#usually them just being them is enough to stop conflicts from happening

[f1byjessie]

A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS ━━ LN4.

sometimes the right words are hard to come across, and sometimes everything you need to say can be captured in an image.

( lando norris x photographer!reader )

━━ part two.

Friday evenings are typically spent in the comfort of your flat. Normally, you’re half paying attention to reruns of whatever shitty reality TV happens to be on and half scrolling through social media to keep up with the ever-fluctuating trends of content as per your job requirements, all the while eating your body’s weight in takeaway. It’s not the dream, but it’s certainly a dream.

Tonight, you plan on amending things to include going through the pictures of Bali’s stunning beaches that Lando’s been spamming you with throughout the day, but beyond that, you have no intentions of deviating further from your norm.

You’re actually really looking forward to it. Though you’d rather cut off your own hand than admit it to his face and give him new ammunitions to tease you with, you miss Lando during the winter breaks. So much of your year is spent having him nearby━ a near-constant presence buzzing with the inability to slow down let alone stop━ and when he isn’t around, the silence seems louder. There’s no one else who manages to annoy you the way he does, and it’s just not the same without him.

To make matters worse, between your new job, Lando’s travels, and the scheduling conflicts that have arisen in turn, you haven’t had a chance to catch up with him beyond a few back-and-forth messages about his current escapades. So you really, genuinely, truly are looking forward to it.

Garrett Ward throws a wrench into things.

You have mixed opinions of Garrett. He can be very sweet, and he’s gone out of his way to make you feel incredibly welcome in your first week with the Manchester City team. He makes good conversation and seems genuinely interested in what it is you’re doing, often asking questions about your equipment and process, which is a nice change of pace from most other clients you’ve worked with in the past who rarely give two shits about anything beyond the final product. But his reputation is… concerning.

Garrett Ward is infamous in English tabloids for being a notorious womanizer.

There are several articles that come to mind, but the most damning of which is from 2019, before his trade to Manchester City, detailing with very incriminating photos how he’d been seen entering a club with two women and then leaving just a few hours later with a completely different pair. You don’t want to assume he’s the same man now as he was back then, nearly a full five years ago, but you’ve been working in the sports industry long enough to know that athletes can have anyone and if they want then they will have anyone━ there is no shortage of temptation.

And you are not arrogant enough to assume you would be the outlier.

Which makes his interest in you feel less like friendly curiosity and more like something you need to be wary of.

It’s also why━ as you make the trek through the Etihad Campus car park━ you feel dread begin to pool in your stomach as you answer your ringing phone. “Hi, Garrett.”

“Y/N!” He exclaims excitedly, sounding like he hadn’t just seen you barely ten minutes ago in the weight room. “I meant to catch you before you left, but you were outta there so fast I wasn’t able to.”

And there’s probably a reason for that, you want to say, but you hold your tongue. “Yeah, I usually try to be pretty quick about it.”

There’s an awkward pause left open as if he expects you to say more, and when you don’t he clears his throat. “Erm, well, I was actually just calling to see if, perhaps, you would like to grab dinner with me this evening.”

You don’t. At all. It’s one of the last things you would like to do. There are plenty of other hellish things you would willingly rather subject yourself to before sitting down and sharing a private meal with this man━ jumping into the Thames is one of them, and letting Lando drive you around on the autobahn in his Spider is another. Both could very easily result in death, permanent disfigurement, or any other number of horrible outcomes, but neither includes Garrett.

Your hesitating silence must be an answer enough for him, because he chuckles again and adds on quickly, “No strings attached, I promise. It’ll just be two friends getting dinner.”

All you want to do is get cozy on your couch in your pajamas with a kebab from the place down the street and watch pretty people deal with their pretty people problems on TV. You don’t think that’s too much to ask for, but apparently, some higher power does.

“I suppose that’d be alright then,” you agree tentatively, speeding through the stages of grief as you mourn the initial plans of your Friday evening━ the easy, simple, comfortable plans. “Shoot me a message with the time and place and I’ll meet you there.”

“Awesome!” Garrett cheers. “See you later then.”

The peaceful silence that awaits you after you hang up feels like it’s mocking you. Too bad you can’t flip off silence.

“Look, the truth is, City is looking at trading me at the end of the season if I can’t clean my act up.” Garrett’s voice is quiet as he admits the reality of his future to you, but it breaks the silence of the world around you like a gunshot. “And not just loaning me out━” he adds, a twinge of something akin to anger noting his tone, “━but fully trading me. They’re saying that my image makes things too hard for them and the only way they’ll consider re-signing me is if I can either keep my name out of the tabloids or try to clean myself up.”

In Garrett’s defense, he technically did hold true to his promise of just two friends getting dinner. Things were actually going quite well, too. The restaurant was a little more high profile than you would’ve expected for a casual meal, but that can easily be passed off as the luxurious lifestyle and expensive tastes of a pro athlete who can certainly afford it. Expenses of your meal aside, he’d been good company, asking after the ways of working in Formula One and then finding similarities in his football career that made it easy to chat about the struggles and stressors of professional sports.

But you can recognize that this is where it’s all beginning to go downhill.

He’s announced it completely out of the blue as you’re walking back to the garage where you’ve both parked your cars. On top of that, his pace slows and you’re forced to slow down as well to match it until you both eventually come to a halt in the middle of the pavement.

You feel for him, in all honesty. You understand the difficulties of contract negotiations and how easily they can fall apart. The fragility of Formula One contracts is its own special brand of tricky and you’ve seen many friends move on to other teams in the blink of an eye just as they’ve begun to settle down and make their mark where they are. You can’t say for certainty that you understand the mechanics of football contracts to the same degree, but you can imagine they have their own fragile fine print.

But the chill of a January night in Manchester is brutal, and you’ll be the first to admit that your outfit does not protect against it. You don’t really want to be having this conversation in general, because you’ve known Garrett for all of a week which makes you acquaintances at best, but you especially don’t want to be having it now, out here in the cold when all you want to do━ all you’ve wanted to do since this afternoon━ is curl up in something warm and comfortable and pretend the world outside your flat doesn’t exist for a few days.

“I’m not sure what this has to do with me if I’m being honest, Garrett.”

He shrugs. “I just thought you might be able to help.”

You shove your hands in your pockets in a desperate attempt to keep your fingers from going more numb than they already are and shake your head at him. “I don’t know how exactly you think I can help you with that. I’m a photographer, not a PR officer.”

“My agent thinks it would be a good idea if I showed the media that I could hold down a steady relationship. Prove to them that I’ve changed my ways, and have matured.” He shrugs again, nonchalant despite being the one to bring this up in the first place.

“Have you?”

He makes a face, something between a flirty smirk and a suggestive wink, “Well, I don’t kiss and tell.”

“Garrett.”

“Look,” he crosses his arms and levels you with a look that fills you simultaneously with more rage and annoyance than a single person has ever made you feel before. “It would just be for a couple of months, and then we could stage an amicable breakup and that would be that! It just has to be long enough to show everyone that I’m not the same as I used to be.”

You give him a look right back, hoping it conveys how appalled you are by his audacity. “Okay, but why me of all people? Christ knows you probably have a list of women in your contacts who would jump at the chance to pretend to date you for a few months.”

His face pinches up in disgust. “Yeah, but they’re all former hookups, and I mean, they’re kinda psycho about me to be fair. If I tried to end things, they’d probably go to the tabloids themselves and smear my name with the worst things they could come up with.” He shrugs again, and you’re starting to find that you hate it when he does so. “I need someone willing to just play along for the time being and who will be discreet when things are over.”

“And you think I’m that person?” You scoff. “You’ve known me for a week!”

Your voice echoes and it reminds you once again that you’re having this conversation in the middle of a random street in Manchester. It’s cold and dark, and you’ve been attempting to bite back your frustration since the moment Garrett called you. You’ve been as nice as you possibly can be for this man, shy of bending over backward to worship the very ground he walks on, and you’re so close to your limit that you think if he shrugs one more fucking time━

He shrugs. “Well, yeah, but you know how this industry works. So I know you can be trusted.”

You take a deep breath to try and retain what’s left of your quickly slipping composure, before you say, “Garrett, this goes beyond unprofessional. I could potentially get into a lot of trouble for this. You’re technically my co-worker, if not my client by proxy. It’s not a good look for me to be getting with the athletes I work with, considering my entire career is based on working with athletes.”

He makes a befuddled face as if asking what that has to do with anything. It occurs to you that he’s probably never had to worry about the ethics of hooking up with someone when most of the women who are interested in him would do everything in their power to spend a night by his side whether it’s morally just━ or legal, for that matter━ or not.

“That doesn’t seem to stop you from being all cozy with that Nor-whatever guy,” he grumbles.

“What?”

“That driver,” he repeats. “You post him all over your socials, like, all the time.”

You tear your hands from your pockets and throw them up in the air, “Because that’s my job?!” The stupidity of the man before you is genuinely baffling. He’s been asking about your job all week long but the way he’s talking now makes it seem like he didn’t catch onto the fact that your entire career is centered around media and the creation of content made with the explicit intention of being shared.

“I am quite literally paid to take and post pictures of him per my contract with McLaren,” you continue. “And even if I wasn’t, he’s my best friend?! I’ve been working and traveling and spending the majority of my time with Lando since 2019 so of course I’m going to be close with him. Do you not post your mates every once in a while?”

“Yeah, but it’s different. All my mates are guys, so nobody thinks I’m dating any of them when I do it.”

You scoff in disbelief. “I cannot believe this right now. You know, for a moment, I briefly considered helping you. But you’re actually exactly the type of prick the tabloids say you are.”

He takes an intimidating step closer, and his voice drops an octave lower. “I would reconsider if I was you.” You’re not short, but Garrett isn’t either. He’s one of the tallest players on the Manchester City team, and the way you feel now with him staring you down makes you wonder if this is what it feels like to be his opponent on the pitch.

It’s fucking terrifying.

But you’re fucking livid, too.

Your jaw clenches and you bite out sharply, “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“What it means,” he starts, “is that if you don’t help me, maybe I slip a word about something or other to my boss who slips a word to his boss who is, also, your boss, and suddenly, whoops!” He gives you a cocky smirk, so sure of himself that it makes you feel like your blood is literally boiling. “He’s not your boss anymore. In fact, nobody is your boss anymore, because your ‘slip in conduct’ was very inappropriate and made several players uncomfortable, which doesn’t look very good when trying to get jobs elsewhere in the industry.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“Well,” he fucking shrugs. “When you say it like that, yeah. I guess I am.”

You cross your arms, your hands clenched into fists so tightly that you can feel your nails digging painfully into the flesh of your palms. “You’re a real bastard, you know.”

“You’re not the first person to tell me that, love.”

If only it were legal to kill a man━ Garrett Ward would be six feet under and picking worms from between his teeth.

You weigh your options, though. You’re not sure how much weight his word actually carries. For all you know, he could tell his boss, they could bring you in to discuss things, and then you could explain it all from your point of view. Garrett is a notorious flirt and you doubt it’s the first time he’s tried to pursue someone who isn’t interested in him. You doubt it happens very often, but it has to have happened at some point. Not to mention, his reputation regarding women is bad enough that Manchester City is already giving him an ultimatum, so you probably have a chance, and the worst-case scenario is that you amicably part ways with the team and that’s that.

But realistically there is a worse worst-case scenario, and it’s pretty damn close to what Garrett is threatening. Losing this side gig wouldn’t really be too much trouble. It would put a dent in your savings, and you’d have to be a bit better about how you ration out your groceries and other necessities around the flat, but losing your job at McLaren? Being blacklisted from the industry entirely? That’s life-destroying. You would lose everything━ all the blood, sweat, and tears you shed to get where you are would be for nothing.

All because of a prick in sky blue.

“Fine,” you utter from between gritted teeth. “I’ll help you. But I won’t post you on my account. I won’t bring you home to my parents. I won’t go round to your flat and I certainly will not have you round to mind. You get one kiss to make it official to the paps, and then nothing more.” You take your own threatening step toward him, and a vindictive part inside you shines with malicious glee when he shifts ever so slightly backward. “If you try anything else, I will run to the papers and drag you through the mud worse than any of your little psycho groupies ever could.”

He scoffs, “You’d ruin your career.”

“But I’d tear you down with me,” you reply.

He takes a moment to think, staring into your eyes and weighing how serious you are. Whatever he sees staring back at him must be convincing enough because he sniffs, nods, and smirks.

“Deal.” He leans down, “I think I’ll be taking that kiss now. Make sure to really sell it, yeah?”

━━ tags: @maih23 @urfavnoirette @leclercsluv @f1luvur @formulaal @a-disturbing-self-reflection @starlightpierre

━━ a/n: i feel like i say this every time, but i am seriously blown away by how well the first part of this was received! like, seriously, thank you so much for the kind words everyone said about it! hopefully this second part lives up to the hype of the first, it's a little denser, but the events are important to establish for the rest of the story so it needed to happen!

#formula 1 #formula one #f1 #formula 1 imagine #f1 imagine #formula one imagine #f1 x reader #formula 1 x reader #formula one x reader #f1 fanfic #f1 fic #social media au #lando norris #lando norris x reader #lando norris imagine #ln4 #oscar piastri

[zlebooks]

𓂃 ayato + of marriage proposals and tricoloured dango . use of gendered terms (wife, my lady)

you have a crush on your husband, which is stupid considering that you are married after all. but this marriage is a noble marriage; arranged for conveniences. but is it really?

you’re glad that ayato is finally taking time to spend away from his duties and showing his face to the public. you always argue that a public appearance from him from time to time would do his reputation good— with a united front with you, his wife, as opposed to other traditions of arranged marriages, the yashiro commission would earn a little bit more stability and respect.

everyone knows the nature of noble marriages; if they weren't arranged by their parents to broaden authority within the nation, they arranged it themselves as a ceasefire to conflicts between clans. it was never about love. it could never be about love.

your marriage to ayato was similar to other noble marriages only built on other conveniences. but as a romantic yourself, you wish to put on a show for the citizens of the electro nation. painting a love story between two nobles of opposing clans certainly sounds like a good forbidden romance— one that people from all over inazuma would sigh at the sheer romanticness of it. this was how you gain the approval of the public; by being relatable and showing that nobles were vulnerable to feeling the same emotions that they do. yashiro vassals would often comment on your unorthodox methods of maintaining good appearances, but then again, they serve a commissioner who has his own set of unconventional ways as well. it was almost like the kamisato clan had been blessed by a match well made, if not in heaven.

of course, name and status wouldn’t be enough to be wedded to the yashiro commissioner; if it were that easy, he would have been married ages ago. the kamisato lord needed someone to match his cunning personality, which is why you can proudly say that you have your own ulterior motives proposing this way to please the public.

all you really want is for your husband to spend time with his wife.

kamisato ayato is a gentleman with a tough heart. he may look like a pampered lord on the outside, but it is widely known that he has a certain roughness inside, developed through the trying times in his clan. and during your stay within the confines of the kamisato estate, you noticed his smoothened out edges. and you were a romantic, maybe he would show this side to you that was usually reserved for his sister and a few friends.

you had a crush on your husband simply put. you suppose it couldn’t be helped, and it was an added bonus that he was easy on the eyes too.

so you were glad. really. this plan of yours seemed to work and you got your wish to spend time with ayato.

but as you hold the several flavours of mochi in your hand and two tricolour dangos in the other, with ayato ordering for more dango milk (he’s had enough), you’re beginning to suspect that your husband is just using you to get away from his commissioner responsibilities.

“husband, don’t you think that this is enough?”

“not quite, wife.” he addresses you, to which you could feel your heart doing somersaults to. thank goodness for your nobility training, you were able to mask your emotions entirely, if you hadn’t attended lady arisu’s lecture that day, maybe you couldn’t have stopped the warmth spreading across your cheeks and calm your erratic heart.

