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#she pointed right at me lol WITHIN my line of sight
marsixm · 6 months
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customers have a problem with me WITHOUT bringing my gender into it challenge. difficulty Impossible apparently
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vaguely-concerned · 7 months
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BEHOLD! The list of evidence for my bold claim that Pan and Freddie dislike each other ferociously on sight because they are, in some key ways and despite appearances, very similar people: 
- First instinct upon seeing Grace sad is to try to make her laugh to cheer her up. (See: Freddie’s very first lines in the game starting off as she means to go on, and about half the things Pan ever says or does lol. In the last scene with him before The Trial you can even tell him you’re there just because you wanted to talk to him and have something cheer you up.) General sources of levity and fun and play in Grace’s life if you seek them out. 
- They react with similar anxiety to the idea of Grace being really angry with them (Freddie’s surprised/dismayed “Why are you angry at me?!” in the red route of ‘I Can Teach You’, the millenia-old god of the wild hiding behind a tree for ten minutes because he thinks Grace might be about to yell at him lmao <3)
- Both of them seem to have similar interpersonal insecurities in general, judging by the enforced choice between them in ‘I Can Teach You’ (I love you both so much but oh my god. is this a constructive use of time or energy under the circumstances lol), softened and alleviated by the fact that at the end of the day the most important thing to either of them is that Grace is happy. It isn’t possessiveness, but there is an element of underlying ‘Hey. Hey I am your favorite right?? 🥺’ insecurity there that trips them both up to begin with. Once you play the game and go back to look at this scene again knowing everyone’s real motivations, they’re even coming from the same place deep down — genuine fear for Grace’s safety and wanting to help her. (Freddie uncomplicatedly out of love🥹, and Pan at that stage probably more out of a guilty sense of responsibility, though he does seem to take a shine to Grace herself pretty quickly as well. Also he demonstrably isn’t, uh. Completely wrong in saying Freddie’s involvement in this whole mess is likely to end in tears, even if he is being a real dick about it) 
- If you don’t choose either in ‘I Can Teach You’, they both show up within minutes of each other to watch Grace’s back in the Medusa quest anyway. One brain cell ping pong and no one notices because they keep trying to swat each other with the racquets whenever Grace glances away for a second
Sidenote but flirting with both of them one after the other in that quest is fucking hilarious, they’re just taking turns ‘Really? Right in front of my salad?’-ing directly at the camera (...listen I feel that there is a chance that as long as they kept Grace between them the whole time there could be a thing here. I think a possible universe out there where it happens at least once does exist if one cared to go seek it out. That’s all I’m saying.) 
- Seems a bit obvious but what else am I here for: both very drawn to Grace no matter what main trait you choose. Whether this is true vice versa is of course player-dependent, but it is one way you can play the game. 
- Incredibly similar defensive reactions to being picked on or sniped at (and no hesitation whatsoever in subjecting each other to exactly that immediately anyway haha) 
- A bit dark when you think about it, but they both express the sentiment that it would be better for them to step in and die if it means Grace lives. (Freddie very directly of course ;______; and then in ‘It’s time’, Pan in ‘The Trial’ and the little talk you have with him later in Athena’s office.)  
Matching ‘ride or die’ instincts once awoken, is what I’m getting at. Freddie gets extra points for sheer longevity and constancy, Pan gets extra points for getting there in a week. You’re both unhinged (affectionate) 
- They’re the only ones among the main cast wearing green, right? I think I’ve got that right? Well, Charon does too, I suppose, but he’s a bit more peripheral. (Persephone and Aphrodite wear blue-green, but that seems more associated with death and the underworld and the river of grief everyone keeps using as a metaphor throughout the game.) Somehow I find the idea/metaphor that once you get Pan out from under like three layers of bullshit he’s the same colour as Freddie (who is inarguably The symbol of devotion and steadfastness in this game no matter your choices) quite sweet. 
- Nerds. You know I am right. Slightly different kinds of nerd (Freddie is distinctly geek-flavoured and Pan collects rare books for sport sort of distinction), but still. Oh my god. Freddie should get the whole cast together to play D&D in the Reliquary post-game. It would be absolute carnage. It would be glorious hilarity. *GASP* no wait not the Reliquary, let’s go to the Underworld so Charon gets to play too. For the love of all that is good give this to me now please I need it 
- The only two people who think Freddie losing control of her powers and causing a dance number at a funeral is hilarious
In short this is a recognition of the self through the other (derogatory) situation for both of them and neither of them decides to take that with any dignity or grace (ahaha) in the slightest, I love them very much,  thank you and goodnight 
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thegreymoon · 7 days
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The Story of Minglan
There is no chance I will finish this episode tonight because tomorrow is a work day and I must sleep, but I was PROMISED a scene with Madam Zhang and Minglan just now and I have no self-control 😔
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Aww, cutiepie 🖤
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NOOOOO, GU TINGYE TURNED HIM INTO LUNCH 😭
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LMAO, idiot, you are sitting alone in the middle of the forest right in his line of sight and he's obviously looking for you.
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What do you think looking away is going to do?
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Congratulations on the baby but condolences on having to fuck your worthless husband to get there 😔
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OH MY GOD.
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KILL ALL MEN.
OK, Tingye, Changbai and Shitou can stay, but to the dumpster with the rest of them.
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LMAO, drag him, Changbai.
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I also feel like he is making problems where there shouldn't be any.
Just get rid of the damn concubine yourself, OMG, and continue fucking your legitimate wife in peace.
But no, he wants the dramatics.
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LMAOOOOO, GIRL, HE IS YOUR HUSBAND!! 😅😅
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I AM THINKING HE IS GOING TO BE A DIRECT PARTICIPANT!
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They are not being subtle at all, lol 🤣🤣
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We get it, okay, a baby is coming to the Gu family!
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Oh, fuck off.
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It's about time somebody told you to shut up.
And the worst thing is, there is no point to her ugly scheming and backstabbing. Her son is useless and can't function on any level, what is he going to do with a noble title even if he was to inherit it? He would run the entire family into the ground within a few years. If she just quit even now, both she and her son and all their descendants could live in wealth and splendour for who knows how long, but no. She is rotten to the core and just can't help herself.
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He is Sheng Hong the Second.
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So weak and self-serving. He doesn't deserve his magnificent wife.
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She's finally being honest and if he has any brains he should listen and reassure her.
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The truth is, as a woman, she is so limited and reliant on his whims. How can she trust him? He is asking too much of her too soon.
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OMG, set your ego down for five minutes, please.
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She's a smart woman, of course she is. She's just trying to survive.
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Oh, shut the fuck up.
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Right now, he reminds me of those men who run around screaming, "There is no gender discrimination anymore! Men have it worse!"
He's usually so smart and now he's letting his insecurity get the better of him.
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Drag him, Minglan.
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Oh, ffs.
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Is he seriously bringing this up again? I thought he was better than that.
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I don't know about her, but you are seriously starting to get on my nerves.
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She should have smacked him harder. WTF was that entire scene, in front of other people, no less.
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I'm so tired 😑😑
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LMFAO
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Definitely my favourite couple here.
They should give me a drama with just Xiaotao and Shitou being up to no good and stupid in love. And make it a comedy.
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Aww, TGCF flashbacks 🦋🌹
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Luckily, Hua Cheng is a ghost and therefore already dead, so life is already over and done with and the banquet can now truly be neverending with his immortal god of a husband.
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LMAO, yes, Tingye, when are you going back to your wife's room?
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You're messing with his love life too because Xiaotao is now mad at you both 🤣🤣
I love them so much 🖤
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Empress Dowager gets on my very last nerve.
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Oh, ffs.
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Haven't we all already agreed that you should shut up forever?
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Oh, Tingye 😔
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At least this will (hopefully) buy you some pampering from Minglan.
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ixiot-ghostrebel · 1 year
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(ummm hello. you don’t actually have to respond/answer these i’m just rambling)
but!!! irminsul in an imposter au is a really neat idea. ummm assuming (correct me if i’m wrong???) that reader can access the information like kusanali, that’s actually a really useful tool
even if it’s only after they desperately think of a way to get out of danger, thinking of places and thinking of irminsul by chance, if they figure it out, that’s such a good escape??? especially at the beginning when whoever’s hunting them just sees them disappear and nobody has a clue where they are (unless kusanali comes to look at some point??? but i’d assume at that point reader would’ve found those hiding places you mentioned)
and depending on how much time reader is willing to spend in irminsul collecting information, weaknesses that they might’ve not known before could be used and leave their pursuers wondering how did they know?
(and maybe, just maybe, leave them questioning if they’re really an imposter)
but i’m really curious if irminsul would have records of the reader.
because? technically, reader, as “creator”, would not be from teyvat, right?
in some versions of sagau imposter au, i’ve seen kusanali as the only archon (that’s out rn) who knows that the reader is actually the creator, but without records in irminsul, she would have no way of telling, so it could go either way probably depending on the severity of worship you decide on
irminsul branches are connected to the leylines (which are in every nation) which could be used as a method to get around maybe? if reader can’t use the teleport waypoints/if traveler is also against them
ooooh dainslief. because he’s the bough keeper, and he’s always talking about knowing what he should or whatever, how would he react to someone he knows nothing about? (traveler’s sibling is recorded, and some people think that the player’s username is traveler’s alias in teyvat, but uhh that’s a little complicated.)
but yeah, if he knew you were the imposter, he was probably subconsciously (or however he gets the information) look for it, and if he found nothing???
eee idk my thoughts are not being coherent right now but this was just a very cool idea :D
Thank you, Anon! I love your ramble tbh lol- I legit could not have thought of this myself :')
Yes, technically, Reader wouldn't exactly be recorded into irminsul. They are the Creator of Teyvat, yes, but that doesn't mean they're rooted into the vast, on-going archive that is the big ol' tree we see. Even though some AUs like to have Kusanali as the only archon that knows who they truly are, I honestly don't see how it's possible. Reader's basically a "descender" that hasn't exactly interacted with the people of Teyvat face to face for them to really know how the Reader is like and all that. In Imposter!Sagau, however, the Imposter would most likely be written down in the vast ley lines.
I would personally believe that Reader should be able to gain access to the knowledge stored within the ley line energy, considering who they are to this very world.
In some Sagau Aus that I've read, Teyvat favors the Reader a lot and would side with them even if the characters wouldn't. If this is the case to these AUs, then irminsul could also give Kusanali herself false signals whenever Reader visits or teleports to the tree. They don't want anyone knowing their present location. It's the least Teyvat could do to let the Reader rest for a bit.
Reader being able to get around the place by using the ley lines would be a very awesome concept! Imagine if Reader basically just becomes the ley line energy and travels throughout Teyvat to get to places. That would be so cool.
It would also be very interesting to see what the Reader would do if the ley line energy were to spill out—like, would other people think that the Reader was a part of the memory the ley lines are showing or something? Or would they attack the Reader on sight and wonder how the heck they managed to pop out of nowhere?
Meeting Dainslief would be so awkward lol—the Reader, branded as the imposter, somehow has no information existent in the ley line energy, but the supposed "Creator" does?
I honestly think that, from the moment the Reader was deemed as the Imposter, Dainsleif would see take this chance to see what information there is to the Reader. In other words, I suspect even before we met the dude, the guy's already know we were the actual creator.
But still let's be honest—it'd still be awkward to just pop out of the ley lines and just run into the dude who supposedly tried to research everything there is to know about you, only to result in nothing but the current, existing rumors that go about the place.
And, let's be honest, I don't think Dainslief would join us to travel the world or protect us from the world. The Reader might solely be on their own until they prove themselves as the actual Creator.
Well, that's all I got! Thanks for brainroting in my mailbox, Anon—it was fun to add on to your ideas!
See you around! :D
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Ghost Rebel Side Notes: Feel free to come by into my mailbox again when it's free, anon :) And holy cow—this was longer than I suspected it would be LOL
Check The Ghost Rebel's Blog Description to See if Their Mailbox is Open!
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adrift-in-thyme · 10 months
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Not sure if you keep taking prompts, but if you do:
Boys visiting Malanya? You can make it really angsty if you know what I mean but it's optional.
Thanks for the prompt!! <33 I put all my Malanya headcanons in here lol. I hope you enjoy it!
Fic beneath the cut (also on Ao3)
Cw for animal injury
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Twilight bites out a curse. “Ilia’s gonna kill me.”
His fingers ghost Epona’s leg, following the trail of her wound. The gash is deep and jagged, an angry line of crimson.
“How bad is it?” Wild asks from just behind him. Twilight can feel his eyes upon him — his and those of the other heroes. All watching, all waiting to hear the damage.
Twilight chews his lip. “It’s bad.”
Lizalfos are not beasts to be trifled with, especially those with The Shadow’s blood in their veins. And the one that had sliced Epona’s leg had seen fit to make that fact even more clear.
He had cut it down seconds later, but the deed was already done, the injury carved in a river of red upon his loyal steed.
Epona whinnies mournfully and he looks up at her.
I’m sorry, girl.
“We’re out of fairies.” It’s Warriors now, all business despite the blood trickling down his side, and the way he leans against Time’s arm, just a bit too heavily to raise suspicions.
“Potions too,” Legend chimes in, voice hoarse and lacking its usual sharpness.
They have all come away from this latest battle worse for wear. Alive, yes, but wounded and exhausted. It was a surprise attack and a large one at that. Fighting it back had taken more energy and resources than they had had available.
Twilight closes his eyes for a moment and inhales through his nose. They’re in desperate need of healing. But with Hyrule injured as well, he can’t possibly ask him to tend to any of their little party…not even Epona. The traveler is hardly standing as it is.
“We need a Great Fairy,” Time pipes up. He turns to Wild. “Are there any near here?”
The champion thinks for a moment.
“No Great Fairies. But…there is someone similar.” He points to where a path winds between the mountains. “They’re not far from here. Just down that trail.”
A spark of hope alights within Twilight and he grasps it for dear life. “They’ll heal Epona?”
“And us?” Wind asks.
“I can’t promise they’ll heal us, but Epona?” A small grin tugs at Wild’s lips. “Definitely. They’re the Horse God, after all.”
Legend raises his eyebrows. “The Horse God?”
“Yup. The patron God of Horses. They protect them, heal them, and” —Wild swallows and averts his eyes slightly— “Sometimes they revive them. Anyway, their name’s Malanya.”
“Malanya.” Time says the name slowly, letting it roll over his tongue. “That’s an interesting name.”
There’s something strange in his voice, but Twilight doesn’t have time to unpack all that at the moment.
“Take us to them, cub,” he says, rising. He runs a hand over Epona’s muzzle and grasps her reins. “Epona can make it, right girl?”
She bumps her nose against his head in reply, warm breath blowing through his hair. A small smile sneaks onto his face.
You’re gonna be alright, Epona, he promises both her and himself. We’ll get you fixed up. Just hang on a little longer.
True to Wild’s words, the journey is a short one. But between Epona’s injuries and their own, Twilight feels like it’s drawn out into eternity. Every step is agony, every movement another chance for his steed to crumple or someone to collapse.
The monsters they meet along the way do little to help matters. Wild is quick to draw his bow, however, and he takes them out in no time. Still, it seems a miracle when at last the fountain comes into sight.
The heroes come to a halt right before the large flower bud.
“It looks like a fairy fountain,” Hyrule says, frowning. “But the magic feels different.”
Wild grins. “Oh, it’s much different than a fairy fountain, believe me. Now, you guys wait here. I just need a minute to wake them up.”
Epona lets out a small whinny and Twilight rubs her shoulder.
You did it, girl. You made it.
He watches as Wild walks onto one of the large flower petals and stands, hands on hips, waiting. For a moment everything remains the same. Fairy dust floats, and butterflies flit, and silence reigns in the clearing. Then, there’s a sound of rumbling thunder and suddenly the water in the fountain flies into the air, raining down in shimmery droplets upon the group. And from within its sparkling torrents, something large and colorful erupts.
Twilight cranes his neck, following the being as it rises higher and higher. It towers over the heroes, a strange form with the head of a horse and disembodied hands that wave to and fro. Part of him wants to be afraid, but…
He steps closer, tilting his head. There’s something interesting about this deity, something that almost draws him to them. Yet, he can’t decide what.
“Oh, it’s you again,” Malanya says, lilting tone echoing throughout the space. Their voice brings to mind the feel of riding across the plains of Hyrule, the wind in his hair, and the smell of fresh rain and spring grass in his nostrils. “Why have you come to visit? Please, do not tell me something dire has befallen another of your loyal steeds.”
Wild clears his throat. “Well, no one died this time, if that helps you feel better. But Epona” —he steps aside so the horse is in full view— “she’s hurt.”
“As are we,” Warriors pipes up from behind. “So, if you would be so kind…”
Malanya isn’t listening to him, however. They rise impossibly higher, water droplets raining from their adornments. In the next second, they’re leaning forward, trembling fingers reaching for the champion. The heroes step forward, hands flying to their weapons, bodies tensed and ready.
“You test my patience, boy!” Malanya says, and their voice booms now. “Anyone who mistreats their horses so shall feel my wrath!”
Out of the corner of his eye, Twilight sees Time go abruptly still. He shifts slightly, battle stance relaxing just a bit. And when the deity suddenly bursts out into hearty laughter, a strange expression comes onto his face.
“Come now, sheath your weapons.” A hand waves dismissively, their tone what Twilight thinks is meant to be reassuring. “I only jest.”
“We both know you’re not joking.”
It’s Time’s voice now, clear and strong, yet oddly tentative. But when the deity turns to him in a whirl of color and water, he doesn’t budge.
“What did you say?”
A smirk plays on his lips despite the strained situation.
“I said we both know you’re not joking.”
There’s a beat of silence in which the other heroes look between their unofficial leader and the deity, breath held in anticipation. And then something seems to shift in the air, a tension lifted, and Malanya laughs once more.
“You have heart, my dear hero. But, really, who asked you?”
For a split second, something like a smile enters the deity’s pupil-less eyes. It’s gone as soon as it comes, however. With another dismissive wave of a hand, they turn back to Wild.
“I sense no foul play nor evil intentions in any of you…though” —A quick glance at Time– “some among you are filled with mischief. I will heal your loyal steed, and—just this once—your own wounds.”
Malanya lifts their hands, as though preparing to conduct a concert, then sweeps their delicate fingers down and over the heroes. Twilight finds his eyes slipping closed as a breeze washes over him, born upon the wings of fairy-blessed water. Pain he hadn’t even truly registered enduring disappears like a weight leaving his shoulders. And when he opens his eyes once more he can see similar relief displayed on his brothers’ faces.
Ducking down, Twilight runs a gentle hand over the sides of Epona’s leg. But rather than the edges of a gash, his fingers brush unmarred flesh coated in a healthy layer of auburn hair.
She nickers as he rises, already nosing at his forehead, and he allows himself a smile.
“Your friendship with your horse is a strong one.” Malanya’s voice reaches him and he turns to meet their eyes. “It is a precious thing, to share such a connection with the noblest of animals. Remember that it is a two-way road. Your steed trusts you to keep her safe.”
Twilight nods, somberly. Guilt still tugs at him like a leaden weight. Too many times, he has allowed Epona to suffer. Too many times, he has failed to protect her.
I’m so sorry.
Epona nudges him, gently, and the deity chuckles.
“Your horse wishes you to know that she understands…and that all is forgiven.”
A wavering grin tugs at his lips. Twilight presses his forehead to Epona’s for a moment, then drags his gaze back to the deity.
“Thank you.”
They nod. “Now, go, continue your adventure.” Abruptly, they turn to Wild. “I hope to not see you again for a long while.”
“Rude,” Wild grumbles as he hops down from the petal and comes to stand by Twilight’s side.
Twilight pats him on the shoulder, both a comfort and a thanks. Then, he prepares to follow the other heroes as they file back onto the road.
Time lingers, however, the same odd look on his face. And when Twilight pauses to reach out to him, he realizes it is one of pain.
“You coming, old man?” he asks, gently, placing a hand on his mentor’s arm.
Time doesn’t meet his eyes. Instead, he looks upward to where Malanya still looms over them, gazing down at him almost expectedly.
Strange that they stayed, given how Wild claims the gods and fairies always retreat into their buds as soon as their jobs are complete.
“Before we go, I must know,” he says, and there is something in his voice Twilight seldom hears. A vulnerability reserved for moments of anguish or great joy, of bonding with his brothers or embracing Malon. "Are you…her?”
The smile enters the deity’s eyes once more, though this time there is sorrow in it.
“I was once, though only in spirit. So long as you were not at rest, neither could she be. Hence, she asked the gods for this fate, and they bestowed it upon her.”
Twilight watches Time’s face, trepidation rising fast within him. But the old man’s expression has turned steely and he can decipher nothing past the steadfast walls he has erected.
“She is gone now, however,” Malanya continues, gently. “Her spirit has faded, or perhaps merely been set free. And though parts of her remain with me to this day, I am no longer the Malon you know and love. I am merely myself – Malanya, protector, and patron God of Horses. Nothing more, and certainly nothing less.”
For a long moment, silence hangs heavy. Then, right when Twilight is certain they will all be smothered beneath it, Time steps back and nods.
“Thank you,” he says, tone clipped, professional.
He is no longer Link, now. No, that barrier is back, the one even Twilight struggles to bypass, and he is the Hero of Time once more.
“We greatly appreciate all that you have done. Farewell.”
If he mourns his wife as he turns away, if he ponders the mysteries behind Malanya’s words as he begins to walk, he gives no indication. But Twilight can hear it on the breeze as they start along the path, a whisper, a cry.
“Farewell, my love. Farewell.”
And when a tear trickles down Time’s cheek, he sees it.
Even so, Twilight would never dream of saying a word.
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lavender-laney · 10 months
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tag game, favorite lines!
thank you for the tag, @eurydicefades ! <3 their post here
some of my current favorite lines from my wips :)
choking on sea salt
The rowboat hit against the side of the dock, a heavy thud that echoed in the night’s strange quiet. As it crept closer, I caught sight of what lay within. It had clearly been picked apart over the years, whether by birds or creatures of the sea, and only a scattering of yellowed bones remained. I’m sure it was, at one point, a person.
“I believe you,” she whispers to the journal held in her determined grip, ignoring the strange glances she receives from the students she walks past. “I’ll make them believe you, too.”
For a moment, she’s sure she can feel sand lining her throat, as though it’s happening right now, as though it's happened in the past, as though she was born desperately trying to breathe past the taste of salt and this has been her fate since her very first gasping breath.
acrylic body
From whom have I received the deep lines framing my lips, leftover from joy? Why did she smile so often? Did she bring that same happiness to others – was her laugh contagious? Were her russet curls as wild as mine, or was that decided by the painter? If so, is that not just as much an honor – to receive one trait from the muse and another from the artist?
