Tumgik
#I also see young people having the potential to be alone the rest of their lives bc or their behavior
Text
Pre Season Prep - Logan Sargeant
Summary: Logan has been getting ready for the season via all sorts of methods. But after a few weeks of not spending nearly fair amount of time with y/n, he decides to make sure she knows he loves her.
This starts a little sadder than I had intended but enjoy.
Also English!reader
Tumblr media
Logan and y/n works well because y/n is so supportive and understanding of the demands of him being an F1 driver. After all she actually worths with a karting team and while kids at that age aren't quite thinking about their potential future that could lead them to F1. But their teams are thinking about their future in motorsports.
However, Logan has been very much focused on not being so notoriously bad. There is no new rookies and with Oscar being put down as a potential future champion. This season this is no room for error.
This focus on self-improvement has meant he's bene a little neglectful of y/n. Something he'd somewhat thought about but knowing that y/n understands and never seems upset, he didn't think that much about it. Not till he saw Alex and Lily leaving headquarters and that's when he realised y/n hasn't been around and he doesn't actually remember the last time he saw her that wasn't just kissing her goodbye or climbing into bed with her.
"James, do you think I could take tomorrow for a rest day?" Logan asks knowing that he is pushing his luck as he asks the man.
"A rest day sounds smart. You've been working hard for weeks with almost not rest. So take the day." James nods earning a relieved smile. "Why?"
"Just...think I need to spend time with y/n."
James looks at the young man for a beat, knowing that he himself sacrificed a relationship for this sport. But that doesn't mean that everyone should do the same. There is life beyond F1. All the drivers, all the members need to know and remember that.
Y/n has actually been so supportive with Logan, she's even tried to asked ways of which she could help and James has overheard her trying everything to keep her boyfriend pieced at his lowest points. James is almost certain that Logan would've dropped from F1 entirely if it wasn't for her and despite what people think, he's not ready to give up on Logan yet.
"Go get yourself home to her." James nods sending the young man on his way.
Logan doesn't waste time, quickly thanking the man before he rushes off. He's leaving earlier than he had initially planned to for the day but he won't be told twice to get home to his girlfriend.
Logan gets back to his apartment and finds y/n frowning as she looks at something on her phone in the kitchen, most likely making herself some food and that's when a thought hits Logan. She's been living life alone in his absence, waking up alone, eating alone and doing every day things just on her own.
"Hey, baby." Logan greets feeling almost nervous to see her.
Y/n clearly had been too caught up in her thoughts to have noticed his entrance (nothing to worry about there with her lack of security), she jumps hearing his voice and looks up. Now what really breaks is his heart is her whole body straightening up and a beaming smile appearing.
"Hey, what are you doing back early?" Cue the smile dropping in a panic. "Are you ok? Is something wrong?"
"I'm fine-good. I'm really good. Just I spoke to James about taking a rest day and he said that I'd been working hard so I could leave early and take the rest day tomorrow." Logan explains making her brighten again. "And I really wanted to see you. I know I've been MIA for a few weeks."
"You've been training. This is important."
"So are you." Logan states abruptly watching her swallow thickly. "You are important to me, y/n."
Y/n sucks in a quick breath then moving around with a small smile and kissing him quickly.
"Well I think there is some good use of your rest day that could give me a chance to give you some pre season prep that your trainer and the team lack in maintaining." Y/n hums making Logan hum and smile at her.
"Which would be?" Knowing it could be anything from one final cheat deal of the highest calorie meal she can possibly think of to going flying out to somewhere that isn't so weathered by winter and going to a beach to make sand castles.
"Building you a skin and hair care routine that you can upkeep when I'm not around." Y/n smiles earning a small laugh. "Oh come on you love our self care nights and you are well overdue for one. Your hair is dried out and your stubble is hiding the break out but you need an exfoliator and cleanser-and you have to promise me that if I find you an easy and simple routine, you'll stick to it when I'm not there."
"I promise." Logan nods smiling and looking at her with such a soft expression that she moves quickly to kiss him again. "What were you frowning at when I came in?"
"Oh-OH, well since I've just been cooking for myself, I've been trying to expand on my cooking skills. I was just looking at recipes for taquitos. I want to learn the like Texan-Mexican food." Y/n explains while he smiles brightly at her. "I know it goes against your strict and healthy diet but...maybe once in a blue moon and I can always eat it when you're not around. Anyway, that can wait till later. We need to give your hair some oil and revive it."
"Alright, you lead the way." Logan nods taking her hand and letting her rush with him to the bathroom.
Admittedly Logan doesn't care so much about his skin of hair. So long as his hair is cut to a style that he doesn't feel embarrassed to wear it like that. But when y/n gives him the full treatment, gently massaging his dark blonde locks with the oils that she swears by for her own hair.
"Ok hair is oiled, we'll leave it on for a couple hours. Since you're home early. I can make us something to eat while we wait." Y/n beams then pausing. "I can make quiche! I was looking at a quiche recipe and it's not the most unhealthy thing I could make for you."
"Quiche sounds good." Logan smiles with a nod.
Y/n is one of those who either wants to make something from scratch or cut every corner and make nothing that requires more effort than throwing it in the airfryer. Today she is clearly eager to make something for Logan so sits him at the island counter and asks about how the past few weeks have been going since really she hasn't had the chance.
Eventually the quiches is in the oven and Logan moves to help clean up the small mess that came from making it while he firmly places y/n to sit down for a bit.
"What have you been doing?" Logan asks making her puff out a breath.
"I guess just keeping busy. I have been hitting the gym a bit more...there's a few of the kids who kart who keep asking about you. You have more support from them than you'd think." Y/n smiles then looking at him. "We could go out and watch the practice race they're having tomorrow ahead of the junior euro championship."
"That sounds like fun. So long as we get to race a couple karts."
"Oh it's turning into that?" Y/n laughs since she can kart, though she never pursued a career in racing. It was always a hobby she enjoyed and made friends through.
"That is exactly what this is turning into. We're going to have fun and actually spend some time together." Logan smiles as he finishes cleaning up.
After the quiche is finally done, the two eat and after a brief pause to let the food settle y/n decides they need to wash Logan's hair free of oil into the sink and then talks him through which shampoo and condition to use, not pushing I'm to use a mask because she knows he'll forget but she forbids a 2-1 shampoo/conditioner.
"Ok, skincare. I want to test you. Come on, what's first?"
"Wash my face then if I'm having bad skin day I need to use that little bottle with liquid and then if I'm not I use the moisturiser." Logan recites since this is far from the first time she's tried to drill a skincare routine into his brain.
"That little bottle with liquid. It's a serum, baby."
"Serum, that's it." Logan nods acting as if the word had been on the tip of his tongue but they both know he had no memory of the right word. "Yeah, so wash, serum and moisturise."
"I've taught you well." Y/n grins practically glowing with pride. It's small but given the driver had no concept of a skincare routine before her. She can't help but feel like this is such a huge win. "I'll do it though."
Really Logan was hoping for her to do it for him, she always does one step for him and then does a step of her own skincare too.
"You're so beautiful." Logan comments as she focuses on eventually spreading the moisturiser around his face. The compliment immediately earns a flustered ramble before she clears her throat and manages to find her voice.
"I'm not even wearing make up." Y/n mutters always one to quickly shoot down any positive thing said about her. A classic Brit who can't accept a compliment if it was a life or death situation.
"You don't need to wear make up. You could have the worst break out and have got no sleep for a week and you would still look beautiful."
"See that is exactly how I know you are lying." Y/n states with a small smile as she puts moisturiser on her own skin then putting some lip mask on.
"Do I not get any?" Logan asks knowing better than to push the topic of how beautiful she really is. He'll show her and prove it to her in other ways later.
In a smooth move even by his opinion, he manages to steal a kiss and the glowing smile honestly warms him from the inside out.
"I should porbably get you a lip mask. You can't keep stealing mine directly from my lips if I'm not there."
"Can it be the same as yours?"
Y/n bites the inside of her cheek in thought for a moment before seeming to get an idea.
"If you buy me some of your aftershave, I'll buy you a lip mask."
"Agreed." Logan nods with a smile. "Even tough you're coming to more race weekends anyway."
"That's fair." Y/n smiles then moving to hug him tightly. "I love you."
"I love you too. A lot. I know you always say it's ok and you understand, but I'm going to try harder to make sure I'm not completely ignoring you when I'm focusing on F1. I still want you to be a priority alongside it all." Logan sighs watching some tears gather in her eyes a little. "And I just want you to tell me if you feel like you deserve more attention. Even if it takes me a bit of time and it's not immediate. I will always find time for you."
"Ok." Y/n whispers before he kisses her again softly. "I would say the same back but you know you are way more important than any karting job."
"I know I should argue with that. But if I try you'll tell me to shut up."
Y/n grins then sighing and standing up a little straighter as she sucks a heavy breath in.
"Shall we go cuddle?"
"Yes. Definitely."
408 notes · View notes
pilferingapples · 5 months
Note
OK my random question for you to think over is— If you could schedule some bonding time between Jean Valjean and any one of Les Amis, which Ami would you choose? Who would he click with/who would help him out the most/who would be the best most helpful Buddy for him to have ??? Or would you need to pick multiple Amis?
(This may or may not be related to a future fic idea I have planned. I have asked myself this question but currently do not know the answer, so I am curious about your thoughts! You always have great Les Amis takes)
OK before I get into this, I want to be clear that I think Cosette does an AMAZING job with Valjean's emotional Everything, but (a) she's a kid (b) she's HIS kid (c) no one person, no matter how close or important, can ever supply all of another person's emotional needs, even if they're a lot less traumatized than Valjean to start (d) a major problem with Valjean is Social Isolation, which only people Besides Cosette can alleviate (e) that is just the start of the issues that Cosette can't and should never have to handle alone! So no consideration of adding Other Friends to Valjean's life should be taken as an insult from me to Cosette (and I know you wouldn't , but people get weird). Cosette is a star.
Also: I am in all of this assuming a setting/ series of events leading to Acquaintance that does right by both parties ; importantly, that means Valjean is sure, somehow, that none of these men are romantically interested in or romantically interesting to Cosette. Maybe it's post- marriage, maybe it's an AU, maybe Whatever. Valjean's not doing his Lion With a Dog routine about it.
OK THAT SAID, let's Consider:
Enjolras: if they met outside a barricade, I can see them getting along very well! Unfortunately, that's because without pressing political action or conversation be thrown at them, I can imagine them both just sitting quietly and reading or being lost in their thoughts for as long as they're hanging out. Even GIVEN a political topic, like..Valjean is not gonna argue with anything Enjolras says and Enjolras is already gonna say it and they are just...gonna continue to Agree and then go back to Quiet Reading Time. Parallel Play For The Cats. Valjean will think Enjolras is a pleasant young man, Enjolras will think Valjean is a restful older gentleman, they will go to the library at the same time every Wednesday and nod hello and read in chairs near each other and never talk. Probably exactly the kind of interaction Valjean wants, and not at all what he needs to get out of his routine.
Combeferre: a very strong option!! assuming they've gotten talking about Nearly Anything, Combeferre can find the Fun Conversational Trivia in any subject. I bet Valjean would LOVE to hear about how steam engines work and the latest discoveries about bees or rubber or tinctures of opium. Valjean might be willing to tell him Cool Gardening and Metallurgy Knowledge and Combeferre would LISTEN. Combeferre is sharp and cutting about Interests and Ideas, but shows no signs of being someone who wants to get more emotional or personal with people than they're already setting up. This could be a great Hobby Buddy friendship and that's something Valjean really needs! Potential Issues: if they DO run into the sort of conversation where they're debating ideas, Combeferre does not seem to have an Easy Mode. IDK how much Valjean would be willing to enter Debate Thunderdome about politics or social issues; I worry greatly that he would shut down in Automatic Defense System Mode. But if they can work around that, Combeferre could be so good for getting him interested in the outside world!
Prouvaire: Much as above for Combeferre, except Prouvaire is already something of a gardener, DOES have a Gentle mode for debates, AND is goth, which would surely speak to Valjean's " some alive people like to be in coffins too" soul. Also lbr we know Prouvaire is on the 420 Crew in any era and it might do Valjean some real good to get baked once in a while. Strong potential here.
Feuilly: HE'S LIKE THE SON VALJEAN MIGHT HAVE KNOWN, or the grandson really-- as I recall, we've done the math and figured out that Feuilly really might be in the right age range to be one of Valjean's nibling's kids. I don't know how much Valjean has ever considered international politics but I bet he would deeply resonate with the plight of refugees and the displaced, which after all is a lot of the real issue. And maybe from there they can even get into how this is all systemic and Valjean might start to understand how he's not Uniquely Horrible if these injustices happen to so many people!!! A Little !!! Possibly!! Either way,they can get earnest and emotional over just wanting everyone else to have a better deal than they got. Go Team Lower Class Orphans Too Good For This World !
Courfeyrac: listen Courfeyrac's a delight and all but..he's just very bourgeois student. He is. Even assuming we're in the best situation where he and Valjean are talking politics and social issues enough for Valjean to NOT just mentally write him off as Standard Student Guy, I suspect Courfeyrac's many charms are just the wrong ones here. I'm not saying they can't get along, I think Courfeyrac can probably get alone with nearly anyone,but this is gonna be one of the harder options for any real connection.
Bahorel: you know I was all ready to go on a big ramble about how this could go multiple ways until I remembered the ONE THING, THE ONLY THING that gets Valjean to really open up and talk about his past is watching a younger man make horrible life choices that could get him arrested, never mind about trying to get Valjean to open up, Valjean is gonna trauma-dump on Bahorel so hard in the first fifteen minutes of them actually hanging out. And unlike Montparnasse, Bahorel pays attention and gives a damn about other people, and he is SO ready to get into how the legal system is pure evil and screws everyone over. Hating the legal system is a major component of his personality! I had honestly not really realized it until making this post but wow this will, eventually, be So Good for Valjean's mental health. (I am perhaps being a little silly here but I do think, on consideration, that Bahorel's over the top Everything would be on balance kinda reassuring for Valjean; plus there IS the goth factor XD Bonus points if it's a Better Post-Barricades setting where Bahorel's taken in Gavroche and they can bond over Unexpected Child Acquisition)
Legle: For Legle, see Courfeyrac, I'm afraid. You KNOW I love Bossuet so very much but he speaks 90 percent in too-smart-by-half puns and references and his entire social presentation depends on knowing how to parlay a bourgeois social skillset into Endless Crash Space. He's super weird and an incredibly good guy For Real but I don't know if Valjean would put enough effort in to realize that! Like with Courfeyrac, I feel like this would just be a Polite Acquaintaceship. Open to being convinced otherwise though!
