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#This is the story of a boy who thrives on routine and rules spending time in a place that is his apparent antithesis.
poorly-drawn-mdzs · 3 months
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Lan Wangji Goes To Lotus Pier AU: Part 1: Dread on Arrival
(Part 2)
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haikyuuwaifu · 4 years
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MASTER LIST
This is a collective Masterlist of ALL my CURRENT Works:
*👻🎃HALLOWEEN SPECIAL MINI-SMAU*
BARISTA BEAUTY: KATSUKI X READER
How do two strangers who seemingly spend ZERO time together end up with their true Happily Ever After? Through anonymous texting or nosy best friends that don’t know how to mind their own business?
STRANGER DANGER: BOKUTO X READER
Join Bokuto as he tries harder NOT to fall in love with the mysterious Y/N forgetting about the competition entirely. And join Y/N as she finds herself falling for the most genuine idiot she’s ever met.
SMAU: BNHA & HAIKYUU
BNHA
Dynamite:
At 23 with a solo career going nowhere, Katsuki’s management group Endeavor wants to put together a rival idol group known as Ground Zero consisting of his old groupmates minus the two traitors and a few new additions in the forms of Hitoshi Shinsou, Keigo Takami, and Toya Todoroki (A.k.a Dabi). Their manager Shigaraki thinks this combination of men has what it takes to be better than DK, but Shinsou knows they won’t be able to do it without Y/N.
Y/N is one of the most sought after designers in the business. Pushing her love of music aside she pushed her creativity into a different wheelhouse. With lots of begging and pleading from childhood friends Hitoshi and Jirou, Y/N is hired on to help “re-brand” Ground Zero.
Does Ground Zero stand a chance against the formidable and VERY popular DK? Or will someone come along to show Katsuki a whole new sound?
Will Y/N forever hate idols and pop beats, or will one angry gremlin show here that there’s more to him than the Idol stereotype?
GIRLS NEED LOVE:  BAKUGO X DABI X SHINSOU X READER
At the age of 18, Y/N L/N followed her boyfriend out of their small town of Shirakawa, only to find herself ditched and abandoned in the streets of Mustafu. Broke and Alone, she managed to find a place that would take her in. 3 years later found Y/N, L/N working as the best dancer in the Diamond Client Agency; an elite corporation of clubs strictly for the Hero Elite. Her evening activities consisted of dancing and stripping for heroes and the rich elite. Her day hours consisted of her working on her writing. She wrote articles for the local papers. She had always wanted to write her own stories; since her dream of being a hero was never allowed to come to fruition.
By day, they were Pro Heros: Ground Zero, Mind Jack, and Touya. They had spent the last 5 years in a relationship with the woman they thought they’d spend forever with. Too bad she was only with them to boost up her own ranking. Following the heartbreak the three of them decided they didn’t need anything serious. They didn’t plan for anything serious when they saw her dancing, at a Diamond event. They didn’t plan for anything serious when the event was attacked. But love happens unexpectedly doesn’t it? Especially when love comes in the form of a woman fully encased in Magma.
ROCKABYE: BAKUGO X READER X SHINSOU
How does a single mom who has worked for everything, handle becoming the center of attention for two stubborn business men who only want to give her the world? How do two business men with checkered pasts handle a woman who has a history of her own?
This is Rockabye <3
TRIP: HAWKS X READER X BAKUGO X SHOTO X SHINSOU POLY
Keigo Takami is the owner and operator of Commission Tattoos, one of the hottest shops in the city. Out of nowhere a new shop has opened conveniently enough across the street and he and his boys can’t seem to stand the competition.
Y/N Midoriya ,Tattooist from the small city of Mustafu, has moved her entire life to Tokyo with her friends. Opening Midi’s Tattoos & Piercings seems like a good first step in a big flourishing city like Tokyo. Throw in the sexy competition across the way and you’ve got yourself a party!
Follow Y/N as she tries to navigate her way through big city life, boujie Tokyo city girls, and four men who don’t know how to handle a woman like her. Follow the employees of Midi’s and Commission as they try to maneuver sad single life, chaotic lesbianism, and their bosses aggressively hate flirting all under the sprawling Tokyo skylights.
WHAT YOU KNOW BOUT LOVE BAKUGO X READER X SHOTO POLY
Y/N L/N has been Katsuki’s best friend their entire lives. Izuku Midoriya found the nerve to confess to her in high school, and Katsuki stepped aside just so his best girl could be happy. Moving to the US for a one in a million opportunity; Y/N’s relationship flourished as Katsuki’s career blew up.
Years later finds Y/N dumping her trash ex Deku, and Katsuki moving the Agency he created back to Japan, so he and Shoto can finally get the fucking girl. Too bad Y/N is clueless, and outside forces are doing all they can to keep them apart ;)
HAIKYUU
BAD BLOOD: READER X POLY RELATIONSHIP
Y/N, L/N had big dreams of being a content creator. Alongside her boyfriend they made their own channels and started thriving. Success breeds jealous and due to devastating betrayal Y/N shut down her channel, packed up her bags, and left Japan.
Now, 4 years later at the annoying insistence of her best friend, her cousin, and his annoying boyfriend; Y/N is moving back to Japan and into the ‘Kozume Hype House’. Living under the same roof as her besties boyfriend, her old childhood friend, a dumbass named Lev; and four of the hottest streamers in Japan is going to be a wild ride for Y/N.
Mix in Y/N’s ex, 4 men falling for her, and her no dating rule; and you’re in for a world of sweet chaotic drama.
BROKE ME FIRST: TSUKISHIMA X READER X IWAZUMI
You have known Tsukishima Kei your entire life. You went to the same schools all your life. Graduating middle school gave you the break you needed until you saw a familiar head of blonde hair on your first day at Kurasuno. You’ve spent every school year hating the others existence. What happens when you’re partnered together and have no choice but to cooperate for the sake of your graduation?
BOYS WITH LUV: F READER X ???
Y/N L/N is an athletic trainer recently moved back to Japan after spending 6 years in the U.S. As much as she loves her friends; what she can’t handle is their constant need to “find her a man”. Join Y/N as she navigates her way through dealing with ex-boyfriends, old crushes, and new found love interests; all while trying to navigate her life in Japan and finishing her athletic trainer qualifications. 
Who’s ready for this fucking circus?
DADDY ISSUES: IWAZUMI X READER
Hajime Iwaizumi: Male Escort hired by skinny twig models for arm candy and a good fucking. This man can have any woman he wants, but he has specific rules for the women who hire him. No kissing on the lips. No catching Feelings. And No spending the night.
Y/N L/N:  A model considered “Plus Size” because she doesn’t fit the alleged mold of Size 6 and below. A woman who is confident in herself and her body. She is a woman who proves every day that she doesn’t need a man by her side to get that money.
After Y/N is involved in a scandal surrounding her former FWB Tsukishima Kei, Iwaizumi Hajime begins to take notice of all things surrounding and pertaining to HER. Her work ethic, her confidence, her ability to push the haters off with a smile on her pretty face and a flutter of her eye lashes. She’s everything he’s ever wanted in a woman…
But can he show her that he’s everything she needs in a man? How can he prove he’s the man for her when she knows what he’s done to plenty of models who didn’t fit HER MOLD?
Guess you’ll just have to stick around and find out huh?;)
FEEL MY LOVE: KUROO X READER
Kuroo Tetsuro had never been very outgoing. He was shy and awkward for most of his life. The only time he seemed to be pulled out of his shell was when he was on the Volleyball Court. High School Volleyball had been the highlight of his life. Until he met Akane. Akane was everything to him. Pretty, Smart, Popular…He couldn’t believe a guy like him could land a girl like her…Until she humiliated him in front of every person in the school.
From that moment forward Kuroo kept to himself, sticking only to his closest friends. Head ducked down, he graduated high school and upon entering Tokyo University, he was determined to make things different…Until he was faced with his high school tormentors…he resigned to the fact that college would be just like high school…and then he met you.
F.R.I.E.N.D.S: SUNA X READER
Suna Rintaro was traded from the EJP Raijin, to the MSBY Black Jackals thanks to an incident involving [redacted]. He was pretty sure he was done with any dating after the shit he went through before. Atsumu and Bokuto had other plans, and decided that the perfect woman for him was only a few blocks away.
Y/N Kageyama has spent her entire life surrounded by volleyball. Her best friend growing up was Ushijima Wakatoshi; Her little Brother is Kageyama Tobio; and the idiots she babysits include the Seijoh three + Iwaizumi. It’s no wonder she’s interested in Volleyball Players…too bad Ushijima always manages to step in and send the wrong message huh?
GIRLS LIKE YOU:  READER X OSAMU X KIYOOMI X BOKUTO X OIKAWA POLY
Y/N L/N: 24 year old single mother to twin four year old girls Mochi and Matcha. Advertisement Executive by day and super mama by night; Y/N has been raising her babies with the help of her friends alone for the last four years. As soon as she thinks she has things handled, she’s thrown for a loop when her twins attempt to play match maker four times over with the help of their uncles and aunties; unable to say no to their precious babies.
Follow the three L/N women as one mama learns that she doesn’t need to do it alone; and two girls learn what it really means to have a father...four fathers ;)
MISS INDEPENDENT:  KENMA X OSAMU X SUNA X READER
3 of Tokyo elites most notorious playboys find themselves tiring of the same routine day in and day out. Each with their own stories of heartbreak. How does one step out of what they’ve been doing for what feels like forever? One woman, tired of celebrating milestones, and vacationing alone; ready to take that step again.... 
When you throw in a meddling best friend, an idiot twin, and a clusterfuck of idiot children; it can only result in one thing...complete and utter chaos, but will Y/N and the 3 playboys finally find happiness in that chaos?
Depends on if all the meddling is helpful or not ;) Stick around and find out yeah?
SMILE:  OSAMU X READER
Y/N and Kuroo were together for three blissful years.The day of graduation she finds herself in tears as she listens to Kuroo tell her that the last three years were a waste of time. With a wave of his hand he walked away and out of her life. Moving to Miyagi she found a group of friends to support her and pick up the pieces. 3 years later Y/N finds herself at Tokyo University. As a new woman with a new attitude; will she run into Kuroo and the chaos he brings with him? Or will someone else come along and show her what love truly feels like?
WRITTEN WORKS:
BEFORE YOU GO
BROKEN PROMISE
DANCE WITH ME
FEEL SOMETHING
SELFISH
IT’S YOU
SAD SUNDAYS:
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wolfcha1k · 3 years
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An analysis on Guy, Eep and Grug NOBODY asked for in Croods - A New Age but tough shit
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So its theory time :U Since this trailer seems to finally go into Guy’s perspective over things happening in the story. It seems like though Guy has been accepted into the Croods family, its not peaches and cream as one would think. Guy is used to having personal space, basically being able to have peace and quiet. Now after a lifetime of solitude [srsly, how long has he been alone??], this is a big adjustment for him. I don’t doubt he doesn’t care and love the Croods like family because they are his family now, he gave up a lot for them and Eep. There’s something of a culture difference between the family and him, with the Croods being used to being jam packed together and Guy who is more used to personal space.
Look how excited he gets over having his own space once they get to the Betterman Farm!
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This also translates into his relationship with Eep. If you notice in a lot of the teasers so far, they’re never alone together. Grug is usually looming in the background or the family is there, they’re even using Chunky of all things to try getting away from them.