From the way the painter asks, I can tell he’s heard this story before, and therefore knows exactly what the other man did. He doesn’t ask impatiently, though. His full attention is on this story he already knows, and on this man he clearly cares for.
“That sounds just wonderful,” he says warmly. “Doesn’t it?” the painter responds, and they return to their respective tasks, falling silent once more. “It does,” I whisper, as the candle in my heart flutters a bit. It’s certainly not the soul-crushing memories I’d experienced previously, but it is bittersweet.
lysandra
Nonetheless, she can understand why Persephone had kneeled in the soft, dew-speckled grass to admire the flower. The way the warm morning light reflected its amber glow? The petals reaching towards the sun, appearing as though they had only just unfurled, fated for Persephone's admiring gaze? If Lysandra thought him capable of such artistry, she might believe Hades crafted this flower himself to entice the maiden.
(Unwillingly, she feels the very same contempt for herself – for allowing her mother to so strongly sway her feelings for a measly flower, and for believing herself different than a man who simply felt love too strongly.)
The breeze is cool against Lysandra’s face, and the violet’s soft petals tickle against her cheek in a mimicry of Persephone’s glancing touch.
(btw the separate lines are unrelated, just in case that wasn't clear..)
tagging whoever would like to participate! (btw, pls let me know who I can tag for games like this, I always worry about annoying people lol)
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imaddicted2hs · 2 years
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Ok so hi gorgeous people💞 this is my first writing ever. Like ever. But it's still amazing, according to my dear friend here @0oolookitsme and I mean thanks to her who made me give it a try!! So I hope you like it and thank you for reading it, I would really love some feedback too! __________
It's a harry styles fic ofc and it's going to be a cute FRIENDS TO LOVERS so bare with me, I promise I'll get better!
Warning: none Word Count: 1.5k smth lol IM NERVOUS ASF SO I HOPE U LIKE IT DJDJKDK
Having a crush is bittersweet. And as funny as it sounds, y/n has actually never experienced the sweet part for more than two days. Having a tendency to fall for the most complicated people is not the best thing when you yourself are a human being with an extremely complex way of thinking, a very involved life and need help with untangling the thin threads of your doings. From her past experiences if there's something she has gained an understanding of is probably about attraction. What kind of attraction you may ask, it's nothing but the liking you take towards someone. The way they talk, act, eat, sleep- no wait we need to pause a little there because that sound's like a stalker or an obsessed freak. But the motive here is if you have ever liked someone, your mind wants to know them more and more, a never ending list of facts about their interests, their dislikes, what are the things that scare them or what brings them comfort. At this point she knows what kind of a person she can become if she let's her heart get involved in any of the matters. She is intense when it comes to feelings with a little to zero logical thinking. A habit of speaking before thinking and not able to focus on the tasks at hand are her other characteristics that stand out even more when she's basically whipped. So keeping her past in mind, walking down the small valley formed by tall buildings with slope roofs, the first and the most important thing to be attained is NOT falling for anyone she repeats. Not if they talk to her sweetly or crack a joke, flirt with her or tease her. She can't have herself falling for someone on the first day of her semester start and then later regret being 2 minutes late which caused the fated meet with a cute emo boy or looking at her right just when the shy introvert guy with the weird hair but always bright eyes glanced towards her. Lost in her thought and repeating the same line, like its some mantra that will prevent her from meeting someone who will own her heart within seconds, she must have missed the huge staircase right in front of her, which has her tripping and falling hard as the bundle in her hand looking not so a bundle anymore scatters all around her. Not being the clumsy one and tripping the stairs upward in front of atleast 10 people makes her internally scream like a child whose toy gets stolen when he gets unwillingly distracted because of the stupid ice-cream truck. Gathering every single page quickly before it tries to fly away, reaching even further from her grasp, she stands up with the help of the support of the wall next to her, dusting the light floral pattern frock adorning the small yet big figure gracefully. Stomping her way upstairs, trying to stop her mind from playing the most cliché movement of any romance movie where the lead roles make eye contact for the first time when their hands by a 'mere chance' meet and a so called magical current flows through them making them feel 'things'. She hates those movies because she definitely has never experienced the mutual love at first sight and if she stops lying to herself that it doesn't affects her, deep down it hurts and makes her feel lonely, unwanted and not pretty enough to be someone's, eye catching, cute first sight love. Sighing deeply because of the nervous bubble forming in the pit of her stomach, y/n enters the hallway which is wide. Wider than two hundred meter, but still crowded, other students, teachers and other staff basically running in a bustle here and there making the hall look chaotic. She doesn't have the energy for this. The loud humming with hurried footsteps are no music to her ears. Making her way past the batch mates and other seniors she reaches her locker, frustrated and sleep deprived because the show that was trending right now was actually really good and how could she miss that. Not even if it was streamed at 1 a m Opening the lock, the door is slammed ignoring her surroundings which did her no good. She hears the door hit someone's arm first and then a loud groan followed after. Her eyes widen and she doesn't wastes a second closing it and seeing the poor person's face who got hit by a sleep deprived girl pretty early in the morning. As she turns her head to the left, her eyes make contact with green orbs like a foot higher than her. "I'm so so sorry, oh dear lord I didn't see you there. It was not on purpose I just was lost in my thoughts" she rambles out as her hand reaches out, before her mind can comprehend, to rub the shoulder of the unknown guy standing there with wide eyes, lips parted and dishevelled hair. He's tall. As it hits her that he hasn't spoken a word since, her hand immediately falls down, now hesitant to even make eye contact because she basically touched him without his permission. Before her mouth can apologise again he cuts her off chuckling a little "it's okay really. You are not the only one who looks like they pulled an all nighter." Her gaze diverts rather quickly because of the obvious observation stated by him. "M' Harry" he rasps out clearly noticing her embarrassed self. "Hello Harry, I'm y/n". "It was The Checkers that kept you up late at night wasn't it? Cause same. Can't say it's your fault, that show is addicting" he says which makes her shoulder relax visibly. "You watch it too?" she can't help but ask, definitely a little surprised. "Umhm" Harry nods in agreement, locking his locker making an unpleasant noise because of the rusted iron. "Wanna walk to the English class together?" Her brows furrow and she's cut off again as she parts her lips to interrogate him about how he knew she had English "saw your schedule" he mumbles out able to read the short girl with a slightly plump body in front of her. He has her speechless because she's known as the unreadable one in her family as well as her friend group. She squeaks out a "sure" as she starts following him like a lost puppy, surprised and confused because she is always the talkative one. But right now her words are stuck deep down in her throat. "Sophmore year?" he asks her opening the door for her smoothly and his actions have her mute. Not trusting her voice she just nods her head a little too furiously, clutching her books closer to her stomach. Taking a seat in the second row, just as she's about to ask him to sit with her, he is already making his way for the last row winking at her "see you around y/n" Turning around to face the front, for a good minute she just stares ahead of her trying to apprehend about what just happened. That's when she realizes how her name sounded coming out of his mouth and his eyes are all that she can see. That's when she realizes what just happened. That's when she knows she's fucked.
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I hope you guys liked this lol cuz this was my first ever writing, pleasee gimme feedback in asks or here, I need it and if u liked it dont forget to reblog!!!! 
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🎰🍷dancing with him at a ball🍷🎰
🍷☾︎𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐒𝐌𝐏 𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐦! 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫☽︎🍷
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Art by: Inozuart
Go and check out their speed paint they did of this beautiful art on youtube!
🍷☾︎𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 : 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐛𝐮𝐫, 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲🍷
𝐀/𝐍: Highkey simping over the TNT duo right now, ngl. Quackity is just getting better and better- Definitely gonna do these prompts with Ranboo, Tubbo and Tommy. I just think that it would be really cute to dance with them at a ball lol
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                             ☠︎︎☾︎ʀᴇᴠɪᴠᴇʙᴜʀ☽︎☠︎︎
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To say it was strange to see Wilbur Soot standing near a bar and drinking a glass full of blood-red wine would be a complete understatement.
(Y/n) had never spoken to him fully before, they more so made a lot of conversation they could build off of but neither decided to go through with it. (Y/n) hung around Alex, George, Sapnap and Karl more so than the rest of the SMP.
Hence why she was forced to go to this god forbidden ball.
She sat at a stool near the corner of the huge ballroom, her body wrapped in a tight and mildly uncomfortable maroon coloured dress.
'End me.' She thought mindlessly as she took another large swig of tequila, watching everyone dance around and laugh with eachother.
George, Sapnap and Karl weren't invited to the ball, she noted.
She had heard that they weren't on good terms with Quackity as of late, and he was the one who threw this ball.
She may have been lonely at this ball, but she felt as though eyes were on her at all times. It was weird. Very weird.
Every once in a while, her eyes would land on Wilbur's tall form. He seemed lonely as well, a bored and unamused expression on his stitched face.
His eyes were kept still on Tommy who was dancing around with Tubbo and Ranboo, who both had large grins on their faces.
(Y/n) found it cute that even after dying and coming back, Wilbur still held a sort of fondness towards Tommy.
She doesn't blame him, Tommy was a good kid.
A kid that's been through too much.
The girl frowned deeply and took another shot of tequila. And just like that, the eyes were on her again. Her eyes shot from her tequila that she was swirling to Wilbur, eyes widening slightly when they met with his harsh brown eyes.
He kept eye contact, eyebrows raising slightly at her in interest before he sent her a small smile, a fake one. (Y/n) could tell it was fake from a mile away. It was one of those smiles that you give strangers as they walk passed you on a sidewalk.
Huffing out a condescending chuckle, the girl rolled her eyes at him and shook her head, drinking the last of her tequila and went back to watching everyone dance.
The action clearly stirred more curosity within him, because all of a sudden he felt himself walk over to her with a wine bottle in hand and two wine glasses in the other.
(Y/n) was snapped from her daze when she heard someone clear their throat from beside her. Her head snapped up and met with his dead-cold eyes again.
There was silence before she spoke up, her tone sharp yet inviting," Can I help you, sir?" She spoke mockingly, eyebrow raised.
Eyes swirling with amusment, the man tilted his head to the side, his white tuft of hair following with the motion along with the rest of his curly, brown locks." Mind if I sit here, ma'am?" He replied with a smiliar mocking undertone to his voice.
Clicking her tongue a little, she nodded her head to the chair on her left lazily," Knock yourself out." She droned out, frowning at the sight of her empty glass.
She was too lazy to go to the bar.
'Guess I'll die.' She thought.
"You a wine girl?" Wilbur hummed out curiously, hoping to God she'd say yes otherwise he brought another glass over for no reason and probably looked like a dumbass now-
"I'm an,' anything with alcohol in it' kind of girl." She reassured him.
'Thank fuck.' He hid his relief with sly smile," Ah, a woman after my own heart." He flirted, pouring out a glass of wine for both her and him.
She 'tched' and took the glass," You have a heart? Pfft." She grumbled, taking a long sip of the wine. The wine burned at the back of her throat before bursting into a wonderful grape flavour mixed with cherry." Mm.. Good wine."
"Very good wine." Wilbur nodded in agreement, a content look on his face.
A comfortble silence sat between them and they both decided to enjoy their wine in peace.
(Y/n) watched as Eret and Fundy joined in with Tommy, Tubbo and Ranboo. They looked like good friends dancing together. Reminded the girl of how her friendship was with George, Sapnap, Karl and Alex.
Now? It's just her.
She tried to keep the friendship from falling apart, but then Kinoko Kingdom happened and everything went to utter shit.
Las Nevadas, it was wonderful. Paradise. But it wasn't for (Y/n).
So when Quackity had asked if she wanted to join him, she refused respectfully but still said she was willing to help him with whatever he needed at all.
He was flattered, but disappointed at how she had decided against joining Las Nevadas.
She always wonders how her life would've turned out if she had accepted the invite.
"You want to dance?" The question was sudden.
When she looked up at him to see if he was joking, she was surprised to see how serious yet calm his expression was.
Raising an eyebrow, she swirled the wine in her glass and crossed her legs over one another," I'm not very good at dancing."
"And you think I am?"
She gave him a confused look," Aren't you? You look like the kinda guy that would be brilliant at ballroom dancing." She hummed out.
He chuckled raspily, eyes soft," I'm flattered, but trust me, I'm no better at dancing than Tommy." He assured her.
She looked him up and down, unconvinced before she sighed a little, giving in. She was too tired to argue at this point.
She stood up from her chair abruptly, even surprising Wilbur at the fact she had agreed. Giving him a stern yet soft look, she nodded," Let's dance then, Frankenstein."
Then she made her way to the dance floor, making Wilbur scramble from his chair with an eager grin.
They stood facing eachother before Wilbur held his hand to her, a grin tilting onto his lips," May I compliment you on your appearance this evening? You are among the brightest of flowers." He spoke with suave.
The girl blushed and she took his hand quickly, squeezing it a little." No need to flatter me, Wilbur. I am very well aware my dress is rather ugly this evening." She grumbled out grouchily.
He stared directly into her eyes,"Your dress? I hadn't noticed it." He said smoothly, his eyes never left hers," I'm sure it looks amazing on you."
The music began, saving (Y/n) from having to answer. The hand on her waist was firm and soft, almost like it was keeping her safe.
They stepped in line with eachother, (Y/n) messed up every once in a while and managed to step on her own feet and Wilbur's the first couple of minutes before she finally got into the swing of things.
Glaring up at him, she pouted," You liar."
He grinned cheekily at her," Hm? I don't believe I know what you're talking about."
" Whatever you say, Mr. I'm worse than Tommy at dancing." She rolled her eyes.
"I never said I was worse than him. Honestly, anyone can be better than him at dancing. Let's face it."
For the first time that whole night, a small and genuine smile broke out across the girl's lips. Wilbur was enamoured by how her whole face lit up just by the slight tilt of her lips.
She looked beautiful.
"Leave Tommy alone, the kid tries his best." She smiled out.
"He does." He nodded earnestly, a little smile on his lips," I don't deserve him."
"You don't." (Y/n) spoke rather bluntly, but she still had a soft smile on her lips as she spoke her next words," but as much as he doesn't want to admit it, the kid needs you a lot. You're his big brother." She looked at the blonde-haired teen who was laughing at Ranboo who had spilled juice over Tubbo by accident. Her smile widened and her eyes were warm,"... you might just be the luckiest man in the world."
His breath was stolen from him at her words, and he couldnt help but agree with her due to the current circumstances.".... yeah... you could say that."
He held her closer to him by the waist, holding her other hand tightly and securly." So... Where did you learn to dance, Frankenstein?" She teased him, eyes bright with mischief.
A little laugh slipped through his lips," is this the nickname you'll be sticking to now?"
"You know it."
"Oh, great." He sighed out half-disappointedly before he decided to answer her question." When I was younger, my mother used to give me a lot of dance lessons with Technoblade. I requested them because I wanted to learn how to dance for this mermaid girl I had come to befriend."
"Oooh~" the girl raised her eyebrows suggestively," You're pretty romantic when you want to be, you know that?"
He shrugged, cheeks tinted a light pink that was barely noticable," the first time I'm hearing this." He admitted.
"Well... Frankenstein, you're pretty goddamn romantic when you want to be."
He grinned slyly," so you find me romantic, huh? Is that a sign for anything in particular, orrr?..."
The girl snorted a little," Hm? I don't believe I know what you're talking about." She repeated his own words.
He laughed," Touché, touché. You win this round."
Soon, the dance came to an end and the two were left still in eachother's arms, staring at eachother with enamoured looks on their faces.
Then the girl smiled at him," it wouldn't be bold of me to ask for another dance... Would it?" She requested, hope swirling in her gemstone-like irises.
"Not at all," A genuinely happy and charmed grin curled on his lips at her words and he held her body still," thought you would never ask, (Y/n)."
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⚠︎🎰 ༄𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲༄🎰⚠︎
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(Y/n) hadn't intended to be attending Quackity's party, in fact, she wasn't supposed to be attending.
She wasnt invited.
Supposing this is what she gets for not going along with Alex's whole 'Las Nevadas' gig. She prompted to stay with her friends in Kinoko Kingdom instead, thinking that Quackity wouldve done the same.
But she thought wrong.
So, so incredibly wrong.
You see, have you ever felt the feeling whenever you grow so incredibly close to someone to the point where you think you know them better than anyone else? That's how (Y/n) had felt with Alex. She was so sure that he wouldve chosen her and his friends over some nation that seemed to be setting itself up as a land of secrets and mystery.
From what she's heard, Quackity only grew all the more mysterious and distant.
He was so distant.
(Y/n) couldnt remember the last time she had seen him. The last time she's had a decent conversation.
The last time her heart fluttered around him.
She missed him, truly she did. Sometimes she debated abandoning Kinoko Kingdom in favour of running into Alex's oh-so-welcoming arms.
But her morals told her otherwise. She chose, for once in her life, to not follow her heart. But now, here she was, completely going against what her close friends had told her not to do.
She was being drawn to him again.
Using her heart to make important decisions.
And as she opened the large doors to the ballroom, all time seemed to freeze around her. Eyes shot towards her in curiosity, some with joy at being able to see her again and some with malice.
Alex was no different to the latter.
As soon as his dark eyes had met with her ethereal gemstone-like ones, he felt a buzz of electricity travel up his spine.
He couldnt diferientiate between the feeling of anger and slight awe at her beauty.
The girl fumbled with her fingers awkwardly before she sent him a shy wave, her smile soft-yet panicked as her eyes scanned over his new features.
He looked so different.
And she couldn't tell if it was the good kind of different or not.
At her shy wave, Alex cleared his throat and nodded respectfully as a goodbye to who he was talking to, which thankfully was Sam, and then he began making his way over to (Y/n).
A scowl curled onto his lips, his eyes darker than ever.
The eyes that made her feel warm and safe now froze her down to her very core.
When he was right up to her face, standing in front of her, that's when she knew--
This wasn't the Alex she had fallen in love with.
"What the hell are you doing here..." he muttered lowly to her, he grabbed her bare arm tightly- but it wasnt tight enough to hurt her, surprisingly. Then he dragged her to the exit, shoving her rather roughly outside, shitting the door behind him.
"We-well I-... If I-I'm being completely honest, I didnt exactly have a plan to come here, I just really wanted to see y-" he interrupted her.
"You didnt have a plan?? (Y/n)-- What the actual fuck makes you think I'd ever want you here?!" He was furious, eyes burning a bright fire, a fire even Sapnap couldnt withstand. " I actually cant believe you thought coming here would be a good idea. Are you actually as dumb as you were when we were still talking to eachother? You havent fucking changed."
She flinched at his harsh words but she covered up how hurt she was," Well- if you would let me explain myself, then maybe you'd understand why I'm here."
The casino owner took off his beanie, running a hand through his messy raven locks in frustration before he settled the hat back on his head," Make this damn quick. Because, in case you havent noticed, I have guests to entertain."
Gulping, the girl but her lip nervously out of habit," I know... I know I'm the last person you want to see. I know you hate my guts. But... Alex, I genuinely miss you." She spoke sincerely, eyes glassy beneath the moonlight," when I heard you were throwing this party... I couldnt help myself. I needed to see you... to hear you... to talk. God-- Just listening to you makes me so happy already." Her lip trembled," So please... let me hear you... let me see you. I'm begging... can we please talk?"
Brushing off the rush of heat that crossed his tanned cheeks, Alex looked away from her stubbornly.
He didnt want to give in easily.
But when it came to her, he was always put under a spell.
"Lo que sea.... fine." He sighed out, running a hand over his face in irritation, wincing whenever his fingers brushed over his scar." Come sit over here." He gestured to a bench that sat next to a long river that went off into the ocean, the moon reflected off of the clear water as did the stars.
The two sat next to eachother, the gap between them representing how distant they are from eachother.
"So? Talk." He prompted her, leaning back into the bench rather lazily, looking up at the sky.
Cheeks warming with happiness, she couldnt help but smile at finally being able to talk to him after so long," Thank you so much... I've been wanting to talk to you for so long after everything that happen-... What happened to your eye?" She whispered, suddenly noticing the long scar that ran over his eye and eyelid and then down to his lips.
"Oh yeah- you werent here for that," he jabbed at her," This was all Techno's doing." He gestured all over." Sorry that I'm not the perfect guy that you used to be friends with anymore."
She knew he wasnt sorry.
In fact, she knew that with his new self, he was a lot more confident.
Free.
She liked that.
Smiling at him, she shook her head," dont be silly. If this change makes you happy, then I'm happy."
His heart thumped harshly, making him clear his throat to cover up the noise in case she had heard his loud heart.
"I was just worried but... it looks kind of good on you-- err... not in a weird way or anything." She tried to cover up her slip-up," Anyways... that's not what I came here to talk abou-"
"Do you wanna dance?"
The girl's eyes widened at the sudden suggestion, gazing over Alex's features with shock. His tanned cheeks were red and he was avoiding all eye contact, eyebrows furrowed.
"... come again?" She stuttered out, her throat felt like it was closing up.
He scoffed and rolled his eyes," I asked if you wanted to dance."
The girl's heart did flips in her ribcage as her eyes fluttered,"I-... I would love to." She nodded, wobbly smile on her painted lips.
The man stood from the bench and held a hand out to her, trying his best to not smile when she eagerly grabbed it, stars in her eyes.
He moved her soft hand to his neck, making it rest there, (Y/n) then moved her other arm to wrap around his neck as well. Alex then settled his calloused hands on her pretty waist, pulling her body close to him.
He was afraid she would slip away from him again.
In truth, he had missed a hell of a lot as well, maybe even more so than she missed him.
He always debated visiting her or arranging to meet up with her, but his plans always got in the way and blurred his desire for her.
But seeing her tonight, all dressed up for him, it made him want to fall in love with her all over again.
The two swung side to side, the faint music from the ballroom guiding the two of them. Quackity rested his chin on top of her head as the girl turned her head to the side, resting her ear against his chest and listening to his thumping heartbeat.
"You look amazing." He muttered to her.
"You too... well... yeah, no you look amazing."
He chuckled lightly," why'd you hesitate?"
"Well... I wanted to think of a better word for amazing but my heart is beating too loudly for me to think properly..." she admitted.
At her heartfelt confession, Alex felt himself smile warmly for once in a long time.
He felt like a teenager in love again.
"Yeah... I feel that too." He muttered, inhaling the scent of her vanilla shampoo, biting off the dreamy sigh that threatened to spill from his lips." (Y/n)... why didnt you join me? "
The dreaded question.
"If I'm being honest... I thought you wouldve joined Kinoko Kingdom with me."
Quackity's heart clenched at the thought.
So she felt just as betrayed as he did, that makes sense to him now.
"I debated going to join Las Nevadas everyday, but I knew that meant leaving George, Sap and Karl and I felt so conflicted and just... horrible." She mumbled, feeling her eyes beginning to water," It was hard, Alex.... I wanted to see you so so bad... But I also wanted to be a good friend... I felt like I was the bad guy either way, and I just wanted to make both parties happy.... I hated being away from you... God... I hated it so much." She sniffled, making Alex pull her closer to him," seeing you now... you dont understand how happy it makes me feel..."
