#i would have snapped several episodes ago | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

meshlasolus · 2 months

Text

The Winner Takes It All

Episode 9

Pairing: Finnick Odair x Tribute(OC)!Reader

Chapter Warnings: literally death, violence, hunger games typical trauma, Finnick being a worried mess from outside the arena. It's all chaos, all of it.

Chapter Summary: Allies having your back means nothing if the capitol citizens don't want you to win. A lack of sponsors can easily be a death sentence... but maybe living through the hunger games could be a worse one.

Word Count: 3.6k

I have written these all like several months ago so watching the reactions to them and rereading along is becoming such a fun experience for me... except when y'all are mad bc that's not fun... but it kinda is lmaoo (also yw for the double update i figured i was slacking)

You looked down at your upper arm and side. That panther would have killed you if he had pounced on your neck instead of your arms. Funny, you thought the Capitol mutts were supposed to kill on sight, not play with their food. “Are we sure this is a good idea?” Rodey was hesitant. With the craze of these games, he wasn’t fond of inviting unwanted company. Who knows when someone will simply snap and turn on you?

Finnick had overslept. He didn’t mean to, and he definitely didn’t want to… but he’d been going for two days without sleep, and basically on nothing but glasses of overpriced Capitol booze.

Mags woke him up, shaking his shoulders and trying to flip him over on the couch he’d passed out on. She had been trying to keep watch of him, and the tributes on the screen for that matter, but didn’t want to jolt him awake unless something bad was happening, and it was indeed happening.

“Mags?” His hazy morning grogginess made him forget for a moment, but as soon as he saw her pointing at the lounge room screen, he sat straight up. “What happened?”

You were running, Lukas and Rodey, too. The camera angles were changing too fast to see what was behind you. Was it other tributes? Was it a wild animal? Was it a poisonous substance created for the games?

He was trying to make out what it was before he heard a cannon. You and Lukas and Rodey were still fast on your feet, so he wasn’t nervous yet, but when he heard a growl from a closer distance, his stomach dropped.

A panther had begun gaining ground, leaping over a rock formation and cutting you off at the front of the pack. You slowed to a stop before plowing straight into the animal, holding your hands out to the others that they might remain still.

That’s when he saw you, still and in frame. You were covered in blood. It looked like your own. You had several injuries that needed tending to. He resented the night’s sleep he’d just gotten, given that it had put your life in danger. There wasn’t anything he could do to stop events from occurring, but he still blamed himself. He hadn’t been watching, hadn’t been ready.

Your expression was worried, your eyes looked full of tears that you refused to let go… but you stance was firm, and you were unmoving. Against your fear and anxiousness, you held your ground, staring down the animal as it circled you all.

He wondered what you could possibly be thinking, but it left his mind immediately when the Panther jumped straight on to attack you and the others.

When Lukas stirred into consciousness, he could hear conversation echoing through the mouth of the cave. Freeda and Copelin were still inside, sharpening wooden spikes with the knives from their packs. He turned a saw that you were nowhere to be found, and neither was Rodey.

Lukas wasn’t suspicious often, but he didn’t like Rodey. He felt that the boy’s intentions toward you were unfair and purely obnoxious. He knew what the odds of either of you winning were, and he hated the idea that if you won, you would be losing more than just a friend.

He sprung to his feet in no time, lunging for the edge of the cave to see what you both had been up to.

When he stepped into the light of the dimly lit forest, he could hear your laughter, it was bright and cheerful, and he was somewhat thankful to have ever heard it again. He didn’t think that the arena was a place to have a laugh, but then again, the training center didn’t seem like the place either, and he’d found it to be quite fun. Those are the perks of being from a career district, he guessed.

“Top of the mornin’, to ya,” Rodey nodded to him with a slanted smile, knowing that as long as he acted like nothing had changed, Lukas wouldn’t be able to say anything in front of you.

Rodey thought he’d make it easy on everyone and just stay as close to you as possible. What he didn’t know was that Lukas didn’t play by everyone else’s rules. He marched to the beat of a different drum and all that.

“What are you guys talking about?”

It was nonchalant, and you didn’t detect the annoyance in his tone.

“N-nothing much. Just that Rodey d-oesn’t mind my stutter all that m-much,” you repeated, your smile widening every time you heard or got to repeat the words.

Rodey was the only guy in years who’d ever even listened to you tell him things after he heard the way you spoke. Finnick excluded, because as mentor he has a specific duty to you, anyways.

“I actually think it’s really cute,” he turned to look down at where you sat on a log, his hair falling over his eyes just a bit.

You thought he was adorable. He said all the right things, listened to you when you spoke, and you couldn’t deny the fact that he was cute as hell. Steely blue eyes, wispy blonde hair, and dimples at the side of his smile. You think back to the comments made about you being the ‘most beautiful tribute’ and you can’t justify that. Maybe you’re only attracted to him because of his kindness towards you… but after another glance in his direction, you know that can’t be true.

“What did I tell you last night?” Lukas leaned into Rodey’s face, separating him from your view. You furrowed your brow and tried to lean around Lukas to hear what was being said, finally opting to stand as a last resort.

“What’s g-going on?”

And then you all were stuck to your spot, heads turning quickly at the growling sound that just bellowed out of the cave.

You started to run for the edge of it, yelling at the top of your lungs.

“Freeda? C-Copelin?”

And then two screams, and two sounds of the cannon.

You quickly turned back around, but it was too late.

A large animal with a midnight color coat had pounced on you, pinning you to the ground while it tried to reach you with it’s mouth. You held your arms out before you to try and hold it off, but it’s claws dug into your shoulder and your side, opening the skin and letting lines of blood flow freely.

You didn’t have to hold it off long, because a knife was thrown at the beast’s front leg, knocking it off of you and making it retreat into itself at its fresh wound.

Rodey and Lukas pulled you to your feet, rushing you away from the animal and into the forest. You were pushed to the front, but you didn’t know how fast you could run, and for how long, especially without losing too much blood.

You’d already tripped on several vines that were crawling about grounds, nearly crashing into branches or trees the next moment. You tried to remember which way the cornucopia was, because if you all had any chance of defeating a panther of that size, you would need to get back to the main weapon supply. Other tributes be damned, you needed more weapons. More supplies. More anything.

You turned a corner at a particular rock formation, hearing a loud scream in the distance, and then another cannonfire. That cannot be good. That scream was far too close to comfort.

You tried to round a tree before the sound of growling increased behind you, and within an instant, the panther had caught up, running over and jumping off of the rock formation to cut you off. You had nowhere to go from here, and it didn’t look good.

You thought to yourself for a moment, this is another chance. A chance to die, without any tribute bearing your blood on their hands. That’s what you’d been hoping for, right? A death that contained no contact with any other person in this arena. You could throw yourself at it, let it feast upon you so Rodey and Lukas could escape. They are the tributes you’d bet on, you might as well give them a head start.

You stood your ground, holding your arms out to the side and turning along as the panther circled you all, the growling sounds never ceasing, only growing stronger as it smells the scene of your blood dripping off your skin.

How full of fear you were, you did not know. You could not measure it in comparison to anything else. You just knew you felt like crying, but held back on the account of anything happening yet. You had to think. Obviously if you told them to leave you, they wouldn’t. You needed to try and distract the animal, draw it in but away from them.

You looked at its eyes, another jolt of fear raking your body before it leapt into the air…

… and fell dead in front of you, an ax between its eyes as it lay in the ground, mouth still hung open.

You looked up and behind you, your eyes wide and mouth open in shock, harsh, ragged breaths falling from your lips for all the running that ensued.

Rodey quickly stepped in front of you, drawing the last knife he had from his pocket.

“Who’s there?” He shouted into the foggy air, facing the rock structure that the ax came from. You all waited in anticipation, and finally the girl from seven climbed up and over the rocks, showing herself with her hands in the air.

You stepped around the boy before you, pushing down his arm to keep him from throwing the knife.

“Seven?” You asked, seeing the face of the girl you fought in training. She seemed to be relieved to see you, because you didn’t seem like the fighting type.

“I thought you guys could use the help,” she explained, lowering her arms and nodding towards the dead panther, which was slowly disintegrating into the ground. That’s the thing about the arena, hunting is hunting, and escaping is escaping. You didn’t hunt this animal, so the game makers weren’t going to let you keep it as food. It would be quickly ruined. “I need help, too.”

“You’re not our ally, how can we trust you?” Lukas asked, crossing his arms and stepping forward as well. It seemed to be a battle of distance, whoever could reach her first. You knew she wouldn’t harm you, hell, she had saved your life…

“I didn’t have to help you, you know,” she stumbled forward, and it was only then that you could see she was injured. Her side had a stab wound, which she held when her hands were again at her side. “I did it in good faith.”

“S-she’s not going to kill us.” Your statement didn’t even need to resonate, they understood that much just from looking at her, now.

“You’re careers, I assume you all have dibs on the cornucopia… I need supplies,” she let out, gesturing to the injury that everyone had clearly seen already. You raced forward to help her, but Lukas grabbed at your arm.

“I can shoulder her, you’re not looking too good either.”

“Are we sure this is a good idea?” Rodey was hesitant. With the craze of these games, he wasn’t fond of inviting unwanted company. Who knows when someone will simply snap and turn on you?

“We j-just lost two allies at once. I t-think we could use at l-least one more…” You trailed, your stutter becoming a bit worse when you were upset. There was no reason to protest. She saved your lives, without needing to. She could have just left the scene, saving herself and leaving you all to the panther… but she didn’t. And in a game like this, you couldn’t afford to pass up exchanges like the one she made.

Rodey nodded, a simple ‘okay’ falling from his mouth as he moved to help shoulder you. Once the adrenaline wore off, you felt the effects of the clawed wounds in your skin more severely. It burned like hell, and the blood was still oozing from your side.

You all walked north, towards the center of the arena and what you were hoping was the cornucopia. When you got there, you all ravaged through the supplies to find that someone had gotten here first. The food was here, the weapons (save for the ones you all took the day before) and the camping packs were all still available.

Lukas was the first one to jump to action, remembering the survival methods from training day that nobody else bothered to use. He began tearing into the thermal blankets, using one of the knives to cut strips from the cloth.

You were looking through the food to see if there was anything of comfort, or at least something that would sustain you a while. You found apples and bread rations, and took one of each, watching as Lukas helped tend to the girl from seven’s wounds. You’d found out her name was Lyra Thorne, and she was seventeen. She was reaped, just like you, and she had two younger sisters waiting for her at home. You hadn’t thought about your baby brother until now. You almost wish you hadn’t thought of him at all. It was too sad to think that you would never see him again. You’d have to talk to Lukas and ask him to take care of him when he went home. You’d been almost positive by now that he was going to win.

Just then you’d heard the cannon, and looked around you to see if there was anyone or anything in the distance… but nothing. It must have been further off.

Something you did see, however… a tiny parachute falling from the sky, directly towards where you were sitting. The group watched in silence as it basically fell in your lap. The small canister had an engraved ‘4’ on the front, with a little latch that could open and close.

Lukas nodded to you, and you carefully opened it up, pulling out the contents of the inside. It was a mini med pack, complete with medical ointment that could probably speed up the healing process rapidly.

There was a note on the inside, too. It read:

I’ve always hated cats… don’t let those scratches get infected. - F

You smiled, folding up the piece of paper and dropping it into one of your cargo pant compartments.

“We g-got a sponsor.”

The cannon sounded again after about five hours. You all had been staying close to the cornucopia. It was familiar territory, and for now, it was beneficial. The food between four people would run out after a day, but being safe was better than being sorry. You figured you’d weave some of those ropes together from the camping packs, help Lukas catch a fish or two the day after.

As long as you were staying alive, you wanted to give your best effort. You realized how foolish it was to be looking for ways to sacrifice yourself. What you saw this very morning was proof that the most qualified tributes could fall. As long as you kept playing the game your way… maybe you had a chance to outlast. You didn’t think you would win by any means… but these last few days being spent were a better alternative to immediate death.

When the sun went down that evening, you all made a fire. It was small, not for the concern of smoke, since you couldn’t see over the tree line from anywhere in the arena… mostly because it was hard to find dry wood anywhere. Lyra was very helpful with that, what with her being from the lumber district and all.

“You’re v-very good at this,” you told her, trying your best to copy her movements to start your own kindling. It wasn’t working barely at all, and she laughed at your valiant attempt.

“Here, I can help,” she quickly took the stick from your hands, her hand movements were fluid as she created enough friction to start a flame. “That should last us through the night, hopefully.”

“I find it f-funny how it’s so hot and h-humid during the day, but at night it’s freezing.”

“That’s the thing about humidity, the moisture can go either way. Take away the sun, the warmth goes with it.”

You giggled, looking over to her with a joking expression.

“I h-haven’t seen the sun since w-we got here,” you told her, gesturing up to the tall and wide trees, every branch above weaving into a canopy where no sky or show of sun could be seen through. Only the tiny traces of light that implicated they were still there.

“Tell me about it,” she paused, taking out of her pocket the tiny foil blanket that had been crumpled up into her pocket. “You know, I got so chilled last night that I had to have a sponsor send me one of these. It helped a little bit, but I was still still cold and stiff until the morning.”

“We huddled t-together in a cave and made a fire. We g-got lucky that the cave had an opening, o-otherwise, I’m not sure what we w-would have done.”

“Well, now that I’m here I can help you build a fire, wherever we end up.”

You smiled to her, reaching out to her hand and giving her a touch of gratification.

“I’m happy y-you’re here with us. The thought of being the sole p-person that keeps the t-two of them from butting h-heads was enough to k-kill me already.”

She smiled back to you, nodding her head in thanks. She was happy to have to all as allies. Perhaps she wouldn’t die as soon as she thought she would. She was after all a more experienced weaponist, but she didn’t know if that would be enough to defeat tributes of career stature. But you weren’t a career, and neither was Lukas. You both were different. You were kinder, gentler. Even though Lukas may seem a bit apprehensive at times, you always helped him see things your way. You looked for the brightside, even in this hell hole of an arena.

She liked that about you.

“I’m glad to be here.”

She was a very good addition to the little team you’d formed. Someone else that could bear the weight without doing it alone. Someone else to pitch in if supplies need be carried. Someone else that could be used as a human shield if you run into Estelle and the boy from eleven.

You shook that thought from your mind. It was simply intrusive, and you didn’t need to be thinking like that. Play the game your way, not theirs. Show your kindness, show your compassion, and never let them make you what you aren’t.

About an hour later, you looked up at the sky, watching for the tribute memorial to start… but it was taking too long. Rodey and Lukas were chatting away about some sort of swimming competition, which was good and all, but probably wouldn’t come to fruition. Lyra was passed out next to the fire, waiting for someone to wake her up to take the next watch. You, on the other hand, had done your fair share of speaking throughout the day. You didn’t want to keep it going in fear of wasting your words tomorrow.

You dug your hand into your pocket and fished out the note that Finnick had written. You smiled at the words on the paper, his humor and charm seeping in through even the worst of situations. You were just happy he was able to send some help. The medical treatment went a long way. There was enough not only for you but for Lyra, too. You figured that was the reason she was able to sleep so peacefully, even in the middle of the hunger games. She probably didn’t have a mentor like Finnick, someone who was so devoted to her well being that he would charge through hell or high water to see to it you were taken care of… to be fair, you didn’t think of Finnick as that sort of mentor either.

You think it changed the first night during swim lessons. No one had been able to get you into the water like that. Not even Lukas, who was the best swimmer you knew. He’d been so kind and encouraging, so uplifting and gentle. His patience for something so ridiculous had astounded you.

You closed your eyes, trying to picture those sea green eyes and the dimples of his dashing smile. His handsome features in the casted moonlight of your Capitol bedroom, painting him in such a soft glow. He’d delivered such bad news to you that night, the one before the games. If by some miracle you won, you’d be doomed to a life of sexual slavery… but part of you debates; it would be worth it to see Finnick Odair again. It would be worth it to wrap your arms around his shoulders one more time. It would be worth every unsatiated night just to look into those eyes, the crashing waves within them. The ocean brought you fear from a young age, but now you longed to see it again. To compare the color of his eyes and to see if the ocean could even hold up against them.

You fell asleep before the fallen tributes were projected, and hoped for the sake of your thoughts you would not become one of them… but deep down you knew better.

