#not sure if this needs a community tag so i guess yell at me if it does?

[linovadraws]

In my excitement for A Power Unbound, I've been relistening to A Restless Truth and remembering how much I love this book, ahhhhhh.

A Maud and Violet to match my Robin and Edwin drawing :)

#freya marske #a restless truth #a marvellous light #the last binding #fahye #fanart #anyway no one tell freya but technically speaking maud isn't wearing the right underwear here shhhh #listen drawing a chemise and drawers set looked odd from this angle #let's all ignore that this is technically a set of combinations #not sure if this needs a community tag so i guess yell at me if it does?

[greatooglymooglyyy]

Spaces (Matt Sturniolo)

contains: angst, a not-so-happy ending, cheating allegations, general frustration, verbal argument, 800+ words

a/n: y'all this will be a two parter so stay tuned. love ya!

“And you have to go tonight?” I shift my phone to my other ear, trying to keep my tone neutral.

“Yeah, baby. It’s a last-minute collab. I’ll make it up to you, I swear.” Matt says, his voice fading in and out of clarity as he shuffles through his room grabbing clothes.

“No, I mean, it’s fine. I just thought we’d-”

“Sorry, hold on. Nick! I swear to god, if you still have my sweater, I’m gonna kill you.” Matt yells up the stairs. I pull the phone away from my ear and count to five. I’m trying to stick to my plan and not be a problem but this kid is making it hard. I call Matt’s name twice but, when he doesn’t answer, text him that I’ll talk to him later and hang up.

It makes no sense that him canceling our date tonight is bothering me so much, but I can’t help it. It’s really starting to feel like our lives are running parallel to each other and I don’t know how to get them to connect. I have only seen him in person twice in the last three weeks and this is the fourth time this month that he’s cancelled on me. I’m doing my best not to take it personally; of course, he’s busy. But, don’t people make time for what they want? Am I still what he wants?

I run my hand over my face and try to shake it off. I think about calling my best friend but I doubt Nick will give me any good advice about his brother. God, I gotta get more friends.

I flop onto my bed face down and do one of those movie screams into my pillow to see if it makes me feel better. Huh. Surprisingly effective. My phone dings and I glance over at it:

Matty B🧊:

Call you as soon as I land. Love you

Yeah if he doesn’t have 80 more important things to do. I roll over and close my eyes. Maybe after a nap, I won’t feel so jaded.

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

I wake up to the sun rising in a panic, sure that I must have missed Matt’s call. But, nope. Instead, it's my TikTok that’s going crazy with over 100 people tagging me in some video. I take a deep sigh before clicking it, already knowing it can’t be good. The video is of Matt and a pretty TikTok girl whose name I can’t remember. They’re at some party and standing a little closer than I'd like. The video is quick, only maybe 4 or 5 seconds, and there’s nothing super incriminating. The way they are tagging me and going off on him in these comments, you’d think he was fucking her in the middle of the dance floor.

I exit the app and go to call Matt before I stop myself. Okay, maybe the video isn’t that crazy. But not calling when you said you were and then going to a party instead AND having the internet blowing my phone up? That’s beyond me. If Matt wants to talk, he’s gonna call me first.

I get up and head to my shower, deciding to reach out to my coworker and see if she’ll have breakfast with me.

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

“So you think he’s cheating?” Kayla asks, reaching over to give my phone back.

“Nah. If I thought that, please know I’d be on a flight getting ready to cause mayhem.” I laugh. “I just want to know that he’s still in this like I am.”

“I get that.” She says with a sigh, resting her face on her palm. “Y’all need better communication.”

Just as I’m about to agree, my phone goes off. Guess Matt’s awake. I reach down and click the side button to silence it. I’ll call him back later.

“Anyway, what’s up with you and that strawberry guy?”

“Girllllllll…”

When we are done eating, we part ways making plans to meet up again next week. I finally check my phone again and my eyes widen at the amount of times the triplets have collectively called me. Nick alone has Facetimed me 13 times. “What the fuck?” I mutter under my breath before I click Matt’s name.

He answers quickly, his voice rushed. “Whatever you think I did, it’s not fucking true.”

“Um, whatever happened to hi, how are you-”

“I’m deadass serious.” He cuts me off, his tone sharp.

“Oh okay. So you didn’t blow off calling me to go to a party?” I say, making my tone just as lethal. “And you didn’t have the internet blowing my fucking phone up this morning?”

“If you honestly think-”

“That you are that stupid? Matt. I’m not that insecure. But, I don’t appreciate the way you’re handling me at all. And I promise you if you keep it up, you’re gonna lose me.” I end the call and toss my phone back into my jacket pocket, heading back to my car.

a/n: part two out now

#matt sturniolo #sturniolo triplets #christopher sturniolo #chris sturniolo x reader #chris sturniolo oneshot #matt sturniolo x reader #nick sturniolo #sturniolo fluff #matt sturniolo oneshots #chris sturniolo angst #matt sturniolo angst #matt sturniolo x you #matt sturniolo fluff #matthew sturniolo #sturniolo fanfic #sturniolo x reader #chris sturniolo fluff #chris sturniolo #nicolas sturniolo

[ghostussy]

i’d like to request a copia x reader who’s having a paranoia episode if you’re willing 🙏 if you’re not able to for whatever reason i completely understand! have a good day/night :]

Sweet Dreams (Copia x Reader with Paranoia, Platonic)

DISCLAIMER: I do not suffer from paranoia. I did some research on my own and also communicated with the user for this fic. Some things may not be accurate, and if you have an issue or something isn't tagged right, please let me know! I will fix it asap.

I hope you can find some comfort in this! <3

TRIGGER WARNING: This fic will depict paranoia and the feeling of being watched underneath the cut.

. . .

It's the middle of the night, and you're exhausted.

But you don't sleep. You can't. Fear has a tight grip on you, convincing you of things that aren't there. You can't help the feeling that someone, something is watching you. You know it's ridiculous, and you must've turned on your bedside lamp a million times. You're sure you've shined a flashlight in the corners even more. Still, you're afraid; a crippling fear that gnaws at you, invading your thoughts until you can think of nothing else.

Your bedroom now feels less like the sanctuary you've come to know and more like a prison. The fear pools in your chest, building up until it's crawling up the back of your throat. You try to distract yourself, but your brain is constantly yelling, screaming the word, danger.

It's too much.

It's all too much.

You can't take it anymore. You've got to get out of here.

The feeling follows as you exit your room and make your way down the hallway. You're walking briskly; then jogging, then breaking out into a full sprint. You've got to get out.

Finally you burst out onto the balcony. The cool night air envelops you as the feeling of being hunted dissipates underneath the night sky. You look up to see millions of stars, and a moon that is wonderfully bright. You keep looking up, distracted as you make your way to the railing. You sigh, feeling small and safe.

"It's a bit late to be out for a stroll, dolce." A familiar voice says from a few feet away.

You jump, bumping into a set of chairs behind you. "C-Copia! I'm so- I didn't-"

He laughs from where he leans against the rail, also looking to the sky. "Do not worry. I won't tell."

"Oh. Thank you." You relax and go back to where you were leaning without another word.

A moment of silence passes between the two of you, until Copia interrupts. "It's a beautiful night."

"It is," you agree.

"So what brings you out here?" You notice he's paintless, dressed in his usual jumpsuit. You also noticed he now wore a pair of glasses; you hadn't known he needed them.

You shrug. "Just needed some fresh air, I guess."

"Why?"

You look up to the sky again, trying to think of an excuse. You must've taken too long, because Copia clears his throat and says, "You sure came out here in a hurry." He looks at you over his glasses, his mismatched eyes watching your every move.

You shrug again. "I just... got nervous, is all."

"'Nervous?'" he repeats. "You know, that's a terrible lie. Try again."

You get defensive. "It's true!"

"But is it the whole truth?" He asks, taking a few steps closer towards you. "You've suffered tonight, haven't you, sibling?"

You try to ignore his rapid approach. "No. I'm fine."

He stares into your eyes for a few seconds too long. "Try again."

You groan, throwing your head back in frustration. "I said I'm fine!"

"Try again."

"I-"

"If you tell me you're fine again, I'm feeding you to the ghouls."

"Ghouls don't eat people."

"That's just what they want you to think." He had an amused smirk on his lips.

You sigh defeatedly. "Fine. I guess I just... I get paranoia sometimes. It feels like something's there. It just... got the better of me tonight, I guess."

He nods at your response. "So have you slept at all yet?"

You shake your head.

"Would it help if I were there to, eh heh, scare away the monsters?"

"Don't patronize me."

He raises his hands in defeat. "Not patronizing! A genuine offer. I'll allow you to sleep in my bed if you'd like."

"Actually, yeah. That does sound nice. If you're down for it, I mean."

"Of course, of course."

. . .

While walking down the hall, the feeling of being watched returns. You walk closer to Copia, though you try to keep your distance. However, when you hear something shift at the end of the hall, you flinch and bump into him. He chuckles and holds out his arm for you to grasp.

"Don't worry, dolcezza. I won't let anything hurt you."

. . .

Another moment later, and you're in his bed. The room is dimly lit by a lava lamp, but never completely dark. You appreciate the soft lighting.

He comes over to the bed and lays down on his back, unceremoniously falling into the soft pillows with a deep sigh. You bring yourself to his side; not close enough to cuddle, but close enough to feel his warmth. You're laying on your side facing him, head cradled beneath your arm.

He chuckles and lifts the covers over the both of you. "It has been a while since you've slept in your papa's bed, eh?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

He lowers himself further into the pillows, turning to his side so he's face-to-face with you. His mismatched eyes gaze into your tired ones, and he brushes a stray hair out of your face.

"You haven't been sleeping well, have you?"

You shrug.

"Well, come here then." He turns onto his back once more, holding his arms open. You move closer, but he's not satisfied; he gently pulls you until you lay with your head on his chest. You nuzzle your face into the front of his shirt, and he brushes the hair out of your face again with his fingers. With his other hand, he begins to run the palm of his hand up and down your back gently. You wrap your arms around his middle, pulling yourself closer and closing your eyes. "There we go, dolcezza," he tells you, voice low. You feel it rumble through his chest, making you drowsy. "Just relax, close your eyes. Are you getting sleepy?" He smiles when you nod. "Good, good. Just go to sleep, then. It's alright, your papa's here. You're safe."

You simply lay there, allowing yourself to be coddled. He was so gentle, so sweet- he made you feel safe, comforted.

You yawn into his chest. He chuckles, and you nuzzle your nose into the fabric of his shirt. He smells like cigarettes and cheap cologne.

"Go to sleep, sweetheart. I'm here."

You mumble something, then go silent. The two of you lay like that for a while; your heartbeat slows, and you can feel yourself getting warmer. You feel your cheeks flush lightly from sleep, and just as you're about to nod off you feel him press a gentle kiss to the top of your head.

"Sleep well, little one."

#drabbles #copia x reader #copia comfort #tw paranoia #tw: paranoia #the band ghost #tw panic attacks #tw: panic attacks

[dribs-and-drabbles]

#BADBUDDYREWATCH

Ep 5

You know how Pran asked if Pat was Pran's boyfriend in ep 2 as a joke despite actually wanting that...well, after Pran's heart gets broken by learning that Pat likes Ink and any hope for him and Pat to be together has been shattered, Pran somehow is able to take it to the next level and ask Pat if he's Pran's wife. I mean, go big or go home right? What's that saying that there's always an element of truth in a joke. Pran is so brave. (This also applies to the "Who on earth told you this was cute?")

I love that there's so much of that condensed milk stuff in that sandwich that it flies out when Pat picks it up and drips over himself and the worktop.

Also...@telomeke-bbs pointed out that when Pran's making his own breakfast at the beginning of ep 2 he only makes a sandwich but here there's also eggs, sausages, and salad...which might mean he made all that for Pat.

Oh and then Pat seeing Pran eating the sausage might be why he made Pran sausages when he cooked breakfast in bed in ep 8...because he thought that's what Pran liked/ate.

Pat's "I hope you're not as cruel as to make me wait outside" has always interested me because you can hear the teasing/whining tone and also because he uses the polite form of 'pronouns' of P'Pran and P'Pat instead of the informal/rude 'guu/meung' which they mainly use (not sure what it means when P' is being used for both people but brushing over that...)...BUT I think Pat ends with a 'ja' instead of the polite 'krap', which according to @absolutebl is "used with very close friends/family and by the queer community". I think Pat uses it here because they've been joking about the 'wife' status...but I wouldn't be surprised if this had an effect on Pran even before the pleading 'na'.

LAKYIM my beloved!

If you haven't read @telomeke-bbs analysis of this first scene you should - there's a fantastic bit about how a water splash is a substitute for saying 'asshole'. Love it!

"If I see any stain on them, I'll barge into your room and yell at you" -> Pat must have had a huge dilemma with this...I mean, does he clean the dishes well to impress Pran and get his praise? Or does he do them poorly in the hope that Pran will barge into his room and scold him? I mean...that's a difficult choice!

(omg I've only just got to the credits and I've written all this already...sorry it's going to be a long one...I mean, I guess it's to be expected since it's ep 5...)

Oh the embarrassment! We've all been there Pran.

I've never really understood the "Don't butt in next time" line... Anyone got any thoughts?

Ooof Cloaked Emotions by Lama House...another piece of music that stabs me in the heart...and the title fitting the scene -> Pran hiding his feelings at seeing Ink and Pat together.

Pat eating properly because of Pran 😭

Because of the order of filming, it looks like Pat gets a haircut before his date with Ink.

😂 I can't with the horse sound effect 🤣

The mental gymnastics Pa must have done without realising to justify why she should tag along to the date that she told Pat to go on with Ink.

"I don't have to tell you I love you. I fed you pancake". AFTER INK ASKED PA TO FEED HER THE PANCAKE AND THEN INK FEEDS PA THE PANCAKE.

I'm irrationally disturbed by the continuity error with the hands on the guitar.

But that gets erased because the choreography of Pat turning his head away unblinking when Pran looks at him on that bit of music (6:06 in part 2) is DIVINE.

Also, I love Pran's hair and I know it must just be because the instrument shop scenes were filmed early on and therefore Nanon's hair was shorter/tidier (like Ohm's) but still, I love that they both look so good during Pat's Oh moment.

When I first watched this I didn't need Pa's repeated voiceover of the four signs because I got it just from Pat's expression...but now I don't mind it.

But also back to the music again because the way they edited the recap of the four signs (actually the whole instrument shop scene) with Pat and Pran's head turns, their actions, or the camera angle/frame changes hitting either the piano chords or the 'silent' suspensions in the music is actual choreography and adds to why this scene is SO GOOD. They are dancing to the music...and the irony of them being in shop surrounded by instruments...

I've just noticed that during the bread-eating scene, the pink and purple of the condensed milk tube is amplified by the painting on the wall behind, the sticky tape and post-it notes behind, and the selection of pens in front...

This has already been pointed out, but the lyrics of the song Pat suggests they sing in the flashback, Never by 25 hours, basically reflects Pat's loneliness when Pran went away. brb crying.

When We Were Younger instrumental over the flashback scene 💖

That flashback is Pat wondering if Pran liked him, no? I mean, I know Pat is realising his feelings for Pran and remembering back to high school is part of that...but that particular memory is Pran telling Pat he wants to write something that reflects the idea of 'born to be together' and two people growing up together falling in love as well as them writing the 'are we friends or are we something more?' song...so Pat must be wondering how Pran felt and still feels now.

Pat's freshy day outfit!

I must have known this already but can't remember if I've written about it before when I've talked about this shirt, but the word 'pineapple' is written in both red and blue on Pat's shirt.

Oh the hurt in Pran's eyes when Pat says the song is lousy.

'silly' ... 😭

PRAN THE WARRIOOOOOOR!

And we're back to Cloaked Emotions. This time Pran is forcing Pat to stay quiet.

You know how the production team created the condensed milk tube...well I wonder if they put a rose on it because that's the usual flower people give as gifts to those they like...and Pat bought it as a gift for Pran...effectively buying him a rose. But maybe this has already been pointed out.

"IT WAS DEPRESSINGLY LONELY FOR ME" 😭😭😭

Pat's tear...😭 Then Pran's tear...😭 (and mine of course)

Oh god, the way they both move towards each other...

THE MUSIC when their lips touched...

