#however as i said he still misses him a lot. he wishes his efforts to make his bf and him get along got the desired effect | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

kira-fluff · 2 years

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"can you pretend to be my boyfriend?"

pairing: osamu miya x reader (haikyuu!!) a/n: unfortunately based off a true story. tw: anxiety, bullying, swearing, threatening

you sidled yourself in a seat next to your good friend. "heeeeey 'samu~" you grinned.

"what do ya want?"

"can i not just want to greet my amazing friend?"

he gave you a skeptical look and you blanched. "well, uhm..."

"if it's my food ya want, yer not gettin' it." he grumbled, selfishly sucking more milk through his straw.

"can you be my boyfriend?"

comically, osamu proceeded to spew the milk in his mouth out in shock, nearly missing atsumu who sat across the table, much to both of their dismay.

wiping some milk from his mouth, osamu managed to choke out a strained, "yer for real..?"

you blinked, then flushed, "i-i-i meant for pretend, i mean it!" you bit your lip, "there's this girl who recently decided she doesn't like me. i'm not sure why... but she started telling rumors and lies about me to other people.....including her boyfriend. and...and.. he's super intimidating..." you looked away, "'samu, he came up to me the other day and said that if i mess with 'his girl'... that i'd 'regret it'....'samu, i'm scared. it's silly, right? but.. but it would just make me feel safer.."

a warm hand fell on your shoulder, "'s not silly. 's a threat. do ya want me 'ta take care of him?"

you shook your head quickly, "n-no! i just... i need you to just.. pretend. i know it's weird, but it would mean a lot to me, okay?"

osamu eyed you up and down before saying, "why me?"

your eyes widened and you once again couldn't look him in the eye. after all, it'd be pretty lame to confess after he so blatantly shot you down a few minutes ago. "well, you're my best 'guy' friend. and you're pretty much built like a greek god--"

he smirked, amused, "ya think 'm built like a greek god?"

"i'm still here, guys, keep the flirting to a minimum," piped in atsumu.

you both turned in unison to him, identically saying, "shut up, 'tsumu."

you cleared your throat, "anyway, you're bulky and strong and could definitely beat him in a fight."

"obviously."

"so will you help me... please?"

osamu's resolve seemed to waver the longer your stared into his eyes with a begging expression. to be honest, the moment he'd heard that some guy was harassing you, he was beyond pissed off and was ready to agree to just about anything you asked of him. but, once he found out that you had also wanted to be his (albeit, pretend) girlfriend? it seemed like the perfect opportunity to show you what it could really be like.. and how much he loved you.

"i guess." he said, his cheeks slightly flushing.

it shocked you that he had agreed. after all, this is osamu you're talking about. he scarcely looked your way, much less harbored any idea of you being his girlfriend. and yet here you were, walking down the halls, holding hands. he avoided your gaze, though you knew him well enough to know he wasn't annoyed with you, just embarrassed, which you had expected.

what you hadn't expected, however, was that girl. you call her that girl because you honestly didn't know her name. only that she despised you. you frowned, recalling the numerous times your friends walked up to you telling you she'd said you were "annoying" or that she was surprised you were ever invited to anything what with the way you make everything about yourself. you knew your friends meant well but a part of you wished they'd never told you. you weren't exaggerating when you say that you are a "drama-free" person. you seemed to always be the last one to hear the gossip going around and certainly the last to spread anything. it upset you that despite your best efforts someone had decided that you were irritating enough to make comments to others about. you tried to not take things personally, you really did, but when you'd heard her talking about you while you were in a bathroom stall, it took all of your strength to hold back your tears. unfortunately, because you're drama-free, you also aren't the most confrontational person. rather, you preferred confrontation when the other people didn't seem to take anything anyone ever did personally. you thought back on yourself, searching for anything you could've done wrong to bother her but after much consolation from friends, turned up nothing. still, a part of you felt like it was all your fault. maybe you could've tried harder to be extra kind to her?

you were broken out of your thoughts by a squeeze to your hand. making eye contact with that girl, she rolled her eyes and turned, walking the other way. osamu looked down at you in concern as your brows furrowed in a hurt expression.

"do ya even know her?"

"..no."

"then why should you care what she says or thinks?"

"because, 'samu, it's not that easy. i can tell myself it doesn't matter and that i shouldn't care but that doesn't make it so. it doesn't rewire my brain to stop caring about what other people think. no matter how hard i try."

he was silent for a moment, contemplating something.

then, he lightly caressed your cheek with the palm of his hand, smiling softly. "i guess i can't change yer mind... but i can remind you that the people who are actually worth yer time won't make some round-about shitty way of telling ya they have a problem with ya."

you smiled warily, though he had to admit he said exactly what you needed to hear. besides that, you noticed you'd definitely chosen the right guy - his acting skills as your boyfriend were superior. your eyes wandered around to the gaze of your fellow peers as some cooed not-so-subtly at osamu's public display of affection.

your gaze returned to his as he eyed you up and down. "ya sure yer alright?"

"positive."

"ya know it's okay not to be fine all the time."

you laughed lightly, "thanks, 'samu. but really, I think I'm okay. i just can't think about it or it'll make me all upset again."

"wanna come over tonight? thankfully i'm makin' dinner and not atsumu," he grinned.

you conservation switched to various other topics as you both walked down the hall before he had to go to volleyball practice.

"didn't i tell you what happens to bitches who mess with my girl?" a gruff voice called behind you.

you froze, regretting the fact that you neglected to bring your phone with you during your lunch break and were subsequently now completely alone with some gorilla-faced man who spoke gravelly like he wasn't in high school at all. slowly turning, you cowered, "i-i don't think i did anything wrong.."

immediately his fist slammed against your locker. "obviously you fuckin' did if my girl is tellin' me you've been a fuckin' problem!"

"i-i-i don't even know who she is," you defended, moving your hands to shield your face in fear.

"bullshit."

you screamed as you felt a hand tightly grab your wrist and you squeezed your eyes shut, preparing yourself for the impact of a fist. after a few moments, you opened them, shocked to see osamu standing in front of you, shielding you from the gruff boyfriend.

"get a load of this guy," osamu smiled sardonically, "getting involved in his girlfriend's drama because she can't handle it herself? you must be her hero."

the man grit his teeth hard, winding up for a punch that osamu immediately countered, without breaking a sweat.

"you take that back you fuckin' piece of shit!" he growled, aiming for a blow to osamu's kneecap. "how the fuck does a prick like you even know this stupid bitch anyway." he continued, seemingly adding fuel to the fire.

osamu's eyes widened with a fiery rage, "you don't get to talk like that about my girlfriend." within seconds, the man was pummeled to the ground and osamu's fist connected against his face repeatedly until you pulled osamu away.

as if the situation wasn't already at its worst, that girl came running down the hall. "you BITCH! how dare you do this to my man! i fucking knew you were a rat." she paused for a moment before letting out a shriek of laughter, "oh? what's this? there's no fucking way you managed to get a boyfriend. what, you finally found someone willing to fuck you for a price?" she giggled, "osamu miya, was it? tell me, how much is she paying you to play pretend?"

osamu ground down on his teeth dangerously as he eyed the girl with contempt. "I'll have you know that i asked her out and was lucky enough for her to say yes."

she forced out another laugh, "then you're both pathetic! a match made in heaven."

you willed the tears to stay in your eyes, not wanting to give the girl the power of knowing that she hurt you, that she made you cry. you whispered something even you could barely hear.

"what was that? finally apologizing to me?"

you narrowed your eyes, looking her directly in her own as you raised your voice, "I said 'LEAVE US ALONE!'" you screamed with all you had in you.

she smirked, seemingly only a little fazed by your outburst. "fine, I'll leave. as soon as you prove you guys are actually dating. 'cause, like, there's no way, right babe?!" her boyfriend grunted out a laugh from his position on the floor.

this is the end. you thought. i'm gonna have to confess that i made this whole thing up and then i'm never going to hear the end of it. you sent a worried look to osamu who was already inches from your face. you tried to back away in shock, but his hand found purchase on the small of your back. he pulled you in tightly before taking your chin in between his index and thumb. his eyes conveyed a message you couldn't quite decifer.

yet, the next thing you knew, his lips were on yours. it wasn't at all the sort of chaste or reluctant kiss you were expecting, but one filled with hunger and desire. you returned in equal force, intertwining your fingers in his gray-brown locks. you could've sworn you'd heard a guttural groan as you shifted your leg in between his. when you at last separated, the girl and her boyfriend were gone. it was just the two of you.

osamu looked down at your lips once more before meeting your eyes. "hey."

you laughed breathily, "hey."

"do ya wanna date fer real?"

you answered with another eager kiss.

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hugs2doie · 11 months

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liking nct dream at the wrong time

anon’s request: Hi!💗 Could you make a fic where reader like's 7dream but they didn't like her at the time and reader wouldn't stop until one day reader finally gave up and 7dream ended up liking her back? Ty!💗💗🩷💕💖 finally gave up and 7dream ended u up liking her back?

pairing: nct dream x gn!reader

genre: angst

warnings: none (i think)

author’s note: idk if i have ever said this but i LOVE writing angst, and finally, i got this request done woo !!

— mark

at first, when you confessed, he would feel so bad. he loved you as a friend and nothing more, he never thought of you anything more than friends. your confession would make things awkward, especially for mark. every time he’d see you he’d think of your confession and, well, can’t help but feel bad. he thought that time would make you get over him, however it was not true. every time you would accidentally bump into e/o, your eyes would lit up and he never failed to notice that. because of work and everything, y’all started texting less, meeting less, but still managed to keep up with each other. as time would go on, mark would realize how you were the only person who was there for him: who took care of him when he needed, who was there to cheer him up, tell him kind words and assure him for everything, he had fallen for you. but, he realized that too late. you had already moved on. your eyes wouldn’t lit up the same way as they used to before, you didn’t try to cling at him like you used to. when he would see you, his heart would ache, you didn’t have the sparkles you always had in your eyes. he was just a friend to you, and nothing more.

— renjun

you didn’t even need to confess to him, your feelings were so obvious to him and everyone else. when he first noticed that, he stopped all the teasing, flirty words, hugging you, whatsoever, and thought for a while about you guys’ friendship. of course, he did not want to lose you, you were his best friend. he did not want to lose you but at the same time he did not want to give you false hope. that did not go unnoticed by you. you knew renjun and it was obvious when there was something wrong. every time you’d ask him that, he would spit out some random lies with the most serious face ever, which you had to believe cause, why would your best friend lie to you? right? renjun would notice how hard you tried to make him fall for you, he just.. never did. but, many of your actions made his love grow for you, he didn’t kbow if the love he had for you was the same love he used to have for you, as his best friend, or more. once, you cooked his favorite dish, that his mom always used to cook. you weren’t a good cook, especially with chinese food but, he was your best friend, and he was struggling a lot that time, he missed his family so much. he still smiles thinking about that moment. every now and then, he found himself smiling when texting with you. he had fallen for you. but it was too late, you already started seeing someone.

— jeno

he always thought you saw him like a best friend, just like he saw you, but he was being mistaken. one day, you guys were having a sleepover and while you went to get a glass of water, you accidentally left your phone open, to the DMs with your friend. jeno was going to grab the remote so when he turned around to find it in the couch, he saw the phone, and his eyes went to that one message you sent your friend: “i think i’m in love with jeno”. he froze. he really couldn’t believe what he just read. he went to the bathroom before you came back and started thinking to himself. he really wished he liked you back. as your best friend, all he wanted, was to make you happy, nothing else. but. it was harder than it looked like. he would notice all the efforts you made, how you wanted to impress him etc. they had no effect on him, he still felt the same for you. this went on for months. it hurt jeno seeing you trying so hard for him, knowing his feelings wouldn’t change anytime soon, but, one day, surprisingly, your efforts stopped. you wouldn’t blush when he would be close or in front of you anymore. you wouldn’t be uncomfortable when he would talk about random people to you. and he found it strange. he missed your playful flirting. but that was the problem. why would he miss it? it’s not like he liked you or something, right? it’s not like he had fallen for you, right? his heart didn’t drop when you introduced your boyfriend to him… right?

— haechan

he realized it in a truth or dare game. you were playing truth or dare with 7dream and it was chenle’s turn, so he asked haechan: “be honest, have you ever thought of dating y/n?”. the question made you blush lightly and look at haechan, but, his reaction wasn’t what you expected. haechan was pretending to throw up and say stuff like “me? y/n??? i would rather jump off a cliff” and “i literally see them as my sibling.” what you didn’t notice was that, the frown you had in your face and your teary eyes, got caught by haechan, no matter how much you fake laughed and agreed. from that day, without realizing it, he started distancing himself from you. he really wanted to give up on the friendship, he just wanted you to move on from him, he hated seeing you sad because of your past crushes, and he didn’t wanna be one of them. he had to give up on the friendship. but it was you who wouldn’t. as they say, love makes you blind, so you wouldn’t notice haechan attempts of distancing. you would still show him the same amount of love and even more. one day, haechan realized he liked it, more than he should. if before he didn’t mind you being clingy, now he wanted you to be clingy. every message of yours would make his heart flutter, that made him realize he finally liked you, so he decided to confess, hoping that you still liked him back. but that was until you started talking about this new person, who had you smiling, giggling, biting your nails and everything. you were over haechan, and now, he was the one who was too blind to realize it.