When the projection finally hit the sky, the fallen tributes were: The boy and girl from two, the boy from eight, the girl from nine, and the boy from twelve. There are now only seven tributes remaining.

tags(open): @thepassionatereader @i-voluntears @secretsicanthideanymore @mystargirl-interlude @c4ttheart @lilibrn

#finnick odair x oc #finnick imagine #finnick odair thg #thg finnick #finnick odair #finnick odair fluff #finnick x reader #finnick odair x reader #finnick odair imagine #finnick odair x you #sam claflin x reader #sam claflin #katniss everdeen

32 notes · View notes

ninadove · 1 year

Note

What is Miraculous’s self contradictory philosophy on consent?

This topic has been on my writing list for a while, and would probably be worth rewatching all 5 seasons and taking detailed notes! That being said, I think Ladybug’s reaction to the attempted kiss in “Felix” is a pretty good microcosm of the issue:

Unlike our heroine, we, the audience, know that this is just not true: as Chat Noir, Adrien crosses Ladybug’s boundaries on multiple occasions - including several attempts to kiss her, despite her obvious lack of enthusiasm.

So why is it that one undesired kiss makes us so uneasy, while others are easily written off as quirky?

The answer, of course, is that the plot itself wants us to root for Adrien; and, in order to prepare for future plot twists and revelations, be (at least temporarily) wary of Felix. Consent is a somewhat fluid concept in Miraculous; not out of maliciousness (at least I certainly hope so!), but because it serves a bigger narrative purpose.

Let's take a closer look at how the notion of consent is declined through two radically different character categories: on the one hand, our heroes; and on the other hand, our antagonists.

I. The Love Square: all’s fair in love and plot

Let’s start off our analysis with the obvious: the Love Square is meant to be. You know it, I know it, everyone is Paris knows it. Most importantly, the writers have known it since the beginning; and it is their job to sell us their romance, through compelling interactions.

Part of this effort was to make Chat Noir fall in love with Ladybug almost immediately, and be very forthcoming about his interest - something she rarely reciprocates during the first seasons, because if she did, the show would have ended years ago and I would not be writing this instead of loading the dishwasher like I’m supposed to. Chat Noir’s infatuation with the spotted heroine takes the form of many many many MANY flirty comments, outright love declarations and, on a couple of occasions, unwelcome kissing attempts.

It wouldn’t be fair to argue Ladybug is 100% closed off to his attempts. But as the seasons go by, and other scenaristic stakes build up, she does become more and more frustrated with them. To his credit, Chat knows when to back off when she expresses discomfort or states her love for “““another boy”””… But he is always quick to try his luck again, which in turns brings even more frustration, until Ladybug finally and rightfully snaps in S4.

Does that mean we, the public, see Chat Noir as a dangerous sociopath? Of course not. For the most part, we accept that his insistence is amusing at best, and harmlessly annoying at worst, because that’s what the show wants us to accept. Concretely, this gives a situation à la “Kuro Neko”: the episode defends the idea that Chat Noir’s imperfections, including his misguided and at times overbearing love for his partner, is a crucial part of what makes them such a good team.

And let’s not forget Marinette herself! While several members of the Girl Gang (namely Alya) routinely and jokingly call her out on her stalking, we mainly get to reflect on how this affects her - not her clueless crush. Her obsession is always always framed as embarrassing, funny, and even cute - classic teenage girl behaviour, am I right ladies?

So, there’s clearly a double standard between genders, which is also true with the antagonists - but it is only a secondary concern of mine. What matters most is that we accept Chat and Marinette’s behaviour, or more precisely this framing of their behaviour by the scenario, for two main reasons:

Because they’re our heroes, and although they are flawed, they can’t be too bad!

Because the romantic endgame we all know is coming “justifies” their actions. If these two are meant to be together, does it really matter if they mess up along the way?

This second point is best exemplified by the contrast between how we perceive consent when it applies to the Love Square, and how we perceive it when it comes to Adrigami / Kagadrien.

Having accepted her mother’s expectations, Kagami sees a future with Adrien and is therefore trying to push the relationship in this direction; she is not afraid to take the lead and generally does so through physical touch, attempting to kiss him before he’s ready and manually correcting his posture when sketching him.

Is Kagami crossing a few lines here? Sure. But it’s nothing a teenager wouldn’t do, and she is a lot less persistent than Chat. Yet we can’t help but notice and sympathise with Adrien’s unease. We perceive Kagami’s behaviour and the reaction it elicits differently not because she is a bad person, but because she is but a secondary love interest - a temporary distraction from the grand love story we’ve been invested in since the beginning. We have no trouble accepting the message the writers are sending us through these interactions: Kagadrien is not a toxic or abusive ship, it’s just not going to work out.

II. The Antagonists: Red flags and black marks

In many ways, love and intimacy are driving forces of Miraculous’ plot. After all, isn’t it grief over the loss of a spouse that started this whole debacle?

The heroes we root for on the battlefield are the same dumb teenagers we desperately want to see smooch, and so naturally, we start to equate morality and romance. For the writing team, this is a great tool to make heroes easily identifiable and, conversely, signal to the audience that a new antagonist has joined the chat. This phenomenon can be observed from the very first episodes, and is best embodied by a character we all know and… Uh… Definitely feel some type of way about.

Let’s not tip-toe around the issue: Chloé, at least in the early seasons, is a typical mean girl. She is a bully, a pretentious and spoiled kid, and generally rude to everyone around her. But do you know what her worst crime is? She has the absolute nerve to be in love with Adrien!

Chloé might be responsible for half of the Paris akumatisations so far, but it would be incorrect to state Marinette dislikes her purely because of her nastiness. Their personal rivalry over the prettiest boy in school is central to their original conflict, and plays a key role in shaping our initial understanding of Chloé’s part as a minor antagonist. When the show repeatedly has her throwing herself at Adrien, calling him by aggravating nicknames, and plotting to eliminate her pig-tailed competition, it isn’t trying to establish her as a viable romantic option; rather, it uses her disrespect for Adrien’s individuality and personal space to reinforce our conviction that she is bad news, and strengthen our sympathy towards Marinette at the same time.

In the grand scheme of things, however, Chloé isn’t a huge threat to our heroes. The real issue comes with the introduction of a major antagonist, one that has the motivation and brain cells to do some actual damage (take some notes, Hawkmoth).

Felix’s debut episode is… Well, to be fair, I think it is brilliant in a lot of ways! Once you shine the Sentimonster light on his “gratuitous” and “petty” shenanigans, they take on a much deeper and more interesting meaning. But this introduction certainly doesn’t do Felix any favours from a moral standpoint, and that is absolutely done on purpose: these 20 minutes are jam-packed with information aiming to convince us, the audience, that this boy Absolutely 100% Cannot Be Trusted, so that we don’t fall off our chairs when the “Strikeback” fiasco happens. And what better way is there to make us uncomfortable than having him basically molest our heroine on screen?

Seriously, look at the way this scene is composed. The creepy look in his eyes, Ladybug literally having her back against the wall, the music, everything. None of the other instances we mentioned throughout this analysis get this tense. Even younger viewers, who might not necessarily understand what is at play here, instinctively know that this is as bad as it gets.

And you know what? This would be fair if Felix was meant to be this awful, terrible, psychopathic villain that kicks grandmas down the stairs and eats puppies for breakfast. But he isn’t, and that’s where you lose your audience.

By the end of S5 (or the middle… these releases are getting confusing), we are invited to look at Felix not as a dangerous, hardened criminal, but as a kid fighting tooth and nail to free his fellow Sentimonsters and himself from an oppressive authority that wants them dead or under total control. This explanation makes him sympathetic to us; his conflicting feelings about his own actions make him a prime candidate for a redemption arc; and his true personality, which shines through his crush on Kagami and his impromptu musical number, make him an endearing character. So, we can all agree to like him now, right?

WRONG. Just because we understand the message S5 is trying to convey doesn’t mean we don’t remember what happened in S3, back when presenting Felix as an antagonist took priority over preparing his redemption arc. Many people still have, and will always have, major issues with his character because of this one scene and the very raw emotional response it successfully elicited. I, for one, adore Felix; but I completely understand how others may have trouble believing that he is genuinely fighting for freedom and bodily autonomy, given how quick he was to disregard Ladybug’s. They have every right to feel that way and, if I’m being honest, the writing team kind of did it to itself.

Closing thoughts

Like I said in the opening, I am sure there are many other situations to delve into, characters to psychoanalyse, and ways to interpret the examples I mentioned. An exhaustive essay would take pages and pages, and this is already way too long as it is, so let’s wrap up with a few personal impressions:

Is Miraculous bad / problematic / worth canceling over these scenaristic decisions?

The answer is no, obviously. Trying to overly sanitise kids’ shows is a dangerous slippery slope that has led to the cancellation of some of my personal favourite gems for “““arbitrary””” reasons (everyone involved with canceling The Owl House is on my personal hit list). But I do think it is important to take in stories with your critical brain turned on, and be aware of some of the messages they might be trying to convey.

In this case, Miraculous writers are less interested in consent as a real-life issue than they are in what it can do for their show, scenaristically and thematically. It doesn’t make them evil, but it does make for a contradictory, and at times uncomfortable, final product.

2. Does that mean any of these characters are horrible monsters that should be burnt at the stake?

Of course not! They are dumb 14-year-olds just starting to navigate life and love. Whatever problematic behaviour they’re exhibiting now is just par for the course: they will grow out of it. In fact, they are already starting to grow out of it, with some help from the plot and a chair:

Ultimately, what matters most is not where a character starts from; it is how they learn from their mistakes and grow into a better person.

I am hopeful that all 4 of them are going in the right direction. Chloé is unlikely to make any progress given how Thomas Astruc feels about her, but hey, everything’s possible.

So, here you go, Anon! I hope this has been an interesting read and worth the wait!

196 notes · View notes

heckyeahponyscans · 11 months

Text

Thoughts on MLP Make Your Mark Chapter 4, Episode 1: Bridlewoodstock

(with spoilers)

So this special really reminded me of the G3 specials, which generally low-stakes (except A Very Minty Christmas when Minty almost fell to her death out of a hot air balloon). Like if you think about it, life would go on if Kimono wasn't surprised on her birthday or if there weren't any rainbows for one year. The mix-up with the three musical acts thinking they would be the headliner, and then an ADDITIONAL mixup where none of them wanted to be the headliner, was especially G3-ish. Mostly this special was about a pleasant vibe and fun songs and ponies dancing around.

However there was some conflict, in the form of Pipp ignoring Izzy's (and the other unicorns') warning about the Troggles.

The Troggles were originally from the G1 episode "The Return of Tambelon". They were the enslaved minions of Grogar until they rebelled against him and befriended the ponies.

In this special they are more like forest spirits, and are only a danger during the nights of the Lumi-Bloom. The unicorns have a poem about them: "Eyes of the monster, form of the pig! Sing, laugh, or yell, set hoof on a twig! Troggles appear, steal what's to be, no cure to be found past the red ruby!" The Troggles steal ponies' voices, but will give them back (and disappear) if presented with a ruby. Which is exactly what happens, and then the ponies go back to their concert and dance party.

Random thoughts and observations:

Izzy says the Lumi-Bloom occurs "every moon season". Also, Minty says the Dreamlands broke up "moons and moons ago." Both of which make me believe that in this world "a moon" is a year, not a month.

We also see several shots of the full moon. Which I think is interesting because they have to add depth (craters) to make it look like a moon, but can't use the same pattern of craters as Earths' moon has.

When Pipp initially sings in the forest these little blueberry guys fly around here--maybe Parasprites or their descendants?

The Lumi-Bloom glow is a natural phenomenon, not magic. (Or at least not pony-magic.)

When Zipp goes to recruit the band Elecric Blue, we see Shutter Snap (who had a toy in the Amazon exclusive pegasus set) as part of the paparrazzi.

The Electric Blue ponies are very Aesthetic; their names are Arpeggio, Fretlock, and Jam Donut.

a Wonderbolts poster is visible in Zephyr Heights

The cover of the Dreamlands' CD

After forty years, Blue Belle, Minty (G1), and Snuzzle get their first ever appearance in a cartoon <3

This couple appears in the background of multiple scenes, two male ponies and their kid. :)

These twins have shown up before and I just think they're cute

Ruby Jubilee. Man I want a brushable of her.

#My Little Pony #spoilers #Make Your Mark #Bridlewoodstock #G5 #Pipp Petals #Izzy Moonbow #Zipp Storm #Hitch Trailblazer #Sunny Starscout #Snuzzle #Minty #Blue Belle #Fretlock #Arpeggio #Jam Donut #Ruby Jubilee

56 notes · View notes

nostalgia-tblr · 6 months

Text

not to Discourse, but about Sylvie snapping at Mobius:

She was right. She could have said it nicer (well, someone else could have - i adore Sylvie but i wouldn't really say she's consistently 'nice' and there are very obvious reasons for that in her backstory) but it's true, Mobius has been bizarrely chill about so many things this season, to the point where it does seem odd, actually. I think it's easily missed (maybe?) partly because fandom has decided long ago that Mobius is some sort of therapist/social worker who is always calm and so emotionally insightful and his role in fanfic is to be supportive at the more obviously fucked-up characters. But like. He's also fucked up. He's already said that he's avoiding finding out about his old life in case it was good, so it's not like "Mobius won't let himself think about the sad things" is a new idea, is it?

I don't think Sylvie gets why he's like this (or she wouldn't have been so angry, for a start) but those two have spent very little time together (I think we the audience sometimes forget how little) and I know shipwars are inevitable and eternal but the show really does kind of break down into Loki-with-Mobius and Loki-with-Sylvie almost like two parallel worlds that interact less than might be expected. So why does Loki not "stand up for Mobius" there? Well there's the fact that it's true and that Loki was (unlike Sylvie) there when Mobius said he's scared of uncovering his old life so is more likely to connect the dots. And the element of "oh no my faves are fighting! i cannot take sides or at least one of them will hate me! i shall just stand here awkwardly and say nothing!"

I assume Loki and Mobius will talk this stuff over at some point, but in this episode there's not time for any of the several conversations that need to happen (and presumably this is a deliberate writing choice to drag things out a bit keep the tension up) and idk about anyone else but I would find it a bit weird if Sylvie had instead been unusually gentle (for her) and softly asked Mobius if he's feeling okay or does he want to have a chat about anything? Perhaps over a nice cup of tea and some chocolate biscuits? Nah, she's tense, of course she's going to snap. Ideally she wouldn't have done that but *gestures vaguely* what about any of this situation they're all in would you describe as "ideal"?

Maybe she'll apologise in one of the remaining episodes. But if she does he'll say that her observation was right, if not delivered in a way he'd have preferred.

tl;dr - Mobius is fucked up too and Sylvie (who has just in as many words says she thinks being soft makes you weak) is not diplomatic at the best of times, let alone while the multiverse is in the process of collapsing/exploding/whatever-the-fuck-it's-doing.

#loki spoilers #sylvie my precious blorbetta #mobius #also the reason sylvie doesn't have the manners of a (literal) prince is the people mobius just spent however-long working for.#so like. there's a certain sad aptness here i feel.#or maybe the pie really is drugged after all! either works!

24 notes · View notes

between-stations · 2 months

Text

February 28 : reward | shelter | piano

@fluffbruary

A tale of meet-cute.

It was the smile that almost ruined Laurent’s cover. He immediately recognised Makoto based on Oz’s surveillance photos and several others he kept as mementos, mostly taken when Makoto was still a young boy. He knew Oz’s predicament that staying in Japan had always been brief in order to celebrate his family’s birthdays away from his lawyerly duties snapping photos to store and remember them when he needed some grounding.

Oz didn’t exactly look like his son. Makoto got all his physical attributes from his mother, soft and feminine, Miki, who unfortunately died three years ago.

Makoto’s smile erased Laurent’s doubts as well. There was no question that the Japanese boy was used to swindling innocent people. It was so charming and sinister at the same time. According to Oz, Makoto would turn 23 and was becoming one of those few ready to destroy Japan’s reputation as a crime-free country.

Too bad, Makoto met a notorious European bastard blond, who was an expert conning evil people on the face of the planet.

“Excuse me, did you drop your wallet?” The modus operandi was too simple, too inane to be taken seriously. Laurent watched Makoto and his accomplice’s comedic bickering in front of him and decided, once and for all, to bite the bullet. Kudo’s acting was laughably convincing that the boy never noticed anything weird.