[also judging by the weave work here on the wood she’s probably in one of the spare rooms at the farm and the fact the clip launched with ‘World’s First Crush’, it might be safe to say even Eep starts to enjoy having privacy since this means you know, more Guy time but I’ll get more into Eep and what I think their ‘conflict’ will be later!] 
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but ofc Grug is still there getting in their way, and if you’re a teenage boy in love with a girl, it bites hard that you can’t just enjoy one on one time alone with her. They keep getting interrupted whether it be by animals, the family, Grug or nature itself; that would cause tension for anyone’s relationship. Guy even needs to explain to Eep what privacy is and knowing how she lived, ofc this is a real weird and exciting concept for someone so used to having other people breathing down her neck.  
This translates into his relationship with Grug because I personally feel this has nothing to do with Eep herself and Guy doesn’t hold that against her. Grug is mentioned in interviews that he’s “not ready to accept Eep is all grown up and has her relationship with Guy” and that “she’s ready to leave the pack”, as Grug calls it. 
They survived the end of the world, but dynamics change, and I love continuing with where do Eep (Emma Stone’s character) and Guy (Ryan Reynolds) leave off (with their romantic relationship) and how does Grug (Nicolas Cage) accept the change that his daughter is now grown up? So we definitely further those themes of a father not wanting his daughter to leave “the pack” – as they call it – but she’s ready, and her relationship with Guy starts off where it ended in the first film.
Guy even causes what seems will be quite a fight when he tells Grug to chill out after Grug mentions “the pack is stronger together”. 
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Grug probably wouldn’t be having this kind of fear if there was nothing to fear. It might be safe to say Guy and Eep are planning to leave the nest to be on their own. They’re both young adults and in love, its a natural step in a relationship to want to fly the coop. This snippet here really gives me those “engagement/promise ring” vibes with how Guy is holding the rock drawing and Eep is reacting. 
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Just what did he say before this? They’re also huddling away and discussing privacy, perhaps it was the lead up into “Hey Eep, let’s move out”, or whatever the caveman version of it is.
and Grug is watching them very worriedly. 
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There is something up going on with them now, and though Grug has accepted Guy and Eep, this isn’t a step he’s ready for as a father [and honestly probably after surviving The End/repaired his relationship with Eep, didn’t think would be coming this soon]
This segment in the interview really heavily implies these sort of things too:
The world is always changing, and families also change. As a father, Grug’s maybe not ready for the next step of his daughter leaving home. And with Eep and Guy I thought, “This is a great opportunity to now hand it off to them.” In the first movie it’s like puppy love between Eep and Guy. They meet each other, and they’re in love. But they’re the only two teenagers in the world, so of course they love each other. This story answers the question of why they actually belong to each other. Through the course of this story, we challenge what their relationship means, and why they should spend their future together.
You don’t talk about challenging what a relationship means and what their future will be without planning something surrounding that. They are planning and its freaking Grug out.
I also think in Grug’s own way he doesn’t want to see Guy go either, since it must say a lot about how different the dynamic of Guy and Grug’s relationship as a son and father figue have shifted if Guy feels he can tell Grug to calm down and also flirt/court Eep with protective daddy vision on him all hours of the day. When the Betterman’s show up, I am convinced Grug is going to get defensive over Guy bc he’s now as good as his son.
There’s also these little moments which seem pretty small but:
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[as sour as Guy looks here, it probably means a lot for Grug to actually let Guy be in their sleep pile]
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[also look how pure and excited Guy is to share about the shower with Eep and Grug]
I feel Grug does care for Guy but being how Grug is has unintentionally made Guy feel like an outsider in the Croods clan.
Now, back to the Bettermans and Guy. The lifestyle they live is clean, modernized and has routine, things Guy is probably craving with an inventive mind such as his. He’s just in heaven rn. These people are more like him than the Croods are, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. The Croods are still important to him but it probably feels invigorating to meet likeminded people.
You can already tell in the trailers Guy is going to form a bond with them. Part of me doubts they’re actually related to Guy like as parents and a sister but I won’t rule out the possibility, considering how invested Phil seems to be with Guy in a lot of the teasers and trailers. Perhaps they’re extended family or old family friends who knew Guy’s, we won’t know yet.
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This bond I feel will be the prime focus of the film and conflict as well. [and no, not in the love triangle way concerning Dawn, there’s already an interview disproving that!]
“It seems from the trailer that Kelly Marie Tran’s Dawn and Emma Stone’s Eep hit it off immediately…” There’s definitely a lane that is driven a lot in romantic comedy type things where the new girl is the cause of jealousy. With Eep and Guy, when this other girl comes into the picture it would have been easy to go, “Oh, she could be the romantic rival.” We made the purposeful decision to not go down that lane.
However I do think his friendship with Dawn will be something as a compare/contrast with how Eep treats her. Both are doing what they feel is better and right for the sheltered girl, with Eep wanting to take Dawn outside the wall and Guy getting upset when he finds out Eep took her out.
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He’s obviously going to catch them and lecture Eep about this. Now, how does Eep feel about Guy’s shift?
At first, I really think she supports him on connecting with the Bettermans and all the stuff he wants to do. Guy is quirky, he’s inventive, and likes to push the mold in what he can change to make life easier on himself and the people he loves. This place is his Utopia and considering the exchange she has with Grug over “a little change isn’t the end of the world”, she probably is willing to give the farm a chance because she knows Guy has been feeling lost and probably the butt of the joke lately [least where Grug is involved]
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We also know Eep loves to try new things, she just in general loves new. Its what attracted her to Guy and even after it all, still loves Guy. 
However, this is what I believe is going to be the start of the conflict between Eep and Guy too. Guy starts to change too much and Guy being Guy probably doesn’t realize it. She starts seeing the farm as another cave, another place to hide and seeing Guy thriving here probably makes her feel worried about what this means for them as a couple. That wall like Eep said is Dawn’s cave, and Guy probably doesn’t think of it that way after a lifetime of danger and being on the run from The End. Also the private bedroom probably helps
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Anyway, what was I saying?
also something I noticed was when they first arraive in the elevator you got Guy looking at Eep to see her reaction to this place. He’s obviously hoping she’s finding the Bettermans has amazing as he is.
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and just look how happy he looks seeing Eep isn’t going to freak out at Dawn I guess??? lol 
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Just “these two worlds are melding nicely”
However something I think is going to happen as the premises of the movie is both families settling their différences aside/celebrating them, is that somewhere along the line as Eep and Guy get closer to Dawn, there’s going to be a shift. The Bettermans perhaps act uppity with the Croods since they are cavemen and deemed less intelligent, so you got Guy stuck in the middle with his two found families trying to co-exist [also Eep too, bc her friendship with Dawn is obviously a major plot thread of the film]
Eep takes Dawn out for a joyride and the two bring in danger that followed them there.
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“What’s on the other side of the wall?”
also totally predicting some kind of reveal that makes Guy have a temporary fall out with Phil, I don’t know why but its just a vibe I’m getting. Phil looks scared and Guy looks pretty pissed off while asking about the wall. That or he says something about the Croods themselves he feels is too far, I mean, Guy looks rather uncomfortable here as Phil says “We’re an evolved people” pretty smugly. 
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“Phil those are my future in-laws, stop”
He’s also seated on their side of the table, keep note of that with the Croods on the other. There’s going to be a sense torn between both worlds going on for Guy in this film, at least I think so. And its going to challenge him and how he cares for Eep and the Croods. 
Leading into Eep and the Croods.
The big bad shows up, wrecks some shit and abducts everyone, at least it seems like it here.
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“The only way to survive is if the pack stays together”, this whole adventure reminds Guy of his place in the Croods family and gives Eep and Grug a better understanding of what Guy is feeling/going through.
People loved The Croods, and they’d been trying to make another one… but it’s a high bar. I can say this because I didn’t work on [the first film], it’s a beautiful movie. It’s funny, and it’s about family. I was like, “I want to see the continuation of where we left off with these characters.” Especially with the father/daughter aspect of the first one, and going, “Now that Grug has accepted Guy into his pack, and has this great relationship with his daughter, where do they go from there?”
Something tells me Guy and Eep have their big blow up somewhere around Rafikzilla shows up, and after getting separated, Guy has a heart to heart with Grug about Eep and just their strained relationship in general. They patch things up, and together with Phil go forth to kick some monkey ass. And they reunite and things are okay again. Blah, blah, blah. Wow this got weak near the end, um but this interview sums it up pretty good for me tho.
“Was it always the idea to introduce a second family?” Yeah, that was there in my first pitch. You have the Croods come across another family, the Bettermans, who are a more evolved family, and these two families couldn’t be more different. The Croods lead with their heart, and the Bettermans lead with their brain. Of course, there’s conflict, they face challenges, but they learn to appreciate each other’s differences – not just to live with each other’s differences but to almost celebrate them. There’s a lot going on. There’s a lot of characters in this one. There’s a lot of wonderful, powerful themes. But it’s a ridiculous comedy too.
Basically, Guy is having a midlife crisis at the age of 19 and gets his shit together, Eep gets a better understanding of her boyfriend, and Grug finally backs tf off so we can get Croods 3 where Eep and Guy have a kid :U also I’ve been calling A New Age the “Shrek 2″ of the Croods in terms of how the story seems to be shaping up with Guy, Eep and the two families, I’m hoping I’m right because that would be some delicious development to see.
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luciehercndale · 4 years
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A Shot in the Dark: a Blackdale One Shot
Format: @revolutionarywriters​ event 1: “People can live for a hundred years without living a minute.” 
Title: A Shot in the Dark Fandom: The Shadowhunters Chronicles/The Last Hours Characters/Couple: Jesse Blackthorn and Lucie Herondale, Blackdale
Here’s my story for the first event. I’ve wanted to write it for days but I couldn’t find the voice to actually do it. Then it came to me and I decided to use the first person POV to make it even more real, so this story is from Jesse’s perspective. 
What a beautiful night to stay alive.
If I were actually alive. Now I sound bitter. I’m sorry, but you probably don’t know that I’m a ghost, and I have been for long. During this time, the only people I could talk to were my sister and my mother, but they can’t be with me all the time. After all, since I am now a mere shade which disrupts the colors of my childhood house which is just like me, discoloring and decomposing like a corpse, I can only be visible when the sun goes down and everyone is already safe and dreaming under the comfort of their thick covers.
The dead never sleep, they vanish.
We are like darkness despite existing because of reflected light on our achromatic bodies. We dissipate when the sun rises and we reappear when our enemy, the light itself, evades the day. We long for the light. I long for the light. Even if I am able to do as I please and roam where I want to when it’s dark, sometimes it isn’t enough. It’s true that at night I can see, I can live. But what is a blind light for a shadow like me?
I can’t be helped. Death is the only thing which can’t be undone, and after spending the last seven years of my incorporeal life as the shadow of my former self, I accepted that I am to remain in this state for the rest of my existence in this universe, which is until this world ceases its own life.
Pulvis et umbra sumus. We are dust and shadows.
That was what Horace wrote in his Odes, and that is what shadowhunters decided to use as one of their mottos. Isn’t it true, though? Especially when we die. I am the proof that despite I was fated to turn into dust after my body would be set on fire because I have stopped breathing, I am a shadow. A living shadow. Living, nonetheless, even if this can’t be considered life.
