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lovelyhan · 3 months

Text

— melting point ⟢

rumor has it that icy department head of pledis insurance has something going on with her loyal secretary, wonwoo. well, she does—it's just not the kind of behind-closed-doors business one would expect for them to partake in.

★ FEATURING; secretary!wonwoo x afab!oc

★ WORD COUNT; 12.3k words

★ TAGS; coworkers to lovers, revenge fic, angst, smut

★ WARNINGS; blackmailing, manipulation, mentions of past bullying, graphic sexual content (MINORS DNI)

★ NOTES; hi... it's been forever, hasn't it? i missed tumblr a lot, and have decided to grace the tags with this fic after months of radio silence heheh ! this was a commissioned piece on twt which i tweaked to fit my tumblr audience better! cheers to 5k followers even in my absence t__t you guys are the best!

★ PS; i'm sorry i can't be bothered to dig up my taglist and tag those who filled it up T T

There’s a saying in PLEDIS Insurance that goes: enjoy your coffee early because once the Ice Queen is in, it’ll turn just as cold as she is.

Of course, the words were merely thrown around in jest. Something that bored employees come up with in the break room whenever they’re careless enough to think their little jokes won’t reach said ice queen’s ears. But still—they’re just jokes. As long as they worked enough to satisfy their salaries’ worth, Emma the Ice Queen would always turn a blind eye. She might be cold, but she isn’t completely heartless.

Most of the time.

“Good morning, ma’am,” her secretary, Wonwoo, greeted with a curt nod as she entered her office.

Emma scoffed before setting her things down on her work desk, the frown on her face only worsening when she sees the elegantly wrapped gift box in front of her. “What's this?”

Wonwoo swallowed thickly, like he was nervous. Wonwoo never gets nervous.

“We have an...unforeseen circumstance,” he prefaced before tapping away on the iPad in his arms. “Sir Leo from the Choi group wants to pursue you.”

“Unforeseen?” Emma repeated. “Wonwoo, this is completely foreseen. Isn't it our from the start is to make them fall in love, only for us to expose their dirty secrets in the end?”

He looked as if he wanted to agree. But after turning the screen of his iPad so Emma could see the article written on some shoddy newsletter, her brows furrowed together in confusion.

A Race for the Inheritance: How the Choi Group’s Next Generation of Ambitious Youngbloods Will Do Everything to Get Their Fill of Old Money.

The title itself didn’t give Emma much context of what exactly was making Wonwoo—her ever-composed secretary—lose his composure. It’s natural to see the sons and daughters of a powerful business conglomerate fight each other for their rights to the family inheritance. But after reading through what the rest of the article had to offer, the pieces of the puzzle suddenly started to fit.

“They're seeing who gets to get married first?” Emma laughed incredulously before handing the iPad back to Wonwoo. “Does Leo really think he can get me to become his lover—even more so his wife—after everything he did to me in high school?”

Wonwoo breathed in deeply. “Miss Emma, we both know the answer to that. If it were all up to you, you could easily put him to shame and reject him. But his interests somewhat align with the director’s interests as well…”

Ah. Her father’s interests.

“No,” she answered sharply. “Even if he kicks me out of my position, I’m not going to be wed to that prick.”

“Are you sure about that?” Wonwoo sighed before adjusting his glasses. “Miss Emma, we both know you love your work more than anything. And you're chronically attached to this company even if you despise the executives. Sir Leo has good leverage over you, sad to say.”

There was something irritating about hearing Wonwoo call his ex-best friend Sir, as if he was underneath some scumbag of a human being like Leo. But then again, years have passed since then. Lots of things have changed.

But Emma’s grudges hold steadfast, still.

“Hmph, whatever.” She dismissed the matter with a nonchalant wave before unwrapping the gift box in front of her. “Was this from Leo, too? Is he on a deadline or something?”

“Hmm, first one that gets married before December gets the rights to the inheritance,” Wonwoo informed her as he picked the clutter of ribbons off Emma’s desk and pocketed them in his coat for later disposal. “Do you want me to look up the progress of his siblings and cousins? We can sabotage him while it's still early.”

Emma didn’t respond right away—preoccupied with unwrapping Leo's so-called gift. But when she sees a red velvet box with an engagement ring and a folded letter inside, she begrudgingly realized that Leo wouldn’t be as easy a target as her other high school bullies.

No, this man really was rotten to the core.

By the time you’re reading this, I’m sure you already heard the news. You know what to do, right, Emma?

Or should I say, wifey? ;)

“Send this back to him. Now.”

Wonwoo nodded obediently as Emma pushed Leo's cursed gift box away from her. “Alright. Anything else I can do for you? Like…have someone plant a snake in his bedroom or something?”

Despite the sour mood that Leo undoubtedly put her in this morning, Wonwoo's little idea of a joke made the corners of her mouth turn up into a small smile. The offer was tempting, but in the end, she shook her head and booted up the PC on her desk instead.

“As much as I want his death by a snake bite to headline the news, Leo doesn’t deserve to get out of this the easy way.” Emma muttered as she started browsing through the hard-drive she’d hooked up onto the computer. “And lucky for us, I finally got the evidence to send his suspiciously prosperous career down into a spiral.”

Wonwoo raised an eyebrow before taking a peek behind her. “What's that? Money laundering records? Tax fraud?”

No. It was really something as simple as—

“Footage of a mass orgy he participated in,” Emma casually told her secretary as she clicked on the only video on the hard drive. “Might not look like a big deal compared to what we had to go through with Ezra, but Leo belongs to a family of devout Catholics. Good thing your contact from Leo's favorite bar had some use. All I did was ask around and he quickly spilled all the details with the right amount of money.”

Wonwoo chuckled as he flashed her an impressed look. “As far as I know, I’m the one who’s supposed to do the dirty work for you. Why are you directly involving yourself in matters you can leave to me?”

The lewd video continued to play on her screen—muted, of course—and one could easily make out Leo Choi's face amongst the crowd of sex-depraved freaks. Once they sent this over anonymously to each and every person who might think that scumbag deserved to inherit his family’s wealth, it would be all over for him.

“‘Cause we’re a team, Wonwoo,” she chuckled. “You’ve done your fair share of work when we took down Gavin and Ezra. But admittedly…I've got more bones to pick with Leo. I think it’s only fair for me to orchestrate his downfall with my own two hands.”

“Right…” Wonwoo agreed with a hint of fondness in his tone that completely went over Emma’s head—far too triumphant with her newfound ammunition.

“We’re a team.”

But it wasn’t always that way.

Wonwoo was actually more deeply involved in Emma’s mission to exact revenge on the people who’ve wronged her years ago than one would otherwise expect. He’d been best friends with Leo since they were kids, and when they eventually met Gavin and Ezra in their high school basketball team, the four of them were quite inseparable.

But despite being his best friend, Wonwoo knew that Leo could be quite…off-putting with his behavior sometimes.

“Hey, look at that,” Sixteen year-old Leo scoffed before gesturing towards the loud girl earning amused stares in the cafeteria. “She's so fucking loud. Is she the new transfer student?”

Gavin snickered as he took a bite out of his lunch. “How'd she even get in here? Our tuition isn't a joke, and she doesn't really look like she can afford it. The kid of a maid, maybe?”

“Or she could be one of those financial scholarship kids,” Ezra pitched in with a shrug. “Though she doesn't look very bright if we're being honest.”

Wonwoo didn’t offer anything to the conversation, merely eating his food quietly as his friends talked smack about the new transfer student in their class. Emma Rodriguez was like a piece of meat thrown into a pit of vipers. Some might like her—like the classmates who were howling with laughter because of her antics—but others looked at her with disdain.

She didn’t belong to any wealthy well-known families like every other kid in their grade. The girl simply popped out of nowhere like an eyesore, according to Leo. Wonwoo didn’t really mind her presence though. She made the boring monotone of his school days a bit more bearable with her energy.

But what Wonwoo thought was just his friends’ surface-level dislike for a girl who behaved differently from the others in their grade turned out to be something else.

Something worse.

He wasn’t stupid. He knew what bullying was, and was well-aware that what his friends constantly did to Emma wasn’t something that normal high schoolers did. Leo was the most vicious about it, and Wonwoo never really got to know his reasons for doing all those horrible things.

But whenever they spotted Emma horsing around in the hallways, Leo would always be the first one to come up to her—calling her names like fraud, gold digger, and the like. Gavin and Ezra followed each and every time, and they were usually the ones who pushed her around for no real reason.

And Wonwoo? Wonwoo was the one who always stood a few feet away every time his friends decided they were in the mood to pick on the transfer student. The one who always stayed quiet and pretended nothing unsightly was happening in front of him.

The one whose gaze Emma always tried to silently catch, hoping he’d be the one to stop his friends from harassing her.

But he never did.

That cycle of three boys bullying a once bright and bubbly transfer student became commonplace. Before their third year in high school came to a close, Emma suddenly vanished off the radar. She didn’t attend their classes, nor was she there in the completion ceremonies at the end of every school year.

Most of the kids around Wonwoo didn’t really give two shits about her sudden disappearance. Word around the street was that she transferred out because of the heavy harassment she was getting, not just from his friends, but also the rest of the students from their grade. They didn’t think Emma was funny because of her silly antics and loud jokes anymore.

Everyone started to collectively think of her as a nuisance, and the fact that she had no familial connections to protect herself with only fed into the senseless yet oh-so popular trend of crushing Emma Rodriguez’s hopes and dreams into the ground.

It was almost like Wonwoo was the only person in their entire grade who felt the tiniest bit of pity for her. But he told himself long ago that someone like him had no right to feel sorry for someone he never bothered trying to help.

The years passed by in a flash. After Emma’s disappearance, Wonwoo quit the basketball team and completely cut off his friends and everyone else who actively hurt her. He didn’t really know why either—all he knew was that he couldn’t stomach the idea of keeping those connections despite what they drove Emma to do.

Of course, he knew he wasn’t completely innocent either. But it wasn’t too late to be a decent person, right?

Wonwoo simply went through the motions of graduating high school, then college, before pursuing a career in the vicious world of the corporate hierarchy. But instead of gunning for executive positions like his fellow fresh grads dared to dream, he worked his way up without using his family’s prestige to his own advantage.

In fact, Wonwoo realized he liked working closely with his bosses. That’s why he became the designated secretary to all the finance department heads who walked through the doors of PLEDIS Insurance. He was content with being a jack-of-all-trades kind of guy who’s at the beck and call of someone else—a tool who worked on the sidelines. He never really wanted to be the face of any company anyway.

But then, in his fifth year on the job, he was told that there were a couple of changes in PLEDIS’ executive board. The boss he’d been working under was set to retire and he’d be replaced with a new one—someone younger and full of promise, as the head of human resources dramatically explained to him.

It wasn’t really a deal breaker or anything. As long as Wonwoo got paid, he’d gladly work for even the most terrible of people in this industry.

But on the day his new boss was set to start, he was haunted by a ghost from the past instead.

Wonwoo hasn’t spared a single thought for Emma Rodriguez in God knows how long. Yet the moment she stepped into the office, he recognized her almost immediately. There was no trace of that girl people called gold digger and other derogatory names because of her appearance. This was a woman with her head held high—someone who oozed confidence in every stride with a gaze sharper than her winged eyeliner.

Yet Wonwoo couldn’t be mistaken. This really was Emma Rodriguez.

He wondered if she remembered him, too. The boy who kept quiet about those who bullied her in those few crucial years of her life. Wonwoo even considered apologizing for not doing anything to help her when he should have.

“Ah, Wonwoo Jeon?” Emma repeated his name with a dismissive air, almost like she was wholly uninterested in him. “The one who just watched when Gavin Kim pushed me in the muddy courtyard at school? The one who pretended not to see when Leo Choi splashed paint all over my uniform? Of course I remember you.”

God. Was this her exacting retribution?

For the next few days since she came into the office, Wonwoo helped Emma get used to the feel of things in the Finance Department. At least, that was his intention.

From the looks of it, Emma already knew the ins-and-outs of managing a company’s cash inflow and outflow, as well as the other gritty, more technical details that came with accounting for each and every cent. She managed to prepare and present several sets of data that his previous boss had trouble organizing to the current board of directors within two days’ time.

Her work ethic was admirable—she got the job done quickly and efficiently, and that made her earn the respect of her subordinates faster than Wonwoo had seen them warm up to their previous bosses. It would have been the perfect relationship between the new department head and her employees, if it weren’t for Emma’s stone cold behavior towards other people.

Not only did she look different from the Emma he knew in high school, but she acted differently too. Wonwoo couldn’t picture this Emma purposely making a fool out of herself just to make the people around her laugh. This Emma wanted the entire team to get the work handed to them done as soon as possible, and if they did, the most they’d receive in return is a mere nod in approval and nothing else.

It was for that reason that employees would start calling her the Ice Queen. Though she wasn’t some tyrant that gave people an unreasonable workload—she was actually very lenient and fair about the division of tasks—her people skills needed a little work.

That or Emma was purposely shutting everyone out with her chilly attitude.

Wonwoo had a few clues as to why she’d want to do that, but he’s a secretary, not a therapist. The only thing he could do about it was to keep his silence.

But then came a day when Emma asked him to come into her office to do something he completely expected from her but didn’t at the same time.

“Are you still in touch with Leo, Gavin, and Ezra?” she asked him, not even bothering to look up from the report she’s reading off her PC.

The question caught Wonwoo off-guard and it was obvious Emma caught on to his reaction if the tiny smirk that curved across her lips was anything to go by. Still, he took it in stride—breathing in through his nose as he thought about his answer.

He hasn’t been in touch with any of them since his high school graduation. All their attempts at reaching out to Wonwoo to invite him for a quick game of ball or a round of drinks somewhere in the city were all ignored. Not even turned down—ignored.

Leo was the most persistent about it. After all, they were best friends. But after several years of Wonwoo not even bothering to give their invites a single glance, Leo stopped reaching out altogether. Wonwoo's life became a lot more peaceful since he cut ties with them, and he never really regretted the decision to do so.

But perhaps the universe really was telling him to pay the price for his past inaction now that Emma was bringing up the past on a regular Wednesday afternoon.

“No, ma’am,” he told her honestly. “Do you want me to reach out to them? Their contact details are pretty easy to get our hands on.”

Emma sighed quietly before meeting his gaze, an unreadable look hovering across her face. “Mmm. Yeah, I’d like that. But aren't you going to ask why I want to contact them again?”

He wanted to, but Wonwoo learned that in his line of work, the last thing he should do was ask questions. It made him wonder if Emma was purposely setting him up on some sort of conversational bear trap, but seeing as he didn’t really have anything to lose by giving, he chose to relent.

“...Why?”

The silence of her office rang in his ears as Emma typed away on her keyboard. It was a mechanical one with tactile switches that matched the color of her desktop wallpaper. He didn’t take her to be someone who cared enough about aesthetics to that degree, but then again, Wonwoo never really got a chance to get to know her back then.

He was too much of a coward to do so.

Once she was done, Emma got up from her ergonomic chair (which also matched her desktop setup), leveling her gaze with Wonwoo's even if the latter was easily a head taller than she was. Something about the glint in her eyes made him swallow the lump in his throat. Not to mention that sweet yet chilly smile that graced her bright red lips.

“It’s really simple, Wonwoo,” she told him with a laugh.

“I want revenge.”

And that’s how their little team was formed.

It was a two-person job. Emma entrusted Wonwoo with digging up the information she needed about the three men she wanted to bring down, all while she was in charge of putting their plans into motion by heading over to the front lines.

Gavin was an easy target. Unlike the other two, he’s the only one who pursued professional basketball and for a while, he amassed quite the number of fans and admirers because of his outstanding plays. What’s more was that he managed to wife up a beauty queen who’s already conquered the international stage a few years back. Now with their first baby on the way, one would think that Gavin Kim has a picture perfect life.

But further down the road, talk about how he’s actually a womanizing wife beater started to seep out of the cracks and crevices of the athletic industry. The allegations were serious, but no one really bothered batting an eye. It’s normal. Lots of athletes are like that. We can't do anything about it.

It was easy to get a hold of which gym Gavin frequents to maintain his physique. He preferred working out in public facilities instead of the one provided for his team because it gave him all the freedom to ogle and flirt with other women who just happened to be hitting the gym on days he was on the prowl.

Wonwoo even added a little footnote in the file he prepared that said likes to engage in post-workout coitus in the shower rooms. Emma rolled her eyes in disgust when she read it, but made sure to keep it in mind.

The day finally came when she’d collect enough evidence to ruin Gavin’s career. Emma hasn’t dropped by the gym in a while—work having sapped her energy too much to let her psych herself back into working out. But she realized she didn’t have to act out too much because the moment she started operating the treadmill right next to Gavin’s, he was already checking her out.

He didn’t seem to recognize who she was, unlike Wonwoo. But then again Gavin was easily the stupidest out of her trio of high school bullies. This man was all brawn and no brains, which was why it was all too easy for Emma to seduce him in the showers of this shoddy gym not thirty minutes since she’d arrived.

It wasn’t the most pleasant experience. The last thing Emma wanted was to have this idiotic man inside of her so she offered to go on her knees and blow him instead—something that Gavin was all too happy to relent to.

He didn’t even boast a cock of considerable size. It probably wasn’t any longer than her middle finger, and for a split second, she wondered why his beauty queen wife stayed with him despite having a cock that didn’t back up his cocky attitude. It was probably the money.

Emma didn’t waste much time though. Wonwoo visited this gym only a few hours prior to plant a bug somewhere inside the specific shower stall they were currently occupying. She just had to hope she and Gavin were positioned well enough so the camera would get a full view of what they were doing.

It was the longest twenty minutes of Emma’s life, and she had to go home right away to disinfect her mouth about ten times, but hey. All in the name of vengeance, right?

At around eight in the evening on that same Saturday, her phone lit up with an email notification from Wonwoo.

From: Wonwoo Jeon Subject: CLASSIFIED Good evening, Miss Emma. I hope this message finds you well. I retrieved our bug from the gym earlier today and extracted the videos taken before properly disposing of it. Attached to this email is the MP4 file of our evidence against Mr. Gavin Kim. Around the time this message arrives to you, I have simultaneously sent said evidence to Mr. Kim’s managers, sponsors, teammates, other colleagues, and of course, his wife. The only difference between their emails and yours is that this is a self-destructing message. Once you’ve closed this window, it will be deleted from your inbox without a trace. So if you are interested in watching the video below, best save it to your device of choice for better perusal. If you have any further questions and concerns, I am merely a text message away. Regards, Wonwoo Jeon Secretary, Finance and Logistics Department PLEDIS Insurance

Like hell she was going to watch it.

The moment Emma finished reading through Wonwoo's overly formal email, she quickly exited the window and, true to his word, the message itself had disappeared. Despite being a fairly new player to the game, she had to commend all the precautions Wonwoo was setting to make sure her plans were a success.

It made her wonder if his previous bosses have also asked him to do shady things under the company’s nose in the past. Whether or not that's true, she was reaping the benefits of his expertise, so she had no room for complaints.

As long as she had Wonwoo, she’d get to punish everyone who wronged her without fail.

Gavin’s downfall followed soon after.

Tabloids were their best friend in that scenario. The thumbnail of the video that Wonwoo spread around like some virus that wouldn’t stop replicating headlined every single paper, talking about how one of the most promising basketball stars of their generation had fallen prey to his own vices.

It was a good thing that not only was Wonwoo careful enough to not leave digital footprints as he sent out those emails, but he also edited the video to keep Emma’s identity a secret. As Gavin’s world started to crumble before his eyes—him being kicked off the starting roster of the team, his wife leaving him behind, and the public execution of his reputation—Emma simply shared a bottle of aged wine from Tuscany with the man who helped her pull off a wonderful performance.

“You’re not too bad,” she mused as she took a small sip, crossing her legs from where she’s seated unceremoniously on the edge of her desk. “You're surprisingly more on-board with this plan than I thought. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were never friends with Gavin in the first place.”

Wonwoo retained his stoic demeanor, not having touched the glass Emma offered him simply because it was against company regulations to intoxicate himself on the job. “If my boss tells me to ruin someone's life, I'm mandated to do it. I’m just doing what’s written on my job description, ma’am.”

Emma’s lips stretched into a grin as she threw her head back with a laugh. She leaned in closer to Wonwoo, who seemed wholly unfazed by the fact that the gesture granted him an ample view of her cleavage through her blouse.

“Does your job description cover watching and editing your boss' sex scandal so you can mass send it to hundreds of people?” She giggled before leaning back to take another sip of her drink. “You’re in the green for now, Wonwoo. Keep it up and I might just have a pay raise arranged for you with HR if our next escapade is a success.”

He hummed in understanding. “Who’s next?”

In usual Emma fashion, she didn’t give him a straight answer right away. Instead, she hopped back to the carpeted floor of her office—not even wobbling in those thin heels she’s wearing—before rounding her desk to access her computer.

“Have you been watching TV lately? Primetime soap operas?” she asked him as she clicked away on her screen.

Wonwoo shook his head. “They don’t really interest me, ma’am.”

“I figured they wouldn’t. But this might.”

Emma gestured for him to peer at her monitor and Wonwoo wordlessly followed suit, getting up from his seat and standing behind her. Flashed on the screen was an article from a more reputable news outlet that featured two co-stars who played the main couple in a popular network’s newest drama.

“Ezra Lee and Alaina Park…” Wonwoo muttered under his breath before his eyes flickered to Emma. “You have any leads I can work with?”

His boss chuckled before looking up at him with an expectant smile. “Someone's determined. I never thought I’d get to see someone so eager to do the dirty work for me.”

Wonwoo shrugged. “Miss Emma, I'm not sure if you're aware but desk work gets boring sometimes. You’re right. This is a lot more interesting.”

“Alright, then,” Emma chuckled before retrieving both of their wine glasses and handing Wonwoo's back to him. “Unlike Gavin, I don't have a lot of surface-level leads with Ezra. He’s a celebrity—their reputation needs to be squeaky clean, so it makes sense why I can’t dig up anything about him through regular means. But this should be a piece of cake for you, right?”

Wonwoo stared at the bright red liquor inside the expensive glass, gaze darting to the wicked smile playing on Emma’s lips. If he looked a little closer, he would be able to tell that the shade of her lipstick matches the color of the liquor in her hands.

He took it from her grasp with a sigh, clinking the edges of their glasses together before downing the entire thing in one fell swoop. The wine was aged well, and had somewhat of a sweet aftertaste, but despite the appealing flavor, Wonwoo reminded himself to never drink on the job ever again.

“I’ll get back to you once I have the information you need.”

Wonwoo swiftly left Emma’s office after that little victory party. Even with his new sideline of being his boss’s lead henchman, he still had a lot of work to do for PLEDIS Insurance. And that included telling the other employees to quit horsing around in the break room when their designated lunch break ended hours ago.

“Sir Wonwoo,” one of said employees, Soonyoung, snickered before throwing an arm over Wonwoo's shoulders. “You've been hanging out in Miss Emma's office pretty frequently. Is there something going on? You became close real quickly.”

“Yeah” said one Seokmin, who’s still snacking on a wafer despite Wonwoo's scolding. “Boss, we know you're not the fuck-your-way-up kind of guy, but who knows, right? But with your position right now, do you really need it?”

Seungkwan, the last member of their unruly trio, slapped Seokmin’s arm with a scowl. “Hey! Do you really have to say it to his face? Oh, boss, if you make a report about these two, please know I have nothing to do with whatever they're saying.”

Soonyoung snickered. “Are you sure about that? Weren't you the one who first noticed that Sir Wonwoo was stepping inside Miss Emma's office more frequently—”

“Hey! Boss told us to scram, didn't he?! Let's go.”

Seungkwan quickly ushered his two friends out of the break room, scolding them in a hushed tone before they all went back to their respective cubicles. Wonwoo shook his head with a sigh, muttering something about inevitable rumors as he made himself a cup of coffee.

Was that how they perceived Wonwoo’s sudden closeness with the department head? That he was fucking Emma in the solitude of her office? Well, the idea of a boss having illicit relations with their secretary wasn’t too far-fetched. He’s heard about how the head of the Advertising Department gets frisky with his secretary through the corporate grapevine. But just because it was a popular trope among the employees’ strange fantasies, it didn’t mean it applied to himself and Emma as well.

They were strictly professional: he did the dirty work and she paid him in full. That was all there was to it.

(But what people don’t know was that editing Gavin’s scandal wasn’t exactly the walk in the park Emma thought it was.

Despite being one of the most indifferent people in the company, Wonwoo was still a man. Seeing his boss, whose body would be coveted by anyone who dared to want her, in such a compromising position excited an…unexpected physiological reaction out of him.

His resolve was as sturdy as steel, however. Instead of taking care of the obvious problem in his pants as he edited the scandalous video, Wonwoo dealt with it by taking a long, cold shower until all the blood that rushed down south started circulating properly again.

He told himself not to think about it come morning.)

“A drug den?”

Even Emma was baffled by the news that Wonwoo brought her the following week—a scowl of disbelief permanently etched on her face as she scanned the file her secretary prepared for her. Wonwoo merely stood at her side, waiting for her to finish going through the data he’s gathered.

And he sure hoped she understood every single word printed on it. He practically risked his life trying to investigate Ezra’s secret business. No wonder it was so hard to dig up any dirt on him—dead men tell no tales after all.

“This is…” Emma swallowed thickly before continuing, “way above my expectations. If he was just getting faded on his own with a private dealer, I'd understand. Lots of celebrities do recreational drugs. But for him to head an entire operation? Where'd he find the time on top of his taping schedules?”

Wonwoo sighed. “I would’ve been able to investigate further if his men weren't so meticulous. They're fiercely loyal to Ezra. Couldn’t bribe him like we did with Gavin’s gym coach.”

“And you made sure to keep your identity under lockdown?”

“Positive.”

Emma drummed her fingers across the smooth surface of her work desk—brows furrowed as she stared into nothingness. Though they’ve only been working together for roughly six months at most, Wonwoo knew her well enough to realize she hit a wall.

It made him wonder if this was where she would draw the line. Their success with Gavin gave them both an unexpected high, sure, but Wonwoo recognized that this game they were playing was a dangerous one. The people they were trying to take down had more money and connections than the two of them could ever hope to get their hands on.

But one thing that he failed to recognize right away about Emma was that she’s always been grossly ambitious.

“The file you gave me also mentioned na he was hoping to insure his new house in Incheon,” she pointed out. “Care to tell me why you decided to include that?”

“I know you told me not to involve the company in this as much as we can, but I couldn’t think of any other way to penetrate into his circle.” Wonwoo adjusted his necktie, suddenly feeling like he’s being watched by the hawk that was his boss. “I’ve been told that he’s wary of people. Side effects of the cocaine, probably. Though the info broker sounded like he was joking, it’s best to be wary of him. If he can hide behind the protection of his management and his family, we need to play our cards right and protect ourselves, too.”

