#why do i so many necklace related tags

[fallinfl0wers]

They wear your clothes

fandom: genshin impact characters: xiao, albedo, scaramouche reader type: female, taller than them, tried to make it ambiguous enough so it can be read as reader being chubby too! summary: they've heard of the custome of borrowing clothes from your significant other, usually, a girlfriend borrowing from her boyfriend. since their clothes wouldn't exactly fit on you, they decided to try yours instead... genre: fluff notes: self-indulgent because i can't relate to almost half the posts on this trope (and a lot of other posts with some very specific descriptions on the reader compared to the character...) due to me not being dwarfed by most of my husbandos despite not being the tallest person around HAHA, also, i didn't consistently do this before, but from now on i will put in the tags the gender of the reader on each post rather than just in this section!^^

Xiao

He's heard of this strange habit humans have about borrowing their lovers' clothes, and at first, he didn't see the appeal.

But as he thought about it from time to time, he wondered... would you like to do something like that?

Listen, at most, Xiao only has about three or four outifts that look exactly the same and he uses them all if they don't get destroyed beyond repair during his fighting against demons, so it's not like he has many clothes to spare, let alone clothes that would fit comfortably on you if at all, considering your body is bigger than his.

He doesn't bring it up not to make you uncomfortable, though. He knows it could make you feel self-conscious.

He has never been truly self-conscious or insecure about his height, though. He thinks it's useful because it lets him be lighter and move faster than others.

But, man... if he hears you say you wish you could borrow his clothes too just for a while, he'll lowkey wonder if you'd be more comfortable if he was a bit taller and his clothes could actually fit on you--

So one day, while you were taking a shower and he waited for you in your room, he saw a fluffy, slightly oversized sweater of yours laying on your bed.

He blinked down at it.

And proceeded to take off his accessories and sleeve to try it on and see once and for all why humans seemed fond of stealing each other's clothes.

The sweater was already a bit oversized on you, so you can imagine... it was very oversized on him.

And he thought it wasn't that big of a deal but then he kinda looked down at himself, felt the soft fabric against his body, smelt the scent of the soap he knows you always use, the scent of you, impregnated on the sweater...

He looked tiny. And felt tiny too, in a weirdly good sense. He felt as if he was being surrounded by you, and since you were his comfort, it felt as if he was being surrounded by comfort.

When you get out of the shower wrapped on your towel, you can't even begin to process the picture before your eyes: Xiao, your beloved boyfriend, wearing your favorite oversized sweater and staring at you while his cheeks slowly gained a pink tone as he came out of his mind.

The moment you try to speak Xiao is already in front of you, gently throwing your sweater on your face so you won't see his expression.

"I... only wanted to see if it was warm. Um. It is warm. Wear it so you don't get sick.

After that day, Xiao sends hints to you that he wants to wear more of your clothes.

It isn't often, but at some point, when he's free and tired and you're not available, he will simply rummage through your wardrobe and pick the first sweater, hoodie or jacket he can get to feel closer to you.

He gives it a 10/10, wearing [name]'s clothes is free therapy and happiness.

And since his own clothes really won't fit you, at least he lets you wear his necklace at times. Plus, he personally crafts jewelry and other accessories of the like for you to wear instead, all filled with protective charms to keep you out of harm's way.

Albedo

He knows of this human custom, and he was never interested on it, honestly.

He can lend you his lab coat, it's a tight and small fit on you, and he wouldn't recommend you wore it if you were to actually participate in any sort of experiment; if you're ever interested on alchemic stuff, he already has a coat with your proper measurements.

Besides his uniform of the knights of favonius, I think he mostly wears dress shirts and that sort of elegant-casual clothes, always with his lab coat on because he spends most of his time experimenting anyway.

He actually overheard you talking with Klee one day while you were babysitting her when she asked whether or not you borrowed his clothes at times.

And, fairly enough, you sometimes borrow a scarf if you forget your own- but nothing more than that.

Albedo did what he knows best, and did his personal research on the topic: couples borrowing each other's clothes as a form of affection.

He spotted many couples throughout all of Mondstadt doing as much- many of them being a smaller female wearing a larger male's blazers, shirts or other garments alike.

Though, aside from that gendered trend, he identified that the most important variable in this situation was height and perceived weight between the lovers in question--

A conclusion he reached quickly during his first ten minutes of observing, something rather obvious: it is only functional for the smaller person in the relationship to wear the bigger one's clothes rather than the other way around, excluding cases where the builds of the two are similar.

He still quite didn't get why people liked it though.

So one day, you enter your room to look for something real quick, and tilt your head in confusion as you find Albedo wearing a dress shirt that belongs to you and is clearly not his size, staring at his reflection on the mirror analytically while smoothening down the fabric.

You frown, and if anyone saw you, they would see the question marks floating above your head.

The alchemist turns to look at you, and gives you a smile.

"[Name], good evening, how was your day? Hm? This? Yes, it is your shirt. I'm sorry for not asking beforehand, I'll do better next time. I was curious about this 'clothe stealing' thing some people do with their partners... I think I get it now. It is rather... comforting and reassuring."

From then on Albedo will ask you if he can borrow your shirts whenever he knows he'll have to spend a lot of time on his lab at Dragonspine, he says it makes him feel less lonely up there.

He still lets you borrow his scarves, and if your hair is long enough to be tied, also his hair ties.

For practical purposes, he can't simply buy oversized clothes to wear so you can wear them too and feel what he feels when he wears yours, but alchemy goes a long way, so he'll most likely gift you a bracelet, ring, collar or other charm of the like made with your favorite flowers, alchemically modified and solidify to last at least a hundred years intact.

Scaramouche

He might have a little... problem with his own height, but since he's convinced he's far too strong and amazing, no one can really know it unless they purposefully push his buttons (or look at the gigantic robot he piloted in Sumeru)

He's been around for a while, alright, but to be honest he really never interacted with a lot of couples enough to pick up on these kind of affection.

Probably though, during his time as a harbinger, he saw a couple of recruits exchanging coats before a particularly hard mission while spouting promises of "I'll return safely and we'll be together!" or something like that.

He thought it was just another weird human habit he wouldn't concern himself with because it was ridiculous AAAAND then you came into the picture, somehow broke down his walls and made him feel things he didn't want to feel again

Like attachment and happiness and joy and hope. Ew, what are those? He doesn't want them! (He does tho)

And since you're obviously bigger than him, while you hugged him, he suddenly understood that strange custom.

When you hug him, he feels all warm and fuzzy and fluffy inside- it's a comforting feeling that... well, feels so good he wants to cry.

So maybe, he thinks, wearing your clothes would have a similar effect.

And so here you have him, he made sure you wouldn't be around to see him do this, so he has no shame on dugging through your wardrobe until he finds the sweater you wear the most and puts it on to test his theory.

He looks at himself in the mirror and glares at himself for blushing-

Your sweater... it was soft. And fluffy. And warm. And it smelt like you.

He puts a hand over his chest, on the empty space where his heart should be.

He has no heart, so why does he feel like something just skipped a beat?

He closes his eyes, and he can almost feel as though you're holding him in your warm embrace. And he only puts your sweater back on place when he knows it's almost time for you to return home.

"I'm wearing your sweater today. ...? I'm not asking, I'm telling you. [Name], what's mine is yours and what's yours is mine, I don't have to ask for this sort of thing! ... ...I just want to, alright?! Geez, you just want to know every little thing, don't you?! it's just so comforting... hah..."

Man will let you borrow his clothes if you want honestly, he can't guarantee you'll be comfortable but if you want to, go off I guess.

He'll lend you his hat, especially during rainy days when you're stuck out on the rain.

No matter how taller you are, an inch or five or more, he'll claim you're his umbrella for the day even though you say you've brought a far more comfortable, actual umbrella.

He loves this arrangement secretly, despite how uncomfortable it can get. He's very close to you this way and he loves it!

Man will also gift you jewelry and he'll make some himself too- and if he suddenly has far too many new jewelry himself and leaves it "forgotten" in your desk or plainly on your lap, you don't need to know why! Just wear it!! (please)

2022. fallinfl0wers.

#melodywritings #melwritesgenshin #genshin impact headcanon #genshin scenarios #genshin impact scenarios #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact imagines #genshin x reader #xiao x reader #xiao x you #xiao x y/n #albedo x reader #albedo x you #albedo x y/n #scaramouche x y/n #scaramouche x you #scaramouche x reader #female reader #chubby reader #tall reader #x plus size reader #x tall reader #twilight-theatre

[ripeteeth]

20 questions for fic writers

Thanks for the tag, @another-lost-one!

How many works do you have on ao3?

106, all in. (105 under ripeteeth, 1 orphaned)

What's your total ao3 word count?

966,792. God, I'd love to hit 1 million before the end of the year, but that's extremely unlikely.

What fandoms do you write for?

Way too many. The main are: The Terror, MDZS, Disco Elysium, Harry Potter, Good Omens.

What are your top five fics by kudos?

Salinity (And Other Measurements of Brackish Water) [Good Omens]: 3094 how a resurrection really feels [Disco Elysium]: 1479 Vigil Strange [The Magnus Archives]: 1266 the art of asking your boss for a raise [Succession]: 1154 no son of mine [Beyond Evil]: 993

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to, but I get easily overwhelmed and sometimes don't. I feel awful about it, I'm so sorry. I am so grateful for every comment, truly.

What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I guess it depends what you consider angstier? I have some centered around grief and loss and some focused on fucked-up relationships and characters continuing to make choices that hurt them. It's kind of cheating to say Asterius is my choice, considering that I haven't published the end of it yet, but anyone familiar with the story of Theseus and the Minotaur should hear the beat of the story I'm telling there.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

For some reason, I think it's either The Passion or How A Resurrection Really Feels. A believable happiness feels the most relatable to me, and two middle-aged, damaged-but-still-here-godammit men finding a bit of comfort in the midst of all of it just feels right. Like a comfortable boiled wool jacket just a little big in the shoulders. The one that smells like your father's cologne. That kind of warmth.

Do you get hate on fics?

Yeah. It was really bad for awhile, and was the main reason I left Good Omens and turned off comments and orphaned Salinity. I'm pretty desensitized to it now.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I write pretty much only smut. I don't know what I'd categorize it as other than that tbh.

Do you write crossovers?

No, never felt the interest.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No, I don't think so.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yeah! It was a really cool experience and I felt really honored.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No. I've tried to but I'm terrible at it. It doesn't help that I've had terrible writer's block for the past several years though.

What's your all-time favorite ship?

I have no idea how to answer this. All of them I've ever shipped?

What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Revachol Calling. God, I want to finish it so badly. There was a very specific something in me while I was writing it, and then a lot of everything happened. Anyway, I've lost it, that je ne sais quoi. I started replaying Disco Elysium again recently, so maybe it will come back. Here's hoping.

What are your writing strengths?

Imitation. Hearing the music in a sentence. Being fascinated by everything and bogging the reader down in necklaces of useless fact.

What are your writing weaknesses?

See above, turn it up to eleven.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?:

Not unless I'm reasonably fluent and confident in the language.

First fandom you wrote for:

Ghost Story, for Harry Potter, first posted in December 2018. It's surreal to think that it's been five years. What a strange five years.

Favorite Fic You've Written?

Either Revachol Calling (for Disco Elysium) or Blood, Bones, and Butter (for MDZS). I think there's something deeply personal about Revachol Calling that both makes me struggle with it but also resonate the most with it.

For Blood, Bones, and Butter, it was one of the more fun fics I've ever written and I really enjoyed being able to add layers to what the reader knew by simply adding an additional viewpoint, kinda triangulating their messy beginning through three men who are each extremely certain that they're correct. (Yeah, I'd watched Rashomon recently, why do you ask). That's the fascinating thing about songxuexiao for me, each of them is so certain they've got the others all figured out, but they're also all holding back aspects of their own interiority.

Either way, they're both important to me.

Tagging: @pearwaldorf, @et-in-arkadia, @danpuff-ao3, and anyone else who likes!

[yanban-san]

Does darling get days off?

If so, have the boys seen them out of their uniform (most likely they do but I like to imagine that it's a rare occurrence).

Like one day darling just comes strolling into the gear station in a cute casual outfit ready to go somewhere , BUT they're wearing ingo and emmets feather/ scale but before they leave they go to the boys because they've brought a gift for them! (maybe some homemade accessory/ food ).

Darling is just 💖 vibing💖 waiting for the twins to accept the gift- but also a little anxious because they have to catch their train soon, ( maybe even say "love you bye" by accident while they leave😏/J)

Just... the fluff that would cause is wonderful.

also, Hi Yan!! hope your doing and feeling well!!, love your writing 💜

Hello 💜! I am doing well- ADHD and general life stuff has been kicking my ass- Hence lack of posts. I am working on it, though.

I quite like this idea- Reading through this after I wrote it, I realized I went off on a MASSIVE tangent at first- Relating to, surprisingly, the ask where Emmet gives you Hair clips from another world. Ingo also bought something there, though he does not give it to Darling. I am leaving it in because "Why not?" - Irregardless, I hope you enjoy it. :) Tags: Eldritch Submas stuff, It’s all fluff. ~3.6k words?

The twins were always upset when you requested days off- But at the urging of their agents, and with how regular humans worked... They understood, begrudgingly. And so they strove instead to make your works days so pleasant and enjoyable you wouldn't even want to take time off.

And so they were still upset when you'd still request time off. The Station was dull without you. They carried on their work well enough, but...

They kept their eyes on you. Watching. Sometimes you would take a day off and spend it in your apartment- A long, hot bath, drawn with rich soaps and luxurious scents, and you'd settle in the tub and almost fall asleep in the warmth of the water, spending the day lounging around, playing games or reading or taking a short walk around the block- Or otherwise, you might go out shopping- Finding yourself in various shops and enjoying the day outside.

They were always interested in your actions. No matter what you were doing. It was curious. The idea of a "day off" made them wish they could share it with you; To curl up in that tub, with you, washing your body, washing your hair- What a reverent act of adoration. The mere thought of bring permitted to brush your beautiful hair- Your delicate, sensitive hair- Made Ingo lose track of himself many times while he watched you comb it out-

He often thought to the pins Emmet had given you. Ingo himself was never sure if there were any gifts he could make to you- It struck a strange chord with him to see Emmet's feather in your cap. A very sour chord. You loved fluffy, bright, feathery things-

You wouldn't love him, or his scales or fur- Or so he thought.

You took it gently, kindly- And offered it a precious place by your heart, which in turn struck a sour chord with Emmet. He wanted to be close to your heart! At Elesa's suggestion, both of them were figuring out a way to "fuse" their scale and feather- Into a necklace you'd be given. But... It was proving more difficult than anticipated. In the meantime, they'd had to attend to some extra-dimensional affairs- Meeting up with an ally who also dwelled within some other world, the two did something unusual- They walked through a market of this other world, near where their "ally" dwelled.

A strange pair of red clips intrigued Emmet- Who acquired them for himself, originally. Ingo had scanned the goods offered- His mind was elsewhere.

What if he brought you to such a place? The twin suns of this world beat down harshly on the people below- Yet at the same time... He was certain you would be enamored. Beast-sellers sold creatures you would not recognize- They were not pokemon. Strange fox like creatures with huge, sensitive ears- Little burrowing moles, two-headed serpents, beautiful birds from far off countries in this land- The spice market perfumed with aromas you might find familiar- And more still you would not. Strange gems for sale in some sections of the market, rocks, minerals and gems, rare herbs, medicines, pets, weapons-

And all Ingo thought would be to have you on his arm. He wanted to know what you think of the market. Would you fawn over the strange creatures of this world? Marvel at the beautiful gems, or perhaps want a dress from one of these shops- Or perhaps you would want to taste the foods being endlessly put out by the street cooks- it would be one thing you would find familiar. No matter the world humans existed within, they would always find themselves frying dough and skewering meat, drenching them in savory and sweet sauces.

"You look like your looking for somethin," A voice called out- Ingo was good at ignoring many of the sellers crying to attract passerbys, yet this man-

"You know, I am looking for something." Ingo replied, turning his attention to the merchant. A portly man, dressed in white and green robes- Built more akin to a stove pot than a human shape. His face was as round as a pumpkin, and his face was creased and worn from his pleasant smile. He stroked his beard, looking up at Ingo- Eying Ingo's own outfit, matching the robe-dress of the locals- Except his was black. An unusual color for the area. "I can tell. You've got someone you're sweet on." Ingo's hands clenched emptily. His scowl deepening. "...Why would you think that?" The merchant laughed. "I can tell by the way you've been walking. Men don't usually stare at a dress tailor, ya know. And the stalls you've been stopping at... They're the sort o' place that sweethearts'll gather." Ingo looked away abashedly- This was not something he was going to admit around... the dwelling of one of his allies. "You are mistaken." And he turned to walk away, but the merchant stopped him. "Well, even if I'm mistaken, and I'll have ya know, Sir, that I'm never mistaken about these things- I still have something you'd like from my wares."

Ingo turned back- His silver eyes scanned the tray of goods the merchant held, scrutinizing them intensely. They were indeed fine items- Trinkets of silver, inlaid with ebony or ivory or pearl or gems- ribbons and sashes of fine silken threads, obviously a very long way from their maker- Small crystal flasks and smaller crystal lamps. Some maps, some pens- And Ingo's eyes settled on one thing amid the many on the tray, picking it up gently. A brush. "Hmm. You know that's a gifting brush, right?" The merchant smiled knowingly. "I may use it for myself." Ingo retorted blankly. The merchant smirked back. "If you insist, then I suppose. Buyin' a sweetheart's gift for your own self." The merchant watched as ingo ran his hand along the spines. "Though to be fair, you've got a good eye, Good Sir. It's made of orled wood. From the West. An artisan inlaid it with black glass and silver, and the spines are from a quillet beast."

The words would have made sense to one from this world, no doubt-But Ingo's thoughts only went to you brushing your hair. He thought to the brush in his hand, the beautiful "quills" that made up the comb were delicate, yet strong. Suitable for your hair. He thought to you holding it in your hand, a gift from him...

"They say if your beloved uses it, they'll dream of you at night."

"I don't believe in such superstitions," Ingo remarked. But he did have to admit- The comb- To him, at least- Looked like something pretty. And- Perhaps- Just maybe- You would like it? "It'll be three silets." The merchant answered as Ingo turned to him. "One." Ingo retorted. Silets were a high-grade of currency-

"Three. One for the comb, one for lyin' to me about not havin' a sweetheart, and one for lyin' about not believing in superstitions."

Ingo sighed. That was a superstition in this world, wasn't it? The gods of this realm, or whatever, hated lying- And you would pay for even small ones sooner or later- So it was better to "pay" for them immediately, rather than in some form of cosmic retribution.

The cost of the item, and such foolish demands of the Gods, did not matter to the thing pretending to be human, standing in front of this merchant, playing pretend. It was a dance he'd learned the steps to. Things to be said that made him seem innocuous and average. The merchant had dealt with a curious foreigner who had sharp eyes and would not be deceived- He had not dealt with an Eldritch Demon that could tear the world apart at it's seams if he were insulted. He reached into the voidal pocket of his coat, pretending to pull out the money made manifest in his hand. And thus, purchased the hair comb.

It was to be a gift to you. Eventually. Every time Ingo went to hand it to you, he would put it away or decide against it- And it would not be today, either- For you had taken the day off. Standing in the lobby, himself and his brother-

The twins watched dully as passengers ran to and fro from the various platforms. "It's busy today." Emmet observed dryly.

"What do you think Darling is doing?" He asked, sipping an excessively sweet beverage. Ingo sighed. "I don't know. Probably resting. They will be in tomorrow."