— jaemin

“i’m sorry y/n, i genuinely see you as a friend, nothing more.” you wish you never confessed. aside from tears forming in your eyes, you managed to tell him that it’s alright and that you wanted to continue staying friends with him. being the sweetheart he is, he of course couldn’t say no. later on, he started regretting it. you were doing so much for him, more than you should, doing all out of love, but it was only you who couldn’t notice it. giving him your all made his heart ache. he would want to tell you to stop but he knew it would be no use at all. staying friends with jaemin made it hard for both of you, but you still couldn’t let go of him. this went on about months until one day it just stopped. it was weird, to him and everyone else. you stopped texting him so often, and stop texting first. you stopped asking for hangouts and sleepovers. you just stop trying. jaemin wasn’t used to this. he wasn’t used to getting no good morning/good night texts from you, or you telling him about your day, or you talking about the people you cherish the most to him. he wasn’t used to you stopping those. he enjoyed them. he enjoyed every single thing you told him. he enjoyed watching you speak, how your eyes lit up talking about your favorite movie, your laughs and giggles when telling a funny story, or the yawns you let out while talking to him when you were busy. he realized that he enjoyed everything related to you too late, it was now your turn to reject him.

— chenle

chenle really didn’t expect you to like him. he just thought y’all were the best of buddies that you could be silly and serious at the same time. that did indeed make him think better about himself ‘cause, who wouldn’t be happy when someone would like them? but that died down quickly cause, it came from somebody he had no feelings for. you played it off and said the confession was simply for a truth or dare game, but he could see it in your eyes that you were lying, even though he pretended to believe you. chenle would probably try to maintain the friendship and forget about the confession, but he just couldn’t, no matter how much he tried. chenle would act the same towards you, even after the confession, showing that all he sees you as, is a friend and nothing more. this of course would hurt you but, trying wouldn’t be harm for anyone, right? when in reality, you were just harming yourself; you made everything that could make chenle happy, he just never saw you any different. what you didn’t know was that, for the past few weeks chenle would be smiling at himself at night, thinking about the bracelet you got him, and all your other gifts, he would be smiling and giggling without even realizing it, while the next day he would greet you the exact same. this, unfortunately, made you stop trying, until you fell out of love. this however, made chenle realize that he was in love with you. maybe it was the day where you held hands with your new partner or the kiss you gave them that made him realize that, either way, his heart would be aching in nothing but pain.

— jisung

he would think that the roses, chocolates and the written confession on a piece of paper you sent him that monday morning, were simply all a prank. he just couldn’t take it seriously. you? liked him? it didn’t feel real to jisung at all. however, aside from him being happy that someone likes him, he was sad cause he didn’t feel the same, and he did not want to let you know that, especially after all of these. no matter how much jisung tried, he just couldn’t love you back. no matter how much he told himself before he went to sleep and gaslighted himself that he loved you back and would date you, he just couldn’t bring himself to believe it. as months passed, he seemed to appreciate your efforts more than he used to. he would hide all of your gifts in a special box and look at them everyday, kicking his feet like an anime girl. his cheeks would rise with heat reading watching the cute handmade gifts. the sight was the most adorable thing ever, too bad you couldn’t see it. after liking jisung a lot, you realized you should move on, so you did. you started seeing someone, who treated you the same and gave the same efforts back. you felt happy, that made you lose feelings for jisung after literal months. jisung bit his lip hard when he got introduced to your partner, knowing that he should’ve realized it sooner that he loves you, and that you’re never going to love him the same way you used to.

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hyperbali · 1 year

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Presenting the Aeducan family tree! 👑

I actually put a lot of thought into this so I'm gonna sum up under a cut, lol

King Endrin Aeducan, Ninth of his House: What it says on the tin. As Bhelen mentioned, he was actually a second son, and took the kingship in... less than entirely honest ways; nevertheless, his rule is largely uneventful, but for the worsening of differences between the different castes. He has many children of many mothers, but only three were properly risen - and of them, his 'only' daughter is the favourite.

Lady Tasleen Saelac, The Iron Queen: Endrin's first wife, mother of Trian. She was the Commander of Orzammar's forces, and an extremely difficult-to-please person in general; she expected nothing but perfection from her son and troops alike. She would eventually die during a Deep Roads excursion, sending back only one survivor to relay the message of her party's demise because, as quoted, "he did not deserve the honor of such a death". One of her cousins is Gorim's father.

Lady Nysmila Ivo, Jewel of Orzammar: Said to be one of the most beautiful women that ever lived in the underground. It's unclear whether Endrin truly loved her, she was incredibly politically savvy, or a combination thereof, but she was the only other woman Endrin married - thus legitimizing her children by him; a fairly Herculean task, given just how many bastards he sired. One day, she simply disappeared; despite every effort to find her, it's unknown whether she was abducted, killed... or vanished of her own accord. Her absence remains strongly felt within the palace walls and throughout.

Prince Trian Aeducan, The Crown Prince: His position as heir to the throne is a given, or so he believes; he has waited a very long time to finally be given his proper dues. Despite his heritage, however, he's not a particularly strong warrior; he just knows how to browbeat people into doing what he wants, and his position leaves little room for argument.

Princess Alana Aeducan, The Golden Lady: Her mother's ambition and her father's preference have led Alana to a fairly cushioned, comfortable life; that said, she loves the thrill of the fight, and is both the strongest and fastest of her siblings - even if it's with daggers rather than a sword or shield. She wears the tattoos of Commander, a role bequeathed to her against Trian's wishes, and she is by far the most popular royal between the three... a fact both of her brothers find incredibly difficult to stomach.

Prince Bhelen Aeducan, Lord of Secrets - Being neither the heir or the spare, Bhelen was largely left to his own devices as a child, especially because he was still very young when Nysmila went missing; her disappearance, however, became the catalyst that would lead to his becoming the most knowledgeable spymaster in Orzammar. He puts on a friendly face, for the most part, but what he has learned from his family history is that the ends always justify the means.

#my art #dragon age #alana #aeducan #endrin aeducan #trian aeducan #bhelen aeducan #tasleen saelac #nysmila ivo #hero of ferelden #grey warden #queuetiful joe

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miss-tc-nova · 7 months

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Behind That Smile - Ruggie Bucchi x Reader

I like animal facts. Definitely recommend checking out the vet!yuu tag by blackopals-world.

