#her attending her boyfriend’s games is literally just being a supportive girlfriend and literally who the fuck cares

[m4ndysk4nkovich]

valid reason to hate taylor swift:

attending a football game ❌

her immense carbon footprint that actually affects everyone ✔️

#and i understand she can’t go in a plane like normal people #but she flies almost every day and she will fly for 28 miles #that’s harming EVERYBODY #her attending her boyfriend’s games is literally just being a supportive girlfriend and literally who the fuck cares #taylor swift #don’t kill me swifties

[tsumusamu]

nice receive [miya atsumu x fem!reader]

genre: fluff and (once again, a sad attempt at) humor

word count: 3.8k

summary: eight months into your relationship, atsumu takes you to meet his family. things don't go as planned, but of course, everything ends up alright in the end anyway. alternatively, miya atsumu adores you and his family thinks it's easy to see why.

warnings: uhhh implied sexual content at the end but it is like barely there ok

commission for @ muppetz (it wont let me tag for some reason ugh) thank you so much for commissioning me!

a/n: this ended up being way longer than the word count requested but that’s no one’s fault but my own because i dont know when to shut the FUCK up anyways i hope this one shot is enjoyable lol

content under the cut!

You literally never thought that you would ever end up in this situation.

"C'mon babe, why the long face? Ya nervous or somethin'?"

"No." You purse your lips, huffily averting your gaze from your boyfriend's smirking face.

"Ya don't needa be like that." Atsumu drapes an arm across your shoulder, pecking your forehead as a sort of reassurance. "No one could ever hate this cute face, after all." He accentuates his words by squishing your cheeks, drawing out a yelp of protest from you.

"If you keep talking like this, you're gonna jinx it, you know." Your words come out softer and more hesitant than intended, and you startled even yourself at how utterly anxious you sound.

"Yer gonna be fine. Trust me, I wouldn’t take just any random girl to meet my folks, and they’re well aware of that." Atsumu ruffles your hair.

"I just... I hope they're not..." You pause for a moment, trying to find the right word. "...Disappointed?" You grimace when your boyfriend suddenly throws his head back in such voracious laughter, that you swear you saw a few hysterical tears.

"Are ya jokin'?" he all but wheezes. "Yer the libero for the national volleyball team, for God's sake. If anythin', I'd be the disappointment here."

"'Tsumu — " you start, but he interrupts you by pulling you in for a comforting hug.

"Don't worry yer pretty head anymore, got it?" he murmurs into your ear. "Yer wonderful, and I couldn't be luckier to have ya. My parents are gonna love ya. Honest."

A small smile tugs at your lips as you reach around his back to hug him back. "I hope so."

A year ago, if someone had told you that you would end up having Miya Atsumu introduce you to his family as his girlfriend, you would've laughed until your ass fell off and your stomach ached like no tomorrow.

You had been absolutely overjoyed when you were chosen for the women's national volleyball team, and you were so eager to start playing with your new teammates that you had decided to attend the national team's training camp without hesitation despite your recent knee injury at the time. However, you completely overlooked the fact that you would be working with the men's team as well, which would've been completely fine... if not for Miya Atsumu.

When you first met Atsumu, he was the cocky, annoying little shit of a setter for the Japanese men's national volleyball team, someone who you were stuck training with for the next two weeks.

You still remember the first words he ever spoke to you.

"The hell are ya doin' there, lil libero? If yer not gonna be able to save the easiest ones, then ya might as well sub out."

You also remember the first thought you had about him.

'Prick.'

And the first words you spoke to him.

"Can't you look at this — " You had gestured angrily to the knee brace supporting you. "And take a fucking hint, or what?"

He had sent some unapologetic, biting words right back at you and that marked the beginning of the time you have had the utmost pleasure of knowing Miya Atsumu. The two of you had bickered rather relentlessly (not too unlike literal children, despite the both of you being well into your twenties) throughout the rest of the camp, and by the end, for some unknown reason through some unknown method, he ended up with your number.

He started texting you constantly, and as much as you tried to convince your foolish self that he was just a nuisance, you found yourself responding to his messages like an idiot anyway. Throughout the next few months, you learned that Atsumu was far more than just his overly confident demeanor; he's genuinely kind-hearted, down-to-earth, and actually kinda hilarious. And eventually — neither of you quite knew how — the two of you were staring across a table at each other in a fancy restaurant as if daring the other to blink and lose an unspoken game, on a first date that neither of you thought would go as well as it did.

A little over eight months into your happy and committed relationship, Atsumu suggested that the two of you go to his hometown in Hyogo for a weekend to visit his family. You had immediately agreed with his idea, excited to meet his parents and twin brother in person, but now that he's leading you out of your shared hotel room to go do just that, your stomach's knotting uncomfortably.

Atsumu's been nothing but supportive and comforting ever since you started showing that you're nervous to meet his family. He was always happy to provide a never-ending flow of cheesy words and warm hugs, but you're genuinely afraid of embarrassing yourself. You want to impress his family and not have them see you as undeserving of their son, who you truly care for from the bottom of your heart. Atsumu is your first long-term boyfriend, and you would jump off your roof if you managed to mess anything up during the visit to his folks.

The taxi ride to Atsumu's childhood home doesn't do much to soothe your nerves either, with you fiddling with your fingers the entire way through while Atsumu makes small talk with the driver. As the cab pulls up to the address that your boyfriend had provided earlier, you instinctively clench your fists so hard that you think you might bleed.

A look of alarm crosses Atsumu's face as he notices that you're still just as anxious as you were when you left the hotel earlier. He thought that the ride to his parents' house would give you some time to cool down, but that had clearly not been the case. His eyebrows furrow in concern as he reaches over to grab one of your hands in his, giving you a comforting squeeze.

"Just breathe, darlin'." He runs his thumb over the shallow nail marks embedded in your skin. "If it means anything to ya, my mom's a huge fan of yers. For real. I didn't tell ya this before, but she's especially excited to meet ya. Keeps yappin' to me askin' how I pulled ya." You flush.

"R-Really?" you stammer, wide-eyed.

"Really. Who wouldn't be a fan yers?" Atsumu grins, pecking your nose. "See, ya got nothin' to be worried about. Just chill out and be yerself, 'kay?" You nod, some of the tension releasing from your shoulders as Atsumu leads you out of the cab, hand still clutching yours.

You're feeling a little better now, though your thoughts are still running through your head at the pace of a mile a minute as you watch Atsumu pay the taxi driver and thank him for the ride. Atsumu's mother is my fan? Your ears start to heat up. I hope I can somehow live up to her expectations of me…

“Ma! We’re here!” Atsumu shouts at the top of lungs approximately one second after simultaneously ringing the doorbell and obnoxiously pounding on the door.

“Comin’, comin’, ya brat!” A feminine, yet strong voice hollers in return. You freeze on the spot, your mind going blank once again. It’s happening. It’s finally happening.

The door aggressively swings open, revealing a middle-aged woman wearing a pink apron and carrying a wooden spatula in her hand. Her dark hair is pulled into a bun away from her face and her eyes, the same chocolate brown as Atsumu’s, are gleaming with annoyance. She briefly glares at Atsumu for his rowdy entrance before her gaze catches onto you, and her entire face lights up with excitement.

“(L/N) (Y/N)! It’s so nice to finally meet you!”

“M-Mrs. Miya,” you stammer out, trying your best to smile but you’re sure it looked more like a wince. “It’s good to m-meet you t-too.”

"Aw, hey now. What happened to my feisty girl? It's not like ya to be so lame.” Atsumu lays his forearm on your head, effectively using you as an armrest. You jerk away, scowling.

“Shut the hell up, asshat,” you snap without thinking. About half a second later, regret slams into your body like a truck. Oh, shit. I just called my boyfriend an asshat in front of his mother. You were about to run off into the streets in utter embarrassment if not for Mrs. Miya letting out a hearty laugh way too similar to her son’s and linking arms with you.

“No need to look so scared, dear. I don’t bite. And it’s good to see that yer willin’ to put this brat in his place.”

“Ma!” Atsumu whines, pouting petulantly.

“Yer really losin’ out with him though, y’know,” Mrs. Miya whispers to you as she leads you into the house by your arm. “I’ve got another son; Atsumu’s twin. Osamu’s quite well-behaved. If yer just likin’ the looks, he would be the better option.” You can tell she’s joking by the merry twinkle in her eyes, but instead of humoring her you end up shaking your head with a quiet chuckle.

“I think Atsumu’s perfectly good for me.” The two of you pause to watch Atsumu practically sprint into the kitchen, and a few moments later there’s an agitated yell as proof that he was on his way to annoy his brother. You smile. “He makes me really happy, Mrs. Miya. You raised him well.”

“Aren’t ya just the sweetest thing?” Mrs. Miya coos at you, pinching your left cheek. “And so pretty too. I swear ya could probably clobber my brat at volleyball as well. You and yer teammate… ah, Miss Amanai? The two of you always caught my eye while I watched yer matches. Make sure ya let her know.”

You blush a little and thank her, making a mental note to tell Kanoka that. She’d probably find it extremely amusing, especially since she was the one who had given Atsumu your number in the first place (which, as you had found out months later, was because he had practically groveled at her feet multiple times. Dumbass.)

“Come meet my husband, (Y/N).” Mrs. Miya leads you into the living room, where an older, balding man with rimmed glasses is quietly flipping through a book. He gives a start upon hearing your entrance, clearing his throat and sitting up straight.

“Ah, hello!” Mr. Miya greets you. “I’ve heard a lot about you! From both Atsumu and the missus.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Miya.” You nod once in a respectful manner.

“It’s about time that he settled down with a nice girl. Make sure ya keep him in line though, got it, missy?”

“Of course I w — “ you start, but Mrs. Miya is already dragging you towards the kitchen. You smile apologetically at Mr. Miya, and he just laughs and waves.

“Osamu’s makin’ dinner right now. He is such a hardworkin’ and dedicated boy. Both of them are, really,” she rambles. “But Osamu sure can cook a mean meal. He and his twin always used to fight over who’s the better cook. But I betcha Atsumu hasn’t touched the stove since he left for university years ago.”

You debate telling her that Atsumu had made quite a decent meal for the two of you just last week to celebrate your eight-month anniversary (which you hadn’t even known he remembered), but before you can formulate the right words in your head you’re suddenly shoved in the path of an unfamiliar man. Well, not really unfamiliar. He has the same face as the boyfriend who you see every day, after all.

Miya Osamu is (as expected) the literal carbon copy of Atsumu; same strong eyebrows, same hooded eyes, same angular jawline. The only thing that easily sets them apart is his black, ruffled mess of hair in stark contrast with your boyfriend’s bleached blonde.

Mrs. Miya pulls Atsumu away from the two of you, demanding that he help her with some mundane task, leaving you and Osamu by yourselves in the kitchen.

An easy smile graces his lips as he sticks out his hand. “Hey, I’m Osamu. Honored to finally meet the famous (L/N) (Y/N).” You smile back, gripping his hand firmly and shaking.

“And I’m honored to meet the famous ‘Samu.” At your words, Osamu bursts out laughing.

“Man, I don’t really let a lot of people call me that, y’know? But if yer gonna be part of the family, you could be an exception.”

“F-Family?” You pause, your sudden confidence dissipating as fast as it had come.

“Naw, no pressure. Just sayin’.” Osamu casually continues with his task of shaping onigiri. “I can tell he really likes ya.” You raise your eyebrows in curiosity without entirely meaning to. “I mean, we’re twins, it’s like a sixth sense. And also he never shuts up about ya when we text or call.”

“I hope you’re hearing all good things?” you quip jokingly.

“Oh, for sure. If I didn’t know who you were I’d think that he’s talkin’ about the reincarnation of a goddess with the way he talks.”

“Seriously?” You snort, and Osamu just laughs.

“So I’d like to ask ya the favor of continuin’ to take care of him. Guy’s just a huge ass baby. I can obviously see that yer good for him, though. He wouldn’t have stayed for so long if he wasn’t serious.”

The two of you briefly glance at Atsumu helping his mother set the table. They’re currently debating over whether Atsumu should go back to his natural hair color and “Stop makin’ yer hair look like fuckin’ straw!”

“He is a huge ass baby,” you start seriously, causing Osamu to smirk. “But he’s an honest and good person, so I’m not too bothered. I’ll take care of him, promise.”

“Thanks.” Osamu sighs, glancing rather fondly in his brother’s direction. “He’s an asshole, but at least he’s a redeemable asshole. I’m glad he’s finally got someone around to take care of him. Makes us all feel a little more relieved since he’s away from home.”

You suddenly feel warm inside.

Atsumu had been right; you truly didn’t have anything to be afraid of. The Miyas have been nothing but kind and welcoming so far, and they even seem to already have a positive opinion of you.

“Can ya help me carry these to the table?” Osamu holds out a plate of freshly-made onigiri.

“Ah, sure!” you accept hurriedly, taking the plate from him with careful hands. You take slow, calculated steps towards the dining room; the last thing you want is to accidentally drop any of the food.

Atsumu and his parents are already waiting in the dining room, and they all look up at you expectantly as you approach them with the onigiri plate in hand.

“Why, thank you, dear!” Mrs. Miya chirps. “Helpin’ Osamu out! How sweet of ya — “

She’s cut off as disaster strikes.

You trip on your last step to the table, causing a single onigiri to tumble off the plate and towards the floor. Your mouth drops open wide as you practically slam the plate down on the table and in practical slow-motion, watch the onigiri plummet down, down, down —

Then you dive.

You dive towards the floor, in the same manner as you do when you’re digging for a volleyball.

And you catch the rice ball in one hand, laying flat on your stomach. You have a moment of mental celebration; yes, you caught the onigiri! Then you realize that you look like a fucking idiot as you lay face down with one hand extended and clutching a rice ball like it’s your lifeline.

There’s a few seconds of agonizing silence.

You want the earth to swallow you whole.

There’s no way that you could ever show your face in front of Atsumu’s family or even Atsumu himself now; God you’ve never been more embarrassed in your life, and over an onigiri too —

“Nice receive!” Atsumu suddenly bellows, clapping his hands boisterously. “(L/N) does it again!”

His brother, who’s standing a few feet behind you with a platter of chicken skewers, pumps his free fist into the air and joins in with a “Hell yeah!”

Mr. Miya starts laughing the same loud Miya laugh that you’ve heard way too many times today, and his sons soon follow suit. Shame is still flooding your body, but now you’re realizing just how ridiculous the whole situation is and you resist the urge to smile at your own stupidity. As soon as Mrs. Miya recovers from her initial surprise, she comes to help you up, and you can tell that she’s doing her best not to laugh as well.

“Are ya okay, dear?” she briefly inspects you for any sign of injury.

“All good here, Mrs. Miya.” You smile, genuinely and comfortably, as Atsumu comes behind you to wrap his arms around you and peck your cheek, still chuckling with a small note of pride. “All good.”

-

“See?” Atsumu’s smug as hell as the two of you enter the hotel elevator on your way up to your room. Osamu had dropped you off so there would be no need for another cab. “I told ya that they’d fuckin’ love ya.”

“Why’re you rubbing in something like this?” You scoff, dodging when he tries to pull you into a crushing hug.

“Because I was right.” He smirks. You roll your eyes to heaven.

“Well, you can’t blame me for being nervous! I still can’t believe that none of them got upset at me for diving for a rice ball at the dinner table.” You groan, hiding your face in your hands.

“Nah, why the hell would they? It was cool. Yer cool, Miss National Team Libero.” He laughs, reaching for you again and this time you let him bring you close to him. “Besides, like I said before, who could ever resist yer pretty lil face?”

“You’re a hopeless asshole.” You sigh, and Atsumu of course just chuckles, his laughter vibrating against your ear as you press yourself into his chest.

“I’m yer hopeless asshole.” He pecks the top of your head. “C’mon, babe. It’s our floor.”

You hadn’t realized how tired you are until the two of you enter your hotel room and you see the large, inviting bed. You practically jump onto it, burying your face into a pillow. “Goodnight…” you mumble sleepily.

“Ya gotta go shower and brush yer teeth first, idiot.” A pillow smacks you in the side of the head, and you leap up with a cry of surprise. “Damn, don’t be so loud, sweetheart. It’s late, y’know. Don’t wanna get a noise complaint like last night.” You turn bright red at the reminder.

“Shut u-up,” you retort. “I told you that we shouldn’t have tried to do it on the balcony.”

“It was fun, though, y’know! An experience. And ya sounded like you were enjoyin’ it, anyway.” He chucks another pillow at you, and you yelp as it nails you in the face. “Now get yer cute ass over here, we’re gonna shower.”

“You can’t make me.” You stubbornly lay back down and close your eyes, and you had peace for all but ten seconds before Atsumu’s plucking you off the bed and settling you into his arms bridal-style. Your eyes shoot open in shock and you flail desperately. “Put me down!”

“No can do. I’m not sleepin’ next to yer stinky self tonight, darlin’.” Atsumu laughs as you scowl.

“The floor’s always open for you,” you snap.

“Aw, yer no fun.” He steals a kiss from you in the blink of an eye; the only evidence of there being contact at all is a tingling feeling on your lips. You feel your heart melt just a little more.

“Fine. After we shower, we go straight to bed. Got it?”

“ And brush our teeth. Yer mornin’ breath is bad enough.” He lets out quite an unpleasant squawk when you smack him lightly in the shoulder. “Alright, sorry, sorry.”

“Is this just your excuse to see me naked?” you tease him as he sets you down on the bathroom counter before immediately removing his shirt to reveal his muscled torso. He grins wolfishly at you and shrugs.

“And if it is?” Atsumu’s eyes are zeroed in on the small hickey he had left right below your collarbone last night, which is now visible thanks to the way your shirt had rumpled after he had practically manhandled you into the bathroom.

“Well, I won’t complain.” You follow his gaze down to your neck, before glancing back up to meet his eyes and raise an eyebrow at him. “If you’re going to make it worth my time.”

About an hour later, the two of you are lying in bed together, effectively tuckered out and finally ready to sleep. Atsumu’s strong arms are wrapped tightly around you like a protective cocoon as you snuggle your face against his chest. The slow, steady rhythm of his heartbeat rocks you towards dreamland, and all the worries from the past day are slipping away.

“Hey, ‘Tsumu,” you mumble against his chest. He grunts tiredly.

“Yeah, sweetheart?”

There’s a small silence.

“...Thanks,” you finally say after a beat.

“Huh? For what?” he quips.

“For being patient with me today, even though I was so nervous. And for taking me to meet your family.” You crane your head to look up at him, contentment adorning your features. “I had a good time. I hope they don’t hate the idea of me coming around again sometime.”

Atsumu smiles that familiar smile, the smile filled with affection that others rarely get to see. His eyes are almost half-mooned with joy, his lips are curved up in genuine adoration, and his cheeks are flushed with color. You saw this smile for the first time when he set an incredibly low ball at training camp, earning the awe of everyone in the room, including yourself. Never did you think that you would ever have this expression of pure love aimed at you, nor did you think it would fill you with so much happiness every time you had the blessing of seeing it. He says nothing for a while, suddenly resorting to trailing kisses all over your face. You let him, closing your eyes peacefully as he showers you with his love, ending with one final peck to your nose.

