#the first half is just an extended breakdown. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

you-know-honey · 4 months

Text

A Pɑct With The Rɑin

Rain x f!reader

Sumary: Demons don't know love, so what would our nervous, timid ghoul do when feeling such a strong emotion?

Word Count: 9914

Note: bad english, I try to describe as best I can a nervous breakdown based on my own experience but since I always forget those moments I will do my best.

Rain moved the fork back over the plate, causing an awkward sound that was ignored by everyone else at the table. It was strange for him not to have even touched the portion of paella that was on his plate, he was just carrying the grains of rice back and forth and at this point she was sure that it was completely cold. She sighed and she took a long sip of water.

She was hungry but found herself unable to take a bite of any food, even if she was his favorite, which happened to be paella.

No one had asked him if there was something wrong with him, anyway he wasn't sure he could give an answer to that question.

"I'm leaving," she gave up and extended the plate toward the center of the table.

That was the first time everyone turned to see him. It already seemed strange to them that if he hadn't finished all the paella portions by himself, leaving food on the plate would be much more strange.

"What are you taking about?" Sodo replied, bringing the plate back to Rain, he still had half of his food on his plate. "Don't be stupid, you must take care of your vessel"

Rain looked at his plate for a few seconds before looking back at Sodo. He was right, he had been avoiding touching food for days, perhaps the lack of food caught his attention more than his strange state but it didn't seem to work.

"It cold" he answered simply. He wasn't in the mood to talk more than necessary.

"So? Don't expect me to heat it up? Go to the microwave."

Rain sighed, lifting his shoulders and letting them fall heavily. He took the plate from him and walked to the microwave.

The device was next to the bar where the brothers who had arrived late were putting food on their trays.

They all ate together, ghouls, sisters and brothers of sin. Scrambled in a huge dining room with long wooden tables, the windows were so high up that the sunlight didn't shine where it should. But Cumulus had made some strange contraption with mirrors and now it practically illuminated the entire place.

That reminded Rain of how weird it was to eat all together but basically ignore each other after walking through the door. The ghouls were of the same rank as the other inhabitants of the abbey, except clearly the Popes or Sister Imperator. They never ate with others, Rain remembered a meeting room in the papal pavilion that they rarely used for dinner. Although they always ended badly.

He rested one of his hands on the wall behind the microwave and put the plate inside, taking a few seconds to decide the perfect temperature, hoping that it wouldn't be dry or cold inside, in the best case scenario that it wouldn't explode.

"Rain?"

Oh no….

He recognized that voice. His tail tensed and a shiver ran through his body slowly. He moved his hand away from the wall as if it were burning him and desperately searched around him, among the sea, for the brothers and sisters of sin at the source of that voice.

He met her in line, waving with her free hand. And it all started.

His hands began to sweat uncontrollably, his feet demanded that he run but his legs felt weak at any moment, his stomach felt empty but filled with a strange fluttering, cold currents ran through him one after another, his heart seemed to stop and then run wild, his breath held in his mouth….

Her mind felt overwhelmed and she took advantage of the moment when you turned to choose what kind of soda to drink to run away.

She abandoned her plate of paella and crossed the doors with a skill she didn't know she had, almost carrying a sister of sin between her feet.

She ran as far as she could until she reached the library where he hid behind one of the bookshelves, holding her chest until her breathing began to calm down. A look of frustration appeared on her face as she slid to the floor and wrapped her cloak around herself to avoid the sunlight, although with the lack of cleaning of the windows it wasn't very necessary.

The library in the west wing was abandoned, he didn't even know it existed until he saw it from the bell tower. At that time he didn't know it was a library because of the amount of dirt on the windows. It was filled inside with enormous stone gargoyles that hung from the walls, yellowish bones and non-human or animal made up the chandeliers that had stopped having candles for years, the books inside that library were large and heavy, capable of disappearing if he sneezed. He didn't like making noise, he had taken it as his little secret place. Because of the strange air currents and the cold that seeped through the walls even if it was midsummer.

He decided to use it as a secret place the first night he began to feel the terrible symptoms of his mysterious illness.

He started spontaneously.

You rolled up the sleeves of your habit to continue taking clothes out of the dryer in a hurry, the afternoon sun was the most efficient, although for you it didn't last long enough. You didn't like the assigned task at all, it was humiliating.

It wasn't the clothes. You were bothered by the reason why you ended up washing dirty habits. During a Black Mass some idiot had slid his finger from your spine to your butt when you stood up to recite a song with the rest of your sisters. You reacted before thinking and let your fist hit the guy's face accompanied by the insult 'Stronzo' that came out of your mouth in Italian, to which everyone turned around amazed to hear those words from your mouth.

The guy got cold feet when he felt all the eyes on you and honestly so did you. In the end the only idiot there was you.

Sister Superior scolded you horribly when everything was over and as punishment you had to wash the clothes of the brothers who had been offended by your words, especially the cretin who touched your butt. You swore intermittently like an impressive faith but you didn't believe they would listen to your prayers.

Those guys seemed to take advantage of the opportunity and dirty as many clothes as possible to order you veritable mountains of bedding with suspicious stains, rock-hard stockings, and tunics with wine on them.

"Idiots," you muttered as you grabbed the last basket of linens and walked towards the hidden part of the garden that was lined with clotheslines.

You began to place one neatly white sheet after another, securing them to the rope. At least when they were all dry everything would be over for you and you would surely find a way to get back at them.

You sighed in relief before feeling a cold gust of wind that made the habit in your head fall behind your heels. I tear the sheets and other clothes violently. Ruffling your hair with malice.

You knew that kind of gale, and you just closed your eyes hoping it was a joke.

But it became clear not when thin drops of rain fell on the bridge of your nose. You looked at the sky and huge gray clouds began to gather excitedly over the sky. A thunderclap accompanied by more wind warned of the arrival of heavy rain.

"God you're a fucking son of a bitch." You smiled and felt the curtain of rain fall on you, on your hair and on your work.

You admitted it, it seemed as if God had punished your dirty mouth, sending you even more rain of drops as thick as pennies.

You ran from one place to another trying to grab as much clothing as possible, clutching it to your chest to prevent it from getting more wet, which didn't really matter because you yourself were starting to get soaked, your hair was sticking to your face, disturbing your vision.

You didn't give up even in your clothes that were clearly soaked. Your tears of frustration were confused with the raindrops that were sliding down your face.

Then everything stopped, you could still hear the patter of the rain falling but suddenly you no longer felt it and the aroma of wet earth and mud filled your nose.

"Are you OK?" You heard a sweet, soft male voice in the periphery.

At the entrance to the secret part of the garden there was a ghoul. Your breath held in your chest, normally you didn't interact with them, the other sisters said it wasn't convenient. But there he was, asking about your condition in an elegantly concerned tone.

He maintained a straight posture despite having his uniform soaked, one of his hands was extended to the sky and it seemed that perhaps that was what stopped the rain, you looked over your head and saw the drops of water breaking against an invisible ceiling. In the other hand he had a small bouquet of lilies of the valley, lavender and some mint leaves, the smell of those flowers and the earth under your feet helped you relax before answering.

You pushed away a wet strand of hair that was beginning to try to get into your mouth. "Did you do that?" You asked, curious rather than afraid of the demonstration of skill.

"Yes," he answered dryly, trying to formulate more than that word "it seemed like you had problems."

"Yes," you replied, "thank you for that." You smiled unconsciously.

He lowered his hand and approached you, his step was elegant, he walked with grace. He took the sheet in front of you and draped it over his arm.

"What are you doing?" The question was accompanied by a look of absolute surprise.

"Eh?" He seemed bewildered by your question "I'm trying to help, I thought… maybe you needed help" he excused himself, as he did so you could see his small fangs protruding from between his lips.

You couldn't help but examine him curiously, you had never been even remotely close to a ghoul.

“Thank you,” you whispered as you pulled back another bedsheet.

He was cute, you couldn't deny that, he wore his uniform immaculately despite dripping water. He had a beard that was just forming and his wavy hair fell short on his shoulders completely dry. You admired on his head some small black horns speckled with some blue dots that became accentuated when they reached the tips and seemed to shine and although it was something you had never seen before, what surprised you most was seeing his tail swinging behind.

"Excuse me…are you…" You heard him and realized that you were looking at him without any shame. He seemed a little embarrassed and his pointed ears were dyed a light blue blush.

"I'm sorry," you apologized and began to continue removing the sheets and clothes.

The silence wasn't awkward but it wasn't something you'd like either. You turned to go back to the laundry room but you collided with someone's chest and a mint smell invaded your nose.

"I'm sorry, I wanted to help you-"

You tried not to hold on to him and stand on your own but your feet slipped and you knew you would end up on the ground. You had no choice but to hold on to the vest. They both fell to the ground with the sound of a gasp coming from both of their throats. You felt his hands wrap around your waist as if he was also trying to catch you when you fell.

You started to laugh when you saw how the clothes in your hands were covered in mud when they fell. The ghoul next to you looked at you completely strange before laughing with you and after a few minutes you were both trying to catch your breath lying on the ground.

"What is your name?" You asked, turning around and throwing the sheets somewhere.

You would then take care of washing those missing pieces again and if not, you could buy others. The demon seemed surprised by your question, even with both of you on the ground.

"Rain" he responded and a light blue blush rose to his cheeks and ended in a cute smile.

You smiled, it was a sweet name and quite fitting for the situation. A giggle escaped your lips and Rain's smile trembled.

"It is funny?" I ask you.

"Not at all. It's a nice name Rain. Very fitting for this I would say" you pointed to the rain on both of you that still didn't touch you.

"What is your name?" He asked back and you couldn't deny that the blush on your ears was cute as hell.

"Y/N" you answered simply, there was nothing special about your name like there was about Rain's.

"I like it, it's cute" he responded with a full fanged smile.

"Thank you" you leaned back on your elbows, you could feel the water draining from your neck to your waist and I couldn't even imagine how horrible your hair must look, wet, tangled and full of mud. "Satan…what a shame…" you murmured.

You usually didn't get along with strangers. Meeting new siblings always represented a risk for you but with the water demon by your side none of that happened, you were comfortable and it was not at all like the sisters had described it to you.

"You know…" he turned to look at you, leaning back on his elbows as well, he didn't seem to care that his spotless suit was now stained with mud and weeds everywhere. "You're not at all like the other sisters describe you."

"They describe us?" He looked surprised and his tail rested on her thigh.

"Yes. They say they are flirtatious, even more so than Terzo or that they have a horrible temper and-"

Rain started to laugh, at first he tried to hide it but finally he burst into laughter.

"Who told you that?" she asked as he recovered from his fit of laughter. "It's half true"

"Half?" You felt a little silly saying it, but curiosity was your great quality.

He settled better on the floor, sitting with his legs crossed and you did the same without really knowing why, although you could notice how long his legs were and how his hands were fine and thin.

"Swiss is the one who flirts" he laughed again and looked behind him as if he hoped no one was after him "Sodo is the one with the horrible temper…between you and me" he got close enough to whisper in your ear, telling you a secret "We call him gremlin" his laugh resonated in your ear canal and it seemed even softer and sweeter.

They laughed together, they chatted for so long that the moon welcomed them and only then did you realize how late it was and how the cold was beginning to penetrate your bones thanks to your wet clothes. You didn't want to stop talking to him, he was interesting and everything that came out of his mouth never stopped surprising you.

You learned more that night about demons than in all your demonology classes. Although you only learned more about a certain water demon.

You discovered his love for lakes in the summer, he didn't like public pools because of their dirt and since there wasn't one in the ministry, he would drive hours to get to a lake on the outskirts of the city.

His collection of river stones and seashells, he even showed you some photos on his cell phone.

His love for books (if it's about sea adventures, even better)

And he destroyed the mystery of the Loch Ness Monster, assuring you that there was nothing and that humans were very imaginative.

His love for lilies of the valley and as always he asked Mountain to grow some.

He showed you photos of the shark-shaped lights that he had and that he only needed one to finish his collection, in addition to the stuffed animals. Sliding the screen to show them to you but a group photo from a sleepover was posted, he was asleep and a boy with vitiligo was putting makeup on him in an exaggerated way.

You laughed when you saw that photo and he passed it on as fast as he could.

"Sorry, I didn't know that was there." Rain moved some things around on her phone, maybe changing the folder photo.

"You can tell they're having a good time," you responded, trying to contain your laughter because your stomach was starting to hurt.

You never stopped listening to him, your eyes looked at him in amazement like those of a deer dazzled by a car.

Then you felt that strange sensation in your lungs, the itch in your nose and finally the result, a loud sneeze.

"Are you OK?" He asked, it didn't bother him that you had basically sneezed on him. His tail moved cautiously through the wet grass and approached your skin, feeling it cold. "Satan…you're going to catch a cold in those soaked clothes"

Rain stood up, Ilgiving you his hand to lift you off the ground.

