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gayandfairycore · 11 months

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Do you see right through me?

A/n: I am back! Restarting my streak of posting a fic every few months, XO kitty is my new obsession atm and I have seen no fanfics about the loml, so here’s an unrequested kitty x femreader! This doesn’t really follow everything in the show, but nevertheless I’m happy with it! As always all chaste aged up side note I am curious of your thoughts on the show? I’m sad people disliked the show as much as they did, I actually thought it was pretty alright? cringey at moments, but isn’t that all Netflix’s shows…

Summary: falling in love with kitty covey when she comes to K.I.S.S and your fellow students surprised by your care for the girl. When kitty hears Minho talk about how untouchable you were to anyone. She begins to hope that you feel for her what she feels for you.

Warnings: bullying, panic attacks, mentions of slurs but no actual use of slurs, (not so) unrequited love, homophobia, internalised homophobia, purposely getting someone drunk, daes a smidge homophobic in this fic, this fic is also not proof read because I’m lazy 😌

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

You knew she was with dae, hell you knew since the moment she met you, rambling excited about her true love, and The fact that she had flown half way around the globe for a boy.

It felt blaringly obvious that if she were to do that there was no way that she would be into women. Plus you’d never. Ever. Want to steal someone’s partner That was just wrong.

So you would watch from afar, hold on to any touches the girl would give you, and you would force yourself to feel happiness for the girl. Force down any feelings of bitterness when she would stare at dae with love in her eyes.

Kitty song-covey was just so magnetic. It was like she vibrated on a whole different plane of existence. No matter how hard you tried You couldn’t stop half of your heart from breaking whenever she told you the details about her quest to get back dae.

You felt anger burn in you, boil your blood at the audacity of the boy lucky enough to hold her heart. To cheat on her it made you feel sick.

She deserved better, you hoped that maybe better would be you… from the moment you saw her she caught your heart. The illusive y/n l/n.

If she were to ask any student at KISS she would find out the rumours of your name. You were the girl who was smoking hot and yet had never had a boyfriend, despite many boys asking you out in grandiose ways.

You were, too many, The untouchable girl.

And for a girl with such a reputation It felt embarrassing how quickly you began to feel things for her. Non platonic things.

you felt a sense of duty when you saw her slip in those cupcakes. you moved without a second thought the click of your heels on the polished floors as you bent to her level.

“Are you okay?” You’d ask the girl

No reply left her lips, with orange frosting sticky and coated to her dress, tears shone in her eyes. As she looked up at you, with a tearful gaze, her eyes glazed over in embarrassment as she searched her surroundings. Staring down the lens of a phone camera she started to think maybe coming to Korea was a mistake.

The girl begun to replay every unfortunate incident over, and over in her head. There was virtually no one good here.

From her meeting with Minho at the airport, being swerved by principal Lim about her mother, meeting yuri, meeting her long term boyfriend again in person only to find him with a different girl she felt ridiculous.

As the lenses of cameras continued to stay pointed at her, kitty appreciated your kind smile as you pushed yourself off from being knelt beside her

“hey! Nothing to see here people. Go about your merry business.” Youd announce loudly to the leering students as they stared at the girl.

Feeling exasperated when no onlookers attempted to look away you spoke again. With a demanding and expecting.

“Go on! Shoo.” Only turning back to the red head once they made hast to look away, sighing and brushing your hair from your face you took the girl by her fore arm and pulled her up.

Before you could speak daes figure had made himself comfortable at her side rambling on about how it wasn’t what it looked like.

Kitty was clearly overwhelmed, from the jet lag, and the terrible experience she endured it was almost as if the room was closing in on the girl, the crushing weight of what seemed to be her mistakes crashed over her in unkind waves.

When the girl looking around the room, daes rambles became almost muted to the girl as the murmurs in the crowd of people were the final straw for the girl. Your hand on her arm the only thing grounding her from her onslaught of tears, And embarrassment.

Breaking your hold on her arm as the girl ran out of the room you sent an angry glare to the boy standing next to you, sending him a look that says something like ‘aren’t you going to go after her??’

Shaking your head at the raven haired boy when he averted his gaze as yuris perfectly manicured hands wrapped around his arm and lead him away sending an almost apologetic smile towards yourself it wouldn’t fix this mess.

Taking a deep breath you made a move to go after the girl, walking steadfast towards the exit your steps only faltering when the murmurs of the party goers no longer pertained to just kitty.

Gossip started far too quickly for your liking, their words thick with speculation as they questioned your sexuality, slurs muffled by hands into friends ears targeted at you made you begin to feel sick.

The beady eyes of students set heavily on you. The air thick, with each click of heels on the floor, and fast beat of your heart you felt bile rise to your throat. panic set deep in your heart.

Shaking your head and taking a breath, you wanted to leave, no. You needed to leave. With every watchful, beady, speculatory eye that stared seemingly right through you.

The thought kept repeating through your head they see right through you. Slamming through the door to the corridor, kitty is of course long gone, yet you still crane your neck in hopes to catch a glimpse of her. When you come up empty you hasten your steps rushing into the stall of the girl’s bathroom setting down the lid of the toilet and stifling your sobs with your hands stop crying. Stop crying. Stop crying.

You repeat it like a mantra, you know you look like a mess, but all you care about is not showing that they’ve gotten to you. Hardening your expression they will not look right through you, you won’t let them. You can’t.

But for this moment you will not hide. Leaning your head against the stall walls, you say it for the first time.

“I’m a lesbian/bisexual/pansexual/your identity”

“I know.” You hear through the door, fear spikes ypur heart jumping to your throat as Q pokes his head over the stall.

“Q? This is the girls bathroom?”

“Yeah…I just wanted to you know make sure you’re alright?”

“I’m not but- how are you in here? Minhos outside distracting the girls from entering the bathroom…”

“Really?” You mutter wiping your eyes with the back of your hand

“Yeah sweetheart, open the door and we’ll take you back to your room.”

“Okay” you chuckle, unlatching the lock the sound of minho frantically trying to come up with excuses as to why the girls toilets are off limits won’t hold out for much longer.

His voice getting increasingly higher as he scrambles to block the door, sharing a look with Q you both grab the door handle, Minhos figure stumbling backwards into your body’s, you and Q both look to the ground grabbing his hand and bursting through the crowd of girls.

Their outraged cries consisting off “was that a boy in the girls bathroom?!?” And “what was he doing in there!” All three of you begin to laugh at your heist.

All three of you trying to catch your breath outside the auditorium, dae comes walking hastily towards your group pointing a finger back in there he asks “why did I just hear one of the girls say Q was in the girls toilets?”

“And that they couldn’t enter because minho said he was hiding a giant cake in the bathroom…”

“A giant cake?” You and Q both ask the boy turning expectantly for an answer

“This feel’s suddenly very judgemental, I didn’t have to help you, you know.” Minho defends, his face hard before dropping his facade after minutes of awkward silence.

Locking arms with the boys you make hast towards the dormitory’s as a teacher locks eyes with the four of you.

“Go, go, go, go” Q pushing, at first your group speeds off with small hurried steps, getting faster until it’s an all out run, when the teacher bursts out of the door. Laughter fills the cool night air as you all rush to your dorms.

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

The loud ring of your alarm clock waking you up, your roommate still not here, you began to strip yourself of your dress from the night before. Instead sporting the school uniform. Slinging your bag over your back you set off to the cafeteria to buy yourself breakfast.

Your converse scraping against the ground, as you walked the path. A familiar head of hair came into view, biting down your smile you stepped closer.

The sight of Her cannery yellow suitcase bringing a frown to your face, along with the silouette of the boy next to her. You watch in discomfort, hesitant to move, to speak, to breathe. As you watch them embrace, the expression of hesitant love on the boys face is painful. You are painfully aware of just how in love they look.

when the sight of a black car and a silhouette of a girl steps out, you Release a breath you didn’t know you were holding when yuri breaks the two apart and steals dae away. It’s almost as if things aren’t so bad, You suddenly aren’t suffocating. Your converse clad feet walk closer to the red head, calling out her name.

A smile forms on her face as she sees you “y/n! Hey..”

“Covey, it’s nice to see you.” You smile rocking back and forth on your feet. Sizing her up you speak again with a shy smile

“I’ve got to say orange is not your colour.”

your eyes glance down to her suitcase as you tease the girl, any semblance of humour fades as she catches your gaze.

“Oh! Don’t worry!” The bubbly girl reassures “I’m not leaving, atleast not anymore.” She persists smiling with her teeth.

A soft look crinkles your eyes, you’re dead serious when you speak “good im glad you’ve decided to stay here.”

A bashful smile overcomes her face as she takes a look around you both. It’s silent for a few moments. It’s not an uncomfortable silence. Throughout that minute of silence you both seem to rake your eyes over eachother.

You’re the first to break it when you clear your throat. “Um you might want to take your things back to your dorm before classes. here I’ll help you.”

You nod toward her suitcase, and before she can stop you you’re picking up her suitcase, she smiles kindly. The walk to her dorm is quiet, you don’t mention the boys dormitory. Instead you bid the girl goodbye at the door.

And just like that time begins to fly with the girl, Days turn to weeks, stray touches and friendly hugs begin to linger too long. Far too long to be friendly. Atleast from your side.

Something held you back, from telling her, her relationship (if you could call it that) with dae, the fact she wasn’t into girls, or the fear of coming out.

And as Kitty spends her time chasing after dae, you spent your time chasing after kitty, whilst she was determined to be proved right that yuri & daes relationship was fake.

A part of you hoped it wasn’t, it felt cruel to think that as you were actively helping her, but part of you wished on every stray fallen eyelash, and every shooting star you saw. That maybe she’d like you too.

Maybe your touches set her skin on fire like hers did for you. When the day of Minhos party arrives and kitty asks you to do her makeup you jump at the opportunity to be closer to her.

With every stroke of your makeup brush against the apples of kittys cheeks it felt like you were buzzing with excitement just being so close to the girl.

Wanting to savour this moment you went slower, when kitty asked the harmless question of is you could do her lipstick your cheeks almost grew just as red as the blush you applied.

Before you started to dab the red pigment on your finger, tapping it gently against her lips the pads of your fingers bouncing off of her plump lips.

You couldn’t help imagining what it would be like to kiss her, your gaze lingered on her lips as your finger slowed its movement.

Turning your gaze up to meet kitty’s eyes, only to find the girl was already staring back at you.

Q watched intently from the doorway of his room, before he broke your stare on her lips with a “everybody ready?” Both kitty and yourself breaking eye contact simultaneously you Fling yourself away from kitty. Embarrassment begins to creep up your cheeks at being caught.

“You okay Y/n? We don’t have to go if you’re feeling sick.” Kitty speaks her eyes searching yours for any semblance of a lie.

“No, no! I’m alright let’s go.”

And with that you made your way to the door Qs hand gripped your upper arm with enough force to stop you but not hurt

“Hey y/n, yknow I saw you looking at kitty’s lips. If it’s any consolation I think she likes you too.” He smiled, his voice soft and comforting.

You wanted to say ‘really? You think so?

But instead your gaze dropped to the floor and you say an emotionless “she doesn’t like me like that.”

With a sigh from Q he opened his mouth as if to say more, his words dying in his throat as you broke his hold making your way down the hall to kitty’s figure.

Side stepping the girls attempt to hold your hand, her previous excitement dropped from her face for a moment before she cleared her throat “I’ve ordered us an Uber so let’s-let’s go.”

Walking ahead of the girl in a hurry, you miss the disappointed glance she shoots Q he rubs her arm in a comforting manner.

When you arrive to rubik the air is hot and stuffy, sweaty bodies dancing and drinking when florian orders you a fruity mock tail spiking it with what you assume to be vodka you drink it in silence, florian whispering to Q if you were okay.

You block them out, opting to instead dance your feelings away when you begin to dance to whatever was playing you began to feel a sense of freedom, your dance wasn’t anything special, wasn’t even particularly graceful. But you still felt eyes on you, as you turned to look to the pair that was staring at you eagerly you instead are met with the leering face of a fellow kiss student the buzz of alcohol dimming your senses as he leans down to whisper to you.

“We’ll aren’t you just beautiful, tell me can I buy you a drink?”

You don’t think. The alcohol numbing you, all you think is what can you do to take your mind off of kitty.

And before you know what you’re doing you grip his hand and lead him towards the bar, he buys you a drink, the familiar burn of some cheap vodka dances over the back of your throat before youre gripping his hands and you’re dancing with him.

And you dance for what feels like hours, and when you aren’t dancing you’re drinking, the burn of the alcohol stings the back of your throat.

And yet you keep drinking, seemingly oblivious, blissfully unaware of the fact he’s been buying, and buying, and buying, you drinks. And yet he hasn’t once touched a sip of alcohol.

The red flags aren’t red to you anymore, YPU can’t even hear the alarm bells ringing.

Sometime through the night you come to the realisation you’ve lost your friends, you’ve danced for as long as you can your feet aching and now all you feel is sick and exhausted.

“H-hey I think I’m gonna find my friends.” You tell your date, your words slurring together as vomit rises to your throat you take your hands off of the guy.

Ready to go back to your friends, even with dulled senses you’re on high alert when his soft smile leaves his face and his gaze hardens on your chest, his hands spring out to grip your arms in one hand. With bruising force, tugging

before Q sees you begin to wobble as the boy leads you to the exit of the club he walks past Q and florian.

The boys feel an immediate sense of urgency to protect you. They ask if you want to go with this guy, when they get your shaky “no” it’s enough conformation. Florian is pulling you into him as Q is telling the guy to leave you alone.

Breathing shakily, bile rises to the back of your throat, your eyes burning, as you gaze up at the boys their sympathetic faces giving you a once over.

“I just wanted to stop thinking about her.” You cried, slamming your head into Florian’s chest

“Oh dear” florian says looking you over “find kitty.” And just like that Q’s off in search of the girl, when teachers burst through the doors of the club. Principle lim pulling the plug to the speakers.

The club grows silent before the onslaught of people start running for the door, Florian leads you toward the exit. He doesn’t mind listening to your drunk rambles as you walk. Your legs unsteady, your mainly being supported by florian.

Taking the water he hands you with gratitude you take slow sips. Time seemed to barely move, as your memory felt funny. One moment you were in the club a flurry of lights disorienting you the next in your dorm bed room.

Cracking an eye open and groaning from the splitting headache behind your eyes you sluggishly roll out of bed.

Opening the bedroom door Qs figure slouched over the arm of the couch as minhos making coffee in the kitchen.

“Hey, y/n. We have Saturday detention by the way. Since someone got the party busted.”

Watching kitty on the stage her hair pinned up, you think she looks gorgeous in traditional clothing, adoration clear on your face.

Time seemingly slows as you watch her perform, with each movement of the fan your stare is still looking at the girl.

Conflict I’d happening on the stage, you can’t hear what they’re saying but you’re already concerned for the girl. Your heart leaps to your throat as you watch her trip.

Loud cracks of fireworks fill the gymnasium, time stops slowing, your ears block out the sound of scampering feet trying to exit the gym. you’re fully competent and you know what you’re doing when your shoes squeak against the floor you’re running toward the panicked girl.

Ripping off your jacket you throw it over the girls flaming skirt, easing her to the ground as you do so.

Kitty is panicked, frantic breaths leaving in puffed out pants, looking up at her through your lashes, your heart clenches at the sight of her scared face.

“Hey! Hey! I got you, you’re alright.” You state, your fingers that were previously patting wildly at the skirt, stop.

“Th-thank you.” Kitty whispers gratefully, her body visibly relaxing, yet She still looks scared with an emotion you can’t quite make out swimming in her eyes.

you make a move to comfort her more but your hand still’s outstretched towards her when dae comes rushing to her side.

His eyes wild, as he asks the girl if she’s okay, he lets out a breath when she tells him you helped.

“Yknow I would’ve helped her-“ nodding at his words, you feel guilty that you don’t quite believe the boy.

“I know. but I got here first.”

“I’m here now.” He exclaims coldly, his eyes nonverbally telling you to leave, bowing your head you look at kitty,

“I’m just glad you’re okay” and with that you turn and make your way of stage, meeting up with Minho by the door.

A knowing look on his face prompts you to ask “what’s that look for?”

“Nothing! No nothing. Aside from the fact you practically raced up there to save her…”

“You didn’t even think you just…went.”

Trying to no avail to hide the blush dusting your cheeks you cross your arms over your chest “well what’s it too you? I mean you’re famously anti kitty.”

“Mm you’re right, i don’t think she’s right for dae. I think she’s right for someone else…” he trails off making eye contact with you.

He sends you a comforting smile. His eyes flicker to dae as he marches up to both Minho and yourself. slamming Minho into the wooden wall dae sneers out “a you call yourself my friend” In Korean.

Minhos confusion seeps out as he asks “what’s all this about?!?” Also in korean, dae sees red slamming the boy harder into the wood before continuing “don’t pretend like you don’t know!”

Looking frantically around you, you decide to try and pry the boy off calling out a:

“What are you doing dae? let him go!” You cry pulling at the boys arm to get him to loosen his grip. His eyes hard as he turns to you, flinging his arm out, your feet falter at the abrupt movement when he pushes you off him His push sending you colliding with the gymnasium floor. Your hands slap against the ground, tears well in your eyes at the sting of your hands. and the bruise forming on your butt.

Despite your efforts Dae is still glaring at the boy infront pf him, Seemingly not caring that his shove sent you to the floor. “Dae, stop. Stop it! it’s not min Ho!” Kitty cries, “this has nothing to do with him”

“What you’re gay?” Dae laughs, sparing a glance at your form on the floor, Confusion and realisation dawn on the boys face before he mutters an apology to Minho.

sparing a hateful glance toward you on the floor, looking kitty in the eyes, the girl is clearly distraught in her hanbok. Her makeup runs down her cheeks as embarrassment boils. Dae shakes his head as he bursts from the door to the room.

Minho does a double take before giving you his hand, asking tentatively “are you okay?” His eyes rake your figure trying to asses the damage.

“I’m fine, I’m okay.” You stress putting yours hands in the air in attempt to reassure the boy.

“Good, good.”Minho mutters, clearly not believing you in the slightest. pulling you up, He shares a look with kitty watching as she diverts her gaze.

You shoot a glance to the red head, as Minho leads you away. Your concern for the girl outweighs any confusion about dae.

The cool air stings your face as Minho leads you outside, sitting you down on a concrete seat, “are you okay?” He asks.

Sighing shakily you look him in his eyes “yes-“

“And don’t lie to me.” He cuts you off, pointing his finger, he nods for you to continue his hard serious face still there.

“No? I mean! Ugh I really like her? But she clearly likes someone else…and she still has dae. And I don’t know what I’m supposed to do?”

“I’m failing pretty much all of my classes, and I’m gay. But I can’t be.”

“Oh you sweet thing.” Minho says pulling you into his chest, running his hands over your head as sobs break from your chest, wetting the boys suit.

“You know it’s okay to be afraid of your feelings for someone, but I can see it Kitty likes you, Not dae.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“God are you really so oblivious?!?” Exasperation reeks from the boy as he stared at you.

“She’s in love with you, you didn’t see it but her face when you saved her was enough to make dae realise she doesn’t like him anymore.”

“Oh my god. That’s what that was?”you question, your stomach dropping in anticipation. Vomit rising to your throat,

“I have to go!” You call breaking from Minhos hold,

“Another job well done” Minho smiles, shaking his head at the wet patch on his suit.

Your feet slam against the ground as you run to find the girl, bursting back into the gym she of course isn’t there.

Doubling over breathing heavily, panic grips your chest, as you look around. Closing your eyes you feel defeated.

“If you’re looking for kitty she’s in the dorm.”

Your eyebrows furrow, as you turn to face dae, an apologetic and yet reserved expression takes over his face.

“I-what? How did you-“

“It’s pretty obvious… no offence. But hey I’m happy for you.” The boy smiles, before turning to go

“How do you know she’ll like me back?” You whisper, daes steps halt as he turns to look at you.

“I’ve seen the way she stares at you when you aren’t looking, she used to look at me like that…” he looks sad as he remarks the girl’s feelings. but when he smiles at you with a watery smile and the nod of his head it’s his way of giving you the go ahead. And suddenly everything lightens up, the weight on your shoulders suddenly dissipates as you accept daes consent to make a move.

To let yourself be happy.

So you do, turning around you jog up stairs, and dodge various people as you make your way through the crowds of students in the halls.

Making your way to the boys dorm had become like a ritual, it was no longer buzzing with joy and laughter as a game or movie was in full swing Minho cooking something in the kitchen or rambling about the films his mum was in.

Instead the warmth in your chest was no longer there, You suddenly feel apprehension, as you stand there, your hand hovering over the door handle, you question if kitty will want this, if you should just turn around and couch surf until you go home.

When the door swings open to a sad kitty, in comfortable clothing, her hairs a mess, and she’s wearing an old ratty tshirt, but she still looks at gorgeous as ever as she stares up at you.

“Y/n?” She asks, her eyes glancing you up and down.

“Hi.” You whisper, bringing your hand up to caress her cheek, you ask her “can I kiss you?”

When she nods it’s all the permission you need, before you place a passionate yet gentle kiss on the girls lips, you pull away when the girl doesn’t move to kiss you back.

Only to be pulled back in my kittys soft hands against both of your cheeks pulling you in her lips crash against yours, the kiss isn’t perfect the techniques all wrong, and it’s sloppy, but you can’t help caring because you’re kissing her.

Tangling your hands in her unruly hair, you smile into the kiss.

When kitty pulls back, you look alarmed the girl feels a sharp guilt at breaking from the kiss, the pads of her fingers run over your cheek gently as if she is afraid you’ll break. The girl takes a breath in

“I’ve begun to learn a lot on Korea, about my mother, my friends, myself. And more Often then not my friends helped me realise things.” Kitty breaths she looks almost afraid to speak as she collects herself you can visibly see the cogs turning in her head as she speaks.

“And well, Q made me realise my feelings. They were confusing, and fun, and scary? But I think i really like them?”

“I think I really like them as well.” You smile, placing a kiss on her lips before continuing “And hey remind me to thank Q for all this.”

“No need you two, this is all the thanks I need.” Breaking from her hold you both turn to face your roomates their smug (mainly Minho) proud faces staring at you both.

“You know For a match maker you’re a bit oblivious.” Q speaks before planting himself on the couch

“I- what do you mean?” Kitty exclaims offended

“Kitty I’ve been in love with you since the moment I saw you...”

“WHAT!” Kitty exclaims in outrage “but- no- I’m supposed to know these things!!” The girl slumps over dramatically

Sharing content looks with your fellow roommates, none of you can hold it in bursting out in laughter.

It made you realise how much you wish you could stay in this moment forever before tomorrow comes and everything good hangs in the balance…

For now, you all were happy.

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

#xo kitty #xo kitty x reader #kitty covey #Katherine covey x reader #kitty covey x reader #to all the boys x reader #to all the boys trilogy #x fem!reader #anna cathcart #sang heon lee #choi min young #netflix xo kitty #xo kitty x fem!reader #wlw yearning #wlw #sapphic #gayness

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mdhwrites · 6 days

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SpyxFamily Code White Spoiler Free Review: A Perfectly Balanced Cake

Spoiler free: This film is damn near perfect. If you wanted a showcase for pitching someone on the show, I don't know how much better you could really do. Every character gets tons of chances to shine for their usefulness in comedy, personality and action and in a way that I'd argue beats either of the action arcs of the show so far in giving everyone something to actually do. This even extends to the side characters though. No one gets a lot of time but everyone is utilized super well, leaning on their best elements and never their worst. Like I almost could not have asked for a better use of Yuri for this movie than what we got, that is how well the side characters are used.

If I had any actual complaints with the film, it's that once the action starts, it does struggle to get past a big issue I feel action movies have: Keeping up the emotional stakes and development during the action. This isn't to say there isn't characterization, there is SO MUCH CHARACTERIZATION during the second half still but that it ends up feeling more emotionally simple than the first half of the movie. That also however means that it's never getting in the way or forcing someone to be our true main character which is part of what allows all three members of the family to rock it as hard as they do in the second half.

And as for the new, original villains, I could see someone complaining that they feel one note or too pure evil but it's actually keeping in line with the show as a whole. The show knows that anyone who is actively trying to start a war threw away their humanity in order to get there. As such, the movie takes that mentality and goes "Yep, and so let's lean into just how fun we can make these villains," and I think they hit that mark dead on. Also, giving them more characterization and nuance would have again potentially disrupted the balance of time for the family. I remember plenty of Naruto movies and specials that spent so long on the new characters that there wasn't actually a point to all of Team 7 being there. It could have just been Naruto for how much the others do. That isn't the case here.

All of this makes for an incredibly sweet experience that is exactly what you'd want out of a SpyxFamily while having enough surprise fillings to make it so it's more than you might hope for. Truly, a slice of cake that will leave you Meremere

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

#spy x family #spy x family movie #Spoiler Free #Code White #spy x family code white

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herecomesjoon · 1 year

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The Astronaut

Pairing Jin x Reader Rating 13+ Genre/Tropes Fluff, dad!tan Warnings Just my usual heartachingly sweet dad!tan. WC 500 Crosspost AO3 - herecomessatvrn Summary Jin has a precious secret that he finally wants to share with the world. AN Not betad and written for a NanNoWriMo sprint on @bangtan-oasis and as a gift to @sunshinerainbowsbtsThe Astronaut Jin has wrecked us all I think, so here’s my little tribute for the Bangtan Bomb Idol AU world I have going on. At some point, I'll have a master reference sheet or something. Please enjoy!

Master List | Tag List Form* *No emails are collected

It was hard to believe that the life he had known for years was changing. He had put it off for too long. But now at least, he had a family. And not just BTS and ARMY, but a partner and a daughter.

Jin considered himself lucky. More so than most, and that was the reason that for so long, his personal life had been concealed from the public eye, and only shared with the people he loved most.

Yuri had grown so much over the years, and he had many pictures and videos in his phone, on his computer, that were cherished memories. Each one of them he could remember clearly. Her first steps. When she was learning to speak. Her first day of school. When each of his brothers held her for the first time. The way she would light up when she got excited. All of them, precious memories as she grew and changed.

Together, he and his partner had decided that it would be up to her, once she was old enough to understand what it meant, whether she appeared on camera to the public.

While he was working, she approached him quietly. Bowing politely when she realized that he was on a video call and excused herself to wait outside of the office. When Jin called her back in, she looked towards the webcam perched between his monitors, noting that the little green light wasn’t on.

“Appa,” she began as she approached and twisted her fingers into the hem of Jin’s sweater. She looked down shyly waiting for his attention.

“Can I be in a video?”

Jin was a little surprised. Yuri had been content thus far remaining out of the spotlight. Even in photos, she shied away from the camera. He recalled the day at the beach, just the three of them. She had been glued to his side, but when the camera came out, she darted away.

He never admitted that it hurt a little every time she did that, but it was her decision. Asking to be in a video was like a balm to his aching heart.

----------

Social media blew up in an instant. The theories and speculation. What could the song mean? Was it about ARMY? No, it's about BTS. Others suggested he was married and had kids, but it was always a joke. Because the others had said as much, of course Jin would say outright for something this important.

It was when the making of the video appeared on youtube that he made a post. From the set, the photographer had captured the moment when he was pushing Yuri on a bike, seeing her off down the road. His hand rested gently on her back, a gold band glinting on his ring finger.

And in the video, Yuri perched on his knee, laughing as they watched something not visible off of the screen. The comment with the post; “So proud of the person she's becoming. I am honored.”

AN Thank you so much for reading! Comments and feedback mean the world to me! Come say hello to me, my ask box is always open! <3

#bts fanfiction #bangtanoasis #btshoneyhive #btscarnivalnet #btswritingcafe #bangtanarmynet #kim seokjin #Jin x reader #dad!tan #fluff #parenthood #idol!au #satvrn fics #the astronaut

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hadoriel · 1 year

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Hi hello my friends and super nerds

I would like to write or do something with a Spy x Family + His Dark Materials crossover... aka ‘what if the Forgers had daemons’ scenario. I’m not great at form finding, especially on fictional characters, so I really hope some daemians can help me out .w.

I’m gonna preface this with two things: - I personally believe daemons would react to trauma and stress in bizarre ways. Most of the cast of SxF is severely traumatized so uh there’s some fun I want to do, like Twilight having never settled, Anya’s never taking a ‘real’ animal form etc - I’d ideally like a mix of symbolic and realistic form stuff. I haven’t been in the HDM/daemonism community too much for a good decade now, but I’ve seen some people say they’re different things so uh... I’d like to just blend it

Twilight (Loid + [REDACTED]): Due to the massive trauma early in life, his daemon has never settled. It basically gives him the master of disguise superpower easily, as it’s extremely rare (and bad!) when that happens. Even so, not many people know of it, just some WISE higher-ups like Sylvia, maybe Franky As Twilight, he’s very independent, detached, meticulous, solitary, detail-oriented, with a brain moving a mile a minute. His ‘default’ form would reflect this. As Loid, however, he’d need something more gentle and approachable, that cares deeply for family, but still very intelligent The fun part would be that he doesn’t realize he’s settling slowly by acting as Loid. I’m not sure if he’d really fit exactly what Loid’s persona daemon is, but we know ‘on the inside’ he’s very loyal, manipulative, crazy smart, anxious

Yor: We don’t know exactly what happened to Yor’s parents, but I think it was likely around settling years (onset of puberty). Having to take over an adult role for Yuri, I’d think she settled early and suddenly. She’s also fiercely loyal (even more than Twilight), cares deeply for family, worried about not being normal enough or not being good enough constantly, act first think later, scary when threatened When we first meet her, Yor’s daemon would be sickly, skinny, mottled. But through the story, they’d get healthier

Anya: Since Anya’s a child, she doesn’t have a defined form yet. I do want to note that, since she’s a human experiment, something is still very wrong with her daemon, though. I’m mostly going with that her forms are always mythical animals and chimeras, never a ‘real’ animal, but open to feedback if anyone thinks something different?

