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suzannahnatters · 8 months

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Let Your Knights Weep

One of the big things I've had to train myself out of when writing medieval historical fiction?

The stiff upper lip.

This used to really bewilder my editor, who for some time attempted to nudge me away from having my grown men weep and wail and blubber, but for me it's an essential part of the setting. Whether in grief or fear, medieval people did not hold things back.

Here are some of my favourite quotes to explain.

First, a couple from two great 20th century medievalists:

CS Lewis in his Letters put it this way:

“By the way, don't 'weep inwardly' and get a sore throat. If you must weep, weep: a good honest howl! I suspect we - and especially, my sex - don't cry enough now-a-days. Aeneas and Hector and Beowulf, Roland and Lancelot blubbered like schoolgirls, so why shouldn't we?”

Dorothy Sayers, in her fabulous Introduction to her translation of THE SONG OF ROLAND, speaking of Charlemagne discovering Roland's body on the battlefield:

Here too, I think we must not reckon it weakness in him that he is overcome by grief for Roland’s death, that he faints upon the body and has to be raised up by the barons and supported by them while he utters his lament. There are fashions in sensibility as in everything else. The idea that a strong man should react to great personal and national calamities by a slight compression of the lips and by silently throwing his cigarette into the fireplace is of very recent origin. By the standards of feudal epic, Charlemagne’s behaviour is perfectly correct. Fainting, weeping, and lamenting is what the situation calls for. The assembled knights and barons all decorously follow his example. They punctuate his lament with appropriate responses:

By hundred thousand the French for sorrow sigh; There’s none of them but utters grievous cries.

At the end of the next laisse:

He tears his beard that is so white of hue, Tears from his head his white hair by the roots; And of the French an hundred thousand swoon.

We may take this response as being ritual and poetic; grief, like everything else in the Epic, is displayed on the heroic scale. Though men of the eleventh century did, in fact, display their emotions much more openly than we do, there is no reason to suppose that they made a practice of fainting away in chorus. But the gesture had their approval; that was how they liked to think of people behaving. In every age, art holds up to us the standard pattern of exemplary conduct, and real life does its best to conform. From Charlemagne’s weeping and fainting we can draw no conclusions about his character except that the poet has represented him as a perfect model of the “man of feeling” in the taste of the period.

OK, now let's dig into some quotes that I found just in Christopher Tyerman's Chronicles of the First Crusade and Joinville's Life of St Louis:

Truly you would have grieved and sobbed in pity when the Turks killed any of our men....

As for the knights, they stood about in a great state of gloom, wringing their hands because they were so frightened and miserable, not knowing what to do with themselves and their armour, and offering to sell their shields, valuable breastplates and helmets for threepence or fivepence or any price they could get....

When Guy, who was a very honourable knight, had heard these lies, he and all the others began to weep and to make loud lamentation....

They stayed in the houses cowering, some some for hunger and some for fear of the Turks....

Now at vigils, the time of trust in God’s compassion, many gave up hope and hurriedly lowered themselves with ropes from the wall-tops; and in the city soldiers, returning from the encounter, circulated widely a rumour that mass decapitation of the defenders was in store. To add weight to the terror, they too fled…

In the course of that day’s battle there had been many people, and of fine appearance too, who had come very shamefully flying over the little bridge you know of and had fled away so panic-stricken that all our attempts to make them stay with us had been in vain. I could tell you some of their names, but shall refrain from doing so, because they are now dead.

I could go on looking for quotes in all the other medieval literature I've read, but that would be beyond the scope of this Tumblr post.

In the meantime, this leads me to make some comments on how trauma was perceived.

In Jonathan Riley-Smith's The First Crusade and the Idea of Crusading, the author discusses the mental breakdowns suffered by the first crusaders during the second siege of Antioch, which caused many of them to flee at the moment of direst need:

In these stressful circumstances it is not surprising that the crusaders were often very frightened. At times, indeed, they seem to have been almost paralysed by a terror that they themselves could hardly comprehend. … When the crusade was bottled up in Antioch by Kerbogha's relief force it was gripped by such blind panic that there was the prospect of a mass break-out and on the night of 10 or 11 Juney 1098 Bohemond and Adhemar had the gates of the city closed. It is worth noting that many of those whom later chroniclers, writing after the events in comparative comfort in Europe, vilified for cowardice and desertion seem to have been treated more charitably by their fellow-crusaders, who must have understood what pressures they had been under.

In conclusion: the way we feel about things today in the English-speaking isn't necessarily the way people felt about things in the past (and this goes for other cultures, real or imagined, too). I'm continually catching myself writing people with stiff upper lips and emotional reservations, and having to remind myself that the culture was different back them. If a grown man wanted to weep, he could. That's a good thing. (Oh, and my medieval historical fantasy? Check out the Watchers of Outremer series on Amazon or wherever books are sold!)

#history #writing #historical fiction #medieval history #medieval #middle ages #historical #masculinity #history of masculinity #toxic masculinity

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bunny-xoxo · 6 months

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Take It Slow

MINORS DNI

Yuuta Okkotsu x afab!reader

wc: 4.1k

warning(s): established relationship, friends to lovers implied, heavy petting, fingering, masturbation, oral (reader receiving), choking (reader receiving), instance of breath play as a result, slight corruption kink from Yuuta, inexperienced reader, a single instance of slightly mean Yuuta, reader’s chest anatomy is not referenced/described

a/n: first NSFW piece in a VERY long time, was picked from the poll so here you go! hope you all enjoy :)! Also jus wanna say there is NOTHING weird or wrong about being a virgin at any age just so you guys know <33 🫶 also in case it needs to be said, this is an unrealistic portrayal of participating in kink for the first time! Boundaries and safety should be discussed at length before these things, but this is fiction so just wanted to make that clear 😭🤍 anyways enjoy <3

“Yuuta, stop! I don’t wanna talk about it!” You whined and buried your face further into his chest hoping to spare yourself of the embarrassment from the conversation you’re sure the two of you are about to have.

“Sweetheart, I’m your boyfriend, you knew it was gonna come up sooner or later. Besides, you’re literally the one who started the conversation! There’s no way you’re getting out of it now.” He let out a few boyish chuckles as he tried to pry your face away from him and out of the covers, just to see you pressing your lips together and closing your eyes in protest.

Sure, did you figure at some point the fact you haven’t gone farther than holding hands and sharing a few quick pecks was gonna be brought up? Probably. Especially after 4 whole months of being in a relationship? Maybe. Did you think it’d be right now? No! But is it your fault? Unfortunately, yes.

You’d known Yuuta long before the two of you started dating, having been apart of his friend group since freshman year of high school, and you’ve always had a secret crush on your friend. He was kind, never failed to make you smile, charmingly awkward (so charming you almost thought he faked it), & all things endearing. It wasn’t until a few months ago, now in your fourth and final year at University, that the two of you had confessed your feelings for the other. You had a bottle of tequila and Maki to thank for that.

And honestly, it couldn’t have been more perfect since. He was still sweeter than ever, a complete gentleman always, and even though it’d only been a couple months he’s never failed to make you constantly feel cared for and appreciated. There was only one problem: how were you supposed to tell him you’ve lied about every instance of you hooking up ever? And you haven’t even done so much as grind on someone, let alone fuck?

Maybe you could blame it on Yuuji, he’s the one who brought it up the first time anyways, innocently teasing you about how “you probably don’t even know how to give head”. He was 16, and all 16 year old boys are stupid as shit - besides Yuuta you suppose - so you’ll forgive him for it.

“Fuck you Yuuji, you’re just saying that cause you’re embarrassed you can’t last longer than 10 seconds inside a girl.”

“That literally happened once, and it was my first time! What, you’re telling me your first time was any better?”

It was just humiliating to think of looking at your friends, who definitely weren’t virgins anymore (besides Toge, maybe Toge, you never really trusted his whole story - but that’s beside the point), and tell them yeah no, I haven’t even seen a dick in person!

“No, he was ass, too.” You did your best to not draw attention to the way your palms were sweating profusely, fighting every instinct in you to wipe them off on the denim of your jeans.

“Yep, fits the bill.” Mai rolled her eyes at the thought of her own experience with a man, must’ve been pretty bad.

It’d make more sense to blame it on your age than Yuuji really, looking back it wouldn’t have been embarrassing for more than a couple weeks at most to have admitted you were a virgin when the matter was pressed. But that’s not what past you thought, and now it’s current you’s problem.

“I know, I know, but now I change my mind. I shouldn’t have said anything.” Your lips are pushed out and puckered slightly from the way Yuuta has your cheeks squished together - his best effort at making you smile right now.

He lets go of your cheeks to squeeze your shoulder gently, looking at your face for a moment before speaking softly.

“You know you can tell me anything, right? I’d never judge you for anything, make comments, nothing. Swear on it.” His voice dipped low with sincerity as he dramatically “crossed his heart and hoped to die”, it was a little goofy but that’s okay.

It was hard to speak while he was staring down at you like that, you knew he’d be nothing but gentle and kind, but the thought of actually talking about it made your stomach twist ‘n turn.

“Uh”, your voice trembled more than you’d like to admit and it did nothing to help your nerves, “I guess I asked what you’d do if I lied about not being a virgin cause, I’m, like, a virgin. Yeah.” You might’ve stumbled through your sentence, but you got there eventually.

His hand continued to rub circles on your skin as he spoke, “Well, I kind of figured that much when you first asked that, cause why else would you. Is that all you wanted to tell me though?”

Glancing up to meet his eyes, you were confused, visibly confused. Was that it? Was he really not gonna pester about why you lied, when you lied, or why you’re grown and still a virgin?

You squinted your eyes and hummed quietly, unreasonably suspicious of him - which he could clearly see.

Rolling his eyes playfully, he groaned out your name and pulled your face close to his so you couldn’t escape him even if you wanted to.

“Ya know, I was kind of talking about the first question you asked me. The one before you cut me off and changed the subject with the whole ‘I’m a virgin thing.’ I want to talk to you about that.”

You’re sure you were listening, it’s just that his face was so close to you that his breath was intermingling with yours, and you could practically taste the gum he was chewing while studying earlier. Not only that but his eyelashes were so pretty and doll like from this angle, looking up at him with his hands still on your cheeks. And his hands were so warm and soft - or was your face warm?

“Are you really ignoring me right now?” He wondered where your mind wandered to, cause clearly with the way you were looking at him with hearts in your eyes and invisible stars circling around your head - you couldn’t have been listening to him.

“Huh?”

Yeah, you definitely weren’t listening to him.

“Baby, are you okay with talking about what you asked me earlier? It’s okay if the answer is no.” His eyes were glued to your face as your own darted around the room.

You wanted to speak up but your throat was dry and your face was hot, and honestly it felt like your jaw was wired shut; a simple nod will have to do.

It felt like the room was getting smaller at the lack of a response from Yuuta until you felt him lean just a tad closer and gently press his lips to your cheek, “would you rather me show you how I take care of myself, or tell you?”

Oh.

Goosebumps rose along the back of your neck and down your arms at the soft volume of his voice in your ear and the way his breath fanned across your cheek.

“Both, please.” The tenor of your voice matched his as your hands fiddled nervously with the hem of your shirt, unsure what to with them while he moved to give you a kiss and sit up in front you.

The embarrassment of how you asked Yuuta how to give a hand job from earlier began to fade and be replaced with curiosity and eagerness at the sight of Yuuta reaching down to palm at himself.

It was still embarrassing, staring so shamelessly at his growing bulge in obvious intrigue and desire, but it was Yuuta, and Yuuta would never make you feel bad for having human urges and wanting him in this way.

Hesitantly, once he was ready, he tugged at the fabric of his pajama pants until he was fully exposed. He was happy you were so needy and awe struck at the sight of him, because your undivided attention to the way his cock sits in his hand is making him blush.

He spreads his legs just as much as the stretch of his bottoms let him while he dips forward to drip spit in the direction of his lap, his wrist catching the fabric of his shirt and exposing a tease of his lower stomach as he spreads the spit along the length of his cock. Leaning back into a more comfortable position, you take in the way he’s exposed himself to you, his stomach visibly clenching as he rubs his thumb along the slit at the tip of his cock.

It was firm in his hand, and you couldn’t help but squeeze your thighs together from where you sat watching at the vulgarity of it all. His loud and unashamed whimpering, his leaking and twitchy cock, and the way his eyes were never closed, always watching your face, when you would flick your own up to get a peek at his reactions.

You thought maybe he’d be a little more bashful, slow and careful with what he wanted to show you, but if anything, it seems like he’s been waiting for you to ask.

“You like watching me stroke my cock, hm baby?”

Your clit began to throb at the sudden recognition and reminder that you’re involved just as much as he is, as well as the sound of him speaking, and speaking directly at you.

“Answer me angel, even a nod’s okay. Wanna make sure my baby’s feeling good.” His voice was hoarse, but soft, and the sentiment did nothing more than increase your arousal and send butterflies rampant in your stomach.

Settling further into the situation, and gaining some confidence in return, you make your way over to him slowly as you nod your head.

“Want you to tell me, Yuuta.” Your voice is small, quiet.

“Tell you what, pretty?”

He’s got an air of fake innocence around him as he speaks but you couldn’t care less when you’re so close that you can hear his soft and barely audible panting, and smell the light scent of musk and sweat begin to gather along his clothed skin from his excitement and exertion. You’d give him anything he wants at this point, and you’re certain he knows it.

“Yuuta,”, you whine and move in his direction, hovering over his lap with his cock not quite close enough to press against your covered cunt as he strokes himself, “want you to tell me how it feels.”

The pair of you groan together at the lewdness of it all, both of you reveling in the freedom to finally explore your deep attraction for another, no longer embarrassed or fearful to admit or indulge in it.

“Fuck, feels so good baby. ‘M so hard with you watching me like this. You like knowing you’ve got me and my cock this needy without even touching me?” Whining at his response, you lean into him and sloppily place your lips on his, ignoring the urge to smack him on his chest as he chuckles a, “yeah?”, into your mouth at your eagerness.

You both kiss, messy and loud, as you reach and drag your hand down his torso, lightly drawing circles onto Yuuta’s exposed lower stomach with your fingertips.

A strained groan comes from him at the sensation, sighing into your mouth as he sits up to be impossibly closer to you. It was all too much.

He could feel the heat from your body as your thighs squeeze him from each side, hear the crude noises your pussy makes each time you adjust, and he could just imagine how needy your poor cunt would smell. Feeling his stomach tighten and his head get cloudy, he knew he was close, and he wanted you to watch.

“Fuck, you’re gonna make me come baby.” Yuuta’s lips were soft and slick with spit as he spoke against yours, while you felt a hand slide from the back of your neck up to the top of your head, turning you to face down and stare at the way his fist was feverishly tugging at his cock.

“Want my sweetheart to watch how hard they’re gonna make me come, how good they’re taking care of me and my cock.” His voice was strained and low, out of breath, and if you weren’t desperate to watch his cock get some release, you would have protested at the sudden lack of kissing.

“Please, need you to show me baby.” You whined and wrapped your hand around Yuuta’s wrist gently, moving in time with the way he was stroking himself.

Hearing your voice was all he needed to let himself go, throwing his head back and getting his sternum sticky with cum as it stained his t-shirt. His balls and cock twitched as he slowed down his movements, whining when he rubs the tip once more, not wanting it to be over. If it wasn’t for the way you were still hovering over his lap, he would’ve let himself stay like this for a while longer, catching his breath and resting his eyes.

But he could see how bad you needed him, your chest heaving and your body hot against his.

Pulling you into his chest, he speaks against your shoulder softly between gentle kisses, “Want me to take care of you too, baby?”

Your body jolts at the prospect, nerves riddling your muscles and your stomach, making you feel almost weak. The thought made you self-conscious just as much as it made you feel exhilarated, but you couldn’t deny the way your cunt was throbbing and hot. You needed him bad, and you could trust Yuuta. You always could.

Words were too hard, like they often were with him in intimate moments like this (the thought of your first date briefly crosses your mind), so you substitute a pleading “yes” for another messy, longing kiss.

“I got you angel,”, was all he said before you were leaned back on the pillows, Yuuta hovering above you with soft wisps of his hair tickling the sides of your face.

You knew you could trust Yuuta, he always knows what his baby needs.

Delicate fingers graze across your side until they reach the waist band of your bottoms, running back and forth along the top as Yuuta chuckles softly at the way your stomach twitches, waiting for a sign of permission.

A warm hand tugging Yuuta’s in the direction of your heat is all he needs before sliding his hand between your thighs to rub heavy and slow circles onto your clit beneath your shorts.

“Oh, god.” You breathe out and close your eyes, letting him take his time in making you feel good.

Your hole ached every time he dipped a finger down to tease your entrance, gathering more of your arousal to rub into your puffy clit. He was such a tease even when he didn’t mean to be, couldn’t he tell you needed him inside? Can’t he imagine how empty your poor hole feels? Doesn’t he know how often you’ve fucked yourself with your fingers or favorite toy, imagining it’s really him inside instead?

“Yuuta.”

The desperate call of his name makes his stomach flip, eyes quickly searching across your face for a sign of discomfort, “‘M here baby, what do you need?”

Sitting up slowly, your face stops inches from his as you shimmy your way out of your bottoms. Laying back down, you open your legs wide and spread your pussy for Yuuta to see, another hand rubbing at your clit slowly.

“‘S too empty, baby.” You fight back the hot wave of embarrassment that floods your body at your crudeness and use all your will power to stay still, cunt on full display, as you watch Yuuta’s breath quicken and his hand snake down to tug at his cock again despite the slight sensitivity he’s still feeling.

He doesn’t give you much time to linger on your sheepishness before you’re tugged further down the bed by the grip he takes on both of your thighs, his tongue impatiently shoved into your mouth with a loud whimper. You both stay like this a little while longer than you would have liked, his tongue running along the inside of your mouth before he has yours between his lips, switching between sucking on it loudly and licking at the saliva that drips down onto your chin.

God, he was so dirty.

Unable to beg for more, you attempt to wrap your legs up and around his midsection, hoping he’ll catch the hint, but instead you’re stopped by a firm placement of his hand on your inner thigh.

“‘Scuse me, beautiful.” His voice is hoarser than before as he speaks softly against your neck, leaving hasty kisses on any exposed skin while scooting down the bed, landing with his face between your legs.

You could have cried when you felt his tongue poke and prod at your hole, pushing in and moaning loudly before licking long and slow up to your clit. His tongue flicks back and forth as he keeps your lips spread with one hand, deciding to then take his time licking and dragging his tongue between every fold before coming back to suck on your clit.

A strangled groan vibrates deep within your chest as you tug on his hair to bring him impossibly closer to your cunt, as if he needed to devour you whole, while you no longer fought the way your hips were grinding down and writhing beneath Yuuta’s grip. It’s not until you finally feel a finger push inside, slender and slow, that you begin to incoherently beg and whine for more.

It doesn’t take many half-spoken pleas for him to get the idea you need more.

“Ah, Yuuta!” You whimper and internally battle between trying to squirm away and press yourself even further into his mouth, overwhelmed by the pleasure of his two fingers inside pumping in and out of you with his mouth nipping and sucking at your clit.

He sits up, kneeling between you to watch the way you take what he’s giving you.

“Yeah?”, his voice is uncharacteristically cocky and out of breath, “Feels good, baby?”

He was going to be the death of you.

If it wasn’t for the way Yuuta was placed between your thighs, your efforts to clamp them shut would be working. It was all too much, but so fucking good.

“Ah- fuck, oh, oh my god - Yuuta please make me come. Wanna come so bad!” You arch your back and attempt to sit up to reach him, needing him closer, but a hand on your chest pushes you back down and slides up until it rests wrapped around your throat.

“Mmm, I’ll give it to you baby, just want you stay right there. Wanna see what you look like when I make you finish for the first time.” His hand wasn’t holding tight, it was merely keeping you in your spot beneath him, but you wanted him to grab you tighter.

With a shaky hand, you reached to hold onto his wrist like your life depended on it,

“Please choke me.”

His fingers stopped curling into you for maybe a second before he continued, his mouth parting slightly as a gentle moan fell from his lips.

Did you really just ask him that?

You closed your eyes in bliss when he squeezed gently, instinctually doing your best to grind down onto his hand, but it wasn’t enough.

“T-tighter, please.”

It took everything in you to open your eyes and see his reaction, a slight amount of shame building up in your stomach for requesting something that felt so dirty - but all embarrassment fizzled out where it sat when you saw the way he was staring down at you.

Nothing was said as he squeezed you tighter and tighter until you let out a choked moan, your eyes rolling to the back of your head.

“Tap me twice if it’s too much.” You’re not sure when he leaned down to speak lowly to you, but his breath fanning across the side of your neck and face sends chills down your body.

You’re so lost in the pleasure of it all you can only nod when he takes your hand to show you exactly how he wants you to tap against his wrist if you can’t take it anymore.

He sits back up and smiles to himself as he takes you in. You look so.. so.. so pathetic like this. And what, all because he’s got two of his fingers fucking your pussy? Cause he’s the first person to ever make you feel this way?

The latter thought makes his dick twitch and pick up the pace of his fingers until even you can register the crude squelching coming from between your thighs. Thankfully for you, you’re too full of bliss to care - fuck you were so close, and he knows it, too.

Your eyes shoot open when his grip is tightened even more, making it so you can only take in shallow and shaky breaths.

“Gonna have to come around my fingers if you want me to loosen up.” It wasn’t a question of how much you could take, it was a matter of how far you wanted him to go to make you see stars. And apparently this was it with the way he could feel you clench around him at his words, your thighs starting to thrash and shake.

“Fuck, you’re so dirty. My dirty little cunt, huh?” His voice was so misleadingly soft. His register was still high, slightly whiny, but you knew it was all to mock you and your fucked out state. If anything, Yuuta was the one being so dirty, and you were thankful for it.

It was hot, so hot, and you could hear your heart pounding in your head, and you could feel how tight you were clenching around his fingers.

Unable to fight off the feeling and attempt to last a second longer, your body shook as you came hard around Yuuta’s fingers, your nails digging into the forearm of the hand still wrapped around your throat. He kept it there for a brief few moments into your orgasm before letting go to immediately bring his fingers down to your clit, helping you ride out your orgasm for as long as you could handle.

The first full breath you took was loud and followed by an even louder mantra of thank you’s and please’s. It took a soft and slow kiss from Yuuta to quiet your whimpers, and warm, and undeniably semi-sticky hands, rubbing tenderly into your thighs and arms.

You both stayed like that for a while, Yuuta above you with his hands rubbing your muscles carefully, kissing slow and catching your breath while sharing gentle sentiments of love and reassurance. Much to your surprise, you were the first to speak a full sentence as you both relaxed into a more comfortable position.

“Ya know”, your voice had a slight hoarseness to it now, most likely from your earlier activities, “I don’t think I like knowing someone else has gotten to see you like this.”

He brings his head up to rest on his palm with a crooked smile, leaning forward until his lips ghosted over yours as he spoke,

“Yeah? You the jealous type baby?”

This time, you did smack him. And hard.