Emma took a moment to process what her secretary just told her, nodding slowly before closing the folder containing Ezra’s file and locking it inside a hidden drawer beneath her desk.

“Oh, Wonwoo. If only all men were as intelligent as you are,” she sighed, getting up from her seat before pinching his face. “Good work. Let's go out for drinks later. My treat.”

Wonwoo's face twisted with confusion. “For what? Doing my job?”

Emma rolled her eyes. “For going above and beyond every single time. You think you're only good at doing dirty work? At being my errand boy? You never fall behind your quotas here in the office either, you know. I think that in itself is a cause for celebration.”

Now that she’s reasoned it out, Wonwoo was even more weirded out by this strange turn of events. In the six months that Emma Rodriguez has spent as the head of PLEDIS Insurance’s Finance head, she never failed to uphold that arctic cold façade. She treated both executives and regular employees with the same degree of cut-throat harshness.

And that’s when Wonwoo realized that she didn’t really treat him the way she treated them.

Huh. Did the Ice Queen have a melting point after all?

Despite his extensive protests, however, Wonwoo let Emma rope him into grabbing dinner and drinks at a food hub several districts away from their office. The fewer people who could recognize them outside, the better. Of course, he pleaded and reminded her several times that she was his boss and she really didn’t have to—

“Hey! Keep drinking!” Emma slurred with a huff, face red from the alcohol as she pushed another pint of beer into Wonwoo's face. “Why aren't you drunk yet, huh, Wonwoo Jeon? Are you God? Maybe that's why you're so good at obtaining information for me. Ah! No! Maybe you're the devil! Right, what we're doing isn't exactly good nor is it legal…”

Wonwoo exhaled long and hard as his boss continued blabbering nonsense across from him at their shared table. One glance at the smartwatch on his wrist told him that it was near midnight and that he should probably bring Emma home before she could make a scene.

But…maybe they could stay for a few minutes more.

“Miss Emma? Are you sleepy?”

“Hm? Why would I be sleepy? We're drinking, aren't we?”

“You're half-asleep on the table, so.”

At the prospect of being called out, Emma quickly shot into an upright position—looking around to see if anyone caught her drooling. When she realized she was in the clear, she narrowed her eyes at Wonwoo.

“Not a word about this in the office,” she warned, using one of the finished barbecue sticks on their empty plates to threaten him. “But...yeah. Alcohol makes me sleepy. Drive me home.”

Not even a please. This woman was really shameless even when drunk.

Not a peep of complaint was heard from Wonwoo when he drove Emma all the way to her condo unit in uptown Poblacion. Though he had to practically carry her inside and even help her out of her clothes and into her pajamas (at her request, not his own initiative), he simply told himself this was all part of his job.

When his boss was safely tucked in bed, he was ready to bid her farewell and head back to his own place to catch up on some sleep. But for someone who was intoxicated beyond belief, Emma was still quite aware of her surroundings. The moment Wonwoo took a step away from her bed, her hand shot out to grab ahold of his wrist, making Wonwoo look back at her with an eyebrow raised.

“Wonwoo,” she murmured, face still smothered in her pillows despite her tight grip. “Can you stay?”

“There's nowhere for me to sleep,” he chuckled. “I should go.”

“Then sleep next to me.”

The furrow on his brow merely deepened. He’d ask her to repeat what she said, but Wonwoo could recognize that Emma wasn’t really in the headspace to be reasonable right now. So instead of refuting her wish, Wonwoo carefully pried her fingers off his wrist so he could take off his work coat and fold it neatly on top of her vanity table.

This is all part of the job, he told himself.

Wonwoo laid on his boss’ duvet perfectly still. He didn’t want to make the mistake of touching her when he didn’t have explicit permission to do so. He was merely told to sleep next to her after all—nothing else.

But about fifteen minutes after he lied next to her, Emma shifted on her side of the bed—turning to him with a sleepy look in her eyes.

“You know,” she whispered, so softly, he would’ve missed it if he wasn’t as observant as he was. “I hoped...so hard back then that you would help me when I needed it. But you never did.”

Emma probably won’t remember what she mumbled in her drunken stupor in the morning. But the sadness and honesty that underlined her words sent him back about ten years into the past. To a time when he was a much greater evil than those who directly wronged her.

An apology sizzled across the tip of his tongue—something that’s a decade overdue. But before Wonwoo could hope to let her hear his piece, Emma’s breathing had become even and shallow.

She was already fast asleep.

He sighed, staring up at the dainty ceiling of her bedroom as he chuckled helplessly to himself.

“That’s why I’m making up for it now.”

If Gavin’s case was a walk in the park, Ezra’s was an Olympic-level marathon.

Wonwoo didn’t want to dwell on the details anymore. To cut it short: he was going to cross out ‘exposing a notorious drug lord’ off his bucket list without thinking of doing it again ever. While he managed to get out unscathed during his investigation, it just so happened that their final altercation with Ezra ended up putting Wonwoo in the hospital.

But so what if he fractured a couple of ribs trying to save Emma from being killed by that drug-addicted lunatic? As long as their goal to bring Emma’s enemies down was achieved, he’d gladly sustain any life-threatening injuries.

Which was, admittedly…strange.

Long before Emma came into the picture as his boss, Wonwoo never would’ve pictured himself risking his neck for the benefit of someone else. Though he had an entire arsenal of skills and knowledge at his disposal, it would take more than just his generous salary to get him to put them to good use.

But with Emma, he found himself utilizing whatever means to help her exact her revenge—on people he once called his friends, much less.

He must be going insane.

“Wonwoo…?”

Funnily enough, he ended up recalling everything that happened over the past two weeks first before recognizing that he was just regaining consciousness in the intensive care unit. Wonwoo's eyes hurt because of how bright the fluorescent lights were overhead, but for some reason, he didn’t flinch away from her relieved smile when it was a million watts brighter than the hospital’s indoor lighting.

“Good…day, ma’am,” he croaked out awkwardly, belatedly realizing that he didn’t know what time it was. “What day is it? Did someone fix your schedule for today? Did someone go over your meal plans in my stead? Were you—”

His endless stream of questions was interrupted by hacking fit—making Emma scramble for a glass of water on the table by his hospital bed, a concerned look lining her gaze.

“Don't talk too much,” she scolded him as he finished his drink. “You’ve been out for two days, idiot.”

Two days?

Needless to say, he couldn’t do a thing about it once his boss started fussing over him. She called over doctors she personally knew and handpicked only the most competent of nurses to look after Wonwoo. How Emma could be the judge of that, Wonwoo wasn’t very sure, but he gladly let her take care of him for a change.

After all, they successfully concluded another chapter in Emma’s little revenge story.

“When are we going to start with Leo?”

Wonwoo brought the matter up about three days after he woke up, right in the middle of eating the stale hospital food served to him for dinner. Emma, who was snacking on some takeout fast food, hummed before tossing a french fry into her mouth.

“You're not even healed yet, and you're thinking about work?” she sighed before pointing a fry in his direction. “I’m still paying you your regular wage even if you're stuck here. You don’t have to worry about making ends meet so much, Wonwoo. You just need to rest—”

“But I don’t want to rest, I want to be useful to you,” he interrupted her gruffly, which was strange of him because he never interrupted his employers.

For a moment, Wonwoo thought he’d be on the receiving end of a verbal lashing even if he was still recovering. Emma never let other people talk back to her without consequences. But instead, his boss threw her head back with a laugh that bordered on a snort. It’s a look that Wonwoo had seen on her time and time again—a look that he noticed Emma only showed to him.

Back then, he didn’t really think of her smile all that much. But now…

“You’re being useful enough just by being alive, Jeon,” she reassured him, that grin of hers unwavering. “Enough questions about Leo. I'm not even thinking about him yet because compared to the previous two? He’s a lot easier to track down.”

Wonwoo shot her a puzzled look. “What do you mean?”

“Same approach lang with Ezra.” She flashed him a toothy smile. “We’re going to get him to insure some of his properties under PLEDIS. But instead of us going to him, he'll be going to us instead.”

“I…? Sorry, ma’am. I don’t follow.”

Emma stifled a soft laugh behind her palm, unwrapping the burger included in her takeout meal before taking a bite of considerable size. “The Choi Corporation is expanding a chain of shopping malls somewhere in Jeju. Leo Choi personally contacted our CEO and there we have it: another big shot client.”

Another person to drag down to hell.

“Is that good enough for you?”

Wonwoo was still processing the news as they both finished up their respective meals. He should probably be glad that Emma didn’t decide to put their secret operation on hold just because he was out of commission. But something about how smoothly they’re progressing into the next phase of Emma’s big revenge plan that made him wary of treading any further.

He felt like he was being paranoid—probably the aftermath of almost crossing to the other side because of what happened with the Ezra incident. Wonwoo couldn’t help but be wary of any and all threats to both his life and Emma’s, and it was for a good reason.

“Okay,” Wonwoo breathed, wincing a little when he felt the spot where his ribs broke ache at how fast he inhaled. “What do you want me to do for now? Investigate? Trace his whereabouts?”

Emma’s smile suddenly turned ice cold. “I want you to rest, Wonwoo. Do I have to keep repeating myself?”

“But—”

“No buts. Boss’ orders—I'm your boss, right?”

Ah, there’s the Ice Queen they all knew and loved.

Fine. Maybe he could use a break from all that quote-unquote field work he just did. But one thing about his entire hospitalization still remained unanswered.

“What did you tell HR? About…this?” Wonwoo gestured towards his battered but healing body. “You’ve got the charisma, but I’m pretty sure it’s difficult even for you to go into cahoots with the other employees of PLEDIS. Much more, our human resources head.”

Emma waved away his concerns with a shake of her head. “You're so persistent, aren't you? Don’t think about HR. Or Leo. Or the rest of our plans. Can’t you be a normal salaryman and be happy that you have a break from all the things I make you do?”

“I told you, Miss Emma. I just want to make myself useful.”

“And I told you that you're the least useful in your current state. So give. It. A. Rest,” she threatened, putting emphasis on every syllable.

But behind her intimidating façade was someone who actually cared for him. The details were still a bit muddled in Wonwoo's head, but he remembered being rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. Remembered how Emma never let go of his hand as they made the trip all the way. And how he heard her pray for him to make it out alive despite being a well-known agnostic.

Once their conversation had mellowed down, he laid back against the steady elevation of his bed, watching the scenic city lights glimmer outside the window of his hospital room—just behind the woman who made his life a lot more interesting.

He couldn’t wait to be useful to her again.

“I hate this. I fucking hate this so much.”

Wonwoo spared his employer a quick glance as she practically glared at her reflection in the full-length mirror. He’d been browsing through a sports car catalog tucked underneath the hotel’s coffee table, but watching Emma have a furious meltdown about her wedding was more worth his time.

“You're the one who said that there'll more benefits if you accepted the marriage proposal,” her secretary reminded, crossing his legs as he leaned back on the couch he was sitting on. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Of course I was just…gaslighting myself about this entire fucked up situation!” Emma growled as she stomped over to him with a scowl. “Can’t fucking believe my dad agreed to marry me off just like that, too. After all his talk that I needed to love whoever I'm supposed to marry...”

Wonwoo shrugged. “Anyone can be blinded by money—especially if it's from the Chois.”

“Even you?”

It’s a question that sunk into the room with a rhetorical implication. Emma was quick to exchange the earrings her stylist chose for her with something more suited to her taste—a pair that didn’t sparkle all that much but was worth more than six months of Wonwoo's salary. In her reflection on the vanity mirror, he could clearly see the way her red lips parted in concentration as she clipped the earrings in place.

“No,” Wonwoo responded even if he knew she wasn’t looking for an answer. “I’m more easily blinded by other things, ma’am.”

Emma glanced behind her with a puzzled look, not getting his drift. “Like what?”

Wonwoo didn’t dare think twice.

He got up from his once comfortable position on the couch, closing the distance that sat between him and Emma in long, calculated strides. She didn’t seem fazed by his sudden need to walk over, but the moment Wonwoo was behind her, she stiffened when he reached a hand in front of her face. Then, with a firm yet featherlight touch, her secretary wiped off the lipstick that stained past her lip line with his fingers—not once breaking eye contact with her in the mirror.

“It wouldn’t be fun if I told you, now would it?” He smiled before pulling his hand back. “I need to keep you on your toes sometimes, too, Miss Emma.”

He half-expected her to scoff and brush off his attempt at being smart with her. Emma was a no-nonsense kind of person, and with the wedding happening soon, Wonwoo understood why she’d be more high-strung than usual.

But instead of acting the way she always did with him, Emma took Wonwoo by surprise when she fisted his silken necktie in her manicured nails, tugging him down so that their eyes were leveled with each other. Normally, that wouldn’t be enough to wrestle Wonwoo into complete submission, but this was his boss they were talking about.

There’s a glint in those sharp eyes of hers that had his heart beating off the charts. This wasn’t the gaze of someone entitled the Ice Queen of their office. No, there’s something warm in there—borderline sensual. And before Wonwoo could even hope to figure out what it was, Emma was already closing her eyes and sealing their lips together like some unspoken pact.

It’s an inconsequential kiss. Wonwoo has made out with both men and women alike—all desperate gasps and lust-fueled passion—but somehow, none of those experiences could hold a candle to the way Emma Rodriguez pecked his lips for a fraction of a second before pulling away.

“You're getting more and more insufferable,” she muttered, resting her forehead against his. “You were never this cheeky before. What happened?”

You, he wanted to tell her. You happened.

At that point, Wonwoo's brain was merely operating on carnal instinct alone. He lunged forward to capture her lips again, making her gasp in surprise as he snaked a strong arm around her waist. Thank fucking god Emma’s wedding dress had a simple design—no pretentious frills to obstruct his movements.

Despite the fact that this woman—his boss—was getting married in less than two hours, Wonwoo couldn’t even give a damn. He swiped all the makeup boxes and accessories off the vanity table, propping Emma up on the horizontal surface as he kissed her until she saw stars.

“Wonwoo,” she sighed against his lips, thighs inching apart as he bunched the long hem of her gown up to her waist. He wondered distantly if Emma was going to ask him to stop—to see reason. But the glazed look in her eyes told him otherwise.

“More.”

Wonwoo wanted nothing more than to give her more. He’d do everything she could ever dream of asking him. Never mind the fact that it was more than a little messed up for him to consider fucking his boss right before she’s married off to the man who tormented her endlessly at sixteen.

Nobody else mattered—not Leo, not the director, not even Emma’s intricate revenge plot that was years in the making. At that moment, only the two of them existed, only separated by a few layers of clothing before they could finally become one.

But Wonwoo was abruptly reminded why he always chose reason before ambition long before he met Emma. Dreams and delusions were bound to end when you least expected them to. Reality, on the other hand, would always remind you of life’s harshest truths.

“Miss Emma?” They both could hear the voice of Leo's personal assistant outside the door to the hotel room, preceded by a few short knocks. “It’s time for your prenup shoot. Director Rodriguez is also looking for Sir Wonwoo. Is he in there with you?”

Whatever dream the two of them have fabricated only minutes ago had been erased from existence—all that was left was a bride-to-be with her dress ruffled in all the wrong places, and a pitiful secretary with red lipstick stains adorning his face.

“Yeah, he’s here with me,” Emma yelled over to the doorway, eyes refusing to part from Wonwoo's. “We’ll be down soon. Thanks, Christina.”

“Okay, ma’am. I'll just wait for you in the lobby.”

Wonwoo counted to ten before peeling himself away from Emma, quickly striding towards the bathroom to get some tissues both for himself and his employer. But while he was wiping off the lipstick on the corners of his mouth, Wonwoo immediately noticed the shift in the atmosphere.

Emma was already busy straightening herself out—smoothing down the creases in her gown and retouching her makeup as best as she could without her stylists. Wonwoo wouldn’t have minded the silence, it’s exactly the kind of setting he preferred working in.

But just when he thought he’d managed to melt the Ice Queen’s heart over the past year, she turned arctic cold all over again.

“After the wedding, tell my driver to accompany me to Leo's penthouse. Though I despise the idea, we have to go home together to keep up the act for everyone to see.” She gave her orders the same way she used to tell Wonwoo to sort the company’s financial reports—straight to business with little room for playing around. “Other than that, I don't have any more orders. You can rest easy for the day, Wonwoo.”

He felt like he should say something to address what just happened between them five minutes ago. To ask why she was pretending as if they weren’t breathing each other in like all the oxygen on the planet had gone in a flash. But Wonwoo wasn’t some desperate fool that overestimated his place in Emma’s life.

“Duly noted, ma’am,” he muttered with the same degree of aloofness she’d just given him before tossing the soiled tissues in the trash. “I’ll be waiting for you outside.”

Emma didn’t even break face as Wonwoo's footsteps resounded on the carpeted floor. She didn’t even spare him a second glance. But then again…

He was her secretary, and she was his employer.

That was all there was to it.

Much to Wonwoo's surprise, Leo's case was closed much sooner than he thought it would be.

Before Emma could even make it to the cathedral, the commotion had already started. Wonwoo had arrived earlier in the venue with Emma’s father, the director of PLEDIS Insurance, and were just about to take their seats among the other principal sponsors when the television screens mounted all over the church suddenly started playing a video.

A video that Wonwoo has already seen before.

He didn’t have to glance at Leo to know that he was sporting the most horrified look he could muster upon seeing one of your many sex scandals having an impromptu screening at the cathedral. Collective gasps and disgusted remarks were heard in a chorus of murmurs that reached all the way up to the high ceilings.

Wonwoo could hear Leo's assistant, Christina—who turned out to be part of the sex parties her boss secretly indulged in—barking orders for the church staff to cut the feed. But it was too late. Those who needed to see the truth have already gotten their fill.

Recognizing that his daughter couldn’t possibly be wed to a man with a reputation that’s been tarnished in a church, of all places, Director Rodriguez ordered Wonwoo to contact the bridal car driver and tell him to send Emma straight home instead. It’s a job that Wonwoo got done fairly quickly, and despite the numerous text messages that Emma sent him demanding answers about what happened, he didn’t respond to any of them right away.

After a few hours of digging around, Wonwoo eventually found out that one of Leo's cousins was behind the public exposé. Apparently, said cousin was able to obtain the same footage that Emma acquired and was able to sabotage Leo's attempt at seizing their family riches before Emma could even put her plans into motion.

Well, at least someone else already did the dirty work for them.

As usual, Wonwoo collated all the information he’s gathered in a concise email. This was how he kept Emma up to speed about their progress—through self-destructing emails. He informed her about the involvement of Leo's cousin and how the trash had taken itself out, ensuring that Leo Choi had fallen from the false pedestal he’s clung onto for years.

Their behind-the-scenes mission has been fulfilled.

While he didn’t expect Emma to respond enthusiastically, receiving radio silence in return wasn’t something Wonwoo had anticipated either. But he opted not to read into it much. She must’ve been royally pissed that Leo's demise wasn’t brought about by her own hand, and Wonwoo respected that.

The following Monday after the canceled wedding, however, he ended up finding out the reason behind her silence.

“Boss,” sobbed Seokmin when Wonwoo timed in at the office. “Please don't leave!”

Immediately backing him up was Soonyoung, who didn’t hesitate to hug Wonwoo, even giving him a few pats on the shoulder as if they were old drinking buddies. “It's okay, Sir Wonwoo. You've been here long enough. Maybe it's about time you found your path elsewhere.”

…Huh?

“What are you talking about?” Wonwoo voiced out his confusion. “You’re speaking like I got fired.”

As if on cue, the third member of their trio walked in on the conversation as he sipped on his usual iced americano. Seungkwan stared at Wonwoo with a puzzled expression before saying:

“But weren't you fired, sir? Miss Emma announced it this morning, but I think she left right away after, too.”

Not privy to the way the pieces started to click in his head, Seokmin and Soonyoung kept consoling Wonwoo as he made his way to his (old) cubicle. Emma had been one step ahead too—someone already having packed away most of his belongings in storage boxes. Not to mention the notice of contract termination sitting on his desk. Effective immediately, it says.

“I really don't get it though” Seungkwan droned behind him. “You? The best secretary in the city? Fired just like that?”

Seokmin nodded. “I don't understand it either. You two were business-as-usual after the wedding. Miss Emma must've been so pissed that she didn't get married that she laid off the boss here.”

“True,” Soonyoung agreed with a snicker. “Boss, maybe Miss Emma's just being unreasonable. I bet she'll be begging for you to come back in a few days' time.”

Yeah. That’s what the situation would seem like to an outsider. But Wonwoo knew perfectly well that Emma wasn’t bluffing about this. She fired him for a reason that’s been stewing for more than a decade. Even if Gavin, Ezra, and Leo have had their taste of justice, Emma’s revenge plot wasn’t finished like Wonwoo thought it was.

Because Wonwoo was one of her targets all along, too.

I hoped...so hard back then that you would help me when I needed it. But you never did.

“Where is she?”

Seungkwan perked up. “Uh, maybe she went home? She told us something about feeling a bit under the weather?”

Seokmin nodded. “She's probably in her penthouse or something. If i were you, I'd start making it up to her.”

“Hey, you're talking like they're actually dating,” Soonyoung scolded with a laugh.

Not even bothering to thank them, Wonwoo turned on his heel and made a beeline for the office entrance—dead set on doing exactly what Seokmin jokingly suggested.

This is why I'm making it up to you, he mused with an exasperated air as he buckled up in his car.

Can’t you just let me in?

Emma spent her first Monday after the entire wedding disaster with Leo holed up in her unit—stuffing herself full of ice cream. The only reason she bothered going to the office today was to formally announce that her secretary Wonwoo Jeon was fired—just like she’d been planning since the moment she met him again as her secretary after all these goddamn years.

Her high school bullies have been put in their place. Her fifteen-year revenge plot was finally over.

But why did she feel so fucking depressed about it?

She sighed pitifully when she realized she’d already emptied her tub of double dutch ice cream, finally deigning to get up from the couch to deposit it in the kitchen for later disposal. But just when she was about to continue moping in her living room, the doorbell to her unit buzzed from the entrance, making her glance that way curiously.

It could be her next-door neighbor. A kind, elderly woman who lived with her daughter. She borrowed Emma’s rosemary spices yesterday—something that she barely used because she often opted to go for food deliveries instead of whipping up her own meals.

With that reasoning in mind, she didn’t bother checking who was at the door through the peephole. She simply undid the locks before opening the door—only to come face-to-face with—

“Hey,” Wonwoo sighed as he jammed his foot between the door and the doorframe. “Ma’am, please talk to me first. Did you think I wouldn't catch onto what you were trying to do?”

“Why do I have to explain myself to you? You’re fired, right?” Emma growled as she pushed the door with her back, but sadly, Wonwoo easily overpowered her. At least he was decent enough to not let himself in—he simply lingered out in the hallway with a placid look on his face. “What?”

“Emma,” her ex-secretary addressed her for the first time without any formalities. “If you fired me as vengeance for not helping you all those years ago, I get it. I deserve it, even. But after what happened sa hotel…

“You can’t convince me there’s nothing between us anymore.”

Her breath hitched, face growing warm at the reminder of that intimate moment they shared hours before she was supposed to get married. Whenever she closed her eyes, she could still feel Wonwoo's mouth on hers. But that wasn’t a thought that was healthy to entertain at the moment.

“What are you saying? That was all part of the plan, you know?” She bluffed with a mirthless laugh, fully turning to face him as she crossed her arms. “Make you smitten enough with me to let your guard down. Look, you didn't expect me to fire you, did you?”

“No, but you can’t fool me, Emma,” Wonwoo chuckled with a self-satisfied smirk. “You wanted me too—that was real. If I’m mistaken, then make me leave. Call security on me. If I’m the nuisance you so desperately want me to be, then get rid of me here and now.”

The silence was thick between them. Emma was practically shaking with frustration as Wonwoo stared down at her with that overconfident look on his face. She wanted nothing but to punch him, hit him, slap him—

Kiss him.

Maybe Wonwoo was right. Maybe Emma did want him more than she led herself to believe.

Because why the hell did she fist the front of Wonwoo's work shirt before pulling him inside her penthouse? Why did she slam him against the door, earning a sexy groan from him as she crushed their lips together?

Was this a healthy way to deal with your current predicament? No—definitely not. But it felt too fucking good to pass up on.

Wonwoo, however, was all too quick to regain control—hooking one of Emma’s thighs around his waist as she gasped into his mouth. She could practically feel him smirk against her lips, and though she’s loath to admit, it only made her want him even more.

“You’re not getting rid of me that easily,” he chuckled before peppering her neck with love bites. “You might need to kill me first before I stop pursuing you.”

Emma spared him a breathless laugh that quickly melted into a moan when Wonwoo's hand found itself inside her oversized sleep shirt. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were obsessed with me, Jeon.”

His fingers were warm against her skin, and Emma couldn’t help the full-on shudder that racked her body when Wonwoo grazed her bare nipples. The smile on his face was wicked—dangerous, even.

“Maybe I am,” he chuckled, his breath fanning against her flushed face.

“What would you do if I was obsessed with you, Ma’am?”

Emma was well aware that Wonwoo knew the answer to his own question. It was obvious in the way he quickly picked her up from the floor, fully wrapping both her legs around his waist as he carried her towards her bedroom. But despite the carnal urgency in his grip, Wonwoo was awfully gentle as he laid her down on the mattress.

“Last chance to kick me out,” he murmured against her ear as he started unbuttoning his shirt. “You could exact your revenge on me even better, ‘no? I’m giving you the leeway to frame me for forced entry…among other things.”

God. She knew Wonwoo was a little crazy when he accepted Emma’s orders to help her make his old best friends suffer. But the way he looked at her with such crazed desire further confirmed her suspicions.

And she didn’t want her men any other way.

“Fuck me, Wonwoo,” she told him clearly before stripping her own clothes and laying herself bare for him to feast on—eyes lidded, desiring him just as much as he did her. “That’s an order.”

He shook his head with a chuckle, and Emma had to force herself not to drool over his perfectly built torso. If she had more patience, she would’ve taken her time worshiping every inch of Wonwoo's body, but he’d already set a fire in the pit of her stomach. One that she fully expected him to deal with sooner than later.

“So wet for me,” he observed with a lopsided smirk, pressing their foreheads together as he lathered his fingers with her slick. “Have you always wanted me this way? Do you touch yourself to the thought of me, Miss Emma?”

Yes. Fuck, yes.

“That’s none of your business, Jeon,” Emma stubbornly insisted, keeping herself from moaning when his lips descended onto one of her hardened nipples.

Wonwoo made good on the opportunity, using the fingers he’d used to feel up her slick cunt to rub her essence across the other bud he wasn’t suckling on. The effect was near immediate—Emma throwing her head back with a pretty little whimper as Wonwoo started to massage her breasts.

Fuck. He’d always dreamed of getting to smother his face between them.

