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wonderfulworldofmichaelford · 3 years

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Michael in the Mainstream: WandaVision

I love Wanda Maximoff, AKA Scarlet Witch. I’m not sure how apparent that is, but just in general I love comic book characters who use magic, and Wanda is probably my favorite (or at least tied with DC’s Zatanna). Sadly, I never really felt like the MCU did her any justice. She debuted in the worst Avengers movie, her brother was killed before they could showcase a meaningful relationship, and then her next appearances had her speedrunning a relationship with Vision. She definitely got some great moments in Infinity War and Endgame, but she felt woefully underutilized. The same could be said of her boyfriend Vision, who had it even worse than her, because he gets killed in Infinity War and is basically forgotten about after that, with nary a mention in Endgame. These are two fantastic characters, and the MCU just didn’t handle them well at all, and they felt like a complete waste that it was really hard to care about.

Thank god for WandaVision.

This show really did something incredible. It made me care so much about two characters I wished I could have cared about before, and become incredibly invested in their relationship. Wanda and Vision get much-needed spotlight and character development and end up becoming two of the best and most fleshed-out characters in the whole franchise, and it’s amazing they waited so long to do this. Wouldn’t it have been better if we cared so much about them before?

The show has three core elements that help make it great: its characters, its themes, and its presentation. The characters are the big one; Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany really get their time to shine, and both of them manage to do great things with their characters, characters who until now felt more like background characters than actual Avengers. Their relationship is so cute, so wholesome, but with an undercurrent of something a bit sadder that ties in with the show’s themes, and then when they have children things become even more sweet with that dark undercurrent still running strong. Aside from them, the standout of the cast would have to be nosy neighbor Agnes played by Kathryn Hahn… or I should say, the show’s villain, Agatha Harkness, a magic-siphoning witch who’s exploiting Wanda’s fragile emotional state to gain the ultimate power. She’s an actual well-executed twist villain, which is quite a feat for modern Disney, and she’s just as fun and campy as you’d hope an evil witch would be, complete with her very own ridiculous villain song that has her winking at the camera and proudly gloating about killing puppies. It’s delightfully cartoonish. Other standouts include Evan Peters as ‘Pietro,’ in a hilarious and clever bit of meta casting that leads to a dick joke (which might be one of the funniest twists in the MCU) and the return of the greatest Ant-Man supporting character Jimmy Woo. Even Darcy, the absolute worst part of the first two Thor films, manages to return and be tolerable.

The presentation is a big selling point, and what helps the story feel so fresh and unique. Each episode is an affectionate take on a different decade’s sitcoms, starting really oldschool and eventually working all the way up to more modern fare. Interspersed throughout these episodes are some rather entertaining fake commercials which harken to elements of Wanda’s life, and a couple of later ones even act as some heavy foreshadowing for future revelations. The different camera techniques, colors, and whatnot really help sell this fantastical sitcom world Wanda created, though I have to say it is a bit of a shame they couldn’t integrate this style more into the climax, even if there are story reasons for it. It was just such a cool and fun concept, it’s a shame it had to be resolved before the climactic finale.

The themes, though, are what really make this show shine. This show is essentially about a woman dealing with grief. Wanda has lost the man she loves, she has lost her brother, and she’s struggling to find her way in the world. As a coping mechanism, she creates a fantasy world and refuses to face reality, burying her emotions and refusing to move on, instead clinging to the happy concepts that might have been. It really is fantastic as a character study of Wanda, giving her a remarkable amount of depth. I found myself relating to a lot of the themes on display; as someone with depression who has had my fair share of painful experiences, I could empathize with Wanda to a degree. Sure, the person I loved was never murdered by Thanos, but I’ve experienced with grief before. It’s really great stuff they’re working with here.

Unfortunately, as good as all these things are, the show isn’t 100% perfect. The biggest issue is when the show switches focus from the interesting stuff inside of Wanda’s sitcom world to more standard MCU stuff outside. Sure, it’s fun to hang out with Jimmy Woo, the greatest character ever, but a lot of the stuff out there just isn’t engaging and some things just aren’t really elaborated on too much. It’s certainly not awful, but between some really confusing twists with Monica Rambeau (who is a good character otherwise and one I want to see more of) and the extremely boring, 2/10 on Psycho Analysis villain Hayward, there’s really not much here that can even hope to compare to the events unfolding in Wanda’s life. The best things from the outside are flashbacks, such as when Monica returned from being snapped or when we get to see Wanda visiting Vision’s corpse in government lockup, which is one of the most tearjerking moments in the show.

There’s also how the swerve into the standard “Big Marvel action” isn’t exactly graceful. After a great episode where Agatha goes back through Wanda’s life, giving even more insight to Wanda as a character and showing us a lot of fascinating moments, we get into the grand finale which feels like what you’d see in a movie theater, for better or for worse. Now I’m a real slut for crazy witch duels between hot women, and this certainly delivers on that front, but there’s so much other crap going on and it really is weird to think how this show about a superhero woman learning to handle her grief somehow became a big, epic showdown that wouldn’t look out of place in a Harry Potter film. I don’t hate this finale as much as some people do, but it definitely feels like the weakest episode overall (which isn’t too bad, since it’s still good, just not really what I would have liked to see).

WandaVision is the sort of thing I want to see more from the MCU going forward. It’s fresh, it’s interesting, it doesn’t take a standard route for the most part, and it utilizes characters who never got a fair shake in interesting and creative ways. Most importantly, it’s very weird and very comic booky, which is something the MCU was lacking for much of its first ten years (save for the films Gunn and Waititi made). I’m sure not everyone is going to find this to be their cup of tea, and it’s easy to grow bored of the cuts away from Wanda to the more cliché affairs outside of her sitcom bubble, but this is definitely a rich and rewarding show that engages with some heavier topics in an easy-to-digest and enjoyable way. Hopefully we’ll see more creativity like this going forward.

#Michael in the Mainstream #review #TV show review #WandaVision #MCU #Wanda #Vision #Scarlet Witch #Marvel #Elizabeth Olsen #Paul Bettany #Kathryn Hahn #Agatha Harkness

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fangirl-on-bitches · 4 years

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Bittersweet

Javier Peña x Female!Reader.

Word Count: 4k approximately.

Summary: You and Javier have a particular way of saying goodbye, so particular you get a surprise when you get back to the US.

Warning: a lot of cursing, a bit of pregnancy shenanigans, a lot of dialogue and a little messy plot and timelines lol.

A/N: Okay, listen before you continue. When I was younger I used to write, maybe not with the best grammar or the best plot, but sure as hell with a lot of creativity. Now I just can’t be that creative to write a complete fic or hc, so if you find this boring or a waste of time I’m really sorry. If you like this, I appreciate it as I really made an effort to finish it (a crapy ending anyways). I’ll be sincere, I had this idea and couldn’t get it out of my head so I wrote it. I feel like the scenarios aren’t realistic to what could happen in real life (I feel like they are forced or way too dramatic) I really hope I don’t waste your time. (and yes, I chose the name in honor of Pedro’s role in triple frontier)

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You were cursed. Definitely.

You were back in the states, had been for a few weeks, enjoying the warmest sun Miami had to offer along with Connie. You loved relaxing by a peaceful beach after years of chasing after Escobar with your life on the line every hour of every day.

That day you were really excited to wake up and meet Connie to go to the beach, it had been so long since you saw her and little Olivia. You felt at the same time a little uncomfortable with your body that day, bloated and kind of heavy, like there was extra gravity, but the excitement overwhelmed whatever other feeling you might be having.

The beach had some people because it was a nice day, so you lounged along Connie and baby Olivia, eating fried fish with chips as it was beach food. You were laughing at something Connie said about Steve, something about being a pain in the ass, which you agreed with. It was all fun and games until you felt horrible nausea and a pushing need to vomit. Connie, being observant noticed immediately.

“What’s wrong?” before you could answer you ran to the restaurant’s bathroom, puking whatever food you had that day. Connie came close behind you. She gave you a paper towel so you could wipe your mouth.

“Okay, I might be sick.” you admitted flushing the toilet.

Of course, your mood just plummeted to the ground when you were sitting in a private room in the hospital. Connie couldn’t check you, but she was looking for her friend on-call, meanwhile, you looked as baby Liv (as you called Olivia) slept peacefully by your side.

You didn’t like hospitals. They reminded you of your time in Colombia, and although you weren’t shot, your compañeros might have been shot multiple times. There had been too many close calls and so many lives lost, you just got the creeps whenever you heard a gurney moving.

Soon, Connie came back and carried Olivia outside, leaving you with her friend. She presented herself, and asked routine questions. How are you feeling? What happened? Does something hurt? Is your period late? Did you fall and hit your head? Do you have any diseases? Or do you take any medication?

“I do have nausea and I threw up after eating.” She nodded as she took your blood pressure. Then you started thinking. You were thinking really hard.

Your period was late, you didn’t remember how late, but it was late. Two months ago, Steve and you caught Escobar. Steve went straight back home and you had to stay, to finish completing paperwork. Then Javier was back in Colombia to follow the Cali Cartel, but you were assigned back to Miami and couldn’t stay.

To be fair, you were glad to be back home, but you really missed Javier. When shit went down with Los Pepes you were pissed off at Javier. You knew he usually overstepped the line to get intel, but this time he had stepped so far off the line, he wouldn’t be able to see the line.

The night before he left you decided you would drink your consciousness off because you hated to even think that Javier Peña was living in Colombia; after a glass of a really strong Rum and Cola you decided against it and knocked on Javier’s door.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, suggesting that he wasn’t up to listening to more of your nagging. Your head had a million thoughts racing, you wanted to tell him so many things varying from ‘you are an idiot’ to ‘why the fuck did you do this?’ but the only thing you articulate was something like ‘I don’t want you to go’

Javier’s face softened, although you cast down eyes couldn’t actually look at his face, he had stepped aside and invited you inside. “Do you want something to drink?” you shook your head, looking around the apartment. It was almost empty, but it has been pretty empty since the beginning. You sat on the floor, Javier following with a beer in his hand.

“Will you come back?” you asked him, but you already knew the answer.

“I don’t think so, it depends on the higher ups in the states” you nodded, looking at him. You were really going to miss him. “Look, it’s not like we won’t see each other anymore, when you guys catch Escobar-” you laughed humorlessly. How long would that be? Months, another year perhaps?

Both of you stayed in silence for a while. “I should go.” you told him, standing up, he stood up as well.

“You shouldn’t go.” He told you, squeezing your shoulder tenderly, a familiar touch. You looked at his sweet dark brown eyes, a silly small smile playing on the corners of your lips.

“What do you mean? You have a plane to catch tomorrow.” you remind him, wondering if he was drunk, he clearly wasn’t. His hand, which was still on your shoulder, moved to cup your face. For a second, you were lost and didn’t understand what was happening, until you looked at his eyes again and understood. You didn’t wait for him to lean down, you just wrapped your arms around his neck and kissed him.

You would lie if you have never felt curious as to why every informant in Colombia gave Javier the intel he wanted. After that night you understood why. He was passionate, attentive and a really generous lover. You might have even believed him if he had blurted out an ‘I love you’.

The only reason why you let this happen was because Javier was supposed to stay in the US, officially he wasn’t your (or Steve’s) compañero anymore. And that was true, even when he came back.

“Okay, so your results are in. After you told me you’ve been missing your period for quite a while, I drew some blood to analyze it.”

“Yeah, it must be stress. You know, I worked in Colombia with Connie’s husband and moving back here plus all the work I have to do was really stressful. Also, I had a UTI back in Colombia, I wasn’t drinking enough water and I read that the strain might move my period a little.” you started rambling. For some reason, you felt jittery, almost anxious at the look on the Doctor’s face. She had a grin in her face, really big and excited.

“That may delay your period for two weeks, but it won't magically make it disappear, dear.” She read the results once more and nodded to herself. “As I suspected, you are pregnant.”

“W-w-what?” you mumbled. “But I didn’t pee on the stick.” clearly, your brain had short-circuited.

“I have some pregnancy tests if you wish to take them yourself, but the blood analysis is pretty accurate.” she offered with a nice smile. You nodded and took the box going to the bathroom, trying to focus on reading the instructions.

The stick said you were pregnant. And you knew exactly who was the father.

You sighed at the papers you were reading, the office already empty, way past dinner time. Since catching Escobar, hours were cut short, but to you they were really slow. Steve wasn’t there, he had left a few weeks ago, Javier obviously wasn’t there. It was just you, some files and occasionally some booze to help you relax before sleeping. Thankfully, you would be leaving shortly.

On your way back to the apartment complex you stopped by a grocery store. You needed ice cream, and lots of chocolate, and some chips. Probably some booze too. You had bought a flask of whisky that reminded you of Javier, although whisky might not be your first choice of booze.

That same flask almost fell to the ground when you saw goddam Javier Peña entering his apartment, a big suitcase by his side.

He also noticed you, the dark bags under your eyes and messy hair evidence of your hard work.

“Oh my god” you whispered, unbelieving. You walked and hugged him, relieved to see him again. “You are back?” you stupidly asked.

“Yeah, they want my intel and help to track down the Cali Cartel.” he answered.

“Well, that’s weird.”

“What?”

“My orders are to finish paperwork and return to Miami. They didn’t tell me to stay to help.”

“Well, it’s a different operation this time, more discreet.” he tried to hint you that it wasn’t just DEA business anymore, it was more a CIA kind of work. You invited him to your apartment, that had two boxes of things you were going to give to charity, you didn’t need all this stuff back home, you already had them.

He explained his situation while you shared the flask of whisky and bid good night like the old times, no kisses or sex, or nothing like that. Which was fine.

Everything was fine for the next few days. Javier even helped you pack your stuff and sort it out. The night before returning home he offered to go to the bar you always went to with Steve and him on Friday’s or Saturday’s (sometimes even a Monday)

Both of you drank like you always had, but instead of bidding goodnight and going to bed separately, you both had sex. Again. It was probably a coping mechanism, the way both of you said goodbye to each other. Such a complicated method.

So, so complex that now you were pregnant.

With a child.

Javier's child.

It had to be his, you only had sex with him within the last 3 months. Since Colombia you hadn’t have sex.

This was bad. It was complicated. You didn’t plan for a child; working at the DEA (chasing after Escobar) left you almost no time to think about dating, much more less building a fucking family.

Could you do this? Hell yeah, you are an awesome strong woman.

What you couldn’t do was tell Javier.

When you came out the private room, you were fidgeting with your hands, Connie came and took them. “I’m pregnant.” you blurted out. Connie looked at you shocked; then you noticed little baby Olivia wasn’t on her arms.

Steve, in all his blonde mustache glory stood with his daughter on his arms, looking as shocked as Connie. “What?” he asked.

“Who is the father?” Connie inquired.

“What are you doing here?” You asked Steve.

“I came to pick up my wife and daughter for dinner. Why don’t you come with us and tell us more about this?” You nodded out of inertia, but you looked at your hands while walking, Connie hooking her arm with one of yours.

As you sat on traffic, you tentatively touched your belly. It was... normal. No kicking, no large or really hard belly. It was like there was nothing there.

You would have declined dinner if you knew the questionnaire that would come from the Murphy’s. Well, questionnaire would be an exaggeration, but you didn’t really like the single question they were asking.

“Who’s the father?”

“I- I can’t tell you.”

“Why? We don’t know him?” you sighed and reassigned. You knew they would ask forever.

“Please, please, please you have to promise me you won’t tell anybody. Both of you.” you looked pointedly at Steve. He nodded but held your gaze, trying to figure out what you were really trying to say. A second later he muttered something.

“Jesus fucking christ.”

“What?” Connie asked but soon realized. “Oh, no way. Javier?”

“It’s Javier.” you confirm their suspicions.

“Are you certain?” Connie asked.

“Of course.” you paused and then added. “You can’t tell him Steve.”

“What? Why?” he sounded slightly offended.

“I should tell him first. He should hear it from me.”

“I can’t believe this. The minute I come back home you two just pound at each other.”

“It wasn’t like that, and technically you were still in Colombia the first time.”

“The first time?” he asked with a chuckle, he looked very happy.

“The second time I was the one leaving!” you paused, moving the food around your plate. “How the fuck am I going to tell him? I can’t just call him and be like, ‘hey I’m pregnant and you are the father. How’s the Cali stuff going?’. This kind of news aren’t told over a call.”

“But it’s different, it’s not a normal situation. Javier could be in Colombia for years.” Steve reminded you.

“It wouldn’t make a difference. He can’t come back until his work is done.” You rolled your eyes, there was no good alternative.

“So you plan to just hide this from him?” Connie asked, her look full of pity, if it was for you or Javier, you didn't know.

“Only until I know he’s coming back. I’ll check on him every once in a while. I’ll need you to call him too, Steve. I don’t want him to suspect me.” He sighed but nodded nonetheless. You sighed as well, a million thoughts racing through your head.

You called Javier that same week. Of course, it was unexpected for him but really welcome. Colombia was not rainbows and sunshine. “So how’s the Cartel treating you?”

“It’s a fucking nightmare, but hopefully it won’t take long. I can't talk too much over the phone about this, who knows who might be listening.” he sighed, sounding really

“Yeah, you are right.” for a minute, you thought about telling him. Then you decided. “Please take care and be careful.”

“Of course compañera.” he assured, you could practically hear the smirk in his lips. After ending the call, you pressed the heels of your palms in your eyes. How in the world were you going to tell him?

––––––

A month turned into two, and then five months flew by in the blink of an eye. Javier was not coming back for the time being and your belly was starting to pop. Your head was still working on how in the world were you going to tell Javier, which was the only problem you had right now. It wasn’t even a big problem, if Javier wanted an out of fatherhood he was free to go, but you had been so happy since day two (day one was a full shock) that you honestly didn’t care.

You were getting way too ahead of yourself. Maybe Javi wanted to be a father and he would be really happy with the little baby. But that wasn’t the Javier you knew, and that’s why you were so afraid to tell him.

Today looked like the best day to tell him. You were going to probably get to know if the little baby was a girl or a boy. You were waiting patiently for him to pick up the call in the hospital public phone. After a while, he picked up.

“Hello?” his voice sounded gruff and stressed.

“Hi, compañero. How are you?” you asked, a hand on your belly.

“As fine as I can be here,” he answered. “What did you want?” he asked abruptly, almost tired of talking to you. It stinged a little.

“I just called to check in…” you lied, maybe it wasn’t the best time to tell him after all.

“I’m going to be as clear as I can. Don’t call me, unless you are fucking dying.” you felt a piercing pain in your throat, a tight knot forming, making it really difficult to talk.

“Fine.” you hissed and hanged the phone, tears slipping down your cheeks. Fucking hormones. Fucking Javier.

Connie, who was waiting for you anxiously to come back, hugged you. “It’s okay sweetie, it’s okay.” you nodded and wiped your tears.

“I’m okay. I just need to focus on my baby and myself right now.” you told her and rubbed your belly.

“Of course honey.”

–––––––

It had been a really smooth and sweet pregnancy, you were really happy with your 5th month old baby boy Francisco. He was really sweet, but he had so, so much of his father, the resemblance was uncanny. Deep brown sweet eyes, and a mop of soft brown hair.

Javier had not called you since that horrible last call. You knew he called Steve every once in a while, but you asked Steve please not to tell you anything about him. Both Murphy’s just assumed you had told Javier about the pregnancy and that he had not taken it well.

This was a lie. Javier had no idea you were pregnant, much more less with his child. But he was still in Colombia, so unless you told him he would not hear it from anyone.

It hurted you deeply, not being able to tell your son who his father was. However, all around your house there were pictures of Steve, Javi and yourself from Colombia. Connie and Olivia were there too, even Carillo.

Anyways, the baby was too young to notice the absence of his father. Maybe by the time Francisco starts wondering about daddy, Javier would be around the USA to talk.

Your son cooed and asked to be held up, it was time for his nap. Just in time, you thought, Steve was coming over to pick him up as you were going to meet your best friend in an hour or so. Your baby boy soon fell asleep, you held him in against your chest, rocking him gently.

Then the doorbell rang.

“Steve, you are early. Fran just fell asleep.” you told Steve. But it wasn’t Steve. Javier fucking Peña stood in the door way, his eyes looking at your son. You frowned and tried to hide Francisco’s face sneakily from him. “What are you doing here?”

“Hello to you too, compañera.” he said, but his mind was not entirely focused on whatever he was saying. His mind was in the baby, and about how quickly you had moved on.

“Don’t compañera me.” you hissed, in a hushed tone, the baby in your arms sleeping soundly. “Come in.” you told him, as you turned around to leave your baby on his cradle.

Javier looked around, looking for any sign of the baby’s father. But he only found pictures of you, Steve, Connie, baby Olivia and other people he knew. Then he started thinking, what if the baby was his child?

No, that’s not possible.

“So?” you asked, really anxious. You had no idea he would be here. You were not prepared for this. But really, would you ever be prepared?

“I came to apologize.” Javier simply said, his hands on his hips.

“Took you a little long.” you said, rubbing your hands together. “If you apologized sooner I could have…”

“Could have what?” you exhaled and sighed, trying not to cry.

“You are not supposed to be here.” you whisper, your voice cracking softly as you sit on your sofa. Javier sat by your side and you felt the weight of your decisions constrict your chest, making it harder to breath.

You were a horrible, horrible person. How could you deny him knowing he was a father? That he had a child? It didn’t matter how angry you felt, or how much of an asshole he had been. The baby was made by both of you. He had the right to know.

“I’m sorry.” he was not sure why, but he really was sorry. You shook your head, and started to tell him that you were sorry, repeating like a prayer. “Hey, hey” he tried to calm you down, rubbing his hands up and down your back. “Breath, baby. Breath.” you complied, breathing deeply. After a minute of silence you took his rough big hand and held it, squeezing it slightly.

“Javier, I got news for you.” you started, and felt his hand tense. “The baby boy, Francisco, he’s your son, our son.” He looked at you, his eyes wide, looking like a deer in the headlights. “That time I called you, I was pregnant, and I wanted to tell you.”

“Why didn’t you tell me after?”

“You told me not to call you unless I was fucking dying.” you exhaled and stood up. “Look you don’t have to be involved if you don’t want to, I had Francisco because I wanted to, but I didn't expect anything from you.”

“Not getting involved? What are you talking about?” he asked offended.

“I’m sorry, and I mean no offense, but you don't strike as the kind of guy who would want a family, or children.”

“And what the fuck do you know?” he raised his voice a little, making you cringe a little.

“I’m sorry, and I can’t do anything to return back time.” you told him sincerely. A loud whine was heard from your room, where the crib was. You sighed and went to your room, to calm Francisco down. Unbeknownst to you, Javier followed you looking how you delicately held him and rocked him. The baby’s eyes were still closed, he was just a little disturbed.

You looked at the door frame, Javier stood there, looking at the child. You walked to him, your intentions clear. “Do you want to hold him?” you asked your voice soft and soothing. Javier gulped, feeling suddenly nervous, he didn’t know how to hold a baby, what if he dropped him? “Don’t worry, I’ll help.” you offered, a kind smile in your face.

Javier extended his arms and you walked closer, softly passing your son to Javier’s big arms. Francisco whined a little and Javier’s face cringed, making you smile. “Hold him against you,” you helped, gently pushing his arms, closer to his chest. Francisco was fast asleep again. Javier just looked at him, marveled. You guide him to the sofa, making him sit there with your son. “I’ll be right back.” you tell him, and at the panicked face he made, you had to quiet your laugh. “You’ll be fine.”