Joly: ..ok I know Joly is also Student Guy as heck, but he's also direct and enthusiastic and overtly sweet in a way that Courfeyrac and Legle aren't. I can see Valjean enjoying his company somewhat the way he enjoys Cosette's actually-- here's someone who will be cheerful and chattery about things that he, Valjean, does not really know or care about. I still don't know if they'd connect on any deeper level but I could buy Valjean actively noticing and enjoying Joly's company.
Grantaire: HAAAAAHahahahhahaAAAAAHHHAHAHAHAHAH *runs out of breath* HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAAAAAA hahahaha nooooo. No. Nooooooooo. Grantaire talking to Valjean would go about like Grantaire talking to Javert in the I Mis Miniseries. Grantaire will talk! You cannot stop him unless you are named Enjolras! Valjean will nooooot care.
...Writing this up has made me reflect on what I think Valjean really needs out of a potential friend and it's - someone to do the talking - shared interests, or new interests they can be enthusiastic about while he nods ahead - a willingness/ ability to get HIM to talk at least sometimes ?? maybe?? - shared goth vibes or at least the ability to understand that sometimes u__u you just gotta be in a coffin now u__u - ABSOLUTELY MANDATORY overt disdain for The Rules this is why Fauchelevent was SO good for him but I think he also needs someone who is not in life debt to him! he needs to know he can socialize with Kind New People and Not Explode!!
....and this is a long post so I'm gonna save more Valjean rant :D I am pretty sure you and I will discuss later anyway!! Thank you for the random question!
133 notes · View notes
thebluestbluewords · 7 months
Text
pick a card, any card
"Pick a card," Celia Facilier demands. "Let my friends tell your future." 
Mal, crammed in the backseat of the limo on Ben's other side, laughs. "Don't do it, Ben. She's just trying to scam you out of your money." 
Celia's mouth drops open, theatrically scandalized at the accusation. "Moi? I would never, ever try to scam anyone, and I'm hurt you'd say such a thing." 
She's so small. Her hands, on the cards she's fanning out in Ben's face, are bony. She's handling them well, but Ben remembers the feeling of cards too big and too stiff for his childhood hands to manage, and even though Celia is more comfortable with her cards than he's ever been, the strain shows in the way she tilts her hand to manage them all. 
"Sure," Ben says, instead of listening to Mal. His beloved fiancee is wonderful and all, but sometimes she forget that he is, in fact, an adult who is more than capable of making his own decisions.  He loves her so much, and so deeply that it scares him sometimes, but the blind spots that come from growing up on the Isle are weird, and the issues that Mal has with trusting people aren't one of her best qualities, and definitely aren't ones that Ben wants to fall victim to himself. "I'll take one reading of my future, please." 
Celia laughs.
She's so young.
"Tell me what you want to know," the kid in front of him says, reshuffling her cards quicker than the naked eye can follow. "Love advice? Money? Fame and fortune? What's your poison, King of Auradon?" 
"No poison. The drought of love should be sweet." Ben says firmly. "I want to hear about my future love life." 
"Ah." The cards fan out again, and Celia giggles. She sounds like Freddie when she does it, which is weirdly sweet. Not many of the Isle kids will admit to having family, so it's sort of nice when sisters or brothers do something, and they reveal that they're not so different after all. "Sweet it might be, but love can go sour at any moment. Pull one card." 
Ben smiles. "Any card?"
"Not that one!" Celia squawks, wobbling the cards like she's going to jerk her hand back. "Just kidding. You can pull any card you want, but you have to feel it. Let my friends guide you." 
Ben stops. "Feel the cards," he repeats. "Okay. I feel….” He lets his hand hang still for a moment. The cards are worn, or possibly painted to look worn. They look stiff and solid, not like they’re soft and crumbling on the edges despite their worn backs. They don’t feel like much of anything to him, but he’s always been empty of magic. It’s the one thing that his father has always been proud of. 
Magic feeling and the lack thereof thoroughly investigated, Ben wiggles his fingers. One of the cards on the left is sticking out of alignment a bit, so he moves toward that one, and then rests his finger on the card before it. Any changes always have a root cause, so it feels right to pick the card before the odd one out. “This one?” 
Celia lets him pull the card. 
The rest of her deck snaps back together like a fan, and Celia’s hand shoots out, palm up. “Now hand it over. And also, that'll be five dollars, no refunds or exchanges if you don't like my advice after."
"A wise business practice," Ben agrees, shifting so he can pull out his wallet. Five dollars might be a scam on the isle, but it won't get her far in Auradon, and for showmanship and card control alone, she deserves at least double that. "Here you are." 
Celia takes the fifty-dollar note between two fingers, and there's a half-second of hesitation where Ben can see her eyes flickering over the number on the folded bill. They're supposed to be taking her off the isle because of her potential for goodness. Scamming the king out of fifty dollars isn't a very good thing to do, but Ben is remembering right, the isle kids are too proud to ask for money when they need it. And she will need it, because coming over with nothing but the clothes and personal items she can fit in her suitcase isn’t going to be enough. Giving money to the isle kids outright is awkward, and Ben still has a scar on his shoulder from where Mal pulled a knife on him after he tried to buy her a car, but making Celia feel like she’s cheating him for it might be too much of a risk in this case, with her so brand new and unsure of how to fit it. 
So. 
"I don't carry anything less than fifty," Ben lies, smiling. "You can give me another reading later, if you're up for it. Call it fair?" 
99 notes · View notes
worldswithoutendings · 5 months
Text
Eye for an eye [Michael Langdon] PT.1
Hello everyone! guess who is back after a very very long time, I'm rewatching AHS and can't help but fall in love with the antichrist. so enjoy! This might be a series, I want to test it out first.
Pairing: Michael Langdon x Female reader
Warning: none
Summary: 15-year-old you made a sort of deal with the devil, for a love life. pathetic. you know. but he comes with a different approach to what you actually want. but will it work?
Tumblr media
You still regret the day you made the decision, the worst decision in your life so to speak of. When you made a deal with the devil. But on the other side, who can you blame? When you’re 15 years old, desperate for love, a life you wanted so badly. Due to all the influence, the neglect in your family. The yearning. You still remember his reaction to this day. Loud laughter ran through the reddened sky, ‘Sweetheart, please, don’t be so pathetic. You want to make a deal with me, for a love life?’ ‘Yes! Please’ you cried out, feeling foolish ‘Foolish, foolish little girl’ he mumbled as he sat on his throne ‘you can be so much more, you have so much potential. Yet you’re here, with me, pleading for love’
‘I’m sorry’ you whisper as you look down, hot tears flowing over your rosy cheeks ‘You’re so young’ he keeps mumbling about the great aspects of you ‘You could rule the world one day’ ‘I don’t want to do it alone’ you blurt out "oh! Now I have you talking, so you want to rule the world?” “I mean, yeah, doesn’t everyone want to rule the world at one point in their life?" his laugh echoes again ‘no one, can rule the world like you, but, I can arrange something for you. If you arrange something for me’
‘What do you want’ you blurt out ‘I want, you to be the bride, the bride to end all times, to end all days, to end eternity on this earth’ ‘What do you mean?’ you say as you try to get rid of the tears on your cheeks ‘I will give you, a husband, you have to find him first. He isn’t ready yet, I'll give you directions when the time is ri-‘ ‘NO!” you yell out
‘I want to be loved now, didn’t you hear me!? How old are you? Like two thousand years old?-‘ ‘-older my dear’ ‘Well then fix yourself some hearing aids!’ you blurt out, making Satan laugh again ‘Oh foolish girl, you’re going to give him a hell of a time’ and by that. Time stops. The sky turns back from red to gray.
You find yourself back in your bedroom, the cuts you made for your offering are gone, the dead bird has disappeared and all the candles are blown out. ‘What a joke’ you mumble to yourself as you cry yourself to sleep that night.
27th of November 2023
7:30.
Corpus ave.
Dress code: black
You can’t help but laugh, corpus ave? How fitting for a cooperative meeting. You are now 26 years of age. You did age gracefully if you have to be honest. Maybe Satan was right and was keeping you youthful for your husband.
you laugh okay quit it y/n your 15-year-old was screaming in your head about how you deserve to be loved, yet no one ever bothered to go further than a lazy one-night stand or a short conversation filled with flirtations but no invitations. You thought Satan totally saw it as a joke and to be honest, you started to see it like that too over time.
But on the other hand, you hadn’t expected an invitation to a cooperative meeting, led by Satan, or rather his Spawn. You had heard from him, Michael Langdon, ‘son’ of Tate Langdon and Vivien Harmon. You didn’t want to expect much from him so you kept your expectations low as you got ready for the night.
Stupid dress, why did I buy you in the first place?! Even though you had better dresses in your wardrobe, you also wanted to impress the people there. So you took advantage of your body, with a black body con dress, that rose up every time you walked. That means I will be sitting down for the rest of the evening ‘Miss van son!” you hear, and you look up, to see an unknown face ‘You don’t remember me? My apologies, my name is Rutherford, Jason Rutherford. We went to high school together’ ‘And you are calling me by my last name because?’ ‘Because I have to, Miss van Son’ Jason smiles. But his eyes aren’t smiling. Which says enough for you, and you give him a 20-dollar tip ‘Have a nice night Jason’ ‘Thank you, mis-Miss van Son’ Jason stutters. You sit down in the ballroom with all the people who have money. Lots of money. You feel out of place.
‘all rise’ a man screams, making everybody stand up straight ‘Michael Langdon, The antichrist.’ Michael comes through the doorway and your breath hitches oh my. He is beautiful, with deep sea blue eyes, golden hair past his shoulder, and a girl to his side. Hold up. A girl!? It’s not him you sigh why else would Satan, of all people, invite me to a cooperative meeting ‘sit down” Michael's cold voice echoes through the room ‘first of all, thank you for coming. Second of all. I want to introduce my girlfriend, soon-to-be wife, Rosalie Withers. You can not question her about anything. I will have your head on a silver platter’ He shows his white teeth at the end, and you can’t help but feel jealous, so who will it be then, the so-called love of my life.
When it’s time to socialize, you scrape your throat. Getting ready to walk to the bar for a heavy drink. Only to lock eyes with Michael. You show him your best smile and raise your empty glass at him as he opens a pathway for you to the bar. You can’t help but see him scan your body again!? No ‘Hi how are you’ or anything else? ‘Hi, how are you?’ Michael says softly ‘I’m good, thank you mister Langdon” he has to be a few years older than you.
He moves gracefully but strategically ‘You have potential’ Michael says ‘Excuse me?’ you almost choked on your saliva ‘I say you have potential’ he says a bit harder, but not harder for the room ‘Oh, thank you. I guess?’ you try to push your body through Donald Trump and Michael's body. You see how he takes a whiff of your smell and you see his eyes darken oh shit you try to pick up your pace to the bar but Michael has beaten you to it ‘a vodka soda, please’ you say to the bartender ‘Make that two, and two shots’ you hear Michael say and you furrow your brows
‘my father says I have to be polite’ ‘Well, you’re father is a shitty man’ you can’t help but blurt out. Making Michael laugh, almost the exact same way you got humiliated eleven years ago. You bite your lip on the inside and take a deep breath as you wait ‘I’m sorry, Miss Van Son, right?” ‘You can just call me y/n’ ‘you can just call me Michael’ ‘I’d rather not’ you say as the bartender puts down your drinks ‘why not?’ “well, you’re Satan offspring, I’m already... seen like a fool. Don’t want to humiliate myself that bad that I will definitely not have a-I don’t know why I’m telling you this, have a lovely night Mr Langdon’ you walk away with your drink and leave Michael with the two shots.
After you finish your drink you walk outside to feel the crisp air you’re still a foolish little girl you hear Satan roar through your mind ‘I know, thanks for the newsflash’ you say as you raise a middle finger to the ground ‘That’s where you are, right?! everyone looking down at you. Pathetic’ you mumble as you feel yourself getting irritated.
You wished you had brought a shawl or a coat but no, you thought it wouldn’t be long. Yet it’s already 2:45 ‘shit’ you mumble as you look at your phone, only to feel a coat be draped over your shoulders ‘Figured you might need it’ Michael says as he walks back to the club he followed me?! He didn’t see me flip off his dad, right? You shake your head and make your way home. Longing for your warm bed, funny enough, Michael's scent hypnotizes you in a funny way. Making you not remember going home at all. Just as you fell asleep in your bed, still wearing his coat.