Yuri: His is ‘normal’... relatively. He probably also settled early but not weirdly or suddenly. He’s obsessive, overly protective, uses intelligence as power, aggressive, absolutely dedicated, only vulnerable to their loved ones

Franky: Probably the most normal daemon situation in the whole cast tbh. He’s a jokester but very smart and weirdly wise. He’s like the most typical ENTP ever, if you know your MBTI. Social and savvy, but not very charming

Sylvia (Handler): Her daemon would be quiet and stoic with an aggressive side. She’s a mentor and a leader, who deals with the unfortunate ugly situations, so she’s very dedicated and hard working. There’s a softer side to her, but rarely seen. Not as tunnel-vision as Yuri at all, but probably a form in the same vein

Nightfall (Fiona): Super quiet, super dedicated, super antisocial and unemotional. Except that she’s obsessed with Twilight, of course, just that she never shows it ever. I have an idea that her daemon likes to make ‘weirdly aggressive’ moves at Twilight’s, like laying on them, which Twilight is always slightly alarmed by but it’s just Fiona’s very miscommunicated adoration lmao

Donovan: He’s severed. Nobody knows this. They just think his daemon hides in his suit all the time

Damian: Wants to settle asap and tries to take ‘noble’ forms like lions and wolves and eagles, due to pressure

Becky: Is weird and tries to put accessories on her daemon. The forms are always extra pretty animals

Okay so now that I kinda wrote down the jist of the cast... Anyone wanna help me with form finding for them? .w.;;;;;;;;;;

#personal #long post #spy x family #spyxfamily #sxf #hdm #his dark materials #the golden compass #daemonism #pls help me figure out their forms #and if you don't know anything about daemons they're essentially your soul as an animal in a totemic sense

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crestfallencrest · 7 months

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Bravus Vesperia Magica (Ch. 4)

(Basically a Magical Person AU origin story!) Read here on Ao3 [x] (Notes at the end) Read Chapter 1 here! [x] Read Previous Chapter here! [x] Word Count: 20,964 Hiya! I'm back from vacation! And I got a BIG chapter (this was not on purpose i am so sorry). Introducing a bunch of names in this chapter so some notes on a few of them! Niren, Hisca and Chastel - obviously from the First Strike movie. I don't think it's REQUIRED for you to watch the movie but hey, it might help a bit <3 And is good movie! Liam, on the other hand, is an entirely made up character. Also I borrowed some of the Symphonia cast and one from the Abyss cast. (Also this chapter jumps between Yuri and Karol POV)

Chapter 4: A Coward's Test

“What’s the matter with you?”

Yuri’s hard gaze tears itself away from the window of his classroom, breaking from his thoughts as he turns his head towards the source of the voice. Amber eyes stared back at him, as one of his classmates stood over him, arms crossed over her chest and eyes narrowed suspiciously through her red bangs that rested just above her eyes.

Yuri takes a moment to examine her closely. “Ah, Chastel.” “Guess again.” The girl’s hands drop to her hips as her nose twists in irritation.

Yuri keeps his lazy expression though a small grin begins to stretch across his face. “Nah, I don’t think I will.” He drawled. “Maybe if you and your sister wore your hair in different ways, I wouldn’t get so confused.”

“It’s not my fault that you’re too blind to notice the differences!”

“Sure, sure, whatever you say, Twin Number 2.”

The twins, Hisca and Chastel: Yuri had somehow had the displeasure of being stuck in their class since middle school. For a while, the two of them tended to hang out with him and Flynn, with Chastel, the younger twin, constantly fretting over the blonde while Hisca, the older twin, constantly nagged Yuri’s ear off. Yuri had to admit though: It was pretty impressive meeting someone who nagged more than Flynn.

“You’re so infuriating.” Hisca growled out but began to pull out a chair next to his desk anyway, despite her irritation. “What’s going on with you? You’ve been angry all morning. Did you get into a fight again?”

Yuri rolls his eyes, once again propping his face onto his right hand and moving to stare at the window. “No.”

“Well, the bandages beg to differ.” He feels Hisca reach out to tap at his bandaged cheeks and he flinches back with a tiny hiss. She quietly withdraws her hand. “Sorry, but this wouldn’t happen if you weren’t fighting all of the time!”

Yuri clicks his tongue but doesn’t respond.

“Don’t click your tongue at me!”

“Well, I don’t know why you’re asking me such stupid questions.” Yuri drops his hand onto his desk again in frustration. “You seem pretty good at guessing what happened so why are you bugging me about it?”

“Because I’m trying to get the full story, you jerk!” Hisca slammed her hand on the desk. “Liam and his goons are talking about how you came out of nowhere and beat them up for no reason yesterday and people are talking about you now. I thought it was nothing but a lie but seeing the bandages…”

Psch, of course they were. It didn’t help that Yuri was already building one hell of a reputation with his fighting. But of course those guys were trying to make themselves seem like the good guys. He was certain that Flynn had a hard enough time dealing with that. In truth, the fight was no one’s business. Flynn couldn’t necessarily correct the rumors because then he would just look like he was taking someone’s side.

…The fact that Yuri was just given three days of detention during lunch instead of straight up being suspended was already stabbing holes into Flynn’s credibility as the student council president. Correcting the rumors would simply be a death sentence.

“So, what do you think?” Yuri raises an eyebrow at the twin. “Think I jumped them?”

Hisca considers it for a moment, finger to her chin. “...No, I don’t think so. Not unless they were doing something they shouldn’t be doing.”

Yuri just lets out a hum to show that he was listening.

“So… they managed to get a few hits on you then?”

“No. I got jumped by a crazy maniac with a knife on my way home yesterday.”

Hisca lets out an amused snort only to stop when she notices the hard and serious look on his face.

“Oh my god, you’re serious?”

“Wish I wasn’t.” Yuri’s irritation slowly fades as he slumps down into his chair. “Before you start freaking out, I’m fine.”

Hisca stays quiet for a moment, eyes scanning his cheeks and then moving down to his hand. If she was unsatisfied with what she saw, she didn’t say anything. Instead, she props her elbows onto Yuri’s desk as she leans closer. “I knew that Liam’s story was fishy when he started taking credit for your injuries. The guy has never thrown a punch properly in his life. So what happened? And don’t lie this time.”

Yuri considers it for a moment. Despite Hisca’s nagging, she never seemed to come off as an untrustworthy person. If anything, she was just way too annoying, loud and loved to hover and criticize him at every given moment. Which made him realize pretty quickly that he was likely not going to be able to leave this classroom until he gave her what she wanted.

“Ugggh, fine.” Yuri throws his head back in annoyance. “Here’s the short version: The jackasses were feeling up on Estelle, the new girl, and they were kicking around a dog too–”

“Oh, the one you were taking care of?”

Yuri stopped and stared at her like she had just grown two heads, earning the tiniest of shrugs in response.

“Chastel told me…”

“And how the hell did she know?!” Yuri exclaims, completely baffled. Was this Flynn’s fault? Oh, he would bet money on it.

“I don’t know.” Hisca shrugs again, waving her hand at Yuri, signaling him to continue. “Keep talking.”

“You both suck.” Yuri’s eyes narrow as he continues the story. “So they were kicking around Repede and feeling up on Estelle so I decided to take care of it. So, sure. You could technically say I jumped them. But they started it.”

Hisca nods, understandingly. “So, that’s why you’ve been so huffy all day?”

A small growl leaves Yuri’s lips before he can even stop it. “No. I’m pissed off that I was called to the principal’s office and was told that instead of being suspended for starting a fight, I would only get three days of detention. Which means that Flynn likely had a hand in this somewhere.”

Hisca immediately slaps her hand against her forehead in disbelief. “You’re mad because Flynn got you out of trouble?!” She exclaims and… yeah, when she says it like that, it sounds stupid.

But it wasn’t. Not really. He was a known troublemaker and he was also known as Flynn’s childhood friend. Everyone in the school seemed to know this and if you didn’t, then it wouldn’t be long until you did. Flynn, to his credit, did everything he could to treat Yuri as equally as the other students. Hell, if anything, Flynn was a lot tougher on Yuri than others. But despite it all, rumors still flooded the halls of the school. People, mostly those with malicious intent towards Yuri or Flynn or both, would whisper constantly about how the only reason Yuri hadn’t been expelled yet was because of Flynn.

And on some days, Yuri felt as if they were right. Today was one of those days.

“I want you to repeat that sentence to yourself, but slower. Sound it out if you have to.” Yuri’s words come out sarcastically as he folds his arms behind his head, leans back into his seat and kicks his feet up onto the desk. “He shouldn’t be getting me out of trouble.”

“But those guys started it! You were just protecting another student!”

“Yeah, and even if the principal understands that, you really think the other students will?” Yuri closes his eyes with a tired sigh. “Especially with the stories that Liam has been spreading?”

Hisca half-heartedly swats at Yuri’s feet to shoo them off of the desk. “So go and set the story straight.”

“Find me someone who will listen and maybe.” A chuckle leaves Yuri’s lips as he peeks an eye open at her. “Until then, I want Flynn to stay out of my business.”

“Ugh, you’re just so impossible. You and Flynn.”

The silence settles between them and Yuri chalks the conversation up to a close. He pulls his feet back to the ground and moves to stand, grabbing his bag along the way. “Okay, speaking of detention, I should probably head that way. See ya around.”

As he moves past the girl, he does feel her reach out and tug back on his sleeve, grabbing his attention. When he looks back to her, eyebrow raised questioningly, she’s looking down into her lap cheeks a slight tint of red from embarrassment.

“Hey, for what it’s worth, I’ll listen. Chastel will as well. And I know a few handful of others who will as well. So don’t act like it’s you against the whole school, okay?”

The sentiment was nice and he really did appreciate it. Truly, he did. But he and she both knew that he was not the type to run to others with his problems. Not when they had other things to worry about. Regardless, he gives her a tiny nod as he gently pulls out of her grasp and heads towards the door.

“...Yeah. Okay.”

---

He had been making his way towards the room for detention, ignoring the way that eyes would stare him down as he passed while choosing not to pay any attention to how people pointed out his bandaged cheeks. They whispered, they pointed, they judged and Yuri chose to turn a blind eye to all of it. He was, admittedly, surprised that the guys from yesterday were popular enough to cause so much gossip. He barely even recognized them, after all. Well, it showed what he knew regarding the social ladder of the school. Regardless, he would, again, choose to just forget about it. At least, he would attempt to until he heard her voice call out from around the corner.

“I demand that you correct these silly rumors at ONCE!”

Oh no. She wouldn’t.

Yuri’s uncaring attitude about the situation suddenly took a turn as he hurried to the corner and poked his head out, and sure enough, his fears became a reality. There he spotted Estelle, having Liam and two of his goons from yesterday ‘cornered’ (They were simply just leaning against the wall while Estelle stood before them with her hands on her hips) as she glared at them with the ferocity of a small and angry puppy.

‘No offense, Repede.’ Yuri commented to himself, thinking back to the small pup that he had left back at his apartment on the way to school with Flynn today.

As Yuri peered around the corner at them, he tried not to take too much pride in how much the three boys were all bandaged up and he was sure he saw the gap in Liam’s teeth from where he had lost the tooth.

As Estelle stood tall against Liam, the boy snickers to himself as he sported that same sleazy look from yesterday. “You really want to come back for more, princess?” His voice is light and teasing, and just so slimy and disgusting. “I figured you would have had more brains than to show yourself to us again.”

Yuri takes a quick glance around and, of course, there didn’t seem to be anybody else nearby. Why would he ever be that lucky?

“You know, your boyfriend isn’t here to bail you out this time.”

“Yeah, for real.” The two lackeys (because what more could they possibly be?) glance at each other with large grins. “You know, you shouldn’t hang around someone so violent, miss. We’re so much nicer.”

Oh, Yuri was about to show them violence. He glances at Estelle and while he can’t see her face, he notices that her hand is shaking in anger. He notices a twitch of her hand and he briefly wonders if she were about to slap one of them. That… would not end well for her at all. Was he going to have to step in again?

“Yeah, you should definitely play nice with us. Lowell will likely be kicked out of school before the end of the year and after that, things will be very different around here, I promise–”

As Yuri steps out from around the corner, a hand suddenly grabs hard onto his shoulder and yanks him back with such ferocity that he finds himself getting thrown onto his ass on the floor. Looking up from his spot on the floor, all he sees is a glimpse of brown hair and a girl’s uniform as whoever it was turns the corner with quick and angry stomps.

All Yuri can hear is the loud clap that he can only assume was someone’s fist connecting with someone’s face, followed by the sound of someone falling to the floor with a loud and pained groan. He jumps to his feet in an instant and peers back around the corner as he takes in the scene.

The new arrival was a young girl who was a few inches shorter than Estelle with short and messy brown hair. She stood confidently above Liam, who was now on the floor holding his cheek while his two lackeys flocked to him to help him to his feet. Estelle quickly took a step back, hands flying over her mouth as she looked between the girl and the three guys. Judging by their angry expressions, Yuri was becoming more certain that a fight was about to break out.

“Will you three just shut the hell up?!” She growls out and when she takes another step forward, Yuri nearly laughs with lackey #2 flinches back. “I have heard NOTHING but the dumb shit that you’ve been talking about all freaking day and I’m SICK of it!”

“And who the hell are you supposed to be?”

“Wait, aren’t you that Mordio girl? You’re just an underclassmen! You can’t treat an upperclassman like that!!”

Mordio took another step forward and this time, Lackey #1 stepped back. “I said SHUT UP! You’re literally so annoying! I can’t even go to the library without hearing about how you three got your butts kicked! For someone who tries to act all tough, you would think that you would get embarrassed about sharing a story about how you got your sorry tails handed to you. Who brags about losing a fight?!”

Okay, this Mordio girl had a very good point.

Liam pushes himself off of his little buddy followers and makes a step towards Mordio, shooting her a dangerous glare and for a split moment, Yuri is back on guard, ready to step in. “I’m already getting really sick of your mouth, Little Girl. This conversation had nothing to do with you so stop butt–”

“I’m getting sick of you! ”Mordio put an end to his little macho speech by delivering a kick to somewhere that made Yuri flinch back in a bit of sympathy pain. When Liam once again drops to his knees, both hands shooting to cover his crotch in pain, Mordio quickly snatches Estelle by the arm and begins to hurry away with the taller girl in tow. Estelle has a moment of panic as she looks back to the assaulted leader and his friends. “Uh– Wait–”

Mordio either doesn’t hear Estelle or chooses to ignore her protests as she hurries past the hallway that Yuri was currently standing in. Yuri was unsure the two noticed him at all as they quickly made their way down the stairs to the floor below. The two boys that remained quickly left Liam on the floor and moved to pursue and that's when Yuri decided to step in. As he stepped around the corner, he shot his hands out and grabbed the two guys by their shoulders and spun them around away from the staircase.

“Hey there.” He greets with a grin as he slides his arms over both of their shoulders. “Fancy meeting you guys here. Were you on your way to detention too?”

He takes a little bit too much pleasure in watching how both boys freeze and pale upon getting caught by Yuri. And when Yuri tells them to help their friend up and get him to the nurses office, they thankfully have the brain to do so without complaint.

At some point, Yuri makes sure to send a quick text over to Estelle when he can. Whoever Mordio was, he was pretty sure she didn’t intend on harming Estelle, since she went out of her way to get her out of the situation. But it still didn’t hurt to check in.

---

Karol really hated when his friends started going off about ghost stories at the lunch table.

It wasn’t like he was scared or anything! And even if he was scared, who could really blame him?! He’s heard so many stories of teenagers that were a good five years older than him running out of the Quoi Woods, screaming in terror. He’s heard adults talk about how they avoid the forest in the park like the plague. He’s heard stories of eerie red lights, evil monsters lurking in the shadows, people disappearing, curses… he’s heard them all! How could anyone blame him for being wary?

And yet, here they were, speaking about the Quoi Woods for the third day in a row. He wasn’t entirely sure why Anise, a girl only one year older than Karol with black hair pulled up into pigtails, was so hyper focused on the forest lately. She babbled on and on about the rumors of the forest with an evil grin on her face as she scanned the table for reactions. Nan sat beside Karol, digging at her food with her fork as she listens carefully to Anise’s words and Karol is momentarily baffled because Did Nan actually like stories like this? !

“...and then I heard that a teenager over at Zaphias High saw a giant monster-like creature in the forest!” Anise clutches to her little stuffed toy (which was creepy enough without all of the ghost tales) with a wide grin.

A low hum of boredom is from across the table and Karol and Nan both glance over to a boy with white and messy hair pick at his lunch in disgust. One glance at the lunch box told Karol everything he needed to know. Genis, one of his classmates (and a genius at that), was known for being a wonderful cook, to the point where he ended up making his own lunches. Unfortunately, it did not stop his older sister, a professor who taught over at the same high school Anise mentioned, from trying to make his lunches for him. Karol didn’t want to know how she had managed to sneak the food into his lunchbox like she did.

“My sister heard about that story and said it was only a bear or something.” Genis eventually gives up and moves to close his lunch box.

“Yeah, but I also heard that the police are starting to look into it!”

Karol frowns, pursing his lips. “Maybe… they’re just tired of all the rumors so they’re going to confirm that there’s nothing there.”

“Yeah, or maybe there’s a rabid wolf or something and they’re going to go put it down.” Genis rolls his eyes. “I highly doubt it’s a monster, Anise.”

Anise shoots both boys a glare as she slams her doll onto the table. “If it were just a rabid wolf, people wouldn’t be making it such a big deal.” She pouts before looking at Nan with a smile. “Nan believes me, don’t you, Nan?”

Nan takes a moment, trying to consider it as she glances at Karol. “Maybe there is a monster.” She finally decides, putting a finger to her chin. “All the more reason to stay out of the forest, right?”

“I wasn’t planning on going into the forest in the first place. You’d have to be an idiot to go into the forest, especially at night.” Genis shrugs lightly, earning a frown from Karol.

“Didn’t your best friend go into the forest at night?”

Genis stares dead at him. “I rest my case. But he didn’t see anything.”

Karol nods lightly. “I… don’t think there’s a monster in the woods or anything. I think people are just seeing things or seeing bears or something.”

There’s a long silence that stretches over the table and Karol figures that that must be the end of the conversation, so he picks up his fork and decides to go back to eating his lunch. There was a moment of relief as the conversation seemed to die down but that relief lasted only a moment before he noticed that Anise was staring at him with narrowed eyes and an evil grin.

“Why don’t you go prove it then?”

The clatter of a fork dropping on the table is barely heard over the bustle of the crowded lunchroom though it wasn’t Karol’s fork that fell from his hands. Looking over, he sees Nan very quickly snatch the utensil back into her hands as she narrows her eyes at Anise, quietly. Karol, however, turns pale as he looks back to Anise.

“How would I prove that?!”

“You’ve gone camping before, right?” Anise pulls her doll back into her hands and grins proudly.

“N-No, I haven’t!” Karol clutches his fork in hand fist as he looks helplessly between Genis and Nan. “What would camping in the woods prove?!”

Anise hums playfully as she holds up one finger as she counts her reason, adding a finger to every reason she lists. “It’ll prove that there’s no monster in the woods, like you claim, it’ll prove that you actually can go out and do something interesting for once and it’ll prove that you’re not just a scaredy cat!”

Okay, the last two were just mean…

“I’m not a scaredy cat!” Karol argues, leaning back in his seat as Anise leaned in closer. “I just think there are better ways to spend my time!”

“What, like hanging out with your babysitter? ”

“That’s… he’s not–”

“Don’t you dare try and say he’s not your babysitter!”

“He’s not!” Karol’s eyes narrow, tone coming out more sharper than he meant to but he leans forward regardless. “He’s my friend! He’s not just some babysitter!”

Anise cackles at that. “He’s literally getting paid to hang out with you. Why else would a guy in high school hang out with some weird kid in middle school?”

“Genis’ best friend is sixteen!” Karol argues, unsure of what the difference is.

“Yeah but Genis isn’t as clingy as you are. You can’t do anything by yourself. I bet your babysitter thinks that as well.”

Genis frowns, looking between Karol and Anise before letting his eyes settle on Nan, who seems to be clutching her fork tightly as she stares over at Karol, waiting for his response. Karol’s mouth opens to reply but his voice dies in his throat as his shoulders suddenly slump.

He knew Anise was wrong. He knew that Yuri didn’t think that way. Despite his foul mouth and passive attitude, Yuri was a good person. That was clear as day to anyone who spent more than two days around him. He wasn’t just watching over Karol for the paycheck, he knew this. He stepped in because he saw a young kid staying home alone due to overworking parents and wanted to do something about it.

That’s where his doubts came in.

He knew Yuri wasn’t in it for the money. But was it really because they were friends? Or did Yuri just see a kid left all alone and decide to take on the responsibility of taking care of him, despite his personal feelings on the matter? He remembered how tired Yuri had been lately too. He tried so hard to hide it last night but Karol noticed how Yuri was a shade paler than normal and how his legs shook when he wandered into the house.

He shouldn’t have even been there. But because Karol had sent out that text complaining about Flynn’s cooking, he threw everything out the window, went and grabbed some pizza with his own hard earned money and made it way over to his house. Karol wished he had never sent that text. Yuri had been so exhausted, it was plain as day. So exhausted that he had apparently passed out on the couch not long after he, himself, had been put to bed.

He had stirred awake upon hearing a quiet curse as something thumped against the wall. Karol had jumped out of bed and hurried towards the door, cracking it open just wide enough to see Flynn stumble back from the corner of the hallway, favoring his left foot as he did so. In his arms, held so closely, was the sleeping form of his caretaker, dead asleep even as Flynn stubbed his toe against the corner of the room. Flynn bit his lip tightly as he fought through the pain of an injured toe when he looked up and spotted the brown eyes staring at him from the doorway. The pain is barely there still but he still offered Karol a tiny smile as he began to maneuver his way through the hall, towards the guest room where Yuri tended to stay. Karol, without much thought, moved to follow. He peeked into the room just in time to see Flynn gently place the sleeping man onto the bed, moving to pull the blankets over him. Yuri, normally a pretty light sleeper, didn’t move an inch. As Flynn drew the curtains closed and moved to step out of the room, switching off the light as he did so, he looked back at Karol and held a finger to his lips. As they both backed out of the room, Flynn shut the door gently behind him and then placed a hand on Karol's back, quietly leading him away from the door. “Now what are you doing up?” He whispered, curiously. “I heard you kick my wall…” Karol admitted, eyes darting over to the entryway of the hall, particularly at the corner that nearly took Flynn out. “I wanted to make sure no one was hurt. You’re not hurt, are you?” “I’ve definitely had worse bruises, no worries. You should get back to sleep though. It’s getting late…” Karol nodded quietly but then found his gaze drifting towards Yuri’s door. Worry began to settle in his stomach again. “Is… Yuri okay?” After hearing a tiny questioning sound from Flynn, he clarifies. “You know… despite everything with the guy with the knife. He seemed distracted tonight, didn’t he?” He takes notice of how Flynn’s face slowly falls from his caring gaze to something more withdrawn and sad as his eyes trail over to Yuri’s door as well. “Yuri is just… tired.” He stated, quietly. “He’ll be alright though.” “Tired from what?” “Well…” Flynn turned back to Karol, lips pursed in thought. “He’s just got a lot on his plate, I suppose. Though he’d sooner die than admit it.” Yeah, that sounded like Yuri, alright. “Is there anything I can do to help?” The question hung in the air as he stared hopefully up at Flynn. Flynn is, of course, a bit surprised by Karol’s willingness to help but he just as quickly gives Karol a tiny smile that Karol knows all too well. Don’t worry yourself over this. “I think your flowers helped Yuri more than you think.” Flynn explains carefully, moving to guide Karol back to his room. “Lilies are special to Yuri, so it was a thoughtful gesture that I’m sure he won’t forget.” Karol can’t help but feel slight defeat as he’s led back to his room. “It seemed like they just made him more tired than happy.” “It’s… complicated. But I promise you, he does love them.” Flynn watches as Karol climbs back into bed and offers him a comforting smile. “So don’t worry yourself over Yuri. I’m hoping that I can convince him to share part of the load he’s carrying with me so he won’t work himself to death.” Karol wasn’t too sure of that. From what Yuri said when talking about Flynn, Flynn was just as much of a workaholic as Yuri was. So the idea of Yuri willingly letting Flynn help him out when he had just as much work to worry about was close to zero. But instead of speaking his concerns to Flynn and insisting that he could also help, he just quietly nods instead, letting the topic drop. “If you need anything, come let me know, alright? I’ll be in the living room.” Karol nodded again, face blank as he moved to lay down. He hears Flynn leave the door open, just a crack, leaving Karol alone to deal with complicated feelings of guilt and uselessness.

Karol swallows hard as he clenches his fists tightly. “I can take care of myself! I don’t need Yuri!” He argues, feeling a flash of anger rush through him. “And… And I’ll prove it!”

From the way Anise’s grin grew, Karol knew she had technically won the argument but he couldn’t care less about what she thought. He had to prove that he could take care of himself just fine. That Yuri didn’t need to stress himself to death just to take care of him. He would prove it.

Genis gives Karol a quick look of disbelief while Nan stares at Karol with her mouth open and eyes wide with shock. “Karol–”

“You’re gonna prove it?” Anise is clearly over the moon with this information. “Gonna prove that you’re not a coward? You know, people aren’t into cowards, Karol.”

Karol sees the way her eyes dart over to Nan and the anger intensifies, along with a warmth that spreads over his cheeks. “I’m not a coward! I can take care of myself so– So…. So I’ll camp out in the Quoi Woods this weekend! By myself! And then you’ll see that I can handle myself, that I’m not some scaredy cat afraid of ghost stories and that there are no monsters in the woods, either!”

As Genis mutters a quiet “I dunno if this is a good idea…”, everyone’s words die in their mouths as Nan suddenly stands up, slamming her hands onto the table. Her face is red with anger as she clenches her hands into fists as she looks between Anise and Karol. Karol had a sinking suspicion that he was about to get yelled at for something.

But as Nan stood there, mouth opening like she was about to start yelling, her eyes trail over to Karol’s and she stares dead into his face for a few seconds. Karol can’t help but shrink back slightly because he knew that look all too well. He had done something wrong. Eventually, though, she moves away from her seat.

“You’re so stupid, Karol.” She says simply before storming out of the cafeteria.

“Wha– Nan!” Karol moves to climb to his feet while Anise lets out a giggle.

“Maybe Nan thinks that you’re not brave enough for it.” Anise thinks aloud before moving to close her lunch box and her doll, moving to stand up. “When you go camping, be sure to take a picture~! Or else no one will believe you~!”

And with that, she stepped away from the table, skipping happily out the door, leaving Genis and Karol behind. They both look to each other in silence before Genis moves to get up as well. “Hey, remember earlier when I said that you had to be stupid to spend the night in the woods?”

“...Yeah?”

“My opinion has not changed.” He states simply as he moves to leave as well, leaving Karol behind to contemplate his sudden life choices.

---

[Yuri: hey u alright? just witnessed a onesided beat down between liam and some angry gremlin child and then i saw u gettin kidnapped u good?]

Estelle had not texted him back since his message earlier that day. Which was all well and good since they confiscated his phone for the duration of detention. But even after it was given back to him, he still hadn’t received a response. Still, he wasn’t one to worry too much about it. Estelle was nice and sweet but she came off as a bit of a space case so maybe she had just forgotten to respond. No big deal.

He started getting a little curious though when Estelle had come back to class, all smiles as she wandered back over to her desk without a word. The normally attentive girl was lost in thought all throughout the class and Yuri could not stop his curious nature from taking over as he pulled out his phone to try and send a quick text to Estelle, wanting to follow up on what she seemed so giddy about.

He just as quickly shoves his phone into his pocket when a chalkboard eraser is thrown in his direction from the front of the room by their history professor. This earns a few chuckles from the classroom, though the professor's behavior was nothing new for her. Thankfully, it's new enough to Estelle that it’s just enough to snap her back to attention as she looks back at Yuri with wide eyes.

“Were you aiming at my hands or were you aiming for my head?” Yuri leans down to pick the eraser up as the professor wanders over, pushing her white bangs from her face as she takes it from his hand.

“For your hands.” She answers, a tiny smirk on her face before replacing it with a stern expression. “No phones in my class. I’ll take it away next time.”

“Your aim is getting better.” Yuri simply comments before holding up his hands in defeat. “No phone, got it.”

Thankfully, Professor Sage was one of the few teachers he could somewhat tolerate but she was also one of the strictest. Yuri was not too interested in giving her a hard time so he never tried to fight her authority or snark at her… too much. Seeming to accept his response for now, she takes her eraser and returns to the front of the room and resumes her lessons.

Yuri took one glance towards Estelle and Flynn, both sitting within the vicinity of each other and was not at all surprised to still see them staring over at him. Estelle, seemingly surprised that the professor’s way of regaining attention is via the use of throwable objects, quickly turns back in her seat and straightens up. Flynn’s gaze lingers a bit longer, eyebrows narrowed and mouth closed tight.

If Yuri still wasn’t so mad at Flynn, he would have laughed at his face, eyes widening in annoyance and mouth puffing out with a huff, when Yuri responded by sticking his tongue out at the boy.

---

Estelle’s reply never came, though that would be because she was up and out of her seat seconds after class ended as she made her way over to Yuri’s desk in record time. She nearly ran into another student on her way, causing Yuri to have to hide his amused grin behind his hand as she quickly apologized and continued her pace to Yuri’s desk.

“Yuri! Hello!” She greets, pressing her hands together in front of her as she offers a quick little bow. “How are you feeling?”

Turning in his chair to face her, Yuri leans back into his chair with a casual grin. “Feeling a lot better, thanks!”

Truthfully, his hand still burned a lot. Holding a pencil was also a pretty tough task at the moment. He had some use in his right hand but with his left hand being more dominant, his word speed had slowed down considerably and his handwriting had gotten a bit sloppy. Most of the teachers didn’t seem to care too much, and if they did, they didn’t mention it. The only one to make any type of comment was Ragou, who made a muttered comment about his handwriting being illegible. Yuri didn’t care enough to make it into a big deal. If it wasn’t his handwriting, he was sure that Ragou would have found something wrong regardless.

“I’m glad it’s doing better! I’m sure it’s sore but so long as you keep it clean and change your bandaging regularly, it should heal up in no time.” Estelle smiles brightly and Yuri can’t help but notice how contagious her energy was. “So… um… Yuri, if you’re not busy at the moment, do you think you could stop by my locker real quick? I have something I’d like to give you.”

The way Estelle glances back towards the door of the classroom tells Yuri that it’s not just a simple gift that she intends on giving. (When he follows her gaze, he does notice that Flynn and both of the twins are staring hard at them and they were not being subtle about it. When Yuri meets Flynn’s eyes, Yuri huffs and looks away.) “I have to leave pretty soon to go pick up Karol and then stop by my apartment to repatch back up before heading to work but I should have a few minutes to spare.”

“Oh, right! Of course!” Estelle nods quickly and reaches over to grab his right hand, pulling him out of his chair. “Come this way then, please!”

“Yeah, yeah, take it easy. I’m not gonna run away.”

As Estelle pulls him out of the room, they both nearly slam into someone attempting to enter the classroom. A young girl with short and light brown hair that was adorned with a small braid in the front and whose purple eyes were stern and unamused in a way that filled Yuri with annoyance and dread, staggers back as she drops her books onto the floor from Estelle’s impact. Estelle squeaks and quickly scrambles down onto her knees and begins to scoop up the books.

“Oh my gosh, I am so sorry–”

The girl quickly drops down as well, hands reaching out to gather her now-scattered papers. “No, it’s quite alright…” She mutters as she quickly stacks them all together.

A familiar presence approaches Yuri from the side and he’s once again left wondering when he had started sensing Flynn by presence alone. “Sodia, are you alright?” He asks, gently moving around Yuri and Estelle to help the girl, the school’s very own vice president, back up to her feet.

“Flynn.” She greets him with a tiny smile and accepts the hand up. “Yes, I’m alright, I–” She pauses when her eyes meet Yuri’s and the smile is gone instantly.

“ You. ” Her tone is, as always, so full of disdain as her lips curl up in disgust. “Why don’t you watch where you’re going, Lowell?”

