#but she's the shining star here that will make me happily overlook them
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Kendra, Rose, and Willow all look so pretty here, imo.
#buffy the vampire slayer#btvs#buffy#kendra young#rose martinez#willow rosenberg#boom#also can i just say that i love kendra in boom so much? i have some issues with boom's version of the buffy story#but she's the shining star here that will make me happily overlook them#also i'm really enjoying the anniversary story thus far. i feel like maybe they've learned from some of their past mistakes?
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Twin Snowflakes pt33: Show Stealers
Part 32<-
The stadium crowd roared in anticipation. Many seats quickly filled with loved ones and foreigners looking to get a glimpse of the action. Ren and Nora had found their friends who had also found Whitley and Blake. While fame and fortune could’ve easily bought a private booth away from everyone, they all opted for high row seats that overlooked the entirety of the stadium more or less.
“Wooo! Finally found you all. Wait, where’s Ruby and Penny?” Nora asked, giving everyone a hug.
Yang pointed towards the section bought for the orphanage. “Being good chaperones, or I guess role models. They’ll probably make their way over when the kids get distracted.”
Ren sat down next to Blake. “How’s your bundle of joy?”
“A bundle of puberty.”
“Heh, glad we’re in the same boat. Hey, at least they aren’t bruising each other up this time.” He raised his hand for Blake to high-five.
“I heard that.” She hit his hand. Blake could see her daughter even from here. Veronica and the twenty-nine other cheerleaders were all huddled together before chanting happily. “Veronica seems to be in better spirits today though. How about Val? Think she’s getting another gold medal?”
Weiss overheard the question. “Nick is owning this year!”
“Lies!” Nora chanted, “My baby girl is stronger than ever! Tell her, Ren!” She looked at him to see him gaze off. “Ren?”
“I think…this year will come down to who’s head is in the game more. I can’t speak for Nick, but Val has been scarily focused on today. If Nick is even half as serious then I have no idea how this is going to go.”
Weiss thought back to her training sessions. Nick had been motivated more than usual. Summer too for that matter. “Guess we’re in for a show. Either way, we should all be ready to pat them on the back.”
Winter chuckled, “Weiss, you know as good as anyone that sympathy like that doesn’t take the sting out of defeat. Let's see the outcome of it all first.”
The ringing of the intercoms blared twice before Professor Port spoke with his usual gusto. “Greetings one and all! Remnants finest display of young aspiring huntsman is about to begin! These young contestants from around the world have proven themselves by calming victory in tournaments based on their region. Now they seek worldwide acknowledgment, glory, and more on a grander scale that will surely open the door to any academy of their choosing! I, Professor Peter Port, will be your announcer today. We have many exciting events planned for all of you today but before all that, as tradition, the kingdom hosting the event shall be responsible for the opening ceremony. Ladies and gentlemen please give a warm welcome to one of Atlas’s new shining stars, Summer Schnee!”
Applause erupted from the stadium. It wouldn’t be surprising if the combat school below was cheering just as loudly. Jaune and Weiss couldn’t help but smile with pride. The lights dimmed a little while the spotlights grew brighter as they focused on the center of the battle arena. Several of the middle platforms sank down to the bottom. The one in the very middle rose back up with Summer standing proudly with a microphone in hand.
“Hello Remnant!!! Get ready for the show of a lifetime!”
Summer gauged the audience’s cheers. One sentence in and all eyes and cameras were locked on her. Perfect. It was time to repay promises.
“I’d like to thank my kingdom and the people who believe in me for granting this opportunity to represent them. I also like to thank my number one fan and her friends personally, Ruth!” Summer winked at a cameraman before pointing him in the direction of the children so they can be seen on the big screens.
Ruth’s face turned red. She tried hiding behind Ruby’s cape but the huntress put her front in center.
“Wave to the world kids!” Penny said, already saying hello.
Summer smiled, continuing to speak. “Though I fight for glory like the others, let’s not forget the end result. What we learn today will help keep others safe in the future like the huntsman before us. In the meantime, I will help the way I do best. My uncle and I have set up a fundraiser to not only help the orphans of our nation, but all of Remnant. I urge everyone to donate for the sake of giving kids better shelter and chances at a new home. And to sweeten the deal…when this tournament is over, I will personally double the amount donated using my family’s private funds!”
Weiss and the others all looked at Whitley while the crowd cheered. The blank look on his face was proof enough he had no idea Summer was going to say that.
“How bad is this, realistically?” Weiss asked.
“We won’t be poor by the end of this, but considering I feel my scroll vibrate in my pocket tells me our shareholders would like a word with me.” He turned his scroll off completely.
“As a show of good faith between us, how would you feel if I used a portion of the Belladonnas’ personal funds to lighten the blow? Consider it thanks for the Schnee’s looking after Veronica.”
Whitley felt his life force return. “Blake…I love you so much! Thank you!”
“Careful, our wives might get jealous.” She teased, poking a little fun at her wife as well.
Summer spoke again to refocus everyone “Okay then, I’d hate to keep you all in suspense. I was chosen to deliver a show and I’m not about to let Veronica’s amazing design work go to waste.”
The girl’s cat ears twitched. Veronica couldn’t say Summer had the most subtle approach or that she expected a name drop in the first place. “Guess that’s one way to do it.” She mumbled.
Summer stretched her left hand out. One by one the other platforms began to rise with the band members on them with their gear all set up. The crowd was particularly excited seeing Nick stand up to stand by his sister’s side with a guitar.
“Good speech. Are we gonna be broke now?”
“Thanks, and you underestimate how much money I can make.” She took the guitar. “It’ll be just like practicing you guys, only I promise not to yell.”
The band looked at one another, “Is it because we’re in public?”
Summer chose to start playing instead of giving an answer to such a question, speaking into her microphone once again. “Here’s a fight song that’ll never grow old. Those who know it sing along!”
The drums kicked in and the bass followed Summers as she looped the first ten notes. Ruby immediately knew the song and started bouncing in her seat; as did her friends and many others.
“Oh yeah! Haven’t heard this in awhile!”
Ruth tilted her head, “You know this song?”
“Of course! It’s my favorite. It’s-”
‘They see you as small and helpless
They see you as just a child
Surprised when they find out that a warrior will soon run wild…’
‘Prepare for your greatest moments
Prepare for your finest hour
The dream that you've always dreamed is suddenly about to flower’
‘We are lightning
Straying from the thunder
Miracles of ancient wonder’
‘This will be the day we've waited for
This will be the day we open up the door
I don't wanna hear your absolution
Hope you're ready for a revolution
Welcome to a world of new solutions
Welcome to a world of bloody evolution
In time, your heart will open minds
A story will be told
And victory is in a simple soul!’
Children and adults alike sang along with fervor as the twins performed, but nobody was more filled with more unbridled passion than Summer as her voice was accompanied by Nick’s in a magnificent duet.
‘Your world needs a great defender
Your world's in the way of harm’
‘You want a romantic life, a fairytale that's full of charm’
‘Beware that the light is fading
Beware as the dark returns’
‘This world's unforgiving, even brilliant lights will cease to burn’
Without missing a beat, the band and the twins raised a fist while they ceased their playing for the crowd to take over.
“Legends scatter!”
“Wooo!”
‘Day and night will sever
Hope and peace are lost forever’
Summer did what she did best and worked the crowd, going full in on her guitar. A single spotlight followed her expressive antics around stage as she slid and twirled to each band member. Sharing the spotlight was never really her style but that didn’t mean she didn’t know how. Each one worked hard and their efforts will be shown. Summer ended the trip next to Nick as her solo reached its end.
‘This will be the day we've waited for
This will be the day we open up the door
I don't wanna hear your absolution
Hope your ready for a revolution’
‘Welcome to a world of new solutions’
‘Welcome to a world of bloody evolution’
‘In time, your heart will open minds
A story will be told
And victory is in a simple soul!’
Brilliant fireworks of every color shot into the sky. The lights went back to normal and as the children caught their breath, their effort was given applause. Summer and Nick made sure to give the audience a big smile.
“Thank You!” They shouted, “Now give it up for Atlas’s finest!”
Their platforms began sinking as their drummer queued in the drums of the marching band. From below, batons shot straight up into the sky; followed by a spinning flag that rose high above. Nick could see Eliza come right into view as she grabbed the flag midair and landed on the stage with her crew right when Nick and the others were completely off stage.
“Talk about a high jump.” He commented.
Summer nodded, “Yeah but it helps when your troupe leader can magically blast a gust of wind below your feet. We gotta go by the way.”
“No kidding.” They took off any wires on them and handed over instruments to the band. “Thanks guys. Great work; that was really fun!” Nick looked over at Summer to see she was already gone. “Ummm I’m sure she feels the same hehehe.”
“We get it. Your busy people. Leave the clean up to us!” The bassist gave Nick a fist bump to send him off. “See you later!”
That couldn’t have gone smoother! Nick had no idea how that was gonna turn out but it all worked out. He ran by the cheerleaders in the middle of their performance and caught a glance of Veronica mid-handspring right onto two people locking arms, sending her soaring into a somersault perfectly on top of a human pyramid. The entire performance was then raised up to the main stage as well where Veronica flipped off the top, triggering each layer of the pyramid to do the same.
For a faunus who didn’t care for excessive noise, Veronica didn’t mind this one bit. She was far too caught in the routine, running to the back end of the stage. Each member stood in front of her in rows of two with hand joined to match several big ‘O’ shapes with their arms.
Amber tossed Veronica her pom-poms then held the megaphone up. “You ready team, color guard!?”
Their feet stomped in rhythm with the drumroll signal. Veronica flung her pom-poms far and extremely high up. With no time to waste, she began sprinting into a cartwheel, twisting halfway through it into a handspring that got her through two of the loops made. Her feet landed perfectly together with her knees bending, immediately springboarding her powerful leap through the remaining loops. Veronica stretched her arms out forward to help control her landing by going into a roll she used once again to get to her feet in order to do an incredibly high vertical jump in sync with batons being thrown up. Veronica caught the pom-poms, adding a single midair flip to readjust herself as she made herself slide forward on landing; the extra feet she needed to reach Eliza while shaking her hands the entire time. Veronica managed to do a dead stop next to Eliza and pumped her right hand in the air at the crowd while Eliza did the same with the flag in her left.
“Let the games begin!” They shouted, commencing the tournament.
Many gave standing applause but no one shouted as excitedly as Yang. She wouldn’t have been surprised if Veronica could pick her voice out among the noise, which she did. Port once again came over the intercom to give the children their proper recognition.
“Ladies and gentlemen, Atlas’s Finest! Led amazingly by Eliza Marigold and Veronica Belladonna!”
Sweat ran down both of their faces as they caught their breath. All members gathered behind them and bowed before the platforms lowered again for them to leave.
Eliza watched Veronica drop everything. “Are you okay!? You didn’t land wrong did you?”
“I’m fine, mostly.” She did land with the wrong foot but that was no issue. Vee watched her hands shake. “I’m pretty wired after that is all. That was insane!” She laughed.
“I guess delivering a speech in front of others feels a bit different from doing acrobatics for Remnant.”
“Yeah no kidding, haha!” She picked up her belongings and began walking. “Ooo boy! Talk about a rush! I could get used to that, though I’m sure plenty of people are already shaking their heads.”
“What do you mean?”
“I just performed a cheer routine for Atlas in one of their school uniforms and as a member of their squad. I can already see the angry faces of faunus everywhere.”
Eliza had never considered that. This stunt was bound to have sparked a few issues for Veronica in certain circles; yet the girl didn’t seem particularly concerned by it. “Question…”
“Why cause potential problems like this?” Eliza didn’t have to answer for Vee to know that was the question. “Simple, I made a promise to help this event. That’s all there is to it.”
“But you could’ve kept doing that by helping plan.”
“Hmm true, but I’ve always wanted to do something like this. I don’t have to tell you that people find anything to criticize. I’m sure plenty of faunus and humans will hate my family being involved in this on any level. Doing this for myself makes me happy at least.” Might as well get that much out of this trip.”
“Stirring the pot until the very end. Color me impressed.” Eliza smiled, “As much as I would love to continue this little chat, I need to get ready for King of the Hill while I can.”
“Don’t stop me from putting on something more your speed. Knock ‘em dead!”
“Including Nick?” Eliza smiled teasingly.
“I said knock ‘em dead and I meant it. We’re at a tournament after all. A friend would root for both amiright?” She watched Eliza’s face get red. Guess she had forgotten they were friends, or simply not used to the word. Veronica gave a thumbs up then went in her way.
With everything finally clearing out it was time to get things started. Port twirled his stash and cleared his throat. “Alrighty, with theatrics out of the way it’s time for a staple. The duos bracket. Nothing like teamwork to fire up the soul and there’s sure to be an inferno today! Matches will be held here and the school below based on a decision picked by whatever team wins a coin flip. However, the duos that continuously win without fail will battle it out up here while the losers bracket will be sorted out below. Without further ado, our first match is already about to begin!” He switched all screens to the same feed.
“Tah!” Winter gasped, trying not to laugh. “Well that didn’t take long at all.”
Nick and Summer stood in the combat arena, a neutral battleground thanks to all designs across academies and combat schools being essentially the same. Though the two never bothered to see the inside of Atlas Academy, Harriet and Flynt could never get over how identical the rooms apparently were.
“You ready for this?” Nick rolled his shoulders, “ I was thinking we-”
“Hey…” Summer said softly. She turned to her brother as calmly as possible.
What she wanted was written all over her grinning face. Summer’s pupils shook ever so slightly and she could barely stand still. Even her face was red, her body still running on its high from performing. Yeah, Nick knew exactly what she wanted.
“Okay. King’s guard formation it is.”
Her face lit up, “Music to my ears.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, our first match of the day. Atlas’s Nick and Summer Schnee versus Vacou’s Bruno Inferno and Jupiter Cyrus! This should be quite the match!”
Before the twins stood a brown skinned teenage boy with vibrant green eyes and curly hair. A white polo shirt and lime green cargo pants was his outfit of choice with a hard whip being his weapon.
Beside him was a girl of similar height to Bruno and Nick. Her complexion was slightly darker than Bruno’s with the addition of light freckles speckled across her face. Golden brown wolf ears were perky on top of her luscious and darker brown hair. Orange eyes complimented her tattered orange shirt. Silver clawed gauntlets adorned the hands on her hips that rubbed against her dark blue jean shorts. Both of them wore ankle high khaki boots.
Juniper punched her fist together, “We,ll well, well, if it isn’t the terror twins? Long time no see. I’ve been itchin for this rematch!”
“Good to see you both too. A shame it’s typically when you wanna mark up my face.” Nick smirked, if I didn’t know any better I’d say you're jealous, aye Bruno?”
The young man gave his own devilish smile, “Shut your trap and slick your hair back already, Mr. Pretty Boy.”
“No thanks. You gotta work for it. Anyways I’m not the one you should be fretting over.”
Bruno watched as Summer walked in front of Nick. “Ah, Summer! You’re as gorgeous as ev-”
“Spare me the pleasantries, Bruno. They were never your best quality.”
“Tsk!”
“Pfff hahahaha! I’ve been telling him that for years! Good on his feet. Not so much with his mouth.”
“Can it Jupiter! Agh, let’s get this over with. It won’t be like last time.”
“Correct. It’ll be so much faster.” Summer watched both of their eyes narrow. Chitchat appeared to be over. The two teams gave a thumbs up to signal port and the people above.
“Looks like they’re all set folks! Three… Two.. One… Battle it out!”
Jupiter darted straight ahead with Summer doing the same, passing right by one another. Fine by her. Nick was the target. He hadn’t moved an inch, standing firm with his sword firmly in the ground. As she readied to lunge, a glyph turned her completely around towards Summer’s blade aiming at her chest.
“What the-” Jupiter blocked the thrust atk with her left hand before it was swiped away. The nimble singer came at her with rapid body strikes that were blocked just as quickly.
Bruno took the sudden change as a way to run straight to Nick, but Summer had other ideas. She jumped up against one of Jupiter’s blocks then springboarded off at high speed, nearly slashing Bruno’s chest if he hadn’t back stepped. She left no time for Juniper to think by pulling the glyph closer to her and away from Nick, getting both opponents to focus on her.
“You want to fight me that badly!? Fine!!!”
The brute threw a left haymaker that connected with Summer’s hilt. Jupiter grabbed it tightly to hold it then swung her right fist at Summer’s face, which connected with a glyph. Looks like Summer has gotten faster at making them, but no matter. Bruno was already mid leap with his weapon overhead to club the pop star. Even if she blocked with her arm it was gonna hurt.
Watching everything, Nick already knew how to act. A king is supposed to support his guard after all. The flame dust in his blade was activated. A red glyph formed on Summer’s left, unleashing a model of her blade that was forged of flames and sediment that Summer grabbed; it effortlessly blocked Bruno’s attack then parried by swiping outward, disarming him while the tip was pointed at the falling boy’s face.
Thank goodness for semblances. Bruno used his Telekinesis to catch himself before his face really did get messed up. Relief vanished in an instant as Summer pointed the blade's tip to her glyph. Violent flames blasted out like a flamethrower that hit Jupiter. The remains of the blade were thrown right at Bruno which Summer made explode, knocking him back.
Summer pulled the flame glyph onto her real sword to ignite it. With the poise of a dancer she slid it across the floor along with repositioning herself in front of Nick. A single line of fire split the battlefield then rose up high as a wall with each team on the opposite side.
Bruno used his power to catch Jupiter and place her beside him. “You good?” He said while pushing the kindling flames off her.
“No, I’m pissed!” Her anger locked onto the center of the flames. “Bad move.” Jupiter puffed out her chest as a strong stream of air filled her lungs.
Nick noticed the disturbance of the flames. “Summer.”
“Yeah I know.” Smirking, Summer took a low stance with her blade pointed down across her left hip as she channeled wind dust across its edge. “Jupiter will huff, and she’ll puff, until…”
A funnel of extreme air pressure shot through the fire wall like a canon. At the same time as it parted the wall, a vertical slash of wind split right through the funnel and hit Jupiter’s entire body dead on with its own crazy speed.
“Jupiter!”
“Not done yet.” Summer made a horizontal slash next that pushed all the fire towards Bruno and Jupiter like a wave of orange.
Unafraid, Jupiter jumped right through with her arms protecting her face while Bruno dispersed the flames before him; only to find his partner and Summer clashing yet again. He noticed more flam glyphs trying to form and quickly reached out towards Nick.
The sensation of Bruno’s telekinesis pulled at Nick’s being as he tensed his body and gripped his sword that remained firmly in the ground.
“Gotta get closer.” He winced, running alongside. the arena. It was clear Nick was acting as support for his sister while she played bodyguard. Aggressively well, he might add. With that in mind he chose to soar rapidly to close distance quickly. He expected Summer to react the moment he passed but was instead met with more of Nick’s fiery arsenal head on. Bruno dodged left and right, blocking and knocking them out of his path. He would not be deterred!
“Fight me head on!!”
“Get close first and I will.” The young heir tilted his head right to gesture. “You might wanna…”
Bruno glanced left to see Summer’s sword coming right at him. He quickly evaded by going high. The blade pierced the ground directly ahead of him with the revolver on purple.
Bruno gasped, “No!” as a gravity glyph sent him slamming down hard against the floor, pinning him.
Jupiter noticed his predicament but was busy with her own problems. The flame swords littered the ground like a field of candles. The moment she broke the one in Summer’s hand, another took its place. Jupiter wanted to fire off another air shot, but taking deep breaths with searing embers and weapons nipping at her face made that a foolish idea. She tried moving back but then a blade in waiting would be detonated to force her forward. Missed punches were met with pinpointed stabs at her ribs. Summer was also craft enough to make sure her feet was always moving due to the girl constantly pivoting around or potentially making another glyph on the floor.
