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thegirlwhowrites642 · 2 years

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You said that you were deep in the Marauders fandom until a few years ago. So, what are your thoughts on Lily and Snape's friendship? Do you believe it was toxic?

I believe it was as we see him being possesive, controlling, and sighing in relief when Lily calls James an arrogant toerag, as if as long as she "hated" James, everything was fine.

Sorry for the long ask, but I'd love to read your thoughts on if and how Snape's friendship influenced Lily in certain ways.

Don't apologize, I love this question, this is the type of topic I could go on about for fifteen hours.

Who is Severus Snape?

Snape is a half-blood who grows up mainly in the muggle world judging by where he lives and in a poor part of his town. His economic condition seems to strongly define his younger years in which he goes around dressing poorly and is ashamed of it. His parents constantly fight making his home an unhealthy environment for a child to grow up in. His father, a muggle, who seems to be the more abusive figure of the home, doesn't like magic but his mother comes from most likely a pure-blood family (Harry does this assumption in HBP and it's never disproven, the intent of the narrative, therefore, seems to be making the reader understand that she was a pureblood). We know that already as a child Severus shows a strong dislike for muggles, probably encouraged by a dislike for his father, and instead, he uplifts his magical bloodline (Half-Blood Prince).

He's bright, skilled particularly in potions, occlumensy, and the dark arts.

The more he grows up and the more he associates himself with the dark-arts, future death eaters, and goes around using the racial slur "mudblood". He'll eventually become a deatheater very close to Voldemort.

Who is Lily Evans?

Lily Evans is a muggle-born who grows up in a moderately decent economic condition. She's loved by her parents and by her sister too, at least until Hogwarts and magic come in between the two of them. She's exceptionally kind but also fierce and cheeky on occasion.

We don't know much about the people she surrounds herself with but we know she has a group of friends and is popular with the boys (via JK Rowling).

She most likely was a prefect, and she becomes Head Girl. Loved by Professor Slughorn for her talent in potions, she also has an inclination toward Charms.

She'll eventually become close with the Marauders, join the Order of the Phoenix, marry James Potter and have a son, Harry (don't know if you remember him, that kid with the glasses).

Their friendship

Severus and Lily become friends before going to Hogwarts. Snape comes from a bad family situation while Lily comes from a loving home. Severus knows everything about magic and Lily needs him to discover that she is a witch. This creates a dynamic where they both depend on the other. It is not surprising that Snape, who comes from a loveless home, quickly develops romantic feelings for the beautiful and exceptionally kind Lily. But because of Severus' dislike for muggles, he doesn't want anything to do with a very important person in Lily's life, her sister Petunia (not that Petunia's personality helps):

"You're... you're a witch," whispered Snape. She looked affronted. "That's not a very nice thing to say to somebody!" She turned, nose in the air, and marched off toward her sister. "No!" said Snape. He was highly colored now, and Harry wondered why he did not take off the ridiculously large coat, unless it was because he did not want to reveal the smock beneath it. He flapped after the girls, looking ludicrously batlike, like his older self. The sisters considered him, united in disapproval, both holding on to one of the swing poles, as though it was the safe place in tag. "You are," said Snape to Lily. "You are a witch. I've been watching you for a while. But there's nothing wrong with that. My mum's one, and I'm a wizard." Petunia's laugh was like cold water. "Wizard!" she shrieked, her courage returned now that she had recovered from the shock of his unexpected appearance. "I know who you are. You're that Snape boy! They live down Spinner's End by the river," she told Lily, and it was evident from her tone that she considered the address a poor recommendation. "Why have you been spying on us?" "Haven't been spying," said Snape, hot and uncomfortable and dirty-haired in the bright sunlight. "Wouldn't spy on you, anyway," he added spitefully, "you're a Muggle." Though Petunia evidently did not understand the word, she could hardly mistake the tone. -Chapter 33, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, JK Rowling

Obviously, Petunia here is far from kind and her attitude certainly foreshadows her future personality, but I'd like to remind everyone that here she's a child confronting a creepy boy who has been spying on her and her younger sister and called her sister a "witch", and if you do not have the context, it does sound like an insult.

Snape, on the other hand, is the one who is trying to be likable, and do a good impression on Lily, yet it does not occur to him that being kind to her sister should be part of his plan to succeed. He doesn't take into consideration that Petunia is someone Lily cares about and he should be kind to her. In his eyes, she is "just a muggle". We see this behavior repeat several times, making it therefore consistent in his approach to gain a role in Lily's life:

"Tuney!" said Lily, surprise and welcome in her voice, but Snape had jumped to his feet. "Who's spying now?" he shouted. "What d'you want?" Petunia was breathless, alarmed at being caught. Harry could see her struggling for something hurtful to say. "What is that you're wearing, anyway?" she said, pointing at Snape's chest. "Your mum's blouse?" There was a crack. A branch over Petunia's head had fallen. Lily screamed. The branch caught Petunia on the shoulder, and she staggered backward and burst into tears. "Tuney!" But Petunia was running away. Lily rounded on Snape. "Did you make that happen?" "No." He looked both defiant and scared. "You did!" She was backing away from him. "You did! You hurt her!" "No-- no, I didn't!" But the lie did not convince Lily. After one last burning look, she ran from the little thicket, off after her sister, and Snape looked miserable and confused... -Chapter 33, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, JK Rowling

There's surprise in Lily's voice when she sees her sister but also welcome, she wants her around. Snape, on the other hand, wants her nowhere in sight. And at the first unkind comment, he reacts in an extremely aggressive way. That kind of comment is not unlikely for young kids in an argument and yet Snape lets a branch fall on Petunia due to it. Even if you want to argue that it was accidental magic, we know how it works thanks to Harry. Harry's most violent response was the one with Aunt Marge and I think we can all agree that the situations were quite different, even only for the fact that in that case it was an adult verbally abusing a child. Yet, even there, Harry was not as violent. Therefore we can conclude that the gesture of letting the branch fall on Petunia is telling of Snape's personality, not only for his need to have Lily all to himself even if someone Lily loves gets hurt emotionally and physically in the process but also for his tendency to resort to violence at the first sight of trouble.

"Tuney h-hates me. Because we saw that letter from Dumbledore." "So what?" She threw him a look of deep dislike. "So she's my sister!" "She's only a--" He caught himself quickly; Lily, too busy trying to wipe her eyes without being noticed, did not hear him. -Chapter 33, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, JK Rowling

Again, Severus doesn't understand why Lily would care for her sister because to him she is just a muggle. He doesn't seem capable to grasp that her sister's inability to perform magic isn't relevant for Lily or that for someone, in general, having their sister hate them might be hurtful. He is unable to empathize with Lily. Even with him not liking Petunia and considering muggles worthless, you would expect him to at least understand that one would care about their sister.

And even years later, when they are not friends anymore, when he's an adult claiming to feel despite it all an everlasting love for Lily, he still does not care about the people she loves. His focus is exclusively on her. He does not bother to question what she might want, what might be important to her.

"You know what I mean! He thinks it means her son, he is going to hunt her down-- kill them all--" "If she means so much to you," said Dumbledore, "surely Lord Voldemort will spare her? Could you not ask for mercy for the mother, in exchange for the son?" "I have-- I have asked him--" "You disgust me," said Dumbledore, and Harry had never heard so much contempt in his voice. Snape seemed to shrink a little, "You do not care, then, about the deaths of her husband and child? They can die, as long as you have what you want?" Snape said nothing, but merely looked up at Dumbledore. "Hide them all, then," he croaked. "Keep her-- them-- safe. Please." -Chapter 33, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, JK Rowling

There's a strong element of selfishness in the way Snape loves Lily. It's always about him, about what he cares. He does not bother to consider what it is that makes Lily happy, that makes her life worth living, he only considers what matters to him: Lily. He also cares about alleviating his sense of guilt. He is fighting for a terroristic group that wants to kill people like her, if her safety really mattered to him, then he would fight against them. He takes action only when he is directly responsible for her highlighted position in Voldermort's list of killings to do.

It lives in Severus a refusal to accept that his allegiance with Voldemort and the death eaters is directly in contrast with his proclaimed love for Lily. He is no different than those racists who make an exception for their POC friends. Snape is an extremely intelligent person, yet his hate for muggles and muggleborns tops his logic:

"I was. I would have done. I never meant to call you Mudblood, it just--" "Slipped out?" There was no pity in Lily's voice. "It's too late. I've made excuses for you for years. None of my friends can understand why I even talk to you. You and your precious little Death Eater friends-- you see, you don't even deny it! You don't even deny that's what you're all aiming to be! You can't wait to join You-Know-Who, can you?" He opened his mouth, but closed it without speaking. "I can't pretend anymore. You've chosen your way, I've chosen mine." "No-- listen, I didn't mean--" "-- to call me Mudblood? But you call everyone of my birth Mudblood, Severus. Why should I be any different?" -Chapter 33, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, JK Rowling

He illudes himself to be right, that there's nothing wrong with his ideas, that there's no contrast between him being a death eater and his friendship with Lily. And Lily, who as we said is known for her kindness, and probably views Severus as her only connection to home, for years keeps ignoring the obvious signs of what direction his path in life will take:

"...thought we were supposed to be friends?" Snape was saying, "Best friends?" "We are, Sev, but I don't like some of the people you're hanging round with! I'm sorry, but I detest Avery and Mulciber! Mulciber! What do you see in him, Sev, he's creepy! D'you know what he tried to do to Mary Macdonald the other day?" Lily had reached a pillar and leaned against it, looking up into the thin, sallow face. "That was nothing," said Snape. "It was a laugh, that's all--" "It was Dark Magic, and if you think that's funny--" "What about the stuff Potter and his mates get up to?" demanded Snape. His color rose again as he said it, unable, it seemed, to hold in his resentment. "What's Potter got to do with anything?" said Lily. -Chapter 33, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, JK Rowling

Again, like when he was little and Petunia insulted him, he doesn't seem to be able to discern that there are different levels of aggressiveness. Petunia insulted him so he is justified in making a branch fall on her. James is immature finding funny hexing people so it's fine for him and his friends to use dark magic. He has the same response when he fights with James by the lake, where he responds to some admittedly quite mean spells with dark magic.

Probably what's most interesting about these episodes, though, is that he tries to justify his level of violence by comparing it to a lower level of violence used by people Lily cares about (yes, James included, even at this point) and acts like those levels of aggressiveness are actually higher than his. It seems he needs to say that he is not simply just like them, but that they are worse. Despite the fact that he knows deep down that he is wrong, otherwise he wouldn't have this need. He constantly feels insecure in the position he has in her life and the solution that he finds is trying to convince Lily to cut out everybody else, starting with her sister. Once Snape realises Lily's growing feelings for James, he becomes the new enemy in Severus' game. James is clearly a terrible example to bring up, he doesn't do dark magic, and he saved his life. If he wanted to stick with the Marauders, it would have made ten times more sense to bring up Sirius, who actually tried to kill him, instead of James. But Snape has no reason to feel threatened by Sirius, Lily holds no feelings for him. James, on the other hand, is an all-different matter. Lily herself has no idea why he is bringing up James.

"I know your theory," said Lily, and she sounded cold. "Why are you so obsessed with them anyway? Why do you care what they're doing at night?" "I'm just trying to show you they're not as wonderful as everyone seems to think they are." The intensity of his gaze made her blush. "They don't use Dark Magic, though." She dropped her voice. "And you're being really ungrateful. I heard what happened the other night. You went sneaking down that tunnel by the Whomping Willow, and James Potter saved you from whatever's down there-" Snape's whole face contorted and he spluttered, "Saved? Saved? You think he was playing the hero? He was saving his neck and his friends' too! You're not going to-- I won't let you--" "Let me? Let me?" Lily's bright green eyes were slits. Snape backtracked at once. "I didn't mean-- I just don't want to see you made a fool of-- He fancies you, James Potter fancies you!" The words seemed wrenched from him against his will. "And he's not... everyone thinks... big Quidditch hero--" Snape's bitterness and dislike were rendering him incoherent, and Lily's eyebrows were traveling farther and farther up her forehead. "I know James Potter's an arrogant toerag," she said, cutting across Snape. "I don't need you to tell me that. But Mulciber's and Avery's idea of humor is just evil. Evil, Sev. I don't understand how you can be friends with them." Harry doubted that Snape had even heard her strictures on Mulciber and Avery. The moment she had insulted James Potter, his whole body had relaxed, and as they walked away there was a new spring in Snape's step... -Chapter 33, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, JK Rowling

[Oh, look, Lily not addressing the fact that James fancies her, I wonder why. Like mother, like son.]

He couldn't care less about the criticisms of his friendships, the only thing he cares about is that she still thinks that James is an arrogant toerag. He doesn't understand that the reason why he's losing Lily is himself. It goes beyond romantic jealousy, we saw this similar attitude of wanting Lily all to himself even when the other person was her sister. He seems to believe that the only way for Lily to care about him, it's him being the only important person in her life (we know she had other friends but they mustn't have been that important if we don't know their names). I have no doubt that he didn't comprehend for a long time that the reason why he lost Lily was not James but himself. Sure, Lily would've married James anyway, but if Snape had opened his eyes and really listened to her, his best friend, and her worries, then he would've had a much happier life. I do think that at a certain point, he kind of understood this:

"The-- the prophecy... the prediction... Trelawney..." "Ah, yes," said Dumbledore. "How much did you relay to Lord Voldemort?" "Everything-- everything I heard!" said Snape. "That is why-- it is for that reason-- he thinks it means Lily Evans!"

"Meaning?" "I have spied for you and lied for you, put myself in mortal danger for you. Everything was supposed to be to keep Lily Potter's son safe. Now you tell me you have been raising him like a pig for slaughter--" -Chapter 33, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, JK Rowling

There are sixteen years, more or less, between these two moments. In the first, he calls her Lily Evans, even if she's already married, in the other, he calls her Lily Potter.

That said, he doesn't completely lose his obsessive streak when it comes to Lily:

And next, Snape was kneeling in Sirius's old bedroom. Tears were dripping from the end of his hooked nose as he read the old letter from Lily. The second page carried only a few words: could ever have been friends with Gellert Grindelwald. I think her mind's going, personally! Lots of love, Lily Snape took the page bearing Lily's signature, and her love, and tucked it inside his robes. Then he ripped in two the photograph he was also holding, so that he kept the part from which Lily laughed, throwing the portion showing James and Harry back onto the floor, under the chest of drawers... -Chapter 33, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, JK Rowling

If it can be conceded me a personal comment, this is one of the creepiest things I've ever read. Especially as a woman, this type of behavior, from a man, in particular, makes my skin crawl.

Taking away Lily in a photo where she was smiling at her husband and son, ripping off her signature and the love for her friend, eliminating the context of her behavior, taking possession, against her will, of her happiness directed at the people she loved, a list of people Snape had not been part of for a very long time... it's just disturbing.

Was Lily and Severus' friendship toxic?

Well, at this point the answer seems clear. Yes, their friendship was toxic.

I'm sure they also had fun together. They were both bright people and loved potions, Lily was beloved by many, and if you pay attention Snape did have a pretty enticing sense of humor.

But Lily clang to Severus as the only person who could connect her to the other half of her life, first the magical one then the muggle one, and refused to see the real him, for far too long.

Severus didn't grow up in the best of family situations and he never had Harry's natural goodness of heart. He was obsessive, possessive, vengeful, and prone to violence. He wanted incompatible things, Lily's love, and revenge against the muggle world that had wronged him.

He also never had a healthy vision of what love is. True love is selfless, true love is wanting the other person to be happy regardless of what it means for you. True love is Harry who breaks up with his greatest source of comfort, that knows that her future will have happiness and marriage and babies and that, by leaving her, he probably won't be there to live it with her. But if what he does means that Ginny can have all that, then it's a sacrifice worth doing.

“If you’re looking for the word that means caring about someone beyond all rationality and wanting them to have everything they want, no matter how much it destroys you, it's love.”

-Ted Mosby, How I Met Your Mother, season 9, episode 17

#look at me #back at the origins #james and petunia should've talked about snape #they would've become bff #lily evans #lily potter #severus snape #petunia evans #james potter #harry potter #thegirlwhowrites642HPmeta

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eternalglitch · 1 year

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Hi I really love ur fic!