“I'm sure they'd like to have you around again.”

And if Atsumu continues playing his cards right, he thinks there might be a possibility that in the next five or so years, you could truly become part of the family with a glittering ring on your finger.

Only time will tell if that possibility will ever come to fruition, but as you tilt your head up to give him one last kiss on the lips and whisper those three words to him, he knows for sure that he wants to continue building towards that future with you.

“I love you too.” He lets his eyes fall shut as well, before resting his chin atop your head and savoring the warmth of your body against his.

Only time will tell.

-

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general taglist (italics for people i could not tag):  @aomineavenue @intheawks​ @deltahemm​ @bap-kingdom @shegoeshexing @brinnnx @crescentsteel​ @ dokidokisama @smellssharpies​ @dearhajime​ @plutoxxxworld​ @kritiiiii​ @ muppetz @ iscreamtea @rizzyrisso​ @makeitrainonsomehoes​ @maraudusk​ @kybabi​ @tsumue​ @thischickwritessometimes​ @angrylittleriri​

#miya atsumu x reader #atsumu #atsumu x reader #atsumu miya x reader #haikyuu #haikyuu x reader #anime #manga #fluff #humor #hq atsumu #fanfiction #haikyuu fanfiction #miya atsumu #atsumu miya #inarizaki #hq #miya osamu

[xiaq]

I posted 1,113 times in 2021

423 posts created (38%)

690 posts reblogged (62%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 1.6 posts.

I added 710 tags in 2021

#mylife - 183 posts

#lol - 133 posts

#deacon - 70 posts

#myface - 65 posts

#answered asks - 49 posts

#belgian malinois - 49 posts

#myfic - 47 posts

#laugh rule - 45 posts

#hows deacon today - 36 posts

#professor things - 33 posts

Longest Tag: 125 characters

#i'm currently using my personal laptop for work things because my work laptop was getting repaired and then i was quarantined

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

Just spent over an hour on the phone with a nearly incoherent drunk teenager who moved halfway across the US to follow her boyfriend to college only to find out that he's been cheating on her since the first week of the semester. She found out because he broke up with her so he could be with the other girl. She thought they were going to get married and live happily ever after and now her whole world (justifiably) feels like it's ending. This is a friendly reminder to think long and hard about following a significant other to college if you don't actually want to attend that college yourself. I've seen this happen way too many times and everyone thinks that their sacrifice will be worth it long term and that they're going to beat the odds and I literally do not know a single person who that's actually worked out for. The only high school sweethearts I know who are still together are my parents (they got married at 18. My dad didn't go to college, but supported my mom through engineering school while pursuing his own career) and a couple who went to different colleges in different states and maintained a long-distance relationship for 3 years before moving to the same city and getting married a year later.

For my teenage followers: Please be selfish with your college choice (and maybe think long and hard about whether you even need to go to college, but that's a different soapbox). It's ok to put yourself first, here. Love does not require martyrdom. Someone who truly loves you and wants the best for you is not going to demand that you put aside your plans/dreams so you'll be easily accessible to them.

6842 notes • Posted 2021-09-28 05:33:25 GMT

#4

10206 notes • Posted 2021-10-23 00:52:42 GMT

#3

Y'all ever read a book or a fic and you get to the end and you're suddenly mad at yourself? Like. You idiot. You absolute fool. You should have slowed down. You should have savored it. It was so good and you didn't appreciate it enough. You will never get to experience this for the first time again. Shameful.

10427 notes • Posted 2021-03-04 05:04:09 GMT

#2

Small Town Grocery Store Stories: LGBTQ+ friendly edition

Me: minding my own damn business in the grocery store

One of my students and a few of his teammates enter the dairy aisle. 

My student is holding hands with one of his teammates. 

My student: Oh hey, Professor X!

Me, who has both my student and his girlfriend in my class: ...Hello

My student, looking at his hand-holding partner: Oh! Don’t worry. My girlfriend knows. Not that I’m cheating! I’m not cheating. I’m not gay.

Hand Holding boy: Not that being gay is a bad thing! It’s a good thing!

My student: Right! But no, listen. We aren’t together, we just hold hands in public sometimes.

Hand Holding Boy: Especially on Friday nights. And weekends. And at away games.

My student: Because sometimes people will say shit and then we can fight them! And if the fight started because someone was being homophobic, coach won’t get mad at us.

Hand Holding Boy: Always nice to threaten a homophobe. And [gesturing to another boy in the group] maybe they’ll think twice about saying something to [other boy’s name] if he ever gets a boyfriend and wants to hold his hand for real. The Gay One, resigned but smiling: I’ve decided it’s sweet and not really fucking weird.

37354 notes • Posted 2021-02-13 01:29:46 GMT

#1

Ever since I found out that earthworms have taste buds all over the delicate pink strings of their bodies, I pause dropping apple peels into the compost bin, imagine the dark, writhing ecstasy, the sweetness of apples permeating their pores. I offer beets and parsley, avocado, and melon, the feathery tops of carrots.

I’d always thought theirs a menial life, eyeless and hidden, almost vulgar—though now, it seems, they bear a pleasure so sublime, so decadent, I want to contribute however I can, forgetting, a moment, my place on the menu.

Feeding the Worms by Danusha Laméris

37396 notes • Posted 2021-04-26 23:56:45 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

#my 2021 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

[local-ground-apple]

May i request for some headcanons on how riddle,azul,vil and malleus would react to a fem!s/o who’s an insanely good badminton player. Would they support her during her games? Would they attempt to play with? How would they react when she dominates the court against both NRC and RSA has students?💛

I love this request~~~!! 💛 💛 It was fun to write. Pardon me for starting with Malleus

🐲 at first he didn’t understand the hype behind sports, especially badminton. But when you shyly invited Malleus to come cheer for you and give you mental support on your match, he was…overjoyed,

,,Could you, perhaps, if you have time, of course....come to my badminton match?” 

Malleus: *happy invited noises*

🐲 needless to say, he and his Diasomnia squad who tagged along had the front row all to himself. People politely moved away from his intimidating aura. The mere fact that Malleus Draconia came to sport competition shocked absolutely everyone, including Crowley,

🐲 he was awkward at first, not really knowing how he should behave. Malleus is royalty after all and he has a certain image to maintain. But for you, just seeing his gentle smile and feeling his eyes fixated on your form is more than enough to give you mental support,

,,Ufufufu~~ Sebek, mayhap you could show Malleus how cheering looks like?” “Yes, Lilia-sama”

🐲 you had undoubtedly the loudest cheering out of all contestants and to think that it was just one person. Sebek’s screaming woke up Silver who almost had a heart attack, Malleus took mental notes to always bring Sebek with himself on your next matches, while Lilia was wheezing

,,Y/N-SAMA DESTROY THEM. ARAHHHHH YOU GOT IT”

🐲 Lilia is the definition of “You’re doing amazing sweetie” taking multiple pictures of you,

🐲 after a match, practically deaf Malleus came to see and gently took you in his arms, tightly hugging you, as his hands gently caressed your back. He’s softly whispering how good you were, 

,,Malleus I’m sweaty” “You were absolutely amazing, darling” “Malleus-“ “Your skills are truly admirable, you were able to defeat every team. I’m overflowing with proudness” “You’re not listening, right?”

🐲 Malleus wasn’t surprised you had dominated the court and crashed RSA and NRC students. After all, you’re an endearing human who has great badminton skills, 

🐲 Malleus may have hard time trying to express his support for you, but he truly does his best. After each game, he makes sure to tell you how much he loves you, how amazing you were, all that while showering you with gentle kisses,

🐲 after long pestering and Lilia’s interference, Malleus finally agreed to play with you. You soon regretted this, 

🐲 Malleus claimed that he had never tried this game before (which was true) and he asked you to show him some basic moves and practice them with him until he got a grasp of them. He swore he wouldn’t be using any magic for his own benefit (he’s a man of his word)

🐲 you forgot that he’s an ancient fae, whose senses are more sensitive than yours. Malleus is faster and has better reflexes than humans, so after five minutes you were having a hard time keeping up with him, 

,,You’re a fast learner” “Oh, Lilia used to say this to me all the time” “YAH, Malleus play like human”

🐲 Lilia was quick to remind him to tone down his abilities, 

🥀 Riddle is very supportive, he’s your fan number #1. He may not show it in front of everyone, but he’s always cheering for you and crossing his fingers that you will win, 

🥀 your personal hype squad that Riddle always drags with him to your matches is the definition of chaotic support. Cater takes pictures of you while screaming at the top of his lungs “Y/N-CHAN DESTROY THEM” . Ace and Deuce are chanting your name while holding big ass banners of you. Trey is definition of “you’re doing great sweetie” and he has a water bottle as well as healthy snacks prepared for you after the match. Riddle is aggressively clapping and soon he joins the first years,

🥀 you have a celebration tea parties a lot. A LOT. After each match Riddle has always prepared something for you,

🥀 Riddle showers you in compliments after each won game. If you somehow lose one, he’s there with strawberry tarts and fine tea to cheer you up,

🥀 he is beaming with proudness when you win against every team and snatch the first price. He won’t shut up about this for weeks. Literally,

🥀 Riddle lets you train in Heartslabyul gardens. If you need a professional couch or another player, he will gladly arrange that for you. He sometimes watches you practice, admiring your passion and dedication, 

🥀 at first, Riddle was rather reluctant to play badminton with you. You assured him with a playful smile that you would be lenient with him. Surprisingly, Riddle really enjoys your small match and shyly asks you for another round. You happily agree, 

🥀 you both are often seen together playing badminton in Heartslabyul gardens and Cater always coos at how cute you both are,

🥀 pretty sure, Cater runs a fanpage of yours. You always get embarrassed when he floods you with your pictures and shows you how popular your fansite is, 

,,Cater, I suggest you to refrain from making Y/N flustered, otherwise it’s off with your head”

🐙 Azul did his research when you briefly mentioned you’re playing badminton. He watched few videos, read rules of the game and generally familiarised himself with that discipline,

🐙 he’s really supportive, even though he’s not into sports. Azul won’t miss any of your games. Any. 

🐙 expect him to sit in the front row with Leech twins. He may not be shouting and cheering loudly for you as Floyd does, but just a mere glance at this beaming with happiness octopus who clap for you is more than enough,

🐙 when you dominate the court and destroy both NRC and RSA students, he’s extremely proud and doesn’t even hide it. Azul is quick to sweep you off the ground and twirl you around, while pressing kisses all over you and breathing praises in between.

,,Azul, I’m sweaty” “I don’t mind” “Azuuul~~~”

🐙 Azul doesn’t excel at sports so he was more than reluctant to actually play with you. He’s clumsy and since you’re such insanely good player, he can’t help but feel insecure in your presence. Yet, you assure him that you will go easy on him and just teach him some basic moves

,,Come on, I will teach you~!” “I’m rather a busy businessman, angelfish” “I prepared a contract” “A contract, you say?”

🐙 let’s just say, you promised that for each point Azul gains, you would give him a kiss,

🐙 Leech twins will be having the time of their life catching discreet glances from bushes at the two of you trying to play. When they see clumsy Azul desperately trying to score at least one point, while you casually block each of his attacks, they can’t help but burst in laughter

🐙 Azul may say it loud, but he does enjoy those little playing sessions. It’s a nice alternative from his usual routine and may I say, he finds you absolutely stunning when you play,

👑 he’s your hype man#1

👑 you will be the best dressed badminton player ever. Vil likes to make you try multiple tennis skirts, shorts, tops and t-shirts to find the best one. You’re the only female around, so obviously you have to look the best,

👑 you wear designer clothes and Vil is certainly doting on you right before the match, wanting to make sure you would look absolutely stunning in every moment of the game,

,,Vil, don’t apply make-up on me, it will get smeared and I will be sweaty” “Trust me darling, when I apply it, it won’t smear at all”

👑 he was right. You came to the match in impeccable outfit, with flawless, delicate make-up and perfectly styled hairstyle. No one would look better than you,

👑 Rook for sure is taking pictures of you from trees, while Epel is the photograph on the land. Vil has a whole album from your different matches, 

👑 Vil absolutely savors the moment when you dominate the court against RSA and NRC students, especially if Neige is playing too. He’d be like: “everyone, this is MY girlfriend!!”, Let’s just say he will be boasting about your success everywhere, casually bringing this topic, 

👑 Vil is rather organised and after a won match he has everything prepared. Healthy snack to rebuild your energy? checked. Small make-up bag to brush up any eventual imperfections? checked. Some towels so you could sweep off sweat? checked. Water bottle? checked. 

👑 Vil won’t hug you though, not until you take a shower. But he will immediately praises and compliment you, while he’s fixing your hair

,,You did amazing, darling. I enjoyed the look of absolute defeat on Neige’s face when you crushed them” 

👑 Vil knows that you’re the best, but he’s sure you could be even better. There’s always room for improvement, right? He’s in charge of your diet, making sure you’re eating healthy food. Vil even planned your trainings, gets a coach for you and ensures you attend them,

👑 he acts like your stylist, coach, dietician and boyfriend - all in one, 

👑 Vil agreed to play with you, saying it’s a nice break from his usual exercises. After he got a hang of it, it turned out he’s actually pretty good and you’re often seen playing some matches together. Rook always appears out of nowhere and coos that you’re both the most beautiful badminton couple ever,

,,Mon lapin!!! Quelle beauté!!!” “Rook, stop being so close to her!”

#twisted wonderland #disney twst #riddle rosehearts #malleus draconia #vil schoenheit #azul ashengrotto #twst writing #twst x reader #malleus x reader #vil x reader #azul x reader #riddle x reader #twisted wonderland x mc #twisted wonderland x reader #twisted wonderland writing #twisted wonderland scenarios #twst scenarios #twst malleus #twst vil #twst azul #twst imagine #twst headcanons #twst riddle #requested

[saturngrqy]

hii, so i was wondering if you could write something about y/n and gray being in a long relationship but they end up breaking up for some reason and a month or two later rumours start about y/n seeing someone else which are not true but g believes them. and then they end up seeing each other at a party or something and theres a lot of sexual tension between them, so they end up fucking and g is being v possessive, so later y/n explains it all to him and they figure out that they can’t be without each other okay yeah this is a mess, hope you find it interesting enough to write it lol thaanks!!

Holy shit this is long, I’ll do my best:) Ty for submitting this<3 I’m gonna skip the smut tho because I’m not good at it LMAO

warnings- angst, fluff, cursing

You rolled your eyes at your phone, seeing yet another tea account on instagram creating some stupid rumor that you’re seeing someone else, solely because there was a male voice in the background of a story you posted on snapchat. The voice was your brother. 

The truth is, you could never move on, and if you did, it would take months. Your previous boyfriend, Grayson, was the love of your life. You were almost certain he was the one for you. You had been together for almost 2 years- he was your first for everything. First kiss, first time, first serious relationship, etc. However, Grayson ended things abruptly once fans found out that you two were dating.

Grayson himself wasn’t exactly sure why he broke up with you; he really did love you, but at the time he was only thinking about his career and reputation, something he did too often to admit. He was too afraid that the numbers would die, that his fans wouldn’t accept you and in turn stop supporting Ethan and him. As stupid as it sounds, it has happened before. 

Your stomach fluttered, your heart suddenly beating too fast, a sign to stop thinking about him. Your friend had made it very clear to you that Grayson was not worth it and that you deserved better- which you did agree with, however, even though he hurt you, you could still only ever see yourself with him and only him. 

-

Grayson adjusted the sleek black louis vuitton belt on his green pants, silently wishing he could just stay inside in sweatpants with no shirt. He stood up, walking to his closet to grab his signature scent perfume, quickly spraying it over his chest and torso, as well as his wrists. He walked out of his room, seeing Kristina and Ethan standing all prepared by the door. 

“You ready to go?” Ethan asked, referring to a new years party that they’d been invited to by one of their youtuber friends (again pretend covid does not exist). 

What neither of them knew was that you would also be attending as a plus one to Adele, the twin’s assistant. Despite the fact that Adele still worked for them daily, you still remained friends because she was the only one who hadn’t ditched you after your breakup. 

Ethan left to go use the bathroom, not before being scolded by Kristina and Grayson for not going while they were getting ready. Grayson sat down on the double sided couch, leaning back and going onto instagram to entertain himself. He ended up going through his tags, something he rarely ever did. However, this time, noticing a screen recording of your snapchat story was being reposted constantly. Hooked by your name, he clicked on the post, almost immediately regretting it as he read the caption. 

“Grayson Dolan’s ex- girlfriend, Y/n Y/l/n posted this video at a restaurant with an unknown male voice in the background. Could she be moving on? Thoughts?”

Grayson’s night was instantly ruined. Grayson was upset you could move on so quickly, he couldn’t even look at another girl without thinking of your beautiful face. His heart clenched in his chest, making his body erupt into an uncomfortable sweat. He was no longer in the mood to party. But of course, right as he was about to go back to his room to change and go to bed, Ethan came out of the bathroom, ushering Grayson up and out of the house. 

-

The stench of vodka consumed your nose, causing it to scrunch up in disgust. You definitely were not fond of drinking, you had drank before in high school and it only ever caused problems. When you met Grayson, he showed you that you didn’t need drugs and alcohol to have fun, and ever since, you hadn’t touched a single drop of it. 

Adele rushed you through the crowd of drunk adults, claiming she was gonna find you two a ‘spot’ to chill out with much less people. She led you to a secluded part of the massive house, a room with a couch and a table, and on the table was ‘cards against humanity’ a game you hadn’t played in years. On the couch sat Juanpa, Mando, Ethan, Kristina, and Grayson. 

Your breath got caught in your throat, and apparently Adele noticed, because she turned to you before breathing out a “I had no idea he’d be here, I promise,” but you knew she was lying. You just rolled your eyes, going to sit in between her and Juanpa at the end of the sofa. 

You felt a pair of eyes staring at you, so you looked up to notice a pair of hazel orbs gazing at you. You gulped, avoiding Grayson’s eyes. You excused yourself, going to the bar to get a coke. 

You poured the coke into a red solo cup, writing your name onto it in sharpie so no one drinks from it. As you screwed the cap back on the liter, a firm hand approached your shoulder. 

“Hey,” Grayson whispered.

You turned around quickly. “Hi,” you said awkwardly. 

“How are you?” He asked. You shrugged, taking a sip of your drink. 

“Could be better, I’ve just been catching up on school. I’ve been working towards my bachelors degree,” you explained, quickly spilling information. That was something you’d always been insecure about; you always thought you talked too much about anything and everything. Grayson thought it was adorable. 

He smiled. “That’s good. Ethan and I have been working on some new projects. We are working on bath items for Wakeheart,” he informed, referring to his scent company with his twin. 

You just nodded, taking another sip. 

“I fucked up, Y/n,” Grayson spoke suddenly. 

“What do you mean?” You asked confused. 

“I fucked everything up. You were the best thing to ever happen to me, and I fucking ruined it. I’m so fucking sorry,” he spoke, quickly rushing all his words out. 

“Grayson,” you sighed, putting your cup down on the counter. 

“No, Y/n, listen to me. You mean so much to me, and I was such a fucking idiot for letting you go. If I could take it all back, I would do so in an instant.” He explained.

“Grayson, you had months to apologize. You broke me. Why are you just now telling me this?” You questioned. 