It's the way we all thought the ep, the show, had reach its peak at that short first kiss because the music hit a crescendo and BECAUSE THEY HAD KISSED already in ep 5...but then not 10 seconds after their lips had parted the show absolutely DECIMATED us with that epic second kiss. Pran pulling Pat in, the hand on the neck, Pat's first hand gripping the back of Pran's head, the gasped inhales as they shifted their heads, Pat's second hand joining his first, the increase in speed, Pran's second hand also going to Pat's neck, the symmetry of it, the MUSIC, the way Pat hunched into his shoulders to devour Pran's mouth, and the slow pull away as the music tailed off...

Pat's smile and breath of relief

Pran's devastation

The rain

Pat's tear-filled eyes

Baseball mom

The prolonged black screen at the end as the music ended...

The way I was never the same again.

This ep has such special memories for me, not only because of the show and what it did to me but because of where I was when I watched it. I've since sold and moved from the apartment I was living in at the time and I treasure the memory of settling into my sofa with a blanket over my legs, a warm cup of tea and something sweet to eat, the light slowly dimming to black outside even though it was only 15:30 (it was end of november and I lived in Sweden), and then the euphoria when I realised this silly little Thai romcom bl was doing something different. Ep 5 part 4 not only changed me in many ways but it changed the way we watch bls now. We have higher expectations - a bar has been raised - and I'm seeing where shows are reaching for it. Last December, I watched the GMMTV Live for the first time because I caught some people talking about it on tumblr (I didn't know anything about it before even though I'd been watching Thai bl for a year). Now, I'm ridiculously excited about seeing it this year, to see what we may be in store for next year. Hopefully they will build on Bad Buddy, Vice Versa, The Eclipse, and others. And I know there are other production companies and I'm also excited to see what they do too...and for all the gl coming out... But back to Bad Buddy ep 5 and it was this ep that finally brought me to make this blog because I needed a way to process what I was watching - and to scream about it with others. I had never analysed a piece of media in this way before this show and I've since continued with many others. This is who I am now. This is part of what I mean by Bad Buddy changing me. And I'm thankful for it, and for Aof, Nanon, and Ohm, and for all the people who I've interacted with on here about it. There is something exceedingly special about this show and I wish I could adequately express it to the whole world but I also want to keep it for me, and for us, to treasure always.

#bad buddy #badbuddyrewatch #bad buddy episode 5 #episode 5 my beloved #one does not simply leave the rooftop #yes. as suspected. this ep broke me again #I am writing this from the afterlife #happy bad buddy ep 5 rewatch day everyone #I'm off to have a beer now and watch ep 6 straight away #not only to recover but also I'm suuuuuper busy next week so I have to get through the next 5 eps this weekend... #I'll schedule all my posts in advance #oh I got a bit personal there at the end #this show dammit #lin live-rambles the bad buddy rewatch

[chacusha]

I skipped and selected a ton of questions from the writer meme for you:

2, 3, 7, 12, 13, 14, 16/17, 25

2. Go to your AO3 “Works” page, to the sidebar with all the filters, and click the drop-down arrow for “Additional Tags.” What are your top 3-5 most used tags? Do you think they accurately represent your writing habits?

My additional tags are kind of a mess:

#1: Fanart <- not a fic tag #2: Fluff <- I thought this tag was overrepresented by my Fluff Bingo but actually, nope, it's accurate #3: Community: westerosorting <- just a tag I use to mark stuff I made for this community #4: Drabble <- dominated by old Disney works I archived last year #4: Missing Scene <- accurate tagging but boring

Tied for 6th are Meta (<- not a fic tag) and Character Study. I guess this is accurate (including that I am still more of an artist than a writer!). It's also interesting to me how many of these tags lean gen. Pining didn't even make it?!

3. What are some tropes or details that you think are very characteristic of your fics?

I kind of discussed this already but giving myself/the characters some closure on a very messy unresolved relationship in canon is pretty common. Other features of my fic include pining/getting together fic; punchy (abrupt?) endings; characters who have identity issues working out who they are (this is actually a special case of the first thing, where the "messy unresolved relationship" is between the character and themself).

Not sure about details. I do a lot of introspective fic, so my fic is pretty heavy on characters' attitudes and inner monologues/feelings.

7. Any worldbuilding you’re particularly proud of?

To be honest, I am terrible at worldbuilding and only do it when not doing it would leave a glaring hole in the story.

Probably the most worldbuilding I've had to do is in my Ambassador of Love and Peace fic, and the main thing I'm proud of is my headcanons of what life as a temple acolyte is like, plus various details I've filled in about the political situation in Eisenberg and Harena.

For Star Trek, the worldbuilding I'm most proud of is my Mirrorverse Ferengi headcanons, but I haven't published anything with that yet.

12. Are there any tropes you used to dislike but have grown on you?

I was having a lot of trouble with this question and the next one, but I thought of something: Slap-Slap-Kiss ("I hate you!" "Well, I hate you!" *characters passionately kiss*). I used to HATE this trope -- it was my least favorite 90s rom-com feature, easily in my top 3 worst tropes more generally, and I would include it in my Do Not Want (DNW) lists in exchanges. But ever since getting into Quodo, obviously I can't put it in my DNW list anymore because it's so core to Quodo, but I wonder if I have just mellowed out on the trope more generally?

The reason I used to hate it was because it was such lazy writing, where often people would collapse "I am attracted to you but there are these good reasons why I hate you and that makes things complicated" (which is a very legit source of tension and drama in a romance) into "ho ho these characters are sniping at each other from day 1 -- ~love at first sight~". Which is very WTF and also plays into all these misogynistic depictions of women where they need to be won over and no means yes and spitfire women are just asking to be tamed, etc. etc. Also, I just prefer ships where two people just really enjoy each other's company rather than are bickering all the time -- like, why would I want to watch people be in a relationship where they never have an unambiguously pleasant moment together? It's so depressing!

But Slap-Slap-Kiss works so well for Quodo (they are every 90s rom-com trope…), I think because their dynamic is meant to be comedic and it fits so well into their established characterization -- they're just kind of ridiculous enough to go from yelling at each other to kissing and not see anything weird about that -- and because they obviously enjoy the bickering and provocation aspects of the relationship too. It's possible I now can appreciate a bit more when sexual tension manifests itself as annoyance and yelling rather than just being baffled that anyone could get aroused when they're annoyed.

A similar thing happened with the tsundere character type. I used to just not get the appeal at all; tsundere characters were always my least favorite in media; etc. But I think my affection for Odo (who is a very pure tsundere type, at least when it comes to Quark) has kind of rubbed off on other tsunderes in fiction. I'm not sure -- results still inconclusive.

13. Are there any tropes you used to like but don’t anymore?

This one I still can't think of anything for. I think a lot of my tastes have stayed stable over time. I am very easy to please and like all sorts of trope-y fiction. Give me all the high school AUs and crack fic and There Was Only One Bed and identity porn and...

14. Are there any tropes you would only read if written by a trusted friend or writer?

Not really because I live dangerously. :P By that I mean for the most part, I will give any trope a try. And for tropes I'm not super into, I'm not sure it's the kind of situation where there are certain people I trust to handle it -- they're just not things I enjoy no matter how well-written or who's doing the writing.

That said, I am in theory interested in (for example) reading fic that delves into Odo and Mora's complicated relationship, but I have kind of learned the hard way to just ignore Odo+Mora-centric fic in the wild because so much of it contains Mora-bashing either in the summary/author notes or in the fic itself and I'm not really interested in that kind of story (in general, I don't like reading character- or ship-bashing stories). So that would be an example of a topic I would only check out if written by someone whose writing I trusted (for example, I would probably trust people who write in DW/AO3-based exchanges to handle it in a way I find interesting more than a person in the wild). So yeah, probably more generally, bashing fic or something adjacent to that isn't something I'd seek out, but would be willing to read if I knew that the writer really liked the characters they were writing about, even if the characters are flawed.

16. What’s an AU you would love to read (or have read and loved)?

This is hard because I love AUs so much and will gobble up anything. For Quodo... Read and loved: Soulmates AU, Fantasy AU. Would love to read: Hunger Games AU.

17. What highly specific AU do you want to read or write even though you might be the only person to appreciate it?

I don't have a highly specific one, but I have an angel and demon AU for Quodo and a superhero AU for Altdea/Rindea that I'd love someone else to write (I don't have the ideas and/or time).

25. What other websites or resources do you use most often when you write?

Probably a bit boring but in terms of websites, it's probably an online word counter when doing writing sprints (because the text editor I use most often doesn't come with one) and a thesaurus (because sometimes I struggle to find the word I'm thinking of, like, "What's the word that means X but has somewhat of a Y connotation," or whatever -- I'll look a nearby word up in the thesaurus until I find what I'm looking for). Wikipedia as a place to start for basic research. Fan wikis and Chakoteya.net for quick canon review.

Thanks for the ask! 😄

a collection of questions i, as a writer, would love to be asked !!!

#long post #fic writers meme #weaver0fwords #quodo

[himebushou]

THOUGHTS ON EP. 11 BEFORE I JUMP INTO THE TAG!

What?

And I mean WHAT?

The last thing I expected in this episode was for Misaki to die?? Poor lady. I was pretty mad at her earlier on in the episode because she kept making it sound like Miri had lived in some miserable conditions or something (and Misaki saw with her own eyes that Miri's room was wonderful and etc.) but... phew. Really glad freaky Ogino didn't get to hear her last words. I have a lot of pity for her and I think she could have had more light in her life.

And ew, I found myself pitying Rei's stupid pops, too. The way he said, "Everything just as it always was," highlighted just how much of a traditionalist he is, but I also got the impression that he also felt trapped by the weight of the Suwa name and the mess he inherited. However, Rei wants to break the cycle while Suwa Shigeki didn't even ever consider that a possibility, so...

But man, if he gets some kind of redemption, I will punch a cushion in anger!!

I SO THOUGHT Kazuki was going to manage to kill Ogino? I was literally yelling, "YES — KILL HIM!" as I was watching, lol. I find it a bit flaky that Ogino left Kazuki alive considering that Kazuki was literally a target, but I guess the justification in the writing (that Ogino only does one job at a time) kinda holds water? Hmm.

I love how Kazuki yelled, "REI!" as a fake out and was pretty sad that Rei wasn't actually there but phew, Kyuu-chan to the rescue! And man, I was so proud of Rei for PHONING KAZUKI and COMMUNICATING and man, Kazuki really is the brains, huh? I love them both so much!

I'm glad that we got a scene of Miri wondering where her papas are because I was feeling a bit hard done by when it seemed like tiny pop had just moved on. But phew. How are they going to explain to her that Misaki's not coming back —

I loved the montage at the beginning, too. Rei losing at games and Kazuki losing all will to cook... though I nearly started bawling when I saw Miri's empty room. And Kazuki wiping his tears on his arm? Goodbye.

The idea of change really hit hard this episode, huh? Rei insisting that it had to be the three of them and that they could only do it together — Rei being passionate and Kazuki just taking it all on and laying down the law! I actually cracked up when Rei flipped over only having an hour of playtime each day (like, c'mon Kazuki — that's harsh). Also, I loved that Kazuki saw a little montage which included Karin saying, "MAKE MIRI HAPPY!" because that's so important and I'm glad that Kazuki has accepted that yeah, their family is anything but conventional but hoo, they can indeed make Miri happy.

Misaki dying in Kazuki's arms though... that was painful. And what a powerful performance from Kazuki's voice actor. I thought the background song sounded a bit out of place, if I'm completely honest. (But then again, I wasn't really listening properly, so...)

The pacing was a bit. Hmm. A lot was crammed into this episode. Not necessarily in a bad way, but I wasn't sure if the impact of Rei's speech really hit me the way that it was supposed to. I was relieved that Kazuki didn't um and ah over what to do, but it was a bit — "BAM! Misaki is dead and now Miri is orphaned and I can't do anything without your help and I know change needs to happen but I'm somehow having all of these epiphanies without addressing the giraffe in the room which is that we have to take down my evil dad's evil organisation."

SO BOTH THE DADDIES AND THE BUDDIES ARE BACK! And only one (1) woman had to die to achieve it. 🙃 If this series didn't have Miss Anna, it really would be a bit of a wreck where women characters are concerned, lol. Yes, we also have Karin, Carol and Dorothy — but they're kinda more plot devices than well-realised individuals, so, you know.

So... I think that the family will now get by on the leftover money from the pay packets that were supposed to come from Karin, now that they're out of the hitman business. Where will they live? How the heck is Kazuki proposing to continue taking Miri to daycare? And what is Kyuu-chan going to do? He'll be a target too, right?

LOOKING FORWARD TO EP. 12!

#buddy daddies #my thoughts are rly messy

[kiruuuuu]

Kiru's Advent Calendar, Day 18💔

More of the Smoke/Mute uni AU! We're getting close to a point where the two of them actually talk to each other - I wasn't kidding about the slow burn 😁 (Rating G/T, slice of life/fluff, ~1.7k words)

.

James spots him mid-sentence. It’s likely not the most appropriate choice to interrupt himself just to yell a cheerful ‘hi Mark!’ across the public space yet instead of sparking irritation, Morowa merely chuckles in amusement. The ground is still wet from a downpour earlier, street lights and the bright pub sign reflecting on the glistening asphalt, refracting into glittering spots awarding the night a more glamorous flair than it deserves. Up until recently, his day could’ve gone better, his sleeping place not yet secured as Seamus is out of town and James is too proud to ask anybody else, plus the presentation due for tomorrow isn’t even half done.

He can wing it, but his contribution to the seminar so far has been shaky enough that he’d prefer to earn a good mark on it.

But Jordan invited him to their little hangout and there’s no refusing where Jordan is concerned, that man knows how to have a good time – so James tagged along and tried his best to enjoy himself, downing a few pints during this endeavour, and then he ran across Morowa. Finally. The woman can be more elusive than the Yeti if she’s busy, and no doubt she’s been keeping her schedule full following their break-up.

“- I guess what I ultimately want to say”, James continues after Mark has acknowledged his presence with a nod from a distance away, “is that I’m fine. And I’d still like to live with you.”

His ex-girlfriend’s smile is blinding, reminding him of why he developed a crush on her in the first place. She takes his hand, squeezes it, deems it as not enough and pulls him into a tight embrace: physical contact is important to her, be it with friends, family or her lovers, and it’s reassuring to witness there’s no hesitation in her affectionate gestures towards him. “I’m so glad to hear that”, she replies, voice laden with emotion. “It might sound odd, but I missed you this last week. Still… are you sure?”

Her question is warranted and he’s fully aware of the implications: she’s always expressed her desire for a more active, more varied love life, in dating other people. And though her admittance that she didn’t even kiss anybody else while the two of them were together filled him with gratitude, guilt overshadowed his relief. Because she’s been nothing but open and communicative with him, from the start, whereas he selfishly assumed it’d somehow work out regardless. So now, what he has to decide is whether he accepts her moving on and possibly bringing other people home while the two of them remain friends and roommates.

After some more deliberation which is just for show, really, he’s spent the last seven days pouring over this exact dilemma, he nods with confidence. “Yes. I’m sure.”

“Then you best take your key back.” And another problem solved.

They spend a few more minutes detailing the specifics, exchanging heartfelt messages of support and being generally sappy until he notices the other woman waiting a few feet away, shifting from foot to foot. “Sorry, didn’t mean to keep you. You off to somewhere?”

Morowa confirms and introduces her friend as Emmanuelle. “We’re helping someone else move out. Difficult situation.”

“If anyone needs a slogging, call me.”

“Will do.” A last grin, a last hug, and off they trot.

James imagined the conversation to go worse somehow, to involve more emotional suffering, yet both of them saw the end coming from miles away. It hurts less than he expected. Doesn’t make the void in his chest feel any better, though. To take his mind off it all, he saunters over to the only two other people in the street, one of them a tall, reasonably buff bloke with a pretty face and wild hair and the other one a bubbly fountain of neverending commentary. He’s never seen them together yet it’s obvious the shorter lad is a close acquaintance of Mark’s.

“- no more panel discussions, please. If you ever go see improv again, I’m with you all the way, but if I have to listen to another hour of pseudoscientific shite from old, white men, I’ll throw up in my mouth”, he chatters away as James joins them. “Hi! I’m Julien. Honestly, I don’t know who sets up those talks but they really need to -”

It takes another minute until James can introduce himself, sparking recognition in the young man’s face. “Aren’t you the dude who set the lab on fire two years ago?”