"Mmm. Resting. Maybe they are bathing again." A mischievous smile spread across Emmet's face- Before Ingo lightly bopped him on the back of his head. "That is improper to talk about," He reprimanded-

"Mmm. As if you aren't thinking about it too," Emmet hissed back in reply. "You think about it enough to have bought them something. To use. While they are- relaxing." He hesitated as he saw Ingo's hand ready again.

"Now list-" But Ingo's words were cut off- By the sound of a voice he so dearly loved to hear- And yet, was surprised to hear. "Station Masters! Good morning!" The twins turned their heads. You- You were coming into work today-? No- You- It was your day off. And you certainly looked it.

The twins could barely process it- The outfit you were wearing was beautiful, albeit...

Very casual. Your loose fitting tunic, the leggings- The cute side bag- And the strange little box in your hands.

They loved you wearing the uniform of Gear Station. It was, in a way, a symbol of the hold they'd crept over you without your noticing. To be dressed as their creations- As theirs- Placated them. They were not anxious about having to chase you around, ensuring you were safe- You were within their house, under their control. But seeing you so frequently- Seeing you in the comfortable, well-fitting uniform of Gear Station- They had... forgotten how different you could look in other clothes.

How beautiful.

And as you approached, they realized.

Tucked in a cap you were wearing-

Was the pretty white feather and the pretty black scale.

Emmet suddenly turned, hiding slightly behind his twin. "Brother." He hissed, under his breath, his smile tensed- "My feather. Your scale-" Ingo shushed him, stepping around- Emmet quickly tucked his hands behind his back, hoping you would not notice the claws he now possessed- Ingo took a deep breath. He could not slip up, not in front of you, not like this-

You looked so pretty, and your hand reached up to brush back the scale and the feather, to make sure they stayed seated against your pretty hat-

And as you focused your attentions on your hat, nervously adjusting it, oblivious to the sharp breaths your bosses took, steeling their nerves as they looked down at you. Once again, Ingo felt your hand ghosting his back- He felt it regularly. It was pleasant to know you were touching his gift from him so frequently, and seemingly fondly- Though the random times you stroked it could prove strange and bothersome to him, feeling the sensation of his soulmate's hand ghosting along his spine- At the worst and most inopportune of times.

"Darling." Emmet blurted out- His eyes darting across your whole frame. Pretty. You were very pretty. Beautiful. The outfit you were wearing was particularly beautiful- All of it.

"What was that, Sir?" You asked- Your heart skipped a beat, it sounded almost like he called you Darling, but surely not-

"Nothing, nothing." He returned, smiling sheepishly. "How are you doing, Miss? You have today off, do you not?" Ingo interjected.

"Yes, yes. I'm going to visit some friends in Castelia. I haven't seem them in ages, goodness- I haven't been out of the city in so long, it'll be nice to get a change of scenery- Even if only for a little bit."

Emmet shifted uncomfortably at your words. Did Nimbasa bore you? Did you not like this city? Flashy and beautiful as it was, yes, it was certainly beneath you- Perhaps they ought to change it a bit- Suit your tastes more, perhaps? Ingo was more worried about where you were going. Castelia? That horrible steel-grey abomination- It tried it's best to look beautiful, fashionable- But the city was filthy, and full of ne'er-do-wells. "You're leaving Nimbasa for a bit, then?" He asked- Keeping his tone even.

"Only for today, Sir-"

The older twin interjected. "Ingo," He corrected. You were off work. Call him by his name, even if only his human name-

"Sorry Sir?"

"You're- You're, uh, not at work right now, so you may drop formalities. We would- We would hope, as long as you are comfortable with it, Miss- To refer to us by our names, as a normal passenger might- Please?" "O-Oh, my apologies, Ingo." You smiled sheepishly, dropping the title.

The way his name rolled off your tongue- Filled the other brother with jealousy.

"And me of course!" Emmet added- His smile as neutral as he could keep it- "You may always refer to me by name. Like a friend would, yup." You couldn't help but smile bashfully at such an admission, and even laugh a little. Emmet could be silly, the way he seemed to always seek out attention- And even if you felt a little guilty at the way your heart suddenly picked up- Seemingly, suddenly, making the upgrade to actually being called the friend of the Subway Bosses- You quickly pushed aside those strange feelings in your heart.

"Of course, Em-Emmet," You stuttered. Emmet cocked his head at you, his silver eyes unblinking. "Verry nice, Miss. You are going to Castelia? We will be there later today."

"Really? I thought you two only stayed in Nimbasa, normally."

"Nope! We go alllll over the stations. Make sure they are running smoothly, yup."

That made sense, you supposed. You squeezed the package in your hand- And remembered it's existence. "Oh, that right! I was bringing some cookies for my friends in Castelia- And I packaged a few extra. Would you guys like them?" You offered. If they would consider you a friend, then surely they would like this gift-

The package was gingerly taken into your hand, Emmet surprisingly reaching out. The soft, light feeling of his glove ghosted over your own hand as he took the box gently, as though it were a delicate piece of glass. Your hand shivered.

"Oh my, thank you, Miss. I'm sure we will enjoy these late-" "Mmm. Yes. They are quite delicious!"

Ingo turned to his brother to see he'd already flipped open the little paper box- Happily munching on one of the deliciously sweet treats you'd provided them with.

You laughed. "Whenever you guys decide to enjoy them is perfectly fine. I'm glad you like them, Emmet!"

"They are verrry good. You should bring more sometime." He added, as Ingo swiped the box from him. "We will enjoy the snack at lunch. Miss- I wish you safe travels. And perhaps... we shall see each other later in Castelia," Ingo finished, his eyes falling to the box of treats he was now holding.

Sweets had an unfortunately powerful hold over most of their kind. Anything rich, decadent- And the feelings that went into making a "gift"- As they understood it, an "offering"- were important too. And so the cookies were impossibly delicious and tantalizing to them. Perhaps because you had been their maker- And Ingo took the smallest of bites from one, desperate to savor it. There were only ten, after all- And they were such small little things.

"Mmm, you guys enjoy them!" You turned, waving. "I need to go catch a train now- Love you, bye!"

You caught yourself, the words having already left your mouth. And you turned back, your cheeks turning the same shade as an overripe pecha berry- "I- Sorry, Sirs- That just- That just slipped out-"

"I-I-It's no worry, Miss-" Ingo reassured- Pulling at his hat, his other hand clutching the box of cookies tightly- He turned away suddenly, his coat seeming to flare behind him-

"Emmet! We must- We should- We should report to the multi-line at once. Come!" And without waiting for a reply, Ingo grabbed his brother's coat collar aggressively, dragging him away- And the conductor in white waved back to you, his arm looking like a bright blur of reflective white- Leaving you to cower in your embarrassment as you walked at an ever quickening pace towards your own platform.

"Love you."

"Love you."

Ingo had already dragged the two of them out of sight of the public- The two demons were rapidly degrading- Unable to maintain their semblance of mortal human forms. The pair of them were still vaguely-humanish, but not quite. Humanoid figures of fur and feather amid the glow of ethereal light and the growing shadows of darkness as they walked, gently and methodically towards- Where? Their office, they supposed, halfheartedly. Their minds were elsewhere.

"Love you."

Ingo traced the contours of his chest. Empty and hollow as it was, if he had a heart- He was sure it would be beating as fast as yours was.

"Love you."

The phrase echoed in themselves. The way you said it, so naturally- The words you spoke to so many, but not them-

The effortless way you had uttered those words, and the adorable way you responded- Why were you embarrassed? You were cute. It was cute. It was an admission of your love. It was a slip of your inner thoughts out to them- And it tore them apart.

"They're so sweet. They're faarr too sweet." The half-human, half-monster whined. His wings flicked around him eagerly as he ate another of the small treats- And yet another set of wings seemed to spring forth from his back as he sighed contentedly. "These are verry good."

The shadow-creature ate another cookie, darkness pooling in the corners of the hall as they walked. "...Yes, yes they are." He answered gently. His heart and mind were elsewhere.

Kudari trailed off. His wings brushing against the side of the halls, burning them with light- Changing them to something else, before the resettled as walls made of wall-material- Nothing more, nothing less. Your admission made his heart sing. And he had shown remarkable restraint in not grabbing you immediately and turning his chorus of voices towards you at once. It was bothersome talking with only one voice- There were so many things he wanted to say. So many things he wanted heard- And you wouldn't have been able to understand him anyway, much to his sorrow-

Ingo took a deep breath. sinking into his chair.

"Darling loves us." He muttered. His hands drumming- Scales flexing and shimmering against the light his brother gave off- "Darling loves us, Darling loves us and they said they loved us-"

"They meant it, right?-" "Of course-" "Of course they meant it, I'm just nervous-" "It is fine. They love us." "They love us and they want us. We should- We should bring them flowers, brother." "But of course, of course. We should tell them we love them. Because we do." "Of course, of course." "Do you think flowers are enough? I want... to give them pretty clothes." "Treasure-" "They've wanted to head to Alola for some time, perhaps we could take them there..." "Perhaps we may buy them a villa." "It would be closer though, we could buy them one in Undella." "None of them are suitable for our beautiful mate, brother." "We could make them one, them- As a present-" "Yes, yes I like that verrry much..."

And you went on your way- Completely unaware of your bosses' plans. The two would continue on- Talk of their sweet plans, their wishes- And the high they rode off of your admission, no matter whether you'd meant it or not-

And they would continue, until Agent Jackie had the intelligence to message Miss Elesa about the twin's... elated state. Hopefully, he half-prayed, she would talk some sense into his bosses' oh-so-empty heads.

#Demon AU #Monster AU #seth.asks #seth.anon #💜 #Emmet X Reader #Ingo X Reader #Eldritch AU

[love-overdrive]

Crayon Drawings

Summary: Haruno is surprised when he opens the door to see a random American girl waiting outside one day. Although they're supposedly related, Haruno isn't too keen on sharing his room with her or getting too comfortable with her. But... maybe this new girl isn't all that bad. Even if neither of them can speak the same language.

Relationship: Platonic! Giorno Giovanna/Haruno Shiobana x OC (gen-no romance)

Rating: SFW

Word Count: ~2.1k

Notes: light swearing from Giorno's stepfather, Giorno's backstory, language misunderstandings, but overall pretty light? If you don't think about it too hard. Just enjoy the way Mary and Giorno first met as kids. Since this is from when they were kids, Giorno will be referred to as "Haruno" here.

Please let me know if you'd like to be tagged whenever I post future works <3!

“I’ll never forget what you did for me.” 

Those words repeated in Haruno’s ears for many years to come. Helping that man from the street reaped rewards his young mind could not even comprehend. Suddenly, his stepfather had stopped harassing and hitting him. The neighborhood boys would no longer mock his heritage and instead invited him to sit beside them. He was able to enjoy free scoops of gelato that he otherwise would not have been able to afford. 

To the five year old Haruno, this was practically a dream come true- all thanks to that gangster. 

What he never could have expected, ever, in his dreams, was what had happened a few days after his sixth birthday. 

There was a knock at the door. Haruno waited, wondering if it was another of his stepfather’s “friends” coming to visit. The knocking continued, making Haruno curious as to why his stepfather wasn’t getting it. He sighed, put his book down, and went to get the door. 

He opened the door, raising a brow when he saw a young girl outside with a suitcase beside her. The girl was a lot taller than him, with sunkissed skin and freckles adoring her face. Her hair was dark brown and wavy at the bottom, the top of it clipped back with many different butterfly clips. She had on small gold hoops and was chewing gum loudly with an awkward expression. She didn’t look to be from here. She cocked her head when she saw Haruno and pulled out an envelope from the large front pocket of her jean overalls. 

“So, uh, is this where I’m supposed to be?” She asked in English, fidgeting with a gold necklace around her neck. Haruno realized that the necklace said something, but it was not with any letters from the Roman alphabet. It looked to be a bunch of curvy circles and lines with two diamonds at the bottom of one the lines. Not something he had ever seen before. He was obviously too entranced with her necklace to respond, making the girl bend down to him slightly and wave her hand in front of his face. 

“Hello? Come on, am I at the right place?” she repeated in English, although with an exhausted tone. Haruno didn’t understand, giving her a far out look in response. She seemed to realize her mistake and huffed while pulling out a small flashcard. “Uh… ciao!” 

“Ciao…” Haruno said back quietly. The girl swallowed. 

“I am… supposed to … stay here,” she explained in the best Italian she could muster from the card. “I am… new sister.” 

“I don’t have a sister,” Haruno responded, about to shut the door on her. Must be another scam. Or the wrong address. 

“W-wait!” She cried, stopping the door from fully being closed, then spoke in English again. “I’m supposed to be here!” 

The commotion caused Haruno’s stepfather to grumble and walk down the stairs. “What the hell did you do this time, huh, Haruno?” He began before freezing upon seeing the girl. “And who the hell are you?” 

The girl sighed loudly and just held out the large envelope to him. It was addressed to him, making him wonder what this all was about. “If your boss is makin’ a kid come out to extort me, well, I gotta say, that’s a new low-” he ranted before he gasped. His eyes scanned over the letter inside and he gulped. He stared in shock at the girl then reread the letter again. He repeated this a few more times before chuckling nervously and moving himself and Haruno to the side. “Come in, come in.” 

“What are you-” 

“Quiet, you,” his stepfather threatened. The girl lugged her bag with her and stood in the middle of the small house, looking around the living room as if it were an alien land. His stepfather gestured to the girl. 

“Haruno, this is apparently your half-sister. From your dad, I guess. She’ll be staying with us from now on,” he explained. “How the hell am I supposed to afford another mouth, huh, jackass?” 

Haruno’s eyes widened while his stepfather continued to grumble at the letter. “Half-sister?” 

“Yeah, something about her being from America and shit. Whatever, she can deal with you.” 

He shoved the letter at Haruno, before walking off, leaving the two supposed siblings alone. Well, now that he knew she was from America, it explained why she looked so different and could barely speak any Italian. The girl fidgeted before pointing at where his stepfather went. 

“Father?” She asked. 

“Stepfather,” he corrected, although she scratched her cheek slightly, making him assume she couldn’t understand that either. He decided to make it a bit easier for her by nodding. “Yes, father.” 

The girl’s eyes lightened as she nodded, happy she finally understood something. “My… my name is! My name is Mariam,” she started. Haruno thought the way she said her name was pretty, sounding similarly like the Italian he was used to hearing. She flinched for a second then coughed. “No, uh, my name is Mary.” 

“Mary.” She nodded again at him, giving him a small thumbs up. He pointed to himself. 

“Haruno.” 

“Haruno,” she repeated, curling her r’s. He never thought most Americans could do that, from what he heard of the normal American tourists, at least. 

“Am so happy to be here,” Mary tried to say. It was awkward and clunky, but she was trying, making Haruno feel somewhat sympathetic to her. He didn’t respond back, since, frankly, he knew nothing about her. It wouldn’t exactly be honest to say he was happy to see her in his house. Who knew what she could do to ruin the good fortune he was having this time around. 

“Hey! Haruno!” His stepfather yelled, breaking Haruno from his thoughts. “Show her upstairs. You and that girl can share a room.” “W-what? Why?” Haruno asked, a tinge of disappointment in his voice he was not afraid to express now thanks to his guaranteed protection. 

“Because I said so, that’s why. There’s no other place in this house. You’re a damn kid anyways, you can share.” 

Haruno wanted to argue that technically, there was that guest room no one used, but he didn’t want to push his luck. He already was on thin ice. Haruno glanced to Mary with a defeated expression and made an arm movement to have her follow him. She did so and followed him up the stairs, the luggage banging against it with every step. He showed her the room and Mary noticed a bed. 

She smiled at seeing the bed before understanding from the size and objects in the room that this was for Haruno, not her. She deflated slightly, before mumbling a quick ‘thank you’. She unzipped her bag and removed a blanket to lay on the floor a bit away from the bed. Mary looked back at Haruno, as if asking for his permission. 

Not like he could object, so he nodded and sat on his bed- his bed, for him, not her. 

There were no extra pillows around, so Mary grabbed a bunch of her clothes and bundled it together, tossing it on the floor to make a makeshift pillow. She then rested her head on the poor excuse of a pillow and covered herself in the thin blanket, adjusting herself to get a feel for how her new life on this wooden floor would be. 

It hurt like hell. 

Not like she could object to this anyways. 

She sat back up and folded the blanket away, before biting her lip, unsure of what to say. She then snapped her fingers and brought out a small book and flipped through its pages. 

“Ah, um, I am… ten… years old,” she squinted as she read the page. “I like… to… draw!” 

He shrugged and went along with it. “I am six. What can you draw?” 

She flipped through the book frantically, making Haruno just grab a notebook and spare red crayon he had lying about. He tapped the crayon against the page and Mary hesitantly took the crayon and notepad. She tapped the crayon against her chin before she began drawing, scratching the paper with every stroke. She proudly showed off her crude drawing of a cat juggling. 

Haruno’s eyes widened in amazement. He could barely draw a circle, but she drew many of them! Mary giggled and then flipped to another page. She pondered what to do next before she snickered and made a large circle on the page. On the top of the circle, she made a tiny dot and then flipped the notebook to him, unable to contain her laughter. 

He wasn’t sure what was funny about it until she pointed at the small circle and yelled, “fat cat!” 

His brief knowledge of English took him a second to process it before he pointed at the circle with her. “Fat cat?” 

“Mhm! It’s soooo fat, it takes up the whole page!” She laughed, expanding her hands wide. Haruno didn’t know why, but the way she laughed caught his interest. It sounded nicer than when his stepfather laughed cruelly or when his mother had laughed dryly. Or when the adults outside laughed due to social norms, or when the schoolchildren laughed mockingly at him. 

Mary just sounded genuine to him compared to the others. It was a pretty laugh. 

Mary didn’t notice his staring, instead focusing on her drawing with her back turned to him. Haruno tried to peek over her shoulder but she shook her head. 

“No, no, wait! I can’t show you yet!” She said, despite him not knowing English. He could parse her ‘no’, though, so he stayed still and waited patiently. 

After a few moments, she excitedly showed off her drawing of two small people. One was a girl with long lines for hair, with pretty eyelashes, a crown, a dress, and heels. The other was a boy who looked smaller, with a square shirt with buttons and long pants. The boy had hair drawn similarly to Haruno’s and wore a big crown. All around them were random things like butterflies, a bush, a horrible looking tree with what he assumed were fruits on it, a “castle” in the background, and even random birds and squirrels. 

On the top, in bad Italian, was “my brother.” 

Haruno gasped at this drawing, pointing at the picture of the boy then himself. Mary nodded and Haruno softened. He gestured for the crayon and Mary gave it to him. He grabbed the notebook from her and Mary whined when she saw him begin to use the crayon on top of her art. 

“Hey!” 

However, Giorno flipped the book back to her and showed her that nothing from her art was changed. The only thing he did was fix was the small phrase she wrote. 

“It’s ‘my little brother’, like this. Not like that,” he explained as he showed her the extra letters he added to correct it. She took note of it and grinned as she read out the Italian slowly. 

“My little brother. Haruno.” 

Haruno did wonder why she was so quick to refer to him as her little brother, given they had only barely met a bit ago. It did feel nice to be referred to like that, but something in him was telling him to not be too open right now. She was still an unknown variable in his life. 

Mary didn’t notice him reflecting on her and instead was busy playing with a strand of hair. Haruno stared at the shiny, plastic butterfly clips she had on her head. 

“Butterfly,” he stated, hoping she’d understand. Mary popped the bubble she blew from her gum then took off one of her clips. 

“You want it?” She asked, handing it to him. He didn’t know what she was trying to accomplish, before she instead leaned over and brushed aside some of his black hair. She clipped the butterfly a bit above his ear and grinned. “Tada! Bella!” 