“It is mine! Here’s your reward!” And for a good measure he hugged the boy and grabbed the wallet with the real money inside inconspicuously. Must be cheap to be seen like this as if he were feeling up Makoto judging on both Japanese men’s reaction.

Initially, Laurent’s interest to meet the young Makoto was simple curiosity until Oz decided to recruit him for the Team Confidence. It was a devious plan, very reckless, but Laurent didn’t care as long as he could avenge Dorothy’s death.

Laurent took his exit and was beside himself with joy. The first step, the introduction, was done. It was up to the fates if Kudo’s succeeding plans would work.

He’d be happy to bring Edamura Makoto with him to LA. It would be a privilege to be his mentor. Now, all he could do was cross his fingers.

*I miss them that I have been rewatching the series every single day. This scene from the penultimate episode really broke me. That winning smile from Makoto and the surprise etched on Laurent’s face. They should have discussed the elephant in the room.

#great pretender #laurent thierry #makoto edamura #laurent x edamura #fanfic of sorts #grepre drabble #episode 20 #fluffbruary 2024 #fluffbruary #reward

15 notes · View notes

chierafied · 2 months

Text

Honey, I'm Home

SessKag Fluff Week, Day 6 Domestic + Day 7 Family

Prompt: Character A comes home to chaos of Character B’s making + "Oh, your mother's here." 750 words. AO3. Decided to mash up these last two days because the themes and prompts fit so neatly together. It's awfully late, but I hope you guys enjoy this nonetheless!

The pair of elegant designer stiletto heels greeting Kagome at the entrance way of her house was the first clue that something was up. Switching into peacemaker mode, she moved deeper into the house after removing her own shoes and jacket and scarf. The silence humming in the air had her instantly on guard. She was fully braced for growls, raised voices, wild laughter and foul swearing – in no particular order. So the stillness was particularly unsettling.

The two of them couldn’t have actually killed each other off after all these years, right? Not in front of Ginmaru. Besides, neither of them was uncouth enough to battle it out physically, when they could wage intricate wit-filled verbal warfare full of back-handed compliments, subtle and disguised barbs and call-backs to minor incidents from several centuries ago.

Finally, she caught a sound in the disturbing quiet. An emphatic clanking. Kagome followed the auditory clues and soon dark growly mutter of curse words joined the cacophony of plops and bangs and scrapes. As soon as she entered the kitchen, she was relieved to see her mate alive and marginally well. He was elbow-deep in dough, alternatively kneading it and slapping it against the countertop. She was pretty sure that he was picturing something – or someone – very specific as he manhandled the dough.

Kagome shook her head and shifted her attention to the rest of the room. Slowly, she took in the sheer chaos of pots and pans and the dirty dishes overflowing the sink. The flour and bag of sugar and various other supplies crowding the kitchen counter. The haphazard angle of the cooling pan of cupcakes by the window. It looked like three bombs had gone off in her poor kitchen in a quick succession.

Or, alternatively, like her husband had been stress baking for a couple of hours. Which was the final confirmation she needed, because there were only so many things that would trigger a baking episode of such extensive proportions.

Kagome leaned against the doorjamb and crossed her arms, fighting down the laughter that was welling inside. Such drama queens, the pair of them. “Oh, your mother’s here.”

Sesshoumaru’s head snapped up and the ferocious scowl he was wearing eased a fraction as soon as his eyes locked with hers. “Indeed, she is.”

“I thought she was coming tomorrow.”

His lips were pinched. “So did this Sesshoumaru.”

“Oh well. I’m here now. Do you need a buffer for your giant egos?”

“Thank you, but it is handled.”

Kagome raised her eyebrow – a mannerism she’d copied from him – and nodded towards the general chaos of the kitchen. “I can see that.”

Sesshoumaru wiped his hair out of his eyes, leaving a flour stain on his cheek, and managed to look a little sheepish. “I will clean up when I am done.”

“Mm-hmm. I’m going to go check on them. Be right back.”

Kagome found them where she’d expected to: In Ginmaru’s room. The scene that greeted her there did take her by surprise, though. Her heart hiccupped in her chest and the softest ‘awwwwww’ escaped her.

An open picture book lay on the floor, forgotten. Tsukimi sat next to it, leaning against Ginmaru’s bed. And Ginmaru himself was fast asleep, half curled up in his grandmother’s lap, his pudgy little toddler arms wrapped around her waist. Tsukimi cracked one eye open, her red lips curling as she saw Kagome.

“We’re having a little nap,” she whispered softly, gently stroking Ginmaru’s dark curls.

“Carry on,” Kagome whispered back, her heart melting at the pair of them. “We’ll have tea and cupcakes when he wakes up.”

Tsukimi inclined her head, amusement flashing on her face as she shut her eyes again. “We’ll catch up later, my dear. Go calm your mate, now.”

Swallowing a laugh, Kagome turned away and returned to the kitchen.

Sesshoumaru was spreading the butter, sugar and cinnamon mixture on his dough when she entered. Kagome’s mouth watered just from the scent of his baking. Sesshoumaru made the best cinnamon rolls.

She walked to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her cheek against the clean cotton of his shirt. She felt his shoulder relax; the sigh shudder through his body. His big, warm palm settled on her clasped hands.

“I love you,” he told her, his voice so full of tender warmth that Kagome felt it in her bones.

“I’m home,” she murmured into his shirt in reply and pressed a kiss between his shoulder blades.

#sesskag #sesskag fic #sesskag fan fiction #sesskag fluff #sesskag fluff week #skfw24 #skfw24d6 #skfw24d7 #chie writes #fic: sk

12 notes · View notes

offsidekineticist · 2 months

Text

I (finally!) finished my first OC Kiss Week fic! A little familial bonding between Theoven and @silversiren1101's wonderful OC Minovae for the prompt "Lost."

CW: Grief-driven depressive episode, implied child death, referenced chronic pain, reference to an angry outburst resulting in violence against furniture

You were not expecting visitors, so it takes you a moment to get to the door. The second it swings open, you are blinded with an explosion of sunlight shining past the silhouette in the door. Wincing, you raise an aching hand to block the sunlight from your eyes, but it’s no good. Even if you weren’t blinded by the flaming ball of gas in the sky, you haven’t been able to find your glasses since you threw them at the wall in frustration about ten minutes ago.

“Agh–damn. Sorry. I left my glasses inside–who is this?” you ask.

“It’s Minovae,” the figure replies, and you’re at once confused, concerned, and horrified. Confused, because ever since you reconnected with your brother, Gilly has been adamant that he not be allowed to know where you live, lest he and his wife tell the Order of the Rack where you are. You pushed back by pointing out–several times–that the Rack could probably find you on their own, given that you live in the apartment above Gilly’s alchemy shop; his name is literally written on the side of the building. Nevertheless, Gilly was insistent, and everyone involved thought it better to humor him than waste time arguing. For Minovae to be here, either he finally caved or–and this is the source of your concern–something has gone very, very wrong.

On the other hand, you are horrified because you stayed home for a reason! You are not in any state to be seen today, especially not by Regill or his wife. Your hair is unwashed and clumped together from greasiness; you haven’t shaved in days; you probably smell awful; and you don’t even have the energy to bother with proper facial expressions. You’ve been absolutely miserable to be around the past few days, constantly holding yourself back from snapping at people, including the kids (thankfully you haven’t slipped–yet), and so you chose to spare everyone that experience. Let Gilly take the children to a picnic with Aunt Mino and Uncle Regill. Give your family a break from walking on eggshells around you. Nobody was supposed to come to your house in the middle of your temper tantrum.

“Is everything alright?” you ask.

“Oh, yeah, everything’s fine. Giliys just found these in his pocket and thought you’d need them. I volunteered to bring them so he wouldn’t have to cut the outing short.”

‘These’ were a pair of black fingerless gloves she was holding out close enough for you to see. The very gloves you’ve been raging about not being able to find. You remember now–Gilly had dragged you out of the apartment for a walk a few hours before the heatwave finally broke, so it felt too hot to keep the gloves on. The children had taken your bag at the time, and your usual clothes don’t have pockets, so you gave the gloves to Gilly for safekeeping.

It would have been nice of him to remember that before he–

You cut off the thought. You’re being unfair again. It was an honest mistake, one that he immediately took steps to rectify. You would have preferred Minovae not see you in this state, but you know Gilly doesn’t trust her or Regill enough to leave the children alone with them, and you’d rather suffer a little embarrassment than cut short the children’s fun.

(Though you’re not sure that leaving Regill and Gilly together unsupervised was a good idea. Hopefully Harper will be able to keep them in line–your daughter has them both wrapped around her finger)

You reach out with a shaky hand and take the gloves. “Well, thank you. I appreciate it. I won’t keep you any longer, then. I’m sure you’re eager to return to the picnic.” You begin to close the door, but Minovae’s arm shoots forward and holds it open.

“Actually, it was a pretty long walk here from Kite Hill. No shade the whole way, and I forgot to grab a waterskin. Could I come in and sit down for a second? Maybe get a drink of water?”

She expects you to believe that she’s tired and thirsty after walking–without armor–for less than two miles in pleasantly warm weather. You want to slam the door on her arm for her obvious excuse to stay here any longer, but that would be rude. You step back into the apartment and gesture for her to enter. You almost close the door on her tail because you can’t see it without your glasses, but it (thankfully) springs forward at the last second and (less thankfully) almost slaps you in the face. It takes your eyes a moment to readjust to the darkness in the apartment–you’ve closed the curtains trying to reproduce the heat of the last week to stop your hands from aching–but your heart sinks when they do. This floor of the apartment is a single room, with a kitchen and dining area in the half nearest the door and a den area in the other half. Minovae is staring at what used to be the den. You can’t see it very well, of course, but you don’t need to be able to see it to know what she’s looking a: chairs overturned, books strewn across the floor, a bookshelf on its side, broken glass scattered by a pile of copper pieces, toy blocks spread across the floor. You know it’s all there without having to see it because you’re the person who made it like that.

“Oh. Yes.” You pause as you consider how to explain, and settle for understatement. “I was a bit overzealous while looking for my gloves. I was going to clean that up before anyone came home, but…” you gesture towards her. “Anyway, you wanted water.”

“Ah, yes, that would be lovely. Is it alright if I sit here?” You think she’s pointing at the dinner table, but she could be pointing at the bookshelf you knocked over. You don’t care which it is.

“Oh, that’s fine,” you say, moving towards the sink and taking a glass from the counter to fill it. When you turn around, a full glass in your aching hand, Minovae–or at least a large blob you assume is Minovae–is, indeed, sitting at the kitchen table. It’s a comical sight once you come closer. You have furnished your apartment with furniture made for smallfolk, so she is sitting in a chair too small for her, her knees poking above the top of the table. “Here you are,” you say, sliding the glass towards her before retreating to the wall opposite her.

“Thank you,” she says, taking the glass and taking a long sip. “Oh, that’s nice after a long walk.”

You stare at her flatly. You’re fairly sure she invited herself in because she found your appearance concerning. Now that she’s probably even more concerned, you’re morbidly curious as to what excuse she’ll make for why she still can’t leave.

“So, you did all that just since Giliys left with the kids?” Minovae asks, gesturing towards the den.

Ah, so she’s dispensing with subtlety entirely. Then you can do so, as well. “Despite my appearance, I am not so senile as to need a minder. You should go back to enjoying the day with your family.”

“You’re my family, too. And…” she hesitates “...I’m worried about you.”

“Because my face is blank,” you say. There are other reasons, you’re sure–your appearance, the den, your missing glasses, your absence from the picnic–but you’re not willing to discuss any of them, so you ignore them. “Believe it or not, this is my natural level of expression. After the bleaching, my emotions became…muted, but also disconnected. My face doesn’t naturally express much emotion. People find that unsettling, of course, so I learned to put on a face for them. Best not lend any credence to the idea I didn’t have emotions anymore.”

“Don’t tell me people believe that nonsense!” she exclaims in disbelief.

“One of my childhood best friends became completely hostile towards me because she believed it. Tried to get me fired several times. Even tried to steal Qweck away from me once,” you say, and while she does a good job of keeping it from her face, the way her tail is squirming in agitation tells you she’s furious on your behalf.

“So you learned to put on an act for them, because otherwise they would treat you like a pariah,” Minovae says, and you think you hear a note of bitter sympathy as she does.

“It’s not exactly an act–I think of it more like speaking a foreign language. My thoughts are in my native tongue, but my native tongue won’t be understood. So instead I speak as the locals do. Through facial expressions.” You briefly put on a wry, if somewhat melancholic, smile before again dropping the mask. “I just don’t have the energy today, I’m afraid. The change in the weather aggravated my hands. Better I stay home and rest for the day.”

“It’s not just today, though, is it?” she asks with a gentleness that feels patronizing. “You’ve been feeling…off…for awhile. Mayhew let me look at his sketchbook. And I accidentally saw–”

“His artistic impression of his father moping at the kitchen table,” you say, and you are glad she can’t see how exposed you feel by that.

Mayhew’s style is unusual, especially for a child of his mental age. He senses people’s emotions as naturally as you hear sounds, and that colors the way he sees the world to such an extent that “realism” to him means conveying feelings even at the expense of physical form. He usually does this through his use of color, choosing colors based on the mood. Mayhew’s most recent portrait of you, however, was more than just a recolored portrait. He drew your face, shattered and distorted like a broken mirror, against a dark red background, with black seeping through the cracks in your face like some kind of anti-light.

“He said that he made it to show you that your feelings are lying to you,” she continues.

“Did he now?”

Of course he did. Mayhew is a child–your child–and he’s idolized you since the day you met. Gilly calls him Junie–short for Theo, Jr–and it’s not just because of the resemblances in your coloration and mannerisms. Mayhew thinks the world of you, dreams of being like you, and this is the time of year when you remember just how unworthy you are of his esteem. Of course he thinks your feelings are lying.

You hadn’t realized that was what he was trying to show you, though. It felt like a very correct portrait to you, so you had assumed he finally saw through you.

“He’s worried about you,” Minovae says. You lean back against the wall with a soft sigh through your nose.

“I know. I know he is.”

“I’m worried about you.”

“Well, stop that,” you say, almost immediately kicking yourself for it. She isn’t used to deadpan Theoven. “That was a joke,” you clarify.

“I’m serious. You don’t seem alright.”

You close your eyes, bracing yourself. Clearly, she isn’t going to leave until you've given her some kind of explanation. You choose your words carefully before you open your eyes and speak. “It’s nothing permanent. It’s just a few bad days–entirely expected. It should subside sometime next week. Anniversaries of mistakes prompt reflection. And reflection is not always a nice experience.” You force a friendly smile to cap off the reassurance. “But I’m sure you don’t want to hear about that.”

“I want you to be alright.”

“My dear, you are several years too late for that.” You can’t see her expression from where you’re standing, but the lack of reaction tells you the joke fell flat. “That was also a joke,” you clarify.

“One that you believe.”

“Of course. Those are the best kinds of jokes.”

She sighs heavily. “Just…is there something I can do?”

You shake your head. “No. It is too late for anything to be done. I checked. It can’t be helped now.”

“I meant to help you.”

“I know.” Because what else could help you? You are like this because you are guilty. The only way to get rid of the guilt is to pluck out its source–and that can’t be done.

“Are you sure nothing can be done? I’m willing to help–there are things I can do that most can’t.”

“Yes, things such as running the first successful Mendevian Crusade in decades, closing the worldwound, and convincing my brother to marry. But even the great Knight-Commander herself can’t resurrect a soul that’s already been judged.” The bitter words slip out before you can stop them. You stop to center yourself before–

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Do not patronize me!” you snap, and you immediately regret it. You close your eyes and breathe in deeply. Balance, you remind yourself. She is tearing open old wounds. She is trying to help. Both can be true. Both are true. Let that guide your words. “I’m sorry. That was rude. And uncalled for. I just…I don’t like that phrase. It…”

You search for words to explain safely, but can find none. There is no safe way to explain the way it grates for other people to apologize to you for a loss that is entirely your fault.

“Would you like to talk about it?” she asks.

“No.” Of course you don’t want to talk about it–you haven’t even told Gilly about it. He assumes this annual pity-party is about your arrest. He’s right, partly. It’s just that it’s not the arrest itself that haunts you.

Leave Mister Theo alone!

Minovae doesn’t hear the cry echoing through the years. She only hears the silence that rings after you say no. Perhaps now she’ll understand that you want her to leave.