Lately, however, I am waiting for the nighttime. And you wonder, what could excite a ghost? Aren’t dead people without feeling? Aren’t dead people without a heart? Aren’t dead people… well, deceased?
It may shock you to know that ghosts, despite being very dead, are not disembodied specters. To some extent, we are still in this world and we see and hear things the living ignore. We roam silently through the streets, through the houses, and we have fun because it’s boring to be dead, but our feelings are very much present. When you die, it’s your body that fails. Not your soul. Your soul is very much attached to this world if no one bids it goodbye. And my soul is…
It’s complicated, but I’ll try to explain.
I didn’t mention that not only my mother and sister can see me. After giving up all hope to have a change in my daily routine, a change finally presented itself in front of my eyes, and it shifted the axis of my existence. My shadowy form rooted around the only family I had left until a few weeks ago, but now there is a new addition, which I would also define as my addiction because I just can’t get enough. The turning point to a routine marked by indistinguishable nights and days.
My current fixation has bright and light blue eyes and brown hair. She has a petite frame but she’s fierce, she is strong willed, she is adventurous. And she wants to do what my mother has tried to do in the last years since my death, which is not only against life itself, but against the rules of the world I was forbid to enter ever since I was a small child.
Lucie. My Lucie. My light.
It is ironic and also delusional on my part to think that there is a reason why she is the only other person in this universe who can see me, and who also represents what I crave but I can’t have. Whoever came up with her name was longsighted, because she truly is a light that can’t be put out. She is my beacon of hope. As much as I shouldn’t wish for things I cannot have. Considering I am but a haze in the midst of her vivid and intense life, I long for her color, for her sparkle. I am just a blanched speck in the course of her ordinary days, and, in spite of that, she sees and feels me. Which is… excruciating.
People can live for one hundred years without living a minute, until they realize that they have just barely survived all along but not legitimately thriving. I can relate to this. Because after the night I met her again, I started believing that perhaps there is a chance for me to be happy in this life, however short lived that is. However rare moments we may have. I have always tried to stay hidden not to let her see me, but I can’t do it anymore. I want… to be alive. I wished I was alive, so that I could wait for her outside of her home like any boy my age. And I want…
“Jesse? Are you here?”
I was too caught up in my thoughts that I didn’t hear her calling me. “Did something happen, Lucie?”
She was sitting behind her mahogany desk in her room, her hair was not in place and she looked tired as she passed a hand on her forehead. “Nothing,” she replied, then she gazed at me. I had appeared in front of her bed, and since we weren’t as close as I wished, I moved closer to her desk. “Would you mind listening to my ideas for The Beautiful Cordelia?”
I grinned as usual when she asked me ordinary things like that. “Sure, Lucie. Tell me about it,” I agreed, and sat on a chair nearby. “I always want to know about your stories.”
And then Lucie started talking. She told me about what she had in mind for the next chapters of her first book, and I listened, raptured, to her flowing of creative ideas, and I fell even more enamored with her, to the point of being embarrassed to hide my blush from her not to let her notice that I fancied her.
Then I remembered. I can’t blush. I can just glow under the light of the moon. I am devoid of color, and yet… as Lucie Herondale tells me about her plans for her manuscript, I can’t help but feel my faded body filled with hordes of hues.
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miss-choco-chips · 4 years
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Good influence, bad influence.
Tim is one of those, and he gets the other one. Guess which is which. Ft a murder kitten, two oblivious birds, a divorce-preventing baby and a murderous mother.
(Thanks to @the-quiet-carrotcake who helped me think this through on chat and gave me ideas (THANKS BABE), and tagging @animemangasoul because they understand my need to ALWAYS include Kon when writting about Tim.
This sat on my wips for so long now, so I’m not even proofreading it. Just take it away, please)
-----.-----
-Are you sure I can’t just stab her?
-Really sure.
-How much?
-Like, 100% sure.
-You told me once it’s impossible to ever/
-...be 100% sure of something, I know. Which is how you know I mean it now.
Damian puffed his cheeks. Tim was sure that, in his mind’s eye, he looked dignifiedly annoyed. In reality, it was adorable. But since Damian currently held his right hand hostage, and was probably holding onto his dagger inside his pocket with the other one, he didn’t want to risk pointing it out. He just tugged him away, swimming through the masses, as Damian had called them upon entering the ballroom.
-But why not? 
It was as close to a whine a sound as the kid could make, which upped his adorable factor another notch. 
-You’d get blood on your suit, for one. And then, my mom would kill you.
A little shudder at the mention of Janet Drake, though the kid composed himself quickly- I wouldn’t let a single drop fall on me, cousin. I’m not an amateur.
Since Damian would have used another, more offensive word not so long ago, Tim ignored the pointed look he got when he said ‘amateur’. Also, the use of modern slang was something he was painstakingly drilling into him, so he was quiet proud when it bore fruits.
-Also, you’d draw attention to ourselves. And that woman didn’t even do anything worthy of such a reaction.
-She dared touch me! Treated me like, like… like a kid!
Pointing out that he, in fact, was one wouldn’t go well, so Tim’s mind offered an alternative route. 
-You don’t know? -he blurted out, feigning surprise. Damian looked up at him, eyes squinting suspiciously, and there, very well hidden (but not enough he didn’t notice) a little hesitancy.
-Know what?
Tim let go of the little, calloused hand, and placed both of his on the slimmer shoulders, bending down a bit to be face to face with his charge for the night. The blond wig and round glasses weren’t enough to hide Damian’s almost aristocratic features, but they sure managed to misdirect someone about his bloodline. No one would be able to tell he was Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul’s son, which was kinda the idea.
It had been a chore, to put the disguise in the proud boy, but Tim had been the one to achieve it when he dressed it as a training exercise: they had to make it through the party without its host, Mr Wayne, recognizing him.
Easy peasy, or so he had told mother when he assured her she could go make business with aunt Nicole and leave them be. He hadn’t calculated… well, other people.
-About Mrs Stingdom’s homeland.
Damian was too dignified to look over his shoulder at the lady in question, but Tim could see he wanted to.
-She’s a gothamite -he pointed out, because as Tim had suggested, he did his homework about who was attending to the party. A bit, at least. The story of so many boring socialites was too much to bear.
-She married a gothamite -he explained, doing his best to look stern about Damian’s apparent misinformation-. She’s actually from another land, which is why she pinched your checks. In her culture, it’s a sign of utmost respect towards people under ten years old who are still considered to be superiors, despite their age.
It sounded far fetched, even to his own ears, but he was playing into Damian’s social incompetency and his arrogance at believing himself above all others, which is why the kid nodded slowly after a few seconds, eating the whole lie in one bite.
His bespectacled eyes bore into his, brows furrowed. His hands went to Tim’s, still on his shoulders, a little unsure.
-Should I expect more of this… cultural difference? So I won’t be underprepared, should anyone else wish to pay me their respects in a new manner?
Sensing a chance to prevent a future stabbing, Tim was quick to nod. Mom was going to be so proud!
----.----
A little later that night, a new issue arose. Since Tim was pretty busy handling the seven year old, he had to forgo his usual Wayne-party routine, which was basically to find one of the sons and hide with them for the rest of the night.
Of course, neurotic bastards like them wouldn’t take a change in routine go like that. Because Bruce has instilled paranoia and curiosity on them like Alfred did with manners, and sadly, the last one’s teachings rarely showed up.
-Timmy! Here you are. I was worried, since you never approached us. Aww, who’s this kid? You made a friend?
He groaned internally. Dick, and behind him he could spot Jason, eyebrow arched at the novelty of Tim not looking for them immediately. He wanted to, thrived in the chance to spend even a few minutes with his idols, but duty calls, and his mind didn’t like the possibles outcomes would Damian and the Waynes meet.
-Hey, Dick… Jay. Good evening -he smiled politely, hand clutching tighter Damian’s. Don’t notice, don’t notice, please don’t notice.
To his immense relief, none of them seemed to find anything noteworthy in Damian’s face, which… was also kinda disappointing, despite him wishing for it. Like, yeah, the wig and glasses were good misdirect, but really? He would have noticed the similarities with Bruce despite them, and those two were supposedly detectives…
-Stop being so formal, kid -grumbled Jason, big hand making a mess of Tim’s styled hair. He would have complained, but… Jason’s voice and hand, okay? He was a weak teenager. Don’t judge him- Know ya since y’were  half that heigh, and lighter than my jacket.
Tim’s hormones ignored the comment on him being small, and  focused on the mental image of the mentioned jacket, most likely leather and well worn. 
…This was so not the time for  fantasizing. 
A tiny, calloused hand slapped Jason’s away, which promptly changed the mood.
-Don’t touch my cousin, you/
But Tim had prepared for this outcome, so his own hand rose just as quickly to cover Damian’s mouth.
At the word ‘cousin’, both heroes looked very interested. Tim was under no delusions, well aware Bruce and each of his adopted children had made their own background checks on him and his entire family, so they would know Damian’s claim to familiarity to be a lie, but they also couldn't really call them out on it without making it obvious they investigated him.
His head was already hurting for all the social maneuvering he had to do to keep out of trouble, and now, adding two concerned birds and one murderous kitten, it was even worse.
This was going to be a very, very long night. But both mom and Nicole had asked him, so he wouldn’t try to get out of being a (as) good (as possible) role model.
---------------.----------
Tim winced, muscles locking in a poor attempt at not showing it. From the look Conner gave him, at the other side of the room where he was being chewed out by Lex, he failed miserably at hiding his pain; which, in turn, enraged his mom even more.
-What. Did. You. DO?!
The hand not currently held by his mother went to his ear, protecting it from the almost demonic screech. He could see Auntie Nicole doing the same, sitting with Damian on the couch, sharing tea and cookies as they watched the whole show. The nine year old showed a surprising amount of sympathy towards Tim’s injuries, for someone who had been harshly trained since birth and had recently begun a career as vigilante (not that Tim was supposed to know about it, though). Or was it pity because of mom’s rage?
-You told me no tights and spandex! Never said anything about a mask and a hoodie, and Conner and the guys really needed my help with strategizing -he defended himself, because even if he shouldn't know about the waynes being heroes, he had been Conner’s friend since he found and subsequently freed him from Lex’s secret lab, which in turn warranted mom’s rule against heroing that he had just broke-. And don’t yell at me, I can hear you perfectly fine.
-I’M NOT YELLING! -she lied, tightening the bandage, scowl growing in power-, AND MASKS WERE IMPLIED AS A NO! Also, what are those if not thighs?
-Skinny jeans!
-They are indecent, that’s what they are!
On the other side of the room, Kon seemed to be having a less exhausting time than Tim. Lucky bastard, Luthor had less experience in parenthood, hadn’t yet reached the Scolding Mastery level.
-Hey! Auntie Nicole dresses like that -he points to the woman, who raises an eyebrow- and you don’t tell her anything! Look at her cleavage, you can almost see her bellybutton! 
-Leave me out of this -asked the woman, taking the teapot to refill Damian’s cup; he, in turn, handed her the cookies platter.
Ignoring her best friend, Janet snapped again- NICOLE ISN’T MY STUPID FOURTEEN YEAR OLD SON, WHO IS NEVER SEEING THE LIGHT OF DAY AGAIN!