She looked so proud of herself for clipping his hair and using that word that he couldn’t help but let out a grin. 

“Yes… bella,” Haruno agreed. 

Mary clapped and had a wide smile on her face, finally looking more happy than when she first arrive. It’s a nice smile, too, Haruno thought.

#my writing #jjba #jjba oc #mary 5 #jojo oc #mary giovanna #giorno giovanna #giorno giovanna x oc #platonic self ship #platonic #self shipping #self ship community #selfship community #self ship #my oc #jjba x oc

[miasmaghoul]

so i was rereading your work today, and i just have to say. you are such an amazing writer. i have only been moved by a few works before, and chapter 5 really tore my heart to pieces. i mean, i sat in my bed crying for a good half of an hour.

if you don’t mind me asking, do you have any motivation for the stuff you write? like what inspired you to write suspended reality and make it as sad as it was?

i hope you continue writing this heartbreaking work until the end of time because god you are so talented. thank you for giving us such amazing work

OH BOY, TIME FOR THE BIG REVEAL (not really but kinda)

Personal talk time! I'm on mobile so I can't add a read more line, so skip this one if you aren't interested.

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Suspended Reality was, initially, inspired by the impeccable @coreyvoss tagging a post about how Dew would react to losing his spot in the band. "Without this I have nothing."

I took the concept and ran (real fuckin far) with it. Eventually, it just became me telling my own story. Changed names and circumstances, obviously. But the story I told here is actually something I experienced.

Every single thing that happens in this story - yes, every one - is something I went through in real life. Every bit of isolation and self harm and suicidal ideation. Everything from the incredibly regretful hate sex to the attempt itself. Mine, obviously, didn't take. Not for lack of trying.

And from Aether's perspective? That was me too. Dealing with the suicide of my best friend. I still have the necklace she left me. Miss her every day.

I've been holding on to this shit for...close to 15 years now, between the two events in question. So when people tell me it feels real, and believable, and visceral and uncomfortable...that's why.

That said, I've needed to get this shit out of my head for a long, LONG time. With the ghouls being the blank canvases they are, it was the perfect opportunity. I never expected it to take off the way it has, or for so many people to relate to it.

So yeah. No real motivation or inspiration. Just a story that's been in my head for almost half my life that I finally let myself tell.

Sorry if this is hard to read, if you've made it this far, but it feels important to say. For everyone who wanted a happy ending - I'm sorry, but it doesn't always work that way.

💜

#miasma says #suspended reality questions #tw suicide #tw self harm #tw death

[searchingfortheuniverse]

Miscellaneous Tag Game (pt. ii)

Tysm for tagging me @onehelluvamarine xxx

A band you don’t like that many others do: Uhhh I can't think of anything at the moment. I'm positive there is one but I cannot for the life of me think of one right now

A childhood memory that you remember vividly: So when I was. I want to say like 5? We went on a big family holiday to France and we stayed in this holiday home on a farm, and instead of getting a bedroom I actually slept on this little bed on a semi-landing thing, and I remember being in that bed and falling asleep with the rest of my family still chatting downstairs

Least favorite animal and why: The only thing coming to mind is spiders. Not little ones, they're fine, and not tarantulas either. But big house spiders. Because I have encountered them in too many places they Should Not Be

Hot fandom take: Umm idek. I guess maybe that crossover pairings need to stop being automatically considered crackships? Like, unless you're hitting me with that Impala/TARDIS shit or something, it might just be a regular old crossover rarepair ship imho

Do you wear any jewelry, if so, what’s your favorite piece: I basically always have a necklace and a ring on, and I love them both but the necklace is definitely my favourite. It's Thor's hammer, and it was a Christmas present

A movie others liked but you didn’t: The Dark Knight. Excellent performances but I just didn't really vibe with the Nolan Batman movies even though I really wanted to because I watched them at the height of my DC phase

Three things you love about yourself: My humour (I'm a pun master to the extent that some of my colleagues still bring up a joke I made when I started about 6 months ago), my hair, and the way I taught myself to paint my own nails and now they basically always look cool and interesting

A place you hope to visit in the future and why: As just a holiday: Crete because it's got some fascinating history. As a place specifically to visit people: if you're reading this and you know, you know >:)

An actor that gets on your nerves and why: If I ever meet Kevin Bacon it is ON SIGHT. I've never seen him in anything but X-Men but he's been in EE ads for so long he's driven me up the wall and I can't look at him any more

Things you’re excited for in the nearby future? I have a week off next week! Thank GOD

Least favorite ship in a fandom you’re in: I've said it on this blog before so I'm hoping I'm not going to get mobbed for it but. Sledgefu. As I've said before I get it but I Do Not Vibe. Glad y'all are having a good time though!

What’s the most toxic fandom you’ve been in? I can't name it because it's tiny and this'll end up somewhere they'll find it. They were entitled and had a whole superiority complex going on. Last I heard they were STILL hung up on something that happened three years ago where they had beef with someone from another related fandom which blew up into a whole thing

List three things you find beautiful about life: My family, I'm so so lucky to have them and they're always so supportive. My friends, and the fact that I can have good friends who are so important in my life when they're so far away from me. And creating things generally, whether I'm doing it or someone else is, and making something that means something in some way

Any dreams for the future? Current, very mundane dream is to get a job that, even if it's not my biggest passion and I love doing it all the time, doesn't make me dread going in every day

How are you really feeling today? Uhh. Worn out. Kinda ill in a very general way. Seasonal depression is kicking my ass. But I managed to do a couple of important chores today so feeling good about that!

Tags: if you feel like it, then @bruin-coll, @noodleblade, @thesunlikehoney, @paperbrds, @hopefulsapphic and @sumquiasum!

#thank you again for the tag!!! #tag game

[surskip]

Literally your tags where you talked about ppl not understanding aa characters was SO TRUE...esp about maya and ESPECIALLY about phoenix 😵‍💫😵‍💫 whenever people just portray him as The Nice One to contrast edgeworth it is so lame bc he genuinely has such a great full personality

THANK U FRANKIE....!!!! i had to retype this cause i accidentally deleted it so i hope this makes sense.

maya is soooo misunderstood like.. this is not to say that she is Only tragic. she and phoenix goofing off is the best part of the games i think, like i havent stopped thinking about her calling him a toilet freak in the stolen turnabout it made me laugh really hard. but also i think people forget that she is shown to be actively repressing her grief so many times; she was traumatized by the events in the 2nd game and refused to go back to kurain village or train for months, and mia said that she was concerned about maya. she feels the need to be strong for the people around her to her own detriment. like the only people she's close to who are still alive are pearl and phoenix. she wanted to know about her mother and meet her and know what happened to her for so long and then her mother was murdered in front of her (before she even learned she was her mother and before they could really talk). like at the end of the last trial of aa3 she says that she doesn't want to be the master and doesn't want anything to do with the fey clan anymore but after the trial she continues training and presumably took the role because she knows she's the last person pearl has left. i've talked about her so much and this post got really long but ahh (explosion sfx) i want people to talk about her in ways that aren't related to making her a plot device for other characters to get together

i think sometimes people try to fit phoenix and edgeworth into like. you know that trope of the "mean one" and the "sunshine one" when they really do not fit.

phoenix is really easy to project on to and i don't have a problem with that, but he also very much has a personality of his own and i think that gets erased sometimes. he is a genuinely nice guy* (asterisk because i'll get back to this not because i don't think he's a nice guy) but he also like.. he has a very strong personality and feels things super intensely and is really devoted to the people he cares about even at the cost of his own health. i think he and maya are really similar

like when he was with dahlia in college that was 99% of his personality and he ate a metal and glass necklace that also had poison in it to stop her getting convicted of murder (also i do think the whole dahlia thing had a big impact on his ability to trust people/how he doesn't give up on people). he ran across a burning bridge for maya even after he kept saying how scared he was of it even before it caught on fire. in the second game his mood instantly sours every time edgeworth is brought up because of how much grief and anger he's feeling, and this is one of the first things he says to edgeworth after learning he was alive the whole time. from his perspective, he has no idea why edgeworth faked his own death especially after turnabout goodbyes, and he thought someone who was a huge factor in the trajectory of his life died. so he's really upset, and that's understandable

edgeworth and phoenix are i think so much more similar than they are different. like edgeworth in that scene is the one to give the 'friendship will help' speech when peolpe might expect phoenix to. i think phoenix operates more on instinct while edgeworth needs to operate with some outside logic and evidence. they both want to do good and help people; phoenix is open about it, and edgeworth operates on like 5 layers of repression and von karma/dl-6. (like for example i think edgeworth didn't let phoenix come to the cavern in bridge to turnabout because he didn't want phoenix to have to see if maya had died there.) i think people want edgeworth to be the always cool always knows exactly what to do archetype but every time he's in a situation where he doesn't know exactly what to do he just loses all his cool points. like in all the end of the game "let's go eat a meal!" parts he is just kind of going "umm... ok" whenever someone makes a joke at him. like he's like someone scruffed a cat he loses all his cool factor when he doesn't have a solid framework of experience and knowing The Rules to prop himself up with

*: you just have to look at phoenix's interactions with pearl to see that yeah he's just a genuinely good guy. but also, and i think that sometimes this gets erased in fan stuff.. he is kind of catty and it's great. his inner monologue is full of snide remarks like this and he really likes to mess with people (especially apollo, especially messing with apollo with trucy)

#asks #aa #long post #<- sorry it's really long i was thinking about this in the shoewr #i havent finished apollo justice so this is all about the first trilogy i am sorry if anything i say is out of date later

[nicklukenelson]

hehe

Oh. 😃

#his hair. is. so. curly. #curly haired boy ❤ #FLANNEL #peep the necklaces #men in necklaces is something that can actually be so personal #necklaces are sexyyyy #why do i so many necklace related tags #points have been made #maddie <3 #ily #wife <3 #gremlin asks #ask #answered

[binniesthighs]

call me babydoll | reader x chan

soooo shhhh this actually a part one shhhh but i’m just trying out writing out different things and getting out some of my ideas outta my head that i’m really excited about, this one being one of them!! for now...just pretend that this is just a regular ol’ drabble hehehehe. this part is the set-up chapter (shhh i mean drabble) 

One

Pairing: self insert, female reader x bang chan 

Genre: fluff, smut, and angst 

Tags: (overall) bodyguard au, moderndayprince!chan, bodyguard!reader, secret agent au, royal au, action and peril, plot driven, running out of time, slow-ish burn, growing feelings, softswitch!chan, hardswitch!reader, some skz side characters, jeongin third wheel and comedic relief LOL, travelling, chan being expensive and having a lil bit of a superiority complex, flirtyyyy chan, bits of mystery, explicit language, mentions of food and alcohol, idk think like 007 vibes hehe 

CWs: guns and gun violence, a shooting in a ballroom, mentions of blood 

Word count: 4.6k 

Parts

ONE | TWO 

“I wasn’t expecting to see you here early.” 

“Well, expect the unexpected.” 

“Don’t turn the motto back at me. I’m sick of hearing it so many damn times.” 

“What? You and I both know that it’s true. You’re here early too, so, technically you don’t get to say anything.” 

Jeongin straightened his bow tie, then patted down the sides of his perfectly ironed tux with not a crinkle to be found. Knowing him, it was a miracle that he hadn’t messed it up in some form yet. He promptly took out his pocket square to clean off his glasses. 

“You’re looking nice. Seems like they don’t mind spending money now on you these days.” He blew off the flecks of dust on his lenses. 

“They know that they get their return on their investment. And thank you.” 

You smoothed down the sides of your dusty pink dress that nearly went all the way down to your ankles. Had you any other choice, it would’ve been something different, but, dresses were really good at hiding your thigh holster compared to the slacks you usually favored. You didn’t mind the times that you would have to put on a pretty dress, it somewhat reminded you that there was normal life outside of your job. Not to mention, they had started sending you jewelry as well. You always had liked the look of a diamond necklace. 

“You do your research for tonight?” 

Jeongin nodded, then took from his pocket his phone to read over the details. 

“I’ve done a background check on everyone attending, we shouldn’t have any issues. It’s already a low risk event anyway. Charity is never something to get too worked up over, but, you never know with the detail that some of these people come with...who they might be tied to...” 

“--The only people we can trust is ourselves.” You nodded with arms crossed. 

“Expect the unexpected, I know.” He slid his phone back into his inside suit pocket to adjust his cufflinks. 

“--Nervous?” You took note of his fidgeting actions. 

“Nervous? No. I’ve been through this before. You know that.” 

You flicked your partner right on his forehead strung with his white hair. You had really wished that he had picked a less conspicuous color, but he had strings to pull that you didn’t. 

Jeongin cleared his throat, “You do your once over?” 

“Do you even need to ask? I did it hours ago and when we arrived. You know that I’ve done this before too.” 

“I know. I know.” 

Jeongin looked out at the vast circular atrium that made up the center of the hotel. Several stories down under the glass rooftop, you could hear the faint sprinkling of the intricate fountain which smelled of copper. A bit further down, you could see the tips of the tree branches from the indoor landscaping. Across the way, a door slammed with residents tucking in their ties. The two men you had recognized from the roster: a simple thing which made you feel at ease. Your young partner must’ve started to have an effect on you. A sense of unease seemed to quell in your neck. You always listened to your hunches. 

“W-what do you think he thinks of us?” Jeongin broke the silence. 

“Well,” From inside the room you had waited outside, you could hear his distant murmuring, so you lowered your tone. “I think that he has yet to trust us. It’s only been a few weeks. He doesn’t seem like the kind to give himself up easy. That, and I’m sure his resentment of his father must have some influence.” 

“You think he hates us?” 

“I think he hates his father for hiring us. I mean, wouldn’t you? His old security detail, he had them for years.” 

“I guess so. But, we’re not like his old detail.” 

“No. We’re not. I don’t think he gets that yet. I think he sees us as one more way his father has a hold on him.” 

“It’s not like he can do much else about it when his dad’s a kin--” 

“--No, no, thank you, really, it’s lovely. Some of your best work. Thank you.” 

Chan swung open the door to his room, stopping Jeongin right in his sentence. 

“Ah. You’re here already. That’s...punctual.” 

As dazzling and showy as ever, Chan looking nothing short of a magazine model. For a prince, he had certain...appearances that he had to maintain. Today, it was a velvety and maroon suit jacket with a white button up. On the collar, two matching brooches had been perfectly placed, and they were silver like moonlight in the shape of English ivy and adorned with diamonds. On his lapel, he wore the royal insignia of the lion and the wolf. Behind him, you could see his slew of stylists cleaning up their makeup kits and obscene assortment of designer dress shoes for him to pick from. You had thought before that he even smelled like royalty: stuffy white roses with a hint of priceless cognac. 

Jeongin bowed his head respectfully. “Everything has been prepared for tonight. The rest of your guards are surrounding the building, and I’ll be corresponding with them as needed, your Highness.” He tapped at his earpiece. 

Chan drew his attention over to you, giving you a rather lusty glare. Over the past couple weeks, you had gotten used to it. He was a prince to every extent of the word. If there was anything that he had wanted, he simply had to ask. It drove him insane that all he could do was merely look at you. You had  wondered if he harbored anything else for you besides the way that he would devour the curves of your shoulders and hips. 

“Fox. Bee. You look nice tonight. I like seeing you dressed up. Makes me feel less out of place.” 

You couldn’t help but let out a little sound of discontentment over his rather affectionate nickname for you. You and your partner had been introduced to him as F and B. Quickly he had figured out Jeongin’s codename as Fox, considering that he had done a poor job picking out one that wasn’t related to him at all. Anyone could tell that boy was fox-like, and he also just wasn’t that creative when it came to picking out a name for himself. B, or Bee as he had decided, was your name; as in bumblebee. After learning about Fox, he figured that there was an animal theme going, so Bee seemed to fit best in his oponion. 

You tested his glare with your best, “Thank you, your Highness.” 

Jeongin gulped. “Your assistant should be waiting downstairs with your itinerary. She told me that you should meet her first off.” 

“You work too hard F. Have some fun tonight, hm? But don’t...drink too much. You’re responsible for my life remember?” Chan clapped his bodyguard on the back. 

Your partner nervously laughed and adjusted his glasses once more: his preferred tic. 

“And Bee?” Chan rose a brow to lean into close and whisper. “Stay close, alright?” 

“Of course, your Highness.” 

Chan let out a little scoff after getting one more proper look at your frame. “Damn. You really are stunning. Just a little too dangerous for me though.” 

You rolled your eyes, dishing him outa, “Whatever you say, your Highness.” 

Jeongin threw you and annoyed glare before tracing after Chan as he sauntered down the hall to the glass elevator. 

“Bee? You coming? Or do you have something better to do?” Chan’s voice called down the hall with an echo and a little teasing gesture of his hand. 

━━━━━━━━━▲━━━━━━━━━

It had been seven years since you had chosen this line of work, and each time that you had to go to one of these things, you hated them more and more. Not because they were hard to control--they were easy--but you just hated how many superficial and self-absorbed people that they could fit into one room. 

The air was filled with the scent of champagne bubbles and too much Chanel No. 5. From corner to corner of the room, and even next to the ice sculpture of the lion and the wolf crest, silk, satin; velvet and the best cotton could be found. Long gloves covered the arms of ladies with wrinkling skin, and tweed vests held in the guts of men who indulged in their food just as much as their mistresses. All this effort just to appear as if they had given one care about the philanthropic efforts of the royalty.

Several neatly dressed waiters passed you with golden platters of hors d'oeuvres made of ingredients so expensive, they would’ve cost the same amount as the generous donations made by the attendees. If you could’ve, you would’ve scooped up as many of them as you could, just to eat all of their copious amounts of money yourself, but, there was somewhere a rule that you had to keep your hand to yourself when you were on duty. The best that you had to look forward too was take-out to eat at 3 in the morning with Jeongin later. 

Buzzing chatter filled your earpiece while each of the additional guards gave their hourly report. 

“Damn. It’s fucking colder out here than I thought. It’s fucking summer.” One of them joked to the tune of the other guards laughter. 

“Stay focused.” Jeongin scolded over the line. “Don’t leave your posts until your shifts change.” 

While he was a timid man, Jeongin was not one to mess around. Son of the director, he knew that he had big shoes to fill. After pleading for years for her to admit him into the academy, she had agreed. Everyone knew the reason why she didn’t want him in this line of work. Too many dead. Too many missing. In some ways, he was also yours to look after. 

You trailed after Chan who was busy talking to his assistant and his publicist. While he nodded at their words, you knew that he must’ve been barely listening. Chan never really was one for formality, but much rather enjoyed simplicity and pleasure. Jeongin and you had somewhat of a bet going: out of all the guests, you had liked to bet which one he would take with him to his bedroom. Since you had all the profiles of the guests, you liked to bet a little money on which one it would be. 

Jeongin had guessed it to be the heiress and daughter of a tycoon who had made a multi-million won donation in the name of his company. It was ironic; his very company was a big-scale pollutor who liked to make nice with the crown. She was conventionally very pretty: long legs, a thin frame, she was educated and looked as if she could hold somewhat of a conversation...not like that mattered to him. 

You had predicted it to be the foreign CEO who had just started business dealings with the crown. While she might’ve looked a bit stuck-up and prim, she was intimidating, and a challenge. Chan loved challenges. Chan also had a pension for pretty boys with a bit too much money on their hands--usually inherited--and with nothing much else to do other than dote on him. There were plenty of those attending the gala tonight. 