43 notes · View notes
vigilskeep · 1 year
Note
Dunno if this this ask makes much sense, but how do you suppose Irving’s favoritism looks day to day? Barring extreme circumstances like Anders’ escapes from Kinloch Hold…I imagine it’s probably just additional responsibility and tutorship, but I also doubt Anders would have agreed with that so maybe it depends on the individual? Maybe with some mages he thinks are promising he’ll intervene, but otherwise leave them alone? Idk
ok SO
while i have compared the two to make funney posts, there is actually a distinction between irving's Anders Style Favouritism Behaviour and his Mage Warden Style Favouritism Behaviour. irving's favouritism to anders is notable in comparison to his lack of preference for someone like jowan, clearly seeing one as dangerous and to be sacrificed for the greater good, and the other as harmless and charming and generally of value/salvageable. (irving's all or nothing perspective towards blood magic comes into play here.) irving was "endeared" to him, and it was irving who "in particular looked upon anders with sympathy", counselled the templars to make allowances for him, and warned him against going too far after karl was sent away, because at some point he would no longer be able to protect him. the style of day-to-day interaction during anders' circle days is probably shown in this from irving's codex: "he can soothe templars angered by some childish magical prank at the same time that he lauds the pranksters, and everyone walks away satisfied." irving probably let him get away with a lot when it was harmless, and his fondness shows in his continued efforts to protect a troublemaker who had been trying to flee the circle since he arrived. it's clear that he cared about the kid! and continued to care about him no matter anders' less than grateful response, even after everything: "when asked if he regretted not punishing anders more severely, perhaps with tranquillity, irving only sighed and would not discuss the matter further."
but i emphasise that irving cared because all of this is more of a personal attachment, simply an interest taken in, and a fondness for, a young mage of the circle who happened to by nature stood out. it's not suggested that anders necessarily had the specific, formal relationship or day-to-day interaction that irving and the mage warden have: mentor and apprentice. in kinloch hold, each apprentice has a specific mentor; keili mentions her mentor, you meet wynne's apprentice during her personal quest, various ambient dialogue mages discuss their mentor or their apprentice, etc. etc. and because they are the specialest little guy, amell/surana's mentor is the first enchanter himself! irving has talked about your progress personally to loghain himself prior to ostagar, wynne can potentially say at ostagar "you advanced so quickly in your training that irving never sent you to work under me" (i imagine this is suggesting wynne helps tutor most young mages), people like uldred refer to you as "irving's star pupil", duncan says "i am sure irving is very proud to have had you as a pupil", irving of course personally recommends you to the wardens and ensures your recruitment, etc. etc.
while i imagine the mage warden had many other teachers, as irving is responsible for the entire tower and also not the most powerful mage in it for a star student to learn from, irving would presumably be primarily responsible for the mage warden's education. it would be irving they went to for tutorship or if they had any difficulties. keili says that her mentor allows only a certain amount of time a day for religious contemplation, so they clearly have authority over their apprentices' daily life and curriculum. irving after all says to the mage warden after the harrowing "take your time to rest, or study in the library. the day is yours", and i would imagine he usually has more specific plans for them to... do more studying in the library. (it's kinloch, what else are you going to do?) i very much doubt irving's teaching was just magic, too! irving is a competent mage, but his greatest skills and primary interests are administration and diplomacy. there's a reason people keep recognising you as irving's favoured student; he's setting you up to be a political player, and he's the one who successfully organises you becoming a grey warden. i imagine any mage warden would have a grounding in the associated skills
it is of course up to the player's choice whether irving's favouritism for the mage warden would have also had to involve smoothing things over with the templars like he did for anders. it may also be up for hc whether anders was indeed his apprentice too; to my knowledge there's no information on a specific mentor for anders, though considering the detail with which world of thedas covers their relationship it seems odd that being his primary teacher wouldn't come into it. it's not necessarily required for anders' mentor to have been a fellow spirit healer/creation specialist, as it's not like the mage warden was specialised when they finished their apprenticeship or like they have to follow any of irving's magical preferences, so that's no reason he couldn't be. (i checked and irving actually does have more spells in creation than any other school. i'm not going to analyse that spell list too hard right now because we could genuinely be here forever.) i would assume that circle mages only tend to specialise after their apprenticeship is completed anyhow, kind of like how you'd only do a degree after you finish high school. also because, you know. why invest in specialist training before you know if the kid's going to make it through the harrowing, am i right
as an aside it kind of alters irving's vibe a lot what kind of mage warden you play. but i think it's very interesting that he clearly cared about anders and that he is so invested in the mage warden and publicly proud of their talent regardless of whether they're loyal or defiant, studious or disobedient, amell or surana
134 notes · View notes
thebisexualdogdad · 1 year
Note
R and Daisy (or Bobbi) giggling nervously about how they hope Coulson doesn't find out that they snuck it out for a joyride + car sex.
Daisy Johnson x GN!reader
Tumblr media
Soft gasps and moans are escaping from Daisy's lips, your own working along her neck as her hips grind down into your lap in the backseat of the pristine red corvette which you had snuck out of the shield base to get some much needed alone time.
You were parked in some random empty lot in town, hands desperately roaming each other's bodies after weeks of pent up frustration that was finally able to be let out.
An hour goes by when you two feel as satisfied as you can be by having sex confined in the back of a small car so you fix your clothes and hop back into the front seats.
You turn the key starting the engine, dropping the top to help clear out the strong smell of sex in the air.
"You think Coulson noticed we stole Lola?" You chuckle, turning out of the parking lot and heading towards the base.
"We haven't been gone for that long," Daisy says, putting her hand on your thigh and mindlessly rubbing her thumb while you drive, "but I could really use something to eat."
"What's twenty more minutes, we can stop at that taco place on the way," you reply.
After successfully acquiring the tacos you eat them in the car, making sure not even a single piece of diced tomato was left behind as evidence before returning to the base for real this time.
You thought you got away with your joyride as you pull into the garage and there was no angry Coulson waiting to scold you but as you're locking the door May comes up behind you.
"So where did you two go?" She says with a knowing look.
"We uh… just needed some air I mean we've been stuck here researching potential inhumans on earth for like three weeks," Daisy explains.
"Is that so?" May says raising an eyebrow, "Y/N your shirt buttons don't line up."
You quickly look down to see a few of your buttons are indeed mismatched and awkwardly try to fix it.
"Please don't tell Coulson," you beg.
"I'll keep your secret if you buy me dinner and I mean a good dinner from that fancy steak restaurant," May states.
"Deal," you reply, spending some money on an expensive steak was far safer than Coulson finding out you and Daisy not only stole his beloved Lola but also defiled her.
"Are we having a party in the garage?" Coulson says scaring both you and Daisy as he walks in.
"Nope, nothing going on here," Daisy laughs nervously.
Coulson takes a moment to analyze your clearly anxious body language and makes his own assumptions.
"Okay I get it," Coulson says and you two look at each other fearing you were caught, "May walked in on you and Y/N doing what people young and in love do."
You sigh in relief, "you got us, Daisy and I were fooling around here in the garage."
"Alright May, let's leave these love birds alone, they've been working hard and deserve a little fun," Coulson laughs, "but keep your personal activities far away from my precious Lola."
"Yes sir," you nod.
As he and May are walking towards the door May looks back at you and grins, she was really looking forward to her fully paid for steak dinner.
Besides, she didn't want Coulson finding out the truth either because if he did she would be the one he complains to for days on end and she too was already losing her mind being stuck in the base with the rest of you for so long.
With them gone you and Daisy finally relax.
"I can't believe we actually got away with that," you say, pulling her into your embrace.
"Me either, that was way too close," she replies, kissing you sweetly, "so you want to make out before we get back to work?"
"It's like you read my mind."
261 notes · View notes
tomorrowxtogether · 6 months
Text
TOMORROW X TOGETHER makes magical moments in the real world
Tumblr media
A look at the music and imagery of The Name Chapter: FREEFALL
2023.10.14
When dreams are thrust into reality 
Myeongseok Kang: In The Name Chapter concept trailer put out by TOMORROW X TOGETHER last year, HUENINGKAI jumps all alone out of a house in the sky. Now the next page of that chapter has been revealed: the new album, FREEFALL—falling as a result of one’s own free will. The opening track, “Growing Pain,” begins with the line, “Been free falling,” and goes into how it hurts to fall (“my whole body aches”). But, as the lyrics to the single “Chasing That Feeling” describe, to choose not to fall would be to just wait around for the world to crumble to pieces, turning away from reality to stay stuck in a mirage: “I turn my back on heaven and / Fall from the sky / Maybe I’ll miss it for good / The sweet mirage.” Like the boys of TOMORROW X TOGETHER acknowledge in the track “Dreamer,” the world is divided into “adults who don’t dream and boys who only have dreams.” In order to keep their dreams from disappearing like a daydream, they have to face reality before they become adults—people who no longer dream. It’s only during youth that something like this could ever be possible. It’s a period of life between boyhood and adulthood, when you can say, “in that typical fork in the road, I’m gray,” and it’s there that a boy’s dream ultimately becomes an existential force as he battles his way through real life (“I dream again / The name I retrieved”) allowing him to define who he is. The group declares in “Deep Down” that the “horn suddenly coming out of my head” that once left them “feeling ashamed” is now “a big crown on me / No longer a hideous horn / You’re my silver lining.” It’s a sentiment that anyone trying to make their dreams come true while surviving real life will recognize. By living life without running away from reality or giving up on their dreams, the boys learn to accept everything about themselves just the way they are. In spirit, then, The Name Chapter: FREEFALL is a comprehensive piece that plays out a lot like a road trip movie as the young boys navigate their way through the real world, and is also a pivotal moment in the journey TOMORROW X TOGETHER has taken together so far. Ever since debuting with the song “CROWN,” the boys have been up in the air somewhere between reality and fantasy. In “Run Away,” they even ask themselves, “Should we run away from reality?” Later, in the music video for “0X1=LOVESONG (I Know I Love You)” featuring Seori, they take off in a car instead, but they still can’t escape the real world. Now, in FREEFALL, they’re redefining what it means to be young by making a U-turn away from Neverland and straight toward reality—living there without hiding their horns or their dreams.
“Growing Pain” draws on the thrashing power of emocore for its particular sound, with the voices of the TOMORROW X TOGETHER members intentionally buried deep into the soundscape, adding a sense of depth and suggesting the feeling of pushing emotions down inside. They even sing the chorus in a restrained falsetto (“Into the pain / Throw it”), keeping any potentially explosive outbursts at bay. It’s once the album moves onto its seventh track, “Skipping Stones,” that the boys really break out with pure rock power. Earlier in the album, they see the horns on their heads as crowns and accept them as part of their identity in “Deep Down,” and the rest of reality, too, in “Happily Ever After” (“Even after closing the fairy tale book / Life still goes on … So what? I rather like it this way”). When they finally get to “Skipping Stones,” they reaffirm their determination to get on with the real world, bruises and all: “The water that swallowed the scars will become calm someday / And it will have a wide embrace.” In FREEFALL, the sound itself is the journey the group takes, with each track on the album finding its own way to leverage the music to match the message, the soundscape of each coming together to form one unified whole. Where the emocore sound of “Growing Pain” explores how much it hurts to fall back into reality, the synth-pop “Chasing That Feeling” tries to race fearlessly through that real world (“My fate, come and kiss me / I just keep on chasing that feeling”). The boys’ voices are full of sorrow but still dynamic as each sings about how they “turn my back on heaven.” Their vocals grow calmer and the beats in the album slow as it moves through the R&B-infused “Dreamer” and the synth-laden “Deep Down.” The progressive levelling out of emotions that flow through the album changes direction when the music briefly drops out during this track on the line, “Deep down I need you more,” acknowledging their horns as high-tempo EDM beats take over from the second verse. After an atmospheric free fall, the album rises again from “Happily Ever After,” the boys’ voices chipper right from the start. The track’s followed up by the rocker “Skipping Stones,” which then segues into “Blue Spring,” opening with the rousing words, “When we’re high / When we’re low / You’re always by my side / All my youth is filled with your warmth.” With no fear of the real world now, the boys are fully open to their identity and to love as the “once so chilly world / Blooms into spring at last.” Love has always been one of TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s core tenets, but they may find a different kind of value in it after crashing down into reality in free fall. The “gray” TOMORROOW X TOGETHER members’ vocals make good on the messages and music of every track in this journey to discover their youth, perfectly encapsulating what it’s like for someone to find their own path through life while they’re still young. Though each track off the album explores a different genre, they form one complete story solely through the music.
The Name Chapter: FREEFALL aims to flesh out a different musical genre on every one of its tracks, and the songs eschew variations of each of their themes in favor of repeating the choruses and verses to make for a series of tight, compact packages. Some might brush this approach off as following the current pop formula, but TOMORROW X TOGETHER makes the album their own by “Chasing That Feeling” through finely tuning their vocals to emphasize the message behind each song and the album’s journey as a whole. In other words, the group takes the trappings of pop and brings something magical to the story and the message—TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s own brand of pop music. Like dream-filled boys forge their own destinies in a world where adults have lost the ability to dream, the group finds their identity within the world of pop. That’s how these young men set up their own little space within the real world.
youtube
​Magic takes root in reality and flourishes 
Oh Minji: “Sometimes magical moments can be found in the most unmagical places.” Those are the words that close the concept teaser for TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s latest album, The Name Chapter: FREEFALL, as the boys say goodbye to their own personal Neverland and each tumbles down in an “endless fall” (“Growing Pain”) by choice (“I throw myself,” “Chasing That Feeling”) to land somewhere new—somewhere where magical moments can no longer be found. Unlike Peter Pan, they can’t fly, much less be boys forever. In the video, they’re like flowers that “turn my back on heaven and fall from the sky” (“Chasing That Feeling”), left to bloom in solitude along a barren asphalt road and next to a sewer where they’ll be washed away come even the slightest rain.
The place TOMORROW X TOGETHER has stumbled upon, however, is not entirely REALITY, as the name of their concept clip echoes, but rather one where buildings and umbrellas help protect them from the downpour. Unlike in the concept teaser, in the REALITY clip, they’re safe from being swept away by rain, and there’s no risk of “pain on my flesh” or having to be “prepared to die” (“Chasing That Feeling”). But it’s still clearly a set made for TOMORROW X TOGETHER, with it raining upwards, and words like “DOWN TO EARTH” and “FREEFALL” written on the ground and walls. They seem to have finally stopped falling and have their feet on the ground in the concept video for MELANCHOLY, the next in the series, but given that YEONJUN is in a cage and SOOBIN is behind bars, they’re not free, either. It could be that the wolfdog that’s with them in the fake reality—a place that’s neither completely real, nor where the boys are entirely free—is a symbolic mirror for the boys themselves. The animal—finally free from its simultaneously protective and restrictive cage (Neverland) but still barred from entering the real world—comes across as an analogy for Peter Pan-like characters in the real world: boys who want to become adults but can’t because they have never seen a real adult with their own eyes.