He smirks, offers a casual shrug. “Maybe.”

“You’re a fucking legend! I think the profs still use you as a bad example.”

Mark opens his mouth for the first time since James caught sight of him tonight: “Don’t you need to leave?”

“Ah fuck.” Julien checks his phone, frantically types out a reply while almost vibrating in place with suppressed energy, then gives a little wave. “Gotta run, bye James. Bye babes, don’t stay out too long!” He stretches to place a kiss on Mark’s cheek despite the lad trying to lean away from him, and hurries off in the same direction as Morowa earlier. James wonders whether it counts as stereotyping or something similar to assume that Julien and Emmanuelle know each other, them both obviously being French. Morowa would know what to call it.

Being left alone with Mark is always a little like being dropped into cold water, his presence starts out as suffocating, robbing James of any words he might know, of the ability to string them together to form a sentence. It’s not unpleasant yet he’s filled with the irrational urge to impress him, the pressure of which building until he either comes up with a topic to save himself or blurts out the first fully-formed sentence taking shape in his mind. Not that they’ve spent much time together, James simply has started making a point out of striking up a conversation with Mark whenever he sees him. Constant dripping wears the stone – he will befriend him, no matter what.

“Who’s he, then?”, he asks, motioning in the direction of the young Frenchman jogging along. Out of habit, he pulls out a cigarette, offers one to his companion who takes it with a nod before it’s lit up and welcomed by his lips.

“An idiot”, is the curt reply. There’s fondness in his voice and it suddenly clicks in James’ head.

While Julien gave him significant gay vibes, the kiss on the cheek could’ve been one-sided, something done between friends. But there’s the bracelet again, peeking out of Mark’s sleeve, three beads on it representing a very real flag James has encountered a few times before. It’s the toothpaste flag, as Morowa calls it, and either Mark is an overly specific supporter of just one group in the community – or he is, in fact, gay. And for some reason, this changes something about him in James’ mind, though he’s utterly unable to put it into words. He eyes him with a new kind of interest and tells himself it’s the same as if he recently found out one of his relatives was working in chemistry research – it’s a common ground of some sort. He’s now more determined than ever to get to know more about him.

“What?”, says Mark and James realises he’s been staring at him.

“You’ve been working out”, he states. Apparently it’s a day where he cracks under pressure and loses all control over what comes out of his mouth. The nod he receives encourages him, so he adds: “I remember your goal was to look good. You’re almost there.”

A brow rises, a silent question. Mark’s cigarette lights up as he sucks on it, brightens his face and contours his cheekbones, the sharp jaw.

“Now you just gotta do something about your hair.”

Mark scoffs, features softening (which is almost the same as a smile) and he runs a hand through the bird’s nest on his head. It looks soft. James wonders whether he had one or two drinks too many. “You do chem, right?”

“Yeah. And you’re in engineering?”

Superfluous information: Mark apparently deems it as irrelevant and ignores his question outright. “Think you can settle a debate?”

Gosh, is this genius actually asking for his help? James curses himself for not crossing his path earlier in the library so he could show off there – he should ensure there are witnesses at all times. “Sure, about what?”, he offers easily, trying not to let his giddiness show, but it seems it’s not the prodigy himself who requires his expertise. Mark indicates the pub with his chin, prompting James to stub out his fag and follow him inside to the loudest corner in the whole room.

Jordan is there, of course, a few of his friends and others James has never seen before, and it becomes clear very quickly they’re arguing about explosions. And oh boy, they better strap in, because this, this is right up his alley. Mark grabs a chair and James slides onto the bench, waiting for the perfect moment to cut in. And when he does, when all eyes are suddenly on him, everyone soaking up his vast knowledge with greedy curiosity, the day is saved.

The longer he talks, the more he indulges various ‘what if’-scenarios, the more anecdotes he drops… the more alive he feels. Someone takes copious notes for her pen-and-paper campaign, someone else really explores the edges of what can be proven scientifically, someone else offers supplementary knowledge that complements James’ own. They end up devising explosives for a variety of use cases, ignoring the odd glance from the tables around them, and James drinks too much.

When some of them exchange numbers at the end of the evening, he discovers Mark has left them half an hour ago. And though he thoroughly enjoyed himself, is left buzzing and beaming, full of enthusiasm, having made several new friends, it still feels a little like he missed out on something.

He’s just not sure what it was.

#rainbow six siege #fanfic #kac #smoke/mute #smoke #mute #clash #she's honestly the mvp in all of this #rook is just a dog with too much energy whenever I write him and I love him that way

[celiaelise]

Yoooo I finally watched the Owl House episode! (and so I can unblock the tag lol)

It was v v good but yeah it did for sure feel rushed. Which is understandable. Honestly I'm not sure it necessarily suffered for it? It was just a noticeable diversion from the pace of the rest of the show. idk exactly why, but the compact storytelling kinda reminded me of kids' movies or cartoons that came out when I was really young.

Very sad, of course, that the witchlings time in the human world was largely reduced to a montage, but also kinda valid because it wasn't super important to the plot. Overall, really impressive and satisfying how much information was squeezed in with just the visuals.

Mostly what my friends and I yelled at the screen this time was, "no, do not keep it a secret, we do not need any surprises, there is already enough shit going on, please just communicate with each other!!!"

Also I guess I get that they each got to have a tiny moment at the end, but why would they not all walk through the portal together??? Like, they don't know what it's gonna do, it could spit them all out different places!! If it was me, my hands would be glued to my friends' lol

#toh spoilers #toh season 3 #the owl house #by elise

[mantasunray-art]

i mean, i don't know how many of these you've seen but there are little posts that explain a bit about the culture and how things work and i'm sure people in this community would be open to helping you out! tumblr is just a silly website where you blog into the void and sometimes other silly people enjoy what you blog.

especially recently, i've found twitter to be more and more draining and it helped me taking a step back and look at things a little less seriously and more calm.

either way, you're welcome here. :>

yeah i think i'm kinda understanding the culture here!! i've read those posts the moment i joined :) i just get confused with the "for you" and "following" tabs like why doesnt it show most recent to latest!! and when i scroll to update it changes everything sometimes and sometimes it updates normally??? also shows up so many stuff that i dont follow and it's a little annoying but i'm sure it's somewhere in the configurations.

and twitter is SO fucking draining esp with the big accs monopoly over everyone's opinions like the moment they say something everyone panics it's insane. i have so many words muted which def helps but like the tumblr fandom is smaller and calmer. also i think there are more people here with fandom culture experience because tumblr is a little more fandom focused like idk i hope you get what i mean

but yeah i made a tweet calling ranboo a hypocrite on the qrts of dteam updates and somehow they found me not even 5 mins later and now there are posts with 5k likes with screenshots of my tweets in ranbootwt like girl you are the one who was looking for my tweet cause i'm sure it didnt show up in your following tab!!! like i need them all to explode seriously but yeah on tumblr with tags and shit and how the culture revolves around respecting tags that would never have happened. anyway tumblr rules!!!

it's just that yelling into the void is a little scary esp since i have a bunch of followers on twt that i think will find what i say funny or interesting and here im allll alone like I LOVE ASKS SO MUCH and like i see people replying to them all the time in my dash but i just,,, dont get them and i dont know how to talk to get them idkkkkk. i'm getting used to tumblr overall! i just suck at talking i guess like how tf do you do a conversation.

IM TALKING TOO MUCH thank you for welcoming here you're lovely !! <3

#b.ramble #ask bea

[enduracarrotchips]

YouTuber AU

Hello welcome to Dating Scandal but with Twitter Involved (nightmare)

A little exposition here: 

Link, Zelda, Sidon, Revali, and Riju are the most popular group of youtubers on the internet and have a huge fanbase that likes to theorize, draw fanart, and write fanfiction about them. Disclaimer, I don’t actually interact with real-person fandoms myself lol there’s just too much potential for drama and misunderstandings & they’re always bound to end in a dumpster fire but that is sort of what this au is about so.

Impa, Mipha, Daruk, and Urbosa are family friends that appear in a lot of their videos/streams. 

(This is an art blog I swear)

enter vidcon 20XX

Link: 

blows stuff up/sets stuff on fire with a side of cooking vids and gaming

most are filmed outside, he does those challenges where you try to cook stuff with limited ingredients/materials

has the largest fanbase of all of them, but not the most…intimidating.

does a lot of collab videos, mostly with Impa, Daruk, and Riju because they have similar interests/channels, but Zelda appears in his videos and is seen filming and the stans read too far into it

simps. i’m pointing at you.

Most popular videos are “shield surfing on rock!—how I broke my leg” “can Daruk eat Impa’s motorcycle?” and “how to inhale ranch dressing.”

Twitter handle is @ arsonistslullabye because he’s a hozier fan

45m subs

Zelda:

theories, analyses, conspiracies, and the occasional e x p e r i m e n t

she once got link to eat a frog for 50 bucks.

most people argue that she’s better than more popular YouTubers because she actually has quality content to give to the world and she has a lot of defensive supporters

She used to get a lot of hate before Urbosa spoke up about it and scared the bejeezus out of everyone

has an actual posting schedule

“Happy Sunday everyone, it’s Zelda Hyrule and today we will be talking about cryptozoology and why blupees exist, you cowards.”

Twitter handle is @ zeldaofhyrule and she is pan. just so you know. One of those calm extroverts that mystify me to this day.

18m subs

Sidon:

fashion/life hacks. Like gourmet troom troom but if they were real people.

Has the 2nd largest fanbase

most of them are girls

Sidon has a boyfriend though, which he told everyone at VidCon a few years ago

cue the drama and shipping and the entire fandom trying to figure out who the boyfriend is. A well known reddit thread emerged that presented the common guesses being Link, Sidon, and Zelda.

“But it can’t be Zelda, Sidon’s gay.”

“I’m not in the fandom but I thought Zelda was a boy??”

“Did you just say Sidon? Is that a typo? Are you saying that Sidon’s dating himself?”

Sidon x Sidon became a fandom joke.

Don’t look at me I’m just setting up all the worldbuilding. every fandom has their weird dark sides and Sidon x Sidon is the Linkcest of the Sidon YT fandom.

Mystery BF is actually Bazz, a pretty inconspicuous guy who appeared in a few of his videos. This was confirmed a year ago, but everyone still ships him with other YouTubers because they’re convinced he was lying to throw them off his scent. He really can’t catch a break and this is why you should not ship real people.

Twitter handle is @ officialprincesidon

says “beguiling” a lot

21m subs ᕙ( ͡❛ ▿ ͡❛)ᕗ

Mipha:

Sidon’s sister, hasn’t posted a single video but just has the channel for show because she appears in so many of Sidon’s videos as a model for his makeup tutorials and whatnot

has 328k for that. Everyone loves her, she’s great. @ mimipha

Revali:

Link’s sworn rival

Link thinks they’re friends

He kept popping up in link’s Twitter threads and making snarky comments until zelda called him out for not even following link (so why was he stalking his acc) which kept the Twitter drama to a minimum

Revali was the catalyst of a few popular memes and that’s where most of his subs come from.

drags link into a few challenges that always get a ton of views because of how competitive they get

“ITS JUST ASININE” is a running joke that everyone tries to get him to say. His @ is itsjustasinine as well

Urbosa is the only person who can win an argument with him

5m subs and growing rapidly. newer to youtube than everyone else.

Impa:

Doesn’t have a channel she’s just a mutual friend of Mipha, Zelda, and Link

Rides a motorcycle, so she is used in a few of Link’s videos.

@ ihaveamotorcycle because she thinks having a motorcycle is a personality trait. the most unruly on Twitter when it comes to replying to fan’s stuff, leaking upcoming videos and generally causing chaos.

Mipha’s girlfriend. That’s how she met Zelda and Link.

Urbosa:

Is actually a model, but she has a ton of YouTuber friends because she’s known Zelda since birth.

when she entered the youtube community she didn’t realize she would be adopting like 15 children

5m subs. her videos are professional & related to her modelling career. @ urbosasfury

I feel like she would do unboxing vids. I’m not sure what she’s unboxing.

Daruk

Just a friend of Link’s, fun guy. yells a lot. once ate a rock and had no reaction.

people are scared of him for that reason

Riju:

yoga & gymnastics & “ha look at how flexible I am its eAsY” videos

you know the type

she also does reactions and is sponsored by save the sand seals charities which she is very enthusiastic about. She’s also Urbosa’s niece and the only minor in the gang (15). I like to think that the champions YT community is actually not creepy so everyone respects her a ton

doesn’t post frequently, she mostly appears in Link’s videos to jump out of airplanes or whatever. And sometimes Zelda’s if she’s interested in the topic. 500k subs, but she’s always really popular when she appears in Link’s videos.

VidCon:

In the months leading up to VidCon, some fans on the internet made a few discoveries: first of all, that the inside of Link’s house is painted green. This is a big deal because all of his videos are filmed outside either in his backyard or on trips that he and the brosquad go on to do…whatever bros do. explosions. idk. The point is he had some announcement about VidCon and filmed it inside. Only the wall and a potted plant were shown.

However, the colour was similar to the the shade of Zelda’s living room. Fans dug through years and years of old videos and found a clip of Zelda walking through a hallway, where there was an open door and a glimpse of a houseplant.

There were 2 types of responses to the theory:

“They could just be roommates guys calm down”

“and they were ROOMMATES?”

others pointed out that Link could just not have a house and had to crash in Zelda’s

Some guy on reddit claimed he had a botany degree and declared that the houseplants in the clips were not of the same genus. Normal people pointed out that the plant would have grown 4 years between the clips and would look considerably different.

#Zelink trended on twitter for a while and people posted other old clips from both of their channels and the frog video blew up again

Impa retweeted a post tagged as #zelink with “rofl” and later publicly apologized for causing confusion.

Fans noticed that in the “can a motorcycle drive over my arm” (it was clickbait he’s fine) episode 2 years ago, Link was eating out of a paper lunch bag with his name written on it in handwriting that a few people claimed to look like Zelda’s, leading people to believe that she had packed him a lunch.

However, this theory was shot down with the counterargument that Zelda can’t cook. although. i mean how much skill do you need to make a sandwich.

No one knows what tumblr is doing at this time

Zelda wore a scarf in her “Save the Sand Seals” video that matched identically to the scarf Link wore when he travelled to Hebra to film a shield surfing video, but it’s been debated wether it’s actually the same scarf or not.

Neither Zelda nor Link has spoken up about the theories, and besides Impa’s one slip on twitter, neither has any of their friends. Zelda received a lot of backlash for the assumption that she was dating Link because he has a lot of delusional fans that didn’t want her to “steal their man” or whatever the hell that type of fan would get mad about

Oh yea and bolson & karson run a zelink fanpage on twitter sorry I forgot about that

after that whole mess, everyone was even more anticipant of VidCon in the hopes that some of their questions would be answered.

The whole batch went to VidCon this year: Link, Impa, Daruk, and Riju are a gang while Sidon and Mipha go together and Zelda & Revali each go separately. Urbosa is there for supervision moral support

Zelda has always been much better at dodging questions that she doesn’t want to answer than anyone else, so her Q&A went without a hitch. When asked to confirm the rumours she said “which one?” and then moved on to the next question (without actually confirming any rumours).

Link is generally a more awkward person but eventually said that he had filmed the video in Zelda’s house because it was nicer and didn’t realize it would cause such an uproar. Fans were disappointed, but Bolson claimed he saw Link and Zelda exiting the hotel elevator on the same floor after Link’s Q&A session. No one believed him.

Fans went back to theorizing over who Link, Zelda, and Sidon were all dating, because apparently they can’t just be dating unknown people and have to be with other YouTubers

Sidon and Bazz got engaged about a week after VidCon, making at least 4 preteen girls cry

actually try 4 million

Sidon x Sidon made a brief comeback but Sidon spoke up about his fandom for the first time ever on twitter and told everyone that no, he was not dating himself. eventually, everyone settled down and accepted that none of them were in a relationship save for a few loud fans.

Link and Zelda still got the occasional “when will you tell us who you’re dating?” comment but most of them were joking and the people who still hardcore shipped them were generally frowned upon. Zelda’s popularity went up after VidCon and she regained the 200k subscribers she’d lost after the first theory dropped.

Two months after VidCon, Link posted a video titled “Zelda and I’s House Tour!” and gave around 45 million people a heart attack

as revealed in the video, they had actually been dating since they were 16 and everyone’s just a fool.

the potted plant is named Hestu.

