#me standing in the corner of the room: the protagonists don't even know they own their souls | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

thecorruptedlovely · 2 years

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your writing style is SO smooth to read, i loved it. can i request a fluff senario for the housewardens from twstd bumping into a strong and tall (like 5'9 or smth) fm!reader who they have a crush on? and instead of letting them fall she just picks them up or hold them. idk just ✨strong cute women✨

FIRST OF ALL.... thank you c: I've been trying to make my writing more interesting and smoother to read so that others enjoy it so that makes me happy to hear!

SECOND OF ALL, this is like a request towards me /j I'm 5'9.5 and others have said I'm strong so this is like skdbsfbsodbsk sooooo I'm gonna have fun with this :D

Housewardens bumping into tall and strong fm!reader who catches them before they fall

No NSFW in this post

Gender of reader is female & pronouns used are she/her

Idia isn't like one of those stuttering Y/Ns I swear 😭😭

ENJOY!!!

(Helloooo daddy Idia 😍🧎🏻‍♂️)

Idia 🎮

Probably too distracted by either one of his handheld games or hiding in his hoodie he was wearing that day while frantically rushing back to his room

His shoulder rams into yours and he panics

Immediately closes his eyes tight and starts flailing about as he falls

Waits for the inevitable impact of his head meeting the floor and the absolute and total embarrassment

....

He didn't hit the ground?

Slowly opens his eyes and finds himself staring into your eyes

1...2...3... Cue blushing and stuttering Idia

Hides in his hood

"I-IM SO S-SORRY!!!! I DIDN'T MEAN T-TO RUN INTO Y-YOU!!!!"

You chuckle and lift him back up onto his feet

He doesn't dare leave his hood, he's too embarrassed, he just ran right into you! His crush!

Aaaaaa maybe this is like one of those romance games! The protagonist runs into his crush and they fall in love immediately and get married and—

He just said that out loud...?

**MORE FRANTIC APOLOGIES**

Eventually he runs away while apologizing

But soon he comes back and eventually starts to be fine around you again

Once you bring it up and mention how you thought he was cute and you'd like to date him he was beyond happy and a stuttering and blushing mess

This man loves you so much omfg treat him well, he's so sweet

(DOES HE HAVE ON MAKEUP IN THIS GIF??? OOOOOO BOY, HALLELUJAH, GODDAMN HE'S HOT ASF)

Leona 🦁

This cocky (but hot) mf obviously has his hands behind his head, nose in the air, eyes closed and has no care who he runs into

That is until he runs smack into you and is somehow sent tumbling backwards

Just waits for him to hit the floor so he can immediately get up and threaten whoever decided to knock him down

Once he realizes he hasn't hit the floor yet his eyes open and he sees you

Subtly blushes and his eyes widen

"Tch, should've known it was you. Don't you know it's unwise to run right into a predator, little herbivore?"

Once you set him back on his feet he scratches the back of his head and looks at you for a moment

"I suppose I'll let you off the hook, just don't do it again or else you might wind up as my next meal"

You take that line a whole other way—

Walks away without apologizing

In secret he's actually really embarrassed

Bring it up next time and he'll act as if he doesn't know what you mean

Will eventually ask you out after than incident but I guarantee it'll be weeks after

(Angy rule following boy)

Riddle 🌹

This guy is quite small– I'm sorry—

He's storming down the halls looking for Ace and Deuce after Ace stole another one of Riddle's tarts, Deuce just got wrapped up in this (#saveDeuce)

He turns the corner and runs smack dab into your chest

Doesn't realize what just happened for a moment

Once it registers that his face is in your honkers, he stumbles backwards and trips over his own feet

You throw your arms out to catch him and he is a combination of 😳 and 😵‍💫

Immediately stands up and removes himself from your arms while turning his head to the side as he apologizes

Quickly walks away

Ace and Deuce were watching the whole thing

They. Are. HECTIC.

Immediately go to confront him even if he's actively hunting them down

"YOU RAN INTO HER CHEST????"

Needless to say Ace and Deuce had that collar on them for quite a while

He avoids you for weeks until he finally decides to confront you about it and apologize

He then asks to take you somewhere as an apology (*COUGH* it's a secret date *COUGH*)

He asks you out at the end

(the only reason Riddle runs into your chest is because his height compared to a female who's 5'9 would put him around your chest area)

(LOOK AT LILIA BHJVHCFHV AND MALLEUS IS SO HOT AND INTIMIDATING AAAAAAAAAA)

Malleus 🐉

(How someone can manage to knock this man over I'll never be able to imagine—)

But somehow you manage it

In all honesty he was probably just not paying attention and ran into you

You were prolly running down the halls and ran right into him and the force just knocked him backwards more than it did you

He is ✨ s h o o k e t h ✨

My guy can't even catch himself he's so shocked

So you catch him

Malleus rn: 😯

He's just there in your arms trying to comprehend what just happened, how you managed to knock him over, and how you're strong enough to hold him like this

Once you set him back on his feet this man gives out a formal apology

You stop him midway and tell him it's perfectly fine

His little smile after is KFBSOCBSOCBDJF

One of the ones who's not even embarrassed, he's just happy you forgive him

He asks if you'd like to go for a walk with him

It turns into a date and you get together by the end—

Enjoys telling the story of how y'all got together

"Soooo, how'd you guys get together?"

"It's quite funny actually, she ran right in to me and managed to knock me over but she caught me, I then asked her to go for a walk with me as an apology and I asked her out at the end :)"

(Sneaky octopus boy)

Azul 🐙

He was probably looking for the tweels tbh

He prolly needed them for when he forces someone to sign a contract, just in case

He is swiftly going down them hallways

He stops for nothing

Until he runs right into you

Then he stops and starts falling backwards from the momentum

You quickly reach out and wrap your arms around his waist, holding him and keeping him from falling

My man is SHOOK

Azul rn: 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

Politely asks you to set him back on his feet to which you oblige

He does that lil embarrassed cough into his fist and stares at his feet

"I'm sorry for running into you, are you hurt?"

After you reassure him he smiles at you, face bright red

Later that day he invites you on a picnic and he asks you out!

(I love him-)

Kalim ⭐️

He's probably running down the halls looking for Jamil

"JAMILLLLLL, WHERE ARE YOUUUU???"

Isn't even paying attention and just SMACKS into you

Somehow he falls instead of you

Let's out a yelp after he runs into you and starts falling

Like Idia he's also flailing about trying to find something to grab on to

You immediately catch him before he hits the ground

His face is like 🥹

My man is so happy

He's precious

"Sorry for running into you!!"

Happily thanks you and asks if you're ok

After you say you're fine he asks for you to come hunt Jamil down with him

During the hunt he accidentally let's it slip that he likes you

But you say you feel the same and you two get together!

(Gorgeous)

Vil 🪞

Probably is too busy making sure he looks presentable

Has a mirror right up in his face making sure his makeup is perfect, his hair is perfect, everything

You're prolly just looking off to the side when suddenly he runs right into you

Mirror goes flying, he starts falling, you stumble back

You quickly go to grab him but sadly the mirror couldn't be saved

Rip mirror

He is stunned

"I'm so sorry, darling, I didn't mean to run into you, I hope you're ok"

You let him stand up while assuring that you're ok....

Butttt the mirror isn't

You point to it behind him

He simply shrugs

"It's a shame, it was a good mirror, but I have plenty more in my room, care to join me for the walk back? Id love to have your company, and maybe I could give you a makeover"

You agree and you both walk back to his room

He immediately asks if he can give you a makeover

He asks you out in the middle of applying your lipstick and you happily agree

#fantasy #idia my beloved #idia shroud #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland idia #twst #twst idia #twst wonderland #twisted wonderland requests #twisted wonderland kalim #twisted wonderland vil #twisted wonderland azul #twisted wonderland riddle #twisted wonderland malleus #twisted wonderland leona #request #requests open #i hope you enjoy #i hope you like this

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henry-and-the-seven-lords · 3 years

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Hello @gluttonousfruit you are in fact my first request. (I did not forget about you in moving my blog.) I am super excited to have anyone ask me to write something! Also I would love to be friends! Feel free to message me through asks or in private DMs! I hope you enjoy the imagine!

Warnings: Fluff with a small amount of angst because Levi doubts himself 😞

Brothers Masterlist | Dateables Masterlist

Levi with an Animator S/O

"Okay MC, I know we just finished 'Swimming Only Leads to Hot Mermaids,' but I was thinking since we are already watching otomes, we should watch another series that everyone is recommending online!" Levi says this as he begins to pull out one DVD and place in another while bouncing on the balls of his feet like an excited puppy.

"I guess I could watch one more series, but it better be a good one. Sure the mermaids were attractive, but there wasn't much of a plot." MC says with a yawn. A quick look over to the clock, and it reads 11:48 PM in a blinding blue light. Not too late for one of Levi's normal bingefests, but a little too late for MC when they have classes tomorrow.

"No, I promise this one is good. Everyone is talking about the art style. They say it is so original that it's captivating." Levi walks to the small futon briskly and plops himself down next to MC as he continues to ramble about the art. His voice slowly trails off as the opening begins to play.

As the music fills MC's ears, they perk up and a small smile appears on their face. "Levi, could this perhaps be, 'I Went to Hell For a Weekend and Got Stuck in a Love Heptagon with Seven Incubi'?"

Levi faces MC in shock. The look on their face is quite smug. (In all seriousness, it reminds Levi of Mammon when he wins poker, but he doesn't want to be think about his brother while looking at MC. So he pushes that thought away.) This anime came out only the day before their bingefest. And even then, Levi had this copy pre-ordered for this very occasion and it arrived before any stores were selling physical copies. There is no way a normie like MC could have heard about its release. Does this mean MC isn't such a normie after all?

"You heard of this show already?" The surprise in his voice was impossible to hide.

"Yeah, I have heard of it." MC smiles and chuckles quietly, "I have never actually seen it, but I have heard the opening quite a few times."

"Oh..." Levi sighs. He was so stupid. Of course MC had heard the opening. It is all over his Devilgram and they were on their phone for part of the last show, so they obviously just heard it on there. Levi deflates looking solemn. It was just a pipe dream that MC would ever be interested in his yucky otaku interests.

"Hey! There is no reason to be all sad just because I know the name of the show. I still haven't seen the whole thing. My first time watching will still be with you Levi, isn't that special enough?" The smile on MC's face seemed sincere enough, but the words that came out of their mouth made blood rush up to Levi's cheeks. Their first... did they really mean to say it like that?...

As thoughts begin to flood Leviathan's head the show began. It was true the art style was captivating. So captivating in fact, that he forgot about his embarrassment. But MC's words still lingered in his mind as he watched the show.

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

"Well, I am dead tired." MC stands cracking their aching joints as they look at the clock. 2:37 AM. It was that late already? "I think I need to head to bed Levi. I have classes in the morning and I need at least a few hours of sleep."

"Are you sure?" Levi was just starting to enjoy MC's presence. At the beginning of the night, he was on edge trying to make everything perfect. Levi did want to mess up by being a yucky Otaku and give them a reason to leave him all alone. But as the night progressed, (and more snacks were consumed) he felt increasingly more comfortable with sharing his favorite shows with MC. "I have other shows we could watch to pass the time, or we could play this new game I got-"

MC walks over to Levi and gently sets their hands on his shoulders, "Games and anime are great, but what I need right now is sleep." MC watched as Levi's face filled with a blush and his eyes flashed with hurt. "I am not leaving because I am mad... or sad... or anything really. I just need to sleep, Leviathan." Their voice was barely above a whisper as they said his name. How could he disagree with them when they said his name like that; all the while, looking deep into his eyes. He felt like he could explode.

As MC turns away, the demon in question then sighs mutters a quiet "okay" under his breath. "Don't worry, Levi. This isn't the last time I will watch anime with you. I promise we can do another one of these when another new anime comes out." MC begins to pick up their things. A blanket they brought with them to keep warm in Levi's cold room and the rest of their human snacks. "Besides, I really liked that one, and I have heard they are already making season two." As they speak, MC makes their way across the room to the gigantic tank.

"Wait. How do you-"

"Good night Henry. Good night Levi." And with that, MC leaves. Closing the door behind them.

How did MC know about a second season? Even he, the Great Otaku Levi, has not heard about a season two on any forums or on any other website... After thinking about it, Levi suspects it's probably on Devilgram like the opening was. To prove his theory, he pulls out his D.D.D. and opens up Devilgram to the 'I Went to Hell For a Weekend and Got Stuck in a Love Heptagon with Seven Incubi' page. He scrolls through their posts and finds the opening, like he predicted, but what he didn't predict was their most recent post.

"This show would not have been possible without MC. Thank you for making such a great story and great art to go along with it!"

Levi reads the caption once, twice, thrice and is speechless. The photo for this post is none other than his MC standing with a hand drawn piece of the protagonist. He can even see their signature in the corner when he zooms in! He knew that they liked to draw, but he never thought they would make an anime.

Without thinking, Levi gets up and begins to run to MC's room. He needs to know that this isn't some sort of elaborate prank that MC and Satan brewed up to make him like a normie more.

The door to MC's room busts open, "MC!" The room is completely dark except for the light shining in through the doorway.

"Levi...? Is that you? Is something wrong?" MC's voice is soft and laced with sleep. If this were any other time, Levi would have screamed over their cuteness, but today he had a mission. He immediately marches up to the half asleep MC and promptly shoves his phone in their face.

"Did you make 'I Went to Hell For a Weekend and Got Stuck in a Love Heptagon with Seven Incubi'?" MC sits up and squints as their eyes adjust to the blinding screen and look at the post.

"Um... yeah. That's me isn't it?" Silence takes over the room, before Levi begins to scream.

"WAHHHHH! MC, why didn't you tell me!" Thankfully with the phone only being pointed at MC, they can't see the blush spreading across his face.

"Well, I didn't want you to treat me differently because I make anime." Laying back down as they speak, MC tucks a pillow under their head and looks up to where they guess Leviathan's face is. "Besides, I thought it was really cute how you were fanboying, and I didn't want you to stop because you knew you were in the presence of the creator." A small smile makes it's way on to MC's face as Levi feels his own get hotter.

Now covering his face, Levi quickly makes his way to the door while muttering, "You can't just say things like that..." As he begins to close the door, he pauses and opens it up again while looking back, "Can you tell me more about your show tomorrow, MC?" His voice sounds small compared to his previous scream.

"Of course Levi. We can talk for as long as you like."

#obey me requests #obeyme #obey me #levi #leviathan x mc #leviathan imagine #obey me leviathan #obey me levi x mc #obey me levi #fluff #obey me imagines #imagine #angst

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dearestgojo · 3 years

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Summary: Even the people that are most in love can fall out of it. But what do you do when one of is still holding on to what once was and isn’t willing to let go while the other lies to themselves about their own feelings. And what lies have led to the downfall of what you once thought was perfect.

A/n: Thank y'all for being so patient for this weeks update! I've been trying to enjoy sometime with family this weekend. Check out the 100 followers event I still have 4 available spots.