You called your best friend, telling her you wouldn’t be able to meet her. When you stepped back on the living room, someone knocked on the door, it must be Steve. You opened the door and gestured to him to be quiet, pointing at the couch, were Javi sat (finally) relaxed.

Steve did not enter the house as you promised to call later. You returned to the living room and sat beside them, contemplating how peaceful they looked. Javier had moved your son, laying him against his broad chest. You caressed the baby’s hair, looking at him with doe eyes.

“Want to stay for dinner?” you asked standing up. Javier nodded and then lay his head on the back of the couch, closing his eyes. You smiled and entered your bedroom to change your clothes into something more comfortable.

You had nothing figured out, but you were happy knowing your son had a loving father to grow up with. You’ll figure your relationship out (if there was going to be one).

After some minutes, you heard some gurgles coming from the living room. Javi fell asleep, and Francisco was wide awake, looking at his father curiously, moving his little hands. You took the baby from him, kissing his chubby face. “Your daddy is sleeping, baby. C’mon, let’s give you some mashed banana.” you told him, caressing Javier’s hair back.

You spent some long 20 minutes feeding and nursing your baby boy while you also checked dinner. Javier, still fast asleep on the couch, woke up with a start, touching his chest, as if missing something. “Where’s the baby?” he asked, looking around.

“He’s here, Javier.” you told him from the kitchen, a silly smile on your face. Javier sat by the table, feeling self conscious at the baby’s gaze over him. His son’s arms moved up and down, talking unintelligible gibberish. “He likes you.” you commented, cleaning his chubby face. Javier held his hand out and Francisco took one of his fingers, squeezing with his baby strength. Javi’s heart skipped a beat.

Eating together was really weird, but at the same time it felt right. You noticed Javier’s tired face and wondered if he came straight from the airport. So you asked, sparking some conversation. You talked about what finally happened with the Cali Cartel.

“You got a place to stay?” you asked, but you knew the answer. “You can stay here if you want. Hotel’s are really expensive right now.”

“You sure?” you nodded. You forgot how well you clicked with Javier, it was a nice reminder.

He helped you with the dishes, and then went to shower, getting his suitcase for clean clothes. You prepared Francisco for bed, giving him his formula bottle after changing his diapers.

You saw Javier getting out of the bathroom, and thankfully had the decency to wear full pajamas, you would have fainted at the view of his bare chest.

“So, I’ll go to the couch, do you have a blanket?”

“What are you talking about?” you asked. “I was going to tell you to sleep in the bed with me. We already shared a bed before, so I don’t see a problem. Plus, I could use the help if Francisco wakes up.” you commented with a cocky smirk. You usually wore just a t-shirt to bed, but today you had to use full pajamas, like Javi did.

“Okay.” Javier said, not really convinced. Francisco was asleep already, his father caressed his little hand with his finger. You were already under the covers, ready to hit the bed, Javier looked tired too.

He laid down, under the covers as well, looking at the ceiling. He moved looking at you, you were both face to face, generous space between both of you. “I’m sorry.” You shook your head, and took his hands on yours.

“Sleep Javi, you look tired.” you kissed the back of his hands and closed your eyes, sleep getting the best of you. Javi smiled, his face soft, getting a little closer, leaving his hand on yours, then he shut his eyes. He had never felt more at home.

#javier peña #javier peña x reader #narcos #javier x reader #pedro pascal #pedro pascal x reader

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honsoolie · 4 years

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don’t rush | 02

pairing: Yoongi/reader

genre: slight enemies to lovers, college au, fluff, eventual smut, classical pianist!yoongi, violinist!reader, they’re both actually really into each other but won’t admit it

warnings (for this chapter only): mentions of stage fright/performance anxiety, swearing, sexual references, slight angst, dad jokes :|

words: 6k

rating: +18

summary: You know, when Min Yoongi’s face isn’t screwed into an accusatory scowl, he looks exactly like the kind of guy you’d have no trouble falling in love with. Or, the conservatory au where Yoongi helps you get over your stage fright. In more ways than one.

a/n: didn’t plan to take this long for an update, life gets in the way, you know the drill. read 01 here and as always, this is crossposted to ao3 :)

When you get inside, the warmth welcomes you in. You’re not quite sure if it’s from the heating in the hallway or how Yoongi’s eyes had shone in the moonlight. You lean against the inner door frame, a happy smile tugging at the corners of your mouth, legs a little weak in the knee. You feel light-headed, maybe from being up late, maybe from your exhausting day, maybe from the lingering remnants of Yoongi’s cologne.

Did that really just happen? Did he really just ask for your number? Was this all a dream?

The euphoria is short-lasting, however. You still have some assignments waiting for you, and only a couple hours left until your morning classes. The tiredness never lets up, and your limbs heavy again as you make your way inside the lobby of your dorm.

Unknown number (2:47am): hi this is yoongi

Unknown number (2:47am): did you get inside ok?

You (2:48am): yeah

You (2:48am): did u?

Yoongi (2:50am): im walking back now

Yoongi (2:50am): you should sleep soon ://

You (2:51am): I still have hw :(

You (2:51am): text me when ur back inside too

Yoongi (2:53am): lmaoo is it counterpoint hw

Yoongi (2:54am): it’s so sweet that you care for my safety ;(

You (2:54am): yes sadly

You (2:55am): ofc I care, we can’t have our amazing star pianist get hurt

Yoongi (2:55am): im home now

Yoongi (2:58am): you have a thing for praise, don’t you

Even though you can’t see him, you splutter alone in your room, roommate fast asleep. There is no way that means what you think it means.

You (3:00am): idk where u got that from

You (3:03am): maybe i do, you’ll have to find out

Yoongi (3:04am): I would, but you have to finish your analysis worksheet :/

You (3:15am): ugh, fuck it

You (3:15am): im going to sleep

You (3:15am): ill just wake up early tomorrow to finish it before class

Yoongi (3:16am): what? No goodnight? >:(

Yoongi (3:17am): some manners you have

Yoongi (3:17am): what a rude girl

You (3:18am): aw have i been bad?

You (3:18am): I’m sooooo sorry

You (3:19am): gn

The minutes tick by, and you grow more indignant than you should. Is he serious?

Who doesn’t say goodnight back? Maybe you scared him off. Maybe all this “flirtatious” banter was just how Yoongi talked to his friends. How would you know? You don’t know anything about him.

The same insidious doubt creeps back in. Maybe this is all a game to him. Maybe he just wanted to introduce himself to another music student in the department, you all were supposed to know each other anyway. Maybe, worst of all, he had really only meant to wake you up in the music building as a simple courtesy, no intent behind it. You groan as you sink into your bed, cradling your head in your hands.

You (3:27am): some hypocrite you are

Yoongi (3:30am): I was in the showerrr relax

Yoongi (3:31am): hm you have been bad

Yoongi (3:33am): maybe I should punish you

You (3:29am): u wish

You (3:30am): but goodnight for real, we have class in five hours :”(

Yoongi (3:31am): goodnight

Yoongi (3:31am): save me a spot next to you

You were in the world’s smallest big crisis.

Was Yoongi actually serious when he asked you to save a seat? Or were you just indulging in wishful thinking? Was he flirting with you last night? And if he was, what are you supposed to do now?

Whatever he meant, you would have to face him now.

The endless litany of maybes and what-ifs grows louder in your head, even louder than last night during your text correspondence with him.You elect to use your backpack to save the seat next to you as class time draws nearer, chiding yourself for overthinking something so casual, but it does nothing to soothe your existential anxiety.

“Thanks for saving me a spot, I’m so glad you remembered.” A voice brings you out of your reverie. It takes a moment to register who it is at first. Your eyes meet the traditional college garb first, sweatpants and an overwashed fundraising t-shirt, then the half-tamed cowlick, that ever-present cup of coffee. Your breath catches in your throat, breathtaking despite the casual circumstances. It’s just another class lecture, you chastise yourself, but your gut twists nonetheless.

Seeing Yoongi in such close quarters is still an adjustment for you, his presence (or even the thought of being close to him) a shock to your body. You had spent so much time languishing after him that even now, it still feels like waking up into a dream.

You clear your throat, stalling, “Yeah, putting my backpack in the seat next to mine was sooo hard. You should compensate me for my labor.”

You try to put on the flirty smile that you were wearing last night, but it feels like a grimace. God, you are way too nervous for this.

You realize you’ll never get tired of the way he laughs at your shitty jokes, the way his shoulders shake and eyes crinkle at the corners.

“Yeah, I will, don’t you worry about that.” He sinks into the seat next to you and doesn’t spare you a second glance.

Dr. Won walks in, the picture of put-togetherness, killing whatever flirty response you had formulated.

You thought you had enjoyed having a crush before, but admiring someone and imagining a life together from afar was worlds away from talking and sitting next to said object of affection. This shouldn’t be that big of a deal. You shouldn’t be tripping all over yourself when Yoongi sits next to you in lecture.

Whatever Dr. Won is saying is drowned out by Yoongi sitting next to you. It feels deeply unfair how he affects you, when he gets to sit next to you like nothing important is happening. It’s just another day in lecture, preparing for the midterms coming up.

He’s not even doing anything, minding his own business. You shouldn’t be swooning when he is just sitting there, again bouncing his leg, taking diligent notes. From the furtive glances you steal, even his handwriting is attractive. Endearing, even if it was a little messy and looping over the printed lines.

True fact: the only reason why Yoongi fidgets so much is because of the effect you had on him. It drives him up the wall, the way you keep tucking your hair behind your ear. He envies your unfaltering concentration, the look in your eye when you see something on the Powerpoint slides that you have to jot down.

Yoongi can’t stand to silently sit next to you without doing anything anymore. Taking his pen, he scrawls on the corner of your neat notes. He knows it’ll piss you off, but that’s the reaction that he wants.

do you have any idea what is going on

He watches carefully for your reaction. Satisfaction creeps into his neutral expression when you notice, confusion turning into what could only be a lovestruck smile, and then into an irritated grimace. Fuck, even the curve of your wrist was enough to drive him crazy. You pick up your pen, writing back.

No, stop writing on my stuff

Okay, new plan, Yoongi concedes. He settles for writing on the corner of his own notes, tearing off the corner. He slips the paper into your lap, fingertips skimming the top of your thigh. He doesn’t notice, but he leaves a trail of goosebumps in his wake.

don’t you think dr. won dresses like an old hag

You write back on the scrap of paper:

actually you could learn a thing or two from her

Yoongi smirks, in classic Yoongi fashion.

You know I would rock a long skirt like her

Yoongi watches you read his message, smile, and then tuck the note into your notebook.

After class, Dr. Won reminds everyone of the midterm coming up two weeks from now, and that’s when Yoongi senses an opportunity. The two of you walk out of class together, forced to walk side by side because of the student foot traffic.

“Do you like, want to study together sometime?” Yoongi blurts out, louder than he needs to be, even among the hum of the other students.

He clears his throat. “I mean, we’ve shared a lot of classes, so.”

You can’t help but laugh in surprise, or maybe incredulousness. You resist the urge to let the satisfaction show on your face. “I didn’t know you ever noticed.”

“Of course I did. You’re like, the biggest nerd on the planet.” Even when Yoongi is teasing you, he can’t help but sound bashful.

You gasp in mock offense. “There’s nothing wrong with being a nerd.” You both stop, standing at the mouth of the lecture hall.

“Of course not.” He’s awfully close to you, close enough that you can see the mole on the tip of his nose. “That’s why I’m asking you to be my study buddy.”

It’s not necessary to be standing this close. Sure, the hallway is busy, but not that busy.

“Study buddy? That sounds lame.” You scoff, playing hard to get. Both you and Yoongi know you’re going to say yes anyway.

“What else do you want me to call you? My homework homie?”

“Uh, yeah . That sounds way better than study buddy. ” You’re more proud of your humor than anything else, even if it earns a deserved eye-roll from Yoongi.

“And midterms are coming up. So you know, mutually beneficial.” Yoongi takes a sip from his coffee, peering at you from behind the rim.

“Like… friends with benefits?” You can’t help yourself. It’s just too easy to flirt with him.

Yoongi tongues his cheek, he grins. “Only if you want it to be.” He’s having way too much fun with this.

You try to hide your reaction, but Yoongi notices anyway. (He notices a lot of things you don’t realize.) Your wide-eyed shock, the blush that’s flushing down your neck, the way you open your mouth as if to say something equally as flirtatious back, your laugh, like this is actually way more casual than it is.

“So I’ll take that as a yes,” He says. You could get used to the playful lilt in his voice.

“Only if you promise you won’t just copy my work.” You cross your arms in front of your chest, suddenly very aware of how tall he is.

“I live and die by the honor code, y/n. Of course I won’t,” Yoongi says, leaning ever closer to you in the cramped hallway.

You quirk an eyebrow. “Does a man of honor text me like you did last night?”

“Oh come on. If you’re going to be friends with me you’re going to have to learn to laugh at dirty humor.” Friends? It’s a start, at least.

“Who said that I didn’t like dirty humor?”

“Hmm, I did.” There’s a glint in his eyes that wasn't there before. “You’d have to be a woman of your word and show me.”

“You’ll just have to wait and see.” You flash an innocent smile, like you don’t see the implication of what he’s saying.

Tuesdays have always been the most bittersweet day of the week for you. It’s lesson day, but oh, it’s lesson day. It feels like the day of judgement, every single week. It’s a culmination of all the blood and tears that you’ve poured into your music in the past week, another chance at evaluation. You’ve known your violin teacher longer than you’ve been in college, and it still shouldn’t scare you this much.

The nervousness spins and dips in your chest as you make your way up the winding stairs that lead to the music building. You usually soothe the apprehension by reminding yourself of all the things you’ve done to prepare, just like you usually do before you go out on stage. This week you were supposed to get the rest of the Bach partita memorized and cleaned up, but it still resides in your memory as disjointed bits and pieces of what it’s actually supposed to sound like. You try to run through the parts that you were stuck on last night, but you draw a blank. You usually don’t take this long to commit pieces to memory, but when you open up your score, all you can think about is the unmoving stare of the audience. Seeing your life flash before your eyes every time you stare at your pencil markings isn’t exactly conducive to productive practice sessions.

As you retrieve your violin from your locker and make your way to the practice room, you feel like you’re preparing yourself for your own undoing—every scale, every tick of the metronome—another step towards your demise.

It shouldn’t be this serious, but the pitter-pattering of your heart says otherwise. You glance at the clock. It’s time. You pack up now, so you have a couple extra minutes to wait solemnly outside of her office, staring at the posters that advertise the professionals who come to perform concerts at your college. Next week, a pianist and violinist duo is coming. In the picture, they’re smiling proudly next to a Steinway piano. They look proud of themselves. They probably don’t feel like they’re allergic to the stage, probably live for the audience’s applause. That’s probably how they ended up there on the poster, after all.

Your violin teacher isn’t scary. She’s a homey, lovely old woman whose wrinkles come from a lifetime of smiling. She’s the type to bring you sweet, homemade pastries that are almost as warm as her hugs during the toughest parts of the semester. Which makes the moments when she’s unhappy all the more painful. It’s not her fear that plagues you, but disappointment.

The door clicks open, and you have no more time to ponder your failures as a musician. You gather your things and head inside. Nothing inside her office has changed since the previous week. The same teetering stack of well-loved method books sits on her chair, the same humidifier whirring steadily in the corner, the same Dr. Kim Hyung-Seo sitting on the piano bench.

“Good afternoon, y/n! How’s the Bach coming along?” She asks, like you haven’t spent the past week treating this piece like your mortal enemy. She takes a sip of her warm chamomile tea, from the same snowman-shaped mug that she’s used every week, because she is that endearing. In another life, she would probably be your grandmother.

“Good morning. Ah, you know…” You trail off and gesture into the air, trying to hide your grimace. How could you possibly describe the unease and unsureness around performing without crossing some kind of professional boundary?

“Let’s hear it, it’s okay. Are you all warmed up?” You nod as you unpack your things again. As you move to put the Bach score on the music stand, she tuts.

“Didn’t we agree that this would be memorized last week?” Dr. Kim flips through her lesson notes, inky blue scrawling over the pages. “Yeah, it should be memorized. Close the score, darling.” Usually, when Dr. Kim calls you darling, warmth unfurls in your chest and you beam. You’re not feeling particularly warm right now.

“Ah, okay…” With slow reluctance, you close the score, the plain paper cover mocking you. You lift your bow to your violin, and shut your eyes. You don’t want to watch this.

Yoongi (4:38pm): Hey

Yoongi (4:38pm): wanna study tonight :]

If there’s anything Yoongi is good at, it’s having perfect timing. You half-walk, half-run out of the music building, sucking frigid air into your lungs. The cold weather seems to force the tears back into your eyes. If there was ever a worst-case scenario for how a lesson could go, then that was what just played out in the music room.

Shutting your eyes won’t stop the barrage of images, playing the world’s cruelest slideshow behind your eyelids. Your teacher’s pursed lips, the still fingers clasped over her mug, the pinched brow.

“y/n, we don’t have much more time to clean it up…” Her words echo in your head. “We’ll try again next week…” The disappointment was the worst thing, the downward tone in her voice. “I expected better…”

You (5:15pm): maybe

You (5:15pm): what time?

Yoongi (5:20pm): like now

Yoongi (5:23pm): are you busy?

You (5:25pm): no I just finished up a lesson

You (5:26pm): i’m about to study in the library if you want to join me

Yoongi (5:30pm): I don’t want to go to the library :(

You (5:31pm): why not

Yoongi (5:32pm): if I feed you dinner will you come to my apartment

Yoongi (5:33pm): I really don’t want to walk to the library it’s too damn cold

After all, the best way to a woman's heart is through her stomach.

You (5:35pm): fine

You (5:35pm): it better be a hell of a dinner

Yoongi (5:36pm): of course it will

Yoongi sends you his location, and you’re walking as fast as you can through the campus to make it to his apartment before you can freeze your fingers off.

Yoongi’s expression is nothing short of scandalized when you show up at his door. It’s a typical mouse hole apartment, his front door identical to all the other ones that you’d passed to get here.

“You’re not wearing gloves? In this weather?”

“I don’t have any…” You rasp out. You’re tired. Your throat hurts from trying to hold tears back during your entire lesson, and you have no spirit left to give Yoongi an innuendo-laced comeback.

I expected better.

“Oh my god, you’ve been playing violin for how many years and nobody ever told you to wear gloves when it’s cold?” He leads you inside, the warmth abating the cold that’s wormed its way underneath your clothes and into your bones.

“For God’s sake, y/n, hasn’t anyone ever told you about the importance of blood circulation?” Yoongi clasps your hands between his, rubbing and blowing air on them to warm them up. He doesn’t notice your surprise amid his chastising, muttering something about common sense. You don’t try to keep your guard up this time, just trying to bite tears back at the mention of musicianship. The firm press of his hands grounds you.

“There.” He smiles, proud of himself. “Warm now?”

Oh yeah, you’re definitely warm. In every dimension of the word. But you don’t tell him that, so you settle for a weak nod.

“You can put your stuff there. I’m hungry now, let’s eat first?” You hum in affirmation as you settle your heavy backpack on his cramped couch.

It turns out that Min Yoongi’s idea of gourmet cooking is heating up two freezer-burnt Hot Pockets while you watch him putter around the tiny kitchenette. This is the first time you’ve ever seen him without his glasses, and this is when you finally internalize that Yoongi will always look good no matter what he does or wears or says.

“You made it seem like you were cooking,” You say, just to fill the silence.

“Uhhhh, I don’t know who told you I was capable of cooking, but they were wrong. I can show you a good time in other ways, no?”

You snort.

In hopes of saving time, he microwaves both of Hot Pockets at the same time. You silently bristle at the fact that even your dinner is getting more action than you are these days.

You and Yoongi eat together in his tiny living room, sitting on mismatched stools.

“How did your lesson go?” Yoongi says, more focused on eating than on you.

“Oh…” You set your Hot Pocket down, sighing in defeat. The image of Dr. Kim sitting behind the piano bench, her dissatisfaction like a noxious cloud. “I… I… got ripped apart. I’m a little behind with preparing for the Bach festival, but it doesn’t matter. Nothing I do or prepare will make me less stressed about it.” You slump onto the counter, recounting all the things you did wrong in your lesson today. I expected better.

“What’s the stress about? We still have over a month, right?” You’re suddenly jealous of Yoongi. His nonchalance, his seemingly constant reassurance that everything is going to be okay.

“I’m not worried about that… just, no matter how much I practice, I’m gonna fuck it up on stage.” Your forehead pinches in frustration.

“Are you that nervous?”

“I’ve always been this nervous. For any performance. I haven’t performed alone in a while… and you know. It’s Bach, and everyone expects me to do some amazing job, and it’s like, I don’t know if I can deliver that and-” Yoongi eases his hand on your shoulder, calm, reassuring. He looks concerned. Like he cares. Like a friend.

“When was the last time you played something just for the fun of it?”

“I don’t know, maybe my freshman year? I used to arrange themes from movies.”

“We should work on something together, just for fun. We’re such a perfect instrument combo, there’s so much repertoire for violin and piano.”

“What did you have in mind? Do you even have enough time for that?” (You know you don’t have enough time for that.)

“It doesn’t even have to be a difficult piece. It could be something easy or hard, I don’t care.” Yoongi ponders his next words over a bite of his food. “I… I... just want to see you less stressed out. And music should always be fun, not just for a grade. What kind of music would you be making if you weren’t happy?”

“I don’t know…”

“I know this one Brahms piece that I think you’d like. Totally fits your vibe. We can just work on it slowly, you know? Or we could arrange the Anpanman theme song, I don’t care.”

“I think I’m mostly good for the midterm, except for the composer dates,” Yoongi spins around in his office chair, dragging his feet on the ground.

“Me too,” You say, as you drink in the sight of his room. For someone who claims to abhor studying and all things academic, Yoongi appears to be quite the organized student. Despite the constant claim that his education is merely a necessary evil, he keeps his notes organized in uniform binders on a well-cared for bookshelf. The bookshelf is adjacent to the extremely detailed wall calendar, marked full with due dates and deadlines in pens of various colors.

He runs his fingers over the binders to locate the binder allocated to the species counterpoint class you’re taking together.

“I already have flashcards for everything before the Romantic Era, but I’m so fucked for everything else.”

“Why not just use Quizlet like everyone else?” You say. You eye his neatly made bed and the Kumamon stuffed animal shoved hastily underneath it.

“Back in my day, we used flashcards like cavemen,” Yoongi reasons, despite the fact that your birthdays are months within each other. “And besides, they feel better in your hand.” Of course, they’re indexed by color and musical era.

“Ugh, I hate sitting at my desk. My back is starting to hurt,” Yoongi says, despite having worked for about ten minutes. “Do you want to lay down?” He pats the fluffy comforter adjacent to him. Yoongi doesn’t wait for your response however, plopping down on the bed with an audible thump.

“Okay, old man,” You jibe, but you’ve also been sitting for a majority of the day. Your back is aching too, but you’ll never admit it to him.

Sometimes, at times like these, you wish you could just muster up the courage and stop playing this game of cat and mouse with him. When you lay on his sheets that smell like him, quizzing each other, you wonder what would happen if you confessed your feelings for him, right then and there.