Here we go…

Shoving his hands into his pockets, Yuri shoots a very annoyed glance towards Flynn as if silently asking the man to call his easily aggroed dog off. Instead, all he sees is the tiniest and pleading glance that asks Yuri to ‘please play nice’ as if he were the one who started swinging right out the gate. Yuri honestly couldn’t give a rat’s ass about Sodia and what she did with her time but the fact that she would constantly belittle Yuri at every turn and look down on him as if he were the scum of the Earth was annoying at best. Even when he tried to act civil, it was to no avail, so he stopped trying.

Estelle was already in the process of babbling out another apology, trying to point out that she was the reason Sodia had fallen but of course, her eyes were still trained on Yuri suspiciously.

“I like to think that I have a pretty good eye on my surroundings.” Yuri just shrugs as he moves to slip by the angry woman as he scratches at his left side. When he receives a look of doubt from Flynn, blue eyes lingering on his hand and cheeks, Yuri can’t help but roll his eyes. “On most days, that is.”

He doesn’t wait for a reply before he’s snatching up Estelle’s hand and tugs her back again. “C’mon Estelle, let’s go before someone’s guard dog starts barking at me.”

There’s a moment where Flynn’s eyes dart down to Yuri’s hand grabbing Estelle’s but his attention is snatched back to the matter at hand when Sodia bristles up. “Dog?!” She exclaims, stepping forward as if she were going to take matters into her own hands.

“Yuri, you can’t say that to her–” Flynn also tries to argue but Yuri has already turned away and is leading the pink haired girl away from the problem.

“Sorry, super busy!” He calls back, casually reaching a hand to scratch at the left side of his waist, feeling a weird itch appear on his skin. “Later!”

“I-I am very sorry!” Estelle calls back as well, letting herself get dragged away.

Thankfully the two do not make a move to follow. Good. He was not in the mood to deal with Sodia today and his frustrations with Flynn were still as strong as they were this morning.

As he and Estelle walk through the halls, Yuri does eventually release her hand as he shoves his hands into his pockets. He slows his pace enough to walk beside her as she stares up at him with a hint of concern on her face.

“I’m sorry for getting you into trouble again.”

Yuri shrugs and smirks. “Nah, don’t worry about it. Sodia is like the president of the “Yuri Hate Club” so she would have found some reason to get mad at me. You just gave her an excuse, is all.”

“She… hates you? How come?”

“Same reason why a bunch of randos hate me. I’m a troublemaker and an embarrassment to the school or something. Blah, blah.” As he explains, Estelle’s face drops and her eyes widen as if someone had just spit at her. “Specifically for Sodia though, she thinks all of those things AND she thinks I’m just a horrid influence on Flynn.”

Estelle’s mouth falls open. “But why would she think that?! I’ve only known you for a short couple of days but I can see, clear as day, that you are genuinely a nice person with the best intentions and–”

Yuri’s scoff cuts her off. “Best intentions doesn’t always excuse the actions. But I do what needs to be done. But she does have a point. I am a pretty bad influence on Flynn.”

“Why would you say that?!”

“Because it’s true?” Yuri notices that the girl was beginning to get upset, judging by the frown turning into a disappointed ‘mom’ glare, so he reaches over and rests a hand on her shoulder as he begins to explain himself. “Estelle, I got into a fight yesterday. I should have gotten suspended for it. We all should have. But we didn’t. Flynn likely had a hand in it and that’s why my ‘sentence’ was decreased to just detention. Flynn shouldn’t be doing stuff like that. I chose to fight so I had to accept the consequences for it. So long as the other guys got punished too, I didn’t really care. But because my sentence was decreased, theirs was too and they didn’t learn. You saw that earlier today, didn’t you?”

“You saw…?” For a moment, Estelle’s face turns a slight tinge of pink.

“Yep. Saw the whole thing. I was ready to jump in again but then that girl jumped in instead and went berserk on their asses.” Yuri snickers a bit. “She literally pushed me to the ground so she could step in. It was scary. But, Estelle, you shouldn’t go picking fights like that. Those guys are merciless.”

“It’s just… they were spreading such awful rumors about you and it was because of me and–” Estelle’s lip quivers and Yuri has a moment of sheer panic because he really did not want to make Estelle cry but then she’s shoving herself into his space, that same look of sheer determination appearing on her features. “No, Yuri! It wasn’t Flynn’s fault!”

“Huh?” Yuri pauses midstep, eyes widening slightly as Estelle steps around him and glares up at him, fists clenched in front of her chest. “What do you mean? I know the teachers weren’t lenient for the sake of leniency. Someone had to have had a hand in–”

Oh. Oh.

The culprit was standing in front of him.

Oh, fuck , he probably had to apologize to Flynn, didn’t he?

Fuck.

“Estelle.” He lets out a deep breath and quickly has to run a hand down his face to steady himself. “You… You’re the reason? How did you even–” A sigh escapes him as he turns to stare Estelle in the eyes. “You realize that by getting my punishment reduced, you got everyone’s punishment reduced. You realize that those guys aren’t gonna stop harassing you and others now. You realize that, right?”

To her credit, Estelle does look slightly ashamed of herself but only a little. Her resolve, however, seemed to be much MUCH stronger than her shame, however. “Yes, I realized that. Which is why I stepped up today and tried to talk with them. I decided to handle my problem on my own and get them to stop without having to bother you with it.”

“And how did that work out for you?”

“...Bad. It worked out bad.” Estelle’s shoulders suddenly slump as she turns and continues to slowly lead the way to her locker.

“Yeah, it worked out very bad. It was almost a repeat of the whole scenario and then we all would have gotten punished. You included, for starting the whole altercation.” Yuri explains as he quickly moves to walk alongside her. “I’m not going to tell you what to do but my suggestion? Leave it alone. I’m a big boy. I can handle it.”

“Mm… Maybe it’s for the best. After all, I keep involving people who shouldn’t be involved.”

“Exactly.” Yuri smirks a bit. “I think those guys learned their lesson though, because of your friend. Who was she anyway? I thought I heard the name Mordio…”

The frown on Estelle’s face changes and Yuri immediately catches the way that her hands join together as she fiddles her thumbs. Her frown changes into the tiniest of smiles as her eyes dart over to Yuri and then back down to her feet. “Oh… Yes! Well… that’s not– I mean, it is her name– It’s… her last name.” She giggles quietly to herself. “Her name is Rita Mordio.”

“Rita Mordio, huh?” Yuri smirks a bit, letting the name run through his brain for a moment. It rang a bell, that’s for sure. “Wait, isn’t she like… a year under us? People say she’s like a super-genius, right?”

“Do they?” Estelle blinks, confused. Of course, Estelle was still a new student after all. She’s probably not intune with all of the rumors yet. But she does give off a tiny little smile after a moment. “She seemed very smart so I definitely believe it.”

“So that was your first time meeting?”

“Yes, it was. She was so nice, stepping in to save someone without really knowing who they were… She reminded me of you, in a way.” Estelle’s smile is telling as she folds her hands behind her back. “It’s nice to know there are such kind people in the world like you two.”

Estelle was conveniently forgetting the way that Rita had slugged Liam and then promptly connected her foot with the man’s dick while he was down. He would let her have her fantasy. “I’ll have to thank her next time I see her.” Maybe. There was a good chance that she wanted to punch his lights out too.

“Oh, I’ll be happy to introduce you later!” Estelle chirps, her low mood now suddenly bright and sunny as she smiles happily towards Yuri. “We plan on meeting up again in the library tomorrow. We’re both book lovers, so I asked if I could join her again and she said yes!” As they approach the lockers, Estelle practically hops over, excitement clear on her face. “Maybe we can start a little book club with the three of us! Maybe Flynn too!”

Yuri was not a big book person and he figured that just by looking at him, this would be obvious. Plus, he didn’t really have the time to be joining a bookclub, which was good because he wasn’t sure if he could say no to the hopeful look in Estelle’s eyes otherwise. “I might have to pass. I already have enough on my plate to begin with. You know… part time jobs, saving the world… that kinda thing.” He snickers quietly.

“Oh. Right.” And then the two of them are laughing to themselves as Estelle moves to open her locker. “Sorry, I got excited. But speaking of ‘saving the world’....”

She reaches in and brings out a pretty decent sized gift bag and quickly hands it over to Yuri. The bag is plain, just a simple purple coloring with white tissue paper meant for gift bags shoved inside. Yuri tilts his head, taking the bag carefully into his hand.

“What’s this for?”

“It’s a welcome gift!” Estellise smiles widely, folding her hands in front of her skirt as Yuri peeks into the bag. “Welcome to Brave Vesperia! I think this will come in handy for when we have to go out and actually get to work.”

Upon peeking into the bag, Yuri can see a black piece of clothing inside and he takes a moment to look up and down the hall. Crowds of people were huddled through the hallways and thankfully, everyone seemed more involved in their own conversations so their words would go mostly unheard. Knowing this was a gift regarding Brave Vesperia, however, he decided to hold off on opening it for now. “I’ll check it out when I drop by my apartment today before grabbing Karol. I’m guessing it’s an add-on to my costume?”

Estelle nods eagerly. “I figured it would be best if we tried to hide our identities!” She explains, cheeks turning a bit red as she continues. “I… read in a book that superheroes have to hide their faces or else, things can get complicated. So… So I got something for you that you can put on after you transform. I got a mask for myself, as well!”

A mask, huh? Yuri couldn’t stop the grin from appearing on his face. “So you went out and read comic books and stuff after finding out we could transform? Think it’ll work?”

“I… believe so! Yes! I…” Estelle trails off. “Do you think I should have gotten something for Repede? His form changes so drastically, I thought that maybe he wouldn’t need it but… Oh, no, what if he feels left out?!”

A poorly suppressed chuckle leaves Yuri’s lips. “I don’t think Repede will appreciate a doggy outfit. You’re fine.” He reaches out and pets the girl on the head, trying to comfort her. “I appreciate it, Estelle. I’ll try it on later. I’ll even send pics and you can tell me if it suits me.”

The way Estelle’s eyes light up is almost breathtaking as she beams at him, clearly pleased with this development. “Oh, please do! I’ll even send you pictures of my mask!” She claps her hands together, gleefully.

“I’m looking forward to it.” Yuri grins.

As he holds onto the gift bag in his hand, the two talk happily with one another as they move to leave the school together. Yuri is heavily aware of the looks they receive as they leave, side by side, and he can’t help but worry about ruining Estelle’s reputation as well (Not that she had much of one just yet, with her being new) but the way Estelle would smile through it all was… comforting at least.

As the two go their separate ways after leaving the building, Yuri checks his phone, making sure that there wasn’t a text from Karol yet, letting him know that he was ready to be picked up. Instead, he saw a text from Flynn from just a little bit ago. With guilt settling in his chest, he quietly checks the text with a sigh.

[Flynn: Yuri, have I done something to upset you?]

He couldn’t help but feel like a brat in that moment but… he really HAD thought that Flynn was behind him only getting a slap on the wrist. He supposed that he could have just confronted the man and asked but with everything going on, he was not really feeling the energy to have yet another confrontation with Flynn. Not only that, but he was having a lot of conflicting feelings about… well… everything from last night and he wasn’t quite recovered from showing even the slightest bit of vulnerability last night.

But still… he at least owed the man an apology.

[Yuri: no u haven’t done anything wrong. was just going thru something today. Sorry]

He sends the text quickly as he takes his bag and hurries back to his apartment. On his way there, he received a text from Karol, stating that he was ready to be picked up so he only had limited time to change into his work uniform and check out the new present from Estelle.

As he slipped into his apartment, he gives a quick greeting to Repede who barks in reply before he’s already unfastening the buttons of the rather large school shirt and quickly slipping out of it. He remembered trying to skip out of school that day due to him lacking another uniform top, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to afford a new one at the moment, when Flynn practically shoved his extra shirt at him this morning, opting to just wear his same shirt from yesterday. The two of them used to be the same size, so Yuri didn’t see much of a problem with it but then when he actually put on the shirt, he suddenly remembered just how much muscle mass Flynn had gotten recently.

Yuri was once again thinking of Flynn’s newly acquired muscle mass and found himself facing those conflicting feelings again. Considering how his face heated up, he decided not to entertain those thoughts for very long.

Instead, he tossed the shirt and pants aside before pulling on his work uniform, a long sleeved burgundy button up with black slacks and a black apron tied around his waist. He redid the clip in his hair and made sure raven strands were pulled from his face before pulling his black shoes back on.

As he finishes getting ready, he does take a quick moment to pour the contents of Estelle’s gift bag onto his bed. Pushing the white tissue paper aside, he’s greeted with black hooded poncho with white accents bordering the edge of the cloth and a small black face mask to match and Yuri couldn’t help but to laugh. Estelle definitely had a color theme in mind when she thought of him, huh?

This would definitely help, he thinks to himself, as he runs a finger over the soft cloth of the poncho. He would have to be careful with the hood, of course, but he figured that the mask would at least hide his face if the hood were to fall. Of course, if he operated during the night, that’s an entirely different story.

He does take a quick moment to try the poncho on, mask and all, and thankfully it seems to be a perfect fit. Estelle was kind of good at this, huh? He smiles to himself and takes a quick selfie before sending it her way, right as another text from Flynn appeared.

[Flynn: You stuck your tongue out at me earlier. Most people would assume they’ve made you mad when you stick your tongue out at them.]

Fair point. After he’s taken the poncho and the mask off and safely stores it in his dresser for now, he takes another selfie for Flynn, making sure to stick his tongue out in this one as well. But this time, he made sure to have at least some kind of smile in the picture. A silent gesture of we’re good. I promise.

Flynn’s reply is instant.

[Flynn: I see that you’re just being you. Is that your work uniform?]

[Yuri: yep the boss said i have to be somewhat presentable so he shoved me into a suit]

There’s a long pause between Yuri’s reply and Flynn’s next reply. Which is quickly followed by a couple more less collected and obviously flustered texts that nearly had Yuri on the floor, laughing.

[Flynn: You look good.]

[Flynn: Not to say you don’t always look good. You’re very good at wearing clothes.]

[Flynn: That sounded wrong. I meant that you have a good fashion sense.]

Yuri had to take a few minutes to calm down from his laughing fit and even Repede had to walk over to make sure he was good as he struggled to catch his breath. “Flynn, holy shit.” He breathes out, giggles escaping his lips. He didn’t think his uniform would have caused Flynn to spiral into a flustered mess. He knew that he should have left it alone and let Flynn die of embarrassment in peace but he’s never been one to pass up an opportunity like this.

[Yuri: are u saying I don’t look good when im not wearing clothes?]

[Flynn: You’re the worst.]

[Yuri: i guess this means no shirtless pics for flynn :( ]

[Flynn: Some people would just say “Thank you for the compliment” and move on.]

[Yuri: yeah but im not Some People now am i?]

[Flynn: This is true. You’re definitely one of a kind.]

As Yuri reaches down to give Repede a quick pat, who pushes his snout gently against Yuri’s palm, he feels a small smile stretch across his face at Flynn’s words. He wasn’t sure if Flynn meant it as an insult or a compliment but knowing Flynn, it was likely both. Still, it made him feel a bit warm inside of his chest. As he gathers his things, ready to head out with Repede on his heels, he shoots off a quick reply to Flynn before turning his phone on silent.

[Yuri: youre one of a kind too. talk to u later.]

---

The Sagittarius was more of an unofficial tavern than an actual restaurant, according to Yuri’s fellow coworkers. It had the vibe of one, anyway. The place was rather old, sporting a more rustic style. The wooden walls were rough to the touch and the floors creak when someone walked across them and Yuri couldn’t help but think that the place could use a bit of a makeover. But despite the old and organic look that it had, it was still a rather cozy place. The tables were kept clean and organized and the windows were usually crystal clear and the bar that sat in the front of the store was sturdy and had plenty of room for people who would usually forgo the food in favor of getting a drink instead.

Selling drinks was normally Raven and Judith’s area of expertise since Yuri wasn’t quite old enough to sell alcohol yet. Legally, that is. So instead, he would focus more on either cooking food for the restaurant portion of the establishment, or waiting and bussing tables. It really just depended on where Raven needed him on that day. It just so happened that today, he was needed as a waiter.

Despite only being at this job for just a couple of weeks, Yuri got the hang of it pretty easily. Of course, it helped that the place was pretty lenient on how one should act. When he was hired on by Raven, the man made it very clear that a lot of the people who came by were regulars and that it paid more to treat them like an old friend rather than a stranger that he should be overly kind to. That was a huge relief for Yuri, who hated the idea of having to be overly accommodating to a bunch of strangers. He was a waiter and a cook, after all. Not a servant.

Three hours into his first shift, Raven commented that Yuri was built for a job like this. As much as Yuri hated to admit it, he silently agreed. He wasn’t a people’s person. It wasn’t like he was anti-social or anything. He could be plenty social if he were around the right people. But he was often told that he had a sharp tongue and a rough attitude and that had a tendency of throwing people off.

However, it only served to make him more popular at the Sagittarius. Between the friendly but sharp banter between him and his manager (How Raven managed to score that position, Yuri would never know), the way he and Judith (Another waitress who had been hired about a year ago) hit it off immediately, and the way he jumped to help the rest of the staff when he could (though he would jokingly complain, of course), Yuri became pretty well liked by the staff, as hard as it was to believe.

Not only that, but he already had regulars that would come in on his shifts just to chat. Some were friendly, like the young couple with their five year old. Some who would come in to mooch off of the free wi-fi for work or school (Yuri always made sure to give anyone studying a free slice of cheesecake as a desert, courtesy of Raven after a lot of convincing). And then some who, Judith pointed out, may or may not have gained quite an attraction to the new cook/waiter. Mostly girls who would come by after school, who would talk to each other in excited hushed whispers every time Yuri walked away. He never noticed until Judith pointed them out.

Of course, there were some that were more obvious about their crushes. Like, for example, the little blonde haired girl, who was maybe around Karol’s age, that was currently clinging to his arm and staring up at him dreamily as he guided her to her seat.

“Here you go, Patty. Window seat, just like you prefer.” He gestures lightly before using his free arm to carefully peel the girl off of him.

Patty smiles widely as she hops into the chair, grabbing the menu eagerly. “Thank you, Yuri, my beloved!” She sighs happily, blinking her blue eyes up at him.

“Yeah, yeah.” Yuri rolls his eyes as he pulls out his notepad. “Water to drink?”

“Yes please! And the Seafood Bowl!”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll see what I can do.” Yuri quickly scribbles it down. “Your family lives by the beach, right? I don’t see how you can work with fish all day long and not get sick of seafood.”

Patty grins widely as her hand slaps her chest, puffing it out proudly. “Ye can’t keep an ocean gal away from what she loves most!”

“So it would seem.” Yuri snorts quietly as he shoves the notepad into the pocket of his apron. “It’ll be a few minutes for the seafood bowl. The water will be out in a sec.”

“I’ll be waiting!”

Patty was one of the regulars of the establishment. When she first appeared, he wondered what a child her age was doing wandering into the restaurant all by herself. But apparently, she had been coming to the place since she was small. Er… well… small er. According to Raven, her father would frequent the bar every night after a fishing trip and he would always bring along Patty with him. While he celebrated the catch of the day over a drink, Patty would always be sitting at a nearby table, celebrating with a nice dessert. When Yuri asked what happened to her old man, he simply replied that he wasn’t able to come by anymore and that Patty was just continuing to do what she had always known.

Yuri got the impression that Raven was respecting Patty’s real life privacy by not discussing what happened with her father. He had some ideas of what was going on but he agreed. It wasn’t any of his business. Besides, Patty seemed like she was getting along just fine. He had only been here a short amount of time but he had never seen Patty without a smile on her face.

As he got Patty’s water and delivered it over and then put in the order for the cook in the back, he went back to clearing out his tables and getting them ready for the next customer. On his way, his eyes do catch Karol sitting at the end of the bar, scribbling away at his homework for the night with Judith taking any free time she had to assist him with whatever it was he was working on.

Some days he felt bad about dragging Karol to the restaurant with him. It definitely wasn’t ideal for a ‘normal babysitter’ but Karol usually seemed excited to come to work with him. The young boy seemed to warm up with Raven, Judith and the rest of the staff and even befriended some of the customers as well. At this point, the young boy seemed like an unofficial employee of the Sagittarius, though whenever Raven would try and get Karol to work, Yuri would immediately step in to let him know that if Karol does any work, it’s coming out of Raven’s tip jar. That’s usually enough to shut the old man up.

“You survivin’ over there, Captain?” Yuri calls out as he passes by the bar, earning both Judith’s and Karol’s attention as he does so.

Karol tapped his pencil on the counter, anxiously. “Uh… yeah… we’re almost done, I think.” He mutters, eyes glancing down to the floor.

Judith smiles warmly at Karol before moving to stand up straight as she leans against the bar to look at Yuri. “I decided to take a quick little break to help Karol out, since I know you were busy.” She explains, voice calm as ever. “The poor guy seemed pretty stressed…”

Yuri didn’t need Judith’s superhuman empathy skills to be able to tell that. Ever since Karol had been picked up that day, Yuri could tell that there was something on his mind though he would insist that everything was fine. Had he really been freaking out over some homework?

One glance at Judith made Yuri realize that there was probably something more to it than that. The way she stared at Yuri, an eyebrow slightly raised, told him that she definitely suspected something and that he probably should too.

“Stressed, huh?” Yuri moves to rest a hand on his waist. “You got a big test coming up?”

“Oh– uh… yeah, I guess so.”

“You guess so?” Yuri and Judith both raise an eyebrow at that before Yuri continues to press. “That doesn’t inspire me with confidence, boss.”

This seems to be enough to snap Karol back into attention as he suddenly straightens in his seat before looking both Judith and Yuri in the eye. “I-I mean, a pop quiz could come at any time! So I just have to be prepared, right?”

Judith lets out a small hum. “Mm… yes, you’re right, I suppose.” She takes another glance towards Yuri, silently calling out Karol’s bluff.

He was worried, admittedly, but he didn’t want to force Karol to talk if he didn’t want to. So, with a tiny nudge to Judy’s side with his elbow, he decided to step back for now, making a mental note to see about bringing it up later. “If you say so. Just let us know if you need anything, okay?”

Karol’s mouth opens and shuts a few times, causing Yuri to pause before he begins to leave to continue working. He gives Karol a moment. Two. Three. Finally, he just sighs and nods. “Okay, Yuri…”

Damn. It seemed like Yuri almost had him. But he kept to his silent word. He would let Karol come to him rather than force him to speak. So instead, he went back to work, moving to finish cleaning his tables. Judith, thankfully, offered some assistance and helped take some of the dishes off of his hands, placing them gently into the sink in the back before returning to the front of the bar. Yuri wasn’t surprised when she kept glancing over towards Karol’s direction.

Judith was more than observant. She had a talent of being able to size up a person with literally just one glance. She seemed to be an amazing judge of character and Yuri was almost jealous of her for it. She could usually tell whether or not a customer was going to be a problem, and nine times out of ten, she was usually right. Not only that, but she proved herself to be plenty capable of taking care of herself and others. Once, a guy had gotten drunk and got a bit too handsy with one of the waitresses. Before Yuri could step in and handle it, the guy was grabbed and literally thrown out the door by Judith with such ease that Yuri wondered if she had actual self-defense training. He would believe it, for sure.

She also had a tendency of digging for information. She would ask about Yuri’s school life or life in general and while he didn’t tell her much at all (after all, what could he say that wasn’t the generic answer you would hear from a school boy), she managed to put together context clues to get a pretty decent understanding of Yuri’s personal life. Meanwhile, he knew literally nothing of hers. (Plus, Karol had let Flynn’s name slip once and apparently Yuri had gotten a weird expression on his face when his name was said, according to Judith. So now he will never know peace from the woman.)

Neither would Karol, it seemed, because even after Yuri finished bussing his tables and delivered Patty’s food to her, she was still eyeing the poor boy up and down. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to notice but Yuri was stepping in regardless.

“Hey, leave him be.” He says under his breath as he moves to put some dollar bills into his tip jar for later. When she blinks and looks back at him with a tiny hum, he continues. “He’ll talk when he’s ready. Let’s not force it.”

“Oh, I’m just worried, is all.”

“And curious.” Yuri gives her a suspicious look before smirking. “You’re way too into other people’s drama. Nosy.”

Judith feigns an innocent look, making sure to blink her eyes in Yuri’s direction. “Oh, no, I’m not nosy. I just like to hear about people’s troubles so I can help.”

“That is the definition of nosy, in case you weren’t aware.”

Judith doesn’t confirm nor deny it but instead, she looks back towards Karol, who was back to anxiously tapping his pencil on the counter. “Do you think it has to do with that little friend of his? What was her name? Nan?”

“Yeah, Nan.” Yuri shrugs, following her gaze. “And I dunno. Maybe. They argue a lot so maybe it was another fight.”

Judith sighs sadly, folding her arms behind her back. “Love is just so complicated at his age…”

“He’s literally twelve.” Yuri shakes his head. “He’s got all the time in the world to figure it out. Nan does too.”

“I know, I know but it doesn’t stop it from hurting in the moment, you know?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

There’s silence before a devious grin stretches across her face. “I guess you would know more than anyone, wouldn’t you, Yuri?”

“Aaaaand the conversation is done.” With a clap of his hands, Yuri begins to step away. “Good job everybody. Same time next week.”

Before he could completely step away, however, a strong hand slaps down onto his shoulder and pulls him back over as Yuri is suddenly greeted with a bush of brown hair pulled into a loose ponytail and the faint smell of alcohol.

“Aw, c’mon, yer gonna stop th’ conversation before I get the join in?!” Raven greets with a wide smile as he pats Yuri on the back before his arm is shoved away by the latter. “What’s this I’m hearin’ about love? Oh! Does our lil’ Yuri have a sweetheart now?”

Yuri wrinkles his nose. “Have you been drinking on the job again , old man?”

“Naw, I was just tastin’ one of our new products.” Raven waves him off before hopping onto a stool so he could lean against the bar. “It’s fiiine. It was literally just a sip. You won’t even notice it missing!”

“He says that every time.” Judith hums. “I guess I’ll see when I do inventory tonight.”

“And I won’t disappoint ya, Judith Darlin’!” With a snap of his fingers, Raven grins over to Judith before looking back over to Yuri. “So, who’s the one who stole our lil’ Yuri’s heart?”

Judith smiles, staring Yuri directly in the eye. “Oh, I can tell you all about him–”

“Judy, I’ll literally fist fight you.”

“--But we were talking about Karol.” She finishes, her smile not once wavering. “He’s feeling anxious about something and we’re thinking it has to do with a special friend of his.”

Raven puts a hand to his chin, nodding in understanding. “Ah… Young love. I remember those days…”

“I’m surprised. That was centuries ago.” Yuri deadpans, moving to grab a wet rag to wipe down the bar.

“You don’t hafta be so mean to this old man, y’know? My heart’s sensitive.”

“You make it so easy though.”

Raven gives Yuri a tiny pout before moving to lean his head against his hand. “Maybe I should talk t’ him. See if he’ll open up to good ol’ Raven!”

“Leave it alone, Old man.” Yuri shoots the man a quick warning glare. “He’ll talk when he wants to. Let’s stop crowding him, okay?” He directs the glare between Judith and Raven, a final warning before he moves to clean off another table.

“I suppose Yuri has a point.” Judith says after a moment. “He’s more familiar with Yuri anyway. If he’s going to talk to anyone, it would be him.”

“Yeah, yeah, I guess so…” Raven nods in agreement before scratching at his head. “By the way, you two still good to watch th’ restaurant for me on Friday? That work business I mentioned last week finally got confirmed so, definitely gonna need the night off for it.”

Yuri gives a quick little nod. “You scheduled me for it, so I’m available.”

Judith also nods, smile never fading. “Someone has to keep the place running.”

“I knew I was right in trustin’ ya with my heart and soul, Judith, dear!” Raven leans in with a grin, only for Judith to reach out with two fingers, pushing his forehead back.

“How about just trusting me with the restaurant, mmhm? I might just accidentally shatter that heart and soul of yours. I am terribly clumsy.”

“H-ha… yeah…Sure, that works too…”

---

Usually by the time Yuri got off of work, Karol was exhausted and ready to crash as soon as they got home but tonight, he was especially anxious as they quietly headed home, which was thankfully not far from Karol’s house so the walk wasn’t too bad. As they closed for the night and Yuri and Karol headed out, they paused by the small makeshift dog house that Karol and Raven had happily made out of cardboard when they saw that Yuri’s new pup had followed him to the restaurant. Repede, as grumpy as he looked, seemed pleased with his little temporary house at the time.

But he seemed even more pleased to be heading back home with Yuri and Karol in tow.

Yuri, on the other hand, was exhausted. In the last hour of his shift, he had gotten slammed with a multitude of tables. Not that he was complaining, of course. More tables meant more tips. But it still left him rather fatigued, especially with everything that’s happened within the last two days. But even though he was pretty exhausted as they walked through the street, his attention was on Karol in an instant when the boy finally spoke up for the first time in the past two hours.

“Hey… Yuri?” He speaks slowly, uncertainty clear in his tone as he shoves his hands into the pockets on his pants. “Are… you working on Friday?”

Yuri rubs at his eyes, trying to force some more energy into his body before he nods. “Yep. Working all weekend actually. Is that okay? I can see if Flynn can watch you if you don’t wanna hang out at the restaurant all weekend.”

“No, it’s okay! Really!” Karol’s eyes widen as he whips his head to look over to Yuri. “I like the restaurant. I don’t mind but…” He trails off again as he slows to a stop.

Yuri stops as well and he takes a moment to glance around the empty and darkened street, a bit uneasily. He steps just a bit closer to Karol before leaning down to make direct eye contact with the boy, frowning in concern. “What’s wrong?”

Karol stays silent, eyes downcast and face dropping to stare back at the ground.

Yuri frowns. “...Karol, if something is bothering you, you can tell me.” He says quietly, voice calm and serious. “I don’t judge people for that. You can talk to me. And if you feel like you can’t, I can give you Flynn’s number and you can talk to him. Or you can talk to Judith, or Raven. I don’t know what’s bugging you but you don’t have to deal with it alone–”

Yuri’s words must have sparked something within Karol because the next thing Yuri knows is he’s suddenly looking back up at Yuri with a certain determination on his face. “No! Nothing’s wrong! It’s just… just… a sleepover!”

Excuse me?

Yuri knows he said he wouldn’t judge but… well… that didn’t make any sense at all. “A… sleepover?”

Karol nods his head quickly. “My friend, Genis, is having a sleepover on Friday and he invited me.”

“...And you were freaking out because…?”

Karol pauses, swallowing hard. He glances towards Repede when the small pup trots over to his side and sits down. Taking the hint, he leans down to pet the small dog in an effort to comfort himself. Meanwhile, Yuri can’t help but stare at Karol closely. He was still so nervous and Yuri was having a pretty hard time trying to figure out why a simple sleepover had Karol freaking out as bad as he was. What exactly was he hiding? That couldn’t be all there was to it, right?

…Unless…?

“Is Nan going to be there?”