Wanna ramble to me about any character from anything? /nf

Ah thank you!!

Hm. You know what yeah, I will bite. I'm going to talk about Gerard from Neverafter for a bit because the show ended this week and I am not yet over him. (spoiler warning lol)

Gerard was only about 10 or 11 when he was cursed to be a frog. And somehow he was convinced that he "deserved it" when he had been a child. It didn't matter how rude he had been, he was a young kid that needed guidance and love, not to suddenly be thrust into constant life or death situations all alone out in the wilderness.

And his parents didn't even look for him. So. That feels like if he didn't know any better it was largely due to neglect from his family.

Then along comes Elody. She drops her golden ball in his pound, he retrieves it, and slowly they become friends. About a decade after he had become a frog, he kisses her and is turned back into a prince; but that is where his story supposedly ended.

This supposed "happy ending" results in a young man with none of the skills needed to survive as a king. He doesn't know strategy or decorum; he just is glad to be safe in the castle finally and is fine to spend his days just existing in that safety.

And then the times change. Wars are starting; Elody starts taking on the duties of general and struggles under the weight of it as her husband continues to pretend everything is fine. His nonchalant attitude strains on their relationship; he starts to wake up more and more froglike every day as her love wavers.

When giants destroy their castle, Gerard flees in front of the children and elderly. All alone he starts to look for Elody, but her opinion of him- a coward- remains. And their first reunion is HER finding HIM, dead and cold on a battlefield.

Of course, Gerard then hops into Twice Upon / a new reality in another body and is alive and well, but Elody couldn't have known that at the time. With his friends, he starts to show brilliant leading abilities in battles; yes, he is a coward, but dancing away from enemies and giving boosts to his teammates is literally how they win several times. Him tossing the sword Veritas to Pinocchio was CRUCIAL to escaping the Step Mother.

And when he learns more about how he is the protagonist of the Frog Prince, all he wants is for Elody to be able to choose her own story. It's a wish that selflessly echoes in his actions following this decision. When they reunite and try to connect again it goes... poorly. He can't communicate to her properly, and leaves her crying as he is forced to flee, appearing as the same coward he always was.

And then he gives up his humanity, his name, for Elody to be her own protagonist. He knows she no longer loves him romantically and yet her care for him is entangling her in his troubles, so he frees her and becomes a full frog again.

When they meet next, he is able to convince her to join his side again. And they tell each other they do love each other but the story did force them to act in ways that just weren't working. So after the final battle they divorce; but they still love each other. They probably visit often; they probably share jokes about how silly everything up until that point had been. They probably sometimes admit they miss being married, but they are happier than ever in other ways now.

Maybe one day or in one iteration of the story they'll get back together. Who knows. They each have their own stories to write.

And I just really love him. He is so silly. Has the worst luck ever but is like an awkward adoptive parent to Pinocchio and Ylfa, who he sees his younger self in as they struggle with loss of humanity and thoughts of being a monster. A little vain but genuinely kind. A child that had been forced to be an adult too soon but was left as an adult that is all too childish.

#glitch answers #d20 neverafter #neverafter #long post

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papers4me · 2 years

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Golden Kamuy has ended! T__T. did you like the ending? I felt weird, to be honest.

Hi anon! Yes, GK manga ended.

I loved all the final chapters in the final arc except the last one! I'm kinda underwhelmed by how desperate the last chapter was trying to wrap things in a " happily ever after" feel. I mean I've always knew that despite the tragic stories of every convict, 7th division guy, & the protagonists, the story will end in a hopeful note cuz of the " future" theme. But it was done kinda poorly imo, all respect to Noda regardless.

Here's What I liked in the final two chapters:

Yumeko: loved her so much! sometimes very minor characters steal the entire ending!!!! She started her story being in love with sugi, it was a teenager/childhood romantic love, she even begged sugi to take her with him. but when he refused, she didn't abandon her life for him. She married toragi, not cuz sugi said so, but really toragi was everything sugi wasn't! Yes, he wasn't handsome. but he was mature, responsible & never ran away from his issues. Even in his wedding night, he faced sugi with how he felt upon seeing him back & faced umeko with how inferior he felt that her former lover is back. Umkeo calmly assured him that she'll choose him over sugi even if sugi would kidnap her. She chose to love her husband & build a loving marriage. After toragi's death, she wasn't a damsel in distress waiting for sugi to man up & come or cure her eyes or whatever. She moved on. She accepted a widower's proposal & chose wisely. It's obvious that the new husband loved her as he paid for her eyes surgery & funded her own small business that suits her. Upon seeing sugi again, after many years, she didn't recall the years of lost childhood nor did it ignite her teenage love. She was gladly surprised but sugi has become a stranger to her. a kind person from the far past. I really love her. Hands down the strongest character without holding a sword, or facing villains, or being in a death train. Being mature & moving on is the hardest theme in GK that tons of hard men failed at! & Umeko did it with few panels.

Tsurumi: I loved everything abt his journey & ending! Noda did wonders in compacting Tsurumi's entire emotions in one single silent panel! PERFECT! Tsurumi's face upon seeing his wife & daughter's bones gone forever & upon realizing he did NOT choose them at the end. This silent Panel was Noda's best writing hands down in the entire series. It goes to show that you dont need pages of monologue or exposition or tons of panels to convey a character's inner feeling. Tsurumi lived & died not accepting his role in his wife & daughter's death. He lived & died blaming wilk. His grief & guilt were so overwhelming for him. Best thing is that his greed & lust for power was exposed too, in the same panel! He was not given any salvation till the end & he chose his own journey.

Ogata: I talked before in depth abt my opinion of Ogata's story & death. Great writing & loved it all.

Shirashi: him running after sugi & asirpa was beautiful, him stealing the gold was so awesome! Why would the gold be buried forever? if no body wants it, Shirashi can take it. lol!

. Sugimoto taking his share from the gold before leaving the well. Awesome! Sugo contributed in finding the gold. He is one of the original pursuer to even convince Asirpa to start hunting it. It was a deal between two ppl with contract, shares & equal partnership. Asirpa can decide to disown her share or hate the gold or call it satan or whatever, that's her part. She has no right to deny sugi his share which she agreed upon initailly. Sugi only took his share nothing more.

Sugi throwing his share at tsurumi & leaving Toragi/ Uneko's share untouched in his pockets was awesome! he has a right to abandon his share but he made a promise to toragi & he'll try ro keep it even in the supposed death.

Koito's growth was well written!

I'm fine wit the Ainu issue not fixed or the central not exposed, it was never the purpose of the story. As I keep saying GK is a story abt ppl's journeys & choices. The ethnic minority, gold hunt, central are plot tools to create struggles for the characters.

.---What I didn't like:

1. (sugimoto's & the protagonist curse):

Wrapping up the protagonist internal issues was done weakly, imo. unforgettably, Noda wasnt better than most Manga or story writers in this regard. it's so common for writers to perfectly wrap the side characters struggles but leave the protag till the last moment & gush everything in weird exposition or an over the top climax. Protags carry the story's themes, GK is Sugi's story, but authors think that if they present the protag issues or start wrapping them up before the finale, the readers will NOT read the last chapter.... Why?? do they think that ppl ONLY follow the protag?? why the over the top climax to milk the readers feelings for the ptotag one more time? it really cheapens the story...

A lot of authors do that.. Even AOT's isyama did that cheap protag's struggle milking till even after the character's death... In GK, Noda wanted us to fear for sugi's life & went to great lengths to ensure his supposed death even to the point of pinning sugi with a freaken sword to a metal train's drowning body! wth! I never once thought sugi will die from the beginning of the manga. not even for a split second. Not cuz he's the protag, but his death would go against tons of GK themes. So I was worried reading how noda kept making it harder & harder for sugi to be alive becuz I knew that the only one in trouble is Noda himself! How would he fix that cuz sugi is 100% surviving, only to be met with the final chapter jumping that altogether....TIME SKIP fix everything you guys... wow. one of the most underwhelming scenes that I've come across recently. lol. Sugi will be saved off screen cuz sugi is immortal. meh~

2. Sugimoto emotionally & psychologically completely healed in the time skip. simply because we must be caught up with sugi's face down with tsurumi till the end, if sugi's issues were dealt with earlier then the over the top climax wouldn't be so over the top. Sugi accepted his past, his sins, & is ready for the future in the 6 months off screen healing process. He comes to meet umeko with content, tells asirpa that his homewon isnt his home anymore, but it was whever he eats food with her. One silent panel can explain everything about a character. but 3 pages of exposition can do nothing if it didnt feel earned.

Unlike Umeko, sugi is the protagwho we followed his story, One of Sugi's issues were that he was good for nothing, makes a huge deal from nothing ( Umeko was happily married with healed eyes, while he was hunting for gold & hating himself). how things would be different if sugi learnt to face his issues! that's his journey. Sugi learning to accept himself, that's what we MUST see. it's not abt romantic love with Umeko or asirpa. nor comfort food. He convinced himself he has a seat in hell the last time we saw him in the train, time skip! he chose a peaceful food filled future with asirpa.. bummer..

Sugi & asirpa ending up together is 50% expected. even if sugi didnt show any romantic feeling during the whole story. I'm thankful to Noda for not making sugi fall in love with what Noda described as 12-13 years old child during the manga! From sugi's side, she was a precious partner in a journey, the 3 years time skip wasnt ambiguous at all in telling their future. Asrpa is growing to be an adult woman & is spending all her time with him & we know she's head over heels in love with him. in the 3 years time skip & beyond, sugi can fall in love with her if he sees her as a woman, which he will, because the theme is happily future & new type of partnership. within the story, they renewed their partnership twice & each time with new equal perspective. in the implied future, they'll do their 3rd partnership renewal with new equal terms as wife & husband. I have no issues with all that. I'm not a shipper of anything except good writing! XD, but I really wished that sugi parted ways with asrpa when they were in his hometown to learn to heal & find himself & then 3 years time skip, he comes back to her!!!! better? at least it gives depth to him even if it's off screen, it will imply, he is working on himself, bot tada~~~~ perfectly healed & happy!

2. Tsukushima:Oh boy, this is a hard one cuz I LOVE tsukushima! but he was spared any kind of punishment, didnt regret anything, didnt grow, didn't even let go of tsurumi, didnt reap what he sow, he just escaped everything. He was one of the best written characters until the finale......

3. Ushiyama's death was so unnecessary. Perhaps Noda killed him cuz it's convenient? he was one of those characters with one path. He's been the same since his first appearance & the story has too many strong characters? cutting him from the scene makes the finale harsher? I duno. It did nothing story-wise. Asirpa would have shot Ogata regardless of Ushiyama's death, cuz she swore to protec sugi if he'd face death. so, again, why?

do i still love gk? YES! Do I think it's well-written? YES. I'm not a fan of the simple fan servicey feel of it, it has major writing issues in my perspective, but I LOVE gk.

To me, Noda delivered weak ending, not horrible ending! Thank you nOda for the great time I spent reading GK! respect !

#golden kamuy #manga reviwes #saichi sugimoto #tired paper

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freezethebeez · 6 months

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Catalyst Epilogue Snippet :]

Sorry for being gone for so long! Things haven't been crazy at all, I've just been lazy.

Tonight, I've managed to open the epilogue doc and get some writing done, and to apologize for my absence, I present to you a small, fluffy sniblet.

(The epilogue is still in a very, very rough state. Edits are to ensue, just at a later date.)

Tubbo hums along to the tune of the song playing from his phone as he washes the dishes.

Dinner was fine. Tubbo had his meal while Ranboo sat across from him sipping on a coffee made with half-coffee, half-blood. He says that the caffeine doesn’t really affect him, but he notes liking the smell and taste of it, and Tubbo sure as hell doesn’t mind brewing him some at seven in the evening (he also doesn’t mind the fact that he now has a drawer in his fridge dedicated to bags of blood).

Now Tubbo prepares for bed while Ranboo does… whatever the hell Ranboo does. Look, Tubbo’s not going to be up their ass all the time. Tubbo’s typically pretty clingy, sure, but the novelty of having Ranboo around all the time wore off a while ago. Like, a whole ass living accommodation ago.

The drain of Tubbo’s sink drinks down the dirty, soapy water, making a horrible gurgling noise as it does so. He flicks off the extra drops of water from his hands, and goes to reach for a towel hanging off the handle of the oven, but is met with a surprise.

Ranboo is a tall guy. Really tall. Completely towers over Tubbo. So when Tubbo looks at Ranboo, he’s used to looking up— not down. And he’s certainly not used to seeing Ranboo on one knee either.

And definitely not holding a velvet box that’s been pried open to reveal two rings inside.

“Tubbo,” Ranboo starts, and it’s not until he hears it in their voice that Tubbo realizes how much Ranboo is shaking, “I-I know you’re, like, aromantic and— and everything, but I think you’re really cool and— I kind of really like you, a-and stuff, so— do you wanna marry me?”

Tubbo is speechless. He’s standing stock still with a fucking tea towel in his hand, eyes wide as ever.

“It could just be for tax purposes if you—”

“No, Ranboo, I—” Tubbo says, and he doesn’t think he’s ever watched someone’s heart shatter in real time until now— until he realizes how poorly he’s just phrased that, and he quickly begins to backtrack, “No, what I mean to say is yes. Yes, I’ll marry you, Ranboo, but I— gods, just stand up already, it’s weird looking down at you.”

Ranboo complies, rising back to his feet again, causing Tubbo’s head to tilt upwards, the familiar dull ache in his neck comfortably settling back in.

With the rings a little closer to his face now, Tubbo takes a moment to get a close look at them.

They appear completely normal from the outside— just two, matching, golden bands— but as Tubbo draws near, he notices something.

A small, thin streak of red in the middle of one of them. The other is merely engraved with Tubbo’s birthday written in long, curly numbers.

Odd.

“So which one’s for me?” Tubbo asks. He has a feeling the red one would be his, because it wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense to have an engagement ring with his own birthday on it, but one could never be too sure.

“O-oh, uh, this one,” Ranboo replies, frantically fiddling with the pair and nearly dropping one of them in the process. Eventually, his fingers find the one with the thin red line through the middle, presenting it to Tubbo.

Tubbo instinctively lifts his hand, allowing Ranboo to slide the ring onto his finger. Tubbo’s not entirely sure how proposals are supposed to go, but he’s had enough movie marathons with Tommy to know the gist of how they’re meant to work— and this feels mostly right, save for the fact that they’re not standing at the top of a mountain with a breathtaking view (the kitchen, however, works just fine, in Tubbo’s humble opinion).

“Awesome,” Tubbo beams, lifting his hand up, fingers outstretched, eyes adjusting to the new image of the back of his hand, now featuring a ring. He doesn’t take too long admiring the view, thankfully, saving Ranboo from crumbling into a nervous wreck by taking the other ring in their hand and sliding it onto their finger as well.

“Just curious,” Tubbo asks, taking Ranboo’s hand into his own, eyes fixated on the matching ring on the snow white half of Ranboo’s body, “what’s the red shit in mine?”

Ranboo snorts. “You really have such a— such a way with words, Tubbo,” they say.

“Aren’t you glad to be stuck with them for the rest of my life?”

“Your life?” Ranboo questions Tubbo’s word choice.

“Yeah, my life,” Tubbo replies, not missing a beat. “I mean, unless you plan on dying soon, you’re probably going to outlive me. And, like, by a lot, right?”

“Oh…” Ranboo’s shoulders sag. In fact, every single part of him seems to droop. “Right,” they mumble.

“Sorry,” Tubbo apologizes, giving Ranboo’s hands a light squeeze, “sensitive topic, I guess.”

Ranboo shrugs, “Not really. I’m just… I don’t like to think about it.”

“Makes sense.” Tubbo nods and sniffles. “Anyways, what was I on about?”

“The red stuff.”

“Right! The red shit.” A smile finds its way back to Ranboo’s face, tension in the air dissipating like the sun breaking through the fog in the morning. “What the hell is it?”

“It’s my blood.” And Ranboo says it with such nonchalance. So deadpan and straight to the point that Tubbo nearly mistakes it for the weather.