And don't for get to vote for the male protagonist for 'The Alley of the Kiss' voting closes on Sept. 21st

Here's the taglist.

Iwaizumi x Fem Reader

Warnings: 18+. Mentions of drugs and alcohol.

Part 7. Part 8. Part 9. Series Masterlist.

Word Count: 6,001

There was an air of awkwardness surrounding your home for the days that followed. The house felt smaller with the two of you in it. The bed wasn’t big enough. The nights were too long. Mornings seemed to drag on for too long while you got ready for work. There was really no escaping it no matter how much you tried to work through it.

You always looked far off as Hajime talked, a shake or nod from your head the only indication that you were in fact listening. There was barely a full conversation between you and him, where you actually answered with words. You had stopped announcing when you would come home from work, dropping your bag by the door, and going straight to the bathroom to wash up.

It was starting to wear on Hajime, who now found himself out of the house even more often. Sometimes he would come home in the middle of the night, and others he wouldn’t come home. Not that you seemed to care if he returned at all.

This was one of those mornings where you think you're going to spend it alone like the two mornings before. When Hajime walks into the room, sweat dripping down his face, bicep muscles on display, shirt a out of place letting one of his nipples slip out of the tank top. You would be lying if you said you didn’t feel the slick pool in between your legs at the sight of him all sweaty. Swallowing down the spit in your mouth, you ignore him and continue dragging your sleepy body into the kitchen, tummy grumbling for food.

“Morning.” Hajime greets you following you into the kitchen. He picks up the tumbler that sits on the table with his protein shake.

You look over your shoulder, eyes blank of any emotion. “Morning.” you respond, reaching for the coffee that’s in the cupboard above.

Hajime walks behind you, arms wrapped around your waist and face buried in your hair/ “ Did you sleep well?” He’s starting to grind his hips into you. There’s a wave of heat that travels down your spine and spreads across your cheeks when you feel the hard on he has pressing against the fat of your ass.

It takes everything in you to not give into the sexual desire in the pit of your belly. Wrapping your hands around his wrist you pull his arms off your and walk out of his embrace. “I did.” There isn't a second glance his way when you leave, the need for coffee forgotten.

You walk out of the kitchen and sit on the couch, pulling your phone out and scrolling through it. Eyes stayed glued on the screen when Hajime was in the living room, standing by the stairs, “I’m going shower.” You hum letting him know you heard him.

Your phone dings after he disappears up the stairs, the sound of the bathroom door closing reaching your ears, a message from the group chat with Kagami, Ayumi, and you coming through.

‘Do y’all want to go out tonight’ Ayumi’s avatar pops up at the bottom of it.

‘Sure, you in y/n?’ Kagami asks.

You think your answer over, you had wanted to do some clothes shopping today, and book an appointment with your hairdresser for a color change. ‘I’m down. Just need to do some things.’

Ayumi’s name pops up in the corner along with three dots, “Let me go with you!! Please!’

‘Sure, why not? See you at the mall in two hours.’

Standing from your spot on the couch you stretch your arms above your head, the tense muscles of your back loosen a bit. Making your way to your bedroom you eyes the closed bathroom door, the sound of water falling can be heard even from across the hall. You slip into your room, closing the door behind you and look through your closet.

You don’t have many options for a night out with them, most of your dresses are simple and cute. Deciding to borrow something from Kagami you change into something more casual to run your errands in.

Hajime walks into the room just as you're tucking the end of your shirt into the short overalls you picked out. He eyes you up and down, “Going somewhere?”

You look over your shoulder, as you bend over to pick up the white shoes at the end of your bed,

Shorts riding up the back of your thighs, giving Hajime a full view of the underside of your asscheeks. He swallows the spit that forms in his mouth, jealousy starting to bubble in his stomach. He’d thought the outfit was innocent enough when he walked in, but now he wasn’t so sure if he wanted you to go out without him in the vicinity.

“Yeah I have some things I need to do.” You sit on the edge of the bed slipping into the shoes. Your hair is done up, with loose curls framing your face. Your make-up is light, a slight blush spreading across your cheeks and the bridge of your nose.

“Should I come with you?” Hajime slips the white t-shirt he had pulled from his side of the closet over his head, popping out a moment later to see you shaking your head.

“No, Ayumi’s coming with me.” You get up from your spot and walk around the bed to your vanity. You see his eyes sadden through the mirror when you decline his offer. “Maybe next time. I’ll be home late, Ayumi wants to go out.”

You miss Hajime’s face when it becomes hard at the mention of you going out for the night with your friends, “Where are you going?”

“I’m not sure. She didn’t say.” You finish touching up your make-up and head for the door, “I’ll see you later tonight.”

He wants to stop you. Wants to tell you that you can’t go, but the empty expression he’s seen the last few weeks is gone. Your eyes sparkle as you grab your bag from the door handle and leave Hajime alone in the room.

Grace wasn’t sure what else to have Hajime finally reveal about his affair, it’d been a dirty trick for her to take the phone of his lover and send herself the photo while the former went to the restroom. She sent the message about two weeks ago and had yet to hear anything about it from Hajime...or you.

Now as she sits on the end of her couch watching her phone, she wanders what could have happened. She didn't think that you’d easily forgive Hajime after receiving a picture like that. She also didn’t think Hajime was smart enough to sweet talk his way out of something with solid proof like that. Maybe she should have taken another route and taken a picture of them kissing, it would have been more obvious that it was him.

Grace’s phone vibrating interrupts her train of thought, the text message making her screen shine in her face. It’s the last name she wants to see lighting up her screen at this moment. She chooses to ignore it, but it’s pointless because two seconds later her phone lights up with an incoming call.

She grudgingly picks up the phone, “Hello?”

“Were you really going to leave me on read?” Her voice has Grace feeling aggravated.

“And if I was what?”

Grace hears the over exaggerated sigh from the other side, and thuds of things hitting the ground, “Can you stop being such a bitch?”

“Can you stop sleeping with people's boyfriends?” Grace shoots back. The other side of the line falls quiet that if it weren’t for the background noise she’d think that she’d been hung up on.

Two seconds later the voice is coming in through the phone, “Whatever. Can you go with me to buy some things?”

“No.”

The whining that follows her answer has Grace pulling the phone away from her ear, “Come on. It won’t be long. Promise.”

Grace sighs, throwing her head over the back of the couch, “I guess. Where should I meet you?”

“I’m getting off work, so I’ll come pick you up.”

“Fine. I’ll be ready.” She hangs up before receiving a response. She honestly didn’t want to leave the comfort of her house. She didn’t want to spend a second with the two idiots that had her hair graying. Grace felt like she hadn’t known a moment's peace since the day they landed in Japan.

Thirty minutes later she’s walking through the small outlet mall, trailing behind the woman. Grace can’t think of anything other than the comfortable spot on her couch and the unpopped popcorn bag in her pantry. She wanted this shopping trip to end as quickly as possible.

“I’m going to step in here for a second.” Grace looks at the store they’re standing in front of. A lingerie store. She wants to make a comment, but swallows it down, knowing she’d lose her only way back to the comfort of her home.

“Okay. I’m going to walk around for a bit.” Grace walks off not waiting for an answer. She hasn’t taken but ten steps when she sees you standing in front of her. Hands filled with shopping bags. She raises her hand and gives you a small wave. You return it, and walk towards her. Grace knows she has nowhere to run off to so she waits until you’re standing in front of her.

“Hi.” You greet from about a foot away.

“Hey.” Grace isn’t sure how to act around you though since your last conversation you seem more relaxed around her. She doesn’t know what she expects from you, but it certainly wasn’t you asking her for coffee.

“Are you free? Want to get some coffee?” You ask her, adjusting the bags in your hands.

Grace isn’t sure what she should do. Was there a reason behind you asking her for coffee? Were you going to ask about the picture? And it doesn’t feel right to decline your offer.

“Yeah. I’m waiting for a friend to finish shopping, so I have some time.”

You nod your head, “Okay, there’s a small coffee shop right over there, is it okay with you if we sit there?”

“Yeah.” Grace follows you to the small shop. Doing her best to calm her nerves. She doesn’t know what you want, and it doesn’t matter cause whatever it is scares her just the same.

You could tell that Grace didn’t want to be here, the way she shifted in her seat everytime she would meet your eyes. Twirling the spoon in your cup of tea you decide not to beat around the bush. “Is Hajime cheating on me?” You keep your eyes on her, looking at how she reacts to the question.

Grace’s shoulders fall and rise, eyes finally meeting yours. She leans over her drink, “Why do you ask?”

Swallowing down the lump that forms in your throat you lean against the back of your chair. “I have my reasons to believe he is.”

Grace hums, “And if he is, what are you going to do?” She taps her fingers on the table.

“I don’t know. Probably leave.” There’s no hesitation in your voice.

Grace looks at the people walking around her, as if she’s looking for someone in particular. “Would you want to know who it was he was cheating on you with?”

The question catches you off a bit off guard. In the week that Hajime had left the house you hadn’t asked yourself that question. Would you want to see the face of the woman Hajime had put before your relationship. When you had thought it had been Grace, the pain of knowing had been unbearable when you would imagine the two of them together, so the answer is easy.

“No. I wouldn’t.”

Grace continues to tap the surface of the table. “What makes you think that I would tell you if he’s cheating.”

“Cause you hinted at it the last time we spoke. I just want you to give me a straight answer this time.” The harshness of your voice leaves her stunned.

Grace recollects herself rather quickly, she laughs a little to herself. Shaking her head, “I-I can’t tell you whether he is or isn’t. I told you last time I wouldn’t tell you about the things he tells me.”

Your eyebrows knit together in frustration, you rub your temples, “Don’t you get tired of keeping his secrets.”

“I do, but he deserves to have at least one person rooting for him to do the right thing. Someone to give him small pushes in the right direction. I have to believe that Hajime will make the right choices with a bit of my help from behind the scenes.” Grace turns her head a bit, something catching her eyes, “I have to go. I’ll see you around.” She stands and walks away, disappearing into the crowd.

Ayumi taking her place a few minutes later, “Hey ready to go. Kagami says to meet her at her place.”

You nod, “Yeah just let me finish this.”

“Girl I found you the cutest dress for tonight.” She beams at you, pulling the strap of the said dress out from the bag. You laugh and shake your head as she keeps teasing peeks of the dress for you.

You tell yourself not to think about your relationship problems, to force the thoughts out of your head. Tonight was about having fun with your friends, and forgetting about everything else. At least for tonight

She watched as Grace crossed the road, her hands shoved into the pockets of the high waisted denim jeans she wore. She wanted to know what you and Grace had talked about. There was a suspicion that it might have been about her relationship with your boyfriend. Maybe Grace had revealed who she was.

Grace reaches the spot in which she stands, looking uncomfortable and shifting on her feet when she reaches her. Her long curls are pulled back into a half updo, green eyes not being able to hide disgruntled state.

“What did she want?” She’s half smiling, hoping that Grace revealed all. Praying that you were on your way to break up your boyfriend. But to her disfavor Grace doesn’t give her the response she wants.

“She just wanted to talk.” Grace looks around, annoyance written all over her body language. She didn’t want to be here. At Least not with her. “Can we go? You got what you wanted didn’t you? Seriously dragging me out on my day off just to pick that up?” She starts to walk away from her, leaving her standing, looking in the direction she came from.

You're finishing the drink you had ordered, a slice of half eaten cake on the table. Your phone is in one hand. A girl with green hair comes up to the table taking the seat in front of you where Grace had been seated earlier. She glares at the scene of you and your friend smiling at each other before turning on her feet and following Grace who stopped a few feet away.

“He’s not going to leave her, so why don’t you just let go. Do the right thing for once.”

She swallows the lump lodged in her throat. She knew this already, so why was Grace reminding her of it? “Because I love him.” The words left her lips sounding like lies to her own ears.

Grace hums. Turning to look out the window. “Is it really love or are you just infatuated with the idea of him being yours? Are you sure that if he leaves y/n, you’ll still stick around?” The question hung in the air as they drove in silence the rest of the way.

She drops Grace off, pulling out of the parking lot when the door slams shut. She drives past her shops. Why did you get to be happy? Why did you get to show Hajime off to the world, while she only got moments in darkness? Why couldn’t she have all the things you had with Hajime? Why didn’t he just leave you?

She’s stopped at a red light when the tears start to fall. There’s so many things she wishes she could change at this moment. If she could go back in time in this moment, and have a conversation with her past self she’d tell her to walk away. Tell her that the warm feeling she felt wasn’t worth the pain she’d be feeling later. She’d tell her that the chance of Hajime willingly leaving you was next to none.

She wishes she had taken Grace’s advice sooner, but it wasn’t easy to let go of someone who had engraved themselves in your chest, into your very being. You should know better than anyone after all you had a tendency of constantly forgiving Hajime.

Looking in the full length mirror of Kagami’s bed room you admire the way Ayumi had bought you fits. The top hugs your waist before flowing out. The light blue dress stops at your thigh and if you were to bend down, it’d ride up and give everyone a perfect view of the baby blue thong Kagami had insisted you wear. You felt a bit comfortable every time you moved and the air hit your exposed cheeks, the dress fluttering around you with each step. You don’t know who you let them talk you into going to a club, but here your were getting ready to go to one.

Ayumi appears behind you in the mirror, a pair of white block heels in her hand. She lets out a low whistle when she sees you, “Damn. I knew I had a pretty friend, but I you looking fucking hot right now.” She sets the heel near your feet, standing up to help you fix your hair.

You tug at the hem of the dress while she adjusts the curls, “Don’t you think it’s too short?”

“Mmh, nope. It’s perfect. Trust me. Here put these on and we can leave.”

She helps you into the heels, Kagami walking to the room as she finishes bucking the last one around your ankle, “ You guys ready?” You nod your head, noticing how their dress differs from each other. Their dresses cling to their bodies, unlike yours that flows. Ayumi’s black dress has chains around the waist, and shows off all of her cleavage. Kagami wears a bright red dress that has slits on the sides, and a deep cut in the middle of her chest that stops at her midriff, sheer fabric sewed in. “Alright let’s go. The uber is downstairs waiting.”

From the corner of your eye you see her grab a small bag with three blunts inside. Your eyes widen a bit, Ayumi catching your scandalized expression. “Oh don’t act, you've never smoked weed before. Remember college?”

“Yeah, but it’s been years.” You argue back.

“It’s just for tonight. We said we’d have fun.” Kagami offers.

Sighing you give in to them for the second time today. They smile at you leading you out the door, and down to the uber waiting outside.

You barely remember the ride to the club, just the part where Kagami lit up the blunts and gave you each one, but the pounding of the music and the swaying of bodies is making it feel suffocating inside. You're watching Ayumi do shots with a dude she just met while Kagami is nowhere to be seen.

Drinking the rest of your drink you decide that you need some air, so you stand, legs shaking a bit when you do. Once you manage to stand straight you, push through the crowd heading towards the exit. Bodies and hands brushing against your exposed skin, some lingering longer than others. You don’t know how you make it to the hallway, but it’s just as crowded as the dance floor and bar. People pressed against the walls, hand pulling skirts up and other past the waistband of pants. You do your best to ignore the people while you walk to the door that’s a few feet away.