Even though they choose not to “run away and avoid” things and instead fall and deal with the accompanying agony, there’s no doubt that facing the wicked destiny that dooms them to “wander” comes with its fair share of growing pains (“Deep Down”). But there are times when you have to go through something painful in order to have something better at the end. For example, the TOMORROW X TOGETHER members wear pearls around their necks in the CLARITY concept clip. It’s only after an oyster’s shell is invaded by a foreign body and the creature endures the pain that a pearl is finally formed, so they act as an exclusive medal of bravery for those who have dealt with pain (“thought my blood spills and bones break … I throw myself into a dream that doesn’t lie,” “Growing Pain”). TOMORROW X TOGETHER are now standing on top of the true real world, having overcome their pains and earned their pearls and freedom. For them, reality is the roof that they thought had been there to protect them all along. It's somewhere they could fall from at any given moment and once again be left unprotected from the elements, but it’s also where they can turn down the “Devil by the Window” tempting them with whispers (“Dream on, dream on, good night!”) and finally say, “To a new sun every day, good morning” (“Happily Ever After”).
The noises that can be heard through the concept films feel like glitches that come about because TOMORROW X TOGETHER, once living in a fairy tale-like world, is entering the real one. The noises crack and sputter as the boys stand “in that typical fork in the road” where “adults who don’t dream and boys who only have dreams” exist. It’s at that fork—where they face reality without giving up their youth—that the “magical moments” bloom. Like this album, for one.
34 notes · View notes
paragonrobits · 5 months
Text
Princess Bubblegum after meeting Huntress Wizard at a point where HW is taking her relationship with Finn more seriously: I'll admit I didn't anticipate you connecting with Finn like that, but it IS nice to see him with someone, especially someone that sort of mirrors his unique kind of character Huntress Wizard: You mean because I'm a bloodthirsty feral beast openly disdaining the boring constraints of civilization? Princess Bubblegum: Yeah, that, Finn's exactly like that Princess Bubblegum: I guess I have to admit I'm a little surprised it took him that long to find you or someone like you. I suppose back when I was with him when we were both younger and after he was with Flame Princess, he was too young and emotionally immature to really be involved with someone as seriously as he tried to be, but he grew up. He matured a lot. Huntress Wizard: Ah. You wonder why no one seriously flirted with him or that anyone tried to court him in some way? Bubblegum: Well, yeah, I guess so. I'll admit I don't really know the whole... story with what people outside our group think at any time. It's basically just me, Finn, Jake, Marceline, Lady Rainicorn, sometimes Simon when he's feeling social, and now you. I don't really talk to anyone else. Even the other princesses are... they're not friends, honestly. Huntress Wizard: Hmm, yes. You and Finn, Marceline and Jake, the others... they're not specifically friends, you're a pack; a family. Huntress Wizard: That's actually WHY few people seriously considered courting him? Bubblegum: It had something to do with us? Huntress Wizard: Yes. Finn was considered the most... spoken for hero in all of Ooo, given you and Marceline. Bubblegum: Wait, people thought Finn was in a relationship with me? Or Marceline? Huntress Wizard: Yes. Sometimes both. But that's not what I meant. Huntress Wizard: The three of you and the rest of your group are close. EXTREMELY close. And you're not necessarily popular. Some people think you're unsettlingly weird, or too terrifying to want to get involved with at all. Or they just think some of you would be horrifyingly annoying. Bubblegum, not particularly offended: I've spent a few centuries cultivating that kind of reputation mostly on purpose so, yeah, that's fair I guess. Huntress Wizard: Right. So even if someone had feelings for Finn, or thought he'd be a good match, they still wouldn't try because they knew YOU and Marceline would also be involved. You're a package deal, and most people just went NOPE at the idea. Bubblegum, abruptly realizing that her presence was significantly more potentially detrimental than she intended: HRM. Huntress Wizard: Don't feel bad. He cares about you, and Marceline, and the others so much that if it was a choice being keeping you in his life or having to be alone forever, he was content with your friendship. If someone romantically interested in him didn't want you in his life, he didn't want them.
44 notes · View notes
Text
Made for Him III
Tumblr media
Warnings: this fic includes dark content including rape/noncon, blood and gore, violence, death, grief, and other potential triggering elements. My warnings are not exhaustive, enter at your own risk.
This is a dark!fic and explicit. 18+ only. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.
Summary: Peter finds himself alone after the loss of those around him, so he decides to find a cure to his grief.
Characters: Peter Parker
Note: Part 3! Happy almost-ween.
As per usual, I humbly request your thoughts! Reblogs are always appreciated and welcomed, not only do I see them easier but it lets other people see my work. Thanks to everyone who reads this one and thank you for all your energy.
Love you all like Garfield loves lasagna. Take care. 💖
Tumblr media
The Creation
Peter. His name was Peter.
That was the first thing you knew. He was gentle, kind, and patient, if not overbearing. You knew these things because he told you, because the movies, because the letters he pointed to and the numbers he counted, the words he recited. He showed you all the wonderful things about being alive.
That's what he said. That you were alive. He didn't say what you were before. That concept; 'before', that was scary. 
He also told you how beautiful you were. Even as you watched Audrey Hepburn's porcelain skin and compared it to your own scarred complexion, even as you tried to speak and your voice scratched shrilly compared to Judy Garland's silken tones, or when you tried to move like Ginger Rogers and found yourself stumbling. Those women were beautiful, you were anything but.
It was when you were watching a very funny movie, a spectacle called Singing in the Rain, when you thought of the question. Peter always liked your curiosity, it made him smile and he proudly answered, the all-knowing creator. 
"Peter," your syllables were stiff and fractured, it was still hard to get your voice out, to shape the sounds on your tongue.
"Yes, precious," he looked over, his arm stretched over the back of the couch as you sat with your legs bent in front of you.
"How…" you carefully constructed your question, sometimes you still missed some words, "how old am me?"
His eyebrows rose and his forehead wrinkled. He retracted his arm to scratch his throat as it bobbed.
"'I, how old am I," he corrected you, "why do you ask?"
You blinked and mulled his question. You didn't know how to answer. You didn't know why you thought of it.
"Am me– I very old?" You eked out, "or very young?"
He squinted and let out a sigh. His hand fell to his chest as he sat up.
"You are alive, does it matter?" He asked.
"Well…" you began, again pausing to let your words catch up to your thoughts, "are you old?"
"I am… young, relatively," he replied as he slid forward on the cushion.
"Re-la-tive-ly?" You echoed.
"I am older than some, younger than others," he explained.
You nodded and brought your fingers up to tap your lip. You looked at the actors on the screen. When you asked about them, he was happy to talk all about them. He told you about their lives, about how they knew each other, he even read to you from a book about all the scandals after your lessons. But when you asked about you, he didn't like to answer and when you asked about him, you could tell he didn't say all he knew. You knew, because he had the same look as a witness in a court scene, describing bad things you never imagined possible.
"Am I old and young like you?" You looked back at him.
His lips pressed tightly, "yes." He stood and put his hands on his hips, "you should turn that off. We have a lesson today."
"But it's not…" you scrunched your nose as you searched your mind, "done. Yes, done. See, no need lessons."
"Please, you can watch the rest later," he said as he took the books from the shelf, "you've done very well but you can't be lazy."
"Lazy?" You wondered.
"You have to do it," he insisted.
You hit the screen and the movie stopped. You pressed the slender button to darken the tablet and stood. You followed Peter to the room with the table and sat. He waited as sometimes you were still unsure on your feet.
You took a chair as he unfolded the book and slid over your notebook. He handed you the thick pencil and you wiggled it impatiently as you watched him flick through the pages.
"Peter," you said.
"Yes, precious," he replied without looking up.
"I… die?" Your voice cracked as the question made you dizzy.
"What?" He glanced up.
"I die? Do I die?" You set the pencil in the creases between the pages.
"Will you die?" He said carefully, "well, everyone d--"
"You die?" Your eyes rounded as you curled your fingers into fists.
"One day," he said evenly.
You stood so suddenly the chair toppled. Your entire body shook with that same feeling you got when the sky was booming. You touched your head as your heart beat furiously. 
"Die!?" You shouted.
"Precious," he stood, "please, don't be upset. It won't be for a very long time."
"Time," you waved your finger at him, "time… head doesn't know."
"It's… hard to understand," he cooed as he touched your shoulder gently, "you're not ready."
You frowned and crossed your arms. You pulled away from him and stomped.
"Want to know," you said, "want to… un-der-stand."
"Shh, please," he took your hands and unbent your fingers, "not now."
"When?" You pouted.
He sighed and closed his eyes. His nostrils flared and his dimples deepened. He wetted his lips and looked at you, endless pools of eternity luring you in.
"Just… later," he said, "you trust me?"
"Trust?" You remembered that word, it was in that one scene, the tears, the terror.
"Trust," you repeated, "but… fear?"
"You're scared?" He prompted and tilted his head. You nodded and he gave a sorrowful smile. "You don't have to be, not with me."
He pulled you to him, wrapping his arms around you. He did that often, sometimes for no reason at all. He pet your head, the short crop of new hair growing around the scars under the glossy blond wig. You chose that yourself, it made you feel pretty. Like Greta Garbo or Grace Kelly.
He drew back, for a moment, framing your face with his hand. His dark eyes bore into you and his thumb touched the bottom of your lip. His pupils grew big and it was if he wasn't looking at you but through you.
He let his arms fall away entirely and turned away with a sigh. "Sit, you have things to learn."
You hesitated. He seemed angry. At you? The idea of displeasing him was worse than the unknown promise of death. He was always so kind, you didn't ever want him to be mean.
You sat in the chair again, pulling it straight and folded your hands across the table. You waited as he paced, peering past the sheer curtains. You straighten your spine as it reminds you of a scene from Our Fair Lady, of Eliza Doolittle learning to be a proper woman. You were much like her, ignorant and sloppy. You wanted to be graceful and elegant like Audrey, not lost like Eliza.
"The rains in Spain fall mainly on the plain," you declared proudly.
Peter let the curtain fall straight as he unhooked his finger and bowed his head. His fingers twiddled and the veins of his arm pulsed. His skin was like silk, smooth and unblemished. How was it that he was flawless but you are so scarred? Why?
"What?" He turned slowly to face you.
"You're like Pro-fes-sor Higgins," you enunciated with difficulty, "you're teaching me to be smart."
He gripped the back of his empty chair and leaned on it. He looked at you, the line between brows receding. He smiled as he pulled out the seat and dropped onto it.
"Yeah, something like that," he agreed as he bent to glance over the open book. 
You admired his reddish brown locks, the ends starting to curl as it dangled down his neck. You could see the sweat glisten on his brow and in his hair as the heat kissed his pale cheeks. But you didn't feel the cold or the hot, not very much.
His eyes flicked up as he turned the page and he met your gaze, "what?"
You blinked and twined your fingers together, "hm?"
"What are you looking at?" He asked, a crooked smile, "me?"
You put your attention to the table guiltily and pushed your shoulders up, feet kicking below the table. He gave a soft laugh and stood, dragging his chair around the corner of the table to sit closer to you. His hand rested on the table top, cautiously moving to touch your elbow.
"Look at me again, precious," he urged.
You bit your lip, cheeks burning with a curious fire. You shook your head and tried not to giggle at the way your insides squirmed. He grabbed your arm more firmly and you gulped.
"Please," he said softly. 
You lifted your head and looked at him. His touch slid up your arm and he guided you to turn in your seat, facing him completely.
"I have a question for you," he said.
Your eyes flitted back and forth and you reached for the pencil. He chuckled and stopped you, rolling the pencil away from you. He caught your hands and rubbed them firmly with his thumbs, looking down at them as if they weren't heavy and harsh.
"Can I ask you?" He tilted his chin up.
"Ask," you confirmed.
His cheek dimpled and his throat bobbed, "precious, do you think… I'm handsome?"
You searched his face, the straight nose, his long brows, his square jaw, and thin lips. Your eyes rounded as you thought of the question. You were too shy to confess it.
"What… handsome?"
He frowned, "don't play dumb. You told me you thought Laurence Olivier was handsome. So… am I handsome?"
You smiled even as you tried not to. "Yes. Handsome. A lot."
He smiled too and sat up, "really?"
"Yes!" You tugged on his grasp and he clung to you. You wiggled free and covered your face, "but ugly!"
"Ugly?" He wondered.
"Me! Me ugly." You hid from him and turned back to the table, planting your elbows on the wood.
"No. Not ugly," Peter moved closer and touched the smooth locks of the wig, searching beneath until he found your shoulder, "beautiful."
"No. Wrong," you argued as you kept your face behind your hands.
He took your wrist and wrestled down your arm, strong but gentle. You squeezed your eyes shut and shook your head. He tugged and made you face him again.
"If you aren't beautiful, then why do I want to kiss you so bad?"
You gasped and opened your eyes, your other hand dropping, "kiss?"
The idea both excited and startled you. You saw it on the screen, the romantic, leaning, entwined kisses and declarations of love. You fluttered your fingers and bounced on the seat.
"No!" You exclaimed, "you don't. Lie."
"I do," he said, earnestly as his chest rose and fell noticeably, "do… can I?"
"Can… kiss?" You nearly shouted in surprise.
"Yes," he laughed, "please?"
You gaped at him. You felt like you were shaking. You tore your eyes away and clapped your hands together, "if… want. Yes."
He stood, taking your hands and pulling them apart as he helped you to your feet. You let him as he pressed your hands to his shoulders and swooped and arm around you.
"Look at me, precious," he said. You obeyed, jittering.
"What do?" You pushed your fingertips into his firm chest, feeling the muscle, inhaling his scent.
"Close your eyes," his voice was low and gritty, "and do what I do."
You shut your eyes and he brought his hand up to your chin, tilting your head back. You held your breath and felt his gloss over your mouth. His lips met yours with a shock, sparks surging through you. His tongue poked along the crease and you parted for him.