When Tubbo first met Ranboo, he thought the guy was, like, actively afraid of blood, or something. First ever vampire to have hemophobia— something ironic like that. Ranboo refused to even say the word for the longest time, so for them to not only say it, but also put some of it— some of their own into their engagement rings, it’s—

Well Tubbo might just cry.

But first, he has questions that need answers.

“You can bleed?!” Tubbo exclaims.

“Wh— of course I can? What kind of question is that?”

“A damn good one. I didn’t know vampires could fucking bleed. I didn’t even know they had blood in them!” Ranboo’s eyes go wide. “Oh my gods, is that why you need to drink mine—”

“Tubbo, no. No, that’s— that’s not it at all,” Ranboo corrects. “I should— I should really teach you some vampire biology, or something, gods.”

“Listen, okay, don’t make me look like an idiot here,” Tubbo defends. “They don’t teach this shit in school, alright? Maybe the basics, but that’s it. The only thing I knew about vampires is that they existed and they drank blood. Nothing more.”

“Please tell me you know more than that now.”

“Of course I do! I know that you guys sleep all day, you’re only up at night, and you’ve never seen the sun.”

Ranboo stares blankly at him. “You just said the same thing, like, three times.”

“Whatever, dude.” Tubbo rolls his eyes. “Catch me up to speed then. I’ve got spoons to dry.”

#catalyst #phewy it's been a while #i can see myself doing a little more writing soon so HOPEFULLY i'll actually have this done lol #preferably sometime before 2024 #but who knows at this point

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mysticalrambling · 3 years

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Hey there😄😄I hope you're doing fine....I love your fanfictionss just too much and *adorable addition* is just my top favorite atory of yours😍😍😍. Yesterday you said i could make a request too so i was wondering if you can take in a request??😅😅 which is a Steve Rogers x reader request, which I had in mind for a long long time...I have made this request to some authors before but some of them never responded or just weren't interested in writing it so you can too decline but hear me out please😅😅... Ok so here goes nothing....

**Steve and reader being in an arranged marriage and steve is very rude towards the reader and would blame her, that due to their marriage he is not with peggy and how she irritates him, but still the reader did sweet things for him, made him food, tried to make him happy and tried to make their marriage work...but one day when she has enough of all the hurt, she stop doing stuff for steve and starts ignoring him..and also steve sees that peggy didn't love him but only his status as Captain America and was happy with someone else..then he realises his mistake and felt bad for treating his wife poorly...he tries to make up things with her but she now ignores him...His team members berate him for ignoring his wife and he gets jealous seeing someone else making a move on her.....and now he has to work his ass off to win back his wife...And can you end it with a happy ending and can it be long also? please🥺🥺

Arrange Marriage (S.R)

A/N: Thank you so much lovely and I loved the plot line. I loved writing about it and I made a few additions to the story. Hope you like it and I am open to more requests.

Steve Rogers Fanfiction (Fanfiction Master List)

Summary: Steve and you are married because the government wants Captain America to be a family ma. Steve is not happy with the arrangement and thinks he is in love with Peggy. You try to make your marriage work but he insults you every chance he gets. However, everything works out eventually.

Warnings: Angst but eventual fluff.

._._._._.

"I prepared some dinner for you," You spoke out when you saw your husband rushing towards his room. That's right, his room. Even though you were married for about a month now, you have never been in the same room for more than ten minutes.

"I am not hungry." He was quick to dismiss you and went straight to his room. You just looked at the muddy footsteps that were the only evidence that Steve was here. He was on one of his missions with your dad, Nick Fury. Your step dad, actually, because he rescued you from one of hydra base camps when you were eight years old. Those times were something that you have repressed in your mind and you would never think about them.

A few tears escaped your eyes when you kept all of the untouched food in the fridge which you spent hours preparing. You understood that you were not your husband's first choice but you both had an obligation to try to make it work. But lately, it was like you were all alone in this relationship and you felt so worthless.

Wiping the tears away, you made your way to the master bedroom because you had enough. If years of therapy have taught you anything, it is that no one had the right to make you feel that way. "Come in!" His pissed off voice filtered through the door and you took a shaky breath before entering.

"Hi. I just wanted to say that I prepared all of your favorite food and you didn't even look at it." You spoke timidly.

"I told you I was not hungry." He said from the changing closet and came out in his sweats. Looking tired was something not new for Captain America now a days and everyone at work was also starting to notice the change. "Why are we pretending to be like a normal, married couple?"

"Why can't we be one? I am trying here." He looked anywhere but at you because he knew that he would see those damp eyes. That was enough to make him feel guilty and he wanted to prevent that.

"You know why. I am in love with Peggy." The most hurtful thing that your life partner can say to you and Steve just did without taking your feelings into account.

"Then you could have said something before we got married." Panic was slowly setting in because you realised that you were stuck in a marriage that is never going to work out.

"The whole government was pushing me towards this marriage and Peggy was still not ready for that kind of commitment. I was stuck with you." Steve knew that the statement hurt you the moment the words escaped his lips. This was a revelation that rocked your world. And not in a great way, might you add. "You could have rejected the proposal."

"Do you think it was that simple for me? Dad has done so much for me and this was the one thing that he asked off me so I did not refuse. I thought that you agreed to this marriage and we could work it out in the future." Those dreams were being crushed right now and you knew that this marriage was doomed. It was like a hit to your gut and you felt caged in this room with your husband.

"Well, we can not." Leaving the room, you went straight to bed and cried yourself to sleep because there was nothing else you could add to that conversation.

After sometime, Steve came out of his room and made his way towards the kitchen. Opening the fridge, he took out the food to heat it up and realised that you made all of his favorite food. He was never going to admit it but he loved your cooking. Every night he comes in to the kitchen to eat all the food that you prepared for him. However, he realised that you didn't eat any of the food so you probably went to bed hungry. The guilt was eating him up and he felt helpless because he wanted to think that he didn't care about you. But sometimes, you don't even realise when a person is warming their way into your heart.

"Do you want to watch a movie?" Steve was home today and you were going out of your mind with boredom so you thought of asking him for some company.

"I am not in the mood." He was quick to dismiss the idea and turned around in the hallway while still scrolling through his phone.

"I just thought-"

"You thought nothing. Why are you so clingy? I told you I do not want to work on this relationship. You are the reason that I can not be with the love of my life. Please just leave me alone.” He rudely interrupted you because he was not in the mood to interact with anyone. Seeing a picture of Peggy on instagram, he became aware of the fact that he could not be with her because he is a married man now.

Peggy Carter had been the first person that he saw when he woke up from the ice after 40 years. She helped him to become Captain America and she was the most important person in his eyes. Those few months were really difficult for Steve but she helped him get through them. Peggy quickly became his girlfriend and when the councilmen wanted him to get married, he was quick to propose. But she told him that she was not ready to take that step and she backed off. He was still pining over her and it was not fair to blame you for everything but he needed to do that to make himself feel better.

“I am sorry.”

“(Y/N)-” You left before he could say anything else. There is only so much a person can tolerate.

Over the course of a few days, Steve noticed that you were indeed leaving him alone. You were not there to welcome him home when he got back from his missions and give him a massage even after he told you not to. You did not cook from him anymore and he really missed it. He loved the fact that you always made his favorites and you never even had to ask him. You haven’t talked to him since the night he yelled at you. Guilt was an emotion that he often felt whenever he saw you.

“So there is a charity event that we both are invited too. It’s black tie optional.” He leaned against the door as he watched you doing laundry.

“Okay, I will be ready.” These were the only five words that you have said to him in the past two weeks and they were not enough. He has missed you and your conversations. The house was too quiet now a days and he didn’t like it one bit. But he was too stubborn to be the one to break the wall.

“You have to wear a dress. Many people will be watching you because you are Captain America’s wife so please do not go with your sense of style.” He wanted to slap himself in the face when he saw you freeze. Why couldn’t he just have said something nice to her? Steve didn’t know how to talk to you without messing it up.

“Okay.” Sighing, he left the room and sulked in his bedroom for the remaining day.

You were never going to say it out loud, but you were really hurt by what he said today and that day. None of it was your fault and you have been thinking about ending this marriage. However, the thing was that you made a commitment and you were never the one to back out from things. You quickly finished doing the laundry and went to take a shower.

“Are you ready?” Steve fixed his bow tie before you opened the room and he was left speechless. You in a red dress with a slit running through the side was a side of you that he had never seen. So bold and outgoing.

“Yes. Just let me quickly apply my lipstick.” Watching you apply a red lipstick left him in a trance. His wife was truly something unique but he just ignored it. Shaking himself out of it, he thought about Peggy and how he loves her. You both left afterwards and the car ride was quiet with the exception of a few stolen glances.

‘We have to go hand in hand and smile for the red carpet.”

“Okay.”

You were always a little scared to walk in to these kinds of events and so you tightly clutched on to your husband’s arm. Steve knew that you were a little bit of an introvert so he squeezed your hand in response.

“I am going to go meet some councilmen.”

“I’ll be by the bar.” Making your way towards the makeshift bar, you ordered a martini and just sat there mixing your drink. On the other hand, Steve made polite talk with the councilmen and then excused himself to the washroom. He heard someone mention his name on his way to the washroom and that piqued his interest.

“Come on, I was never in love with Steve. He was my assignment from the S.H.I.E.L.D and that was it. I had to help Captain America adjust to this life. I love you, Oliver and that is a fact.” Steve quickly left before he could hear anything else.

Honestly, he couldn’t believe that all those months spent with Peggy were just a lie and he was ruining his marriage because of her. He thought that it would hurt a lot but it was kind of a relief. He was now realising that he was never in love with her. It was kind of an obligation for him because he thought that he somehow owed it to Penny. But he didn’t and now he can finally give his marriage a fair try and not feel guilty about it.

“So what is a beautiful girl like you doing at a bar all alone?” Turning around, you saw Bucky with a smile adorning his face.

“Hi. It’s been such a long time since I last saw you.” You hugged your friend because he was one of the people that you were close to. You actually missed him in these past few months and were glad to see him right now. Getting in to a conversation was way easier than you thought.

“Hey Buck. What are you doing?” Your husband was quick to place his hands on the small of your back and you silently choked on his intimate gesture.

“I am fine, Stevie. Just catching up with (Y/N).”

“Oh okay. Would you mind if I take my wife to the dance floor?”

“No worries.” Silently taking you to the middle of the room, you both got to dancing and your breath hitched when he was so close to you right now. His cologne had taken over all your senses and you were drunk on him. God, it was pathetic but you could not help yourself.

“I want to try to work on our marriage.” You didn’t know if you were hearing things right now so you muttered a silent, “Come again.” He silently chuckled and repeated the sentence again. Looking at him, you stopped dancing and left the room.

“Why did you leave?” He found you at the balcony just staring at the stars with your hands wrapped around yourself. “It’s freezing.”

“Why? Why would you say something like that?” You whispered silently.

“I mean it. I want to try.”

“Don’t you love Peggy?”

“I have realised that I didn’t love her. It was like an obligation to me and I like you.”

“I can’t do this. You insulted me every chance you got and you made me think so low of myself.”

“I know and I am so sorry for that. I will spend my life apologising to you for it. Please, give me a chance.” There were some tears in your eyes and everything was becoming blurry.

“I can’t do that. I will always be your second choice.”

“No, you are not. Trust me, I have had feelings for you but I have been trying to repress them from the very start.” He tried to touch you but you took a step back.

“If we try this relationship thing out, will you promise me that you will tell me when you want to get out. We can get divorced right then and there.”

“I don’t want to be divorced and I will spend my life making it up to you.” He was quick to kiss you and it was way better than your wedding ceremony kiss. “I like you, (Y/N).”

“I like you too, Steve.” You went in to kiss him again and were glad that this marriage was going to work.

Hope you guys enjoyed it!!

._._._._.

A/N: I love Captain America and I was happy to write a fanfiction about him. If you guys have any more request, I will be happy to write about them and message me if you want to be added to the tag list.

Tag list: @kalopsia-flaneur, @justile

Like, comment and reblog.

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dwaeki · 3 years

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— felix as ur bf (random headcanons)

pairing: felix x gn!reader

genre: fluff

warnings: none other than maybe some slip ups and just poorly written fluff, not proofread, lower case intended!!!

a/n: i'm just bored and need to post so i decided to make this at like 3AM 😩🤝🏻 genuinely dont knownwhat i was writing here but i went with the flow so 😞

ok lets completely disregard the fact that felix is my ult and i am absolutely whipped for him.

he doesn't sleep early at night especially if he had a bad day at practice or made a lot of mistakes while trying to memorize the choreography to one of their new songs,

so he usually stays up for a little while playing video games on his PC while you sleep over at the dorms.

you're most likely there sitting on his lap, sleeping peacefully while your boyfriend tries to restrain himself from raging and absolutely destroying his expensive keyboard </3

(p.s he has a keyboard that lights up. most likely rainbow cuz idk HE GIVES OFF THOSE VIBES.)

the first time you sat on his lap while he was playing games he just fell in love with that idea

the feeling of your arms wrapped around his shoulders as you rest your head in the crook of his neck is just :(( y/n ure making him feel so loved :((

he's just rlly comfortable and feels at peace.

also when he feels a bit too overwhelmed or just frustrated he stops the game for a little while and wraps his arms around you tightly while inhaling your scent :((

he feels better right away <33

but you dont know that bcuz ure ✨asleep✨

but if he's feeling particularly tired he just plays on his phone

while you're both in bed, cuddling <33

PLUSHIES !! you guys collect a bunch of plushies <3

he likes plushies a lot so if u like plushies too you guys are just a perfect duo. you two are always on a look out for stuffed animals,

felix keeps a bunch of cents in his pockets just in case u find something.

if one of u spots a claw machine outside while you're going out or during an arcade date you're going to drop whatever you were doing before and literally run, leap, fly towards its direction.

"Y/N A CLAW MACHINE !!!!" "OH MY GOD GOGOOGOGO RUN FELIX GO DONT LET THE KID GET THERE BEFORE WE DO"

you two are competitive as hell when it comes to winning a stuffed animal & believe me felix doesnt go easy on you

especially if youre a sour loser cuz he teases you a lot.

it starts off with u two being competitive but ends with the both of you basically throwing all of your money away just to get a single plushie.

one time u hogged the claw machine for a little too long and you didnt even notice the line of kids waiting for the two of u to finally leave for good.

yeah... ure banned from using the claw machine at one of the arcades ... 😬✋🏻

he also lays his head on your lap... a lot.

he just loves feeling close to you so if he's sleepy and wants cuddles he usually just lays his head on your thighs (no matter the shape or size cuz we love all kinds of thighs here, love <3) , grabs your hand and plays with ur fingers.

you already get the message so you're quick to get up and move to the bedroom to cuddle

but if you don't get the message then he starts pouting and sighing dramatically, waiting for u to take the hint

but if ure still not budging then he just lifts you up and quite literally throws you onto the bed so you two can cuddle

(one time u bounced off the bed and hurt your arm... felix almost cried...)

he grumbles a bunch of incoherent words while getting under the covers

squeezes the living soul out of you the second he's under the covers. like ure literally left soulless.