The man sighed a little and kissed leaned away from her, cupping her cheek and then moving it so she was face him. He tilted her head up a little so he could see her teary eyes, feeling his heart call out to her to comfort her.
He ran a thumb over her cheek, wiping away the mascara and tears and when she blinked up at him innocently, he couldnt stop himself from smiling down at her reassuringly.
"I wanted to see you so much as well... I felt my heart ache every night to see you..." he began, pressing his forehead against hers," I'm sorry for treating you like shit... you deserve so much damn better... (Y/n), I'm begging. Please stay with me, will you?"
Her breath hitched.
"Stay by my side... please?"
Her heart stopped.
"I want to be with you all the time."
Her tears stopped falling.
"I love you."
And she smiled, wider than she ever has.
"I've been waiting so long to hear that..." She whispered to him," I love you too, Alex."
He grinned down at her crookedly," Deadass?"
"On god."
"Fuck- I'm not dreaming, right?" He then had a mischievous glint twinkle in his dark eyes," Maybe you should kiss me to seal the deal?"
She snorted," you're asking me to initiate it? Dont you think you're moving a bit fast, lover boy?"
"I think you're moving too slow and that you talk too much." He stated simply before he leaned down, capturing her soft lips in a messy kiss, their lips molding together as soon as they came in contact.
It's the kind of kiss that inspires stars to climb into the sky and light up the world.
His hands flattened against her back... and she was up on the tips of her toes, kissing him as fiercely as he was kissing her... He clung to her more tightly, knotting his hands in her hair, trying to tell her, with the press of his mouth on hers, all the things he could never say out loud...
And as her lips rubbed against his chapped ones, she knew her life was set with his, nobody else.
723 notes · View notes
fuyussi · 2 years
Text
a question in loyalty
characters: tachibana hinata x afab!reader
cw: cheating, slightly toxic reader, strap usage, reader smokes, takemichi slander lol
a/n: been dying to write toxic reader, idk if ppl like it maybe i’ll do other characters
the sound of rustling clothes fills the room as you pressed hina against the soft duvet. lips meeting in a hungry kiss, both of you unable to keep your hands off the other.
you hummed against her lips, god. “so sweet, hina. always tastes so damn sweet,” you purred out, reaching out a hand to cup a breast over her lacy camisole, you could feel her hardened nipple through the fabric. tracing a feather-light circle around it, you watched hina arch her back into your touch, lips trembling slightly as she feels her pussy ache in need.
“please,” she whimpered, already reaching down to pull her panties off, exposing her dripping cunt to your hungry eyes. shucking off your clothes, you’ve never seen hina this urgent, usually savouring the foreplay.
“why the hurry, princess?” princess. hina feels her body burned at the petname, “please,” she repeats, “please, hurry. want you, need your cock.” breathless from arousal, she was surprised herself at the neediness in her voice. but just watching you put on the strap has her pussy tightening, getting ahead of herself and imagining how good it’d feel when you push in. she groans, curling her toes to stave off the rush of pleasure as you line the cockhead at her entrance.
but you don’t move, cock still kissing her pussy lips as hina begins to wiggle her hips, attempting to get you in her. leaning over her body, you tease “tell me how much you want it, hina baby,” and she gasps desperately. way past the point of caring, she cries out how much she needs it, want your cock to stretch and fill her to the brim. waited so long for this and now that it’s right in front of her she couldn’t keep her composure.
a part of her feels the guilt building up from begging for a cock that wasn’t her husband’s. her wedding vows flitting through her mind, ‘to always stay loyal’. and yet now as she feels her pussy walls being stretched around the plastic cock, bottoming out inside her; the guilt melts away into pleasure. the voice of reason silenced as you brush a spot inside her that has her body shuddering.
“you know, sweetheart, even if you never speak a word about your husband—whoever he might be—the fact that you’re here right now, pussy sucking my cock like you’ve never been fucked properly in your life,” you chuckle at the thought, “tells me everything i need to know about him.”
drawing back, you pull hina up by her hips, lifting her lower half off the bed as you begin to piston your own hips. now with better leverage, your thrusts were reaching even deeper spots within her, your eyes drinking in the sight of her pretty pussy taking in the plastic dildo.
hina barely grasped what you said, something about never being fucked properly? despite her love for her husband, she can’t help but agree. legs hanging limply over your forearms, broken moans bubbled from her throat. her hands gripped the sheets for dear life, as the heat between her legs grew unbearable; orgasm racing towards her.
“close, princess?” hina whimpered, nodding timidly as she squeezed her eyes shut. takemichi could never tell if i was close or not, she thought despite herself. “hm, cum whenever you feel like,” your thumb drawing figure eights on her clit, “you’ve been such a good girl.”
and just like that, the dam breaks and hina’s body convulses. she keens needily as waves of pleasure runs through her, her walls clenching tightly around your cock. and with her orgasm, the stress and tension of the past weeks fades away—tensed muscles now relaxing in your grasp.
the cold winter wind rustles your hair, taking the cigarette smoke with it as it goes. you hear the balcony door slide open behind you, “ah, look who’s finally awake.”
hina clicks her tongue, “you should quit smoking, it’s bad for your health.”
a minuscule twitch of your eyebrow is all you show in annoyance at her comment; not that she could see with your back to her. putting on your signature laid back expression, you turned to face her, unkind words bubbling to the surface.
“are you looking to be my wife? worrying so much about my health- ohh right!” cutting yourself off as you feigned realisation, “you’re already married…” trailing off, you see hina’s expression harden. you knew it was a sore spot for her.
“you’re such a fucking asshole.”
taking a drag of your cigarette, you pushed off the balcony railing and leaned closer to the married woman. “and yet you keep coming back to me, need i remind you who sought who out here?” eyes narrowed and voice low, cigarette smoke escaping your mouth with every word.
you pushed past her, crushing your used cigarette in the ash tray before putting your clothes back on. “oh by the way, i’ll pay for the room. can’t have your precious husband wondering why there’s a bill for a love hotel, yes?”
hearing the click of the bedroom door, hina finally lets out the sob she’s been holding in. wrapping her arms around herself but it wasn’t the biting wind that bothered her. she laments her self-inflicted plight, just how did things come to this?
125 notes · View notes
yostresswritinggirl · 3 years
Text
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@butterfly-mochi​ Rewrote this freaking thing thrice because it keeps getting deleted wth tumblr agjvahkfajkvk- I enjoyed writing it a lot tho and since I’m too weak to the characters I ended up writing for all of them (except for Sucrose, im sorry bb huhu, I ran out of brain power). This is my first time writing for so many of them in one go so please excuse me for any mistakes or blandness ywy thank you for letting me write for my baby Ganyu too hhhhh
Universe Reversal 2
Genshin Impact Character Reader and Modern Players with Zhongli, Childe & Ganyu (how they simp for you) (event masterlist / Part 1 / Part 3)
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Zhongli the F2P
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The most relatable out of the bunch because this man is still broke and can only rely on the primogems he can farm. And he had a LOT. The one thing he doesn’t have a lot on, however, is his luck.
So how did he manage to pull you?: Well after exhausting all his primogem on your banner with nothing but weapons and other characters, he has lost his resolve. But by some weird luck, there was a character bug that was fixed and in his email was the almighty consolation primogem. Enough for ONE pull. And by the Gods he FINALLY got you.
He’d nonchalantly post his screenshot of pulling you using a single acquaint fate in his friend group without any words and everyone else just loses their shit. “You got them in one pull?!” “Yeah” A riot.
This was partnered with the fact that not only is Zhongli an F2P player, but also barely has any five star characters.
He looks calm and apathetic over the news, but behind the screen he’s exhausted and relieved, silently livid.
He has no primogems left to squeeze for a constellation so you’re instead pampered with the best weapon suitable for you (because that’s all he keeps getting).
Zhongles spends most of his time farming for materials to quickly level you up, unlocking all your stories and voiceline, but he fucked up on your build (his artifacts are messy).
He follows communities, forums and videos regarding your character to know all the things he needs to perfect your build. You can barely make a dent against normal mobs, so he knew he was doing something VERY wrong.
Is the type of person to keep refreshing the page for new content, very updated.
Ask him a question about your character and he’s gonna bring you the word vomit that is his research. He’s not gonna stop- probably accidentally developed a copypasta for you.
Also follows your VA in both Tiktok and Twitter to indulge in every bit of content. He also has that screenshot of his pull saved and locked.
On his birthday, a friend of his gifted him a chibi plushie of you and he has treasured it ever since, treating and handling it like its a figurine.
“It is merely pure luck and grace from the gacha gods that I got this character, and I will make sure that they know I am very grateful for this fortune.”
Favorite Voiceline: Birthday Message
Childe The Whaler
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This lucky wealthy bastard with no remorse for his money whales for EVERY character. He’s making a collection, which is to get all the characters, especially the five stars. So when your banner finally popped up, he’s gonna square up and trigger a whole ass meteor shower.
How he pulled you: Money. His luck with this games are actually not the best so he always compensates with money, he got you halfway through the first failed pity, almost giving him a heart attack that he might actually break the bank just to get you.
And then he pulls more to raise your constellation lol.
The first thing he does is look over your character info and read through it all; constellation infos, your base stats, artifact compatibility.
At the end when he’s maximized everything, he would then focus on playing around with your character *coughs climbing noises coughs*
He thought you’d just be another part of his collection but playing with your character was very enjoyable and in-line with his playstyle- oops 100 screenshots with the Kamera-
Any and all merchandise that he fancies would be his, and he’s definitely flexing it to the other sweetie nerds who call themselves simps. He’s fighting for the simping title, and he’s currently neck and neck with this fanartist in Pixiv.
Speaking of that fanartist, he definitely commissioned an expensive and detailed portrait of you, full rights and everything. No one else was allowed to use it but him.
Was also the first one with the audacity to call out your VA to create an account on Tiktok to create more content with your voice. He was successful.
His obssession also comes in the form of self-indulgent contents, and had been keeping track of the ship wars happening. During conventions, he cosplays as the character shipped with you the most (or the character he thinks should end up with you).
Silently scrutinizing those who cosplay you, only ever taking pictures with/of the best looking one, sorry haha
Definitely flaunts that you are his waifu/husbando and will fight for best girl/best boy during debates or polls. Has mobilized the community to vote for you once. He’s very persuasive.
“Hm? Why I’m just the best collector in the game, and I am more than happy to let everyone know that I am their number one fan haha, everyone who claims otherwise is definitely wrong!”
Favorite Voiceline: More About (Y/N) I-IV, (Y/N)’s Hobbies...
Ganyu the Employed
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Ganyu, our dearest overworker, is one of the players in the older stage who actually has a job but still plays Genshin for their past times. The gorgeous sceneries and the music is her main focus in playing the game, not much of a try-hard but still decent in the combat mechanics.
How she pulled you: You came home within 50 pulls! And you appeared again after another 10 pull! Ganyu was so SHOOKT and so distressed because oh goodness, what does she do? She doesn’t know anything much about you!
Will rewatch your three trailers to try and understand your skills better, ended up saving the soundtracks from them because that was such a nice trailer music! Tnbee gains a new follower!
Ganyu will take a while before she can properly play or build you up because she’s so busy with work, she only ever plays when she feels fully done with her work.
During her break she plays with your character while multi-tasking on eating, earphones plugged in and sight on the phone as she farms materials and artifacts for you.
The moment she gets more help from her player friends tho, holy shit, you just ended up being so OP. She had so many good artifacts and weapons for you because she didn’t know what they were for before.
She loves how you’re so easy to use and can easily solo the enemies and even the boss fights. A huge breather, because now Ganyu can cheese the battles that takes a while, to give her more time to focus on the storyline and lores.
Since Ganyu plays for the story and aesthetic, she’ll find you almost always in her team. Still very proud of her pull, she makes the best screenshots of your fights or in the best angle through exploration.
Treasures you so much she starts talking to her phone- “Ah, no, please don’t fall.” “There’s violetgrass up there, let’s try and get it”
Blushes everytime you produce a sound when climbing, doesn’t change you anyways tho
Hums to your trailer music while working, and if permitted, would have the song on repeat while she buries herself in work. She finds it really refreshing and the time she spends in work miraculously flies by fast when she gets lost in the sound.
At one point, when she was given a day-off or if the convention was on her free time, she attends to look for cosplayers of you and take a picture. No one rejects her because she’s so adorable and cute when asking shyly.
Had brought a decent amount of merchandise, preferably the functional/practical ones like a phone cover, mug or keychain. Also has an earphones clamp with your little chibi self as the holder.
When asked, she would shyly announce that she likes your character the most.
“Their character theme and music really soothes me during work, it feels nice to have them, and I have not once regretted ever pulling for them. They are the best.”
Favorite Voicelines: Good Night/Afternoon..., About Us, Something To Share..., Interesting Things...
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so enjoyable...
@moaa @zelos-simp @legionqueensav @dandelion-dreams @snackgod @rxsalinee
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makeste · 3 years
Text
BnHA Chapter 325: Deku VS the Outside of U.A. ~Conclusion~
Previously on BnHA: Ochako was all “dear bloodthirsty mob, this kid you see standing before you has fought harder than anyone and put his life on the line to protect you all, so please chill the fuck out, jesus christ. like, putting aside that he’s humanity’s best hope and so it’s very much in your best interests to let him rest and recover someplace safe so that he can keep fighting for us, are y’all seriously going to turn away an injured and exhausted child in front of his sobbing mother?? seriously?? come on now.” I’m paraphrasing here but that’s basically how it went down. Anyway so then the mob was all, “...” and Deku collapsed to his knees in tears, and Gigantic Fox Lady and Kouta ran over to give him a hug but then the chapter ended.
Today on BnHA: Horikoshi is all “FINE, YOU CAN HUG HIM”, which, was that so hard?? The U.A. Clown Mob is all “come to think of it, we’ve kind of been taking the heroes for granted this entire time, maybe we should be less passive in the future. anyway so Deku if it’s not too much to ask, can you please save everyone and fix everything.” Deku is all “I sure can, and by the way I forgive you for swarming around all menacingly two minutes ago and trying to deny me basic shelter and stuff.” Ectoplasm is all, “hey Todogang get a load of this. [walks in a circle].” Hawks is all, “that’s literally the greatest thing I’ve ever seen.” Rat Principal is all, “anyway so that’s what your students did today, hope you’re enjoying your new *~*ROBOT LEG*~*, Aizawa.” Aizawa is all “[lots of exposition about Kurogiri and for some reason, Toga, while being all brooding and sexy].” All Might is all “[standing here right outside of U.A. doing absolutely nothing and being foreboding AF]” and that immediately sucked away all of the warm fuzzy feelings from the hugs, goddammit.
each new week has become a waiting game of “when will Deku finally get to take a bath so people will actually be willing to go near him and give him the hugs he deserves.” the stakes have never been so compelling. I’ve almost forgotten about AFO entirely
lmaoooooo
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me: for the love of god will someone please give Deku a hug before I die of old age
Mineta: YOU GOT IT!! --
Iida: [SWIFTLY CUTS HIM OFF] NOT YOU
fucking losing it at Mineta’s crying face. he really wanted to hug him. I legit feel bad but this is also the funniest thing I have seen all week, omg
somehow Kouta, who last week was only a hand’s breadth away from touching Deku’s head, is now twenty miles away from him in this new chapter
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can I make a Loki reference here. is this recap a good place to insert a joke about someone using a TVA time-rewinding device to fuck with my poor boy Kouta over here. well anyway there it is
AND NOW HE’S BACK ALL OF A SUDDEN OMG
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(ETA: since when is he “niichan” omg?? can’t handle this cuteness.)
BUT THEY’RE STILL NOT HUGGING HIM FFFFKFFFFF. WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO. WHO DO I HAVE TO BRIBE AND/OR BLACKMAIL
OH NO KOUTA IS CRYING THAT’S IT I’M DONE FOR
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“when I heard that lady I knew that I had to go, but then stop again within inches of actually touching you because you smell like week-old rotten onions.” listen Kouta, I’m not saying I don’t get it, but you all can’t keep doing this to me. it’s the way you guys keep teasing it. like, if you’re gonna hug him, hug him. don’t just stand there with your arms held rigidly out in front of you like a molded action figure
OH MY GOSH BUT HE SAID THE THING
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KOUTA SWOOPING IN AT THE LAST MINUTE TO TAKE ALL THE CREDIT FOR FIXING DEKU LIKE THAT ONE KID IN THE GROUP PROJECT WHO DOES ABSOLUTELY NOTHING BUT STILL TAGS HIS NAME ONTO THE REPORT ANYWAY, WHAT A KNAVE
GASP
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(  ´͈ ᗨ `͈ )
SHE PICKED HIM UP LIKE A LITTLE BABY OMG?? she just leaned right over and lifted this child like he was a small animal. like a lil baby futon that she was about to hang up to dry. oh my god
-- HEY WHAT
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(: well that’s extremely fucked up. though sadly not too surprising given what we just saw these past couple chapters
incidentally, I hope that anyone who was legitimately defending the civilians’ perspective earlier takes note here of how quickly that line of thinking -- “we’re just trying to keep our families safe” and all that-- can lead to straight up bigotry. if you’re willing to deny a child shelter and protection simply because he’s not YOUR child, and because you’ve decided based on Internet rumors (no real-world parallels there, I’m sure) that he might present a threat, it’s really not that much further of a leap to discriminating against entire groups of people simply because you perceive those groups as being dangerous. I’m sure the people who turned Gigantic Fox Lady away also told themselves afterwards that they did it to protect their families. “better safe than sorry.” “she’ll be fine, someone will take her in, but as for us, we can’t afford to take that risk.” people can come up with all kinds of justifications for treating other people as less than human, and the really scary thing about it is how fucking easy it is
one last quick side note, which is that Horikoshi does a great job here of showing how scapegoating works, given that AFO is the one who’s really to blame and who presents the actual threat, and yet Deku is the one who ultimately winds up being the target of the mob’s fear and outrage despite him being as much of a victim as they are. gotta love that irony, which unfortunately plays out far too often in the real world as well.
anyway I’ll get off my soapbox now, sorry about that. let us continue
YES, FINALLY OH MY GOD!!!!
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AND THAT’S THE STORY OF HOW GIGANTIC FOX LADY BECAME THE GREATEST HERO. PACK IT ALL UP, WE’RE DONE HERE KIDS
holy shit. the real MVP right there. thanks for getting it done champ
jesus christ I have had it up to here with these people
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literally the bar is set so low at this point that I’ll go ahead and take it. helping him because it offers them a tactical advantage is at least one step up from not helping him at all
“WHY NOT SHIKETSU” MOTHERFUCKER I SWEAR TO GOD
-- thank you!!
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okay this one guy with the antennae hair is having himself a character development speedrun here
-- okay, but this part?? fucking this part, right here??
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can we repeat that again?? the part where this guy acknowledges that the problems of hero society were caused not just by said heroes, but also by said society?? the part where he acknowledges that they treated the heroes like celebrities who were putting on a show for them?? the part where he acknowledges that when push came to shove, the vast majority of those heroes, when faced with a situation that offered no reward, were nonetheless willing to put their lives on the line to protect the very same people who then turned around and blamed them rather than thanking them?? are the civilians of BnHA even allowed to have actual deep thoughts about this stuff. holy shit
bro!!
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ANTENNAE HAIR GUY SHOVING KOUTA AND GIGANTIC FOX LADY OUT OF THE WAY TO SLAP HIS NAME ONTO THE END CREDITS AS EXECUTIVE PRODUCER. CONGRATULATIONS SON YOU FIGURED OUT THE CORE PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTION AT THE VERY HEART OF THE MANGA. WAY TO GO BUD
meanwhile, on today’s episode of “one more chapter to go till the big volume cliffhanger, how else can I drag things out let’s see”
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it’s a panel. of people’s feet. just a bunch of normal feet. with sneakers and shit
this All Might shirt guy is getting more screentime in this arc than 90% of the class 1-A kids
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I guess I’m supposed to feel sorry for this dude now that he’s all “if we let you stay here do you promise to somehow magically fix every single problem that we are now currently facing?” those are some ridiculously exacting standards my dude. come on now
KACCHAN SIGHTING
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thank fuck I’m not the only one who’s thoroughly unimpressed by absolutely all of this lol. I feel better now. meanwhile Iida and Kouda and Kiri are ready to run over there and hug them all. you guys are way too forgiving. damn you and your pure hearts
anyway so Deku’s like “yeah, definitely”
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(ETA: almost forgot to comment on the “I’m no longer alone” part – he basically corrects the guy and says “sorry, but you’ll need to direct that question towards all of us, not just me, because moving forward we’re a team.” good stuff.)
you know what though, all joking aside... fuck yeah. because perfect victory, right. the strongest guys don’t settle for anything less. so I guess Deku has pretty exacting standards himself
also can you all just take a look at this fucking kid who’s got so much light in his eyes now that I’m gonna need eclipse goggles. hot damn. “you’re welcome” says All Might Shirt Guy as he is frantically interviewed by several local news networks asking him how he daringly managed to save Deku all by himself. “well I guess I’ve just never been the kind of guy who can sit back and let a bunch of rabble-rousers blame a little kid for all of humanity’s problems. someone had to step in and take action, you know?”
oH MY GOD THE SCENE IS FINALLY ENDING
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don’t let the door hit you on your way out All Might Shirt Guy
but meanwhile, sudden Tododrama action??
oh shit
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there are honestly so many ways in which Ochako’s very moving speech could have wildly backfired that I genuinely have no clue where this is headed lol. how exciting!!
so now Horikoshi is once again stalling for time with random filler panels, but this one is 10x better than the shoes lol omg
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(1) was Ectoplasm’s jacket always this oversized. (2) did you guys know that if you go back to chapter 319 you can see that Horikoshi gave us a sneak peak at Enji’s Sad Detective disguise and I in fact made a joke about it in the 319 recap not realizing it was actually the stone cold truth. (3) did Shouto deliberately speed up out of impatience because Hawks was walking so fucking slow and he couldn’t take it any longer. (4) and what, I ask you, is up with these dramatic speedlines. so many mysteries here. what a masterpiece
everyone is acting all shocked about something ahh what’s going on
wait what
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what the heck. did they just loop around behind everyone. what was the point of that lol. “anyway, so this is what they look like from the back” well okay, thanks for that Ectoplasm
(ETA: so it seems like they were actually hanging out someplace else away from the crowd this whole time, I guess? here I thought they had more faith in Enji’s disguise. I guess Shouto and Hawks don’t particularly want to attract this crowd’s attention themselves right now either, though.)