“Wonwoo,” she gasped out loud, hips bucking desperately when he bit down on her sensitive flesh. “F-Fuck me. Now.”

“Demanding.” He pulled away from her sensitive nipples with a pop, staring up at her with a lustful gaze. “You enjoy ordering me around too much, you know?”

“You enjoy being ordered around, too,” Emma pointed out with a scoff, trying her best not to moan too loudly when Wonwoo's fingers started to toy with her leaking cunt again. “Just—I need you. Please.”

Ah, he never thought the day would come when he’d hear Emma Rodriguez begging for his cock.

“Okay, Ice Queen,” he relented with a playful laugh, kicking his underwear and trousers off as he pumped his already hard length. “Since you're so eager for me to fuck you, I’m not going to prep you anymore. You better not cry when my cock splits you open, okay?”

Hearing him talk so lewdly to her made her pussy gush with excitement. What’s more was that, not only was her secretary blessed with a face and body that gods would covet, but his cock was something she was afraid she’d keep looking for even when he was done with her.

He was awfully careful when he first pushed inside of her, sharp eyes riveted on her face as it twisted with both pain and pleasure alike. His size was something that one needed getting used to, and he wasn’t about to make his first time with Emma uncomfortable for her.

No, he wanted her to keep thinking about him even after they’ve had their fill of each other.

“Squeezing me so fucking tight,” he rasped against her neck, licking a long stripe along the column of her throat to make her shiver. “Too bad you already fired me. I always wondered what it would feel like to bend you over and fuck you in your office.”

He could feel her pussy squeeze his cock even tighter at the shameless image she put in her head, making Wonwoo smirk with pride as he started to move. Emma mewled his name, grabbing his face as he chased his lips. He was all too willing to give her what she wanted, meeting her with an open-mouthed kiss as their tongues clashed together in time with his thrusts.

“W-Wonwoo,” she moaned into his mouth, hips eagerly meeting his. “Deeper. Fuck me deeper.”

And fuck her deeper, he did—Emma’s got him wrapped around her pretty manicured fingers, after all.

Wonwoo was relentless with the way he pounded her into the bed, the sound of skin slapping against skin ringing much too loudly in his ears. But he didn’t fucking care. The feel of Emma’s velvet pussy walls pulsing around his cock sent his mind into a frenzy—fucking her until the bedframe creaked, until Emma was begging him to give her more, more, more—

All of a sudden, she gasped, “Coming, coming—!”

If being inside her was life-changing, feeling her cum around his cock sent Wonwoo straight to heaven. Her cunt spasmed deliciously as Wonwoo helped her ride out her high—lips locked together as they breathed each other in.

“Cum inside me,” she murmured deliriously into his mouth, practically rubbing her breasts—sensitive and littered with all the marks Wonwoo left on them—against his toned chest. “Make me yours, Jeon.”

He didn’t have to be told twice.

“God, I love you,” he sighed a little mindlessly, and those carelessly uttered words made Emma’s eyes widen with surprise before losing herself to the feeling of delirium.

Wonwoo spilled his load inside her quivering cunt with a long-winded moan, feeling like he’d been shot through the head and was experiencing a level of euphoria that bordered on illegal. Emma moaned at the feel of his warm cum filling her to the brim, bringing him down for another sloppy kiss as the heat of the moment started to dissipate in the quiet atmosphere of their bedroom.

As their breaths started to settle, Emma was the first to glance at him—to meet his eyes. Wonwoo couldn’t find any trace of the arctic cold Ice Queen that practically told him to scram the other day at the hotel.

No, it was just Emma.

His Emma.

“Can I still take back my verdict?” she muttered softly, inching closer to bury her face in his chest. Wonwoo instinctively pulled her in for a tender embrace, kissing the crown of her head with a smile.

“You mean the contract termination?” Wonwoo chuckled. “Take it up to HR, Miss Emma. I’m just a lowly secretary.”

All of a sudden, Emma rolled over so that she was seated upright on the bed. Wonwoo had to keep himself from groaning at the sight of her—hair disheveled and body sporting all his marks. Seeing her freshly fucked by him was doing things to his libido.

“You’re not just my secretary, Wonwoo,” she sighed, twiddling with her fingers awkwardly. “I…I wasn’t going to fire you anymore. I got used to your company. I…

“I fell in love with you.”

The words floated between them like a cloud that couldn’t easily be swept up by the wind. Wonwoo offered her a comforting smile before pulling her into a firm kiss.

“Yet you fired me anyway,” he pointed out with a laugh. “Why? You couldn’t deal with the fact that you fell in love with one of your high school bullies?”

That earned him a punch in the shoulder. “You’re not one of them. You’re different.”

“And you’re in love with me too, no? You said it yourself. Since when?”

Shaking his head, Wonwoo then pressed a soft, featherlight kiss on her nose—one that had Emma’s heart fluttering like she was a schoolgirl.

Gosh, this man. He’s fifteen years too late.

“Maybe I’ve always been a little in love with you. Who knows?” Wonwoo spared her a Cheshire cat smile. “There’s more where that came from though.”

Emma punched him in the chest this time—a bit too close to the spot where he broke a few ribs months prior. But he didn’t care.

She could send him to hell and back and he’d do it for her in a heartbeat.

From: Wonwoo Jeon

Subject: NOT-SO CLASSIFIED

Good evening, Miss Emma. I hope this message finds you well.

I heard that you dealt with quite a stressful client today. I’m very sorry that I wasn’t here to help you with the matter as I was given tasks to do elsewhere. In order to make up for this lapse on my part, I am cordially inviting you to dinner at 7PM tonight after work.

Rest assured, the expenses shall be shouldered by me and your only job is to sit and look gorgeous as I wine and dine you for the evening. Sincerely hoping for your most favorable response.

Regards,

Wonwoo Jeon

Secretary, Finance and Logistics Department

PLEDIS Insurance

Your boyfriend :)

end notes: this wasnt thoroughly proofread so if you spot some strange errors (aka sentences in a different language bc this fic was partly in filipino) here and there, pretend you didn't see em! as always, ur feedback means everything to me so scream in the tags or my ask as much as you want ^__^

#svthub #seventeen smut #wonwoo smut #seventeen fanfic #wonwoo fanfic #lovelyhan #full-length fic 📚#wonwoo x oc #wonwoo x reader

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writteninlunarlight-years · 14 days

Note

hiii :) I'm requesting a marauders match up plz <3

Gender: female

Pronouns: she/her

Sexuality: demi-sexual/pan-romantic

Appearance: white, dirty blonde hair that's just past the shoulders and messy/wavy, glasses, green eyes, plus size (large belly and butt), I have two cartilage piercings and usually wear fun, colorful earrings and rings.

(MBTI &/or Engram if you would like to take the tests and add it): when I took the test, I got a 9, but my therapist told me I'm a 4 (do with that what you will)

Personality: big platonic lover - love telling friends I love them, but I'm pretty shy with romantic/sexual attraction. I'm loud when I start to feel comfortable in social situations, I'm very anxious about how others perceive me and I like to be prepared for anything (e.g. I always have band-aids, safety pins, allergy medicine, tums, etc.)

Likes (at least like three things): hanging out outside when the temperature is like the perfect fall crisp (kind cold, but not quite) - extra points if there's a fire pit; hosting a party to get all of my friends together; feeling cared for; putting together legos/puzzles; card games; laughing

Dislikes (at least three things): olives; when it's too hot outside (like 75+F); people who are passive aggressive/can't hold space for others

Extra fun fact (this is about whoever you are describing to me): I have, on multiple occasions, flown across the country or driven 6+ hours to surprise my friends/family.

thank you so much <3<3<3

(ps. If you match me with Peter, I will trust your instincts, but I will also cry thank you)

~~~~~ MATCHUP ~~~~~

Marauders Era

Regulus Balck

~~~~~ HEADCANON ~~~~~

He is a quiet man himself. He noticed you hanging out with his younger brother's friends, and something about your warmth melted his icy heart.

He loves how you care for his brother in a way he can't.

He admires your beauty from afar and asks his brother when they talk about you often.

After Sirius left their home to live with James, he bucked up the courage to talk to you.

He knew it was a risk, but your light was so warm that he couldn't bear to miss out on you.

He was terrified of any physical contact for a while.

He always asks for permission before he does anything to you out of fear you will abandon him.

One night, he snuck into the Gryffindor common room with all of you and sat around the fire with everyone, actually smiling and laughing for once.

That same night, you two shared your first kiss.

Sirius thanks you every day for saving his brother.

As Regulus's seventh year approached, he became much more withdrawn and cold to you.

When you found out his family forced him to be a death eater, you stayed by his side in secret, only meeting occasionally and traveling far distances to avoid the eyes of the others on you.

~~~~~ BLURB ~~~~~

You were sitting near the black lake, where a fresh blanket of snow had just fallen the night before. You knew if Regulus was going anywhere after an altercation with his family, it would be out here. Earlier in the day, you heard in the great hall as a Howler from the black family ripped into Regulus; ever since Sirius left, the abuse had only gotten worse on the older sibling. Not too long after the letter chewed itself up, you saw Bellatrix talking to her cousin, and it probably was nothing good. As you were trapped in your thoughts, you failed to notice the presence standing next to you by the water. He cleared his throat, and you turned to look at him. He seemed reasonably okay, but just because the scars weren't visible didn't mean the hidden ones weren't deep.

You smiled at the man and held your hand out; he looked at it before slowly taking your hand, allowing you to lead him wherever you intended to. As you two made it over to the tree line, you pulled out a blanket from your bag and made a somewhat cozy spot to sit until the snow melted through the thick layer. Regulus sat down beside you, looking out on the lake again. You sighed, " I heard what happened; how are you holding up." Regulus shrugged, "As good as I can, now that Sirius is safe out of the house, I am the new target of all problems for the black family." You nodded solemnly as you took in his words. Trying to think quickly on your feet to fix the situation and bring Regulus at least to his default bored expression, you came up with the perfect plan. You stood up and extended your hand out to the boy.

He took your hand once more, trusting you to guide him. You remembered that the boys and Lily planned to go to the three broomsticks today to relax. Nothing made Regulus more happy than seeing you and his brother happy. Leading the way, you soon entered the establishment. As if almost on queue, the group excitedly shouted to the older boy, smiling, waving him over. You could feel Regulus warming up; something about finally belonging always made him happier. As you enjoyed your drinks and games, you noticed your partner relaxing and forgetting all the hateful stuff his family had said. Who could ask for more than to see your partner happy to be alive?

~~~~~ EXTRA ~~~~~

(Regulus and you were sitting at a park swinging on the playground, watching as a storm rolled in.)

Y/N: Do you ever think muggles who believe witches melt in water also believe that all magic folk can do is cast curses.

Regulus: They probably also think we are green with warts.

Y/N: We dork, but they obviously only think magic folk are women. Have you seen all their plays and shows?

Regulus: With these gorgeous locks, I could definitely pass.

Y/N: Maybe we should test their theory by staying out in the rain and seeing if we dissolve.

Regulus: Honey, all you will accomplish is get a cold again.

#harry potter #harry potter x reader #x reader #marauders x reader #match up #regulus black #regulus black x reader #maurders era #the marauders #head canon #headcanon #gryffindor #hufflepuff #slytherin #ravenclaw

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akwardlyuncool · 3 months

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Artist Of The Year: George Watsky!

This is gonna be on the longer side, so I'm cool if you don't to read of it. TLDR: Watsky put in the creative work and he's supper nice!

Honestly I didn't know who I wanted to give artist of the year to and although he's been a constant shout out for me over the years, I kept coming back to the thought that Watsky's put in so much creative work this year. He was dedicated to the art, put on a FANTASTIC show and was still trying to give back to his community of fans, even me personally. So, at the end of the day there wasn't really a question cause I already had the answer.

First he put out Intention the final album in a trilogy of albums, did an US/International tour, with a FREE live stream of one of the dates, for that album. Then at the end of all that decided that he'd go back on a mini tour at the end of the year to do a Art Pop Up/Meet & Greet as a send off and a thank you to the fans.

Now I'm not gonna get into the lore of all the challenges and puzzles and international scavenger hunting, he's done this last year as well, and probably even longer, just know that ish is amazing and shout out to anyone who was apart of that being the hella cool thing that it was/is. I just watched him in a not so parasocial way live stream his life for a couple weeks (was it a couple weeks?) while he hand drew all of the art work for the lyrics of his last album to be put into a book. It was a comfort watch this summer. So yeah, when I talk about the work, this is what I mean.

Artist of the year is really better known as artist of MY year, and although he would still deserve it otherwise and knowing that I wasn't the most knee deep into everything, I was still there for so much and had a lot of fun. The tip-over however was when he decided to make small batch of physical copies of the live album he made for the Metro date and I happened to win a copy. The first one got lost in the mail somewhere (or so I'm assuming) and upon sending a follow up email, hoping I didn't look "desperate" he was basically like "you didn't get yours? I'll send you another one."

That story shorter, the special thing about all of this is that he was like you got my word that I'll get you another one. Although I would have been bummed, I would have eventually just been okay with winning at all, but he did the extra and in the world of fan experiences, that was cool of him. It really made me feel like this was something I was supposed to win, like he thought I deserved it. Now ish might not be that deep lol, but to me it felt like it was.

All I'm really saying is that between getting to see a really good "final" show live (from my couch too), watching him livestream his creative process, as well as getting what I consider to be special fan experiences without having to pay for VIP, means a bit to me and so deserving, he is. __________________________________________________________________

Mini Watsky Introduction Playlist

Note: This does not include the lore and unfortunately stuff from the mix-CD's. I worked only with what's available on Spotify.

Two Blue Moons - Watsky (Self Titled)

(*Bonus Track) Dent In The Moon - Cardboard Castles

Sarajevo ft. Dia Frampton - All You Can Do

Wounded Healer (Live) - All You Can Do: Live From The Regency

(*Bonus Track) Exquisite Corpse ft. Dumbfoundead, Grieves, Adam Vida, Wax, Rafael Casal, Daveed Diggs, and Chinaka Hodge - x Infinity

Same Way - Fine Print (Invisible Inc.)

Welcome To The Family - COMPLAINT

Undermine ft. Raquel Rodriguez - PLACEMENT

FLOAT - INTENTION

Tiny Glowing Screens Pt 2. (Live) - Watsky Live from the Metro

Spotify Link!

PS: When I get to it and have the emotional capacity for that amount of sentimental-ness, I'll do an official reminiscing of the last 10/11, maybe even more years of my time going to Watsky shows. I'm also still gonna make the official Intention tour post, as well as one for the Art Pop-Up, so there will for sure be more Watsky content to come.

#Class Favorites 2023 #AKWARD CLASS FAVORITES #Artist Of The Year #Watsky #George Watsky #Akward Mixes #Playlists

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outoftheframework · 3 years

Text

my proposal for tropes we as a fandom should adopt in all fanworks going forward: Duke Thomas edition

So every fandom has tropes and characterization quirks that have been generally accepted into fanon and, like, maybe? they were originally based on some obscure comic panel from the 80s or something but it doesn’t really matter because we’re all just,,, cool with it? Like for example- in the dc comics fandom, an art piece could show 3 of the bats that look virtually identical except one of them is holding a box of cereal so that one is obviously Dick Grayson. . . Y’know?

Anyway, these things usually come up naturally I guess but I’ve been here a while and it’s finally time to put my foot down. It’s high time for Duke Thomas to be more in fanon than “the sane one.” Because he might be the relatively new guy but he is certainly fears no gods or laws of the land just as much as the other bats, lemme tell ya.

TL;DR here are character quirks (”canon-based” or otherwise) that we should all really latch onto seriously I’m begging y’all to make at least one of these happen-

Duke “Habitually Jumping Out of Moving Vehicles” Thomas

This one’s actually based in canon y’all; Duke did indeed yeet himself out of the back of a cop car and off of a bridge (in We Are... Robin). Normalize Duke’s wearing knee and elbow pads as Signal because jumping out of a car turns out relatively fine once and then suddenly Batman’s rooftop disappearing act seems mellow compared to the amount of times Gordon has whipped his head around to see a now Signal-less backseat.

Like, he’s going 60 mph?? And he didn’t even hear the door open?? and tHE DOORS ARE STILL LOCKED??

Imagine this leaking into civilian life and Bruce waking up to a blurry photo of Duke mid-escape from a limousine on the front page of the Gotham Gazette.

(more under cut)

Duke “Puzzles are my Passion” Thomas

Duke is ~canonically~ very skilled at both solving and concocting riddles (as a child during that time where The Riddler just,,, controlled Gotham, he worked non-stop on riddles, trying to make the perfect one). Please y’all- let Duke solve puzzles. Have the other bats ask him for help after 36 hours straight of brooding over some brainteaser that Duke works out within the half-hour. He texts a picture of the solution scribbled out on loose leaf in the margins of his pre-calc homework because this boy shows his work.

My guy is a word-cross FIEND. A mind-sweeper speed-runner. That guy who mails into the Gazette to correct a solution in the “fun & games” section and also ps that photo is not of me I am simply a polite young man who is much too busy writing into the paper in the year 2021 to jump out of limos-

I also would love to see this integrated into the type of cases he investigates / runs into on his daytime patrol. Like, obviously the criminal activity is going to dramatically differ before and after sundown, but that doesn’t make Duke’s work any easier or less important. It’s a different skillset; he has to work differently. Instead of jumping into fights, halting mob meetings, saving civilians in dark allies, etc. Duke has to sort through all of the moving pieces before they all converge into something catastrophic.

It’s a known fact that criminal organizations in Gotham make and execute a lot of behind-the-scenes plans during the day specifically not to run into the bats. And Duke knows and monitors this shit all by himself; his work is crucial to logistics and information gathering for the bats as a whole. Now criminals have like, a 2 hour gap between bat-shifts to try and get stuff done. But Duke would 100% set traps on timers or lead them on this pre-set convoluted goose chase to distract them until the night bats come out and to let himself enjoy the whole thing playing out on the news while he finishes homework that’s due at midnight.

Duke “I Know a Guy” Thomas

So in going off of the basic concept for the “We Are. . . Robin” run in combination to his general likability, Duke has a lot of friends all around Gotham. Okay, sure, he doesn’t have a Super best friend or a Speedster on speed dial, but he does know this guy who details cars up on West 35th and will tell them all about the new mods on Black Mask’s transport vans if they come through the third floor window and bring takeout.

Bruce and Tim will be waiting for the facial recognition software to identify at least a partial match off of security cam footage when Duke pulls into the cave, takes one look at the screen, and says “Oh, that’s <insert name, address, abridged life story, and known associates here>.” This also brings in the opportunity for Duke to have some sort of perfect recall for faces, voices, names, etc. which I think could be a really cool element for his position as the batfamily member who has a lot more personal interaction with the people of Gotham.

I’m also into the idea of a lot of people knowing/telling stories about Duke. Not to reference the Chuck Norris meme but almost like the Chuck Norris meme lmao. Think about Jason mentioning his brother to someone and she replies, “Duke Thomas? Like that Duke Thomas? The one who swam across the harbor because he said it’d be faster than the subway and it actually was?” These stories have varying levels of truth to them but Duke will never confirm nor deny when he gets random calls from family members yelling “you dID WHAT”

So those are my top three, and the following is a little speed-round of headcanons :)

Duke has a super expressive face. Like when he’s relaxed around family, you can tell exactly what he’s thinking and how he’s feeling by his visual reactions to things

Duke rotates through picking up new and revisiting old hobbies at a pretty rapid pace. Some hobbies include: bullet journaling, origami, viola, cello, synth, conversational basics in multiple languages, up-cycling and embroidering clothes

Duke has a really fucking adorable smile. He can’t help it. He’ll try to grin sarcastically or smug to be annoying but his smile just cannot be anything other than endearing. He also has a very specific booming laugh that’s an absolute treasure to hear, because it’s the most genuinely happy thing ever.

Duke unironically enjoys Signal by Twice even though the first time he heard it was after Steph had set it as his morning alarm.

So.

Come and get your food, I guess.

Feel free to add on if you’d like! I’d love to see anything you guys write/draw/etc. based on anything from here if you feel compelled to do so!

Stay safe and be well :)

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steve0discusses · 3 years

Text

Yugioh Season Zero: The Yo-Yo Crimes of Jounouchi Pt 1

It’s been a while since I visited the many times Yugi should have gone to jail, AKA season Zero, and I’m excited to visit it again.

If you just got here, this is Season Zero, which is very different vibe and a different direction plotwise than the other seasons and you can read the season zero recaps from the start in chrono order here: https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yuugi%20muto/chrono

So be warned, this is a 90′s anime, and it will do 90′s anime things, and I expect y’all reading this aren’t like 12.

Like I said in an earlier post, I wrote this out fully when I was going through the symptoms from my second dose--which PS, is worth it--but those symptoms knocked me out for 10 days. I was kind of a space cadet, and yo, I made some mistakes. Including writing this post out in full and then not clicking “save” on this post and then not realizing I had done that until several days later.

So long story short, I don’t remember what I originally wrote here, but lets all assume it was weird, and didn’t make sense and wasn’t funny. We’ll just assume this was for the best that it was deleted forever.

So this episode is about 2 things: Yo-yos and Jounouchi. Both get used as a tool for violence, and both need to get just a little bit cursed by Yugi to scale it the hell back. So, understandably, we start off this episode with Jounouchi, who has eagerly identified with this off brand yo-yo he apparently got out of a dumpster for being just a huge ass defect.

(more Yo-Yo crimes under the cut)

I see you dodging copyright infringement, Yugioh. Eireboy.

Also whenever I read “Eireboy” I do it in my mind in the same pacing and vocal tones that Pegasus uses to say “Kaiba boy.” Something about it’s conjunction to Yugioh, I see anything with “boy” at the end of it, and it’s voiced by a weird guy with one eye.

So I wrote these caps under the influence of my second dose, just assuming y’all understand the life I lived, but I realized writing this episode...traveling bands of yo-yo performers that go to your school and shill yo-yos with yo-yo shows in the hopes that it will get you so obsessed with yo-yos that you will not join a gang and do drugs and have sex may be just an American thing.

So when I saw a yo-yo episode I was like “Tight! Clearly, the yo-yo clowns have come to town!” and I assumed everyone in this class would be draped in yo-yos, because I just assumed that at some point at School you will get MAD OBSESSED with yo-yos for about 2 weeks.

But in this episode, everyone was like “Jounouchi, why are you playing with a random yo-yo?” and it didn’t occur to me until typing this out just now: only Jounouchi is doing this. He did this unprompted, without the encouragement of a bunch of middle aged performers doing tricks to techno music.

So instead, I have to think of Jounouchi as Ralphie in this scenario, and he just got a official Red Ryder, carbine action, 200-shot, range model air rifle, with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time for Christmas, but he’s gonna shoot his eye out.

Because yo-yos in this episode are basically guns.

...Kind of like a duel deck was also just a gun...

...or the wands in Harry Potter...

...which honestly...I’ve probably said this before but where I’m from, we just use straight up guns in these elaborate analogies because we freakin have to make the point crystal clear. The moment Ralphie finally got his hands on a bb-gun, he very nearly shot his eye out and broke his glasses. And that scene will haunt me until my dying day...

...but fine, we can use yo-yos, I guess it works, although to me, yo-yo’s are just teachers hoping you’ll become such a dork that no gang will accept you (and then in this universe, it does the opposite? So freakin weird).

The beginning of this episode is Jounouchi trying do his best to impress with his skills, but in actuality, getting very close to clubbing Anzu with a yo-yo. And, while Anzu is the strongest person in Yugioh in the later seasons, I feel like Season Zero Anzu is another level. It’s a serious tempt of fate that Jounouchi is doing, so Honda wisely cuts him off from doing any more of that so she won’t end up strangling yet another person in broad daylight in the middle of school.

Remember your yo-yo safety, children.

Straight up, Honda’s version of yo-yo safety is to just Never Use a Yo-Yo and that’s the most gun safety thing ever that they’ve slipped into this Yugioh Episode. I almost expected Yuugi to pull a “well, actually, I use a hunting yo-yo to get enough venison to feed my family.” But youknow, he lives in a city, so while Yugioh is pretty weird and Yuugi has to worry about a lot of things--he doesn’t have to worry about that.

This is actually foreshadowing, which I only realized in hind sight, mostly because I just can’t associate a Yo-yo with crime. Joey knowing how to use a yo-yo was foreshadowing that he was absolutely part of this gang in a past life.

Yeah that one went completely over my head the first time and the second time and it really wasn’t until just now that I finally caught it. Hoo boy, sometimes I wonder why y’all let me analyze this show.

Jounouchi decides to confront the yo-yo bandits and everyone else is like “Silly Jounouchi, he’s not gonna do that. That would be stupid.” And...in S0, they don’t know him well enough yet to know that he really is that much of a well meaning dumbass.

I think a S1-5 Yugi would have been sprinting out the door to keep Joey from killing himself (again), but Season Zero Yuugi had hope that Jounouchi would just naturally tucker out and fall asleep or something.

And he was so wrong.

Anzu’s “New Tricks” line was from the dub itself and man that’s a good line. I love Anzu’s sass in Zero.

So, Honda decides to help them find Jounouchi so all of them together could give Jounouchi an intervention for skipping school. This is the same Honda that once skipped school to babysit a tomagachi and said it was because of “Maternity leave,” but don’t worry about the hypocrisy, because from this episode we learned that Jounouchi needs a very short leash.

So this episode is a great Jounouchi episode to explain stuff that still hasn’t been explained in 5 seasons of Yugioh. In S1-5, we don’t get much about his home life other than his Mom left and his Sister lives far away and is like sickly as hell. We know nothing else. But this is the episode where we finally get to find out why Yuugi and his Grandfather decided to basically adopt him from S1 onward.

Yugioh is tackling some pretty heavy territory, but I respect the show for not trying to magically change Jounouchi’s parents like they did to Dartz. Instead, the crew decide to reach out and try to find their friend who clearly didn’t go home last night (and won’t be going back for a while), by checking every alleyway in Domino.

Fun fact Yuugi drops this episode, Domino is one of the biggest cities on Earth. This makes the Battle City Tournament even more crazy when you realize Kaiba shut down several blocks but, it also makes a tiny bit more sense how we have so many Millennium items in one place. (Yet...it still doesn’t explain Bakura and Joey’s accent.) And, I guess if your city is just extra large, you get an extra large warehouse district, too.

Speaking of, they eventually find Jounouchi at his new (but also old) crime antics mugging some random stranger next to this Game store that I just realized was cropped so it looks like it says “GANG.”

Say hello to our crime clown. He’s sort of like a discount joker, and that beanie is...man it is green.

I forget this green exists sometimes, but Season Zero has it as one of their prime colors. Good ol’ Retro Kaiba green.