The air from outside the club feels welcomed even in your current state. There’s a small crowd outside, some are smoking and others are making out against the light poles and walls. It’s the same scene you’d seen on your way out of the club.

You spot a free space against the wall a few feet away from you. Taking a step forward towards it you stagger in your heels, the effects of the drug and alcohol not helping your balance. Yet you need something to rest against so you continue to walk towards the space, your world spinning with each step. You become nauseated as the ground beneath you continues to turn, fighting back the urge to barf with each step.

It seems like you're going to make it to the empty spot, when the alcohol from earlier makes its way up your throat, sting your insides on its way. The sounds you make as you empty your stomach are revolting, your body curling into itself while your insides spill onto the side of the road. You can hear a few of the people who had been standing around you make sounds of disgust before walking away.

You drop to your knees when the contents of your stomach are gone, heaving on as it still tries to empty itself of nothing. The feeling of a large hand resting on your back, rubbing soothing circles on the small of your back, grabs your attention when you start to choke on your own spit. You look up, eyes unfocused, chest burning from the alcohol, your breath catching in your throat when you make out the outline of the person beside you.

Looking up at the blurry figure with the long hair, leaning in and whispering, “Are you J-jesus? Did I die?”

The sound of a deep manly laugh sends shivers up your shine, “Uh, no, I’m not Jesus, and as far as I know you can’t die from puking, unless you choke your own vomit.”

You knit your eyebrows together, “Oh.”

He helps you off the ground and to a small bench you hadn’t noticed. He kneels in front of you rubbing your wrists, “Is there anyone I can get for you? Should I call you a taxi?”

You shake your head,”My friends are inside. Needed some air.”

The man nods. “Are you feeling better? More sober?” He asks. You nod your head, relishing the way his much bigger hands rub your wrists. You look at the ends of his long hair, and the ghost of a growing beard on his face. He’s handsome for the most part, not really your type.

Suddenly you're aware that he’s kneeling in between your legs which rest on either side of his body. You shouldn’t be feeling this comfortable with a stranger, especially not in your state of intoxication., but makes you feel a sense of security which makes you lean in and ask him once more. “Are you sure you aren’t Jesus?”

He laughs once more, eyes crinkling when he does. Your heart gives a small flutter. “I’m pretty sure.”

Minutes pass and he continues to rub circles on to the skin of your wrists. And out of nowhere a tear falls from your eyes and onto his hand. He looks up at you to find you silently crying, “Hey, hey, what’s wrong. Did I do something?”

You shake your head and sob out, “Being in love with him hurts so much.” He hands let go of your wrists and cups your face while you continue to drunkenly babble about your relationship to a complete stranger, your sentence not making any sense because you’re all over the place, “All we do is fight now, and I don’t know why I feel so empty since he came back. Or maybe I’ve been feeling like this since before. I’ve been feeling this way for so long. Is there something wrong with me?”

His thumbs rub he tears out of your eyes, “You're drunk right now, probably high off something too, and I don’t know you, but I can tell you're a great person.” He’s eyes scan your face, “Whatever is bothering you, it’ll get better. And if whatever is going on in your relationship doesn’t work itself out, there’s always someone better out there, something better waiting for you.” He drops his hands to your shoulders.

“What if he’s it? What if there’s no one else?’

“There’s always someone else who’s going to love you just the same or more....you just have to be patient.” Your cries start to quiet down, eyes focused on his face.

The sound of your name being called has you turning and looking around for the familiar voices. He seems to catch on that the name being called is yours, “Are those your friends?” You nod, “Okay, let’s get you to them, so you can go home, you need some rest.”

He helps you stand up and wraps an arm around your shoulders, following the sounds of the slurred calls. You find Ayumi and Kagami talking to the bouncer of the club, their faces filled with worry. Kagami is the first to spot you, face relaxing as you approach them. “Y/n!” She grabs Ayumi's hand and drags her in your direction, her body tensing when she sees the large man next to you.

He greets them with a nod of his head, “She was throwing up when I found her. Couldn’t walk straight.’

Kagami takes you from his arms, her and Ayumi helping you stand, “Thank you. We’ve been looking for her.”

“No problem.” He assures her, his head turning towards you before walking off, “Take care.” You wave a small good-bye, before he completely turns around.

“Oh my God, y/n, we were so worried about you. You just disappeared. We thought something had happened” Ayumi cries, arms wrapping tighter around you.

“Just need some fresh air.” You explain.

Kagami wraps her arms around the two of you, and whispers“Should have let us know.” The three of you stay like that for a couple of minutes. “We called Atsumu before we started looking for you. He should be here any minute.” You nod your head.

You stay huddled near the edge of the sidewalk waiting for him. Minutes pass before he’s yellow Mustang pulls up, he rolls his window looking at the three of you, “Damn y’all look rough.”

“Shut up ‘Tsumu.” Ayumi grumbles.

“Now, now that isn’t how you treat someone who’s doing you the favor of picking you up at three in the morning.” Atsumu pouts.

“Just unlock the car and let us in.” Kagami glares, helping you step down. At the sight of how messed up you are he unlocks the car, letting the three of you crawl in.

“I’ll drop you two off since you live closer.” Ayumi and Kagami nod, before the car pulls out. Even in your inebriated state you can feel Atsumu’s eyes on you through the mirror. It makes your chest pound in your chest, in a way that it hadn’t in years of being with Hajime.

Atsumu holds your keys in his hand while his arm is wrapped around your waist, holding you up while he walks to the front of your house. The lights are turned off, but he can make out the sound of the television playing in the living room. He tries knocking softly at first to see if your boyfriend would open the door. Nothing.

So Atsumu does the only thing he can and does the best he can to balance out your weight while putting the key into the keyhole. The lock clicks and he turns the knob, opening the door. He scoops you up into his arms. Holding you as close as he can while he walks into your home.

He was right, the television is playing in the living room, your boyfriend fast asleep on the couch. Atsumu walks past him, and up to your bedroom, while you mumble incoherent sentences. He makes it to the top of the stairs, he looks down at you, eyes half lidded, fingers tangled into his shirt while you hold on to him.

“Hey, pretty girl?’ You hum, nose brushing against his neck. He can feel his heartbeat speed up. He clears his throat trying to think straight, “Where’s your room?”

You mumble unintelligible words, hand lifting a bit to point to the room to his right. He laughs a little at how cute you are when you are drunk, not being able to even think straight, and face flushed red. He walks into the room and sets you on the bed, helping you out of your shoes, before laying you up further up the bed.

He’s busy trying to make sure you're comfortable that he doesn’t notice the sound of footsteps. Atsumu is almost done tucking you into the bed, your eyes drooping even more under the warmth of the covers, when he harshly gets pulled off the bed.

“What do you think you're doing here?” Your boyfriend’s voice comes out in a growl, both his hands gripping the front of Atsumu’s shirt.

Atsumu yanks himself out of Hajime’s hold, smoothing the front of his shirt. “Dude calm down. I just brought her up to her room.”

“I could’ve done that.”

“Yeah sure, from where you passed out on the couch.” Atsumu loudly whispers. He looks at Hajime and sighs, “Look she’s drunk and high. I knocked but you didn’t open. She had given me the keys, so I unlocked the door myself. When I walked in it just seemed easier to bring her up here myself instead of waking you up.” He eyes the bed to see you asleep despite their loud whispers.

Your boyfriend also eyes your sleeping form, “What was she doing with you? She was supposed to be out with her friends.”

“She was. I had to pick them.” Atsumu answers.

“Why didn’t she call me?” Hajime’s questions.

“Well Ayumi called me. They were drunk and high off their asses sitting on the sidewalk when I showed up.” He looks at the door, feeling awkward standing here with Hajime, who seems to not believe what he is saying. “Look, I have to go.” He takes a step towards the door.

“How do I know you're telling the truth and that she didn’t spend the whole day with you?”

Atsumu feels his blood boil. Was he really questioning your loyalty when you’d chosen him after the shit he pulled in college. Filled with disgust, Atsumu turns to face Hajime, “I don’t think you're in a position to talk. I know it’s not any of my business, but just know that Kagami told me everything, not about the kiss, but that other thing.” He smirks when your boyfriends face contorts into panic, “If you worried about me telling y/n, don’t, I promised Kagami I wouldn’t. It’s not my place to tell her, but know that the day she leaves you, for whatever reason, I’m going to be there. Waiting for her. However long it takes.”

He walks out the door, leaving your boyfriend standing in the middle of the room. Body shaking in anger.

The sound of the alarm ringing jolts you awake, head pounding when you open your eyes into the bright room. Your eyes struggle to adjust to the brightness of the room, and you pull the covers over your head when your head starts to pound, throat feeling dry every time you swallow.

You hear footsteps walking into the room, stopping at the end of your bed. “Are you awake? it’s almost two in the afternoon.” You gulp down at Hajime’s angry voice, shifting under the covers. You feel the bed dip on your side, “You need to eat something.” The smell of fried chicken hits your nose, your stomach growling. There’s no point in pretending to be asleep so you sit up, the light stinging your eyes and making your head throb in pain. You let out a whine. “Yeah not feeling so good after last night right? Here take this.”

You look down at his extended arms, hands holding a glass of water and an aspirin, you take them slowly. Swallowing the water relieves the dryness in your mouth, and you light out a sigh once the glass is empty. You look around the room trying to recall how you got home, but as hard as you try you only remember parts of the prior night. “How’d I get home?”

If it were possible Hajime’s frown grows deeper, “That college friend of yours, Miya, dropped you off.” He stands from the bed and brings you a tray of food he had apparently carried up, “I didn’t know you were still seeing him.” His tone is accusatory and he’s eyes are asking the questions he doesn’t want to ask out loud. How long have you been seeing him? Are you two sleeping together?

You shake your head, doing your best to ignore the way he asks you the question. For the sake of your mental stability and the relationship that was already sitting on a thin line. “We recently ran into each other. I’ve only seen him three times. Once at the cafe down the road, then at brunch with the girls, and on Kagami’s blind date.”

Hajimes scowls, “So he’s the guy who’s cologne was on you.” You nod, and he lets out a sigh falling back on the bed. Eyes staring at the ceiling. You want to know what he’s thinking, but the thought also scares you. “Y/n?”

“Yes?”

“Do you like him?” There’s a moment of silence. Both of you are waiting for your answer, but Hajime continues before you can give him an answer that you’d use to spare his feelings,” I also don’t mean as a friend, I mean do you like him as more than just a friend. Would you give him a chance if I wasn’t in the picture?”

The silence that follows isn’t as long as the first one while you think your answer over again.

“Yes. I like him.” Hajime laughs from where he lays on the bed, arms thrown over his face. It’s not a humores laugh, but one filled with sadness.

And when he’s laughing dies down he asks you another question. One that you’ve been asking yourself for a while. “Do you love me?”

His face is still covered by his arms, but you know that there’s probably tears in his eyes when asks it. You take the last bite of the food you brought and look out the window. There’s a few gray clouds in the sky, the sun from yesterday gone.

You drop your head against the headboard, the stillness of the world as you ponder the question for the nth time smothers you. Hajime’s breathing is quiet and still while he waits for you to answer, the seconds that pass feel like months and years for him. He prays that you don’t answer. That the worlds stop at this moment and that things don’t get ruined any further than they already are. He wants to live in the bliss of thinking you still love him. That you still hold him close to your heart.

His world cracks a bit when you finally answer. And he lets the tears that had been forming behind eyes fall. He starts to regret every mistake and choice he’s made up until now.

Hajime doesn’t want you to see him break down once more so he keeps his arms over his face. The echo of your answer repeating over and over.

“I don't know anymore.”

General Taglist: @fushigum @sadtrains @rinsangel @hollowpurpl @semieitasleftthigh @mvttsvn @chaotic-fangirl-blog @tirzamisu @fiona782

Haikyuu!! Taglist: @milkteeboba @caramelcandescence

BLCTKU Taglist: @sakusasbitch @ks-kitten

#haikyuu x reader #hq x reader #haikyuu!!#hq iwaizumi #iwaizumi x reader #iwaizumi hajime #iwaizumi angst #iwa angst #haikyuu angst #haikyuu!! angst #📚.before love came to kill us

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pocketfulofrecs · 3 years

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This week’s Author Spotlight is on hauntedotamatone! This is an author who really knows the characters, and cares about them. Their post-canon fics are incredible with their take on wangxian. There is so much to admire in their fics. They don't just write well, they introduce something unique to every story. Very worthwhile.

They have written 52k words in 11 works, and can be found @hauntotamatone here on tumblr.

Their fics:

wayside - [explicit | 5.2k | wwx gets hurt and lwj takes care of him]

open the yawning grave - [mature | 3.2k | horror where WWX sees devastated version of himself]

wayside redux (our post) - [mature | 3.2k | same as wayside, without the pee]

keeping score (our post) - [teen | 6.7k | wwx and jc duel, post canon]

bellflowers (our post) - [explicit | 1.9k | rule 63 pwp]

glittering, red and gold - [mature | 3.1k | wangxian get revenge on jgs]

wind and rain - [explicit | 4.2k | wip | dragonji]

in this lifetime (our post) - [mature | 2.5k | lwj has vivid nightmares]

bound - [mature | 1.3k | wangxian are captured by wen chao]

Two Phrases You’ll Say - [mature | 19k | wwx is attacked in the burial mounds]

thin red smile - [teen | 799 words | post Guanyin temple, lwj cares for wwx]

Dee’s favourite: Honestly, it is very difficult to pick a favourite. I love keeping score. It is one of the first fics we recced on our blog. I like thin red smile because I love LWJ taking care of WWX. In this lifetime is so gut wrenching but also soft. Bellflowers is *sigh* lesbian Wangxian for the win. Don't ask me to choose.

Ju’s favourite: I’m like Dee on this one. So. Hard. To. Choose. keeping score never fails to put a smile on my face, every time I reread it. Bellflowers has amazing lesbian wangxian, and yeah! But wayside (or wayside redux)??? I absolutely loved established relationship LWJ taking care of WWX, and WWX knowing and trusting LWJ with that care and love.

The interview:

Q. When did you start writing fics? Did you have fandoms before this one?

A. I started writing fic without really knowing what fic was. I was about 10 or 11 and started writing my own endings for books I read that were tragic or had killed off my favourite characters. I never really participated in fandom before this, but I used to lurk on the edges of a few and read fic for them.

Q. What made you start writing for MDZS?

A. I fell in love with the characters and themes of the novel and just wanted to explore everything more! I could read another thousand pages of Wangxian just doing their thing post-canon and by now I think I might have done just that.

It was a really pleasant change from a lot of what I had been reading at the time which was mostly grimdark, bleak sci-fi/fantasy. I know most people wouldn’t point to MDZS as a typically happy story, but to me, the concepts presented are done in a way that leaves room for optimism and a hope for a better future with the next generation, as well as protagonists that do what they can in their own corner of the world to improve the lives of others.