Nan’s name alone was enough to cause Karol to tense up. Yuri, for a moment, felt as if he had hit the nail directly on the head but something still didn’t feel right. He rubs anxiously at the Bohdi Blastia on his left wrist as he waits for Karol to answer. After a moment of hesitation, the young boy quietly nods.

“...Yes.” Karol’s voice was quiet, almost akin to a squeak as brown eyes quickly peeked up to Yuri’s as if trying to gauge his reaction.

Something didn’t feel right. Something didn’t feel right.

“So, it’s going to be… You, Genis, Nan…” Yuri trails off, tilting his head a bit to gesture for Karol to fill in the blanks on who else would be there.

Karol takes a deep breath. “Me… Genis, Nan… Anise and her creepy doll.” Another uneasy pause. “Maybe another kid or two. He didn’t specify.”

“Uh-huh…” Yuri lets the hum of agreement trail off, making it quite clear to the boy that he was feeling a bit suspicious about the whole thing. “Karol, no offense buddy, but the way you’re fidgeting is making me think that there’s something more going on here.”

Yuri tries to keep eye contact with Karol but the young boy seems more interested in running his hands through Repede’s fur, who nudges him lightly with his nose, as if also trying to urge Karol into speaking the truth. He sees now that Judith was right to be worried as Karol’s behavior was suddenly worrying Yuri as well. But he couldn’t even begin to imagine what could possibly be worrying Karol so badly. Yuri didn’t do something wrong, did he? He didn’t think he did but…

Finally, though, Karol speaks up and it startles Yuri out of his thoughts and leads him to focus on the young pre-teen in front of him. “It’s just…” Karol starts out slowly, eyes scanning over Repede and then across the street and then to his shoes before finally looking towards Yuri. “... I’ve… never been invited to a sleepover before…? I’m not sure how to react… I guess.”

Oh. Oh.

The suspicion immediately vanished as a small tinge of sympathy settled in Yuri’s chest. Karol, unfortunately, never had many people in the friends’ department. A lot of his time was spent taking care of the house on his own before Yuri started to watch over him. He had heard Karol talk about some of his friends off-handedly but even then, the friends he mentioned didn’t seem very close with Karol, not that Yuri would say that to the boy out loud.

He knew that Karol had a certain attachment to his friend, Nan, though he wasn’t too certain on how she felt about him. Whenever Yuri would bring her up, Karol would get extremely flustered and attempt to change the subject so he could only use his imagination to guess what kind of girl she was. Considering how Karol would mention the two of them fighting at times, he couldn’t help but believe she was a bit of a headstrong kid.

While Yuri still had some concerns regarding this sleepover, he couldn’t help but feel a tinge of joy rise up within him as he suddenly reaches over and ruffles the young boy’s hair. Karol sputters in surprise, quickly batting Yuri’s hands away as he looks at him with questioning, wide eyes.

“Well… if I can offer a suggestion, you can react happily.” Yuri grins at him before flicking the boy’s forehead. “You don’t need to be nervous. I’m sure it’ll be fun. I’m happy for you.”

“Wh– You’re letting me go?” Karol’s eyes widen even more in disbelief, hands falling from his hair. “Seriously?”

“I’ll need you to give me a good phone number to contact and the address and all that, but… yeah. I guess I am.” Yuri tries to shove away the feeling of anxiety he was still feeling. Karol had a chance to actually get closer to people his own age. He wasn’t going to ruin that simply because of his own anxieties. “Should I not?”

“N…No! No, that’s–” Karol takes a deep breath and quickly nods. “Y-Yeah… So… Friday. I’ll go… Friday.”

“Yeah…” Yuri reaches out to ruffle his hair again. “I’ll try and do my best to survive without ya, Captain Karol. Will I still need to pick you up?”

“No… I can go home with Genis that day…”

“Gotcha…” Yuri gives him another smile before moving to stand back up. “We can talk about it more later, if you wanna. Right now though, I’m exhausted so let’s hurry back, kay?”

“Y-Yeah… Sure thing.”

---

He was a liar. He was a dirty, filthy liar. He looked Yuri directly in the face and lied with his whole chest and badly too! Karol was shocked, frankly, that Yuri let him get away with such a horrible lie. The whole thing was a mess, to be honest, and Karol just kept digging himself deeper into a hole.

The worst part is that he almost came clean. He wanted to come clean! He didn’t want to go and spend his Friday night camping out in the creepy forest bordering Quoi Park. He could literally spend his time doing literally anything else. But then, Yuri had to go and open his big stupid mouth and remind him why he was doing this to begin with!

“You can talk to me. And if you feel like you can’t, I can give you Flynn’s number and you can talk to him. Or you can talk to Judith, or Raven. I don’t know what’s bugging you but you don’t have to deal with it alone–”

He didn’t have to deal with it alone?! Yuri had the nerve to say that after trying to deal with everything on his own! Those words alone were enough to shoot a surge of determination through Karol’s body, determined to show Yuri that he could be trusted to help carry the burden, even if it’s just a little bit. Determined to show Yuri that, yes, he didn’t have to deal with it alone but Yuri didn’t have to either! He had to show Yuri that he wasn’t just some little kid that needed coddling.

So he lied about the sleepover. He lied about going to Genis’ house and about Nan and Anise being there. He lied about it all and even took a cheap shot at Yuri, lying that he was nervous because it was the first time he had ever been invited to someone’s house. And Yuri had fallen for it. Or at the very least, he let it slide but regardless, he felt like a horrible person afterwards.

He felt like an awful person when he asked Genis for his phone number and address the next day, asking him to pretend that he was staying over if Yuri had decided to call on Friday (to which the boy eventually relented and nervously agreed to, yet making sure to stress that it was still a horrible idea).

He felt like an awful person when Anise came over to his desk that Thursday, and then again on Friday, making sure that he still intended on keeping his promise to go camping in the woods that night. When he once again agreed and even decidedly went over his plan for the night with her, she seemed overjoyed and even impressed by his resolve. He hated it.

As for Nan, she had barely interacted with him in the past two days since their last conversation in the lunchroom. She definitely seemed mad about something and he wondered briefly if it was because of his decision to go camping, though the one time he tried to ask her why she was so angry with him, she simply slammed her book on the desk.

“I shouldn’t have to tell you why I’m mad, Karol!” She snapped, narrowing her eyes dangerously at him. “You’re just so… so…”

He frowned, shrinking back a bit at her rage. “... so what?”

“.... you’re just so spineless!” She spat out, crossing her arms.

He definitely didn’t get what she was mad about. He was going to go camp in the middle of the woods at night all by himself. Wasn’t that the opposite of spineless? Of course, when he tried to mention that, it only seemed to make Nan even angrier.

“You’re clueless , Karol!” And with that, she ran off with a huff before Karol could try and ask her to explain what he was missing.

Now he was anxious, depressed and confused.

Part of him wondered if he could just go into the woods and just take a few selfies in the forest and call it good but that might make him feel even worse for chickening out. Anise would call him out on it immediately, Yuri would never feel like he could rely on him and Nan would have a genuine reason to call him spineless.

And thus, he found himself pushing through his school day when Friday arrived, constantly in battle with his own brain until the final bell rang that day and it felt as if that bell was the sound that marked his execution.

Maybe he was being a bit overdramatic. He hoped he was anyway.

But as the school day came to an end, he hurried home as he decided that he should just go for it. Go for it before he could change his mind again and chicken out. He felt strange without Yuri leading him home for once. It wasn’t like he didn’t know the way. After all, he would walk home alone when he was merely ten years old! But he had gotten used to Yuri coming by to pick him up and it was a bit nerve wracking not seeing him appear on the corner of the street to meet up with him, like usual.

Part of him was expecting Yuri to show up anyway, even though Karol told him that he didn’t have to. And another part of him was disappointed, while the other part was relieved. After all, he didn’t exactly come up with a plan for if Yuri caught him walking home by himself instead of walking home with Genis, as was told. Thankfully, that was his only concern about getting caught on the way to his house. If Yuri were to try calling Genis, thankfully the boy had promised to cover for him, despite how much he didn’t want to. He made a note to himself that he definitely owed Genis for this.

As Karol arrives at his house, he quickly replaces the books in his bag with a bundled sleeping bag, a flashlight and other necessities for his camping trip. He did make sure to take a pocket knife that his father had left behind as well, making sure to have some kind of defensive weapon on him if he needed it. (He desperately told himself he wasn’t actually going to need it.)

As these items were shoved into his bag, he gave pause when he noticed the familiar looking stone that he had found earlier that week when he had been digging around in the garden. The amber-colored stone, when pulled from the bag, sparkled almost unnaturally when the light hit it just right. He had almost forgotten that he had found it.

Holding the stone in his hand seemed to bring him a bit of comfort as he ran his thumb over the smoothness of the stone. He still couldn’t quite remember why the stone seemed so familiar but if it was good for anything, it was good at lowering his anxiety. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to take it with him as a good luck charm.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt inclined to take the stone with him. Maybe it was some type of intuition or something.

Well hey, if anything, he could throw it at the bear if the bear were to show up. With that thought in his mind, he shoves the amber-colored stone back into his bag. Slipping a hoodie on and pulling it over his head, he makes sure he has all essentials needed for his trip and with one final deep breath, he places his hand on the doorknob leading outside of his house.

After a moment’s hesitation, he throws the door open and heads out.

---

Yuri was almost glad that nothing of note seemed to happen up until the end of the school week. There were no fights, his teachers didn’t give him a hard time, the rumors regarding him seemed to slow to a stop and there was no sign of Zagi or any kind of world ending threat. It was almost as if life had gone back to normal, even if it was just for a short amount of time.

His hand still gave him a little bit of issue but after having Estelle look at it briefly during their lunch period on Friday, she noted that the wound looked as if it were recovering quite nicely so that was a relief, at least. During their short meetups, Yuri did bring up the Quoi Woods and the possibility of something lurking within though Estelle seemed rather confused when she had heard of it.

“A supposed monster in the Quoi Woods?” She asked with a whisper as she sipped at her cup of juice she had brought along for lunch. “I don’t believe I’ve heard about that.”

Yuri took a bit of his sandwich as he leaned back in his chair. “I’m gonna guess that’s a good thing then? If you haven’t heard about it, then there probably isn’t anything to worry about, maybe?”

“No, I wouldn’t say that…” Estelle frowns, looking thoughtful. “I just haven’t really looked into the area yet. I can do some research though!”

“Sure, just don’t get caught up in chasing a false lead.” He snorted softly before propping his head on his hand, looking at her curiously. “So, what about Brave Vesperia? Any more leads on them, yet? Any other dreams?”

Yuri notices how she pauses, putting her cup down thoughtfully. He can see her pondering to herself for a moment. “I’m unsure… My dreams were… Well, I saw someone… but…”

Yuri doesn’t respond and instead waits for her to gather her thoughts together. He couldn’t imagine having prophetic dreams. Hell, he never really had dreams before aside from the one about his blastia. If he had any other dreams, he certainly didn’t remember them. So he figured that trying to gather one’s thoughts after a dream like that must be tough. So he remained patient. Unfortunately, Estelle simply shakes her head.

“It was just too blurry. The voice– She sounded familiar! Very familiar!” She notes and Yuri sees a tiny smile appear on her face. “But I couldn’t quite place it and I couldn’t make out her words.”

“Well… is she tall? Short? Was there a vibe? Color?”

“...Hmm…” Estelle’s finger moves to her lips, eyes closing as she tries to force herself to remember. “...Short. Red. She wore red. But… you know, that doesn’t mean anything, sadly. She could be wearing anything right now.”

“Yeah… I guess you have a point.” Yuri nods quietly, moving to sit back in his seat.

He doesn’t get to relax for much longer, unfortunately, as Hisca and Chastel end up calling him away to help with moving some of the desks of the classroom (despite his protests). They didn’t have much time for any more conversation after that.

Something else he noticed over the next two days was that Flynn had shown up at school looking rather exhausted, with dark circles under his eyes. Still, the boy kept his shining personality as best as he could as he didn’t let the exhaustion slow him down. Still, Yuri wasn’t about to let this stand for long.

“What’s the matter with you?” Yuri had asked that Friday afternoon, after school.

Since he didn’t need to pick Karol up, he had a little more time to spare before he had to go get ready for work. So, he decided to spend it by slipping into the student council room and thanked whatever God he had to, that Sodia and others weren’t there. Flynn sat alone in the room, looking through some papers regarding some of the plans for the school. When Yuri entered the room, he quickly looked up and gave a small smile as he removed his glasses from his face.

“Oh, Good afternoon Yuri!” Flynn beams happily, moving to stand up to properly greet him. “You don’t have to hurry home today?”

Yuri wanders over to stand by Flynn, waving him back down as a silent gesture to let him know he didn’t have to stand up and greet him. He grabbed a nearby chair and slid it over next to Flynn’s and plopped down next to him. “Karol’s got a sleepover today so I have some time to spare.”

“And you decided to spend it here?” Flynn asks as his smile only grows wider.

“Well, yeah. Is that a problem?” Yuri raises a suspicious eyebrow, earning a tiny chuckle from Flynn.

“No, no, of course not. It’s just that I’m almost done here myself. The workload was light today so… maybe I can walk you home.”

“You’ve really been hanging on the whole ‘walking me home’ thing.” Yuri reaches over and snatches a pen off of Flynn’s desk, though the blonde haired man quickly catches him by the wrist, fingers once again brushing against the bracelet on his hand. “I think you’ve been watching too many cliche romance movies.”

“I-I have not!” Flynn’s grip remains on Yuri’s wrist as he moves to let their hands rest on the desk between them. Yuri didn’t feel the need to pull away just yet. “I just… miss walking home with you. And I figured it would be a good chance to say hi to Hanks as well.”

“Well, you were the one who decided to move into the dorms. It’s a bit out of the way to walk me home now.” Yuri reminded him.

“Well… considering that Niren offered to pay for it and it would move me closer to the school, I didn’t see any reason not to.” Flynn frowns. “You can still move in too, Yuri… Niren told you that the offer was still on the table.”

“Nah, he’s your legal guardian. Not mine.”

Niren Fedrock. He was a man who worked very closely with Flynn’s father back when he was alive and on the force. He and Flynn were around nine years old when they met the man for the first time. He was invited over for dinner one day. After that, he could come by to visit and Yuri and Flynn warmed up to and admired the man quite quickly.

His presence became more frequent after Flynn’s father was killed in the line of duty. He likely felt as if he had to take care of Finath’s wife and child for him. This was confirmed when Niren took official custody of Flynn after his mother passed. Since Yuri was technically under Hanks’ legal custody (and just decided to let the boy have free reign to his own apartment room), Niren couldn’t just take the boy in like he did Flynn. But he still offered some casual guidance here and there.

Yuri liked Niren, he really did. But he wasn’t about to mooch off of a random man’s kindness like that. He was perfectly capable of taking care of himself. He would make a mental note to go visit the old guy one of these days though.

“Well, it’s not just me that he’s looking out for, you know. And he knows that Hanks wouldn’t be able to afford it as easily–”

Yuri lets out an exaggerated sigh. “Flynn, can you really see me getting along with some random roommate that they assign me with?”

“You get along with plenty of people!” Flynn quickly argues, squeezing his wrist. “You don’t know that it’ll be someone you won’t like.”

“I only get along with like… ten percent of the school’s population.” Yuri reminds him. “It just wouldn’t work. And it’d be weird anyway. I’m comfortable staying in my own apartment.”

“Then… maybe Niren can help you pay for the apartment–”

“Pass. I’m a big boy. I can handle it.”

Flynn drops the conversation after that, realizing that he was fighting a losing battle at that point. Instead, he directs his gaze down to their joined hands and runs a thumb over the golden bracelet hanging off of Yuri’s wrist.

“Where did you get this bracelet from, Yuri?”

Yuri kind of wished they could go back to fighting over the dorm rooms now. “Oh, I found it at a shop on the way home.” He answers simply but when he moves to pull his hand away, he realizes that Flynn has a firm grip on his wrist. He couldn’t pull away without actually snatching his hand back and… well, that could be seen as suspicious.

“... Everything okay?” Yuri’s question was slow and uncertain as he eyed Flynn cautiously.

The way that Flynn seemed to be studying the bracelet, eyes narrowed in thought, made Yuri’s heart race. It was just a bracelet, right? At least it should look like that to someone outside of the whole world saving business. So why was Flynn staring at it like he was suspicious of it? After a few minutes of silence, Yuri clears his throat and tries to tug his hand away again.

“Flynn?” He tries to grab his attention again and it almost comes out as a worried whine.

“Sorry–” Flynn snaps out of it and loosens his grip though he doesn’t let go completely. “I… was just trying to see if that was real gold or not.”

Yuri felt like he was about to have a blood sugar crash. He lets out a quiet sigh of relief before chuckling to himself. “Oh, is that all? Well, what do you think? It was like five bucks. Was it a steal?”

“Don’t know. Couldn’t tell.” Flynn laughs quietly, moving to rub at his eyes. “Maybe I’ll look at it again later when I can see more clearly.”

“Yeah, speaking of, you look like you haven’t been getting any sleep lately.” Yuri happily takes the chance to guide the conversation away from his blastia. “Everything okay over at the dorms?”

Flynn rubs at his eyes again and snorts. “Yes, everything is fine. I was just up for most of the night with Sodia.”

“Surprising no one–” Yuri freezes. Blinks. He looks back to Flynn, eyes wide and confused. “Wait, with Sodia?”

“Yes?”

“...Doing what exactly?”

There’s a brief moment of silence as Yuri and Flynn are both staring at each other before it finally clicks with Flynn what Yuri was implying and he simply just clicks his tongue. “Yuri, come on now… We weren’t doing anything. We were studying.” Another pause passes and suddenly Flynn is smiling a bit. “I didn’t know you were the jealous type.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on! I was not jealous.” Was he? Yuri wasn’t the type to get jealous… at least, so he thought. “I was just shocked that she possibly had the balls to make a move on you.”

“Well, she didn’t. And I don’t exactly want her to.” Flynn shakes his head with an amused grin on his face.

“Aw, damn. Don’t let her hear you say that. She might die on the spot.”

“I think you’re looking too into it. I don’t believe Sodia has a crush on me.” Yuri made a mental note to ask Niren about getting Flynn’s eyes checked again. “... And even if she did, it doesn’t matter. My eye is on someone else at the moment.”

Way to be obvious about it.

Yuri’s teasing grin falls as he tries to tug his hand away again but Flynn’s grip tightens again, not wanting to let him escape so easily. “I think you should give her a chance. Isn’t that what people say in situations like these? Everyone deserves a chance.”

“I think that saying is meant more for life in general, not relationships.” Flynn points out, his thumb brushing against Yuri’s palm. “And if that saying were about relationships, then that would mean I would get a chance too, right?”

“Ah… Right, I guess so.” Yuri pouts. “I guess it’s a dumb saying.”

“Yuri…” He receives another irritated sigh from his childhood friend and he feels himself being pulled closer. “I wish you would stop avoiding the topic of… of us–”

The sound of a door opening interrupts him, followed by a painfully familiar voice. “Excuse me, Flynn, about tonight–”

Yuri isn’t sure if he was disappointed that Sodia just barged into the student council room or if he was glad that she interrupted the conversation that was about to happen that he wasn’t quite sure he was ready for yet. For a moment, she looks shocked and surprised to see Yuri there, hand flying to her mouth as if to stop the words from slipping from her mouth but it’s soon replaced by that usual glare that tells him just how unwelcome he was in this room of theirs. Taking the hint, Yuri’s hand yanks from Flynn’s grasp as he jumps to his feet and shoves his hands into his pockets.

“Welp, I guess that’s my cue to leave.” Yuri snorts, trying to force his voice to stay steady and trying to ignore the ache slowly seeping through his chest. He also tries to ignore the glare from Sodia as she moves past him, making her way towards Flynn.

Flynn, looking rather frustrated at the interruption, nods in greeting to Sodia before looking back to Yuri, eyes softening. “You can wait outside, if you’d like… I’m almost done here and then I can walk you home.”

“You’re still trying for that?” Yuri quickly waves him off. “I–”

“Actually, Flynn, I needed to have an important word with you.” Sodia interjects, standing up straight with her usual serious expression.

Flynn’s gaze leaves Yuri and he almost laughs at the pout that the man tried to hide as he stares up at Sodia. “Um… about what, Sodia?”

The girl stays silent and Yuri tilts his head to try and get a look at her expression but gains nothing from it. Her face remains stern, eyes trained directly on Flynn’s and mouth shut tight. There is a moment where her eyes dart to Yuri and Flynn’s eyes show recognition as they follow her gaze, as if there were some silent communication between them.

“... You know, you’re allowed to say that it’s a private matter.” Yuri tells them both, rolling his eyes. “Instead of just side-eyeing me like that. Just be like “I don’t want to discuss it in front of him.” ”

Sodia glares. “Would you even listen?”

Yuri ponders for a moment and grins. “Absolutely not.”

He almost laughs at the way Sodia bristles where she stands before she whips her head around towards Flynn, almost pleading. “Flynn–”

“Yes, yes…” Flynn sighs, trying to mask his disappointment as he looks back to Yuri. “I guess this might take some time… I can walk you home another day, perhaps?”

“You are SUPER persistent.” Yuri complains with a groan as he heads for the door. “I’ll think about it.”

As he moves to leave, Flynn quickly stands up and hurries after him, moving to grab the door from him. As he holds the door open for Yuri, the blonde gives him a tiny, bashful smile as he speaks with a whisper. “...And will you think about…?”

He trails off, gesturing between the two of them with his hand and Yuri finds himself looking past Flynn and instead letting his gaze fall on Sodia. She’s staring at the two of them, eyes narrowed with disapproval and it just served as a reminder of how much of a bad idea it was for them to cross that line that they had been on for the past few years. Still, he couldn’t ignore how much his chest warmed at the idea, no matter how much of a mistake it would be.

After a moment’s pause, Yuri just sighed. “...Look. I’d rather not talk about this here, okay?” He gestures behind him towards Sodia, a silent message between them of I don’t want to talk about this in front of her . Thankfully, Flynn seems to understand this but he has that dumb kicked puppy look of rejection and Yuri began to speak before he could stop himself.

“...How about this?” Yuri’s words came out as a defeated sigh. “What if… you came to pick me up after work tonight? I’ll be getting off at around 10 so… maybe we could talk then…?”

Yuri watched as a range of emotions filled Flynn’s face. First was surprise as his blue eyes widened, and then hope as his smile washed over his face… but then the disappointment kicked in, followed with a bit of regret and Yuri instantly knew that it likely wasn’t happening.

“Busy?” Yuri guesses, shoving his hand into his pocket.

“...Unfortunately.” Flynn frowns. “I’m not sure if I’ll be done in time…”

“What are you doing anyway?” Yuri frowns. “If it’s studying, you can just like… pause, right? You’ll have all weekend…”

Before Flynn could even think to answer, Sodia cuts in. “Flynn.” She says, reminding him that she’s still there and Yuri couldn’t help but feel a bitter taste appear in his mouth.

“Geez, wait your damn turn…” He grumbles before moving to head out the door. “Fine, whatever. Just text me and lemme know if you’re able to pick me up. I don’t care.”

“I–I will!” Flynn stammers, nodding quickly. “...Let you know, that is. I’ll text you as soon as I know. I’m sorry, Yuri.”

“No skin off my nose.” And with that, Yuri didn’t bother to wait for a response before he turned and hurried down the hall.

A part of him did consider going back to listen in on the conversation between Flynn and Sodia as Flynn turned and headed back into the student council room. But at the same time, he did not care in the slightest over what he and Sodia had to talk about.

It was true that he thought Sodia would be a better match for the man than he ever could be, even if Flynn thought otherwise.

That didn’t mean he wanted to stick around and see Sodia try her hardest to make the moves on the poor student council president.

Plus, just being around her gave him the worst kind of stomachache.

---

For a Friday night, Yuri’s shift at work was long and slow with time moving by with an almost painful drag. He did what he could to keep himself busy on the floor but a lot of their customers were more interested in buying a drink and talking with Judith rather than dining in with Yuri as their waiter. Not to say that Yuri hadn’t had any tables that night: He had a few, one of them being Patty, of course, but it was becoming clear that he would be lacking in tips tonight.

Still, some money was better than no money. He only wished that he had more to do in the restaurant so he could distract his brain from wandering off. He had plenty of things going through his head. He had sent Karol a text earlier that night to let him know if he needed anything, though he did try not to seem so overbearing about it. But he did wonder if the boy was having fun. Considering he hadn’t heard back yet, he could only assume so. The thought put him at ease, at least a little bit, and Yuri had gotten this Genis’ number in case something happened. So one way or another, someone would contact him if something happened.

However, this was not the only reason why he kept anxiously peeking at his phone at every chance he got. Part of him knew that he shouldn’t hold his breath about Flynn being able to pick him up. Sometimes Flynn got so caught up in his work (or whatever the hell he was doing) that he forgot to eat sometimes. So Yuri knew better than to expect Flynn to actually remember to pick him up. Plus, if he did show up, that meant that Yuri would have to follow up on his word and he would finally have to face what Flynn has been reaching for all this time.

And he still wasn’t sure about his answer. But, they were both about to be adults, right? He was capable of having an actual conversation about everything… right? And it would feel nice to try and be honest about something right now, all things considered.

“You seem distracted.” Judith points out as she finishes pouring a patron another drink, managing to keep eye contact with Yuri instead of on the drink she was pouring. Of course, it was like second nature to her. “You keep checking your phone like a mother hen. Should I start thinking of confiscating it?”

It was a tease, of course. He knew she had no intention of taking the phone away but Yuri grimaced nonetheless. “I’m not that distracted.” A lie, and a weak one at that. “Just thinking about how boring it is on my end.”

“Mm, I suppose the dining room is slow, for a Friday night…” Her eyes scan the dining room as she moves to grab another drink to mix up. “I do agree, though. It is pretty quiet here without Karol.”

“I mean, yeah. He’s way more talkative than both of us.” Yuri snorts quietly. “I’m sure it’s quieter than usual because the Old Man isn’t here either.”

“Mm, you do have a point. Seems like everyone’s got something going on nowadays.”

“You sound jealous.”

“Aren’t you?” Judith raises an eyebrow, only earning a shrug in return. “Maybe we should go out into the city one of these days.”

“I don’t exactly have much free time anymore.” Yuri explains as he moves to lean against the counter.

Judith finishes mixing up a drink and pours it into a cup before sliding it to another patron, who happily takes it, slapping some cash on the counter. She takes it, counting through it carefully before moving to put it into the cash register before she moves over to the edge of the bar to continue the conversation with Yuri.

“I suppose being a senior in High School with a part time job is already hard enough.” She guesses with a smile. “But surely you’re not pushing yourself, right?”

That sounded more like a threat than concern. God, if only Judith knew. “I’m fine. I’m already dealing with Flynn fretting over me. I don’t need you to start too.”

“You know…” Judith starts, moving to clasp her hands together before resting her chin on them. Her voice holds a feigned innocence to it and it’s enough to tell Yuri that he’s in for it now. “You always talk about how hard Flynn works… Have you ever considered that it’s bad if the guy who supposedly works himself to death is worried about how hard you’re working yourself?”

Yep, here it comes. Yuri narrows his eyes for a moment before moving to step away. “No, he just worries about anyone that isn’t himself.”

“Oh, that also sounds like someone I know.” The woman giggles to herself before her expression falls into something a bit more soft. “Just keep it in mind, alright? Flynn isn’t the only one concerned.”

“You know, Judy, if you’re worried about me, just say so.” Yuri forces a smirk. “You don’t have to hide behind Flynn–”

“Who said I was hiding? Unlike you, I’m very intune with my feelings. But it’s not just me either.”

Before Yuri could ask for clarification on who she was talking about, the bell to the door of the restaurant suddenly chimed, indicating customers. Judith and Yuri both looked up towards the door and upon seeing an older woman with a child wander in, Yuri took it as his cue to drop the conversation for now and get back to work.

“My saviors~” He teasingly grins to Judith (who simply snorts with a shake of her head) before hurrying over to the pair, sporting a rather friendly smile as he does so. “Hey, guys, welcome. Have a seat, I’ll get you some menu–”

He pauses when he gets closer to the two. The young kid, sporting a blue t-shirt and shorts with messy white hair, he didn’t recognize but the older woman standing with him, short white hair and wearing a button up coat with boots with a stern expression on her face, was one who was pretty familiar to him. He had heard that his history professor had a little brother, so seeing Professor Sage's little brother right next to her? He could see the resemblance.

“Well hey there, Professor Sage.” Yuri drawls, with a lazy grin as he moves to grab two menus. “I haven’t seen you here before. Is this the famous little brother I hear people talking about?”

Upon looking at the kid, he notices that he’s probably around Karol’s age and he couldn’t help but wonder if the two knew each other. The kid, however, did not seem very happy to be there as he stood between the two of them, rigid and stiff with fists clenched at his side. He was also staring hard at the ground, avoiding any and all eye contact with Yuri and the professor.

Professor Sage gives him a tiny nod of greeting, quickly giving his greeting a smile of acknowledgement. “Yuri, it’s nice to see you. I have to admit, I was surprised when I heard you were working here. But it seems like you’re settling well enough.” She does reach out and puts a firm hand on the kid’s shoulder, and he flinches heavily under her touch and Yuri can’t help but raise an eyebrow.

“You heard I started working here? Who’d you hear that from?” He hadn’t exactly made it public knowledge yet. Not that he was planning a big reveal or anything. It just wasn’t anyone’s business. Not even Flynn knew where he worked until today.

Yuri took a step back, intending to lead the two to a table while they talked but the professor and her pale as a ghost little brother remained rooted where they stood. “Oh, thank you, Yuri but we aren’t actually planning on eating in.” Yuri watches as she smiles down at her little brother and– oh, that’s the smile she uses when someone in class is in big trouble.

You have my condolences, little guy.

“...Um. Okay?” Yuri slowly puts down the menus as he looks between the two of them. “Then… how can I help you? Do you guys need the bathroom…? It’s in the back.”

He notices how she squeezes the kid’s shoulder. “Genis? Why don’t you let Yuri know why we’re here?”

“Genis?” Yuri’s lips fall open a bit, and instantly, he’s looking past the professor and Genis towards the front door, looking for that familiar tuft of brown hair. Karol was, unfortunately, nowhere in sight. “Genis… You’re Karol’s friend, right? Where’s Karol?”

Genis’ fists clench tighter as his elder sister nudges him forward, a movement that was gentle but also firm. Her smile is gone now as she glances up to Yuri and he’s suddenly filled with dread.

“Karol… is… camping out in the Quoi Woods for the night. Our friend Anise dared him to and– And I told him that he was stupid for it but he didn’t listen and–” Genis finally forced himself to look up to Yuri, eyes wide in shame.

Yuri couldn’t even process it. His mind seemingly shut off as he stared dumbly at the professor and Genis.

Karol was camping. Camping in the Quoi Woods. Camping in the Quoi Woods where there was a supposed sighting of a monster. Or a bear. Or something. Karol was there. By himself. Karol snuck off without telling him. Karol could be in danger. Karol was–!

Yuri didn’t even realize he was moving until he was behind the bar, hand shooting for the computer so he could quickly clock out, throwing his apron off in the process. Judith must have picked up on how pale he looked because she quickly reached out and grabbed his shoulder.