I am so fucking confused lmao
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speaking of All Might WHERE THE FUCK IS HE lol. but yes, good, OFA brings everyone together, and Hawks is very deeply moved about this out of the blue all of a sudden. you know how it is
aw heck yeah now this is another filler panel I can get behind
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Mineta really wants that hug, good lord. I genuinely love this actually. Mineta if you could just stay little and cute and keep crying about how much you love your classmates in a non-gross way for the rest of the series I would be so appreciative. you’re doing great
IIDA IS HOLDING DEKU’S HAND THIS IS NOT A DRILL. ONE TIME WASN’T ENOUGH FOR MY MAN HE’S ADDICTED NOW
what did I tell you. Kiri wants to get all of the mob’s autographs now. Kiri you’re a peach
Shouji having a conversation with another mutant type is a very nice touch! we really need to get to his backstory soon. I feel like that casual remark from GFL earlier was kind of hinting at more to come
is this the first time we’ve ever seen the Yaoyorictionary in action?? never forget that Viz tried to call it the “Yaoyorozu Reference Book” because they hate fun
last but not least, KAMIBAKU IS BACK ON THE MENU, FUCK YEAH. Kaminari trying to spice things up and introduce a little bit of controversy by smacking Kacchan on the back of the head for god knows what. I will be deeply disappointed after this if I can’t find at least one person unironically declaring that KamiBaku is now toxic and abusive
lfkdlWLWK TODODRAMA??
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oh my god. Shouto’s face. Enji’s face. the back to “oyaji” again. the blunt, not-taking-no-for-an-answer, “I don’t know how much louder the universe can scream at you that doing things alone is not it, so hopefully you got the point” directness of it. fffdlkslj I’m so ready for this Horikoshi please don’t fuck it up my expectations are so high
HOLY FUCK
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I SCROLLED DOWN AND HE WAS ALL “( ❛‿❛)” AND I JUST WASN’T FUCKING EXPECTING THAT OKAY. JESUS CHRIST. GIVE ME A SEC
lol okay moment over and now Enji’s pulling his hat down all dramatically like a world-weary Cowboy
OH MY GOD WERE YOU FACETIMING??
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AHHHHHHHHH
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(ETA: not to put Iida down or anything, but it’s kind of strange that Aizawa is all “the class rep sure did great” when Ochako is the one that was giving that whole big speech for like twenty minutes just now lol.)
(ETA 2: “thank god Iida stepped in just in the nick of time to keep Mineta from hugging Deku.” sorry Mineta I really do like you lately but it’s still low-hanging fruit lol.)
HE LOOKS SO SAD??! HE LOOKS LIKE HEARTBREAK ITSELF??! I AM BESOUGHT WITH THE URGE TO REACH INTO MY SCREEN AND PULL HIM INTO THE SAFETY OF MY ARMS??? MY GOD, AND I THOUGHT DEKU NEEDED HUGS
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH okay I was gonna just hold down the letter H for a full minute and count it out loud but within about ten seconds I realized I needed to chill lol
-- but then again NO, I DON’T NEED TO CHILL, I HAVE ZERO CHILL, ACTUALLY, BECAUSE IT’S AIZAWA WITH A ROBOT LEG AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
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COMPLETE WITH ROBOT TOES FOR THAT EXTRA TOUCH OF AUTHENTICITY!! I LIKE HOW HORIKOSHI PUT ALL THIS EXTRA “!!!” EMPHASIS AROUND IT IN CASE WE COULD SOMEHOW POSSIBLY FAIL TO TAKE NOTICE. “REMEMBER, EVERYONE?” SAYS HORIKOSHI HELPFULLY. “REMEMBER THAT TIME AIZAWA CHOPPED OFF HIS OWN LEG?” oh wow now that you mention it we somehow forgot all about that. like who do you take us for
OH NO NOT THE SAD BOYFRIEND ANGST THAT I WAS SECRETLY LOOKING FORWARD TO WITH GLEE
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well at least he’s not M.I.A. or back with the villains again like I thought he might be. still, that’s gotta be brutal to know your friend is in there somewhere, but to not be able to reach him again no matter how hard you try. that’s the kind of angst that pays off in final battles just when you most expect it. such is my hope, at any rate
what’s this now??
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trying to decide if this is Horikoshi’s way of saying don’t worry about that, or his way of saying definitely worry about that lol
anyway so Aizawa is out here being all irresponsibly handsome once again. when is someone going to do something about him
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here for Sexy Robot Leg Eyepatch Aizawa clenching his fists and making speeches about revenge. pretty sure we’re all here for that
WELL, WELL, WELL
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IT’S ABOUT FUCKING TIME
I’M VERY GLAD YOU’RE ALIVE AND SEEMINGLY WELL, THOUGH!
BUT WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK THOUGH, ALL MIGHT
ffff. bracing myself for that cliffhanger next week. you’d better not touch one hair on this man’s head Horikoshi. I’m watching you 
238 notes · View notes
cellophaine · 3 years
Text
Home With You
Pairing: Matt Murdock x Reader
Word Count: 3003
Warnings: None.
Author's Note: I figured I should give you guys a break from my smutty contents lol. And I just wanted to write an indulgent fluff piece.
As always, every likes, comments, reblogs, feedbacks and ask submissions are greatly appreciated! My heart goes into cha-cha-cha mode whenever I receive notifications from you guys (it's a happy mode)
Prompt requested by: Anonyomous (love you anon <3)
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------
"Matt?!"
You called out as you walked into his apartment; the exhaustion crept into your voice. His name echoed back to you in the empty place, a tell-tale sign of Matt's absence. You huffed out a frustrated sigh as you stepped out of your heels, padding into the living room on bare feet, much to your relief. You dropped your briefcase to the floor with abandon, planting face-first onto the couch, releasing another weary sigh. This was the third night in a row you missed him on his way out, but it was nothing out of the ordinary. At this point, it had become a regular occurrence. You felt like you barely saw him as of late. All you had was the little time in the mornings with Matt's body wrapped around yours in the bed. And it wasn't enough. How could it be?
Your workload as a paralegal at Hogarth, Chao & Benowitz had picked up in the past few months. The pay was more than decent, but it resulted in more time assisting Jeri Hogarth in cases and less time spending with your boyfriend. The immense amount of guilt you felt kept building up, as you knew Matt was not happy about your situation, but he always knew what to say to make you feel better. You had spent time running around New York for researches, staying late at the office at Hogarth's requests.
The days would always end with you worn out to the bones. Matt hated how the job was clawing at you, chipping away a piece of you every day, leaving you stressed out and exhausted. But he was supportive anyway, understanding that it was your choice in the matter. And so, Matt was the only constant, comforting source in your life. He would be there every time you woke up, cuddling and kissing you, making sure that you had all your meals throughout the day, taking care of you when you couldn't do it yourself.
You dragged your enervated self into the shower, lathering yourself up with Matt's shampoo and body, indulging in his scent under the hot water. The clean smell of his soap in the shower steam helped relieve the ache of missing him in your chest. You had slept over his apartment every night. Still, ironic enough, you felt like you drifted away further from him, not of your own volition. Matt was the anchor that kept you close, but how long would it last? How long would he be willing to stay?
You patted yourself dry, walking into his bedroom, the air cool on your exposed skin. You opened the closet, pulling out a sweatshirt of his. You hugged it close to your chest, dropping your head low to inhale the smell of him. You pulled the shirt on along with his too-big sweatpants, tightening the strings at the waistband. You put on his socks, too, tucking them over the hems of the sweats, just like how he always did it. A habit of his that you had absorbed. A bittersweet thought struck you. Despite being in his apartment, often living in his space more than your own, you wore his clothes just to feel closer to him. He was close but never close enough.
You found your way to the couch again, plopping your head on the pillow. You curled into yourself, settling in a comfortable position. You didn't bother with dinner, for you craved something else. You just wanted him here. You wanted to spend every second you could get with him to make up for the time you had missed. You tried to stay up, waiting for him to come back. But the toll of the day pulled on your eyelids, luring you into sleep with much resistance from you.
A weightless feeling woke you from your sleep. You blinked sleepily; your hazy vision revealed Matt, still in his Daredevil suit, the helmet was nowhere in sight. His unseeing eyes radiated the comfort and affection you loved, and you hummed happily at the blessed sight of him. A smile pulled on the corner of Matt's lips as he laid you down on the bed, pulling the soft blanket over you. He brushed your hair off your eyes before leaning in, pressing a lingering kiss on your forehead. You smiled sleepily at his gesture, tilting your face up as his warmth left your skin. Your lips met his halfway, and you sighed into the kiss that you craved with the entirety of your being. You needed this, needed him; you yearned for him. Your hand found its way to him; his light stubble tickled your fingertips. You caressed his face, needing to touch, to feel him, as the kiss grew heavy. Finally, he pulled back from you with much reluctance, within your reach, just enough so you could hear his whisper.
"Have you had dinner? I left you your favourite in the fridge."
You pressed your head into the pillow before shaking your head, along with a muffled confirmation of his suspicion. His brows furrowed, and you quickly pulled on his jaw, drawing him closer. You resumed the kiss, and once again, Matt was the one who broke away. Lowering your voice in a soothing tone, you asked in the hope of distracting him.
"Do you have any injuries that needed to be looked at?"
"It was a pretty uneventful night. I know what you're doing, and it's not working."
He responded at once; his head shook slightly in disapproval. He knew you too well. You knew that. But you didn't want to get up while all you wanted was to bask in his familiarity, his warmth again.
"I had a very long day. I just want to go back to sleep, with you. Please?"
Your desperate plea tugged at his heart. His eyes softened as he pressed a chaste kiss to your lips.
"Alright. But you will have a big breakfast, first thing when you get up."
You bit your lip, brows waggling at him, even though you knew he couldn't see that. A playful, suggestive tone glided into your voice.
"Oh, I definitely would like something 'big' for breakfast."
He let out a small laugh at your terrible tease.
"I'm serious. I was gone for a few hours, and you already neglected yourself."
"I promise. I'll be yours for the entire weekend. Now, can you get your ass in this bed, preferably naked? Pretty please."
He chuckled, standing up to pull his protective gear off. A few rustles later, the mattress dipped as Matt climbed into the bed behind you. He pulled you into his chest, pressing butterfly kisses on your hair. You turned onto your back, giving him easier access to your lips. He eagerly took you on your offer, pulling you in for a soft kiss, so soft that it made you melt into his embrace. He moved to kiss your cheeks, making his way to your eyelids, ending the kiss on your forehead.
"Sleep now, sweetheart. I'll be here when you wake up."
You turned to your side to cuddle into him, curling your hand behind his muscular back. You nuzzled your face into his firm chest, kissing and nibbling sleepily on the naked skin. You fell asleep promptly, grateful for the weekend ahead of you.
Your phone buzzed again and again on Matt's bedside table. You groaned, burrowing your face further into Matt's chest. The faint scent of blood and sweat, of Matt, infiltrated your senses through a daze. However, whoever on the other side stayed persistent; calls came in after calls. Finally, you untangled your limbs from Matt's with frustration, answering the call to hear Hogarth's voice on the other side.
"Where the fuck are you? Why didn't you pick up your damn phone?"
"It's… it's the weekend."
"And? This case won't go away itself. Come in now, or you're fired."
Your ears met with the dead tone from the other line. You fell back onto the warm bed, feeling like you could burst into tears. Pressing your face into the pillow, you muffled a silent scream. Matt propped on his elbow, caressing your back with the other hand.
"Stay here. Quit the job. You deserve so much better than how Hogarth's treating you."
You murmured.
"I can't. Her words have weight. She can really help me with my career. The pay isn't bad either."
"I know, but it's not worth it. I don't like seeing you bend over backward to every of her demand. I can feel your exhaustion every night. I hate seeing you so harrowed and stressed out."
You sighed heavily.
"It's not like I can quit right away. Not until I can secure a better job somewhere else. Rent in Hell's Kitchen is crazy. Until then, I'm stuck with her."
You moved around in the place, talking to Matt as you got ready. When you stepped out of the bathroom into the living room, dressed in your work attire, Matt walked over to where you stood, offering you a cup of tea. You smiled sadly at him, stroking his cheeks. Then, you raised on your tiptoe, kissing him swiftly before picking up your briefcase, making your way to the door.
"I'm sorry, I can't drink the tea. I'm already late. I'll see you later tonight?"
Matt fell into silence; his head turned away from your direction. The mugs of tea in his hands stayed still and abandoned. You felt an awful jerk on your heartstring for leaving him like this. You spoke softly.
"I love you."
One moment of silence, then two. Matt reluctantly spoke, his voice small, barely audible.
"Love you, too."
You gnawed on your bottom lip in defeat, walking out the door. Your heart grew heavier with every step you took, carrying you further away from him.
When the elevator opened, you were working at your desk, just outside of Hogarth's office. You looked up just in time as the infamous P.I of Hell's Kitchen walked past your desk, sparing a glance towards you. You sprang up from your seat, running after her.
"Ms. Jones, I'm sorry, but you can't go in there. Unfortunately, Ms. Hogarth is not available at the moment."
Jones reeked of alcohol, but there was no sign of intoxication. She scoffed.
"I don't care if she's fucking another secretary in there. Step aside. I don't want to hurt you."
You stood in her path, taking your stance. Although preventing Jessica Jones from entering your boss' office wasn't your job, Hogarth made you do it anyway. She made you do many things that went beyond your responsibilities as a paralegal, as she always held her power over your head like an invisible sword, readied to strike at any given time.
Jessica rolled her eyes, sidestepping you. You stuck your foot out in her path, making her boot catch on your heel. She stumbled lightly, whirling around to face you.
"Seriously?"
You swallowed, shrugging.
"A girl's gotta do what she's gotta do."
"Maybe that girl should get another job and stop working for that monster."
Jessica quickened her pace, pushing the door open as you chased after her.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Hogarth, but she …."
"… tired of your shit, Hogarth. What the fuck is wrong with you?"
Jessica gritted out the words. Your boss sent a deathly glare at you.
"Leave us."
She flicked a wrist at you, and you closed the door behind you as fast as you could. You went back to your desk, speeding through your mountain of paperwork. About half an hour later, Jessica walked out with a menacing expression on her face, heading straight for the elevator. Jeri walked out about two minutes later, looming over your desk.
"If that happens again, I will personally destroy your little, pathetic career. You hear me?"
You nodded solemnly.
"Have them on my desk before 5."
Hogarth left you alone for the rest of your time there. You were done with the work at a little over 3 PM. You dropped it off, and it was refreshing to see a surprise expression on her face for once instead of the usual scowl you received. Then, you headed straight for Matt's place, couldn't wait to get back to your boyfriend, despite the little not-an-argument you had earlier that day.
He wasn't home when you got there. You sighed, afraid you had messed things up with him. After changing into something more comfortable, you sat down on Matt's kitchen table with your laptop open and a steamy plate of food Matt left you last night. You sat there, your fingers tapping away on your device for what felt like hours until you heard the sound of the door being opened. Matt walked in, dressed in his usual gym clothes with a duffle bag hanging off his shoulder. His face was flushed, his hair stuck out adorably. You stood up, lingering at the chair. You cleared your throat.
"I'm… sorry for this morning. Are we … okay?"
You ached to hug him, to be gathered into his arms, to kiss him. Your bottom lip trembled slightly. You wouldn't know what to do if he said no.
He could sense your uncertainty with every word. His face softened at your vulnerable disposition, his arms opened wide, dropping his cane and bag to the floor with little care.
"Of course we are."
You lunged into his embrace, holding him tight as he picked you up easily, his face buried in the crook of your neck. You found his lips, pouring your heart and soul into the kiss. Eventually, you pulled away from each other as you gasped for air, your foreheads touching.
Matt lowered you down to the ground, still holding you in his arms, his hand caressing your spine in a soothing motion.
"I'm looking up other jobs. Hogarth is … horrible, and I'm always stressed out. You're right. It's not worth it."
"You know … Nelson & Murdock can use a helping hand."
Matt raised his brow at you; an endearing grin pulled at the corner of his lips. You smacked his chest playfully.
"As if I'm not helping you guys in my free time already."
You trailed a finger from the waistband of his sweats, ghosting over his abdomen and chest, ended your way at the pulse on his neck, stroking the delicate arc of his throat. Matt let out a small groan of pleasure.
"That means you already have an in with the firm."
You squinted your eyes at Matt while he feigned innocence.
"Are you serious?"
"Yes. I would love to have you there. We still have to discuss this with Foggy, but I think he'd be thrilled."
The earnestness in his voice was unconcealed. Working for Matt and Foggy was a tempting proposal, but you wanted to give it some thought first.
"Let me think about it."
The week started anew, with another visit from Jessica Jones. Only this time, you didn't cease your work pace, even as she walked past your desk. Jessica halted, looking at you skeptically.
"Why are you not stopping me right now? Did Hogarth call of her little guard dog?"
You looked up from your computer screen, giving her a nonchalant shrug.
"Nah, the order is still in effect. But I don't care."
The P.I gave you a nod and headed for Hogarth's office.
Before the workday ended, you were summoned by your fuming boss. Hogarth stood at her desk, a glass of whiskey clutched tight in her hand. She looked upon your entry, sneering at you.
"What part of preventing Jessica Jones from entering my office that you didn't understand? Do you —"
"I understand. I just don't care."
You dropped off the folder on Hogarth's desk. She narrowed her eyes at the manila envelope.
"This is my letter of resignation. I quit. I would say it was an honour to work with you, but that would be a lie."
You left the office that day feeling so much better than you had felt in months. There was a spring in your steps as you climbed the stairs to Matt's place. You walked in as an aroma of mouthwatering food being cooked engulfed you, welcoming you home. Matt was in the kitchen, facing the stove. You walked up behind him, wrapping your arms around his torso. Matt lifted an arm over your shoulder, pulling you in to kiss your forehead. Then, he turned off the stove, fully angled his body to you and gave you a warm embrace.
"So you did it? How did she take it?"
"She was furious, Matt. She threatened to make sure I could never practice law ever again. Over and over. But I'm not worried. She can threaten me however she wants. I know the law."
"I'm so proud of you, sweetheart. You're better off without her. And if she dared to do that, you wouldn't be alone. Foggy and I will have your back."
You hugged him even tighter, pressing your ear to the steady rhythm of his heart. You stayed like that for a moment as the sound of Hell's Kitchen played in the background. Matt buried his nose into your hair, peppering your face with kisses. Then, at last, he spoke up.
"So, have you given more thoughts on working for Nelson & Murdock?"
You made a tsk sound, tapping a finger against your lips, pretending to be in deep thoughts.
"I don't know. Wouldn't it make quite a scandal since I'm dating one of the bosses?"
"Considering the other boss already knows about the arrangement, no one else has to. We can keep a secret -"
Matt dipped his head; his lips brushed over the curve of your ear purposefully. The mere contact sent a shiver down your spine in anticipation. Finally, he released the last part of his sentence; his voice dropped dangerously low, dripped in an alluring invitation.
"- and have fun with it."
347 notes · View notes
jenohi · 3 years
Text
stranger
PAIRING ▸ Watanabe Haruto x fem!reader
GENRES ▸ pining, high school au, lacrosse au, I’m not really sure what genre this is lol
WARNINGS ▸ traumatic events?
SUMMARY ▸ When Haruto moves halfway around the world the last person he expects to see is you. His former nemesis...or so he thinks.
PLAYLIST ▸ Still Don’t Know My Name by Labyrinth
WORD COUNT ▸ 9626
UNIVERSE ▸ YG High; Treasure Lacrosse Team
A/N ▸ I’ve decided from here on out all my stories will probably fall within the same universe. I only really have like 4 universes in mind so I’ll label them just so you know. Also, I’m looking to add some art to my stories to bring them more to life but I am useless at graphics/edits, so! If you’re really into making graphics/edits and you enjoy my work please please PLEASE reach out to me!!! I would love to work with an amazing artist! <3 <3 Plz enjoy.
A/N 2 ▸ This story is like a lot of crossover with Jeongwoo’s story but I hope I was able to bring justice to Haruto’s character and bring his story to life. :P ok now enjoy for real realz.
You were the prettiest girl Haruto had ever known in his life. But to him, you were also his rival. You always managed to score just a few points higher than him on each exam, each quiz, each assignment. To him it always felt like the teachers liked you more, so he made sure your classmates liked him more. The thing that made him really mad was that you were so unbothered. You were ambivalent to him and you didn’t even know his name. If you really were strangers and never sat in the same class he could understand. But you had been in the same classes for years. Each time you spoke to him, you politely asked for his name. As if you were strangers.
When his parents told him that his family was going to move to another city, far enough that he would have to transfer schools, he had mixed feelings. This was his last chance to confront you. To understand why you’d never bothered to remember his name, but each time he approached you he found you furiously scribbling in a notebook. Although he resented you for not knowing his name, he could never get himself to disturb you when you looked so stressed scribbling whatever it was in your notebook.
What Haruto didn’t know is that you did notice him. You noticed the handsome, tall, skinny boy that was always in the corner of your line of sight. But you had no idea what to say to him. So you never approached him. He was a stranger.
Haruto wished he could forget you. He was a bit uncomfortable transferring to a new school at first but thankfully, three other boys had transferred with him. Asahi, Mashiho, and Yoshi had become literal brothers to him. The school also had a transfer students program and he made a new friend, Hanbyul. She was a chatterbox and sometimes she could literally chat his ear off, but she was also sweet and helpful. But she wasn’t you.
But that didn’t matter because Hanbyul had another guy on her mind all the time anyway. “You know we’ve just been friends for such a long time and lately, I’ve started to...I don’t know. I feel different. Nervous. Is it normal to feel nervous around your best friend?”
“I don’t know. Is it?” Haruto responded.
“No, I suppose it isn’t. But he probably doesn’t feel the same way. I doubt he’s ever even thought about me in that way.”
Haruto felt someone nudge him, he turned to see that it was Asahi. Haruto leaned over to hear what he was going to say. “Is she talking about Jaehyuk’s brother?”
Haruto nodded.
“Jaehyuk talks about his little brother and this chick all the time. She’s so off the mark. The little brother definitely has feelings for her if Jaehyuk is anywhere near the mark.” So both parties had feelings for one another but both parties were too chicken to say anything to each other. And for no good reason.
In a way that reminded Haruto of himself and it pissed him off. He knew that spending so much time with his new friend would raise suspicions but he didn’t care. He knew that spending so much time with her pissed Jeongwoo off. It didn’t take a genius to recognize it when they went to the Big Bang Concert together.
Haruto thought he was going crazy when he spotted you a few spaces over at the concert. He rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times to make sure it was really you. Haruto stormed over to you once he decided that it was in fact you. He had spent months thinking about what to say to you if he ever saw you again, he wasn’t going to miss this opportunity. Haruto didn’t even think to tell his new friends where he had gone.
You saw a tall, handsome figure approaching your direction. You took a second to check him out, but then turned back to the performers and continued to enjoy yourself. Your parents were reluctant to let you go out to this concert on your own but it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that you wanted so badly. You smiled sadly at what might happen when you woke up tomorrow.