HE'S LITERALLY A HUMAN HEATER SO BEWARE WHEN U CUDDLE IN THE SUMMER !!!

felix doesnt rlly have a favorite position to cuddle in, he likes any and every.

he loves being the big spoon, he loves being the small spoon

but he also rlly loves cuddling face-to-face <33 or maybe ur head buried in his chest :((

loves placing kithes all over your face or pecking your lips during cuddle sessions.

yeah... he's a sucker for physical contact 😚😚

he's also SO whipped for you you don't even understand.

everyone around him can tell that he absolutely adores you and everything you do

one time jeongin mentioned how utterly in love he was and how "disgusting & painful" it was to watch you two interact 😔

and felix was low-key like HELL YEAH IM WHIPPED AND IM PROUD !!!

doesnt care if anyone points out how much he loves u & doesn't deny it either bcuz YEAH!! HE DOES INDEED LOVE U VERY MUCH!!! WHAT ABOUT IT!?!?!!

he also gives the best presents !

he just always knows what to buy anyone he's very close with and the list ofc includes you :D bcuz youre his lover mwuah <3

buys you the best birthday presents, anniversary presents, holiday presents.

it's because he's observant !!

especially when it comes to you. if you eye an expensive outfit that you can't really afford at the moment or there's a fancy restaurant you want to go to, he will keep it in the back of his mind and will take it into consideration ;))

there doesn't have to be a special occurance for felix to surprise you with a present !!

even if the present he's getting you is pretty expensive its still for u and he wants to make u feel as appreciated and as loved as he can. so wasting money on you is never a problem as long as you're happy :((

the fact that he is observant also comes in handy a lot, because he can tell when you're uncomfortable by the small changes in the way you act like the furrowing of your eyebrows or you shift even closer to him, etc.

if it's a public space or an event where you have to socialize and interact with others and he notices you feeling uncomfortable he will take you to a less crowded place to give u a bunch of kisses and reassure you that everything will be just fine <3

he also knows what you like and dislike very well, so it's easier to avoid any arguments in your relationship.

virtual dates !!

he takes you on a bunch of dates on minecraft, roblox, animal crossing etc.

the dates usually happen while he's away on a tour and you two really miss each other </3

the first time he went on a tour he just really really really missed you and your voice

so he called you on discord and suggested that you play minecraft together. you created a new world and just started everything from the scratch.

so every time felix goes on tour you guys call on discord, get on minecraft and add new things to your world <33

your world includes but is not limited to: a huge pink mansion with a pretty backyard filled with flowers, a dog named "seungmo" and a cat named "lino" (as felix suggested you named them ✋🏻)

he once told you that one day you two are gonna get married (if you're willing to ofc) and live a perfect life just like in your minecraft world :((

even tho it was over the top to assume that you two would live in a gigantic pink mansion, it was still endearing and it made your heart melt <3

he really wants to spend the rest of his life with you because he knows you're the one :(

#felix x reader #lee felix #felix #stray kids #skz #skz x reader #felix x gn!reader #lee felix x reader #skz imagines #skz reactions #stray kids headcanons #skz headcanons #felix as your boyfriend #lee felix x reader fluff #felix x reader fluff #skz fluff #stray kids fluff

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never-ending-studio · 3 years

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Ranking BATIM characters based how good I think theyd be as teachers

Joey Drew: 5/10, an """art""" teacher but you're not getting a passing grade if you already didn't know what to do. He's also out here comparing you to Henry 🥶, not fun. But he's surprisingly good with getting you out of artists block. also tries to be the 'fun' teacher so he's playing music in class, allowing snacks and what not.

Henry Stein: 7.5/10 art teacher! He's good at teaching you the basics but he's a little afraid of hurting your feelings when giving critisism and wil instead give you ""suggestions"" but really it's just what needs to be changed. Usually chill but snapped at the class once(1) and the class never forgot it.

Sammy Lawrence: 7.5/10 Music teacher. Yes, he does shout but only at those who he deems deserves it. If you've done your practice and trying your best you should be fine. But if your not taking it seriously he'll send you out. Also probably has beef with other teachers and gossips to the class while setting up.

Jack Fain: 8/10. Also a music teacher but probably for younger children. Best teacher, will allow you to play meme songs. But once you leave class you forget everything you've just learnt.

Susie Campbell: 8/10. One of those life+PE teachers you occasionally get. PE is fun with them, mainly games and doesn't force you in when you don't want to. Their advice is from the perspective of Regina's mother in Mean Girls ('If you'd like some alcohol just let me know, I'd rather you do it in the house' ).

Wally Franks: 6/10 or 10/10 depending. For the 6/10 I mean as a fully employed fully trained teacher. He's working in shop class and it's explains things incredibly poorly, a 'put the thing in the thing and then Boom! Chainsaw'. And if you ask for help he basically does it for you. As for the 10/10 he's just a weirdly helpful Janitor who catches you in the library or whatever doing homework and just points and says 'Julius Ceasar divorced his second wife, Pompeia, who he married for political gain, because she was involved with a scandal.' and then just leaves and your just sitting there like '???'

Norman Polk: 9/10, history teacher. KNOWS his topics, like knows knows. Encourages discussion, teaches fun subjects and puts on documentaries.

Thomas Connor: 7/10. Also a shop class worker. Very straight forward in explaining, writes everything you need to do up on the board and reads for the rest if the lesson. Approaching him for help is intimidating at best.

Alison Pendle: 6.5/10 Drama baby! Does a lot of theatre sports and games aswell as personal anecdotes. Get on her good side and you'll get good grades. Doesn't do too much pushing for improvement or critisim.

Lacie benton: 6/10 another shop class teacher, I feel like she'd expect kids to already know everything and doesn't fully realise that she's supposed to actually teach them. Also when she starts explain to you she goes straight into the mechanical jargon right away and you actually know LESS than when you asked her the question.

Bertrum Piedmont: 7/10 doesn't teach, does seminars though about how to make and run theme parks. Fixates on his favourite things and if you want to learn about anything else no. you. won't.

#bendy and the ink machine #batim #joey drew #henry stein #sammy lawrence #jack fain #Susie campbell #Wally franks #Norman polk #Thomas Connor #Alison Pendle #Lacie benton #Bertrum Piedmont

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askaceattorney · 3 years

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The Other Mod’s Defense

I’m the other mod Mod Vera and Mod Maya went to and asked about Co-Mod being a Trump supporter and were astonished to find out I was one too. I will state my defense as well, so warning that this will go into some politics. Continue on, if you are fine with this.

When Mod Vera and Mod Maya messaged me, I told them that I did not care for politics or wish to share any politics of mine, since I prefer them to be at home. I also said that Co-Mod has the right to freely express his politics online, if he wants. Afterwards, I stated that the only politics I’m willing to admit to them was that I was a Trump supporter and am Independent Conservative. If they were astonished, I was not aware.

Just to be clear, this does not mean I don’t support LGBT or ethnic minority groups. The same with Co-Mod. To be honest, I didn’t think that’d be an issue or I would have expressed my support in those areas. Believe it or not, my mom and family part of an ethnic minority group (they’re part of the Cherokee Nation and two are mixed black) and I have friends and family that are LGBT. I also support women and the Disabled/Mentally Ill Community. Co-Mod has also says his family falls under this as well. Since I do not wish to speak for him, I will let his words do the talking. This is what he said when I asked if he had any family that fell under LGBT or Ethnic Minority Groups.

With all of that said, this doesn’t mean I agree with everything Donald Trump did in office or any of Co-Mod’s posts. I never once stated that I didn’t support LGBT and ethnic minority groups. Believe it or not, I myself have received discrimination for being Autistic, a sister who was discriminated for marrying a black man and having mixed kids and have a mother who was abused and treated poorly by a very sexist ex husband. Also, my mom was discriminated for her race of being Cherokee and Native. Admittedly, I’ve never experienced or have had friends that were discriminated based on their sexual orientation, but considering the discrimination I have experienced in other areas, I am against discrimination of any kind, no matter of whatever differences they have. Because of what my family and myself went through, I became hesitant of admitting my own race. I want to be treated as a person and not be defined by my gender, race or sexual orientation. As such, I refuse to mention either of those things as a mod and only have revealed my gender in my original account.

I am sorry that Mod Vera and Mod Maya have to leave. Personally, I wish they could’ve talked to Co-Mod or myself about their grievances before leaving, but that is their call. I respect their decision. If they don’t feel comfortable in working with us, then they are allowed to leave.

That being said, I will ask the rest of you to not judge Co-Mod, myself or anyone else based on their politics. This includes Mod Maya and Mod Vera. Anyone expressing their support for a former president or having controversial opinions does not make someone racist, sexist, against LGBT or any of that. Personally, I wish politics never got involved in this blog, but as the saying goes, “it can’t be helped.”

I noticed there were people in the comment section claiming that their letters weren’t answered because of this. No, non of our political leanings effect how we answer our letters. I do understand your frustration. I sent a letter teasing Edgeworth on being in love with Phoenix before becoming a mod and that was deleted. I realize now that it wasn’t because I didn’t follow the rules so much as the mods didn’t know how to answer the letter. Shipping letters are especially awkward to answer, if they’re not canon, but Co-Mod isn’t that kind of person. I will promise to answer any yaoi/yuri letter that comes. Also, we are just now starting to answer letters from February, so if you sent any letters in February and on, then it will get answered soon. Otherwise, take any letters deleted with a grain of salt. Let our actions to answering letters, creating posts or making Character Essays be the one to define our character.

Lastly, because we had so many following and talking in this blog, please don’t harass anyone mentioned in this blog. I will also ask any of the people that were trying to defend this blog in the comment section to not do so. People are allowed to express their grievances. It’s just an unfortunate event of two mods leaving. That is all.

- Mod Edgeworth

P.S. I think President Biden is not as crooked as the Republicans like to claim he is. Have a nice day :)

#Mod Post #Mod Edgeworth

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hakasims · 3 years

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Shitty Luca Movie Recap, Episode 1

Obessed with Luca Marinelli but can’t find it in yourself to watch a bad movie with him? Luckily for you I have no self-respect, so I’ve watched all of them, and I’m here to tell you what they’re about - and show some highlights!

Today’s entry:

Mary of Nazareth

Whether you’re into Jesus or not, it’s a bad movie: cheap, poorly made, melodramatic in the dullest way and not campy enough to keep you entertained. But that’s why I’m here: to entertain you in its stead.

You immediately realize you’re in for a treat when you meet the main villain.

Yep, this Kate McKinnon-looking motherfucker. But she doesn’t actually matter because she has zero scenes with Luca, who’s playing Joseph, Mary’s husband and Jesus’s stepdad. And from now on, I’m only focusing on him because even if you did decide to watch this movie, you’d be skipping between his scenes, admit it.

So here’s Joseph.

He’s a loser and he looks like shit. Though when we first meet him, he’s about to propose to Mary, so of course he looks sharp in his snow white kippah and cute little capris and stylish sandals.

I know the only other reason you might consider watching this movie is seeing Dr. Alissa Jung and her and Luca’s sizzling chemistry. Well, I can’t promise you chemistry but here she is having a staredown with a toothless snake who, I’m guessing, is supposed to be Satan because why the hell not.

Is this a reference to Eve? Is this foreshadowing Gethsemane? Who knows who cares, that snake is going down. I mean, we don’t see it go down, but when Joseph finally arrives, the snake is nowhere to be seen, and Mary is fine. Let’s be real: she squashed that snake.

Joseph doesn’t beat around the bush:

The face you make when he promises to build you a house but you know for a fact he’ll just end up crashing at your place in Berlin:

But also when you realize he’s one hairstyle away from being very pretty:

Later, they witness a woman being stoned by men for adultery. Mary doesn’t say anything, but she legit stares the motherfuckers down like she did that dumbass snake, and they run away.

Anyway, Mary gets preggers via an angel, postpones the wedding to go check on her old cousin, and comes back with a belly. Joseph, who at this point has been absent from the movie for almost 40 minutes, reacts like this:

Bitch, does she look like Alessandro Borghi to you? Get your dirty hand off her face!

So he throws a tantrum, during which he tries to destroy the house he’s currently building for Mary and himself, but the dumb bitch forgot it’s made of stone.

Luckily for him, it’s a dream. Yes, he yelled at Mary in real life, then fell asleep and had a dream in which he destroyed his house. But then the same angel (which is literally a woman voiced by a man) appears and tells him not to be a dumb bitch, so he goes back to Mary and makes amends. Doesn’t apologize, though. Typical man.

Mary and Joseph get married. The costume department were told to dress Mary like a Hebrew bride but the connection was bad, and they heard “hippie bride” instead. Which is exactly what they did.

As you can see, both the bride and the groom are wearing white (so that’s where Queen Victoria got the idea?) and Joseph’s hair is having just the worst day. No wonder his body is trying to throw itself out of this movie.

The wedding night is romantic as hell.

Unfortunately, the idillic life of these lovebirds is disrupted when it’s announced that due to the upcoming census every man has to return to the town he was born in. Joseph is from Bethlehem, so he puts his heavily pregnant wife on a donkey and takes her on this prolonged and stressful journey that would literally take a two-hour drive today. And yet the next 15 minutes of the movie look like this:

As they get to Bethlehem, Mary goes into labor, but there are no vacancies, so they end up at a stable. And like... they didn’t have to emphasize Joseph’s uselessnes like that. He literally goes to get some water and misses the birth of Jesus! To be fair, it’s not so much a birth as a weird sort of materialization of Jesus next to Mary. Joseph leaves to get some water and comes back to find a six-month-old baby wrapped in his wife’s clothes. As you do. Still, making him miss it was an interesting choice. Does the director hate stepfathers?

(Spoiler alert: He totally does.)

Anyway, look at that useless bitch:

So this concludes the first part of the movie. Yep, it’s a two-parter. But don’t worry, the second part is about adult Jesus, which means Joseph’s only role is to look older with every new scene and then die. Which, I gotta say, he did pretty well:

So yeah, this was everything you (totally don’t) need to know about Luca’s role in Mary of Nazareth. Which movie should I do next?

#luca marinelli #mary of nazareth #maria di nazaret #sh*tty luca movie recap

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onewithnomightypowers · 3 years

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clandestine (chapter 7)

PAIRING: Tom Holland x fem!Reader

SUMMARY: Y/N is an up and coming actress, married to a once hotshot actor, Harrison (Haz). What happens when her co-star, Tom, makes her realise that she is stuck in a loveless marriage. A marriage starts crumbling and a new romance stars brewing.

chapter 7: rabbit hole

A/N: i do not encourage cheating. omg THE LAST CHAPTER!!!! i hope you guys like this chapter!! feedback is always appreciated. thanks for reading <3

warnings: drinking, cursing, hate comments

word count: 1.6k

important: bold and italic are character thoughts

series masterlist main masterlist chapter 6

Love, easy it comes and easy it goes. Y/N and Haz’ calamitous love had no tracks ahead of it. The only thing they could do was jump off the train before it crashed and burned. Y/N took that step and fell on Tom’s doorstep. When Haz saw her leave, he understood that hurt couldn’t save a dying soul, so he jumped too, causing their marriage to fall off a hill.

They left the hobbit’s room with a sea of change in their aura. Both had bloodshot eyes from all the rivers they swam through. “I will go settle the tab”, Haz said without meeting her eyes. Y/N walked towards her driver, Arnold, who was standing near the main entrance, eager to tell her about the situation outside.

“There is a herd of paparazzi out there, ma’am”, he said.

Y/N hummed in acknowledgment.

“Shall we go?” Haz walked over to them.

“Yeah”, her voice was small and dry.

Arnold opened the door and stayed ahead to make way for them in between the storm of people. They were all screaming something over one another, making it hard to understand. Haz and Y/N had their heads down, trying to hide the stained cheeks from the blinding lights. Haz clutched Y/N’s hand protectively, out of habit.

They made their way inside the car, parked not so far away from the pub.

“You can stay with me tonight, you’re leaving for New York tomorrow morning anyway”, Y/N said looking outside the window.

“It's fine Y/N, I can get a hotel room”

“No, I insist”, her eyes focused on the lamp heads passing them by.

“Okay, I’ll take the couch”

“You can sleep on the bed, with me”

Haz found Y/N’s hand in the dark backseat and squeezed it affectionately.

That night was the last time they slept together in the same bed. When Y/N woke up the next morning, he was already gone. He left a note on the refrigerator that read, ‘thank you for everything’. A bittersweet smile took over her face.

Y/N needed some time to herself, but she also needed to inform people about her decision. She craft an email to her manager, agent and her lawyer. All of them were sent the exact same email.

Harrison and I have decided to end our marriage. I would like to file for divorce as soon as possible, and the process should be civil. I will be unavailable for a few days, so do what you have to with the news.

Y/N

She also sent her parents that email but as a text on the family group chat.

It’s short and to the point, let’s hope they don’t call me with a million questions.

When it came to Tom, she noticed that he had sent her an image a few seconds ago. It was a screenshot of a TMZ article. The headline was, ‘Y/N left her movie premiere early to meet her husband’, it wasn’t jarring but the photo underneath the headline was. Haz was holding Y/N’s hand as tightly he physically could, both of their bodies looked tired and Y/N’s makeup was all messed up. She hadn’t noticed any of that in the moment, last night.