Or outlined exactly how exactly you would take his cock in your mouth, given the chance. Other times, you consider the fact that he might like to play with his food before diving in. Whatever it was, it scared you, the unease climbing up your spine and staying put.

You wonder if he understands the implication of you so casually lounging on his bed, but then you realize that you likely don’t exist in the realm of romantic possibilities for him. He likely sees you as the nerdy, sexless violinist that spends all her time slaving away in the practice room or the library. That’s why you’re here, after all. To help study for the midterms coming up. “Being friends with him is better than nothing,” you tell yourself, but you can’t really bring yourself to believe it.

You don’t remember, or at least don’t care to, when Yoongi started touching every aspect of your life. It’s really only been a couple of weeks since the two of you started studying together. You don’t dare to imagine how much of your thoughts he would occupy if you continue your friendship into the coming months. If your crush of massive proportions was bad before, it’s truly out of hand now. It certainly didn’t help that he actually knew you existed now. He spammed you gifs of baby animals while he was on the way to class, texted you links to performances of pieces that he was working on. He even began to send you teasing texts on the mornings that he made it to the practice rooms before you.

Every experience you have is colored by thoughts of him. The coffee that you drink like ambrosia conjures up images of him sitting across from you in some far-off sunlit cafe, laughing at all your jokes. On the nights when sleep escapes you, you lay awake rehashing over and over what you had said to him on the previous day. You even fall into reveries when he’s sitting there right next to you.

It’s inescapable, especially with the Bach Festival looming over your head. The more time you spend in the practice room, the more you go back to that one fateful night. You can still see the image of him now, sitting before the piano, playing Chopsticks.

You both make your way through the fat deck of flashcards, Yoongi quizzing you first.

“J.S. Bach?” You note to yourself even the upswing in his voice was cute. How did you ever let yourself get so whipped?

“1685 to…” You falter, still stuck on his voice. Even his voice drives you crazy.

“Come on, you should know this.” He drives his point home by poking you in the side, and he likes the gasp that you make.

“1750.” Of course you know Bach’s birth and death dates by heart. You see it every time you open up your score. Even the scant prod he gave you in the side, over your clothes, is enough to make your skin heat up.

“And if you ever tickle me again, you won’t live long enough for midterms,” You threaten, but your harsh tone of voice doesn’t reach the light in your eyes.

“Brahms?”

“Ugh, fuck, I don’t know. 1832 to?”

“Wrong.” He sets the cards down next to him, looking at you in mock disappointment. In an instant, he attacks you with tickles, and your efforts to bat him away are fruitless.

“This-this is what you get for not knowing when Brahms was born! Learn through punishment! 1833 to 1897, remember that next time!!” He collapses on top of you, burying his face in your neck, unrelenting. Yoongi sounds almost gleeful in your torture.

You writhe under his touch, and for all the wrong reasons.

For the first time in your life, you’re almost glad you’re ticklish. Your eyes roll back into your head, not of your own accord. It’s too much, the soft skin of his cheek pressed up against your neck, the warm weight of his body against yours, the way his legs cage you in. A moan slips in between your helpless giggles, and Yoongi doesn’t miss it.

“Uhhh, what was that?” He doesn’t stop, merciless in his advance. “I didn’t know you liked tickling… like that.” He’s teasing you, now. He can’t hide his pleased grin.

Between gasps, you manage to pant, “I… don’t…”

“Then what? Tell me.” That’s when Yoongi relents, leaning back. He continues to straddle you, because he’s cruel like that. (And because he likes it too.)

“You’re just… ugh, I don’t know… so close.” In Yoongi’s eyes, you’re a study in debauchery. From your struggle, your hair is mussed, the hem of your shirt awry. Your cheeks are flushed, from embarrassment or from the tickling, you don’t know. Your chest frantically rises and falls, trying to regain your breath.

You, on the other hand, feel fucking ridiculous. Contrary to popular belief, being on the recieving end of tickling is fucking physically exhausting.

Yoongi is stuck on the hot and bothered look on your face, except for the hard look in your eye. You despise being tickled, even if it is Min Yoongi doing the tickling. He wonders what you’d look like if you were underneath him in… different circumstances.

Would it compare?

“I… I… I just…” You avert your gaze now, hiding your face behind your hands. You can’t stand to look at him right now.

“Spill it, or I’ll go back to tickling you until you break.” He grabs your hands away from your face, pinning them next to your head.

He really isn’t going to make this easy for you, is he.

This is overwhelming. The eye contact is too much. The weight of his hands on your wrists, holding you down, is too much. The way his panting breath tickles the skin beneath your collar is too much. You’ve had a bad day, the voice in the back of your head whispers. He makes you forget how awful this semester has been. He makes you feel better. Make this day easier on yourself. Just give in.

There’s no hiding it now, you concede.

You shut your eyes, unable to face him. “It’s just… been a while.”

“Uh-huh. Continue?” He places his hands back on your stomach, as if in warning.

“Since uhhhh… I’ve done… anything… with anyone…” Your words hang heavy in the air. Your secret is out.

He laughs. He really has the audacity to laugh.

“Shut up! I’m just like, touch starved, okay?” You’re definitely just blushing out of embarrassment, at this point.

Yoongi starts to ponder if he crossed too far of a line, but you continue anyway. You huff, indignant and desperate to cover your ass. This is not how you ever imagined telling Yoongi you were ever interested in him, sexual or not.

“Not everyone is like, the campus pussy magnet and gets to fuck whenever they want,” You say.

He rolls his eyes. “Okay, I’m not the campus pussy magnet. We’re... not so different. I haven’t been with anyone, um, in a while.” Now Yoongi takes his turn to blush and stutter. He does that thing he always does when he’s nervous, runs a hand through his hair and lets it rest on the nape of his neck.

“I find that hard to believe. No need to lie out of pity. Like, come on. Look at you. You’re all…” You gesture down his body, “And you have that whole vibe going on, and you’re tall, and you have good taste in cologne, and-and-and you play the piano , and ugh. You should know that by now.” You babble on. You’re not that good at keeping secrets, anyway. Might as well let the cat out of the bag while you’re at it.

Yoongi doesn’t say anything, but you’re not fazed. By now, you’re used to the long silences that elapse when you’re with him. You wait for him to talk first, just so you can discreetly enjoy the feeling of him straddling you for a little longer. You try to pass off the silence as you quietly fuming at him for calling out your lackluster sex life, but you’re really just trying get yourself together.

Then he starts laughing. Again.

“What are you laughing for now?” Your brow furrows in frustration.

“Nothing, nothing, don’t be mad. I just didn’t think that tickling would be a turn on for you.”

“It’s not!”

“To be completely honest with you, you look like one of those really innocent soft girls on the outside but you’re actually like, into choking and have a secret sex dungeon.” He doesn’t seem to care that you’ve all but revealed your massive, terminal crush on him.

You sigh, but you’re just glad he gave you something to fire back with.

“You and I both know that the university dorms are too small for a sex dungeon, Yoongi. I can’t even have candles in my room. What sex dungeon is complete without candles?”

“Oh, a devil in the details. The ambiance is important, I see…” That devious smile of his makes a comeback.

“Oh, shut up. Give me the flashcards, four-eyes.” He relinquishes the flashcards, but he still continues to straddle you.

“Woah, there’s no need to insult my glasses.”

You ignore him, desperate to move on from your momentary lapse in judgement. “Haydn?”

“1732 to 1809. What about music? Music must be important if you care about the ambiance. Answer my question.”

You laugh to cover up how worked up you are. “Maybe you can find out after we finish reviewing. Scarlatti?”

“1660 to 1725. What kind of music do you listen to? R&B, something sexy?” He sits up now, spurred on by your refusal to answer his questions.

“Or do you listen to classical music then, too? Does Chopin get your blood flowing?” He’s being insufferable now.

You groan into the pillow. “Yoongiii, let’s focus.”

“If it’s something like Liszt, I’m sure I have a couple recommendations.”

Yoongi sits up straighter, waggles his eyebrows in a way you definitely shouldn’t find endearing. “Or, I could record something for you…”

You snap. “Just, I don’t know, sometimes I listen to music?” Your attempts to stop the blushing are in vain, heat blooming across your cheeks and down your neck. It’s even harder to stop when it’s your embarrassingly short sexual history on the line.

“I prefer dirty talk anyways…” You murmur under your breath, wishing he could just get the fuck off your case. The more he keeps talking about things like this, in that tone of voice, the harder it’s going to get to keep your ever-growing crush a secret.

Still, some small part (let’s be honest, the monkey brain part of you) of you, the part of you that aches for him, wants to spur him on.

“What was that?”

“Nothing! Nothing.”

“Hmm… something about dirty talk?” Fuck, does Yoongi have a good ear. He smiles. He knows he’s gotten you now.

Okay, you should probably admit to yourself that he’s flirting with you now. The touches, the holding you down, the insistence on pushing this tiny matter, it all adds up. And the math says that Min Yoongi is flirting with you.

“Mmm, nothing.” You snuggle a little deeper into his bedsheets, playing coy.

“You know, like during sex? Don’t make me tickle you again, because I will stoop that low.”

“I don’t remember saying that…” You mock-pretend to ponder his question, catch your bottom lip between your teeth. Out of the corner of your eye, you can see his gaze fall downward. You know you’ve gotten him now.

“Can you refresh my memory?”

“Like… you know.” He shrugs.

“I’m an auditory learner. Do you have an example?”

“Hmm, let me think… I’ll tease you until you’re begging for me to touch you properly? Does that ring a bell for you?”

“No…” You bring your hands to your face to cover up your blush, and because you can’t stand to look at him. Not when he’s talking to you like that, with that look in his eye, his hands on your body. “It doesn’t…” You laugh, even beneath his weight.

He laughs. “I’m just teasing. You’re so cute when I get a rise out of you.”

Oh.

#armywriterssupport #btsgoldnet #yoongi smut #bts smut #yoongi fanfic #yoongi scenarios #bts fanfic #bts scenarios #bts #bts x reader

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silver-wield · 4 years

Note

Can you do an analysis on Cloud and Tifa’s body language during that scene when they’re in Cloud’s room and he’s slyly referring to his promise to Tifa? There was crazy sexual tension in that scene and it honestly looked like Cloud was subtly being flirty with her 😭

No probs, Nonny! I actually already touched on their body language in a reply to a gif set of this bit, so we'll just expand on that ^=^

Ok, spoiler warning for ppl who haven't played – do I still need to do this? Eh ok, (I tag FF7R spoilers as final fantasy 7 remake spoilers) and it's gonna be a VERY long one so prepare to scroll.

Also, this is one person's interpretation of the scene, so if you disagree that's cool and we'll agree to disagree.

You're also gonna have to excuse the janky quality on some of the screens, I'm grabbing them from Youtube and it's frustrating af trying to get the exact moment I want.

Other analyses if anyone's interested.

Shinra HQ vision scene (Cloti/plot analysis)

Chapter 3 (Cloti reblog)

Tifa character analysis

Aerith Resolution (plot analysis/theory – I should probably update this since I've had other ideas since then)

Train graveyard (not really an analysis, but I got some sweet screenshots of Cloti)

Clotiscrew tunnel analysis

Cloti reunion analysis

The Promise Analysis

Andrea's approval (Cloti ask response)

Leslie analysis (not mine, but a good read)

Cloti action touching

Aerti friendship analysis

Now, strap in and enjoy the ride.

Keep reading

Recap time! Yall know the drill by now if you've read my other ramblings.

Chapter 3, where we get a room (lol), do some jobs and have a chat with Tifa. It's pretty basic stuff until the cut scene after Marle gives Cloud a talking to. She's the overprotective grandmother figure that Tifa needs in her life and she wants to make sure Cloud isn't messing with her. Now, why would she think that? Well, maybe she picked up some hints when Tifa mentioned Cloud to her about wanting a place to stay? Marle's pretty sharp, after all, and if she got the impression Tifa is carrying a torch, she'd definitely make sure Cloud's not about to blow it out. She tells him to pay attention to her, to listen. This is the very first instance of Cloud taking in that kind of info and it changes how he treats others for the rest of the game.

After the chapter 4 mission where Cloud reflects on his promise to Tifa, it's back to the slums for some rest. Then Tifa knocks on his door and enters. She mentions Cloud was gone for a while, and he answers he was walking so that he keeps Jessie's secret – because he's that kind of guy.

Small talking Tifa is cute, but lol, Cloud seems to have purposely forgotten Johnny since he's yet another admirer of Tifa. For a guy who doesn't forget info like morons who could cause them trouble in the long run, it's pretty telling how quickly he is to dismiss Johnny.

Onto something more interesting in this pic, though. Cloud is sitting on the bed. Now, if he wasn't comfortable around Tifa he'd have got up. His eyeline is lower than hers so he has to look up at her. This puts her in a position of dominance over him – also not surprising since his mentality is that of a 16yr old around her and she's the adult in the relationship. Tifa for her part has her body turned to the side in a non-confrontational pose.

Tifa has her hands clasped in front of herself (couple of seconds before this screen) which indicates she's trying to protect herself as she asks the question if Cloud is leaving Midgar. Not surprising since she's afraid of losing people she cares about and even just someone heading off somewhere else would upset her, though she'd try not to show it.

Cloud, for his part, looks away, appearing as though he's thinking it over, but we're already aware he's decided to stay and help Tifa out, so this is a fake out on his part. He's half-teasing, half trying to get a positive response from her (remember the water tower? Yeah, this is that Cloud. The dork. The one who is useless at talking to girls).

I'm sorry, but Cloud is such a cheeky bastard I just can't with him! This is giving me all the throwbacks to his behaviour at the water tower and I love that it mirrors that moment, but with more success on his part this time. He's looking all around trying not to give himself away before it's needed. He's smiling and looks relaxed. He might be sitting but he definitely believes he has the upper hand between them at this point. Remember, I've said before that eye contact is important. Well, in this case, Cloud's deliberate refusal to make eye contact shows he's teasing. This is such a cute moment between them!

Oh ho! But here's where his teasing ends. Cloud is being completely serious and obviously took the promise between them as being special. Ducking his head out of sight completely prevents us from seeing his expression and allows him to act in a casual way about something that's such an important part of who he became. But, he's not quite pulling it off because he's also looking quite defensive in this pose. His hands are clasped in front of him and he's leaning forward, looking at the floor. This is something very meaningful for him to talk about and he's hoping Tifa doesn't brush it off, so if he doesn't look at her he won't have to see her reaction.

Tifa's obviously got her own interpretation of how that promise went. We can guess she did it because she just wanted a guarantee she'd see Cloud again some day from how she acted during the water tower cut scene. Here, she's leaning back on her hands which leaves her body language open, but also conceals something. She's looking down, the same way Cloud did. She's also hiding her true feelings towards Cloud the same way he's hiding from her, but she's being as honest as she can be as the same time. I've seen people call Tifa a liar because of how she doesn't address Cloud's memory problems in OG, but when you really take a close look at her, lying just isn't her. This is a complex moment between them. They've not long met again and they're having this heavy conversation. The feelings between them are still there, but there's all this other stuff that's more important. But, they know they're friends, and that's a good place to start getting to know each other again, and Cloud choosing to stay is that first step, with the quick follow up of him reminding her of their shared history.

Cloud, you smooth bastard I love you for this! This is definitely flirting! He's looking directly at her, then dips his head to the side in an inviting gesture. His eyes soften and he gets this tiny smile on his face. His body language has changed, too. He's sitting up and back slightly with both arms by his sides. There's no more defensiveness about him. He wants to listen to her. Cloud is choosing to ask for Tifa's confidence. He's letting her know she can rely on him. That he's interested.

For her part, Tifa's pleased, but surprised. She's not long got back in touch with Cloud and, while he's been a decent guy, she's had the overall impression he isn't the same as the soft boi she knew, so this is a revelation for her. The Cloud she knew is still within this Cloud – which anyone who knows the real!Cloud SOLDIER!Cloud storyline is exactly the point of this moment. Tifa knows his true self. The true self that comes out only when he's with her.

Cloud, bro, I'm gonna combust from all these flirty gestures! Fully open body language, a smile, teasing tone. Goddamnit, just say you love her already! Yes, please, invite Tifa to check you out. Remember, he's still sitting. He's so relaxed and natural around her. Even if all you saw was two friends and no ship, you'd be insane to think he isn't a different person in this scene. He's not SOLDIER Cloud here.

Tifa, for her part, isn't flirting here. She likes Cloud, that's clear, and her body language is reaching towards him, which suggests she has feelings towards him, but her tone is more playful and her expression is pleased. She's happy to see her friend isn't too different from the one she knows. Most of the flirting in this scene is on Cloud's side, which makes sense when you think of the torch he's been carrying for her. He's trying to get her attention, same way he did when they were kids. Tifa's oblivious but receptive because she likes him back, but she won't show it as much because she thinks he's not interested. Someone knock their heads together please lol

OMG FUCKING HELL CLOUD JUST TELL HER YOU LOVE HER! Leaning back on the bed, totally vulnerable body language, drawing attention to the bod in an attempt to spark her interest – since he's clearly interpreted this line from Tifa as a rejection – this boi is trying so hard! He even looks a little disappointed she's not more impressed with SOLDIER Cloud, but we knew she preferred the dork anyway lol

Now, I know everyone talks about the physical and emotional distance between them here, which is obvious, but what I'm gonna point out is after feeling like SOLDER Cloud has been rejected by Tifa – thanks to her preference for the real deal – Cloud looks away from her. She's brushed him off and he's hiding his upset by not meeting her eyes.

Tifa is still oblivious to this, but Cloud definitely has a look of disappointment on his face.

Now, after that last bit you'd think Cloud would assume he's got no chance, but then Tifa says how glad she is to have him back and that cheers him up. He's still in that mindset of a 16yr old with a crush, whereas Tifa's moved on. She's had 5 years apart from him (she thinks it's 7, I know, but he saw her in Nibelheim and how she'd matured a little). She's not thinking of him in an openly romantic sense, whereas Cloud is definitely still deep in his feelings for her. Hearing she's happy to see him hints to him that he might still have a chance with her if they spend more time together. His soft af goodnight is the last indicator of his strong feelings for her. His body language is open once more, he's staring after her with a longing look and a smile and doesn't look away until the door closes.

Conclusion

JUST GET FUCKING MARRIED ALREADY IT'S BEEN 23 YEARS!

Lol seriously though, Cloud is definitely still deep in the throes of his childhood crush. Tifa could resurrect hers with time because it's clear she does still harbour feelings for him, but she's not the type to be pushy or insistent. She'll let Cloud take the lead and offer subtle hints how she feels, hoping he feels the same. She doesn't pick up on Cloud's subtle flirting compared to those more in your face things he tried earlier. Through all of those interactions with her he's definitely trying to say that he likes her and he'd like her to accept his feelings, but the bigger gestures get the brush off, although she blushes and looks shy, and the smaller ones go over her head.

Unfortunately, these two are oblivious af and it's gonna take everyone's help to get them together.

#final fantasy 7 remake spoilers #final fantasy 7 remake analysis #cloti #cloud strife #tifa lockheart #seriously #just kiss already

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shellygurumi · 4 years

Text

It’s time again for “Michelle talks about Tine and Sarawat.”

Today’s subject: kisses.

I haven’t really seen The Discourse™ on this subject, but I’ve seen enough commentary while tag stalking to be aware of it. And since my meta/analysis posts have been getting a lot of attention lately, I kinda just wanted to share my thoughts on the subject.

I don’t mind that they haven’t shown a whole bunch of kissing and make out stuff between Tine and Sarawat. That being said, we have seen a lot of cute cheek kisses. They are clearly intimate with one another, happily touching one another and being physically close. The few times Sarawat went in to kiss Tine just before they got interrupted, Tine was leaning in to kiss Wat, too.

They are definitely regularly kissing one another in their private, intimate moments. We aren’t being shown that, because this particular style of BL drama doesn’t focus on the kissing in that way. The fact that episodes were dropping simultaneously with Why R U probably led to comparisons between the two. Why R U was being made by a different company and had a different rating, so it’s not surprising they have different kinds of content.

All of that being said, I would be happy to see Tine and Wat share a kiss. I think it’s going to be a lot more like Dark Blue Kiss, where Pete and Kao have been in a relationship for a very long time and we know they must kiss on the regular, but it wasn’t a main point of the plot to show that regularly. But when they finally did kiss during the anniversary scene, it was like, a big deal. To me, personally, it was a big deal because Kao and Pete were going through a tough time and this was a lovely reminder of how much they loved and cared for each other. It was nicely done.

With Tine and Wat, we have technically seen three kisses, though one was imagined. But Tine didn’t really kiss back in them. He was more just stunned at the time. So what I want to see is Tine closing his eyes and leaning in and smiling as he kisses Sarawat.

I don’t want to see this because I’m obsessed with watching boys kiss in shows. I want to see it because I love their romance, along with their friendship, and I just want to see this other aspect of them being in love. It’s another layer, you know? They’re already affectionate and intimate and have chemistry and are full of joy when they are happy together. I don’t have some need to see them get hot and heavy in bed. Their story is perfect with or without that.

I’m not siding with either end of the argument, because like I said, I haven’t actually seen any of the conversations, just bits and pieces of commentary on the conversation. I feel like I’m somewhere in the middle, and I’m probably not the only one. I would like to see just one sweet, romantic kiss between them because I know they’re in love and however the scene goes down, I’m sure it’ll make my fluff-loving heart happy. If we get more than that, I’ll be happy too. But if we never see them making out hot and heavy in bed, I’m also fine.

There’s a difference between "they need to show us” and “I would like to see.” Every show has a different feel and tone to it. Some are cuter and sweeter, some are hotter and heavier. Some are a mix of the two. Each person has different tastes when it comes to what kind of romance show they want to consume and enjoy consuming. Whatever you like to watch is totally valid, and just a matter of opinion. That’s why there are so many different kinds of romance shows, which, honestly, makes my queer heart so happy. Cause I didn’t get to grow up watching fluffy gay romance in a wide variety of genres. It was pretty much one of two choices: sex heavy or tragedy. All I wanted was to see two people fall in love that happened to be the same gender. I wanted gay romcoms. I wanted pointless fluff. I wanted gay “chick flicks.”

So yeah. What I want, is I want to see Tine close his eyes and kiss Sarawat and both of them to smile at one another. I just want a contrast to the scenes where Sarawat kisses Tine, who has his eyes wide open in shock. That’s it. That’s all I want. And if you want that too, it’s alright to say so.

#2gether #2gether the series #tinewat #wattine #sarawattine #tinesarawat #sarawat x tine #tine x sarawat #2gether meta

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faroreswinds · 4 years

Text

Data Mining Activities & Quotes Analysis: Sylvain

As per what I said before, I want to look deeper into data mining for funsies and just see what I can spot.

Today’s character is: Sylvain!

As a little disclaimer, I won’t be doing all his quotes because that’s a LOT! Instead, I’m just going to focus on stuff I think is interesting to look at, like particular classroom questions, or his lost items, or whatever. One day, I’ll probably get into the chapters individually but today is just to focus on one character. I’ll also update this as I find more stuff, as a small heads-up. If you find something that I missed, feel free to let me know and I’ll update the post as well.

Ok, so let’s get into it!

Check out more from this series of analysis here. They will be updated over time.