“Ow?” Yuuta pouts, pretending to be appalled, and rubs circles into his chest as if you had actually smacked him hard enough to feel like anything more than a friendly pat.

His request for an apology is brushed off and amended with a kiss, from which you receive no protest, as you sink further into the comfort of his embrace and, now dirty but once very clean, sheets.

“How about we clean up n get some rest, okay baby?” He sounds distant and quiet when he speaks, his heartbeat louder in your ears than his voice with your head pressed into his chest.

Sighing and shaking his head, he leans down to kiss the top of your head with a small smile. Laundry and a shower can wait a few more minutes if it means he gets to have you like this for even a little bit longer.

——————

taglist: @plutowrites @alert-arlert (I think you asked to be tagged in this??? If not I’m sorry !! This was like a literal year ago I started this so 😭🫶) @touyaz (only cause you liked the snippet 🤭) if you’d like to be added just lemme know!!

#tw choking #tw breath play #jjk smut #yuuta x reader #yuuta smut #yuuta okkotsu x reader #yuuta okkotsu x you #yuuta x you #yuuta x y/n #yuuta okkotsu smut

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miniwheat77 · 2 months

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Anger. (141 x Reader.)

!cheating, violence, blood, guns, military talk, 141 is there for reader during hardship. NO MINORS!

*not edited*

Your hands shake violently as you sit on your couch.

You’re waiting for him to come home, you’ve got every bit of proof you need sitting in front of you.

You hear his car pull in the driveway, and you gather everything off of the table. Holding it in your hands. You hear his car beep as he locks it. The door opens and he steps inside, freezing when he sees you sitting there. The TV is off which is unusual. “Uh.. hey.” He says, confused.

“Come sit down.” You entwine your fingers together, resting your elbows on your knees. “Is.. everything okay?”

“Just sit down.” You sigh. You’re surprised when he listens. He sits down in the chair off to your right. You slide the hoop earrings from beside you and lay them out on the coffee table in front of you. “Who’s are those?” You ask. “I think they’re my sisters.”

You nod your head. Standing up. “Than I suppose these are hers too?” You raise the panties up, setting them down near the hoops. He stands up too. He knows he’s caught by this point, but hopes he can still weasel his way out of this. “Cause that’s pretty weird. But I’d get it, if I hadn’t found this too.” You throw down the burner phone. The one he’d been using to contact other women while you’ve been out on deployment. He’d been meeting up with random women for months now.

He’s quiet. “Y/N. Listen to me-“ he makes a move to touch you. You raise your shirt up, flashing him the pistol that lies in your waistband. “You come near me and I swear to god I’ll shoot you.” He takes a deep breath. Stepping back.

“Get out.” You cross your arms.

“Y/N. No. We need to talk about this!”

“There is absolutely nothing to talk about. I’m gonna get out of the lease, I’m moving out. Your name isn’t on it anyways, so get your shit and go. You have 10 minutes.” You sit down. He looks down. Knowing there’s nothing he can do to fix it. He gathers all of his stuff which isn’t much and as he’s passing the couch, he tries to start but you don’t acknowledge him.

The door opens and a girl walks inside, and you can feel the rage starting to boil inside you. “Who is that?” You turn to him. “Why do you care?” She makes her way inside closer, seemingly to help him carry his stuff out. “Looks like I’m your replacement.” She smiles. “Oh yeah? You’re proud of being a home wrecker?” You stand up. He can see you’re getting stiff, taking a step closer with your fists balled at your sides. A clear sign that if she doesn’t back off she’s going to leave in an ambulance. “Hey, come on. Don’t.” He tugs her back. “Nah, she’s stupid.”

“Oh, I’m stupid.” You laugh. “I’m not fighting over a cheater, he’s all fucking yours sweetheart.” You laugh.

“But you better remember who’s house you’re in.” You stand tall. “I don’t care.” She moves closer, getting into your face. Her nose is nearly touching yours.

“Hey! I said don’t!” He goes to pull her back. That’s when she takes a swing at you.

She hits you right in the nose and you take a step back, holding onto it. You can feel it starting to drip down your face. You wipe it off, seeing the blood on your hands. The hair on your body stands up. Maybe it’s what you’ve seen in the military triggering you. But she’s a threat. And threats get neutralized.

You lunge at her, taking a swing.

Training in the military means you pack a punch. You knock her back onto the ground and climb on top of her. You get a few good hits in, deciding you were done. You stand up, giving her a good kick to the ribs before drawing your pistol from your waistband and pointing it at your now ex-boyfriend. “You’re fucking stupid for bringing her here.” His hands are raised up in surrender.

He’s genuinely scared that you’re going to shoot him. “Get her and all of your shit. And if I hear one word, one fucking thing. You’ll both leave here in body bags.” You point the gun at her. Seeing tears start to stream from her eyes. “GO!” You scream. They both scramble, picking up his bags and leaving. You pace back and fourth, setting your gun down on the coffee table. You turn to the side. Taking a deep breath. You’ve trained to be in stressful situations. You kill people and watch innocent people die every day and you can’t take this.

You swipe everything off of the shelf by your tv. Destroying any and everything in your wake in your fit of rage. Your knuckles are bloodied and you’re sure you’ve got glass in them from the tv by the time you’re done. You slide your gun back into your waistband and hurry outside. Lifting your phone up. Your hands shake violently as you look for your captains contact. He would know what to do. He always did.

“Y/N?” He asks. “Hey.”

“What’s going on? Is everything okay?” He asks.

“Uh.. well.” You laugh. Holding back the pain that seeps through your every pore. “Not really. Is it okay if I come back to base? I won’t need that week off after all.”

“I’ll see you in 10 sergeant.” He sighs. He could hear the pain in your voice. You can’t hide it from someone like him.

“Everything okay?”

The other 4 members of the task force sit around the oak table in the conference room. “No. Something happened. She’s on her way back to base.”

“Shit. I hope she’s okay.”

“She’s fine. She’s a fucking brick wall. Probably just that scumbag she’s with.”

You don’t think to clean up. Your upper lip and around your mouth have blood around it from the hit you took. Your knuckles are busted and bruised. You’re sure you look like shit. You speed to the base, you shouldn’t but you needed to get there. The only people you could even handle anymore are them. Your family. The only family you’ve ever had that give a shit about you.

After identifying yourself on base, you pull into the parking lot. Parking where you usually do. Next to Johnny’s truck. You lock your car up and make your way inside. You don’t know what awaits you. You don’t know what they’ll say or if you can even keep it together.

“Hey.” A voice drags you out of your thoughts. It’s Laswell.

“They’re waiting for you in the conference room sweetheart.” She smiles sympathetically. “Thank you Kate.” You smile. Your heart aches in your chest.

She would talk more, but she knows who you’re after. Your bothers.

You open the door and step inside, closing it behind yourself. “Shit- you okay?” Gaz stands up immediately. Soap follows suit. “Yeah, I’m alright.”

Price beats him to it and he steps closer, tilting your face to get a good look at your nose. “It’s not broken but it’s gonna hurt like a son of a bitch for a while.” He mumbles. “Did he do this?”

You shake your head. “No.”

“Start talking.” He pushes you further up with his hand in your lower back. Helping you sit down in a chair. You sigh. He disappears out the door for a second, coming back with a washcloth. He washes the blood from your nose first, moving to your knuckles. It takes you a few minutes before you can talk without breaking down.

“I.. got home before he did. Found a phone on my coffee table.” You sigh. “It was.. a burner phone. He’d been using it for the last few months to meet up with other women online.” You look down. “Jesus.” Soap mumbles.

“Asshole.” Gaz groans.

“Prick from the start.” Ghost rolls his eyes.

All of their commentary makes you laugh. “I told him to pack his shit. He had a girl come help him move his shit and she sucker punched me. So I.. I guess I blacked out. I was on top of her, got a couple hits in. And than I-“ you freeze up, “I just told them to leave and they left.” You flinch slightly as he picks a piece of glass from your knuckle. “But.. maybe it’d be a good idea that someone keeps this for a couple days.” You tug your gun from your waistband, setting it down on the table.

Soap laughs. “I’ll keep it safe for ya lass.” He slides it closer to him. “Why do you say that?”

“Ah, it’s how I made em leave.” You mumble, looking down. Captain Price nods his head.

He nods his head to the door. “Boys, a minute?” He asks. The three of them stand up. Each patting you on the shoulder as they exit.

John licks his lips, he’s got your knuckles cleaned up. They need some bandaging but you’ll be alright. “You gonna be okay?” He asks. You nod your head. “Yeah, I’ll be alright.” You look down at your hands. “I’m gonna have to stop myself and the others. To not go track him down and disappear him.” He laughs. “I wouldn’t stop you.” You laugh. “Things haven’t been good. Obviously. I took a week off to see if we’d be able to work things out. Take some time to work on our stupid relationship and that backfired like a motherfucker.” You laugh. John shakes his head. “I hate to break it to you.. but that’s why none of us are in a relationship. Relationships and the military just don’t mix. I think just about every single one of us have been in your situation.” He sighs. You nod your head. “I think I’ve learned my lesson.” You laugh.

The room settles into a comfortable silence.

You break it.

“Something weird happened to me.” You mumble.

“Hm?”

“When she hit me, my nose started bleeding. And I wiped it off. When I seen I had blood on my hands.. my brain just got foggy. And I blacked out. Couldn’t control myself.” You look confused.

“It’s probably just the aftermath of our last mission. It was a pretty tough one on all of us. You know?” You nod your head. “It’s hard to adjust back to the real world when you’ve been out on the battlefield. You know how it goes. You’ll be alright though. The strongest girl I know.” He rests his hand on your knee. “Thank you Captain.”

“Hey, this is 141 we’re talking about. We got you, nothing to worry about. And this hardship, it’ll pass. Just like it always does. Your wounds will heal. Physical and Mental. You’ll be alright.” You nod your head. “I think you should get some rest for now, sweetheart. Get those bandaged up and head on to your room.” He pats your thigh. You smile, standing up. “Bloody knuckles and a broken heart aren’t good enough to get out of drills either, see you in the morning.”

“6am sharp Captain.”

“Good girl.”

#call of duty mw2 #cod mw2 #soap mw2 #captain john price #ghost mw2 #price mw2 #captain price #johnny soap mactavish

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jinxs-gf · 19 days

Text

beauty is in the eye of the beholder

pairings: jinx x reader

summary: You’re an artist, giddy at the thought of creating a portrait of Jinx, your lover. Except she can’t understand why you’d want a portrait of her.

content, warnings: jinx has cute aggression & insecurities, fluff! reader calls jinx ‘angel’ and jinx calls r her toots, too much description and it’s all barely edited D: pretty cringe but it’s okay

w.c. 2.2k

a.n. based off this request <3 again tysm anon ILY :)

You walk into the little corner of Jinx's room (the abandoned, giant space full of nothingness—that goes down...who knows how far) exclusively reserved for you. There's easels with and without canvases. Some covered in abandoned art, some finished, and some blank. The corner screamed you all over it. Especially the mess of unnecessary amounts of paint brushes, buckets, pencils, tore up paper...

Paint splotches and spills were scattered across your little desk and the floor (the work of you and Jinx).

There's particular squabbles of paint that you don’t mind. A happy face with a squiggly smile that's been there long enough to start chipping away. An uneven mess of hearts scattered in attempt to make the perfect one. Big words that read "I love you" in blue and smaller words next to it, "jinx waz here" in pink. The newest stain is on one of the many cans of your desk, a mark of her kiss. She'd quite literally painted her lips with bright purple and kissed the can, insisting it was there so her toots would never miss her.

Even though there's no time to miss her. Even though she resorts to bringing her work over to your tiny desk instead of keeping it to her very spacious one. You don't mind, the closer to your girlfriend the better. You pretend to be bothered though, only so she'd persist and annoy and squish into your space further.

You tie the apron, generously gifted by Silco, around yourself, excited to (hopefully) start a new, special project. It was gifted reluctantly of course. He tried to make it seem like it wasn't a big deal, but it was a very big deal. The eye of Zaun gift giving? Unheard of. You must be special. And you were, according to your blue haired menace that reminded you everyday. The very menace you affectionately named Angel.

"Toots!"

Jinx's gloved hands wrap around your body and suddenly, your back is crunched to her front. Her hands squeeze your tummy while nuzzling her face into you. Clearly she had missed you...for the whole minute you were separated.

It's like she can tell you were thinking it, "What? You didn't miss me while you were gone? You don't seem so excited I'm here." She's teasing like she always does. The edge and rasp in her voice so close to your neck doing wonders to the butterflies in your stomach.

But of course Jinx missed you. Could you really blame her? She hates every second you're apart, and she loves that you do too. So she's open about it, maybe more dramatic and a bit of a show off, but only to make you laugh and see you turn bashful. She loves getting you shy with her affections and teasing, unable to fathom the way you're wrapped around her finger the way she's wrapped around yours.

Your hands delicately grab her small, rough ones, turning yourself around to face her. "Don't even start with me, I'll tickle you to death if you keep up the accusations."

"Is that supposed the be a threat?" And oh, the pout is more real than sarcastic than she wants it to be. Like she genuinely doesn't like the idea of being threatened...by tickles (you know the idea is scary to Jinx, it's the truest form of torture she said once).

"Kind of." Your hands swing in the gap between the two of you. "Hey I actually had an idea. Care to hear?" It's something you've been wanting to do for a while now, giddy at the thought of it. Yet suddenly you find yourself a bit reluctant, still undoubtedly shy around your lover. You hope she'll say yes and that her teasing from this won't be too harsh.

"Hit me with it!"

"Will you let me draw you? Like a full portrait? I promise I'll do you justice!"

Jinx is sorry for it, but she stopped listening immediately, too enraptured by your connected hands, heart beating a little faster at the contact. You'll never know the effect you have on her (or so she thinks), she refuses to get teased even though she loves to tease you. She adores how flustered you get. Teasing is her love language, Jinx's way of showing her love for her toots. And when you decide it's unbearable enough, you'll shut her up with a kiss. Jinx will drag it out and annoy you for that reason alone. She counts on a messy kiss every time.

Unknowing of what to do with the sudden adoration creeping up on her, she pinches your hands hard.

Unfazed, you call her "Angel?"

"Hm?" She looks up and at you with so much affection. So much it stops you for a moment. Your giddiness to do this increases tenfold, her expression killing you in the best way possible. You can be extremely honest about this to soften her up, make her want to say yes.

"I'd like to draw you. Like really, really badly. I have for the longest time. You're just...stupidly pretty and it makes me feel so stupid and I want to scribble your face all over my canvases all the time. So...can I? You'll have to sit for me as reference." You say it as if you don’t have every bit of her memorized, which you completely do.

And for whatever reason, your menace (angel) is stunned. You notice it’s a bad kind of stunned, you realize quickly.

“…Me?”

“Yes?”

“But why?” Jinx asks quiet and unsure of herself. Her eyes look everywhere but you, she tries pulling back but you squeeze her hands. There’s a hint of anxiety around her, something she hasn’t experienced since she met you.

The mood switch and uncharacteristic behavior causes worry to stir in your chest. “Uhh, why wouldn’t I? You’re my girlfriend, you’re the prettiest girl in the Undercity and in Piltover! Trust me, none of those snotty ladies are as pretty-”

“You haven’t even been to Piltover.”

“I don’t need to go over there to know they don’t compare to you.”

She heaves a big sigh, your worry growing.

“I just- I'm not pretty or beautiful or any of the things you say I am. You call me angel when I'm far from that! You love art, it’s your thing, toots. Your passion and escape. How can you let someone like me ruin something you love so much? I don’t want to…I don’t know.”

When you don’t answer, she continues.

“I’m not worthy of so much time being spent on something so precious you know?” She says it like she hopes you’ll agree. You won’t.

“Angel,” you let go of her hands to cup her face, needing her to hear you. “Of course you’re worth spending time on. I love you. Do I not say it enough? I know I can be-”

“No, you say it lots and lots!”

“I’ll say it more. I need to make sure you believe it. And guess what? I meant what I said Angel. You’re the prettiest girl. The prettiest to exist. And you’re mine, do you know how lucky I am? You clearly don’t understand how much I feel for you. You’re worth every second I’m gonna spend on your portrait, you understand?”

And finally, her smile is back, gone is the unsure frown.

Jinx nods and you nod while smiling with her, going in for a kiss…multiple kisses. Kisses all over her precious face, because she deserves to feel loved. To know that she’s loved.

You can be put your timidness to the side for the hour. She needs your confidence in your feelings right now. Your confidence in her.

"Now get in my lap, I need a better look at your pretty face." Your teasing demand flusters her. She immediately settles in your lap so your chests touch. It wasn't everyday (really ever) that you spoke to her like that, always too shy to do so. But Jinx finds that she kind of likes it, she wants you to demand contact with her, especially in a position like this. It makes her feel gooey inside. Butterflies uncontainable.

It's not exactly ideal, you're not used to having your girlfriend in your lap while sketching. But you wanted this, and it's not making it impossible. All you have to do is wrap your arms around her pretty waist and rest your chin on her shoulder. It's perfect.

"For science huh? To 'get a better look' at me was it? Toots, if you wanted me in your lap you coulda just said that!" She teases, assuming you just wanted her there to have a more accurate picture.

You quietly confess, "jus' wanted you in my lap." Giving her waist a squeeze while you sketch her jaw.

You can tell you've stumped her (but this time in a good way). She's gone impossibly quiet and still. Warm too, just like she always does when you attempt to flirt. The two of you were truly unable to get over and deal with the timidness of being affectionate. Of being together.

And just like always, she melts. Like how ice cream does in the sun (a sugary delight you've been able to share with Jinx once). Her stiff back let's loose and she squeezes in return. She holds on like you'll disappear. You wouldn't. Not ever, because how could you? When you love her and when she loves you to death?

It’s quiet for the rest of the time you’re drawing, Jinx resorting to drawing patterns on your back, seemingly drifting off at some point. She internally scolded herself for it, not wanting you to think she was bored but it was taking a while. She wanted to have this moment with you though, it was so delicate, something that’s not occurred before. Especially with the earlier conversation. It was special.

You dot the last bit of her freckles on the white sheet. "All done," a kiss to the side of her head that makes her impossibly warm and dig her face deeper. "Needa color it in now." Color it with the paint the two of you always make a mess out of, there's no doubt in your mind it'll happen again.

She turns to finally look at it, her eyes wider than you've ever seen. "Holy shit toots, there's no way you did that!"

"Are you accusing me of cheating?"

"Maybe." She always knew you were the best artist of the Undercity (definitely not biased), you were just that good. But this was different. Was it because it was a drawing of her? Well...it was also the fact that it was so accurate. From her eyes, nose, mouth, jaw...even the way her hair curled in front of her face. And the scars, scars even she herself had forgotten about. But you remembered, you hadn't looked at Jinx once the whole time. You really did have her memorized huh? You didn’t have to say it, the way you insisted she sat in your lap instead of on a different chair for reference and the drawing in front of her is enough proof.

Jinx needed to go look in whatever was left of her shattered mirror to see this. She couldn't believe how pretty she looked on a piece of paper. She couldn't believe you took the time to do this. That you even wanted to in the first place. Jinx has been flustered and felt her heart beating awfully fast just from your gaze alone. But she thinks her heart might be about ready to explode, much like her countless monkey bombs or firelights.

She's unsure how to contain or show this rush of deep, deep affection, so she pushes your face from where it's searching her reaction and jumps out your lap, rushing for your paint cans.

You're kind of confused, but also accepting of her reaction. You're used to it, not that she always runs away due to avoiding feelings. Definitely not. Jinx was one to have so much affection for something or someone that you just...want to pinch, squeeze or...bite it. Luckily she hasn't got you (yet). It was a little shove, probably to prevent herself from sinking her teeth into your cheek. (You truly wouldn't have minded) (you kind of would have, it hurts).

She's back in front of you holding up a bucket half full of bright blue paint. At her feet she's set down small cans of various blues, pinks, and purples. Her favorite colors, obviously.

"Here ya go toots!” There’s no doubt in your mind you’ll be making a mess with the paint when you’re done.

Except, you haven’t even picked out a paint brush before you feel her hands grab your waist from behind, the familiar feeling of paint transferring from her touch to your body.

You look back at her, squinting. “Excuse me?”

“What? Can’t grab my toots’ love handles?”

You turn around, grabbing her hands and pulling her closer to you. You take a peak at her handy work, the blue on your waist making you feel things. You won’t let her know that though.

“Two can play at that game.”

“Try me then toots.”

You release your hands from hers and cup her face with them, leaving blue prints of your palms on her cheeks.

#oh my GOD guess who finally posted #kind of not how I wanted it to come out but it’ll do!#been working on it on and off for a bit #jinx x reader #jinx x you #arcane jinx x reader #jinx x y/n #jinx x female reader #jinx x gender neutral reader #jinx x male reader

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blackopals-world · 11 months

Text

I Found Home

(part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4)(Part 6)(Part 7)(Part 8)

Implied relationship

Part 5

Notes: This wasn't supposed to happen yet but I'm working on several chapters at once so this got posted first due to timing. This chapter was meant to go last. (besides I'm not going to pretend that most of you didn't just come here for this guy. I just want to get this over with.)

Malleus

"The Hero"

Grimm wasn't the most social of the kids but he was finally learning how to play with others. From what the child development book says he had a rich imagination and took part in imaginative play with others. He had even shown interest in things like singing and dancing with other kids.

But when art time came Grimm looked upset and yelled at another girl. Yuu had to apologize to the girl and her father. They had an argument which caused Grimm to lose his temper. He wouldn't say what it was about either.

When it was time to go Grimm waited by the car and stared at the crumpled drawing he made in his hands.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" Yuu asked helping Grimm into his car seat.

Grimm shook his head.

Yuu nodded and decided to leave it alone.

When they got home Grimm went to his room without much fuss. Even bathtime was quiet without his usual crying.

When it was time for bed Grimm still clutched the paper ball.

"Mama?" He asked for her while he was deep in thought.

"Yeah, sweetie?" Yuu pulled the covers over him.

"Where is our family?" Grimm unfurled the pater to reveal a drawing of her and him in crayon.

Yuu's voice was caught in her throat. She wanted to wait until he was older to explain this.

"We are a family." She said simply.

"But Erinn said that families were big like hers. A mommy, daddy, sister, brother, grandma, and grandpa. But I only have a Mommy." Grimm asked confused. "I told Erinn that I only had Mama and she said that we weren't a real family without that. So I got mad."

Yuu knew she had to control her emotions and try to explain but it was getting hard.

"We are a family. All the family we need. Erinn is lucky and has a big family already and she doesn't understand what other families look like." Yuu said stiffly "I'm sorry if I'm not enough. If I could, I would give you the family you deserve but I'm only one person."

Yuu quickly finished saying goodnight before retreating to her room. Tears of frustration blinded her.

It wasn't her fault.

She wanted a family too.