Chan snaked through the crowd, bowing his head at all of the Good evening, your Highnesses and the It’s a pleasure to meet you, your Highnesses. Every few moments or so he would take a bite from a golden plate and then pop it into his mouth. The whole night long, he would hold his glass with him and it would get refilled for him without him even needing to ask. You sometimes liked to pretend that in some places, they must’ve assigned someone to watch him from afar to make sure that he would never need anything before it was given to him. It wouldn’t have surprised you. 

“Having fun Bee?” Chan languidly rolled his head back, swirling his glass. 

“As much fun as you are.” You quipped. 

“Anything that I should be concerned about?” 

“Nothing of concern.” You stated matter-of-factly. Had you matched his flirting tone, you knew that you wouldn’t hear the end of it for the rest of the night. “Fox. Report?” 

“Nothing that I can see. No one has been tagging you.” Jeongin had staked himself up on the upper balcony of the banquet hall room, and had been watching for as long as you had been following after the prince. “You sensing anything strange?” His voice tickled in your in-ear. 

“Just a bunch of the normal crowd.” You kept your tone down low. “He’s rubbing noses with the usual. You’ve seen too?” 

He chuckled. “Yeah. I know what you mean.”

You followed Chan to his seat nearest the front of the room which had been fashioned into a stage with a clear glass podium in the center. Right in front there was one more crest decorating it. Chan had ensured it to be so: he had wanted everyone to know that this was all for his charity. 

“It seems like our bets aren’t working out. He hasn’t talked to either of the...suspects.” Your partner changed his choice of words knowing that the other guards were listening. 

From the opposite side of the room both the heiress and the CEO stood with thin glasses of wine in their lithe hands. Chan had in fact walked right past them, and didn’t even notice. 

“Tonight is going to be a long night.” Jeongin sighed over the line. 

You politely pushed past attendees with a raised hand and a sweet smile. You had found that when you smiled, you had appeared less intimidating. 

“Oh wait...what’s this?” 

“What?” You whipped your head around after Jeongin’s interjection. “What? Do you see something? What’s the call?” 

“Relax! It just looks like he’s approaching someone he wants to talk to. I think both of us are about to be proven wrong.” 

“Ah, shit.” You sighed. “Don’t put me on edge like that.” 

“I’m only trying to entertain myself.” 

“Name. Who is it? You’ve got the roster.” 

You partner was quiet for a minute, and you watched from a distance as Chan approached the man leaned over a martini seated at one of the perfectly decorated tables. 

“Uh, I think that he’s Lee Minho. Some kind of royalty from somewhere else. Pretty low ranking from the looks of it. I think that he made a donation himself...and it’s...damn, larger than you would expect.” 

“Should we be concerned?” 

“No. Seems harmless.” 

“Thank you for coming,” You made out the words that Chan had mouthed. He drew a chair next to the unknown man. 

From what you could tell, Lee Minho was handsome to the full extent of the word: nearly all of his physical features were exemplary and his suit appeared to have been fitted to perfect for him; likely one of a kind. He too wore an insignia on his lapel, but it was one that you hadn’t recognized before. He had immaculately styled hair that had some kind of rebellious and boyish charm to it. The man had a kind of mystery about him too: you had been able to pride yourself in being able to read people, and it had saved your life on more than one occasion. But with him, there was something that you couldn’t place. 

“Do they know eachother?” You asked Jeongin. 

“Not that I know of. School friend maybe? Seems like all the royals send their kids to the same schools.”

“Hm. That would make sense.” 

“Enjoying yourself?” Chan said. 

Lee Minho nodded, and rose his glass to clink it with the prince’s. 

“Do we think that he’s our...suspect?” 

The stranger dipped his head into his hand as he listened to Chan speak. A flirty gesture that you had seen a hundred times or more. Still, the way that he inspected Chan, it wasn’t adoring. Or at least, you didn’t think that it was.

“No. I don’t think so.” 

“What the hell are you yapping about?” One of the other guards snapped over the line. 

“Um, classified stuff.” Jeongin quickly explained. “Above your paygrade. Don’t worry about it.” 

“Fox. Watch out for him tonight.” You snuck over to a corner of the room where you could watch the two of them more discreetly. 

“Affirmative....” Your partner paused. “Babydoll.” 

“Pffff--Babydoll??” The same guard stifled his laughter. “You call her Babydoll, Fox? Damn, you all must be closer than I thought. Didn’t know that I was missing out on some of the action--” 

“--Ever heard of a codename, Three?” 

“Babydoll’s her codename.” 

A grin crept over your lips. “Expect the unexpected.” 

You had almost gotten distracted enough to miss how Lee Minho had leaned over to whisper something into the prince’s ear. After he had done so, Chan laughed out a little, then reached his arm around the other man’s chair comfortably. 

“They’re...cozy.” You updated your partner. 

“I’m trying to cross-check where he might know him from.” 

Chan’s assistant and publicist finally slipped away with giddy little smiles. In many ways, you were jealous of them. They could leave whenever the wanted, eat what they wanted...

Jeongin scoffed. “Well, turns out...nothing. I can’t find anything.” 

“Nothing?” 

“Negative. I’m not seeing any crossover.” 

“So they really are strangers?” 

Your partner sighed. “Looks like neither of us are cashing ou--I mean--finding the suspect.” 

Under your breath, you wondered aloud, “Who are you...Lee Minho?” 

━━━━━━━━━▲━━━━━━━━━

The night drew on longer with the rest of the formalities: the formal dinner, followed by several speeches from important people while dessert was being served. It all led up to the final act: His Royal Highness, Prince Chan’s speech. On several neat notecards marked with the crest, he held them in front of him while he ate his last bits of Mont Blanc Chocolate Pavlova. Even the name of the sweet itself sounded pretentious. Granted, it smelled delicious--as many expensive things did. 

You stifled a yawn from your little set up on the edge of the room. At least you should’ve been able to sit, but it turns out that sitting is also against the rules in this line of work. A couple other security and bodyguards had joined you at the edge: some of their heads nodded with sleep, and the others looked as if they had taken one too many energy shots. Luckily, your stamina had been well crafted. 

A fancily dressed MC made his way up to the podium and the room filled with applause after the last speaker had said all of their correct mandatory words. 

“It is my honor to introduce to the stage, our wonderful head benefactor of this organization, His Royal Highness, Prince Chan of the Crown. 

Applause tenfold of before erupted through the whole room and it wasn’t even an afterthought for the every attendee to stand up from their seats in an ovation. It was a force of habit for you, but you found yourself clapping as well. 

Chan rose with grace, and re-buttoned his jacket with finesse. A blinding spotlight found him and it made the diamonds adorning his beck wink brilliantly. Even more blinding was his pearl white, and perfectly trained smile accompanied by his wave. 

Thank you. Thank you. He mouthed. 

“It’s like he’s a frickin’ movie star.” Jeongin groaned. 

“Might as well be with the way that they treat him. You know deep down they’re all just terrified.” 

Chan made his way up to the stage in all of his regality, and the applause didn’t stop until he cleared his throat. A collective groaning of a couple hundred chairs squeaked when everyone sat back down. 

“Thank you everyone, really. I wanted to thank you all for your generous support in your donations to this organization, as well as your association with the crown. I’m sure that all the beneficiaries of your donations are beyond thankful compared to me. Without you, this would not be possible.” Chan spoke with grandiose gestures, as usual, but this time, he had found you on the side of the room. “Listen, aside from being a prince, I’m also just a person. A person who knows what it means to struggle, to--” 

“--I can’t listen to this anymore.” You whispered into the quiet room, and to your partner. 

“Just a few more hours.” He droned. “I almost wish that something would happen so that we don’t have to sit though much else of this.” 

“Be careful what you wish for.” 

In the corner of your eye, Lee Minho shifted in his seat, but still kept his undivided attention to the stage. You figured he must’ve been just like the rest of them: enamored by the flashiness of the crown--and Chan. He had a way of putting a spell on people: it was the kind of spell that a prince of deception had crafted after years of being kept under lock and key. 

“--Anyway, what I’m trying to say, royal or fanciful we all might be, in the simplest way, we’re all just people, therefore this is what connects us all. Thank you.” 

Chan was gifted yet another standing ovation that was somehow even more thunderous than before. 

“Yeah right.” You scoffed. “People born into money. There’s a difference.” 

Chan gave his last waves, then a clamor echoed from the back of the room. At first, it had just sounded like the same raucous laughter you had heard all night, but then it shifted to something different. The sound of laugher turned into shouting, then screams: high pitched and piercing. You had seconds to respond, head whipping around the room to catch sight of the confused prince. In your in-ears, the the sound of gunshots echoed with rapid-fire speed. Machine guns. Shouting commands barked in your ear, and muddled with Jeongin’s string of demands and questions. 

“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON OUT THERE? REPORT! REPORT!” 

Your heart instantly started beating into hyperdrive, and your legs sprinted as fast has physically possible 

“THEY’VE GOT GUNS!” A shrill and cracked voice of an older woman wailed from the back of the room. 

Immediately after she had said so, shots fired into the darkened room with sparks, and the metallic sound of bullets hitting the marbled ground followed. 

Chan looked around in his panic for you, petrified on the stage. You slung your gun out from your thigh holster and latched onto him with all of your might. 

“TH-THEY JUST CAME OUT OF NOWHERE IN THESE VANS. THEY’RE ARMOURED, WE CAN’T--” 

“Get the fuck down there and secure the exists!” Jeongin growled into his mic. “B--is the prince secure??” 

“Secure!” You yelled back. Using your body as a barrier, you led the cowering prince through the mass hysteria of the crowd. 

“Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Shit.” Chan shook under your iron grip. 

More shots fired into the room and bodies parted like the sea and fell over each other. 

From the balcony, you had caught Jeongin aiming his own gun at the chaos below. 

“I’ll cover you! Fuck! There’s so many of them! Get him to the car out back--Three, Six, meet B out there! Three!? Six!? Report!” 

“Three and Six are down F!” One of the guards panted. “I can provide cover out back!!” 

“Who’s speaking??” Jeongin bellowed, then aimed from above at one of the intruders. Your only focus was on weaving you and Chan out of there, but you had seen one of them in a blur. Each of the men with guns wore dark grey suits with black ties and leather gloves. Each of them wore their own crest: and it was all red. 

“Bee?? Bee???” Chan shouted out for you, and jumped every time the crack of a shot echoed in the ballroom. 

“I’ve got you, your Highness. We’ll be out soon. Keep your head down and listen to me.” Your arm held to him tightly, and you soon found the exit nearest. There was no telling if there would be more of them outside, but you loaded your gun quickly just in case, and pointed it out. 

“Jeongin, get your ass down here!” 

“Jeongin? Who the fuck is that??” Chan ducked down to hide himself behind your frame. 

His name had slipped on your tongue, but that hardly mattered. 

“I’ll be down in a second!!!” 

“Don’t fucking waste time up there when I need you down here!!” 

“Two! Two Reporting!!” A man suddenly yelled in your in-ear. “I’ve made it out back and I’ve secured the exit. The car is safe!!” 

“FOX! Now!” 

Your partner heaved, “I’m coming, I’m coming!!” 

You kicked open the exit door, gun’s still blazing, however one one else could be found on the other side. 

“Thank God,” You sighed. 

“Oh shit, I’m gonna be sick.” Chan had turned paler than white, then stumbled in your arms. 

“Hey, HEY!” You held him upright. “It’s gonna be alright. I’ve got you. You’re safe. You need to trust me. Your life is in my hands and I’m not giving it up easy, got it?” 

“O-okay.” He stammered, then attempted to straighten himself. 

“The Prince is outside, repeat, The Prince is outside. Two, are you in position?” 

“Yes. Yes, I am.” 

Other than the fact that you had just escaped absolute peril, the evening was unbearably pleasant. Crickets chirped in the summer evening, and the humidity of the night smelled gorgeously of the lake that was near-by as well as the vast array of flowers that had been purposefully landscaped around the hotel. Chan’s uneven steps scraped at the gravel walkway. 

Since you had canvassed the whole building well, you had known exactly where the getaway car was, but you were still careful. 

“Bee. Bee!” Chan blabbered. “Have-have I told you yet that I-I’m in love with you?” 

“No, you haven’t Your Highness.” 

“I fucking am. If I die tonight, I want you to know that I am ridiculously in love with you, and fuck, I wanna--” 

“--I’m sorry, Your Highness, respectfully, but now is not the time for this and you are not dying on my watch.” 

Somewhere off in the distance, frogs croaked, and the splashing of fish in the lake plopped at the surface waters. You turned a corner to finally see Two waiting his his gun raised. He was a bit of a shorter and scrawnier man, but something about him told you that where he lacked in strength, he must’ve made up for in agility. 

“I’m out! I’m out!” Your partner gasped, and over the in-ear you could hear his running footsteps. “I’m almost there! I’ll be there in a second!” 

“Your Highness,” Two bowed and opened the car door. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. You can call me Two or J. Either you prefer.” 

Jeongin came bounding around the corner with heaving breaths and his clothes askew. His glasses which just barely held onto his face had a crack on them and his knuckles were covered in blood. 

“Let’s go.” The younger man prompted. 

“In the car you go, Your Highness.” You motioned for him to do so. 

Chan whimpered like a toddler. 

You shoved his body in, “Stop that. Get in the car.” 

“I’m in love with you Bee!” He yelled out, “I’M FUCKING IN LOVE WITH YOU BEE!” 

Jeongin slammed the door in his face with a bit of a chuckle. 

“He’s delirious.” 

“Mm.” your partner smiled. “Sure.” 

#WHOOP #heheh here she is too hehe #stray kids smut #skz smut #stray kids fanfic #skz fanfic #bang chan smut #chan smut #bang chan fanfic #bang chan fanfiction #stray kids imagines #stray kids oneshots #stray kids drabbles #stray kids scenarios #bang chan x reader #bang chan x you #bang chan x y/n #bang chan x female reader #bang chan x female reader smut #kpop smut #kpop fanfic #kpop fanfiction #kpop imagines #kpop drabbles #kpop oneshots #kpop scenarios

[mandoalorian]

Pride

Din Djarin x GN!Reader

Summary: The Mandalorian has been planning to take you to one of the biggest Pride festivals in the galaxy— and the day could not have gone any better.

Warnings: food and drink mention

Not showing up in tags so please reblog this so more people can find it! 🌈

Maker, he’d been acting smug all week. It was a blazing hot morning in the middle of Summer, and Din had finished collecting bounty pucks last Wednesday, and although taking a holiday was a rarity for Din, you didn’t think much of it as it was nice having him take a couple of days off. He deserved it, that much was clear. However, his reasoning for taking time off was becoming evidently more clear as the hours ticked by. He certainly had something planned, and no matter how much you whined and begged, he just wouldn’t tell you.

No, he wouldn’t tell you why he’d taken you to the desert planet of Passana, famous for their vibrant festivals and colourful parades. He wouldn’t tell you why he was so keen to take off his helmet that morning, and he wouldn’t tell you about the rainbow beaded necklace he’d purchased from a vendor back on Nevarro. When he presented the gift to you, alongside your morning caf and platter of sour berries, you felt a flood of gratitude gush over you.

“Pride colours? The rainbow?” You wondered out loud, and Din nervously nodded, his honey brown eyes flicking from the necklace to your face so he could gauge your reaction.

“Do you like it?” he asked hesitantly, and in that moment, your flustered smile turned into an adorable grin.

“Din... it’s one of the most thoughtful gifts I’ve ever received. I love it so much.” you beamed brightly, wrapping your arms around your companion and pulling him to your side.

The Mandalorian helped tie the necklace around your neck, but not without gently stealing a quick kiss into your jaw. “We do have somewhere to be today.” he mumbled, his stubble grazing your skin. You curled your body into his warm embrace and hummed.

“Really? Where are we going?”

“Passana.” He answered.

You scrunched up your nose in bewilderment. “Why?”

Passana wasn’t exactly a planet you’d vacation to, that’s for sure.

Din was wordless for a few moments. “It’s hard to explain right now.”

“Does Karga have another job for you?” you quizzed.

“No,” He hated lying to you, but also, he didn’t want to give up the surprise yet. “Come on,” Din decided his best bet was to change the topic before you could ask anymore questions. “Eat your breakfast and get dressed. I’m going to set course to Passana. We should get there before midday.”

His estimations were correct.

You were so used to seeing Din not wear his beskar helmet around the ship, you’d barely noticed he wasn’t wearing it when you were tredding through the sandy fields of Passana. It wasn’t until you had both been hiking for around fifteen minutes had you noticed.

Din did, occasionally, still wear the helmet. When he was doing bounties, really. But honestly? He only wore it for his own protection. Ever since he lost the kid, and revelations came out about his own Creed, he’d become more lax about covering his face. Whilst he hadn’t disbanded from the rules of Mandalore completely, he just didn’t feel the compelling need to wear the helmet if he didn’t have to. Besides, things were so much better when he could look at the world with his own eyes, and not through filtered vision.

And today was one of those days. A day he wanted to remember forever.

“We’re going to have to get you some sunscreen,” you chastised him. “Before you burn.”

Din shrugged off your comment. He’d handled many things before; being cut and punched and scarred and smacked. He was certain a little burn wouldn’t faze him. But you persisted, and thankfully, not far from Din’s surprise destination, you both approached a market which was selling a variety of bits and bobs.

Sunscreen, hats and sun visors, sunglasses and oh— there was your first clue. A bunch of rainbow related goodies. “Hey look!” you smiled, taking Din’s hand and pulling him over to one of the stalls. You picked out a flag of your specific pride colours and merrily waved it around.

“That’s a big flag,” Din pointed out. “We could hang it in the ship.”

Your heart swelled with joy at his suggestion and you excitedly wrapped the flag around his shoulders. “Or, we could use it as a blanket.”

“That’s a good idea too.” Din smiled.

Din handed credits over to the vendor, purchasing the flag without any further hesitation. When he turned around, you had disappeared amongst the crowds of people, but luckily, it didn’t take long for Din to sought you out. It was a pretty easy task to find the most beautiful person Din had ever laid his eyes on, that’s for sure.

You were paying for something else by the food stalls, it seemed. You whisked around, holding two cones of colourful ice cream doted in rainbow sprinkles and handed one of them to Din.

“Have you ever had ice cream before?” you asked eagerly, taking a lick. You’d gotten some of the vanilla on your upper lip and Din chuckled, raising his thumb to wipe it off you.

“Can’t say I have.” he replied.

“Try some,” you urged with a nudge. “It’s delicious! It’s so sweet, right?”

Din took a bite and winced at the coldness. “I’ve had sweeter.” he murmured lowly and you shot him a joking roll of your eyes. But even Din had to admit, it did taste good.

The two of you heeded on, clambering uphill until eventually, you arrived at the parade. Din squeezed your hand and you felt your eyes widened as realised where he’d taken you. Hundreds, if not thousands of people were marching, holding an abundance of flags with enormous smiles plastered on their faces. Colourful clouds of smoke decorated the sky and beautiful native music blessed your ears.

You smacked your hand over your face in shock and you couldn’t rip your eyes from the gorgeous sight before you.

“You... we... are we... is this...” you couldn’t even get your words out.

“Pride.” Din explained and you let out an excited squeal.

“You’ve taken me to Pride?” you grinned, tears welling in your eyes as you wrapped your arms tight around him.

“Well, I know how much you always wanted to go, and how much it means to you. It’s the perfect day to celebrate yourself, and you get to be around all these amazing people who celebrate you too.”

“You are so supportive,” you cried, and Din smoothed out your hair. “I can’t believe you took me here.”

“Are you happy?” Din asked.

“I don’t remember a time where I’ve ever been this happy,” you beamed back, finally pulling off him and cupping his face in your hands. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” Din chuckled lightly. “You are so wonderful and perfect, just the way you are.”