Summer witnessed Jupiter’s frustration in real time, doing her best to keep the pressure. “Still excited about this rematch?”
“Tsk, don’t get cocky!” Jupiter’s right hand went straight out.
Summer stared right into the metal claws and it reached to grab her face. Not once did she fear the cold steel that seeked to harm her. No, Summer was too busy watching Bruno in the reflection periodically. He was trying to use his telekinesis to remove her sword. Summer turned the flame sword in her hand into a fireball she used to blast Jupiter in the stomach, giving the faunus the space she wanted while propelling Summer at Bruno.
“Get back here!” Jupiter shouted. The claws on her gauntlets shot out with chains tethering them.
“Didn’t you want space!?” Summer retook control of the gravity glyph, switching its property. Suddenly instead of keeping Bruno down it catapulted him into the air. Summer grabbed her real sword and leapt into the air to avoid the claws.
“Big mistake!” Bruno laughed, catching her with his semblance, then changed the trajectory of Jupiter’s claws to Nick. “Got ya!”
Nick finally pulled Mort Froide from the ground. In a single motion he spun the blade to have the chains of the claws tangle around it before stabbing it back in the ground.
“Huh!?” Jupiter pulled but Nick pulled back just as hard to keep his sword in place. “A little help!”
Bruno began to try moving Nick again but was thrown off by being sent back down to the ground along with Summer, who was standing in the middle of the gravity glyph that had gotten stronger with her blade now in hand.
“Really should’ve moved me. Not that it matters; you just made this easier.” She expanded the glyph to be under both of them. Bruno completely lost control over his telekinesis with this new weight on him. Now free, Summer put the glyph solely under Bruno. “Catch!” She flung him to Nick, gravity and all.
Nick freed his blade once again and flung the chains off at Bruno. The mess of claw’s gravitated and ensnared him as the new anchor point trapping Jupiter. “You wanna say it!?” Nick smiled.
“No, you've indulged me enough.” Summer made a stronger black glyph closer to Jupiter that yanked Bruno across the arena right into her, knocking them both over in the field of flaming weaponry. “You say it.”
“Checkmate.” Together they blew up all the swords at once, causing the huge fiery explosion that brought the blaring sound of a buzzer as Jupiter was sent out of bounds while Bruno’s aura fell below 15%
The crowd erupted into cheers as the twins stood side by side. Nick was completely calm the entire time while Summer didn’t seem the least bit tired, despite her tenacious approach of facing both fighters. Their family cheered high above in Amity, never doubting the outcome. Veronica pumped her fist in excitement for them while Eliza could hear everyone’s excitement from the changing room.
“Guess they won already. Heh, must be their personal record.”
Valerie smiled at the screen seeing her friends take their first win. More were sure to come, yet Valerie found herself getting a little uneasy as well. Doubles weren’t her event and she had no grand roll in any ceremony. By all means, she was fully charged. Nick on the other hand was a part of so much more, yet not only did he look well off, but it was hard not to notice what he did in the match. Or rather what he didn’t do.
Valerie let out a breath of disbelief, chuckling slightly at the absurdity.
Eliza walked out with her hair still down. Her military outfit was ditched for a blue long sleeve that matched her hair color. The cuffs on it were purposely big and had a glittery gold trim that matched her eyes. A gold sash around her waist broke up the color between the shirt and blue skirt of similar color. Black thigh-high socks covered her legs. Blue low wedge, ankle high boots with purple cuffs folded down kept her feet comfortable. She stood next to Valerie with her hat in hand. The brim was wide with a gold speckled on top and underneath; while the base color also matched her air. Though the underside was black. The conical crown, or the middle, was short and drooped back.
“What I’d miss, besides the obvious victory?” She asked, putting on the hat that made her look like an aspiring witch rather than a socialite.
“Nick never moved from that spot…” Valerie said, still in disbelief.
Eliza’s eyes widened. Didn’t move? Did she hear that right? From the look on Val’s face she must’ve. Eliza looked up at the screen to see the twins casually waving.“Well then…good to know.”
Port announced their victory “And just like that the match is over! Last year’s winners look better than ever! Chilling rule over enemies like no other and more swords at the ready than a weapon shop. These two remind everyone the reason for their well earned nickname. Let’s hear it for The Ice Queen and Gilgamesh!”
#rwby#rwby au#nicholas schnee#summer schnee#val valkyrie#veronica belladonna#rwby twin snowflakes#ruby rose#jaune arc#weiss schnee#yang xiao long#blake belladonna#whitley schnee#winter schnee#lie ren#nora valkyrie
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Summer Nights (A Silvaze Fanfic)
This evening’s predicament was a creeping inevitability the Blaze had been powerless to escape. She had been unable to perceive its advancement directly, but the princess had monitored the gradually mounting evidence. More often than not, she’d arrive in one of the palace’s rooms only to find its windows were already open. On her rare ventures into town, she’d found the streets mired by ice-cream vendors and citizens wielding frozen treats. Even the lengthening of days had made her aware of the change occurring.
But, of course, Southern Island’s summer shift in temperature had been most obvious to Blaze through her partner. Silver the hedgehog was many things but subtle wasn’t one of them. The psychic didn’t whine often, only when he was seriously perplexed, but his emotions tended to manifest themselves in other ways. He’d smile so radiantly whenever he was happy, shout so casually in defiance of injustices, hide his tears so poorly and blush whenever she dared to pierce his armour of obliviousness.
For the past week he’d fought the heat, trying his hardest to appear unphased. She’d aided in his consumption of a frankly unhealthy volume of ice-cream, numerous quarts per day, and spent far more time with him in the island’s waters than she could truly spare. Watching him revert from being over excited to wear clothes, donning comfortable hoodies that she’d happily steal and owning a slightly overlarge wardrobe, to a mostly unclothed state had certainly been an experience. These were mere quirks though, surface level changes in his nature that she could easily overlook. He’d gone through similar phases before, when the psychic had first arrived in her world he’d spent night after night sleeping atop a hill and watching the stars.
Tonight however, regardless of the hedgehog’s apparent attempts to dull his reaction, Blaze couldn’t ignore his irregularity. He’d tried his hardest to lie still for a good full hour only to ease gently up and flip his pillow before returning to resume their spooning. During the hour that followed, Blaze had felt him shift away from her in the tiniest and most awkwardly slight of increments until his arms had been reaching for the feline rather than holding her. He’d eventually dared, after much trepidation and in the gentlest manner possible, to completely release her before cautiously shifting into a back to back position. He’d even pealed the covers from himself and carefully bundled them against the princess, leaving himself fully exposed.
Her silk sheets were thin, the balcony door was ajar and there was some space between them, but she supposed those boons were being undercut by the palace’s lack of air conditioning and her own body. Silver was clearly too hot to sleep. It was a phenomenon that Blaze understood, albeit one that she was incapable of personally experiencing.
Across her life, the downsides of her pyrokinetic condition had been far more blatant than the positives. Tonight’s hindsight had hardly made up for that, but it had granted her a greater insight into her partner and the world at large. In one peculiar aspect, she was fortunate; her affinity for flames kept her body naturally hot so the changing of seasons mostly went unfelt. Just as snowflakes would evaporate whenever they sought refuge within her fur, the warm air that surrounded them was cool in comparison to her natural temperature. It took a serious change to phase her, like the enveloping embrace of the sea or the unequivocal presence of lava, but such feelings would quickly fade once she reached some form of sanctity.
A sigh escaped hedgehog behind her, soon followed by the second soft pillow flip of the night. Despite the modicum of amusement she got from this whole ordeal, maintaining her current sleeping façade felt cruel. He had been so delicate in all his shifts, clearly concerned for her sleep more than his overheating. The past month had been busy, she’d been making public appearances and spent hours in meetings daily, and he’d clearly picked up on that. His concern had been palpable in recent evenings and it’d manifested in a handful of ways. Finding that dinner would be ready just as work ended, the overly common offer of a back rub and his willingness to lounge with her in the evenings rather than go stargazing had made it all so very clear.
A yawn broke through her lips and, in its wake, she decided to speak, “You know, if you’re too hot, you don’t have to sleep here, Silver.”
“I-I’m sorry, have I kept you up?” He quickly apologised, panic plain in his tone.
“You’re so naïve,” She hummed, rolling over only to find that his back was still too her, “I can tell that you’re struggling; how could I possibly sleep with that being the case?”
“Sorry,” He glumly repeated, “It’s just too hot. I can’t sleep.”
“I could tell as much,” Blaze reiterated, growing a smirk.
“But I don’t want to leave either, it doesn’t feel right,” The hedgehog quickly continued, “If I can handle all we have up until now, I should be able to sleep through a little bit of heat.”
“You should, but I can’t imagine lying next to me is helping,” Her curiosity had been piqued by his later statement, “Actually, what is the difference between tonight and the future we shared? Surely if you could sleep there then here should be far easier.”
“Well, um,” He finally rolled over and Blaze had to hold back a snicker at the sight of him, “I’m not sure how to describe it,” The hedgehog’s quills half covered his face and the heat was plain on his cheeks, “The city was dry and hot but here it’s wet and hot. There’s a massive difference.”
“Lava ran through the streets. Even I could feel it,” She reached across, improving his vision with a single brush of her hand, “How can this possibly be worse?”
“It’s the sweat to be honest. I’m just not used to sweating like this, I’m not even doing anything. In the future I was always exhausted to and that made sleep come easily, I’ve not come remotely close to battling monsters today,” That was true, any moment of true peace in their prior life had quickly led to sleep, “Sweating helped in the city, but it just doesn’t here. I’m soaking and it’s keeping me wide awake.”
“I know I’m not helping with that,” She watched him frown at her claim and felt herself swallow. Despite how pessimistic she could be about her abilities; the time traveller was always positive. That was why he hadn’t left, it made total sense and so completely suited him. That was what this was about, nothing else. It was such an unabashedly naïve mentality, and foolishly blunt, but so purely him, “Silver…”
“I’m not leaving you. I know there are guest rooms but that’s not the point,” He grumbled, flipping onto his back to stare at the ceiling, “I just have to get used to it, that’s all.”
With that shift, his quills had gotten even messier. Beneath the frustration at his physical situation, it was clear to Blaze the he was mentally toiling too. The hedgehog cared so very openly, so wholeheartedly, that she couldn’t help but grin, despite how silly he was being. She’d fallen in love with him for a variety of reasons, not the least of them being how staunchly he’d advocate for her birth right of flames. Even when she’d tried to smother them, even when she’d rather forget them, he’d always been so positive about them. That same positivity had led to prior situations similar to this, whether she’d accidentally burnt a meal or the hedgehog himself, he’d never speak badly of her power.
Despite knowing the discomfort it might bring, tender as she could be, Blaze scooted across the bedsheets to lie closer to him. Her hand breached the bedsheets and fingertips arrived to pace through his chest fur, finding it more unkempt than usual. Even though the moon was far from shining through the balcony doors, the princess could see her partner almost perfectly in the teal glow of his cyan palms. Everything from his sun kissed muzzle to the length of his nose to the furrow of his brow as he attempted to ignore the embarrassment born both from his foolishness and her new position.
That look prompted her to move even closer. Through the dark, her lips found his cheek and softly pressed against it. Even if she couldn’t sense it through the air, Blaze could feel his warmth on her lips. He was sweaty too but, compared to lip-lock following a spar or a serious battle, the hedgehog was frankly sweet. Still, that confirmation made her all the more interesting in what he was feeling.
“What’s does it feel like?” She pried.
“W-Warm, gentle, soft…” He mumbled, his hand rising to rub his cheek, “Wonderful.”
Her once small grin caved inward, generating a blush and drew out her serious tone, “Not the kiss, temperature. Being hot or cold or somewhere in between, all at the whim of the weather, how does it feel?”
“Oh, um,” His embarrassment grew, even in the dark his redness was palpable. Atop his misunderstanding, Silver had clearly never considered how to explain what he was feeling, “It’s uncomfortable now but it’s nice a lot of the time. Catching a cold wind on a day like today is wonderful, feeling its rustle through my fur is refreshing like a good night’s sleep. On a chilly day I almost feel attracted to warmth, I bundle closer to you because it feels like I’ve escaped the cold and found safety,” He managed to say, “I don’t think I can explain it properly but when it’s too cold you want to be hot and when it’s too hot you want to be cold, you seek out what you don’t have. My fur is white so it helps reflect the sun but doesn’t help with heat like this.”
“I see,” She hummed, muting her prior outburst, “So weather can make things more difficult but causes perhaps otherwise simple things to bring you joy?”
“Yeah, cold things feel good on hot days, hot things feel good on cold days,” He succinctly put, his yellow eyes finally settling on her face, “Being with you on cold nights makes this more than worth it. I’d endure a hundred hot days for a single cold one with you.”
“You don’t have to, you can spend a hot night or two in another room and I’ll still be here in the winter,” She caught herself speaking too quickly again. Just as she’d embarrassed him, he’d managed to slip beyond her stoicism and take a firm grasp on her heartstrings, “You’re so naïve.”
“What’s it like for you? Can you even tell that tea is hot? Are cold drinks the same as warm ones for you?” He followed up.
“Oh, I can tell when a drink is ice cold and a meal is piping hot,” She quickly confirmed before falling prey to greater speculation, “Though, I suppose the difference may not be as pronounced as how you feel it. Perhaps my threshold for what’s acceptable greatly differs,” They were getting off topic, “Regardless, it takes an exceptional change in our surroundings for me to feel what you are now. To experience what you are, I’d have to sleep in an ice bath or by a lava river,” She gave it a thought, natural temperatures weren’t the sort she most often felt, “I feel hot more commonly than cold, but I suppose I don’t in the same way that you do. I can feel the heat that I create, be it literal fire or otherwise, but that’s never uncomfortable in the way you describe. I don’t seek out the cold when I’m alight, my temperature could keep rising and I’d be unphased. It’s not the same as natural heat, it’s just… hot.”
“I’m not sure I understand,” Silver admitted, “I guess we’re describing alien experiences to each other.”
It was true but, after twiddling with his chest fur for a moment longer, she managed to think things out just a little more clearly, “My flames are part of me so, while I feel their heat, it doesn’t affect me. I suppose they also allow me to ignore more mundane forms of heat, up to a certain point.”
“Oh, okay. It’s like your just more insulated because you’re already used to a certain kind of heat?” The hedgehog hummed.
“I suppose so,” She answered, but her mind had begun to drift.
Beyond the hedgehog’s shoulder was her alarm clock, only just lit enough that she could make out its face. It was quarter past one, they’d already breached the next day. She was tired, that much was undeniable, but exhaustion wasn’t enough to dissuade her. The feline hadn’t worked much today, she’d been in and out of meetings but neither had sparred nor trained. Well, it wasn’t as though he could sleep, why not take advantage?
Blaze sat up in bed, allowing the covers to tumble loose. With a yawn, she brushed back her hair with her fingers and cast a glance down her frame. Black spat shorts and a loose white tank top were hardly the ideal garb for this plan but, with the addition of a nearby dressing gown and a set of slippers, she supposed they would suffice. Silver was staring at him, confusion in his glowing eyes.
“Seeing as you refuse to leave my side, and that you’re never going to sleep at this rate, we’re going out,” The feline slipped off of the edge of the bed and into a set of soft black slippers, “Let’s go where the air is cool.”
“What, now? Where?” His surprise fell on deaf ears as she wrapped herself up in a black dressing gown with baggy sleeves and a length that stretched well beyond her knee. It was his of course but he hardly needed it, even in Winter, so she’d found herself donning it more and more often.
The princess paced away from the bed, throwing a glance through the balcony door. It was a dark and cloudy night, hardly the sort for stargazing. Well, hardly the sort the regular people would spend stargazing. There was a place that they could always go, where the air would be cooler and the sky would be clear.
She glanced back only to find that Silver had stumbled out of bed, his quills cursed with pre-emptive bedhead. Not only were his front quills bedraggled but the pack pair had fanned out as a result of him lying on his back, giving the appearance that he had wings. He had managed to shuffle into his own pair of slippers, a fluffy grey set, but wore no garb beside them. The moment that he was within reach, she snatched up his hand and led him onto the outdoor landing.
The air was still, and the night bordered on being silent, as she cast her gaze across the dark garden bellow. Though his presence would light the area, she doubted he’d find much in the way of coolness down there. They had to go higher. Casually, Blaze released his hand but snuck her arm up his shoulder.
The hedgehog looked so confused, she leaned into him, “Let’s go visit the stars.”
He finally understood. Without another moment of hesitation, cyan energy began to coreless around the pyrokinetic. Blaze felt herself lighten before she slipped briefly into the air. He caught her legs, carrying her in an almost bridal style. The energy ebbed from him, flowing to encase his frame. His quills straightened and fluffed up as all that was white became teal. Gingerly, the hedgehog took a floating step to land on the balcony wall.
“Are you sure you want to do this, Blaze?” As he questioned, she moved in, “It is pretty la-
Her lips found his, cutting him off before he began to overthink this, “If it’ll help you cool off and sleep well then of course I do,” The hedgehog was blushing, she could see it through his aura, “Besides, we haven’t seen the stars tonight.”
That was enough to convince him to kick off and into the air. They glided slowly upward, and Blaze felt the wind part her fur. Though his frame was encased in psychic energy, she could see the slight drag of his flight rustling through his quills.
While she had once feared heights, reuniting with her partner had inspired a sort of enjoyment of them. She’d still been tense about them at first but, as had been the case in that other timeline, traveling with him had eased her fear. Once she could barely stand on her balcony, now she could happily sit amongst the clouds. Being with him made it easier of course, but she could still manage more now than she ever could before.
Seeing the sky on nights like this had helped with that growth too. Above them the cosmos stretched out endlessly, encompassing more than either time traveller could surely comprehend. Southern Island didn’t have much in the way of light pollution so the greater universe was usually clear to see but, with the clouds blocking out all evidence of civilisation, the sky was perfect. Even the stretching spiral arms of galaxies were totally visible. It was the kind of sky that most would only see once in a lifetime, yet it was so casually at her fingertips.
It was only in these rare moments that the true colouration of the universe became clear to her. The sky wasn’t just some black canvas with white speckles dotted across it, the universe was endlessly colourful. The emptiness was a deep dark blue but, no point in the sky was truly empty. The blueness was born from the light of a billion stars stretching out in endless directions, coming in all shapes and at all manner of distance. Some had more of a purple sheen to them, others a much purer white. Regardless, the moon’s presence, amongst yet separate from the rest of the cosmos, was that of a waxing crescent, only a night away from entirely vanishing.
“Is it better up here?” She asked, finally breaking her gaze from the sky.
“The wind is nice, the view is too,” He practically purred, “But just being here with you is nicer.”
Blaze rolled her eyes, “I want to know if this is helping Silver, first and foremost.”
“It is, it’s a lot more comfortable,” He more truthfully answered, “I’m not sure how long I can keep flying though. We’re not at risk of falling or anything, it’s just pretty late; I’m just tired.”
“Then let’s use this opportunity to tire you out properly,” She suggested, “The longer we stay up here, the less energy you’ll have to fight off sleep.”
She could tell that all he’d said was true by his body language alone. While the hedgehog’s usual serious gaze had been replaced with a far dopier one, all stiffness had faded from his shoulders and a small grin refused to leave his muzzle. Being up here really was helping.