“I have no idea. I was nervous, I guess, because I know that you wouldn’t take any bullshit excuse. I don’t have any excuses, I have no clue why I did what I did. I love you so fucking much Y/n, and I always will.”

Instead of responding, you just grabbed his jawline, leaning in to plant a passionate kiss onto his lips. He quickly kissed back, wrapping his arms around your waist. He pulled away, grabbing your arm before walking you to a room down the hallway. 

-

You woke up to the sun shining through the plain white curtains, looking to the left to notice Grayson’s sleeping naked body spooning you. You smiled softly, turning to give him a kiss on his forehead. He grunted, stretching his arms before gently opening his eyes. 

“Good morning,” you whispered, leaning in to press a peck to his lips. He soflty hummed, pulling away, bringing you into his chest. 

“Good morning angel,” he spoke. “Can we talk?”

“Already? We just woke up,” you giggled. 

“I know, but it’s important,” he said sternly. You hummed in acceptance, putting all your attention onto the man in front of you. 

“Are you seeing anyone? Because theres this video going around of you and some guy, and I don’t want to intrude if you are seeing someone,” he whispered. 

You snorted, looking up at him. 

“Grayson. That was my brother,” you informed, watching his face twist in realization. He laughed, pulling you in even tighter. 

“Good, because I want you all to myself.”

This was trash ok bye

#grayson dolan #grayson dolan smut #grayson dolan blurb #grayson dolan fanfic #dolan twins #ethan dolan #my writing

[stargaze-issei]

Hi may I request some headcanons for Kuroo from haikyuu and Akashi, Aomine, and Murasakibara from kuroko no basket when their girlfriend is a really talented at the opposite sport (example Kuroo is basketball and the other volleyball) and are scouted from big schools/colleges and maybe they see a game of hers for the first time and are shocked/proud of how talented they are. Can it also be lots of fluff please.

hi! hope u like it. i gave different positions to each reader in the knb ones, you’ll notice.

ᴋᴜʀᴏᴏ, ᴀᴏᴍɪɴᴇ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴀᴋᴀsʜɪ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴀɴ ᴀᴛʜʟᴇᴛɪᴄ s/ᴏ.

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬; none.

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭; -.

𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞; fluff.

𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞; my bias showed with aomine im sowy hsjhs, also, i cut mukkun out bc this was so long.

kuroo tetsurō

-> kuroo knows you're a decent basketball player because you're team captain.

-> he has never see you play, somehow he keeps missing your games.

-> he's either playing himself or out of town or buried in homework.

-> and is getting on his nerves because everyone keep talking about how good you are and how many points you made on your last game.

-> yeah he has seen you playing one-one-one with your friends, but that doesn't compare to a real game.

-> you're kinda bumped because it's important to you he sees you doing what you love.

-> so when a game against a power house is scheduled, where college scouts are invited, you beg him to go.

-> he makes the impossible and is able to attend at last minute.

-> you got so happy when you saw him on the bleachers, shouting your name in excitement.

-> your team was used to you being good, but that day?? your best performance in your life.

-> you made point after point after point, supporting your teammates.

-> your defense didn't leave any paths open, and your offense was unstoppable.

-> the game ended with a really big gap, mostly made by you.

-> kuroo was SO PROUD.

-> he shouted at every point you made, and his throat got itchy.

-> he knew you wete good but that good???

-> he was thankful you didn't play vb or he'd be scared.

-> when you told him not one, not two, but three scouts had reached out to you??

-> his eyes actually shone in pride. he loves you and won't ever stop praising your abilities.

aomine daiki

-> kind of guy who thinks the sport he plays is the only interesting one.

-> what’s the fun on depending of others as much you do on volleyball?

-> you can’t do more than touching the ball, and not even twice in a row, like, please explain him why.

-> expect a lot of arguing in which sport is better and eventually giving up because this man will not lose.

-> you go to all your practices, unlike him, despite he uses all his weapons to keep you with him in the rooftop.

-> since you started dating, in winter holidays, you haven’t had any important enough games, resulting in him never seeing you playing outside of practice. 

-> he would NEVER say this, but he thought it was cool how fast you could react to receive a ball going 100 km/h or hit a spike so hard with your arm only.

-> you tried to explain him that it was actually a movement from your whole body but he didn’t listen lol.

-> you understand he’s lazy, like, sometimes he would miss his own games.

-> but you were compiting on the final of a really important tournament, and you were so sure you would win, you wanted your beloved boyfriend to be there too.

-> he agreed to go, although you still had momoi invited too to make sure he would be there in time.

-> women’s uniforms are quite different from men’s, the bottom being a tight sport short that ends before your thigh.

-> he hadn’t see you in your uniform before so he literally choked.

-> “DAMN YOU’RE HOT BABE” 

-> sometimes he had attended to watch your practices, despite they were intense, it didn’t compare to a real match.

-> both you and your team were completely focused, every receive you made got to the setter perfectly, your spikes were before the three meters line, it was perfect.

-> even your serves, which was a hard thing for you, were good.

-> a college scout was there, but nobody told your team, and just by chance, aomine ended up sitting besides him.

-> “YOU SAW THAT? SHE’S SO FRICKING GOOD GOD, LOOK!” so the scout was forced to watch you through the whole game.

-> was fairly impressed with your performance, and in a few days, he would reach out to your coach to tell them he wanted to offer you a scholarship and complementary training until you graduate highschool.

-> say “thank u, aomine”

-> after then, daiki will brag about you too everyone every day because you’re that bitch and he loves you.

akashi seijuro

-> akashi cares for status, so he had to know if you lived up to your reputation.

-> i literally don't know why hasn't he attended to any of your games before.

-> like i see him going to one of your games before he even knew you and there, he knew it was you.

-> anyways, you had this friendly game against another school, it wouldn't have been that important usually, but college scouts were invited and you needed a scholarship to get to college.

-> when you told akashi, he decided he'd go to support you.

-> and it was nice that he cared so you just thanked him.

-> everyone knew you were dating, definition of power couple.

-> someone literally saved a seat for him at first row so he could see you.

-> the game started, and you were so focused than didn’t even see akashi in the bleacers.

-> he didn't know a thing about vb, but he noticed how you connected every play, touch the ball in every rally.

-> it was highkey cool, like you were the most important player in the court.

-> yeah, you needed someone else to receive the ball and then spike it, but you were the only one who could set the ball so perfectly.

-> akashi was so involved in the game, even celebrating some of the points.

-> it was when you did a setter dump, that went unnotice until the ball touch the ground, he lost it.

-> you could do that?? it was the best play in the whole match if you ask him.

-> of course, he acted like it was nothing, but damn.

-> it didn’t take long for akashi to realize he was actually sitting in front of the scout you talked about.

-> HE WOULD START TELLING HIM REASONS WHY HE SHOULD GRANT YOU A SCHOLARSHIP.

-> but he wouldn’t need to convince him, which made akashi the proudest man on the planet.

-> he supports you, and recgonizes you as an equal, even being in different sports.

#KnB Aomine #knb akashi #kuroko no basquet #kuroko no basket #kuroko no basket x reader #kuroko no basket fluff #kuroko no basket x y/n #kuroo tetsurō #kuroo tetsuro fluff #kuroo headcanons #kuroo tetsuro x reader #kuroo fluff #haikyuu headcanons #haikyuu fluff #akashi seijūrō #akashi seijuurou x reader #aomine daiki #aomine x reader #– star's; request!

[arhvste]

hc for kenma and fem reader, that’s been friends w hinata since middle school and goes to karasuno, like how would they meet, how would they confess, first date etc. can the reader also be a first year. but doesn’t play volleyball she just watched hinata sorry if that doesn’t make sense

we’re all soft for kenma hours 🙈

also there's a lot to consider and include here so this is going to be a little longer than my usual hcs posts 

-

KENMA WITH A FIRST YEAR S/O HE MEETS THROUGH HINATA

you’ve been friends with hinata since your first day of middle school when you got sat next to the excitable volleyballer 

you both ended up attending karasuno high much to his delight

when he’s not with his volleyball team he’s with you telling you everything about it since you don’t play the sport yourself 

you know all the rules and basics by now by attending enough of his practices and games

so hinata has just come back from the training camp that he attended in tokyo

he is telling you all about the new techniques and he’s worked on and all the new people he’s met

“there was this biiiggg third year! he’s captain of fukurodani and one of the top 4 aces in japan!!”

“uh huh”

“and his friend was captain of the rival team we want to play in nationals, another big third year with weird bed hair!”

“sounds like you met a lot of new friends”

“yup! but one of my new favourite friends is the setter of the team we want to play in nationals, his name is kenma, he’s a second year and he’s super quiet but he’s a real good player!”

hinata shows you a picture he took with this kenma 

there next to one of your closest friends stood a boy with long blonde hair, his dark roots showing but somehow it made his whole look all the more attractive, golden feline eyes and a gentle shy smile as he looked up at the camera.

now, while you’re thinking about how cute kenma is, hinata is actually watching you

you see, unbeknownst to you, the little middle blocker had mentioned you on several occasions to his new friend

something about kenma made hinata think of you while he was in tokyo

so he felt the need to talk all about you to him to which kenma listened to intently 

so there’s a practice match against nekoma coming up

obviously you go because you want to support your friend

you literally forget all about kenma and how he plays for nekoma

honestly hinata tells you all about every single new friend he meets wherever he goes

so it’s hard to keep track of who is who and where everyone comes from

but the picture of kenma comes flashing back when you see him out on the court

hinata wasn’t lying

he was a good player

he seems like he isn’t that into it but you can tell he’s calculating his moves to be precise 

very much a contrasting character compared to the rest of his outgoing team

nekoma end up winning by one set but it’s only a friendly practice match so all is well

you go down to congratulate hinata and the rest of the team

and hinata is there with kenma chatting happily while the shy setter is smiling and nodding slightly 

you make your way over to hinata and he notices you and his smile beams even brighter

“kenma look! this is y/n the friend i told you all about! isn’t she pretty?!”

you’re blushing and so is kenma 

brief introductions are done between the two of you and before you know it hinata is off to go and annoy kageyama 

you’re left there standing with the rivalling team’s setter

at first the atmosphere is awkward but kenma actually speaks up first

“so... you’re friends with shoyo he's told me a lot about you”

“all good things i hope”

kenma lets out a small smile and your heart flutters slightly

“all good things”

you and kenma actually have a pretty good conversation from there and end up exchanging social handles

from there your friendship begins properly 

tagging each other in memes

late night texting 

kenma even convinces you to indulge in a few games he himself plays

kuroo notices kenma has been smiling at his phone more lately

“new game?”

“no”

“ohoho? no game? is it a girl?~”

“y/n from karasuno”

kenma is so blunt dhfshdfgsdugsdfu

kuroo is sitting there like 👁💧👄💧👁

“you didn't tell me you had a girlfriend i thought we were best friends”

“she isn’t my girlfriend”

“do you want her to be though?”

kenma is silent 

you are the first girl he has actually felt comfortable with 

you guys have been friends for a good 3 months now 

maybe he did want you to be his girlfriend but he isn’t sure how to go about confessing 

one night the two of you are up playing animal crossing together 

it’s 2am and neither of you feel like sleeping 

you’re ready to go catch some fish but you check your mail box first and see a letter from kenma 

it says ‘come over to my island i have something to show you’

you notice kenma is online

when is he not online?

his gates are usually open around these hours for people selling turnips or whatever 

so you make your way over to kenma’s island and his little character is waiting fro you outside the airport

then he calls you over the phone to which you answer

the two of you are just casually talking and gently laughing with each other until kenma speaks up

“follow me”

he says quietly through the phone 

so your little animal crossing characters and running around the screen until kenma leads you to a patch of gold roses

gOLD ROSES hufgugfegbfgu rich boy tings 

“KENMA YOU DIDN’T TELL ME YOU GOT GOLD ROSES WTF??”

and in the middle of the patches of roses you see a personalised sign 

you guys know the ones im talking about right? the little boards you can make and decorate around your island 

n e ways 

‘y/n, will you be the cyrus to my reese’

that’s so fuckin cute ily kenma fhjdfd

so after you read it you have the biggest smile on your face

“of course i will kenma!”

he is smiling so hard rn 

ugh you’re official now yes bitches

hinata is e c s t a t i c when he find out 

kuroo is so mf smug but he’s so proud of kenma 

the first chance you get you go to visit tokyo to see your new boyfriend 

the two of you go to a cat cafe 

and then you guys are strolling through a park and feed the ducks 

and then you guys go back to kenma’s house for take out 

you’re both playing animal crossing, smash bros, mario kart etc 

at the start of the day kenma is so nervous  

but you make him feel so comfortable the nerves wash away

but anyways y’all are thriving playing your games 

kenma isn't huge on pda but he does acknowledge the fact you don’t get to see each other too often so he will be open to cuddling 

you’re resting your head on his shoulder while you play though

nothing to crazy you guys are taking it slow after all

your aunt lives in tokyo so you’ll be staying with her for the night

so neither of you have to worry about weirdos on the train at night 

so it gets to about 10:45 and you and kenma decide to call it a night 

this shy baby gives u a soft kiss before you go

he is so soft fjahfk

after that date there are many more to come 

as well as hinata’s matches you also some to watch kenma play whenever you can

the nekoma team love you

they’re so happy their precious kenma has finally found someone outside of volleyball who makes him happy 

you’re basically shared between both teams now 

nationals who are you gonna cheer for tho lmao 

i honestly think when kenma finds the right one he’ll stay with her 

like he doesn’t open up easily so when he knows he’s found the one he will absolutely feel more comfortable in opening up and being more vulnerable 

kenma wasn’t really bothered about love and relationships before 

but thanks to you he’s glad he stepped out his comfort zone

because besides the family he’s got in volleyball 

he also has you know 

and you’ve taught him a new form of love 

-

requests are open!!

#kozume kenma #kenma x reader #kenma x you #kenma hcs #kenma scenario #haikyuu hcs #haikyuu hc #haikyuu scenario #haikyuu #haikyuu!!

[miracleonice87]

Make You Feel My Love with Nathan MacKinnon

a Nathan MacKinnon song fic

a/n: season outcome, timing, and stats = totally fake. based on Nate’s public mentions in past interviews of seeing a sports psychologist, which is really inspiring to me. seeking professional advice is a GOOOOD thing! also, wasn’t originally intended to be a song fic, but Adele’s version of Make You Feel My Love (originally by Bob Dylan) came on while I was finishing it up, so I went with it! last note: pretending Tyson never got traded to the Leafs is the best part of writing hockey fanfiction. 🥺

summary: Angry/Sad Nate loses in the playoffs and takes his frustrations out on his girlfriend Sam, who gets comfort and advice from his teammates and friends.

warnings: swearing; isolated, individual outbursts of anger but NO physical violence; mentions of counseling/therapy and the practice of sports psychology (obviously, like I mentioned, this is a good thing but just something to know); crying Nate (I feel like that deserves a warning)

_____

Deflated, I sat in a bulky black chair in the team family room deep in the recesses of the Pepsi Center for several minutes after leaving the wives and girlfriends suite, needing a moment away from prying eyes and cameras to process what had just occurred.

The Avalanche had been one of the highly favored teams in the West all season long, yet had just been swept in the second round of the playoffs. My boyfriend, Nathan MacKinnon, widely regarded as one of the best players in the NHL, had totaled only one point in the 11 playoff games the team had played this year, earning a single assist on a Mikko Rantanen goal.

Needless to say, that hadn’t been sitting right with Nate.

He’d been short with me since the first few games of the postseason; even shorter than he typically got when he was in a drought. I had tried to give him space, but he snapped about the smallest questions I asked or requests I made of him: what he wanted for dinner, or to be sure he called to wish his sister Sarah a happy birthday. He sometimes mumbled an apology in my general direction, but more often than not, he simply left the room in a huff. I tried my best to be patient — to give him space.

It was abundantly clear that the pressure that always loomed heavy over Nathan like a thick, dark cloud had now intensified. I knew, without him ever verbalizing it, that he felt more burdened than ever before to live up to the hype — to the expectations he had for himself, and to those placed on him, either explicitly or implicitly, by the entire hockey community and the media.

When the rain is blowing in your face

And the whole world is on your case

I could offer you a warm embrace

To make you feel my love

I sat still with my head in my hands for what seemed like forever, until sweet Mel Landeskog, whom I had become so close with over the last four seasons of watching our significant others play together, came and rubbed my back gently through the custom Avs denim jacket that hung on my shoulders. I lifted my head to look at her, a sympathetic smile etched on her beautiful features.

“I’m sorry, Sammy,” Mel offered. “I know he’s gonna be so hard on himself. But he had such a great season — he needs to be proud of that,” she reasoned. I nodded.

Mel was right. He had had a truly remarkable regular season — he had scored 95 points in 82 games after a enduring a considerable slump for much of the previous year. This year stood in stark contrast to last. He had been riding high for many weeks; that is, until playoffs hit.

I stood to wrap Mel in a hug, appreciative of her gesture of support but unwilling to reflect on Nate’s play right now. “Thank you, Mel,” I told her as I squeezed her tightly. “I’m gonna miss you so much this summer,” I added, gesturing to the car seat on the floor beside her. “And Nate and I will both miss that little one, too,” I said as I blew Linnea a kiss, making her giggle, a welcome sound after a heartbreaking display on the ice. Mel glanced down at her baby daughter, beaming.

“I know, honey. We’ll miss you too. But it won’t be long until we’re all back here together, plus we’ll see each other for a couple of these bachelorette parties and summer weddings and get-togethers, yeah?” she said with a nudge.

“Yeah, that’ll be nice. Until then, you guys be safe,” I told her. With one last hug and quick kisses to each other’s cheeks, Mel picked up Linnea in her seat and exited the room. I realized that she and I had been the last two wives or girlfriends to leave, with most of us having exchanged quiet goodbyes in the suite before making hasty escapes to the parking area to console our respective sad hockey players.

With a groan at the depressing thought, I pulled my jean jacket tighter to my torso and walked slowly out the open door.

When the evening shadows and the stars appear

And there is no one there to dry your tears

I could hold you for a million years

To make you feel my love

The locker room doors stood maybe ten yards down the hall. The usual rambunctious ruckus that so often echoed off the cinderblock walls was tonight exchanged for a thick silence. It seemed that most of the guys had already left, and those who remained were noiseless. I softly greeted a few of the familiar men who made their way out the doors, offering only a sad smile and a few words of comfort to each, knowing that they weren’t in the mood to engage. They were, however, still polite, with several of the players embracing me briefly or kissing my cheek as they left the building.

Gabe Landeskog was among the very last to leave the room, unsurprisingly, as he was ever the responsible and respectable captain. He spotted me immediately and enveloped me in his strong grasp.

“Hi, friend,” I whispered into his shoulder, worried that my voice would break. “Hi, söt flicka,” (sweet girl) he countered.

“I’m sorry, Cap,” I told him quietly. He pulled back and shook his head. “Don’t apologize. Wasn’t our year,” he replied with a shrug. “As you can imagine, Nate is taking it pretty hard...” his voice trailed off. “I just want you to be prepared,” he finally added, carefully.

My stomach knotted. I tucked some of my hair behind my ear and swiftly licked my lips, feeling anxiety pool in my gut.