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#pedro pascal #pedro pascal x reader #din djarin #din djarin x reader #the mandalorian #the mandalorian x reader #pride #jose pedro balmaceda pascal

[halcyonstorm]

The Girl at the Library Chapter 1

Short Fic - Levihan

Themes: College AU, Library, Fluff, Slow Burn, Falling in Love, Female Hange Zoe, Student!Levi

Word Count: 5730

Chapter: 1/3

Warning: Mild Language

Read on Ao3 - The Girl at the Library

Summary: Levi is a college student who needs help on his research paper. Luckily, Hange is a book worm and works at the library. 

Levi was stressed and annoyed, mainly because he was in college. Of course with college comes infinite amounts of homework assignments, 100-question exams with astronomical amounts of topics on them, unnecessary research papers, and staying in a dorm room with a kid that happens to have no problem inviting his friends over every night to hang out and party with no regards to his sullen roommate.

Levi had a paper coming up. He had to come up with a topic, find sources, and finish his paper by the end of the semester. With three weeks left to go, he decided he’d rather get it over with. He began his brainstorming in the study lounge at the center of his dormitory floor. He was starting to stress. He sat on the big yellow leather couch in the way-too-bright study lounge with his laptop in his lap. He tapped his pen against his head as he tried to think of an idea. 

“You have to write about a topic related to your major,” The professor explained. “This is the one and only paper you will have assigned this semester. I suggest you get it done as early as possible.”

If only it were that easy. He had the rubric pulled up in one tab, and a ton of “How to pick a research topic” websites in others. His major was pharmaceuticals, a field he was inspired to take on because of his mother. She was very ill when he was very young, so they were in and out of hospitals. He was sitting on the edge of his mother’s hospital bed when a nurse came in the room to administer her medications. 

“This is…” His memory was blurry. “This medication will help… and make you feel better.” And it did. 9 year old Levi was fascinated. This one little pill or bag of what looked like water helped his mother feel better. Within hours, his mother’s skin went from pallor to beige. Her hands were warmer. She looked more awake, more alive. She didn’t wince at Levi’s touch. She was in less pain. She got better, like the nurse predicted.

Since then, Levi always asked questions whenever they visited the hospitals again and again. “What kind of drug is that?” “What does it do?” “How long does it take to take effect?”

Levi recalled the memory with a deep sigh. He missed his mother. She was at home, not too far away. Levi never had the time to travel the hour through the big city to visit her. When he did have free time, he spent it studying or sleeping. He felt his heart twinge at this. She had sacrificed everything to help him attend college and to give him a good life.

Now with his head cloudy, he went to reach his water bottle in his backpack. He opened the lid and took a sip. At that moment, he could hear some obnoxiously loud students throwing tennis balls back and forth to each other. He recognized these kids too, they were some (of many) of the lovely visitors his roommate had over most nights. Suddenly in the blink of an eye, Levi’s water bottle spilled all over his laptop, a tennis ball on the floor next to him, and some worried voices approaching him. Within seconds, the laptop started to steam and the screen went black.

His laptop was fried, he determined. He felt heat start to rise inside of him. 

“Oh my god, man. I am so sorry,” One of the kids said, trying to hold back a laugh. 

“Yeah, man. We didn’t mean to.”

Levi took a deep breath and stood up. These kids… were gonna pay.

He closed his broken laptop and stood up. These kids were much taller than him, but looked to be easily intimidated by Levi’s presence. 

“Do you have the money to pay for this?” He sneered, getting very close to their faces. 

“Eh… no, but we have jobs! We can pay you back over time,” One of the kids trailed off. They seemed to be intimidated by the short man. “You live in 112 right?”

Levi nodded, his face heating up with anger. “This laptop cost me a lot of money.”

“We get it, man! We said we’re sorry,” the other kid explained. “We’ll pay you back or whatever.”

“Tch,” Levi clicked. He was extremely pissed. These kids should not be throwing balls at each other in the hallway. Also, they spilled his water which made a mess. “Which room are you both in?” They responded with 118. The one kid explained they get paid on the 15th and 30th of each month. Luckily, their pay day was 4 days away.

“I’ll stop by Tuesday, the 16th,” Levi decided, before gathering his things and heading to the stairs. He began to walk through the campus. Fuck, now where was he gonna go? How was he gonna find his topics? His computer was fucked. Putting it in rice wouldn’t have helped. He was so occupied having a debate with himself about where to research, he almost missed it. If he looked the other way or even blinked in that moment, he wouldn’t have seen it. It was the campus library. No, not the campus library, but a campus library. It blended into the surroundings, hidden from the passerbyers. There was a sign in the window “We’re Open!”. 

The library was small, to say the least. It was old fashioned, which contrasted the modern aesthetic of the university. It was a small, dark brown, wooden building with four-pane windows. The door was a lighter shade of brown. He decided it was easier to check out this little library instead of walking another 10 minutes to get to the main library. He didn’t have time to waste. He had to get started with his paper right away. He walked up to the door and opened it. When he did, a little bell rang at the doorway. 

“Just a minute!” A woman’s voice called from the back. Levi decided to wander around. There were many books crammed on the shelves. There were two computers on each side when he walked in. They looked out of place, considering they were very modern compared to the architecture of the library itself. The books were all shades of bright, vibrant colors. It was strange. From the outside, it seemed creepy and gloomy. Once he walked in, it was very cozy. The dark walls of the library contrasted the beautiful colors of the books.

Then, he saw the woman come out. She came up to the desk. He expected an elderly lady with her glasses on a chain, but he assumed this woman was a student. She was a young woman who wore thin oval glasses and her brown hair thrown up in a messy half-up-half-down ponytail. 

“Hi!” The woman said. “How can I help you?”

“I want to use a computer, please,” He announced. He glanced at her nametag which hung like a necklace around her neck. “Hange” was the name on the tag. It was strange and unordinary, but it had a nice ring to it. The name seemed to suit her.

“Sure! You are allowed up to two hours a day,” Hange explains. “You can choose whichever computer you’d like.”

The computers were unoccupied. In fact, the entire library seemed vacant except for him and the employee. 

“Does anyone actually come here?” Levi asked, setting his stuff down next to a desk, and looking her way. She looked like someone who would work at a library. 

The brunette chuckled. “You are my third visitor today!” She exclaimed proudly. It was already about 3pm. He remembered the sign in the front says “12pm-6pm weekdays”. 

Levi chuckled silently, air huffed out his nose. “How do you stay in business?”

“Well, the university thinks it’s good to have a small library in the outskirts of the campus so students have access to books and computers because the main campus library is in the center of the plaza. Sometimes we get about ten people a day, and sometimes they don’t even take anything out. Sometimes I wonder how…” She began to ramble now. She definitely has not had anyone else visit her today.

She was starting to get on his nerves. It’s been 20 minutes since he arrived, and she was still talking. He zoned out until she caught his attention.

“Hey,” She said. “What’s your name? I have to track whoever comes in to use the computers.” 

Why? No one else comes in. He noticed her clipboard with the sign-ins was blank.

“Levi Ackerman,” He announced. She scribbled his name down. “Okay, it’s 3:30 now, so you have till 5:30 if needed.” She pointed to the clock with her pen as she explained. He nodded and proceeded to walk towards the table with the computer he claimed. He sat down and began working.

-

He was an hour into his research when he finally threw his hands up in the air in frustration. He still couldn’t think of a topic. He groaned aloud.

Hange was leaning against the main desk, her nose stuck in a book. “How Trees Communicate” was the title. When she heard the young man groan, she looked up. 

“Is everything okay?” She asked, peering over her book at him.

“Yeah, yeah,” He mumbled. “Fine…”

Hange raised an eyebrow. She placed her bookmark at her spot, then strolled around the desk and walked over to him.

“What are you working on?” She asked, sitting in the seat next to him and put her hands on her knees, looking at him curiously. He scoffs. It was none of her business, he thought to himself. And it’s an invasion of privacy.

He was frustrated and desperate. Hoping for a miracle, he managed to tell her anyways.

 “I need a topic for my paper and I can’t think of any…” Levi began. “It needs to be based on pharmaceuticals, my major. It also needs scientific evidence to back up my research…”

She was fully absorbed in what he had to say. She was bored, so helping Levi would’ve been something to do at least. Besides, Levi was in luck. She was an avid reader, always reading about anything and everything. She was studying plants and botanicals, but she found herself frequently taking out books about cooking; religion; war; animals; and medical topics including surgery, pathophysiology, anatomy, and pharmaceuticals.

“What about how diuretics affect blood pressure?” Hange suggested. Levi was taken aback. His eyebrows furrowed, and he shook his head in confusion. “Or if anti-alzheimer drugs actually help slow the progression of Alzheimer’s? Why do you take different medications during certain stages of Alzheimer’s disease? Or how do anti-seizure medications work? That is something I ask myself all the time. You take this little pill and BOOM! You’ll be fine, no seizure! Oh, oh, oh! Or, how certain medications cause certain adverse effects? How come so many medications cause anxiety?” Her eyes started to light up as she talked. They were a dark brown, but when she started to talk, they seemed to morph to a captivating hazel. He felt he could see every color in her eyes. He saw brown and green and the little lines of her iris. Hange’s hands would move as she talked, and her smile grew wide. She couldn’t keep still. She was getting excited by coming up with all these ideas. She seemed so passionate and so willing to help; he was overwhelmed by her.

Levi was in shock. His day started off horrible. Now, he was almost glad his laptop was fucked. This woman was making his mind race with ideas. 

“Are you okay?” Hange asked for the second time within his visit there. Levi nodded slowly. “I am just… How do you know all that? Are you a med student?”

Hange chuckled and waved her hand at him. “No… I am a bookworm! Also, my mom is a nurse, so she used to teach me about nursing stuff all the time. Oh! You could write about the pathophysiology of anticholinergics! Or beta blockers! Or how the body reacts to the use of long-term steroids?”

Levi took a deep breath. He felt euphoric. He had been casually trying to think of topics since last week. All of a sudden, this woman can just ramble off hundreds of ideas? Levi smiled visibly.

“Actually… I really like the final topic you suggested. About steroids.” Levi admitted.

Hange smiled back at him. “Great! I can try to help you find some sources or books.” She directed him to open a new tab and to go to a certain database. “This is where you can find reliable sources. Over here,” She pointed to his screen at the left side. “You can add filters. You can change how old or new you’d like the sources to be, filter out certain words or phrases, et cetera.” She had been closer to him now; she scooted her chair closer so she could explain the database to him. It was hard not to look at her as she explained. She was captivating.

Levi began to type in words for his topic.

“Steroids”, “Long-term use”, “Cushing’s Disease”, “Addison’s Disease”, “Addisonian Crisis”, “Pathophysiology”.

He felt like he was finally getting somewhere. He was finally making progress.

-

As Levi was walking home, he couldn’t get his mind off that girl. He decided to brainstorm about his topic in his room once he got there. The thing was, though, he couldn’t think of any more ideas. He found it funny. Of course he was full of ideas and inspiration when he visited that library, but now he’s void of any.

-

Levi’s weekends were no different than the weekdays. He made it appoint to visit the library again the next day, Saturday. It was a sunny, cool Saturday morning. Levi had inspiration to write. He needed a computer and Hange’s ideas. When he arrived, it seemed busy. There were three other patrons at the library.  He recognized Hange right away, helping a tall blonde man with a big nose. He wondered if she was the only employee there. The man she was helping was taller than her, so she had to reach up on her toes to point to items. She was an average height, but this action made her seem shorter than she actually was.

Hange looked his way and greeted him with a toothy smile. Levi waved at her and started to head down one of the aisles of books. He was in the nonfiction section, but was lost. For now, he just casually browsed the section, but quickly got impatient. He needed Hange’s help to find books for this paper. He heard her laugh with the patron. Maybe he’s a friend, he thought to himself. Her laugh was airy and full of heart. It seemed genuine and passionate. Levi felt an urge to make her laugh, too.

She finally made her way over to him. Levi was looking down at a book when she caught his eye. “Hey, stranger!” She greeted him with a wave. “Whatcha looking for?” She placed her hands on her hips.

“I’m trying to find some sources for my paper. Steroids is the topic,” Levi explained.

“Oh, right. I remember! After you left last night, I tried to look for some books for your topic,” She said. She was trying to help me? Levi thought to himself.

She curled her finger in a “follow me” gesture and he did. She brought him to another aisle or two over from where they were. “These are the 600’s, where you’ll most likely find what you’re looking for. I found a book or two about Addison’s disease, but it’s more of a memoir. You can look around though if you’d like. Anything in the 610’s should be right up your alley.” She explained as if she was going to leave, but she didn’t. Hange looked for books with him. 

After a moment, she made a noise. “Look at this!” She exclaimed. She reached next to him to reach for a book. She was on her toes again. “Mmmm,” She moaned as she tried to reach. “Actually, I’m gonna get the step stool. I don’t think I can reach it.” Quickly, she left and came back with the stool. It looked unreliable, but Levi was sure he’d be able to prevent any accident from occurring. Hange placed it on the ground and stepped up on it, grabbing the book with ease. She stepped down with the book in her hand. This book had a white cover with a blue label and was titled “Coping with Prednisone”. Levi was surprised she even knew what prednisone was. 

“Here!” She reached it out for him to grab. He took it and looked at her face. She had that same look in her eyes. “Did you want to use the computer?” He nodded and she led him towards the front of the library. The library was small from the outside, but very deep inside. It reminded him of a forest. 

“I got your name, don’t worry,” She said, clicking her pen and writing his name down on the sheet. 

“Oops!” Hange made a quick grimace. “I added an ‘e’ at the end. I’ll just cross it out.” The statement sounded like it was addressed to herself rather than to anyone else. She crossed out the extra letter.

“Ackermane”. Levi was gonna attempt to make her laugh.

“If you thought I looked like a horse you could’ve just said so.” 

Mane, horse mane. Get it?

It felt like forever before Hange responded. She looked up at him, starting to laugh. It was a short but audible laugh. Her head nodded back and she smiled. Her cheeks turned pink and her eyes lit up for a moment. It made his heart skip a beat. It was a bad joke yet she still laughed. She chuckled. Giggled? No. Laughed lightly. Chortled? Maybe that’s the right word. Whatever it was, he wanted to do it more, maybe even more than that.

He followed her to the computers. The blonde guy she was helping earlier was on one computer. She led him to the two computers across from the other ones and sat down in the chair next to him.

“What are you doing?” Levi asked, placing the book she found for him on the table.

Her eyebrows raised, and after a moment she reacted. She waved her hands in front of her.

“I’m sorry! I thought you may have needed help. I should get back to work anyway. I gotta go through a new box of books that just came in.”

Levi looked up at her. Is she blushing? he asked himself.

“I’ll let you know if I need help.” Levi responded. She smiled at him before quickly walking away.

-

He started to find some evidence-based practice articles about how steroids can cause long-term side effects, especially if stopped abruptly. He made sure to keep the tabs available. He’d have to cite them later. Levi’s mind was racing with words and sentences and ideas. He had to get them down on paper. He opened Documents on the computer and started typing away.

The clicking of the keyboard soothed him. He was a pretty fast typer, he didn’t make many mistakes either. The library around him began to become quiet as his typing got louder and he got deeper in thought. Before he knew it, his two hours were up. He felt someone approach him from his right.

“Hey,” Hange said, gently tapping the table next to him. “It’s 2pm. I gotta close up.”

Levi snapped out of his focused trance with a quick head shake. “Right. Sorry.” He pulled out a flash drive from his backpack and plugged it into the computer. He transferred his document. “I got the first page done.”

Levi asked himself for a brief moment why he was sharing this information with someone he just met. Maybe since she helped him, he felt she should know.

“That’s great! It seemed like you were really focused,” Hange said, walking away to shut off some lights. Only then did he notice the white noise of the overhead lights quickly dissipate. The room buzzed with silence now. Levi and Hange were alone in the library. Suddenly, Levi felt nervous. He watched Hange walk around the room frantically, making sure to shut off all the lights and computers. She grabbed a bag. The bag was a fabric material with a patchwork design that had a long strap that hung on on her shoulder. Maybe she made it herself. She grabbed her big mess of keys and walked towards him.

“Ready?” She said. He nodded and walked outside, holding the door for her. She thanked him, locking the door behind her. They began to walk down the street slowly. 

“Want to grab lunch?” Hange asked, looking at him. Levi looked back at her. She looked pretty.

“Sure, I can eat.” Hange chuckled at that. He didn’t try, but it made her happy for a brief moment. He seemed nervous but she was too.

They decided to eat at a cute restaurant on campus called “Life in Paradis”. It was a small, dainty place with a green and yellow checkered awning. The building was made of yellow brick, and the door was bright green. There were flower pots outside on the windowsill. Again, this place seemed totally out of place in the modern aesthetic of the university. 

“This place is adorable!” Hange exclaimed. “I love the food here. You’ll love it too. They have all kinds of food here.” Levi felt a smile grow on his face. The way she talked made his heart flutter. She was always so passionate. They entered and got a table for two. This is not a date, Levi kept telling himself. Then why were his cheeks red?

They sat down and looked through a menu. Levi wasn’t extremely hungry even though he hadn’t had anything but tea this morning. He peered over his menu to look at the girl. Her hair was different today, he determined. Today all her hair was in a ponytail, and it was higher on her head. She wore a light yellow button-down with a long, light blue cardigan. Hange caught him staring at her and blushed.

“What would you two like to order?” The waitress asked him first.

“I’m gonna get a sandwich, I think,” He said, crossing his arms across his chest. “Turkey sub.” “I think I’m gonna get a chicken caesar salad,” Hange said. He nodded, grabbed the menus, and walked away.

Hange began to talk about how beautiful the flowers outside the restaurant were. They were all variants of pink, purple, yellow, and red. She described the petals and the leaves, the flowers’ origins, and all the meanings of the flowers. Levi wasn’t annoyed by her tangent this time. He actively listened to this girl talk about what fascinated her so much. He found it soothing. It made him wonder how her brain can contain all the information she was spewing at him. He enjoyed watching the way her eyes lit up when she talked. The beautiful green that blossomed at the bottom of her irises when the light hit her eyes at the right angle. The way her lips curled into a big smile when she talked to him. Her cheeks flush to a light pink when she describes the petals of the flowers or how flowers were used to express feelings when words cannot. It made his heart race. 

“Levi,” Hange said. Her affect was the opposite of earlier when she was rambling. She wore a frown on her face, feeling guilty.“I’ve been rambling… sorry. It’s such a bad habit of mine. I can talk for hours and hours.”

“Don’t apologize, four-eyes,” Levi replied, leaning his elbows and forearms on the table in a crossed position. Hange smiled at him. Levi meant it. She shouldn’t apologize for talking, especially if it’s about something she loves. The food had arrived at the table. They ate. Levi felt the need to open up to her about something. He already learned so much about her, and her presence made him feel like he can open up. 

“I like to run,” Levi said abruptly. Hange looked at him intently, chewing on a forkful of salad. “I don’t do it competitively or anything, but I enjoy running. I try to run once or twice a day.” Hange’s eyebrows raised and she nodded in agreement.

“That’s awesome!” She smiled again at him. “I like to run too. I’m really slow and get tired easily, but I enjoy feeling the wind in my hair and feeling my heart pound.” She took a bite of her meal again. Levi nodded and began to eat too. This sandwich was really good.

-

After talking some more about hobbies and school, they both finished their meal. The waiter brought over the check. Hange reached into her pocket for her wallet.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Levi asked. Hange furrowed her brows.

“I invited you out to lunch. I will pay,” Hange determined, her wallet now in her hands.

“No,” Levi said too quickly. “I will pay. It’s the least I can do. You helped me with my paper after all.”

