would take them to see the stars in person.

"A whole new world!" Gigi sang as Adi flew upward with Gigi's cheering in her ears before zooming downwards making Gigi close her eyes against the wind hitting her face.

"Don't you dare close your eyes!" Adi sang with a laugh as they flew mere inches above a lake and Adi reached out a hand to ripple the water. Gigi opened her eyes and was faced with their reflections which looked to be having a lot of fun.

"A hundred thousand things to see!" Gigi sang as she stretched out a moment to pluck two flowers from a tree for them to wear later. Gigi was always telling Adi that she should wear more flowers which looked so pretty on her but Adi was still uncertain about it.

Adi’s reflection shows her expression going slightly mischievous as she sang "Hold your breath, it gets better!" Before they started descending and Gigi let out a small squeal. Gigi took a deep breath before they were submerged under the surface of the lake for a minute.

Once they came up, Adi was grinning even as Gigi laughed while scolding Adi for getting them soaked despite the wind that would have them drier soon. "I'm like a shooting star, I've come so far! I can't go back to where I used to be!" Gigi sang and both girls felt an understanding from that line that momentarily caused the atmosphere to be serious.

"With new horizons to pursue! I'll chase them anywhere" Adi sang with her mind on her idea to see if she could withstand going under the sea or into space with nothing to help her. "There's time to spare, Let me share this whole new world with you!" Adi continued as she gently spun them a few times so Gigi went upside down twice which made her giggle.

"A whole new world, That's where we'll be!" Gigi sang seeing the small dot of lights that went even into the sky a bit. Her curiosity was piqued and she was growing more excited as they flew. "A thrilling chase!" She added when Adi flew over a car, above a road which looked like a highway.

"a wondrous place!" Adi sang as they flew closer until Gigi could see so many lights that she could recognize was a fair. "For you and me!" They both sang together as Adi landed in a dark shadow nearby the entrance.

Gigi released her hold on Adi before squealing and hugging Adi. "your taking me to the fair?!?" Gigi asked almost unable to believe it. She couldn't remember when she had last been but probably before Adi had been around and she was so excited to share this experience with Adi.

"Your so excited and you haven't even seen the main part of the surprise!" Adi laughed beaming as she returned the hug before gently leading Gigi toward the entrance. Adi waved at the girl that was letting people in, Gigi was almost certian she was a friend of Adi's and she thought her name was Dana.

"There's more!?!" Gigi asked jumping a bit in excitement especially when Adi nodded. She looked around as Adi lead her through the fair to whatever the next surprise was. She figured that Adi wanted to show her first before they got to actually have fun at the fair.

"Here we are!" Adi said to Gigi before she held up two fingers to the guy behind the table. Gigi watched as he started making something, her eyes widening as she recognized cotton candy, ice cream, and so many other different treats being made into what faintly resembled a taco.

Gigi turned to Adi with an expression that was almost in awe as she spoke "This might just be the best thing ever and i haven't even tried it yet!" Gigi looked as if she was seconds from vibrating through the floor or somehow tapping into the speed force.

Adi beamed before she accepted the cotton candy from the vendor, handing one to Gigi, and leading her a bit away from the vendor so they both could try it. "Once we are done, we can do anything in the fair! So let's have fun! Happy late birthday, Gigi!" Adi said with a warm smile.

#Superfire

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