I’m a little tempted to swatch Season Zero a bit and figure out their full color scheme--it’s really saturated, which is interesting when you compare it to the later seasons which are a lot more muted since...the 00′s were like that, they greyed a lot of colors out. But I’ll do it later if I do, maybe another post for another day.

Jounouchi and Honda, before they moved to the school with Yuugi in it, used to go to the same school and up until now I just assumed they were close friends. But apparently they were a lot more distant than that. I’m sure they met up several times as Jounouchi destroyed stuff and Honda came along in his volunteer janitor outfit to put the stuff the hell back, and maybe that’s how they got to know eachother better?

But basically, Jounouchi was the freakin worst, and Jounouchi’s best friend was Hirotani--this 45 year old 15 year old with the blue pony and turquoise fade--and Honda has SO MUCH hot goss to say about it.

I really get the gist that Honda may not have liked anyone else at his old school, like at all. Like maybe Honda likes cleaning up trash so much because his school was just trash top to bottom.

As is tradition, Yuugi got his tar beat in by Hirotani. Another concussion to add to his list of issues to tell his future therapist that lives in that puzzle he wears around his neck.

I still expect him to do a double cross, but it seems they wanted to keep it a relatable and more realistic fall-out, where Jounouchi has just bounced on them without even a goodbye. He and his Dad had a bad fight, and Jounouchi was like “well so long to all of this and everyone that has anything to do with it.”

In later seasons, Joey is the one trying to save other people. He’s saving his Sister, he’s saving Mai, he’s saving Yugi, but in this season Jounouchi’s friends had to save Jounouchi from himself a few times now.

I like this depth to his character, I’ll be honest. I can understand why S1-5 don’t touch on it, and I don’t think it’s because they didn’t want to have an abusive Dad storyline, because they did that several times over with Seto Kaiba (man the Dad situation in Yugioh is DIRE.) Instead they probably just felt like Season Zero already did it, so why do it again?

It’s just a shame that it wasn’t talked about in the other seasons. Joey makes a lot more sense to me now because we get to see why Jounouchi is so hard set on saving people. S4 Mai Valentine, who ditched everyone and joined a gang? That’s basically a Joey move, and that was why Joey Wheeler was all over that.

Really would have added a lot to that particular arc if the show...actually talked about Joey’s history at all rather than assume I would have watched something that was never released in the States. Instead...it just looked a lot like he had only romantic motivations, which may not have been what they were going for.

Speaking of romantic, check out this sunset. Like the sun is exploding for some reason--just a wild sunset you only see for a still frame before a commercial break.

As Joey, youknow, takes on an entire rival gang single-handedly.

Hey guys, I lived near a pretty big city most of my life and I have been on a roof...once. Just the one time when I was doing an internship in SF with a painter and we needed to take a reference photo of his painting for a gallery (and it was hella sketch, and we weren’t exactly allowed up there). Who are all these people giving teens Roof Access? It’s so hard to get! Even if you live in an apartment of a tall building, I can count on zero of my fingers the amount of times I was allowed on that roof. But TV shows and movies--they freakin love roof gardens and roof hangouts and roof fights.

Am I missing out?? How did y’all get on the ROOF? I know I’m on S5 of Yugioh now and I have seen a lot of roof stuff, but like...is this normal for everyone else? I know there’s schools that have roof sport--that’s common in the city everywhere--but that’s like...specialized roofs with 30 ft chainlink fencing and really good supports to your body doesn’t fall straight through it when you jump too much. The hell is using their normal ass roof?

This gang should have their legs swinging halfway into the floor below them, is all I’m saying, if my roof couldn’t handle our solar heating, then a normal ass roof cannot support a gang fight.

But it does look really, really cool.

Anyway, Anzu does some offscreen snooping and finds out where the crime hangs out, and suggests that we step right into crime zone and just yank Jounouchi out of there. Which is something you would only do and say if you were Anzu and cannot fear death.

If it were Jay’s it would be with an ‘s. That’s how you do a plural Jay. But it’s the 90′s, so we put a “z” on the end of everything that should have been an “s” and that’s how you get the...

I mean, thank you, dubbers, for not saying “Jizz” but for reals...that be Jizz.

Please don’t flag me, Tumblr. (which, PS, I think they turned off the flagbot, Tumblr hasn’t flagged me in forever and I’m so thankful. Mods are asleep, we can talk about anime again)

So even though Honda decided that he was fed up with Jounouchi and didn’t want to save his ass, he decided to give it another go but complete with some new sash. He also did this without telling any of the others, who just kinda spectated him for a little while.

Honestly, if they weren’t laughing at him, I wouldn’t have known that this sash was any weirder than any of his other sashes. I don’t know really know what a school uniform should look like. It’s a shame, I feel like this series has a lot of jokes and puns probably soaring right over my head.

A little bit embarrased he was caught being vulnerable, Honda decides to give us a little more context to why he ever decided to give Jounouchi the time of day in the first place.

They had PE class once, and Honda apparently loves the hell out of PE. Jounouchi ran really fast in a straight line that one time, and that is why he’s trustworthy friend material. He just needs to stop joining gangs, and he’ll be solid.

I have no idea if the fandub put that in there or if that was native to the show, but Miho legit stans Honda/Jounouchi and acts as if she’s off to write some fanfiction about it. Honestly if she did, it would make her so much more interesting of a character.

And so, until next time, we shall have to wait and see exactly what Yami Yuugi is going to do with a freakin Yo-yo and I’m sure it’s all sorts of real effed up. Excited to get there, honestly. A shame it had to happen on the part that isn’t dubbed yet, but I’ve done these subbed before, it’ll be fine!

#Season Zero #Yuugi Muto #Jounouchi #Honda #Anzu #yo-yo #Jounouchi joins a gang #Gotta go save Jounouchi's ass I guess #Miho #she was here too I guess #Just a great Jounouchi episode for the Jounouchi stans out there

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addictedtostorytelling · 2 years

Note

Hi, can we expect an update from Something in you I believe in soon?

PS: I'm obsessed with this fic.

hi, anon!

i've been working on the next chapter a lot lately and making good progress, so i'd say i'll have it done relatively soon by my standards.

of course, "by my standards," writing tends to run pretty slowly, even when i'm being consistent about doing it, so it still may be a month or two yet before i'm ready to post.

and particularly as i'm going to be visiting my family for the next little while and not having much computer time/internet access while i'm with them.

until then, may i interest you in a sneak peek?

Sara’s computer search at first yields little. Alicia’s most visited site is iTunes, and all of her other bookmarks appear to be school-related—digital encyclopedia entries and an online homework portal. Only on further investigation, clicking through individual links in the browser history, does Sara stumble on anything more interesting—namely, multiple PDFs downloaded from a medical studies database.

The site is one that is regularly used by doctors and other healthcare professionals. While available to the general public, its materials are not made for laypeople outside of the medical profession, and especially not for a kid who hasn’t even taken AP Bio yet.

Sara can’t imagine why a thirteen-year-old would be seeking out this kind of advanced research, and yet Alicia’s presence on the site obviously isn’t the result of an accidental click, as there are numerous hits, all under related search topics: “organ transplant,” “organ rejection,” “kidney donation,” “kidney transplant,” “heart transplant,” “lung transplant,” “liver transplant.” The queries were made over a period of several days, and Alicia downloaded about a dozen articles, saving them into a folder on her desktop.

Sara draws the finding to Grissom’s attention, and he is just as puzzled by it as she.

He furrows his brow. “What is that? Homework research?” he wonders.

His would be a reasonable assumption if Alicia had pulled some basic definitions and statistics about organ donation off of Yahoo or Google, but Sara is looking at a page filled with detailed descriptions of blood phenotyping and chemical skeletal formulas of the type most students don’t start learning how to interpret until at least high school, if not college.

She knows Grissom isn’t looking at the PDF with her, so she clarifies what she means. “Maybe,” she says. But. “These are pretty detailed biochem and immunosuppressant citations. It's a little over a seventh grader’s head, don't you think?”

His response is automatic, a reflex: “I don’t know. I bet you were a pretty smart seventh grader.”

Muscle memory, the blooming joy that spreads through her chest. Muscle memory, the blush that flares over her skin. Muscle memory, the dizzy delight in him. These last few days, he has had her smile on a string, able to draw it out whenever he likes. Muscle memory, how he does so now again.

Over the years, he has given her so many offhanded compliments, and yet somehow even for their frequency, she has never gotten used to them—never come to expect them. He always takes her by surprise, and this time especially so, his words so different from those she was expecting him to say that it’s all she can do to let them wash over her like a wave.

This part is pure adoration, is wanting so badly to rise from her chair and pull him to her by the beltloops, to kiss that wonderful, charming man until he knows, until he knows, until he knows without any doubt—

#answered #anon #my fic #siyibi #csiverse

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official-weasley · 3 years

Text

Love, William (Bill Weasley x OC) - Chapter 7

WARNINGS: absolutely nothing except Umbridge

Chapter 7 - Bill's Birthday Present

Dear Eric,

thank you for sending me a birthday present a week earlier – it was a nice surprise as always! Of course, Fred, George, and I already ate all the candy you sent me but that scarf is stunning and will come in handy as it’s currently snowing outside.

Your present got me all excited about my birthday. I know Fred and George are planning something because they are constantly giggling and whispering when they think I’m not paying attention. I will officially be an adult in the Muggle world. I am not sure what to do with that information but I can’t wait either way!

I admire you for having faith that our mother will stop pushing me to be more like you. You asked if she had a change of heart yet about the shop and the answer is no. She doesn’t want to hear about it and when I mentioned it when I was home for Christmas, her face got all screwed up and green as if she’s going to vomit.

I appreciate that you are trying to persuade her to give me a chance but since I have given up hope a long time ago, you don’t have to waste energy on it either.

Oh, and speaking about the shop! Fred and George think we might have finally found the right place! It’s in Diagon Alley, which is perfect if I say so myself because Diagon Alley doesn’t have a joke shop yet and I reckon that will be great for business.

I haven’t seen it yet. Fred and George went there during Christmas break. They said that it would need quite a lot of work but they think it’s going to pay off! We are going to go and talk to the owner during Easter break to arrange matters further. We don’t want to get too excited – we still have to graduate and pass our N.E.W.T.s. Mum would have my head if I don’t finish school, can you imagine!

I would like you to know that I am still keeping our family legacy of Filch pranking alive! As I told you before, he is the perfect test subject for our products and since we perfected the Screaming Yo-yo over the summer, the twins and I couldn’t resist throwing one into his office while he was asleep. I wish you could be there when he started screaming. He ran into the hallway and actually said to me that I was just like my brother – disobedient and good for nothing.

I think that might just have been the sweetest thing Mr. Filch has ever said to me! Can you believe he remembers you?

However, I wish I could say that Mr. Filch is our biggest concern these days. That Umbridge woman has completely lost her mind. DADA has never been so boring and we keep getting detention! But we have it easy, you should have seen what she’s done to Harry! She’s mental that one. Hermione told me that she made him write lines because he is lying that You-Know-Who is back.

Who would ever lie about something like that? The Ministry is losing it and I am glad that you are in the USA and not here to witness this nonsense.

Ms. Pink Lady Toad keeps creating rules that just don’t make any sense. We can barely whisper in the hallways now. A couple was snogging on a bench on the second floor the other day and she not only pulled them apart but gave them a month’s worth of detention. A MONTH!

Anyway, there might be some light at the end of the tunnel. There’s a reason I asked you to send me that advanced spellbook you used for your Auror training. Harry is recruiting people to start some sort of a defense class. Godric knows that Umbridge isn’t going to teach us anything and he is taking matters into his own hands!

Hermione made us these coins to know when our next meeting. Fred and George can’t wait and we all know it’s going to be better than any class.

I have to go now, I have DADA in 15 minutes and I have to send this letter to you before I go in case I die of boredom in that class.

Thank you again for the birthday present and for supporting me in what I want to do with my life – it means the world to me.

I miss you and know that I can’t wait to see you over the summer!

Love and a big hug, Theo

PS. I remembered that you mentioned that you have an annoying co-worker in one of your previous letters so I am sending you a bag of Invisibility Powder. It’s a product Freddie and I developed. You mix it in someone’s drink and their hair is going to turn invisible for 3 days making them look as if they were bald. Have fun with it and reminisce on your mischief days!

—

“Late again, Miss Cork.” Professor Umbridge said sluggishly when Theodora entered the classroom.

“I apologize, professor. I was in the Owlery, sending a letter.” Theodora bowed her head and went to sit next to George.

“A letter?” A hollow laugh escaped Umbridge’s mouth. “And who might you be writing to?”

“I think that is none of your business,” Fred said through his teeth.

“That’s professor to you, Mr. Weasley. I am Hogwarts High Inquisitor and I have the power to make it my business to know who the students are writing to.” The professor stepped closer to where Fred was sitting, her head slightly tilted to the side.

“I was wr-”

Theodora had nothing to hide so she just wanted to get the attention off her by telling Umbridge who the letter was for but George’s hand over her mouth stopped her.

“You don’t have to tell her anything,” George whispered to her.

“Oh, but she does.” Umbridge’s lips curved into an evil grin and Theodora knew what was coming. “Perhaps we should establish a new rule. No letters in or out without me knowing about them.”

“Are you mental?” Fred stood up.

“That's privacy invasion!” George followed.

“Sit down the both of you!” Umbridge glared at them until they did what they were told.

“She’s right to be concerned, you know.” Theodora turned to George, with a mischievous expression on her face.

She knew what she was about to say next will get her in detention but she didn’t care. She simply had no energy to listen to Umbridge trying to boss people around.

“Elaborate, Miss Cork.” Umbridge cleared her throat.

“I was writing a letter to one of my confidants in America. We are forming an alliance with them against the Dark Lord.” Theodora smirked.

If she wanted information that had nothing to do with her, might as well lie about it and make her furious.

“How dare you!” Umbridge turned as pink as the bow around her neck. “What is wrong with you students?” She furrowed her brows and started walking towards Theodora’s desk, slowly. “How many times do I have to say that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is not back?!”

“And how many times do we have to tell you that he is?” Fred rolled his eyes and slammed a book against his head.

All Gryffindors started to laugh, while Slytherins made faces of disgust and shock.

“That’s enough!” The professor hit the floor with a loud thump of her foot.

Silence filled the classroom.

“Would you like detention again, Mr. Weasley?”

“Gladly!” Fred hissed at her. “At least it won’t be as boring as this class!”

Umbridge and a few Slytherins gasped.

“A month, Mr. Weasley! Starting in this classroom, tonight at 7!” She said, shaking.

Fred shrugged his shoulders, put his book in his bag, glanced at George and Theodora, and started towards the door.

Exchanging one look, George and Theodora stood up as well and followed Fred.

“And where do you think you are all going?” Umbridge questioned them.

“You already gave detention to my brother, so I see no point for him to stick around and we always serve detention together so you’ll be seeing both of us tonight, professor,” Fred replied.

“And I am joining them because this class is as dull as they get and without Mr. and Mr. Weasley I might just die of boredom in your class. Honestly, professor, I fear for my life.” Theodora said sarcastically, making Fred and George giggle.

George put his arm around Theodora’s shoulders and without saying another word, they left the classroom, leaving professor Umbridge speechless and with her mouth opened.

—

“I still can’t believe you went after me,” George whispered to his two friends, the second Umbridge left the classroom during their detention.

“What else were we supposed to do, I hate that woman.” Theodora frowned.

“We have to come up with something and get her out of this school.” Fred thought out loud.

“That would do everyone a favor.” Theodora rubbed her chin. “But what?”

“I don’t know yet but it’s never too late to start brainstorming,” Fred smirked while the other two nodded in agreement.

“So, Theo,” George prodded her, “your birthday’s in a week. What are your plans?”

“I don’t have plans.” Theodora chuckled.

“Good.” Fred clapped. “I mean, whatever.”

“Right, as if I don’t know that you two are up to something.” Theodora lifted an eyebrow at her best friends.

“Maybe we are, maybe we aren’t.” George sent her a wink.

“18 is a big one! You’ll be able...you’ll...wait what are you allowed to do when you turn 18?” Fred asked puzzled as he couldn’t come up with a single thing.

“In the Wizarding world nothing much since we come of age at 17 but in the Muggle world she will finally be a grown-up.” George giggled.

“A grown-up? She will have to mature for that.” Fred joked.

Theodora pursed her lips playfully and smacked them both over the head, then joined them in a fit of laughter.

Their faces straightened and they went back to writing lines when they heard Umbridge coming back, pressing their lips together hard, not to continue laughing.

—

“What do you think you’re doing?” Fred sat down next to Theodora, almost making her spit out her porridge – startling her.

“The last time I checked it’s called eating?” Theodora blinked at him.

“I mean, running away from us like that. Don’t you think we don’t know what day it is today?” Fred explained his question.

“I didn’t run away.” Theodora laughed. “I woke up, saw that you two weren’t in the common room yet, and went down for breakfast.”

“Sounds like running to me, what do you think, Georgie?” Fred’s eyes turned from Theodora to his brother who was sitting on the opposite side of the table.

“I couldn’t agree with you more,” George said with a smug expression on his face.

“Then I would like to deeply, from the bottom of my heart, apologize to you,” Theodora said in a dramatic voice, placing her hands over her chest.

“Apology accepted.” Fred grinned.

“Now that that’s out of the way,” George stood up, climbed across the table, and sat on Theodora’s other side, “happy birthday, Theo.”

The twins kissed Theodora’s cheeks – one on each side – and hugged her.

“Thank you.” Theodora giggled with a hand over her mouth.

“You’ll get your present after the Quidditch practice,” Fred said excitedly.

“Please tell me, we are not pranking anyone today?” Theodora pleaded.

“Nothing of the sorts, we promise.” George smiled innocently.

Before Theodora could ask more about her present an owl dropped a letter in her lap. George got up and crawled under the table to sit back on the other side, while Fred sat a bit away from her so she could read the letter in private.

Theodora wondered who the letter could be from. She already received her gift and birthday letter from Eric. He was always afraid that it wouldn’t arrive in time so he sent it a week in advance every year.

She knew she couldn’t expect anything from her mother. It would be a miracle if she would even remember that it’s her daughter’s birthday. The last time she heard her mother say ‘happy birthday’ to her was when Eric was still at school.

She opened the envelope and took out the neatly folded piece of parchment. Before she could fully unfold it, she saw the name signed below the message. Her heart skipped a beat and her eyes widened.

She folded the letter back up – without reading it – and put it back in its envelope. She never expected to get a letter from this person and she most certainly knew she can’t read its content in front of the twins.

The letter was from Bill.

“Who’s the letter from?” George asked upon seeing Theodora’s flustered expression.

“It’s...uhm...it’s from Eric.” She mumbled knowing they won’t ask further questions if it’s concerning him.

“Do you always blush when you get a letter from your brother? Because that’s concerning.” Fred raised his eyebrows at his best friend.

“No...I...” The red on Theodora’s cheeks deepened. “I think I just got my period.” She blurted out and stood up.

She couldn’t get out of the Great Hall fast enough. She knew that the twins won’t buy her lie about her getting her period. They knew when she was grumpy and need to give her space and that’s not happening for another 2 weeks.

She also couldn’t deny that the curiosity about why Bill sent her a letter was growing in her chest with each minute.

She hurried up the stairs to the second floor – where better to have a private moment than in Myrtle’s bathroom?

She double-checked if she was alone, besides sobbing Myrtle in the second bathroom stall.

She put the toilet lid down and sat on it. She took the letter out of the inner pocket of her robes and stared at the envelope, her hands shaking.

She would be lying if she said that she forgot all about Bill and the time they spent together during the summer. She was hoping she will stop thinking about him once she returned to Hogwarts but wasn’t so lucky – she missed him.

After that disastrous day of them being locked in the broom closet together, they didn’t say another word to each other until Bill’s departure to Egypt when they said an awkward goodbye.

Bill was mostly in his room and once Fred and George apologized to her for the 10th time for what they have done and she asked them to never talk to Bill about her again, she convinced them to work on their products even more than before so they barely left the room.

It was January now and even though she still sometimes couldn’t sleep – thinking about him – she was certain that Bill forgot she ever existed. The letter in her hands proved her wrong and she didn’t know how to feel about it.

She didn’t see much of the letter in the Great Hall but she could swear she saw the word birthday written down. She didn’t know that Bill knew when her birthday was.

She took a deep breath and took the parchment out of the envelope. She closed her eyes and unfolded the paper – perhaps that way she’ll get more courage to read it.

She opened one of her eyes, the other still closed, pretending she wasn’t dying to read what Bill wrote to her.

Dear Theodora,

I hope this letter arrives in time. If my calculations are correct, you should receive it with owl post in the morning on your special day.

I know this is short but a longer letter and a gift will be waiting for you on your bed after your Quidditch practice today.

Happy birthday, Theodora.

Bill

Theodora was staring at a letter as if it was a death threat – all color left her face and she forgot how to breathe. She can’t be reading this correctly, Bill didn’t just send her a letter telling her he has a gift for her?

She closed her eyes, took another deep breath, opened her eyes back up, and reread the letter 5 more times. She wasn’t losing her mind, this letter was real. Her chest was falling and rising fast, her heart drumming loudly against her ribcage.

She knew she wasn’t over him but the way she was feeling – the anticipation of seeing what Bill got her – proved just how strong her feelings still were.

Another deep breath.

She has to calm down. It’s just a letter and just a small gift. She can’t afford to overthink this. They became really good friends over the summer so he sent her a little something – as a friend. That’s all, so she has to calm down.

“Oh, a letter from a boy.”

Theodora jumped in the air, hearing a voice behind her.

“Don’t you know it’s not nice to read a letter behind someone’s shoulder, Myrtle?” Theodora said with a shaky voice. “What got you all agitated and annoyed?” Myrtle felt offended.

“Never you mind, Myrtle.” Theodora put the letter back in the envelope and put it inside her bag.

“Where are you going?” Myrtle questioned when Theodora exited the stall and headed toward the exit door.

“I have Quidditch practice.”

“But I thought we were going to talk about boys.” Myrtle cried.

“No, thank you.” Theodora tried not to look terrified of that idea and rushed out of the bathroom.

—

“Cork, what is it with you today! Don’t you know how to score!” Angelina Johnson shouted across the Quidditch pitch.

“Sorry, I’ll try harder!” Theodora yelled back and sighed.

She couldn’t concentrate at practice at all. She was mad with herself for not waiting to open Bill’s letter after she got back to her dormitory. All she could think about was the fact that he wrote to her, that he remembered it was her birthday and that lingering question in the back of her mind why...why did he send her a gift?

“Give her a break, Angie. It’s her birthday.” Fred flew to Angelina and sent her a wink.

“And she’s on her period.” George appeared on Angelina’s other side.

“You didn’t just tell me that, George.” Angelina pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath before flying away from them.

“What? What did I say?” George turned to his brother.

“Girls.” Fred shrugged.

“Okay, team! Let’s try this again before we all become snowballs.” Angelina said to her teammates.

Theodora frowned and positioned herself next to Katie Bell, who was shaking on her broom. Playing Quidditch while it was snowing sucked. Theodora just wanted it to be over so she could go take a shower and crawl into her bed. She didn’t feel like celebrating her birthday at all. She hated that she couldn’t kill the curiosity in her head – the never-stopping question of what is waiting for her in her dormitory.

“You okay?” Fred whispered to Theodora once the practice was over.

“I just wasn’t feeling it and I don’t like flying in the snow. My fingers are freezing.” It wasn’t the whole truth but she wasn’t lying either.

“You’ll get warm soon enough.” George giggled.

“Okay, the practice is over. Are you going to tell me now what your big surprise is?” Theodora raised her eyebrows.

“Patience, oh, little one.” Fred patted her on the head.

“Just meet us in the common room in 10 minutes.” George tried to hide his grin but failed.

Theodora rolled her eyes and walked to the girl’s changing room. She took her time to change her clothes and she took the longest route back to the Gryffindor Tower, trying to deny herself the fact that she couldn’t wait to see what Bill got her. The twins said 10 minutes – she has to give them time to prepare whatever they have planned. This wasn’t about Bill at all – she lied to herself.

She stopped in front of the common room, the Fat Lady waiting for her to tell her the password.

Why was she making such a big deal out of this? It’s just a gift. She has to calm down.

After gathering the courage to say the password, the portrait hole opened and Theodora climbed inside.

“SURPRISE!”

She was so busy dusting her robes that she didn’t see a group of people standing in the middle of the common room. She jumped into the air, her hand on her chest as they scared the living ghost out of her.

A smile painted her face when she saw the familiar faces. Fred and George were standing on the sides, throwing confetti in the air. Ron, Harry, and Hermione smiling at her, holding birthday presents. Her three roommates were standing next to Ginny who had the biggest grin on her freckled face. Lee was singing happy birthday into a microphone and Angelina and Katie were waving two small Gryffindor flags.

Theodora didn’t know how to react. It was so nice that they threw her a little birthday party. Nobody has ever done that for her before. There was a table in the left corner with a punch bowl and cupcakes. Candles lit all around the room and a big Happy Birthday banner hanging from the ceiling.

After they all congratulated her and gave her the gifts, the crowd dispersed, and other Gryffindors joined the party. Some were drinking punch, others were eating cupcakes. A group decided to play Exploding Snap and most of the girls were giggling about something in front of the fireplace.

Theodora was leaning against a wall observing the guests of her party. She tried to enjoy it. She was so happy how it turned out and she was proud of the twins for pulling something like this off.

Her eyes escaped to her two best friends who were trying to sell Canary Cream to a third year, convincing him that it’s completely harmless, making Theodora shake her head and chuckle.

“Hi, Theo.”

She turned around to see Eddie, a boy in her year, stand next to her.

“I didn’t have a chance to wish you a happy birthday before.” He scratched the top of his head.

“Oh, it’s okay.” Theodora smiled at him.

“Well, happy birthday.” The boy said and hugged her awkwardly, despite Theodora’s extended hand – expecting a handshake.

“Thank you.”

“I...I wanted to ask you something and it’s okay if you say no,” Eddie mumbled, looking at the floor.

“Okay,” Theodora replied slowly.

“I kind of fancy you for a while now and...and I was wondering if you would like to go out with me sometime.” He blabbered.

“Oh.” Theodora breathed.

She didn’t expect that to come out of his mouth and didn’t know how to reply. She couldn’t deny that Eddie was extremely handsome – awkward but handsome. But she also couldn’t deny that she would rather be in her room, opening Bill’s present than talking to him which meant she wasn’t ready to move on.

“I’m sorry, Eddie. I’m flattered but I am kind of getting over someone.” She decided not to lie to him.

“Oh, I understand.” Eddie smiled sheepishly, trying not to sound disappointed. “Thank you for telling me the truth. Happy birthday again.”

Theodora nodded and bestowed him with a gentle smile. He turned on his heels and walked away.

“What’s wrong, Theo?” Fred leaned on the wall next to her.

“Don’t you like our surprise?” George bowed his head.