Premise: Hyenas can bite through bone

Words: 1,537

Warnings: Intrusive thoughts, Halloween event spoilers

~~~~~

“Ruggie, if you don’t slow down, you’re gonna be sick.”

Those cloudy-sky eyes manage to tear away from his plate long enough to peer up at me. It’s impressive he doesn’t choke as he swallows all the food in his mouth.

“Are you kidding? I’m just getting started!” He catches sight of Epel walking by with a plate of meat and he awes. “Oh I haven’t tried that yet! I gotta go get some!”

In a bolt, he’s out of his chair, already filling another plate. I shake my head with a sigh; however, at my side, the Diasomnian vice-housewarden chuckles.

“Isn’t his appetite simply astounding?”

“It’s impressive alright,” I hum. “I just wish he’d slow down before he chokes.”

“But he still has so much to go through if he hopes to sample everything here,” Lilia says.

He is right about that. Malleus, Lilia, Grim, and I had set out to help the ghosts enjoy the Halloween party that they missed. We had a beautiful venue, Malleus had the music covered, and we had the rest of Night Raven College on a scavenger hunt for mirror shards to fix our atmospheric lighting. However, one of the most astonishing features of the night were the tables absolutely stacked with food from all over Twisted Wonderland—courtesy of the ghosts themselves.

And Ruggie is having the time of his life.

Said hyena returns with various meat piled on his plate, but at the bottom sits a hunk of beef still clinging to the bone. It’s comically large and I honestly thought food like that only existed in cartoons. Yet Ruggie isn’t perturbed in the slightest as he chomps through everything he brought.

I have a small chat with Lilia while Ruggie eats. It comes to a stop though when the hyena cleans the ridiculously large bone.

“Finished already?” Lilia asks.

“Not even.” He holds up the large bone in his hand. “This is the best part.”

Without hesitation, Ruggie puts the skeletal matter into his mouth and bites.

The crunching sound that follows shocks me to my core; it echoes in my ears. The sight of the splintered bone infests my brain and intrusive thoughts force me to imagine that as my arm. It’s mind blowing to think that this kid I’ve been hanging out with nearly every day could chomp through something so solid with such little effort.

“My, that’s quite a bite you’ve got there,” Lilia remarks.

Ruggie gives him a glance between getting at the marrow of the bone. “Yeah, I get told that often but it’s pretty normal in my family. My grammy used to give them to me when I was little.” He laughs. “She said it kept me quiet when I was annoying her.”

“I’ll have to make note of that,” Lilia laughs. “I suppose that means there really isn’t much you won’t eat.”

A shiver flies down my spine as he crunches the bone like candy. “Hey, if it’s edible, it’s worth trying at least once.”

Throughout the rest of the night, I can’t get the image of Ruggie breaking bones out of my head. Again, the intrusive thoughts don’t help.

The night ends and Malleus returns everyone safely to Night Raven College. There’s seems to be a lot of relief that Halloween has finally ended, but everyone agrees that it’s time to get some sleep.

“So you had a hand in this entire mess.”

My heart skips as Ruggie catches up to me and Grim on our way back to Ramshackle.

“I guess you could say that.”

“Heck yeah we did!” Grim climbs my costume to stand on my shoulder. “And we planned the best party ever!”

“Yeah you did. The food was great.” Immediately, I divert my eyes away from Ruggie’s grin. I’m not sure I can ever look at that smile the same again.

Though the conversation stays light, I keep my gaze occupied on the way back to my shabby little dorm. I would look at anything—the castle overhead, the rising sun, the rusted gate, the drowsy cat in my arms—as long as it wasn’t Ruggie.

I tuck the blanket around my magic partner who quickly crashed on our way back. With a soft smile, I place his hat on the nightstand and stroke his head. The feline mumbles something about “awesome dance moves” as he rolls over to continue his dream.

“Man, I thought he’d be up for hours with how wired he was,” Ruggie says as I close the door behind me.

I glance down the hall, trying to put on a light-hearted air. “I think he just finally hit that sugar crash.”

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Then why won’t you look at me?”

Embarrassment simmers in my ears. This whole thing is stupid.

“It’s nothing. I’m just being silly.” Raising my head, I look him in the eye and put on a smile. “I’m fine.” Immediately after those words leave my mouth, I can’t help glancing at his lips and my gaze instantly averts.

“Yeah right. You’re avoiding me.” Ruggie ducks down, trying to look me in the eyes, but I just can’t. “Aw, c’mon. You mad at me or somethin’?”

“N-No.” I avoid him again.

“Then what?”

The intrusive thoughts themselves aren’t really anything to be ashamed of. “Look, I just…I’m trying to block out the intrusive thoughts, okay?”

There’s a pause. “What kind of intrusive thoughts?”

But the contents of those thoughts kind of are.

“Ruggie…” I groan.

“Just tell me, will ya. You know I’m not gonna leave you alone ‘til you do.”

He’s right—I know he won’t. It takes me a few moments filled with deep breaths and expectant stares to finally get the words out.

“I’m just having a hard time getting the image of you crunching through that bone out of my head, okay? Can we just drop it now?”

“The bone?” Glancing to him, I can see the gears turning in his head. “You’re not tellin’ me you’re scared of my bite now, are ya?”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “It’s less that I’m afraid and more that I can’t stop imaging you biting through things.”

“You mean like this?”

My stomach flips when the hyena grabs my arm. In a swift motion, he draws my sleeve back and brings the limb to his mouth, those massive, gleaming teeth resting against my skin. The image of that snapping bone fills my head. I shut my eyes and brace for the core-rattling snapping sound and the inevitable pain to follow.

Instead I hear a soft chuckle. Warm, gentle lips meet my skin, instantly drawing my gaze back. Embers smolder behind his eyes as he trails soft kisses down to the back of my hand. A last reverent press of his lips meets my knuckles before his fingers intertwine with mine.

“You gotta know I could never hurt you.” Even his voice is infested with the heat quickly enflaming my own bashfulness. This smooth criminal then leans in, lips brushing against my cheek causing the air to hitch in my chest. “Not even if my life depended on it.”

Then, Ruggie retreats, that ever-lovable simper warped into something warm and gentle. Meanwhile, with my skin on fire, I press against the wall in an attempt to keep myself from collapsing. I’m positive his ears—even hidden beneath that marauder’s hat—can hear the pounding in my chest. And if he didn’t hear that, the shuddering exhale from my mouth is probably thoroughly satisfying.

“What’s wrong, sugar?” he asks, absolutely full of himself right now.

My free hand presses to my face in a shoddy attempt to calm my nerves. “What a cruel criminal you are to toy with my feelings like this.”

“All in a days work for a scurvy pirate—stealin’ such precious treasures as hearts, shyehehe.” There’s that smooth tongue. “But who said I was playin’?”

The grip on my hand tightens and I swear he’s squeezing my heart.

“Ruggie…?”

“Didn’t even need to trick-or-treat to get me the best prize.” Some of his mischief returns. “Man, a full feast and I get the cutest kid on campus? I really did make off like a pirate with all the treasure this year.”

It seems my legs are stable enough to hold their own weight again. “I don’t know about that.”

“Oh I do. I could just eat you up.” He laughs in the face of my glare. “Too soon?”

“I’m going to bed now.”

My announcement doesn’t seem to deter Ruggie from pestering me, chattering about random things. Yet I’m not entirely inclined to send him off. Instead, he sheds his coat and boots and flops onto the bed beside me—his hand finding mine like the greedy man he is. It doesn’t take long after that for the conversation to lull and consciousness to drift.

Those intrusive thoughts return frequently from then on out. Ruggie always had the potential to seriously hurt me. But every time he smiles, I’m reminded of that pirate in Ramshackle on Halloween night. I remember just how gentle that mouth can be—and how quickly it can sink those fangs into my heart.

#ruggie bucchi #ruggie x reader #twst ruggie #gender neutral reader

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sendmetosanfran · 3 months

Text

Let Me Try Again pt. 6

The day had come. Elizabeth was pregnant, and the angels were going to explain the purpose of her future child. Crowley would immediately wipe her memory after the angels had left. The entire matter felt strange to Aziraphale. He was headed in with angels and not Crowley. It felt isolated somehow.

Elizabeth looked at the group strangely as she opened her front door. Aziraphale gave her a warm smile, but the rest of the group kept a serious expression. They were unused to human interaction. They saw no need for pleasantries.

“Hello, miss. Would it be a bother for us to come in?” Aziraphale questioned. She squinted at him before looking around at the other faces. Aziraphale felt a shoulder bump him as Uriel and Micheal went inside. “Oh, dear.” This was not going to go well.

“What do you lot want?” Elizabeth asked with a frown. This was going badly already. Crowley watched from behind a bookshelf. He had taken his snake form to slide behind furniture until the time was right. The sight even made him cringe.

“We’ve come to speak to you about your pregnancy,” Uriel stated. The woman looked even more confused now. She looked behind herself, wishing she could call her husband. However, she remembered that he had gone out to do the grocery shopping.

“How do you know about that? I’ve only done the test last night,” Elizabeth replied. Aziraphale could tell they had angered her. Although, he couldn’t blame her. They had not told who they were or even given her a pleasant greeting.

“Perhaps we should do some explaining,” he said as he stepped in front of the other two angels. He cleared his throat, keeping a smile the best he could. “You see, we’re angels… From Heaven.” He gestured upwards. Crowley shook his head.

“You’re lunatics. I need you to leave,” she responded, gesturing towards the door. Aziraphale was the only one who made any effort to move. Micheal and Uriel kept their stone-faced expressions in place as they stayed put.

“You are carrying a very important being,” Uriel stated. Elizabeth stared at them with a grimace.

“Please, I wish you would leave.” Crowley wondered if he should do something. Although, there wasn’t much he could do from his position. Besides, he would be giving up the plan if he stepped in.

“We’ll leave in a moment, I promise,” Aziraphale stated. “It’s just, you see, your baby will be very important. He’s going to be the reincarnation of Christ.”

“What?” She looked exasperated now. Aziraphale held up his hand and miracled a flower in his hand as a way to prove that there was truly magic involved and not three nuts off the street.

“Me? Why on Earth would I have Christ as my child?” She asked, still perplexed. Elizabeth was no fonder of these strangers than she had been a moment ago.

“You proved yourself worthy,” Micheal interjected. “You have lived your life with minimal sin.”

“…But why would Christ even need to return?” She questioned. Crowley was amazed by how well this woman had handled herself. She had not once backed down and refused to let her questions go unanswered. It was almost a shame that he would need to wipe her memory. There was a glance exchanged between Micheal and Uriel.

“For the end times. Your child will grow and learn from you. It is your responsibility to teach him what he is meant for,” Micheal explained. Elizabeth suddenly looked frightened.

“The end? You expect me to raise a child to destroy the world?” She asked, more anger growing in her voice. “My child will bring nothing but peace!” Crowley wanted to chuckle at the way this was playing out. He shifted closer, only to bump against a picture frame. It did not fall, only shifted. It was still too much. He could feel it when Uriel’s gaze snapped to him before he was being pulled in. The next thing he knew, he was in human form with their hand wrapped around his throat.

“ACK, bloody hell!” He swore and coughed. He looked up from his newfound spot on the floor.

“We should have known the demon was here. Anyone who doesn’t go along with the ineffable plan must have an influence over them,” they stated. Aziraphale wasn’t sure what to do.

“Haven’t done anything,” Crowley replied. He knocked the offending hand away before standing. He straightened his jacket and backed away. Uriel’s look shifted to Aziraphale.

“You’ve been telling him our plans.”

“What? No!” Aziraphale was beginning to panic. He didn’t want anything to happen to Crowley or himself.

“Oh, lay off of him. I’m a demon. It makes perfect sense for me to trail the new archangel. I didn’t even know what was going on here,” Crowley argued. He had no idea if the others would believe him, but he couldn’t have them pointing fingers at Aziraphale. Uriel gave them both a hard stare.

“Honestly, we haven’t exactly been friends since I took my new position,” Aziraphale interjected. There was a flash of hurt that went through Crowley at the sentence. “Perhaps I hadn’t made it quite clear to him.”

“Make it clear,” Uriel ordered. Aziraphale looked at the demon worriedly before grabbing his jacket. He yanked him towards the door, making Crowley staggered.

“Right, be back momentarily.”

“Hey!” Crowley yelped as he was dragged outside. Aziraphale slammed the door behind them.

“Follow my lead,” he whispered before gripping the front of the demon’s jacket. Crowley barely had time to process the statement. His back collided with the door.

“Ouch, damn it, angel!” He snipped. Aziraphale pressed against him with his best attempt at a mean face. He wasn’t sure if either of the angels were watching them.

“Now, see here, you fiendish… Thing,” he said loudly. It was the best he could come up with. “This is Heaven’s territory. I suggest you stay far aware.”

“And what do you think you’re going to do about it?” Crowley questioned. He was on board with what Aziraphale was up to. Of course, it would have been nice to know to brace himself earlier. Aziraphale looked panicked as he stammered for something to say. “I said, what are you going to do about it?”

“I-I’ll make you regret it!” Aziraphale said. He backed them away from the door before slamming into it again. Now that the initial shock was over, Crowley was more aware of how Aziraphale leaned into him. It made him a bit weak in the knees.

“How?” Crowley asked. Aziraphale huffed in annoyance. Why did he have to ask him anything? He had intended on pushing him against the wall and making a few vague threats. Then, the demon was supposed to run away as though he were truly frightened. What had gotten into him?

“I’m not sure how. I suppose I’ll have to come up with a punishment. Perhaps a good lashing now will deter you from any future problems,” Aziraphale replied, unaware of the way that Crowley licked his lips. The demon chuckled, pleased with the idea of his angel punishing him.

“You’re going to whip me?” He purred, shifting against the door. He knew he should stop this line of thinking, but he couldn’t help himself. Where would this take them? Probably nowhere, but a demon could hope.

“I think a firm slap across the face will do,” the angel said, giving him a perplexed look. He was oblivious to what was going on in Crowley’s head. He lifted a hand and raised his eyebrows for a second to convey what he was doing. He’d give Crowley a fake slap, and Crowley would pretend that it actually hurt. He pulled his hand back before letting the fake slap fly.

“Punish me, Angel,” Crowley growled with a devious grin. Aziraphale’s eyes widened as his body suddenly felt hot. The fake slap picked up more speed with his shock. There was an audible ‘thwack’ as his hand collided with the demon’s cheek.

“Bloody hell!” Crowley gasped as he was sent to the ground. He rubbed his burning cheek as Aziraphale stared at him. The angel covered his mouth with his hands, and his eyes were as round as dinner plates. He was about to help Crowley up and apologize, but the door opened. The two angels were done with business. He did his best to look composed.

Uriel looked down at Crowley. They had expected Aziraphale to come up with some cheesy act to cover up his treason. Judging from the vibrant red mark on Crowley’s face, they determined this was not face. The alliance between the two must be deteriorating as they had planned.

“Aziraphale, we have much to discuss,” Micheal stated. He nodded before following them. Crowley just watched as he walked away, face still stinging.

“I’m an idiot,” he muttered to himself.

….

“How bad is it?” Crowley questioned. Aziraphale had gotten back about ten minutes prior. The angel had been quiet as he prepared two cups of tea. Crowley had been a bit worried when he didn’t make his usual hot chocolate. Aziraphale handed him a cup before sitting next to him.

“Honestly, we’re much better off than we had thought,” Aziraphale stated. He sipped his tea and let out a relaxed sigh. “Elizabeth never relented. She has no intention of letting her child end the world. We just have to make sure that no one tries to brainwash her to get her on Heaven’s side.”