#listen. listen. youtuber au #idc if u came here to see genderless art this is what I am posting today #genderless art in the future though #anyways I'm so sorry #sidon x sidon trends for a few days and I feel bad for the ppl who have to handwrite the trending descriptions on twitter #like what would it be #reddit user @ steponmeurbosa makes a spelling error and sparks shipping between beauty guru sidon and himself #if someone tries to start discourse about YouTube fandoms on my post I am blocking you #headcanons #opinions #youtuber au #botw #zelink #breath of the wild #legend of zelda #thank god I got this out of my notes app

[bubblybubbubs]

Stuck With Me (3)

Summary - Draco’s POV on losing his soulmate

Draco Malfoy x Reader

Word Count - 3.5k

AN- I am so sorry this took so long, I hope you all enjoy it!

Part 1  2 

taglist - @lonely-kermit @lifeasdreamgirl @mera-shifts @abbyloubaton @clumsilyclueless @confusedscreaminggremlin @seanh-boredom @weasleysmalfoyxstyles @thefandomplace @mayempress @shadyrose66622 @jay-jay-love @ktvia @lovebynorth @sweet-creature98 @remmyswritings​ @chaoticgirl04

Sometimes Draco thought about how different his life would be had he not left you, had you not gotten hurt and lost your fucking memory.

It was truly ridiculous, the universe was actively conspiring against him, he was sure of it.

His current living situation just proved that further to him. “Wake the fuck up.” Blaise said slowly pouring water on his face even though Blaise himself was evidently groggy. “I will kill you.”

“Looking forward to it.”

Draco was unsure as to why Blaise had chosen to live in a crappy apartment when his family Manor was free. He missed his silk sheets and expensive pillows. Yet sadly the ministry had decided they wanted to take that leaving Draco on Blaise’s smelly consignment store couch. Had he gotten completely cut off by his family? Perhaps, it would make the disgustingly plain beans and toasts they ate daily make a lot more sense. He’d hate to think that Blaise fed them this by choice.

“Guess who wrote.” Blaise said, wiggling a letter in Draco’s face.

“Loud ginger?”

“Loud ginger.” He confirmed dropping it in on Draco’s face. “You should answer her before we get a howler, then we’ll really see how loud the ginger can get.” Draco looked at the letter, Ginny’s name was scrawled on the envelope and the aggressiveness of the signature made him heavily considering not opening it but the possibility of getting a howler from her convinced him otherwise.

Draco,

You are the worst and I hate you. I’m not sure if you care anymore given that you have refused to make contact with her but y/n is doing fine. I mean sure she’s been asking about her soulmate and lying to her is slowly killing me, but I’m glad you and Blaise are having fun in your bachelor pad and that you have successfully cleared your amnesiac soulmate out of your head.  

Looking forward to hearing your pathetic excuses,

Ginny Weasley.

It was way too fucking early for this.

-

Things were strange.

You had gotten most of your memories back but everything was very different than what you remembered, everyone was different after the war.

The Weasleys, oh the poor Weasleys, they were like your family but the life has been sucked out of them without Fred. They had all tried to hide it from you, they believed you were already going through enough and you didn’t need their problems too. Ginny especially, she hadn’t left your side since you woke up. You kind of felt bad for Harry because whenever he wanted to spend some one on one time with Ginny she always insisted you tagged along.

For example whatever the fuck this current situation was.

“I’m really sorry Harry.” You whispered to him. “I told her I’d be fine alone.”

At first it had sort of made sense how careful everyone had been around you, but at this point it was exhausting. You would walk into a room and it would just go silent. You lost your memory, not your basic communication skills.

“It’s fine, I understand Ginny can be quite persistent.”

“What about me.” Ginny said hooking her arms with the both of you.

“Just that I don’t think I should be going on your dates anymore, it’s kind-“

“Ginny.” Harry said interrupting you pointing towards a boy down the street. He was blonde and lanky, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

You had seen Ginny mad, in fact it was one of the first things to come back to you. Her calm fury was something that hadn’t remained constant since she was young and right now you saw it on her face as she stared daggers into the boy.

She scoffed. “I’ll be back.”

“This might take a while.” Harry said quietly, shaking his head. “Come on we can meet Ginny there.” You stole a glance across the street as Harry dragged you away. Ginny was yelling at the boy but he didn’t seem to care because he wasn’t looking at her he was looking at you. You felt your face heat up and you looked away from him following Harry. “Who was that, should I know him?”

Harry paused for a minute.

He had that face that people had whenever they were walking on eggshells around you.“He went to school with us but I don’t think you two were ever friends.” The way he didn’t look you in the eyes screamed to you that he was lying.Harry was always a horrible bloody liar.

-

It was really hard for Draco to process what Ginny was saying. Her anger had gone right to her face and Draco had been silently betting with himself as to how long it would take for her face to turn the same color as her hair. “Your face is really red.” Draco said, struggling to hold back his laughter. “Are you drunk.” Ginny said stoically.

Was he? It was likely, he honestly couldn't remember the morning or yesterday. The days were sort of blending together.

“Malfoy.” Ginny said. Usually when people used his name they were yelling at him or were angry at him. But Ginny said it with pity which somehow felt worse.

“I don’t get why you're doing this to yourself.” She said. “You’re miserable.” He deserved to be miserable.

“It’s for the best.”

“How’s that.”

Draco had no interest in divulging his feelings to weaslette of all people, but it seemed his judgement was slightly impaired by the alcohol he may or may not had been drinking. “I’m going to fucking Azakban Ginevra,I just dont see the point in telling her I’m her soulmate and possibly facing rejection just for me to be thrown in Azkaban for the rest of my life.” Draco huffed. “Even if she somehow forgave me, I doubt the dementors will be allowing conjugal visits.”

“There are no more dementors at Azkaban, Kingsley got rid of them.”

Now normally Draco was against hitting girls but he was considering it heavily. “Thank you Weasley. I feel way better, I’m sure Azkaban is a paradise now. Remind me to send Kingsley a thank you letter.”

“Draco.” Ginny said.

Gross, hearing Ginny say his first name with pity felt even worse.

“You’re not going to Azkaban, Harry agreed to speak at your trial.”

“Oh great he’ll testify to the one time I helped him, I’m sure it’ll cancel everything else out.” He said. “I’m not a good person Weasley, that’s why I know I’m going to Azkaban, because I deserve it.”

“Is that why you’re staying away from y/n?” Ginny said even angrier than before. “Is this some sort of self punishment.”

Draco stayed quiet.

“Merlin, Draco go to fucking therapy.” Ginny huffed. “You’re not the only one that’ll suffer because of your self pity. She needs her fucking soulmate back, as much as I hate you for everything you’ve put her through I can’t argue with the fucking universe and neither can you.”

“Exactly.”

“What?”

“I shouldn’t have fucking gotten involved with her in the first place, it’s only put her in danger.” He took a deep shaky breath. “And her losing her memory was the universe’s way of telling me to stay away.”

He had known for a long time that she was too good for him  

It was dark and he was tired, turns out making potter stinks badges and teaching all of Slytherin clever chants was demanding. Draco wasn't really paying attention to his surroundings as he walked back to his dorm until of course he heard quiet sobs. He was a firm believer that crying in public was pathetic, especially in a hallway where anyone could stumble across you. And he might’ve told them that had it not been you. He had been thinking about you, not that he would ever tell anyone that ever. But how could he not, you were his soulmate and that had to mean something.

He barely had time to think as his feet moved on their own bringing him in front of you.

“Why are you crying.”

Merlin, could he have been any less compassionate.

“Why do you care Malfoy.” You said.

He hated the way you looked pretty even if your eyes were all puffy and your face was all red.

“I don’t.”

He did. He even started to walk away for dramatic effect of course.

“I’m scared.” It felt weird to hear sincere words from you that weren't you yelling at him, and he hated the fact that he didn't hate it. “Harry has his first task tomorrow he could get hurt or worse.”

“I wouldn’t worry about that. Don’t tell him I told you this but he has to be some sort of invincible to defeat Voldemort at the age of 1. Don't you think?”He could hardly believe the words he was saying.

“I suppose you’re right.” You finished off.

Draco sat tensely, he wasn't exactly sure what to do. He couldn't hug you could he? No that would be seriously overstepping. You would probably punch him in the face, again. After all you had been the one who wanted to forget about the whole soulmate thing and of course you were a halfblood and a gryffindor on top of that. It would never work.

For once he hated being right.

-

You were actively weighing how likely it was for Ginny to kill you if you woke her up.

Very, is what you eventually came up with. Maybe you could play the amnesia card.

“What do you want y/n.” Ginny grogged from under her. “I’ve been listening to you shifting around for the last hour.”

You had been staying at the Weasley’s and you had absolutely refused to take Fred’s bed so that had resulted in a cramped hammock floating in Ginny’s room.

You turned around to face her with a sorry look on your face.

“Did I know that boy, the one you were yelling at.” You said. “I just feel like I knew him.”

Ginny was quiet the same way Harry was. “No.” She said turning away from you. “No you didn’t.”

“Ginny-”

“Y/n please don’t.” Ginny said, cutting you off. “It’s not for me to tell, if it was believe me you’d already know.”

“I want to go.”

“Go where.”

“To Hogwarts.”

It was embarrassing. Everyone had gone already; they had been able to at least attempt to cope with the trauma they had endured. And you who couldn't even remember the bloody war couldn't work up the nerves to go.

Ginny stared at you for a bit before muttering. “Hermione and Ron are going soon, they’ll likely let you join them.” You were about to make an argument about going on your own before Ginny turned back around nonverbally telling you that the conversation was over.

You still couldn’t sleep and not from lack of trying. Your mind was whirring, ever since you had seen Ginny yell at the boy your lack of memory seemed to be feeling different. And your fear was beginning to settle in, your doctor said that some memories may never come back and that thought made you sick to your stomach. You didn’t feel all that different, Ginny said you were the same whenever you asked. But she could be lying (since she seemed to be in the habit of doing so these days) and you would never know because you had amnesia.

-

Draco was regretting not taking his plea deal. He would much rather be sleeping in Azkaban than waking up on Blaise’s concerningly uncomfortable couch to an angry looking ginger towering over him. No one seemed to value his rest and it was getting ridiculous. He pressed his eyes closed and pull his blanket further over his face in hopes that maybe Ginevra would disappear. Sadly that was not the case and Ginny ripped the blanket off of him leaving Draco quite cold.

Ginny stared down at him as she stood impatiently at the foot of the couch.

“Blaise someone broke into your flat.”

“I noticed mate.” Blaise said who looked just as exhausted hunched over his coffee.

“We need to talk.”

“We talked remember, or were you drunk too?”

Ginny did not look amused and Draco almost felt bad for being so difficult but then he remembered he didn't care.

“Y/n’s going to Hogwarts with Ron and Hermione. She’s likely going to get her memories back.” Ginny said. “Thought you should know.”

Draco sat up. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Ginny said taking a deep breath. “You need to be there.”

“How so?”

“She’s going to remember all the shitty things you’ve done to her and are yet to apologize for and you’re going to lose your soulmate for good.”

“I don't see how me being there will change that.”

Ginny didn't answer him rather she walked towards his chimney. “You know what, screw you. I truly do not care if you go, I just thought you should have the choice that's all.”

Ginny didn't look at Draco, rather giving Blaise a short nod before using the floo to go back to the Burrow.

Draco let himself fall back down to the couch as he listened to Blaises loudly chow down his cereal.

“So are you going to go?” Blaise said his mouth still full.

He felt bad for Blaise’s mum all that money on etiquette lessons for what?

“No.” Draco said, burying his head in his pillow.

“You’re a tosser.”

“I can live with that.”

He could and he has. If he had a sickle for everytime he was called some variation of ‘tosser’ he certainly would not be sleeping on Blaise’s couch.

“I’m calling Pansy.” Blaise didn’t scare him, not in the slightest. But Pansy was another story, Pansy scared everyone, especially the people that loved her which sadly included Draco. “I will kill you.”

“You’re just saying that cause you know she’ll knock some sense into you.”

“I have a lot of sense.” Draco groaned. “In fact I have too much sense.”

Blaise ignored Draco’s exaggerated groans as he called Pansy.The call was short or maybe it was long, all Draco knew was that Pansy was standing over him with that look on her face.

“I’m not going, and you’re not changing my mind Pansy.”

“Blaise leave.” Pansy ordered.

Blaise looked insulted. “This is my house.”

“You call this a house?”

Blaise huffed mumbling under his breath curses at Pansy.

“That was rude.”

“So you're going to lecture me on rudeness now, that's rich coming from you.”

“I dont care.”

“You look and smell like shit, I can tell you ‘don’t care’.” Pansy said.

Never in her life had Pansy been one to sugar coat things and apparently she had no intention of starting to do so. Draco was going to argue it was the couch but he realized he couldn't remember the last time he showered so he kept his mouth shut. Draco a year ago would’ve drowned himself in the black lake had he known he’d come to be like this.

“Fuck off.”

“I’m pulling the card.”

“Pansy no that’s not fair.” Draco said sitting up.

“Fair?”

Poor choice of words.

“Draco, do I have to remind you my soulmate is dead, I stopped feeling tugs and being able to talk to my soulmate when i was 13. Your soulmate is alive by some fucking miracle, and frankly you’re being a selfish prick.”

“Oh.” He always hated when Pansy talked about it. Not because he didn't care but according to Pansy because he cared too much and the last time he had shown any sign of pity towards Pansy it had not gone well for him.

“What lies do you have Ginevra feeding her, does she think she has no soulmate, does she think her soulmate is dead?”

“She doesn’t think she has a soulmate.” Draco said in a low voice, he wasn't proud of what he was doing but he also knew he had no choice. “She was in her coma during the tug. I figured by the time the next one rolls around I have something figured out.”

“And what about you.” She asked. “She may not remember you but you’ll remember her, you'll never forget that you have a soulmate out there that you refuse to see.”

“I won't let myself ruin her.”

“She’s a grown woman, I find it demeaning that you don't see her capable of making her own damn choices.”

“What?”

“You think she'll hate you, you think she’ll be ruined, you think she’s better off. What about what she thinks? You think she'd be okay with you slowly killing yourself?”

“You're a bitch Pansy.”

“So I’ve been told.” She looked towards the clock.

“Come on lets get you something to eat.”

She reached her hand out for Draco to grab.

“I can walk to the kitchen without holding your hand thank you very much.”

Pansy rolled her eyes and grabbed onto Draco’s arm.

“What are you-”

Draco’s sentence was cut off by Pansy apparating them both out of the loft.

-

Draco had gone to his fair share of therapy, did it ever work? no, Draco would rather die before talking about his feelings with a stranger but he had been taught his fair share of anger exercises . And Merlin did they come in handy, truly it was the only thing keeping him from throttling Pansy as she stood there with a smug face looking at the rubble that once was Hogwarts.

“Pansy.” Draco said slowly.

“Shut up, look she’s right there.”

“I’m not ready Pansy.” Draco said wiping his palms on his pants out of stress. “I wanted to bring her flowers.”

“flowers?”

“Forget me nots.” He said with a sardonic dry chuckle. “It was our unofficial flower, ironic isn’t it.”

“The fact that you have an unofficial flower makes me want to throw up.”

“I need flowers.” He said. Pansy groaned before searching the grass. She picked up a dandelion swirling her wand transfiguring it into a bouquet of forget me nots.

“Here, go.” He was about to give another excuse but Pansy apperated away. The one time he needed her she leaves.

He wasn’t exactly sure how he was supposed to approach her without seeming like a stalker.

His thoughts were disrupted by Hermione and Ron walking up to him. He wanted to turn around so bad but he had no doubt that if he did so Hermione and Ron wouldn’t hesitate to curse him.

“Granger, Weasley.” He said sticking his hands as deep as his pockets would allow him.

“I didn’t think you were going to come.” Hermione said.

Draco shrugged.

“Just go talk to her.” Ron said.

“Thats why Im here.”

Ron mumbled something under his breath but Draco didn’t feel like fighting Weasley.

Draco had never felt such anxiety because of another person. He had always been confident and walked around like he owned the world, but now he felt scared.He watched you as you traced your hands across the bricks of Hogwarts, his steps faltering as he came closer to you.

“Hi Y/n.” He called out.