-What light of day? This is Gotham, we don’t have sunlight anyway. And I’m not stupid, my IQ is higher than everyone’s in this room.
-IT SURELY LOOKS LIKE YOU ARE FROM WHERE I’M STANDING, HERE, RE-BANDAGING YOUR ARM!
Tim sighed, locking eyes with Conner in solidarity; or he wanted to, but the smug bastard’s scolding was over and he and Luthor had joined the Al Ghuls in their tea party.
-Come on, mom. This’ but a scratch.
-YOU GOT SEVEN STITCHES!!!! I can’t believe this.
She barely got her son out of vigilantism by monitoring his Wayne-Interaction and threats of boarding school and then he went and befriended a group of teen heroes and threw all her hard work straight to the trash. No, he skipped that part, he went directly to the dumpster and burried her good intentions under a pile of shit.
But really, she couldn’t very well make him entirely responsible of this, not when he got carried away by Conner’s ‘do the right thing’ speech. And Conner had came into their lives because of…
In blind rage, she finished her patch job on her son’s arm and turned in a flash to face Lex, whose face went quickly from amused to scared.
-WHY DID YOU THINK IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO HAVE A KID WITH SUPERMAN?
Sensing she was done with him, Tim went to sit by Kon, who moved a bit on his individual couch so they could share it, though it was a very tight fit.
-Clone -he corrected helpfully, TTK bringing Tim his coffee cup closer.
-Did I stutter? And I wasn’t talking to you, was I?
Nicole seemed like she was having the time of her life right now- So hey, listen, between you and LITERAL SUPERMAN, who was the one on the receiving end when you pictured yourself having a kid with him? Like, who was getting it? Because, pal, odds aren’t in your favor, you know.
-Don’t be stupid, dear -huffed Janet, looking at her friend’s green eyes and calming don infinitesimally- If he was actually getting it, he wouldn't have resorted to having his kid to get his attention.
-IT’S A CLONE, AND I ABSOLUTELY DIDN’T MAKE HIM TO GET THAT ALIEN’S ATTENTION! He’s my enemy, not my lover, what is wrong with you people.
-Am I a divorce-preventing baby? -asked Kon to Tim, raising an eyebrow. The other kid just shrugged.
-Looks like it. Not like Uncle Lex had any other way to keep Superman from leaving him…
-I’m right here.
-I know, Uncle Lex. I love you, but you need to rethink your choices. If the man wants to go, let him go. Kon doesn’t need any brothers. I can’t deal with more of him, one is more than enough.
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popatochisssp · 5 years
Note
ooh! asks are open! if you're not accepting, don't worry about it! if u are, then how do you hc each skeles ideal job and actual job in the human world?
Their ideal and actual jobs are the same, because I am a softie who wants all her boys to be happy so everybody’s got jobs they enjoy!
As for specifics, I’ve talked about some in passing, but see the full list below! ;3
Sans (Undertale): He has two! He’s a delivery driver and does security for the local mall. The former is a natural extension of his lazy demeanor and special abilities– teleportation lets him make all his deliveries near-instantly and then he spends the rest of the time allotted to him napping in his truck or taking a Grillby’s break. On weekends, he moonlights as a mall cop and it’s equally his speed since it’s a lot of observation and ‘policing’ but very little actual responsibility. He may also, on the side, sell a few bootlegs here and there, but you’d be very hard-pressed to catch him at it.
Papyrus (Undertale): Strip club bouncer. I am one million percent behind this, he would love this job and be loved at this job, and he deserves that. But that’s just his night-job, he has a day-job too since he likes to keep busy and while the sun is up, he’s a personal trainer! He’s fantastic at encouraging people through their work-out routines and they find it easier to stick to their healthy diets and make good choices when the alternative is the horrific thought of………disappointing Papyrus…! He’s very good at his job and has so much fun with it that he barely even thinks of it as a job.
Sky (Underswap Sans): Lots of these skeletons do double-duty and with as much energy as Sky has, you know he’s one of ‘em: he’s a firefighter as his main career, and on the side he bartends. He’s a physically fit guy who loves the idea of being a hero, and he also has no skin or lungs, so he can get into lots of places in a burning building that his human coworkers can’t– and that’s without even factoring in the shortcut ability. But he’s not at the station 24/7 and he likes to be productive, so he picks up bartending shifts where he can. He’s very precise with his pours and he’s very charming and sociable with patrons, so he’s a joy to have on shift for everybody!
Paps (Underswap Papyrus): Only one job for this guy, he’s a librarian! He is a huge literature nerd and the Underground only had what just so happened to fall down and not get completely ruined. Getting to work in a place with thousands of books he’s never seen before is awesome–and so is the actual job! It’s pretty quiet as a rule and the stakes are low, so he ends up liking most of the people he interacts with. A chill work environment for a chill skeleton, he’s very happy here!
Jasper (Underfell Sans): He’s a mechanic, and also moonlights at the infamous ‘dog stand. He likes working with his hands and doesn’t mind getting a little dirty. That plus his intricate knowledge of mechanics makes working at an auto shop a good fit for him. He ends up actually missing a little bit of his routine Underground, though– goddamn nostalgia… When the Asgore in his universe decrees that his subjects who owned shops and food businesses Underground reopen on the surface, a political move to improve human relations and make more positive associations with the very intimidating, violent-looking monsters– he actually decides to go for it and starts manning his ‘dog stand whenever he feels like it. He makes some mean hot-animals and is actually one of the more personable of the Fell-monsters so he’s doing his bridge-building duty pretty well, even if only as a weekend kinda thing.
Pyre (Underfell Papyrus): He’s still the Captain of the Royal Guard, but…monsters are making some very strong moves toward demilitarization and in peace-times, there’s just not all that much for him to do. Somewhere in all of his new downtime he takes up studying law and eventually makes a career out of it. Lawyer is kind of a natural job for a guy who’s intelligent, has a great head for details, and doesn’t shy away from an argument, so once he makes it through law school in record time, he’s a sight to behold in the courtroom: eloquent, passionate, and always sharply-dressed! He specializes in human/monster rights-related cases and will even do some pro bono consulting for the causes he deems worthy, but if you can pay his fee and he doesn’t completely loathe you, he’ll take pretty much any case. If he’d been born on the surface to start with, though, he may have pursued a career in acting– he’s has a lot of natural talent and still counts it as one of his interests, but… it’s been soured, just a little bit, by the nasty role he had to play Underground. He’ll probably only pick it up again as a hobby, at most.
Mal (Swapfell Sans): Like Pyre, he doesn’t want to– and won’t!– give up his position as Captain of the Royal Guard so lightly, but on the surface with monsters integrating into peaceful human society, he has a lot more spare time than he did before and has to figure out something to do with it. He eventually settles in as an actuary. Numbers are and have kind of always been his happy-place: mathematics is cold, hard logic, cause-and-effect that’s simple the way nothing in the messy real world ever is, and aside from physical training losing himself in statistics and probabilities is the best sense of flow he’s ever been able to slip into. Once he gets his degrees accredited, it’s very easy for him to find employment running numbers and he’d start off somewhere in the insurance industry. He’d be fine there for awhile– he’s firm and impersonal, and not easily swayed by sob-stories– but eventually the way the industry is structured to benefit corporations over people becomes a little much for even him to handle. From there, he’ll move on into the private sector and do a lot of freelance consulting for companies to analyze and manage risk. It’s very boring and nerdy to just about anyone who isn’t him, but he likes the work!
Rus (Swapfell Papyrus): He’s a commission artist. He doesn’t like going out too much and the idea of getting any of the entry-level jobs he’s qualified for–retail and customer service, mostly– makes him want to puke and/or die a little. When he finds out there’s a thriving community of people requesting and paying for art online, he is so there. He takes a little time to get familiar with digital art and generates a presence for himself online to attract interest and then opens himself up to commissions. He has almost no limits on what he’s willing to draw and quickly stumbles across the furry scene, the kink scene, and the places they overlap, so he gets paid really well and gets to work from home while doing it. For the sake of his brother’s reputation, he tries not to mention or show any of the explicit stuff he works on in front of anybody they know, but he’s personally unashamed about it.
Slate (Horrortale Sans): Ever since his head injury, he’s not really capable of holding down a job– his short-term memory is garbage and his ability to learn and process new tasks is a lot slower than any reasonable employer would be understanding of, so that rules out pretty much all his options right there. Since monsters hit the surface in his universe, though, humanity was shocked and appalled by the circumstances Underground and in spite of some fear and condemnation, the outpouring of pity and sympathy was enormous. A lot of legislation ended up quickly pushed through so that monsters could get regular stipends in reparations for their imprisonment and suffering, and also can receive disability benefits if deemed eligible. With a giant hole in his head and all that comes with it, he’s eligible so he doesn’t need a job, but at the insistence of his brother, he does need to get out of the house. His aimless wandering eventually leads him to an animal shelter seeking volunteers. He likes the pups and kitties because they’re soft and cute, plus they’re all down on their luck like he was. He’s very gentle with even the most aggressive animals and after a very short time volunteering there, he gains a bit of a reputation as a miracle worker…but he doesn’t really care about that, he’s just happy to help the little fuzzballs out.
Papy (Horrortale Papyrus): Like his brother, he gets a reparations stipend from the human government but unlike his brother, he’s not eligible for disability– nor would he want to be! He craves getting to be a productive member of society again since he…wasn’t of nearly as much use, Underground as he wished he could’ve been. Entry-level jobs would be fine for him, anything to be out and gainfully employed, but he’s rapidly dissatisfied with any of the jobs he takes. He knows that cashiers and clerks and receptionists are all very valuable parts of an infrastructure, but it’s just…not really for him? He wants to make a bigger difference, he wants to help people, and that’s what leads him to nursing. Between his brother’s disability benefits, their reparations, and his wages from part-time employment, he’s able to put himself through school without putting any serious strain on their financial situation and eventually graduates to registered nurse. From his underground experiences he’s no stranger to blood, other human bodily fluids, or even death, so handling it in the context of trying to save lives is something he’s not only capable of, but delighted to be a part of. He’s definitely a little down when one of his patients doesn’t make it, but he’s not devastated by it: he just vows to keep doing his best so that he can help as many people as possible!
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mortaljin · 6 years
Text
BTS Fanfiction Recommendations!
These are some of my very, very favorite fics (like the ones I go and message the authors about). I follow hundreds of blogs so it’s hard to keep up with which fics I’ve read (I stopped tagging them at some point?) so there are probably dozens more. All I will say is that if a writer is tagged here, the rest of their writing is well worth looking at too.
Thank you, Writers, for everything you do. 
SERIES
Seokjin
Stigma; @eris0330 [COMPLETED]
(Seokjin x reader, text au)
As part of Jin’s lifestyle, he is meant to be walking in his father’s footsteps. Even before being born, the LV CEO had big plans. Jin will do everything to please his father’s wishes of finding a partner, and take over the company. But it’s not for the company’s sake, it’s for the secrets that lies within the family business. 
Eros; @kpopfanfictrash
(Seokjin x Reader)
In the futuristic world of Europa, Queen Venetia rules her land an iron fist. None are more feared than the Akeran, an alien race Earth fought eons ago, who bear a remarkable similarity to the angels of lore. When you find yourself at odds with the Queen, it seems there’s no safe place on Earth for you to hide. Nowhere but with your mysterious rescuer, and even he may be more trouble than he’s worth.