“and who do you suppose would eat all of these? my lord?” you further prod, giving the food in your hands a little shake to emphasise your concerns. certainly it would not be you, and it sure wasn’t your husband, as he has all but taken them off your hands and hasn’t shown any notion to eat them himself.

“who else would it be if not you, my lady?” he smiles teasingly, “you haven’t been eating and we cannot have that happen for my beloved wife, right?”

oh he has to know, this elaborate plan of yours or your little crush on him.

or maybe, he’s trying to prolong time spent with you to further evade his duties a little longer. after all, who would disturb the commissioner spending time with his wife?

you hope it’s the latter.

“how cruel of the commissioner to use his wife as an excuse.” you chide playfully and if you had an extra hand right now, it would have been used to keep your fan covering most of your face.

this seems to get ayato’s full undivided attention. as he successfully purchases the dango milk and taking it from the vendor’s hands, he smiles at you, amused by your statement. “pray tell what would have led my wife to assume such a conclusion?”

“well, whenever we are together, you’d do anything to drag out your time with me. it’s as if you don’t want to come back to your duties.” you list, “that one is harsh even for you, commissioner.”

ayato muses, taking the tricolour dangos from your hand, “now my wife is being unfair; it’s not like i’m the only one who has a hidden agenda in our trip today, hm?”

no amount of training would have stopped your jaw from dropping in surprise. so he knows! your heart starts to pick up its pace from sheer embarrassment and you could feel warmth creeping up your neck, towards your cheeks. this is extremely embarrassing! this is no different from confessing to your childhood crush that might as well be two decades older than you!

“i take it that you plead guilty?”

“well—“

“there’s no shame in admitting feelings for your husband.” the word smoothly rolls out from his mouth as if to tease you.

“you—!”

“i’m quite enamoured by you as well, wife. there’s no need to worry your pretty head if your affections are unrequited. after all, why would i ever accept a marriage proposal that heavily favours your side, hm?”

ayato says before starting to walk, leaving you to process everything that had just happened. “now come along, i want to make the most of my time with you before i assume my responsibilities once more.”

and things start to make sense; why he’s so determined at spending time with you even if piles of work sit atop on his desk back at the estate. how he’s the kind of person to never put off work unless something he regards much more important calls for his attention. and in this situation, it was you— you’re what’s more important.

this realisation sends a sharp feeling from your back that gradually rises to your chest, burning you from the inside.

you don’t fail at noticing how he smiles longer at you and only you during meetings, his incessant bothering when a matter requires both of your attention and of course, his immediate response after your marriage proposal.

(“i believe it would be mutually beneficial to both parties but of course, it would be a little more favourable towards my side, naturally. however changes some terms might be ag—“

“alright, i will be requesting an audience with your father tomorrow. so please do expect my presence in your family estate as i ask for your father’s blessing.”)

left with no choice or words for that matter, you pick up your pace to follow your dutiful husband, looking at him like a fish caught in the vast sea. unbeknownst to him however, with both of your feelings coming into light, he has unknowingly revealed something more valuable about himself: he has been harbouring such feelings for a much longer time.

finally matching the man’s strides, you muse to yourself. he may have the upperhand right now, but later at the confines of your home, he would be the one to beg for you to stop with the teasing.

♥︎ please do not repost or translate without my permission . reblogs are heavily appreciated!

#genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact fluff #kamisato ayato #ayato x reader #ayato imagines #ayato fluff #genshin x reader #genshin imagines #genshin fluff

[writtenfangirl]

Dancing

A short one this time! I just wanted to write a really fluffy piece without drama although, yes there is a very small conflict if you squint hard enough. I wanted to write another fic that made me feel good just cause life's been extra hard lately.

Although I have a ton of ideas for this one so a sequel if people really enjoy this. I briefly wondered making Y/N be Lady Whistledown and pairing her up with my favorite Bridgerton brother to see what would happen.

TW: People being mean. Gossiping mamas. Cressida Cowper mention.

The ball, as most balls tended to be as the night waned, had grown stale and boring. The dancing had ceased despite the wonderful string quartet that played their music and people had broken off to their own parties. As the guests become accustomed to the taste of alcohol, words began to flow with reckless abandon. 

“Did you hear? Viscount Dotsfield has a bastard with a scullery maid!”

“The Earl of Blackfield is said to engage in… relationships with Sir Lockling.”

“There are rumors going around that one of the Colton daughters has a French paramour whose name is Ravilli. An ambassador of sorts…”

Gossip is what fueled the ton, the very lifeblood that had men and women of varying ages coming to these balls in the first place. No one in the ton wanted to be caught unaware and one could never be too careful of the rumors that could be fabricated about you. According to Y/N’s mama, the only people who didn’t come to balls and to the gatherings hosted by members of the ton were those of them whose reputations were in ruins. You were either gossiping or you were the one being gossiped about. 

So she came and endured even if she was bored out of her mind. 

It wasn’t anything she wasn’t use to anyway. She was a woman and women were seen and not heard. Not only that, but she was a wallflower. Wallflowers were hardly seen at all.

“Lady Y/L/N.”

She knew that familiar voice, smooth and deep yet somehow still bright. If sunsets could speak, Y/N imagined they would have his voice.

“Mister Bridgerton,” Y/N said as she spun around, hiding her smile behind her bejeweled fan. “I half expected you to have taken your leave by now.”

“Under usual circumstances, I might have. But I have yet to dance with the most beautiful girl in the room.” Benedict said with a crooked smile. “And my mother has always told me that dancing is one of men’s greatest assets to encourage affection.”

“There’s hardly anyone dancing,” Y/N said bashfully.

“All the better reason to do so.”

Y/N wasn’t naive. She knew Benedict was only speaking to her because his mother asked him too. She’d always rather liked Lady Bridgerton and she had a penchant for forcing her sons to dance with the wallflowers. At every ball Y/N attends, her dance card, though usually empty, always had three names: Anthony Bridgerton. Benedict Bridgerton. Colin Bridgerton. 

And there was no man who made he heart beat faster than Benedict Bridgerton himself. Because it was Benedict who offered to fill up all of the other spaces in her dance cards even though he didn’t have to.

All the Bridgerton brothers were kind to her but Benedict was more than that. Anthony and Colin were polite but Benedict laughed with her and conversation flowed between them like water from a fountain. And though she knew Benedict was unlikely to return her feelings, she occasionally let her delusions run wild. She often spent her days imagining what their future would look like. Would their children have his eyes or hers? Their hair would probably be different too. And their noses—

“Y/N?”

Blast! What a bloody idiot! She shouldn’t have let her mind wander like that! And now Benedict was looking at her expectantly with those luminous blue eyes and she couldn’t focus her mind to remember what it is he’d asked of her.

“Yes?” She asked, fighting to stop herself from sounding so breathy.

“Excellent,” Benedict grinned with an outstretched hand. 

The dance. She’d forgotten about the dance!

She briefly wondered if she could find a way out of it. Getting on that dance floor would shift everyone’s focus on to them and she already knew what people would say. 

“The Bridgerton charity case.”

“Of all of the young ladies, he chose her?”

“He deserves better.”

She glanced around nervously. Everyone else was too engrossed in their own conversations to pay them any heed but those conversations would instantly stop the moment she and Benedict stepped on the dance floor alone. 

And she knew that if she were to reject Benedict’s advances, her mother would kill her. Though Anthony was but a Viscount, his fortune was considerable large. His father before him had managed their estate well and Anthony was known to make cunning investments that grew their already large fortune, a fortune that would also provide cushy lives for the rest of his brothers. Perhaps not the large estate of a Duke but certainly nothing to scoff at. And Y/N didn’t doubt for one second that the rest of the Bridgerton brothers weren’t as smart as Anthony was when it came to their finances. 

It’s why Y/N had constantly heard her mother’s say, “you will marry a Duke or a Bridgerton. Anything less is unacceptable.”

Luckily for Y/N, her mother wasn’t around to see her reject Benedict. 

Still, with the way Benedict looked at her, it was hard to say no. 

“Just one dance,” Y/N ceded with a sigh, slipping her gloved hand onto his. 

His smile widened considerably. “You mustn’t be nervous.”

“Easy for you to say,” Y/N huffed. “You look perfect everywhere you go.”

“Oh?”

Damn. Damn damn damn. Damn the world. Damn herself. And damn Benedict Bridgerton. 

“You think I look perfect?” He asked, cocking a brow in question. 

“U-uh, I m-mean, that is to say, I don’t—“

“You truly must calm your nerves, my lady,” Benedict said with a chuckle as he pulled her to her feet and led her to the dance floor. “I am only teasing.” 

Y/N could hear the stream of gossip stop as members of the ton watched them. There was a pregnant pause and then the chatter began once again. She couldn’t hear the full conversations but she heard enough. 

“…fat…”

“…ugly…undeserving…”

“…he is too kind…”

It made Y/N want to curl up into a ball so that the earth may open up and swallow her whole. 

“Pay them no heed,” Benedict muttered as he pulled her close, his hand resting on the small of her back as his other hand found hers. “Focus only on us. And tonight, you look beautiful.”

“Only tonight?” Y/N joked in a bid to ease the coil of tension tightening around her core. 

“Every night.” Benedict’s tone was too serious to be called teasing. 

Soon the new music started, washing away the ton’s horrible words. She could still feel their watchful eyes on her skin, felt the way they judged her. 

“Focus on me,” Benedict muttered before he began their dance by swaying them back and fort.

She let the music fill her, weaving through the muscles in her body. Their dance was a complicated one and though she wasn’t an accomplished dancer by any sense of the word, with Benedict leading it was hard to fail. 

In and out, push and pull, with complicated lifts and turns yet somehow always finding their way back to each other. It was as if their bodies were magnetized, attracted only to the other. As the music swelled, she forgot all about the gossiping ton and their prying eyes. Instead she only felt Benedict’s body heat, the hard chords of muscles hidden beneath his jacket, his hands steady around her waist. 

His gaze on her felt soft, like staring at the afterglow of of dusk. She was never much of a drinker but Benedict always had the ability to make her feel drunk, as though each of her inhibitions left her the moment his luminous blue eyes landed on her. 

When the last notes of the song echoed between them and Y/N and Benedict detached from each other to curtsy and bow at one another, the entire ballroom erupted into applause. 

A soft gasp left Y/N’s lips. She’d completely forgotten about the ton watching them with Benedict commanding all of her attention. 

She raised her head, meeting Benedict’s eyes once more. 

“You were marvelous,” Benedict muttered with a grin as he took her hand and placed a chaste kiss against it before leading her out of dance floor. The ton’s eyes had grown less hostile and more appreciative on and, for the first time in a long time, Y/N felt exhilarated. 

“I would like to call on you tomorrow, Ms. Y/L/N.” Benedict said, letting his voice be carried throughout the ballroom. His words brought on another wave of whispers. “If you would let me?”

Y/N was absolutely sure she would be the center of gossip tomorrow. Perhaps until the end of the season if Benedict’s intentions are what she thought them to be. 

To call on her would mean Benedict would like to get to know her better, to suss out if she would make a good wife or not. And with him a Bridgerton and her a lowly Y/L/N, they would make waves with the ton. She could practically feel Cressida Cowper glaring daggers at her back.

But she didn’t care about that right now. She was still riding the high of their beautiful dance. She was no great beauty, that much was true. But with Benedict, she felt beautiful. And his opinion mattered to her more than the Queen’s and the whole ton’s combined.

“Of course you may call on me, Mr. Bridgerton,” she said graciously, ignoring her fast beating heart. “I’ll have the cook prepare that raspberry marmalade you enjoy so much.”

Benedict grinned. “I am much obliged. I shall see you tomorrow. I hope you have a good evening.” He took her hand again, placing another gentle kiss on her knuckles before he straightened and walked away.

#bridgerton #bridgerton netflix #king george #violet bridgerton #anthony bridgerton #benedict bridgerton #colin bridgerton #daphne bridgerton #eloise bridgerton #francesca bridgerton #gregory bridgerton #hyacinth bridgerton #benedict bridgerton x reader #benedict bridgerton x you #benedict bridgerton fluff #benedict bridgerton imagine #bridgerton fanfiction #bridgerton x reader #bridgerton x you #bridgerton oneshot #bridgerton imagine #benedict bridgerton oneshot #anthony bridgerton x you #anthony bridgerton one shot #bridgerton season 2 #bridgerton season 1 #bridgerton series #lady danbury #regency era fic

[cod-fishing]

Thinking about Price being possessive over his boys. Not romantically or sexually (he likes to tell himself), but any time Soap starts chatting about some bear he met in a bar during leave, or Gaz mentions a girl who gave him her number, he can feel himself bristle. He tries to bury it, but it only gets worse after Las Almas, their bonds forged in far too much blood, and he struggles to bite down discouragement for any connection outside their little family.

When soap and ghost finally get together, he can’t figure out which of them he wants to throttle, but the sensation is intense nonetheless. Enough that he can’t stop himself from ordering them to his office and dressing them down so meticulously his old drill Sargent would be proud. They both look defiant. At perfect attention, military perfect in their stance, but fire in both of their eyes. It’s only when Soap, jaw clenched, demands if Price is going to transfer them that the Captain falters.

He sits heavy into his chair, and orders his boys at ease.

“I could never let go of either of you,” he finds himself gritting out through cigar smoke and choking emotions, far too unfiltered, “I just don’t want you boys to get hurt.”

He sees them soften, understanding. Not expecting a real answer, Price asks them their intentions with one another. He doesn’t want either of them to hurt the other, and while he knows they both have hearts of gold, they’ve got a lot of thorns as well. But they talk, and Soap is his usual genuine self and Ghost- Simon, really - is more honest and open than Price has seen him be ever, so…

He says okay. But keep me updated, he says. The good and the bad. They nod, and he assumes he’ll have to pry information out of them, and they move on.

Miraculously, they do keep him updated. Soap comes knocking one day, and Price asks about those reports he sent him off with and Soap says, aye, captain, got those for you, but ah…can I tell you something sweet Ghost did for me today? He’s bursting with joy when Price looks at him properly, and how can he say no to that?

Ghost, too, comes in one day, and asks to speak with the captain. Need some advice, sir. Johnny wants to take me home to his family for the holidays and I’m feeling real conflicted, he says. And they talk it out, fingers playing with the rims of their whiskey glasses. Price gets this feeling in his chest, likes he wants to reach out and trace his fingers somewhere else, but he ignores it.

It keeps happening that way, Price getting deeper and deeper in their relationship. He knows everything about the two together - almost everything. Ghost is on a solo mission one day and soap is moping, and so price pulls him into his office with the intention of getting him plastered and making him go to bed.

Instead, Johnny gets talkative. He should have known.

“God, Price, you wouldn’t believe the things he can do with his mouth. His fingers, too, lord knows where he learned it, but it’s like he took a fucking class on making me cum just from the teasing alone.”

“You’ve heard his voice captain, I mean no wonder I was creaming my pants to be with him so bad, and boy was I right. Downright evil how good it sounds during and early morning shag.”

And, even worse than all that, somehow…

“Well you know me, I like to be the best. So I told him we should start training my throat, so I can actually take his monster cock, the bastard. Did pass out the first time but we’ve been taking it slowly but surely ever since.”

And Price just…he should shut him up, but instead, he just takes it. Just lets the lad ramble about his love, like some lass back at home pinning for her deployed soldier. He hates it, he hates it, he tells himself. But he takes it for Johnny, and for Simon, and for the trust they have put in him.

And when he fists his cock in his quarters later that night, aching from being hard for so long, he can’t help but picture all those filthy things Soap told him.

Maybe, all this time, he was just jealous.