The bickering lasted a very long minute. Before she got to think of the idea, Levi grabbed the checkbook and shoved his card inside before handing it to the waiter. Hange looked surprised. She sighed, putting her wallet away.

“Thank you, Levi. But you really didn’t have to.”

“I wanted to.”

In all honesty, Hange didn’t have much money. She worked at that library four times a week, but the money she made went towards paying off her tuition. She really wanted to treat this man, her new friend. She wasn’t sure if he thought the same way about her. Did he consider her his friend? She felt slightly embarrassed. She did most of the talking and felt like she was annoying him. Maybe he just wanted to pay so she would lay off. 

But the truth is, Levi felt the opposite way of how she was thinking. He was interested to hear more from her. He was addicted to the way his heart raced when he saw her. 

-

Over the next couple of days, Levi would go to that library whenever he was available. He knew it was closed on Sunday, so he went Monday and Tuesday to the library. Fortunately, he got his first batch of money from the brats that fried his computer. He received $100. Of course it was not enough, but it was a start. Wednesday the 17th came around. This specific day was a wild card. The weather was unpredictable. Levi entered the library just in time; it had started to downpour. The little bell rang as he entered the library. To his surprise, Hange was not working that day. There was a boy behind the counter who was tall and had a brown bowl cut hairstyle.  He almost thought about turning around and leaving when he realized she wasn’t there. The rain charged towards the earth viciously, so he decided to seek shelter in the small library. It almost looked like a hurricane. He felt his mood change into a bad one. He didn’t remember to ask how often she worked. 

“Hi there!” The man said. His name tag read “Moblit”. That’s a dumb name.

“I wanna use a computer,” Levi muttered, walking up to the main desk.

“Okay. Name?” Moblit grabbed the clipboard and a pen.

“Levi Ackerman.”

“Oh, I see you’ve been here before. A lot, actually.” Levi scoffed and rolled his eyes at his comment. He turned around, picked a computer, and sat down. He felt really stupid to not ask her about her schedule.

The two hours he spent working on his paper was incredibly slow. He didn’t get much done that day. He had writer’s block. He was almost done, so he didn’t worry about it too much. He didn’t know Hange’s schedule. He knew she worked Friday, the day they met; Saturday; Monday, and Tuesday. Maybe she only worked four times a week? Before he knew it, he asked Moblit aloud. It was almost an accident.

“Uh, she’ll be in on Friday,” Moblit replied. He probably couldn’t give out that information to some creep who began visiting daily with an attitude. He muttered a “thanks” before finishing up and heading out. The weather was holding up for now, so he decided to make a run for it. He didn’t say goodbye to Moblit.

He didn’t have an umbrella. The sun was trying to shine through the dark, eerie clouds. It wasn’t trying hard enough. He heard thunder rumbling in the distance.

Levi realized that this girl was all he thought about the past few days. Something about her enticed him. Something about her eyes and her presence drew him towards her. His heart skipped a beat whenever she’d graze his hand on accident, or even when she just talked to him. She made him happy. He hadn’t had too many friends in college. Although they just met last week, he felt a deep connection with her. 

Suddenly, the sun poked through the clouds for a brief moment. The world lit up. It was at that moment he recognized a familiar face. Hange. She was walking towards him. She grinned when she saw him. She wore a fitted black t-shirt and baggy, light blue jeans. 

“Levi!” She exclaimed. “I forgot my jacket in the library, so I came down to get it.” 

“You didn’t tell me you weren’t working today.” Is all Levi said. Once he said it, he realized how creepy it must’ve sounded. A man she just met happens to go to this library to work on his project every day, who happens to come up with multiple reasons to interact with her. Maybe she thought he was a perv.

“Ehh!” She sighed. “I’m sorry! I thought I told you I was off today.” Levi shook his head. The comment itself may have sounded rude, but it wasn’t. She genuinely felt bad. “Walk with me.” Levi followed. Guess not.

“I don’t work Wednesday’s and Thursday’s. Well I’m not supposed to be,” Hange explained. “Mobilt, one of my co-workers, is always calling out sick. So I basically run the place.” They walked towards the library again and entered. 

“Hey, Moblit. How’s it going?” Hange said in a normal tone, heading towards the back of the library. Moblit responded briefly, following Hange. Levi decided to hang back, he figured it was a secure area. He looked around awkwardly.

“Hange, you didn’t tell me you had a boyfriend,” Moblit said, following her towards the back. 

Hange chuckled nervously. “He’s not my boyfriend,” she said bluntly. “He’s just a friend.” Moblit scoffed, rolling his eyes. “If he’s not your boyfriend, how come his mood entirely changed once he saw you?”

Hange found her jacket, folding it over her forearm. “Huh?”

“He was, like, in a bad mood when he came in. He used the computer but he seemed to be pissed or something. Now that he’s with you, he seems… tolerable.”

Hange laughed, feeling her cheeks blush. “It’s nothing like that. People have bad days, you know.”

Hange rolled her eyes and smirked, then headed towards the front of the library. “Ready?” Levi nodded and turned around.

“See you Friday,” Moblit called out. “See ya.” Hange replied.

The two started walking down the street. The air smelt of rain, and the ground was wet from the rain earlier. “Which building is your dorm in?” Hange asked. He was a bit surprised she asked him that, and she was so direct about it.

“Saint Maria,” He replied. She smiled. “Me too! I can’t believe I haven’t seen you around!” The wind picked up and the sky turned darker than before. They both looked up. “If you can’t make it to the library, you can use my desktop in my dorm room,” Hange offered. Levi’s cheeks turned bright red. 

“Thanks, maybe tomorrow I can stop by,” Levi said. It was more of him thinking aloud than a statement. It was too late though, Hange already heard him. He could’ve sworn he didn’t say it aloud.

“That’s fine! I only have a class early tomorrow morning. Come by around 11, okay? My room number is 506.” Levi nodded. Thunder rolled and sounded closer now. They were almost at the dormitory building when it started to downpour. The rain was forcefully coming down on the two. Levi groaned in annoyance. He hated being in the rain. He hated being wet; he hated the wet socks and how gross he felt when it rained. He would’ve started to run to the building to seek cover, but he was taken aback by his new friend.

She was soaked and embracing it. She lifted her head up to face the sky and she laughed. It was loud, happy, genuine, and it took Levi’s breath away. Hange reached her hands out wide and spun around. He saw a strike of lightning light up the sky. He stared at her in awe. His heart swelled. Levi smiled big. After laughing, Hange looked at Levi and shared the look that he wore just a few moments ago. She loved his smile. She wished to make him smile more. She was also determined to make him laugh, too.

She grabbed his hand. “Let’s take cover!” And she pulled him into the dormitory hall. Saint Maria’s hall was beautiful. It had ceiling-to-floor glass pane windows that were always crystal clear. There was a big black modern chandelier that hung from the ceiling. It contained visible light bulbs. Hange secretly loved it. There were the same big, yellow, leather couches in the living room as there were in the study area on his floor. They both wiped their feet off on the big rug in the entryway. 

“I love the rain,” Hange deduced, turning her head to look at him. As if Levi couldn’t tell. Her hand was still holding his. Levi looked up at her. “I like it, too.”

#levihan #levi x hange #levi x hanji #levihan fic #aot #snk #attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin #snk fic #aot fic #rivahan

[inkmyname]

The Ember Island Players: performing toxic masculinity and narrative complicity in propagating misogyny

Initially I wasn’t going to respond to concerns about Katara’s racist/misogynistic portrayal in the Ember Island Players with anything more than snarky tags, but apparently I can’t keep my mouth shut, so I’m posting my response as a standalone meta about how the writers’ insistence on creating drama for drama’s sake leads them to--in lieu of actual character development--fall back on lazy narrative shortcuts whereby a performance of toxic masculinity against a gendered heternormative background is used to create tension in a romantic relationship, presumably with the goal of keeping the audience invested.

The Ember Island Players is problematic for a lot of reasons, not least of which is the pervasive tone-deaf misogyny, including racialized misogyny, directed at Katara. There’s a lot of meta on this, so I’d like to focus on something different: Aang’s relationship with gender and romantic attachments.

Aang seems so uncharacteristically chagrined the whole episode: “I’m not a woman!” Based on his previous characterization up to this point:

The Fortuneteller. This is the same Aang who makes a necklace for Katara when she loses her mother’s. Observe how he responds to Sokka’s jibe about jewelry-making, which can be seen as a feminine pursuit: Sokka: Great, Aang. Maybe instead of saving the world, you can go into the jewelry-making business. Aang: I don’t see why I can’t do both. Femininity isn’t presented as being mutually exclusive with narrative pursuits like saving the world which have traditionally centered male protagonists (especially if we take the entire canon of anything every written in any genre that’s not specifically, say, something like shoujo or jounen which are directed and young girls and women, the narrative focus on male personalities is overwhelming).

The Warriors of Kyoshi. Oh, and this is the same Aang that dressed up in full Kyoshi gear, kabuki makeup and all, without complaint. Why would he? After all, she was him in a past life. (There’s a whole meta here about gender-critical analysis of kabuki productions where male actors typically assumed female roles and how Avatar both takes inspiration from this real-life kernel and subverts it in Rise of Kyoshi where Kyoshi’s signature look is not only an homage to her parental heritage but also a reimagining of who can inhabit what roles. Her legacy, though imperfect, is also notably feminist, taking face paint worn typically by men IRL and expanding it into war paint for women warriors.) (There’s also great headcanon-adjacent meta here about gender non-conformity and non-binary identities in Avatar. Avatar was not overtly explicit about its feminist or gender-progressive mindset outside of episodes like The Warriors of Kyoshi or The Waterbending Master, but it was still way ahead of its time. If anyone was to be presented or headcanoned in such a way, it would be the Avatar who’s lived a thousand lives, inhabiting a thousand skins and a thousand identities, including gender identities. There’s also cool crossover meta here about the Legend of Korra depicting a female Avatar in Korra with masculine tendencies and visible muscle vs Aang as a male Avatar with a gentler pacifistic spirit and gender nonconforming tendencies.)

The Cave of Two Lovers. Aang wears a freaking flower crown and is generally wholesome and adorable, even leading up to the “let’s kiss lest we die” scene with Katara. He’s not pushy or overly concerned with appearing masculine and it is in fact Katara who suggests the kiss and Aang makes a fool of himself. From the transcript: Katara [Shyly, blushing.] Well, what if we … kissed? Aang [Very surprised.] Us … kissing‌? Katara See? It was a crazy idea. Aang [Dreamily.] Us … kissing … Katara [Fake-jokingly.] Us kissing. What was I thinking? Can you imagine that‌? Aang [Fake-jokingly.] Yeah. [Awkwardly laughs.] I definitely wouldn’t want to kiss you! [Beat.] Katara [Insulted.] Oh, well! I didn’t realize it was such a horrible option. [Angrily.] Sorry I suggested it! Aang [Realizing his mistake.] No, no, I mean … if there was a choice between kissing you and dying … Katara [Disgusted.] Ugh! Aang [Desperately.] What? I’m saying is I would rather kiss you than die - that’s a compliment. Katara [Enraged.] Well, I’m not sure which I’d rather do! [Slams the torch into his hand and storms away.] Aang [Miserably.] What is wrong with me … Aang, sweetie, this is not what you say to a girl you want to kiss, but generally, this is Wholesome™ and narratively, this is Good™. Eventually, they do kiss and that’s perfectly acceptable because there’s a whole conversation beforehand with humorous romantic framing. There’s consent and communication and initiative by the female protagonist. So solid A on the sensitive writing.

General Air Nomad culture. We don’t get a lot of Air Nomad culture in the show (and what little we do get what presented in such a misguided way, especially the whole commitment to forgiveness/pacifism which was handled in such an amateur black-and-white way from a writing perspective in season 3). But I digress. I really, really don’t think that Air Nomads who were so concerned with the spiritual side of bending and general existence had stringent notions of gender and romantic relationships–at the very least, they had very different notions of these issues compared to, say, the Northern Water Tribe. Canonically, even though AN philosophy emphasized detachment, Air Nomads practiced free love. Same-gender romance was freely accepted unlike in the homophobic Earth Kingdom (which even Kyoshi, a bisexual woman, wasn’t able to change) and the militant Fire Nation (Sozin outlawed homosexuality after declaring world war, essentially). And though the temples were gender-segregated, it seems that the burden of raising children fell to the entire community instead of just the women. Both male and female Air Nomads are revered. In the case of the former, Guru Laghima who unlocked the power of flight through achieving complete detachment from the material world. And in the case of the latter, Avatar Yangchen, who has statues everywhere because she came to be revered as a deity not just among Air Nomads but in the physical world in general. Nowhere in Air Nomad philosophy is the concept of gender, romance, love, sexuality, relationships etc. etc. tainted with jealousy and possessiveness (especially towards women) or rigid binary heternormativity.

So this was Aang for the better part of the first half of the series. Not overly concerned with gender roles. Pretty much fumbling his way through his first crush like a lovesick puppy and it’s all very wholesome. Supposedly a classic product of Air Nomad upbringing.

Meanwhile, Aang in EIP:

Checks out Katara’s butt as she’s sitting down.

Gets mad at being portrayed by a woman.

Accuses Katara of being the racialized misogynistic version of herself depicted on stage ([sarcastically]“Yeah, that’s not you at all.”).

Nods in agreement when the misogynistic stage production of Katara presents her as the “Avatar’s girl.”

Unable to differentiate between fiction and reality and puts the onus on Katara to do the emotional labor to justify something she never said (”Katara, did you really mean what you said in there? On stage, when you said I was just like a … brother to you, and you didn’t have feelings for me.”)

Assumes they would just… fall into a relationship… just because he forcibly kissed her at the invasion and again pressures Katara to do the emotional labor to justify why their relationship is not how he wants it (“But it’s true, isn’t it? We kissed at the Invasion, and I thought we were gonna be together. But we’re not.” / “Aang, I don’t know.” / “Why don’t you know?”)

Forces a non-consensual kiss on her even though “I just said I was confused!”

So, there’s so many things wrong with this, most of which are a laundry list of behaviors typical of toxic masculinity:

Ogling

Outdated misogynistic humor (what’s wrong with being a woman?)

Verbal abuse

Offloading emotional labor

Gaslighting

Pressuring a potential romantic partner

Lack of direct communication about romantic desires

Lack of sensitivity

Lack of active listening

Lack of emotional intelligence and empathy

Lack of consent and sexual assault

I could go on and on.

My question is Where and when did he learn these toxic behaviors? What happened to the wholesome boy making necklaces, wearing flower crowns, and generally being adorable in a kid with a first crush kind of way when it comes to romance?

Now, you can argue that EIP players Aang has been through a lot, including being shot by lightning and actually dying, and after the failed invasion, he’s stressed out with the weight of the world on his shoulders and maybe not expressing himself or his desires in the best way and taking out all of his frustrations on Katara.

Except… that is all just conjecture because the actual writing of the show doesn’t put in the hard work and make those connections. Instead, they fall back on misogynistic tropes and toxic heternormative romance tropes and a forced love triangle subtext and they just, to put it politely, fuck it up, two and a half seasons’ worth of work, gone, in the space of one episode. And even if it weren’t conjecture, it would still be wrong of Aang to act the way he did.

Let’s list Aang and Katara’s interaction in relation to each other in season 3:

The Headband. “Don’t worry about them. It’s just you and me right now,” Aang says as he pulls Katara into a dance. I have qualms about the writing of this episode: the creators wasted a golden opportunity to flesh out the Air Nomad genocide because they were too busy playing footloose in a cave, they wrote Katara–the same Katara would said fuck you to Pakku, freed enslaved earthbenders from a Fire Navy prison, and became a spirit goddess ecoterrorist to help a village in an enemy nation–as uncharacteristically shy just so Aang could sweep in and pull her into a dance. But like fine, whatever. It’s cute and really well-chreographed and there’s actually appropriate romantic framing here for once and at the end of the dance, look at Katara’s face–she’s happy! Positive Kataang interaction, and I don’t actually mind it. 7/10.

The Day of Black Sun Pt.1. He forces a kiss on her on the mouth, taking her completely by surprise. A chaste kiss on the cheek and a wistful pining last look and “Be safe” might have been acceptable, but given Katara’s shocked and uncomfortable body language, the kiss on the mouth was not. Worse yet, the show just… forgets… to follow up on it for several episodes and when it’s brought up again, it’s used as a sledgehammer to punish Katara for not magically being with Aang. 0/10.

The Painted Lady. Let’s look at the transcript: Katara [Using a disguised voice.] Well, hello Avatar. I wish I could talk, but I am very busy. Aang Yeah, me too. I hate that. [Looks at Katara’s face from behind the veil.] You know, you’re really pretty, for a spirit. I don’t meet too many spirits, but the ones I do meet, not very attractive. [Looks at Katara suspiciously. Tries to look under the hat.] Katara [Giggles nervously.] Thank you, but- Aang You seem familiar too. Katara A lot of people say that. Aang [Suspicious.] No, you really seem familiar. Katara Look, I really should get going. [Covers her face and runs, but Aang uses his airbending and blasts her hat up into the air, exposing her.] Aang Katara? Katara [Guiltily.] Hi, Aang. Aang [Shocked.] You’re the Painted Lady? [Pointing at Katara.] But how?Katara I wasn’t her at first, I was just trying to help the village. [Takes her hat off.] But since everyone thought that’s who I was anyway, I guess I just kinda became her. [Drops her hat on the ground.] Aang So you’ve been sneaking out at night? Wait, is Appa even sick?Katara He might be sick of the purple berries I’ve been feeding him, but other than that he’s fine! Aang I can’t believe you lied to everyone, so you could help these people. Katara I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t have … Aang [Happily.] No, I think it’s great! You’re like a secret hero! Katara Well, if you wanna help, there’s one more thing I have to do. Aang gives her a curious look. Cut to the Fire Nation factory. Aang and Katara run along the river’s edge toward it. Aang looks at the polluted water. Aang You wanna destroy this factory? Katara Yes. Sokka was just kidding, but he was right. Getting rid of this factory is the only way to help these people permanently. He helps her blow up the Fire Nation smelting plant! Yes, he does call her pretty, but more importantly, this is one of the few times he acknowledges her faults (lying, deception, putting the mission at risk to help the enemy nation etc.) and still thinks she’s so fucking cool. He calls her a secret hero! There’s a lot of admiration and support here from Aang. He’s raising up Katara (instead of putting her down as in EIP) not because he sees her as a potential love interest but because he admires her and her compassion! This is great. Solid wholesome Kataang interaction. 10/10. But all good things must come to an end…

The Southern Raiders. I’m not going to spend too much time on this because there’s a million pieces of meta on this episode. He’s completely out of line asking Katara to be forgive her mother’s killer, the source of her greatest trauma as a victim of targeted ethnic cleansing. Given that he’s a victim of ethnic genocide himself, although he personally wasn’t there for it/didn’t actually witness it unlike Katara, he should have understood. He does say “You need to face this man,” which is good and supportive and he should have stopped there, because he continues on to say, “But when you do, please don’t choose revenge. Let your anger out, and then let it go. Forgive him.” Stop. Stop stop stop. No one should tell a traumatized victim of ethnic cleansing how to deal with their trauma. By the end of the episode, Katara doesn’t kill him–but she crafts a third path as the conclusion to her hero’s journey and it is not the path of forgiveness that Aang preaches. Ironically, it is Zuko, who also confronts Ozai, the source of his greatest trauma, who never tells Katara what to do but follows her lead instead: even though he redirects lightning at Ozai and could have killed him, he doesn’t go through with it. He understands Katara and he understands that she needs to this. Kataang interaction rating: 0/10.