Yoongi
A Wish Out of Water; @jimlingss [COMPLETED]
(Yoongi x Reader)
A genie could solve all your problems. Though you wouldn’t even know exactly what to ask for - money, a warmer house, a better job, a better life? But Min Yoongi is no ordinary genie. He’s here to make your life a living hell. Too bad it was hell to begin with.
Suga Daddy; @drquinzelharleen
(Yoongi x Reader)
Yoongi gives you an offer you can’t refuse.
Inheritance; @rbuns [COMPLETED]
(Yoongi x Reader)
After your grandmother passed she left everything to you. Her house, her fortune, and apparently… her cat? The grumpy male hybrid you encounter at her house is anything but the tame housecat you’d expected to find. Fulfilling your grandmother’s last request to look after him becomes a lot harder when he seems to be avoiding you, and your dissatisfied relatives start stirring up trouble.
Di Piano e Forte; @justoneday-namjoonii
(Yoongi x Reader)
Piano; A keyboard of cypress, played with soft and loud. Was it the ivory and onyx keys that let you escape from your reality…Or was it the man with sable hair and ivory skin.
Hoseok
Heartbeat; @joonbird
(Hoseok x reader)
You’ve always stayed far away from the Kingsnakes, the coldblooded gang that runs the dark heart of your city. That is until your life collides with the intriguing and dangerous Jung Hoseok.
Transference; @jeonjagiya [COMPLETED]
(Hoseok x Reader)
During a routine visit to the local bakery, you stumble upon an intriguing business card and figure, what the hell.
Written On Our Veins; @army-author
(Hoseok x Reader)
You and Hoseok are sick of spending the holidays soulmate-less while your friends enjoy Christmas as couples… tired of waiting for fate to make a move, you decide to take matters into your own hands.
Namjoon
Amor Fati; @sugaroons
(Namjoon x Reader)
you’re still settling into your life back at university when you meet kim namjoon. he’s so perfect—sweet, awkward, and exactly your type, especially in bed—that you know there has to be a catch.
Jimin
I’ll Never Be Her; @anon-luv
(Jimin x Reader)
You loved him with all your heart, but he could only give you half of his.
Little Bear; @b-angst-tan
(Jimin x Reader)
You’ve always wanted a hybrid. Not truly being able to afford one makes it seem impossible that you’d have one anytime soon. Until the opportunity presents itself as if by miracle. 
Taehyung
Crimson; @idolxreader
(Taehyung x Reader)
Kim Taehyung disrupts your day-to-day life to make a deal with you.
Sugar daddy au.
Jungkook
Wanted; @rbuns [COMPLETED]
(Jungkook x Reader)
You were a deserter, a renegade, a wanted “criminal”. It was never in your plans to crash land on that planet, and it most certainly wasn’t in your plans to fall in love with it’s handsome ruler.  
Blackjack; @kpopfanfictrash
(Jungkook x Reader)
Bangtan is one of the most vicious mafias on the west coast. Only six members are known by name though, with a mysterious seventh member dubbed only as ‘the shadow.’ When you become indebted to the worst of the worst – how, exactly can you find a way out?
OT7
Tales of Greyria; @cutaepatootie [COMPLETED]
(Jungkook/Taehyung/Jimin/Hoseok/Yoongi x reader pairings)
Five stories that took place during the great times of a kingdom named Greyria, telling us about its glory and its downfall.  How it all started with a red rose, and ended with a burning fire. 
I just finished this and guys. Just go read it.
The Lonely Hearts Club; @cinnaminsvga [COMPLETED]
(?? x Reader)
social media au where y/n and yoongi are mutuals but they’re constantly at each other’s throats for reasons unknown (aka emotional constipation)
Call Me Mistress; @jeonjagiya
(ot7 x OC, not a poly au.)
A collection of stories recounting the titillating work of the dome known only as the Mistress.
Note: This was originally written as a reader insert and recently changed to an OC. It is still so worth reading, and I can guarantee you guys will have seen the Mistress as an OC anyways!
Working Man Bangtan; @jeonjagiya (I love all her stuff too)
(OT7 x Reader, not a poly au.)
A collection of stories where the leading man has a working class occupation.
Golden Goddess; @angel-ofcolordeactivated20180104
(?? x Reader)
You were stolen, swept away in the depths of the night by Park Jimin, the cruel king of the fairies. He’s always seen you as a prize– as something to play with rather than a person, and now he’s finally got his hands on you. He’s captured you, taken you off to a different world and stripped away any inch of your former self. Will you ever manage to escape his grip?
Tales From The Land of Fae; @fireheart-namjoon
(OT7 x Reader, not a poly au.)
A compilation of tales from the four courts of fae: Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring.
Note: This is the masterlist of all the related aus. The Winter Court is the main series of this story line.
Sweeter than sweet; @gimmesumsuga
(Jimin x Reader primarily, smut involving multiple other members)
You would have never expected someone like Park Jimin to notice you;  he's handsome, seductive, and totally out of your league.  Oh, and a vampire.  You're enthralled by him from the moment you meet, addicted to his kiss and his bite, willing to do anything to be by his side - even if it costs you your freedom... and your life. 
The 7 Society; multiple authors
(OT7 x Reader, not a poly au.)
Inside the grounds of the University, rumor has it there exists a secret society. One which thrives underground, comprised of seven individuals; each of whom is only to be revealed upon the hour of their death. The Society is enigmatic, seductive and wealthy beyond belief. There is only one rule, which must by strictly adhered to.
Don’t tell.
Soul Meiteu; @bang-tan-bitch
(OT7 x Reader, literally just fluff?? <3)
Your night at a concert turns into a dream come true experience. All you have to do, is take his hand.
Trust Nobody; @softjeon
(Taehyung x Reader, OT7 x Reader)
The first thing someone should know about you is that you’re an escort. Yes, you have fucked for money. One day your boss made you an offer you couldn’t say no to. One year - seven boys. One rule: never fall in love.
Endgame; @oppamansae
(?? x Reader)
In chess, winning is everything – unfortunately, it is never easy. Y/N knew that as soon as she was ordered to assassinate the ruler of Seoul’s wealthiest mob empire, Park Jimin. The real question was: would she be able to survive this twisted game, all while keeping her identity a secret?
Bound; multiple authors [COMPLETED]
(OT7 x Reader, not a poly au.)
In a world where marriage isn’t by choice and love isn’t an option – will you ever find happiness? Or just continue to search? 
Too Sweet; @justoneday-namjoonii
(OT7 x Reader, not a poly au (?),)
-Vampire!au BTS
ONE SHOTS
Seokjin
Long Live The King; @remembeo
(Seokjin x Reader)
Long live the King, and may he reign forever more. 
Currents; @bread-jinie
(Seokjin x Reader)
Jin thinks he’s loved you since the moment he saw you, back when you were teenagers; Jin knows he’s been in love with you, the soul burning kind of love, since he saw you on your wedding day. He doesn’t mind that you don’t reciprocate on his level, he’s just happy to show you he cares. Until one day, he simply can’t anymore. Until one day, you realize you need to show him you care, too. 
Golden Boy; @kpopfanfictrash
(Seokjin x Reader)
The golden boy of the porn industry, prettier than half his female co-stars. Will sue if you pull his hair. Always bothering his neighbors with pizza delivery.
Note: This is multi-author series. Masterlist here.
Yoongi
Lost Stars; @taegih
(Yoongi x Reader)
-Enemies to lovers au
Smoke; @army-author
(Yoongi x Reader)
You have full moon eyes, and Yoongi wants to cheat the system.
Petrichor; @donewithjeon
(Yoongi x Reader)
You weren’t exactly sure when Min Yoongi had come into town.
Blackthorn Manor; @kpopfanfictrash
(Yoongi x Reader)
After becoming the assistant of professional recluse Min Yoongi, you begin to notice strange things. Noises which shouldn’t take place, shadows which shouldn’t move like they do. You’re almost convinced that you’re crazy - until something happens, something unbelievable to make you realize you’re not.
Hoseok
The First Eclipse; @rbuns
(Hoseok x Reader)
Hoseok reminisces on your earlier times together.
Namjoon
I’m so sorry omg I rarely read any Namjoon stuff omg.
Jimin
20 Things (and counting) I Hades About You; @readyplayerhobi
(Jimin x Reader)
Park Jimin, also known as DJ Plouton, one of the hottest DJ’s on the planet. Arrogant, sarcastic and incredibly attractive; you’d appreciate him more if you weren’t convinced he’d be the death of you on a daily basis. But apparently that wouldn’t matter either, because what’s a bit of death to the God of the Underworld?
Note: I think this author is doing a greek god au oneshot for each boy!
Taehyung
Fireflies; @sugaxjpg
(Taehyung x Reader)
“There’s no hope for people like us, sweetheart. We’re destined to fall in love a thousand times, and have our hearts broken in each one of them. We might as well be miserable together.”
Danse Macabre; @sugaxjpg
(Taehyung x Reader)
-Vampire au
Shelter; @btssmutgalore
(Taehyung x Reader)
Taehyung’s always been a best friend, which is why you think he’s the right person to ask for help when it comes to relationships.
Sacrilege; @writingseoul
(Taehyung x Reader)
You're a sacrifice to Taehyung, the Sun God
Jungkook
Back Home To You; @kthartics
(Jungkook x Reader)
Four years after graduating from med school, and ten after a mutual break up with your high school sweetheart, he comes knocking on your window battered and bruised only for you to find out he’s quit the military and in exchange for the title of Korea’s top mercenary but to you, he’s just a boyfriend you got together with again.
Lust and Love; @bbfairy
(Jungkook x Reader)
Your family forces you to marry a man named Park Jimin in order to gain a profit from their affluence. While preparing for the Park’s arrival, your father hires a butler in the estate. Gradually, you fall for him. You become infatuated with his presence, unwilling to accept the marriage and Park Jimin.
Plans for Wedding Bands; @guksheart
(Jungkook x Reader)
I’ve been meaning to propose to you for ages and i have set up the perfect plan but as we’re driving to the restaurant this tiny little cat on the side of the road that you’re determind to save shows up and now everything is ruined oh god what am i gonna do❜
The Wedding Planners; @gukyi
(Jungkook x Reader + some side yoonseok)
jeon jungkook is three things: cocky, terrible, and your worst enemy. then your best friend hoseok gets engaged to the love of his life, and suddenly jeon jungkook is four things: cocky, terrible, your worst enemy, and the man you will be spending the next seven months with in order to plan your best friend’s wedding. and then, as if your life couldn’t get any shittier, you make the poor decision of sleeping with him on the first day of the job.
A/N: I really hope I linked these properly lol. Let me know if there are any problems!
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dreamss-of-boston · 5 years
Text
Rise - ch6
hoo boy this chapter is hella long! i had fun writing it tho, the scenery looks v pretty in my head! the songs in this chapter are traditional germanic folk songs which i thought fit the world pretty well considering aot/snk is supposedly set in a germanic sort of historical world?? or thats what i heard,, pls correct me if im wrong! (i got the english translations for these songs from this website) additionally, the song i envision dimitri playing after the folk songs is andalucia in d major-- while its a spanish song, i just love it so much! you can listen to it here. and i promise all of the new characters introduced are relevant to the overall story! and now i promise i will shut up hehe ok thank u for reading love u bye!