You turned to look at him. Draco’s heart felt heavy at the way you looked at him, not any recognition in your eyes. You had once looked at him with such love, then such hate but now you looked at him with nothing. because right now that’s what he was to you, and it broke his heart.

“You.” You said stepping closer. “You were the one talking to Ginny.”

“I wouldn’t really call it talking, she yelled I stood there.”

“Ginny does that a lot.” You shrugged.

“Yeah.” He said.

You spotted the flowers in his hands.

“I’m sorry, who did you lose?”

His hands tightened on the flowers.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” You said. “I lost my friend Fred, and my memory. But I don't feel like I lost it since I can't remember ever having it. But I miss Fred.”

He studied every centimeter of your face noting the subtle changes he didn’t notice the last time he saw you as you rambled on about Fred anxiously.

“You.” He said voice wavering. “I lost you.”

You stayed quiet for a second.

“I’m sorry I-“

“don’t know who I am?” He said with a dry laugh. “I was sort of expecting that.”

You didn’t say anything studying his face for anything that sparked a memory in you.

He dug through his jacket pocket pulling out a photo.

His hands were sweating and he tried his best not to touch your hand. Partially because he didn’t want you to feel his sweaty hands and because he feared he would break down at the realization that you were finally here in front of him.

“I’m Draco and you’re my soulmate.” He said

-

AN THIS IS NOT THE LAST PART THE LAST PART WILL BE THE NEXT PART

#draco malfoy x reader #draco malfoy imagine #draco malfoy #ginny weasley x reader #hp imagine #harry potter #harry potter x reader #hinny #ronmione #hp #draco #malfoy #x reader #stuck with me #angst

[tinyboxxtink]

"Weird Secret Friends" *Chapter 2*

Part 1

Part 3

Y'all IDK what it is about this story but I can just write and write and write. This one ended up being 11 pages [on a google doc] And I only stopped because it's 2:15 am.

I hope you guys like this, but I just want to clarify: This isn't a Barisi fic. I'm sorry, if you're looking for that, just...this isn't it. I mean they do interact and it'll be fun, but they will not be ending up together.

That being said, enjoy this new chapter! I'm debating on how pathetic enamored Sonny is, I don't think I'm gonna go that deep. No worries, people.

As always let me know if you want to be added/deleted off the tag list!! <3

Tag List

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@chasingeverybreakingwave

@milkshqke

@wanniiieeee

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@gibbs274

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@aprildecker-blog

@bookishfanfic

@stars-in-the-skies-world

@stars-trash-18

@omgsuperstarg

@objection-argumentative

-------

"Y/N, I'm so happy for you and Barba. You make the cutest couple," Sonny beamed at you while you were wrapped in Rafael's arms, huge smiles on all of your faces.

"Thank you Sonny, that means so much." You gave him a warm hug.

"Yeah….and you'll make the cutest couple in HELL!" All of a sudden Sonny pushed both you and Rafael off a cliff.

You were falling to your death when you woke up to your professor glaring at you.

"Have a nice nap, Miss Y/N?" He scowled at you.

"Um," You cleared your throat and straightened up at your desk. "Yes sir,"

"Good," he huffed as he headed to the front of the classroom once more. "Maybe now we can continue without your snoring,"

You heard the students around you snicker at his comments as You sunk lower into your desk and waited for class to end. It had been a long train ride home and then a drive to your apartment last night, you hadn't gotten home until around 2 am and had this 8 am class. As soon as the professor dismissed your class you booked it out of the class and out into the parking lot of your community college.

"Ugh, could this day get any--" before you could even finish your thought you got your answer. Your phone beeped with a text from Rafael:

RAFA: Hey killer, how's the bullshit county? 😉

That was the nice thing, then just as you were about to text him back your phone lit up.

SONNY BOI CALLING

"Shit!" You hissed to no one. "How does he know?!"

"Ahem….Heyyy, cuz," You answered it with your best nonchalant voice. That of course sounded totally chalant.

"Hey sunshine," His voice sounded relaxed, thank God.

"What's up?" You tried keeping your tone light as you neared your car.

"Well y'know I was just thinkin, I feel real bad about standing you up last night,"

"Oh, Son it's no big deal really," the fact that he felt guilty about anything made you feel even more guilty.

"No, I know you have a busy schedule and it takes a lot to get into the City and I just blew you off," He kept on with the guilt train.

"You didn't blow me off Son you had work. I get that--" You unlocked your car and got in, starting it so your windows would thaw. And your whole body.

"Well I wanna make it up to you," He cut you off.

"Oh?" your voice fell short. This couldn't be good.

"Yeah, my boss-- well he's not really My boss but Mr. Barba--"

Oh shit. Barba? Was Barba having a party? Why wouldn't He tell you that? Wait why WOULD he tell you that? Stupid. Wait, what was Sonny saying?

".... birthday, so you could be like my date," you caught the tail end of his invite.

"Birthday?" You repeated like a parrot. It was Barba's birthday? Oh god. You were really trying not to focus on how old he was. Don't ask. For the love of god don't say it Sonny.

"Yeah don't worry you don't need to get him anything, I got it covered," Sonny assured you.

Well, that was one way you could figure out just how much your cousin cared about his "idol". The more expensive the gift, the stronger the feelings were. You wondered whether you should ask him now or wait for the surprise. Maybe you should ask now, then his answer should tell you what you'd be getting into.

*So what did you get this 'non boss' of yours?" You asked slyly.

"Oh," now Sonny's voice dropped. "Well I, I don't wanna say,"

Fuck.

Don't panic. Do not panic.

"Oh come on Sonny," you did your best to keep a joking tone. "What am I gonna do, tell him?"

Should you joke about it? Hidden in plain sight, right?

"No I guess not, it's not like you know him,"

Whew.

"It's just kinda embarrassing…."

Oh god.

"O-Oh?" You tried to stay calm. "Why's that? Is it a gag gift?"

Please be a gag gift.

"Actually it's a new briefcase," He replied.

"Oh why is that embarrassing you goof?” You gave him a hard time. What was that in the emotional baggage department? Pun intended.

"I mean, it's more expensive than the one I own," You could hear the shrug in his voice.

Fuck. Don't ask why. Don't ask. But if you don't ask, that will be even more suspicious wouldn't it?

"Oh Son," You asked softly. "Why would you do that?"

"Well the one he has is as old as dirt, I think it's probably the first one he ever bought. I wanted him to look snazzy in court." He replied with a super eager tone.

"That's sweet," you were pounding your steering wheel in frustration. Say it.

"Seems like a lot of work for a mentor though," You closed your eyes mentally killing yourself.

"Yeah well," he laughed uncomfortably.

Say it.

"Sonny…” You didn’t want to do this.

“Yeah?” He was oblivious.

“You know you can always talk to me,”

“Yeah of course,” He assured you.

“About anything,” You scrunched your nose.

“Yeah I know, sunshine,” He half laughed.

“ANYTHING,” You reiterated

There was a long awkward pause.

“...Sonny?” You made sure he hadn’t hung up on you.

“Yeah, I'm here,” He replied softly.

“So?” You waited for the bomb to drop.

So…. He sighed. "I just want him to like me,"

Dammit.

"....Yeah," You nodded, cursing yourself.

"Yeah, its stupid. I'm stupid." He laughed again.

“You're not stupid,” you laid your head on the steering wheel in shame.” I mean the heart wants what it wants right?”

“What?! Oh my god, Y/N,” He scoffed. “I'm not gay,”

“….Sonny it's 2021,” you shook your head. “Sexuality is a spectrum,”

Right well. He laughed defensively. "I'm on the p in the v scale,"

“Ugh, Sonny,” you made a face.

“Sorry sunshine,” He apologized. “I just...why would you even think that?!”

“Uh…” You paused.

Maybe he wasn't fully aware that he had romantic feelings for Rafael. If you started pointing out the signs, he might realize it. But then you'd have a cousin going through gay panic AND then finding out it doesn't matter anyway.

"No reason," You lied.

"I just want him to like him so he'll give me a good recommendation once I graduate Fordham Law,"

"Oh" you smacked your head. "Duh. Right. Of course,"

That was completely legitimate. Maybe you had been misreading this whole thing. Now you just had the whole overprotective Gotti side of Sonny to worry about.

"Well I guess I could spend the weekend in the city," You shrugged as you pulled out of the parking lot.

“Absolutely!” He exclaimed. “My couch is always open,”

Not exactly where you were thinking of sleeping, but you weren't blowing your cover over the phone. Wait, maybe you should. Then he couldn't kill you over the phone. Wait, he's presumably at work right now. You didn't know how closely he worked with Barba, but you figured it would be a hell of a lot easier for Sonny to get to him before you could stop him from killing Rafael.

"Sure sounds good. I'll see you then cuz,” You smiled and hung up the phone.

------

Friday arrived, and you once again found yourself standing outside Forlini's. You debated heavily whether to go in or not, but you told yourself you were going to wait for Sonny outside this time, no more risking a sexy bar rendezvous.

You hadn’t really responded to Rafael’s texts the last few days, and you certainly didn’t tell him you were coming. Maybe you should have told him. You grabbed your phone to text him when you heard a familiar voice behind you:

“Y/N?”

You spun around to see Rafael dressed to the 9’s, smiling at you. He smelled delicious, mixed with the food aroma wafting out of the restaurant and the smell of freshly fallen snow in New York City.

“...Happy Birthday, Counselor,” You bit your lip nervously.

“W-What are you doing here?” He stared at you as if he thought he was dreaming.

“Sonny invited me,” You nervously smiled.

“Seriously?” He laughed.

“Seriously,” You nodded with a laugh as well.

“Did-- did you say anything to him?” He asked you worriedly.

“Are you insane?!” You hit him. “No!”

“So why did he invite you here?” He asked.

“He said it was to make up for ditching me the other night,” You shrugged.

“...The irony,” He smirked.

“Mmm,” You nodded with an amused smile.

“Well this is a very happy birthday indeed,” He smiled, pulling you closer into his coat similar to the night you had met.

“....Just don’t ask which one it is,” He warned you while staring at your lips deviously.

“Deal,” You nodded in agreement before he pulled you into a hungry kiss.

“DUDE!!” You snapped back before his lips were on yours for more than a millisecond. “Are you nuts?! Sonny’s gonna be here any second!”

“It’s my birthday, carino,” He made a pouty face. “Don’t yell at me,”

“Oh lord,” You rolled your eyes. “Alright, man child,”

He was about to go for another sneaky kiss when you both heard a voice from behind you.

“....Sunshine?”

“Oh!” You jumped ten feet away from Rafael when you turned to see Sonny standing there with a huge gift bag, staring slack jawed at the two of you. “Sonny! I um, we--”

“I was teaching your cousin a lesson in New York safety,” Rafael talked over you, his face completely stone. God he was a good liar.

“Excuse me, counselor?” Sonny raised an eyebrow, glancing between the two of you. You just stared in speechlessness.

“She was standing on this curb holding her bag out for any miscreant on these streets to just wrestle away from her, I was just demonstrating how,” He gestured to your open purse.

“Barba I really think this ain’t that kinda neighborhood,” Sonny half laughed.

“...You never know,” Rafael shrugged. “Now let’s all get inside, I’m sure everyone is anxious to start celebrating me,”

You and Sonny both rolled your eyes with smiles; too similar of smiles, you noticed. Thankfully, he did not. You both followed Rafael back to a private room where a bunch of fancy dressed people were mingling with drinks in their hands while two long empty tables stood in the middle of the room. They all stopped and clapped when Rafael walked in.

“Oh, for me?” He feigned surprise and humility.

“Yeah right Barba,” A woman laughed sarcastically. “You’re the one who invited us here,”

“Touche, Rita,” Rafael smirked as he began making the rounds around the table greeting everyone.

“So are we allowed to eat now, I’m starving,” An older man asked.

“And I’ve got a son waiting,” A red headed woman chimed in.

“Right, right,” Rafael nodded as people began to take seats. “Sorry everyone, you know I love to make a dramatic entrance,”

“Oh trust me we know, Barba,” Another man called. “Your catwalks into the courtroom prove that. I think we have a montage of them,”

“Ha Ha,” Rafael rolled his eyes, then turned to you and Sonny.

“Sonny,” He put a hand on his shoulder. “Why don’t you sit next to me?”

“R-Really, counselor?” You saw Sonny’s eyes light up like Christmas tree lights.

Fuck. You knew he was only asking him so that you would sit next to him as well. And while you loved the idea, you knew how much this was toying with Sonny’s feelings.

“A-Are you sure, about that Mr. Barba?” You gave him a look.

“Absolutely, Miss-- I didn’t catch your name?” He played it so cool.

“Y/N,” You held out your hand as you re-introduced yourself.

“Right, well--” He shook your hand then turned his attention to Sonny who was still beaming like a kid on Christmas. “I don’t know how much Carisi has told you, but he is quite the promising mentee of mine,”

“....R-Really, Rafael?” Sonny blinked in disbelief, causing Rafael’s smile to falter for a moment. Sonny had never called him “Rafael” before, it was always “Barba”. Shit, maybe he had given him too much praise.

“I mean, you know, for a lap dog,” He quickly added with a snarky tone and a smirk.

“Mr. Barba!” You tried not to raise your voice at the birthday boy. “That is my cousin you’re talking ab---”

“No, no it’s fine Y/N-- th-that’s how we work isn’t it, counselor? He just gives me jabs, I know he doesn’t mean it,” Sonny laughed nervously, staring at the floor. He knew not to get too comfortable with Barba, why did he even try it?

“Indeed,” Rafael nodded in agreement. “But, I still request you sit by me-- at least I know you don't poison my food. Which is more than I can say for many of my esteemed ‘guests’,” He eyed the tables of people before him.

“Then why invite them to your party?” You quirked an eyebrow.

“I get that Jersey doesn’t have the social classes of Manhattan, Miss Y/N,” He smirked. “But here, you’ve got to do things to keep up appearances,”

“Oh do you?” You practically growled.

“Yes,” He nodded while a waiter brought him a glass of scotch. “Even if you don’t like someone, if they serve a purpose for you than you do what you must to keep in their good graces,”

“Oh is that so? So you’re only kind to people who can ‘serve’ you?” You crossed your arms and narrowed your eyes at him.

What kind of Danny Zuko bullshit was this?! This was an entirely different Rafael Barba you had met the other night. He was kind, flirty, endearing. This new Barba was snarky and condescending, and you were not amused at all.

“Y/N, chill,” Sonny hissed at you. “This is just how Barba is, he’s harmless,”

“Yeah well you might not mind being his doormat Sonny, but I sure as hell won’t be,” You angrily stomped off.

“Oh my god,” Sonny muttered, wondering if he should run after you or not. “Barba, I am so so sorry about her,”

“It’s fine, Carisi,” He watched you stomping away, trying to hide the guilt in his voice. He was just trying his best to throw Sonny off the trail. He may have overcompensated just a tad.

“I-I should go check on her, She’s just a kid--”

“No, allow me,” Rafael put a hand to Sonny’s chest. “It was my faux paux, I should apologize to her myself. I was being a bit of an ass,”

“Yeah but that’s just you, Barba,” Sonny chuckled, trying not to blush at Rafael’s hand on his chest.

“True, but I forget not everyone knows me as well as you do, Carisi,” And now he was trying to be extra nice to Sonny to get on his good side, while cluelessly egging on his feelings.

“That is very true,” Sonny laughed even more nervously. “I’ll uh, I’ll take a seat and get our drinks ordered,”

“Excellent,” Rafael smiled at him, probably one of five times in the entire time they’d known each other. He gave Sonny one more pat on the back before walking after where you had stomped off to.

He found you right before you hit the front door, his hand catching yours before it could grab the handle. You turned and scoffed at him, your scowl still present after stomping off.

“Oh, come to appease me, counselor? How can I be of service to you?” You snapped.

“Please, Y/N,” He gave you apologetic eyes as he pulled you closer to him. “I’m sorry, I just-- I didn’t want Carisi to think anything was off. He already caught us being handsy, I had to make it look like we disliked each other,” He explained.

“Oh I think you’ve done that above and beyond, jackass,” You huffed. “First I’m too stupid to not get robbed in the city, and then I’m too uncultured to understand ‘high society’ manipulative bullshit?”

“I’m sorry, I may have gone a little over--” He started.

“But that wasn’t even an act, was it?” You interjected angrily.

“What do you mean?” He asked you curiously.