#cod mwii #soapghost #ghostsoap #cod mw2 #ghoap #tf141 #john soap mactavish #simon ghost riley #codmw2 #mywriting #cod mw3 #cod mwiii #captain john price #priceghost #pricesoap #pricesoapghost

[sweetiecutie]

Yandere Draco Malfoy headcanons

Warnings: yandere behavior, toxic relationships, bullying, obsession, sexual implications but nothing is described, mention of anxiety and depression

Draco is a spoiled brat. Since birth, whenever he wanted something - it was delivered to him in a matter of hours - maximum a few days - in a fancy box decorated with huge sparkly bow on top of it. So when you, to his great astonishment, instead of throwing yourself at him tell him to go fuck himself - Draco gets pissed (and extremely anxious)

It’d be just perfect if you were a pureblood - absolutely no restraints for Draco in courting and spending time with you. If you happened to be a half-blood - he’d be extremely conflicted, but eventually just going so far as forging your personal documents, claiming that you’re a descent of an ancient pureblood family that happened to go missing due to a drastic accident and then being ‘found’ and ‘adopted’ by your parents. Same would go to a muggleborn darling, but I doubt he’d even pay attention to them in a first place

Draco grew up in environment where arranger marriages had always been an expected and usual thing, personal preferences and actual feelings rarely being involved; his parents had never felt anything but revulsion and loathing for each other - Draco’s idea of love is extremely twisted. Love, in his understanding, is when you’re official - when everyone in the family, school, country and world knows that you’re together, tied by strong bond of marriage. That’s what he’d been taught, that’s what he strongly believes in

That leads to Draco spreading rumors all around school about you two being in a relationship, even though it’s obviously a lie. He doesn’t need you to agree with all his stories - you may deny everything as much as you want but eventually everyone in Hogwarts will know that you two are involved with each other in some way. Even if some students don’t believe all the rumors going around, they would think twice before approaching you, not wanting to deal with Draco and his buddies

His logic is pretty much “If I can’t have you - no one can”. If you happened to have a partner - not for long. Once again, Draco would spread nasty lies about you constantly cheating on your S/o with him, and oh boy, can this man be persuasive. Soon enough your partner would be so fed up or simply ashamed of being in relationship with you, breaking up on you not even a few months in dating. And that would happen again and again with every one of your little silly love interests until you finally give up and come crawling to Draco since, well, he’s basically the only person in the whole castle offering you comfort and company

Draco is mean. He doesn’t know how to express his fondness and love obsession so he tries doing so through the ways already known to him - bullying. Snarky comments and snickering seem to accompany your every smallest movement, pale eyes being always fixated on you, waiting, praying for you to make at least one smallest mistake so that he’d finally have a reason to approach you, even if it’s to humiliate you

He’d deluge you with presents, basically trying to buy your affection. Anything you want - you get it. You like that sweater that doesn’t cost a quarter of its actual price - it will be lying on your bed neatly folded, a note attached to it saying “It would look better laying on my bedroom floor”. Want a diamond ring - of course, my dear, as many as you wish, but only after official “I Do”. You want ten liters of Unicorn’s bile - “Ew, that’s bloody gross. Here you go, fucking weirdo” - hands you four bottles filled with dark brown liquid. Where the hell did he even get it from? You said it just to test his limits

Even if you do eventually agree to step into relationship with Draco which is more of an act of pity, let’s be honest his behavior won’t get any better. Yeah, he stops with bullying for sure, but his obsession seems to only get worse the more time you spend together. Draco would become extremely possessive, to an extend where someone else looking at you for longer than a few second would send Draco into an ugly tantrum, shouting accusations and threats at everyone around

That leads to thus little number of friends you had reducing to absolute zero - them being too afraid or simply sick of Draco and his constant blackmailing and threats, leaving you all alone in his clutches. Being friends with you becomes simply too dangerous for others

He’ll follow you everywhere. Wherever you are, it seems like Draco and his little squad is always a few meters afar, watching you closely. It gets even worse once you two are ‘dating’ - Draco is like a chewing gum stuck in your hair - impossible to get rid of. You do your homework - he’s right by your side, flipping the pages of your book over when you ask. You’re getting ready to take a shower - he’s already shirtless and undoing his pants “Don’t you care about saving water and environment? Y/n, penguins are dying!”

Constantly touches you. And if you don’t like it or feel uncomfortable with his touch - too bad, Draco doesn’t care. “Darling, don’t fucking resist me. You’re only making it worse for yourself” And that’s true, it’s better to have contended and happy Draco snuggled into you rather than a furious and annoyed one, tightly wrapping his huge hand around your neck

His mood swings are just something. One moment he may be all cuddly and snuggly, looking at you like a lovesick puppy, and the other - he’s frowning and snarling insults, words are pure poison. And just five minutes later he crawls back with the saddest expression on his face, “Sorry, I got really upset, I thought you were thinking about that scumbag Potter again🥺👉🏻👈🏻” - “Draco, how the fuck can you know what I was thinking about?!”

He’d never physically hurt you because, well, Draco is a pussy. The maximum is pressing you against the wall with his hand around your throat, not choking but just holding you in place while glaring down at your smaller form. All the damage that he causes is mostly emotional. You’d definitely develop paranoia because of his constant stalking, feeling as if even walls have eyes and ears, intently watching your every move. Constant anxiety caused by Draco’s harsh words and treatment, may lead to deep depression

From the good things - he’s really eager to please you. As I said - whatever you want - you get, even if that’s not a material thing. Fame, power, influence - all of that is real and you can get it easily by simply being with him. But the more Draco gives you, the more demanding he gets - everything has its price. At first simple affection will be the greatest repay, but the older you both get - the more sexual turn it all gets

Draco would go absolutely insane during the summer break. He’ll be writing you a few times a day, demanding an answer from you containing a detailed description of your day, who you were talking to and all the conversations themselves. He’d defo get a pair of those double ended mirrors for you two (Wizarding FaceTime lmao) so he can see your beautiful face and hear that lovely voice of yours. And oh, don’t you dare not responding to his tenth call of a day - it’ll end up in a biggest tantrum

His parents noticing Draco’s obsession way too late, not being able to fix nor influence son’s unhealthy behavior. Narcissa tries to reason with her son, cool his eagerness and patroon a bit down, for the sake of both him and you. But Draco sees that as a betrayal, his twisted mind turning it into his family trying to turn you against him, to take you away from him. Now he sees it all - he doesn’t need their approval nor their blessing, he’ll have it his way anyways. It ends with Draco basically forcing marriage upon you, doing what he’s been longing for all these years - claiming you as his, so that no one could ever doubt the special bound you two have

After all, you two were always meant to be

Likes, reblogs and comments are highly appreciated! Writers live off feedback!💖

#draco malfoy #draco malfoy x you #draco malfoy x reader #draco malfoy x y/n #yandere draco malfoy #yandere draco x reader #yandere Draco x you #harry potter #harry potter writing #harry potter x reader #harry potter x you #harry potter x y/n #golden era #golden trio #slytherin gang #yandere harry potter #yandere x reader #yandere x you #dark!draco #dark!draco malfoy #dark! harry potter

[semisolidmind]

In the twice as bad au, what if they never met reader before and only met her in modern days? Maybe mk was talking about his new friends and she came up, they got curious, followed mk without him knowing and then saw her for the very first time, what then?

(....first thing that came to mind—they haven't learned.

in the scenario where they lose their previous reader, they've had hundreds of years to think about what they could've done differently to keep reader with them. perhaps they've also begun to realize that kidnapping and holding her hostage doesn't look favorably on them.

but—if they never had reader in the past, they don't know to be better for the reader in the present.)

perhaps, despite trusting his son to take care of himself, wukong doesn't trust anyone else to not cause him trouble. so, he sends macaque to follow xiaotian to the city.

the six-eared demon follows the boy, witnessing his battle with a young dragon (whom surprisingly quickly befriends xiaotian), and the subsequent trip they take to the noodle shop. he's given the same introduction to the gang as xiaotian is (from the shadows, of course). they all welcome the boy, despite their wariness of his appearance.

there doesn't seem to be any reason to intervene...not yet, anyways. these people don't have anywhere near the same power as the monkey bro's protégé, and what power they do have is untapped and relatively untrained. it's definitely an eclectic cast; two demons, a cat, a dragon, one magically-inclined monk wannabe, and a human woman. she's the only one without any sort of power, macaque notes with curiosity.

it's not love at first sight, but... he does think she's easy on the eyes. it's only as macaque continues to keep an eye on xiaotian and his new friends that he learns more about her. she's pretty nice and relatively easygoing, cares for her friends, and is surprisingly level-headed in stressful situations.

and she's ridiculously fun to tease.

macaque will occasionally antagonize the group in the name of "helping the kid train" (which has the added dramatic benefit of potentially sowing some discord amongst his friends; mac gets the feeling xiaotian isn't being honest with them about his family). while the others put up a good fight, reader seems to try to avoid conflict on the grounds of being a normal, non-magic human. this inability to fight (though that frying pan of hers gives her the confidence to try) makes her the perfect damsel in distress.

the dark-furred demon makes a habit of kidnapping reader after these fights, forcing her friends to scramble to find her. this happens often enough that it gets to where macaque and reader will have genuine conversations during the time that he's hiding her from the gang. they become tentative friends during this time and reader comes to realize that he's likely not going to actually hurt her... probably. and he's pretty funny and easy to talk to, all things considered. reader doesn't hate him. (though she probably should? maybe?)

macaque quickly figures out where her apartment is, and persistently shows up unannounced to pester her. he says that when he's "not on villain duty," he can hang out with her if he wants; not like she can stop him, right? it starts out as the six-eared demon just messing with reader; eating her food, using her television, hogging her couch, and generally being a nuisance. teasing and goading her every chance he gets, he enjoys her reactions (and her attempts to not react).

however, macaque starts getting more and more attached the longer he spends with her. even when he's antagonizing the other members of the group, he'll make sure she's not in harm's way. he'll extricate her from the gang's fights against other villainous demons (usually against her will), shadowing her away to safety.

it doesn't help that once he stops outright pestering her, she warms up to him more, too.

it's working in macaque's favor that wukong already established mandatory visits for xiaotian every so often to make sure he's not slacking, so if mac leaves for the city— eh, he's just checking on the kid, no big deal. he tells wukong almost everything about his visits, but not about his favorite human. wouldn't want him to get too curious; mac knows his brother, and he knows what's gonna happen if wukong finds out about reader.

is it really so wrong that he wants to keep this one fun thing for himself?

———

the monkey king finds it a bit strange that his shadowy brother is spending so much time in the city they ever-so-often destroy. sure, he knows mac likes to cause trouble, but his visits are usually more sporadic.

wukong is beginning to think he's not even visiting xiaotian anymore.

when wukong makes the decision to check on his son himself, he goes to the noodle shop in disguise (it's a bit tough to get anything done when the very sight of you is enough to incite a panic). it's been a while since he's interacted with a mortal that wasn't running from him in terror, so he's a bit awestruck when reader greets him kindly. he's embarrassingly unused to being spoken to like a normal person, but he manages to not make too much of a fool of himself.

he chats her up while he waits on both his son and his order, finding himself charmed. she's sweet, she likes jokes, she's pretty and nice and wukong likes it when she laughs—

he wants to see her again.

so he does. wukong no longer tells macaque to check on xiaotian, instead making the visits himself. seeing as his kid has taken up residence in the noodle shop, is it really so strange that he visits so often?

he also "runs into" reader when she's buying groceries or making a delivery, and offers to help her. he counts the little meetups as "dates" and is working his way up to asking her to be his officially. he won't resort to "ancient demon courting methods" just yet.

he also hasn't told her who he really is. he changes his distinctive facial markings and lightens his hair a shade, shifts the color of his eyes from bloody red to less threatening gold, and wears his hood up. he tells reader he "tries to keep a low profile"; monkey demons get a bad rap in this city, what with that dreaded monkey king always causing havoc.

he'd like for reader to come to care for him like he does her. but, since there's a chance she won't be as open to being with him if she finds out he's the monkey king and not just your average run-of-the-mill monkey demon, perhaps it'd be best to keep his true identity a secret for a while longer.

of course, he eventually runs into macaque (while on his way to reader's place, so he saw macaque leaving from there), and they have a fun lil conversation (that eventually turns into a brawl) about the whole situation. wukong makes fun of his lil brother for falling for a human, macaque hits him back with the fact that it took wukong even less time to fall for her than it took him, it goes back and forth.

when the battle cools off, the brothers talk sincerely about how they feel. neither are willing to give reader up, so...they'll share, like they always have. they both continue to court an adorably but frustratingly oblivious reader, eventually meeting her at the same time and telling her that they're brothers. she's only mildly surprised, to their relief. they're both glad they've fallen for a human who's so comfortable around demons, especially ones as powerful as them. it's not often that a human isn't immediately off put by their aura of strength.

things are calm for a while. xiaotian is being a hero and having fun adventures with his friends, the two monkey warlords are staying out of trouble (mostly), reader is happy... all is well.

however, it eventually starts falling apart.

things quickly begin to change. just visiting reader occasionally isn't enough; wukong wants her to live on his mountain with him. he wants to reveal himself as the monkey king and let reader know the truth. he wants to show her the stone palace, the fruit tree forests, he wants her to meet his people. yet macaque insists they take it slow, that stealing her will just make her afraid of them (and should only be a last resort). he doesn't mind a little fear, but it'll hurt their chances in the long run. so, wukong refrains.

still, he's getting tired of going to the city.

and it's getting increasingly dangerous there, besides. more and more powerful adversaries are coming out of the woodwork, and reader keeps getting caught in the crossfire. nothing serious has happened yet, but perhaps the king will need to arrange a surprise relocation for his darling peach...

———

it happens sooner than he expected.

a powerful foe re-emerges, and xiaotian and his friends aren't strong enough to stop them on their own. the young monkey demon is forced to call on his family for help, both his villainous father and shady uncle arriving just in time to help slow the threat.

the monkey warlords make the fight exponentially easier, their brutality in battle on full display.

wukong can't hide his identity from reader any longer. she knows who he is now, has seen the friendly facade of the peach-colored mask fade into the bright red of his signature warpaint-like markings. she's just a scared and betrayed as he thought she'd be. she knows just what monster she's been dealing with now.

said monster sees an opportunity, and he's done playing around.

while her friends are occupied with finishing off the demon...

...wukong steals reader.

a fitting reward for aiding in saving the world, he thinks.

#bad end wukong #twice as bad au

[ask-whitepearl-and-steven]

Do you ever struggle not sharing details of your story / spoiling people? It's one of the hardest parts of writing for me! I always want to just divulge all of my ideas immediately!

The answer, weirdly enough... is no!

And a part of that is definitely due to me being a giant, secret-hoarding dragon in disguise. But another part of that is the fact that I largely suspect that...

Keeping secrets and avoiding spoilers is the reason this comic is still alive and updating.

Now, that may sound odd. Why would keeping secrets help me post? Sharing work is kind of the life-blood of a lot of creative endeavors. Storytelling is an inherently social activity. All humans, even the most introverted ones, thrive on peer recognition and feedback.

But over the years, I've come to realize something about myself. And this realization may be mostly stemming from me, but I suspect it's actually a pretty common factor for other creatives as well. So maybe I should talk about it (again).

Let me introduce you to something I call...

The Emperor's New Accomplishment.

Here's the thing. I'm an extremely introverted, non-social person. I can go for months without talking to friends easily, even if I love them a whole lot. That all being said, I'm still a human being, and my brain derives happy-social-animal chemicals from being recognized as A Person With Traits. Humans are built that way! We can't avoid it.

So what you gotta understand is - at all times, our brain is seeking social/peer recognition like it seeks out high-calorie foods. And it (largely) does not care what we have to do to get it.

Herein lies the problem.

Usually, creating stuff and thinking about stories and then sharing what we wrote with friends is a great way to get that happy chemical.

But it's time consuming. And difficult. And there's a shortcut.

