#one place forever is not just the ease of documentation. but the sense of having a constant. Much of what i crave most in life is stability

[khloros]

A resident from another planet who seems to have willfully isolated themself from society finds a strange creature that shines in the sun, doesn’t eat, and seems to have the main focus of collecting rocks. Fortunately, save for the not eating part, the two seem fairly similar and form an unlikely family.

(Aka, I wrote a found-family thing for an alien and a rover. I usually don’t write much since it’s kinda a challenge for me, and this is my first time actually finishing something! It was fun and I wanna write more in the future, and I look forward to establishing my own style!)

_____

Scientists have recovered what seems to be a garden journal from the unknown planet that our rover, Trailblazer, crash landed on over twenty years ago. Photos of this journal have only just now reached Earth, and are being rapidly translated. The first entry is seen below.

_____ 

The crops are failing. The cold is settling in.

I’ve watched their leaves turn color, shift from rich greens to the frail purples and oranges of our moons in mid-summer. Some are so thin that they’ve become translucent and the sun sparkles through them like it does atop a pond. The scene is beautiful and terrible. I fear for this upcoming harvest. I don’t want to ask for help, not from anyone who knows me.

The only crop that has been doing well are the kaultchish. Their leaves are hearty and will be good roasted or eaten raw. The less successful leaves may be tossed in soups and stews, and preserved for the cold seasons. Like their foliage, the kaultchish berries hang heavy in their bunches. They are sweeter than they have been in any earlier years; it almost makes up for the lack of crops produced from the rest of the garden.

Now, despite the worries of the season, this is all somewhat normal news. I am reluctant to record the rest of this day, as it has been a strange one and I’m half-convinced that it was all a dream.

This morning, you see, I was checking on the berries. They were sagging close to the ground under their weight and I had been growing worried that pests would steal them. When checking for prints, however, I found the strangest ones I have ever seen. Two parallel lines indented wide into the ground, with jagged scores creating segments inside them. At the time, I could not have imagined what might create something so strange. I initially feared of something slithering, perhaps a verestial which may consume my crops with its jaws that part like clouds preparing to storm. I don’t like visitors, you see, even the small ones.

Naturally, I set a trap. The worst case scenario was that I’d string up one of my neighbors by accident, and even then, well, I wouldn’t mind never seeing them again. Loud creatures, they are. Sound carries across this flat land, the wind bringing it to my ears along with spatterings of sand. I am nearly convinced that this place hates me, neighbors and dust and all.

The trap consisted of a simple device that would sense the potential thief and spring a net over it. We used to craft them as children out of twigs and hardy grass often, this was the easy part.

The hard part came when I emerged from my home this morning to see a light flaring in the bushes. I’ve never lit any lanterns in that area and the sun had not yet raised her brows above the horizon, so naturally I was apprehensive.

And curious.

I approached the thing to find that it was a trembling creature with a seemingly bioluminescent spot on its chest. In fact, as I kneeled down to view it closer, this creature seemed almost identical to a child.

Its head and body are the correct shapes and colors, its skin is tough and reflective like ours. Its eyes seem to be the correct shape and color, though a bit bigger and protruding from the face in a strange way. Perhaps the biggest difference are its feet, which are quadrupedal rather than bipedal. They look quite similar to the wheels upon wagons, which had made me wonder whether or not this supposed creature might be a children’s toy.

It is not. It is most definitely not, unless children are more terrifying than I remember. I peeled the net away from its head and, sensing no distress from it, tugged at its foot. It immediately erupted into a series of short screams, staggered one after the other for several minutes even after I had let go. This seems to be quite the good defensive technique as the garden fell completely silent after that, not even the smallest of creatures daring to chirp.

I told it such, and added, “I should try that someday, if anyone attempts to tug on my leg.” It didn’t respond, but I feel that it was more at ease with me after I spoke.

I carried on with my garden duties, watering and trimming and weeding and hoping. A few times, I caught sight of the creature staring at the sunrise as if completely enamored. I can’t blame it, the sun has always looked beautiful to me as well. It reminds me of —

As I moved from one side of the garden to the other, I noticed the creature following me. At a distance and hesitantly at first, but my suspicions grew as I observed its behavior. After tearing a foreign grass out of the garden, I noticed the creature reaching out with its own arm to do the same. It placed the clump of grass within a fold in its skin, which I saw to be filled with shimmering rocks and half-planted flowers. This concerned me. I didn’t dare hope that this creature is sentient, this warped version of our own figures. This poor, abandoned child.

Without thinking, I dropped my gardening tools and rushed over to it, scooping the creature into my arms. It was heavier than expected, and its feet dug into my shoulder, but it didn’t send off any more shouts of alarm. Perhaps it is bold of me to assume its trust, but I have forever been outcast for my boldness.

I have taken this creature — and for now, until I know for certain that it is non-sentient, I will refer to it as a child — into my home. I have a meal being rewarmed on the hearth as I document this, and I will attempt to feed the feeble thing as soon as I can.

Addition: It doesn’t seem to like soup. I will attempt to feed it bread scorched over the fire, next.

Also, I have named it Keptie.

_____ 

Translator’s Notes.

Untranslatable words have been italicized. The definitions and potential pronunciations are listed below.

Kaultchish is just one interpretation of a plant that seems to be one of the more popular foods on the observed planet. German researcher and botanist Elias Zimmerman held a great role in learning more about this plant, and thusly it follows some Germanic grammar rules in all Earthly languages. For English, this means that the plural is not kaultchishes, but kaultchishen. Another common way of spelling that has arisen is kowltchish, which some people prefer to use under the belief that it represents the IPA better. The IPA pronunciation, to our current knowledge, is kaʊltʃɪʃ.

The verestial [vɛrɛstjiəl] seems to be a type of animal similar to our snakes, though possibly herbivorous. There is debate over whether it is a whole genus or a subset of one.

Most seem to be in agreement that Keptie is a “cuter name”, so the official name of our rover has been changed to it. However, its former name, Trailblazer, is still common in both everyday and scientific use.

#red rover #humans and aliens #humans are aliens #alien what if #alien world #worldbuilding #humans are weird #sci-fi #scifi #scifi writing #scifiworld #science fiction #space aliens #outer space #story #short story #pack bonding #found family #rover #mars rover #writers on tumblr #robots #writers of tumblr #write #writeblr #writing ideas #writing inspiration #writing inspo #cute story #why aren’t there more himbo aliens :(

[ashrifts]

By necessity , it was often the executives meandering to Mikey's office and rarely the other way around , but today he is on the road less traveled. He carries Yaki in his hands for a little bit of wisdom , and a lot of courage. Orders tumble out of Mikey's mouth nearly everyday , ranging from snack acquisition to firing a bullet into a breathing man — yet somehow a request of this nature is the most difficult of all. Instead of speaking , he holds his arms open in front of Ran hoping he understands the message. He would really , really like a hug.

ran had been browsing through his computer's folders to look up old records in order to finish a report for the newest task he and his brother had been assigned, while he'd sent rindou to do the more difficult part of the research: look for the physical documents in their archives library. he'd grumbled about it, as expected, but had complied just the same, and that's how ran has spent the first half of his day: clicking through folder after folder while singing one of those catchy pop songs that the radio stations love to repeat while he's driving. or rather, mumbling the lyrics under his breath and occasionally tapping his foot, his mind not on the melody but ahead in time, two hours from now when he would go pluck rindou away from the library, finished job or not, to go get lunch together.

he's half-heartedly thinking about the wonders of modern technology and wondering if he should take an early break to get some more coffee when he receives an unexpected guest. there's a split-second moment of alarm in his mind as soon as he spots mikey by the doorway, and his first thought goes to rindou. did something happen? was he okay? he shouldn't have sent him alone, this is why they always stay together⁠—

it's only when he sees yaki in mikey's hands that his mind eases up, the protective fog dissipating into a warm curiosity that makes him forget what he'd been doing previously. when he’s about to ask if there was anything ran could do for him, mikey quietly extends his arms and renders ran himself speechless. not a single word slips past his lips, but ran gets the message all the same, and he can’t help the chuckle that escapes him from deep within his lungs; how could he not, when it's a gesture he's grown so very familiar with raising a younger sibling? rindou can deny it as much as he wants, but ran's memory runs long, and the snippets of a small rindou wordlessly asking for a hug would be forever treasured in his mind.

ran has always loved doting as much as he loved being doted on, so he takes on the request with ease, crossing the room in a matter of quick, long steps to pull mikey close as soon as he reaches him, bending down slightly to envelop the shorter man fully into his broad chest, arms settling around his hips. ran’s thumbs rub the thin line of exposed skin from where his shirt ends and his pants begin, enjoying the brief skin to skin contact and the lasting warmth it provides, and further tilts his head downward, burying his nose in silvery white hair that tickles his cheek and lets his eyes flutter shut, allowing his other senses take over and appreciate the feeling of a smaller body slotting against his for as long as mikey would let him.

unfortunately, he does have a crime syndicate to help run, even if it was the boss himself who was begging to be a distraction from that very same job. fortunately, however, ran has little problem multitasking, so after a moment of comfortable stillness in each other’s arms, he slides his hands down to easily lift mikey by his thighs, securing his legs around ran's waist as ran turns to walk them down his office to his desk and sitting down in his plush chair with his "husband" on his lap. placing his chin on mikey's shoulder, he keeps one arm secured in a half-embrace, while the other one continues typing down his interrupted report, but now with less reluctance and more glee, resuming the little tune he'd been humming earlier right into mikey's ear.

the sooner he gets this dreadful task over with, the quicker he'd be able to snatch mikey away and have some proper fun together.

#me: ok gonna do drafts today #ran seeing this: No this first #holds my head in my hands #first the kid then the marriage then the actual relationship i cant stand them #sanoism #. * ❛ FLORET BUDS; ask. #. * ❛ entwined in moonlight threads; verse v.

[memes-in-a-half-shell]

Business AU - Working Late, Part 9

Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3 || Part 4 || Part 5 || Part 6 || Part 7 || Part 8

Let’s fuck things up a bit, shall we?

She woke up peacefully, the soft warmth of the early sun washing over her naked body tangled in the bedsheets. As she stretched her limbs, she found herself to be alone in bed, lazily reaching for her glasses on the nightstand nearby only so she could have a clearer view of her surroundings. Donnie was nowhere to be seen, Vee taking this moment to sit in bed, envelopping her form in the sheets and just think about last night's events. What would that make out of them? No real declarations of any sorts had been made, but the feelings were there and real, that she couldn't deny. Sure, it wasn't the first time she had slept with someone without any real attachment, but never had she felt that way with someone before... Donnie was a tender and very attentive man. She had that feeling that whatever he'd say or do, it must be true to him. She wanted to believe he would wish for them to be more... But for now she laid her expectations to rest and simply reveled in whatever was happening between them. She felt good. She felt appreciated. And, to be frank, the sex had been amazing.

She heard footsteps approaching the room, along a rolling sound. The mutant soon came in view, accompanied by a small trolley that held two plates with food, empty mugs and a pot of coffee. He was only wearing black boxer briefs and his glasses, his whole self a delectable sight. As he noticed that the woman was awake, he playfully struck a little pose while saying:

“Breakfast in bed for madame.”

That brought a soft giggle from Vee, though touched by this attention given to her. Instead of handing a plate, Donnie moved to sit by the woman's side in bed, unable to resist cupping one of her cheeks, his thumb tenderly brushing her skin. His eyes kept scanning her, his joy blooming at the mere sight of her smile.

“… Can't believe there's such a beautiful woman in my bed this morning,” he softly said.

“Can't believe such a sexy man is bringing me breakfast in bed,” replied Vee.

“I can bring more than that.”

Remnants of last night's emotions still brought some sparks in the air, Donnie's motion fluid and met halfway by Vee. It was sweet and slow, a kiss that felt like a dream. As it kept going, the terrapin started to shift his position and Vee's; soon the covers out of the way and Donnie's frame over the woman, forever careful not to be too much of a weight. They couldn't let go of one another, this morning's laziness bringing each motions to a tender point. As the terrapin was kissing at the woman's neck, she did add in a soft tone:

“What about breakfast? It's gonna get cold, just like the food last night...”

“I don't mind cooking another one later. … I'd cook one for you everyday even.”

That brought a hushed chuckle out of Vee, but deep down she was touched by that small confession. The simplicity and tenderness of this moment brought such ease in her.

“Donnie, I-...”

She stopped herself, knowing exactly what her heart wanted to say, but knowing now was not the time. Their gaze crossed, Donnie patient and Vee trying to find the right words to say next.

“... I’m so happy right now. Being with you feels so nice,” she ended.

“It does feel nice, indeed,” first replied the terrapin in a sweet tone. “... I could spend the rest of my life like this.”

Vee felt speechless, trying her best to read his emotions. He did sound sincere, but maybe it was this honeymoon type of feeling that was talking as well.... In any case, she prefered to kiss him in answer, knowing she did think the same as well. It was much preferable to live in this present moment, rather than worry in speculations.... At least, only for this morning.

***

That Monday morning was as grey and rainy as it could get, the usual omen for a bad day and week to come, but in Vee’s mind and heart, it was as sunny as it could ever be. Her work started with the usual routine; reviewing the projects for the day and then handing the paperwork. Her step around the office was light, humming some tunes to herself as she distributed the documents among her team.

“You look awfully happy for a Monday morning,” started one of her coworker’s voice, a guy.

That broke her stride, turning around to the source. She noticed a small handful of employees grouped together, probably discussing first amongst themselves until they saw their manager. Vee recognized the man who had spoken, already going through her papers as she walked towards the small group.

“I had a nice weekend, that’s all,” she answered, handing him the work.

“What, you buttered up the boss enough for you to get a raise?” said the other, reluctantly taking his due.

Vee instantly frowned: “... Excuse me?”

“We saw you leave with that Donatello, Friday evening,” added another coworker, a woman. “You’re not fooling anyone. It’s been quite some time that you both have been hanging together.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t see how that’s any of your concerns,” said Vee. “We’re friends, I don’t see what’s wrong with that.”

“Yah, sure, friends with benefits perhaps,” continued another person. “Soon you’ll benefit from a monetary gain while he benefits from your tits. Workplace logic.”

Vee was disgusted, knowing if she continued to argue, she’d make things worse: “I don’t know what’s wrong with you all, but you better mind your damn business.”

As she was walking away, she heard that last jab: “If I buy you a drink, will you give me a raise?” She did not stop, her step slightly getting faster instead. Her blood was boiling, her heartbeat thundering in her ears. At once, she wished she could simply disappear... Turning a corner, she abruptly bumped into someone, her remaining folders flying out of her hands and spilling to the floor. She felt strong hands hold her forearms, forbidding her to fall backward

“Woah there, easy. Are you alright?”

She met baby blue eyes surrounded by orange, quickly recognizing the presence as another one of her bosses: Michelangelo. She quickly nodded, trying to get a hold of her senses once more. Her eyes next scanned the floor, letting out a big sigh as she noticed the mess.

“Damn... I’m sorry,” she started. “I should’ve looked where I was going...”

“Nah, it’s fine,” smile the orange clad terrapin. “Next time I’ll be careful not to be on your war path!”

Both were already crouching down to pick up the fallen papers, Vee feeling so absent-minded by this meaningless task. All she wanted to do was to run away, to be quite frank. As Michelangelo handed her the last files, he did inquire again: “... You sure you’re alright?”

Vee faked a small smile, quick to dismiss his concern.

“Yes, I’m okay. No worries. Have a nice day, sir.”

As she got back on the move, her distress did not escape the mutant, although he did not try to push his questionning any further.

***

“What’s up, D, my man?”

Donnie paused his writing, glancing up towards his office’s entry. He saw Mikey standing there, the purple clad mutant huffing lightly as he then continued his task.

“I’m busy, Mikey.”

“You’re always busy, so any time to poke you is as good as any.”

The tall one rolled his eyes, although he did smile a little. He quickly gestured for his brother to come in.

“What’s up?” he asked as the other was taking a seat.

“Meh, I dunno man, just wanted to take some news from you,” shrugged Michelangelo. “You’ve been staying late a lot these days... How was your weekend?”

Donnie stopped writing once more, leaning back into his chair with a dreamy smile.

“It was hella nice.”

“Oh yeah? How so?”

“Spent some time with a beautiful lady.”

“There yooouu gooo!” lightly laughed the youngest. “T’was about time you’d get some fun. Who is she?”

“Slow down, I’ll present her to you soon enough. ... We’re just taking some time to ourselves first, you know...”

Mikey was disappointed by the lack of details, but he did respect his brother’s choice: “Fair enough.” A thought came back to him, suddenly adding: “Oh, speaking of meeting ladies, before I got in here I bumped into one. I dunno what’s going on in the office, but she did look kinda distressed. ... She’s got nice green hair though! We don’t see lots of people with different hairstyles around here.”

Donnie slightly jumped in his chair as he heard the mention of ‘distress’ and then ‘green hair’. It had to be Vee.

“Where is she?” he instantly asked.

Mikey was surprised by his brother’s reaction, vaguely gesturing a direction.

“I, uh, I have no idea. Somewhere around those parts we don’t really have a use for.”

She must’ve went to the drawing room... Donatello did not waste any second, already on his feet and heading out.

“Sorry gotta go,” he quickly excused himself. “Talk to you later.”

Mikey didn’t even have time to place a word, still seated as he watched the other dart straight to a precise direction. “Oooookay...”

***

It didn’t take long for Donnie to reach the room in question, already hearing some quiet sobs when he was close to the entrance. As soon as he stepped in, he found Vee at one corner, by a table, her glasses removed as she tried to forbid tears to ruin her makeup. The woman jumped as she saw the terrapin’s form appear in, trying her best to gain a better posture and make herself more presentable as she put back on her glasses.

“Shit! D-Donnie, I-”

The turtle was already on the move, soon next to her and certainly preoccupied.

“What happened?” he asked.

“Nothing,” tried to brush away Vee. “I’m not- ... fuck, I don’t want you to see me cry.”

“Don’t worry. Tell me what happened,” he asked again, his touch gentle as his thumb dried some faint trails on the woman’s cheek.

“It’s nothing,” she repeated. “I just heard some stuff I didn’t want to, that’s all. I’ll stop my bullshit soon enough and get back to work.”

Donnie tsked, not wasting any second to get a hold of her hips, barely giving any effort as he slightly lifted her up to sit on the table. At least now he wouldn’t need to lean down too much, his hands resting at her sides, on the table, now their eyes at the same level.

“Talk to me.”

She couldn’t hold his gaze long enough, a sigh escaping her first. ... It would be preferable to touch the subject anyway, before any rumors would start flowing around.

“I had some employees on my team this morning saying some ... stuff about us.”

“What kind?”

“The kind that makes it look as if I’m hanging out with you only so I can get a promotion or something like that to advance my career,” she added, her tone slightly harsh. She paused, trying to calm herself down quickly: “... Look, before you say anything, I want you to know that it’s not true. I’m not some kind of business leech that’ll try to flirt her way up. I work hard and-and- I do an honest job, and-”

“Don’t worry, I believe you,” cut Donnie gently, trying to have her look at him again.

When their gazes met, she did feel some relief.

“I don’t give a damn what they say,” he continued. “They don’t have the full details anyway, so their judgement is invalid.”

“I hope they don’t get all the details, I’d prefer to keep most of them to myself,” added Vee with some amusement.

“Me too,” he smiled.

He tried, and succeeded, to lift her morale by giving a sweet kiss on her lips. Vee couldn’t help bringing him into an embrace afterward, her arms resting around his neck. She wanted to stay like this forever... His strong arms around her were so reassuring.

“Don’t mind them,” softly said Donnie as he was nuzzling her hair. “There’s always gonna be some assholes everywhere we go...  The best thing we can do is stand up to them and stay true to ourselves, okay?”

“I don’t think I’m ready to stand up to them today,” mumbled the woman against his scales.

“Alright, I’ll do it then.”

Vee instantly frowned, backing up a bit to give him a stern look.

“Don’t you dare! I don’t want anymore troubles.”

The terrapin chuckled: “Don’t worry, you don’t have to say names. ... I’m just gonna teach them all a little lesson. ... There’s no place for rivalry and petty discourses regarding matters they have no involvement with.”

“If things turn to hell, I blame you.”

“Deal!” he winked.

***

Time was passing by and Vee was somehow getting more and more anxious about what Donnie would do in regards to her team...  She most certainly hoped he wouldn’t rub in the issue and ask the others to mind their own business. But at the same time she knew he could demonstrate tactfulness and would probably approach the matter at hand appropriately.

She first heard the squeak of small wheels, her attention shifting and soon noticing the terrapin walk in with a portable whiteboard. She groaned internally, tempted to melt on her chair and disappear under her desk...

Donnie attracted people’s attention by clearing his throat first, then adding: “Hi there! If you guys won’t mind, let’s have a talk.”

He removed the cap from an erasable pen he was holding, writing in big letters “TEAMWORK”. Vaguely gesturing the word, he started:

“What defines teamwork?”

Silence at first. At some point a woman shyly rose her hand, Donnie inviting her to speak:

“Please, don't be shy, no need to raise your hand. What do you have in mind?”

“Teamwork could be defined by good communication?”

“That's a good start, what else?” smiled the terrapin as he wrote “COMMUNICATION” on the whiteboard.

“Sharing the workload equally?” started another person.

“Efficiency!”

“Having a common goal.”

“Trust!”

Donnie lighted up at that word, circling it a couple of times for emphasis.

“Yes, trust!” he said. “Seeking a common end, resolving conflicts and frictions, having an open conversation about issues you might be experiencing in the workplace. All that trust you can put in your coworkers mirrors the trust you have in regards to their skills and abilities. A mutual trust is defined by a confidence between team members that each puts the best interest of the team ahead of individual priorities.”

“I guess it depends on the person and their position,” added in a guy.

Vee recognized him as the man who had first sparked the comments this morning. She tried to avoid his gaze, Donnie noticing the sudden tension.

“I suspect you have something on your mind,” started the terrapin calmly to the man. “What’s your name?”

“Ben.”

“What do you mean by ‘it depends on the person and their position’, Ben?”

The guy was obviously feeling some discomfort by being the center of interest.

“Well... when you see someone like, let’s say a manager, taking advantage of their position and time to advance themselves in the work place, it’s hard to put trust on them.”

Donnie clapsed his pen shut.

“Are those allegations founded? Have you spoken to that person and tried to see if that was actually the case? Miscommunication and misunderstanding can lead to a lack of trust, indeed.”

“When you see them hanging with higher ups, that kinda confirms some questioning,” continued Ben. “When she stays late at night and fraternizes with a boss, that does raise some concerns about the practices of this workplace.”

“There we go,” smiled Donnie, accentuating his words with a sharp point of his pen. “Now we’ve come to the source of your concern; first you mentionned a manager and now a ‘she’. Knowing there’s only one project manager for the creative team, I can suspect you have some concerns in regards to Véronique.”

“You’re just gonna defend her, why should we listen to you?” said the other.

“Because I’m not here to defend anyone,” shrugged the mutant. “I’m here to make you understand that you’re a team, and all its members shouldn’t feel afraid to speak to one another, instead of raising suspicions.” He gestured Vee, the woman only wanting to disappear. “Ever since Véronique started working here she has been spending countless hours in office to learn the ropes of this place and give the best of herself only so you can give the best of you all in return. I value her judgement and experience, and she has agreed, on her free will, to participate on a project I was personally struggling with. In return I have been helping her with her work, because that is how trust is built: by sharing the work-” he started to point the words on the board. “-being efficient, communicating, and having a common goal. ... And that’s something I want in this office, for its people to be open and help eachother - not because they feel they need to, but because they want to.”

That gave everyone a pause, somehow giving a feeling of accomplishment to the turtle.

“May that spark a friendship or not - when it does not involve this work environment and it’s out of office, it’s nothing to worry about afterward. ... Let that be food for thought.”

He looked a bit toward Vee’s position, giving her a quick wink. The woman did feel some relief by his speech, knowing he might have struck some chords here and there. She wasn’t fully convinced that everyone would be on that same line of thought, especially that Ben, but there was no denying that it would ease some tension somehow.

***

Vee had waited until work got back to a somewhat normal pace before she wrote that to the terrapin.

Her smile was tender, her fingers easily typing away.

Thinking about it also, today was one hell of a long and stressful Monday...

Probably one of the only good things today...

There it was again, that damn charm of his! She could feel the rush in her veins, remembering those moments with him. Frankly, she wanted more as well...

***

The following morning was as normal as it could get on a weekday, Donnie taking the opportunity to clean around his office. He was going through a filing cabinet, starting from the top drawer. Some papers did slip from his hold, the terrapin next crouching to get them off the floor. But at the same moment the entry door was harshly opened, a voice sternly calling his name. Donnie’s reaction was to jump straight back up, but that resulted in him hitting the top of his head on the previously opened drawer, getting a yelp out of him. He quickly diverted his gaze to the newcomer, rubbing his scales.

“Leo!” scolded the purple clad mutant as he saw his older brother. “The fuck?! Don’t you know how to knock or something?”

“We have to go.”

“Go where?”

“No time to explain, we’ve found them. We need to move right now before we lose their track again.”

Donnie instantly got serious as well, his posture straightening up.

“... Do we still have our backup gear in this building?” he asked.

“Yes,” confirmed the blue banded turtle. “Mikey and Raph are already aware as well. Get your stuff and we leave in fifteen minutes top.”

A simple nod in answer was good for Leonardo to get on the move again, leaving Donnie. There was no time to lose, the tall mutant rapidly tidying up his space before grabbing any personal items and exiting his office. His mind was running, thinking about what was to come. On his way he did notice Vee at her desk, somehow pausing only to bask into that view. At first she was focused on whatever she was working, but she did feel a gaze on her, her eyes lifting to meet Donnie. She first offered him a sweet smile, to which he briefly returned, then she saw him get back on the move - an expression of concern coloring his traits. That did confuse the woman, her eyes following his path and noticing that he was about to leave the building. She tried to shrug the feeling away, only telling herself that she’d poke him later about that...

((Part 10))

#it's-a-moi #business au #usual sorry for mistakes #that moment when I pump out drama a lil' faster than smut LOL #also note to self: DO NOT TRY TO EDIT/FIX ERRORS ON YOUR DAMN PHONE #stick to PC 😤 #next chapter should come soon-ish as well - I'm pumped for this

[falcor-thee-luck-dragon]

Rough Night

Bucky Barnes x (f)werewolf reader

Summary: Your life is already so weird, thankfully Bucky loves you through it all.

Warning: fluff, reader being a sass master w/ no filter

side note: couldn’t think of any cool avenger powers and then brain went werewolf so here we are

Masterlist

If you had a dollar for every time you’d ended up in the woods with ripped clothes and no shoes, well, let’s just say you could probably afford a real nice two bedroom apartment in some real pleasantly fancy building with a great view and all. Too bad green doesn’t just rain down from the sky every time the full moon comes round to knock you back into another world of blurry confusion.

You won’t lie to yourself, being what you are is strange and not very common in the slightest, obviously. It’s even weirder that you weren’t bitten one night and turned just like that, oh no, all passed down through the bloodline of other strange relatives. So you’re gifted with the curse, forced to inevitably change into a furry beast every single full moon, so what you’re still a mostly pleasant individual.

Well luckily for you, being born with the gift does happen to have its perks which do come in handy. For instance, you’re incredibly strong, quick on your feet, and have heightened senses, plus the ability to shift on command. It’s not all bad, well......most of the time.

Honestly you truly thought life couldn’t get much stranger for you and your whole hidden secretive situation, until low and behold some random red head found your little hideaway in a remote mountain side village far off in the Himalayas.

Everything was completely fine and under control and then BAM, she showed up with some important documents and something called an Avengers initiative and well shit, guess some time spent with the real world couldn’t hurt. I mean come on, some more friends seemed like a nice idea and uh, somehow they knew who you were so too late to run and hide.

Also at the time, considering you lived like a recluse on the edge of the village and of course for good reason, but damn if the red head didn’t just hand you an open invitation for some real adventure. Who were you to say no?

Fortunately for you, all seemed to go in your favor and fantastically enough, they had a nice big strong cell for you on nights when the wolf was inevitably bound to come out. A fridge full of plentiful snacks, a training room to lay off some steam, and a big safe and secure room all your own. It was perfect. Only problem was, there happened to be a very attractive and very wary of you super soldier who undoubtedly caught your attention.

How could you not, he smelled divine, muscles for days, thick thighs that could make a girl swoon, and he just seemed like the best goddamn hugger alive. Okay listen, maybe you were touch starved and deprived of human affection but dammit if your little monster heart didn’t skip a beat every time he was near you.

And yes, the few months it took to get him to crack was just down right torturous. But with some coaxing from Steve and encouragement from Sam, the winter soldier at long last did talk to you. Turned out he thought you were scared of him all along, how hilariously ironic you thought when he told you that.

But as time progressed and you both opened up more and more, a blossoming relationship sprouted forth, eventually evolving and manifesting into a big beautiful flower called love. Cheesy yes, but you couldn’t have dreamed of anything better.

And seriously, he wasn’t freaked out about your whole hidden hush hush secretive gift that usually either goes in your favor or ends up causing you major legal trouble. The man himself, Bucky Barnes, thought you were a marvel to behold, so odd and fantastic that he couldn’t stay away even if he tried.

And for that you could love him forever, especially now after a full moon while you’re out in the middle of nowhere. Hoping that the team will send your hundred year old boyfriend out to find you in the brisk dark morning after a grand unrememberable adventure. Which would be very nice of course, considering you have not a damn clue what you’ve done.....or where you are.

Cracking your back, you stretch your hands up to the dawning sky as a tired yawn escapes you. It’s been a long night and you look like a wild woman with your hear a fluffy nest and your clothes ripped in various unrevealing places thankfully.