Q. What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

A. I think that keeping score is my favourite so far. It was the first fic I wrote where I had something I really wanted to say with it. Sizhui is an important character to me and even though there will never be true justice for him, he said what he had to say and he has people in his corner that will stand with him. I didn’t think there would be a positive response at all and was braced for a bunch of hate, so it was really surprising to me that a lot of people actually agreed with the ideas presented there.

Q. What’s your favourite type of fics to read?

A. It really depends on the day. Sometimes I want angst and tragedy and others (most of the time) I just want to roll around in fluff and love. I am a sucker for fics involving Wangxian and the juniors, as well as those that focus on the relationship between Wen Qing, Wen Ning and Wei Wuxian.

Q. What’s your favourite comment? Or type of comment?

A. I enjoy all comments! Even if I type out a reply and forget to send it :x I think my absolute favourites are those that share an emotional response, there’s nothing like the feeling of knowing your writing has reached someone.

Q. Who’s your favorite author?

A. I have so many! Narrowing it down to one would be pretty difficult, but the ones who really shaped the way I think about writing and whose works I’ll always go back to would be: Ursula K. Le Guin, Terry Pratchett, Madeline Miller, Toni Morrison, Haruki Murakami and now MXTX.

Q. Do you have any advice for new authors?

A. Write what you want to read and as much of it as you care to. It’s so much easier and smoother as a process when you write something you want to see and writing as often as you can will build up your skill and confidence in your own work.

Q. What do you think is the most important element in writing? Plot, characterization, relationship?

A. I think these are all vital, but characterization is the foundation of all the rest. It informs everything else, how the characters react to the events of the plot and how they react to each other.

Check out their stories on ao3 and remember…

Comments and kudos feed the author’s soul.

#mdzs #author spotlight #hauntedotamatone

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thenightwolf51 · 2 years

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Felt off this morning at work, wrote this on the back of a receipt.

At the moment I feel not real.

It seems like I'm always in a state of dissociation, at least for the understanding of it's definition that I have, but usually that takes the form of me being lost in a world of my mind or book.

This feels very different.

I feel intangible and dream-like, specifically those moments in dreams where nothing is happening and you're just standing around in a setting that seems almost blurred together.

I feel as though I'm not taking up any space, but I know I am.

I feel like I could crawl onto the dim shelf under my register, but I know I wouldn't fit.

I feel like I could walk right out the store and no one would notice, but I know they would.

I feel like I don't have much of a presence at the moment, like I could sit on the floor of my register and not be given a first glance let alone a second one.

I'm feeling less intangible now but still somewhat dream-like. Dream-like in that way where emotions are vague and distant.

The shelf is seeming even more appealing now.

I want to make myself small. I want to curl up somewhere enclosed and dark and cool, like the corner of a closet. Where I can remain unmoving and unbothered. Where I can go untouched even by my fear of wasting time.

Or not quite fear.

This dread that's had me locked in its grip for quite some time, that of approaching a deadline I am woefully unprepared for. That feeling of a timer counting to its end with no idea how long is left or when it even started in the first place.

Yes, temporary nonexistence would be preferable to intangiblity.

Blank and black would be better than that feeling of being hazy at the edges. Like my body stretches out farther than it actually does, diluting and fading off into the air all while my conciousness feels contradictingly small and confined to the window of my glasses.

I want to go home but that is still hours away.

At least I can go to lunch, where I will spend the entirety of it reading.

It truly is a better way to dissociate.

I'll feel more real then. Grounded, though in the pages instead of reality. And though I'll feel more real I won't be me, I'll be the protagonist. I won't be alone in the quiet breakroom, I'll be back in the room above the bookshop continuing the conversation I left off on when I arrived to work.

Pretty black words stark against white telling me where I ought to be rather than where I am. Directing what I feel and giving me something to feel. Moving me to a true and honest smile that I otherwise have not felt today. And when I do go home it will be more of the same as it has been for many years. A familiar and comforting routine that never fails to make me feel ok. Several stories feeding me experiences and understanding, scenes and emotions and resolved conflicts that I always welcome.

For now though I feel much like the transparent barely-there reflection in the plexiglass in front of me, my own vague shape and almost colors staring blankly back.

#dissociate #dissociation

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thelostguardianau · 4 years

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The Lost Guardian- Chapter Eight

“Heed the Silenced”

(Authors note: aha.. yknow I should probably stop making promises for this fic. Months later, w/ a chapter that doesn’t have Thomas in it, three different outlines down and i’m really just at the mercy of this fic at this point xD considering midway through writing this chapter I had to cut and rewrite an entire scene i’d spent a month on bc I’d decided that Dee had a chance at redemtion that added an actual direction and a tangable end goal to this story. So. Yeah. And!! A loud Thank You!! to @bumblebeekitten for helping me bounce ideas back & forth for this au and being my beta for this chapter!!)

Character Info & Art:

Chapter Seven | Chapter Nine

Fandom: Thomas Sanders Sides

Pairings: Eventual Polyamsanders (LAMPR/CALMR-a.k.a LAMP/CALM + Remy ‘Sleep’ Sanders)

Warnings: THIS CHAPTER IS KINDA DIALOG HEAVY!(sorry) Currently depicted as morally grey Deceit(subject to change in future chapters), though the side of Deceit from his first appearance doesnt make an appearance in this chapter and it is explained why, mentions of past betrayal and dark descriptions of bodily concepts, curses, limitations, and changes only really explained as possible through the lore of this au. Deceit speaks in riddles because he has to, ominous warnings. Virgil still isn’t okay mentally. Mentions of indifference to death, lack of selfworth or self preservation. (Let me know if I need to add anything!)

[[MORE]]

Brown eyes flutter open at the chilly breeze of a fan, and the ravenette’s mind comes to realize that he’s been moved from resting on his stomach to laying on his back. Groggy from his much too short nap, it takes a few moments to realize there are no warm bodies near him or under him, no breathing or chatter of familiar voices to sooth him.

The room, he realizes, is empty.

The room itself is, in fact, not Remy’s bedroom at all.

Shooting straight up, Virgil’s first clear thought is that he’s back at home. At his apartment, this time in his hoodie yet still roughed up from his latest ‘adventure’. The scene is eerily familiar, and yet he knows this time that work is not where he needs to be. It’s already daylight and his mind now knows this familiar scene, he should feel alone. Yet, this time he can hear the sound of honking cars and people, his loud neighbor from upstairs stomping around.

It doesn’t make sense as he walks to his window and peers out to see vague cars and people, he can’t even seem to make out any individual faces. It’s grey and raining outside, but there is no pattering sound against the foggy window. ‘What’s happening?’ Virgil wonders.

“Life seemed so simple a week ago, even months ago, did it not..?” A familiar voice drifts from behind him. Ice cold fear shoots down the ravenette’s spine as he recognizes the voice.

“I can hardly believe you were able to leave it, your routine. It was your everything, back when you came to terms with what you had left. Am I wrong, Virgil?” Whirling around to face the voice, Virgil finds the terrifying ex-Guardian sitting on his couch looking quite at home, if a little sheepish.

“What do you care?” He spat back, stepping back against his window.

“I am only looking out for you, you know. I have been protecting you all your life. Of all people I think I would know what is best for you, don't you think? We are connected after all, you and I.” The man sighed, making a surrendering motion with his hands.

“Why would I trust you?! You tried to kill me yesterday!” Virgil growled. “Why--h-how are you even here!?”

“False, my dear Virgil. I tried to warn you. Sure,” The guardian rolled his hand as he spoke, “I am forced to have a round-about way of speaking my truths, it is just part of my consequences it seems. But how else was I going to get you to listen to me after the others fed you lies about me? I do sincerely apologize for my other half being rough, though. I cannot quite.. Control.. Him.” The guardian tilted his bowler hat down to guiltily hide his eyes, regret briefly twisting his expression.

Finally the Guardian stood, dusting himself off as if his immaculate attire had acquired dust from just existing in his apartment. “I needed my physical body to reach yours and make our soul connection strong again, so that my soul could reach yours. However.. The pain I caused you was far from my intention. I am deeply regretful that it came down to.. That awful encounter.

“To answer your question though, Virgil, I am here because I created ‘here’. A realm made to form this illusion of being home, sweet home, just on the corner of the little street you had come to live on for the past year. It is all my doing. Where you stand is simply an illusion only you and I can access, a manipulation of your dreams and memories. The only place where the real me can talk to you mostly unhindered.” The guardian gestured to his surroundings.

“It takes only one person to flip your life on it’s head, a matter of hours to make the decision of a lifetime, and a matter of days to have completely changed your life’s direction,” He turned to Virgil, and looked him straight in the eyes, feeling distant and lost.

“And only a matter of years to succumb to the depression of the lonely consequences..”

Virgil blinked at that. The sad, longing tone had him thrown for a loop; it almost felt like the Guardian wasn't even quite talking to Virgil. “I-What..? I.. I don’t understand.”

The Guardian shook his head, snapping out of it and refocusing himself. "Nevermind that. It is time I talked to you for real, if you will have me?" The Guardian held out a hand politely, though there was no real expectation for Virgil to take it.

After a pause, Virgil gave a slight nod, still suspicious of the other's intent. The Guardian returned the nod, and his hand fell to his side.

“I am limited to the time that you rest and for now I will not be able to explain myself thoroughly, so, I ask you to understand that I do not expect you to trust me when I am done. I honestly do not expect you to ever trust me. With the mistakes I have made, I firmly believe I would not deserve it.”

Virgil blinked in surprise, not having expected his captor to admit to his faults straight off the bat.

“Okay.. Well, we’re here, might as well hear your side of the story. So.. Shoot.” Virgil said lightly, distrust and suspicion still evident in his tone and stance.

“I would assume at this point you are well aware of how the story you have been told paints me as the villain, a mastermind seeking power, immortality, and revenge? At least, that is what I am led to believe is still the story, it has been many years since I have heard the tale first hand… And... Well. Would that not be so lovely?” Virgil made a face, eyes narrowing in confusion.

“I am serious. Life would be so much easier if it was all black and white, true or false, good and bad, would it not? If those who meant well knew everything and those malicious few could not corrupt anything?” The Guardian frowned a bit, frustrated with his words that couldn’t seem to cooperate with him.

“Would it not be lovely if I could talk to you without fighting to keep from turning every honest thought into a question or theoretical statement just to let it be said? That my words could hold a meaning not forcibly disguised in the forms of fables and riddles?” The Guardian looked down lamely, his words tapering off in agitation. For a moment, Virgil waited as the Guardian was silent, contemplative. Then, the next moment the Guardian’s face scrunched up in sadness and his words were soft as he placed a hand over his golden wrist markings.

“My story is complicated, and twisted with shades of grey. One could say what I did was an attempt to keep you safe, another could say that what I did was outlandish and impulsive, and stupid. But no one will be able to tell you that what I did went according to the plan I had... at first. No one will tell you that my intention was to save you, to keep your fate safe. No one will tell you that my plan was ruined. Because there is no longer anyone who remembers what happened that night except for me,”

The Guardian’s eyes flicked up to meet the ravenette’s, a hurt look passing over his face as he continued. His steady voice now just barely trembled with uncertainty as he continued.

“No one but me and the soul who wants so desperately for everyone to forget. The soul who ripped my own in two to bury the secret, and ruin you and I both.”

“My final warning is this: Beware of the man who carries the world on his shoulders unflinchingly, he will be watching you closely. You have immunity to his power thanks to our connection, you might use this knowledge well to find the truth that lies in plain sight. However, your fate lies in the decisions you chose to make with this knowledge, I can only warn you of what might come.” The Guardian nodded solemnly, choosing to finish his cryptic warning there.

Virgil stood there, reeling with the information. Sure, he definitely wasn’t completely convinced he could trust this cryptic stranger, Guardian? Foe? Friend? Virgil wasn’t really sure what to call him anymore. But damn, his life was already so fucking crazy, this was all just fucking crazy! He could just be dreaming for all he knew.

But… Deep inside, he was hoping he wasn’t.

This was, well. This wasn’t what he’d been expecting to hear when facing the man whose, er, body? Had originally tried to strangle him? Now he’d heard his sob story and, well, Virgil wasn’t that easy to fool, but he’d also been told that it wasn’t expected that he’d trust the guy even in the end and he didn’t really want to.

He’d been on the path to death for so long, and then just two days ago everything had changed. So much was happening, it was frankly exhausting. What the fuck was he, some book protagonist? Couldn’t he get a little time to think about all this before he went crazy?

Still, something under all his incredulity begged to hear the guardian out. He vaguely wondered how Stockholm Syndrome worked before he gave in a little. What difference did a little more crazy make in his life at this point?

“Fine, I’ll heed your warning, or whatever the fuck. But only if you can tell me what you mean when you said that this guy ripped your, uh, soul? In two.” Virgil huffed, partially relaxing. It was odd how comforting he found it to be, floating in this weird feeling imaginary world, where he could interact with objects that weren’t real. It felt like he was really standing in his home, and yet it was just built from memory.

The guardian’s solemn expression formed into a grim smile, eyes distant once more before nodding. “I will do the best that my words will allow.” Virgil nodded, and waited for the now very familiar stranger to gather his words and take a breath. Then he began, his markings lightly flashing gold.

“You find yourself whole one day, as you have always been. To be whole of body, whole of mind, both human and guardian in nature. To have conscious thought and control over your whole physical being and soul..

“You find that yourself and others of the winged variety are capable of separating your soul from your being, though only the most Elite can do it well. You find out the family you made would soon be in danger. You then find yourself lost and alone when you once had a home to call your own.

“You find yourself knowing a truth, a perilous truth. Your home is in shambles now that you are gone, yet they do not know it. This truth is at fault, but the blame is not fully your own in a world built on lies.

“The source of truth tucks itself into blankets of grey, drawing itself further from discovery with each passing day. Now only you know the truth. The source of the truth finds you, it seeks to hide you too.

“You find yourself split one day, as you have never been before. Forced apart from the body, trapped within the mind. Guardian in nature, to have conscious thought and your dying soul trapped within, a false mind piloting the puppeteered confines of a broken body with a blind goal.”

“You find you cannot control what you used to, you are a prisoner to a body that is no longer your own, mostly unconscious to the world around it. Crazed by the false emotions that fuel it.”

“The you that used to be is no longer, and has not been for over a hundred years. The world that knew you knows not of what you’ve become. Knows not of the shackles that bind you.

“The you that used to be is no longer, and will never be again.” The Guardian finished, hesitant yellow eyes meeting Virgil’s carefully. Phantom goosebumps trail down Virgil's arms as the final sentence strikes a cord in him.

Virgil found he really wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that, the rawness in the other’s tone spoke volumes of the sore spot they’d reached.

“Your body rests, but your mind also needs time to process today. I shall see you when you next rest, though only if you wish to seek me. Rest well knowing that you will not be scooped from your safety once more, as I hope I’m never to do so again. And...” The guardian paused, considering their next words very carefully.