"It's nothing, it's just cold" you tried to say but your nose was already stuffed up.

"It's a cold"

"And what about all this?" You pointed out the majority of dry sheets that you managed to get out in time and the poor ones that were left on the floor with you.

Rain didn't know what else to say, because of how your skin had felt, it was already too late to avoid the cold and if it hadn't been for the fact that he had started a very pleasant chat with you, you would have finished your work several hours ago.

"I'll help you. It's the least I can do after entertaining you for so long."

You really appreciated the help. And getting to work together they began the work, Rain elegantly folded the sheets, much better than you could have done, you did the least laborious part and picked up the sheets that were still hanging on the clothesline. He didn't speak during the task, something you were a little grateful for, since you didn't see yourself able to complete the task if he opened his mouth. They simply sent each other smiles every time their gazes connected.

You didn't want him to notice that you were dying of cold, your legs felt numb and you had to hold back some sneezes. Although without knowing it he already felt all this, he was deeply saddened and when he finished folding the sheets he walked towards you, he couldn't let you freeze from the cold in those dirty and soaked clothes.

You struggled a little with the sheet that finally split and fell into your arms. When you looked up, his chest was the first thing you saw. "Damn!" You gasped exhilarated and fortunately that time you didn't slip. "How are you so silent? You're going to scare me to death." You placed a hand on your chest, trying to relax your heart.

Rain let out a soft laugh. Music for your ears.

"Of course I don't want to kill you. You're soaked, I'm going to help you."

Before your amazed eyes he opened the palm of his hand and some raindrops began to fall on your palm, forming a puddle. It was as if he had opened a small window in the strange, invisible 'roof' that he had placed over the garden. The water fell and the puddle formed an even larger sphere of water.

"It's magic…" you were unable to get out of your admiration for everything that was happening.

"Something like that" the path behind you, now you could hear his footsteps on the wet earth.

The small window closed and you felt a cold hand slide over your shoulder.

"What are you doing?" you asked surprised, trying not to give in to the urge to turn around.

"I will clean the mud"

His words were simple, he didn't say more than what was necessary even if that left you with more doubts in your head. So you let him do whatever he planned.

You felt your hair move, some grass blades fell to the ground next to you. You were as still as a statue. The hairs on the back of your neck stood up as you felt the water seeping through your locks, you felt it move, dance in your hair, clean every bit of mud that remained and extract all the water until it was completely dry.

Rain sighed.

You couldn't avoid it anymore. You turned. He was startled, between them there was a sphere of water dirty with mud. Your hand went to your hair, it was dry, silky and shiny.

"You-? How did-?" You couldn't complete any sentence. Your hair was as beautiful as if you had paid for a luxury hair treatment.

"Will you let me finish?" He smiled. That silly smile that didn't come out of his mouth.

"Uh-huh…" you turned around again, keeping more questions in your head.

You couldn't feel it but you knew that something was happening and you just had to look down to see the sphere moving all over your clothes and leaving them clean and dry in its wake, the water rotated on itself, you were more than amazed watching it rise through your habit. .

A squeal left your mouth as the sphere slid down your back.

"Very cold?" Rain asked.

You nodded.

The water became warm and continued its journey through the habit, the sensation was strange. You felt the water pass through your entire body, making your skin crawl completely. You stayed calm as much as you could because you didn't want to burden him with questions so you just let the magic continue.

The sphere of water moved until it was in front of you, the water was dirty but somehow not stirred. The mud was at the bottom and reminded you of a snow globe.

A body behind you advanced until it was close and rested its chin on your shoulder.

"Yes, you can touch it."

You gently moved your index finger towards the sphere, it felt normal, but there was something that made you know that there was more to it than water and mud.

The sphere fell to the ground and the earth absorbed the water. A sigh stuck in your throat.

"You don't seem very happy…" Rain asked in your ear.

"Can everyone do magic like that? Is it a gift or something? How do you make water have a shape? I felt something else inside the water, was there something?-" He cut you short, he knew you would have questions but you were starting to blurt out one after another another hastily.

"It's a gift, it's no big deal" You were surprised how he acted as if it were something X and unimportant. I must have been used to those things but for you it was simply magical.

"If it wasn't a big deal I could do those things. It's special" The blush returned to his cheeks, although you couldn't see it.

The first butterfly had been born in his stomach and fluttered.

"I must go," the sensation alerted Rain, like a cat's intuition alerts her. He thought maybe something bad was happening with him, although it probably wasn't anything serious.

"Because?" You asked quickly, it was late but you wanted to hear him a little more.

Rain pointed to a lighted window far away, it was the wing of the ghouls, separated from the others. "Too late, I must return to them." You sighed secretly, it made sense and even you yourself had to go back inside.

You nodded as he walked backwards back to where he entered. "Thank you for the help Rain, and for the class on demons."

“Sleep well Y/N.”

That was what he expected to hear, a smile formed on his face and he turned to leave. He disappeared into the night and mist shortly after.

As soon as he left you could notice how sore your cheeks were from smiling so much all that time. It had been totally worth it even so, Rain had been a most kind and chivalrous ghoul, you had sighed more in his presence than in that of anyone else, he was a huge well of knowledge and you were very interested. The night and its breeze embraced you, it was cold, your fingers were cold. You walked straight to the entrance when something caught your attention in the corner of your eye.

You turned to get a better look under the poor moonlight. A small bouquet lying on the grass, fresh and shiny from the cold dew.

"Oh no…" Rain must have left it there when they sat on the grass and then completely forgotten.

You took it and the perfume of the mind quickly entered your nostrils, it was quite comforting. Maybe it even reminded you of the smell that surrounded Rain.

He was a good boy, a true gentleman, from his attire to the way he spoke and especially the way he acted. It made you smile just thinking about it. You hoped that this encounter wouldn't just be a one-night thing.

"I'm here!" Rain pronounced as he entered the room and left his muddy boots at the entrance with the rest.

"Where were you? The tea got cold." Mountain appeared in the kitchen doorway, with his apron on, along with the smell of pasta.

"I picked some flowers…" she tried to decide if she should say everything that had happened or just leave the sentence hanging.

"And the flowers?" asked Phantom who was walking along the high ceiling of the living room together with Aurora, both of them touching up the paintings of the Milky Way that the latter had made. Rain realized it was true, her empty hands reminding him of what her mission was supposed to have been.

He was very amazed, he was rare in forgetting things. He had come to that part of the garden by mere chance while he was enjoying the rain and stealing some plants from Mountain's garden. Seeing you surprised him, he could identify your tears from the rain while you ran from one side to the other grabbing sheets. No Sister of Sin had really interacted with him, but he wasn't a monster and helping you wouldn't bother him. And then he had just let himself go, the sensation of it reminding him of the comfort he felt when he was underwater.

"I forgot, I guess…" his voice wavered.

Aurora made a clearly strange face. That was not normal for him.

"Dinner will be soon, can you tell the others?" Mountain asked as he stirred the pasta and took out plates.

Rain nodded.

He walked down the hallway until he reached the living room. Sodo was covered in blankets in front of the TV, playing Mario Card with Cirrus and apparently he was having a bad streak, Cumulus was lying on the couch playing with a gust of air between her fingers while laughing at Sodo's stupid expression.

"But what the hell is that horrible smell?" Sodo asked, turning his head like an owl in the direction of Rain who felt his skin crawl.

"Mountain says dinner will be soon" Rain repeated as he retreated to his room.

"Take a shower! I don't know what you smell like but I don't want to smell something like that at dinner!" Sodo shouted as he continued trying to recover in the game.

Did he smell like something? Rain couldn't understand what he meant by that. No one had told him that he smelled like anything, especially something unpleasant. Although knowing Sodo even the most delicious smell would be horrible in his nostrils.

When he arrived at his room he opened the door and the pre-recorded sound of the ocean wave greeted him. He had a slight dim light in the room and little by little he turned on each little shark light and smiled instinctively. His mind was filled with images of the little adventure he had had that night in the garden.

"Y/N…" he uttered out of inertia, savoring the name between his lips.

Then a flutter of wings turned his stomach. His smile faltered, I thought maybe it was hunger. But when the memories came back to spin in his mind. His face forced him to smile like a fool and the fluttering returned, accompanied this time by another, they danced in his stomach with emotion.

Rain lay back on the bed, somewhat scared. He felt waves of excitement and euphoria hit the shores of his mind and distort memories into imaginative scenarios that had never happened, but there was definitely something in common about them. The echo of your laughter or a quick flash of your eyes or the image of your hands in the thick water.

Rain was really scared, unable to move in bed or scream for help. He was trapped in his mind and the cold spasms his body caused her, a strange way to get the euphoria out of his body. He barely knew basic human emotions, this was new. He made him dizzy like a fever of ecstasy. His body began to tremble. The smile didn't go away, somehow he liked the feeling, maybe because it was new or because they had something in common. You.

After a while everything calmed down and he was able to move his body with ease, he was breathing heavily while a drop of sweat rolled down his face.

The episode had passed or so he thought.

He wanted to remember the events of the day, but every time he tried those strange sensations came back to the surface.

"Rain hasn't arrived?" Mountain asked as she served plates full of pasta on the table. "I thought I would be the first at the table."

"I'll go get it." Swiss got up out of nowhere, he had arrived recently. He walked quickly straight to the ghoul room but there was an essence in the environment that revived his own memories and that made his spine and tail bristle equally.

When he reached the door he could hear the panting inside the room. When he opened the door he was hit hard by the essence of a human emotion that he knew very well by then.

He found Rain sweating, lying on the bed on his back, panting and in a state of agitation that was just beginning to subside.

"Rain…are you okay?" Swiss asked, trying to keep his tone cheerful.

He stood up quickly with one hand on his chest as if he were trying to keep his heart inside the flesh of his body. "Of course"

He seemed to have panicked and started looking for more comfortable clothes in his closet, completely avoiding Swiss's gaze.

That was the first night, and things hadn't stopped.

When you handed him the bouquet the day after your meeting at breakfast, a blush rose to his cheeks but he accepted it with pleasure.

When they walked through the garden chatting freely, a flutter was added to his stomach, a sign that if he had taken it at that moment he would not be where he was.

The more they met and spent time together, the more Rain felt flutters inside her stomach, at first she thought that maybe her body was being attacked by some disease but that was quickly ruled out. Then a worse idea crossed her mind, maybe it wasn't the body that was sick, maybe he himself was sick and that terrified him more than any symptom. She immediately thought that if the Clergy found out that he was 'broken' he would be returned to hell and even though it was his home he did not want to return. He didn't want to leave them. He didn't want to leave you.

At first he thought he could solve it himself, find the reason for his 'symptoms' and eliminate the root of the problem. But when his investigations pointed to you he stopped.

He understood everything when during the summer he took you to the lake he used to go to, you accepted and like a gentleman he offered to teach you anything. He ignored the symptoms all that day as much as he could. He ignores the insomnia and excitement that kept him awake all night, the fluttering that became so strong as the scheduled time to leave approached, he ignored how his heart beat desperately when you took his hand with a backpack in hand like an angel. Coming down from the clouds, he controlled as best he could his gaze melting over you as he drove to the lake.

And he knew he wasn't that strong, because inside the water, with your hair floating above your head, covered by the faint sunlight at that depth, with your hands and legs clinging to his body so as not to move away, with your eyes on him. But above all with a nervous smile on his face, he knew that he couldn't bear it.

He held his hands on your hips, going up until he felt your ribs, feeling how they contracted every time you released air that turned into bubbles, he didn't understand how even under the cold water he felt like he was burning from the inside out, like the tranquility that he had always felt. Now it was devoured by a flame inside him, a flame that begged his skin to merge with yours, the fluttering in his stomach was so intense that it had made his brain dizzy, he felt primitive. But totally flooded by a need to possess, to take what those strange symptoms wanted and although you didn't notice it, his lost in you.

It was then when he realized that he couldn't be strong, not with you, these symptoms made him long for you with raw desperation, with total lack of control. He felt lost in your skin, in your eyes or in your voice. Possessed by a desire of unknown origin that he could not keep under control. Trapped by the instinct to possess you like a demon to an unusually good soul. He felt capable of ruining you, of taking all the air from your lungs and taking your soul like a sip of life in a certainty of death.

He couldn't ruin you like that. But he couldn't stand feeling like he was allergic to your presence, your humanity, your soul.

"Fuck!" He screamed, feeling how the symptoms were coming back with excessive force from inside him. He hit his head against the wood of the shelf behind him, with enough force to splinter the wood and make it creak. He felt a warm liquid drip down his neck and down his back. He didn't care. He was tired of those symptoms. He preferred the pain physical to the torture that was brewing inside him.

He couldn't stand them, they overwhelmed him, there was a slight sensation that he could define as happiness but it was nothing compared to the rest of the whirlpool that trapped him. So he walked away completely, he avoided hearing you, seeing you or even feeling your presence nearby. But that was killing him from the inside, something inside him was gnawing at him, he couldn't help but look at things that reminded him of you, even outside the Ministry there were things that he had bought for the mere fact of thinking that you would like them.