Your surroundings are simply trees and small scraggly bushes, green grass underneath your bare feet and a small stream flowing in the near distance. With a second to listen, you can hear a highway a couple miles away to the east, guess that’s a start.

Rubbing your eyes you set out in that direction for about twenty minutes before a blue and gold Mercedes comes into view from the side of a country back road, it stops when you guess the driver spotted you from the tree line. Keeping a wary eye on the fancy sports car, you keep walking towards it until a figure gets out and leans against the passengers side door all cool and casual, then on further inspection you realize the driver is Bucky.

Yes! My knight in shining armor is here!

Trudging through the grassy field in the dewy morning light, he watches your every move, eyes crinkling in amusement as you come to stand a couple feet in front of him. Undoubtedly looking a bit wild, and very tired as you fold your arms underneath each other, giving your dark haired lover a shy almost fangy smile.

“I know I look like a hot mess.” You mutter with a shrug, biting your lip as you dart your eyes to the fields behind him, slightly embarrassed of the current disheveled state you’re in.

Bucky smirks before pushing himself off the car and engulfing you into a big Bucky bear hug to your pleasant surprise, “Y/N I’m just glad you’re okay and nothing bad happened to you.” He mumbles into your shoulder as you press yourself closer to him, letting yourself have this wonderful moment to relax and feel at ease.

Slowly pulling back to look up at him, you smile, “Aww Buck you were worried about me?”

He returns the grin, leaning down to press his head flush against yours, “We all were, me more then anyone else of course...and maybe for the general civilians nearby.”

You laugh nervously, “Oh right, yeah. Well hey, I didn’t destroy anyone's car this time. I think I’ve made progress.”

He pauses for a brief moment indicating he’s not sure if he should tell you something and this does make you nervous before Bucky finally lets out a little laugh, “You ate a whole cow Y/N.”

Snorting in surprise you quickly pull your head from Bucky’s, “What? Did I? Please tell me you’re joking.”

“Yeah, uh I wish.” He admits with a casual reassuring squeeze to your arm, “We tracked you with Sam’s suit tech, yunno Red Wing, and uh....you seemed to be having fun.”

Mentally and just about physically cringing at yourself, you purse your lips together in slight embarrassment, “Shit. Was it gross?” You ask, making a face that causes him to chuckle.

“A little.” Adds Bucky with another casual shrug to make you feel less terrible.

“Is the farmer going to see everything, I mean shit they’re gonna be so pissed.” You worry, biting your lip anxiously as you break eye contact from him. “Why am I like this.”

“Uh, that’s not going to be a problem.” Inquires Bucky causing you to find his blue eyes once again.

Eying him up suspiciously you raise a brow, “And why’s that.....Bucky what did I do?”

Taking a breath he gives you a small apprehensive smile, “Y/N...you uh, kind of ate......everything.”

“I what?” I did not! No way, right?

Giving you a quick kiss on the cheek he smiles affectionately, “I’m going to be honest with you here it looked like a kid with a piece of cake who has no impulse control, and loves cake....like a lot.....Rodney almost puked.”

Rolling your eyes you fake glare at him, “Oh god who all watched my little horror show?”

“Mostly everyone.”

“Jesus.”

“It’s like a car crash Y/N, we don’t want to watch but we can’t look away. Sorry doll.” He confesses apprehensively, though honest and sincere knowing you do feel bad for what you do when out of it.

“No.” You say honestly, pausing for a moment, “It’s fine. Seriously Buck, I’m just relieved you guys keep taps on me while I’m out, god knows I can’t help what I do and where I go. It’s nice to have people making sure I don’t injure any innocent bystander.”

“Yeah I guess so huh...alright Y/N/N,” Chirps Bucky with a beaming grin as he attempts to shift the mood to a less dull one, “let’s get out of here, I mean unless you want to sniff around the place for awhile...it is a nice forest over there and all but I guess we can stay and I’ll let you...”

“Alright Barnes, can-it or maybe I’ll bite you.” You tease with a playful squeeze of his bicep before breaking out of his strong grasp.

“Depends on the context maybe I’d enjoy it.” Adds Bucky sarcastically, side eying you with a half smile as you move to open the car door.

Shaking your head in playful disapproval you lightly shove him aside, “Believe me you wouldn’t.”

——

The ride back to the Avengers base or headquarters or facility, who the hell knows at this point, was actually quite smooth and peaceful. Then again you fell asleep as soon as Bucky made it onto the highway, and continued to catch a much needed nap for the next hour ride home.

No one ever said you were easy alright, but let’s be real, Bucky would let you put him through anything and he’d be happy about it.

After parking and walking down the sidewalk past some early morning trainees catching a run, the two of you made it into the Avengers official HQ where all your rooms and other luxury’s are located. But of course not before walking past the facilities giant living space and huge kitchen.

Just keep looking forward, keep walking, walk faster you idiot!

“Y/N!” Shouts Sam in that stupidly peppy obnoxious early morning voice of his, no doubt gaining the attentions of Steve and Natasha who are seated at the kitchens bar talking about some mission report.

Pausing in the large doorway that’s not giving you or Bucky a whole lot of hiding space, you take a deep breath before turning to acknowledge him, “You’d think people would be sleeping considering it’s only six in the morning.”

Chuckling, Sam raises his protein shake, “Weird,” He says while giving you a knowing smirk, “we missed you during training this morning.”

Nat and Steve conceal their amusement as you simply roll your eyes, “Yeah well it was a long night.” You mutter unenthusiastically, earning the tiniest laugh from Bucky which causes you to throw him a glare. Knocking that smile right off of his handsome stubbly face.

“Well we got all these shakes here if you two love birds want one. Hate to have em go to waste.” Adds the smiling man with a nod, if he doesn’t just love seeing you looking like shit. No Sam I do not accept this invitation for you to tell me how crazy I look.

Sam means well of course, but damn he loves teasing you in front of Bucky for a fun reaction out of him. And it’s kind of working, but not on Bucky.

“It’s fine Y/N, you don’t have to have one if you don’t want to.” Calls Natasha before taking a sip from her mug. “Just ignore Sam, he’s been annoying since the gym.”

Before Sam’s even able to speak you quickly narrow your eyes at him, holding up a finger before making hasty steps across the room. Stopping right in front of him, “Give it.” You deadpan.

Brows raised in surprise he glances from a confused Bucky, then back to you again, “Listen I only made so much, Y/N this is my breakfast okay you can’t just...”

Ignoring his rushed rambling you pull out the whole glass blender full of protein shake before taking a step back as the whole room goes quiet, then never breaking eye contact you heartily drink up the whole entirety of its cold contents without missing a beat. Yeah, definitely needed that.

After you’re finished you lick your lips in satisfaction, taking a step closer towards a speechless Sam as you set the blender back in its place. Giving him a satisfied smirk before walking back over to Bucky where you tug on his jacket to follow you down the hall and away from everyone else.

Sometimes you can’t help but be a little dramatic.

——

Laying sprawled out on yours and Bucky’s giant mattress, you stare up at the ceiling as he folds your clean and freshly scented laundry, your mind swirling with thoughts of what duties you have to be apart of today. Blah, work.

Sighing gently you glance at Bucky to see if he heard you, not getting anything from him you sigh again with more grandeur this time. Nothing. Rolling your eyes you suck in a deep breath before practically soft yelling out your exhale like the dramatic little beast you are.

Glancing over to Bucky, you watch as he turns around to put some of your pants away in a drawer. Okay then, that’s how it’s gonna be. Quickly sitting up, you smirk a devilish grin before silently reaching over to pick up a small pillow, once in hand you don’t think twice before launching it at full speed directly headed for the back of his head.

But before your decently soft projectile can smack his precious flowing locks does a metal arm swiftly reach up to catch it mid flight. Oh, shit. Bucky’s head turns to you, brow raised at you before tucking the pillow underneath his arm, and going back to his usual domestic duties for the day.

Okay, killer of fun Mr. James Buchanan Barnes.

Frustrated from lack of a reaction out of him, you stand up on the bed like a warrior about to give a great battle cry. Eyeing his cute butt up for a moment, you smirk once again before launching a sneak attack pillow right for his head. It sails magnificently across the room before a metal hand stops it in its place. 

Well, shit.

This time he gives you a proper look, full of mischief and a new profound playfulness that sends an excited thrill throughout your entire being. As fast as one of Thor’s lightening bolts does the pillow soar in your direction, but conveniently for you he’s forgotten just how quick you can really be. This is just what you wanted.

Dodging to the left you watch in almost slow motion as the fluffy cloth just misses your face, instead opting to smack against the back wall with a loud thud. Snapping your attention back to Bucky he narrows his blue eyes at you suspiciously while you let out an admittedly scary villainous chuckle.

Let’s party my love.

He hands you a smirk right before shifting his body to the right, arm cocked back and thrust forward just as quickly, launching his second pillow attack without an ounce of mercy. You see it coming a mile away and as graceful as a dancer do you flip off the bed, landing perfectly on the carpeted floor just as the pillow smacks hard against the door. Thwack!

Slowly standing, eyeing him up like a lioness to her prey, you give him a satisfied smile, “Missed.” You tease.

Letting out a breathy laugh, Bucky takes a cautious step in your direction as he tests the waters, “Y/N what are you doing?”

“Getting your attention you ass.”

Chuckling he takes another step forward, “Was I ignoring you?” Duh, that’s why I, oh wait he’s playing you.

“Well you certainly weren’t doing anything interesting.” You sass as he steps again closer, this time about an arms length away.

The corners of his eyes crinkle in amusement, “Okay that’s fair, but was the pillow really necessary?” He asks, though his tone is still humorous.

Not falling for his alluring charm you tilt your head to the side, a knowing smile breaking out across your face as he tries to register what your true intentions are. “Yes, and so is this.” You quip before dropping to the floor for a side sweep of his legs, in an instant he’s on the ground and looking wide eyed up at you.

God he looks beautiful. No, focus.

“Y/N!” He whines breathlessly, brows furrowed as he holds himself up by his elbows, “Now you’re gonna get it!”

Taking a quick step back you snort, “Oh really now?”

And he’s fallen for the plan.

“Yes, and when I get you, you won’t be laughing anymore.” He grumbles, trying to keep himself from laughing as well.

“Alright then hot stuff try and bring me down.” You snap back playfully as he rises to his feet, “First one pinned has to run with Sam later, and we both know how much fun he is to run with.”

Bringing his arms up into a defensive position he readies himself for an attack, “Yeah, I’d rather not be his jogging buddy today. I mean it is raining outside, but I know you’d look real nice after a wet run.” Teases Bucky with a smirk.

“Touché you smartass.” His lips twitch into a grin as you ready your own stance. “Now let’s dance.”

#bucky barns x reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky barns imagine #bucky barnes x y/n #the winter soldier #the winter soldier x y/n #the winter soldier x reader #bucky barnes #marvel imagine #marvel x y/n #marvel x reader #marvel x you #The Avengers #the avengers imagine #avengers x fem!reader #avengers x you

[pars-ley]

Could you write a mafia au where the reader overhears the boys discussing about a rival gang wanting her in return for some deal and the boys are stressing out because they would never give her up yet the deal is of great significance? Maybe she runs away and hands herself over to the rival gang for the sake of the boys? Major angst and fluff too!💕 I love your writing so much ❤️

Gangs of Fate

Pairing: OT7 x F Reader

Summary: When a rival gang offer Bangtan a tempting deal, can you really let them refuse when it's you who's the bargaining chip.

Genre: Drabble / Angst / Fluff / OT7 / Mafia au / feat. Members of Exo

Warnings: Mentions of guns / Language

Rating: 15+ (SFW)

Word Count: 1.2k

Beta reader: @ditttiii

A/N: First off, no I am not an Exo anti, just needed a rival for the story and chose a group out of thin air. I'm so sorry this took me so long! I really hope you enjoy it and thank you so much for reading my stories!

As you stand there, listening through the ajar door, you're perplexed at what you're hearing. 

"They're toying with us." Jimin's voice sounds. "They wouldn't actually give us that much power. They need those areas."

"What if they're being honest, though?" Jungkook asks innocently.

"It doesn't matter, we're not giving them y/n." Yoongi states, his deep voice vibrating through you.

"We know that, but Jungkook's right, what if they are serious?" Jin chimes in.

There's a long pause, for a moment you're worried you've been discovered but then you hear Taehyung's silky voice slice through the silence like a knife.  "Tell me you guys aren't actually considering this?"

A screech of a chair and footsteps, you peek through the gap to see Tae pacing around the large round table they sit at, staring them all down. "Trading y/n just so we can own more streets? Big woop. We don't need them."

"We kind of do Tae, you know that. Exo has been stealing our territory for a while. We need it back. Otherwise, we hold no power." Hoseok interjects sympathetically.

Tae shakes his head, eyes wide with disbelief. "I can't believe you. I love her, we all love her. We can't trade her to them, who knows what they'll do to her. Not to mention the small fact that she is...what's it called again….oh yea, a HUMAN!" He bellows, the unexpected sound making you jump and sending your heart into overdrive. "I know we're criminals but we don't do stuff like that, jesus!" 

Taehyung scrubs at his face.

"No one wants to do this Tae, you know that," Hoseok replies. "We all care deeply for y/n and we'll protect her at all costs."

"And yet here we are discussing it as though it's an option!"

The room grows silent. Taehyung stares at them, fury in his eyes and veins bulging in his neck.

"What shall we tell them?" Jungkook asks Namjoon, eyes wide and expectant.

Namjoon sighs as everyone else turns to him. "If we refuse this, it means an all out war."

Taehyung stalks over to the table and slams a black counter down in the centre before stalking off to the other side of the room, and leaves out the adjacent doors. 

"Ok, we need to make a decision. If you think we should refuse the deal, place your voting chips in the middle." Namjoon orders.

Yoongi is next to chuck his counter down in silence. Jimin follows. Jungkook slides his alongside the others. Then Hobi and finally Jin. 

Namjoon stands and places his chip on top. "War it is."

You feel strangely calm as you walk upto the building you know Exo reside in. A strange sense of ease fills you, even though you didn't want to leave bangtan, the love you have for them will forever be unmatched and the thought of them going to war because of you? You couldn't, no, wouldn't allow it.

You hope they will understand what is going through your mind by reading the words you left for each of them. Your fate doesn’t matter anymore, you know you did whatever you could to keep your boys safe.

You confidently push the button and listen to the aggressive bell echo throughout the building.

The door swings open and you are face to face with Kai, momentarily taken back by his beauty, his pouty lips pull up into a slight smile.

"Y/n?" He offers you a puzzled expression, before peering out and scanning the night. "Are you alone?" 

You nod. "They don't know I'm here...yet. I would like to speak to your boss, please."

He pauses, eyes skimming over your face before he steps aside and indicates for you to come in with a wave. 

"I'll need to frisk you." 

You assume the position, legs and arms spread as he pats you down. He removes your gun from your thigh holster and tucks it into his belt, once he's satisfied and completely misses the small gun hidden in your boot, you follow him.

He leads you up a long, dark staircase, and your heart pounds in sync with the echo of your steps. You focus your gaze on the back of his head to stop you from losing your nerve. You are doing this for the boys.

He opens a door, flooding the stairwell with bright light, momentarily blinding you. When your eyes adjust you see him there; Suho. His swept back hair gives you an all-inclusive view of his handsome but impenetrable stare.

"Well, welcome y/n, so lovely to see you. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company? Did Bangtan finally let you out to play?" He smirks, looking pleased, as his gang mates snigger.

You resist the urge to roll your eyes, instead, choosing to place the rolled up piece of paper you carry on to the table in front of him.

He looks at it, the red ribbon the only seal between your current path and your new fate. Once he pulls the tie, that's it, your life belongs to them.

"What's this?"

"This is my contract. Please, read it through. They are my terms for me joining your gang."

His eyes widen before he masks it with a self-satisfied stare. "You will leave Bangtan?"

You nod, swallowing the lump forming in your throat. "As long as my conditions are met."

"Well let's have a peek then, shall we?" He pulls the ribbon, letting it unravel and lay limp on the table. Scanning through the document he rubs his chin.

"Hmm...interesting."

Your unwavering stare stays glued onto him. A battle of dominance. As long as you're here you will not yield to him, to any of them.

"So, as long as we don't start anything with Bangtan, you'll join us, is the jist I’m getting?

"If I have your word that they are off-limits, to all of you, then yes. I'll join you."

His mouth stretches into a broad smile, his teeth almost glinting in the light. "Deal."

Your heart sinks. You don't know what you expected. Him to refuse? Someone to rescue you? For him to simply change his mind? You knew none of those would happen, but yet, a dangerous hope still bloomed inside you.

He waves over Lay, another handsome yet serious face coming your way, bringing along with him a wax seal and a candle.

Once his seal is on that paper, there's no going back. Can you do this? Doubt rears its ugly head as you start losing your façade, your bravery trying to jump ship and abandon you, but you hone it back.

The boys beautiful faces flash in your mind, reminding you, once again why you must do this. 

He lights the candle and holds the deep, red wax into the flame, you watch as it softens and begins to drip. Your eyes follow it until it’s hovering over your contract, poised and ready.

"Once I do this, you're bound to us?" He looks up at you with questioning eyes and you reply with a curt nod.

And so, he brings the wax down, just above the page. 

A loud bang ricochets through the room, making you jump and your head snap up to greet the noise. Your heart swells before panic ensues seeing your Bangtan standing in the doorway of their enemies, swords and guns drawn. Here for you.

#btswritersclub #btswriterscollective #bangtanuniversity #ficswithluv #bangtanarmynet #btsbookclub #bts #bangtan #bangtan army #bangtan seonyeondan #bts army #bts fanfiction #bts fanfic #bangtan fanfiction #bangtan ot7 #mafia au #exo #bangtan fanfics #kpop fanfic #fanfiction

[aidemint]

reflection - bucky barnes

word count: 3k+

notes: god i just love Bucky so much asdkjahdkfjhskdjfsdf his character is kinda hard to capture because of the layers that marvel set up but i tried lol

warnings: angst turned to fluff with a lil bit of spicy kissin with a hickey 😏😏 but mostly (?) wholesome bucky n his beautiful partner 🥰✨

Ever since Bucky moved into the Avengers compound, he was always distant. He’d go out of his way to avoid close contact with anyone besides Steve, even going so far as to skip meals or lock himself up in his room all day, reading books that Steve delivered to his quarters. And despite all the pleading and beckoning from Steve’s end, it seemed like nothing could get Bucky to open up and spend at least a few hours with the people around him. 

Perhaps his self-isolation was a form of self-punishment. Perhaps he didn’t truly believe that he deserved anything, or that he wanted to be with people, that he wanted to laugh and have fun with friends. There was an amalgamation of repressed emotion behind those piercing, dark blue eyes. 

In understanding this, I was fortunate enough to get close to Bucky -- not as a means to fix him, but to understand and comfort him when and where he needed me. We’d spend nights together looking at the stars, talking about the bits and pieces of our childhoods that we could remember, or simply laying next to each other in complete silence, relishing the peaceful and serene atmosphere that the evening brought.

 And it was in that setting in which we shared our first kiss. 

From then on, we always shared a special, intimate relationship. He opened up to me, as I did to him. We were equals -- something that Bucky had never known, being trapped in the Hydra system ever since he got out of ice. 

But I’d only known him for a few months. I’d only been with him for a shorter amount of time. There was so much more to uncover, so much more that he had yet to choose to speak with me about because he just wanted to keep everything stuffed inside a tight little jar and ignore it. He wanted to ignore it because he was scared. He was afraid that the soldier would come back and he would lose everything all over again. 

He was scared of the monster, of the ravager that lived inside of his mind in the minefield of memories. 

A habit of his seemed to sprout from this inherent terror.

Whenever I talked to him, he could never keep his gaze trained on mine. His stare wandered to every inch of my face but never seemed to pass my eyes. He’d look at my forehead and the bridge of my nose at an attempt to fool me into thinking that he was lost in my eyes, but I knew. And it was the same with reflective surfaces. He’d turn away from mirrors and slightly opaque windows with a wince, hide behind his cap and stare at the ground in elevators, among other acts. 

For days, I wondered why. I even mustered the courage to ask him, but he’d deflect, then changed the topic as soon as he could. I didn’t prod, as I didn’t want to venture in a space beyond his comfort zone, so I just left it. 

Yet it still seemed to haunt me. I figured it would be an inquiry that was to remain forever unsolved, but it lingered at the back of my mind whenever I saw Bucky. This was beginning to form a bad habit. I didn’t want myself to become fixated on “helping” him in a zone that he’s clearly not comfortable talking about. I couldn’t allow for myself to spiral into obsession over such a thing.

So the question remained unanswered.

__

A week had elapsed since the thought had initially come to mind. It was midnight and I was finishing up some research about a newer perpetrator that was affiliated with a series of bombings in Berlin. As I sent the documents to Tony so he could do some deep diving, someone entered the hall, light footsteps padding towards the small kitchen island where I was sat. 

I lifted my head up only to see Bucky moving towards me. Closing my laptop, I gave him a small smile and turned to him.

“Buck? What’s up?” He sucked in a breath and let it out shakily as he took a seat on the kitchen island next to me. I couldn’t tell what emotion his expression was of, but it wasn’t something pleasant. No, his brows were furrowed and his lips were pulled into a deep frown with unexpectedly prominent wrinkles forming underneath his eyes and on either side of his nose. It didn’t foretell the beginnings of devastation, nor desolation, but a simpler feeling that I didn’t recognize. 

“I need to talk to you,” he spoke lowly. I nodded, holding my hands out so that he could place his in mine. Not minding that his gaze was lowered as to avoid mine, I still stared at him attentively, making sure that he knew that he had every bit of my attention. 

“I’m here for you, sweetheart.” I gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. “You can tell me anything.” The brunette gave a small but appreciative smile, then cleared his throat before speaking. 

“You know the question you asked me before?” I nodded. “I think I have an answer.” 

“I’m all ears,” I murmured in response, rubbing the tops of his hands with my thumbs, “Take your time.” Bucky opened his mouth as if to speak, but closed it soon after, unable to unstick the words that were lodged in his throat. 

He looked as if there was something restricting him from telling me -- a higher, greater force that forbade him from speaking about this taboo topic that was his issue. His irises, normally a deep shade of clear blue, were stormy, clouded with dark thoughts that swirled around his mind. The sight was uncomfortably familiar -- I’d seen that face before, when he first arrived at the Avengers compound. His hair was disheveled and he looked like he hadn’t showered in a week, but what stood out to me the most was how pained his gaze was. The complete and utter wreck that he was inside only showed through his stare and it hurt me more than expected. 

I never truly believed the ambition of the saying “the eyes are the window to the soul,” but for the first time, it became my mantra. How torturous was Bucky’s inner state, how unbelievably despondent he was. That chest of his lacked a spirit because it had died in the wasteland of the mind. There was no shred of hope left in his consciousness. 

There was no sparkle in his eyes. 

I wondered where that gleam had gone.

In the present, I kept waiting for his response, patiently sitting and holding his hands until he was ready. 

Bucky drew in a breath, then let it out, squeezing his eyes shut to focus on clearing his mind and seeking comfort in our bond, in the trust that he’d so courageously given to me. 

He fluttered his eyelids open once he found his place.

And then it all came out in carefully chosen words and cautious sentences.

“I hate seeing my reflection. I hate it. If there was a stronger word, I would use it, but i-it’s all that I can come up with right now. I-I just- Every time that I see myself I just think that this was the last face that people saw before they died, that this was the face plastered across the news, that this was the face that served for Hydra.

And it’s pathetic, I know. I know that I’m an Avenger now, and I know that I’ve somehow changed, and I know how much effort you put into each and every moment, in trying to understand me, and I feel so horrible every single time you look at me and I can’t seem to return that… that hopeful smile, or lovestruck gaze because I just-” He paused, an influx of emotion surging through his body. I rubbed a thumb against the back of his hand to assure him that everything was going to be alright. 

“I can’t look at you because I can’t stand seeing that… that man in your bright eyes. Those bright eyes that are filled with so much life, so much joy whenever they’re on me. I don’t- I don’t want him to be in there. I don’t want him to hurt you, (Y/N). I don’t want-” The brunette stifled a sob by tugging his bottom lip in between his teeth. My heart ached at the sight, my grip on his hands becoming tighter as I watched him come undone. He turned to me with tears in his eyes, tears that threatened to fall onto his cheeks, threatening to stain his skin with the colors of sorrow.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he whispered. A trembling breath flew out of my mouth as all the wind seemed to be knocked out of my lungs at the impact of his words. I took him into my arms, pressing his heart to mine and clenching my fists around the fabric of his shirt. Bucky slowly wrapped his arms around my body, finding comfort in my touch, resting his chin on top of my shoulder blade, drinking in my scent in heavy but silent gasps.

“Oh sweetheart…” I flattened my fingers to softly pat his back, attempting to ease him into a less panicked state. “Everything’s gonna be alright. We’re going to be okay. You’re going to be okay, I’m not going to get hurt because of you. You’re not going to hurt me, honey.” The brunette in my embrace shuddered, hopelessly clutching onto me in desperation, almost at a mad scramble for some sort of safety. 

We sat there, intertwined with one another as I whispered words of solace until Bucky’s breaths became even and his hiccups subsided, making way for a smoother airflow and a stable, steady heart rate. Unlocking my arms so that we could separate, I gingerly placed my hands on Bucky’s chest and delicately pushed away enough for me to brush all the hair out of his face and press a kiss to his forehead.

“Bucky, I want to show you something.” 

“What is it?” 

Taking his left hand, I led him to the bathroom down the long hallway on our floor. He sensed what was going on and immediately stopped in the middle of the hall, his grasp tightening around my hand. 

“(Y/N),” he spoke, “(Y/N), please.” I clasped my hands around his metal one and gave the back of it a kiss, my gaze full of sorrow as I stared at the brunette. 

“Please, Buck. Let me help you.” Bucky could hear the pleading tone about my voice. He hesitated for a moment, pausing to take a breath, but eventually gave a reluctant nod as I led him to the bathroom. Upon entry, Bucky immediately bowed his head, completely avoiding the centerpiece mirror as he moved to a spot in front of it. I gave a soft, sympathetic sigh and hopped on the table that was built into the giant vanity, making sure that my boyfriend was positioned right in front of me. 

“If you’d like, you can close your eyes, sweetheart,” I hummed, “Can you lift your head up for me?” The brunette did as he was told, fluttering his eyelids shut as I gently raised his chin so that it sat at a normal angle. Letting a breath out, I admired his features with despairing irises. I looked on at his red, puffy eyes and unkempt skin as a pang of heartache reverberated through my body. Despite how painful it was to see him in such anguish, I managed to swallow the lump in my throat and opened my mouth to speak to the broken man.

“Honey, I-I don’t know how you feel. I can’t even begin to imagine what you must have gone through during your darkest times, but I want to be there for you. I want to be there for you whenever you crash or you forget that your actions in the past don’t dictate your future. You’re not the person you were a year ago, Buck. Your face doesn’t remind me of the desolate times, but of the happiest moments in my life.” Noticing that I was getting loud, I paused for a few seconds to cool off, then continued. 

“Whenever I see this face,” I murmured, cupping Bucky’s cheeks in my palms, “I see my Bucky. I see the face of the man who has been nothing short of sweet, understanding, patient, and oh-so dear to me.” My view flitted to his hair, to which I reached for to slowly entangle my fingers in. Bucky gave a small hum as I brushed my digits through his hair, instinctively collecting the brown locks into a half-bun. His neck arched at the feeling, his shoulders sinking while I continued to play with his hair while talking freely. 

“I see the face of the man who is selfless, caring, who is willing to change and diverge from his past to strive towards a brighter future.” As I secured the half-bun in place with a hair tie, I smiled at the sight of Bucky’s expression: his eyes were still closed, but the edges of his lips were curled up in content and comfort -- a rare but always stunning sight. 

“I also see the face of the man that I love with every single bit of my heart, and who I know loves me all the same.” Finishing the look, I leaned back and reveled in the newfound freshness to the brunette’s complexion. 

“If you want, you can open your eyes, Buck.” To my complete surprise, his eyes shot open the moment those words left my mouth. Without missing a beat, he jerked forwards and looked at the mirror with sudden resolution. My heart jumped upon seeing his readiness and the sudden jerk his body took upon, but soon melted as I recognized spots of determination and wholehearted faith in his expression. 

He was slowly shifting out of his comfort zone. 

The progress made here tonight would’ve taken weeks if we attempted this a few months ago. 

It was an understatement to say that I was absolutely ecstatic about this huge leap we’d taken together. My emotions were beyond elation, beyond excited -- the mere thought that Bucky had felt comfortable enough around me to do this sparked a fire within my chest, one that sent flames rushing through my veins so that the tips of my fingers tingled, trembling as they struggled to contain the enhanced level of exhilaration. 

“Baby,” I breathed, “Oh, Bucky.” I turned around to look at the mirror and watched in pure joy as a delighted grin spread across my lover’s face, lighting up his features in the best ways possible. His gaze shifted to my reflection, then back to his, soaking in the wholeness of the image before us. 

“You’re beautiful,” he spoke, “You’re so beautiful, (Y/N).” My heart leapt to my throat as I burst into laughter, my cheeks rosy and my head spinning. He’d called me beautiful in the past, but it never felt like this -- so pure, so close to the heart and endearing as ever. The brunette stepped back to gaze at me as I giggled with a hand clapped over my mouth. 

“Doll, don’t you dare cover your face, now.” Bucky gripped both of my forearms and pulled down so that the big, dopey grin on my face was fully exposed and my laughter could finally echo freely through the chamber of the bathroom. The brunette drank in the melody of merriment with a big, dopey grin of his own as he started to slide his hands down my arms and to my thighs. 