“Yuri, what’s wrong?” She frowns, concern clear on her face as he suddenly rips himself from her grasp. “Yuri?”

“Karol snuck off so I’m going to go grab him before he–” Gets himself killed. “--gets lost or hurt.” The words hurt his throat as he moves past Judith. “Sorry, it’s an emergency, Can you–”

Judith holds her cellphone up immediately. “I’ll text someone to come and finish your shift.” She frowns, her casual attitude from before turned serious. “Text me when you find him. Please.”

“Yeah.” Yuri breathes out, trying to keep calm as he hurries out the door. As he passes the professor and Genis, he hesitates and he has half a mind to scold Genis because what was he thinking, letting Karol run off like that?! But the Professor seemingly reads his mind and quickly pushes him towards the door.

“Go on. I am perfectly capable of scolding Genis. Please expect a written apology as well when you return back to class on Monday.” Something about her words indicated that the written apology was the least of the kid’s problems right now.

He decided to leave it to her.

As he ran out the door, he let out a whistle towards the makeshift dog house right outside of the restaurant, calling for his furry partner. Repede had barely stuck his head out before Yuri was running by, bending down and scooping the dog up as he took off in a sprint towards the park. As he sprints down the street, trying to remember what path to take to get to the park from there, he hears his ring tone ring out and his phone is out in an instant.

Seeing Estelle’s name on the caller ID fills him with dread. When he answers, he’s already breathing hard from the running, earning a quiet whine of protest from his pup companion. “Estelle–!”

“Oh– Yuri! Good evening!” Estelle greets, sounding a bit surprised over the phone by Yuri’s heavy breaths. “I’m sorry for bothering you, is this a bad time? I was calling to let you know that I was able to find something about the Quoi Wood–”

“Estelle–” Yuri interrupts her, having to slow down just slightly as he skids around the corner of the street. He pauses to gain an idea of where he was before deciding to continue north. “ Please tell me that the rumors about a monster are just rumors!”

Estelle hesitates, likely confused as to why Yuri was behaving in such a way. “Um… Well… It seems like there’s a possibility that there’s something strange there. I found reports of a strange phenomenon and I think there could be–”

Another stab of dread shoots through him as Yuri yells out before she can finish her sentence. “DAMMIT!” He spits out as he stumbles to a stop and doubles over for a moment. This earns a tiny squeak of surprise from Estelle as she quickly speaks up again.

“Yuri, what’s wrong?!”

He has to take a moment to control his breathing as he quickly begins his running pace again, pulling the phone back up to his ear. “Estelle, Karol snuck off and is camping in those woods right now . I don’t know why but I need to get there right now.”

Estelle falls silent as Yuri spots a street sign, showing the park wasn’t too far from his location. He sighs in relief, thankfully that he was heading the right direction. The moon was shining bright in the sky, which thankfully illuminated his path but everything looked so different at night that it was easy for him to lose his way if he wasn’t careful.

“Yuri–” Estelle speaks up again, voice coming through the speaker with that same determined firmness she usually showed when she made her mind up about something. “Do you have your cloak and mask?”

“Wh-What? No, Estelle, I don’t have time–”

“Will Hanks let me into your apartment if I ask?”

“What?” Yuri glances around the area and spots another sign nearby. To the west. He makes the turn and keeps his pace. “I mean– Maybe. Is there time for that though?”

“I’ll go and get your cloak and mask and I’ll meet you in the woods.” Estelle explains carefully and Yuri picks up a hint of nervousness in her tone. “I’ll come as fast as I can but in the meantime, you have to find Karol before something else does!”

Yuri, despite the fear settling in his gut, can’t help but give a tiny smile at that. “...Right. Right, yeah, I will. Don’t worry. Thanks, Estelle.”

“Please do not thank me. Just promise me one thing, Yuri. Be careful and don’t let anyone see your face, if you can help it.” Her voice is stern and serious and he wonders if there’s something more to her words than that. Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to dig into it right now.

“I don’t plan on stopping to have a conversation with anyone so no problem.” Yuri breathes out. “Check the top dresser for the cloak and the mask. Thanks again, Estelle. I’ll see you soon.”

“Be careful, Yuri!”

With a tap of a button on his phone, the call ends and Yuri shoves the phone back into his pocket before clenching his left fist. “Okay, Repede, think you can sniff Karol out when we get to the park?”

Repede perks up at him, giving him a single wag of the tail before giving a bark of agreement. This earns a grin from Yuri as he glances down at the Bodhi Blastia on his left wrist. He notices a warm glow begin to emit from the core within, followed by a surge of power.

“Awesome. Let’s go find the Captain.” He grins and with a flex of his left arm, a familiar and warm flash of light shoots from the core and envelopes his body.

===

Ages in the Chapter by the way: Raven: 35 Rita: 15 Judith: 20 Patty: 11 I decided to make Judith a bit older than Yuri in this AU. She just has that older big sis vibe to be honest. Also, in case you haven't noticed, I REALLY love the Big Brother Yuri / Little Brother Karol dynamic so much, they made me so emotional in game bro. I also wish I could promise that the next chapter will be shorter but I legitimately have no idea LOL

#tales of vesperia #tales of series #yuri lowell #fluri #ristelle #bravus vesperia magica #ch 4 #magical person au

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a-moth-to-the-light · 11 months

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KARD Comeback Celebration: My Favorite Debuts

KARD's four-song debut project is one of my favorite debuts--not only does it remain a k-pop classic, but it also produced one of my favorite songs ever. As I'm checking out KARD's newest comeback, I wanted to reflect on the k-pop debuts that have stuck with me in the same way KARD's did.

[Rules: B-sides from the debut album count because I said so!! Also, I tried not to pick obvious ones--like of course ShinEE's "Replay" and Yena's "Smiley" are awesome, but I think most of us already know that!]

Hot Issue -- 4Minute: This can't be my favorite 4Minute track, since "Volume Up" and "Crazy" exist, but it's REALLY fun. It's catchy, and the members really lean into the concept in a way that foreshadows later greatness. With a debut like this, it's hard not to love 4Minute, I think.

I Will Show You -- Ailee: Since "Heaven" was just a single, I'm not counting it as an official debut (plus, I like this one better, anyway)! "I Will Show You" is a transcendent showcase of vocal power that hits me right in the heart and carved out a space just for Ailee in my memory from first listen.

Fight Day -- Bol4: I actually didn't know that this was their debut until I looked it up and checked, but it's always been my favorite from their first album. It's alt-rock with a little bit of bite to it, added mostly by Bol4's unique vocals, and it's still one of their best songs.

One of Those Nights -- Key: This was actually my favorite song ever for a solid year or so, though Phoebe Bridgers eventually knocked it out of the top spot. The chorus just never stops hitting for me, transporting me to the soft, sentimental world of my favorite Webtoons with just a few notes.

Yolowa -- GWSN: This does a great job of displaying their signature super-sweet sound while pairing it with maybe their most memorable melody ever ??? Too good to be a b-side, truly.

Stay Up -- Baekhyun: Another b-side, but this album is too good for people to just listen to "UN Village." This track is a very soothing combo of a catchy chorus and muted tones--in other words, it's a perfect intro to his later albums!

Bon Bon Chocolat -- Everglow: I know everyone thought "So Bad" was pop perfection, but I'm actually kind of meh on it--which is especially weird considering that StayC is my favorite k-pop group! "Bon Bon Chocolat" is my "So Bad," icy but full of flavor. I think a lot of people liked "Bon Bon Chocolat" when it came out, but I don't hear about it enough anymore, so I'm bringing it back as an act of public service!

Flowering -- Lucy: This may well be my favorite Lucy song, and they've released some absolutely BEAUTIFUL stuff since. Right from their debut, they've had the bittersweet sound perfected, and this track is a wonderful demonstration of that.

Swear -- E'Last: I still vivdly remember experiencing this debut--the title track is grandiose, even a bit too melodically complex for a pop release, which fascinated me and kept me attached listen after listen, trying to figure out all the pieces of the song. Their vocalists take the challenge well, though, giving a performance to remember. Still their best song!

Ponzona -- Purplekiss: I'm glad "Sweet Juice" brought orchestral Purplekiss back, because I think its lush instrumental is exactly what made their debut so great. Though I haven't loved too much of their music since, I think I keep tuning in because of just how much I enjoyed this one.

Glassy -- Jo Yuri: The best Jo Yuri--a musical balancing act, a stunt I can't look away from, with equally delightful sections of chaos and order. Sweet and charming, but just dangerous enough to keep me interested from start to finish!

A channel I like, kpop stuffs, actually released a video ranking fourth gen debuts while I was working on this post! It's cute you should watch!! "Glassy" is way too low I'm crying (/j), but it's FINE I'll live I guess...

#2ne1's fire was cut from my list at the last minute #but i still listen to it i love it !!#this also inspired me to finally listen to taemin's debut and OKAY WOW I WAS MISSING OUT #not as good as his later stuff but like #that's a REALLY high bar anyway #comeback celebration!#kard

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literatxre-clxb · 2 years

Note

“ do you know how hard it was to let you go? ”

Life, for Yuri, would forever be best encapsulated and understood through stories. Even the terrifying and fantastical can be methodically combed over and understood in intimate detail through the art of storytelling. After all, anything fantastical and terrifying in fiction usually reflects something comparable in reality - every villain archetype is tied to a human act, opinion, thought, or worldview.

If she could, she’d write forever. Novels and novels worth of friends she could make, enemies she could topple, worlds to travel… they were all means of escaping a reality that never seemed to make space for her. It was a vicious cycle - something bad or embarrassing happens, usually something Yuri feels she’s inflicted on herself, so she then goes to write about it and practice unsafe and unhealthy coping mechanisms, until she eventually tries to move out of that phase and socialize again.

A wheel, ever turning, soaked in blood and lined with eyes that never seemed to stop staring at her.

She knew it was her fault that the wheel kept turning. The world didn’t actually have it out for her - she always wanted her objective, mature, and reasonable side to win out over her childish superstition. She should make the choice to be healthy, but she just… never could. Maybe it was laziness, maybe it was a genuine longing for glorious self-destruction, maybe she was just waiting for someone to notice and tell her that she needed to do better for the people in her life.

Her escapism was her strength, and it led her to isolate herself whenever she felt she’d committed even a minor transgression. Any small comment about ways she could work to improve herself came off as though they were hateful words, intended to try and show her her own flaws that she’d already become very familiar with.

Joining the Literature Club was the scariest thing that Yuri had ever done. Sayori and Natsuki were welcoming, certainly, and it seemed like a wonderful place to explore her hobbies and expand her horizons as an artist… but could she handle being around people she didn’t truly know, for an hour after every school day?

It was made clear to her on the first day that they still didn’t have enough members to become an official club. They needed at least a couple more people to join before they could solidify their place as the Literature Club, and as much as Yuri liked the idea of having a place to belong, the idea of bringing more people in - to judge her, to mock her, to critique her - terrified her.

The final bell rang after some short, awkward introductions and conversation. Yuri was antsy to get back home, to try and sort out some of the complex feelings she was having about her actions today - she didn’t realize how quickly she was walking towards the front hall until she walked past the music room, and the gentle piano playing flowing out the door seemed to just breeze by her.

Other students were indulging in their hobbies so freely, and with such incredible proficiency. Why did something as simple as reading a book for an hour at the end of every day have to be such an incredible issue for her? Ultimately, it all boiled down to her anxiety - it was other people, not the books, that were the problem.

She couldn’t hear any voices coming from the music room, just the gentle tapping of keys… Maybe whoever was inside was practicing alone. Maybe Yuri was better off alone, too.

It became a habit, over the next week or so, to stand outside the music room and listen to the quiet music that would come from it as she left school for the day. Sometimes the person playing would mess up a note, or quit playing because their sheet music fell, and thinking that nobody was listening, would mutter something that Yuri couldn’t hear, or press down on a bunch of the keys at once in frustration. Whatever this piece that they were learning was, it was certainly giving them a hell of a lot of trouble.

By the fourth or fifth day, Yuri had found it in herself to glance into the glass window on the music room door as she walked by - the room was much more vibrantly colored than she’d anticipated, with bright paneling along the front wall, a soft-looking carpet in the middle, even a couch for lounging.

What stood out to her most of all, though, was that she now had a face to connect with her previously-unknown Mozart. It was a girl, shorter than her, but not by much, with brown hair, also only a bit shorter than her own. Her emerald-green eyes focused intensely downward towards her hands, which floated across the keys like dancers in the rain. Occasionally, she’d glance up towards her sheet music to read the next few notes, or to flip the page.

Yuri was struck by her beauty, and spent the rest of her few minutes listening trying to convince herself to walk in and say hello - an unprecedentedly confident move, from someone like her. Ultimately, that desire died in her, and she decided to do it another day.

Yuri couldn’t have known it, but the piano’s position in the music room actually places the chair for playing it quite far back into the room. Despite the fact that she was a shrinking violet personified, her presence was still quite pronounced, due to her height and hair - and you don’t have to move your head to check your peripheral vision.

“She’s like me,” Yuri had begun to tell herself. She needed to convince herself of it, if she was ever to try and start a conversation with whoever was in the music room. “Right now, she’s taking solace in the fact that she has that safe and relatively isolated place to practice what she’s passionate about.”

If there was anything Yuri wanted, it was to join her in that space, and to bond with her over the fact that they were both happiest alone. Ironically, wouldn’t they just end up disturbing each other’s happiness by even so much as indulging in that conversation, though? What if this was all projection, and in reality, Yuri had just been… practically stalking this innocent girl, for no reason?

Honestly, though, as creepy as it might have been, or at least, as creepy as she was making it seem in her mind - this had made her happy. It was as though she was sharing an exclusive moment with someone, glimpsing into their life, only temporarily. She’d become infatuated with the idea of what this mysterious pianist might be like.

It’s about half a week later that she finally gathers the courage to knock on the door to the music room and step inside, introducing herself before she even finishes placing her things down and taking a seat. “I’ve been listening to you play for a little while,” she begins, trying to make herself seem approachable and open to conversation, “...and I wanted to ask about it. You might have seen me in class, or… walking by the door.” She’s staring down at her hands, balled up in the fabric of her skirt in anxiety.

“Do you know how hard it was to let you go?” Monika smiles. To Monika, it’s a statement that hints at countless eternities of suffering spent in pursuit of something more than a predetermined existence - a statement that carries years of love lost and found, time and time again. To Yuri, it’s a revelation that this entire time, her presence was known and welcomed, and that Monika had carefully chosen to wait for her to be comfortable with engaging in conversation.

Regardless of it’s interpretation, Monika’s statement marked the beginning of something. A friendship, a relationship, or even just a temporary sharing of hobbies, and then a divergence - one way or another, this moment was something that they had, and it was exclusive to them.

#[moniyuri]#[...and i feed myself again - yuri]#[lilmonix-3]#tysm for the ask!

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yet-another-leo · 3 years

Text

Astro Notes

Disclaimer: I am no professional astrologer. I do like to observe so here are some of my observations, there are also a few assumptions I make about some placements. If something doesn't resonate with you, then leave it be.

♦ the smartest (academically) people I know are a sag moon and virgo moon with sag rising, also aqua moon

they can be such smart asses in school but then you'd catch them trying to hop down or skate on the stairs

♦ the most well-liked teachers at my school have Libra, Leo and Cancer placements

♦ I think beck from victorious was a leo rising

like the way he was considered so hot and girls just wouldn't back off, and he wasn't doing anything to stop them, it gives me such leo/libra rising vibes 👀 also he had amazing hair

♦ just a theory: do u think that our tropical and vedic charts are like different sides of us? like tropical is the side that others see and vedic is the true (or hidden) side

♦ binary math feels like an Aquarius thing to me

♦ Scorpio placements 🤝 Virgo placements showing love by being mean

honorable mention: Aries placements but i feel they don't like it when someone else does it to them my sister, a Scorpio stellium: *is mean to me but says it's her love* me: *gives the same energy back* my sister: So you have chosen death?

♦ 'Girl from nowhere' Nanno = Saturn Yuri = Pluto

Nanno is definitely Saturn cuz Saturn is the planet of slow karma, discipline and lesson. Nanno is patient with her methods and makes sure people learn their lessons. Yuri is for sure Pluto. Pluto is the planet of revenge, death, rebirth and destruction. Yuri is reborn from Nanno's blood. Unlike Nanno, she wants revenge and bloodshed. She exposes people's misdeeds but she kills people instead of letting them learn. okay i am probably not making a lot of sense but still

♦ to the people who have venus conj. saturn, did you ever get over that one crush ?

Ik in the last post I said I don't like him anymore but I have this placement and I swear I don't know why I just can't get over it like he's not even my type anymore but I still think about him. It's soo annoying kdjkksjlk

♦ virgo venus is either " Nobody is good enough for me" or "I am never good enough for anyone"

lemme give you some love, y'all really do deserve the best

♦ this is such a stereotype but like taurus mars do that 😤 when they get mad

also probably charges at the other person if the anger crosses the limit Ik someone who ended up slapping a guy really hard cuz he irritated them. it happened fast too

okay this is all for now. If you like it I will do more in the future.

byiee <3 😘

[Exeunt Leo]

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yarichin-imagines · 3 years

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The bois singing their SO to sleep? 🥺

Toono can carry a tune, just let him make sure absolutely nobody is around before he starts (one time Tamura heard him singing Spice Girls in the showers and he still can never catch a break!). So of course, when the two of you are alone in either dorm, he won’t hesitate to soothe you. He picks up by humming most of the time, the words don’t really come out until you’re asleep, shy thing. He usually sings John Mayer and Ed Sheeran type acoustics.

As endearing as the effort is, Kashima can’t sing for shit. You only love him all the more for trying though. He’s more of a shower-performer than anything. However, if he tries enough, when it’s soft, he sounds decent. He tends to whisper and whistle more than sing, for the sake of both your ears. Kashima will sing one song every. single. night. No matter the occasion, he sings your song and after that well, it’s whatever comes to mind.

If you think Yacchan has a hidden siren song, you’re be absolutely right. Most nights, you’re asleep before he is, but that could never stop him from fluffing your pillow and making sure you’re tucked in all snug before he starts his one-sided serenades. Usually it’s more energetic love ballads: Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder. After all, he’s got to stay awake to complete the set.

Shikatani can put himself to sleep with his singing voice. It’s angelic, operatic perfection. An orgasm for your ears, but the softest of all. He likes to sit up on his side of the bed as you fall asleep on yours. That’s also why it sounds so nice, breath support and all. You can never really tell what he’s singing, as if the instant he starts you enter a trance. Not that you could complain, his voice works like a charm no matter where you are, even through the phone if you’re ever apart.

Akemi always has a song stuck in his head, and whatever it is, you’re going to hear it all through the night too. He’s not the best at keeping the volume low, so expect noise complaints coming in from the advisors. He always gets out of them though, and night after night it’s a new song. He usually starts the show while you do your bedtime routine: shower, skincare, the works. Never without dramatic arm-ography and grand gesturing dance moves, he waltzes the two of you to bed. You remind him of which songs you prefer to hear him sing, he’s a people pleaser after all: leaves it to his partner. But Akemi is a one and done. It’s one song per night, no exceptions. He sings the same song- the song of the day, he calls it, over and over until he gets bored and falls asleep himself or he notices you fell asleep. Either way, he rests easy.

Like, Shikatani, Itome’s voice is soft, but it’s sweeter and richer at the same time. Like Kashima, but since he chooses not to speak most times, he hums you to sleep, but only if you ask him to, which is, of course, every night. With no need for words, he hums classical music, and is particularly fond of pas de deux from various popular ballets. He hits every performance marking too, and sometimes, you pretend to have fallen asleep just to figure out if he really committed a ton of sheet music to memory. Itome the pied piper always wins that battle though, guess you’ll never truly know.

Whether or not Yuri sounds good singing depends entirely on what genre and song he sings. His voice is smooth and charming on a good day, and he sounds much better when he croons like Sinatra or Martin, but the man so prefers to sing the classics of the 70s and 80s. If it’s too unbearable on you, he’ll swap out his headphones for a pair of old earbuds he has for when you stay the night. This way you can both listen, but he always lets you pick the music. You almost always choose white noise, unless he’s had a tough day or something.

Just this once. Just because you asked so nice, and he can’t say ‘no’ to that face, Tamura will sing you to sleep. After the first time he did, it wasn’t hard to figure out that a couple of kisses with a well timed squeeze would coax out that raspy cadence you so enjoyed. He never sings a capella. You gotta put on a record or a CD or Spotify or something because if he’s not accompanied by a pro, he’s not singing a single note. You like to watch him when he sings, fighting the temptation of sleep just to fascinate over the way his nose twitches with every awkward squeak when a note is higher than he actually thought, and the way his lips curl so gently around a word. You can see the effort he’s putting into it, but when he notices you looking, he’ll pause the music until you look away. The sounds of early 2000s R&B are easiest on his voice. It has a very sexy, rugged sound to it. You two should really look into setting sleep timers though, cause when Yuri comes by to walk to class, he’s sick of hearing random songs still playing from the night before.

Fujisaki can never remember the words to any song ever written, ever, he even stumbles through freakin’ “Happy Birthday.” Of course, he knew he had to step it up for you, spending nights curating playlists he thought you’d enjoy and studying lyrics instead doing actual school work. The pay off was tenfold when he surprised you one night, face like a tomato. But hey, it was the nicest sounding “tomato” you’d heard in a long time. He sings only your favorite songs, unless you ask him really nicely to choose something he actually likes, and he sounds sweeter on those songs, as if he’s losing himself in the music.

#admin Yari #ybc #yarichin b club #takashi toono #yuu kashima #kyousuke yaguchi #itsuki shikatani #yui tamura #yuri ayato #keiichi akemi #koshiro itome #ybc headcanons

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kuroopaisen · 4 years

Text

happy accident || iwaizumi hajime

➵ writing a love letter is stupid. childish, even. but it’s no big deal, so long as iwaizumi hajime doesn’t get his hands on it... right?

wc: 4k

warnings: f!reader is the captain of the girls volleyball team, cursing

request: “kind of specific, hope you don't mind but possibly iwa-chan attempting teenage love by accepting the feelings of an accidentally-sent love letter from the girl's volleyball team captain?”

a/n: this was so fun, thank you for requesting it! a big thank you to @nostalgic-yet-forgotten for beta’ing this!

“Thank you,” Iwaizumi said, offering you a strained smile as he held your pencil out to you.

“Not a problem,” you nodded, trying to take it out of his hand with as little contact as possible.

“Hey, uh,” he stopped in his tracks, looking over his shoulder at you. “How are you doing contemporary lit?”

“Contemporary lit?” You frowned. “I, uh… fine? Not great, but…”

“Right,” Iwaizumi nodded, clearing his throat. “Well, see you around.”

“Sure.”

With that, he was gone.

You watch him go with a budding discontent.

What was that? That barely counted as a conversation. And for God’s sake, why had it taken him a week to return your damn pencil? You’d just assumed he’d forgotten.

You could feel Yuri’s eyes burning into the back of your skull.

“I know,” you grumbled as she zipped to your side, taking her usual spot on your bench. You’d both made a habit of sitting here during lunch – a stone’s throw from the gym, and a short walk to the vending machine.

“Was that…”

“It was.”

“Fraternising with the enemy, I see.”

“It’s not like that and you know it.” You glared at her, reaching into your bag in some attempt to leave the conversation.

‘Fraternising with the enemy’ was one way of putting it. The ‘enemy’ being a member of Seijoh’s famous volleyball team.

Well, the boys’ volleyball team. That was the only one people wanted to talk about. The girls' team never seemed to get as much attention. And that, quite frankly, was unfair. Yes, the boys' team worked hard; but so did you. So did your girls.

Also, if it weren't for your boundless grace -- and the acknowledgement that a criminal record might mar your college applications -- you would've shoved your fist down Oikawa Tooru's throat by now. He was talented, yes, but you’d always found him kind of an ass. Made worse by all the attention he got – his personality plus an adoring fan club always seemed a recipe for disaster to you.

Iwaizumi Haijme, however, was another matter entirely.

A matter you couldn’t get out of your head.

“Why do you look so angry?” Yuri frowned, tilting her head at you.

“Because, uh… because Iwaizumi took all week to return my damn pencil,” you huffed, shoving the offending object into your pencil case. “And he decided to ruin a perfectly good lunchtime just to return it.”

“Don’t you have a crush on him?” Yuri asked in a hushed tone, raising an eyebrow at you.

"Yeah, but…” You sucked your breath in through your teeth. “I'm mad about it."

"You're mad about having a crush on him?" She raised an eyebrow at you.

"Yeah."

"Why exactly?"

"Because he's…"

There wasn't any real reason. You just felt that there had to be some natural rivalry between the two of you, given the state of your respective teams. Sure, Iwaizumi himself hadn't done anything wrong, but it was the principle of it. Worst of all, he was best friends with Oikawa Tooru. Sure, he seemed to be… long-suffering, but the connection was there.

“I’m just mad, okay?” You whispered, hoping to God none of your classmates had decided to eavesdrop on the conversation. But that’s the price you paid, talking about such things so brazenly. “I’ve got all these… these feelings but they’ve got nowhere to go.”

“What do you mean?” Yuri asked, taking a sip of her milk.

“Well, you know,” you mumbled, playing with the hem of your skirt. “I’m never going to tell him about it, so they just… sort of sit there. Stewing. Unanswered.” You groaned, running a hand through your hair. “I just want them to go away.”

That, really, would be the most ideal situation. But no matter how hard you tried, you just couldn’t stop thinking about him. Embarrassing, really.

"Look," Yuri sighed, looking up at the sky. "Why don't you just write him a love letter?"

"You're kidding, right?" You scoffed. "Do you want me to do a whole confession? Ask him to meet me on the rooftop after school as the sun sets behind us?"

"You're not going to give it to him, you idiot," she mumbled. "Just to like... get your feelings out, you know? Teen angst and whatnot."

"You're making very little sense."

"Okay, three things," she said, holding up her hand. "One, you're not going to tell him how you feel, right? That means you're just gonna stew in your feelings. Like you always do."

"Uncalled for, but okay.”

"Two, sometimes writing down how your feeling is cathartic. And maybe that'll help you move on."

"Or it could complicate things because I'll overthink it."

"Three, I, personally, am sick and tired of hearing about Mr. Iwaizumi 'personally crafted by the hands of Michelangelo himself' Hajime, and therefore implore you to try getting him out of your system through any means possible."

"I don't talk about him that much." Did you?

Yuri gave you a dithering look. "No, you don't. Just like Oikawa's fan club never talks about his ridiculously swoopy hair."

You glared at her, crossing your arms over your chest. “You make it sound like he’s the only thing I ever talk about.”

“Oh, not at all,” Yuri shrugged. “But I can’t help but think you’d be a lot less angry if you got over him.”

“And you think writing a stupid love letter is going to help me do that?” You rolled your eyes. You knew Yuri wasn’t stupid – she was almost aggravatingly clever, sometimes – but this was the worst plan you’d heard from her in a while.

“Yeah,” she shrugged. “It’s worth a shot, right?”

“I’m not writing a damn love letter okay?”

✧✧✧

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Not at all,” Yuri grinned. “Just do it for me, okay? As an early birthday gift.”

“Yuri, your birthday’s not for another three months.”

“Just do it. Or else I will march up to that boy and tell him myself.”

You knew she was more than capable of making good on a threat like that. Best not to risk it.

"You want me to write it now?" You frowned, looking between your best friend and the writing pad set on your lap. You’d hoped she’d forgotten your conversation from yesterday, but you never got that lucky. Not with Yuri.

"Uh huh," Yuri yawned, sitting cross-legged on the bench.

She'd dragged you into the gym just as school had ended, telling you that it was for something very important and very urgent.

"Why?"

"I wanna see you actually go through with it," she shrugged, taking a sip from the juice box in her hand.

"Can't I just… do it at home and send you a photo?" You tilted your head at her. You still had to survive practice, after all. And there was a chance you’d bump into him before the day was done.

Yuri shook her head. "Nah. If you're alone -- and if you have all evening to do it -- you'll just overthink it and that'll defeat the point."

You glared at her. She hardly seemed to notice.

"Besides," she shrugged. "If you do it at home, you'll just text me about him."

“Yuri, I do not—”

“Letter,” she hummed, tapping the paper. “We don’t have much time.”

She wasn’t about to concede any time soon. You could see it in her eyes.

"I literally cannot believe you're making me do this," you grumbled, picking up the pencil with tense fingers.

"It's for your own good," she sighed, waving her hand at you. "Then you can shift your focus to the real prize of the boys' volleyball team."

You raised an eyebrow at her.

"I'm talking about Makki, duh."

You snorted. "That wouldn't really fix my problem, would it?"

Yuri shrugged. "Hey, at least he'd be more fun to talk about than Iwaizumi."

"And that's because…"

"I dunno. He seems off-beat. Kinda weird."

"Don't be mean."

"I'm not! It's a compliment!"

"So, will you be writing him a love letter, or?"

"I didn't say I'm interested, I just—" Yuri took a deep breath, pressing her eyelids with two fingers. "Look, just write the damn letter!"

It was easier than you thought it would be. That in itself was more embarrassing than the fact you were writing an honest to God love letter to Iwaizumi Hajime. As much as you were resisting it, the words just flowed.

You hadn’t even realised there were so many things to like about him. And apparently, you’d noticed all of them. Maybe you were in deeper than you’d thought.

And this letter was getting a lot longer than you’d expected.

Alright. That was enough.

“Done,” you sighed, tossing the pencil onto the writing pad with a little more force than necessary.

“So,” Yuri drawled, tilting her head at you. “How do you feel?”

“Worse!” You cried. “Now I’ve actually had to think about why I like him and that makes it worse.”

“Ah. My bad.”

“This is going in the bin right now,” you huffed, standing to your feet. “And we are never speaking about this ever again.”

“Duly noted,” Yuri sighed, slipping off the table.

You stormed out of the locker room, tossing the cursed letter at the bin. You never wanted to see that damned thing ever again.

✧✧✧

"Guess what I found!"

Yahaba's voice rang through the locker room, a tad too much delight in his voice.

“Your dignity?” Matsukawa called out.

"Even better," Yahaba's face appeared from the doorway, grinning. "It's a love letter."

He held his hand up, a small, crumpled piece of paper pinched between his fingers.

"Just put it with the rest of them," Oikawa sighed, waving a hand at him. Iwaizumi's eye twitched.

"Uh…" Yahaba cleared his throat, eyes flicking to where the rest of the third years were standing. "It's not actually for you."

Everyone's head perked up at that.

"Huh?" Matsukawa tilted his head to the side.

"Who's it for, then?" Kindaichi asked quietly, the top of his ears blushed red.

"Iwaizumi."

A moment of shocked silence.

"What?"

All eyes were on him. Iwaizumi could already feel his cheeks growing red.

Someone had left a letter for… him? Not for Oikawa?

Seriously?

Yahaba slunk towards him, holding the letter out. The fact he seemed a little nervous about it made Iwaizumi feel something akin to annoyance.