He tries to talk about this with Phantom, since he was a quintessential ghoul, but he, being new, does not know what he is and is embarrassed to confess that he is "defective" to others. Especially Sodo, he trusted him but when he was upset he used to reveal secret information, he didn't do it as a bad friend, it was just difficult to close that sharp mouth when he was angry.

He slammed his head again harder than before against the wood, pushing that 'analysis' out of his mind to relax his heart in his chest. Causing one of those heavy books to fall to the ground with a loud, dusty crash.

He got up heavily, he couldn't mess up that place too much or someone would know that he had been visiting.

The book was heavy and older than expected, made of some type of metal which surprised him. He passed his hand along the corner of the deck, it had been many centuries since he had seen something like that, he thought that things like that were still lost in the tomb of the pharaohs. The lid was made of obsidian, and the leaves were silver with carvings in a language now lost. His hand slid faster than it should and he opened a clean cut on his fingers.

"Ugh" he quickly moved his hand away from the book. The feeling of physical harm was not something she liked, in general having a human vessel was a strange feeling. A drop of blood fell on the cover, revealing an unusual shine.

Rain was curious, if it weren't for his current situation he would have gone through every book in the library. He hold the book to the dim glow of light from the dirty window. Carved on the obsidian was a snake coiled at the bottom of a pit in what seemed to be a cave, with rubies in its eyes, a very long row of teeth and emerald scales. The book must have been worth a real fortune, but it must have been more valuable in another way so Sister Imperator wouldn't have auctioned it off to gain more funds for the Ministry.

Him blood ran down to the beast's mouth and he seemed to see a gleam in her eyes. A cold ran down her back, she could only buy it with the abyssal coldness of the ocean.

He didn't dare open the book. Something inside him told him that he should keep his distance. His tail tightened around his chest in fear.

He pushed the book back to his place.

"What the fu..?" He asked himself as he felt that he was hitting bottom much earlier than he should, since he still stood out from the rest. Rain preciono el libro con mas fuerza hasta escuchar un mecanismo activarse.

The ground vibrated at his feet, he thought it was a tremor but nothing outside seemed to move, the stone walls next to him creaked and opened. Hitting Rain with a strong, salty breeze. The gills on his neck opened wide, showing that he somehow recognized that place.

He looked out a little, darkness greeted him, humidity dripped from the walls and some green algae were next to the moss on the steps carved into the rock that descended in a snail shape towards the depths.

He could hear the echo of the choppy water crashing against the steps, as if there were a coast in there.

Something was calling him inside, something was asking him to come in. Not like a ghoul, he asked him to come in as what he was, a water demon.

"Do you want answers?" whispered a foreign voice, a voice that came from that newly discovered passage."Don't you want to be fixed?.."

There was something he recognized in that deep, raspy voice. His own instinct forced him to take one step forward and then another. Going down the slippery stairs, while his gills were glad to feel the salty air. Darkness enveloped him completely but he could see perfectly into that dark place.

When he reached the bottom he could feel the sand under his skin and the light splash of salt water on his face.

"Hello?" He spoke to the emptiness of the place, his voice echoed in every stone of the cave and was carried by the tide.

The dark water swirled and from the depth emerged a scaly head, with bright ruby eyes and emerald scales, just like in the book.

"Do you want something…" he whispered, although the corners of his mouth didn't move. "There is something inside you…something is wrong with you my demon…" the creature mocked.

A sigh caught inside Rain's mouth and he fell to his knees on the wet gray sand.

"My lord Leviathan?" He asked fearfully, watching the small waves hit her knees.

She didn't expect to find his legion leader in a place like this. Was that his entrance to Earth for when Year Zero will arrive? A thousand questions ran through her mind, but above all he was terrified. His leader knew something was wrong inside him.

"Get in the water…" he murmured, wagging his tail at Rain, splashing water on her face. The being showed a grimace of disgust that wrinkled her face "You reject your nature" he spat the words with disgust. "Enter the water…I'm going to repair you"

"Will I go back to hell?" He asked fearfully, with his gaze still fixed on the ground, squeezing the sand under her fingers, possibly he wouldn't feel it again for a long time… maybe never again.

The being did not respond, it simply buried its head. He didn't like the questions, he knew it well, he had already given the order, if he wanted to get rid of this 'illness' everything would be normal again, he would be normal and he would be able to approach you again without those overwhelming symptoms.

I sigh and look at the stairs. Going back would be easy, disobeying and simply fixing it on his own was a few steps away but this was something he couldn't do, he wasn't that strong.

I slowly take his arms out of the jacket, accompanied by the shirt and vest, the belt, the pants and finally the shoes. His feet were refreshed by feeling the abyssal tide and in general his entire naked body responded with pleasure.

His tail unwraps from his chest, his gills and fins getting ready to return to his natural environment.

First he sinks his feet and with each step a feeling of drowsiness invades him, as if every nerve in his body had completely relaxed. The water covers his face and his lungs empty and close, he won't need them for a long time. Under water everything is different, each noise is heard differently. He was breathing again, swimming in an abyssal void.

He can see the ruby eyes at the bottom and swims towards it, hypnotized and wishing for a remedy for his 'illness'.

You ran as much as you could down every hallway you knew but nothing. No brother of sin could tell you anything about Rain and you weren't brave enough to ask the ghouls about it. There was only one way to try to find out where she was. The security cameras.

You were quite surprised by the ghoul's attitude, he had been spending an exquisite time together for months and out of nowhere he ran away from you as if you had leprosy. Although if you analyzed his behavior he had been quite strange lately. When they went to the lake he seemed quite tense and when you were in the water you had felt like you were prey in a lake of piranhas, on the way back he hadn't said a word other than a simple 'goodbye' when I'll leave you in your room.

You sighed when you reached the Security Room, you knocked on the door several times but no one opened, you knocked even harder, even hitting the door with the tip of your boot.

"What do you want?" asked an annoyed man as he finished taking a drag on his cigarette and put it out at the door, leaving a mark on the wood.

You tried to keep his gaze on him successfully.

"I need to see the cameras from this afternoon" You took a step forward with the intention of sneaking into the room but he denied you passage.

"Reason? I don't see any authorization card" he was quite arrogant and that bothered you.

You couldn't admit the real reason, a Sister of Sin shouldn't get involved with ghouls. So you lied about the one thing you couldn't play with.

"They've been stealing things from Sister Imperator's room," the veins in the guy's neck tightened, saying her name was like calling the devil, you prayed she wasn't around. You remained calm although inside you were nervous as hell.

He examined you for a couple of seconds before letting you in and closing the door behind you. You were stuck with him.

The room was small and quite uncomfortable, full of monitors on the walls and on the table, some were labeled with dirty adhesive tape, there was a horrible smell of cigarettes and you were sure that you would have to wash your habit as soon as you left that place. The guy was behind you, watching your every step.

" I Can?" you asked pointing to a chair to sit on.

"As you wish" he responded with disinterest.

You sat in front of one of the monitors that focused on one of the floors, the quality was not the best. The mouse was sticky and you really felt like throwing up when you touched it but you did your best and went back a couple of hours into the recording, a sigh stuck in your throat as you saw Rain running with a hand on his chest looking back like if someone followed him.

"A ghoul stole it?" the guy asked behind your back, you had almost forgotten he was there.

"No" you said dryly and continued searching but at some point he disappeared from the recordings. You were frustrated, Rain wasn't someone who played those kinds of childish games but you wouldn't give up.

"What's that?" You asked, turning in your chair and pointing to the largest screen, you had lines that delimited a building and letters inside the rooms as well as colored dots, some with numbers, others without.

"It's the monitoring screen, it says where the important people are." I hesitate to tell you, it wasn't something the brothers of sin should know.

"Okay…" your eyes moved eagerly looking for a blue dot on the huge map and you found it, blinking in a huge room.

You found it.

"I'm leaving" you said and approached the door quickly.

It wasn't difficult to find the place where it was, you had never been there and in fact you had to sneak through some secret corridors of the old abbey. But the feeling of entering that room was making you sick.

You felt as if you were in turbulent waters and your stomach was being encouraged to empty its contents, you were dizzy and your eyes felt blurry.

You weren't poisoned by any of the food, you knew well that those symptoms were caused by some strange force within the library. You walked through the hallways with as much haste as your weak state allowed.

"What is this?" Under your feet was a layer of water that emanated a salty and maritime smell, your boots squelched with each step as you approached the source.

A chill ran down your spine when you arrived, the stone was wet and you couldn't see anything at all in that darkness. Opened in the stone, some catacombs announced themselves before you with gusts of wind and the clear sound of the coast.

"Rain?" You muttered into the void, afraid to take the step and enter. "It's not funny." You felt stupid saying that. But you were sure that he was in there, you didn't know why but he was there.

You tried to take a timid step towards that darkness but you slipped on something and your hand held tightly to a protruding part of the stone, an echo resounded throughout the place lighting faint torches that shed their light on you and the silhouette of the place.

Your chest tightened, your mind screamed at you that you shouldn't be there and your feet just wanted to run away. But a flash glimpses in the corner of your eye and you turn.

You recognize that golden piece, even though it is far away you know what it is and your body runs towards it. Towards the small dark sand beach.

The blood in your veins travels faster as you approach, no matter how many times you slip, you fall to your knees on the pile of clothes.

You know who it belongs to, you search through it desperately as if you were going to find it deep down but you won't.

"Rain!" You scream but no one responds and the echo of the cave mocks your despair. "RAIN!" you shout, holding his shirt in your hands.

Nobody answers. The water shakes vigorously and you feel that a force from the depths invites you to enter.

The marine darkness scares you, you fear what's there, you fear being in that place… but you can't leave… not without him.

You take a sigh and crawl over the sand to the water, you carry his shirt in your hand, as a symbol of good luck, as if a piece of clothing could keep you safe.

You look up before the water covers your head and with pain you open your eyes under the cold, salty water, you sink, the water sinks you and now the surface is distant, almost like a mirage. The cold chills your bones and elevates your habit, you press your shirt against your chest. Something cold brushes against your ankle, you move away and look but there is nothing.

You try to pronounce Rain's name but it comes out as bubbles that also sink, the hair on your neck rises when you find pairs of reddish reflections in the darkness, next to you and below you. You feel in danger, you know that you are in danger and for the first time you think that if you die there no one will find you.

Your heart stops when several hands hold your legs and pull you to the bottom, the little air you have in your lungs escapes and you fight to get back up but it is impossible, you hear laughter and murmurs, your gaze meets that of other demons. Beings scaly, with a toothy smile and bulging red eyes, with claws that hurt your skin and make it bleed, they group around you like piranhas, trapping each of your limbs and holding them with the sole intention of devouring them when the last breath leaves you mouth.

Your tears mix with the water, you know that there is no way to get out of something like this, there are more hands on you than you can count, more claws that cut your skin like little needles than you can see. You accept that you will die, that it will be painful but that it will end quickly.

"Go away!…" a wave crosses the water and the demons get scared like cats and move away, still hanging on your body. You can barely hear the voice, it sounds dry and broken. But it's too late, your lungs can no longer find air inside them and before giving in, close your eyes.

Rain turned his head in surprise as he saw how his leader scolded a bunch of minor demons, rarely showing any interest in them.

"Follow me…" Leviathan moved with agility in the water, even though he was enormous and heavy like the earth itself. "I found your problem…"

Rain nodded and followed him, excited and afraid of what his leader was going to show him. The huge snake stopped and hissed in the darkness, some thin algae like bioluminescent threads emerged from the darkness and gathered on a body in the water, giving light to the situation.

Rain held back a gasp with his hands but he could hear it inside him with pain. He tried to get closer, but he was pushed by Leviathan's tail to stay in his place, he couldn't remove the grimace of terror from his face.

"No…" he murmured, his voice breaking.

Your body floated in the void, your hair rose above you like a fan, your skin was sadly illuminated, your habit was torn and threads of blood flowed from your skin that hit his nose with force, whetting the appetite of the others demons, ready to destroy you. Rain's stomach churned with bitterness, you looked like a bloody martyr.

"She's the problem…" Leviathan approached you, he entangled himself in your body, even though he could bite your head off in one bite and he wouldn't be even close to being satisfied, that was something Rain feared. With his tail the huge snake opened a clean wound in your chest. Rain couldn't help it, he approached as fast as he could, but his leader kept him away.

Rain's eyes reddened and tar-black tears ran down his cheeks "Stop it…please stop…" he begged his leader as he tried to get closer to you.

From the wound Leviathan continued cutting until he reached your heart, which was still beating slowly but beating. The snake exposed your heart to Rain.

"Eat it…" ordered the snake.

"No…" Rain denied with her voice broken as the monster pushed your heart into her hands. "Please…"

"She makes you weak! She infected you with her humanity…. Eat it! Eat it and be free of your illness…" Leviathan's voice became furious at the refusal of his servant. "She's stopping you?"