“Hey, look at me, beautiful.” Instinctively, my gaze shifted to meet Bucky’s. The world seemed to slow moments before our eyes met. Waves of motion blurred and the background turned into white and beige gaze as my pupils started to fixate on my lover. 

There was silence, seemingly senseless blindness, even.

And then this brilliant wave of blue, the crashing of cymbals, the tidal wave that immediately swept over my eyes. 

I started to cry as I saw the way his irises glimmered underneath the bathroom lights as they bore into mine, those beautiful dark blue irises finally making their way into the depths of my soul. I cried my heart out, hot tears streaming down my flushed face, cascading down my cheeks and dripping onto my chin. God. I was breathless. 

“Doll,” he said, brushing a tear off of my cheek, “Hey, what’s wrong? Are my eyes that ugly?” I laughed at his jokes, lightly shoving him in response to his cheeky comment. 

“I-I’m just so happy,” I sobbed, “I’m so happy, Bucky.” The brunette smiled and leaned in, nearing my face as his eyes grew half-lidded. He gave my thighs a squeeze before whispering against my lips, his hot breaths bearing down on them, filled with want. 

“I am too.”

His lips pressed against mine and suddenly everything was right in the world. As my hands slid up to cup his face in my palms, I wrapped my legs around his torso, bringing him closer to me, his lower stomach pressed against my core. I hummed at the sensation of his finding their way to my waist, fingers smoothing over my curves, cherishing every small wave that they found themselves riding. 

Gasping softly as his mouth moved to layer kisses down my neck, I moved my hands to rest comfortably on Bucky’s shoulders as he started to lap at a spot at the base of my neck. Small huffs of breath and mewls spouted out of me as the brunette worked on forming a bruise.

“God, I love you,” he murmured into my skin, “I love you so much.” I could only hum in response, toes curling at the sensation of his teeth gently nipping at my collarbone as his tongue coaxed my nerves to scream in delight. 

Once he was done, he parted from my collarbone with a satisfied glint in his eyes and lifted his head to fondly gaze at my relaxed features. 

“Thank you, (Y/N). For everything,” he spoke. I kissed his forehead and beamed at him, overjoyed to finally have seen him like this -- relaxed, with a radiance about his expression that could not be attained from anything other than pure laughter. 

And with that, I pressed my lips to his again, only parting to reply to his expression of gratitude. 

“You deserve it, baby. You deserve it.”

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #marvel #avengers #the winter soldier #winter soldier #bucky barnes x reader oneshot #bucky barnes oneshot #sebastian stan x reader #sebastian stan x reader oneshot #x reader #reflection #god i love bucky so goddamn much please let me give you a big smooch #tried to capture his character but idk how well i did lol

[stupid-stew]

character names keep me alive, toh is my lifeblood.

i am literally obsessed and this show really does provide (i still have to add more smh my head dana terrace why do you do this to me jk i love it so much please never stop) COPY AND PASTED FROM DOC UNDER BREAK

NAMES INCLUDED:

FIRST NAME

LILITH

EDA

LUZ

KING

WILLOW

GUS

ASSORTED BLIGHTS

LAST NAME

BLIGHT

CLAWTHORNE

NOCEDA

PORTER

PARK

BUMP

MISCELLANEOUS

BELOS

HIERONYMUS AND BOSCHA

ADEGAST

HOOTY

OWLBERT

KIKIMORA

GWENDOLYN

RAYNE

NOTE EVERYTHING BEFORE GWENDOLYN AS OF 6/24/21 WRITTEN WITHOUT SEASON 2 KNOWLEDGE, TO BE REVISED, REVISIONS IN BOLD!

Hello and welcome to the ramblings of a mad man. Before we get into it I think you should note that I do write like I talk because I think like a talk and I write how I think, so if you are confused as to why it sounds like i’m not making sense its because I'm not making sense also my capitalization and punctuation suck so sorry about that but we don’t have time for technicalities in this house. TO ADVENTURE!

FIRST NAME

LILITH

EDA

LUZ

KING

WILLOW

GUS

ASSORTED BLIGHTS

LAST NAME

BLIGHT

CLAWTHORNE

NOCEDA

PORTER

PARK

BUMP

MISCELLANEOUS

BELOS

HIERONYMUS AND BOSCHA

ADEGAST

HOOTY

OWLBERT

KIKIMORA

GWENDOLYN

RAYNE

GILBERT

FIRST NAME

LILITH

Ok so because I'm lilith’s bitch we are gonna start with her because her name is so cool and I love her and we should be besties Lilith hmu. Anyways as most people know Lilith is a pre existing mythological character which makes this very much good because that means it’s all outlined. Most people know her as a demonic figure, which I very much dig but similar to our lovely queen of curses out here, that's not all she is. There isn’t going to be a chronological explanation of similarities and conclusions, cope. The basic gist is that Lilith was this chick with fiery red hair (this is important iykyk) who refused to be beneath or below adam, more specifically to subjugate to him, funny because of the tapestry with belos what says subjugation on it, probably a coincidence but I do not believe in coincidence right now. Anyways basically she runs off and becomes this chick who like snatches children and will make them sick if they don’t have an amulet with the names Senoy, Sansenoy, or Semangelof on them, thats a different story but what I find interesting is this one passage,

“(12) Her nobles shall be no more, nor shall kings be proclaimed there; all her princes are gone. (13) Her castles shall be overgrown with thorns, her fortresses with thistles and briers. She shall become an abode for jackals and a haunt for ostriches. (14) Wildcats shall meet with desert beasts, satyrs shall call to one another; There shall the Lilith repose, and find for herself a place to rest. (15) There the hoot owl shall nest and lay eggs, hatch them out and gather them in her shadow; There shall the kites assemble, none shall be missing its mate. (16) Look in the book of the LORD and read: No one of these shall be lacking, For the mouth of the LORD has ordered it, and His spirit shall gather them there. (17) It is He who casts the lot for them, and with His hands He marks off their shares of her; They shall possess her forever, and dwell there from generation to generation.”

And there are separate part of this that I find relevant, especially the description of the location, i’m not all that familiar with symbolism of animals in religious texts, so i’m gonna take it at face value and say that this is more or less a description that could be given to the physical owl house itself, sort of a place for people who don’t fit in, its a little messy and I guess one could say overgrown, but it’s a place for anyone, a place to rest now hopefully for Lilith away from the coven, there shall the Lilith repose. On top of that we see the “the hoot owl…” and you’re probably thinking what that so crazy wacko because like why are they referring to Lilith as the hoot owl isn't Eda the owl lady, yes she is. That’s why the actual meanings of lilith’s name that come from her mythological depiction as a demon lady are so important. We have night monster, night owl, night spectre, vampires, night hag, night creature, nightjar (which is another kind of bird), and night bird, all of these seem to fit lilith’s dark aesthetic very nicely which is very good for her, but there are two other ones, hot owl and screech owl, which draw her closer to Edaand away from the coven and her depiction in the mid-later episodes of the show as a monster for cursing eda, but also the name night monster could come into play if while sharing the curse Lilith acquired some of its traits, similar to Ed aas the owl beast. Ultimately, we have this little red head girl who eventually fights back against the men who are attempting to get her to be under them, for the character that is belos, for the other Lilith that is adam, god, and his angels, and now hopefully both of them will find solace and repose among the owls in a place they never thought they’d belong. All this talk of owls and god brings us into the other clawthorne baddie:

Lilith did find her repose! I love her staying in the owl house, get it queen oh yuh.

EDA

For this I'm going to use her full name edalyn, because you know like that’s just how it be it is her name. There isn’t a wiki page for her name like there is for Lilith which makes this a little bit harder but the general consensus seems to be that it means something along the lines of “gift of god”, which I find very interesting. If you are going to name a child gift of god i’m assuming that you are referring to the child themselves, but I don’t think that really applies to eda. I’m not religious, but its my impression that someone who lies, cheats, pranks, and steals their way to the top and isn’t exactly the most responsible witch on the isles and might not be the best gift god could give. I do really love Eda though, her character flaws are still a part of her character, but I think this refers to her powers. Eda considers herself to be the boiling isles gift to magic, which I mean like, have you seen the woman. In agony of a witch we see her at what probably 30% of her power with how much the curse was already tolling on her and how much magic she was probably using to fight it off, and like goddamn. She was almost beating lilith, definitely beating the shit out of her, but she was almost defeating Lilith who was at her full power, and that is just a fraction of what she used to be able to do. Her powers were a gift of god, and I think that the loss of them will greatly affect her. She’s already admitted that she doesn’t know how to do much without her magic, and I think going straight from the second most powerful witch on this isles to having no power at all is going to be incredibly taxing on her, physically and mentally.

Luckily for her the name edalyn also means patience, another thing about her name is that it not only means gift of god, but also similar things like gifted by the gods or even goddess, and this draws a connection to Lilith who is named after a demonic figure, casted out for having defied god, they are quite literally polar opposites on the name spectrum, and we see that a lot in the show, they are completely different people, I mean have you looked at them they don’t even look related, but the funnier thing is that their personalities do the same thing. You’d expect Edain her youth to be a gift from the devil, just ask principal bump, and Lilith seemed to be a goody two shoes who worked her ass off, their names could be switched based off their characters alone.

A random baby name site I found said that :

“Persons with the name edalyn are usually highly flexible and well equipped to making and accepting change throughout their life. They always seek excitement and are sometimes a bit of a risk taker. They are imaginative, and often, through their unconventional way of thinking, are naturally able to solve complex problems with ease. They are quick thinkers and observers who are clever, analytical and versatile”

Which I mean like very much applies to eda, she takes change like a champ, either genuinely or by pretending she’s ok with everything, and is always seeking excitement. Like literally all of the time. Always. I think she takes felonies as a compliment, and one of the biggest changes in her life that she genuinely was able to adapt to and appreciate was

OH MY GOD HER LEARNING THE NEW GLYPHS WAS SO CUUUUTTTEEE, I love her being able to adapt, she really is doing well. As the beginning of separate tides shows, she’s working around it, and is doing a damn good job, living up to her name.

LUZ

Ok I think at this point everyone knows that at this point the name Luz means light, and if you didn't, oopsies now you do. The character Luz was named and designed after a real life person the miss dana terrace knew at the time she was starting to really think about the show, Luz ’s personalty comes more from dana herself and we love that, but the character has really started to grow into her name. This is made most obvious when the first spell Luz learns is the light glyph, not only coming into her own as a witch, but also starting to live up to her name, which along with light also has to do with “Our Lady of Light”, which is the virgin mary, fitting her right in with the other biblical names we got going on here. I really want to stress that I know next to zero about religion, and all of the connections I am making come from wikipedia, so bare with me here. But most of the time mary seems to be this pure, saint like figure, which I think is what a lot of people see Luz as, especially on the isles. I’m going to flat out say that this is in no way meant to pass off Luz as simple minded, pure, or oblivious, because we have seen what that girl is willing to do, she faced death and poked him in the with an ice cicle. In terms of life on the isles, however, she is more or less pure and sheltered, she’s completely new to the world she’s in, but she does quickly adapt, and shows more of her strong side, and remains a good person throughout all of it, taking losses as they come, and not letting them remain losses at the same time.

Back to the whole light thing, we already touched on the whole literal bit of her and the light spell, but can you think of a better way to describe Luz ? She literally brings light everywhere she goes, even Eda admits that she’s changed things for the better, for everyone around her too. Willow got a new friend, probably the first friend she’s had in a long time, and even got to begin repairing her relationship with amity, and got placed in the plant track so she could do the things she loves, all because of Luz . Edagot to grow as a person and a mentor, and finally got someone willing to accept all her eda-ness, unconditionally, someone to really care about that really cares about her back, all because of Luz . Amity got a friend who cares about her, not just her family name and money, someone who supports her and will do anything for her because she is her friend, and a bit of self discovery along the way for amity, all because of Luz . Not a single person on the isles who has had more than 2 minutes of interaction with Luz hasn’t had their lives improved, even belos got his portal, and the thing is that even characters who people might not even consider changed have been, characters such as

Luz my beloved, she seems a little bit less of a light this season, and i do mean little. That’s totally fine though, it’s expected, i didn’t want her to just be this bright shining star after the events of the last two episodes of season 1, and appreciate her going and starting to take the fantasy of the isles with more than just a grain of salt. Obviously like in escaping expulsion, she’s still trying her best to make everything better and make friends with everyone, but there’s something a little different about it and i’m here for it tbh.

KING

The name king itself is obvious, he is royalty, the king of demoNS HIMSELF ASMODEUS hahahaha pulled a sneaky on you now accept my ideas as your own. I am on a mythological name kick, deal with it. The most important thing here is in the bible, asmodeus poses himself as a false god, which I know is something we have all considered with king, that he might be a full on liar, not be a king of anything and is just your ordinary street demon, it’s even come up in the show with him calling himself the king of artists and Luz asking him if he was just making it up at this point. It’s a good theory, I can see it, and this could be used as proof. There is also another legend that paints him as a good natured dude, who eventually banishes the king by literally throwing him, and then he loses his powers and is banished, but this is also the same legend where he marries Lilith and that is not something I am down for. There is another text in which he tells the king (the same one he threw in the other one) that his kingdom will one day be divided and the king does not believe him, and this is the same text where he admits to hating water and birds because they remind him of god. Lets think class, who has the god name and is related to birds here? King’s name by itself holds true to his character, who (regardless of if it is truthful or not) holds himself as if he is a king, and he isn't the only one with a name like that, there is also

WILLOW

Ok I know we all thought it, willow, the plant girl, how fiendishly clever. This also happens to be the only descriptor for her name I could find, which is totally fine because I think it’s a very cute name and willow is also very cute. This means we get to go into the symbolism of the willow tree wwwooooOOOOO aren’t you so very excited I know I am. Its kind of interesting, willow trees seem to match the character, understanding, warm, a safe space really, but most of all the ability to let go of pain and suffering, sometimes outright ignore it, and move on. Willow does always say out of sight out of mind does she not? She is willing to ignore, even excuse people bullying her, be it bosha or even amity, and the moment she got the chance her inner willow decided to try and literally burn the painful memories she had, willing to cause damage just to forget. Willow as a character is very willing to move on like nothing happened most of the time, key word most because another thing about willows is the ability to grow from the pain. Before understanding willow, we never really saw willow stand up for herself until she really had to, but hy the end of the episode she is willing to tell amity that she isn’t willing to fully forgive her, but she’s willing to grow and try. Heck, we see this over the entire first season, we see this little girl who can barely pull it together long enough to stand up for herself grow into this amazing character willing to publicly oppose the emperor and break into his castle for her friend, she tried to full out attack Lilith when 19 episodes earlier she wasn’t able to stand up to amity for bullying her. And I am in no way calling willow weak, she never was, she just needed to find the ability to show everyone that she’s strong, god I love willow so much, you wanna know who else loves willow?

GUS

Gus, my main man, love you but for this we are gonna have to use the full on augustus sorry babes. The name augustus means majestic, or venerable, which while I must say that the illusion of kiki doing the worm was probably one of the most majestic things I have ever seen, I’m going to focus on venerable a bit more here. Venerable is a big word, it means “accorded a great deal of respect, especially because of age, wisdom, or character.”, which for gus the age part might play a smaller part here, but he is good as what he does, Luz and willow both respect him, Eda Respects him, he’s this little dude who is younger than everyone and has to rely on his ability to succeed, not only with his power but with his personality. Gus seems to be confident in himself, communicating with everyone regardless of who they are or what power they hold, similarly to willow he was willing to do anything to help Luz , leading into the second description of venerable, “heroic in nature”. Now, you might be wondering, bestie where ever did you get that description, it totally wasn’t from a religious page okyesitwas but that's fine because being pronounced venerable guarantees a spot in heaven so get it bestie. Overall, the general meaning for augustus is that they are strong, respectable, and powerful, which takes us right into the

Gus, shawty, ily but please stop the obsession with death babes ur starting to scare me. I hope with the upcoming Gus content in TTLGR we will see more of him growing into his powers and such.

ASSORTED BLIGHTS

The blight first names bring me joy so I am putting amity last because I think its really funny, starting off with alador, the name alador evokes diplomacy, correctness, and confidence. We know zilch about alador, but if the vibes of the blight family have anything to say it’s definitely something along those lines. The name odalia means wealth, which I mean like have you seeeen blight manor? Also back at it again with the fact that it’s a variant of the name odilia, like the saint olilia which I don't have ties for you right now because again, we know nothing about her. Edric also means wealth, fortune, riches, powerful, you get the vibes, same thing with emira which means commander, or prince, princess, leader, or star. So you know like we have all these super powerful names happening, and then, oh boy and then we get to little miss perfect herself, amity blight. It means friendship, or harmony. If I was her I would be so mad at my parents like yall have these mad powerful names and I got stuck with friendship? Hand me the emancipation papers. You know what they say, friendship is the real magic (even if no longer taught in schools due to budget constraints). I hope that this leads more into season 2 with amity working on her friendships and ultimately her relationships in general, which we got a bit of already with her working on repairing her relationship with willow, and making the moves to cut off old toxic friendships and moving into more genuine ones with willow, Luz , and gus. I guess you could say that the only thing ALL the blights have in common with each other is their

They are rich assholes, alador is a little wacko, odalia is hot asf dana seriously what the hell man that was out of pocket. The only thing about alador that lives up to his name is his money, odalia seems more obsessed with image and money, and i too am obsessed with her image literally boy what the hell boy.

LAST NAME

BLIGHT

The word blight by itself means a plant disease which boy oh boy can you believe how nicely that fits into amity bullying willow because I sure can. Outside of just the plant bit it overall just means like something that damages another thing, and this works beautifully for each member of the family. The parents are damaging their children, the twins just causing general damage, and amity and her goddamn relationships, but fortunately that whole plant thing brings us into the next couple of last names

CLAWTHORNE

The last name clawthorne means “cold or exposed thorn tree” which had me kind of like what the heck so I went off and had some fun and got you some presents that I think are funny, so there was this guy right, his name was joseph clawthorne, and he created the term whiffenpoof, which is the name for a wildly fictitious animal, things like a jackalope, or even a griffin with spider breath, though I guess that would be the work of a

NOCEDA

Back again with the trees good lord, it means field of nut trees, so again I went into prominent people an found this guy named jorge noceda sanchez, he was a painter and some of his works are kinda baller actually it seems like something that would fit in on the isles, but also not all of the names have a deeper meanings, names like

PORTER

Ok I am like pretty sure this was just meant to be a play on the fact that gus’ dad’s name is perry and is a reporter, get it, perry porter, perry porter, reporter, but nonetheless I did some digging because why the heck not, it means doorkeeper, or gate keeper, someone who guards something like an important building, which honestly I think this would be a good last name for hooty if he ever gets one, but again not all of these are important names at the moment, or maybe they won't ever be at all, names like

PARK

At first I was kinda like l m a o willow park plant girl hahahahah plants in the park parks have trees willow is a tree but then I remembered that someone pointed out that park is a traditionally korean surname and then like a week later disney posted about it for aisian pacific american heritage month which kind of confirmed it, and I don’t know if the whole intention behind it was to establish willow as representation or not, but the surname park by itself means gourd and willow I am so sorry that is so unfortunate LMAOSIFN

BUMP

To be honest I was not expecting bump to have a last name that meant anything but it means swift walker and I think thats funny so you have to know it now

MISCELLANEOUS

BELOS

BIIIITCH LISTEN UPPPP there is a butt tone of mythology surrounding his name and its mostly a different form of it, belus, that is referenced, but same thing different shape. Most of his depiction is as a great king or ruler, in babylonian mythology being the equivalent of zeus of jupiter, which liiikkkkkeeeoajolnjojnkjakjavnjfvdfkjf but its fine everything is great its all ok most importantly, he is recognized as the god or ruler of war, and in that same mythology he lived in babylon, which “... was originally water, and called a sea. But Belus put an end to this, and assigned a district to each, and surrounded Babylon with a wall; and at the appointed time he disappeared.” and idk about you but the smell of him assigning a divide and disappearing smells sour like funky to me babes

HIERONYMUS AND BOSCHA

I am only putting this here because the fact that it’s totally a play on hieronymus bosch makes me cackle and you all have to know it thank you

ADEGAST

B-but brevyn he was only there for like one episode, yeah ok and? Radegast is the slavic god of hospitality, and there is no host like a host that pretends to take you on a mythical quest and then tries to eat you and your mentor and her deranged cat demon, ok? His name translates to “dear guest” or “welcomed guest” and I mean I think if my host tried to suck me into some fantasy would delusion i’d feel pretty welcomed

HOOTY

He is an owl

OWLBERT

He is also an owl

KIKIMORA

First and foremost, she is a little night gremlin who hates children and I think that really fits her, but she is also a little house demon, who is very difficult to get to leave, have we seen her outside the castle? Will she be a spy along with the mask next season? She also has a name that means nightmare or night demon, similar to a certain other night creature we might have heard of a while ago. She tried to strangle children and I love that for her,and she is described as a little old ugly messy haired lady and I feel like her current character has the personality of one so i’ll take it, but what really gets me is her villain origin story, which is that she "grows up with a magician in the mountains. From dawn to sunset the magician’s cat regales Kikimora with fantastic tales of ancient times and faraway places, as Kikimora rocks in a cradle made of crystal. It takes her seven years to reach maturity, by which time her head is no larger than a thimble and her body no wider than a strand of straw. Kikimora spins flax from dusk and to dawn, with evil intentions for the world.”

GWENDOLYN

Ok, the queen herself, haven’t met her yet but like who knows. Not really a whole lot here (my ears are ringing oops one sec ok i’m back hi) anyways um uh rings? Her name right off the bat has a lot to do with rings, and really that only applies to eda, because her ring was a big thing for her, she gave it to lilith, we all watched wing it like witches you know what’s up, but i mean like was that gwen’s ring? I really wanted the hand on eda’s wall to be gwen’s, very upset to see she has all of her body parts so far. I am also not sure if that’s how it’s spelled, but it means the same thing anyways. Also meaning fair or blessed, any woman who created both eda and lilith is probably mad powerful and we love to see it, also she’s a beastkeeper and i like i want to talk about that with eda’s curse but now is not the time for shenanigans (that’s a lie every time is the time for shenanigans i’m just exhausted)

RAYNE

Bitch, sorry, ok listen like um sidebar I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS CHARACTER AND YOU ALL NEED TO KNOW IT but also at this point i’m not really sure about this character, is this their name, is that even how it’s spelled, girl idfk but like whooptydooo I do what I want so cope. Right now, we are assuming that they are the new bard coven head character, and like let me tell you the way that I am fully pissing my pants atm like bestie, anyways, if spelled rayne, then it means counsel or song, and this is why, do you see why this is why we spell it like this? It’s also scandanavian which means like nothing but it’s cool. This spelling fits because like counsel, head of the bard coven, you get it it’s fine, and then song, also head of the bard coven, you know. It fits so well, especially since this is supposed to be a friend from eda’s past, and like is supposed to try and recruit eda for a rebellion against the emperor in the episode eda’s requiem, i cannot convey to you how goddamn excited I am like there are not enough words in this realm or any others to tell you how prepared i am for this character to rock my world.

GILBERT

I AM S O B B I N GGGGG apparently one of willow’s dad’s names is gilbert and that is literally so cute I cannot like actually this knowledge makes up for coronavirus anyways it means bright promise and idk what that even has to do with anything but I love it and you should to omg

Now i have to go update the other characters see you in hell <3

#the owl house #luz noceda #lilith clawthorne #eda clawthorne #gwendolyn clawthorne #amity blight #alador blight #odalia blight #blight twins #willow park #gus porter #principal bump #rayne #hooty #character names

[firefly464]

The Gilded Cage - Chapter 9

hehe i’m very excited :) also thank you pami for doing write time with me that was super poggers and awesome you’re so cool 

Written in collaboration with @pamiiap​​ :D Thank you @tea-with-veth​ for beta reading, and editing :D

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~~~

Three days. That’s how long Eret stayed with the computer. Three days of nothing but staring at the same screen, desperately trying to test out different commands to see what would work. Three days of sitting in a dark, cold room, with nothing to keep him warm. 

Over the past three days, Eret had barely slept. 

He’d lingered there for hours, the clicking of the keyboard and flashing of the screen filling his senses. All he could think about was this could be his way home. A way to end this and leave it all behind. Maybe he could wake up and it would all be a dream. 

A dream.

Dream.

Dream was his friend. Dream was…

Dream was.

After hours of clawing at the keys for an escape, he hesitated for a moment. He curled his hands into fists and relaxed them, trying to release the tension he had. 

Instead of typing commands, he typed:

Why?

If anyone is reading, send me something

A sign, preferably

Tell me I’m not alone

Give me something

Anything

The shaking in his hands slowed, the edges of his vision melted away. He watched as his world faded into darkness.

~~~

“Hey, chat!” He says, on impulse. “How’s it been? Feels like forever.”

“Sorry for the long hiatus, life’s been throwing curveballs at me.” He continues.

Don’t worry!

You’re fine!

Its okay :D

“I hope you guys have been alright. Don’t know what we’ll be doing with this stream so I’m going to start a little poll in the chat here…”

Time melts away as he talks to his stream, he knows that. That’s how streams usually go. It happens in a blur, the eyes of thousands of people aren’t on him anymore. The stream has ended.

He falls into nothingness.

~~~

Journal Entry #1

I found the Console, still can’t get back home yet though. I’m still unsure on how it works, but I know, I know, that I can get home. It’s kind of like a command block, you can input code but it needs some sort of activation key to trigger it. Haven’t found that yet.

I’ll update this as I find more information.

Journal Entry #2

Text commands seem to work, more extreme commands need the trigger. I really should make some sort of command list, that might help. 

Journal Entry #3

I’ve made a list on a separate paper. I’m running out of space.

Journal Entry #6

What could the trigger be? I need to find it.

Journal Entry #8

I haven’t slept in three days. I need to head back.

Journal Entry #9

Nothing new as of the moment. I’m going to start working on a trigger to activate this thing.

Journal Entry #10

I wonder if I could undo whatever Dream did to everyone’s memories? I wonder if I could make it so that they didn’t hate me anymore. 

Journal Entry #13

I can’t sleep. 

Journal Entry #15

Going home back again. Bad’ll still have muffins, I hope. (If George didn’t eat them already)

Journal Entry #16

George ate my muffins. Prick >:(

Journal Entry #17

Packing for another trip to the Console today. Bad made extra muffins to compensate for the atrocity that happened yesterday. (Sidenote: George had his muffin privileges removed for a day)

Journal Entry #20

Bad’s worried. I wouldn’t blame him. I don’t think I can blame myself either. I have to get home.

Journal Entry #24

I’m here. Glad no-one’s tampered with my list. I’ve been gathering some redstone supplies to try and make a prototype trigger.

Journal Entry #27

I’ve tried several combinations of levers and buttons and redstone but nothing seems to activate it. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.

Journal Entry #28

Nothing’s working.

Journal Entry #30

Can’t sleep again.

Journal Entry #32

I don’t think I’ve eaten. 

Journal Entry #33

I have to go ho back. I need to be more careful, George and Bad are getting worried. I don’t want them to be worried about me. They don’t even know me.

Journal Entry #34

Do I even know them?

Journal Entry #37

I won’t go to the Console for a couple of days. That might calm them down.

The weather’s getting warmer actually. I think spring might be almost here. Not sure if seasons might not work the same.

Journal Entry #38

George says it’s already mid-spring. I didn’t realize I’d been here for so long

Journal Entry #???

I want to go home. 

~~~

Eret closed the small book with a sigh. Ever since he had found the console several months ago, he had tried to do his best to keep a record of what he found. 

However, the journal had quickly turned into a place for him to pour his emotions, rather than document his findings. All of his actual records were with the console itself, where he could better keep track of them. 

He placed the small book in his bag, before swinging it over his shoulders. He needed to go back. Even if everything about the small, dark room made him want to scream, it was his only hope. His only way of potentially returning home. 

Gently, he pushed back the small curtain that separated his room from the rest of the community house. Even after several months of staying here, he still hadn’t bothered to make an actual room. After all, it wasn’t like he had a ton of free time. 

Almost all of his time was spent either at the console, or digging out tunnels underneath L’manberg. God, he hated those tunnels. 

As he gently stepped out into the main room, he quickly glanced around, checking to see if the coast was clear. 

It wasn’t as if he didn’t trust Bad or George, in fact it was quite the opposite. He just… He hated making them worry. He knew how much his frequent visits bothered both of them, and so lately he had begun trying to quietly slip away. 

He was almost at the front door of the community house, when a voice called out to him. 

“Eret?”

He froze. 

Shit. 

Maybe, if he kept walking, whoever it was would just… let him go. Maybe he could pretend like he didn’t hear them, and he could just move on with his day. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to figure out the best course of action. 

“Eret? Are you alright?” 

Fuck. 

He slowly turned around, trying his best not to grimace when he saw Bad standing at one of the other doors. 

“Hey…” The word sounded forced, even to him. “Uh, I was just… um…” 

Bad’s face fell ever so slightly as he noticed the small bag slung across Eret’s back. 

“Are you going to the forest again?” Eret tried his best to ignore the way that Bad’s voice was tinged with a slight disappointment. It would only make him feel guilty. 

“Uh, yeah…” 

“Were you just going to leave again? Without telling anyone?” Although there was no accusation in his tone, the words still cut deep, acting as a harsh reminder of his own actions. 

He shifted his weight from foot to foot, trying to dispel some of the nervous energy that was swirling around him. “I didn’t want to worry you guys anymore… I left a note upstairs though, I swear!” 

That was a lie. There was no note, there never was a note. But if claiming that there was helped to ease Bad’s worries, then that was what he was going to do. 

He could tell that Bad didn’t believe him. Although his friend would never actually call him out on it, he could still tell from the way his shoulders slumped ever so slightly, or the small frown that crossed his face. 

“Ok… Well, before you head out again, me and George were hoping to give you something,” Bad’s voice was filled with a forced cheerfulness, complete with a matching smile. 

Eret’s head shot up in disbelief. What on earth did they possibly have to give him? They had already done so much to help him, what more could there possibly be? 

Tendrils of guilt began to worm their way through Eret’s mind, reminding him of all the ways his friends had helped him over the past months, and all the ways he had failed to return their kindness. How was he supposed to accept yet another gift? 

“I really don’t need anything, you guys have already done enough for me,” he protested, knowing full well that nothing he could say would actually dissuade Bad. 

“Nonsense, this is something that we wanted to do for you. Hold on, I’ll go get George. Don’t go anywhere!” he cried out, already rushing out of the building. 

Eret let out a long sigh at the final sentence. Of course Bad didn’t trust him to not run off. 

Why would he?