“I didn’t know you were a fan of Big Bang.” You heard a voice from behind speak into your ear. You jumped in surprise and turned around to see that it was the handsome stranger you saw sauntering your way earlier.
“Hi, what’s your name?” You asked with a polite smile on your face. This is probably exactly what your parents were worried about, creepy men that would try to approach you. You started to think about the best way to remove yourself from the situation safely. The now unamused expression on his face alarmed you.
“When are you gonna cut the shit. You know who I am.”
You looked at him puzzled. “I do? How? From where?”
Haruto felt something in his chest crack. “I used to go to school with you. You’re Y/N right?”
“Oh, yeah. That’s me.” You furiously racked your mind trying to remember what you had read but your memory came up blank. You couldn’t help but cringe and turn away. This is why you tried your best to keep to yourself and away from people. You looked up to see Haruto staring down at you with a curious expression. “I’m sorry I don’t remember you. You said you used to go to school with me? You don’t go to school with me anymore? Can I get your name again? I’m really sorry. I’ll try and remember.”
“My name is Haruto. I don’t go to school with you anymore. I transferred to a new school a few months ago.”
“Oh, I see.”
Haruto wasn’t sure how to feel when he realized you actually had zero recollection of him. For some reason seeing you up close and seeing you really trying to remember him made him feel a bit sympathetic. He couldn’t understand why. It still totally irked him that you didn’t know his name. But something told him to sit down with you and get to know you.
“Well, do you like your new school?” You asked, looking up at Haruto. Your heart was beating hard and fast. You prayed that your face wasn’t flushing.
“Why don’t we just enjoy the rest of the concert for now and we can grab a late night meal after the concert?” Haruto proposed. His own palms were sweaty and his heart was beating fast.
You thought about it for a second, then nodded and smiled. Haruto felt like the world had a glittery filter for a second. He’d always acknowledged that you were attractive, but up close smiling at him, you were drop dead gorgeous.
“Awesome.”
After the concert, the two of you walked side by side as you left the crowded venue. You noticed Haruto took a second to text someone on his phone. He caught you snooping and laughed as you turned away. “It’s fine. I was just letting the friends I came with know that I was gonna head out with you.”
“Oh, if you need to get back with them it’s fine.” You said, maybe hanging out with Haruto was a bad idea after all.
“Not a chance, it’s been so long since I’ve seen you. I’m honestly curious to know how you are and how things are back home.”
Your face flushed at his words. You couldn’t remember the last time you had spent time with a guy like this. Was this a date?
“Alright. Then what are you in the mood for?” You asked, pulling up a list of restaurants that were still open at this hour.
“What’s available now? What are you in the mood for right now?” Haruto looked over your shoulder at the menu as he asked.
“Um, what about McDonald’s? I’m not that picky and there’s not that much open right now.” you said.
Haruto stared at you with wide eyes, were you always this cool? So the two of you made your way to the closest McDonald’s and debated which was better, Coke or Sprite. To Haruto, Coca-Cola was non-negotiable.
“How is your new school?” You asked Haruto, munching on a few of your fries. “Do you like it?”
“What are you doing here?” Haruto interjected.
“What do you mean?”
“We’re not in Japan. This is far from home. Why are you in America?”
“Oh, I’m uh- I’m visiting family. I’ve actually transferred to a school around here for the time-being as well.” You jumped in surprise when Haruto shrieked.
“You’re here now? Like for good? Like you go to school here? Where?”
You giggled at the questions he rained down on you. The way he asked you with his cheeks full and eyes wide was rather endearing. “Yes I’m here now. I’m actually, uh, home schooled for the time being.”
“Oh, interesting. Why are you homeschooled? I remember you were always really good at school.” Haruto said before he shoved another chicken nugget into his mouth. The irritating thought that you were always better than him at school, just by a little popped up in his mind but he pushed it away. That didn’t matter anymore. He had your attention now.
You felt your face flush. Even with your condition it was true that you maintained your good grades. So Haruto must have actually known you back in Japan. You eyed him again, when he caught you staring at him you turned away. Haruto smirked.
“Enough about me. Tell me about your friends. You said you came with friends from your new school right?”
“Well I’d say one of them is actually who I’d consider a friend. The other one is a mutual friend. A childhood friend that has feelings for her.”
“Her?” it slipped out of your mouth. Haruto’s smirk reappeared and his eyebrow jumped up when he looked at you. You looked away, what was this funny feeling in your chest? It was weird.
“Our school had this transfer student program and she just happened to be assigned to me. She’s really cool, I’m not into her like that and she’s not really into me like that. She likes her friend.”
“How do you know?”
“She told me.”
“Oh. That feels like something important. Like a secret.”
“Well, I told her a secret as well.”
You stared at him. He didn’t indulge in the secret. Haruto was wholly focused on sipping the last of his Coca-Cola before putting it down on the table and letting out a sigh.
“Well so what’s going on with them now?” You asked.
“Hopefully, they both pull their heads out of their asses tonight. I gave them time alone so the best case scenario is that they just talk it out. The dude, Jeongwoo, I actually met him for the first time tonight and he’s a cool dude. It would be nice to have more dude friends around here.”
“You don’t have any guy friends?”
“I do. There are 3 other transfer students from Japan and they’re all dudes and I’m friends with them. Actually, Americans like to play this sport. Lacrosse? My friend told me to try out for the team and I think I might. Mashi, Asahi, and Yoshi agreed to try-out as well so it’ll be fun.”
You nodded, you had no idea what lacrosse was and you didn’t think you would be that interested to learn either. “I should get home.”
“Right of course.” Haruto said, getting up. “Where are you headed? Let me call you an Uber.”
“No, it’s okay. I can actually walk back home from here.”
“Oh really? Well, at least let me walk you back.”
You hesitated for a second. Would it be smart to show this guy where you lived? But then you shook it off, he seemed pretty harmless throughout the night and you trusted that he knew you from school in Japan. So you agreed.
“Do you have to be home-schooled?” Haruto asked.
“No, I don’t think so.” you answered.
“Would you be interested in attending school in person again?” Haruto could feel the devil on his shoulder kicking him. What was he doing? He had already gone to school with you before and the fact that you always did just a smidge better than him drove him nuts.
“Um, I haven’t really thought about it. Why?”
“You should consider transferring to my school?”
Your eyebrows shot up. “What?”
Haruto stepped back a bit and raised his hands. “It was just a suggestion. Honestly, I struggled a bit when I first came here. I can’t imagine how lonely it must be to be here and just be home-schooled so I figured it might be nice to have some sense of community.”
“Um, I’ll think about it.” You weren’t going to think about it. You looked up and breathed a sigh of relief when you saw the familiar apartment complex. “This is me. You don’t have to walk in with me. I’m gonna go now.”
“Wait.” Haruto said. You turned around to look at him, a thin smile on your face. “I, uh, I had fun.”
“Yeah, this was nice.” You said truthfully.
“We should do it again sometime.” Haruto said. You stared at him, he looked perfectly composed to you. But his heart was practically beating so hard he thought it might fall out of his chest.
“Honestly, I’m not so sure that’s a good idea.”
Haruto felt a heat and anger flare up in his chest. But he did his best to tamp it down and get it under control. This was literally the first time you had acknowledged his presence. He put a smile on his face. “Well, then maybe we’ll just run into each other again sometime.”
“Maybe, it’s all up to fate now. Good night Haruto.”
“Good night Y/N.”
The second you made it back into your room you pulled out your diary. You scribbled the notes you had logged into your phone throughout the day as quickly as possible. Briefly reliving each moment as you wrote them down. By the time you had gotten to the end of the list and began to recount the concert you could feel your eyelids getting heavier and heavier and your hands writing more and more frantically until suddenly, you crashed.
The next morning you woke up and read your notes. You squinted at the last thing you had written. Your handwriting became illegible near the end. ‘Haruto?’
The next morning Haruto woke up and smiled at the memory of you. Asahi and Mashiho eyed their roommate as he pranced around the living room and kitchen smiling and singing. But nothing could bring Haruto down. Well until he saw his friend looking depressed as hell.
“Dude what’s up?” Haruto asked. “Did you and Jeongwoo figure your shit out?”
“Uh, about that. Well, no.”
“No? What do you mean no?”
“Well what about you? Did you run into her?”
“Nuh uh, this isn’t about me. You literally had the perfect opportunity to make something of it. To make a moment! Did you guys have a moment?”
“Yes, I think we did. But I got scared. I don’t want to lose Jeongwoo as a friend, but at the same time I don’t think he has any feelings for me like that. I just, I think I need space. Maybe if I just distance myself from him a bit then I can get over my feelings and…”
“No offense, but that’s the stupidest thing I think I’ve ever heard in my life.”
“Well I don’t care if you think it’s stupid. This is my decision and my decision is that I don’t want to see Jeongwoo for awhile. Ok? I’m not ready for the conversation. So you better get used to seeing me more often!”
Haruto sighed as he watched his friend storm out of the room. He turned around and exchanged looks with Asahi. “Did I say something wrong?”
Asahi shrugged. “Honestly, I think you’re valid. I think her logic in avoiding Jeongwoo is pretty dumb. The dude’s in my gym class. Honestly, he’s chill. I don’t think he’d react badly to her if she confesses regardless of how he feels.”
“I should probably find her and apologize anyway.” Haruto said, exiting the room. Eventually he found his friend and they sat together in the cafeteria.
“Sorry about what I said earlier. I’ll admit it was kind of harsh. But honestly I can’t say I understand your logic at all.”
“It’s fine Haruto. You seemed extra happy when you walked in this morning. Who was the friend that you saw at the concert?”
“It was her. Y/N.”
“No way! Isn’t she in Japan?”
“That’s what I thought too. I was so shocked to see her.”
“What did you say to her? What did you guys talk about? Did she recognize you?”
“That’s the thing. The best part of it all was that I actually had her attention. You remember I told you about how she never acknowledged anybody right? She was always reading her notebook in the hallway. In the past when I spoke to her she never even knew my name! She had to ask me every single time. But this time, there’s no way she wouldn’t remember me!”
“Your relationship is weird. But I guess that’s sweet. What does she write about in her notebook?”
“I don’t know. Why does it matter? She knows my name now!”
“That’s another thing. You went to school together for years and she never remembered your name? Why?”
“I don’t know.” Haruto said. Now he was grouchy. All the questions that had been brought up to him were valid, but these weren’t things he wanted to think about.
A few weeks before the lacrosse tryouts in the spring Haruto went to the hospital to get a physical done.
Once he was done he stumbled into a small cafe right next to the hospital. When he saw who was manning the cash register he rubbed his eyes and looked away and looked back a few times to make sure he wasn’t being deluded. When he was confident that he wasn’t going crazy he stood up and walked over to the register.
You saw a tall, handsome, and skinny guy walk up to the cash register. You cleared your throat and stood up straight. “Hello, what can I get you?”
“Y/N! It’s fate. We ran into each other again!”
“Again?” You put a smile on your face and thought of a response. “Hey, it’s so good to see you! How have you been? What’ll you have?”
“Do you...remember my name?”
You felt your heart picking up speed and your palms beginning to sweat. But you kept your composure. “Of course, let me take your order and we can chat for a second.”
Haruto beamed. “Okay, then I’ll just have an Iced Americano.”
“Okay, that’ll be $3.30. The ice machine is in the back so I’ll be right out in a second. You rushed to the back of the cafe and pulled out your diary and flipped through the pages, reading the entries as quickly as possible. Out of the corner of your eye you noticed a torn piece of paper that had slipped out of your bag. You picked it up, it matched the paper in your diary. You flipped it over to see that it had a name written on it. Haruto.
Was that this guy’s name? Who was he to you? Darn it, why hadn’t you written more?
You quickly filled the cup with ice and walked out filling the cup with cold brew. You grabbed the marker and scribbled Haruto on it. You walked back over to the cash register. This guy’s eyes were practically glittering in anticipation. Was it normal for someone to get this excited over a coffee?
“I’ve got one iced americano for Haruto?” you said.
If his eyes were glittering before, they were practically flashing light strobe lights at a nightclub now. A matching beaming grin on his face. “Yes! Y/N it’s fate. We ran into each other again!”
“Right. Yeah, of course. What are the odds.”
“Do you have a minute?”
“Um, I’m working right now. I’d rather not get in trouble. Maybe another time?”
Haruto swiveled around, eying the cafe. “It looks pretty empty to me. I don’t think you’d get in trouble if you came out for a second just to keep me company.”
“Still…”
“Is your manager even here right now?”
“No.”
“Then come on. Just come out for a second.”
You looked around the cafe, cursing at how vacant it was. You tugged at your sleeves for a second before answering. “Fine.”
You followed Haruto out from behind the counter. He walked over to a table and pulled a seat out from underneath the table. He smiled as he waited for you to sit down. You walked over to the table and turned around. Haruto slid the chair underneath you as you moved to sit down. Once you were seated Haruto ran around to the other side of the table and sat down.
“How are you? How have you been?” Haruto asked.
You stared at the boy sitting in front of you. He was so handsome. “I’m doing well. How about you?”
“I’m good. I was in the area because I needed to go to the hospital.”
Your ears perked up. “Why were you at the hospital?”
“Why do you wanna know? Are you worried about me?”
You didn’t say anything. You just stared at Haruto. Haruto cleared his throat and looked away for a second. “I’m just playing with you. I went to get a physical.”
You nodded, tracing the patterns on the tablecloth.
“I needed one for lacrosse tryouts.”
“Lacrosse? What is that?” you asked. Haruto thought the way your nose scrunched in confusion was adorable.
“I told you about it last time! Remember? It’s this sport that Americans like to play. I had never heard of it in Japan either.”
You didn’t remember. “Right.”
Haruto couldn’t understand the dynamics of the conversation. He watched as you avoided eye contact with him and intensely focused on tracing the pattern of the table cloth. Then you would stare out the window of the cafe, it almost appeared as if your eyes were glazed over. “What are you always writing about in your notebook?”
Your head spun over to look at him so fast, you thought you might have gotten whiplash. “What?”
“Your notebook. I remember in school back in Japan I always saw you either writing things down in a notebook or reading the same notebook. What’s in it?”
“Um, nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
“Why? It can’t be that bad. I promise I won’t laugh no matter how embarrassing it might be.” Haruto said. Leaning forward over the table so that he was in your face.
“Forget it.” You said, leaning back and looking away. You glanced over at your bag that was perched far back behind the counter and breathed a sigh of relief. “Look. I gotta go. I’m supposed to be working right now. I think you should go now as well.”
You stood up from the table so quickly that the chair you were sitting on toppled over. You didn’t bother to turn around and pick it up. You walked back towards the counter without looking back.
Haruto watched you as you walked away. He narrowed his eyes when he saw you grab your bag and walk to the back of the cafe. There was only one thing on his mind as he walked out of the cafe. Your notebook. What was in the notebook?
You frantically flipped to today’s page in your notebook. In all caps with your boldest, darkest black marker you wrote at the top of your notebook. ‘Beware of Haruto. Tall, Handsome. Asked about notebook.’
Then you shut the notebook and exited the back room, breathing a sigh of relief when you noticed that the cafe was vacant once again. You walked over to the cafe table where you had previously sat and picked up the chair that had fallen over when you had left the conversation.
The next day at school Haruto was deep in thought. What could possibly be so important about a notebook? When Hanbyul shoved him, Haruto shrieked as he fell out of his chair. “Dude, what the hell is your problem?”
“What are you thinking about? You look like you’re thinking so hard that your brain might break.”
“Do you have an important notebook? Is that like something girls do?”
“You mean like a diary?”
Haruto snapped his fingers and looked up. “Yes! Exactly like one of those. Do you have one of those?”
“I did when I was younger. I don’t keep one anymore though. Why do you ask?”
“My friend. The one from home, Y/N? I think she has one. I asked her about it yesterday and she got all dodgy and weird.”
“Ah, well. Back when I did keep a diary it held all my dirtiest secrets. I don’t think I would want to share it with anybody or for anybody to know about it. Not even now, and as an elementary schooler I really don’t think I had any secrets worth keeping.”
“It was so weird. She got so defensive over it. I didn’t realize bringing it up would be such a touchy subject.”
Hanbyul shrugged. “Different things matter to different people. Are you ready for tryouts? They’re coming up soon aren’t they?”
Haruto nodded. “Asahi, Mashiho, Yoshi, and I have started going to that gym that you recommended. Lacrosse is actually pretty fun. Mashiho is the best though. Are you coming to tryouts?”
“Of course I am. I’m practically making you go so it’s only fair that I be there to see how you do. I reserve the right to totally make fun of you if you embarrass yourself though.”
Haruto rolled his eyes. “Yeah, whatever.”
Soon enough it was the first day of lacrosse tryouts. Haruto had frequented the cafe that you worked at in hopes of getting the chance to speak to you again. Unfortunately, what he didn’t know was that you had quit the job and diligently stayed home and studied.
Haruto was agitated at the thought of not being able to speak to you again. When he tried to sit down and rationalize it himself he couldn’t make sense of it. A year ago he despised you for not knowing his name. You know his name now, right? What more did he want from you?
“Haruto? Haruto! Hello? Are you even listening to me?”
Haruto turned to look at Hanbyul. “Honestly no, sorry. What’s up?”
“I feel bad for how I treated Jeongwoo. You were right, avoiding him was not the right thing to do. But why hasn’t he said anything to me?”
“Look I can’t tell you what’s going on between the two of you any better than you can. My assumption is that he’s a bit hurt and confused at the moment by how you’re acting and he doesn’t want to make things any worse than they are.”
“Can’t you say something to him?”
“Me?” Haruto looked up from his stick that he was re-taping. “What do you want me to say to him?”
“I don’t know. Just...just get him to react.”
Haruto scoffed. “If you want me to do that I can but again I feel like it’s not going to produce the results that you want. Like I think if I say anything things are gonna go really sour so I think you should think long and hard about this.”
“Haruto!”
“Look, I gotta go. Tryouts are starting.” Haruto said, turning away and walking onto the field. He didn’t miss the hard stare coming his way from Jeongwoo. Haruto ignored them and focused on his gameplay. Lacrosse had actually become really cathartic for him and he found that he really wanted to make the team.
Haruto noticed that the coaches seemed to be reacting favorably to how he was playing. He also realized that Jeongwoo was also really good but he played really aggressively, like he had something to lose. At the end of practice Haruto figured his hunches must have been correct because the coaches called him over to speak with him.
“I’m sure you know Varsity tryouts were this morning, all of your friends from Japan did great as did you and so we’re thinking about pulling you up to varsity. So tomorrow I want you to come early and try out with the varsity team, alright?”
Haruto beamed and nodded.
“Good work son.” The coach slapped Haruto on the shoulder. He did his best not to fall over. Thankfully the coach didn’t notice.
Haruto walked off the field and headed towards the school parking lot. Just as he pulled his phone out to call someone for a ride home his phone pinged, he tapped on the notification to see that it was a message from Mashiho.
Mashiho: Haruto have JV tryouts ended?
Haruto: Yes, I just finished
Mashiho: Cool. Have you found a ride home yet?
Haruto: No, do you know anyone who can come get me?
Mashiho: Ya, a lot of the guys on varsity can drive. Junkyu is over now but he offered to come pick you up.
Haruto: Junkyu?
Mashiho: He’s trying out for the varsity team. He’s cool. Kinda goofy but cool. I’ll come by with him.
Haruto: Alright, thanks dude.
Mashiho: Np.
Haruto checked the time on his phone before putting it back into his pocket. 6 P.M. Would you be at the cafe? The last few times he had gone by he hadn’t seen you. He put the thought away when a car appeared in front of him. The window rolled down and Mashiho cheered when he saw Haruto. “Get in the car! You smell!”
“Shut up and unlock the door Mashi.” The car door clicked open and Haruto hopped into the backseat. There was a large dude sitting in the driver’s seat who kept fidgeting with a bunch of random controls.
The guy turned around with a giant grin on his face. “Hello! I’m Junkyu. You must be Haruto! Nice to meet you!”
Haruto bowed. “Hello. Yes, I am Haruto. Nice to meet you as well.”
“Ruto! How were tryouts?”
“They were really good. Coach pulled me over at the end of tryouts and told me to come early tomorrow morning and try out with the varsity team.”
“Damn! You must be so good!” Junkyu said from the driver’s seat. Haruto tried not to be concerned by the way Junkyu was driving. His head kept swiveling from left to right. “Did you guys play sports back in Japan? All of you were insane at tryouts today!”
“We all played football. I think Mashi and Yoshi played basketball as well.”
“Football? Do you mean football football or soccer football?”
“Eh?”
“Do you kick a ball or do you carry a ball?”
“You kick it. Duh. Why would you carry a ball? That’s just dumb.”
“Americans call a totally different sport football. Don’t worry about it too much. But it’s awesome that you guys are so good.”
“Well to be fair, we were told about that Lacrosse Club and we had a few training sessions every week leading up to try outs.” Mashiho said.
“Ahh! How’d you hear about that? A few of us have been playing on their club teams for a while.”
“My friend told me about it. She’s the person responsible for me in the foreign exchange students program. Hanbyul?”
“Oh! I know who you’re talking about. Her brother was a legend at this school. He was a top recruit since his sophomore year here. But right before the most important game of his senior year he tested positive on a drug test and he couldn’t play. It totally turned him, his team, and the school around. He got dropped by the college that was recruiting him. But I heard he struck a deal with a pro-team and I guess he’s been training with them. The dude was in a league of his own.”
“Damn. That’s insane.”
“Yeah, our school takes lacrosse pretty seriously. The best players at our school get recruited to some of the best schools so it’s a great opportunity.”
Haruto knew there were probably more important things to be thinking about in this conversation but he couldn’t help but wonder if he could get you to come to one of his games.
The second day of tryouts Haruto was absolutely on fire. His shorts were shart, his passes were quick, and his steps were light. The varsity team was definitely of a different caliber but Haruto found the challenge fun. It was nice to be able to play with the rest of the Japanese boys as well.
At the end of varsity tryouts the coach pulled him over, “you were great out there today. How are you feeling?”
“I’m feeling alright coach.”
“Up for a few more hours?”
Haruto paused, but then nodded. He wasn’t in a place to argue with his coaches. “Sure.”
“Great. Then I want you to continue through JV tryouts. Grab some water and then head back out onto the field.”
“Alright coach.”
Haruto jogged out to the edge of the field. He was surprised to see Hanbyul sitting at the edge of the bleachers. “What’s up?”
“Hey, what are you doing here?”
“What do you mean what am I doing here? I came to watch your second day of tryouts.”
“Are you sure you’re here to watch me?”
“Shut up. Why are you all sweaty already?”
“Coach had me try out with the varsity team today.”