Ever since she returned to her world and old life she had tried to find her place. Friends and family were happy to see her again but they had moved on after years of her absence. Everything familiar was now strange. Then came the questions about where she was and what happened. She couldn't answer, no one would believe her. They turned on her with suspicion and called out her lies. News media caught wind and police had questions as well. Everyone wanted to know but she had no answers.

Rumors were everywhere and even the people who trusted and wanted to help Yuu had mud slung their way. She did what had to do to protect them and left. She escaped as far as she could to a place where no one knew her. She wrote her books in solitude and kicked out everyone who tried to profit from her newfound fame.

Conspiracy theorists and true crime fans still hounded her but she had a life where she could be in relative peace.

She had a son now and could live a normal life. Wasn't that enough? Can't she live her life?

Yuu cried for herself, for her son, for their future.

"Are you sure we shouldn't wait until tomorrow, your Majesty? Yuu may be asleep by now." Silver asked pushing aside the foliage with a ball of light he cased in the other.

"Of course, my child of man has always stayed up late in the night. She is undoubtedly awake." Malleus said proudly leaving Sebek and Silver to clear the way. Trails of Will o'-Wisps marked their path to find their way back.

Lilia flew above the group as he enjoyed the scenery. He seemed even more relaxed these days. Silver and Sebek had finally taken over their roles as captains of the royal guards. Malleus was firmly established himself as the ruling king and let his dear grandmother retire to her castle on the coast. She was certainly enjoying the sun in her scales.

Malleus had been hard at work revitalizing his kingdom. Bringing his kingdom into the current Era took effort but he had reached out to Shroud's heir for his assistance. Now the youth of his kingdom had new jobs to look forward to and new citizens had begun to move into their land. Malleus had also reached out to over classmates and found their help invaluable.

Kingscholar and Viper had been invaluable political partners and expanded trade between their lands. Rosehearts had joined him in laying out new laws compatible with technological developments. Ashengrotto had great knowledge of how to take advantage of natural resources in the area. Schoenheit offered assistance in starting an entertainment business hub like filming to take advantage of the vista.

Malleus had developed strong friendships with each of them but none of them could compare to the one that changed his life. Something they all agreed on.

"This place is so nice. So many stars but you can still see the city lights in the far distance. Are we close to the shore?" Lilia couldn't wait to visit another world and go touring with Yuu. His boys may be reserved to just seeing her but he had plans.

"The terrain is dangerous. It's rocky and likely has many dangerous creatures lurking about. How that human can stand being so much peril is beyond me." Sebek huffed.

Silver shook his head and ignored his co-captain.

As the group journeyed through the forest they noticed a small sound break up the buzzing of cicadas. Small sniffles and whimpers echoed and wrapped around the trees.

Lilia as if sensing a child's distress told the group to be quiet as he tracked down the whining.

Tucked into a hollow at the base of a tree a small boy huddled with a stuffed cat clutched to his body for dear life. The poor child cried for no one but himself.

As the group got closer they lit up wisp light around the area. The soft light alerted the boy as he drew closer.

"Hey, there. What are you doing out here so late?" Lilia crouched down to the boy's level to not scare him. "You should be at home."

The boy shook his head.

"You're parents are probably looking for you." Silver said.

"I can't. I'm bad." The boy rubbed his red puffy eyes.

"You're bad?" Malleus asked holding out his hand to Silver who immediately grabbed Sebek and grabbed a handkerchief from the half-fae's pocket. He then gave it to his king.

Lilia took the handkerchief and held it up to the boy's nose and told him to blow his nose. (Crying gets very messy with kids his age and makes it hard for them to breathe with clogged sinuses. Not mention kids have a hard time blowing their nose on their own at a young age.)

The boy wrinkled his face as Lilia cleaned his stuffy nose with practiced ease. The boy tried to weakly fend him off the same way any child does when you try to clean a smudge off their cheek with your thumb. Once he was freed and cleaned up he finally responded.

"I'm a bad boy. I made Mama cry. She said cus of me." He said remorseful.

"Why don't you just say sorry then?" Sebek said tactlessly.

Silver elbowed him and the crocodile shrugged with an expression that said 'What do you want me to say! I'm right!"

"Because I always make Mama cry. Mama is always sad. So I'm going back so I can't make her sad again." He said defiantly.

He was going to help his mother even if he wasn't going to be with her.

"Where are you going?" Malleus asked kneeling beside Lilia.

The boy looked that Malleus's horns with wonder.

"Mama found me here in these woods. But she told me a story of a dragon that lived far in the woods. The dragon was nice and helped the lost princess so I want to find him and ask him to help Mama." The boy sounded really proud of his plan.

"A quest. What a brave boy you are." Lilia ruffled the boy's hair. The boy tried to dodge but failed.

"Hey, are you the dragon?" The boy asked pointing at Malleus's horns.

"I'm a dragon-fae. The king in fact." Malleus responded.

"And you can help my Mama? With your magic? Can you take her nightmares?" The boy asked pleading.

"I will try to help if you lead us to her." Malleus wanted to see Yuu again but he knew he had to help this child first. Reuniting this family was more important right now than petty wants.

Yuu couldn't sleep. She just needed the check. Maybe she was excessive but she just worried. Almost every night she would cheak on Grimm, just in case. She just need to see he was alive and breathing.

Some times she just had nightmares where he...

The parenting manuals said that this was perfectly normal. Her fears were natural and these impulses were a product of evolution and prevention of S.I.Ds.

Wait is there a cut-off point for S.I.Ds? Could Grimm still get it?

Yuu took a deep breath, she just needed to see him.

Yuu opened the door quietly to find...an empty bed.

"Grimm?" Yuu called out.

She began checking the bathroom in case he needed to go potty...nothing.

She checked the kitchen in case he wanted water...nothing.

The living room, The study, her bedroom, the attic, the garage

Nothing, nothing , nothing, nothing, nothing, NOTHING!

Yuu searched everywhere as she rushed outside and called for him. Soon the hysteria kicked in as she banged on her neighbors' doors. Frantically she gathered people to help her find her son.

The group was no less enthusiastic to help as they treated the boy like a little hero on a quest. Unfortunately, this hero was very tired and needed to be carried by the dragon king. Lilia was desperate to have his turn but the bat was way too energetic right now.

Lilia was secretly praying that Yuu lived with children so he could play with them.

Grimm was fascinated with Malleus. He studied the dragon's horns, eyes and fangs.

"Mama said the dragon was best friends with the lost princess. Is that true?" Grimm asked touching Malleus's sharp ears.

Malleus let the boy explore as he thought of a response.

"I cared deeply for a friend who was far from home. She was my best friend."

"What was she like? I like the princess most." Grimm said cheerfully.

"The princess, I mean she was beautiful like any princess. But she was better. She was kind and selfless. She made friends everywhere she went." As Malleus said this little fingers pulled at his lips to get a better look at his teeth.

"She's so cool. I wish I could meet her."

Malleus quickly handed the child off to Sebek. Sebek received no better treatment as the boy pulled on his ears and cheeks. He has pincer-like fingers and speed.

Lilia laughed. Silver was the same way.

Sebek practically tossed Grimm to Silver to deal with. Sliver was fine with Grimm but Lilia's silent pleading made him hand the boy over.

Almost immediately Grimm was asleep as Lilia rocked the boy to sleep. The group sighed in relief.

"So," Sliver spoke up only for a chorus of 'Shh' to stop him. He was just going to ask about the stuffed cat that looked exactly like Grim. Or the fact that his name was Grimm. Just him? Okay.

But the blissful silence didn't last as sirens and shouting were heard.

"Grimm?! Grimm?!" Voices shouted as groups of people searched for the boy.

Safe to say his mother was looking for him.

The group managed to dodge the cops as the found a familiar young woman still wrapped in her night clothes shouting Grimm's name. Bright searchlights haloed around her.

"Yuu?!" Malleus called out as soon as he saw her.

The woman squinted to see through the lights before she gasped. She quietly scrambled through the foliage. She had trouble due to still being in her house shoes, she couldn't even think of changing when her son was missing.

"Mal?" She called trying to see if she was hallucinating.

"Malleus please, you have to help me. My son, he's gone." Yuu begged her hand clutched over her chest.

Malleus didn't know how to respond at first. No words would help. The only thing to ease her is her child.

Lilia came forward and handed the sleeping boy back into his mother's arms.

Yuu's eyes lit up with unimaginable joy like finally breathing after unending suffocation. She fell to her knees as she held him close to her.

"My baby. My sweet baby." She mumbled pressing kisses to his head as tears of relief flowed down her cheeks. "Thank you. Thank you."

The situation took time to clean up as everyone was alerted that Grimm was found. Everyone sighed in relief and returned home. Except for that crotchety old woman next door. Yuu would expect a strongly worded letter soon.

The reunion wasn't what anyone expected but Yuu was no less grateful to her friends.

When they explained the situation, Yuu's eyes dimmed.

"I see, it's my fault." She sighed.

"He was just trying to help you. He doesn't know any better." Sebek rolled his eyes.

"That's the point. He's a child, he doesn't know any better. It's my responsibility not to make him feel responsible for my emotions. He should never see his mother cry. I tried to hid it." Yuu berated herself.

"Yuu, from one parent to another you need to hear this. It's hard, it's always going to be hard, but you're doing great." Lilia said gently pulling Yuu into a hug.

All the stress she had been carrying since she assumed her role as parent bubbles to the surface. All this time she had been carrying the heavy weight of expectations and constantly questioned herself. Everytime she got something wrong she panicked. Every crying fit and scraped knee she blamed on herself. Judging herself based on every parenting manual and blog she read. It all came to the surface.

She felt like she was going to break into pieces.

Suddenly another pair of arms wrapped around her then another and reluctantly another.

This was what she needed. Reassurance.

"Who dares intrude upon my lair." Lilia cackled wrapped in a black blanket.

"I do! Grimm the dragon prince!" Grimm stood proudly over Sebek's(slain in battle, r.i.p) body with a plastic sword in hand.

Grimm had taken to wearing a pair of fake ram horns and pretending to be a dragon recently.

Yuu raised an eyebrow as she drank her tea.

"If you wish to save the princess you must face my minions!" Lilia said waving a hand and sending Silver out to duel with the boy.

"Don't worry! I have my own minions! Go dragon king!Save the princess!" Grimm said sawing his hand this time.

Yuu snorted and held back her laughter as she looked up from her notepad.

Malleus of course assisted as he pretended to battle Lilia.

"Mal are you a king or a minion?" Yuu laughed.

"Are you a princess or are you just wearing a cone hat?" Malleus retorted.

"You've become more sassy with age. Now hurry up and save me." Yuu pouted taking off the pink cone hat.

Malleus picked up Yuu in a princess carry as Grimm cheered.

"My heros~" Yuu giggled as she wrapped her arms around Malleus's neck.

"Where too now my dear princess?"Malleus asked.

"To the study my stead!" She shouted.

Sebet tried to say something before Silver kicked him from their downed position.

"I'm a stead now, am I?" Malleus teased as he carried her off.

Grimm payed no mind. Grandpa Lilia said that they need space. The boy instead leapt onto his uncles who grunted as the air was forced from their lungs.

Upstairs Malleus placed Yuu on her desk chair as she began typing out her new book.

"Finally designed on a name for it?" Malleus asked resting his head on her shoulder.

"Yep, The Lost Prince and the Dragon King"

"Hmm, I like it."

TagList:@kamisatoaiko@professionalreblogs@kai200x@lianreine@loivre@jackalope08@code-roevember @growingupnrealizing @ryxmix @rainbowcake1212@blazestar0525 @botswanasvetlana @shrimpyfishyy @imasimpsowhat06 @nooneknows8976

@utaubara @springdrop-701 @ayachansan @otomyoli @savanaclaw1996 @who-mst @cloudy51 @siren-serenity @ehjane@glacticrose@bontensbabygirl @morokumi @rincommittedarsin @queen-shiba @night-shadowblood-writes2 @colombia-chan @canubringmeacokepls @mikk-o @twistedcece @kbar1013@dreamlessnight @spritofthesea @angelicupiid

#twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #twisted wonderland yuu #twisted wonderland malleus #malleus draconia #malleus x reader #malleus draconia x reader #malleus draconia x yuu #twst malleus #lilia twisted wonderland #twst lilia #lilia vanrouge #silver vanrouge #twst silver #twisted wonderland sebek #sebek zigvolt

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bonesandpoemsandflowers · 9 months

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my bohemian ass woke up at noon on a friday so I'm not firing on all cylinders yet, but there is this important distinction in the novel, The Phantom of the Opera, and the musical The Phantom of the Opera. I understand why a novel length distinction is cut for time and narrative tidiness for a medium that happens on stage, but I think people draw some very unfair, unflattering and incorrect conclusions from the stage that they port into their reading of the novel.

that is: Erik, the phantom of the opera, knows about Christine and Raoul's engagement and he's actually totally cool with Christine's plan. This is not incel behavior. This is not ~toxic masculinity~ or whatever contemporary bullshit you want to spew on the intentionally sympathetic monster in gothic literature. Raoul is supposed to leave on a naval expedition to the north pole. Christine's plan is to be engaged with him until he leaves. "This is a happiness that will hurt no one," she says. I don't have the exact quote for it but later on she relates how Erik knows and approves, at least of this intended to be limited engagement engagement. Why? Because he's the happiest of men with Christine, and he wants Raoul to experience that happiness. He does also expect Raoul to, you know, fucking leave when he's supposed to, but still. Christine and Raoul are romping around the Opera, kissing and crying together, and our ghost dude here is just like: good for them.

What sets him off is not the idea of a romantic rival. He does not, imo, feel "entitled" to Christine's love or whatever batshit nonsense the Erik-as-incel narrative huffs like paint fumes. What sets Erik off is how Christine has lied to him: not about the engagement, but about the degree of visceral disgust she feels for Erik specifically as a result of his deformity. She details, in graphic detail, how she closes her eyes instead of looking upon him, how she tells him that she only averts her eyes because she is in awe of his genius. She tells Raoul how horrible even physical proximity to Erik is, how grotesque his face is, how the horror of an animated corpse proclaiming his love to her is--well, horrible, and horrifying. Erik is on the floor, on his knees, kissing the hem of her dress, and Christine has her eyes closed the whole time.

I also think contemporary audiences can't handle that. They need Christine to be a pure and wholesome Good Girl (regressive bullshit), who is the victim of an evil evil man, and only the victim (also regressive bullshit). But also because she is a female character in the contemporary mind, she is allowed no flaws. She must reject Erik because he is a bad man. It would be ableist otherwise, yes? And the contemporary audience cannot handle lack of physical beauty being the reason. There can be no nuance to Christine's reactions. She is Good. Erik is Bad. That's all there is to it. The audience member is so sure that they themselves are above moral reproach, too. That's what is at stake here, also.

Never mind that Christine herself, repeatedly, notes that Erik is right when he says that if she thought he was handsome, she would stay. Never mind that when Raoul asks her if she would still love him if Erik were handsome, Christine declines to reply.

To be clear: this is not a Christine bashing post. I think her complexity here is fascinating. I hate a flat one note ingénue and that's not what she IS, and it pains me that fic authors write her that way, as if it's superior. No! Here she's human and she's magnificent! She's conflicted! Erik is alluring but also in ways that are no fault of his own, terrifying.

We gloss over the intended body horror of the novel. I know I do. I forget that he smells like rot and death, that he's cold and clammy to the touch, that he moans like a ghoul, that is supposed to have a gaping nose hole and eyes you can only see in the dark.

I don't think Christine is wrong to lie. But it's easy to understand, if you let yourself, how betrayed the monster might feel when he finds out about all this concealed disgust.

So, two points here

The rage upon being unmasked isn't just because he's unmasked and she broke a rule or whatever. It's the death of his whole gambit and his last hope, and Erik is, canonically, very smart. He knows this. He knows his face IS the issue. He knows it is THE issue. He reads Christine correctly in that the Angel of Music bit is ultimately forgivable in her eyes, and she likes that he brought down her favorite horse, she absolutely is there for their shared spiritual musical raptures. I want people to understand this: ERIK IS RIGHT about his own situation, a LOT of the time. He comes to some bad conclusions after, but in terms of understanding what's happening around him, he's accurate.

And so the rage and despair post Apollo's Lyre isn't "oh no, she loves Raoul," or even "how dare she, that SLUT," as some people make it out to be. It's the realization that he's been a monster to her this whole time. All this time he thought that she saw him as a man, and she has not. All the presumably good memories he has of her and her two weeks she lived with him are now revealed as lies. She's been enduring this whole time, not acclimating. She feels horror. She feels, again, disgust. She's shuddered at the touch of his hand in hers and put on a brave face and he's believed her up until this point, and he's having his physical inadequacies and his uncharacteristic naiveté described in excruciating detail to his romantic rival. He probably feels real fuckin stupid, on top of all else. He's been duped. He also feels disgusting and unlovable, because Christine has just repeatedly described him as disgusting and unlovable.

It is, of course, wildly incorrect to then decide to blow up an opera house about it.

But it's not entitled incel behavior and that's such a boring and contemporary narrative to shove a beautiful example of gothic literature into. Intellectually lazy and artistically myopic. I think most of us, if we're honest with ourselves, can think of a time we thought somebody liked us--maybe romantically or sexually but also maybe not, maybe just as a friend, as a bestie--and we turned out to be very wrong, because the person was just being polite or avoiding awkwardness or whatever. That is: they lied, in a very understandable and justifiable and socially expected way. And how did that feel, dear reader? Not great, right?

The point of the phantom of the opera is that it's a bunch of normal human experiences turned up to the max, dialed into a sublime hum that goes so hard it turns inhuman and terrible. It's that what makes a monster, what makes a man line, which is only interesting to walk if it's identifiably very human in parts. So Erik isn't just romantically rejected: he is rejected in just about EVERY way possible, besides his divinity of music. And this is supposed to the story of his entire life, over and over again, just most vividly and poignantly illustrated by his failure with Christine, when he most desperately wants to be just like everybody else.

And I think it's a shame to lose that very basic narrative and thematic point, but also a shame to lose the nuance of: Erik wants to share his happiness with Raoul. He loves Christine so, so much that he seems to find Raoul's lovesick desire very relatable. Of course, who wouldn't allow his fellow man a glimpse of heaven? And I just chose my words carefully there, if not the rest of the post. In his approval of Christine and Raoul's playful engagement, Erik is briefly engaging on a man-to-man level. He feels human about it. And when he feels human and accepted as human, instead of a walking horror show, he's immediately kind of gracious.

It's when he finds out that he's been a monster and not a man this whole time, in the eyes of his beloved and his rival, that he seems to go: I'll show you what a monster is.

#long post #poto #poto meta #gaston leroux #no proofreading we die like men #my personal belief is that you are absolutely allowed to tell a bunch of socially comfortable lies to get the hell out of dodge #when I'm like “so Christine lied” my intended undercurrent is AND GOOD FOR HER. GOOD JOB.#but also #my personal belief is also that he (erik) (the phantom) (whatever) is still very fuckable despite literally everything #text

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dollfaced-erin · 9 months

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𝔻𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕠𝕟'𝕤 ℂ𝕣𝕒𝕕𝕝𝕖 (Blade x F!Reader x Jing Yuan)

PART 7

PART 1 , PART 2 , PART 3 , PART 4 , PART 5 , PART 6

Taglist : -

@rebeccawinters , @nayukiyukihira , @pix-stuff , @fluffy-koalala , @swivy123 , @starxao , @kaoyamamegami , @kimura-uzuri , @rsvye , @seikouryuu , @just-here-reading , @matsulovesyou, @sincerely-aaronette , @prettyliliy, @chibiduck

To anon who posted about reader being injured from battle, i'm sorry but you'll have to wait a little longer until i find out what the heck is going on with my tumblr.

Authour's note :

And i'm really sorry for being gone for quite a long time. I was feeling under the weather and i had a lot of things on my plate recently ! But now that i'm okay now, i'm bringing you a new chapter !! I MEAN, HAVE YALL SEEN THE NEW KAFKA COMPANION QUEST ?!?!? ITS SO GOOD AND I ONLY SAW SNIPPETS OF IT HELPPPPP (Obviously there will be a chapter dedicated to the companion mission hheheheheh)

"You are a star that fled home, aren't you...? An outworlder, some would say." a tender feminine voice voiced out.

A masculine hum resounded from behind the female. "Yes. That's right." he said, his coarse and calloused hands caressing her beautiful soft hair with a resin comb in his hands.

"Do you suppose I would've had a different name should I be born in your homeland ?" the innocent female voice asked back, the horned lady turned around to meet tender red eyes.

"I suppose that may be the case. But why change your name ? Dan Jia is a perfectly beautiful name." the male asked back, his hands stopping from running them through those beautiful locks.

"But I suppose...if you want another name, your name would be..."

"(Y/n)..." the tender voice whispered.

And everything warped from her eyes, as if someone had wiped away the drawing of a beautiful scenery before her. And in its place, was a storming day, where left and right was surrounded by lifeless bodies of knights and Mara-struck soldiers.

She ran and ran and ran, gripping a crystal fan tight in her hold. (Y/n) didn't know where she was headed. Her heart was thumping, her head was pounding, but she never stopped running.

She just followed her heart, letting it bring her to wherever she was heading in this dream. It seems that she knew she was supposed to run somewhere, but where...?

No matter...keep running.

And in the distance, was a puff of smoke. It was puffing up in the sky, contaminating the air with its burnt smell, accompanied by the musty smell of rain.

The rain was hindering her sight, but she kept pushing on.

Snippets of pictures came to her mind. Everything was just...happening too fast. She barely remembered anything. It was...so blurry. But she could feel everything.

A body of a man lied lifeless on the ground, being held by another man tenderly in his arms, his back facing her.

Even her current self knew who that was, lying in the embrace of the Imbibator Lunae.

The dragon's fangs bared in her heart the moment she saw the limp body of the one she loved. The one she was about to tie herself to. The one she promised that no matter what, they would be together, for as long as his short life promised them.

The claws dug into her heart, as it teared at her inside out with fury and pain. She had never felt such powerful emotion running through her veins. She had never been this overwhelmed.

She remembered she saw herself swinging her fan. With fury running through her veins, she kept attacking, enemies were being frozen, then broken to the ground like broken glass and sharp icicles.

She couldn't remember much after that. And before long, she was holding the body of her fallen beloved in her arms. And as she still felt the pain in her lower back, it was nothing compared to the searing rage that was bubbling from her chest as it formed tears in her eyes.

"The elixir....it failed, sister." the Imbibator Lunae woefully whispered out. And despite the heavy rain that showered, his voice was as clear as day.

Memories resurfaced in her mind. Dan Jia was looking through the archives with the fallen, and stumbled across a scroll. A scroll of forbidden knowledge. That scroll had indeed gone missing a few days later, and she was heavily penalized for it.

And it all made sense to her.

They had taken it, now knowing its position when the young lady had accidentally pulled it.

"Please Dan Feng ! You must do it. We cant leave him to die ! Not like this ! Please, take my bone marrow !" a familiar female voice sobbed, holding the body close to herself.

"We cant leave him to die. Not when it was our fault to begin with !"