Tom sent her another text.

Tom: Are you ok?

Y/N: not really, I’m filing for divorce

Tom: oh, do you want me to come over?

Y/N: I think I want some time to myself right now

Y/N: I’ll probably watch Gilmore girls the whole weekend

Tom: ok, I’m here if you need anything

Tom: love you

Y/N: you too

---

On Monday, the news broke. The whole world now knew that their marriage was over. The news outlets tried their best to be creative with headlines.

‘Their kingdom has come and gone: Harrison and Y/N file for divorce’

‘Harrison and Y/N, Hollywood’s perfect couple not so perfect anymore’

These were some of the most impressive ones according to Y/N’s management team but they decided to keep it to themselves. No one had heard from Y/N since Saturday. Even though she had told them that she would be unavailable, they still sent emails, warning her to stay off social media sites, especially twitter, the creator of hate wagons.

Twitter was not kind to her at all. Their divorce was trending in the entertainment section. Many people thought that it was their right to comment on this situation. They had a lot to say, mostly about Y/N.

Y/N would often find herself diving into the rabbit hole of her trending tag. She would read almost everything they had to say about her, the good and the bad, but the bad overwhelmed the good.

‘She was only in it to get famous’

‘She ugly if I was Harrison then I would drop that ass too’

‘She is so fake’

‘Harrison is better off without her’

‘She was def cheating on him’

‘Why would someone even love Y/N’

She didn’t notice, but this was getting to her. She would constantly stare at her reflection, picking her appearance apart because someone on the internet called her ugly. Y/N would rethink everything she ever said in front of the media wondering whether she sounded fake or not. She would wake in the middle of the night, pacing like a ghost, thinking she didn’t deserve Tom at all and that he would realise soon enough.

All would be lost.

Even though she thought no one noticed that she was slowly losing her mind, Tom did. He would look at her touching her face, getting lost in deep thoughts. He could feel her tossing and turning in the bed, every night. He would look through her while she’s looking through her phone. Her leg would never stop fidgeting while at rest. He noticed everything.

He took it upon himself to save her from the demons. It was late evening, Tom picked Y/N up from the set. The whole ride home, Y/N was on her phone, mindlessly scrolling through her twitter, reading every inch and every corner. No words could escape her.

When they reached home Y/N informed Tom that she was going to take a shower. Tom was in the kitchen getting the food ready, when he saw Y/N’s phone unattended on the kitchen island. He was tempted to go through with his plan.

He picked up her phone and unlocked it, he knew her password. He went on deleting every social media app from her phone and also changed his contact DP on her phone. Earlier it was an embarrassing childhood photo, he changed it to a scanned Polaroid photo of them together.

Y/N came out with a towel tied up her head. She grabbed two plates from the cabinet and set them on the island.

“What are you making?” she asks him.

“Rice paper rolls”

“So we’re having Vietnamese today, interesting”, she grabbed her phone to check her Instagram.

Where the fuck are all my apps?

“I think my phone has some defect, the Instagram and twitter apps got deleted”, Y/N says vigorously swiping through her phone.

“That’s not a defect I did that”, Tom served the dinner.

“You did what? You have no right to go through my phone and delete apps without my permission, Tom.”

“It’s for your own good, all of that shit was getting to your head”, he said calmly.

“No it wasn’t” she poorly defended herself.

“Yes it was, you were letting some random divs tell you what you are worth. That’s fucked up, babe”

She lets out a loud grunt, filled with frustration.

They both ate in silence, only the crunch of vegetables audible.

After Tom was done with his dinner, he got up, placed his dish in the sink, picked up his coat from the sofa and walked towards the door. Y/N’s eyes never stopped following his figure.

“I think I should go back to my apartment”, before Y/N could reply, Tom was out of the door.

They didn’t talk for a day but Y/N realised how peaceful she felt without having other people’s opinions being fed to her constantly. She felt less insecure about her body, her personality and especially Tom.

He loves me so much that he was ready to invade my privacy to help me.

She decides to call Tom, noticing the unfamiliar photo on his contact. The phone rung, he picked it up on the second ring.

“You little shit changed your photo, huh” her smile was audible.

“I did and I’m sorry”

“No, I’m sorry. You were right, I do feel better with all the noise gone, but you know what would make me feel much better, you, here with me”

---

Tom came over almost instantly, it was like he was already halfway to her apartment when she called. They were on the couch, watching a movie on Y/N’s laptop. Y/N had her head on Tom’s lap and he was playing with her hair.

Holding her breath, Y/N slowly said, “You didn’t need to save me, you know”

“I know”, he replies nonchalantly.

“But the real question is, would you run away with me?”

“Of course, where to darling?”

“Somewhere no one can find us and it’s only the two of us”, she scrunches her face.

“Do you remember the first time we kissed, at the pub?”

“Yeah”, she replied, fondly remembering that moment.

“You said we should go to Ireland together and I said don’t make empty promises”

“Well, do you want to run away to Ireland with me?”

“Yes”, he bent downwards and kissed her softly.

THE END

@mysticapples17 @storybookholland @flqwsome @hollandstanevans

#tom holland #tom holland x reader #tom holland fanfiction #tom holland imagine #tom holland x actress!reader #tom holland smut #tom holland fluff #tom holland x you #tom holland x y/n #tom holland self insert #harrison osterfeild x reader #harrison osterfield #harrison osterfield x you #marvel #marvel fanfiction #taylor swift

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thiswasinevitableid · 3 years

Note

71. you’re famous and you want to hide out in my bookstore which is fine except the stupid paparazzi won’t leave and now there’s a photo of us in the tabloids and they’re printing misinformation and why the fuck won’t you clear this up on your twitter account

Sternclay, NSFW, please!

Here you go! Let's end this round of meet uglies with a bang

The post-holiday slump is always the worst; everyone maxed out their credit cards last month and doesn’t want to buy anything, and the tourists won’t be back until the spring. It’s not that he’s concerned about keeping the lights on; Bookworms is popular and has a prime spot downton. It’s that he’s bored out of his mind.

All his orders for the day are in, everything’s been received and shelved, and he’s running out of things to tidy. If he’s lucky, the clouds that have been threatening a snowstorm since this morning will burst and drive some people to shelter among the stacks.

Dingdong

Thank the lord.

“Welcome to Bookworms, can I help you?”

The man stays by the door, peering through the glass onto the street while pulling off his beanie, “Huh? Oh, uh, nope, just coming in to, uh, get out of the cold.” He turns, and two realizations slap Joseph in the face.

One: this is the hottest man he has ever had the pleasure of seeing.

Two: He’s seen this man dozens of times, just never in person.

Barclay Cobb is a Food Network darling who got his start on Youtube, sharing recipes from vintage cookbooks he found at garage sales. That’s not why he’s starstruck, but it is probably why the taller man is hiding in the craft books alcove and keeps nervously looking his way.

“I won’t tell anyone you’re here, Mr. Cobb.”

“Phew” the man sighs, unzips his jacket, “thanks man. Thought I’d be bundled up enough that no one would spot me while I was out, but I didn’t get my hat on in time coming out of the Chinese place down the block.”

“I love that spot, they have the best beer-braised duck.”

“Yeah, I always stop by when I’m in town, they’re food is worth getting photographed for.”

It’s odd, everything he’s read suggests chef Cobb is friendly and warm when approached by fans in public.

“It’s not that I don’t appreciate that people like my shows but, I, uh, sometimes I just want to eat or walk down the street without someone taking pictures of me.”

“Do you want to head into the back sections? There’s no windows in that half of the store.”

“Sweet, thanks. Uh, would it be cool if I autographed any books of mine you have? I like doing that, means I can send a little business towards smaller stores.”

“Of course. Here, the cookbooks are on this wall.” He slips into his office to grab a sharpie while Barclay pulls a stack of books and sits down on the floor. As the scratching of the pen fills the air, Joseph takes a trip to the paranormal and occult section, coming back with three copies of The Case for Bigfoot.”

“Y’know, not everyone stocks these.” Barclay smiles as he adds the paperbacks to the pile.

“Which is terrible business; you’re just as famous in the cryptozoology community as you are in the foodie one. This is the best book on bigfoot ever written, and I should know; I run a, um, a blog where I review books on paranormal topics.”

“You a true believer?” The cook blows on his signature in the copy of Desserts for All Seasons

“More an optimistic skeptic; your book is perfect because you make your case using actual evidence instead of reporting the same ten, poorly verified stories that everyone includes in their books. And I appreciated that you included recipes from the places you visited; that was a very nice touch.”

“Funny story about that” Barclay freezes as the front door opens. There’s definitely more than one person coming in, and when Joseph pokes his head around the corner he sees fifteen people, all with cameras or phones.

“Shit. You might want to hide in my office for a few minutes.”

By the time the crowd reaches him, Joseph is almost done re-shelving the signed books.

“Good afternoon, let me know if you need help finding anything.”

“Uh, yeah, we do, someone saw Barclay Cobb in your store-”

“Strange, we’ve only had one customer” he winces as someone’s shoulder knocks a hardcover off its display, “I didn’t get a good look at them before they went downstairs.” He tips his head at the staircase to the YA and Graphic Novel sections and is promptly knocked into the shelf as the throng hurries away.

“Come on, I can get you out through the back door” Joseph whispers to the Red Dust on his Soul poster on his office door. Barclay is remarkably quiet for a man his size as they sneak across the floor and let frigid, January air rush into the store.

“Thanks man” Barclay whispers, “I owe you one.” He sets a big hand on Joseph’s shoulder, squeezes it with a wink, then pulls on his hat and disappears into a crowd coming off at the bus stop.

---------------------------------------------------

Joseph always comes in through the back, flipping on lights as he goes, so the sea of bodies pressed to the front windows like a zombie horde surprises him. He knows Barclay tweeted about the signed copies, but this seems like excessive excitement even for a celebrity chef.

“Morning, Joseph--whoa, what the heck?” Aubrey clocks in without taking her eyes off the crowd, “why is everyone here this early.”

“Fan culture. I think.” The registers finish waking up, “I’ll pay holiday rates if you open that door for me.”

Aubrey gives a thumbs up, unlocks the double doors, and is swallowed up so quickly he worries she might have been trampled until she emerges near the greeting cards. Some people swarm the cookbooks, but an alarming number cluster around the counter, all shouting for his attention.

“How long have you been seeing Chef Cobb?”

“What?, I, I’m not-”

“Does he often visit your store?”

“No! He just came by yesterday!” There’s a horrible clatter of all the books on display near the door taking each other out like dominoes.

“Do you fuck in the backroom all the time?”

“Oh come on” He pushes past the man who asked that, deals with shouting all the way to his office and slams the door. A quick Google search for “Barclay Cobb” brings up a blurry photo of them in the alley, Barclays hand on his shoulder, and multiple headlines speculating on why the reclusive chef and author has chosen a nobody bookstore employee (he’s the owner, damn it) as his lover.

Okay, there’s a logical, easy fix to this.

He opens the door enough to speak, whistles so everyone will be quiet and listen to him, “I’m sorry, there’s been a misunderstanding. Mr. Cobb isn’t in any kind of relationship with me; he just came into the store yesterday for some peace and quiet. So, if you’re looking for information about him, this is not the place for it. If you’re looking for the signed books, the cookbooks are there, and the paranormal section is just around that corner.” He gives his best customer service smile as the paparazzi exchange perplexed glances.

“...Is it true he bought you this store?”

“Wh--no! We rent this space.”

“From him?”

“Arggh!” He closes the door, slumps against it and cards his fingers through his hair. As he contemplates closing for the day, he spots a little, copper card on his desk. It’s Barclay’s, which is what he expected, but when he flips it over there’s a message scribbled in pen.

Main St Hotel, room 503, here until Monday.

He pulls out his phone, tells Aubrey she’s allowed to get the crowd out by any means necessary except for fire, and elbows his way out into the winter air.

------------------------------------------

Barclay almost purrs when he peers through the peephole in the hotel door; Joseph, as his nametag read, is standing on the carpet, looking twice as handsome as he did yesterday. His cheeks are even a little pink, and Barclay has some thoughts on how to make that blush deepen.

“Hey, glad you found-”

Joseph holds up his phone, screen in Barclays face, “please fix this.”

“Oh fuck.” He ushers him in, “I’m so sorry, I thought they’d stopped doing this shit.”

“No, and they’re fucking up my inventory as a result.”

“On it, lemme text my assistant, she’s good at drafting these kind of messages.”

“Thank the lord. Right, thank you for that, I’ll go now.”

“Wait” Barclay reminds his instincts that blocking the door is rude, “do you wanna stay a few minutes? You look kinda stressed.”

“Because my store is being overrun!” Joseph snaps, then takes a deep breath and straightens his sleeves, “I’m sorry, that wasn’t called for, this morning has just been a mess. And it, um, it’s a little bittersweet to have people thinking I could land a hot chef when I can’t get past a first date with most people. Um, sorry. Too much information. That’s a bad habit of mine.”

Barclay tucks his hands into his pants pockets, “About that. Y’know how I left my card?”

Blue eyes blink, then brighten, “I thought that might be the reason but I dismissed it as wishful thinking.”

“Nope. A guy who's hot, nerdy, and competent enough to sneak me away from the paparazzi? Sign me the fuck up.”

“I’m not opposed to a, um, tryst, but I really, really need to get back to the store, I can’t abandon Aubrey to deal with this mess on her own, that’s not fair, and now we’ll have to reorder things too....” He laughs, a tense sound, “good lord, I get a chance to fuck a celebrity crush and I’m turning it down for work.”

“Hey” Barclay sets his hands on Joseph’s shoulders, “it’s okay. You’re not the first guy to be married to his job. But, uh, out of curiosity, you got any vacation days to spare?”

----------------------------------------------

“This is all yours?” Joseph takes in the sprawling farm as Barclay unlocks the front door of a charmingly rustic house.

“Yep, all the way to the creek and all the way to the road. Might surprise you, but I like my privacy.”

“I’d never have guessed.” He replies with faux shock.

“Smartass.” Barclay kisses his cheek, holds the door open with his shoulder so Joseph can pull his bags inside. He packed as light and efficiently as he could for two weeks away (he’d initially planned on one until Aubrey and Moira ganged up on him and told him he hadn’t taken a real vacation in years so he was taking one now, damn it) but his suitcase is still heavy as he rolls it to the stairs.

“I got that.” Barclay shoulders his own travel bag and hoists Joseph’s in the other hand, carrying them to the second floor like they’re nothing more than pillows.

The week the chef was in Madison, Joseph went to his hotel almost every night. Fell asleep in his bed more than once, when discussions of fusion cuisine or the Fresno Nightcrawler turned into frantic, heated kisses under the covers. It’s only when the cook drops all luggage into the master bedroom that the truth of why he’s on this trip sets in.

“You really invited me all the way here because you think I’m hot.”

“Yeah but no.” Barclay drapes his arms over his shoulders, lips still a little chilly as he kisses them, “brought you here because you’re smart” another kiss, this one on his jaw, “and funny” another, on his nose, “and you’re the biggest bigfoot fan I know.”

“You wrote a book on it!”

“Point stands. And yeah” he pushes Joseph back so he lands on the bed, crawling atop him as he growls, “I invited you here because you’re so hot I wanna pour sugar on you and see if it melts. Now get your pants off; I’ve been thinking about sucking your dick since we left the city.”

------------------------------------------

“How did the whole bigfoot thing start?” Joseph sips his Irish Coffee as Barclay puts his feet into his lap.

“Guess the same way any famous person ends up with two gigs; I was doing the thing I love, then was dicking around on cryptid hunter forums and found out I was also hella good at researching bigfoot. By the time I got really into it, I had enough cash that I could write my book without worrying about going broke. Helps that I’d handed off The Arch and The Lodge and was just the exec chef on them, since then I could travel if I needed to.”