Basics- Battle

Most of the battle quotes aren’t interesting, and the data mining does not include the voiced lines without text so I had to turn to the wiki page. That said, there were a few Post Time Skip Defeat the Enemy quotes he says I find particularly interesting:

"Don't bother haunting me."

"Burn until we meet again."

Based on Annette’s support with Claude, we know the Kingdom has a particularly interesting view on the afterlife. I won’t go into the details here- instead, I will be making a Kingdom focused page for all things cultural that will cover it- but the talk of “burning” and “haunting” go along with their beliefs.

Not to mention, it is very, very dark. And Sylvain, despite his carefree attitude, has got a dark and gritty view of life. He’s smiling on the outside, but he will have no qualms with taking you down.

Basics- Cooking and Choir

Sylvain just has no interest in either of these things, as per his quotes:

Cooking Together

Part I: Cooking... Cooking... Heh. Well, it'll all work out somehow...maybe.

Part II: If you just follow the recipe, most things will come out fine. I think.

Choir Practice

It's hard to sneak out when the professor is watching.

Share a Meal- Dining Dialogue

Sylvain only has two people he has quotes with during meal time: Ingrid and Dimitri. Surprisingly, not Felix, despite having an ending with him and not an ending with Dimitri. His quotes with Ingrid are just cute, but I think his quotes with Dimitri have some nice little insights:

Support C

Sylvain: You know what, Professor? His Highness here is the most stubborn guy I know.

Dimitri: Now, Sylvain, why not go ahead and eat? If you do not, I may help myself to it.

Support B

Sylvain: By the way, how delicious are the monastery meals, right? We sure don't eat like this back in the Kingdom.

Dimitri: I agree. If we could only grow more food on our poor soil, and in the severe winter of the north...

Sylvain has a lot of quotes, including from FEH and from his support with Dimitri, that pertain to wanting Dimitri to relax (and that he’s too stubborn to). This goes hand in hand with the relationship chart that came out from Nintendo Dream some time back:

I wish I could link this picture to the original translator, but I don’t know who did it. But as you can see, Sylvain wants Dimitri to relax.

The quotes from support B gives some insight into the Kingdom, about how they just don’t eat like they do at the monastery because the winter of the north is so severe and it’s hard to grow food.

Sylvain’s default responses aren’t particularly interesting, except for:

Neutral: I realized it after I got to the monastery—nobody in Faerghus knows how to cook.

Basically saying that the food at the monastery is particularly good. This goes well with Faerghus having poor yields of food in general.

Share a Meal- Favorite/ Least Favorite Foods

Sylvain seems to have a pension for fish, as based on his favorite foods. Nearly every dish he loves is fish based, except for one with is a meal for two dish (obviously a philandering thing), a few white meat dishes, and the Sweet Bun Trio, which is a Faerghus sweet. Except for the Sweet Bun Trio, all his favorites have meat, which makes sense because colder climates tends to lend to meat dishes to maintain the calories needed to maintain body heat. The dishes with fish include Teutates Loach (a fish from the Kingdom), White Trout, Airmid Pike, and Albinean Herring.

He has few dishes he doesn’t like, which all happen to be seafood based except for one. The fish meals are not described as particularly tasty, or they are extremely simple without much preparation. The only non-fish meal he doesn’t like is the Beast Meat Teppenyaki, which is described to have a wilderness taste- and he probably doesn’t like it due to history he may have with his brother.

Interestingly, he doesn’t seem to have an interest in Gautier Cheese Gratin, which has cheese from his region.

Gifts and Lost Items

Sylvain, of course, does have some items/like certain gifts that pertain to the philanderer in him. These include:

Gift: Dapper Handkerchief- A handkerchief adorned with refined embroidery. Appreciated by fashionable men .

Lost Item: Unused Lipstick- Lipstick that would make an ideal gift for a young lady. It probably belongs to someone who likes wooing women.

Lost Item: Crumpled Love Letter- A carelessly discarded love letter. It probably belongs to someone with a complicated love life.

Sylvain clearly takes an interest in fashion, as well as his womanizing ways leaking into his lost items. We can see his casual nature when it comes to wooing the girls with the fact that the lost letter is “carelessly discarded”.

But the rest of the gifts/ lost items paint Sylvain’s other side:

Gift: Landscape Painting- A landscape painting of magnificent Lake Teutates in the clearing fog. Appreciated by those who enjoy nature or art.

Gift: Board Game- A fun activity in which players compete using stones on a board. Appreciated by those who enjoy tactical thinking.

Lost Item: The History of Sreng- A book recording the history of the Sreng people. It probably belongs to someone who has ties to Sreng.

Despite his carefree side, many of us know that Sylvain is actually incredibly smart and takes an interest in making positive changes and taking his job seriously. The board game shows he enjoys tactical thinking, and his lost item, the History of Sreng, shows he is taking an interest in local politics and is keen to learn. As for the Landscape Painting, we can see that Sylvain enjoys art (as you will see later), and that he’s not all about women and lazing about.

As for his disliked gifts:

Gift: Book of Crest Designs- A book containing the designs of 21 identified Crests. Appreciated by those who enjoy studying Crests.

Gift: Watering Can- A tool used for watering plants. Appreciated by those who enjoy gardening.

Gift: Floral Adornment- Flowers cut short so they can be worn decoratively. Appreciated by most ladies and those who like gardening.

Obviously, thanks to Sylvain’s history, disliking Crest-related gifts is no surprise. However, he also doesn’t seem to have an interesting in gardening, as he is not keen on the gardening-related gifts.

Classroom- Instruct

Sylvain has three study requests:

You know, jousting is a popular sport in Faerghus. The ladies love a guy who can joust. Speaking of... Let's polish up my riding and lance skills.

The best way to impress people is to save them by diving into harm's way. That's what a Great Knight does, yeah? So let's focus on my axe and heavy armor skills.

I want to study reason and faith. What, surprised? Hey, I may be rough around the edges, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate a little magic!

We learn a few things from these:

Jousting is popular in Faerghus. Makes sense for a knight-based nation.

Sylvain seemingly wants to impress people by diving in harm’s way. But based on his general attitude, I think he really actually wants to just protect people and is pretending it’s all about the ladies.

Sylvain wants to learn magic, both faith and reason.

He also does not liked to be consoled- he wants critique to improve himself.

Critique

Part I & Part II: I'll have to do better next time.

Console

Part I & Part II: OK. You can stop it.

Classroom- Questions and Answers

Sylvain has two questions he can ask in the classroom:

This is from the academy phase, and we can see that Sylvain prefers it if you tell him to basically play hard to get. There are some interesting things regarding Ingrid’s dislike here, but this is about Sylvain... and apparently, he doesn’t want to change and doesn’t like it if you tell him to clean up his act. (Ingrid likes it, though).

This one is from part two. Of course, it pertains to the war, and how depressing it is, and wants something to do to feel a bit better. Funnily enough, the other infamous nobles Ferdinand and Lorenz join him for this one! We can see they all have different tastes, but Sylvain is not interested in a cup of tea, but would rather ask out a girl. He’s not against talking a walk though, but no one seems to actually like it either.

There are other questions that Sylvain joins in on, but I will add those when I eventually get to them. For now, I will just start with these two and update later.

Group Tasks

Similar to the dining dialogue, Sylvain only has quotes with Dimitri and Ingrid, and not Felix despite having an ending with him. That said, Sylvain has more dialogue with Ingrid than Dimitri, so we will start with Dimitri first:

Stable Duty & Sky Watch

Support C

Sylvain: So, Your Highness, you're gonna keep the scolding to a minimum, yeah?

Dimitri: Why are you assuming you will be scolded? All you need to do is take things seriously.

Support B

Dimitri: Hey, Sylvain. I would like your help for today's work.

Sylvain: Heh, so you've finally learned you can't do everything yourself?

Results

Support C - Good

Sylvain: Professor... It's... It's finally over...

Dimitri: You are quick to tire out, Sylvain. You should consider building your stamina.

Support C - Perfect

Dimitri: Professor, the work is now complete. Sylvain did his job as well.

Sylvain: Was getting yelled at my job? Because, yeah. I did that.

Support B - Good

Sylvain: The result was fine... Though I thought we could have aimed even higher.

Dimitri: Agreed. Let's come up with a better plan next time.

Support B - Perfect

Sylvain: Professor, don't you think we did pretty well? His Highness here did most of it.

Dimitri: No, it was not all my doing. We made it thanks to your help, Sylvain.

These occur only when you pair them for stable duty and sky watch, which would be both activities the pair would find common interests in due to their personal budding talents and canon classes. We can see that Dimitri wants Sylvain to take things seriously, and Sylvain takes a more playful approach. Sylvain will also comment on Dimitri learning to not shoulder everything on his own, calling back a bit to Sylvain’s concern over Dimitri not being able to relax.

Sylvain seems to be annoyed early on at Dimitri’s constant scolding, but this changes when their support improves, the two of them praising each other and hoping to improve together.

Now for Ingrid:

Stable Duty & Sky Watch

Support C

Sylvain: Ugh, I'm with Ingrid? I'm not gonna get away with anything.

Ingrid: Stop messing around and get moving. You don't work, you don't eat.

Support B

Sylvain: Hey, Ingrid, this kind of work is definitely your thing, and I've got some urgent business, so...

Ingrid: I can't finish this all alone. Try to be helpful sometimes, Sylvain.

Support A

Sylvain: Me and Ingrid? Hm, I guess I'll get to work.

Ingrid: Well now, a rare and welcome proclamation. You're a real sight to behold when you try to be.

Weeding

Sylvain: Weeds have it tough. They sprout then get ripped right out of the ground. I'll do my best to be gentle.

Ingrid: Are you seriously trying to seduce a weed? Unbelievable.

Sylvain: What? No! Come on. I was just talking to myself.

Clearing Rubble

Sylvain: If I had to clear this out by myself, I think even I would get depressed...

Ingrid: Fine, fine, I'm not going to leave it all for you.

Sylvain: Let's do it quick though...before I change my mind. I'll grab the heavy-looking chunks. You get the rest.

Results

Support C - Good

Ingrid: Ah, seems we've finally finished.

Sylvain: That's it! I'm done! No more work for me, especially not with her...not in a million years.

Support C - Perfect

Sylvain: Hey, we did pretty well. All because I really went for it, of course.

Ingrid: You're a glib one, aren't you, Sylvain? I did the bulk of the work here, you know...

Support B - Good

Sylvain: I wouldn't call it a rousing success, but it went OK, all things considered. Right?

Ingrid: Well, it went OK once I rolled up my sleeves and helped you.

Support B - Perfect

Sylvain: Heh... How's that, Professor? If ya ask me, I think we did pretty well.

Ingrid: Yes, Sylvain put his back into it for once. Next thing we know, pigs will be taking to the air.

Support A - Good

Sylvain: I don't want to complain since we did OK and all, but that could have gone a lot better.

Ingrid: I think so too... Next time, I'll try even harder.

Support A - Perfect

Ingrid: Professor, here's the report. Perfect, don't you think?

Sylvain: Ingrid and I go way back. If we couldn't manage to cooperate, then what would that say about us?

Sylvain and Ingrid have dialogue no matter what they do. We can see, especially in the stable and sky watch, that at first they don’t really get along. Sylvain is tired of Ingrid’s pestering and Ingrid is tired of Sylvain being lazy. But as their support goes up, we see that they get along better. Ingrid starts praising Sylvain, and Sylvain starts putting more effort in.

Sylvain also seems to be a bit melancholy about the weeds, noting that they start to take life before someone takes takes it away from them.

Finally, just some fun default stuff.

Uses keigo when speaking to

Byleth, Edelgard, Dimitri, Seteth, Hanneman, Manuela, Gilbert, Alois, Catherine, Shamir, Jeralt, Rhea, Jeritza, Anna

Spoken to with keigo by

Bernadetta, Dorothea, Petra, Ashe, Ignatz, Lysithea, Marianne, Flayn, Constance

“Keigo” is polite speech, used when addressing people who are in a station in life above you, whether in title or simply out of respect. For instance, he uses keigo for those who are older than him and teachers, like Manuela and Hanneman, and for those who are in higher stations, like Dimitri or Edelgard.

Those who speak keigo to him consider him of higher status, or someone worthy of respect. Looking at this list, I would say status.

Tea Party- Favorite Tea

The Tea Party is a pretty big section, so I won’t cover everything but I’ll try to touch on what seems important. Feel free to let me know if you notice more!

Anyways, Sylvain seems to have a pension for black teas, although not all black teas listed in the game. He prefers Bergamot Tea (commonly known as Earl Grey) which is popular among nobles (he shares this like with Edelgard, Lorenz, Hanneman, Constance, and Anna, most of whom are nobles, and in particular are nobles with particular taste) and Seiros Tea, another black tea that is actually from south Almyra, interestingly enough! He shares this like with Ferdinand, Lorenz, Ignatz, Yuri, and Anna. Both of these teas have a three star rarity- not the cheapest tea in the list, but not terribly rare either.

He will note that the tea is expensive if you give him an expensive tea, and perhaps seems a bit uncomfortable with you going out of your way.

This tea must have been expensive. I'm sorry if I made you go out of your way.

Tea Party- Talk

Sylvain has a number of quotes from talking, although most of them aren’t too terribly interesting. However, some have some great insight:

Is something wrong with my face? A bruise on my cheek? Heh... Nah, Professor. Everything's fine.

Everyone has their own reason to fight. At least I'm honest about mine.

Opera, art, literature, I love 'em. They always give you something to talk about.

Sometimes, I'm surprised how warm the monastery is. I wish my parents' home was like this.

Sylvain is an interesting guy because in some ways, he’s not honest and in others, he is. For instance, he insists that you do not worry about his injury. Don’t worry about him. He’s not being honest about any pain he has- this includes his distastes for a lot of women chasing him despite his philandering. However, he is honest in others in his world views. He’s a lot like Dimitri when it comes to trying to see the other side, as seen in “everyone has their own reason to fight”. This is displayed in his other quotes throughout the game too, although we won’t be touching on those.

As as per the gift of art he likes, we can see here that he’s actually very much into culture and art. He likes them, and likes to talk about them.

And finally, some insight into his family. Sylvain’s relationship with his father is complex (as per the Blue Lion tradition) and here we can see that he doesn’t view his family home as warm- both perhaps literally in that it’s a cold climate, and figuratively.

I won’t be going over the like options because there are too many, but I will take note of a few options that make him blush:

Working together...

The opera...

Cute monks...

Some insight things into Sylvain. Obviously, as he likes the opera, the topic of it will be among his favorite. Sylvain likes people working together (although he himself is a bit of a loner, he wants people to work together and talk things through like Dimitri does) and finally, the cute monks...

I’m taking special note of that because in English, traditionally monks are male. However, the game seems to use monks for both men and women (monks in Greek can be used for both), and the Japanese word used instead is 修道士. Someone with superior Japanese can correct me, but it would seem that this is a masculine word, used for men, especially when using the kanji 士, which means “gentlemen” or “samurai”.

However, as stated before, the game uses monk for both men and women. I checked the files and even the female monks use 修道士. So, while people claim this is proof he is bi, I would not call it a strong indicator personally (At this time I still think he has a thing for Felix, don’t get me wrong).

Advice Box

Part I

I wonder if I'll ever find a partner who understands I don't mean any harm when I flirt with others. Does someone like that really exist?

You're bound to meet someone open-minded someday.

That's a dream that will never come true.

Have you considered giving up on flirting?

I'm hesitant to invite a girl to my room in the middle of the night with You Know Who living right next door. I'm terrified of the scolding I'd get the next day.

Maybe I'll rethink the room assignments.

It makes sense that she would be angry with you.

Perhaps it's time you and I discussed your behavior.

Part II

I'm weary from this ceaseless fighting. I wonder if I'll ever meet a kind, beautiful young lady who can cure my hardened heart.

You will one day. I'm sure of it.

Save the dreams for when you're sleeping.

A woman like that wouldn't go for you.

All we do is battle. The fighting never stops, and it's turning everyone's disposition dour. Even the ladies! We should throw a banquet to lift everyone's spirit.

Good idea. I'll see what I can do.

It's too soon to let down our guard.

How selfless of you.

Part I notes aren’t too interesting, other than that Sylvain is worried about Dimitri (his neighbor in dorms) hearing his rendezvous with the ladies and getting a scolding.

Part II is more interesting. Sylvain’s second note is about lifting up everyone’s spirits regarding the war, and that throwing a banquet might help make everyone feel better. He prefers if Byleth agrees and will start to make arrangements, rather than getting praise for his selflessness.

And for now, that’s all! I will update as I go, but for now I hope you enjoyed this!

Suggestions and new info welcome.

#Sylvain data mining #data mining #3H data mining

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readingsbylibramc · 3 years

Text

synastry chart reading for @ladyestrella

hello! welcome to your reading. I'm going to give you a quick overview of what I'm going to analyze about your synastry chart: in-depth analysis of house overlays with major aspects, potential of the relationship, soulmates indicators, possible marriage indicators, possible issues and struggles of the relationship, intimacy and physical attraction, what they feel when they see / think about you, in-depth analysis of fate, love and marriage asteroids. of course, if you have any questions, feel free to ask! my dms are always open. now let's get into the reading!

PARTNER A: she/her | aquarius sun, leo moon, pisces rising

PARTNER B: he/him | pisces sun, aquarius moon, pisces rising

PARTNER A

- personal planets -

🌞 partner a's aquarius sun in his 11th house

this could be the type of relationship that started off as a friendship, or at least that feels like a friendship. you and your partner don't focus on doing cheesy, romantic couple stuff, but you also enjoy having fun together like two friends. you may attend parties and events together, you may go out with your friends and get along with each other's friends pretty well. you may socialize more as a couple, perhaps even more than you two usually do. this placement can also indicate that you two met thanks to your friends for example, or maybe online, or even at some sort of social gathering like a party, a concert, etc. basically, a place crowded with people. the 11th house is also about long-term goals, and hence your partner may see you as a dream, as something he wants to last. you two may have a long-term, stable relationship, you both want this relationship to work and to last as much as possible. in addition, this placement may also motivate both of you to achieve the best in life, you may drive each other to be successful and achieve your goals, or perhaps one of them may even be of help to the other to get a reputation, a job, etc.

partner a's aquarius sun conjunct partner b's aquarius neptune: I would say that this placement isn't too bad, but not great either. first of all, neptune is a karmic planet, therefore we're certainly talking about a soulmate connection here. you two are probably very spiritually connected, you just get each other, and you probably feel a level of comfort when you're with the other that almost feels too good to be true. you see your crush as a dream, he totally fits your ideal of partner, your standards. in fact, you may often find yourself daydreaming about him and vice versa, it is a very sweet and romantic placement that makes it seem as if you're living in a fairy tale. you are both very intuitive, you're able to easily understand whether the other is happy, sad, angry... I feel like, with proper communication (which I assume this couple has), this aspect can be way more positive than negative. the negative side of this conjunction is that you may fantasize and idealize each other too much, you may create a version of your partner that only exists in your head. because of that, you may not acknowlege his mistakes, you may constantly blame yourself instead of him and vice versa. but again, your chart mostly has positive aspects, so I don't think these bad effects are much prominent in your relationship. now that you're aware of this issue, you can also try to solve it after all.

🌙 partner a's leo moon in his 6th house

this placement is also kind of neutral. in fact, the 6th house isn't really a romantic house, but with the moon here I think it can bring some lovely aspects as well. the moon is all about feelings and emotions, while the 6th house is the house of health and routine. that means that in your day-to-day life, you could be very affectionate with each other. you may be into physical contact and cuddling, and you may basically be sweet with each other on a daily basis. you feel extremely comfortable with each other, you feel at home when you're together, and hence you can both be yourselves with the other, you don't have to worry about being judged or misunderstood. you're also both very considerate of each other's health, both physical and mental. for instance, you could try to protect each other from eventual dangers, and if one of you actually gets sick, then the other is ready to take care of them. you could also be very considerate about each other's mental health, and combined with your heavy neptune influence that makes you two very intuitive, you may often psychoanalyze each other. in the worst case, you may feel as if you needed to 'serve' your partner, you could become very accommodating because of him. as a result, your partner could possibly take advantage of your kindness, but this is quite of a stretch of course. your chart is mostly positive, so I wouldn't mind that much about it, but I'd still keep my eyes open if I were in you.

partner a's leo moon opposite partner b's aquarius moon: you two are same and different at the same time. you may understand each other's feelings, ideals, emotions... you may even share them in a certain sense, you see eye to eye on a variety of topics, but you may still find yourselves bickering each other, there could still be some misunderstandings between you two or even disagreements. especially since this opposition happens on the proud line of leo - aquarius, you two may get particularly irritated when someone tries to contradict you, and hence this could be a cause of conflict in your relationship. try to be more open to each other's opinions and points of view, and if you don't share them try at least to understand them. communication is key to get along, force yourselves to discuss more and argue less if you truly care about the health of this connection.

🗣 partner a's aquarius mercury in his 12th house

this placement makes you extremely empathetic in regards of your partner. you probably can tell what’s going on in his mind pretty well, you may complete his phrases, you may basically read his mind. you know when he’s happy, when he’s sad, when he’s angry, when he’s lying... he’s an open book to you, he can’t hide. perhaps, you may even make dreams about him and viceversa. you could often find yourself daydreaming about this person as well. on the other hand, there are a few problems caused by this placement as well, we’re still talking about the 12th house after all. first of all, your partner is a pisces dominant: he’s lonely, secretive, private... he doesn’t like showing his real nature to others, he feels uncomfortable revealing all of his secrets, his mind. having someone that understands him so deeply, while it can impress him in some way, you may catch his attention, but at the same time he may as well be annoyed by it. he may start feeling overwhelmed from this lack of privacy, he may want to run away as this relationship could start being unhealthy, especially for him. or perhaps, he may actually be looking for a relationship of this kind, an intense, transformative relationship, therefore he may actually appreciate it, but it depends on what he wants from a partner. his pisces venus makes me think that he would feel at ease with such a strong connection, but again, it all depends on his personal preference. last but not least, this placement can also make the two of you quite paranoid; your partner may often feel as if you’re hiding something from him, and that could interfer in your bond of course.

partner a's aquarius mercury conjunct partner b's aquarius jupiter: this placement is extremely positive, especially in your chart! you two need to communicate to sort out your misunderstandings and disagreements, and thanks to this aspect you two are able to have a decent conversation. when you discuss with the other, you are able to broaden your horizons and learn about new points of view, of theories... you can become very open-minded together, you may help each other discovering new ideals and opinions. you could talk a lot, perhaps even through texts, communication surely isn't lacking between you two. it's a very encouraging and non-judgemental relationship, you're able to talk about literally anything without being laughed at. in addition, jupiter also brings lots of fun to your talks; you may often make jokes and laugh together, you're able to have light-hearted conversation that brighten up the mood of both of you. together with your sun in the 11th house, you may even come off as a couple of friends rather than a couple of lovers.