Right. They were both held accountable for what has transpired. This all happened because she showed her lover where it was, although he was forbidden from ever stepping into the archives.

She should've protected the scroll with her life should she known what were the two planning to do today.

The guilt of Dan Jia was so strong, even (Y/n) could feel it, herself crumbling to her knees and sobbing at the memory.

"I..." he whispered. He looked sorrowfully at the body of the man before them, growing lifeless as they spoke. Then he nodded.

"I understand. For you, I shall endure all punishments." Dan Feng replied, daring not to look at his sister who was weeping over the loss of her lover. For it was partially his fault for lending the man two hours to scour through the archives, to search for the remedy of death.

"Please...when I reincarnate, give me this jade pendant. It shall remind me of who I was and who to find..." she said, taking off a single jade pendant from her belt, and handing it to him.

Her memory began to blur even more, static filling her ears, and it was as if she was looking at an old screen...

Dan Feng took the pendant from her. And all she remembered then...was the teal eyes of her brother, the smell of the rain, the grey skies...

And the burning pain that ripped through her back without warning.

And the searing sensation that tore through her chest.

Her body fell, eyes beginning to blur even more.

Dan Feng stood above her, those teal eyes...colder than the ice she could ever dream of conjuring. And in his hand...was a chunk of white bone and a beating heart.

Though she had no power left, no energy left, no will left...

Those sweet words from her brother...wasn't meant for her. But for the lover that rest in between them.

(Y/n) screamed as loudly as she could, though nothing came from her lips.

"(Y/n) !"

(Y/n)'s eyes snapped open, her heart beating like crazy. Her forehead was sweating as her chest heaved up and down.

Warm and concerned honey colored eyes gazed into her own, worry swimming in them as the bearer leaned over her laying body, hands holding her down by her shoulders. Then one of the hands moved and cupped her cheek, taking in how cold she was at the moment.

"J-Jing Yuan..."

"Are you alright...?" the lion quickly interrupted, as he slowly pulled (Y/n)'s hand, letting her sit upright, trying to let her get more oxygen to calm down.

(Y/n)'s head was swimming with horror and realization. What she had just witnessed...was too vivid to be a dream. Too familiar to be a gore fantasia.

Those were her memories. Memories of her past. Before she called herself (Y/n).

"You were screaming in your sleep. I tried to wake you up, and you finally opened your eyes, (Y/n)..." Jing Yuan softly whispered, his hand holding her dainty own as another hand rubbed her back.

"(Y/n)..." the warm voice of her memories called out before the nightmare begun. That deep voice. The voice of the beloved swordsmith.

Her eyes filled themselves with uncontrollable tears, biting down her lip as she relived those horrible...horrible memories.

The man in the alley...and her beloved in her dreams...

Were the same person, had she not realized sooner.

Was that why she had a strong sense of longing...?

(Y/n) bent down, putting her face in her hands as she began to sob. Everything was beginning to feel too much for her. Everything was coming back too fast to her, and she couldn't do anything to stop it.

Jing Yuan was a little surprised at her sudden breakdown. But who was he to complain...? Who was he to say anything when he didn't understand what was going on ? He could only rub her back soothingly as he put his lips close to her ear.

"(Y/n)...what happened...? What did you see...?" he spoke, as (Y/n) nodded, wiping away her tears.

"I saw...everything. Snippets of my past...my death..." (Y/n) said, looking up at Jing Yuan.

"It hurts...it hurts so much...how could...how could he pull out my heart ?"

Her back hurt, but her chest even more. It was as if what she had just seen in her dreams, had just relived that moment.

"(Y/n)...princess..." Jing Yuan softly said, as (Y/n) looked at him with those pained and traumatized (e/c) eyes. With only that description, he knew exactly what she saw.

He raised a hand, and caressed her silky (h/c) hair. He was conflicted, unknowing what to do in this situation, for what he had hoped to avoid for the most came back to her in times where she wasn't ready.

"I...I thought I was punished...?" (Y/n) asked, her hoarse voice scratching through her throat as she talked. Jing Yuan moved his hand to cup her cheek, wiping away those broken crystal tears that ran down (Y/n)'s face without her controlling them.

Jing Yuan didn't know how to explain this. But he thought that it was only right she knew bits and bits of herself. When the time was right, he was sure that he would tell her everything. But now...? The dragon girl before him was bawling her eyes out, having seeing horrific things, feeling them.

"Your punishment...was your unlimited sleep and losing your privilege as a former High Elder for losing the heart. You were gravelly injured when I found you. Even after we returned you to the shell...you never woke up. It was odd, really." Jing Yuan said, his voice soft as to comfort her.

"Honestly we didn't know when you would wake up, since it seems that your power was abruptly taken away from you. Your body couldn't handle it, and you fell into a deep sleep. Even when you hatched after years of resting here, you...were still this size. Though you no longer had the injuries you once sustained, and it seemed that the egg just...healed you." Jing Yuan replied.

"That's enough for now, princess. It's all in the past now. We can talk later in the morning. Can you sleep ?" Jing Yuan kindly asked with a smile.

(Y/n) shook her head, as she gripped the sheets that covered her lower body. She looked like a little child, really. With how she was pouting, trying to recollect herself that everything that happened was just in the past.

Jing Yuan couldn't help but chuckle as he saw (Y/n) like that. He lifted his hand, and pet her hair soothingly. "I know just the thing that might help you."

The general walked down the hallways of his large estate, tenderly holding (Y/n)'s hand. He was still a little tired, and the darkness of the hallway was more than enough to rouse his sleepiness. He was called the dozing general for nothing.

Turning around a corner, he brought her to a room. And as he opened it, it was a large and spacious bedroom. It was tidy, minus the disheveled sheets, the clothes strewn across the ground, and the number of scrolls that littered one small table in the corner of the room. A glaive was set high on the wall, his personal choice of weapon for years he passed through.

It was his personal bedroom.

"Come in, princess." Jing Yuan said, comfortingly, pulling her hand in. As he shut the doors behind him, (Y/n) was standing there, admiring the deco of his room.

"A-are you sure it's alright for me to be here...? Wouldn't anyone be...suspicious...?" (Y/n) timidly asked, her hands together as she looked at her long-time friend behind her.

She regretted, as a furious blush crept up her cheeks by the sight behind her.

She had never realized this before since she was in a state of shock and trauma, but she never really took in the appearance of her friend. He was wearing a loose silk robe with a simple red belt around his waist, tied loosely with a bow by his side. Though it was beautiful, fitting his muscular form perfectly, running over his toned muscles like water, the fact that it was just a loose robe with such little security, meant that his chest was wide open for her to see.

He stood there, with a knowing smirk on his face as (Y/n) was watching him stand there in all his half-naked glory. There wasn't anything for him to hide, rather there was much for him to show. That toned six pack he usually hid behind his attire was there right open for her precious innocent eyes to feast on.

"J-Jing Yuan ! Have some decency !" (Y/n) exclaimed, facing front immediately, a hand over her eyes to cover her from the quite revealing sight she was just exposed to.

Jing Yuan merely let out a hearty laugh, as he got closer to her petite form. His large hand went to her hair, admiring the silky strands that hung from his calloused fingers with a soft gaze in his golden eyes before he leaned in to her ear.

"Not to worry, princess. You shouldn't be ashamed to see something I wasn't meaning to hide~" he purred deeply into her ear, laughing again as he saw her face grow redder by the minute, up to the point where the tips of her ears had turned red.

"No no, I didn't mean to do that." he said, walking away from his flustered companion and walked to the corner of his room, where there were clear sliding doors.

Jing Yuan opened the door, revealing the view of a beautiful and spacious oriental garden, enclosed by the other walls of the estate. It was hard to see, but with the light provided by the moonlight, she could see all the plants and pathways that were manicured and shaped to form this traditional art. Small lion statues were placed around, along with little bridges that crossed over small streams.

"Mimi~!" Jing Yuan called out from his door. (Y/n) was on the floor, seated on the matted floorings of Jing Yuan's room, admiring the garden before her. That was before her (e/c) eyes were met with shining sapphire eyes with slits.

"A...lion...?" (Y/n) asked, eyes blown wide by the majestic creature that appeared before her. Jing Yuan laughed as the beast came to the wood platform, moving aside to let her in.

The lion, of Mimi as Jing Yuan called, pranced right in, as it was a norm for her to appear in her master's room. She looked curiously at the woman who sat close to her master's feet, slowly approaching the woman in a curious way.

"Hold your hand out to her like you would a kitten, (Y/n). Don't worry, Mimi never bites." Jing Yuan said, smiling warmly at the interaction between his companion and the beautiful dragon lady.

So (Y/n) did as she was told, holding her hand out to the majestic creature. Mimi tilted her head slightly as she approached the woman that had no fear towards her, her muzzled close to the small hand. It was so small, it was smaller than Mimi's face.

Mimi took one sniff with her black nose before she pounced on the dragon lady. (Y/n) yelped loudly as the lion leapt on her, her tail whipping in the air affectionately as she pushed (Y/n) to the ground, purring like a cat.

"It seems that she likes you !" Jing Yuan said heartily, sitting on the ground next to (Y/n) who was laughing and running her hands through Mimi's majestic snow mane. Mimi loved (Y/n) so, rubbing her large face against (Y/n)'s face, like a companion that had long last seen their master.

"I brought you here to play with her, if you couldn't sleep. So, spend the night here. I'm sure no one would mind, knowing who you are." Jing Yuan said, as he stroked Mimi's back.

"Are you sure ?" (Y/n) asked, looking at Jing Yuan from the floor, her beautiful strands of (h/c) hair, disheveled on the floor, shining silver beneath the moonlight like the most precious silks. He picked up a few strands from those beautiful locks gently in his hands, leaning down to kiss them.

"I'm sure. You have nothing to worry about. When your on these grounds, you shall be safe from all harm." Jing Yuan whispered, as (Y/n) began to get distracted when Mimi demanded more attention from her by resting her entire bodyweight on (Y/n).

"I promise you, my princess. So do not worry, and play and laugh to your hearts content. Sleep so soundly and sing so cheerfully, as if you have no other care in this world."

Jing Yuan smiled as he watched his princess laugh so melodiously as she played so carefreely with his feline. He had never seen her smile so freely, so enchantingly as she bathed beneath the pale moonlight.

He would do anything to protect that smile on (Y/n)'s face.

"You look troubled, Bladie. Are you sure seeing her once is enough...?" the voice of a beautiful woman rang through the deserted docks.

The man who was previously looking at the moon turned to look at his companion, who had unexpectedly awakened from her slumber as he stayed up.

"Being able to hug her once...was more than enough for me, Kafka." Blade quietly responded, surprisingly calm even after seeing someone so closely related to his past.

"Are you alright ? No feeling of the Mara stirring up in you ?" the woman asked, as she sat next to her companion who held something in his hands in his lap as he sat crossed legged on the ground.

"Surprisingly, no. Seeing her makes me calm. Honestly, I never thought I'd be able to see her, ever again. Not after how I saw her..." he responded quietly, trailing off as he refused to say it. Then, he unfolded his fingers from their tight grasp. And there, was a pair of beautiful glass earrings.

"If its stirring up again, what are the chances of it calming down once you see her ?" Kafka asked, taking a simple guess as she glanced at her partner in crime.

"She has always been...calm. Jia. In the native language of Xianzhou, it means home." Blade said, looking down at the earrings he once made for a beloved once. He turned up, looking at the moon, the same moon he knew she was sleeping peacefully under.

"And that's what she has always been. My home."

#honkai star rail #honkai star rail x reader #honkai star rail x you #hsr blade x reader #hsr blade #hsr blade x you #hsr x you #hsr jing yuan #hsr jing yuan x reader #hsr jing yuan x you #blade x reader #blade x you #jing yuan x reader #jing yuan x you

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rzyraffek · 8 months

Note

Platonic yandere yautja x human child reader

Aww dad yautja😊 I didn't write for yautjas in months!! Hopefully u enjoy it!! Also i used they/them for kid. No tw, only cuteness and wholesome dad figure yautja👹 request open

Dad yautja with human kid

Bro is confused ??? Tf??? Why is there a child here??

He either found them abandoned in middle of nowhere or accidentally killed their perents, by 'accidentaly' i mean ofc he wanted to kill them he just didn't know there was a child nearby and now he feels bad

Kinda finds human pups ugly😭 why are you so smol and loud wtf

Dad!yautja after he kinda adopts y/n he gets too overprotective! Like dude won't leave their side at all, especially when you guys are outside; dude will pick them up and just carry around.

Can't cook to save his life, he kinda set kitchen on fire. And humans cant eat raw meat, so now you are on fruit diet for now (and veggies)

Had this parental instinct to teach them everything, how to shoot, find food, basic self-defence, overall taking good care of themselfs. But he kinda likes that he has to provide for them, it gives him control yknow

When he carries them around everywhere! He acually lets them sit on his shoulders or just hang on his neck😓😍

Cant say no to those cute big eyes! Yes he will let them 'decorate' his armor (with glitter and stickers) and he will let them paint his nails and he will lisen to them gossip about their friends.

If his kid is a little artist and walks up to him and says "papa i drew you!" He does not care that he looks like a lizard nor that they didn't color it perfectly. Dude is purring, picking y/n up and he carries this drawing in pocket everywhere

Other yautjas say that he spoils them, but he disagrees! Your a HUMAN baby, i mean yeah your basically one of yautjas now but!!! Your tiny! And your skin is so squishy!!!

He had to learn how to comb their hair cuz at some point y/n simply refused to cut it (me too lil guy) and he respects them so much he won't just do something against them

Kinda wishes he could understand human body language more

Also about body language i can imagine kid just kinda mimicing yatuja body language and habits. Like dad!yatuja will say "child please go to bed its late" the kid will just angry respond with a hiss👹 "hsssss👽🦎" "?????" If yaujtas had eyebrows, he would rise them

If y/n is a girl, and she has her first period? Dude panics! HUHH WHAT BLOOD??? FROM WHERE!?? UHHHH????

Dude tries to be a perfect father figure, he tries to have similar intrests with his kid so they can connect more, but if y/n is totally not into hunting, collecting, nature themed stuff, Yautja is more than happy to catch up with whatever teens are into this days, but he will judge the hell out of tv shows (if they watch any)

I kinda forgot it suppose to be yandere so it turned out to be just wholesome im so sorry

Understands that kid needs privacy but he will just go invisible mode and lurk in shadows! Like what if somone attacks you??? Or worse! What if you meet some humans that he doenst like??? What if they will tell y/n all lies about what 'bad war crimes' he commited and what 'murderous' his kind is!! Those are lies pls dont lisen to humans

No boy/girlfriends!!! Nuh uh!! Your his little baby you cant go doing all those... things... with some human. ugh! this person probably can't even hunt for you!! Or give you nice treasures!! Or build a pretty nest!! Why would you like them my child?? Look at all those trophies i gathered for all those years! You should stay here!

He loves the fact that he lives in some wild ass jungle and y/n cant leave him due to all those dangers around, plus he loves that y/n will always stay tiny(in comparison obviously) and weak so be basically needs to provide for them! Right???

I used x reader tags ONLY to reach bigger audience

#slasher x reader #slasher headcanons #yandere yautja #yautja headcanon #yautja x reader #yautija #yautja

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nobodyfamousposts · 5 months

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Felix July - Tragic

Yes, I know this is years late. I hope it's worth it.

Follow up to the Betrayal prompt and an aftermath of Party Crasher:

*Click*

With that, the call ended. Felix gave a small sigh of relief.

At least that whole mess was over with. Mostly.

He looked up at the multitude of girls appearing all too pleased.

“I expect you’ll be having quite a few tokens of appeasement waiting for you come Monday. Maybe sooner.” He stated, returning his phone to his pocket.

“Thank you, Felix.” Alya said, sounding almost downright pleasant towards him for once.

“Don’t you think that was a bit mean?” Marinette asked. “I mean, they were doing it for Adrien.”

“The problem isn’t the party for Adrien, it’s that they lied to us about it and left us with all this work to handle by ourselves in the process.” Alya countered.

Mylene nodded. “It took a lot of planning to set this whole thing up and having most of the male portion of the city duck out at the last minute for a party they just set up that day is downright rude.” She looked away, pouting and muttering something about no kisses for a week.

Marinette felt a hand on her shoulder, drawing her gaze up to Felix. “They knew they would likely cause problems by doing this and chose to do so anyway. And so they decided to lie to try to avoid being caught. Whatever happens is a direct result of their actions, regardless of the supposed goodness of their reasons.”

“You’re saying that because they left you to nearly get your eyes clawed out.” Marinette pointed out.

His eye twitched. “But am I wrong?”

Well, he really wasn’t…

“Still…” She remained uncertain.

“They could have just invited Adrien and his bodyguard to help out here rather than start a party.” Rose pointed out.

“And leave all the work for us.” Alya added—because yes, she was still bitter about that.

“I still say we should use them as fertilizer.” Alix grumbled.

“Girls, this is a community project, meant to be for the community, not made up of the community.” Mylene reasoned.

“Even if they deserve it.” Juleka snarked, also still miffed and unwilling to let it go.

Rose smiled, beaming. “Still, that girls’ party sounds like a good idea.”

“It’d be a nice reward after all this.” Mylene agreed.

“Not to mention a nice petty revenge at the boys.” Alix said with a grin.

Marinette laughed, seeming relieved with the peaceful solution. “Better than killing them, at any rate.”

Felix clapped his hands, seemingly nonchalant.

“Well then, I hope you all have fun.” And with that, he turned to walk away.

Only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder and a smiling Alya.

…he did not like that smile. Not one bit.

The increasing grip on his being only added to his trepidation.

Alya, naturally, had no concern for this.

“Don’t say that, Felix! You’re coming too.”

A pause.

“What?”

____________

The week passed in relative normalcy. Emphasis on “relative” as it did still involve the drama of half of his classmates cowering and/or groveling before the other half. As well as much bemoaning, harrumphing, occasional begging, and the daily occurrence of walking into the classroom to be greeted by the sight of an array of flowers, candy, and gift baskets on the desks of one or more of the girls in the class each time he entered.

But it was surprisingly akuma-free, so Felix would consider it normal. An odd sort of normal, but normal nonetheless. It was nice. Peaceful, even.

…if not for the sense of impending doom he could feel creeping on him the more of the week that passed and the closer they got to the weekend—and the time of the planned “party”.

Felix knew that going to the party would be a bad idea. And not just because it was a girls’ slumber party. Or one that the girls in his class were throwing out of sheer spite due to the impromptu party the boys had thrown without them when they were supposed to be working together on that community project. Or because the girls in question had previously threatened his eyes. It was partly due to those things, certainly, but not solely.

He simply did not want to go. Period.

But like with many things in his life, Felix‘s feelings weren’t so much overlooked as they were completely disregarded.

Going to a party for the girls was not something Felix had any interest in. He wasn’t a people person in the first place and a slumber party with a number of teenage females was far from his idea of a good time, regardless of what his peers may believe. Furthermore, he was sure there were rules—or were SUPPOSED to be rules concerning the presence of boys at such things.

But apparently this was his punishment for his part in Lahiffe’s plot. Despite the fact he’d had no interest or involvement in that either. And had even been the one to explain what was going on.

Truly life was cruel.

Or maybe it was just Cesaire trying to make him miserable.

...considering the gleeful smirk on her face when she informed him of this decision, he was inclined to believe the latter.

“Don’t worry, Felix! It’ll be fun!” Assured Adrien Agreste, who was apparently either completely ignorant of what was to come or was simply a masochist.

And no, the fact that he would not be suffering this torment alone was no comfort.

“I’m so excited!” Agreste squeed—actually squeed the way the boy’s own fangirls did. Felix wanted to die from embarrassment on his behalf.

“I know! I can’t wait!” Agreed Whayhem Marot, whom Felix was sure would enjoy the event regardless simply as long as Agreste was there.

Felix twitched.

Why was he the only one who recognized it as the punishment it was? Even the other males in the class seemed to see this as a desirable or dare he even say enviable circumstance.

“Felix. Bro. We got to talk.”

Case in point: Nino Lahiffe as he grabbed Felix and dragged him across the courtyard to some impromptu meeting with the other idiotic males of the class. And Couffaine.

This was his life now, apparently.

“What is it?” Felix demanded. Demanded quite reasonably, in his opinion—given the grabbing and the forced interaction.

“Dude. While you’re there, don’t be looking at my girl.” Lahiffe warned him. Backed by the other relationship-bound males in the class whom were also giving him stern looks and nodding in agreement in defense of their respective girlfriends and girl friends.

Not that Felix had any interest in observing any of the aforementioned females in states of undress. And again, didn’t want to be there to begin with.

“But get pictures. We need pics, man!”

He wasn’t sure he would be able to be able to take pictures at all with the girls watching him. Much less take pictures of anyone when he wasn’t allowed to look at them.

“And details!”

“Yeah!”

More to the point...

Felix raised a hand in exasperation. “There are two problems with this. The first being that I don’t know anything about slumber parties.”

“It’s…y’know. Slumber. And parties.” Lahiffe frowned before turning to the others. “Guys, back me up!”

“I have compiled a list of top activities that tend to take place at slumber parties, along with their detailed explanations for your purposes.” Kante offered, holding out a ream of papers clipped together that could practically be its own book.

Felix shoved it back to the shorter boy with a glare.

“The second problem is that I don’t care.”

“Man, seriously?” Le Chien demanded, as if the reason Felix should want to go was supposed to be obvious. “This is a party! With girls!”

A pause.

Felix raised an eyebrow.

“...And?”

Le Chien scratched his head. “That’s…kind of supposed to be the reason.”

He turned away. “And I’m done here.”

Frustratingly, Lahiffe blocked his way.

“Come on, Felix! Adrien is going! Would you really let Adrien go to a girls’ party all alone?”

“Yes.” He replied without even the slightest hesitation.

If it was his choice, who was Felix to interfere? Or be needed to put himself at risk? Because that was the difference—Agreste actually WANTED to go and possibly meet death. A brutal, painful, burning, scarring death.

“Dude! You’re really just going to leave Adrien on his own?”

“I fail to see how that would be my problem.”

Or why they weren’t bugging Agreste about getting these desired ‘pics’.

“Besides, Marot is going so he won’t be ‘alone’, as you say.” Felix stated, even going so far as to make ‘quotation’ gestures for emphasis.

Lahiffe coughed. “Wayhem is…cool and all. But he’s a fanboy! And about as innocent as Adrien is!”

“Then they can learn together. Starting with why adolescent males should not be at slumber parties with adolescent females.”

“Oh come on, do you really think those two would do anything?” Le Chien questioned.

He said that like anyone would think Agreste and Marot would be the ones to worry about instead of the victims.

Felix expected that there would be bodybags.

…he expected one of those bags to be his own.

But on that note…

“Why isn’t Couffaine going?” He asked, gesturing to the musician who had apparently stopped by to drop off a delivery for the girls that likely had to do with the party in question.

Because surely, surely he of all people wouldn’t have earned the girls’ ire.

“Because Luka joined the guys’ party.”

Felix shot Luka a withering look.

“You disappoint me.”