Joseph nods, moves one hand down to rub Barclays foot; in spite of no longer working the kitchens of his five restaurants or having to test recipes for the books right now, he spent most of today on his feet making elaborate meals for two. Joseph teases him that he’s trying to stuff him to the point he can’t leave. Barclay always chuckles and says he doesn’t know how right he is. The last two days, Joseph then wraps his arms around his boyfriend and tells him he’d stay forever if he could.

He’s never thought of himself as romantic; he’s pragmatic, knows that relationships are things built out of time, trial, and error. But god help him, he’s fallen for Barclay like they’re rom-com leads with only ninety minutes to reach their happy ending.

They’re out near the creek--really more of a small river--the next morning, talking about books and speculating on the existence of life on other planets, when a storm sweeps through the trees. As trunks groan and roots pull loose from the snow, Barclay calls, “we better head back.”

He gives a thumbs up. Then the ice under him cracks.

He doesn’t correct course quickly enough, the rest dropping from under him and dunking him in freezing water. It’s deep, too deep to stand, but he’s a decent swimmer and kicks towards the surface. When the shadow covers the opening with a boom, panic threatens to push the rest of his precious breath away.

The tree that fell across the ice is heavy, and no matter how he pushes it won’t give. He bangs on the ice on either side, trying to get it to crack, but his lungs scream and his limbs alert him that the cold will soon shut them down.

He closes his eyes, trying to think, not ready to give up, not with Barclay so close. There’s a groan of wood and frozen water. His mouth opens without permission, desperate for air, and chokes him on frost instead.

-----------------------------------

“...be dead, please don’t be dead, please please please don’t be fucking dead.”

“Nnff.” That’s not what he meant to say, but it seems to calm the voice above him.

“Thank fuck. I’m so sorry, I got to you as fast as I could, do, do you need anything?” Barclay sounds exhausted.

“Cold.” He mutters.

“I’m trying to warm you up gradually, that’s what the first aid book said but, uh, here.” Warm, fuzzy arms draw him into a hug.

Wait.

The first thing he sees when his eyes flutter open are arms covered in reddish-brown fur. When Barclay rubs their cheeks together, it tickles more than his beard usually does.

“Barclay? What the hell is going on?”

“Uh. So.” He’s rolled with ease to face a creature he’s never seen and eyes that he’d know anywhere, “I’m bigfoot. Or, uh, a bigfoot. Maybe that’s kinda obvious now.”

His brain crackles to life, “What better way to stay undiscovered than get famous by giving people the wrong information about you.”

“Some of it’s true. Just not anything people could use to actually find me.”

“Smart, big guy” Joseph pets his face.

“You’re taking this pretty well.”

“I think my system is too shocked to experience more shock.” He shudders, “relatedly, how’d I get out of the river?”

“I lifted the tree off and pulled you free. Took my disguise off to do that and, uh, the fucking thing fell into the water when I got you. So I’m gonna be stuck like this until a friend of mine can get me a new one.”

“No complaints here. You look incredible.” He runs his hands up and down Barclay’s side and chest, warmth seeping into his fingers as he does, “But I’m a little surprised you were willing to risk someone seeing you or me blabbing to someone and trashing your whole life in the process.”

A low rumble as Barclay kisses his forehead, “It’s worth it. I, this is gonna sound so fucking cheesy, but I haven’t felt this way about someone in a long time, and there was no way I was gonna lose you.”

“Oh.” Affection and surprise well up in his throat, pressing down his words so all he can do is nestle closer to the cryptid and let himself be loved.

His mind rebounds quickly from his misadventure. His body would like him to remember it for a while so he doesn’t put it in such jeopardy again any time soon. Instead of helping Barclay with cooking and chores, he lays under the covers while the storm rattles the roof and the cook clangs pots on the lower floor.

Barclay, attentive to a fault, is downright doting now that he’s stuck in bed. He’s never without a hot drink or something to read, and the cryptid is happy to answer the majority of his questions about the finer points of being bigfoot. When it’s bedtime, his boyfriend pulls him atop his massive frame and cuddles him, whispering over and over that he’s glad he’s okay, until they fall asleep.

Today followed much the same pattern, though when dinner time rolls around he gets a fantastic surprise.

“Chocolate fondue?” He peers hopefully at the bed tray in Barclays hands.

“Only the best for you, babe.” The cook sets the burnished wood down on the bedside table, “we lucked out, the berries I bought last week are ripe.”

Joseph reaches for the fork, but Barclay beats him to it.

“You should save your energy. Since you’re, uh, still recovering.”

He shrugs, sets his hands in his lap and opens his mouth for a chocolate dipped raspberry. It doesn’t take long to spy Barclay’s ulterior motive. The cook has a whole wardrobe designed to fit his cryptid form, but it’s having trouble concealing certain things.

“You’re getting off on this.”

“I, uh, I, maybe a little” Barclay blushes under his fur.

Joseph raises an eyebrow, tilts his head at the bulge in Barclay’s pants, “You call that ‘little’?”

A rumbly whine, the fork paused halfway to Joseph’s mouth, “I can’t help it. I’ve got a thing for taking care of partners, especially ones who are all competent and put-together the rest of the time, and you look so good when you eat and, ohfuck.”

Joseph inhales sharply as chocolate hits his exposed upper chest. It’s not hot enough to burn, and he moans as the sensation seeps across his skin. Barclays eyes, wide and ravenous, keep flicking between the splatter and his face.

“Looks like you made a mess, big guy.” Joseph begins undoing the remaining buttons on his pajamas, “you should clean it up.”

“Fuck yeah.” Barclay lunges, mouth first, lapping and sucking at the marked skin as Joseph laughs. Their shirts hit the floor together as he digs his nails into auburn fur. Barclay grunts at the pressure, sits up with a grin, and drips a line of chocolate down the right side of Joseph’s ribs.

“Oops. Better fix that too.”

“Cleanliness is importantAH, ahhnn.” He squirms a bit as Barclay nuzzles his stomach before dragging his tongue up his skin. There’ve been times he mourned the fact T didn’t make him as hairy as some other guys, but right now he’s grateful for the clear canvas Barclay can mark however he pleases.

“A mess can be more fun.” The cook licks his lips, sucks a hickey above his belly button, “and by the time I’m done with you, babe, won’t be a single part of you that isn’t one.”

“Then get to it.” He shoves his pants down, lets Barclay pull them the rest of the way off and fold them. He lays back, resting his arms behind his head, and moans as the cook drizzles chocolate on each hip. Joseph feels like a gourmet dessert and, from the growls between his thighs, Barclay intends to treat him like one.

His boyfriend is always enthusiastic when sucking him off, but tonight he throws finesse out the window in favor of burying his face at the crease of each thigh in turn, licking his hips clean while clawing at his calves and sides. He lifts his head, wipes his mouth with a satisfied grin that shows the points of his teeth, and dives down again.

Joseph yelps with pleasure, the hint of fangs hitting all his buttons, lighting him up like downtown on a dark night. It’s intense, the scratch of fur on skin just different enough from the usual beard to remind him of who’s down there, and his legs try to kick closed. Barclay growls again, holding them open with ease.

“Not until I’m done with you, babe.”

He surrenders to flood of feelings from both outside and within him, Barclay’s sheer delight at his body rendering all his doubts and worries toothless and small, quieting them until all he can think about is incredible creature holding and all he can say is some variation on-

“Barclay, please, right there, lordalmighty that’s good, that’s so good big guy, please.” He squeezes his eyes shut, craving the impending orgasm more than he has words for. Barclay sucks determinedly and huffs, pleased, as Joseph's thighs tense in his hold and his climax chases away the remnants of yesterday's aches.

As his brain insists that really, body, opening our eyes isn’t that hard, there’s a metallic zip and strong legs bracketing his thighs.

“Here I thought you couldn’t look any better.” He murmurs as Barclay gleefully strokes his cock, “as soon as my brain works again, I’m coming up with so many ways to use that gorgeous thing.”

“Can’t, fuck, can't wait to hear ‘em, but I only got one for tonight; I’m gonna use it to cum alllll over that fucking perfect body, fuck, Joseph, you look so good when you’re ruined, fuck.” An impressive amount of cum spatters up his stomach, chest, and neck as Barclay howlgrowlpurrs and then sets his hands carefully on the bed.

Joseph’s whole body is sticky with chocolate, sweat, and cum, and Barclay definitely has at least two of those things mussed into his fur.

“You’re right, big guy, a mess can be fucking amazing.”

That being said, being sticky gets old quick, and soon they’re in the tub, Joseph whistling as he shampoos Barclay’s chest. The cryptid hasn’t stopped purring, and every time he looks Joseph’s way the sound deepens.

“When are you next in the city?”

The cook yawns, “Was gonna check on how the new chef de cuisine is getting on at Kepler in about two week.”

“Would you like to stay with me? It’s not fancy, but it’s close to the Ismuth, so you can get to Kepler on foot without trouble, and there are fewer crowds there this time of year. I suspect paparazzi are also less likely to track you down at some random house than at a hotel. That might make up for my lack of, um, high class amenities.”

“Good point. But I gotta be honest babe; as long as you’re there, that’s all I need to be happy.”

#sternclay #agent stern/ barclay #meet ugly #taz amnesty #terato #monster boyfriend #trans agent stern

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downywrites · 3 years

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if you're willing, i have a prompt i'd like to see you write maybe, if you want!

bench trio focused fic, with lee!tommy and ler!tubbo and ranboo! tommy's just feeling a mixture of bored and sad, and he keeps getting lost in his thoughts, which never turns out well. so he goes to tubbo and ranboo to hang out with them, which they're fine with. but they suggest like, doing something simple, and while tommy would usually be fine with that, it gives him too much time to think.

so he starts harassing tubbo and ranboo, trying to get them to distract him without saying that At All. and one (or both) of them gets fed up with tommy and tickles him a Little Bit to get him to stop. and tommy realizes that like... while he's being tickled, he's not Thinking! and it's always been comforting and nice and everything but he really just wants to stop thinking and lose himself to tickling.

so he keeps provoking, trying to get what he wants. but his friends keep stopping just as he starts to reach the point without thinking, and it's infuriating to tommy. so after they back off like the fifth time, tommy groans loudly, like. visibly frustrated. maybe crying a little. and tubbo and ranboo are worried, because they didn't think they went too far, but he's upset, but they thought he liked gentle tickles, but --

and tommy just forces himself to explain. poorly, because he can't say the t-word, and doesn't want to actually fully ask for it, but he's like "i don't want to think! i don't want to be thinking!!" and tubbo and ranboo are like ;-; and agree to just annihilate him. like "oh, tommy, don't worry... we'll tickle you until you forget your own name~" and decimate him. and tommy just loses himself to the tickly haze and teasing and eventually after a while he taps out, and they cuddle and he feels safe and head foggy and it's. soft.

fhsjjd that's a lot and i'm very sorry, but i am just. feeling so much. these guys make me so soft i am... yes.... fjsjjf your writing is so good thank u for my life!! ~🍄

I simplified this prompt quite a bit, haha. Bird tried their best. Hope you like it. (Bird is very tired. If this doesn’t make sense, please blame the monster energy.)

Bench trio focused fic- tommy is sad-bored and wants a distraction ft clueless!beeduo

Tick. Tock. The sound of Tommy’s clock pierced the silence of his house. The noise of the old redstone contraption chafed at his already waning sanity, making the boy growl lowly under his breath. The soft screeching of the rusty mechanical parts made him feel as if his entire body was on edge, tense like a bowstring pulled taut before a duel. He sighed in frustration, throwing his bedcovers to the side and pulling himself out of the warm bedsheets. He snatched a torch from the outside of his house and walked outside, wobbling a little on his feet from the speed at which he moved. He yawned loudly, searching for his two closest friends through his bleary eyes.

“Tubbo? Ranboo? I’m bored, come on!” He grumbled to himself, walking slowly on the wooden walkways as to not make his head swim anymore. His mind filled with traitorous thoughts again, unintentional consequences of being a big man like him. ‘They’ve probably left you. Tubbo loves Ranboo more than you. They are platonically married. You are an outsider. Outsider. Outsider. Outsider…’ He shook his head, dirty blonde locks flopping from side to side and sticking to his face a little as he did so. ‘I can’t think like this. They like me a lot, I know it! They’re probably working on the mansion-’ ‘Yeah, working on the mansion. Without you. Can’t you see it, Tommy? They’re doing it without you. You’re worthless to them. Worthless.’ “Shut up, shut up!” He clutched at his head. His fingers dug deep into his hair, scraping roughly at his scalp. “Shut the fuck up!”

He sunk to one knee, struggling to ignore the whispers and hisses of ‘liar’ and ‘traitor’ in a familiar, mocking voice. He focused on the sound of the birds chirping in the background. The birdsong sounded lyrical, beautiful. Like the sound of his discs. The discs….Did he remember what they sounded like? What did they sound like? The gap in memory made his head hurt even more. ‘I need to find out what they sound like again, I want to know. I need to get to Big T. He knows.’ He put his hands on the ground, wincing at the feeling of small splinters digging into the palms of his hands. He pushed. He felt the air on his back as he got up, shaky on his feet again.

Swears filled the air as he forced his body to move faster than he normally would on a lazy Sunday. His legs ached. Everything ached. Why did it ache again? He didn’t know. He wanted Tubbo. The feelings of melancholy boredom spread to the whole of the server. The bees buzzed quietly, lazing about on the branches of the trees. The plants swayed as if molasses had covered their leaves, dripping smoothly down onto the dirt and made patterns as the cold winds blew them around. The autumn sky, gold and rose and yellow from the rays of the sun that beamed directly overhead, seemed to be an endless canvas that Tommy could not reach, could not touch with his small, battered hands. He exhaled shakily as he ran, footsteps thudding solidly as old, weather shoes made contact with the wood. He ran through fields and flora, looking for familiar ram horns, for familiar black and white skin with the glimmer of a tarnished crown.

Time went by, and he slowed back down to a jog, searching as well as he could through the dense forests he wandered into. “Tubbo? Big T?” He called through his quiet wheezing. “Where are you guys?” The forest did not answer. The trees closed in on him. He curled up on the floor, pulling his bandana over his eyes a little. The fabric became damp. Soft grass hugged him slightly, clinging on to his damp skin as he shivered. He whimpered, curling in on himself more as a chilling wind howled by his face through the trees. “Ranboo….Tubbo..anyone?” His voice was nothing but a whisper now, barely audible through the rustling of the trees. Trembling violently, he cried softly.

“Tommy? Tommy!”

And there was light. He shot upright, gasping for breath. His hair stayed plastered to his face, mussed up and stringy from sweat. He looked through the tangle to see a familiar concerned face. “Tubbo.” “Big T, you were shaking all around! It was so scary! Are you okay?” He nodded, sighing in relief. He pushed his hair aside, sky blue eyes piercingly bright for someone who just woke up. “What happened?” Tubbo tapped his hoof on the ground nervously. He looked at the floor sheepishly, muttering a little under his breath. A moment passed. “Well, you see...we- um…” The glint of a crown caught Tommy’s eye at the doorway.

“We found you passed out in one of the dark oak forests. We weren’t sure what you were doing, but we didn’t think it was safe to leave you out there.” His breath caught. His voice squeaked a little when he spoke. “O-oh.” Much to his comfort, Ranboo said nothing, deciding to arrange some of the books on the shelf. Tommy scanned the room a little, taking in his surroundings a little more. The room looked empty, for the most parts. Things were scattered throughout the area, save for the bed underneath him, which seemed to be..seemed..to..be… “Is this your guys’s bed?!?”

Tubbo and Ranboo burst into raucous laughter. Tubbo sank to the floor, hiccuping slightly and wagging his little tail a mile a minute. Ranboo held it together a little better, hiding his chuckles behind a half-gloved hand. “Pff..yeah. Want to help me organize these books? We need some help putting them in order. And after this, we may need some help furnishing the place.” Tommy nodded. After all, he did end up intruding on them. It would be rude not to return the favor. He carefully extracted himself from the bed, slipping on his shoes haphazardly in a bid to follow him out the door. He hopped on one foot, cursing, as one of the shoes slipped off, obviously requiring some form of lace tying. Ranboo snorted quietly at the boy’s struggle, tails whisking elegantly in his wake. He stepped carefully down the stairs, avoiding the rougher parts of the unpolished stones and wood. He traced the railings with his hand, claws scraping lightly over the waxy coating. As he turned to look at the carvings and smooth wood, Tommy saw a glint of gold on his pitch-colored horn.