“You’re going to need help if you’re going to clean this mess up before Giliys and the kids get home.”

“By the gods, do you ever stop?” you demand, fixing her with an exhausted glare. “What do I have to say to make you go? Are you going to stay until I tell you about her? Is that it? Gilly gave you our address, so now you’re entitled to see me bare my soul to–” you cut yourself off. You’re putting words into her mouth, expecting her to read your mind and know you want her to leave when you haven’t told her that’s what you want. “I’m sorry. That was unfair of me. What I’m trying to say is that I need to be alone today.”

She doesn't answer right away, seemingly needing a minute to deal with the whiplash of your outburst and immediate apology. You can’t blame her.

“Would it be alright for me to clean up while you rest?” she finally asks.

You stare at her, trying to search her face for sincerity but unable to make out her facial expressions without your glasses. She seems to have gotten her tail back under control, so the only clue you’ll get to her intentions (without squinting and moving closer like an old man in the comedies, at least) is her tone. “Why?”

“Because Mayhew is worried about you, and I think coming home to something like this will make it worse. And I don’t think you’ll be able to do it by yourself in the state you’re in.”

She’s right. She’s absolutely right. You’re a mess, and it’s hurting the children, and you can’t fix it yourself. And even if being alone is what you want, it’s not what’s best for your children.

Maybe it’s not even best for you.

You lean your head back against the wall and do your best to swallow the lump in your throat. “I’m sorry,” you finally say. “You shouldn’t have to spend your day off cleaning up after me. This is why I didn’t go today–none of you should have to put up with this. Especially not without warning.”

She gets up from her comically undersized chair and approaches you. She’s short for tallfolk, but you’re so small that she still towers over you. She puts her hands on your shoulders and looks down at you with an expression of earnest care.

“I understand if you didn’t have the energy, or if you didn’t want to be seen like this. But if it’s for our sakes, I think both Regill and I would rather that you let us help you.” She hesitates, and then says “I would rather that you let me help you.”

You don’t want that. You don’t want to be a burden. But you also know that mentality isn’t healthy–and how many times have your attempts not to be a burden hurt the people you were afraid of inconveniencing? You take a long, deep breath and remind yourself: when you feel the urge to do something self-destructive, do the opposite.

You bow your head, staring at the floor. “I think I will work on the mess. I don’t think lying in bed will help me much.” You have to fight yourself to get the next words out. “If you…want to help…I would appreciate it. Just…” you pause, wanting to make sure you say the right words, wanting to be fair but firm. You raise your head, looking her in the eye as you speak. “Do not ask me about it anymore. I don’t want to discuss it.”

She leans over and kisses you on the crown of your head. “I understand. I’m sorry for pushing.”

You take another breath. Breathe. “You were–are–worried. I can’t hold that against you.” You turn your head towards the mess of blurry shapes that used to be the den. “You know, without my glasses, it looks much less intimidating from here. We should consider cleaning from here. And if we find my glasses it might be effective to re-lose them. It may be easier.”

There’s a moment of silence, and for the third time you’re kicking yourself for forgetting she’s not used to picking your jokes out from the rest of your words without tone markers. You’re about to clarify–“that was a joke”–when she snorts.

She isn’t fluent in your native tongue, but you think she might be learning–and that means everything.

#pwotr pals #pathfinder wotr #friend's oc #oc: minovae arangeir #oc: theoven derenge #ockiss24

17 notes · View notes

icequeenlila · 7 months

Text

Belly Dancer- SatoSugu

Warnings: Description of Satoru's angelic body, Suguru is a simp

"Come see the show tonight, Suguru!"

Satoru had looked at him with those big, blue eyes and Suguru had to repeat his friend's words inside his own head several times, before snapping out of his daze.

"Why would I?"

Bored. Uninterested. The usual act he put up to hide from his best friend.

"To watch me dance, obviously."

Teeth. Hah. Satoru is smiling at me. Cool, totally cool. Just keep cool.

"Why would I want to watch a lanky giant like you dance?"

Shit. Too much. He's gonna be mad now. Less cool next time.

"Rude!"

There had been a giggle in Satoru's voice and Suguru had almost fainted from the relief he'd felt. However, Satoru didn't back down, and to be honest, Suguru was a bit curious. So, he agreed.

Bad decision.

Because now he was standing here, in the midst of a cheering crowd, in a dark room, moist from booze and sweat, close to a heart attack.

A month or so ago, when money had run short, Satoru had told him about some job he'd picked up to be able to afford a life in Tokyo. Waiting and dancing in some restaurant that also offered a show for its customers.

What is one supposed to think of, when hearing this?

For a month or so, Suguru had been convinced that Satoru is just running around in a stupid uniform, waiting on people and occasionally doing a little silly dance. Like Suguru had seen in the show 'Friends', the both of them liked watching together.

The episode in which Monika had been working in some stupid roller skate restaurant and every time her friends payed into some fund, she and her whole crew had to dance on the bar counter.

It would have fit Satoru. A silly job for his silly (in a very endearing way of course) best friend.

But this ...

Suguru hadn't expected this.

First of all, the word 'restaurant' was obviously just a front. There were tables, yes. But people didn't eat on them. All Suguru could see were drinks and drinks and even more drinks.

It was dark. Moist smoke hanging in the air, the spotlight coloring it purple, blue, pink, red, whatever. The people here were what you'd expect to see inside a strip club or something like that.

And Suguru was pretty sure that's what this 'restaurant' actually was. Just not as shaggy and on the nose. It had more of a theatrical touch, with curtains and a show stage and everything. He refused to describe it as classy, but it really wasn't nearly as scandalous and lewd as other ... facilities he'd seen.

Whatever. All of this was just stuff he caught right when stepping inside here. The girl on the reception had let him enter for free after he'd stated his name, smiling at him somewhat mischievous, telling him Satoru would be the next one out.

Suguru had wrinkled his forehead over the unspoken implement of her smile. He understood now.

Because the man entering the stage, didn't wear a silly costume like in his imagination. He wasn't smiling his silly smile. He didn't look lanky or clumsy at all, like Suguru had accused before.

Nah.

Welcomed by the anticipation loaded cheers and calls of the crowd, Satoru moved over the smooth wood of the stage ... barefoot.

Somehow that's the first thing Suguru noticed.

Satoru was barefoot and he was moving, like walking on clouds. Light-footed and ... and wow.

His best friend waved at the crowd, the flowy fabric of his costume dragging after him, and the cheers swell once more.

As did Suguru's heart. Because. Wow.

Satoru was wearing barely anything. White, flowy pants, sitting low (LOW) on his thin waist, showing off the soft V his hips.

There were small, tinkling adornments lining the waistband, shining golden in the warm spotlight.

A tight top, also white, that run from a golden chain around his neck down to his chest. Tiny golden raindrops hanging from where it ended right under Satoru's nipples.

How Suguru could tell that?

Well, because both, the pants and the top, were see-through all the way.

Suguru could see everything.

Satoru's long legs, his slim waist, the soft but defined muscle of his stomach, his nipples pressing against the soft fabric of that scandalous top. They stood out a bit, woken from the constant friction against the silky fabric. They shone pinkish, contrasting the milky tone of his skin.

Skin. Suguru saw skin. Miles and miles of marble skin and he felt ready to faint.

And that was before Satoru did a graceful spin on the stage, soft smile on his lips and all, showing off his backside.

Skin. Dimples right above the waistband. And ass. Cheez, Suguru could see his best friend's butt. All of it. As far as he could tell, Satoru was only wearing a thong beneath all this nothingness.

Suguru's vision blurred for a moment, dark spots dancing in front of his eyes. He was dizzy. He was sure he'd fold in the midst of this cheering crowd. This crowd that called to his best friend. His best friend, who was standing on that damn stage, waving with a innocent smile, looking like some ethereal wetdream.

To be continued ...

I am either too dense to use the filter on AO3 correctly or there aren't nearly enough smut fics of those two. I wanna change that.

They are my latest obsession. I have read part one of the manga but am already depressed. Thank you TikTok.

Literally all I know about those two, I know out of edits and skits I've watched. If Suguru is out of character ... sorry. This is literally gonna be porn with the faintest of plot, so I don't think it's too bad. Also it's like an AU where they are just normal people, trying to afford rent. I haven't gotten the hang of all the magic shit yet and it fits the situation better.

First attempt at smut. It's possibly gonna suck. If I ever manage to finish it, that is. This is just like a fun side piece I'm writing to get out of my current ... I think it's called 'writer's block' ...

Still haven't dropped any of my Avatar fics, so you must not fear.

Yeeeaaaahhhhhhhhhhh, that's it. Have a nice day. I'm gonna have Ramen now!🍜

(Someday I'm gonna make a second account for random stuff like this. But I'm old, I haven't figured out how, yet. So just ignore this if you're not interested. I will be back on the Avatar stuff)✨💙

#satosugu #gojo satoru #geto suguru #jjk #ao3fic #jjk fic #jujutsu kaisen

22 notes · View notes

raaorqtpbpdy · 3 months

Text

Brotherhood (1)

Directly following the events of Double Helix, Danny enrolls in Bayville High school and joins the Brotherhood of Mutants. He's not sure if they actually believe he's a ghost and not a mutant, but at least they don't care enough to challenge him on it, and that's good enough for him.

Written for @crossoverdanuary Week 2024, Day 5: The Owl House X-Men Evolution | Shell

I have seen exactly two episodes of The Owl House, and that was like four years ago or something, so I was not confident in my ability to write a crossover for it.

The one word prompt doesn't actually appear until the second chapter, but I tried to work in a theme of both Danny and Wanda "coming out of their shell" throughout the fic. You can also read it on AO3.

Chapter 1: Halfway House

[Warnings for mild violence and mentions of mental health issues]

Danny never realized how much of a pain in the ass it was to enroll in school by himself. Jazz really deserved a lot more credit for dealing with all the stuff their parents forgot to do. It was so much paperwork. Nevertheless, with some effort, Danny got himself enrolled in Bayville High and slipped right in under the radar. Since his human form didn't stand out, he just showed up on his first day and figured things out from there.

Just like he'd suspected, there were several mutants at the school, meaning none of the other students picked up on Danny's weird vibes.

The guy who never took off his stupid sunglasses and the German kid whose hands were in a permanent Vulcan salute were perfect camouflage. At least, they helped him hide from the normal students. The mutant students picked up on him within the first week.

"Hey, new kid!" A group of students cornered Danny at his locker while he was switching out his books before heading to lunch.

He recognized most of them from his classes, Lance, Pietro, and a kid everyone called Toad, but Danny didn't know his real name. There was also a huge guy with a blond Mohawk who was about the same size and Danny's dad, maybe even a few inches taller. Danny had seen him around school, since he was kind of hard to miss, but didn't have any classes with him, and so didn't know his name.

"Can I help you?" Danny asked.

"You're a mutant, aren't you?" Lance asked him.

"No. What's it to you?" Danny responded.

"We're called the Brotherhood of Mutants," Pietro explained. "Or just the Brotherhood for short. We've seen what you can do and we want you to join us."

"Unless you're already one of the X-Men," the big guy said. "You're not, are you?"

"Of course he's not. We would know if he was!" Pietro snapped. "So, what do you say?"

"Join you?" Danny raised an eyebrow and gave them a skeptical frown. "What exactly would that entail?"

"Oh it's great!" Toad told him. "You get to live at the board house where there's no rules, fight the X-Men... I mean... we always get our butts kicked, but it's still cool!"

"Free room and board is enticing," Danny admitted.

He was currently squatting in a for-sale home and only getting away with it because he was already gone for school before the first tour of the day and he thought of locks as more of a suggestion than a rule.

"But I don't join just any mutant group that offers me an invitation. What are your actual beliefs, your goals? What do you stand for?"

"Uhh...." Toad put a finger to his lip thoughtfully. "You know what, I don't really know."

"We stand for ourselves," Lance told him, pushing Toad aside. "Because when it comes down to it, nobody else will, and we freaks gotta stick together. You in or what? 'Cause we ain't gonna waste our time with you any longer than we have to."

Lance extended a hand to Danny, and Danny just looked at it for a long moment before accepting the handshake.

"I'm in," Danny agreed.

These guys seemed like dicks, to be honest, but their ideals aligned with his a whole lot better than professor goodie two-shoes. Plus, maybe it was just a coincidence or an accident, but they hadn't actually called him a mutant. They'd asked if he was, but hadn't pushed when he said no, not like that stupid professor had.

"Great," Lance said. "I'll pick you up in my jeep after school, but be on time because I'm not waiting for you."

"Oh, by the way, Tabitha's part of our group, too," Pietro told him. "You may know her as Boom Boom. Hope you don't mind if there's a girl in the house."

"Why would I mind?" Danny asked.

Pietro didn't answer, just sped away.

After school, he waited by what he assumed was Lance's jeep. It was the muddiest jeep in the school lot, so he was only guessing, but he was pretty sure. He ended up being right, and Lance drove them all to the Brotherhood's boarding house. The place was a disaster area, and a complete mess. There were still a couple of free rooms, but Danny opted to lay claim to the attic and moved one of the free beds up there.

"Why would you want the creepy old attic?" asked the big guy, whom everyone called Blob.

"Because, a haunted attic is objectively cooler and spookier than haunted bedroom," Danny told him matter-of-factly. "I'm not gonna be some lame bedroom ghost. What am I, an eight-year-old girl whose depressed mother drowned her in a bathtub? No! I'm a science experiment gone wrong. Besides, this place doesn't have a basement, so I have to settle for the next best thing."

"Oh... I guess that makes sense," Blob said, though he was scratching his head.

"Uh, no," Pietro disagreed. "It doesn't. This new guy is a straight up weirdo."

"So's Toad and we let him stick around," said Tabitha, climbing the stairs to drop off her backpack before heading out again to meet the X-girls at the mall. "At least Danny showers."

"Hey! I shower!" Toad argued indignantly. "I shower every month!"

—

"There's a new mutant at school. The Brotherhood just recruited him yesterday. Should we have invited him to join the Institute instead, Professor?" Jean asked.

She and some of the other X-Men had noticed that the new kid who'd just enrolled in their high-school had strange powers. He was pretty sneaky with them, and none of them could seem to figure out exactly what they were, so they'd just been keeping an eye on him. But now, he'd started hanging out with the Brotherhood mutants, so Jean had convinced the others to bring it up to Professor X for guidance.

"He might still change his mind," she continued. "He doesn't seem like a bad guy. I saw him turn invisible to avoid a group of jerks at school seeing him walk past."

"What?" Scott asked, quirking his eyebrows at her. "Invisibility? But I saw him use a power just like Kitty's to open his locker when it jammed."

"Like, no way!" Kitty argued. "The guy's totally a telekinetic!"

"Maybe he can replicate powers, then?" Rogue suggested. "Because I'm pretty sure I saw him trip Duncan on a patch of ice when he was being a douche."

"Hmm... interesting," Professor X said thoughtfully. "What was this boy's name, did you say?"

"Oh, no I didn't, it's Danny Fenton," Jean answered.

The professor's eyes widened in recognition.

"Do you know him, Professor?"

"Indeed," he confirmed, steepling his fingers as he considered his memories of the boy. "Daniel Fenton is a mutant with an incredibly powerful and versatile set of abilities, notably similar to the abilities ghosts are thought to have—flight, invisibility, intangibility, the ability to create cold spots, move objects telekinetically, and warp electrical fields, among others.

"I first met him at a mental care institution for mutants where I perform regular evaluations on their younger patients," he explained further. "Because of his particular range of powers, Danny is under the delusion that he actually is a ghost, rather than a mutant, and as such, he believes that he cannot die, which causes him to sometimes be reckless with his own life. It also upsets him severely to have his delusion challenged by others.

"I was informed of him escaping from the institution, not long ago, but I never would have expected him to come here. I'm even more surprised that he would be willing to align himself with a mutant group. He always showed clear disdain when I mentioned my school to him, and even more so when I tried to imply that he was truly a mutant, rather than a ghost."

"Sounds like Danny will end up being a powerful enemy," Scott said.

"Indeed," the professor agreed. "He's one of the most powerful mutants I know of, and to make matters worse, he has a tendency to lose control over his powers when you do or say anything to upset him."

"So basically, don't try to argue with him about being a ghost," Rogue surmised. "That about cover it?"

"For a start," Professor X said. "You'd also do well not to get in a debate with him about ideals, he's rather... passionate about his."