Baffled and bubbly, you let him hold you, let him kiss you, the star of your own movie.
251 notes · View notes
pennylanefics · 1 year
Text
Somebody Else - Jake Kiszka
a/n: i had a simple idea and ran with it…this is the longest fic i’ve written in some time, and if you have a fragile heart for soft/sad jake…prepare ;) also let me know if you are interested in a second part bc i kind of have an idea!
summary: your crush asks you out on a date, and despite being excited for you, jake has to hide his true feelings and put your happiness before his
word count: ~4.9k
*gif is not mine, credit goes to whoever made it. if it is yours, please let me know so i can credit you!!
Tumblr media Tumblr media
The day was finally here. Your crush finally asked you out on a date, and you couldn’t be happier.
Mitchell was a regular customer at your work that you got to know quite well. Working at a small record store, you got to know some of the people that came in a lot, and he was one of them. You two bonded over your love for Motown and soul music, and things escalated to you giving him your number.
After a couple weeks of talking every day, he finally asked you on a date. You two decided to have a picnic in the park this weekend, and you were so ecstatic; you. knew you had to tell your friends.
The guys were back home in Nashville from touring for a little while and were spending lots of time alone, however, Josh invited you over to his place for a dinner and movie night with everyone. You of course agreed and even got there earlier than he said just so you could tell someone.
“You know that guy that I’ve been talking to for a couple weeks?” You gush to Josh in the kitchen, sitting at the counter. Josh takes the lasagna out from the oven and sets it on the stove to cool off.
“Yes, it’s all you talk about these days,” he teases. Chuckling, you stare down at your hands, picking at your nails.
“He finally asked me out, so we’re having a picnic date this weekend,” you tell him. What you didn't expect was for Jake to walk in just as you say that.
His face falls, but he hides it well.
Things between you and Jake have always been…complicated. You two have been friends ever since you were young, and as you grew, you became even closer. Sometimes, it was like you two were dating, but neither of you ever made a move, and things fizzled out when you each got into relationships.
Though Jake’s feelings for you never fully went away. He has been hopelessly in love with you ever since your sophomore year of high school, even through other relationships of his. You were the one he loved.
So hearing that you were going on a date with a guy you were crazy about, he wasn’t really in the mood for a cheerful and happy night anymore.
“Oh, hey Jake,” Josh greets his twin. Jake offers a tight-lipped smile and sets the bottle of wine down on the counter. You smile at him, and he can’t help but break his upset exterior and walk over to you.
“Got a hot date, I hear?” He wonders. You giggle and nod, feeling your cheeks heat up just at the thought.
The rest of the night goes fine, though Jake ends up drinking more than he should, the idea of you finding someone else and potentially seeing this man for who knows how long pained his heart. He couldn’t fathom the idea anymore.
He had been wanting to tell you his feelings for the last couple weeks of tour. All he could think about after every show was how badly he wanted to text you or be in your arms. Sure, you text and chat as friends, but he wanted to tell you how all he could think about during the concert was you.
How he wished you were on his section’s side so he could see your pretty face watching him nail his guitar solos, or how he wished you were with him to wipe the sweat from his body and detangle his hair before he gets into the shower, or helping him comb his hair afterwards because he’s too tired and his arms are sore.
It got to the point where he was annoying his brothers with how much he talked about you, and Josh was super close to just calling you as his twin blabbered on about you just to get things over with.
The following weekend, you were so nervous for your date, you were struggling hard with finding something to wear. Do you go super casual like a pair of jeans and just your hair pulled back and natural? Would a t-shirt work? Was he expecting you wear something nicer like a dress or a skirt?
So, you called the one person who’s opinion you could always count on.
Jake.
He agreed, albeit reluctantly, and arrived at your place soon after.
“This date is in half an hour and I have no fucking idea what to wear!” You yell out as Jake steps into your room.
“Oh my god,” he whispers upon seeing the pile of clothes on your bed. “(Y/N), you’re thinking about this too much.”
“I’m not, though! I really like this guy and I want the date to go well. What if I wear a band shirt with a band that he hates, or he doesn’t like the way my shirt and jeans fit me, or he thinks I dressed too casually for it, or if I wear a sundress will he think I want to have sex? Is that a thing? I haven’t been on a first date in so long and I don’t-”
“(Y/N)!” Jake grabs your wrists to stop you. “We’ll figure it out, okay. How about something casual yet dressy? Like this.”
He picks up a plain black crop top with a soft pink skirt. You stare at the items and try to visualize it.
“Try it on, okay? I’ll step out for a moment.” Nodding, you pick the items up and Jake walks out, closing the door behind him.
You quickly throw the pieces on and walk over to your floor-length mirror on your closet, your hands running over your body as you think it through. You loved it, truthfully; Jake always had a good sense of style when it came to things like this.
“Are you dressed?” Jake wonders, knocking on your door. A smile spreads across your face and you walk over to let him in. As soon as his eyes land on you, his jaw drops and he gasps.
“You look so good, oh my god. If he does not take you on a second date, he’s a loser,” he says. You giggle and walk back to your closet, staring down at the boxes of shoes.
“Go with a pair of white sneakers,” Jake adds, taking a seat on your bed, even though it was pretty much covered with your clothes.
“Not a pair of heels?”
“If you’re gonna be walking through grass, that’s not a good idea. Also, tennis shoes scream casual, like he knows you at least dressed up nice, but heels send it over the top.”
You grab the box with your white Vans and set it aside for now to pick some jewelry out. Jake watches you carefully pluck the rings from the top drawer of your dresser, where they were all perfectly laid out. He has seen them plenty of times, when he’s been over at your place and gotten bored; at one point, he tried on every single ring, one by one, to test which hand and finger it looked good on.
Once you were all ready to go, Jake stands and heads downstairs, waiting for you to follow. He pays attention to the way you frantically stuff your purse with your wallet and a few other things before sliding your shoes on.
“Alright, I have to head out, he’s probably there waiting for me,” you say. Jake grimaces upon realizing he wasn’t picking you up.
“He couldn’t have just drove over and made the effort to pick you up?” He wonders. You shrug, not thinking anything of it.
“I’ll see you later and let you know how the date went!” You kiss his cheek and dart out of your house and into your car. Jake follows behind shortly, waiting till you’ve driven off to reach up ad touch his cheek with his hand.
You’ve kissed each other’s cheeks many times, hell, you’ve even kissed one another on very drunken nights, and a couple sober ones, but this one felt different. He felt…soft inside. His love for you just skyrocketed with a simple gesture, one that you probably didn’t think twice about, and one that he would be thinking about for the rest of the week.
Instead of calling Jake, you called Josh as soon as your date ended. It was wonderful, Mitchell was such a gentleman, he was sweet, asked you about yourself, more than you’ve gotten to casually know with texting. It was everything you hoped for.
And, the best thing, you two had a second date planned at a local diner.
“Josh, it was amazing!” You beam over the phone at your friend. His laugh sounds from the other end, but what you don’t see, is that he’s keeping an eye on his brother sat adjacent to him, listening to you say everything over speaker.
He knew he shouldn’t be doing this, but he figured Jake should know what to expect before you call him, that way he’s not completely blindsided by the information.
Jake sits and listens, every second that goes by, his heart is slowly chipping away, piece by piece with every single thing you mention about liking Mitchell or something that happened.
He was so incredibly happy for you, and hearing you so delighted and overjoyed did make him happy; he just wishes it was him making you feel that way.
“Oh, and we’re going on another date on Tuesday, and I can’t wait for that. Maybe he’ll kiss me afterwards. God, I’ve thought about that ever since we met.” Jake groans inaudibly and Josh frowns. Jake sits up, tears evident in his eyes as he runs his hands through his hair.
“Maybe,” Josh lightly laughs, trying to give you the same energy back.
“Alright, well, I better go and call Jake, I promised I’d let him know how it went.” Josh looks over at his twin, finding his shoulders shaking with silent sobs, his hands pressed into his face. Josh’s mouth falls open and he quickly tries to think of a response.
“Uh, Jake is currently out with Danny. I think they said they were going to look for a new magazine that was released, so they’re going store to store trying to find it,” he quickly covers.
“Okay, well then I’ll just text him later tonight. Thanks Josh, see you later.”
“Alright, see ya, (Y/N).” Josh hangs up and immediately, Jake lets out a loud sob that he was trying so hard to hold in. Tears pool in his hands and spill down his wrists. Josh is by his side within seconds, rubbing his back, attempting to offer some sort of comfort.
A couple minutes go by and Jake is still crying, and Sam and Danny walk in, cheering about getting the pizza they went out for. They stop in their tracks as soon as they see their brother in distress.
Danny runs the pizza and beer to the kitchen while Sam joins the other two on the couch, sitting carefully on the coffee table in front of Jake. Danny returns seconds later, kneeling on the ground next to Jake.
Jake was feeling so overwhelmed and needed space, but he couldn’t tell his own brothers that and upset them; they are wanting to help, it’s in their blood.
“What did she say?” Sam asks, taking a shot in the dark that this was about you. Josh just shakes his head as if to say we’re not going to talk about it right now, and Sam understands.
Finally, Jake catches his breath again and is able to remove his hands from his face. Tears were still present in his eyes, though he was no longer crying. He wipes them away and keeps his gaze on his hands, sniffling, ignoring the questioning glares of his bandmates.
“She’s going on a second date with him,” he mumbles, filling Danny and Sam in. “Today was the best time she’s had in a while and she really likes him, and thinks she sees it going somewhere.”
The room falls silent as the two younger men share a look. They felt terrible, and they had no idea how to properly help Jake.
“Why don’t you tell her before it’s too late?” Sam tries to offer. Jake scoffs and suddenly stands, the three of them backing away in shock.
“What am I gonna say, huh? “I know you’re happy with Mitchell right now but I fucking love you so much that I would do anything to make you mine?” “I know that you really like Mitchell and want to date him but I want to you to date me instead?” “Hey I know you just went on a first date with a new guy and I know you want to tell me all about it, but it’s shattering my fucking heart to pieces hearing you talk about someone else like that?””
Again, the room remains silent, no one really knowing how to respond to Jake. His breathing was a bit labored as his anger and frustration grew, but he decides to exit the room and head out to the back deck of Josh’s house, not wanting to say anything he’ll regret to the people just wanting to comfort him.
But he didn’t need comfort, at least from them. The cool air of the dimming afternoon was enough to relax him for the time being. The minutes go by, and just as Jake is going to walk back inside, Danny steps out to join him, a sorrowful expression on his face.
“I understand how you’re feeling,” Danny begins, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jacket. “Loving someone you can’t have, yet not wanting to cut them out because having them in your life is better than not having them around at all.” Jake nods, his eyes glued to the floor of the deck.
“I love her so much, Danny. I…I can’t hear about how she’s happy with someone else,” Jake admits. “But knowing she’s doing well is better than her being miserable. I don’t want that for her. If she really likes Mitchell and they end up getting together, I’ll put up with it but…I’m not sure how much longer I can be around it.”
“Why don’t you take a small vacation somewhere? Tell everyone you’re going off the grid for a few days to reconnect and maybe work on some songs and your mental health,” Danny suggests. Jake thinks for a moment and then smiles.
“That would work, actually. If I leave tomorrow and get back Thursday, that would save me from having to hear about her date before and after at least for a couple days.”
Danny smiles at his friend and pats his shoulder.
“You’ll get through this, Jake. You’ll find someone who will love and appreciate you, I just know it.” Jake fakes a smile before heading back in.
He didn’t want someone else. He wanted you.
The following day, Jake decides that taking a trip wasn’t the best idea. He didn’t want to run away from his problems, and deep down, he had a feeling that something was going to go wrong, so he wanted to stay nearby just in case.
His intuition ended up being correct.
Tuesday rolls around, and all Jake has been doing since Saturday is laying in bed, his acoustic guitar by his side, as well as his journal. He only got up to eat or use the bathroom, and he hasn’t been answering anyone’s calls, keeping his phone on do not disturb.
The rain was an added bonus to Jake’s mood for the night. He hadn’t heard from you at all, despite checking his notifications and whatnot to see if you had even texted or called him. Nothing.
This only upset him more for some reason. This was what it was going to be like if you rejected him and moved on. Or if he decided he can’t just stay friends and would rather let you go than keep you around.
Until at around 9:30, he gets a call from you. He lets it go through, ignoring it as he writes in his journal. He thinks the moment has passed, but he then gets a text notification. He groans and finally picks his phone up, seeing a single text from you.
From: bug
can I come over?
He stares at it for a good minute, his fingers trying to type out a response. He finally comes to a decision. Whatever it is that you wanted, he was going to listen to, and finally admit his feelings just to get it out of his head.
So, he quickly texts back an, “of course” and sets his phone down, going back to the lyrics he was working on. Though now, his mind was going crazy. What could you possibly have to tell him that could’t wait until morning?
Upon hearing knocking at the door, he runs downstairs to open it as quick as he can, knowing it is still raining, but when he sees the state that you are in, he freezes.
You stand before him, clothes soaking wet, hair stuck to your face and neck. Your eyes were red and filled with tears, though it was hard to tell because of the raindrops on your face mixing with the tears.
Jake lets you in when he comes back down to earth, and guides you over to the bathroom. No words are exchanged, but the way you grab Jake’s hand right before closing the door, he could tell something bad happened.
He went back to his room and grabbed an old t-shirt and sweats for you to wear, as well as a towel for your body and hair. He set them right outside the door and knocked softly, letting you know there was something there.
Jake couldn’t help the tears that stung his eyes, knowing the person he loves most was hurting, and he doesn’t know why. He does know that if it has something to do with Mitchell, he won’t be able to keep his cool.
After about twenty minutes, you trudge into Jake’s room He sets his guitar on the ground and sits up against the headboard. You cautiously walk over to him and he pats his bed, telling you that it’s okay for you to join him.
You take a seat slowly, sitting with your legs crossed next to him. Jake scoots a bit closer to you and as much as he wants to reach out for your hand, he doesn’t, at least not yet.