A feeling of slight jealousy twinged gently in his chest. He sneered internally at it, batting at it like a younger sibling. ‘Tubbo had his reasons to marry him. It’s not my business.’ His inner voice said otherwise. It whispered hauntingly into his ear. ‘But it is! Tubbo’s your best friend, is he not? Why did he marry someone else other than you? Did he really like you in the first place? Or was it the discs all-’ He shook his head vehemently. ‘No.’ Ranboo paid him no heed. He was busy, after all. So very busy, cleaning up dust carefully from the corners of the bookshelves further below him. He swiped off a speck of dust off his clothing quickly. “You coming or what?” Tommy nodded, hoping that he saw from their perspective down below. He ran down the stairs quickly, cursing a little when he missed a step or two as he went down. Ranboo watched in amusement, tails sweeping the floor as he waited. All the while, Dream’s voice hissed in his ears. ‘Worthless. Liar. He’s not worth it. Kill him.’

Thankfully for Tommy, he was used to phantoms whispering in his ears. Blatantly ignoring the annoying noise, he glared daggers at the tuxedo-covered back in front of him. ‘How do I get rid of this annoying fuck?’ Ranboo failed to notice his heated gaze. “Help us with these books, will you? Tubbo has been arguing with me about the placement for weeks now.” He kneeled down, coaxing his friend to sit down next to him in the pile of scattered books. Tommy’s mind whirled as he sorted them into differing piles. Tubbo and Ranboo’s voices faded in and out. The only voice he could hear the whole time was Dream. And Dream’s voice said things he really didn’t want to hear. He growled lowly under his breath, hoping that his inner voice would shut itself off.

Tubbo bleated in surprise at the small noise. “Big man, you okay? You haven’t been saying anything.” He poked at his side tentatively with a single finger. He yelped, bolt blue eyes widening in shock at the sudden contact. Tubbo grinned, mischief glimmering deep in his eyes. He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, pulling his fingers close to himself and forming claws with them. “Oh, Tommy~ I think we could make a little more noise together if I messed with you a wee bit..” Ranboo looked at his platonic husband, then back at the blond-haired boy. “What are we-” And there was the click of recognition. Tommy could recognize that lightbulb moment anywhere. “Oh.” His ears drooped a little, some sort of enderman thing Tommy failed to remember how to translate. He flicked his gaze towards his eyes for the smallest of moments, before looking back down sheepishly. “I-uh, sorry, Ranboo.” The words felt foreign in his mouth. His apology tasted like sawdust, like the breath of a life once forgotten.

He turned away, starting to push himself up. “I’ll see myself out.” A hand grabbed at his shoulder, dulled claws digging in slightly and revealing its owner. “You’re feeling bad.” With a crane of his neck, he saw red-green eyes boring into his soul. “We’re going to help with it, alright?” Ranboo’s voice softened with his grip, waiting for the other’s response. His eyelids fluttered shut without his volition, letting him bask in the blessed darkness for a moment. “If you can.” He was gently brought back down to the ground. He felt himself get draped over someone’s lap, someone gently carding their hands through his hair.

As they did, the strap of Dream’s mask wrapped around his throat. It tightened slowly, stealing his breath, his words. His voice grew near, rough and harsh and tasting like rocks in his mouth when he takes a tumble. He choked on air a little. “Please.” Soft, quiet voices wrapped around him. “Can we start, Toms?” A nod. What else can he say? The pain of speaking was too much. Dream’s wheeze filled his thoughts. He was sinking, sinking...the gentle tracing of a shape on his tummy snapped him back to reality. He opened his eyes blearily, giggling softly. “Hehey…”

“Yes, Toms?” And there he was. Tubbo traced the shape on his tum again, ear twitching as his laughter shifted in intensity and pitch. “Does this make it feel better? I know the voices aren’t making this any easier for you.” He scribbled his fingers over his stomach with the care of a nurse, avoiding the myriad axe scars left from battles with a tyrant he could never win against, not without the rest of the server on his side. “It’s okay, Tommy. Let it out.” He giggled freely, hands coming up to the goat hybrid’s wrists before he could stop them. The young president let them be, choosing to move to his sides and spider his fingers gently over the sensitive skin there.

Tommy bucked softly, trying his best not to dislodge his hands. The feeling helped keep him grounded, just barely. He felt like he was floating, but at least this time he wasn’t floating away. He hung there, frozen in time. The voice had stopped, but he still felt its presence. It sat patiently, waiting for him to fill the holes in his heart with his inventory of memories, tnt in hand. He tensed up, feeling even more helpless than before. Tubbo slowed down, confused. “Do you not want-” “I want- I-I need- “ He stumbled over his words like a child. Frustrated, he tried again. His tongue felt heavy, as if he had swallowed cotton. “I need rougher. Not thinking. Please.” His grip tightened on Tubbo’s wrists. He could feel his friend’s heartbeat, a solid, stable drumming like the march of a thousand men. It sang, like a burbling brook. ‘What do I want?’ His mind felt..wrong. “Please.”

Tubbo complied. “Rougher. Alright. Ranboo?” The enderman vwooped quietly. “Yes?”

“Pin his arms. We need him to be immobilized, he’s a bit of a kicker.” Tommy flushed a little at the statement, mouth opening to retort. Tubbo took the moment to dig into his sides, earning a strangled bark of laughter from his throat. “eHAHA! Tuhubbo!” The hybrid merely flicked his ear at his friend’s words. “Yeah, big man? What do you want, hmm?” Ranboo grabbed at his wrists, pinning them together with one smooth grab. His face burned quietly from the way his claws scratched at his palms unintentionally as he shifted his grip. He turned his head away from the duo, giggles bubbling up from his chest at the embarrassing position. “You ready, Tommlee?”

“Shut the fuHUHUCK UHUP! TUHUHUBBS!” Tubbo wasted no time, pinning him down to the floor with his weight and scribbling his nails over his lower ribs. “Isn’t his tickle laugh so cute, Ranni? It’s so mellow when he’s giggling, but it’s so rough when we’re wrecking his shit!” Ranboo snorted over the din, flicking one of his tails ever so slightly over one of his sides in a low-effort attempt to help his husband. “I mean, that seems pretty normal to me. Imagine having a gentle laugh when you’re being absolutely destroyed.” His deadpan voice hid the faintest trace of a smile in its depths.

Looking at the squirming boy in his hands, he put both of his arms in one hand, using the other to claw at his underarm. Much to his surprise, Tommy squealed loudly, shaking his head vigorously at the sensation. “RAHAHANBOHOO!” He bucked wildly, trying his best to escape the almost torturous feeling in his hollows. Tubbo moved from his lower ribs to his upper ribs, poking and prodding each one to find, as he called it, the ‘scream-button’. Ranboo, emboldened by the blonde’s reaction, rubbed his claws gently over his friend’s neck and ears. He swiped his tail over his exposed tummy and hips, making Tommy squeak through his laughter. “Guhuhuhuhuys- EEE! TUHUBBO, NOHAHAHA!”

Tubbo’s tail wagged happily behind him, shaggy and obviously ungroomed from his incessant cleaning duties in the household. “Found it!” He prodded a spot right beside Tommy’s second and third ribs, scratching lightly at the spot right where the rib bone met the sternum. Tommy all but shrieked in Ranboo’s grasp. The enderman folded back his ears as much as he could, grateful that endermen have the ability to muffle the screams of their own kind (and in turn, other rather loud things that go EEEE in the night).

“So, Tommy, you still hearing them voices?” The blonde shook his head. “NohoHO?!? WAHAHAIT, NAHAHA!” “Tickle tickle! Man, Tommy, you look so cute when you laugh!” His laughter echoed through the mansion, filling each corner and crevice with unbounded joy. Finally, Tommy could take it no longer. He tapped on his arm 3 times, making Tubbo and Ranboo freeze.

Ranboo released his hands as quickly as he could, apologizing when Tommy rubbed at his wrists to get rid of the slight burning sensation deep in the muscles. Sitting up slowly, the blonde panted, smile painted almost permanently on his face. His eyes, dazed but somehow still sharp enough to recognize his two best friend’s equally wide smiles, wandered over the couple’s kneeling forms. Tubbo moved closer to his side, bonking his shoulder playfully with his horns. “So, how’s the voices?”

Tommy looked back at him in blurry-eyed confusion. He tilted his head slightly, matted locks succumbing to gravity ever so slightly. “What voices?” Ranboo chuckled lowly on his other side. “That’s my man.” He slung an arm around his shoulder, purring softly. They sat there in comfortable silence. The sound of wind chimes outside and the gentle crackle of the fireplaces all over the place made the blonde’s eyes close by themselves. He sighed, a noise of contentment in a field of green and blue and yellow and red. “I hope I never wake up from this dream.” And he smiled just a little more when he heard a familiar voice answer, “Me too, Big T.”

“Me too.”

#downywrites #dsmp tickle #mcyt tickle #my writing #lee!tommyinnit #ler!ranboo #ler!tubbo #sfw tickling

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glassworkspiderlilies · 3 years

Text

lily blooded

Piofiore no Banshou | Dante/Liliana, Nicola | AO3 Summary: There is worry that goes around, when Liliana Adornato, raised a church girl all her life, becomes Liliana Falzone, thereby officially moving into the Falzone manor and taking up the position of a mafia wife. She settles in just fine. Notes: spent five hours typing 4k words in one sitting and had an enormous amount of fun...love the falzone boys. :’)

There is worry that goes around, when Liliana Adornato becomes romantically involved with the young Falzone Boss. After all, she was raised a church girl through and through, pious and idealistic, seemingly untouched by such violence that the mafia is so often exposed to or the cause of. Even those who do know her history of run-ins with the mafia worry at least a little, because it’s one thing to be caught up in their problems or under their protection, and another to be the lover of one of the most prominent Family’s Boss.

Liliana can be described in many ways, but they all boil down to the same thing—polite, well-mannered, pious, gentle…if one must offer up a flaw, then it is probably that she can work herself too hard for those she cares for, and that she can be kind to a fault. All in all, she is not the sort of girl that one imagines entangled with the mafia. Though the rest of the Falzone family are used to her presence—and enjoy it—even they will consider her something of the Family princess, a delicate girl to be protected, even more so because she is their Boss’ precious lady.

It is something of a surprise when Dante Falzone and Liliana Adornato are married in springtime, and she becomes Liliana Falzone. Oh, there was never any doubt of their deep affection for each other, but marriage is simply more binding, especially when one marries into the mafia.

Nevertheless, the wedding is celebrated with joy, and Liliana officially moves into the Falzone manor and takes on the position of a mafia wife—the lady of the Falzone Family, a woman with even more status and position than before—

And she settles in just fine.

The Falzone soldati are surprised when they walk into the training rooms one day to see their Boss and his Lady in front of the targets. There is a gun in Lili’s hands, and Dante is standing behind her, helping position her arms and correcting her posture. It would be something out of a romance novel considering how he is practically cradling her to teach her, but the soldati see the absolute seriousness in both of their eyes, and they understand that this is not some mere whim of either of theirs.

It makes sense, for a mafia wife to learn to shoot a gun. But even so, it is a shock seeing the weapon in Lili’s hands, when they are so used to her cheerfully passing out plates of dolce or taking flowers from the Boss with a radiant smile.

But she does not cut much of an intimidating figure, even with the sheer focus on her face, and she yelps when she fires the gun, stepping backwards into Dante’s chest. It’s something of a relief that this incongruent thing does not seem to change her at all.

Dante chuckles a little, but repositions her.

“You’ll get used to the recoil,” he says, and Lili laughs a little, looking at her shaking hand.

“I’m used to the sound, after everything that’s happened,” she says ruefully, “But shooting one yourself is very different, isn’t it?”

Dante looks troubled.

“I still hope that you’ll never have to use one. But you’ve had to take my gun on at least two occasions and shoot on one, so…while I’d much rather protect you personally, or have Nicola or Leo do so, I will concede to the fact that it is much better for you to know how to shoot than not.”

“Thank you for agreeing to teach me, Dante,” Lili says warmly.

He sighs and gives her a wry smile.

“I didn’t expect you to ask for this,” he admits, “But you never fail to surprise me.”

Lili giggles, holding up the gun again and narrowing her eyes at the target.

“I love you, Dante,” she says simply, “So I’m prepared to stand by you, and that means the Family too. I don’t want to be a burden.”

“You are never a burden,” Dante says emphatically, a little pink from her declaration, and Lili smiles.

“Well, I’d like to be able to protect you, and the Family, at least a little bit,” she amends, “Just as you all protect me.” She tilts up to press a brief kiss to the corner of his mouth before she faces forward once more. “Can you show me again, please?”

Dante clears his throat, a little off balance from the kiss, then wraps his hands around hers again to assist her.

The soldati make their presence known after she fires the next shot, and the Boss and his wife greet them but continue with their own practice as the men begin their own. After an hour passes, Dante and Lili finish up and end their session for the day. She is only to shoot when either he, Nicola, or Leo are present until she becomes more proficient, and she waves cheerfully as she departs the room.

The soldati don’t think overmuch about this new development other than the fact that it does seem like a good idea if she can train herself to be a half decent shot. In their minds, Liliana is still that sweet church girl, even if she is now the donna of the Falzone Family. So long as she can hold a gun without shaking, that’s enough in their minds. When she’s hardly seen in the training rooms again, no one thinks less of her for it.

But something that they come to learn more fully in due time is that Liliana Falzone nee Adornato does not do things by halves.

Some months down the line, she and the Boss walk into a fairly populated practice room. They are greeted respectfully and space is made for them at one of the targets.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been able to practice with you much,” Dante apologizes to her, as they take up their positions.

“Don’t worry, you’ve been so busy,” Lili replies soothingly as she loads the gun with ease. Dante watches her and raises an eyebrow, but Lili merely smiles. “Nicola taught me a lot, and you know I’m cleared to practice by myself now.”

Dante hums, but she smiles at him, innocent and serene.

“I think I’ve improved a lot!” she chirps, facing the target, “I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. Look!”

Without hesitating, she fires off three shots in rapid succession, and the soldati are taken aback by both her accuracy and fluidity of movement. One hits the bullseye, the others hit fairly close. The room is silent, and Dante claps slowly, at which Lili smiles bashfully at.

“I practiced more at night, when the room was empty…it’s a little embarrassing to be watched when I’m doing poorly. The thing is, I’m actually aiming for the outer ring,” she confesses, “If I aim for the center, it has the opposite effect. I don’t think I can say I’m a good shot given that, really, but…I do okay, right?”

Dante blinks, then barks out a laugh.

“So this is what Nicola meant,” he says, “When he said you’re maybe the best-worst shot he’s ever seen.”

Lili turns pink, then even pinker when she realizes all the soldati have stopped to stare.

One by one, they incline their heads in respect.

“Donna,” they chorus, and though she continues to blush furiously, their Boss looks pleased.

Dante is very young, for a mafia Boss, and so he’d had to fight harder than others to cement his position. He’s treated with respect now, but his youth is always apparent when he attends meetings with other clans or business associates. He knows that he is still often being watched for weaknesses, and questioned silently as to whether he is truly good enough to lead the Falzone Family.

Dante is used to all that by now; in childhood, it’d been a burden. Now, he has the support of many, and leads with confidence and determination.

But he worries for Lili, now that they are married. Wives are expected to attend certain functions; as his lover, she’d been exempt from such things, but now that is no longer true. A dinner meeting with some longtime associates has been called, and it will be the first time Lili is attending something like this as his wife.

“I’m nervous,” Lili admits to him the night before. “But I’m ready, too.”

Dante kisses her forehead, and shows his appreciation slowly and sweetly. They rise late the next morning, but the dinner meeting is the only important thing on the agenda today, so they take their time getting ready.

Lili is stunning in her navy and silver gown, matching with Dante’s suit. Crystals wink at her ears and neck, and a bit of lipstick reddens her lips. Nicola smiles widely when he sees them, and Leo gasps in appreciation.