"I don't want to hurt her. My lord, don't make me do this." Rain caressed your unconscious face lovingly, the image of you sleeping on his shoulder when you decided to watch movies together appeared in his mind, torturing him more. You were sweet, brave, funny. His mind tormented him with memories of both of you, of the image of your laughter, the sparkle in your eyes, the sound of his name in your voice, the feel of your touch.

All his 'symptoms' returned, strongly, with desperation taking over his entire body, filling it with adrenaline and a vestige of anger.

Leviathan took out his iron tongue and tested the energy of the water. "She has trapped you," the beast pronounced mockingly. Thunderous laughter gathered around him, coming from the henchmen.

Rain sighed and looked at your heart in his hands. He knew why everyone made fun, refusing your leader's orders was an offense, Leviathan had taken it better than he expected but he was not happy, he was a lying and treacherous monstrosity, he would take advantage of any opportunity to hurt you and show that once again he was right.

"It's funny don't you think?" Leviathan brought his face closer to Rain, making him press your heart against his chest, causing a grimace of pain to appear on your face.

"I don't know what you're talking about, my lord," he pronounced firmly.

"Of course you know, you're not stupid, Rain. You choose to be loyal to her rather than me." A laugh echoes through the place. "I'm not going to stop you, after all, you are my demon, you are eternal and you belong to me, she, on the other hand… "Leviathan brought the golden tip of his tail to your neck and opened a small bleeding wound. "She is mortal and will perish like all of her race," he spat out those words in disgust. "And when she dies you will return here and be punished for your insolence."

"You can't kill her!" Rain shouted with a bravery he didn't know he possessed.

"Of course I can!" Leviathan shouted back "but I won't… tell me Rain, do you see me unable to wait? How long do you think she will live? 30 or maybe 50 more years? How long can you keep her safe before her fate catches up with her?"

Rain's face changed with terror. She knew that no matter how much she protected you, even if she kept you in a bubble for the rest of your life, all humans had a debt to pay with death and you were no exception.

Leviathan continued.

"You bite my hand for the passing life of an insignificant human, there are millions like her, with her face or her body. It turned you into a stupid demon Rain and i think you are my favorite, I expected more from you. I will have all your eternity to Make you pay for that… and I'll enjoy it." Rain didn't care about the insult, that was insignificant. The mention of his own eternity crossed a dangerous idea in his mind, risky for him.

"She's worth it." Even if that strange illness consumed him, he no longer cared.

Rain walked away from Leviathan, as if it were nothing, and approached your body. The wound in your chest was still open, hidden by your destroyed habit, he sighed and placed her forehead against yours, returning your heart to hers. The wave of life, Rain through your body, Rain left a trail of kisses on your chest to close the wound.

Sigh.

He put his hands inside his own ribcage, muffling cries of pain like simple whimpers, clawing his way through the crunching of ribs and the tearing of flesh, he extracted his own heart, it was beating fast, dark blue in color.

A shock of surprise spread throughout the abyss, Leviathan himself had no idea what his servant was planning to do.

His claws clung to a piece of his heart until he tore it out and made a river of dark green and blood gush out. Rain felt weak, the pain was killing him more than the act itself. His trembling hand still held the piece of his heart and pushed it into your mouth.

"Eat from me" he began to speak, her voice trembled and you could feel her desperation "Drink from me" he cupped her hand to contain her blood and emptied it over your lips.

"Don't you dare…" Leviathan exclaimed, rising in anger, but it was too late, when your body accepted the flesh and the blood descended to rekindle the flame of your soul.

A pact was being carried out, one never seen before.

"Where you go I will go, where you stay I will stay. I offer my eternity before you, I share my immortality with you. Where you live I will live. I give you what I am so that you may have power over me, I belong to you. Yours to possess, yours to obey. You possess me in body and soul…" He finished by placing his lips on yours, just a touch, without intensity, but with desperation. Wishing it worked.

In the deep abyss a deal was sealed that would last an eternity until the end of time.

"Mine…" your bloody lips murmured with difficulty.

Hi, I know I've been missing for quite some time and I'm sorry for that. I got caught up in family celebrations, but I've been writing quite a bit and I plan to do a second part of Tower Of Cups, just give me some time and I'll have it soon. I promise. I hope you like this Rain fanfic, I have another one planned but I don't have the story guide yet.

#the band ghost #nameless ghost #nameless ghouls #rain ghost #rain ghoul #bass guitar #ghouls #ghost #ghost band #rain x reader #cosmo sylvan

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soup-of-the-daisies · 5 months

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just realised that the main reason i look for harry&alphard or harry&orion relationships in time travel fics is because, when done well, it’s reminiscent of the james-and-sirius relationship.

like they’re weirdly intense about each other. very physically affectionate, preferably. orion/alphard is 100% a better love interest than whichever 40s slytherin is actually harry’s love interest (usually tom) but we don’t acknowledge that. their interactions are always romantically and sexually charged but not as much as the interactions with the Actual Love Interest, who usually makes several (confused) attempts on harry’s life. “i’ve only had him for 45 minutes and if anything happened to him i would kill everyone in this room and then myself” and the feeling’s mutual. the first time harry sets eyes on alphard/orion he has a little breakdown because alphard/orion looks so much like sirius. when the relationship is slash it’s the exact same thing but they also kiss sometimes. when it’s not slash they also kiss.

harry walks somewhere without orion or alphard and a teacher (merrythought, slughorn, dumbledore) goes “where’s your other half then??” and harry’s like professor we have separate lives. we can be apart from one another for extended periods of time. idk what to tell you. and the professor instantly retorts “hm, yes, i didn’t know you’re a lying liar who lies, mr evans” and harry can’t even say anything to that because the professor’s right, actually. he misses orion/alphard so much it’s like his heart is bleeding. they last saw each other five minutes ago but that’s not the point.

#what i’m SAYING is that a black+potter team-up is actually perfect and should be utilised more #i simply love the codependency alright??#GIMME IT #harry rocks up to 1940s hogwarts and somehow enters a reflection of his dad’s relationship with sirius #alphard black #orion black #harry potter #proto- and neo-prongsfoot at the same time

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samuelturn · 8 months

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Aight so now that I have finished Brothersong I have THOUGHTS on further logistical breakdowns of how Green Creek could be adapted to a GLAAD Award-Winning HBO TV show. Spoilers so here is a cut for anyone who wants to be fresh to the series.

PRE-PRODUCTION

OKAY SO! The filming block for Season 1/Wolfsong would MOST LIKELY be the biggest, especially for scenes involving younger versions of the actors. As these are spread out across, like, all four books, some are just “scene we’ve seen but from a different perspective or with ‘Dream Seauence VFX’ so we just need more blocking/extra takes to make it all seem believeable using B-roll” to “yeah this requires Young Thomas and various child actors so we’re filming this beforehand so that everyone looks the same when these scenes come up later” to “ah hell we gotta shave their heads anyways might as well film the revenge road trip.” Thus, basically everyone but, like, Dominique would have to be cast by Season 1, and probably all of Season 1 and half of season 2 would need to be written and finalized and drafts/outlines of Season 3 and 4 would need to be made before casting would begin. Writer’s room would include TJ and a racially-diverse LGBT staff.

Caswell wouldn’t need to be fully built but enough of a location would be needed to film individual scenes with the younger actors and scenes set in the big house at Caswell (ie arguments between Mark and Thomas, Joe being taken, Thomas in the woods with the kids, Thomas writing the letters)

Title sequence would be based on the lovely new covers for the hardcover editions from Tor. They’d get longer with each season and by the end we see the whole pack in the papercraft style of the covers.

CASTING

Yeah we’d need a big ass cast. With multiple actors to play different characters at different ages.

Babies:

Carter, Kelly, Joe, maybe also Gavin depending on things

Children:

Gordo, Gavin, Mark, Rico, Chris, Tanner, Carter, Kelly, Joe, Robbie

Young Adult (ie Teen to Mid 20s) and Adult (ie by the Rough Present of when Ox first discoveres the secret of the Bennetts)

Basically everyone else

The tricky part will be that, yeah, there will probably need to be different actors for 20s Thomas, Elizabeth, Mark, and Gordo because while a 20-something can play 16 or so, its harder for 30-40 year olds to play 20-something. The upside being that an older actor CAN play Gordo for the scenes after Ox’s dad leaves (also Ox’s dad will need a name lol). You would need to switch to older actors for the Bennett kids and Ox basically once Ox graduates high school. But then you can keep all the same actors for the rest of the “present” set scenes. Osmond, and Robert Livingstone would also need younger actors. Richard Collins would only need one actor he’s barely in the flashbacks as it is.

STRUCTURE/PLOT RAMBLINGS

There are a few things that would need to be done in order to improve the pacing for TV, imo. Mainly, that the handing off of Alpha of All to the Fairbanks pack needs to feel more earned and less semi-random. Like, show them taking in Omegas at the end of Season 2, have them be allies at Caswell in Season 3 and the final battle in Season 4. Flesh them out a bit more. Also some continuity smoothing would be needed (ie clarifying that Gordo refused Mark’s MATE bite not Thomas’s BECOME WOLF bite).

Some more forshadowing of Robert’s failsafe in Season 2 would help. Obviously SHOW Gavin’s timber wolf in the attack on Jessie (and ideally have the actor be the body actor wearing the CGI ball suit moving all wolf-like in the scene) in Season 1.

I’d personally add in more of a wrap-up in Caswell at the end of Season 4. And also an extended aftermath scene or episode after Ox’s resurrection. Joe’s wolf is still bigger than almost everyone else, but not as big as it was when he was Alpha. One thing that I’d ask to be added is, maybe with the death of Robert and the ressurrection of Ox there’s a big ass magic pulse and we get a follow-up with the new Alpha of All from Alaska training Betas who have become Alphas thanks to Mystical Moon Magic as they rebuild packs across the continent. Idk the story needs more of a denumont. Alpha of All making more of an effort to try and bring Omegas back from the brink before just automatically deciding to kill them.

Dominique could have human bite marks on her to show thar Jessie tried to “Mate Bite” too even as a human. Bambi and Rico too.

He/They Gavin? Maybe? Gavin feels very he/they. Also Elizabeth showing affection to Maggie (hey if we’re gonna imply that Thomas and Richard had a kind of romantic love for each other in Brothersong before he went Omega Lizzie can make side-eye at Maggie).

Show more of the three year gap between Ravensong and Heartsong (not a lot but more than just one bit when Robbie is kidnapped). And the new story in the deluxe hardcover books too. The myth or whatever. That can be animated in a sketchy style (think Princess Kaguya or Wolfwalkers) with VO from Elizabeth.

Anyway rambling over I love these books so much. TJ I woudn’t say no to a LIGHT DRAMA/mostly fluff 5th book or short story. Maybe from Chris or Tanner’s perspective? Or Jessie’s?

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danceswithsporks · 1 year

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Warm- Part 4

Part 1 of 6 in the Complete Series!

Part 1 2 3

Tech x Reader

Warnings: Talks of grief, working through grief

Summary:

Mourning hasn’t come easy to you. A major decision is made to help you through the process.

Authors note: Gonna be a bit of time jumping so hold onto your hats!

Cold, the feeling of the early morning sea air that blew your hair around your face. Even with your jacket on, the cold seemed to find its way into your skin. It used to make you shiver, but now you barely noticed it. You adjusted the two datapads in your hand as you watched the sun begin to rise from its slumber and fill the sky, how many sunsets had you watched with Tech? Never had you sat and watched the sunrise with him. Now you wouldn’t get that chance.

Sighing, you looked down at the datapads and wondered if today you’d finally be able to look at his, or if you’d chicken out again. Even after a month of mourning, you hadn’t been able to do it. Countless times you’d sit on your bed or the seawall and just stare at it hoping that this time you’d have the courage. But it never happened. Every member of the batch had offered to sit with you while you did it, even Crosshair, but the fear of hearing his voice once more was too strong. You were barely holding it together as it was. The last thing you wanted to do was have a breakdown in front of his brothers.

“It’s time, Precious.” Phee stood behind you with her hand extended. Soft eyes watched as you looked back out to the sea before taking the offered hand.

“I hope this is the right decision.” The both of you began the long walk to the top of the island. Your eyes watched the cobbled walkways carefully, the last thing you wanted to do was to trip again.

“It’ll be good for you, it’ll help the process.” Phee knew this was going to be a big change for you, but sometimes change was good when it came to grieving.

Your eyes took in the spot where Tech had first helped you. Hard to believe it was so long ago now, how things could change so quickly. “I’m nervous. I’ve never done anything like this before.”

Phee chuckled softly as you two rounded another corner, slowly the top of the island was getting closer. “I was nervous the first time. It’ll go away soon though.” Brown eyes watched as your free hand ran along the stone wall that lined the path. This would be good for you. Something different.