Gabe placed a firm hand on my shoulder. “Just remember it’s not you he’s upset with. It’s himself,” he said softly. I quickly glanced up at him and nodded. “Thank you,” I choked out. “Now you better get going. You’ve got two beautiful girls waiting for you,” I told him, feigning a bright grin. He tried to mirror my expression, but fell short. It was unnatural to see such sadness in his normally joyful visage. He squeezed my upper arm.

“That I do,” Gabe agreed. “We’ll see you soon, Sam.”

“Okay,” I whispered. “Bye, Cap.” He gave a solemn nod and disappeared down the hallway.

My unease only multiplied after my exchange with Gabe. I began to pace slowly in a circle. I jumped a few moments later when the door flew open with a screech, Nate emerging from behind it, a bitter, dark expression on his face.

I greeted him softly, tentatively, reaching a hand toward him.

“Nate, baby, I —“

My boyfriend brushed past me in a flash, causing a literal draft of air to hit me as he held up his hand, never even making eye contact with me as he practically stomped down the corridor.

My blood ran hot — how dare he not acknowledge my presence after I had attended how many home games, and even road games, supporting him and cheering him on, no matter what? And that was just this season — what about the three prior? Why was he shutting me out? My heart thumped against my ribcage.

“Nathan,” I called, my voice firm this time, whipping around to face his back and then fumbling with the chain of my Louis Vuitton bag as it fell from my shoulder. Discombobulated, I threaded it back over my arm clumsily and took two hurried steps in Nate’s direction, but he was already out of sight.

Just then, I noticed our close friend Tyson Barrie standing a few feet behind me. I could infer from the way he was approaching me gingerly, which was highly unlike him, that he had witnessed our exchange, or the lack thereof. I sighed and pressed a hand to my forehead, his hand coming to grip my other elbow.

“Sam, sweetheart... you okay?” Tyson asked softly. Hot tears pricked my eyelids, but I refused to let them fall, blinking them back with a sniffle. My hand fell back to my side — I was shaking now.

“I knew he would be mad...” I began. “But what the fuck, Tys?” My voice wavered.

Tyson instinctively pulled my waist to his side, giving me a quick, protective kiss to the temple, before pulling away and offering me his hand.

“Come on, I’ll drive you home,” he volunteered. With another sniff, I shook my head. “No, it’s okay, Tys. I drove, thank god,” I spat. “Besides, you’re dealing with the same disappointment. You need to go home with Em and unwind,” I insisted, smoothing one hand over his suit jacket. His head dropped and he offered a weak nod.

“I guess. But listen, if he’s still not acting right, call me, okay? You know you can come over. You’re always welcome, especially when he’s being such an ass,” Tyson said, the end of his sentence turning into a growl. We both sighed; I nodded.

“Thanks, Tys. I’ll let you know. And listen, I’m sorry... about tonight. I know it hurts,” I told him, hugging his neck with one arm. He spread his fingers over my back and gave me a squeeze before stepping back to look into my eyes.

“It’s just hockey,” he said quietly. I smiled weakly and nodded once. “Bye, Sam. See you soon,” he said, rubbing one hand over my shoulder as he turned and made his way down the hall to find Emma.

If only Nathan shared his friend’s logic and sentiment.

I dropped my head back at the thought, tears once again collecting in my eyes. I forced them closed in an attempt to stay composed. With another sigh, I slowly started toward the private parking garage where my vehicle waited.

Unsurprisingly, as I stepped through the glass door and into the garage where I spotted my Audi, the spot next to me where Nate’s Porsche had been was empty. I unlocked my car, tossed my bag and scarf into the passenger side, and slammed my door shut before giving the steering wheel two firm bangs with the palm of my hand. My body still hadn’t stopped trembling.

I'd go hungry; I'd go black and blue

I'd go crawling down the avenue

No, there's nothing that I wouldn't do

To make you feel my love

I rested my forehead against the leather steering wheel for a moment before drawing a breath and finally backing out of my spot and exiting the garage, apprehensive of the scene I might find at the condo Nathan and I shared.

_____

I stepped through the front door tentatively, chewing on the inside of my lip. I was careful not to make a sound, walking on tiptoes to avoid clicking my heeled boots on the white tile floor. I dropped my purse onto the table in the entryway and reached to hang up my keys on the rack by the closet when I heard the distinct sound of glass — a lot of glass — shattering.

I froze.

The plans I had formulated in my head during my drive to confront Nate as soon as I arrived home suddenly seemed too unnerving to carry out.

My knees were nearly knocking together as I zipped through the living room and tucked myself behind the wet bar in one corner of the room. I hid myself in a partially-enclosed area where the wine and beer fridge stood, then felt my phone vibrate in my back pocket. I fumbled to answer it, not wanting to make too much noise.

Sidney Crosby, the onscreen caller ID read. I tapped the green button.

“Hello?” I was caught off guard by how frightened my own voice sounded as I answered.

“Sam, hi. Are you home?” Sid’s usually calm and collected tone was now bathed in concern.

“Hi, Sid. Yeah, I just got home. He’s, uh... it’s not good,” I said quietly, glancing at the staircase as I heard another thud upstairs, this time what sounded like a pair of shoes against Nate’s closet wall. On the other end of the call, Sid heaved a heavy sigh.

“Yeah, I figured,” he said tensely. “I tried calling him thinking I might catch him on his way home and talk him down a bit, but he ignored my call. I’m sorry, Sam. Are you alright?”

I glanced down at my free hand which rested on the oak wood of the bar. I was still trembling, my fears of coming home to chaos having been realized.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” I choked out, lying through my teeth. “It’s just hard to watch.”

A deep hum of understanding came from Sid’s throat. “I bet. Have you talked to him?”

I shook my head, despite the fact that Sid was nowhere nearby to see the gesture. “No,” I vocalized weakly. “He uh... he kinda... he didn’t wanna talk to me at the arena... I don’t think.” I fiddled with my promise ring on my left hand as I made the admission. It didn’t even sound like Sid was breathing on the other end of the line.

“You’re telling me he blew you off?” he asked gruffly. I could envision Sidney running a hand over his face before gripping his neat curls atop his dark hair, as he often did when frustrated. I opened my mouth to confirm, but couldn’t actually bring myself to do so, knowing what his reaction would be. I also didn’t want to confess to the commotion I had just heard upstairs, knowing that it would further upset my concerned friend, on my behalf. Instead, I let my silence do the talking.

“Goddammit, Sam,” he growled. “I’m so sorry. He’s young. He- he... I used to do this shit, too,” Sidney admitted with a quick breath. “It’s bullshit. He’s just angry with himself and he’s taking it out on you and it’s not fair. I had hoped I had set a better example about how to deal with these things when they happen... but apparently not.”

A couple of hot tears fell to my face as I responded. “This isn’t your fault, Sid.” He retorted immediately, “Well, it’s sure as hell not yours, either.”

We both sat in contemplation for several moments, neither sure of the next step to take. Then, Sid decided.

“I won’t call him again because he needs to talk to you first. But I am going to text him and urge him that he needs to let you in,” Sid insisted. “He needs to let somebody in,” he repeated. “And it needs to be you first.”

More tears were falling now, and I glanced up at the chandelier overhead and pulled my phone from my ear for a beat to try and settle myself. I wiped at my face with the bottom of my thumb.

“Okay,” I finally whispered. I hadn’t ever really cried around Sid, and while he was one of the nicest and most genuine human beings on the planet, I knew he wasn’t quite accustomed to emotional encounters like this one, and I didn’t want to make him uncomfortable by letting him hear the sobs that were bubbling up in my chest.

“It might not feel like it right now,” Sid broached, speaking in a soothing tone reminiscent of my father’s or brother’s when trying to console me. “But you’re right where you need to be. So is he. He needs you, Sam.”

I've known it from the moment that we met

No doubt in my mind where you belong

“Sam?” Nate suddenly called out from the balcony above me, his voice not sounding heated, but doleful instead. From where he stood upstairs, he couldn’t see me.

“Was that him?” Sid asked. “Yeah,” I said softly, somewhat in response to both men. “Good. He’s coming around. Trust me. I’ll let you go. Text me later, eh?” Sid requested, sounding slightly relieved. “Yeah, I will. Promise. Thank you. Bye,” I said hurriedly before ending the call.

“Sam?” Nate’s voice echoed off the walls once more, sounding desperate this time. My pulse quickened.

“Yeah. I’m coming,” I said softly. I stuffed my phone back into my pocket, took a steadying breath, and turned to walk upstairs and face him.

By the time I arrived on the second floor only a handful of moments later, Nate was already back in our bedroom, seated in the oversized Queen Anne chair near the center of the room, elbows on his knees, chin almost to his chest. I was shocked to hear small sobs escaping his lips. He glanced in my general direction, not meeting my eyes, and cried harder.

“I can’t even look at you right now,” Nate finally spoke, somewhat coarsely. My heart seemed to shatter right then, and I felt my body steel in self-defense, preparing for war.

“I can’t even believe how I treated you back there. I’m such an awful fucking human. I’m a monster. I’m so sorry,” Nate added tearfully, catching me off guard.

The storms are raging on the rolling sea

And on the highway of regret

The winds of change are blowing wild and free

You ain't seen nothing like me yet

I immediately let out three sobs that seemed to have been lodged in my throat for almost an hour now and, in an instant, closed the gap between us. I dropped to my knees in front of him and laid my head in his lap, hugging his calves. Never before had we shared such an intensely emotional moment. Above me, he covered his eyes with his hands and drew shallow, gasping breaths in an unsuccessful attempt to calm himself.

“I’m so sorry, baby,” he cried, not touching me of his own accord. “I’m so sorry.” I picked up my head and looked at him, urgency coursing through my veins. I needed him to come back to me.

“Nathan, baby, hey,” I coaxed, rubbing his big thigh with my hand, which looked so small in comparison. “Look at me. Please? I need you to.”

After a beat, Nate finally lifted his head from his hands, his pale skin slightly splotchy and tinted red, blue eyes shimmering behind more tears that threatened to fall.

“There’s my handsome man,” I said softly, combing my fingers through the neat hair near his ears, watching him slowly return to me.

“Hey, I want you to listen to me, okay? Tonight you’re allowed to cry it out, or punch our pillows, or run on the treadmill all night to blow off some steam. And then I’ll give you a couple more days to swallow this. But after that? We’re gonna check in with Dr. Butler, both of us, so she can give us some ways to cope with this.”

Nate’s shuddering breaths had finally started to slow as I spoke, referencing one of his most trusted allies, the Denver-based sports psychologist he had been seeing now for a few seasons to help him deal with not only hockey-related challenges and mental blocks, but also general anxiety, in order to boost his mental health. I was careful not to allow my tone to come across as if I were babying him, but instead offering comfort and, more importantly, suggesting help. “Because tonight? These last couple weeks? This can’t be it. We can’t deal with things this way. I don’t want you shutting me out, or Sid, or your family, okay? You wouldn’t let me do that — I’m not gonna let you,” I added.

Nate nodded quickly. “Absolutely, babe. I was just gonna say, as soon as I heard you on the phone downstairs, it really just hit me. I realized I needed to text her and set up an appointment,” he told me, his voice no longer shaky. “And that I needed to apologize to you,” he added softly. I nodded, and he grabbed my hands, pulling me to my feet and then back down to lie in his lap. I threw my legs over one arm of the chair and settled against his chest.

I closed my eyes and allowed myself to find comfort in Nate’s heartbeat for a moment, as he pressed soft kisses into my hair, before I looked around the room, assessing the damage. I noticed that his suit coat lay crumpled in the middle of his closet floor, his shoes having bounced off the wall there as I suspected, and they sat out of place atop his neatly assembled collection of footwear. Across from us, I noticed the source of the shattered glass — a shadow box display from Nate’s unforgettable rookie season hung just slightly crooked on the wall, the glass in the front completely broken out, save for the shards along the inner edge of the frame.

Nate followed my gaze to the mess and sighed. “I’m really sorry about that, Sam,” he said, shame creeping into his tone. I nodded knowingly. “What did you throw?” I asked. “That puck they gave me from the last game of the regular season. It was on my dresser when I set my wallet down and it just set me off,” he admitted sheepishly. “It was stupid.”

“Yes, it was stupid to break something that’s valuable to you, but it’s not stupid, what you’re feeling,” I told him firmly. “Besides, we’ll get a new glass panel and it’ll be good as new.” His grip around me tightened, appreciative of my response. “Thank you,” Nate whispered into my ear. I turned to kiss his lips slowly and deeply. He finally pulled back, only to murmur, “I don’t deserve you. I’m so grateful I have you.” I smoothed my thumb across his cheekbone. “I’m always going to be here for you, Nate,” I promised. He gave me one more solemn kiss.

“Listen, I’m gonna carry you into the bathroom so you don’t even get close to any shards of glass, and I’ll clean all this up while you run us a bath,” Nate told me. “I’ll join you soon. I think it’ll be good for both of us, eh?” I nodded, wrapping my arms around his neck as he easily picked me up bridal-style and headed toward the en suite.

Things were far from perfect, but I was prepared to do everything in my power to get us as close as possible. From the change in his demeanor, I knew Nate was, too.

I could make you happy, make your dreams come true

Nothing that I wouldn't do

Go to the ends of the Earth for you

To make you feel my love

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[the-starsabove-you]