~~~

Despite every instinct in his body that was telling him to run, Eret found himself rooted to the spot where he stood. When Bad returned nearly 10 minutes later with George behind him, he had hardly moved. 

“So… What exactly is going on?” Even to his own ears, his voice sounded forced and strained. 

“Well, George and I were talking,” Bad started, already rummaging through one of the many chests that lined the walls, “and we realized that you’re going to be king soon, right?” 

Eret couldn’t help but flinch at the reminder. To him, the title of king was nothing more than a reminder of what he had lost. A reminder of the pain he had caused for his friends. A reminder of the pain that he would continue to cause. 

But still, he couldn’t let his own reluctance show. If he remembered correctly, becoming king had meant a lot to his alter-ego. Hell, he had gone so far as to betray his friends, just so that he could secure the crown. 

And so he forced a smile onto his face, doing his best to swallow the bitter taste in his mouth. “I mean, yeah. I’m pretty sure it’s not going to happen for a while, but… yeah that was the idea. Why?” 

Bad’s grin grew wider, his face alight with barely contained excitement as he continued searching through different chests. Even George, who rarely showed any outward excitement around Eret, had a small smile on his face. 

“You’ll see, it’s a surprise. I just gotta find it first” 

“I uh, I think it's hanging up downstairs,” George interjected, already moving towards the stairs, “I can go grab it, hold on.” 

He was gone only for a few moments before he emerged at the top of the staircase, holding something behind his back, hidden from Eret’s line of sight. “Do you wanna explain what it is?” He asked, his question clearly directed at Bad. 

Bad nodded, then turned back to Eret, pride showing in his eyes. “Well, we wanted to get you something nice for your coronation. I know it probably isn’t going to be for a while, but you’ve seemed really stressed lately, and we wanted to do something nice for you!” 

George grinned, revealing a long, extravagant coat from behind his back. “Sapnap and Punz helped out with collecting dyes as well.” 

The silk coat was a deep shade of crimson, embellished with gold accents. It felt nice to touch but it was also durable. The inside of the coat was lined with an insulating fur that pokes over the collar, making the inside of it warm. 

He glanced up at both George and Bad, his brow furrowed in slight confusion. “Wait… Wait is this… What?” 

“It’s a coat! I know it gets cold at night so we made you this. Not to mention, a king should look the part.”

Tears started to form in his eyes, threatening to spill over as he gently took the coat. “Thank you” He forced out, unsure of what else he was supposed to say. 

“Go on then,” George said. “Put it on!”

Slowly, he took off the tattered L’manburg uniform, bloodied and stained with dirt, and put on the new coat. It felt… different. But, a good different. 

“Thank you.”

~~~

Several days had passed since Eret had last left the community house. Several days since George and Bad had gifted him the red coat. 

George could tell that their friend's absence was starting to chip away at Bad, his worry festering underneath his skin. By the third day, George had had enough. 

He quickly packed two bags, complete with everything that they would need for a long journey. He might not have known where exactly their friend had gone, but they knew the general direction. That would have to be enough. 

“Hey Bad!” He called out, his friend quickly coming down the stairs of the community house. 

“Whats up?” 

“Come on, we’re gonna go look for him.” 

~~~

Neither of them had any idea what they were looking for, all they knew was that it was somewhere in the eastern dark oak forest. They had spent nearly a week searching every nook and cranny of the woods, never finding any trace of their friend. 

That is, until they stumbled across a pathway. The dirt had been worn down, leaving a trail that they could follow.

The path had led to a small clearing, with a dark building in the center. 

Both George and Bad had recognized the strange material almost instantly. Bedrock. Eret had somehow found a building made of bedrock.

What the hell. 

The area surrounding the building was devoid of any human life, the only exception being a lone horse that was sleeping in the warm sun. 

“Well, I think we found him…” Bad’s voice was filled with concern. 

As they stepped into the strange building, they saw the room completely empty except for a machine in the middle. And unconscious at the desk, was…