-the spark-
link on AO3!
“I don’t understand why I had to pack four days’ worth of clothes.” Sonya commented as she got into the carriage with Hange and Moblit. After a full day of cleaning the stables and the showers as her punishment for getting cheeky with Captain Levi, Sonya was very sore and rather cranky that she had to leave her cozy HQ to spend at least two days in the capitol.
“The MPs and Parliament like to drag their feet when it comes to making decisions,” Hange sighed as she sat opposite Sonya, and Moblit took his seat beside Hange. “It’s always best to be prepared and pack more than you might need-- I found that out the hard way when they delayed approving Erwin’s new navigation system. We were only supposed to be there three days, but it took them a week and a half to decide!”
“A week and a half?!” Sonya exclaimed in dismay.
“Don’t worry-- the first day will be easy. It’s kind of a buffer.” Moblit assured her. “We’ll get settled in at their HQ in the guest quarters, and then meet with the officials around dinner time.”
“The real adventure comes tomorrow,” Hange said excitedly, “When we can debate the issue in front of Darius Zackly. He has the ultimate verdict on whether we can go ahead with the mission or not.”
“Since this is so monumental,” Moblit added, “representation for all three branches of military will be there. There’ll be some new recruits there, too, who were from your class-- so you won’t be completely alone.” He said helpfully.
Sonya nodded, looking out the window of the carriage at the rising sun. It was always so beautiful seeing the pastel blue and yellow the sky turned as the world awoke-- she only wished she could see the sun rise without the walls being in the way.
“How long will it take for us to get there?” She asked.
“Hm, just over three hours.” Hange said, leaning back into her seat. “Perfect for a nap.”
“She can sleep anywhere.” Moblit chuckled, and Sonya smiled. Her mood was slightly lifted despite the fact that she had to be awoken at four in the fucking morning to pack and get ready to leave. She did feel a bit comforted that when they arrived, they wouldn’t jump straight into court and start debating. Sonya decided that Hange had the right idea, and she settled down as best she could in an attempt to sleep on the way there.
[-]
“Oi, wake up, brat.”
Sonya made a face of utter disgust as she woke from her nap-- she was slumped against the side of the carriage, and as she opened her eyes, she first saw Levi, leaning against the opening of the carriage, pulling his hand away from gently slapping her cheek to wake her. Behind him, the sun was shining and Hange and Moblit were laughing.
“Wow, you sleep even deeper than Hange!” Moblit exclaimed. “We were practically yelling at you to wake up.”
“Did you not sleep at all last night?” Hange joked as Sonya just about fell out of the carriage, gripping Levi’s arm for support-- which he allowed, much to Moblit’s surprise.
“I slept just fine-- I just had an exhausting day yesterday on account of me being a dumbass.” Sonya sighed, looking at Levi pitifully. She thought she saw the beginnings of a smile on his lips, but he just scoffed and went to join Erwin in grabbing their things from the separate carriage they had ridden in.
The Survey Corps soldiers were escorted to their rooms-- Hange and Sonya were sharing a room, of course, and while this was all routine to the veterans, to Sonya, it was as if she had stepped into a castle.
The rooms were huge, first of all, and the bathroom had two sinks and a shower! The beds were incredibly soft-- Sonya wanted to sink into hers the moment she sat on it.
“Maybe staying here for a while won’t be that bad.” She sighed contentedly, stretching out luxuriously on the bed, her shirt hiking up and exposing part of her waist.
Hange laughed, dropping her bag of belongings on the floor before entering the bathroom to wash her hands.
Levi came to the doorway, knocking on the open door to make his presence known. Sonya looked to her left, and smiled mischievously when she noticed his gaze inadvertently trailed over her exposed skin.
“Did you want something, Captain?” She asked, dripping her voice in sarcastic seduction. Levi rolled his eyes, and seemed to refuse to look at her again as he spoke to both her and Hange.
“We’re meeting with them in about thirty minutes.” He said, and pointedly avoided Sonya’s gaze as he turned and left their room. Hange hollered confirmation that she got his message from the bathroom, and Sonya smiled to herself-- it was too much fun messing with Levi.
The four Survey Corps members met with the group of MPs in yet another beautiful room, with huge, framed paintings that Sonya couldn’t take her eyes off of. They discussed the pros and cons of the mission, the ground rules for the debate tomorrow, what time it would take place, and all that. The room seemed to be filled with tension, although Sonya could not understand why; but she could only guess that there was some sort of unspoken history between the three veteran Survey Corps soldiers and the three veteran MPs. The MP who had been part of Sonya’s class was called Olive Hammerstein-- a blonde, stuffy girl who Sonya remembered to be a sore loser. She hardly gave Sonya the time of day when they all entered the room at the start of the meeting; Sonya smugly suspected it was because she had beaten Olive all four times they had trained hand-to-hand.
When the meeting finally ended and all the logistics were out of the way, the sun had set and it was time for dinner. As the soldiers headed to the dining hall, they passed some MPs out of uniform who shrewdly reminded them that it was the weekend, and the dining hall was not open for dinner on the weekend. They were in civilians clothes because they were headed out to town to eat, much to the irritation of the Survey Corps soldiers.
“Well, there is that tavern in town we always used to visit-- what was it called, again?” Hange said.
“The Whistling Wind.” Erwin nodded with a smile.
“Mm, their soup is to die for!” Moblit sighed happily; and so it was decided. Sonya was particularly excited, and as she and Hange changed into their civilian clothes, she confessed that she had never been to a tavern above ground before.
“Really?” Hange exclaimed. “Oh, wow-- well, you’re in for a real treat. Taverns in the interior are the best.”
And off they went-- and soon they arrived at the fabled Whistling Wind.
The tavern was lit rather brightly, with candles littering the tables and hung upon the walls and from the ceiling in crude chandeliers. Sonya, in spite of herself, didn’t even attempt to hide her joy at the sight before her; even the taverns above ground were beautiful. During her training, she had never really gotten the chance to explore any towns much. When she and Anna did get the chance to venture off training grounds, it was usually to just retrieve supplies for the troops, so they didn’t get to explore the towns that much-- but they did explore the woods on the way.
It seemed as if everyone in the world were packed inside of the huge space, drinking wine out of goblets, laughing loudly and sharing in the gossip of the town. The smell of cigarette smoke hung in the air heavily, and spills and stains littered the wooden floor beneath her feet, but it was all so romantic to the small soldier. Here was life-- not survival, but thriving life.
She turned to Hange excitedly. “Is this how taverns are everywhere up here?”
“Oh, not really.” Hange said as their group made their way to a table that was unoccupied. “Most of the taverns near HQ are… eh, less high-class, I guess you could say.”
“Evenin’, folks.” A voluptuous red-headed barmaid came up to their table, hand on her hip and rouge on her cheeks. “What’re y’all havin’?” She reminded Sonya so much of Herschel.
“I’ll have whatever is the most popular thing!” Sonya called to her across the table and over the din.
“Meade it is, then.” The woman nodded.
“Wine for me,” Hange said.
“And me.” Moblit grinned.
“Nothing for me.” Erwin said, clearly not as enamored with his surroundings as Sonya was.
“Black tea.” Levi said, eyeing a rather nasty looking stain on the table.
“What was that, honey?” The barmaid asked, clearly unable to hear him.
“I said, black tea.” He said a bit louder, clearly irritated that she didn’t get it the first time.
The barmaid let out a loud laugh at the odd request. “Alright, honey. Comin’ right up.” And she left.
“Oh, wow, look!” Sonya stood up to see above the heads of the crowded tavern, pointing to the other side of the room at the rickety old piano up against a wall. “A real life piano!”
“Have you never seen a piano before?” Hange asked, amazed.
Sonya shook her head. “No, but Alexander-- er, a friend from the Underground showed me what they looked like in this old book he had about taking care of one.” She smiled, remembering sitting on the floor with Alexander as he showed her the plethora of the black and white keys, the little hammers inside the intricate instrument.
“I’ll hum a tune for you-- I don’t think your mother would let you out of this place to see one.” Alexander half-joked, and closed his eyes, extending his hands out in front of him as if the piano were really there. He began humming, his fingers moving curiously, and Sonya had watched him with rapture.
Levi raised an eyebrow at Sonya, while Hange looked as if she had stumbled upon a pot of gold.
“Oh, that’s right! I forgot you were raised in a brothel--” Hange stopped herself abruptly as the drinks came along with the barmaid, who passed them out in awkward silence. The barmaid was a little confused, but left the table when she was finished. “Er, sorry, Sonya-- I didn’t mean, uh, that is to say--”
“Don’t worry about it.” Sonya said through a smile, though it did sting a little, hearing that word. Sonya had only told Hange her situation, back then when she was recruited. She had obviously tried to keep where exactly she was raised a secret; it was enough of an issue that she came from the Underground. If her fellow soldiers knew she was the daughter of a whore…
“Oh, great.” Moblit nodded towards the door of the tavern, where a group of MPs had just entered. While they were in civilians clothes, the veteran soldiers present could recognize them from interactions in the past.
Unfortunately, Sonya recognized one as well: Kurt from the Underground. As soon as Sonya realized that was him, with his coiffed hair and overly-confident swagger, she sunk into her chair, almost hiding behind the huge flagon of mead in front of her. Great, first Hange bringing up where she was raised, and now Kurt entering the tavern? He was sure to embarrass Sonya if he recognized her.
“We should’ve guessed they’d come here.” Erwin sighed.
“There goes our fun night off.” Moblit took a swig of his wine.
“Maybe we should go…” Sonya said sadly, taking a pitiful sip of the sour drink in front of her. She was surprised to find that despite how foul it tasted, it made her feel very warm and fuzzy.
“You give up too easily.” Hange grinned, determined to fix Sonya’s mood. “The night is youn--”
She was drowned out as a chorus of singing began at the table next to them. A group of men, clearly drunk and happy about it, were singing a folk song that Sonya was surprised to find that she knew.
“Love of the woods, love of the woods.
Fills my heart as none else could.
Dear little songbirds there, voice songs that fill the air,
Singing out clearly their, love of the woods.”
The men repeated the song a second time, and Sonya couldn’t help but join in-- that was a song that Alexander had taught her! It filled her with a warmth that almost made her homesick for that little brothel she grew up in. As she sang along, she could almost smell the perfumed air, the smoke from candles and cigarettes. She imagined Alexander, lounging on a couch with her mother--
That left a sour taste in her mouth as she was abruptly brought out of her fantasies. The singing had come to an end, and the drunken men had noticed the pretty girl next to their table singing along with them.
“Hey, pretty lady.” One of them drawled, leaning over to get closer to her. He was old and ugly-- Sonya, being a professional flirter, had no interest in entertaining this man. Funny, she thought to herself, how her first instinct was whether or not she wanted to entertain him. She was her mother’s daughter, she reasoned.
Sonya shrunk back into herself, turning away-- one of the other men, younger and better looking, did not want to lose her attention.
“Uh, hey!” He called. “Do you know ‘Happy Is the Life of a Gypsy’?”