The Spotlight

Chapter 20- Michelle, TK and the Fastest Skater.  A/N: Reviews are welcomed! Always love hearing your thoughts and stuff! I’ll be making an updated playlist of this series later and there’s a one shot coming later! Thank you guys for taking the time to read it!  Next chapter is the last All-Stars chapter before everything goes back to normal!  Michelle was strolling through the hallways towards the locker room. Mat’s mother asked if she could take pictures of Mat before the skills challenges started. Mat’s parents were sitting and saving her seat. The morning and afternoon was good, Michelle and Mat were being tourists with Mat’s parents. All of them finding a good place for lunch at a local cafe. Mat’s parents were in awe of how sweet and in awe Mat and Michelle were with each other. Michelle was wearing Mat’s jersey with black jeans and wedges along with a high ponytail. She was very excited to see Mat in the fastest skater challenge. She was rounding the corner and was ready to knock on the door until she bumped into a figure and she would had fallen until the person caught caught her and she was confused but didn’t fall and she saw the figure It was a man with brown hair up to his shoulder, he was wearing an orange jersey that Michelle knew that was the Flyers. Michelle had attended an Islanders and Flyers game once and was amazed by both teams. “Watch where you’re going” The man said and she gave him a look “You should be watching where you’re going” The man narrowed his eyes at her “What are you a fan? How did you get back here? Do I need to call someone to help you to your seat?” “I was allowed back here, I know how to read my ticket and seat number thank you very much. I’m here to see my boyfriend and take pictures of him.. His mom asked me to” “And I was just born yesterday.” The man said and Michelle narrowed her eyes “At least I’m not the one wearing the orange jersey.. Doesn’t fit you anyways” The man broke into a grin “You’re a bonehead” He laughed as he shook his head “Whose your boyfriend?” “Mat Barzal” She said and the man’s eyes widen “Michelle Wilson?” He asked and she nodded and the man looked at her and stuck his hand out “My name is Travis Konecny, my friends call me TK” “Nice to meet you TK” She said and he gave her a look “Woah since when were you my friend?” He asked and she narrowed her eyes playfully “Have I mentioned that I hate you TK?” She said and the man grinned before Michelle sighed “How did you know my name anyways?” “Word around the locker room was that Mat Barzal’s international supermodel girlfriend would be attending the event.. Some of us were actually wondering if it was true. Mat just nodded when a couple of guys asked him. I’ve been sitting next to him for all of this, we’ve become cool” “Is he still in there?” She asked and TK nodded “Should be out soon. I’ve seen pictures of you..” TK said observing her before shaking his head “You’re more pretty in the pictures” He joked and Michelle couldn’t help but laugh “You’re my new enemy. It’s final. The feud of the year.. Michelle vs TK” TK grinned “Does that mean we have to have some sort of social media war? I’m not really on so you would win” “I’ll find the first camera that’s point at me and I’ll express how much I hate you and you’re my sworn enemy” “I can’t wait for this feud to boil over” TK laughed as he grinned at her before sighing “I’m gonna head towards the benches so I could get a nice spot. Mat should be out soon, I’ll make sure I beat your boyfriend and then challenge you for fastest skater” “Oh you’re on.. I could beat Mat in the fastest skater.. I could take you down too.” Michelle joked and TK grinned, amused “Okay Bonehead, I’ll see you later at the club?” He asked and she nodded “We’ll have a drink” “Looking forward to it” TK grinned before bidding her farewell and taking his stick and heading towards the tunnel. Michelle leaned on the wall, waiting for Mat to come through the door. A couple of Hockey Players came through and their eyes widened as they spotted her. She would smile in greetings and they would smile back and some would wave. But Michelle would hear the mutters about her from them. The door opened and out came a man with a green jersey that had a star in the middle. He was tall with brown hair. He did a double take on her before closing the door and making his way towards her “Hi” The man said and Michelle smiled “Hi, Michelle” She said and the man shook her hand “Oh I know who you are. I like your work” He said before clearing his throat “Tyler Seguin, I play for the Dallas Stars” “Nice to meet you Tyler. Thank you” She said and Tyler smirked “Of course.. I had always wondered when I would be meeting you face to face. I just didn’t expect to meet you here” He said and Michelle nodded “I’m here supporting my boyfriend” She said smiling, thinking of Mat and Tyler nodded “Have I also mentioned you're prettier in person? The camera doesn’t lie for sure” Tyler said and Michelle nodded “I’ve been told that” She grinned and Tyler couldn’t help but grin “Glad you know it then, you’re truly beautiful” Before Tyler could keep up with his flirting, someone cleared their throat and Tyler looked back and Michelle looked to see that Mat was standing in the open doorway with another player. Mat looked very unimpressed with Tyler as he was tapping the top of his stick and Tyler grinned “Hey Mat, was just introducing myself to Michelle over here” Tyler said and Mat gave him a look “I see that.” He said and Tyler was just grinning as he nodded “I’ll see you at the benches” He said before looking over and winking at Michelle “Hopefully I get to see you around” Without a word, he strolled off to the benches. Mat literally glaring daggers at him before wrapping an arm around Michelle’s waist and kissing her head “Hey, everything okay?” He asked and she nodded “I just came back here because your mom wanted a picture of you before you go out there” She said and Mat nodded before turning to the player next to him “Michelle, this is Seth Jones. He plays for the Blue Jackets. One of my favorite players too” Mat grinned as Seth nudged him playfully “Oh shut it” He said before shaking Michelle’s hand “Mat’s told me great things about you” He said and Michelle grinned “I hope so, otherwise he’s sleeping on the sofa tonight” “Oh ouch” Mat pretended to be hurt before Seth chuckled “She’s your match, Barzy.” Seth said while both Mat and Michelle blushed. “Was anyone else giving you trouble?” Mat asked and Michelle shook her head “Although, can you hit TK with your stick or something. He called me a bonehead” He said and Mat gave her a look “What did you do to him?” “What I did to him?! You should be asking what he’s done to me!” Michelle said before crossing her arms “He assumed I was a fan sneaking in the back” She said and he grinned “Well aren’t you a fan of me?” He asked and she gave him a look “I’m going to kill you Barzal, Seth is gonna have to escort you to the ER” “Hey I won’t be messing with her” Seth held his hands up and Mat grinned before looking over at the tunnel “Alright, I need to get to the benches soon.” He said before Michelle took out her phone and Mat stood proudly and was smiling at the camera. Michelle ushering Seth into the pictures too and both guys were grinning. “Come on Love birds, I’m sure the parents will be happy to have a picture of you guys too” He said as Mat wrapped an arm around her waist and brought her closer as both smiled widely before Mat leaned forward to kiss Michelle in which Seth snapped a picture and handed the phone to Michelle “Okay Mat, we gotta get going” “Alright, I’ll see you after my thing.” Mat said leaning down to kiss Michelle before the guys were being ushered into the tunnel and Michelle rushed towards the seats and saw Mat’s parents waving at her before Michelle sat beside Mat’s mom “How was it?” Mat’s mom asked and Michelle nodded “It was good! Met some players and was hanging with Mat for a bit” The three of them were watching the introductions of each player coming out and then the fastest skater was happening. Each player being introduced and Mat’s parents and Michelle cheering the loudest for Mat. TK and Mat were skating towards the bench and TK saw Michelle and grinned before turning to Mat to say something in which Mat laughed. Michelle giving TK a look in which TK grinned back. Michelle was clapping for each skater but pretended to boo for TK. Who pretended to look offended as he skated off. Soon Mat was on and Michelle was grinning and he looked over at his parents and her and he smiled softly while the three of them smiled and waved back. Soon the timer went off and Mat was skating as fast as possible. Michelle getting out of her seat and cheering for him as she watched him move with grace. She always loved to watch him skate. Michelle clapped and cheered when Mat went through the finish line. He was in the lead now and Michelle was smiling. She saw Mat was relaxing at the bench as he was watching everyone else go, winking at Michelle when he could. Finally Connor McDavid was up, Michelle looking on nervously but Mat was still relaxed. She watched Connor skating and even his parents were curious and Michelle’s eyes widen when she saw that Connor got to the finish line but didn’t beat Mat’s time and Mat had won. Michelle got out of her seat and was jumping up and down, Mat’s parents joining as they stood up and clapped and they watched the players surrounding Mat and cheering for him as Mat was laughing and smiling. Michelle was smiling widely and she watched as Mat and the other players were walking back to the locker room to make room for the next challenge Michelle was watching the challenges and soon the girls were going to take the ice and have their game. Michelle got a text from Mat for her and his family to come towards the locker room area. Michelle and Mat’s parents met Mat near the locker room and Mat brought Michelle into a tight hug and he lifted her up the ground and spun her around. Michelle grinning and Mat put her down and brought her into a kiss “I knew you would win” She mumbled and Mat smiled “Really?” “I’m always going to cheer for you Mat, no matter what” Mat’s parents smiled as they joined the hug and soon Mat brought them into a room where everyone was hanging out. Some of the players relaxing with their families and others were watching the game with grins. Michelle was sitting on Mat’s lap as they were speaking with Mat’s parents. At the corner of his eye, Mat saw the Tkachuk Brothers looking at Michelle and suddenly Mat became more self-aware. He didn’t know that Michelle would be getting such attention. Sure, Michelle was a famous model but didn’t expect players to just be looking at her. Mat knew TK’s interactions with Michelle were harmless, TK came towards Mat at the bench and told him about the interaction and TK even joked that Michelle was an annoying sister to him. But he got nervous when he walked out the door with Seth and saw Tyler openly flirting with Michelle. He would have been alarmed if Michelle didn’t mention Mat as her boyfriend or if she started flirting back with Tyler. But Mat didn’t worry at all, he was very calm but wanted to tell Tyler off to leave her alone. He had noticed that some of the players were looking at Michelle, but if she wasn’t worrying or saying anything about it.. He had nothing to worry about. He wouldn’t be afraid to punch a guy or two if they started flirting or made her feel uncomfortable. “You’re ready to go?” Michelle said and Mat snapped out of his thoughts and looked at her “Sorry babe, I was lost in thought” He said before Michelle nudging his leg with her own “I said the girls are finishing their game.. Ready for the last challenge before we meet the players at the club?” “Yeah, sorry” Mat said before kissing her cheek and she got up and Mat’s parents smiled “You guys are so cute” His father said his mother nodded in agreement “You guys are a very nice match.. It is nice to see Mat so relaxed and happy with someone and understands his life style” She said and Michelle nodded “Thank you, he’s very special to me and I’m very happy with him. I know with both of us traveling and both of us working, it will be hard at times but we’ll make it” “I know sweetheart” Mat’s mom winked. Mat’s parents and Michelle went back to their seats while Mat hung out with Seth and Auston. TK close by. All of them watching with grins on their faces as players had to shoot the puck from a higher level. Once the event was over. Mat’s parents bid Mat and Michelle a farewell before returning to their hotel room. Mat held Michelle’s hand as everyone was in the garage, some hockey players with their partners and others were just chatting with others. Mat squeezed her hand as he led her towards Seth and TK. Who were chatting until TK saw Michelle “It seems like I couldn’t beat your boyfriend, bonehead. I’ll do it next time for sure” TK greeted and Michelle greeted as they fist bumped each other “Now I gotta kick his ass and I’ll take his fastest skater title” “Oh really?” Mat said with an eyebrow raised and Michelle nodded proudly until Mat grinned and kissed her head “You’re cute” Seth chuckled and he hugged Michelle in greeting before greeting Mat. “Ready to have the night of our lives and party?” “Let’s do this” Michelle grinned as a couple of people started filing into cars. Auston Matthews nodded his head to Michelle in greeting and she smiled back. Michelle and Chris Kreider high fiving and talking about favorite places to eat while they were waiting for cars. Mat’s arm around his girlfriend’s arm. Soon a car came for them and Mat, Michelle and TK piled into the back while Seth went to the front. A majority of the car ride was Michelle and TK bickering as TK would try to wiggle for more room and Michelle pushing him so she could have more room. Mat watching the two with amusement. Mat, Michelle, Seth and TK got out of the car and were walking into the club. Michelle in awe of how big the club was and she was grinning “This is like a Gatsby party” “Lots of people” TK noted and Seth nodded “I like it” “Why?” Mat asked and Michelle turned to him “A lot of people.. Makes some interactions intimate” she whispered and Mat nodded “You’re right” He muttered. The club started getting more busy as hockey players and partners were filing in. Soon the dance floor was crowded with so many people and Michelle grabbed Mat’s hand and led him into the dance floor and they danced in the middle of the dance floor, Mat and Michelle not worrying over anything because of the fact the club was packed. They were young and carefree adults, dancing the night away with each other. Mat kissed Michelle softly and Michelle deepened the kiss and she broke the kiss and looked at him, her eyes half closed “Wanna head back to the hotel now?” He was smirking “I do deserve some kind of prize for winning fastest skater” He said and she narrowed her eyes playfully “Alright, Pretty Boy. Let’s go” They said their goodnights to everyone and retreated back to their hotel room.

#mat barzal #mathew barzal #mat barzal imagine #nhl #nhl imagines #nhl imagine #hockey imagines #hockey imagine #hockey #New York Islanders

[ghostofbambifanfiction]

Hey! I rly loved the new chapter of WATJP, thank you!! I have a question about your characterisation of Sirius though. When you answered earlier that Sirius doesn’t care what Lily thinks of James it made me wonder why you characterise him as being so apathetic and if that’s a front or if he rly just doesn’t care about anything. In my mind I’ve always pictured Sirius as someone who cares quite deeply about a few things (his friends in particular). I’m just really curious as he’s one of my faves💞

Thank you for asking! I actually have a lot to say about this!

(also were you listening in on my phone conversation with @bcdaily last weekend because we were literally talking about this very subject)

Okay. So. To start. Sirius–or my version of him, anyway-cares more about James than he does about any other living creature on this earth. He would happily take a knife to the chest for James, without hesitation or any thought to his own safety. However, that doesn’t mean he has to care about the girl James fancies or ship them as a couple. It would ring entirely false to me if I tried to write him that way.

There are a few reasons for this. First, that my Sirius is aromantic. I believe he’s also canonically aromantic, but whatever, who cares about JKR. I headcanon him as aromantic (but out for a good time, if ya know what I mean ;D) so the need for romantic love is something he simply cannot empathise with. He also knows that James’s professed “love” for Lily is nothing more than an out of control crush on a personality that James has fabricated in his head (that it will end up working out for James is just excellent luck on his part). The truth, which Sirius knows, is that the world is not going to end if Lily never wants James. James will not wither and die away. There are no real stakes in the game right now. He has no genuine reason to care.

Furthermore, if Lily and James do get together, from Sirius’s perspective, his time with James is depleted by that relationship. Sirius is a selfish character—that’s just an objective truth—and James is the very centre of his world. It seems only natural to me that it would take Sirius (particularly teenage Sirius) some time to warm up to James having a girlfriend, in canon or otherwise, and that he would reconcile himself with the idea/grow fond of Lily only after he realised that he wasn’t being excluded—which is an understandable fear because imagine being friends with James and having to listen to him whine about her all the time? It would be annoying AF.

Believe it or not, I really dislike it when fics characterise Sirius as someone who IS all shippy and schemes to get James and Lily together, especially given what we know about him in canon. I’d go as far as to call it a pet peeve. We see in the SWM flashback that sitting around pretending to be apathetic was clearly his thing, and also that he was casually un-fussed by whatever was going on with Lily and James. That kind of over-involved interest is also not particularly realistic for teenage boys in general, and this is something I have discussed with my boyfriend, my brother and with my male friends. When my friend Curtis read my fic he specifically complimented the friendship between Sirius and James and said that it was reminiscent of his own closest friendships. “That’s exactly how lads are,” he told me, and he’s totally right, certainly when it comes to British boys. The reason The Inbetweeners became so insanely popular here is because it was so bloody relatable. I remember attending a reading of Deathly Hallows in which JKR (back before we knew that she was a TERF nightmare and a sellout) said that her American editors were CONSTANTLY trying to get her to make Harry and Ron hug and be more affectionate with one another and she had to keep being like, no, they’re British, that’s not how it is here.

So, yes, Sirius loves James more than anything, cares deeply, wants him to be happy and would ultimately be pleased to know that James and Lily were in a happy relationship. But none of that is reason for him to care about Lily now, and certainly not reason for him to enable and support James’s melodramatic obsession. Is he an apathetic person really? No. Is apathy his aesthetic? Hell yes. That’s my Sirius in a nutshell.

#WATJP

[b0rtney]

Why I Do What I Do: 1. A Human Being with a Place of Birth

You can’t know where you’re going without knowing where you’re from, so today I’ll talk a little bit about where I’m from, and why I do what I do. This first part is about where I’m from as a human being.

I was born and raised in a nice little suburb of Missouri, about twenty minutes from downtown St. Louis. 

For kindergarten, I went to a nice Henry school and attended a nice Baptist church on Sundays, and maybe one other day of the week if I’m remembering that right. These were the kinds of places that would make any moderate person’s skin crawl. My older sister would scream and pout when my parents wrestled her into a church dress, but it would be a scandal if she tried wearing pants– that kind of place. My parents got divorced when I was six or seven, and that kind of thing had every person in that church turning their backs on my family, the fact that my mom soon began working to support me and my siblings was, I’m sure, the talk of the congregation for a little while– that kind of place. 

After my parents got divorced, I switched to another nice Henry school, and I moved to new houses: one for each parent. That nice Henry school didn’t work out for long. My mom couldn’t stand Henryity in almost any form anymore. And the tuition was too expensive for an electrician with a declining business and a brand-new real estate agent in 2007. So, public schools. My dad was zoned for a school with the best public schools around, so we used his address. Kehrs Mill Elementary was where I went starting in second grade, and where my brother went starting in Kindergarten. My sister started sixth grade at Crestview Middle. 

I went about half the year friendless in second grade, and then I met Fernanda. She was the only Hispanic girl in the whole school (there was one Philipino boy, two Chinese girls, an Indian girl, a Middle Eastern boy, and everyone else was African American or Caucasian). She, kind of literally, yanked me by the arm and dragged me into friendship, and I’d never been happier. We played Warrior cats (yes, based on the books, don’t look at me like that every school had some kids that did it… although I think the part where we lapped water out of the sink and hissed at her mom was a little weird). We made up a version of “Cowboys and Indians” where we would be two Chieftesses with inexplicable numbers of children and no husbands, facing moral dilemmas like what to do with prisoners of war when they won’t hear of peace– while our brothers (my one and her two) tried to shoot at us with Nerf guns. 

At this point, if you had asked me what I wanted to do with my life, I would have told you what I considered an impossible joke: I wanted to marry a woman, run an orphanage, adopt a bunch of teenagers and babies, and drive a van big enough to fit everyone in it when we went grocery shopping together. 

In third grade I took a long test in the school’s brand-new computer lab and I scored so well that they took me, once a week, on Wednesdays, to a different campus with other kids that scored really well on that test and we learned about lazers and climate change and cloning and other things for “gifted” kids. But otherwise, third grade passed in much the same way as second grade, but nothing exists without complications and so there came along a boy named Henry. He was new to school and he had what could have been called a cool haircut, for 2009, and Fernanda loved him. I didn’t. But she did, so I thought it was normal to like a boy, so I said I liked him too. And then he said he liked me better than her because she was weird and I kicked him in the shin and said something mean that I don’t remember anymore. But Fernanda didn’t like that, and she didn’t like me. So at the beginning of fourth grade she told me she wasn’t going to be my friend this year so that she could try being friends with someone else. 

So, I was alone again in fourth grade, for a minute. But by this time my real estate-mom had moved us to house number three (four, maybe?) since the divorce: a condo with blue carpets and mostly old people living there. This was where I met Branch, a kid from my class who visited his grandma in the condo directly above us. Branch and I each had a little brother, and by now my sister had taken to locking herself in her room and not talking to anyone, so Branch and me and our little brothers played “Hup-hups,” a war game where there were two sides, each with a commander and an infantryman who would respond to commands like “stay,” “go,” “attack,” and “attention.” It was pretty fun, so Branch told his friends at school about it, and they all wanted to join my faction, and this went on like a domino effect until I was running an army comprised of something like 30-50 fourth-grade boys, depending on the day, at recess. I don’t think I realized how weird that was at the time. We mostly just screwed around until another boy formed an oppositional army, calling themselves the Arachnids, because that was just about the biggest word you could know in fourth grade, and they started guerilla warfare. They would just straight-up attack us and try to hurt us. I would scream at the boys following me to run away, because I never wanted anyone to get hurt, but then the oppositional army leader had his arm around my throat and I was choking so I couldn’t yell very loud, and all the boys on my side just went to town attacking the Arachnids back. Somehow, none of the recess monitors– these were two grouchy old women who would always yell at me and Fernanda for trying to climb the trees– ever saw this, or stopped it. The violence continued until people got tired of it, and by the end of the year I was alone again.

Fifth grade was when the depression I’d had since I can remember really kicked it up a notch. It should be noted that I had no idea what depression was. I thought it was normal to just not want to get out of bed in the morning, to want to die all the time, to dig needles into your skin and try to make yourself bleed because at least then you have control over something. By then my mom had moved to house number five, within walking distance from the school, so my brother and I would walk together every morning. I made one new friend, named John, and he talked me out of suicide not once but twice, once by yelling at me over the phone and once by just existing, which is very impressive for a fifth grader, if I’m honest, but also I think I’ll always feel a little horrible for putting that pressure on him. I convinced myself that I loved him, at the time. 

You may be noticing a pattern with me and boys, but we’re not quite there yet. 

Of course, between fifth and sixth grade my family picked up and moved across the country from Missouri to Southern California.

I spent sixth grade and most of seventh grade friendless, and met a few friends in eighth grade– two of those friends are still with me to this day. In eighth grade I met a girl named Chloe, who had three pregnancy scares in a year and who convinced me to make out with her in a pillow fort in the room I shared with my sister while my sister was out with her boyfriend– and that was the first kiss I ever had and it felt like liquid lightning in my veins. But in eighth grade I also listened to my Republican parents on the matter of gay rights– of course, I barely knew what gay was, I just knew it was something you called people you didn’t like because that’s all that a Missouri elementary school teaches you about it– and so I thought gay people were a little gross, and I was a little gross for liking it when I kissed a girl, and I buried that part of me. In eighth grade I also met the boy who would be the first one I would date: Chris. I dated him from the middle of freshman year to the end of sophomore year in high school. We went on a few awkward dates, we held hands even though his were sweaty and we couldn’t get the timing right, we kissed even though it felt about as exciting as eating plain bread– not exactly bad, just not exciting or fun. 

Now the pattern might seem more clear. It certainly became very clear to me. 

I didn’t like boys. I like girls. I’ve liked girls since forever, and no amount of shame or repression was going to “fix” me because I. Wasn’t. Broken. I was depressed and I was anxiety-ridden and I was introverted maybe a little too much, but being homosexual was never an issue. 

I broke up with my boyfriend. I came out to my friends, then my siblings, then my parents, then everyone else. I had a girlfriend, and she lost interest, so I broke it off. I had another girlfriend, but I had never been interested, so I broke it off. Then I put dating aside. 

I continued to get straight As in school, take all the AP classes, run three clubs, rank nationally for field hockey goalies, help a friend of mine transition from straight girl to gay girl to nonbinary kid to straight boy, and accumulate a solid group of five friends. 

Then I got rejected from every college I applied to because of a clerical error I didn’t know about until a year later (after appeals were already a lost cause), so I got a job, I went to a community college, tried to go for a business degree and hated it, switched to a creative writing degree, and now here we are! With my applications submitted and one acceptance in the bag (thank you, University of Iowa!), now I want to focus on my writing and try to get published next.

Now that you know where I’m from, you know at least a little of what I care about. I deal a lot with mental health, so does my writing. My sexuality was a major unknown for me for a large portion of my life, so I include that a lot in the hopes that I can help someone else not be so lost with that. My hometown had very little racial diversity, so I want to represent more diversity in my writing. 

But I don’t want to get ahead of myself: in the coming posts, I’ll show you what I’ve written and read, so you can have a better idea of where I’m coming from as a writer, now that you know where I’m coming from as a person. 

#lgbtq+ #lgbtq characters #mental health #backstory #childhood #how do i tag #idk guys i think my warrior cats phase might have been weirder than yours #i conveniently forgot that i ran an army in fourth grade for YEARS #i almost broke a guys arm once too but we wont talk about that because almost is the key word #school #college

[imaginesmai]

Hvitserk Crush (AU) 2

So, here is the second part! I hope you like it! I’m so in love with this idea I might make something more. Not another part, just some one shot with this Hvitserk as the protagonist. What do you think?

Plot: Hvitserk is like a disney prince; funny, beautiful, kind... But you are not sure you are his princess.

Life with Hvitserk turned out to be perfect. You still lived with Ubbe, but you spent more time at Hvitserk’s apartment than at your own. Working in the bar kept you from being with him as much as you would want to and, even if at first you thought it would be a problem, Hvitserk was fully supportive and went to visit you whenever he could. Torvi and Ubbe were getting a little tired of your fuck-wherever-we-can way of life; if you thought they were bad before, now you were ten time worse. But not everything was a fairy tale and, although he didn’t do any wrong, a little fact was keeping you awake at nights.