“I think we can handle that,” Crowley replied. There was a short silence between them, and the demon felt the mood shift. He was overly aware of Aziraphale watching him from the corner of his eye. Crowley looked at him with a furrowed brow. “Why are you staring at me?”

“I’m not staring,” Aziraphale replied, sipping his tea again.

“Angel, I can feel you burning a hole in the side of my head. Something is on your mind. You might as well just tell me,” the demon stated. Aziraphale seemed to steady himself.

“…I was just thinking about the other day.” His face took on a red tint. “I was thinking about how you reacted when I pushed you against the door.” Crowley let his head fall backward with a groan.

“Shit. I’ve got to start keeping my mouth shut.” They fell into another silence. Aziraphale continued to watch the other man.

“Well?” He asked. Crowley gave him another confused look. He would regret asking.

“Well, what?” He questioned.

“Why did you react that way?” Aziraphale questioned. Crowley stood from the sofa.

“I’d prefer not answer that,” he stated, but the angel followed him. “Aziraphale, I don’t think you’re going to like any answer that I give you.”

“I promise that I won’t judge. I just want to know,” he stated.

“Nope!” Crowley attempted to disappear into the back of the shop but had a hand wrap around his wrist and pull him back gently. He swallowed thickly as he tried not to meet Aziraphale’s eyes.

“Crowley?”

“Y’know? Maybe we should talk about how you slapped the absolute piss out of me? How about that?” He said, trying to distract anyway that he could.

“I didn’t mean to! You startled me,” Aziraphale explained. Crowley shook his hand away and took a step back. The angel was starting to worry. Had he done something wrong? Crowley moved to walk away again, and Aziraphale couldn’t take it.

“Oh, why can’t you just tell me?” Aziraphale asked as he followed. Crowley felt the hands grab him again, but they gripped a bit tighter. Aziraphale turned him towards himself before moving his hands to the demon’s biceps.

“Aziraphale!” Crowley gasped as he felt himself being shoved backward. His back pressed against a bookshelf as the angel held him in place.

“Does this have the same effect?” The angel asked. If Crowley wouldn’t tell him what had happened, he would have to recreate it. Crowley stared at him with wide eyes.

“What on earth has gotten into you?”

“Answer my questions first!” His hands squeezed tighter, and Crowley could feel his mouth go dry. This was going to turn bad fast.

“I don’t know what to tell you… I’ve never felt like that after being roughed up,” he replied. Aziraphale felt his cheeks heat up.

“S-so you liked it?” He asked, and he could feel Crowley pulling away again.

“I don’t like this conversation,” the demon stated. He pushed away from the bookshelf only to be put right back where he had been. He clenched the edge of one of the shelves as he gritted his teeth.

“Please, just let me try again,” Aziraphale said in an almost frantic voice. Crowley furrowed his brow as he relaxed a bit. He wasn’t sure why Aziraphale was so worked up about this.

“Why do you want to do it again?” The demon asked. Aziraphale blushed.

“Because… It’s because,” he stammered before clearing his throat. Crowley couldn’t hold back a small smirk as something clicked for him.

“It’s because you liked it. You enjoyed throwing me around, you little deviant,” Crowley stated as his smirk turned into a full-blown grin. Suddenly, Aziraphale’s face turned beet red, and the angel moved away.

“Not initially,” Aziraphale admitted, still avoiding any type of eye contact. He wrung his hands together. His mind was obviously whirling and looking for something to justify his actions on. Crowley knew he’d be taking the blame when the angel’s eyes snapped back to him. He moved in quickly, and Crowley was back against the shelf. “If you hadn’t tempted me, we wouldn’t be having this conversation!”

“What the hell did I do?”

“You kept asking me questions! I didn’t know that you were using me to imagine some lustful situation.” Crowley rolled his eyes. “Don’t give me that attitude!” The angel shoved Crowley, his hand pressing in the center of his chest. Crowley grunted as he looked down at the hand. He bit his lower lip in an attempt to behave. Still, he needed to say something.

“Why do you get to tempt me, but I have to behave?” Crowley questioned, his voice a bit deeper. Aziraphale felt a shiver go down his spine.

“I’m an angel. I don’t tempt people,” he responded. “Don’t blame me for whatever lust you’ve been feeling.” Crowley chuckled before stalking toward the angel. Aziraphale backed away with a gulp. He stopped when they got to the edge of the sofa.

“That’s a load of bollocks, and you know it,” Crowley stated. “You want to know what I feel every time you shove me? My legs turn to jelly, and my body gets hot. Do you know why? Because a certain little angel is enjoying himself at my expense. I agreed not to tempt you, but you aren’t holding up your end of the bargain.” Crowley pointed a finger towards Aziraphale. “If you shove me one more time, I’m going to have my own fun. Do you understand, angel?”

Aziraphale chewed on the inside of his lip. Crowley couldn’t be serious, could he? He would never force Aziraphale to do anything. It wasn’t like he had been aware that he was teasing him. At least not at first. He looked behind the demon and saw the arm of the sofa was just behind his knees.

“I think you’re bluffing,” Aziraphale stated. He saw the other man’s expression shift to incredulous.

“Bluffing? You daft basta-” he was cut short by Aziraphale shoving him backward. The back of his knees hit the armrest, causing him to fall. Aziraphale hadn’t planned on the demon grabbing the front of his jacket and dragging him down. He tried to stand up quickly, but Crowley already had his arms wrapped around his waist. His fingers gripped onto his jacket.

“Think about this before you do anything rash!” Aziraphale warned. Crowley rolled his eyes.

“Calm down. You already know I wouldn’t do anything to you,” Crowley replied but did not loosen his grip. His angel was going to stay here with him. Aziraphale sighed a breath of relief as he looked down at the other man.

“…I didn’t mean to tempt you,” he said softly.

“S’lright, angel.” His hands shifted slightly on the small of the angel’s back. “But you know… Saying something isn’t the same as doing it.”

“What do you mean?” Aziraphale questioned. His mouth dried when he felt Crowley’s breath by his ear.

“I just want to talk to you,” Crowley spoke softly. Aziraphale caught sight of the yellow eyes that peered at him. The demon’s gaze was much more intense than his voice. Aziraphale knew that he had pushed his luck.

“You could talk to me while we sat up. We could finish drinking our tea,” he offered but heard a chuckle. It sent a chill down his spine and made his scalp tingle. “Oh dear,” he muttered.

“What’s the matter? Don’t like having your buttons pushed?” Crowley teased. Aziraphale chewed on his lower lip. “Surely you can handle the temptations of a demon. Oh, pious archangel.”

“You said you wouldn’t do anything,” Aziraphale replied, feeling fingers trace up his spine. Crowley did not have a tight grip on him anymore, but it was too late to move away. He wanted to stay right where he was.

“I haven’t done a thing, angel. I’m only talking,” he replied, his lips brushing gently against the shell of Aziraphale’s ear. It made the angel suck in a breath. “Now, there are certainly things I would like to do… There are things that I’d like you to do to me.”

“Crowley,” Aziraphale warned. He lifted himself to where they were a bit further apart, but he was still above Crowley. He smiled up at him as his hands slipped down Aziraphale’s sides and up his chest.

“Have I told you how pretty of an angel you are?” Crowley asked softly. Aziraphale’s eyes slid over him. It was such a different look and feeling for the demon to be underneath him. Aziraphale knew that he wanted Crowley, and he feared that he would cave soon. “I mean that. You’re a gorgeous person.”

“You flatter me, dear,” Aziraphale stated. Crowley’s hand moved to cup the other man’s cheek, and his thumb rubbed gently at his lower lip. Aziraphale pressed his lips against the thumb with a hum. “…Did you know that you’re a master of temptation?”

“I’m only as good as you’ll let me be.”

“That’s not entirely true… I think I feel the work of a masterful demon working on me.”

“Is that so?” Crowley asked. His golden eyes were half-lidded as Aziraphale leaned back down to him. Their lips met slowly as if to taste each other as their eyes slipped shut. Crowley’s arms slid to wrap around Aziraphale’s shoulders and bring him closer. The pace increased slightly as their mouths worked against each other.

“Angel,” Crowley muttered as the lips left his mouth to trail his jaw. Crowley leaned into the affection. Then, he felt one of Aziraphale’s hands begin to roam. It started at his waist with a gentle squeeze. Next, it trailed up his stomach and over his chest. “Fuck me,” Crowley swore as the hand caressed his neck on the way by. Aziraphale chuckled as his fingers carded through the demon’s hair and gripped it. The demon’s breath hitched in his throat. Perhaps fucking him was what Aziraphale had in mind.

Crowley felt his body grow warmer until he was nearly boiling. Aziraphale had lowered to press firmly against him, and his mouth was still working against Crowley’s jaw. Where had the angel learned to do this? Was this in his books? The grip on his hair made him tilt his head back.

“Oh, Aziraphale,” Crowley said, feeling the hot mouth on his throat. It seemed to be traveling downward. “Aziraphale,” he said with more urgency. “Think about what you’re do HING,” he let out what was almost a squeak when he felt a nibble at his collarbone. “I don’t want you falling into lust. Screwing a demon may be hard to explain to upstairs.”

“Is it really lust if you’re truly in love with each other?” Aziraphale questioned.

“… Now, that’s what I call a temptation,” Crowley stated, tugging at Aziraphale’s collar. The angel moved as directed. Was this what they were going to do? Were they going to bang on Aziraphale’s sofa? Although the angel would probably refer to it as making love.

“What are you two doing?” Came an inquisitive voice.

“Muriel!” They yelled in unison. Between Aziraphale trying to get up and Crowley attempting to help him, Aziraphale landed on the floor with a thud. Crowley grimaced at seeing Aziraphale flat on his back.

“Was this a bad time?” Muriel questioned

“Yes,” Crowley answered.

“No,” Aziraphale said, shooting him a look and getting to his feet. “No, dear. We were just.” He brushed his vest off, still looking to Crowley for help. The demon shrugged, not knowing what to tell him. “…Never mind that. What did you need?”

“You got a book in the mail. I thought you’d want to see it.”

“Yes, I would. Thank you, Muriel,” he said before heading to the next room. Crowley watched him leave. After a second, Aziraphale popped his head back in. “Crowley.”

“Yes, Angel.”

“We’ll finish our,” he stopped to clear his throat. “Our activities later.” Crowley gave him a grin.

“I look forward to it.”

#crowley #good omens #ineffable husbands #aziraphale #kiss #love #fluff

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cienie-isengardu · 7 months

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Would you go into detail about any ideas you have with Scorpion!Kuai Laing and how it could have been handled better

Sure, the best way to handle it would be to let Hanzo Hasashi be the Scorpion and Kuai Liang the cryomancer as they were destined to be because at this point it seems the game didn’t just switched the ice for fire power of his but are robbing both Hanzo and Kuai Liang at the same time: Hanzo, because he was stripped again from his family (and I’m saying it fully wishing to see Harumi as her own character in future games) and sidelined for obscure reference in certain endings and intro dialogues (if lucky, maybe he will introduced in next game) while Kuai Liang is turned into someone he was not - and yes, I always saw him as aro-ace character who himself said to not have time for socializing and was a single for three decades and doing fine with his life but now is thrown into marriage with Harumi who was originally Hanzo’s wife and all the romantic nonsense he did not bothered, seek or care much before. But more than that, Kuai Liang’s previous character development was thrown out of the window and he as the MK!1 Scorpion right away ended as the “final product”, the good, honorable Grandmaster. In past the road to that point demanded from him to face a lot hard truth about Lin Kuei, to deal with his guilt, trauma and grief after losing brother and Smoke, making hard choices like choosing peace with murdered of his brother for benefit of Lin Kuei, Shirai Ryu and Earthrealm instead of seeking revenge. Kuai Liang was a good man in general, no doubt about that, but the wise, honorable sage and loyal Earthrealm Defender came with time, here Scorpion is just, well, he is, not really Hanzo and not really Kuai Liang, something between. He is angry, but does not have the burning anger of Hanzo Hasashi that blinds him to the point other characters (Quan Chi and Kronika) easily manipulate and exploit him. He cares for Bi-Han, but doesn’t seem to have Kuai Liang’s dedication to save/redeem him, like previous versions had for the Noob Saibot, corrupted by dark magic Bi-Han’s soul. Of course, Mortal Kombat 1 is just a new way into the rebooted timeline and only time shows us in what direction the NRS plan to take Scorpion - or Bi-Han and Hanzo for that matter.

But since the game did what it did, my main idea (complain) what could be done better is an actual effort to build the sense of brotherhood between the brothers before the events separated them for good. I don’t mind that Bi-Han was abrasive toward most characters as he quite often was portrayed like that and so were other cryomancers at times. But his betrayal - and Scorpion’s reaction - would have bigger impact if the sibling bond was more flashed out before the tragedy happened (though I would argue with the spreading idea between fans that Bi-Han always acted like the worst jerk toward poor baby Tomas, as what story showed us is the “frustrated Bi-Han” and he snipped at both brothers whenever they mentioned father, while still included Tomas in either taking Smoke to meet Liu Kang and on mission or in his worries [“Are you both unharmed?”], and did not correct Liu Kang in their intro dialogue when Fire Gods specifically said “your brothers” miss him. The conflict and disdain seems to be aimed mainly at Lin Kuei status and/or bloodline however I don’t think we have yet enough idea how Lin Kuei now operate and how they managed switch some much from everyone worth is welcome in previous Lin Kuei to apparently just bloodline matters). Of course, I’m aware the brotherhood would be a hard thing to flesh out with such limited screen time as the story was divided between a quite big cast, however as Johnny and Kenshi proved, the game could and did create the feeling of true comradeship between characters who too were sidelined in later chapters. So I think the best solution would be either leave Bi-Han’s betrayal for the latest part of the story or, alternatively, let Bi-Han’s die, maybe even to make sure his brothers get away, and then bring him as Noob Saibot, giving us both the evil Sub-Zero the game aimed for and Kuai Liang’s more classical grief over killed family and the conflict with corrupted, undead version of Bi-Han. What I think would work nicely through the future games without making still alive Bi-Han a weird mix of Noob and Frost and would not hurt so much compared to what Mileena, Baraka and Reptile got in contrast to Lin Kuei brothers.

Thinking more about it, the game could actually use Kuai Liang’s father in more direct way, as part of Lin Kuei team on mission so Bi-Han, if truly needed to end as betrayer, could let him die during an actual story mode with the future games/lore focusing on Kuai Liang (Scorpion)’s burning anger and desire for justice/revenge - but I’m aware that would be even more complicated to fit into limited story time.

The other thing I think would be much truer to Kuai Liang’s original character is him to fight for control over Lin Kuei to actually uphold traditions he was so devoted to than creating a different clan. Scorpion’s decision of course makes sense within the story but Kuai Liang’s loyalty was always to Lin Kuei first and foremost and if younger Sub-Zero in previous timeline(s) needed to destroy it to reform the clan for more honorable ways, he would do so. Kuai Liang mentioned Cyrax and Sektor’s loyalty to Bi-Han is absolute, but thinking logically, he could have a more blood-related family interested in the fate of their relative that could support his claim to title. In result, Bi-Han could be on the run, maybe with the hard-die followers making Scorpion’s intro dialogues about seeking /hunting brother accurate too.