What we seek when we create Scenarios and Characters and Conflicts is not hard work toiling away writing/drawing/constructing stuff. Many artists actively enjoy this process, but it's grueling.

And just telling our friends about our ideas actually accomplishes the end goal, as far as our brain is concerned! We made up ideas! We told people about it! We got the Good Feelings!

So when I tell people about my Plans to Write A Comic or Ideas To Make a Story, what I'm actually doing is tricking my brain into thinking 'wow, this feels great! We have accomplished the task we set out to do! No more effort necessary!'

And that motivation to actually draw/write/create?

It goes directly into the trashcan.

Now I'm not saying this to suggest people who do this/fall prey to this are lazy. They're not!

But our brains are. They're lazy, and they want to save energy. And they don't care if you WANTED to actually make the story. They will gladly rip the Motivation energy out of our grubby little hands when they no longer deem it necessary to the process.

So - why do I keep so many secrets? How do I stop myself from talking about what happens next in the story?

I'm doing it to keep my actual comic alive.

Disclaimer: Not everyone functions like this, obviously. Everyone has a different creative process. But this is how I've realized MY brain works, so I now take steps to trick my brain back into working. Ha! Take that, brain! Two can play at this--waitaminute.

#chekhov answers #the funny thing is #i am my brain #but damn am i just dangling a carrot in front of myself most of the time

[cepheustarot]

What awaits you in December?

Attention! This reading is for entertainment purposes only. This tarot reading does not give a 100% guarantee that all the described situations will occur or being ultimate truth. You build your own life and destiny and only you know yourself best.

Paid readings

Pick a pile. Choose one or more pictures. Trust your intuition.

Pile 1: Most likely, you still have things to do, plans and tasks that you want to   do or finish before the end of this year. At the beginning of the month you will be doing just that, these days will not be filled with rush, they will flow calmly, you will move at your usual pace. Some of the plans, by the way, you have been planning for a very long time and could not fulfill them in any way, so this month will be a great opportunity to finish what you started. 

The second event is associated with a person, primarily of the earthly zodiac sign (this is capricorn, virgo or taurus, but keep in mind that a person may have a completely different zodiac sign, but earthly character traits may be present in it), it may be your mother, sister, close friend, relative, etc. In general, this is a person with whom you had a misunderstanding, a quarrel and you could both worry about it. This month you will be able to find a common language with her, find a compromise and resume previous communication, so I can congratulate you, the conflict will be resolved! You will cope and resolve the situation. 

The third event is related to your emotional state, most likely at the end of the month you will get very tired of hard work and the hustle and bustle of the upcoming holidays, you can also burn out and stay in an apathetic state. To avoid this, it would be best to correctly allocate your forces and resources, perhaps you should abandon some plans or solve them next year. If you are still faced with this condition, then the main thing is not to put pressure on yourself, let yourself rest, exhale because of all the turmoil, simply gain strength and do what you did not have enough time for, give yourself something that brings you pleasure and good mood.

Pile 2: Firstly, this month will be a good opportunity for you to get rid of old things, things from the past, and anything can happen here: maybe you will sort out old things here, free up space in shelves and a closet, or you will stop communicating with people with whom you were uncomfortable or with whom interest has faded, you can find a new hobby or a new favorite place for yourself, in general, here the emphasis goes to something new for you. 

The next point is connected with your acquaintances, the circle of communication: if you have a project activity with someone now, then you will work hard and eventually you will succeed. This can also be attributed to business, perhaps you will successfully conclude a deal with someone! If this case not about you, then there is a chance that you will go on a trip with people close to you, you can just spend a lot of time actively together! 

The third event of this month is connected with those who have exams and final tests coming up: you will study hard for them and be very nervous, because for you all these exams are quite important. It may happen that the teacher will flood you with questions and it will be difficult for you to pass the exam or maybe you were preparing for one topic, but there was something completely different on the test, in general, be careful here and be confident in yourself and your knowledge! For those who work, this period may be filled with deadlines, you will need to do the work in a short time and it is clear that this will be stressful and very exhausting for you, you may have conflicts with colleagues or boss, which will further aggravate the condition. But, you will definitely cope with everything!

Pile 3: Most likely, there have been changes in your life recently, perhaps one of you is moving to another city or another country, changing your profession, place of work, surround by people, in general, you feel melancholy for the places where you grew up, where you spent most of your time and you will miss, nostalgic. But it can also mean that one of you, on the contrary, returns home to your native places and you feel a pleasant nostalgia, because you have been away from home for a long time. 

The second moment of the month will be that you will slowly get used to the new, to changes in your life, or vice versa, you are so unaccustomed to the old that you will get used to it again. It is clear that melancholic feelings will still be with you, but you will also find pleasant moments for yourself, there will be things that will please you, bring emotions. You can also suddenly change something in your appearance, like a haircut, hair color or a new style of clothing, you can start doing makeup differently or give up on it altogether, something like that. 

The third event of the month is associated with meeting a new person, thanks to whom your experiences can come to naught, he will support you, spend time with you, help you if necessary. But be careful, because there is a chance that he will be hypocrite and will want to get some benefit from you, so choose people carefully!

Thank you for reading! I will be glad of any feedback 🖤

#tarot #tarot reading #pick a card #pick a card reading #tarot cards #pick a pile #pick a pile reading #pac

[inkpot909]

Jealousy Headcanons: Duwang Gang

↳ Characters included are Josuke Higashikata, Okuyasu Nijimura, Koichi Hirose, and Rohan Kishibe. Gender neutral Reader with they/them pronouns. Hinted to take place after the death of Yoshikage Kira.

A/n: What a beautiful duwang! Real talk, I’ve been wanting to write a headcanon list for this group for a long time, now. Bless these boys, none of them (except for Koichi) know what they’re doing. I really hope y’all enjoy. <3

Warning(s): Canon-typical violence and swearing.

Josuke Higashikata

-> The Silent

The immediate feeling that washes over Josuke after realizing he’s become jealous is guilt.

If he has the luxury of being alone, he’ll pace around his bedroom while entertaining a lengthy argument with himself. It takes everything in him not to raise a hand up to his mouth and press a nail or two between clenched teeth. There’s a game of tug of war occurring inside his head and he’s nothing if not a slave to fully investing himself in the conflict.

If he isn’t alone, and especially if he’s with you, there is seemingly no dent made in his chill persona. Not a single person around him would be able to tell the internal conflict running through his mind. Not even you.

His usually relaxed thoughts are disrupted with an ocean of insecurity. “What if” questions plaguing him and internally souring his mood.

It’s a foreign feeling for him to experience. Especially considering you tend to bring out a very proud side of his personality. Ever since he started going out with you, everyday life has only gotten brighter.

And although he’d never be caught mentioning it out loud, there’s a part of him that’s mindful of the fact that usually he’s the one others grow jealous of.

He’s running in mental circles, a back and forth. Agonizing over just the idea of being jealous between taking the brunt of his emotions all at once.

All while he says absolutely nothing on the matter.

He may end up distancing himself for a day or two depending on just how lost in his own head he gets. He doesn’t seek out your company, and that’ll be the only telltale sign of how he’s truly feeling.

Even then, whenever you do see him, nothing appears to be wrong. He’ll smile at you all the same. His tone is cheerful as ever, and there’s no falter present in his laugh.

Because he can’t help but be ashamed for feeling this way, he’ll do anything in his power to make sure you don’t notice. He’ll continue to play the part of your never bothered, always cheery boyfriend.

He will only bring up his dilemma to Koichi.

Being involved in a relationship himself, Josuke figures he would best understand his point of view. He does his best to hear him out (he did go to him, after all), but Koichi telling him that it’s unhealthy to internalize how he’s feeling isn’t going to get Josuke to budge.

Josuke knows you’re loyal. He does trust you... so how could he possibly compromise that trust by mentioning something as silly as jealousy? Being open and honest is usually his go to. He tells you everything. But this...? There’s a little voice in his head telling him not to. And not even sound advice from a close friend can get him to stop listening.

If you’re observant enough to catch onto him avoiding you while simultaneously greeting you as if nothing’s wrong, bringing it up bluntly will finally force him to open his damn mouth.

He’s nervous; more nervous than he’s ever been around you in the past. It doesn’t take long before the word vomit starts pooling from his mouth, littered between a plethora of apologies. His eyes never meet yours until he’s done talking, hands continuously picking and pulling at one another.

Believe it or not, talking it through with you actually helps! Who knew? Certainly not Josuke.

After that first incident, dealing with his jealousy becomes a lot more manageable. Although it doesn’t happen often, it still does happen.

And he’s still not inclined to make a scene if he can help it.

Josuke’s opinion of guys who freak out on their partner or anyone who they feel threated by- even by the loosest stretch of the imagination -is very low. He will certainly talk to you about it, but in private and merely to express his emotions rather than to criticize you in any way.

The only real exception to this, is if someone’s actively hitting on you and repeatedly not taking the hint. How he approaches the situation largely depends on you.

If you’re not afraid of confrontation, he’s going to be at your side with a smug expression on his face the entire time. Your ability to stand up for yourself can make him melt on the spot. He lets you go at it, watching you with a smile brimming with puppy love. He just cannot help but fawn over how cool you are.

Once you’ve made your point, he’ll happily back you up lightheartedly. Even to the point of mocking the person who dared to ignore every “no” you threw their way. People like that deserve to get knocked down a peg, and Josuke’s eager to help.

If you’re more meek in approaching these situations, and tend to shoot Josuke glances pleading for his aid, he’s happy to help. It feeds into his ego a bit, honestly.

He’ll make a point to wrap an arm around you, throwing his best intimidating side-eye to the person daring to make you feel uncomfortable. Hell, he’ll even puff out his chest a little too.

Once again, he’s not above insulting them. His words are vicious and more than a little rude. He is a delinquent, after all.

Josuke isn’t a really fan of getting violent in these situations, though. The only reason he would get to that point is if the other person grows violent first and he needs to defend himself.

If they take it that far, they’re asking for it in his book. He doesn’t feel any need to use Crazy Diamond against something so trivial, more than a little confident in his own strength.

That said, if the flirtatious bastard is enough to make you really upset, he will use his stand to rearrange their appearance in an attempt to make you laugh. Yeah, it’s a bit twisted, but his youthful mischievousness is likely to earn him a smile from you.

That said, if someone flirts with you and tries to brush him off by dissing his hair- all cards are off the table. Openly flirting with you in front of him and dissing his hair? That person must have a death wish.

You may want to look away.

Okuyasu Nijimura

-> The Emotional

Unlike his best friend, Okuyasu wears his heart on his sleeve at all times.

Expressing emotions, even negative or embarassing ones, is not something he shies away from. No, not even in public.

When he first confessed his feelings to you, he was certainly more than a little shy. But when you gladly reciprocated, you’re positive the entirety of Morioh shook with his joyous response.

It’s because of this that Okuyasu experiencing jealousy is quite the roller-coaster of emotion. If he’s jealous, everyone and their mother will likely know.

His immediate response is confusion.

Not over how he’s feeling per se, but instead over what to do about it. Painfully aware of his own intellegence, he’ll agonize over how he should respond. Jealousy is rather complicated in his opinion, and his biggest concern is accidentally pushing you away via his reaction.

He is decisive, though, so it’s not something he’s going to mull it over for very long.

And if you’re right beside him, the likelihood of you diffusing his jealousy right in that very moment is quite high. So, although it’s not uncommon for him to be jealous, he’s quick to let it go.

In most cases, that’s where the story ends.

Sometimes, though, if the feeling is strong enough or if you’re not able to talk with him, it’ll go a bit further.

In those instances, the emotion that follows his confusion is anger. More accurately, it’s defensiveness masked with a display of frustration.

It’s written all over his face, eyebrows furrowing and eyes turning sharp. The delivery of his words are rather harsh and unfiltered (well, more than usual).

This anger won’t ever be directed at you, though. Okuyasu cares about you far too much.

If he can’t direct it at a specific individual that’s (according to him) the source of his jealousy, he’ll instead grow angry with himself. Mainly because his jealousy stems from an insecure belief that he’s not good enough for you.

If he gets this upset, it’s best to leave him to let out his frustrations before going to speak with him on the matter. Hell, Josuke is a better support for Okuyasu when he’s dealing with the bulk of his emotions.

Not much time is needed; no more than a day. And because he respects you greatly, if you give him that tiny- yet definitely needed -space, he’ll gladly hear you out with a fresher mindset.

Okuyasu is almost always going to be soothed by your affirmations.

Sweet words about how you’re with him because you want to be, and that nothing so small could form a wedge between the two of you, is very reassuring for him.

Jealousy is going to be more of a prevalent hurtle for the both of you to work on at the beginning of the relationship. He was still getting used to the idea that you really do like him as more than just a friend. It’s sweet, sure, but the insecurity is something the two of you work on together.

As time passes, and he digests the fact that you’re not going to leave him for the first person that flirtatiously glances your way, he cools off a lot. In fact, he starts having a hard time taking the people who hit on you seriously.

Namely, he’s going to laugh at any poor bastard trying to make a move on you. Because “Ha! Get a move on, loser! Can’t you see their taken?”

His mocking may not be as well-thought out as Josuke’s, but they can cut just as deep. And his delivery is almost always sure to bring a smile to your face. Okuyasu is always proud when he’s the cause of your glee.

That said, getting defensive is still a knee-jerk reaction at times. It only applies if someone doesn’t want to take “no” as an answer.

Doesn’t matter how capable you are in defending yourself, if someone pushes it, he’s quickly going to follow it up with threats. Partially out of affectionate protectiveness, and also in part because he likes to think of himself as your knight in shining armor.

He tries to be as suave as he can while threatening a stranger with a fist to the face. One second he’s throwing insults, the next he’s giving you a smile along with a cheeky wink.

As far as he’s concerned, someone messing with his boyfriend/girlfriend better be prepared for a pair of knuckles meeting harshly with their jaw.

Okuyasu’s like an angry dog barking loudly at anyone getting too close. Least you know no one will ever dare to mess with you for very long.

Koichi Hirose

-> The Logical

Out of everyone in the Duwang gang, Koichi is the least susceptible to jealousy. Actually, scratch that. He’s the least susceptible to jealousy in all of Morioh.

Especially after developing Echoes act 3, his thought process just doesn’t leave a lot of room for doubts in both you and himself.

If someone’s attempting to flirt with you, he’s more likely to grow annoyed rather than jealous.

He’ll throw them an unamused glance, eyebrow raised as if daring them to continue further. He’ll turn back to you, mentioning loudly enough for them to hear how obnoxious he finds their behavior to be. Returning the favor with a smile almost always does the trick, often prompting them to give up.

If they don’t, and press further, Koichi is prone to suggesting that the two of you go somewhere else. He never returns any animosity thrown towards him, not letting it get to him much. Yeah, they may be hurling low-hanging insults towards him, but he’s the one with you on his arm.

His casualness in those situations is so consistent to the point where Josuke and Okuyasu each comment on how they don’t understand it.

When a situation arises where they know they’d be jealous, the two just cannot wrap their head around how calm he is. Koichi merely laughs them off, almost finding their confusion to be amusing.

Koichi’s grown a lot, and he just can’t find it within himself to give into insecurities he considers unnecessary. All that, in his mind, should really be left in the past.

Adding to his confidence, is you yourself.

Koichi adores you, and would honestly trust you with his life. So why would he ever grow jealous of an old friend? What on earth could some random person at a party provide you in a short, two minute conversation that would warrant any defensiveness? Why would he feel threatened by a coworker? It’s not like he can tell you to avoid them.

In fact, he’s very aware of the fact that he can't tell you what to do in general. Or rather, he simply won’t. It’s not in his nature to be controlling or hover over you like that.