“Your line of you having ‘use’ of a person? I assume that is why you have a room full of powerful people you dislike as opposed to a room full of sycophants?” Yeah, you might just go to community college but you knew big words too.

“I mean, that is how it works--”

“Jesus Christ,” You shook your head with a laugh. “You know I understood for about half a second why my cousin is so infatuated by you, but I am losing that belief real quick,” You turned and started to walk away again.

“Y/N come on,” He grabbed both of your arms this time and pulled you close into him, your noses almost touching.

“Look I’m-- I’m sorry, that I’m---this,” He gestured to himself.

“But that’s just how I have to be in their world,” He gestured back towards the room. “I’m telling you, it’s a room full of sharks. If I show weakness or misstep in decorum, I’m nothing but chum to those people,”

“The guy you met the other night, that’s the real me,” He put a hand to your cheek. “I never get to be that guy, not in public. That’s why I was so attracted to you,” He put his other hand on your waist.

“I don’t have to be ‘Rafael Barba, the snarky ADA with a silver tongue,’ I can just be…’Rafa’,” He gave you an earnestly sad smile.

“I’m sorry,” You blinked in confusion. “I know I’m not helping myself but what exactly is the ‘ADA’?”

Your question brought that familiar amused grin and a laugh. “See, this is what I’m talking about,”

“Oh yeah I know, the ignorant girl you can placate--”

“No,” He put a finger on your lips. “The earnest, normal, gorgeous girl,” He kissed your forehead. “I’m sure if we took a poll in here right now the majority of the room would be with you, not knowing what an ADA is,”

“Which still doesn’t answer the question,” You pointed out.

“I…” He tried to think of a way to explain his role in the Manhattan judicial system. “Well, the DA of the county is like-- the King of Lawyers in that section. Or queen, as my boss is Rita,” He shook his head with a laugh. Oh Rita Calhoun, the stories he could tell about her.

“So, you’re her king?” You raised an eyebrow.

“Eh, I’d say Prince but she’d probably say Jester if she heard this metaphor to be honest with you,”

“Mmm I like that,” You finally let yourself smile at him.

“A Prince?” He grinned.

“The Jester,” You gave him a tongued smile, settling against his chest.

“Well, I’ll gladly take that title if it makes you happy,” He kissed your forehead. “I’d do anything to make you happy right now,”

You looked into his green eyes, they were now their usual sparkling green hue, and you remembered very quickly how you had gotten yourself in this mess in the first place. He really was a sweet, charming, gorgeous guy. And then you remembered those were probably all the reasons Sonny fell for him too.

“Ahem.” You straightened up and stepped out of his grasp. “Well, what would make me happy right now is getting back to my cousin,”

“Oh,” Rafael’s eyes softened into a sad gaze.

“Rafael, I think he really likes you,” You bit your lip with guilt. “And you toying with him just now isn’t helping!”

“Toying with him?” Rafael’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion? “I wasn’t toying with--”

“Sit by me, Carisi? You’re important to me, Carisi?” You imitated his questions in a mocking tone.

“I had to ask him that so you would--” He started to explain, but you already knew.

“I know!” You stopped him. “I know, that’s why it’s so fucked!” You put your hands over your face.

“Carino…” Rafael walked over and pulled your hands from your face and held them.

“I’m hurting him every second that I stand here with you, and I--” You bit your lip trying not to cry. “I’m still doing it! I can’t walk away!”

“So don’t,” He squeezed your hands with an even sadder look.

“This is just--” You broke free from his grasp once again and wiped your eyelids. “We need to get back before Sonny comes after you,”

“....So where does this conversation leave us, then?” He asked you cautiously.

“I don’t…” You gazed into his puppy dog emerald eyes. “I don’t know, I don’t want to think about it right now, okay?”

“Fair enough,” He put his hands down in concession. “...But we really need to--”

“Yeah, I know,” You nodded softly as you walked back to the private room, Rafael trailing behind you.

All you could think on the way back was how in God’s name were you going to make it through the rest of the night.

#rafael barba #rafael barba x you #rafael barba x reader #rafael barba fanfiction #rafael barba imagine' #sonny carisi #law and order svu #weird secret friends

[beyondspaceandstars]

While You Sleep

Chapter 18

Relationship: Bucky Barnes x Reader Warnings: angst Summary: Soulmate!AU - Throughout life, you’re given glimpses of your soulmate through dreams. As you sleep, memories flash in your mind showing you the life your soulmate has lived. Everyone around you raves about how their soulmate reads great books or volunteers in their spare time. But you can’t relate as your dreams end up being more like nightmares. Through initial images of death and violence, you come to learn your soulmate is the Winter Soldier.

A/N: so sorry I’ve been slow with updating Tumblr - my blog was shadowbanned (basically Tumblr hid my blog in searches, notifications, tags, etc.) and it just got fixed so I’m working to update here!

Masterlist | Series Masterlist

“You’re back,” Dr. G smiled as you plopped down in the seat across from her. 

You resisted the urge to roll your eyes and instead forced a tight smile. “I’m back,” you confirmed with a dramatic nod for emphasis. You didn’t know why you were feeling so hostile. You had shown up here willingly this time. 

Bucky didn’t even know you were seeing your therapist again. But it wasn’t exactly like he was around to find out. He had left for his mission yesterday in the very early morning and you were now on constant edge. You didn’t know what he would encounter. You knew none of it was at your clearance level seeing as you had no government clearance level to begin with but still… You didn’t like that anything that went wrong would come back to you in the depths of your sleep. Even if Bucky had shared everything step-by-step, any mishap was another blow. Even if everything went right, you feared you were bound to see something. 

“Would you like to share anything?” Your therapist asked, disrupting your spiraling thoughts. It was like she knew and, well, maybe she did. You really did kind of suck at hiding your emotions. You could practically feel your face darkening with worry. 

“Bucky and I learned something about us recently,” you said a bit nervously but Dr. G nodded in encouragement. You tried to steady your breathing and continued, “Our soulmate bond has been disrupted. It happened when he was part of Hydra — I mean, not like part of. That makes it sound like he joined willingly which he absolutely did not—,”

Your therapist said your name sharply, cutting off your words. “I know what you meant,” she said.

You nodded briefly, recomposing yourself, and began again, “While under Hydra, he was brainwashed and in that process, they thought they had rid him of his soulmate. But, turns out, all they were doing was tampering with the transmission lines. This means any sort of trauma or… or really emotional occurrences in Bucky’s life gets passed along to me, intercepting any, well, normal dreams. And there’s nothing we can do about it.”

“Nothing?”

You glanced away. “Well, I’ve asked him to retire to maybe… minimize the damage.”

Dr. G nodded as she scribbled something on her notepad. She let out an interesting hum. “How did Bucky respond to that?”

You fought back the urge to roll your eyes. You weren’t really upset with him, more angered by the situation. “It took him a second to come around to the idea and, sure, eventually he did but then he was given another mission. A mission he couldn’t turn down.”

“And how did that make you feel?”

Another feeling of annoyance flashed across you at the cliche therapist speak but you could also recognize the question for its worth. Someone was actually asking you how you felt about the new, and last, mission. Lord knows Bucky hadn’t.

You bit your lip, feeling tears already threatening to run down your cheeks. “It made me feel bad, to put it simply. I just felt horrible and scared. I know that with time it’ll go away and maybe we’ll find some peace but I’m just really hurt it has to be this way.”

More notes were scribbled. “How did Bucky react to hearing that?” Dr. G asked without looking up. You shifted awkwardly in your seat, fiddling with your fingers out of habit. Your therapist glanced up once her writing has finished. Her brows raised as you struggled to find an answer.

“He doesn’t really know.”

Your therapist placed her pen on her notepad and leaned forward in her chair, eyeing you a bit upsettingly. “Do you remember what I told you during your last session?”

Talking. Talking, talking, talking. Just let it out. How could you forget? That’s exactly what you had done and while it made some kind of progress, you were still stuck at this godforsaken dead end for the time being. 

You picked at the chair cushion. “He didn’t ask,” you sighed. “Besides, what good was it going to do? I couldn’t have stopped the mission.”

Dr. G shrugged. “No, I doubt you could’ve, but that’s not the point. The point is you’re hurting and your soulmate needs to know this, especially when it involves him. You can’t beat around the bush or try to sidestep this kind of stuff. Be gentle, yes, but little progress can be made if everything is bottled in.”

“Well, doc, I’m sorry to break it to you, but I’m sure he knows very well how I feel about all of this,” you snapped back. “Think I made myself super clear during our first conversation about retirement.”

“Fine,” she shrugged. “Assume he did. Assume Bucky knew everything that was going through your mind. Did it open any conversation?”

Your shoulders slumped. You looked away. 

Dr. G continued, “My point exactly. Of course, you don’t want to hurt him but you can’t hurt yourself in the process. How many people actually knew about the nightmares to begin with?”

“None,” you mumbled. And it was, sadly, the truth. Your coworker was the first to know. You hadn’t even had the guts to tell your parents. 

“I’m sure I make it sound easier than it really is but there are some benefits to it over time,” your therapist said after a moment. 

You let out a dramatic sigh. “You’re kind of annoying, you know that?”

Your therapist laughed. “You’ve been wanting to bite back for a while, haven’t you?” You didn’t answer. She shrugged. “Already testing out those communication skills I see.”

You let yourself roll your eyes this time.

***

It was nearing midnight when your cell phone rang. You jumped, suddenly disturbed by the ringtone as you laid on your couch watching some sitcom reruns. You frowned in confusion as you stretched to reach your phone on the coffee table. You weren’t expecting any calls.

You turned the screen around and were greeted by one name: Bucky. You just about yelped when it registered he was calling you -- and from his mission, amazingly. You sat up quickly and answered.

“Hi, Buck,” you greeted, hopefully sounding a bit more cheerful than you felt. Your therapy session from the morning still had you a bit shaken. 

“Hey, doll,” Bucky responded, his voice a bit hoarse. He sounded exhausted and...defeated. 

You sink into the couch. “Is everything going okay?” You guessed it wasn’t too weird he was reaching out while away but something was off in his voice. You thought you had already mentally prepared for the worst.

“For the most part,” he mumbled. “I have to tell you, sweetheart, it wasn’t smooth sailing. We… We all had to do some things we aren’t proud of.”

You shut your eyes, trying to reel in your panicked brain before you said something you’d regret. This couldn’t all fall on Bucky, it wasn’t fair. He had a job, one final job, and you were going to have to accept that. 

Regaining your voice, you said, “What… What things, Bucky?”

He fell silent on the other end. All you could hear was some soft breathing and others talking in the background. The rest of the team you could guess. You said his name into the receiver again.

“Just know I didn’t like what I had to do and I can’t wait to put this life behind me.”

If that was all you were getting from him, you’d have to accept it. “Okay,” you said, your voice cracking slightly. “I-I understand.” You didn’t really but you knew after tonight you definitely would.

Bucky took another pause. “You deserve so much better than this.”

“Bucky-,”

“You really do, sweetheart.”

“Bucky, please, listen,” you sighed. “While this isn’t ideal and I was very upset you just jumped on this assignment without speaking to me, I know it won’t be like this forever, right? 

“I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you about the assignment before leaving,” Bucky responded. “I-I knew I couldn’t do anything about it but that’s still not fair to you. You deserve to be heard.”

“It’s okay, honey,” you said, fighting back some tears getting ready to start again. “You’re almost done, you’re almost back home.”

Bucky hummed. “I am,” he confirmed. “And when I get back I’m going to make up for all of this, I promise.”

You let out a weak laugh through the tears. “You can make it up to me by getting home safely.”

Bucky was about to say something else but was then cut off by someone yelling at him in the background. He gave a curt response before turning his attention back to you. “Sorry, doll, but I have to go. We have some debriefing to do.”

“Of course,” you said, waving a hand in the air like he could see you. “I’ll see you soon, alright?”

“See you soon, sweetheart,” he said. “Love you.”

The line cut before you had the chance to say the words back. You held your phone out in front of you, staring at your lit homescreen, shocked and overwhelmed. He loved you. And he had said it.

***

You were dreading getting ready to go to sleep but, at the same time, your body was practically begging for it. You were finally getting back into the swing of working and now with therapy sessions on top, you couldn’t believe how exhausting life was. As if you had forgotten at some point. 

But with that craved moment of relaxation, an unnerving threat lurked. 

You practically moved with caution when it came to your nighttime routine now. You washed your face carefully and precisely. You scrubbed every tooth again and again for a good minute. Even combing out your hair seemed to be tedious. 

It was all sad attempts at procrastination and you knew it but what could you do? It wasn’t like you were jumping into bed happily no matter how much your body screamed. 

When there was no more to do in your routine, you had to accept it. You had to finally lay down in your bed, let your head hit the pillow, curl up under the duvet, and welcome whatever kind of sleep was going to greet you. 

Almost immediately, you were hit with everything.

As always, you’re seeing it in glimpses from Bucky’s eyes, from his mind. In this instance, he appears to be located in some kind of warehouse. It almost reminded you of where you had been taken to but abandoned.

At first, Bucky seems pretty calm and collected. He’s assessing his surroundings and mapping out a plan. He says something to the person next to them. You can’t see them and possibly you don’t want to. 

They agree with whatever Bucky has suggested but before their plan can commence, they’re both attacked. Guns blazing, doors busting, a whole goddamn ambush. You’re panicking, you feel Bucky panicking. But it doesn’t last long for him. No, within seconds he’s in destruction mode, stomping towards the pop-up army - you don’t even know what they’re part of - dodging bullets and taking them down one by one. 

Some others are helping out it seems but you’re only allowed to be consumed with Bucky’s take on the situation. Despite how much you don’t want to be, especially when he… You see the glint of his metal arm rush past. They’re dying. Being killed. These soldiers or whatever are dropping left and right around him. You feel Bucky’s pulsing anger. He has no plans of slowing down. You feel the tension in his arm as he strangles another and another and another. At one point, he even throws some across the room.

They’re finished. No more men pour in. The rest of the team has stopped. They’re all looking at Bucky, wide-eyed and nervous. You feel his fury turn to shame. You didn’t know the mission’s expectations but you could guess they didn’t exactly involve this much death. No one says anything as they move on. 

The images fade but the feelings don’t. You suddenly want to cry in your sleep feeling Bucky’s distraught and embarrassment. 

Unable to deal with it anymore, you force yourself awake, everything vanishing as your eyes open. You look around your dark room. The clock beside your bed reads just past three a.m. 

You curl back into your blanket and face the wall. You stare at it for the rest of the night, heart pounding and hands shaking.

#bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes #the winter soldier #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes one shot #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes fanfiction #fanfiction #fanfic #bucky barnes angst #bucky barnes fluff #angst #fluff #marvel fanfiction #marvel one shot #marvel #mcu #mcu fic #avengers #soulmate au #while you sleep

[ohmysparkle]

Spellbound intro III

🌙 Pairing: Hyunjin (Stray Kids) x Reader

🌙 Genre: Dark Fantasy AU, Mystery, smut.

🌙 Teaser Length: 3K

🌙 Warnings: Blood, bodily injury, cannibalism in this chapter. For the series overall, smut, gore, witchcraft, religious themes.

🌙✨Tag List: @xviternity @straykisz @97lovestay (unable to tag)

✧･ﾟ:･ﾟ *✧･ﾟ. ✨ . *: ･ﾟ 🌙 * ･ﾟ✧ * : ･ﾟ✧. ✨･ﾟ.*.✧

It’s smouldering hot, and the once neatly dressed man that stands on the corner of the street has now soiled his white clothes with sweat. The beads shimmer on his dark skin, and he rubs at his brows, to remove the tension as well as to wipe the perspiration before it falls to his eyes.

He’s had enough. If the man he waits for doesn't come to him, then he shall go to look.

The first person to ask is only a few steps away. He stomps past his own - empty - storefront and enters the following shop, the butcher’s shop precisely.

“Eustace!” The sweaty man calls, awaiting for a dimwit in his 20’s with a curly head of hair to appear. The front stall is empty, but somewhere in the back he hears a clang before his call is answered.

“Ji - Jiggly? What can I help you with today?” Eustace replies in confusion.

“Your brother is late.” Says the man, rather matter-of-factly.

“Hmm.” Eustace thinks, for longer than necessary, “He should have been by yours a while ago.”