Sonya paused-- she did know that song, and it was one of her favorites. And this boy seemed to be a bit nicer…
“I do,” Sonya said, slipping into performance mode. “But I’ll only sing it if you sing with me.” She flashed him a smile, which she could see was exactly what he wanted. She knew how to play this game-- she had been taught how to win and manipulate it since she was thirteen years old.
“Now, just a minute!” Again, another man-- with brown curly hair and freckles-- stood drunkenly and proudly. “What’s a song without music?” And he made his way over to the piano.
“Oh, look at our regular show-off.” The young, attractive man rolled his eyes, although he was smiling. “Hey, wait!” He exclaimed as Sonya practically chased after him, desperate to hear what a piano sounded like in real life. She bet it couldn’t sound any better than Alexander’s humming.
“There she goes.” Hange laughed, delighted that Sonya was starting to enjoy herself.
“Should we stop her? I mean, what if those guys are bad news?” Moblit said.
“Let her do whatever she wants.” Levi shrugged. “Maybe she’ll tire out faster and then we can leave sooner.”
The curly-haired man took a seat at the piano, and the barmaid who served Sonya’s table smiled in delight.
“Everyone hush up a second; Dimitri is gonna play us a little somethin!” She bellowed, and the entire tavern slowly quieted; it seemed everyone here knew this Dimitri, and loved his music. Sonya stood by the piano, staring at him eagerly.
Dimitri raised his hands, and started to play. The music coming from this instrument was more beautiful than Sonya could have ever imagined-- the sound so full, it enveloped her whole being. She was so wrapped up in the music, she almost forgot to sing.
The handsome young man had made his way next to Sonya by the time the song started:
“Happy is the life of a Gypsy.  Fa-ria, fa-ria, ho!
To the taxmen, he pays not a penny.  Fa-ria, fa-ria, ho!
Happy, back in the woods, away.  Where the Gypsies so often stay.”
Filled with immense excitement and joy, Sonya couldn’t help but want to dance. She turned to the young man next to her, and grabbed his hands, pulling him to the small space reserved for dancing near the piano, and moved her feet in time to the pulsing music while she and the rest of the tavern sang the chorus. A few people even joined in dancing:
“Fa-ria, fa-ria, fa-ria, Fa-ria, fa-ria, fa-ria, ho!”
“My name’s Garrett!” The young man called over the din of the music and the tavern as he twirled a very happy Sonya. “What’s your name?”
Her mother would have advised Sonya to give a fake name-- a name prettier than the one she was born with, to easily indulge the fantasy of the young man before her. The fantasy about the mysterious, beautiful newcomer in this tavern who he would never see again. But this time, Sonya wasn’t interested in indulging any fantasies-- flirting was fun in its’ own rite, but she intended to limit the amount of influence her mother would have on her personal life.
“Sonya!” She said happily, and sang the last verse loudly with the rest of the tavern.
“When one does not have a featherbed.  Fa-ria, fa-ria, ho!
Dig yourself a shallow hole instead.  Fa-ria, fa-ria, ho!
Line it with some moss and leaves. That will then your featherbed be.
Fa-ria, fa-ria, fa-ria, Fa-ria, fa-ria, fa-ria, ho!”
And the tavern erupted in applause and hollering, much to Sonya’s delight. She turned to Dimitri at the piano, who had turned around, and drunkenly bowed to the crowd, obviously enjoying the attention.
“You’re a wonderful dancer,” Garrett said, wrapping his arm around Sonya’s hip in an attempt to turn her back around to him. However, he underestimated how strong Sonya was thanks to her training in the Corps, as she pulled away from him easily.
“Thank you,” She said distractedly, and went over to Dimitri, with stars in her eyes. “Play another one!”
“Oh, sure!” Dimitri beamed. “But only if you give me a kiss.” He said playfully.
Sonya huffed in annoyance. It sure would be nice to enjoy things without the attachment of her being a sexual object to everything she enjoyed.
“Don’t be so sour!” Dimitri laughed, sitting back down at the piano. “I’m only joking.” And he began playing a piece entirely unfamiliar to Sonya. His hands travelled across the black and white terrain of the piano, leaping from chord to chord gracefully. She watched, entranced.
“What are the words to this one?” She asked-- now that Dimitri was playing, the tavern was again quieting down in respect.
“Hm, there are none,” Dimitri said, his eyes closed contentedly. “The music speaks if you listen.”
And Sonya did listen-- she felt the music wrap around her limbs, clutch her heart, and flow over her like a veil. Dimitri took a look at her out of the corner of his eye, observing her knowingly.
“Dance if you want,” He said. “I think you’re dying to.”
That made Sonya smile a little-- she wasn’t sure how he could tell until she glanced down, noticing her feet had begun making miniscule movements almost on instinct. It seemed the music was actually calling her to dance, giving her invisible counts like how Alexander would whisper: one, two, three, four, five, six…
So, with a bit of reckless abandon, Sonya began to dance. She made it up as she went along-- the music would tell her what to do. An arpeggio, she would pirouette; held out chords, and she would slowly move to the next position, her arms gliding through the air. She moved with precise flexibility, every movement feeling as natural to her as breathing. It was so incredibly freeing to abandon all thought-- all grief for Anna, stress about capturing a titan, embarrassment about Kurt resurfacing from her past-- and simply dance, allowing the piano’s beautiful, foreign sound to influence what already came naturally to her.
Dimitri finished playing, and Sonya finished dancing; and all was quiet. It seemed that everyone was stunned, and the lack of response made Sonya incredibly embarrassed and ashamed. Was dancing like that not normal above ground? Was it offensive? Did she look like a fool?
But then-- someone in the back of the tavern began clapping, and then another, and another, until the whole room was applauding Sonya and Dimitri. Sonya let out a little laugh, incredibly relieved that she hadn’t done anything wrong.
“Where did you learn to dance like that?” Dimitri asked, now having joined her side.
“My…” Sonya wasn’t sure what to call Alexander. “My friend from childhood. He taught me.”
“He’s an amazing teacher.” Dimitri said, his cheeks red from all the wine he had drank. With a hiccup, he clasped Sonya’s hand, raising it in the air. Sonya tensed up, almost completely going into defense-mode at the foreign contact.
“What are you doing?” She snapped, but Dimitri only brought their hands down together, taking her with him in an elaborate bow to the tavern.
“You’ve gotta relax.” Dimitri flashed her a dopey smile as they came back up to stand. “If you ever wanna dance again, I’d be happy to play for you.” And he brought her hand up to his lips, kissing her knuckles lightly before stumbling back to the bar to get more drinks.
Sonya felt a blush heat up her face and chest, and as she made her way back to the table with her fellow soldiers, she found that she couldn’t stop smiling. She hadn’t danced in so long!
“Sonya!” Hange exclaimed. “What in the world was that? You were amazing!”
“Thank you!” Sonya put her hands on her cheeks, feeling how warm she had become. “I was so afraid that nobody knew what I was doing or something-- I’ve never seen how you all dance up here.” She laughed, taking a look at Levi; she wanted to know what he thought.
He was taking a sip of his tea, and caught her gaze, surprised that she was looking at him expectantly. Just as he was opening his mouth to speak, a certain someone had crept up behind Sonya and placed his hands on her shoulders in an overly-familiar gesture.
“Sonya, sweetheart!” Kurt exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. “Never thought I’d see you on the surface-- but I guess you did make it through training, after all…”
Sonya whipped around to face him; she would recognize that voice anywhere. She narrowed her eyes as he sat in the empty chair next to her, making everyone uncomfortable.
“Say, Herschel was askin’ me about you,” Kurt continued, well aware that he was being a pest. “She just couldn’t understand why you-- hic-- left! She was real hurt.” He pouted his lip, and Sonya looked away, feeling like she had been stabbed in the gut. She could just picture Herschel, with her dark, silky hair and comforting embrace, sitting at the kitchen table where she taught Sonya how to play and cheat at cards. She saw her mother sitting with her there, smoking a cigarette with the sly smile she shared with Sonya. She missed Herschel-- she even missed her mother. But… she had to leave that awful place.
“Well… I had to get out of there.” Sonya muttered.
“Y’know, I never did get the chance to give you a proper birthday present…” Kurt said, running his finger along her bare arm. Sonya caught that, and made a move to grab his wrist with the intent of breaking his arm, but before she got the chance to, Levi was already standing and had grabbed Kurt by the lapel of his jacket. Despite the height difference, Levi had pinned him up against the wall-- the disturbance caught the attention of the tavern, and everyone looked on in alarm.
“L-Levi!” Kurt exclaimed, surprised to come face-to-face with the infamous Survey Corps Captain in a tavern like this.
“You’re annoying as all hell.” Levi said in a low voice-- Sonya saw that his eyes were dark, and not just because of the lighting. “I’ll thank you not to lay hands on my cadet again.” He let him go, and stood back to give Kurt free passage back to his posse of MPs.
Kurt, despite being inebriated, understood very clearly. He hurried away like a punished dog, and Levi let out a sigh.
“I think it’s time for us to leave.” Erwin said just as the barmaid came over to put an end to what could have been a potential fight. “Thank you for the pleasant evening.” He left money on the table, and the four Survey Corps soldiers exited the tavern without another word.
[-]
“Awh, I never even got to eat my soup!” Moblit complained as they walked through the brightly lit streets back to HQ.
“I’m really sorry…” Sonya said, looking down in shame.
“Hm? Sorry for what?” Hange asked incredulously. “Oh-- you mean Kurt? Well, it was Levi’s decision to cause a commotion in the first place,” She cast a playful glare to her friend, “and in the second place, it’s not your fault that creep came on to you like that. I’m surprised you didn’t break his arm.”
“I would have,” Sonya said, and knocked her elbow with Levi’s, “if my knight in shining armour hadn’t come to my rescue.”
Levi sighed, quite annoyed with all this extra attention. “Can we figure out what we’re going to do about food, please? I’m starving.”
“Check it out! A street vendor!” Hange exclaimed, pointing to a small stand, with delicious-smelling steam rising from it.
“Oh, it smells so good!” Moblit cried, and it was then decided that they would be getting their dinner from there.
Sonya got the roasted brussels sprouts and carrots-- they were delicious! She let out an emphatic, “Mmmm!” as soon as she ate one, even though it sort of burned her mouth.
“Oh, can I try one?” Hange asked excitedly, abandoning her vegetable fried rice. Sonya nodded emphatically, and held one out for her to bite. Hange, amused by this strange way of offering food, nonetheless accepted happily. “Ohh, they are good!”
Sonya laughed, wiping her hand on her skirt. “Want to try one? You’ve been eyeing them,” She held one out to Levi, with her signature grin. He glanced at her; he had gotten the fried rice, as well. With a glance at Hange, he knew he would have to accept the food in the same way she had-- though inwardly, he decided it wasn’t all that bad.
With a shrug, he nodded (much to Sonya’s delight). She smiled, and brought the little vegetable up to his mouth, and as he bit down, his lips brushed with her fingertips for just a moment, causing Sonya’s breath to hitch. He held her gaze as he chewed, and raised his eyebrows in approval.
Sonya smiled, glad that he liked the food she liked, and just as she was about to look away, he brought his thumb up to the corner of her mouth, wiping away some of the sauce from the brussels sprouts. Her skin felt red-hot where he had just touched her, and she fought back a blush with all her might. This was definitely payback for her comment as she laid on her bed earlier.