Luka smiled, nervous and apologetic. “Sorry.”

“Make no mistake.” Felix stated, turning back to the others. “If I had any say in the matter, I would not be going to this party. At all.”

“Too bad you don’t have a choice!” Cesaire chirped, coming upon the group with a vicious smirk that made the other males scramble away like the dirty cowards they were. “We’ll be set for the night and you’re not allowed to run. Or we will know.”

Felix sighed.

How they had gotten his mother on board with this, he had no idea.

“This is a punishment, isn’t it?“

“What?” Cesaire fake gasped. “You’re going to be spending the night with a bunch of pretty girls, eating plenty of junk food and baked goods, and having tons of fun! How is that a punishment?“ She asked, fluttering her eyes at him.

Felix glared at her, unimpressed.

“I despise fun.”

“Careful Felix.” She said all too sweetly. “I would almost think you were rejecting our kind offer.“

Ah, yes. The “kind offer“ to not claw out his eyes at the low cost of one night of humiliation and degradation that would no doubt be used to haunt him for the rest of his life.

...he could learn Braille.

________________

The night of the party came, and at late afternoon, Felix was “escorted” to Le Grand Paris.

And by “escorted”, he meant “kidnapped”.

Not that his mother cared.

“Goodbye, Felix!” She called out, waving happily while seemingly ignoring the fact that he was literally being dragged away. “I’ll see you in the morning! Have fun!”

Evil woman. Evil vile woman.

“Come on, Felix! You don’t want to be late!” Cesaire said, all too cheerfully.

“I could just not go.” He muttered. He could very well hide out under a bridge. That would be unpleasant for the night, but still better than what was to come.

“How cute! He thinks he has a choice!” Cesaire cooed as she and Kubdel each stood on either side of him—likely to prevent him from escaping.

He gave her a flat glare. “Die. Die and come back as something pleasant.”

Cesaire just grinned smugly. Kubdel, for her part, rolled her eyes but went along with Cesaire.

It was clear there would be no avoiding this. All Felix could do was accept his fate and begrudgingly walk with the girls to the car that would be taking them to the party.

The only good thing to come of this was that Rossi would not be in attendance as she had not helped out with the volunteer project either.

Though Felix suspected that was just the official excuse so as to prevent discord during the night between Dupain-Cheng and Rossi…

…as well as prevent him from following through on his threat to jump out the first window available, regardless of relative distance to the ground.

You win this round, gravity.

“Hi, Felix!” Agreste greeted as Felix and his “escorts” entered the car.

Felix merely grunted in acknowledgment as the doors closed and his moving tomb started to head towards their destination.

Somehow, though for the life of him he would never understand precisely how, the girls had managed to convince Agreste’s anal-retentive father to consent to his son going to an all-girls’ slumber party.

Which would quite frankly be a miracle in and of itself. Felix has heard enough of the man over the years to know that this should have been an impossible feat. Even if Gabriel Agreste was the sort of man to believe in something as asinine as “fun”, no sensible parent would want to allow males at a sleepover comprising mostly of teenage daughters. And while Felix did question Mr. Agreste’s precise position on the line between “sensible” and “idiotic”, he had been sure that even that man would know better—if only to protect his slowly dying business from the scandal of his son spending a night with a bunch of girls.

Felix suspected some form of blackmail may have been involved.

Or mind control.

Agreste was clearly excited, practically bouncing in his seat. “This will be my first sleepover!”

“Mine too!” Merot chimed in.

It would be Felix’s as well, but that hardly meant it was a life goal and for the life of him, Felix didn’t understand why anyone would think it should be.

As the others continued chatting, Felix was contemplating the pros and cons of jumping out of a moving vehicle. They weren’t going too quickly. Maybe if he ducked and rolled? Or waited until it came to a complete stop?

Either fortunately or not, his contemplations were cut short as they had rather quickly arrived at the destination.

The Grand Hotel.

“It was really nice of Chloe’s Dad to let us have the party here!” Adrien said cheerfully.

Alya smiled.

Felix did not trust that smile. At all.

While none of the girls explained how they had gotten permission to use the hotel main event room for this party, Felix highly suspected that Mayor Bourgeois’s unusual acquiesce to their request had less to do with any good will than it did the very real threat that the girls involved were classmates of his daughter and could easily tell her that he had gone to that party at the mansion.

Adrien’s mansion.

Adrien. Her “best friend”.

A party SHE was not invited to.

To say she would be furious would be an understatement. And the fact that he had managed to keep his involvement secret from her was impressive in its own right. And maybe it would have worked out for him if Cesaire wasn’t involved and looking for vengeance.

Felix sympathized somewhat with the man. Only somewhat because….well…a grown man—and an easily recognizable politician at that? Going to that party was still an incredibly stupid thing to do. Not to mention somewhat creepy.

Andre Bourgeois seemed to think Felix was a kindred spirit as he smiled shakily at the boy, as if looking for some sympathy.

Or perhaps silently praying for him.

Felix would take the latter. He’d need all the help he could get to make it through this night.

The event room in question where the sleepover would be taking place was one of the hotel’s executive suites. There was a central room as well as two side bedrooms and a separate kitchen area. Not that Felix expected there to be much cooking if the laptop Haprele was opening up to the selection of a nearby pizzeria was any indication.

Lavillant and the younger Couffaine were already present and arranging the food and plates. Kubdel seemed to be setting up the television for various video games and movies.

Which left…

“Sorry I’m late!” Dupain-Cheng’s arrival was announced with an apology and a bang as she tried to open the door while holding several boxed of what he reasonably assumed were various pastries.

And with that, the gang was all here.

“Oh, let me help you with that, Marinette!” Agreste offered.

Felix prepared to step in himself. Knowing that girl’s crush, him coming closer to her would make her more likely to drop her cargo than help.

But he hadn’t needed to.

“No worries! I’ve got it!” Came a cheerful voice as another girl came in from behind her. She had tan skin and short red hair. And she seemed muscled, so the multitude of packages alongside her own bags were no trouble to her.

“Thanks, Odine!” Dupain-Cheng said, looking relieved.

Oh right. He remembered now. That girl was Le Chein’s girlfriend, Odine Soares. But why was she there?

As if sensing his confusion, Cesaire smirked. “Odine was invited to our party since she was also left out of the boys’.”

Soares settled the cartons on the table with a huff. “That was a real jerk move of the boys to make excuses to bail on their commitment, and I didn’t appreciate Kim using our swim sessions as a part of their excuse.” She turned to the others with a smile. “I do appreciate the invite though.”

Felix held up his hand. “Well, if this counts as an additional person for a party with limited room, it would be remiss of me to not give my place to someone more deserving—”

Cesaire grabbed his sleeve to keep him from his less than casual move for the door. Thankfully not his arm or they would likely have had a problem. “Oh come on, Felix!” She said, her grin a bit too wide to be innocent. “There’s no need for that!”

“I beg to differ. You just have fun and—”

The door closed behind him. The slam as clear as his own death knell.

“We insist.” Cesaire stated, her words clearly a warning.

Felix sighed and reluctantly moved to place his bags in the side room designated for the boys. When he returned, he found the girls in a discussion over horror movies or video games. With little option and wanting to open himself up to as little drama as possible, he chose to sit next to Agreste and Merot on the couch. His only allies for this mess of a night.

“This is going to be fun!”

“I know, right?”

…

…it seemed his allies had already fallen.

Felix was on his own.

___________________

The sleepover started simply enough.

Pizza was ordered. Soda was poured. Popcorn was popped and promptly somehow simultaneously fought over and used as ammo. Candy was shared.

They started with some Mecha Strike which all of them played—except for Dupain-Cheng, who was apparently banned due to her “mad skillz”. They played in teams that eventually came out with Lavillant and Felix as the winners—which he wasn’t at all smug about no matter Cesiare’s claim.

Then the girls insisted on a dance game. Felix, understandably, chose to sit out. To his surprise, Dupain-Cheng chose to sit out with him as well.

Or maybe it wasn’t that much of a surprise, given her natural clumsiness. No doubt it would be exacerbated due to the presence of her crush.

Still, that she chose to keep him company in his “dark and dreary” corner of the room (Cesaire’s words, not his) was…kind.

“Enjoying yourself?” She asked, polite and considerate and everything he absolutely did not need right now.

He looked away, irritated. Seeing his expression, she frowned and sat next to him.

“I’m sorry you were dragged into this.” She said quietly. “I know this isn’t your idea of a good time.”

She wasn’t wrong. Felix’s idea of a good time was probably the exact opposite of the current situation. Somewhere quiet and alone. Likely his room with a book and some tea.

It was nice that someone at least recognized that. Not that it made a difference.

“I don’t blame you.” He assured her, insomuch that at least it wasn’t her he blamed. She could probably tell that much from the glare he sent towards Cesaire at her place on the couch and cheering on Agreste and Merot’s tag team in the dance game.

Oh yes, HER, he did blame.

As if feeling his glare on her, she turned to look at him and wagged her eyebrows in his direction.

He resisted the urge to make a profane gesture.

“Honestly, I think they’re just trying to stick it to the other boys for ditching us to throw a party where we’re specifically not invited.” Dupain-Cheng explained.

It wasn’t necessary for her to try to explain it away. Maybe she could convince someone who didn’t know better, but Felix knew full well that this was more than vengeance against the rest of their male classmates. Cesaire was taking full advantage of the opportunity to vex him as well.

But he would be magnanimous and refrain from pointing that out because she sounded a bit miffed about the whole prior incident and he wasn’t about to try and deny her her right to her fury over the matter.

Dupain-Cheng continued, smiling at him. “Since you at least stuck to your word and told us the truth about what was going on, this is kind of a reward.”

“But for whom? Because from my perspective, this is simply a punishment all around.” He bit out.

Marinette smiled. “But Nino and the guys won’t see it that way.”

Ah, yes. The adolescent male mind would no doubt see entry into this event as a privilege and something to envy.

That’s because they didn’t know better.

No doubt they simply thought of it as scantily clad girls sleeping together or whatever else their hormone-driven brains could imagine.

The truth was that it would be more embarrassing and aggravating than anything. Humiliating. Potentially traumatizing. And may very well end in death—most likely his own.

Felix wondered if letting the other males keep that foolish image would make this night worth it.

…it wouldn’t. He knew it wouldn’t. But he would still keep quiet about it because he blamed them almost as much as he blamed Cesaire since they started this mess in the first place.

And Felix deserved something today.

In his ruminations, Dupain-Cheng had left him to his thoughts, though only for a short time. A little while later, she had returned with some hot herbal tea.

It didn’t make him feel better about what this night would bring.

But it helped.

___________________

It wasn’t long before the group had gotten worn out from the more active video games and had turned to less active and more personal time.

The girls had sat in a circle, back to front. For…simultaneous hair-styling, apparently. They had a number of hairbands, clips, head pieces, and decorations with which to adorn each other while they talked and gossiped. Agreste and Merot excitedly joined them in the circle as well.

“Felix! You should join!” Agreste invited.

“Yeah,” Cesaire said with what could only be an evil smirk. “There’s a spot for your right here!” She patted the space in front of her.

Felix gave her a dry glare. “You’re not subtle, Cesaire. I know better than to trust you anywhere near my hair.”

She pouted but turned to Dupain-Cheng instead.

Felix watched in some limited amusement at the mixture of decent styles and outright monstrosities that were born of the styling circle. Agreste ended up with his hair covered in pink clips by an overly enthusiastic Lavillant. Merot ended up with wild streaks from Kubdel and…wow, he was glad he didn’t join. He hadn’t thought they’d bring hair dye.

Cesaire, much to his vindication, ended up with her hair looking somewhat akin to a hydra after Merot separated her hair into a number of separate mismatched asymmetrical ponytails and then used hair spray to keep them in place. Whatever hairstyle the boy had been going for had failed atrociously, but they seemed to get a good laugh out of it…and only convinced Felix all the more that he was right to avoid it altogether.

If only he would be able to avoid the next activity.

Because then came THE game. The one Felix knew was coming. The one he dreaded.

“Truth or Dare~!”

Was it too late to jump out the window?

He glanced over, seriously considering it. They were only a few floors off the ground. Just 10 or 12. It wasn’t that much, right? He could make it.

Or he would fall into the sweet, sweet embrace of death and never have to experience another night like this.

Unfortunately, Kubdel and Lavillant blocked the path to the window—likely the former knowing more of his plan than the latter, who just smiled at him innocently and asked if he wanted to sit next to her for the game.

“Of course he would!”

Before he could even speak, Cesaire had reached an arm around his shoulders and “guided” him to the circle where everyone was now facing the center and preparing to play.

“I can escape.” He hissed to her. “Don’t think I wouldn’t.”

“Oh sure, you could.” She whispered back in agreement. Then she smirked. “And what a shame that would be. Marinette would be disappointed. I guess this would leave me with no choice but to distract her from your absence and use this opportunity to continue Operation Adrinette and all of us would be free to ask Adrien so many questions about who he likes.”

Something about that struck him as more distasteful than remaining at the party and taking part in the game.

And given the way she was looking at him, Cesaire knew it, too.

“Plus you’ll have to go home sooner or later.” She added with a smirk. “And your mother is going to want all the details of her son’s ‘first sleepover’. Imagine her disappointment if she finds out you ditched us?”

…vile girl.

“Fine.” He hissed, moving to join the ‘Circle of Friendship’.

Most of the group seem elated as he sat among them. Kubdel was snickering. Lavillant looked on the verge of squealing. Agreste and Merot smiled at him with their ignorant, oblivious, innocent eyes.

Dupain-Cheng looked nervous. Understandable, given the nature of the game they were about to play and her history of embarrassment at the hands of her so-called ‘friends’. Something that a game like this would only open her up for in spades.

If nothing else, he supposed he could at least try to help spare her the death of embarrassment. If only to spare himself the same.

The first rounds were simple, silly things.

“What was your worst akuma?”

“I dare you to impersonate Hawk Moth!”

“Try to pun like Chat Noir!”

At least Cesaire was keeping to her word with him there, as she had yet to try any of her silly matchmaking shenanigans. And the other girls seemed to be following her lead, as none of them did anything of the sort either.

Then of course, came the inevitable…

“Felix! Truth or Dare?” Lavillant asked cheerfully.

He immediately felt his back straighten.

She was cheerful. And out of all the classmates, the girl was the most kind—seemingly. But also the most naive and impressionable. Cesaire could have put her up to something.

But she wouldn’t willingly make him do anything she knew would hurt him, right?

He felt a grin from the side and resolutely chose to not look at Cesaire.

“Dare.” He said. Against all better judgement.

“I dare you…” Lavillant said, drawing it out as she seemed to be trying to think of something.

“To style Juleka’s hair!”

He blinked.

“Come again?”

“You didn’t get to take part in the hairstyle circle so it’s only fair!” She insisted.

“Yeah!”

“Style something for us, Felix!”

“Use your modeling skills!”

…well, that wasn’t so bad, at least.

“Fine.” He agreed, rolling up his sleeves. All the better to get this over with quickly. And with as little fuss as possible.

“You okay with this, Felix?” Dupain-Cheng asked. At least she was kind enough to have some concern for his comfort. He wasn't fond of touching people, after all.

He shrugged.

“It could be worse. They could have me shirtless and serving them drinks.”

A pause.

A long pause.

“Can I change my dare?”

“No.” He replied immediately.

#ml fic #felix culpa #felix july #felix month 2019 #marinette dupain cheng #alya cesaire #in which alya is evil #and having too much fun #adrien is obivious #only felix understands #and suffers #felix suffers

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mattblackagain · 4 months

Text

Written for Honey @d2bm some time ago but as a few of my followers like stories, here it is again.

The Hitchhiker

Part of my job entails driving around the country in a nice car (not mine) visiting dealers for the brand that I work for. It’s not unpleasant; it gets me out from behind a desk and generally people are pleased to see me. It also means spending quite a few hours in a car on my own, with sometimes an overnight stop up north, in Scotland, or the west country. Occasionally, but not as often as I used to, I’ll see a hitchhiker. Usually these are men delivering cars to dealers and finding their own way home, easily recognisable by them carrying trade plates. I sometimes pick these guys up just to see if they have anything interesting to say, but usually they don’t. They just want to get home as quickly as possible.

On this occasion though I spotted a single female. Young and wearing a very short denim skirt, she was holding a tatty piece of cardboard with something scrawled on it that I couldn’t make out. The light was just starting to fade so obviously, spotting her immediate danger and being a gallant chap, I pulled over and wound the passenger window down.

“Warwick?” she asked, poking her pretty face and long dark hair through the window.

“Yes, as it happens!”, I lied. I was actually going nowhere near Warwick but had completed all my appointments for the day and had nothing waiting for me except an empty motel room.

“Jump in”.

“Great! Thanks a lot!”

She opened the door and dumped her pink backpack on the floor of the car. It looked familiar somehow, but I couldn’t think where I’d seen one like it before.

She got in the seat arse first and knees together. She was clearly practised in wearing short skirts, and this skirt was VERY short. It was faded, with a frayed edge that contrasted with her nicely tanned legs. She had just a vest top on, no bra and she didn’t need one. Her small but perky boobs jiggled as she got comfortable and put her belt on. She smelled lovely, fresh and sweet but not overpowering, just clean with the merest hint of perfume. We set off.

“Bit risky isn’t it, hitching on your own I mean? And it’s getting dark”. Yes, for some reason I was turning into her dad. Although she was easily young enough to be my daughter I didn’t really want to draw attention to this fact.

“I know! A friend was supposed to pick me up but they let me down and I didn’t know where the bus station was or anything!” she explained, slightly air-headedly. She had nice teeth, very little makeup, just a bit of mascara and some lip gloss. Must stop staring at her lips, look at her eyes....

“Well, no harm done. You’re safe now, I can drop you off wherever you like”.

“Cool, thanks again! I owe you! By the way, I’m Honey.”

“Pleased to meet you Honey, I’m Matt”.

“Oooo...I like this one!”. She reached forward and turned the radio up. “Perfect” by Exceeder.

“1, 2, 3, 4, let me hear you scream if you want some more. Like ahhhh, push it, push it, watch me work it, I'm perfect” she giggled, arching her back against the seat and pouting.

“You are very cute”, I ventured, trying not to make my leering too blatant.

“Awww! Thanks! You’re not so bad for an older guy!” she smiled. “And I really would like to thank you properly.”

With that, she pulled up the middle of her skirt a few inches to reveal white cotton knickers with little blue and red pictures of ice cream cones on, stretched across her mound. She slipped a hand inside, her knuckles stretching the material still further, then pulled her hand out and popped two fingers in her mouth.

I swerved to narrowly miss a traffic island. Fuck. There was nowhere to pull over though, I’d just have to keep going.

“Hehe, that was close! You concentrate on the road mister and I’ll look after everything else”. She took my left hand and placed it on her tit. I squeezed, rubbing her nipple with my thumb. She pushed her boobs together with her arms to let me grope both with one hand. “Is that what you want mister?” she said, moving my hand down to her crotch. Through the knicker material her mound felt soft, warm and slightly damp. She pushed her hips into my hand as my middle finger ran down the crease.

“Mmmm...yes, do that more please” she moaned, biting her bottom lip. I could smell her pussy now, and I knew what to expect when I pulled her knickers to one side. She was already soaked, and my finger slipped easily between her swollen lips.

“Let me find somewhere to stop before we crash”.

“OK!”, she smiled, and ran her finger across her bottom lip.

We carried on for a couple of miles and, thankfully, a layby appeared. I’d used this one before for a “power nap” on my travels, it had a line of trees between the parking and the road so was relatively secluded, if not that quiet with the traffic going past. It was empty, and the light was fading fast.

As soon as we’d stopped she released her seatbelt and dived in to kiss me. Open mouthed, her tongue finding mine and flicking across my lips in an eagerness that usually only the young possess - one that I’d not felt in a long time.

“I need it in me” she whispered, unbuttoning my shirt. Yes, well, I’d figured that much out already but thanks for confirming. My dick was already straining for attention in my black jeans as she ran her fingers over the bulge. I undid my belt and fly buttons and pulled it out into the cool air. She let out a squeal of delight and dropped her dead down, her hot mouth enveloping my cock head and an inch or two of shaft.

I pushed down on her head, her nose pressed against the inside of my thigh, then let her bob on it, her tongue lashing around the head on each upstroke before pressing down as far as she could. I ran my left hand down her back and rested it there.

She looked up, a string of saliva connecting her lip to my cock. “I want all of it”. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Classy.

“Stay there”, I instructed, opened the driver’s door and got out. With hindsight, maybe I should have tucked my dick away first, but I was on a roll. Fuck it. With my jeans halfway down to my knees I waddled round to her side of the car and opened her door.

“Oooo! Perfect!” she giggled, swivelling on her seat and taking me in her mouth again. At least I could claim to be err...brushing something off the roof with my hand if another car appeared. Cupping my balls in her hand, she want to work on my cock pushing deeper and deeper. “Arrggggh” she gargled, as he head of my cock reached the narrow restriction of her throat.

“Fuck yes!” I blurted out. “Fucking suck it”. She looked up at me as if to signal yes, and I felt her tongue touch my ballsack. Yes, she was good…

Placing one hand on the back of her head, I pushed hard. She had just about taken it all to be fair. I held her there for a few seconds, then released. She came up gasping. “Yesss...” she hissed. “Make me choke on it please!”

Using both hands this time, I pumped her mouth. “Gug, gug, gug…” accompanied by the suction sound of my cock head blocking and then releasing in her throat. She placed her hands on my thighs and looked up for a signal. Not yet Miss, not yet. “Gug, gug”. Her eyes started to water and she pushed her hands against my thighs to signal enough.

Nearly there. Just a little more, petal. “Gug, gug, cough!”. A stream of thick spit burst from her lips, I released her and she inhaled loudly, sucking in deep lungfuls of oxygen like someone who had escaped a submerged car in a river.

“Thank you, Sir”.

Wow, I love being called Sir. Especially by sluts.

“Get up and turn around”.

“Yes, Sir”.

She did as instructed, bending at the waist a little and gripping the roof edge of the car. A quick glance right to check nothing was coming (although I was close) and back to business. Crescents of arse cheeks poked from her knickers, her skirt was halfway up her arse and her legs were perfectly straight. She stood a little on her toes, wiggling.

“Please fuck me”.

Not needing to be asked twice, I pulled her knickers down onto her thighs and squatted down. She lent forward slightly in response, arching her back, as I spread her arse cheeks with my thumbs. Her holes were perfectly clean and shaven, and I was hungry for a taste of both. I poked my tongue between her pussy lips first, which was wet and sweet as expected, then hooked a forefinger into it. My tongue moved up to her brown hole, poking into that tight little starfish. She pushed back onto it, the filthy slut.

There was no need to wait any longer. She was soaking wet and my bulging dick was feeling like it would burst. It needed driving into some flesh. I stood up, and held the head up to her cunt, my balls just catching the elastic of her knickers.. “Is this what you want?�� I said, rubbing the head forward and back between her swollen lips.

“Fuck yes! Please!!”