"Did you read it?" Iwaizumi swallowed roughly, yanking it from Yahaba's hand like an unlucky fortune strip.

"Just who it's for," Yahaba said, eyes on the ground. Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow, but he didn't press the issue further.

There was no way this letter was supposed to end up in his hands. None at all.

"Well, are you gonna read it?" Hanamaki was smirking. Iwaizumi didn't even need to look at him to be sure of that.

"No," Iwaizumi grumbled. "Isn't that a little rude?"

"But Iwa, the drama--"

"Don't be an ass," he grunted, cutting Oikawa off. Sure, he was curious himself, but he wasn't going to embarrass the writer. Not if it wasn't even meant to get to him.

“Fine,” Oikawa sighed, waving a hand at him. “Let’s start, okay?”

Iwaizumi tried to ignore the strange feeling in his chest for the entirety of practice. He really, truly did.

But by the time he got home, his curiosity had reached its absolute limit.

He lay on his bed, turning the letter over in his hands. Something about it felt so… sacred. So forbidden. It had his name on it, but it hadn’t been given to him by anyone. It hadn’t even been left anywhere for him. Yahaba had ‘found’ it.

Should he read it? Should he put it in the bin?

Thoughts about what it might say had hounded him all practice. He could barely focus on the matter at hand – no, he just kept wondering who could possibly have written him a love letter.

He had to read the damn thing. If he didn’t, he was sure the suspense would drive him mad.

He sighed, unfolding it.

“Dear Hajime Iwaizumi,

Admittedly I'm not great at this sort of thing. It wasn't even my idea. You can thank Yuri for that. Apparently I talk about you too much so she told me to put my feelings down on paper. So, that's what I'm trying to do.”

He frowned. Yuri? Wasn’t that the vice-captain of the girls’ team? And the author talked about him too much? A girl talked about him? Not in comparison to Oikawa?

I first noticed you in our first year (I promise I'm not about to launch into a whole retrospective -- that's not only a waste of time, but it's also deeply unromantic), when you made a killer spike during practice. I came to watch because I wanted to scope out what the boy's team was like. I didn't expect to be genuinely impressed. So, congrats, I guess? Good job?

Practice? The author had been there during practice? Why would they want to ‘scope out’ what the boy’s team was like? He’d assume it was one of Oikawa’s fans, but…

Anyway, I thought you were kind of cute, so I kept an eye on you. Oh man, that sounds creepy. I promise I didn't get up to anything weird, I just yearned from afar. I thought it would pass. But then, like, halfway through second year you got hot. So, fuck you for that one.”

He snorted at that.

“Okay, this is sounding less like a confession and more like a list of your crimes. Sorry, just some of that unnecessary rivalry I've built up in my head towards the boys' team.”

The reference to the ‘boys’ team’ again. Was this who he thought it was?

No. He wouldn’t let himself hope.

“That aside, I couldn't help but notice how dedicated you are to the sport. How hard you work. How much you apply yourself. It mustn't be easy, keeping Oikawa in check; he strikes me as the sort who's prone to self-destructing if no-one's looking. But it's like you keep him grounded. I'm not sure if you get praise enough for that.

And I can tell that your team really, really respects you. Especially your underclassmen. That's no small feat, you know. I mean, I'm sure you do know, but—”

He pressed a hand to his face. Yep. He was burning up, alright.

“I don't quite know how to explain it, but I see this kindness in you as well. We've only spoken a handful of times, but when we have, I've always felt like you've respected me and what I have to say. A lot of the girls are scared shitless of you, but they all feel safe when you're around.”

‘The girls’? As in… the girls’ volleyball team? God, what he wouldn’t give…

“Okay, I'm definitely rambling, and I'm not making a lot of sense, but thank you for being a good guy. That's a big part of why I'm so attracted to you.

So, this has gotten embarrassingly long. I'm sure my face is bright red as I write this.”

If only he could let the author know that his face was just as red while reading it.

“TL;DR -- you're hot and you seem cool. Also, you look great when you're all sweaty after practice. I don't know how you manage it.

Okay bye.”

And there, at the very bottom, was your name.

His heart felt like it was going to both collapse and burst through his chest.

You’d written all that. You. The captain of the girls’ volleyball team. The girl that made his heart beat a little faster whenever you walked in the room. The girl he kept borrowing stationery from because it gave him an excuse to talk to you. The girl he was sure overlooked him for other members of his team.

You’d written him a love letter.

What should he do? What should he say? Should he say anything? You hadn’t actually given it to him yourself. Did that mean you didn’t want him to see it?

God, he felt like he needed to get up and pace. He sat up, slinging his legs over the side of his bed.

He couldn’t just ignore this. Not when you’d said all that. Not when he’d been paying just as much attention to you these past three years. But again, you hadn’t handed it to him yourself, and –

He clapped his cheeks in a poor attempt to ground himself.

No. He had to act on this.

And soon.

✧✧✧

"He's here."

"Huh?"

Yuri nodded at the door of the gym. You looked over your shoulder. Huh? Iwaizumi?

"Do you know why?" You asked, turning back to your best friend.

"No idea," Yuri shrugged. "Looks like he wants to talk to you, though."

You frowned, turning to look at him again. He gave you a tiny wave. It looked so bizarre coming from him. But, admittedly, it was kind of cute. "He better not be trying to kick us out of the gym," you mumbled, turning around and jogging towards him.

Iwaizumi took a step back as you closed in, putting a bit more distance between the two of you.

Rude, you thought. Even after I’ve written him a love letter and everything. Not that he knew that.

“How can I help you?” You sighed, trying to smile at him a little.

“Uh…” He was staring at his feet. That was unusual. He always made eye contact with you – and you knew, because you always had to make sure you weren’t intimidated by those striking eyes of his.

Was he… blushing a little?

What’s going on?

“Can I speak to you in private?” He sounded nervous. Why on earth –

Oh. Oh no.

You could feel your teammates staring at you. Not that they knew what had happened. But there were certainly whispers about you and Iwaizumi.

"Outside," you barked, pointing one stiff arm out the door. "Now."

Iwaizumi nodded, turning on his heels and marching away.

You scurried after him, your mind bubbling with a whole slew of anxieties. Were you about to get rejected? How did he even get his hands on that cursed letter in the first place? Couldn’t he have just ignored it?

You walked a short distance from the gym, tucked around the side. At the very least, he’d chosen a location that’d minimise the number of passers-by.

But it was also the side of the gym that faced the setting sun. Meaning that a warm glow was illuminating his aggravatingly handsome features in the most delightful way.

You felt like you were about to die.

You were about to be rejected by The Iwaizumi Haijime while he looked this beautiful—

“Here,” he mumbled, holding the letter out to you.

You frowned. You hadn’t seen him get it out. “Where did you get this?”

“One of the guys found it,” he shrugged.

Oh. Of course. You may as well start digging your own grave.

“Are you okay?” He asked, letting his arm drop to the side when you made no move to grab that cursed little McGuffin.

“You weren’t supposed to see that,” you swallowed, hands gripping your shorts.

“Oh…”

“My friend, she—she thought that I should write about my feelings for you to get them out of my system, so—” Why were you telling him all this? This just made you feel worse?

“Oh,” he swallowed. “I see.”

A pause. A deeply painful pause.

“So you don’t feel like this anymore?”

Was that… disappointment on his face? Heartbreak? Something of a similar ilk?

Oh. Oh, letting yourself hope was a very bad idea. But you couldn’t help it.

You shook your head, your cheeks beginning to head up. “I… I definitely still feel all those things I put in the letter.” Truth be told, you couldn’t remember the details very well. God, you hoped they weren’t too embarrassing. “But if it makes you uncomfortable, let’s just… pretend it never happened.”

You tried to smile, but you didn’t know how convincing it was. It definitely wasn’t.

He smiled. God, he was so damn beautiful. You really were going to die.

You’d never seen him smile like this before, had you? That was a damned shame. At least it would be the last thing you saw before you—

“What if I don’t want to pretend this never happened, though?”

Wait, what? Had he really just said that?

“Why… why wouldn’t you?” Your heart was about to hammer its way through your ribcage, and there was nothing you could do to stop it.

He finally looked you in the eyes. His own were so intense, so beautifully green. “Well, I-I was hoping I’d be able to take you out on a date.”

Oh shit. Did the great Iwaizumi Hajime just stutter?

Your face bloomed red. “I’d love that,” was the only thing you could choke out.

And God, his smile. The one you’d seen just a few minutes earlier was nothing compared to this. No, this smile was the last hit you could take.

Iwaizumi wondered if he should do something; hug you, hold your hand, kiss your cheek. But he didn’t know if he’d be able to keep it together if he did.

So, he just gave you some kind of nod-bow – something a little awkward yet earnest.

You couldn’t help but smile at the gesture.

“So,” he rose back to full height, clearing his throat. “Friday, after practice?”

You tilted your head at him. “Won’t you be all sweaty, though?”

A new kind of smile touched his lips. Three flavours of Iwaizumi Hajime’s smile in one day. You truly were blessed.

“I thought you liked me like that.”

Oh shit. Oh fuck. You’d written that in the letter, hadn’t you?

You clamped your hands over your face. You couldn’t look at him anymore. Not today, at least.

Iwaizumi laughed gently. God, you were so cute. “Really, though. Is that time okay with you?”

You just nodded, hands still covering your face.

“I look forward to it,” he said. And he smiled, even though he knew you couldn’t see it.

He wanted to say something else. To compliment you, maybe. But he couldn’t think of what to say – there was too much, and he didn’t know how to phrase any of it.

And, he didn’t want to embarrass you. You looked one compliment away from an implosion.

“See you around,” he murmured. And with that, he walk-jogged back the way he came. He just hoped that his face wasn’t too red. The guys would never let him live that down.

You peeked through your fingers. Yep, he was definitely gone.

You keeled over, taking a deep breath. Did you really manage to make it through that in one piece? Without saying anything too embarrassing? Well, past the fact that your shitty love letter had ended up in his hands…

But that didn’t matter much. No, there was something much more important.

The Iwaizumi Hajime wanted to take you on a date. Did that mean he liked you, too? Well, he obviously liked you a little, since he’d asked, but…

Oh, this was so embarrassing. You really needed to get yourself together.

You had a date on Friday, after all.

✧✧✧

“Good job letting one of the second years find it,” Yuri murmured, peeking around the corner.

“Ah, well,” Hanamaki chuckled, “that’s how you make it look even more like an accident.”

Yuri looked over her shoulder at him. “Am I a bad person?”

Hanamaki shook his head. “Nah. They needed this push, y’know?”

“Yeah, but…” Yuri bit her lip. “You do realise they’re both perfectly capable of killing us, right? And that’s on their own. Imagine what their combined power looks like.”

“It’ll be fine,” Hanamaki grinned, waving a hand at her. “They’ll be too loved up to notice.”

Yuri frowned, staring off into the distance for a moment.

All’s well that ends well, I suppose, she thought. After all, both her and Hanamaki had worked far too hard to make this happen. At middling cost.

“You know, I had to stick my hand in the garbage for that letter.”

“You did what?”

#haikyuu x reader #iwaizumi x reader #iwaizumi hajime x reader #iwaizumi hajime #iwaizumi hajime imagine #iwaizumi hajime scenario #hngngnn i hate tagging things #anyway this is so dumb sfkljfdlkj but that's why it's Fun #also will i ever learn how to come up with decent titles? survey says no

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jaskierswolf · 3 years

Text

Born to Make History Pt. 1/3

Summary: Jaskier is preparing for his first Grand Prix Final. He's skating to On Love: Eros and his routine tells the story of the seductress that woos a certain silver haired hockey player. The only problem is Jaskier can barely stay on his feet whenever Geralt is in the room.

An Ice Skating AU (With Yuri on Ice references but you don’t need to have seen it)

Geraskier - AO3 __________

Jaskier cursed as he felt the edge of his skate catch the ice. He landed ceremoniously on his arse. The take off into the quad salchow had been perfect. He’d gotten enough speed and height as he hugged his arms to his chest as he span in the air. He’d spread his arms wide for the landing but his fucking skate had hit the ice wrong.

“Shit!” He groaned as he went flying across the ice on his butt. “Fucking, cock, balls!”

The grand prix final was flying towards them at breakneck speed and he was beginning to flail. No one had expected him to qualify this year. It was his fifth year in the senior division and whilst he’d done well in regionals and nationals, he was still trying to break into the international league, and this was apparently his year.

“Julian!” Yennefer snapped as she skated over to him. “What the fuck was that? You can land a Salchow in your sleep!”

Yennefer Vengerberg. The bane of his life, otherwise known as his coach and choreographer. She’d also hooked him up with a ballet teacher, Triss Merigold, and he had never been so elegant on the ice. She was still the bane of his life. She was an incredible teacher and was in her prime the best female skater in the world. She’d retired from competing three years ago following an accident on the ice that had injured her spine. She was no longer allowed to make the jumps but her skating and step sequences were still to die for.

She was also insanely strict and honestly scared the shit out of him.

“I fucked up the landing.” He moaned.

“Yes.” She said with a quirk of her eyebrow. “I can see that. Do it again.”

Jaskier scrambled to his feet and skated a loop around the rink to find his feet again. He would have some lovely bruises but everything seemed to be in order. His ankles weren’t damaged which was the main thing. He sighed as he closed his eyes, picturing the music in his mind as he ran through the routine just before the quad salchow. He licked his lips as he took a deep breath before pushing up off the ice.

He soared through the air as the music sang in his head and then landed perfectly. He grinned and moved through onto the next part of the routine.

“Not terrible!” Yennefer called which was Yennefer speak for actually pretty damned good.

By the time he’d finished the routine he was panting slightly and there was a dull burning in his thighs. His butt was sore but that was probably more to do with his crash than the routine. He skated over to the edge of the rink and rest his arms on the side. “Better?” He asked Yennefer with a wink.

“Your triple axel combination needs work. Your arms were all over the place and would you please stop sticking your tongue out during the step sequences? You look like Roach.” Yennefer rattled off, counting each mistake on her perfectly manicured fingers.

Roach. That was her ex’s cat. He’d seen photographs whenever Ciri, her daughter, joined them at the rink. Ciri was an adorable young girl who was eager to join in once they’d finished up their practice. Jaskier would always guide Ciri around the rink by her tiny gloved hands and help lift her as she jumped from one foot to another. She had ice-skating in her blood. Her father, Geralt Rivia, was a professional hockey player and owner of Jaskier’s heart. Every time Geralt came by to pick up or drop off Ciri, Jaskier stumbled on the ice. He was just so gorgeous that Jaskier apparently lost control of his limbs and turned into a puddle of Jaskier goo on the ice.

He sighed wistfully as he pictured Geralt’s lovely amber eyes and shining silver hair. Of course he was an ice-skater. He even looked like he’d been blessed by some ice spirit or something. Jaskier had had many a dream about pair skating with Geralt, the feel of his strong arms lifting Jaskier high up into the air.

“Jaskier! Are you even listening to me?” Yennefer prodded him in the arm. She sounded completely exasperated, which Jaskier supposed wasn’t entirely uncalled for. He hadn’t been listening and he had no idea how long he’d been daydreaming for.

“Umm.”

“Give me strength.” She groaned and skated away from him with a roll of her eyes. “Can we go through it again with music? Lower the jump difficulty if you’re tired but I want to see your performance.”

He sighed and pushed off from the barrier, tossing his fringe from his eyes. “I. You… My, My performance is excellent!” He muttered.

“Your performance is shit.” Yennefer countered. “Remember your tongue is supposed to stay inside your mouth. Otherwise you’ll bite through it and I’m not taking you to hospital.”

“Urgh.” Jaskier groaned but moved into his starting position. “Just press play already.”

“Oh and Jaskier?”

“What?”

“Geralt is coming in with Ciri. Please do try and stay on your feet.” She smirked and clicked play. The strumming of a guitar filled the room as On Love: Eros began to play.

Jaskier stumbled over his first few moves. Stupid Yennefer and Geralt. He yelled with frustration as he settled into the routine. He knew this. He was good at this. The costume always helped his performance but he was Eros. He was great at seduction. He could charm just about anyone… who wasn’t Geralt. He moved with grace and elegance as he glided around the ice like the seductress that he was. In his mind Geralt was the playboy lover that had come to town and Jaskier was Yennefer. He would seduce the man who had stolen his heart. He had been doing it all season, not that Geralt had ever seen any of his performances but that didn’t matter.

He lowered all his quads to triples. They’d been training for hours and doing quads at this point was too dangerous. His muscles were tired and this run through was about the performance.

Seduction.

Lust.

Love?

The music stopped and the only noise that was left in the rink was the sound of his panting.

He’d done it.

“Yay! Jaskier!” Ciri yelled and clapped. He spun round to see her and Geralt watching from the edge of the rink.

“Oh fudge!” He muttered as he caught Geralt’s eyes. Oh good lord he was so handsome. At least Jaskier was already red in the face from his performance. He could pretend the way his heart was racing was solely to do with exertion.

“Jaskier that was amazing!” She shrieked and grabbed at the rails.

“Ciri, your skates aren’t tied up.” Geralt reminded her as he scooped her up into one arm.

Jaskier laughed and skated over to them. “Thank you, Ciri.” He smiled at the young girl. “Umm. Hi.” He muttered at Geralt a little awkwardly.

“Heard you got to the finals. Congratulations.” Geralt nodded.

“Ah yeah.” Jaskier ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah. Thanks. What did you think?” He asked. “Three words or less?”

“Not bad.”

Jaskier pouted. Great. His first review from the unrequited love of his life and it was ‘not bad.’

“Right. Well.” He muttered. “Thanks for that.” He went to pushed off from the barrier but Geralt grabbed his arm. Jaskier’s eyes snapped up to meet Geralt’s. The blush on his cheeks only intensifying at the contact.

“It was good.” Geralt said in his gravelly voice that made Jaskier’s heart go wild.

God he should have chosen Agape to skate to. Never mind trying to seduce Geralt, he was completely gone on the man. “Oh.”

“I like the music.” Geralt continued with a slight frown.

Jaskier chuckled. “Three words or less, that’s four.”

“You skate beautifully.” Geralt smirked and Jaskier’s skate slipped underneath him.

“Oh sugar!” He groaned as he fell back but Geralt was still gripping onto his arm and he managed not to fall on his arse. “Shhh… Sherbet. Thank you, thanks.” He muttered. “I’m just… gonna.” He pointed to the other side of the rink where there was a gap in the barriers. “I think I’ve skated enough today.”

“But Jaskier!” Ciri whined. “You were going to help me with my toe jump.” She pouted at him with wide emerald eyes.

“Oh alright then. Get your skates on.” Jaskier bopped her on the nose.

“You don’t have to.” Geralt growled. “You must be tired.”

Jaskier waved his hands and scoffed. “Nonsense. I made a promise, Geralt.”

“Hmm. Can I join you?”

Jaskier’s heart stopped in his chest. He resisted the urge to pinch himself. Did he hit his head when he fell earlier? Was this all some dream? Oh god, he was definitely dreaming. “Oh, umm yeah. Yeah. Sure.”

“Might need someone to catch you again.” Geralt chuckled and Jaskier gaped at him.

“Geralt!” He whined. “I am a top figure skater!”

Geralt shrugged.

“Take that back!” Jaskier pointed at him. “Take that back or I’m not letting you on the ice.”

“Hmm.” Geralt shrugged again.

Jaskier huffed and finally skated away from him. His heart still pounding in his chest. When he turned around he saw Yennefer watching them with a smirk from the other end of the rink.

“Are you done? I have notes.” She asked, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

He groaned but reluctantly skated over to his coach. Ciri still needed to finish tying up her skates and Geralt could keep her entertained whilst he finished up with training. He tried not to zone out whilst she pointed out all his mistakes but it was hard with Geralt being so close, and now they were going to skate together. It was a dream come true. It was only Yennefer’s piercing violet gaze that kept him from drifting off into a daydream. Honestly he was thankful that she was so terrifying. He wasn’t sure any other coach would be able to keep him in line. His first coach, when he was still in Oxenfurt, had been too relaxed and Jaskier had often just fucked about.

It wasn’t his fault he was so easily distracted.

The scraping of blades on the ice pulled his attention away. Yennefer sighed and dismissed him with a wave of her hand. Jaskier grinned and spun round to skate towards Ciri and Geralt. Ciri tried to skate away from Geralt towards him but stumbled as she reached him. Jaskier reached out to catch her with a laugh.

“There we go!” He said as he steadied her. “You’ll be a top skater in no time.”

“Hmm.”

“I’m going to play hockey!” Ciri grinned.

Jaskier pouted dramatically. “You won’t need me to teach you the toe loop then.” Ciri’s eyes went wide and she looked like she was about to cry. “But, seeing as you’re wearing figure skates instead of hockey ones.” He winked at Geralt. “I guess I will.”

Ciri grinned. “Thank you, Jaskier!”

They weren’t on the ice long. Jaskier was exhausted from training and Ciri was only young so she got bored quickly. Geralt mostly stayed out of their way, running laps around the rink whilst Jaskier and Ciri practiced her jump in the middle. After about twenty minutes Geralt joined them in the middle and caught Ciri in his arms.

“Enough now, cub.” He murmured. “Jaskier has a big competition coming up. Let him rest now.”

Ciri pouted. “Can we go and see him again?”

Jaskier froze.

Again?

What the fuck did that mean?

He stared at Geralt with wide eyes. Geralt was… blushing? Nah. It was probably just the cold air from the rink.

“Ciri likes to watch you skate.” Geralt grumbled.

Jaskier smirked. “Ciri didn’t call my skating beautiful.” He glided forward slightly putting himself Geralt’s space.

God if Ciri wasn’t here right now….

He bit his lip as he tried to push those thoughts out of his head. Geralt wasn’t interested in him that way. He’d thought that Geralt barely knew he existed before today, but apparently that wasn’t entirely true. Geralt had sneakily been watching his performances.

“That was a joke.”

Jaskier laughed and skated a circle around Geralt. “I don’t think so!” He sang and then before his confidence could leave him. “It’s getting pretty cold in here. Did you wanna grab a hot drink or something?”

“Hot chocolate!” Ciri squealed and wiggled in Geralt’s arms.

“Or coffee?” Jaskier suggested with a tilt of his head. “I was up before the sun today. Yennefer doesn’t seem to understand the meaning of beauty sleep, or course looking like she does, I don’t blame her!”

“Coffee sounds good.” Geralt nodded and skated over to the exit with an excitable five year old in his arms.

Jaskier watched the pair of them, his gaze dropping down to Geralt’s sinfully round arse before grinning to himself and following them out of the rink.

____

#the witcher #geraskier #ice skating au #yuri on ice #geralt of rivia #jaskier pankratz #figure skater!Jaskier #ice hockey player!Geralt #wolfie's witcher writing #let me know if you want to be tagged

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hopeisour4letteredword · 3 years

Text

personal furnace, ch8 (final)

Summary: Winter renovations at the inn in Zaphias leave Yuri in need of a warm bunk for the night. Good thing he can always count on his good buddy Flynn.

Read it below or at the link to AO3 in the notes.

He tries to get on with the rest of his day. It's difficult. Flynn doesn't like to think of himself as a coward, but he'd never quite had the courage to spend a lot of time daydreaming about what would happen if Yuri rejected his affections. Now his failure of imagination means he lacks a mental contingency plan to fall back on. He goes through the motions, mostly. Goes to his meetings with Ioder and the Knights' captains and hopefully doesn't make a complete fool of himself. He says all the right things, he thinks. Remembers most of what he wanted to address—his notes help. Goes to train with some of the rookie Knights and tries not to pummel them too hard. Goes back to his room to flip through documents. That one is the worst. He can't focus at all, not sitting in his chair in the room where he managed to drive off the most important person in his life.

Eventually he gives up, disgusted with himself, much earlier in the evening than he usually would. He feels unreasonably exhausted. Surely he shouldn't be. He's slept more soundly over the last week with Yuri than he has in months. There's no reason for him to be so bone-tired. But he's clearly not going to be able to force himself to get anything done, so he might as well call it a night. He's just finished changing into pajamas and is stoking the fire one last time for the night when the knock at the window comes.

Flynn stares at the closed curtains for a long moment in amazement. The poker is clutched, forgotten, in his hand. When the knock comes again, accompanied now by a crabby-sounding, "Flynn!" he tosses it to the side thoughtlessly and half-sprints to shove the curtains aside and open the window. Yuri glowers at him even as he climbs inside. No wonder he's so irritated. He's come without his coat again.

"What kept you? Holy shit, were you actually in bed at a reasonable hour?"

“I hadn't yet—come in, good grief,” Flynn says, somewhat stupidly with Yuri already tumbling into the room and halfway into Flynn’s arms. Flynn grabs a blanket off the bed to wrap around his shoulders haphazardly with one hand and slams the window back closed with the other. “Is Mariam really still insisting that your room isn’t fixed?”

“No,” Yuri says, curtly. He shivers violently even as Flynn adjusts the blanket around him. “It’s fixed. Been fixed for a while, apparently.”

Flynn freezes, surprised. Yuri snorts when Flynn blinks at him in bewilderment. “You know I still have shit I’m supposed to be getting done for Brave Vesperia, right?”

“I—well, yes, but—“

“And I’d really rather have my own damn space to do that, rather than working off a corner of the Commandant’s desk? There’s shit for the Guilds I really shouldn’t be waving around in front of the Knights, y’know.”

“I—“ Flynn’s heart is in his throat. He couldn’t dare to presume—

Yuri presumes for him. He elbows the rest of his way into Flynn’s space, blanket and all, until Flynn is forced to either take Yuri into his arms or fall a stumbling step back.

(He takes Yuri into his arms, of course. Yuri’s still so cold, it practically radiates off him at close quarters. Flynn can’t not share his body heat, it would just be cruel. How could he not warm Yuri up when the option is there?)

“If you want me in your bed,” Yuri says, voice low, “All you had to do was ask. All you ever had to do was ask. You don’t need stupid excuses. Alright?”

“Alright,” Flynn echoes, feeling a bit faint. His hands had settled for a safe, respectful stabilizing grip on Yuri’s elbows, but now he moves them tentatively to Yuri’s hips. Yuri leans into the contact. It feels like Flynn’s brain kickstarts back into action, finally processing the last thirty seconds, and a giddy smile spreads across his face. “Yuri...”

“You’re still in trouble,” Yuri says, stubbornly. The splotchy pink of cold on his cheeks slowly fills out into a deeper, more consistent red blush as Flynn watches. “For letting Mariam fuck around with me.”

“I didn’t—“ Flynn starts to protest, then thinks better of it, setting his weight back on his heels with a sigh. He’s got his hands on Yuri’s hips, an intimacy he wouldn’t have dared try just this morning, and Yuri more or less volunteering to spend more time in his bed. If the consequences of a petty lie are his price for that, so be it. He’ll pay gladly. “Alright. I’m sorry.”

“Should be,” Yuri says. He bullies his way even closer so that he can shove his face into the crook of Flynn’s shoulder, cold nose pressed up against Flynn’s neck. Flynn barely flinches; it’s no worse than all the times Yuri has shoved cold fingers on him as a joke over the years, and this has vastly more appealing side benefits to make up for the slight discomfort. He wraps his arms more solidly behind Yuri’s back. “Haven’t gotten any damn guild work done in a week because I knew if I took the request missives out to look at in the inn’s dining area, the kids’d vanish them as soon as I turned my back.”

“You were no better at their age,” Flynn points out. He strokes once, cautiously, over Yuri’s shoulder blades. When that’s allowed without objection, he starts rubbing gentle circles into Yuri’s back over the blanket. Maybe he can massage some warmth back into him this way. “Worse, probably.”

“Doesn’t mean I want to have to tell Karol I didn’t do the job ‘cause some kid fed the directions to their dog."

“Or your dog.”

“Don’t get me started on Repede. Mariam said he's been sleeping in the fixed room since the third day.”

Flynn bursts into startled laughter, unable to stop himself even when Yuri smacks him lightly on the bicep with annoyance. “Has he really?”

“Yeah, the little shit.”

“Smart dog,” Flynn says, fondly. Yuri rolls his eyes. Flynn can’t see it, but he knows.

“Smarter than either of his masters, apparently.”

“If you come in through the doors, he could join his masters.”

“First of all,” Yuri says, “Still not interested in talking to any other Knights. Second, I don’t know what page you managed to get lost on if you want Repede in here with us while we’re trying to make out.”

Flynn stills. Yuri waits him out for a few beats before he says, anxious and trying to cover it with flippancy, “I mean, unless I’m the one on the wrong page—“

“No,” Flynn blurts out. He hugs Yuri close to him, squeezing probably too tightly in his rush to show conviction. Yuri grumbles out a sound of protest and Flynn loosens his grip. “No, you’re on the right page. Of course. You’re right, I wasn’t thinking. As long as he’s got someplace else to keep warm for the night.”

“Repede always finds his way,” Yuri says, sounding much more at ease now.

“Come on. I’ve kept you waiting long enough, let’s get you under the covers. Do you want a change of pajamas?”

“No,” Yuri says. He shakes off Flynn’s embrace to step back, handing him the blanket before he starts to strip. Is Flynn allowed to openly enjoy this now? Yuri hardly gave him a chance to look away, although he turns pink again when he realizes Flynn is blatantly staring at the skin revealed when he strips out of each layer. “Should be warm enough with just blankets and you, I think. I'd rather sleep in my underwear.”

“You just want to put off doing laundry.”

“I’m not even the one doing the hypothetical pajama laundry. This is your laundry, Mr. I-have-maids-now.”

Flynn watches raptly as Yuri shimmies his pants down to his knees, then yanks his legs out of his boots and pants at the same time, one by one. He grabs the boots and tosses them to the side with the pants still tucked in.

“That seemed like more hassle than just taking them off individually.”

“The way you’re looking at me right now, I’m afraid you’ll eat me alive if I do this in a way normal enough to be even remotely sexy,” Yuri says, prompting heat to rush to Flynn’s own cheeks. “And I’m sorry to disappoint, but I would actually like to be able to feel my limbs when we cross that bridge, so that's not happening tonight.”

“My intentions are pure,” Flynn says, firmly. Yuri has the gall to laugh incredulously as he takes off his socks and throws them the way of his boots. “Oh, stop it, I’ve never gotten to look just for the sake of looking before!”

“I told you, you could’ve looked any time if you just asked.”

“Well,” Flynn says. He could say he didn’t know that at the time, but... he’s not stupid. He had a vague awareness that the way he and Yuri behave with each other was already not, strictly speaking, standard platonic friendship. He doesn’t know how to explain the bizarre, Yuri-induced blind spot in his feelings that has him stunned to find out Yuri reciprocates. That’s love, he supposes. “You weren’t asking either.”

Yuri turns even redder. "How was I supposed to know you were interested?"

"Basic social signals?" Flynn suggests. Now down to his underwear, Yuri begins to shiver again. Flynn tucks the blanket back around his shoulders and gathers him close, letting him huddle against Flynn's warm body. "I don't think I've been terribly subtle."