Gently, but with intent, she pushed against his chest and felt him shift in the air. In a matter of moments he went from floating upright to lying on his back, almost settled atop a bed of clouds. He’d have fit in with them if it weren’t for the glowing energy that surrounded his being.
He looked perplexed as she stared down at him, “I thought you wanted to watch the stars?”
“The brightest star in the sky is right in front of me,” She countered, easing herself to lay more comfortably.
Her legs straddled his waist as she laid chest to chest with him, crossing her arms and setting her chin upon them. He didn’t seem to know where to stare, at her or the stars above, and her flustering comment likely hadn’t aided in that debate. He’d compared her to a star so often but, truth be told, he was far more like one than her. The hedgehog would take to the air so casually, it was almost as though he belonged up here with the night sky. While she had shunned her flames for so long, he’d glittered and shone for as long as she’d known him.
“You’re very light,” He mumbled, finally settling to look at her.
“Silver, you can lift buildings with the wave of your hand. Your understanding of light and heavy isn’t normal,” She casually parried.
“But I don’t have to use my powers to lift you,” He sleepily babbled, yawning partway through, “I remember when you were taller than me, that didn’t stop me either…”
Blaze cast her mind back, considering the time he was talking about. From when they’d first met until their early teenage years, the difference between their heights had been negligible. She assumed there here had been periods where she’d overtaken him, but he surely wasn’t thinking about one of those. He was thinking about the last time she’d been taller than him. When they were twelve, bordering on thirteen, she’d endured a growth spurt and ended up a good few inches taller than him. She’d rather taken pride in the change, using it as leverage to insist on doing a great share of their work, but it hadn’t lasted for long. By the time they’d turned fourteen he had taken the lead again, a position he’d hold for the rest of their lives, regardless of the heels she wore. That didn’t mean she’d given back control, of course.
“For less than a year, yes, I was,” She smiled, “We were neck and neck for a while. I rather liked being taller than you.”
“Sorry,” He grinned back, “I should have tried to stay short.”
“Some things just can’t be forgiven,” She yawned, feeling the weight of the hour on her shoulders, “You’ll have to find some other way to make it up to me.”
“Like what?” He asked, clearly not entirely oblivious.
Gently yet casually, she slipped forward and allowed her lips to mingle with his again. Fingers began to ply through windswept fur, she felt her tail coil around his back and heard a deep purr begin to ebb from his throat. She gingerly took his muzzle in her hand before not so softly pushing his cheek to deepen their lip-lock. The hedgehog wasn’t a bad kisser but, truth be told, he still seemed to lose himself in the occurrences’ bliss. More often than not, she found herself taking the lead in these situations and this was no different. When they finally parted, beaming like a fool the hedgehog’s eyes didn’t reopen.
“You’ll think of something,” She told him, keeping a hand on his cheek.
It was only with those words that Blaze noticed a change in their surroundings. All of a sudden his body was melding with the clouds, they had begun a slow and very controlled descent. When she was small, she’d have panicked at this; she’d have insisted on knowing what he was doing rather than knowing it inherently. At their age, having known him for this long, she could read him like a book. Now that he’d cooled down, the psychic had realised just how tired he was.
They vanished into the clouds and, now unable to see him, she could feel it. While his tail had been lightly wagging before, it’d now slowed almost to a standstill. His cheeks were plush in her hand, not resisting her touch on even a subconscious level, and his movements were heavy. The thump of his heart, barely audible over the buzzing of his aura, was peacefully rhythmic, he was entirely calm, so very comfortable with her atop him. Perhaps her heat truly wasn’t the problem.
As they exited through the cloud layer, Blaze was able to look upon his muzzle once again. His eyes had remained closed and relaxation had overtaken the smile on his face. The castle drifted back into view behind them and, without so much of a glance from the hedgehog, they lowered to perfectly levitate through the balcony doors. In a matter of moments, he glid down to arrive on their thoroughly messy bed.
Did he fall asleep the moment his head met with his pillow? Her rational side doubted it but, watching his frame ease into the mattress made her want to believe so. It’d surely be a fitful sleep, he’d probably wake up early or drift in and out of consciousness. Still, as long as she’d helped him get the slightest grace of sleep, she was happy with her efforts.
With a yawn and a stretch, she took a more comfortable position curled up against his frame before soon joining him in the land of the dreaming.
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Murphy day Pt.3
Masterlist - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 4
Pairing: Bad Batch x Reader
Words: 2302 words. I know it’s short! But it needed to end there.
Warnings: None.
A/N: This chapter is not the end like I thought because something went terribly wrong somewhere and I ended up far away from my initial plan. So here it is, the best chapter ever to finish 2020.
Fors is an Original planet. I do not give permission to people to use it for their own fics, the planet, the animals, the Nightmares, the lore or anything related to Fors.
Thank you.
You found solace in the fact that the rain wasn't as heavy as what you were used to. Instead of the torrential rain that barely allowed you to see a meter before you, the only handicap you had was the discomfort of your clothes sticking to your skin and to Wrecker's armor. With a smile, you thanked yourself for choosing a dark outfit despite the clear sky that greeted you early in the morning, your initial light blue shirt would have forced you to throw yourself in mud to save what you had left of dignity.
Speaking of dignity, you couldn’t stop chuckling along with Wrecker at the shining star guiding the group. Tech would sometimes turn around to glare at the both of you, but really, there was nothing he could do to save himself at this point.
The dry phosphorescent poo mixed with puke he fell in earlier finally kicked in now that the sun was hidden behind the dark clouds, illuminating his armor like a mighty beacon leading your steps towards salvation. Most of the sticky mixture had washed off his armor by now, getting rid of what he couldn’t remove by himself, leaving the light parts of his armor stained in the phosphorescent color.
“Don’t take it like that Techie! At least the smell is gone!” You laughed along with Wrecker.
At the sound, Shiny fussed, jumping happily on his tiny legs until he bumped into Crosshair who crouched slightly to calm him with a pat on the head. Shiny walked near his favorite sniper, his green horns illuminating proudly his steps like a young star that somehow found its way down onto this nightmare of a planet. Watching the duo from your venture point behind them, you thought about how opposed those two were but strangely enough, seemed to be the most comfortable around each other.
Well, maybe you would be returning home alone after all.
If you made it home that is.
“Are we close?” Hunter stopped walking to fall back at Wrecker’s side.
Squinting your eyes to protect them from the rain, you adjusted your grip around Wrecker as you moved your head forward to get a better view of your position.
“Almost there!” You reported cheerfully, your head falling back in its place on the hard pauldron, your forehead comfortably pressed at the base of the black helmet that protected Wrecker from the rain.
“Enjoying yourself?” The gruff voice reached your ears again, although this time there was something new in his tone. You shrugged it off, passing the fault on the occasional water drop that fell in your ear.
“Can’t say I don’t.” You replied sheepishly, a smile stretching your lips despite your best efforts.
It was nice to be treated like that for the very first time in your life. Not like a damsel in distress, you still wanted to smack him for that, but to be treated like you were important. Like someone cared. It was warming and comforting so you’d take it while it lasted. Plus, it allowed you to recharge your batteries for a bit as well as giving time for the muscles in your legs to relax and stop contracting painfully.
“She likes me Sarge!"
His arms tighten slightly around you as he bumped his brother playfully, your feet hitting armor in the movement.
"It's nothing to be so happy about." You mumbled under your breath, low enough that the rain swallowed your words.
"I don't see why." Hunter walked a bit faster so he had a visual on you, head tilted slightly to the side.
"What?" You asked at the same time Wrecker did, who turned to you, a smile on his lips that you couldn't see under his painted helmet.
A yelped from Tech at the front alerted you that he tripped. Again.
"I don't see why he shouldn't be happy that you like him." He clarified.
Your cheeks suddenly became very hot as your brain finally remembered that his hearing was far above average. To make it worse, Wrecker's visor was now solely fixed on your face and you were sure that he was analyzing the pink covering your cheeks.
Looking around for an escape, your eyes found the perfect getaway in the shape of an endless field of glowing purple flowers in the distance.
"Look! We're here!" You blurted out with too much enthusiasm, unlatching your hands from behind Wrecker's neck and pushing yourself out of his arms so suddenly that he didn't have the time to adjust his grip.
You hurried on your feet despite your aching knees who met the hard ground without warning, your desperation to escape the subject propelling you forward, passing Tech the glorious shining star and into the meadow towards the river where a grey ship was stationed on the opposite bank.
" 'cause 'm far from a catch Sarge." You repeated the words you've heard so many times before, feet entering the cold water to get to the other side as soon as possible. There was no way he could've heard that one. Not over the rain, the current of the river, and a good couple of meters separating you.
"What was that?" You yelped in surprise, Tech's eyes widening in turn following your outburst. He must have run after you.
"Nothing." You breathed, a hand over your heart in an attempt to calm it down.
"We should cross the river in tandem. We'll have less chance to get dragged by the current." He dropped the subject and offered you his hand after getting in the waist high water with you.
"Good idea." You took his warm gloveless hand in yours, lacing your fingers with his for a better grip.
You walked at the same pace, each of you using the other to balance yourself. Your feet slipped once under the strong force of the current, sending your heart into a frantic rhythm until your boots passed the small inch of slippery rocks and found a good grip into a bed of mud. Tech had stopped walking, his grip tightening around your fingers as much as you did around his in your panic.
You nodded to tell him that you were ready to start again and he followed your lead. With small steps you made it to the other side safely, Tech got out of the water first and turned around to offer you a hand. Grateful, you let him pull you out of the mad stream.
"Thanks, Tech." You huffed on your knees, breathing deeply to force your heart to work faster, providing more blood flow through your body to fight against the cold of the water.
You heard three splashes behind you, the remaining boys must have decided to follow Tech's idea and cross the current with each other. With a quick glance, you confirmed that they were indeed following the example, Shiny secured under Wrecker's arm.
"You're welcome." He presented his hand again to help you up.
Just as your hand lifted to his, a movement just behind him caught your attention, a hiss reached your ears, stopping your heart.
Time slowed for a second, Tech's residual glow illuminating two elliptical pupils staring him down with a predatory glint and rows after rows of thin razor sharp teeth and terrifyingly long fangs creeping their way over his head.
You saw Tech's head turning to see what caused the sound, his other hand flying to his holster, but you were faster. Your heart started beating again, pumping blood like never before, your hand shot out to close around Tech's outstretched one and with a sharp pull, you made him dive into you, away from the deadly clasping maws.
"Get up! Get up!" You stressed as the remaining Batchers yelled to know what was wrong.
Ignoring them for the most urgent matter, you pushed him off hurriedly all the while keeping a firm grip on his hand, turned around, and pulled him after you in the opposed direction.
You turned your head to see if the beast was following and sure enough, the draconic head of the Basilisk was gaining ground, its powerful body waving rapidly on the wet grass. Its dark scales made him hard to discern under the clouded sky, although his eyes and his three-forked tail made a stark contrast.
"Don't stop running Tech!" You yelled, praying that he wouldn't trip like he did all the way here.
"Don't worry!"
The ground shook under your feet, both your heads snapping back at the impact. The basilisk disappeared underground, digging a hole with its strong and heavy body, using the thick spikes covering the whole length of its body to dig and move around away from its preys' eyes.
"It went underground!" Tech panicked. "This thing can go underground!"
"We have to get off the ground! Now!" You yelled over the rain.
The ship was now forgotten, too far behind to even hope of getting there in time. You had two options, climbing the Waytree which you were sure Tech couldn't possibly climb in his armor or get up the rock promontory.
The ground rumbled beneath your feet, telltale of the Basilisk getting closer.
"Up there!" You pointed to the top of the inclined rock overlooking the meadow.
At this point, Tech took the lead, running faster than you, pulling you with him in his wake to get to safety. The unusual speed along with the wet grass slipping underneath your boots almost made you trip more than once.
"Tech, are you two okay?" Hunter's voice barely resonated out of the clones flashing wrist armor piece. His voice managed to calm you to some point for some unknown reason. Maybe it was because he saved you from hungry teeth before. "Tech!"
"Fine for now." He answered in a slightly higher tone than usual. "Not for long."
"Hang on." The line cut and you found out that it panicked you more.
The shaking intensified to a point where you thought for the second time that day that you were done. Your heartbeat resonated in your head, the sound of the rain filled your ears, the splatter of the water hitting your skin made you numb and the vibration beneath your feet put you on edge.
With a scream on the verge of your lips, you finally made it to the promontory, Tech pulling behind him until you reached the very end of the rock.
A crash erupted behind you, the Basilisk erupting from under ground where the soft ground let place to something way too hard for it to continue digging.
You saw the brille protecting its eyes retract as its maw opened in a warning hiss, slowly creeping its way towards you. A quick glance behind showed a nothingness that scared you to the bone. Either you jumped into the abyss and broke a lot of bone at your landing four stairs below or you could get chewed and digested by a gigantic snake.
Tech grabbed his blaster, aiming at the approaching beast, the hand still gripping you tightening in fear.
Before he could fire, the Basilisk screeched in pain as a blaster bolt hit him right in the eye. The sudden sound made the both of you jump, Tech's shoulder bumping you enough for you to lose your balance.
"Tech!" You yelped, pulling onto him to regain footing.
The Basilisk continued its ascension of the rock, crawling its way towards its prizes. Blaster bolts rained onto its side, infuriating the creature. Turning around in a hiss, the Basilisk changed its target, choosing to hunt the remaining clones instead. As it roamed away, the forked tail hit the promontory aggressively, the resulting shockwave projecting you right on your stomach to the ground, your top half dangling over the edge, hand still trapped between the engineer's who had lost its footing and fell off your perch.
Luckily, your left foot caught into a fissure, keeping you anchored.
"Don't let go!" He pleaded, panic lacing his voice.
"Never." You gritted your teeth, locking your bones in position.
With a colossal effort, you forced your boot down deeper into the crack while trying to pull Tech back up with your body half over the edge.
Rain traveled down your face, dripping onto Tech's glasses that you now noticed had a flashing red light on their sides. Wet strands blocked your peripheral view, allowing you to concentrate solely on your task of saving your newly acquired friend and forget the other three fighting a gigantic carnivorous snake without any knowledge on its species.
A sudden bright light illuminated Tech's eyes, the raw fear in them screaming at you to not drop him gave you a boost of strength. Ignoring the burning of your muscles, you forced your arms to pull harder, to push your limit and pull him up.
Your grip on him was slipping, his wet deadweight too much for your small fingers. Surely, if you both survived this, your fingers would be sore and bruised.
Slowly, inch by inch, you managed to pull him back on the rock, your arms shaking under the effort and groans falling from your lips. Tech managed to grip onto a crevice of his own, helping you in your critical task. He almost had his elbows secured on the rock, prompting you to put all your remaining strength behind this one last pull.
The second his elbows touched the rock, your foot slipped and you immediately let go of his hand to not drag him down with you.
It was disappointing to finally know that no, your life doesn't flash before your eyes moments before you die. You'd have loved to see your dad one last time before… well.
Screams pierced your ears right before darkness engulfed you in a sickening crack.
#bad batch x reader#tech x reader#crosshair x reader#wrecker x reader#hunter x reader#damn that ended badly#Wasn't even supposed to go this way#it litterally wrote itself#murphy day
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Book Eighty-One: Billy Summers
“Maybe a chilly story needs a chilly writing room, he thinks. It’s as good an explanation as any, since the whole process is a mystery to him, anyway.”
Well hello there, Constant Readers! Have you missed me and my half-assed reviews of Steve books?
Crickets.
I know I’ve promised book reviews, television recaps... all the things. But I’m kind of busy living and enjoying life at the moment, without the need to take notes or screen grabs. That being said, I really did enjoy Billy Summers, and it took me almost a hundred pages to remember how this blogging thing worked. I was supposed to take notes? Dark Tower references? DePere, Wisconsin? Should I remember that for some reason? But don’t worry, it was like riding a bike. This blog is full of all the stuff you’ve come to know and love, as well as SPOILERS!!! So, if you have not finished the book yet, stop reading and come back once you’ve turned the last page.
SPOILERS!!!
Consider yourselves adequately warned.
Billy Summers doesn’t really include anything supernatural, and it’s more suspenseful and plot driven than some of Steve’s other books. In other words, it’s another great recommendation for people who don’t claim they don’t like Stephen King.
Billy is an assassin who has mastered the art of “dumb like a fox”.
He’s hired for a new assignment, but something seems off. Billy has been in the assassin game long enough to know when something is foul in the state of Denmark. He doesn’t trust the people who hired him, and he has the distinct impression he’s going to end up as the patsy in the end. But, he plays along as Dave Lockridge, single man and writer. He moves onto a charming street in Midwood (I kept reading this as Midworld... thanks, Steve), makes friends with all the neighbors, and beats all the neighborhood kids at Monopoly on the weekends. This part of the book was so tender, it reminded me a lot of Ted Brautigan and the kids from Hearts in Atlantis. Of all the things Billy later regrets, it’s letting these kids down, and having them trust him when he was obviously so untrustworthy.
During the day, Billy writes at his office in Gerald Tower. There’s always a tower, isn’t there? And this tower takes on more significance, because it’s the spot from which Billy is supposed to shoot Joel Allen. Joel is due to be transferred to Midwood, and marched up the steps of the courthouse just like in The Outsider. Constant Readers remember how well that worked out...
Billy has an assassins creed: he only shoots bad guys. On the scale of bad guys, Joel Allen isn’t quite Ted Bundy, but he’s not Mr. Rodgers either. He had something of a “me too” moment when he accidentally mistook a feminist writer for a sex worker; and there was a gun fight outside of a poker game. It’s enough for Billy to work with.
Billy is waiting for Joel to be transferred to the Midworld Midwood county lock-up; and he bides his time by actually doing some writing. He covers his tragic childhood (his mom worked in a laundry facility, just like Steve’s mom), and his time in the military. This is where Steve really shines. Billy’s book is written in a childish tone that just WORKS. It’s exactly what you’d expect from a simple-minded assassin. But still waters, friends. As the story goes on, Billy’s voice grows and improves. Well done, Steve, it’s like two books for the price of one.
In between writing, Billy assumes another fake identity (Dalton Smith), and secures a bolt hole to hide out in once his job is complete. Believe it or not, the murder of Joel Allen is such an insignificant part of the book. Billy successfully takes him out, and makes it to his bolt hole undetected. And this is really where the second part of the book starts.
One rainy night, Billy hears random noises outside his apartment. He looks out the window in time to see a van full of guys dump a female body into a gutter. Billy should have just anonymously called the police... but if he had done that, we wouldn’t have a story. Instead, Billy goes full on Captain Save A Ho, and pulls the young woman from the gutter. It’s clear she had been drugged and assaulted, and she manages to puke all over Billy’s place.
Neat.
When Alice wakes up in the morning, she recognizes Billy from the police sketches, but promises not to rat him out for the Joel Allen murder. They form an unlikely friendship that includes watering the neighbor’s plants, watching Blacklist, and Alice reading Billy’s book. Basically, they were sheltering in place before that was even a thing; something Steve jokes about. Eventually, Billy knows he needs to get the rest of his money for the Joel Allen hit, and punish the guys who raped Alice.
Y’all. I’m still having nightmares over the most creative use of a hand mixer I have ever read. I thought the can-opener in Lisey’s Story was bad... this was worse. But the kind of worse you feel good about, if that makes sense.
After finding out the name of the guy behind the Joel Allen hit, killing a few bad dudes, and pissing off a bitch named Marge (fucking Marge if you’re nasty), Billy and Alice hunker down in Colorado with Billy’s assassin booking agent, Bucky.