Not because you’ve brought it up or it's ever been an issue in the past. It’s simply because... that’s not a real relationship in his eyes. He’s not bossy or pushy- you started dating him because that was your decision at the end of the day. And that alone is enough proof to him that being jealous really isn’t worth it.

Now, if by some miracle he does grow jealous, it’s not going to last very long. Again, Koichi is just too levelheaded.

He is going to grow downcast, saddened by his own perspective of the situation. This is because he’ll only get to the point of jealousy if he believes you’ve returned someone’s advances- whether it was by word of mouth or something he saw with his own two eyes.

And because you care for him as earnestly as he does for you, his jealousy likely occurs due to an honest misunderstanding.

Koichi will approach you on the matter himself, and will do so calmly. Even if he saw something, he doesn’t want to become more upset before he hears what you have to say. After all, you’ve never disappointed him before.

Because of his strong trust in you, after he details his perspective on the matter, he asks that you explain your side of the situation to him.

Koichi’s demeanor is very controlled and polite, hiding a certain degree of genuine worry. He listens with baited breath, internally praying that he simply misread what happened.

And to his relief, that’s all it ever ends up being.

Just like that, the both of you are quickly back to normal. Worries evaporate from within his mind, and he’s back to his usual sweet self.

Genuinely the best boyfriend here, no contest.

Rohan Kishibe

-> The Denier

Oh, boy.

First thing’s first, it should be noted that The Great Rohan Kishibe does not grow jealous. It’s not even a question, and honestly, expecting him to explain such a thing is an insult. Men and women alike fawn over him; anyone would be lucky to have him. You’re lucky to have him.

And to his credit, Rohan really doesn’t grow jealous very often.

His confidence in himself may cross the line into narcissism, but it doesn’t lead him to give into jealousy very often.

Like Koichi, he knows that if you’re with him, it’s because you truly care. Even more so, considering Rohan knows (if only slightly) that he’s not the easiest person to be around.

Nope! He certainly doesn’t become jealous very often… not never, like he’s worked so hard to have you believe.

For Rohan to become jealous requires specific circumstances. Some random person approaching you at a party or bar isn’t going to pose much of a threat to his ego.

On the contrary, it feeds into his ego.

You’re a beautiful individual; it’s no question as to why others would try and approach you. But, of course, you always turn them away seeing as you’re already his.

In those instances, he’s as dismissive as Koichi, coupled with a tongue as sharp as Josuke’s. Rolling his eyes, wrapping an arm around you, straight up ignoring the person trying to talk to you, kissing you out of the blue- he’s got every weapon in his arsenal equipped to ensure you’re left alone.

If it gets to the point where you’re growing visibly nervous or uncomfortable, Rohan’s words are the nastiest you’ve ever seen. But the display isn’t necessarily out of jealousy, as it is out of shock and frustration that they’d persist. He’s not going to let anyone speak to you in such a way.

But when it pertains to an old friend, the one you were talking about meeting up with for a week straight... now that’s what makes his chest tighten.

Rohan’s going to be in a bad mood because of it, but it’s not too distinct from his usual behavior. No, he’s just a little more quiet than normal. And by the time you cheerfully tell him about seeing this friend of yours, he thinks he may go nuts.

Rohan’s immediate response is to completely shut himself out from everyone, while simultaneously denying any thought he has over being jealous in the first place.

The time he spends locked inside his office is insanely alarming.

At first, you question whether or not you should even say anything about it. Yes, you’re obviously concerned for his health, but Rohan falls into his exaggerated version of workaholic-mode from time to time. And you know him well enough to understand he requires a very careful approach to be pulled out of it.

No, what really warns you that something’s wrong, is that even Koichi asks you if Rohan is doing okay.

His concern takes you aback, and only makes your heart sink further when Josuke (of all people) speaks up about it as well. He’s a lot more reserved about showing any worry, but it’s enough to let you know that something is fundamentally off.

Prodding Rohan for an explanation is going to take a good while.

He’s so unused to feeling jealousy in any capacity that he outright refuses to even admit it to himself.

No, he just needs to work and not interact with anyone. Why? Because he has to; don’t question him. There’s so much he needs to do. You’re far too busy with your old friend in town to pay him any mind anyway.

And that’s exactly the sentiment you finally manage to pull from him.

He spits it out it with crossed arms, not once meeting your gaze. But it’s a mistake (in his mind), because it gets the cogs turning in your mind.

You end up realizing Rohan’s jealous before he does.

Affirmations that you love him is a must, and don’t even bring up the fact that he grew jealous- it would only continue to stir the pot. You know Rohan well, confident in how you choose your words when talking to him about it.

He refuses to give you any indication that he's listening, of course, but one brief glance your way cracks his hardened outer shell.

The look on your face... it initiates this weird sinking feeling deep inside his gut. Just thinking of could halt his movements.

Yes, realistically, he could just use his stand to check whether or not his concern is warranted.

But, for one thing, he’s already promised you he wouldn't do that to you. Setting boundaries is extremely important to Rohan, so he respects the ones you set in return. So much so that the thought of using Heaven’s Door on you doesn’t cross his mind once.

And that look on your face, soft and melancholy upon the realization that he’s been doubting you... he honestly doesn’t need to use his stand to know he's severely misread your relationship with your old friend.

His own ability to recognize how poorly he misunderstood the situation is something he figures he’ll have to unpack at a later time. In that moment, he was just relieved. He told you, rather stubbornly, that he supposes he was wrong. In own his weird, twisted way, that was how he apologized.

In short, being with you is a humbling experience for a person like Rohan and this instance of becoming jealous is certainly a part of that.

Weirdly enough, to his internal surprise, it’s ultimately a pleasurable development. Not like he’d ever tell you, though.

With the passage of time, he even lets you tease him over it. The two of you playfully go back and forth, bringing up times where you both got so jealous. It’s all in good fun, his confidence in your feelings for him stronger than ever.

In reality, him having a bit of humor about it is a clear sign that he’s growing into the relationship more and more. And him being able to be more transparent around you makes it easier for him to talk to you in the future if he gets that jealous again.

There’s still room for growth, but such things are almost always a gradual process for someone like Rohan.

That said, only you’re allowed to make any sort of teasing remarks about the whole ordeal. Anyone else isn’t worthy of doing so.

#johnny’s work #jjba #jojo’s bizarre adventure #josuke higashikata x reader #okuyasu nijimura x reader #koichi hirose x reader #rohan kishibe x reader #diamond is unbreakable #diu #manga #anime #headcanons #jealousy #gender neutral reader #fluff #sfw #part 4 jojo #writing #fanfiction

[astraltrickster]

My logic on the fairy vs. walrus question is this:

I am fairy-ignostic. Do I think they're real? That depends on how you define "fairy" and "real" - I think the mythology is meaningful, I think they're an interesting speculative fantasy about the natural world and the unexplained (and potentially the unexplainable), and I will happily respect the mythology so long as it's not asking me to harm other people because 1) respecting harmless beliefs, even if I don't share them, is just the polite thing to do and 2) I don't want to find out I'm wrong the hard way...but I don't think we're going to see literal physical tiny humanoids with butterfly or dragonfly wings floating around us any time soon.

But there is precedent for something people thought was just a myth to turn out to have been true, usually not in exactly the same sense as the myth (it's usually a previously unexplained natural phenomenon or an underestimated power of one, a fast glimpse of an unknown species, or something similar) but still in a more literal way than people assumed, so seeing a fairy at my doorstep is just kind of - oh! Wow! Just like things that are almost-but-not-quite deer (CWD), living caves that eat people (turns out they don't have to be "alive" in the literal biological flesh-and-blood sense to do that), the various animals we described as "sea monsters" before we properly recorded them, and more, it turns out at least one fairy myth was more literal than I gave it credit for. That's exciting and I can't wait to find out more about what this means! But I have a baseline. It's just familiar enough to be a case of, "all right! So, which myth is this most like? There are a lot of fairies that show up at doorsteps, after all," while being just unfamiliar enough to tell me, okay, I need to just accept what happens here and go with the flow. I won't give them my name, and I will be extremely careful to live up to rules of good hospitality and clarify any potential points of conflict. Surprising, but I can handle this.

A walrus, on the other hand...I know how walruses act. I know their normal range. I even know where the closest place I could see one is relative to me. I obviously know they're real in the most literal possible sense - but I also know, relatively speaking, a great deal about how they work, and this experience flies in the face of ALL of that knowledge. I'd start checking to see if this was some kind of Candid Camera successor, and if it is, who's filming this? Is the walrus real, or is it some guy in a very realistic costume? Whether it's real or not, how did it get here? Did someone bring it? Who? Did it escape from a zoo/aquarium? The closest place I could normally find one is nearly 200 miles away, how did it get to my doorstep without someone stopping it? Why is it on MY doorstep?

Furthermore, when a likely 1,700-3,700 pound marine mammal just decides to show up in your face...on top of the shock, there's also the terror of, well, fuck it, that marine mammal owns my house now, I guess! I have to worry about keeping my cats safe. I have to worry about my neighbors doing something stupid and getting gored with its tusks. I have to minimize property damage. I have to call animal control. A fairy, I can communicate with. A walrus, I cannot.

Ergo, the walrus is both more surprising AND more alarming.

#fairy vs walrus

[martini-garnish]

Sorry not sorry for this one

Told y'all I might make the Vox girlies mad. CW for Valentino being there lmao.

18+ Minors DN fucking I. I already had to block 2 of you for following me I'm serious about this.

So many Vox fics the MC hates Valentino which is like very fair he's very hateable but there's also this pattern of Vox not wanting him anywhere near them and I'm gonna be real with you guys. I don't think he'd be protecting anyone for shit.

If he cared enough about a second situationship to want them to stick around then yea, he would probably try and make sure Val didn't get them under contract, but that's because he wants that position lbr. He would strongly discourage ripping them to pieces like one of Velvette's models, but if they're dumb enough to put themself in the line of fire it really can't be helped. And as I've said he certainly isn't above using either of them to manipulate the other into doing what he wants.

That's not to say he isn't conflicted about anything going on here. On one hand he does want to keep them to himself, Val has dozens of playthings so he should be able to keep this one just for him. But....

More than he'd be willing to admit he also wants them to get along. Probably a little too well. He has never wanted to watch two people fuck this bad in his life or afterlife.

Let's face it the man is an absolute voyeur, watching the people he's usually fucking go at it with eachother would run a close second place to watching Alastor getting his shit kicked in in terms of turning him on.

From another room or, preferably, with a front row seat. Somewhere he can run commentary. About how hot this is, about how he's so hard it hurts, how good this looks, how he wants it burned into his fucking brain and it is because there's no way he's not saving it.

Whether it's rough and violent or painfully, torturously slow depends on if he can convince Val to listen to him, because there's no way he's bottoming for some rando just because they're Vox's second favorite cocksleeve he is still calling some of the shots here- besides, he does want to see exactly what Vox sees in them, who can blame a man for being curious?

It's not a cuck thing as much as Vox can get a little riled up from humiliation this is different, he doesn't know who to focus on and just starts giving demands instructions to both of them about what the other likes. Though, that gets incoherent pretty fast given he's fucking his hand like stopping would kill him.

He also happens to have the restraint of a spoiled child and as much as watching this is driving him insane he very quickly comes to the conclusion that he needs to be in the middle of it. Right The Fuck Now Actually. Preferably inside of one of them with the other inside him (and 9/10 times that turns out in the orderyou would expect, sorry tops). He will Be the fucking get along shirt.

Also Low-key hoping but would never, ever admit that he wants them to get along so they can tag team praising and degrading him. You couldn't torture that info out of him though. Valentino has already tried.

#unsafe for work #vox x reader #valentino x reader #kind of. did not think id be using that tag haha sorry everyone. #hazbin hotel x reader #hazbin hotel x you #is this once again based on my horrible little oc scenarios? yeah

[qawcamiz]

scaramouche being jealous? 😁

Are you... jealous?

SFW : gn!reader, fluff, jealousy, no proofread (SORRY)

a/n : This has been in my inbox for a while now 😭 I didn't know how I'd begin the process (my struggle everyday)

Scaramouche never quits teasing you, He’s a pang in your ass that’s for sure, there's no denying that he is and you can’t stop him no matter how much you would like to because that would be accepting defeat in the face of his endless mockery. You're used to it now though, and so is he.

you have gotten good at shrugging off his remarks when they're provided with enough irony to make you crack up rather than cry or maybe even punch him in the arm for being rude like what happened before but you don't want to do that and risk getting yourself thrown in an infirmary so instead you shrug him off every time and try not to let it get under your skin. You've long since come to let in that you'll never understand his humor, but still, he can be aggravating sometimes, but this time, you let your eyes drift towards where he is standing at the counter, ordering you a coffee from that one barista who always manages to beam sweetly at him while taking down his order that somehow made you feel nauseous to your stomach whenever you saw it.

"Oh,"

On the other hand, Scaramouche wasn't even paying attention to the barista who kept on flirting with him as if she was giving her whole soul to him in order to seduce him, somewhat, he had a misbehaving flash in his indigo eyes as he keeps an eye on a guy approaching you with a big grin on their face. It was an unreadable expression, which was odd because Scaramouche knew how to read people well and clearly and the way the guy approached you was way too casual for someone who was about to start hitting on you.

He quickly paid for the beverage and made his way across the room, stopping right next to the two of you without cautioning you about it. "Oh? Am I interrupting something?" he asked, tilting his head to the side with a little amused grimace tugging at the corner of his lips. His voice was low and rough, which made you realize that he must use some kind of throat tonic since his voice sounded slightly hoarse.

"Uh, can't you see I'm busy trying to talk to them?" he snapped at Scaramouche with annoyance lacing his tone. His hands were shoved deep into the pockets of his black jeans and even when Scaramouche looked unbothered, you could sense a slight tension increasing in his body. The guy was irritated by him, and you knew it was just the calm facade he put on.

Scaramouche gave you the same mischievous look he had just a moment ago, "Oh I don't know about that. Look at them, I think they like me." he said as he grabbed your chin, gently raising your gaze to meet his indigo eyes. You had to look away when you felt the heat of those eyes on yours, embarrassed. Your cheeks felt warm when he spoke again, "Besides, We're currently occupied, and I wouldn't appreciate others attempting to distract our plans ahead." he added in a low whisper that only you could hear while brushing a thumb over your cheekbone.

The guy felt awkward enough that he didn't have anything else to say after that, he looked conflicted between wanting to leave and staying near you to keep an eye on Scaramouche and avoid making things weird. Eventually, He thanked you and turned around abruptly, and marched out of the cafe without sparing another glance toward either of you. Scaramouche watched him go and then quickly removed his thumb from your cheekbone, letting your skin go back to its usual temperature.

You blinked at him in confusion, "What's that for? The guy was just—"

"They were flirting with you, y/n," he told you simply, a little snicker sneaking up behind his words before he went completely silent. Scaramouche was glaring at his mug as he took a sip, his shoulders stiffened almost bitterly, probably to hide any signs of emotion, which made you curious as to why he was suddenly behaving this way, his eyes darted up towards yours before lowering his gaze back onto his drink, muttering quietly, "It was obvious."

You furrowed your brows and were a little scared before realization dawned on you, feeling the corners of your mouth turning up into a knowing smirk as you leaned against your chair and crossed your arms on top of your chest, "Pfft... Jealous, huh? I never thought I would get to witness that side of you, Not like I'm complaining, The sight of you looking jealous is quite funny..." you commented with a chuckle as you shook your head fondly, amused.

When he shot you a glare, you couldn't stop laughing anymore, your shoulders shaking as you tried to breathe through your laughter. "So what if I'm jealous?" he glared at you in response and you could tell he was pissed now but it only made you chuckle more, he was just too adorable, and it was so easy to pick on him, especially now that you finally got to do so.

"There's no need to be jealous. He was just asking for paths because he was going to meet his boyfriend and he's new here, so he's not familiar with the city yet."