"You weren't that obvious either," Yuri mutters, ducking down to hide his face against Flynn's shoulder again. Hmm. Flynn disagrees, but he can hardly judge. Apparently there's a corresponding Flynn-induced blind spot in Yuri's feelings. How endearing. Yuri's usually so self-assured. "Are we getting into bed or what? I'm still freezing, here."

"Bed," Flynn agrees. He shuffles toward the bed, pulling Yuri along with him. Yuri follows, almost stepping on Flynn's toes in his insistence to stay close to the warmth of Flynn's body. Flynn regretfully has to let go of Yuri to pull back the covers. Yuri crawls in first, still wrapped snugly in the extra blanket. That's normal enough. What's new, what makes Flynn's heart flutter, is the way he wriggles his arms free and reaches for Flynn. Flynn hurries to slide under the blankets after him, pulling the wool and downy quilts over their shoulders as he half-throws himself into Yuri's arms. Yuri huffs out a quiet laugh. His arms fold around Flynn's back as Flynn shamelessly snuggles in close. His cheeks are still flushed a gentle pink.

"Don't concuss me, moron."

"I was about to ask to kiss you before you were so mean," Flynn says. Yuri's eyes go wide. "Since I believe there was some talk of making out."

"There was also talk of me being able to feel my limbs," Yuri says, but it's softly-spoken and his face drifts closer to Flynn's until their noses bump, foreheads pressed together. "And my fingers are still pretty stiff right now."

"We don't have to do anything but kiss," Flynn says, just as softly. "And not even that if you don't want. But I'd like to, if you're up for it."

In answer, Yuri nudges forward the last bare inch to press his mouth gently to Flynn's. His lips are a little chapped—Flynn will have to see about getting him some beeswax balm, he thinks, distractedly—and they apply but faint, tentative pressure, but it's still the best kiss Flynn has ever participated in, simply by virtue of having come from Yuri.

When Yuri pulls back and tilts his face, adjusting the angle, to lean in again—that, anew, is the best kiss Flynn has ever had.

And so is the next one.

And the next one.

And—

---

Yuri is snoring gently against his throat when Flynn wakes. Technically speaking, this could have easily happened on any other morning this week. But it feels more special, to know Yuri fell asleep like this. That he meant to be in exactly this position and he didn't want to move all night, that he's happy and comfortable like this.

Flynn lays there for a series of long moments, recalling the previous night, preening in the satisfaction of having Yuri voluntarily wound into his embrace, of Yuri returning that embrace. The satisfaction of Yuri, annoyed as all hell with him for allowing meddling in their personal affairs, still coming back to tell Flynn he wanted to be in Flynn's bed as much as Flynn wanted him in Flynn's bed. The satisfaction of all you ever had to do was ask. Flynn wonders, somewhat wistfully, what else he's allowed to ask for. Dare he dream of things even better than Yuri cozy and affectionate in his arms, even better than soft kisses before they fall asleep tangled up in each other?

But Flynn is a man of duty, and he's awake now because of routine, so alas. Time to get up, he thinks, and shifts in preparation to draw back. Then he pauses.

No meetings this morning. No training sessions. He needs to review the budgets for their operations in Tolbyccia before he sees the captains this afternoon, but... that won't take too long. Most of the work he was trying to force himself to focus on yesterday can wait. It isn't urgent.

And Yuri is so warm and comfortable in his arms....

Flynn sets his mind and snuggles back in, kissing the top of Yuri's head. Yuri twitches minutely in his arms and snuffles quietly.

"Mmph?"

"Nothing," Flynn whispers. He strokes along Yuri's bare back. "Go back to sleep."

"Mm," Yuri mumbles. He rouses a little, to Flynn's great disappointment. "You gettin' up?"

"No," Flynn says, still softly. "I'm staying right here."

Yuri hums, pleased. "Good. Too early."

"Rest some more," Flynn says. He kisses the crown of Yuri's head again. Yuri makes another pleased sound. "I'll be here when you wake up."

With Yuri cozy all along his front, Flynn finds himself dozing again too. He'd been too caught off-guard last night to think ahead to the next morning, hadn't bothered to think through the consequences of an impromptu lie-in, so he's snapped back into awareness by the brisk knock at the door that signals Cecelia's entrance. Flynn half-rises in a panic only to be arrested by Yuri's limp weight. Yuri grumbles sleepily, trying to tug him back down to the mattress. Flynn finds himself meeting Cecelia's wide eyes as she freezes in the doorway. The breakfast tray is clutched in her hands so tightly that the wood creaks.

Flynn knows exactly what this tableau must look like—knows that even before he tried to sit up and dislodged some of the quilts, Yuri's shoulders would have been visibly bare above the line of the blankets—and with Yuri burrowed so tightly into Flynn's arms, too—

"Breakfast," Cecelia squeaks. "Sir. Mr. Yuri. I'll—I'll leave it on the desk."

"Thank you," Flynn chokes out, completely mortified. He's not embarrassed of Yuri, but—to have one of the staff actually catch him in bed—

Cecelia curtsies and turns so fast she almost trips over her own feet. The door slams closed behind her.

Yuri snorts.

"Yuri," Flynn hisses, almost hysterically. "If you're awake you could have let go!"

"Punishment," Yuri says, without opening his eyes. He finally succeeds in dragging Flynn back down, and rolls halfway on top of him to snuggle close again. "You're in trouble, remember?"

"I thought that just meant you were cross with me!"

"Think again," Yuri murmurs. It's decidedly more difficult to be angry with him when his mouth touches Flynn's throat on every syllable. Flynn manages nonetheless. "You let me be made a fool of, now you get to be the fool. Prob'ly enough though."

"I—you—don't drag poor Cecelia into that!"

"Cece already thought we were boning," Yuri says, sounding bored. He rolls the rest of the way on top of Flynn's body, the force of his weight pushing a soft grunt out of Flynn. He can take it, but Yuri's still a fully grown man. "That's why she was so offended that you said not to bring breakfast for me, I guess. She thought you were trying to hide our relationship because it was a trust thing. At least that's what Espie said. She overheard me yelling at Mariam and told me Cece asked her for advice about how to show you she was trustworthy."

"Cecelia already thought we were in a relationship?" Flynn demands, baffled. "Why? Because I let you share my room instead of freeze?"

"I'm told it would be less homoerotic if you just put me up in the barracks or some shit."

"I couldn't put you up in the barracks, you hate the barracks. You'd have slept in the cold rather than sleep in the barracks."

"Also you wanted me in your bed," Yuri says, and at least he's not so irritated with Flynn that he doesn't sound satisfied with that. Flynn's heart warms pleasantly at the tone of it. The knowledge that Yuri likes being wanted by him is still fresh enough to give Flynn a frisson of delight.

"Yes, I wanted you in my bed, but that part is definitely homoerotic. I could've made you sleep on the floor for all Cecelia knew."

"I have no control over her rationale. All I knew was that it would be really easy to get you back, so I did. Honestly, you set most of it up yourself."

"...Does this mean Cecelia was also trying to meddle by bringing you breakfast?"

"I don't think so," Yuri says. His expression shifts from sleepy mischief to thoughtfulness. "It sounded like Espie didn't bother to correct her. Cece would have still thought she was showing that she could be chill about me being here."

"Thank the gods," Flynn mutters. He has no idea what he would do with himself if his personal maid had taken it upon herself to interfere with his love life. "Well. You're a terrible brat, but I suppose I forgive you."

"It was no less than you earned," Yuri says, righteously. He might be wrong; Flynn suspects Yuri could come up with much worse than deeply mortifying Flynn as a one-off. If he truly feels that this is enough to punish Flynn for a week of being laughed at behind his back, Flynn should count himself lucky. Yuri yawns and rests his cheek on Flynn's shoulder. "Can we go back to sleep now?"

"You'll be able to fall back asleep alright after all that excitement?"

"Think I'll manage. I'll try, anyway. You?"

"We'll see." Flynn has a fairly regular internal rhythm, after all. He was already a bit surprised to have dozed back off earlier. He's not sure how his body will respond to an attempt to sleep in now that he's had a shot of adrenaline into his veins. He cards his fingers between dark locks of hair. "I can at least stay in the bed a while longer. Keep you nice and warm."

Yuri hums with pleasure again. It vibrates against Flynn's shoulder, making him shiver. "Now you really are my personal furnace."

"And gladly." Flynn kisses him on the forehead. Then he does it again, for good measure. Then again, and again, until Yuri reaches up to slap a hand over his mouth with a grumble of complaint.

"We're trying to sleep."

"Aw," Flynn mumbles, muffled. Yuri tilts his face enough for Flynn to get a glimpse of his expression, which is clearly fighting down sleepy fondness to try to project exasperation. Flynn's heart throbs at the sight.

"More kissing later, sleep now."

"You could sleep through it?"

"I really won't." Yuri removes his hand from Flynn's mouth to press his palm flat to Flynn's chest instead, right over his left breast. "And quit getting excited, your heartbeat is way too fast. We're resting."

"I can't help that."

"Yes, you can. Calm down."

Flynn murmurs some kind of nonsense excuse-apology combination and nudges Yuri to rest his head down again, so that Flynn can tuck his face against his hair. Soft and silky and comforting. Yuri sighs contentedly and nestles down against him.

As ever, the chill of a cold winter's morning threatens from beyond the nest of blankets. Yuri was already hard enough to leave behind as Flynn's own heat source before. Now, with him intentionally cuddled up to Flynn, Flynn loses all motivation for getting up to do other things. Despite his prior concerns, Yuri's right; as soon as Flynn decides to accept his role as pillow instead of showering Yuri with tender affections, he finds himself calming and settling. Yuri's gentle breaths against his throat go slow and even again. Flynn's own breathing steadies in response.

Breakfast will keep, surely. Flynn will just rest his eyes for a moment.

#fluri #flynn scifo #yuri lowell #tales of vesperia #long post #original character

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queerchoicesblog · 3 years

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The Movie Party (SC Titanic, Zetta x Adele Series, Ch. 17)

So, folks, the SC Titanic Zetta x Adele Series has come to an end: this is the final chapter. It’s time for Zetta and Adele to have a reunion at last.

I want to thank all those who supported this crazy project of mine. This series has been quite important and will somehow still be, even if the original story is no longer available and it’s the end. But I will be grateful to the authors who crafted it: it was one of the few times I felt truly seen as represented as a wlw in a game.

You must forgive me if this chapter will be a bit longer but I wanted to bid a farewell to the various characters who made this story one hard to forget. It’s the finale: you either go big or go home, right? And you will find the explanation of the title of the series, if you haven’t figured it out already...

Little disclaimer-favor: especially since the tags don’t seem to be working anymore, if you do enjoy it, please consider supporting the author & sharing this. A little gesture that means a lot!

Stay tuned next week for the Epilogue!

Zetta x Adele Tag: @storyscaped @storyscapefanficarchive @marmolady @animus-and-anima @hayley-carter19 @escako @everlastingchoices @indescribablechoices @ahrielstuff @bornonawdnsday @nazario-sayeed @h-doodles @adele-serda @marlcasters @brightpinkpeppercorn @michelleconnoly @charliejane-blog @ghost-of-yuri @choicesgremlin @lanzhansguqin @orange-elephants @wonder-falcon

Zetta x Adele Series Tag: @eternal-langdon @nydeiri

➡️ Ch. 1, Ch. 2/1, Ch. 2/2, Ch. 3, Ch. 4, Ch. 5, Ch. 6, Ch. 7, Ch. 8/1, Ch. 8/2, Ch. 9, Ch. 10/1, Ch. 10/2, Ch. 11/1, Ch. 11/2, Ch. 12, Ch. 13, Ch. 14, Ch. 15 , Ch. 16

___________________________

The night of the Surviving the Titanic premiere, I walk into the venue at the arm of Richard, my little Napoleon in tow, 'fashionably late' as my fiancé puts it. We are greeted by the flash powder and shouts of the reporters and the awe of the guests gathered in the dashing foyer, waiting in line to show a steward their invitation. I wave at them, smiling and searching the crowd, while Richard tips his hat. Sadly, I do not see any familiar face or I don't recognise any before we walk past them and disappear behind the red velvet curtains of the auditorium. Another steward takes care of our coats while a colleague leads us to the honorary seats reserved for us and the rest of the crew.

We seat and wait. To keep my mind busy, I fix Richard's bow tie leaning to the side. I chat a bit with Sabine and compliment her outfit once again: I'm touched she decided to wear the pearl headband I gifted her when I made it into the movie industry. A birthday gift: she kept repeating she couldn't accept a gift like that but eventually I prevailed. Seeing it again after all those years...I'm so grateful she didn't listen to me and refused to bring it with her on our trip to Europe: "I'd rather not, Madam: I don't think I will have occasion to wear it", she said. I'm incredibly happy she deemed this night a right occasion. I'm so used to see her in her maid uniform that I forgot how she looks in an evening gown and the little detail makes her look like the friend she is to me. I'm pretty happy and proud of my outfit too. I picked it myself: I knew exactly what I wanted when I commissioned it to a New York fashion designer à la mode. I don't usually wear black, I much prefer colors, but lately I've been reconciling with it. And it seemed appropriate for the night: black is the color of mourning, right? What is tonight, this movie if not a commemoration of all those who aren't with us tonight, all those who sacrificed their lives for people like me and all the other survivors we managed to trace back, gathered here tonight? I'm not naive enough to ignore there is more to it, something less poetic, but I hold onto the remembrance of the lives lost. Onto that night: I hope the meaning of my sapphire necklace, the same one I wore on my birthday night, is not lost to those who were there. A hand on my shoulder, a gentle touch. As my heart races a bit faster I turn...but no, it's only my colleague, my fictional sister greeting me at the arm of John, Richard's right hand. I kiss her cheeks and invite the two of them to join us. She is visibly excited when she announces that the foyer is packed: she had never seen a crowd like that. It's a delight to hear but I can only hope in that crowd are a few familiar faces I long to see. One dear face I desperately long to see. One last time, at least if that's what it must be but I need to see her, to make amends and tell her the truth. She must know: I owe her that. When the stewards eventually open the velvet curtains, the auditorium fills fast, women in fur stoles and men in tuxedo swarm in like bees, chatting lively as they take a seat. I stretch my neck to see if I can find her face but my eyes only meet tycoons, socialite and strangers. Is that man over there checking the night programme Felix? I certainly hope so: if he's here, Lawrence must be too. And God knows how I need him tonight. After what feels like an eternity, it's time. The premiere begins. "Here goes nothing" Richard sighs, taking my hand into his as they dim off the lights. I wish I could have spotted Adele before darkness fall on the auditorium and the projector starts crackling. Apparently, uncertainty must torture me a bit longer.

As story unfolds on screen, I hear the audience hold their breath in awe and fear and for a moment I am reminded why I love my job: to give people feelings, to make them live lives they would never live even if for a fleeting moment. Their wonder, their tears of sorrow and joy are the best reward, the only reward I look for, even more important than the generous checks I receive for my performances: it makes me feel alive, it makes me believe that for a moment our hearts beat at unison and we're connected. When my character and her sister hug in the lifeboat and watch the sinking ship, the muffled sounds and sniffling around me tell me that no matter how hard performing that scene was, the message got trough. I am incredibly happy about this.

After the screening and a round of thunderous applauses, stewards lead us to the theater lobby. I have a look around while reporters and guests join us. Richard insisted to take care of the decorations and the whole movie party himself...well, with his staff: he claimed that he had asked of me too much already and he was happy to help and give Sabine a few days off. My little Napoleon was taken aback by the decision: she has always supervised every party, every mundane event. I look at her and I have to stifle a laugh at her unimpressed face. She's right: just like the picture, the decorations aren't grand enough, not luxurious enough and I have no doubt she would have done so much better than this. There isn't even music... I hear the clinking sound of camera and flash powder igniting and before I know it, a bunch of reporters are taking pictures. I put on my best smile and pose with Richard. When he agrees we offered enough coverage of the events for the moment, he guides me away from them towards a waiter in high uniform offering champagne glasses. He hands me one and takes one for himself. "To our success, to our night" he smiles, rising his glass. I repeat his toast and we cling glasses. I have just tasted the cold alcoholic sweetness of it that guests approach us. I do my best to be polite and charming: I know it's my duty even if it distracts me from my most important search for my love. Is she even here? Maybe she just tossed my invitation into the fireplace after my disappearance...oh, no, I don't wanna picture such thing! And I know it's selfish of me, maybe even my note was selfish...it probably would make things easier for her if I disappeared and let her live her life, if I let her forget me soon. Strip away the memory of the time we shared together like a band-aid. Maybe even engaging romantically with her was selfish of me in my situation...oh, I'm tormenting myself again! Focus, Zetta, focus! The guests profusely compliment and comments are awfully predictable: the jewelled wife of a well known mogul dramatically claims that the picture was "a true masterpiece" and she totally felt "as if she was there too that night". A young socialite nods and echoes her words: is she her daughter? I flash them a smile and say I am overjoyed to hear so, it was the effect we were hoping for. I am stuck into conversations like these until the party is in full swing. My head almost hurt at the insane amount of stale nonsense I hear: maybe Lawrence was right when he once said that the problem with fiction is that the audience hardly takes it as such and cannot distinguish between documentary and fictional movies. They will go to bed tonight truly convinced they know what we survivors felt that night, they will tell friends encouraging them to go see the picture (hopefully) but the truth is...they know nothing. They have no idea how terrifying it was, how gruesome. They have no idea what suddenly not knowing if you or your dear ones will see another dawn or hearing gunshots and screams of terror all around you feel. It's like ice flowing into your veins instead of blood, a clutching fear I will never forget. Their heart would have broken in a thousand pieces too hearing the despair in the voices of the poor souls swimming in the frozen water begging for a help that never came. Maybe this picture was a mistake after all, I don't know. I keep jumping from one conversation to another, peering across the crowd gathered on the balcony and below but I cannot spot anyone I know. Instead, a young man out of the blue asks me news of James: they're acquaintances and he was hoping to meet him here tonight. I sense Richard tensing up at my side as he sinks his glass of champagne. He was on the ship too, the young man continues, is he alright. I have no idea if the rumor of what happened at my birthday party has spread or if it faded away after the tragedy so I offer him a quick smile. I conceal how his reminding me of my fallen little prince is making my wound bleed again. James is fine as far as I know - I tell him - but sadly couldn't make it tonight, a previous engagement he couldn't postpone. My merciful lie seems to be enough for him as he tips his hat and asks me to bring him his greetings. As we part from them, I excuse myself and head away from the crowd "to fix my hair and rouge". Thankfully, Richard understands. He takes my glasses and places a quick kiss on my temple, whispering that it's alright, he will cover for me. He winks at me before greeting a colleague. I make a beeline for the restroom to catch some breath: I'm starting to feel a bit overwhelmed by this party but I must be patient, this night is nowhere close to be over soon. I take a deep breath, one last check and return to the lobby.

At the corner of my eye, I finally notice a familiar couple quietly having a drink in a defiled spot by the railing. Friendly faces, at last! I call their names and they turn. "Here's the belle of the ball!" Lawrence exclaims, approaching. He is charming as usual: he takes my hand and gallantly raised to his lips, smiling. He still looks tired and older than he actually is. I pull him into a quick hug. "You came, you old dog!" I joke, making him laugh. "And you too!" I wink at Felix who blushes slightly. When we part, I throw the two of them a look that - I hope - will convey my deep affection more than my words can. "I am incredibly happy you are here tonight" I smile softly. "We were incredibly happy to receive your invitation to the party, dear Zetta" Lawrence twists my words with his kindness. I take a look at him and flash him a sheepish smile. "You hated it, I know" He sighs before laughing, a gentle laugh. I speak again before he can formulate an excuse. "I can only hope I made up for it. My performance at least, the champagne..." "You were magnificent, Zetta. As usual" His smile is genuine, affectionate. Sweet dear Lawrence... "Tell you what, I had to give the gentleman here my handkerchief in the finale" he adds, a playful yet equally affectionate smile on his lips, nodding to his companion. Felix sighs, shaking his head. He cannot refrain a smile. I laugh and hug him. "That is such a great compliment, thank you, darling!" He's always been a big fan of me, he notes and Lawrence is quick to confirm it. We share a long look, quiet, safely away from the loud crowd. When will I see the two of them again? "Lots of people here tonight" Lawrence comments, after a moment, his blue eyes roaming the lobby packed with guests. "Yeah..." I sigh. "Yet you are the first friendly faces I bump into tonight. Well, apart from Sabine. Can you believe it?". I'm not surprised that he understands the unsaid. I'm relieved, actually: concealing my vulnerability but not to the point a man like him cannot sense it, underneath my words. He shares a quick look with Felix before reaching for my hand and giving it an encouraging squeeze. "Maybe it's just because you got stuck with those socialites in high hats and furs and embarrassingly expensive jewels" He winks at me and I laugh, a liberating laugh I needed so much. "Maybe" I concede before adding, hesitant. "I don't even know what I should hope for, Lawrence". He considers my words and when his eyes meet mine again, I don't want to let go of his hand. I want to hold onto him. "The night is not over, right?". I smile weakly at him: he's right but I have no idea if it's a good thing or not. Maybe it will only mean my agony is far from ending anytime soon. He seems to be reading my own thoughts. "Chin up, dear Zetta. And if you need us, we will be downstairs. Just say the word" Sometimes I wonder what I did good to have a man like him being so kind and thoughtful with me. I nod and try to recollect myself. I wish I could stay with them a bit longer but I see reporters approaching and a proper host cannot disappear forever. Sadly I must go, they know it. After one last lingering look, I take my leave. Evading the reporters is a lost war, so I surrender and pose again. How many pictures do they need, goddammit? Oh boy, this flock of vultures wants statements too. Fine, I know what to say. Marvel at how many people gather here tonight, tell how important this movie is to you, how you hope it will help bring along the memory of the tragedy...and start over. Then, with nonchalance and a charming, unreadable smile, walk away. Thank God, it works. I look for Richard or Sabine but they are both nowhere in sight. I shake hands with a couple of New York socialites when I hear a voice behind me calling my name, quietly almost shyly. I turn and see a young woman in a floral dress, red hair in elegant waves and big green eyes looking at me in awe. "Miss Serda, I just wanted to thank you for your invitation and say how flawless your performance was tonight". I flash her a smile. Have we met already? I cannot tell... "Did you enjoy the picture?" "Yes, quite a lot! Even if it's not the same, of course..." she lowers her eyes as if ashamed to anger me with such an undeniable truth. "Were you on the ship?" I inquiry, in my most reassuring voice. "Yes" she nods. "I was..." she pauses before shaking her head, a brighter smile relaxing her face. "Actually I was Adele's cabinmate. Your secretary's cabinmate, I mean". I gape and take a better look at the redhead in front of me. But of course! I saw her on the deck with a Adele as we were playing shuffleboard with the Baron. I tell her so, hoping to make her happy. It works, apparently: she looks pleasantly surprised I remember her. "You're...Clorinda!" I exclaim, reminiscing Lucille's words at our dinner, when she recognised Adele's dress as one of her own creation, a gift to her favourite model. She laughs, but her laugh is weak. "I was Clorinda, yes". "Lucille sang your praises during our journey" I smile. "Will I see you soon at her upcoming show?". "I'm afraid not, Miss Serda" her lips twist in a pained smile. "I no longer work for Mrs Duff-Gordon". Seeing my surprised face, she continues.

"I had an accident during the sinking. I am no longer suited to work as a mannequin" she explains, quickly lowering her eyes before meeting mine again and adding, cheerfully: "But it's alright. I am here, I am alive and I am in America...it's all that matters, right?". We smile weakly at each other for a moment. I feel sorry for this girl even if she seems stronger than she looks. "Adele talked of you" I tell her and I'm glad to see the mix of surprise and excitement on her face. "You're the big fan of mine who kindly borrowed the posters and memorabilia for my birthday party at the Cafe Parisien. Seeing the old and new posters, reading the little notes you wrote...it meant so much to me, truly. I have never had a chance to thank you properly but I will always remember your kindness to me". A hint of red spreads over her cheeks as she smiles a big bright smile. "Oh, it was nothing, Miss Zetta...I was honoured to give my humble contribution to your birthday. If it made you happy, I'm happy, overjoyed!". I laugh softly at her contagious enthusiasm. Adele told me it was quite endearing and she was right. Her cabinmate speaks again, still gleaming but recovering the initial shyness. "Miss Serda, I was wondering if I could...well, if I could get your autograph? I was hoping to ask you during the crossing but then.." "But of course!" I smile and beckon a steward over. When he's back with a promotional picture and a pen, I look back at my fan. "What name should I write?" "Oh, Lena. Lena Montague but Lena is just perfect". I write my dedication and hand it to her. She takes a step forward, limping a little, and I get a glimpse of her wooden leg as she looks down at the picture with reverence. "There, for you. And your new collection, maybe" I wink.

She thanks me but I insist that it's my line. And a sudden idea crosses my mind. "Thank you for coming, Miss Montague. I am glad I got a chance to make your acquaintance. And I was wondering...I remember expressing the wish to invite you for breakfast after being informed of your lovely gesture, to thank you. Would you accept a belated invitation? Let's say next week?". I have never seen such starry eyes on a face of a fan. "And who would be so foolish to turn down an invitation from you, Miss Serda? Sure thing!" "Excellent! I'll send my maid to you then, she's here somewhere...enjoy the party, Miss Montague". I kiss her cheeks and offer her one last smile before going back to my guests. I search Sabine but I find Richard instead, who introduces me to a couple of survivors he shook hands with. It doesn't take long before I realise why he wanted me to meet them: they say they were on my lifeboat and it was thanks to my intervention that they survived that awful night. They will be eternally grateful. I...I don't know what to say. I see Richard smiling proudly down at me while a faint blush spread over my cheeks. I tell them I am sure they would have helped too if the roles were reversed and wish them a happy new life in America. As they part, I finally spot my little Napoleon approaching, imperturbable as the Sphinx, quietly observing the stewards moving from one side of the hall to other. You can take away her apron but not her inquisitive gaze, I suppose: no rest for Sabine... "Ah, here you are!" I greet her, before teasing her. "I feared I lost you in the crowd" She offers me a quick amused smile. "I wasn't lost, Madam, just mingling. An impressive crowd tonight, n'est pas?" "Beyond our wildest expectations, yes!" Richard confirms, eyes roaming the upper floor.

"I am glad to hear, Monsieur King. A well deserved success" my maid bows her head, concealing once again the disappointment for not being involved in the party setting. Then she turns towards me and continues, with a nonchalance that is only pretended. I know it quite well... "By a fortunate coincidence, I bumped into Miss Carrem just a moment ago". I can only hope my face doesn't betray my feelings, the turmoil her words provoked inside me. Adele is here, she came. I will get to see her at least one last time, I will talk to her. My words will be a poor consolation to her maybe but...I will see her again. "Carrem...Carrem, Carrem...oh right, your secretary on board, huh?" Richard exclaims but I barely register what he's saying. All I can think of is Adele, Adele here, tonight. Oh God, thank you! "Oui, precisement" my little Napoleon confirms on my behalf as I cannot speak. "An exquisite young lady, if I say so myself. The best candidate we had in ages, Monsieur, and I am not easily impressed, I assure you". Richard says something about how he would love to make her acquaintance and thank Miss Carrem personally but I am not listening just like the night of our arrival when he was stroking my hand but my head was far away with he woman I foolishly a abandoned at the pier. "I left her in the main hall downstairs. She's with her sister" Sabine adds, addressing me. Snapping out of my reverie, I manage to remind Richard that I talked a little about them. They were on my lifeboat too, we stayed together on the Carpathia...but I am extremely grateful to the providential steward who beckons him over. He sighs and excuses himself, saying he will be back before we know it. As soon as he's out of earshot and someone else interrupts me again, I wrap my arm around Sabine's and lead her to the side, by the railing. Now that Richard is gone, I can show my concern more freely. To some extent, obviously but I think I am safe with my little Napoleon.

"How is she? Did she look alright?" I inquiry, checking over my shoulder. Sabine ponders her words, as if thinking how to describe the impression her brief meeting with Adele left on her. After what feels like an eternity for my tormented heart, she speaks. "If I may, she looks...troubled". I knew it, I feared so. But hearing it put down into words makes me frown. "Troubled? But of course...what a fool I have been! I shouldn't have invited her here tonight, I should have visited her and-" But I can't bring myself to finish my own sentence. "Troubled with grief, I mean. With with the weight of what happened that night. Mourning, you would say, perhaps". Then she sighs, a deep sigh, shaking her head. "It's such a pity to see a young woman like her taking the world over her shoulders, all that sorrow, all that pain". "She wouldn't be Adele if she didn't" I smile, thinking of every time she spoke of her fight for women's rights, the days she spent in jail for it. My sweet revolutionary is indeed a little Atlas and I fear no one can change that, it's simply her nature. But it pains me to see her so miserable and I cannot shake away the feeling that my disappearance played a role in it. At the very least I added salt on her injury. "But Mademoiselle Carrem is strong" Sabine interrupts my somber train of thoughts. "She just needs time, that's all, I think. Time and a little joie de vivre, don't you think, Madam?".

I smile sadly at her words. "Don't we all need it, ma chére Sabine? A little joie the vivre...". Yes, it certainly would be nice. But is it even possible? Even for people like me and Adele or are we forced to be content with cheap surrogates that keep us floating on the water surface? I wish I had an answer... "I will go talk to her" I sigh, straightening my skirt. "I am sure MademoIselle Carrem will be delighted to see you, Madam". "I hope so, Sabine". Yes, I do hope so. We look at each other for a moment before I speak again. "Oh, before I forget...would you mind getting Miss Montague's address and find out when I can meet her for breakfast next week or so?" I ask, nodding at my fan's figure in the hall downstairs. "And book a table to the Plaza or the St Regis. They're both fine...oh and please, send Miss Montague a poster of Surviving the Titanic. I'll ask Richard to sign it too". I fill her in about the details of Lena's life before the sinking and her troubled arrival: the incident, the loss of her job and the end of her modelling career. Sabine bows her head. "Certament, Madam". "In the meantime, I'll see if I can find a way to do more. I wish I could do more for her, somehow" I continue, lost in my thoughts. My little Napoleon nods and goes quiet, pondering. Around us, the sound of laughters and clinging glasses. When she speaks again, she almost startles me. "I'll be on my way" she announces, standing straighter. Before taking her leave, she looks at me and comments quietly that it has just come to her mind that I still haven't found a new secretary since our arrival. I know that look, that pretended nonchalance once again. As Richard approaches, I give her arm a gentle squeeze, a faint smile crossing my lips. "Go find Miss Montague, Sabine. And not a word on this before I speak to the girl". She throws me a conspiratorial look and walks away. When I turn, Richard is offering me his arm. "Fancy a trip downstairs, darling?". "I thought you never asked!" I smirk, wrapping my arm around his.