“I love it!” Theodora exclaimed. “I’m just tired and I was just asked out.”

She told the twins everything and it was killing her that she couldn’t discuss Bill’s letter with them but at the same time, she knew that they would tease her and make her go to her dorm to open the gift at once and she wanted to stall for as long as she could.

“By Eddie McNeal?” George sounded impressed.

“So when’s the big date?” Fred made a kissy face.

“I turned him down.” Theodora sighed.

Maybe she did that too quickly. Perhaps she should’ve said yes to him – he could help her get over Bill.

“Why?” George asked, puzzled.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Theodora replied honestly.

“Want to dance then?” Fred stepped in front of her and offered her his hand.

Theodora laughed, pushed herself away from the wall, and decided to forget about the world and spend her birthday with her amazing two friends.

—

It was 2 in the morning when Theodora started walking up the stairs to her dormitory. She had the biggest smile plastered on her face. She couldn’t believe how much fun she had with all her friends. This was definitely a birthday to remember.

She yawned as she reached her room and couldn’t wait to go to sleep. It wasn’t until she saw a rose, a letter, and a package that looked like a wrapped book on her bed that she realized she had so much fun that she forgot about Bill’s gift.

Her roommates were already asleep, which meant she could open it in private but it didn’t make her any less nervous.

She decided to unwrap the package first – just to get it over with and to avoid reading the letter for another minute or so.

She let out a silent gasp when she saw that Bill got her a book about how to start your own business. The book was on her reading list but she simply didn’t find the time to go to a Muggle bookstore and buy it.

She told Bill about the book one night when they were stargazing and she couldn’t believe he listened to her so attentively that he remembered she wanted to get it.

She put the book on her nightstand, excited to read it, and turned her gaze to the letter next to the rose. She hated how her heart was beating faster and faster in the anticipation of finally reading it.

She broke the seal and took two pieces of parchment out – Bill was not joking about this letter being longer.

Dear Theodora,

I hope my gift reached your dormitory and is set on the right bed. I was thinking for the longest time about what to buy for you and then I remembered the book you so enthusiastically talked about one night when we were outside observing the sky.

Hopefully, you didn’t already get it for yourself otherwise this will be one lousy present.

I wanted to gift it to you, to show my support and admiration of just how brave I think you are for standing up for yourself against your mother, supporting my brothers, and embarking on this journey with them.

I was thinking of getting you a white rose – knowing it’s your favorite color – but the symbol of a white rose is innocence and you, striving to achieve your dreams is more daring than innocent. I am proud of you for knowing what you want and not letting anyone tell you otherwise.

I hate to admit that I pondered for the longest time which color to get for you. I decided to go with orange in the end. It’s far from ordinary and they aren’t as common. Besides its meaning – being a symbol of enthusiasm and passion – it reminded me very much of how I see you.

You are incredibly gifted and extraordinary and people like you are hard to come by. You are enthusiastic and passionate about what you want to become and I wanted to get you something to remind you of that.

I hope I didn’t cross any lines with my gift. The last thing I would want is to make you uncomfortable on your special day.

Happy birthday again, Theodora.

Sending you a birthday hug,

Bill

Theodora sat on her bed with her mouth open. Her eyes, shining with tears – her eyelids gently fluttering – moved from the letter to the rose, untouched on her bed.

She picked it up and slowly brought it closer to her face. She closed her eyes and took a whiff of it – its beautiful smell filling her lungs.

She pressed the rose to her heart and reread the letter one more time, her mind completely blank. She didn’t know what to think of the letter at all. She definitely didn’t expect it to say what it did.

They were just friends, he was proud of her as a friend and friends can give each other flowers too, right?

She couldn’t allow herself to think too much about it – there was nothing she could do about the letter except to reply. Should she reply? And if so, what would she write back?

She tried remembering what Charlie sent her this morning, the owl waking her up by tapping on her window with her beak. She was friends with Charlie but he didn’t get her flowers. His letter was sweet and to the point – telling her he misses having her around, wishing her a happy birthday. Along with the letter he sent her a colorful beanie which he knitted himself ‘to warm you up when hot chocolate can’t’ – he explained in his letter.

She shook her head, smelling the rose again. Bill’s letter was just as friendly as Charlie’s and that’s all it is to it.

She put the rose inside a glass she had on her nightstand and disappeared under the covers, clutching Bill’s letter in her hand. With the help of the light coming from her wand, she reread it two more times before going to sleep.

Who was she fooling, thinking she’ll be able to fall asleep. She reread Bill’s words so many times that she knew them by heart now. She couldn’t stop thinking about it and she couldn’t stop beating herself with the question if she should reply to him or not.

Two more hours have passed and she was getting annoyed with herself. She has never spent a sleepless night thinking about a boy before. She can’t let this get to her. It was just a birthday present and she’s going to prove it to herself!

She got up, walked to her desk, and sat down. She picked up her quill and a piece of parchment and started replying to Bill. She will send him an owl in the morning and when Bill won’t reply to her, she will know for certain that she is overthinking this whole situation.

Dear Bill,

the gift reached me as you planned and I am deeply touched by it. I can’t believe you remembered which book I was blabbering about over and over. I was certain you stopped listening the second I mentioned it was about business.

Don’t you worry, I didn’t have the time to buy it for myself so you spared me some time and nobody else got it for me since you were the only one I told about it. I know what I am going to be doing for the next week when I don’t study for N.E.W.T.s!

I would like to thank you – not only for the gift but for being so supportive of me and your brothers. I know it’s a tricky path we are walking on but I feel it in my heart that it’s the right one.

My mother didn’t even congratulate me on my birthday so with everything I told you last summer you can imagine how much your support means to me. It’s nice to know that you are appreciated and cheered on and you have done just that with your letter, the book, and the rose.

The rose. I reckon I never saw an orange one before and you’re right, it isn’t ordinary at all – it’s beautiful and it smells divine. I am thinking of casting a spell on it so it doesn’t wither away. It’s a nice reminder of why I am doing what I am and I can’t find the words to express myself how thankful I am for it.

I have to admit that your gift pleasantly surprised me and it was far from crossing any lines or making me uncomfortable. It was a nice conclusion to my special day.

Thank you for the birthday wishes and the very thoughtful gift – it left me speechless.

Returning the birthday hug,

Theodora

#harry potter fanfiction #the weasleys #weasley family #hp imagine #the burrow #harry potter imagine #weasley fanfiction #bill weasley #harry potter #wizarding world #bill weasley fluff #bill weasley fanfiction #bill weasley x oc #bill weasley imagine #summer at the burrow #bill weasley romance #fred weasley #george weasley #charlie weasley

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amazingphanisnotonfire-imagines · 3 years

Text

Sweet Pea//my greatest adventure is you

Request: Can you do a dad (newborn-ish) sweet pea imagine

hey! title is kind of stolen from a quote i saw on pinterest and part from my own brain so its okay! how are you all? i hope you’re good! i also hope you like this! its cute and sweet and just very nice! byeeee

Two weeks ago your life changed completely.

And for two weeks you and Sweet Pea have been living in a post baby, sleep deprived, bliss.

Days of the week have long been forgotten, neither of you know the time. It’s either light or dark and that’s good enough for you. Both of you have only been outside a handful of times and they’re only for two hours at the most.

You’ve worn nothing but pyjama’s, washed your hair enough times to count on just one hand and smell like baby puke and milk.

But it’s perfect.

Everything and everyone revolves around the perfect bundle of joy that you’ve brought into the world, and that is how it was supposed to be. You’ve had visitors from just about everybody you know.

Family, friends, neighbours, as well as their family and friend. You’ve had everyone wanting to come and see your daughter, all of which bring toys, clothes, keepsakes, balloons, flowers and everything in-between.

Which is of course lovely and very helpful. Especially when you’re dealing with the fullest nappy and think you’ve run out of wipes but Sweet Pea finds three packs of them under a pile of clothes that are yet to be worn.

Plus, they also bring you presents to which you definitely aren’t complaining about. You’ve got so many pairs of pajama’s you’re not gonna need any for years.

But it also brings problems.

Because you and Sweet Pea may have read every baby/parenting book, blog and magazine known to man. But what they don’t prepare you for is how you’re supposed to fit everything into a tiny two bedroom house.

“How does a tiny baby need all of this equipment?” You ask, staring at the black hole of boxes that is your living room. Even sat on the couch there’s boxes and bags stacked around you and the two of you honestly have no idea where to start. “I mean, what the hell even is this?” You add, picking up some sort of weird looking piece of plastic.

Sweet Pea looks at it, a frown on his face before it lights up and he searches through some papers on the small table beside him. He holds a booklet up, a triumphant smile stretching across his lips before he starts reading.

The smile slowly starts to fade the more he reads to himself and you sit in silence, an eyebrow raised while you wait for him to tell you.

“Oo, erm. Apparently it tells you why the baby is crying.” He says, looking between you and the what you now realize is the instructions.

The only way you can describe his expression is puzzled, as he takes the baby crying machine from you, placing it beside the instructions and just staring at the two.

“Who the hell bought this?” He asks, resting his chin in his hands. You run your fingers through his hair, trying to calm the curls down a little and he lets out a content sigh, giving you a tired smile as he does so.

You mirror it and nudge his leg with your own. You lean your head on his shoulder, and he places his head on top. The two of you look over the paper and plastic again, reading and re-reading the instructions as it takes a while to actually understand what they are trying to say. Its seems both you and Sweet Pea have ended up developing baby-brain.

“I think it was your Auntie Agnes.”

“Of course it was.” He chuckles and kisses the top of your head.

“What are the options?” You ask.

“Hungry, tired, changing, attention, stressed.” He says and you send him a look.

“Stressed? What an earth could a baby be stressed about? They don’t pay taxes, they don’t have to work.” You reply grumpily making him laugh and kiss you again.

“Technically we don’t have to pay taxes.”

“Technically we do if we don’t want to go to jail.” You reply.

“Who says I’d get caught.” He replies proudly.

“Me.” You reply bluntly and he stares at you offended.

“Rude.”

“True though.” You tease and grab the strange device from him, looking it over a few times before looking back at him. “So, where’s this going?”

“Back of the cupboard normally. Proudly on display when Auntie Agnes actually comes to visit?”

“Deal.” You agree. “I’ll find a place for it and you start on that box there.”

“Which one?”

“The huge red one right in front of your face.” You huff and he flips you off.

You send him a sarcastic smile in return before disappearing into the kitchen to find a space for the stupid bit of plastic.

“Why this one specifically?” He calls after you.

“Its from Toni and Cheryl and I’m excited to see what ridiculous things Cheryl has spent a fuck-ton of money on.” You reply, your voice giddy but muffled by the cupboard you’ve currently got your head in.

Sweet Pea shakes his head, a small giggle escaping his lips as he listens to you excitedly ramble about what it could be.

He pulls on the end of the bow and it falls off the wooden box and onto the carpeted floor. A bemused smile takes over his appearance as he carefully picks the lid up and places it beside him.

“Holy shit.” His eyes widen. “Y/n? Y/n get in here!”

“Wha-ow! Shit.”

“Did you hit your head?” He asks, sending you a sympathetic smile when he notices you standing in the doorway, rubbing your head.

“Yeah.” You nod and flop down beside him again. “So, what is it?” You ask excitedly.

“You’re not going to believe it.” He replies and moves further towards the box. You follow him until your sat on the edge of the sofa and your eyes widen when you look at what it is.

“Is that?” You ask, looking at him and then back at the present.

“Yep.”

Staring back at the two of you is a giant rocking horse. Like it’s massive, like Toni could definitely fit on it and it would look normal, massive even. Hanging around its neck is what looks like a diamond encrusted dummy and you and Sweet Pea just stare at each other in disbelief.

A red, handwritten card sits on top of it and you grab it, turning it around and reading aloud.

‘Y/n and Sweet Pea,

Congratulations on your new arrival! We can’t wait to meet her properly. You’re going to be amazing parents, and we’re always here if you need us. Hopefully we’ll be able to organize a play date between her and JJ soon, but until then enjoy new parenthood.

Love Cheryl, Toni and JJ.

ps: I told Cheryl you didn’t need a giant horse or diamond encrusted dummy or the other 5, very expensive gifts that are currently being shipped from Italy, but she didn’t listen, so sorry in advance. And again, congratulations!! We’re so proud of both of you!!’

“Another 5 gifts from Italy?” Sweet Pea repeats.

“Another 5, expensive gifts from Italy.” You correct.

“They have far too much money for their own good.”

“God knows where this is going to go.” You shake your head, a smile tugging at your lips as you tuck the card back into the box and place the lid back on top. “Which one should we do ne-” Your interrupted by a small cry and the two of you stop what you’re doing to listen, waiting to see if she’ll settle back down. The crying only grows louder and you and Pea share a look.

“I’ll get her.” He says and you expression softens.

“You sure?” You ask.

“Yeah.” He replies, fighting his way through the boxes and bags trapping the two of you. “I just googled how much that rocking horse is so I’m gonna go cry with her.” He says making you laugh. “You keep going down here.”

“Wait, how did that happen? You get to cuddle a cute baby and I have to figure out where to put bottles and diapers and...horses?”

“Unlucky.” He shrugs and gives you a sarcastic smile before running up the stairs.

Two minutes later and she’s stopped crying. A relieved smile takes over your face as you fold what seems like the millionth baby grow. But twenty minutes after that, Sweet Pea hasn’t come back down yet, and that makes you suspicious.

Because he’s either fallen asleep, or he’s just pretending to still be busy so he doesn’t have to help with this. If he’s asleep, you’re joining him, whether he’s on the bed or under it, you don’t care. But if not, you bet his ass you are dragging him back down the stairs.

You slowly make your way up the stairs, balancing a few pieces of clothing in your hands to put away. The door to your bedroom is cracked open slightly and instead of going straight into the nursery, you hold back and watch as Sweet Pea rocks her gently.

His back is to you so he hasn’t noticed your presence, and he’s pulling the funniest faces at her, the sight making your heart melt. Your entire universe in one room, within two people, one tall and the other tiny.

It makes all the chaos worth it.

“There once was a shoe, who’s best friend was a lace.” Sweet Pea starts, balancing a baby book in his hands as he keeps tight hold of your daughter. “They went everywhere together. But one day, the shoe stepped in a puddle and the lace got dirty so-what kind of story is this?” He complains, shaking his head as he puts it down.

“Okay, Daisy. I’ve got a much better story to tell you anyway.” He whispers into the dark room and carefully sits down in the rocking chair. “So, me and your mom have known each other for so long. Longer than you can even comprehend, not that you can comprehend much at the minute. But one day when your bigger you’ll understand. We’ve known each other since we were younger than you, thats right, we were best friends before we were born. And there hasn’t been a day that she hasn’t been around. And they’ll never be a day where she isn’t here for you either. Both of us are always going to be here.” He says, his voice gentle.

His tone is full of so much love that it makes you tear up...stupid hormones. You can’t wait to spend the rest of your life loving your little family, and you’re so happy that its Sweet Pea that you’re doing it with. You can’t imagine a life without him, you never want to.

“You have your entire life ahead of you and we’re going to make sure you live the best one you can. Because you can do anything. There’s a whole world of possibilities out there. Sometimes it feels like there isn’t, but you’ve only been here two weeks and you’ve brought so much wonder and magic to mine and your mom’s world, so who knows what you’re going to do to the rest of it.” He continues and you hug the clothes your holding tighter to your chest, despite the fact that you’re crying all over them.

“We’re going to love you no matter what. No matter who you are or who you love or what you do. As long as you’re safe and happy, thats good enough for us.” He says, a sweet smile on his lips as he stares down at her in awe. “Now, go to sleep and have the sweetest dreams you can think of and when you wake up, your mom and me will both be here for you. Thats a promise.” He whispers, pressing a soft kiss to her head before placing her gently back in her crib.

You take that as you cue to walk in, avoiding the creaky floorboard that you and Sweet Pea have already memorized the position of. He hears the door open and his smile grows when he notices you. You return it, your eyes tired and your hair messy and your clothes the same as they were two days ago. But to him you look the most beautiful you ever have.

He has never loved anyone more, well, apart from Daisy. But you’re the reason she’s here and he’s never ever going to be able to thank you enough for that.

You quietly place the pile of clothes on top of the drawers, vowing to put them away tomorrow. Them, the presents downstairs and the the rest of the world can wait, you want to enjoy this for as long as you can.

Sweet Pea grabs your hand and pulls you gently towards him. The two of you lean over the crib, watching Daisy sleep peacefully. His hands rest gently on your shoulders and you give them a squeeze, your fingers intertwining.

“Do you think babies can dream?” You wonder, looking up at Pea.

“I really do hope so.”

#sweet pea #sweet pea imagine #sweet pea x reader #sweet pea x you #sweet pea x y/n #riverdale #riverdale imagine

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yan-senna · 3 years

Text

Everything Will Be Okay (SS) *crossover between TKOTD and another fanfiction*

By yan-senna

Other links to the one shot: Wattpad / AO3

One shot schedule list

The Keeper of the Diamond series

Want to be tagged when I post a fanfic?

Introduction:

This is a one shot of The Keeper of the Diamond series. It contains Severus Snape x reader. I only own Y/N (TKOTD) who is 19 years old.

This is a request from @encantadiafan12 on Tumblr & Wattpad. Thank you for your request! It’s a crossover between TKOTD and @encantadiafan12’s repost of “Reflection” on Wattpad with permission from the original author, snapes_black_cape.

Y/N and Snape are relaxing at Spinner’s End. Suddenly, somebody shows up out of the blue - a girl with a traumatic past.

I hope you enjoy!

PS: You can send requests!

Word count: 1.4k

Published: 11/7/2021

“I never realised how many potion books you have” Y/N says as she giggles. She’s in Severus Snape’s home in Spinner’s End, admiring all of his books on the shelves.

Snape rolls his eyes. “I obviously have quite a lot. I do need to keep myself updated as I am the Potions Master” he says while looking at the girl admiring his books.

“You know, you may take any you want. I just need them back at some point…” he offers, smirking a bit as he sees Y/N’s wide smile.

She then hugs him tightly. “Thank you, thank you! I have always wanted to read about potions… I was just too shy to ask you” she shyly admits.

Snape chuckles at that. “Well, good thing I’m a master Legilimens” he mutters.

She looks at him, giving him a confused smile. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t hear that. What did you say?” she questions him curiously.

He coughs a few times. “I said it’s a good thing that I have so many books… Why don’t I read one for you?” he asks, hoping to change the subject.

He doesn’t want her to know that he uses Legilimency on her.

She smiles at him. “I would love that!” Y/N exclaims in a happy tone.

Snape then sits on the couch, patting the spot next to him. She immediately sits down. He then opens the book.

“Pepperup Potion is used for-“ he starts before there’s a bright light in the living room. They both shield their eyes.

Once the light is gone, they notice a girl on the floor. She has long, black hair and blue eyes.

“Ugh… My head. Where am I?” the unknown girl questions as she rubs her head. She however widens her eyes when she spots the Potions Master.

Snape raises an eyebrow. Does the girl know him?

“Hi, you are in Spinner’s End. This is Severus Snape, my name is Y/N. What’s your name?” Y/N shyly asks.

The unknown girl slowly rises up from the floor. “My name is Y/N Y/L/N. You might not believe me, but I’m from a world where Professor Snape as well as everybody else in the Wizarding World are fictional characters” the girl says, expecting them not to believe her.

Y/N (TKOTD) widens her eyes. “Wait, really? Me too! I wonder if we are from the same dimension?” she questions.

Snape suspects that’s not the case - there is no way that them having the same name and both coming from another dimension is a coincidence, right?

Snape then clears his throat. “Why don’t we sit by the dinner table?” he suggests.

Nodding, the three of them sit by the table. Y/N sits next to Snape while the black-haired girl sits on the opposite side of the table, facing them.

“So… You are from another dimension, huh?” Snape questions.

The girl nods. “That’s right. I used to live in my world, but thankfully, Rubeus Hagrid came and saved me from my family when I was eleven. Ever since then, I have been living in the Harry Potter world, going to Hogwarts where your double has been teaching me potions, Professor Snape” the girl says politely.

Y/N and Snape look at each other, puzzled. Double?

Seeing their confused looks, the black-haired girl clears her throat. “Let me explain. Where I just came from, I already met the Harry Potter characters. You included, professor. That’s why I’m talking about doubles - not only are we from different dimensions, but our Harry Potter worlds are different as well” she explains, hoping they will understand.

Both Y/N and Snape look at the girl, surprised to hear what she just said. So there are dimensions where the people are the same, but the world is different? Interesting.

Y/N wonders if Laura and Vera have doubles, too.

She then remembers something. “You said that Hagrid saved you from your family… What happened?” she gently questions.

She however regrets asking when the black-haired girl narrows her eyes at her. Okay, she definitely shouldn’t have asked that.

“Are you okay?” Y/N then slowly asks.

“I’m fine” the girl simply replies.

Snape can tell that she’s hiding something. “You know… Sometimes it’s best to tell somebody how you are feeling” Snape states.

The girl’s face softens after hearing his words. She then sighs.

“I hated my life before Hagrid came. My parents always verbally abused me - especially my mother. She would always belittle me, telling me how to act, how a proper lady should act. All she cared about was our reputation. She would always tell me that I did something wrong, that I was nothing… I was never good enough in her eyes. My twin sister was horrible, too. She was just like them. They even arranged my marriage with someone much older than me, probably so they could get rid of me… I’m so glad that Hagrid saved me from them!” the girl exclaims as her voice cracks, shaking a bit.

“Somehow, my sister found a portal and ended up in Hogwarts. She tried to persuade me to come back… I obliviated her and sent her back to our parents…” she says as she gets a flashback of the event.

Y/N (Reflection) has just obliviated her sister. Everybody looks at her in shock. As Dumbledore is about to close the portal, Y/N (Reflection) turns to look at him.

“And Headmaster, it’s best if we take my twin back to our parents. I cannot stand seeing her here. She never cared about me, she was just like my parents. She was never the sympathetic type” she says in disgust, glaring at her unconscious sister.

Dumbledore nods. “Very well, Ms. Y/L/N (Reflection). If that’s what you wish” the Headmaster says as he levitates the unconscious girl through the portal. He then closes it.

As her flashback ends, she tries her best not to let her tears fall. “I couldn’t take it anymore! I…” the girl says as she finally lets the tears fall.

Y/N (TKOTD) rises from her chair and puts a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Hey, it’s okay. Everything will be okay. They aren’t here, they can’t hurt you anymore” she says as she smiles.

Snape rises from his seat as well to give the crying girl a tissue.

She gives him a sad smile. “Thank you, professor” the black-haired girl says as she takes the offered tissue, wiping off her tears with it.

“You are welcome… By the way, do you know how you ended up here?” he questions as he raises an eyebrow.

How did she indeed get here?

The girl shakes her head. “I have no idea, sir. Suddenly, I was surrounded by light and ended up here in your world. Speaking of that, I should probably return to my own. The others are probably worried” she says.

Both Snape and Y/N nod at that. “Of course. I think I can help you with that. By the way, before you leave - who’s your favourite Harry Potter character?” Y/N questions the girl curiously.

The girl smiles. “I’d rather not tell” she merely says.

Snape however decides to use Legilimency on her. He then smirks. So he’s her favourite character - interesting.

Y/N then concentrates, using the powers of the diamonds as a portal shows up.

“This should take you back to your dimension. It was nice meeting you, Y/N” Y/N (TKOTD) says as she smiles.

The black-haired girl smiles back. “Likewise… Y/N. Goodbye, you two. And thank you” she says as she waves. She then enters the portal as it disappears.

“Well, that was interesting… I wonder who her favourite character was?” Y/N questions while deep in thought.

Snape smirks as he knows who the girl’s favourite character is.

“Indeed, we might never know. Now, shall we resume our potions reading?” he asks as he looks at her.

Y/N gives a bright smile at that. “Yes, please!” she says, sounding eager.

Snape chuckles as he grabs her hand and takes her to the couch. He then makes her sit on his lap as he reopens the book.

As they read, they both wonder if the other Y/N (Reflection) got back to her world safely.

Taglist:

@nickangel13

#harry potter #fanfiction #the keeper of the diamond #severus snape #severus snape x reader #reader #one shot #one shots

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carolineworld · 4 years

Text

“It’s white!” A Zoenne Fanfiction

Set in season 4, secret relationship, drunk talks. Ps: senne is such a funny drunk person, don’t miss out.

"Why is your hair white?" He's drunk. She cannot only tell by the way he talks, but also for the way he moves.

It's certainly not the first time she has seen him drunk. Over the six months, they dated, and the three months of them being back together, she has seen him drunk plenty of times.

This time is not different. He has come to her apartment late at night, saying he missed her at the party, that he would have loved if she was there with him. Being in a secret relationship is hard for both of them, even if he sometimes thinks she prefers to keep him a secret. He has never said it, but she knows it's true, at least that what she thinks.

Keeping their relationship in private means no one can know. It also means not posting anything on social media, and not talking to anyone about the other person. And it's been incredibly hard to do so.

Sometimes she questions why she proposed that in the first place. The fact that no one knows about them indeed means no one will say anything bad about them or their relationship, but it also means being forbidden to shout out loud her endless love for him and only doing things inside of the house.

Initially, they decided to do everything separately. If one was going to this party, the other one couldn’t. Them being together in the same place without being close and kissing seemed impossible to do. But then, after a few very long talks, they decided that if they wanted to continue with this secret of them, they had to be able to keep their act. But it was way too hard for them. Not only not being able to kiss, or to hug, but keeping their act meant acting as if they were single, and sometimes that awaked jealousy, which they both hated, to see and to feel.

That’s why they decided to come up with an agreement. Not only they promised to communicate about anything and everything in an honest way, but they cut off the number of parties they would go together, just for their mental state. That is why this time Zoë declined the invitation to the party Senne went last night and the reason why he is so heavily drunk.

"What?" They are cuddling in Zoë's bed, Senne's head in her lap while she plays with his hair. She looks at him, confused by his question.

"It's white. Your hair is white." He says that as if he just had discovered something new. His eyes are wide open and looking at her hair as if it was the weirdest thing he has ever seen. He even tries to touch it, making a surprised face when his fingers brush her hair.

“Umm… yeah, it is.” Senne is such a fun drunk person. He can be moody, or grumpy for no reason at all, and you have to be careful cause he will argue with you over the most stupid things. He is also caring, and sweet, and cuddly, and loving, which is his most frequent drunk state. He will hug you and kiss you for hours and tell you he loves you. That’s Zoë’s favorite drunk Senne if you ask her. And sometimes, curious drunk Senne appears, and all he does is question everything and anything because his brain has stopped working. He finds everything so fascinating and new. Like this exact moment. “Why do you ask?”