Hanbyul’s eyes widened. “Dang, you must be awesome. The last two boys that made it onto the varsity team as sophomores were my brother and his best friend Bobby.”
Haruto shrugged. “The game is fun. It would be awesome to play on varsity.”
The coach blew his whistle, signalling all the players to come back out onto the field. Haruto turned around and gathered around. Every so often throughout the day Haruto ran back to the bleachers where Hanbyul sat. His bag was stowed away there as was his secret stash of Coca-Cola. It probably wasn’t smart to be drinking Coke in the middle of tryouts but every so often he needed a pick-me-up.
“You need to quash that habit.”
“Yeah yeah.”
At the end of the day the coach told Haruto to wait for him inside his office. So Haruto did just that.
“So what’d you think about tryouts today?” Coach asked.
“It was intense.”
“Yeah, what did you think of the way the varsity team played?”
“They were quicker, sharper, and more nimble.”
“Good observation. Do you think you were good enough to play on their level?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, then answer me another question. If you had to pick another player from the JV tryouts today to pull up to Varsity who would you pick?”
Haruto thought about it for a second. The answer was obvious. The only other person who seemed to put up a fight with him was “Jeongwoo.”
“Good guess.” The coach laughed. “I don’t know what they feed you kids in Japan. But all four of you are good.”
There was a knock on the door. Haruto turned around to see Jeongwoo. He smirked when he saw the sour expression on Jeongwoo’s face. But it was gone once he had walked into the room and stood adjacent to Haruto.
“The two of you have demonstrated amazing capabilities and I am considering pulling one of you up to the varsity team. Take this opportunity seriously. Tomorrow is the last day of tryouts.”
The last place Haruto expected to run into you was at the hospital. The last thing you were expecting at the hospital was for a dude to come up behind you and scare you. It was horrible, you can’t remember the last time you screamed so loudly, let alone at a public place.
“What are you doing here Y/N?”
“Uh, I’m-” you hesitated, trying to craft an answer that was vague enough that you wouldn’t have to tell the whole truth but not vague enough that he wouldn’t continue to ask questions. But thankfully Haruto seemed to take it upon himself to fill the silence.
“Look, I just wanted to say I’m sorry that I totally misjudged you when I first met you? In fact, I thought I hated you.”
Alarm bells went off in your head. Was it normal for a person to come to you and tell you they hated you? “Uh, thanks?”
But Haruto continued. “But I wanted to say I totally read you wrong. You’re actually really cool. And I wanted to say thank you. For remembering my name.”
That was the first time someone had ever said that to you. You stared at him blankly unsure of how to respond.
“Haruto! Haruto! Haruto! Please report to waiting room 105, the doctor is ready for you now.” The voice over the loudspeaker belted.
“Well, that’s me.” Haruto said with a soft smile on his face. He got up and waved goodbye to you before heading to the back of the office.
Once he was safely out of sight you pulled out your notebook. Your face paled once you flipped through it a few times. You thought about what to do. What did this guy want? You wrote out all these questions in your notebook. Then you came to a conclusion of what to do and wrote that down in your notebook as well.
You ripped out a piece of paper from your notebook and scribbled your number on it. Then got up to the receptionist desk. “Hi, I don’t know if you’re allowed to do this. But when that guy Haruto comes out. Would you mind giving him this?”
You handed the sheet of paper over to her, the receptionist gave you a look and then a wink before accepting the sheet of paper. You figured that meant she accepted, so you waved goodbye and left the hospital.
“Excuse me sir!” The receptionist lady called out to Haruto as he was about to head out of the doctor’s office. What felt and looked like a nasty possible sprain on the lacrosse field just turned out to be a measly bruise.
Haruto approached the reception desk. “There was a young lady earlier. She asked me to give this to you before you leave.”
Haruto looked at the slip of paper. His eyes widened into the size of large gumballs when he realized what was on it. He felt like his heart would explode. But then his mind pumped the brakes, he wasn’t ungrateful, but why did you give him your number?
On the way back home you second guessed your decision at least 30 times. Why did you give him your number? The only reason you could think of was that you didn’t want to not know the guy. Contrary to what your mind and your diary told you. Your heart didn’t want to give him up. Maybe it was selfish and confusing, who knew? But who cared?
Haruto’s excitement was cut short when he finished punching your number into his contacts. Before he could even send a message to you, his phone rang. Hanbyul.
“Hey Hanbyul, what’s up?”
Haruto became alarmed when he heard a sniff and a muffled sob. “Haruto, I miss him.”
Haruto sighed. “He’ll come around soon.”
“Is there nothing you can do to make him come around sooner?”
“Hanbyul. If all goes well he’s going to be my teammate. Plus, what could I possibly say to change things?”
“I don’t know. He probably thinks there’s something going on between us.”
Haruto paused. “Is that why you’re friends with me?”
“No, no I swear it’s not. You’re an amazing person and you’ve been an amazing friend.”
“Hanbyul.”
“I know, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything. I’m sorry.”
“I don’t like what you’re asking me to do. But you are my friend. If you’re really sure this is the way you want to go about it.”
“I’m- I’m not sure. I just need things to change.”
On the third day of tryouts Haruto was in a funk. And it showed. The events of yesterday night haunted him, he was happy to see you but he was sorry for Hanbyul. Haruto didn’t really like to fight with anybody, but he found her requests unreasonable and the questions she asked about you probing and uncomfortable.
It seemed as if Jeongwoo was the same way. Haruto gave into the niggling voice inside his head and said probably he shouldn’t have said. “You’re gonna lose your girl to me and now you’re gonna lose your spot on the team to me?”
It pushed Jeongwoo off the edge and the two of them went at it. Haruto played ferociously and aggressively. As did Jeongwoo. The game ended when Jeongwoo illegally body checked Haruto.
“Dude what the hell is your problem?”
“No, what’s your problem? Your comment back there? Absolutely uncalled for.”
Valid. But Haruto wasn’t going to admit that. “Please. Pull your head out of your ass. You’re hurting your friend. Talk to her.”
Haruto stood by as he and Jeongwoo got scolded for their behavior. Eventually, tryouts ended with neither one ending up on the varsity team. Haruto knew he probably should have been more bothered but he wasn’t. He had other things on his mind.
When Haruto exited the office he saw Hanbyul waiting outside. She turned to look away from Jeongwoo back to Haruto. Tired and hopeful that their saga would end, Haruto smiled and jutted his chin out towards Jeongwoo. Hanbyul smiled and ran after Jeongwoo.
Since the fateful day you have Haruto your number. Whenever he had a free moment he would ask to see you. After each time you saw him, you thoroughly wrote down everything that had happened in the day. You didn’t want to forget.
A few Mondays ago, you went to get ice cream together. “What’s your favorite food, Haruto?”
“Me? Anything unhealthy.”
You whacked him on the arm for that.
“Ow! What was that for?”
“For being a stupid teenage boy. And because I’m jealous of your metabolism.”
A couple Thursdays ago, Haruto asked you if you wanted to go watch a movie with him. The Uber and the weather didn’t quite work out. “Sorry we missed the movie by 45 minutes. But on the bright side, it’s not raining anymore!”
You laughed. “I guess you’re right. What should we do instead now that we’re here?”
Haruto looked around. He pointed at the grassy meadow. “We should just lay down on the grass and look at the stars.”
“The grass is wet.”
“Look, they're selling plastic tarps over at that convenience store. Let’s just buy one.”
“Okay.”
Haruto paid for a plastic tarp and spread it down out on the grassy meadow. The two of you laid on the ground parallel to one another. Until Haruto turned to you “can I hold you?”
You felt your face flush and you looked away. You hesitated for a few moments but eventually Haruto smiled when he heard a soft “yeah.”
So he moved his arm as you lifted your head to rest on top of it. You curled into him as his arm wrapped around your upper body. Haruto’s stomach exploded in butterflies. Your face was on fire. But the two of you were happy, blissful.
Last Friday night Haruto asked you to come to one of his lacrosse games. “Y/N, this is my friend Hanbyul. Hanbyul, this is Y/N.”
“Y/N?” Hanbyul stared at you eyes wide. Like she knew something. She looked like she wanted to say something but she held it in. You wondered what it was, but decided not to think too much about it.
Hanbyul was sweet. She kept you company throughout the game. But she was an aggressive cheer-er. Most of her attention was spent yelling at the field. Her energy was contagious and by the end of the game you were standing on the bleachers cheering “Go Haruto!”
Now it was Saturday and the two of you had finally gone to see the movie that you had meant to see a couple Thursdays ago. You clasped onto the arm that Haruto had held out for you as you exited the movie theater. “That movie was so good! It was so crazy!”
Haruto laughed. “Yeah it was okay.”
“Just okay? You didn’t like it?”
“No, I liked it. It wasn’t bad. But I feel like there were better movies from this cinematic universe you know?”
“Yeah I guess.”
“Which one was your favorite?” Haruto asked.
“Huh?” You looked up at Haruto to see him looking down at you. You turned away. “Um. Would you wanna come back to my place?”
“Huh?” Haruto wasn’t normally caught off guard but this time he was.
“I mean. Not like that. I just, I don’t know I’m not ready for the night to end and I figured since my place is close by we could just go back and chat.”
Haruto smiled. “Yeah, that sounds nice. Let’s go.”
Soon after the two of you arrived at your place, Haruto got situated on the couch and after making sure he was properly settled in. You had gotten up to go fetch your drinks. Haruto spotted your notebook sitting on the edge of the coffee table. He glanced over to see that your attention was fully occupied on making your drinks. Haruto turned back to stare at the notebook. No. The notebook was staring at him. Haruto knew it was wrong. He knew he shouldn’t peek.
But he couldn’t help it. Every time he saw you he either saw the notebook with you or he saw you writing the notebook and every time he even remotely looked in its direction you guarded it with your life. This could be his only chance.
And so, Haruto grabbed the notebook. He flipped through it and saw that it was very meticulously dated. Upon closer inspection he noticed that each entry was timed as well and every timed entry had extensive details about what you saw, what you talked about. Then he flipped backwards and found one page not like the others.
This page wasn’t dated. Instead, it was titled. Haruto. Haruto’s eyes widened. Every line of his designated page was filled. There were things about him on there that even he hadn’t realized he had said. Why had you written all these things down? All these details didn’t seem that important to him. They were like things that were probably easily remembered. Or things you could ask him about, he’d answer if you ever asked him about.
Just as he was about to continue flipping through the pages of the notebook. “What do you think you’re doing?”
An index card fluttered out of the notebook right at Haruto’s feet. Haruto bent down to pick it up. But in a panic you kicked his shin and as he howled and grabbed onto his leg you snatched the card. “What the hell Y/N?”
“No. I should be asking you that. I’ve made it abundantly clear that this notebook is not to be touched. It’s incredibly private to me.”
“What is it? Why is it so important? I asked Hanbyul what it might be and she just said it was probably a diary. What is so special about yours?”
“What is so special about mine?” you were so angry you felt like your head was about to pop. While your head didn’t pop. Your mouth certainly did. “What is so special about mine? This notebook? This notebook. Is my memory. I don’t have a memory.”
You tossed the card at Haruto. He picked it up and read the words on the card as you spoke.
“At age 13 you were involved in a very traumatic car accident. The accident left you in a coma for two weeks. After you recovered from your coma you were diagnosed with anterograde amnesia. From that day on, you no longer have the ability to make memories. The memories you make within a day will only last until you fall asleep wherein your memories of the previous day will be wiped. Use your notebooks to keep track of your days. Use these notebooks to help you remember.”
You could hear your voice waver as you finished reciting the contents on the index card.
“Y/N, I-” Haruto said. The world seemed grayer and grimmer. Everything made so much sense now. Why every time he spoke to you in school you had to ask for his name. Why sometimes you looked confused or blank when he mentioned something or attempted to crack a joke.
“So now you know.” You whispered. You could feel your body start to heave, your breathing became heavy. The gravity of what you had just exposed started to weigh down on you. “You need to leave. You need to leave and never come back.”
“Y/N. I wish you would have told me.”
“Why?” You snarled. “Why would I tell you that? Each day I wake up I can’t even remember who you are. Why would I have told you anything? Just so you could go around pitying me? Telling everyone else about me? Absolutely not.”
Haruto started to feel tears well up in his own eyes. He felt trapped in his own body as he watched your body fail yours. When he saw you collapse something snapped in his head and he got up and picked you up. One arm held you under your shoulder blades and the other below your knees.
“Get. Out.” you said in between wheezes.
“No. Y/N. I’m sorry. I don’t want to. Let me help you.”
“Get. Out.” you said, barely conscious.
“Y/N. You’re scaring me. What do I do? How do I help you? Let me help you and I’ll leave you alone.”
Your eyelids were getting heavier and heavier. Honestly, you weren’t even sure what exactly was going on. Maybe it would be smart to have Haruto call your doctor before he left. “Emergency Numbers. Notebook.”
Haruto placed you down on your bed just as you had passed out. Haruto immediately ran back to the living room and grabbed your notebook that had fallen onto the ground. He flipped through it frantically. What page were the emergency numbers on? He saw them scribbled on the inside of the back cover. He grabbed his phone and dialed the first number listed at the top.
“Hello? Is this Y/N’s doctor? She’s just passed out and I don’t know what to do. I’m in her apartment right now. Someone please come help me.” Haruto hadn’t even realized that tears had been streaming down his face until he saw wet splotches appear on the notebook. He wiped them quickly and sniffed. “This is scaring me.”
“Yes, this is Y/N’s doctor. I’m on my way over. Who is this?”
“Haruto. I’m a friend of hers.”
“Haruto. You did good, son. Just wait. I’ll be there in a second.”
“Doctor. Is she gonna be okay?”
“Honestly I can’t tell you right now. I have to check up on her. Right now I’m in front of her door so you can let me in.” The call ended and Haruto opened the door.
“Is she in her room?” The stout man asked.
Haruto nodded and followed him back into your room. He tried to help the doctor but eventually the doctor turned to him and said “son, just relax. Give me some space. She should be fine. She had a panic attack, something must have worked her up. But she’ll wake up. But, it might be better if you aren’t here by the time she wakes up.
“I understand, doctor.”
The doctor took a good look at him. Then nodded grimly before turning his attention back to you. Before Haruto could leave though he saw a stack of index cards, a roll of washi tape, and a pen sitting on your desk. He was still holding your notebook from earlier. He grabbed the materials and headed back out to the living room.
Before he left he scribbled out a note. Then pulled something out of his wallet and taped it to the back of the index card. He then taped the index card to the inside of the front cover before shutting the notebook and leaving it in the middle of your coffee table. He held in a sob as he got up. How had things gone so sour so quickly?
Haruto walked back over to your room and peeked in. Your doctor was still busy doting on you. So he turned around and exited your apartment. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and called Junkyu. “Hey, can you pick me up?”
“Yeah of course. Send me the address.” Junkyu said, trying not to be too alarmed by the tone of Haruto’s voice.
Eventually, you woke up. After reading the note that your doctor had taped to your hand explaining the situation you took a deep sigh. What a shit show. You needed to find the notebook your doctor had mentioned in his note.
It was sitting in the very middle of your coffee table. You flipped through the last few pages to read your entries. Your eyes started to water and you felt yourself get emotional. You could sense that you had grown close to someone. You read about yourself and how you felt about Haruto, but who was Haruto? For the most part you had made peace with your situation but for the first time in a long time, you began to feel frustrated. Angry. Cheated of a normal life that other 16 year old girls got to live.
Just as you were about to shut the notebook you noticed there were two index cards taped to the inside cover. The first one explained your situation. It was more or less what your doctor had just explained to you. But the second one was new. You lifted it up to your face and began to read it aloud.
Y/N,
If you’re reading this, I want you to know that you are the love of my life. My name is Haruto Watanabe and I am 16 years old. I met you for the first time in our freshman year of high school back then when we lived in Japan. We were only 14 years old. I used to be jealous of you, how you beat me in school every time even if just by a little bit. I also resented you because I thought you never bothered to remember my name.
By some stroke of fate, we both ended up in America. Whether by fate or not we saw each other a few more times and met up with each other and I really began to fall for you. You are the kindest, most beautiful, and genuine person I have ever met in my life.
I want you to know that even with your condition. My opinion and my feelings towards you have not changed. I want to be honest with you and tell you what I did and I hope in time you can read this and not feel angry.
Y/N, I did something bad. I invaded your privacy. You see, every time I saw you you fiercely guarded this notebook. Everytime I asked about it or possibly glimpsed at it you would react so strongly so eventually the curiosity of needing to know what was in the notebook killed me. And one day when your attention was occupied elsewhere, I read it.
It seemed like a regular diary to me but you caught me in the act and got upset with me. You explained to me your condition and I want you to know I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry I behaved so insensitively. If I were a more selfless man I would have left your life for good. But I am not. I’ve attached my school I.D. to the back of this card. On it has my name, my picture, and my phone number.
If you ever find it in yourself to forgive me. Please give me a call. I will always love you.
Love,
Haruto Watanabe
You flipped the back of the card over. Sure enough there was a school I.D. taped to the back. You pulled the card off and stared at it. The boy in the picture was handsome. He was tall. His height was 6’2”. You scoffed, at least you had good taste.
You saw his phone number at the bottom. You pondered over whether or not to call him, what would you even say to him? Where would he even fit in your life?
These were the questions that ran through your mind as you pulled your phone out and dialed his number. You stared at the numbers as you recited them aloud again. Your thumb hovering above the green button.
353 notes · View notes
cow-smells · 3 years
Text
You’re Mine [Eli Hawk Moskowitz x Reader]
Requests: 1. there’s a new girl on miyagi-do, she’s classmates with sam, hawk, miguel, tory, robby, demetri, etc... for some reason, she and hawk didn’t like each other (he can be on cobra kai or eagle fangs, that’s your choice), and one day they make a bet, which this girl wins. hawk has to be her slave for a whole week. BONUS IDEA: a stolen kiss during a fight. maybe admitting feelings for each other? i’d love that! ( @berriewrites​ ) 2. love the hawk smut but i’d also love some fluffy hawk about him secretly liking the reader who’s in miyagido but he tries to act all tough and hide it (anon) 3. AHHH CAN WE GET SOME HAWK FLUFF!? I love the idea where you swear that you don’t like him and you guys make eye contact from a distance when he’s standing with his friend group and you’re standing with yours and you get flustered and he can tell and he smirks and just ahh (anon)
A/N: this took so longggg this came out longer than expected (and honestly i could go on, but i wanted to get this out already) + real life has come hitting all at once and its been overwhelming lol. thanks for being patient and sticking around <3 i enjoyed writing some fluff (amidst a flurry of smut reuests loool :)
Words: 2981
Warnings: none
Read this on AO3
Summary: You don't like Hawk. He's a bad person, that much you know for sure. You're ready to make his life miserable when he loses a bet with you, but then you actually have to spend time with him...
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   You didn't like this.
Forgiveness seemed to be a virtue that evaded you. Eagle-fang and Miagi-Do were uniting and everyone seemed to be all for the union – except for you.
Some things were simply unforgivable. For you, Hawk breaking Demetri's arm was one of them.
You and Demetri became nearly inseparable friends when you both joined Miagi-Do. He had told you all about his former friend Eli and how he'd abandoned him in the favor of bullying him in any way he could come up with; that bullying taking a turn to the extreme when Hawk took to breaking bones.
    Demetri had since forgiven him, but you hadn't.
Demetri had a softer heart than he let on, and he missed Eli terribly, so when the latter suggested they work together he gladly accepted.
But you were more objective about the situation, as you weren't a part of it, and forgiving such cruelty was beyond you.
    The one good thing about the dojos coming together was the intense dedication that grew on everyone. Now that you had a common enemy, many participants would hang around in Miyagi-Do's dojo long after training sessions, training until you could hardly move your limbs.
     The sun had ago long fallen when you and the remaining students took places around a mat, ready for the sparring session to begin.
With Daniel and Sensei Lawrence gone, you had taken to writing down names and pulling them out of a bowl to decide on sparring partners.
    All the negative emotions you felt channeled in to great excitement when Miguel called your name – followed by Hawk's.
You could have sworn you saw a look of something you couldn't read – concern, perhaps, or fear? Before he seemed to share your excitement as he stepped on to the mat with a grin that was almost predatory.
    Two could play at that game.
    “You're as good as dead,” you said, your voice dripping venom. Hawk's smirk just grew.
    “Is that so, princess? I'd like to see you score as much as a point.”
A light bulb lit in your mind.
    “Yeah?” you taunted. “What if I get three?”
Hawk laughed. “You got a lot of confidence, don't you? I'll tell you what. If you can score three points on me and win, I'll...” He bit his lip as he thought. “I'll let you boss me around for a week. Whatever you want.”
The blood rushed through your veins, ready more than ever to fight. You were grateful for the lack of your sensei, knowing this nonsense wouldn't stand if he were here.
    “Deal.”
    “Are you guys done?” Miguel huffed, standing between you two, ready to referee. “Good. Bow.”
    You bowed without intent and got straight to attacking. Hawk didn't expect it; he came from the dojo that prides itself on strike first and yours cared mainly about defense. You earned your first point within seconds.
    That only served to throw Hawk off his game further. He dived in right away for the attack and was caught unprepared when you fell, sweeping his leg.
    You earned your second point.
By that point, Hawk might as well have been fuming out the ears. His brows furrowed in anger as he looked at you like you were the most vile thing he had ever seen; that satisfied something within you.
    The flurry of hits and misses was so rapid you were caught unprepared when you managed to land a punch on Hawk, Miguel's voice rising as he named you victor.
    Hawk huffed, clearly exerted. You smiled. “You're mine.”
You were fully intending to use this bet to its full potential.
The next day was Saturday, and Hawk, true to his word, showed up at your doorstep at 9 p.m sharp, just as you had ordered.
You paid him no kindness when you opened the door, not exchanging a word with him before demanding: “Helmet?”
Hawk handed you a helmet, not looking particularly pleased about the situation but not being able to stop himself from taking in an eyeful of you anyway.
You needed a ride to tonight's party – that's where Hawk came in, beginning his work for you as a personal valet. Accordingly for the event, you were dressed meticulously, showing off your best features – and if you were to judge by Hawks reaction, you were on your way to turn heads.
You climbed on the motorcycle after him, circling your arms around him loosely; but when he kicked off and started the ride, you couldn't help but tighten your hold.
    The party was overcrowded with people from the moment you got there; Yasmine's parties tended to get a bit... excessive.
You ditched Hawk the moment you got sight of your friends, ditching the helmet on his bike to run over to Sam, Moon and Yasmine.
Yasmine didn't hide the dirty look she sent at Hawk. “Ew. Who's the freak?”
You grinned proudly. “My valet. Ignore him. Actually...”
You looked over to the drinks table; someone had tapped a keg and it was being swarmed with people.
    “Hey, Hawk!”