“You’re a mess.” He shook his head. She smiled, and bit the inside of her lip to keep from giggling like a complete idiot. Erwin, Hange, and Moblit pretended they didn’t see a thing.
[-]
The walk back to HQ was relatively peaceful, now that they were fed and relatively happy. Hange and Erwin were discussing their debate tactics for tomorrow, with Moblit listening intently at Hange’s side. Levi and Sonya walked behind the three in silence-- Levi staring at the ground, Sonya gazing at all the houses and buildings on either side of them.
She glanced at Levi, and felt she needed to actually thank him for earlier.
“Um, thanks,” She said awkwardly, “for earlier. It was nice to see Kurt scared shitless.”
Levi half-smiled, nodding. “He is an ass.” He kicked a rock in his path, which went scuttling across the cobblestone street. “I know his kind-- so many of those MPs visit the whores Underground.”
Sonya winced at that word; if Hange and the Survey Corps hadn’t come along when they had, she would have been one of those whores forced to pleasure those disgusting MPs. She looked down, avoiding saying anything to indicate that it bothered her.
Levi noticed, though-- he cleared his throat. “You know, my mother was--” He halted, glancing at Sonya who glanced at him. From the look on his face, she understood. She couldn’t help but be surprised.
“Oh.” She nodded. “To be honest, I thought you came from some noble family that bred assassins.”
Levi let out a quick breath through his nose; Sonya assumed that was his way of laughing. “No. I came from the Underground.”
“Oh!” Sonya almost stopped dead in her tracks-- that was incredibly surprising. Although, now that she studied him upon closer inspection, he did carry himself like the gang members Underground; as if he were expecting an attack at any moment, calmly aware of everything on all sides. That was probably why he was such a skilled killer, she thought solemnly. Their conversation had taken a heavy turn-- she hated that. So, she fixed it in the best way she knew how: humor. Sonya playfully linked arms with a surprised Levi. “It’s like we’re made for each other.” She sighed as they ascended the steps leading in to HQ.
Sonya laughed, leaving Levi’s side to follow Hange down the hallway to their room. Before she completely separated from him, though, she spun around to face him once more.
“Oh, and at least I learned some valuable information tonight!” She said happily, hoping he would catch on her hook and play along. With a half-smile, Levi crossed his arms and leaned against the stone wall of HQ-- he looked incredibly sly, standing like that in the flickering torch light.
“And what’s that?”
“I’m your cadet.” Sonya lowered her voice and gave him the most sultry look she had, one that Herschel taught her: draped eyelids, pouted lips, head tilted back and to the side, and for extra emphasis, she placed her hand on the wall next to him, and dragged it down, holding eye contact as she performed the overly-dramatic display of seduction. She laughed at herself, breaking character almost instantly, and spun around, walking back to her room (though she walked a bit more with her hips this time).
And Levi smiled to himself, making his way back to his own room, thinking to himself how amusing Sonya had just been (and how he kind of liked it).
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editorialrunaway · 5 years
Text
Letter to my Father
I have so many memories that revolve around you.
We used to read together all the time. On Saturday mornings, when I sat in your lap and you read from my favorite book of short stories. We even had reading races before bed, but you had to put an end to that when I started stuttering because my mind learned to move faster than my mouth could form the words of The Chronicles of Narnia. Mom wasn't very happy about that. You were there at every one of my games, no matter which sport it was. When I played soccer on the club team, you worked with me for hours at the park to help me be a better player. When I was on the church volleyball team (god, we were awful), you came and sat through every one of those games and watched us get crucified because our couches were more interested in having bible study than running through drills. My favorite was when we used to do puzzles together on the living room floor. We would race to see who could put their puzzle together the fastest. I always gave you the awful 90-piece Furby jigsaw that was way harder than it should have been because "you were the adult" and you could handle it. One thing I remember is that you never let me win. But you did encourage me to try harder every time I lost. You were also there to put me to bed and cuddle with me every night in the old house. I wonder if other dad's did that with their daughters.
I grew up thinking that you were the smartest person on earth and, when I grew up to be a lady, I would marry a man just like you.
All of those memories...until I didn't have them anymore.
I wanted to keep reading the same stories over and over because they were my favorites and I loved the way you told them. I didn't like it when you tried to encourage me to "just try something new". I didn't have anything resembling a work-ethic, so I never appreciated the hours you put into teaching me the best way to block a shot on the soccer field. I especially didn't appreciate when you tried to explain it to me using geometry. I loved to spend my Saturday's playing and I loved it when you played with me...until you tried to teach me fractions on the kitchen floor when I thought we were supposed to be coloring with those markers, instead. I always gave up too easily, which is why I think you started to give up on me.
There was one, cold fall afternoon after soccer practice where you saw a giant, analog clock on the playground I begged to climb on. Just for a few minutes. I asked you if we could have McDonald's for dinner and you said that we could. I just had to tell you what time it was using the playground clock. I think that was the first time that I felt my heart truly sink. I knew I didn't know what it said because I didn't want to pay attention when you tried to teach me earlier that week. I brought home a school worksheet meant to teach me how to tell time and the examples all showed clocks turned to the hour. When I proudly told you how easy the worksheet was, you tried to challenge me and make it harder. I just got mad and told you that I finished my homework and it wasn't fair for you to give me more to do. I couldn't read the playground clock and I didn't get McDonald's.
I know you were frustrated with me a lot when it came to school, especially as I got older and my bad habits started to cause me very real problems. You warned me they would and I didn't listen. But you still helped me with my math every night until I finished my homework. The evening ticked away until midnight, when I would still be sitting at the kitchen table with tear stained cheeks because you got so angry that you started yelling. Again. But you helped the next night, and the next. Until I stopped asking because I chose to blame you for yelling, instead of putting forth the effort to listen to your advice and take my time. My grades tanked, as expected, and now we had a new hurdle between us and another similarity faded away.
There was one morning in the 6th grade when I was really sick and had a high fever all week. It was so high that I was hallucinating, severely dehydrated, and had to sleep on the couch so I could be close to you and mom. You were leaving for work and I was having trouble sleeping when you asked me if I was on drugs. My grades were slipping and I wasn't acting like myself, so you asked if your 11 year old daughter was taking drugs. I still wonder if that conversation was real, simply because I can't fathom why you would have asked me that.
You scared me...and that's the last I remember of you for a while. Where did you go?
I sat with you every day on the way to school for 5 years and I can't remember a single thing that we talked about on those car rides. Did we talk? I know I wanted to sing along to the radio, but didn't we talk too? Surely we did...
It feels like you just faded away into the background and your routine, after that. You defended me when mom was yelling, even though we both knew your "maybe's" and "she could have's" were laughable. When mom caught me with that boy, or when she dragged me into your room because she found out that I'd cut my leg with an xacto, I can't remember a single thing you said. I was relieved at the time because one hysterical parent was already too much to handle. But then I needed you. Mom and I had been fighting again over the flavor of the week and I was so tired of the life I was living. I needed a hug. But when I put my arms around you, I felt absolutely nothing. You sighed when I tried to hold on too long and patted my back. Just once. That meant "let go".
I told myself, after that, that I deserved your rejection. I deserved it because I tested you too many times, or I didn't listen to you when you tried to warn me that my habits would make my life so much harder. I even learned to brush it off when Mom would come into my room at 2am and wake me up so she could ask me if I was bothered by the fact that you didn't love me like you should. I shut down and tried to block you out, which was so easy because I had my hands full trying to get around Mom.
I've let you down, Dad. I flunked out of college and that wasn't supposed to happen. I wasted tens of thousands of dollars in tuition, a lease on an apartment I never got to live in, and thousands more that I spent on fast food, drugs, and alcohol. I pitied myself and spiraled down to a place where I had no regard for how hard it was for you to give me that opportunity. I let Mom lie to you for months and when I got the chance to make things right, I wasted that opportunity, too.
I think that's when I started to avoid your eyes. After I moved home, I slunk through the house in places I knew you wouldn't be and I didn't think I deserved to speak to you. Even during that week when Mom took the kids out of town and we had the house to ourselves, our conversation was pleasant but so shallow. All of a sudden, there were so many rules to follow just to connect with you at all and I seriously wonder how many of those I made solely for myself. But when I fell farther still, and gave up going to school to get a job, you spoke out to support me. That made all the difference in the world. I'm not sure if you will ever understand, Dad, but that job saved my life and you supported me enough to make that happen. That job allowed me to get away from Mom's volatile temper, from your resentment, and from the darkness that was consuming me in that house.
The last time that you emerged from the background was for my 20th birthday. It was soon after I left and the wounds were still fresh but you sent me an email to wish me a happy day and to let me know I was on your mind.
I put all of my hope into that email. I prayed, do you understand? I PRAYED! I prayed that somehow you understood why I made the choice I made.
I prayed that somewhere in your two dimensional heart you still loved me enough to face me as an adult and try to heal our splintered relationship. One step at a time. I thought that I could earn your respect if I took responsibility for myself and did whatever it took to be accountable. I was wrong.
Today, you treat me like a child who deserves to be punished. Do you have any idea the lengths I had to go to, the things I had to do, so I could retain my independence and stand on my own with my head held high? I have learned the meaning of exhaustion, of panic, of PURE DESPERATION! I have stood, on my own two feet, for days at a time just to keep a roof over my head. I have laid exposed, shamed and scared in strange places because the trade off was better than getting on my knees and admitting to failure. I built myself up from absolutely NOTHING into a woman that YOU SHOULD BE PROUD OF! I have survived. I have conquered. I have THRIVED because I saw value in healing my broken mind, body, and soul. For once, I didn't give up! I made my choice, however reckless and destructive, but I stuck to it and I committed. I got through each grueling day by remembering what YOU TAUGHT ME. I persevered and I worked damn hard to become a woman worthy of respect and worthy of being loved.
But now you have nothing to say. Your phone number isn't even in my phone.
Dad, I don't hate you. I could never hate you because I know that our relationship is a product of who I am. I accept that, as an adult. I still dread the thought of learning something new, I still re-read my favorite books over and over again, and I still have to muscle through the immense urge to give up when life throws me a curve ball. But I was a CHILD. You were the adult and YOU LET ME DOWN!! Why didn't you adapt? Why didn't you just TALK TO ME?! I was so ashamed of who I was becoming that I thought I had to hide myself from my own family and
YOU. DID. NOTHING!!
It's taken me years to come to terms with the reality that I am so hurt and angry with you. I don't know if I'll ever get the closure I need with you but I'm determined to conquer this shame with, or without, your courtesy. Still, everything is about to change...
Dad, I'm getting married. He shares your name but he is not a man like you, at all. This man will raise me up when I am falling, celebrate with me when I succeed, and will always hold me when I'm suffering.
He's restored my faith that I am worthy of love and has slowly helped to relieve me of the hideous stain of your shame.
It's because of him that I'm beginning to truly love myself, the way you never could. I pray that you can, one day see him as your son and understand that things have changed in ways I never expected.
I am new. I am prepared.
But I can't change your decision to focus on previous mistakes.
After I left, you found a box of letters with similar tones to this one. The letters, I think you know, you were never meant to find. The one I addressed to you had just one line: a passive aggressive apology for never living up to expectations.
That sentiment is, both, true and untrue.
I accept that I will never be enough for you, if you choose to remain stagnant. But never again will I apologize for sustaining the person I've always been.
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