In general, I won’t say that MK1!Scorpion is a bad or boring character, because he isn’t, but what he could use - the same as the rest Lin Kuei - is a better flashed out relationship that would give him a chance to grow alongside the story. The game keeps mentioning he and Bi-Han are brothers, but we barely see any of that close bond (Scorpion and Smoke understandably look better in that matter as they were meant to contrast the relationship with much colder and ambitious Bi-Han, but Smoke is pretty much pushed to sidelines for majority of game, the same as Sub-Zero). The intro dialogues and character endings imply romantic relationship (future marriage) but again, we are told about that and not really shown or allowed to see how it develops - and yes, I’m irked about this romantic addition that pushes Kuai Liang into Hanzo’s original role (and why push Harumi straight into marriage either? Why not introduce her and allow her to grow into her own person before marrying her off?). Which I think is part of the problem, as Mortal Kombat games don't dwell much into “daily” life of characters as we usually jump from one crisis to another fight and probably TV series or well written comics would do better justice for that sort of thing.

Don’t know if my ideas would handle better MK!1 Scorpion, beside maybe letting Hanzo have this mantle. I do however think it would be pretty cool if Kuai Liang got some character flaws to overcome, the same as Bi-Han got his arrogance and ambitions. Like I said, this Kuai Liang is not a bad character but he is the designated “good brother” and the perfect fighter, grandmaster, follower of Liu Kang and some flaws to balance his otherwise ideal portrayal would do some good. Hanzo had his serious anger and trust issues, Kuai Liang’s rocky relationship with authority and yes, some of those traits are implied here and there with MK1!Scorpion but so far does not play any vital role (the way he was ready to smack already laying on ground Bi-Han again with his shackles is so far the most visible anger fit he showed, but that is a pale imitation to what Hanzo Hasashi was capable of. Similarly his concern/doubts about Liu Kang stated in intro dialogues are not even close to Kuai Liang’s accusation and questioning of Raiden or other gods’ authority).

#mortal kombat #my replies #kuai liang #scorpion #bi han #sub zero #to be honest both brothers could be handle better if story mode allowed us to see their brotherhood at the best before the worst happened #also the coward should give scorpion!kuai liang some flaws to balance the general good nature

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tonguetiedraven · 1 year

Note

Okay so- I have a funny little headcanon that I havent seen anyone write about yet. Rin can handle spicy food a lot better than Ryuuji, now, Ryuuji does like spicy food, but he has a limit. So if Rin is ever pissed at Ryuuji and feels like being petty bc he's upset with Ryuuji about something, he'll make something overly spicy to get back at him.

Another double prompt fill, lol. Thanks to @marble-wolf for helping me with this one.

-- -- -- -- --

Ryuuji sent a text that he was going to miss lunch, and he felt bad that he had to opt for that over a phone call, but trying to talk on the phone around Lewin was a bit of a death wish. At the very least it was an embarrassment wish. Lewin would rattle off whatever crossed his mind and Ryuuji had only been dating Rin for a little bit and was not ready for that wild card in their relationship. They had enough wildcards just being them.

A few hours later and he was still following Lewin through a swamp, and he had to send another text to Rin that he was going to miss their dinner date as well. That was a special kind of torture, because Rin had mentioned curry and Ryuuji was going to end up eating rations. Entirely unfair. (And he was missing time with Rin.)

He’d be back for tomorrow’s lunch, hopefully, but in the mean time, he was frowning at the lack of returning texts.

That didn’t bode well.

Rin was fuming. This shit was happening far too often because Lewin couldn't do anything without having his hand held by Ryuuji.

Ryuuji, who was Rin's new boyfriend, was unable to tell Lewin no and was missing too many dates. Strapped down by Lewin's command. And Rin understood why but it didn't make it any easier. He felt like Ryuuji should put a bit more effort into making time for Rin. (Instead of trotting after Lewin and trying to keep him clean.)

Ryuuji hadn't even called. No, it had been texts.

Rin crossed his arms over the pot of curry, mentally grumbling and considered what he wanted to do. Something that he could do to get back at both Ryuuji and Lewin.

Kuro chirped and peeked in the pot, "what's wrong, Rin? Is it too spicy?"

"Spicy? No. Ryuuji isn't coming." Rin said with a frown.

"Oh. I'm sorry." Kuro sighed. "We can eat together!"

Rin smiled and nodded. "Sure, Kuro."

And it was only as he set aside portions for himself and Kuro and the cat sidhe Doves into the meal with a happy purr that the thought occurred to him.

Spicy.

— — — — —

Ryuuji was not particularly astute at picking up subtleties of his friends’ moods. It had cost him multiple times, and had tried to get better at it, but he doubted he would ever reach Konekomaru’s level of observation.

Even with that lack of natural ability, Ryuuji couldn’t miss the mildly frigid air as Rin served up lunch. It looked like a yakisoba bun (which was Ryuuji’s favorite lunch) but Rin just dropped the wrapped lunch in front of him and sat down in a noisy way that seemed to radiate I am not happy even to Ryuuji’s mildly deaf ears.

“Thank you?” He said, not entirely sure why he’d made it a question as he pulled the meal a bit closer and opened it up. His nose tingled a little as he breathed in the warm scent, and that was a bit strange. Had Rin used a new sauce?

Rin's tail flicked and he nodded in response. He did slide a bottle of green tea closer to Ryuuji because he wasn't a total asshole before crossing his arms back and staring at Ryuuji.

Ryuuji stared back for a moment. Rin wouldn’t poison him. He took too much pride in his cooking for that. Still, Ryuuji mildly felt like he shouldn’t eat, or possibly drink, any of this. Something was up.

However, he wasn’t a coward and he was always a bit more daring than was probably good for him, and he trusted Rin wouldn’t actively try to really hurt him, so he picked the bun up and took a bite, and confirmed that, yep, Rin had done something.

It was quite easily the hottest thing Ryuuji had ever tried to eat. (He avoided overly spicy foods for a lot of reasons.) The spice immediately cut through absolutely everything else and there was no real way to tell what the flavor was outside of the immediate and overwhelming ow of the rest of the sandwich.

He coughed a little because he couldn’t help it, and almost dropped the sandwich with the force of it. He avoided the green tea he’d been given and opted for his own water as well, not trusting that Rin hadn’t done something to that as well.

Then, with a glare at his boyfriend, he took another bite. (And he was going to regret the hell out of that, he just knew it. Indigestion aside, he was playing with fire.)

Rin's tail flicked and he battled back any guilt he might feel with his own narrowed eyes. He tugged out his own yakisoba and ate it without a flinch, enjoying the heat of it and hoping Lewin had taken a bite out of his own.

Ryuuji, still ignoring the green tea, finished the sandwich as quickly as he could and pushed the container away, sweating a bit and marveling at just how numb his mouth felt. His eyes were watering and his nose was running, and whatever he’d done had clearly really pissed Rin off.

(He should not have eaten that. It was stupid, but damn it, he wasn’t going to be beaten by something like that.)

“Alright,” he said, and damn it, even his voice was a bit rough, “what the hell is wrong?”

Rin sat up stiffly, huffing. "Why you gotta ask?"

“‘Cause you just tried to kill me?” And probably would. Ryuuji needed to go find something to counteract that spice. Something told him a spinach salad wasn’t quite going to cut it with that. “What happened?”

Rin rolled his eyes. "I wasn't trying to kill ya. I'm just… I've finally got your attention!"

Rin nudged at the tea. "Look, it's still sealed up."

"First, you need to tell Light to fuck off occasion because you have plans. Second! Don't text me. And don't let Light drag you into stuff. I am tired of getting stood up for a man that can't wash his own socks. And you don't seem to care." Rin was pouting and glaring but he couldn't help it with the hurt.

Ryuuji ditched the non helpful water and went for the pocky he’d brought to share with Rin, pulling out a few sticks and sucking on the sweet matcha while he gave Rin an unimpressed look. It did almost nothing to soothe the burn. So much for sugar being a cure.

“I text ya,” he said around the pocky, “because Lightning will shout random shit if I call.” He could feel his cheeks going a bit red (though it probably wasn’t visible past the heat flush.) “I don’t…” It was embarrassing. Lightning had even made kissing noises and moaned when Ryuuji was going to call Rin. He was not dealing with that.

Huffing out a breath, he gave his boyfriend a long look, taking in the sad eyes and the slumped posture despite the defiantly crossed arms. He’d hurt him. Enough for Rin to try and get back. (Nirvana, please just let it have been a shitty meal. He should not have eaten that. Why had he done that? There was no way he got out of that scott free. At the very least he’d fucked up his singing voice for Aria class with all the extra snot. At the worst…

He didn’t want to deal with the migraine that was guaranteed to bring.)

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you like that. I care, honest. I’ll figure out a way to get some space from him if it happens so I can call ya. And…” Ugh. He really did tend to push everything but school to the side for Lewin.

“I’ll work on it,” he promised.

Rin's pout relaxed a little, though he still felt betrayed and like Lewin was always going to be top priority.

"Okay. Just… try?" Rin asked. That was all he really needed.

Ryuuji pushed the strawberry pocky towards Rin. “I’ll try.”

“Hey!” An exuberant voice called and Ryuuji’s head gave a low throb of annoyance that had him closing his eyes and murmuring a prayer that was almost guaranteed to not push away the migraine he’d more or less signed himself up for.

(He should have had a talk about that with Rin. He should have told his cook boyfriend what foods could make things worse. He was an idiot.)

“Lightning?” He growled, not bothering to open his eyes as he pinched the bridge of his nose and Lewin bounded up to their table.

“Okumura! That was delicious! It’s so hard to find really spicy things here! You got anymore? I’d pay for that!”

Rin blinked in astonishment and leaned away from the man as Lewin leaned way too close and beamed at him like an excited shaggy dog.

"Huh? What? Seriously?” Rin squeaked, his tail moving to hide and his hand holding his sword to keep it out of grabby hands.

"You liked that?" Rin gasped, lifting up what was left of his own sandwich.

“I love spicy food!” Lewin gushed, pulling out a chair and sitting down like he’d been invited over. “I didn’t know you could get that kinda spicy yakisoba bun. I don’t usually get the spicy stuff ‘cause Ryuuji can’t have it with the migraines and he’s the one that likes yakisoba buns, but I’d eat all of those ya got!”

Ryuuji dropped his hand and shot Lewin the most unbelieving of stares. Why was he even here? (And he was staring like he was going to steal what was left of Rin’s sandwich.)

Rin's eyes went wide and horrified and what he had managed to eat felt too heavy and his stomach was twisting as the guilt shot through him.

"Migraines! This— I— Ryuuji!" Rin cried out and he shoved the rest of his sandwich at Lewin.

"Take that and go away."

Lewin accepted the sandwich with a frown while Ryuuji covered his face with his hand again and sighed. That was going to bite him in the ass. He should have ditched this lunch and gone to yesterday’s.

“Uh,” Lewin began, “what—”

“Just go,” Ryuuji sighed. “Please,” he added after a moment. He didn’t bother to look to see if his master did and simply picked up another piece of matcha pocky to suck on and hope it made him capable of feeling his mouth again. (For fucks sake, he hadn’t even known heat could hang around that long.)

Lewin did as requested, raising a curious eyebrow and keeping his eye on them as long as he could while he finished the second bun.

"Ryuuji!" Rin hissed, dropping his voice as if Ryuuji already had a migraine. "Why didn't you say something?"

The guilt was twisting higher and Rin was scrambling to clean up and he cracked open Ryuuji's tea and shoved it at him.

“Tea doesn’t help with heat, Rin.” Ryuuji took it anyway because caffeine could help migraines. (Supposedly. He’d never really noticed any difference. Green tea was still his favorite drink either way.)

He took a few sips and shrugged. “Seemed kinda late to mention it?” And how did you bring something like that up without painting someone as a bad guy? You gave me a triggering food! It wasn’t like it was a widely known thing. It wasn’t an allergy. It was just…

Stupid of him to eat the whole thing simply so he didn’t lose Rin’s I’m mad at you challenge.

Rin stood up and put his hand out to Ryuuji.

"Okay but now you get to take the rest of the day off." Rin ordered. "Can you take something before the migraine? Is that allowed?"

"I'm sorry, babe," Rin whispered.

“I’m the one that ate the sandwich,” Ryuuji pointed out. “And that’s not necessary. It’d hit tomorrow if I got one.” Or around bedtime, which would mean a long night for him. “It’s not gonna be a problem,” he said, and hoped it wasn’t a lie even though it probably was. Ugh. He rather hated his broken ass brain. Maybe he’d get lucky and it’d take it a full day to hit. He could catch up with missing cram classes more easily than missing cram classes and regular classes.

He did take Rin’s hand and move in close for an after lunch walk before their cram classes. (Hopefully not an intense aria class or that migraine would be guaranteed.)

Rin frowned but accepted that Ryuuji knew what he was talking about.

"Okay. No more spicy." Definitely not. Maybe to bribe Lewin but that's all.

— — — — —

There was a light drizzle of rain out the window that was distracting with how the water streaked down the window as Rin waited for Ryuuji to appear. He had a towel ready to toss over his boyfriend and they could eat the leftover curry because Ryuuji loved curry and —

Rin blinked in confusion at the keyboard slap text he had just received from Ryuuji. What?

It didn't make any sense to Rin and he immediately thought of an accidental typing, usually done when Ryuuji was on a run. But he couldn't help but feel worried. Rin sent out a text to Konekomaru and didn't have to wait long for the dreaded reply.

A migraine.

Rin's guilt drove him to immediately flick off the stove, ask Ukobach to put away the reheated food and run out the door with the ice packs from the freezer in his hands.

It was entirely his fault and he would make it up to Ryuuji ten-fold. He ran all the way to Ryuuji's dorm and mentally thanked whoever had left the door unlocked (probably Konekomaru) as he nudged the door open as little as possible.

Ryuuji was lying, curled up in a tight ball on his bed, his phone dropped onto the floor and the room as dark as it could be. Rin tiptoed his way over and sat down at the edge of Ryuuji's bed.

The ice pack was laid over Ryuuji's shoulder and neck and Rin nudged at the tense muscles.

"Ryuuji?"

A whimper left Ryuuji’s lips (embarrassingly) as he rolled towards Rin. He thought he might have imagined the door opening and closing, but there wasn’t any imagining the blessed relief of the ice on his neck or the slight whisper of his name.

He knew he had fucked up with the sandwich, and he’d entirely cemented his fate when they’d had the sparring in his aria class. Trying to hold shields against the attacks had given him a mental beating, and no matter how much he wished it hadn’t happened, the migraine had hit him with a sledgehammer.

Embarrassing or not, Ryuuji pressed his face against Rin’s knees and told himself to explain about the migraine and the agony everything was, and that despite being the son of Satan, Rin was clearly actually an angel for bringing the ice pack and being so quiet about it. He told himself to apologize for the text when Rin had said to call, but calling wasn’t going to happen with a migraine. (Had he sent a text? It hurt even trying to remember.)

Instead of any of that, Ryuuji managed a simple (and raspy), “Rin.”

Rin bent his head down to bury his nose in Ryuuji's hair, nuzzling and trying to show without words that he was there. His fingers moved to rub at Ryuuji's head and neck while his tail curled around Ryuuji's back.

"Did you take meds?" Rin whispered as loud as he dared.

Ryuuji mumbled a yes that still felt too loud as it echoed around in his head, enhancing the pressure that was already trying to make his brain explode.

He tilted towards the nuzzle, curling his fingers into the fabric of Rin’s shirt and appreciating the presence more than he could tell. (He couldn’t tell Rin much of anything at this moment.) He hated the isolation that always came with this and he’d wanted to hang out with Rin after their stressful afternoon, and his brain had fucked up his plans instead. (Though he supposed he should be grateful he didn’t often have the sensitivity to touch.)

The heat of his boyfriend’s touch was also a balm. He was half tempted to try and tuck his freezing toes against Rin’s legs. He never understood why his feet got cold with this.

Rin toed off his shoes and climbed into bed next to Ryuuji and held him close to his chest.

Rin would be taking Ryuuji out for something cold and bargain with Lewin for Ryuuji getting days off (bribed with the hottest food Rin could make.)