Hawk turned to you, the slightest furrow in his brow as he had already joined his own friends. You pointed at the drinks table. “Vodka soda!” you ordered.
He rolled his eyes, but did it anyway. Your friends watched wide-eyed as he obeyed you wordlessly, bringing over the drink. “Anything else, princess?”
    “Yes,” you gave him a judging once-over. “Don't drink tonight. I want to get home in one piece.”
He bit his cheeks and glared at you before growling “Fine” and returning to his friends.
At some point you didn't even want a drink any more, it was just fun ordering Hawk to go fetch you another one; and so, you found yourself unintentionally drunk, laughing mindlessly at anything said and swaying on your feet.
You didn't even know how late it had gotten when Hawk came in the living room looking for you, ready to go home as most the others already had.
You had earlier made him promise to take you home as well, and – something you were quickly learning was, Hawk was definitely a man of his word. He spotted you half-sprawled on the couch, laughing with Yasmine at something you didn't fully register. Your cup was askew in your hand, contents about to spill over when Hawk grabbed it out of your hand, placing it on a table nearby.
    “Come on, Y/n. It's time to go.”
    “Not yet!” you grinned gleefully, taking hold of his wrist and shaking it dumbly as you spoke. “Later! We're having fun!”
Hawk placed his free hand on yours that held him. “It's four AM, Y/n, time to call it a night.”
    You didn't reply, instead resorting to pouting like a child.
His eyes softened (the puppy eyes never failed to work) – but his jaw clenched. “If you don't come now I'm leaving you here.”
    “Fine!” you hurriedly rose to your feet, using Hawk for balance. “Bye,” you pouted at Yasmine childishly as Hawk pulled you away from her and out of the house.
The sudden quiet of the outside was nearly overwhelming, Hawk's voice sounding too loud for you. “How am I supposed to get you home when you're this drunk?”
    “I'm not drunk,” you answered instinctively, knowing that you very well were.
    “If you can make it to the bike in a straight line, I'll believe you.” You look at his bike, ten feet ahead. You decide to keep holding on to him. “That's what I thought. Listen. You gotta stay awake, okay? I can't have you falling off in the middle of the road, or making me sway, because then we're both dead. Got it?”
    “Dead. Got it.”
Hawk didn't look convinced, but placed a helmet on you and buckled it anyway.
It was about ten minutes in to the ride when Hawk pulled over. He turned to you, his voice as serious as he could make it; you simply smiled, somewhat dazed. “This isn't going to work.”
    “Hm?”
    “Y/n!” Hawk called, trying to wake you up a little. “Don't fall asleep!”
    “Yes, sensei.” you slurred. Had you been any more awake, you might have noticed the way Hawk's eyes widened at that.
Hawk had to refocus himself to go on. “I'm serious. Look... My house is closer than yours. You can sleep it off at mine, and I'll take you wherever tomorrow. Okay?”
    “Okay,” you shrugged, your mind not caring about much other than regaining the warmth of Hawk's body pressed against yours.
Minutes later you pulled up at an unfamiliar house. Hawk unbuckled your helmet and set it aside, helping you off the bike and guiding you inside, motioning Shhh as he led you through the corridor of his darkened house until you reached his room.
The most natural thing for you to do the moment you saw a bed was to collapse on it. In the seconds Hawk turned his back on you to find you Pj's to wear, you had fallen asleep.
    Looking at you on his bed, Hawk exhaled heavily. He was very aware of your hatred of him; what he couldn't understand was, if everyone else forgave him, why not you?
It certainly didn't help that you looked the way you do, that you were talented, and that everyone loved you.
So Hawk undid your shoes and pulled them off, laying a blanket on you before leaving you to sleep.
    You woke up groggy, somewhat hungover and in a strangers room; an interesting start to the day.
You didn't really want to leave the comfort of your lonesome in the room but it was clear you would have to face the music at some point, so you womaned up and left the room.
Following the smell of food cooking, you walk down a hallway to find a red-haired man in the kitchen, his tattooed back to you, muscles flexing as he flipped a pancake.
With his hair down, it took you a moment to register who you're seeing; who's bed you spent the night in.
    Hawk.
Your first instinct was to groan, to cower in to yourself in regret; but then you remember how tenderly he treated you the night prior, making sure you got safely to a bed, letting you have his bed.
You swallowed your pride and stepped in to the kitchen. “Morning.”
Hawk's shoulders jumped in fright as you startled him; you couldn't help but giggle. He quickly rightened himself, straightening his back and flexing his abs as he turned to you.
    He was good looking and he knew it. You hated him.
However, you felt your power returning to you as he couldn't help but look you up and down, your disheveled clothes revealing a bit more than they had the night before. Hawk inhaled sharply, reminding himself of who he was, how he was supposed to act: unfazed.
    “Bout time you got up.”
You frowned, looking at the kitchen clock. “What do you mean about time? It isn't even noon yet.”
    “Yeah, well,” Hawk flipped a pancake on to a nearby plate. “You wanted me to take you to the mall today, right? I have practice later, so it's gotta be now.” The Eagle-fangs were holding weekend practices of their own, something you weren't a fan of.
    “Jeez, fine,” you sneered, allowing yourself to sit at the kitchen table. Amidst the chaos that was waking up in Hawks bed, you had totally forgot you previously asked him to take you out today. Yasmine's parents were making her take tutoring lessons, Moon was doing some spiritual healing thing and Sam was with Miguel, so you were left all alone – but you certainly didn't intend on spending Sunday at home, doing nothing.
    Hawk finally shut off the burner and joined you at the table with a stack of pancakes and two plates in tow. “Eat away your hangover. I'm not gonna hold your hair up if you hurl.”
Breakfast with Hawk ended up being a surprisingly civil affair; so was shopping. There was something exciting about dragging him along after you, shop after shop, having him carry your bags and modeling clothes for him. And honestly, you were loving the effect you had on him. You knew he was trying to hide it, but you could see the way he grew antsy when you tried on bikinis. You loved teasing him, knowing he couldn't have you.
    What also didn't hurt was the way you two turned heads walking down streets together. You were undeniably gorgeous, and he... While at first you thought it was the bright red mohawk that grabbed peoples eyes, after a close inspection you couldn't deny he had fair features, too. You had to look away whenever he tensed his jaw, accentuating his jawline, or if God forbid he smiled, you had to deny the way his smile made your stomach knot up.
    As though to top off the experience of him, by the time you finished shopping, Hawk would have been late if he was to take you home, so you suggested he take you to practice with him and just take you home once he was finished. And oh my... You did not need to see him fighting. Having a whole hour to see his biceps flexing as the threw punches was doing you no favors; when you were both practicing you were too busy with yourself to notice him, but right then you had a whole hour to do nothing but stare.
At the end of the practice you rose when Hawk approached you, ready to go. When his sensei understood you were waiting there for him, he asked Hawk, “Yours?”
Hawk didn't answer; he merely smirked that Hawk smirk of his. His sensei nodded proudly. “Nice.” Creep.
You had a couple more days to squeeze the most you could out of your bet, and by all means were you planning on using them.
Hawk was taking you to school and home every day on the back of his bike – to Miyagi-do, too. It became a regular thing to see you two together, and if anyone was expecting you, they expected Hawk, too.
Just as the previous mornings, you and Hawk walked in to school together. Seeing your friends, you bid him goodbye and went to join them, your eyes lingering on him a bit too long as he said hello to Miguel.
Yasmine's jaw dropped as she looked at you, her expression scandalized. “What?” you asked.
    “You're totally in to the freak!”
    “What? No,” you denied – but even as the words left your mouth, you could hear your lack of conviction. “No.”
You looked back to where Hawk and Miguel stood; this time, he caught your eye. Then, with total audacity, he winked at you.
You felt heat rush through your body.
The smirk that grew on him suggested he knew exactly what he was doing to you.
    You hated it.
Deciding to put an end to this madness, you wordlessly leave your friends and march up to Hawk, a new rage running though you.
He stopped talking with Miguel when you reached him; Miguel visibly tensed at what he felt was a dangerous situation for him to be in.
    “Sidebar,” you ordered. Hawk smirked.
    “After you, princess.”
You hoped no one would notice when you lured him in to an empty classroom, but in all honesty, it was you and Hawk. There were always eyes on you two.
You turned to him once you were engulfed in the silence of the room. “Listen. I don't know what you're playing at, but cut it out. I own you, got it? Don't go winking at me in the hallway like I'm your girlfriend or something.”
You expected to see him cower, blush, show any sign of intimidation – but there was no such emotion. The smirk he wore only grew in confidence. “You sure about that?” he asked cheekily. “Because it seems to me like you'll find any excuse to be around me.”
You couldn't believe the audacity of this boy. You were stunted for words; he went on. “Be honest with yourself. Once the week is up, you'll still find reasons to talk to me.”
You bit your cheeks; you hated how he was right, how he read you so easily. “And look, I'm done playing this game too.”
Your stomach dropped. Was he about to reject you, without you even confessing? “I'm not playing with you,” you tried to say intimidatingly, but your voice came out too small for comfort.
    “Me neither. So...” Hawk looked down at you; you could have drowned in his ocean eyes. You averted your gaze to the side, crossing your arms.
    “Fine. We can call it off early.”
Hawk chuckled. You wanted to punch him. “You still don't get it, do you?”
You returned your eyes to Hawk, ready to chew him out when he placed his hands on your cheeks, pulling you to him for a kiss.
You could feel yourself melting in to the kiss, feeling a rush of adrenaline run through you as you finally got to experience what you didn't want to admit to yourself that you craved so deeply.
When he finally pulled away, he kept his hands on you, your noses nearly touching. “I've wanted to do that for a long time,” Hawk admitted.
You half-smiled. “It's only been a week.”
Hawk had burst in laughter, his thumbs caressing your cheeks. “You still don't get it.” Before you could protest his words, his lips met your once more.
    Maybe you could find it in you to forgive him, after all.
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ootahime · 3 years
Text
what is utahime’s role in the future? — a prediction (manga spoilers)
part 1 (unedited)
I WAS ABOUT TO POST IT BUT I ACCIDENTALLY DELETED IT AND I WAS SO HURT FR!!!!! I HAD REWRITE THIS ENTIRE THING </33
part 2 is here!
in this post, i will be analyzing the information we’ve been given about utahime so far to form a prediction about her future role in the jujutsu kaisen series. if you’re as interested in utahime’s character as i am, please feel free to keep reading :3 (i’ll also be talking about her relationship with gojo a bit too)
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soukatsu_ on twt!
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kaikaikitan on twt!
utahime iori is a semi-grade 1 sorcerer working as a student supervisor/teacher at kyoto jujutsu high school. she loves drinking beer and going to karaoke. she’s also close friends with shoko and she’s not particularly fond of gojo most of the time. what else do we know about her?
hates sweets (funny she’s the complete opposite of gojo)
she’s great at singing and it’s a huge part of her technique
squabbling with gojo became a reflex :3
everyone absolutely adores utahime
loves watching soccer and baseball
a terrible drunk (worse than naobito zenin)
gojo is her main source of stress
let’s dive into her personality and abilities!
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chapter 65
before i get into it, i think it’d be best if i were to explain the timeline because a lot of people seem to be confused about this one particular thing. utahime is born on february 18th, 1987. contrary to popular belief, she is not 3 years older than gojo. it is november 2018 in the story because gojo was sealed on halloween. if gojo was born on december 7th, 1989, that would mean that right now, he is only 28 years old. he has yet to turn 29.
the year is 2007. gojo satoru is a second year at tokyo jujutsu high school. the japanese school year begins in april which suggests that gojo is only 17 at the time (even if it’s not april, it doesn’t look like winter yet so it’s unlikely that he’s already 18). utahime is 20 because it is past february. she is a 2nd grade sorcerer at the age of 20. that’s not bad at all!
chapter 65 introduces young utahime and mei on a mission together within a cursed site. in real time, they’ve been gone for two days which is a cause of concern for gojo, shoko, and geto because the two haven’t contacted anyone since the beginning of their mission.  the two begin to suspect something is wrong because the hallway markers they’ve set in place disappeared, and no matter how far they travel within the halls, the end is nowhere in sight.  mei theorizes that the cursed spirit is overlapping the space as they travel forward.  utahime agrees with this speculation and proposes a plan to escape the cursed spirit’s grasp by moving erratically.  notice how she says that if one of them should escape, they can try to attack from the outside or call for help.  if utahime was not capable of inflicting damage on anything then she would have told mei to escape and attack if she can while she waited to be rescued.  however, she didn’t.  she included herself in the sentence which leads me to believe that she is capable of going on the offense if needed.  
keep in mind that at this point in time, mei is a grade 1 sorcerer.  she is knowledgeable about all things involving jujutsu because she is experienced and skillful.  we can see this aspect of her character illustrated when she theorizes that the cursed spirit is messing with the space they’re in.  she chooses to go with utahime’s plan because she agrees that it’s the best action moving forward.  this verifies that utahime is an intelligent girl that’s able to get along with pretty much anyone.  
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her intellect is demonstrated once again in chapter 79.  she was able to deduce the possibility of there being more than one traitor and the fact that one is probably a higher up.  she also narrowed down the mechamaru as the mole of kyoto not because he was acting suspicious but by process of elimination.  she thought thoroughly of his technique and how easy it would be for him to manipulate devices small enough to be undetectable.  
sure you can argue that she should already know all her students’ abilities and whatnot but you have to admit that it’s hard trying to sniff out the traitor when no one is acting suspicious.  in addition to that, how did she know that there was a traitor in the top brass?  i would have never guessed that tbh LOL (maybe bc im an idiot).
okay, now that we have established that she’s intelligent, let’s answer a more important question.  is utahime weak?
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chapter 33
if gojo calls utahime weak, does that mean there is some truth to it?  well it is true that she is weaker than him because he’s the strongest and all.  in my opinion, he’s just teasing her.  he probably found that calling her weak is what really riles her up.  maybe i’ll talk about why he loves teasing her so much in a later post.  but anyway, gojo calls everybody and their mom weak.  he even said jogo was weak and we know how powerful that guy is.  gojo’s words alone do not indicate much about utahime’s power.  in fact, i don’t even think he has seen her use her technique yet.  he’s probably only ever heard of how it works.  this is what i think their conversation about her technique was like:
gojo: hm?  ur cursed technique is singing?  can u show me?
utahime: what!  no way!  
gojo: why not?
*one of the classmates tells him that she can only use her CT once in a while because it consumes a lot of energy*
gojo: hahaha!  u have to conserve cursed energy to use ur CT?  why are u so weak, utahime?
utahime: i!  am!  your!  senpai!  respect!  me!
what i’m trying to say is that gojo loves poking fun of people.  we should not believe him when he calls someone weak because compared to him, everyone is weak.  
this is a little off topic but let’s examine him telling her, “and you don’t have the nerves, utahime.”  i think he’s trying to say that there’s no way she’ll ever do something like that because she’s not the type to put her students in danger.  remember the soft expression and relieved smile on her lips when she said that she was glad the students were safe after the kyoto incident?  gojo was directly in front of her so not only did he hear her say that, but he could have seen the look on her face too.  even if he told her that she didn’t have the guts to betray the school to get on her nerves, he knew that utahime simply cared too much about the students so he ruled her out as a suspect right away.  this is why he ultimately decided to confide in her and ask her to help him.  
i’m a person who loves over-analyzing things.  i really enjoy the dynamic between gojo and utahime.  they’ve known each other for more than 11 years and although they always bicker, there is an unspoken feeling of trust between the two.  gojo can do anything and everything by himself because he is truly the strongest person alive, but he still knows when to rely on others.  him deciding to entrust utahime with such a job implies that he believes in utahime’s abilities.
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chapter 52
she’s not using any cursed energy here--not to our knowledge at least.  this is just pure skill.  she was able to swiftly evade the swing from haruta.  he was surprised himself considering the fact that he was right behind her.  how do we know her CT isn’t speed?  after haruta swung at her, we can see that some of her hair got cut off.  if she was using her CT then speed should be her specialty.  she should have been able to completely avoid the attack altogether but she didn’t.  of course this isn’t a wow moment because jujutsu sorcerers should know how to dodge attacks, however, i’m just trying to get the point across that she’s not a defenseless person without her technique or others.  let’s not forget that semi-grade 1 isn’t a weak rank either.  you can’t simply be recommended to be a grade 1 sorcerer if you only can support others.  
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chapter 48
i want to bring up this panel. it suggests that utahime and takuma are sorcerers who have not experienced black flash and therefore, do not understand the essence of cursed energy as well as those who have like gojo and nanami.  i find it strange how takuma and utahime were used to represent sorcerers who haven’t experienced it yet.  is the purpose to demonstrate that there is a clear difference in skill between adult sorcerers like utahime and takuma compared to gojo and nanami?  i could be nitpicking but the order of todo’s statement doesn’t line up with the sorcerers being shown.  let me explain in depth.  todo starts off by saying, “for those who have experienced black flash as compared to those who have not...” wouldn’t it make more sense to show gojo and nanami on the right side to represent sorcerers who have experienced black flash?  that was mentioned first, after all.  gojo and nanami should appear when todo says “for those who have experience black flash” while utahime and takuma should be shown right after to personify the second part, “as compared to those who have not.”  i’m just making it more complicated than it actually is LOLOL i’m sure it really just means they haven’t experienced black flash yet, which is completely fine.  i also find it fascinating how they used utahime to contrast gojo.  with nanami and takuma it makes sense.  nanami is someone takuma looks up to, he wants to gain nanami’s approval before he deems himself worthy of a promotion. what about utahime and gojo?  what’s the purpose of comparing those two together when it’s obvious that gojo knows more about the essence of cursed energy more than anyone else?  i might be delusional whoops
----
let me know what you guys think?  this is only a part 1 so i haven’t gotten around to answering the question.  i’m pretty much done with the second part, i just need to revise it a little.  i think after i post part 2, i’ll try to interpret all the gojo and utahime moments in the manga >.<
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restlessfandoming · 3 years
Text
"you, my enemy" (chilumi oneshot)
Lumine must assassinate the cruel king of Snezhnaya, Ajax.
//
i could see this being turned into a full fledged fic? but for now, here is the dollar store version LOL
[Masterlist] [AO3 Link]
"you, my enemy"
“I want you to kill the king of Snezhnaya.”
Lumine’s eyes flickered to her client. “King Ajax?”
“There is only one, is there not?” the hooded man responded.
She narrowed her eyes at him. “You must have the wrong person,” she said. “I do run-of-the-mill jobs. I don’t murder kings.”
“I was told you were the only mercenary who could do it.”
Lumine slid out of the bar booth. “Find someone else who is insane enough to do that. I value my life.”
The man’s arm shot out, grabbing Lumine by the wrist. She would have sliced it clean off, had the man not taken off his hood.
He had an unmistakable hue of scarlet red hair, with equally fiery eyes to match.
“You’re Diluc,” Lumine said. “The son of the slain King Ragvindr.” It’s never a good idea to get involved with royals.
His face wavered at the mention of his father. “And who was the one who murdered him?”
“King Ajax,” she answered. “That sounds like your own quest for vengeance. Not mine.”
Diluc pulled her closer. “Magic,” he whispered.
Lumine’s blood ran cold. “Magic?” she echoed hollowly.
“I’ve been trying to find the right person to do this for a long time,” he told her. “I had to do my research.”
“What does magic have to do with this?” Lumine asked, trying to keep her voice even.
“You use magic,” Diluc stated. “That’s how you’ve completed every single one of your assignments perfectly.”
Magic had been banished long ago, a witch hunt massacring any and all magic users within the land of Teyvat. Each of the seven kingdoms had decreed it, agreeing that those with magic were too powerful—a threat to the people, all people.
Ever since, the rare few born with magical powers were forced to hide away their abilities for survival. I thought Aether and I hid it well enough.
“You do this, I won’t report you to the authorities,” Diluc continued.
“What about you?” Lumine hissed. “You’re supposed to be dead with the rest of your family.” She shook off his grip. “If I report you to King Ajax, there’s no doubt I’d get a hefty reward, more than you could ever give me for murdering him.”
He pursed his lips into a thin line. “If there’s any suspicion of a magic user, what sort of action do the authorities take?”
You’re killed on the spot—no questions asked. The kingdoms didn’t want to run any risk of magic users rising up, no matter how small of a threat.
“We would be executed at the same time,” Diluc said lowly.
Shit.
Lumine sat back down in the booth, sinking into the seat, gnawing on the side of her cheek. Then, she took a deep breath in.
“You’ll give me every single piece of Mora you have,” she demanded.
Diluc’s face visibly relaxed. “Of course.” He crossed his arms. “The hidden vaults of my family are all yours: every single jewel, Mora, artifact—when you complete the job.”
Lumine’s mouth nearly watered at the prospect of all the riches.
No, she wasn’t greedy. That amount of Mora meant she and her twin brother Aether could retire from this life, this life of scraping by with the money they made from bloody bounties and assassinations. It was the only job they could do, being abandoned as children, having to learn to fend for themselves.
This one job meant she and Aether could have quiet peace until the end of their days.
She held out her hand to Diluc.
“You have a deal.”
* * *
When Lumine arrives in Snezhnaya, she expects impoverished villages, famished citizens, and cold, desecrated lands—all while this merciless, vile king sat on his throne of bones and riches.
However, what she finds are bustling streets of business and cheerful citizens. Children played freely on the streets. The kingdom was thriving.
Is this king truly as evil as the stories say?
It hadn’t been long since King Ajax had begun his crusade of conquering the entirety of Teyvat. It had started with his brutal assassination of his own ruler at the time, the slaying of the late Tsaritsa, quickly followed by his claim to the throne. Then, he had taken over the small country of Mondstadt, and Liyue fell shortly after.
Any who opposed him would face the sharp end of a blade. The stories of him on the battlefield were whispers of blood soaked garments and a wicked smile as he slaughtered soldier after soldier with no remorse.
The image of this bloodthirsty monster faded as Lumine watched these citizens move around care free, as if they were unaware of the atrocities laying under their feet committed by their dear King Ajax.
Glancing up, she could see the distant looming monument, the grandiose castle of the king, looking over the land with a watchful stone eye.
She listened intently to the conversations around her, seeking any information about this Ajax, about how to get close enough to do her job.
She always wanted the most covert way, and now even more so. This was very much her highest profile case, and if she wasn’t careful, she could potentially start wars, with her murder being the first blood.
Perhaps the best way was to become some nondescript maid, someone’s whose presence and subsequent disappearance wouldn’t be questioned by any of the king’s allies. Perhaps as a chef? She could easily poison his food and silently slip away.
How she wished Aether was here with her. He was much more a strategist than she. Unfortunately, he had taken on a different job, far away in Inazuma. They would not see each other until both of their assignments were completed.