❤️ partner a's sagittarius venus in his 10th hous

with this overlay, there's lots of admiration from both parties. more specifically your partner probably looks up to you, he agrees with your ideas and he's fascinated by your drive. he may be very attracted to your looks, to the way you treat people, to the way you present yourself, he may even see you as superior to him in a certain sense. with this placement, if you and your partner get together he'll surely treat you like a living goddess!! this admiration is obviously mutual, you're also attracted to your partner, you may see him as a stable point, a safe spot. of course, since the 10th house is also the house of career and work, this relationship could also be beneficial for each other's jobs and goals. you are probably very emotionally supportive of each other's dreams, or perhaps you may even help each other in a more concrete way. overall, you may appear as the perfect couple when you're together; you're probably not afraid of pda, and hence you may have lots of eyes on you. luckily, though, I don't see you attracting much jealousy or any kind of malicious feeling.

partner a's sagittarius venus sextile partner b's aquarius moon: this placement is absolutely lovely! you two are probably very romantic individuals, and if you're not, you're at least able to bring the romance out of each other. you are very affectionate, you may enjoy physical contact and cuddling, you probably express your love for each other through gestures. comfort and ease just flow easily between you two, it's a very powerful aspect that makes you two love each other's company. you could be the type of couple to spoil each other, maybe in gifts, or even in compliments. it's that type of relationship that boosts each other's self-esteem. you could also be the type or couple to call each other sweet names, such as 'baby', 'honey', and so on, this kind of things. this is also another placement that indicates that you two could be quite devoted to each other, you're always there when needed and vice versa.

partner a's sagittarius venus square partner b's pisces mars: I wouldn't say this is an extremely negative placement, but still there could be some major problems regarding conflicts. you and your partner may not see eye to eye regarding love and sex, you may struggle to meet each other's wants. for example, you may desire more romanticism from your partner, and your partner may want more physical attraction from you. you may tend to act submissive around your partner, he could make you feel like a teenager, while your partner adopts a more bossy, stereotypically 'manly' behaviour. while this may be attractive and 'safe' for both of you, it could actually become a boring relationship that doesn't bring anything new to both of you. you are very different, you most likely have differents needs and wants that you expect from a relationship, making it difficult to work of course. but again, you're not doomed: your venus is sextile your partner's moon. that means that, with time and growth, your partner will eventually start to understand you and your point of view. basically, at first it may be hard to feel healthy while being in a relationship of this kind, but as time goes by, you'll both learn some major life lessons that will improve your love life. even if this relationship doesn't last, you'll still get out of it with loads of maturity and experiences.

☄️ partner a's pisces mars in his 1st house conjunct the ascendant

this placement makes you literally crave your partner. it probably was instant attraction, you couldn't help but stare at him when you first met him. you find him extremely attractive and sexy, you probably love having physical contact with him, even just placing your hand on his shoulder is fine. you're probably attracted to his look, it's what first caught your attention, but also to his drive, his goals and aspirations. you see your crush as someone very bold, leader-material and extremely passionate about everything they do. I feel like you could be the one to take the initiative in the relationship, you may be the one to ask him out, you could take the lead during sexual moments, and overall you're very direct and blunt in your approach, you probably don't care about looking so obviously into him. your attraction to him makes you so energetic that you actually pass some of this energy down to your partner; that is, if he's shy for example, you may literally make him want to step out of his comfort-zone. you motivate him to take action and improve himself. the only problem that comes with this placement is that a lot of competitiveness could arise. you, the mars person, may even try to 'control' your partner, you could be overbearing. for example, you could interfer in his studies / job, or maybe you answer for them... this type of stuff. it's important to respect your partner's boundaries and viceversa, or it's a total turnoff, especially since this conjunction happens in the respectful and dreamy sign of pisces.

partner a's pisces mars conjunct partner b's pisces sun: as I've already mentioned above, this relationship is a total self-esteem booster. you find each other extremely attractive, you two fit each other's standars of attractiveness. in fact, this placement indicates lots of sexual chemistry between you two. one thing sure, this relationship certainly isn't boring; even though you may sometimes argue over dumb things, as there's quite a bit of competitiveness between you two, there's also lots of passion. you could possibly be the dominant figure in the relationship, or at least your partner sees you as a very hard-working, assertive and ambitious person, and he probably admires you fondly for that. he could be your #1, he may encourage your energy even more. it's a very powerful aspects that allows you two to suceed, not only in this relationship but also in your day-to-day life. just be mindful that you can easily avoid childish arguments if you want.

partner a's pisces mars conjunct partner b's pisces venus: in astrology, this is considered to be the ultimate physical attraction aspect! in fact, you two probably find each other very attractive and magnetic. I don't think this connection started off as a friendship, and if it did then it was probably unbearable, as the attraction and chemistry between you two is just way too much to handle. you two most likely are a very touchy couple, not necessarily in a sexual way but you find it hard not to stare, touch each other; physical contact is key in this connection. this is another placement that makes me think that you are the dominant figure in your relationship, you could be the one to approach this person first for instance. in general, you tend to be the one who takes the initiative in any context. your partner appreciates your partner, and he may feel romantically attracted to you, you probably fit his ideals when it comes to looks, personality, etc. this placement probably makes this relationship so intense and magnetic that it will be hard to forget, even if you two don't end up together. this is certainly a soulmate / twinflame connection, especially with your neptunian energy. I'm sure you're both going to learn a lot from this connection.

PARTNER B

🌞 partner b's pisces sun in her 1st house conjunct the ascendant

your partner probably thought that you were very attractive when he first saw you. you may meet his ideals of beauty, he sees you as his type of girlfriend. he likes the way you move, the way you speak and present yourself, or even just the way you look physically, he may like your face and body. he may even be more straight-forward and approach you first, he may often spoil you with compliments and you don’t step back from them. you appreciate the way he looks, or even stare at you. actually, you may even crave his attention. your partner, aside from admiring you deeply, may even take you as a role model, he may desire to be like you, especially in your way of approaching the world. same thing goes for you: you also appreciate the way your partner lives his life, his achievements, his goals, his ideals, and so on. luckily, there aren’t other negative placements that interfer with this mostly-posiitve aspect. in fact, this aspect could possibly bring a feeling of competition between you two, as instead of admiring and appreciating the other, you may start hating yourselves because you think the other is better.

🌙 partner b's aquarius moon in her 12th house

this is probably one of the most spiritual and karmic overlays you two have in this chart. this partner may probably uncover some part of your life that you can't see, that are hidden to you. probably, it will be issues regarding your emotions, your feelings, maybe even childhood matters. it could even be quite traumatic at first, as this person is so intuitive that seems to know everything about you, he pushes the right buttons making impact. talking to this person is like talking to a psychologist, he knows perfectly what's bothering you and how to deal with it, it's certainly a very healthy aspect if you accept to be helped. you may be more introverted around your partner, exactly because you feel quite exposed of your insecurities, of your secrets, but as time goes by you'll start seeing each other as a place of comfort. being with and venting your feelings with your partner becomes something ordinary for you, it's totally natural thanks to this feeling of ease. this feeling is actually mutual, you guys look as if you have a psychic connection together, and this placement also indicates that you probably share some past lives together.

🗣 partner b's pisces mercury in her 1st house conjunct the ascendant

with this placement, you probably also fell for your partner for the way he talks, he exposes his thoughts, his choice of words. you may even be literally into his voice, you like the way it sounds, you thought it was attractive when you first heard it. you may even see your partner as someone smart and intellectual who has a way with words, someone that can achieve whatever he wants thanks to his witty intellect. you may also enjoy his sense of humor, you probably don’t force your laugh when you’re around him because you find him genuinely entertaining. as for your partner, he may also be into the way you think and talk, he could be fascinated by your ideas and creativity. in addition, mercury is all about curiosity, and hence he may be curious to get to know you. when you first met him, he felt this sudden urge to get to know you, he could’ve been the first one to randomly approach you, and he started making random questions just to hav ìe a conversation with you. even more simple things like “What is your favourite food?” looks fine to him, as long as he learns something new about you, he cares about this kind of stuff. this placement can surely make good friendships, as you two are able to have an amusing conversation, even though it may be more casual rather than deep. you probablty wouldn’t talk about the meaning of life with him, to make it simple, but rather about your hobbies, your passions.

❤️ partner b's pisces venus in her 1st house conjunct the ascendant

this placement indicates that you most likely find each other extremely attractive! you probably fit his beauty standards, you find him very charismatic and charming, it's hard for you not to stare at him. basically, he's your type. also, aside from being into his looks, you may also be fascinated from the way he presents himself in general: you may like his fashion sense, his manners, the way he approaches people, the way he speaks... bascially, everything about the outer him, it was likely love at first sight, or at least you instantly felt strong attraction to this individual when you first met him. also, this placement also indicates that you may inspire your partner in an artistic way, and viceversa. for example, let's suppose you like writing; you may feel inspired by your partner to write books about him, or perhaps poetry or song lyrics. you see your partner as someone aesthetically pleasant, basically as a piece of art. this feeling is mutual. overall, you both feel flattered and loved by the other, you may often compliment each other and that will be a complete self-esteem boost for both of you. feeling loved by your partner and viceversa inspires you to love yourself, and as a result you feel more beautiful.

☄️ partner b's libra mars in her 7th house

with this placement, the admiration I've talked about above is most likely mutual; in fact, you also feel interested in your partner because you see him as someone assertive, an action-taker, someone surely bold. you may start craving this partner, not necessarily in an obsessive way but in a way that makes you two kind of rush things in the relationship. for example, you may start dating very fast, or perhaps since the 7th house is also the house of marriage you nay rush your marriage, but this is kind of a stretch so make sure to only take what resonates. this placement also indicates that your partner could possibly take advantage of you, they may become very dominant in the relationship and you could end up depending on them, but I don't really think it's the case of this connection. as I've already said above, there are other aspects that indicate that you're also respected in this relationship, therefore I feel like you may be able to balance and compromise with each other to get along, especially since mars is placed in the cooperative sign of libra. at least, this is another placement that indicates that there's loads of passion and sexual attraction between you two that will hardly fade, they are probably the main features of this connection actually.

ASTEROIDS & CO

partner b's virgo north node square partner a's sagittarius venus: I feel like with this placement you two are both very attracted to each other romantically speaking, there was instant affection between you two. yet, as time goes by, you may start feeling as if something is missing, it could be your partner above all to think this. he may feel as if he needs to explore, experience something else. you, on the other hand, you may start feeling as if you were always the most invested in the relationship, as if you were always the one to try to improve it in some way. because of that, I wouldn't say that this relationship is meant to be long-term as you may grow out of each other, but never say never! it's just a negative aspect in a bunch of positive placements, and remember that you can achieve anything you desire with proper communication.

and this is the end! thank you for booking a reading, let me know if you have any questions :) - libramc xx

- not corrected yet -

#astrology

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peachyteabuck · 5 years

Text

explosion uncontained

summary: Bad news is Bucky fucked up big time and now you’re seriously injured. Good news is Natasha knows the perfect way to apologize.

pairing: Bucky Barnes x Natasha Romanoff x Reader

words: 3,349

trigger warnings: Sub Bucky, dom Natasha, orgasm denial, mommy kink, canon-level violence, cock rings.

notes/other: This was done for @lesbian-deadpool ‘s pride parade challenge. My prompt was “Please don’t threaten me with a knife. I’ll get horny” and has been bolded within the fic!!

ask box / masterlist / commission info / ko-fi

Bucky Barnes has fucked up. Bucky Barnes has not only fucked up, but he has also been the root cause of a sizable gash in your right shoulder and an entire patch of skin being burned off that starts at your left calf and curls around you until it reaches your belly button.

He knows this. He knew this before the bomb blew up, and he certainly knows this now, as Natasha paces around their shared room and chews off chunks of skin from her bottom lip.

“You fucking dumbass!” She yells. “You knew you were defying orders, but no! Of course, you had to be the fucking hero.” She pauses to sigh before going back to her incessant movements. “And now you’ve injured the best fucking hacker we have. Do you know how much political capital I had to burn to get her out there with us?”

Natasha’s teeth are barred, eyes firey and skin red from lack of oxygen. Bucky’s never seen her this pissed, and he’s terrified. And a little hard. But mostly terrified.

“I’m so sorry,” He tries to reconcile. “I didn’t-”

It doesn’t work, and before he can finish his thought Natasha’s got the sharpened dagger she keeps strapped to her thigh and points at the center of his chest with her free hand pressed into the back of his head.

Bucky smirks despite how much he knows he’s about to get his ass beat. “Please don’t threaten me with a knife. I’ll get horny.”

Despite herself, Natasha openly laughs. “As if you’re not hard already.”

There’s a beat of silence before she goes back to scowling at the love of your life. Bucky gulps as he notices her face changing from amused to enraged.

“You’re a fucking dumbass if you think I’m dumb ass enough to believe that bullshit,” she sighs with the knife pointed to Bucky’s chest. She doesn’t know whether she’s exhausted herself after, what, more than five hours of screaming post-five day non-stop mission? or just needs a break. “I’m going to check up on her.” Bucky stands, but sits back down once he sees Natasha’s glare. “You stay here, and don’t move a fucking muscle.”

Natasha finds you easily in the large hospital wing- you’re the only patient without a single attendant. Her heart almost stops, thinking that between when they had arrived and that very moment your heart had stopped beating and your skin had gone cold. As she gets closer, though, she sees you’re awake and doing something on your laptop. She watches you for a second as you silently and furiously pluck strings of code together, trying to figure out exactly what you’re typing and how your eyes move back and forth so fast.

A crash from a room far away breaks the spell. You both look over to see what’s wrong (turns out, nothing), and you spot her as she goes closer to the curtain. Still, you don’t speak until she’s seated next to you and taking a bite out of your uneaten grilled cheese.

“So, what brings you down to these parts of town?”

She shrugs, ignoring your bad joke in favor of another bite. “Just wanted to check up on you.”

You laugh a little, just a sharp exhale through your nostril. Still, you wince in pain. Natasha notices but doesn’t comment. “Ya know, exactly as well as one can hope after having a bomb explode in your face.”

She takes a look at your vital signs, all good, before answering. “Yeah, I mean…” a pause. The quiet air seems heavy as she rubs her eyebrows. “I still don’t know how to apologize. Barnes made the wrong call, and he was totally in the wrong, but-”

“Then why isn’t he apologizing to me?”

Natasha hasn’t spent much time with you, and has a hard time knowing when you’re joking or not. Your sense of humor is even drier than hers, but she can sense a hint of mischief behind your eyes as you stare her down.

“I made him stay in our room.”

“Like a child? Is he in time out or something?”

“If he’s gonna act like one, I’m gonna treat him like one.”

“Except when it comes to holding him accountable for his actions…”

She laughs outwardly now. “Oh, trust me. He’s going to apologize.”

You close your laptop and push the tray attached to the uncomfortable hospital bed. Carefully you fold your body and lean to the side. At a few points the burn rubs into the sheets the wrong way or “And how is he going to do that?”

Natasha’s caught on now. She relaxes into the plastic chair, failing to hide her displeasure at the high-pitched noise it makes as she places both feet on top of the blanket obviously taken from your own apartment. It’s thick with fringe, a desert scene woven onto it. The mix of warm colors seems to reflect your wit, sparks running across your skin with every sarcastic comeback and cheap dig. It stands out against the drab, gray-blue of the room, almost as bold as you.

“I don’t know, we’ll figure something out,” she smirks. “Trust me, I can handle him.”

“Can,” you ask, firmly meeting her piercing gaze with your own. “Or will?”

Natasha smiles wider than Tennessee. “Will.”

You’re discharged about a month later, the burn being more serious than initially guessed and the lung damage causing you to wake up in the middle of the night not being able to breathe multiple times. You still have trouble going up stairs and standing up for long periods of time, and the burns still hurts like hell, and the gash in your shoulder won’t allow you to carry a backpack or sit up without pain, but at least you were cleared to be out on your own again. It’s nice, to say the least. Being in a place without privacy isn’t something you particularly like, and being at the whim of nurses and doctors doesn’t please you all that much either.

Still, it’s almost nice to see someone right as you’re about to leave with your heavy duffel bag and your equally heavy backpack. It’s less nice when you realize it’s the reason you were in the hospital in the first place.

Before you can tell him to fuck off, though, he immediately starts spewing any apology can think of.

“I understand what I did was wrong and I’m so so so so sorry and I haven’t stopped thinking about how I literally put you out of work for a month and yes Tony did yell at me about his best hacker not being able to work and I’m still so sorry and Natasha yelled at me in four different languages and I’m pretty sure one of them was Latin and please I just want to help you bring up your stuff because it’s the least I can do and-” he pauses to inhale, lungs starved of oxygen - similar to you being starved of the sweet, sweet silence of being alone. You feel it’s easier to just let him help you, let him take up your heavy crap and then tell him to fuck off until you have to explain something tech-y to him in a meeting.

You shrug, dropping your duffel bag on the ground and handing him the backpack. He carefully grabs both of them and silently follows you into the elevator, leaning against the back wall as you push the button corresponding to your floor and lean against the wall. The jagged wound doesn’t feel as bad as when you got it, but you still let out a small groan when it hits the cold material.

Bucky, desperate to relieve you of all the pain you’ve ever felt and will ever feel, tries to start a conversation. “So, the high thirties. That’s what, the section for the computer nerds?”

You almost make a joke about being able to turn on a laptop not making you a computer nerd, but you laughing too much would hurt and might cause you to have a coughing fit, which Bucky would have to save you from and then you’d be in debt to him.

“Yeah, computer science-related stuff,” you sigh, wincing a little. “Heads of computer science-stuff actually. Statistics, data-analysis, computer science.”

The rest of the ride to your apartment is quiet, almost painfully so. Each time you try to start a conversation Bucky seems to avoid answering with more than a few words, his eyes never meeting your own.

Still, he follows dutifully into your bedroom where you fall short of instructing him to place your things across from your messy bed – your vocal cords unable to move as you spy the most beautiful woman you’ve ever met in front of you.

You don’t know what to say when you see Natasha leaning on your desk, staring at your knick-knacks and loose papers. For some reason you almost offer her a cup of tea.

“Now, James here,” she gestures to the man behind you, who has since placed your bag gingerly on your bed and is now standing awkwardly in the middle of your bedroom. “Has to find some way to make up for his horrendous mistake back during the mission.”

You gulp and fidget with your hands as you speak. “It’s fine, really, I’m o-“

Natasha removes one hand from her dress pants and holds it up to stop you. “No, it is not okay. I don’t like to leave the mistakes I’m responsible for,” she glares at Bucky, who you do not see but still know is cowering like a puppy whose peed on the carpet. “Left uncleaned. I request that you meet Bucky and I in our apartment tonight after my meeting with the Secretary of State. Say, about eight?”

You nod, mouth too dry to form speech.

Natasha smiles, walking behind you and wrapping a possessive arm around Bucky’s middle. “Perfect, see you then.”

And not with a shout, but with a whisper, they are both gone.

At 7:58:36 you find yourself dressed in the easiest thing to slip on without too much pain – a large t-shirt and some athletic shorts you’ve had since you played volleyball in college – standing in front of the door to Natasha and Bucky’s shared apartment.

Right before you can knock your phone buzzes with a text, one from Natasha that tells you the door is unlocked and that she and Bucky are just in the bedroom.

With that, you take a deep breath, and step inside.

Bucky’s kneeling with his upper half hunched forward and his hands tied behind his back. The only thing keeping him in such an uncomfortable position being Natasha’s heel pressed into the small of his spine.

“Now,” she begins to tell them. You’re sitting on the edge of their large bed, hands already twisting in the sheets. Maybe it’s nervousness, maybe it’s anticipation, maybe it’s fear. Something flutters in your chest at the curve of Natasha’s lips around her words, of her bare face vulnerable and her messy bun falling with every movements of her jaw. “Bucky here needs to apologize,” she looks down at him with a playful smile. “Don’t you baby.”

“Yes, Mommy,” he says immediately.

Natasha pushes down harder onto him, a painful position as his body as nearly folded in half by the woman he loves the most. “Now,” she moves her foot so that it’s pushing on his ass. “Go tell our friend here that you’re sorry.”

She undoes the binds on Bucky’s hands with the heel of her red-bottoms, the cherry-red ropes falling to the ground in total silence.

You suck in a breath as Bucky shifts to begin crawling the what feels like mile-long clearance between where you’ve sat down on the edge of the king-sized bed and the throne-like seat where Natasha has chosen to seat herself. His head is hung and he avoids eye contact, staring at the floor instead. It’s than that you notice he’s wearing a collar – a thick, matte leather one, BABY embroidered in thick, grey lettering just above an o-ring.

For the moments between when Bucky stops in front of you and when he spreads your bruised knees, some part of your brain tries to convince the rest of it that you have no idea what is going on. You have no idea what to think, what to do. That the pair of them have all of this messed up, that they misread any body language you’d contorted yourself into. It pleads like a petulant child for you to call the whole thing off, to tender your resignation and run off to some Eastern European country where no one would bother trying to find you.

But every temper tantrum has its end, and this particular one seems to be when Bucky’s lips kiss at the bottom hem of your shorts. The room falls into silence as Natasha watches him with eyes wide with lust and your neurotransmitters catch up to your hands running through his thick hair.

“Go ahead, baby,” Natasha says – still in her position on her large chair. “Start your apology.”

Bucky spreads your legs that with a touch that contrasts the rough callouses of his right hand and the tough vibranium of his left. He pushes your panties to the side and sinks a single, metal finger into your tight pussy.

You moan and fall back onto the thick bedding as Bucky wraps his plush lips around your clit.

He’s good at this, much better than you’ve ever had before, and it surprises you. Each nerve in your body feels like a livewire as he slips one finger, and then one more, into your dripping pussy. As he finds that special spot in you your eyes shoot open (when did you close them?) and see Natasha, still sitting across from you, with one hand holding her dress up and the other lazily circling her clit.

You collapse onto the bed with your third orgasm of the night, barely able to catch your breath before Natasha’s instructing Bucky to get up on the bed with you. For a moment you have no idea what you’re supposed to do, not understanding until Bucky’s flat on his back and Natasha’s gingerly running her fingers up and down his length. It’s then that the glint of metal around the base of his cock catches your eye, shining in the low lights of the bedroom. Wow, Natasha really is into this punishment stuff, isn’t she.

“I’m going to have you ride this little slut, now. Are you okay with that?”

Natasha asks this as if it isn’t what you’ve wanted since you were hired at Stark Industries, as if somehow she doesn’t know exactly what you want.

You sink onto Bucky’s cock, moaning as his thickness fills you in a way you’ve never felt before. Deep guttural moans you think may have come from you fill the room as you chase your own pleasure, slamming up and down on the fattest dick you’ve ever taken.

Bucky whimpers as you ride him, face beet-red with eyes scrunched and jaw slack. Each breath comes out in pants, and bits of his dark brown hair stick to his sweaty forehead. Frankly he looks adorable, hands flexing as he aches to touch you.

As you chase your own release Bucky’s fingers ghost over where your legs bend for purchase on the large bed, but soon are slapped away with a tsk from Natasha.

“If you want to touch, slut,” she hisses as she pinches at Bucky’s sensitive nipples. He cries out in pain, curling towards her as the sharp pain spreads through his body. “You need to ask.”

Bucky seems too far gone for that now, though, any noises slipping past his lips far from meeting the standard of spoken language. Still, Natasha seems to take pity on him, and gives him permission to grab at your hips and cup your breasts.