“He stood me up,” you whisper, keeping your eyes down in your lap. “I waited for him for two hours. We were supposed to meet at seven. He didn’t answer any of my texts or calls, never showed up.”
Anger bubbles inside of Jake, but he tries to keep calm on the outside just for you.
You laugh synically and shake your head.
“I should’ve fucking known. He was a little distant when I asked him about a second date, I feel like he only said yes to be nice. After thinking it through, I don’t think he had a good time on Saturday. I should’ve known it wasn’t going to go anywhere. It’s how it always goes.”
Jake shoots up, becoming too angry to just sit still. He needed to let some tension out by pacing around his room.
“You know, you don’t give yourself enough credit. You’re a wonderful girl, and if he doesn’t see that, that’s his issue, not yours.”
“But I was dumb for thinking a guy could like me more than that and would want to go on multiple dates with me.” Jake laughs loudly, running his hands through his hair.
“Oh really? Because I’ve fucking been in love with you for ten years and you’ve never once thought about the fact that someone who cares so deeply for you is right fucking in front of you!” He shouts, startling and surprising you.
“I’ve loved you since sophomore year, hell, probably even longer than that, and I can’t do this anymore. I love you, (Y/N), and at this point I don’t give a shit if you don’t feel the same way, I just needed you to know that. And I know this probably isn’t the best time, seeing how upset you are over Mitchell, but I needed you to know that there are people out there who are going to love you and want to treat you like you should be treated.”
Silence hangs in the air, your eyes falling back down to your lap, more tears filling them; you have no idea what to say.
“What is it that you love about me?” You softly ask. Jake’s breathing was finally starting to level out, and he was coming back down from his outburst. Hearing your question, though, he smiles and walks over to the edge of the bed, his arms crossed over his chest.
“Everything. The way you laugh, the way your hair frames your face so perfectly, the way you care for others so deeply before you care for yourself. How you love so passionately yet you don’t know that you deserve that same love and energy back. I love how willing you are to listen to anyone’s problems and try to help solve them no matter what you have going on. I love your love for films and how you and Josh bond over that…I could really go on forever.”
Finally, your eyes meet his, and suddenly, all of your worries are gone. Your heart swells upon noticing Jake’s teary eyes, a few of those tears on his cheek. All of your memories with Jake came rushing to you.
The times you two spent the night with one another, staying up late to chat, the lingering glances he would give you at any point in time, those drunken nights where you spilled everything to each other and even shared a few kisses, laughing uncontrollably into each other’s mouths, the way Jake’s touch stayed on yours for just a few seconds longer than needed.
And most recent events, the way Jake sighed when he was helping you get ready for your date, how agitated and distressed he looked when hearing about Mitchell and how you were really looking forward to the date. The way his face and shoulders fell when he overheard you telling Josh everything that day.
Raising from the bed, you meet Jake and reach up to cradle his face. For a moment, he gets lost in your gaze and touch, but he backs away, shaking his head.
“No, no!” He yells, sighing deeply and rubbing his face in a stressful manner. “You can’t do this, (Y/N). You were so crazy over Mitchell just two days ago and now you’re suddenly interested in me because I told you my feelings? I’m not going to be a rebound for you just because you’re sad. The only reason I told you was to get it out of my head and for you to know.”
Within seconds, your heart shatters to pieces. You can see how much this has affected Jake, and how your actions have hurt him. Nodding, you stare down at your hands, twiddling them nervously.
“I’m sorry, Jake. I had no idea. But deep down, I’ve always loved you. I never wanted to ruin our friendship so I pushed it out of my mind. I figured we grew out of that phase, but I see that’s not true. I respect your hesitancy, and again, I’m really sorry.”
With that, you walk out of his room and grab your soaked clothes from the bathroom. You quickly make an exit for your car, but before you can hop into the driver’s seat, Jake darts out of the house and runs straight over to you.
“What are-”
Jake cuts you off by grabbing your cheeks and kissing you passionately, the rain pelting down on the two of you. For a moment, you think about the fact that the second pair of clothes you were wearing are now soaked, but that is quickly consumed by the feel of Jake’s lips, his taste mixing with the rain.
Your hands fall to his wrists, holding them lightly, just to acknowledge that you wanted to keep him there. His tongue runs over your bottom lip, and you take that chance to deepen the kiss. You move your hands down his body, to his waist to squeeze him closer to you.
He senses this and steps as close to you as he possibly can, making sure there is absolutely no space between you. His thumbs gently run over the apples of your cheeks, his eyes still shut as he focuses his everything on kissing you and showing you just how much he loves you.
The kiss ends a few minutes later, the rain drenching both of you to the bone at this point, a slight chill running through you. You pull away to catch your breath, and Jake’s hands remain cupping your face, wiping the tears and raindrops away with each swipe.
His breath fans across your lips and chin, warming you up just a touch. You stay put, basking in this moment that you both longed for for so long.
Jake leans forward and for a quick second, pressing his lips to yours as lightly as ever.
“I didn’t mean to react that way,” Jake finally speaks up, his voice quiet, scared he was going to say something wrong. “I’m sorry for not giving you a chance to tell me your side.”
“I was going to tell you I’ve felt the same way for the longest time, but I was convinced you didn’t feel the same anymore. I know you had a crush on me when we were younger, but I thought it was over.”
“It’s definitely not,” he chuckles “The guys actually got annoyed with me the last few weeks of tour because all I could think and talk about was you.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. I wanted to call you after every show just to hear your voice, to tell you everything that happened, and I wanted you to be there supporting me, and welcoming me off stage to help me destress and relax. You’re all I think about, all the damn time, (Y/N).”
“To be quite honest, since we’re doing that now, on my date with Mitchell, you popped into my mind and I couldn’t stop thinking about you. He complimented my outfit and I got to talking…oh,” you sigh in realization.
“W-what?” Jake asks, worriedly. A smile stretches your lips and you gaze up at him. You reach your hand up to caress his wet cheek.
“I got to talking about you and I guess I went on for a little too long. But I thought nothing of it at the time. I thought I was just talking about a friend.” Jake smiles with you and kisses your cheek.
“So he stood you up because you talked about another man on your first date?”
“Potentially,” you mumble. Jake lets out a giggle and wraps his arms around you.
“Well, I know it’s late at night and both of us are standing in the rain, but would you like to go to the diner that you were supposed to meet at? If it’s still open.”
“It’s a twenty-four hour diner, so it is, and I would fucking love that, Jakey.” His cheeks flush an even darker pink at the nickname, his hand dropping to grab yours.
“And…would it be alright to call it a date?” He clarifies. You stand up on your tippy toes to kiss him.
“I would love to go on a date with you. But I would like to do so in some dry clothes.”
You two share a laugh and Jake brings you inside, grabbing you yet another pair of clothes of his for you to wear. He also dresses himself, and before you know it, he is driving you in the direction of the diner you just came from half an hour ago.
Before you get out of the car, Jake reaches for your hand, staying silent for a moment.
“Can I offer something?” He asks. Turning your head towards him, you nod, staring into his eyes. “Can we agree that as soon as we get out of the car, we start new? Forget everything that happened tonight and the past week, and from here on out, start seeing one another more…offically?”
You lean over the center console and kiss him sweetly. He grabs your neck and slightly deepens the kiss, which continues for a few more seconds. But you stop, pulling away. Jake moves with you, following your face with his, wanting more.
“What do you say we ditch the diner and make out in the backseat?” He offers. You giggle and pat his chest.
“As much as I would love that, I didn’t eat dinner, so I’m going in to get food. But if you wanna stay out here and play with yourself…”
“Okay, okay. I’m coming in. But when we get back to my place, can we make out?” You tap his cheek and smile.
“Hell yeah. Your lips are so addicting, Jakey.”
“And I won’t get to thinking about what could be so addicting about you.”
gvf taglist: @streamingcolors-gvf @maud-gone @rhythm-of-space @sunfl0wer-power @fan-girl-97
312 notes · View notes
ladyathenawisdom · 1 year
Text
Don't Let Me Down ♔♕ pt. 4
Warnings: Past Trauma, Eventual Smut, Mature Themes, Violence, Language, Dark Themes Kinda, betrayal, cheating.
@talkingsperm @urmyhopeeee
..........
Supervillain stared at her.
She looked so peaceful, so innocent and kind. But he knew it was a lie, he had heard of her extraordinary powers. It was why his father had picked her.
This marriage was being forced on her as much as it was being forced on him. He didn't want to marry anyone, he was better off alone without someone to stop him. Much less a hero.
Plus, he didn't need some type of weakness.
He was in the comfort of his limo, the young hero laid on the other side of the seat. She was out of it, being injected with something that will knock someone out for 72 hours. The heroes were smart to create something like that.
They were heading to the airport so they can leave for Venezuela. His stepmother and people had probably all heard the news, along with the rest of the world. Amazing, he thought sarcastically.
He picked up his tablet where Hero's information was set up, he read through all of it.
It was impressive. She was impressive.
She was brought to the Organization when she was 3 by Superhero mysteriously. Her powers were like no other, on top of that, she could control people if she trained hard enough.
She had the potential to become the most powerful women in the world. And yet, the industry were probably holding her back.
He glanced towards her, noting her chestnut colored hair and pink lips. He narrows his eyes at her, he could tell she was also an innocent in this, seeing as she was forced to marry him. He wouldn't blame her.
But he wanted too, even though it wasn't her fault.
His father was an idiot. What good would this do? Nothing. The hero industry was stupid, really stupid and idiotic. The level of selfishness they had was beyond any villains selfishness. Atleast Villains actually did what they wanted too, the heroes only wanted fame, glory and money.
He looks up when he sees them approaching the airport. He puts the iPad down, looking at Hero.
.....
Hero blinks, feeling a headache coming on. A groan escapes, her hand going to her head. She slowly sits up, ignoring the stiffness of her back and neck.
"About time you woke up,"
Hero jumps, squealing. She turns towards the side to see......
Supervillain staring at her, his face emotionless.
She swallows hard, trembling slightly. This couldn't be possible, she couldn't be in front of history's most ruthless killer. The last thing she remembers is...being tranquilized by Superhero.
Supervillain tilts his head, watching as many emotions pass through the little hero's face. Confusion, pain, sadness, betrayal and fear.
Hero hesitatinly look at Supervillain, her hands shaking. "Where am I?" She asks, surprised that her voice didn't waver.
Supervillain walks away from the her. "You are on my private jet and we are on our way to Venezuela, in case your wondering, Superhero darted you." He tells her with a shrug.
Hero only stares at him.
Reality of everything set in. Superhero had really just given her away, like a mare. Like she was something to be bought over. Like an object or thing. He had given her to the villains.
All because she was the best, but she didn't think so. The only good thing about her was her powers, that's probably why he picked her. Why give her away? Because of her powers.
All because of her damn powers.
She should have run away.
Supervillain leans back against the side bar, his eyes still on her. "If your gonna run or try to stop this marriage, don't. I've already tried," he grumbles.
"Mastermind..." Hero trails off.
"He's still with Superhero and the others. He needs to clear a few things, maybe get another hero." Supervillain shrugs.
"Than why pick me?" Hero frowns.
"Why not pick you?" Supervillain raised an eyebrow. "I didn't pick you, my father and Superhero did."
Hero looks away, crossing her arms. She trembles, shivering. "Is there no way out of this?" She asks quietly.
"I'm afraid not," Supervillain rolls his eyes. "I tried to stop it, but they are hellbent on this marriage. Consent or not." He scowls, glaring out the window.
"Why would you agree?"
Supervillain scoffs. "You think I agreed to this? I didn't. Mastermind is making me do this, little Hero. I don't have a fucking choice in this," he scowls, glancing at her with his cold eyes.
Hero flinches.
"I've accepted this as a business proposal, nothing else. It's about time you probably do too." Supervillain says. "It there was a way to stop this, I would. However, the hard drive is really...valuable." He trails off.
"Your not gonna give them the real one." Hero realizes, "Your gonna give them a copy."
Supervillain turns to her, a smirk growing on his lips. "Superhero was right, you are intelligent. You must be the first hero I have met who isn't dumb and only out for glory."
Hero narrows her eyes at him, clenching her fists.
Supervillain eyes her, looking a bit impressed. "And your not scared unlike some people..." he hums. "Superhero also said you could think like a villain to catch the villains and criminals, I'm wondering if it's true or not."
Hero clenches her jaw.
"Because to be honest. I don't see it," He moves closer towards her. "I wonder, how did you figure it out?"
"I'm not stupid." Hero says, almost quietly. "When Mastermind first proposed the idea I had an inkling of what might happen. Your villains, your not loyal to anyone but yourselves. Plus, trading a hard drive that may just help you win this stupid war?" She raised an eyebrow. "You guys aren't stupid to give it away for one measly hero."
Supervillain stares at her.
Hero gets up, standing in front of him. Her eyes were like a raging fire as she glared at him. "I'm not marrying you, it's not gonna happen." She hissed.
Supervillain continues staring at her.
"Did you hear me?" Her angry eyes were lit like a forest fire, delving deeper in the woods to destroy everything. "This is not gonna happen."
Supervillain smirks.
"What? What are you so smug about?" Hero crosses her arms over her chest, glaring at him.
Supervillain moves closer towards her, causing her to falter slightly. "You must be the first person in the world, other then my father..." he hums, looking her up and down. "...to threaten me and look at me like that."
Hero pauses, breathing heavily.
He walks around her in a circle, humming and eyeing her like a predator does to his prey. "I kinda like it. You have fire," he states, stopping behind her.
He leans in to whisper in her ear. "I love fire." He states.
Hero swallows hard, digging her nails into her palms. She hates this, she hates this so much. "It's not happening," She grits out.
Supervillain snorts, walking away from her. "Yeah. Of course not." He rolls his eyes. "Sweetheart, we don't have a choice."
"But your Supervillain, can't you stoo this?" Hero frowns.
Supervillain shoots her a look, a ironic smile on his face. "I appreciate the fact that you think I'm powerful. But refusing my Father? Yeah, no thank you."