He sits up, slowly and making weird faces that Zoë understands as dizziness. He looks at her staring in the eyes, a looks that pretty much says are you serious? “Cause it's not natural. Like, it's not a natural hair color.”

“I know.” His face is so funny. He looks surprised by her answer as if she has just challenged him to an argument. Here comes grumpy drunk Senne.

“What do you mean you know? Your hair is freaking white! That’s not natural, that can’t be healthy!” Zoë’s trying so hard not to laugh it making her face red.

“I dyed it, it’s okay.” She loves how expressive Senne is. She knows what is going on on his mind just by looking at his face. And him being drunk just makes everything easier.

“You dyed it? So that means your hair isn’t naturally white?”

“No, it’s not. My hair is not naturally white.” His mouth is wide open, and his eyes express are big with confusion. He looks like the meme with the mathematics formulas flying on top of his head as if he was solving the most difficult problem on Earth. Minutes go by and he is still perplexed. Zoë has to move him a few times to wake him up from his puzzled state.

After some blinking and deep breaths he says: “What's your natural color?”

It’s 3:14 am, and as much as she loves talking to him and being with him, she’s just so tired. “Why are you asking so many questions?” She yawns mid-sentence, and Senne’s eyes soften for her. He cuddles her closer, giving her a tiny kiss on the forehead, careful enough to not touch her hair.

“Cause I've never seen your hair in its natural way.” He has decided that it’s safe to touch her hair, and now he’s just playing with it. At first, he’s playing with the ends of the hair, but he realizes that her roots look different than the hair itself, a bit darker, so he proceeds to massage her slap.

“That's true, you met me when I already bleached my hair.” If she wasn’t already sleepy, Senne’s massage on her hear is making being awake so hard.

“You didn't answer my question.”

“I am, you are just asking a bunch of them.” She looks at him in annoyance, exhaustion taking over. “Just go to sleep, please.”

“I’ll go to sleep when you answer the last one, I promise.” His pleading eyes and shy smile make her give up, finally answering his millionth question.

“My natural hair color is light brown.”

“Oh really? I can’t picture you being a brunette.” Tired laughs fill the room, and Senne, that is just sobering up, can’t control his curiosity. “Why did you bleach it in the first place?”

Knowing she’s not going to make him go to sleep until he’s happy with her answers, she decides to sit up, fighting the sleep that is slowly taking over. “Cause I saw it in a girl at my school and I liked it. I needed a change and dying my hair seemed the right thing to do. It was also a way to get my parents’ attention, even if it wasn’t positive the attention I got.”

Zoë’s parents are still a bit of a mystery. Just like Senne’s sister, her parents and family are a tricky and sensitive topic for her. Over the months they’ve been together she has opened up about that subject little by little, with her terms and at her rhythm. Senne has never tried to push her to tell him something, just like she never did with his sister. They know when is the best time to ask, and when its time to stop.

With a sweet smile and a little squish on her thigh he neds the subject with a silent: “I like it”, making her laugh with appreciation.

“Well, thanks.” They finally decide it’s time to go to bed. They lay down, cuddling under the blankets, and Zoë can finally relax her min in her man’s chest, breathing his sent and closing her eyes with a happy smile in her face.

Just as she’s about to finally fall asleep, she hears the smallest whisper she doesn’t know if it’s real or not. “Do you like my hair?”

His breath tickling her neck and the stupid yet cute question make her laugh. “Yeah, I do, Senne, I like your hair.”

She turns his head up, looking at him in the dark. She knows him so much she knows exactly what face he’s making right now. Curiosity and shyness and those big heart eyes she loves so much, and make her cheeks flush. She just can’t believe he is hers.

“And do you like me?”

Now, this is her opportunity to tease him and to take revenge for making her stay up so late. So with a mischievous smile and hiding her face, she murmurs a small “No.”

A loud gasp comes out of Senne’s mouth, making her laugh by his surprise. He knows she’s just joking. He knows she loves him, just like he loves her. “No? But why?”

“Cause I just don't like you, I love you. It's different.”

Content with her response, he blows a raspberry on her neck, finishing with a small kiss on the same spot. “Oh, okay. I love you too.”

#my fanfics #zoenne #senne de smet #zoe loockx #wtfock

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somekindoftuber · 5 years

Text

vld youtuber AU

youtuber AUs are really fun so here is my take (with klance):

Shiro runs a channel where he restores/repairs motorcycles. It’s really popular because he has a great on-camera presence and soothing voice, not to mention he’s very good looking. He has the facial scar and white hair and has mentioned that he’s a veteran, hence his prosthetic right arm. Keith works with him, and Shiro always introduces him in the intros of his videos, saying, “And my brother Keith is here to be my right hand.” They have a fairly large following, posting weekly videos. Keith mostly stays quiet, except to answer Shiro.

Lance runs a music channel that’s half comedy and half serious, playing guitar and ukulele. He does acoustic covers of songs that should be impossible to do acoustic versions of, and sometimes does comedy lyrics of popular songs. He also posts blooper videos where his cats interrupt him or knock over the camera. He posts one or two times a week, his videos are usually short. He also streams games on Twitch, usually playing music and making people laugh over the mic.

Shiro sometimes does Q&A videos to answer fan questions. Keith usually doesn’t participate, except in the video about their pets. Shiro introduces their two cats, and Keith’s dog Kosmo (who’s a Blue Bay Shepherd mix and is absolutely massive).

Shiro’s channel pops up on Lance’s recommendations one day, and it’s the pet video. Shiro’s cats are in the thumbnail, a giant black shorthair and a long haired red tabby, so he clicks. He instantly likes this guy, his cats are cute, and the quiet, scowling brother in the background with the giant bear-dog is fun to watch. So he subscribes. He finds out that he really likes their videos, despite knowing absolutely nothing about motorcycles. Shiro makes it easy to follow, and he even learns a thing or two.

Lance hears a song he recognizes in one of Shiro’s videos and gets an idea. He gets his guitar and does a comedy cover of the song, making it about repairing motorcycles. He’s proud of the silly lyrics, not able to keep from snickering a few times, and posts the video. He shoots the link over to Shiro, and crosses his fingers.

Two days later he gets a response. Shiro comments on the video saying that he loves it and it made him laugh. Lance is over the moon, and keeps watching Shiro’s videos and commenting on them. Shiro sometimes comments on his and it’s great. As the months go by, Shiro becomes something of a hero to Lance. He’s cool and confident and everything Lance wishes he could be.

Not to mention that his broody little brother is really, really easy on the eyes. Keith is gaining a fanbase, his wiki page full of what few scraps viewers can find about him - including a blurry screenshot of a moment when his shirt rode up to reveal an nondescript tattoo on his hip. There was a good deal of speculation as to what it was of. Not that Lance read that particular reddit thread. Or commented on it. (“I bet it’s a wolf,” he most certainly did not write. Several people agreed.) Who can blame him? Lance likes puzzles and mysteries. What’s more mysterious than a youtuber who never talks and has all of his social media on lockdown?

Lance gushes about Shiro’s channel one night to Pidge, who’s finishing undergrad. Casually as ever, she says, “Yeah, I know Shiro, he’s an old friend of Matt’s.” and Lance loses it. Demands to know more, demands that Pidge set up a meeting. Pidge rolls her eyes, and says maybe, maybe during spring break.

Lance decides to do a charity stream, like he does often. He asks some of his youtuber friends to help promote, including his best friend Hunk who runs his own casual cooking channel (Hunk never shows his face but his videos are still really fun). He tweets about it, feeling pretty good. His last stream went really well and they hit their donation goal. When Lance checks twitter the next day, he’s absolutely beside himself to see that Shiro has retweeted his stream link, saying “My buddy @LanceyLance is doing a charity stream! Check it out!” He may have bounced in his chair and flapped his hands a little when he read that.

The stream goes super well. They surpass their donation goal by hundreds, and he gets a lot of chat messages from people saying they found it via Shiro. Once it’s over, Lance composes an email to Shiro to thank him. He considers mentioning what Pidge says for several minutes before deciding to just go for it. He finishes his email with “PS - I think we have a friend in common?? My buddy Pidge - Katie Holt - says she knows you. Or are you a different Shiro?”

He sends the email before he can second guess himself.

Two days later, he gets a reply, and Shiro confirms that he knows Pidge since he went to high school with her older brother, commenting that it’s a small world. Lance plays it cool, but doubles his efforts to get Pidge to introduce him to Shiro.

“Spring break,” she repeats, then yells at Lance to let her finish her paper.

It’s almost two months until then, so Lance occupies himself with making videos, streaming, and watching Shiro’s channel. Keeping an eye on where Keith pops up in the videos, silent and intense. When late March finally arrives, Lance packs a bag and piles in the car with Pidge for the five hour drive to her hometown, which is apparently also Shiro’s hometown. Pidge’s parents welcome him, and it takes an entire day of nagging Pidge to get her to call Shiro. He’s free the next day.

They head across town to Shiro’s garage and Lance is stoked. So stoked. And as Shiro comes out to meet them, he’s struck by one thing: Shiro is far taller in person than he looks on camera. He shakes Lance’s left hand and shows him around, the bike they’re working on, the cameras, the editing software he still uses, even though it’s a little outdated.

Lance is halfway to asking Shiro if he can meet his cats when the door opens. “Shiro?” a voice calls. “They’re roping off the west side of the street for something. Do you want me to move your --”

He stops when he spots Lance, and Lance sort of feels his breath stop in his chest at the sight. Running gear, hair pulled back, skin glistening with sweat, and a sleeveless shirt with a pair of earbuds hanging out of the collar.

It’s Keith. And Lance has to remember to breathe, because like his brother, he’s taller in person, but he’s also hot. Like crazy hot, goddamn. Even drenched in sweat with his hair sticking to his face and neck and flushed from a run, he’s stupidly gorgeous. The videos absolutely do not do his eyes justice, not even a little, all sharp and intense and deep blue.

He’s just sort of standing there stuck, but thankfully Pidge rescues him with a loud clearing of her throat. Then Shiro swoops in and introduces Lance to Keith. He’s quiet, like in the videos, and slips away as soon as Lance’s attention is elsewhere.

Once Keith is gone, Shiro asks Lance if he’d like to be in a video on his channel, and holy shit. He agrees before he even knows the details, and Shiro laughs. They agree to have Lance come back in three days to film. Right when they’re leaving, Keith re-emerges, showered and changed. Lance waves goodbye to him and hopes Keith doesn’t notice the way Lance’s eyes sweep up and down his body.

Lance spends the next three nights pouring over his guitar.

When he goes over to Shiro’s to film, he’s almost bouncing with excitement. Shiro goes over what they’ll be doing before they start. Lance is downright giddy as Shiro does his intro and calls Lance a “special guest” before they get started. Lance is mostly holding parts in place or passing Shiro tools as he works on the old bike they’ve been hired to restore, but it’s still fun, even if he’s sweating within the first half hour. Keith hovers in the corner, off camera, playing with his phone and looking bored. By the time they finish, he’s covered in grease and exhausted, but happy. Shiro stops filming and they take a break, cracking open a few beers.

Before it’s time to leave, he gets the okay from Shiro and sets up his own camera, bringing out his guitar. He wasn’t sure if he’d have the guts to do this, but Shiro smiles at him, and it all feels okay. Lance turns on his camera, does an intro, and begins to play. It’s an original song, one he wrote just for the occasion over the last few sleepless nights. It’s about new friends and fresh starts and connecting with others and maybe it’s a little cheesy, but it’s heartfelt, and the acoustics of the garage somehow bring it all together. And when he finishes and shuts off his camera, the awed look on Shiro’s face is absolutely worth it. Even Keith looks a little surprised, his eyebrows disappearing into his hair.

He says goodnight to them both and goes back to the Holt family home, showers and changes, and goes to sleep feeling like it’s Christmas and his birthday and the first day of summer vacation all at once.

Pidge has to go back to school to resume classes eventually, and Lance is her transportation, so he has to go too. They stop by Shiro’s garage one last time to deliver a tupperware container of fresh baked cookies, courtesy of Mrs. Holt, and Shiro shakes his hand again. When Lance says goodbye to Keith and shakes his hand, he swears he sees the tiniest hint of a smile on his face. Something he’s never seen.

He spends the entire five hour drive back with excitement buzzing in his veins. He can’t wait to edit and post that video.

CONTINUED IN PART TWO HERE

#AUs #youtuber AU #text post

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mercurysnitch · 5 years

Text

Mother Mercury, Part 2: If I Could Only Reach You…

Summary: Questions about Mel’s true identity swirl amongst the main cast, but her mother’s visit to the set may bring some of the answers they’re seeking.

Author’s note: It’s back, bitches! 😂 I know this part’s taken a while, but I’ve had my massive final semester group project due, and exams, and a life, so I’ve had a bit going on lately. I’m on holidays right now, but I’m starting a work placement next week so I’m not sure when Part 3 will be done. I am home alone at the moment, so hopefully it’ll be soon, but I’m not making any promises. At this point it’s looking like it’ll be 4 parts plus an epilogue, but that might change depending on how the story develops. During this part you may notice I’m not big on slow-burn romance (or tension, frankly), but that doesn’t mean there’s not lots more plot still to come.

As I said in the previous part, this story is built around the idea that Freddie Mercury accidentally fathered a lovechild during a drug-fuelled party in the late 70s. If you’re not comfortable with that notion that’s absolutely fine, but I suggest you stop reading now. I know I said the whole lovechild situation would be explained in this part, but I’ve rearranged the plot slightly since then, so that section will be in the next part. In any case, Freddie is still very much gay in this story, it’s just that things also happened while he was under the influence which resulted in a lovechild. Remember this is fiction, and that particular element basically just needs to happen for the rest of the plot to work.

This was supposed to be written from Mel’s perspective, but it ended up going in a different direction as this part unfolded. I’m still trying to write it mostly from Mel’s point of view, but the pov character will shift when required. Hopefully it’s not too confusing - there are a lot of pov changes in this part, but there should be less from hereon in (I hope 🤣)

PS: Thanks for all the lovely messages about part 1. Feel free to send me an ask or DM any time, and don’t hesitate to ask if you want to be tagged.

Warnings: Writing about real people, mentions of pregnancy, mentions of teen pregnancy, mentions of labour, multiple perspective switches, I’ve probably missed a few typos so please forgive that

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Rami's head was full of questions the next morning. Could Freddie really have had a secret lovechild? Could that lovechild really have grown up to be Mel's parent? It seemed almost too good to be true for Freddie's grandchild to end up working on his biopic, Rami thought uneasily. Then again, that would only be possible if he had indeed fathered a lovechild in the first place. That was the key question that needed answering, Rami realised. But how to answer it? Mel might be the best source, but he could hardly go and ask her about her family history out of the blue. And she might not know herself, depending on the circumstances. Hell, Freddie’s child might not even know the truth about their origins. No, asking Mel was definitely not an option. But if not her, then who? Who else might have answers?

Rami supposed Brian and Roger might know something, or quite possibly everything. But he didn’t think it would be appropriate for him to ask them about it. More to the point, they might not want to tell him even if they did know the full story. Perhaps direct questions wasn’t the best approach here, Rami mused. Maybe it would be better to start with Mel and work backwards. But who other than Mel would know about her family? Ben was quite clearly the closest to her, Rami realised. Might as well start with him then.

Ben was suspicious as soon as he saw Rami in makeup that morning. There was a look in his friend's eye that Ben was quite sure meant he was up to something. Exactly what that was became clear when they found themselves alone together between takes. "Uhh, Ben?" Rami began, not wanting to rush in to what could be a delicate subject. Here it comes, Ben thought. Outwardly, he smiled reassuringly. "Yeah?" "You and Mel, you're… close, right?" Rami's question mostly confused Ben. "Um, not… not really" Ben replied hesitantly. "We hang out a bit on set, but it's not really any more than that." Rami seemed surprised at Ben's response. "Really?" he questioned. "Why would I lie about that?" Ben said crossly. "I didn't say that!" Rami backtracked. "I just meant, you and Mel seemed so cosy together yesterday, I thought you must be hanging out without us" he explained. Ben glared at him suspiciously. "You've seen us together all of once, Rami." "I know" Rami replied evenly. "But Lucy agrees with me, and she's seen Mel a lot more than I have." Ben sighed. "Look, I do like her, but- wait, why are you even asking that?"

Rami smiled nervously. "I was wondering if she'd told you anything about her family, but I guess not." Ben raised an eyebrow. "I think she still lives with her mum, but that's about it. Why?" he asked suspiciously. "I did some digging in my research last night. About Freddie" Rami explained. "And?" Ben asked, not sure where his friend was going with this. "I found out something… intriguing." "Yes?" Ben urged, suddenly intrigued himself. "Turns out there used to be rumours that Freddie had a lovechild back in the day" Rami said casually. Ben was shocked. "What?" "Keep your voice down!" Rami hissed.

"Wait, what does this have to do with Mel?" Ben questioned. "I think that could be how she's related to Freddie" Rami admitted. Ben was confused. "But she wasn't even born until years after he died." Rami shook his head. "I don't mean that she's his child" he clarified. "But the rumours seemed to agree that the alleged Mercury lovechild was born in about the late 70s or very early 80s, and Mel was born in… when was she born, Ben?" Ben looked thoughtful as he racked his brains. "Well, she's 21, so she would have been born in-" Ben went quiet while he did the maths. "-1996" he finally declared. Rami smiled. "So if the lovechild was born by, say, 1981," he explained, "in 1996 that child would have been old enough to have a child themselves." Ben wasn't convinced. "They would have only been a teenager though." "Teenagers do have kids sometimes, Ben" Rami reminded him. "I guess" Ben conceded. Suddenly he realised Rami's overarching point. "So are you saying you think Mel is Freddie Mercury's granddaughter?" he gasped. Rami nodded. "But don't tell anyone. Right now there's no way of being sure he even had a lovechild, let alone a grandchild." Ben smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, I won't say anything." He paused, shaking his head. "Christ, that's massive though. If it’s true I mean." "It's huge" Rami agreed. "I only hope it's not too big to be true."

Ben found himself gripped with excitement after hearing Rami's theory about Mel's background. If Rami was right, he could have stumbled on one of the biggest secrets in Queen history, hiding in plain sight on the set of Freddie's movie. Of course he could very well be completely wrong, but even so Ben couldn't shake the feeling Mel's resemblance to Freddie was more than just a weird coincidence. Ben was itching to ask Mel about it, but at the same time he didn't want to put her off by trying to be too close too soon. No, he thought, a bit of patience would be needed here. Perhaps if he took her on a date they could get talking and… no, stop it, Ben thought to himself, she might not even like you in that way. But what if she does? suggested a small voice in his head. Ben had to admit the thought was rather intoxicating, but some more skeptical part of him refused to be convinced it was a real possibility.

Ben found himself horribly distracted by the various conflicting thoughts whirring through his head. So much so that he nearly walked into the very girl he’d been brooding over on his way to lunch. “Oh, shit, sorry Mel, didn’t see you there.” Luckily she wasn’t angry at him. “I was wondering how long you’d take to notice me waving” she laughed. “Clearly there’s something on your mind today.” Yeah, Ben thought, you. But he didn’t say it. He couldn’t. All he said was, “Yeah, been busy with lines today.” Mel seemed unconvinced, but said nothing. “Anyway,” Ben hurried on, “you headed for lunch?” “Actually, I came to tell you Brian May’s coming to set this afternoon” Mel commented. Suddenly she broke into a cheeky grin. “But I might grab some lunch too, while I’m here.” Ben smiled, internally relieved he hadn’t completely blown his chance with Mel just yet. “Might as well eat together then” he said coolly.

Lunch was spent with the rest of the band, as they’d taken to calling themselves. Even Allen and Lucy were there for a change. Joe was bouncy as ever, and all in all they were a merry bunch. But Ben felt a small knot of guilt in his stomach when he realised the others hadn’t yet heard about Rami’s new theory on Mel’s origins. Gwilym would never hold it against either of them, Ben knew, but he thought Joe was unlikely to appreciate being left out. Fortunately, Joe was soon distracted by Mel's recounting of her near-collision with Ben that morning. "Jesus, Ben, are you as blind as Roger too?" Joe quipped, when he'd finished falling about laughing. "I didn't know you were that method-"“Oh, come off it” Ben grumbled, not appreciating the joke.

Fortunately Ben was saved from further teasing by the approach of a very familiar grey-haired figure. Brian smiled as he reached the table. “Hello boys! Sorry to interrupt, I just wanted to check in while you weren’t busy” he explained. "It's quite alright" Gwilym reassured him, setting off a chorus of agreeing noises from the rest of the table. Brian looked relieved. "Oh good. I must say, it's a bit odd seeing you all in costume together, it's almost like looking into some kind of time warp" he commented, looking around the table at them all. His face suddenly grew puzzled when he reached Ben. Ben was momentarily confused until he realised Mel was sitting next to him. "I'm so sorry, I completely forgot you haven't been introduced" he gabbled apologetically. "Brian, this is Mel, one of the wardrobe assistants. Mel, th-" "I know who he is" Mel cut him off, smiling shyly. "Lovely to meet you" Brian responded, shaking Mel's hand across the table. She smiled up at him as she returned the handshake, and Brian had to suppress a gasp when he finally got a good look at her face.

Somehow Brian continued with the conversation he'd been planning while internally, he was absolutely reeling. The girl in front of him bore an absolutely stunning resemblance to Freddie. Far too much for it to be a coincidence, Brian thought. But what was the connection? How could she be related to him? Unless she was… But she had to be too young, surely. Freddie's child would be nearly forty by now, but Mel looked like she was barely more than a teenager, fresh out of uni, perhaps.

Brian was shaken from his reverie by a sudden commotion at the table. Rami and Lucy were needed on set, apparently, and Mel wanted to get back to work before she ran over her allotted break time. The others had finished their lunch and decided they might as well decamp to Gwilym's trailer until they were needed for filming again later. A sudden idea popped into Brian's head as Mel left the table. "I, erm, need to go and talk to someone for a minute" he said hurriedly, standing up from the table. "I'll come and find you in the trailer later, if that's alright?" Gwilym smiled. "Of course, Brian." Brian flashed him a relieved smile before heading off after Mel.

"Mel, wait!" Brian called, hoping desperately he wouldn't attract too much attention. Mel turned around looking curious. "You want to talk to me?" she asked, surprised. Brian nodded as he caught up to her. "Yes. Has anyone ever told you you could be Freddie's spitting image?" Mel smiled. "On this set, many people" she told Brian. "But it means a lot to hear it from you" she added softly. "Ah, Mel…” Brian began, suddenly uncertain. “I don’t want to seem intrusive, but how old are you?” “21” Mel replied casually. Definitely too young to be Fred's girl, then.

Brian was suddenly desperate to find out more, to get to the bottom of the mystery, but another part of him was rather nervous. Should he even be asking someone he’d just met something like this? “Is my age important or something?” Mel asked, cutting off his hemming and hawing. That gave Brian the push he needed to forge ahead. “Mel, if you don’t my me asking, is there any chance you could be related to Freddie, do you know?" He sounded almost apologetic as he posed the question. "The similarities… it seems too much to be a coincidence” he explained.

Melina was taken aback by Brian’s forwardness, but she recovered quickly. “Uh, very probably, we're not absolutely sure." Brian wasn't quite following. "Who's not sure?" "My mum. And my grandmother, I suppose" she explained. Brian was still confused. "What's your grandmother got to do with it?" "Look, I think you'd be better off talking to my mum" Mel sighed. "Would she want to talk to me though?" Brian asked, mildly concerned. He wanted answers, but he wouldn't blame Mel's mum for not wanting to talk to a virtual stranger about something so personal. Mel herself simply shrugged. "She might. It's worth a shot. I think she should, anyway, it's… it's been long enough." Brian found the last comment rather mysterious, but he thought it best not to ask about it just then. Instead, he smiled kindly. “Alright then, when might she be available for a meet’n’greet?” Melina grinned. “She’s coming to visit me here tomorrow.”

*** The band stared after Brian in stunned silence, before bursting into excitable chatter that continued all the way to Gwilym's trailer. "What was that about?" Joe started, utterly confused. "I… don't know" Gwilym mused. Ben felt rather guilty; he had a hunch he knew what Brian was up to, but he wasn't sure if he should share Rami's theory with the others. "I, um, might have an idea" he said sheepishly. "I think he might have wanted to talk to Mel." Strangely, this seemed to make perfect sense to both Gwilym and Joe. "You think he might have thought the same thing as Rami, then?" Gwilym asked. "You know about Rami's theory?" Ben asked, only mildly surprised. "I don't" Allen piped up. There was a pause as Joe explained it to him. Suddenly Allen smirked at Ben. "So Ben fancies Freddie Mercury's granddaughter?" "Quiet!" Gwilym hissed. "We don't want the whole bloody set hearing." Meanwhile, Ben's jaw dropped. "Shit" he muttered. He'd never thought of it like that. What had he gotten himself into?

*** The next morning Mel was hard at work on some urgent mending when she heard a soft knock on the door of the wardrobe truck . “Come in” she called. “Mel, you’ve got a visitor” Joe told her softly, trying to open the door quietly. She looked around. “Mum! You’re here!” Her mother rushed over to embrace her. “Hello darling!” “I see you’ve met Joe already” Mel commented as they broke apart. “Is he the one playing Deacy?" her mother asked. Mel nearly snorted. "Who else d'you think he'd be playing?" Joe was both surprised and rather flattered. "Do I really look that much like him out of costume?" he asked uncertainly. Mel and her mum both looked at him with bemusement, but surprisingly it was the older woman who answered. "Yes” she said bluntly. “If you looked any more like him I'd be asking serious questions about your parentage." Joe laughed, and Mel's mother looked at him quizzically. "What?" "I thought the same thing the first time I saw a photo of him" Joe explained. "I like him" Mel's mother whispered to her conspiratorially. Mel just shook her head. "Alright, Mum. Now come on, I’ve got so much to show you.”

*** Brian made extra sure he and Roger were both on set that day. He had many questions, and he imagined Mel’s mother might too. They finally got an opportunity to talk over lunch. Mel came bounding over to join them in the queue for food. “Brian, Roger, this is my mum Eve” she introduced. Both men looked at Eve curiously. Her hair was chestnut brown rather than jet black, and her eyes were lighter, almost hazel, but the shape and the warmth they exuded were all Freddie. She wasn’t the precise image of their friend, her jawline was less angular for a start, but the resemblance was clear nonetheless.

Roger suddenly realised hers was a face he’d seen before. It was a long time ago, when she was much younger, but the eyes were unmistakable. “Evangeline?” he gasped. She nodded. “I can't believe you recognise me, it’s been a very long time.” Roger smiled. “Maybe too long. You were just a kid then, now here you are with a grown up daughter of your own.” “So Mel is yours” Brian said wonderingly. “But that would mean…” Eve suddenly smiled nervously. “Yeah, I was a teenager.” Roger was shocked. “You were-? That must have been hard.” Eve’s smile vanished alarmingly quickly in the wake of his statement. “I don't need your 'sympathy' ” she growled. “It wasn’t easy, but I chose to do it. I wasn’t a victim.” Roger and Brian broke into identical bemused smiles at that. “Doesn’t she sound just like Fred?” Roger murmured. “Practically identical” Brian agreed.