As soon as Billy and Alice entered Colorado and the town of Sidewinder was mentioned, I knew where we were headed. Yeah buddy, Overlook time!
Billy takes to writing in a little shack behind Bucky’s house, and inside the shack is a Polaroid picture of the topiary animals at the Overlook. Every time Billy looks at the picture, the animals seem to have shifted. It gives him a cold sense of dread.
There’s a certain parallel I picked up on in Colorado: Jack Torrance and Billy Summers are both haunted men running away from things. The Overlook was where Jack went to dry out, and work on his writing. He wanted to work on his marriage, and become a better father to Danny. We all know he failed spectacularly. Then, we’ve got Billy. Billy actually gets writing accomplished, and becomes an unlikely father-figure to Alice. Despite having just as much, if not more baggage than Jack, Billy doesn’t let it define him. He acknowledges it, and moves past it. It’s almost like Billy accomplishes what Jack couldn’t. And it took the Overlook burning to the ground for that to happen.
While we’re on the topic of Billy and Alice, one of the things I love about Steve’s characters is he never forces romance where there doesn’t need to be any. While Billy acknowledges the age gap between him and Alice, nothing untoward ever happens between them. There’s obvious love, but never the romantic kind. Steve is one of the few contemporary writers to get this right.
The story ends with Billy killing the guy behind Joel’s hit, getting shot by Marge as he leaves the crime scene (fucking Marge), Alice nursing him back to health, and getting him back to Colorado where they all live happily ever after.
I wish.
I wish I had stopped reading twenty-three pages before the book ended, because the actual end was more realistic, but heartbreaking. In reality, fucking Marge shot Billy in the stomach, and he died of an infection in the back of a Walmart parking lot. Fucking Marge indeed. But this was the way the book should have ended. Needed to end. Anything else would have been unrealistic. But damn, I hated to see Billy go out like that.
There was one Wisconsin reference: after Billy kills Joel Allen, he’s supposed to be transferred to a safe house in De Pere. You know... where Steve lived when he was in a kid.
Other than Gerald Tower, we were also graced with “the world has moved on-” just to remind us that we all follow The Beam.
Total Wisconsin Mentions: 49
Total Dark Tower References: 78
Book Grade: A+
Rebecca’s Definitive Ranking of Stephen King Books
Doctor Sleep: A+
The Talisman: A+
Wizard and Glass: A+
11/22/63: A+
Mr. Mercedes: A+
Billy Summers: A+
End of Watch: A+
Under the Dome: A+
Needful Things: A+
On Writing: A+
The Green Mile: A+
Hearts in Atlantis: A+
Full Dark, No Stars: A+
The Outsider: A+
The Bazaar of Bad Dreams: A+
If It Bleeds: A+
Just After Sunset: A+
Rose Madder: A+
Misery: A+
Different Seasons: A+
It: A+
Four Past Midnight: A+
Stephen King Goes to the Movies: A+
The Shining: A-
The Stand: A-
Finders Keepers: A-
Bag of Bones: A-
Duma Key: A-
Black House: A-
The Institute: A-
The Wastelands: A-
The Drawing of the Three: A-
The Dark Tower: A-
Dolores Claiborne: A-
Blaze: B+
Hard Listening: B+
Revival: B+
Nightmares in the Sky: B+
The Dark Half: B+
Joyland: B+
Skeleton Crew: B+
The Dead Zone: B+
Nightmares & Dreamscapes: B+
Wolves of the Calla: B+
‘Salem’s Lot: B+
Song of Susannah: B+
Carrie: B+
Creepshow: B+
Later: B+
From a Buick 8: B
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon: B
Sleeping Beauties: B-
The Colorado Kid: B-
Storm of the Century: B-
Everything’s Eventual: B-
Cycle of the Werewolf: B-
The Wind Through the Keyhole: B-
Danse Macabre: B-
The Running Man: C+
Cell: C+
Thinner: C+
Dark Visions: C+
The Eyes of the Dragon: C+
The Long Walk: C+
The Gunslinger: C+
Pet Sematary: C+
Firestarter: C+
Rage: C
Desperation: C-
Insomnia: C-
Cujo: C-
Nightshift: C-
Faithful: D
Gerald’s Game: D
Roadwork: D
Lisey’s Story: D
Christine: D
Dreamcatcher: D
The Regulators: D
The Tommyknockers D
I’m not going to end this with any promises of upcoming posts. That way when I do randomly stumble on here one afternoon, it will be a delight for us all.
Until next time, Long Days & Pleasant Nights,
Rebecca
#constant reader#stephen king#the dark tower#the shining#billy summers#hearts in atlantis#lisey's story#the overlook#jack torrance
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Vows (Carol Danvers x Wife!Reader)
100 Word Prompt Challenge Day 11: Name
Day 10: Rich
Summary: It’s your wedding night, and rather than share your vows in front of your guests, you and your new wife, Carol, exchange them privately. You also have a surprise for Carol that she wasn’t expecting.
“I love you.” Carol told you between featherlight kisses that she trailed down your neck, “My beautiful wife.”
You sighed peacefully, smiling like a child, “I’m never gonna get tired of hearing you say that, love.”
“Good.” She grinned back, reaching up to press a tender kiss to your lips, “Because I’m never gonna get tired of saying it. Now, come on.”
Carol grabbed your hand and pulled you up, leading you toward the rented cabin’s balcony. It was a beautiful night, a clear sky filled with stars and a bright full moon shining down on both of you as a warm summer breeze rushed over you.
On the balcony, overlooking a beautiful Adirondack scene, you and Carol joined hands and faced each other, unable to hide the childish grins on your faces. You had been waiting for this moment for so long, to say to each other what you had been wanting to say ever since you had first become engaged. And now that moment was here.
“Do you wanna go first or should I?” She asked you, playing with the silver band that sat on your left ring finger.
“You go first.” You insisted, pressing your forehead to hers gently. Carol took a deep breath and began.
“Y/N, when we first met, I knew that you were going to change my life forever. The way you smile, the way you laugh, the way you always manage to look on the bright side of things, I can’t get enough of it. I can’t get enough of you. No matter where I am, no matter who I’m with,” She held up her left hand, showcasing her wedding band, “I know that your heart will always be mine. And I hope that whenever you look at your ring, you’ll remember that you have mine forever. I love you, Y/N, my love, my life, my everything, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”
You smiled, tears forming at the corners of both your eyes as Carol finished her vows. Releasing her hands, you wiped a few stray tears away from her cheeks with your thumbs, pressing a short, sweet kiss to the tip of her nose before beginning your own speech.
“Carol, never in my entire life have I ever known someone as dedicated, loving and fiery as you, and that last one I mean literally and figuratively.” Carol began to laugh, making you smile even wider, “You’re not only the love of my life, you’re also my inspiration, my rock, my entire world. Being able to fight alongside you, changing the world with you and going through this insane life that we have together, I couldn’t imagine my life any other way. And I am so honored and so proud to call myself Y/N Danvers.”
Carol pulled back from you, shocked. You smirked at her, chuckling as she registered what you had just said. The decision to change your last name was your surprise for her; never had she ever thought that you would change your name and she had never suggested that you should. So when you came to the conclusion that taking her name was what you wanted, you thought it would be best to keep it as a surprise until you two were finally alone.
“You... Danvers?” She spluttered. You gave her a quick kiss and nodded.
“Me Danvers.” You replied happily. And her lips were back on yours, passionate and heated. You responded immediately weaving your fingers into her short hair, wrapping your legs around her waist as she lifted you up and carried you back inside. She set you down on the bed and finally broke away, smiling down at you, her beautiful brown eyes staring down at you with a sudden lust.
“Well, Mrs. Danvers, get ready for the best night of your life.” She growled, leaning down to nip at your earlobe.
You smirked, narrowing your eyes as you hooked one of your legs around hers, flipping her over so that you were on top of her.
“Bring it on, Mrs. Danvers.”
#carol danvers x reader#captain marvel x reader#captain marvel#carol danvers#avengers fandom#avengers x reader#avengers#bucky barnes x reader#tony stark x reader#clint barton x reader#natasha romanoff x reader#thor x reader#steve rogers x reader#wanda maximoff x reader#prompt challenge#day 11
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BST: Chapter 3 - Life goes on, the beginning of an end (past)
A/N: This chapter is set in the past. I’ve wrote a background for Yoongi and the character.
Tags: mention of gun, blood, death, PTSD, gore-y, it’s a gang/mafia AU. If you’re not comfortable, please skip.
Word count: 3240 words
Previous
What your younger and naive self didn’t know then was that it was going to be the last time you saw your parents smiling happily, being alive and well. You never wondered even for a second, how the mansion you live in, the expenses, clothing, and jewelry were obtained through their laundered and bloodied money. Looking back, you had just figured they were Old Money. What you didn’t know then and innocently assumed would come back and take its toll.
*Min Residence*
“Prepare the headquarter base! Enemy line invasion!” as Yoongi’s father yelled to the subordinate of the Yeonson gang. “My dear, you need to leave with Yoongi before they breach through the first security level, it’s not safe here.”, his gaze softens when it lands on the sight of his wife and their son cradled in her arm, soundly asleep. Despite the authority in his voice, she refused him saying that if this is the place of his final resting then she won’t budge from the spot. “You know I can’t let you do that, I- I need you to live on..If not for me then for him” as he reasoned with concern laced over his scrunched eyebrows. “You know I’m better at handling the ground plan defense than you” she jokes despite the heavy air that surrounded them and scooted closer to him.
Knowing it was going to be a loss cause arguing with her, he let her win and stay as she pleased but he made her promise that when security level 5 was breached, she had to leave immediately. She rolled her eyes at him as she rested her head on his shoulder before parting to leave for the nursery room, hidden within the heart of the house. They shared one last lingering kiss before he committed her smiling face to his memory as if it was the last time he’d see her before running off to the base.
She ascended the grand staircase and headed towards the music room. At the center, there was a black 1926 Steinway Grand Piano bathing in the moonlight shining in from the billowing white curtains. She glanced down at the baby in her hands before kissing him on his forehead as he began to stir. The sound of feet paddling against the marble floor was light as she made her way to the piano, pressing 5 keys before the bookcase on the right began to shift revealing a metal door with a padlock. Tears began to form as her body shifted towards the padlock and her fingers pressed the keys 030993. The metal door opened inward as the automated soft glow of lights inside the room hummed to life. “Even if I don’t make it out alive with you today...Min Yoongi...we love you so much my little one..stay safe and grow up strong for Mommy and Daddy, ok?”, she whispered as she took his small hands in hers and hugged him close, quietly wiping away her tears with her sweater, before releasing him and gently putting him down into his crib. Even if lives would be lost today, Yoongi wouldn’t be found by those who didn’t know the floor plan of the residence. The walls within his nursery room were soundproof even if he cries, no one will hear him. The metal door is thick in size and unbreakable without the code.
That night, Y/N parents followed through on the group’s mission to raid the Min’s resident and base. Your family gang had always been the rival of Yeonson’, always in the crossfire between the smuggled drugs and the underground alcohol scene. That night, Yoongi was safe. The house was empty, except for scattered human remains everywhere. It looked like a war swept through this place, a gang war specifically.
No one came to that resident, the massacre was bloody, body parts were all over the place. It looked like an unearth graveyard, the walls were painted red instead of their normal sparkly wooden color. The butler and the cleaning crew was the one who discovered the baby was alive. It took them a while to crack the code. They wrack their brain for any combination of 6 digits numbers that was special to the Min family until they heard the door unlocked. They picked up the quiet baby and thanked the stars to know their master’s gang would continue. He was their hope, their dream even if the baby didn’t know that. At least the baby would live on, and not starve to death in this tight room had no one came to the rescue.
Your parents had actually survived the raid and came home to their daughter. You were awake, had always been since they left. You ran down the stairs to greet them as you saw your parents walking in, tracking bloody footprints and droplets trailing. Their weary eyes met yours and you could have sworn they looked like they just saw a ghost. They were about to lecture you when they heard the safety pin of a gun being released and the cold metal pressed against the back of their skull. “Turn slowly and place your weapons down”, a cold voice commanded. Your parents froze but slowly comply as you backed away in fear. “You can do whatever you want to us, please just spare our daughter” you heard your mother says. A second later, you heard it, two resounding gunshots and your parents fall to the ground as blood spews onto the marble floor. You screamed while tears streaked down your face blurring your vision as you ran to the safest place you know, your room. Hidden within its wall was an underground playroom, accessible only by voice activation. Your parents had originally built it to house your toys but mainly to protect you in the case there was ever a gang house raid on your property. Your maids and butler came running to the sound of gunshot to find your parents had been assassinated as the rival gang members stood menacingly at your front. They had killed the workers that came running to the scene as they scoured the house to find more prey who bore witness. There was no such a thing as mercy when their boss was killed. They left you though because they deemed you’d be traumatized and end up a weakling who is forever silenced through your nightmares. Oh how wrong they were. That night, you made a promise. Not one of revenge but one of staying strong and surviving.
*12 years later*
The deed of what his family owned would be transferred to Yoongi. He grew into an emotionless stone, though his feature aged like fine wine, as he entered university. He had taken over the gang when he grew old enough to understand the family business.
He was informed long ago that the rival boss’s family had a daughter, one that was alive. Coincidentally, she was attending the same university that he’s currently enrolled in. She was the top of her class while he was simply passing through the day and sleeping it away.
The day you two had met was because you were crying alone near the open field that led into the forest. The university was built on a mountain, one that overlooks the beautiful ocean from afar. The land in between was covered in miles of green forest. He knew of you, of your status as an ex rival gang daughter but also the highest GPA student in the biological science department. You were on track of pre-med after all. You had snuck out of the school festival of mother’s day as students show appreciation for their parents. It was simply too painful, even if the nightmare was 12 years ago. As for Yoongi, he just didn’t care enough and wanted to spend his day elsewhere, a quiet and secluded place at that. He sat down next to you and offered you a cold bottle of water. You turned to see him looking into the forest beyond as you rubbed your eyes quickly. “It’s alright, let it out. It’s better that way”, he whispered almost too quiet but you heard him. You simply nodded, fearful that your voice might be too hoarse and broken to reply. He patted your back soothingly as you twisted the cap and gulped down the cold drink. “What are you doing here Yoongi?” you turn to him as he spun his head to look at you. Your gaze met his for a second before he turned away, rolling his eyes. “I could ask you the same thing”. You just left it at that, not wanting to delve too much and invade into his privacy. Your friendship started from that day onward as he continued to sit with you in silence, his hands never stopping to rest as it rubbed your back soothing. The rest of the time there was history.
As the bother of you entered your third year, he invited you over to his house. The memory of the first time that you had agreed would be forever etched into your mind. When you walked a step through the front door that the maid had opened for you, you came face to face with a black caliber pointed at you. “Who are you? Why are you here?” he says as you squint to look at the man before you. “Yoongi invited me here, it should be me asking who are you to point a gun at a guest? Aren’t you simply being quite rude?” you replied back smartly as you heard the cocking sound from the metal. “Watch your mouth” he spits out at you before a resounding yell cuts through the tension between the two of you. “Put that gun away NOW Jungkook” Yoongi yells as he quickly descends the stairs, nearly leaping to get to the two of you. Jungkook pauses to considers his boss’s order for a second before putting his guns away, his scold still potent on his face as you both stare daggers at each other. Yoongi reaches you in a flash to stand between the two of you as he pushes Jungkook back by the shoulder. “Hyung, she could be an invader, you let a stranger into the house!” he says as he throws up his hand in a questioning stance to mock his leader. “She’s not a stranger, she’s a good friend of mine from my class” he says as he levels his gaze as his youngest. Jungkook only sighs and shrugs back before turning to leave. “You’re not off the hook for this. What he says better be the truth or I’ll have a bullet in you in seconds” he threatened as he turned left to head towards the wing that he came from.
The nights you spent at his new house (bought after he sold his parents property but copied the design with the exact same structure and hidden base) by the ocean was comforting. You first came to study for your midterms together. Half of the time was just finding ways to distract the other while the other sighed and scolded to get back to studying. It had been nearly 3 hours so you both figured a break would be fitting.
Huddling close together on the cool sand as you snuggle into him. The creamy color sand felt soft beneath your palm as the breeze from the ocean flew gently through your hair. The sulphury smell of the sea drifting into your nose as you inhale the fresh air. The beach was a place where you confided in him of your dark secrets that were hidden away. Years of secrets house within the castle of your being. The secrets entailing how you were always alone, the nightmare of having seen your parents murdered in front of you at such a young age, and of your upbringing as a daughter of a mafia gang and the history of your life. The nightmares that keep recurring, forcing you to relive it endlessly. In a way, you could say it’s PTSD. The fear gripped at your skin making you shiver every time your mind relieves it, the memory still fresh and the warm blood that painted your palm.
Of course, he already knew the majority of your history, having dug it out when his parents were murdered by yours. If he had to be honest, he had originally wanted to take out his anger and revenge on you. To carve living hell into your existence as he toys with your insignificance being. To take out his frustration of having to lose his parents to the rival gang. That all changed when he finally got to know you, from meeting you, becoming your best friend to falling in love with you. You don’t know the latter part of his secrets of course being an airhead and oblivious as a brick since you never dated anyone nor cared to. Can anyone blame you though given the trauma you went through having your loving parents murdered and losing them at such a young age? Of course not. He listened intently as you continued to mumble out your life stories. The sound of sniffle grazes through the breeze before he turns to look at you. The cold eyes that looked so human shined at you. You didn’t want to turn to look at him to show your weakened state.
There was a comfortable silence with the sound of your sniffles here and there before he broke it with his own confession. You didn’t really know much about your parents gang or their business so he filled you in. He told you the truth of that night that it was his gang who had murdered your parents. It was a constant war,
of bloodshed, lost lives, missing drugs and more. You nodded in understanding, it makes sense why two large gangs that control Seoul would have to eventually wipe the other out for a full reign. You didn’t blame him though because he was barely a young child much like yourself that night. Despite now knowing that your parents and their gang had been the one to invade his. “In a way, we’re in the same boat. Your parents are gone and so is mine. At least, we have each other” he whispered while looking down at the sand below. He turned to you as his gaze softened, hands reaching to brush your hair down from the breeze. You nodded before saying “We should go inside and really study for this final Yoongi” you as you hold back your laughter. He looks like hes tired to the bone, about to fall asleep seated here on his private beach behind his estate. “Mhm alright if you say so” he nodded as he got up and held his hand to you, pulling you to your feet.
The first time he had planned to invited you to his estate, his inner circle of consigliere had protested. They had gathered to discuss the situation, with Jungkook missing as he slept his fatigue away. They knew who you were. Namjoon especially made a good argument that you could be a double agent to spy on their base so you carry information back to your own gang. He laughed and told them off since he knew for a fact that your gang wasn’t led by you. You hardly even knew the existence of the gang your parents had run. You didn’t care to, gang wasnt your spotlight. You hated physical violence and the mere sight of having to see another body fall lifeless at your feet. The person who stepped up to take care of your gang after your parents had died were the older members of their inner circle. You were simply too young at that time. Even if you had grown older, they never seeked you out nor did you try. “Namjoon, I’ve known her for nearly 2 and a half years. I know her ins and outs, her secrets that she kept hidden for so long. Trust me, she’s not harmful to anyone”, Yoongi replied as Namjoon only scoffed and whispered “yet” under his breath.