“Please WHAT?”

“Please SIR!”

I pushed, it sank in easily. That familiar wet grip, so perfectly designed, the flesh so firm, yet yielding.

“Oh!!” she gasped. I grabbed her narrow waist with both hands and pushed again, deeper.

“Oh my god, I love it….please”.

I pumped her, running my hands up and down her sides, over her tits, relishing her tight young body. She met my thrusts, pushing back on her heels, then pulling forward onto her toes. I gathered her hair up with both hands, then held it in my left fist and pulled. It smelt wonderful. My right hand returned to her tits, pulling at her vest top to expose them and kneading them like dough balls. Plunging into her faster, her arse slapping against my thighs, I knew it wouldn’t be long before my frustration was released.

“I’m going to….going to….” she whimpered, before reaching back with her hand and dipping her middle fingertip into her asshole. I felt her cunt contract, then she started bucking.

“Oh...oh….YES!! Fuck it! Harder!”

I was seconds behind her. Gripping her waist hard to maximise the length of my thrusts and pulling her onto my cock, using her whole torso as a fuck tube.

“FFFFUUUUUUUCK!!” I yelled as a torrent of cum rose from my balls, ripped through my dick and spurted deep inside her. Pound, pound, pound...timing each thrust with a spurt until finally staying buried in her while I caught my breath, gasping.

“Wow”, was all I could say, before slipping out of her.

“Here, let me”, she said, turning around, squatting down and taking my still half hard dick in her mouth and expertly sucking it clean. One last chance for me to take in the sight of the top of her head bobbing on my cock and commit that vision to my memory. Perfect.

Still slightly wobbly and dazed from the experience, I arranged my clothing and she got some wipes from her backpack. My cum had run down the inside of her legs, and she couldn’t resist running a fingertip through it before tasting it in front of me with a smile. Pure filth. She pulled her knickers up over her squidgy cunt and got in.

We made our way to the street where I dropped her off without saying much, just smiles mostly.

“Thanks again mister!”. She waved, blew me a kiss, spun around and left, that tiny skirt wiggling on her hips as she walked away. I don’t suppose I’ll be lucky enough to see her again. What a girl though. What a honey!

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aspoonofsugar · 8 months

Text

Oshi No Ko - A Family Of Stars

I caught up with Oshi No Ko, so here are some opinions and meta thoughts.

AN INVERSION OF NAOKI URASAWA'S MONSTER

Oshi No Ko and Monster are 2 very different stories, but some plot elements and conflicts are similar:

Monster is the story of a surgeon, who must track down a serial killer whose life he has saved. This monster is one of 2 twins and the story deals with the brother and sister uncovering their past

Oshi No Ko is the story of a doctor, who is murdered and reborn as his favourite idol's child. Together with him there is a twin sister and they must track down the killer of their mother. The series leads the twins to find closure with their previous selves, so they can embrace a new life

In short, in both series there is a pair of twins and a murderer. It is just that in Monster the twins have no memories nor sense of selves, while in Oshi No Ko they have too many memories and baggage.

Finally, in Monster the characters must uncover the truth behind Johan, while in Oshi No Ko they must find out who Ai really is. The former is about understanding a monster, whereas the latter is about empathizing with a goddess.

(A)IDOL

The invincible smile that tears up the media Wanna know her secret, so mysterious Even the things she lacks end up in her area Such a perfect liar, you are: [Miss] ingenious, godly idol (You're my savior, you're my saving grace)

In religion an idol is:

An object which represents a deity, so it can become a manifestation of the god itself

A fake god, at least in monotheistic religions, like Judaism, Christianity and Islam

So, idols are gods. And yet, they are fake gods. In particular, monotheistic religions refuse idols because they are over-simplified representations of the divine.

Similarly, people worship celebrities, but only aknowledge their simplistic personas. Actors and idols are put on a pedestal, but also objectified:

So, what'd you eat today? What's your favorite book? And if you wanna go to play, where are you gonna go? I haven't eaten at all That's a secret No matter what you ask She's elusive, evasive Yet still shining bright; Her secret: out of sight, as if visible, has the taste of honey

They aren't seen as people with complex emotions, but as blank slates fans project their feelings onto.

This is why Ai Hoshino is the ultimate idol:

Drawing everyone's eyes You are the perfect, ultimate idol Never to appear again A reincarnation of Venus With that smile, with that "I love you" You captivate everyone Even if those eyes, those words, are false They make up a perfect love (Ai)

Ai's whole self is a lie. Not because she is malicious, but rather because she lacks a sense of self:

She is not sure of her own emotions and can't tell truth from lies. Everything is mixed and unclear. What does it even mean to love? What does Ai even want?

Ai is supposed to embody love. After all, she is associated to the Morning Star, which is called Venus, also known as the Goddess of Love. And yet, Ai's true eyes are dark:

Similarly, the word "ai" means love, but our idol's name is written with no kanji, which makes it the Japanese transcription of the English word for eye.

Ai's name is the sound of love, but with no kanjis (no meaning) attached. Ai is an empty love with empty eyes. This is the pun she is built on.

Still, why is that so? Well, Ai's parents don't put kanjis in her name, just like they don't love her:

So, Ai's character is defined by these 2 ideas:

I have never been loved by anyone Nor have I loved anyone else

On the one hand she was never loved. On the other hand she has never loved. Because of this, she thinks of herself as a fake.

AI (PURPLE) = AQUA (BLUE) + RUBY (RED)

Ai has stars in both her purple eyes. Aqua and Ruby instead have only 1 star each. Moreover, Aqua has blue eyes, while Ruby has red eyes. The idea is very simple. They are Ai's 2 sides:

Aqua is blue, right, mind and an actor

Ruby is red, left, heart and an idol

Together they make Ai, down to her 2 parallel careers (as an actress and as an idol). That said, the twins' foiling with their mother gets deeper:

As Miyako highlights, both Aqua and Ruby are liars. It is just that they lie about opposite things. On the one hand Aqua hides his most positive and vulnerable side. On the other hand Ruby hides her negative feelings. Aqua always sulks, while Ruby always smiles.

Aqua suppresses his wish to love others and to be happy with them

Ruby suppresses her fear to be unloved and abandoned by those around her

In short, each twin explores one of Ai's complexes (to love and to be loved). They really are the 2 faces of Ai (love).

AQUA - THE UNLOVING ACTOR

Aqua's story starts with Gorou Amamiya:

Gorou is a person strongly defined by guilt, which is at the root of his backstory. His mother was a young girl, who died by giving birth to him. As a result, Gorou feels he lives at her expenses and does all he can to rectify this mistake. For example, he becomes an obstetrician, even if he really wants to be a surgeon. Not only that, but he ends up developing a saviour complex. He feels it is his failure that Sarina dies, even if her illness can't be cured and has nothing to do with Gorou's area of expertise.

So, it is really no surprise that once Ai arrives, he projects on her the 2 people he could not save:

Ai is Sarina's favourite idol and a young girl like her

Ai is a teenage mother and is desperate to give birth in secret, just like Gorou's own mother

Ai represents Gorou's chance of redemption and catharsis. He could not save neither his mom nor Sarina, but he can help Ai. She needs the kind of doctor he is and this time he can make things right. However, Gorou is negated this closure and gets killed and reborn as Ai's own son. A son, who is destined to witness his mother's death. This time again, Aqua is powerless and can't save Ai. So, the story repeats and Aqua is left broken:

Aqua's real wish is to save people, but he keeps failing, so he chooses the path of revenge. He becomes his own antithesis.

He feels he doesn't deserve to live happily with others, but his wish to connect is too strong and he ends up forging some of the deepest bonds in the series:

He insists he is only focused on revenge, but ends up warming up to Kana and Akane to the point he goes out of his way to support them multiple times. Even when it doesn't help his avenge quest.

This is made clear in recent chapters, as well. Aqua has decided to give up on all his bonds. He cuts ties with Akane, decides to manipulate Kana and betrays Ruby's trust. He insists he is ready to go to hell alone. And yet, even after he takes such a dark turn, he can't help, but to save Ruby:

As Crow Girl says, this is a bad move on Aqua's side. His revenge would be easier if Ruby hated him, but he lets his true feelings out. He tries to repress his love and care for others. And yet, it keeps manifesting through the cracks of his vengeful persona. Aqua decides not to love, but he still does.

RUBY - THE UNLOVED IDOL

Ruby's story starts with Sarina Tendouji:

Sarina's life is doomed by her illness, which results in her parents abandoning her. Not only does she suffer physically, but she feels unloved. Despite that, she refuses to give up and laces on 2 people, who become her personal lights (stars):

Ai is the girl Sarina wishes to be. A person who is showered with love, as she shines brightly and moves freely on a stage.

Gorou is a parental substitude, as he is the only adult, who supports Sarina throughout her illness. He is even the person who stays with her, while she dies.

So, Ai and Gorou are around when Sarina's parents aren't, which is why she ends up idolizing them. Ai becomes some kind of ideal self, while Gorou becomes her first crush. The truth, though, is that they are the 2 pillars of Sarina's life.

Ironically, Sarina's make believe family becomes Ruby's real one. In particular, Ai becomes a mother, who loves her children with all her heart. This is healing for Ruby, who projects her wish for love on Ai:

It is Ai's strong emotions, which make it possible for Ruby to recover from the loss of her mother:

Ruby pursues the career of idol earnestly to become a star who never lies. And yet, she keeps lying to herself, as she refuses to confront Sarina's past. This negation is why her reaction to Gorou's death is so strong. This discovery becomes a catalyst for all of Ruby's negative feelings:

Ruby becomes her own antithesis and starts to climb up high through manipulation and lies. It is implied she weakens her relationships and later on she enters a violent fight with Aqua, which breaks their bond.

And yet, when Ruby hits rock bottom and confronts the painful truth that her parents have abandoned Sarina, it is Aqua who comes to her rescue:

Even if Ruby breaks their relationship and is prepared to live without trusting anyone anymore, she is still loved. The girl who fears rejection and abandonement is loved even in her darkest moment.

IDOL + FANS = MOTHER + CHILDREN

Aqua and Ruby are opposites. Aqua is scared to be loved and can't let go of Gorou. Ruby is scared to be unloved and can't face Sarina. And yet, they are also the same. Both project their deeper issues on both each other and Ai.

Gorou's feelings over his mother are projected on Sarina. Similarly, he projects his feelings for Sarina on Ai

Sarina's feelings over her mother are projected on Gorou. Later on, she decides to become like Ai because of her promise to Gorou

In short, Gorou wants to protect Ai because of Sarina and Sarina wants to become like Ai because of Gorou. As a result, Ai ends up as the object of their fantasies and wishes. A real godly idol.

Obviously, Gorou and Sarina's feelings towards Ai grow deeper and more complex as they are reborn as her twins. Slowly, their relationship goes from that of idol and fans to that of mother and children.

So, Aqua and Ruby's story is about overcoming the idealization of Ai. Both as fans towards their favourite idol and as children towards their mother. After all, isn't a mother their child's idol?

SUSANOO, AMATERASU AND MARIA

Among other things, the theme of idolisation is conveyed through the religious motif of the Hoshino Family.

Even the flowing sweats are beautiful Aqua These eyelids that hid the Ruby within

The lyrics reference the legend of Susanoo and Amaterasu:

According to tradition, the 3 god siblings Susanoo, Tsukuyomi and Amterasu are born from the creator god Izanagi. as he washes his face in a river. Tsukuyomi (Moon Goddess) is born from Izanagi's right eye, Amaterasu (Sun Goddess) from his left eye and Susanoo (Sea God) from his nose. In short:

Aqua is a composite version of Tsukuyomi and Susanoo. He has inherited Ai's right eye, like Tsukuyomi. However, the opening associates him to his mother's sweat, like Susanoo is born from Izanagi blowing his nose. Finally, his name links him to the sea

Ruby alludes to Amaterasu. She has inherited Ai's left eye, the opening links her to her mother's eyes and she herself mentions the goddess

This reference loosely comments Aqua and especially Ruby's arcs.

Amaterasu and Susanoo enter a fight, which leaves the Goddess crying and depressed. She hides in a cave and without the light of the sun, the world is left in darkness. The other Gods come up with a plan to lure Amaterasu out of her prison. In particular, the God of Enterteinment Ame-no-Uzume organizes a celebration for a new bright Goddess. Amaterasu gets curious and eventually comes out from the cave, so the world gets sunlight back.

Does any of this sound familiar?

Ame-no-Uzume is mentioned multiple times together with Amaterasu. Moreover, the characters visit the Goddess of Enterteinment's temple and they metaphorically enter Amaterasu's cave:

What the story does is clear, right? Ruby's arc is loosely an inversion of Amaterasu's story.

The Sun Goddess enters a fight with her brother and hides in a cave, only to be rescued by the Goddess of Enterteinment. Ruby is guided by Crow Girl (who could be a composite character between Yagatarasu and Ame-no-Uzume herself) and enters a cave, where she finds Gorou's body. This leads to Ruby going through her eclipse phase, where her eyes go dark. Eventually, she is helped by her brother and she finds her inner light again.

It is possible that Aqua's story will mirror Susanoo's in a similar way. After all, the God of the Sea is famous for killing a monstrous serpent to protect a Princess and for finding a Magical Sword within the beast. This may reference Aqua's quest for revenge, who leads him to find a princess (Akane-Princess Saya) and a blade (Kana-Tsurugi). That said, it is too soon to say.

As a final note, Ruby and Aqua's fight ties into the mythological motif. After all, Amaterasu enters into conflicts with both Susanoo and Tsukuyomi. In Amaterasu and Susanoo's case, they go through a divination ritual, so that Susanoo can prove his good intentions. Susanoo passes the trial, but the aftermath leads to the siblings fighting. When it comes to Ruby and Aqua, Ruby gets angry at Aqua for betraying Ai. As a result, Aqua has to mend his bond with Ruby by revealing his past self. To do so, he proves his identity through the Ai-keychan (a divine sign). He passes the trial.

What's most interesting about these references is Ame-no-Uzume's role. The Goddess of Enterteinment is an ally of Amaterasu, but Crow Girl leads the characters towards darkness. Thematically, she may embody the darkest part of the enterteinment world, which finds fun in people suffering.

So, what about Ai? What is her religious symbolism? Let's turn to Christianity:

Sing, dance, flutter, I am Maria — Right, lying is the most exquisite form of love

Mary is famous for having Jesus, while still a virgin. She is so perfect that God chooses her to bear his child. Similarly, Ai is an idol and is requested to be pure, so for her to have a sexual partner is out of question.

Still, Aqua and Ruby's reaction to the idea of a father is interesting. It speaks of their idealization of Ai both as her children and as her 2 biggest fans. At the same time, it betrays a wish to repress everything related to the final member of the Hoshino family.

MEPHISTO

As @hamliet explains in her meta, Hikaru Kamiki's name means God of Light, which is a reference to Lucifer, the fallen angel turned king of hell. It is a fitting imagery for Ai's enemy. Ai is Aqua and Ruby's goddess, so her killer can only be the devil. Similarly, Lucifer betrays God and Hikaru betrays Ai.

So, what is known about Hikaru Kamiki? Only 2 things:

He was raped and forced to have a son when he was 11

He is a serial killer, who targets famous celebrities

In particular, it is probable Hikaru idolises Ai, just like his children do. As a child, he is raped by a woman, then he meets Ai and has a relationship with her. However, his unsolved trauma almost surely ends up compromising his story with the idol and he eventually kills her. Later on, he projects his feelings over Ai on women similar to her, whom he targets in a neverending cycle.

This psychological mechanism makes him the embodyment of the most twisted love possible:

He was loved wrong (he was raped)

He loves wrong (he kills women he is attracted to)

Given this premise, he is clearly going to be defeated and he will probably die in the end. Still, the way he goes down will be important for Aqua and Ruby, as it will decide their future, as well.

In general, Hikaru is probably meant to be a negative foil (a jungian shadow) to the twins, as he represents their darkest parts. In particular, it is gonna be interesting if he foils them not only on the main theme of love, but also on the theme of lies and truth.

Aqua explores the idea of lies. He hides things from others and manipulates them. At the same time, he also experiences how good beautiful lies can be (his happy life when he thinks his father died). Most of all, though, he embodies the idea that a lie can become truth and vice versa. For example, his most effective manipulation technique is to mix his true feelings with his lies. He tells Kana she is cute because he thinks so. He tells Akane he is interested in her as an actress because it is true. He manipulates both girls, but his feelings are genuine.

Ruby explores the idea of truth. She hates liars and doesn't want to lie even if it would help her become an idol faster. Still, she experiences how painful truth can be (her discovery of Gorou's body). This leads her to lie to both herself and others. In the end, though, an even more painful truth comes out (her parents do not love her). No matter how much Ruby tries to hide her feelings, truth will come out. And yet, despite how agonizing it is, truth also leads to happiness. She is devastated after seeing Sarina's mother again, but this lets Ruby and Aqua find each other as Sarina and Gorou. As a result, Ruby is now happier and stronger.

So, in which way may Hikaru foil his children here? There might already be hints:

Just like Aqua, Hikaru is a master at manipulating others with truth. After all, it is implied he manipulated his rapist's husband to kill her by revealing her infidelity. Similarly, he orchestrates Ai's death by telling an unstable fan about her pregnancy. Even when it comes to Yura Katayose, he openly tells the actress to watch her step. An open threath masked as advice.

Just like Ruby, it is possible Hikaru values truth and hates liars. This could easily tie in his backstory and explain why his relationship with Ai degenerates:

I shall lie today as well (Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!) Hoping that one day, these words will become true (Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!) And yet, still, (Hey! Hey!) I have been unable to tell you, and you, alone (Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!)

Ai sees herself as a liar unable to love. This is obviously the real lie, as her heart is full of love. Still, it wouldn't be surprising if Ai's own issues exasperated Hikaru's fear to be used again. From what we know, it is probable Ai and Hikaru have feelings for each other, at a certain point. Then things go bad. What if Ai's inability to express her love and Hikaru's inability to understand lead to their breakout and eventual tragedy?

Obviously, this is all a theory, but one thing is sure. Ai and Hikaru's relationship is key for understanding their characters and their legacy to the twins. Still, Ai is already dead and Hikaru will die in the end. How can their story find a closure, then?

A WORK OF FICTION TO SHOW THE TRUTH

The climax of the series is building up towards the movie, which is gonna represent Hikaru and Ai's story.

Interestingly, Aqua is playing Hikaru, while Ruby is playing Ai. It is obvious a lot of emotional payoff rides on this. On the one hand it is gonna be a chance for Aqua and Ruby to sort out their feelings towards each other. On the other hand Kana and Akane will probably do the same, which will solve their love triangle with Aqua. (spoiler - KanaXAqua is probably endgame).

What is really interesting, though, is that the movie is set up to reveal who Ai really is. After all, the godly idol asks the director to film the real her and this request should be satisfied. Not only that, but Ai leaves her children 2 tapes whose contents are still to be shown. So, whatever Ai's legacy is, it will be made clear. This is true also for her bond with Hikaru:

So, does Ai forgive Hikaru or not? Her children seem to believe in the latter. However, the former is probably true.

First of all, it is probable Ai realizes Hikaru is behind her murder. The stalker arrives with a bouquet of white roses, which are associated to Hikaru. Moreover, Hikaru is the only person, who knows both about the twins and the new address. Secondly, Ai shows no rage nor fear for the fan who murders her. The man is clearly a stand-in for Hikaru in the scene. Despite his actions, Ai does not lose time hating him, but spends her final moments affirming her love for her and Hikaru's children. In short, Ai possibly knows of Hikaru's involvement, but doesn't regret their kids.

Still, will Aqua and Ruby portray this in their movie? And does Aqua's revenge ride on Ai's forgiveness or hate towards Hikaru? Will the twins understand their mother?

Whatever the result, it is probable Aqua and Ruby will eventually run into their father. In particular, Hikaru is set up as a threath to the 3 main girls:

He sends Akane white roses and she is determined to stop Aqua's revenge, which may put her in harm's way

He is the thematically opposite of Kana. He embodies twisted love and twisted truth. She embodies healthy love and genuine feelings

Finally, there is several build up towards him trying to eventually kill Ruby:

He comments that Ruby is growing up beautiful

He kills Yura, who is the original first choice for Ai's role

Ruby ends up playing Ai in the movie

If this third scenario becomes true, it could give closure to all the character arcs. Ruby may empathize with Ai and forgive her father. Aqua may be given the chance to save Ruby (symbolically both Ai and Sarina) this time. Finally, the outcome may offer catharsis to Hikaru before he dies. In short, I think Hikaru is gonna die, but that the twins are not killing him. Rather, they are gonna understand their mother's feelings and survive their parents' tragedy.

A SECOND CHANCE

Hikaru and Ai's story is a sad one, but Aqua and Ruby's is gonna have a happy outcome. After all, the whole series is about overcoming death and getting second chances.

Gorou and Sarina both go past their deaths and are given brand new lives

The new B Komachi is a second chance for all its members. It is a second chance to live for Ruby, a second chance for Kana's career, a second chance to fulfill Mem-cho's idol dream. Finally, it is the second chance of Ichigo and Miyako's wish to come true

Miyako and Ichigo's love story will also be given a second chance

The movie is the director's second chance to realize Ai's wish to film her real self

In short, this theme is everywhere and it is possible the series ends with B Komachi performing in a dome, exactly as it starts. This time, though, things will go well.

Still, doesn't something feel odd? After all, if the series is about second chances, why isn't Ai given one?

THE REAL AI (TRUE LOVE)

I think there are 2 reasons Ai isn't reborn:

1- Aqua and Ruby are Ai's second chance

The twins are Ai's legacies and will fulfill her dream for her:

Someday, surely, I will have it all in hand I am such a greedy idol Because I wish to love everybody properly in a life-sized way

Ai's wish is to reconcile her family with her idol career. She wants to love both her children and her fans. She wants it all. Well, Aqua and Ruby come to embody these 2 different forms of love:

Aqua is given a lot of focus when it comes to personal relationships. An important part of his arc is his feelings for Akane and Kana and he is not that much interested in the enterteinment business per se. In the end, he may also choose to fulfill his dream to become a surgeon

Ruby's dream is to become an idol, who shines even more brightly than Ai. Moreover, Ruby's wish is pure in how she doesn't want to lie nor to manipulate others to get there. She is right now also stepping into the role of actress, so by the end Ruby may catch up and surpass Ai in both her careers (idol and actress)

In other words, Aqua may live the love of a happy relationship and family, while Ruby may live the love of openly loving the world and people in general. Whatever the case, Aqua and Ruby will fulfill Ai's main wish which is for them to grow up healthy and happy.

2- Ai doesn't need reincarnation because she in fact does fulfill her dream

Ai wants to love both her family and her fans, which is what she does at the very end.

She remembers the stalker's name and his present. She proves to him she never took her fans for granted

She is able to tell her children she loves them and realizes she is not lying

Ah, I've said it now at last This is definitely not a lie; I love you

Ai's wish is to love and to be loved and she gets it through her twins. Aqua and Ruby feel they owe their mother something and that it is cruel they get to live a second life, while Ai doesn't. Still, they are wrong. If Gorou and Sarina were not reborn, Ai would have had a stillbirth, which would have broken her. Just by existing, they fulfill Ai's dream. They give Ai the love she so desperately craves.