“I know it is selfish to ask... but, I hope and wish that Thomas is alright, after all this time... Do take care of him, would you?”

Virgil paused and stared, finding only concern and longing in the guardian’s expression. And, well, fuck. What a way to pull at a guy’s heartstrings.

“Er, yes. Yeah. I’ll try my best.” Virgil gave his signature mock salute, the Guardian tipping his hat in return.

“Trying is all I could ever ask of you, Virgil. Rest well, you will need it.” And with that final sentence, the world around Virgil gently grew dark, and he sunk into the comforting arms of sleep.

Despite it all, Virgil still found his mind vaguely conscious. Sluggish at best, but awake nonetheless.

He figured it was likely some lingering effect from the Guardian’s dream realm, but didn’t dwell on it. His life had way too much else going on to be debating the side effects gained from Guardian powers.

First, he’d been pretty damn convinced two days ago that he was going to be a goner by the end of the month. Completely resigned to die believing that his very existence was scorned by the world he’d been unwillingly born into.

Then Patton had stumbled onto his shitty apartment’s roof, found him in all of his resigned and depressed glory, and changed his life forever.

They’d mostly skipped the whole ‘Human nature is a series of life, death, and rebirth’ spiel that guardians were known to give in these situations because... Well, It wasn’t like they’d really had time to address it before the truth about his soul had come out. That he wasn’t exactly human to begin with.

Virgil didn’t think that Guardians had ever had a situation like his before. There wasn’t a protocol for comforting a kidnapped guardian soul. It’d never been a possibility before!

So it wasn’t surprising then, that Virgil didn’t have any better of a time processing it.

His whole life, all that he’d known to be true, all that he’d believed in? Everything had been uprooted and turned on its head. He’d apparently been living a life that was not supposed to be.

Perhaps for the first time in two days, Virgil realized that the thought of his death at the end of the month had not been consistently worming into his brain. It had once been something he could never seem to stop thinking about.

The death indicated by his soul timer was now perhaps the farthest thing from his mind.

Perhaps the strangest thing so far was that he wasn’t alone anymore. He’d possibly had more physical contact with other people in the short two(three?) days since this adventure started then he’d had in the past 16 years.

And wasn’t it just the cherry on top that he’d also gotten nearly choked out by the very guardian accused of kidnapping his soul in the first place? And now he was considering trusting the damn guy.

Virgil hollowly wondered why he even cared.

Why did he care about staying alive now when he’s spent his whole life believing he never would? Up until two days ago, that belief had still been true. But now? Avoiding death was the goal, Logan had stated as much.

Really, would Virgil lose anything by trusting the banished guardian? Even if the guardian was trying to trick Virgil and got him killed, what difference would it make? That’d always been the goal before. What did he, Virgil, really have to lose?

If it happened that Virgil lived past his twentieth birthday, if he became a guardian like he was supposed to be in the first place. Would he want that? Did he want that?

He wasn’t sure. Didn’t know if he ever had been.

His life had been built on resignation to the inevitable. Nothing seemed to motivate him towards liking or hating that possibility. He was just that.

Indifferent.

And wasn’t that just the greatest revelation of the night? Finding out that you’re indifferent to living or dying.

Once this was all over, if Virgil lived that long, he would make a note to see a therapist. He knew very well that this kind of mindset was unhealthy to keep. It just couldn’t be helped that the nineteen years he’d lived with this particular affliction couldn’t be fixed by a few extra hugs and comforting words.

Even if he didn’t like the fact that death sounded like the more peaceful option.

His thoughts paused, mentally sighing at the downward spiral he’d caught himself in. It was tiring, and going nowhere.

‘For now,’ he decided, ‘I’m just going to see how this plays out. The Guardian said that none of the others remember the truth, or whatever. So, It’s a ‘he said-they said’ situation right now...’

‘I’ll have to keep an eye out for the guy that he warned me about, then. Who knows if he's as dangerous as The Guardian made him out to be. It’s hard to tell with the weird way he has to talk..’

Virgil paused again, a realization striking him. If he could have groaned, he would have. Not once had he been given or even remembered to ask for the name of said Guardian. What was he supposed to call the rogue Guardian now? He couldn’t just keep calling him The Guardian!

Amidst the disbelief of such a slip up, a foreign yet familiar feeling prodded questioningly at his conscious mind. Adding confusion into the mix of emotions, he returned the feeling with a questioning thought of his own.

He briefly heard the Guardian’s whispy voice once more, now acting with permission.

“You may call me Janus”

Then all at once, Virgil woke up.

Chapter Nine

#sanders sides #virgil sanders #deceit sanders #lamp/calm #LAMPR/CALMR #LAMP/CALM + remy ‘sleep’ sanders #tw angst #tw long post #long fic #thelostguardianau #morally grey deceit #for the time being #the aim is that he reach sympathetic but trust aint that easy

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writer-akihiko · 3 years

Note

After your hiatus, can you do a Yandere!Yamato (I don't know why, but I'm attracted to this guy from HEAVENS) x Reader in a Fairy Tale AU loosely based on Romeo and Juliet (but without the tragic ending). Set it in Victorianesque-era? The protagonists are from rival households (Raging and Shining if it'll make it easier) and as children, Yamato first encounters the reader from a distance (he sees her on the balcony of her bedroom and wandering through the mansion gardens) and becomes infatuated with her (leads into obsession). They finally meet at a party where the reader has her society debut (social gatherings are the only time the households have to be in each other's presence despite their rivalry) and his obsession with her intensifies, so much that he does crazy things just to be near her. I'll leave the rest of the story up to you!

Just Say Yes - Yandere!Yamato X Reader

Thank you for the request! This was also a birthday request, so I hope this was a good birthday present! Cut for Yandere content.

This is my personal characterisation of Yamato from Utapri as a Yandere. Actual Yamato would not do this; this is my take on how Yamato acts as a Yandere.

TWs: Light Yandere, Death, Manipulation

The day of the society debut.

The day where you'd finally be granted your social freedom, the day you were waiting to make friends, to enjoy the music, the dancing, the…

You'd wish the day would never come.

If you knew what he planned oh so long ago…

~○~

"Oh! Miss YN! You can't be dilly-dallying for so long! You must be prepared for tonight!" Your loyal maid, Tomochika cried out loud.

Once again, you had to leave your beloved balcony, your daydreaming haven for other business. You sighed, shifting your cardigan back on. You snapped out of your trance when your maid caught your attention.

"YN! What are you thinking about?!"

You huffed, confessing to your dear friend the person who haunted your daydreams. "A certain man…"

The gasp from Tomochika was expected. You knew how much of a sucker she was for a good romance. You let her have her giddy episode, as she hopped and skipped with joy.

"Who is he?!"

She repeated the question over and over again, shaking your shoulders. Before you could even reply, she listed off name after name of most likely handsome lords and barons.

"Is it Duke Ichinose?! Oh, but you've never seen him before…" She thought about it once again. "No, no, it should be the foreign Prince Camus! He's just come to the nation and all the ladies must be swooning~ Or is it the Kurusu twins?! One's a scholar and the other's a knight, certainly a great package-"

"It's… Lord Hyuga…"

CRASH!

The collision of the metal tray and the stone floor resonated throughout the room.

Tomochika grabbed onto your wrists, shaking you. "Y-You mean the older brother right?! The- The brother that leads the Neutral Faction, and not-"

"Lord Yamato Hyuga…"

"Y-YN… I feel faint…"

Tomochika dramatically fell over onto your bed, wanting to scream. "YN, I really care for you, but…"

You hesitated. "I know what you might say…"

"How?!" She asked, on her knees, tugging the end of your dress. "You know it's a hopeless love, please YN, I want you to be happy!"

You shrugged her off, stooping to her level. "I know… I know it's impossible…"

You comforted her, hugging her. Your tears also soaked her uniform, as you couldn't stop the way you felt. It felt useless to have such feelings.

The world wouldn't change itself for your sake after all.

~○~

"…And that is what I overheard from the LN estate, Yamato." Shion reported. Undergoing such an operation would be called mad, but there was no guarantee that Yamato would be safe, especially when it came to things regarding YN.

"Van also reported that the Head of the LN Family plans to undergo a political marriage," Yamato added, staring at the map of the division of land. As a local of the Otori Faction, it was damn near impossible to get close to her, but with all of his plans finally falling in place, he might just achieve his one goal.

"I'll visit Eichii tonight," He announced to Shion. "He can have the LN's land for all I care. I just want YN…"

"Understood, Lord Yamato."

~○~

The cheerful joys of the townspeople would soon be ruined, Yamato thought to himself, as he rode the same carriage as the Kurusu twins and Count Shinomiya.

"Hoi, Yamato," Syo called out. "I know you're mostly doing this on your own, so I wanna apologise for not contributing sooner."

He shook his head. "The one you should be apologising to is Eichii. After all, I just want to get my darling and get out," He admitted. He got a tiny kick out of the Kurusu scholar, Kaoru looking so shocked at his intentions. "If Kira hadn't found out about the utter corruption going on in the Shining Faction, I might've just lived on with a broken heart."

Count Natsuki grinned, patting his shoulder. "What a lovestruck lad, don't you agree Syo-chan? But it isn't as cute as you two~"

The usual teasing between the three went on, as Yamato prepared his disguise. Everything had to go picture perfect, otherwise he'd die trying.

~○~

"Your attendant, Count Shinomiya?" The servant asked.

Count Shinomiya was excellent at hiding a true façade, as he was well-known for being a happy-go-lucky man. "Why yes. Thank you for inquiring so."

Once Yamato entered the debut ball, he bolted to the balcony, beyond the gardens and there he found you…

He climbed over the walls, hopping over to you. He couldn't stop himself from twirling you around, kissing your cheek and peppering kisses over your face.

"My YN… I've missed you…"

Your reddened face and your dress just made Yamato want to whisk you away… "YN, you should be prepared. Don't be afraid when people start bursting in. Stick close to the stairs or the walls. I'll find you."

You could only nod, hesitant about what Yamato could mean.

~○~

Your heart thumped, simply waiting for the disaster to begin. Your usual self wouldn't want such harm, but this was a chance. A chance to escape the constricted life that you lead on…

The scream of a woman alerted you that the assailants were breaking through the glass of the room. Tomochika immediately rushed to your side, holding onto your arm as you both sunk to the ground.

The men in dark clothes knocked out a number of guests, leaving the higher nobles alive and standing. You could only assume that Yamato also had the men corner the other guards and knights.

A man approached you, hugging you by the waist and revealing himself as Yamato Hyuga. A few gasps rung through the room, and your cousin flew into a fury.

"What is the meaning of this?! We had a truce! You dare defile the contrac-"

Before your cousin could utter another word, Yamato silenced him with his sword.

He looked over your family in utter disgust, wasting no time to order his men to execute them.

"Ya-Yamato?" You were in tears, seeing your family killed and other nobles killed. You could only assume that the nobles left alive were working with Yamato as well.

He got on one knee, kissing your hand. "What is it YN? With this rebellion, we can be free to marry. You can be my wife, forever…"

You shivered, instinctively pulling away from his hand. You immediately regretted it, as your lover had a look of utter disappointment on his face.

"What is it YN? Don't you love me?"

"Y-Yes I do but-"

"Then is it so hard?...

Just say yes."

#yandere yamato #uta no prince sama #utapri #yamato hyuga #utapri yamato #yamato x reader #utapri yamato x reader #yandere yamato hyuga #yandere utapri

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courageouslyfearless · 4 years

Text

Dream World (Part 1) ☾ Baekhyun

Genre: Fantasy AU

Pairing: Baekhyun X Reader

Word Count: 5.8k

You could hear yelling even through the closed door. You let out a deep sigh. Your parents had never been discreet about their growing hatred towards each other. You're old enough now to not think it's the end of the world but when you were younger, living in that hostile environment almost near killed you. The only reason you were still living with them is because you couldn't afford college and moving out at the same time. So you were working diligently, to graduate as quickly as possible so you could finally get out.

Thinking it's not the end of the world is one thing, being okay with it another thing entirely. You hated it. The yelling, the insults, the violence... all of it. There was a time you'd be trying to stop them. For years, you tried to stop them. Your brothers did as well. You'd all given up at this point. It was exhausting and tolling on your mental health. Last time you tried to intervene, you'd had a panic attack. Like full blown, couldn't breathe, couldn't respond kind of episode. It was horrible. You had realized then, the damage they had done over the years was not only to each other but to the rest of the family as well. Especially you. So now, instead of going out there and getting involved, you walked to the desk on the corner of your room and sat down.

As the screaming got louder outside, you put in your earphones on each side and lost yourself to the music. You smiled as one of your favorite songs played and grabbed your journal from the drawer you kept it in. Your smiled widened as you held it in your hands. Your dream journal. You wrote about a world of fantasies and creatures you'd never get to see. You wrote about places and people you'd never get to meet. It's not a sad thing. This journal and its contents had gotten you through so much. Writing and escaping your reality through these made up worlds are the only reason you were alive today. So you were grateful and excited, every time you got to write yourself out of a bad day or situation. Your words, carefully crafted on the pages, were medicine to your kind of hurt.

Fueled by the wonderful tune playing in your ears, you opened the star covered journal. You flipped through all the written pages and landed on the next blank one. As you reach over your pencil holder to grab your favorite purple pen, something shimmering catches your eye.

"This isn't mine," you think to yourself. You grab the golden pen in your hand to examine it. It was beautiful, adorned with swirly designs engraved into the metal encasing it. You wonder if maybe one of your brothers had been in your room. But that didn't make sense, they'd never buy something like this. Your parents were out of the question as well, they hated your love for writing. They thought you wasted too much time on it. You frowned.

How did it get here?

You looked at it for a few seconds, as if it could tell you where it came from if you stared at it long enough. This of course did not occur. So you shrugged and smiled to yourself. If someone came looking for it you'd give it back, in the mean time, you would love to see how beautiful it could write.

You hovered over the blank page, pen in hand and wrote the first sentence.

The sun was shinning brilliantly, warming up her face as the brisk air of autumn played with her hair.

The ink of the pen was a glittery gold. You loved the ethereal glow it gave to you words. With a smile, you continued adding more details on the page. You'd been writing this particular story for months now. With you as the classic protagonist in a mythical world of fantasy and wonder, torn between your duty to your kingdom as princess of Akron and your growing affections towards a mysterious peasant. You wrote for hours. You were so immersed in your fictional world, that when you finally stopped jotting down words, you noted the ache on your wrist. You sat back on your chair, trying to shake off the daze of coming back to reality.

With a glance at your window, you are surprised to realize, night had fallen over the real world. Your stomach grumbled of its need for food and as you couldn't hear your parents fighting anymore, you knew it was safe to find something to eat.

That night you decided to go to sleep earlier. Fridays had a way of feeling more exhausting than any other day. Maybe the week was the real culprit and the effects were simply felt on Friday, but nonetheless, you felt tired down to your soul. So by nine o'clock, you were already under the covers, closing you eyes for some much needed rest.