Overtime, you have gotten to know his inner circle members. At first, they were cold to you, unrelenting in showing you any ounce of emotions they had for fear of betrayal. You didn’t mind, after all, you only really came for Yoongi since he was your best friend. The only family you’ve ever gotten closer to know aside from the butlers and maids who raised you. It took them nearly half a year as they slowly dropped their mask and took down their walls to show you the real them. You had been instant friends with all the members, especially Hoseok. The sunshine personality of his never fails to make you laugh and smile till your jaw muscle is sore. They knew every bit about you as you knew some about them.
Before you know it, 4 years of a stressful yet blissful life had finished in the blink of an eye. You graduated the top of your class and were accepted to enter into a prestigious medical school while also getting a minor degree in computer science. The boys were delighted to hear the news of your medical school acceptance as they invited you for a celebration dinner. The meal consisted of authentic korean barbecue was delicious sided with sparkling champagne.
That night, you stayed over having gotten a bit drunk and too lazy to go home. Yoongi had a spare room in the main house so he offered for you to stay there.
In the morning, you had woken up earlier than all of them to make breakfast. The kitchen smelled wonderful as you plated 8 sunny side ups, kimchi stew and rice. The boys were ecstatic to have woken up to delicious breakfast as they thanked you endlessly to which you only blushed and said a thousand of thanks in reply. It has been a while since you cooked ever since your parent’s passing. Cooking was what your mother had always loved and so you never touched it, leaving it all to the maid to care for you instead. It reminded you too much of her and the memory was simply too painful to bear again.
“Why don’t you just move in with us y/n?” Hoseok asked as he chewed the vegetable in the kimchi soup. You blushed before turning around as you replied, “Was the food that good or what?” in shock.“Good? Just good? It was amazing. I could eat this every” Jimin pipes in. You only shook your head and laughed. “I’ll consider it since the medical school is closer to your house than mine” you say before turning back to cleaning your dish. Your house was located on the other side of Seoul, an hour drive from his house to yours. A 40 minute drive with traffic from your house to the Seoul Medical University Campus.
It’s a full year before you start medical school as they forced their students to have a gap year in order to encourage students to shadow a medical professional to make sure one last time that they were sure they wanted in. This just simply means an extra year of break for yourself.
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649 days till Graduation Day
Prologue
There was the slightest bit of noise that silent night. The only thing heard was the small tip-tap of footsteps in the basement hall as the person was trying to escape a force unseen that was silently following them. "!!!" They tripped but got back up and made a wall of black fire, hoping that will buy his time as he ran again. He would scream if he could but his mouth had been sewn together and he was 300 feet below the surface....250.....100....30....1. He was so close to the door but it was locked and he tried to break the door down but the force was now towering him as he looked behind, tears falling and his cries going unheard by anyone.
.
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"Ah! Mom! Why are you in my room!?" A loud and annoyed voice whined as a pillow was placed over their face to block the bright sunlight from shining on their face. "I'm in your room, Stella, because it is 10:57 am and it's your birthday, so get up!" The older woman said as she made her hand spark a bit and poked her child. "Ack-" The once sleepy Stella fell off their bed and hit their rug covered marble floor, "ow! Alright, I'm up crazy woman...." She stood up and popped her back but only got shocked again, "ah! What was that for!?" Stella whined at their mom. Stella's mom just laughed, "making sure your awake." She left Stella's room, letting the angry mage whine and go to their bathroom to get ready for the day.
After about 20 minutes, Stella left their room and almost tripped over a bunch of toys, "what the?" They saw they stepped in slime, "Gray! Gianna!" They shouted for the twins as they came running up the stairs. "Yeah?" Gray said, annoyed as he had just been doing something important which Stella knew was a lie. "How many times have I told you not to play slime tag in front of my room?" Stella put their hands together and pointed them towards their little siblings. "Sorry! We will clean it up!" Gianna, being her happy go lucky self said as the two began to clean it up. Stella walked downstairs, waving to their dad who was fixing up the bay window in the living room, and made their way to the kitchen where they found a plate of fresh pancakes waiting and their mom excited, hiding something behind her back. "You're acting weirder than normal mom." They laughed a bit and opened the syrup bottle, pouring some on their pancakes, and ate happily. "Guess who got a letter from Rutherford Trinity High?" Stella's mom said happily. Stella, who had been drinking milk, spewed it out and coughed, their whole face wearing shock, "what!? No way!" Their mom handed them the letter and Stella ripped it up, wondering what such a prestigious school wanted with her.
The letter was on silk-like paper which was nice to the touch, thread designs along the edges. Stella's eyes sparkled as they let their thumb rub over the soft paper and thread. "Hm?" They got over the softness of the paper and went onto the letter which read,
'Dear Stelliana Everdale,
I hope this letter finds you and your family in good health. We have sent this letter to you to invite you to spend your high school years here at Rutherford Trinity High University. Before you ask, no you won't have to pay anything. See this as a scholarship. We have seen your grades and hard-work throughout your years of schooling and are proud to pay in full for a dorm, classes, and lunch. If you are interested in joining our school we have put a number below for you to contact and times we are free. We would love you to join our school Ms. Everdale.
Yours's truly, Headmaster Ray Techlia'
"..." Stella was the least to say in shock. "What's the letter about Stella?" The mom sat next to her child, Stella had come out non-binary to her a few years ago and she was supportive, as Stella's step-dad walked in, "you all okay?" He laughed a bit and wiped his hands off. "They want me to join..." Stella said through their shock. "Sweetie I can not hear you and I'm right by you." Stella's mom pat their head, "Mom they want me to join their school!" Stella jumped off their seat happy as their mom did the same and they hugged happily, Stella's step-dad joining in and lifting them, spinning them, and laughed. "See babe? I knew my baby was smart!" Stella's mom praised and kept hugging her child. "They said to call them if I wanted to," Stella said, still in shock. Stella's mom and step-dad took the paper and went to another room to make the call. Stella was left in the kitchen alone, "..." They left out the backdoor and ran to their bike.
Once Stella had hopped onto their bike, they took off down the sidewalk, "..." They rode to a clearing on a cliff which was a good way away. "..." They passed trees, rocks, valleys, roads, large buildings, small neighborhoods, everything till they got to the beautiful cliff overlooking the beautiful view of the world they lived in. "....heh." They walked to the edge and smiled as they felt the sun on their face. They had to think, 'was this all true? Was their hard work paying off?' "..." Stella looked to the clear blue sky and smiled, "I hope your proud dad." They stood up and raised their hands to the sky.
Meanwhile, in a dark underground place live a creature so full of evil he didn't have a name...he was only known as the creature. "Was the letter delivered?" A dark voice boomed. "Y-Yes, sir." A young woman said, nervous that she would be slaughtered if she said the wrong thing. "Good....that girl's power will be mine." A large claw formed into a fist around a poor person's head that was now just mush and blood seeped through the claw and dropped what used to be a head. "Sir if I might ask, what is so important about this girl's powers that you sent her here...?" The young woman said nervously. There was a pause then silence, "I didn't say you could ask further questions now....did I?" He must have stood up as the woman grew scared and looked up since the large force now towered over her, "!!!" She screamed as she was picked and given to a bunch of wild animals that were dying for food, "this will teach you to never go beyond what I ask..." the thing tossed her into the cage and locked it, sitting back down on his large throne, the woman's screams filling the air. "Don't worry Stelliana....we will meet very soon...I can feel it." His dark laugh boomed throughout the darkroom and halls of the school basement.
Stella got back home, to see their parents watching a movie with the twins, "what is y'all watching?" They peeked over their step-dad's shoulder. The mom shrugged, "I don't know, the twins put it on so why not?" She laughed a bit as Stella rolled their eyes, "well imma head to my room." They kissed the twin's heads and went up to their room. They wanted to research this school they were going to be spending a lot of their life. "..." They brought out their laptop and began their search. They typed in Rutherford Trinity High into the search bar and it didn't take long for millions of results to come up, "that was fast." They looked through every one of the results, only stopping at one that mentioned something about missing graduates, "h-huh?" This made them worry as they scrolled through, "It was five years ago...it could have been a small mishap...." If only they knew what they were about to get themself into by accepting to go to this school.
Stella shut the laptop quickly and set it down gently, plugging it back in and setting it on their nightstand. They turned off their lamp and laid down, looking to their ceiling, the glow in the dark stars and moons glowing softly in the dark. "...." They smiled and couldn't wait to finally see all their hard work pay off. Stella didn't know when they fell asleep that night but all they knew was that they had one weird dream.
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always with me (amasai week day six)
written for @amasaiweek2020 hosted by @toxicisnotapineapple and @storyflight! last fic i have for the week and the last installment in the ‘shuichi gets over rantaro’s death’ series (lmao). questionable ships ahead-
but seriously, i can’t write fluff lmao. and it’s another pretty narrative piece but i hope y’all still like and enjoy it! my ao3 is @silveryyy and this fic is up there, as are all my other ones, and i’ll be posting other fics of mine up there soon, so do stick around and stay tuned, there’s a lot of me y’all haven’t seen yet!
-
Shuichi’s hand lingers on the doorbell as he waits for someone to answer.
The mansion is huge, and as big as the family is, there are only two maids, so it takes quite some time until anyone comes to open the door. It’s quiet all around- the house is in the suburb areas of Sapporo, and not many people of similar status come out at night. At this time of the night, Shuichi is the only one on these streets, alone.
Moonlight smiles down at him, like a gossamer veil of pearl-like periwinkle silk hanging over the area, stray strands of the light winding around the lamp posts and illuminating the rooftops of the mansions. It casts a soft ivory sheen over the greenery lining the streets, the daisies shining a lilac colour as Night’s onyx cloak of darkness attempts to camouflage it. The tar-like fog of Night reaches towards Shuichi, clouds of billowing obsidian mist flooding towards him, starting to fill him with anxiety and doubt, but he’s barely affected- he knows that his best friend is always with him no matter what, and the thought alone comforts him and strengthens him against the attacks of darkness.
Snow is falling from the sky as the ever cold and unforgiving wind whips around Shuichi with its iced daggers and snowy blades, beating relentlessly at his face, and he holds his coat closer as his scarf spins around, tossed by the wind. Despite the cold it brings, the snowflakes are graceful, twirling in an elegant dance as they land lightly on the flowers, on the grass, covering the cobblestones on the pavement, leaving piles of alabaster fluffiness on the sides of the road: it leaps everywhere, coating the roofs and falling, like dimmed meteors, the spears of the stars, onto Shuichi’s hands. He shivers from the contact- it’s freezing cold, and he’s not wearing gloves- but he smiles at the serenity of the moment nonetheless. It’s cliche, but he likes watching the snow fall. There’s something mesmerizing about how the droplets of softened ice sway to the rondo of the wind, how they fall almost uniformly but there’s a natural irregularity to it that makes it ever so interesting to watch. People normally think of snow as something beautiful and soft and lovely until they come into contact with it and dismiss it as annoying, but Shuichi doesn’t. He just loves it, loves the silence it seems to naturally bring, loves the tranquility of its nature.
There’s a poem he really likes, Quieter than Snow, by Bertie Dorherty, that he heard when he was in school. It’s a poem he always thinks about when he sees snow (which is rather often after he moved to Sapporo), even though he knows the poem isn’t actually about snow and is actually rather eerie. He’s never been much of a literature person, being more of a science kid than language, but Kaede, and surprisingly Maki both studied the subject as an elective, and the latter taught him the poem during one of their study sessions with Kaito. It’s somewhat creepy, in his opinion, and sends shivers down his spine, but it’s beautifully written, portrays silence and the strange feelings of feeling alone in somewhere that shouldn’t be, perfectly. The same silence always comes with the falling of snow, and even though Shuichi knows snow absorbs sound and that’s why everything seems so quiet around it, he can’t help but think of the poem.
It takes two minutes until the doorbell is answered. The oakwood doors creak open as Shuichi looks over, and lets a smile spread across his face as Sora opens the door, her face lighting up along with the porch, which is immediately submerged in the light streaming out from the entrance hall.
“Shuichi!” the young woman exclaims, and walks forward to pull the man inside. “We’ve been waiting for you! Sorry it took so long and sorry for leaving you in the cold, Akira was crying and everyone was fussing over her and all…”
“It’s no problem,” the man assures her, and her face relaxes. Shuichi changes into his indoor shoes- he smiles as he sees the shoes with his name clipped on them. He doesn’t live here with Rantaro’s sisters, but he’s over so often that they’ve prepared everything for him in case he drops over anytime.
“Everyone else is in the living room, I think, you’ll probably find whoever you’re looking for there.” Sora smiles at him, and then disappears into a corridor, no doubt off to the sewing room- Shuichi remembers Rantaro describing her as the most creative person he knew, and Shuichi completely agrees. Sora is an avid fan of textiles and sewing, and works as a fashion designer- she’s rather famous here in Japan, actually, and her designs are always popular. He’s seen some of them himself, and found himself extremely impressed- it’s like she weaves her outfits out of strands of moonlight and threads of sunlight. Naoko told him once that she recognized the necklace he wears upon seeing him because of the string the sea glass is strung on, and that it’s one of Sora’s special designs, woven out of the finest silks into a durable pearl-coloured string, and simply was irreplicable.
Despite how large the mansion is- Shuichi finds himself constantly surprised with the vastness of the Amami fortune no matter how many times he’s seen it in action- he’s been around enough times to know his way around. He finds his way to the living room easily, knocking lightly on the oak doors.
This time, his call is answered fairly quickly. The doors open to someone throwing their arms around him tightly. “Shuichi! We’ve been waiting for you!”
“Minori,” he smiles as he greets Rantaro’s youngest sister, the girl a whole eight years younger than he is. She was three when she was lost, according to Rantaro, and was only found four and a half years ago when she was sixteen. She’s an adult now, and Shuichi feels a pang of guilt in his stomach for not finding her earlier, but he pushes the thought away. “It’s great to see you, too.”
The teenage girl smiles happily as she releases him, and lets him into the room. The living room is vast, with dark chocolate coloured glossy floorboards, and beige pillars with gold swirled in them extend to the tall ceiling metres above him, arching to the middle of the ceiling. On the ceiling itself is a mural of the night sky and all the constellations, which glow in the dark when the lights are off, and a large light shaped like the solar system dangles from it. Further down the room, a carpeted spiral staircase, its handles painted gold and embedded with topaz stones that fracture the light and project tiny rainbows everywhere, leads up to a balcony overlooking the living room, connecting a few rooms together. It’s a gorgeous design, and even if Shuichi’s been here many times over the years since he’s found half of the siblings, which was when this mansion was bought, he still marvels at it every single time.
Rantaro’s sisters are scattered all over the room. In the middle, Ena and Akari are pouring over some drawings as Akari, ever the artist, adds small details to a painting, and in one corner of the room, Hanako is playing Mario Kart with Shiori and Inori on a large screen, and Shuichi watches, smiling, as Shiori crosses the finish line first, letting out a cheer, and her eyes turn to him. She laughs as she waves at him, and calls for her youngest biological sister, who is still behind Shuichi. Minori gives Shuichi’s hand a squeeze before she heads on over to her two biological sisters, who welcome her with hugs, and her second oldest sister. In another corner, Yuki is lounging on the bean bag chairs in the reading corner, back against the shelves overflowing with books, a pile of novels on the ground next to her, and typing away on her computer- Yuki’s a writer and poet, and Shuichi likes talking to her about plots and stories, and her books are always really beautifully written and interesting. She’s talking to Naoko as she types, and the other girl is finally smiling and laughing again, like Rantaro told him she did when she was small. The young woman had been through countless hardships and was even forced to help with numerous kidnappings, and it’d taken them ages to persuade her to come back to Japan. Initially she’d refused, and Shuichi and Amaka were forced to leave without her, but two months later, she’d appeared on the mansion’s doorstep, seeking refuge after deserting her slavers. Amaka had taken her in without a single moment of hesitation, and Shuichi was beyond relieved it had worked out okay. Naoko’s now studying translation, and she’s truly talented in the subject- Shuichi finds himself constantly impressed by her ability to speak fluently in so many different languages.
He’s an only child, Shuichi is, but being with Rantaro’s sister lets him in on the feeling of being an older brother to these lovely young women. They seem to treat him like an older brother too, and even though Shuichi wouldn’t dream of ever replacing Rantaro (and he’s sure the girls won’t either), he feels welcome with them. Like they’re family. Akari calls Shuichi her brother in law, and so do a couple of the others, and even though Shuichi feels vaguely uncomfortable with it- after all, he never had the chance to confess to Rantaro when he was alive- but he grows used to it after a while.
Some of Rantaro’s sister, like Ena and Hanako, aren’t always home- they stay in where they were lost for half the year or so, reunite with the family they built there while lost, so Shuichi especially enjoys and cherishes these times when they’re all home and the family is (almost) complete. It’s also why he loves the autumn and winter seasons so much- it gives him time to spend with his newfound family. He spends as much time as he can spare with them, gives them what they want, does everything he can for them, for Rantaro’s sake, for their brother who never got the chance to reunite with all of them.
“Shuichi!” he turns to see Kaede appearing at the top of the staircase, her signature bright smile on her face as she rushes downstairs and forward. He does the same, and they meet each other in the middle, Kaede reaching to embrace her childhood friend, the closest thing she ever had to a brother in her childhood days, and vice versa.
He’s always found it rather interesting and surprising that Kaede found love in one of Rantaro’s sisters- Amaka, in fact, who’s probably in one of the children’s rooms right now (probably Akira’s , their adopted daughter). It’s like fate always meant for Rantaro and Shuichi to become family, in one way or another. He remembers Rantaro telling him the meaning of the name ‘Amaka’- heaven’s song, and that’s probably what she is to Kaede, who’s a pianist and adores music. She loves her wife a lot, after all- that much is evident, by how Kaede’s eyes light up at the mere sight of Amaka, how she caters to her every need, how she looks at her wife with nothing but adoration.
“Kaede,” he greets her. “What did you call me here for? It’s past nine already.”
She frowns a little, and gestures at one of the rooms that connect to the balcony. “Your godson wanted to see you. He’s refusing to sleep until you come by.”
Shuichi sighs, but a smile is on his lips. He loves his godson, adores spending time with him. He isn’t surprised this happened, actually- with his mother, Rina, off on a week-long exchange trip to Korea (she’s a teacher in a primary school) and his father accompanying her, and his mother’s twin Riku staying the night at her girlfriend’s, the three year old’s bound to feel scared. He gestures to Kaede to leave it to him, and as Kaede beams and thanks him before heading up to her daughter’s room, he makes his way towards the one of the far left, with its door ajar.
He knocks, and enters his godson’s room. It’s painted baby blue, and photos are hung all over one of the walls, of different countries and the young boy’s twelve aunts, and a few of Shuichi and Kaede and Rantaro. Toys are littered all over the floor, and a white bookcase is built up against one of the corners of the room.
The small boy is curled up in a nest of pillows and blankets, and as Shuichi enters, he looks up, and his face brightens. “Shuichi!” he says in greeting, and he sits down on the bed, smiling.
“Hey, Taro,” he strokes his godson’s hair softly. It was incredibly sweet of Rina to name her son after her deceased brother, and even sweeter of her husband and her to name Shuichi godfather when small Rantaro was born. The boy has his mother’s silky blonde hair that looked just like the manifestation of sunlight, and the cerulean blue eyes Shuichi found ever so familiar (Riku and Rina has the exact same eyes), and even though he doesn’t look like his namesake, Shuichi can see the Rantaro he knew in the young boy, in his quiet thoughtfulness and love of adventure, and Shuichi loves him for who he is. He knows, that up above, in Heaven, Rantaro’s looking down on this child, and smiling.