“Furrow your eyebrows a little,” Nicola suggests, poking the space between his own to demonstrate. “It’ll make you look more intimidating. Your natural face is a little too innocent.”

“I can’t help it,” Lili protests, the consequent scrunching of her eyebrows merely making her look cute, “It’s my face!”

“Yes, I suppose you don’t have Dante’s natural scary disposition at all,” Nicola sighs, “We’ll have to develop your expressions next time or they’ll eat you up.”

“Nicola,” Dante admonishes. “She’s fine as is. Stop making her more nervous.”

Nicola winks.

“Fine, fine. Then knock them dead some other way.”

“I thought the point was to establish better relations,” Lili blinks, and Nicola laughs.

“In the mafia, sometimes it’s one and the same,” he says cheerfully. “In any case, have fun!”

Lili gives him a confused look, but Dante tells her not to pay attention to him and they depart.

Nicola needn’t have worried, in the end.

True, the meeting starts off a little rocky—all of the associates return to their roots, consciously or not, and eye Dante and Lili for their youth. Dante has been tried true over the years, but Lili is fresh blood, and Nicola was right—she looks innocent, despite the darker style she is dressed in. Though she bears the stares of four middle-aged men and their regal wives admirably, they are like sharks in water, ready for the first hint of weakness.

All the women are mostly quiet throughout the dinner itself, but everyone loosens up afterwards, when they enjoy dessert and drinks and cigars. One of the wives offers to pour drinks, and while some of the men decline in favor of cigars and all the other women do, Lili is not given the opportunity to do so.

“Drink up, Signora Falzone,” the instigator says, “I chose the whiskey myself—it is not often we get the opportunity to drink such quality liquor in such good company.”

“Thank you, Signora Rossi,” Lili says smoothly, putting the glass to her lips as everyone watches, discreetly or not.

She drinks, her expression unchanged as the liquor hits her tongue, though her eyes widen a little as she swallows.

“Oh! It’s wonderful,” Lili says, smiling, “I’ve never had whiskey like this before. May I ask the brand?”

Madam Rossi looks a little mollified and shows her the bottle, though she pours more into Lili’s glass with a subtly mischievous look. The madam drinks as well, though less, and the other wives sip digestivos or wine as they begin to chat about various things, and Rossi continues to refill Lili’s glass throughout the conversation.

Dante does not fail to notice, but Lili puts a hand on his knee to let him know she is okay, and so he does nothing. The other men watch out of the corner of their eyes with interest, but say nothing either.

By the end of the night, half the associates and their wives are drunk, including Madam Rossi. Though Lili has had the most alcohol of all of them, she is practically still sober, if a little sleepy.

Signor Vallone, one who had simply smoked cigars and not drunk at all, laughs heartily in the lobby as their cars are prepared.

“Looks can be deceiving, indeed!” he says, shaking Lili’s hand merrily, “I’ve never seen anyone drink Signor Di Lucca or Signora Rossi under the table like that. That was fine entertainment in of itself.”

Lili demurs, and one of the other wives—Signora Albanesi, who had simply enjoyed one glass of wine—steps forward to say her goodbyes as well.

“It was a pleasure meeting you, my dear,” she says warmly, “Perhaps next time, you will recommend us your favorite drink instead, yes?”

“Of course, Signora,” Lili says, smiling back.

Everyone splits with good-natured farewells, almost as though they were simply friends parting for the night and not partners linked by criminal activities. The atmosphere is markedly different than it had been at the beginning of the night—true approval is not so easy to earn, but Lili has certainly garnered the fondness of the group in the course of a few hours.

She snuggles against Dante in the car, and he presses a kiss to the top of her head. She tilts her face up for a proper kiss, and Dante chuckles before he obliges.

“You taste like whiskey,” he says, amused, “And I’m impressed, myself. I know you can outdrink me, but it’s something to be able to drink more than Signor Di Lucci and Signora Rossi.”

“I did enjoy the whiskey,” Lili admits, “And she just…kept pouring. I thought it would be rude to refuse. But I still like the white wine we drink together best.”

Dante smiles.

“Shall we open a bottle when we get home?” he teases, and Lili giggles.

“If you’d like. I think I can handle one more,” she says, meaning the bottle, and Dante laughs.

“I know you hate these kinds of functions, Dante,” Nicola says amiably one afternoon in Dante’s office, “But it’s important to keep up appearances sometimes, too.”

Dante sighs, thanking Lili as she sets down two slices of strawberry crostata and a cappuccino for him, as well as a single slice and an espresso for Nicola, who thanks her as well.

“I have far better things to do than to sit down and play card games for hours on end,” Dante grumbles, sipping at his coffee. The frustrated lines around his eyes soften for a moment as he drinks, but then he frowns again. “These guys are getting quite friendly.”

“They’re doing it for appearances too, of course,” Nicola replies reasonably, sipping his own espresso. “They’re politicians. But you’re right—they’re getting quite persistent, aren’t they? You do business with newbies once and they start getting too comfortable.” He pauses to take a bite of crostata. “They’re probably asking so often because they’re aware you hate gambling, too. They want to feel superior in some way or another, since you have the upper hand in all the other ways that matter.”

Dante sighs as he leans back in his seat.

“When?” he asks.

“Next Friday.”

Dante’s frown deepens.

“No. I have a meeting with lobbyists that day, and that takes priority over some politicians who want to play cards to boost their ego. Nicola, you go. You’ll have more fun, anyway.”

“Yes, Boss. But I will say—if you don’t show your face at least once, then they’ll only grow more persistent. It’s not me they want to see, even if I am your Underboss.”

Dante sighs deeply and says nothing else, choosing to focus on his dessert instead.

“Um…” Lili pipes up, having taken an armchair in the corner of the room with her own plate of crostata and a caffe latte. “Why don’t I go, then? With Nicola, that is.”

Dante and Nicola turn to look at her, blinking in surprise.

“It’s actually card games, right?” Lili asks, looking between them a little nervously, “That’s not code for anything?”

“It’s just card games,” Nicola confirms, “Though they might talk business, of course, and money will change hands one way or another.”

“I can play cards,” Lili continues, emboldened by the fact that neither have said no outright, “I could go with Nicola as a…I don’t know, additional representative. I know mafia wives don’t usually participate in such things, but…well, would it help?”

Nicola’s eyes are bright, having played cards with Lili before and knowing her skill firsthand. His lips curve into a wolfish grin, and he looks at Dante eagerly, who glances back at him with a raised brow.

“I don’t like it,” Dante says bluntly, but Lili simply waits, knowing that it comes from a place of concern.

It is also still not a refusal.

“I don’t know that it would help,” Nicola admits, “But it doesn’t mean nothing, either, that the Boss’ wife attends in his place. It would certainly be interesting—there’s no way they would complain at such a development because of that. And I think Lili could do very well.”

Lili smiles, and Nicola smiles back.

“I’d like to assist in any way I can,” Lili states resolutely, “After all, I’m part of the Family, too.”

Both Nicola and Lili look at Dante, just a little pleading, and eventually he sighs and relents.

“I don’t like it,” he repeats, looking at Lili, “But if you want to go, you can go. Nicola—”

“I’ll protect her with my life, Dante,” Nicola says, a hand over his heart, “I swear it.”

Dante sighs again, and finishes his crostata in resignation.

He’s not home when Nicola and Lili leave for the meeting, but he’s just arrived back for a few minutes when they return, merely a few feet away from the door when it opens again.

Nicola is laughing, and Lili looks a little embarrassed as she tells him he’s overreacting, but both light up when they see Dante walking back over to them.

“Dante!” Lili exclaims, hugging him in greeting. “Welcome back.”

“Hello,” he says, kissing her cheek, “I should be saying that to you. You’re both back earlier than I expected, though.”

He looks between Lili and Nicola, the latter whom is brushing a tear out of the corner of his eye from laughing so hard. Dante raises a brow, and Nicola grins, gesturing to the salon.

“Alright, what happened?” Dante asks, as Giulia goes to prepare refreshments.

“Go on,” Nicola says encouragingly to Lili, and she hesitates before she opens her pocketbook and drops a few hefty rolls of cash onto Dante’s lap.

His eyes widen.

“Dante, it was incredible,” Nicola practically crows, accepting a cup of coffee from Giulia, “I haven’t seen anyone hustled that much in a while. Those arrogant politicians…seeing their faces fall…it was magnificent. I don’t think they’ll be pestering the Falzones to attend their card table again so soon.”

Dante raises a brow, and Giulia stays to listen to Nicola retell the entire story in detail. Lili had simply played well—far better than anyone had truly expected. The young woman sips her coffee demurely throughout the tale, embarrassed still at Nicola’s praise and gleeful amusement.

“I wasn’t trying to…to hustle them!” she eventually protests, blushing.

“That’s what makes it even better,” Nicola says. “I know you said you’ve never lost at cards, but it is simply delightful to see someone else suffer the consequences.”

Lili sniffs, ducking her head, and Dante gives her an amused look.

“Anyway, that’s our politician problem solved for now,” Nicola hums, “After how much they lost, I think they’ll think twice about trying to get a leg up on the mafia.”

Dante folds his hands, thinking.

“On the contrary,” he says slowly, and Nicola’s eyes brighten as he immediately catches onto his thinking, “The next time they have a card game, I think we should all go. I’d like to see Lili play myself, and it never hurts to remind politicians just who they’re dealing with.”

Nicola starts laughing again, and Lili stares at Dante with her mouth slightly open.

“Good work today,” he says, smiling, and respectfully drops the money back into Lili’s lap.

To the victor, the spoils, after all.

If there is one thing that Lili truly hates still, it is the torture. But she is a mafia wife now and will not interrupt, though nor will she watch the proceedings. Sometimes she is left ignorant that it is happening at all, out of respect.

Yet in this too does she have her role.

Sometimes, for the ones that don’t crack even after hours in the cells but hold information important enough to keep trying, it’s Lili who goes to visit the prisoner afterwards. She goes alone, with medical supplies and water, tears spilling from her eyes. The better prisoners tend to think she is some angel. After some time, they confide in her, confessing their sins and regrets, and in time, the information they no longer consider worth their life.

Sometimes, they are even let go, after their threat is weighed and considered. The prisoners gape when they find out their angel is actually the Falzone Boss’ wife, and more often than not they will pledge their devotion to her—and thus the Falzones, for kindness is near nonexistent in the mafia. It is a double edged sword, in the criminal world, but it has its uses.

But sometimes, the prisoners truly have rot in their hearts. Those types see Lili as some stupid maid who doesn’t know better and isn’t worth anything. They attempt to take advantage of her kindness and body, lunging for her like the snakes they are as they spit the truth of what they’d done viciously, wanting to hurt her.

She’s quicker than she looks, flinging herself back with a little scream, and Dante and Nicola file in, always having waited outside.

Lili runs to her husband, burying her face in his chest as he holds her.

The prisoners are always surprised, but the terrible ones don’t always understand who she is quickly enough. They snarl and spit dirty words, but she is still the one who tended to them—they are speared by her gaze when she half turns and looks at them with her teary eyes, disappointed and damning.

“How could you?” she whispers after learning the depths of their sins, and that’s when they truly feel like scum.

Lili does not watch when the worst ones are executed, though she hears the screams anyway.

At night, despite knowing what occurred earlier, she wants Dante to touch her. He does, lips and fingers cool then hot on her body, reminding her what else he is capable of. He is good with his hands, and he is still the man she loves. Dante just a little apologetic that he cannot keep her away from all brutality, but he cannot be apologetic about the decisions he must make. Lili was never under any illusions when she married him—she just cannot help this sympathetic part of herself, even as she understands. Dante knows that, and loves her for it, too. There is a certain sense of gratitude he feels, when she asks to make love even after these situations, that she doesn’t feel disgust or shy away from him instead.

Dante, she whispers against his lips, Dante, I love you.

She is unbearably precious in his hands, flushed and adoring, just as he must look to her.

Lili, he murmurs back, Liliana, as I love you.

She sleeps peacefully in his arms after, nothing but affection between them, their limbs tangled with each other’s.

Dante counts his blessings, and presses her close.

A few years go by, and though everyone knows that Dante Falzone is married, not everyone has met the rumored Liliana Falzone. Though she does attend various functions and oversee some things in Dante’s stead, as a whole she is kept out of the spotlight, for both of their comforts.

Sometimes, however, people get to meet her in unexpected ways.

The new associate from outside the city Dante is meeting today is shocked when Lili arrives with him, looking angelic on his arm. She has an interest in the business he is offering, Dante says, with an indulgent smile at her, and the associate thinks that she looks like an easy target. Both the Falzone boss and his wife still look very young, and he must be an idiot to bring his wife to such a meeting.

And even more of an idiot to leave to take a call, not matter how supposedly urgent it is.

Signora Liliana smiles pleasantly and makes small talk, while the associate answers in a bored, dismissive manner. But after a while he realizes with a start that her questions are growing more pointed, and that she is probing into his boss, and his relation to a string of issues in Burlone that have resulted in the deaths of a handful of Falzone men.

The associate starts sweating, then rises from his seat, intending to bolt—

Only to freeze at the sound of a gun being cocked.

“Please, sit down,” Liliana says, still entirely amiable, “I’m not a very good shot, actually. I’ll mean for the wall and hit right between your eyes if I’m not careful, and I do so hate unnecessary bloodshed.”

The man slowly sits back down, trembling a little. Signora Falzone is not particularly intimidating in the traditional way, but it is that beautiful, gentle smile at odds with the weapon in her hand that is frightening in its own right. It is evident she is not bluffing, and that she knows perfectly well what she is doing.

Dante returns shortly, raising an eyebrow at the scenario before him.

“Is everything alright?” he asks lightly, though his eyes are entirely knowing as Lili puts her gun away.

She smiles beatifically at him.

“Yes, of course,” she says smoothly, gesturing for him to continue the meeting, “Everything is under control.”

Lili sets the bouquet down on the grave, then leans into Dante’s side. He puts an arm around her waist, tugging her a little closer for his own comfort. They stare at the names etched onto the stone for a while.

“Thank you,” Dante says, “For coming with me, every Wednesday.”

Lili puts a hand on his chest and leans up to press a brief kiss to his lips.

“I like to,” she protests, leaning her head against him. “I…would have liked to meet them, your parents.”

“They would have liked you,” Dante assures her, and Lili smiles again. “My mother in particular would have been delighted.”

“Oh?”

“How could she not be?” Dante chuckles, and Lili blushes a little. “And even though my father was not predisposed to show his feelings…he would have been very proud of you, Liliana.”

“Just as he would have been proud of you, Dante,” Lili replies.

They smile at each other, and share a brief kiss before they depart.

They opt for a walk through Falce before they return to the mansion, spending the last hours of the early morning in leisure. Around them, the district is starting to wake up; shopkeepers are coming out to flip their signs or set out their wares, men and women on their way to work or beginning their errands.

“Buongiorno!” they call, as Dante and Lili walk by arm-in-arm.

“Buongiono!” Lili greets back, as Dante nods in acknowledgement.

More and more people greet them as they continue down the streets, some of them making quick conversation with Lili. They do not linger due to Dante’s presence, and it is not that they ignore him either, but it is evident that Liliana is the one who has truly made their acquaintance, and whom they feel at ease with. She does not roam about as often anymore, so while she is not necessarily a rare sight, she is always a welcome one.

As the sun rises higher in the sky, shopkeepers call out to market their wares.

“Signora Falzone! I have freshly baked bread, come have a taste!”

“No, no, come look at my fresh fruits, Signora Falzone!”

“Signora Falzone, how about some flowers for the home?”

Lili demurs all of them with firm but good-natured ease, and Dante watches with amusement.

“Next time, perhaps. We really must get going,” she tells them all laughingly, and Dante inclines his head in polite farewell.

They go on their way, though the friendly calls and greetings continue; Signora Falzone permeates the air like a prayer.

Liliana walks on with her husband, as the streets of Falce hail the name she wears with ease.

#piofiore #piofiore no banshou #piofiore fated memories #dante falzone #liliana adornato #nicola francesca #fanfiction #i expect like two people at most to read this but i had such fun writing this!!!!!#nicola is my top fave but dante is a close second hehe

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