Lumine sighed, moving down the street, in search of a bar. Drunk bastards were always the best source of information: they didn’t know how to shut their mouths. In a bar, there were no figures too suspicious, and if there were, they would quickly be forgotten within a few pints of ale.
She pushed past vendors, until she was stopped by a brunette woman in a lavender robe.
“You are not from here,” she said with a breathy smile.
Singled out already? “I’ve only just recently moved here,” Lumine lied.
“Oh? For what reasons?” the woman pressed, her long eyelashes batting as she assessed Lumine head to toe. “Work?”
“No.” What was this woman’s motive? “I’ve heard Snezhnaya is a great country to live in.”
A content, pitched sigh. “Well, since you’ve just moved here, why don’t you come work for me? Outsiders earn a pretty penny.”
Lumine stared at her. “Who are you?”
The woman smiled. “I am Ying’er. I’m in charge of a local performance troupe.” She stepped closer, and Lumine could smell her flowery perfume. “I would love to have you join us.”
“No, thank you,” Lumine told her, inching away. Sounds like a cheap cover for a brothel. “I’m not in need of a job right now.”
Ying’er pouted, but stepped back. “Alright then, sweetie.” She leaned on the doorway of her shop. “I’ll be right here if you decide to come back,” she finished with a wink.
Lumine gave a curt nod before slinking away, back to her search for a bar. She pulled the hood of her cape over her head, sticking to the shadowed walls on her walk. Do I really stick out that much here?
In the distance, she heard the subtle pounding of a drum, and watched, astonished, as the crowded streets parted straight down the middle. An eerie silence filled the previously buzzing plaza. Something was coming.
All the citizens had their heads bowed—Lumine quickly followed suit.
The booming of the drums came closer, and she heard the thunderous marching of armored boots layered into the sound. She glanced up.
There was an entourage of armored soldiers, an assortment of glistening weapons at their sides, escorting a decorated golden carriage.
King Ajax.
What was this? Was there some sort of special occasion taking place?
Much easier to find than expected.
The carriage rolled past. Lumine strained to look at the window while still keeping her head bowed.
Unfortunately, the window was curtained, a velvety red cloth obscuring any view of the king. Lumine wrinkled her nose in disappointment; she had wanted to see what she was up against.
The terrifying rumors of King Ajax never told of what he looked like. Lumine imagined a beastly figure, one with dark shaggy hair and sharp teeth, bones all jutting out in the wrong directions, filleted with raw scars all over.
The carriage continued to move past.
Could she do it? Could she use her magic to take him out right now? There certainly was a large number of people around, and all of them would be suspects; all the easier for her to get away.
However, the guards could easily murder everyone in the plaza if a perpetrator wasn’t found. And, as Ying’er so blatantly pointed out, Lumine didn’t exactly fit in with the Snezhayan citizens.
She would just have to wait. Wait for a better opportunity. Wait to learn more about King Ajax. Wait to plan the best way to kill him.
There was a rustle of murmurs as the citizens returned to their activities, the royal carriage and its guards wheeling out of sight—the air more tense than before.
Taking in a deep breath, she resumed her search.
I need a drink.
* * *
Lumine sat in the corner booth as always, the seat in the bar that could overlook the entire establishment, the place where she could easily see who entered and exited the building.
She sipped at her mug of ale: not enough to become inebriated, but just enough to take some of her stress away. She still listened intently for any utterances about King Ajax.
She kept her eye on a man who was chugging pint after pint of alcohol, complaining about his job, his kids, his wife.
Maybe he’ll complain about his king as well.
“God, I miss Mondstadt,” the man sighed.
Lumine raised a brow. Someone from the conquered land of Mondstadt? He should definitely harbor some resentment for King Ajax.
“Careful there,” the bartender muttered. “The king will have your tongue if you speak ill of him.”
The drunkard scoffed. “The king ain’t here, is he? Too busy with his parties and parades to ever come to a hole-in-the-wall bar.”
The bartender shrugged, silently wiping a glass.
“C’mon,” the man continued. “You don’t think it’s weird how he always invites those performers to the castle? What a dramatic man.” A hiccup. “You think he beds all of them?”
“Probably. Lots of women would want to sleep with the king”
“See, King Ragvindr never did things like that.” He laid his head on the counter. “A modest man. Genuinely cared about his people.”
“King Ajax cares for us. He provides—he’s made Snezhnaya wealthier than ever.”
“Hmph. Is that why he murders people in cold blood? Remember that man that got executed in the street for not bowing to him?”
“Just listen to him, and you’ll be fine.”
Lumine slid out of her booth, making her way to the exit, to a certain brunette woman with a lavender robe.
He likes performers.
A plan started to bubble in her mind as she walked the streets to Ying’er’s shop.
She would slip into the castle with the performance troupe. She would feign illness, seemingly leaving early, when in actuality, she would hide until all the guests had left. King Ajax would retire for the night, alone—and that’s when she would strike.
Lumine smiled, just a bit, confidence coming to her now that she knew what to do.
Her and Aether’s life of freedom felt like a breath away.
* * *
“You’ve certainly improved quite a lot,” Ying’er said, sauntering into Lumine’s quarters.
Lumine set her lyre down. “Guess I’m a quick learner.”
It had been a few weeks since Lumine had arrived in Snezhnaya, and became one of Ying’er performers. She had decided to learn an instrument—the lyre—while staying with Ying’er and the rest of the performers at the hostess’ establishment. She preferred it over becoming a poet or dancer.
Ying’er was right: many people came to watch Lumine sit prettily on stage and play her lyre—her face painted with make-up, and her body adorned with beautiful robes and gowns.
All the while, Lumine anxiously awaited the king’s invitation to their performance troupe. He had invited different groups all over town, though not Ying’er’s yet.
Was this plan a failure? Where was that damned man’s invitation—
“Is that what I think it is?” Lumine asked, eyeing the embellished envelope in her boss’ hand.
Ying’er hummed in affirmation. “The king has finally invited our group to perform at a party tonight.”
Finally. “What an honor,” Lumine said with a smile.
“Very much so.” Ying’er put her hand under Lumine’s chin, examining her face. “Yes...I will have you dressed in our best garments and make-up.”
The woman smiled. “After all, you are our pretty little star.”
* * *
The carriage ride to the castle was filled with the girls’ giggles and whispers, how they wished for the king to whisk them away into a life of riches and royalty, to be his beloved first wife. Lumine kept a hand pressed against her leg—ensuring the dagger hidden under her heavy robes wouldn’t fall out.
She didn’t like to get messy with such a close ranged weapon—she would usually just use her magic from a distance—but she wasn’t going to take a chance if something were to go awry.
As they neared the castle, everyone burst into gasps, admiring the massive stone structure. The excitement doubled as the dozens of other carriages came into view as well.
This is going to be one very extravagant party.
Before she knew it, Lumine was sitting in the great hall, along with the rest of the party goers, awaiting the king’s arrival. She saw the empty throne at the very front of the room, raised on a marble platform, his rightful place above his subjects.
A fanfare of brass instruments blared. The king is here.
The room collectively stood, bowing their heads as the king’s personal guards filed in. Lumine quirked her head to look for King Ajax.
Oh.
The king was not a hideous looking beast at all.
In fact, he was quite the opposite.
He walked in, tall stature carrying an air of importance (and arrogance) on his shoulders with a billowing crimson red cloak, a broad grin plastered on his face. He was young, exactly around Lumine’s age.
He had reddish-brown hair framing his face, locks that glittered like gold in the light of the room, and his eyes were like vortexes—deep whirlpools of the bluest ocean water. All his features were sharp, upturned, like a cunning fox waiting contently to trap its prey.
She watched as he made his way up to his throne, a sickening anxiety spreading through her limbs.
Lumine had never killed anyone so close in age to her—it had always been older men and women. And, of course, she had never found herself attracted to her target.
“Please,” the king spoke, still grinning. “Have a seat.” As he sat on his throne, the rest of the room sat as well.
Lumine swallowed the lump in her throat. His voice was light, playful even.
Was that truly the murderous king of Snezhnaya?
“A toast, to you, my people,” he said, raising a golden goblet. “Let the festivities begin.”
Lumine gulped down her own glass of wine, then shook her head.
I’m here for a job. Not romance.
The room filled with chatter, and Ying’er motioned to Lumine and the rest of the musicians to the corner where they would be performing their music for the night.
Lumine gathered her lyre, shuffling towards her spot in her heavily layered robes. Her mouth was set in a taut line.
A momentary lapse in judgement.
As she played the first few notes, her eyes flickered to the king, who was busy greeting various nobles at his throne. She narrowed her eyes at him, at that sly, sly smile on his face.
It won’t happen again.
* * *
The night seemed to drag on forever. After what seemed like an eternity of playing music for the room—as other patrons ate and danced and conversed—the musicians were finally taking a break.
Lumine delightfully chewed through expensive meats and breads as various actors, dancers, and poets took the floor in front of King Ajax to present their pieces.
The king seemed to be entertained, joining on some of the performances himself.
That drunkard from the bar was right. King Ajax was quite dramatic, inserting himself into the spotlight whenever he so pleased. How pretentious.
The crowd clapped and cheered as another performance was brought to an end, an air of boisterous chatter resuming. Lumine swallowed her last piece of food, making her way to Ying’er.
Time to get started.
“Ying’er,” Lumine called to her boss, clenching her side. “I feel a bit sick.”
The brunette woman raised a brow. “You were looking quite well before.”
“Yes, it was very sudden,” Lumine responded, turning to the exit. “I think I will just head back now.”
“So soon, dear? We haven’t even introduced ourselves to the king yet.”
Lumine was already on her way out. “I’ll see you back at the shop.”
She slipped past the guards patrolling the halls, ducking into the nearest empty room, a storage closet of sorts. Perfect.
She hiked her long robes up, unsheathing her dagger, cutting away at the garments. Sorry, Ying’er. But I can’t fight in this. She threw the discarded fabric in a dark corner, where they would be forgotten about.
She slid the knife back into its sheath, and cracked the door open the tiniest bit—enough to watch the entrance into the great hall.
Now, all she had to do was wait.
* * *
Lumine would have fallen asleep had it not been for the two guards who stopped to converse right outside her door. Within a matter of seconds, Lumine had gone from sleepily nodding off to firmly clenching her weapon in her hand, nerves buzzing on high alert.
“That party dragged on forever,” one of the guards said. “I don’t know how King Ajax does it. Isn’t he exhausted every night?”
“Not sure. He seems to enjoy it.”
“He’s been gone a while now. Should we check on him?”
Lumine tightened her grasp on her dagger. He was gone?
“No. He likes to be alone at night. He’ll kill you if you interrupt him.”
“Oh...Should we just go to the other side of the castle then? So we don’t...interrupt him?”
“...Sounds like a good idea.”
The sound of their footsteps faded, and Lumine dared a peek out the door to scope out the hallway.
There were no other guards, and the boisterous sounds of the party were long gone.
Lumine slid out of the closet, sneaking down the hall, starting her search for King Ajax.
Sounds like he’s still here somewhere. Alone.
This job was getting easier and easier.
Too easy.
* * *
Please be in this room.
There was a great stone door before her, one she had come to after a mind-numbingly exhaustive search through the entirety of the large castle. She pushed on the door, as slowly and as quietly as possible, then looked in.
She nearly cried out in relief.
Sitting in the middle of the room was King Ajax, his back turned to her.
He was completely silent, unmoving, in this empty stone room. Was he asleep? No, it looked more like meditation.
Lumine slinked in, silently, conjuring the elemental energy of the wind in the room.
She would take every bit of air out of his body. Quick, quiet, no mess. It was the method she had always used.
She closed her eyes to focus, feeling the pull of air from his lungs.
He was going to die, and she was going to be free, free with her brother—
WHOOSH!
Lumine opened her eyes just in time to see Ajax rush towards her.
His hand wrapped around her throat, and he slammed her into the ground. All of the breath in her body hissed out of her, and she clawed at his hand.
“Who are you?” he growled.
She stopped prying at his hold, quickly yanking out her dagger, and slashing at his face.
He dodged, forcing him to loosen his grip on her.
She slashed again at his hand, throwing herself away from him as he recoiled in pain. She rubbed at her neck, gasping for breath. The king was looking at the gash across his fingers.
Shitshitshit.
Lumine quickly focused her energy on the earth below, trying to create shackles out of stone to hold him in place, or to just bury him alive.
The ropes of earth sprang out of the ground. His eyes flickered to the coils as they rushed for him.
Yes!
But then a swirling mass of water appeared, engulfing him, destroying the chains in the process.
What—?!
A sharp stream of water shot out from the bubble, coiling around Lumine before she could react. She was pulled to the ground, bound, and unable to move.
The bubble of water dissipated, and Ajax stepped out, eyes ablaze. He approached Lumine.
“Who are you?” he asked again, less angry, more inquisitive.
She strained against the chains of water, her elemental energy unable to rid them. She locked eyes with him. “You’re a magic user.”
He squatted next to her. “You are too,” he responded, the smallest ghost of a smile on his lips. He took her dagger into his hands, weighing it. “Now, why were you trying to kill me?”
Lumine bit her cheek. No, she couldn’t sell Diluc out; he could still get Aether killed.
“That’s how you conquered Mondstadt and Liyue so easily. You used magic,” she pushed, ignoring his question. “That’s forbidden.”
He barked out a laugh, wiping his bloodied hand on her robes. “And yet, here we are, two magic users in one room.” He pointed the dagger at Lumine’s neck. “Tell me why you were trying to kill me, before I make it only one. I won’t ask again.”
“You’re going to kill me anyway,” Lumine said. “I’m a magic user. That threatens your power, doesn’t it?”
Ajax studied her for a second, pulling the dagger back, just a bit. “True.” He tilted his head. “But I’ve never actually met another magic user before.”
She averted his intense gaze. “So what are you going to do? Keep me alive and experiment on me?”
“No.” He stood. “How about this...in exchange for sparing your life, you become my student.”
What?
“You mean learn magic from you?” Lumine glared at him. “How do you know I won’t kill you in the future?”
“You won’t,” he said. “This murder attempt? Wasn’t personal—you tried to kill me from a distance. Someone must have sent you.” He closed his eyes, squeezing the hilt of the dagger. After some shaking, it disintegrated into dust.
“Also, you can’t kill me,” he continued, opening his eyes. “You’re severely untrained. You saw how easily I subdued you.” A small smile. “All the more reason to learn from me.”
Maybe this was the gods taking mercy on Lumine. Ajax didn’t kill her right away; she had a chance to live, to get back home to Aether.
“What’s in it for you? This only seems to benefit me,” she said to Ajax.
He hummed, thinking. “A potentially powerful weapon,” he responded, eyes glinting.
Maybe, once she learned more magic, she could overtake him, and complete her job.
She locked eyes with him.
“You have a deal.”
The ghost of those words burned bitter on her tongue.
* * *
Lumine nearly died the next morning.
“You did what?!” she gasped out, after deathly choking on a part of her breakfast.
She was currently sitting across from Ajax in his elegant dining room, who had just informed her that he had announced their marriage.
He leaned back in his chair. “A random new woman living in the king’s castle? Bound to raise many rumors,” he said, nonchalant. “This way, there are no rumors, and we can train without being questioned.”
Lumine worried her lip. He has a point.
“I don’t—We don’t have to...do anything in public, do we?” she asked.
“No.” He smirked. “Unless you want to, pretty girl.”
She grimaced. “No, thank you.” Here for a job, not romance, she reminded herself, no matter how handsome this cocky bastard is. Not to mention, she still planned to kill him.
And so, Lumine’s days were filled with training, pretending to the servants and maids she was King Ajax’s fiancée. She was trapped, as Ajax reminded her many times that if she tried to leave, he would swiftly execute her.
She learned more about him, as much as she didn’t want to. She saw that he did really care for his people, and provided for them as best he could—though he wasn’t above using his power to strike down those in his way, whether it was an enemy or a citizen who simply disrespected his reign.
And that was ultimately what he wanted: power. To have power over everyone in the land of Teyvat. He had endless ambition—Lumine could credit him that much.
Some days, she caught herself imagining it as well: a world she could rule over, have everyone bend to her will, set the laws so people like her and Aether could live without fear, and be provided for. In some ways, she could relate to Ajax’s desires. In some ways, she could justify his methods.
It very much disgusted her, at first. But then, it was liberating. To have someone who could understand the darker sides to her being, understand the blood on her hands.
Even Aether could never fully understand her. How part of her was always glad to be given magical powers to defend herself and those she cared about. How part of her enjoyed her current situation.
After all, she was living lavishly, compared to the impoverished life she had before. She had every meal provided for, luxuriously, and a soft bed to lay in every night. No threat of the authorities finding out about her powers and murdering her.
Could she perhaps bring Aether here?
Ajax had spared her—was it too much of a stretch to believe he would spare her twin as well?
If Aether could be brought here, she wouldn’t have to kill Ajax. She wouldn’t have to kill perhaps the only person in Teyvat that knew who she truly was.
* * *
“If you found another magic user,” she asked Ajax over dinner, “would you train them as well?”
Ajax took a sip of wine from his goblet. “No.”
“...No?”
A small smile, a slight flash of his canines. “I can’t have my weapons outnumbering me, now can I?”
Lumine’s mouth went dry. “If you won’t train them...what would you do with them?”
“Kill them.” He set the cup down. “They would be a threat.”
“I’m not a threat?”
Ajax barked out a laugh. “No, Lumine. No, you are not.”
Ah.
So she and Aether couldn’t be together here. Aether was still in danger of being outed by Diluc.
“Why?” Ajax questioned. “Are you lonely here?”
“I’m trapped in your castle. What do you think?”
He rested his head on his hand. “My bed is open at night, if you’d like.”
Lumine drove her knife through her food. “You’re insufferable.”
“Oh, Lumine, it’s just banter,” he said, chuckling. “You don’t think we’re friends? I quite like your company.”
She pursed her lips, staying silent.
“You don’t have to lie to me.” Ajax stared right at her. “I see you while we train. You like it here. You like becoming more and more powerful.”
He leaned over the table. “You and I are very similar.” He smiled. “There’s a hunger in your eyes. You want exactly what I have.”
Lumine stood abruptly. “We are nothing alike,” she spat uselessly. He sees right through me.
“I told you, you don’t have to lie to me,” Ajax responded, sitting back in his chair. “We are already married. We could rule together—as partners.”
...What?
“I thought I was your weapon.” Her knuckles were white from clutching the edge of the table.
“Partner if you so choose.” His blue eyes narrowed slightly. “Weapon if not.”
What game is he playing? “There has to be some sort of catch.” He was essentially offering her his power as king, even if it was just partially.
“No catch,” he said. “Like I said, if you refuse, you’ll just continue your little life of entrapment, as my weapon.”
“One of these options is obviously better than the other.”
Ajax laughed, genuinely, his expression softening, just a bit. “I guess one is.”
She gave him a look, quizzical, before swiftly leaving the room, his proposal still hanging in the night.
As the guards escorted her back to her room, she played the conversation over and over again in her mind.
Would it be so bad? Would it be so bad as King Ajax’s consort, his companion through his crusade of Teyvat?
He was right: part of her deep down ached for that kind of power.
But joining Ajax meant sacrificing her dear brother.
The aching desire hissed, Is that a sacrifice you are going to make?
* * *
The castle’s stone floors were freezing on Lumine’s feet as she traversed through the halls barefoot. No shoes meant no sound. No sound meant she could surprise the guards, getting the upper hand to take them out. Already, there was a trail of dead guards behind her as she passed through the corridors, the air stripped from their lungs.
Her sheer white nightgown fluttered around her as she dashed about, and in the dim moonlight waning through the windows, she thought herself a ghost, an angel of death. She was on a path she could not stop.
She knew exactly where he was. After spending so many days trapped here, of course she knew where the king’s quarters were.
She knew him like clockwork: what days he would stay up in his study, what days he would retire to his chambers and when. She knew where his guards were, when they would switch patrols, when their protection would be the weakest.
And when it came time, she stood outside of his door, wavering on the spot slightly.
She shook her head, trying the door. Locked.
Taking a breath in, she rapped her knuckles on the hardwood.
She heard rustling beyond the heavy oak door, her heartbeat picking up. She would have to get in there quick, before he looked behind her and saw his guards missing.
The door swung open, a flash of anger on Ajax’s face until he saw who it was.
He gave her a closed-eye smile. “Ah, Lumine, to what do I owe the pleasure—”
Lumine stood on the tips of her toes, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt, pulling him in for a kiss.
She could feel him go rigid under her touch. She walked him backwards, further into the room, closing the door behind her with her foot.
As the door shut, he broke away from her. “Are you accepting my proposal?” he whispered, his hands clutched around her arms.
Lumine nodded, going for another kiss, arms slinking around his shoulders. This time, he melted into her touch, pulling until he was under her on his bed.
He fell for it.
Pity crept into her heart. From the way he breathed her in, the way he held her in his arms, there was a softness she had never seen from him.
He loved her.
She was his weapon, and now, his greatest weakness.
“I’m sorry,” she said against his lips.
His eyes opened, those ocean eyes on her as she pulled the air from his lungs with ease.
You shouldn’t have trained me.
His hand reached for her throat, but went to his own as he gasped and choked.
She wrapped her own hands around his, pressing down. She slammed her eyes shut. She didn’t want to see his face.
He thrashed wildly, and she repeated I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’msorryimsorry over and over again until he went still under her.
...
She opened her eyes, the world blurry around her. She wiped away the tears pooling in her vision, and looked down at Ajax.
He was unmoving, eyes glazed over, arms limp at his side.
Lumine reached for his throat, hand shaking, fingers checking for a pulse.
He’s dead.
She scrambled off of him, crumbling into a ball on the floor.
I killed him.
Her breathing was uneven—she was the one gasping for breath now as uncontrollable sobs racked through her body.
I am so sorry, Ajax.
* * *
“Lumi?”
Lumine turned to see Aether looking at her with worry.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
A breeze rustled by. Lumine turned back to look over green fields that stretched as far as she could see.
“I’m okay,” she responded.
“Okay,” he repeated. He smiled a bit, pulling an envelope from his pocket. “Diluc’s hawk came this morning. He sends warm wishes to us both.”
After the assassination of King Ajax, Lumine decreed Snezhnaya a freed country, a country with no ruler, and returned the lands of Mondstadt and Liyue back to their rightful heirs. Diluc, now the restored king of Mondstadt, gave Lumine and Aether the riches he promised, and a home deep in the countryside for the peaceful life they so desperately wanted.
But sometimes Lumine had nightmares of Ajax.
She would be sitting next to him, on their thrones as the King and Queen of Snezhnaya. Sometimes, little princes and princesses of theirs would be running around as well.
They would have conjured all of Teyvat together.
They would have loved each other.
Lumine would wake up, tears in her eyes, heart heavy with desire for that life.
And then she would cry because her life would never be peaceful ever again.
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