“Incidentally, you’ve raised a good kid” Brian commented to Eve. Mel, who'd been watching on in quiet amusement, beamed at the compliment. Eve smiled too, her anger quickly forgotten. "Thanks, Brian." "She looks like her grandad too" Roger commented. "Even more than you do, strangely." "Does she really?" Eve questioned, rather surprised. Roger smiled. “Love, your daughter looks so much like Fred she could practically be his twin. Have you really never noticed the resemblance?” "Mum always said I look a lot like my dad" Mel chimed in. “He’s Greek” Eve explained. “Olive-skinned, black hair. I always assumed she just took after his family looks-wise. He chose her name too, actually.” Brian raised an eyebrow curiously. “Now you mention it, what is her full name? We only know her as Mel.” "It's short for Melina" Mel piped up. Brian smiled wonderingly, but Roger nearly gasped. "Melina? Freddie's granddaughter's called Melina?" "Coincidence" Eve clarified. "I'd forgotten Papa's connection to that name by the time I had her." She paused, smiling slightly. "But as soon as her dad suggested it I just knew it was her name. It just suited her perfectly." Brian and Roger agreed, it definitely did.

"So what do you do with yourself these days, Eve?" Roger asked casually, hoping to ease the slight awkwardness in the air. "I'm an illustrator" she replied. "Mostly kids books, but I enjoy it." Roger couldn't help looking at Brian then, knowing they were both thinking the same thing without needing to say a word. "So you got to uni then?" Brian asked conversationally. Eve nodded. "I did. Well, to art college. Not Ealing though." "Shame" Roger murmured. "That's a fair achievement you know, getting through school and uni while raising a small child" Brian commented. "Oh, I had lots of help" Eve explained modestly. "There must have been times, though, when you felt scared or alone" Roger suggested. Eve nodded. "There were" she agreed. "But Papa was with me."

1996 Eve was troubled. Not surprising, really, considering she was facing the biggest decision of her young life. The decision itself was not actually troubling her particularly, strangely. She knew what she wanted to do, but what worried her was what people would think. Would keeping her baby really ruin her life? Was doing what she wanted really the right thing for either of them? These questions haunted her as she tried to get to sleep.

Sleep, unsurprisingly, took its time to descend that night. When it finally did, Eve had unsettled dreams, the sort where she thought she was still awake half the time. She woke more than once, jolted by restless visions. It was after one of these wakings, when she wasn't sure if she was still dreaming or wide awake, that she saw him.

He was standing at the end of her bed, all dressed in a shining white material that seemed to glow around him. He had long black hair and dark, friendly eyes. Eve didn't know who he was at first, but she felt like she'd known him forever somehow. He smiled gently as he walked around to sit on the end of her bed, and suddenly she recognised him. "Papa?" Eve gasped. "But… how? Why?" Freddie smiled mysteriously. "I heard your call, darling, so I came." Eve was confused. "What call?" she asked suspiciously. "It doesn't matter, I'm here now" Freddie said airily. "Now, tell me your troubles, darling." Eve was uncertain. "Why should I tell you?" "I could help" Freddie said evenly. Eve snorted. "I doubt that." Freddie just smiled wryly. "You won't know if you don't try, dear. Tell me everything." For some reason Eve did. Oh well, she thought, can't hurt to vent to a ghost. Freddie, who now she thought of it looked younger than she'd ever seen him in life, simply smiled and nodded as she explained just what her troubles actually were.

"You want to keep it" Freddie said, almost as soon as Eve stopped speaking. It wasn't even a question; somehow he knew what his daughter was thinking. "I do" she agreed. "But…" She took a breath. "I'm scared. What if it ruins my life like everyone says? What if I'm a terrible mum? What if I never actually get my shit together and they end up hating me for cocking everything up?" The words almost fell out of her mouth in a sort of panicked jumble. Freddie's expression softened at her obvious fear. "They won't hate you, darling, you're their mother" he reassured you. "And it won't ruin your life if you don't let it." Eve stared at him, confused. "So, I should just go ahead and assume everything'll be fine?" He shook his head. "Don't assume. Make the effort to get things to work for you. Get angry if you have to. Make sure you can still live the life you want, even with the bumps in the road." Eve was suddenly crestfallen. "But everyone says…" Freddie grinned. "Fuck what they say. Don't forget, you're not most people. Making the choice you want won't derail everything, the journey will just be… different." Hope bloomed in Eve's chest at his words. Maybe things wouldn't be as awful as everyone said. "It will be alright, darling" Freddie assured her.

It seemed as though Eve only looked away for half a second, but when she looked back he was gone. The next morning Eve woke up feeling peaceful. She was filled with resolve. She knew, now, what her decision would be, and she'd never felt more sure of anything in her life. Talking to her late Papa must have been a dream, a figment of her imagination. But how could a mere dream give her so much reassurance, so much certainty? He must have been, though. He couldn't be anything else. Surely not.

Of course, making the decision was only half the battle. There were still many people to be told. Nikos was surprisingly pleased at the prospect of teen fatherhood, though his parents were a lot less enthusiastic, much as Eve had expected. They'd never particularly liked her, and now they were sure to hate her forever for "ruining" their precious son's life. Eve's own mother wasn't exactly thrilled, but she promised to stick by her daughter regardless. And then there was Uncle Deaky and Aunt Veronica. Strangely, Eve didn't actually have to say anything to them initially.

It took one look over afternoon tea for Aunt Vee to guess what was going on. "You're not pregnant, are you?" she asked quietly, sounding as though she didn’t want to believe her own theory. Eve's eyes went wide. "How did you know?" she gaped. "I've had six children, dear, I know the signs” Aunt Veronica pointed out. She softened considerably when she realised just how frightened Eve was, despite being absolutely certain about her choice.

Uncle Deaky was also surprisingly calm when Eve finally told him about her situation, and what she’d decided. He almost immediately pulled her into a hug when he realised she was about to cry. “It’s alright, love, I’m not cross at you” he reassured her. Eve was surprised. “You’re not?” Uncle Deaky smiled. “No. I mean, I’m not jumping for joy, but it’s not the end of the world either.” Eve smiled. “Besides,” he added softly, “I was in your shoes once. Well, we weren’t exactly teenagers, but that doesn’t mean we weren’t scared when we found out Robert was on his way.” “You were scared?” Eve asked, incredulous. “Of course.” Deaky smiled. “Knowing it’s what you want doesn’t mean it's not also terrifying.” Eve found that statement oddly reassuring. And she was very glad when Uncle Deaky reassured her he and Veronica would support her every step of the way. Though when she thought about it, she wasn’t that surprised at this reaction.

Over the following months Eve sometimes felt the oddest sensation while she was alone. It was as if someone was standing near her, someone she couldn't see. She wondered whether it was her papa looking out for her. She found the thought rather comforting, really. But she was never more grateful for it than the day her daughter was born.

Eve had been home alone when she'd first realised she was going into labour, more than a week early, and she didn't think she'd ever been so scared in her life. She couldn't reach her mum, or Auntie Vee, who'd promised to stay with her at the hospital, and she knew calling Nikos wouldn't help, even if she was having his bloody child. She couldn't even get an answer at the Deacon house. Presumably they were all out enjoying the summer holidays somewhere. Eve was starting to feel very scared and very alone when Jim suddenly turned up at her door.

She wasn't expecting him, but his presence was very much welcome. He'd been visiting her in London as much as he could while she was pregnant. She'd expected him to be angry when she broke the big news, all those months ago, but Jim was only mildly shocked. "You're hardly the first person to be a teenage parent, love" he told her. "You're not the first I've known, either. Doesn't mean I'm happy about this, but you're still my Evie. I'll always be here for you, you know." And he'd proved it that fateful day.

"You have no idea how glad I am you're here" Eve quipped as she let Jim into Garden Lodge. "You know, I wasn't even planning to come today, but I had more spare time than I expected" he mused. Suddenly Eve groaned, and he turned around in alarm. "You alright, love?" "I'm in labour" she griped. "You're just in time to take me to the hospital." Eve relaxed as the pain passed. "Honestly, you couldn't have come at a better time" she said happily. Jim smiled gently. "Well then, Freddie must have sent me for you."

Jim sat with Eve at the hospital for a while, although he absolutely would not countenance staying for the main event. Both Nikos and Veronica had already agreed to be present to support her through that part, but they were taking their sweet time getting to the hospital. Jim agreed to stay for the time being, but eventually he needed a break, so he stepped out for a few minutes, leaving Eve all alone in her stark white room.

And yet she didn't feel particularly alone. It was as though Freddie was standing in the room with her, somewhere just out of sight. Eve wasn't a paranormal enthusiast by any means, but she almost felt like if she turned her head she would see her beloved Papa next to her, cheering her on. The feeling disappeared as soon as Jim returned, with Veronica arriving soon after. But it returned several hours later, after her daughter had finally been born. Eve was sitting in the bed, cradling her newborn child, and she could have sworn Freddie was peering over her shoulder, admiring the new baby. It thrilled Eve to think her father might have visited her for this momentous occasion, and it brought her comfort to know he hadn't let her go through it alone.

2017 Brian and Roger weren't the least bit surprised to hear that Eve had felt Freddie with her when she needed him most. But they were a little bit shocked that this was the first they were hearing about her teenage years. "I can't believe Deacy never told us Fred was a grandad" Roger said, still trying to process everything. "I'm sure he had his reasons" Brian said evenly. "I didn't want him to" Eve explained. "I didn't particularly want the world to know I was a teen mum." "We're hardly the world" Roger pointed out, slightly miffed. "I know" Eve conceded. "But he was hardly seeing you by then anyway, it was just easier not to say anything." She paused as something suddenly occurred to her. "Besides, you lot turning up at Garden Lodge again would have caused a sensation, and then all Papa's efforts to keep me secret would have been for nothing." "You're right, of course" Roger sighed. “I just wish we could have been there for you. We could have helped, you know.”

“You did help” Eve said softly. “You kept Queen going.” Roger was confused. “And how did that help you, exactly?” “It meant I kept getting royalties” Eve explained. “Not a vast fortune, of course, but enough to keep me going while I finished school and whatnot.” Roger smiled. "Well I'm glad to know we were able to do something for the two of you." "And I'm sure Deacy was a brilliant support to you" Brian chimed in. "He was" Eve agreed, nodding. "He and Veronica pretty much got me through my teens, really."

At the mention of his old friend Roger looked thoughtful. “How is John these days?” Eve smiled rather sadly. “He’s… happy enough” she said slowly. “He still misses Freddie bitterly, but he likes the quiet life.” Roger and Brian both smiled in understanding, though they seemed a little wistful. “He was never much into the rockstar lifestyle” Brian commented.

Suddenly the warm atmosphere was shattered by Mel cursing. “Bugger. I’ve gotta get back, the band’s all wondering where I am.” “The band?” Eve questioned. “The young men playing us” Brian explained. “Some of the production staff referred to them that way and it sort of stuck.” Eve grinned. “Makes sense.” “Well, they could hardly call them Queen II could they?” Roger joked.

“Actually,” he went on more seriously, “you should meet them, Eve. They’re nice lads, and I’m sure they’d enjoy hearing your perspective on a few things…” “Rami and Joe in particular would be very appreciative, I think” Brian added. “Why-” Eve started to ask, but Mel cut her off. “They can’t talk directly to the people they’re playing” she pointed out. “Oh, of course” Eve murmured. “I’m not sure, I wouldn’t want to expose myself to the world” she demurred. “You wouldn’t” Mel countered. “They’d never sell anyone out like that.” Eve hesitated. “Your daughter’s quite right, they’re perfectly trustworthy” Brian assured her. “At least talk to Rami, he’d be absolutely thrilled to speak with you” he urged. Suddenly Eve smiled. “Well alright then.” With a cheeky grin she turned to her daughter. “Take me to the band!” she jokingly ordered. Roger and Brian laughed almost as much as Mel, finally revelling in the joy of the day’s unexpected reunion.

Luckily, the band were still eating lunch together, so locating them all was a simple matter of finding their table in the catering tent. Mel eagerly led her mother towards them, Brian and Roger having quietly wandered off along the way, ostensibly to have a chat with the producers. Eve was almost as eager as her daughter, curious to see what the men Mel spoke so highly of were really like. They were in early 70s garb today, all long hair and flared pants. Eve was rather grateful that Rami wasn’t wearing the moustache; she wasn’t sure how she would have reacted to seeing him dressed as the Freddie she'd known. As it was she thought they all looked equally wonderful in today’s costumes.

Mel couldn’t help smiling when she caught Ben’s eye. She could have sworn he smiled back, but it was Joe who spoke first. “Mel! Where’ve you been, Ben’s been worried sick all lunch break” he asked dramatically. “Oh, shut up” Ben grumbled, shoving his shoulder crossly. Mel just rolled her eyes affectionately. “I’ve been showing my mum round, you knew I’d be busy today.” “Your mum?” Gwilym questioned. “Yes” Mel replied simply. “Guys, this is my mum Eve.” Polite hellos were duly exchanged across the table, though Eve could feel genuine warmth behind them. Even Lucy, half draped across Rami’s lap, was obviously pleased to meet a relative of Mel.

The group chattered amiably while they finished their lunch, but before long the band and Lucy were needed back on set. Mel expected them Rami to lead them all back to work, but surprisingly he hung back, telling the others he’d meet them at the set. They apparently accepted this without question, though Mel was quite sure they’d be discussing it at length before they got back to work. When the rest of the band were safely out of earshot, Rami turned to Eve. “Has anyone ever told you that you and your daughter both look like Freddie Mercury?”

Eve smiled. “I know Mel’s been hearing that a lot lately,” she said knowingly. “But it’s been a while since anyone’s said that to me.” Rami peered at her curiously. “Do you… do you have any idea where that resemblance might have come from?” Mel could feel the tension rise at Rami’s blunt question, but to her immense relief her mother seemed untroubled. “Well,” Eve said, grinning mischievously, “I expect it’s the family resemblance.” Rami stared at her, brows furrowed in confusion, until realisation suddenly dawned across his face. “Wait, are you saying-” “I can explain, but I’d rather do it in private” Eve explained, cutting Rami off before he could accidentally reveal her great secret. To her immense relief he quickly flashed her an understanding smile. “I have to go to work now, but come to my trailer later. Mel knows where it is.” He smiled again, and with a quick ‘nice to meet you’ he hurried off back to set.

Mel turned to her mother expectantly. “Well?” “He seems nice” Eve commented. “Actually they all seem like nice lads, I can see why you like them so much.” She paused thoughtfully. “I think I can see why they wanted him to play Freddie, too.” Mel smiled with relief. “So you’ll help him?” “As much as I can” Eve agreed. “Perhaps you could help Joe too” Mel suggested. Eve smiled. “I suppose I could.”

Mel found herself facing a busy afternoon, so she sent her mum to watch the filming while she worked. It soon became clear that none of the band was going to get much downtime until shooting finished for the day, so between takes Rami organised to meet Eve just before he went home for the night. The filming went on for hours, but finally the director called cut and everyone started to pack up. Amongst all the activity Eve managed to slip away unnoticed, to a deserted corner near Rami’s trailer where they were unlikely to be seen.

Rami grinned mischievously when he spotted Eve behind his trailer. “So, about that family resemblance…” Eve took a breath. “I meant that sincerely you know” she said casually. “The truth is, as far as anyone knows Freddie Mercury was my biological father.” Rami raised an eyebrow. “As far as anyone knows?” “He’s not the only, ah, candidate, but I’ve never actually had a DNA test” Eve explained. Rami snorted. “You don’t need one.” He paused, suddenly looking distinctly uncomfortable. “Sorry if this is a bit forward of me, but I’d love to talk to you about Freddie, somewhere a little more private” he said warmly. “So I was thinking we could get dinner at my hotel?” “What, now?” Eve questioned. Rami nodded. “If that’s alright with you.” Eve was hesitant. “Just checking: this isn’t a romantic invitation is it?” Rami shook his head. “God, no!” he burst out, almost too quickly. “Sorry, I just meant I’m kind of not… available in that way.” Eve smiled. “It’s fine” she reassured him. “If it was I would have had to turn it down seeing as I’m a married woman.” Rami grinned with relief. “Well, in that case, shall we?” Eve smiled. “Just let me ring home on the way and I’m all yours.” With that, they trotted off along a less conspicuous route to Rami’s chaffeured car, chatting amiably along the way.

Ben had almost reached his trailer when he spotted Mel lounging against it. He smiled at the sight, but his expression shifted into a frown when he noticed Rami and Eve wandering off together looking very friendly. Possibly too friendly. Mel made to smile at Ben, only to be confused when she noticed him frowning. She turned away just in time to spot Rami walking with her mum. She thought he looked rather excited. Mum must have told him, Mel mused. In which case they must be off for a long conversation about Papa. Mel’s contentment at this development turned to concern when she realised Ben was storming towards her looking less than pleased.

Ben seemed fairly calm when he hauled Mel into his trailer, but when he turned back to her after carefully locking the door she could see the anger on his face. "What the hell is going on?" he fumed. "With what?" Mel responded calmly, not quite sure where all this was coming from. "I just came across Rami looking very cosy with your mum" Ben growled. “Almost suspiciously cosy.” Mel sighed. "It's not like that, Ben, she’s married for God’s sake." Ben was not particularly soothed. "Well then what is it like?" he snapped. "Cos from where I'm standing it doesn't look good." "Oh my God, Ben, why do you even care so much?" Mel snapped back. "Because he's my friend!" Ben yelled. "And Lucy's my friend, and…" His voice trailed off as he realised something. "What?" Mel questioned, confused by the sudden change of mood. "I like you" Ben admitted. "I like you a lot, and I don't want to think you would allow something like that, but…" "Of course I wouldn't, Ben, I'm not an arsehole" Mel responded, hoping to reassure him. It didn't work. Ben was still cross, and now he was confused as well. "Why didn’t you stop it, then?" "Because she’s helping him!" Mel cried. "Helping him?" Ben questioned, even more confused. "How can she help him?"

Mel sighed. She'd really done it now. There was no way out of this conversation without letting Ben in on the family secret. "Alright Ben" she said eventually, suddenly much quieter and calmer. "I'm going to tell you something, so you'll understand. But you have to promise me, what I'm about to say does not leave this trailer." Ben smiled reassuringly. "I won't tell another soul, I promise." Mel took a calming breath. Here goes nothing. "My mum can help Rami with this role because she's Freddie Mercury's daughter" she confessed.

Ben was stunned. "She's…what?" he spluttered. Mel smiled reassuringly. "It's big, I know." Suddenly Ben stared at Mel wide-eyed. "So it's all true then…" Mel was confused. "What's true?" "The rumours about Freddie. That he had a lovechild." Ben explained. "How did you hear those?" Mel questioned. "Rami" Ben said simply. "He saw you, remembered the rumours, and guessed you must be Freddie's grandchild." Mel was stunned. "Shit. He worked it all out." Ben grinned. "God, he's going to be so pleased with himself tomorrow."

Suddenly Ben reached out and pulled Mel into his chest. She wondered whether he was trying to ground himself after all the big revelations. Not that she minded, of course, it was Ben after all.

"Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me the truth" he murmured into her ear. "Of course" Mel murmured back. They stood silently for a moment, thinking over everything that had just been said. "Can't believe you got so worked up about my mum" Mel commented. Ben smiled sheepishly. "Sorry." "Can't believe you thought her and Rami…" Mel trailed off as something else Ben had said suddenly hit her like a truck. "Wait. Did you say you liked me?" she asked, stepping back to look at Ben's face.

Ben's gentle smile disappeared instantly. "Shit. I thought you didn't notice." "So did you mean you like me as a friend or…?" Mel asked curiously, her heart suddenly hammering at the possibilities. Ben could feel his own heart race as he opened his mouth. "Well I do consider you a friend. But… I'd really like us to be more than that" he confessed. Mel smiled as she moved closer to Ben. "I'd like that too." Ben could have wept with relief. "So, do you want to get dinner tonight?" he asked, beaming. "I'd love to" Mel beamed back. Ben grinned. “Great! I’ll just grab my shit and then we can go.” True to his word, within five minutes he and Mel were walking towards the studio car park hand in hand.

***

Less than an hour later, Rami was sat at a table in the hotel restaurant, buzzing with excitement. Freddie Mercury's biological child was sitting in front of him! What a day. Eve smiled with amusement as his obvious enthusiasm. "So I suppose you have a few questions you'd like to ask?" Rami grinned. "Oh, hundreds." "Well, go on then" Eve encouraged. "I guess the biggest one is this" Rami said thoughtfully. "How exactly did a man like Freddie Mercury manage to father a lovechild anyway?"

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(I’ve removed a couple of urls from the Though You’re Many Years Away taglist because the tags aren’t working)

#ben hardy fic #ben hardy imagine #ben hardy x oc #freddie mercury fic #freddie mercury imagine #bohemian rhapsody cast fic #bohemian rhapsody imagine #bo rhap imagine #rami malek #rami malek imagine #gwilym lee imagine #joe mazzello imagine #ben hardy x reader #queen fic #queen band fic #brian may imagine #roger taylor fic #roger taylor imagine #brian may fic

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sunflowersonthehill · 4 years

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Harry J. Potter and the Sorting Hat (really long post)

‘Hmm,’ said a small voice in his ear. ‘Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind, either. There’s talent, oh my goodness, yes – and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that’s interesting ... So where shall I put you?’

Harry gripped the edges of the stool and thought, ‘Not Slytherin, not Slytherin.’

‘Not Slytherin, eh?’ said the small voice. ‘Are you sure? You could be great, you know, it’s all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that – no? Well, if you’re sure – better be GRYFFINDOR!’ (Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s stone, The Sorting Hat)

I believe that everyone has talked about this scene at this point but I wanted to say something. The most important thing in this exchange of lines is that the sorting hat thought that Harry should be in Slytherin and Harry chose to “belong in Gryffindor,/ Where dwell the brave at heart,/ Their daring, nerve, and chivalry/ Set Gryffindors apart". Now I want to concentrate on the other things the hat says:

1. Plenty of courage

If we want to stay on book 1 the first example that comes to my mind is the Troll scene. I know that the line between “bravery” and “stupidity” is really subtle but:

“Harry then did something that was both very brave and very stupid: he took a great running jump and managed to fasten his arms around the troll’s neck from behind. The troll couldn’t feel Harry hanging there, but even a troll will notice if you stick a long bit of wood up its nose, and Harry’s wand had still been in his hand when he’d jumped – it had gone straight up one of the troll’s nostrils.” (Hallowe’en)

Yep, that was very stupid, but Hermione was crying, the fear froze her and he did the first thing he could think of in that moment to protect her.

There are so many more moments, but my favourite is in Deathly Hallows when he acknowledged that he had to die.

Harry understood at last that he was not supposed to survive. His job was to walk calmly into Death’s welcoming arms. [...] Would it hurt to die? All those times he had thought that it was about to happen and escaped, he had never really thought of the thing itself: his will to live had always been so much stronger than his fear of death. […] This cold-blooded walk to his own destruction would require a different kind of bravery. (The Forest Again)

2. Not a bad mind

Ok, we all know that harry is not a Ravenclaw because of a lot of things but his mind is still really great and, sometimes, is fast. He IS smart:

‘Stop moving!’ Hermione ordered them. ‘I know what this is – it’s Devil’s Snare!’ ‘Oh, I’m so glad we know what it’s called, that’s a great help,’ snarled Ron […].

‘Shut up, I’m trying to remember how to kill it!’ said Hermione. […]

‘Devil’s Snare, Devil’s Snare ... What did Professor Sprout say? It likes the dark and the damp –’

‘So, light a fire!’ Harry choked.

‘Yes – of course – but there’s no wood!’ Hermione cried, wringing her hands.

‘HAVE YOU GONE MAD?’ Ron bellowed. ‘ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?’ (Through the Trapdoor)

Ok, of course he is not Hermione-solving-Snape’s-potion-riddle smart but in the Goblet of Fire he answered correctly to the sphynx so... I can live with this and I don’t know if this is an unpopular opinion, but I really liked DH Harry, really. I loved how he was able to interpret Voldy’s mind and how he solved the puzzle Dumbledore left him. I know he did some stupid things like take Mad-Eye Moody’s eye from the Umbridge’s door but come on... he couldn’t leave it there. But now an example:

‘Harry,’ […] Are you saying there’s a Horcrux in the Lestranges’ vault?’

‘Yes,’ said Harry. ‘Bellatrix was terrified when she thought we’d been in there; she was beside herself. Why? What did she think we’d seen, what else did she think we might have taken?

Something she was petrified You-Know-Who would find out about.’

‘But I thought we were looking for places You-Know-Who’s been, places he’s done something important?’ […]

‘I don’t know whether he was ever inside Gringotts,’ said Harry. ‘He never had gold there when he was younger, […] ‘I think he would have envied anyone who had a key to a Gringotts vault. I think he’d have seen it as a real symbol of belonging to the wizarding world. And don’t forget, he trusted Bellatrix and her husband. They were his most devoted servants before he fell, and they went looking for him after he vanished. He said it the night he came back, I heard him.’

[…] He probably told her it was a treasured possession and asked her to place it in her vault. The safest place in the world for anything you want to hide, Hagrid told me ... except for Hogwarts.’

When Harry had finished speaking, Ron shook his head. ‘You really understand him.’ (The Wandmaker)

3. Talent

Now tell me that he is not a good wizard. In his third year he produced a Patronus, during his fifth year he taught DADA to other students and have you seen his O.W.L.S?

Astronomy A /Care of Magical Creatures E /Charms E /Defense Against the Dark Arts O /Divination P / Herbology E /History of Magic D /Potions E /Transfiguration E

They are good. He is not exceptional, but he is a very good wizard and we know the story behind Divination and History of Magic.

4. Thirst to prove yourself

Ok, this I like very much. In my opinion, almost everything he does during this series is because he wants to prove others and himself that he can be, will be and is a good wizard. At the start he didn’t know ANYTING about magic, he didn’t even know that magic existed in the first place. Then someone told him that everyone in their world knew his name for something he didn’t remember he had done... I mean, is scary and he was eleven. He wants to belong in that world from the bottom of his heart.

‘... and until Hagrid told me, I didn’t know anything about being a wizard or about my parents or Voldemort –’

Ron gasped.

‘What?’ said Harry.