So that’s where we are with Aang and Katara in Ember Island Players. Some positive interactions that are appropriately romantically framed and some that are just wholesome and good… but all ruined by forced kissing and moralizing about Katara’s trauma instead of offering understanding. So that still doesn’t answer when Aang would have learned all of the toxic masculine/heternormative behaviors he displayed in The Ember Islands Players.

The only answer, I’m forced to conclude, is bad fucking writing, where the creators were not only tone-deaf in portraying Katara in a racist/misogynistic way or, you know, in writing solely for the male gaze because fuck half the audience, I guess, but they just wanted to create drama for drama’s sake. They completely disrespected their female lead and I would argue they disrespected Aang’s character too in making him a stereotypical self-insert Gary Stu who displays toxic masculine behavior without consequences because that’s what’s expected of a toxic heternormative romantic plot device.

And worse yet, they never follow up on this, just like with the kiss at the Invasion. In the last five minutes of the finale, Katara looks up at him with admiration for saving the world and then kisses him. This is not only a missed opportunity for character development for Aang, but also a big fuck you to the female audience because the message is clear: the guy gets the girl as a trophy for saving the world, and fuck input from the female half of the partnership because that’s just not important and is not worthy of screentime. But I guess screentime dedicated to displaying toxic masculine/heternormative behaviors without ever condemning such behavior as a follow-up is just fine! :)))

If the EIP was supposed to make an argument for Kataang, then it failed. but more important:

By the show’s own high standards, The Ember Island Players is a failed episode, full of bad writing and worse characterization. For a show that was so ahead of its time, this episode is a narrative black mark, a failure of progressive representation and a disservice to its main characters.

There’s some wholesome Sukka and Zuko/Toph interaction, but even that doesn’t manage to save this episode, especially given there’s no resolution to the central conflict: the relationship between Aang and Katara. The entire unnecessarily OOC and forced Kataang drama drags it down.

We know Aang is capable of lifting up Katara and being supportive of her, as he was in episodes prior. We could have had honest, supportive, and open dialogue between Aang and Katara that actually followed up on the Invasion kiss, with Aang clearly expressing what he wants, Katara expressing that maybe she didn’t want that right now, and Aang completely respecting that and them hugging at the end because their friendship/connection is much more profound than pre-teen romance. This is an instance where Aang could have chosen to center Katara’s feelings, for once, instead of his own out of selfless love. If this happened, I would have been okay with a Kataang ending. But that isn’t what we got, obviously.

Part of what appealed to me about Aang as a male protagonist in media aimed at young audiences is that he–at least initially–did not start out as a toxic self-insert Gary Stu lifted from every problematic heternormative romance film ever. In fact, given his playful trickster archetype, general kindness/gentleness, and his stance against violence (a typically masculine trait), he both subverted expectations of and expanded the boundaries of what a male protagonist in children’s media can look like. Unfortunately, the creators don’t go all the way with Aang. In fact, they took a step back with his portrayal in The Ember Island Players, where the creators not only rely on misogynistic tropes to create drama but also make him complicit in propagating said misogyny. And that’s just a damn shame because we could have had a wholesome Kataang storyline and a sensitive male protagonist who cares not about your outdated gender roles and respects his partner’s autonomy!

#atla #aang #katara #kataang #eip #meta #my meta #aang deserved better #katara deserved better #queer #heteronormativity #toxic masculinity #misogyny #feminist criticism #kataang critical #but only in the sense that the writers messed it up #nothing against kataang personally

[oingomyboingos]

Franziska Miles Phx and Spock and Mccoy for the send me a character ask

@matsuorka omg this is so late rip. I kept running out of steam so I only did the aa ones—hope that’s okay!!

Franziska

fav thing: SO MANY THINGS! the potential for her to have an INCREDIBLE arc about recovery from abuse by struggling with her relationship between perfection and the choice between forging her own future or her father’s future. her being trucy‘s aunt—spoiling trucy rotten and seeing a softer, more protective side of her. how much she loves miles and looks up to him, but would never say it.

least fav thing: the games forgetting her after aa2!! there’s so many fun relationships she could have that we’re being deprived of! my fav potential ones are her being a support for klavier to lean on after kristoph is executed (she’s been thru it before with mvk and is one of the only people who can provide true empathy there) and her friendship with simon (which I wrote about in another post here)

fanon pet peeve: not all, but MOST of the franmaya tagged fics on ao3 are for background franmaya in a wrightworth fic. it drives me insane as someone who just desperately wants to see these two lesbians together. i LOVE wrightworth too!! but sometimes being a wlw seeking wlw content in fan spaces makes me wanna scream 🙃

Miles

fav thing: again, SO MANY THINGS! His complicated relationship with guilt, self loathing and atonement after aa1 is super compelling to me (and something i super hardcore relate to with the ex catholic guilt). I think he’d have a really hard time figuring out the difference between atoning for his mistakes and punishing himself for them. like franziska, I love that he invents his own future after being told what he ought to be by mvk for so long. beyond his general character arc, I also LOVE his friendship with maya (steel samurai nerds 5ever <3) and adore the many fics i’ve read where they run steel samurai discords, tumblrs, ao3 accounts, and attend cons together, often never knowing that they’re interacting with each other in these fan spaces bc they’re Big Dumb ™ (and overly proficient at compartmentalizing bc of the #trauma)

least fav thing: this is more of a complaint with canon than him as a character, but I wish we knew more about his life in the period after the 4th grade trial and before the fawles trial. Also about his life during the 7 year gap. which is probably why these are the periods of time I mostly read/write fic about lol.

fanon pet peeve: I genuinely hate that so many fan voice actors cast him with a british accent. I know it’s just “default posh” but the man’s from japanifornia & germany lol. ALSO when fanon makes him into a twink. like, have you SEEN his sprite? the man has a brick wall for a torso. solid. huggable. though don’t let anyone else know the formidable chief prosecutor is a softie who gives out hugs to his giant gaggle of adopted children, it’ll ruin his austere image

Phoenix

fav thing: HUMAN WRECKING BALL OF A MAN I LOVE HIS STUPID ANTICS AND PASSION!! Eating the poison necklace, getting hit by a car, falling through a burning bridge... Most of these have to do with his dedication to someone he loves—and when he loves something or someone, he goes in with all his heart!! I also just love how fucking smart he is which I talk about here.

least fav thing: I really don’t like phoenix’s characterization (or character model) in aa5. first off, the character model is so fuckign ugly, dead fish eyes ew. I haven’t played aa6 yet, but to me aa5 is a huge misstep for the franchise. the game gave us the format change of 3D art, rather than adding in the format change it promised at the end of the game. where’s the MASON/juror system he worked so hard on? don’t get me wrong, it gave me things I love (athena and simon and aura), but at the cost of tanking the progress with phoenix’s character arc. and phoenix taking the lead sometimes really diverts needed energy away from apollo and ESPECIALLY athena.

fanon pet peeve: I have a few that irk me with phoenix.

that people characterize him as stupid when he outsmarted kristoph

people make him an incompetent cook. phoenix is someone who goes through money troubles frequently, and I think bc of that he’s had to learn how to cook at least decently well. I personally think he gives apollo and athena masters classes on how to cook on a budget (like, he has a packet drawer like the guy on buzzfeed who does the budget recipes) and everyone’s like “mr wright thank u but please take some well paying cases and quit the pro bono for a sec you deserve to not have to think about this” and phoenix promptly ignores it bc, again!! his heart is too big for his got damn chest!!!

i’m not naming names but there are some popular pre-wrightworth fics i’ve read that have phoenix get jealous of apollo and klavier getting together. I just can’t get behind it. phoenix is apollo’s dad figure. romantic jealousy? it’s bad, bud.

thank you for the ask!! I had a lot of fun with these :3

#pls go read the miles and maya steel samurai besties fics I linked they’re AMAZING #just jill’s stuff #💌 #ace attorney #miles edgeworth #franziska von karma #phoenix wright

[legends-live-in-memories]

“How Did All This Happen?”- A Memoire by one Marinette Dupain-Cheng 5

hi. im back. after slightly longer than usual (my usual was like everyday, not happening again) i have returned. :) this update is also slightly longer than usual too but who complains about that?

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 6

without further ado

Did Marinette Miss Her Own Wedding? I

Constantine was having a horrible time, as far as Marinette could tell. His phone kept ringing, which he was pointedly ignoring, and he looked more and more frustrated as he skimmed through one of his many grimoires. He was also very sober. Maybe that had something to do with it.

After Marinette’s little excursion out with Plagg the previous night, Constantine joined her and her grandfather and explained the lore behind the Renlings and what they were capable of. Marinette was already over it. It’s one thing to be magical guardians of one set magical gods, but animal spirits that transform the wielder into the respective animal is borderline ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous. And Constantine wants her to find them. Why not the Justice League? Or their team of proteges? Well, apparently, Constantine has a healthy distrust of the Justice League and magic they are unfamiliar with. Something about a mystical house no longer existing because somebody was suspicious. They fucked around and found out, as Plagg so eloquently put it. She didn’t know how she felt about aiding Constantine in his paranoia.

Anyways, Marinette was now Constantine’s go-to whenever he wanted to keep things away from the JL. She would have said no like a reasonable person, but she was at least getting more magical training and could actually use some of the spells in the Miraculous grimoire. Speaking of which, the grimoire that Constantine was hunching over was supposed to help them in finding the other Prodigiouses. The Kwamis were surprisingly unhelpful as they have never heard of the Prodigiouses or Renlings. 

After what could have been hours of grueling translating and spellwork, Constantine had finally figured out the location of the eight total Renlings and what their prodigiouses looked like. While Marinette and Master Fu began scheming appropriate retrieval plans, Constantine went to answer his many missed calls.

“What?!” Well that sounded concerning. Constantine looked ready to pull his hair out from scalp with tweezers. Whatever news he just received must have been awful for him to lose his composure like this. Good.

“You lot are planning to do what now?” Oh, was this JL business? Should Marinette be listening to this, albeit one-sided, conversation?

“And why do you all need to do this?” 

“Don’t give me that attitude. I’m working on something important.”

“Yes it is important, Zatanna. Please don’t let that group of League Juniors do this.”

“You even got me saying ‘please.’ No I can not tell you why”

“Well what do you mean you can’t trust me?!” This was starting to sound serious. The popcorn that Wayzz brought was also making this ten times more entertaining. 

“Zatanna-” Oh he got cut off. Serves him right.

“Fine, be that way.” Constantine forcefully ended the call and was pouting like a child. 

Marinette didn’t know if she should ask anything but she had the feeling it was related to the prodigiouses and tracking them. Were the League getting involved? It would explain his desperation to not have them interfere. 

“I can’t believe them.” Looks like Marinette didn’t have to make the decision after all. He was going to rant about it.

“What can’t you believe, Constantine?” Her grandfather appeared equally as curious.

“The Team are going to try and track down the prodigiouses. Luckily, they only think there are five rather than eight.” He paused to run his hands through his already disheveled hair. “I don’t know which five they’re tracking. Also, they probably know you have the Snake’s Fang.”

“Pardon?” Marinette doesn’t know what she would do if she was on the Justice League’s most wanted.

“Zatanna didn’t outright say it, but Kobra probably told them it was taken from him. That’s probably how they knew about the others too. Thanks for that.”

“First of all, I didn’t even know what these things were so don’t blame me. Second of all, this could have all been avoided if you just told them!” Marinette did not appreciate the blame being put on her for the League’s involvement. She wasn’t done ripping Constantine a new one yet either. “Especially considering the fact that you knew that their secondary team had a mission there. UN rules or not. But no! You wanted to keep all your magical secrets to yourself. So don’t blame me for the consequences of your own actions.” She was fuming at this point, probably overreacting, but she was tired of cleaning up after people who won’t so much as thank her. 

The ensuing silence was deafening and eyes that weren’t on Marinette were on Constantine. He looked rather surprised at Marinette’s show of spine, probably forgetting that she was born and raised in the League of Shadows. He never will again if he keeps pushing his luck. 

Fu cleared his throat, probably clogged from the awkward tension. “Well, now that that’s all dealt with, do you know what your next move is Constantine? Do we actively hinder the League for the sake of your own peace of mind or do you talk to them and work collaboratively with them?” 

Constantine, who was still doing his best fish impersonation since Marinette—no, Mei Fu—dragged him for everything he’s worth, tried to string together an answer. 

“I still think it’s best we don’t involve the Justice League with this. We should try to intervene and cut off their attempts of retrieving the prodigiouses.” He sounded like a child trying to convince their parents that they didn’t break the expensive vase. Very pitiful and very unconvincing. 

“Fine.” Pardon? Did her grandfather just agree? “We’ll help you keep the prodigiouses and the Renlings away from the Justice League.” Wow. Okay. So he’s just agreeing with him. Three guesses as to who will actually be the one to retrieve them. Wonderful.

Groaning with the weight of a thousand suns, Marinette also voiced her consent. The Kwamis were silent throughout this, not expressing their opinions. Except for Trixx, who had periodically rolled his eyes so hard Marinette would have been concerned he had popped a few blood vessels, if he had any. 

They spent the rest of the week planning and convincing her parents that she wasn’t in danger with her grandfather. They agreed that Marinette would retrieve the Dragon’s Claw first. Despite Brazil being closer, the Monkey’s tail would be harder to find in the dense forestry so they didn’t want to waste time on an extended search until much later. 

If you were to ask Marinette, the week was not enough to prepare. She made arrangements to stay with the Tsurugi family and convinced Kagami to help her in the mission. Her mother would be providing them with non-miraculous weapons as a back-up. Lady Tomoe was too understanding of her daughter being a magic-wielding superhero in Marinette’s opinion. Not one to look a gifted horse in the mouth, Marinette did not make any comments about the very impressive artillery of weapons. She chose a pair of double broadswords while Kagami stuck to a katana. Kagami also had the Dragon and the Ladybug prepared while Marinette stuck to the Tiger and Horse. Plagg didn’t want to miss out on the action and planned to tag along again. Wayzz made an off-handed comment about Plagg’s sixth sense for chaos and his recent desire to accompany Marinette on these missions. Overthinking whatever that was supposed to mean had cost Marinette six hours of sleep. 

While everything had been physically prepared, Marinette had yet to cope with the whole ‘going behind the backs of the Justice League because Constantine was paranoid’ thing. But this will not be the worst thing she has done. She also has the godsend, Kagami, to pull her out of any impending mental spirals. Now all that’s left is to actually get the Dragon’s Claw.

According to Constantine, the Dragon’s Claw was located inside the dojo of a martial arts master, O Sensei. Kagami, to be referred to as Tonbo, meaning Dragonfly, was to guard the perimeter for any individuals who could get in the way, while Marinette, codenamed Tigerlily with this combination of miraculouses, was to find the Dragon’s Claw, camouflaged by the tiger miraculous, and teleport them both back out. It was simple enough in planning and should be simple enough in execution. Even if the sensei of the dojo was to be made aware of their presence, They were expecting the element of surprise to give them an advantage. You know, outside of Marinette’s assassin training. So, yeah the plan was simple.

Except for the part where a group of the young Justice League heroes were already there negotiating with whom she assumed was O sensei. She recognized Kid Flash, Robin and Nightwing. The two women with them were unfamiliar. She also found the Dragon’s Claw in the sensei’s hand. She was positioned on a tree branch looking into a window in the room. If she timed this right, she could grab the necklace and portal out of the room to Tonbo and then portal back to the Tsurugi residence. That plan carries the risk of being seen but the pay-off should be worth it.

Poised to leap from the branch, Tigerlily steadied her breathing and prepared to call on the Horse’s Voyage. Still camouflaged, she jumped through the window and summoned the portal, about to grab for the necklace. Except she grabbed nothing and was suspended in the air. 

Who she knew now was Ms. Martian was using her telekinetic abilities to suspend her. Kid Flash sped his way over and quickly tied her, the contact breaking the camouflage charm. They must have figured she would appear at one of the locations eventually and planned a contingency plan for her appearance. The martian hasn’t read her mind yet, so maybe they thought she was non-hostile. That thought wouldn’t last long however as Tonbo emerged from the portal and, using the Flame Dragon, took down Ms. Martian. Tigerlily used the distraction to undo the bindings and get in a fighting stance. Nightwing and Robin were protecting O sensei while Kid Flash and the other woman charged at the two. 

Kid Flash was circling the two faster and tighter, corralling them together. Tigerlily drew for her broadswords and slashed the old floor boards. Kicking them in Kid Flash’s path, she knocked him off balance and thumped him the back of the head with the butt of her blade, knocking him down. Tonbo called for her Storm Dragon to subdue her opponent, who was also knocked down, then strung up both with the Ladybug yoyo. Tigerlily began a steady approach to the two batboys. She was ready to attack first but Nightwing got the upper hand. He drew his escrima sticks and swiped for Tigerlily’s head. She blocked with one sword and jump kicked to his chest, missing him entirely as he had crouched to sweep her legs from underneath her. Rolling out of the fall, Tigerlily slashed for his rising back but he intercepted with his other stick. He turned to face her and barrelled his full strength into her. They crashed into the nearby wall and at a standstill.

Tonbo was caught in a clash of katanas with Robin, neither side giving way to the other. If Tigerlily was more conscious of their fight than her own, she would have noticed familiar fighting techniques that were ingrained in her since birth. Alas, her attention was on the blue bird in front of her. Using his force that kept her against the wall, She double kicked him in the chest, forcing him away. Robin and Tonbo had broken away from each other and Tonbo aimed to stab Nightwing in the leg. Nonfatally of course, she wasn’t an ex-assassin as far as Tigerlily knew. Right? 

Anyways, her attack switched up the fight as now Tigerlily tried to dodge under Robin's incoming blade. Sliding on her knees, she reached to where O sensei was situated with the Dragon’s Claw. Frustrated with the night’s turn of events and forgetting all sense of pleasantries, Tigerlily tried to grab for the necklace. The business end of a katana was swiftly placed under her jaw. One wrong move meant game over.

“What do you want with the Dragon’s Claw?” Robin sounded like he was holding back from saying something. 

“An acquaintance of mine wishes for you all to not have it. I am merely doing him a favor, Tweety Bird.” Where did that nickname come from? She must have been internally catastrophizing more than she thought she was if she was actually trying to flirt her way out of this. Tonbo’s exasperation was made loud and clear with that answering sigh.

“Flattery gets you nowhere, Mei.” Robin’s arm twitched at that.

“Wait, you know her?” “You know him?” Nightwing’s and Tonbo’s voices overlapped but Tigerlily registered none of it as her ears were ringing with spiked emotions she thought she had buried years ago. Only a few people knew her by that name. Kagami, Chloe, Luka and Adrien were the only people outside of the League of Shadows who knew her by that name. Even then, there was only one person her age with the Shadows who knew her. But it couldn’t be him. He was supposed to be dead. There was no way in hell that the Boy Wonder holding a katana to her throat was—

“Damian?!”

Taglist:

@deathwishy @neakco @virtualreading @f-rget-lt @your-resident-chicken-nugget @nathleigh @toodaloo-kangaroo @irontimetravelflower @trippingovermyfeet @t1dwarrior-of-earth @tip-tap-tired @fidget-eep @thenillabean @officiallydarkgeek @mystery-5-5 @moonlightstar64 @just-an-observer-ignore-me @nightstarblue @certainmuffinbagelcalzone @fan-written @jjmjjktth @vixen-uchiha @zorua-adorable @nnon-it-up 

#maribat #mlb x dc #daminette #badass!marinette dupain cheng #maridami #hdath #if you asked to be on the taglist but arent there let me know #hehehehe #i forgot to proofread oops #no beta we die like jason

[pennylanefics]

Soft Alphabet - Four

a/n: reposting bc it disappeared from tags 🙃 tumblr’s being a bitch again ugh

∙∙∙

A - Affection (how do they show affection)

four gives you looks that mean everything. sure, it may not seem like a lot, but when you two first got together and were sneaking around, the looks and glances he gave you to silently tell you that he cares for you meant everything. he’s not really good with his words, and he can’t really go out and buy you stuff that you want, in the beginning. so looks are the only thing he has. he can say so much with his eyes, you can tell when he’s admiring you deeply and thinking about how much he loves you.