Since you’ve been hired by Stark you’ve spent a substantial part of your down time thinking about Bucky’s metal arm. At first it was purely scientific, wondering how heavy it was and how the internal mechanism operated. After you saw Bucky shirtless for the first time, though, your thoughts went a tad towards the gutter. You wondered if the plates would cut at your skin and more…tender…places, if it made noises when Bucky was working it especially hard.

In particular, you dedicated a considerable part of your brain to pondering whether the arm overheated, or if it had some way to keep itself from burning the flesh of whomever is blessed enough to be on the receiving end of its touch.

Now you know the metal remains whatever temperature Bucky wishes for it to be – or whatever Natasha tells him to change it to. The setting for the night seems to be a few degrees below room temperature, not so freezing as to hurt you but cold enough to leave a trail of goosebumps wherever the metal appendage makes contact with your skin.

With your entire body on fire, Bucky moves to rub at your neglected clit with a cool thumb, such an expected sensation forcing an unexpected but not unwelcome incredibly powerful climax. The man under you moans nearly as loud as you, but his sound much more desperate.

You nearly fall over as you finish for…you don’t even know the number. Climbing off of Bucky seems to be the hardest feat of the night, with your injuries and sore limbs and aching core.

As soon as your back hits the bed and you’ve officially tapped out, Bucky moves closer to Natasha - kissing at her inner thighs before slipping three of his vibranium fingers into her own wet heat. She mms happily, dopey grin spreading across her face as she fucks herself on her boyfriend’s hand.

“So good for Mommy,” she coos. “So, so good for me.”

She cums easily once, then twice, each time a low, steady heat flows through your veins. Though neither one of them touches you, somehow you feel yourself on the brink of another sweet release.

It’s not until you look to Bucky that you feel anything other than complete euphoria. Bucky’s cock is hard as a diamond, and redder than his ass. It looks…painful, and twangs of pity tug at your rapidly beating heart.

“Oh,” Natasha rolls her eyes. “Don’t worry about him dear. This is exactly what he deserves.”

With that she leads Bucky to the floor by the collar you’d forgotten he’d had on, placing on a small throw that had fallen from the bed. She crawls down on the floor with him, balancing on her knees with her back straightened while Bucky hunches over. She may be taller than her standing up, but there’s no way he’d allow himself to be above her here, now, in this place, in private.

“Take it like a big boy, baby,” Natasha tells him, leaving small kisses on the sides of his mouth and along his eyebrows. “Make Mommy proud, show me how much pain you’re willing to take for me.”

He mumbles something low to her, something you assume is Russian by the accented whispers. When she releases him, he sinks to the ground, body curling up into itself as he shuts his eyes.

Bucky falls asleep on the ground, rock hard and aching with the cock ring on his dick and the collar around his neck. The lights turn off with a snap of Natasha’s perfectly painted nails like you’re in some perfectly-paced action movie, the darkness enveloping you as suddenly as you realize Bucky still hasn’t come that night.

Natasha seems to read your mind, tsking as she pulls you closer. “Don’t worry about him, libchen. This is his punishment, and he will go through with it.”

You nod silently, noting Bucky’s already fallen asleep with his face pressed against the soft carpet. With that, you allow the fatigue from your injury and the night’s activities to lull you into sleep.

#ppchallenge #prideparadechallenge #bucky barnes x reader #natasha romanoff x reader #buckynat x reader #bucky barnes x natasha romanoff x reader #marvel imagine #marvel smut #lukis writes stuff #cool fact this is BARELY edited #it's a good day to be an editor who doesn't FUCKING edit

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cyancaddy · 5 years

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Cleon hints in the novels

Before I read the novels by S. D. Perry, I was aware that Aeon was as canon as it gonna get for Capcom. In my opinion, the original RE2 offered nothing that could be interpreted as attraction between Claire and Leon...I still liked them together nonetheless. The obsession I have with Claire and Leon first started when I read the novels. 13 year old me was beyond ecstatic when there were actual hints towards a possible romantic relationship between Claire and Leon (which I thought was a 1000 % canon back then, it was Capcom approved after all). Since I now know the novels can be considered as very well written fanfiction, I came to the realization that Ms Perry probably shipped them too. So without further ado, I tried to collect all the Cleon hints from the novels... which are mostly from "Underworld" and "Code Veronica".

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Underworld - Chapter One

David's thoughts

Rebecca was unloading clips and repacking the weapons, Leon and Claire sitting close together across from her, not talking. Those two were usually joined at the hip, and were still as tight as they'd been since David, John, and Rebecca had picked them up just outside of Raccoon less than a month earlier, dirty and damaged and reeling from their run-in with Umbrella. David didn't think there was a romantic connection there, at least not yet; it was more likely their shared nightmare. Nearly dying together could be quite a bonding experience. As far as David knew, Leon and Claire were the only survivors of the Raccoon disaster who knew about Umbrella's T-Virus spill.

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Underworld - Chapter Two

Leon's thoughts

And what about Leon Kennedy? He'd stumbled into the fight without a clue, a cop fresh out of the academy on his way to his first day at work - which just happened to be with the Raccoon PD. There was Ada, true - but he'd known her less than half a day, and she had been killed just after admitting to him that she was some kind of an agent, sent to steal a sample of an Umbrella virus.

So I lost a job, and a possible relationship with a woman I barely knew and couldn't trust. Of course Umbrella should be stopped... but do I belong here?

He'd decided to become a cop because he wanted to help people, but he'd always figured that meant keeping the peace - busting drunk drivers, breaking up bar fights, catching crooks. Never in his wildest dreams would he have figured on being caught up in an international conspiracy, cloak-and-dagger infiltration-type stuff against a giant company that made war monsters. It was crime on a much bigger scale than he felt he was ready for...... and is that the real reason, Officer Kennedy? At exactly that moment, Claire mumbled something from her light doze, nuzzling her head against his arm before falling silent and still again - and making Leon uncomfortably aware of another facet to his involvement with the ex-S.T.A.R.S. Claire.

Claire was... she was an incredible woman. In the days after their escape from Raccoon City, they'd talked a lot about what had happened, the experiences they'd had both separately and together. At the time, it had felt like an exchange of information, filling in blanks - she'd told him about her run-in with Chief Irons and the creature she'd called Mr. X, and he'd told her all about Ada and the terrible thing that had once been William Birkin. Between them, they'd been able to come up with a continuous story, with information that was important to the fugitive team. In retrospect, though, he could see that those long, rambling conversations had been essential for another reason entirely - they'd been a way to leach out the poison of what had happened to them, like talking out a bad dream. If he'd had to keep it all inside, he thought, he might have gone crazy. In any case, the feelings he had for her now were convoluted ones - warmth, connection, dependence, respect, others that he had no name for. And that scared him, because he'd never felt so strongly about anyone before and because he wasn't sure how much of it was real and how much was just some kind of a post-traumatic stress thing.

Face it, stop bullshitting yourself. What you're really afraid of is that you're only here because she is, and you don't like what that says about you.

Leon nodded inwardly, realizing that it was the truth, the real reason behind his uncertainty. He'd always believed that want was okay, but need? He didn't like the idea of being led around by some neurotic compulsion to be close to Claire Redfield.

And what if it isn't need? Maybe it's want, and you just don't know it yet...

He scowled at his own pathetic attempts at self-analysis, deciding that maybe it would be best just to stop worrying about it so much. Whatever the reason for becoming involved, he was involved - he could kick ass with the best of them and Umbrella deserved to have their ass kicked, big time. For now, he had to pee, and then he was going to eat something and do his best to catch some sleep. Leon gently moved out from beneath Claire's warm, heavy head, doing his best not to wake her up. He slid out into the aisle, glancing around at the others.

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Underworld - Chapter Five

Claire's and Leon's conversation

"Cold?" Leon asked. Claire turned away from the window, looking at him. He'd finished with the packs, and was holding one out to her. She took it, nodding in response to his question. "Aren't you?" He shook his head, grinning. "Thermal underwear. Could have used these in Raccoon..."Claire smiled. "How could I have used them? I was running around in a pair of shorts, you at least had your uniform. "Which was covered with lizard guts before I was halfway through the sewers," he said, and she was glad to hear him at least try to joke about it.

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Underworld - Chapter 5

Claire's thougts

Leon put his hand on Claire's shoulder. "You up for this?" he asked softly, and Claire smiled inwardly, thinking of how sweet he was; she'd been thinking of asking him the same thing. In the days since Raccoon, they'd gotten pretty close- and although she wasn't positive, she'd picked up on a few signals that suggested he wouldn't mind getting closer. She still wasn't sure if that was a good idea

and now's not the time to be deciding. The sooner we get this code book, the sooner we get to Europe. To Chris.

"As up as I'm gonna be," she said, and Leon nodded, and they climbed out into the freezing night to join the others.

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Underworld - Epilogue

With David and John supporting young Rebecca, and Leon and Claire smiling at one another like lovers, the five weary soldiers trudged off the screen and out into the gently blossoming Utah morning.

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Code Veronica- Chapter Four

Leon receives Claire's message from the island and tells Chris and Barry about it

Leon had turned out to be a half decent hacker, he was in the next room on the computer; he'd hardly slept since Claire's capture, most of his time spent trying to track Umbrella's recent movements.

With both their parents dead, he and Claire had developed a close relationship, and he thought he knew her pretty well; she was smart and tough and resourceful, always had been... but she was also a college student, for Christ's sake. Unlike the rest of them, she didn't have any formal combat training. He couldn't help thinking that she'd been lucky so far, and when it came to Umbrella, luck just wasn't enough.

"Chris, get in here!"

Leon, and it sounded urgent. Chris and Barry looked at each other, Chris seeing his own worry mirrored in Barry's face, and they both stood up. His heart in his throat, Chris hurriedly led the way down the hall to where Leon was working, feeling eager and afraid at once. The young cop was standing next to the computer, his expression unreadable. "She's alive," Leon said simply. Chris hadn't even been aware of how bad things had been for him until those two words. It was like his heart had suddenly been released after being gripped hi a vise for ten days, the sense of relief as physical as it was emotional, his skin flushing with it.

Alive, she's alive...Barry clapped him on the shoulder, laughing. "Of course she is, she's a Redfield."

Chris grinned, turned his attention back to Leon and felt his smile slipping at the cop's carefully neutral expression. There was something else. Before he could ask, Leon motioned at the screen, taking a deep breath. "They've got her on an island, Chris... and there's been an accident."

Chris was leaning over the computer in a single stride. He read the brief message twice, the reality of it slow to sink in.

Infection trouble approximately 37S, 12W following attack, perps unknown. No bad guys left, I think, but stuck at the moment. Watch your back, bro, they know the city if not the street. Will try to be home soon.

Chris stood up, silently locking gazes with Leon as Barry read the message. Leon smiled, but it looked forced. "You didn't see her in Raccoon," he said. "She knows how to handle herself, Chris. And she managed to get to a computer, right?" Barry straightened up, took his cue from Leon. "That means she's not locked down," he said seriously. "And if Umbrella's got its hands full with another viral spill, they're not going to be paying attention to anything else. The important thing is that she's alive."

Chris nodded absently, mind already working on what he would need for the trip. The coordinates she'd listed put her in an incredibly isolated spot, deep in the South Atlantic, but he had an old Air Force buddy who owed him, could jet him down to Buenos Aires, maybe Capetown; he could rent a boat from there, survival gear, rope, medkit, an assload of firepower... "I'm going with you," Barry said, accurately reading his expression. They'd been friends a long time. "Me, too," Leon said. Chris shook his head. "No, absolutely not." Both men started to protest, and Chris raised his voice, talking over them.

"You saw what she said, about Umbrella homing in on me, on us," he said firmly. "That means we have to relocate, maybe one of the estates outside the city - some-one has to stay here, wait for Rebecca's team to get back, and someone else needs to scout out a new base of operations. And don't forget, Jill will be here any day now."

Barry frowned, scratched at his beard, his mouth set in a thin, tight line. "I don't like it. Going in alone is a bad idea..." "We're at a crucial phase right now, and you know it," Chris said. "Somebody's got to mind the shop, Barry, and you're the man. You've got the experience, you know all the contacts." "Fine, but at least take the kid," Barry said, gesturing toward Leon. For once, Leon didn't protest the label, only nodded, drawing himself up, shoulders back and head high.

"If you won't do it for yourself, think about Claire,"Barry continued. "What happens to her if you get your - self killed? You need a backup, somebody to pick up the ball if you fumble."Chris shook his head, immovable. "You know better, Barry, this has to be as quiet as possible. Umbrella may have already sent in a cleanup crew. One person, in and out before anyone even realizes I'm there."

Barry was still frowning, but he didn't push it. Neither did Leon, although Chris could see that he was working up to it; the cop and Claire had obviously gotten pretty close.

"I'll bring her back," Chris said, softening his tone, looking at Leon. Leon hesitated, then nodded, high color burning in his cheeks, making Chris wonder exactly how close Leon and his sister had become.

Later. I can worry about his intentions if we make it back alive... when we make it back alive, he quickly amended. If was not an option. "It's settled, then,"

Chris said. "Leon, find me a good map of the area, geographical, political, everything, you never know what might help. Also post back to Claire, just in case she gets another chance to check for mes - sages - tell her I'm on my way. Barry, I want to be pack - ing major influence, but lightweight, something I can hike in without too much trouble, maybe a Glock... you're the expert, you decide."

Both men nodded, turned away to get started, and Chris closed his eyes for just a second, quickly offering up a silent prayer.

Please, please stay safe until I get there, Claire.

It wasn't much - but then, Chris had the feeling he would be praying a lot more in the long hours to come.

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Code Veronica - Chapter nine

Steve and Claire on the plane to Antarctica, Steve’s thoughts

He looked down at her, at her tousled hair and long lashes, his heart pounding even though he was trying to relax. She moved again, shifting in her sleep, her head tilting back a little and her slightly parted lips were suddenly close enough for him to kiss, all he had to do was tip his face down a few inches, and he wanted to so bad that he actually started to do it, lowering his mouth toward hers... "Mmmm," she murmured, still totally asleep, and he stopped, pulling back, his heart beating even faster. He totally wanted to but not like that, not if she didn't want him to. He thought she did, but she'd also told him a little about her friend Leon, too, and he wasn't so sure that they were just friends. Feeling tortured, having her so close but not his, he was relieved when she rolled away from him a few seconds later.

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muwi-translates · 5 years

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why u should love sanada fucking yukimura

man, this character... is one of the most lovable otome bois i have encountered in a long time,,, because he’s such a loser.

i wouldn’t even call this a character analysis anymore i just spilled all my feels and love for this stupid wholesome boy. thank you to my two biggest sandman supporters, this is all yuu’s fault. @sea-reiusly @snow--blanket

LET’S START. so,,, aside from the fact that he’s cute-dumb; you should love him because he loves you a lot and he deserves love too.

he is the literal embodiment of boyish selfless love.

if iI had to describe him I would describe him as a big red blanket you can wrap around yourself and make you feel safe and warm. or a big spoon of honey; slightly bitter but also sweet.

1) he is mega Friend for Life

first things first; he would be, and is, a good friend - if not to you then to the people he cares about. his whole concept is ‘boy next door’. he is soft, he won’t disappoint you because he cares about you as a person and he worries sometimes even if he doesn’t show it. for example in Shingen’s route he plays messenger for you - he thinks you’re ‘cool’, you’re his pal. he seems like the type who could develop feelings for you but is content just being close to you as your friend and see you happy. despite being told that he’s ‘tactless’, Yukimura actually, not surprisingly, has the ability to read other people, but just sucks at expressing it to you. so occasionally, he ends up proper advice to other suitors if you’re not on his route:

like the time Kenshin was excited to bring you home with him to Kasugayama and you were torn about leaving the home you’ve come to love and your warlord family. to Yukimura, family and friends are important, that is what one of his 'wants' are, after all. he does it for shingen, he does it for his men and the men in the Takeda army.

in a way he’s a bit like your brother too. except Hideyoshi is the clearly caring, wise older brother and Yukimura is your bratty younger brother who would throw a banana at your face, and pretends he doesn’t give a shit about you but that one time he sees you carrying heavy stuff down the hall he takes it from you and calls you ‘weak’ but he just doesn’t want to see you hurt.

if he's not established to be quite as close to you in other routes (Ieyasu/Masamune), he continues to help you on behalf of sasuke. even though you’re a complete stranger to him and he barely knows anything about you background - especially considering sasuke gave him a coverup story and not what or who you actually are. it's moments like these where he is willing and able to separate 'his job' and 'enemy' and do things that would otherwise produce results the opposite of what he’s supposed to be doing (which is actually a point of conflict in his OWN route, which will I will talk about later uwu)

2) ultimate Fam man

Yukimura is inherently a selfless character. he doesn’t care about himself, he only cares about the people around him and what he can do for them. he overworks himself and shoulders all the stress by himself, to take weight off shingen (it's always 'leave it to me, lord shingen!!' from him).

I believe he has a mild form of ptsd as well; he mentally and emotionally cuts himself away from feeling anything in battle to perform his best, he has trouble sleeping at night, and he ends up holding things he’s sleeping with very tightly (eg. you). we also learn from Shingen that:

he was raised to be strong and upstanding, but has problems with adapting, so he puts all he has into what he does, meaning he gets hurt more (EN)

when he has his heart set on things, his conviction lasts for a long, long time (CN)

so, he likes it a lot when he gets to surround himself with people he cares about. he comes off as an ambivert leaning on extrovert, based off how he seems to like hanging out with his men not just as their field commander but as their friend, he enjoys parties and even entertains Kenshin. it’s been noted that he is visibly more relaxed and laughs often around his soldiers - so it’s safe to assume he gets energy by being around the people he cares about, because at least he knows that they’re alive.

in fact, the idea of people around him dying makes him angry. he’s willing to put aside his hatred of Nobunaga to ensure that no unnecessary lives are lost, even if he’s sacrificing himself in the process. they all share the simple dream of one day being able to return to their homeland, and Yukimura expects almost all of them to be able to fulfill that dream together.

so when Shingen insinuates that he won’t be able to be there for that, Yukimura gets understandably worried and angry.

okay, so now we know that he's a selfless iron woobie. what else? as stated above we know that he is actually a closet Sensitive Guy(TM). Yukimura is sensitive to his own feelings, at least. he's a Thinker, he thinks a lot and even overthinks. he is a tsundere to himself - because he's hardwired himself to sacrifice other needs and wants aside from the goals he's set for himself. if it’s not something for the benefit of his dream or Shingen or Sasuke - does he really need it?

he clings onto all the light he can hold onto no matter how small for the sake of his dream - it’s literally defined his life, he’s somewhat dependant on using his body to fight for something or someone and that’s why he’s always moving around doing something. Yukimura also respects other people who have a similar mindset (also his highest criteria when it comes to women; he gotta have something to respecc).

if he didn’t have anything to fight for what do you think would happen? :thinking:,,,, check out chapter 13 of his dramatic route for the answer,,,, it is not pretty :(

3. 95% giver 5% taker (and only after some self-deprecation)

of course his selflessness also applies to his love interest??

even as a lover he's such an adorable loser that makes me want to cry. he is selfless love in the form of a man. he is basically a dog boi. he only wants to take care of you, your happiness is his happiness. he always offers to make YOU happy and not himself first- it's like as long as you're smiling he can keep going, even if he's tired or if he worked all day, he always has time to spoil and coddle you-- if you want all his attention he'll give it to you, no matter how tired or busy he is. in fact, he thinks that its part of the job description, that its his duty to indulge in your desires. even on his birthday, you know the day where HE'S supposed to get something, he goes out of his way to get YOU a present.

the conflict in his route is literally him coming to terms that he wants something for himself, denying himself from his own goddamn happiness. he finds out that you are on the side of his enemies, yet he still wants you because he’s fallen for you - but he tells/forces himself to think that he doesn’t need you after all, because “it wasn’t meant to be” and that he doesn’t deserve you because he brought you to the battlefield. even though he can do exactly what he needs to if you were simply just ‘friends’ or ‘acquaintances’ - the idea of giving himself true happiness by being with the person he loves? nah, fam.

literally the only time he wanted to be selfish for once he slapped himself and said ‘no’. if you didn’t chase after him, the regret would eat at him for a long time, regret that he’ll eventually learn to squash down inside himself and only add to fuel of performing only for others - and not himself.

👏 👏 related analysis: why does he come off as insensitive when it comes to his route? why has he demonstrated that he is actually not Stupid but is also a butthead to you?

answer: defence mechanism - he thinks women are bothersome because they cry. and when women cry he lacks the confidence(?) to use words to comfort them. they embarrass him, he’s a tsundere, he only says things truly from his heart under Very Specific Circumstances where he is completely vulnearable and open (like pre-spice or... some angst situation).

so instead he just falls back to being selfless like he normally is. all he knows is how to care about other people, carry their burdens and wanting them to rely on him. that's why when you're upset at the festival, he just keeps shoving food at you instead of asking 'what's wrong' and going off on that. because his mind is literally just thinking food = good = makes people happy = ok, let's do that then. that's also why he'd rather you be angry than sad. sad is bad because he doesn’t know how to deal with bad except being physically intimate - pretty sure Yukimura would rather die if he had to hug every crying woman he ever encountered.

conclusion: he’s just a lost, lost boi who doesn’t know how to comfort people so he sacrifices himself and puts others ahead of him using actions - he pampers, he lets people vent out on him, the works. what a fucking wholesome loser who needs to love himself for once.

👏 👏 end of insensitive boi in love analysis

there’s a part of Yukimura that is actually a bit insecure. it's odd because he’s usually so confident in himself, and so proud, but he’s also so self-deprecating? under that tough boy exterior is just a boi who wants to be loved. he wants someone who will be there for him and support his stupid ass. he uses himself to hold up everyone else's burdens, but sometimes there's nobody that might be able to do the same to him. he wants someone to come home to, when he's stressed and wants some loving because otherwise he'd hole up his emotions and explode-- if he didn't have Shingen and Sasuke there with him.

his route sort of expresses the fact that Yukimura has never experienced a ‘mature love’ before, or a love where he imagines a life together with them. crushes, probably at some point in his life. sexual experience? how can he not have any??? but mature love? questionable.

these moments are few and far between because its not explored quite as much, but when they do...

he says things like "don't leave me, i'll prove that i'm the man for you." (bitch doesn't have to prove jack shit, he literally radiates with Care and Love) and “I need you”. he just doesn't want you to disappear on him.

why’d you think you decided to leave without telling him? bitch would fucking fight the sky to keep you with him.

he's scared to lose you because he's finally found someone who is willing to accept him and taught him that its ok for him to be selfish for once and do things for his own sake and his own happiness. what he wants most is to just come home and eat food with you together. every encounter with you is precious to him because you rarely see each other. he wants to spend time with you. he doesn't like it when things cut into plans that seperate the two of you- but he doesn't mind it if plans didn't run as expected as long as he still got to spend the day with you. even if he's busy, he lies to go out with you to do things that YOU want.

he’s finally come to find some happiness outside of work and outside of how he already copes - that alone is special to him, whether you end up as his friend or as his lover.

so basically:

you should love this guy bc he is mega Lovable and radiates warm Energy,,, he will always care about ur dumb ass one way or another.

#ikemen sengoku #cybird #ikesen #ikesen yukimura #Sanada Yukimura #by the way i fucking love this loser a lot #if you couldn't tell #i stan him so much #he deserves so much love #big loser muscly boi

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the-fushiguros · 5 years

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21 Questions

Tagged by @thebatphone Thank you! Also 1. You have the most adorable nicknames ever and 2. Your dream little boutique sounds SO CUTE

Nicknames: G, Rook, Niblet...it goes on and on. I feel like every person I know calls me something different.