By the end, Hoshino Ai becomes the embodyment of true love. True love isn't perfect. It is complicated, as people struggle and make mistakes. Still, if the wish is genuine enough, it shines incredibly bright. So does Ai, not as an idol, but as a real person (the true Ai).

#oshi no ko #oshi no ko meta #oshi no ko theory #ai hoshino #aqua hoshino #ruby hoshino #hikaru kamiki #my meta

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son1c · 1 year

Text

what lies beneath

falling stars fic masterpost

The manta ray battleship was a prototype. It was easy to forget that fact while lounging in the cabin, but down on the lower deck, it was impossible to ignore. It was stuffier, for one thing. And it reeked of budget cuts.

Eggman was a man with very clear priorities. He would allot as much time and money to things as he thought they deserved. And when it came to something that was never supposed to leave the garage, he skipped out on lights for the underbelly.

It wasn't like he was going to answer the door if the Federal Aviation Administration came knocking for a safety inspection.

The oppressive darkness of the lower deck was assuaged only by Omega's eyes. Twin red beams cut through the blackness, revealing a space cluttered with walkways and skinny guardrails. Thick metal tubes snaked around the space as well, and far off, beyond the reach of Omega's eyes, the three Team Dark members could hear the pulsing sound of the engine as it kept the manta ray airborne.

Rouge stretched her hands above her head. "Well, boys," she said. "Let's get to work."

Omega, being a robot, had no problems seeing in the dark. And Rouge, being a bat, also didn't have much trouble. Shadow, however, was cursed by his hedgehog genes to struggle, so he let the two of them lead the way as they explored the lower deck.

Shadow kept his ears standing straight up, listening for anything that might sound out of the ordinary. What he heard was a lot of whirring mechanisms and hissing pipes. The heavy clanking of Omega's footsteps also filled his ears as they descended deeper down the outer staircases. And as they approached the engine, the sound of its roars nearly drowned out everything else.

But not entirely.

Shadow's ears swivelled. He stopped in his tracks, his hands clenching the guardrail as he stared out into the darkness. But the black wall didn't move. There was nothing there. He let go of the guardrail, only to stop for a second time, his finger catching on a nick in the metal.

"Omega," Shadow called. "I need your eyes."

Omega rotated his head like he was an owl, illuminating the guardrail that Shadow was still standing in front of. Now bathed in red light, the metal revealed a secret: two sets of five lines gouged into the metal. They were thin and straight, almost like someone had dragged their fingernails across the guardrail. But even the toughest claws would need to apply a lot of pressure to dent metal.

Rouge walked up to Shadow. When she saw what he was looking at, she muttered, "How kind of the Doctor to put together this surprise for us…"

"Be on your guard," Shadow said. His ears twitched again. "We're not alone down here."

Beneath them, the landing gear shuddered. Omega looked down at it, and through the lattice of the staircase, everyone could see a dark shape dart across the wheel. Shadow lost sight of it when it left the scope of Omega's gaze, however.

Omega started to get excited. But before he could draw his weapons, Shadow said seriously, "Hand-to-hand only. We can't afford to damage the engine with stray projectiles."

Omega's shoulders slumped. If he had a mouth, he'd be using it to pout right now. "FUN LEVELS DROPPING," he said. "EXCITEMENT DECREASED TO 'BELOW AVERAGE.'"

"Oh, please," Rouge said. "Aren't you forgetting about something? Or were you being too generous before, and those hands of yours can't really crush cars between them?"

This reminder perked the robot up. With newfound excitement, he scanned the space below them, but whatever had been there before was gone now. The only things caught in the red beams of light were dust particles and the dirt stuck to the landing gear.

A sudden bang made everyone turn to look at the engine. Standing on top of it was the figure from before. It glared menacingly at Team Dark, its black body glinting when the red light from Omega's eye beams hit it. It focused its orange gaze on Shadow. Even from this far away, Shadow could feel the coldness of its stare.

It was the Shadow Android.

Upon closer inspection, it became clear that the claw marks weren't just on the guardrail. They were all over the landing gear too. The fake hedgehog must've clung to it when the ship had taken off, and made itself a stowaway within the bowels of the manta ray.

And now it was raising its hand up, preparing to smash down on the engine.

"Omega!" Rouge said, her eyes wide with alarm as she realized what the Shadow Android was planning. "Throw me!"

"QUERY: WOULD YOU NOT COUNT AS A PROJECTILE?"

Rouge stomped her foot. "Oh, for the love of--"

Shadow intervened. "I won't miss," he said as he picked her up. Then, he threw her at the Android. With his superior accuracy, he managed a direct hit, and Rouge knocked the fake hedgehog off the engine right as it was about to ram its fist into the power core.

The two of them disappeared over the side of the large engine, locked in an intense struggle.

Shadow and Omega leapt over the guardrail and chased after them a moment later. They landed on the landing gear, and the mechanism shuddered from their sudden weight. But Shadow ignored the creaking metal--his eyes scanned the darkness, his ears held as high as they could go.

Then, he heard it. The faint sounds of someone choking.

Shadow didn't hesitate. He raced toward the far end of the lower deck, where the noise was coming from. As he got closer, he could begin to make out the orange glow of the Shadow Android's eyes. It illuminated Rouge's face as well as the pinched expression she wore. The Android had her pinned up against the wall with its hands wrapped around her throat, squeezing.

Rouge's fingers weren't strong enough to pry the Android's metal ones off of her. Thankfully, Shadow's were, and he wrenched them free before the bat's lungs could start to burn from a lack of oxygen. She gasped, her heels clicking when they reunited with the floor.

The Android swung around to face Shadow. In the low light, it almost appeared to be glowering at him, the darkness creating the illusion of a vitriolic expression. Shadow matched it with one of his own, his heart clenching painfully as he stared back at his own face.

Why should this thing exist? Shadow still wasn't sure who he was, or who he was supposed to be. To create an imitation of him was to paint a picture of nothing.

But this Android wasn't nothing. Unlike Shadow, it knew its purpose. The machine was comfortable in the knowledge that it was a pawn. Shadow, meanwhile, despised the thought of bending to Doctor Eggman's will.

And yet, the Shadow Android still had something that Shadow didn't.

And it made Shadow sick.

The dark hedgehog slammed the fake into the floor. The force of the impact dented the ship, but the Android remained unharmed. It attempted to break free of Shadow's grasp with a kick to his stomach, but Shadow wouldn't be shaken off so easily. He held firm to the Android's neck with one hand, and drove a punch into its jaw with the other.

But again, the Android was unharmed. Its head whipped to the side, but there was no dent left in its cheek, and when its eyes returned to meet Shadow's, it was as if to say, Is that all? Pathetic.

The Android's stripes began to glow. Its body grew hot, too hot to touch, and Shadow was forced to let go, his glove smoking from where it had been grasping its neck. Then, the Android slid back before jumping onto its feet, its whole body shimmering like the hood of a car that had been left out in the summer heat.

Shadow got back to his feet and balled his hands into fists. He wondered how long the Android could keep up this impression of an oven before it started to melt.

The fake hedgehog surged forward, still radiating heat. It raked its claws at Shadow and managed to graze his cheek, the superheated metal slicing through his skin like it was wet tissue paper. With a hiss of pain, Shadow backed further away, realizing he wouldn't be able to rely on the Android self-destructing. He needed a new plan, and fast.

Omega chose that moment to rejoin the fight. The large robot grabbed the Shadow Android with his big mechanical hands, unfazed by the extreme temperature the Android was letting off. He then tore one of the Android's arms off, and the detached limb sparked hideously when it hit the floor.

"HOSTILE HAS BEEN DISARMED. LIMBS PENDING REMOVAL: 3."

A second later, the Shadow Android slammed a kick into Omega's chest, and the subsequent clang rattled the robot enough that the Android was able to wriggle free from his hands' iron grasp. Now on the floor, the Android grabbed its detached arm with its one good hand before hurling the broken limb at Rouge's head.

The bat easily avoided the arm. But the Android hadn't actually been aiming for her--instead, it was trying to hit the button behind her on the wall. And when its detached arm smacked into it, the mechanism holding landing gear in place released, and the floor of the manta ray ship suddenly had a great big hole in it.

Wind rushed up from the gap in the floor, and the air inside the engine room was pulled out, toward the hole. With nothing to hold onto, the four combatants struggled to retain their footing as they were all dragged across the deck by the wind.

And then the Shadow Android grabbed Shadow's shoe. Taking advantage of the hazardous conditions it had just created, the Android kicked itself up off the floor, and flung Shadow at the landing gear. But Shadow wouldn't go without a fight, and he snagged the Android's wrist at the last second.

The two of them sailed through the air, the suction from the outside of the ship drawing them in like water to a drain.

"Shadow!" Rouge cried, but her voice was drowned out by the wind.

Thinking fast, Rouge reached into her pocket and pulled out a big green gem. How something that large had managed to fit inside of her pencil skirt's pocket was anyone's guess. Maybe she had picked up a trick or two from Amy, and developed her own sort of hammer space. Or maybe it was just a really good pocket.

Regardless, she now had the gem in her hand. With a pained expression, she thought, He owes me big time for this.

Then, Rouge threw the gem to Shadow, hoping it would reach him in time, and that he would catch it. Thankfully, he saw the flash of green over the Android's head and reached up at just the right moment.

The Chaos Emerald smacked into Shadow's burned hands like an oversized baseball. And he could feel it--that mystical, familiar energy. Unlike the kind his own body generated though, the energy emanating from the Emerald was soft and warm. He knew it wouldn't hurt him to use even before he tapped into it.

And as the gem hummed between his fingers, he remembered something.

A phrase.

He said it now.

“Chaos Control!”

The Android attempted to knock the Chaos Emerald out of his hands with a kick, but Shadow was faster. He let the Emerald's Chaos Energy fill his heart, and he kneed the Android in the chest with a javelin of green energy. It pierced the Android's metal chest plate and short circuited the imposter, its orange eyes flickering out instantly.

Dead.

The sight of it unnerved Shadow. He hoped he would never have to fight another fake of himself again.

And then the wind pulled Shadow and the corpse of the Android out over the gap in the floor. Shadow kicked the Android downward, where it was taken by the wind and presumably fell to the desert far below.

Before Shadow could meet that same fate, Rouge grabbed his arm. With her other hand, she held onto one of Omega's fingers. The robot had torn a hole in the floor with his other hand, keeping them all anchored.

"Sorry, sweetheart," Rouge said to Shadow, "but I've had enough of your dramatic exits for one lifetime!" A bead of sweat rolled down the side of her face, but she still managed to wink.

It gave Shadow pause.

Rouge’s words. Her actions.

Because Shadow didn't need her or Omega to save him. With the Emerald, Shadow could've easily teleported himself back onto the ship if he fell. And yet, it was only because of Rouge that he now had the Emerald in the first place. And that meant something to Shadow.

It meant that when she held his arm, he didn't try to wrestle himself free, and instead he allowed her to hold him there, dangling precariously over the ten thousand foot drop.

Then, the landing gear groaned as it pulled itself back up into the ship, and the three Team Dark members quickly followed suit. They all turned to look at the wall where the button was, and Omega's eye beams revealed Sonic standing there with a buzzy bomber hooked under his arm. Once the wind was no longer ripping through the lower deck, he released the buzzy bomber, and it hovered by his shoulder.

The blue hedgehog waved at his friends. "Not too shabby," he said. After speeding over to them, he knocked Rouge on the shoulder. "Maybe there's somethin' to this 'team' thing after all. You ain't half bad, Rouge."

Rouge puffed up, a little indignant. "Obviously!"

Shadow asked, "If you're here, then who…?"

"Don't sweat it! My copilot's the best there is." Sonic snickered at the stares he received. "What? You guys were takin' awhile, so I figured I'd teach Buggy the ropes. And it's a good thing I did, too, cuz Mr. Ivo forgot to install the switch for autopilot!"

#falling stars au #the. The. THE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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mochegato · 3 days

Text

Forever Yours

It was bad. She knew it had to be bad. Why else wouldn't they have heard anything? Why else would they keep her... them! Keep them in the dark? They wouldn't. Unless there was a reason not to tell them... like something really bad had happened and they were trying to mitigate the fallout.

This was far from Adrien’s first mission for the Justice League. They both frequently worked with various members. It wasn’t even his first mission without Marinette. In fact, they went on missions without one another a lot. But there was just something about going on a two-person mission behind the Order’s worst enemy’s lines with someone neither Adrien nor Marinette knew well… or fully trusted if she was being honest, that kicked up the nerves.

It was supposed to be a quick mission. “Two hours max”, they said. “In and out,” they said. “No real danger,” they lied. But that was twelve hours and quite a few anxiety spirals ago. The muscles in her hands were starting to cramp from her fidgeting, her fingers curling and flexing over and over like a compulsion. She had paced around Mia’s apartment so many times, the carpet was beginning to show an indent from her perpetual path.

“It’ll be fine,” Dick assured her. “Lack of information doesn't mean anything. It's just standard operating procedure, really, especially for Constantine.”

Marinette shot him a flat, almost disgusted look. “It’s standard procedure when something goes wrong,” she explained slowly, annoyance starting to seep through. “No contact for twelve hours on a ‘two hour max’ mission, is NOT standard operating procedure.”

Dick held up his hands. “I’m just saying I don’t think there’s a reason to panic yet.”

Zatanna sighed almost grudgingly. She glared at Dick as she spoke up. “I will admit, missions with Constantine often end like this. Things get off track and I don’t think he ever communicates with anyone. It’s kind of a blackout whenever you go out with him.”

Dick rapidly in agreement. “Exactly! It isn’t worth the worry. I just think you should take a breath, let it out slowly, and relax.” To his credit, Marinette did stop pacing, but it was to stare dumbfounded at him.

Meanwhile, Roy let out a loud breath, almost a scoff, and dropped his head, but Mia was far more vocal. “Did you just tell her to calm down?” she demanded. “While she’s in the middle of an anxiety attack?”

Dick looked around, eyes wide. “What? No!” He whipped around to face her. “I would never… I just thought… It’s not productive to just pace here. I thought maybe you might want to go home and relax.”

“Maybe you should go home,” Marinette snapped.

He looked around helplessly for anybody to back him up but nobody would meet his eyes, everyone looking determinedly away. Finally, he nodded and took a seat meekly. Marinette glared a few more seconds before returning to her circuit and abusing her lips and hands once again.

Roy watched her make a few more rounds before reaching his limit. If she chewed any harder on her lip, she was going to draw blood. Marinette was declining and he was not about to just sit back and let it continue. Her purse had been tossed onto the coffee table in front of her so he took the opportunity to search through it until he found what he was looking for. Like any artist, there was a sundry assemblage of drawing utensils at the bottom of her bag, always ready for when inspiration strikes and always too caught up in the euphoria of capturing their vision to put it away properly.

There were colored pencils, pens, markers, acrylic based markers, paint sticks, he even found a few crayons that he knew were likely for Alya’s infant. He rummaged around for a few seconds before pulling out his target. He waited until she passed by again to grab her arm and pull her onto the couch next to him. She barely had a chance to scowl at him and snap, before he held the Sharpie from her bag out to her with one hand. The other hand he settled across her lap, his bare, clean forearm facing up.

Marinette looked between the sharpie and his forearm, her brow furrowing further with each flick. She finally lifted her eyes to his, the furrow deeply embedded and a light frown pulling down her lips. “What are you doing?”

“You’re freaking out,” he said, like that was in any way an adequate or even logical answer to her question. She blinked at him, utterly dumbfounded. The completely nonsensical nature of his response knocked her out of her anxiety spiral, at least temporarily, allowing her to focus on his words. But being able to focus didn’t help at all because no matter how much she focused on his words, she couldn’t make sense of it. When she still hadn’t responded after a while, he continued, “You relax when you draw. I don’t have paper, but you can use my skin.”

Her eyes flickered back and forth between his face and his forearm. “What?”

He waved the sharpie again and motioned toward his forearm, flexing it as he did to accentuate it. “Use my arm as your canvas. Get your anxiety out with it.”

“Really?” she asked uncertainly. “Are you sure?”

He smirked and leaned closer as he waggled his eyebrows. “I mean, I’m willing to give you other ways to work out your anxiety…” he chuckled at the scowl she shot him, but his expression quickly softened into something more sincere. “You can use me however you want, Fire Flower. If what you want to use me for is as a drawing pad, I’m here for you.”

Marinette groaned and rolled her eyes but shot him a small smile as she grabbed the sharpie and repositioned herself so she faced him. He could see it as soon as she got into position, the way her mind instantly settled, and a calm washed over her. It was like the sharpie flipped a switch in her and gave her mind purpose. Her entire body relaxed. All the tension that had been building up for hours dissolved once she had a focus.

The moment the felt tip touched his skin, he could feel her exhale. She held the sharpie in the spot for just a moment before gliding it up into a delicate but simple design. She was drawing for a few minutes before he heard a whispered, “Thank you.”

The grateful tone in her voice, and maybe the way she was almost sitting in his lap or the way he could feel each exhale fan out over his skin, spread a warmth through his body like a wildfire. He leaned forward to drop a lingering kiss on the crown of her head. “Always,” he whispered into her hair.

Her hand faltered slightly at the contact, disrupting the line she had been drawing and breaking the perfect stroke, but she recovered almost flawlessly. She almost seemed unaffected by the move otherwise, but after a few more seconds, she leaned her body against him and rested her head on his chest. The movement almost seemed thoughtless, like a natural movement, made without taking her focus from her art.

She was too focused to notice the reaction in the room to their intimate proximity, but Roy wasn’t. He was all too aware of the looks and knowing smiles. It was a familiar sight. Because this was a familiar position for them. Not the drawing on the skin, but the familiarity and affection. He had been harassed more than once about it. But it hadn’t worked yet, and it wasn’t going to work that night either. He glared at them with a one finger salute to make sure they knew it too.

><><><><><><><><><

It had been two weeks since Adrien had returned from his mission, a bit disheveled, a bit tired, and quite a bit traumatized. But he had returned. And most surprisingly, uninjured… physically anyway. He still shuddered whenever he saw a headband and Marinette was positive she did not want to know the story behind that trauma. Perhaps more disturbingly, since that mission she would occasionally find him staring blankly until she would shake him out of it.

So that night, there was a new mission: Cheer Adrien Up. All of their friends in the area were invited to the party. She’d ordered his favorite food and gotten Adrien’s favorite games and movies ready, she was even considering letting him win a few of them… maybe.

Maybe not. Because not everybody else seemed to have that perspective. A few… okay, maybe just one, brought their competitive spirit and once they started, she just couldn’t back down, especially when Roy started trash talking her.

That was NOT something she could let slide. Roy didn’t need the ego boost and she refused to give up her gaming crown.

They were midway though their sixth head-to-head battle, everyone else having decided watching them play was far more fun than playing themselves, controllers held so tightly knuckles were white, both sitting on the very edge of their seats and still leaning forward to get closer, eyes for nothing but the screen and each other, and yet somehow the tension was getting even higher.

She smirked at him when a particularly creative combination caught him off guard and knocked his player down quite a few percentage points. Unwilling to back down, he narrowed his eyes and pushed his sleeves up to remove any distractions. However, the result was the opposite. Marinette stared at his arm, the controller going lax in her hands. She didn’t even notice when the game ended announcing his first win. Roy jumped up and yelled in celebration, turning to Marinette to rub it in, but froze at the look on her face. Her eyes snapped to his and without saying a word, she grabbed him and dragged him out of the room, still oblivious to the whispers and grins of the people around them.

She pulled him into her room, her hand a vice grip on his wrist. As soon as the door was closed behind them, she rounded on him and shoved his sleeve up to his elbow before he could even react, exposing his newly healed, freshly inked forearm. She stared at it for a few seconds, her eyes following the lines before lifting them up to him accusatorily. “Is this… Did you get my drawing tattooed on your arm?”

“Yeah, a few weeks ago.” He grinned proudly at her, not oblivious to her accusatory glare, if anything, it made his grin widen. “Like it?”

Her face scrunched in an incredulous expression. The action itself was baffling, but the cocky reaction was driving her from bewilderment to indignation. “Why did you get this?”

His smile stayed firmly in place, but it eased into something softer. “I liked it,” he shrugged like it was a no-brainer, an obvious resolution. “I liked the way it looked on my skin, so I inked it.”

She let out a long-suffering breath, something of a cross between a sigh and a groan and pulled his arm closer to study it. The tattoo was an almost perfect replica of her design. The intensity of brush strokes was duplicated, heavier where she’d pushed harder with the marker, thinner where she’d almost ghosted the marker over his skin. Her fingers traced the design with an almost reverent wonder. She paused at an irregularity in an otherwise smooth, unbroken line. “You even got where I messed up,” she murmured.

“Well, yeah,” he shrugged, extremely careful not to dislodge his arm from her grasp. “It’s part of the memory. It’s one of my favorite parts of the design, actually,” he added quietly.

She continued to stare at the imperfection, almost transfixed for a few moments before finally lifting her eyes to his, stealing the breath from his lungs from the awestricken look in her eyes. He raised his other arm to wrap around her waist but dropped it when she finally spoke before he could make contact. “What the hell were you thinking?” she demanded, her voice low and hissing.

He quirked his head to the side at the unexpected tone, taking a second to ascertain if she was serious. “It’s beautiful and I want a piece of you on me forever…” he dropped his eyes to his tattoo, not only as a way to avoid her eyes but to seek a source of reinforcement before continuing with a bit more vulnerability than he usually showed, “and maybe I wanted you to mark me.”

It took a few seconds before he looked up to meet her eyes, hoping to see an affectionate gaze, but instead Marinette was staring daggers at him. “That is the dumbest thing you’ve ever said!” she exclaimed, shoving his arm back at him. She paced away and ran her hands through her hair before turning back to him, her eyes no longer blazing, now closer to pleading. “You’re a hero! You have incredibly dangerous enemies! You can’t just…” she motioned helplessly toward his arm then threw her arms up in the air in frustration. “If someone saw that, they’d know who you were. They could trace your identity because of me!”

He stared at her dumbfounded for a few seconds before chuckling. Cautiously, he approached her like he was afraid she might run away… or hit him. “This is the most romantic thing I’ve ever done and you’re yelling at me?” he asked incredulously, eyes dancing with mirth.

“Dying is not romantic!” she yelled, pushing him away. “You could get hurt because of me. It would be my fault you were hurt!” His chuckles died down at the tortured look in her eyes and the desperate tone to her voice.

He moved to her instantly, wrapping his arms around her before he’d even thought about it, unwilling to let her suffer at all, especially if he could comfort her. He held her tighter when she didn’t pull away. After a few moments he leaned back and ducked his head to catch her gaze. “Marinette, Baby, have you seen my other tattoos?” he asked softly. “Fire Flower, if I was going to get recognized for a tattoo, it’s probably the massive, conspicuous ones on my completely exposed biceps, not the one covered by my gloves that are part of my costume and that I never skip when I go out.”