Without being able to stop it, you thought of your world, waiting beyond the ink of that golden pen you'd found, smiling as you remembered what you had written that day. With this in mind, you drifted off into a deep slumber. This time you're lucky and get to visit your dream world, the one that left you breathless when you wrote. It didn't happen often, but you had dreamed it before. Though this time it felt more vivid.

You opened your eyes, rays of sunlight making it difficult to keep your eyes open. You use your hand to protect you eyes from the sun and are surprised to find yourself in the balcony of a tall and magnificent castle. On the horizon, you see fields of green and the spot where it meets the Great Lake of Ohena. Past that, the homes of your people. The lands stretch even farther than your eyes can see.

"The Kingdom of Akron," you whisper. You are vaguely aware that this is a dream. You'd always had the ability to tell, but the sliver of recognition escapes you as another voice joins you.

"Your Kingdom, your majesty."

You turn around at his voice, the usual racing of your heart making it hard to respond. He's standing there, in your chambers, dressed in ragged clothes, worn out from use and still, you find it difficult to draw a breath. He's as handsome as ever, his features carved in what must be perfect precision.

Oblivious to the struggle within you at his presence, he approaches you, confident in his stride. Confidence that was so rare and out of character for a peasant, that it still surprised you.

"Baekhyun." His name comes out as a breath and this stops him from advancing towards you, stopping two feet away.

He looks at you, pushing a lock of brown hair out of his eyes so he can study you better.

"Princess."

That word alone shakes you to the core. It was illogical. To feel this way when he called you by what was the title given to you by birth right, yet, you couldn't help it. Because when he said it, he wasn't looking at you like his master or future queen. Instead, his eyes were full of emotions. Love. Yearning. But also apprehension and conflict. Almost like he was battling with himself. The same way you did when he was around you.

"I don't remember calling for you," you manage to sound indifferent, even though you know your eyes would tell a different story. A story he had read many times before.

Baekhyun smiles at your theatrics and takes another step forward, closing the little space that was left between the two of you. Now he stands in front of you and stares at you with a glint of humor dancing in his eyes.

"I came out of my own accord, princess."

You force yourself to roll your eyes and start to turn around to look at the view once again, anything to avoid his knowing gaze. But as you do that, his hand catches the curve of your waist and grips firmly enough to bring you back closer to him.

Startled, your eyes widen.

"What are you doing?" you ask.

His hand on your waist moves to the middle of your back and pushes you into him, your body gently collapsing into his. He looks down at you, his bewitching brown eyes holding yours in a spell you don't have the strength to break. Not that you would even if you could.

He lifts his free hand up to your face and a finger traces the the line of your jaw, then touches your lips . "You haven't visited in a while... I missed you."

Once again you remember it's a dream and sigh audibly. As you had created him, he knew everything there was to know about you. There was no secret that you could hide, no thoughts you couldn't share. He knew you like no one else did, because he was a part of you, of your subconscious. A character shaped into being by your own mind.

"Your parents again?" he asked.

You shift your gaze to look at his chest, not wanting him to see the sadness in your eyes. But he doesn't have to. Because he knows your pain as if it were his own. He wraps his arms around you, forcing your small figure to mold into his by embracing you tightly against him, burying his face on the space where you neck meets your shoulder. You let him hold you for a minute, because his arms were the safest place you knew.

Eventually, you feel the soft touch of his lips as he places a kiss on the crook of your neck before he slowly starts to pull away, but only enough to look at you in the face.

"You should just stay here, with me." He finally says.

You smile, sadness tugging at the corners of your mouth even as you tried to push it away.

"You're not real, Baekhyun. I created you. This is just a dream. A fantasy. Based on words that I wrote so I could escape my reality." You say this with a sense of urgency. You're fully aware that you're trying to remind yourself of the truth. To not lose your senses in this wonderful but unrealistic dream.

Baekhyun smiles, his features becoming more charming and childlike.

"But you wish it was real, princess," he cups your face with both hands, inching closer, until you could feel his breath on your skin. "And so do I."

You tell yourself your mind was a very messed up and twisted thing, playing these kinds of games with you. But when his lips touch yours, it doesn't feel like a dream. It doesn't feel fake. It's easy to forget your reality when he kisses you, because you can sense his feelings, that mirror your own and you can taste him in your mouth as his tongue dances with yours. This is the most lucid dream you've ever had, you noted. The details aren't usually this elaborate. Usually, the corners of your vision appear clouded, like that of a watercolor painting with no clear edges. But everything was overwhelmingly real, even his unmistakable desire for you.

Desire that you felt yourself for him and he knew it, which is why he knew he could get away with such apparent displays of affection towards you without fearing any kind of consequences. So he continued to kiss you. So carefully and unhurried. Like there was all the time in the world to do it. Like there is nothing that he'd rather be doing than showing you how perfectly his mouth fit to yours. Conveying his true feelings in the best way he knew how. And you want to stop him, tell him he can't keep doing this but as soon as the thought comes to you, he deepens the kiss, making you forget why you would ever try to stop him from kissing you. You lose yourself in him and he loses himself in you. Until a knock rattles the door.

Baekhyun groans as you pull yourself out of the magic that he had conjured up to keep you connected to him and step away from his embrace as well. Suddenly recollecting time and place. Your character was the princess of Akron and as such, you had duties to attend to.

Someone knocks on the door again.

You let out a shaky breath, eyes still locked on Baekhyun's as you smooth out the emerald green satin gown that you were wearing.

"Please don't. Let's just stay here," his eyes are pleading too.

But you had almost forgotten where you were, his pull on you had become too strong for you to trust it. Thankfully, your brain had a subconscious defense mechanism that had pulled you out of the spell he seemed to have on you.

"I have things to take care of," you reply softly, before raising your voice, "Come in."

Before the door opens, Baekhyun quickly speaks, "I have something to tell you."

You look at him in question, but when the door opens and a guard steps in, he keeps quiet.

The guard bows at you before talking. "The Queen is requesting your presence at court."

You nod your understanding and he steps back into the hallway. You start walking towards the door and Baekhyun follows closely behind you.

"What's happened since the last time I was here?" you ask.

He sighs, "The Queen caught the bandit that stole the royal staff. It was an elf horseman."

You turn to him, alarm in your face, "A nobleman?!"

He only nods in response.

"Why would the elf people do this? They've got nothing to gain from stealing from us. Plus the staff's magic only works with the person of its choosing and it hasn't chosen anyone in almost 70 years." You contemplate the possibilities as you resume your walking. You hadn't written this far ahead in your story, you didn't know what was about to happen. The thought worried you.

Baekhyun was unusually quiet and you look at him for answers.

"I don't know, my lady. Maybe they're tired of being banished from the kingdom. The Queen's rulings tends to be cruel and unfair."

You manage to not agree but barely. You knew he was right, but as the princess the last thing you could do was question the Queen's motives, especially in front of any of her subjects.

"It has to be the elf prince's doing," you muse, "he's the only one with enough authority to make someone commit treason against us."

You don't have time to continue the conversation as you finally are escorted inside the court. As soon as you walk in through the doors, you lose Baekhyun in the crowd as you walk as gracefully as you can down the aisle that leads to the Queen's throne and your own seat, besides her.

The expression on her face is impassive. She doesn't like to be kept waiting, you knew. You'd hear about this later.

With you sitting, the trial quickly commenced.

You saw the elf man being brought in by two knights, each pulling at him from each arm. His face was full of cuts and bruises, his clothes bloodied and tattered. He has been tortured, you realize. Probably to get information out of him. The look on his eyes was not one of a broken man though, so you knew they got nothing out of him.

Contrary to belief, elves didn't look that much different than us humans, their skin was pale as snow and they wore beautiful faces that begged you to trust them. But that's about it. In every other way, they looked just like us. If anything, their magic was something we should fear. But the Queen refused to acknowledge the existence of magic outside of the kingdom and anyone who threatened her beliefs, well, they met the true death. Decapitation and fire, to cleanse the world of their "evil".

As the crowd settled down, the Queen spoke. You looked at her from your seat. She was as beautiful as she was stubborn, you noticed. Her features delicate but the expression on her face was hard, calculating. Green eyes to match with the Kingdom's crest hanging in any wall that you could see. The wrinkles around them told the story of many worries and reminded you of how time does not forgive anyone, not even the powerful Queen of Akron.

She looked tired too. But you'd never say that out loud. Not unless you wanted your head to end up on a pike. In the story, you were her daughter, therefore the princess. But when you visited, you were practically a stranger. Someone's whose presence the queen abhorred but tolerated for the sake of pretense. You always walked on eggshells around her. She was a scary woman.

"Welcome, my people. My faithful subjects," her voice was strong and carried through the entire room, as big as it was.

"We are here to deliver justice. To punish those who have conspired against me, against us. This man right here, he has committed an unforgivable crime. He has stolen from me, our kingdom." She paused for dramatic effect, " What do you have to say for yourself, elf?"

The man could barely keep himself upright, he'd been beaten extensively. But still, he held his head high, eyes locked with the queen's.

"You won't live forever. Nature will take its course and we shall return to our rightful place in Akron."

The queen stiffened beside you. The elf's words had clearly wounded her ego.

You studied the elf in question. He sounded so confident, so strong. Even though his breaths were counted. His life about to end. Something big was happening and he was just the beginning.

"Elves are traitorous evil beings that have no place in my kingdom," the queen said, "and you will be an example of what happens when any enemy crosses me."

The elf stared, unmoved. He was ready to die for his cause. And he would die, you knew.

Through the corner of your eye you saw a knight, dressed in full armor, unsheathe his sword. He approached the elf, closing the space between them in three quick strides and then forced him on his knees. He held the sword above the elf's head and looked at the queen for permission.

She nodded, a quick, short movement and without hesitation, the knight swung his sword. You looked away before you could see the head detach from the body.

You barely remember how the rest of the hearing ended. You couldn't believe what had just happened. You'd forced your mind away, so that you could get through it. As soon as it was over, you felt familiar hands grabbing you by the arms and forcing you to move. You followed to where you were being taken, which ended up being your chambers.

Once you were hidden away from any curious set of ears and eyes, you sit on your bed and try very hard to keep the tears from falling.

"Is this place any better?" you ask out loud. The words are barely a whisper but you know you've been heard when you receive a response.

"What did you expect, princess? Rainbows and butterflies? Real or not, the world is cruel, you can't make it not so." The words were bitter and you are surprised to hear the tone coming from him. He'd never shown you anything but kindness, love and comfort.

His reply triggers something in you and you speak defensively in return, "You'd do well to remember who you're speaking to in that manner."

He laughs, but not in humor. He shakes his head as his gaze hold yours.

"I'm not a servant, princess."

You feel the lines on your forehead creasing with your confusion, "but i wrote you."

He shrugs, "This isn't your dream anymore ."

And as soon as he says the words, you realize they are true. You had noticed it, since the moment you entered it, that something — everything, was different. The details, the emotions, the story, it all felt too real. With a sense of dread you thought the scariest though you'd ever had...

The fantasy had grown a life of its own.

You didn't say it, but a look at Baekhyun confirmed it. He was watching you, carefully, as he always did. But this time, something felt more beguiling.

"You're the elf prince," as soon as the words leave your lips, you know they are true. The quick shock in his expression confirms it even though he recovers quickly and hides his emotions masterfully through the smile you had grown to know and love.

"Don't deny it, I know you as well as you know me," you challenge.

He doesn't say anything, his expression doesn't change as he mulls it over and then he nods.

"Very well. Yes, I am who you say I am."

The words shake you, but you refuse to let him see how this betrayal hurts you. He wasn't real... he didn't use to be real, but right now it felt like you had been mortally wounded by the one you loved.

You gather all the courage you have left and let it speak in your stead, as you have no other way to power through. Not without looking at him and breaking.

"So now what? Are you going to kill me? Or are you going to use me as leverage over the queen? Either way, she won't care, I mean nothing to her."

He frowns at your words and takes a step in your direction, to where you're seated. You stand up, ready to put up a fight if he tries anything.

"I would never hurt you." He declares.

You laugh, unamused. "Right. I'm supposed to believe that, even though you've been pretending to be someone you're not this whole time."

He takes another step towards you and you put a hand up, "That's close enough."

Hurt flashes in his eyes for a fraction of a second, "Princess."

You shake your head, "Don't call me that. I'm not your princess. You just admitted to that."

He takes another step to you, cutting most of the distance between you two, grabbing your arm when you tried to push him away.

"Y/N." You stop moving. He had never called you by your name.

You finally look him in the eye. He sighs.

"I admitted to being the elf prince, I never said you weren't my princess."

You feel tears threatening to spill from your eyes, but force them back. You didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing how much you cared about him and how much this hurt.

"You expect me to believe anything that has happened between us is real and that it meant something to you when you and your people are trying to ruin us and take power? Clearly this was some sort of plot to kill me or to have something to use over the queen to get her to agree to your terms."

He looks at you in disbelief, "You think I went through all the trouble of coming here, pretending to be a servant just to get to you?"

You pause, "Why else would you be here?"

He takes one step closer, still holding your arms down so you wouldn't try to hit him or something.

"I didn't come here for you, that much you need to believe," he started, "Honestly, I came hoping to be serving the queen."

You rolled your eyes, "The queen's servants are carefully selected from people that have known the royal family since birth, a stranger is never appointed to her."

He nods, "I know that now, but I didn't when I first came here."

You stop trying to maneuver out of his hold. Seeing you a little more calm, he slowly lets go of your arms but doesn't step away.

"So I got appointed to you. Yes, I'll admit, at first I was wondering how I could turn this turn of events in my favor, but it didn't take me long to realize, that you were nothing like the queen. You are kind, caring, innocent and loyal to those you care about. This world might not have been real at first, but you brought it to life. The same way you did with me as I started caring for you."

"How do you know I didn't write you to think these things about me?" you retort.

He smiles and this time, it's the Baekhyun that you know when he speaks again. "Because I haven't been the me you wrote for a long time now. Haven't you noticed how out of character I've been?"

As soon as he asked the question, you realized it was true. You hadn't noticed, because you liked this Baekhyun more than the one you imagined. He didn't follow your every command. He didn't say what you wanted to hear. He did as he wanted when he wanted and made you feel things that you'd never experienced before even in your real life.

"Fine. But how do you know this isn't an act I'm putting on?"

"Enough of this, Y/N. We can spend hours arguing about his, but this isn't what matters right now." His smile slowly disappears as he watches you. You miss it as soon as its gone.

You kick yourself mentally. Once again, you had fallen for a fictional character. But this time... this time it was different. This time you couldn't move on to the next story to fall for another one. His words bring you back to the here and now, even though you wish you could just open your eyes and leave the dream already. You'd been trying to wake up for a while now, but for whatever reason, it wasn't working right now.

"Back there at court, you couldn't bear to watch him die. You know why? Because you know it's wrong. You know as well as I do that the Queen is poison to the kingdom. She won't be satisfied until magic and all who learn it are dead." He states.