You loved Pabu, it was your home. Where your family had rebuilt and thrived, where your mother had died and was buried. Your happiness used to be here as well, tied into the warmth that paradise planet provided. But things were different now and you no longer felt that warmth, just coldness.

Cresting the top of the hill you finally arrived at the large tree that represented your home. Your eyes watched the Marauder carefully, hoping the door would slide open and Tech would saunter off towards you. “A simple misunderstanding.” He’d tell you and then you two would go to the seawall for your next lesson and a cup of tea. But it didn’t happen, nor did it happen the last twenty times you’d hoped it would.

“Dove?” Your father's voice pulled you from your thoughts and you made your way over to him. He could see the sadness still etched on your face like someone had chiseled it there like a mural on a stone wall. He hated seeing you this way. Perhaps Phee was right, change would do you good. You stopped in front of him and with a sigh, he pulled you into a tight hug that you half-heartedly returned. “You’re sure this is what ya wanna do?” Beside him, your brothers echoed his question.

The way your family was looking at you almost made you back out. Go home with them and try to continue to work through this pain. But you couldn’t, you needed to leave. “I’m sure. Between mom and Tech….I just can’t be here anymore. I need a change of pace.” Everything around you continued to remind you of the man who’d finally made you feel warm. If you were to ever heal and move on then you would need to go someplace new.

Phee stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on your father's shoulder. “I’ll take care of her. She’s about to have a lot of adventures.” That last part didn’t seem to reassure your father any. “This will be good for her and I’ll make sure we come home frequently.”

Your father sighed before nodding solemnly. You hadn’t been yourself lately and the idea of you being away from your family during this time was distressing. But Phee had made it clear that she’d be by your side the entire time and that she’d keep you safe. Even the island doctor had agreed that a clean slate may help you move on. So he’d agreed to let you go, his youngest and only daughter, off into the Galaxy to heal. “I want at least one call a week.”

Nodding, you stepped forward and hugged your father followed by your brothers.

“Ships all set and coordinates are already put in.” Echo had joined your little group and now stood awkwardly to the side. You and Phee would be taking his ship to your destination. Then Rex and Cody would pick it up and continue with their mission. He found it hard to look at you. Because of him, Tech had found the intel in Crosshair and they’d left to get the clone. Because of him, Tech had been placed in danger and subsequently died. Echo knew you didn’t blame him, you were surprisingly understanding of the situation. But it still pained him.

Nodding to Echo, Phee nudged you and motioned to the waiting ship. “We should get going.”

Take one last moment to hug your family, you turned away from the rising sun and the warmth it tried to offer and instead moved towards the waiting cool confines of the durasteel ship waiting for you.

-*-

“Should be about a four-day flight. You should probably settle in.” Phee tapped a few things on the console before leaning back in the pilot seat and looking at you.

You hummed a simple “mhmm” before staring back out the window and into the colors of the jump. Techs datapad rested in your lap as you once again tried to build up the courage to read it.

Phee had seen you struggle to read it for so many days that she was ready to take it from you and do it herself. “Ya know, I could read it for you and tell you the important parts.”

“No, thanks.” The words came out far faster than you’d intended. The raised eyebrow from her let you know she had noticed as well. A quiet sigh left your lips before finally speaking. “I’m sorry. Hunter said Tech had everything planned out in case something happened to him on the mission.”

“Brown eyes always had contingency plans.” Phee rested her hand against the side of her head as her elbow leaned on the back of her seat. She felt for you, she did. “So what’s been stopping ya?”

You shrugged as your nails tapped against the screen. “Fear that I’ll hear his voice and crumble? That I’ll see parts of him I wasn’t expecting and it’ll change how I think of him?” You shook your head as you looked at the datapad once more. “Fear that…after I look at whatever’s on here that he wanted me to see…that’ll be it. Nothing new to learn.”

Now she understood what was truly holding you back. “Come here, Precious.” Standing, Phee took your hand and led you to the small room that was yours for the course of your trip. Once you both were inside she had you sit on the bed before placing the datapad back in your hand. “I think it’s time you cried.”

“Phee, I’ve been cryi-“ your voice was cut by her hand being thrown up.

She spoke your name softly while holding your hand. “Unlock the datapad. Hear his voice, cry, scream, throw things, and curse the gods for taking him away.” Reaching up, Phee ran a protective hand over your hair. “We’re not on Pabu anymore. You don’t need to worry about anyone else. Grieve. Fully.” Phee stood carefully and gave your hand a gentle squeeze. “I’ll be out here when you’re ready.” Then she was gone.

You stared at the door for a while, her words ran through your head like a wolf after a rabbit. You wanted to scream, to cry, to punch something and hunt down whoever it was that had caused his death. Hunter had offered to explain it all to you, in hopes that it would help your grieving process. But you’d turned him down, unable to handle the information on how he’d died.

Standing up from the bed, you made your way over to one of your bags. “This is ridiculous. Why am I making this so hard on myself?” You’d left Pabu to get away from every reminder of him, from everyone who watched you like you were a fragile lamb, and from the constant questioning. It was time to do this.

You began to dig through your bag in hopes of finding a pair of the pajamas you’d packed. But instead, you’d found a bundle mixed in. Everything inside you tensed as you unrolled the bundle and inhaled the scent of Tech. Someone must have snuck it into your bag while you were saying your goodbyes. In your hands was another one of his shirts, this one was stained with oil and no doubt came from his dirty clothes pile. It was doused in his cologne and smelled so magnificently of him that you instantly buried your face into it.

Every wall that you had put up, every door to a memory that you had locked, instantly fell apart. Sobs choked out of your body as you held the piece of clothing tightly to yourself, afraid that if you let it go even a little it would vanish.

Phee stood with her back against your door, listening to your sobs and screams as you finally released all the sadness within your body. Her head tilted back as her eyes closed and she whispered a silent prayer of thanks. You’d been holding it in for so long. She knew from experience that you’d feel ten times lighter after this, then she’d be able to discuss her plan with you.

-*-

Cool, the feeling of the durasteel floor beneath your crumbled body. You lay with Tech's shirt clutched to your chest and your arm over your eyes. How long you’ve been crying is unknown to you. From the way your body is feeling, you figure it’s been a few hours. Clothing is strewn across the room and your tea containers are dented from where you threw their metal containers at the wall. You’re unbelievably drained, but so much lighter than you thought you could be.

You honestly didn’t expect to feel this…normal so soon after leaving home. But maybe it was that feeling of knowing that Phee wasn’t judging you, that she’d be willing to let you scream and cry for the next four days if necessary. A long sigh left your body, like finally deflating after being in the clouds for so long, and you let loose a small laugh of disbelief. After a month of sadness, pain, heartbreak, and anger. You were finally able to laugh, to possibly even…smile?

But most importantly you finally felt ready to open the datapad that you’d stared at for the last month. Sitting up, you decided that there was only one way to do this properly. It took you a while to get everything ready but once it was you felt prepared for whatever Tech had for you.

Warm, the temperature of the tea in your mug. Brewed for three minutes at eighty-two degrees centigrade with just a dash of honey. A tea that you’d specially ordered for him, something you’d promised he’d adore the taste of, that you’d saved for his return. You hadn’t been able to bring yourself to drink it after the news. But now? Now it seemed like the right time. Lifting the mug to your face you took a gentle inhale at the smell, Cherry blossoms, pineapple cream and matcha. It smelled magnificent, but you didn’t drink it. Instead, you returned it to your lap.

The mug sat between your hands as you sat crossed-legged in your bed, Techs shirt covered your body comfortably and you took a moment to simply close your eyes and imagine him near. His cup of tea was near as he flipped through his datapad, he’d adjust his goggles as he found something interesting on the holonet and then he’d tell you about it. You’d smile and listen happily as he told you everything he could about the topic, glad to have someone to talk to. Opening your eyes, you looked down at the datapad and broken goggles next to it. This was it. You carefully flipped the goggles over and squinted at the left broken lens. There, in the small chaotic writing of Tech's hand, was the code to his datapad.

Crosshair had been the one to tell you about its location. He’d actually been one of the first to approach you after it had all happened. Perhaps he’d felt a sense of duty to tell you more about Tech since his twin had died trying to save him, or maybe he just wanted to get to know the woman who had captured his brother's heart. Either way he had divulged the location of the code to you as you both sat on the seawall. He didn’t try to get you to laugh as Wrecker had, nor try to offer you his stash of sweets like Omega. Crosshair didn’t try to tell you what happened like Hunter did or even explain the duty of a clone to you as Echo had tried. No, he’d sat there in silence with you as you tried to find that courage you lacked. You could see why Tech cared for him so much. They were two parts of a perfect whole. Where Tech talked a lot and explained things in great detail, Crosshair was silent and abrupt. You imagined they’d be an unstoppable duo together.

With a quiet beep, Tech's datapad unlocked and lit up. A piece of technology frozen in time from where he’d left everything before the mission. Countless files were open, the holonet still frozen on a page he’d been looking at and most importantly a video still paused. You could see yourself standing in front of the large tree on Pabu in a dress you hadn’t worn since the day he’d left. He’d recorded you asking him on the date, him saying yes, and the happiness written across your face. Most importantly he’d recorded that first actual kiss and your heart stopped. Was that how you’d looked afterward? Like a kiss-drunk puppy? The video ended with him looking down at you as the ship finally entered the clouds, he’d watched for so long.

You tapped the screen a few times to pull up the details on the video like Tech had taught you and you found he’d watched it…a lot. He must have been watching it nonstop since they’d left. It made your heart flutter to know he’d enjoyed that moment so much. The lump formed in your throat once more but instead of fighting the feeling, you allowed it to take you. Tears ran down your cheeks as you continued to look through other recordings he had. So many involved you, all the times you’d had lunch together in your father's shop, your lessons, and even the few times you’d delivered treats to Omega. You’d smiled a lot back then. Reaching down, you picked the cup of tea up and carefully sipped it. It was perfect, he would have loved it.

Tech had been so much more diligent than you’d realized. He had lessons planned out for weeks in advance, you could see where he’d marked each one carefully for when he’d teach you. Little notes from him were scattered throughout the lessons, examples he’d use to help you understand things better, and projects he’d bring for you to learn hands-on with. It seemed he’d figured out your learning style quickly. As you continued to dig through the files you noticed his notes seemed to turn from things about the lessons to things about you.

‘Her eyes are calming.’

‘Perhaps she would enjoy the Mantell mix that Omega is so fond of?’

‘General Ti would have enjoyed her.’

There was even a list of date ideas for the two of you. It seemed he’d planned for everything involving you. Asking you out, first date locations, first dinners, even the first time one of you would spend the night with each other. Your cheeks flared at that one, the idea of the two of you sleeping with one another. Yet another first that wouldn’t happen.

That lump was back again, it seemed this would be the course your night would play. Oddly, that was ok. You sipped more of your tea before placing the cup on your floor and settling into your bed. Tech's shirt was pulled over your nose so you could enjoy the fading smell of his while you continued to listen to his videos and audio logs. His voice made you sad but happy at the same time. It was a weird feeling to experience. You allowed his audio logs to continue to play as you closed your eyes and drifted from exhaustion. It seemed all that crying had finally caught up with you.

The recording wasn’t anything amazing or mind-blowing. He was simply discussing some ideas he had for upgrading their ship. In the background, you could hear the sound of tools clanging against one another. It seemed he enjoyed recording himself while working on things. Which made sense when you thought about it. From what you’d noticed through his recordings, Tech liked to record himself while working. You continued to listen to the calming voice of Techs as sleep pulled you closer and closer into its embrace.

He mentioned something about the ship needing a few new parts the next time they docked. How he’d need at least a few days to take care of all the repairs. You heard him mention something about the republic treating them far better than the empire was currently treating clones, but you were too close to sleep to pay attention. Then another familiar voice interrupted the current train of thought that Tech was on and you find yourself fighting to pay attention.

“Omegas finally asleep. That last mission had her worked up.” Hunter's voice carried across the audio easily.

You heard Tech hum in agreement as the sound of tools clattered across the microphone. “Perhaps it is a good thing that was our last mission for Cid. It is time we put Omega first.”

A grunt of agreement came from Hunter. “After what she did, or didn’t do for us on Ipsidon and that creature she sent us after recently? Putting a distance between us and her is the best plan. Can’t keep putting Omega in danger like that.”

“I expect you have a plan for credits? Or a job or two lined up for how we will survive?” The sound of Tech grunting as he no doubt removed himself from under the console of the cockpit rang through the audio, making you blush at the sound.

Boots could be heard crossing the room before the grunt of Hunter sitting in one of the chairs. “Gif a message from Phee the other day. Says she needs our help securing a relic.”

A gonk droid could be heard arguing something in the background. Sadly, you didn’t speak droid and thus what he said was lost on you.