B - Balance (how do they balance you, work/school/life?)

you two spend everyday together, basically, so there is no balance. you spend every waking minute with one another and the group. but you do try to spend time alone or with other group members, away from one another, just to have a break. but, at the end of the day, you are back with one another, enjoying dinner, chatting about what you did that day.

C - Cuddles (do they enjoy cuddling? what positions?)

cuddles come after very stressful missions. when both of you two are exhausted and just need to relax, you’ll head to his trailer and just fall onto his bed, curling up with one another. the lights usually stay off, if it’s at night. if it’s during the day, he makes sure to shut all the blinds so the least amount of light can get through. you two usually stay quiet, just wanting the comfort of one another after a hard day, but sometimes, he’ll ask you stuff here and there.

D - Date (what was your first date?)

he has five and two help him make a nice dinner for you two in his trailer, after months of just sneaking around and seeing one another in your trailers. he could have just ordered food in, but he wanted it to be special. since two cooks the best and five knows how to set things up so you would like it. she helps with decorating the dingy trailer, making the table look presentable and setting out some wine and roses. it’s a really nice night, honestly. four is pretty nervous and it shows, but he lightens up as the alcohol begins to course through him. overall, you two have a great time, and end up in bed together anyways.

E - Excited (how excited do they get when they see you/are with you?)

he tries to keep the excitement down, but on the inside, he loves seeing you. especially after long periods of time, like if he goes on a mission with one or any of the group members, and you don’t go. he’ll wait till you’re alone and he picks you up, spinning you around and giving you kisses all over your face. he doesn’t want the others knowing how in love he is with you, just yet.

F - Fighting (what happens when you fight)

your fights usually consist of you yelling at him for being stupid during a mission. he makes a single near fatal mistake and you’re going off, telling him how he needs to not be so careless on missions and that he should be more aware of his surroundings. he then goes off, saying that he’s been in the group longer so he knows more than you do, and this of course sparks a lot more anger in both of you.

G - Gorgeous (pet names. what do they like to call you? what do they like to be called?)

he is plain and simple, preferring stuff like ‘babe’ and ‘baby’. sometimes, he finds himself using your real name instead of your code name, eight, after you two had a deep conversation about your lives before the group. it’s only when you’re alone, though, with one being so against using real names around each other. but you two trust one another a lot, so when you’re alone, you call him billy, and he calls you by your real name.

H - Hi (first time meeting)

you are recruited to the group well after four’s already been in it. they have already gone through a couple people after seven joined, but none of them worked out. but when you came along, you stuck. but, the idea didn’t take to four. he was expecting you to be like the others, liking the idea for a few months then hating it. so, he was kind of cold to you, expecting you to take his shit and deal with it. but no. you actually stood up to him and declared yourself as part of the group really quickly. he was taken aback, but nonetheless, got to know you better afterwards.

I - Intimacy (how romantic they are)

eh. i feel like four doesn’t have enough experience to be super romantic. like yeah, he’s had girlfriends in the past, but they’ve never been serious enough to the point where he gets romantic with them. his girlfriends were usually against that sort of thing, but when he met you, he loved getting you things, like flowers, teddy bears, chocolates. he’s also gotten you necklaces and rings, rightfully with his own money, of course.

J - Jealousy (do they get jealous? how do they react to you being jealous)

he’s not jealous of one, three, or seven. he knows you wouldn’t leave him for any of them, so he’s fine when he sees you talking with them. the only thing he really gets jealous about is getting to spend time with you. so if you spend the day with any of the other group members, his mood changes a bit, upset at the fact that he missed an entire day without you. but you make up for that lost time by spending the rest of the afternoon and night in his trailer.

K - Kisses (where do they like to kiss you/how often?)

four’s kisses are mostly quick and short. he’s not one for showing much emotion since it’s not something he’s used to, so he settles for little kisses, which aren’t satisfactory for you. but you get it. when missions start getting more serious, though, his kisses become much more meaningful. the first time you have a near-death experience, he grabs your face and kisses you so deeply and passionately. he apologizes for not being very loving with you and promises to make kisses more meaningful and more frequent.

L - Love (when was the first time they said i love you or realized it?)

he realizes it after he almost dies during a mission. you were crying loudly as he dangled from a building, held by the enemy. the only thing running through his mind was you. he wanted to live the rest of his life with you, he wanted to have kids with you, that’s the only thing he could think of. thankfully, he was able to pull himself to safety and push the other guy over the ledge. when he returned to the group, you jumped right into his arms, crying into his chest. he whispers that he loves you over and over again and just holds you close. the group allows you have your time together before you really have to go. but when you get back to your trailers, four doesn’t leave your side for days. and he continues to repeat that he loves you as much as he can.

M - Moving in (when do you decide to move in together)

you technically already live together, so there’s not really a typical “official” story. you spend every waking moment of every day together anyway, but you still like having separate trailers. most of the time, anyways, you’re with him in his trailer, almost as if it’s yours as well. and it’s the same with yours. you two kind of acted like both trailers are yours, and you just spend time in whichever one you want, whenever you want.

N - Newborn (their reaction to starting a family)

the thought of being a dad worries him. he doesn’t want his son or daughter to turn out like he did, so being in a vigilante group isn’t a good start. you two decide to leave and go back to your regular lives, as the people you were before entering the group. it’s a really hard decision, but four is so much happier with the idea; neither of you were in danger and you didn’t have to worry about you getting hurt on missions and possibly losing the baby. the rest of the group was upset they wouldn’t be able to see the baby, but they were very understanding, even one.

O - Open (how open you are with one another)

in the beginning, he’s not very open with you. and it’s for good reasons. none of you in the group are open with one another. but when you and four start getting to know each other more and become more than friends, he feels obligated to tell you more about his life before. so, after three months of knowing each other, you have a long and deep conversation where you two spill everything. your real names, the reasons you joined the group, anything related to your lives outside of being a vigilante.

P - Photos (what kind of photos you take of them/they take of you)

you don’t really have modern cameras, per one’s request, but he does have a shit load of old polaroid cameras. so four takes advantage of this and takes many photos of you. his favorite thing to picture you doing is having fun in the desert. you two will just walk around, the wind blowing your hair as he takes candids of you. he loves how carefree you look and how beautiful the sunlight makes you.

Q - Quirks (what random habits do you have that they love or hate/vice versa)

four has a problem with being careless. he doesn’t care about safety most of the time, which upsets you and makes you mad sometimes. he has that idea that you all are dead so why does it matter? but he rarely remembers that you aren’t actually dead. not really a quirk, but something he does that pisses you off too much.

R - Recovery (how you help them after an injury/vice versa)

four always lets you help him with his injuries. he knows you hate when he’s injured, just as much as he hates when you are. five usually does it, since she is the doctor, but four will only let you help him, unless it’s a serious injury and he actually needs four to save his life. but if it’s a few cuts and scrapes, he gives into you. and he does the same thing. when you get hurt, he’s right by your side, getting anything you need, being very overprotective.

S - Solution (how they resolve fights)

the group usually has to get you two back together after a fight. you take a break from one another, and it’s awkward for the group. so two takes you and three takes four and they lock you two in two’s trailer until you both can talk things out and get the fight over with. after hours of saying nothing, two and three yell at you both and get you to talk. finally, you start making progress, and in the end, things work out. you two then head back to either yours or four’s trailer to make things up.

T- Touch (when they need/want your touch, what will they do? how often?)

usually after very tough missions, four wants nothing more than to cuddle in his trailer and hold you. this happens after every mission, really, but especially during the more dangerous and risky ones, where he comes to terms with the fact that you could have been killed so easily. you don’t even need to touch him, really, the feel of you in his arms is enough. but, you play with his hair when this happens, sometimes stroking his cheek or playing with his hand, tracing the tattoo on the back of it. he needs the reassurance that you’re still alive and very much with him.

U - Up ( waking up with them)

waking up with four is the best. he has his arms around you every single time, even if he enjoys his space when he falls asleep, he somehow manages to pull you into his arms in his sleep. if you’re still asleep, he just presses kisses to your forehead, trying to wake up a bit more before getting up and starting the day. if you’re up before him, you absolutely love playing with his messy hair and stroking his soft skin. he looks so much more angelic when he’s out, and you love it because he usually has this hard exterior, so him sleeping is the rare chance you get to see him be so calm.

V - Vacation (where they travel with you)

your vacations are your missions. you’ve gone to italy, dubai, france, switzerland, all over the world. since you live a life with no schedules, you go wherever missions take you. and you’re more than okay with it. this life has given you a chance to travel to so many places you would have never been able to go to. if there’s time, you two try to explore the city as much as you can, of course staying low key and all that. even then, it’s much more exciting and fun to be in a place you’re not really supposed to be.

W - Wedding (how they propose/where you get married/honeymoon)

four proposes nonchalantly, really. you two would be relaxing on the beach in italy, and you’ve been dating for a while at that point. he just asks what you would think about getting married, and at first, you have no clue that he’s trying to say that he wants to marry you. but once things fall into place, you are covering his face in kisses and saying yes over and over again. but of course, you don’t have a huge wedding, you kind of just elope and put the title on it without a marriage license, because that’s against the group ‘policy’.

X - X-factor (what about you captivated them?)

your strong-willed behavior. he liked the fact that you were strong enough to leave your entire life behind to fight crimes. sure, it’s the same thing he did, but you seemed like you had a perfect life, and you were okay with leaving it behind. he had nothing going for him, so this life was the best for him. when you told him your story, he was in awe of how strong you are and he loves that you are so selfless to help others.

Y - Yawning (how they act when they’re tired)

four kind of shuts out when he’s tired. he doesn’t want to talk to anyone, he doesn’t want to do anything, he just wants to relax and enjoy some quiet time. including away from you. you know that if you mess with him when he’s tired, he gets mad and angry. he’s much more agitated and sometimes, that ends badly.

Z - Zzzz (how you fall asleep together)

he likes his space. which is hard to do on a small bed in a trailer. this is why you don’t really fall asleep with one another until well into your relationship. but the first time you fall asleep beside four, it’s the only thing he wants. he begs you to sleep in his trailer whenever you can, and from that point, he doesn’t care about space. he wants to be as close to you as possible, breathing in your scent and feeling your warmth.

#four #billy #ben hardy #four imagines #four x reader #billy imagines #billy x reader #ben hardy imagine #ben hardy x reader #six underground #6 underground #imagines #fanfiction #fanfic

[jokertrap-ran]

(光与夜之恋 Light and Night) Main Story Chapter 3-14: 海水与火焰 Seawater & Flames Translation

“The more capable you are, the more troublesome the things you have to take care of.“

*Light and Night Master-list *Spoiler free: Translations will remain under cut *Join the Light & Night Discord (＾▽＾)~ ♪ *Main story tag will be #For Light and Night

❖ Location: Abandoned Building

The old store heralded the arrival of another wave of visitors.

A black sedan car stopped under the shade of trees. A tall and built figure exited from the passenger's side of the car, standing in front of the door that had been left unlocked.

Evan scrutinized the ground before the door.

 He turned to shoot Zhou Yan a look before he strode through the entrance.

❖☆———————————★❖

Osborn took away the small piece of orange-coloured paper on my fingertips. 

I snapped back to reality. My tears had already slid down my cheek to the edges of my mouth. Osborn brought his thin, calloused, fingers up to my face, gently wiping the tears away.

Osborn: What's wrong?

MC: ……

I stared blankly at my palm, feeling a stifling feeling in my chest.

Here it was again. This feeling didn't belong to me. Once, twice, thrice… It had occurred with such frequency in my life that I was dying to know just what it was.

MC: Just now…

Osborn: What?

MC: You might not believe me, but when I touched that piece of paper earlier, I felt something very strong from it.

Osborn: You felt something very strong?

MC: I felt warmth and hatred that didn't belong to me, and with acute clarity.

MC: As if another soul was living within me.

Osborn slightly furrowed his brow in thought.

Osborn: Is this the first time something like this has happened?

MC: No. This has already happened thrice recently.

And it got fiercer and much stronger each time it happened. It was something I couldn't control.

Osborn lowered his eyes, his expression gradually turning serious.

Osborn: That's probably your "Ability".

MC: …."Ability"?

Osborn: It's an inherent special ability that you were born with. If my guess is right, it should fall in the spiritual category...

Osborn: You're an Empath.

MC: An Empath? And what's that?

Osborn: You can see things that others cannot. Or perhaps you can feel lingering emotions that have been left behind on items. They all fall under Empathy.

MC: I can feel… emotions that have been left behind on things? And I can see things that others can't?

MC: Are you sure you’re not talking about something that can only happen in fantasy movies?

I looked up at him incredulously, unable to help the scoff that escaped me. I thought he was joking with me. But when he maintained his serious look, I started to inwardly panic.

Since he said that I could feel things…

I quickly reached out towards the skull necklace that he wore.

A surge of anger exploded in my heart, followed by the cold emptiness of having no place to belong to. It felt as if the whole world had turned onto a single, innocent, soul.

MC: This necklace… I feel a strong thrum of anger coming from it. Have you been wronged in the past?

Osborn dropped his gaze, removing his necklace from my grasp.

Osborn: That happened a long time ago. Do you believe in your own ability now?

I quickly sorted out and digested the huge amount of information packed in his words, and even bigger questions made themselves known.

MC: But, why would I have an Ability like this? I’ve been living a normal life for the past 23 years...

Osborn: Looks like it's time for you to get to know yourself again.

Osborn: Actually, I started suspecting that you might be one when you mentioned my blue flames. Ordinary people can't see my flames.

MC: ...So the blue flames I saw in the afternoon were real? Is that your ability?

The words had only barely left my mouth before deep-blue flames erupted, appearing within his palm once more, lighting up the dark space.

I never thought that there’d be a day where I’d be put in relation to these seemingly preposterous terms. I repeatedly questioned myself inwardly: Is this really happening?

But, with the flame currently burning within Osborn’s palm, the sudden wave of emotion I felt in my head, and the strange man who was suspected of draining his victims...

All these things that shouldn’t make any realistic sense at all were now happening before my eyes. What else is there to doubt?

Looking into Osborn’s eyes that reflected the dancing flames, I felt like I’d touched upon the reticulated network of blood vessels that were behind the world.

And I had a faint inkling that these invincible blood vessels had long since interwoven themselves into my past and future, just that they’d never come to my notice.

When I snapped back to my senses, I turned to look at Osborn, only to find that I still had a huge pile of questions for him...

★Night Choice: When did you realize that you had an Ability?

MC: When did you figure that you had an Ability, Osborn?

Osborn: When I was a kid. I happened to find out by chance when I got into a fight with someone.

MC: ...So you won the fight with your Ability?

Osborn: Yes and no. We didn't actually throw hands or anything. They all got spooked from the heat in the air and scrammed before that.

MC: Did you find that many things changed after finding out that you had an Ability?

He shot me a look, raising his hand and flexing his fingers in the same manner as one would when playing with something soft and squishy, manipulating the shape of his flames.

Osborn: There's nothing particularly different. This word's still the same.

Osborn: But the more capable you are, the more troublesome the things you have to take care of.

MC: Oh… You're right. I mean, you've always been protecting me.

Osborn: So quick to write yourself off as trouble?

MC: But since I have an Ability now, I can protect you in the future too.

Osborn smiled as he retracted his flames. He patted my head.

Osborn: Your Ability naturally has strong points where it excels in, but you can't go forcefully barging in headfirst when things get dangerous.

MC: Got it!

☆Light Choice: How has your Ability affected you?

MC: You must have found out about your own Ability a long time ago. Did it affect you?

MC: Did you feel different from others around you, for example? Do you feel… segregated from people?

He paused for a while, as if I’d hit the bullseye, but his usual carefree smile quickly returned.

Osborn: Nothing that serious.

Osborn: 'Sides, don't I still have you?

Osborn smiled as he retracted his flames. He patted my head.

The icy feeling of emptiness, of having no place to belong, that had its grip on my heart all these while suddenly subsided.

Yes; it doesn’t matter whether I accept this Ability or not, for it is a fact that this Ability exists within me whether I like it or not. The trouble that may come with it may be inevitable, but fate is still something that can be affected by choice.

MC: Suddenly, I feel like it’s not all that bad being one of the odd ones out. I mean, you’re with me after all!

As soon as the words left my mouth, Osborn suddenly looked at me with a deep and inexplicable look, almost as if he’d just unexpectedly fallen into a vortex of memories.

It was obvious enough that he was thinking about something. Shock, joy, doubt, among a myriad of many other emotions that I couldn’t quite put a finger on buried bright in his eyes, like embers of a smouldering flame.

Seeing him like this made my heart thump loud and violent in my chest. I had a fleeting delusion in his trance-like moment: perhaps those memories he was reminiscing had something to do with me...

MC: ...What's wrong?

After a moment’s silence, he broke eye contact, lowering his eyes with a somewhat self-deprecating laugh and shaking his head.

Osborn: Nothing. It’s just that someone once told me the exact same thing you did back in the past.

Osborn: Unfortunately, I only ever saw her once.

So that's what it was…

MC: You never know, you might meet them again one day. Aren’t all encounters a long-awaited reunion after all?

Osborn merely smiled. When he looked back up this time, his usual playful expression had eased back in almost naturally.

Osborn: My bad; I digressed from the topic. What was I talking about again…? Oh, Abilities.

Osborn: Okay. Don't overthink things.

Osborn: You need to understand that you can use your Ability, but you must also lead a normal life. You're not all that different from the average Joe.

Osborn: Also, your Ability doesn't seem to have stabilized yet. In any case, don't tell anyone else about it; got it?

MC: Okay.

Osborn: Good. Now we have something much more important to do.

MC: Yeah.

I nodded, holding up the small shred of orange paper between my fingers.

MC: If I’m not wrong, I think the one who left this piece of paper behind was the same guy who attacked me before.

Osborn shot me an approving look.

Osborn: Looks like you CAN find him.

MC: I'll try.

I focused hard, concentrating as I carefully touched each door.

These doors didn’t invoke any special feelings within me. I was starting to think that my so-called Ability was actually just a fluke… Until a stabbing pain erupted in my head!

Grief, fear, despair… It felt almost as if all the deep dark emotions to ever exist in the world were assaulting me at once.

I could already feel the strong emotions seeping out from the door before me despite not having touched it.

Osborn: This one?

MC: ...Yeah.

Osborn signalled for me to step back and was just about to bring the door down when a small noise came from behind it.

MC: !?

I grabbed him by the sleeve and he instantly nodded in understanding.

I watched as he knelt down, taking out a small delicate tool from his pocket and used it to fiddle with the door’s lock.

As the minutes went by, the sound coming from within became increasingly active. It made me a little uneasy.

Then, a click sounded in the otherwise silent surroundings.

The door was open.

❖☆————— ⊹ For Light & Night⊹ —————★❖

Previous Part: (Chapter 3-11) | Next Part: (Chapter 3-16)

#光与夜之恋 #Light and Night #Otome #Translations #Tencent #萧逸 #Osborn #齐司礼 #Sariel #陆沉 #Evan #查理苏 #Charlie #夏鸣星 #Jesse #For Light and Night