Hero frowns, hugging herself. She's never felt so alone then she has now.
"Besides. It's not we like each other, and it's not like we'll fall in love or something." Supervillain snorts. "We'll just stay out of each other's business. You'll be moving in my Villa for about 3 months and then we have to go back to the Hero Industry for the engagement and the wedding."
Hero lisens keenly, feeling numb. This wasn't supposed to happen. She was supposed to be with...with...Other Hero.
No.
He had cheated on her. With Vigilante of all people, she wasn't even that special! Sure, she had been competing with Hero for best heroic skills and beauty (Which Hero won, both of them) but that doesn't explain why he cheated on her.
She pauses. She remembers his earlier statements. Did he really mean all those hurtful words? Did he really just give her up so he cane number one? What would Sidekick? What would he do without her?
"Then you'll move in with me in my villa," Supervillain starts explaining. "We'll live there with the rest of my family. But don't worry, we won't have to see each other at all." He sighs. "You'll meet my stepmother seeing as you already met Mastermind. You'll meet my half siblings and my little sister."
Hero stays silent.
"Now, let me make one thing clear." Supervillain starts in a low tone. "This is only a marriage of inconvenience, and I'm sure you agree." He looks at her.
Hero nods once.
"Good. Because just like the deal, this marriage is not important." Supervillain scoffs. "And despite what Mastermind wants, it's not happening." He was choosing to not directly say something about the...grandchildren.
Hero agreed. No way, no how. It's not happening. It's never happening. She wanted to ask why he called Masterminds by his name but she wasn't that stupid.
This was still Supervillain. The most dangerous criminal in the world. She wasn't gonna take her chance.
"Now." Supervillain sighs, going to take a seat near the window. "Do you need anything?"
Hero shakes her head, opting to not use her voice.
"Alright. You might wanna sleep for a while." He tell her. "The flight will take a few more hours."
Hero nods silently.
Well, it seems as if her life was beginning to take form. And not in a good way.
111 notes · View notes
valorianknights · 11 months
Text
Songs for some really interesting Dark!Hunter au ideas:
Tumblr media
Not one of us - Lion King 2
Like come on, this needs to be an animatic and this fits Hunter so well. Like what if this takes place during Watching and Dreaming? Like this is basically hunter's worst nightmare. To not belong anywhere, being a long and "Helpless to defy his fate".
This could also be some really good huntlow angst. I mean, when I was reading @avatarmerida's fic " The Secret Life of Caleb Jasper Blood Williams", and It got to Hunter revealing himself as the golden Guard to the team... I just... With everyone's reactions... This is what I heard. Ugh. My heart.
My goodbye - Epic the musical
Maybe a dark! Hunter au?
Inspired by @soldrawss Dark!Hunter au
Where he knows everything about the Day of unity, being a grimwalker and even what happened between the Wittebane brothers. But doesn't care.
Maybe he saw potential in Willow to be in the emperor's coven back when he was a scout during a chance meeting and she used her plant magic to help him with something.
Knowing her talents would be wasted in abominations, when he becomes the golden Guard a few weeks later he demands that she be placed in plant track, due to her raw and natural power for the magic. Even saying he wants to take her up as his protegé, just as Lilith had Amity.
He really just wanted to understand why he couldn't stop thinking of her and thought he could get to the bottom of it with her around him more.
After spending time with her he realized that he enjoyed her company and just wanted a friend and it'd be great to have her in the coven with him, even if it was temporary due to the day of unity.
Since she had never seen him without his mask he infiltrates Hexside as Caleb BloodWilliams under Belos' orders to keep an eye on the human to prevent her from interfering with the day of unity. And finds himself becoming attached to Willow and Gus and this new friendship.
Though as he realizes his feelings for Willow may not be as platonic as he thought.
When she and the rest of the hexsquad go to fight Belos during "Young blood, Old souls", everyone gets separated and thinking that Luz and the others are most likely going to die fighting Belos, Hunter confronts her as the Golden Guard.
Sentimental and irrational behavior aren't any teachings of his and he tells her how she had the potential to be a captain, but she's wasting her time to fight a pointless war. He's done. He's disappointed. But so is she.
Willow isn't stupid, she figured it out. She knew Caleb and the golden Guard were the same person. And now that she knows who the bad guys really are, she's done too. They cut their ties, but super angsty and she tells him that she saw him as a friend (maybe more), but if he wants his goodbye then that's fine.
If he wants to help Belos hurt people, if he refuses to change, then she can put him out of sight and out of mind. He can have his goodbye. At least she knows what she's fighting for, she still has her friends and family, if he's so great and wise why is he all alone?!
They part ways hurt, and even though Hunter didn't want to admit it to himself, he didn't really want her to leave. He wanted her to stay. But he knew his place. He understood his purpose in the end. There's no stopping the inevitable and she couldn't even begin to understand what was happening. After all she is just a witch.
(You can clearly see which one I put more thought into and favor more)
I needed to get this out of my system so I could get back to finishing the fanart I was working on.
39 notes · View notes
princetonprincess · 2 years
Text
✮ ɢᴇᴛ ʏᴏᴜʀ ɢᴀᴍᴇ ᴏɴ! ✮
𝐉𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐧/𝐉𝐮𝐝𝐚𝐢 𝐘𝐮𝐤𝐢 + 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐳𝐳 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐭𝐨𝐧/𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝐉𝐮𝐧 + 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧/𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐧 (𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫, 𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲)
𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐇𝐞𝐚����𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 (𝐒𝐅𝐖 + 𝐍𝐒𝐅𝐖)
notes: english names used. all characters are third-years (18 years old). gender-neutral reader.
warnings: NSFW headcanons after the SFW ones (separated). not proofread.
Jaden Yuki
.sfw.
With Jaden, you have to be friends with him way before you can expect him to feel something for you. He needs time, lots of time spent together to realise he likes you a bit more than the rest of the group. At first, he will feel awful about it - he doesn't want anyone to think he's biased or anything! But then, the young boy will realise that the feelings he has for you is not something you could call "friendship".
If you confess before he does: Oh boy will he be happy. You feel the same, how cool is that? He will be overly excited, enveloping you into a thight hug, jumping around like a crazy puppy. You have to calm him down and remind him that he still has a question to answer (he will obviously say yes).
If he has to confess: Listen, he's extremely considerate and smart compared to what he shows. Yes, he's a goofball, but he analyses situations very easily and he can read people like books. He would start experimenting - sitting a bit closer to you while you're eating; touching you whenever he has the chance; looking deeply into your eyes while you're having a conversation with him. Doing all of this, just to see your reactions. If the signs point to you potentially feeling something for him as well, he will come up with a silly confession that will make you laugh! Nothing more precious than saying "yes" with a smile on your face.
Once you start dating him, you will barely notice any change in his behaviour. Despite the fact that he will want to spend more alone time with you, he will continue to treat you like he did when you two were still friends. As time passes, he will start getting more touchy; maybe holding your hand in public or giving you a little kiss on your cheeks whenever you win a duel. But he will definitely develop one habit: Kissing you properly when he feels like he has to.
At the start of a duel for good luck? Yes. After he wins a duel, as a reward? Yeah. After he loses a duel, as a way of comfort? Yup. For passing an exam? Of course. Before going to bed? Naturally. Waking up in the morning? Obviously.
The list could go on. He just loves kissing you. At first, he's very shy about it - his shy kisses were gentle, soft and careful. He was very afraid of pushing boundaries. But once he knows you're okay with it, they get more passionate and long-lasting; just the way he likes them.
Dates with Jaden are mostly exciting! He likes taking you to amusement parks, but who would have guessed that he also considers dueling a date. No matter which one of you wins, in the end you have a lot of fun. He helps you with tactics and card combinations, he will even give you some of his spare cards he think would come in handy in your deck.
.nsfw.
It takes him a while to actually go up to you and talk about intimate stuff. He'd be kind of shy and trip on his words a few times, but the second or third occasion of talking about it would certainly go much smoother.
I know you might be thinking 'He must be so clueless!', but listen. I'm sure he knows everything he has to. He doesn't need guidance, he knows what he's doing. He's a quick learner after all, and of course he was a teenager with hormones doing their work so he discovered stuff by himself. After you came in the picture, you quickly became the source of his fantasies.
A pure, 50-50 switch. It all depends on you and his mood. He loves dominating, he loves being dominated. That's just it, no preference at all.
Doesn't matter which role he's taking, he is definitely vocal, especially the first few times. "Does this feel good?" "Are you alright?" "How does this feel?" "Should I keep going?" and all of these kind of stuff. He wants to know about the impact he has on you, he wants you to feel just as good as he is, or even more so.
His moans are HEAVENLY. When he's dominating, he lets out heavy breaths and low grunts. When he's submissive, oh lord have mercy, he whines and whimpers. His expressions are also priceless, he has this never-ceasing blush on his face and he also seems uncharacteristically serious. Truly a sight to behold.
He loves positions where he can see his partner's face and reactions, it just makes everything a hundred times better for him. He enjoys lightly tying his s/o up, as well as him being tied up by his s/o.
Chazz Princeton
.sfw.
We've all seen The Chazz crushing on Alexis, so his new crush would experience something similar, right? Haha, no. He learned his lesson. He quickly realised that his crush on Alexis was just his well-known teenager feelings and hormones fooling him. Though he still falls in love pretty quickly, he's much more reserved and quiet around his new interest.
So how will you find out he even likes you? Here's the catch, you won't! Not until you confess of course. So if you don't make your move, you might never find out. He tries to make it completely invisible to everyone, though sometimes it's hard to hide that flustered blush on his face when you cheer him on in a duel.
Once you confess, it will be hard for him to deny his feelings - not like he wants to. His childish joy will break through the icy barrier and he will be happier than he ever was. Now that he knows that you feel the same, he will let his old lovestruck boy side make a grand return! He will be by your side all the time, always clinging onto you like he's going to lose you in a blink of an eye.
By that I mean, he's obviously extremely insecure. Part of him isn't only sticking around all the time because he enjoys your company, but also because he's very scared that you'll leave him. He trusts you, don't misunderstand. He just doesn't trust everyone else around! You can reassure him pretty easily though, give him a little kiss or hold his hand gently and all of his doubts will fade away quickly.
He expects you to be his number one fan and cheerleader whenever he's dueling, but don't worry! He's also your number one fan and cheerleader! Both of you boost each other's confidence and that just makes your bond even stronger. He will also try his best to help his s/o out with their deck and tactics. He's the best after all, his advice will definitely help you imporve a lot.
Oh, he's rich by the way. Even without his brothers' support, you can be sure his mom takes care of his wallet. Fancy dinners, expensive hotels in foreign countries, the top wellness industries, you name it. He LOVES spoiling you, not just to flash his wealth but also to provide the best of the best to his one and only.
.nsfw.
It's sooo easy to tell when he's horny. He gets all touchy-feely and he blushes so hard if you tease him back. Give him a wink to signal you got the message and he will nearly finish right there on the spot. Everything you do to him during that time makes him so weak and nothing, I repeat absolutely. NOTHING. can turn him off. I am speaking the truth and nothing else. On the contrary, it's extremely easy to turn him on. Really just accidentally brush your hand to one of his thighs and he's already hard.
Chazz Princeton? A bottom? More likely than you think. The answer is obviously yes. As much as he wants to be the tough guy and dominate, as I previously mentioned, everything you do to him makes him weak. Even if his s/o is more on the submissive side, there's no way anyone is more of a bottom than The Chazz himself.
As for experience, he has none. Yeah, he acts like the big Chazz-anova but he's never been with anyone before. Now I know that's not an excuse for the lack of knowledge, but he's probably only touched himself like once or twice before you started dating and he felt so ashamed that he never tried again. Might as well teach him a few things, he'll learn quickly. But remember to always be in control, he will be too flustered to do anything.
He cries. Straight up sheds tears. Overstimulate him and he will literally cry, whine, whimper, grab the sheets, beg for mercy. Will tell you to stop, but he actually doesn't want you to. Make sure you have a safe word, that way you can actually tell that he needs a break. Otherwise, him saying "stop" quite literally translates to something like "keep going" or "harder". He's seriously such a masochist.
Favourite position? Kinks? It simply doesn't matter, he wants his partner to take all of the control and take all of his human rights for the time being. Whatever his s/o does, he's fine with it. Not just fine with it, he will literally enjoy anything as long as he gets fucked like the good obedient boy he is. Of course he wants you to feel good too, so he will do anything and everything you tell him to as long as you guide him because he's really clueless about everything. After a while he will learn how to please you and will try to turn the tables on you, but trust me, it's really not that hard to force him back into submission.
Jesse Anderson
.sfw.
Everyone's favourite boy definitely won his place in your heart veeery quickly! He's so friendly with everyone, you had a hard time trying to deny your feelings for him but his boldness really brings your blush out everytime you talk to him. Don't worry though, he's extremely oblivious and will pay no mind to it at all. No matter how obviously you're crushing on him, he won't get the message unless you outright say it to him as it is. As for his own feelings, he's very aware that he has a crush on you, but is a firm believer that you only see him as a super good friend of yours. Help him out please.
If you confess, he will feel very happy and relieved, but at the same times he wonders how he missed the signs in the first place. Thinking back, they were such obvious giveaways! How could he not notice?
If time goes by and he still doesn't realise you also have feelings for him, guilt will start eating him up from the inside. He believes that telling you about it is the best thing to do - and he's right! After he was faced with an "I like you too, Jesse", he's completely dumbstruck and again, he feels stupid for not noticing.
Oh once you start dating, he's all over your scedule! He spends as much time as he can with you. He's also all about affection, even PDA and all of that. Generally very touchy and loves cuddles more than anything, he does respect boundaries though. He's just so extra about things sometimes, he has to hold your hand and walk like that; he has to lift you up and spin you around; he has to give you that cute kiss on the lips.
In the case of dates though, he's a pretty basic person. When it comes to hanging out by just the two of you, you already hang out all day, but your alone time with him is usually spent by cuddling up on the couch and watching something the both of you are interested in. You will most probably end up falling asleep in that position, but he has no problem with carrying you to bed and laying there beside you.