"I take it he doesn't agree with yours?" Scott guessed.

"You're quite correct," the professor confirmed. "You would all do well not to engage with him. Offering to let him join the institute at this juncture would no doubt end poorly. Best to leave him alone for now. But keep an eye on him. He could be dangerous."

"Understood, Professor."

—

"So, Lance," Danny crossed his legs and floated in the air by the couch in a way that he knew unsettled the rest of the Brotherhood, which of course meant he thought it was dreadfully funny, "care to explain the rumbling this morning? I'm pretty sure Bayville isn't on any fault lines."

"Kitty asked him to the dance," Toad answered for him, making mocking kissy faces at him.

Lance shoved his face away, but all five of them had already devolved into teasing Lance mercilessly.

"Stuff it, Toad. It's not a big deal," he said.

Danny snickered at him as the teasing continued, Tabitha seating herself on the arm of Lance's chair and leaning into his personal space to ask if Kitty was gonna be his girlfriend while he sat there with a resigned expression on his face.

"We wouldn't be caught dead at that stupid dance!" Blob declared, and Danny laughed even harder.

"Really Freddy?" Tabitha asked, tapping her finger on his nose with a teasing pout. "Aw, that's too bad. 'Cause I was thinking of askin' you."

"U-uh... you were?" Blob asked dumbly.

"Yeah, but if you don't wanna go..." she raised her arms as if giving up on the idea.

"Ooh! Ask me! I'll go!" Toad volunteered, jumping up and down with his hands raised.

"Pathetic," scoffed Pietro, always pretending he was too cool for the rest of them, like he wasn't sprawled out of the same greased stained couch the rest of them sat on.

"Hey, speedy." Tabitha turned to him and put her hands on her hips. "You think you're too good for me?" she asked, leaning down to him with laughter on her voice."

"Nah, you just couldn't keep up with me," Pietro explained. "I mean, I can keep four girls busy dancing at the same time." He did a lap around the room at super-speed to prove his point. "Ha!"

"What about you, cold spot?" she asked Danny.

"You're nice and all," he said with a light-hearted smirk, "but I'm only interested in people who don't know I'm alive, don't want me alive, or have actively tried to kill me in the past, whether or not they succeeded doesn't matter though."

"Is that so?"

Tabitha tossed one of her little bombs in his lap, but he turned intangible and let it blow up on the floor below him.

"Now that that's settled, let's all go! And show that school how to party!" She whooped and just like that, everyone was on board, even Lance seemed happy about it, although admittedly, Danny still wasn't really interested in going. A school dance sounded like a really boring way to spend his evening, and he didn't even have a suit.

Luckily, Danny found some nicer clothes in a box in the attic. They were a little big, but they'd do.

And like that, the Brotherhood all went to the school dance. Pietro actually showed up arm-in-arm-et-cetera with four different girls.

Danny wasn't much for dancing, but in the end, the dance was a lot more exciting than he'd thought it would be. That kind of thing happened when weird little dinosaurs tore up the dance floor—literally.

He was thrown off for a moment when one of them jumped at a girl and went right through her, thinking maybe the creature was some kind of ghost. But then a table went right through her too, and he made the connection. The girl was Lance's date, meaning she must've been Kitty, who was a mutant. Intangibility had to be her mutant ability. It was a good one, came in handy a lot. Good for her.

They looked scary, but the creatures weren't too hard to take down, especially not once Danny got his hands on one and could sense it was from another dimension. He'd never had much luck making portals before, but it was easier to send stuff back where it came from than it was for things to be in dimensions where they didn't belong, and after almost dying a second time, he finally managed to send one of the creatures back to its own dimension.

"How did you do that?" shouted the guy who always wore sunglasses—and after seeing him lift them to shoot lasers out of his eyes, Danny finally understood why.

"Uh... luck, mostly!" he answered.

Danny was getting the chance to see a lot of their abilities for the first time tonight. That red-headed girl had telekinesis. The German kid teleported away with his date after Lance ripped up the gym floor to corral the creature back Danny's way. These kids seemed to be pretty powerful.

Now that the gym was basically evacuated, it was just Danny, the mutants, and one more monster.

"Can you do it again?" Lance asked.

"Are you kidding? I barely did it the first time!"

While they were arguing, the creature forced its way into the hall.

"Shit! We better go after it!"

The remaining Brotherhood members and X-men left the gym, chasing after it. Down the hall, they ran into a guy Danny didn't recognize, but the X-men called him Forge, and he was carrying a strange device.

"Whatever that thing is, don't point it at me!" Danny said when he saw where Forge was aiming it, albeit probably unintentionally, and he stepped aside, out of the blast zone.

"It's a portal maker," said Forge. "It'll send them back to the dimension they came from."

"In that case, definitely don't point it at me," Danny said.

"My scans indicate traces in the gym."

"I already took care of the one in the gym, sent it back myself," Danny said. "We need to get the one that ran down the hall." Much to Danny's relief, Forge didn't question him, and instead, they all got back to running.

By the time they found the one that got away, Tabitha, Blob, and Toad had already taken care of it, and were sitting on it to keep it down.

"Hey, I recognize that thing!" Toad remarked, pointing to Forge's portal-maker.

"I modified to to sent these things back to the dimension they came from," Forge explained. "Everyone step back."

The three of them were more than happy to do so. The creature barely had time to get to its feet before it got zapped back home.

"That should be all of them," Forge said. "My sensors aren't picking up anymore traces from that dimension."

"Thank the Ancients," Danny said, half-sarcastically. "Does this kinda stuff happen a lot around you guys? Cause I may have to rethink my membership."

"You'd be more than welcome at the Xavier Institute," Scott started to say, only to get elbowed by Jean.

"He doesn't want to join Institute," Jean hissed. "Remember what the professor said?"

"Yeah, sorry, but she's right," Danny said. "Professor Xavier and I don't exactly see eye-to-eye. It was fun fighting monsters with you, but I'm gonna stick with the brotherhood. See ya around."

They two groups parted ways, The X-Men to their institute and the Brotherhood to their board house.

"I didn't know you knew Professor X," Tabitha said as they headed toward Lance's jeep. "How'd you meet him."

"At a mental institution," Danny answered, trying to keep his voice casual.

The casual tone did not prevent the rest of them form turning to stare at him when they stopped at a red light.

"It's nothing you guys have to worry about," he assured them. "I'm not crazy. It was just a misunderstanding."

"Some misunderstanding," Lance scoffed. "Let me guess, it was the ghost thing, right?"

"Are you really gonna go there?" Danny asked, his tone warning.

"Ha! No," Lance replied. "You may be a ghost, but I don't plan on joining you any time soon."

"Good call," Danny said.

He had no idea if these Brotherhood folks actually believed he was a ghost, or if they were just playing along, but it didn't actually matter. They respected him enough not to call him delusional, and that made them better than the X-Men and their fearless leader.

#dp #danny phantom #x men evolution #x men #dp x x men evolution #fic #things i wrote #crossover #dp crossover #crossover danuary week 2024 #crossover danuary week #double helix #brotherhood #sequel

12 notes · View notes

skippyv20 · 7 months

Text

Hi Skippy! I was thinking this morning about how blessed this entire community is to have you as our fearless leader. I’ve followed you for years, and have often sought your advice and counsel on many very personal issues. You never fail to come through with wisdom, empathy, and kindness. So thank you for being you and shining some much-needed light onto this world.

I wanted to give you a long-overdue update. I am the attorney anon who wrote last year about mental health, job, and family struggles, including a challenging marriage, a child with special needs, and a new diagnosis of bipolar disorder after suffering 30 years with wrong diagnoses and medication.

First the good news: my moods have stabalized on a new cocktail of meds, and I haven't had a severe depressive episode for almost a year! My mania is better too, but I do have some uncomfortable side effects. I am on lithium, and I worry about kidney issues and/or developing diabetes, which are two possible side effects.

Second bit of good news - I'm now working back at my old organization. If you told me that this time last year, I'd never have believed you. I was convinced my days as an atty were over because of my mental health issues. I considered filing for disability. The role is one I haven't held in 8 years, I had moved onto a prestigious position in that org before jumping ship to another org for a promotion. So it's a bit humbling to be back in this role, but I'm grateful to be here. I was stuck in a nightmare at my last job, which included at the end fighting disability discrimination.

Bad news: I still worry about my son, who is now 7, and doesn't seem to be where he needs to be. I've done everything for him, 4-5 different therapies a week since his premature birth. He has a physical disability and, while he is very smart and can keep up with his class, he just seems different than other boys his age.

My husband is incapable of providing emotional support, and I do think sometimes I'm in an emotionally abusive relationship. I am not happy, he is not happy, but I'm so afraid to cut the cord. My brother is going through a divorce and I know if I do too it'll cause my elderly parents even more distress. But this is a guy who - get this - snapped at waiters who came to the table carrying (free) cake to sing happy birthday a few weeks ago. It was crazy and scary, and i just don't want to deal with a person like this anymore. I'm 42 now, not in my mid-30s like when you told me to be strong and leave him years ago...is it too late? I see signs of aging when I look in the mirror and I've gained some weight. I'm worried I've lost all of my appeal and don't want to be alone. My husband is very responsible and does do a lot of things around the house and for our son. If he didn't, it'd be a no brainer to divorce, but maybe it's worth salvaging for the help with things I can't always get to because of my issues? Not to mention our son would be crushed.

Hi! So nice to hear from you. Thank you for such kind words, but I must say…I am NOT a leader. I am just here struggling along with everyone else. We get through one day at a time, together! Nice to know some things have changed. That is so wonderful your meds are working so well. Don’t spend time worrying about the side effects. If you focus on those you are robbing yourself of joy. If you just keep going for your scheduled appts with your doctor, he will be watching for you.

I understand what you mean about being in one job and going back to another. I was working as a secretary in the government. I was chosen to create a new intake position, that was non existent. It was a six month term. At the end of the six months, I was back as a secretary being supervised again, by the same woman I had been supervising for six months. Everyone thought it was so strange. I didn’t though. I look at things differently I guess. A job is a job, and whatever it is, as long as you know you are doing the best you can….it doesn’t matter what the job is. You just take it one day at a time. After all, a job is not your whole life…right?

Children are strange little things. They do things at their own rate. He sounds like he is doing very well, he is keeping up! Great job! Seems different than other boys? That is ok…your child is who he is….it’s not a contest. Different is ok. My daughter was different as a child, an old soul. She is different now as she is bipolar. There are quirks….makes life interesting…..embrace him, just as he is….

I will always advise anyone who is being emotionally or physically abused to leave. You say you aren’t happy, and he isn’t happy? Perhaps a marriage counsellor? People get too comfy in their lives, and don’t want to change things. No one likes the unknown future. You mention your parents, and your son being distressed? Timing is always a problem…when is the best time? You say your husband is a great help…see to me…there must still be something there, I couldn’t find one good reason to stay with my ex, and believe me…he did all the cooking, he cleaned like no other, he did everything….that was one of the biggest problems for me…I couldn’t do anything, he told me that all the time.

Bipolar people can see things differently. They can hear things said one way only….it will be negative. It takes time, love and patience to communicate with someone who is bipolar. People don’t understand that unless you tell them. I have had to learn to speak to my daughter differently. Maybe you need to explain that to your husband. If you want to save this marriage, it will take work on both sides. Communication is everything. I know some think being bipolar one just needs meds….no…not true. It’s much more involved than that.

Anyways, I am so proud of you! You sound so much better. I really, really appreciate you dropping by, so nice to hear from you. You are in my prayers. I send love and hugs….and…thank YOU for staying with me!🙏🏻❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

21 notes · View notes

queen-of-writing-bad-things · 3 months

Text

Henry Danger Reader Insert | Captain Man x Reader: SEASON 1

Episode 20: Dream Busters

~The Man Cave~

Schwoz and (y/n) were dashing around the Man Cave, trying to set up several machines at once. Ray had called them five minutes ago, alerting them that Henry was 'out of action', whatever that meant, and he was bringing him back to the headquarters as soon as possible. The worry in his voice made the two assistants rush to get everything ready as deep down, they could tell how concerned Ray was. He was protective of his vulnerable sidekick; they all were, and they'd be damned if they let him down in his hour of need.

Charlotte came crashing down in the elevator, (y/n) having called her fifteen minutes earlier. It wasn't the girl's day to work, but once the superhero duo came back, Captain Man would need all the help he could get to save Henry. (y/n) was tweaking the machine that would be used for Henry, as the dark-haired girl stumbled into the main room.

"Hey, Schwoz, (y/n), look! I made onion dip!" Charlotte smiled at them, excited to share her delicious creation. However, the situation was dire and the two engineers didn't have time to sit and dip.

"Not now Charlotte, sweetheart." (y/n) smiled at her as kindly as she could, but the stress was evident on her face. Ray hadn't given them many details, but there were enough to make her feel nauseous with fear.

"There's no time for onion dip," Schwoz told the girl, helping the young woman adjust the chair in the middle of the room.

"Why not?" Charlotte asked, sensing that something was wrong.

"Something bad has happened." (y/n) told her, her hands feeling clammy and shakey. 'Damn my stupid nerves.' She thought, knowing that to do her job properly, she needed to remain calm.

"Aw, did Gooch fall in the toilet again?" The dark-haired girl sighed, not fully comprehending the gravity of what was going on.

"No, Gooch did not fall in the toilet again," Schwoz said in an annoyed tone. As if they'd be running around in a frenzy if Gooch was in the toilet again.

"Then what is--" Charlotte was interrupted as both tubes came down with a pale-faced Ray in the right one.

"Hey! Do you like onion dip?" The girl asked him in a friendly tone, but the superhero was too concerned with his sidekick to care.

"Wait a minute!" He stopped her question, watching as a sleeping Henry came down in the other tube. (y/n) felt her stomach drop at the sight of him in the deep sleep. Seeing it with her own eyes made everything feel real. Schwoz used his remote to raise the tube propping the boy up and Ray caught him in his arms.

"Oh my god, how is he?" (y/n) said, taking a few steps forward to meet her best friend in the middle as he brought the kid to the chair.

"He's sound asleep!" Ray reported, his voice laced with concern.

"Oh no! Bring him! We have to hook him up to the thingy!" Schwoz lifted the headpiece on the machine and gestured for the larger man to put Henry down. Charlotte looked on in confused horror, not knowing what was wrong with her friend.

"What's wrong with Henry?" She asked as (y/n) and Schwoz strapped the boy to the chair and hooked him up to the device.

"We were trying to capture Dr Minyak," Ray said, biting his fingernails through his gloves when (y/n) brought up Henry's vital signs on the scanner.

"Dr Minyak broke out of prison?" Charlotte said in a shocked voice. She hadn't heard about the insane criminal being loose again.

"Yeah, two weeks ago." The older woman mentioned. She knew the status of pretty much every major criminal in and around Swellview since she had a lot of time on her hands and an obligation to be well-informed for Ray.

"And just as we were about to grab him, he blasted Henry with a dream beam." The man recounted what had happened only an hour prior.

"A dream beam? What is--" Charlotte was perplexed with everything happening at that moment and Ray's interruptions weren't helping.

"There's no time for you to finish that question!" He snapped at her, making (y/n) frown as she looked at the screen.

"Raymond! Keep calm!" She told him sternly. Just because there was an emergency didn't mean he had to be rude.

"Sorry." He mumbled, trying to get his stress under control.

"Schwoz, can you show us Henry's brain activity?" The woman asked the genius as Ray ran around the chair so he could see the screen.

"Yeah, hang on, I've got to change the input," Schwoz said and he started to flick through all the setups on the monitor.

"HDMI one, no, HDMI two, no." He looked through them at a painfully slow pace, which irritated the other adults.

"Oh my god," Ray muttered under his breath, as he put a hand on his friend's shoulder, comforting both of them.

"For the love of God, please hurry up!" (y/n) hissed, enjoying the warmth that his touch brought.

"Oh, there. That's Henry's brain." The little man finally found the right screen on HDMI three and they all looked at the information that was listed.

"Okay, I will give anyone two dollars to tell me what's going on." Charlotte held up the bills, shaking them in front of the adults' faces so she could be clued in on Henry's situation.

"Henry got blasted with a dream beam, which put him into a deep sleep, like, really deep." (y/n) explained as simply as she could, knowing that she couldn't explain the science even if she tried. The girl nodded in understanding, so the older woman took the two dollars out of her hand, thinking that it was two more dollars in her pocket.