#genshin impact #genshin impact headcanons #genshin imagines #genshin headcanons #genshin fluff #genshin impact fluff #genshin impact scaramouche #genshin impact wanderer #genshin impact kunikuzushi #genshin scaramouche #genshin scara #genshin wanderer #genshin kunikuzushi #scaramouche fluff #scaramouche x reader #scaramouche #wanderer fluff #wanderer x reader #wanderer #kunikuzushi x reader #kunikuzushi #genshin drabbles #genshin impact drabble

[thesparklingwriter]

words of comfort

" You’re not alone in this world anymore, so please just stop acting like you are.”

word count: 0.8k

original ask

tags: hurt/comfort, kaeya is working too hard and reader says 'no more of that', there's a mild innuendo at the end but i couldn't help it it was the kind of opportunity that i know kaeya wouldn't pass up but I've been so conflicted as to leave in or not because i feel like its too soon but kaeya's also the type of guy to not dwell on things too much after it's solved but i still feel like it might be too soon but we all know he wouldn't pass on an opportunity like that and i'm just going to let you read it

taglist | masterlist

Perhaps Kaeya underestimates how much you notice. He thinks he’s done a fantastic job of hiding how exhausted he is from you, from everyone. He’s been putting a little extra effort into his work, so desperate to prove to himself that he could work harder, that he could take things seriously, he could be better for you. You’d never asked that of him, and he knew you wouldn’t, but something in him made him think you deserved better. And he couldn’t stand the thought of ‘better’ being someone else, so he buried his worries and concerns into his job in hopes he could work them away.

When he finally gets home, he’s convinced that you’re fast asleep already—a fact that doesn’t fill him with excitement. Rather, it increases the feelings of inadequacy he’s been feeling recently. He slumps onto the couch, rubbing a hand over his face and pulling off his eyepatch. 

“Kae?” He hears you coming down the stairs and sits up with a fake casual air.

“Hey, sunshine.” he grins. “How was your day?” 

“It was alright,” you say quietly, reaching to turn a nearby lamp on. He must have been so exhausted when he got in that he didn’t even have the energy to put the lights on. “Yours?”

“Same as usual,” he says, pulling you onto his lap. Being close to you makess him feel like he’s floating in the clouds. You protest slightly, but he ignores you, his hands gently massaging you. “How come you aren’t asleep?” 

You look at him properly then, in the warm light of the lamp, and you curse yourself for not putting a stop to his working sooner. Of course, you noticed he was tired, and coming home later, and you tried your best to comfort him the best way you could without making it too obvious. Sometimes it was staying up late for him, or sneaking into headquarters during the day to bring him lunch or just distracting him a little to force him to have a break, but your efforts clearly haven’t been working, and you’ve left it way too long.

“Kaeya,” you say quietly. “Tell me the truth. Same as usual?”

Kaeya maintains his aloof composure, and if you didn't know him as well as you do, you might have missed the slight twitch in his right eye. “Why the sudden interrogation, hmm?”

“You come home late, you’re so exhausted that you don’t even take your jacket off or turn the light on, and you don’t even make it to bed some nights. I’ve tried to make things more comfortable for you without saying anything for your sake, but it’s not working.” Tears bunch in your eyes as you speak, and Kaeya feels the guilt mounting up again. More than anything, he wanted you to be happy. He didn’t want to bring this to you and he thought he was hiding it well enough.

“Sunshine–”

“No. I’m not going to sit and let you waste away. I care about you so much it hurts. Watching this happen to you hurts. You’re not alone in this world anymore, so please just stop acting like you are.” The tears really start coming then, and you can’t speak anymore. Kaeya quietly pulls you to his chest, gently rubbing circles into your back.

It was never his intention to hurt you this much. To be honest, this was what he was trying to avoid the whole time. You made the long days and short nights bearable, with the smile you gave him every morning, and the patience you had for him. You were healing him in places he didn’t realise he was broken, and somewhere along the line, he had taken that for granted and allowed insecurity to replace the peace he should have felt.

“Kaeya, I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me. You deserve peace, you deserve to be happy. You deserve to sleep at a godly hour.” You pull away to look at him properly, gently wiping stray tears from his face. “Am I that unapproachable?”

“No,” Kaeya replies. “No, you’re not. I just assumed you had better things to worry about.”

“‘Better things to worry about’? The only thing I worry about is you when you throw yourself into work like you’re trying to run away from something. I’m scared for you sometimes, Kae.”

“I’m sorry for worrying you,”  he replies carefully. “My intention was never to hurt or scare you. I just didn’t want to be a burden.”

“You are not a burden. You will never be a burden to me. You never have been. Okay?”

Kaeya nods. You cup his face in your hands, gently planting a kiss on his forehead and suddenly all his worries and insecurities melt away. If he had known that all it took to calm his thoughts would be a few words from you, he would have gone down that avenue first. It would have been significantly less work for him.

“You’re taking a day off tomorrow,” you say quietly. “And we’re getting you out of that stuffy jacket and going to sleep.”

Kaeya smiles softly. “Just my jacket?” He smirks, and you laugh, taking his hand and standing up.

“We’ll see.”

author's note: hello kaeya nation it has been a hot minute ToT

nonnie i cannot apologise enough for my inadequacy in getting back to you on time i don't even know if you're still around, idk if you survived the shadowban of 2023 but i hope you get to see this

taglist: @tartigglez @aixaingela @atlaincorrect

#kaeya x reader #kaeya alberich #kaeya genshin impact #kaeya x you #kaeya fanfiction #kaeya fanfic #kaeya fluff #kaeya hurt/comfort #genshin impact x reader #zhongli x reader #genshin x reader #genshin impact

[lilyginnyblackv2]

The small details that make this episode work: SPOILERS!

1. Miss Anna is shown to be on her own looking after a lot of kids:

This highlights a real-world problem in Japan, which is the extreme worker shortage and high turnover rate of daycare workers in Japan right now. I’ll link to a Japan Times article that goes into more details about this.

2. Rei notes how huge this zoo is in the very next scene:

3. The areas the kids are shown traversing on their own and shouting for help in aren’t heavily populated areas of the zoo. Compare this scene where Rei and Kazuki are to the kids:

Kazuki is also screaming and shouting nonsensical things, so it stops people and catches their attention. Meanwhile, the areas the kids are in have very few people:

The kids are calling out for their teacher and others here. Yes, there is a woman with her child there, but could that woman be completely zoned out at the moment? Absolutely. Her kid is the only one that notices Kazuki crawling on the ground in the next scene, after all. She could be scrolling on her smartphone for all we know too.

4. When they do reach an area with slightly more people around, and call out, these people are eating lunch with their kids. Their focus is on their own children. And only Miri’s “Miss Anna!” shout is said loudly once. Taiga kinda mumbles out a “Where could she be?” But that’s it. 

And, I do think that Buddy Daddies has been highlighting the lack of attention and care a lot of people in big cities, especially, tend to give towards others. Even children. And how, in Japan, the desire to not cause disturbance or conflict, can also lead to people not interfering in situations, even when they should.

But even here in the States or other parts of the world, how many times have people heard kids playing or shouting very loudly, and it was paid no mind, because the assumption is that kids are playing or the person they are looking for is just around the corner? You hear about situations like that happening all the time in missing children’s cases and the like.

It really requires the shouting or the scene/actions to be really loud or really odd (Kazuki being up a grown man up a tree shouting) to cause others to stop and stare, sadly.

5. Finally, when this lowlife does attack them, there is literally no one around (except Kazuki and Rei). They moved to a more secluded area nearer to the trees (rather than staying in the more crowded area by the benches). His attack is also meant to be ridiculous, because it highlights an actual, lowlife “delinquent” (a grown man who would steal food from a literal child), to contrast with Kazuki’s imagined delinquent Miri.

And, this part may be a bit of a stretch, but I do find it rather interesting that the episode started with this discussion:

An older man saying “Parents these days are too lenient with their children when they’re young!” But yet, it is these older men that likely had stricter or less lenient upbringings that are shown behaving poorly. Yet, it is a more lenient approach (Miri with Taiga) that shows good results. 

(Also, sidenote, in both this news story and in this episode’s B-plot, the adult exhibiting harmful behavior are both grown men - so the issue is less “they don’t know right from wrong,” as the man on the news says kids these days need stricter understandings of that, and more “they’ve never been taught accountability for their actions,” which is a different thing and is a very gendered issue, especially in Japan, though also around the world to varying degrees. Since Taiga was exhibiting a lot of the usual “boys will be boys” behavior, but Miri holds him accountable for his actions, like below).

As for Miss Anna, we don’t really see her side of things. But I’d imagine that she did the best she could to locate them/some form of security to help her find our lost gang, while also making sure no other kids took off, and keep things “on schedule” enough to keep the others calm and not cause panic. She was likely super stressed out and juggling a million different things at once. With her situation and them getting lost highlighting the understaffing issue with daycare workers and also the continued societal issue of lack of community and helping others, especially in regards to childcare.

Do a lot of these things also just help to tell the story that they need to? Yes, but at the same time, I feel they set everything up in a way that I could believe something like this could happen. Maybe it’s also because I can remember being a kid lost in the grocery store when others were around, and no one stopping despite distress being visible on my face and me calling for my mom. That definitely happened once when I was younger. So this happening to a small group of kids in a huge zoo in the city? Definitely plausible.

I also just think they tied this episode and its themes nicely together. And I wrote this post because one reactor was basically like, “If that was my kid’s teacher, she wouldn’t be my kid’s teacher anymore.” “If I was her, I’d cause a scene until the police came to me and helped fix the situation” and other sorts of Miss Anna slander, and I wasn’t here for it. 

(Also, that approach would have been awful. She is in charge of a bunch of other kids too. She can’t just cause a scene until cops or security or whatever came to help. That would have caused the bunch of other children she had to care and look out for to freak out and it would have made the situation 1,000x worse. Especially since she seemed to be doing this whole trip on her own).

#Buddy Daddies #Miri Unasaka #Kazuki Kurusu #Rei Suwa #Anna Hanyu #BD #Buddy Daddies spoilers #BD spoilers #long post #image heavy post #meta post

[skiller0dani]

Secrets | Sebastian Sallow

M A S T E R L I S T Other Masterlist Harry Potter Masterlist

smut | shy!hufflepuff!reader requests info w.c | 7.3k summary | You had a crush on Garreth before you started dating Sebastian, and neither of them can stand the other. Garreth can't accept the fact that you're in love with Sebastian, and Sebastian can't stand the fact that Garreth won't let you go.

Am working on requests now, keep an eye out for them! :) I know I posted this photo recently but Sebastian looks so enamored in this photo, I'm obsessed. You aren't the MC from Hogwarts Legacy in this, and I'll most likely refer to the MC as 'MC' lol

As I'm writing this, I realized this could easily become another mini-series lmao, all of my ideas are so elaborate.

Also just bc I forgot to mention this earlier, I would happily write for Garreth Weasley as well! He's featured pretty heavily in this piece.

Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

You were never one for danger, never one to put yourself unnecessarily in harms way. You don't like dangerous activities and much preferred to keep your head down so you could focus on your studies. You spent 5 Years at Hogwarts doing just that- being a good student and mastering your spells to pass your O.W.L's. You had always know of Sebastian through your friend Ominis, but never spent much time with him until the end of 5th Year. You're not quite sure what had happened during 5th Year with that new student, but you knew that Sebastian suddenly found himself all alone. Abandoned by Ominis- who was quite cross with him, and that new 5th Year you knew nothing about. You pitied him, so you begun to spend time with him. You couldn't stand the thought of him being all alone. Especially with his sister still sick, though you weren't sure with what.

Sebastian very quickly became attached to you, and that attachment turned to possession. He didn't mean to come across as overbearing and possessive, but he couldn't help it. You're gorgeous, easily the most beautiful girl in the entire school. You were kind, the way Hufflepuff's usually were, and you had this magnetic aura. People were drawn to you, you were never seen in the hallways alone. You had a lot of friends, and more than that you got a lot of attention from other guys. It drove Sebastian fucking crazy to see them trail after you, their eyes shamelessly gawking at what was rightfully his. Truthfully, you weren't technically his until halfway through 6th Year but Sebastian knew from the first second he saw you that you were going to be his.

Sebastian didn't mean to scare you away, but at first he did. You were very timid, tended to shy away from conflict. Flinched when someone rose their voice at you, and unfortunately you tended to be a people pleaser. You would often agree to things you weren't particularly comfortable if someone asked you to do it nicely enough. Sebastian worried that people took advantage of your giving heart, and that caused him to come on kind of strong. He's extremely protective, and once again his possessiveness overwhelmed you. Sebastian quickly realized that if he wanted you, he needed to soften up a bit. He kept his heated glares directed at those who wanted to use you, and his loving smiles for only you.

It was easy for you to let Sebastian into your heart, once he stopped being so overbearing. Stopped with his 'who was that guy I saw you with yesterday?' interrogations. He's charming, funny, charismatic, and kindhearted. There was a darkness to him though, you could feel it. A dangerous edge that he tried very hard to keep tucked away, like a wolf trying desperately to fit into sheep's clothing. He didn't want to scare you, and he would never ever hurt you. He'd never use any of the curses on you- though it was tempting to Imperio you and keep you all to himself. He knows though, that you'd never forgive him if he did that. That you'd be scared of him if he did- you made him want to be better.

Sebastian had nobody else, all he had was you. Anne left and didn't bother telling him where she went, Ominis was so angry he avoided Sebastian like the plague. His new friend from 5th Year had sided with Anne and Ominis, so he saw the two of them together a lot. You were the only good thing in his life, the only person who hadn't turned their back on him. Granted- you had no idea what he did 5th Year, if you knew he murdered his Uncle...he doubts you'd still stand by his side. Which is why Sebastian was so possessive, so overbearing, borderline controlling. He was terrified you'd find out, scared Ominis would mention something. That MC would pull you aside and tell you what he'd done. He hardly let you out of his sight. If you didn't love Sebastian so much, you might of had enough sense to be frightened.

Sebastian tried to be a good person, the way you would want him to be. But he let the Dark Arts into his heart, and slowly it was poisoning his soul. He knew it, he could feel it in the way his palms twitched when he saw Leander or Garreth walking with you to the Great Hall, making you laugh and their eyes drifting to where they shouldn't be. If he saw Garreth glance down your shirt again he was going to be itching for blood. Sebastian was never like this before, always more mischievous than dangerous- but he changed after 5th Year. If he could change back he would, but it's too late for that now. All Sebastian wanted to do now was make sure that what was his stayed his.

Garreth had always been a good friend of yours, often having you try out his concoctions he brewed. He never asked for your help making them however, he said he couldn't risk getting you into trouble. He was funny, and you previously had a crush on him before you begun dating Sebastian. As soon as Sebastian came into your life, no other guys mattered anymore. All that mattered was Sebastian, he had you. Mind, body, and soul. Which is why it baffled you that he got jealous so often, why he felt the need to throw an arm over your shoulders and pull you firmly against him if you were with another guy for too long. Doesn't he know that no other guy could steal you away from him? That you're his? That you love him and him alone? There was something he wasn't telling you, something that made him afraid of losing you. You wished he would tell you what it was, but you doubt he ever would. You're pretty sure it has to do with Anne, which is why you haven't pressed him to tell you about it.

You also worried he knew of your previous crush on Garreth, Sebastian has always been more hostile with Garreth than the other guys who normally lingered around you.

"Haven't decided on a name quite yet...but it's just about finished! Want to try it?" Garreth asked you, he caught you walking from Potions to Divination. You weren't actively avoiding Garreth, you honestly missed hanging out with him. You were just worried about Sebastian seeing you.

"I'd love to!" You beamed, taking a sip. The flavor was sweet, but quickly shifted and tasted like...your Mother's chicken dumpling soup.