“Yes - I know that, which is why I’ve come here to tell you he’s late. It’s almost ten o'clock and I’ve yet to finish the filling for the meat pies - they wont be done in time for lunch unless Emerson shows up now.”

“Well…” Eustace thinks. The impatient man pauses at the worrying thought that he, the older of the two brothers, is somehow to inherit the family business. It’s not a match for his mind.

“Eustace - could you call your father to figure out how much longer the delivery will take?”

“Oh, dad’s not at the other shop. Emerson was only going in today to pick up the day’s delivery orders.”

“So you don’t know where he is?”

“I really have no idea.”

“Ah - goodness Eustace, does that not bother you in the least?”

The man storms out from the butcher's place, mumbling and grunting to himself, making his way to the corner once more to see if Emerson has made an appearance. He looks over the bend, down a block to where the road runs along the shore of the lake - nothing.

It’s getting late, and he’s sure his clientele would not appreciate the absence of his meat pies.

The lake, glistening in that cool morning sun…

Just how desperate was he to find Emerson?

“Why do they talk to you like that?” Jiggly asks you, clothed in your usual black, but in thinner fabrics to allow for the breeze to cool you on that one summer day.

“Like what?” You ask him.

“Well - they actually talk for starters. And they’re kinda nice, don’t look like they’ll bite you.” He says, watching in awe as you gently take the hand of each of the ladies in the water as a greeting.

“Jiggly… look. Mermaids, sirens, think of them as regular leg people. Do you walk up to a person on the street and gawk? No. Do you slowly socialize until they are acquainted with you? Yes. Just come down and make small talk from time to time and they’ll get along with you just fine.”

“But don’t they eat people?!”

“Well… they could, but I brought them apples so I guess they’re not really hungry now.”

“Apples? That’s all it took?” He looks at the three wet ladies, sitting upon the small embankment that piled onto the paved sidewalk. “Just apples?”

“Well… fruit in general they tend to like. I always start with apples, nobody has dietary issues with apples. Sometimes I make them some food too.” One of the ladies, with long hair that winds and circles around her body covering her figure along with some small white garments, strokes your calf as if she were petting a cat. It all seemed so bizarre, the water women were always so angry, hissing and growling, baring sharp teeth and nails.

“They’re fond of physical contact once they trust you.” You explain, taking a bite of one of your spare apples. Another lady, a younger, girlish one, pokes at your thigh as you are about to eat more. You roll your eyes and relinquish the apple to her.

“I’m not taking chances.”

“You underestimate how helpful they are. They can go from one side of the lake in a minute, they share everything they hear with one another, they travel the oceans. If you’re on their good side, they might just let you submit some mermail to them.

“Mermail?” Jiggly is in awe, it’s like the two of you were in two different realities with you always saying things that stunned him so.

“Yeah, mer-mail… mermail? Get it? Like, put a message in a bottle and they’ll ship it to wherever you need so long as it's close to a body of water?” You elaborate.

“Yeah, yeah - I know what it is. I just didn’t think it was… real.”

“Ha!” You snort. You turn around to the water ladies, saying something in an older language he does not recognize - they seem to understand it though, and laugh along with you.

“Jiggly… mermail is real.” You deadpan. “It’s not like… a myth or anything.”

“Mail?”

“Yes… well, packages, letters, messages… ”

“What do you pay them with? I thought the mermaids didn’t use money.”

“Eh, they sometimes do. But all it’ll cost you is kindness, or maybe a little favor. They’ll do plenty of little favors if you just give them a little kindness in return. Real nice sense of community they’ve got…”

Kindness…

He had that. What he lacked for this specific task was confidence.

But there they are, just a couple of them. Young girls, in their early teens, wearing some dry cloth sheets over their bodies to break the ever chilling wind, just enjoying the morning sun as they etched pebbles with tools, most likely to make some jewelry, as they sat on the edge of the footpath with their feet hanging over the surface of the lake.

“Ehem… hello?” The man cautiously says, his voice nearly cracking due to the uncertainty. He is at a loss of words, just momentarily, when they return a gaze with their bulbous, unnaturally blue eyes. The irises nearly gone, it was like staring into water itself.

“Hello?” He says, closer this time.

“Hssss.” one of them hisses at him, like a cat, baring her small sharp teeth.

The other one pats her shoulder to silence her, and raises her hand to beckon the man over.

He approaches fearfully.

“Hi.” The calmer girl says, staying put. Her voice is quiet and hoarse, almost whisper-like, just like all the other women who lived in the waters. You had once explained it to him, it’s because they were sometimes unused to speaking above water, and they often had accents of old languages, now that newer ones weren’t quite common below.

“I’m Jiggy - the baker.” He says trying to be as personable as possible. “You might remember my friend… Dr. Nemo.”

The girl nods politely. Good.

“She told me you might be able to do me a little favor. If you want I can make you anything for lunch in return.” He was trying to smile, in a friendly neighborly way, not in a creepy man in his thirties way.

“Lunch?” The polite fish girl asks.

“Yes!” He sings, almost like some character from a children's program.

“Fish?”

“No, I don’t carry fish.” Did he ruin it? Did they only eat fish?

“Pork? Bacon.” She says again.

“Yeesss…” He does his best friendly-dinosaur impression.

“Yes. Bacon.” She looks at the girl that had hissed, and she nods in return after a brief moment of silent conversation. “What… do you need?”

“Well… you might know the man that drives the meat truck.”

“Stupid man?” The polite girl says in her funny voice.

“Yeeesss… the stupid man.” Clever girl. “Could you ask around and find out where he is? He’s late and I need him to bring me my cuts of meat.”

“Where? Where do we look?” It was a good question… Emerson only delivers between two neighborhoods.

“Eastbend by the Shore!” He points to the area further up along this same side of the lake. Over there the houses are smaller, climbing up the sloping hills. It's cooler from all the trees, and that is where the slaughterhouse of Edwin & Sons lies - and where Emerson should be stalling.

“Right over there!” Jiggly points, nearly seeing the white roof of the taller building among the quaint brick houses. “Right over - AHH!” Something in his hand pinches every bit of his attention.

Chomp!

He looks down to the pinching and blunt pain on his hand - it was the hissing girl biting him! Latched on to one of his fat fingers with her sharp teeth - the audacity!

He tries to pull his hand away, and it's like he can hear it, a rip. The girl's pale, veiny face is suddenly painted by a splatter of blood that she’s made the flesh release, gushing from his index finger, an arc of red liquid painting a line from her mouth to her forehead. Her furious blue eyes, still trained on his hand, almost satisfied at the outpour.

“Aaaaaaaaahh!” He shrieks, a long piercing howl.

The polite girl begins to scold the other, Jiggly can hardly comprehend, but when she smacks her companion across the head it does not make the hold of her jaw relent. It only makes his skin drag further from his bone.

If he moves back she’ll rip it off, if he pulls closer she might latch her bite further up. He is paralized, his entire body feels pins and needles from the panic, but it begins and ends with his one, bitten finger.

Smack! The polite girl smacks the other right across the forehead, one last time and now the girl lets her jaw slack. The man holds his hand up, shrieks once more as he sees his bone beneath the torn and bleeding skin. Even against his dark fingers, the blood is so red and so bright, so so bright. No translucency at all, just a solid red, redder than anything he had seen before. But there, a peek of something pale within the digit - and he could feel it; the bone.

The girls bicker and argue.

“Fucking fishy!” He cries at her.

“Lunch!” The bloodied girl cries. She goes back to smacking her lips, picking at her teeth with her tongue as if there were flesh stuck between her teeth. There probably was.

“It - it’s the baker! Come help!” a man yells behind him, having been attracted by the screams. There is a clamor of feet approaching the scene.

Jiggly turns, men approach him from behind, the girls swat and slap at each other in front of him, his finger bleeds.

“Jiggly! What happened?” He recognizes the voice. It's the captain of the cadets from this side of the lake, a handsome man that seems to eat too many of his croissants for the size of his waist, one of his very best customers. But alas, here he is, running as he does daily, with all of the young recruits in training panting behind him as he stands there with barely a mist of a sweat on his face.

As he turns to face the handsome man, he can hear a growl from one of the girls behind him.

“My fi-finger.” He chokes out, an airy whimper making up his words. ”Hal… She bit my finger.” he says, pointing at her bloody face with his bloody hands.

The man is of the unflinching kind, bats his eyes as he pieces it all together, but he doesn’t react with any repulsion.

“Does anyone have a clean towel?” He yells at the cadets. Someone hands it to him and he expertly wraps Jiggly’s hand. “You all, keep going. I’m taking him to the doctor.”

“Doctor…” Jiggly ponders, too distracted by his bleeding finger.

“Are you feeling lightheaded?” Hal questions. “I’m taking you over to your friend, Dr. Nemo.”

It’s a few blocks of his dazed stumbling. He didn't notice what happened to the fish girls, or the cadets, or how long it took him to get there. All he knows is that suddenly he is at the steps of your clinic, the big dark blue door looking over him and Hal firmly holding his side..

And as if you sensed it, even before Hal could let go of the cloth he pressed to his hand to knock, you open the door. There, above them, in your usual dark and neat attire.

“What happened?” You inquire.

“Doc! Jiggly’s had an accident.” Hal explains.

You usher for him to come inside, Jiggly feels as if he levitates as the muscular, but gentle, man guides him up.

“Just sit him down somewhere.” You say absentmindedly, grabbing things from the many cabinets and shelves. “Caro! We have a patient.” You shout for your apprentice. The girl would usually come down sooner.

“Yes Miss Nemo!” She politely replies, eager to attend however she can. Until she sees who it is and lets out a gasp. “Jiggles!” She calls in awe, seeing his bloodstained clothes.

“What happened to him?” You ask Hal, seeing that Caro has now taken to applying pressure to Jiggly’s hand.

“I think one of the younger water women bit him…” He ponders. He stands a little too close to you. You can basically smell him, the sheen of perspiration… his dark red locks dampened and slicked back, the muscles in his neck and arms exposed so handsomely.

Focus!

“Siren or mermaid?” You ask.

“I think… mermaid.” Hal replies, unsure.

“Did she have the weird eyes?” You ask.

“Her face was covered in blood, I didn’t really notice if -”

“Yes!” Jiggly shouts from his seat at your small breakfast table. “Horrible eyes, horrible child.”

“Child?” you purse your lips, Caro even lets out a giggle. “How bad could she have bitten you?”

As you set the items on the table beside him, Caro slowly unwraps the bloody rag… and - it’s quite awful.

“Ha!” You laugh, a hearty laugh, Caro eventually joins in. “A child did this to you?!”

“She was feral and - uuaaahh!” He whines again. You had taken advantage of his distraction to pour antiseptic onto his wound, your apprentice dabs at it with some clean linens.

“Shouldn't we put him on one of the tables?” Hal quips.

“Eh, this seems pretty basic. Right Caro?” The girl doesn't reply, being hyper focused on her task, the bloody hand, the bloody rag, the bloody linen. “Caro, I said; this seems pretty basic, right?” you say more sternly.

She blinks back to reality, “Yes Miss, quite simple.”

“See? Just a few stitches and some healing goo and he’ll be good.” You tell Hal, placing a hand on his chest, quite firm and… toned, to push him back gently. You needed the space, he was too close for comfort, as usual.

“Miss… stitches or, do you think we could use the good stuff?” Caro suggests… ah yes, expensive magical healing ointments.

“Fine… just a little should be enough.” You conceded, after all he was the most popular baker on the lake, and you weren’t sure how happy the townsfolk would be with his being out of commission.

Hal once more, is upon you… it’s a bad habit of his that you’ve tried to quell. And he is never subtle, which you wouldn’t particularly mind if he weren’t so keen on doing so in public.

“You know, I’ve gotten a letter from my cousin.” He says, “She sends her regards, inquires about you.”

“Your cousin, the demon hunter?” Jiggly buds in, and for a moment, you wish to chastise Hal for his lack of prudence. “How does Doc know her? Isn’t she halfway around the world?”

He stutters, not knowing how to answer Jiggly’s question. How indeed does he explain to Jiggly that you are acquainted with his cousin, who is a local legend but has not returned to the area in quite a few years, that you know her despite never having been in town at the same time as you?

He regrets his insolence. How could he have said that so easily?

“I don't. We don't know each other at all.” you reply, with a special and strange tone.

“But he just said you did.” Jiggly argues.

“No he didn’t.” A little more charmingly.

“He didn’t?” Caro tenses as Jiggly resists, but she continues to treat his wound.

“He didn’t. He hasn’t mentioned anything about his cousin at all.” It takes a moment for your words to sink in, but slowly, they do.

“That’s right… Hal hasn’t said anything about that.”

“Precisely Jiggly, he hasn’t said anything at all.” You reply contently once you see him nod with a distant daze in his eyes. As soon as Jiggly’s attention is diverted by your apprentice, you look back to Hal.

“You lack prudence.” You sternly whisper, making sure Jiggly is unaware. “Leave - and make sure he gets home.”

“I - forgive me. It slipped, and I -”

“Don’t make any mention of it to him - ever again. Not to anyone.”

“I won’t.”

“You are the only person in this damn place that knows, and I guarantee you do not want to be responsible for it getting out.” You cut him off before he can respond. “Caro, are you done?”

“Yes Miss, just about!”

“Good. Jiggly, Hal will take you home. Let your hand rest for today but you should be fine tomorrow.”

Caro quickly ushers them out, and once the door is closed behind them, she turns to you.

“Do you think it worked?”

“Of course it did - do you doubt me?” You ask her, almost displeased.

“It's just… you haven’t done anything like that in a long time.”

“Girls like me - like us - don’t get rusty.” You remind her, finishing her sentence with a tap to the tip of her nose.

At the doorstep of your clinic Jiggly feels confused, almost dreamy, as if he only had the faintest impression of what had just occurred during this particular morning.

#hwang hyunjin smut #hwang hyunjin #stray kids smut #hyunjin au #strange devotion skz collab

[zathechaosgod]

your voice ringin' in me like a chorus

title from “Hold On” by Cody Fry 

Nare (@narmacils-blog) writing angst is directly responsible for this, I’ve decided. Also please refer to their post about the dragonteeth and necklaces pls and ty, it’s a banger.

tw and a keep reading bc it uh, gets kinda heavy? Big Angst, Major Character Death altho not on screen, i guess? ask me if i need to tag anything ty

Not many people realise how quiet the end gets, after you’ve killed the dragon. 

There is no wind, no plants, no life except for the endermen, who stay quiet as long as you don’t look too closely at them.

Standing on top of the fountain, no endermen within reach, Draconix hears every bit of deafening silence. 

Although… the overworld isn’t any better these days, in his opinion. Mob sounds, even those of the villagers, don’t weigh up against the lack of friends yelling in his ears, spamming his communicator.

god why did it have to be him

It’s been so long he almost misses the times where the universe refused to let him join the co-op world.

it’s almost like the universe knew already

The first ones were kind of expected, Draconix will admit. Everyone knew Illumina had started running first, had always been the closest to the universe. Everyone knew Couri was taking a risk with his challenge. Nobody expects to be the last one left.

Draconix didn’t expect to be the last one left.

“Why me” he speaks out loud, into the void, into the universe, into whatever will listen to him.

The endermen ignore him. It stays quiet. 

The void doesn’t echo.

“Why me?”

Fruit had been quick to go as well, throwing himself into runs once his friend was gone. The others followed, unable to resist the call of the universe, trying to distract themselves from the loss, looking for a way to bring their friends back. It didn’t matter.

It’s not like Draconix ran less. World after world after world, even as the rest dwindled down. Stopped returning.

They’d laugh if they saw how many necklaces he was wearing right now.

He clutches them, staring into the portal below his feet. Feels the ridges and carvings in the assortment of teeth, slides his hand over the mess of braids and laces that hang around his neck. 

He ran just as much as they did. He would’ve long caught up on them by now. There’s no reason why-

He stills, hand clenching around the necklaces until his knuckles turn white.

He spreads his wings to the imaginary breeze.

Was that it? Was he just more connected to the universe in a way that granted him some form of immunity? Or was he somehow just. not worthy enough?

Not a full player. Not a player, not a runner, despite his records, despite his own necklace, buried beneath the ones left behind by his friends.

He’d prove the universe wrong if he needed to. 

One hand clutching the necklaces still, the other making sure his hat stayed on, Draconix stepped off the pillar and let himself fall into the portal. 