“I don’t wanna sleep,” the boy says, and Shuichi can see the terror in his eyes, the fear he carries of sleeping without his parents by his side for the first time ever. “I can’t sleep, not without Oka-san here, Shuichi, I want her here with me-”
Shuichi ruffles Rantaro’s hair as he says soothingly, “You know your mother can’t be here with you tonight, Taro… she’ll be back very soon. You know, she’s probably looking at the sky right now, where she is, and wondering if you’re asleep yet, worrying if you’re too scared to sleep alone, or if you miss her too much. Your mother loves you a lot, you know that.”
Rantaro’s cerulean eyes are large, and beautiful, as if they hold miles and miles of oceans in them, but at this moment the waters inside are wild and rogue, waves splashing and crashing down from high up, and they look into Shuichi’s desperately as he leans into his godfather and hugs him tightly. Shuichi hugs back, trying the best he can to comfort the terrified boy.
At last, Rantaro says, his voice muffled by Shuichi’s clothes, “Shuichi, tell me a story.”
He complies, starting to rise to get a storybook from the bookshelf, but Rantaro clutches onto him tightly. “Taro, I can’t get a book if you don’t let go,” he tells the boy softly, but the three year old still holds on tight.
“I don’t want just any other story, Shuichi, I’ve heard most of those books before,” he says, “you read them to me, remember? I want a story about you. About- about Uncle Rantaro.”
Shuichi widens his eyes in surprise, but he smiles, giving in to his godson’s request. He finds himself talking about Rantaro (the one who is his best friend) and him meeting, laughing slightly when he reaches the point where Rantaro waited for him for the entire night just to apologize for something his father did; he talks about how they met up every week at the coffee shop, how they had unintentionally gotten into the same secondary school; he talks about their trips to find Rantaro’s sisters, about his first kiss, about the one time they succeeded and brought Rina home; he finds himself smiling bitterly as he goes onto talking about how Rantaro had died saving Rina in the bus crash, laughing briefly at how he shut himself in, and he tells his godson about how he found his closure. But most of all, he talks about Rantaro as a person, and as he talks he sees his best friend in his mind, with his comforting smile, the constant sadness present in his pretty lemongrass eyes, his windswept, tousled hair, and how he was always so selfless and kind and caring. He finds himself unable to stop a tear from rolling down his cheek as he tells small Rantaro how his namesake cared for his sisters, for everyone around him, and tiny Rantaro listens attentively, engrossed in Shuichi’s stories.
“He died so your mother, and you, could live,” Shuichi tells the boy. “He’d be so happy to see you living today, he’s probably smiling down at you and watching everything you do. He’s always with me, and he’s always with you.”
Rantaro (the young boy, that is) is silent for a moment, and then he says, “why’s the ending so sad?”
Shuichi’s caught off guard, “Huh?”
“Why couldn’t Uncle Rantaro have lived?” the boy asks. “Why did he have to die in the end and make everyone so sad? Why can’t he and you just, I don’t know, live happily ever after?”
Shuichi laughs a little as he pats his godson on the head lightly. “Rantaro, but it is a happy ending.”
The three year old tilts his head, confused, “But he died! You were so upset, and Oka-san was upset, and everyone was sad over it…”
“Happy endings come in all shapes and sizes,” Shuichi says quietly. “Rantaro may have died and left us, but he died protecting his sister, one of the people he loved most. He died protecting your mother, and you, and he achieved his purpose perfectly- look, you and your mother are leading a life that’s full of happiness, see? Your Uncle Rantaro would’ve been so happy if he was here now. Besides, his greatest wish was to find all his sisters, and even if he died before he could see everyone back, they’re all safe and sound now, aren’t they? His death isn’t the end of the story, just the part that shocked everyone, the plot twist that makes the story worth reading. We’re living out the end of the story now. We’re living out his happy ending.”
Shuichi touches the sea glass around his neck. He doesn’t need it anymore, not now, for now, he’s finally letting go, letting the guilt and grief and everything stay in the past. His memories of him are dear, and are important to Shuichi, but Shuichi now knows, now realizes, that he doesn’t need the sea glass to prove to him that Rantaro is there with him.
Because Rantaro isn’t only in the sea glass. He’s everywhere, in his sisters’ smiles and laughter, he’s there in Shuichi’s happiness and there to guide him when times are rough. Rantaro is in his heart, a lamp to guide his way in the dark, the path of moonlight on the sea so Shuichi can pass through safely. Rantaro is there with Shuichi no matter what.
He hesitates, and then unfastens the necklace around his neck. Reaching out to take his godson’s hand, he puts it there and closes his hand gently. “Take this, Rantaro. It belonged to your uncle, to someone I loved very much, and when I was wearing it, I felt his presence with me, and it comforted me and gave me strength when I needed it. But now, it’s time to pass this on. Put it on, and your uncle will always be with you, and he’ll guide your path when you need help, and you’ll never be alone. Remember, when you touch this, that you aren’t alone, and you have me, and your mother and father, and all your aunts.”
Rantaro looks at the necklace, seemingly touched, and he looks up at Shuichi. “Could you help me put it on?” he murmurs, and Shuichi smiles, taking it and easily clasping it around Rantaro’s neck.
“Now go to sleep,” he tells his godson, who smiles and nods.
He stays there after he turns the lights off, watches his godson drift off into the land of dreams, and places his hand over where the sea glass used to be. It feels strangely empty, without the necklace he’d worn for years, but Shuichi’s no longer afraid of the dark.
“You’re much braver than I remembered,” a voice whispers from the doorway, and Shuichi turns to see Kaede standing there with a smile on her face. “I’m proud of you, and Rantaro would be, too.”
Shuichi stands, and walks out to meet Kaede. They stand on the balcony, overlooking Rantaro’s sisters living out the childhood they lost with each other. “I’m just doing what Rantaro would’ve wanted me to do,” he says. “I’ve found all of his sisters, brought them all home, finished his last wish. Rantaro wouldn’t have wanted me to be stuck in the past, or to never move on after his death. He’d want me to live his ‘happily ever after’ for him, and that’s what I'm doing now.”
Kaede laughs. “And to think that this is the same person who yelled at me when I tried to get him to move on all those years ago,” she teases him.
“Hey! I was busy being traumatized back then!” he protests, and Kaede ruffles his hair as he ducks away, laughing.
He looks out over the handrails again, and can’t help but smile at the sight of Rantaro’s sisters- his sisters- as they mingle, and live, and write out their own happy endings. They were all once lost, torn apart by fate, but they all rewrote their destinies and managed to reunite.
Now, it’s Shuichi’s turn to rewrite his destiny, to live out his happy ending for Rantaro. He touches the spot where the necklace used to be again, and smiles,
and knows in his heart that Rantaro will always watch over him.
#danganronpa#danganronpa v3#danganronpa fanfiction#rantaro amami#shuichi saihara#rantaro x shuichi#amasai#amasai week 2020#silveryyyy's fanfiction
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“holding everything in doesn’t help, you know?” for elorcan please my love??
anything for you love 💛💛💛
Lorcan let himself into his apartment, “Hey, El, where are you?”
“Hi! In here,” her voice was bright and happy, coming from the living room. He shrugged off his jacket and shoes to walk to the open space that made up most of the first floor of his penthouse.
He walked into the open area and leaned against the wall, eyes on his girlfriend who was sitting, cross-legged in one of his old t-shirts, her long hair pulled onto the crown of her head, strands and whisps escaping her messy bun. Her laptop was open in front of her, notes and textbooks spread around her. Empty coffee mugs were on every reachable surface within her wingspan.
Elide slowly tore her eyes away from the screen and smiled at him, “Hey, how was work?”
He shoved off the wall and stalked towards her, sitting down behind her and tugging her into his chest. He rested his chin on her shoulder and placed his hands in her lap, toying with the hem of her shirt. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
She pouted teasingly but he wasn’t in the mood, closing his eyes and sighing. He felt more than heard Elide sigh but she went about her studying, her hands moving as she reviewed textbooks and meticulous notes and typed on her laptop.
After a few minutes of silence, she mused aloud. “Holding everything in doesn’t help, you know?”
He nearly growled, snarling, “Stop. I’m not one of your case studies, I don’t want to talk about it.”
If she was surprised by his outburst, she didn’t show it, merely raising a manicured brow before turning her attention back to the screen in front of her.
Lorcan watched her for a few more moments before rising from the floor, stalking up the stairs to his bedroom.
He entered the room and strode onto the balcony overlooking downtown Orynth. He leaned against the railing, resting his forearms on the cool metal.
He didn’t hear soft feet walking up the stairs nor did he hear when she padded onto the balcony.
Slim arms slid around his waist as a forehead pressed against his back. “If you don’t want to talk, we don’t have to. But I think it might help.”
Lorcan dropped his head, “Not now, E.”
Elide stretched onto her tip toes and kissed the nape of his neck. “Ok. I’m here when you’re ready.”
“I know. Thank you, love.”
She slid around him, ducking under his arm and leaning her back between his arms on the railing. “Do you want me here? With you?”
He nodded and leaned down to claim her lips with his, soft and fleeting. “Yes.”
She smiled at that and cradled his face in her hands, smoothing her thumbs over his sharp cheekbones.
“I’m sorry for snapping at you,” his voice was low and flat, remorse shining in his dark, dark eyes. “I didn’t mean it.”
“I know, baby. It’s ok,” she shivered slightly as a gust of cool wind hit them. Lorcan cupped her thighs and lifted her up, walking back into the bedroom and settling under the duvet.
Elide hummed happily and nestled closer to him. Lorcan watched her, her face soft and open, her eyelashes nearly touching her face. “What were you studying today, love?”
Her eyes flew open and widened in excitement, “Hellas below, it was so interesting! Are you sure you want to hear about it?”
He chuckled lightly and kissed her forehead, “Please.”
Elide sat up and launched into her studies, becoming more and more animated as she spoke, her hands moving quickly, emphasizing her points.
He let the flood of her words wash over him, the lilt of her voice soothing him. He smiled at her furrowed brow, scrunched in concentration as she explained.
When she finally took pause and looked out the window, she saw the sky had darkened and the stars had begun to shine. Her chest fell slightly and she looked sheepishly at Lorcan. “I’m sorry, I’ve been rambling again, right?”
Lorcan tugged her down until she was sprawled against him, her face pressed into his neck. “Not at all, love. It was the perfect distraction.”
He felt her smile, “Good.”
He breathed in deeply, “I think I’m ready to talk now.”
“Really? We don’t have to, you know.”
“I know. But you make me feel safe.”
i know it’s taken me phat min to answer this but this week has been,,,,,, a week. im back home on sunday and tomorrow is rather busy but i’ll try to sneak in some writing time!
@myfeyrelady @rowanwhitethornss @shyvioletcat @westofmoon @empire-of-wildfire @the-regal-warrior @highqueenofelfhame @kandasboi @lauraisfae @addicitedtowriting @notyourclassicshadowhunter
#elorcan#elide lochan#lorcan salvaterre#tog#sarah j. maas#elorcan fanfiction#throne of glass#isa is dead inside#someone thought my brother was my bf and i am drowning myself in lake ontario
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Love from the Outside (Finale)
Chapter Title: Auld Lang Syne
Features: Pure Fluff
Pairing: Bucky/Natasha/Reader
Notes: This story went to me and went “ha, you THOUGHT this would be Bucky/Reader, but guess what! Sunshine is taking a shine to Natasha” so, that happened.
And they all lived happily every after
Word Count: 1434
Between Christmas and New Year’s it seemed like things just fell into place. Sunshine was rarely found without either Bucky or Natasha. A talk was still needed but for now, a comfortable understanding existed between the three. True to her word, Natasha kept Sunshine’s confession about Peggy to herself.
Tony and Pepper were hosting a party in the city and they were all making an appearance there. Sunshine was unsure about it. Wanda had helped her with picking out a dress. When she stepped out of her room to meet Natasha and Bucky, they both stared at her. She felt her cheeks burn. Was the dress too much?
“You look beautiful,” Natasha said, the first to speak. Sunshine smiled.
“And you look gorgeous as always,” Sunshine said. Natasha and Buck stepped up beside her, Bucky on her left, Natasha on her right, as they headed out to the waiting car. It wasn’t long before they were arriving in the city.
“Gotta warn you doll, the media swarms like crazy for these things. All the Avengers, the celebrities, the politicians...it’s a treasure trove of photos for them,” Bucky said. Sunshine nodded. She knew, on some level, arriving with the two former assassins would be sending some sort of message, that the world’s media was covering each and every arrival to the party.
The trio rushed into the building once they were out of the car, not pausing for the waiting photographers. Each grabbed a glass of champagne upon entering the ballroom. She made the rounds with them, being introduced to so many people she could barely keep up. After talking to some diplomat--”that’s the Austrian Ambassador” Natasha had told her--Sunshine broke off to head outside for air. There was a bench on the patio area, overlooking the city. While the city lights drowned out most of the night sky, a few stars were still visible.
She remembered the nights she would sit outside with Bucky, looking up at the stars. He was the one who showed her the constellations. For the first time in a long time, looking up at the stars felt peaceful. She was startled when someone sat down beside her on both sides.
“What’re you thinking about, doll?” Bucky asked. Sunshine smiled.
“Just reminiscing,” she said.
“Such a shame you can’t really see the stars here in the city,” Natasha said. Bucky and Sunshine both nodded.
“Wasn’t like this when we were kids,” Bucky said. The three sat in silence for a few minutes, looking up at the sky and letting the sounds of the party fade.
“What do you hope for in the New Year?” Natasha asked Sunshine, curious about what she had to say.
“I want to learn more about this new century. Find my place in this new world. What about you?” she said.
“I want to take a break, relax for a bit. Seems like all we’ve been doing until recently is fighting,” Natasha said. Bucky nodded.
“A break would be nice. Maybe a nice vacation,” Bucky said.
“We’ll need the time to show the new centenarian on the block all that the 21st century has to offer,” Natasha said. Sunshine pushed her lightly, causing the red-head to laugh. Sunshine looked back up at the stars and smiled, seeing a shooting star. Sunshine pointed up at it as the people inside started counting down to the New Year, 2020.
“Make a wish,” she said with a smile. Bucky wished to find peace. Natasha wished for family, for the three of them to find it in them to try. And Sunshine? Sunshine simply wished for love to grow. None of them spoke as they watched the shooting star fade.
“What did you wish for?” Bucky asked. Sunshine shook her head.
“Can’t tell you that James. You know the rules,” she said. The three sat outside for awhile longer, before rejoining the party inside. A new year and a new decade began, and with it, a new chapter of their lives.
December 31, 2020
The year had flown by. Sunshine found herself preparing for a small gathering of their close friends for the holiday. The team had been scattered for most of the month and New Year’s Eve was the first time everyone was in one place since Thanksgiving.
Sunshine had completed her training and assisted in medical as a nurse. It wasn’t uncommon to find her talking to Tony or Bruce about something either. Nursing had been what she had pursued at the behest of her mother, but she had always had an interest in the kinds of things Howard Stark was making.
She had been disappointed when Natasha and James both missed Christmas, off on separate missions. But it had given her time to figure out her surprise for them. She had shooed them both out of the kitchen, only accepting help from Peter and Wanda. They had formed an unlikely trio of friends, more like siblings.
“Have you figured out their gift yet?” Wanda asked, a conspiratory look on her face. She knew what Sunshine was planning.
“Wait you didn’t know what you were getting them?” Peter asked her. Sunshine shook her head.
“I knew what I was getting them, just not...how I was giving it to them,” she said. Something clicked for Peter.
“You’re--” he was cut off by Wanda putting her hand over his mouth.
“Shh, if you spoil this, Parker, you won’t like the consequences,” Wanda said. Sunshine knew Wanda wouldn’t do anything too awful, but she had seen the woman take her revenge during a prank war instigated by the same teenager in front of them and it wasn’t pretty either.
“The food is ready, let’s put it out and call everyone in,” Sunshine said.
As everyone filed in, Sunshine was sat between Natasha and Bucky. Before everyone dug in, she held up her glass, filled with sparkling apple juice rather than wine.
“Before we eat, I want to say something. A little over a year ago, I showed up her, a woman out of time. I found lost love, found new love, found new family. We didn’t get to celebrate the holidays this year, not properly, but I realized while being down about it that the holidays are more than a date on a calendar, than the presents or the food. It’s about the people. It’s celebrating your friends, your family, both blood and chosen, and that doesn’t have to be constrained to a specific day. This is a chosen family. As chaotic as I’ve learned it can be here, you are all my family. I am eternally grateful for you all. So, with that, let’s eat,” Sunshine said. Bucky squeezed her hand as Natasha plasted a chaste kiss on her cheek.
“You really are something special,” Natasha murmured.
After dinner, they all gathered around and presents were distributed in the same manner as the previous year. Once all the gifts were open, Sunshine stood up and grabbed one more bag from behind the tree.
“What’s this?” Natasha asked.
“Don’t know, you two should open it and find out,” Sunshine said. The two look confused as they pulled out a picture frame until they saw what was inside the frame.
“For real?” Natasha asked. Sunshine nodded.
“For real,” Sunshine said. Bucky was still staring at the frame, a smile forming on his face. He tore his eyes away from the image in the frame to Sunshine.
“We’re going to be parents?” he asked. She nodded. When those words left Bucky’s mouth, it took everyone else a moment to process before congratulations were shared.
It was later that night that the trio found themselves outside, the new year getting ready to behind. Natasha stood behind her, a hand resting on Sunshine’s stomach.
“Tasha, I’m not even showing yet. Dr. Cho said I’m only six weeks,” Sunshine said.
“Yeah, but the baby is there and I want them to know how much we love them,” Natasha said. Bucky moved to stand in front of his two loves, sandwiching Sunshine in the middle. The three of them stood for a few minutes before separating. Sunshine looked up and pointed out a shooting star.
“Make a wish?” she asked. Bucky and Natasha both shook their heads.
“Darling, I don’t need anymore wishes. I’ve got everything and everyone I want, right here,” Bucky said.
“Wouldn’t want to change a thing. Not a chance,” Natasha said.
They stood for a few minutes more, enjoying the peace of the evening as fireworks sounded in the distance, ringing in the new year, and with it, new adventures.
#bucky barnes/natasha romanoff/reader#bucky barnes#natasha romanoff#natasha romanov#marvel fanfic#bucky barnes/natasha romanov/reader#buckynat/reader#buckynat reader insert#marvel reader insert#natasha romanoff x reader#natasha romanoff/reader#natasha romanoff fanfic#natasha romanov/reader#natasha romanov x reader#marvel fanfiction#Bucky Barnes Fanfic#bucky barnes/reader#bucky barnes x reader#bucky barnes reader insert#love from the outside
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Painted in Green
Sai smiled hearing Ino’s bell-like laugh. He’d requested a few weeks ago to paint in the flower shop and she’d been more than willing to accommodate him. As repayment and a way to spend more time with her, he offered to help her with the store. Ino was as kind and beautiful as he’d always known. Spending time with her amongst the symphony of flowers filled him with a level of peace and joy that he hadn't experienced in so long. Just being with her felt like a soothing balm over his battered soul. She helped him work through the darkness that felt ever-present in his heart. She taught him to smile genuinely, to laugh and to enjoy life without fear.
He made his way towards the front where she was helping a familiar customer. Ryu... something, had been frequenting the Yamanaka Flower Shop almost daily and each time spent most of his visits chatting up the blonde. It was obvious that he had some feelings towards the shop owner and all Sai could do was try to grin and bear it.
“Ryu.”