-          It’s been nearly half a year, Torvi. -you complained to her. Both of you were laying in the sofa while Ubbe was trying to finish a university project with Alfred, a guy form his class.

-          He should have said something, I know. -Torvi agreed. -Maybe he is just waiting for the perfect time?

-          At this rate I will have his children first.

-          Can I say something? -Ubbe tried. He had been banned from the conversation you were having when he suggested you were overreacting. Alfred had to tuck under the desk to avoid your flying shoe.

-          No. -Torvi said.

-          You should just make out, I feel already out of this relationship. -Ubbe whispered.

-          I heard you Ubbe. -you said. -Anyway, how do I make him ask me?

-          Making him jealous. -Torvi looked at you in the eye, leaning forwards. -You hear me, you go to the tattoo salon, get the other guy, Magnus, to-

-          Are you hearing yourselves? -Ubbe scoffed, turning towards the sofa. -That’s my brother you are talking about.

-          Babe, you don’t understand. -Torvi smiled sweetly at her boyfriend. How you wished to have a partner like her. -It’s a severe situation. Level eight from ten probably.

-          An eight-what? What are you talking about? Alfred, help me.

-          I don’t know, man. -he laughed. -We gays don’t have that problem.

The problem wouldn’t be half as bad if you weren’t the paranoid shit you were. It all started two months ago, when you met Thora, a friend of Hvitserk. She was beautiful, cute and nice, you just couldn’t hate her. You were with Torvi when he introduced her to you. He told her, literally, “this is Y/N, my friend”. Friends. You looked at Torvi with wide eyes, but he didn’t notice it. Sure, he kissed you in front of her, he hold you hand that night and even sat you in his lap. Yet you couldn’t help but wonder if, for him, whatever you had was just an open relationship, a fuckbuddy one, or you were just spending time with each other.

-          Just ask him yourself. -Ubbe said before asking Alfred something about the world war. -He isn’t doing it on purpose. Just thinks you guys are already a couple, without labels.

-          That’s not how it works, Ubbe. -you said, plopping your head down. -I need to see that he wants me to be his girlfriend. That way I can know that he is mine and not fucking any other girl.

-          He is not- -Ubbe started but decided against it after a second. It was pointless.

You kept talking with Torvi for a while, and the boys eventually left. That night you were going out with Hvitserk again. Working until late was not cool, but he said he would pick you up at ten and have dinner with you in your break. Little things like that made you think that you were the luckiest woman alive, and sometimes they made you feel bad about thinking of him cheating of you. He was just too good to be true.

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That day’s shift had been horrible. There was a football game or something like that on the TV, so a lot of people came to the bar to see it. One of your co-workers had taken the day off for personal businesses, and the other one was stuck in the kitchen as a cook was missing for some unknown reason. That left you with the new boy, a tall and thin guy who was not older than eighteen years. You didn’t want him to get scared and run away on his first day, so you decided to attend groups while he just took the normal ones. Halfdan wasn’t helping much either; he just sat with a group of his friends and saw the match without helping any of you.

-          Halfdan? -you asked, getting closer to his desk. It was already half past ten, and you could see Hvitserk’s bike outside. -It’s my break time.

-          What? -he asked you over the loud people.

-          I told you when I arrived that I was going to take my break at ten. I’m going out, and someone needs to cover me. -you repeated.

-          Girl, you can’t go now. -he laughed. -There is a lot of people here.

-          But I need a break. -you whispered. You were tired and just wanted to hug Hvitserk.

-          I don’t care girl! If you don’t do you work, you are out.

-          Maybe you can cover me for a while? -you said, already feeling the tears in your eyes. Normally you weren’t that weak, but it was late, you had a shitty day and you were beyond tired.

-          What the fuck did you just say? -Halfdan got angry, and you knew you had screwed up. -Don’t fucking disrespect me, Y/N. I’m your boss.

-          But-

-          You are staying until this place close. -your eyes widened; your shift was supposed to end at twelve today. -And pray that I pay you all the hours. Fucking teenagers, you don’t know that respect is.

You stood there while you caught your breath before turning around. Halfdan was always harsh towards his employees. Once he made your co-worker Lizzie stay after she puked and fainted because of her pregnancy. So you kind of understood that you feeling sad and tired wasn’t at his top priorities. However luck smiled at you when the new guy, Rick you thought was his name, offered you to leave for a few minutes. Halfdan was too busy with the game to notice it, and he could manage the whole bar for ten minutes. The tears you had fought so hard to contain almost spilled out of gratefulness. You kept them at bay and took your coat, walking towards the exit. Hvitserk was sitting in his motorbike, with a lollypop hanging lazily from his gorgeous lips. He was checking something in his phone, and you felt bad that he had waited for so long just to see you.

-          Hey. -he looked up at your voice, and you smiled sweetly at him. -I’m sorry, there is a lot of people and I couldn’t get out earlier.

-          Hey beautiful. -Hvitserk said, putting you between his legs. -Doesn’t matter, now you are with me. There is this-

-          Yeah, about that. -his face fell and his eyes saddened like a kicked puppy. It was not the first time you had to cancel plans with him. -Loonies’ is full, and Halfdan wants me to work until it’s closed.

-          Again? -he scoffed. -Come one, you closed last Wednesday too!

-          I know. -you sighed. He had every right to be angry about it. -Maybe we can have lunch tomorrow?

-          And then you will tell me that you have to finish something at university. -Hvitserk answered. -Or that you are tired and you prefer to stay home.

-          I can’t help that my boss is an ass Hvitty!

-          Just tell him you are feeling ill Y/N. Or that you have an important event.

-          You think I didn’t try that already?

-          I haven’t seen you since weekend. -he said, looking at the ground.

In the six months you had been together, you discovered that Hvitserk was what you could call a touch-starved boy. You learned that, in his house, all his brothers had important jobs or an amazing quality. Bjorn was his father’s favourite, and even if he was in the illegal businesses, they had always been together. Ubbe was the smart one, the only brother who had gone to the university and probably be married and with children when he finish it. Sigurd was pretty famous in the music industry, he had a lot of friends, lovers and fans. And Ivar was a mommy’s boy; his mother only paid attention to him, which left Hvitserk alone most of the time. He was raised without hugs or kisses, just with the fights between brothers and the feeling of being the forgotten one. So you understood that he needed all type of love and affection he could get.

-          I’m sorry. -you told him, meaning that there wasn’t any chance of being together that night.

-          Do you want to take a walk? -he tried again after a silence.

-          I shouldn’t have come, Hvitty. Ryan is making me a favour and he’s covering me now, but I have to go back.

-          Okay. -he said. -I’ll…be at the studio. Call me or Ubbe when you are over.

You pushed yourself up in your toes and kissed his lips softly. It was obvious that he was angry, or disappointed, yet he didn’t deny you the kiss and moved his lips against yours. When you pulled back, he followed your mouth a few inches, not wanting to let go so soon. He sighed once again and, after one last hug, he put his helmet on and left without saying a word.

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If you didn’t know what you had before, after Wednesday night you didn’t know if you were even together anymore. When you finished your shift that night, you called Hvitserk a few times before deciding to try with his brother. Ubbe took you home, and next day your “boyfriend” told you that he was busy with a new design of a tattoo. He didn’t pick you up from university, neither saw or called you in the evening. You were getting worried on Friday morning, not because something could have happened but because he might have cut off whatever you had.

-          It has been a lot of time since we made a movie night. -Ubbe said, helping you to clean up after eating. -Do you have something to do tonight?

-          Not really. You are not going out with Torvi?

-          Nah, she has night shift.

Torvi was a doctor already. While it was nice because she had whole days off, she could be working nonstop for a week.

-          What do you suggest? -you asked. Hvitserk hadn’t told you anything about going out, and Halfdan surprisingly decided to give you a free weekend. -I’m not seeing the Notebook again.

-          First, it’s a wonderful movie who is worthy of all the time we see it. -Ubbe laughed. -And second, no, I was thinking about letting you choose today.

-          Oh god. -you faked surprise. -You are so generous. Are you okay? Are you really going to let me choose?

-          Depends of what, but yeah, I feel generous. -he smiled.

Afternoon passed quickly. You were locked in your room all the time, trying to finish some works and studying for finals. It wasn’t easy to concentrate with your mobile phone in your desk, but you didn’t put it away. A few hours ago you sent Hvitserk a message asking about how he was; he ignored it, just like the five you sent before that one. You were waiting for the green light in your phone to appear, a signal that you had a new message, but you only got a notification from new follower and an email from your teacher. When night came, you decided to turn off your phone to end the suffering and went to the living room. Ubbe was already there, in his goat printed pyjamas and with two bowls full of popcorn.

-          I have to ask, has Torvi seen that? -you said, sitting in the couch and wrapping yourself in a blanket.

-          Of course not. We may have been dating for a long time, but this is the line. -Ubbe put on the TV and searched for Netflix.

-          Then why do you have it? Why do I deserve this punishment?

-          It’s comfy, that’s why. I have taken out of the washing machine your old panties. They look like a granny’s one. -he laughed.

-          I guess we are even. What are you looking for? I thought it was my time to choose.

-          Just wait a second Y/N. -he kept scrolling until your favourite movie was on the screen. -I’m going to press start, I don’t want to hear any excited shouts, you can’t touch me and if you throw something at me because I talk, the film is over.

You knew that Ubbe wasn’t a big fan of action movies, so it was a big surprise when Mad Max came into view. He was being extra nice with you that day, and even if he warned you about over exciting about Tom Hardy, he was making a great effort with you, and you were grateful of that. The film started but you couldn’t concentrate on it. Hvitserk sad face was the only thing that filled your head, and fact that you didn’t know if you were dating before the fight made it worse. What if you lost him? What if he was with other girl in that moment, calling her beautiful and fucking her in his office? The TV switching off caught your attention, and you realised that Ubbe was facing you with a worried look.

-          You didn’t even look at the screen, Y/N. What’s the matter?

-          Nothing. -you sniffled, not noticing the dry silent tears in your cheeks. -Put that back, I was-

-          Is it because of my brother? -Ubbe was met with silence. -Look, I might not be as good in giving advice as Torvi, but I’m his brother. I know him better than what you think. What’s wrong?

-          We…kind of had our first fight on Wednesday. We were going out, and it had been a lot of days without seeing each other. But Halfdan made me work until late, so he came to the bar for nothing and got angry because we don’t have time to meet.

-          He understands that your work is a shit. -Ubbe told you. -Hvitserk is just sad that he can’t see you as much as he wants, not angry.

-          Then why hasn’t he called me since Wednesday? -you didn’t want to cry in front of him. -He could have called me or something. I’m not his girlfriend Ubbe, so he doesn’t have to be loyal. Hvitserk could be with another girl.

-          Look, my brother is complicated. -Ubbe cleaned your cheeks with his thumbs. -He really likes you, and I dare to say that he loves you too. Margarethe really hurt him, so he just needs you to make the first step.

-          Now he doesn’t talk to me. -you moved so that you were hugging Ubbe with the blanket long forgotten in the floor. -How am I supposed to do that?

-          Tomorrow is Saturday, and he opens the tattoo shop. Go and talk to him, I’m sure it’s all a misunderstanding. And I like you as my sister in law, so I can kick his ass if it doesn’t go well.

You were grateful for having a friend like Ubbe. He might have horrendous pyjamas, talk too loudly and have an annoying cleaning obsession, but he was with you at your worst, and that was important. The TV was kept off and you two talked about everything, from your problem with Hvitserk to his relationship with Torvi. Ubbe told you that, even if it seemed perfect, it was far from it. Torvi dated his older brother for a while, she was older than your roommate, so he had a hard time asking her out. The first five times she said no, but he was persistent and ended up dating the beautiful doctor. She had rough shifts, handsome partners and a mature mind, and Ubbe fought hard for her. It was normal for couples to have fights, he told you, and you went to bed that night calmer than before.

Next morning you woke up earlier than ever, had coffee and by the time the tattoo shop was going to open you were there. It was a little disappointing that Hvitserk wasn’t there the first one, it was Magnus who was in charge that morning. You supposed he was asleep in his bedroom, but the fear of facing him with someone else didn’t let you check it. Magnus was a nice guy, a little strange and over excited. You had met him on a few occasions, and even if he knew you, it was awkward staying there without saying or doing nothing.

-          Are you…waiting for Hvitserk? -he asked from behind the counter.

-          Why would I be waiting for him? -you didn’t know why you said that, just not wanting to seem desperate for him.

-          I don’t know why would you be here otherwise.

-          Maybe I just wanted to hang out here for a while. -you answered as a girl walked through the door.

-          It’s a tattoo studio, Y/N. -Magnus gave you a weird look. -Are you getting a tattoo?

-          Yes.

As soon as the words left your mouth, you regretted them. You didn’t like tattoos. Well, Hvitserk ones yes, but not the process of getting one. Magnus looked at you with surprise and apologised. He told you that, after he was done with the girl, you could have your turn. Didn’t people wait months to get a tattoo? It seemed that luck was avoiding you that week. The girl was not old enough to get a tattoo for sure, she had this face where you could see that she still was in high school. Magnus didn’t care, however; he asked her about the money and, when she paid him, got into the black seat. You decided to wait inside of Hvitserk office; you had been there before while he was working, so he decided to give you an extra key for you to wait inside.

It was dark and surprisingly clean, so you rose the blinds and sat in his armchair. In his desk you could see a lot of papers, bills, a notebook with the reservations and some draws of new tattoos. He had the habit of drawing things in the strangest places. There was a beautiful dragon painted in a napkin of the restaurant you went two months ago, and he had drawn a pair of hands in a corner of one of your university papers. You smiled when you saw between all of that a photo of the two of you in the park. It was in summer, when you went with all of his brothers to have a picnic. Hvitserk was hugging you with one arm while with the other he held the camera, smiling, and you were laughing with your eyes closed trying to get away. When you put that back, you noticed a new draw, and your mouth hang open from the surprise. It was a beautiful rose, with a lot of details and with the word luck entwined with its steam.

-          Y/N? -Magnus knocked the door. -The girl is gone. Are you ready?

-          For what? -you asked, your eyes not leaving the beautiful draw.

-          The tattoo. -Magnus said. -Oh, I see.

-          What?

-          I didn’t know that one was for you. -Magnus answered, talking about the one in your hand. -Hvitserk has been working on it for two days.

-          Two days? That’s- but I mean, it’s not for- Magnus cut you.

-          Come on, I already have everything ready.

You doubted for a second before following him. It was a madness, you were going to get tattooed when you just wanted to fix things, and you were going to use a draw that was probably for another person. A girl, you thought. Magnus was sitting in his chair, waiting for you to tell him where did you wanted it. After thinking, you pointed to your forearm and he put some sticky substance in it.

-          Do you like it? -he asked once he draw it in your arm. It wasn’t the final result, just a pen drawing of it in your forearm. You kept looking at it for a while before nodding. -Good. Sit down and wait till I get the pistol ready.

-          Pistol? -you said, not moving. -What the fuck is a pistol?

-          It’s the thing I use to make tattoos Y/N. -he sighed, not feeling like being patience anymore.

-          But it’s going to hurt? -you asked.

-          Probably. Is your first tattoo. You will feel like a million of bee stings, that’s all.

-          That’s all? -you were panicking.

-          It’s not a big deal.

-          It is! You can’t just tell someone that is going to hurt, you are supposed to calm me!

-          Do you even want the tattoo? -Magnus looked at you annoyed.

-          I don’t know-

-          Y/N? -Hvitserk voice came from behind you.

-          Yes. -you said without looking back. -Yes, I want it.

Hvitserk appeared in your sight by the right. He was wearing a pair of black sweatpants and a white v-line t-shirt. His hair was messy and his eyes sleepy. You had to prevent yourself from drooling.

-          What are you doing here? And what do you want? -he asked.

-          She is here for the tattoo. -Magnus said, trying to make you sit down on the chair.

-          Are you…getting a tattoo? -Hvitserk asked, feeling a little offended that you had come without calling him and that Magnus was the one doing it.

-          I saw this in your desk. -you said, sitting in the chair and handing him the draw.

-          This one is already requested. -he smiled although you didn’t see it. You knew it, there was another girl. Your words were cut by the sound of the tattoo pistol, suddenly too close to you.

-          Can you just stay the fuck still? -Magnus asked angry.

-          Magnus. -Hvitserk took his arm out of you a little too roughly. -Go somewhere else, I can do this.

-          But you have an appointment in-

-          You handle that. -Hvitserk said, sitting where Magnus was before.

Magnus said something under his breath before leaving towards the counter. Hvitserk took the drawing again and let it rest in the desk beside him. With care, he put your arm out and redid the drawing in your arm. You stayed in silence until he switched on again the pistol.

-          Are you sure? -he asked, trying to calm you down caressing your tight.

-          Yeah. If whoever was getting it is okay with it. -you answered, not looking at his eyes.

-          Won’t care.

It did hurt, but you felt proud of yourself for not letting any tear drop. Hvitserk’s hands were careful and slow, and you watched his face closely while he did it. He had his brown frowned in a cute way, his eyes fixed on the tattoo, the veins on his arms showing because of the effort and his mouth hanging open. You wanted to stop and to kiss the hell out of him, but the little stings in your forearm kept you from that. After half an hour the design was over, and you had a perfect rose tattooed in your arm.

-          It’s beautiful. -you said.

-          I know. It was…Well, I was going to make it to myself. -he laughed, scratching his neck.

-          What? -you looked at him. -It’s not for the girl?

-          What girl? -in that moment, Hvitserk seemed to understand it. -Y/N! I would never cheat on you.

-          It wouldn’t be cheating actually. -you whispered. -I mean, we are not a couple yet, we are just friends.

-          No, you are my girl. -he told you. -My beautiful and amazing girl.

-          You didn’t ask me. -you said, a smile forming in your face.

-          I didn’t think it was necessary. -he sat with you in the black seat, taking your hand in his. -The tattoo… I was thinking of you as I made it. I just, you are most important thing in my life, my luck. Life has not been to kind for me, but with you I have it all. I’m sorry if you thought you I was with another girl. I just want you, beautiful.

-          I’m sorry too. I know I work too much and- what the hell is that on your cheek? -because of the way you were sitting, you could see a purple bruise fading from his cheek, and after looking closely, you found a little bump in his forehead.

Hvitserk laughed and told you about what he had been doing that two days. Apart from designing that beautiful tattoo, he went to your bar in Tuesday morning to talk to your boss. He was angry that you didn’t get free days or enough breaks and ended up with a black eye because he sassed him out. Hvitserk didn’t want you to get angry with him, even if he did get you a free day, so he decided to hide until the bruises healed.

-          You are an idiot. -you smiled, putting your hand in his face and turning it to kiss him.

-          I know. -he took you by the hips and, with care of the tattoo, moved you into his lap. -And you are my beautiful tattooed girlfriend. As your tattoo artist, I recommend you to take care of that thing. So you should probably be as close to me as you can.

-          You don’t think I’m capable of curing it myself? -you laughed.