“Eret?!”

~~~

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Taglist :D (feel free to send me an ask if you wanna be added) @hismilw @violet--majesty @chiera99 @koi-boye @waffle-time-god @miss-oleum @porkgavo @crafted-dreams​ @harley-the-pancake​ @lemonaid-ruru  @g3rmpy​​ @somethingtocrowabout  @bee-tubbo​​ @firepowder​​ @jayebird ​ @rayjayo  @carry-on-my-wayward-why​ ​ @echo-delta​ ​ @star-fruit23 ​ @brieflyburningbaguette 

#alright you can have some fluff #as a treat #the real world #the gilded cage #split realities #eret #the_eret #dream smp #dsmp #mcyt #mcyt au #my writing #badboyhalo #georgenotfound

[prettywordsyouleft]

To Be Continued - Part 7

Summary: As an author, you had created Brian Kang for your current trilogy series to represent the ultimate man that everyone would love, along with Charli Evers - your female protagonist. What you hadn’t expected was for him to find a way out of the story and begin shaping up your world instead

Pairing: Brian Kang x female writer (ft. Park Sungjin)

Genre: writer au / romance / fantasy

Warnings: fictional characters coming to life / a bit of angst here and there / Sungjin as a cop (or does that only affect me?) >_>

Word count: 2198

Preview | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Epilogue

It was as if you were writing a new novel. Instead of focusing on how Charli Evers would finally get with her battered beau, you were at the peak of experiencing all the emotions and excitement that came from a new romance. You were enjoying playing the main protagonist for the first time in your life as well.

“What are you doing?” Brian asked with a hint of amusement in his tone. You leaned in even closer, already entangled together on the couch after watching a movie, and lifted your index finger.

“Counting.”

“Counting what?”

“How many lashes I gave you,” you murmured, your gaze honing in on one eye. You let out a whistle when you finished. “I gave you so many! Why are you this perfect?”

“I don’t see myself as perfect at all. You sure made a point of that in my creation, too.”

“How? You’re handsome, protective, honest, playful, charming, sensitive, and did I mention handsome?”

Brian’s lips curled up some from your description. “I think you might have said it twice.”

“Because you truly are that good looking!” you surmised, and Brian chuckled.

“Is being handsome all that matters to you?”

“Well, no.” You blinked a couple of times whilst trying to come up with an answer that didn’t make you feel shallow. The truth was, you really did enjoy looking at him a whole lot.

Over the past two weeks, that was what you had done an awful lot of. No matter what mundane task Brian did, he looked exceptional doing it. His laugh was music to your ears, and his voice made your heart flutter constantly. Any time he smiled, you worried your knees would give way, and on the rare chance they actually did, the way he caught you so easily with his strong embrace had you swooning further.

You wondered if this was all a dream. Instead of Brian coming out of your laptop, and your novel, perhaps you had died from your illness. That would explain why everything lately had felt so heavenly at his side.

Either way, you didn’t want to wake up or move on to the next realm. This was where you wanted to remain forever.

Especially when he kissed you. Leaning in to break you out of your reverie, Brian’s luscious lips pecked yours twice, a chuckle vibrating out of him when you realised you had zoned out again. “You’re too adorable.”

“Hardly.”

“If you keep calling me handsome, I’m allowed to call you how I see you.”

You sighed heavily and attempted to pull away from the man. “I don’t want to be just adorable if you’re handsome, Brian.”

“What do you mean?”

“Charli Evers is beautiful! She’s stunning and successful and has a body that would make any male swoon over her. She’s a goddess, and I’m just adorable.”

“You’re really adorable when you’re jealous,” he mused and shook his head, reaching out to pull you back in close to him again. “Charli isn’t real like you are.”

“What if she comes to her senses and finds out that you’ve left that world. She could come here, and it would be no competition between us!”

“You’re right. It wouldn’t be. Because I’d choose you over her every time.”

You scoffed loudly and pulled yourself away again, going over to the kitchen to get a drink of water to cool down. It was hard enough having insecurities as a person, and when you had lived alone, you barely thought of them, too busy up in worlds like Captivated to truly care. Your flaws, at points, made good fodder for some character traits, but you never wrote yourself fully into a world. You had come close in Destined, but even the main protagonist there was far more charming than you were to hook Park Jinyoung as she had.

Brian’s arms slipped around your waist, and he dropped his chin onto your shoulder. “It’s all about perception. You see Charli as superior to you. But she’s the type of woman you see in a magazine. Flawless, beautiful, and whilst you no doubt have made her relatable to your fans of the series as a person, as she does have a good soul, you are real. You aren’t sculpted to perfection. You aren’t going to star on the front cover of any Vogue or Marie Claire. Instead, you are starring as my leading lady.”

“I’m not sure if I’m flattered or not,” you mumbled, turning around to face Brian. “Maybe I want to be on the front cover.”

“It’s not in your personality to stand out like that. You much prefer this lifestyle. Domestic and homely and comfortable.”

“So she’s sexy, and I’m homely,” you deducted, whilst Brian groaned loudly.

“Can’t we go back to the part where we were thinking of just us? I don’t like you comparing yourself to someone else.”

“I’m sorry,” you admitted, lowering your gaze from his. Brian had a habit of making sure you were always looking at him, and he easily fished out your gaze again, smiling gently when he caught your eye. You sighed. “I guess whilst I made you to be the dream guy for me, and those who read my series, I never quite realised the impact you would have on my world if I actually had you.”

“If I have to make a point of telling you how much I appreciate and adore you daily, then so be it.”

“You shouldn’t have to though,” you pointed out, going around him and heading into your office. Brian followed you and leaned against the threshold as you sat down in your chair.

He nodded his head. “No, I suppose I shouldn’t. But isn’t that what makes a relationship work? I support you, and you support me. When one of us feels lower than the other, then it’s important to make sure they feel cherished and loved.”

“Loved?” you repeated, your eyes widening at his choice of words. Brian cleared his throat noisily, looking around your room as opposed to keeping eye contact. You smirked. He was cute when he was embarrassed.

“Isn’t it time to write, Miss Writer?”

“Perhaps I just got some inspiration for my starting point of Eternity. I mean, in the story, Charli Evers is cherished and loved by Brian Kang, isn’t she?”

“Have your fun at my expense.”

“It’s all those good lines I breathed into you. No wonder you make the world swoon, Brian. You’re full of the perfect lines to make any girl weak at the knee,” you told him as you opened your document for the final piece in this story. Admittedly, it was blank and had remained that way for some time. You knew it was because you were too busy with Brian in person that you couldn’t possibly think about writing about him as well.

However, you had received notice from Lily earlier in the day about your next deadline, and so you had promised after one movie tonight, you would end your evening with starting the next novel.

Glancing over at Brian who was still in the doorway, you smiled, and he nodded. “As long as you know it’s your knees I want to make weak every time. Have a good session, my love.”

However, two days later, you were still staring at a blank page. It wasn’t without trying, of course. You wrote, only to erase the sentence immediately. You told yourself to just let the words flow out and not edit them until you were done. Except nothing but a trickle of nonsense made it onto the document each time and after every gruelling session, you found yourself exhausted, mentally, and from simply staring at a blank page.

In all your years of creative writing, you had never been as stumped as you were now. It made no sense! You were living and breathing your own romance in life. Surely, the amount of affection Brian poured over you would easily inspire you enough to write it out. And generally, when you stepped into your office to write, it came from feeling inspired and uplifted to write about a world where love conquered all.

As soon as you were in front of your laptop, however, words failed you.

You had tried everything, from changing your writing schedule to practising with unrelated scenes. That had you hopeful. Every time you wrote a drabble about something outside of this series, you were capable of penning an entire world. In fact, you had now written a series of short stories about random characters and scenarios with relative ease. The success you felt from doing these was short-lived as soon as you opened Eternity, however. Nothing formed, nothing came to mind.

Nothing.

“Maybe it’s because I don’t want to share Brian with Charli,” you wondered out loud, immediately shaking your head. Whilst the Brian you were falling for fast, was that of the same Brian Charli would risk her all for, inside your literary world, you felt no need to keep him to yourself. You wanted Charli and Brian’s story to wrap up with a neat bow after their final tribulations of proving their love would outshine the obstacles in their way. You were determined to gift your readers what you had planned all along for the star-crossed lovers. And you needed to send Charli off on her merry way with a confirmed end.

Whilst your story with Brian continued.

“Just write something, Y/N!” you instructed yourself to do, poising your fingers above the keys.

It was a struggle, but they began to move, and you hoped this time would be the official start of your novel.

“So, what do you think?” you asked cautiously, staring at Lily as she read over what you had sent her.

Your editor didn’t say a thing, and sometimes that was a good notion. You had rendered her speechless yet again.

However, you knew better than that. She wasn’t speechless, she was in disbelief. Lily finally looked at the web camera on the video call and blinked several times. Pulling off her glasses, she wiped at them before placing them back over her eyes. And then she screamed incoherently.

“Lily, I can explain.”

“You better, and fast,” your editor stated back, trying to recompose herself. “This isn’t your writing.”

“Well, it is,” you told her, attempting to smile. Her laser glare wiped it off your lips, and you groaned. “So I think I’m having a writer’s block.”

“But you don’t suffer from writer’s blocks, you overcome them before they get to that level. What have you been doing for the last month that this is all you can turn in for me to look over?!”

“I’ve been a little preoccupied,” you announced, rocking back and forth in your chair. “And it’s sort of been hard to write.”

“I don’t buy it. You love to write.”

“I mean, I have been writing,” you agreed, grinning sheepishly. “Just not on what I’m contracted to be doing.”

“Y/N!” she whined, and you sighed heavily. “How are you going to make up time if you don’t even have a first chapter formed?!”

“I don’t know exactly, but do you think delaying the third story, especially since my second one is only at the publisher’s now preparing to print, can happen? I’m sure we don’t need to bang this series out one after the other. The hype from the wait will make it only more worthwhile for the fans!”

“Not if you plan on producing this type of rubbish! There’s no life in this part you’ve sent me! It’s as if Brian’s soul was sucked clear of this world and only Charli remains.”

You choked on the drink you had reached for, and this alerted the man in the adjacent room, your hands waving him off inconspicuously before Lily saw him.

You didn’t know what your editor’s reaction would be to find out your writer’s block stemmed from you dating someone. And you certainly didn’t want to find out either.

“That’s it, I’m coming over!”

“Lily, that’s unnecessary. You don’t have to!”

“Oh, but I do. My star writer is fumbling around and not focusing enough on what she needs to be doing. Boot camp is on its way.”

“I could help her,” a new voice added to the conversation and you clamped your eyes shut as you heard the wind being knocked out of Lily entirely. Brian crouched down at your side and smiled at the camera. “Lily Morton, correct?”

“You know my name.”

“Of course. You’re an important figure in my life.”

“I… I am?!”

“I mean, you help Y/N with her stories a whole deal, so that’s a special role to have.”

“Y/N, who is this person? He looks far too familiar and yet I feel I haven’t quite met him in the flesh before.”

“It’s a--” Catching yourself from your stalemate sentence, you smiled. And for some reason, you felt compelled to introduce him properly to someone. Before you even realised it, the words fell from your mouth.

“You’ve kind of met him already, Lily. This is Brian Kang, the star of our series.”

_________________

Part 8

All rights reserved © prettywordsyouleft

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#kwritersworldnet #young k #young k fiction #young k fanfic #young k fluff #young k romance #young k au #day6 #day6 fiction #day6 fanfic #day6 fluff #day6 romance #day6 au #pwyl; to be continued #kpop fiction #kpop fanfic #kpop fluff #kpop romance

[river-bottom-nightmare]

[New draft]

I’m finally getting hitched Tying The Knot Official Words

Wedding Vows

by roy harper, putting the laughter in manslaughter since 1983

A couple years ago, you asked me why I loved you, and I said “I-I don’t know.” Except you weren’t really happy with that answer, I could tell, so I tried to put it into nicer words. I mean, I’ve loved a lot of people in my life, or at least I thought I did. Look how that turned out. And, you know, I kind of write them off when they leave me, or when I leave them, because obviously that means it couldn’t have been love in the first place. But then I know that’s a big fat fucking lie because I still remember all of them, still remember exactly how it felt to tumble head over heels. So maybe they reason they stayed with me forever, despite one of us leaving, has to do with them and not me? And I was about halfway through this awful explanation when Dick gave us a call, told us that dealer we were tracking had just put his dirty little hands in Bludhaven, so we went to go deal with that. 

Both of us were glad that conversation was over, and I’m pretty sure you forgot all about it. But I didn’t. I never forgot about it, and I realized I never really answered your question. So, here goes.

I mean, I thought I was so smart when you met me. Sure, I was at my absolute lowest. But I was 25 and reckless, and the heroin had me feeling like a real person for the first time, you know? A human being, with the kind of secrets a grown-up kept, telling the kind of lies grown-ups told. And I thought I loved the way grown-ups loved. Always on the move, always leaving. Because it was either leave or get left. And I thought that was love. And I thought that was a brilliant idea. I was all dark and tough and had this tragic backstory, and I thought I was fucking irresistible, but only for a night. I thought I was fucking irresistible for a night, and after that I wasn’t worth shit.  

Now, I’m looking back at 25 year old me and the only thought going through my head was, what an asshole. Just, everything about me was supremely dickish. But most of all, it was the way I treated relationships. Do you remember that time you, me, and Kori went to that carnival? And Kori won that strength competition and we got free cotton candy? And I just gorged myself on candy floss, man. I was worse that Wally used to be, back in the day. And then we went on all those carnival rides and I thought to myself, I’d be fine. I run around jumping off rooftops with grappling arrows, and I used to practice marital arts with Dick Grayson. Motion sickness doesn’t happen to me. And then like half an hour later I was puking my guts out and you stood there and laughed at me? That. That’s how I treated love. I gobbled up everything I could get, and it was way more than I could handle, and then I’d throw it all up and run away. 

I’m not 25 anymore, but it feels like I’m still running. Except I can’t get away with what I used to do, ‘cause Kori can hear my fucking heartbeat and you check my arms for track marks all the time and Dick bribed his way into being my second emergency contact after you. So I hide away in my room and sort of melt onto my sofa. But not the good melting, like the way I melt into your mouth like you snipped all my strings. The gross kind of melting where I’m curled up onto the couch and I just wanna hack all my hair off with a knife and it feels like my brain is leaking all over the sofa and I know you killed most of my old dealers but I wanna bring them back to life because just one more hit, I just need one more hit, and I wanna drink myself into a rage but you locked away all the alcohol with a bat-lock that even I can’t break. Figures. It’s funny. You’ll shoot yourself in the neck before you go to Bruce for anything, but if it’s for me, you’ll swallow your pride in a second and get whatever the hell you need. 

I guess I’m just scared. I’m scared that I’m imaginary. I’m scared I’ll always end up reinventing myself every day to spare other people the trouble of having to do that for me. That what I want everyone to see always takes precedent to who I really am. I’m scared that I’ve finally lost it, that I’m crazy, that I’ve finally gone mad. But I’m even more scared that I’m perfectly sane. Because if I’m sane, then what excuse do I have? What excuse do I have for treating people the way I do, like they’re problems that I have to solve or explain or else I’ll just fall behind everyone else.

And that’s where you come in. Fuck, Jay. That’s, that’s when you came in.

I tried to word vomit that last part to you one night when you thought I was drunk and I thought you were drunk but neither of us had had a drop, and we hid behind the curtain of alcohol to have a heart to heart. And you told me people don’t have to be solved or explained. We’re all just ghost stories, and maybe we should just try to stay that way. Because we spend our days doing wonderful things, horrible things, and sometimes there’s no reason behind it. Or, wait, fuck, no. There is a reason. But that reason’s too simple and too straightforward to really be satisfying, you know? And then we keep forgetting the lesson that we learned and re-mystifying these problems that we already solved because deep down we don’t actually want to figure out why we love each other but hurt each other and-

Fuck. Sorry, Jaybird. This was supposed to be a simple answer to a simple question.

I think. Um. No, I don’t think. I know. I know I love you because I have to.

There’s no “why” about it. Any more than there’s a reason why Kori loves the dew drops that gather in the morning grass, or why that old hag in the apartment next to us can’t keep a plant alive for the life of her. I mean, I guess there is a reason. There’s always a reason, there’s always a “why.” I don’t really understand it, though. And you know how much that bothers me, you gotta know how much I hate that. Maybe if I dug around in myself for a bit, really thought some stuff through, talked to some people I thought I was done talking to, I’d figure it out. I’d figure out where all this love comes from. What it’s for.

But then the question would be answered. Why do I love you? Boom, I’d have an explanation. The ghost story would be over. And there’s really no point in telling a ghost story that has an ending, all nice and neat and wrapped up in a little package.

Right now, I think I’m finally at a place where I can just let it be. It’s just you and me. Me sleeping ‘till noon, then waking up to see you in my kitchen, looking like a fucking greek god reincarnated, a smile on your face that I don’t think anyone else but me gets to see, flipping an omelette with the same ease and grace that you flip knives. Me in fiddling with a couple spare parts, adding on to my arrows, and you either sliding up behind me, wrapping your arms around my waist and whispering in my ear how good I look in this old tank top or you throwing a greasy rag at my face and laughing at how it messed up the bun I had my hair put up in and telling me to wash up, dinner’s in 10. The two of us crowding around a set of blueprints, scheming and figuring out how to best hurt this one greedy asshole and send him down the highway to hell. And you honestly know all my secrets, all the dark thoughts I had when I was doped up and hating the world and everyone in it. And I’m the only one who knows what really happened in that funky green goo you call a Lazarus Pit, I’m the only one who knows what you went through under the League. The fact that we don’t have any secrets gives me this feeling in my chest, it’s warm and golden and sorta like how you feel with Dick Grayson smiles at you, except this time I think I caused it.

I just hope to god I’m right when I say “I love you.”

‘Cause I do. Jason. I love you. I just, fuck. I like being around you. And for the first time in a long while, I don’t think I’m going anywhere.

Fuck. That was stupid. This barely even made sense anyway. 

[Are you sure you want to delete this document?]

[Document deleted]

[New draft]

Wedding Vows.

From Roy Harper. To Jason Todd. 

I was trying something new with this and I have no idea whether it worked or not but oh well here it is.

#roy harper #jason todd #jayroy #arsenal #red hood #dc #scribbles from the swamp #dick grayson #koriand'r #roy harper headcanon #roy harper drabble #roy harper fic #jason todd headcanon #jason todd drabble #jason todd fic #jayroy headcanon #jayroy drabble #jayroy fic #arsenal headcanon #arsenal drabble #arsenal fic #red hood headcanon #red hood drabble #red hood fic #dc headcanon #dc drabble #dc fic

[bimboamyrose]

Unfamiliar (Ch. 10)

Unfamiliar - A Metamy Fanfic

First two chapters

Previous (Ch.9)

Chapter 10: Indebted

“You told Knuckles, right?” Amy nervously held her communicator at eye level as she adjusted her scarf in the camera.

“I told you I did,” Tails responded. He was making the final preparations to his plane for takeoff. “Can you just come over already?”

Amy groaned. “I don’t want a repeat of last time!”

“Knuckles isn’t going to kill Metal.”

“Right…” she looked over to Metal, who was shifting his weight between feet impatiently. His jacket was draped over one arm.

“Just fly over. I’m almost ready for takeoff.”

“Are you sure you can fly with one hand?”

He shrugged. “Probably.”

It did little to ease her stress. “Okay, we’ll be there in a few.” Tails gave her a thumbs up before disconnecting, leaving Amy to look at her own troubled reflection in the dark screen. She sighed deeply, worried for what was to come. “Are you ready, Metal?” 

Sensing her distress, he stopped his fidgeting to give a nod. They would be flying to Angel Island that morning to meet with Amy’s friends- no, her team. Metal had already met most of them individually, but as a team, they had been his enemies for nearly a decade. It would be tense. First, however, they had to get Tails’ lab so she could board his plane.

Amy returned the nod and the pair got ready to take off outside. “I’ll take that for you.” She reached out for Metal’s jacket. “So it doesn’t wrinkle.” He handed it to her to fold neatly, though she held it so tightly that it creased under her anxious grasp anyway. 

Metal picked her up delicately. Since their encounter with Sonic, he treated her with kid gloves, afraid of causing another injury. Amy had noticed this and was tactfully avoiding bringing it up, even going as far as to cover her bandaged arm whenever they were together. It was sweet that he was being considerate, but his gingerly grip on her made her more nervous than a silly cut on her arm. “Metal, do you think you could hold me tighter?” Color rushed into her cheeks when she realized how forward it sounded. “So I don’t fall, I mean! Oh, not that I think you’ll drop me-” Take your foot out of your mouth, she scolded herself.

The same nervous excitement from a day earlier hit him and he stiffened suddenly. She was right, the fragility with which he was holding her could cause him to lose his grip if he wasn’t careful. Metal’s arms tightened around Amy as she settled into him, her red face buried in his jacket. She looked oddly… endearing that way- what a clumsy feeling.

“I’m ready when you are,” she mumbled, her voice muffled by the fabric.

They propelled into the sky at a much slower pace than usual. Amy peeked out from her satiny hiding place when she noticed. They were running late as it was. “Um, you can go a little faster. I’ll be okay,” she assured. Metal obliged, though she was well aware that they still weren’t moving as quickly as they could. Luckily, their destination wasn’t far.

Tails was already hurrying Amy along the moment they landed on the runway. “Come on, you know how Knuckles gets,” he insisted. 

“Okay!” she huffed, climbing into the back seat of the small plane. Amy was still scrambling to get her goggles on as the engine started.

“Ready for takeoff. Try to keep up, Metal,” Tails grinned.

“Tails!” Amy snapped before Metal could so much as make a noise.

He snickered as the plane accelerated forward and lifted off the end of the runway, Metal following closely. He hovered near Amy’s seat as they flew, though she nervously looked straight ahead for most of the flight. As they approached their floating destination, Tails pointed out the landing site- a spacious clearing at the edge of a dense forest. Metal cut ahead of them, doing a flashy set of loops in the air before spiraling to the ground and looking back up at Tails expectantly. 

“Psh. Show-off.” Tails remarked. “Think we can beat that?”

“No!” Amy felt sick enough as it was. Tails seemed to be enjoying himself though, laughing in response.

Once on the ground, Amy unbuckled herself and exited hastily. The tall plane was harder to jump out of than it was to climb into, but she’d done it dozens of times- not that knowing this would have stopped Metal from hurrying over to offer her a hand. 

“See?” Tails said smugly. “Told ya I could fly with just one hand.”

Amy rolled her eyes at Tails as Metal helped her down. “Thanks. Here,” she offered Metal his jacket and smoothed down her hair and scarf while he slipped it on. She moved on to smoothing out the wrinkles in the satin across his shoulders and adjusted the collar, looking Metal up and down. “There. I think you look pretty friendly.” Taking each of his hands in hers, her brow curled anxiously. “Remember what we talked about, ‘kay?”

Metal had spent much of the morning listening to Amy as she got ready, rambling the team dynamics and how their meetings usually went. “We work with some other people, but usually discuss things between ourselves before getting anyone else involved,” she’d told him. “So it’s kind of a big deal that you’re coming. Thanks for agreeing to it.” Then she’d flashed her usual sweet grin, though she let out a sigh at the same time. “So, just sit and listen, and get to know everyone! I really think you can get along well.” Metal wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince him or herself.

Just having someone new at the table might cause tension, but he had a feeling that who that someone was would factor into the strain more than anything. He couldn’t remember any of their encounters or battles- but they could. What’s more, the threat they were discussing was Metal’s very creator; he didn’t know how he would feel or if he’d agree to help if asked. There were too many unanswered questions and he knew he couldn’t follow Amy around forever; at some point he would have to learn about his old life. It was only fair to be informed about how it could affect the people that showed him kindness. How it could affect her. 

Now they were minutes away from this meeting, the importance of which couldn’t be overstated for Amy. She wouldn’t say it directly, but she was anxiously putting her faith in Metal, hoping he wouldn’t have another outburst akin to their encounter with Sonic. After recalling how they’d all met, his actions, though well-meaning, were admittedly threatening. He would have to show more restraint.

“Oh! Here,” Amy fished a little notebook and pen from her coat pocket. “In case you need it. Sorry, the whiteboard was a little cumbersome for the flight.” Metal took them with a nod, tucking them away in his jacket. 

A gust of wind blew Amy’s hair over her face and caused her scarf to whip around uncontrollably. Sonic had rushed in, skidding to a halt just past the trio. “Hey! What took ya so long?” 

“I just fixed this,” Amy groaned, combing down her quills. Tails made his way over to greet Sonic as she readjusted her scarf for the third time.

“Don’t worry, Ames, it’s just us.” Sonic turned his attention to Metal momentarily. “And you, I guess. Hey, isn’t that Amy’s jacket?”

Metal crossed his arms and chimed indignantly. “It’s, uh, his now,” she replied sheepishly.

“Oh-kay. Hey, Tails, why don’t you take Metal and go ahead. I wanna catch up with Amy real quick.”

The two hadn’t spoken since the incident. Neither of them wanted the meeting to be any more uncomfortable than necessary, and apologies were no doubt in order. “Do you mind, Metal?” she turned to him with her gentle request. He shrugged nonchalantly with a hand at his hip, doing a poor job at concealing his annoyance.

Tails beckoned to him. “Come on, it’s not far.” Metal joined the boy, following him on the path ahead. He took a quick look back at  the pair just in time to spot Sonic placing a hand on Amy’s shoulder.

“You alright, Amy?”

She nodded, her cheeks turning rosy. “Mhm. I’m sorry about the other day- I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that...”

“Come on, we both know I’m used to your temper by now,” he teased. “But, you know, sorry if I sounded  like I don’t trust you.”

“Do you, though?”

“Of course! But Metal Sonic- I mean, he just flew off with you- like before. I was worried, Ames.”

It was reassuring to hear him admit his concern. Amy understood that Sonic cared for her- but after all their years of friendship, she wondered if he’d ever feel any other way about her. When she recalled the hand she’d drawn at her reading so many years ago, Amy couldn’t help but ponder over her interpretation of it. Lately, it felt more and more like her crush would never be anything more than that. Still, hearing him admit any kind of affection for her made Amy melt. She met his eyes and smiled sheepishly. “Thanks, Sonic. I know you’re worried, but Metal’s been doing great. It sounds silly, but I think he was trying to protect me.”

“That so?” 

She shrugged. “Well, he didn’t do it for shock value.”

Sonic’s usual grin returned to his face. “Well, either way, I can’t be too worried; I’ve seen you knock him around pretty good since the first time he kidnapped you,” he snickered. 

Amy smiled along, though being reminded made her uncomfortable. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“Look, I think what you’re doing is great. Just promise you’ll keep your guard up, alright?”

“Sure,” she agreed. Amy sincerely felt that she was safe with metal, but it wasn’t worth continuing the argument. She was sure that Sonic would see that soon enough.

“Anyway, we’re late. Let’s get going before Knuckles loses it.”

The two set off on a well-worn path through the thicket of trees that grew denser as they went. A rocky clearing led into a burrow, where they found the others waiting for them. A pile of pillows and cushions were laid out against one wall in a circle- their usual seating arrangement on the floor. Knuckles and Tails had taken their usual seats, studying some documents that lay before them. Tails picked up a map to take a closer look. Metal was standing cross-armed near the entrance as the chilly air spilled in from the outside. Though Amy was strung tighter than a mandolin, she still did her best to give him a reassuring look on her way in.

Knuckles looked up as the duo entered. “About time. Amy, c’mere and sit next to me.”

“Oh, um, sure.” She usually sat next between him and Sonic anyway; it was odd he asked her to sit with him specifically. She took a seat on a cushion next to his and he immediately threw an arm around her, pulling her in close. Amy sensed Metal was putting his guard up.

“Amy, care to tell me why you’ve brought a killer enemy robot to my home?”

Despite the chill, Amy was beginning to sweat. She laughed softly in an attempt to lighten the mood. “Stop kidding around, Knuckles. We’re all friends here.”

Knuckles didn’t find it so funny. “Am I the only one who remembers when your ‘friend’ stole the Master Emerald and sent my home plummeting to the ground?”

Sonic sat next to her, grinning. Amy ignored him, looking instead toward Metal and making a patting motion with her hand, signaling to keep calm. “Come on, Knuckles, that was years ago. Besides, Metal doesn’t remember doing that.”

“That doesn’t make it okay!”

She pushed him away. “Ugh! Would you calm down? You’re yelling in my ear.” 

“I think the situation warrants some yelling, Amy!”

Sonic was snickering nearby; payback for all the times she and Tails teased him and Knuckles about their petty bickering. If looks could kill, she would have harpooned him with her eyes. Sonic cleared his throat, quickly gathering himself. “Relax, Knuckles. Amy says Metal’s safe, so he’s safe. Right, Tails?”

“Huh?” Too entranced in the map to notice the argument, Tails looked up upon hearing his name. “Oh, yeah. We took his weapons, anyway,” he shrugged.

Amy turned her deadly glare to Tails, who quickly hid behind his map again. “Who’s ‘we’? You did that.” Trying to avoid antagonizing Metal, Amy hadn't exactly made it known that Tails went beyond repairs when he was working on him. This wasn’t the gentlest way for Metal to find out. 

“I think it was a good call,” Sonic remarked. She scoffed back indignantly.

Metal was looking to Amy, who turned back to him with an apologetic expression. They hadn’t been there for two minutes and the meeting was already a trainwreck. He’d expected the heightened reactions, but learning that whatever weapons he was once equipped with were just taken from him without consent was an unpleasant surprise. Despite not remembering what he’d lost, he felt somewhat betrayed. Perhaps Amy still had her guard up along with the others.

Taking a deep breath, Amy addressed the room. “Guys, let’s settle down, there’s business to discuss. Metal, come sit with us,” she motioned to him. Narrowing his eyes in Metal’s direction, Knuckles grumbled something under his breath.  “Quit it already,” Amy elbowed him. He conceded, letting out an exasperated breath as Metal sat across from them, remaining further out of the circle than the others.

The team all turned to Sonic expectantly while Metal sat watching Amy. Her anxiety grew again as she felt his eyes on her and she was reminded of their first meeting. 

“Well, now that that’s out of the way,” Sonic began, “Let’s talk shop. Tails?”

He nodded. “So, last time we encountered Eggman, he ran off before the fight was finished.”

“So, we decided to go after him,” Sonic interjected. “I went looking for him the next day, but there were no flashy hideaways or ‘secret’ factory- none of his usual antics.”

“Then I saw this.” Tails tossed a newspaper into the center of the circle and Amy and Knuckles leaned in for a closer look. Magic City Under Way, read the main headline. Concept art of three tall, tower-like buildings was illustrated, followed by a smaller photo of a crew breaking ground at a construction site. A familiar rotund figure stood at the center proudly.

“Eggman?” Knuckles picked up the paper for a better look. “What’s he building?”

“Some kind of theme park by the looks of it,” Tails suggested.

Knuckles scoffed, tossing the paper aside. “That’s his usual schtick- let’s just go after him already.”

“Nothing to go after,” Sonic replied. “He’s usually building these things in secret, right? Using some weird tech to pull off his evil scheme. And now, he’s just out in the open. What’s that about?”

Amy picked up the newspaper, skimming through the article. “Magic City. I heard about this project- is Eggman really behind it? He usually sticks his face on everything, but this looks normal.”

“Yeah, that’s cause there’s nothing out of the ordinary going on there. I spent the better part of a week hanging around that construction site. I even talked with some crew members and snooped around the place, but it was just your average build site. Everyone acted totally normal-”

“Pah, sounds like some mind control junk to me,” Knuckles interrupted.

Tails leaned in. “That’s what we thought, too. But none of the crew seemed brainwashed. And look at this,” he pulled up some photos on a digital tablet, scrolling through. “Budgeting sheets, payroll…”

“Just like any other jobsite,” Sonic confirmed. “Why would you need HR if you’re using mind-control?”

“Sonic even found blueprints for the buildings. The one on the left is basically just a hotel. There’s a few restaurants, a casino on the bottom floor... This one has a nightclub and an indoor amusement park,” he pointed out. “And none of his usual traps, either. Everything looks totally normal. It’s just… an entertainment complex?”

Amy looked puzzled. “So, what, he’s an entrepreneur now?” 

Knuckles leaned back against the wall, looking up in thought. “He’s gotta be hiding something.” 

“Yeah,” Tails agreed. “And by the looks of it, this photo was taken on the day we battled- you know.”

The team turned to look at Metal. He gazed at each of them momentarily, noting their concerned expressions. “Metal,” Amy said, “Do you remember anything from that day? Before Tails and I found you?” He’d scanned what little was left of his memory enough times to know the answer. Metal shook his head right away, being met with disbelief from Knuckles.

“I don’t buy it. Metal Sonic has to be a spy- why else would he be here?”

“Knuckles, there's no way,” Amy looked to Tails for support. “You searched through all his stuff, right? He doesn’t remember anything.”

Tails half-nodded. “Well, yeah- to my knowledge. There was a lot of encrypted data- but it’s inaccessible in theory. He definitely can’t be tracked, though.”

“So how can we be sure then?” Knuckles returned.

“I trust Amy’s judgement,” Sonic said with a matter-of-fact tone. Surprised to hear him admit it to the team, Amy’s face softened into a look of admiration as she faced him. He probably should have felt grateful for the support, but Metal was displeased with Sonic’s playful wink back at her. “Besides, what’s Eggman gonna find out if he is spying? That we have no clue what he’s up to?”

Sonic had a point. There was silence as the team sat in thought, each pondering about possible scenarios or trying to come up with a plan of action. Metal could see this going on for an hour. He didn’t remember anything from that day, but he might if something jogged his memory. So, he tapped his sharp fingers against the ground and Amy’s ears perked up.

“Oh! That’s right,” she sat up straight. “Metal was able to remember the day Sonic and I met him when I told him about it. Maybe we can tell him about...” Her posture immediately became hunched when she realized what it meant. She recalled how broken his body still was inside, a sense of guilt casting down on her.

Tails’ eyes widened with excitement. “No kidding? I gotta take a look at him again!”

“More importantly,” Sonic added, “we gotta tell him about that battle and see if he remembers anything.”

Knuckles chimed in. “How do we know Metal Sonic won’t suddenly remember some objective to, I don’t know, kill us?”

The way they spoke about him like he wasn’t in the room did nothing to make Metal feel welcome. He knew he’d be far from their acceptance, but being viewed as an object to be poked and prodded was far more demeaning. Trust could be earned, but would they ever see him as something other than a machine? Amy kept calling him a friend. So what did it mean that she kept his “modifications” a secret?

“Metal,” Amy interrupted the boys’ musings, “would you be okay with that?” She side-eyed her teammates as she continued. “We wouldn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

He returned with a lazy shrug, looking away from the others. Reliving a defeat at the hands of these people- the people he was meant to associate with, who were suddenly giving him reasons to be distrustful- he wasn’t sure how he’d feel. It wasn’t about losing his weapons; after all, he hadn’t needed them since Amy found him. If asked now, he would disarm himself willingly as long as he was staying with her. But perhaps his debt of gratitude amounted to more than accompanying her on trips and helping her down from high places. Now, it felt like Amy’s kindness could come at the expense of his autonomy. It was hardly a fair choice. Metal wished he was anywhere but that burrow.

“We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” Amy assured him. Knuckles looked like he was about to say something but she jabbed her elbow in his side again, rendering his complaint into an intelligible grumble. Metal wasn’t responding. He looked aloof, casting his gaze sideways to avoid eye contact. Amy had seen that look in him before, quickly recognizing his discomfort. She picked herself up and crossed the circle to meet Metal at the other side, kneeling next to him. “Hey,” Amy placed a hand on his shoulder, “remember that you can choose from now on, right?” She leaned in close to whisper. “We’ll talk about the other stuff after the meeting, promise.”

There was something in her kind voice and gentle touch that continued to stir him. Amy’s warmth seeped into Metal’s steely joints and melted his icy façade until he could no longer guard himself against her. She could give him all the choices in the world, but obliging Amy was quickly turning into a compulsion; one that, he suddenly realized, was about more than just his gratitude. Pleasing her seemed to bring him an unexpected and immeasurable satisfaction; It was inexplicable. He would endure any manner of painful memory if she only asked him to- but she wasn’t asking. She wouldn’t. Metal had to decide for himself. He considered all her kindness, yet wasn’t any happier about the “other stuff,” as she put it. It was as painful as it was confusing.

Tails’ worried voice shook Metal from his daze. “Hey, is he okay?” The uncomfortably long silence that had filled the room was impeded only by the whirring crescendo of Metal’s engine. He caught sight of Amy’s concerned stare first, then the vexed faces of the rest of the team. 

“Do you... need a minute?” she asked hesitantly.

Metal quickly shook his head, wanting to get all their peering eyes off of him.