“Sai.” He regarded him before returning to his conversation with Ino. Sai gripped onto the watering can in his hands tightly. This emotion was bothersome and he felt his heart tightening in his chest every time she smiled and laughed at the other man’s direction. Jealousy was such an ugly emotion but there was little that he could do about it. His books hadn’t given him any useful information for dealing with these feelings. It mostly said that he should confront the man in some sort of show of masculinity until one of them backed down. Another recommendation was that he create a situation where she became jealous but the idea of putting her through that kind of emotional turmoil felt wrong. With little options, all he could do was sit in these feelings and try to ignore the creeping fear that he was losing her, if he ever had her to begin with.
He tried to busy himself and ignore their conversation by watering the plants and walking back and forth from the back to the storefront. He felt like a caged animal being there. He didn’t want to leave her alone with him but at the same time, he didn’t just want to stand there like an awkward observer. Once Ryu left after buying a massive bouquet that he was apparently giving his mother Sai felt like he could breathe again, her attention once again on him.
“Sai thanks again for your help! You really don’t have to.” She smiled brightly at him. He knew that he’d do anything to keep that smile on her face.
“I enjoy it.” He assured her with a soft smile.
“Thank you, I appreciate your company.”
“I enjoy yours as well Ino.”
“Dinner?” It was a usual part of their routine after closing up the shop.
“I’d love some.”
After closing up they made their way into the village and fell into their companionable conversation over a relaxing meal. Sai couldn’t help but feel happy in her presence. She was so bright and vibrant. She was smart and interesting and so much of him wished that they could cross that line between friends and something more. He wasn’t sure just how to define their relationship. Moments like this felt like they were something more than just friends. But his insecurities and fears always appeared convincing himself that he didn’t deserve her. Ino could have anyone that she wished. Why would she pick him? He’d never want to darken her light and so he was content to live in this limbo. At the very least he could stand by as an enchanted observer as she glowed and shined for the world. He would happily hold onto any light that she granted him and never ask for anything more.
“Thanks for dinner Sai.” He walked her home and they stood at her doorway before parting. It would be terribly romantic if he wasn’t so insecure and unsure about this gorgeous creature in front of him.
“Of course.”
“I won’t be at the shop tomorrow, I can ask someone to come in to cover if you’d like. Kakashi has some work for me but I’ll see you after?” She asked hopefully.
“That’s fine. I’ll take care of the store.” He liked the idea that he could help her.
“Thank you, Sai you’re the best!” She told him gratefully wrapping him in a hug. He was always sweet and willing to help her at a moment’s notice.
He settled his face against her hair the familiar scent of roses wrapping around him. “Anytime Beautiful.”
Sai looked up hearing the bell ring announcing a customer. It had been a pretty quiet day at the shop and he missed having her around. Still, he was happy that he could be trusted with watching over it. He knew how much it meant to her and the Yamanaka clan.
He frowned seeing the familiar customer.
“Where’s Ino?” Ryu asked with little regard towards the man in front of him.
“She’s working at the Hokage's office today.”
Ryu nodded. “Actually, this is a good thing. I'm going to ask Ino to go out with me.” Sai just stood there with a blank expression. He did appreciate the man being upfront with him.
“Aren’t you going to tell me off? Go on some sort of tirade about how she belongs to you or something?” Ryu asked surprised by Sai’s quiet acceptance.
Sai shook his head. “Ino belongs to no one. She is her own person, as independent and as free as a field of wildflowers in bloom. I only ever wished to be part of her world.”
“So what? Do you think I’m just going to believe that you’ll bow out quietly if she decides she wants to be with me? It’s pretty damn obvious that you love her.”
“As someone who’s had very little choices in life, I would never do that to her. It will be her decision who she would like to be with. I will not influence it in any way. If she chooses you then I will not stand in your way.” The idea that she could choose Ryu over him broke his heart, but as long as it was her decision at the end of the day he’d support her.
Ryu stood there surprised his opinion of the quiet man improving.
“Alright, the choice is hers then.”
That night Ino came to the flower shop before it closed. She smiled thinking about Sai and was thankful for him being there. She was happy that their relationship had progressed so far and she saw him as one of her closest friends, possibly something more.
“Sai! I’m back! Thanks again, where should we go for dinner tonight?” She looked up surprised to see that the dark-haired man wasn’t alone.
“Oh, hi Ryu.”
“Hello, Ino.” He replied with a smile. Ryu had been frequenting the shop a lot more recently. He was handsome and interesting to talk to.
Sai came over to where she was standing pulling her attention back. “Things went well today. If it’s alright with you I’ll be going.” She was surprised by how quickly he seemed to want to leave but nodded disappointed.
“Okay, I'll see you later.” Once shutting the door behind him she turned her attention to the man remaining in the store.
“Let’s talk for a little Ino.”
Ino found him atop a hill overlooking the village. He’d shared with her that he often went there to paint and when daily life became all too much. He was staring out at the village the lights below them looking like a reflection of the stars in the sky.
“Sai? Why didn’t you fight for me? Why didn’t you say anything to him?” She couldn’t help but feel hurt and frustrated that he hadn’t tried to intervene to stop Ryu from asking her out. Was she mistaken in assuming that they had shared feelings between them? She wasn’t entirely surprised when Ryu asked her on a date. His constant visits and purchases clued her into that fact. What surprised her though was that Sai had not tried to stop his pursuit of her. She knew that Sai wasn’t very socially or emotionally adept but surely the other man’s attention towards her had to bother him even a little. Wasn’t some male showdown, and arguing over her the way that you showed affection?
Sai took a deep breath turning to take her hands in his. Her sky blue eyes that he’d grown to love so much looked hurt and confused. “He is fully aware of my feelings towards you. But I would never make you feel that you have some sort of obligation to me. I have little to offer you Ino, you are my Sun and I’m stuck here on Earth. He could give you the world in an instant, all I have are the shattered pieces of my heart. You deserve so much more, you deserve everything. It was your choice to make, to decide who or what would make you happy. I’d never stand in the way or put myself ahead of your joy."
Ino stood there stunned. By allowing her to make this decision herself, by not “fighting” over her he showed her just how much he cared about her. He respected her ability and intelligence enough to let her decide. He stood to the side almost breaking his own heart just to give her the freedom to make her own choices.
“Sai, oh Sai.” She gathered him into her arms hoping that she could piece together the broken pieces within him. Ino felt her heartbreak for him. He had been through so much in such a short lifetime, if she could give him even a little bit of happiness and comfort she would. “I want you. I could never choose to be with anyone else. You’re the one that my heart wants. You are kind, talented, and so strong. Please tell me that you love me too?”
Sai pulled her in tightly against his chest in disbelief that she had picked him, that somehow she loved him. “Oh Ino, my sweet Light, of course, I do. I love you so much, more than I could ever fully explain or grasp. You saved me far many more times and in ways that I could never truly repay you for.”
She kissed him and it was beyond anything that she could have ever dreamed of. His arms were wrapped tightly around her and she could feel his heart beating wildly in his chest.
He layered kisses along the crown of her head as she smiled against his chest. “Can you tell me again?” He requested needing to hear those sweet words knowing that he'd never tire of them.
Her bright blue eyes met his inky ones so full of love, for him. “I love you Sai, I love you so much.” He felt his face break into a large smile those words piercing the darkness within him.
“I love you too Beautiful.”
https://archiveofourown.org/works/21589114
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three word drabble: Supernatural+Insanity+Vacation
Send me 3 words for a drabble involving them || @scardnbroken || Always Accepting
“Damn. What a waste.”
Her bare leg dangled down from the tree above Vaas, having secretly been resting up there for some time as she’d watched the drawn-out execution. “I was hoping he’d be my supper tonight.” Ever so gently she nudged the pirate’s cheek with her toes, but was quick to retract her ankle before he could grab it, giggling like a mischievous child as she did. Moments later she was entirely in reach though with arms wide open, dropping down from the tree to stand beside him, ignoring whatever reaction her presence might have gotten from his men.
“You are done with your business now, yes?” Gemina didn’t wait for much of an answer before she was walking away, barefoot and careless as she’d become in his presence. To call her a bit spoiled was an understatement as she no longer had much to fear since the only people she felt could truly hurt her were the ones who took their orders from Vaas– and he was far scarier than she would ever be.
Without saying much, she guided them to a hill that broke off as a cliff that overlooked the ocean. The sun was still high in the sky, but the wind was blowing the cold ocean air in such a way that Gemina didn’t feel the need to flee back to the safety of her hut. Not yet, anyway. Perching herself at the edge of the cliff, she looked up towards Vaas with curious eyes. “This was only supposed to be a vacation, you know.” She said once she’d jerked her gaze back towards the ocean. “One week at sea to clear my head, to get away from everything on the mainland.” Up until that point Gemina had been largely quiet about who she was while happily divulging to him what she was. “-And then someone just has to have my ship sink, killing almost everyone on board.” It was then she dropped backward, laying flat so she could look at the stars.
God, how badly she’d missed the stars for all those years she’d lived in the city, and there they all were directly above her. Glistening. Shining. Beautiful.
“What would be the sane reaction to that, Vaas? What would a sane person do?” Grey eyes moved over to the man she was addressing. “They would want to leave, wouldn’t they? That’s why I thought, at first, that I was losing my fucking mind when I realized how badly I wanted to stay. I used to think that-.. Someone would come looking, and how my gut burned at the thought of being forced to go back, and I thought I was losing my goddamn mind.”
Propping up onto one elbow, she pointed to the long, faded white scar that ran down her lip. “Insanity was me wanting to go home in the first place. Expecting it to somehow be different even though every day I was hiding, waiting, starving myself at every corner to avoid getting caught. Telling myself that it would change. Somehow something different would happen. That-.. That was insanity.”
The vampire dropped back onto her back again and her voice went soft. Far softer than even her quietest moments spent teaching Vaas all she could about the supernatural, indulging his wonder and curiosity. “I’m staying here.” Gemina tucked her arms under her head and sighed quietly. “-And I’ll do whatever I fucking have too, to ensure no one ever tries to make me fucking leave.”
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America’s Most Eligible 2 Diamond Scene: Paris with Mackenzie
You let your mind drift back to those carefree summer days…
Several weeks ago…
You’ve just sat down to eat in a gorgeous restaurant overlooking the Parisian skyline. Across the table, Mackenzie gives you an admiring grin.
Mackenzie: I meant to tell you this on the drive over, but… you look great.
You: I’m not the only one.
Mackenzie: Careful, Jamie. Flattery will get you everywhere.
You: I’m serious, though. I haven’t seen you this relaxed since that spa day right after our flight.
Mackenzie: There’s something about being out of the mansion, just the two of us. It makes it a lot easier to let loose.
Mackenzie: Is it wrong that I wish we could stay here forever?
You: Forever, huh? Until the heat death of the universe?
Mackenzie: You know what I mean.
She gently places a hand on yours, her touch warm and comforting, and you nod.
You: Yeah. I know what you mean. Guess we’ve gotta enjoy the freedom while we can before the next season starts.
Mackenzie: With Carson’s whole ‘All-Stars’ thing, I bet we’re in for a hell of a ride.
Mackenzie: Do you have any big plans for the new season? Anything you’re aiming for this time around?
You: I want…
-That grand prize check!
Mackenzie: Seriously? You’ve already got one.
You: It never hurts to have ambitions. Besides, what would you do if your biggest competition gave up?
Mackenzie: True… I need someone in that mansion to keep things interesting.
-To party it up!
You: We worked so hard last season dealing with the Challenges and the drama. But no more!
You: This time around, I’m all about having a good time.
Mackenzie: Sounds like fun. Party [Name]’s gonna be a force to be reckoned with.
-To spend as much of it as I can with you.
You: Is that super cheesy?
Mackenzie: From anyone else, maybe. But coming from you, I can live with it.
You: Good answer.
A waiter comes out to give you each a plate of ratatouille. Mackenzie grins at you in between bites of the fresh vegetable stew.
You: What about you, Mackenzie? Do you have any big plans for your AME comeback?
Mackenzie: Trying to win, obviously.
Mackenzie: But even if I don’t make it to the grand prize this season, I wanna make the most of my screen time.
Mackenzie: Being in law school, you hear a lot about people in need. Maybe I can use this show to shine a light on that. Do some good.
You: Mackenzie…
-You’ve got a big heart under that tough exterior.
You: It’s one of the things I like most about you.
Mackenzie: Don’t say that so loud, Jamie. I can’t have you ruining my rep.
You: There aren’t any cameras around, remember? Your secret’s safe with me.
Mackenzie rubs her neck, trying to hide her flattered smile.
Mackenzie: Well, it’s just an idea for now. Who knows if it’ll go anywhere.
You: The thought counts for a lot, though.
-You’d better still make time for some fun.
You: Your plan sounds great, but I don’t want you stressing out all season.
Mackenzie: I’m counting on you to keep me from getting too serious. We can still cause some trouble, sneak out of the house once in a while…
You pretend to think about the proposition for a minute, earning a chuckle from Mackenzie.
You: That’s a lot of responsibility… but I think I’m up to the task.
Mackenzie: I figured you would be.
When you finish your meal and the plates are cleared away, you and Mackenzie head to the balcony to gaze out at the City of Light.
Mackenzie: There’s still time to catch one of those catacomb tours in the morning, y’know.
You: No way. You are not skipping out on the Louvre with me. Maybe afterward we can negotiate creepy historical tours.
Mackenzie: Okay, okay.
She laughs, the breeze tousling her hair, but then her expression grows thoughtful.
Mackenzie: Maybe if one of us wins the new season, we can do a repeat of this trip. Finish all the things we don’t have time to see right now.
You: Are you saying you want to spend more solo time with me? Mackenzie +2
Mackenzie: I’m saying… I’ve got a good feeling about the future. When I’m around you, almost anything seems possible.
You: Just you wait, Mackenzie.
You: We’re gonna…
-Be the cutest couple AME has ever seen! Mackenzie +2
Mackenzie: oh, you think I’m cute, huh?
You: I thought that’d be obvious by now.
Mackenzie: Well, with you and me together… no other couple stands a chance.
-Make it to the Final Two together. I can feel it! Mackenzie +2
Mackenzie: Coming from anyone else, I’d call that ego, but from you… I believe it.
Mackenzie gently places her hand on yours as you look out over the city together…
Mackenzie smiles at you, and when you step closer, she throws her arms around your neck and meets you in a heated kiss.
Her fingers trail up through your hair as the kiss lingers between you… When you eventually part, Mackenzie laughs happily.
Mackenzie: I can’t wait to see where we go next.
Back on the AME patio, Mackenzie is smiling wryly at you.
Mackenzie: I knew this season would be something special, but I didn’t expect…
She nods toward Ivy and Vince.
Adam: Yeah. None of us did.
You: As much as I miss our solo trip, though, I think we can handle them together.
#playchoices#choices stories you play#choices ame#choices america’s most eligible#america's most eligible
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Who We Were & Who We Are Now 2
Chapter 2
Characters: Forrest Bondurant x Tawny Barrett (OFC)
Word Count: 3700+
Summary: Tonya Barrett, or Miss Tawny as Forrest likes to call her, moves back home at the news of her stepfather becoming ill. She left Franklin County almost a decade ago, it feels like everything within her has changed and nothing has changed back home. Will the actions following her stepfathers passing lead the Bondurants to once again take her in? And this time, no longer being on the verge of adulthood but fully grown…what will she and Forrest decide to do about the lethal combination of history and chemistry they have together?
Warnings/Tags: Language. Mentions of abuse and illness.
A/N: Memories are in italics!
Positive feedback is MUCH appreciated! Reblogs, likes, asks and comments feed me to write more! Let me know if you’d like tagged in my work.
My Masterlist.
You leave him with a smile and a wave before slamming the door to your truck shut. He nods and gives you a small wave in return, arm barely raising as his eyes shift to see if anyone was around to see. He watches the dust kicked up by your tires as he moves to sit back down in his usual chair on the front porch. With the silence that follows after the dust has settled, he finds himself distracted and getting lost in memories of you.
----
He sat in the church pew, angled a bit towards the door watching people come in for the Sunday service. The twang of instruments playing gospels in the background. He keeps his eyes to the peeling and pocked doorway, covered in one too many coats of paint over the years.
He see's Cliff walk in first in his Sunday best, Junior right in tow, walking behind his daddy in a clean little suit and shiny shoes. Cliff picks him up and sets him in the pew with a pat on the head, adjusting his jacket as he sat.
He see's your mama, her floral dress swinging as she holds your upper arm, licking her thumb and rubbing at your smudged face. Her dress doesn't match to the nice suits of her second husbands, your stepfathers, and your half-brothers. She has her arm around your back, pushing you into the room, your face was solemn as he usually found it when you weren't daydreaming, which is how he preferred to see you.
He sees your only pair of shoes, besides the boots you wore to work on the farm. They were beaten and too small under the too high hem of your dress, having grown out of it as well. The tattered hem, the dull colors of the flowers that used to be bright like the high summer grass color of your eyes. Your hair a mousey red-brown, pulled into two tight braids that you fussed with as you walked, pulling them over your shoulders. Your eyes are on the floor, no smile to be seen on your sweet face like the other girls in their fluffy bonnets and shiny shoes.
At a glance, anyone else would look over you in the crowd of people, choosing to look at the other bubbly and highly decorated girls that giggled and got shushed by their mothers. But the only girl he ever found himself looking at was you.
-------
You take a deep breath before knocking on the door of your childhood home. You hear a nasty cough, thinking that must be Cliff. A pounding of feet up to the door before it opens with a creak. The smell of smoke hits you as the form of a young man appears, he'd be about 15 now, wouldn't he?
"Tawny?" he asks, his eyes wide and you nod with a forced smile. "Oh you came!" he practically shouts, moving to hug you. You're taken back by the gesture, but you're thankful he seems like a sweet boy. "Come on, come in, come in," he excited says, tugging you by the wrist into the house. You shut the door behind you. "Daddy's in there," he says in a quieter voice. "You got the letter I'm guessin'?" he asks.
"Yeah, that's why I'm here." you say softly with a nod, setting your suitcase down on the dirty, uneven wooden floors.
"Thank God you're here, I don't know what I's gonna do if I had to deal with this all myself. I don't know nothin' 'bout buryin' nobody." he says, face falling.
"Well I do." you give him a nod, hand rubbing his shoulder. "I'm here to help you Junior. You're my brother hun, I ain't gonna leave ya hangin'." you say, compelled to pull the boy in for a hug. He happily obliges, wrapping his arms back around you. "We'll do this together alright?" you say, pushing him back by his shoulders.
He gives a sad nod and you pat his cheek.
"You look good, Tawny Bell." Cliff voice, rough as the whitewater streams, abused by drink and smokin' and screamin' his whole life is even nastier than you remember it being. He's leaning on the door frame, cane in his other hand. He looked like a corpse already.
"You take my bag to my old room, hun?" you ask Junior sweetly, he smiles and looks happy to be of use. He heads down the hall.
"Can't say the same for you." you say with a stone face, meeting his eyes but not stepping closer.
"I told him not to write you."
"Good to know he ain't listenin' to you." you retort, face giving him nothing.
"I see your bad attitude ain't changed."
"Only gotten worse when it comes to you."
"Now if you're gonna talk like that in my house I ain't gonna let ya stay here." he gruffs out.
You take hard but not rushed steps up to him, leaving maybe a foot between the two of you, you point your finger aggressively in his face. "This ain't never been your fuckin' house you god damned vulture." you bite out.