You see the hopeful look he's wearing and realize where he's going with this.

"I can't go against the queen." You say quickly.

"Why not?" he argues.

"I just can't."

He lets out an exasperated breath and reaches a hand to your face, one that you push away with your own.

"It's your world, Y/N. Why are you so afraid of taking control over it?"

You huff in indignation, "Why does it matter? None of this is real."

You see shock and anger cross his brown eyes, before he even finds the will to speak.

"It s not real to you. You leave and go back to your life, meanwhile the rest of us, we live here, in the place you created and it goes on even when you're not here."

You stay still. He's right. You had written this world to life and now, because of your words, his people lived banished from the kingdom, in poor conditions, when they should be here, with the rest of you. Enjoying the same privileges.

"I'm sorry." You finally say. The tears start falling now and you can't stop them anymore. Baekhyun stares, confused at first, but quickly recovering and pulling you into his chest where he holds you in place.

"Why are you crying?" he asks, helplessly clinging to you, not knowing what else to do to comfort you.

"I did this. I'm the reason you and the rest of the elves have to live like this. It's all my fault."

He holds you tighter. But it doesn't stop you from rambling on. Or crying harder.

"I wanted to be in control for once, since I can't do it in my own life. So I wrote myself in a position of power so that I could do what I wanted but even here, I couldn't just take responsibility for the bad things happening. So I created the queen, so that I wouldn't have to. Now everything is messed up and people are dying and it's my fault."

You could feel his body shaking, but he still didn't let go of you. You cried harder.

"Why can't I wake up, damn it."

He stiffened at your question and you pulled away from him to look at his face.

"What? What aren't you telling me?" you ask, knowing him well enough to know something was up.

He won't look at you, just let's a finger touch your hand as if he was debating on holding it but not being sure if he should or could.

"Baekhyun."

At the mention of his name, he finally makes a decision and takes hold of your hand before looking you in the eye. He bites his bottom lip in a nervous manner before speaking.

"You've put too much of yourself into this place. There's more of you here than out there, in your world." He finally says. "The pen... the gold pen, did you use it?"

Your eyes widened, "how do you know about that pen?" you ask, apprehensive.

His eyes are pleading, but you're not sure for what.

"Tell me the truth."

Baekhyun nods slowly, "YN... I'm sorry as well," he pauses for a brief second and then continues, "It's been a while since you came here and with the way I feel about you, I just- I wanted you to stay."

You had a bad feeling about where this was going.

"The pen... is magic, isn't it?" you question, even though deep down you know the answer.

Baekhyun only nods.

"Am I stuck here?" you ask.

He stays quiet. This angers you and you push at his chest which forces him to take a step back.

"Am I stuck here, Baekhyun?" you repeat your question and he shakes his head this time.

"Not if you wake up before sunrise," he finally admitted.

You stare at him like he grew a second head. You could not believe he would do something like this. Someone who you had written and had grown to love, had done something so incredibly selfish.

"How could you even do something like this?" you wonder out loud.

"I love you, Y/N. I know you feel the same way about me. Every time you came here, carrying that sadness in your eyes and that broken heart in your chest, I started wishing you could just stay here instead where I could hold you and protect you from all of it. Why would you want to go back to all of that pain?"

You hold his gaze, gathering strength that you didn't know you possessed. "Because that's life, Baekhyun. It sucks. It hurts. But you keep going. You find a way through. You can't just give up because it's hard."

"If you really believe that, then why am I here? Why is any of this here?" he asked, looking at the room around you.

"Because, sometimes I am weak. And I lose my will. So I need something to keep me going. Writing has helped me through so many hard times, it's all I know how to do when things are tough. Words are my armor. That doesn't mean I want to give it all up."

Tears formed in the corner of his eyes as he understood the implications of your words.

"When you wake up, this time, you won't be able to come back here." There was defeat in his voice.

"What?"

"The magic I used for the pen, it holds all the magic gathered in this world. It can keep you here forever if you don't wake up before sunrise, but if you do, it will keep you from coming here again." He stops, takes a breath and looks out the window, "And judging by the fact that it's getting dark here, you don't have a lot of time before it's light over there." The words sounded strained as he kept from crying, realizing what this meant for the both of you.

You realized a moment later what it meant as well and felt as more tears gathered around your eyes.

Without hesitation, you cut the distance between you and collapse into his body. Taken by surprise with your sudden approach, he loses balance briefly but quickly recovers, wrapping his arms around your waist as you hug him as tightly as you can.

"God, I wish you were real in my world," you say.

"You don't hate me?" he asks.

You shake your head and look up to meet his eyes.

"I could never. I would though, if you were in my world, kick your ass for doing something this dumb."

He chuckles, but his eyes are still sad.

"I deserve that."

You nod, trying really hard to stop from crying more.

Beakhyun's hands roam up your back and find your face where he holds it in place before he meets your mouth with his.

The kiss is soft. A whisper of goodbye without words.

The sky continues to darken outside reminding you that you need go now. With all the regret you could ever carry, you step away from him. His hands fall to his sides as you slowly take more steps backwards until you're close to the bed. You close your eyes in concentration, visualizing yourself waking up. It's usually the the way to wake up when you're having a lucid dream.

"I love you."

You open your eyes at his confession and smile sadly at him.

"I'll write you a better ending, I promise."

He shook his head, "It won't be happy without you."

Before you could respond, your body moved upwards, as if being lifted by a magical force.

When you wake up, you are in your room and notice how tears have stained your pillowcase. You quickly get out of bed and rush to your desk, opening the dream journal, to the last page you wrote. You grab the purple pen and put it to paper.

The Queen after a life full of regret, and choices made in fear, had an epiphany. It was time to live life as a true leader. The powerful were not the ones with the biggest army, but the ones who could rule with justice and fairness. A true ruler can admit when she is wrong and and ask for forgiveness when necessary. She knew it would be hard, to change her ways, after all this time, and all she had done... but she knew the best way to start.

She'd welcome the elves back home.

[Part 2]

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* Masterlist *

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A/N: Did not expect this to go in this direction, but that’s where it went... kinda sad with the ending. Do you guys think I should do a part two for this or leave it as is??

Hope you enjoyed either way

Update: I will be doing a part 2. Thanks for the sweet comments ❤️

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audreycritter · 7 years

Text

Summer Reading Program

A short fluff for @cerusee . Thanks to @preciousthingsareprecious for brainstorming! ~2700 Words Robin!Jason, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth Gen/Family Bonding Tooth-rotting fluff Summer Reading Program

The Manor library was quiet except for the ticking of a clock and Bruce Wayne was plowing through a stack of papers that needed signatures. He'd been working on it all day and had moved from the study an hour ago just for a change of scenery. If he finished enough of the thick ream of contracts and disclosures and other legal documents he'd previewed ahead of time, he wouldn't have to do as much when things got crazy at night.

It had been a slow week for patrol and Bruce wasn't sure how much longer it would last.

With a bang, the door flung open and Jason Todd shuffled into the room. His eyes were just visible above the tower of books and fliers balanced in his arms and he made a beeline for the desk Bruce was sitting behind. He eased the pile onto the edge of the desk and then set a flier right in front of Bruce, on top of a paper waiting for a signature.

It said SUMMER READING PROGRAM in large purple letters and had the Gotham County Public Library System seal printed in one corner. The illustration was a cartoonish crowd of fictional characters with various identifying costumes or trinkets.

“I need your help,” Jason said bluntly.

Bruce flipped the trifold open. Inside, on the line for a patron name and phone number, Jason had already filled in Bruce’s name in his childish but improving cursive scrawl.

“What is this?” Bruce asked.

Jason gave him a look that told him just how stupid he thought that question was.

“It's for your book list,” Jason said, tapping the numbered lines. “You gotta read ten. I already picked out mine.”

“Why do I have a summer reading list.” Bruce read over the poorly chosen italic font. It wasn't the easiest to read.

“Because I'm asking you to help me,” Jason said. “If you turn it in, they put your name in a drawing. The grand prize is a Kindle and $25 in Amazon credit.”

“This has my name,” Bruce said, switching his gaze to the stack of books. It was a mix of middle school fantasy, Hardy Boys, and something that looked like a survival series about mountain climbing. “These are books for you.”

Jason gave an exasperated sigh and put both hands over his face and then dragged his fingers downward, pulling at the tender skin beneath his eyes. Bruce reached out and moved one hand away, worried for his exposed sclera, and Jason yanked away with an irritated huff.

“You have to pick your own books,” Jason said. “This is for my list. I need you to hurry. I just found out today and it ends in eleven days. Three chances are better than one.”

“Alfred is helping,” Bruce surmised.

“Yes,” Jason said. “All hands on deck.”

“For a kindle.”

“Do you need coffee? Are you asleep?” Jason waved his hand in front of Bruce’s face and this time Bruce leaned his head away. “I just said that. Pay attention, B. It's urgent.”

“Why do you need to win a kindle.” Bruce felt like he was missing some crucial piece of information and he scanned the flier again. Was there some kind of school credit involved? It didn't look like it.

Jason took a deep breath and launched into a rapid-fire bullet list that sounded rehearsed and bordered on pleading.

“I know I'm supposed to have limited screen time but is it really a screen if it's e-ink? It's not the one with games or movies and it has parental controls and it would help with school and I could borrow books from the library website and save money and it'll be easier to pack for trips and when I come spend the day at the office and heavy backpacks are a source of bad shoulder strain and it's not good for me and I can get books in Spanish to practice my—”

Bruce had said Jason’s name three times with no break and he finally gave up and pinched Jason’s lips together. Jason kept trying to talk, mumbling through his pressed lips.

“Jason.”

The boy stopped.

“I didn't ask why you needed one. Why do you need to win one? If you want one that badly, we can talk about buying one for you.”

Jason looked affronted and immediately after Bruce let go of his face, Jason’s fingers were pinching Bruce’s lips shut in return.

“Are you conspiring to interfere with an educational pursuit?” Jason asked just as seriously. Bruce looked into his frowning blue eyes and considered for a moment the enthusiasm with which Jason had entered the room, the way he'd dragged his feet about school the previous fall and then drastically changed his tune after just a few weeks.

He considered the stack of books and gently took Jason’s wrist and moved his hand away from Bruce’s lips. He thought Jason pinched much harder than he had, but he wasn't sure it was intentional.

“You think you can make it through all those?” Bruce asked, thinking about a balance between realistic goals and pushing one’s boundaries. He admired challenge but didn't want Jason to be overwhelmed; he was a steady reader and becoming a better one all the time, but was still slow for all his heart. They'd spent a lot of time the past year playing academic catch-up in almost every subject.

Jason scowled at him with a bright flash of anger and Bruce internally scolded himself for being an idiot.

“Why? You don't think I can?”

It sounded like defensive daring, but Bruce had spent enough time with Jason to know he wasn't Dick. Whatever bubbled to the surface was often a mask for some fear or anxiety and he'd become aware (sometimes with Alfred’s pointed help) that Jason deeply needed their simple belief in him.

“Of course you can,” Bruce said quickly, hoping it wasn't too quickly. “And I'll help. I think I can spare you from patrol for a night or two if you need it.”

“You'll do it, too?” Jason asked, brightening instantly. He was thumbing through the stack of books and looking over covers.

Bruce looked at the papers spread across the desk. He thought of the ones he'd left in his study. He glanced over at the shelves lining the walls of the room he often sat in but rarely used recently.

“Eleven days?” he asked.

“Mhmm,” Jason nodded, already with his nose in a book. It looked like something about animals with swords. “Ten books.”

“If I win, I'll let you borrow the kindle sometime,” Bruce teased, standing and pushing the papers to the side. Jason kicked at his shins when Bruce walked by, and missed, but didn't look up from the book.

Bruce plucked a book off the shelf and snagged Jason’s t-shirt collar with a finger and tugged. The kid was leaning, half-sitting, on the edge of the desk. “C’mon, Jay. Couch. Keep me company.”

The boy trailed after him without lifting his eyes and his lips moved when he was sounding out longer words. He sank into a corner of the couch with his feet stretched out and pressed against Bruce’s leg.

Neither of them moved except to turn pages until Alfred rapped his knuckles on the door frame to call them to dinner. Jason looked up and blinked owlishly, then his eyes widened even more and he was on his knees peering over Bruce’s shoulder in a second.

“What are you doing?” he demanded breathlessly. He flopped back on the couch and threw his arm over his face. “Bruce! That's like a million pages. How are you gonna finish ten books if you start with that one?”

Bruce held a finger to mark his place in The Count of Monte Cristo and held out a hand to cushion Jason’s head when he rolled off the couch toward the floor.

“I’ll finish, Jay,” he promised. Jason shoved his hand away.

“Can we read while we eat?” Jason asked. His face was buried in the plush rug but he fumbled around for his book, abandoned on the couch. “I’m at a good part.”

“I don't—” Bruce started.

“—see any issue with a temporary allowance?” Alfred prompted from the doorway. He was holding a slender volume of essays. “I wholeheartedly agree.”

Bruce thought it was pointless to argue this on the grounds that he had long been strongly discouraged from bringing work of any kind to the table in the dining room.

They ate while reading, all three of them. The only conversation was when Jason asked for a definition of a word and Bruce was halfway through an etymology of Latin roots when he saw Alfred’s raised eyebrow and Jason’s impatient lip-chewing.

“...but we can talk about that part later,” Bruce finished a bit lamely.

“I want to,” Jason said, and he sounded like he meant it. “Twelve days from now.”

The next nine days brought four patrols without Jason and a boy who was reading so constantly that one night, he missed both reading and patrol when Alfred forced him to bed early with a headache from eye strain. Jason sulked more than he slept and Alfred tried to make it up to him by reading a chapter from his current book aloud, and Bruce read another before going out for the night.

He was less than impressed with the child-protagonist’s climbing skills and problem solving abilities but kept his opinion to himself.

Despite Jason’s worry, Bruce himself made blazing progress through a whole slew of novels he'd wanted to revisit or read. He hadn't had such a good excuse to set aside work and other tasks and read for a long time and wished he'd done it sooner.

Alfred didn't seem to mind the excuse either, and Bruce frequently found him cooking or cleaning with a book in hand and unapologetic about the distraction.

Eight days in, Bruce took the whole day off of work and spent it shut up in the Manor library again with Jason and a steady stream of snacks from the kitchen. In the afternoon, Alfred joined them for a while.

Alfred was the first to finish his list, two days in advance. He clipped it to the fridge with a magnet and read another book anyway.

Bruce was two away and slightly regretting his choice of Le Morte d’Arthur when Jason kept checking his page number progress and humming worriedly at the calendar.

When he got back from patrol early, early that morning, Jason was sitting in the cave with his own final book in his hands and Bruce’s next to him.

“Read,” Jason ordered, pointing. “You have over a hundred pages left and tomorrow is the last day.”

“Jay,” Bruce said, worn out to the middle of his bones. It had not been an easy night.

“B,” Jason said, verging on pleading. “We’re almost there.”