“I am sure that after the last adventure with her, we will not be likely to stumble across an ancient civilizations guard dog.” A sigh came from Tech. “Although the implications of that had been magnificent. From my research I believe they were called the Zeffo. Truly fascinating.”

You chuckled softly as you listened to Tech gush over these ‘Zeffo’. Whoever they were. Even while faced with trying to figure out a source of income, he was still excited about history.

Hunter cleared his throat, drawing Tech's attention away from the Zeffo and back to their current situation. “So that’s a yes to Phee then?”

“Indeed. It could prove fruitful. Who knows where we may end up next.”

You weren’t positive, but you hoped that whatever their mission with Phee had been, it had been what led them to Pabu. You fell asleep to the sound of Tech's voice as he conversed with Hunter about possible other missions. When you woke up you’d ask Phee about that mission. But for now? For now, you just wanted to dream that Tech was still alive and waiting for you on Pabu.

-*-

“John Doe! You’re looking better. Looks like your legs healed nicely.” An older gentleman with long graying hair pulled into a low ponytail spoke to the young gentleman with brown eyes and short curling brown hair.

“Indeed, it’s feeling better, Gonzo.” To emphasize that fact, the tall man shook his healed leg.

Gonzo nodded as he stepped close to John and began to check his eye dilation. “What about your memories? Have any come back since the last time we chatted?”

John shook his head before raising his arms straight in front of him for Gonzo to check. The village doctor had been monitoring him closely since he was discovered at the bottom of the ravine near the imperial base on Eriadu. “‘Fraid not. Though I get these flashes of people, I can’t name them.”

“Sadly, that’s par for the course with Amnesia. It’ll come back to ya. But as you’ve no doubt figured out by now, it could take months…years.” Satisfied with how John looked, Gonzo stepped back and placed his hands on his hips.

“I’d hoped some would have come back after four months. Is there anything I can do to make it go faster?” John stretched his neck from side to side, his surprisingly fast-growing brown hair of his touching the back of his ears as he did so.

Reaching into his satchel, Gonzo pulled out a pair of glasses and passed them to John. “Just keep on continuing. It’ll come with time. Some believe seeing things from your past may trigger your memory. While others believe it could be detrimental.” Gonzo sighed as he crossed his arms. “Nothing has stood out to you?”

John took the glasses and put them on carefully. After a moment his eyes adjusted and finally, he was able to see without squinting. “I can remember an island, warm weather, tea, and…” he hesitated for a moment before speaking once more. “ a woman with the most beautiful smile.” What her name was or what any of it meant was lost to him.

“Tea?” Now that could actually prove useful. “Our senses, especially that of smell and taste, are great helpers when it comes to our memories. Perhaps we should start there? Can you remember what type of tea?”

A face was made as John thought to himself for a moment. “I can’t. Nothing seems to be coming to mind.” It was disappointing. He was sure he had a family out there waiting for him.

“Well, you’ve had all the tea we have here for a while. If none of that is shaking your memory then perhaps we should get a hold of a different type?” Gonzo pulled out his datapad and tapped at it a few times. A surprised hum came from him as a news article flashed across the holonet screen. “Seems a tea shop just opened in Ord Mantell City. ‘Zeffos Getaway’”

John squinted at the city name, it was familiar to him. He couldn’t quite pin why it was so familiar. But it was. “Maybe we should take a visit?”

-*-

You and Phee stood next to each other looking at the vibrant neon light of your new Tea shop. You hadn’t wanted neon lights, it didn’t mesh with the calm and welcoming aesthetic you had going on inside. But Phee had been adamant that the neon would benefit the overall purpose of the shop. A front for your true purpose here on Ord Mantell.

It had taken far longer then you’d expected to find the true owner of the building. The previous owner, Cid something, had been killed by the empire and thus no one knew where the deed was. After days of searching you’d discovered that she wasn’t the actual owner and so you’d spend the following weeks hunting for the true owner. Finally you’d found them and they’d been more then happy to sell the building to you. Something you chalked up to your “cute face” as Phee had put it.

“They’re sure we’ll be ok. That nothing can be tied back to home?” What you were about to do was dangerous. Not just for yourself but for your family back on Pabu.

Phee nodded as she crossed her arms against the cold night air of the city. “They’re positive. Don’t worry. I know these boys well enough. They’ll keep us safe.”

A breath of air was released as you saw someone stand in the doorway of the shop, waiting for the two of you to come. “If you trust them, then so do I.” Nodding to the figure in the doorway you watch as it disappeared back into your waiting shop. “Guess that means ‘Zeffo’s Getaway’ is now open, huh?” You looked to Phee who nodded back to you. “Then let’s get inside and get this going.”

Phee wrapped an arm around yours and the two of you walked in together. You smiled softly as five sets of brown eyes looked toward you, the owners all sharing the same face. Subconsciously, you adjusted the goggles you now wore as a headband before turning to Phee. “Do you think Rex will explain to me why it’s called Fulcrum?”

Tag List:

@rndmpeep

@sarahskywalker-amadala

@queenariesofnarnia

@idoubleswearimawriter

#clone wars fic #fanfic update #fic update #tech x you #tech x reader #tbb tech #the bad batch season 2 #the bad batch s2 #the bad batch tech

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friedwritinggamingghost · 5 months

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Hey there. Sorry for bringing up an old post of yours since I was scrolling through tumblr on Chase & Omi mentor/protege relationship stuff. I saw your ask replies on favorite scene of Chase and Omi way back, and I could think for me at least why Chase has something personal against Raimundo. During Saving Omi, Raimundo's breakdown in his fight with Heylin!Omi, crying in both desperation and plea for the other to snap out. This short moment was that pivotal moment in making Heylin!Omi hesitating in dealing the finishing blow to Raimundo. And also, Raimundo rashly yet boldly charged towards Chase when the latter insisted Omi would remain here with him, declaring Omi would come home with them... Somehow seems to angered Chase enough to go into his draconic form to bite him off in half. So, there's still a bit of strong animosity hatred between them for what I've seen.

Hey there! My sincere apologies for taking so long! Life called and life takes priority.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if Chase had animosity for Raimundo in particular.

In my own opinion, Raimundo isn't a particularly honorable person. That's not to say he has no honor, of course. I have no doubt he'd die to save his loved ones, and he'd die for what's right if that was the only option left.

But beyond that? I think Rai is a deeply flawed young man, just as all the other Xioalin Dragons are, it's part of what makes them interesting. But his flaws lean him more towards morally grey areas. I think it comes naturally for him to put his own interests first, then his loved ones and then what's right.

Him fighting against those instincts is an interesting character plot.

But I think his flaws are what make him both uninteresting and infuriating to Chase.

Raimundo has talent, he's willing to put in the work, he's underhanded and sneaky and a liar and a hypocrite. And he is consistently favored over Omi.

Omi has his own flaws which I won't get into for this post, but he's also a genuinely honorable person. He has a strong work ethic, he is talented and works hard to level his raw talent into unparalleled skill. His loyalty is unquestionable, unlike Raimundo.

And it extends to Raimundo. Even as Raimundo is favored over Omi, unfairly so. (I include the other monks in this as well, because they're all given more priority by Fung than Omi is.)

Omi is neglected and overlooked and passed over by the very people who raised him. Who should care for him more than anything. They put Rai in the spotlight, consistently downplaying Omi and lifting up Rai.

And yet, it's Rai who makes Omi hesitate. It's Rai Omi looks up to the most even as they're rivals. It's Rai that Omi gives his loyalty to, even when not following Rai might actually be better for Omi.

I think that there is a dynamic between Rai and Omi that Chase probably finds very bitter to witness.

So yeah no, I would agree. I think Chase would blatantly be pleased with Raimundo's death, and maybe he even hates Rai as well.

#xiaolin showdown #omi #chase young #raimundo pedrosa

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skelevenn · 7 months

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Repostober 14 - Extra Life 2019

The big ridiculous scene that came out of fundraising for Extra Life, which I do along with my office every year. Mostly its peoples' DnD characters (including a few of mine) and a bunch of little sillier additions. This was the second, and final, of these huge scenes lol. I would make a big background and just leave a lot of space for placing characters, which people could pay to slot into. I would start drawing them on our annual stream, but it was obviously too big to finish in a couple-hour time slot, so the work would extend well into December, which was much less fun. Unfortunately none of my other art-related fundraising ideas have been as successful as this, but I just don't have it in me to do it again.

Big old breakdown of characters under the cut! (though I don't remember a lot of names lol)

Starting in the top left, on top of the cliff: Strahd, the titular character from the Curse of Strahd adventure

Two random little monkeys sneaking up on...

Mycall, a little mushroom boy I designed for the previous game I worked on, Crusaders of the Lost Idols.

Bottom left, older lady riding a horse is my grandma!

Big armored half-orc, trying to be stealthy (and convinced he's doing great) was a donor's DnD PC

some kind of elf PC sitting on a lot eatin snacks, with her raven familiar

A little hamster in a racing helmet, having stolen a snack

Sitting on the ground to the right of the half-orc is halfling Penelope, playing by Hope Lavelle. Shes having a teaparty with the tree!

In the foreground sitting on a rock, re-stringing her bow, an air genasi PC.

The dragonborn sitting on a rock roasting marshmellows on her collapsable pole is Orkira, played by Lauren Urban

Giant angel giraffe in the background... is what it is :shrug:

dainty unicorn in the trees!

tiny bb kitten sleeping in front of the fire

big spikey snapping turtle named "Fluffy," and a little trail of babies!

The centerpiece group by the fire is the office Curse of Strahd team, which I was a part of!

left, sadly playing the lute: Morgana, human Bard.

Sitting on the ground with the big book: Bignapor Gampus, gnome Druid.

middle on the log, getting his arm bandaged: Aeofardian, half-elf Rogue.

rightmost on the log, my character Tethys Shadebrooke, water genasi Cleric.

behind them all brooding under a tree: Veshok Wraithmantle, shadar-kai Elf Warlock.

Sitting on the ground at the end of the log wasn't actually a part of that group, but was a "constantly getting way too beat up" Monk PC, so he's sitting in line to see Tethys for healing lol.

ANGY unicorn. specifically donated for after the first unicorn... for contrast, I guess?

The moon is actually an egg a dragon is busting out of! That was the whole prompt, more or less.

very tiny, waaay in the back and added at the end without a donation: the crew for when I was DMing Curse of Strahd. I posted about them a few days ago and they're basically too tiny to make out here haha.

A rogue-styled version of a likeness of a very regular donator named Alan, "negotiating for a suspicious package"

Holding the mysterious package is one of my PCs: Penumbra, tiefling Wizard.

oh and finally, the little glowy bits all over the place are tiny fireflies... but they're also turtles.

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anothersquarenoodle · 2 months

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崩坏：星穹铁道 / Honkai: Star Rail (pt1)

While listening to music in preparation for uni work I had this thought that the chorus for P!nk's Blow Me (One Last Kiss) could fit the high cloud quintet lore, at least to my current understanding of it

⚠️ Xianzhou Luofu trailblaze quest spoilers

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Lyrics breakdown:

I think I finally had enough

Following Baiheng's sacrifice on the battlefield, Dan Feng has had enough of endless war and bloodshed and wishes to resurrect her.

I think I maybe think too much

Jing Yuan, as the Divine Foresight, would have to constantly consider different battle strategies and tactics to minimise losses against the denizens of abundance, likely resulting in excessive rumination and stress.

I think this might be it for us

"Of five people, three must pay a price"

Baiheng's death starts the domino effect that eventually leads to the disbanding of the hcq.

Yingxing becomes Blade after using emanator Shuhu's flesh in an attempt to resurrect Baiheng, his immortality being both a blessing and a curse.

Dan Feng is forced to undergo moltung rebirth as punishment for committing one of the ten unpardonable sins, eventually reincarnating into Dan Heng.

Jingliu becomes mara-struck after defeating the Transmutation Arcanum and eventually succcumbs to her insanity.

Of the hcq, only Jing Yuan remains.

Blow me one last kiss

The act of blowing a kiss usually occurs when people are parting ways or when they are physically distant but are within view of each other.

Maybe Baiheng blew a kiss to her friends before fighting the denizens of abundance, leading to her death. This would make her last interaction with the hcq be a farewell flying kiss.

You think I'm just too serious

As the general of the Luofu, Jing Yuan is forced to do his duty to the Xianzhou, including killing a mara-struck Jingliu, (presumably) banishing a vengeful Yingxing/Blade, and exiling the reincarnation of Dan Feng.

I think you're full of shit

Based on Blade's voiceline "About Jing Yuan", I'd imagine he harbours some kind of resentment for Jing Yuan never doing anything to avoid their fates (doomed by the narrative and all that).

My head is spinning so

Blow me one last kiss

The beginning of the Xianzhou Luofu main quest has Dan Heng have a nightmare about Blade and his statement "Of five people, three must pay a price. You are one of them."