"It tastes like whatever you're craving! Neat huh?" Garreth smiled, and honestly if Garreth decided to sell these concoctions of his some day...he could make a lot of money.

"That's really cool Garreth! Wait, where did you get the ingredients for this?" You questioned suspiciously, Garreth throwing you a playful smile.

"That's need-to-know information I'm afraid, can't be giving away all my secrets now can I?" He teases, a glint in his eyes you don't recognize.

"You stole from Honeydukes didn't you?" You place your hands on your hips, giving him your best 'disapproving stare'. Garreth always thought you were too cute to take seriously, much to your dismay.

"I didn't steal from Honeydukes. Somebody did, but it definitely wasn't me." Garreth winked at you, and you laughed. You should have been paying more attention to your surroundings because before you can process what's happening you feel an arm over your body. You're yanked firmly against Sebastian's side, his arm pressing you tightly against him. He's grown since 5th Year as well, and you unfortunately haven't grown much at all. You crane your head to look up at him now, which is why the very top of your head barely reaches the bridge of his nose. Garreth however, stands eye-to-eye with Sebastian.

"Weasley, don't you have a potion to blow up elsewhere?" Sebastian snaps, his eyes narrowed. His grip on you is firm, but it doesn't hurt. You can sense tension, and you detest conflict. You try to melt into Sebastian's side, your hand curling around his robes as you turn your face into his shoulder. Sebastian can feel you trying to hide, and it makes pride swell in his chest to know that you're pressing yourself against him and not Garreth.

"Easy there Sallow, you don't want to scare her." Garreth fires back, he's always protested your relationship with Sebastian. He's worried Sebastian is manipulating you, that he's controlling you. You've tried to reassure him that isn't true, that Sebastian just loves you too much to lose you. He's never believed you.

"Who say's I'm the one scaring her?" Sebastian snaps, you can feel the tension rising. Soon enough, there will be a full on duel happening in the hallway. You wished you could speak up, tell them to stop, but you can't seem to find your voice. All you can do is tremble and hold onto Sebastian, he makes you feel safe.

"We were having a fine conversation before you interrupted Sallow, can't tell when you're not needed can you?" Garreth was pushing him on purpose, he can't help it. Doesn't Sebastian know that it was you and Garreth long before you ever even knew Sebastian? Garreth knows you've made your choice, and yes it stings that it wasn't him, but that doesn't mean he has to approve of you you've chosen to give yourself to. Sebastian feel rage flare up in his chest as he takes a step towards Garreth, his arm still firmly around your shoulders. You were his. He would happily fight anybody to prove that.

"P-Please stop..." You whisper, your voice shaking. You weren't scared of either of them but you've always been scared of yelling and fighting. Ever since you had to endure listening to your drunk Father become enraged at a moments notice and start hurling objects at your poor Mother.

"Not needed? Does it look like she doesn't need me?" Sebastian seethes, and Garreth clenches his jaw. You had turned your entire body into Sebastian's side by now. Your face pressing into his shoulder and his arm curling around your back. You just wanted them to stop, you wanted the fighting to stop.

"Seb please, let's just go." You whisper to him, but Sebastian isn't listening. Garreth won't take his eyes off you, and it's starting to piss Sebastian off.

"She sure as hell didn't need you before, she has me. I can take care of her just fine without your help, Sallow." Garreth shrugs casually, sending you another wink. Why won't he stop pushing Sebastian? Why won't Sebastian listen to you and just walk away?

"It's not your job to take care of her, she chose me." Sebastian's eyes were sharp as knives by now. His left fist beginning to curl, and his chest heaving. His jaw was locked, and you could feel his entire body thrumming with adrenaline.

"She chose wrong, and I will spend every second of every day proving that to her. Why do you think she sneaks away to be with me?" Garreth pushes, taking a step forward. Sebastian pulls his arm from you and moves you behind him. Their chests are nearly pushed together as they glare at each other. You do sort of sneak away to hang out with Garreth, but not because you still have feelings for him! Only because you know that this is how Sebastian reacts every single time you're within 10 feet of Garreth.

While Sebastian has never caught you doing anything with Garreth other than talking, he still has a point. You haven't stopped hanging out with Garreth even though Sebastian has practically pleaded you to. Deep down he knows that asking you to drop your closest friend since 1st Year isn't fair, but he knows that Garreth is in love with you. He doubts you know that, but he does. He can see it in the way Garreth looks at you.

"She loves me." Sebastian fires back, though he's trying to convince himself that more than Garreth.

"For now." Garreth says with a sly smile. Your hands are curled around Sebastian's robes, and you're standing close enough to feel the heat of his body. You can see that look in Sebastian's eyes, you can see that he's losing the ability to restrain himself. You don't want to hurt Garreth, but you love Sebastian. You need him to know that because through the anger you can see insecurity, the gnawing fear that Garreth is right.

"I love you Sebastian, can we please go? Please?" Your voice is so small, but this time he actually listens. He releases an angry breath, turning and pulling you against his side once more. Garreth feels anger pulsing through his body, how could you choose Sebastian fucking Sallow over him? He's dangerous, and Garreth is determined to prove that to you.

"Don't forget Sallow, she loved me before she loved you. She still loves me, she just doesn't realize it yet." With that Garreth is slamming the doors leading to the Grand Staircase open, and you flinch at the force. You're trembling and Sebastian feels guilty once the flare of anger has faded.

"Don't worry, everything is alright dove." Sebastian soothes, pulling you against his chest and pressing kisses to your hairline. You feel the fear flow out of you as you nuzzle against his chest. You've never felt safer with another human being...besides Garreth. You try to push him out of your mind, but he's always lingered. But you still love Sebastian, and you will always choose Sebastian.

"I'm sorry." You mumble against his chest, you know how Garreth makes him feel but you don't want to lose your friendship with him. You feel torn.

"It's okay- we're okay sweetheart. I'm not angry with you." He whispers, tilting your chin up to kiss you. It's languid and slow, it makes your insides melt. Your entire body is tingling when he pulls away, a knowing smile on his face. You and Sebastian haven't slept together yet, and the entire idea of it still makes you feel very shy. You're comfortable with Sebastian, and you know you want to. You just don't know how to bring that up with him... or if you're even ready to yet.

"I don't want to be late." You whisper, knowing that Divination is going to start soon.

"Then I shall escort you there with haste, my lady." Sebastian says, using a silly voice to make you laugh.

Garreth knew there was something Sebastian refused to tell you. He knew because you had told him once, that you were scared Sebastian was hiding something bad from you. He probably was, probably hiding something he did. Garreth was determined to find out what it was, you need to know that Sebastian isn't who you think he is. Garreth doesn't want to hurt you, and he doesn't want to do this so he can brag and say he won you from Sebastian. That's not who Garreth is, not why he wants to find the truth. He just wants to keep you safe, and he knows you're not safe if you're with Sallow.

Though, he'd be lying if he said there was no part of him that wanted to look Sebastian in the eyes- knowing he won you back from him.

He doesn't like to think about it, doesn't like to admit it even to himself...but he loves you. He thinks he always has, before he even knew what love is. You love him too, deep down he knows you do. He can see it in the way you look at him. Why else would you continue to see him, despite Sallow being so clearly against it? It's because you can't stay away from Garreth, you can't fight the way you feel. Some might think he's delusional, but there's nobody that knows you better than him. Not Sallow, not anybody. He has to protect you, needs to keep you safe from him.

Which is why Garreth has been following Ominis around, bothering him to open up about Sebastian.

"Garreth." Ominis is annoyed, Garreth can hear it in his voice. Ominis has been infuriatingly tight-lipped about Sebastian which Garreth found odd.

"Are you even friends with Sallow? You haven't spoken to him in a year." Garreth pressed. It was hard for the other 7th Years not to notice the sudden rift between Ominis and Sebastian. They've been attached at the hip since they met in 1st Year, and suddenly Ominis won't go anywhere near him. Something happened. So why is Ominis still protecting him?

"Yes of course I'm friends with Sebastian. Just because I am cross with him, doesn't mean I will be forever." Ominis says, though there is uncertainty in his voice.

"Angry enough to still be angry over a year later?" Garreth wasn't going to let this go easily, Ominis was beginning to discover. Ominis huffed, he had to tell Garreth something or he won't leave him alone until he does.

"Sebastian and I had a fight, he made a mistake. That's all." He said, his voice firm but all he did was add fuel to Garreth's fire. Sallow made a mistake? What kind of mistake?

"What happened?" He pushed, continuing to follow Ominis towards the Slytherin common room.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with." Ominis sighs, Garreth was really starting to get on his nerves.

"Is it about Y/N?" He asked urgently, almost like a Private Investigator would. Ominis paused, he furrowed his brows before he felt his irritation slowly morph into anger.

"Is that what this is about? Ruining Y/N's relationship? Have you nothing better to do?" Ominis snapped with anger that Garreth wasn't anticipating.

"I'm trying to help her Ominis. You know something that Sallow did, I know you do. What I don't get is why you're protecting him if you haven't spoken a word to him in over a year. Does your friendship with Sallow mean more to you than Y/N's safety?" Garreth snapped harshly, a scowl on his face.

"No it doesn't and she isn't in danger. Sebastian would never hurt her, but if you don't stop you will." Ominis fires back angrily, turning and entering his common room after he does. Ominis is wrong, Sallow has this entire school fooled. Garreth should have known better than to try and get Ominis to tell him, he's always been loyal to the twins. Garreth briefly considers trying to find MC, they were close with Sebastian during 5th Year and stopped talking to him around the same time Ominis did. It's worth a shot.

The first thing Ominis does upon entering the common room is find Sebastian. He spends a lot more time in his dorms than he used to, and Ominis can only guess it's because he stopped talking to Sebastian. He feels guilty about cutting Sebastian out, but his use of the Dark Arts drove Ominis away. That and the fact that Sebastian manipulated Ominis into getting what he wanted...the Dark Arts began to change him. You were starting to bring Sebastian back, the boy Ominis met in 1st Year. Sebastian loves you, truly, unconditionally, and if Garreth were to succeed and tell you the truth? Ominis shudders to think of how Sebastian would react, the path he would follow as a result.

Without Anne and you, Sebastian doesn't have much to live for- and he's already lost Anne. Which is why Ominis is entering the 7th Year dorms without so much as a knock, heading straight towards Sebastian's bed.

"I had an interesting conversation with Garreth today you should know about." Ominis says, drawing Sebastian's startled gaze.

"What did he say?" Sebastian's voice is already tense, Ominis can practically feel the frustration rolling off him in waves.

"He knows something happened in 5th Year, he's trying to find out what...so he can tell Y/N." Ominis informs him carefully. Sebastian is worryingly quiet, which concerns Ominis.

"Sebastian?" Ominis tries, and he hears Sebastian stand from his bed. He's begun pacing in front of Ominis, he can hear his heavy breathing getting heavier. He's angry, very angry.

"That fucking snake. Why can't he let us be happy? Why is he determined to take her from me?" Sebastian is seething, Ominis isn't sure he can calm him down.

"You know why." Ominis says factually. He knows why Garreth is doing this, Garreth didn't hide his feelings for you as well as he thought. Even Ominis, who's blind, can understand he's been head over heels for you since he met you.

"Well he can try all he wants, he won't take her from me. I would happily kill him if he even tries. She chose me. He needs to accept that." Sebastian snaps, tugging angrily at his hair. Ominis knows Sebastian didn't really mean it, but it was still disconcerting to hear him say it after what happened with Solomon.

"You know if he finds out what happened, Y/N is never going to speak to you again?" Ominis points out, as if Sebastian hasn't considered that already.

"Yes Ominis I know that." Sebastian snaps, pinching the bridge of his nose. He didn't want it to happen like this, but Sebastian needs to make you his. Entirely. He needs to stake his unrivaled clamed upon you, mar it onto your very skin.

He needs all of you.

"Hey." You hear a voice from behind you. His voice is quiet, as Madam Scribner would regularly throw students out of the Library for being too loud. You'd come here to study for your O.W.L's, you know you're going to pass but you like to be well prepared.

"Hello Garreth!" You say happily as he lowers himself into the chair next to you. Sebastian is unlikely to stumble upon the two of you this time, not that you're trying to avoid him. You don't want him to start another fight with Garreth, the two of you aren't doing anything wrong! You're just talking with a friend, you wished Sebastian could understand that. You didn't know how to reassure him that you're his. That you love him and only him, he doesn't have anything to worry about. You chose him, and yet he still worries.

"I'm sorry about the other day...with Sebastian." Garreth says sincerely, and you feel your chest warm. You wave your hand with a smile as you flip your book to the next page.

"Don't worry about it, I'm starting to get used to the fact that you two will always fight." You say, keeping your tone light. You don't want him to know how much it hurts that your boyfriend and best friend don't get along. You wished they did.

"No, you shouldn't have to. I'll do my best to be nicer to him." He promises, though you're not sure you believe him. He's just as hostile towards Sebastian as Sebastian is towards him. 'She still loves me, she just doesn't realize it yet.' His words from earlier flash in your mind, replaying over and over despite you trying to push them away. By now Garreth has brought out his potions notebooks. Not anything from class, his notebooks are leather-bound and usually full of ideas for other things he can make. You love how creative he is, and that he's smart enough to make all these potions. He makes them blow up a few times before they're finished but he never quits until he finishes the potion. You admire that.

"Gar? Can I ask you something." You ask, nervously chewing on your lip. Garreth lifts his head, his expression softening once he notices the anxiety on your face.

"Of course, are you alright?" He worries, making your skin feel tingly with the way he looks at you. You turn your head to refocus on your book.

"When you fought with Sebastian...there was something you said that I don't understand." You started, and Garreth felt his palms get all clammy. He hoped this wasn't going where he thought it was going. He didn't think about what he was saying during the fight, just said what came to him naturally.

Garreth waited for you to continue, but your face was fear-stricken and you began to nervously pick at your thumb.

"Y/N, you can say anything to me. I promise." He reassures you gently, giving you time to feel comfortable saying it on your own. You were easy to scare off when you got in your head like this, he knew he needed to tread carefully and be gentle with you.

"You said that I love you...that I just haven't realized it yet. What did you mean by that?" You whisper the words quietly. You're afraid to look up at him, you don't want him to be angry and you sure as hell don't want to embarrass yourself. Garreth feels like his heart is going to burst out of his chest, this cannot be happening. He doesn't want to admit his feelings for you while you're still in love with Sallow.

"I only said that to irritate Sal-Sebastian. I shouldn't have. I know you don't feel that way towards me, I'm sorry." Garreth says, correcting himself. You don't like it when he calls Sebastian 'Sallow'. You think it sounds mean, maybe it's just because of the way Garreth says it. You're not sure how his answer makes you feel.

"Oh."

Garreth tries to fight the smile that threatens to stretch across his face. "If I didn't know better I'd say you sounded disappointed."

"What? N-No of course not. I love Sebastian so you're correct...I was just...wondering." You feel your cheeks color, and you know Garreth can see it too. Your voice was shaking and it made you stumble over your words, what is it about him that makes you feel so nervous?

"Are you sure?" Garreth says, and you swore he wasn't sitting so close just a minute ago. Your heart begins to race.

"Sure a-about what?" Your throat suddenly feels very dry, and its as though the temperature in the room rose 10 degrees. Your entire body feels hot and flushed.

"That you love Sebastian." He says, his voice a tad bit deeper. You turn your head to look at him, and his pupils are blown open. There's a look in his eyes you can't define, it makes you feel like a lamb looking into the eyes of a wolf.

"Yes, of course." You whisper, adrenaline pumping through your veins when he leans forward a little. His eyes staying firmly locked on yours, he can tell you want this. That you want him. He can see the way your eyes have dilated a little, there's curiosity in your gaze. He can feel the tension between you. His lips barely graze against yours before you snap out of it. You feel horrified with yourself as you scramble away from Garreth. You love Sebastian, with all your heart. Why did you let him get so close? What is even going on?