Amy sighed as her hand left his shoulder. “Metal, do you want to hear about the battle the other day? It’s okay if you don’t.” He nodded hesitantly to no one in particular, reasoning that he may as well remember what he could. It wasn’t the answer Amy was hoping to hear. A grimace spread across her face as she immediately began thinking of tactful ways to approach the story. Before the pause had a chance to become awkward, Sonic chimed in.

“Alright, so here’s how we kicked your-”

“Sonic!” Amy sent her piercing glare at him once more. 

“What? That’s what happened,” Sonic grinned. He caught Metal rolling his eyes.

“I can tell it, Amy,” Tails chimed in. Amy responded with a begrudging nod and he continued. “So, late afternoon, we received a distress call about Eggman and Metal causing a fuss close to town. We expected to find more of his badniks hanging around, but it was just you and him there. You’d set off a few missiles at some rocks-”

“Eggman said you were just doing ‘target practice,’ trying to sound innocent” Knuckles scoffed.

“Right. So, we told him to get lost, but he said he wasn’t doing anything wrong and ordered Metal to continue-”

“I intercepted and shot the next missile right back at you,” Sonic cut in with a smirk. “Really set you off.”

Tails nodded. “Then you two started fighting. Eggman said something about you finishing practice on your own and took off, which was weird, ‘cause he usually sticks around. Anyway, Sonic and Metal headed into the valley, so I sort of followed you…”

“Then you broke Tails’ wrist,” Sonic commented, looking directly at Metal. “Right, Ames?” Amy frowned apologetically and answered with a shrug. 

“Yeah...” Tails continued. “But anyway-”

Knuckles interrupted impatiently. “You flew up the hillside and Amy knocked Sonic into you with her hammer. End of battle,” he grunted. “So do you remember anything or what?”

An immense guilt befell Amy the moment her name left his lips. Metal watched as she avoided looking at him, fidgeting with the tassels on her scarf anxiously. Battles aren’t friendly- Metal didn’t fault her for attacking him when they were enemies. The story actually impressed him where she was concerned, but it didn’t give him the epiphany that Amy’s tale had. He remembered nothing.

“Well?” Knuckles insisted.

Metal turned to him and shook his head plainly.

“Tch. What a waste of time…”

“Back to the drawing board,” Sonic remarked.

Tails looked back at the newspaper with a smiling Eggman on the cover. “The battle was probably just to keep us from crashing this party. Eggman knew we’d come after him if he caused a racket, then he ran off when we were distracted so we couldn’t interrupt. I guess he really wasn’t doing anything other than making noise, though.”

Sonic yawned lazily. “You make it sound like we started the fight.”

“We kinda did,” Amy mumbled under her breath.

Sonic stood up, stretching his arms. “Well, nothing we can do about this now. We’ll just have to keep an eye on it.”

“Calling a meeting with no plan,” Knuckles followed, “typical.”

“Hey, I want us all to be on guard. There’s no telling what scheme this could lead to. We’d better be ready.”

“I’m always ready!” Knuckles boomed. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve been away long enough waiting for all of you to show up.” He marched across to stand over Amy, offering her a hand. She pulled herself up with Metal following her lead. “So you’re keeping an eye on Metal Sonic.” he grinned at her proudly. “Pretty brave, kid.” She clicked her tongue at him, giving him a lighthearted shove. Knuckles turned his attention to Metal’s looming figure with narrowing eyes. “I’d better be wrong about you.”

Metal knew that her teammate’s suspicions were justified and it would be hard to prove him otherwise. He crossed his arms and gave Knuckles a single nod. Knuckles returned with a nod of his own before glancing down at the rose-shaped patch on the front of Metal’s jacket with an amused scoff. He waved himself out before Amy had a chance to become aggrieved over it.

“Long way to fly for such a short meeting,” Tails sighed from across the room. He gathered his things hastily and booked it toward the front. “Let’s head back, I have something I gotta finish.”

“Right behind you, buddy.” Sonic made his way across. “Ames?”

She leaned her body towards Metal. “Actually, could you give us a minute?” 

Sonic’s brow furrowed. “Shouldn’t you guys get going?”

Before Amy could respond, Metal draped an arm over her shoulder. Their eyes met and he cocked his head sideways confidently. Amy got the message. “Well, if you’re sure…” she turned back to her teammates. “Why don’t you guys take the plane? Metal can give me a ride.” 

Tails and Sonic looked at each other in confusion. “I guess,” Tails said. “Do you want a ride?”

Sonic shifted to look back at Metal. How the robot managed to look cocky even with his usual expression, he did not know. At the risk of losing another staring contest, Sonic gave Amy a wave and started toward the exit. “Sounds good. Catch ya later.” Amy returned the wave as he and Tails went off,  Metal straightening himself back up once they were out of sight.

Amy then exhaled so severely that her entire body slumped. She didn’t think she’d ever feel so tense around her friends, and having kept the meeting mostly civil was an incredible relief. Unfortunately, there was another can of worms to deal with. She just managed to suppress a groan before addressing it.

“Thanks for coming, Metal. You did great today; But I thought Knuckles was gonna lunge at you for sure,” she chuckled. In a rather puffed up manner, with a hand at his hip, Metal gave her a sly shrug. Amy couldn’t keep from snorting at how pleased he looked with himself. “Don’t look so smug, he’s beat you up before,” she teased. He turned back to her with a resentful chime. It was incredible to Amy how comfortable they were together- she never would have expected to become such fast friends with a former (and very recent) enemy. But there they were, a few days into their new relationship, cordial and playful as if lifelong friends. All this even as they both knew a serious topic was approaching. She braced herself, her eyes cast down nervously.

“I’m sorry, Metal. I know taking your things was wrong. I blamed Tails, but I never really said anything, and then I kept it from you- but I’ll make sure you get everything back.” She twiddled her fingers together.

The sincere apology made Metal want to forgive her immediately, but the strange hurt he still felt didn’t allow him to. It didn’t make sense- he wasn’t angry anymore, she apologized, he understood their fear was not unfounded; so why couldn’t he feel okay about it? It may have been the realization that being autonomous wouldn��t be the same for him- how could it be? As quickly as she warmed up to him, even Amy didn’t see him as a person right away.  Maybe some never would. It wouldn’t be fair to rely on her advocacy, either- counting on her to mediate every tense situation was hardly freedom. And then there was the worry that his only affection for Amy was out of an innate need for guidance. 

Pulling the notepad from his pocket, Metal scribbled some words down. He ripped the leaf from its binding to hand to her. Amy glanced up at him momentarily before taking it. “You didn’t ask,” it read.

“I know I’m sorry,” she sighed. “Do you think you would’ve said yes?”

Metal pondered for a moment. He would have weighed his options at the time, but the moment had passed and he wasn’t so sure now. One thing was certain, however: if she’d asked him now, he wouldn’t think twice before agreeing. Metal handed her the next note with some hesitation as he admitted this. “You can ask for anything” was written neatly on it.

Amy didn’t know what to say. It was incredibly kind, but only made her feel more guilty that she had betrayed his trust early on. “Then, I guess I’ll ask you to forgive me- if you can.” Her ears drooped as the words grew ever remorseful. “And for hurting you, too. I feel like it's my fault you lost your memory in the first place.”

But that wasn’t something he would have to forgive her for. Instead, he carefully wrote his feelings, tearing the leaf from its binding gently. Metal locked eyes with her as he nervously placed it in her hand. “Thank you for finding me.”

She didn’t have an opportunity to respond. The second Amy looked up, Metal closed the gap between them, pulling her close into a hug. Her face flushed as a small gasp escaped her lips. Before she knew it, she was returning his embrace tenderly. “Dummy- I’m trying to apologize here,” she protested, though her swishing tail seemed to contradict any complaints. There were few things Amy enjoyed more than friendly affection, and considering the incredible embarrassment she felt after their last hug, she relished in his readiness to hold her. “I’m glad we found each other, too.”

As they slid away from one another, Amy combed through the front of her hair, pulling it over to conceal her blushing cheeks. “You know, this isn’t even the first time I find you in the snow…”  Metal tilted his head curiously, so she continued. “Well, first time, it was a couple of years after we met. You’d been laying there a while- actually, I think it was after Knuckles took back the Master Emerald from you. He can really throw a punch,” she chuckled. “But you know, you seemed so sad. We were enemies then, but I helped you get back home because, well, I guess I thought it would change things. Don’t know if it really made a difference, though.”

Defeat. Snow. Amy’s mercy and kindness. It was like déjà vu; Metal could suddenly remember each encounter individually, the earliest of which was just as vivid a memory as the most recent. He dropped the notepad and pen and took her hands excitedly, looking into her widening eyes. An exuberant smile spread across Amy’s face in realization.

“You remember!” Her fingers tightened around his delicately. “I don’t know what happened after that, but, I hope it’s a happy memory for you.”

He recalled how indifferently he acted toward her help then. He knew who Amy was, but whatever memory he possessed of their first encounter had been gutted. All he remembered as she dragged him through the snow was holding her captive and being defeated. No empathetic smile, no tarot reading, no kind words- she was just a footnote in his files by the time she found him; just like had been a few days ago. Though he had scarcely tried to communicate with her, the unfamiliar comfort her care provided compelled him to relent. And despite how unresponsive he had been Amy still lent him her aid. She’s offered him a hand time and time again without holding it over him. Perhaps that was why all the small ways in which he returned the favor brought him such pleasure.

Metal nodded. He didn’t remember anything after she left his side then, but finally understanding the mixed emotions that went through his head that cold day did bring him joy. It was close enough.

“I’m glad…” Amy sheepishly unlatched her fingers from his and clasped her hands in front of her face, concealing her rosy cheeks. “I guess… we should head home? We can take off from where we landed.”

Metal turned toward the exit, impulsively offering Amy his arm. She looked astonished for a moment before latching onto him with a giggle.

“Where did you learn to be a gentleman? I’m surprised you have it in you.” 

Metal’s smug tones and exaggerated head-bobbing gave her more to laugh and tease him about as they made their way out and through the forest. He didn’t mind. Every time they started back to Amy’s house together, it felt more like home.

---

Everything in the burrow echoed and could be heard from the outside if one knew where to listen from; And Knuckles knew just the spot. “About time,” he grumbled, watching as the pair sauntered out of sight from behind a thick tree trunk. He re-entered the space to find Metal’s pen and notepad left behind on the ground. So that’s how he was communicating. Annoyed that they had left their trash behind, Knuckles picked up both items with the intention of throwing them in the bin, but stopped when he noticed a short note written on the first page. He grinned as he read it. Probably knows I was listening, he thought. It didn’t really come as a surprise that Metal left it behind for Knuckles to find, but the words and their sentiment were unexpected.

He ripped the page out of the book to keep. Knuckles would have to hold Metal to his word: “I will prove you wrong.”

..................................................................................................................

hi babes~ how are you all doing this cursed election week?

i’m uhhh not 100% satisfied with this chapter but i’m sick of looking at it so here she is! also obviously i’m obsessed to death with the mania adventures short because where else are we getting our canon metamy crumbs

((yes i could have picked one of several canon names for the amusement park yes i decided to call it magic city because i’m from miami (: fight me abt it))

#metal sonic #amy rose #metamy #metal sonic x amy rose #unfamiliar

[rainofashe]

Da Vinci April 2014 Issue - 10,200-word Interview with Haruichi Furudate

--To wrap up the special feature on Haikyuu!!, we’ll be delivering the words from the very author himself, Haruichi Furudate! How did Haikyuu!!, a series overflowing with the brilliance of youth and sports, come about? What sort of passion did Furudate weave into this series? Conducted in the pockets of time amidst their busy schedule, this is Furudate’s second-ever documented interview -- delivered full-length, sans cuts!

Part 1 -  The Miracle of Chapter 1: “Endings & Beginnings”

Early spring, 2012. I heard that a new story centred around volleyball had just started serialising in Weekly Shonen Jump. I was pleasantly surprised after reading the first chapter.  The attacker, Hinata and the setter, Kageyama, first met each other in their third year of middle school as opponents during the Inter-Middle School Preliminaries, which cemented their fate as rivals. “If you are the “King” that rules the Court...!!! I’ll defeat you and become the one that stands on the court the longest!!!” “...The one that gets to stay on the court, is the victor...The stronger one. If you want to continue standing here, become stronger.” Despite exchanging such words, the both of them went on to enrol in Miyagi Prefecture’s Karasuno High School for high school and became teammates in the volleyball club. Hinata couldn’t help but exclaim, “Why are you here?!” When foe becomes friend -- in a way, it’s a very Jump-esque development, but it has never happened so early on in the story before! The portrayal of the match was so realistic, it makes you want to continue following these two boys and their story. It was a perfect first chapter to hook readers in. So to begin the interview, we’ve asked a question about the first chapter. Let’s hear directly from the author of Haikyuu!! about the behind-the-scenes of how this story was conceived!

--Q1: Before this serialisation started, what sort of “spirit to challenge” or “ambition” did you have?

Furudate: Volleyball was a theme that I really wanted to work with, so I was only filled with thoughts on writing this story till the end without it being cut short. Personally, volleyball has a special place in my heart, so I might have felt that way much more strongly, but no matter what kind of manga I would’ve started, the feelings I have at the beginning wouldn’t have changed. I would’ve still been scared of having to cut my story short (laughs). Even when I heard that Haikyuu!! would be serialised, rather than feeling the joy of grabbing the opportunity of serialisation, I thought, “So it’s finally the beginning of the ‘ending’...” I’m always surprised by how pessimistic I can be. This would be my first and last chance to be able to write a story about volleyball in Jump, so if I ever lose focus, that would be the end. This positive pressure and negative urgency that I feel hasn’t changed since the serialisation began. However, when I receive letters from readers about how they joined the volleyball club in school after reading Haikyuu!!, or when I go down to watch matches for research and see elementary and middle school students who know of Haikyuu!!, I can see that this manga has become a springboard for many people to start playing volleyball or to continue playing volleyball, and that makes me happy and lifts me out of my pessimistic state. I feel that the genre of the manga, or whether the sport is major or minor, has nothing to do with how successful (or interesting) the story can be.  

--Q2: Why did you choose volleyball, out of all the numerous sports? What is the charm of volleyball as a competitive sport?

Furudate: I didn’t want to write a story about sports. I started this series because I wanted to write a story about volleyball. I was a member of the volleyball club when I was student, and especially during my high school days, I only went to school for the sole purpose of playing volleyball. I am still attached and unable to let go of that period of time in my life, so via the medium of manga, I wanted to play a volleyball that would “come to an end once I lose” just once more. Volleyball is a sport where you’re not allowed to hold or drop the ball, so to be honest, it’s a really tough sport. It’s really difficult to feel a sense of accomplishment or to feel that it’s fun. The foundations are especially difficult, and at the beginning, it’s difficult to even get the ball to go where you want it to. In fact, I myself didn’t like volleyball that much at the start. However, it is precisely because of that that got me thinking -- it’s the sense of ease that comes with the act of being able to control the ball freely that makes volleyball such an attractive sport. That’s why, even if it’s boring at the start, I want children to continue to play volleyball. 

--Q3: Every single scene depicting a match is portrayed so realistically. For example, how “hands” are expressed. Or how the “sounds” are expressed. Do you often go down to do research?

Furudate: When I went to watch some high school matches for research, I was hit by the familiarity of the atmosphere and the sounds. It refreshed my memory and I thought, “Ah, so this was what it was like!” So I pay particular attention to the atmosphere and sounds while drawing. When I go down to research on tournaments, especially those such as the prefectural qualifiers, I don’t just pay attention to the matches themselves. I also take special note of the atmosphere before a match starts, and what the corridors and lobby are like. In the first match of the Inter-High preliminaries in the manga, there is a scene of complete silence just before the match starts. That scene was directly taken from the qualifiers for Iwate Prefecture, which I went to watch just before drawing it. As for the scenes depicting the actual matches and techniques, I can only say that I still have a long way to go for my drawing skills. I’m still unable to truly convey the beauty of the players’ forms and how cool volleyball is. I’ll work hard.

--Q4: By reading Haikyuu!!, I’ve come to learn that volleyball as a sport and Jump manga are highly compatible (some also say it’s because volleyball is a sport where you have to jump continuously...laughs). And I think that’s because of the sense of comradeship (friendship) in volleyball. Were there any instances where you felt this way?

Furudate: Volleyball is a sport where you can’t drop the ball, but if you connect it to the next player, it’s a game that can continue on forever. I think this characteristic is what makes volleyball a sport that allows for a dramatic showcase of abilities, but now that I think about it, all sports allow for a dramatic showcase of abilities (laughs). If you think about “friendship, hard work and victory”, almost every sport would fit these three terms. However, I do think that for volleyball in particular, the fact that it becomes unplayable without the existence of your teammates is something that stands out. If we talk about the most extreme scenario, it would probably be a single player scoring all 25 points by himself just by serving. But in reality, such a thing happening is close to zero. As long as not all the points are scored with service aces, you definitely have to “entrust” the ball to someone else. If the ball isn’t received, it would be impossible to set it and of course, it would be impossible to spike it. The game wouldn’t even be a game. So if bonds are forged by playing volleyball with someone, at the other end of the spectrum, one would also come to realise the pressure of not being able to do anything by yourself on the court. This is where people would start to butt heads, and I think this aspect of volleyball is what allows us to see the interesting developments and growth in characters. Other than the part about “friendship”, the “rotation” system in volleyball is another factor that can greatly change how interesting the manga can be, depending on how it’s drawn. During a match, every time someone gets to serve, the position of the players shift in a clockwise manner. That is the volleyball rotation. And because of this rotation, all the players except the libero have to be able to receive, block, spike, serve and sometimes even do a set-up. And of course, each player would have different strengths and weaknesses. There is the protagonist, Hinata, who is an exceptional attacker; Tsukishima, who while lacking in attack, is a great blocker; the captain Sawamura, a player balanced in both offense and defense but lacks decisiveness; the ace, Azumane, who has high attack power but a nervous mentality; and Tanaka, who although not the best in either attack or defense, has a rock-hard mentality that allows him to be decisive in stressful situations, and so on. With each player being so different, there would be rotations that would be stronger in defense or offense, and there would be a variety of ways as to how a match can progress, which makes it interesting. The players in the manga have more obvious differences in their personalities because they’re “characters”, which I think would be able to further highlight this interesting aspect of volleyball. 

--Q5: Was the title decided smoothly?

Furudate: Because I didn’t really dwell on it, I ended up going with the most “straightforward” title.

--Q6: Round-eyed Hinata is short in stature, but is an attacker with exceptional jumping ability. The setter Kageyama Tobio who frowns and glares, has garnered the nickname, the King of the Court. Their appearances and personalities (as well as their names) are polar opposites. How did you come up with these two characters?

Furudate: I had the most trouble with finalising Hinata’s character within this series. On the other hand, Kageyama hasn’t changed much from when he was first conceptualised. In the first one-shot, Hinata was of an average build and had a timid personality (though he is still a scaredy-cat even now). As for his build, since Haikyuu!! is centred around the techniques (especially quicks), being “quicker” was more important than being “higher”. Hinata makes up for his lack of height with his jumping ability, but just that alone is not enough -- this was resolved when he realised that in the first chapter. They key to winning against bigger players lies in how much faster he is able to reach the “summit” as compared to them. There is a limit as to how much physical abilities can compensate for the difference in build. So what will he do? This is where the story really starts, so that’s why I decided to give Hinata this handicap that cannot be compensated for. As for his character, I just doodled a lot of his different expressions. And while reworking the storyline, he slowly started to take form. There are two one-shot versions of Haikyuu!!, and even though I drew him myself, I don’t really like the Hinata in the second one-shot version of Haikyuu!! (laughs). I was overly conscious of making him Shonen manga-like, so he ended up becoming a bit “false”. I couldn’t grasp his character even at the very end. I couldn’t draw the storyboard as I had wanted to and the deadline slowly approached while I was worrying over it. Even now, just thinking of the three days before that deadline brings back nightmares. After that, I continued to panic because I still didn’t know what sort of character the protagonist, Hinata, was. But after reworking the storyline countless times, I felt that he started to become more human-like. And because I’ve worked so hard to come up with him, Hinata is my favourite character. Although Kageyama hasn’t changed much since the initial stages, I think personality-wise he’s become a quite a bit softer? Kageyama is a character that takes on all of the angst that I, the author, had when I was in high school, so in the beginning that was especially prominent. In the serialisation, after the match against Aoba Johsai, the character Shimada Mart had a line that goes, “Strength is needed to truly enjoy a match”. However, this was originally Kageyama’s line in the second one-shot version. I made Kageyama take on my own shortcomings. In the initial stages of the story, Kageyama’s mentality of “I should just do everything on my own” was actually the same mentality I had for a period of time when I was in high school. Although unlike Kageyama, I’m far from being a prodigy (laughs). 

--Q7: What grasped my heart in chapter 1 was Hinata’s very first line, “The smell of Air Salonpas...!!” (laughs) It is a line that is reprised during the scene of the Inter-High Preliminaries. How did you come up with this line, and what were your thoughts and intentions in doing so?

Furudate: For both middle school and high school tournaments, the preliminaries are usually held in the gymnasium of a school, but sometimes they’ll be held at a bigger venue like the city gymnasium. When I was in high school, when we got to play in newer, bigger and cleaner venues like the city gymnasium, we would all get excited. And that gymnasium would always smell like Air Salonpas. So in my head, “a match -> the smell of Air Salonpas -> get even more excited” is the sort of correlation chart I have, so this line came really naturally to me. Even now, when I smell Air Salonpas, it sends chills down my spine. It’s a smell I really like. The newest version of Air Salonpas has a milder smell, so I’m a little disappointed. 

--Q8: The manga-esque roundness (cuteness) of the characters and the increased head to height ratio to depict the coolness of the characters -- these two distortion techniques synergise very well and makes your art stand out. How do you differentiate when to depict realness and when to use such distortion? Is there anything in particular you pay attention to while drawing?

Furudate: For scenes depicting the matches, my art tends more to “realness” in order to express the “weight” of the players’ bodies. To be honest, I don’t really take note of when I’m drawing “realness” or “distortion”, but I try to express actions and expressions with more exaggeration. Even in the match scenes, in order to express momentum, I would insert a lot of parses into the character’s body. Although it looks like I’m half-assing the characters’ caricatures in the comedic scenes, I actually am pretty much half-assing them. (t/n: i kid you not furudate actually says this) However, the half-assed expressions turn out the best when I draw them on the storyboard, but since I can’t paste them directly onto my manuscript, I’m a little disappointed. In my previous work as well as the initial stages of the serialisation of Haikyuu!!, I used a lot of elaborate angles and paneling so as to not bore the reader. But recently, I’ve been doing a lot of trial and error to see what is the most “readable”. My friends in other professions and my neighbours, just people of the general population, have told me many times that my art is difficult to follow and find my manga difficult to read, so I’m always looking to improve. Once, when I was on a Shinkansen, the person sitting next to me was holding on to the latest issue of Jump that went on sale that day. When I took a nervous peep at them, I saw them just completely skip over Haikyuu!! and it gave me such a huge shock (laughs). (t/n: oh no furudate ;-;) Once again, it really sunk in that nothing would start if I can’t even get readers to read my story. And in order to accomplish that, I needed to make my manga more readable. In recent months, in both the comedic scenes as well as the usual scenes, I’ve been making my lines thicker to simplify my art overall. I even have a paper stuck in front of my desk that reads “distortion” (laughs). While drawing, I pay particular attention to SFX. Although I always think about how powerful manga would be if it could incorporate sound in addition to art and words, but alas such a thing is unfortunately impossible, so I constantly try my best to express sound, momentum, atmosphere and depth via SFX. It’s something I’m trying to balance with “readability”, so it’s still in a stage of trial and error. However, the one thing that I’m always not satisfied with is the sound when a ball is hit. With SFX, the resulting sound is always subpar -- the ball sounds “rubbery” and not realistic. Nevertheless, I’m trying my best while having high hopes for the anime adaptation. 

--Q9: The first chapter of the serialisation of Haikyuu!!, is one of the most interesting and intense ones in manga history. What sort of thoughts went into creating and drawing this first chapter? And what were the reactions from your readers like?

Furudate: Both my editor and I were confident in the first chapter. When the plot was finalised, I thought, “This is it!!” But in the very crucial readers’ survey, I think the first chapter had a pretty average ranking (laughs). I conceptualised the first chapter for serialisation after drawing the second one-shot version of Haikyuu!!. I started by reflecting on the one-shot version. The core idea of “Why does Hinata want to play volleyball so badly?” was completely left out in the one-shot version, so it became a reason that was difficult for readers to empathise with. So in the first chapter, I wanted to delve into what sort of character the protagonist, Hinata, was. The story is as simple as it gets, and the key lies in how Hinata would make this story progress, and that’s what I focused on. Other than that, personally, I tried analysing how to make the series survive in Jump, and I think the most important key, or should I say the first stage, would be the fourth chapter. 

--Q10: When you were conceptualizing the first chapter, how much of the story had you already thought of at that point in time?

Furudate: Until around the eighth chapter. In fact, at first, I didn’t even have the first chapter we have now -- the first chapter I had was basically a summary of the events in chapters 2-8. I shouldn’t have done all 8 of those chapters (laughs). Other than that, I only had very brief memos about certain events that would happen in the story. 

--Q11: If you don’t mind, please tell us more about yourself. Where is your hometown and what was your family like? What was your childhood like?

Furudate: I was born in Iwate Prefecture and lived there until high school. I lived in the boonies and was surrounded by mountains. I would make traps out of cans to fish in the river and ride my bicycle to the mountains to search for crystals (laughs). Other than studying, I think I did everything else with passion. (t/n: relatable) After graduating from high school, I went to a vocational school in Sendai and got a job. I lived in Sendai for about 8-9 years. Miyagi is my second hometown. 

--Q12: Have you always been an avid reader of Jump? Was there any manga which you drew inspiration from?

Furudate: I’m sorry. The first time I bought Jump was when I decided to send in a submission in my mid-twenties. I didn’t buy any manga magazines regularly. I first watched the One Piece anime when I was in high school. I was so moved that I went to buy the manga. I definitely drew a lot of inspiration from One Piece. During my days as a student when I just wanted to rebel and act cool, I remember thinking, “So it’s okay to say things so straightforwardly,” “It’s so cool to say things so straightforwardly!” Also, I was really impacted by the feeling of cutting out “a still moment from something happening at great speed” in Matsumoto Taiyo’s works, so I really admire him. Recently, I’ve also been crying while reading Space Brothers sometimes (laughs). (To be honest, I’m not really a reader of manga, so I don’t really have much to talk about, I’m sorry...) 

--Q13: When was the first time you drew manga? Did you let your friends and family read the manga you drew? When did you start to aspire to become a mangaka?

Furudate: The first time I drew a proper piece of manga on manuscript paper was in high school. I’ve never shown my friends or family the manga I drew. After retiring from club activities, I started drawing a lot more. I don't know when I started wanting to become a mangaka, it just happened somehow before I realised. To be honest, I don’t remember much. 

--Q14: Please tell us more about the events leading up to your debut as a mangaka. What did it feel like to have your dream come true?

Furudate: My first published one-shot was a storyboard I had submitted to my very first competition which, with a stroke of luck, had won. At that time, I was like, “What?! Really?! Are you sure?! It’s really okay?!” Of course, I was overjoyed, but since my first submission was done when I was 25 years old, it felt as if that I’d barely scraped by and managed to make it to the start line. Also, since I was a regular office drone back then, I was always worried whether I could make the deadline. 

Part 2 - The Highest Point that Haikyuu!! is aiming towards

--Q15: This time, working on the Haikyuu!! special feature had motivated me to watch my very first Spring High Volleyball Tournament. Your art was everywhere at the station and at the venue! (I’m sure you were very happy when you received these requests!) I could feel the passion everyone had towards the impending match before them. And that got me thinking -- is “High School Volleyball” something that holds a special brilliance? What is so attractive about about Boys’ Volleyball?

Furudate: When I heard about the collaboration with Spring High Volleyball, I was really excited. I was really moved when a boy of elementary/middle school age pointed at the panel display of Haikyuu!! at the venue and exclaimed, “Ah! It’s Haikyuu!!” (laughs) As to why I feel “High School” is special, it’s because the full-stop to “club activities” happens then. I think this applies to everything, not just sports, and also because for many people, high school marks the end of whatever they were doing as “club activities”. And as for what “Spring High” means to High School volleyball, if the third-years choose to stay on, it would be the last major tournament of their high school career. And for some, this might end up being the very last tournament in their lives. As for what makes Boys’ Volleyball so attractive, I have to say that it’s the power and speed when two top teams face off. The difference between Girls’ and Boys’ volleyball in high school is that by the time they reach high school age, Girls’ volleyball would have already reached a stage close to “perfection”, but on the other hand, Boys’ volleyball would have only just started “developing”. The factors that should have been shaved away in the process of leveling up and polishing themselves are still present in high school, so I think each team’s “personality” is much more prominent in Boys’ High School volleyball. For example, in Haikyuu!!, the technique that Hinata frequently uses (a broad attack) is one that you’d see in high school matches, but in higher level matches (for boys), it is hardly used. And I think being able to see the incompleteness and unstable stage of the players before they reach a level of perfection is one of the reasons that make Boys’ Volleyball so attractive. 

--Q16: Thank you very much for answering our survey the other day! And...we’d love to go into detail about the “Issue with the fourth chapter” (laughs). The key idea in chapter 4 is, if “the strongest enemy” has joined the team, he becomes “the strongest ally”. And with such reverse thinking, the connection between Hinata and Kageyama did a 180. What’s important is the character that said this line -- it is Sugawara-senpai, who became a substitute player when the prodigy, Kageyama, joined the team. One of the charms (discoveries) of Haikyuu!! is done through Sugawara -- to express the feelings of a substitute player, the sadness and pride he had. What sort of feelings do you have towards Sugawara-senpai as a character?

Furudate: In short, Sugawara’s birth(?) came about when I was thinking, “If a first-year that just joined suddenly becomes the regular setter, then who was it before that? So let’s come up with a senpai setter!” I think the setter is a position that, compared to being a spiker, requires less aptitude. It wasn’t my intention to create drama here. It’s just that right now, Sugawara is the character whom I want the most to stand at the national stage. But I haven’t thought of whether he actually would actually do so, so I don’t know... (t/n: but now we know) Anyway, I don’t want to make Sugawara into a “sentimental” character (laughs). Although Sugawara may be seen as the “representative of common people”, I think he’s actually a pretty “straightforward” and “determined” guy. At least concerning the topic of talent, when someone with overwhelming talent such as Kageyama joined the team, he’s someone who’s able to think, “So what can I offer up to the table then?” However, I’m cautious as to not portray him as someone who is “unrealistically positive”. Though I do think that there are people who might sometimes think that all of the characters are too overly positive which makes it boring (laughs). 

--Q17: I had an enjoyable time reading about how the Hinata & Kageyama combo of Haikyuu!! was conceptualised. How did you come up with the rest of the teammates? There are many characters in this series, and how did you come up with the rival characters?

Furudate: I incorporated a lot of characteristics that I picked out from my teammates in high school, my friends and the people I’ve interacted with so far. The play-style of the members of the main team, Karasuno, was conceptualised around the same time as when their characters were designed. As for the rival teams, I usually first came up with the play-style of the team. For example, Nekoma that is strong in defense, and Datekou that is strong in blocking, and such. Then, I would come up with the characters that personify the team and work from there. For the teams with an animal motif, I designed the characters’ appearances such that they also incorporate some sort of characteristic of their animal motif (for some). 

--Q18: “There are things people have and don’t have the aptitude for.” “There is a role that only I am able to carry out.” Such lines come up repeatedly throughout Haikyuu!!. I think that the messages and beliefs conveyed via volleyball are ones that resonate with the realities of everyday life and the working world. What is the significance of having adult readers read a manga about high school volleyball? Please do tell us if you have any thoughts. 

Furudate: I received many letters about how readers who were troubled over interpersonal relationships at work had re-thought the concept of “comrades” after reading Haikyuu!!. I think the interpersonal relationships that come with playing team sports are very similar to those in the working world. A teammate is different from a “friend”, but there are times that this connection can become something greater than friends, and a bond may form. That is the same for the working world as well. Even if you can’t do everything and anything by yourself, there is definitely something that you yourself would be able to accomplish. But at the same time, there will be someone around you who has an ability you do not possess. I’d be really happy if Haikyuu!! could become something that reminds people of this fact. 

--Q19: How do you plan to draw the adult characters -- the advisors, coaches, and those who played volleyball?

Furudate: I hope to be able to draw them as characters who grow alongside the players. After reaching the age where I can call myself an adult, I realised that adults aren’t very “adult-like”, so I don’t want the adults in the story to take on too much of a philosophical point of view on things too. Although there is an old coach in the rival team that seems to be able to see through everything, the main adults that appear in the story are still young, so it is more natural to depict instances when they make the wrong judgement, or aren’t confident in their decisions. In fact, the author of this story themself hasn’t thought of the story and developments of the match next week, so along with the coach and advisor Ukai and Takeda-sensei, we will mull over it together. It might be interesting if you could feel this very real sense of urgency (laughs). (t/n: furudate is us @  procrastinators)

--Q20: How do you come up with the developments and outcome of a match? (Your comments in vol. 6 were great! I definitely want to hear more about being in an indescribable state of mind)

Furudate: Before a match starts, I would have sort of decided how things would pan out, but while drawing, I would feel that something is “off” and change it as and when. So in other words, the outcome is not decided (laughs). A match is something that’s only possible if there is an opponent, so as the author, I draw the rival team with the same attitude as how I’d draw the main team, so my feelings would always change sides. And since it’s pretty rare to face off with the same opponent twice, I’d always think, “When would be the next time I’d see you guys again?” when I look at the opposing team, which leaves me in an indescribable state of mind. 

--Q21: “To win” is to “grasp the chance to fight the next battle”. I was deeply touched by this logic. And at the end of this thought, there lies the desire to become number one. However, more than anything, it conveys the pure joy of being able to just play match after match of volleyball...How and when did you come up with such an idea?

Furudate: In the series, “loving volleyball and wanting to play many matches” and “wanting to become number one” are two inseparable ideas. So, the thought of being “number one” is of course, the very first feeling each of the players would have. And in order to become number one, it would mean that you would get to play the most number of matches, and at the same time, it would open up the path to the next stage. When the players love volleyball, and feel that matches are “fun”, what should they do next in order to play more and more matches? That would be “to continue winning and to become number one”. Although I believe that you don’t need a reason to justify your desire to win, if I had to raise one, I think it will be because “I can continue fighting the next battle”. And now, that has become one of the expressions in the series. 

--Q22: I’m really touched by how much effort you put in to make your series “readable”. Looking back at the earlier parts of the series, the panels depicting play scenes have been inserted very well. The synchronisation between the movement of the characters and the trajectory and speed of the ball is just remarkable. Although you said that “you still have a long way to go for your drawing skills”, please do tell us the points you take special note of, what you put effort into, and any points you’re proud of while drawing the different volleyball techniques. 