Just when it can't get worse

As per the the trailblaze mission, Kafka's message to the Astral express brings the crew to the hcq's homeworld, much to Dan Heng's chagrin I assume.

I've had a shit day

After arriving at Scalegorge Waterscape, Dan Heng, Blade and Yanqing fight, upon which it is revealed that Dan Heng is the current incarnation of Dan Feng and half of Imbibitor Lunae (with Bailu being the other half).

Have you had a shit day?

Jing Yuan allows Kafka to take Blade away instead of capturing him and brings Dan Heng IL to the Astral Express crew.

We've had a shit day

Cue the boss fight with Phantylia, where Dan Heng basically impales Jing Yuan with cloudpiercer (his spear) to achieve victory.

I think that life's too short for this

Not so much a lore-related part, but I think it is a bit ironic that in the hcq how the long-life species have their lives cut short, and the short-life species have their lives significantly extended.

Jingliu and Baiheng would have been the first of the long-life species to die, and Dan Heng would choose to live as a (short-life) member of the Astral Express instead of as a High Elder on the Luofu

Yingxing had gained an immortal body as Blade, thus extending his life significantly more than if he remained a short-life being.

As expected, only Jing Yuan remains the same.

Want back my ignorance and bliss

I'd imagine that the current incarnations of the hcq sometimes reminisce about the good old days when they were all alive and well, but alas they are doomed by the narrative and are no longer who they once were.

I think I've had enough of this

Dan Heng no longer wishes to be affiliated with Imbibitor Lunae and hopes to leave Dan Feng's legacy behind.

Blow me one last kiss

Jingliu's companion quest has the hcq meet up for the last time at Scalegorge Waterscape, where they truly disband and go their own separate ways.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

I did think that some other lines in the song could also fit, but only in snippets as opposed to the whole section that is the chorus. Such as:

[Verse 1]

Eyes on fire, eyes on fire

And they burn from all the tears

I've been crying, I've been crying

I've been dying over you

Could reference the feelings of the hcq after Baiheng's death

[Verse 2]

No more battles for me

Jingliu, Yingxing, and Dan Feng will no longer fight for the Xianzhou as the great heroes they were once known as no longer exist

[Bridge]

I will breathe, I will breathe

I won't worry at all

Jing Yuan in the current story is the only one to remain "alive" as he used to be when the hcq was still active. He can no longer worry for his old friends as their current incarnations have moved on and no longer have ties to the Xianzhou.

[Bridge]

You will pay for your sins

You'll be sorry, my dear

Both Jingliu and Blade will face their punishment as wanted criminals, with both of them lamenting how they got where they are now.

[Bridge]

All the lies, all the "why's" will all be crystal clear

Dan Heng eventually learns more about Dan Feng and his history on the Xianzhou, regaining more of his memory and understanding that while Dan Feng is his past, he should not set the tone for his future.

#honkai star rail #honkai sr #high cloud quintet #ideas i will never go through with #this one actually hit the world limit im surprised #there will be pt2 #Spotify

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pb-dot · 9 months

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Film Friday: Summer Wars

The Favorite Film Train continues chugging along. Today, I'm going to talk a bit about a movie that never fails to make me emotional. I was going to say "cry" because there's also a bit of that, but it feels like too general of a word since this film takes me on a cathartic journey that most films can't even do on first viewing. What's weird about all of this is that all of this is from a romantic comedy that also features a plot about an evil AI taking over "The Metaverse if it actually worked and was popular and interfaced with everything" I am of course talking about Mamuro Hosoda's Summer Wars.

After narrowly losing out on being the Japanese representative in the international Math Olympics, it looks like Kenji's summer is going to be largely uneventful as he does low-level moderation on the social media/metaverse Leviathan OZ. This all changes when a classmate of his Natsuki hires him for an untraditional summer job.

Natsuki wants Kenji to pretend to be her fiance as she goes home to meet and celebrate the birthday of her aging grandmother, a strong-willed matriarch of an old family rendered penniless by her deceased husband. As it turns out, Natsuki has been telling some slight mistruths about her love life to her family, and now wants to lend some credence to her swarm of white lies with an actual appearance just in case this celebration is her grandmother's last. Surely, no shenanigans of a personal or international nature will come to interfere with this plan.

To make matters worse, in a quiet moment between meeting Natsuki's robust, and more than a little kooky, extended family, Kenji solves what he believes to be a number puzzle that turns out to be encrypted with the OZ security algorithm. This allows a mysterious entity going by the name Love Machine to start a takeover of the whole platform that in good old-fashioned over-featuring tradition, holds everything from bank and card details to access codes to public and private systems for its many, many users. What follows is an honestly pretty impressive balancing act as Kenji has to try to undo his mistake in OZ through whatever limited means he has by outsmarting the increasingly unlimited and unhinged Love Machine, while also dodging whole generations worth of shenanigans when the cat comes out of the bag about Natsukis plan and his possible involvement in the OZ hacking scandal.

Where the film goes from good to great though, is when the two storylines start merging. Kenji seeks help from the young pro gamer Kazuma almost immediately, but as the problem with Love Machine escalates, he finds himself involving larger and larger parts of Natsuki's family to help. Natsuki herself does go through a somewhat more limited arc, but her untangling the relationships and loyalties around her half-uncle Wabisuke and his involvement in this sorry business, as well as standing up to her older and more skeptical relatives in order to buy Kenji some breathing room, and eventually even support, is also pretty impressive although it lacks the heft of the Kenji plot.

Where Natsuki really shines though is in the third act, where the plot, for reasons I will not spoil here, pivots on the most important game of Koi-Koi the world has ever seen, and Natsuki is good at Koi-Koi. The game is such a picture-perfect example of climactic pacing and plays with both hope and despair so effectively that I kind of want to do a shot-by-shot breakdown of the whole thing just to capture the sheer dramatic majesty of the thing. Watch this space for that whenever I feel up to it, I suppose. For now, though, suffice to say that it gets pretty intense.

The hardest part about writing about this movie is honestly how easy it is to forget all the really good quiet moments between the visual fireworks of Oz and the charged emotions and very human shenanigans of the real-world portion. Hell, I arguably forgot about mentioning how the "fake dating" scenario ends, as these things so often do, in an actually cute romance as Natsuki and Kenji grow to trust and depend on each other.

This movie has some fantastic moments of quiet, though, from the beats of rest after moments of high emotion that are almost painterly in their composition, to absolutely heart-rending visual storytelling in pivotal moments of character development, it's just hard to remember them when contrasted with the abovementioned spectacle or an 80-year-old woman swinging a naginata at a family member who has displeased her. Still, I believe these small quiet moments are part of why this movie gets to me. Every time the plot slows down even a little, it isn't just to rest, but to deepen the stakes and make us care for the characters.

There are also some historical parallels going on in this movie, the chief one being comparing the relative unimportance of Natsuki's family now compared to their relative glory days during the Warring States period, although their lot was still relatively humble even at that zenith. What is a bit spicier though are some parallels with WW2 history, although I haven't done quite enough research to be comfortable to say much more about those parallels other than that they're there. Chalk this one up to another one I'll get into if I have time and energy at a later date I suppose.

When all is said and done, writing about Summer Wars feels a lot like dancing about cooking. It's a deeply emotional journey for two characters that embody the best of the broad characterization I often criticize anime storytelling for using, and it pulls the viewer along. It's a beautiful, messy, chaotic movie about the beautiful chaotic mess that is family in both direct traditional form and the expanded "we are all one family" sense of the word. Check it out if you have the chance. Maybe bring some tissues just in case though.

#movies #summer wars #anime #mamuro hosada #madhouse

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julietwiskey1 · 5 months

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What if ATLA had 6 seasons, the War trilogy (books 1-3) and the Post-War trilogy (Books 4-6)?

This is a question that I think is harder then the four season question. Usually as a constraint I would want to keep the same tone and maturity level of the show. But I think an additional three seasons will need to be more mature and tackle more political questions that don’t quite fit the original show.

First three seasons are the same. Only major difference is we don’t need to speed run Zuko’s redemption at the end, we can start it and finish it in the fourth season. Then we mirror the last three seasons with the first, where it went water, Earth, Fire now it goes Fire, Earth, Water and we watch the gaang shrink down each season instead of grow.

I would start the season with a search for Ursa that fails. We see Zuko take charge as a leader and Azula’s uncertainty in the world and after her breakdown. Azula manages to give the group the slip at the end and head off on her own. Through out the season Zuko and the gaang face threats to the throne and the questions over the colonies and other conquered territory. Azula joins up with the bad guys and it’s a question of if she is truly with them. Half way through she is betrays them and saves Zuko and the gaang and rejoins the group as fully redeemed and accepted. Later half is her becoming friends with Ty Lee and Mai again. The season ends with them finding Ursa and the Fire Nation people staying behind as the gaang head to the Earth Kingdom, though they still show up for arcs and episodes in upcoming seasons.

Season five is earth and focused on Toph and Earth Kingdom politics. Toph is working towards teaching metal bending and opening up her own academy. They fight rouge Fire Nation units and the like. But also succession of Bumi’s rule of Omashu is explored and the Dai Li continued rule in Ba Sing Se. As inner turmoil still besets Ba Sing Se we see them try and help King Kuei become the leader he needs to be. Perhaps if we are feeling bold we can question the full extent of the White Lotus interest in the city and if it is for the good of the Earth Kingdom or self interest. Jet and the other freedom fighters make a return and can play the hero’s when the gaang needs them. The season ends with Toph going home, being accepted by her parents and opening up her academy where we say goodbye to her.

Season six, the final season, we are left with just Sokka, Katara, and Aang. With a focus split between Aang looking for his people and Sokka and Katara trying to restore theirs. We see Sokka become a strong leader and growing into his own and becoming ready to pick up the mantle of chief when his father is ready to move on, perhaps even taking it for awhile when his father is injured. Katara searches out for SWT bending texts and she takes up Hama as a master where we have a redemption arc for Hama (or better yet this is our first introduction to her character and other survivors of the death camps). Aang continues his search for his people with hints of them being out their but ever elusive. The climax for the season is the village being once again strong and they are able to resist an invasion by either Pirates or former Fire Navy, showing their renewed strength. But we have another episode to close off the show. Probably just an extended Iroh’s tea shop episode where we see everyone that we have been saying by to for the past three seasons one last time (happy Azula with her Mom!). For the very end we see Aang say goodbye to everyone leaving by himself only for the final shot to be of him finding a surviving Air Nomad.

Let me know what y’all think. This was just my first idea and playing with mirroring the first three seasons onto the past three seasons. Though their are probably better ways to tell a story. I’m particularly worried of not enough going on and cutting back the cast as we get closer to the end.

#Wiskey answers #anon #atla #avatar the last aribender #what if it had six seasons #might be hard to stretch it that far #i think four seasons is best #it doesn’t feel quite right that it ended with three #azula #zuko #toph #Sokka #Katara #Aang

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blog-name-idk · 2 years

Text

Everything Falls (Into Place) | 02

**Banner by the incredible @bangtansmauyeondan

Pairing: OT7 x Fem Reader

Genre: College!AU, Roommate!AU, Fluff, Humor, Smut

Summary: Your new roommates are unbearably nice and unbearably hot. Good thing you're an adult who is fully capable of platonic friendships with the opposite sex, right?

Word Count: 3042

~~~~~

Things were not just fine. Well, they had been at first, after your initial breakdown. It had turned out that you had just been in shock the first day - after half a bottle of wine you had been sobbing in Mina's arms as she performed the best friend duty of telling you your ex was an asshole, a total moron, you were a goddess and he didn't deserve to even smell the shit that came out of your ass, etc. But it seemed like that one good cry session had cleared your head, and you found yourself not missing your ex at all. The first couple days with Mina had actually been fun, like an extended slumber party where you both fell asleep watching Netflix and giggling.

Unfortunately, it had now been two weeks, and absolutely no one was looking for new roommates or subleasers. While Mina was being a complete gem about the situation, her studio was cozy at best for one person, and you felt terrible taking up her space for so long. Not to mention her couch was less than luxurious, and you felt like you were well on your way to developing a permanent hunchback.

Comfort aside, it was likely that in another couple weeks you and your best friend were liable to be in the news for a murder, probably murder-suicide if the remorse hit before police showed up. You knew you were getting desperate when you actually began to consider answering the creepy Craiglist ads that listed "female roommate only" for "strictly nonsexual reasons."

You relayed your woes to Jackson the next time he called to check in on you, and he was silent for several long moments.

"I… I might know someone who has a spare room," your brother finally muttered hesitantly, tone pained. You perked up from where you had been sinking into the couch between its two lopsided cushions.

"What! And you didn't tell me?" You accused, both excited and annoyed.

"Well, I'm not sure if they'd want to rent it out…" he hedged, still sounding reluctant.

"Dude what the hell, you haven't even asked?" You said indignantly, shocked that he would hold out on you like this.

"You'd be living with a bunch of dudes."

Ah, there it was. Big brother Jackson coming out.

"You know I don't care about that. I've lived with guys before." Well, one guy. And he had never used the kitchen or left his room. Best roommate you'd ever had.

"Not seven," came the sullen mutter on the other line.

"Oh my god Jackson," you groaned, rolling your eyes. "The fact that you're even suggesting them means that you know them all and they're good people, right? It's not like they're gonna murder me and hide my body in the walls or something."

"Well, yeah, but…"

"But WHAT?" you almost screamed in frustration. You wanted to strangle him.

"They're all… hot."

There was silence for several moments. Then you started guffawing uncontrollably, unladylike snorts escaping from your lips.

"You are such a dork," you gasped between laughs, tears coming to your eyes. "If I promise not to let them gangbang me, will you please ask?"

"Never say that again," came the revolted reply, making you laugh even harder.

"What, can't stomach the idea of a houseful of your buddies railing your little sister?" you taunted, unable to resist needling your brother despite the fact that he currently held your salvation in his hands.

"Oh my god please stop, I'm going to throw up."

"I'll stop if you ask them. Look, I'll even promise to you right now. This vagina is off limits to anyone I live with. Girl scout's honor."

"One, fucking gross, please stop using those words. Two, you were a brownie for one week. Three, you're actually serious, aren't you?"

"Deadly. Please. Share the whole sob story if you think it'll guilt them into saying yes. I'm desperate. If this goes on much longer you're going to have to start calling me Quasimodo."

"Ugh, FINE!"