She stared at him looking for the lie in his words. Finding none, she shook her head and looked down gathering her thoughts, which clearly didn’t go in his favor based on her dipping out of his embrace and groaning. “Roy, we’re not even together!”

His mouth lifted into a smile. That response meant she had accepted that she hadn’t put him in danger. Now, he just needed to convince her that he knew what his action implied and he meant it. “We don’t need to be together for me to love you,” he answered simply.

Marinette opened her mouth then closed it again with a groan and ran her hands through her hair. “You can’t just say things like that,” she whined.

He edged towards her again as his smile morphed into something closer to a smirk. “The truth?”

“Yes! No! Wait.” She let out an exasperated huff then pouted at his widening grin. She shoved him again, but with much less conviction this time. “Stop smiling at me!”

He stepped closer to her, a move that forced her to crane her neck in order to continue to meet his eyes. “No. I like when you get flustered.” He ghosted a finger over her cheek, keeping his touch just shy of making contact but close enough she could feel the movement in the air. His eyes met hers in an intense gaze. “I like everything about you.”

The air left her lungs when he finally made fiery contact, running his knuckles along her jaw this time. His eyes roamed over her face like he was memorizing every curve and contour, they caught on her cheeks when they flared the most delectable shade of pink, the shade quickly became his favorite color, until he met her eyes again and remembered that shade of blue was his favorite.

“Even if we never get together, I know I’ll always care about you. You will always be important to me. You are already carved into my soul. The tattoo might be more visible, but that?” He laid a hand over his heart and shook his head adoringly. “There’s no amount of time or separation or drifting apart or conflict that will take that away. I won’t regret this. Not tomorrow, not next week, not next year, not next lifetime.”

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, his heart racing when she went to him easily. “Do you know why that irregularity in the line is my favorite part of the design?” It seemed like it took her a few seconds for her to snap out of her trance and register his words. She shook her head slowly, refusing to break eye contact. “Because it happened as a reaction to me. I did that. I had that effect on you. My kiss did. It was the moment I knew.”

“Knew what?” she asked, her voice soft, almost like she was afraid anything rougher would burst their intimate bubble.

“That I had to act,” he answered in the same tone. “I got the tattoo because I wanted you forever on my body, like you’re forever in my heart, and what I want now is you forever in my life. I’m tired of waiting for the exact right moment for it to happen. I’m tired of waiting for fate or destiny or whatever is out there to provide. I’m taking my fate. I’m creating my own destiny and that’s you. A lifetime of happiness and teasing and laughter and loving together.”

He brushed a strand of hair behind her ear to give her a few moments to let his words sink in, let her internalize them, and consider them fully. “The question is, what do you want?”

She stared at him dumbfounded. The idea of acting was scary. They had always danced along the edge of doing more, flirting with each other and with crossing the line. They’d always shied away just before tipping over. There was so much that was at risk if they did. They were always together, either as part of their larger friend group or by themselves. If anything happened, Marinette didn’t know how she would be able to experience each day. But the prospect of not acting was even more terrifying.

She pushed up to brush her lips against his tentatively. Even after his most ardent declaration, she was still apprehensive of how he would react, terrified he would suddenly realize this wasn’t what he wanted. She wasn’t what he wanted. But before her mind could sabotage her, he wound his hand behind her head, running his fingers into her hair and pulling her harder against him to intensify the kiss. His lips moved greedily against hers like he was afraid he would never get the chance again, almost devouring her. She responded instantly, pulling his body against hers by his shirt then sliding her hands up his chest in part to settle the electricity that was humming through her veins.

After a long, highly pleasurable, while he pulled away just enough to press his forehead to hers, his breathing, like hers, ragged. “I think I want that,” she panted. She opened her eyes to find his already staring at her. The hope in his eyes stole her breath and steeled her resolve. “I want that version of forever.”

His responding grin lit up the dim room. “Let’s start tonight. Will you go on a date with me?”

She opened her mouth to respond but instead of her voice, Adrien’s floated through the apartment. “Dinner’s here!” She snickered and dropped her head to his chest for a few seconds before looking back up, resigned but happy. “I’d love to, tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow,” Roy agreed. He pecked her lips quickly and led her out to the party, fingers intertwined and smile beaming.

@maribat-calendar-events

#maribat #roynette #arrow april #prompt - tattoo

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hairstevington · 1 year

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flowers and ink (part 3)

Eddie Munson x Steve Harrington

Summary: Eddie makes up an excuse to get closer to Steve, and it works...eventually! Part one, part two

Word count: 2.5K

Warnings: Tattoo Artist!Eddie/Florist!Steve, platonic soulmates Robin and Steve, Eddie thinks they're dating, miscommunication trope but it's resolved by the end, THEY ARE IDIOTS YOUR HONOR, Steve is a sweetheart, the fluffiest of fluff

A/N: This was originally supposed to be the "ending," but I might end up continuing it if people are interested in seeing where it goes - either here or on Ao3! Otherwise, I do have more Steddie content coming soon no matter what. At this point I'm in too deep to quit. Thanks all!

Eddie scanned the room in search of any sort of inspiration.

“Sure, what’s up?” Steve asked, nonchalant.

Flowers. There were just flowers everywhere. That’s all Eddie had to go on. Okay, flowers it is.

“So, this woman came by the other day and she wants this whole sleeve of flowers, right? But, like, I don’t do flowers very often. So I’m gonna practice drawing flowers a lot these next few weeks while I’m nailing down the design, and I guess I, uhhhh, was thinking maybe I could look around here and take some notes or something?”

Lies. All of it. LIES.

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Steve said. “You can hang around here as long as you want. Or, until we close, anyway.”

“Which is in fifteen minutes,” Robin reminded her coworker.

“Oh. Shit, yeah,” Steve chuckled. “You can hang around for fifteen minutes, then.” Eddie smiled and nodded.

“I’ll take it.”

Then, of course, Eddie had to walk around and examine the flowers as if he actually gave a shit about them, which he didn’t. He was far more interested in the man behind the counter, but whatever. This would do.

He had fifteen minutes to figure out what he was going to do at closing time. Maybe, if he played his cards right, he could get an invite to hang out with them after. Although, did he really want to be a third wheel? Was all of this just pathetic?

Probably.

“Hold on, your hair is still a little messed up,” Steve said to Robin. They both giggled softly, and Eddie rolled his eyes.

Definitely pathetic. Eddie drifted farther into the back so he couldn’t hear them whispering to each other anymore.

Flowers were nice. Eddie didn’t have anything against them, he just wasn’t drawn to them like a lot of people seemed to be. They were a bit too pretty for his taste. Too delicate. He took a couple pictures (to really sell his bullshit cover story), and before he knew it, it was closing time.

Eddie walked back up to the front to join Steve and Robin, ready to say the line he’d been preparing the last fourteen and a half minutes. Is it cool if I drop by tomorrow to keep looking around?

Steve spoke before Eddie could ask his question, stunning him momentarily.

“Hey, so I was thinking if any more questions come up, you could just text me. You know, if you want.”

“Hold on, your hair is still a little messed up.”

“Oh my god, fix it!”

“I’m trying! Stay still!”

Steve brushed through Robin’s hair with his fingers, smoothing down the strands that were sticking out. He caught her looking at him, then glancing in Eddie’s direction, then back at him.

“Whatever you’re about to say, don’t,” Steve warned.

“He came here for you,” she whispered to Steve. “With lotion!”

“We were just talking about it at the shop earlier,” Steve dismissed. “He probably is just making fun of me for using the wrong kind.”

“Don’t be an idiot,” Robin muttered. “He likes you.”

“Shh!” Steve’s eyes went wide. Eddie wasn’t that far away, even though they were speaking quietly. Suddenly, Steve remembered what he’d learned about Eddie, and that he hadn’t told Robin yet. “Okay, look. Maybe you’re right.”

“I am,” she insisted.

“Fine,” Steve conceded. “So, he told me that -” Steve stopped himself and looked around the room to double check that Eddie was as far from them as possible. He went the charade route anyway.

Steve looked at her intensely until she was completely focused. He pointed vaguely in the direction of where Eddie went, and then used the same hand to flip his wrist downwards with an emphatic nod. Robin’s eyes went wide.

“Shut up,” she said. “Confirmed?”

“Out, proud, and mentoring the youth,” Steve replied. “Oh, and Will Byers was there.”

“What?!”

“Shh!”

Robin collected herself again so she could resume whispering.

“You need to ask him out.” Her voice was barely audible now.

“I don’t know how.”

“You’ve done it a bazillion times, Dingus,” she reminded him. “What makes this any different?”

“I don’t know!” Steve admitted with a shrug. “He’s so much cooler and smarter than me, and it’s, like, really intimidating.”

“Steve, we have to work on your self confidence,” Robin sighed.

“You tease me all the goddamn time, Buckley.”

“I’m allowed,” she said. “You’re not.” Steve rolled his eyes but accepted the feedback.

“I’ll do it, okay?”

He knew he needed to sound casual about it, in case he was reading it wrong. Just because Eddie was gay didn’t mean he was interested. But! If they talked more, Steve could flirt a little and then know for sure.

So, when Eddie came back at 5pm, Steve took the leap.

“Hey, so I was thinking if any more questions come up, you could just text me.” Steve watched Eddie freeze, and Steve had no idea what to do with that. He backtracked immediately. “You know, if you want.”

“Yeah, sure,” Eddie responded after a few moments. Steve wasn’t sure how to read Eddie’s hesitation.

“Cool,” Steve responded. He could practically feel Robin’s judgment from a few feet away, even without looking at her. He snapped himself out of his trance and grabbed a pen and one of the Flowers for All business cards, then flipped it over on the counter to the blank side.

“You could just -” Eddie said, holding his phone up. “Use this, you know.”

“Oh, duh,” Steve said, mentally kicking himself. He took Eddie’s phone and put his number in, then handed it back. “There you go.”

“Thanks,” Eddie responded. Steve figured if Eddie wasn’t interested, he just wouldn’t reach out. No harm done. “Have a good rest of your night, guys.”

“We will,” Robin answered, knowing that Steve was obviously incapable of acting normal. “Stop by any time, okay?”

“Okay, thanks,” Eddie repeated. He did a small wave and then left the store with nothing but the residual jingle from the bell above the door.

Steve immediately slunk to the floor and sat against the wall.

“Not one word,” he said.

“That was painful.”

“That was three words.”

“You didn’t ask him out!”

“Yeah, well I’m getting there! I got his number, didn’t I?”

“Barely!” she replied with a laugh. “But he’s totally into you. I can tell.”

“Oh yeah? How?”

“Because he came here with lotion and then stuck around to look at flowers when the internet exists,” Robin explained.

Huh. She has a point.

“Fair enough,” Steve sighed. “I guess now we just wait and see if you’re right.”

Eddie was obviously going to text Steve, but he had no idea what to say. He really dug himself into a hole with the flower research thing.

Also, what the fuck was that about? What flower-related questions could Eddie possibly have? Why would Eddie text Steve for flower advice when the internet exists? What does flower advice even mean? He typed out his first draft -

Hi, it’s Eddie. Thanks for helping me out :)

Ok, boring. He tried again.

Hi, it’s Eddie. Texting so you have my number too

Could be better.

What’s your favorite flower?

Oh god! No! Delete! Delete!

This was hopeless.

“He hasn’t texted yet,” Steve whined.

“It’s only been three hours,” Robin replied.

They were doing their post-shift hang out, like usual. They had some stupid reality TV show on in the background that both of them hated but for some reason loved watching together.

“It’s felt like twelve,” Steve groaned, throwing his head back against the couch.

“It’s felt like a hundred for me, with you constantly complaining about it,” Robin responded, shoving him lightly.

“Hey, this was your doing, alright?” Steve shot back, smirking. “He’s not interested, and that’s okay.” He was trying to convince himself more than anything.

“Patience, grasshopper,” Robin assured him. “Don’t lose hope yet.”

Steve’s phone buzzed on the table. They both lunged for it, desperately checking the notification.

A text from an unknown number.

Am I allowed to ask you questions that aren’t about flowers?

“Robin, I love you.”

Sure, what do you wanna know? 🙂

Okay, now we’re getting somewhere. Eddie sat down and pondered what question he should ask first.

Why frog and toad?

Eddie was far more comfortable talking about tattoos. Steve responded -

Just seemed right, I guess.

Ugh, okay. Eddie forgot he sucked at texting.

Do you regret it?

He waited a minute or two until his phone lit up again.

No, not at all. We love it.

Eddie sighed. He didn’t know what to say next.

I’m not good at the text thing

Steve’s response showed up moments later.

Guess you’ll have to come visit us again then ;)

Okay, well that works.

Eddie showed up the next day on one of his breaks, pretended to look at some more flowers as if they’d changed from the day before, and then struck up a conversation with Steve about tattoos. Then, he dropped by on another break a few days later, skipping the flower part completely and jumping straight into talking about music.

“So, how’s the flower design going?” Steve asked after their discussion died down.

“It’s good,” Eddie said. “I’m just not really a flowers guy, is all.” Steve gasped and pretended to be shocked.

“You? Not into flowers??” Eddie chuckled. “I didn’t think I was either, but I actually love it here. Maybe if you keep coming by you’ll change your tune.”

“Yeahhhh, I’m not so sure about that,” Eddie replied.

“Oh, I am,” Steve challenged playfully. “There’s a flower for everyone - that’s literally why this place is called Flowers for All.”

“Oh god,” Eddie teased. “This isn’t gonna become a thing where you try to get me to like flowers, is it?” Steve smirked and bent down so his forearms rested on the counter.

“Hey, man. You got me into tattoos, I’m just returning the favor.”

Eddie rolled his eyes. Yeah, it was cute, but he knew that it was a doomed mission.

Steve tried anyway. Each day, when Eddie showed up for work, a new flower was left at the front door.

First, it was a daisy.

Steve: Well?

Eddie: It's pretty. I'm not a huge fan of yellow tho

Steve: Noted

On day two, a carnation.

Eddie: are you trying to take me to prom?

Steve: maybe (just kidding we missed it)

Eddie: lmao

Then, there was a succulent.

Eddie: I actually really like this one

Steve: Success!

Eddie thought that would be the end of it. But then, on the fourth day, a gardenia was at the door.

Eddie: more???

Steve: are you a flower guy yet?

Eddie: No, but I’m running out of room on my desk

Steve: Better get another desk then

At this point, Eddie thought for sure Steve was messing with him. Maybe that’s all this ever was. Robin kept saying over and over how bored they were at work, and Eddie was their current source of entertainment.

He gave the flowers to Bob - except the succulent, for obvious reasons. Eddie named him Sonic.

On day 5, Eddie found a red rose dipped in black ink on his desk. Bob had apparently already let Steve in to set it up. Eddie would have groaned in frustration, except the stupid thing was actually extremely badass. Like, he thought it was so cool he was sad it was going to wilt eventually.

Fuck. This had to stop.

Eddie marched into Flowers for All, rose in hand, ready to tell Steve that he didn’t just want to be some project for the happy couple.

“Heyyy, look who’s here!” Steve greeted him as he walked in. Steve’s face fell when he noticed Eddie holding the rose. “Uh-oh, you hated this one so much you’re returning it? I really thought -”

“I didn’t hate it, I love it. It's - I mean, it's perfect.”

“Okay,” Steve said, hopping off the counter. “So, why do you look angry at me?”

“Are you guys making fun of me or something?” Eddie asked. No time for small talk. No beating around the bush. They’d been tip-toeing around this for over a week now.

“What?” Steve asked, genuinely shocked. “Dude, no. I - shit, okay. No, I’m not making fun of you, I’m trying to flirt with you. Guess I’ve lost my touch.” Steve put a hand to the back of his neck and grimaced nervously.

“Flirt with me?” Now Eddie was the shocked one. “So, you’re not dating Robin?”

Steve burst out laughing.

“Robin? My platonic lesbian best friend Robin?”

Eddie’s head was spinning.

“Platonic?” he echoed. “After the way you two tumbled out of the back room all flustered and shit the first time I came in?”

“That’s absolutely not what you think it was,” Steve said.

“Then what was it?”

“It was - okay, well first of all, I was flustered because you came in. And Robin and I were back there because her hair somehow got tangled in a watering can and she needed my help.”

It sounded like a lie, but it would have been the most random lie ever created.

“Jesus, how did that even happen?” Eddie wondered, amused.

“Robin has zero coordination,” Steve responded. “It’s part of her charm.” Eddie nodded, processing all of this.

“Okay, so you’re not dating Robin,” he said.

“No.”

“And you’ve been flirting with me.”

“Yes.”

“Completely genuinely, like not as a joke?” Steve chuckled.

“Eddie, I tipped you like a full day's worth of pay for our tattoo,” he reminded him. “If I was joking, I’d have to be stupidly committed to the bit.”

Okay, well that was…fair.

“Oh,” Eddie replied. Wow. I really am an idiot.

“Yeah,” Steve said. There was a moment where they both just kinda stared at each other, and then Eddie broke the silence.

“You do realize I’ve been flirting with you too, right?” he asked. Steve just stared at him blankly. “Okay, from the way you’re looking at me I’m gonna go with no on that one.”

“I mean, I was hoping you were-”

“I am.”

“Great.”

“Cool.”

“So, we should go out then.”

“Yeah, that seems like a logical next step.”

They smiled at each other, basking in the absurdity, and then suddenly a piercing voice came from Steve’s phone on the counter.

“FINALLY.”

“Wait, is that Robin?” Eddie asked, pointing at the phone.

“Oh, yeah,” Steve responded. “I was talking to her when you came in.”

Eddie shook his head and laughed.

Well, at least they were both idiots.

(part 4)

____________________

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#eddie munson #steve harrington #steddie #stranger things #robin buckley #writing #flowers and ink #st fic #stranger things fanfiction #steddie fic #steve and eddie #eddie munson x steve harrington #platonic stobin #modern day au

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miraculouslbcnreactions · 1 month

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Do you think Gabriel and Tomoe trying to force their kids together when they never seemed to care about that before season 5 was too much drama? @tallwriter

Yes.

Here's a little writing tip: if you want to keep your audience emotionally invested, make the drama build and try to keep most of it tied to the plot. Miraculous is really, really bad at this. It has no idea how to build the drama up to a solid, satisfying, logical conclusion. Instead, it tries to keep people invested through extremely cheap, pointless drama that goes nowhere. I'll use season five to explain.

Season five's conflict is that Gabriel has all of the miraculous and the heroes want the miraculous back. Season five ends with that happening. But does anything in the season actually lead to that ending?

Here's a list of all (or at least most) of the multi-episode conflicts introduced and arguably resolved in season five:

Nathalie no longer blindly supporting Gabriel

Gabriel getting cataclysmed and slowly dying

Nathalie slowly dying

The reverse crush drama

Kagami having a crush on Adrien (and Marinette?)

Lila's lies and team up with Chloe

Gabriel and Tomoe wanting their kids together

Felix having the peacock miraculous

Marinette being unable to say that she loves Adrien

The senti plot

Adrinette getting together

The only thing on that list that kind of mattered to the final was Gabriel getting cataclysmed because it meant that he could die without it feeling like suicide since he was already dying. Everything else on that list could be cut and the ending would not meaningfully change because there is no story arc for season five. Stuff just happens.

This is what I mean by cheap, pointless drama. Season five doesn't care about setting up a good, powerful ending. It just cares about keeping you invested and asking "what's going to happen next?"

The is not how epic stories are told. This is how soap operas are told. The entire draw of that genre is melodrama. In other words, it's for people who enjoy drama just for the sake of drama. People who don't care if the characters are mostly shitty, awful people or if plots get dropped mid-season or resolved in wacky ways because the audience is not here to fall in love with the characters or to hear an epic story. They're here for the drama and that's about it.

To be clear, there's nothing wrong with soap operas. It's a massively popular genre for a reason. I'm sure that there are even standout examples that have fantastic plots, but that's simple not a requirement for something to be a good soap opera any more than a good romance requires the main couple to be healthy. The problem with Miraculous having a soap opera structure is that - as far as I can tell - Miraculous is not trying to be a soap opera. It's trying to be a serious narrative (which is why you have the writers claiming things like Marinette and Gabriel are supposed to represent individual creative spirit versus corporate greed), but it's failing and failing hard.

A show that was succeeding at telling a good, logical plot would have had multi-episode conflicts like:

Chat Noir and Ladybug figuring out how the miraculous powers are being given to people

Chat Noir and Ladybug trying to figure out if Tomoe knew that her rings got hacked/assuming the Tsurugi tech is behind everything and somehow infuriating the company, likely with Kagami's help

Chat Noir and Ladybug learning the truth of the butterfly and peacock and dealing with that/going to the mansion with purpose

Felix, Chat Noir, and Ladybug playing a season long game of cat and mouse

You know, stuff that would actually lead to the ending of the season instead of Felix randomly telling Ladybug what she needs to know right before the final without her actually doing anything to make that happen. (But don't forget that she's smart and clever guys. I promise you that she's smart and clever! The writers totally know how to write a smart and clever character!)

Another thing you may have noticed is that most of those suggested plot points build on each other. This is how good stories work. You should be constantly resolving subplots and, in the process of the resolution, you introduce new subplots. For example, they figure out that the rings are how the akumas are getting their powers, which leads to the investigation of Tsurugi tech. Two separate subplots that naturally link together to allow for a logical story flow while keeping things interesting.

This was a big problem with season four, which introduced the Ladynoir conflict that was just kind of there, looming over the story, but not doing anything for 20-something episodes. For all of season five's flaws, at the very least the writers kept things interesting. They just didn't keep it interesting in particularly talented way. It's all bullshit melodrama and, while I truly have nothing against soap operas, I'm not a fan of the genre.

All of the above is why I don't have any faith in the next season of miraculous. They writers clearly cannot handle conflicts that last longer than an episode because literally nothing they introduced set up the final. It actually weakened the final because season five spent a lot of time making Gabriel worse than he's ever been, which is not how you setup a dramatic, last-minute change of heart.

To end on a positive note, the one thing that I will give the writers some credit for is the reverse crush BS. Rumor has it that this season was originally supposed to have The Reveal and, if that had happened right after all of the crush stuff, then it would have been more satisfying than a reveal without the reverse crush.

While Adrien has always been a Marinette fan and him eventually developing a crush feels logical, Ladybug has been really anti Ladynoir for a while now, so having her backtrack that stance pre-reveal would have strengthened the reveal and the relationship that follows. It still will even though Ladybug's Chat Noir crush is now nothing more than a brief rebound that was quickly forgotten. That doesn't change the fact that it happened which means that we now know that she's okay with her and Chat Noir being in a romantic relationship no matter his identity when it previously came across like she was completely opposed to the idea until she learned that it was Adrien under the mask, which was something I always viewed as a terrible writing choice, so I'm glad they backtracked it instead of trying to solve it post-reveal.

#ml writing salt #ml writing critical #ml season 5 salt

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