Furudate: I pay extra attention in depicting what the other characters who are not touching the ball are doing. Also, since volleyball is sport played with a net between the two teams, the angles at which I can draw a spike is limited (since the relative positions of the spiker, net and opponent blockers are almost always the same), so I try my best not to make it look repetitive. 

--Q23: From the reactions of your readers, have you ever thought, “I see, so this is the type of manga I’m drawing”? Do you see the “cheers” from your readers as a source of support?

Furudate: I’ve received a huge illustration made up of 9 postcards from a pair of brothers, where the younger brother is a volleyball player. Soon after he was made a regular player, he broke his leg in an accident. While he was depressed, he started reading Haikyuu!! and cheered up. After undergoing rehabilitation and being able to walk again, he said that he’s working hard to become a setter like Kenma (setter from rival team). I’ve arranged those 9 postcards in front of my desk and they always bring me motivation. Whenever there’s something that makes me sad, or when I lose confidence in my manga, I would be reminded that the “cheers” of support I’ve received are undoubtedly sincere and would pick myself up again

--Q24: Now, they’re boys engrossed in sports, but will there be a day when we’ll see some romance bloom with girls? (I’m super curious about the cute manager! Of course, the captain of the girls’ volleyball team, Michimiya, is really cute too!) How is it? (laughs)

Furudate: Right now there’s a teeny tiny little scene, but I don’t know about the upcoming chapters. Everything is undecided (laughs). I definitely want to do an episode centred around the manager sometime soon. 

--Q25: For example, in page 105 of vol. 6, there was close-up volleyball scene drawn at an angle that is impossible for any cameras to capture. How do you end up being able to draw such panels?

Furudate: I just keep thinking and thinking. What is the best angle to draw this scene so that it’s both cool and easy to understand? In my head, I’d keep changing the angles until I find the best one. Especially when I’m drawing big page spreads, even if I’m able to draw something that is satisfactory, as long as time permits, I’d keep switching the angles in my head until I find the best one. 

--Q26: The outcome of the match against Aoba Johsai was revealed in vol. 8. In the last set, both teams were continuously at match point. When I went to watch the Spring High Tournaments, the last set would always be a very close match. It was intriguing. Have you ever wondered why is this so?

Furudate: Yes!! I think about it all the time!! Though I don’t know the answer!! (laughs) Of course, the side that is desperately trying to even out the score would give their 120%, and the side with victory almost in their grasp would, precisely because it’s just right in front of them, just by a little, start feeling rushed. Maybe it’s because of this? Since in the end we’re only human. When a match reaches deuce, it’s a battle of 120% vs 120%, so it’s difficult for it to reach an outcome. I’m sorry for giving such an ordinary answer (laughs). 

--Q27: The TV anime adaptation will start airing in April. I think there will definitely be a lot of readers who will get into the manga after watching the anime. As the author of the original work, what are your thoughts and expectations for the anime adaptation? Please leave us an impactful message!

Furudate: Since I was also someone who started buying manga after watching the anime, I’m very happy to receive an anime adaptation. Even if you don’t buy manga regularly, the anime is a media that is accessible to anyone who has a TV, so I’d be really happy if that could become a springboard for people to learn more about volleyball as a competitive sport. I have really high hopes for the anime and look forward to seeing the characters move in colour, but what I’m looking forward to the most is the “sound”. The sound of volleyball shoes and the sound of the ball, all these sounds that I’m unable to express in the manga will be expressed in the anime, and since they said they would actually record these sounds, I’m really excited! The art in the manga has a more peculiar touch as compared to that in the anime, so I hope that everyone can get used to it! (laughs)

--Q28: Furudate-sensei, please tell us the “Highest Point” you’re aiming for with Haikyuu!!! 

Furudate: In the future, I hope the players that would go on to play at the international stage would say that they started playing volleyball after reading Haikyuu!! as a kid! I hope! A one in a million chance! That someone would say that! That is my one true wish. 

--Q29: Lastly, to all your fans and readers, please say a word about the future developments of the story! Please also leave a word for the new readers! Thank you so much!

Furudate: I’m hoping to make Haikyuu!! a series that can convey how cool and fun volleyball can be to those who don’t know and those who already know of volleyball. That is my number one goal for this series! Thank you very much!

_______________________________________________________________

I wanted the publication of this to coincide with the publication of the last chapter so a mild warning that it’s not proofread! Will try to fix any errors in the following days, do give me a heads up if you spot one! sorry that this is a translation of old content (yes, it is 6 years old), I wanted to do something for the closing of hq! pls check out my pal @pala_bora on twitter for threads on interviews with Japan’s volleyball players regarding hq in the latest issue of monthly volleyball!!

Sekita Masahiro, Yamauchi Akihiro, Yanagida Masahiro

also hpbd oikawa!!!

(translator’s note down below)

the japanese version said 10.2k characters and I put my translation into word and it says it’s 6.4k-ish english words wow I haven’t done such a large-scale fan-translation in a very long while!! I mentioned in my prev translation of a hq interview excerpt (which was like 6 years ago) that I wanted to do this translation but back then this was way too daunting for me (the number of pages I tell you) but I really wanted to do something since hq serialisation is coming to an end and this series means a lot to me personally. and since i’ve grown in skill (hopefully) over the past 6 years, this special feature was not as daunting as it first seemed and I managed to finish it in one sitting (albeit not proofread) as a means to procrastinating my actual work! so here it is, the long-overdue translation from a special feature in a magazine issue that’s 6 years old!! but srsly though i hope you guys enjoy reading it. I definitely did enjoy translation it since so much of the interview content deals with the beginnings of hq and it really brought back memories and seeing how things are coming full circle i am very emotional. I also actually have an exam in 2 days but am i a procrastinator that hates studying like furudate is? yes. so will I regret this decision? maybe. but does it change my decision? nope. 

I am writing this 4 hours before the last chapter drops in Japan and i just want to pen down my thoughts re: hq before i lose my train of thought and get emotional when the chapter actually drops. I was a teenie tween when I first started reading hq, which coincides with about just a few months after hq started serialisation and have been following the manga and eventually the anime as the series started to grow from a humble manga to the incredible franchise it is now. and as you know, tweens grow into grumpy teenagers and teenagers into jaded adults, which of course was what happened to me and I’ve never been so glad that I had hq all the way with me throughout my adolescence and it really felt like I was growing up together with all of the characters. it was also during my teenage years that I picked up a foreign language, Japanese (as if it was not already obvious), and hq definitely played a huge part helping me maintain motivation in my studies and sometimes even now I really think that I acquired a foreign language to an almost native proficiency just so I can read manga raws and cry in said foreign language. nevertheless, hq was definitely something that helped bridge friendships and connections i have with people, who are still very important to me and are the closest people to me to this day. hq definitely came to me at a very turbulent stage in my life filled with teenage angst and pre-adulthood and adulthood woes, but the characters and the lines they deliver, the beliefs they convey are so pure and sincere and they have motivated me tremendously throughout the years. just recently, I was looking back at some quotes from the series (credits to monthly volleyball, in the link above!) and looking back at these quotes really reminded me of the times when i was struggling and when these quotes really pushed me forward. the hq fandom is also one i’ve been very fortunate to be in, and i’ve seen so many good fan-made literary, musical and artistic works produced because of such a great series. although hq is coming to an end, I strangely don’t feel sad, but I do feel a sense of emptiness and a little bittersweet. No doubt that the ending will be one we will all be satisfied with, but a series that has been a huge part of my life for so many years coming to an end really does feel like I am closing a chapter of my life along with it. no doubt that that feeling will be all the more stronger for furudate. am i ready to take on a new chapter in life? maybe not. but hq will always have a special place in my heart, and i know that when i’m feeling depressed and unmotivated, I can always look back at it and the memories that come along with it. thank you so much furudate, for letting us meet characters that are so raw, human and comical, yet straightforward and unyielding. thank you for teaching so many of us the wonders of volleyball, and for becoming a light in many of our dim lives. cheers to Haikyuu!! and thank you!!!

#haikyuu!! #haikyuu #hq #furudate haruichi #manga #anime #volleyball #ch402 #english translation #thank you furudate #thank you haikyuu

[heart-of-flames]

Tranquility

Lauren x Female!MC

Word Count: 3432

Summary: You know that Lauren worked too hard and that she rarely took care of herself when she got like this. You just needed to figure out a way to get her to take a break.

Note: One of my Ko-Fi commissions that I was given permission to post. I hope you’re all doing well and I hope you enjoy it. 

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While you were growing up you had always been a bit different than the rest of the kids your age-- barring the fact that you were Fae. While others, namely your brother, enjoyed the rambunctious attitude that all children seemed to possess-- getting into trouble wherever they went. You had always enjoyed a softer approach to things. While Aziel got lectured in the hall for breaking a priceless vase; you were situated in an almost forgotten alcove. Tucked underneath your handmade winter shawl, you curled up with your escape to the world. Books. 

For books had always been your escape into another world. They had always been your closest friend when you didn’t have anyone else to turn to. When you were feeling sad you would pick up your worn copy of Until Dawn. The story of how one boy, with a moon-shaped scar, was able to fight against all the opposing forces in his life. How he had been able to look for the light even in his darkest of times-- it was a solace you desperately tried to maintain. 

And with that solace came the belief that everything would turn out okay. That as long as you stayed on the high road nothing could ever truly reach you. That if you maintained the attitude of the boy with the moon-shaped scar you could get past anything. It was a belief that got you through your formative years. 

Though as the years passed on, that belief started to dwindle inside of you. Withering away with each passing remark and carefully leveled glare. Trying to remember the past, the story of the boy, but it seemed to slip further and further from your grasp. Until there was nothing left but slivers of what used to be. 

Of what would never be again. 

As you age you became what the world desired of you-- cold. Gone was the little girl who smiled at the passing family in the market square. Gone was the little girl that was too shy to ever ask for anything. Gone was the little girl who saw the world as a magical place-- filled with wonder and cheer. 

In its stead, a woman remained-- strong and unwavering to everything life threw at her. The warmth slowly being replaced by ice. At least that was what you always tried to portray. No one could truly hurt you if you didn’t allow them to-- if you didn’t show them. 

If you didn’t flinch as their venomous words pierced through your heart. Or trembled over the barely concealed fury in their gaze. If you were able to get through all of that? It meant you get through anything. Even if it meant you became more detached because of it.

You couldn’t allow your heart to be broken any more than it already was. 

No matter how much you wished you could let people in once more. 

Even as your body, and your mind, was changing there was still one thing that connected you to your past self-- books. Throughout everything books and reading was the one thing that tied you back to everything you used to be. As you flipped through worn and crumpled pages you were plunged back into days long passed. Days filled with over-eager eyes trying to soak in everything they could and hidden smiles with Kiera as she snuck you yet another book that you shouldn’t have been reading. 

Good things must always come to an end it seems, you muse as you watch the shifting landscape from behind your window. The thought filled you with a nostalgic sadness that seemed to wrap itself around your heart and refused to let go-- instead, it simply squeezed tighter each time it beat. It had a melancholic effect, one that you didn’t appreciate at all, but you knew there was nothing you could do until it passed. However long that may be. 

Turning, you allow a despondent sigh to escape your mouth. You didn’t know how to pull yourself out of this funk you were in but, as a small smile began to form on your lips, you believed you knew who could help you. 

Someone you knew would always be able to put a smile on your face-- however slight. 

Lauren. 

oOo

The scent of the medical ward assaults you as you step in. Pine and the softest hint of mistletoe, which was probably due to it being the holiday season. You still couldn’t figure out how Lauren was able to make the ward feel so homey. Usually, medical wards, at least the ones you have been to, had a sterile environment. Filling you with a sense of discomfort, because you knew you weren’t supposed to be there. You knew that your presence wasn’t truly wanted.

But with Lauren?

She always made everyone, both humanoid and draconic alike, feel welcomed. Always offering smiles as people either entered or exited. Her soft voice filling the seemingly endless silence during her exams-- as if she knew how uncomfortable someone was becoming. 

A smile blossoms on your face at the thought. Your eyes automatically scan the ward for any sight of your favorite healer. Finding her with relative ease, your smile falls from your face at the frazzled state she was clearly in. Her normally neat braid was disorderly; strands of hair being pulled from its confines as if she had been constantly running her hands through it. Whiskey brown eyes tinged with dark blotches underneath-- a clear sign that she hadn’t been sleeping well. Or at all. Her posture hunched in on itself as she sat at her desk. Pouring over various documents that littered the normally clean surface. 

With a worried frown now prominent on your features, you move towards her. Watching her jerky movements and overall crumbling composure. It was a sight that concerned you greatly because Lauren was always so poised. An innate elegance that many could never hope to grasp exuding from her every move. 

She was anything but graceful now. 

Stopping just behind the beautiful healer, you clear your throat. Not wanting to startle her while she was working; as you were well aware of how concentrated she could become. Even still, Lauren gave a slight jolt at the noise. Her body whipping around to face you with a shocked look painted on her features.

She settles down once she realizes it was you, however, a small smile starting to form on her lips. “Edelgard,” she breathes. “I wasn’t expecting you to drop by today? Is everything all right, my love?” 

You nod. “Everything is fine, Lauren, I just came to see you.” You pause as you once again take in the sight of her. Your frown once again makes an appearance on your face. “But are you alright? You look like you haven’t slept in days.”

“I’m fine,” she replies with a flippant wave of her hand. “You know how this time of year can get around here. People thinking they can ice skate without the use of protective gear.”

You wince slightly at that. “Have there been any bad ones?” 

“The worst was someone having their skull split open and a few cracked ribs, but nothing too life-threatening.” She shrugs. “But that doesn’t mean the paperwork is any less severe.” 

You frown as you watch Lauren look back down at her desk-- following her gaze with your own. The sight causes your heart to thud against your chest. Various documents lay scattered about on her desk with her neat scrawl written across. Each one detailing why each patient had been admitted and what had been done to them once they were. From what you could see there were dozens of them on her desk, but there was so much more that hadn’t even been opened yet. 

“Lauren,” you murmur. “You need to sleep. You can’t stay cooped up in her doing this paperwork. It’s not good for you.”

She smiles softly. “You sound just like Asa.” She shakes her head as she brings a new document towards her. “But I have to get these done. I’m used to working like this during this particular season.” She glances back up at you with a soft smile that never failed to warm your heart. “Go have fun and enjoy the festivities. I’m sure Silas would love to have company right now. Or maybe you can help Catherine with hanging up decorations around Haven.”

“I would rather spend the day with you.” 

“I know, my love.” She sighs softly. “I will try to finish as fast as I can so we can get a late dinner at the inn. How does that sound?” 

You know that Lauren was trying her best with what she was given. Just as you knew she hated disappointing you-- even in small ways. So, with a smile, you bring your lips quickly to her cheek. Loving that her scent filled your nose as you did so. 

It was the scent of vanilla with hints of chestnut and some form of wood you couldn’t name. The outdoorsy smell with the softness of the vanilla was something you would forever associate with Lauren. With the warm feeling, she brought to your chest every time you saw her. Bringing you back to the times that you were a child. Back when the world was a bright and magical place. 

It was the scent that brought you home. 

Moving away from her inviting embrace, you speak. “That’s more than okay, Lauren.” You squeeze her bicep in a gentle warning. “Just don’t overwork yourself, alright?” 

She smiles. “Alright.” 

With that, you step away from her and begin to make your way out of the ward, but with each step, a heavy feeling started to settle over your heart. That only grew the further you were away from Lauren. 

You wanted nothing more than to turn back, but Lauren’s soft voice filled your head. Her words from earlier and the earnest conviction laid within her tone halted any form of rebellion. She rarely asked for anything-- you weren’t about to disregard her wishes now. 

Even though everything within you was begging you to. 

oOo

“I don’t know what to do, Weiss,” you whisper to your dragon as you place various meats into her trough. Your eyes meeting the compassionate golden gaze of the dragoness. Her white scales glowing in the dim torch-light of the cavern. 

Yes, you do, dearest one, you just don’t wish to do it. Was the calm response through your mind. Her silky voice whispering through your mind like a gentle wind. Not overpowering in the slightest, but it was a presence that you would always know was there. 

You scoff. “What do you mean? I would always do anything I could for Lauren.” 

I know that, dearest one, which is exactly why you’re heeding her words. Even though you wish you weren’t. 

You frown at her words. You knew what Weiss was explaining, but some part of you still rebelled against it. Maybe it was the part that still wished to honor Lauren’s words? To honor her wanting you to have fun while she was cooped up working. Even so, the mere thought of Lauren alone during the holiday season was heartbreaking. She already gave so much to Haven-- too much at times-- and you refused to have her give this up. You couldn’t bear it. 

Glancing up at the beautiful dragoness, you smiled at her. Knowing that you didn’t have to vocalize your next words-- for she could feel them-- but you were compelled to. 

“I love you, Weiss. I hope you know that.” 

Her head lowers towards you. Golden eyes glowing with all the warmth of the sun. I do know my dearest one. I love you just as much. 

Bringing a hand up, you scratch just under her jaw-- a spot you knew she liked having itched. A warm smile blossoming on your face at the small coos she let loose at the sensation. Your gaze locking with hers with a message clearly passing from her to you. 

Go to her. 

And after one more scratch, you do as she says. Your body rushing towards the one destination you wanted nothing more than to get to. 

To Lauren. 

oOo

You skidded to a halt just outside the entrance of the ward. Your body almost colliding with the wall opposite you as you came to said abrupt halt. Air rushing into your lungs as you inhaled sharply. Doing everything you could to resupply them after your manic run. 

It wouldn’t do to be winded when you spoke to Lauren. 

After a moment, your chest doesn’t feel like it’s on fire anymore. Nor do you feel like your legs are about to collapse out from under you. With a solemn breath, you take a step forward into the familiar ward. Your eyes taking in the same sight you had that morning, and it didn’t fail to elicit the same reaction from you. 

If possible the frown was even deeper than before. 

Lauren still sat hunched over her desk, but her braid was completely gone now. Long, golden-brown hair fell in a gentle mixture of waves and slight curls around her face. Nimble fingers tracing over the various papers that still lay in front of her. Though one of her hands would periodically come up to brush the strands of hair from her face. A clear sign of the frayed edges that was Lauren’s being. You knew that Lauren needed a break, but you didn’t know how to make her have one. 

If Lauren was anything it was stubborn. Especially when it came to her work. 

With silent, almost cat-like, steps you make your way across the room. Halting, in front of Lauren’s desk as she sat oblivious to the world around her. Such a fact would normally cause a worried frown to pull at your brow, but another cursory glance of the room showed you the reason Lauren was fine with being in such a state. 

Asa.

The dragon lay with his head on one of the various carpets throughout the ward. His green scales glowing against the hearth fire that fell on them. His deep rumbling breaths filling the silence of the room-- when it wasn’t filled with the scratching of Lauren’s quill or her mumbling. Bronze eyes having been trained on Lauren’s form turn towards you. Clear relief taking over his features at the sight of you. 

I’m glad you’re here, Edelgard, his soft voices rumbled through your mind. Lauren hasn’t been taking care of herself. Nor has she been heeding my words. I truly hope that you have better luck breaking through to her. For you’re the only person I could see doing so. 

You dip your head towards Asa in a sign of silent understanding. You knew exactly how Lauren could get when she was truly invested in her work. Not to mention when it was a season of high injury rates because people enjoyed doing idiotic things. Even so, the fact that she wasn’t listening to Asa? 

You shake your head at the many ideas flickering through your head. You had to convince Lauren to take a break before she became a patient of the medical ward herself, which was something no one wanted. If you had to you would even go to the Matriarch-- as you knew she had a soft spot for Lauren and wanted to see the healer safe. That would be your second course of action, however. 

Steeling yourself, you move to the side of her desk. Your mind working over everything you could potentially say. With a soft sigh, you kneel next to Lauren’s chair. Your hand resting against hers-- halting her manic writing. 

Startled brown eyes turn to meet your violet. Her full lips forming an ‘o’ as she registered that you were kneeling beside her. Even still, it took her a moment to form a cohesive sentence. 

“E-Edelgard?” She asks with confusion laced within her tone. “What are you doing here?” 

“I came because I wanted to see you,” you murmur. Your hand stroking hers with a soft touch that you knew she enjoyed. “Which I’m glad I decided to do because you look even worse than you did this morning.”

Lauren smiles. “Thanks.”

You roll your eyes playfully at her. “You know I didn’t mean it like that, Lauren.”

“I know.”

You take a moment to respond. Speaking with Lauren was one of the easiest things you have ever done. She was like an open book to you. Easy to read and even easier to open up to. For there were no lies hidden within her soft brown eyes. There were no hints of deception within her elegant tone. There was only Lauren.

And there was never anything better. 

A soft hand on your cheek pulls you out of your reverie. Your eyes rising to meet a sparkling gaze. A gaze that would normally cause a smile to form on your lips, but only caused worry to gnaw in your stomach. You could clearly tell that Lauren was tired. That she needed rest and time to simply be herself-- without the responsibilities that being Head Healer demanded of her. 

Your hand comes up to grasp the one on your cheek. Your head turning to place a soft kiss on its palm. “You need to rest, Lauren. You’re no good to anyone in this state.” 

“I’m fine, Edelgard.” She sighs. “There is no need to worry about me.”

“There is every reason to worry about you, Lauren. You haven’t slept in days. You’re not listening to Asa nor are you able to sit up straight without swaying like you’re drunk.” You sigh with frustration. “You need to rest. The paperwork can wait, but your health can’t.” 

Lauren stares at you for a moment with an unreadable expression, but it soon smooths out into one of adoration. Her eyes softening with the love she held for you. Dipping her head, she rests her forehead against yours for a moment-- brushing strands of chocolate brown form your forehead while she did so. Her nimble fingers running through the long strands; an action she knew comforted you. 

“I suppose you’re right,” she whispers. “I’m no good to anyone in this state. Plus, I think I’ve been writing the same sentence for the past hour.”

You chuckle at that and with an ease that came with muscle memory, you stand with Lauren trailing behind you because of your linked hands. Your gaze never wavering from hers as you did so. 

“Then you’re going to have to rest that beautiful mind of yours.” You grin. “But I know you’re not going to want to leave the ward when you still have things to do within it.”

She smiles back at you. The same soft look from before becoming even more prominent on her face. Especially as you led her to one of the various beds the ward had to offer-- the one that was conveniently the closest to Asa. 

Laying down, you pull Lauren along with you and tuck her into your side. Her head resting on your chest as you wrapped your arms around her-- pulling her tighter against you. Turning towards the night table that was situated beside the bed, you open the drawer and pull out a well-worn book. As you always kept a stash of them within the ward whenever you had to stay the night with Lauren. 

Glancing down, you couldn’t help the smile that blossomed on your face at the peaceful look that was written across Lauren’s face. Her languid breaths ghosting across the expanse of your skin. It was a sight that filled your heart with warmth and brought you back to the many nights of your childhood. Where days didn’t truly matter because you had everything you could ever need right within arms reach. 

It couldn’t be more true now. 

With a soft exhalation you open the book, one that had clearly been well taken care of, and begin to read. “There’s a legend as old as time itself. A legend that depicted a boy that grew up with nothing but came to have everything. The legend of the boy with a moon-shaped scar…” 

All the while Lauren’s soft breathing became deeper and deeper as she fell asleep to the story of the boy with the moon-shaped scar. Your soothing voice that last thing that she was aware of as she slipped into the warm embrace of sleep.

#heart of flames #ko fi #ko fi commissions #lauren #female mc #female dragon #fluff

[n6or]

don’t leave me | raihan nsfw

Rating: Explicit 

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply 

Category: F/M 

Fandom: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions 

Relationships: Kibana | Raihan/ReaderDande 

Additional Tags: Self-Insert, Vaginal Sex, Vaginal Fingering, Oral Sex, Hand Jobs, Drunk Sex

Words: 4456

READ HERE ON AO3!

It was a blur, really. A messy night of open-mouthed kisses and desperate touches between two hopeless singles. His mouth had found the soft skin of your neck, sucking, biting, bruising the beautiful canvas with his own work of art. Your back had arched up off his bed, thighs trembling as strong hands caressed your supple curves. Even drunk he had you wrapped around his finger, flushing furiously as his hot breath fanned against your ear. You knew it was a mistake—knew that it was just a drunken fling, but the way he held you, the way he whispered those sweet nothings as if it were only the two of you left in the world… it made your heart flutter.

And that’s why, when the first rays of light disrupted your sleep, you knew you had to leave. The light that filtered through the thin curtain made your head throb- made you want to groan and grumble in annoyance, but that would stir Raihan.

Raihan.

Ah.

You rubbed the sleep from your eyes and blinked.

Morning blurs were the worst...

From your right came a quiet grumble, the Dragon Tamer clearly disturbed by your efforts of reaching over to grab your glasses from the bedside table. You bit your lip once his very strong (and very naked) arm tightened around your waist.

The way the sun poured through from your left, highlighting his beautiful, brown complexion… It made your heart flutter. It reminded you of why you had to leave. And that’s why you did. With no note, no goodbye, and no apology, you left.

Raihan was your best friend--he had always been your best friend. Ever since you were children you had been inseparable; wherever one was, the other wouldn’t be too far. You both followed very strict rules. Very strict rules imposed by a certain dragon gym leader. You were best friends and that was it. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing you, of accidentally breaking your heart and having you leave him forever.

“I mean, it’s not like you even like me, so it’s not too much to ask, yeah?”

The way he smiled that day almost knocked the wind from your lungs. How could he be so dense? You weren’t sure if you wanted to yell or cry or both. So instead, you smiled and gave him a sharp nudge of the elbow to his ribcage.

“Of course I don’t like you, idiot.”

You rushed down the brick pathway of Hammerlocke, praying that you could just make it back home without too much disturbance. Thankfully, it seemed as if your author was kind and you returned home to have a brisk shower. You grimace at the constellation of reds and purple that litter your chest, neck, thighs, shit!

“Good job, Dragon tamer,” you growl before drying yourself off and changing into your uniform.

There’s a shaky sigh as you pull on your lab coat, noticing the way the red blemishes (along with the very prominent bite marks) are still visible above your collar. Tapping your foot repeatedly, you let out another heavy huff, removing your glasses for a moment.

“Stupid idiot,” you mumble again, voice quiet, shaky. You rub your temples, fingers trembling slightly. “You ruin everything. Every single damn time!” Whether your words were directed at Raihan or yourself, you don’t quite know… but the burn in your chest doesn’t ease up at all.

The memories of last night ache your head as you stroll into the research facility, scarf around your neck, eyes fixated on the floor as you make your way to your desk.

“Heya~ Well don’t you just look beautiful~” Sonia is laughing as she approaches your desk, twirling some of her ginger hair. “I didn’t think you’d really get that drunk! You almost outdrank me!”

You grimace at the thought, adjusting your glasses.

“Y-Yeah… It was pretty wild, I guess.”

“Hm… and you disappeared sometime after Raihan left, too!” Sonia is pouting and you can feel the anxiety swelling in the pit of your throat. “Did you both get home oka-”

“Delivery!”

Thanking the heavens above, you shout suddenly, “I’ll get it!” Before leaving your desk. You sign for the package and ignore the chuckling comments made about your scarf in the summer heat. You just smile and bid them a safe journey before closing the doors.

Staring down at the box in your hands, you worry your lower lip, teeth anxiously raking at the soft skin. You could avoid talking about it, but you couldn’t avoid the way you felt about it. Your stomach was shallow and your chest felt . . . weird. You couldn’t describe it. But knowing that the friendship between you and Raihan had been destroyed in one night… It felt like a cold cavity.

The scarf helped.

           It helped more than that delivery man knew.

It’s lunchtime when you first check your phone. You were anxious, terrified of seeing a message from Raihan, but there was nothing. You stared at the screen in disbelief for a few short moments.

“You expecting a call?” Sonia suddenly asks, leaning over your shoulder and peaking at your phone screen.

“S-Sonia!” You yelp, clutching your phone to your phone and looking up at the ginger.

“What? It was just a simple question, y’know~ if you need to go make a call to a certain someone I totally get it!” She fixes your scarf with a small smile before offering a rather sympathetic smile. “But I hope you’re okay… You seem really…” She trails off and drags a chair over to sit beside you, sighing. “You seem out of it. Like, normally I wouldn’t press this kind of thing, because I know it makes you nervous, but it’s affecting your work and…”

“I’m fine.” You manage out, interrupting her second trailing sentence. She searches your eyes, a gentle hand now resting on your knee. Then she nods.

“Alrighty then!” Sonia gives you a firm rub to the shoulder before leaving some documents.

When she leaves, you sigh, leaning back into your chair. There’s a faint wince from the dull ache in your hips, head hanging over the back of the chair.

This was going to suck.

                       Bad.

The day is long and drawn out and by the end of it you’re certain you’re going to pass out. You can’t quite pinpoint when you actually fell asleep last night, but it must’ve been late considering the daze that seems to be clouding your head. Reaching for a Poke-ball from your bag, you falter for a moment. You notice one rotom phone in amongst your keys, but then you find a second… and it’s Raihan’s.

“C’mon!” Raihan laughs into your ear. Your cheeks are burning by this stage. Hell, with the way his hands hold your hips and his lips caress the shell of your ear, you’re certain that the heat you’re exuding could cook any curry. “Let’s dance, babe! It’s one night~ C’mon! Put my phone in your bag and let’s dance~”

The memory hits you like a truck -- so hard that you’ve had to crouch. A poke ball rolls out of your opened bag and out pops a familiar little Leafeon. She hums softly, curiously, waddling over to nuzzle against your thigh.

“Lea? Leafeon?” She purrs, her two little paws resting on your knee as she leans up and nudges her nose against the backs of your hands. Your fingers part and you meet her caramel eyes, earning and excited squeak from the eeveelution. She presses her nose to your cheek, and you sigh shakily.

You have to pull it together.

And that’s exactly why you did the only thing that you knew you could do in this situation; you called Leon.

“Heya! How’s it going, mate?” Leon’s voice is somewhat strained as he speaks, words hurried.

“Uh, hey Lee. I wanted to--” You can hear muffled voices in the background as you talk. You frown. “Ask you a favour… Could I drop something off to you?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah! Sure mate, sure! Uh--Hop, just--Sorry, Y/N, I’ve got a situation here, haha.”

“Oh… I could call back if you…”

“No! Wait, Y/N, wait!” It’s Raihan’s voice. You blink, swallowing thickly.

“I-I have to go. Can you tell Raihan that Sonia will have his phone? Thanks.”

You hang up.

Leafeon purrs sadly, her head pressing to the shaking of your palm. She licks it gently before nudging at your leg.

You had to take the phone to Sonia.

All you wanted to do was disappear.

And that’s what you did.

Without explanation, you shoved Raihan’s phone into Sonia’s hands and took off to the Wild Area.

“You’ll--You’ll regret this,” you whisper, breathless. “Raihan.. Ha…”

“I could never regret making love to you,” he countered quietly, larger hands holding your thighs, your legs over his shoulders as he kissed up to your throbbing warmth. “Never, Y/N.”

His mouth is hot against you, tongue lapping up the sopping wetness of your nether regions. The way he curls his tongue inside of you would have, on normal circumstances, remindws you that this isn’t his first rodeo, and, on normal circumstances, that would have you refusing any sort of affection let alone sex… but with the aid of a little alcohol, you didn’t care. You wanted to hold Raihan, to let him touch you, to use you, to love you… even if it was only for one night.

You wanted to love him, even if it was a drunken mistake on his behalf.

Pushing back the vines of your secret little area, you sigh shakily. Along the way you had released Bewear from her friend ball; she had let you rest on her back, taking you back to the little place most of your Pokemon knew you loved. You give her a warm squeeze before dropping back down to your feet.

It’s a clearing decorated with beautiful wild flowers, shrubs, lit by nothing by the moon and the little lights that litter the night sky. Your hands are shaky as you pitch your tent, Beware and Leafeon both try their best to help you, sensing that something is off. Once the tent is done, you smile your thanks, give them one final embrace, and return the pair back to their respective Poke-balls. You tuck both away into your satchel and sigh. Tonight, you decide to go to bed without dinner, and without checking your phone. And instead, you grab your dragon jacket -- the one matching to Raihan’s -- and curl into it.

You don’t recall how long the cries racked your body for, but somewhere along the way your silent sobs ceased, and exhaustion won.

You were gone for almost a week. On the first absence from work Sonia had called you, on the third day with no word it was Leon who called you, and on the seventh day…

Well, when you woke up, it wasn’t morning, nor were you alone. Considering your world was blurred from the lack of glasses, all you could see was the outline of a giant, black shadow moving outside your tent. Your eyes widened when you heard the twig snap. Battling was not your speciality. You see, you never wanted to be champion, that was always Raihan’s dream. You were happy to live a contented life amongst your Pokémon and work for Sonia as her assistant until Hop was old enough to train…

So, to put it simply, you were completely

and utterly

fucked

right now--

especially if that thing intended on fighting you.

You reach for your glasses first, grabbing your ladle second. Like hell you’d put your Pokémon in danger. You’re shaking profusely as you quietly raise to your feet, eyes burning, stinging, wet. As you approach the entrance of your tent, you hear a hushed profanity leave the beast outside. You pause instantly, brows knitting together.

“Fuckin’ sticks,” comes the growl.

That’s when you launch yourself out of the tent, aiming high with your ladle and throwing it at the offender.

“O-Oi! Y/N, Y/N! It’s me! It’s--” Raihan’s standing there, hands raised defensively, eyes flicking between you and the murder weapon. He blinks incredulously. “Is that-- …Is that a ladle?”

“Yes it’s a ladle. Mind your business. More importantly, why are you here at goodness knows what time, you moron?! You’re--that’s so inconsiderate of you! I seriously thought I was going to die, you stupid, big, dragon, moro--” Your words are cut off when two strong arms envelope you into the tightest, warmest hug you have ever received.

“I know.. I know. I’m sorry, Y/N.”

Your arms lay limp by your sides, eyes staring up at the full moon. Ah. It’s beginning to blur for you now.

“Stop it,” you whisper, voice feeble. “I don’t want this. I don’t want you doing this…”

“I have to apologise, Y/N.”

He clutches you tighter, his face buried in the warmth of your hair.

“No you don’t. If you apologise, then you will end up apologising for what happened--for being drunk. You’ll say it was a mistake and you never wan--”

Again, your words are cut off, but this time it’s by a warm pair of lips occupying your own. Your eyes are wide, tears glistening in the light of the moon.

Your hands come to his chest and you push him back.

“S-Stop that,” You wipe your mouth on the back of your hands, looking away. “Go away, Raihan. You’re-- You’re making things worse.”

Raihan grabs your wrists so gently… they’re almost completely different to the ones you felt the other night.

“Do you really want me to go away, Y/N…?” His voice is quieter than usual -- all his usual confidence seemingly extinguished. You feel the way his lips press tenderly against each of your fingers. It makes thinking hard.

“You’re…” By now you’re looking down, embarrassed, flustered… “You’re the one who made the rules… It was never me. I never wanted them but you’re too stupid to realise that I’ve been-” You cut yourself off from pouring out anymore unnecessary information. Your eyes are wet again. Snatching your hands away from the dragon gym leader, you turn your back to him and move away. “This is your fault and here I am, trying to fix your mess again…” You rub at the back of your neck, sighing shakily. You take your glasses off and rub at your eyes profusely, angrily, shoulders trembling.