~~~~~

Namjoon tried not to sigh as Jin rushed around the house, fluffing pillows and cleaning nonexistent dust off the shelves.

"Hyung, if she's gonna live here, she's gonna see the house in its normal state," Namjoon complained from the couch, where he had been ordered to sit and not touch anything.

"I guess you have a point," the oldest member of the house sighed, eyeing the younger members who were currently lounging on their phones and clearly not worried about the state of the house.

"Plus she might be a total bitch," added Jungkook from where he was playing some phone game. "That's why she's coming over here anyway, right? To see if it would even be a good fit?"

Namjoon frowned at the comment, though he said nothing. Considering how much Jackson clearly adored his sister, he doubted you could be that bad. But as much as he wanted to help his friend out, he couldn't just agree to let some stranger move in without letting his roommates weigh in on the decision. It was especially complicated since you were a girl, they were a bunch of dudes (some thirstier than others), and Jackson's parting words had made Namjoon's butthole clench.

"We definitely still have that spare room, but I'll have to talk to the other guys about it first. We'd probably want to meet her before deciding anything."

"That's fair. I'll send you her phone number so you can coordinate."

"Alright, I'll shoot her a text after this."

"I really appreciate it." A pause, then in a quieter, eerily cold tone, "also, if anyone hurts her, I will cut off their balls and shove them down their throat."

"Uh -"

"Anyway, thanks buddy! I'll call you again some time soon so we can catch up!"

Yeah, he had never heard Jackson use that icy tone of voice before and he sincerely hoped never to experience it again. It was fine, men and women were perfectly capable of healthy, platonic friendships. You probably wouldn't even be that cute, anyway.

A knock on the door cut off all conversation in the room, and Namjoon hurried to the door, narrowly avoiding knocking over the coat rack in the entryway. He opened the door to greet you, and okay, you were pretty cute.

"Um, hi," you said a bit awkwardly, shifting your weight from foot to foot. "I'm [y/n]."

Realizing he was just standing in the door like a big stupid gorilla, he quickly put a smile on his face and welcomed you in.

"It's nice to finally meet you. I'm Namjoon."

Your eyes sparkled in recognition and your lips broke into a bright smile. Oh no, you were really cute.

"Oh! It's nice to officially meet you too. Thanks so much for even considering this, I know it's a weird time of year and you don't really need another renter."

"It's the least I can do, Jackson is a good friend," he assured as he led you to the living room where the rest of the boys were gathered.

"[Y/n]?" Taehyung was gaping slightly.

"[Y/n]?" That was Jungkook, whose head had whipped up immediately when he heard your name.

"Taehyung? Jungkook? I didn't know you lived here!" You looked just as surprised as everyone else at this turn of events, and Namjoon wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing. If you were a prior hook-up or something, then everything was going to shit already.

"I mentioned her name when I told you about this," he said, exasperated, and the younger boys looked away guiltily. They had probably tuned out after they had gotten the gist of the situation.

"So how do you guys know each other?" He asked in trepidation, praying that the answer would be something that allowed everyone's genitalia to remain intact.

"[Y/n]'s my best customer!" Taehyung volunteered immediately, and before anyone else could say anything, Jungkook cut in.

"[Y/n]'s also the best tutor!" He declared, and Namjoon heaved an internal sigh of relief. His balls were safe. And it seemed that you already had the approval of two of the members, at least.

"Thanks guys," you said with a chuckle. "Though I think 'best customer' is a nice way of saying I spend an irresponsible amount of money on coffee."

The others in the room laughed at your quip, and it seemed you and Namjoon remembered them at the same time.

"Um, yeah, so… I'm [y/n]."

~~~~~

You weren't exactly sure what to expect when first planning the meeting with Namjoon. He himself seemed kind and respectful, though it was hard to get any legitimate read on him through the minimal text messages you had exchanged. Still, Jackson spoke highly of him, and his approval carried a lot of weight.

The house itself was a lot larger and nicer than you expected, though you supposed it made sense if seven (hopefully soon to be eight) people lived there comfortably. It was cleaner than you had pictured for a group of college guys, too. At least the living room was.

The biggest surprise, though, was the members. Sure, you had your brother's reluctant admission that they were all "hot," but that was not an adequate word to describe the men before you. Beautiful was closer to the truth. You had thought Taehyung and Jungkook, the cute underclassman you tutored in math, were anomalies, but there were five more stupidly gorgeous guys on campus? Were they all drawn to live together by some weird universal law like "thou shalt only reside with other 10s"?

Chill the fuck out, you mentally berated yourself. You literally just got out of a relationship, and these guys might be your ROOMMATES.

They all seemed nice, which was a relief. After realizing you had been standing awkwardly while the rest of them were seated, Namjoon had ushered you to an armchair that was already more comfortable than Mina's old couch. Then, the boys you didn't know proceeded to introduce themselves.

"I'm Hoseok, but you can call me Hobi!" Said the boy furthest to your right. He beamed at you with a dazzlingly bright smile, and it was impossible for you not to smile back.

"I'm Jimin!" Chirped the next one. When he grinned, his cheeks squished his eyes into tiny crescents that made your insides go gooey.

"I'm Jin," the next boy (man, really) said with a charming smile. You kept your eyes on his face, which unfortunately was just as distractingly perfect as his broad shoulders.

"Yoongi." The last one didn't smile, but he nodded politely, and his quiet voice sent an agreeable shiver down your spine. What was up with this house? Was there something in the water?

"It's nice to meet you all. I guess we've all established who I am at this point," you joked to hide your sudden nerves. This felt weirdly like a job interview, which would have been bad enough, but being the object of focus of seven ethereally gorgeous faces spiked your anxiety even higher. So of course, you said something stupid.

"I promise I won't murder you guys and wear your skin." Fuck. Fix this. "I mean, not that you guys don't have great skin! You definitely wouldn't need the hose. Fuck. I'm sorry. I swear I'm not insane."

You finally decided that you were only making things worse for yourself and shut the hell up, face bright red as you waited for them to tell you to get the hell out of their house. Instead, wheezing came from your left, and you panicked further. Had you managed to freak one of them out into a full blown panic attack? You forced yourself to look at the source of the noise.

Yoongi of all people had collapsed onto the floor, and you realized that he was laughing. You stared, dumbstruck, as a wide, gummy smile transformed his demeanor from intimidatingly stoic to fucking adorable. As if he had opened the floodgates, the rest of the guys started cracking up as well and you hid your face in your hands.

"I'm sorry, [y/n], but that was amazing," gasped Taehyung between giggles. Jimin had straight up fallen off the couch and was doubled over on the floor. You sighed, pouting a little. At least laughing was better than them actually thinking you were a psycopathic murderer.

"You don't have to be so nervous," Namjoon said soothingly when they managed to calm down. "We're not trying to find anything wrong with you. Just make sure you're a good fit."

"And that you won't kill us in our sleep," Jimin had to add, and promptly slipped back onto the floor amid gales of laughter, setting everyone off again. At this point you couldn't help but join in, their good humor was infectious.

"But really though, you know Kookie and I are already totally fine with you living here," Taehyung assured you with those warm eyes. Jungkook smiled that adorable, doe-eyed smile at you, and you felt yourself relaxing.

"Alright alright, well I clean up after myself, especially in common areas, and I do my dishes after I'm done."

"Sold," said Jin immediately, glaring at Jungkook and Jimin, who looked away innocently.

"I guess I'm also pretty quiet if I'm by myself? Even if I'm in my room I kind of prefer listening to music with headphones, and I don't use voice chat when I game, so you won't hear me yelling or anything."

"Can we just replace Kookie with [y/n]?" Drawled Yoongi, and you smiled a bit at Jungkook's pout. You assumed this implied you had the quiet one's approval, at least. Jimin and Hobi were also quick to say they had no objections to you, and you gladly accepted their offer to tour the house.

"Oh my god yes, please let me live here," you blurted as soon as they showed you the kitchen. It boasted a nice convection oven with gas ranges (Mina's studio had electric stove tops, which you despised with a passion), and plenty of counter space. But what really sold you was the large island with a beautiful, sexy marble top.

"Do you cook?" Jin asked in approving tones, and you shrugged.

"I'm not like a master chef or anything, but I can handle myself. It's not like it's hard to follow recipes, either."

"You'd be surprised," Jimin snickered, looking directly at Namjoon, who was blushing.

"I'm banned from touching anything here…" he mumbled bashfully, and you cooed internally at how cute he was.

"Hey, different strokes, right?" You reassured him, and he blindsided you with the appearance of some seriously lethal dimples. You really hoped you got desensitized quickly to the frankly ridiculous level of beauty present in this household.

The rest of the house was just as nice, and when they showed you the so-called spare room, you gasped. "Dude, this is bigger than Mina's studio."

The boys laughed at your enthusiasm, and Hobi stepped forward.

"This room is connected to mine through a bathroom - are you okay with that?"

"Of course! I don't want to put you out if you're used to having your own bathroom though…"

"Nah I don't mind! Besides, Jimin and Tae make due somehow and Jimin spends more time on his hair than the rest of us put together."

"Hyung!" Jimin whined cutely and you laughed again. You seemed to be doing that a lot around these boys.

"Well it pays off, maybe you can give me some pointers," you joked, and Jimin's face went from a pout to a mischievous grin as he winked at you. You outwardly didn't react, but inside you were dying. How did he go from adorable to flirty and hot so quickly? Who was your ex again?

The tour ended back downstairs, in the dining room this time, and everyone took a seat around the large table.

"What are your thoughts so far?" Asked Namjoon when everyone was settled.

"Honestly, I feel like this is too good to be true," you admitted. "Just how crazy would the rent be?"

He named a number and your jaw dropped.

"Namjoon, buddy, I think you forgot a zero," you stammered. There was no way a room in a house this nice could be that cheap, even if the rent was being split eight different ways.

"Uh, actually," Jin cut in, ears a little pink. "My family owns this house, so they cut us a deal."

You stared at Jin, mouth opening and closing like a fish. So he was handsome, sweet, and loaded. Was someone else in this house a secret prince or something? You half expected this to be some weird hidden camera prank.

"Okay, now this definitely seems too good to be true," you finally managed. And it did. On paper, it was completely ludicrous that you would be offered the opportunity to live in a dope-ass house, with the seven most beautiful human beings you had ever met, who were also really fucking nice, and you only had to share a bathroom with one person, and it was cheaper than the rent you were currently paying for your shitty student apartment. But looking around the table, you felt no unease stirring in your gut. And Jackson of all people had vouched for them. You knew you'd eventually get used to their looks and be able to see them objectively as friends. So you narrowed your eyes at the boys and said,

"Wait, this is a ploy to murder me for my skin suit, isn't it?"

The table dissolved into laughs again, and you relaxed further.

"Skin suit? Are you a lizard person?" Hobi joked, and you grinned and winked at him.

"Did you not know? Reptilians make the best roommates." Your wit was rewarded by another blast of that sunshine smile.

"[Y/n], what do you call it when a lizard can't shed?" Jin suddenly asked, and you cocked your head, confused.

"A reptile dysfunction!" Jin immediately began laughing and slapping the table at his own joke, and you couldn't help but join him amid the groans of his housemates. Yeah, you had a good feeling about these guys.

~~~~~

Next | Masterlist

#bts fanfic #bts x reader #bts fluff #kim namjoon x reader #kim seokjin x reader #park jimin x reader #jeon jungkook x reader #min yoongi x reader #kim taehyung x reader #jung hoseok x reader

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