‘You said You-Know-Who’s name!’ said Ron, sounding both shocked and impressed. ‘I’d have thought you, of all people –’

‘I’m not trying to be brave or anything, saying the name,’ said Harry. ‘I just never knew you shouldn’t. See what I mean?’ I bet,’ he added, voicing for the first time something that had been worrying him a lot lately, ‘I bet I’m the worst in the class.’ (The journey from platform 9 and 3/4 )

And at the end of the book

‘D’you think he meant you to do it?’ said Ron. ‘Sending you your father’s Cloak and everything?’ ‘Well,’ Hermione exploded, ‘if he did – I mean to say – that’s terrible – you could have been killed.’ ‘No, it isn’t,’ said Harry thoughtfully. ‘He’s a funny man, Dumbledore. I think he sort of wanted to give me a chance. I think he knows more or less everything that goes on here, you know. I reckon he had a pretty good idea we were going to try, and instead of stopping us, he just taught us enough to help. I don’t think it was an accident he let me find out how the Mirror worked. It’s almost like he thought I had the right to face Voldemort if I could ...’ […] (The Man with two Faces)

Dumbledore said that the real power of Harry was to choose the good side after all that happened to him. For him to suffer meant to love again and again and to forgive bad guy after bad guy. I mean... HE TRIED TO REDEEM VOLDEMORT!

“But before you try to kill me, I’d advise you to think about what you’ve done ... think, and try for some remorse, Riddle ...’

‘What is this?’

Of all the things that Harry had said to him, beyond any revelation or taunt, nothing had shocked Voldemort like this. [...]

‘It’s your one last chance,’ said Harry, ‘it’s all you’ve got left ... I’ve seen what you’ll be otherwise ... be a man ... try ... try for some remorse ...’ (The Flaw in the Plan)

He never wanted to be a Slytherin, he never wanted greatness, he never asked to be the hero, he had to be it because of a prophecy, because everyone wanted him to be it, because Voldemort made him “The chosen one”, “The boy who lived” and he became the hero everyone asked for.

Voldemort asked him if he wanted to join him in the PS:

‘SO WHAT?’ Harry shouted. ‘Don’t you understand? If Snape gets hold of the Stone, Voldemort’s coming back! Haven’t you heard what it was like when he was trying to take over? There won’t be any Hogwarts to get expelled from! He’ll flatten it or turn it into a school for the Dark Arts! Losing points doesn’t matter anymore, can’t you see? Do you think he’ll leave you and your families alone if Gryffindor win the House Cup? If I get caught before I can get to the Stone, well, I’ll have to go back to the Dursleys and wait for Voldemort to find me there. It’s only dying a bit later than I would have done, because I’m never going over to the Dark Side! I’m going through that trapdoor tonight and nothing you two say is going to stop me! Voldemort killed my parents, remember?’ (Through the Trapdoor)

‘Don’t be a fool,’ snarled the face. ‘Better save your own life and join me ... or you’ll meet the same end as your parents ... They died begging me for mercy ...’

‘LIAR!’ Harry shouted suddenly. […]

‘How touching ...’ it hissed. ‘I always value bravery ... Yes, boy, your parents were brave ... I killed your father first and he put up a courageous fight ... but your mother needn’t have died ... she was trying to protect you ... Now give me the Stone, unless you want her to have died in vain.’

‘NEVER!’ (The Man with two Faces)

Dumbledore himself said to Harry that he had some characteristics that Voldemort likes but Harry was loved by so many and so much and he knew that. Harry James Potter is the most not-Slytherin person on this planet, he is a true Gryffindor (maybe with a tip of Hufflepuff for his loyalty) ... change my mind.

Bonus:

‘It’s not a case of what you’ll permit, Minerva McGonagall. Your time’s over. It’s us what’s in charge here now, and you’ll back me up or you’ll pay the price.’

And he spat in her face.

Harry pulled the Cloak off himself, raised his wand and said, ‘You shouldn’t have done that.’

As Amycus spun round, Harry shouted, ‘Crucio!’

[…] ‘I see what Bellatrix meant,’ said Harry, the blood thundering through his brain, ‘you need to really mean it.’

‘Potter!’ whispered Professor McGonagall, clutching her heart. ‘Potter – you’re here! What –? How- ?’ She struggled to pull herself together. ‘Potter, that was foolish!’

‘He spat at you,’ said Harry.

#harry potter #harry james potter #the sorting hat #gryffindor #I know everyone has already talked about this #but I really love him #he is my hero for sure

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steve0discusses · 4 years

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Yugioh Ep33 S4 pt 1: Deus Ex US Military

Been a little distracted but was reminded--yo--I gotta finish S4 of Yugioh this year. I think I can do it. There’s like...what...two episodes left? Three? Like I don’t want to tempt 2020, but like...I think I can finish this thing.

That and a bunch of my Photoshop files corrupted, I don’t know why, I’m very scared for my hard drive, and I need to do a big ol defrag and hope that’s enough. Really hoping this is my bad and not my computer’s bad. I’m pretty hard on this computer when I paint digitally.

and I was immediately gifted by the anime gods because yo, it’s my favorite storyboarder! They're back to carry me through my election burn out, every episode they touch has so much style and no matter how freakin weird or confusing the plot is, this storyboarder/animation team doesn’t seem to care. They will this kids show about cards with this attention to detail. They just have a lot of enthusiasm and that’s a thing about anime that I really like to see. No matter how weird it is, you gotta go 150% without any shame. Love it. Love to see em back.

First off, that earthquake from last episode?

Just a little bigger of an earthquake than I originally thought, coincidentally, this is when Roland shows up, only to realize that he’s like...10 minutes to late.

Well, maybe a little longer than 10 minutes when you consider that Mai freakin died and Yugi almost died, and Joey is absolutely dead and being carried across Tristan’s back.

Anyway, Roland just walked into a whole lot and is just trying to process his life. Roland is all of us in October/November of 2020.

If Roland only knew how many times Seto and Mokuba have totally biffed it when he wasn’t looking.

Like for reals...how is Roland still alive? Like...I don’t think the guy has ever died. Not even once. Maybe that’s Roland’s superpower as the secret FourthKaiba, by just being the only one to stay very far away from the constant BS strewn at this family.

Roland is just...too inept to die. He’s always too far away, he comes after the big bad has already murdered a few people, he’s just...too bad at his job to ever be a target. Live long, Roland. The Kaiba who was the smartest of all by actually being the dumbest.

Also, look at him parking far enough away on the actual helicopter landing pad. He is the only ‘Kaiba’ that follows the law. This could also be the other reason for his secret to longevity.

(read more under the cut)

Faced with a stairwell between their freedom and this weird earthquake chasm that just opened on the top story of this building, Yami decides it’s his job to carry...................

...................Raphael.

(Never forget that we know the exactly weight of Yugi Muto.)

And like Yami is weirdly strong because of magic powers but like...maybe Yami should take Joey and then Tristan should pick up Raphael? I’d say Tea could also pick up Raphael, but I feel like she just wouldn’t want to.

TBQH maybe the reason that Yami is carrying Raphael is because literally no one else feels like it? Like no one likes this guy?

Just kinda feels like Yami is holding onto Raphael out of a sunk-cost fallacy. He’s already done so much work to this guy, can’t lose him now. Gotta save Raphael to make up for killing Gurimo, Weevil, and Yugi. Can’t fail a fourth time.

Anyway, you know what else this storyboarder is good at?

How did they even get reference for drawing this? They didn’t, right? They’re just so good at art that they were like “I can draw ANY person in ANY outfit straight up the crotch, I dare you.”

Seto decides to...not help out, much like virtually all of Yami’s other friends, who also just kinda...yelled and cried at this situation instead of...helping.

Which is fine, because the stairwell gave out and then Raphael decided to uhhhh throw this directly at me.

Just one more yeet for the road. Youknow this guy has yeeted the Pharaoh not once but twice in one season, and both times he just chucked him like he was made out of foam core. (Also, please admire the millennium puzzle in this shot going out at like a 90 degree angle. Just...A+, this storyboarder is hilarious)

At first, I really thought Yami was dabbing his way over that ledge.

In a moody shot with his hair and his jacket swaying in the breeze, almost designed for you to lift and stick into your Youtube AMVs, Seto looked onward and seemed...kind of bored because no one’s throwing any cards. And like who can blame him, he has been on the top of so many ledges and so many buildings that he’s seen Yami make this same speech of “DON’T DO THIS DAMN LEDGE THING I SWEAR TO GODS” like...so many times.

He just immediately accepts Yugi died and is like “Well I guess that makes me king of games.”

And Raphael, after like several minutes of begging Yami to just let him die, decides to let go of that ledge on his own, because this is Yugioh, and you gotta fit in that suicide within the first 10 minutes of the episode. Which, PS, is not the weirdest thing that happened this episode.

And because Roland is freakin late to everything, he showed he could have done this the entire time. Honestly I think Roland just didn’t want to deal with Raphael. We can blame this on Roland, right?

PS we never see this building again in this episode.

I don’t know........why they bothered showing this. If anything it makes the next plot twist more weird because it’s like...what was the point of the random ass earthquake and the random ass concept art building if we, in fact, aren’t coming back here???

I mean I guess it’s a nice shot for your Artstation portfolio, good on you, Yugioh background artist.

Unfortunately this chip contains Seto Kaiba’s greatest weakness. (SanDisk card? Jump drive? Which PS--if they had jump drives this whole time, why was Seto using floppies earlier in the season? Like what happened there?)

And then, with the hatch of their helicopter just wide open, no one in a seat belt, and walking away from the destruction of one of the largest buildings in San Fransisco, finally the cops showed up. Real cops this time, not possessed cops. Also, it’s the Marines.

Am I going to get my Monty Python ending? I mean...if cops can recognize these kids in this universe...I might get my Monty Python ending. :) :) :)

For some reason, back on the mean streets of San Fransisco with no people left alive in it, Rebecca just kinda started losing her mind. Maybe this was to make up for the 2 seasons I had to watch Duke Devlin flirt with a 12 yo? That now we have to suffer Duke saddled with this small crazy person?

This small crazy person who is painted as this intolerable person next to Duke Devlin, but is also a love interest for the main character? Like Yugi’s into some weird ass angry girls.

PS the orcs were no longer needed for the plot so they have turned into streams of light in order to join with the Leviathan mass. So now Rebecca and Duke Devlin will just have literally nothing to do for the rest of the season. I guess they can go to Ghiradelli square...someone’s gotta eat that ice cream before it melts.

Also this happened.

In case you were like “Wow Rach, you didn’t update the Death Count, how dare you”--it’s because I uh...completely forgot that the Oricalchos crew is immune to fall damage. Raphael’s just fine now. He fell down 50 stories...and then 50 stories fell on him...but don’t think about it.

Meanwhile, on the back of some aircraft carrier, far into international waters, the kids get recruited into the military of a foreign country and it’s just as weird as you think it is.

Hey guys.

So, Bandit Keith was weirdly in Hell this season for no reason, right? What if he died offscreen because, earlier in the season, the US military threw him at Dartz because they couldn’t get a hold of Yugi or Kaiba? What about that headcanon? What if that’s why his angry ghost wanted revenge?

Anyway, they join the ranks of Shadow T. Hedgehog, which makes sense because...these guys look like human OC’s of Shadow the hedgehog already.

Sorry I just had a moment because Shadow uses guns a lot despite not needing them at all so “people won’t get uncomfortable with how powerful he is” while in Yugioh they can’t even...show a gun. That really is...you ever think about how weird that is? That Shadow the Hedgehog, a strange remix of a 90′s sega mascot, has a million giant guns but Kaiba’s actual gun (which, apparently he does have in the Japanese version of this show) got edited out completely?

Sometimes it just dawns on me and I have a moment.

Now the US Military just hand delivering them to Dartz is so wild because their reason for the USA not doing anything on their own with their fleets and fleets of ships is:

Have you MET the US? I live here, and if we were like given the choice to shoot the ocean...or just die...we’d be like “wait...for reals? So no one gets hurt, we just shoot guns at the water? You mean we finally found our true calling? For REALS? I just shoot this water bucket!??? FOR REALS????” and it would become a national holiday. All pop songs would be devoted to it. Our ancestors would make movies about it.

I mean, our dumbass president considered nuking a hurricane in 2019...in case you forgot because damn, it’s been a STUPID 4 YEARS. (And you better have voted already because for reals do not make me go through 4 more years of this. I do not think this blog would survive it...or the hurricanes that will keep getting nuked.)

Also....the show actually threw the word “proof” out there. Seriously show? You OK?

I figured the mind control situation would be a better reason not to arrest Dartz other than “Dartz is just so good at covering up his tracks” when the TRACKS have a broken down Caltrain on one side of them, and the other side of the tracks have the rest of that same Caltrain at the bottom of a river.

Seto is not amused but he never is. He will take this Nobel Peace Prize and step up to the microphone at the UN and be like “I WANTED IT TO BE A CARDS PRIZE.”

PS--we HAVE a map already, right? Raphael died to give us this map--and then didn’t die, but it’s not like anyone else here knows that. So like...why did we need the US Military to show up at all? Why is this scene important? Other than to look cool, I guess? Like...

...why is the US military here we already have a Deus Ex Machina delivered by Raphael? At least that one was deserved--the whole point of that duel was to get this MAP.

A map that we are never going to use.

...There’s a good chance that two writers wrote this episode in two different buildings and just...glued the two halves together. Animation is wild. Weird ‘Cinema sins’ things like this happen...all the time. This one though, this one is kind of funny because it’s a ton of wasted effort on the very best storyboarder.

Anyway I broke this up into two segments because I’m tired, and also, while a lot of people like long posts, the smaller posts are kinda easier to read. More will be upcoming in like...I dunno it really depends on a lot of things right, now, I’ve been having a time, but at least Yugioh is always there to enjoy. Maybe I’ll need so much distraction you’ll get an update tomorrow? Good things can happen, and it’s not like I get to do anything else for Halloween.

Happy Halloween Y’all! Lets make the most of it!

(here’s a link to read these in chrono order)

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono

#ygo #yugioh #recap #photo recap #humor #seto kaiba #yami muto #yami #the military???#helicopter #roland #mokuba kaiba #tea gardner #tristan taylor #rebecca hawkins #duke devlin #Ep 33 #S4

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sirbadgerduke · 4 years

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Retrospective Thought: Top Ten Games of The Year 2019

Another year down and just on the horizon beckons another year into the light, and this year was a real wild ride for games. From triumphant returns ala Devil May Cry V to huge disasters ala Anthem. What is a defacto truth though; there’s plenty of great games that came out this year, and can only make us wonder what is brewing for the new start of a new decade. As we close out the 2010s and enter the 2020s, I think we should look back on the great games that came out in 2019. Obviously this is MY list of games that I LOVED playing this year, I haven’t played every game to ever come out this year so there’s bound to be a favourite or two of yours not on this list. I respect you either disagreeing or agreeing with me. So here goes, the Ten Games of the Year. Honourable Mentions: The Surge 2, Mortal Kombat 11, Monster Hunter World: Iceborne, Blasphemous, Oninaki, My Friend Pedro, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3:The Black Order, Dusk Diver, Daemon X Machina, Death Stranding, MediEvil Remake, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.

10) Plague Tale: Innocence(PS4/XBO/PC) This title is very much a sleeper hit in my opinion, a game published by Focus Home Interactive, who have been killing it in the “AA Experience” space of games with the likes of Styx, Greedfall, etc and Plague Tale, is a game worth checking out. You play as Amicia De Rune, who must protect her younger brother, Hugo, from Inquisition guards, villagers and a deadly swarm of plague carrying rats during 14th century France. The story slowly builds drama, tension and atmosphere with a fantastic setting that is surprisingly overlooked for more contemporary settings and locales, the idea of making Rats(for most of the game mind you) as this unstoppable almost “supernatural” force is both genius and frightening. Above all else the characters are well written, many parts believable and many parts relatable, you’ll be feeling their trials and tribulations as you go through the games 17 lengthy chapters. The gameplay is surprisingly both solid and janky at times; taking on a stealth system that mostly works well, you gradually gain a number of tools to deal with both human and vermin obstacles all the while with a small number of bosses that feel more like a mix of combat and puzzle solving. The game is worth picking up if you’re craving a smaller, less busywork heavy kinda game.

9) Astral Chain(Nintendo Switch) Platinum Games is one of my favourite Action Game developers currently in the industry; they make great combat systems with deep mechanics all the while adding more depth than you initially thought could possibly be able. While it’s not on the same level as NieR: Automata, Astral Chain continues the trend of Platinum Games nailing their signature style of gameplay; over the top whacky combat with anime as hell storytelling. This time you play a cop of a special police division that focuses on investigating the Astral Realm with your own Jojo-like Stand called a Legion. You’ll go on missions to battle these weird creatures, investigate the areas, even helping people and picking up litter(yeah, really) all the while slowly opening up your repertoire of Legions at your disposal. This is standard “Goofball anime nonsense mixed with badass tier combat and gameplay” that you either love or hate from Plat. While it’s not the deepest combat system out of their library, it is a rather interesting and fun premise with the combat focus being on the switching between Legions and their placement on the battlefield, the game offers its own level of depth, even if its a pond compared to the likes of Bayonetta 2 and NieR: Automata. If you want an anime as fuck, fun romp, Astral Chain is for you.

8) Code Vein(PS4/XBO/PC) The Soulsborne-like clone fad is a weird beast to look back on; while some heavy hitters have come out of it(NioH, Surge to some extent, hell Hollow Knight,Jedi Fallen Order) there’s been some real stinkers( Lords of The Fallen, again, Surge to some extent), it seems to have caught the industry hard as you could easily find at least one clone you’ll like and one you despise. Code Vein is a very weird Souls-like game in that it’s focus isn’t really a particular gameplay mechanic they introduce into it, or even how it offers “loot” but more on its focus on a narrative and characters. You play as a nameless revenant that wakes up with amnesia and a pretty white haired but barely clothed girl. It’s your duty to collect blood beads to keep your hunger sated. As you explore and push on the story opens up, introducing new characters and locales with a enough variety to keep you interested. Gameplay wise? Combat is solid, it’s admittedly very soulsy, so love it or hate it, that’s how it does things, plus you have the option of having a CP controlled companion with you on your journey to help alleviate some of the difficulty. Where the game shines in gameplay is it’s endless combinations and build opportunities, allowing you to really cater to a unique playstyle best suited for you or a more typically fantasy build if you so choose. Bosses, however are a huge mixed bag of good, bad and just outright frustrating. If you really want an Anime Souls-like, you would do yourself a huge disservice to miss out on this one.

7) Outer Worlds(PS4/XBO/PC) Obsidian Entertainment does a really good job on making some great RPG titles. From KOTOR2 to Fallout: New Vegas and even their own IPs like Pillars of Eternity 1 and 2, Outer Worlds is no exception among this collection. While the game is set in an alternative future, you are awakened by a mad scientist named Phineas Welles from cryosleep only to find that most of the passengers are still in hibernation aboard a colony ship. The game features several factions and a branching story that reacts to the player's choices. The writing is pretty damn great, witty and intriguing, something severely lacking in later day Fallout titles. Outer Worlds is pretty much a Fallout Game without the fallout licence only it builds from New Vegas’ strengths rather than let it get muddled down with Bethesda’s weaknesses. It even comes with it’s own take on the VATS system. The gameplay is solid, it’s just New Vegas but better, whilst in the grand scheme of things? It’s not the thing that will win you over in the long run. If you’re a Fallout Fan sick of the current trend Bethesda is in or whether you’re looking for a great Space Adventure, Outer Worlds is not the best choice, it’s Spacer’s Choice!

6) Greedfall(PS4/XBO/PC) Oh Spiders, Spiders, Spiders. This dev company has steadily grown strong from game to game. From it’s rocky beginnings with Of Orcs and Men and Bound by Flame to the almost good Technomancer, Spiders have, in my honest opinion, have found their major hit and boy has it been a hit for Focus Home Interactive. You begin as De Sardet, a human who’s sent with his cousin to govern newly discovered island, neutral in the varying factions and war that is happening all the while you seek to find out more about the this mysterious illness that plagues the De Sardet family, so that you can cure Greedfall, honestly, is such a weird game to come out in 2019 but one I do not regret having played at all. It’s reminiscent of old Bioware titles like Mass Effect 1 and Dragon Age: Origins; the gameplay is solid and fun allowing you a nice enough variety to go deep as you want whilst having a rather engaging story and narrative that is populated with companions that all have very different opinions and often clash with one another’s. It feels like a game that should’ve been released back in 2010 from Bioware, in a good way obviously. While it’s not graphically impressive, the art style is really nice and the world is both intriguing and bleak. Worthy a look into if you’re seeking that old bioware-esque flair that’s seriously missing from Latter Day Bioware.

5) Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice(PS4/XBO/PC) One of my all time favourite games is a From Software developed title by the name of Bloodborne, which is also my all time favourite PS-Exclusive. My hype for Sekiro was almost reaching the moon since the teaser was shown back in 2018, a chance to travel to Japan with that Souls-like style if you will. Only it’s the least Souls games in the Souls style of games that is developed by the originators of the brand. The focus here, is less on builds, blocking and dodging and more about your posture, parrying and loadouts and the gameplay absolutely, masterfully services that to a T.The Bosses are some of the best in the series, almost better than Bloodborne’s roster, but with the addition of mini bosses that roster is pretty huge(for better or for worse). You take the role of Sekiro, a ninja who’s service is needed by Kuro, a bearer of the Dragon’s Heritage; power/curse that grants anyone they deem worthy with immortality, however, when they die and resurrect it runs the risk of infecting people with Dragon Rot. The more narrative focus is a nice change of pace in my opinion and with the added blend of japanese history with mythology giving it a rather rich and surprisingly lived in world. Sekiro is definitely worth getting if you fancy yourself more dueling style gameplay.

4) Judgment(PS4) Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios have become another of my favourite game devs in recent years. Their work on the Yakuza Franchise is a blessing for a revamping of a classic Adventure/Savage Beat’em’up Hybrid, though they’ve since become the most popular and one of very few to exist. Judgment is a sorta separate entity/spin-off to the mainline franchise but still somehow connected(Unlike the great Fist of The North Star: Lost Paradise title.) to the Yakuza story in a much smaller degree. You play as Yagami, a private detective who was once a renowned lawyer until he was disgraced by one his star client who went on to murder another victim despite being found innocent. That’s as much as I can say about the story since the game is essentially a Crime Drama/Mystery with a little bit of Yakuza DNA. The cast of characters are all great, the villains make you want to absolutely bring them down a peg and the good guys really makes you root for them to win and push through the struggles. As is with Yakuza, the meat and potatoes of the series, the gameplay, is on point. Continuing the savage Brawler system but extending it into a more personalised style for Yagami, with his own heat moves and skills to boot, it’s fantastic and absolutely a treat to pull off combats, especially switching between all three of the styles. The Boss battles are a sweet as all hell, especially Cane Guy, who’s probably the most anime as fuck character you face of against. Buy it if you love Yakuza and crave for more, or if you’re new to the style of games.

3) Resident Evil 2: Remake(PS4/XBO/PC) Survival Horror is a genre that seems to struggle, with the occasional surprise hit that everyone gets behind. With that in mind, Resident Evil 2 Remake is a fantastic survival horror game that brings back the franchise to its roots and redoing them with a great, brand new shine and paint. Resident Evil 2 Remake puts you in the shoes of Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy during the Racoon City Incident, while Claire searches for her brother and Leon goes to his first day on the job at RCPD, despite being told not, they must survive and avoid the monstrosities that roam the city, zombies, Lickers and the big bad Tyrant himself Mr X. A very nice remix of an old formula that gives it some new life, RE2R has impeccable atmosphere, tension and horror, half being brought to you via exploring and solving puzzles and the other half from Mr X himself who stalks you down with a purpose; to take out any survivors in Racoon City. Gameplay is super solid, and surprisingly does not make the game a pushover, solid shooting mechanics with some great puzzle mechanics and ofcourse exploration whilst not being an open world make this a title worth having in your collection. Whether you’re a survival horror fan, RE fan, Old Skool style RE fan, you’ll do yourself a massive disservice not picking this gem up.

2) Devil May Cry V(PS4/XBO/PC) Honestly, you can just call 2019 the Year of Capcom’s return to form, by nailing it with RE2, MHW in 2018 and obviously Iceborne later in year, it was only time that DMCV would come out between those mammoths titles. After the disastrous ReBoot, everyone including me too were sure that DMC was put back in the ice for good. That’s of course before DMCV’s triumphant teaser at E3. Devil May Cry V continues the story of Sparda’s progeny, Dante as he helps out returning upstart Nero and intriguing newcomer V as they take on the new Demon King; Urizen. This game is absolutely fantastic and I can’t fanboy over it enough. The story, while simple and easy to follow, has great character development and pacing, bring characters into their arcs in ups and downs that steadily build up to a final confrontation that just might be my new favourite boss battle of all time. The gameplay! The gameplay, is, to put it bluntly; absolutely sublime. From Dante’s weapon variety and DT craziness to Nero’s new gadgets in the form of his robotic arms to the weird Summoner-style gameplay of V, the game is its most diverse gameplay wise and not once feeling janky and sluggish at all. The Boss Battles are all fun and really bring something to the gameplay to both push and test you to your limit. Devil May Cry may just be one of my all time fave franchises and to see it return so triumphantly? Actually brings a tear to my eye. A must, must, MUST buy if I’ve ever played one.

1) Control(PS4/XBO/PC EGS Exclusive) Aaaah, Remedy, bringing such classics like Max Payne and Alan Wake into this world, Microsoft did you dirty with Quantum Break. So where did it leave them to go? To spiral into the weird worlds of Stephen King, Cosmic horror and the SCP Foundation for inspiration, to which Control is born, a phenomenal Third Person Shooter Metroidvania-esque game with a solid narrative and a beautiful visual and art design. You are Jesse Faden, a person of interest that has been searching for the Federal Bureau of Control since an incident with them when she was young had taken her brother. I really don’t want to say more than that, it’s better for you to experience the story for yourself. Narratively speaking? It has some great SCP-esque world building and lore with a solid to really good story that’s pacing 80% of the time really well. Gameplay and visuals with music are essentially where this game shines for me. Solid as hell shooting mechanics with some really badass powers helps to bring this game alive, but you don’t have all those powers from the get go, they are steadily paced throughout to make sure you’re not vastly overpowered or underpowered, it’s rather nice actually. Visuals and music are sublime, both together make for some truly memorable moments and areas. As stated, this is a Metroidvania and so has a lot of isms associated with that style; locked off area you’ll obviously return to with new powers to explore further, a semi-open world map, etc. I can’t sing this game’s praises enough, I think this might’ve just beaten out Alan Wake for my favourite Remedy game. Absolutely get this game NOW. So there’s my top ten list to round out 2019, a truly great year of great games. I’m honestly really excited to see what comes out in 2020, as it looks to be quite literally STACKED with potentially great(and shite) games. Hope you all had a spiffn’ new years, and here’s to 2020, let’s see what’s in store for us now!

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