Ryuuji curled up against him, hiding his face against Rin’s shoulder, tucking his freezing feet against Rin’s molten ones, closing his eyes a bit too tightly, and just breathing as well as he could.

He laid there, surrounded by Rin, and slowly tried to find the words he needed through the fog in his head. He’d had something important to say, and he couldn’t let Rin lay here guilty.

“Not your fault,” he murmured. “Aria class woulda done… woulda done it.” Something else had happened, but he didn’t remember it. The memories would come back later and he could explain that all more clearly later. He’d been doomed before that sandwich, but…

“I shouldn’ta finished it. A bite wouldn’t… wouldn’t do it… But not your fault.” He tugged on Rin’s shirt a little, not certain if his message had gotten across, or even made sense to begin with.

Rin rubbed his hands over Ryuuji's back and kissed Ryuuji's temple.

"Okay. But no more spicy food." Rin whispered, warming Ryuuji's freezing feet and keeping him wrapped up and safe. "We just both gotta stop being so stubborn, eh?"

Ryuuji grinned despite his pain. He doubted that would happen. Still…

“It’s all Lightning’s fault,” Ryuuji decided, whispering as quietly as he could. Barely breathing the words because Rin could still hear them anyway. “I’m gonna make him take a bath for this.”

#bonrin #bon x rin #ao no exorcist #blue exorcist #my tumblr fics #ryuuji suguro #rin okumura #ryuji suguro #bon suguro #bonfire #bonxrin #bon/rin #ane #aoe #aoex

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beomqutie · 2 years

Text

ㅡ maneater - prologue

synopsis: upon what yeonjun deems as flirting with the most popular girl in college he decides to make her his girlfriend. she however seems to have other plans in mind, which initiates a conflict about love, sex, friendship and betrayal. was she worth his effort and was he worth the fun? wc: 1.6k tw: none

it was a beautiful morning on the first day after the summer break at college. did you miss having to come here after not getting enough sleep the night before? no, but you had to. taking a look at the clock that read 7:50 am in jay's car you were currently in alongside your two friends; yunjin and winter, you wondered why you even chose to go to college.

as you let your thoughts wander you reminded yourself of your last affair, some college senior you met at a party. your expectations were sky high, yet he couldn't meet them. you hoped you'd be luckier this semester.

"why does y/n always get to play her music? can we listen to harry styles?" "yunjin no, y/n gets priority treatment from jay, you know that" winter answered while smirking at jay from the backseat, trying to tease him for the crush he had on you years ago. "i understand why y/n gets prioritized, i'd marry her if she'd let me!" yunjin said in a dreamy voice, making you hold your hand out to the back for her to grab.

"i'd marry you too but i am busy getting dick babes, sorry" was what you said while jay was trying to find a free spot in the parking lot in front of hybe university. yunjin pouted and let go of your hand to get out of the car once they had found a nice spot. imitating her movement you got out of the car too, the warmth of the shining morning sun hitting your skin already making you feel drowsy yet happy before your first class of the day. after all, you missed being on campus and searching for your next affair.

already standing in front of hybe university was yeonjun with his other four friends; soobin, beomgyu, taehyun and huening kai. not knowing what he was awaiting he stopped listening to kai's and beomgyu's heated discussion about my little pony and started looking around the parking lot. what he didn't expect to see was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. though, he felt intimidated by the confidence and fearlessness your body radiated to some degree. nonetheless, he couldn't bring himself to stop his eyes from looking over your features, noticing how the jeans you wore hugged your body in all the perfect ways.

you turned around and saw what you made out to be winter bickering with jay about the way he parked until a pair of hazelnut brown eyes caught yours. you tried cranking your neck unobtrusively, so as to not seem too desperate to whoever was looking at you, to take a full glance at them.

what met your eyes was a rather tall male with a face you deemed more beautiful than any sculpture you've ever seen in the countless museums you had to go to as a kid. his shoulders were broad, his chest looked toned in the tight shirt he wore and his legs were long. if you were to describe his face you'd say that it was garnished with villainous features yet, still held a cheeky charm. your vision drifted from his foxy eyes down to his rosy, pillowy plump lips before travelling back up. you wanted to kiss those lips so bad.

yeonjun was ecstatic once he noticed you staring at him too. he knew his visual wasn't too bad but having a person as gorgeous as you staring at him genuinely made him feel as if he had a chance with you. he thought he'd definitely had to talk to you soon, he wished he could have gone to you right this instant, however, beomgyu's and kai's discussion turned into a small fight and as a consequence soobin had asked him to stop them. he dismissed him rather quickly by waving his hand, leaving soobin to take care of his friend's useless bickering alone.

upon checking him out, you decided that he would be your next catch and since you've seen him at university you've concluded he must be your age as well. which further means that you're likely to see him around campus. jackpot! would he be too shy? maybe he'd be a new challenge for you to take upon. after all, challenging guys make everything all the more interesting for you.

you were brought back to reality by winter and her rather harsh grab on your arm while she mumbled something about having to leave because..? you weren't really listening and at this moment it genuinely didn't matter because the godlike boy was still looking your way. it wasn't a surprise that he looked your way, most boys (and girls) did that, rather than that it was the look his face held. he did not look at you with overly lust-filled eyes nor did he look at you with a shy blush covering his sculpted cheekbones. the look he was giving you was unreadable for you, was this a challenge given by the gods? challenge accepted!

even as you were walking down the aisle of the college after your friends pulled away you weren't listening to what winter said, only thinking about the guy you named the "parking lot guy". you couldn't help but compare him to your past affairs in your head. would he be better than them? would he be able to satisfy your needs? there was only one way you could find out and you were doubtlessly going to find out just that. ๑ after your first classes finally came to a much-desired end, you and winter made your way towards the cafeteria in order to find jay and yunjin. typically, the four of you would go out to eat elsewhere and have jay pay. he, however, said his dad has recently been telling him to spend less money; how annoying, right? finding the other two in the big canteen wasn't a challenge, mainly thanks to the fact that a bunch of fangirls would stand nearby to get a glimpse of jay. what was a challenge though was fighting your way through the hoard of girls throwing you mean glances until you ultimately got to sit down at the table with the others to enjoy your lunch.

“could you tell your fangirls to go away? they’re kind of annoying” comes out of winter's mouth after grabbing jay’s coke can and taking a sip. “even if i could, i wouldn't. a sculpture like me should be seen!” he argued back with a cocky look on his face, trying to get his coke back, failing since winter pulled her hand away just in time. “y/n!! how was class?” yunjin asked once you sat down next to her while engulfing you in a big and very much-needed hug, classes had certainly drained you. “tiring and prof. kim gave us homework. on the first day? so fucking annoying!” you half-yelled to which jay stopped fighting winter over his coke to reach out his hand and pat your head as if trying to calm your nerves.

he was glad he hadn't heard the my little pony discussion this morning but he didn't expect them to continue the same debate at lunch. he wasn't too tired from class but he really wanted to tell the others about you. although, the others love to tease him about anything he says yeonjun felt the need to share the news. after all what he felt when he saw you was more than magical in his eyes. his friend though seemed to have other plans and didn't even think about stopping their conversation for his news. and so yeonjun did what? exactly, he stared around the canteen in hopes of seeing anything worth his interest; you.

and while you were trying to swat jay's hand away to save your styled hair from being ruined it happened again. your eyes flew past jay’s head and caught sight of the same hazelnut brown eyes you saw in the parking lot this morning; coincidence? you saw him already staring at you when you spotted him, which gave you a confidence boost.

as soon as his eyes caught your figure sitting at a closeby table they wouldn't move. one more time yeonjun felt absolutely mesmerized by your beauty. he knew he had to talk to you, this must have been a sign from above. seeing you twice during one day? he felt like a teenager again when he noticed the way his heart was beating against his chest out of nervousness. concluding that it was now or never he turned around and said, "i'll be right back" before standing up and sweeping his bag up while his feet carried him your way.

the conversation about your professor was long abandoned when you saw him turning his head towards his friends to say something before he stood up and started walking in your direction. “showtime” you thought before looking away and packing up the few things you unpacked upon arriving at the table. your friends, especially yunjin, gave you questioning looks but decided to let you do your business. you can’t stop a girlboss from girl bossing, right?

just when yeonjun was about to arrive at your group's table you stood up, waved your friends goodbye and made your way past him; even going as far as to not sparing him a single glance. did you turn around after passing his figure? no, but you wished you could, the look he must have had on his face would have been worth millions to your confidence. still, you didn’t dare to turn around and swiftly left the canteen, walking to your next class. the only thing your ears could make out was the faint laughter sounding from your left, which you assumed to be his friends making fun of the poor boy, oops. sorry.

sharing is caring | masterlist | episode one

taglist. @blahbluhblahbluh @ioszzn

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aita-blorbos · 10 months

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[trigger warning for suicide, kidnapping]

AITA for accidentally contributing to someone's suicide attempt?

For context: I (18f, then 13f) had a group of friends 5 years ago. One of us, who i'll call Person A (then 12f) was kidnapped, and as it turned out 4 years later, killed. The rest of us were affected by this, as you'd expect, however Persons B and C (17f and 17nb, then 13f and 13f) and I were all sent back to school within a month and were relatively fine, still trying to aid in the search efforts going on. The other remaining person, Person D (18m, then 13m), stopped talking to all of us abruptly and wouldn't answer the door when we came to his house to check on him (his parents weren't often around to answer it). He made no effort to help look for A, who I will say was VERY close to him and would have probably lost sleep searching for him if the roles were reversed here. After a few months, we stopped trying to talk to him, then a few months after that he came back to school seemingly wanting nothing to do with us. A year after A's disappearance, search efforts came to a halt, too.

Now, all of us are 17 and 18. There are 4 people in this group of friends currently- B and C, and Person E (18f, she's Person C's sister and begun to hang out with us two years after A went missing, though that's not relevant.) For additional context, D, being transmasc, has always had a bullying problem, with E contributing to this before stopping around the time she joined our group. D still has problems with this, and since he doesn't have A to protect him like she used to, and none of us hang around him anymore, they're worse than he was before.

Recently, D has started trying to talk to us again, and I've ignored him. He has no reason to talk to E, and B and C don't seem to talk to him beyond quick greetings. What's really annoying is that he keeps trying to talk to me specifically, and while we used to be very close, he made it clear that he didn't want to talk to me then, and I don't want to talk to him now.

All this has kept snowballing until a week ago, where D tried to apologise to me for not talking to me. B, C and E were present and watching, as we were all walking out of the school together. I snapped at him, and while I still do believe that most of what I said to him was correct - that he could have at least told us anything about how he was doing, spoken a single word to us, or read our messages, that A would have unearthed every single inch of land looking for him if he was the one missing - I could have said it much nicer. I yelled at him, and I did say one thing that I wish I never did. I told him that I wished he was the one who died instead of her. Once I stopped to take a breath, he said he'd do what I wanted to make up for things, and ran off to his house, which is a ten minute walk from the school and less if you run. I didn't understand what he meant at first, and was too busy trying to calm down, but Person B told me that I was being unreasonably angry at him and needed to try to catch up with him and apologise quickly. She didn't say what she thought about the implications of his last statement then, but apparently she was worried about it at the time.

B and I followed him, while C and E had to go home. When we got to his house, his door was unlocked, and when we went to his room, we found him hanging by a rope made of his own blankets. B called 911 while I tried performing CPR (I do a lot of sport and knew how to from swimming), and he survived. D has since said that he doesn't blame me for what I said, and I have said sorry for it repeatedly, but B and C are both really mad at me. I don't know what to do. I was only acting out of pent-up emotion, and didn't mean for him to get hurt or hurt himself. He said that a lot of it was just because the bullying, and he was probably going to try committing suicide regardless of how I reacted to the apology, but I still feel like shit about everything I've done.

#aita #am i the asshole #suicide #suicide tw #tw suicide #unreality

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sissiarte · 1 year

Text

Okay maybe the venn diagram between tlt fans and pokemon fans has an intersection point, even if it's small. But I'm sure it exists.

Now the venn diagram between tlt fans who like (or at least find interesting) Jod and company, and the pokemon fans who like pokemon x and y, that's probably two diferent circles.

But just in case there's someone like that other than me I bring to their attention a realization I had the other day when I learnt that in english Proffessor Sycamore has a name. He is called Augustine of all names and I went WHAT wait,,, wAIT

(This probs is going to be a long nonsensical ramble so I'll put it under the cut, there'll be a summary at the end) (Also spoilers for both tlt and pokemon x and y I guess)

So I started conecting dots like haha pokemon x y au where Augustine is,,, well Augustine (Sycamore). Who would John be then who could be Augustine (Sycamore) best friend/ weird whatever they have going on and is also a bad guy or something. WHO I WONDER

Lysandre!!!!!!!! Like I'm looking at this guy's quotes and like bitch!!!!!

"I want to be the kind of person who gives... But in this world, some foolish humans exist who would show their strength by taking what isn't theirs." "They're filth!"

"I tried to save people--and the world--with the profit from this lab. But my efforts had no effect... The world was just too vast...and too full of fools that I couldn't save through my hard work alone..."

HELLO???????

Like obviously they're not the same same, Lysandre is way less complicated bc of the genre of the media and stuff but like. Basically his story is that he wanted to help people with his pokemon but they were ungrateful so he decided to wipe everyone out but the people who were nice. So yeah.

Also this quote Professor Sycamore says about Lysandre

"But what I really wanted was for him to put his ego aside and lead everything to greater heights. I never had this discussion with him, though. So I'm partially responsible for this."

OH BOI YEAH OKAY HM YES I'M FINE AHA

I was like wow okay this kinda makes a lot of sense (and im not even including the stuff of pokemon masters ex). But we are missing Mercy here and that can't be. And okay this may be a bit of a reach but I inmediatly thought of Diantha.