-          Who is going to kiss it better if you live in your apartment? -you were going to argue but Hvitserk shut you with a kiss. -Listen, we can both live here, we already are. So just move your things here. You don’t have to pay me, and you can quit your shitty job.

-          I can’t live for free, Hvitty.

-          Then be my sexy secretary.

Living with Hvitserk sounded good, better than good. And leaving your job even better. You giggled and kissed him again, not getting tired of his lips. After a while, it was a full make out session, his hands in your ass and yours tugging his hair. You heard Magnus complaining from the other part of the tattoo shop, but you didn’t care. You had your boyfriend between your arms (and legs), a new life ahead of you and a wonderful tattoo in your arm. Yeah, you did have a big crush on the tattoo artist.

Tags:

@supernaturalvikingwhore

#imaginemai #vikings #vikings imagine #vikings x reader #ubbe lothbrok #ubbe #hvitserk #one shot #vikings one shot #torvi #ubbe ragnarson #hvitserk white shirt #hvitserk ragnarson #hvitserk x reader #hvitserk imagine #hvitserk one shot #au #tattoo artist

[bryanfaganlaw]

What will your child’s school do if you and your ex-spouse disagree about an educational decision?

If you have need a best suitable service your Child Law experience, What will your child’s school do if you and your ex-spouse disagree about an educational decision? with the great process!

Houston Family Lawyer: After your divorce, you and your ex-spouse will likely share (to one extent or another) the decision-making responsibilities associated with your child going to school. Sometimes that could mean a decision regarding whether or not to have your child skip a grade or be held back. It could mean the decision revolves around whether or not to allow your child to enter into a special education course in a subject where he is struggling. Regardless, these are usually emotionally volatile situations that can lead to disagreements between parents.

Odds are you and your ex-spouse will not agree on every single contested issue that comes before you that relates to your child. If you disagree with one another regarding an educational decision, the next question you need to ask yourselves is what will happen to your child? Will the school be able to move forward with what it says best? Will you and your ex-spouse need to see the judge? In today's blog post from the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, we will discuss this subject in greater detail.

A school will look to a court order whenever you and your ex-spouse disagree

If you have been to court and have been issued a court order signed by a judge, that order will be consulted in order to determine what role each parent can play in the educational decision making in reference to a child.

It may be that you are the only parent who has to be consulted when it comes to making decisions regarding education for your child. If that is the case then this becomes a much easier question and the school can move forward with whatever decision you make. Your ex-spouse may disagree with your decision, but that means he or she will need to take it up the judge in an attempted modification of that order.

It gets trickier if there is no court order in place or if the current order requires you and your child’s other parent to agree on educational decisions for one to be made. While you and your ex-spouse work to arrive at a conclusion regarding what to do, the school will have to wait. They cannot do anything without your permission and that of your spouse. The best thing that your child’s school can do is provide both of you with information with which a better decision can be reached.

In the end, if a mutually agreeable decision cannot be reached, many families will just head back to the courthouse and attempt to modify the order in a way that is favorable to their side. Most schools will not weigh in on what parent is doing the better job of parenting your child. Before you negotiate parental rights and duties in your divorce, you need to consider the long term consequences in areas like education.

What to do about picking your child up from school

Suppose that you pick your child up from school every day. However, in your divorce, you and your spouse agreed to a Standard Possession Order. Given these circumstances how can you proceed?

In many cases, parents like you will mutually agree to not abide by all the terms of your Standard Possession Order. You are completely able to create your own customized parenting plan that better suits your circumstances. The Standard Possession Order will act as a fall back plan for those times that you and your ex-spouse cannot agree on a plan.

An issue can arise in situations like this, however, when your child’s school does not know who will be picking him up from school. They can always refer to your orders in a pinch, but since you do not have to follow those orders to the letter there can be problems that potentially arise.

The school may take it upon themselves to remind you and your ex-spouse that for the safety of your child that teachers and administrators would like to know ahead of time when the routine will be changed. Providing written notice to the school of any anticipated changes in the transportation schedule would be appreciated.

A quick phone call or short email can make a huge difference to eliminate confusion among those people at your child's school who is in charge of making sure the kids go with the correct parent on a certain day. I have seen situations where both parents go to the school to pick up a child and there can be difficulties when the child can only go home with one of the parents. At the very least you will be asked by the school to provide written notice of about any anticipated changes to the Standard Possession Order.

What happens if a parent wants to eat lunch with their child every day at school?

Divorce Lawyer Houston: There is nothing abnormal about you or your child’s other parenting wanting to eat lunch with him or her at school once a month. What can become burdensome (and this is something that I have seen happen) is when one parent wants to eat lunch at school every single day. A divorce decree will usually state that both you and your child’s other parent will be able to attend school activities. It doesn’t matter which parent is in possession of your child.

Additionally, many school districts in Texas will allow you and your ex-spouse to visit your child at school during lunchtime. I can remember fondly when my mom would come to school when I was a kiddo. She would sometimes come with some lunch from a restaurant for a friend and me, which was always a special activity.

However, in other families, that type of situation could get out of hand. Imagine a scenario playing out where you and your child's other parent both come to school during lunch to see your child. While you may do this every once in a while, it can become distracting if your ex-spouse were to do this every day.

In the situation I was alluding to a moment ago, I have seen an opposing party come to school literally every day with Subway sandwiches for his kids. Our client, who had made box lunches, would get extremely frustrated with this because it was an unnecessary distraction for her children since he was beginning to come to school every day.

Basically, the school will keep an eye on the situation and will need to make a determination if your spouse going to lunch at school every day has become a distraction or not. I doubt that each school or school district has a set in stone policy, either.

So, your child’s school will likely be making a judgment called based on its own experiences and the recommendations of its administrators. The emotional well-being of your child is surely attached to their educational well-being. Do not be surprised if your child’s school asks your ex-spouse to limit their visits to the school if they believe that the visits are having an adverse effect on your child or any other student.

Parent-Teacher Conference: A potential site for disagreement between parents

I don’t think that anyone would attempt to argue that a parent-teacher conference wasn’t a school activity. As such, it is likely that both you and your child’s other parent have the ability to both attend this event. However, unlike a basketball game played in front of a hundred people in a large gymnasium, this event will be held in a small classroom with only you, your child’s teacher and your ex-spouse.

Your child’s school will invite you and your ex-spouse to both attend the event. Given that teachers, depending on the school are often very busy on the night of parent-teacher conferences, you may not be able to have separate time slots scheduled for you and your ex-spouse. Also, it does not matter that the event is scheduled during the school week when you are in possession of your child. Your ex-spouse may attend this activity regardless of whether or not he or she is in possession of your child on the evening the conferences are held.

Unless your court order bars your ex-spouses from attending events like this, or their parental rights have been terminated outright, you can expect that the school will welcome both you and your child's other parent to the conference. Hopefully, you and your ex-spouse are in a place where you can attend this event together without an issue. However, if you are reading this blog post something tells me that this is, unfortunately, not the case.

If your child’s school has a reason to believe that there could be some conflict when you and your ex-spouse attend the conference then separate conferences may be scheduled. Or, you may need to work out a separate day for you or your ex-spouse to attend separately.

What happens if your ex-spouse wants another person to pick up your child from school?

Houston Divorce: Now you are about six months removed from your divorce and your ex-spouse's boyfriend/girlfriend, mother or new husband/wife wants to be able to pick your child up from school. It is essential that your child has a support system that he or she is able to rely upon after the divorce. That support system will oftentimes include people that fall into these categories. Imagine how much important it will be to have your child be able to have loving persons available to care for him or her after your marriage has ended ... Continue Reading

#divorce #Divorce Attorney #divorce lawyer #divorce law #houston divorce lawyer #family #Family Law #fagan #family attorneys #Houston family law #attorney #attorneys #child custody attorney #law #lawyer #lawyers #Houston #Houston attorneys #texas attorneys #Texas

[jacegrace04-blog]

The Irony of Letting Go

Day 6: angsty/emotional moments

↳  When your girlfriend has been avoiding you for a few days, then suddenly says she wants to talk to you, you try to recall every last thing you did or didn’t do. Especially when her mom is the love goddess.

Riordan decided to be vague about the reason for Piper and Jason’s breakup in the Burning Maze. We only got to hear her side of the story, so this is me trying to fill in on Jason’s side. Canon compliant. Prepare for a dose of heartbreak and angst. Enjoy!

When Piper told me she wanted to meet me tonight and talk, I knew something was off. To be honest, I sensed something was off several weeks ago.   Piper and I were attending the same school, so I was staying at their place for the time being. It’s a bit awkward, staying at my girlfriend’s house with her family, but Mr. McLean was keen to take me in since I didn’t have any relatives to go to. As a sign of respect and gratitude to her dad, we decided to set some rules. We’d walk to and from school together, mostly because Piper doesn’t like being chauffeured by their driver. We’d eat lunch together when we could (our schedules had no class in common, sadly). We had to be home by 10 pm at the latest on school days. There was no curfew on weekends, but we had to tell her dad’s assistant, Mellie where we were going. And lastly, no fooling around in the house, especially when her father was home (I might have blushed slightly when Piper felt the need to mention it). All these were simple and fair enough, so we had no problem complying. Everything was okay, until recently, when I noticed some changes in her behavior. When I held her hand, she’d gently pull away after a while, as if the prolonged contact bothered her. When we sat beside each other, she didn't lean her head on my shoulder anymore. When we hugged, she didn't hold on to me like she used to. Usually, she was the one who initiated intimacy, so this came as a surprise. I asked her once, and she simply said she didn’t feel like it. I wanted to pry for details, but I didn’t want to overstep her boundaries. The past week, I knew she was avoiding me because we usually met in the hallways in between classes, but I hadn’t seen her once. We hadn’t walked home together in a while too, since I started training with the basketball varsity. Now, she wanted to talk. Maybe she’d finally tell me what’s been bothering her. All day, I was in this weird state of anxiety – an uncomfortable mix of nervous and excited, that made it hard to focus in class. I was so deep in thought about how to prepare for later, I didn’t notice my friend sit beside me. “Maybe you smell bad,” Matt remarked. “What?” “The reason why she’s avoiding you. You do sweat a lot in practice,” he teased. Matt was my buddy from the basketball team. He’s a senior, a year above me. With black hair and green eyes, he reminded me of Percy, only a few inches taller. After playing just one game together, he recommended me to the coach. Said they could use my height and reflexes. We’ve been good friends since then. I told him about the Piper situation over lunch yesterday. I sniffed my body self-consciously. “No, I don’t! I shouldn’t have told you anything.” He chuckled. “Just kidding, Jace. I would’ve known anyway. You’re so distracted lately, it’s kinda obvious you’re having a girl problem.” “She wants to meet me tonight, says we need to talk.” I heaved a sigh. “I’m not sure how to proceed. I’m practically living with her, but it’s like she’s drifting away.” “You know, bro,” Matt said, putting an arm over my shoulder, “whatever you did or didn’t do, don’t worry about it. Just put in extra effort into your date tonight; show her that you care. If she’s going through something, just be supportive.” “I guess I can do that. I’m just worried - ” “You’re a great guy, Grace. But you always blame yourself for things outside your control. Don’t be too hard on yourself, okay?” He had a point. I nodded. “Thank you, Matt. I’ll let you know how it goes.” “Good luck!” He patted me on the back and jogged away. Piper wouldn’t be back for another hour as she had choir practice today, so I went home early to have enough time to fix myself up. Remembering Matt’s offhand comment, I took a thorough shower. I hadn’t had a haircut in a month, so I just tried styling my hair with wax. I even put on perfume. I brought flowers from the nearby florist - blue sages, which reminded Piper of her childhood home in Oklahoma. After our talk, I planned on taking her out to dinner at a nearby restaurant. I pulled out all the stops, thinking that I would cheer her up with a little romance. We agreed to meet up at the beach near their house. I arrived at our spot five minutes early. Despite the ocean breeze, my hands were clammy with unease. Fine white sand covered the shore. The sea was a peaceful shade of blue under the gray sky. It reminded me of the Long Island beach at Camp Half Blood. This beach was where we took a stroll together when we first moved in here in Malibu. It was a tranquil and private place, somewhere we could be alone with our thoughts. It became our default meeting spot when we wanted to get away from reality. When Piper arrived a few minutes later, I couldn’t help but stare. Her choppy brown hair was braided to one side. She was wearing a white Hello Kitty shirt and denim shorts. She always tried to downplay her appearance with simple clothing, but it never worked. There was something in the way she carried herself that radiated elegance, bringing out the different colors in her eyes. She was always down to earth, despite being born to privilege, yet she was never afraid to stand up for what she believes in. She was amazing. Sometimes, I can’t help but think I don’t deserve her. She stopped a few paces from me. I took a step forward. “Is everything okay? What did you want to talk about?” Her pained smile when she saw me all dressed up and holding a bouquet of her favorite flowers told me it was something that couldn't be easily fixed. “Jason, you didn't have to go through all this trouble,” Piper said, looking at me hesitantly. “It's okay, I want to redeem myself. For being a bad boyfriend.” “You didn’t have to. But thank you for this. You remembered what I said about Oklahoma.” She smiled, took the bouquet from me and smelled it. "You look great, by the way," she added, her eyes having that old gleam they used to have. “So do you. As always.” I tried for a smile. “How was choir practice?” “It was fine. Look, Jason…” She locked eyes with me, and I saw how conflicted she felt. My gaze must have been too intense, because she averted her eyes and stared at the shore. “You weren't a bad boyfriend." "Really? Because it seems you’ve been avoiding me the past couple of days.” That came out of me unexpectedly. “I heard from Mellie that your dad’s been having financial trouble. Is that why you’re being distant lately? I want to help.” “No, that’s not it. Dad’s dealing with it. He told me not to worry.” She was still staring at the horizon, facing away. I know there’s something more she wanted to say. “Pipes, just tell me. Did I do something wrong?" "No, Jay, it's not your fault. I’m sorry for avoiding you. It’s just - we've both been busy with school and we're adjusting to this new life and it's been... challenging for me, to say the least." "That's okay, Pipes," I reassured her, holding her arm. "Remember what you told me before, back in the Argo II? We're a team - you and me. We’ll try out this new life, together." She removed her arm from my touch."I do remember, but…" She paused, searching for the right words. "But what if I want to try alone?" I waited. "Just by myself." It was supposed to be me who got shocked, but it was Piper who did - literally. I accidentally let loose some static from my skin. It usually happens when I feel an intense surge of emotion, sort of a tension release. Perks of being a son of Jupiter. Thanks, Dad. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to - ” “I’m fine, Sparky. I’m used to your Pikachu moments,” she said with a smirk. I couldn’t help but let out a strangled laugh. “Been a while since you last called me that.” “Yeah…” We stood there on the beach, smiling at each other. For a moment, it seemed like things were normal between us. I basked in her presence, light and warm, remembering all the times I'd enjoyed her company. But the silence that followed reminded me of the distance between us. Only the sound of the waves lapping on the shore brought me back to the moment. "Y-you want to break up?” "You did nothing wrong, Jay. It's me." I watched her make a face of disappointment. "Ugh, I hate how cliché that sounds. What a daughter of Aphrodite." She snickered at herself, then her voice took on a serious tone. "We started out with me having fake memories of us, while you had amnesia. We only got to know each other for real during our quest. I liked you, but I didn’t want to impose myself. So I was relieved when you finally asked me out.” She looked at me timidly. I remembered feeling nervous as I waited for her outside her cabin after the campfire. I’d only worked up the courage to confess because of Leo’s incessant urging. “When we started dating, there was a war looming on the horizon. We were constantly in danger, and we held onto everything we could just to feel a sense of security." She took a deep breath, pausing, then continued. "Hera and Aphrodite made sure we’d be together. You had a whole other life in Camp Jupiter, and she plucked you out of there, and put you with us. It didn’t help that I was so focused on our relationship. I felt pressured to maintain a perfect romance just because my mom’s Aphrodite. To the point that I became insecure of losing you to your past life. It wasn’t right, I realize that now.” I had no idea Piper felt that way. I wanted to say something, but I didn’t know what. I just continued to listen, and she kept on. “Did you know that my mom talked to Reyna in Charleston a few years ago? Do you know what she told her?” I recalled the memory. We were on a quest to find Imperial gold weapons, and Reyna had talked to an apparition alone, looking for information that might help us. After her encounter, she didn't act the same around me. She became guarded and distant, even more so than usual. “Reyna never told me.” “She told her, 'You will not find love where you wish or where you hope. No demigod shall heal your heart'. I don't know if it was a prophecy, or a warning, or what. But the point is: even before we met, the gods were already conspiring behind the scenes.” I stood there awkwardly, trying to process her words. Reyna was my closest friend at Camp Jupiter. She seemed to hate me at first, but she eventually warmed up to me after I rescued her pegasus Scipio from a flesh eating ghoul. We went on many quests together and spent a lot of time hanging out despite being from different cohorts. After leading the Battle of Mount Othrys, we were proclaimed as praetors – the top commanding officers of the legion. Almost everyone at camp teased us, but I just brushed them off. Back then, I was oblivious to her feelings, and she was as tight-lipped as ever. I never felt something more than friendship toward Reyna, because I respected the personal boundaries she set. I never really knew she had a crush on me until Dakota pointed it out. Since then, I kept thinking, "what if I tried seeing her in that light?" Maybe then, she could finally let her walls down, and remove that invisible armor that weighed her down. Before I could act on it though, my memory was wiped by Juno and she sent me to the Greeks. But this didn’t help me understand what Piper was trying to say. "Why are you telling me this?" "It was unfair to Reyna,” she mumbled. “And to you. I know you didn't have feelings for her before, but what if you weren't taken against your will? Your choice was taken from you. It’s like you were charmspoken. The goddesses of love and marriage no less, schemed to put us together." "That just means we have divine intervention on our side." I tried half-heartedly for a joke. She slapped me lightly on the arm, but I saw the hint of a smile in her eyes. "Leo has really rubbed off on you." The mention of Leo’s name put a damper on both our moods. Leo was our best friend, and he sacrificed his life in the battle to defeat Gaea. If the scroll that fluttered to Camp were to be believed, he’d been able to come back to life by taking the physician’s cure. Piper and I spent the whole month of August and most of September searching for him, but we had no luck. “After the war, I thought we could start over - for real, this time. We'd find Leo, spend our time at camp during the summer, go to school, and all the things teens our age do.” I heard the sorrow and longing in Piper’s voice. “I was naive for wishing all that. Leo's still missing. My dad is in debt and sick with stress. I don't like my classmates. I miss our friends. I feel alone.” She paused and took a deep breath. “Do you know what was my first thought in dealing with all those problems?” Again, I didn’t know how to respond. “You.” “Me?” It was not the answer I was expecting. “Yes, you, Jason. I wanted to spend time with you, and tell you all about my problems. Because all the time I've come to know you, you always saved the day. You always knew what to say or do to make things right for me. For us. It didn’t matter if you didn’t know the solution, you did what you could. And I love you for that.”  I could hear the hurt in her voice, sharp and raw, and it cut like a razor. “But you yourself are starting a new life. I don't want to hold you back.” Tears were streaming down her eyes now. “We rushed into this relationship, thinking that our feelings were enough to sustain it. But I lost my sense of self. I thought I found it already, after everything we've been through. But this...supposedly normal life, it's different from the life we lived before. There are no magical weapons or abilities that can help. All we have is ourselves. And having had time to reflect, I didn't know myself. The normal Piper, without the charmspeak, without Aphrodite’s blessing, without – without us.” She held my gaze as she continued. “The gods have controlled our lives and made sure we'd be on the path to greatness. This path - we being a couple, had been chosen for us. Now, I want to discover my own path and stand on my own two feet. You understand, right?” I made my choice already. I chose you. But instead I found myself saying, "Yes, I do." Truly, I did. She made the same decision I did when I chose Camp Half-Blood over Camp Jupiter. I rose to the top at the Roman camp, but I lost my sense of identity doing so. Rome was about conforming to the group, the established rules and traditions. I wanted to change that and choose my own destiny, but I chafed under the pressure. It was my home; everything and everyone I cared about was there. Until I met Piper and Leo. Then I found my sister, Thalia. I learned I had a life before coming to the legion, and I could still reclaim it after everything was over. At Camp Half-Blood, I came to know myself. I didn't have to worry about my image as the son of the king of the gods. I was not just some soldier in an army, I was an individual, with my own voice and identity. That was half the reason I chose Camp Half-Blood. The other half was Piper. I looked at her, standing in front of me, wiping the tears away from her face. Gods, even when crying, she was beautiful. She set the bouquet of flowers on the ground. As she stood up, I took her in my arms and embraced her. Piper didn't care that my father was the king of the gods. She didn't care that I wasn’t the strongest or the greatest demigod. People always thought I had everything figured out, that I could do anything simply because of my parentage. I didn't want to let them down, so I gave my all even if it broke me. I created a facade of strength to reassure them. But Piper saw through me in a way nobody ever did. She saw the guy beneath all the titles, achievements, and glory. She saw the abandoned boy who felt lost and alone, fighting for a chance to build a home for himself and everyone he loved. She appreciated me for me, even if I didn't. Though we'd only known each other for less than a year, I saw my future with her. I sound like a hopeless romantic, but it's true. When we were fighting the giants in the Acropolis, with the possibility of death hanging over us, my life flashed before me. I had a vision of me and Piper telling our grandkids the story of how we fought side by side with the Olympians to defeat the forces of Gaea. Now, that vision won't ever come true. In my mind, I laughed at the irony of the situation. With Piper, I’d found myself. With me, she’d lost herself. Would I be selfish enough to take her chance at finding herself by holding on to our relationship? I want to be. But I couldn’t stand seeing her hurting like this. The answer was simple. “Pipes, more than anything, I want you to be happy, and… if that mean us breaking up, I-I'll learn to be okay with it.” I swallowed the lump in my throat as my voice cracked. “I just want you to know, all my memories of us together were real. My feelings for you are real. No amount of charmspeak or divine intervention can change that.” She nodded, openly sobbing now. I cupped her face in my hands and wiped away the tears from her cheeks. “I understand your reasons. I know you. You've always had that rebellious spirit. You want to rediscover your identity, and I know how difficult it is.” I was rambling, but I couldn’t stop the torrent of emotions from gushing out. “I still have a lot of discovering to do myself. I know you'll find what you're looking for. I would've wanted to be by your side when you reach that goal, but that doesn't matter. I just have… a request to make." She looked at me expectantly, and wiped my tears that I didn’t notice fall.  “Anything.” “I don't want to get cut out of your life,” I whispered. “I know it's unfair for me to ask that of you, because you need space - ” “Jason, you didn't have to ask.” She took my hands and held it on her own. “I value our friendship more than anything. You are my best friend, and a breakup can't change that.” She pulled me into a hug, her hands clutching the nape of my neck and back, holding me tight. “Jay, thank you. For everything. You were one of the greatest things that ever happened to me.” She pulled me into a kiss. I kissed back with everything I felt for her - gratitude, affection, longing, desperation, regret - as if I wanted her to taste all those emotions in my mouth. If this is the last time I'm going to have the chance to hold her in my arms, I want to make it count. She responded with the same passion and held on tight. I wanted to stay in that moment, standing on the beach, locked in her embrace, my lips on hers, our hearts beating in the same rhythm, with nothing but the ocean and the night sky behind us. Nothing else mattered. But then she pulled away. I didn’t want to let go, but I held myself back. "I love you, Jason Grace." I love you more, Piper McLean. Saying those words should’ve been easy, but they got stuck in my throat. It didn’t seem right, and it felt like a cheap way to end a breakup. I decided I’d just settle for a goodbye. I didn’t want to go back to the McLean house for now. Mellie and Hedge would just ask us questions, and her father might be home, too. I thought of places where I could go, and found an answer. “I’ll be staying over at a friend’s house, at least for tonight. I just - I’m going to need time to process all this,” I said. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. Take care, Piper.” I took one last look at her, trying to imprint her image into my sight, then turned away and walked back the way I'd come.