Height: 5'3(ish)

Hogwarts House: Slytherin

Last Thing I Googled: Iron Spider Backpack on Amazon.

It’s super cute and I need it so bad. I’m 22 years old, I study political revolution and war, and I desperately want to roll up to my lectures on war-mongering and political extremism and all that heavy stuff with a Spider-Man backpack on. It’d make those sad, heavy readings more bearable. I know it would.

Favorite Musicians: Arctic Monkeys are always my number one but right now I’m also super into a band called Glass Animals. Listen to their song The Other Side of Paradise. It’s my favourite of theirs.

Song Stuck In Your Head: Money by Pink Floyd

Following: 3388. I love to follow a huge variety of people and it helps because I’m running 4 different blogs. I need a lot of content on my dash.

Followers: 3253

Do You Get Asks: I get more messages than asks. And most of my asks went to my writing blog when I was actually keeping that up.

Also here I’ll put a general apology to anyone messaging me right now because I know I’m super slow at answering. I don’t actually check my phone/messages that often and I’ll sometimes only answer in a conversation once or twice a day. I know it’s horrible of me to be that slow at communicating, but I really do love talking to you all!!

Amount Of Sleep: More than I used to get now that it’s summer and I’m not so overworked. Maybe 7-8 hours on average.

Lucky Number(s): 3 and 13

What You’re Wearing: Black and white patterned high-low skirt with a black top. And it’s great because I thought I had lost this skirt but it turns out I just needed to clean my closet. That one’s on me.

Dream Job: Honestly just something that lets me afford all my diabetic supplies. Insulin isn’t cheap in America and it sucks!!!

Realistically I’m heading for a job in political risk analysis to get some political experience and then I eventually want to teach political history.

In an absolute dream world I’d be a storyteller of some sort. A novelist, a screenwriter, an actor. There’s so many stories in my head and I don’t have quite the opportunities (or talent) to share them the way I wish I could.

Dream Trip: Paris. A nice long stay in the one city so I can fully explore all it has to offer. Not that the main tourist attractions aren’t great (because they’re amazing) but I want time to really see the city, you know? All it’s hidden avenues and secrets. Find the absolute best food, museums, parks.

Instruments: Piano, flute, percussion (drums and mallet instruments), and guitar. Best at piano. Absolutely horrid at flute.

Languages: English, French, and enough Welsh to get by

Favorite Songs: Excluding Arctic Monkeys just for the sake of some variety then

1. Ain’t No Sunshine, Bill Withers

2. Kashmir, Led Zeppelin

Random fact: I have synesthesia (where two of your senses cross and mingle together) and I can taste noises. I hear a sound--any sound--and it makes me think really, really hard about a certain taste. Some are so strong I swear I can actually feel it on my tongue. We first noticed it when I was a kid and I insisted on reading books aloud because if I read it in my head I’d miss tasting the words which, for me, was half the experience. It’s not very...distinct or complex. Most of the tastes can be really had to describe and I can usually only sort it in one of four ways: sweet, sour, meaty, or metallic. If that. Most of the time I’m hearing multiple things at once and it often times melds into a kind of groggy soup. But some things are always very distinct. For example the name of the town I live in--no matter who says it--always tastes like smoked ham and I once changed lectures times at school because the teacher I was first assigned had a voice that tasted like curdled milk.

Alex Turner has a very distinct voice for me, which is one of the reasons I got so into the band. His voice tastes like whiskey but with a really metallic downturn that’s only accented by the icy taste of the guitar. Thus the name of my url, whisky on the rocks. That’s what the band tends to taste like for me.

Aesthetic: Cute as heck but could break your neck.

Tagging: @iamturnerstorms @vulnificura @tightredpants and anyone else who sees this and wants to do it!!

#tag game #answered

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warlordgab · 6 years

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What makes a Potent Pairing stand out? (LuNa Edition)

"Love is Friendship caught fire; it is quiet, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times."

"It’s the day-in and day-out chronicle of irritations, problems, compromises, small disappointments, big victories, and working toward common goals."

- Laura Hendricks

When it comes to potent relationships featured in literary works, several people often look for something that resonates with their perspective of what they would like in a relationship with a significant other.

Sometimes, that creates highly subjective views on what the story presents for characters and their connections with others. So, it's fair to ask: what makes a relationship stand out from the rest?

Logically, it has to stay true to both story and characters, while displaying some factors already explained in a previous analysis: meaningful behaviors, significant gestures, emotional support, all within multiple major and minor moments.

Also, as stated by the concept of Potent Bonding, the story gradually and consistently stresses on their relationship.

These are minimum requirements for a well-written relationship as any premise lacking actual development and build-up falls within the realm of bad/lazy writing forcing half-baked connections.

Now that we cleared that up, what does LuNa offer that other premises don't? What makes such relationship stand out from the rest?

One element would be a remarkably solid chemistry. Something that started with these characters both actively and passively challenging each other's perspectives; a conflict that reached its peak at Arlong Park when Nami after losing all hope chooses to rely on Luffy who personally provides her with the strength and emotional comfort she needed so badly in a very impactful scene...

...this is something that Luffy had to personally resolve with Nami to earn her trust and loyalty. Notice how the scene didn't need much dialogue, in fact, most of that emotional narrative is told through actions and meaningful gestures instead of exaggerated and corny lines.

What adds more to LuNa would be the fact that Luffy not only actively tried to reach out to Nami, he did it without knowing anything about her background nor the reason behind her despair, he did it without having any real reason to put faith in her. All he knew were two things: he wanted her in his crew, and someone made her cry... that was the only motivation he needed, even though her life wasn't in danger, to personally become the emotional crutch of a girl who tried to push him away.

This came to a point that even when Nami’s father figure made him promise not to take away Nami’s smile, Luffy’s final response was this...

...he took Nami’s happiness as his responsibility, and he did it with a smile. This adds a sense of compromise to their relationship.

But it doesn't end there. Using this as the foundation of their bond, the story stressed their relationship at several points and arcs.

By the time of the Drum Island arc, Nami started to return that faith/trust put in her by placing her life in Luffy's hands as he decides to climb a mountain to get Nami medical attention.

At this point, we should remember that when writing chemistry between characters it should never be implied that one owns the other a relationship because of favors done. Saving someone is not enough to establish a solid chemistry, so it's not about the fact that Luffy helped to save Nami, instead, it's more about the mutual confidence between them and how that affects the characters.

This is something that makes LuNa different from other premises, as shippers often like to rely on the argument of "he saved her, so they should be together." Instead of that, we get a strong bond that consistently grows through the loyalty and virtues of a deep companionship without the need for overly mushy stuff.

Moving on to Skypiea, we find out Luffy's struggle to earn Nami's faith/trust was not over yet. When going through a crisis (most of the crew getting easily stomped by Enel), Nami ended up giving into fear and the uncertainty of their situation filled her with doubts even when Luffy was fighting the big bad of the arc. What was Luffy's response?

He reminded Nami that as a the companion of the future Pirate King she didn't need to fret so much. Through a meaningful gesture, he managed to quell Nami's anxiety and provide her with the courage to face Enel by herself. While this is a moment that had been considered several times in the past its importance in the context of the Luffy/Nami relationship stands out in future showings.

The first result is obvious, Luffy solidifies his role as Nami's emotional anchor. Something that doesn't need much explanation at this point and doesn’t rely on scenes or words taken out of context.

But the aftermath of this moment is felt much later in Oda's works. She opens herself to Luffy at Water 7 while revealing Robin's true motives, and during the movie Oda wrote (Strong World), we saw how her first reaction when dazed or anxious is to look for Luffy.

And it's easy to notice that after the timeskip this hasn't really changed, as Nami continues to rely on Luffy the most to the point she was completely confident on him being the one that would beat Yeti Cool Bros. to rescue her. Not to mention the way she received him at Zou is quite consistent with their moment at the Aqua Laguna in Water 7, while she's happy to see them Nami runs to Luffy's arms seeking for hope and comfort

Notice that while other premises rely on gags, jokes, or claims of sexual tension, this relationship offers strength and emotional support when most needed, along with mutual faith/trust without being overly corny/clichéd or putting a heavy load on the story.

The effect this connection has on Nami even subverts the expectations of many readers. When she saw a Sweet Commander sending Luffy flying through several trees, several readers expected her to leave Luffy fighting alone and proceed with their mission by her own.

But, what did she do?

She stood by Luffy's side and helped him to fight in the ways she could at the moment. Her loyalty and bravery shine through this arc.

When people saw a wounded and exhausted Luffy was about to fight the Enraged Army, several readers expected Nami to run away, let Luffy fight on his own, and find a better chance to continue their mission.

But, what did she do?

Once again, she stood by Luffy's side. Nami tried to convince him to hide, but when Luffy refused because he was determined to wait for Sanji there, she supported Luffy and fought alongside him against overwhelming odds. A stark contrast to Skypiea; here Luffy didn't need to provide her with courage. In this case, Nami displayed a remarkable bravery and faithfully supported Luffy even when facing these dreadful circumstances.

On the other hand, when it comes to Luffy, he is defined by Oda himself as someone very "straightforward about what he wants to be and how he feels," and this is reflected in the way he bonds with other characters. He's like an open book that doesn't hide his feelings; he easily expresses his excitement about the wonders he gets to see, and at times he shows his mettle during serious situations.

After Nami made an impression on him during the Buggy arc, Luffy knew that he wanted her in his crew to the point he wasn't willing to let her go. We know he never doubted Nami or gave up on her even when given enough reasons to do so. And when given the chance to learn why Nami was refusing to join him, he didn't care; Luffy just wanted Nami as his navigator and acted on his feelings.

One example that shows how their chemistry stands out is the way Oda wrote Luffy's character in Strong World...

We previously saw how Luffy did his best to strengthen the trust and faith between him and Nami. So, how does he react to the prospect of Nami doubting him and not relying on him anymore...

If you want more information about why would a man react this way, feel free to check this detailed analysis on Strong World and LuNa

Now, Luffy demands absolute trust and loyalty from Nami, and as the story shows, he's willing to fight to earn them. Something that holds a greater meaning than exaggerated flirting or physical appeal.

This relationship also offers him far more than other premises do...

We can find an example of this in an interesting detail about their emotional chemistry. A friend of mine pointed out a contrast provided by this scene...

...when the crew read about Luffy's great loss during the Marineford War, they tried their best to reach the place where they were going to reunite. When we get Nami's response to this matter she has a flashback about Luffy's concern for Ace despite his choice of letting him be. So, she wanted to be there for him because she knew what Luffy needed the most at that moment was emotional support, something he gave to her several times in the past.

While a smitten woman was simply offering food to Luffy while fantasizing about him, Nami was going to offer what Luffy truly needed: support, relief, and comfort. Granted, the entire crew was trying to go back to Luffy as soon as they read the news, but that doesn't change the fact Nami wanted to give Luffy something far more meaningful and thoughtful in the context of an actually healthy and strong relationship. Partly based on what she knew and remembered of him along with everything they went through until that point.

It's true that Nami has a fiery temper, but despite this fact, Luffy is still willing to keep bonding with her. This is another aspect that helps them to stand out, not for the bickering, but rather how Nami tries to put a rein on Luffy due to how much of a reckless daredevil he is.

In this regard, they complement each other in the way she later explained in Weatheria; she's like the compass that keeps Luffy from losing his way allowing him to venture into the sea. And going by the story and the flashbacks that reveal how she felt throughout her speech, to her Luffy is like the rock that gives a firm hold of her emotional turmoil in times of distress.

The fact they complement each other is not a coincidence either. Most of the companions Luffy got on his journey have skills or personalities shaped around his needs, and this is somewhat highlighted by Luffy himself during Arlong Park.

To put it in other terms, he's not very bright and he's left to go on his own in the sea he won't go far. That's why he needs someone that can, as other people already explained, navigate him through his decision-making; someone that could challenge a poor course of action and provide with a brain for his brawls all while being willing to go on adventures and crossing the seas.

This is consistent with Luffy's character. In contrast, by relying on filler, hype, or pandering several shippers promote premises that go against Luffy's straightforward nature, but LuNa offers something that fits into his characters and leaves enough room to grow stronger without hindering the story nor reducing the quality of its writing.

All things considered, what we've seen in Oda's works is the indication of a deep "love" binding them together, poetry that writes itself. While it's not something explicitly romantic in the traditional sense of the word, it's still strong enough for their bond to stand out from the rest as a Potent Relationship.

NaLu Edition here: http://warlordgab.tumblr.com/post/174632047146/what-makes-a-potent-pairing-stand-out-nalu

#one piece #straw hat luffy #cat burglar nami #luffy x nami #monkey d. luffy #nami #LuNa #lunami #chemistry #potent relationship #analysis

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secretgamergirl · 6 years

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Let’s talk about how Ranma is trans, part 3

Continued from Part 2.

The main thing going on in Volume 21 is Ranma getting drawn into a cheerleading contest. I’m only bringing this up because my gut says there’s going to be a while because I have something to talk about, and it’s a good reminder that stuff like this is absurdly common in this series, and I’m not desperate enough for examples to need to grasp at straws like this:

Ranma’s compulsive competitive streak rationalizes everything going on this page, and doesn’t particularly provide any evidence of her actually being a girl, beyond her prioritizing this victory over the humiliation and dysphoria a boy would be subjecting himself to in going down this road (which includes spending a week dating Kuno on the next page).

Now, the fact that this arc ends with Akane giving a heavy sigh at how this was Ranma’s plan A, personally going the direct route of just throwing on some kendo gear and participating in the actual martial arts competition Ranma felt compelled to cheerlead for, inspiring Ranma to cheer for her instead, and confess her love for the mysterious stranger she thinks is some mystery guy before she’s unmasked, that’s pretty telling.

Like, I don’t actually see a longterm relationship between the two of them ultimately working out, but it’s not hard to imagine this series ending with them getting married, and I can only picture that wedding ceremony with Akane in a suit and Ranma in a big poofy bridal gown. I mean, I’ve read the actual ending, and that’s still the only way I can picture it, you know?

... oh and Volume 22 picks up from here, with the gasping crowd pondering if Ranma is in girl mode when they have sex. This is relevant here as a reminder that at this point Ranma is totally out of the closet. Everyone knows about the whole curse thing, and it’s been like 18 volumes since she last attempted to pretend she was some mysterious stranger when publicly in girl mode. Also while totally off the mark of how physically intimate these two are, I appreciate that this random guy in the crowd has my back on how obviously Akane would top. That’s generally the rule of thumb when trans women date cis women by the way. There’s obviously exceptions, and I don’t want to get too sidetracked here, but, random crowd guy’s imagination is much closer to reality than most people’s.

V22C2 however is very, very significant to my whole thesis here, being the introduction of Ranma’s mother, seen here fishing Ranma out of the river after she “accidentall” falls in by walking on a faulty chain link fence:

I already got into things with Nodoka here in part 1 of this series, but seriously, this whole arc here is hard for me to get through now. A mother who is outwardly incredibly sweet and kind, especially towards total strangers, while quietly deeply conservative about traditional gender roles, and who threatens to kill her own trans daughter if she deviates from the “manly man” role she envisions for her hits entirely too close to home for me today.

Also for some reason, since starting this series, like a dozen people have gotten upset with me for referring to Genma being abusive in the same fashion, but aside from the general abusive nature of that relationship, no, the suicide pact of manliness was totally his idea. People just edit their memories because we’re all conditioned to blame women for everything.

So now we’ve got this flashback to having an infant Ranma “sign a contract” by pouring ink on her hand and letting her slap a piece of paper as Nodaka reminds everyone how seriously she’s taking this. Ranma blurts out “Ranko” as a cover name to avoid being outed to her. Real trans people almost never go that route, but it took me years to work out what I wanted to change mine name to officially. You take your time and keep thinking about it girl.

Ranma’s reaction to this information is getting, justifiably, quite angry at Genma for making this agreement, as she is now forced to deceive her mother, instead of immediately coming out to her. By the way, here’s Ranma getting mad at Akane for referring to her as manly and handsome in boy mode. Like, yeah, mitigating factor that you’re lying to prevent her from getting murdered, but it is incredibly painful to hear that sort of misgendering crap from people you care about in any circumstances.

... OK I don’t want to waste my whole scan pasting budget on this book when there’s still so many to go in this batch, but I could paste in every page. Nabiki of all people (Akane’s sister, sells candid nudes of Ranma to dudes who have crushes on her) refuses to go along with the lie here. When asked how Ranma spends all her spare time fighting (which is technically true), she corrects that to spending all her time running around in increasingly feminine costumes. Some “they were saying Boo-urns” later, Ranma asks her what the hell, and turns out she isn’t just trying to be a jerk. Her mom’s long dead, and the thought of Ranma missing out on a serious emotional reconnection to her mother because she’s scared of how she’ll react to her “son” being a girl. On the one hand, that is a surprisingly sincere and real feeling bit of character development for an otherwise largely one-dimensional character who normally comes across as a heartless jerk. On the other hand, SCREW YOU NABIKI! YOU DO NOT OUT TRANS PEOPLE TO THEIR ABUSIVE FAMILY LIKE THAT! IT CAN GET PEOPLE KILLED, AND YOU ACTUALLY KNOW THAT!

Soun encourages her to stay closeted around her, but try and form as much of a positive connection as she can otherwise, which is a much healthier approach. Mostly this means hanging out with her in girl mode hoping she doesn’t catch on. She tries actually approaching him in boy mode, usually thwarted by shenanigans because this is a comedy. The one time she actually reaches her though, just before introducing herself as her “son,” she hears her speculating that maybe Ranma is avoiding her because Ranma really isn’t manly.

... OK I could stop this whole analysis on that first panel there. This isn’t subtext at this point. That’s not performative dialog. That’s Ranma talking to herself about how she feels better embracing her femininity, as she voluntarily activates her “curse,” having realized that she is so undeniably, fundamentally female that she can no longer convincingly pull off pretending to be a boy.At this point in the series, she’s clearly no longer an egg in heavy denial. She has had that contemplative moment every trans woman goes through eventually where we break through every lie we told ourselves about who we really are growing up, accepted who she really is, and knows you can’t ever go back at that point. Good for you Ranma, I know how hard pushing past that emotional wall can be, especially when it means alienating family like this.

The rest of that volume is light gag stuff, although there is a bit where Ranma ponders if she’s changed in some fundamental way where girls no longer like her. Volume 23 brings Pantyhose Taro back He’s still an openly transphobic creep, I still hate him. Ranma still glares at him over the slurs, but notably never tries to defend herself by claiming to be a guy. Oh and Nodoka shows up again, to teach the girls to cook. Complex feelings from Ranma there, obviously.

Also, I’m not going to throw up a scan for this one, because I’m trying to avoid pages with topless girls, but a good chunk of this volume involves Ryoga accidentally hitting Ranma with this magical Cupid’s Arrow type fishing rod, causing her to fall in love with him, and... yeah it’s made pretty clear that she prefers to be in girl mode if she’s going to sleep with someone.

Volume 24 introduces Herb, the final curse victim in the series, having fallen into the same spring Ranma did. Herb however is clearly a guy. He’s actually doubly cursed, having been hit with a magic ladle that locks people in curse forms unless hit with a matching unlocking artifact (which Ranma is also hit with, and a couple others as this arc goes on), but rather than going “Welp, I guess I’ll start wearing cute dresses and dating guys! every time I can rationalize it even a little!“ he... wears really form-concealing clothes and does his best to not even let his own underlings know he’s cursed.

That arc stretches into Volume 25, followed by a really arbitrary fight against a new teacher, with a goal of sealing away her terrifying fighting technique, just because, which everyone gives up on after a final gag. Writing gets kinda sloppy in some of these later story arcs, motivation wise. I was going to say the Herb arc makes a really strong case for genderfluid vs. female for Ranma (and again, we can totally share representation here), because other than fixing that curse freeeze, there is literally no motive for them to fight, but... that’s pretty common in the back half of the series. Fighting for fighting’s sake is Ranma’s overriding motivation in general, which is why I keep passing on using most fights as evidence.

Volume 26 is about fighting a hydra and centers characters who aren’t characters. Akane looks good in drag. See again my wedding outfit thoughts.

Volume 27 is also a lot of wacky gag stuff not really focused on Ranma. I need to break all this text up though so, Ranma buys a new bathing suit for every beach trip.

Volume 28 is 100% about some random one off villain showing up in town, pretending to be Ranma, to steal something from Nodoka. You’d think I’d have more to talk about, considering, but it doesn’t really move the plot forward at all.

Volume 29 is all throwing stories to neglected side characters.

Volume 30 starts off by giving Ryoga a new love interest, in the hopes of being able to maybe pair people off in actually healthy ways, but THE HEART WANTS WHAT IT WANTS.

Yeah that’s just a random gag to hit the reset button (Ranma helped him avoid another girlfriend-doesn’t-know-the-cute-pig-is-you thing, see) but I’m coming in way under budget on images and way too serious on tone so the shipping will continue. But seriously she misconstrues that and leaves and he can’t find her again because of the easily lost thing.

Not a whole lot more to say here. Hinako, the teacher Ranma arbitrarily fights actually comes back a LOT for a character I forgot even existed, introduced this late in the series. Nodoka shows up again towards the end here, and they go all “5 second rule!” with it but she’s kinda putting the pieces together here:

This look at the original manga run concludes next time. I mean, in the sense that I’m going to run out of manga to reread. In the sense of proving my overall point, that happened the second I hit this panel:

#trans reading #ranma 1/2 #ranma #trans

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thesecretfandom · 7 years

Text

Wanderlust: City of Sin -- Bughead (Chapter 1)

Word Count: 5,129

Rated: PG-13

A/N: This is my first multichapter fic for the Bughead fandom. I based a lot of stuff in this off of real events from when I was traveling in Europe. Of course, I didn't meet a cute boy or anything, so I just inserted events wherever they seemed to fit, including the photo on the bottom left. Enjoy and I hope you continue to follow wherever the wind takes our world travelers in the future chapters. (Also on AO3)

(Next Chapter)

"Cheryl! Keep up!" Betty shouted to the girl trailing behind her. Veronica was leading the way, marching into the hostel they had booked for the next four nights. "There'll be plenty of time for shopping tomorrow."

Betty was already dragging one of Cheryl's bags behind her as well as her own two bags. How she'd gotten roped into that she wasn't sure, but at least they were finally at the end of their long walk from the bus station. By the time Betty had gotten Cheryl's attention and led her to the entrance of the skinny building, Veronica had already them checked in.

"Top floor, it's practically the penthouse suite." Veronica announced to her friends who were just entering behind her. "And I have these three young gentlemen who are going to help us with our bags."

Betty widened her eyes at Veronica. What happened to stranger danger?

"Don't worry, they're from the States too, so no language barrier. They're taking the other three beds in our room."

"Well well well, would you look at these tall drinks of water." Cheryl crooned. She dropped her duffel dramatically and hooked her arms with the redheaded boy and the tall, handsome Asian boy standing next to him. The third boy leaned against the wall, as if waiting for this whole interaction to end. His small beanie could barely confine the thick locks of black hair underneath.