The first time you see her she is talking with Lysandre about mortality and shit. And thinking about it Cytherea fits too with all the themes of beauty and stuff (Diantha is an actress and Lysandre asks her if she wishes she chould stay beautiful forever or something like that) But like her role in the story and stuff, she is friends with both Professor Sycamore and Lysandre, she is also the region champion which is very cool and like they are the three main adults in the game intertwined with the main plot. (Althoug Diantha way less, and she isn't even in the pokemon masters ex storyline I mentioned before which is very sad)

However Diantha is way nicer than Mercy, she is very kind and polite with everyone which Mercy is... not fhdkadf. But she fits still I think.

Also this quote in which she mentions Augustine (Sycamore) that makes me soft bc she calls him dear.

"Then that means that you are also the one that dear Augustine said..."

Also the ship between Professor Sycamore and Lysandre is called perfectworldshipping (pokemon ship names are like that for some godforsaken reason and I hate it but in this case it fits my whatever this is)

TO SUM UP:

- Lysandre= John

- Augustine Sycamore= Augustine

- Diantha= Mercymorn

and I have many feelings about this

Thanks for coming to my ted talk now if you'll excuse me I'm going to look for my copy of pokemon y

#tlt spoilers #pokemon xy #mercymorn the first #john gaius #augustine quinque #champion diantha #lysandre #augustine sycamore #perfectworldshipping #i dont even know what this is #sissi rambles #hope someone out there understands this #the struggle I had with the names bc they are different in spanish i swear

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scorbleeo · 10 months

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Book Review: Empire of Storms

Throne of Glass (Book 5) by Sarah J. Maas

Source: Google Images

The long path to the throne has only just begun for Aelin Galathynius as war looms on the horizon. Loyalties have been broken and bought, friends have been lost and gained, and those who possess magic find themselves at odds with those who don't.

With her heart sworn to the warrior-prince by her side, and her fealty pledged to the people she is determined to save, Aelin will delve into the depths of her power to protect those she loves. But as monsters emerge from the horrors of the past, and dark forces become poised to claim her world, the only chance for salvation will lie in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear.

ISBN: 9781619636095 (2017) | Source: Goodreads

This was a Good One

Books in the Throne of Glass series have (so far) been hits or misses. I still ultimately enjoyed the ones I had read up till this instalment, but some really got on my nerves. I might have read Queen of Shadows at the start of 2023 but I remembered having so much complains for it, I gave 3 stars but it was definitely ranked one of my least favourites. I think that was why it took six months for me to finally pick up Empire of Storms. I was afraid of disappointment so I went into it with no expectations, or more like no expectations because I just forgot everything (I believe I blocked them from my kinda bad experience with the previous book). However, my expectations started building the more I read Empire of Storms. This is not perfection but it was more hit than miss. I like this book so much, I am ready to get into the next one but slight problem, Chaol's like my least favourite main character... Anyhow, let's discuss this book instead of one I have not read yet.

One thing I absolutely love about Maas's writing style is how fast paced her books usually are. Sometimes, her books start out slow in the beginning but I never fear that because I know the pace will pick up soon after that. And when I say her books are fast paced, she writes some of the most fast paced books I have ever come across, sometimes it's so fast, I have to pause reading to calm down. As for Empire of Storms, this book just starts immediately, there was nothing chill at all right from the beginning. Personally, I think this book could have been a few chapters shorter (only because those chapters were a little boring) but yeah, the events in Empire of Storms just hit you wave after wave, after wave.

In terms of plot development, one of the best in this series. Apart from Aelin's bad habit of keeping practically everything crucial until the last specific second, there were a ton of story building. Lots of things happening but very informative as well. Also, because I read The Assassin's Blade shortly after finishing Throne of Glass, this book was such a pleasure. I mean, Rolfe and the Silent Assassins were sweet but I love Ansel and her appearance in this book was chef's kiss.

You know what, among the long list of main characters involved with Aelin's court, Aelin was pretty much the most boring character to read in Empire of Storms. I loved Dorian's character development, I just wished we were given scenes of how Rowan trained Dorian. That being said, I ate up any Dorian and Rowan scene together. This was one pairing I never thought could bring me so much enjoyment to read. As for Manon, well, loved her as a "villain" but also love how she is now. I just thought Maas did not give her best when writing Manon's arc, a little messy and lazy. It's the same with Aedion and/or Lysandra's pages. Maas spent more effort writing Aelin and Rowan but they turned out the most boring in this book. I wanted to read more of Aelin and Lysandra interacting. I wanted to read more of Aedion because I got his anger but I could not be angry with him since I wasn't given much to empathise with him when he's frustrated.

However, that being said, I think Maas really loved writing Elide and Lorcan, be it individually or together. Their chapters (or scenes) were so entertaining. I also much preferred their action scenes over Aelin's action scenes. One reason I flew through this thick book so quickly was because of Elide and Lorcan, they have so little chapters and I was rapidly turning pages just to get a sliver of them.

Really, the only problem I had with Empire of Storms was Aelin. I think for now, I much prefer reading the books when she was Celaena Sardothien. As Aelin, the arrogance and sarcasm just did not hit the same. The confidence too, as Aelin, the way it was written felt so much more like luck and complacency. Additionally, the action scenes. Oh my god, the lack of action in Aelin's fight scenes was so irritating. I don't want to constantly read about Aelin showcasing her flame, I want to read about her showcasing the skills she got as Celaena. Yes, magic is good but what happened to Aelin's physical weapons and her fighting abilities?

When I was going through Aelin's chapters in the first half of Empire of Storms, I was so bored, it was beginning to annoy me. I did not appreciate any romantic scenes between Aelin and Rowan as well. It was not enticing to read. Fortunately, at the end of the book, I saw Celaena Sardothien again. The way she was patient and forgiving to Elena in the mirror. And that ending – not what she had preparations for – but the bumping into Manon, the sacrifice for Elide, her quick cunning and stubborn mind. That is the Celaena Sardothien I read about and loved in the first few books. So, I will take it, I will forgive Aelin (and Maas) because of what and how it enfolded at the end of Empire of Storms.

Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.5/5)

P.S.: I love a good dramatic entrance or revelation but I think it was done too much here...

#book review #empire of storms #throne of glass #sarah j maas #aelin ashryver galathynius #aelin galathynius #rowan whitethorn #manon blackbeak #dorian havilliard #lysandra #aedion ashryver #elide lochan #lorcan salvaterre #ansel of briarcliff

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fumikomiyasaki · 11 months

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[ 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐊 ] ― sender recognises receiver at a masquerade party

For Ellis and fennec and Carol and Fabian!

Maybe something for the Victorian au!

The Five Senses

As usual the Miladies of the Verdeville house were invited to one of the most luxurious parties in town... many Bachelors waiting to have a chance to dance with Milady Ellis and Miss Carol on the Mask ball... every mask was different, every dress as carefully crafted as possible... as Ellis already noticed Carol being surrounded by many suitors who chatted her up, she broke away to seek the dance floor, yet she hoped eventually one nobleman would ask her for a dance... she saw the different duos and began swooning as she noticed someone holding out his hand to her... his statue was small, the hat covered a lot of his hair yet something seemed familiar.

"May I ask for this dance?"

She recognized his voice too. Who could he be.

"I would gladly lend you my hand to dance. "

A slight giggle escaped her as she placed her hand in his... he seemed not that professional but made well to adapt his movement with hers... sway around with her... despite his short height he still put enough effort to be a good lead, yet looking into his eyes she gasped suddenly.

"Fennec... is that you... I can't believe it... you look so fancy."

"You remember the costume maker in the opera.... he said you only have your ball of your dreams once in your life... I may not be a good nobleman but."

She shook her hand and looked at him smiling brightly.

"I love you made the effort just to dance with me, you could have gone in trouble with your original work."

He nodded a bit shyly as they continued their dance a little.

"Listen Ellis I..."

"My dear gentleman, may I have a dance with this Lady as well."

As Fennec got interupted by another person who wanted to change partners he was grumpy but then sighed and let Ellis hand go.

"You can tell me what you wanna say later, thanks for dancing with me."

As she left he walked off looking outside the Balcony.

"This isn't just something I can say."

While Ellis had her dance... Carol was still a bit overwhelmed by so many people who wanted to ask her for a dance first, saying she needed a break and settling to the side, watching the scene... yet one person didn't listen... one Well known Nobleman she knew for a While.

"Mister Innochi, didn't I tell you I am not interest."

"Madam Verdeville, I am just here to make humble offering."

He put a fancy bracelet on her arm... eyes as striking as usual trying to get what was going on with her.

"I would also fancy if you were to join me in a dan-"

"No thank you... and you could keep your gifts, they are wasted on me..."

"Is this still about the trade?"

"Yes it is... my father almost got in danger cause of your family."

He bowed and took off his head.

"I hope maybe one day you will forgive me."

As he left however another masked figure apporached her... a dashing suit and a smile on his face.

"Miss Verdeville, may I?"

"Its you right?"

Her face crept up a light blush as he pulled her by her hips closer.

"I don't know what you are talking about, but I sure came to steal something away."

"As usual it seems..." She sighs as she followed him to the dancefloor.

"Sometimes I did wish you came for me..."

"And risk all those suitors dragging me into a fight? No way? Althought technically I do come for what makes you beautiful."

She grew a bit redder as she felt a faint touch on her hand just for her to get off the bracelet herself.

"Take it, but at least stay a little long for this dance, thats all I can ask."

"As you wish, Milady."

She enjoyed the close feeling... the chats they had, even if they drawn a lot of eyes of the room on them... so after wards she agreed quick to help him get out as unseen as possible, as she went to the balcony with him and he was about to leave she still hesitated.

"Whats the matter? Missing me already?"

"I am just intrigued is all... I rather prefer you take these slimey jewelry of me and use if for what you said you would than me keeping it an letting it collect dust."

"I take that as an invitation to the next party then."

"If you grant me another dance again, then yes."

Both gave another a smile before he left of the balcony... her sighing as he walked off.

"Why did I have to fall for someone like this?..."

#twisted wonderland oc #twst oc #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland ocs #twst #disney twst #twst ocs #twistedwonderland #twistedwonderlandoc #carol ann #fennec x ellis #fennec grandwell #victorian au

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missnight0wl · 2 years

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Alright, let’s talk about Eddie Munson.

I know that quite a lot of people don’t like that Stranger Things once again killed a new lovable character instead of someone from the main cast. That’s a fair complaint, and I get it. Personally though, I’m not too bothered by that. I mean, first of all, I have to say that I wish we could get rid of the mentality that “a good show HAS TO have meaningful deaths”. No, fuck that. I don’t need people I care about die to feel that the stakes are real. But even if you insist that we need deaths, I’d actually be fine with Eddie dying – if it made sense. I’d still be devastated, but I’d accept it. The problem is that Eddie’s death had no sense or purpose.

Eddie’s death was basically built on this idea that he was always running away, but now – he finally didn’t. Right? Cool. Too bad it’s bullshit. Because the main moment when he run away was after Chrissy’s death. Then, he was running from the police. But like… Both these situations were totally justifiable. Do you really want to tell me that Eddie needed to redeem himself for running away after Chrissy levitated, her limbs were broken in all directions, and she bled out of her eyes? Are you seriously telling me that I’m supposed to hold it against Eddie? Or that he was running from the police when he didn’t understand what’s happening and had no means to defend himself?

If the writers wanted to work on the idea that Eddie tends to run away from his problems, they should’ve put more effort into showing it earlier. For example, maybe Eddie could see Chrissy being harassed by someone in the first episode. He didn’t stop it because Jason was nearby or something, so he assumed that someone else would help her. And so, he walked (run) away. Then, it’d make some sense if he said later: “I didn’t run away this time”.

There was nothing Eddie could’ve done to help Chrissy. Nobody knew about the favourite song solution back then. And even if Eddie knew about it, it’s unlikely he knew Chrissy’s song or had access to it in his trailer.

Also, I’m not saying that the distraction part of the plan in Volume 2 was stupid, but… it was pretty damn stupid. Don’t get me wrong, Eddie’s concert was epic as fuck, but still. I mean, the thing is that demobats were first attracted by the sound, right? They weren’t like: “Dude, I can see from here that Eddie Munson is absolutely killing it! We have to see it up close!”. So, here’s a crazy idea: use a fucking recording. And don’t even try to tell me that they weren’t able to make a recording loud enough. Even if so, then make the concert shorter and switch to the recording when the demobats are close enough to hear it but not to see Eddie and Dustin. Then, put another loud recording in another trailer to mislead demobats. Use remote-controlled cars to mislead them with some movement outside. Attach something bigger to the car to draw their attention! Seriously! I know they didn’t have much time overall, but they really could’ve invested better in what they had.

And speaking of time. Eddie said that he’s “buying more time”. But… was he, really? Because I hate to say it, but it didn’t feel that way. Seriously, it seems like the main problem was about getting demobats away just so Nancy, Steve, and Robin could go inside the house. The way I see it, demobats could come back once the crew was inside because demobats wouldn’t know they’re inside. Because they didn’t see them walking in. Am I wrong here? Am I missing something? I suppose demobats could be alarmed when the crew was attacked by the vines. But at the same time, I actually don’t think they would be because they didn’t stop attacking Eddie. I mean, shouldn’t protecting Vecna at the house be their priority in this situation?

You know, I even wondered if one of the reasons for killing Eddie wasn’t that they didn’t know how to get him out of the accusation of murder. However, I quickly realised that the solution for it was pretty easy: use that fucker, Jason. Jason ended up being a huge waste of time. His only purpose was to be a pain in the ass. And I get it: sometimes, you need a character who’s simply just that. In fact, I quite liked the duality of the real-life threat versus the Upside Down threat. Still, Jason could’ve been a pain in the ass with a purpose. And the worst thing is that it was all there. He was a suspect after Chrissy’s death (very understandably, if I might add), but then… we just forgot about it? Frankly, I really don’t get it because when they found Jason with dead Patrick, I was like: “Oh dude, you’re in trouble now…”. And you can’t tell me that it didn’t look like Jason was guilty. But nope! Nobody even considers that Jason tries to frame Eddie! They think he’s crazy, sure, but that’s it. And I’m like… so confused by that.

Here, this is what the final version of the events should be like:

Chrissy had problems at home, we possibly have the school counsellor to support this claim. She wasn’t dealing with it well, so she decided to buy some drugs from Eddie. Jason caught them, and unfortunately for Chrissy, it didn’t suit his idea of a perfect couple. Maybe he even thought that she has an affair with Eddie. Jason kills Chrissy and tries to frame Eddie. Eddie runs away because he has nothing to prove his innocence. In the meantime, Nancy and Fred are investigating the case. Fred finds something, and he follows the lead. That’s why Nancy couldn’t find him. Fred learns the truth about Jason, but Jason kills him as well. Later on, Lucas learns that Jason is trying to frame his friends, so he “betrays” him. Unfortunately, it means that Lucas is on Jason’s black list now. Then, Jason spontaneously kills Patrick, hoping that he’ll catch Eddie and blame him once again. Eddie runs away though, so Jason comes up with the whole story about Satan and whatnot. Finally, Jason tracks down Lucas who happens to be with Max at the time, and he tries to kill her before killing Lucas. Luckily, he’s stopped by the earthquake.

DO YOU SEE HOW IT’S ALL THERE ALREADY?? THEY WOULDN’T EVEN HAVE TO LIE MUCH!

I know there’s not much evidence against Jason, but there’s nothing against Eddie either. And I’m sure that not everyone in the town would believe that Eddie is innocent, he’d probably still be hated and whatnot, especially since Jason’s body is conveniently missing. But you know what? I don’t care! It’s better than unnecessary death!

Honestly, I don’t understand how it went so wrong.

And don’t get me even started on the fact that Dustin seems to be the only one affected by Eddie’s death at all…

#long post #stranger things #stranger things spoilers #eddie munson #marta rambles

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writingonesdreams · 2 years

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Charming, passion and power for Zephyr 💨🍃

Summary: In last snippets Zephyr has been missing, cause he's been away, visiting his parents. Zephyr's older brother Zoltan has also called him regarding a certain troublesome student.

Author's note: I actually have lots of really cool Tiny Scene prompts in my inbox just waiting for the right moments to be used. I love this format, so about time I get to them all. Thank you for sending this!

The Perfect brother

How can you know me so well and still hate me so much?

Zephyr couldn't remember when this started. He put special effort into making others feel good around him. Charming without seemingly wanting to, it was all about reading the little subtleties in people and figuring them out. What they cared about, what the feared and how to appeal to them, so they would feel satisfied and even look forward to meet him again.

When and how he failed to do this with his own older brother, he didn't know. It was disconcerting.

It was hardly a year since he had left the family dojo. Looking back at the small but cosy house, and the long rectangual building with the training hall inside it made him feel melancholic. Years spend on the matts, getting the sweaty air out through the wide windows leading to the plain grassy garden, just comfortable enough for sparring matches in late summer afternoons. The rhythmical noises of impact, the focused energy of everyone united in their motions as they repeated after his father or later after him. The familiarity brought him comfort.

He had always pictured himself here. Never thought he could find something better to give it up.

Zoltan wore the training kimono, snow white with the black belt with yellow stripes. There was sweat on his brow, though his breathing was steady. This afternoon's lessons must have been his. Looking casual and disrupted, like he didn't know Zephyr was coming, like he didn't call him here. Like it was no big deal, his younger brother, now positioned on the legendary Flying Islands and working on opening an academy of his own, came for a visit a place that should have been his.

Was it why he hated Zephyr? Because for all this time, everyone thought it would be Zephyr following in their father's footsteps, taking over the dojo? And now Zoltan was in charge, in the place he should have been capable of having, but that Zephyr left behind for him instead. Not that both of the brothers couldn't have led the training, couldn't have shared and spread the family tradition.

For all his own training and skill in gauging people, Zephyr could not tell from Zoltan's schooled icy expression. All he could catch were the occasional flashes of disdain, the slight curl of his lip, suggesting discomfort and annoyance. His manner was perfectly polite though, friendly, tone even as they exchanged regular niceties and greetings.

It was all a mask, which Zephyr wouldn't have minded. His family was full of masks, full of daily extortion to seem better than they actually were. What irked him was the not so passionate effort to keep it smooth and undetectable.

The mask was slipping.

Not enough to be called upon, but enough to show Zoltan didn't much care if Zephyr saw it or not.

Was it a show of power? To make him realize he didn't belong here anymore? That whatever business there was, however interesting and distinguished it may seemed, Zoltan wouldn't be impressed?

Well, Zephyr shouldn't have to impress him. He wished he didn't want to either.

The conversation died out. They stood in not so comfortable silence for a while. But Zephyr was of the patient sort, and it was Zoltan who had called him here. So he must have needed something.

"There is someone you might be interested in meeting," Zoltan said, finally, looking somewhere over Zephyr's shoulder. Forced it through his lips like a foul mushroom.

"Oh?"

"Found him a few weeks ago. Started a fight with some of my students. Didn't want to bring him to police. His soulfire is... advanced. In slightly wrong direction."

Indeed, Zephyr found himself interested immediately. "How old?"

"Around 18."

That was quite old to be untaught. Soulfire was a difficult magic to master and the training started around 6. They sometimes accepted students in their later teens, if they trained somewhere else before. Habits were hard to unlearn, and wrong habits were dangerous, to the user and to people around him.

"Who taught him?" Other dojos around the area were rarely at such a good level they could teach them right. Not if they wanted to keep practicing the magic all life.

"No official training, apparently."

Oh. Now that was a rare difficulty. So old and without training? The boy could have exploded by now. Or someone else. Not even cells could hold an advanced soulfire mage. Maybe that's why he wasn't arrested till now.

"Supervision?"

"Boy's on his own. Run from a boarding school it seems."

"You tested him?"

Zoltan curled lip became more pronounced as he glared. Meaning yes, Zoltan tested him and he didn't like the odds of beating any good habits into him.

Badly taught powerful students were bad news. Could not hold their tempers, endangered the students and their understanding of the magic and there was hardly time to give solo lessons to them. Not on the level they needed and not in a way they would accept.

On the verge as adulthood as well. Authorities tended to look the other way with youth, for there was nothing to be done with them. The government wanted to keep the impression all the magic was under control, permitted only for a reason, to trusted parents, with responsibility. So there was nothing official to do with troublesome magical youth, becoming the problem of those who caught them. But after 18 things changed. An adult not in control of his magic would not be imprisoned, he would spend his life in a sanatorium, a future of drugged haze, for his own good . That was a fate Zephyr’s family wouldn’t wish on anyone.

They usually didn’t let things get far if they could help it. Kids would get training, if they decided for magic for life and they would be strongly discouraged from it if they did not.

18 was an unprecedented bad case.

So Zoltan did trust him. With an impossible task, between choosing his pride and the good of the kid, he would rather ask the brother he hated for help. Reassuring. Satisfying. Zephyr pressed those unwanted emotions down and straightened as he made his decision.

„Would you care to introduce us?“

#writeblr #writeblr community #writers on tumblr #creative writing #my writing #original writing #wip: tears of iron #tiny scene sunday

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munku-collar · 2 years

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May 8th(Zach’s last Tugger) Show positivies!!!! And negatives, because there weren’t many this night! This one is long af lmfao

This being Zach’s last show definitely added something incredibly special to this performance. I’m not really a tugger stan or anything but it was very emotional nonetheless to see him up there and know he was doing it all for the last time, and of course, he did it wonderfully.

This being my second show, I put to bed my previous expectations and worked with what this production had to offer, and it made it more enjoyable. However you could TELL it was Zach’s last show, because everyone put in more effort. The issues I had with the singing went away because everyone went more classical. The dancing was on point, a lot crisper, and I think the band played a little louder than the night before.

My seats were perfect for this show. I was dead center second row, and let me tell you it really fucking hits different from that spot. The 5th row right orchestra wasn’t horrible, it was really great sitting there, but THESE seats changed the game entirely. Everything feels so much more real. It feels like they’re there FOR YOU. I mentioned that I got so many bits of eye contact or little interactions during this show, and I think me being in costume boosted their enthusiasm a little bit too. Because I definitely smiled like a dumbass most of the show or did tiny versions of the familiar choreo bits in my seat. I cried a lot more during this show, and it’s probably a combination of reasons spanning from the view I had to knowing that I’d have to go home after this and not get to see it again and everything in between.

Night 2 nickustrap my beloved,,, that’s a tom I recognize. that’s Almost my husband!! And this time I actually got to see munk and deme cuddling during the ball! I couldn’t see it the first show, but here I got to watch and that was very 😭😭😭 god i wish that were me. He held the note on “he sits in the sun” in Old Deut longer this night than the first night and god did I appreciate it. Let me revel in that!! and that 3 mins of eye contact MWAH that was real nice. i got the briefest smile during that too. love to see it. im love you. I already said the singing this show was mwah but let me tell you I got chills so many times this night.

Chelsea’s solo during Macavity had me shaking in my gay boots I wish I could replay it over and over. John’s Gus is SO SO SO good he’s really the MVP of the show. His voice is so powerful!! You can really see what experience does for a person. I cried through most of theatre cat this time lol. Tayler really took her time singing Memory too. The build up to the climax was sensational, and from where I was sitting it was the perfect view. I literally had her standing above me with the moon right behind her for that. Unforgettable. Just thinking about it makes me start tearing up again. It really feels like you’re watching the movie when you sit there. And sometimes it feels like you’re part of it. For the Ad-dressing of Cats especially. You have to look up at Deut and so even though you’re not on the stage it still feels like you’re there. That hit so fucking hard, and extra because I was in costume ofc. Like I def had my jellicle moment. Now that it’s all over I’m VERY emotionally damaged lmfao I miss my tribe!!!

I mentioned that everyone loved my costume, so let’s talk about the wonderful couple that sat next to me who especially loved it.

I ADORED that lady she was so friendly and kind, and her husband was too. She said she’d seen the show on Bway in the 80s and hadn’t seen it for a long time. She never quite understood Cats but she loved it anyway. During intermission she looked at me and asked “So what IS a jellicle cat?” and I chatted a bit about it and I also explained the story to the people sitting behind us lol. I got to give a few facts about the show and the whole process and she was so happy to listen and learn more about it. She was having such a good time. She started crying during Memory and didn’t stop, and right after Griz was taken to the Heaviside layer she looked over at me with these big sad eyes and was like “I can’t stop (crying)” and I was like “I know <3″ so getting so sit next to someone and watching the show impact them as much as it does me was really special. After it was over she said she was glad she sat next to me and that was <3<3<3

I really got a lot more hype during this show because I was less tired on top of all the extra hubub about this show in particular. If it were up to me I would’ve cheered literally like every 2 minutes whenever something happened but I held it in lmfao. I started getting so frenzied during Misto’s number lmfao. The light tricks in that are fucking insane. I’m a lighting stan. Lighting team MVP. Also this time around I could focus on different bits or keep an eye out for something I wanted to see again. Vinny’s Alonzo is mwah mwah I got to look at him a lot more this time and he’s so fucking cute I just wanna dksjbgksjbdgsdg bro made me feral lmfao. Sean’s Tumble is amazing his acting is effortless and endearing which is so impressive given his anxiety struggles. And god those flips. Thank god I was there though because if I didn’t cheer every time someone did an insane acrobatic move nobody else would have cheered. I led at least 4 full crowd responses throughout the two shows I saw. LIKE COME ON PEOPLE SHOW SOME ENTHUSIASM 🗣🗣🗣 But whatever the cast knows I had a good time lmfao and I hope I made it at least a little enjoyable for them.

As far as negatives, it was really just the same minor disappointments as the night before: character choices(?) and production differences that I simply don’t agree with. I do have to talk shit about the audience again though. Act 1 it was fucking SILENT most of the time. On the 7th there were at least two hype men alongside me that filled the silence, but this time it was really just me, and that ofc made my courage falter a little, so there were bits where I wanted to cheer but was afraid to. The Jellicle Ball basically got golf claps FFS. LIKE HELLO????!!! How do you see that and not lose your mind?? I literally messaged zach during intermission like “im so sorry bro im trying” lol and he said it was okay. Act 2 it felt like everyone got a cup of coffee for something because it slowly built up as the act progressed, and by the end there were people doing whistles and proper cheers. Still could have been way more, I would kill for an audience that goes ballistic, but definitely better than Act 1 lmfao. So yeah. Fuck you boring NYers! You disappoint me at home and you disappoint me in the theatre. But overall they didn’t impede my enjoyment or the value of this experience.

I’ll talk about my favorite character performances in another post, because there’s a lot to say about that, but I can’t finish this post without talking about Zach ofc.

Zach gave his all of course. I cheered as much as I could without getting smacked by others during RTT but luckily there was a little girl who was a major tugger stan sitting in the front so there were at least two of us who fed him 😅 I wondered if he would start crying at any point, and he did. And he fucking did it at THE worst(best) time: the soft bit towards the end of Mr. Mistoffelees. He literally took a second to choke back a sob, and started singing, and that was it for me lmfao I was like U FUCKERRRRR like that hurt lmfao. He cried pretty much from there til the end of the show, though he hid it well. If i wasn’t sitting so far in the front, I probs wouldn’t have ended up recording the bows, but being so close to it and having chatted with everyone the night before already, it hit super hard, so I shoved my phone in my brother’s hands and said point it at the stage lol. There was a definitive difference between night 1 and night 2 for him and like I said it’s def because he knew this was his last one. He told me he’d love to come back as Tugger one day. I’m sure nobody would complain about that.

It was very bittersweet having this be my last time to see the show and also it being his last time to be IN the show. Like we both had to say goodbye to the Junkyard at the same time! There don’t seem to be any future tour locations in NY so I don’t know the next time I’ll get to sit in a Cats audience. And that hurts really really bad. The second I walked away from stage door after this show and my brother and I were alone again, I started sobbing, and I didn’t stop until I was back in my hotel room and my makeup and costume were completely off. There are tearstains from my facepaint on my unitard right now lol.

This was really such a magical experience and I’m so thankful for it. But damn lmao what do I do now? The answer is go back to watching 98 every day like I did when I first discovered it 2 years ago and choose to continue to live in the magic. This has been a real journey for me and I can’t even put into words how profoundly Cats has affected me and continues to do so. I’ve got some Cats related pipe-dreams in the work that I’m seeing if I can make a reality and with any luck they’ll come to fruition. Either way I know I’ll look back on this day with fondness for years to come. It was really a dream. Core memory indeed.

#my shit #cats the musical #cats 1998 #cats us tour 6 #us tour 6 #the show #JH

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