"Well, then let's wake him up," Charlotte said, but Ray shook his head.

"It's almost impossible to wake someone who's been dream beamed." He said, walking back over to Henry's side.

"Why?" Charlotte asked in concern.

"Show her, guys." He said as he raised the headpiece from the boy's face. (y/n) took out a pair of cymbals from a cabinet and started crashing them together next to Henry's ears. Not even a blink. Sighing, she put them down and let Schwoz take over.

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" The little man's slapped Henry across the face harshly several times, but the boy didn't even twitch.

"Okay, okay, he needs his face!" (y/n) grabbed his hands and pushed them away from the boy. They turned to Charlotte who looked like she now understood how serious everything was.

"You see?" Schwoz shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh my god..." The teen stated, not believing that Henry hadn't woken up after having his face beat about.

"And as long as he's in this type of deep sleep...he'll have dreams," Ray said mysteriously, putting the scanner back down.

"Dreams?" They didn't sound too bad to Charlotte. Everyone dreams, so how bad can it be?

"Disturbing dreams." (y/n) clarified.

"Crazy dreams!" Schwoz growled into Charlotte's ear, making the girl jump.

"Oh, man." The teen looked at Henry with worry as the kid began to writhe in discomfort.

"He must be having one right now." (y/n) said, seeing a change in his brain activity.

"I wonder what he's dreaming about." Charlotte wondered, wishing she could see inside Henry's mind.

"Watch the screen and you will see," Schwoz told her, making the girl gaze on the monitor with wonder. Henry's brain waves started going haywire as his dream commenced.

Henry strolled up to his locker in Swellview High School. So far, so normal. However, everything soon became weird as Jasper came running through the corridors, screaming for his friend. The blond boy turned away from his locker, intent on greeting Jasper, but to his bewilderment, the teen came trotting up to him in a snow-white wedding dress, complete with a veil and heels.

The boy was panting and sweating, but he started to tell Henry about how he was late for his wedding and that he needed him to drive him to church. Henry questioned why he was dressed as a bride, but Jasper didn't answer him, he just peered over his shoulder in horror. When Henry asked what was wrong, the curly-haired boy just pointed and screamed at a dancing green woman behind him. As Henry looked at the dancer in confusion, Jasper grasped his bicep and pleaded with him to not let the girl stop his wedding.

With his best friend running away, Kid Danger was left with the green woman, but then, Miss Shapen walked up to him. He tried to ask her about the green dancer, but she just scolded him for being in trouble over her cat not using the bathroom. Henry asked why that was his fault, but Miss Shapen was just spouting gobbledygook about George Clooney. Things got even weirder when his teacher's eyes were replaced with lips, which started to talk over one another. Miss Shapen and her lip-eyes began to laugh together, seriously freaking Henry out when they started singing too.

"Look! His brain waves are going insane!" (y/n) pointed to the spiking levels on the monitor, grabbing everyone's attention.

"He must be having an insane dream," Ray said as Henry started convulsing again.

"Man...I sure picked the wrong day to make onion dip." Charlotte commented, making the adults look at her with irritated and baffled expressions.

"We don't have time for the dips!" Schwoz scolded her, causing the girl to raise her hands in surrender.

"Okay, let's not argue. Henry needs us, so Ray, go get changed, Schwoz, help me get Henry back into his normal clothes and Charlotte, get some chips for that dip." (y/n) instructed them, taking control of the situation. Shit needed to get done and she was going to be the one to facilitate it.

"Yes, ma'am!" They all saluted her jokingly and parted ways to get started on the tasks she gave them. Ray smiled to himself at how she asserted herself, loving how her confidence came out when needed.

~10 minutes later~

"All right, Henry's back into his normal clothes, what do we do now?" Ray asked her, as he finished wrapping some bandages around the kid's feet, as per (y/n)'s directions. She needed the piping to be secured around his feet so her plan could be carried out safely.

"We're gonna try something drastic." She said enigmatic tone.

"Oooh, what?" Charlotte asked her, seeing how she was letting her logic and intelligence guide her.

"Waking Henry up by giving him a massive dose of extreme coffee." She told her, turning around to see if Barista Schwoz was nearly ready with the super-caffeinated drink.

"But I thought extreme coffee was illegal in America." The dark-haired teen gasped, not believing that they were going to use it on Henry.

"It is," Schwoz said. Drastic situations called for drastic measures.

"And for good reason. It has over 300 hundred times the caffeine of normal coffee." Ray stated, his focus on Charlotte giving (y/n) a second to glance at him and appreciate how well his shirt fit him. Like always, his biceps strained against the material, making them look huge.

"Okay. We're ready to pump the extreme coffee into Henry." Schwoz announced, snapping her attention away from Ray's muscly arms.

"Do it." The large man said, praying that it would wake Henry up.

"Are you sure about this?" Charlotte looked at (y/n), who was biting her thumb from her nerves.

"This is the safest option." She muttered, taking a few steps back so she could be at Ray's side. He slipped his hand into hers and their fingers intertwined into a tight hold.

"Let's hope this works," Ray said, crossing his fingers on his free hand.

"Yeah." Schwoz pressed the go button on the coffee machine and the deathly black liquid ran from the bottle, through the tubes and into Henry's body via his feet.

"Hey, why are we injecting the coffee into his feet?" Charlotte asked, thinking that it was a weird place to use.

"Because the fastest way to get the coffee in is through intro-feetus injection," Ray replied, confusing both the girl and his best friend. That information was definitely wrong.

"Where do you learn this stuff?" The teen questioned him, seriously wondering what books and web pages he was reading.

"He doesn't, he just repeats what Schwoz and I say. Badly." (y/n) teased, squeezing Ray's hand as she smirked at him. He chuckled and let go of her hand in favour of wrapping an arm around her shoulders, bringing her closer to him.

"So, what is the real reason?" Charlotte asked, not letting how cute they looked affect her facial expressions.

"We can't use intravenous injection in his arm because the coffee would be absorbed too fast and it could give him a heart attack. Therefore, we're sending it in through his feet so the absorption is slower." (y/n) smiled at Charlotte who nodded in understanding at her simple, yet smart explanation.

"Clever girl," Ray mumbled, pressing a fleeting kiss to the top of her head. (y/n) thanked her lucky stars that she wasn't the one hooked up to the machinery since she was sure her heart rate would be off the scale. She avoided eye contact with Charlotte as she knew the teenager would be staring at her with teasing eyes.

Henry began to shake more violently as the extreme coffee began to take effect. His friends looked at him as he moaned and groaned.

"Is Henry waking up?" Ray asked Schwoz, who checked the scanner's results.

"I don't think so." He sighed dejectedly. Ray put his hands on his head in frustration and (y/n) squished her face to his pec. They had been counting on this to work, so to hear the bad news was like a kick to the face.

"But the coffee does seem to be affecting Henry's dream." Schwoz saw the numbers on his screen shoot up and the boy shook like a leaf.

Henry was back in Swellview High, sprinting at full speed around the corridors (probably influenced by the massive inrush of caffeine). Oliver Pook was sat in the middle of the hallway in a shallow paddling pool, blowing bubbles as a yellow duck bobbed up and down in the pool. The green dancing girl from before was twirling and shaking her hips as a hyper Henry ran around Oliver's pool, laughing along with the boy. He danced with the woman before taking a leap across the pool and knocking a trash can over. His blood felt like it was on fire, making him do around fifty starjumps before running off again.

Having run out of ideas to try, the four friends awake in the Man Cave had sat down on the couch to think and eat Charlotte's dip. Taking a chip each, they scooped up the homemade condiment and tasted its sweet and tangy richness.

"I feel so bad for Henry," Schwoz told them in a sad voice, making them all look at the snoozing boy.

"Yeah." Ray sighed, feeling guilty that he let his sidekick get hurt. Charlotte stood up and took a dipped chip over to her friend, hoping he might wake up to eat it. The adults looked at her dolefully, seeing how she was hurting like the rest of them. (y/n) hugged herself to Ray's body, seeking his warmth for comfort and support. The fruity smell of her shampoo calmed him like usual, and they sank into each other's embrace.

"Henry...wake up. I made my homemade onion dip." She waved the dip under the boy's nose but saw no response, so she looked to the adults in defeat. Schwoz moved up to sit on the back of the sofa and the best friends shifted so they could stay in each other's arms and watch Charlotte.

The girl smushed the chip against Henry's lips, wanting to see if her dip would be some sort of miracle cure and wake him up.

"Please wake up." She begged the teen boy, just wanting her friend back. However, all she was doing was smearing onion dip across his lips. The sight of her so desperate made the adults' hearts ache.

Not being able to take. it anymore, (y/n) and Ray stood up and walked over to her. The woman put her hands gently on her shoulders, hoping she could offer her some consolation.

"Charlotte, sweetheart, all you're doing is giving him dip lipstick." She told her softly, as Ray put his hand over hers.

"I know." The girl sighed, letting go of the potato snack, which then stuck to Henry's face. The three looked at the sidekick with depressed expressions, but then Schwoz jumped up with an idea.

"AAH!" He yelled, finally having his eureka moment. His shouting broke the silence in the Man Cave and startling his friends. Charlotte clutched her heart in panic as (y/n) wrapped her arms around Ray and he hugged her waist instinctively.

"What, Schwoz?" He asked in an irritated voice, the sheepish woman removing herself from his person. Her cheeks flushed from both her reaction and how strong the man's arms were as they shielded her from any danger. Yikes, she had it bad.

"Maybe we cannot wake up Henry by doing things to him on the outside..." Schwoz started, the others listening intently.

"Yeah..."

"Right..."

"So...let's try to wake him up from inside his dream." The little dude theorised, the plan sounding plausible in his head.

"What?" Ray and Charlotte looked at him like he was crazy, but (y/n) could see where he was going with it.

"You mean, like, a shared conscious or something?" She knitted her eyebrows together in thought.

"Exactly." Schwoz smiled at her, knowing that she was smart, she just didn't have the confidence in herself to let it shine.

"But I don't understand what I'm supposed to do." Charlotte frowned, as the three adults strapped her into an identical chair to what Henry was in. It was all part of Schwoz's plan and it looked like it would be their last chance to save Kid Danger.

"We will explain," Schwoz spoke to her as the teen settled into her chair.

"All right, see, Henry is trapped in a dream state." The genius started, clarifying what she already knew.

"Right, I get that." Charlotte nodded.

"According to Schwoz's theory, we might be able to wake Henry up from inside his dream," Ray told her his understanding of the situation.

"I don't get that." The girl said, looking at him all confused, but she was looking to the wrong person for answers. The superhero knew diddly squat.

"We're going to make you go to sleep like Henry. And then using this machine, we can connect your sleeping brain waves with Henry's." (y/n) put it into simple terms for her.

"And put you inside Henry's dream." Schwoz finished. The explanation made the whole thing seem easy, even though the little man was buzzing with nerves at how many things could go wrong.

"And you guys know for sure that this isn't dangerous?" Charlotte asked, feeling nervous that she was about to be in the same boat as Henry, who they were trying to save.

"Uhhhh, sure, sure." The men lied, making (y/n) roll her eyes. Trust them to instil her with false confidence.

"Then how come one of you guys don't transport yourselves into Henry's dream?" She saw straight through their bullshit.

"I have a peanut allergy." Ray fibbed, avoiding (y/n)'s eyes when she folded her arms in annoyance. 'Peanut allergy, my butt.' She growled in her mind.

"I had some onion dip." Schwoz's answer was as equally pathetic as Ray's was.

"(y/n/n), what's your excuse?" Charlotte sighed, thinking the woman had chickened out too.

"I don't have one. I was going to do it, but these two assholes won't let me." She glared at the men, not liking how they were letting a child do the dangerous work.

"Fair enough." Charlotte let it slide, imagining how Ray would have a bee in his bonnet if anything bad happened to his helper.

"Now, listen, Charlotte, when you're inside Henry's dream, you can't tell Henry that he's dreaming." Ray insisted firmly.

"Do not tell Henry that." Schwoz reiterated the point, stressing that it was vital that she maintained the false reality once she was asleep.

"Why not?" She asked, thinking that it would be the easiest way to get Henry awake.

"Because when you're inside someone's dream and you tell them that they're dreaming, it can go into brain shock." The superhero said, which was the only science-related thing he could add to the conversation.

"His brain could go...boom!" (y/n) imitated how the boy's head would implode, shocking Charlotte at the dramatic consequence.

"Well, what about me? Could my brain explode?" Her eyes grew wide, thinking that her own personal safety was now at risk.

"Uhhh, no."

"What time is it?" Ray and Schwoz looked away from her, not knowing how to tell a girl that she could die.

"You'll be fine, Char." (y/n) reassured her, but the tightness of her smile gave Charlotte the impression that even she couldn't guarantee her safety.

"All right, well, what do I do when I'm inside his dream?" The adolescent girl asked. There must have been something she could do to help Henry once she was in his dream.

"Well, according to the internet...when a person is in a dream state, one of the most common ways to wake up is by experiencing pain." Ray read aloud from his PearPad and Schwoz agreed that it was a good place to start.

"I don't wanna hurt Henry," Charlotte stressed. Her friend had been through enough already.

"You won't be hurting him, the real Henry is right here. You'll only be hurting dream Henry." (y/n) said and the young woman pointed to the boy's body.

"It won't be real." Schwoz soothed her worries.

"Okay, but how do I talk to you guys?" She asked, knowing that they couldn't talk to Henry in his dream.

"We're going to put Henry's whiz watch on your wrist," Ray told her, as (y/n) removed it from the kid's arm and transferred it to Charlotte's.

"So, if you fancy a chat while you're in Henry's dream, you use this." She smiled as she fastened the strap.

"You know, when I took this job, we did not talk about stuff like this," Charlotte said sarcastically, using her humour to break the tension.

"Welcome to my world. I was only supposed to stay here whilst I finished college, and look, I'm still here." (y/n) giggled, putting the younger girl at ease at how she was now stuck in Ray's employment. Not that she or he would have it any other way. It never really felt like a job anymore, not when they had each other.

"You'll be fine," Ray reassured her too, whilst simultaneously thanking the gods that his best friend stuck around even when she could have left for a safer and secure life.

"Well, I feel like I should get a bonus or something," Charlotte mumbled. Her paycheck didn't cover near-death experiences.

"Charlotte, if we don't wake Henry out of the dream state soon, he could be trapped in there forever." The superhero urged her, making her realise the importance of her mission.

"Okay, but before I go..." She said. If she was going to die, she wanted to die happy.

"Name it." (y/n) stated.

"One more chip and dip." Charlotte smiled, wanting to taste her great cooking one last time before she faced possible death. With an irritated face, Ray picked up the platter and let her scoop one last mouthful.

"Oooh, me too." (y/n) grinned cheekily, ignoring how moody Ray and Schwoz were being. Charlotte's dip was too good to resist.

"Okay. Let's get this going." The girl said with a full mouth, chewing and swallowing quickly as the scanner was put over her head. Ray let the chair fall back to she was lying down before looking at (y/n) with doubt written across his face.

"You really think this is gonna work?" He said to both her and Schwoz.

"I don't know." The genius mumbled as (y/n) groaned. They were such idiots sometimes.

"Doofus! Nitwit! She can hear you!" The young woman slapped them both on the head, irritated that they weren't doing Charlotte's nerves any favours.

"I heard that!" The girl yelled through the orange glass, proving (y/n)'s point.

"Sweet dreams, Charlotte. And remember, hurt Henry." Ray reminded her, plugging the cable into the scanner.

"It could be our only chance to wake him up," Schwoz added.

"We'll see you on the other side..." (y/n)'s words were the last thing Charlotte heard as she was plunged into the dream state.

~In the dream~

Charlotte screamed as she felt herself falling through the air. Her eyes shot open as she landed roughly on the floor of Henry's living room. Henry was looking around, wondering where the noise was coming from, not noticing his friend until she stood up.

"Hey." Charlotte greeted him, realising that she must have successfully entered his dream.

"Wha--wh--Charlotte. How'd you get here?" Henry stuttered, feeling on edge from all the freaky things that were happening around his house.

"Uhhhh..." How do you explain that your boss sent you to hurt your friend until he woke up from a dream induced by a supervillain?

"Oh, I don't care." Henry was too relieved to see another normal person to need an explanation and he gave his friend a big hug.