Betty was still trying to figure out just how Veronica had managed make friends in the two minutes that they'd been separated. The redhead lifted Veronica's bags and headed toward the stairs at the front of the building.

"Wait for me, Archiekins." Veronica winked at her friend and followed the well-built boy to the stairs. "I'll get the door for you."

Cheryl had clearly already claimed her pack mule, gesturing to her bags that she'd dropped earlier. "Betty, don't be silly, he'll carry my bags the rest of the way."

The pair disappeared up the stairs and Betty was left with the third mysterious stranger.

"Well, that was weird." The boy pushed off the wall and sauntered over to where Betty stood. He nodded toward Betty's luggage. "Need any help with those?"

"I can handle it, thanks." She hiked up her backpack and got a firm grip on her luggage. The stairs were incredibly steep and thin. With limited space within the narrow building, they didn't want to waste space on the stairs. It was slow going, taking one step at a time as she dragged her black, wheeled luggage up the steps behind her.

"You know, if you let me help this'll go faster." Betty ignored him. Stubborn as ever, she absolutely did not want to give in and let some stranger get the better of her. "I'm Jughead by the way. Surprisingly, the nickname is better than the real one."

Betty stopped walking at the first platform, where she dropped her bags. Her breath was already heavy with the effort. "Jug…head?" She turned to look at the boy who was following along leisurely. "Where'd that name come from?"

The boy shrugged. "Doesn't matter really. It's just my name now." He was fiddling with a camera that hung around his neck. "Do you mind if I-" Click "Keep that one?"

Betty shook her head, not with anger but in disbelief. She'd met all sorts of characters on the long journey it took to get from her hometown to this hostel in Amsterdam, but no one quite so forward.

A small, close-mouthed smile crossed his lips. "You didn't say no." He wound the camera, old-fashioned from what Betty could gather. Not that she knew anything about cameras. "I'm documenting my travels. I'll still take photos of all of those typical touristy things, if only for Archie and Reggie's sake, those boys wouldn't know a good view if it hit them in the face… but I like to get pictures of the finer things. The side that can only be experienced by the individual."

"And you think an exhausted girl standing at the top of a staircase is part of your grand experience?"

Jughead grinned, "Precisely. Most people wouldn't even think to take a picture of that, but I did."

Betty simply stared at this boy. He was definitely a weirdo, that much she could gather, but he seemed nice. She noticed that he had not once said anything along the lines of 'A little thing like you shouldn't be carrying all of that by yourself,' which she'd heard time and again during the journey across the ocean. He did have a point though. Even if she did just let him take her relatively light backpack, she would move a lot quicker.

As if reading her mind Jughead spoke again. "Let me give you my analysis of the situation we're in. You don't want to let me, a strange guy you just met, carry your bags for two reasons. Number one, obviously, I'm a strange guy you just met. Number two, and probably the main reason, you want to prove to me that you can do it." He stopped and scratched his nose. "I believe you can carry these bags up three flights of stairs if that's what you want to do. The fact of the matter is that we will move faster and it will be easier for you if you just let me help."

Betty's mouth gaped open. Never in her life had somebody called her out like that. No one had ever really cared enough to try to get in to her head the way this guy was.

"So, here are your two options, and you have to pick one." Jughead lifted one finger. "You can allow me to help you." He lifted a second finger. "Or you can kindly move out of the way so I can get upstairs and make sure none of the guys has stolen my bed. I prefer top bunk."

"By all means," Betty said, shimmying backward on the small landing. "After you."

Jughead smirked and sidled past her, their shoulders brushing as he passed. "See you upstairs."

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The girl with the blonde ponytail stumbled into the small room five long minutes later. Jughead was perched at the end of his bunk, laptop open in front of him. "Nice of you to join us."

"Betty, what were you thinking?" Veronica complained, standing from her spot on her lower bunk. She walked close to Betty and spoke in hushed tones. Luckily, Jughead was an expert at eavesdropping. "Must you always deny help from the boys? Is it because I took Archie? You wanted Archie didn't you?"

Of course, Jughead thought. The girls always go for Archie, or Reggie for that matter. His silent, brooding demeanor always seemed to make other people take a step back, but it had never bothered him before.

Betty pushed the other girl back a little, fixing her with a glare that said 'What is wrong with you?'. "I'm fine, V." She huffed, still catching her breath. "Besides, it builds character."

The girl, Betty, dropped her luggage on the floor at the foot of Veronica's bed and climbed the ladder to the empty bed on top. Jughead's bed, which he shared with Archie was parallel to theirs, Reggie and the red headed-girl sharing the bunk closest to the window, lined up at the end of the other two girls' bed. This left Jughead with two things to look at in the small, mostly empty room. He decided on the prettier of the two. He laid down in his bed and angled his head toward the girl's bed, opting to look at her instead of Reggie.

Betty's actions mirrored his, though she didn't notice it. She laid flat on her back at first, then rolled over. Jughead did his best to act casual, averting his eyes before she opened hers. When she finally let her eyes open, Jughead was staring at the wall just above her. He flicked his eyes down to look at her.

"Betty." He said with a slight nod.

"Jughead." She reciprocated.

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Betty was up early the next morning, the remaining occupants all fast asleep. She opened the window quietly, sneaking a look at the overhang just outside. It was wide enough for her to sit on, legs crossed, with room to spare. She took a step out, holding tightly to the windowsill as she swung her other leg over.

The sun was just beginning to rise. Betty let her head rest against the brick of the old building. She just couldn't believe she was here. Her whole life, she'd dreamt of traveling through Europe and she'd finally gotten the opportunity. She'd taken a year off from school, opting to work and save money for the trip of a lifetime. Veronica and Cheryl didn't understand how that was. Their parents gave them all the money they needed for the summer long trip they were going on. Betty's family didn't have the funds to spare her anything for the trip, not that they would've helped if they could.

"We've got a daredevil on our hands here." Betty glanced over her shoulder. Jughead stood at the window, just his head poking out. "Mind if I join you?"

Betty shook her head, sliding over so the boy could take a seat next to her.

Jughead sat next to Betty and pulled his knees to his chest. Fingers fiddling with the camera that hasn't left his side since Betty first saw him. He looked out across the famous Amsterdam canals. The sun was just starting to reflect across the water and a few bicycles were already rolling down the street.

Jughead took a deep breath. "Ah, nothing like the sweet smell of marijuana in the morning."

Betty snorted. Smooth move. "You smoke?" She asked with a sweet smile.

"Once or twice." Jughead shrugged. "It was kind of a big thing at my high school. Hard to avoid."

Betty nodded. She'd never tried it herself, but she'd also never been to Amsterdam before, where the drug was legal and even flaunted in the multitude of "Coffee Shops," which Betty learned do not actually sell coffee.

"So, what do you all have planned for the day?"

"Oh um, I think we were just going to wander the city a bit. We didn't want to plan too much for our first day in case we were jetlagged."

"You don't seem jetlagged at all." Jughead offered.

"Yeah, we got up so early to catch our flight that I slept most of the way here. I already managed to adjust to the time zone I guess."

"That's a good thing. More time to, explore the city."

"Yeah, I guess." Betty scratched her arm nervously. Say something. Anything. If you're quiet for too long it'll get awkward."Is this your first time abroad?"

"Yeah, it's awesome right? We got here just before your friend showed up." Jughead smiled; he snapped a photo of the sun rising over the buildings. "We had just brought our things up, but Reggie wanted to go get a beer so we came back down, that's when Veronica showed up. Archie kind of volunteered me to stick around to help you guys out."

"I'm sorry about that, by the way. I know I can be kind of stubborn." Betty bit her lip, continuing. "But as soon as someone thinks I can't do something, then I have to do it."

"I never thought you couldn't do it."

Betty shook her head and turned her shoulders to face Jughead better. "Oh I know that. Veronica and Cheryl, though. Between you and me, sometimes it's like they expect other people to do things for them. And with their looks, it's not hard for them to find people like that."

Jughead shimmied backward slightly, carefully turning his body to face Betty fully. He lifted the camera to his eye. "I think you've definitely got the looks to pull that off." Click.

"Another one of your grand experiences?"

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After sitting on the overhang with Jughead for almost two hours, Betty was dressed and ready to explore by nine o'clock. Her hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, leaving her shoulders exposed by her white tank. Jughead watched from his bed as she stood in front of the full length mirror, applying a light coat of mascara.

A soft sigh came from the lump of blankets on the bed beneath Betty's. Betty turned abruptly, tossing her make-up into the small bag that she'd retrieved it from earlier. She sat on the side of Veronica's bed and pulled the blanket away from her head.

"Good morning sunshine." She said, her voice sing-songy to the sleepy girl.

"B?" Veronica questioned. "What are you doing up?"

Betty wave a hand nonchalantly, though Jughead noticed that the other girl had yet to open her eyes. "Are you ready to explore? I'm starving and dying to see the city."

"It's so early." The black haired girl peeked her eye open. "And bright. I need at least twenty minutes to fully wake up and another hour to shower and do my hair and get dressed."

"It's going to be lunchtime by the time you're ready, and Cheryl hasn't even woken up yet."

"Sorry, B. I'm just so tired. I can't move right now." With that, Veronica pulled the blanket over her head again. Betty sighed and stood up.

"I know how you feel." Jughead said, motioning to his friends, still fast asleep. "How about we go get some breakfast? My treat." Jughead hopped down from his bed.

"Oh, I don't know. I should probably wait for my friends."

"Come on, Betty. I won't bite. After all, if I was trying to kill you I would've done so already. I could've pushed you down the stairs yesterday or thrown you off the roof this morning, but I didn't."

Betty rolled her eyes. "How kind of you." She replied sarcastically.

Jughead grinned and grabbed his room key and wallet from his suitcase. He draped an arm across Betty's shoulder casually. "I think we could turn out to be really good friends."

Betty quirked an eyebrow, but allowed Jughead to lead her out of the room, down the stairs, and into the busy streets of Amsterdam. A stream of bikes whizzed by, Betty noticed that there were more bikes than cars.

"Pancake Corner." Jughead announced, pointing toward the sign that he'd just noticed. "Sounds promising."

"I would eat anything right now, I'm so hungry." Betty's answer was accompanied by a loud groan from her stomach.

"Well, lucky for you, you don't have to eat just anything. You get to eat some delicious Dutch pancakes." Jughead glanced both ways, checking for bikes and cars, then grabbed Betty's hand and pulled her across the street quickly. When they reached the safety of the opposite sidewalk Jughead dropped her hand and looked back at the beautiful blonde. She was smiling up at him. "After you."

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Betty and Jughead arrived back to their room at what seemed to be the perfect time. The other four occupants of the room were out of bed, dressed, and seemingly ready to go. Cheryl was sitting on her bed, liberally applying sunscreen.

"Finally, you guys are back." Veronica announced. She marched over to Betty, much like she'd done just the other day. In her ear she whispered. "Tell me all about it…later."

Betty blushed and took a step away from the boy who stood just a little too close. "Anyway, are you and Cheryl ready to go? I really want to go check out the Anne Frank House before it gets too busy."

Cheryl stood from her bed, grabbing her purse in one hand and Reggie's arm in the other. "Snooze fest. Count me out." Without another word, Cheryl marched out the door, patting Betty's cheek as she went.

"Sorry, B." Veronica picked up her purse. "But the boys are taking us out for lunch. You can come with of course."

"I literally just finished breakfast." Betty sighed. "Just… go ahead. It's fine. Let's just promise to meet up afterward."

"Archie wants to go on a canal tour!" Veronica pulled something out of her pocket. "Here's the place. Meet us there at one." She gave Betty a tight hug and then walked toward the door. "Come on, Archiekins."

Betty sat silently on Veronica's bed. Now with two hours to waste, she wasn't sure what to do.

"Looks like my friends aren't the only one's volunteering me to do stuff." Jughead said with a slight laugh. Betty glanced up at the boy with sad eyes. She'd forgotten that he was there. "Sorry, not funny."

Betty flopped back on the bed. This trip was supposed to be the three girls together, seeing the world and having fun. Now it seemed she was alone. Yet again, she was doing what was asked of her. Always striving to be the perfect friend, she didn't dare argue with Veronica.

"So," Jughead started. "When are we going to Anne Frank's?" "You really want to go?" Betty asked. "Or are you mocking me?"

"I wouldn't dare mock you." A shy smile crossed the boys lips. "Besides, I'm a sucker for a little history."

"Okay." She paused, standing. "Thank you, Jughead."

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Betty and Jughead were the last to arrive at the boat for the tour, the other four waiting on the dock.

"Jughead!" Archie called, waving to the pair. "Over here, we already have your tickets."

The group boarded the boat, which was still relatively empty. Booths lined both sides, but were only large enough to hold four people. Jughead already knew what was likely to happen, based on the events of the day so far. Betty didn't seem likely to let that happen.

The blonde girl grabbed each of her friends by the arm, stopping them from choosing a seat. "Can we sit together? Just us."

"I promised Archie I would sit with him, though." Veronica replied.

"I'm your best friend though, V. This was supposed to be a trip for the three of us. Please?"

"Well, I guess…" Veronica glanced to the boys who were waiting beside them. Archie nodded. "Okay."

Jughead took a seat alone in a booth; his friends followed him.

"Man, girls… huh?" Reggie said. "I wouldn't have even come on this boat if I didn't think I was going to get one step closer to getting laid."

"Shut up, Reg." Archie shoved his shoulder. "You'll get your chance."

"Cher does seem pretty into me, doesn't she? Can't blame her." The boy flexed his muscles. Not for the first time, Jughead wondered about his choice of friends. "What about you, Jug? Think you're gonna get lucky?"

Jughead glared at Reggie. He wouldn't even be friends with him if it weren't for Archie. They'd been on the football team together in high school, and Archie basically forced them to hang out as a group. "What the fuck is wrong with you? Is everything about sex to you?"

"Like you haven't thought about it." Reggie glanced over his shoulder to where the girls were sitting. "You know what they say, blondes have more fun."

"Reggie, just shut up!"

He raised his hands in defeat. "Chill, Jughead. I'm just saying. She's hot… and she seems into you."

Jughead sat back, glancing toward the girls table. Veronica was saying something to Betty, something that caused her cheeks to turn a deep shade of pink. Betty glanced up. She locked eyes with Jughead and smiled.

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"Okay girls! Welcome to the Red Light District!" Reggie announced, walking past the post that marked the edge of the sexiest part of the city. It was their last night in Amsterdam, and the group was inseparable. Betty hadn't been sure about these guys at first, but after the canal tour, she knew she could trust them not to steal her friends away. Plus, the guys seemed nice enough, especially Jughead.

All six of them were well on their way to being drunk, and Betty didn't think twice about following them all into the eerie red glow. Buildings were fronted with tall windows, each one showing off a different woman. Most wore slim bikini tops, the fabric just barely covering their breasts, and thongs. Bright neon signs boasted lowest prices for peep shows, sex theaters, and… a sign that claimed '€2 anal.'

Betty held tight to Jughead's arm, not wanting to get swept into the thriving crowd of individuals seeking who-knows-what. He glanced at Betty, then followed her line of sight to the large sign. He grinned back at her and leaned in close to her ear so she could hear him speak. "That's a pretty good deal, don't you think?"

Betty's face felt like it was on fire, that's how hard she blushed. She tried to play it off with a laugh and a wide-mouthed grin. Hopefully the glowing neon hid the redness in her cheeks. Regardless, she held on to his arm and followed her friends closer to one of the buildings.

Reggie was gesticulating wildly, pointing to the sign for a building. "Live. Sex. Show." He looked around at the group, who didn't seem quite as interested. "It's part of the Amsterdam experience! Come on, you all watch porn right?"

No one replied to him, though Betty admitted, if only to herself, that she had watched some from time to time. Not that she would ever admit that to anyone, even her closest friends.

"If it sucks we'll leave, okay?" Reggie laughed, as if he'd just made some hilarious joke. "Scratch that if it sucks we'll stay. You know what I mean though! It can't hurt to check it out."

"Oh, I am so in." Cheryl announced, grinning wickedly.

"I'll go if Archie goes." Veronica replied.

"I'm in too, I guess." Archie said.

The whole group looked to Betty and Jughead, who were standing silently behind them.

"What about you Betty?" Cheryl dared. "Are you in?"

Betty's eyes widened. She was absolutely terrified of following them into that building. She shook her head slowly. "Actually, I'm kind of tired and I really have to pee. You guys go ahead though! I'll just head back to the hostel." Betty extracted her arm from Jughead's, assuming he'd follow his friends, and began to walk back the way they'd came. She only got a few steps before Jughead grabbed her arm.

"You can't get rid of me that easily." He took Betty's hand in his. "I'll come back with you."

"It's fine, really. I don't want you to miss out."

"I'm not missing out. I have everything I need right here."

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The way Betty smiled at him made his knees weak. He'd had three days in paradise with her, and it seemed like she might feel the same way. Every morning they met on the overhang outside their window. They would watch the sunrise and talk about how they'd gotten there. Jughead was similar to Betty in that way. They'd both taken time off of school to work and to travel. They both had great friends who encouraged them through their hardships, who made it possible for them to get here, to be in this moment together.

As they walked back to their hostel Betty tripped once or twice over the cobblestones. Each time she lost her balance she would squeeze Jughead's hand, so he spent most of the walk hoping she'd trip again, for his own selfish reasons.

"Careful on the stairs." Jughead warned after Betty tripped on the first step. They had to go single file up the small staircase, so Jughead opted to let Betty go first. She tripped again on the second step and Jughead grabbed her waist. "One step at a time. Go slowly."

"I am…" Betty giggled. "The step gets taller every time I try stepping on it."

"Whatever you say."

Betty managed the climb better with Jughead's hands holding her steady. When they reached the top Jughead let go, and Betty turned and smiled at him. Suddenly she wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him close. Jughead's mind went completely blank, his body not knowing how to respond to the new sensation. She felt good, pressed tightly against him, and wasn't letting go. He let his arms wrap around her shoulders.

"Thanks for walking me back." She looked up into his eyes and Jughead marveled at the color of hers. Kind of green, kind of blue. He'd never seen anything like it.

"It was nothing, really. I wanted to come back anyway."

Betty continued staring into his eyes, blinking slowly. The adrenaline of the evening was wearing off, it seemed, and Betty was getting tired.

With one final burst of energy her hands moved to cheeks and she pulled his face towards hers. Their lips connected with a burst of fireworks. Goosebumps traveled up Jughead's arms and onto his neck, but he wasn't cold. In fact, it seemed the room was getting warmer as Betty's soft, pink lips moved against his own. He held her waist, much like she had been only moments before, and pulled her close.

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Hours later, four loud bodies crashed into the room. Betty found herself suddenly wide awake, sober, and with a huge headache. She sat up quickly, almost hitting her head on the ceiling. She glanced around the room and found Jughead looking similarly exhausted in the bed across from hers. In the doorway stood Veronica and Cheryl, looking just the same as they had hours before, and a soaking wet Archie. On the floor in front of them was Reggie, in all states of disarray.

"What happened?" Betty questioned, bringing her phone up to check the time. 4:32. She'd only been sleeping for two hours.

"This fucking idiot," Archie said, his breathing heavy, "Jumped into the fucking canal."

"How does that explain why you're wet?" Jughead questioned. He raised an eyebrow at Betty.

"Someone had to jump in to save him. He's drunk off his ass so there's no way he would've made it out by himself."

Archie was already removing his clothes, and that meant everything. He had just moved his hands to the waistband of his underwear when Betty looked away quickly. She widened her eyes at Jughead, begging him to put a stop to it.

"Archie! Do you mind? There are ladies in the room."

"Oh, we don't mind." Cheryl said. She and Veronica were already both standing in front of the mirror, removing their make-up. Cheryl obviously couldn't help herself and glanced surreptitiously behind her.

"And besides, Jughead, the water in those canals is disgusting. I've got to get it off and go take a shower." Betty refused to move her eyes away from Jughead, afraid of what she might see otherwise. "Now get your ass down her and help me with Reggie."

The dark haired boy shook his head. "Absolutely not. You guys got yourself into this mess. I want no part of it. And… keep it down. I need my beauty rest."

Jughead pulled his blanket over his head and Betty followed suit, trying desperately to get back to sleep. There was shuffling, a few loud bangs, and a few minutes later the door slammed shut and the room was quiet again. She drifted back to sleep, her dreams filled with a black haired boy and soft, sweet kisses.

Betty was awoken by a hand nudging her shoulder. "Betty." A deep voice whispered. "Get up, get dressed, and meet me downstairs."

Betty was still sleepy, but rolled over anyway to look for the voice that was speaking to her. He was already gone when she opened her eyes. Across the room, Jughead's bed was empty. Betty smiled to herself and pushed herself up onto her elbows. What did this guy have in store?

Jughead was waiting outside the building, two bikes perched beside him. He flashed a bright smile at Betty and gestured to the bikes. "Care to join me for a morning ride?"

"Where are we going?"

"Anywhere."

Betty simply nodded. She took the bike closest to her and hopped on. She let Jughead ride slightly in front of her, leading the way down the quiet morning street. They followed the curve of the canal, reaching the less compact part of the city, where a quiet park sat nestled into trees and water. Jughead branched off the main road, taking an unofficial trail closer to the bank of the canal. It led to a large Weeping Willow, with its branches and leaves hanging out over the water. It was like a perfect bubble of privacy; when they dismounted the bikes and pushed through the leaves it was like a different world. One where only the two of them existed.

Jughead sat close to the edge of the water and patted the spot next to him, asking Betty to join. They sat in comfortable silence for a long time. The leaves danced in the morning breeze, birds softly chirping. It was one of those mornings that made Betty wonder if life could get any better.

Jughead was watching Betty now, it was the first time he'd seen her wearing her hair down. She also noticed that he wasn't wearing his hat at the moment, but holding it in his hand. All of a sudden Betty realized that they were both just sitting there staring at each other and immediately turned a shade of bright red.

"What's wrong?" Jughead asked, his hand finding hers.

"Nothing, sorry." Betty turned away, pulling her hand back. "I made things so awkward last night didn't I? I mean, I had plenty to drink so it wasn't really my fault that I kissed you."

"If that's what you want to believe, then go ahead, but I wasn't drunk… and I kissed you back." Jughead took Betty's hand firmly in his so she couldn't pull away so easily this time. "It was good and… if you let me, I'd like to kiss you again."

"I might not be as good sober." Betty warned, a smile creeping onto her cheeks.

"I'll take my chances."

They both leaned in at the same time and Betty was just so happy she was sober for this one. She could feel every curve of his body beneath her hands, every nibble of his teeth on her bottom lip. Every sensation she was feeling was good, and she never wanted it to stop.

"Where will you go next?" Betty whispered into the kiss.

Jughead moved away slightly, and blue eyes met green. "Didn't Veronica tell you? We're coming with you to Munich."

Betty shook her head, staring at the beautiful boy in front of her. She kissed him again. "Veronica, that sly bastard."

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A/N: This is going to be a pretty fluffy story for the most part. So if you like fluff and happy Bughead, stick around. I’ve got much more hidden up my sleeve. These chapters will take longer to write, but I’m hoping I can do weekly updates.

#bughead fanfiction #bughead fanfic #bughead #bughead au #betty x jughead #betty cooper #jughead jones #Riverdale fanfiction #Riverdale fanfic #Riverdale au #edit #wanderlust fic

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