The timer on his communicator showed he’d wasted several minutes by taking his time standing there, but who cared, at this point? 

What’s there to run for if there’s nobody to run with you. 

I see the player you mean

For a second, Draconix debated playing out the entire thing. If only for a glimpse of his friends. He lets himself sink further into the universe, gvies in to the chorus of voices surrounding him, can almost imagine actually reaching out and joining them.

Completing the game has always been a unique experience, but it’s become even More with the amount of people that have joined it since his first Run. It’s become even more since he’s been wishing to join it as well.

For a second, he thinks it’s finally his turn. Thinks he can grabs Geo’s hand and join the universe and will never have to endure the ringing silence again.

But the universe is kind and the universe is love and the universe is a bitch and the universe took his friends and left him behind.

And so he respawns, necklaces around his neck and wings on his back, and the only sounds are those of the mobs around him. 

#draconix6 #hbg #house builder gang #mcsr #tw death #tw suicidal ideation #i think? #apologies #also can be found on my ao3 gl

[colormeyondublue]

Chapter 11: Clear The Air

Chapter 10 Here - Chapter 12 Here

Several days go by, and Yondu doesn’t see much of you. What happened with Trenvik really damaged what confidence you had aboard the Eclector. This really took it’s toll on you both mentally and physically. You feel violated. The event could have been worse, but that Chorak still took something away from you. Although you really can’t pin down what that something is, you just feel helpless and weak. Kraglin has been bringing you meals while you work from your cabin. He stops by three times a day, and a few times in between just to check up on you. The two of you have gotten pretty close over the past few days. There is a soft knocking on your door, and Kraglin pokes his head inside after punching in your key on the number pad.

“Hey, I gotcha some tea. I wasn’t sure if ya’d be hungry yet, but I thought at least somethin’ warm might be nice.” He approaches your desk and sets the cup down, steam gently rising from the top.

“Thanks, Kraglin. Tea does sound nice.” You don’t really move or say much else. The silence begins to get tense, and Kraglin taps his thumbs together.

“So…ya think ya might wanna take a walk with me today? We don’t have to go far, and the guys are all off ship, nobody is around – promise.”

“Off ship? Where are we?” You ask, rather surprised.

“Cap’n wanted to take the boys out for a little break. He brought us to our usual place, Contraxia. We usually do that after a big score. That client paid us real well for them jewels ‘n stuff we took from Johpar. We’ll be sittin’ pretty fer a while.” He smiles.

“Contraxia?! Oh, god.” You roll your eyes and bring your palm to your forehead. You know a little about this planet, your boss used to talk about it when you were slow at the pawn shop. All you know is that there’s hookers, and drugs, and tons of booze.

“Ya know this place?” Kraglin asks with one eyebrow raised.

“I’ve never been here, but I know of it. My old boss used to talk about this planet. I’ve heard all I need to know.” You roll your eyes and play with the tag on the tea bag.

“Oh. Well, we don’t have ta leave the ship if ya don’t wanna. I just think it would be good fer ya ta get outta this room. You’ll go nuts in here!”

“Where’s Yondu?”

“I think he’s at a bar down there with Tullk, Oblo and some of the others.”

You sigh and sip your tea. You really don’t like the idea of Yondu being down there. Trust was something that the two of you hadn’t really had a ton of time to work on, but he did save your life the other day, so why wouldn’t you trust him to be faithful? I guess it’s good for morale. The Captain does need to be out with his men.

“How about this - I finish my tea and get dressed, and you can take me down to that disgusting excuse of a planet and show me around a little? But absolutely no brothels! Deal?”

“Deal! Go ahead and get ready and I’ll meet ya down at the docking bay in 20?”

You laugh lightly at his excitement and playfully nudge him. “Sounds good…” Just before he gets to the door you stop him. “Hey, Kraglin? Thank you…for making sure I was okay and checking up on me these past few days. What happened with Trenvik…it really did something to me, ya know?”

“Don’t mention it. Yer one of us. But more than that, ya make the Cap’n real happy. That makes me real happy. Cap and I go back a long ways, and ya mean a lot to us both y/n.” He smiles gently and nods, and disappears out your door.

You get dressed in a clean set of leathers and throw a coat over top with a black scarf. Unless anything has changed, you remember your boss talking about how it snows on Contraxia year-round. You find your mind wondering back to Kraglin again as you lace up your boots. Ya know, Kraglin is such a great guy. If he wasn’t so damn shy, he wouldn’t be single. Poor guy. You smirk at the thought.

~~~

You and Kraglin touch down on Contraxia and you both walk toward the bars and brothels in the snow. The streets are lit with loads of neon lights and signs. You notice there are a few restaurants and tattoo shops too.

“Hey, I think the Cap’n and the guys are at that bar over there.” Kraglin points to a larger metal building with a sign on the side that seems to be in a language you can’t read.

“Uh, Kraglin? Can we just…not go in there?”

“Why? Did ya wanna go somewhere else?” He asks, confused.

“Yeah, that would be great. I just don’t really want to see the Captain yet.”

“Are you two okay?”

“I think so, it’s just…something else happened before you guys went to Knowhere.” You rub your arms from the cold. “Is there somewhere else we can go to talk about it? Somewhere quiet?”

“Uhh, sure. There’s a little coffee place at the end of the road here.”

“Coffee?!”

Kraglin laughs loudly at your reaction. “Yeah, coffee. We do have some Terran things out here, ya know. We don’t have much, but coffee has definitely gained popularity over the years. There’s even some little farms that grow that stuff on Xandar. Just ‘cause ya ain’t seen other races on yer planet, don’t mean we haven’t stopped by ta look around."

“Woah…I had no idea. That’s really cool. A little unnerving, but cool. Remind me to ask you more about that later. I need coffee! Let’s go!” You grab Kraglin’s hand and hurry down the street toward the shop.

The two of you enter the coffee shop, and find a seat near the window. After your drinks arrive, you speak up after taking a few sips.

“Okay, so before you guys left the ship, I kinda said something to the Captain I maybe shouldn’t have...not yet at least.”

“What kinda’ somethin’”?

You hide your face behind your hands and sigh. “I might have accidentally told the Captain that I loved him, among other things. Truthfully, I do – ya know, love him. But he didn’t say much of anything back and I panicked.” You don’t hear a reply for a few seconds. You drop your hands to see what horrific expression Kraglin has on his face. To your surprise, there isn’t any expression, he is just nonchalantly drinking his coffee.

“He told me.”

“What?! He told you?!”

“Yeah, he told me. To be honest, I wasn’t all too surprised. You Terran’s have a thing about love. You’d be surprised how alike Terrans are to us Xandarian’s. We have a thing about love too. That’s something Quill and I always had in common. We understood each other, I guess that’s why we got along so damn well.” He finished with a smile.

“Okaaay, so what else did he say?”

“Look y/n, yer my friend, and I care about ya a lot. That’s why I think you ‘n the Cap’n should talk about it. I will say that he ain’t mad or put off, but he just ain’t used to it. The Cap’n hasn’t had the most fantastic life. Love ain't never really been apart of it neither. Just be patient with him is all.”

After a few minutes of silence pass, Kraglin speaks up again. “Maybe ya should talk to him tonight? Just clear the air and see where things go?”

A light laugh bubbles up to your lips and you look at him, not surprised. “Since when did you get so good at relationship advice?”

Kraglin just shrugs. “Honestly, couldn’t tell ya. Maybe I’m just level headed? Dunno.”

“You really shoudn’t be single, ya know that?” You tease.

“I had a girl a long time ago. But, bein’ a Ravager makes relationships hard. Unless another girl just falls from the stars onto our ship, I don’t see that being in the cards fer me.”

“Yeah, well, if things can turn around for Yondu, I’m sure they can for you too.”

~~~

Back at the bar, Yondu couldn’t really get into the celebration spirit. Your frightened expression from the other day in your office wouldn’t leave his mind. The men were beyond happy with their payday, and super drunk. Sex bots were everywhere, and it was all he could do to keep them off of him. He eventually decides to just leave. He gets up from his stool, and Tullk taps his arm.

“Hey, ya alright Cap’n?”

“Yeah, yeah ‘m fine. Just tired, gonna head out.”

“We’ll see ya later then?”

“Yeah, sure.” He replies as he’s walking out the door.

Yondu heads back to the Warbird so he can call Quill. He’s got to know what to do. Quill is Terran, and he’s…younger. Maybe he’ll have some kind of advice on how to handle this.

He sits down and taps a few buttons on the console. The screen beeps for a few moments and then an image pops up. He sees a large grayish green looking man with bright red tattoos.

“Oh, Hello Yondu. Are you looking for Quill?” Before he can answer, Drax turns and yells behind himself. “QUILL! Your father is on the communicator! He needs to speak with you!”

Yondu leans his face onto his fist and rolls his eyes. These “Guardians” are really somethin’…

From the distance, Yondu can hear Peter yell back, “My Father? What the heck are you talkin’ about Drax?” Peter comes into view and see’s Yondu’s unamused expression on screen. “Oh, hey ol’ man, what’s up?”

“I got somethin’ I need ta talk with ya about, but it seems like yer a little busy.”

“Nah, it’s fine. I was just helpin’ Rocket with some plans for a new blaster that launches explosives! We just left Xandar, we were picking up some supplies. What did you need?” Quill asks.

“This ain’t an easy thing ta talk about…do ya think ya could go to another room er somethin’? I don’t need everybody hearin’ all about it.”

Peter’s expression turns a mixture of concerned and awkward. “Uhh…yeah sure. Is everything okay?” he moves Yondu’s transmission onto a handheld communicator and heads to the back of the ship. He enters his quarters and closes the door. “Okay, shoot.”

Yondu takes a deep breath, and exhales slowly to try and calm his nerves. “Long story short, Krags and I hired a new Terran girl to help with record keeping, transmission logs and mission details and stuff. We’ve gotten close over that time and now, well…she’s ma girl.”

“Woah! Yondu! She’s really Terran?! That’s so awesome man! I always knew you had it in you. What’s her name?”

“Her name’s y/n, and she’s really somethin’. I never met anyone like her. She’s really special ta me, but there’s somethin’ else I need to ask ya.”

“Okay…”

“The other day we made a stop out at Knowhere to sell some stuff, and she said somethin’ ta me. We both kinda panicked, but I think it might’a been my fault. See, she told me she loved me, but she said it so casually and it came out so natural soundin’. I didn’t expect it at all, and I didn’t exactly say anything back. She freaked out and ran off. Now, I don’t know what ta do! Is that normal fer Terrans?”

“Wow, okay. That’s a lot to unpack. So, let me ask you this. Do you love her?”

“Well, see that’s the other thing I need to ask ya. I don’t exactly know what that is. Boy, I ain’t Terran, and I ain’t no good with this love stuff. I figured, with ya bein’ Terran ‘n all, you might know what it means ta love someone and maybe ya’d know if that’s what y/n and I have.” Yondu’s expression turns sheepish, and he rubs the back of his neck as he waits for Peter’s answer.

“Oh, that’s easy! Love is something that happens between two people, and it’s a feeling that is super strong. You feel like you can do anything – unstoppable almost. Some people say it makes you feel like you’re floating, like you could almost fly. There’re loads of movies about love I remember from being a kid. The point is, you’d do anything to see them smile, you want to always make sure they’re happy and cared for. Gamora is in a similar boat with you, but we work on it.” Peter’s smile grows at the mention of Gamora.

“Well shit…” Yondu stares at something on his control council. “Okay, so yeah…I think that about pins it down.”

“So, you love her?” Peter asks.

“Heh, yeah boy, I guess I do.”

“Alright, well there you go! Look man, love is supposed to be easy. That’s not to say that you won’t have any disagreements or the occasional fight. That’s normal, but let go and just try to fall in.”

“Yeah, that makes sense. So, I guess all that’s left ta do is go tell her. Right?”

“Right.” Peter crosses his arms confidently and glances off screen. “Anything else you need? Rocket sounds like he’s getting pissed. I want to make sure he doesn’t blow something up or break anything.”

“Yeah boy, that’s it. But listen, thanks. I was at ma wits end over here.”

“No problem, Yondu. Now go tell her!” Peter laughs.

“Alright, alright. I’m goin’!” Yondu ends the call, and heads off the Warbird to find you.

Yondu starts to make his way back to the bars when he notices you and Kraglin walking to his smaller M-ship. The captain makes his way toward you in the snow, and you stop short.

Kraglin notices you stop. “Ey, it’s okay. You should talk to ‘em. I’ll see ya back on the Eclector?” He says as he reassuringly pats your shoulder.

“Yeah, okay.”

“Comm me if ya need anythin’.”

Kraglin walks past Yondu and nods, and he boards his small craft. You stuff your hands in your pockets and watch Yondu approach you.

“Hey, uh…” he starts. “I was wonderin’ if we could talk? Things have been a little off since the other day. Can I take ya back to the Warbird?”

“Yeah, I think that would be fine. We do need to talk.”

As the two of you walk to the Warbird, Yondu throws his arm over your shoulder to pull you closer. The warmth and weight of his arm makes your heart flutter. The feeling of security and safety brings a quiet smile to your face. Yondu glances at you from the corner of his eye and smiles too. It’s at this point he remembers what he is about to do. Anxiety strikes him in the chest and he can feel his heart begin to race. He swallows, and closes the door to the M-ship after you step inside with him.

You take a seat in the copilot chair and wait for him to speak first.

“Y/n, there’s somethin’ I been thinkin’ about and I really need to get it off ma chest. The other day, in yer office…well…” he looks down at the floor and begins to pace. “What I’m tryin’ ta say is – shit…this is harder than I thought it was gonna be.”

You get a bad nervous feeling in the pit of your stomach. Yondu can’t seem to find the right words and he’s pacing the ship even further. He’s going to break up with me, oh my god, he is about to break up with me. You can feel tears beginning to form, and he turns to face you. Your thoughts have apparently been written all over your face.

“Oh, no. No darlin’ it ain’t like that. I swear on all the stars, it ain’t nothin’ like that. Look, when ya told me ya loved me the other day, I didn’t know what ta do. No one has ever told me they loved me before. I wadn’t sure what love even meant, let alone how ta love somebody else. Love ain’t exactly somethin’ I’m used to. But now, I think I understand – at least a little.” He takes your hands and pulls you to your feet. With deep pull of breath, he finally gets the courage.

“I love ya too sweetheart. I do. No woman has ever made me so damn crazy before. Ya get inside ma head, make my hands all shaky, and when ya look at me ma heart races out of ma chest. I can’t even begin ta tell ya how outta the norm this is fer me. Heh.” His crooked smile shows how unsure he is. But you can tell that he means every word. You don’t have any words for him in return. His confession was more than you expected, so you pull him toward you for a tender kiss. He wraps you in his strong arms and returns your kiss happily. You both get so lost in each other that you almost forget to breathe. You break away from him and gingerly bite your lip.

“So…now what?” He asks.

“Well, now, we just keep doing what we’re doing. Build and grow, one day at a time. Don’t worry, I’ll show you how.” With a smirk, you head toward the dining area of the ship to get some water.

“Y/n, there’s somethin’ else I been thinkin’ about. What do ya say we make another stop? The crew will be well off for a while, and we have some downtime ahead. I have an idea I’ve been sittin’ on fer a while.”

“Sure, what’s your idea?”

He takes a seat next to you and taps on the table a few times. “I was wantin’ ta take ya back ta Terra fer a visit. Maybe we could find yer family. I know how much ya miss ‘em, and it would bring ‘em some closure. I can imagine they’d be thrilled ta know yer safe…and I wouldn’t mind meetin’ ‘em. If ya think it’d be alright?”

“Back to Earth!? Are you serious?! Yondu! Yes, yes! Oh my god, I can’t believe it!!” You jump into his arms and kiss him excitedly. “It’s been so long. I’d love to show you where I grew up and, well, my family might be a bit shocked – but they’ll get over it.”

“Alright, then. It’s a done deal. I’ll let the crew finish up their…merriment, and we’ll get headed that way.”

In the back of his mind, Yondu knows this is a huge risk. There is chance you’ll find your family, and you might want to stay. If he takes you back to your home, he could lose you forever. However, he understands now, that he’d do anything to make you happy. Even it that happiness takes you away from him.

#Yondu and The Secretary #yondu x reader #Yondu Udonta #gotg fanfiction #fanfic #Starlord #peter quill #love #galactic #kraglin obfonteri #kraglin