"Good." Charlotte breathed a sigh of relief. That was one problem she didn't have to worry about.

"I'm just glad to see you." He smiled at her, happy that he wasn't alone in the craziness anymore.

"Why? Anything strange going on?" The girl feigned ignorance.

"Everything. I had the weirdest day at school. And then I come home and it's even weirder here." He told her, the stress of his day in the dream creeping him out.

"What's so weird?" Charlotte inquired, ready to see what 'crazy dreams' really meant.

"Well, for one thing, my parents. For some reason, they look and sound different. Like Kim and Kanye." Henry pointed to Mrs and Mrs Hart in the kitchen, only it was Jake and Kris, it was literally two Kim and Kanye lookalikes.

"Hi, Charlotte." Kim/Mom said to her, as the girl's mouth dropped in shock.

"I'm a genius!" Kanye/Dad stated, imitating the Kanye in real life.

"Cool," Charlotte said slowly, sensing that things were about to get weirder.

"Why do my parents look and sound like Kim and Kanye?" Henry asked, shaking his friend in desperation.

"Do they? I didn't notice." She said, trying to keep up the façade that everything was fine.

"Well, maybe you'll notice that Piper has a beard, and she's playing the lute." Henry gestured to his little sister, who looked like a wise old music player. Definitely strange.

"I gave my love a chicken that had no face." She sang, strumming her instrument's strings softly.

"Why is she singing that?" Henry shook Charlotte's shoulders again.

"I really--" Her answer was cut off as the teen panicked.

"All chickens have faces!" He shouted.

"So, maybe---" Charlotte was struggling to keep him calm.

"Oh, and did you see Jasper?" He pointed to the boy standing behind her, and to her surprise and horror, his head was floating next to his body.

"Henry, will you please help me get back on my body? Hey! Come back! I thought we were a team!" Jasper's body ran off up the stairs and his shouting head floated after him.

"Did you see that? I feel like I'm in some weird, freaky dream." Henry told his friend, making Charlotte panic. She couldn't have him thinking that, his brain could explode!

"You're not!" She grabbed his shirt and pulled him close to her, trying to convey her stress.

"Huh?" He couldn't understand why she was being so weird too.

"You're not having a dream!" She reiterated, but Henry still wasn't convinced.

"Then how do you explain that?!" Henry pointed to the couch and this was the weirdest thing so far. Charlotte's eye nearly fell out of her head when she saw Ray and (y/n) cuddling up on the couch. However, it wasn't like their normal, cutesy snuggling where they couldn't be part without missing each other, this was something else.

"Oh. My. God." Charlotte said, as she watched the two rub noses and shared a gentle kiss. They smiled against each other's lips and if she didn't know that this wasn't real, Charlotte would be on the floor from fainting. It was strange to see them acting on their feelings, but it also felt right, and the teens watched as (y/n) slid into her "boyfriend's" lap so she could be as close to him as possible as they kissed. Ray looked at her with so much love, his eyes crinkling with happiness. It was such a shame that this wasn't real.

"That's not normal!" Henry yelled, knowing that Ray was nowhere near ready to confess to (y/n).

"Just go upstairs and try to put Jasper's head back on his body and I'll deal with the lovebirds," Charlotte instructed him, standing in front of the two so they were out of his line of sight.

"Okay. That makes sense." Henry felt a sense of familiarity from his friend's logic, so he did as she said. He ran up the stairs, intent on sorting out his best friend's predicament.

"I don't know what you think you're doing, but it's not natural!" He yelled, mentally preparing himself for what was about to happen. Taking her chance of being alone, Charlotte ran to the porch and flipped the whiz watch open. Time to see if it would work.

"Ray?" She asked, and the large man appeared over her wrist.

"Charlotte! Did you find Henry?" He asked, getting straight down to business.

"Yeah. I'm inside of his dream." She told him, intriguing the man.

"Oooh, what's it like?" He inquired.

"Weird." She replied, thinking back to Kim, Kanye, Jasper, Piper, Dream Ray and Dream (y/n).

"Well, how weird?" He inquired further, but Charlotte couldn't tell him about him and (y/n), he would really freak out if she heard.

"You really need a number?" She looked at him with a 'for real?' expression.

"Yes. From one to ten." Ray insisted.

"Hang on let me check." Charlotte closed the watch and looked back inside the house. If he wanted a figure, then she was going to give an accurate one. She saw Kim and Kanye spinning around the kitchen with fruit in their hands, Piper combing and talking to her beard, Ray and (y/n) making out on the couch and Henry chasing Jasper's head. Yeah. Definitely weird.

"52." She reported once she was back outside. The whole dream was starting to creep her out too.

"Ray...just tell me what to do so (y/n) and Schwoz can wake me up and bring me back home," Charlotte stressed, knowing that the longer she stayed there, the more likely it was that she'd be stuck there, forever.

"Okay, first, you gotta remember the world you're in with Henry is not real. You're just in a crazy, weird dream state." He reminded her.

"Yeah, no kidding." Charlotte's eye's bugged out of her head as she looked to her right and saw that Jasper's head was floating next to her.

"Hey, who are you talking to?" The head asked, making the girl swat her hand at him.

"Get out of here, Jasper's head!" She shouted, the thing spooking her.

"Charlotte!" Ray yelled to get her attention again as Jasper's head whistled and floated off.

"Yeah, I'm back, what?" The teen refocused on the task at hand.

"You got to go hurt Henry." Ray urged her. Time was running out.

"But I---" She hated the thought of hurting her friend, even if it wasn't real.

"It's okay. You're in a dream. Nothing is real. There's nothing to get hung about. Now, go hurt Henry and hopefully, that'll wake him up." Ray emphasised that everything would be fine.

"All right, but you, Schwoz and (y/n) better not be eating my onion dip without me." She warned him sternly, wanting to wake up to her delicious sauce.

"We're not. Now, you know what to do." Ray shrugged off the accusation, what Charlotte didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

"Right." The girl snapped the watch shut and ran back into the house, thinking of all the ways she could hurt Henry.

~Outside of the dream~

Ray turned away from the monitor that he used to talk to Charlotte and joined Schwoz and (y/n) in eating the girl's dip. Scooping up some of the creaminess on a chip, Ray groaned in delight at the taste.

"Charlotte will kill us if she finds out we ate her dip.." Schwoz said, rapidly dunking another chip.

"Eh, what she doesn't know won't hurt her." (y/n) commented, loving the dip too much to stop filling her face.

~Back in the dream~

Back in the house, Charlotte looked across the living and saw that things were still crazy. Mom/Kim and Dad/Kanye were sharing earphones in the kitchen and Piper was playing a crappy romantic melody on the lute for Ray and (y/n) as the woman laid her head in his lap and lovingly smiled up at him. He giggled at her silly mood and bent down to give her an Eskimo kiss.

"Hey, Piper! Hi, lovebugs!" She called to the people on the couch as she ran past.

"There's a river of glue and apple juice, too." Piper looked at Charlotte and spouted the nonsense.

"I love you, Ray-Ray." (y/n) giggled, cupping her 'boyfriend's face in her hands.

"I love you too, sweetie pie." Ray cooed back, the sight of them being borderline disgusting. It was cute and the girl had been gunning for them to get together for ages, but they cuddled and snuggled like there was no one else in the room.

"Okay..." Charlotte didn't know how to respond to Piper or the couple, so she just ignored them and grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl. She ran up the stairs as Piper played her lute again, peeling the yellow fruit as she went. Placing the skin at the top of the stairs, she descended again and called for Henry. Her plan for pain was in motion.

"Henry!" She yelled at the top of her voice.

"What?" The boy shouted back from his room.

"Henry, come quick! Hurry!" She bellowed, hoping that her urgent tone would make him move faster and not see the banana peel.

"Charlotte, here I come!! What's wr---" The teenager dashed to the top of the stairs thinking that was some kind of emergency. In his haste, he failed to notice the trap that his friend had laid for him, resulting in the boy tumbling headfirst down the stairs. He rolled all the way down, grunting as he went. Piper's music was still playing as fell and the lovers on the couch didn't even break eye contact.

Charlotte rushed to see if he was okay, praying that his pain would be enough to wake him up.

"Hi." She greeted him meekly, her plan obviously failing.

"What just happened?" Henry blinked, his entire body aching from the fall.

"You fell down the stairs," Charlotte told him, helping the boy to his feet.

"Oh."

"Did it hurt?" The girl asked hopefully.

"Yeah, a lot," Henry replied as his friend supported his wobbly legs.

"Cool, wait here." The girl dropped him back on the floor and rushed to the porch to tell Ray the development. It seemed like they'd need a new strategy.

"Ray!" She said at her whiz watch, the man appearing once again.

"Hi. Did you hurt Henry?" He asked, wondering if his idea was working.

"Oh, yeah. Is he waking up?" She replied, expecting to see some change or sign on the machines.

"Is he waking up?" Ray turned around in real life, looking at Schwoz and (y/n) as they checked the results.

"No, he's still sleeping," Schwoz said, watching as Henry kept shaking, probably his body reacting from the pain in his dream.

"Pain isn't working!" (y/n) added, noticing that the brainwaves on the scanner were being affected, but not changed.

"Dang it!" Ray muttered, his frustration worrying Charlotte.

"What?" She asked in a concerned voice.

"Stand by. We're gonna bring you back to reality." Ray told her despondently, knowing that for the moment, there was nothing more Charlotte could do in the dream.

"Okay." Charlotte prepared herself, closing the whiz watch and tensing her muscles in anticipation. Henry opened the door and stepped out onto the porch, wondering why Charlotte was out there alone.

"Charlotte, I can't get Jasper's---" He was cut off by a bright flash of light as Charlotte was sucked back to the real world.

"Today, that does not surprise me." He said, the sight of his friend vanishing not freaking him out since he had been through some serious crap already.

~Back in real life~

"Charlotte? Charlotte!" (y/n) shook the girl slightly as Ray and Schwoz lifted the scanner from her face.

"What...What happened?" She asked in a drowsy voice, sitting up and blinking when the harsh lights strained her eyes.

"Bad news. Henry's still trapped in a dream state." Ray said bleakly. Charlotte peered through the gap between (y/n) and Schwoz and saw her friend still trapped in his sleep.

"Aw, man." She sighed, thinking her effort had gone to waste.

"And more bad news," Schwoz added.

"What?" Charlotte wasn't sure if she could take any more problems.

"We ate all your onion dip." The genius admitted, making (y/n) groan. She knew he had a guilty conscience, but she was hoping she would be able to get away with it.

"Oh, no!" The girl squealed, her chances of tasting her dip again gone until she made the next batch.

They had all been wracking their brains for the last half an hour, trying to think of a solution to help Henry. Ray was scrolling through his PearPad, (y/n) on her PearPhone. Charlotte had taken the seat at the supercomputer, scanning the same websites as them in hope that they'd find something useful. Schwoz was typing away on his tablet, but so far they'd found nada, zilch, nothing.

"Hey, hey! Here's something that might wake Henry up!" Charlotte gasped as she came across some information that appeared to be promising.

"Sweet cheese, yes!" (y/n) swiftly tucked her phone in her pocket and ran over to the computer with Ray and Schwoz hot on her heels.

"What you got?" The larger man stood behind (y/n) and looked at the screen.

"Okay, this website says "Sometimes when a person is stuck in a deep dream state, you can stop the dreams by submerging the person underwater for between 30 and 45 minutes."" Charlotte turned around to look at them, the grin on her face indicating that she hadn't thought about the implications of what she had just said.

"Did it mention any side effects?" Ray smiled at her sarcastically as his best friend let her head loll back onto his chest.

"Lemme check. Scrolling down...okay...uh...Here we go, side effects. "Number one, death."" Charlotte happy tone soon turned sour when she realised that the website was useless.

"Okay, let's not try that." She said, leaning back in her chair from frustration.

"Yeah, that creates a whole 'nother problem." (y/n) said, taking her phone out again so she could continue her search.

"Guys...what are we gonna do? What if we can never wake Henry up and he's stuck in a dream state forever?" Ray said in a brokenhearted voice, strolling to Henry's side. (y/n) followed behind him, hugging the large man from behind.

"We're not gonna give up." She said firmly against the material of his shirt, refusing to leave Henry to die.

"But we've tried everything," Ray replied quietly as she squeezed her smaller frame to his huge one.

"There has to be something we can do." The young woman said, enjoying how his back muscles rolled and flexed against her body.

"AHOY! Schwoz's loud cry of joy broke through their sadness, confusing them into what had him raising his PearPad into the air.

"What?" Charlotte asked, his sudden outburst puzzling her.

"Why'd you say ahoy?" Ray asked, turning around with (y/n) so they could see what Schwoz was doing.

"Listen to what I just found on an ancient Hindu website." The little man gestured to his PearPad and they all crowded around it.

"What's it say?" Charlotte asked, squinting at the small text on the screen.

"Come on, Schwoz, spill the beans." (y/n) added, hating the suspense.

"The most effective method of shocking a sleeping person out of a deep dream state is...fright!" Schwoz read aloud, but his funny accent was hard for the others to understand.

"Flight?" She repeated, her eyebrows furrowing.

"Okay, so we just need to book Henry a flight somewhere," Ray stated, snapping his fingers.

"He's always wanted to go to Florida." (y/n) added, remembering how Henry ranted to her about going to Disneyworld.

"Perfect! Henry, you're going to Florida." Ray told the boy, even though he couldn't hear him. Schwoz groaned at how carried away they were getting.

"I not say 'flight', I frrrright. Fright. Like, ooga, ooga, booga, booga, ooga." The little man waved his arms around and growled at them so they'd understand what he meant.

"Oh, fright," Charlotte said, finally getting what he was trying to say.

"Yes, yes, we must put Charlotte back into Henry's dream," Schwoz said, pointing to the chair that sent the teen girl to sleep.

"And she needs to scare him?" Ray asked, confused as to how that would wake his sidekick up.

"That makes sense. Like when I have those nightmares with the clowns that scare the shit out of me and I have to sleep with you when I wake up." (y/n) explained to him, thinking back to the nights when Ray held her close and chased away all her bad dreams.

"She needs to terrify him. You got to scare the poof out of him." Schwoz said, pondering over just how many nights the woman had spent in Ray's bed. How they weren't together baffled him.

"Poof?" Again, Schwoz's accent stopped the others from understanding him.

"Okay, when you say poof--" Ray wasn't sure what Schwoz meant, knowing that in some circumstances, the word was offensive.

"You know what I mean!" Schwoz snapped, not wanting to repeat himself again.

"Wait. I'm not very good at scaring people." Charlotte admitted. She couldn't remember how many of her pranks had failed because she just couldn't get anyone to be frightened by her.

"I can help you with that." (y/n) smirked, knowing just the thing that would do the trick...

"This is what we're going to use to scare Henry shitless." (y/n) told the girl, gesturing to a green, misshapen egg thing in Schwoz's hands. Even Ray looked confused at what it was.

"Looks like something my Uncle Rosco coughed up," Charlotte commented, looking over the lumpy thing.

"You hear what she say about my bloob?" Schwoz looked at Ray, getting all defensive about his creation.

"It does look like a loogie," Ray said, agreeing with his female employee that it looked like phlegm or something. (y/n) giggled at the word 'loogie' and smiled up at him.

"Just...How does that thing help me scare Henry?" Charlotte asked.

"All right, here's the plan. We're gonna send you back into Henry's dream." Ray started, pulling down the orange scanner as his assistants helped the girl into the sleep chair.

"Okay." 'So far, so good.' Charlotte thought.

"And when you get there, put Schwoz's abomination into the refrigerator." (y/n) said, watching as the genius passed his green egg thing to the teen.

"It's a bloob!" He protested, feeling protective over it.

"It's an abomination. Anyway, after ten seconds, you get Henry to open the fridge." Ray carried on. His agreement with his helper made Schwoz grumble and sulk.

"I don't think Henry's gonna be that scared when he sees this blob," Charlotte said. The thing was weird, but not scary, not in the least.

"Bloob!" Schwoz corrected her, not having another person insult the blob/bloob thing.

"Just trust us." Ray contributed, knowing that two of the smartest people in Swellview were helping her.

Wait. What's going to happen when Henry opens the door to the fridge?" Charlotte asked, sensing that the bloob was more than what it seemed.

"Henry will get the bejesus scared out of him. Oh, and look away." (y/n) said, patting her arm reassuringly.