As we start walk down the stairs, I can feel my heart beating faster in my chest at the thought of my proximity to Adele, how close we are after all this months...even if it's also different now. But it doesn't matter: I don't want it to matter now...what did she say on the deck of the sinking ship? ‘All I care about is that you're here with me, and safe’. Yes, that it's all I care about too. I...saw her. She's with Hileni by a small table with hors d'ouvres and a pyramid of champagne glasses. Be still my heart, I beg you, be still...but it doesn't listen. I cannot control it anymore now that I know for sure she's here. She's wearing a green dress that it or just perfect for her but it enhances her beauty, if it's even possible. Oh, Adele...you have no idea how badly I have missed you! I feel my face lighten up and my lips curl into a bright, happiest smile. See what hold you have on me, my love? I don't even pay attention to those who greet and part as I walk by: I only have eyes for one guest now, for her. The first who spots me is Hileni: her eyes widen at the sight of me. I suppose she has never seen me in all my glory before; on the Carpathia, even if I was still wearing the outfit of my birthday party underneath the coat a kind fan gave me, I was out of my element just like the rest of us. Adele turns a moment later, following her sister's gaze. When our eyes meet, I almost feel my knees get weak. I hope she can see that this smile is meant for her only. I think she does, she brightens up almost immediately I turn towards Richard. "Will you excuse me a moment? I want to say hi to a dear friend I haven't seen in a while...". Dear friend: the euphemism is an insult to what Adele means to me but it will do. Just like the fiction, it's what the world can take. "Sure, go ahead. I'll go find John" he smiles, parting. I immediately glide over to my love, heart racing in my chest. "Adele"

I call her name and the sweet sound of her name fills my mouth. I place my hand on her upper arms and kisses both her cheeks. Restraining myself from pulling her into a tight embrace and linger in that closeness is a Herculean effort. Her perfume, the shade of red spreading over her cheeks, her shy smile. How I missed you... "Let's you and I catch up" I say, still smiling so brightly. I turn to Hileni and ask: "Mind if I borrow your sister for a moment?". She nods, still looking awed. Without hesitation, I take Adele's arm and lead her to a corner of the room apart from the other guests. For a moment, none of us can't find words. Funny how words are most difficult to find with those who are dearest to our heart. But I know what it is...I feel it too. The weight of our past between us. The memory of our brief happiness together.

A last, I summon up enough courage to finally speak. "Ad-" "I-" We start talking at the same time, then burst into laughter. Look at us, two fools lost to love! "I feel...almost nervous. Ridiculous, aren't I?" I keep my smile on but I know, just know she sensed the vulnerability reverberating in my voice who has suddenly lost the confidence I had before with my guests. She smiles too, gesturing that it's alright. "Zetta, it's...so good to see you again". I am sure my mind now is less cheerful. Time for my poor apologies. "I'm sorry, Adele. I should have written or visited" I sigh. "I've just been so busy..." To my surprise, she interrupts me, understanding, smiling. "I understand. You've been making the film, and you're getting married..." But she suddenly lose the train of whatever else she had planned to say. Adele, you and I can try to behave normally around each other, to act as if nothing happened...but we simply fail all the time. Our feelings always get in the way, my love, and God knows if I don't know it too well. And this, this sadness cutting off your words is all my fault. "I know you're upset" I frown.

She meets my eyes again in a silent, unnecessary apology. You have nothing to apologise for, I do. And I owe you the cruel truth, at last. I take in a deep breath to steady myself and let my mask fall. I drop my voice to a whisper so that only she can hear. "I've been agonizing over what I'd say when I saw you. And I never came up with a good answer". Adele, if only you knew the nights I spend writing you the most ardent, sorrowful letters! "I love you. I want to be with you. But this marriage has to go forward or my career's done". Do you understand my impossible position, my dearest? But please, I beg you never doubt my feelings. "Doubt thou the stars are fire, doubt the sun doth move, doubt truth to be a liar...but never doubt I love". When she speaks, her voice is a pained whisper and her words an excruciating plea. "Zetta, please don't do this. I want us to spend our lives together". I couldn't ask for anything better, sweet Adele, but...there is always a cruel but for us. "Even if that life had to be kept secret?" I grimace. "If people knew about us, it would destroy everything I've worked for". Look what malicious rumours brought on Lawrence and Felix even without a solid evidence of their relationship. Look what the world does to people like us. These guests, my adoring fans crowd the movie theaters to see me fall in love with the hero, the dashing heartthrob 'every woman daydream of' without asking me what I really want. They smile and awe at me tonight but they wouldn't hesitate to drag me down into the gutter if they knew who my heart truly belongs to. "I...I can't have both you and my career".

I lower my eyes unable to sustain her gaze any longer. I am so incredibly sorry, Adele, so sorry.... She reaches for my hand, shyly, and I am reminded of the first time she took my hand into hers in my private projection room on board of the Titanic. The soothing warmth of her hand over mine felt so intimate, calming...just like now. I look back at her and I have to fight back tears. She looks over her shoulder then she speaks, her voice low. "I don't care if no one knows about us. All I care about is that there is an us. I need you, Zetta". My eyes widen as I register the meaning of her words. Does she...does she mean it? "Are you sure?" I ask her, unsure whether she is fully aware of what she's proposing. "This won't be like it was on the Titanic, bathhouses and stolen kisses. It won't be easy..." She searches my eyes and nods. I...I would have never thought nor hoped for such a hopeful end of this conversation I feared so much. Oh my dear...not losing Adele, being with Adele! Out of instinct, I move to kiss her but I refrain myself just in time, painfully aware of the surroundings. I must long for your lips a bit longer, my love...but it doesn't matter, we're together now. "We'll need to come up with a plan..." I consider. "How do you feel about being my publicist?". "About as confident as I felt about being your secretary" she beams. I laugh as I laughed with her in the most dire moments...incredible what a light she casts on me, even when I am at my lowest. I regard her fondly as a newfound sweet joie de vivre starts spreading inside me, and I put my hand to her cheek. "This is the happiest I've felt in months...knowing you'll be at my side" I whisper, my voice trembling with the swirl of feelings taking hold of me. "Always" she whispers back, slightly leaning to the touch.

Suddenly we're both brought back to the party by the flash powder igniting around us. As I unwillingly retrieve my hand we're surrounded by journalists shouting my name. I am too overjoyed by our sweet reunion to be annoyed by them. I wish they could have forgotten about me a bit longer, granting me more time with Adele but they are oddly bearable this time.

I see her leaning closer and putting her mouth to my ear. The words she whispers send my heart fluttering.

"I love you". I turn my face to meet her eyes. I must summon every ounce of strength I have to stop myself from pulling her mouth to mine, pouring my affection on her right in front of the photographers. I see the same restraint in her eyes. There will be other nights for that. Yes, there will other nights... "And I you" I whisper back. My voice is soft, adoring...how could I not adore her? I smile at her one last time before turning to the cameras and bathing into the flash lights. They better capture this moment, I think: I will never be as radiant as I am now. As they keep calling my name and taking picture of me posing, I slowly return to the party I momentarily left for my reunion to Adele. I spot Richard and John lightening cigarettes by the staircase and not far Miss Montague chatting with a man I have never seen before. Sabine is checking herself in a mirror, fixing her headband...a rare moment of vanity for her. Hileni is pondering whether going for the pastry mignons is a bit too much and once saw me looking at her, she shyly waves at me and walks away. To my delight, Lawrence is signing an autograph to a fan, under the proud gaze of Felix, who took a step back. Good old Lawrence... ‘Sometimes our secrets are what make our lives worth living. No matter with what high cost they come attached’, he said. And he was right. I used to repeat to myself that you can't breathe if you're constantly underwater. It turns out I was wrong. With her love, I can breathe underwater.

#titanic storyscape #zetta serda #adele carrem #zetta x adele #zetta x adele series

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tsuki-sennin · 3 years

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Mina-san, bonne lecture~! (Tsuki recaps his feelings about Kamen Rider Saber, a personal essay.)

So, Saber... what a wild ride it's been, huh? Just a quick heads up, this is very long and rambling, and also contains spoilers for everything in Saber. It's fine if you don't wanna read all this, but I just wanted to get my thoughts out there.

TL:DR, Kamen Rider Saber's an undercooked hot mess I absolutely adore, warts and all.

Speaking as objectively as possible, it's a 6/10. Probably closer to a 5 than a 7... it's not great: All the different plot elements are cluttered and weirdly paced; character focus is disjointed and clearly biased toward certain characters, leaving great ones like Kento and Ogami, interesting ones like Kamijo and Hayato, and underdeveloped ones like Sophia and especially the Shindais in the dust; not to mention its balance of comedy and drama is off, and while both are very effective, there's a lot of mood whiplash that can take you out of the story. I also feel like a lot of the easily avoidable character conflict could've been easily resolved, even in universe, by simple conversations. Be careful Fukuda, I think Inoue might sue you if he finds out you've been biting his style and doing it worse.

Rider shows have a very frustrating tendency to drop cool form ideas and not do anything with them, and I don't think it's ever been more the case than with Saber. There's a similar argument to be made with the majority of Heisei Phase 2 after Gaim, but wow. The suits are expensive to make without just straight up recycling everything, I get that, but man, I really wanted to see more Wonder Rider forms. How come Touma got all the fun, eh? Of note are the Blades King of Arthur forms (which look amazing by the way), Espada's Jaaku Dragon forms (one of which I even drew last night), even the non-elemental random Wonder Ride Books all have awesome design elements that go tragically unused. Even if the other Swordsmen just kinda have the ones they do get to use slapped onto them, that's at least something. Touma also just straight up only uses Diago Speedy twice and never again. You have cool props guys, don't waste them like that!

Speaking of waste, Espada, goddamn. Since most of the Wonder Ride Books are Story Type and he needs one very specific Story Book to transform, he doesn't get much of... anything, really! No Wonder Rider forms like Blades, Lamp Do Cerberus being exclusive to Ganbarizing, only getting to use the Ride Gatriker like once, he even spends the second and third arcs as a completely different Rider, then once he comes back he doesn't get a King of Arthur-granted upgrade or even a Necrom Espada form. ...at least, not yet anyway. I'm holding out hope for Espada x Necrom and the eventual Saber V-Cinemas. Extra Rider stans, we will be well respected someday.

The Unreal Engine CGI used for fights in early Chapters was pretty good but wow it feels disconnected and they really drop it quick. I feel like if the animators had more freedom to use as many forms as they want, we'd have gotten a lot more mileage out of the books beyond... decoration basically. I actually really liked the CGI sequences, they felt creative and were fun to follow along with.

The soundtrack is pretty great on its own and conveys what it needs to, but they seriously overplay the orchestral themes. It honestly feels kind of... stock at times. I think my favorite parts of the score are when it winds down, since it feels a lot more natural and lets the cinematographers and actors speak for themselves.

As awesome as I think Falchion's design and the Mumeiken Kyomu are, The Phoenix Swordsman and the Book of Ruin comes up short as its own standalone thing. You'd think 30 or so minutes of non-stop action would be awesome, and it almost is? It's as good as a typical episode of the series with a higher action budget, but it kinda drags on a bit too long; and although I think Emotional Dragon looks cool, it feels a bit tacked on. Coming off of the incredible Zero-One REAL×TIME, it doesn't give you much room to breathe, which Rider films are typically great at handling. I also thought the resolution for the kid's subplot was kinda forced. He does an okay job at acting considering his age and doesn't overstay his welcome, but I really don't see how 20 minutes of violence and action is enough to convince him to be brave enough to go play with the other kids. 5/10, it's closer to a 4 than a 6 and I think that maybe Zero-One should've stood on its own if they really had to push back Kiramager Bee-Bop Dream because of the pandemic.

Alright, with all that said... As imperfect and undercooked Saber was, like Ghost I can consider it a personal favorite, 10/10. Call it a guilty pleasure if you want, but holy hell it's just the show I needed. Takuro Fukuda has a talent for creating fun, wonderful characters and utterly fascinating worldbuilding and concepts. It's a shame he doesn't utilize them fully, but hey!

The action and fight choreography are pretty top notch as usual. Lots of beautiful shot composition and set pieces, and plenty of great angles to help keep up with the extra busy action. I love watching the suit actors perform and they deserve all the respect in the world for their hard work in those hot, sweaty, and heavy costumes. Their visual design is also top notch, with lots of unique and fascinating forms and cool weapons I desperately want to play with despite being broke, all with spectacular finishers and hype jingles with the voice of Akio motherfucking Ohtsuka calling them out. A real feast for the eyes. Not a single bad suit among them, yeah I said it, fight me.

The crossover specials are soooo good too.

-I went over my feelings on the Zenkaiger crossover episodes in a separate post (good luck finding that btw), but to sum it up, they were great character moments for Zox and the Shindai siblings with lots of great screwball comedy and some good old fashioned meta humor.

-The Ghost crossovers are great little side stories all about how Daitenku Temple somehow had the Ghost Ijunroku Wonder Ride Book? I genuinely have no idea why it was there, or how Makoto had the Specter Gekikou Senki, and as far as I remember neither of their origins are explained. Did Luna or Tassel hand them off to them and told them to wait for a sword guy? And why do these generic French Revolution Gamma villains working for Danton get their asses handed to them so easily by Kanon, who literally just became a Rider? I thought that Makoto deciding to adopt all the Kanon clones into his family was both hilarious and adorable though; considering all the crap they went through, I think it was a good ending to this plot. Gimme Espada x Necrom already Toei/Bandai/Fukuda/whoever I need to yell at, give Kento things to do, I beg you.

-I haven't actually seen Super Hero Senki since it's not available for subbing yet, but apparently there's a Journey to the West plot starring the Taros and Ohma Zi-O and I want to see that so badly.

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra? Yoohei Kawakami? A match made in heaven, that's what they are. All of their themes are absolute bangers. All of them. Almighty, Kamen Rider Saber, Sparks, Taju Rokou, all excellent and empowering pieces. Rewrite the Story, Will Save Us, and The Story Never Ends are all amazing inserts done by the cast, and it makes me wish we had even more of them to help break up the monotony of the score.

The characters are what easily make this show such a great watch though. For the most part, they have great personalities and chemistry, consistently fun and interesting scenes, well acted and... sometimes well-written development, and deeply investing personal stakes.

Narrating it all is the delightfully eccentric Tassel/Viktor, portrayed by Romanesque Ishitobi "TOBI" of the Paris-based Les Romanesques. I was utterly confused by his presence at first, wondering why there needed to be a narrator when the story would've been perfectly fine without it. He even got a special spot in the opening despite having no stake in the plot despite seeming to live in Wonderworld, who the hell is this guy? But then I thought "OH MY GOD, HE'S THE MAIN VILLAIN USING TOUMA AS THE HERO IN HIS OWN TWISTED STORY, THE BASTARD". I thought it'd be some subversion of expectations, true form, "That Was His Mistake!" shit. Trust me, it made a lot more sense in my head. I'm very happy that they didn't do that, as I grew to love having male Yuuka Kazami as my narrator, and when he was shown to be actually important by being friends with Yuri my mind was blown. And doubly so when I realized just how deeply necessary to the plot he really is.

Rintaro/Blades is up there as one of my all time favorite secondary Riders, since his curiosity is always consistently funny and adorable, his forms are all gorgeous and impressively designed, his relationships with Mei and Touma are absolutely sweet and compelling to see unfold, and his arcs about becoming willing to call out those he views as family and coming to terms with his feelings of inadequacy and both moving past and using them to strengthen himself are always great lessons to pass on to kids. ...even if they took like 10 goddamn episodes to be conveyed in what could've been 5, but hey, Takaya Yamaguchi does a stand-up job all throughout. Rider veteran Eitoku's refined, almost logical movements with the Suiseiken Nagare absolutely beautiful to see in action, and his final form having the same white and blue color scheme as Zooous's base form is an amazing touch I don't see appreciated enough.

Mei Sudo's also absolutely wonderful, serving as the perfect emotional core of the story, responsible for most of the funniest lines, sweetest character moments, and some of the most deceptively compelling drama. Asuka Kawazu brings the perfect energy for such a dynamic and well rounded character, and absolutely nails her scenes of quiet turmoil. As much as I would've loved her to become a Rider, I don't think she really needed to. She's already done so much to help, and as cool as it would've been to see her pick up a sword and fight alongside them as Espada, Calibur, or Falchion she's already endeared herself to me as one of my favorite supporting characters in the whole franchise.

I can't get enough of my homeboy Kento Fukamiya/Espada. Like Rintaro and everyone else for that matter, he also suffers from Saber's pacing issues; and like his predecessor Valkyrie from Zero-One, he doesn't get a proper upgrade aside from his Wonder Combo, instead becoming an anti-villain using a completely different powerset and shifting the Raimeiken Ikazuchi out of focus for the Ankokuken Kurayami, and I feel there's a serious missed opportunity to see him use Jaaku Dragon with Alangina. However, Ryo Aoki's performance is probably among the most easily praiseworthy in the whole cast, managing to convey both Kento's kind and knightly stoicism as Espada and his emotionally unstable despair as Calibur perfectly, in conjunction with Yuji Nakata's experienced and expressive stuntwork.

Ren Akamichi/Kenzan's a dark horse favorite for sure. I remember back when Saber was first picking up, people hated this breezy mad lad for being such a simple character at first. Overly concerned with strength? Black and white world view? Annoyingly energetic? Agh, real-feeling character flaws, I hate them, get him away from me! But then y'all came crawling back. Eiji Togashi's apparently a bit of a rookie actor, and it really shows with some stilted delivery and the way he sometimes bobs his head when giving his lines, but man he improves dramatically as the series goes on. His inexperience ironically ends up really selling his character development, and his unexpectedly beautiful relationship with Desast is special evidence of that. The Fuusouken Hayate's three modes and Satoshi Fujita putting them to excellent use through his stellar acrobatic movements are also really cool.

Why did Luna have to be a child for so long? Does Wonderworld not age whoever inherits its power? Well since Luna randomly becomes an adult in Super Hero Senki and some of the final episodes, I guess so? Miku Okamoto does a fine job for a kid actor, but she's basically done all the heavy lifting for the whole series and doesn't give Mayuu Yokota enough time to get a feel for her character as an adult. How did she choose Touma to inherit the power anyway? Does she just subconsciously decide to trust him with it upon seeing how kind and passionate about storytelling he is? Well if that's the case, why didn't Kento get at least some of that power too? He's just as important to the merchan- I mean Luna-chan, isn't he? Why did Tassel pick her over someone who isn't a literal child who'd be understandably terrified about basically becoming an embodiment of storytelling?

Sophia also kinda suffers from the same problems. Rina Chinen's voice is very pleasant to listen to, but she doesn't really do much beyond serving as a source of exposition and support. I think her dynamic with Mei's adorable, and given her kindness I can certainly understand the respect Northern Base has for her, but she doesn't really contribute a whole lot. If she could use the Kurayami and become Calibur all this time, then why didn't she take it from Kento and Yuri and do so earlier when Kento decided to go back to being Espada? I know she's not much of a fighter and as the closet thing the Sword of Logos has to a leader after Isaac's death I'd understand not wanting to put her at risk, but considering Storious is destroying the world, and she's very evidently kicking a lot of ass in the first part of the final battle even in the basic Jaaku Dragon form, I think it would've helped a lot, just sayin'. Tassel at least has the excuse of being unable to interact with the real world, but Sophia obviously didn't just be put in charge of Northern Base just because she's a pawn in Isaac's plans right?

Ryou Ogami/Buster is also a victim of the disjointed character focus. I have no problem believing he's an excellent father and fighter thanks to Yuki Ikushima and Jiro Okamoto, respectively, but he feels a bit flat and simple in comparison. His rivalry with Desast is randomly dropped, his wife doesn't even show up until the final episodes, he's kinda sidelined in terms of action a whole lot. I imagine that must've sucked for the Rider Dads out there. He does get to star in his own manga, and that was pretty good, so I guess I can't be too mad.

Tetsuo Daishinji/Slash fares better though. Hiroaki Oka, being a Kamen Rider fanboy himself, manages to make him among the most relatable characters in the series. Not only are his hyperfixation on swordsmithing and anxiety played surprisingly believably, Hirotsugu Mori letting him cut loose is extremely cathartic and hilarious, and you really feel for him when the Onjuuken Suzune becomes the first victim of Calibur!Kento's sword sealing.

Yuri/Saikou's another dark horse favorite, for me at least. "Oh great, Avalon guy's got even more merchandise to sell, I wonder what his Sword of Light is- it's himself. Well... that's different." I admit, I didn't like him at first. He felt like he was there to fill out character dynamics in the absence of both Rintaro and Kento, I thought his gimmick was too silly even if his design and jingles were bangers, I didn't particularly care for his power set. But then XSwordman came around I totally got it. He's an endearing, hard-working man trying his best to catch up on all the cool shit he missed, unafraid of experimentation, ready to throw down at a moment's notice, serving as a wonderful bit of consistent support for our heroes, a truly knightly individual, an absolute Chad. and goddamn does he make me worry. Tomohiro Ichikawa, I salute you good sir.

Even if they fall short compared to the rest of the cast, the Shindai siblings are at least cool enough to not wanna write out entirely. They kinda devolve into comic relief after they become allies, something that villainous Riders from Chase onwards are very prone to doing, and it's especially awkward in their case because I think that they kinda get off scot-free for obeying the obviously sinister and crazy Isaac for so long, as well as driving a wedge between a lot of people and threatening children in Reika's case. I think their sibling dynamic is nice though, even if Fukuda recycled it from Makoto and Kanon and has some... questionable possessive undertones as a result. It's cool how they're basically foils to Touma and Rintaro though. The dispassionate and methodical Reika/Sabela is beautifully played by Angela Mei and her moments of emotional depth are fascinating to watch. Her Rider form is a thing of beauty, and its use of literal the Eneiken Noroshi's smokescreens and Yuki Miyazawa's precise and deadly stinging strikes are a joy to watch. And while Ken Shonozaki's not given the best direction as the undercooked plate of 7-Eleven fried fish that is Ryoga/Durendal, he manages to sell him as an experienced and hardened warrior with an awkward side that's especially evident in the Zenkaiger specials. His goddamn RWBY weapon that is the Jikokuken Kaiji is absolutely sick, I'm a sucker for transforming weapons and its combination of time and water powers is really cool, especially with Yasuhiko Amai's deliberate and forceful acting in the suit.

Daichi Kamijo/the Second Calibur, for as brief as his story was, was a pretty cool starter villain. Hiroyuki Hirayama brings this poor bastard to life in a genuinely touching way. I love how as Calibur he goes full force on his creative use of Wonder Ride Books for attacks, and his debut as Jaou Dragon got my blood pumping. His end is also deeply tragic, and I really felt for him when he realized just how badly he fucked up. Hayato Fukamiya also does wonders for the backstory, and while he also doesn't get much to work with, Mitsuru Karahashi makes his regrets and love for Kento feel genuine.

Legeiel and Zooous are both very intimidating and entertaining villains. On top of being just the right balance of goofy and threatening, Kairu Takano and Koji Saikawa's stage presences are both very strong, and their mixture of camaraderie and in-fighting is extremely believable. Zooous's rivalry with Rintaro feels incredible to see through to the end, and although Legeiel doesn't get quite the same treatment, Elemental Dragon had such a cool debut that it more than makes up for it. Their final fights are also absolute spectacles. I don't think their sympathetic angle works even close to as well as it does with MetsubouJinrai or even the Gamma, but I get it, power corrupts, and you probably feel a lot of sadness and regret for things you've done when you die unless you're a right bastard.

Isaac/Master Logos/Solomon is kinda generic. As wonderful as Keisuke Soma is, he doesn't get much dimension to work with. The result of that is while he nails being as smug and punchable as possible, he feels almost... comically generic. Genta Umemori from Shinkenger was full of personality! He was also basically some guy, but he was fun, he felt connected to the rest of the cast! Meanwhile the only real time we get to see Isaac's depth is when we see him crying over his failures. I almost appreciate him being unapologetically evil though, since I've seen way too many shows where redeemed villains get off scot free for way worse things, and some where they outright demand you to sympathize with them despite them doing nothing to warrant it.

Bahato/Falchion surprises me by not just being a movie villain whose actions affect the main plot, but also being a movie villain who actually gets to appear in series as a recurring threat! ...and it's not a particularly great showing on his part, sadly. Masashi Taniguchi does a wonderful job with what he's given, but his character feels like a retread of Eternal without any of what made Katsumi Daido a compelling and frightening villain. I'd like to believe Yuri when he says that he used to be a good person and a hero to the people, but I can only hear so many anime villain monologues about the pointlessness of life and the beauty of destruction before I can never take them seriously again. ...I think that's his biggest problem, actually. I thought he was an overall uninteresting and generic villain in the movie, and the cartoon nihilist he's shown to be in series is only a small step up. He still feels like filler. If only there were a far better written and much cooler villain who takes on the Mumeiken Kyomu after his de--

Desast is probably one of the finest anti-villains I've ever seen in recent years. On top of an absolutely badass character design and the excellent combination of Kazuya Okada/Danki Sakae's suit work and Koki Uchiyama's stellar voice acting, his story being so thoroughly intertwined with Ren's makes their shared journey and bromance a borderline Shakespearean tragedy. His struggle for identity despite Storious treating him as nothing more than a failed experiment and the Sword of Logos treating him as a mere monster really gripped me, and the way he uses what little time he has left to encourage Ren into blossoming on his own is absolutely beautiful. I think his enmity with Ogami is criminally underexplored in series, considering he killed several of the previous Riders and how Ogami's in desperate need of screentime.

Then there's our main villain, Kamen Rider Storious. Robin Furuya brings an incredible amount of charisma to this character, expertly portrayed as both a sinister, manipulative bastard , and as a lonely, tragic figure that arguably makes him feel even more villainous. Speaking as a struggling writer myself, it's easy to feel stuck in the idea of "fuck it, who cares, maybe everything is predestined", but I can't imagine what it's like to know that as the truth and carry it with you for all that time. All of your grand ideas have roots from your experiences, and you're not the only one who even could have those experiences. It's easy to just fall into despair and give up trying, but would that make you happy? Sure, Storious is sadistic, he may be fulfilling his goals, he may be ungodly powerful... but it's not enough for him, is it? All of his friends are gone, one of them even at his own hand, he probably doesn't have any idea what to do after he destroys all the world's stories, Touma even reached his full power before he did, and his downfall is so predictable that even a blind person could see it. He even seems to welcome it, what's up with that? But then I realized... OH MY GOD, HE'S THE MAIN VILLAIN USING TOUMA AS THE HERO IN HIS OWN TWISTED STORY, THE BASTARD. He's so far gone, he's so desperate to stick it to the Almighty Book, he's willing to twist the archetype of the Hero's Journey so hard, it snaps in two. What I think is interesting is that he's ironically trying to chase the trend of "edgy superhero story" that became super popular in the 21st century. The Boys, Brightburn, Kamen Rider Amazons, The Sentry, No More Heroes, Magical Girl Site, even mainstream comics from DC and Marvel... Surely Storious must've seen the cruelty and tragedy these stories are filled with, but he chooses to go through with trying to force the world into this direction anyway. Did they, along with seeing the ever-popular tragedies of legendary playwrights and bleak satire of the twentieth century fuel his despair?

And yet... there's one who stands in determination against his ideals.

Our hero, Touma Kamiyama, the titular Kamen Rider portrayed by Syuichiro Naito and Kousuke Asai, he speaks to me on a personal level. There're plenty of jokes to be made about his procrastination in early chapters, his godless fashion sense, and him doing the funny run up the slope, that's all fine and dandy, but I rarely feel so connected to a character the way I did Touma. The struggle to create, find companionship, live your life, reach out to others... these're things a lot of people struggle with, and of course you see them depicted a lot in media about creators, but Saber gets to the root of what the greatest thing about storytelling really is. Giving people hope, while using the pain of the past as fuel for the future. Sure, Storious may be right about how every story has been done as far back as human civilization gets, he may even be right about how any spin or creativity humanity has is outright predestined. It should be pointless to even try, right? That's where Touma Kamiyama disagrees. He didn't spend all that time fighting and creating just to give up at the idea of predestination. His novel writing-fueled creativity in his early training, his devotion to his friends that let him surpass Kamijo as Dragonic Knight, his compassion for the Primitive Dragon that let him combine their powers to destroy Legeiel as Elemental Dragon, his resolve that let Xross Saber dethrone Solomon, and his passion for the craft of storytelling that let our heroes channel their wishes into Wonder Almighty... all stemming from the belief imparted onto him by his predecessor that "Hope lies beyond your resolution." And that you decide how your story ends. He may not be the greatest Rider to some, he may be as lame as others think he is, he may not even be my favorite, but I have no issue calling Touma Kamiyama... Kamen Rider Saber, one of the all time greatest carriers of the Kamen Rider name.

The final chapter's definitely not as great as some other Rider finales, but goddamn. Primitive Dragon consciously choosing to save Touma is so sweet and such a great emotional payoff, I loved jamming out to the opening theme while our boys lay the smackdown on Storious. Wonder Almighty's a fitting final bit to close the main series out with, if not exactly a great one. I think the cover is great, and the book's body is a lovely shade of candy apple red, but I really don't like how its pages are just the covers of the other books copy-pasted onto onto the pages, that feels lazy. Maybe if it were a panorama of all the books' characters, I'd like it a lot more as a symbol of how unified the Swordsmen are, but eh, what can you do? On a related note, does this mean all the "last episode extra final forms" of the Reiwa Era are gonna be named after their series's opening? That's a neat idea.

I felt a lot of feelings seeing all those video messages of Rider fans all across Japan talking about their favorite stories, and how their passion and fond memories help reshape the world. Mei's monologue at the ceremony about is also really touching and- IS THAT A HUMAGEAR!? :O

Y-yeah dude, it is! Wow, where have you guys been for the past 48 episodes?! Are you guys doing okay? How come you're like... the only one here? Is the technology of Hiden Intelligence only really that prevalent in that very specific metropolitan part of Japan and they're just not coming around much over here? Is it like Dragon Ball where anthropomorphic animals are just vibin' with humans while the heroes are off kicking ass? Apparently he's played by Hasegawa Keiichi, who wrote this episode and had the award ceremony named after him. ...is Hasegawa Keiichi a HumaGear in this universe then? Did he set up this award ceremony in Touma's honor? If so, why is it named after him? Did reading one of Touma's books lead to his Singularity? I know this is just a cameo, but... god, I have so many questions that probably will never be satisfactorily answered.

Overall, if I had to compare Saber to anything, it'd probably be Sam Reimi's Spider-Man trilogy. It's awkward, stupid, overwrought, undercooked, illogically written, scattershot, cheesy as fuck, and has a tendency to squander its otherwise fine execution; but the sheer passion for storytelling, sense of spectacle, deeply fascinating characters, and belief in the ideals set forth by the cast, crew, and fans are absolutely admirable. Improvements would certainly make it an overall better experience, to be sure, but there's something deeply captivating about how wonky this series is. Seeing everybody get their happy ending after all they've been through felt extremely gratifying though, and I may have to wait another for the epilogue to and then wait for Revice, but... man. I'm hella proud of our awkwardly-emoting, fashion disaster novelist and all of his heavily flawed friends for carrying the Kamen Rider name on to the future. Here's hoping Revice will keep it going.

Alright, that's everything I wanted to talk about. Sorry this was so long and ramble-y, I had a lot to say. I'll probably be liveblogging Revice as episodes of that come out, so... look forward to that, I guess. See ya.

#kamen rider saber #long post #tsuki talks #personal #kamen rider #whew #ok bye have a nice day

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