With a sigh, Bruce pushed back the cowl and dropped into the computer chair and propped his booted feet on the desk. If he got any more comfortable he wasn't going to make it.

He wished Jason could just ask for things. Dick hadn't come from much money, and had been a frugal kid, but had few qualms asking for needs or mentioning wants. He didn't take money for granted, exactly, but also seemed more like a normal kid in his acceptance of provided material goods.

Jason swung wildly between actively resisting money being spent on him and gleefully allowing himself to be spoiled, only to collapse into guilt or self-punishing behaviors later in an attempt to retroactively earn whatever they'd given him. He'd balked at tickets to a Knights game, gone happily on the day of the event and come home with a jersey and stuffed full of junk food, and then disappeared for a day a week later.

They'd found him with a bucket of soapy water, worn out after washing every car in the garage.

But when Bruce tiredly looked up from the text to Jason, sitting on the computer desk with his face reacting to every development in his book, occasionally sounding out words under his breath, his eyes rimmed red and a happy, secure slackness in his posture, none of the comparisons or worry mattered. Bruce reached out and ruffled his hair. Jason didn't pull away but instead flipped back a page and said, “B, just listen to this part.”

Bruce didn't mind anymore.

Fifteen hours (and some sleep) later, Jason watched him like a hawk while he filled out the final line of the flier. After dinner, Bruce double-checked the spelling and legibility of Jason’s own list minutes after Jason triumphantly slapped the last book down on the dining room table.

They went to the public library together, all three of them, per the library’s policy of turning in one’s own reading list. Bruce had to fill out a form to replace an expired library card under Jason’s accusing glare.

The glare faded when Jason watched the librarian drop all three names into a decorated glass jar.

Jason talked non-stop, almost without breathing, the walk to the car and ride home. Bruce and Alfred listened to every recalled detail of the ten books Jason had read, and his opinions (with occasional profanity) on those details. It seemed like he'd been saving it all up in his rush to move on to the next book and it was all spilling out of him now.

He didn't stop through the trip up the stairs into the house or until nearly dinner, when he sighed happily and announced gravely that they had to start earlier the next summer.

The weekend passed without incident at the Manor or on patrol or otherwise. Jason roamed the house with nervous energy when he was awake and kept borrowing Bruce’s laptop to double-check the library prize drawing date.

Monday rolled around with a morning forecast of summer storms and Bruce got ready for work and offered to take Jason with him for the day. Jason usually liked going to hide in Bruce's office for the day but today, he refused from his spot by the kitchen phone.

“Should I keep him busy with something else?” Bruce asked Alfred in the foyer, slipping his arms into his raincoat while casting an eye back toward where they'd left Jason.

“I doubt it would be very effective,” Alfred said with an equally worried frown.

Around three in the afternoon, right around the time Bruce had been planning to head home early, his cell phone rang.

“I won!” Jason yelled in his ear as soon as he answered. “B! I never win anything but they drew my name! I won!”

“That's great, Jay!” Bruce said, thanking whatever gods were listening. It wasn't even the idea of not having to console a disappointed kid. He would have read twenty, thirty books in the same time frame to hear Jason so excited again.

“I gotta go, Al’s driving me over right now. The library closes at five. Bye!”

The line went dead and Bruce decided to call it a day. He drove himself home in the rain, under ominous flashes of lightning and cracks of thunder. He made it home before Alfred and Jason by not much more than twenty minutes and the rain had let up by the time they pulled into the drive.

He helped Jason set up the device in the kitchen while Alfred cooked and the wide grin didn't leave Jason’s face for hours.

They were on a stakeout later that week, hunched down in the Batmobile, when a faint glow lit the interior of the car and Batman looked sidelong. Robin was curled up in the seat reading.

“We’ve gotta couple hours,” Robin said. “You told me yourself. Is it too bright?”

Batman studied the alley and streetscape outside the windshield of the hidden car and almost said yes. Then he changed his mind, shifted his cape, and threw it over Robin’s head.

“No,” Batman said.

“Okay,” Robin said happily from under the cape. The glow didn’t make it through the dark fabric and the interior was pitch black again. “Thanks, B.”

#batman #robin #batfic #ficblogging #robin!jason #jason todd #bruce wayne #alfred pennyworth #reading #no profreading we die like mne

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lukasthemedic · 3 years

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Slumber Party

Original post - 2019 ao3 works

Jefferson/Mad Hatter & Killian Jones/Captain Hook crack prompt fic

CRACK PROMPT: Characters discover fan fiction about themselves, and, Protagonist and Antagonist host a slumber party together and several good/evil/neutral supporting characters are invited.

The diner was particularly full, seeing as how it was almost ten at night, and Granny’s was never open late. She had a big distaste for getting to bed later than necessary when she knew she was to be up early enough to get the coffee started the following morning.

“Keep scrolling, it’s getting good.” The captain smirked, running his arm behind Jefferson’s lower back, and bending down to look closer to the laptop sitting on the counter. Jefferson rolled his eyes, huffing, and picks up his styrofoam cup, taking a long drink.

“I would never sleep with Cora, now that, would be mad.” The hatter stated, tossing the empty cup into the trash bin behind the counter. He can hear muffled giggles behind him from everyone else crowded around. “And, I wouldn’t ever let you, fuck me.” Killian nearly spits out his rum, choking back a laugh. David slaps a hand on the pirate’s shoulder and doubles over in laughter.

“Hey mate, I wouldn’t be so quick to pitch in. I do believe I saw one earlier where you were with a certain doctor on the romance ship.” Killian wiggles his eyebrows, smirking back at David, who now glances towards a blushing Mary-Margaret.

“Absoutely not, man. I wouldn’t be caught dead with Archie, even if I was into that. Everyone knows Snow is the only one for me.” David plants a kiss on Mary-Margaret’s cheek, pulling some money out and tossing it on the counter for their food stacked in neatly in to-go boxes.

“The best though—“ Emma smacks her hand down on the counter, tears streaking down her face, cheeks stinging from laughing so hard. “—is that one where Ruby is with Belle, and Rumple is left for dead. And then they really throw it together by putting Mulan into the mix for that threesome!”

Regina clears her throat, bringing the attention back to the fact that they are trying to leave before Granny comes back to usher them out of her way. “This is all nonsense. Whoever is writing these, must have no life. As well as no taste in relationships. I find them to be particularly disturbing.” Regina crosses her arms, but Emma pulls her in and rests her head against her shoulder, humming into her neck.

“Babe, they’re funny. Everyone knows they’re not in any sense realistic.” Emma says into Regina’s neck, before giving her a kiss on the forehead.

“Aright, everyone out. Don't any of you know what five in the morning looks like on an old maid?!” Granny comes around the corner, broom in hand, and leans against the post of the door to the kitchen. “Ruby, I’ll need your help to cover a shift in the morning, so you best get on up to bed. I’m counting on you.” Granny sternly says, eyeing the laptop and the crowd of people around it. Jefferson quickly shuts it, tucking it away into his bag. Ruby cautiously rolls her eyes, but listens to her grandmother.

“See you guys later, don’t forget to update me on the scoop.” She laughs, glancing back to her friends, and heads off towards the stairway to get cleaned up for the night. She hated always getting stuck on shifts so that she couldn’t go out with anyone, but she needed the money, and Granny was always allowing her a place to stay for free at the diner so she couldn’t complain when she was asked to help out on extra shifts.

Jefferson, Killian, David, Emma, Mary-Margaret, and Regina find themselves without a plan once locked outside of the diner.

“We should read more of those.” Killian suggests, looking back towards Jefferson. “I like the ones where they make you my bitch.” He draws his hook up to trace down the hatter’s jawline, who makes an audible scoff, but plants a mildly seductive kiss on the captain’s rum flavored lips. “You wish.” Jefferson laughs into his lovers mouth, looking back to the rest of the friends.

“Neal has Henry and Grace for the weekend, he wanted to take them to live the real outdoorsy life camping in the woods, so it’s not like we don’t have some time for an adult slumber party.” Emma says, glancing towards Regina for approval, who shrugs, but parts her lips in a half smile. “I guess I could stand to have a little fun, but not without some alcohol, snacks, and a few more friends to enjoy these ridiculous stories with. If were going to dig into some juicy ones, I want to see the looks on their faces when they realize who they’ve been fictionally stuck with.” She gloats, pulling out her phone from her purse. “I’ll make some phone calls, David you and Mary-Margaret aren’t much for a party, so you can pick out some junk foods. But make sure to get those delectable salt and vinegar chips and you two—“ Regina is interrupted with Killian raising his hook in the air, making a cutting motion in the brisk spring night.

“I though you only had a taste for apples, love.” The captain mocks, taking a step back as Regina lunges at him, putting the phone to her ear. “For you, I’d poison a thousand recipes, pirate. Now make good use of your alcoholic self, and the two of you find some boozy recipes. I’d at least trust the two that would make the most impulsive decisions to find the best options to make us reasonably less responsible adults for a weekend.”

Killian snarls as Regina goes to work at collecting more people for their adult sleepover, but Jefferson pulls him away towards the direction of the grocery store that David and Snow are headed for. He knows this isn’t a fight he’s willing to work up right now. Plus, they are the two most impulsive of the group, he can’t argue with that. He figures that he could make good use of their time right now to make a call to Neal to check on the kids, ensuring that nothing too exciting has happened on their camping trip. It isn’t a usual happening that he lets Grace out of his sight for very long, but he knew that this trip meant a lot to Henry to let him have his best friend there with him when he got to spend more time getting to know Neal too, and Jefferson knew what it felt like to not know how your kid was doing when that’s all you were concerned about. So, if they were going to have a good time, so would he.

It was only about an hour later that Jefferson was flipping the living room lights on, and Killian was over by the fireplace attempting to start a fire, as instructed by his hatter for their guests. Jefferson couldn’t have imagined the day he would be working to plan a sleepover with Regina after all they had been through, but yet here they are. There were plenty of booze choices that aligned the island in the kitchen and almost every choice of mixer imaginable to have a good time. It looked as though they basically bought the store out. It competed though with the stacks of snack options that cluttered the counters that David, Emma and Mary-Margaret were sorting out, throwing gummy worms in their mouths as they put together trays of food. Just then, as Regina was helping the hatter to pull out some spare pillows and blankets, the doorbell rang. It was a sound Jefferson wouldn’t ever get used to in this life, after being alone for so many years before. His stomach did a turn, but he smiled as he watched Killian struggled with the fireplace still, and made his way to the front door, Regina trailing behind him with a smirk on her face. Jefferson opened the front door and gasped, looking at the line of cars down the drive, and Regina clasped her hands together and squealed.

“I knew everyone would make it, everyone loves a good fan fiction reading marathon!” Jefferson glared in her direction and looked back out at the porch full of friends, and enemies, that seemed to be collected together.

“Well are you going to let us in or just keep starting, hatter.” Leroy grumbled from under the light of the porch, shoving his way past Sheriff Graham and August to get into the frame of the door.

Killian stood, brushing invisible dust off from his knees, and beamed with approval at the fire he had started. He turns towards where he can hear Jefferson arguing with Regina about the amount of people she has invited and helps himself over to the front door to help his partner out. “Relax, love. It never killed anyone to have a good party once in their life.” He shoves an elbow in the captain’s direction, but Killian pulls Jefferson in for a kiss before realizing just how many people from the town are piling into the living area.

“Jefferson, can’t you get your laptop hooked up in the theatre room? Everyone should get to see this on a big screen, we can read them out loud!” Emma calls from the kitchen to Jefferson, scooping ice cream onto a banana before drizzling chocolate sauce over it.

“You should ask your lover, she would know the in and outs of this place.” Jefferson mocks, heading for the alcohol on the counter to mix himself a stiff drink.

Regina rolls her eyes, but goes back to smiling and welcoming guests like it’s her own house, before closing the door and ushering them all towards the kitchen to collectively make drinks and get everyone headed towards Jefferson’s own cinema room.

Before long, there were rows of drinks and snacks lining every surface in the room and David was working with Killian to get the laptop set up, while Jefferson slammed back shot after shot. He couldn’t tell if he was feeling woozy and uneasy from the alcohol or the people that Regina had packed into his house.

He could easily tell aloud each of the feuds in the room, but upon closer inspection it seemed like for once in their lifetimes everyone was getting along, even if they never had before. It’s wonder what some junk food and mixed drinks can do to enemies.

Graham was slouched in a chair by August and Leroy who had Nova wrapped around his side. Peter Pan, Archie, and Dr. Whale were in another corner laughing over something on Archie’s tablet. Belle, Rumple, and Ruby were in another row of chairs, who snuck out of the diner after getting a phone call from Regina. And Jefferson’s head hurt trying to remember the names of a few others who had grouped themselves in various positions in the room because it felt so unsettling to have so many people who didn’t get along and had often times tried to murder each other in one room, in his house, in the middle of Maine. Killian wrapped his arm around the hatter’s waist and David gave out a high pitched yell after the screen from the laptop connected and showed a search engine on the big screen which erupted laughter and applause from everyone whom had already started to get intoxicated in the room.

“Start it out with a dirty one!” Someone yelled from the crowd of new found friends, and an ocean of giggling and comments came from the dimly lit room.

David doubled over in laughter and took another drink before shoving an Oreo in his mouth and started clicking away at the laptop. “Okay, okay. Here’s one. Who wants to read first?” He laughed, clicking the enter button after typing in ‘Once Upon a Time Fanfiction’ into the search bar and pulling up the first website.

“Your characters play truth or dare.” Jefferson blankly says, shaking his head in disbelief as his name is one of the first to appear in a pairing with Killian. Along side him in this reading is parings of almost all of the friends in the room, and he can’t help but get an uneasy feeling.

“This is going to be so good.” The captain grins, shoving a newly made drink into David’s hand, watching him down it quickly. “David, you start it off, love.” He suggests, plopping himself down in a chair and pulling Jefferson to sit down next to him. They begin to relax in the same row that Emma, Regina, and Mary-Margaret are seated in and everyone hushes each others giggles while David starts at the beginning of the story.

“I dare Jefferson to run naked around the block, before taking a dive in the pool.” David begins to read, not able to stop himself from laughing and doubling over with just the beginning of the story. Jefferson shifts uncomfortably in his seat, and lets out a sigh.

“I would never do such a thing. I have way more self respect than that.” Jefferson says, loudly for everyone to hear, but mostly to reassure himself that this isn’t anything but a work of fiction.

“Well it sure looks like you’re going to do it.” David blurts out, scrolling farther down the page that is illuminating the room from the big screen and he begins to read more. “Oh god, you guys, let act it out!” David suggests, pointing out in the crowd towards the hatter. “You’re first up, champ. Didn’t Regina stick a pool in this place somewhere?” He motions to Jefferson, pulling up his shirt in a taunting manner and grinning at his friend in a half intoxicated state.

“Do it!” Killian shrills towards the hatter, poking him in the chest.

Jefferson rolls his eyes, huffs out a long breath, and stands up. A wide grin spreads across his face. “Fine.” He slurs, drunkly pulling his shirt up over his head.

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