"Look away," Ray repeated, knowing that if it was one of Schwoz's mutated creations, it was bound to be terrifying. They shut the scanner and reclined the chair as Schwoz turned up the power and sent Charlotte back into the dream to finish her mission.

~In the dream~

Charlotte fell back into the Hart's house, landing behind the kitchen counter. Piper was still strumming happily on her lute, and (y/n) was laid on top of Ray, him stroking his hand through her hair lazily. Getting to her feet, Charlotte looked around for the green thing.

"Wait, where's the blob?" She said, looking around for it, but when she looked up, the thing fell on her face like a pancake. The girl flung the bloob from her face onto the floor, where it inflated into its spherical shape again. Shaking off her disgust, she picked it up and dashed over to the refrigerator, shutting the thing inside.

"Okay, put the bloob in the fridge and wait ten seconds." She mumbled to herself before running to the foot of the stairs to call for Henry.

"Henry! Hey, Henry, where are you?! Henry!" She yelled, hoping he could hear her.

"Charlotte? Charlotte!" The boy came from his bedroom and jogged down the stairs.

"What's happening? Everything's been so crazy and I don't get why." He asked her, feeling relieved to see her again

"Can I have some juice?" She asked innocently, trying to prompt him into getting frightened.

"Juice?" Henry couldn't believe that she wanted a drink with all the weirdness going on.

"Yeah, I need some cold juice. You know, refrigerated." Charlotte lied, hoping he'd buy it.

"Okay, that's a pretty specific request," Henry stated, the stress of his dream taking its toll on his patience.

"Just get the juice." She snapped, leaving no room for arguing.

" All right." The boy submitted, walking over to his refrigerator where he was about to get the fright of his life.

"I'm having a mental breakdown, all she cares about is juice. All right, what do you want, apple? Orange?--" He mumbled to himself, Charlotte looking away just in time as a hideous, winged mutant creature flew out of the fridge and caused Henry to fall to the floor in fright.

"Henry! Henry?" Charlotte ran over to him after the monster went back inside the refrigerator and noticed that he was unconscious. A bright light flashed around his body before it disappeared and Charlotte did a little fist pump in celebration. Her work in the dream was done.

~Outside the dream~

"Oh my god, he's waking up, she did it!" (y/n) squealed as Henry's brainwaves started to go haywire.

"Henry, Henry, can you hear me?" Ray said to the boy as he and Schwoz lifted the brain scanner.

"Wake up! Wake up!" The genius encouraged, as Henry groaned in his sleep.

"Walk away from the light!" Ray and (y/n) yelled as Henry's groans turned into screams.

"Ahh, ahhh, ahhh! Monster in my fridge!" He cried as he was shocked into reality. The adults burst into happiness as he came back to them.

"It worked!"

"You're back!" The men helped him out of the chair and Henry blinked the sleep away from his mind.

"Yeah, I was having the weirdest dreams. And you weren't there. But you two were there. And everyone, everything was insane." The kid told them, breathing a sigh of relief that things were back to normal.

"What? Why were we weird?" (y/n) asked, confused as to why Charlotte hadn't mentioned them in the dream.

"Uhhhh, everyone except Charlotte." Henry couldn't tell them what he had seen them do in his dream, he was sure they'd burst into flames of embarrassment.

"CHARLOTTE!" The adults yelled in synchronisation, realising that the girl was still asleep. They let go of Henry, who fell a little from the sudden lack of support and sprinted to the machine's to get her awake.

"Hello? Ray? (y/n)? Anybody?" Charlotte said through her whiz watch, wondering why she wasn't being brought home.

"Charlotte!" Ray appeared over her wrist, worried that something had happened whilst they hadn't been paying attention to her vital signs.

"Did Henry wake up?" She asked, hoping that the plan had gone smoothly.

"Yeah, he's here and he's okay." The man gave her two thumbs up.

"Awesome. Now, bring me back." Charlotte told him, expecting that it would be easy.

"Right, one sec." Ray stepped away from his camera and looked at Schwoz.

"Bring Charlotte back." He instructed him, but the genius gave him a weak smile.

"We can't," Schwoz admitted, (y/n) sharing his worried look. They hadn't anticipated this.

"What?" Ray exclaimed, looking between the little guy and his best friend.

"What do you mean you can't?" Henry piped up, finding the strength to walk over to them.

"Schwoz blew out the transnypular tube." (y/n) said as Schwoz held up the component. He should have listened when the young woman said to be more gentle with the machine.

"Well, can't you get another one?" Ray asked Schwoz.

"Yeah, but it's like a two-hour drive." The genius explained as Charlotte's voice came from over the whiz watch.

"Uh, listen. We're not going to be able to bring you back to reality for about four hours." The superhero broke the bad news to the girl, who did not take it well.

"Four hours?! Well, what am I supposed to do, stuck here in Henry's bizarro dream for four hours?" She spluttered in disbelief.

"Do you know how to play mahjong?" Ray suggested from the top of his head.

Charlotte sighed as she looked around the house. She couldn't believe she'd have to play mahjong with these weirdos for the next four hours.

"When she wakes up, she's going to kill you." (y/n) told Schwoz, watching as the man put his jacket on.

"You were using the machine too, it's your fault too." He whined back, not wanting to face Charlotte's wrath alone.

"Yeah, but the difference between me and you is that I've got a superhero to protect me. What have you got?" (y/n) smirked, taking her seat beside Ray, fluttering her eyelashes at him so he'd stick to her argument.

"Yeah, Schwoz." The larger man said to the grumbling genius, who knew it would be impossible for Ray to say no to her. He could never say no to her and he'd protect her until his dying breath. They were always on each other's side, no matter what.

7 notes · View notes

taeskooksbin · 4 months

Text

BEGUILE ; kth

CHAPTER THREE

[ previous episode ]

[ series' masterlist ]

The days went on like usual, the only difference was the amount of work I was putting in my studies, always having a book opened in front of me.

I'd take random assessments and everyone contributed in my studies equally, mom and dad randomly quizzing me, my siblings asking me several questions related to my subject.

All the questions were now looking pretty easy to me, even the test I attempted before was extremely easy and I'd occasionally cuss myself out for being so stupid but then again, I wouldn't have been able to meet Taehyung that way.

The awaited day comes around pretty quick and I chose one of the outfits that would be suitable enough to wear in front of a tutor but also 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 to have a man swoon over my body.

I threw on a brown bralette, over a brown net full sleeved top, the top did enough and showed off the bralette but it was also a bit faded and to match then I had beige pants.

I heard the doorbell ring and ran downstairs, clearly aware of who it was however before I got there, mom had already opened the door. There he was, all in his glory, wearing a black suit and his hair slicked back, revealing the forehead.

"Hey Taehyung" mom's voice echoed in the large living area while he smiled and replied back, "Hey Sofia, everything good?" He entered the door smiling at me, "Hope you're doing your homework?"

With a little grin, I nod and make sure to flash my dimples, which I am anymore enamoured with. Going straight to the point, Taehyung then suggests we immediately get to work. "I'd like to see how your studying has been going so far," he says as we walk towards dad's office.

"I feel like it's going well. But I thought so too the last time and look at me now," I chuckle. We enter dad's office, where I have set up everything like last time. But this time, I placed my chair a tad bit closer to his.

Throwing my hair over my shoulder, I expose my dainty shoulders and delicate collarbones.

I've always had this obsession with my own body. I always look after it and treat it with delicacy and care. That's why I love working out, it keeps my body in shape and healthy. On top of it, my skin is tight without a single mark on it.

But I wouldn't mind if Taehyung would fuck me roughly. I wouldn't mind gazing at the bruises he'd leave, them being reminders of the pleasure and pain I experienced.

"Let's see," he says, snapping me out of my thoughts. He grabs my papers and studies my handwriting, going over everything I wrote down.

"You changed your tactic," he says, making me snap out of my thoughts. "What?" I ask, confused. "I looked at the notes you took before your exam, and you have been writing this differently. Change your perspective on some things," he says, with proudness in his voice.

I smile, proud of myself as well. But having him praising me like this makes me feel incredibly good. And horny. "I do have some questions, though," I inform him. He nods. "Go ahead."

I start asking him some things I had trouble with while studying, things I didn't comprehend. "This would be so much easier if we were in Korea, where my head office is," he sighs and rakes a hand through his hair.

"You have one here as well?" I ask. He nods. "Yeah, I started a company a couple of years ago and have offices all over the country where I have a diversity of lawyers working. I have one here, but not all my documents are here," he explains.

"We could go to Korea?" I suggest. He looks up at me. "My parents have a loft there," I explain, "I sometimes stay there whenever I go to Korea.”

"That could be a good idea," he murmurs, and he seems to think about it. "We'll see how your progress is first. Right now, I don't think it'll be necessary based on your study method. On Thursday I'll give you a test and I'm positive you'll ace that one," he smiles.

I nod, slightly disappointed. I want to spend more time with him. "Okay, yeah, we'll see," I grin, even though it's a bit forced. It's a good thing I'm getting better at this subject, though.

"If it helps, I could take you to one of my cases, then you can see how it works." My excitement sparks up at the idea. "Really?" I ask. He nods, amusement displayed in those beautiful eyes. They seem like pools made out of honey.

"I'd love to," I smile, not able to contain my happiness. He returns the smile, and I find myself adoring the way his eyes light up when he does so. "That's settled then. I'll get you a place in court where you can watch it all going on."

"Thank you so much," I tell him, genuinely happy that he's willing to do this. "Of course, Sweetheart," he grins. Him calling me Sweetheart is doing some things to me. I send him my sweetest smile, hoping he'd glance down at what I'm wearing, but he doesn't.

He focuses back on what's in front of us. My teeth sink into my lower lip, trying to hide my disappointment. His phone suddenly starts ringing, making our heads both snap up. "I'm sorry, I have to take this call," he apologises.

I nod. "It's okay," I smile and watch him getting his phone out of his pocket and picking it up. "Ciandra, hey darling."

My heart clenches together at the words leaving his mouth, those words being reminders that he's in a committed relationship. He turns a bit away from me. "Yeah, I'm kind of in the middle of something," he tells her. I suppress a smirk.

Guess I'm more important at the moment, bitch. "I know, honey. I'll call you later. I'm helping Vincenzo's daughter," he tells her. "Love you too, baby. By now."

He hangs up and stuffs his phone away. "I'm sorry, that was my girlfriend," he chuckles. "It's okay," I lied and forced a smile.

For the rest of our time together, Taehyung just approves of everything I've done already. He suggests some things I could do better, to improve my studying and better ways to remember some things.

"I'll see you on Thursday," he says and gets up. "Yeah, see you on Thursday," I smile and walk him to the front door. "I'll tell you more about the case you'll be joining then," he says right before he leaves.

"I'm looking forward to it," I smile and wave him goodbye. Once the door is closed, I let out a little sigh and make my way into the kitchen.

Chris and Elena are bickering over something | could care less about, and dad is bothering mom while she's preparing sandwiches. I smile at their cuteness.

"How was it?" mom asks as soon as she sees me. Dad looks up, his dark eyes meeting mine. I always wondered why I didn't get the alluring eyes from dad. They hold something that draws you to him.

Instead, I got a mix of green with brown, making them a hazel-brown. But they turn green as soon as sunlight hits them. "Good," I answer, "he approved of my study method and told me I was doing a good job."

She grins at that. "That's amazing, sweetheart. I'm sure you'll get through this exam," she tells me. I take a seat at the counter and nod, my mind wandering back towards the handsome Korean man.

If I keep studying like this, I'll ace all the tests and exams coming my way. But that means that the tutoring will stop soon enough, which leaves me disappointed.

A little smile finds its way towards my cherry lips as a devious idea pops up in my mind. But what if I made mistakes on purpose?

━━━━━━━━━━━

I ring the doorbell, and after a couple of seconds, the door opens. "Hey," Alex smiles once he takes me in.

I send him a cheeky smile. "Hey," I replied and pushed him inside. "Are your parents home?" I ask quietly. He shakes his head. "No.”

"Good," I smile and connect our lips. Alex isn't bad looking at all. We always went to the same high school and had a flirty interaction with one another.

He's your typical local guy, with defined features and brown hair. Freckles are scattered across his nose and he has a pair of decent lips.

And his dick is pretty good, too.

He pushes me against the wall and hoists me up against it, wrapping my long legs around his hips. A whimper leaves my lips when he starts rolling his hips into mine, creating the friction I needed for so long.

He takes me upstairs, to his room where he throws me on his bed. We rid ourselves of our clothes and soon enough, we're both naked.

"Cut to the chase," I breathe out when he's planting kisses on my inner thighs. He chuckles. "Alright," he rasps out and takes the condom, rolling it on his length. He wastes no time and plunges right into me. My back arches off the mattress.

With his hands steadied next to my head, he starts to move in and out of me. His tongue enters my mouth, battling against mine.

Our sweaty bodies collided, moving in sync against one another. I soon turn us over and am on top of him. Throwing my head back, I start moving up and down.

But instead of Alex laying beneath me, I'm imaging a certain Korean man fucking me. I find myself going faster and harder.

Hands are planted on my ass, helping me move up and down his length. Whimpers are escaping my lips, and his name almost slips from my parted lips.

"Just like that, Sweetheart," is what I think he'd say. The thought causes another wave of pleasure to wash over me.

I open my eyes and peer down, seeing Alex's face instead of Taehyung's. His eyes are closed and his head is thrown back. It doesn't take long before we both find our release and I collapse beside him.

I catch my breath, and so does he. We're both entangled in the bedsheets, just enjoying each other's company.

"What's wrong?" I ask after some time and turn my head to look at him. His somber mood didn't go unnoticed by me. "Nothing," he answers, a sad look taking over his features. He wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me closer to him.

I've always liked this about him. He likes to cuddle and so do I, so this is the first thing we do after we've had sex. "Tell me," I encouraged him. "I'm in love with a girl I can't have."

My heart saddens at the words leaving his lips. I lift my head and peer at him through my lashes, meeting his blue eyes. "Who is it?" I ask. A sad smile forms on his lips. "Kate."

My lips part in surprise at the mention of his best friend. "But isn't she already dating..."

"Logan? Yeah, I know," he sighs and averts his eyes. I furrow my brows. "I'm so sorry," I whisper and press a kiss against his cheek. "It's okay," he sighs and tries to show me an encouraging smile. "How's your summer vacation going this far?" he asks.

I shrug. "My exam results were shit, and now I'm being tutored by my dad's hot lawyer." Alex cracks a smile. "Why don't you fuck him?”

"He has a girlfriend," I answer. "I see. Been there, done that," he sighs. "Good thing is that he's willing to take me to some of his cases, so I'll be learning a bit more," I murmur.

He hums. "Yeah, that's good," he smiles, seeming happy for me. I lick my lips. "We should hang out with our group. It's been so long since we've last seen each other," I tell him. He nods. "Yeah, maybe. But that would mean bringing Kate and Logan. I've always seen him as a friend, 'Ella. But I just can't wish them the best, even though I want to."

I nod. "Yeah, I understand," I mutter and lay my head back on his chest, my brown hair sprawled all over the silky pillows.

We always had a tight group of friends during high school and we stayed in contact during our first year of college, which I appreciate. But I can tell Alex is having a hard time seeing his best friend dating someone else.

I wonder how I didn't notice before.

After some time, it's time for me to leave. I get up, showcasing my naked body. I catch a glimpse of it in the mirror and am satisfied with what I see.

I put my clothes back on and put my hair up in a ponytail. "I'll see you later," I say as Alex walks me to the front door. "Yeah, I'll text you," he says. We hug each other before I exit his house and get into my car. I wave one last time and take off, driving towards my house.

During the drive back, my mind wanders to Taehyung. It's only the third time we saw each other, I'll get him to kiss me. Eventually. It's kind of a challenge. I don't want to fuck him to see if I can get a taken guy, of course. But I want to see if someone is strong enough to resist me.

Shit, fucking Alex didn't solve my problem. I'm still thinking about him. I wonder what it is about him that makes me crave him so badly. For one, it's his looks. But something about him lures me in.

Could be his intelligence. I love the way he explains things. Could be his voice. But I just wonder if he has a side to him he doesn't show to anyone else.

A side that yet has to be... freed. And I'd be happy to be the one to unleash him.

• ━━━━━ ★ ☆ 𖤐 ━━━━━ •

[ next episode ]

[ main masterlist ]

10 notes · View notes