"I-I have to go!" You squeak out, cheeks blood red and pulsing as you quickly pack up your things.

"Y/N-" Garreth tries, but you're standing and stumbling towards the stairs before he has a chance to catch your hand. There are tears streaming down your face as you head to the entrance of the Library as a realization hits you. It makes you sick to your stomach and a fresh wave of tears gush down your cheeks. It's too awful to admit, even to yourself. But Garreth was right.

You love Sebastian...but you love Garreth too. Oh no.

You're pacing back and forth outside the Slytherin common room, you'd woken up early today to get ready and wait for Sebastian. Normally it's the other way around, and he's waiting outside your common room to talk you to your first lesson. It usually makes him late for his own class but he's never cared, he's happy to do anything for you. You feel nauseous just thinking about it, but you have to tell Sebastian what happened in the Library. You didn't kiss Garreth and that makes you feel better but you almost did, and you feel like not telling Sebastian means you're trying to hide something. You don't want to have any secrets from him.

When Sebastian emerges from his common room, he looks surprised to see you. He smiles at you, but that smile is quickly wiped away when he can see the panicked expression on your face... and the fact that you're pacing back and forth like a caged animal.

"What's wrong sweetheart? Talk to me." Sebastian urges, taking you into his arms and feeling your entire body trembling. You're as fragile as a flower and absolutely anything can send you over the deep end like this, so Sebastian isn't seriously concerned quite yet. At least, not until the first tear drops and you refuse to meet his gaze.

"My love you're beginning to scare me, please talk to me." Sebastian is nearly begging, and you feel tears spill from your eyes again. He's going to go ballistic once you tell him about Garreth, about what he tried to do. You shudder, you don't want him to hurt Garreth or get himself in trouble.

"L-Last night I was in the Library..." You can hardly speak, your voice is trembling. You don't want to say it.

"Garreth c-came and sat next to me for a little." You pause again, feeling your heart thumping so hard against your ribs you worried Sebastian could feel it. You saw his jaw clench, and the tension beginning to seep into his shoulders. You haven't even said it yet and he's already getting angry.

"A-and Garreth, he...well he tried to..." You stammer, your eyes dropping to the floor. Sebastian felt a red haze of burning rage swirling around him.

"My love, he tried to what? Did he touch you?" Sebastian's voice was trembling with anger. If Garreth touched you then he's as good as dead. You shook your head, your fingers curling around his robes.

"N-No I pulled away before he could...but he tried to- to kiss me." You breathe out, and you can only pray that Sebastian isn't angry with you. You couldn't survive it if he was angry with you. Sebastian's nostrils flared, you could see the rage all over his face. His eyes were focused on the stairs and his jaw was tightly clenched, if you let him you know he'd race off to beat Garreth to a pulp this very instant. You won't let him hurt Garreth, you need to calm him down.

"S-Sebastian? I'm sorry! I'm so sorry. I love you, I would never cheat on you I swear! Please don't be cross with me." You explain desperately, trying to do anything to pull his gaze back to yours. You begin to cry again, pressing yourself against Sebastian's chest. He wrapped his arms around you, he wasn't angry with you.

"I'm not angry with you, I'm not. I love you, always." Sebastian says, finally turning back to face you. You lean up to kiss him as his thumbs brush away falling tears, and you surprise him with the desperation in your movements. You wind your arms around his neck, your lips moving against his as his arms wind tightly around your waist. Sebastian knows sooner or later Garreth will find out the truth, so he needs to follow through with his idea before he looses you. He needs to make sure you'll never be able to look at Garreth or any other guy for that matter without thinking of how good Sebastian can make you feel. He wants to open you up to a whole new world.

"Do you trust me my love?" Sebastian whispers against your lips. You nod instantly, making Sebastian smile as you try to kiss him again.

"Then skip your first lesson with me." He says with a playful grin.

"Skip a lesson? Are you crazy?" You ask him, the idea of skipping an entire lesson makes you feel anxious.

"C'mon, I promise I'll make it worth your while." Sebastian says, taking slow steps backwards with his fingers laced through yours. He slowly pulls you towards the stairs, and smiles victoriously when you let him pull you along without any further objections. You feel butterflies rising in your tummy when you look at him, grinning at you playfully as he tugs you through the castle towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts Tower. Just as you're crossing into the courtyard, your eyes briefly lock with Garreth's- who is sitting next to the fountain with Samantha Dale. You feel your cheeks tingling as you quickly snap your gaze back to Sebastian, and Garreth feels jealousy burning under his skin as Sebastian drags you off. You've never looked happier, and he knows he should be happy you found someone you love. But he isn't, and it kills him to see you smiling like that at someone else.

"Where are we going?" You whisper, a smile on your face as he drags you just past the stairs to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Towards the Undercroft Ominis had finally opened up to you about just last year. Sebastian pulls you inside and once the gate shuts behind you, you see a beautiful plush looking bed tucked against the back wall of the Undercroft, it looks slept in.

"I come here most nights, hardly sleep in the dorms anymore." Sebastian shrugs, you didn't know that. When he isn't with you, he's alone? Every day?

"Seb…why aren't you in the dorms?" You ask sadly. He shrugs off the sadness in your tone, he's used to the fact that he has nobody except for you.

"Easier to be alone. Easier for times like this." Sebastian quickly shifts the focus off of him and onto the reason why he brought you here in the first place. You blink up at him innocently, it makes sets his insides ablaze.

"Do you remember what we talked about a few weeks ago? When you said you were ready?" Sebastian asks softly, his eyes darkening as he watches your cheeks flush and feels your skin heat up.

"Y-Yes I remember."

"Are you still ready?" He whispers, slowly leaning down to brush his lips against yours. You feel a shudder run down your spine as you keen up into him, trying to press your lips against his.

"Yes, please." you beg quietly, and Sebastian groans before pressing his lips firmly against yours. He deepens the kiss by turning his head, reaching down to life you by your thighs. His hands reach under your thighs, lifting you with ease as he walks you backwards towards the bed. His lips never leave yours and soon he's placing you gently against the plush mattress. Your legs fall open to allow him room to slot himself between them. His hips meet yours and you moan feeling him pressed firmly against you, he begins grinding gently. He draws soft moans from your lips every time he rocks against you.

"Can I take this off my love?" Sebastian asks, pulling at your robes and you nod, sitting up to let him push them off and throw them to the side. His lips return to yours then, his fingers slowly pulling your sweater off your body. You feel flushed under his heated gaze and you quickly press your lips against his again when his stare becomes too intense. He shrugs his robes off before reaching up to unbutton your shirt and you can feel the shyness creeping back in as more skin is slowly revealed. Once his fingers open the last button, you pull the shirt off to toss aside. You lay back against the bed and Sebastian's eyes are hungrily drinking up your figure, committing every inch to his memory.

Sebastian's lips press against your neck, slowly trailing down your shoulder as his fingers slyly undo the clasp of your bralette. His eyes meet yours, waiting for any protest before he's slowly pulling the fabric off your body. You reach up to cover yourself, turning your head to avoid his gaze. You feel exposed. Sebastian reaches up to gently take your arms and press them against the mattress. You can feel a heartbeat from between your thighs.

"Don't hide from me my love." He whispers, his eyes locked on your bare chest. His finger turns your head to look at him again, he wants to see that beautiful look on your face as he makes you fall apart.

"Is this okay sweetheart?" Sebastian asks, he has to make sure. You nod instantly, feeling too sky to speak. Sebastian gives you a gentle kiss before his eyes drop again. His lips encircle one of your nipples, his other hand pinching and rolling the other between his thumb and pointer finger. You moan instantly, rolling your hips against his. Sebastian smiles as he sees your eyes shut tightly, your mouth falling open as he gently bites down on your nipple. It feels better than anything else you've ever felt before...and you know he's only getting started. Sebastian switches to the other nipple and sucks it into his mouth, humming against your breast as you moan wantonly.

His right hand slides down your tummy to flip your skirt up, his fingers gently rubbing your aching clit through your panties- which are quickly becoming wet and translucent with your slick. You moan again, feeling him gently rubbing you while his lips and tongue lave your nipple and breast. Your hips can't stay still, and you try to grind against his fingers, which makes you smile. Your fingers wind into his hair, holding him against your chest firmly. He groans every time you accidentally pull on his hair. Soon Sebastian reaches another hand down, his fingers hooking into the waistband of your underwear.

"P-Please." You beg desperately, and Sebastian swears he can feel the blood surging south. He slowly pulls the soaked fabric off your body and as soon as he does he sits back to get a better look. You watch with pulsing cheeks as he examines your glistening folds. He looks utterly entranced as he reaches forward to pull your lips apart, getting an even better look. You turn your head to the side, embarrassed.

"Seb…" You whisper, feeling very exposed as he gapes at your heat. Instead of answering, Sebastian leans forward and drags his tongue through your folds. You cry out, your hand flying into his hair as he begins to lap at your cunt. His tongue circles your entrance before briefly dipping inside, only teasing you as he sucks your clit gently into his mouth. You continue to cry out and grind your hips against his face, and your sounds of pleasure are music to his ears. He laps at you like a man starved, his arms circling your thighs to pull your cunt more firmly against his lips.

Your chest is heaving as you moan, throwing your head back as he licks a broad stripe through your folds, from your entrance to your clit. His gaze is dark and intense and his eyes will not leave yours. You can see the lust in his eyes, and no matter how shy you feel- you keep your eyes locked on his. His tongue explores your folds, his teeth nipping at you gently every so often. You moan like you're a bitch in heat, shamelessly using Sebastian's mouth to chase your orgasm. He presses sloppy kisses to your clit, flicking it with his tongue before you feel your body convulsing. You cum all over his face and Sebastian happily laps up every drop, making sure to lick and suck at you until your body is jerking with overstimulation.

"Did that feel good, dove?" Sebastian asks against your lips, as he reaches down to undo his belt. You nod, but that isn't good enough for Sebastian.

"Words sweetheart." He urges as he opens the buttons of his trousers.

"Yes Seb, it felt so, so good." You moan against his lips, kissing him firmly again. You feel the sharp heat of his cock before you see him, and he's gently notching the head against your folds. You whine nervously, placing your hand on his hip to stop him.

"Trust me, my love. It's going to feel really good. It'll pinch at first, but I promise it'll feel amazing after." He whispers, and you can already feel him pressing himself into you. The stretch burns, and it feels like he's going to tear you in two. Sebastian reaches up to rub circles on your clit to help distract you from the pain. He continues to slide inch by inch into you, and when he meets a little resistance he surges his hips forward until they're flush against yours. His fingers are still playing with your sensitive clit, and it makes slick gush out of you, coating his shaft.

"How do you feel? Are you okay?" Sebastian asks through pants, your walls are hugging him like a vice grip.

"F-Full. It hurts." You whine, holding his face against your neck as he presses kisses into your neck and shoulders. Sebastian feels pride swelling in his chest, you're writhing underneath him. Stuffed full of his cock, and he is the one making you moan and cry out in pleasure.

"I know sweetheart, it's going to feel good soon." He whispers while gently grinding his hips against yours. You moan desperately, wriggling against him. Sebastian takes that as his cue to gently pull his hips back before sliding back into you again. Stars erupt behind your eyes as he continues to sweetly thrust into you.

"You feel- so fucking good my love. So tight, so wet, taking me so well." Sebastian praises, making warmth flood through your belly. You feel stretched beyond your limits, and your toes curl when you feel him sliding against your walls. Your hips begin to push against his to meet his slow thrusts. You feel heat building in your pelvis.

"G-Gonna cum Seb. Please don't stop." You beg and Sebastian is more than happy to oblige. He presses his face into your neck, thrusting into you soft and slow, steadily building up the pleasure until your back is arching and pressing your breasts against him as you cum.

"That's my good girl, you're beautiful when you cum my love. You feel incredible, so so good dove." Sebastian rambles, continuing to thrust into you as his own orgasm approaches. He feels your walls continue to clamp down on him and your cum drenches his cock, making an erotic wet sound whenever he thrusts back into you. With a deep groan Sebastian is cumming, his fingers playing with your clit as he does to make your body convulse and tighten around him again. He pumps you full of his cum, leaving his mark on you. A claim that cannot be challenged by Garreth or anybody else.

You're his. You always have been.

Garreth knows he should stop, knows he should just let you be happy. He still can't get the image out of his head, watching you walking through the courtyard with Sebastian around an hour after he saw you the first time. The way you looked up at Sebastian made him sick, your rumpled clothing and the button you forgot to close on your shirt made him feel even worse. There's no way you slept with Sallow, he knows there's some other explanation for what he saw. There has to be.

But what made Garreth feel the worst was Sebastian's victorious gaze as it meets Garreth's. His eyes bore into Garreth's as you press yourself against his side and they're saying 'checkmate'.

Garreth clenches his fists before turning to find that damn student Sebastian met during 5th Year, they know what Ominis knows and Garreth is determined to find out what it is they're hiding.

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[the-irreverend]

Why the Third-Act Breakup in Nimona makes the film better (yes really).

If you've watched enough modern animation you know that the Third Act Breakup has been one of modern animation's most notorious cliches. I mean you know it's an overused trope when Kevin Temmer writes a whole song about it. But what if I told you that the way the Third Act Breakup is used is Nimona is not only forgivable but actually benefits the story. And I tell you why...

Reason 1: It doesn't happen for no reason.

One of the biggest issues with T.A.B.s in other animated films is that they usually happen for reasons that are contrived and arbitrary, all while damaging the characters doing said Breakup. But in Nimona, the Breakup doesn't feel so contrived because the characters have understandable reasons for becoming at odds with each other. Take Ballister, for starters. While he may be disillusioned with the director, he sadly has not become disillusioned with the foundations of that system she's in charge of: the legend of Gloreth's crusade against Nimona. And when you also consider his experiences with being deceived and manipulated by those he looks up to, it's understandable why he would be fearful that he's been manipulated by Nimona. Speaking of which, Nimona has plenty of understandable reasons for being at odds with Ballister as well, especially when you consider all the betrayal, hatred, and persecution they've endured. Just like with Gloreth, she watches another friend of theirs turn on them despite all the care, support, and kindness they've shown. As a result, the Breakup not only makes sense from a character standpoint, but it also ties into the themes, messages, and commentary of the film

Reason 2: It doesn't pretend the moments they had together didn't happen.

Another reason that the Breakup is done well here is that even though Nimona and Ballister turn against each other, they don't COMPLETELY turn against each other. When their distrust and fear toward each other reach its peak (when Ballister draws his sword and Nimona bears their fangs), they immediately stop, looking at each with shock and horror as they both realize what they're doing. Not only that, but they don't even split apart on their own volition but rather because of circumstances beyond their control. The reason this moment's important is that it shows that despite everything, they haven't forgotten the bond they forged with each other; that even though their friendship may be down, IT IS NOT OUT.

Reason 3: How Nimona and Ballister make up.

What ultimately justifies the inclusion of the Third Act Breakup trope is the way that both Nimona and Ballister make amends with each other. It's not some little sidequest that happens before the climax, IT IS THE CLIMAX!!! A BEAUTIFUL, HEART-MELTING CLIMAX THAT LEFT ME IN TEARS! As a result, the film justifies Nimona and Ballister's conflict, because the steps back they've taken are used to make a bounding leap forward! Ballister finally forsakes his doubt towards Nimona and his faith in the system that persecuted her, and Nimona destroys the very foundations of that system by saving the people from the person who was responsible for controlling it (the Director).

So in the end, while Nimona does have many familiar tropes you see in other animated films, what ultimately matters is that it uses those tropes in a way that's actually effective, and in doing so, helps make Nimona one of the best animated films to come out this year.

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