.nsfw.
He's wholesome. We all know that. But you know, he's human too and he has to admit that he did imagine a few questionable things before. Bending down to pick something up right in front of him may or may not be the best of ideas out there. After a few months of being in a relationship, he will develop a very interesting habit; he will slap your ass everytime he gets the chance. Innocent or not, really depends on the situation and his mood. But one thing is sure, and you learn it pretty quickly. The harder the slap, the hornier he is.
There have been multiple occasions of just hanging out with your friend group when he secretly, with no warning, just gave your ass a hard slap - and expected you to play it off like nothing at all happened. Evil.
I could say he's pretty much a top. Especially with this exclusive habit of his, one can easily tell that he likes to be in control most of the time. Sure, he lets his s/o please him sometimes, but he prefers the work to be placed in his hands instead. Speaking of hands, he has very talented fingers and he uses them often. He sees them as multifunctional little tools that come in handy in various situations. They can be used to tease AND please. What could possibly be better than that?
His tongue. Not sure if it's the accent, but his tongue is VERY flexible and he knows exactly how to use it.
Experience-wise, not much practice but he definitely has quite a lot of knowledge about these sort of things. You could say he did his research and lord did he do that perfectly. He knows exactly what he's doing, all the time. It's actually quite impressive if you think about it.
Wanna know what else is impressive? The fact that he can hold back his moans so easily. If you tell him not to hold them back, he won't! But normally, he can keep himself quiet. His breathing gets heavier though, so he isn't exactly completely silent. Besides, his partner's sounds are everything to him. He wants them to let him know they're feeling good, or if something's not right - he wants them to be vocal. Tell him your needs and your troubles, he will do his best to do everything just right for you!
167 notes · View notes
The fact that Marco is the one to suspect the Sharing is a front for Controllers only to change his mind after attending a beach party feels significant to me but I can't put my finger on how.
My stab at the significance: Marco's tactical brilliance and his willingness to throw that brilliance out the window for love of his friends both come out in the very first book.
Marco is the first person on the team who actually grasps the implications of Elfangor telling them "yeerks can pretend to be anyone". Marco's cynicism is well-honed, and it saves the team's life dozens of times during those first months of the war. He grasps that Jake's insistence Tom is a nice person who would never choose to help alien invaders — which is probably even true — has nothing to do with Tom's potential to be a controller. He connects Tom's and Chapman's and the cop's too-casual questions about "kids with fireworks at the construction site" to one another, and to the fact that the yeerks know they might've missed witnesses to Elfangor's death. From there, he sees the significance of Tom and that cop telling everyone they know to join the Sharing, while Chapman is the Sharing's area leader. That kid is smart, and he's at 2 + 2 = 4 before the rest of the team even grasps there's addition to be done.
However, Marco's also not nearly as coldly cynical as Marco would like us to believe he is. Think about him stopping Jake in the second before Jake goes charging off to get between Tom and Steve long enough to say "You're not alone, man" (#31). Or him telling the seal pups "Sorry," when he realizes the Animorphs ate their parent's body (#25). Or his very presence in the war, which he knows is stupid but "since all of you guys think you have to save the world, and since you're all my friends, more or less, I figure someone has to keep you from being total idiots" (#3). Or the fact that he goes behind Jake's back to help Tobias get Loren out, because letting Loren die is the logical thing to do but Marco isn't going to stand around and watch Tobias lose his mom too (#49).
Anyway, Marco knows The Sharing is no good. And Marco knows that Tom's a controller. That's pretty clear by the midpoint of #1.
But. Marco's also the first person to put together that they're not likely to get Tom back if there are this many controllers with this many resources to draw from. And he's the first to understand that Jake will not be quitting this war until he gets Tom back. And Marco knows better than anyone that death can come for your loved ones at any time, and that young people are just as mortal as old ones.
So Marco, Marco who calls himself "Mr. Ruthless" while he apologizes to baby seals, Marco who understands how bad the war will go but chooses to fight in it anyway for his friends, Marco who kills his mom to save his team, Marco who'd let humanity burn to save his own family... Marco decides that maybe The Sharing isn't a front for controllers. That maybe Tom's just pubescent, and that's why he's acting weird. That Jake doesn't actually have a stake in this war, not really, when you think about it. That the controllers aren't actually a threat, and the Animorphs should just stay home and wait for the andalites to arrive. And it's just bad luck he makes this call too late to save Jake from getting involved.
293 notes · View notes
bluberimufim · 3 months
Text
Your suffering is a price too steep for me
Hello! I took out a wisdom tooth today and after such a tragic ordeal (it was extremely easy and quick), I have decided to ease my pain (I'm literally fine) by posting a new snippet!
This is the biggest one yet (about 1k words) but I love this scene so so much and I want to share it with you! It was in the snippet poll a couple of weeks ago. It was the "Seth and Theo arguing about the war" one.
taglist: @little-mouse-gardens @wildswrites
No trigger warnings today!
Now, every time she and Theo strolled through the hospital, she felt the other healers’ eyes on her. Their voices lowered to whispers as she passed, but she could hear them rattle on enthusiastically when they walked out of her field of vision. Theo found it very funny. “Ever since I healed that soldier, they won’t leave me alone,” Seth grumbled. “They’re giving me a headache.” “Well, I think they’re adorable,” Theo replied, looking over her shoulder to make sure the healers they’d run into were no longer within earshot. “I like their enthusiasm.” Seth looked away, her eyes fixed on the windows that filled the corridor with light. She could barely wait to return to camp. “They’re healers,” she sighed. “I have… complicated feelings about that.” Theo placed a hand on her shoulder and they both stopped in the middle of the empty corridor. The sunlight made her eyes shine, like two red stars. “I know,” Theo said. “I know how you feel about them.” “I don’t want them to feel the need to heal people. I’d have preferred it if they’d never discovered the potential of their own magic. So many of them are so young…” Seth paused, furrowing her brow. “But also… I can’t stop thinking about how things were when I was on their side. I still remember the Master Healer Lady, encouraging all those girls to give up their souls to any soldier that needed them. And seeing Asha do the same, knowing that, despite it all, she’s still enforcing it, makes me feel… small.” Theo squeezed her shoulder. “I can’t say I fully understand what you feel, but-” “Even if a single healer can prevent dozens of deaths, I’d prefer it if none of them ever saved any lives. No one deserves to have magic like this.” Theo stretched her arms out to hug her, but Seth stepped back, grabbing one of her wrists. “Why aren’t you ever like this at camp?” she asked. She was neither angry nor sad, just put off by her behaviour. “Why have you suddenly stopped ignoring me?” “Seth…” “No, Theo. Why are you behaving as if the past few months never happened?” Theo sighed, ripping her wrist from Seth’s hand. The small medal she wore over her chest jingled with the sudden movement. “Can’t I spend time with you? Can’t we talk normally anymore?” “Why do you only do that when we’re here?” Theo sighed. She looked to the side, avoiding Seth’s gaze. “When we’re here, I can pretend that we’re not in the middle of the war.” “You’re the one who wanted to come!” “I know!” Theo shot out. When she turned to Seth, her eyes seemed to spark for an instant. “I know it was me! I know I dragged you here with me! You don’t think I think about that every day?” “I chose to come! I came for you! If you’re so desperate to pretend you’re not in a war, why don’t you go home? It’s not as if the Goddess of Time can find you there.” Theo’s shoulders lowered with a sigh. She choked on her next words. “I… I hate the war too,” she murmured. Her hand flew to her medal, and she turned to look at how it glistened in the light. “I hate it so much…” “Then go back home.” “I can’t!” “Of course you can! If we ran right now, the Goddess of Time wouldn’t be able to catch us.” She reached towards Theo’s hand and squeezed it reassuringly. “We’d be safe from her. At home.” “And the rest of the time?” “Extend your dominion to the whole town. Make all the people subject to your divinity. I don’t care. Come home.” Theo shook her head, but she still held Seth’s hand, hidden in the fabric of her embroidered healer’s cloak. “I can’t.” Her voice was weak, as if she was on the precipice of tears. “I can’t. They need me. I believe I can end this war.” “By killing more people?” “More people would die without me. At least like this, they have an advantage, even if it is… even if it hurts me a lot.” “Screw them! Let’s go home!” “And let the war go on? And let more people die?” Seth sighed.
“I don’t give a damn about the war. Let them all die. Let the war go on forever. I don’t care.” She brought Theo’s hand closer. “As long as you’re with me, in peace, I couldn’t care less. I don’t mind the war if I’m not looking at it. It isn’t hard.” Theo pushed her away and took a step back. “You’d let this violence continue for years and years just because it’s not directly in front of you?” Seth straightened her spine. She knew that Theo hated what she was saying, and it felt like being stabbed through the chest “Yes. As long as you’re with me and the war is far away from us. Yes.” “I can’t believe you’d let the war go on for such a selfish reason! We finally have a chance to win, to stop the deaths of all these soldiers and healers, and you say you want none of that because you want me by your side. Don’t you see that, for the first time in decades, we can be, finally, once and for all, at peace?” Seth looked into her flaming red eyes, now covered in shadow. “At the cost of your suffering?” “My suffering is nothing compared to theirs. My Mother created me with her own hands to fight in this war and this is what I’ll do.” “Even if it kills you?” She took a step closer. “Even if you end up like Dora?” “Yes. Because I’ll have ended this war.” “What about me.” “I’ll spend the rest of my life with you. As soon as the war is over.” With no reply, Seth began walking in the opposite direction. She held her cane more tightly than usual, pressing it against the marble floor with such force she thought it would crack. She felt as if she was going to fall at any moment. “Your suffering is a price too steep for me,” she said, turning back, already a few steps away. “To me, it can compare to nothing.”
(Sorry for the weird break in the text. Tumblr wasn't letting me post otherwise...)
First time Seth's cane gets featured in a snippet?? Iconic
Also, Theo saying "I'll spend the rest of my life with you once the war is over"??? Sure you will, girl. All 5 minutes of it.
I genuinely love this snippet!! It was so fun to write!!! Seth is such a selfish character and she's got a kind of... unhealthy attachment to Theo, I'd say? And this has already been shown extensively (i.e. Seth hunting down a goddess for 30 pages to look for Theo), but this is the first time she's verbalizing the extent of her possessiveness. Literally, her only motivation is "be with Theo".
I hope you enjoyed today's snippet! Because I did! Have a great whatever time of day!
10 notes · View notes
barryblogman · 2 years
Text
The meaning of Noho Hank’s tattoos
Sources: The Russian Gang/prison tattoo wikipedia page and seveal police sites
Tumblr media
Madonna with Child: Hank was involved with organized crime from a young age and has gone to prison at a young age. It can also mean “not capable of betrayal” (a nod to his Loyalties to the people he loves)
The snake on Hank’s right peck: Since it's not around Hank’s neck it does not carry the usual meaning of “drug addict”. Given that its on his chest and its more amature than the rest of his tattoos, it probably either means nothing or is a tattoo Hank that has some personal meaning to him.
The Scorpion: Hank has been to prison and has done time at least once.
The angels on his collarbone: Hank’s devotion to his crime family and the criminal lifestyle 
Church with dome: Hank has 1 conviction 
The star on Hank’s right Bicep with the skull in the middle: The points of the star itself represent Hank’s rank in his gang. The skull may indicate a life sentence or him having killed somebody before.
The grid on Hank’s left bicep: Hank was “born in prison” (Aka has been involved with organized crime from a very young age, probably was literally born into his crime family or into crime in general)
The weird nose wing thing on his left arm: Either something personal to Hank or is more of a shitpost. (Although it does share a superficial similarity to a tattoo belonging to an Estonian criminal named Shulgin)
The Lighthouse: A longing for freedom (both from prison and also in Hank’s case for acceptance)
The Eye near Hank’s right armpit: Due to its specific position this tattoo specifically means he is watching over the people beneath him along with keeping his eyes open to potential threats.
The chess pieces on Hank’s fingers: It means Hank is one step ahead (it is also a nod to the real-life wife of Hank’s actor)
The Black Spade on Hank’s inner right arm: Another indicator of criminal status, usually a thief who has been or is currently in prison.
The Hexagon with a crown: An indicator of Hank’s time served. The crown is also a testament to his status. 
The dagger with a snake near Hank’s right armpit along his side: Indicates that he is ahead of a “suit” AKA a gang leader. So this is probably a nod to him taking over the mob (or the LA branch of it) after Goran’s death. 
The Cross on Hank’s arm: Hank does wear a Russian orthodox cross around his neck indicating he is a religious person. But the tattoo on his forearm is also a forced Tattoo given as a warning or punishment. This probably means Hank messed up in his early days and instead of being killed or tortured, this was his punishment. 
The Cat tattoo on Hank’s stomach/side: Shows that Hank is a thief, and due to its location he has either a life sentence or indicates he is frequently in and out of prison. 
The fish? on Hank’s right shoulder blade: I have no idea what that means.
The 5 dots on Hank’s hand: Prison
The removed tattoo on his hand: No idea since I do not know what it was, but judging by the fact the area looked very scarred he either tried removing it himself or it was forcefully removed by another gang member (or in some cases the police). 
The candlestick with the spider webs: Its exact meaning is not 100% clear since the specific candlestick on Hank’s arm does not commonly appear in Russian gang culture that often as a stand-alone. However Candles themselves usually represent somebody’s life. Meanwhile a spiderweb commonly symbolizes struggle, being incarcerated, or organized crime in general. This could represent Hank’s life constantly being sorrounded with crime and how even though he is a bright and (from what we have seen) fairly ok person, his past will follow him wherever he goes. 
The Scorpion on Hank’s left hand: Also an indicator of prison time (and since its on his hand it might mean he was in “the hole”). 
___________________________________________________________
These were all of the tattoos that I could see. He probably has more on his back (like the fish looking thing) or on other areas of his body we cannot see. But this is what I managed to find. 
285 notes · View notes