“Y/N…” Raihan’s voice is so small as he moves to stand behind you. “It was shit what I did-”

“It was.”

“And I’m shit-”

“You are.” You sniff and there’s silence.

“But please don’t send me away, Y/N. I know I made those stupid rules. I was scared. I know that sounds stupid, but we were so young, and I was already so into you…” You can feel his fingertips gingerly reaching to touch you but pulling back just before he can complete the contact. “That night wasn’t a mistake at all. You’re not a mistake, Y/N. I’m pissed off that I took advantage of you while you were drunk… While we were both drunk… and for that—man… you’ll never get how sorry I am.” The crack in his voice makes you flinch.

Hesitantly, your fingers meet, yours curling around his, faces still downcast. You hear the breath of relief, followed by the forehead dropping onto your shoulder. His free arm wraps slowly, cautiously, around your waist, drawing you back into him. His face is wet in the crook of your neck and you have to bite your lip to stop yourself from crying again.

Instead, you turn around in his arms and bury yourself into his chest, his arms caging you between them and the warmth of his body. Your hands move up the outlines of his tensing shoulder muscles, fingers curling into the back of his shirt.

“I thought the promises would stop me losing you,” he murmured. “But instead they just fucked things up even more, huh?” His hand goes to the back of your hair, fingers entangling in the back of your feathery strands of hair.

The embrace you share under the moon lasts forever. Your body slots perfectly against Raihan’s larger frame. You feel so exhausted, yet so content, so secure, you never knew this state was possible.

“Y/N,” Raihan whispers quietly, fingers threading through your hair. You look up and his hands move to cradle your flushed cheeks, thumbs smoothing over the dampened, burning skin. His eyes search yours, his brows knitted, silently asking and searching for your answer.

When your lashes flutter shut and you tilt your head up, he leans down slowly, taking his time to press your lips together; to relish in suppleness, in the way they fit together perfectly, his slightly thicker than yours, but as gentle as ever. The kiss is slow and patient, easing your anxious heart and near on leaving you breathless. You were never good at the whole kissing thing, never knowing where to put your hands, when to breathe—do you breathe while kissing?

Embarrassed, you pull away, turning your face in an attempt of hiding the way the moon highlights your burning cheeks.

“What’s wrong? Did I go too fast?” You shake your head, leaning into his palm.

“I… don’t know how to do that kinda stuff, y’know? The other night… You and I, well…”

Raihan’s expression was unreadable for a moment before he slowly took your hand in his, staring down into your eyes.

“I can teach you if you want,” he whispers softly, squeezing your hand. “I know I don’t deserve it… but I don’t want to be just the best friend, Y/N. If you don’t want me, I’ll respect that, and I’ll walk away right now… but if you’ll have me then I guess I’m asking…”

“S-Stop being so… Sh-Sheesh… You’re so not that cocky little brat of a gym leader I know…” You peek up at him over your glasses and offer a sheepish grin. His eyes blink wide, almost like an excited puppy, and he tackles you into a bone-crushing hug.

You’re about to protest when suddenly his lips are on yours, and just like the other night, you’re melting into the warmth of the Dragon Tamer. Skilled hands find your hips and slowly guide you back into the tent. There’s a small ting, a low groan, and a muffled laugh when you step into the shelter. Raihan breaks the kiss to rub his injured head, laughing along with you.

Taking your hands, Raihan leads you back to the cot, slowly reclining you back onto the softer surface. He hovers above you, leaning on his arm, one knee between your thigh whilst the other rests against you. He searches your eyes for any sign of hesitation or reluctance but finds none. It’s then that he leans down and recaptures your lips once more, observing the way your eyes flutter shut and your cheeks instantly warm. With his right hand, he caresses your thigh, squeezing it, and earning a quiet gasp from you.

Raihan takes the opportunity to slowly lick into your mouth, his tongue sliding over and around yours, eliciting wet, obscene noises that make your face burn even hotter. He figures you must be nervous with the way you cling to him, your arms laced around his shoulders tightly, lips shyly parted. Though it’s when he sucks on your tongue that you find yourself whining.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispers against your swelling lips. When your eyes open, you noticed how his are glazed over with a look you’ve never seen before – his eyes half lidded and seemingly…lustful. “You’re so fucking beautiful, Y/N. Can I take photos? Just for us, y’know?”

“H-Haa?! But--? It—Dammit, Raihan. If those photos leak—if even one soul sees—I will end yo—”

You’re cut off with another cheeky kiss, the younger boy laughing into your mouth. He pulls back and smiles at you once more before setting up his Rotom.

“Like hell I’d let anybody else see you like this, babe,” The Rotom flies into the air as Raihan shoots you an almost animalistic smirk. “You’re mine now, Princess. And only I’m gonna be usin’ those photos.”

Raihan finds himself kissing up your bare thighs after having slowly dragged your underwear off and away, desperate to have his head between your thighs again. You gasp when you feel his two fingers pry your lips apart, his tongue taking its time to roll over and around your clit. Your back arches up off the bed at the contact, thighs trembling either side of his head. Your hands scramble to find his hair, breath quickening as his tongue flicks and his lips suck at the sensitive bundle of nerves.

“Ra—Rai.. Shit—Ha, Raihan..” His name seems to be the only thing (other than profanities) that you seem to know. You buck your hips desperately into the other’s mouth, tugging on his hair and earning another low groan from the man.

“Now, now,” he mumbles against your heat, looking up at you from between your thighs. His gaze is lazy, seductive. He’s smirking at you, tongue slowly sliding along your clit, barely touching the wetness. “Be a good girl.” He instructs firmly, pushing your hips down.

You writhe beneath his strong hold as his mouth continues to abuse your sensitive regions, completely unrelenting in the way he sucks at your clit, teeth occasionally nibbling at the bud.  It’s then that you feel a familiar pressure building within your abdomen, curling like a coil that’s about to snap at any given moment. You try to warn Raihan, you do. You tug at his hair, choking out incoherent sobs of his name, trying to pull him off… but of course Raihan doesn’t give in. In fact, he pries his forefinger between your sodden, velvety walls and presses upwards, stroking along the upper roof of your sex.

That’s the final straw. It’s all too much to think about: his tongue, his teeth, his finger—

Before too long you’re coming with a loud cry, back arching up off the bed as he continues to thrust his finger inside of you, tongue mercilessly lapping at your throbbing clit. Your body convulses and shakes atop the cot, fingers tugging harshly at Raihan’s now matted black hair. You continue to cry his name as he licks you out, even replacing his finger with his tongue, groaning as he licks you clean.

You feebly push at his head, whimpering and twitching in the afterglow of your orgasm.

“Too… Too much—sensitive… No more, Rai.” He looks up at you from between your thighs, expression rather adorable. You pant through a smile, allowing a small laugh to pass. “How can you look so cute after doing something so lewd…?”

“Lewd? I don’t think making love is lewd!” He inches up your body, kissing over old marks that barely present themselves. “I’d do anything you asked me, babe.” You smile as he kisses you once again, but soon frown.

“But you haven’t…”

“It’s okay. I’m not really prepared, anyway. I don’t have any condoms.”

You nod slowly. You trace your fingers over his naked chest before looking back up to meet the gaze of the Dragon Tamer.

“Can I touch you?”

He blinks a few moments, seeming as If he has short circuited, but quickly nods. “Y-Yeah, yeah. Babe, that would be—shit, that’d be really good… D’you want me to show you?” At your nod, he takes your hand. “Do you have any oil around here? It’ll make it easier.”

You ponder over the question for a moment before reaching over into your bag and fishing out a small container of rose oil.

“Alright, sick. I’m gonna pour some in your hand, yeah? It’ll make it easier for you.” You nod, watching as he pours said oil into the palm of your hand. He observes your expression as he slowly shimmies himself out of his boxer shorts, snickering when your eyes widen. He kisses your forehead for a few lingering moments before taking your hand in his and guiding your hand to the base of his thick shaft. Raihan’s thick lashes fall shut once your soft hand touches his proud cock. He can’t stop the involuntary twitch of his hips.

You blink in disbelief, watching the way his face contorts as your hands slowly move along his pulsating cock. It’s quite hot, you note—the temperature of his… it makes you blush. Seeing him so pliant under your touch like this… it gives you a surge of courage – of boldness. You lean up and press soft kisses to the younger’s neck, following the twisting motion of his hand.

“Shit, Y/N,” he breathes, shakily. He thrusts into your hand when you near his tip. You notice the faint tremble of his hips. Your hand hesitantly moves to the other’s tip, squeezing the sensitive head, experimentally touching him. “F-Fucking—shit, Y/N. Keep that up and I’ll cum, babe.”

That’s the plan, dummy.

You snicker to yourself as his hand guides you up and down the entirety of his cock, twisting and squeezing in different positions, each stroke edging Raihan closer and closer to the edge.

“Y/N—Don’t stop. Fuck, please. ‘M gonna cum, baby. Fuck—just like that—” Raihan becomes increasingly vocal as your thumb swirls across the leaking slit of his dick, your free hand pumping the lubricated shaft of the other. “Y/N, fuck—coming!”

And with that final shout, creamy cum coils from the violently red slit of Raihan’s cock. He grits his teeth, body stiffening for a brief moment before he fucks your hand, head falling back as he rides the euphoria.

“You look cute like this,” Comes your sudden murmur, watching his hips buck into your hand before he slowly guides your hand to his own. He laces your fingers and smiles tiredly.

“You think?” he whispers, leaning down to nudge his nose against your temple. “Guess we’ll have to do it more often so you can see that cute expression of mine, huh~?”

Your face flushes ten times over at the comment, curling into his chest and hiding away (despite the uncomfortable stickiness now between you both). He chuckles loudly at your reaction, fingers tracing along your back as he kisses your head.

“So… this means we’re a couple now, yeah?” he asks after a few moments of silence. You’re slow in answering, but when you do, you look with a tired grin and nod. “Good. Because now I’m definitely never letting you go, babe.”

#raihan x reader #pokemon swsh #pkmn sword and shield #raihan #smut #enjoy #nor writes #my posts

[girlmeetsliv3]

Head Over Heels

Killing Me Softly Sequel!

Yandere Hoseok x Reader ; BTS Member x Reader

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 4,076

Release Date: December 5th, 2019 @ 12 am (GMT-4) 

Three years. It took three years for some semblance of normality to return to your life. It took three years for you to begin to see the world, not by it's bad but it's good. Three years and you were finally moving on. Three years wasn't enough to stop his obsession. After three years, he was tired of waiting - you would finally be his.

Trigger Warning: The following story contains mentions of manipulation, abuse, harassment, and child k*dnapping. The behavior and mindset of the characters in this will be incredibly yandere and toxic. This is a work of fiction and doesn’t represent the character of bangtan sonyeondan. Enjoy ~~~

 Hoseok's fingertips trailed soothingly across your bareback, as the two of you gazed into the cityscape visible through the large windows. The silk sheets that covered your naked bodies provided little warmth but eased your anxieties about what your body might look like. Hoseok turned his head toward you, but you chose to ignore it, focusing on staring outside. Things were calm and pleasant. A drastic change from a few hours ago, but you welcomed it. "Did I hurt you?" Hoseok whispered, pressing a chaste kiss to your temple. You shook your head and leaned further into his embrace. "It was perfect."

 Hoseok chuckled and moved you so your head would be tucked under his chin. "You were perfect, Y/n." You were grateful that he couldn't see your reddened cheeks or the grin that had quickly spread across your face, but you were sure he sensed them. In moments such as these that are so serene and full of joy, one can't help but think the happiest of thoughts. Ones that fill you up with joy, and this feeling of invincibility, they make you believe that anything is possible - that anything can be achieved. Those happy thoughts can cause great moments of joy, but they are not without consequence. Especially if one doesn't take into account the gravity of their words. It couldn't be helped that in a moment as beautiful as this, images slipped into your mind: images of Hoseok and you together forever as a large family in a tiny house. It was all supposed to be a harmless delusion - the fleeting dream that one might conjure up in a passionate moment with a lover. Even though you and Hoseok weren't lovers - technically.  

 Still, it didn't hurt to dream. "What are you thinking of, Jagi?" Hoseok asked his fingers on your back stilling. He was sure to have his eyebrow cocked in the way he did whenever he asked a question. "About us." Your tone was light, too caught up in your daydream to notice the change in Hoseok. "What about us?" His words were chosen carefully as if he were threading over thin ice. Even his breathing had shallowed, a sign of his nerves. Maybe you made a mistake that night, answering his question. Perhaps you should've changed the subject or pretended your thoughts laid elsewhere. You turned around to face Hoseok, noticing the slight frown in between his brows, and you softly smiled.

 "How I want us to be together forever. No matter what." You knew that statement could potentially scare him off, you had only known him for two months, but everything felt so right with Hoseok. It was a glimmer in his eye, and the way his hold on you tightened significantly that should have warned you that Hoseok had taken the words to heart. This wasn't a mindless pillow talk to him; it was a declaration. "I agree." Was all he said. You turned back around and lay your head on his chest, snuggling into him for some warmth. Your eyelids were beginning to become substantial, your eyes fluttering shut every so often until you finally succumbed and closed your eyes. Falling asleep to the rhythmic sound of Hoseok breathing.

 "I'll always be with you, Jagi. No matter what."

 You didn't hate your job, but it did want to make you tear the hair from your scalp several times a day - some days more than others. You had managed to work yourself up to a management position, which was supposed to mean fewer hours, but whenever someone in your office decided to be incompetent, you were left to deal with the consequences. Like today when Yeri had abruptly taken a day off right before the monthly evaluation meeting and forgot to send you the presentation and documents which you would have to present to the CEO. Usually, this wouldn't have been a problem if you hadn't found out forty-five minutes before the meeting. Not to mention you were supposed to leave early today, Sun-Hi had a doctor's appointment, and you couldn't afford to be late. Thankfully the daycare you had placed her in was only a ten-minute drive from your workplace.

 The clock on your car's dashboard read ten twenty-seven am. With luck, you would be able to make it to the appointment by eleven. Maybe I’ll take Sun-Hi out to lunch? It was preferable to going home and attempting to cook dinner. The bright colors of the daycare stood in contrast to the copper and steels of Seoul's architecture, but it was a welcome change. You pulled into the parking lot of the building, quickly gathering your stuff before racing towards the entrance and front desk. It was a new receptionist this time, one you didn't recognize, but you hoped she wouldn't take too long. "Hello, what can I help you with?" She must've been around your age, but her sweet smile and bright eyes let you know that she still hadn't lost her naivety - lucky. "I'm here to pick up my daughter Sun-Hi, we have a doctor's appointment." The girl smiled, typing her name into the computer. After a couple seconds, the smile faded from her face and was replaced with a frown. "I'm sorry, but it says she's already been picked up," she further leaned into the computer, eyes skimming the text. "It says here she left early for an appointment...and her father picked her up.”

           "So, what do you think of it?" Hoseok had insisted on stopping by your cramped apartment during finals week. He had dragged you outside, insisting that if you didn't take a break from studying, your head might combust. You didn't exactly believe his words, no matter how much he swore they were real, but you did need a break. Plus, any excuse to spend time with Hoseok was a good one. He had practically kidnapped you, forcing you into his car and driving for almost an hour before showing you his "hideout." A quaint beach hidden between forestry and rocks. Where despite the gray morning sky, the sea and sand glimmered. "It's nice." You muttered, wrapping your arms tightly around yourself. The air had gotten colder, the beginnings of winter making themselves evident. "I've always loved it here. Used to visit when I was younger to get away from it all." Hoseok rarely spoke about his past, even if the two of you were close. There was always a sort of barrier between the two of you. One that only seemed to weaken around his friends, or in moments such as these.

 Hoseok sat down on the large blanket he had brought, dusting off what little sand got onto it. He patted the empty space to his left, indicating he wanted you to sit with him. Once you did, he wrapped his arms around you, enveloping you in a warm hug. "Are you cold?" He asked as he felt you shivering. "A bit." you chuckled before leaning further into him. The two of you remained silent for quite a while, basking in the refreshing scent and lulling sound of the waves crashing into the shore. You tilted your head up to look at him, mesmerized by how someone could be so beautiful and kind. Though the relationship between the two of you was a transactional one, it never felt like that. You felt like he loved you, even if he had never directly said the words. When the others gave you presents or attention, it felt like compensation, a 'thank you for your services' kind of thing. Whenever Hoseok did it if felt like it was a way for him to show his admiration towards you. Who knows? Maybe you were just a fool, falling for a rich man with sweet words.

 "You're staring." He smirked, not even bothering to look down at you. "I'm gazing." You retorted, smiling a bit. "It's creepy," Hoseok said, rolling his eyes. A small scoff left your lips, "It's romantic." One of his hands crept up your face, covering your eyes. Both of you burst into laughter as you tried to uncover your eyes when you finally did Hoseok pressed a chaste kiss against your lips. "No fair." You whined, lips pouting somewhat exaggeratedly. You pretended to try to escape Hoseok's hold, but his grip tightened, and he pulled you tautly against him. "Life isn't fair," Hoseok said as he pressed another kiss to your lips. "You're not getting away from me, darling. No matter what."

           “And you’ve had no contact with any of them since the trial, correct?” Officer Park asked, the two police officers standing in the middle of your living room. "No, I haven't! You know this. How many times am I going to have to say this?!" You were exasperated, the snot-filled tissues clenched in your hand, and reddened cheeks a clear sign of it. After causing quite a show at the daycare, you had called Investigator Lee only to be told that he was out of town. Park shot his partner a look before crouching down in front of you, the case you had been involved in was infamous: seven of Korea's most prominent businessmen and figureheads all involved in a kidnapping and love affair that looked like something straight out of a drama. Your name had been changed to ensure your security, but that didn't mean that judgment hadn't followed you everywhere you went. Even now, in your own home, you could see the way the officer's side-eyed you. "I understand why you're reacting like this, Miss, but rest assured we will do everything in our power to locate your daughter and ensure her wellbeing." Inspector Park stood above your hunched over the figure, while his partner stood in the corner with harsh judgment in his eyes. "For the time being, please refrain from speaking to anyone about this. We will try to interview the men and see if they know anything." Yeah, right, like you were going to listen to that.  

 Gangnam's correctional facility was on the outskirts of town, barely classifying as Seoul but housing enough prominent individuals to bear that name. You had been sitting outside in your car for over thirty-minutes debating whether or not to come in. Whether or not to see any of them again after everything that had happened. The desire to locate your daughter had outweighed any sense of fear or survival instinct that willed you to drive away and forget the men. Taking a deep breath, you stepped out and stared at the bleak concrete structure, it's red bricks standing out against the desolate surrounding area. You noticed that some guards were staring at you, so you began to walk towards the front, trying to ignore their peering eyes. The prison was a long stretch of red brick and concrete; it was perhaps three floors high, including the ground-floor. There were small windows all along the length of it, and it was quite a distance away. That was because there was a large front yard area for inmates almost enclosed with high fencing, the tops covered in barbed wire with signs along the lengths warning that the fencing was live and that touching it could result in electrocution and possible death. Between the yard and where you currently stood, there was another building, a smaller building. This one was ground-floor only, and it was the entrance to the prison.  

 Visitors would be checked and searched within that building. Two other buildings were flanking each side of the prison, one in which there was an infirmary and presumably solitary confinement of sorts. The other contained a large visitation room and other things that you had yet to see while inside. Lastly, in two of the corners around the prison, there were tall towers on which guards would stay and watch everything from above. There were massive alarm systems stuck to the sides, and you briefly wondered what the siren would sound like before you dragged your eyes away. It was an imposing building, that much was sure, and the cold waves coming off it seemed to permeate and chill you down to your very bones.

 "Who are you here to see?" The guard asked, his voice being slightly muted through the glass pane. You took a deep breath, "Jeon Jungkook." You handed over your id and emptied out your pockets before you were patted down. The walk through the aisle was uncomfortable, to say the least, inmates lined their cells peering down to catch a look. You couldn't help glancing up, trying to meet any of the six familiar pairs of eyes - not knowing whether to feel gratitude or regret when you were unsuccessful. The interview room was vacant, with only you in a room lined with glass, chairs, and black phones. You chose to sit in the third chair, deeming a reasonable distance, though what you measured you didn't know. It was a few minutes until the other room's door was open, Jungkook stepping forward while a guard lingered behind. His hands were handcuffed in front of him, and even though the white jumpsuit, you could see the way his muscles flexed. He had gotten more significant, if that were possible, not having much to do except workout after being locked up for so long. Jungkook seemed disinterested until he glanced up, and his eyes met yours.

 Jungkook began to laugh, a childlike glee filling his eyes; beneath that, however, you could see the swirl of wrath and regret. The guard uncuffed him and whispered something to him, possibly telling him to behave or the amount of time they had. Jungkook walked to the third chair and sat down, his eyes slowly trailed down your body. Now up close, his features had aged and hardened, but they remained with a youthful glow that sadly you had lost. Not wanting to waste any more time, you picked up the phone beside you holding it up to your ear. Jungkook smirked, leaning back in the chair as he continued to stare at you. Clearly, he had no intention of picking up the phone, at least not anytime soon. Even now, he still found ways to torment you. "Please." you mouthed, hand coming up to rest on the glass. It had been years, but people didn't change that much, and you knew that you still meant something to them. Jungkook played along, his palm coming up to meet yours. Maybe your mind was playing tricks on you, but you swore you felt some of his heat come through the thick bulletproof glass. Finally, he picked up the phone.

 “Long time no see, Y/n.” His lips curved slightly upward.

 “...Hi Jungkook.”

 "Aren't you going to ask how I've been?" Jungkook teased, leaning forward. When you refused to, he answered anyway. "I've been good, you know. I didn't think I would ever fit the prison life, but it isn't too bad - at least I don't have a long time left." Your eyes widened, shock evident in the way the phone between your hand trembled, "What? But I thought -" Jungkook chuckled, "Didn't they tell you about the appeals? All our sentences got decreased, not to mention all of us have been on our best behavior." He emphasized by making quotations with his fingers. You wouldn't believe the cruel hand fate had dealt you with as if once wasn't enough. You opened your mouth to speak, but you were unsure of what to say. What would work? What would make the men give up on you?

 “Jimin’s already out. I’m sure he’s planning on coming to visit you soon.”

 With those few words, Jungkook had robbed you of your breath. You had been so sure it was Hoseok, but if Jimin was out, that means he might know about Sun-Hi. If he knows that means… Your eyes trailed up to see Jungkook smiling sadistically, madness in his eyes. Maybe he didn't know. Perhaps he did. All that mattered to you now was finding your daughter. Along with making sure to protect her from her father, even if it cost you your life.  

 "Have you thought about what you want to do for the rest of your life?" You asked him as you turned around. A small giggle escaping your lips when you noticed that he had been staring at you this whole time. "I'm looking at her right now." Rolling your eyes, you playfully hit his shoulder. "I'm serious." Jimin pouted, "As am I." His arms wrapped around you and pull you towards him, the book on his chest long forgotten. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you." It was a cute thought, one that caused blood to rush towards your cheeks.

 "Why do you always say such corny things?" You accused him, as you hid your face in his neck. Jimin could only laugh, "Someone has to." Then he lowered himself until the two of you were at eye level on the soft carpet floor. Jimin's hands combed softly through your hair before cupping your face. There was a faint glow in his eyes, almost like golden flecks that danced in the light. Jimin looked like an angel that had fallen from heaven. Slowly you leaned in to brush your lips along his, but the sound of a phone ringing interrupted you. You had forgotten to turn off your phone.

 "What is that?" All the joy had disappeared from his voice. "How many times do I have to tell you to turn off your fucking phone?!" In the blink of an eye, Jimin had crossed the room to where your bag was. He took the leather bag in his hand, combing through it until he located the mobile device. "Jimin… I'm sorry. It's almost out of battery, so I thought it would die out." He wasn't listening, or he didn't care to. Jimin smiled, turning around to face you, the phone in his hand. "You know I've told you that I hate this phone. It's so old. How do you think it reflects on us if you're walking around with a dinosaur for a cellphone." When you didn't answer, it only made him more upset. Even if it was clear, his statement was rhetorical.  

 "Don't worry, I preordered the newest model. Think of it as a gift." The phone between Jimin's stiff fingers slipped - or that's what he claimed hours later once he had calmed down - to you, it looked more like he slammed the fragile device with all his force against his marble table. It didn't matter. No point in bringing it up, you had a new phone, and Jimin was happy. That's all that mattered.

 The ringing was what woke you up. It had already been over six hours, the news had yet to be dispatched, but so far the police had no luck in locating your daughter or a single trace of Jung Hoseok or Park Jimin. When the police visited the prison to interview the other five men, they'd been notified of your visit. To say they were displeased would be an understatement; the two officers insisted that your involvement would only slow down the process of the investigation. All you could think about was how audacious one must be to tell the mother of a lost child to "relax and destress."

 The phone on the nightstand next to you shined a bright blue. The caller identification stating 'foreign.' It couldn't be your family, investigator Park had warned that contacting your family might not be helpful as it could cause an intense commotion. They'd be the last person you would tell: your family had shut you out after what had happened three years ago. Not that you blamed them, no one wanted an 'escort' for a daughter. Hesitantly you answered the phone, placing it next to your ear.

 "Hi, mommy."

 You leaped off the bed, "Sun-Hi. Oh my god. Are you okay? Sweetheart, are you hurt?" Tears were spilling from your eyes as you rushed to the living room to find Investigator Park's number that was on the card they'd given you.

 "I'm fine, Mommy. Daddy says not to call the police."

 You froze. "Da-daddy? Is he there can I speak to Daddy?"

 There was slight static in the background, so you couldn't make out the voices. Only your daughter's soft tone when she returned, "No. Sorry." A dry sob escaped your throat, "Sun-Hi. Baby, please. Tell me where you are." Your daughter didn't respond; there was only more background noise until "I'm sorry, Mommy. I have to go." No. "No!" The call ended, and with it, you collapsed onto the floor. Your knees coming up to your chest as you rock yourself back and forth. Desperation began to fill you as a single thought settled back into your mind: it isn't over. Their game. It's just started.

 Sun-Hi played with the monster truck until she had just about crashed it into everything and quickly become bored. Then she decided to explore her room once again. Daddy had said that everything inside was either bought by him or her uncles. It was beautiful and distracted her for a bit, but she missed Mommy. She wanted her mommy. It was only after throwing a tantrum and screaming for a while, that Daddy finally let her talk to Mommy. Mommy sounded upset, but Daddy said that soon she would join them, and they would be happy together. All of them.

 "Sun-Hi." His voice called out, a sing-song tone to it. When he peered his head through the door, she burst out into giggles. "Oh, my baby. You're so adorable." He cried, running over to her and lifting her up into his arms. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, in awe of how he and you had ever managed to create such a beautiful creature. In the corner of the room, next to Sun-Hi's bed was a nightstand with a framed picture of him and you in it. Taken on that oh so fateful day. "Good news, sweetheart. Mommy's coming to meet us soon…" His voice trailed off as he looked deeply into his daughter's eyes. As he gazed into them, he saw your eyes staring back at him. The ones that used to gaze at him with so much love and fear. For a fraction of a second, he felt guilty at the damage he might be causing; how much pain he might be inflicting onto you, all because of some deep-rooted need. However, that sentiment didn't last very long.

 Sun-Hi was a reflection of the love he and you had, he would be damned if anything stopped him now after having waited such a long time. He would have you now. The world is damned.

 The last thing you knew you had passed out on the living room floor. After the call, you had suffered a panic attack that left you hyperventilating so much the lack of oxygen triggered a 'reset' switch to go off in your brain. Knocking you unconscious. Your mind likely needed such a thing after all the stress it had to undergo in twenty-four hours. The former, of which would look like a stroll to the park, considering what you had to face next. It wasn't until you tried to move and felt the tight cord digging into your flesh that you realized you were tied up. Looking around, you realized that you were still very much in your house - the bedroom, to be exact. Even it didn't paint a pretty picture that you were curled up with your wrists and ankles tied together. It left you in an uncomfortable position that at best only allowed you to roll over and off the bed, but didn't allow for much else. In the corner of the room, a shadow moved before it seemingly melted back into the wall. You weren't easily deceived.

 "Who's there?" You called out, knowing that the person wouldn't necessarily answer, but hoping to elicit some type of reaction. That way, you could narrow down who it could be - even if there really were only two contenders. "Who do you want it to be?" Spoke his angelic voice, before he stepped out into the moonlight - a maniacal grin on his face.

 "How I've missed you, darling."

#yandere bts #yandere bts x reader #yandere jung hoseok #yandere jung hoseok x reader #yandere jhope #yandere park jimin x reader #yandere park jimin #bangtanarmynet #bts x reader #jung hoseok x reader #bts jhope #bts jimin #bts ot7 #bts ot7 x reader #head over heels #yandere ot7 #kms sequel #killing me softly #so stan evil bangtan #yandere bangtan #girlmeetsliv3

[queenbirbs]

the way home | epilogue | Edward x MC

Pairing: Edward Mortemer x MC

Warnings: some language

Word count: 1,340

Read from the beginning

Read on AO3

------

“If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends, make it last forever, friendship nev-- ow! fuck you, scrubby pad! -- eeeeennddss.”

“Babe?”

From her squatted position on the shower floor, Gabby groans and leans back to poke her head around the corner. 

“Yeah?” she calls out.

“Your phone’s going off.”

“Who is it?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, what does it say?”

There’s a brief pause, and then: “It’s all notifications from something called are slash time travel.”

“Ooh! Can you bring it to me?”

“My hands are covered in spackle.”

“Mine are covered in bleach, though,” she whines.

There’s a sigh, then the sound of footsteps coming down the creaky hallway. A moment later, Iman pushes open the door and winces. 

“Holy shit, how much Comet did you use?” 

Jumping to her feet, Gabby cheerfully abandons the chemical-induced haze of the guest bathroom shower and takes her phone from her girlfriend. 

“Thanks, honey.”

“The window’s… why isn’t the window open? I’m opening the window.” 

She nods her head, letting Iman fuss in the background while she swipes open the app. Her breath catches at the top post’s title: I think I found the new celebrity time traveler.

The body of the post is copied from an article published by National Geographic that details a new historical discovery. 

“Our running theory was that this was a Dread Pirate Roberts situation,” Professor Belinda Doyle explained. Doyle, a professor of history at Boston College, focuses her work primarily on piracy and smuggling in the 17th to 18th centuries. 

“We believed that the strange gaps in the timeline meant that Captain McTavish was either killed in battle or hanged, and that another female pirate using that same name would take her place. We know now that wasn’t the case, thanks to the artifacts and documents that have been uncovered. Instead, McTavish was disappearing over the years to have a family. It would’ve been hard, certainly, for a female pirate during that time to take on raising a child. With the legend she made of herself, it makes sense that she would’ve kept her family as much of a secret as possible.”

Several items were found on Tiburon, a tiny island in the northern Caribbean, including a painting, a glass ornament, and a small chest of other artifacts. Most of the objects are in near-mint condition. The blown-glass trinket is still wrapped in a cloth with a slip of parchment tucked inside. The documents inside the chest include ship logs, inventories, letters, and birthday cards. The most stunning relic is the family portrait, painted by famed artist Marianne de la Vega sometime in the 1760s. The painting features McTavish, her husband Captain Edward Mortemer, and their two children. 

Past the text dump are side-by-side photos of Elena’s old headshot and a copy of the painting.   

“Oh, my god!” Gabby sprints out of the bathroom and down the hallway to show Iman. “Honey, look! Look, it’s her! I found her, it’s her!”

“Babe, stop, you’re going to get bleach all over the new… holy shit! It’s her!” 

------

“You’re fidgeting again.”

“I don’t make it a habit of sitting in one place and not moving.”

“You do when you’re reading.”

“Ah, but I don’t have a book to keep me occupied though, do I?”

“I’ll tell you a story, Papa!” 

Elena puts a hand on their son’s shoulder as he starts to get up. “No, Christopher, you need to sit still, remember?”

He juts out his bottom lip in a pout. “I want to tell Papa a story.”

“You can tell me a story when we’re done,” Edward reassures. “I promise.”  

“Mama!” Andie coos from Edward’s lap, trying to stretch her short arms out and grab hold of her mother. “Mama!” 

He tries soothing their daughter with a toy, but her soft babbling soon turns to hiccupy cries. He shifts to catch Marianne’s eye from around the easel. 

“I apologize, but can we…?”

“‘Tis fine,” she murmurs, most of her concentration still on the canvas before her. 

Elena gathers Andie into her arms and bounces her on her lap, knowing she despises sitting still as much as her father does. 

“This would be much easier if it were one of your photographs,” he murmurs with a smirk. She thinks of the secret Polaroid she has stashed away, the one that she uses to take photos of their crew and their little family.  

“The camera won’t be invented for another sixty years, sorry. Besides, you’re the one who insisted on getting a portrait done.”

“It’ll be nice to have.”

“You only wanted one because Robert and Julien had one made.”

“Please try to keep steady,” Marianne warns again. 

They settle back into their chairs, having not realized they drifted closer during their teasing. Other than Andie demanding to swap laps a few more times, the rest of the afternoon is smooth sailing. Elena feels like she can make that comparison, given that they’ve sailed half the world over now. 

“Alright, you may stand.”

She releases the children, much to their relief, and they race through the door and out into the courtyard. Edward helps her up from her chair and they cross the room to see the painting. The background is still blank, save for a halo of deep blue around the family, but the rest is in full color. 

“It’s wonderful,” Elena murmurs, drawing her hand through the air to motion to each fine detail. “The ruffles in Andie’s dress, the pattern of my coat -- oh, and especially your eyes. A spectacular job, Miss de la Vega.” 

“Aye, a fantastic job,” Edward agrees, then draws up short. “You know what I’ve just realized, though, lass?”

“What?”

“We’ll have to have another one made once this one comes along,” he says, reaching out to palm the obvious swell of their child.

Pursing her lips, Elena tilts her head and studies the painting. 

“I don’t know. She is already in this one, technically.”

Edward snorts out a laugh, knocking his shoulder into hers and prompting a chuckle from her. “Same time next year, then, Miss de la Vega?” 

“Of course. I’ll have this sent to you once it’s finished.” Marianne glances up from organizing her paints to smile up at them. “I think it’ll look rather grand above your hearth.”

With a last farewell, Elena takes Edward’s hand and wanders out into the courtyard with him. The afternoon sun bakes along the stonework, but in the shadowed recesses, the summer day is tolerable. Palm fronds tickle their shoulders as they stroll through the breezeway.

“How are we going to tell her our ship doesn’t have a fireplace?”

“I think she already knows,” Elena assures. “The swords at our sides aren’t exactly subtle.”  

A grin flashes across his face. 

“Well, we do have a reputation to uphold.” 

The high-pitched sound of laughter leads them to the center courtyard, where Ginny and Lottie are chasing Christopher around a bubbling fountain. Andie cheers on from her seat at the fountain’s edge, the fine ruffles of her dress already soaked, tired from her earlier race. Rushing forward, Edward snatches Christopher up and throws him over his shoulder. 

“Have you prepared the rigging, sailor?”

“Nay!” he squeals with laughter, wriggling as his father tickles him. 

“‘Nay’?” Edward swings him with ease to his other shoulder. “Captain McTavish, I believe we’ve a lazy pirate on our hands. What are we to do with him?”

Elena hums, feigning a look of consideration as she boosts Andie down from the fountain ledge. Ginny scoops her up onto her hip, to which Elena shoots her a look of gratitude. 

“I don’t know. Maybe a night in the brig?”

“Mama, no!” Christopher protests in between giggles.

“No!” Andie interrupts. “Go home!”    

“An excellent idea.” Slowing his stride, Edward sidles up next to Elena. She takes the opportunity to ruffle their son’s hair as he chatters away. “What does the captain say, though?”

“Set course for Tiburon,” Elena agrees. “It’s time to go home.”

------

Author’s notes and what-have-yous:

The painter’s surname is a reference to Evelyn de la Vega, a patient in OPH.  Also, thus ends this series! I’ve got a google doc with a few ficlets / fragments of scenes that fit within this series that I may get around to posting at some point. Other than that, here’s the end.

#distant shores #distant shores fic #edward x mc #edward mortemer #f: the way home #Kaila writes things #ahh epilogue time