When I recounted what happened to Matt, he was understanding, and told me I could stay with them for as long as I needed. He didn’t push me to talk more about it and just listened, to which I was very grateful for. While we spoke, his mother prepared the guest room for me to sleep in. I thanked them for their hospitality.

Despite the comfort of the bed, I couldn’t sleep. I thought of why I couldn’t tell Piper I love her for the last time. I don’t want it to be the last. For that one moment, I didn’t want to let her go.

I’m not yet ready to say goodbye. I will continue hoping for the chance of a new start. We may have broken up, but we’re still friends. I know there will be awkwardness, and it may take time for us to heal, but I know we’ll be okay. Eventually.

Pondering about this, I came to a realization. The thing with letting go is that it actually means you’re holding on. Holding on to the hope of something better coming along. Believing that sometimes, we need to remove our attachments in order to move on to a better place. Accepting what happened in the past and being ready to see what the future holds. It’s a long, arduous process, and it certainly leaves scars – remembrances of the lessons learned.

That’s why I’m telling myself, I’m letting go of Piper. Because I’m holding on to the hope of a better future. For her. For us.

A/N: Credits to @dotshiiki for her helpful critique and suggestions about the story. It’s been a long while since I’ve written something this long. Something to note. The beach where they broke up was supposed to be just a random beach, but upon re-reading TBM, I realized it’s the same beach where Piper saw Jason’s lifeless body. I can only imagine what she felt that night.

#jasongraceweek #jason grace #piper mclean #jasiper fic #jasiper #percy jackson #heroes of olympus #hoo #the burning maze #trials of apollo #jasongracely #demidorks #angst #tbm spoilers

[shinigamikarinkurosaki-archive]

*hands you motivation* pretty pretty please write shinigami!Karin things! I will read them eagerly! Bonus points if there is going to be HitsuKarin involved (either romantically or platonically, i don't mind)

Since you asked so nicely I guess I have No Choice but to write shinigami!HitsuKarin goodness ://

Karin is more known for her relationship with Toushirou than she is with anyone else while she attends Shin’ou Academy. Everything comes back to him.

Firstly how the hell does some no-family-name girl straight out of the World of the Living know a captain so intimately? Alright, they met during Toushirou’s station in the World of the Living during the Winter War, fair enough. That’s still not enough time to wrap Toushirou around her little finger though. Toushirou looks at her like she’s a natural wonder, with wide eyes and wobbly knees, everyone can see it. He took vacation time every few weeks to see her, so what? He’s a friend. Just a friend.

But like… what did Karin do to get into the Seireitei? She doesn’t stay in the dorms, she stays with Momo-- Toushirou’s sister, the astute cadets mention-- and her spouses. Yes, that’s Toushirou’s doing. He did her a favor and got her a bed in the lovers’ home. It means nothing. Friends help out friends. Did he owe her? Yeah, twenty bucks and dinner once when he forgot his wallet literally years ago by that point-- which he paid back the next time he visited. Is he why she’s so good at shinigami work? No, that’s seven years fighting hollows in the World of the Living and training with most of the lieutenants and the captains of sanbantai and gobantai. But that counts, some insist. Without Toushirou, she’d be in the dorms like the rest of them without that sort of lead she has. Not really, Karin protests. Nashien’s power would’ve required at least lieutenant-tier sparring partners, she would’ve met everyone sooner or later. She is not a product of Toushirou in any shape or form.

Were they ever together? She looks at Toushirou longingly, he lets her comb her fingers through his hair, her voice is soft and musical when she speaks his name. Yes, she was with Toushirou were. They’re taking an intermission in their relationship since-- shock, surprise-- she’s still fucked up over dying and she doesn’t want to talk about this anymore. She didn’t come to Shinou to be fed through the gossip mill.

Karin hates these conversations. It makes her relive the bad years.

That doesn’t stop anything, of course. Maybe its overt appearances. Karin is yet another scandalous, mysterious figure. Izuru still has to remind his students to mind their own business, Shuuhei still attests to knowing nothing and will absolutely not do an article on Karin and Toushirou’s history for the Bulletin, Momo and Renji manage to dodge nosy questions, asking Toushirou is out of the question.

Toushirou does his best to soothe Karin. It works. He’s a permanent fixture in the Seireitei, not like his periodic visits to the World of the Living. Toushirou can’t fix her, but he can hold Karin and tell her that their gossip doesn’t matter when her position in the Seireitei is already guaranteed. While they gossip, she trains to become stronger. She’ll be powerful and they’ll forget about how weird it is because she’ll belong with the rest of them as another legendary warrior.

Just because Karin’s romantic history with Toushirou is out of the bag doesn’t mean she’s less eligible. They’re just friends after all. Karin takes on a few suitors over her years in the academy-- a couple of boys and a girl. They’re amazing in their own rights, and Karin loves them all dearly, but they know they’re nothing like Toushirou the minute they meet him. Karin obviously still loves him, and what does anyone have on a captain and prodigy? Nothing, even that smug bastard Toushirou knows it. All the men Karin is with soon leave because of Toushirou.

The first one is no big loss. He’s a real smooth talking boy from a branch family who makes Karin laugh. Toushirou knows the kid’s in it as a notch in their belt. Karin’s a trophy in many ways: among the strongest in Shin’ou, ninetieth percentile, unapproachable to tawdry cadets drowning their white uniforms like swaddled fucking babes, a virtual goddess of war among them-- not Toushirou’s words, this arrogant kid’s. Toushirou has no patience for frivolous noble affairs but Karin is his friend at very least and he won’t allow some boy to treat her so poorly. He can play whatever game this kid is playing far better. And he does. All he has to do is start covertly quizzing him on Karin’s likes, and after Karin realizes this kid has nothing in common with her nor knows anything about her, the relationship ends.

The next boy is some shy nerdy kid, he’s even got these coke-bottle spectacles that magnify his eyes like four hundred percent. But Karin and Toushirou both like this one. He’s very respectful of Karin’s feelings, and he helps her focus in school. Alas, this one knows right off the bat he’s no match for Toushirou’s majesty. That relationship ends on bitter terms and Toushirou is eternally sorry for it.

The third boy is wimpy. He’s got even more hot air than Karin’s first boyfriend but he hasn’t even the muscle to back it up. Karin likes the validation he gives her though. That kind of attention has been addictive in the past and while Toushirou fears for her emotional safety at times since that boy’s one of those private-lover kids, he knows better than to interfere. Toushirou gives the boy a warning of what the consequences will be if he so much as fumbles and that’s enough to send the kid packing like wimp.

The fourth is liked by Karin’s loved ones in the Seireitei. He’s not smooth but he’s not awkward either. He doesn’t just understand Karin’s power, he recognizes that any fumble will have consequences but she nor her loved ones are not superior. Her past means nothing to him. He’s a challenge for Karin in some ways-- physically stronger, actually has a reliable grasp on kidou, but he’s so big and so much slower and clumsy with a sword. They grow with each other. But Karin has very obvious issues he is unequipped to deal with and virtually leaves Karin in Toushirou’s care.

Finally, Karin gets a girlfriend. She stresses finally, and she’s unbelievably excited. While her girlfriend is reserved, they can be seen sneaking kisses on their way to class and reading atop each other by some stone garden. Karin is in love and Toushirou really is very happy for his friend and once lover, she deserves to be happy and comfortable. But like Coke-Bottle Glasses, Karin’s girlfriend can see Karin is still in love with Toushirou and cannot bear being second place.

Karin grieves the loss of her girlfriend like a death. But she has support that time around, especially Toushirou’s. He’s so sorry. He doesn’t mean to interfere with Karin’s future, he doesn’t mean to interfere with her happiness. Karin tells Toushirou he must be the only one for her. He’s been the only constant love across both her lives. Toushirou tells her he’s loved her all along, he’ll love her always, he’s loved her through five lovers and he’ll love her through a hundred more. Karin doesn’t want anymore lovers though. She’s tired of the impermanence, she just wants him.

It’s a sigh of relief for the gossipmongers when Karin and Toushirou officially get back together in Karin’s fifth year at Shinou. Nonetheless, Toushirou was right. Word of Karin’s family gets out, she’s first in her class to obtain shikai as well as to take down a menos, her powers grow exponentially her last three years in the academy, people cannot help but compare Karin & Ichigo. Her prodigal powers are the focus. Toushirou is but a drop in the water. They’re happy with that development.

#kogi talks bleach hcs #karin kurosaki #hitsukarin #shinigami karin #thanks for the ask <33 #I love seeing you in my notifs it's nice to see you pop in my inbox #oreohamster

[canvaswolfdoll]

CanvasWatches: The Garden of Words

I’d recently had the good fortune of visiting my parents over Christmas, which means I had access to the Almighty Santa Clara Library System! Which, for new readers, means I could watch Animes I don’t normally have easy access to.

There were two particular must-watches I had targeted, the first of which was The Garden of Words.

Makoto Shinkai has been lauded as “The Next Miyazaki” by fools trying to convey that Shinkai will be the next great Japanese Animation director without actually knowing enough to see that the two produce wildly different sorts of content,[1] with the only common point being beautiful backgrounds, and even then, it’s beauty derived from different techniques with different results, since Shinkai accomplishes photo realism while Miyazaki captures wonder and emotion.

Still, Shinkai has made one movie I loved (Your Name), one I thought was hilariously bad (Children who Chase Lost Voices), and one that bored me into just not watching it through (The Place Promised in our Early Days). With how lauded the man’s become, with such a wide range of personal reactions to his work, obviously I’m curious to keep digging.[2]

So, I did.

The Garden of Words is a good film.

Which, unfortunately, makes it kind of difficult to discuss. It tells a relatively simple story, and executes on it well. It’s set in the normal world, so there’s no fantastical elements for me to dig into. It’s a simple story about two people adrift in the world who meet occasionally.

That said, I would throw it towards the Your Name end of the quality scale, so you should watch it.

If there’s something I can happily laude is that, finally, I watched something that doesn’t take the creepy route with the possibility of a Teacher/Student romance. Initially, Yukari[3] and Takao don’t know they’re a teacher and student at the same school. Even before that, it never feels like Yukari has romantic intentions towards Takao, leaving the young boy with a one-sided crush that has no chance of being returned.

I mean, Yukari does invite Takao to her place for the climax, but that’s played more of her inviting a friend over than a lover, and when Takao confesses to her, she shuts it down.

So that’s nice to finally see. It’s been so long…

The film’s ultimately about how life can weigh you down at any age. Takao has just started attending High School, and wants to pursue a career in making shoes, a passion that his older brother explicitly says (behind Takao’s back) that he doesn’t see going anywhere. During this awkward time of transition, Takao’s mother has essentially moved in with her younger boyfriend, Takao’s brother is moving in with his own girlfriend, and Takao’s father is just missing, leaving Takao suddenly abandoned by his family and with no other personal connections.

As part of coping, Takao begins to skip school, justifying it by only doing so while it’s raining. Obviously, during the rainy season, this negatively impacts his grades and school relationship. He also goes to the same gazebo to just… let the world move without him.

It’s a desire I can sympathize with. Just a personal agreement to flee certain stresses from time to time. Of course, I had parents who won’t let me get away with some attempts, so it might be a situation I even envy.

Anyways, it’s while visiting the gazebo one rainy day when he meets Yukari, who is deep in depression.

As much as I recognize the motivations of Takao, it’s Yukari I sympathize with.

When we meet her, she’s in the middle of a horrendously dark period of her life. Not only is she suffering depression to such a clear degree that I’m comfortable diagnosing it from my armchair, but a student has been spreading horribly slanderous lies about her having relations with a student. These sorts of rumors could destroy Yukari’s life and career. Further, as far as I can tell, she’s got no emotional support outside of an ex-boyfriend, which is not a good place to be as far as stable relationships go, even if the two seem very cordial.

So no wonder she’s taken to sitting in a park eating chocolate and drinking beer, the only things that bring her any measure of pleasure. Sure, they say it’s also because of some sort of taste disorder, but that goes away over the course of the film, so even her lack of desire to eat most foods sounds like depression.

She’s on course to lose her job, none of her passions seem to bring her fire, and suddenly this young boy adrift in life comes to her gazebo. Well, if she can’t fix her problems, why not this boy’s? At least she’ll contribute something small.

Maybe you could interpret her actions as leading Takao on or using him as an emotional crutch, as Takao does, and in a small way that could be true, but it’s clearly not intentional. And when Takao confesses his feelings, she has the maturity and integrity to immediately shut him down and firmly set a boundary. She’s an authority figure and he’s a minor, and playing house is neither appropriate or healthy for the two of them.

By gum, after Raine Sage, Lupin, and freaking Lucoa, it’s so nice to finally see the adult do the right thing. This film deserves some sort of medal for clearing this stupidly low standard that it’s actually offensive that I even have to praise it for not having an adult fall in love with a literal teenager (or younger![4]).

The thing with The Garden of Words is that, though narrated by Takao, I really feel like it’s Yukari’s story. Takao doesn’t change much over the course of the story. He knows he wants to study shoemaking at the start and, once Yukari gifts him an expensive textbook on the craft, he just follows that ambition. Yukari, meanwhile, starts in the darkest pit of her life, meets a youth at risk at being as adrift as she is, and decides to try to give him the encouragement and support she lacks. By helping Takao, she’s finally able to see hope again, and takes inspiration from him to try again.

She finally closes the chapter of her life in the city and moves to a rural town to teach there.

Then, in one timeline, a meteor kills her, but then again, in another no one dies?

I’m game for this potential Shinkai-verse that Yukari’s cameo in Your Name implies.

The Garden of Words is a good, if short, film. I recommend it if you can get ahold of it and have the time necessary for, say, a standard hour-episode of a television show, without the commercials.

Now, to find 5 Centimeters per Second and Voices of a Distant Star.

And, if you want to help me find my feet again, may I gently wave in the direction of my Patreon? I post my reviews there as soon as they’re finished, and you get to see the strips for my new webcomic a full week early! Other than that… guess we can parallel the rainy gazebo scenes if you send me asks and comments?

I can make a lot of personal comparisons with this film. Weird that I don’t love it more…

Kataal kataal.

[1] This is why I tend to nod my head towards Mamoru Hosoda as the Next Miyazaki. The two play with similar tropes. [2] Hey, I only have two more of his films to watch! If I can find them... [3] Yukari feels like a name I’ve been seeing more recently, especially with teachers... [4] You had such potential Lucoa, you horrible creature!

#CanvasWatches #anime #the garden of words #CanvasReviews