His eyes widen, you'd never stood up to him before. Just a "bad attitude" he'd called your cold and distant behavior. Your rebelliousness and tendency to run and hide constantly. It was all just your way to deal with the abuse and hell he put you and your mama through. You'd never had a bad attitude, just a bad home life.
"My daddy built this house. You ain't never done nothin' to earn or deserve gettin' to live in somethin' built with love. Somethin' you've never known a thing about you bastard." you spit at the ground at his feet. His face is still shocked. "I'm here to help Junior put you in the ground. I'm just here waiting for you to die old man, you don't get to have a say over anything I do anymore. You lost that privilege the moment you laid hands on mama you yellow-bellied coward." you back away, hearing Juniors footsteps come back down the hall.
"I've had a very long drive down. I'm going to go get settled in my room now." you turn to smile at Junior. "If you need me just knock, hun." he gives you a youthful smile and an enthusiastic nod.
---
Your room is practically untouched and it stirs a lot of things up that you thought you'd forgotten. You try to sleep that night, laying there hearing Cliff coughing and sputtering all night. Every moan and groan you hear fills you with a sick sense of satisfaction. You hoped he'd be meetin' his maker soon enough and he could finally face what he's been brewing his whole life. You saw nothing but fire for the rest of eternity for him.
When everyone's asleep and it's past dark, you leave your room. You find barely any food in the kitchen, no soap in the bathroom, the basic things you think you need in a home for it to function as such. You sigh and shove a piece of bread into your mouth, moving back to your room.
You sit on the edge of the bed, looking out your open window, dusty curtains you'd tried to beat out a bit moving in the breeze. You can actually hear the life outside the house as you sit with your eyes shut. You couldn't hear crickets or cicadas or the croak of the fat frogs that live by the creek in the city, only in your memories. You sigh and feel lighter for a moment as you hear a dog bark in the distance.
You stand and move to the window, you hit the toe of your boot into the floorboard, and a big grin moves across your face. You kneel, fingers picking the old board loose and sure enough, right where you'd left it was a jar of shine you'd hidden. You put the board back, unscrewing the jar and taking a whiff and you sneeze, the old smell brings backs memories. You take a sip and cough, leading to another laugh.
The familiarity of it all draws you outside where you sit in a rickety old swing that you weren't sure would hold you anymore, but it does. You rest your head against the fraying rope and look out into the mountains as you sip the nerve easing alcohol. Little stacks of smoke rising are the only thing that can make you pick out which burning spots are stars and which are stills in the mountains. You smile, thinking about the memories you'd had with the very moonshine you drank. Some of the only good ones actually. And all of them involving Forrest.
----
You've got your finger in his belt loop, following him through a part of the woods you weren't familiar with.
"Slow down Forrest, I ain't as fast as you."
"If you hadn't drank so much you'd be faster."
"Shut up." you grumble. You don't see it but he smiles.
"Ain't much further no how." he says, holding your wrist while he helps you over a fallen tree and down an embankment.
"Well you could've waited until the day to bring me out here ya know. Or when I ain't had so much shine." you whine.
"Well I can't rightly show you this in the day because it don't happen during the day and it's gotta be tonight cause without the full moon ya ain't gonna see it."
"Will I like it?" you ask, your sweet tone, sounding so innocent and earnest make him smile again, only seen by the darkness that surrounds you.
"If I didn't think so I wouldn't be dealing with you and bringin' ya out here would I?" he says obviously.
You pout because he's right. As you make your way up an embankment in an entirely ungraceful way you see the moonlighting his face as he laughs at you before he extends his hand down to you to pull you up. As he pulls you next to him, he places his fingers to his lips to show you to be quiet. He looks over the ridge, overlooking a valley.
You hear wings. Lots of wings as your eyes dart around and focus. You hear a familiar flapping and clicking of bats. The moon was just up and full and bright, illuminating the valley. He takes your hand and sits you down on a log next to him.
"I hear bats, Forrest." you whisper, leaning in close to him.
"I know ya do Tawny. Just give 'em a minute, they gotta wake up." he grins.
And as if on cue a smoke-like cloud of bats erupts from a cave in the mountains. You jump at the sight, your eyes wide, you clutch onto his arm as it startles you, having never seen anything like it in your life.
"I saw you reading that book on 'em the other day, and I thought about this place." he says, watching your face as it sits in awe. "Thought you might get a kick out of it." he shrugs.
"It's amazing, Forrest." you whisper, your eyes moving with the shifting cloud of bats leaving to feast for the night. "I read that they don't even have to see to hunt."
"Seein' as they do it at night I'm guessin' that's helpful."
"It's called nocturnal." you say, finally breaking your gaze and lookin' at him.
"Nocturnal." he nods. "They means they sleep during the day right?" his nose wrinkles in questions.
You give him a surprised and delighted smile. "You're the smartest boy I know, Forrest." you praise, smile still on your face as you look back to the bats.
"And they eat bugs and hang upside down to sleep. Some of 'em can get real big. Big as a fox they say..." he muses, still watching you. "None of 'em like that 'round here though."
"What'd I read the book for when I got my own encyclopedia right here." you giggle, patting his arm.
"I don't know as much as no encyclopedia, don't be silly." he shakes his head. "And you read because you like to I reckon."
He's now looking out at bats, you move your eyes to him, his strong brow and full lips being lit by the moon in a way that made you dizzier than the moonshine did.
"I do like it." you whisper. He's so smart, you think to yourself. Noticing things no one else does. You're touched that he takes the time to notice things about you. No one else did.
----
You fall asleep on top of the blankets of your bed. Your open window leads you to wake early, hearing the sound of the rooster letting you know the sun was about to arrive. You yawn and stretch, changing into something more suitable for a day out. You don't do your makeup, but set and brush your hair so it looks nice and neat. You put on a dress you'd bought in the city a while back. It reminded you of home and you'd never worn it out as your roommate had told you it was the homeliest looking dress she'd ever seen. But she was a dancer and anything that wasn't silk and marabou she thought was less than. The dress fits your womanly shape well. Breasts pushed together, just showing through the overlapping fabric, as it connected with small pearl-like buttons down to the waist. You rolled the long sleeves up to your elbows, grinning while you did so, as it reminded you of working on the farm as the cotton yielded to your hands. The hem hits at your ankles, a swinging skirt of green and white with a white lace trim along the bottom that framed your boots, much nicer and feminine than the ones you'd worn to literal pieces from farm work from wearing them every day, except Sundays, the last time you were home.
You pick some greens from the overgrown and neglected garden, still having a few useful things, you pick some dandelions and make up a makeshift breakfast for Junior before you head out to town.
He's not had a reason to hide a smile, not havin' much cause to smile at all as of late. But down the road you came, giving him a reason to again. He clears his throat and finishes his coffee as you pull into a space in front of where he sat on the porch.
You hop out of the truck, revealing the lovely form you'd taken today. He averts his eyes and pushes his chin into his chest. You were prettier than he remembered you being. And he knows for certain he thought you beautiful even back then.
You scale the stairs, he sees your dainty little boots, now clean and shiny, a change he was certainly happy to see. As you lean against the wooden beam that tops the banister, he speaks before he takes in the sight of you too long.
"Miss Tawny" he gruffs out with a nod of his head as you approach him.
"Mister Forrest." you say with a small smile, he narrows his eyes at you, you think it was meant playfully. "I need to pick up a lot of things in town today. Cliff ain't got nothin' in that house and I won't have no brother of mine livin' like that." you sigh and shake your head. "Since it seems you're the man who knows everything 'round here now, I thought you might be able to tell me where's best to go in town? Seein' as I ain't made it down that way yet." you shrug and stand with your hands on your hips, looking at him for an answer, he ponders how you got a dress to match the color of your eyes, and if you knew how well it went with your darker and more red hair than he remembered it being, straying away from the source of your nickname as you got older.
"Well.." he begins, a gruff noise as he sits forward. "Just so happens I got errands to run in town today." he says as he stands, picking up his coffee mug. "You uhh..." he pauses, looking at his cup before returning his eyes to yours, an unsure expression on his face. "You can come with me if you'd like." another pause, you give him another smile. "I can show ya better 'n I can tell ya 'bout where everything is now." he elaborates.
"That sounds lovely Forrest." you say with a shake of your head, watching him lower his face and grunt, turning to walk towards the door.
"I gotta...put this up, hold on." he mumbles, gone just a moment before returning with keys in his hands.
--
With the windows down the drive to town was enjoyable. The company didn't hurt either. "I reckon you and I got some catchin' up to do, don't we?" you grin as you turn to face him in the seat, his cigar, puffing away, the smoke floating out the window. He grunts and nods.
"May I ask about your parents? They were so good to me back then." you say sweetly.
"Spanish flu came through shortly after you left. It got 'em."
"Oh." you say sadly, looking back out the window. "I'm sorry to hear that. Your mama was just about the loveliest lady I've ever known."
"A nod and a grunt in repsponse. "It 'bout got me too." he adds, voice far deeper than you recall, but it has the same effect on you just the same.
"Well thank God it didn't." you say, letting out a heavy sigh. His eyes only move to see you, you're turned back towards him in the seat, his statement making you pick at your nails in your lap. "I admit, I had worried about such a thing on the drive back here. Gave me a lot of time to think." you nod. "But there you were when I pulled in." a smile spreads across your face. "Not the same Forrest I left but.." you shrug and grin, he sees your face look back up at him.
"Not the same Tawny that left neither." he says, glancing over at you for a moment before returning his eyes to the road."
You huff out a laugh. "Oh yeah. Life'll do that to ya." you say with a small chuckle. "What about your brothers?"
"Uh...Howard was in the war." he nods. "Came back but...you probably know men that came back. Lot of 'em...ain't wired right no more."
"Yeah, lots of boys that came into the bar were much the same."
"Bar?" he gruffs out, inflection in his tone.
"Yeah I's workin' in a bar for years. That's where I was when I left." you explain.
"Hmmph." he responds with a thoughtful tone and nod.
"That means you raised Jack all by yourself for a long time, didn't you?" you say with that sad lilt to your words. "Probably after Howard got back too..." you elaborate. He's thankful you're so smart and intuitive. He barely had to say a thing when he spoke with you. He was glad to see that hadn't changed.
He only nods, watching the road.
"You're a good man, Forrest." you say with a sincerity that hurts in his chest.
He scoffs, cigar shifting between his lips.
"You don't think so?"
"Know so."
"You ain't never been bad to me." you say.
"Well ya left, didn't ya?"
The words sting and you look back down to your lap. He hadn't meant to hurt your feelings. He wasn't used to talking to women. He'd have to learn to curb his curtness with you.
"What'd you do up there in the city anyway?" he asks. He sees your face rise to look at him.
"A lot of workin'." you mumble, looking back out the window. "While I's going to school I was a nanny, and I worked in a kitchen for awhile too." your voice is soft as you speak.
"School?"
"Yeah I wanted to better myself, ya know. Learnin's important to grow." you say earnestly. He nods in agreement. A dirty little rascal you left, and although well read by Franklin County standards, you'd returned a formally educated woman, pretty and pressed with starch and perfume.
"I thought maybe I'd get a husband if I got educated ya know." you shrug.
"Thought if I worked hard, both in body and mind that someone'd come along who did the same." you sigh. "Never did though." you frown, his shifting eyes catch it and it brings the pain back to his chest.
"Ain't nobody in the city smart." he says with a shake of his head. You let out a laugh that surprises him.
"After livin' there I'm inclined to agree." you let your laugh fade into a happier sigh. " With so many men I thought my chances might be better but...no one wanted a woman like me."
His face screws up, he turns it to look at you. "Well, that don't make a lick of sense."
You give him another laugh that crinkles the corner of your eyes. And while they're closed he lets himself smile for a moment.
You reach over and put your hand to his arm, "Bless your heart." you move the hand away to wipe under your eyes. "I wish they'd been more like you hun." you sigh and shake your head. "Couldn't find one with manners to save my life." you frown but it's less sad and just slightly annoyed. "Now I don't know why no one would make fun of someone for learnin'. They told me no one wanted a wife that thought and acted on her own, said I kept my head in books too much." you purse your lips. "But I mean, you know that ain't the first time I've heard that." you let out a little chuckle.
"Ain't no one from the city ever had no manners neither." he shakes his head. "Shameful of 'em for sayin' such things. Even more so when we was kids. Boys 'round here should know better." he practically spits out.
You can't help but smile at him. At least he was still a big sweetheart.
Ch. 3
@hardygal69 @jaegeeeeer @parlezvoustomhardy @pootle @negansdirtygirl22 @vale0413
#Lawless#Forrest Bondurant#Tom Hardy#Lawless Fan Fiction#Lawless fanfic#Lawless fan fic#Lawless fic#Forrest Bondurant fan fiction#forrest bondurant fic#forrest bondurant fanfic#forrest bondurant fan fic#forrest bondurant x reader#forrest bondurant x ofc#forrest bondurant fluff#forrest bondurant x reader fluff#Lawless AU#Forrest Bondurant AU
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Smile, The Jesus And Mary Chain Love You
Brantley Bardin / Interview
12.1994
Some candid talking with the suddenly acoustic and suddenly friendly Reid brothers
Hated and adored in equal measure, the Jesus and Mary Chain screeched onto the scene ten years ago with the release of their beyond-audacious single, "Upside Down". Sheets of violent feedback guitar yowling over a poppy Beach Boys riff, the song served not as a mere recording but as an aural introduction to the world of Jim and William Reid - two Scottish boys deep into death, despair, the Velvet Underground, and drugs, drugs, drugs. Establishing their name with 20-minute concerts that led straight to tabloid stories of riots and rampant nihilism, then buttressing the buzz with Good Quote ("twenty minutes of us is worth any amount of money"), the Reids went on to deliver on their seemingly arrogant claims of greatness by releasing a bona fide masterpiece, 1985's Psychocandy. Five (also great, if underappreciated), albums later, they're back with Stoned and Dethroned (American), a breezy collection of seventeen acoustic guitar-based songs, including the Lee Hazlewood / Nancy Sinatra-inspired duet, "Sometimes Always". That song's guest vocalist, Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval, is also William's current main squeeze.
The day after a recent sold-out gig in New York, I somewhat tremblingly met with the Reids. After all, their reputation for not being the friendliest and most forthcoming boys on the planet precedes them. Happily, they surprised me with a shocking amount of candour and (gasp!) laughter. Not that the thoughts were always pretty...
Brantley Bardin: The show last night was an hour and a half long, and you used to say that there isn't a band good enough to play longer than twenty minutes. When did you change your mind?
Jim Reid: Probably when we got more than twenty minutes worth of songs. Actually, back then the kind of music we were making was like, you walk onstage, you turn everything up, and you're practically abusing the audience with feedback and white noise, like one big explosion. And whoever heard of an hour and a half explosion?
BB: After Psychocandy, some people thought the Jesus and Mary Chain was supposed to overdose, never make another record, and basically die young and beautiful. Here you are ten years later.
William Reid: Yeah, apparently we'll live to be old and ugly.
BB: I always thought you should be huge. You've written a lot of hit-sounding songs, but radio and MTV are reluctant to play you. Any theories?
WR: We have far-flung theories of supernatural goings-on, but probably it's a combination of bad luck, bad timing, and us being sometimes not...the most accessible people.
BB: Neither is Michael Stipe.
WR: I think he's more friendly than us. When we're pissed off we're pissed off, and it doesn't matter if we're being introduced to the head of the record company or the guy who owns MTV. We've made enemies because of our sincerity and lack of bullshit. I've always thought it was a sad situation that I'm encouraged to pretend I'm happy when I'm pissed off. God, this sounds so negative.
BB: What's the biggest misconception about the band?
WR: That we're always depressed, always miserable, always aloof. Despite what I've just said (laughs), if you saw us in the dressing room after a show with a beer in each hand, you'd see that's not true.
BB: How much do you think the name of the band has to do with the way people perceive you? To this day, when I wear a Jesus and Mary Chain T-shirt, people on the street look shocked.
JR: When we started, we wanted to be the kind of band that grabbed people, that said, "Look at us. Listen to us." But we didn't choose it because we thought people would be burning our albums and saying , "Blasphemers!"
WR: I think it's a very tasteful name. I mean, if you want to use the word Jesus and upset people, you'd call the band Jesus Erected or Jesus on a Stake. I'm always shocked when people say it's blasphemous simply to use the words Jesus and Mary.
BB: Well, there's also the matter of the name in combination with your themes, i.e. sex, drugs, death, and violence. The whole package taken together could be considered "blasphemous".
WR: To me, "blasphemous" means to show an intense disrespect, even hatred, toward God. I've never felt that way.
JR: If you actually study all the religious references in our songs, nothing is terribly disrespectful. Even a lyric like "I want to die like Jesus Christ" from "Reverence" - I mean, that's probably a fantasy of 100,000 Catholic priests. They probably go to bed at night and dream of being nailed to crosses.
WR: And another thing that these middle-class Bible-thumpers forget is that Jesus was a man. Jesus maybe had an affair with Mary Magdalene. I mean, Jesus had a hard-on, Jesus was flesh and blood and bones, and I know that - I've always felt that.
BB: OK, boys, now let's really talk religion.
WR: I believe in God, but it's like, "What if there's no God?" Or, "What if God doesn't like me?" If I truly had faith in God I'd be happy, because I'd believe I wasn't going to die. I'd get to seventy and then go somewhere else.
JR: I think religious belief is some sort of mental illness, some sort of unrecognized schizophrenia. Your mind is so freaked-out, so fucked-up by the thought of dying and nothingness, that it just invents heaven. It's a weird area, religion.
BB: You guys have always been quite out about your recreational drug use, but half of the lyrics on Stoned & Dethroned sound like you've gone to a twelve-step program. It's almost a denial of what came before.
JR: It's more the end result of the old lifestyle - it's where it leads. It's not denial.
WR: I see why you think it's denial, because on a song like "Girlfriend" which is about drugs and junkies, the guy's leaving the girl beause she's fucked-up, and he's decided he's not anymore. And maybe you see that as us saying, "Enough is enough." You can only be fucked-up for so long before you realize you're gonna have to not be so fucked-up or you're gonna die. It has something to do with getting older.
BB: Do you miss getting fucked-up?
WR: What I'm saying is, you can be aware you're fucked-up and want to change, but you just can't do it. I probably get more fucked-up these days - in the last year - than I have in the past ten years.
BB: So a song like "Till It Shines" with its lyric "Junk the junk, love the love," is not necessarily where William is at today?
WR: It's where William wants to be. In a song, you write a person you think you want to be. That lyric is so nice and romantic to me, but a lot of people wouldn't say I'm too nice or romantic.
BB: Actually, I always thought there was an overlooked romantic streak in your music.
JR: Anyone who has ever written a song is a romantic. A song isn't life - it's supposed to depict a part of life. Anything that isn't real life is romanticism. Anything that's under the heading of art is romanticism. Art exists to make us feel exalted and above bunny rabbits.
BB: Another thing that jumps out of Stoned & Dethroned is its optimism. In general, would you say you're happier these days?
JR: Nope.
BB: So I guess you still stand by one of your old quotes, happiness is "an eternal blowjob"?
JR: (laughs) That was the wisest thing I ever said.
BB: How important is "being cool" to you today?
WR: Not as important as it was. But if you've got the choice of being cool or not cool, choose cool. But if you are playing cool, don't try to force it. Like, last night, I was onstage playing "Reverence," and I was thumpin' away, showing off, and I walked offstage and threw my guitar down. I thought I was the coolest fuck that ever walked the earth. But just as I got offstage, I banged my head on a light. And I felt like, Well, I deserved that. God was watching me and said, "You fucker, you're not so cool."
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